LAUNCH GALLERY: The rise of the Australian Fashion.
Hearing Abbey Lee Kershaw’s distinctive Aussie twang at the end of the new Flora by Gucci advertising campaign is indicative of the rise of a new generation of Australian supermodels. Word is, Gucci initially considered dubbing Kershaw’s voice with a more international accent, but the Italian fashion house’s eventual decision to let its new protégée’s unique beauty be accompanied by her own voice speaks volumes.
In the 1990s, Naomi, Claudia, Linda and Christy defined the supermodel era, followed by grunge, the "waifs" and Kate. Then Gisele led the Brazilian invasion and Natalia [Vodianova], the Russian reign. But open any international fashion magazine today and you can bet a pair of Australian eyes will be staring back at you. Not since Elle Macpherson and Emma Balfour regularly walked international runways have locals caused such a stir in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Kershaw, 22, Pania Rose, 25, Catherine McNeil, 20, and Myf Shepherd, 18, are all at the top of their game, landing big shows and bigger contracts.
Gemma Ward led the resurgence in 2003. At the age of 15, Ward won a Prada campaign, going on to star for Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana before pressing pause on her modelling career to try her hand at acting. Miranda Kerr, 26, has also worked her way into the annual Forbes 10 highest-earning models list through lucrative contracts, including one with underwear giant Victoria’s Secret.
"When I started, the modelling world was dominated by Brazilians and eastern Europeans, and I liked that out of 50 girls in a casting I was the only Aussie," says Pania Rose, who has been modelling for eight years. The Perth-bred, New York-based Rose is really hitting her stride, starring in campaigns for Neiman Marcus, Kenneth Cole, Armani Exchange and Oroton, as well as Harper’s BAZAAR’s new television campaign, which launches the September 2009 issue.
Adding weight to the Aussie invasion is Emma Balfour, who made a celebrated return to modelling last year as she hit the spring/summer 2009 runways for Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang and Giles Deacon. More recently, she walked for camilla and marc and Alpha 60 at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in Sydney. Camilla and marc’s Camilla Freeman-Topper says having Balfour in their show was perfect timing.
"Growing up, Marc and I always followed her career. [Balfour] truly was the first supermodel we both really loved. And she still has what it takes," the designer says.
It was a decade and a half ago that Balfour was one of the biggest names in fashion as the poster girl for post-grunge minimalism, but she says she doesn’t see herself as a pioneer of Australian modelling. "In England they regarded me as common and laughed at my accent. In America they asked if I spoke English," she says. "I was just lucky and in the right place at the right time. And being an essentially contrary person meant I ended up heading off in a different direction to the mainstream, which worked."
So what exactly makes Australian girls so hot right now? It’s apparently as simple as a good attitude and, of course, bloody good genes. "I think because of Australia’s relative isolation, we feel a need to keep up with the rest of the world, so it makes us aspirational and driven but not super-competitive," says Rose. "It’s all about having a good time, a fair go, doing your best but not taking it too seriously. I think that uniquely Aussie attitude is one of the keys to our success and we are also a multicultural country, so that gives us a beautiful mix. Plus being healthy and fit also comes naturally to us because of our active lifestyle."
Kershaw’s thinking also follows these lines. "The reason Australian models are doing so well has a lot to do with our laidback attitude," she says. "There are a ton of divas in the world of fashion, so a low-maintenance Aussie is a breath of fresh air for a lot of clients. But that said, being Australian has always been irrelevant in terms of my work. It would be strange to be booked purely because of where you come from."
From Balfour’s point of view, the Australian lifestyle and environment "tends to produce confident and balanced people. I think we’re lucky to have grown up in a fairly liberal society with good education and beauty everywhere." And as for the trend of Australian models relocating to the northern hemisphere, Balfour believes that, "if you have any ambition at all, you hit the ceiling pretty fast in Australia and need to move away to go further — and all those dodgy early jobs never get seen again!"
Country Road, It's not so bad. Really!
For fear of being stoned to death by my fellow man I have never mentioned Australia's most vanilla menswear brand, Country Road.
5 years ago and I would cringe at the though of looking like my father in a pair of sensible CR slacks and boat shoes, but thankfully they have got their shit together.
