Flynn Bloom likes the limelight, Miranda Kerr thinks her drug-free labour was "a bit crazy"

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Miranda Kerr is in town, as you know, spruiking David Jones. Below is a quick video chat backstage after last Wednesday’s runway show starring Kerr, in which she concedes that she found the prospect of doing the DJs' show in a swimsuit just seven months after giving birth “a little nerve-wracking” and confirms that she will be back on Victoria’s Secret runway later in the year. When asked what is the best thing about motherhood, Kerr notes “Everything, I just love it. There’s no word that could describe the joy and loveliness that it is to be a mother”. Undergoing a 27 hour labour without drugs may have given the supermod pause for some reflection however. She told frockwriter, “I was kind of a bit crazy not to but you know, I’d made my mind up and I’ll probably just see how I go next time”. As for Flynn, arguably the most overexposed baby on the planet right now, Kerr reveals that it’s a tough job trying not to give paps their money shots whenever she’s been out and about with Flynn in recent months. “You try your best to avoid it but it’s inevitable. And he was really into it. I tried to like, protect him but he comes around [flicks her head around, mimicking Flynn] because he likes the light”.

Rock on - David Jones Spring/Summer 2011/2012

Miranda Kerr has done rather a lot since she headed offshore to try her luck on the international fashion stage in 2005, like so many other eager Aussie hopefuls before her. The following year, after scoring a Maybelline contract, she landed what would evolve into a highly lucrative deal with US intimate apparel giant Victoria’s Secret. Kerr returned to the Australian market in 2008 in a big way as the new face of Australian department store David Jones, an astute marketing investment that is presumably costing DJs much less today than it is currently worth in media coverage. In the eighteen months since Kerr last walked DJs' biannual runway showcase, she has emerged as a truly global star – not just one of the world’s highest-paid models, but a household name whose every move is charted by the paps. Sure, the marriage to Hollywood heartthrob Orlando Bloom hasn’t hurt her profile, ditto the birth of their beautiful baby boy Flynn in January. So refreshing, then, to see Kerr backstage at DJ’s Spring/Summer 2011/2012 showcase on Wednesday night, hamming it up as just another one of the girls. 

Bath party: Marcs' five faces of Spring/Summer 2011/2012

Australian sportswear brand Marcs has been producing some cool advertising campaigns of late. Nabbing new Australian modelling superstar Julia Nobis was a good start of course. Nobis co-starred in the Spring/Summer 2010/2011 and Autumn/Winter 2011 campaigns with Broed Dilleward and Nick Hinman, respectively. Here is a first look at the SS1112 campaign, for which Marcs' creative director Rachel Allen has upped the ante with not two but five rising Australian stars: Chic's Rachel Rutt and Nicole Pollard, Viviens' Rosie Tupper, Priscillas' Andy Smith and EMG Models' Jack Vanderhart (who made his international debut at New York Fashion Week in February, with a Calvin Klein exclusive). Shot by Steven Chee, the campaign also showcases one of Australia's most beautiful sea baths: the heritage-listed Wylies Baths in Sydney's Coogee.

Krystal Glynn for Zambesi Spring/Summer 2011/2012, designers line up for NZFW

We mentioned that new Australian face Krystal Glynn had recently shot the Spring/Summer 2011/2012 advertising campaign for New Zealand brand Zambesi. Above and below is a first look at the campaign, which stars Glynn alongside Kiwis Josh Skelton and David Kemp and was lensed by Marissa Findlay (makeup by Amber D for MAC, hair by Jason Chong Li for Stephen Marr). Expect to see Glynn front and centre at Zambesi's runway show at the upcoming New Zealand Fashion Week, which runs from August 29th to September 2nd at brand new digs, the Viaduct Events Centre. Zambesi is one of nearly 60 brands that NZFW organisers announced earlier this week would be joining their Autumn/Winter 2012 showcase. Other headliners: World (which frockwriter hears is closing the event), Trelise Cooper, Helen Cherry and Workshop Denim, Jimmy D, Stolen Girlfriends Club and Miranda Brown. Solo debuts include newcomers Celine Rita, Ingrid Starnes and Whiri. Hats off to the resilience of two Christchurch-based labels that are joining this year's lineup: the very well-established luxury eco label Untouched World and newbie MisterR, whose Christchurch store was destroyed during February 22nd's devastating earthquake which claimed 182 lives.  

First look: Jacquetta Wheeler for Jigsaw Australia Spring 2011

Anthony Cuthbertson is a busy guy. Not only is the Brit import the new creative director of Australian sportswear brand David Lawrence, as it emerges he is also the creative director of Jigsaw Australia (which, like David Lawrence, is owned by the Sydney-based M Webster Holdings). The British high street brand celebrates its 20th anniversary downunder with the upcoming ‘Cool Britannia’-inspired Spring/Summer 2011/2012 collection of smart coats and sweet dresses, which launches in store at the end of this month and includes a capsule collection of swimwear, dresses, tops and skirts in Liberty of London’s iconic micro florals. To mark the occasion, Cuthbertson cast English rose Jacquetta Wheeler as the face of Jigsaw’s Max Doyle-lensed Spring 2011 campaign. Spotted by Mario Testino at age 16 in 1998 and named “model of the millennium” by The Face magazine in 1999, Wheeler's 13-year career has embraced advertising campaigns for the biggest names in the fashion business, including Gucci, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Prada, Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Roberto Cavalli. 

Wild orchid - Emma Balfour tones it up for David Lawrence Spring/Summer 2011/2012

David Lawrence evidently has a thing for women of a certain age. The 33 year-old Australian sportswear brand has chosen iconic fortysomething Australian model Emma Balfour as its campaign face for the second consecutive season. Herewith an exclusive preview of the Spring/Summer 2011/2012 advertising campaign shot by Australian fashion photographer Georges Antoni at one of the penthouses of Sydney bar/restaurant complex The Ivy. This is the second brand campaign orchestrated by new David Lawrence creative director Anthony Cuthbertson and his first full collection for the brand, which is owned by M Webster Holdings and has 101 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Cuthbertson brings considerable design experience to the job. The UK-born graduate of Leicester's De Montfort University and London’s Royal College of Art has spent a decade working as either creative director or designer at such well-known brands as Max Mara and Sportsmax, Moncler, Daks (creative director 2000-2006), Workers for Freedom, Burlington, Rene Lezard and Amanda Wakeley.

Christopher Esber's tuxedo junction

Although inexplicably missing from many RAFW writeups, Christopher Esber's show was one of the best presentations of 2011. Esber graduated in the same TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio class as Dion Lee and clearly, 2007 was one of the school's strongest years, because he demonstrates as much potential as his already far better-known former classmate. The luxury sportswear collection, which was inspired by the seemingly disparate notions of tuxedo dressing and beach culture, incorporated several innovative fabrics that had been created by Esber. An intricate, two-way pleated synthetic taffeta was used in a charming series of zippered, short-sleeved blouses and pencil skirts in soft powder blue and peach  - and a gossamer-like fabric that had been woven with actual fishing wire, found its way into several delicate, tea-stained slip dresses. Although the third last show on the schedule, it was the final gig for most of the week's top models, including Rachel Rutt and Myf Shepherd, who could barely contain their relief that the week was over and hammed it up backstage for the show's duration.        

Josh Goot's Richter scale

It's three years since Josh Goot last showed in Sydney – and just six years since he launched his brand here, with an unforgettable collection of what he dubbed ‘tailored comfort’, realised in a space age track-and-field silhouette that included jersey trench coats and blazers. After showing for multiple seasons at New York and London Fashion Weeks, Goot has firmly established himself at the vanguard of Australia’s new designer generation. And what international polish he brought to Australian Fashion Week last night. The production, co-signed by The Artist Group and Mr and Mrs Fish, dragged arguably the week’s biggest crowd up six flights of stairs to an abandoned inner-city carpark, transformed for the evening to a futuristic sporting venue. Partially inspired by the German expressionist artist Gerhard Richter, the collection, which was delivered in modern techno silks, sporty neoprene and an eye-popping palette of fluoro pink, cobalt blue, Kelly green, black, silver and white, focussed on a voluminous silhouette. More to come. 

Gary Bigeni's shape shifters

Gary Bigeni proved he could do much more than a draped dress last night. A wardrobe of smart separates complemented his draped silk jersey repertoire, much of it in a much harder material: leather. Leather blazers, boleros, T-shirts and even shorts in rich brick and a soft dove grey, were juxtaposed against silky sweaters in block colours with intricate, knotted cutout backs, full-legged woven trousers and candy-striped silk dresses with matching longline cardigans and button-up shirts in oranges and crisp blues. To be sure, there were plenty of his signature draped dresses and tunics, the most beautiful in aquamarine, turquoise and teal. But Bigeni gets the vote for the best synergy between sponsor and creative, via his hookup with shapewear manufacturer Spanx, which supplied a dazzling variety of undergarments that got people talking but which were by nature completely invisible on the runway – and of course totally irrelevant on his size 0 cast.

Kate Sylvester's mothwoman prophecies

Inspired by moths and motocross, Kate Sylvester’s Spring/Summer 2011/2012 collection is called ‘Into the light’. Due to the awkward lighting of her show at the Newmarket saleyard in Randwick last night, however, ironically many have complained that didn’t get to see it. In an uncharacteristically abrasive spray, even Vogue Australia’s Damien Woolnough complained today, “If I want to sit in a dark room filled with smoke I'll visit the share house of my university friends”. Frockwriter stayed backstage for the duration and had a much better view. It was a fantastic, if macabre, collection, with two motifs at its centrifuge: moth markings, which included a full death’s head moth motif used on T-shirts; and then a flame graphic, which doubled up on the revhead theme, as seen on coats, dresses and several fantastic sheer jumpsuits, shown with the tops worn both up and down – on the latter occasion, teamed with a lacy brassiere. 

Marnie Skillings' Haight campaign

What a romp Marnie Skillings ‘Strangelove’ show was last night. Inspired, Skillings told frockwriter backstage, by “a woman who had travelled the globe and grabbed things, tattoos, albums, prints, feathers..”, the concept was fully enabled by renowned fashion magpies, stylists Michelle Jank and David Bonney, and showcased a fabulous collection of dresses. From innocent, flower-embellished white party dresses to shirtwaisters, button-up lace halter dresses and a myriad of maxidresses, maxidresses, maxidresses, they were rendered in a mad clash of florals, animal prints and candy stripes and tarted up with feather shrugs, '70s-look floppy felt pimp hats by Jonathan Howard Hatmaker and tapestry clutch purses with Punk spikes. Full-length dresses and skirts have been seen on many showgoers this week and they are Jank’s uniform du jour. It’s going to be one long summer.

Backstage at Amber & Thomas

It’s always good to see new brands debut at RAFW. Not all of them make much of an impact however. And look, it’s not that there was anything bad about the Amber & Thomas debut yesterday – it’s just that there was nothing outstanding about it, either in the collection or the execution. Cute enough sportswear which included some snappy graphic T-shirts and dresses, fringed suede skirts, and, increasingly ubiquitous at RAFW this season, a white trouser suit with super wide-legged pants, didn’t really tell much of a cohesive story about the Melbourne brand, which is designed by Amber Hourigan and Thomas Williams – and which, judging by the lingerie-look bikinis and maillots on its website, has rather a knack for swimwear. 

Night Kapp

Carl Kapp took his time showing at RAFW. Born and trained in South Africa and a former hire of the Kenzo and DKNY studios, the Sydney-based designer launched the second incarnation of his label in 2006 (his first, Pieter Kapp, was dismantled in 1998) and now has an established business and following that includes high profile clients such as Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Rose Byrne. Noted for his tailoring and draped eveningwear, Kapp sent out a short but very powerful brand statement last night for his debut at the event: a highly polished collection of draped silk goddess gowns with intricate strapwork in a kaleidoscope of colours, from rich jewel tones down to the softest blush pinks. The models looked exquisite, like the corps of some forgotten ancient Greek ballet. If the Caryatids of the Acropolis were into designer brands, they’d probably be wearing Carl Kapp.

Lover comes back

It’s been a long time in between Lover shows at RAFW. Five years to be precise. The Black Rose Army collection, shown in May 2006, was staged in a grungy, inner-city dive. Last night’s presentation of The White Serpent SS1112 collection demonstrates that this Sydney brand with a global cult following, which celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year, has most certainly come of age. A slick, ultra-sophisticated affair staged inside the Sydney Opera House, the collection was dazzling in its simplicity. Rendered in a three note palette of ivory, black and scarlet red, the collection flirted with masculine/feminine stereotypes: ivory tuxedos and jumpsuits with ultra wide-legs and mannish, oversized jackets were layered over sheer white blouses with pie-crust collars and lace inserts, then segued into a suite of killer lace dresses. Although the lace dress is a Lover signature, these sophisticated versions said not so much Woodstock free spirit as red carpet siren and they could give Collette Dinnigan a run for her money. 

Gail Sorronda's flow-on effect

Gail Reid is so noted for the theatricality of her show styling, that when frockwriter went backstage at her Gail Sorronda show yesterday, we thought we had taken a wrong turn and entered another designer’s prep area. Still in Reid’s signature black and white palette, the collection, entitled ‘Stem the flow’, featured a number of very pretty little black and little white dresses, with intricate pleating forming geometric shapes on the bodices and necklines. 

Karla Spetic's print media

Karla Spetic is an ace at prints. Yesterday’s versions included a fantastic mashup of heraldic motifs, supersized snowflakes and blown-out geometrics – the latter echoed in the dramatic cutaway necklines of her innovative shift dresses. The Australian summer is shaping up to be a colour blockbuster and Spetic’s eye-popping offerings include tangerine city shorts, a kingfisher blue shift and a lime green suit with an oversized, wide-shouldered, boyfriend jacket and cigarette pants.

Friend of Mine's blonde ambition

Friend of Mine is a two year old Sydney label founded by Teale Talbot and Letitia McLean. It made its runway debut yesterday with a high energy show of cool girl clothes worn by a bunch of super cool girls, styled by one of the coolest in the business – Sydney model/blogger Alexandra Spencer, whose sexy, self-styled autoportraits have no shortage of net fans. Kitted out in the Flintstone fly leather shift dresses and lace bodycon dresses with destroyed hemlines, leather playsuits and an endless array of shorts, were a couple of model standouts, most notably Bardot-esque 16 year-old Krystal Glynn (above), who opened the show. Scouted by The Agency's Lincoln Ferguson on Bondi Beach in late March, Glynn seems destined for the first available international runway season. Another bottle blonde also stood out: 164cm Melburnite Anja Konstantinova who, although dwarfed by the rest of the lineup, has more charisma than more than many other girls who are the traditional runway requisite height of 5'10". That's Konstantinova pictured second and third, below. 

 

Kirrily Johnston's Roman holiday

Kirrily Johnston says her ‘Habitat’ collection was inspired by “the spaces around us - the fusion of the wild and controlled; the structures , shapes, colours and comforts of our everyday living”. But with all its draped jersey eveningwear, leather apronry and knockout gladiator sandal boots going on, it seemed the habitat in question might belong to one Maximus Decimus Meridius. It was a smart collection of easy resortwear in a desert-kissed palette of dust, cinnamon and slate, with metallic accents. Dresses are a Kirrily Johnston signature and this season’s offerings included sporty colourblocked T-shirt dresses and a simple tamarillo sheath that could double up for a corporate wardrobe. The on-trend animal print deployed in, among other garments, a cute capsule swimwear collection, was inspired by Johnston’s new Bengal cat - a new, genetically-engineered breed whose markings resemble those of a leopard. With the RAFW schedule running one and half hours late by that stage, pity anyone who turned up on time. With breaking news of the Osama Bin Laden ambush, however, there was plenty to talk about. 

RAFW Spring/Summer 2011/2012 live blog - Day One

Hello and welcome to frockwriter’s coverage of the Spring/Summer 2011/2012 Australian collections at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal. Just a quick headsup about how things are going to work this week... if all goes to plan. Coverage of fashion weeks is always fraught with frustrations, tech hassles and, more often than not, far more material than you wind up with time to produce. Notably when you are a one man/woman band, as is the case with most bloggers – and you don’t have the luxury of a multimedia backup team at head office, as do mainstream journalists. To try and keep things ticking over throughout the day and create a central repository of all my real-time coverage – which I thoroughly appreciate tends to be missed by those who still don’t use Twitter or Facebook - this year I am approaching things a little differently. In addition to photo galleries and selective reviews, I am going to attempt a daily live blog. Please see below for today’s widget. I am hoping it’s easy to follow, pending whether you are viewing on a computer or cellphone (I have tested it on a couple of brands, it looks better on some than others). You can comment via the blog’s regular comments section, below. 

Romance Was Born this way

Romance Was Born unofficially kicked off Australian Fashion Week yesterday with yet another trademark theatrical extravaganza. This time around though, duo Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales skipped the costly staging – in fact, they almost did not show at all this season - and used the magnificent three storey, glass-domed reading room of Sydney’s Mitchell Library as a backdrop, leaving the fabulous styling and clothes of their Spring/Summer 2011/2012 collection, entitled The Oracle, to do all the talking. Styling was courtesy Mark Vassallo, with MAC and GHD doing a superb job interpreting the duo’s theme - Wolfgang Petersen’s 1984 fantasy film, The NeverEnding Story and its much-loved characters and creatures who inhabit the land of Fantasia, fighting The Nothing – in elaborate hair and makeup. Rachel Rutt channelled the Childlike Empress in a sumptuous, tiered shaggy coat that was a little reminiscent of a Maori Korowai feather cloak, while another model sported a massive Rock Biter breastplate (see photo gallery, below). Scattered in amongst the Swarovski crystal- and pearl-encrusted unitards, feathered ballgowns and gargantuan puffa jackets, there were plenty of more commercial pieces: dazzling printed Lycra leggings and unitards; graceful, ankle-grazing georgette skirts and blouses in scarf-like digital prints; embellished jeans and some very pretty evening dresses with ribbon skirts.