New faces: Grace Simmons

Australia’s Next Top Model is back in the news with this morning’s announcement that former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins is the new host for Cycle 8, which commences production in January. But while AusNTM has proven to be the most successful NTM franchise in the world in terms of springboarding international modelling careers – from Alice Burdeu to Amanda Ware and Montana Cox – the Girlfriend Model Search remains Australia's most successful modelling competition overall. Alumni include Abbey Lee Kershaw, Catherine McNeil, Alyssa Sutherland, Pania Rose, Jemma Baines and Chrystal Copland. Grace Simmons is the latest GMS inductee.

Crowned last week as the 2012 Girlfriend Model Search winner, the 16 year-old Queenslander, who originally hails from Darwin, has won a two year modeling contract with Chic Management in Sydney – coincidentally the agency partner of AusNTM – in addition to a contract with Chic’s New York affiliate Next Model Management.

It has been a very big couple of months for Simmons who, as it emerges, it quite the equestrienne.

Simmons and her beloved pony Cliché (below) are multiple recipients of Australian equestrian accolades. Just last month, Simmons was crowned Champion Rider in the 15-17 years category at the Show Horse Council 2012 Hack of the Year, with Cliché also taking out not only Reserve Champion in the Small Hack Class, but the Supreme Hack category.

Earlier in October, Simmons was crowned the national Reserve Champion Senior Rider at the Australian Interschool 2012 Championships at Toowomba Showgrounds.

Simmons entered the GMS voluntarily. But regular readers of this blog will recall that antipodian equestrian events have become quite fruitful model scouting grounds – with another new Chic face, Molly Paisley spotted at one, ditto New Zealand’s Anmari Botha.  

With Julia Nobis co-starring alongside Black Caviar on the December cover of Australian Vogue, we hope to see Cliché make his fashion editorial debut with Simmons in the not-too-distant future – and have little doubt that Simmons will be making the acquaintance of many more hacks and clichés in the years to come in her modelling career.

all images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by chic management