Reuben Ramacher covers i-D

via i-D's facebook

Frockwriter mentioned in January that new Australian face Reuben Ramacher may have even bigger things ahead of him than that month's Saint Laurent show during the Paris menswear collections. And voilà, here he is on the cover of British style bible i-D magazine, shot by Saint Laurent creative director Hedi Slimane. 

Showcards: The Agency Models - MBFWA SS13/14

maddison watling by romain duquesne

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is less than a month away and the preliminary schedule has just gone up (click here to download). Who will rock its runways? Herewith the first instalment in frockwriter's MBFWA showcards series from Australia’s leading model agencies. First up, Sydney's The Agency Models.

Factory girl

cameron hammond

Maddison Watling currently loads clothes onto trucks at a western suburbs factory for a living. Another brand new face from Sydney agency The Agency Models, we have a hunch she might be considering different type of fashion gig in future.

New faces: Sinead Ann

thom kerr

The Fall/Winter 2013/2014 shows rolled on to Paris this week and Australia's modelling delegation continues its assault on the season. Brisbane's Nicole Pollard nabbed the biggest show of the week - Balenciaga - while comeback queen Catherine McNeil added Dries van Noten, Balmain, Lanvin, Nina Ricci and Barbara Bui to her show list - opening and closing the latter two. Australians remain very much on the radar of international casting directors and it seems that everybody wants to know who the new girls are. The Agency Models in Sydney has a new name to throw into the ring in a couple of seasons' time: Sinead Ann.

Show ponies - David Jones Autumn/Winter 2013

grey wasp/blue wasp/splash news

Miranda Kerr has touched down (here she is, above, arriving at Sydney airport on Friday, Louis Vuitton luggage in tow) which means it's show time at David Jones. All eyes and cameras will be trained on the Australian department store's 7th floor tomorrow night for the Autumn/Winter 2013 showcase. Frockwriter will, as usual, have all the backstage action but in the interim, we were interested to take a peek at the list of 50 other names who will be flanking La Kerr on the runway. Not surprisingly, this season's cast list is reflective of the dramatic changes that the Australian modelling industry has undergone over the past 12 months, with the launch of a major new competitor in IMG Models. This time last year, a number of names - including Kerr - were repped by other agencies. 

Reuben Ramacher rocks Saint Laurent Paris

saint laurent paris FW1314 via style.com

As it emerges, Julia Nobis wasn't the only Australian in Hedi Slimane's must-anticipated menswear show in Paris overnight. Joining her and a cast of real world rockers: brand new face Reuben Ramacher. Who apparently has even bigger things ahead of him. 

New faces: Henry Payten

justin smith via the agency models

And now for the boys. Third up in frockwriter's new series about new modelling faces from down under is Henry Payten, who was recently signed to Sydney's The Agency Models. 

MBFWA's top showgirls

Julia Nobis owned the runways of last year's Australian Fashion Week. Nobis had far bigger fashion fish to fry this year in the northern hemisphere, leaving the Australian Spring/Summer 2012/2013 field earlier this month wide open to the score of Australians rising up behind her. Last month, frockwriter published the MBFWA showcards of Australia's major model agencies; in each case a mix of runway veterans and promising new faces. So who had the busiest schedules at this year's event? We asked the agencies to name their top showgirls. 

The showgirls: The Agency Models - MBFWA SS 12/13

petra goodall/gavriel maynard via the agency models

Yesterday frockwriter brought you the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Spring/Summer 2012/2103 showcard packs from three of Australia's biggest model agencies - Chic Management, Chadwick Models and Viviens Model Management. But there are also a number of independent, niche players in the industry. Case in point, Lincoln Ferguson's The Agency Models. In 2011, this Bondi Beach-based boutique firm scouted Krystal Glynn, who was a hit not only at last year's event, but also at New York Fashion Week in September. Glynn is back this year for MBFWA, alongside Lola Van Vorst and a number of very interesting new faces, who are not all your typical model glamazons, but include some very cool-looking 'indie' girls. In fact 10 of the agency's 14 SS1213 showgirls are new faces. 

Bull market

tom bull by justin chung

Andrej Pejic is the undisputed king of Australian mens’ modelling right now – even if he’s rocking womenswear half of the time. Although yet to make the big dollars, in terms of profile, it’s impossible to ignore Pejic, with global news stories about him rolling out on almost a daily basis. He is currently the only Australian to make the models.com Top 50 Men list (#18). Others to catch the attention of the international fashion industry of late include Jordan Coulter, Jethro Cave, Frankie Eliss-Galatti, Broed Dillewaard and Jack Vanderhart - with indigenous Australian Jake Gordon recently popping up at a few New York Fashion Week shows. So far no other Australian men have matched the track record of Heath Townsend, now in his 30s and a David Jones ambassador, but an erstwhile advertising face of Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch. But Tom Bull is making a pretty good start.