Andrejmania

holly blake for michael wolff

Are you ready for the seven days of Andrej? In his first visit back home downunder since his already burgeoning media profile went into overdrive, thanks to several rather groundbreaking turns on Jean Paul Gaultier’s runways in Paris in January, Serbian Australian modelling superstar Andrej Pejic touched down in Melbourne this morning for what frockwriter understands is a very busy week. We hear today is in fact his only free day. Pejic is in town for Thursday night’s big unveiling of the revamped Bourke Street, Melbourne flagship of Australian department store Myer. In and around that event, one rehearsal, one in-store photocall on Wednesday at 11.45am – not exactly a press conference, but the next best thing – and at least two photoshoots have been squeezed. One of the photoshoots is for an Australian eveningwear label – a womens eveningwear label, just to clarify. And Pejic will of course be catching up with his family, who were first profiled on Seven Network’s Sunday Night program on February 13th. 

Black Cat

Yesterday frockwriter mentioned that Australian supermod Catherine McNeil had just undergone a rather dramatic change of hair and is now sporting a short black bob. Well here are the first images of said do, courtesy McNeil's New York agency Next Model Management. This is all Next would release, ditto the only other info: that it was cut/coloured by "a friend". Which may be code for McNeil's hair having been done on a recent job that has yet to be unveiled. Just as fellow Aussie and Chic/Next stablemate Abbey Lee Kershaw recently had her hair cut by Chanel during the shooting of the Fall/Winter 2010/2011 campaign. It's an interesting look for McNeil. Almost a little Beatle-esque. Or should that be... Bieber-esque?

Bob's your uncle: Catherine McNeil also gets the chop

nicole bentley, vogue australia september 2010 via TFS

Yes that’s a wig that Catherine McNeil is sporting in this Vogue Australia September 2010 editorial, above. But apparently the world #12 liked the look so much, she’s gone and had it replicated. Well, kind of. By all accounts, McNeil's new do is not a "long, choppy" Abbey Lee Kershaw bob, aka a "Kob", but a bob nonetheless and black to boot. There is as yet no hard photographic evidence beyond a bunch of Facebook photos and the shot, below, published on October 21st on the blog of McNeil’s model mate Stephanie Carta, together with the caption, “Yesterday kitty cut her locks off, Sorry, died them black! Meow”. UPDATED 29/10: HERE ARE SOME FIRST SHOTS. Not even McNeil’s Sydney-based mother agency was up with her hair news when we enquired earlier this week. But after days of buzz on model forums, Stephen Lee at McNeil’s New York agency Next finally confirmed the earth-shattering news to frockwriter overnight: yes, McNeil has definitely cut her hair. Lee added that McNeil has been enjoying a month’s break of “total normality” from the modelling business. 

An army of Abbey Lee Kershaw clones at Preen? Spring/Summer 2011

 

On Thursday frockwriter reported that some Australian hair salons are seeing an influx of customers wanting the “choppy long bob”, aka the Kob or Chanel Bob, worn by Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw – which we revealed was cut by Chanel’s hair stylist for the brand’s Fall 2010 advertising campaign. On Friday, we reported that Kershaw died her hair platinum blonde on the eve of New York Fashion Week. And yesterday, we wondered if the decision could in any way be proving problematic with her work options at the event. Surely not, given her stature in the industry by this time, but even some of Kershaw’s fans over at The Fashion Spot are asking the same question. Overnight Kershaw walked in two more shows, Derek Lam and Preen, bringing her total New York Fashion Week show tally thus far to five (Jason Wu, Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, Preen and Rag & Bone – which she closed). But while Wu put Kershaw in a turban and Wang plastered all of his models’ hair with white clay, both Lam and Preen left Kershaw’s bold new do down. And dang if Preen’s other models didn’t look like ALK clones - notably those with the shorter hair. According to makeup director James Kaliados (below), the beauty look was inspired by Catherine Denueve in the 1964 film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which would of course match the 60s vibe of Preen's structured white shift dresses - white being another major early trend on the SS11 runways. Preen's hair stylist Luke Hersheshon put clip-on bangs in every (other) model's hair. Only problem with the Deneuve reference: she didn’t have bangs in that particular film.

Make that The Blonde Kob...

@modelinia

Just yesterday frockwriter mentioned that a number of Australian hair salons are reporting a spike of interest in the new “choppy” longer bob, aka The Kob, sported by Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw (now the world number five according to models.com) - whose long, bohemian locks were trimmed by Chanel for the company’s recent Fall/Winter 2010/2011 ad campaign. Well perhaps those salons should be en garde: snapped a matter of hours ago at a Chanel cocktail party at New York Fashion Week, Kershaw has just died her hair platinum blonde. Yes we know there are far more pressing matters on the global agenda than a model’s hair colour change, but the fashion world does tends to exist in its own bubble. “OMG!!!! Abbey Lee has gone blonde!!!! LIKE BLONDE and looks amazing!!!!!” noted Canadian photographer and blogger Tommy Ton on Twitter – a Tweet, together with this Chanel party snap, above, taken by US model-dedicated news site Modelinia, that is rapidly spreading across the Twitterverse. Kershaw’s hair was coloured by high profile Cuban hair stylist Orlando Pita, Kershaw's mother agent Kathy Ward tells Chic frockwriter, but there are no changes to the style. We're now wondering if perhaps Chanel wanted to keep Kershaw under wraps until the soiree. Kershaw, Chanel's current advertising face and a star of every Chanel 2010 fashion show, did not show up at Tuesday night’s Fashion’s Night Out show at the Lincoln Center produced by Vogue (while compatriots Catherine McNeil, Ajak Deng and Julia Nobis did), even though she was featured in one of the FNO promotional videos.

Chop shop: Salons report a run on Abbey Lee Kershaw's bob

david jones SS1011 backstage

We’ve seen The Pip and The Pob, make way for The Kob – aka The Chanel Bob. That’s the short, choppy bob currently being sported by Australian supermod Abbey Lee Kershaw. LifeStyled editor Paula Joye christened it The Kob in her David Jones show wrap, noting that beyond the Mark McInnes sexual harassment scandal, Kershaw’s do was the talk of the front row at the August 3 show in Sydney, which starred Kershaw, Catherine McNeil and Nicole Trunfio as replacements for pregnant Miranda Kerr. “It’s a modern, long bob and I think a lot of the people in the front row have already booked in for an Abbey chop” Joye told frockwriter. “I think this the beginning of the return of the fringe. Kim Kardashian has just cut one. Lea Michele was sporting an extra long one at the Emmys. Leighton Meester, she’s had one cut as well. That long bob and that serious fringe that’s cut from quite far back". So have people in fact been booking in for Kershaw’s look? Update 10/09: Chameleon Kershaw now a platinum blonde.