Julia Nobis has big feet

Yes we know she has a huge future ahead of her. A Calvin Klein exclusive at New York Fashion Week will do that for you. But apparently Australia's hottest new modelling face, Julia Nobis, also has rather large feet - US size 11 according to her Sydney mother agency Priscillas (or a US size 12 according to other sources, with some suggestion her shoe size might have precluded her being cast in some FW1011 shows). So big, that Calvin Klein was obliged to make up some custom fit shoes for her to wear for its February 18th show, according to Calvin Klein. Above is a shot of Nobis' dress rack, from backstage footage filmed by Today Tonight, showing her two changes of footwear for the show.

Death of an Australian fashion icon

bettman/corbis

Sonia McMahon only spent one year as Australia’s First Lady. Nevertheless, she goes down in history as the Australian political spouse with the greatest international fashion resonance and the engineer of one of this country's most iconic fashion moments. Part Princess Diana, part Bond Girl, one can only imagine the impact that the thirty nine year-old mother of three must have had on February 3 1971 when she emerged in “That Dress” at a state dinner at the White House, totally overshadowing Australia’s 20th prime minister and, presumably, the rest of the night’s proceedings. "My God, who is that?" Richard Nixon is reported to have spluttered, before noting – some three months after signing off on a covert investigations unit designed to put the kibosh on intel leaks to the news media - "I'll have her at my side. I'll have my photo in every paper in the US”.

McMahon got to wear the dress one more time in the US – thirty four years later in Los Angeles, this time on the arm of her son Julian at the Golden Globes. It was in fact a modified Jonathan Ward replica, created for Myer’s 100 years of Australian fashion retrospective.

The original dress, which is now housed inside Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, was created by Spanish designer Victoria Cascajo, who owned a South Yarra boutique called Balencia Couture.

Cascajo worked for legendary Spanish-born couturier Cristobal Balenciaga for 10 years in Madrid (Balenciaga originally opened in Spain in 1919, before moving to Paris in 1937 following the Spanish Civil War). Upon his retirement in May 1968, Cascajo told The Age that Balenciaga taught her everything she knows.

The thigh-high split and cutout detailing under the arms and on the sleeves, however, were far more in sync with the far younger Paris guns Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges, as well Austrian-born American Rudi Gernreich. Against the backdrop of the Mod fashion revolution of Swinging 60s London, their “space age” styles influenced a generation of fashion designers the world over – including, undoubtedly, Perth’s Ruth Tarvydas, who has claimed Cascajo copied her best-selling buckle dress of 1969.

In September, Tarvydas told The Australian:

"I think her dressmaker was definitely inspired by my dress, it was obvious. (Sonia McMahon) really was the first Rebecca Twigley, she just happened to be in the White House."

A reporter for The Washington Post is said to have described McMahon's gown at the time as:

"absolutely smashing. I think the dress is a breakthrough for fashion and a blow for women's liberation."

It was, at the very least, courageous.

Vale Sonia McMahon.

Today Tonight goes backstage at Calvin Klein

This story went to air on tonight's show. With Calvin Klein Collection womenswear director Francisco Costa and executive vice president global communications Malcolm Carfrae both due to speak at last month's L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to show both in context in New York. After quite some negotiation, a freelance New York crew was booked and they shot at the February 18th shows (Calvin Klein has two, back-to-back - one for press, the other buyers). New York Fashion Week regulars would be aware that although the backstage areas at many shows are often crawling with camera crews, a couple of shows tend to be like Fort Knox. Calvin Klein arguably at the top of that list. I did the master interviews in Melbourne, just prior to the LMFF launch. Sadly the story did not get to run in the LMFF leadup.

I had no idea that Julia Nobis was even in the show until after it finished, otherwise I would have asked the crew to talk to her. And FYI "Yag-a-chiak" is the correct pronunciation of Jac's surname. I checked with Australia's Polish Chamber of Commerce.

I produced/wrote the story. Sally Obermeder reported and Damian Moncrieff edited.

Just a word on the intro and plasma screen graphics.

Producers are required to provide a sample intro for the anchor to read prior to each story, which is often tweaked further up the line.

Mine did mention all the Australian connections, ie in PR, the models and also the celebrities (Naomi Watts and Isobel Lucas were in the front row at the first show, with Melissa George turning up at the afterparty). Somehow, by the time the intro got to air, it had managed to morph into "Australian chiefs" being the "driving force" behind the company.

Unless Calvin Klein Inc president Tom Murry happens to have some antipodian ancestry, this will of course be news to Phillips Van Heusen.

But look, any more Australians on board and there could be a takeover.

Open Sesame

A little link love for a cool Australian online startup, Sesame Magazine, founded by Melbourne stylist Nadia Barbaro. Frockwriter is honoured to be included in this edition's Blogs We <3 section. For a backgrounder on Nadia, here's a Q&A on The Design Files.

RAFW SS1011 - The (awkward) 15th anniversary edition

life.com

Frockwriter is not known for sitting back and waiting for the press release. For two years now, we have naughtily preempted IMG Fashion Asia Pacific's release of the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week schedule with our own running draft schedule and this year will be no exception. Herewith, the bare bones of the Spring/Summer 2010/2011 edition, which will take place from May 3-7 at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal. This information, which will be updated, comes direct from the designers and/or their reps, who have, they claim, locked in times. An early adopter in social media stakes (in 2008 RAFW welcomed Bryanboy to what was in fact his first international fashion week, before he headed to the main circuit), IMG has already confirmed that Jak + Jil's Tommy Ton and Susie Bubble's Susie Lau will be attending this year. But they are not, we hear, the only blog stars who are heading downunder. (Garance Doré and Scott Schuman are also expected). (UPDATE 23/04/10: OFFICIAL SCHEDULE NOW ONLINE - WITH FROCKWRITER'S UPDATED DRAFT BELOW).

As for venues, RAFW-goers will recall that last year, the event was downsized from its traditional three venues to two, which was understandable in light of the GFC.

In November, IMG Fashion Asia Pacific's general manager Daniel Hill told WWD:

“Early inquiries about show options also lead us to believe there is a demand for three collection showroom options. Having said that, we are crucially mindful that these are still uncertain times for many businesses, especially those exporting abroad, so we have every intention to offer a range of economical participation solutions".

The schedule is still filling up and there is some indication that the adjacent Museum of Contemporary Art will include an additional venue on top of the regular MCA Showrooms. However frockwriter understands that for the second year in a row, RAFW's former Harbour Pavilion tent, which was traditionally the event's biggest venue, will not be on offer.

There have obviously been a few other developments since November.

In December, the second edition of the company's new Swim Fashion Week showcase was axed (sources say we are similarly unlikely to see a third edition of the company's Hong Kong Luxury Week this year).

Beyond Zimmermann and Seventh Wonderland, which say they are already on schedule, a number of other swimwear brands that were due to participate in Swim Fashion Week are expected to be incorporated into this SS1011 showcase.

Then in February, came the shock announcement, from IMG, that RAFW founder Simon Lock would not be renewing his contract - five years after he sold the event to IMG. The announcement came, curiously, a full eight months ahead of the expiry of said contract.

In a statement, Lock was quoted as saying:

"I look forward to celebrating the 15th year anniversary in May with my IMG and industry colleagues".

The statement continued on to say:

"IMG Fashion’s team structure in the Asia Pacific region will remain the same. Simon Lock, Peter Levy and Martin Jolly will all attend RAFW this season".

On Saturday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Lock may be persona non grata at the event, which is even more curious. And quite disappointing.

Any Americans unfamiliar with Lock's name just need to imagine 7th on Sixth, or as it is known today, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, without its founder Fern Mallis - who, like Lock, transferred over with the event when it was sold to IMG.

There will undoubtedly be some who will be overjoyed at the news of Lock's departure from RAFW.

From its launch in May 1996, the event was frequently mired in controversy. Lock's intensely competitive nature, moreover, found him at loggerheads with more than one party.

It should be remembered, however, that after several attempts by various parties at launching an internationally-focussed fashion trade showcase in this country, Australian Fashion Week finally put Australian fashion on the map.

It took an aggressive marketer to muster enthusiasm, dazzle sponsors and leverage media coverage.

Equally important: it took a branding professional to bypass the dull, commercial names that could easily have bankrolled the event in its early days, to focus instead on the new emerging designers who would give the event an exciting edge, some of whom were also financially assisted by Lock.

The industry owes him a huge debt of gratitude.



OFF SCHEDULE

THURSDAY 15TH APRIL
12.30 Leona Edmiston, Quay, Overseas Passenger Terminal

WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL
11.00 Carla Zampatti, by invitation
12.30 Marnie Skillings, Royal Botanic Gardens

THURSDAY 29TH APRIL
TBC The Birthday Suit

THURSDAY 6TH MAY
21.00 Antipodium (cocktail party), venue TBC


RAFW


bold = name not originally on draft schedule (last updated 18/04)
strike = designer cancellation or changed slot

MONDAY 3RD MAY
09.00 Lisa Ho, off-site
10.00 Ginger & Smart, the OPT
11.00 Seventh Wonderland, Cargo Theatre
12.00 Camilla, the OPT
13.00 Lucette, Cargo Theatre
14.00 RTW #1 group show (Carly Hunter, Guanabana, Story by Tang, Uscari)
15.00 Zambesi, Cargo Theatre
16.00 Rachel Gilbert, the OPT
16.45-17.15 The MCA Group Collection and Art Installation Show (Francis Leon, IRO, Kylie Hawkes, Twenty8Twelve by S. Miller)
17.30 Bassike, Cargo Theatre
18.30 Aurelio Costarella, on-site
19.30 Bec + Bridge, Cargo Theatre
20.30 Christopher Esber, the OPT
21.30 Stolen Girlfriends Club, off-site

TUESDAY 4TH MAY
09.00 camilla + marc, off-site
10.00 Zimmermann, the OPT
11.00 Valerie Tolosa Sara Phillips, Cargo Theatre
12.00 Little Joe, the OPT
13.00 Sabatini White, Cargo Theatre
14.00 Sara Phillips, the OPT
15.00 Magdalena Velevska, Cargo Theatre
16.00 RTW #2 group show (Breathless, Gary Yang, Leigh Schubert, Sally Koeswanto)
16.45-17.15 The MCA Group Collection and Art Installation Show (Elissa Coleman, Kirstie Morris, O’Hara Designs, Thulie)
17.30 Flannel, Cargo Theatre
18.30 Nicola Finetti, the OPT
19.30 Friedrich Gray, Cargo Theatre
20.30 Alex Perry, sound stage 7, Fox Studios
21.30 Ellery, off-site

WEDNESDAY 5TH MAY
09.00 Therese Rawsthorne, off-site
10.00 Kate Sylvester, the OPT
11.00 Alice McCall, Cargo Theatre
12.00 Manning Cartell, the OPT
13.00 Bianca Spender, Cargo Theatre
14.00 RTW #3 group show (Mawlai, Anthony Capon, Nana Judy, Premonition, {Un} Naked, A.Concept, Humility Couture)
15.00 Phos Phoro, Cargo Theatre
16.00 Nookie, the OPT
16.45-17.15 The MCA Group Collection and Art Installation Show (Beau Coops, Del Playa Drive, Song for the Mute, TOS)
17.30 Jayson Brundson, Cargo Theatre
18.30 Anna & Boy, the OPT
19.30 Karla Spetic, Cargo Theatre
20.30 Konstantina Mittas, the OPT
21.30 Romance Was Born, off-site

THURSDAY 6TH MAY
09.00 Dion Lee, off-site
10.00 Kirrily Johnston, the OPT
11.00 Gary Bigeni Ae'lkemi, Cargo Theatre
12.00 The Innovators/TAFE NSW (Elliot Ward-Fear, George El-Sissa, Caroline Fuss, Christopher Dobosz, Nicholas Christensen)
13.00 Gary Bigeni, Cargo Theatre
14.00 Lui Hon, the OPT
15.00 Dhini, the OPT
16.00 Swimwear group show #1 Kooey Australia
16.45-17.15 The MCA Group Collection and Art Installation Show (Cilla & Pepe, Efigy49, Kushushu, Penniem)
17.30 Saint Augustine Academy, Cargo Theatre
18.30 Michael Lo Sordo, the OPT
19.30 Fernando Frisoni, Cargo Theatre
20.30 Ruby Smallbone, the OPT
21.30 Gail Sorronda, Cargo Theatre

FRIDAY 7TH MAY
09.00 Arnsdorf, off-site
10.00 Ms Couture, the OPT
11.00 Miss Unkon, Cargo Theatre
12.00 Swim Fashion Week @ RAFW (Agua Bendita, Blackbox Apparel, Karen Neilson Collection, Lisa Blue, Lisa Maree, Rebecca Manning Swim, Roopa Pemmaraju)
13.00 White Sands, Cargo Theatre
14.00 New Generation group show (Louisa Fredrica, Nathan Paul Swimwear, Plasidapparel, By Johnny, Emma Veall, Flowers for a Vagabond, Garth Cook, Ivana-Marija Stipicic, Krysalis, Sim.me.ri.an)
15.00 Annah Stretton, Cargo Theatre
16.00 Swimwear group show #2 Hussy, the OPT
20.00 Ksubi, Royal Hall of Industries, Fox Studios

And the Walkley for new media douchebaggery apparently goes to... me

sassybella twitter

I was interested to spot this post from Clare Fletcher. Entitled, "Anti social media" it was about how much Fletcher had enjoyed last week's Portable/Refinery 29 presentation in Sydney - save for my extreme rudeness in Tweeting during the Q&A with the New York fashion site's co-founder Philippe von Borries and creative director Piera Gelardi. The Q&A that I myself was conducting. Now it's true, I do like a chat. I was constantly busted at school for talking, passing notes and being generally disruptive. I so abused the message system of John Fairfax's antediluvian computer network back in the 1980s that the message function was removed from my profile. Not once, but twice - after I discovered a way to send messages without it the first time. I've had a Mac and a fax machine for 21 years. A BlackBerry for five. A blog for four. And I have been on Twitter for three. During RAFW last year some took issue with my real-time Twitter coverage of the event, indignant that they were robbed of longform, more considered - and of course, 100% gratis - analysis. And yes I did Tweet during last week's Refinery 29 presentation. A fact that was apparently not lost on Fletcher, who writes:

"...it's a little off topic but the thing I was most struck by at the Refinery29 talk was the behaviour of the MC..... while she was interviewing Philip and Piera from Refinery29, she was tweeting.

I'm talking about breaking eye contact during an interview to tap away on a Blackberry. Now, I understand that her social media coverage would have given the event more attention that it might have recieved otherwise. I realise that her Twitter followers would have wanted to know her thoughts on the event as it unfolded. She was doing her job. But it just seemed quite rude. What is the etiquette here? Am I being old fashioned?"

I would just like to clarify a few points here.

The only Tweets dispatched during the presentation by yours truly covered a few key points made by von Borries and Gelardi during their addresses, which took approximately 50 minutes. While I was seated in the audience. As did other attendees.

I did not, however, Tweet during the Q&A itself. I was referring to a list of prepared questions on my BlackBerry.

At the very end, as we were wrapping up, I checked to see if there had been any responses to the earlier Tweets. I thought von Borries and Gelardi might find this feedback interesting. And retweeted several times was the following point made by von Borries:

"You can't do things the old way anymore".

Indeed.

Some people use a notebook on the public speaking podium. Others, cue cards. It's not considered rude if they break eye contact to refer to their notes and questions, so what's the big deal with a handheld?

Fletcher, FYI, is the assistant editor of The Walkley Magazine, which is published by the Walkley Foundation, a non profit dedicated to the promotion of excellence in Australian journalism and which administers the industry's leading annual awards, the Walkleys.

Gail Elliott's Little Joe to make its runway debut at RAFW - possibly christened by Cindy Crawford and Yasmin Le Bon

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vogue.co.uk

We have just seen Elle Macpherson, Kristen McMenamy, Stella Tennant and Kristy Hume return to the runway. Could their '80s/'90s catwalk colleagues Gail Elliott, Cindy Crawford and Yasmin Le Bon be about to follow suit at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week? There's definitely a chance. Frockwriter can reveal that Sydney-based Elliott is planning to show her Little Joe label at the upcoming Sydney event, which will run from May 3-7 at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. At Tuesday's Calvin Klein dinner in Sydney, Elliott's husband and business partner, Joe Coffey, told frockwriter that they have locked in a show for 12.00pm on Tuesday May 4th in the largest venue. When asked if Crawford and Le Bon might fly down to support their mate on the runway, he replied that discussions are underway. Elliott would most likely only appear in the show if Crawford and Le Bon turn up, said Coffey. The show will mark not only the eight year-old label's runway debut, but its return to wholesaling after a hiatus, during which the duo concentrated on strengthening their Australian store network, which now stands at six.

The supermod trio modelled together and have remained close friends.

Christensen and Le Bon were both bridesmaids at Elliott's 1997 wedding to Coffey in New York and appear on the Little Joe website with Elliott, wearing Little Joe.

And Crawford has lent her star power to promote Elliott's label on at least one other occasion:

Calvin Klein's ice breaker

Just got back from a second Calvin Klein dinner in almost as many days. Downunder to talk at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival's Business Seminar on Friday, Calvin Klein Collection women's creative director Francisco Costa (above) and the company's executive vice president global communications, Sydney-bred Malcolm Carfrae, have been busy entertaining. First there was Sunday night's dinner down in Melbourne (here is WWD's report - FYI it was Marie Claire Australia editor Jackie Frank leading the "skull!" chorus). Then last night's dinner at Sydney's Coco Republic to launch Calvin Klein Home furniture, with Calvin Klein Home creative director Amy Mellen. Earlier in the day, the trio chilled out at Bondi, lunching at the iconic Icebergs restaurant, before taking a dip in the ocean, during which they were joined by a pod of dolphins. Costa reports he wore boardshorts - and not the budgie smugglers that he purchased on the weekend at the Middle Brighton Baths just outside Melbourne. Costa chose a pair with the word "ICEBERGERS" emblazoned across the derrière, named after the sea baths' year-round "Icebergers" swimming club. Not to be confused with Bondi's near century-old Icebergs swimming club over which the Icebergs restaurant was built.

Gail Reid bound for Roberto Cavalli?

Well so Reid told me last night at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival opening ceremony, that was staged inside the Victorian Italianate splendour of the state ballroom of Melbourne's Government House - a whisper of which is visible in the background of this shot. No, there are apparently no plans to discontinue Reid's Gail Sorronda label. Reid reports she is planning to commute between her Paris base and Cavalli's Florence headquarters as a contracted freelance consultant. A gig that would no doubt do wonders for her cashflow, not to mention provide an invaluable insight into the machinations of a major European fashion house.

A chat with Michael Angel

This blog has talked about New York-based Australian designer Michael Angel on several occasions. First, when his collection popped up in US Vogue, before there was a peep out of its Australian counterpart (which has yet to cover his work, reports Angel). Then we interviewed him via phone backstage, moments before he opened New York Fashion Week. Frockwriter just returned from a Calvin Klein dinner at Cutler & Co in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, where we finally got to meet Angel in person. Calvin Klein Collection designer Francisco Costa and the company's head of communications, Malcolm Carfrae, will both talk at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival's Business Seminar on Friday. Later today, Angel will take part in something called the Designer Forum. Here's a preview of a few points he will be discussing. The only quiet place we could find was the loo - hence the dim lighting - so we locked ourselves in one cubicle and filmed away.