Smoking hot mama Miranda Kerr

steven meisel via mayfrayn/tfs

She has yet to grace the cover of her home country edition, but September is shaping up as the month in which Miranda Kerr hit the big time in the international Vogue stakes, with three editorials inside the September edition of US Vogue and the September covers of both Vogue España and now Vogue Italia. Shot by Steven Meisel in 3D, even Kerr’s pooch Frankie gets a lookin on the Italian cover. It wasn’t the Yorkshire terrier that grabbed frockwriter’s attention in two images in the accompanying 12-page editorial, however, but a cigarette (above, below). And it's not the first time Kerr has been photographed smoking this year. In June, she appeared topless, cigarette in hand, in issue 114 of French magazine Numéro. 

Although tobacco advertising may have been outlawed in many countries, of course it’s not illegal to smoke. 

Anecdotally, a very high percentage of fashion models appear to be smokers. With research linking smoking with dieting amongst adolescent girls, the prevalence of smoking in the model population is presumably not solely due to any perceived “cool” factor. 

According to Kerr’s publicist, Carlii Lyon, however, Kerr is not a smoker. Not only that, Kerr has been evangelising a chemical-free lifestyle through her own organic skincare line Kora and her website. 

Moreover as the author of Treasure Yourself, an upcoming self-help book for all those highly impressionable teenage girls, which purports to "instruct her generation... how they can achieve greater health and happiness", Kerr also appears to be going out of her way to tout herself as a role model. 

Leaving aside the possibility that Kerr may well also have been pregnant at the time of the Vogue Italia shoot, which some might find distasteful, don’t the 4000-odd chemicals, including 50 known carcinogens, with which the cancer sticks she’s waving around as part of her current “high fashion” reinvention are riddled, seem somewhat at odds with her own core values?

Not according to Carlii Lyon, who told frockwriter:

"Fashion can at the best of times be very theatrical and in some instances cigarettes are used as props. In this particular image Miranda is playing a role and in no way does it reflect her personal values". 

steven meisel via mayfrayn/tfs

Lyon said she is not 100% sure when the Vogue Italia shoot took place, but that it may have been in “June or July”. She is checking.

Kerr did do several shoots while pregnant, said Lyon. Given that Kerr recently told Vogue España she was “four months along”, she could have been two to three months pregnant at the time of the Vogue Italia cover shoot. As in the David Jones Spring 2010 catalogue images, she certainly looks fuller-figured than usual in these shots.

Kerr may still lack the 'high fashion' track record of some other models, including Australia’s Abbey Lee Kershaw and Russia’s Natasha Poly. But she is definitely catching up. 

As far the celebrity factor goes, however, she is a much bigger name - her recent marriage to Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom and the baby news having only increased her visibility across the globe.
 
With the Vogue Italia editorial entitled simply “Miranda – photographed by Steven Meisel”, it’s a little hard to argue that Kerr isn't being photographed as a celebrity in her own right here. 

Codie Young covers Vogue Australia

Earlier this month, frockwriter revealed that 17 year-old Sunshine Coast schoolgirl Codie Young would be gracing the cover of the October 2010 edition of Vogue Australia. Well here it is, courtesy of the Facebook page of Viviens Management (and swiftly spreading across the net) supplied by Vogue, a much better quality version. Incidentally, Young wears the same embellished Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Miu Miu dress that appeared on the covers of four international fashion titles in August, twice in lilac and twice in orange. Shot by Nicole Bentley, the image is part of a 12-page story called 'Lace value' which also features Rosemary Smith.

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. 

all images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by ksubi

Lewitt responds to the Abbey Lee Kershaw film flak, suicide prevention experts weigh in

Earlier this month frockwriter reported that a South Korean fashion brand called Lewitt had engaged American photographer Ryan McGinley to shoot a short film starring high profile Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw. The film, which depicts Kershaw climbing to the top of a building, hesitating whilst anxiously looking down and then hurling herself over the edge, with the fall documented in slow motion to show multiple clothing changes, seemed like an odd concept for promoting fashion to young women in a country that boasts the world’s highest female suicide rate. Odder still, given that seven models - including South Korea’s Daul Kim – committed suicide over the past two years. Four, by jumping. Kershaw subsequently revealed that the film was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. McGinley has still not responded to frockwriter’s questions. But Lewitt did finally get back to us – albeit apparently via its advertising agency. We received the following response from a South Korean company called Intoo Creative. Since we have had no prior dealings with them, we did seek to confirm with the Lewitt HQ that it was in fact an official company statement. In ten days there has been no response. So here goes:

"The basic inspiration of our film came from a picture of a model (Agyness Deyn) jumping off a building, which was taken by Mr. Ryan McGinley. We tried to show fantastical images and visuals as much as possible that are well-known as the trade mark of Mr. McGinley himself. However, our particular film includes more than his trade mark of jumping & running visuals. It also was inspired by fantasy worlds from movies called Alice in Wonderland and Pan’s Labyrinth.

We would like to point out that at our most recent press premiere in Korea, there were no feedbacks whatsoever that link this excellent film to a motive that might even be encouraging any suicidal behaviors on Korean women. This film clearly expresses and portrays a girl’s adventure of finding freedom in her own fantasy world.

We understand that feelings and feedbacks may vary depending on individuals. However, we are sorry to hear that linking this film to Korean women’s suicidal rate based on an opinion noted on one individual’s personal blog is not at all a fair claim.
 
Lastly, for your information, official website of “LEWITT” is not yet to be opened and is still under construction. It is during this period when a picture of Abbey is shown just as a filling-in image for the site’s construction period.
 
Once again, thank you for your interest. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact. We sincerely ask you strongly not to misunderstand the true intention of the film".

The film – in full – is now up on the Lewitt website. As are a number of still images of Kershaw – including several shots taken as she jumps and falls (above, below). 

However the image of Kershaw lying spread-eagle on the ground (at the top of this post), which was used on Lewitt's website before the video went up - and was later removed after the negative feedback - is nowhere to be seen. 

In closing, just a reminder that it wasn’t just this blog which called the video into question.

A number of other blogs and media outlets picked the story up. Others, including Jezebel, followed.

While sadly we do seem to be covering more and more model suicide stories these days, fashion reporters of course are not suicide prevention experts. 

Just out of interest, what do the latter have to say about the Lewitt film? Frockwriter spoke to several suicide prevention experts who did not seem particularly impressed. 

Jaelea Skehan, Program Manager, Mindframe National Media Initiative at the Hunter Institute of Mental Health:
 

“While it may not be intended, the video could be interpreted as depicting suicide. 

While there has been limited international evidence looking at advertising specifically, there is substantial international research that links depictions of suicide in news and entertainment media with increased rates of deaths and attempts by suicide. Risk is increased where the media portrayal depicts a specific method or location of death. 

It is important for all forms of media to consider the potential impact that their portayals may have on vulnerable audiences". 

Professor Bob Montgomery, President of the Australian Psychological Society:

“It’s a potential problem. We know there’s a copycat effect. Models are chosen because they’re presented as, ‘This is is someone you desire to be, this is the look you should have, this is clearly someone you should be identifying with’. Whatever their intention is, is irrelevant. What counts is the impact on the people who are likely to see it and be influenced by it. So it is unfortunate that they’re presenting an apparent attempt at killing yourself as in any way glamorous. Their intention is to flog whatever she’s wearing to as many people as possible at outrageous prices and they’re willing to do almost anything to achieve that. And this is what I would call reckless advertising”.

 
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Child and Adolescent Psychologist:

"Yes I think this is problematic, it glamorizes, normalizes and
sanitizes suicide. Research suggests that the more we talk about,
write about or depict suicide there is a corresponding increase in
suicides. This is manifestly irresponsible and if someone did end
their lives, I wonder whether there might be a cause for action in law
against the advertisers?"

Could it inspire copycat suicides?
 

"Yes the Yukiko effect is a well accepted phenomenon. Around 10 o'clock April 8, 1986, the 18-year old Okada Yukiko ( a Japanese Brittany Speares) was found with a slashed wrist in her gas-filled Tokyo apartment, crouching in a closet and sobbing. Two hours later, the singer jumped to her death from the seven-storey Sun Music Agency building. The reason for the suicide is still unknown. Her untimely death resulted in many copycat suicides soon christened with the neologism "Yukko Syndrome" for copycat suicides in Japan".

Is there even a problem drawing attention to it, because it might encourage
those who are sitting on the fence to take action?

"The massive wave of emulation suicides after a widely publicized
suicide is also known as the Werther effect, following the Werther
novel of Goethe.The well-known suicide serves as a model, in the
absence of protective factors, for the next suicide. This is referred
to as suicide contagion. They occasionally spread through a school
system, through a community, or in terms of a celebrity suicide wave,
nationally. This is called a suicide cluster. To prevent this type of
suicide, it is customary in some countries for the media to discourage
suicide reports except in special cases".

***Any readers in need of support and information about suicide prevention should contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or youthbeyondblue.com***

all images: screen caps/lewitt.kr

Andrej Pejic channels Ziggy Stardust for Vogue Paris

Australia’s edgiest new modelling star, Andrej Pejic, was the talk of the town at last month's Paris mens shows. Frockwriter mentioned at the time that he had just worked with a well-known photographic duo for a major international magazine. Well that magazine is the just-launched September edition of Vogue Paris and Pejic features in a 16-page fashion story called 'Rive gauche et libre'. Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and styled by no less than Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld, the story was inspired by '50s chanteuse Juliette Gréco and '70s gender bender Ziggy Stardust and also includes Malgosia Bela, Daphne Groeneveld and transsexual Givenchy muse Lea T. But make no mistake, Pejic is the star of the story. He not only opens and closes it, but accounts for almost half the images (below). Click here to see the entire spread. And stand by to see what role Pejic may play in the S/S 2011 womens show season, which is about to kick off in New York. Not to mention the November edition of an equally high profile international womens' title, for which he has just been shot by an even bigger name, opposite a top female cast. He also features in an upcoming spread in Arena Homme Plus. 

all images: mert + marcus for vogue paris via the frenchy/TFS

Jennifer Hawkins puts the Love into Lovable with an Uncle Terry-style "porn star" campaign

Lots of buzz yesterday over the launch of Lovable’s new Love Colour collection down on Bondi Beach. The new lingerie collection is based around sorbet colours and so Lovable ambassador Jennifer Hawkins and a gaggle of lingerie-clad models doled out ice creams - and lingerie - from a Mr Whippy van. Most interesting of all: the set of campaign images that was released online overnight and which according to Lovable, will appear in next week’s editions of Grazia, Cosmopolitan and Shop Til You Drop magazines. Conceived by Sydney-based Studio Woo and lensed by Australian fashion photographer Simon Lekias, the shots depict the former Miss Universe horsing around with a blueberry milkshake, a watermelon wedge and an ice cream cone filled with lemon sorbet. It’s the way Hawkins is holding the cone that grabs your attention. The cone is not far from her mouth, her mouth is wide open and sorbet is dripping down her arm. The Lovable press release describes the images as “cheekily suggestive”. Everyone to whom frockwriter showed the shots this afternoon concurred they are highly suggestive: of notorious American photographer Terry Richardson. And we all know what Richardson would be suggesting the cone and the white sorbet would be in this scenario. Warning NSFW photos.

In spite of the fact that the press release describes the shots as “cheekily suggestive images destined to set temperatures soaring across the country”, a spokeswoman for Lovable's parent company Gazal denied that the ice cream cone image was supposed to suggest Hawkins administering a blowjob - or indeed that Terry Richardson was the inspiration. 

“I’m sure there will be some complaints” said Gazal's Dianne Taylor. “We normally do get them when we put a female in lingerie in any sort of advertising. But we don’t see that [blowjob/semen scenario] at all. That representation was not intended at all”.

“The creative is suggestive, but a lot of Lovable’s creative has been suggestive in the past” said Taylor, adding that a billboard ad featuring Hawkins with a stuffed rhinoceros and the tagline “Feeling horny?” was banned in New Zealand in 2007.

“The brief was to launch the colour range, to play on Lovable’s cheeky tone of voice, which in the past has pushed boundaries. She [Hawkins] was comfortable to push the boundaries a little further. Justin Woo [Studio Woo] came up with the idea of the props”.

Woo was in transit from Melbourne when frockwriter called his studio this afternoon. But even a studio colleague conceded the campaign has "a Terry Richardson feel" to it.

Richardson has shot one campaign in Australia – a controversial Lee Jeans campaign in 2006, for which he was paid an estimated $200,000. At the time, industry sources told me that this figure was ten times what a local photographer would have been paid for the same campaign. 

Richardson’s fashion work (below) has always blurred the boundaries between art and pornography.

When it comes to his personal work, however, there are no boundaries whatsoever – it is hardcore porn and Richardson himself is centre stage in pretty much every shot, giving a whole new meaning to the term photographic shoot. 


But not everyone, it seems, has been having fun on jobs with "Uncle Terry". 

Earlier this year a number of fashion models spoke out about Richardson, claiming he is a sexual predator who abuses the trust of inexperienced young women by encouraging them into compromising situations in order to take degrading images. The story made headlines around the world. Richardson is however still working, as busy as ever it seems.

It's interesting that a mainstream Australian brand such as Lovable would go anywhere near the style of his more risque work at this particular time. Especially a company that advocates corporate social responsibility via collaborations with femme-friendly organisations such as The Butterfly Foundation. 

To quote the Lovable website:

“We are dedicated to changing the culture surrounding eating disorders and body image through our support of Butterfly, by using happy, healthy models in our campaigns and promotional activities and by continuing to design intimates that are not created to objectify women’s bodies but to make women look, and most importantly feel, great when they wear them”.

images

1, 2/ supplied by lovable
3/ sisley via terryrichardson.com
4/ pirelli 2009 calendar, menstyle.it via fashionologie
5/ rolling stone via high snobiety
6/ lee jeans via the age

Too cool for school: Julia Nobis covers Oyster au naturel

Since she first rocketed into fashion orbit back in February, booked as a Calvin Klein New York Fashion Week exclusive, there has been no stopping Julia Nobis. Burberry is the latest major fashion name to be seduced by her edgy, tomboy vibe, for its Fall Burberry Black collection lookbook. Tomorrow, the 18 year-old  lands on her second magazine cover (after last month's cover of another, much smaller, Australian magazine Love/Want): Oyster issue #88. Here is a first look, together with a sample of the 12-page “J for Julia” editorial inside. Shot in lowres and without makeup by Rene Vaile, Nobis posed in and around her childhood Sydney home – that's her poster-plastered bedroom - with her little brother making a cameo. Nobis wears some of her own clothes in the shots including, hilariously, this Rose Bay Secondary College polo shirt, above, complete with Year 12 farewell tributes – signed less than 12 months ago. One tribute reads “You are cooler than cool”, demonstrating that well before she was discovered by RUSSH, Dazed & Confused, i-D, Prada and Australian, British and Italian Vogue, even her schoolmates thought she rocked. 

Also in issue 88 are interviews with Gareth Pugh; actors Carey Mulligan and Joséphine de la Baume; Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas; the High Priestess of polka dots, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama; emerging Australian fashion name Elliott Ward-Fear; American artist Dan Colen and Kiwi sculptor Michael Parekowhai – the latter interviewed by his mate, NZ fashion star Karen Walker.

Other fashion editorial was shot by Mari Sarai (eight pages accompanying the Pugh profile), Cameron Smith, Brooke Nipar, Ben Sullivan, Darren McDonald and Guillaume Lechat, with styling by Imogene Barron, Verity Parker, Mags Crow, Kate Ruth, Paul Bui, David Bonney.

all images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by oyster

Florence and the Willow publicity machine

She's no Lady Gaga, but upwardly mobile 23 year-old Brit Florence Welch is definitely becoming a style stakes contender after the roaring success of Florence and The Machine's Lungs, one of the best-selling albums of 2009 - and to date, 2010. Handy then for Australia's Kit Willow that Welch has apparently become such a fan of the brand. For Welch's just-wrapped Australian tour, she chose five dresses from the new Eclipse collection from Willow's showroom, wearing two on her two appearances on Seven's Sunrise breakfast show and this 'Art of Shadow' laser-cut Lycra dress, above, at Sydney's Enmore Theatre on Saturday night. Obviously the garments were gifted - which would be music to the ears of her record company which, the singer reports, recently had to put the brakes on her spending.

both images: willow

It's not the first time Welch has worn the brand according to Willow's HQ, which will presumably be waiting with baited breath to see what she turns up in on September 12, when she performs at the 2010 MTV Music Video Awards in Los Angeles. And there may be several opportunities to outfit her at the event: Welch is not only performing, but nominated in four categories, so chances are she would probably have at least one change of clothes. She changed twice at the 2010 Brit Awards in February.

At almost 6' tall, the redhead does cut a striking, if bohemian, figure - with a demonstrated penchant for Victorian-look lace dresses. Case in point this beautiful nude tulle dress, below, worn for another Enmore Theatre performance last week (see the rest of the portfolio of beautiful shots of this gig by Sydney photographer Daniel Boud) . This time the dress is not by Willow. Thanks to anyone who may be able to ID.

daniel boud

Valley girls

Had a bit of a manic Tuesday. Flew to Brisbane to moderate and talk at a fashion seminar convened by the Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE. The panel included sass & bide’s operations manager Stephen Carter, who regaled the room with details of the brand’s manufacturing logistics, quality control, what designers Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke look for in hiring and the revelation that the latter prefer to move on to new designs, rather than repeat best-sellers in-season. Also on the panel: Brisbane-based Subfusco designer Joshua Scacheri, Ethical Clothing Australia’s Emer Diviney and Molly Williams, agent Jess Meester, Hot Tuna founder Jo Meldrum and Bright Bots designer Jodi Baker. Dashed from TAFE straight to Scacheri’s boutique in hip Brisbane fashion hood Fortitude Valley, where who should be waiting but surviving Australia’s Next Top Model Cycle 6 contestants Kathryn Lyons and Amanda Ware, together with ANTM model mentor Josh Flinn.

Grabbed these shots and the following quick video iv with the girls.

Apologies for the poor quality. I flicked on the camera light, which appears to have distorted not only the picture, but also the sound quality. It is, however, quite clear if you listen to the iv with headphones. 

So what was the ANTM connection?

All were en route to the group Schwarzkopf show later that evening, as part of the Brisbane Fashion Festival. Scacheri's Subfusco collection was included in the show.

Flinn and Scacheri share the same publicist (Mother and Father PR), which dispatched Flinn to the show - with Flinn dragging along his two Brisbane-based ANTM charges as a favour.

But their ANTM chops did not apparently cut much mustard with the Brisbane Fashion Festival organisers.

After being denied front row seats alongside Flinn, Ware and Lyons wound up going home instead, still dressed in Scacheri's clothes.   

(L to R) kathryn lyons, josh flinn, amanda ware and joshua scacheri

And now for a commercial break

mad men barbie/amc

Just a quick post to flag a few changes to frockwriter. First up, as you will see, a slightly tweaked template. Please bear with me as I iron out the bugs. Secondly, back on July 4 I mentioned that frockwriter might one day go pro. Well this is that day - at least, for a trial period. To the right, you will notice a new addition to the layout: our first ad. In the interests of transparency, I just wanted to clarify a few points upfront. In so doing, I am not attempting to criticise choices made by any other bloggers. People make their own decisions, based on their own circumstances and business models. So here goes.

• This is a real ad – as distinct from a mockup, designed to show advertisers what their ads could look like. 

• This is a bona fide display ad. It is not affiliate marketing - or in other words, a free display ad that offers rewards (ie a small percentage of sales) following click-through sales of products to readers. 

• All advertising arrangements are managed by a third party. I have no direct contact with the advertiser.

• The display ad is the extent of the commercial arrangement. There will be no hidden extras, no sponsored links within the blog's content, no sponsored posts and no personal endorsements. What you see is what you get.

Pagesdigital.com is my advertising partner.

A pioneering Australian digital publisher that has been operating since 2004, Pagesdigital recently approached me with a view to selling advertising on frockwriter. It seemed like a good fit and so here we go. I approve the creative, but Pagesdigital otherwise handles everything to do with the advertising. There is no consultancy over content. Frockwriter remains completely independent.

Over the past two years I have been approached by multiple parties with commercial proposals. These have included several prestige online retailers which of course have to pay for display advertising on more established online outlets, offering affiliate marketing opportunities; several content aggregators (those polite enough to ask - as many other bloggers would be aware, others just take without asking); and one media player who approached me to supply content for their new online news venture - with the caveat that frockwriter would need to be off the air if I was involved because, they argued, "we wouldn't want to have to compete with you for the best content".

Just on affiliate marketing, for the uninitiated, it is estimated that a very high percentage of what looks like real advertising on fashion blogs is in fact affiliate marketing. Obviously this arrangement suits some people - notably advertisers. I'm not convinced it's a great arrangement for bloggers.

Like a small percentage of bloggers, I also happen to be a professional journalist who normally makes a living selling news to mainstream media outlets - which in turn, sell advertising around that content.

I would actually prefer to have no advertising at all on the blog.

For the moment, however, advertising appears to be a fact of life if publishing is to be sustainable. Because when you break it down, 30 news stories of 200-400 words apiece blogged over the course of a month – and there are months in which I write more than this – equate to 6,000-12,000 words. That’s a hell of a lot of content to be giving away to not only readers, but mainstream outlets that pay staff and freelance contributors to generate content - and which regularly pick up this blog's stories.

It’s been great building an online brand for the past two years. No idea, frankly, where it is heading but I felt this was a step in the right direction. If you enjoy reading this blog and you would like to continue having it as a news resource, then I hope you do too.

Thanks once again for your interest. On with the show.

Booked: Museyon's 'City Style' taps Sydney as a global fashion capital

Mitchell Oakley Smith isn’t the only Australian getting published by an international imprint. Paul Bui, former editor of Australia's longest-surviving indie fashion magazine, Oyster, now working as a freelance stylist and writer, has penned the Sydney chapter of the upcoming City Style: A Field Guide to Global Fashion Capitals. The book is being published in October by New York-based Museyon Guides, which commissioned hipsters in eight cities to write about their local haunts, hotspots and fashion creatives. Bui joins Tokyo-based Brit Dan Bailey from the Tokyo Dandy blog and New York-based Laia Garcia from Geometric Sleep and writers in Milan, London, Paris, LA and Stockholm. Designers profiled include Rad Hourani, Danielle Scutt and Australia’s Kit Willow. Interesting to see Sydney make the global fashion cities cut yet again, after popping up in the top 10 Fashion Capitals list published by Texas-based Global Language Monitor in both 2008 and 2009 (with the launch of the 2010 list imminent). 

Codie Young cracks the cover of Vogue

thom kerr

Well it seems a Vogue exclusive is not Codie Young’s only coup. The 17 year-old Sunshine Coast schoolgirl, who has been modelling for just four months and is currently appearing in a series of editorials exclusive to Vogue Australia, is due to appear on the cover of the October 2010 edition. That's what frockwriter's sources report editor Kirstie Clements told "20-30" people, including Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, at the Valentino retrospective launch at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art on Friday night as she introduced Young to the room. Young was Clements' special guest at the event. No response yet back from Vogue's rep Now confirmed by Vogue. Young’s Gold Coast-based mother agent Summer Fisher from Busy Models says she knew she had a potential star on her hands when she spotted Young en route to the movies at Maroochydore’s Sunshine Plaza in April and hooked her up with New York model agency DNA (and Viva in Paris/London), before even signing Young herself.

“I signed her in New York first but I wasn’t sure if Australia would get her look basically” Fisher tells frockwriter. “But obviously they do, if she’s on an exclusive for Vogue. Everyone has embraced her”.

Young walked in the Myer show last Thursday, but not the David Jones show two days beforehand, because she is under the latter retailer’s minimum runway age of 18. She also walked in one Brisbane Fashion Festival show.

Fisher reports that Young has been optioned for the shows of a major international fashion name for the Spring/Summer 2011 season, which kicks off in New York next month.

Fisher has however made the decision not to send her overseas until January, in preparation for a full season of shows – and not just one company's collections.

"If she hit it really big at the shows and everyone wanted to shoot her, they wouldn’t be able to because she would have needed to be back at school to finish year 12 and they would just move on to the next girl" says Fisher. "That happened to two girls at DNA. It’s the worst possible thing when Steven Meisel wants to shoot someone and they can’t”.

Here is a selection of new test images of Young by photographer Thom Kerr.

all images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by thom kerr

Ryan McGinley's "suicide" video was inspired by Alice in Wonderland - Abbey Lee Kershaw

On Sunday, frockwriter posted a new video shot by Ryan McGinley that stars Abbey Lee Kershaw and advertises a South Korean fashion brand called Lewitt. In the vid, which was uploaded by a South Korean YouTube member, Kershaw climbs a building, pauses while contemplating jumping and then hurls herself into the void - with slomos of various outfit changes. It seemed like a bizarre concept for promoting fashion to young women in a country that boasts the world’s highest female suicide rate. And an even more questionable choice, given that seven models - including high profile South Korean Daul Kim – have committed suicide over the past two years. Four of them by jumping. The post divided opinion. Some slammed the video. Others slammed frockwriter, dismissing it as a non story. The latter might want to take up their beef with the plethora of other outlets that have since picked the story up. Those who linked back to FW include Perez Hilton, Pedestrian, Fashion Copious, Germany's Les Mads and Dutch news site nu.nl. UPDATE 09/08: In spite of the fact that Lewitt removed Kershaw's image from its website last week, with McGinley also having the video pulled from YouTube, the video is now online on the lewitt.kr website, complete with stills. Still no response, however, from either McGinley or Lewitt.

Three days later, we have finally managed to make contact with Lewitt's Seoul-based managing director Dai Hyun Kim and await his response.

Still no word, however, from ALK’s Sydney or New York agents or McGinley himself, who won’t answer our questions but nevertheless appears to have had the video shut down on YouTube:



It’s still online however.

Even McGinley’s still of Kershaw on Lewitt’s website has been removed.

On Sunday, Lewitt's site looked like this:

Today, it looks like this:

So what is going on here? Was this not a bone fide job?

Yes it was, according to Kershaw, who was in town yesterday for the David Jones show (backstage shots below) and who appears to be adopting the Big Brother defense: the problem’s in the editing.

Here is the transcript of a very short iv I managed to grab backstage, after being invited by DJs into the VIP model room specifically to do the interview with Kershaw, which she consented to (but no video permitted).




You in fact used to do the David Jones show, didn’t you?
Abbey Lee Kershaw: I was youth ambassador back in 2005. I think it may have been the last time I did it.


What was it like doing this show again?
It was great. It was nice to be back home and to support a great Australian brand who appreciates you. When I come and work here, they look after us and they’re kind. I’m very happy to support a brand like that.


You’ve obviously been away for several years now, walking the world’s runways. What was it like coming back to the Australian runway?
I was more nervous than I expected to be. The expectations [of] coming back and having people around you watching the show who you worked with years ago when you were just a young model. So there’s a sense of expectation to perform. Hopefully I did alright.


What’s coming up next? How long are you in Australia for?
Two weeks and then I go to Hawaii for a week and then back to New York. And then the [Spring/Summer 2011] shows in September.


The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?
Yeah if I’m free, yeah.


Anything else big coming up?
Not that I know if. We don’t really find stuff out until very short...


I just wanted to ask about this Korean video you’ve done, Lewitt. What is it exactly?
It’s an Asian label and it was based around the story of Alice in Wonderland.


So what, she’s supposed to be falling down the rabbit hole?
Ah...I don’t...I mean...however you...we were shooting all day. There were different scenes all day. So his, ah, edit of it..I haven’t even seen it to be honest. I haven’t seen it yet. I think it just came out.


Some might be concerned that it looks like you’re trying to jump off the building.
Yeah of course people are concerned about things like that. People are always going to perceive..


South Korea has the highest female suicide rate in the world and there have also been a lot of model suicides, with many of them jumping. Do you not understand why it might concern people?
I understand. I haven’t seen the video.


But wouldn’t you have had the right to see it before it was finished?
[Starts to move away] I’m done here. I’m done. Thank you. 

backstage at david jones, sydney august 3rd

As it emerges, this is not the first time that McGinley has persuaded a model to jump out of a building for a fashion shoot.

In May 2008, McGinley shot Agyness Dean jumping out of a building in New York in various outfits, and also naked, for the Fall 2008 edition of POP magazine. The images were reportedly inspired by 1950s shots of children fleeing a burning building and received quite a lot of publicity.

One month later, Kazakh model Ruslana Korshunova jumped to her death from her New York apartment building.

The proximity between Korshunova’s extremely well-publicised death and the magazine's August 2008 publication appears to have passed unnoticed by various media outlets that ran stories on the issue and its editor Katie Grand. But not by one blog commenter, who noted:

“It sure is swell that not only did McGinley continue on with this story in the wake of Ruslana Korshunova's suicide, but that Pop actually ran this. Goddamn insensitive and uncouth”.

backstage at david jones, sydney, august 3rd

Kershaw seems to have a knack for courting controversy.

She once fell on Rodarte's New York runway in some extreme footwear.

She fainted on Alexander McQueen's Paris runway in a tight corset.

And in December last year, Kershaw made headlines when it emerged that she and two other models turned down McQueen's Spring/Summer 2010 show because they had concerns about the safety of walking in his outrageously high "Armadillo" shoes.

Two months later, reportedly depressed by the recent death of his mother, sadly McQueen too took his own life.



***Any readers in need of support and information about suicide prevention should contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or youthbeyondblue.com***