Wayne Cooper in talks for his own tv show, still hating on plus size women

screen caps 'the wc'/exero films

Wayne Cooper could be the “Gordon Ramsay of the fashion business” if Kostas Metaxas has anything to do with it. The Melbourne-based filmmaker has a "fashion comedy miniseries" called The WC starring Cooper in development and is currently talking to Australian and international television networks. Curiously, there has been zip local publicity on this, beyond a press release about a National Association of Television Program Executives award the teaser webisode, below, won in LA in July. The webisode was made specifically for the latter competition according to Metaxas, who tells frockwriter he has shot three quarters of the material for a full-length feature, but that The WC could be, pending interest, “a feature, a tv series or 20 webisodes....This is like a starting point. Wayne is an interesting character, and he’s an exceptional actor. And at the same time he has a sense of humour. He understands that what we’re doing is not meant to be rocket science”.





The concept, a mélange of scripted sitcom and reality television, Sacha Baron Cohen-style, revolves around Cooper’s real-life job as a fashion designer. Written and produced by Metaxas, it is, coincidentally, being shopped around at the same time that New York fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone is said to be in talks with MTV regarding a new script-based fashion show.

The webisode - which also stars professional actors Tim Constantine as Cooper’s assistant “Sydney London” and Elisabeth Shingleton as the advertising manager for Vague magazine, in addition to cameos from Melbourne hair stylists Stavros Tavrou and James Razos from Collins Street salon Rakis - sees Cooper preparing to show at London Fashion Week. The fictional scenario has Baz Lurhmann tapped as Cooper's show producer, a planned mandolin-and-didgeridoo musical score and a stream of VIP phone calls into Cooper's studio from (former Australian PM) Kevin Rudd, (Oz celebrity) Lara Bingle and Boy George - all fobbed off by Cooper.   

Metaxas might just as easily have based the story on Cooper’s real life story, which at times has verged on a soap opera.

A London law school graduate, the loudmouth Cockney emigrated to Australia in 1985, settling in Sydney and later founding the Brave and Wayne Cooper fashion labels.

Cooper was the first designer to show at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in May 2006 and in 2000 he was the first Australian (not counting US-based expat Richard Tyler) to show at New York Fashion Week. Known for his extravagant spending, in 2005 Cooper went into voluntary administration, owing $3million. Later that year, he and his family narrowly escaped a terrorist bomb blast in a restaurant in Bali. 

In 2008 he endured a messy, public split from his partner Sarah Marsh who accused him of domestic abuse on national television. Cooper later pleaded guilty to common assault. The pair eventually reunited and were married in Bali last month.  

“They’re going to do a pilot with someone in New York, I think it’s going to be an American thing” was all Cooper could tell us this afternoon, when we tracked him down in his car.

Metaxas is no stranger to television, having sold numerous documentary series to networks in Australia and other markets, including the Masters of Luxury (2008) and the Masters of Fashion (2005). He met Cooper while shooting the latter.

Although obviously a parody, The WC webisode nevertheless features several vox pops and footage of real people and fashion figures, shot in Melbourne and London. 

One of them features in the closing scene, which comes across as particularly snarky.  

In it, Constantine and Shingleton salivate over an off-camera black dress.

“It’s magnificent - it’s like a cold glass of water after being out in the desert for years” effuses Shingleton.

The camera pans over to show an apparently unsuspecting Hayley Hughes (above), a Melbourne blogger, photographer and stylist (who regular readers may recall recently starred in this Today Tonight story about plus size discrimination in the Australian fashion industry).

In another part of the film, Cooper describes one of his dresses as “very slimming”. Cooper famously once described Australian models as “porky” compared to their European counterparts.

“I think it’s tongue in cheek” says Metaxas of the Hughes scene. “It’s the notion that fashion and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s not meant to be a putdown. If you met me, I’m also large. It’s like the Jews making jokes about the Jews. We’re not trying to be too serious”.


all images: screencaps 'the wc'/exero films
 

ABC Art Nation's story on fashion bloggers

Here is the ABC Art Nation story on fashion bloggers that I mentioned was due to air on Sunday evening, for anyone who missed it. The entire half hour show was in fact dedicated to fashion, which was great to see on Australian television - for once. Will bring you the other stories as quickly as the ABC can get those embed codes over. There was a great standalone profile on our buddy Sonny Vandevelde. And not before time.

ABC Art Nation tracks fashion bloggers

Well we did say RAFW is shaping up as a blogocalypse. And look, frockwriter actually means that in the nicest possible way. A mere whisper at the 2006 event, bloggers are really coming into their own this year. According to The Sydney Morning Herald's Georgina Robinson, whose story about fashion bloggers was splashed on page one of smh.com.au on Thursday, IMG had (as of Wednesday) officially accredited 20 bloggers this year. Robinson later revealed on Twitter that the company had knocked back another 30. In the interim, a number of those knocked back have had their accreditations rushed through. On the eve of RAFW, ABC's Art Nation joins the score of mainstream outlets to track the rise of fashion blogging as part of today's fashion-focussed show. I was honoured to be included, alongside Lady Melbourne and Fashion Hayley (with Sonny Vandevelde featured in either this or a separate story. Sonny was filmed during his recent LMFF exhibition).

The program airs at 5.30pm on ABC1 today and it will be repeated at 7pm on ABC2. Hopefully it will also go online.

In the interim, here is the teaser video from the ABC Art Nation site.

Just to further clarify the accreditation issue for bloggers, some appear to have erroneously believed an accreditation was the only entry point to the event.

Incorrect.

An accreditation, while handy, is only a guarantee into the main venue, the trade show, the media centre and the daily group shows that are organised by IMG. The guest lists of all solo collection shows are strictly at the discretion of the designers. Which is exactly how it works overseas. Earlier this week one Sydney publicist mentioned that 50percent of her guest list/s are non delegates.

Publicists appear to be thawing to the idea of bloggers. Which is great news. Because at the end of the day, they must surely realise that although the number of Australian newspapers, magazines and tv outlets covering RAFW has remained fairly static over the years, the number of independent online media outlets has grown exponentially. This coverage is new, additional exposure for all concerned.

Just a few of the great blogs that will be front and centre covering include, once again, Sonnyphotos (your go-to for the best backstage photography), also Imelda (the shoe expert - with an acerbic general fashion eye), Cultures In Between (an achingly cool indie perspective), the upwardly-mobile Sassisam, New Zealand's Aych and Isaaclikes and Sassybella.

There are many, many more, including etailer blogs (such as The Grand Social). I am flat out today and I am so sorry I don't have time to compile an exhaustive list, but please sing out in the comments so people know where to find you.

Best of luck to everyone with their coverage for the coming week.

I will do a post later today to clarify how frockwriter's multi-platform coverage will work this year. I am hoping this will make it easier to follow. Guys, I cannot do everything on Blogger. It's as simple as that.

In the interim, I have also included a Twitter widget to the RHS set to anyone referencing RAFW. If you are not familiar with Twitter, just click on the links highlighted in blue for more info about those people.