New Zealand's next top model: Anmari Botha

david oldham for wonderland via red eleven

It’s not only Australia that is proving to be a major launchpad for international modelling careers at the moment. Scouts and casting directors are also looking towards New Zealand. Frockwriter has talked about Jessica Clarke and Emily Baker, the latter emerging overnight in February 2011 to become one of the most buzzed-about new faces of the Fall/Winter 2011/2012 show season. In the leadup to last month’s New Zealand Fashion Week we wondered if perhaps Cait Kneller might be the next Kiwi star. Noone mentioned Anmari Botha.

both images courtesy red eleven (first shot: markus lambert)

Born in South Africa, raised in New Zealand and originally scouted when she was just 12 while riding in the Auckland suburb of Albany, Botha, now 18, has been modelling for two years.

In 2010, according to her New Zealand agency Red Eleven, she was on hold for nine shows at that year’s New Zealand Fashion Week. Only Salasai wound up booking her.

In 2011, she walked in at least 10 NZFW shows, the agency reports.

Since signed internationally to IMG Models, Botha [pronounced ‘Bota’] headed overseas at the beginning of this year and has made quite an impression. No surprises there. At 1.82cm, this glacial blonde with piercing blue eyes is part modern tomboy, part mid century glamour heroine who, pending the styling, has a knack for looking like she just stepped off the set of a Hitchcock thriller.

givenchy FW1213/style.com

Botha made her international runway debut at the Paris haute couture shows in January, walking for Giambattista Valli, Christophe Josse and a two-day presentation for Givenchy. She was then booked as an exclusive by Givenchy for its ready-to-wear show at Paris Fashion Week in March. Next came the Resort 2013 lookbooks of 3.1 Philip Lim and J. Mendel and a second appearance at the July haute couture shows, walking for Armani Privé and Maison Martin Margiela.

Spring/Summer 2013 was her first full show season and she nabbed 31 shows, including a number of blue chip brand names, from Tom Ford to Chanel, Lanvin, Fendi, Saint Laurent and Dolce e Gabbana.

Editorial work to date includes New Zealand’s Black magazine and internationally, Wonderland magazine (top and video, above), ELLE China, SOMA Magazine and the brand new CR Fashion Book launched by ex Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld, who is quite the Botha fan, it seems. Roitfeld chose Botha as one of a handful of new faces for her Fashion’s Rising Stars profile (below) and recently told The New Zealand Herald: 

"I think she is going to be big. When we finished shooting her she sent me some flowers, which I thought was really sweet. I want to keep pushing her, because I think she is great."

anmari botha (third from right): jean baptiste mondino via CR fashion book