Portmans takes Abbey Lee Kershaw back to her roots, taps Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Louise Roe to boot

While frockwriter noted that Abbey Lee Kershaw had signed on as the autumn/winter 2011 face of Australian high street chain Portmans, we haven’t touched the story in the interim because well, images of the Nicole Bentley-shot campaign have pretty much been everywhere since its January 27th launch. But here’s something that caught our attention: a sneak peek at Portmans' secret second winter shoot that Kershaw has just done in New York, this time with a US team headed up by photographer Matt Jones. Same stylist, however, Harpers Bazaar Australia fashion editor Christine Centenera (which just goes to show that it’s not only in Paris where salaried magazine staff moonlight as stylists on the campaigns of advertisers). And miraculously, Kershaw is rocking her original long-haired coiffure in these images: mousey blonde, with pastel highlights and bangs. A Portmans rep assures us that this is merely a wig and that Kershaw - who, as we first reported, is ditching New York Fashion Week to appear with her boyfriend’s band Our Mountain at its three London gigs next week - still has a platinum bob. Perhaps Portmans figured Kershaw’s platinum locks would blend into all the snow in and around the Meat Packing District location? 

Frockwriter can also reveal that Kershaw will be fronting a magazine-style catalogue that Portmans is planning to release in March, around the same time that these new campaign images are due to drop in Portmans' stores.

The magazine has been edited by LA-based Brit fashion journo and tv presenter Louise Roe, a guest of the 2010 Melbourne Cup, who writes for Elle, Vogue.com, InStyle and Glamour and whose numerous tv credits include MTV reality shows The City and Plain Jane.

Included in the editorial lineup of the first Portmans magazine are an editorial shoot with ANTM Cycle 6 winner Amanda Ware, who is currently in New York hoping to score some shows. And, interestingly, a profile on Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, the French art director/model/socialite/It girl daughter of former Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld.

According to Portmans, Restoin-Roitfeld was an active participant in the profile, talking to Roe about her personal style, fave labels and shopping. 

Given her family’s longstanding connection to Ford (Carine Roitfeld was a former consultant to Ford at Gucci and YSL) and that Restoin-Roitfeld modelled in both Tom Ford’s Black Orchid fragrance campaign and Ford’s debut womenswear show in New York last September, recently interviewing Ford for V Magazine, presumably his label would be at the top of her fave label list. Just a reminder that Kershaw is currently fronting Ford’s first womenswear campaign. 

Great publicity for Ford of course. And a clever way, all round really, for a run-of-the-mill fast fashion chain to dramatically lift its image.

 

images: supplied exclusively to frockwriter by portmans

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld interviews Tom Ford for V Magazine

These shots were just slipped to frockwriter (and no doubt many other blogs, but at this stage we think it may be a first look). It's a preview of V Magazine's issue #69, a spread starring Julia Restoin-Roitfeld modelling Tom Ford's debut womenswear collection - described as "self portraits" so we have to assume she took the shots. And an excerpt from an interview conducted with Ford, by Restoin-Roitfeld, the face of Ford's Black Orchid fragrance campaign. This would have been in the pipeline for some time, but interesting that it falls hot on the heels of last Friday's abrupt resignation by Restoin-Roitfeld's mother, Carine Roitfeld, from Vogue Paris after a 10 year tenure. The official version is that Roitfeld wants to pursue "personal projects". In reality, however, noone leaves a position like that with several weeks notice. Few, if any, have voluntarily resigned from Vogue. There has been much speculation that Roitfeld was pushed by Condé Nast after problems vis-à-vis her ongoing consulting to fashion brands. Yes fashion editors (even in Australia) do paid work on outside ad campaigns and that's bad enough. It is verging on the ludicrous for an editor-in-chief to do so. There has also been speculation that the December issue of Vogue Paris, as edited by Ford, was poorly received by some Vogue advertisers and may have proven the final straw.

JULIA RESTOIN ROITFELD What made you decide that this was the season to return to fashion?  
TOM FORD I told myself that I would not come back to 
women’s fashion until I felt I had something new to say. I feel that fashion has become too serious and that the actual customer’s needs have not really been addressed. Fashion needs to make one happy. It is a luxury and should enhance one’s quality of life.
 

JRR What inspired your collection?   
TF Real clothes for real women. I want to concentrate on my real customer. That’s why I showed idealized versions of her—different women of different ages. It was about individuality, different body types, women who have their own style.
 

JRR What do you think fashion needs more of right now? 

TF Spontaneity. Fashion needs to be more fun.
 

JRR What personality traits does the Tom Ford woman possess? 

TF My customer has her own sense of style and knows herself well. My goal is to help women become the best version of themselves.
 

JRR What is your favorite piece from the collection? 

TF I love every piece. That is like asking someone which one of their children is their favorite.
 

JRR Outside fashion, what are you looking forward to this spring? 

TF I have to say more fashion. I love what I am doing right now and can’t wait to start the next collection.
 

JRR What was the last thing that made you laugh? 

TF I laugh a good bit so that is a hard question. I suppose a phone call I just had with Richard [Buckley] five minutes ago made me laugh pretty hard. He has a wicked sense of humor
 

JRR What’s your New Year’s resolution?   
TF I don’t have one. I believe in living life the way that you want to live it every day, and if you do that you don’t really need to have New Year’s resolutions.

all materials: supplied to frockwriter by V magazine