Emma Balfour gives David Lawrence a code red for Autumn/Winter 2012

Happy New Year to frockwriter's readers. New year, new look for Emma Balfour? Behold a first look at a red-headed Balfour in the Autumn/Winter 2012 campaign for David Lawrence, her third consecutive campaign for the Australian sportswear brand. Shot, once again, by Georges Antoni, this season’s DL backdrop is the spectacular Seidler House in Joadja in the NSW Southern Highlands. Built in 1999 by Australia’s most iconic architect, the late, Viennese-born Harry Seidler and now operated as a private hotel, the luxury residence and its 147 acres of natural bushland setting provide a stunning backdrop to the brand’s winter collection, which includes some pretty cool handbags. As a redhead, the fortysomething Australian mother of two - and recent face of Céline - looks a little like a hybrid of Rene Russo and Alice Burdeu. But it’s just a wig apparently.

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.

From the shop floor to page one

Long time, no Southern Highlands update. That’s the picturesque countryside located just over one hour by car from Sydney, to which a bunch of Sydney fashion (among other) folk have migrated for weekends - or else, for good. Last October, frockwriter revealed Australian politician and former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward channeling Mad Men in a fashion spread for the second edition of new Highlands mag SoHi, which attracted further coverage (and demands by Goward FYI to remove our post). Nothing too controversial for the third edition which came out on the weekend, with Sydney deliveries due this week (or buy from the website). Just convos with three treechangers (James Roberts, Dave Penn and Sal Farrow), a craft collab with Tamara Maynes and a story about gardening as schizophrenia therapy. “You know, the usual country concerns presented in a twisted way” says Exeter-based founder/editor Rebecca Wolkenstein. But there's a great untold story in the edition's cover star, Sofia Olson, who also appears in a fashion editorial inside the magazine (below), shot by John Laurie and inspired by the work of another SH local, artist John Olsen. 

Pru Goward channels Mad Men for SoHi Magazine

kylie coutts/sohi magazine

Behold Australian politician Pru Goward in the sophomore edition of SOHI Magazine – which, for those unfamiliar with goings on in the NSW Southern Highlands (a fave weekend haunt of many Sydney fashion, film etc folk, including Nicole Kidman), is shaping up to be the creative version of the glossy, bi-monthly, glorified luxury property catalogue High Life. Snapped by Kylie Coutts, Goward - the Member for the seat of Goulburn and the state Shadow Minister for Community Services and Women - wears a vintage 1950s pink linen dress and hunting cape as she stars alongside several other local highprofilers (notably, fashion retailer Belinda Seper, below) in a retro-nosed spread called, hilariously, 'Role Models'.



kylie coutts/sohi magazine

According to SOHI’s editor, the Exeter-dwelling photographic agent Rebecca Wolkenstein, the spread was inspired by 1950s German photographer Regina Relang and is in keeping with the mid-century ambiance of the rest of the issue, which features the work of noted graphic designer/illustrator Don Fish.

Of course, any pop culture aficionado will take one look at Goward’s image and note, “Um, doesn’t she look like one of the secretaries or long-suffering homemaker wives in Mad Men?”.

That is, the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning AMC series which depicts the shenanigans in and around a fictitious early 1960s Madison Avenue ad agency, during the still halcyon days of chauvinism and racism, prior to the passing of the 1963 Equal Pay and 1964 Civil Rights acts. The old skool typewriter and teacup props really don’t help things.

Goward is of course the former federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner Responsible for Age Discrimination with the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. And who noted of her first day in NSW parliament two years ago, "I have never worked in any profession as male-dominated or as ruthlessly sexist as this. I was quite shocked by it."

She would have loved Sterling Cooper.

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.

Fly-by shoot in the Highlands

Sonny Vandevelde and I have a double-page spread in the latest issue of WWD Scoop magazine, which came out yesterday. It's a feature on the NSW Southern Highlands, its iconic properties - which include Nicole Kidman's sprawling new Bunya Hill estate - and the region's newfound favour with the Sydney fashion crew. One veeeeeeery cold weekend in August, we whizzed around to a few hotspots.

We shot at Milton Park, Centennial Vineyards and also popped in to see Chic Management's Kathy Ward at her farm in Kangaloon.

Ward is one of a plethora of Sydney fashion/modelling peeps who have either moved down and commute to Sydney, or else have weekenders.

And as it emerges Ward, who reps Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Miranda Kerr and Myf Shepherd, among many others, is not only shuttling her children and horses between Sydney and Kangaloon on weekends.

As she told me:

"If any models are staying with me, part of the deal is they have to come down to the farm with me".

While down on the farm, Sonny discovered a hidden talent.

We know he's a model whisperer - but who knew he had such a knack with horses?

Up the front of the same issue Sonny's buddy (and Paris shows flatmate), model-turned-photographer Iekeliene Stange, has her own DPS of backstage shots that she took during New York Fashion Week.

So Sonneliene strike again, kind of.

Let's call it the Sonnepatteliene issue.

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’”.

Something for Sunday?

All the Kurban speculation provided the perfect opportunity to share with you one of my all-time favourite stores: a tiny little crafts shop in Bowral. If, like me, you love toys (anyone interested in Japanese vinyl might have spotted a few friends behind me in this pic) would probably love Bowral Crafts Unlimited.





Operating in Bowral for, I gather, something like 35 years, the shop has for some time been located in Corbett Plaza. In fact it's directly opposite Belinda Seper's new florist/homewares store Twig & Blossom:



Run by a cooperative of local volunteers, with all profits going back to the Bowral Hospital or various charities, Bowral Crafts Unlimited sells the most adorable, locally-made knitted dolls and toys, childrenswear and other country fare such as biscuits and jams.



The shop also sells wool and knitting patterns. For the tricot-challenged, you can organise to have something specially-knitted by one of the laydees. Front window display:



All up, this little gem of a shop is like something out of a bygone era.



I have bought more than one baby and bridal shower gift here. I love going in there because it's so charming.



The dolls in particular are beautiful - knitted from top-to-toe, often with the most intricate outfits. This one is two-dolls-in-one, turning upside down to reveal a completely different doll:



The dolls are priced from $15-35, which is fairly extraordinary given both the work involved and the likelihood that most are one-offs.



Some pretentious Sydney childrens store would mark stuff like this up to the wazoo - and even then it would probably be made in wherever, on a production line.



The volunteers who were on deck when I popped in yesterday were all chatting about Kidman.

Noted Hazel McGregor (above): "I really hope she comes in one day - and brings the baby".

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.

Belinda Seper on Bowral's "jeans of no fashionable persuasion"

And here is the Southern Highlands mag Q&A with Belinda Seper. As with Maggie T, Seper pulls no punches vis-a-vis the local scene.

For anyone not familiar with the name, Seper is Australia's pre-eminent multibrand fashion retailer.

A former model, Seper launched her first boutique in Sydney's Double Bay 16 years ago.

Belinda is now a mini retail empire which embraces 13 boutiques in three states - and a new boutique in Johannesburg.

The boutiques sell over 200 brands; a rollcall of the world's best, and best emerging, fashion names, from Lanvin to Marni, Friedrich Gray to 18th Amendment (many of them Belinda exclusives in Australia). Seper also operates Marni's and Vanessa Bruno's only standalone Oz boutiques to open to date, both in Sydney.

Although in this i/v she says a Southern Highlands Belinda boutique is not on the cards, last year Seper did open the Twig & Blossom florist/homewares store in Bowral's Corbett Plaza - opposite (Chadwicks Models founder) Peter Chadwick's now defunct Fruit Shop.

This was recorded in September 2006 in Milan. Seper spends 12-16 weeks on the road each year buying and I was there attending the SS07 shows.

What is the first thing that you do when you get to the Southern Highlands?
Belinda Seper: Run out and check what’s happening in my garden because I’ve lavished rather a lot of care and attention on it and so I’m always curious to see what progress has happened overnight. I get a lot of joy out of it but I probably shouldn’t be so obsessive. A watched pot never boils - a watched plant doesn’t grow any faster. I just keep watching all my rosebuds and wondering how long it’s going to take [for them to flower]. They’re quite promising at the moment.

What can't you live without in the Southern Highlands?
Space, I think. I love having that sense of space around me and not knowing that everyone is piled in on top of everything. Physical space that also gives one an emotional and mental space as well. It’s great for thinking time.

What do you think the region need more of?
I think it could use a few more restaurants – a few more restaurants with less cocktail sauce. Just a little bit more of what one might loosely define as ‘modern Australian cuisine’. A little bit more of that and less of the I suppose stereotypical country fare. Less of what you’d call the ‘faux heritage look’: the brass light fittings with big round balls on them and the dreary wallpaper. You can go to Milton Park and that’s all very lovely and there’s a few places, but I can count them on one hand. Maybe people don’t eat out down here. I tend to go the same places over and over. My absolute favourite is The Magpie Café in Berrima, which I never tire of. Because I think they have got it right.

What do you think of the Southern Highlands fashion scene and is there any chance of seeing a Belinda store open there?
I think it [the scene] is appropriate to its situation. When in Rome darling, wear a toga. When in the country, there’s a certain look isn’t there? There is. One needs one of those sleeveless vest things – a Barbour – and a pair of flat riding boots, jeans of no fashionable persuasion and a cheery little checked shirt, with the collar turned up. Preferably accessorised with a Louis Vuitton handbag and one of those silver fob chains. And a pair of designer sunglasses. There’s a definite look: rural chic. Or "Agrichic". Actually the riding boots can be interchanged with a pair of serviceable flatties, along with the cheerful checked shirts. I’m not sure where they [the checked shirts] come from but I think that RM Williams could be responsible.

Boutique? Definitely no. Because I think there seems to be an inconsistency between my view of fashion and that embraced by the majority of the local inhabitants. In other words I think I would appeal to a very select minority, which in business terms is unsustainable. There are a few that would get it but the majority of people are probably a little too price-conscious. I think we see the world a little differently.

And finally - how is Moss Vale different to Milan?
The most striking difference I think that I can keenly observe, is that Moss Vale is two words and Milan is only one. Let’s leave it at that.

Maggie T on the pink tracksuit trend: "WTF??"

Maggie rocking Hall Ludlow - definitely NOT Juicy Couture - 1959/Athol Smith

One of the great things about having a blog is that you can use it as a repository for absolutely anything. A fleeting observation. An overheard comment. A solitary Polaroid. Or indeed, archived material which enjoyed negligible exposure the first time around. A case in point, this Q&A with Maggie Tabberer.

It was done in July 2006, for an ill-fated gossip column I was commissioned to write for a new weekly newsmagazine to be published in the Southern Highlands - the sleepy stretch of country villages located approx 1.5 hours by road from Sydney.

Due to various business problems, the mag was dropped from weekly to monthly after just four issues - with the publisher swiftly bailing. All up only five editions of my column, High Society, saw the light of day.

Given that the column's material, I was later informed, "managed to offend almost all of the Southern Highlands", its demise was undoubtedly great news for some.

What was so offensive?

Perhaps the candid musings of a few high-profile fashion names who either live, or have weekenders there, and to whom I had thrown questions for a series of Q&As.

They included model impresarios Peter Chadwick (Chadwicks Models) and Kathy Ward (Chic Management), designer Rebecca Davies, retail queen Belinda Seper and media personality Maggie Tabberer. (The now Highlands-based veteran fashion photographer Sam Haskins was definitely on my to-i/v list. FYI Haskins in fact now has his own blog).

Maggie Tabberer (nee Margaret May Trigar) began modelling in Adelaide in the 1950s but her career hit its stride in Melbourne, where she was discovered and mentored by Helmut Newton (who, some may be unaware, began his career in Melbourne).

Tabberer went on to enjoy a very high-profile career as a television personality, author and designer - of the plus-sized Maggie T line - and remains one of Australia's true fashion icons.

Imagine my surprise therefore when I asked Maggie T for her thoughts on the Highlands fashion scene - and she didn't mince words.

I expected the comment in question to be edited from the published version. It was, I was told, removed - only to be reinstated, with asterisks, because the editors thought it was so amusing.

Here's the i/v:

What is the first thing you do when you get down to the Southern Highlands?
Maggie Tabberer: Unpack the food - that goes straight into the kitchen. Then the plants get taken out of the bright room, the conservatory/kitchen, and placed around the house. All the blinds go up or down depending on the weather and there I am. It always looks wonderful. I have an amazing couple who take care of it for me. I make coffee or tea or pour someone a drink and away we go. I like to go out and walk around the garden and see what’s poking its head through. I walked out the other day and there were… well they weren’t rabbits with the lovely little white bottoms, they were hares with legs almost as long as mine. I said, “What are you doing here? You’ll find yourself in a jug or a pot”.

What can't you live without there?
In winter, it’s the pot belly [stove]. In summer, the new air conditioning in the kitchen. Creature comforts are high on my list.

Do you think people in the Southern Highlands are well-dressed?
Some of them are. There are two mixes down there. There are the pink trackies with the ugg boots. Pale pink. Why in fuck’s name would you buy a pale pink tracksuit? I can never imagine. And then there’s the navy blues. That’s usually the pleated skirt, the very beautiful white linen shirt and either a knit or a wrap. And usually a flat brogue and colour-matched stockings. It’s the extremes of society down there.

What's with all the retired models and model agents?
We’re used to dealing with very beautiful things: beautiful models and beautiful photography and beautiful layouts. So we’ve all come to our senses at this stage of our lives and decided we’re going to go to the most beautiful place that’s available without driving 2,300 miles. We just love the beauty of the area. And the friendliness. I just think it’s just so nice. That village thing. I actually think it’s what the whole bloody world needs now.

And finally - are you related to Mr T?
The Mr T who used to be on telly? [Laughs] I wish. What you should have asked was, ‘Is Mr T related to you Maggie?’! He likes a bit of gold and silver, and usually comes with ten tonnes of chains around his neck and big knuckledusters on his hands. No connection to speak of darling.