Wild orchid - Emma Balfour tones it up for David Lawrence Spring/Summer 2011/2012

David Lawrence evidently has a thing for women of a certain age. The 33 year-old Australian sportswear brand has chosen iconic fortysomething Australian model Emma Balfour as its campaign face for the second consecutive season. Herewith an exclusive preview of the Spring/Summer 2011/2012 advertising campaign shot by Australian fashion photographer Georges Antoni at one of the penthouses of Sydney bar/restaurant complex The Ivy. This is the second brand campaign orchestrated by new David Lawrence creative director Anthony Cuthbertson and his first full collection for the brand, which is owned by M Webster Holdings and has 101 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Cuthbertson brings considerable design experience to the job. The UK-born graduate of Leicester's De Montfort University and London’s Royal College of Art has spent a decade working as either creative director or designer at such well-known brands as Max Mara and Sportsmax, Moncler, Daks (creative director 2000-2006), Workers for Freedom, Burlington, Rene Lezard and Amanda Wakeley.

“The campaign itself and the collection both have a lot of jewel colours and I wanted to bring in a feeling of holiday in the evenings, taking these jewel colours but seeing them in the night” Cuthbertson told frockwriter. “Continuing where we were for Autumn/Winter, where there was still a lot of movement through the shots, we shot through orchid flowers and the mood was very much like she was in a hotel lobby and on her way out”.

As it emerges, it's not the first time that Cuthbertson and Balfour have worked together.

“When Emma launched her career, she modeled for me in London for my own label at London Fashion Week, about 15 years ago. From there I remembered her and when I started thinking about who should be the face of this great Australian brand, Emma Balfour was the person I decided on because I really wanted to use a real Australian women. So many people look at young girls but really, to be closer to our customer, we have to use a woman”.

all images: georges antoni. supplied exclusively to frockwriter by david lawrence

Lawrence of architectura: Emma Balfour tones it down for David Lawrence Autumn/Winter 2011

Adelaide-born Emma Balfour was a very big modelling name in the 1990s. Launching her career at approximately the same time as Kate Moss, Balfour helped co-pioneer modelling's 1990s "waif" trend - which helped shunt the more statuesque 1980s supermodels off their pedestal. Kate Moss went on to become a much bigger name and her career has continued unabated. After taking time off to have children and move back to Australia from London, Balfour pretty much disappeared from the fashion radar. That was until September 2008, when she attempted a career relaunch on the runways of New York Fashion Week, booked for two top ticket shows: Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs. In the two year interim Balfour, now 41, has been clocking up a steady stream of work, including numerous advertising campaigns that girls half her age - and of course their agents - would love to be booking. In Australia, she has fronted campaigns for Willow and Mimco. Here is an exclusive preview of her latest gig: the Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign of Australian fashion chain David Lawrence. 

Shot by Georges Antoni at two spectacular buildings in Sydney - Harry Seidler & Associates and The Cove - the campaign hits stores next week and magazines in early February. 

It was styled by Claudia Navone with hair by Sophie Roberts and makeup by Linda Jeffreyes.

It is hard not to notice the Céline-like minimalism and colour palette of these clothes.

Given how influential the French luxury brand's new creative director Phoebe Philo has proven since her return to the fashion arena following her own maternity hiatus, two seasons ago, that's perhaps hardly surprising.

But the fact that Balfour in fact appeared in Céline's Fall/Winter 2010/2011 campaign, is somewhat amusing.

A strong branding campaign nonetheless from a mid market player. With Abbey Lee Kershaw coming up in the same season at Portmans, the bar for Australian high street fashion advertising imagery looks to have been set a little higher than usual.

all images: georges antoni for david lawrence. supplied exclusively to frockwriter by david lawrence