On with the shoe: Kathryn Wilson's showgirls put their best feet forward at New Zealand Fashion Week

kathryn wilson AW11 backstage/kent vaughan

A runway show dedicated exclusively to footwear is always going to be a tough call. Terry Biviano did it in 2003 and 2004 at Australian Fashion Week by teaming up with show producer extraordinaire Tony Assness, who created some of the most memorable shows that the event had ever witnessed. But while Biviano put the focus on her shoes by initially teaming the footwear with nude-coloured corsets and silk parachutes (later going over the top with horses, contortionists and bird suits, as you do), NZ's Kathryn Wilson kept her debut show dead simple by putting her girls in black leotards and dispatching them onto a raised catwalk. Precariously navigating back down the stairs in their skyscraper heels and booties - as so well documented by Kent throughout the show – there seemed to be more than a little Broadway musical going on backstage. I really couldn’t resist putting a selection of shots to some music to create this slideshow below. 

Julia Nobis has big feet

Yes we know she has a huge future ahead of her. A Calvin Klein exclusive at New York Fashion Week will do that for you. But apparently Australia's hottest new modelling face, Julia Nobis, also has rather large feet - US size 11 according to her Sydney mother agency Priscillas (or a US size 12 according to other sources, with some suggestion her shoe size might have precluded her being cast in some FW1011 shows). So big, that Calvin Klein was obliged to make up some custom fit shoes for her to wear for its February 18th show, according to Calvin Klein. Above is a shot of Nobis' dress rack, from backstage footage filmed by Today Tonight, showing her two changes of footwear for the show.

McQueen's shoes weren't made for walking, but that's just what they'll do on March 9

alexander mcqueen ss10/style.com

Did we or did we not say that Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2010/2011 show in Paris remains locked into the (constantly updated) Paris Fashion Week schedule - suggesting that the show will definitely be going ahead? (UPDATE: since removed from schedule. UPDATE: Nevertheless since confirmed by a company spokeswoman to take place on March 9). And that the production of showpieces specifically commissioned by McQueen for the presentation before his February 11th death, continues unabated? We did. And voilà, comes word today from Gucci Group chief executive Robert Polet via WWD that a McQueen collection will definitely be presented during Paris Fashion Week. The exact format of the presentation, however, remains unclear. Frockwriter can tell you a little bit more about those showpieces currently in production. We're talking shoes. McQueen and co, we hear, were so thrilled with the publicity generated by the Armadillos (above) and Geiger-inspired footwear from Spring/Summer 2010 (even though it terrified some models) that he designed/ordered some equally extreme footwear. Too bad he won't be around to see the final results.

Gaga outbuzzes MObama as fashion's hottest term

getty via daylife


Has there been a fashion force to match Lady Gaga? In terms of outrageous performance factor, surely few have come close. Interesting to see therefore that she just displaced Michelle Obama on Global Language Monitor’s brand new 2010 Fashion Buzzwords list as the fashion world’s most buzzed-about name. Here’s a first look at the yet-to-be-published annual list, which kicks off with Lady Gaga – with MObama dropping to 15th position, down 13 spots from last year. Also of note, “no pants” in third place, which of course go hand in hand, or rather, leg in leg, with Gaga. Frockwriter did have to chuckle at Armadillos coming in at number 10. Some might recall the recent controversy in which Alexander McQueen's extreme shoes recently found themselves mired. Global Language Monitor is an an Austin, Texas-based not-for-profit which tracks and analyses language. Nominated by the global fashion media (including this journalist) the buzzwords were then run through GLM’s "Predictive Quantities Index", a proprietary algorithm that tracks words and phrases in print, electronic and online media. Here's the list.

"1. Lady Gaga - Enigmatic performance artist has had outsized impact on the world of fashion.

2. Leggins 2.0 – Flourishing from Milano to Main Street, leggings are now differentiated as jeggings (jeans + leggings) and meggings (male leggings), and the like.

3. No pants – Hot pants for the 21st Century; not much pant (see Lady GaGa).

4. Off-shoulder – One shoulder and Off-the-shoulder assymetrics are now combined with cutouts, draping, or heritage stylings.

5. Chandeliers - Earrings, that is.

6. Boyfriend (the jacket, jeans etc) – It’s getting to be like an Audrey Hepburn movie out there with boyfriend jackets, jeans and the like.

7. Peek-a-boo – Peek-a-boo fashion is back once again; this time as cutouts.

8. Camo – Camouflage is back, this time with an Urban Jungle vibe.

9. Hippie-luxe – Haute Hippies? That’s the Hippie Luxe movement inspired by the 40th anniversary of that classic New York Daily News headline:  “600,000 Hippies Mired in Mud”.

10. Armadillos – Shaped like a lobster, made of Python, and called Armadillos - the highly controversial sculpted shoe designs of Alexander McQueen.

11. Mixed prints – Mixing various print in sometimes surprising ways:  florals, tropicals, geometrics, polka dots, psychedelics, modernism-inspired, even plaids.

12. Embellishments – Delicate, all, including ruffles, transparency and tulle.

13. Ethical fashion – Echoes of PETA here.  No furs, no armadillos, no leather.

14. Fashion 2.0 - Incorporating streaming techniques that bring designer showcases and shows to the buyers and consumers in real time.

15. MObama – OK, so she wears ‘mom’ jeans, but everyone seems to notice, after all Michelle is The MObama."

Source: Global Language Monitor

McQueen's shoes weren't meant for walking - Abbey Lee Kershaw

daniel jackson for dazed+confused via chic

Had a chat to Abbey Lee Kershaw Monday afternoon while she was working in Sydney. The details of the shoot are yet to be revealed, but I can share one of the more amusing model gossip gems to surface. When talking about how models navigate the runway in increasingly ludicrous designer shoes, we touched on the so-called 'armadillo' shoes from Alexander McQueen's S/S 2010 show (below). Wonder why we didn't see Kershaw, Sasha Pivovarova or Natasha Poly in the show? According to Kershaw, that's because after taking one look at the shoes, the supermod trio convened for a powow and decided to nix it.


alexander mcqueen SS10/style.com

With killer heels already causing one catwalk catastrophe for Kershaw at Rodarte in New York last September, followed by another near miss with similarly extreme shoes in February this year - the latter prompting her to skip the rest of the FW0910 season in order to nurse a knee injury - little wonder she was loathe to take the risk.

And all that's not counting, of course, the too-tight corset at McQueen's SS09 show one year earlier in Paris, in which Kershaw fainted.

Fashion copies - back on the Australian current affairs agenda

As some may already be aware, I am currently working as a producer at a nightly Australian current affairs program called Today Tonight on the Seven Network (which explains my lack of posting of late). It’s a program on which I worked 10 years ago and it’s interesting being back, working on a mix of stories. In terms of fashion stories, it’s been a great opportunity to get some subjects to a much bigger audience than I do on this blog or indeed via the other outlets for which I normally write – try 1.7million per night (including web traffic). On my first day back I broached a couple of story ideas with executive producer Craig McPherson, top of the list being a subject that I have blogged about on several occasions: the fashion industry discriminating against plus-size consumers. Another fashion story aired this week – the rampant plagiarism across Australia's $1.8billion footwear sector.

The genesis for this story idea was a great July post from Australian shoe blogger Matt ‘Imelda’ Jordan. In his post, Jordan discussed a direct copy of a shoe design by London-based Dane Camilla Skovgaard, by Australian mid market shoe manufacturer Tony Bianco.

Most interesting of all: the subsequent tip from Jordan that Tony Bianco had dispatched a series of intimidating legal letters in the hope of obtaining a retraction of some of the claims in the post.

The audacity was breathtaking.

As revealed by Jordan, not only had Tony Bianco done a faithful reproduction of Skovgaard’s signature S8001 sandal – the style which originally made her name – but had even attempted to engineer a fake celebrity endorsement to promote the company's copy.

When launching its “Sexy Roberto” shoe to the Australian fashion press, Tony Bianco sent out US red carpet shots of celebrities Cindy Crawford and Halle Berry in Skovgaard’s originals. There was no mention of Camilla Skovgaard’s name on the mailout.

Tony Bianco’s lawyers seized on several points in Jordan’s post: notably his accusations that Camilla Skovgaard had “unleashed her lawyers” on the company and that Tony Bianco was guilty of “copyright infringement”.

Both were factually incorrect. But the David and Goliath factor made for a great story.

Although Skovgaard did consult lawyers at the time, the only representatives to contact Tony Bianco were from her US PR team.

Having failed to register the design in Australia, moreover, a straight copyright infringement case would have been indefensible.

Due to changes, in 2003, to Australia’s IP legislation, unless a designer has registered each and every design they hope to protect in this market, they are unable to in fact enforce copyright. This is unlike numerous other jurisdictions, for example the EU, where designers have an unregistered design right.

That’s not to say that Skovgaard doesn't have any legal rights here. Sources say that she would probably have little trouble proving “reputation” for the design (make that designs - it later emerged that TB has copied two Camilla Skovgaard shoes this season). The fake celebrity endorsement is a separate matter.

Only problem – she has been told that she's looking at a minumum $50,000 investment to get a case up, with of course no guarantee of success. That's a big ask of a young, independent designer.

All the companies mentioned in the story were of course offered right of reply. Noone took up the offer.

Their respective responses when I called requesting interviews were fascinating. One company even claimed that it had come up with the design in question five years ago.

It is entirely possible that Sportsgirl's Camilla Skovgaard knockoff was even supplied by a manufacturer that was already knocking off her shoe under its own brand, thereby vastly increasing its market. A big return for zero design investment in other words. Sportsgirl declined to identify the supplier of the shoe.

It’s interesting how companies that copy, often seem quite indignant when they're called out on it.

Some $400,000 in court ordered damages has been awarded for design/copyright infringement cases over the past 12 months in cases mounted by Australian companies that have taken advantage of the new Designs Registration Regime and opted to register designs.

The first fashion victory under the new system was Review versus The Discovery Group in March 2008.

Although not working for TT at the time, I was interviewed that month as talent for the program’s story about the Review case. I had the temerity to mention that it wasn’t the first time the company, which owns the Charlie Brown and lili trademarks, had copied others. I provided one example of a devoré velvet poncho with a peacock motif, first shown by New Zealand label Sabatini at New Zealand Fashion Week in September 2004 – and copied six months later by Charlie Brown.

On three previous occasions, I had written about Charlie Brown’s cheaper version of the poncho, which turned up in store the minute the Sabatini poncho appeared on the cover of the Winter 2005 catalogue of Australian department store David Jones and, notably, once word spread that the poncho was walking out the door at DJs.

But Brown had been called out for copying as far back as 1998 - by Marion Hume, then the editor of Vogue Australia.

After I mentioned the Sabatini incident on Today Tonight, Brown also threatened legal action. To date, nought's come of it.

Back in 1995, I wrote a 4,000 word expose on copying in the Australian fashion industry for the now defunct Australian current affairs magazine, The Independent Monthly. It was the year before the launch of Mercedes Australian Fashion Week and the emergence of a new generation of export-focussed designers. Australia was still locked in a culture of so-called "designers" sending international designer samples in to magazines to be photographed (still with the labels attached) while the "designers" were busy manufacturing their copies.

The story kicked off with the infamous anecdote from the Bicentennial Wool Collection at the Sydney Opera House in 1988, for which nine international designers were flown to Sydney, including Sonia Rykiel, Kenzo and the late Gianni Versace and Jean Muir. During rehearsals, Claude Montana had to be physically restrained from clocking Marilyn Said and Barry Taffs - the designers behind the Covers label. Covers had been selected to represent Australia in the show and Montana felt that their collection showed a little too much Montana influence.

Called Fashion Thieves, it was a cover story and it prompted three separate television profiles, including A Current Affair.

That story was the reason I wound up working for A Current Affair for a brief stint in early 1996 - before quickly heading to Today Tonight, where I stayed for three and a half years. I am often being reminded of this story. Several weeks ago Oyster’s Alyx Gorman drew my attention to the fact that it’s even cited in an article in the Journal of Australian Political Science.

Now I’m back in current affairs tv - still talking about copying. Because 21 years after the Bicentennial Wool Collection, many Australian companies are still shamelessly copying international designers.

For sure, copying exists everywhere. As the Tom Gunn girls pointed out in their TT interview, the London high street is notorious for quickly turning around catwalk trends. The "fast fashion" retailers Zara, Mango and H&M have revolutionised the business, turning around catwalk trends - although not necessarily one-for-one copies - at lightning speed.

But Australian copycats enjoy several other unique advantages. This was pointed out in a piece to camera in the original script for the TT story, which wound up being cut when we lost two and a half minutes.

There is also our proximity to the Chinese factories, exacerbated by the fact that we are a season behind the northern hemisphere. This means copies can be on shelves before the originals have even arrived.