UN expert to Rodarte: Hands off Aboriginal culture

rodarte FW1213/getty via daylife

In writing about Rodarte’s Fall 2011 show in February last year and specifically, about the casting of Alice Springs-based model Melissa Johannsen, frockwriter noted, “When the Mulleavy sisters were dreaming up their Fall 2011 collection with the Great American Plains in mind, chances are there weren't any pictures of Australia’s Red Centre on their mood board”. Twelve months on, coincidentally, what inspired Laura and Kate Mulleavy, the designer siblings behind the New York-based label, for their Fall 2012 range? “Australia!” and “the rugged outback”, they told reporters backstage in New York last month, in spite of the fact that neither has ever visited Australia. The inspiration “came out of nowhere”, according to the Mulleavys. No, it did not, says Megan Davis, an indigenous Australian lawyer who is the head of the University of NSW Indigenous Law Centre and an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). UPDATED: The Mulleavys claim the prints were licensed, but they still won't reveal the identity of the artist/s (see below). 

Best in show - the Australian models of Fall/Winter 2012/2013

julia nobis after the miu miu FW1213 show/altamira via ford models

DBN56MVS9ZCU. That's a wrap for Fall/Winter 2012/2013 folks. Above is a shot of Julia Nobis taken just after Miu Miu on Wednesday, the final day of Paris Fashion Week. She's looking a little dazed and confused. Considering that by our count, Nobis walked in 73 shows from New York to London, Milan and Paris - besting her record from last season by one show - no surprises there. Nobis led the Australian model pack once again and quite possibly will also emerge as the season's number one catwalker for the second consecutive time. So far, we have counted 34 Australians on the FW1213 runways. There was pretty much an Australian in every major show of the season. At Chanel, there were five: Nobis, Miranda Kerr, Montana Cox, Rose Smith and Caitlin Lomax. They walked in so many shows, they corrupted frockwriter's interface. No joke. After battling data problems for the past two seasons with the increasing size of these showlist posts, we have now had to put the show details of the busiest Australians into drop-down boxes. 

Abbey Lee Kershaw makes a miraculous recovery from surgery to walk in Kanye West's show

After his mercilessly-slaughtered first collection, the only way was up, frankly, for Kanye West's sophomore show in Paris. The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, gave yesterday's show much kinder reviews. In other terrific news for West, Abbey Lee Kershaw apparently made such a rapid recovery from last week's knee surgery, she beat a path to his backstage door to walk the show for the second season - at least according to a number of media outlets.

From ANTM to ICU: Alice Burdeu's adventures in Ellison-land

screen grab, 'an ode to the muse'

Becoming the winner of the Australia's Next Top Model series can lead to many things. An international modelling career, if you are lucky - and it looks like the Australian show's winners are having more luck than most at the moment. Over the weekend at Melbourne's Australian Centre For The Moving Image, Cycle 3 winner Alice Burdeu made her screen debut - well, at least her film festival screen debut - at Justin Watson's and Alastair McCann's No Home fashion film festival, as part of the cultural calendar of the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival, which officially kicks off tomorrow. Burdeu is the star of a short film called 'An Ode to the Muse', that was shot by Melbourne's Tooth & Claw collective for Sydney fashion label Ellison. For anyone who didn't catch No Home, here is a first look at the film. It's an intriguing little plotline.

Cox plate

montana cox at chanel FW1213/getty via daylife

"Everyone you've worked with said you were ready to take on the fashion world" Australia's Next Top Model host Sarah O'Hare told Montana Cox on live television last October, after announcing the 18 year-old Melburnite as the winner of the 2011 series. Just five months later, it seems O'Hare and co may have had a point. Over the past fortnight Cox has scored some of most coveted runway jobs in the business, just adding top Paris shows Lanvin, Christian Dior, Kenzo, Mugler, Cacharel, Andrew Gn and Vanessa Bruno to a Fall/Winter 2012/2013 showlist that already included Italian luxury names Bottega Veneta, Pucci and Etro. Cox leaves Paris today after adding just one more name to that list. It's a big one (UPDATE: Chanel, see above, where Cox walked alongside compatriots Miranda Kerr, Julia Nobis, Caitlin Lomax and Rosemary Smith). Then it's straight to Charles de Gaulle airport for a flight to Melbourne, to star in Thursday night's David Jones parade which will open the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival (her only LMFF gig). Stand by to see if Cox scores an equally coveted spot on any of the Top 10 Newcomer lists that are published by various outlets at the end of the season. But just how unusual is her 'overnight success' against the broader backdrop of Tyra Banks' Top Model franchise, which was launched in the US in 2003 and is now produced independently in some 50 countries? And with Cox as its latest star, just how successful is the Australian version of the show?   

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia SS1213: The Survivor edition

So Australian Fashion Week is back in its third incarnation from April 30th to May 4th. Founded in 1996 as Mercedes Australian Fashion Week, Rosemount became the naming rights sponsor in 2007 and now, five years later, Mercedes-Benz is back on deck, to the reported tune of AUD 1million. The new official title is Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia. For the past four years we have pulled together a preview schedule ahead of organiser IMG Fashion Asia Pacific's official schedule release. So here we go again. Why so soon? Because earlier this week IMG went out with a press release - unusually, some nine weeks ahead of the event - to announce which designers are on board so far this season. Could the timing of this release have anything to do with next week's L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival? We have a hunch it might. 

Andrej Pejic is considering a lead role in a French feature film

damon baker via models.com

Abbey Lee Kershaw isn’t the only Australian überblonde who may be considering a move into movie territory. Frockwriter always thought that the perfect film role for Andrej Pejic might be Pygar the angel in a remake of Roger Vadim’s 1968 sci fi classic Barbarella. While the latest Barbarella remake attempt may be stuck in development hiatus, we were very interested to hear that Pejic is currently seriously considering an offer in another film project. Also with a French director as it happens.

Abbey Lee Kershaw has a dickie knee, may be working with Spielberg

via lifeaficionada.tumblr.com

Australian supermodel Abbey Lee Kershaw has been conspicuous by her absence on the Fall/Winter 2012/2013 runway circuit, turning up in just two shows in New York - Alexander Wang and Anna Sui - and prompting all sorts of wild rumours. Sure, at Kershaw's level (she is ranked the world #5 by models.com) a model might not feel the need to run herself ragged on every runway, choosing instead to appear in a select few shows, possibly on an exclusive basis. Considering that Kershaw is a current advertising face of Gucci, however, many were surprised to see her miss that specific Milanese show last Wednesday. But frockwriter can reveal that she has at least one pretty good excuse for keeping a low profile. 

Australia's next top models

montana cox at bottega veneta FW1213 getty via daylife.com

So how is modelling's so-called 'Aussie invasion' going? The Fall/Winter 2012/2013 Paris shows kick off today and so far, by our count, 31 Australians have turned up on the runways of New York, London and Milan, with one notable newcomer making her mark in the latter city. That is, Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 7 winner Montana Cox (above). Fresh off the ANTM 2011 winner's podium, Cox has yet to even make an appearance at Australian Fashion Week. In her first ever runway season, however, she has already bagged five shows, including some of the most prestigious Italian luxury names: Bottega Veneta, Pucci and Etro. Frockwriter hears that the casting directors of some of the bigger Paris brands may be equally interested. ANTM Cycle 6 winner Amanda Ware was also in Milan, ditto the 2010 winner of the Girlfriend Model Search, Jemma Baines. Julia Nobis meanwhile - who of course never emerged from any modelling competitions - is up to 48 shows already this month. Will she close the Paris shows next week as the season's top catwalker for the second consecutive season? Updated lists below and a photo gallery of the showgirls of London and Milan. The NY shows are in black type; London, blue; and Milan, red.  

Introducing Frockwriter+

Do or do not, there is no try, right? It’s been three years and seven months since frockwriter first saw the light of day. You never know when you start these things just where you will wind up. But here we are with 65,000 unique visitors and 100,000+ page views this month. Links to our stories on a plethora of blogs and mainstream news sites. And notably, beyond the growing number of visitors – many of whom are first-timers who arrive via much bigger sites – a dedicated core of readers who keep coming back to the blog time and time and time again. Some visit, incredulously, over 200 times a month. Traffic, links and consumer engagement are wonderful validation for any blogger. But you can’t pay your rent with them. Eighteen months ago, I introduced advertising. This has helped, but it's a Catch 22 situation: I can’t devote more time to the blog without compromising my ability to earn a living. And unless I spend more time blogging, traffic will never reach a sufficiently critical mass whereby advertising fully supports the blog. So I am trying something new: I am introducing a subscription service in the hope that those who do really value frockwriter’s content and are disappointed that there’s not more of it will be interested in supporting it. I’m calling it frockwriter+. I appreciate this a controversial move. In terms of the fashion blogosphere, as far as I am aware, it’s a fairly radical concept. Before you strike frockwriter off your favourites list in disgust, I’d just like to provide a little background.