Amanda Ware and Jordan Coulter cover Wish

We might not have seen Amanda Ware at any Milan Fashion Week shows this week, but she booked a solid showlist at this month's New York and London Fashion Weeks. And the Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 6 winner is about to score her second cover in four months of The Australian's luxury magazine Wish - alongside Jordan Coulter, another rising local star. Here is an exclusive preview of the October Wish cover and accompanying editorial which showcases brands including Burberry, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Lensed by Pierre Toussaint, with styling by Ken Thompson. On newsstands October 7th. 

The dark side: Meghan Collison covers Oyster 90

 

Well it’s not quite Samara Morgan in The Ring. And of course, anything is better than Abbey Lee Kershaw’s October 2008 cover of Dazed & Confused (below), in which Kershaw's face was totally eclipsed by shadow. But interesting choice of image, nonetheless, of Canadian Meghan Collison for the cover of Oyster 90. Shot by Pierre Toussaint, Collison is glancing downwards, her eyes obscured by her bangs and her deathly pallor only accentuated by the use of foundation in the place of lipstick. Given that she looks like a Burberry-clad vampire extra from True Blood, perhaps Oyster is being a little ironic with the coverline "LOVE LIFE". But the sombre cover may well complement the mood of the editorial contents, which include interviews with LA Zombie director Bruce LaBruce and actor Paz de la Huerta, a star of the dark, graphic Prohibition era US drama Boardwalk Empire. Not to mention a "fashion week adventures" diary from Catherine McNeil, whose Spring/Summer 2011 runway season ended in mysterious circumstances midway through the season at London Fashion Week. On sale Friday 10th December.

Bettina Liano launches the Curvy jean - taps Tahnee Atkinson to front it

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Bettina Liano, Australia’s original jean queen, is the latest Oz designer to pay hip service to the larger sizes issue. Frockwriter can reveal that Liano will launch a new jean line called Curvy next month. Aimed at the more curvaceous woman, it consists at the moment of two jeans: a new style called Curvy and a "curvy" adaptation of Liano’s classic True Bootleg style. Curvy is a straight leg, mid-rise jean in a vintage wash. Both styles are cut to allow more room around the bottom and thighs and will be available in sizes 8-16. According to a Bettina Liano spokeswoman, Liano's jeans usually go up to a size 12 (even though Liano’s website indicates they may reach 14). To kick off the launch, Pierre Toussaint will shoot new campaign images in Sydney on November 30, with Australia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 winner Tahnee Atkinson.

This is interesting for several reasons.

Firstly, the ongoing controversy over the dearth of designer clothing in larger sizes.

Not that 16 is by any means tapping into the plus size market. But as Melbourne blogger Hayley Hughes and I recently discovered when we took two hidden cameras into Chapel Street to shoot a story for Australian current affairs television program Today Tonight on how the fashion industry discriminates against larger sizes, it was extremely difficult finding anything on Chapel Street over a size 12. For someone who writes about the industry, this even surprised me. Brisbane blogger Nicholas Perkins also took part.

Click here to see the Today Tonight story.

Secondly, as we know, this year’s ANTM placed quite some focus on the body image issue and it seemed almost a fait accompli when curvy Atkinson won the competition – even though runnerup Cassie Van Den Dungen appeared to be the better-equipped of the two for an international high fashion career.

Meanwhile, Atkinson recently visited New York and some appear genuinely shocked that Atkinson was not welcomed with open arms by the New York market.

Atkinson will join the upwardly-mobile Jess Hart as a current season Bettina Liano poster girl.



PS. In the TT story, the figure of $10.5billion refers of course to the estimated fashion component of Australian clothing retail sales [source: IBISWorld]. And yes, Gossip is indeed an American, and not a British, band. As I have blogged previously. The word British inadvertently slipped into the script and I did not realise until it was too late. My apologies.