Pacific Rose

holly rose emery by will bailey

Last week, frockwriter reported that Auckland model agency Red Eleven had high hopes for one of its new faces, Holly Rose Emery, on the runways of the upcoming New Zealand Fashion Week. And why wouldn't they? At  5'11.5", the angelic Auckland schoolgirl bears a passing resemblance to a few major modelling names, such as British Sixties fashion icon Twiggy and top contemporary girls, American Lindsey Wixson and Dutch world number #1 Lara Stone. Holly Rose has only been a model for three months but, like many others in her line of work, she is already fielding commentary about her weight – specifically, questions asking if she has an eating disorder. Yes, there are some models who suffer from eating disorders and are painfully thin. Just as there are some actors, athletes, dancers - not to mention people who have nothing to do with modelling, film, sport or ballet - who also suffer from eating disorders and who are painfully thin. Many are convinced that exposure to images of thin fashion models is the root cause of the problem. Others disagree. In any event, with a BMI of 18, Holly Rose is considered to be in a healthy weight range for her age and height. It was a different story two years ago.

In Vogue: Catherine McNeil and Miles Langford

catherine mcneil's instagram

And in news just in, Catherine McNeil has a new love interest: British model Miles Langford. But far more newsworthy, we feel, than the fact that McNeil is taking a break from the laydees (prompting some minor kvetching from lesbian forums such as The L Chat) is the birth of a cool new modelling It couple. After McBeha - the hybrid nickname for McNeil and former gf, Danish model Freja Beha Erichsen - and McNeil’s brief engagement to Australian model-turned MTV VJ-turned DJ Ruby Rose, we give you MiCat. Well, that's what we're calling them. 

The showgirls and boys: Clyne Models - NZFW Autumn/Winter 2013

cait kneller by megan christiansen

Next in our series of New Zealand Fashion Week 2012 showcards from the key Kiwi agencies comes Clyne Models. With more focus than ever before on the Australasian modelling market right now, the ante has most definitely been upped in New Zealand, with Clyne Models at the head of the pack. This is the agency that launched Jessica Clarke, Emily Baker and newcomer Ella Verberne. While Verberne is getting her bearings overseas, Clarke has walked for Calvin Klein and Victoria's Secret. And Baker, of course, emerged out of nowhere to become one of the most talked-about new faces of Fall/Winter 2011/2012, walking in no less than 60 shows in her first international show season last year, immediately nabbing a spot on models.com's hard-to-crack Top 50 Women list - which is almost unheard-of.

The showgirls and boys: 62 Models - NZFW Autumn/Winter 2013

elena buckley via 62 models

New Zealand Fashion Week is just around the corner. But already, we hear, the world's biggest model agency, IMG Models, has been busy scouting in The Land of the Long White Cloud, with interest in a few new Kiwi faces. So who will rock next month's runways in Auckland and which new names might emerge? Next in frockwriter's NZFW showcards series,  the showcards from 62 Models.  

The showgirls and boys: Red Eleven Models - NZFW Autumn/Winter 2013

holly rose by amanda betts/red eleven models

New Zealand Fashion Week is rapidly approaching - September 3-7 – and as with any fashion week, eyes will of course not only be on the designers, but the models. With more focus on Australian and New Zealand modelling talent than ever before - not to mention the recent antipodian beachhead recently established in Sydney by the world's biggest modelling agency, IMG Models - we thought we would preview some of the models who will be walking Auckland's runways next month. Continuing on from the showcard series we previewed in the leadup to May's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, here are the NZFW showcards from a few of the key New Zealand agencies. First up, Red Eleven Models.

Megan Gale, Courtney Eaton join Mad Max 4. Abbey Lee Kershaw cast as "The Dag"

Filming continues apace in Namibia on the fourth instalment of George Miller's dystopian action flick Mad Max: Fury Road and the production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell has finally coughed up a few details. Chic Management confirmed Abbey Lee Kershaw had been cast, but now comes news that Kershaw's co-stars include two other Australian models, one a very big name down under.  

Back to Black: Ismini Papa and Lewis Grant by Michele Aboud

Michele Aboud is one of our favourite photographers (incidentally, she is also one of our oldest friends). Continuing on in the series of frockwriter exclusives, here is a brand new photoshoot from Aboud starring Ismini Papa and Lewis Grant. With stellar Sydney stylist Bex Sheers on hand, the dark night rises on a wardrobe of edgy Australian and European brands, from Chronicles of Never to Alistair Trung, Opus9, Ann Demeulemeester, Damir Doma, Rick Owens and Kris Van Assche. 

Julia Nobis, undergrad supermod

via zimbio.com

She might have been overlooked by some of Australia's biggest media outlets, but fashion aficionados were thrilled to spot Julia Nobis in the David Jones Spring/Summer 2012/2013 show on Tuesday. The 20 year-old Sydneysider has ruled the international runways for the past two seasons, clocking up a whopping 73 shows in March, prompting WWD to dub her "The face of Fall". But as Nobis discovered this week, the runway protocols of major brands such as Prada and Louis Vuitton can differ greatly from those espoused by Australian retailers. With the DJs show being filmed by the Arena channel for a special that will air on August 20th, more than one audience member giggled at the sight of an Arena producer holding up a quaint "Smile" sign at the end of the runway (below). Nobis, who is better-acquainted with backstage model cue cards that read "strictly no smiling", did her best to muster a smirk. Frockwriter caught up with her after the show.  

There's no other store (for top models) like David Jones

As the August vacations wind down in the northern hemisphere and the fash pack contemplates getting back to work, starting with the Spring/Summer 2013 season which kicks off in a few weeks, Australians are heading into our own summer season. David Jones was the first cab off the rank last night with its Spring/Summer 2012/2013 launch, a riot of colour and cartoon heroes. To showcase the store's edit of some of the best Australian collections of the season from leading names such as Josh Goot, Dion Lee, Camilla, Zimmermann, We Are Handsome, Lisa Ho and new Djs stablemate Gary Bigeni, was a swag of top Australian models. Joining DJs' high profile ambassador Miranda Kerr was Sports Illustrated covergirl Jessica Gomes - who looked like Wonder Woman in some novelty swimwear courtesy Romance Was Born - and rising stars such as Rose Smith, Montana Cox, Jemma Baines, Nicole Pollard, Bambi Northwood-Blyth, Jack Vanderhart and Jordan and Zac Stenmark, all of whom have made waves on international runways in recent seasons. The biggest of all, after Kerr, was Julia Nobis, who was booked as a David Jones exclusive, which means you won't be seeing her at Myer's show tomorrow.

Banned by Instagram: Matthew Stone's Pussy Riot protest

matthew stone via showstudio

We first met enigmatic British multi-disciplinary artist, writer, musician, DJ - oh, and shaman - Matthew Stone in 2007 backstage at Gareth Pugh. Stone is a graduate of the Camberwell College of Arts and a co-founder of the Peckham art collective !WOWOW! and his work has been exhibited all over the world. Over the past 18 months, moreover, he has crossed over into commercial fashion photography. Stone's work appears on the cover of this month's i-D magazine and within weeks, as we originally revealed, his advertising campaign for Jean Paul Gaultier's Kokorico fragrance – starring a naked Andrej Pejic – will land. But none of this appears to have impressed hipster photo app Instagram, which censored Stone's NSFW artwork in support of jailed Russian feminist punk rock outfit Pussy Riot.

Adin Taylor and Kye D'Arcy get their Grindr on

adin taylor in 'brief encounters' via interview magazine

Modelling is an increasingly popular career option for men, including more and more Australians, as documented by this blog. In some cases - as recounted to frockwriter - it is not without copping a vigorous ribbing from some of their peers that the profession is a little, well, 'gay'. Indeed, one young male model mentioned that he turned up at his local sports club one day to find his modelling photos plastered all over the walls. You have to wonder what the locker room would make of this designer underwear spread just posted by Interview magazine, which depicts two dozen young male models - including Australians Adin Taylor (above) and Kye D'Arcy (below)  - pretending that they are taking shots of themselves for the infamous gay cruising app Grindr.

Cheburashka, the London 2012 Olympics' short Russian

via bosco sport's facebook

It wouldn't be an Olympics without some cringeworthy mascots and Wenlock and Mandeville, who were designed by Grant Hunter - apparently after watching Monsters Inc – certainly don't disappoint. They join a plush pantheon of ghastly Olympic toys that of course includes Sydney 2000's own horrific Millie, Ollie and Syd. Team GB's mascot, Pride the lion, avoids the kitsch factor but sadly, also the kawaii factor. But all is not lost. The Russians have brought Cheburashka to town.

Japan accuses Russia of synchronising Miu Miu

getty via daylife

Russia's Natalia Ischenko and Svetlana Romashina are the reigning queens of synchronised swimming. Their high energy routines have earned them multiple world championships and after a mesmerising performance on Monday, they are now tipped to win the duet gold medal today. But one fashionista has given them a poor score for the originality of their costumes. 

Top 10 fashion trends at the London 2012 Olympics

Form follows function, right? Yes and no when it comes to the London 2012 Olympics, where the apparel and accoutrements are a mix of stuff that makes you fast, stuff that keeps flies out of your ears - and stuff that gets you noticed. Here are frockwriter's picks for the top trends of Week One.  

Did Miranda Kerr neglect to stitch up a Laurent Darmon photoshoot?

laurent darmon

Rarely does a day go by, it seems, without an image of Miranda Kerr being published on an international news site, usually with Flynn, her 18 month-old son with Orlando Bloom, in tow. But a new set of far racier images of Kerr have just surfaced and are spreading across the net at record speed - the exact origins of which appear for the moment to be a mystery. NSFW