Sabatini's It girls

On Friday morning, Sabatini hosted a breakfast at Café Sydney to celebrate 20 years in business in Australia and preview the Spring/Summer 2011/2012 collection. Of course, the third generation New Zealand knitwear company is much older than that – 58 years to be precise (in September, frockwriter visited its headquarters in Auckland). A tightly-edited presentation of just 12 strong looks, with styling by Franco Schifilliti, this was Sabatini’s best ever show. Brother and sister Margi and Tony Milich now run the business, but great to see Margi’s daughter Danielle Evans-Milich, who had her own Milich & Morton label at one point, with more of a hands-on role these days. The showpieces in Friday's capsule collection included a knockout fringed silver cocktail dress with fishtail train which, although perhaps never intended for production, will wind up, we’ll wager, photographed by magazines and on special order. In what is a signal of the calibre of models we can expect this week in Sydney, the cast included Lauren Brown and Alice Burdeu, who recently returned from the northern hemisphere show circuit. Both Brown and Burdeu are among a group of models who were launched out of Sydney’s Priscillas agency and onto the world stage by former Priscillas booker Doll Wright. Wright moved to New York three years ago to work at Priscillas’ US affiliate Elite, but has just resigned from Elite. Although she’s not saying much right now, according to industry whispers Wright is heading to cashed-up competitor Ford – which recently poached Catherine McNeil from the Next agency. And word has it that McNeil might not be the only Australian model to be nabbed by Ford once Wright touches down there. 

Australia's next top models plot a New York Fashion Week takeover

elite via models.com

As far as frockwriter can ascertain, there is not a single Australian designer due to show during New York Fashion Week's Fall/Winter 2011 season, which officially kicks off on February 10th. Kit Willow Podgornik will shoot her Fall/Winter 2011/2012 lookbook in New York on February 9th, but that's a private event. This is a big change, of course, compared to five years ago, when up to seven Australian labels were showing their wares there. But this does not mean that there won't be any Australians on New York's runways. In fact, FW1112 is shaping up to be a bumper season for antipodian models in The Big Apple. The world number 5, Abbey Lee Kershaw, won't be among them, however, as she will skip New York Fashion Week this season. Although due to head to Milan and Paris, prior to those legs Kershaw will be tied up in London with a "personal music project" [telling her mother agency, Chic Management, this will involve a performance with "my band" - read Our Mountain, the band of Kershaw's boyfriend Matthew Hutchinson, with whom Kershaw has previously performed on stage). 

Seven out of the 25 models chosen by Elite New York for the agency's official Fall/Winter 2011/2012 show package, that is distributed to designers and casting directors, are Australians: Julia Nobis, Lauren Brown, Bambi Northwood-Blyth, Emily Wake, Ruby Jean Wilson and Australia's Next Top Model winners Amanda Ware and Alice Burdeu (above). After a short study hiatus, Burdeu dominated New Zealand Fashion Week's runways in September, great to see her back.

Joining them will be Australia's overnight modelling superstar Andrej Pejic, Jessica Hart, Annaleise Smith, Elyse Taylor, Codie Young, Emilia Skuza, Skye Stracke and potentially a number of others. 

Others still are due to join these names as the season moves on to London, Milan and Paris over the following three weeks. 

Myf Shepherd, for instance, who is also making a comeback after a study hiatus, is planning to head to the Milan and Paris legs.

Let's see who snags which shows. 
 

Catching up with Alice Burdeu backstage at Zambesi

Here is a quick backstage interview (below) I managed to grab with Alice Burdeu after last night’s Zambesi show, which she opened – one of 19 shows that Burdeu told me she is doing this week. It was noisy, so it’s a little hard to hear (and better with headphones). Great to see Burdeu back in action. She is looking really good. As she mentions, she has been taking a break to study psychology at Melbourne’s RMIT. Looking forward to seeing more of her later in the week.

Starfish opens New Zealand Fashion Week

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from [frockwriter]


Sustainability is an imperative global issue and the fashion industry is making some attempts to address it - although "could do better" would be the likely wording on the green report card of most fashion businesses. Good to see New Zealand Fashion Week choose an eco-focussed label - Starfish - to launch its Autumn/Winter 2011 season here in Auckland earlier this morning (which frockwriter is attending for the second season as the guest of the organisers). A pretty collection of wrap and T-shirt dresses, softly-printed maxidresses and maxi skirts in organic cottons and denims, linen, merino and hemp, models included Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 4 winner Alice Burdeu, one of numerous Australians who are in town for the shows. Below is a short backstage interview I recorded with Starfish designer Laurie Foon and the show finale. Head to frockwriter's Posterous for the full pic gallery.