Richard Nicoll to launch his own eyewear line

ksubi x richard nicoll SS08/hintmag

Over the past five years, London-based, Aussie-raised fashion star Richard Nicoll whet the appetite of the sunglasses-buying public with two tantalising, limited edition eyewear ranges designed in tandem with his mates at cult Sydney denim and streetwear brand Ksubi - most recently for Spring/Summer 2012. Earlier this week in Sydney, he told frockwriter he is about to launch his own line.

Ksubi paid its MBFWA models in cash - with a 'trade' bonus

nicole pollard backstage at ksubi SS1213

Couldn’t help noticing a tweet from top Australian model Melissa Johannsen this morning, thanking Ksubi for a AUD 500 gift voucher which had just arrived. “Oh yea! thanks @Ksubi...such an awesome show!” read the accompanying caption on Johannsen’s Instagram shot of the voucher (below). Knowing how endemic the practice of payment “in trade” has become in the modelling business - i.e. designers offering clothes and accessories instead of cash - we assumed the voucher might have been Johannsen’s fee for the Ksubi show at Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week on April 30th. Not so, responded Johannsen, who told us that she never works for trade – at least not in Australia.

The producers: Mark Vassallo - MBFWA SS 12/13

backstage at josh goot SS1112/sydney may 2011

Sydney-born, but now "globally"-based  (or so he says on his new website), Mark Vassallo has had a hand in some of Australian Fashion Week’s biggest fashion ‘moments’ of recent years. He has played the roles of independent publisher (Mark and Petit Mal), editor (Follow), fashion director (Harpers Bazaar Australia), creative director, casting director and stylist. He launched the career of Gemma Ward, among others. And he has helmed a number of memorable  runway presentations, for designers such as Josh Goot, Dion Lee and Romance Was Born. As part of frockwriter’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia SS1213 series, we thought we should give it up for - and pick the brains of - some of the hardest-working, least-visible players of the fashion week pack – the producers. First up: Vassallo. 

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. 

The eyes have it: Ksubi's 2011 eyewear campaign

Given that Ksubi resurrected itself from the ashes of liquidation earlier this year, bought by a consortium for $5million after collapsing under a $9million debt burden, you have to wonder if the metal eagle on the ‘elnath’ aviators in the brand’s new 'eye eye' eyewear range is a wink from co-founders Dan Single and George Gorrow. Either way, good to see Ksubi moving forward. The campaign was shot by Kane Skennar and stars Heidi Harrington, Rosemary Smith, Dion Antony, Jann Cruraszkiewicz and model-of-the-moment (and Single squeeze) Bambi Northwood-Blyth. See below for the entire campaign. And frockwriter’s Posterous for some behind-the-scenes shots. At A$289-329 a pop, they sure beat premium jeans. Available next month at David Jones, General Pants and Ksubi’s stores – including the relocated Paddington boutique at 140 Oxford Street (formerly Kit Cosmetics) and from mid October, Ksubi's new store in the new Westfield Sydney. 

Casting clout: Kannon Rajah carves up the show circuit, from Karl to Ksubi

Frockwriter has mentioned Sydney expat Kannon Rajah on several previous occasions. During 2008’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show – on which he has worked in casting and show production since 2006 – and last year’s VS show, which we profiled in a tv story on Today Tonight. We caught up with the casting dynamo yesterday down in Bondi. Rajah, who now lives in New York with his Australian wife and son, returned to work on Ksubi’s show which closed RAFW. It was a bit of a homecoming for Rajah who started his career working for the then Mercedes Australian Fashion Week from 2001-2005, initially as a runner and eventually designer relations director and show producer. Victoria’s Secret isn’t Rajah’s only coup – in February he became the casting director for Italian luxurygoods maker Fendi, the latest in an expanding roster of personal clients, which also includes Gareth Pugh, Pedro Lourenco and Willow.

Ksubi, or not Ksubi: Will Renzo Rosso give a rat’s?

gorrow (L) and single @ ksubi bondi, november 27/the cobrasnake


“Ksubi goes pop” was the headline of a vogue.co.uk story on November 24, referring to the hipster Sydney denim label’s plans to transplant its 'Lest We Regret' pop-up store to London in early 2009. The pop-up store recently debuted within the Little Collins Street boutique of Melbourne streetwear label Schwipe - which installation, incidentally, was reported elsewhere to have been decorated with jars containing Ksubi’s shredded financial records. In the wake of a spate of recent reports – which follow at least six months of ragtrade buzz that Ksubi has, once again, been unable to pay its bills – some may well be wondering if the vogue.co.uk headline might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. Especially if Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, or some other party, does not come to the rescue.

Picking up earlier reports in The Age, The Herald Sun and The Sunday Telegraph, on December 1st Runway Reporter reported that 15 Ksubi staff had been made redundant and that an urgent director’s meeting was scheduled for last week.

A debt burden of A$8million has been bandied about by several media outlets, including The Sydney Morning Herald, whose Private Sydney column on Saturday revealed that the company may be in talks with Rosso – even if rumours of both discussions with Rosso and “crippling debt” were hosed down by directors Dan Single, George Gorrow and “executive consultant” Harry Hodge.

In a statement, Single and Gorrow told the SMH:

"It's absolutely not true that Ksubi has been bought by Diesel or any other party. We have never even met with them before. We are, however, heading to Asia and Europe next week to talk business with our manufacturers and distributors."

Hodge told The Herald’s Andrew Hornery:

"Sure, we have had redundancies and trading is difficult at the moment, but it's difficult for everyone. We have had to raise capital in the past and we may well do that again in the future".

Yes, times are tough. And whichever way it swings, Ksubi is by no means the only fashion company to fall victim to the global economic crisis. Two young high-profile Danish labels, Jens Laugesen and Camilla Staerk, recently shuttered.

The US retail market, which would have accounted for an important chunk of Ksubi’s estimated A$24million sales turnover, is in very, very bad shape. It is rumoured that Ksubi has now closed its US office.

Sydney eveningwear specialist Jayson Brunsdon recently described the impact on his US Fall/Winter 0809 sales as “a disaster” - and, like sass & bide, did not show at the SS09 New York shows in September.

Another Sydney denim brand, 18th Amendment, revealed to WWD earlier this year that the company had pulled out of more than 100 US stockists and was attempting to claw back a A$500,000 debt out of the US, from stockists who were not paying. 18th Amendment director Rachel Rose conceded that the brand, which launched in 2006, had been sold too widely in the US market.

But with Zimmermann reporting growth in the US, evidently, success – nay survival – depend on a company’s business model. Zimmermann is of course not in the denim market. The company has moreover spent a decade building up its brand equity in the US swimwear and resortwear market, which may well have partially insulated it from the recent downturn.

But while Ksubi may be able to apportion some blame to the current economic crisis, this is not the first time the company has experienced problems.

Ksubi launched at Australian Fashion Week in May 2001, originally under the Tsubi brand name, with a runway show that was famously infested with 169 rats.

By November 2005 the Australian and New Zealand ragtrade was rife with rumours that Tsubi owed money to suppliers.

Although Single flatly denied the company was experiencing cashflow problems, one supplier told this journalist at the time that his company was owed several hundred thousand dollars – part of what was understood to be a much wider debt to other suppliers that could have been as high as A$1million.

Then in April 2006, Single and Gorrow found themselves embroiled in a trademark dispute with Californian footwear brand Tsubo.

When asked about the dispute, Gorrow told the SMH:

"I haven't heard that. I don't even know these guys. I don't even know who they are. Have you ever seen one of their shoes? Maybe I've been drunk for the past 12 months."

According to Tsubo’s lawyer, Jack Douglas, however, Tsubo’s communications with Tsubi had dated back several years but were ignored by Tsubi, prompting Tsubo to commence legal proceedings in the Federal Court in New York.

The parties settled out of court, with Tsubi permitted to retain its original name within Australia, but obliged to adopt the new brand name of Ksubi in the rest of the world.

Although dubbed by Dan Single as "a great result for Tsubi", the two-brand scenario was described by Sam Osborn, the Australian ceo of Interbrand, the world’s best-known branding consultancy, as a potential “branding nightmare” for Tsubi.

Shortly thereafter, a decision was made to adopt the universal brand name of Ksubi.

According to Interbrand's Osborn, the rebranding process alone could have cost A$1million.

In May last year, much ado was made of the arrival of Quiksilver Europe co-founder Hodge as a minority shareholder.

Hodge’s private investment company Kauai may have already been a Ksubi creditor – having reportedly loaned Ksubi A$550,000 in November 2006.

In a statement, Single and Gorrow said:

“As Ksubi aspires to grow its international reputation to become one of the leading fashion and lifestyle brands, we knew we had to bring in people who could guide the growth of our brand as we expand across many different product areas and grow our global business.”

According to sources, Single and Gorrow had planned to take the brand to A$100million sales.

But could Renzo Rosso be seriously interested in helping them do it?

The 53 year-old Italian, who is rapidly turning into one of the new titans of the global fashion business, is already busy with his own blockbuster denim/streetwear brand Diesel, which reportedly accounted for 90percent of the 1.3billion euro 2007 revenues of Rosso’s Only The Brave parent company.

Then there is the burgeoning brand portfolio of Only The Brave’s Staff International subsidiary, whose latest addition, a five-year licensing agreement with Marc Jacobs menswear, joins a stable that already includes either controlling interests in, or global manufacturing/distribution licensing rights for, names such as Maison Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, Vivienne Westwood, Dsquared and Sophia Kokosalaki.

Sure, Dsquared and co boast a denim component, however Rosso’s impresario penchant would appear to be tickled more by high profile, niche luxury brand names in need of a financial legup – than denim/streetwear rivals seeking to cannibalise Diesel’s market share.

But let’s wait and see.

It sounds as if Ksubi may have to take a number in the growing line of other Rosso hopefuls, which reportedly include London-based denim brand Superfine, which was co-founded by Australian Lucy Pinter.

In the meantime, if Ksubi does indeed owe anywhere near A$8million, then presumably there are a lot of nervous 'little' people out there.

Unlike Single and Gorrow, the latter don’t lead 'rock star' lifestyles, DJ on the Euro dance party circuit or get their faces on the photoblog of great Ksubi mate Mark 'The Cobrasnake' Hunter.

But Ksubi could not have made its garments without them.

No doubt they are concerned that they may face the prospect of never being paid.

Johnson & yet more johnson: Australia's fashion phallocracy taking over the world?

one of taschen's latest coffee table books

In the words of the great Maude Lebowski - whose work, as those familiar with the cult 1998 Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski would recall, is commended as being strongly vaginal - “Without batting an eye a man will refer to his dick or his rod or his Johnson”. And indeed, particularly in Australia. Overnight Gawker tittered over a new series of Belgian condom advertisements which dress up male genitalia as various public figures and fictional characters. Frockwriter feels the need to point out the antipodian fashion origins of the campaign.

Here is the Gawker post, which has one image - however Gawker does link to two other ad industry blogs which picked the story up first, both of which show more.

And yes a warning here, the material is definitely NSFW.

As saucy as the Belgians may be, this campaign would appear to be a complete ripoff of a 2006 campaign created by Australian denim/streetwear brand Ksubi, which dressed up a bunch of, quite literally, dicks, to showcase its new sunglasses collection.

The images were published in the Ksubi Sunglasses for Dickheads calendar and exhibited in a series of art galleries from late 2006. Here’s a link to a blog showing some of the Ksubi images.

But frockwriter can’t help thinking that the, ahem, grassroots, origins of the trend may owe more than a meagre debt to yet another Australian - Simon Morley.

In 1997, Morley came up with the term Puppetry of the Penis for what he describes on the POTP website as a “highbrow art calendar” launched that year to showcase 12 of his best “dick tricks”.

“Genital gesticulation” or “genital origami”, according to the website, is a Morley family talent. Initially demonstrated by younger brother Justin, the technique was later perfected by Simon who, together with "fellow puppeteer" David Friend, went on to present the inaugural Puppetry of the Penis performance at the 1998 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

The company has since performed in over 14 countries, with eight consecutive appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

What’s Morley’s connection to fashion?

Simon Morley is the brother and business partner of Nicholas Morley, launch designer of the Buddhist Punk label, who last year unveiled his new streetwear label Nicholas X Morley.

So that’s right, behind the Nicholas X Morley label, as Simon Morley quipped at a photoshoot in April last year, is “dick money”.

It seems they didn't call Australia a penal colony for no reason...

A design career punctuated by photo ops: Where to now for Ksubi?

I've just returned from the Ksubi press conference. As per usual it was one great big photo op for Ksubi co-founders Dan Single and George Gorrow: a meet-and-greet with their supposed bestie, international runway walker Erin Wasson.

As already reported, Wasson was recently sent a text message by the Ksubi lads to ask if she'd like to come on down to grace their show tomorrow. She jumped at the opportunity, Wasson told today's mini media scrum.

"So are you doing it for free?" asked someone from the media pack.

"Yeah" said Wasson, a little awkwardly.

For the record, Wasson happens to be an IMG model, and according to an IMG spokesperson, she is contracted and is being paid. As was Lily Cole, last year's international runway ringin at the event. IMG of course owns Australian Fashion Week and it has an interest in promoting its own talent. That's not to say that Wasson doesn't like and wear Ksubi's jeans or that she doesn't know and like Single and Gorrow. But it's worth pointing out this connection, just to keep some perspective.

After the "conference", during which not a great deal was said other than organiser Simon Lock recounting some of Ksubi's antics at AFW's past and some of their upcoming projects (a store in Tokyo, a book of photographs due out tomorrow) - and certainly nothing about yesterday's announcement of the sale of a chunk of Ksubi equity to Quiksilver Europe founder Harry Hodge - Gorrow, Single and Wasson squeezed in together for pics.

This is what Ksubi revels in: photo ops, back pats and prat fall pranks. Their fashion career, since they first launched themselves into publicity orbit in 2001, by sending 169 rats down the AFW runway, has been punctuated by one photo op after another. For the most part I do take my hat off to them: for the ability to keep on pulling publicity rabbits out of hats. I'm all for pushing the corners of the envelope and the label formerly known as Tsubi has certainly gone there many times.

From the models overboard show of 2003 (even Simon Lock at the time admitted he was nervous about the public liability issues of models coming to grief in Sydney Harbour after diving off the Tsubi boat) to the "fabulous nobodies" show of May 2005, you usually never know just what you're in for with a Tsubi show. Some ideas have been clever. Some have been offensive - a case in point, the "porno" calendar launch, for which models (including Michelle Leslie) posed in some very unflattering poses alongside cars and motorbikes. One line of accompanying 'graffiti' was so offensive that I wrote it down for posterity: "It is the code of the semen to f**** a golden prostitute".

And one idea apparently wasn't theirs at all: the famous "two minute" show of November 2004 - when, after making the audience wait for over an hour, models were sent out on a victory lap of the runway, clapping, as if it was the end of the show. London-based Swedish designer Ann-Sofie Back has, I am assured, been doing this very stunt since she first launched.

Ksubi has lapped up all the attention and publicity - and rucked up a A$20million sales turnover in the process, the greatest slice of which has of course come from their killer jeans. Perhaps it's no surprise to learn that they don't like bad publicity. I mean who does in fashion? This business runs on PR and publicists and designers love fashion writers who don't ask the hard questions best. Sydney is not the only town where fashion journos get banned and verbally attacked - Cathy Horyn of The New York Times is currently under a ban from several separate design houses, following negative reviews, including Dolce e Gabbana and Carolina Herrera. Ksubi is the only show this week that I haven't been invited to and there was the incident in New York last September where loudmouth New York publicist Kelly Cutrone - Ksubi's US PR rep - banned me from all her clients' shows forthwith.

I was interested to finally see the dark side of Dan Single on Saturday night at the Willow presentation. I'd heard a lot about it. Totally unprovoked - except save for a series of stories that I have written about the Tsubi/Tsubo trademark dispute which obliged Tsubi to change its name to Ksubi, and the Cutrone incident - Single approached me while I was talking to several other people and made a couple of nasty comments in a loud voice.

When I later attempted to clear the air, by asking just what Single's problem was, he told me - once again in full earshot of a number of people - that after I had made enquiries to some of Ksubi's suppliers approximately 18 months ago, some of the companies had been spooked and it wound up costing Ksubi a great deal of money. He didn't elaborate any further.

At the end of the Tsubi trademark story that I wrote this time last year, I alluded to a major cash crunch that Tsubi appeared to be having in late 2005. That's certainly when I first got wind of it - due solely to the fact that the ragtrade, from Sydney to Auckland, was abuzz with talk about the company.

Who knows what's really going on in Ksubi's world? Many fashion companies experience cashflow problems - and of course some unfortunately also go under. But while Single and Gorrow may have laughed off suggestions from branding specialists this time last year that the trademark changeover cost could potentially wind up in the seven figures, it's probably a safe bet to say that irrespective of the cost, it's an additional expense that they probably did not need at the time.

A Tsubo director told me that his company had been pursuing Tsubi for several years but claimed that Single and Gorrow just kept fobbing off the calls and emails. In the end, Single and Gorrow didn't have much choice - the case almost went to court, which could have cost the duo more money still. Had they nipped the matter in the bud, at a time when most people had never heard of Tsubi, presumably the entire exercise would not have been quite so expensive.

Good luck to Single and Gorrow. It will be interesting to see how this new partnership pans out and just where the Ksubi brand is heading. Hopefully it's onwards and upwards. I don't enjoy having to investigate/report that fashion companies may be experiencing financial problems however the ragtrade is a tough industry and at the end of the day, it's my job.

One thing's for sure however. As a number of fashion creatives have discovered after selling brand equity to investors - there's no such thing as a free lunch.

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Kirrily Johnston, Alannah Hill and Tsubi's evil eye

After berating Pete Stevanovski for being a luvvie yesterday and holding up the Akira show, I became one myself this morning. After booking a cab and then the cab disappearing when I didn't turn up at the designated time, I spent 15-20 minutes trying to find another. Managed to catch most of the Kirrily Johnston show. Fresh and fluid, her full-length, draped grey marle jersey gown and bright orange bubble dresses were a very good start to Day Two.

Icebergs was a great backdrop for the last show - but getting there and then getting back to the main venue (Overseas Passenger Terminal) can create delays.

The offsite thing has always been problematic. Many designers want to show in their own venues for ambience and that's fair enough. But not all of us luvvies have a private car and driver.

Finally flagged down a cab outside Icebergs and en route to White Suede at the OPT. It sounds like a brand of condoms, but in fact it's a newish resort brand that's rising quickly. Solo show - and big spot at David Jones.

Came face to face with Tsubi's Dan Single out the front of Icebergs and he seemed to be giving me evils. The Tsubi boys may have to change their brand name as the result of a trademark dispute with a Californian footwear brand, Tsubo.

Don't shoot me guys. It can't all be free frocks, handbags, jeans - and good press.


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