MBFWA Spring/Summer 12/13 live blog: Australian Fashion Week UNCUT

Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week is here and a quick word, as per tradition, about how to navigate Frockwriter's coverage. I am doing something a little bit different this year: a collab with another Sydney-based blogger, Emma Ashton at Reality Ravings. Emma is Australia's leading authority on the absolutely exploding genre of reality television. We have been Twitter mates for a while and recently tossed some ideas around about a joint venture for Fashion Week. The idea we eventually came up with: a tandem live blog covering all angles of the event. Why reality tv? You can't surely have failed to notice an incredible convergence between fashion and reality television of late, with a growing number of fashion-focussed reality shows, from the Next Top Model franchise to Project Runway and Fashion Star. There is a particularly big focus on realty tv at this year's Australian Fashion Week, with former winners and contestants of AusNTM modelling (you will recognise a few of them above), a Project Runway winner on the runway, alongside US reality show star Whitney Port, among many other reality tv connections. Here are the nuts and bolts of our coverage, below – and just to clarify, this post is totally ungated/unmetered, i.e. it is not part of Frockwriter's new subscription service. It is 100% free to view in other words – as is our new pop-up blog, Fashion Week UNCUT.

De-Sex: Phoenix Keating - Spring/Summer 12/13

henryk lobaczewski

With Australia's biggest frockfest - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia - just around the corner, the off-schedule action continues apace. This morning, Carla Zampatti confirmed that one of the biggest fashion stories of recent seasons – the lace dress – is far from over with, among other looks, a sensational series of second-skin, stretch lace dresses and separates in a sugared-almond palette, popped with tangerine. Tonight, it's Phoenix Keating's turn. In the year since we first profiled Keating, the now 21 year-old Sydney designer managed to attract the attention of Lady Gaga, who wore several of his pieces during her appearances in Sydney in July last year. Unlike some other emerging Australian designers, Keating isn't just all show and no sell. He sells through four Australian stockists and has a custom 'couture' business. But Gaga might well be interested in Keating's new 'De-Sex' SS1213 collection which is all about "the de-sexualisation of fetish" and blends some mid century vintage silhouettes with sharp tailoring and a little Latex and rope binding. Here is a first look at the collection – via a series of images shot by Henryk Lobaczewski, starring Lauren Moody. 

The producers: Lara Karamian - MBFWA SS 12/13

backstage at miss couture SS1112, sydney, may 2011/lara karamian

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia starts next Monday in Sydney and today, the event began to bump in to the Overseas Passenger Terminal site. Production teams are scrambling to put the finishing touches to show concepts. Yesterday, as part of frockwriter's pre-MBFWA series, we posted a chat with producer Mark Vassallo. And now here is a Q+A with Lara Karamian, arguably the busiest producer of the week. Karamian has been with Australian Fashion Week for 12 years. After graduating from the University of Technology of Sydney in 2000 with a Bachelor of Management – and a major in event management – she worked as an event producer for Spin Communications, the sister company of Fashion Week founder Australian Fashion Innovators, eventually moving onto Fashion Week proper as an in-house producer. In 2005, Karamian founded her own independent events company called LARA INC and today counts Alex Perry, Lisa Ho, Toni Maticevski, David Jones, Marie Claire, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Australia's Next Top Model among her clients. 

The producers: Mark Vassallo - MBFWA SS 12/13

backstage at josh goot SS1112/sydney may 2011

Sydney-born, but now "globally"-based  (or so he says on his new website), Mark Vassallo has had a hand in some of Australian Fashion Week’s biggest fashion ‘moments’ of recent years. He has played the roles of independent publisher (Mark and Petit Mal), editor (Follow), fashion director (Harpers Bazaar Australia), creative director, casting director and stylist. He launched the career of Gemma Ward, among others. And he has helmed a number of memorable  runway presentations, for designers such as Josh Goot, Dion Lee and Romance Was Born. As part of frockwriter’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia SS1213 series, we thought we should give it up for - and pick the brains of - some of the hardest-working, least-visible players of the fashion week pack – the producers. First up: Vassallo. 

The designers: Camilla - MBFWA Spring/Summer 12/13 preview

camilla franks SS1213 lookbook/justin ridler

Are Australians renowned for their love of colour? You bet. We live surrounded by surf, sun, sand, The Great Barrier Reef, Rainbow Lorikeets and the red earth of the outback and this seems to be reflected in much of the clothing we wear. Picking up where legendary Australian designers Linda Jackson and Jenny Kee left off back in the 1980s, Camilla Franks, Sydney's co-called 'kaftan queen', is responsible for some of this country's most dazzling resortwear. On Monday 30th April Franks will present the biggest show of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, when she showcases her Spring/Summer 2012/2013 'Gypset' collection on 42 models. Here is an exclusive preview of six styles from her SS1213 lookbook shot by Justin Ridler on Ollie Henderson and Kendall Walters.

The Distance Between: LIFEwithBIRD - Spring/Summer 12/13

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is a fortnight away and the off-schedule action has begun. This morning, under the spectacular raw concrete arched ceiling of the Utzon Room inside the Sydney Opera House - directly across the harbour from MBFWA's Overseas Passenger Terminal base - Bridget McCall and Nicholas van Messner presented the Spring/Summer 2012/2013 collection of their LIFEwithBIRD label, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. 

Elyse Taylor shoots a Victoria's Secret fragrance campaign with Michael Bay

elyse taylor for victoria's secret swimwear

Another day, another Australian model scores an international fragrance campaign. Last week it was the Sunshine Coast's Codie Young - the solo face of Marc Jacobs' new Dot campaign. Now comes news that Sydney's Elyse Taylor appears in the new 'Love is Heavenly' fragrance campaign for US lingerie and swimwear giant Victoria's Secret, shot by action director Michael Bay (videos below). Taylor - a recent frontwoman of Australian swim and surf brands Tigerlily and O'Neill - is described by Victoria's Secret as a 'new face'. She co-stars in the commercial alongside two Victoria's Secret 'Angels', Erin Heatherton and Lindsay Ellingson.

The showgirls: Priscillas Model Management - MBFWA SS 12/13

amelia zadro/tommy clark via priscillas

Sadly, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012 will be Nobis-less. That is, without Julia Nobis, one of the world's busiest showgirls, who is currently otherwise occupied with far more pressing matters in Europe. Regular readers will recall that Nobis broke her own show record in March, by walking in 73 shows from New York to Paris for the Fall/Winter 2012/2013 season. But the Nobis mothership - Priscillas Model Management - does have a posse of some 30 showgirls for MBFWA, including big local names such as Emma Balfour, Alice Burdeu, Ruby Jean Wilson, Lauren Brown, Bambi Northwood-Blyth and Amanda Ware; exciting new girls like Amelia Zadro (above) and some cool internationals.  

The showboys: Priscillas Model Management - MBFWA SS 12/13

jacob hankin/jordan graham via priscillas

Judging by the traffic over the past week, it's clear that some readers can't get enough of frockwriter's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Spring/Summer 2012/2013 model showcard posts. So here are two more for you: the women' and mens' show packs from another major Australian agency, Priscillas Model Management. First up, the guys - who include a half dozen new faces who have never previously been seen at the event. Two cases in point Jacob Hankin (above) and Sylvester Terzini - the son of famed Sydney restaurateur Maurice Terzini (Icebergs, North Bondi Italian Food, Nield Avenue etc...). They join established local names such as Max Pernickety, Juan Onekawa, Mason Mulholland and Nathaniel Rooklyn and a few internationals.

The showboys: Gear Model Management - MBFWA SS 12/13

jono palmer via gear model management

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is primarily a showcase of womenswear collections. That said, a few designers also do menswear and this year's event, which runs from April 30th - May 4th at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal, includes one group menswear show. All the agencies whose MBFWA SS1213 womens' showcard packs frockwriter has published over the past three days - from Chic to Chadwick, Viviens and The Agency Models - also of course represent men, who will be out and about at MBFWA show castings, alongside their female colleagues. This time we thought we would focus on some guys. It's a particularly strong group of new faces from another new, niche Sydney agency called Gear Model Management (which, likewise, also represents women). These new faces include striking 22 year-old Sydneysider Jono Palmer (above), who looks like the love child of Andrej Pejic and Megadeth's Dave Mustaine. 

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. 

The showgirls: Viviens Model Management - MBFWA SS 12/13

eliza baker via busy models

Who will be walking the runways of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia later this month in Sydney? Here is the third instalment in frockwriter's MBFWA SS 12/13 showgirls series. After the Chic Management and Chadwick agencies, now comes Viviens. And while there are some well-known names here - such as Melissa Johannsen, Avril Alexander and Vanessa Milde - what's interesting about this particular model pack is that of the 41 women being promoted by Viviens for the event, over half are new faces. The agency reports there is already considerable interest from MBFWA designers in newcomer Eliza Baker (pictured above). 

The showgirls: Chadwick Models - MBFWA SS 12/13

georgia herbert/cameron etchells via an adventure

So who will walk the runways of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia? Here is Part II of frockwriter's MBFWA SS1213 showgirls series: the show pack from Chadwick Models. Once again, it's a mix of new, established and international faces. It is a testament to the ongoing success of the Australian modelling industry that, as with Chic Management, Chadwick's show pack includes two models who, although hitherto unseen at Australian Fashion Week, already have international runway experience. Jenna Hall has walked at Berlin Fashion Week. And Claire Collins has done one international ready-to-wear season. Oh - and a Chanel haute couture show. Our new fave Katerina Chang is also new to the event; as is Kiwi Brigette Thomas, the 2011 winner of New Zealand's Next Top Model.  

The showgirls: Chic Management - MBFWA SS 12/13

gabby westbrook-patrick/chic management

The big kahuna of Australian fashion showcases – Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia – is just around the corner, April 30th – May 4th. The official schedule is now confirmed. But who is going to walk the runways? Frockwriter has some answers. For their Spring/Summer 2012/2013 'show packages' - that is, the models promoted by each Australian model agency to designers for the season - the agencies have gathered together an exciting mix of new faces, local runway veterans and some internationals who are flying in as we speak for castings. Here is Chic Management’s MBFWA lineup. 

Codie Young is the face of Marc Jacobs' latest fragrance

via wwd

Congratulations are due to Codie Young on the occasion of her first fragrance campaign. The Sunshine Coast model is the face of Marc Jacobs' third womens' fragrance, 'Dot', which is due to be released in the US and UK in July according to a story in the April 6 edition of WWD, which also reports a projected global first year retail sales estimate of US$100million. With this campaign under her belt, 19 year-old Young - who has been modelling for under two years - has entered the ranks of Australia's highest earning models. How many other Australians have scored international fragrance deals? They include Alyssa Sutherland (Bulgari), Gemma Ward (Calvin Klein), Abbey Lee Kershaw (Gucci), Andrej Pejic (Jean Paul Gaultier), Catherine McNeil (Narciso Rodriguez), Skye Stracke (Cacharel), Sarah Stephens (Lacoste) and Juliana Forge (Ralph Lauren). 

McCarthy era

Michele Aboud is an Australian fashion photographer whose work has been published in pretty much every local fashion magazine, in addition to international titles such as Interview and UK Grazia. Her extensive advertising work includes brands such as Scanlan & Theodore, Jigsaw, Witchery, Smirnoff, Nokia and Singapore's Club 21. In this unpublished story shot in and around a gritty inner Sydney motel, she channels a little French nouvelle vague with some help from Stella McCartney, Givenchy and Sydney-ites Lou Lou McCarthy and model/actor Benjamin Ross.

In Vogue: Chrystal Copland

theotherfashion via TFS

Another week, another Perth model lands a magazine cover. First, Tom Bull cracks his first cover with The Australian's Wish magazine, for April. And now Chrystal Copland has landed her first international cover - no less than Vogue Italia, also for April. Copland is part of an ensemble cast posing in the magazine's 'Prom Night' cover story, shot, as always, by the inimitable Steven Meisel. There are two covers; one, complete with freakish masks. So far no good highres versions have appeared, but above is an out-take and below are both versions of the final cover in lowres. And Australia's other Vogue Italia covergirls.