In Vogue: Emilia Skuza and Melissa Johannsen

nicole bentley for vogue australia via viviens' facebook

Two under-the-radar models, both repped by the same Adelaide mother agent (Finesse Models), but two separate Sydney agencies (Viviens and Chadwick), wind up shooting a 16-page editorial together in Vogue Australia. What are the odds? Voilà a taste of the “Twin Peaks” story from Vogue’s July edition, out tomorrow. Shot by Nicole Bentley in New Zealand, it stars Emilia Skuza (left, above) and Melissa “MJ” Johannsen, who appear to be channelling not so much David Lynch as Alfred Hitchcock, with cateye makeup and windswept '60s flips. Neither model had previously been featured anywhere in the magazine and although Johannsen was one of the stars of the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week runways earlier this month in Sydney, Skuza has never worked at the event – and was in fact booked sight unseen by Vogue according to Chadwick. But regular readers of this blog may recall both names. We first encountered MJ in November at the Adelaide Fashion Festival when the Alice Springs resident had been modelling for a matter of weeks. And Adelaide-bred Skuza popped up on our radar in January, after emerging at the Paris haute couture shows. Both girls went on to walk in a number of top Fall/Winter 2011/2012 shows in New York, London and Paris in February and March. 

Finesse Models’ Brigette Mitchell is, naturally, one very proud mother agent.  

She told frockwriter, “I’m thinking per capita re models, not bad that Adelaide and Finesse in particular should get two girls in the same issue, in the same story. I just think it’s hilarious. It shows that good girls are coming from Adelaide”.

all images: nicole bentley for vogue australia, via viviens management facebook

Rosemary Smith and Emilia Skuza hop on fashion's trans Tasman locomotive

  

She was optioned for another big show, but Rosemary Smith pulled off the next best thing in Milan overnight: Fendi, alongside some of the biggest runway names in the business. Not bad for a first international show season, but Smith has got a long way to catch up with some other downunder newcomers, like Dempsey Stewart, whose already stellar first show season now also includes the blue chip Prada and Burberry shows. New arrivals to this already blistering antipodian show season are runway veterans Abbey Lee Kershaw, who has, not unexpectedly, been cleaning up with big name shows such as as Gucci, Fendi and Burberry; Myf Shepherd, after a year’s hiatus, walking so far for just Angelo Marani; Jessica Hart, who appeared at Matthew Williamson in London; and brand new Adelaide face Emilia Skuza. First emerging on the Paris haute couture runways last month, Skuza turned up at Aquascutum, Antonio Berardi, Mary Karantzou, Amanda Wakeley and Emelia Wickstead in London. The rise and rise of “trans Tasman models” has captured the attention of not only the blogosphere, but also the mainstream media. Today, The Australian ran a story about Bambi Northwood-Blyth and The Sydney Morning Herald covered the plethora of Australian models currently working the show circuit. 

all images: style.com/style.it


1/ rosemary smith at fendi
2/ emilia skuza at mary karantzou
3/ abbey lee kershaw at gucci
4/ myf shepherd at angelo marani
5/ dempsey stewart at prada

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. 
 

Meet the new girl, Emilia Skuza

elie saab haute couture SS11/getty via daylife

In spite of the deluge of global publicity following Jean Paul Gaultier's decision to cast Serbian Australian male model Andrej Pejic as the bride of his haute couture show in Paris on Wednesday, Pejic was of course not the only Australian on the haute couture runways. Abbey Lee Kershaw, a recent Chanel advertising face and runway regular, turned up at Chanel for yet another exclusive, no surprises there. Also scoring Chanel: Julia Nobis, who had a busy haute couture season, also walking at the Elie Saab, Georges Hobeika and Bouchra Jarrar shows. Ajak Deng walked at Alexandre Vauthier. According to Priscillas, Lauren Brown, who has appeared in several Chanel ready-to-wear shows, was in town for the haute couture castings but as far as frockwriter can tell, did not turn up on a single catwalk. One Australian who has slipped completely under the radar until now walked at Elie Saab and Bouchra Jarrar, alongside Nobis, as well as the show of new haute couture name Maxime Simoens - Emilia Skuza.

And three haute couture shows were not the sum total of Skuza’s catwalk appearances in Paris over the past fortnight. 

On Thursday 20th January, the 18 year-old, Adelaide-based Polish Australian was one of several women cast for Smalto’s menswear show (see below) on day one of the Paris Fall/Winter 2011/2012 menswear season and she also appeared in the Etam parade at the Grand Palais on Monday 24th. 
 
Etam is a French mass market lingerie and swimwear retailer. The company’s big bucks, Victoria’s Secret-style extravaganza featured performances from entertainers such as Beth Ditto, The Kills and Boy George and high profile modelling names such as Karolina Kurkova and Australia’s Nicole Trunfio. Although it’s a little difficult to tell from the video, below, that looks like Skuza at 9.58. Trunfio appears at 6.24 and 13.21.  

Skuza, who has just scored a TER of 99.7 in her HSC, is repped by Finesse Models in her home state, Chadwick in Sydney and IMG's Development division in New York and Paris.

Her experience in Australia consists of a few local parades, including shows at the Adelaide and Sydney Fashion Festivals and some low-profile beauty and fashion shoots.  

A dead ringer for a young Gisele Bündchen, Skuza is one of several new Australian models who are poised to make their marks on the Fall/Winter 2011/2012 womens runways, which kick off in New York on February 10.

smalto fw1112/enmodefashion