Cameron Silver: Duke of Melrose

photo: supplied by foxtel

I first met Cameron Silver at the Melbourne Fashion Festival in 2004 when he was guest speaker at the event. A cabaret singer-turned-vintage retailer, Silver operated a by that stage seven year-old boutique called Decades on LA’s Melrose Avenue and he had established himself as a go-to guru for high-end, pre-loved couture gowns from upwards of the 1920s; seducing a swag of Hollywood power stylists and their A-list clients such as Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow. Silver’s comrade-in-couture is Christos Garkinos, a former marketing manager for Disney and Virgin Megastores, who joined the business in 1999, launching what was up until 2011 an adjacent contemporary designer resale boutique called DecadesTwo, which sources pre-loved designer fare from a global network of over 3000 consignors – including many celebrities. The businesses have since merged. The duo – who have arguably peeked inside more private wardrobes than anyone on the planet - are the stars of Bravo’s brand new reality show Dukes of Melrose which debuted on Foxtel’s Arena channel in Australia last night at 10.00pm. Part of Arena’s new triple fashion reality show bill for Thursday nights, the show follows straight after The Rachel Zoe Project (Season V) and It’s a Brad, Brad World (Season II). I have also watched a further three episodes and it’s as funny as hell. I caught up with Silver earlier this week to yack about the show, vintage, “insane” and “unscrupulous” red carpet politics - and what kind of milk Catherine Deneuve takes in her coffee.

Nicole Kidman adds a touch of green - and My Fair Lady - to Derby Day

via luke dennehy's instagram

The traditional dress code for the first event in the Melbourne Cup Carnival, today’s Derby Day, is supposed to be black and white. But frockwriter can reveal that VVIP guest Nicole Kidman will be adding a touch of green. Kidman’s publicist Wendy Day tells us that Kidman will be wearing a dress by American designer L’Wren Scott, a long-time Kidman fave (and the longtime partner of rocker Mick Jagger), and a hat by British milliner Stephen Jones. Day added that there is an “eco-friendly” aspect to Kidman’s Derby Day outfit. UPDATE: Kidman did in fact go with one of the original Green Cut outfits designed by Scott and Jones (pictured above, with the original dress below) - a shorter adaptation, as we predicted. 

Nicole Kidman's burning ring of fire

We know about the Great Wall of Sutton Forest – a 250m long, 2.5m high dirt wall erected by Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, to shield their 100 acre Bunya Hill property in the NSW Southern Highlands from the prying lenses of Sydney’s notoriously aggressive paparazzi. Not to mention their fourth line of paparazzi defence: a line of conifers they subsequently planted between the dirt wall and two fences (to which another barrier of green shadecloth has since been added). You have to wonder what the "Kurbans" would make of what frockwriter can reveal is the latest installation to be made adjacent their property: a monster, 4m high, 6m wide bonfire, erected on the grounds of their next-door neighbour, the Sutton Forest Inn and looking their hillside mansion straight up the barrel.

Andrej Pejic mixes it up at Jean Paul Gaultier

jean paul gaultier SS11/style.com

Who was the intriguing, androgynous blonde at Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 2011 menswear show in Paris overnight? Melbourne’s Andrej Pejic, that’s who. Frockwriter knew it would not be long before Pejic appeared on a major runway and there he is in three outfits at JPG. Update: Pejic reports that he will also be doing John Galliano's show today. Since first popping up on our radar at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week last year, as reported by frockwriter, Pejic shot a 14 page editorial for Australia’s RUSSH magazine and headed to London, where the 18 year-old was snapped up by Storm Management. Pejic, whose mother agency in Australia is Chadwicks, is now repped by New Madison in Paris and I Love Models Management in Milan and has shot for Dazed + Confused Japan (see below), London-based magazines Libertine and Wonderland and Martyn Bal. Stand by for what could be his biggest career break to date: editorial (including a cover try) just shot by a major international photographic duo for the September edition of a major international fashion title.

Nicole Kidman digs in her fourth line of paparazzi defence

Much has been made of the so-called Great Wall of Sutton Forest, a 250m long, 2.5m high dirt wall erected by Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban on their Southern Highlands, NSW property Bunya Hill, ostensibly to keep the prying lenses of the paparazzi at bay from one exposed section of the property. Well frockwriter (who spends a lot of time in the region - and took this shot from the roadside) can report that the dirt wall has now been reinforced with a second, green, line of defence: a row of conifers that appears to stretch the length of the property on the western side of the front gates. Add to that the existing barbed wire boundary fence and the makings of a secondary fence in between the conifers and the dirt wall and, well, Jamie Fawcett may need to enlist the services of the 11th Panzer Division if he wants to plant any listening devices. No word on explosives being attached to any of the fortifications, but we'll keep you posted.

'Australia' world premiere - the red carpet

AP/daylife

Frockwriter finds herself in the awkward situation of having intel to pass on, but no images (since fixed ^). Nicole Kidman has just arrived on the red carpet at tonight's world premiere of Australia and we have it straight from the clothes horse's mouth (well, mouthpiece) that she's wearing L'Wren Scott for the second time in four hours.

Here is the dress from Scott's SS09 collection as it appeared on the runway in New York in September:


l'wren scott/style.com

It seems that there is not much left in the SS09 collection of Kidman's great mate Scott that Kidman has not already worn.

Beyond the two white dresses seen today, Kidman wore an embellished white gown from the same collection at the recent Glamour magazine 'Women of The Year' Awards in New York.

'Australia' world premiere - the presser

reuters via daylife

As I type, Sydney’s central business district is in gridlock. One section of the George Street main drag has been blocked off to traffic since 2.00pm, in preparation for tonight’s world premiere of Baz Lurhmann's latest film, Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. A press conference for 1000 has just wrapped down at the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay. Kidman dazzled in what frockwriter can reveal was an elegant white silk L’Wren Scott bustier dress and jacket with Christian Louboutin stilettos.

The official red carpet starts in two hours.


'Australia' stars Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and David Gulpilil at the press conference/reuters via daylife

The frock intel comes directly from the Kidman camp.

FYI, here is what looks very much like the dress and jacket in question, from L'Wren Scott's Spring/Summer 2009 collection:



l'wren scott SS09/style.com

Bush outfit: Kidman’s off-screen RM Williams ode

celebrity-gossip.net

Forget the Ferragamos. Nicole Kidman might wear the Italian luxury shoe brand in the upcoming epic Australia, but she looked to have been rocking iconic Australian cobbler RM Williams today in Sydney.

Photographed (^) shopping at the Herringbone store in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra with hubbie Keith Urban, Kidman teamed her leather bomber jacket, skinny tobacco trousers with tuxedo stripe and luxury tote with what frockwriter reckons could be RM Williams’ Durack style.

Retailing for A$359.95 on the RM Williams e-boutique, the Durack boot is made from one piece of leather and boasts a brass screwed sole, full leather stacked flat heel and chisel toe.



The style is named after, one assumes, Australian writer and historian Dame Mary Durack, whose famous 1959 book Kings In Grass Castles charted the story of the pioneering Durack family, who settled in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

The latter provided one of the shoot locations for Baz Lurhmann’s new film Australia, which stars Kidman as an English aristocract who inherits a remote Oz cattle station the size of Belgium.

RM Williams is a popular brand with many Australians - and Australian celebrities.

Coincidentally, Fox senior VP international marketing Kieran Breen told Variety in May that the Australian bush outfitter was one of several Australian brands which had inked promotional tie-in deals with the studio to coincide with the film’s release.

The others include Telstra, Westfield and Qantas.

One hopes the latter’s spate of technical problems have been resolved by the film’s slated November 13th Australian release.

Kurban country - the neighbours blab

Sutton Forest Hotel managers Michael and Kirsty Nielsen - with their Bunya Hill view/The Southern Highlands News

Well I didn't want to be the one to blab the exact address of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s new Sutton Forest property.

After the SMH broke the story on Saturday, I did mention the location of what is almost literally their “corner store” - a shop called A Little Piece of Scotland. Then on Tuesday, I added that I had no doubt paparazzi would have already clocked the address and long-range lens possibilities. What I did not say at the time was that these lens possibilities would be afforded by the property's awkward proximity to the Sutton Forest Hotel. But I see from the front page story of Wednesday’s edition of local rag The Southern Highlands News that the Hotel’s managers haven't been able to stop talking about it.

“Nic’s new neighbours” screams the page one headline across a story by Robyn Murray, together with a shot of the Sutton Forest Hotel "managers" Michael and Kirsty Nielsen and the rooftop of the Bunya Hill main residence, just visible in the distance.


My shot from the Sutton Forest Hotel carpark

The story takes up the entire front page and continues on page four. A portion is available online.

Here is some new intel about the purchase not covered in the online version:

• The previous owners of Bunya Hill used to drive their car to the bottom of the hill and walk to the pub.

• The property used to be called Valdemar.

• The house has five bedroom suites with dressing rooms and bathrooms, “wine-tasting rooms” and cellar, a conservatory, billiards room and a den. In addition to a separate (one assumes manager’s) cottage, four garages and machinery sheds.

• A property further down on Golden Vale Road, on which Bunya Hill is located, has long been mooted as a potential airport.

But at least the locals have a sense of humour.

The reporter suggests that A Little Piece of Scotland should change its name to A Little Piece of Hollywood.

And Greg Barnsley, the owner of the nearby Everything Store, jokes that Urban should change his name to Keith Rural.

Of Kidman, Barnsley notes:

“She’s a good sort. I’ll say that much. She’s about as big as you can get. When I see her I’ll say. ‘You were great in BMX Bandits’”.

Kurban country

Take me home: the Kurbans' new Sutton Forest driveway

To say the Southern Highlands is atitter with Saturday's news of Nicole Kidman's new Sutton Forest purchase is a bit of an understatement. I was there on the weekend (no I didn't head down specifically - I previously mentioned a long-standing family connection to the area and in fact I'm there almost every weekend). And I can report that Kidman's $6.5million Bunya Hill acquisition was the talk of the town. Make that, Southern Highlands towns - with local radio station 2ST grilling Wingecarribee Shire councillor May King yesterday as to whether or not King planned to invite Kidman over at some stage soon for tea and scones.



The Kurban estate

Many details about the property were provided in Saturday's SMH story. Save for the exact address, which is not that difficult to track down. Although I have no doubt that serious pap pests will already be across the address, and long-range lens possibilities, I'm not going to provide any assistance with directions.


A few of the Kurbans' new Black Angus moo cows

Although agents directly connected to the deal were in lockdown mode yesterday, plenty of other parties seemed to have Kidman intel.

Sources say that contracts were exchanged as recently as last week. Which means someone blabbed.



My guess is that that someone might be connected to the party who was, I am reliably informed, gazumped by Kidman's bid after their own had been accepted by the vendor.

The SMH refers to Kidman's "property scout". Locals say the Kidman rep brokering the deal was John Manning - who has previously also been described as Kidman's driver. Talk about multitasking.

Given that the Kurbans have apparently yet to set foot on the property - and one might assume, may be pretty new to the area - I thought I'd save them, and/or Manning, a bit of time and legwork, and provide a quick shopping headsup in their nearest village of Moss Vale.

Whyte's - purveyors of 'Agrichic' since 1895:



Something for Keith - great hair product selection at the local Bi-Lo supermarché:



The local Tuckerbag:



Tuckerbag special on at the moment:



The Moss Vale Hotel, est 1850, which is about to add an 80-room restaurant:



There are in fact older pubs in the Highlands, however this one is the only pub that I have seen whose bottle shop offers a dedicated merchandise area to local wines:



What the Moss Vale Hotel reckons is the Southern Highlands' finest drop:



Something else for Keith:

Cold Mountain, the reality show

Nic rocking "Agrichic" on the set of Australia /The Townsville Bulletin

OMG! Make that three belly laughs this week. The third came at 1.00am this morning when I read about Nicole Kidman's new property acquisition in Sutton Forest. Which is located in the so-called Southern Highlands of NSW, 1.5hrs by road from Sydney (and 640m above sea level, hence the name). By the time of writing it was already ranked smh.com.au's number one story.

I shared a couple of Q&As this week from a short-lived gossip column I penned for a Southern Highlands magazine in 2006.

Two years before that, the Highlands proved an equally fertile grapevine when I babysat yet another gossip column - The Sun Herald Diary - while the paper's regular columnist was on maternity leave.

With a longstanding family connection to the area, a lot of local colour tends to drift my way.

One of the world's most amusing Nicole Kidman gossip/spoof sites Nicole Kidman's Forehead - an Oz blog - is of course already onto Nic's Highlands fling.

Noted Forehead this morning:

"Good move in terms of being invisible to paps, and an airport close by for quick getaways".

Of course if Kidman and Urban were to venture out in kilts down to their corner shop, to Bundanoon's Brigadoon, to Bowral's Tulip Time or any of the region's 40+ wineries, they might be noticed.

But if the front gate of the property is a long way from the road and if they chopper in and out (as do many others), then chopper-borne paps notwithstanding, the Kurbans could be in for a quiet time.

What else might their Highlands acquisition foretell?

The Kurbans renting out their house when they're out of town à la Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes? Urban hooking up with Barnsey (who has now moved back to the Highlands) and joining the Mittagong Country Music Stampede? Kidman and another local Reg Livermore delivering thespian thinktanks at the Southern Highlands School of Performing Arts?

And could Sunday Rose possibly be booked into Frensham? If so moreover, could Frensham founder, the maverick, but low-profile, educator Winifred West, prove inspiration for a future Kidman role?

The mind boggles.

Dang, just as well I don't have gossip column anymore.

A modern glamour icon

She might have earned a reputation in some quarters as an ice queen, but when it came to the details of her second wedding, Nicole Kidman proved she is a romantic at heart.

Original post and comments - linked to that day's Sydney Morning Herald news story.