Andrej Pejic's Pop Up wedding

via bullshit_be_mine's instagram

Well we've seen him in enough wedding dresses. On November 19 last year, a fortnight after Andrej Pejic was, amusingly, banned by the Victoria Racing Club from wearing a Princess Beatrice tribute hat to the Melboune Cup Carnival - telling frockwriter that he intended to "save the vagina hat for my wedding" - he changed his Facebook relationship status to "engaged" to his boyfriend of the past year, Rembrandt 'Remy' Duran. "It's a joke....for now" Pejic told us at the time. Now he's taken it one step further.

Knit happens

hand knits for servicemen via micro revolt

Whatever your position on Australian troops in Afghanistan – and this week’s “shit happens” media furore over off-the-cuff comments made to same by Opposition leader Tony Abbott – here is one war-related story that can’t surely be accused of being a beatup. The Queensland Country Womens Association has just dispatched 136 hand-knitted woollen skullcaps to our diggers in Afghanistan to wear under their helmets. Reportedly at the behest of the Australian Defence Forces and with the support of the RSL and Bendigo Woollen Mills, the project involved 20 knitters from the QCWA’s Border Division handcraft group (which has also knitted clothing for babies in Africa). Included with the parcel, which was posted to the ADF in Sydney yesterday, was a sweet letter, which read: “As some of us are old enough to be your grandmothers or great-grandmothers, we felt that our pride in you could not only be knitted into these skull caps; But that you may feel a little of the love and appreciation, which Australians hold for you when you wear them. Be safe.” There is a very longstanding connection between knitting and the war effort, which dates back to at least the American Civil War.

Shadtoto Prasetio: The Jakarta protocol

Over Christmas the US east coast was blanketed by a ferocious snow blizzard, while heavy snow prompted airport closures across Europe. Australia, meanwhile, has been experiencing its wettest summer on record, with thousands in Queensland stranded by floods. Not helping assuage our paranoia that we could be facing a Roland Emmerich-style snowmaggedon: NASA reports that 2010 was the hottest year on record and one meteorologist claims we are inching towards a mini ice age. Emerging Indonesian photographer and filmmaker Shadtoto Prasetio picks up the global warming gauntlet with this haunting editorial called Climate Climax. Starring Juliet Pishnyak, the spread appears in the December edition of new Indonesian fashion magazine Dew (as spotted by Noir Facade). Dew was launched in August by photographer/art director Teuku Ajie who, like Shadtoto, is 24 and based in Jakarta. Shadtoto’s blog has some other work with an equally interesting horror bent, notably the Desperate Housewife and Horrific Beauty stories. Definitely one to watch. 

Illionaire's Ben Woodcock busted on drugs charges, skips the country?

illionaire SS0910. stefan gosatti/getty via zimbio

He called his label Illionaire but it seems co-founder Ben Woodcock may have been too impatient to wait to turn seven figures via a legitimate fashion business. According to The West Australian, on August 19 Woodock was charged with possession of methylamphetamines with intent to sell or supply after being pulled over while driving his mum’s BMW with A$780,000 worth of drugs allegedly stashed in his underpants. And it gets worse. Woodcock failed to appear in court yesterday, is alleged to have fled the country and now has Interpol on his back. Way to go. Needless to say if Woodcock were to be busted with drugs in any number of countries surrounding Australia he could be facing a far worse prospect than a little jail time downunder. Woodcock launched Illionaire in Perth in 2006 with Kat Grace.

Natalie Imbruglia helps PETA push for a fur-free world

"This Is Fur" Narrated by Natalie Imbruglia 



Here is the new anti-fur video from animal rights group PETA, entirely narrated by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia - who is currently doing maternity cover for compatriot Dannii Minogue on the British series of The X Factor. It's a gut-wrenching video, so be warned. In it, PETA's undercover operatives have filmed in various fur farms and processing facilities, although no location is clearly identified - beyond the references to the Chinese fur industry, which is known for its brutality. China's human rights record is of course not particularly impressive, but that's of little concern to PETA. A number of fur organisations, such as the US Fur Commission, would no doubt take umbrage at the continued claims that strict regulations do not apply to this industry in other countries and that farmed fur animals are not afforded good nutrition, comfortable housing and prompt veterinary care. But then PETA never seems to film inside those facilities. As Paul McCartney once noted, if abbatoirs had glass walls we'd all be vegetarians. Until that day presumably, the greater percentage of the world's population will continue to eat meat. 

Did Mexico's drug violence kill Rodarte's mojo? Spring/Summer 2011

With its avant-garde homespun aesthetic and ethereal eveningwear, Rodarte is normally considered a highlight of New York Fashion Week, an event better known for commercial sportswear than creative bravura. But this has been a peculiar event, with more than one designer delivering a low-risk, (they hope) sure-sale collection. In spite of the fact that several influential American fashion critics have lauded the Rodarte collection as some kind of breakthrough for sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, loving it is a pretty big ask. That’s not to say there were not a couple of pretty pieces. Supposedly inspired by the northern Californian outdoors, a clever, collaged wood grain print was used in a terrific shift dress with deconstructed sleeves and a shell top with stiffened peplum; and there is one striking blazer, also with a stiffened pannier peplum, in a Delft China-like blue microprint. But to frockwriter’s eye, the rest of the collection looks like a snafu of plaid, gold brocade, kimonos, cheongsams and togas – the kind of costumes that Maria Von Trapp might have whipped up for Ridley Scott’s next swords and sandals epic.  

Ajak Deng: Civil war survivor, aspiring supermodel, breadwinner for eight

david jones SS1011 backstage

Frockwriter was preoccupied with a fulltime gig during the Fall/Winter 2010/2011 season, so we missed quite a bit of news. Including two new rising Australian modelling stars, Adelaide’s Emily Wake and Melbourne’s Ajak Deng. We did include one mention of Deng in our preliminary SS10 Australian model wrap just after New York Fashion Week, her first international show season, in which she did just a handful of New York shows (and we originally got her surname wrong*). However it was during the Fall/Winter 2010/2011 shows in February and March when Deng really grabbed the industry’s attention, walking in over 20 shows. These included blue chip names such as Lanvin, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chloe – the first black girl to walk the latter’s runway in nine seasons in fact, prompting New York Magazine to ask in June, “Could Ajak Deng be the next Alek Wek?”. Like Wek, Deng is a Sudanese refugee. But while Wek’s family fled the war-torn African nation for the UK, Deng’s family settled in Melbourne in 2004 – among an estimated 23,000 Sudanese refugees who arrived in Australia from 2002-2007. Sixty-two percent are aged 24 and younger and 45percent of the settlers are believed to be female. Like Wek’s story – which Wek recounted in her autobiography in 2007 – Deng’s story is remarkable. The second of eight children, Deng lost her mother to malaria at the age of 12 while living in a Kenyan refugee camp and took charge of her infant sister. Three years ago her father moved back to Sudan and her stepmother left to join him. Since she was 16, Deng has been financially responsible for her seven siblings.  

Smoking hot mama Miranda Kerr

steven meisel via mayfrayn/tfs

She has yet to grace the cover of her home country edition, but September is shaping up as the month in which Miranda Kerr hit the big time in the international Vogue stakes, with three editorials inside the September edition of US Vogue and the September covers of both Vogue España and now Vogue Italia. Shot by Steven Meisel in 3D, even Kerr’s pooch Frankie gets a lookin on the Italian cover. It wasn’t the Yorkshire terrier that grabbed frockwriter’s attention in two images in the accompanying 12-page editorial, however, but a cigarette (above, below). And it's not the first time Kerr has been photographed smoking this year. In June, she appeared topless, cigarette in hand, in issue 114 of French magazine Numéro. 

Lewitt responds to the Abbey Lee Kershaw film flak, suicide prevention experts weigh in

Earlier this month frockwriter reported that a South Korean fashion brand called Lewitt had engaged American photographer Ryan McGinley to shoot a short film starring high profile Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw. The film, which depicts Kershaw climbing to the top of a building, hesitating whilst anxiously looking down and then hurling herself over the edge, with the fall documented in slow motion to show multiple clothing changes, seemed like an odd concept for promoting fashion to young women in a country that boasts the world’s highest female suicide rate. Odder still, given that seven models - including South Korea’s Daul Kim – committed suicide over the past two years. Four, by jumping. Kershaw subsequently revealed that the film was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. McGinley has still not responded to frockwriter’s questions. But Lewitt did finally get back to us – albeit apparently via its advertising agency. We received the following response from a South Korean company called Intoo Creative. Since we have had no prior dealings with them, we did seek to confirm with the Lewitt HQ that it was in fact an official company statement. In ten days there has been no response. So here goes:

Ryan McGinley's "suicide" video was inspired by Alice in Wonderland - Abbey Lee Kershaw

On Sunday, frockwriter posted a new video shot by Ryan McGinley that stars Abbey Lee Kershaw and advertises a South Korean fashion brand called Lewitt. In the vid, which was uploaded by a South Korean YouTube member, Kershaw climbs a building, pauses while contemplating jumping and then hurls herself into the void - with slomos of various outfit changes. It seemed like a bizarre concept for promoting fashion to young women in a country that boasts the world’s highest female suicide rate. And an even more questionable choice, given that seven models - including high profile South Korean Daul Kim – have committed suicide over the past two years. Four of them by jumping. The post divided opinion. Some slammed the video. Others slammed frockwriter, dismissing it as a non story. The latter might want to take up their beef with the plethora of other outlets that have since picked the story up. Those who linked back to FW include Perez Hilton, Pedestrian, Fashion Copious, Germany's Les Mads and Dutch news site nu.nl. UPDATE 09/08: In spite of the fact that Lewitt removed Kershaw's image from its website last week, with McGinley also having the video pulled from YouTube, the video is now online on the lewitt.kr website, complete with stills. Still no response, however, from either McGinley or Lewitt.

Abbey Lee Kershaw helps glamorize model suicides for a South Korean fashion brand

lewitt.kr

Frockwriter can't help thinking this is the kind of PR that David Jones doesn’t need but hey, don’t shoot us. Abbey Lee Kershaw, one of the retailer's high profile ringins who is due to fill in for newlywed Miranda Kerr at Tuesday’s fashion showcase, has arrived in town looking like a rock star, with a genuine rockstar in tow - her boyfriend, Our Mountain frontman Matthew Hutchinson. Coinciding with Kershaw’s arrival comes news of a short film made by American photographer Ryan McGinley for a South Korean fashion brand. The film depicts Kershaw fleeing some unidentified adversary by climbing to the top of a building and jumping off – several times, to show the fall in slomo in various outfits. Frockwriter is waiting to hear back from Kershaw’s agents and McGinley. In the interim, it’s worth noting that South Korea has the highest female suicide rate in the OECD. The country’s most high profile modelling export, Daul Kim, committed suicide eight months ago (although not by jumping), part of an alarming new trend of model suicides – most of them by jumping. (UPDATE 02/08: Twenty-four hours later, the only party we had managed to reach was Chic Management in Sydney, which reported it has "no information". UPDATE 04/08: Abbey Lee Kershaw reveals the inspiration for the video was Alice in Wonderland).

My New Year's Eve

This is a little off-brief for frockwriter but FYI, this is how I spent New Year's Eve: hooning the streets of Sydney for about seven hours with a camera crew and two paramedics in a NSW Ambulance Service rapid response vehicle, for a story about the service. It was a fascinating experience. I shot the handycam footage in the opener and a few other spots.

The counterfeiters

In November, Today Tonight looked at the spate of blatant copies in the Australian mid market footwear sector. Last month, I developed a story about actual luxury brand counterfeits. It went to air on Christmas Eve, the fruit of several weeks shooting, first at Penrith market, including hidden camera footage, and then a police raid at Allambie Heights. We tagged along as police descended on one private house that was filled with counterfeit goods, including designer handbags and, alarmingly, fake prestige brand cosmetics. The figures quoted come from the International Anti Counterfeiting Coalition and also Australian Customs. Luxury counterfeits would definitely appear to be on the rise. According to Customs, the number of seizures was down by two thirds in the 08-09 financial year, but the volume of merchandise seized had doubled on 07-08. Reporter Laura Sparkes voiced the story. Hope to follow it up.

Fashion copies - back on the Australian current affairs agenda

As some may already be aware, I am currently working as a producer at a nightly Australian current affairs program called Today Tonight on the Seven Network (which explains my lack of posting of late). It’s a program on which I worked 10 years ago and it’s interesting being back, working on a mix of stories. In terms of fashion stories, it’s been a great opportunity to get some subjects to a much bigger audience than I do on this blog or indeed via the other outlets for which I normally write – try 1.7million per night (including web traffic). On my first day back I broached a couple of story ideas with executive producer Craig McPherson, top of the list being a subject that I have blogged about on several occasions: the fashion industry discriminating against plus-size consumers. Another fashion story aired this week – the rampant plagiarism across Australia's $1.8billion footwear sector.

The genesis for this story idea was a great July post from Australian shoe blogger Matt ‘Imelda’ Jordan. In his post, Jordan discussed a direct copy of a shoe design by London-based Dane Camilla Skovgaard, by Australian mid market shoe manufacturer Tony Bianco.

Most interesting of all: the subsequent tip from Jordan that Tony Bianco had dispatched a series of intimidating legal letters in the hope of obtaining a retraction of some of the claims in the post.

The audacity was breathtaking.

As revealed by Jordan, not only had Tony Bianco done a faithful reproduction of Skovgaard’s signature S8001 sandal – the style which originally made her name – but had even attempted to engineer a fake celebrity endorsement to promote the company's copy.

When launching its “Sexy Roberto” shoe to the Australian fashion press, Tony Bianco sent out US red carpet shots of celebrities Cindy Crawford and Halle Berry in Skovgaard’s originals. There was no mention of Camilla Skovgaard’s name on the mailout.

Tony Bianco’s lawyers seized on several points in Jordan’s post: notably his accusations that Camilla Skovgaard had “unleashed her lawyers” on the company and that Tony Bianco was guilty of “copyright infringement”.

Both were factually incorrect. But the David and Goliath factor made for a great story.

Although Skovgaard did consult lawyers at the time, the only representatives to contact Tony Bianco were from her US PR team.

Having failed to register the design in Australia, moreover, a straight copyright infringement case would have been indefensible.

Due to changes, in 2003, to Australia’s IP legislation, unless a designer has registered each and every design they hope to protect in this market, they are unable to in fact enforce copyright. This is unlike numerous other jurisdictions, for example the EU, where designers have an unregistered design right.

That’s not to say that Skovgaard doesn't have any legal rights here. Sources say that she would probably have little trouble proving “reputation” for the design (make that designs - it later emerged that TB has copied two Camilla Skovgaard shoes this season). The fake celebrity endorsement is a separate matter.

Only problem – she has been told that she's looking at a minumum $50,000 investment to get a case up, with of course no guarantee of success. That's a big ask of a young, independent designer.

All the companies mentioned in the story were of course offered right of reply. Noone took up the offer.

Their respective responses when I called requesting interviews were fascinating. One company even claimed that it had come up with the design in question five years ago.

It is entirely possible that Sportsgirl's Camilla Skovgaard knockoff was even supplied by a manufacturer that was already knocking off her shoe under its own brand, thereby vastly increasing its market. A big return for zero design investment in other words. Sportsgirl declined to identify the supplier of the shoe.

It’s interesting how companies that copy, often seem quite indignant when they're called out on it.

Some $400,000 in court ordered damages has been awarded for design/copyright infringement cases over the past 12 months in cases mounted by Australian companies that have taken advantage of the new Designs Registration Regime and opted to register designs.

The first fashion victory under the new system was Review versus The Discovery Group in March 2008.

Although not working for TT at the time, I was interviewed that month as talent for the program’s story about the Review case. I had the temerity to mention that it wasn’t the first time the company, which owns the Charlie Brown and lili trademarks, had copied others. I provided one example of a devoré velvet poncho with a peacock motif, first shown by New Zealand label Sabatini at New Zealand Fashion Week in September 2004 – and copied six months later by Charlie Brown.

On three previous occasions, I had written about Charlie Brown’s cheaper version of the poncho, which turned up in store the minute the Sabatini poncho appeared on the cover of the Winter 2005 catalogue of Australian department store David Jones and, notably, once word spread that the poncho was walking out the door at DJs.

But Brown had been called out for copying as far back as 1998 - by Marion Hume, then the editor of Vogue Australia.

After I mentioned the Sabatini incident on Today Tonight, Brown also threatened legal action. To date, nought's come of it.

Back in 1995, I wrote a 4,000 word expose on copying in the Australian fashion industry for the now defunct Australian current affairs magazine, The Independent Monthly. It was the year before the launch of Mercedes Australian Fashion Week and the emergence of a new generation of export-focussed designers. Australia was still locked in a culture of so-called "designers" sending international designer samples in to magazines to be photographed (still with the labels attached) while the "designers" were busy manufacturing their copies.

The story kicked off with the infamous anecdote from the Bicentennial Wool Collection at the Sydney Opera House in 1988, for which nine international designers were flown to Sydney, including Sonia Rykiel, Kenzo and the late Gianni Versace and Jean Muir. During rehearsals, Claude Montana had to be physically restrained from clocking Marilyn Said and Barry Taffs - the designers behind the Covers label. Covers had been selected to represent Australia in the show and Montana felt that their collection showed a little too much Montana influence.

Called Fashion Thieves, it was a cover story and it prompted three separate television profiles, including A Current Affair.

That story was the reason I wound up working for A Current Affair for a brief stint in early 1996 - before quickly heading to Today Tonight, where I stayed for three and a half years. I am often being reminded of this story. Several weeks ago Oyster’s Alyx Gorman drew my attention to the fact that it’s even cited in an article in the Journal of Australian Political Science.

Now I’m back in current affairs tv - still talking about copying. Because 21 years after the Bicentennial Wool Collection, many Australian companies are still shamelessly copying international designers.

For sure, copying exists everywhere. As the Tom Gunn girls pointed out in their TT interview, the London high street is notorious for quickly turning around catwalk trends. The "fast fashion" retailers Zara, Mango and H&M have revolutionised the business, turning around catwalk trends - although not necessarily one-for-one copies - at lightning speed.

But Australian copycats enjoy several other unique advantages. This was pointed out in a piece to camera in the original script for the TT story, which wound up being cut when we lost two and a half minutes.

There is also our proximity to the Chinese factories, exacerbated by the fact that we are a season behind the northern hemisphere. This means copies can be on shelves before the originals have even arrived.

Plus size fashion discrimination on Today Tonight

Here is the video player for the first story I pitched and produced after arriving back at Today Tonight. It looked at plus size discrimination at the designer end of the fashion market. The story aired on 27th October 2009. It took a while before I could source the correct embed code for the Seven/Yahoo videos and in the blur of the past six months back on deck at the program, I overlooked blogging this as a standalone. So here it is finally (posted 24/04/10, but backdated). Many thanks once again to the awesome Hayley Hughes aka Fashion Hayley, who was happy to hit up Chapel Street for two days, wiretapped by a tabloid current affairs crew. Also Nicholas Perkins and Antipodium's Fenella Peacock. It took chutzpah to talk about this issue on prime time television. As the story mentions, 18 fashion designers and major retailers were approached for comment, including companies that do cater to 16+. All declined. Reporter Laura Sparkes, one of my absolute TT faves, voiced the story. Damian Moncrieff edited.