Was opening ceremony gatecrasher Madhura Nagendra suffering from Beatlemania?

stella mccartney's instagram

So far India has only won one medal at the 2012 London Olympics: Gagan Narang took out bronze in the 10 metre air rifle. But one of Narang's compatriots has nabbed a gold medal in self promotion. Although her father claims she was asked by organisers to accompany the team, Indian Olympic officials remain "totally dazed" as to how twentysomething Bangalore–born, London School of Business and Finance MBA student and opening ceremony dancer Madhura Nagendra managed to embed herself with the Indian team for a victory lap of the Olympic Stadium on Friday night. And she didn't just walk alongside the team. No, she was positioned front-and-centre in the most prestigious spot – leading proceedings, alongside flagbearer Sushil Kumar. According to LOCOG chairman Lord Sebastian Coe, who sent a letter of apology to the Indian delegation and is looking into the matter, Nagendra got "overly excited". Frockwriter has another theory: Beatlemania.

MGM/Columbia/Sony and Tom Ford take product placement to a new level at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony

machdwallpapers.com via skyfall official/sony pictures

The pièce de résistance of the just-wrapped, Danny Boyle-directed London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony was undoubtedly the pre-taped scene in which British actor Daniel Craig, in character as James Bond 007, got to live out his 'On her Majesty's secret service' mandate by meeting real-life Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. After a few corgi cameos, the  duo then embarked on an amusing, mocked-up chopper ride and paraglider "drop" into the Olympic stadium. This time, of course, it wasn't quite so secret, with the ceremony watched by an estimated one billion. Craig looked ultra sharp, in an impeccably–tailored tuxedo (below) that would have been a fabulous plug for one of Britain's greatest sartorial exports – bespoke Savile Row tailoring. But was it British tailoring – or American?

Bambi Northwood-Blyth also has a dicky knee

bambi northwood-blyth's twitter

What is with Australian models and knee injuries? Following February’s news about Abbey Lee Kershaw undergoing surgery in New York for a long-standing knee problem – and our revelation earlier this month that bad knees run in the Kershaw family – comes news that Bambi Northwood-Blyth has bunged up one of hers.

Richard Nicoll to launch his own eyewear line

ksubi x richard nicoll SS08/hintmag

Over the past five years, London-based, Aussie-raised fashion star Richard Nicoll whet the appetite of the sunglasses-buying public with two tantalising, limited edition eyewear ranges designed in tandem with his mates at cult Sydney denim and streetwear brand Ksubi - most recently for Spring/Summer 2012. Earlier this week in Sydney, he told frockwriter he is about to launch his own line.

Miranda Kerr and Nicole Trunfio sign with IMG Australia

backstage at david jones AW12 (kerr) and AW11

Back in June, frockwriter first reported that IMG Models was about to open up shop in Sydney with the new agency due to be headed up by Danielle Ragenard, the former general manager of high profile Sydney modelling agency Chic Management. We also predicted that Chic Management star Miranda Kerr would be IMG's first client – and that others may follow her. Following a report today that Kerr has now left Chic Management, IMG Australia – the official name of the newest division of the world's biggest modelling agency – has confirmed to frockwriter that Kerr joined the agency a week ago. And Kerr is not the only name on the books.

Seven minutes with Christine Centenera

You've got to hand it to Christine Centenera. The former fashion editor of Harpers Bazaar Australia, newly-appointed senior fashion editor of Vogue Australia and fashion director of the soon-to-be-unveiled "diffusion brand" Miss Vogue, consultant to Kanye West and Ksubi – not to mention life partner of hotshot Australian designer Josh Goot – is one of the most globally-visible Australian fashion figures. If not the most visible, with her killer personal style religiously documented by the world's fashion media every time she steps out at an international fashion event. And much to her eternal chagrin it seems. Another thing that singles the über stylish, part-Filipino out is her humility. In a world of attention whores, Centenera seems genuinely embarrassed by the attention, barely putting herself out there in social media – with just a recent Instagram account to her name.

Andrej Pejic is shooting a reality television show

vestal magazine via models.com

It was only a matter of time, surely, before Andrej Pejic scored his very own reality television show. In July last year, in fact, he hinted there had been an approach, when he put the question to his Twitter followers “Should I do a reality tv show? I mean what would I have…. to say”.

Laura Brown hosts The Look

laura brown's twitter

Elle Macpherson has hosted the first season of Fashion Star on NBC in the US and two seasons, so far, of Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model on Sky Living. Now another Sydney expat, Laura Brown, is getting a crack at hosting a broadcast fashion show beyond these shores – at least, a mini online version. Here is a preview of The Look, which will debut on the new Hearst/YouTube channel Hello Style tomorrow.

Dicky knees run in the Kershaw family

vogue china via TFS

Some celeb family members like to keep out of the spotlight, but not the Kershaws, it seems. When Abbey Lee Kershaw was recently asked by Vogue China if any of her kin would oblige for a family-inspired editorial spread, baby brother Tim flew to New York to help out. The result is this month’s 10-page ‘Modern Family’ spread shot by Daniel Jackson, which features two of the three highly photogenic Kershaw siblings (there is another older sister, Courtney, who did not participate). Another budding Kershaw supermod in the making perhaps? Not according to dad Kim Kershaw, who provided a few insights into the close-knit clan.

Lara Stone rocks it out with Myles Crosby and Steven Klein for Calvin Klein Jeans FW1213

The US might be in the grips of a record heatwave but the Fall/Winter campaigns keep on rolling out. Today, American sportswear icon Calvin Klein unveils five new campaigns for the upcoming winter season. Here is a first look at the Calvin Klein Jeans campaign that was shot by Steven Klein and stars world number one model, Lara Stone - the face of Calvin Klein for the past two years - alongside American Myles Crosby, in his second season with the company. All the campaigns were shot in New York under the creative direction of CRK, Calvin Klein Inc's in-house ad agency, in tandem with consultant creative director Fabien Baron. Go the metallics.  

Chesty Bond market

Australian women were all over this week’s haute couture runways in Paris - playing tag team, in fact, with their male counterparts, who wrapped up the Spring/Summer 2013 ready-to-wear menswear season in the City of Light last Sunday. Aussie male models continued their assault on the menswear market, with at least nine names nabbing blue chip shows in London, Milan and Paris. Leading the pack, once again, was Brisbane’s Angus Low who walked in 16 shows, with fellow Brisbanite, Joel Meacock and Byron Bay’s Kye D’Arcy, hot on Low’s heels.

Girls on film: Abbey Lee Kershaw on the set of Mad Max 4

newscom via TFS

Not much came from the might-be-working-with-Steven Spielberg Chinese whisper, but the speculation wasn't too far from the truth: Abbey Lee Kershaw has joined the cast of Mad Max 4: Fury Road. Following months of anonymous tip offs, Kershaw's Australian modelling agency Chic Management has confirmed to frockwriter that she has indeed been cast in the film and is currently on set in Namibia's Dorob National Park. And now the first photographic evidence.

Couture Chic

Australian agency Chic Management might be girding its loins for the imminent touchdown of IMG Models in Sydney and a potential run for its money as the toughest model negotiator in town, but when it came to the crème de la crème of world fashion events – the Paris haute couture shows, which wrapped yesterday – it had a clear monopoly. In the biggest Australian haute couture season that frockwriter can certainly recall, a total of nine antipodians worked the runways, seven of them repped in Australia by Chic: Montana Cox, Chrystal Copland, Nicole Pollard, Jemma Baines, Alexandra Agoston, Catherine McNeil and Ajak Deng (Deng is represented in Sydney only; her mother agent/personal manager is Stephen Bucknall from FRM Management in Melbourne). While it was the first haute couture season for Cox, Copland, Pollard and Baines, interesting to see McNeil and Agoston back at the couture for the first time in, by our estimate, three years.

Frockwriter turns four. Where to from here?

4th july barbie/the couture touch

It’s the fourth of July, which makes it American Independence Day. And of course, frockwriter’s birthday. Now we are four. At this time, I usually take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of the previous year. On this occasion, I’d like to take a more holistic view of the blog’s entire four year career, including some reflections on the experiment with the Press+ metered paywall, which was introduced in February. Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe frockwriter is the world’s first fashion blog to introduce a paywall. As a guinea pig in this arena, I would like to provide some insights. It has been quite an interesting perspective on consumer behaviour.