Ca rey

Mu l l i g a n
on risky roles
& avoiding
social media

SUMMER
DRESSING
How to take
the heat

MILLIE
BOBBY BROWN
No stranger
to fame

MELISSA
GEORGE:
“I’m a better
person”

e x t r ao r d i n a ry
WHY WE’RE EXCITED FOR 2018
giorgioarmanibeauty.com.au Cate Blanchett
CHANEL.COM

THE NEW FRAGRANCE

 www.chanel.com

CHANEL
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N E E DS
A DV E N T U R E
 THE FUSION COLLECTION

SYDNEY C ASTLEREAGH | WESTFIELD SYDNEY | BONDI | CHATSWOOD

CANBERRA | MELBOURNE COLLINS ST | EMPORIUM | CHADSTONE | DONCASTER
PACIFIC FAIR | INDOOROOPILLY | BRISBANE | PERTH KING ST. | CLAREMONT | ADELAIDE

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 CONTENTS

January 2018
Carey Mulligan wears a
Giambattista Valli haute
couture ballgown. Emma
Mulholland x Pared
sunglasses. Bulgari earrings.
Her own stud earring and
wedding band. Cornelia James
gloves. Georg Jensen ring.
Cartier ring. Lynn Ban rings.
Make-up from Estée Lauder,
starting with Double Wear
Nude Water Fresh Makeup
in Desert Beige; on cheeks,
Pure Color Envy Sculpting
Blush in Sensuous Rose; on
eyes, Pure Color Envy Defining
Eye Shadow in Quiet Power
and Pure Color Envy Lash
Multi-Effects Mascara; on lips,
Pure Color Envy Metallic
Matte lipstick in Petallica.

Stylist:
Christine Centenera
Photographer:
Emma Summerton
Hair: Serge Normant
Make-up: Dick Page
Manicure:
Yuko Tsuchihashi
Set design: Viki Rutsch

56 72
24 EDITOR’S LETTER IN THE SHADE POLYESTER SATURATED
26 IN MEMORIAM Meet Poppy Lissiman, creator of snapped-up The new Australian film Swinging Safari revisits
technicoloured accessories.
28 CONTRIBUTORS the 1970s in all its garish glory.
62 74
32 THIS MONTH ON VOGUE.COM.AU
DARK ARTS BOOM TIME
34 VOGUE VAULT
Fashion has long been enthralled with a A new wave of talent is joining our established
darker side, but this time around it emerges stars in a renaissance of Australian film- and
Viewpoint into the light and speaks to us all. television-making both at home and in Hollywood.
40 64
A CLASS OF ITS OWN ISLANDS IN THE SUN Beauty
The classics – some you’ve seen, some new – are New Zealand has the perfect storm of elements 78
re-invented for your 2018 wardrobe. giving rise to a wonder gen of designers. SUN DAYS
VOL LXIII NO 2 WHOLE NO 644 *RECOMMENDED PRICE

48 Sun protection remains one of the most mystifying,

Talent pool; Only natural; Line dancing. Arts complicated and fastest-moving areas of beauty.

52 68 84
SUMMER LOVING WAVE OF GLORY WATER BABY
Resortwear encapsulates all we adore about A dazzling cape worn by Rihanna propelled A host of cleverly formulated products are
holidays – freedom, balmy days and long nights. Chinese designer Guo Pei into international fame. delivering a flood of age-defying skin hydration.

18 JANUARY 2018
DIOR.COM
 CONTENTS

January 2018
86 128
MAKE A SPLASH BRAVE HEART
Eye-popping pastel polishes are calling your It’s been a tumultuous year for Melissa George,
name this summer – the brighter the better. but the Australian actress is proving her mettle

88 and extraordinary versatility with new roles in

A VISION SPLENDID film and television.

40 Twenty years after launching Mecca

Cosmetica, Jo Horgan is sitting pretty at
136
TALKING ABOUT THE
the helm of a booming beauty business NEXT GENERATION
92 Step into the future, one shaped by Generation Z.

OUTSIDE EDGE From non-binary identities and an increased

The new way to reap the benefits of your social conscience, the youth of today are

exercise regimen is to take it outdoors. redefining life in the 21st century.

148
Fashion LARGER THAN LIFE
122 Katharina Grosse, one of the most audacious

THINK PIECES artists of the moment, has been commissioned

Borne from a desire to create the perfect capsule to create a work for Sydney Festival 2018.

wardrobe, Wardrobe.NYC was conceived by 154

Vogue fashion director Christine Centenera and ALL AT SEA
her partner, designer Josh Goot, to address the Now based in New York with her family,
notion of modern and sustainable luxury. Pania Rose reflects on falling in love, and
112 140 why she is still an Australian at heart.

RAINBOW WARRIOR
A kaleidoscope of colour and optimism reflects Voyage
in all the sunshine of a new year. 164
AN ISLAND OF ONE’S OWN
Features Kokomo, an idyllic Fijian island resort by

100 Australian property developer Lang Walker,

CAREY is a luxury getaway like no other.

Private, unaffected and funny, British actress

Carey Mulligan’s passion for her craft shines 171 HOROSCOPES
true as she discusses her latest roles and juggling 176 LAST WORD
N I CO L E B E N T L E Y J A K E T E R R E Y

work through pregnancy.

112
SUBSCRIBE TO VOGUE
TEEN SPIRIT TU RN TO PAG E 96 TO SU B SCRIB E
O R REN EW AN D RECEIVE A BO N US
Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is ‘ LIKE A B REE ZE’ N ECKL ACE FRO M
154 embracing celebrity with surprising maturity. NA JO, VALU ED AT $ 59.

20 JANUARY 2018
 Edwina McCann
Editor-in-Chief editor@vogue.com.au

D eput y E d it or a nd Fe at u re s D i re c t or S OPH I E T E DM A NS ON
features@vogue.com.au

Fa sh ion D i re c t or C H R I ST I N E C E N T E N E R A

Cre at i ve D i re c t or at L a r ge A L I S ON V E N E S S

ART art@vogue.com.au
A r t D i re c t or M A N DY A L E X
S en ior D e sig ner s BE C M c DI V E N   DIJA N A S AVOR Ju n ior D e sig ner A RQU E T T E C O OK E

FASHION fashion@vogue.com.au
S en ior Fa sh ion E d it or K AT E DA RV I L L
Fa sh ion E d it or a nd Ma rket D i re c t or PH I L I PPA MORON E Y
Ju n ior Fa sh ion E d it or PE T TA C H UA   Ma rket E d it or BE T H I E GI R M A I
Fa sh ion A s si s t a nt R E BE C CA B ON AV I A

BOOK INGS bookings@vogue.com.au

Phot og ra phy a nd C a s t i ng D i re c t or R I K K I K E E N E   B o ok i ng s E d it or DA N ICA O S L A N D

FASHION FEATURES vogue@vogue.com.au

Fa sh ion Fe at u re s a nd C ont ent St rat e g y D i re c t or Z A R A WONG
S en ior Fa sh ion Fe at u re s E d it or A L IC E BI R R E L L

BEAUTY beauty@vogue.com.au
S en ior B e aut y E d it or R E M Y R I PP ON
He a lt h E d it or at L a r ge JODY S C O T T   B e aut y S p e cia l P roje c t s R IC K Y A L L E N

COPY copy@vogue.com.au
Travel E d it or a nd C opy E d it or M A R K S A R I BA N
D eput y C opy E d it or a nd L i fe s t y le Wr it er C US H L A C H AU H A N

A r t s Wr it er JA N E A L BE R T

E d it or ia l C o ord i n at or R E BE C CA S H A L A L A

DIGITA L vogue@vogue.com.au
D ig it a l E d it or ia l D i re c t or J U L I A F R A N K
A s s o ciat e D ig it a l E d it or L I L I T H H A R DI E LU PICA   A s si s t a nt D ig it a l E d it or s DA N I E L L E G AY   F R A NC E S CA WA L L AC E

CONTRIBUTORS
A L IC E CAVA N AGH ( Pa r i s)   V IC T OR I A C OL L I S ON (S p e cia l P roje c t s E d it or) 
PI PPA HOLT ( L ondon)   N ATA S H A I NC H L E Y ( Fa sh ion)

EDITORIA L ADMINISTR ATION AND RIGHTS

D ig it a l A s s et s a nd R ig ht s Ma n a ger T RU DY BI E R N AT D ig it a l A s s et s a nd R ig ht s C o ord i nat or J E S S ICA R IC H MON D

Nat ion a l S a le s a nd St rat e g y D i re c t or, St y le N IC OL E WAU DBY (02) 8 0 4 5 4 6 61 .

He ad of Bra nd St rat e g y, St y le M E R RY N DH A M I (02) 92 8 8 10 9 0. He ad of D ig it a l C om mercia l St rat e g y, St y le A M A N DA S PAC K M A N (02) 8 0 4 5 4 6 5 8 .  
NS W Group S a le s Ma na ger C H E Y N E H A L L (02) 8 0 4 5 4 6 67.
NS W Key Ac c ou nt Ma n a ger s K AT E C OR BE T T (02) 8 0 4 5 47 3 7. CAT H E R I N E PAT R IC K (02) 8 0 4 5 4 613 . J E S S ICA L A M B (02) 8 0 4 5 4 675 . 
Br a nd St r at e g y Ma n a ger T E S S A DI XON (02) 8 0 4 5 474 4 . He ad of St rat e g ic Pa r t ner sh ip s H A N N A H DAV I D -W R IGH T (02) 8 0 4 5 49 8 6 . 
D ig it a l Bra nd Ma na ger K R I ST I N A K A R A S S OU L I S (02) 92 8 8 174 3 . NS W C a mpa ig n I mplement at ion Ma na ger K AT E DW Y E R (02) 92 8 8 10 0 9.
NS W Ac c ou nt E xe c ut i ve s , St y le A N A STA S I A PA PAY IORY IOU (02) 92 8 8 132 4 . CA I T L I N PAT E R (02) 8 0 4 5 4 6 5 3 . 
Vic t or ia S a le s D i re c t or, St y le K A R E N C L E M E N T S (0 3) 92 92 32 02 . Vic t or ia He ad of S a le s E L I S E DE S A N T O (0 3) 92 92 162 1 . Vic t or ia Group B u si ne s s Ma na ger N A DI N E DE N I S ON (0 3) 92 92 32 2 4 .
Vic t or ia He ad of D i re c t S a le s & Pa r t ner sh ip s JO C ONSTA BL E (0 3) 92 92 32 0 3 . Vic t or ia C a mpa ig n I mplement at ion Ma na ger R E BE C CA RODE L L (0 3) 92 92 195 1 .
Q ue en sla nd C om mercia l D i re c t or, L i fe s t y le RO S E W E GN E R (0 7) 3 6 6 6 69 0 3 . Vic t or ia Ac c ou nt E xe c ut i ve S A R A H-JA N E BAC ON (0 3) 92 92 32 0 8 .
C la s si f ie d Ad ver t i si ng R E BE C CA W H I T E 13 0 0 13 9 3 0 5 . A sia : K I M K E NC H I NGT ON , Me d iawork s A sia (8 52) 2 8 82 1 10 6 .

Ad ver t i si ng Cre at i ve D i re c t or R IC H A R D M c AU L I F F E Ad ver t i si ng Cre at i ve Ma na ger E VA C HOW N 

Ad ver t i si ng Cre at i ve P ro duc er s J E N N Y H AY E S S A R A H M U RY
Cre at i ve S er v ic e s S en ior A r t D i re c t or s A M A N DA A N DE R S ON CA RY N I S E M A N N 
Ad ver t i si ng C opy E d it or s A N N E T T E FA R NS WOR T H BRO OK E L E W I S ROB BA DM A N 

P ro duc t ion Ma n a ger M IC H E L L E O ’ BR I E N Ad ver t i si ng P ro duc t ion C o ord i n at or GI N A J I A NG

G enera l Ma n a ger, R et a i l S a le s a nd Ci rc u lat ion BR E T T W I L L I S 

Su b s c r ipt ion s Ac q u i sit ion Ma na ger GR A N T DU R I E Su b s c r ipt ion s R et ent ion Ma n a ger C RYSTA L E W I NS

D ig it a l D i re c t or J U L I A N DE L A N E Y S en ior P ro duc t Ma n a ger CA S S A N DR A A L L A R S 

P ro duc t Ma n a ger T I N A I S H A K Plat for m Ma n a ger DAV I D BE R RY

Ma rket i ng D i re c t or – L i fe s t y le DI A N A K AY Bra nd Ma n a ger s R AC H E L C H R I ST I A N K I M BE R L E Y GR AC E Event Ma rket i ng Ma na ger BRO OK E K I NG 

Event s Ma n a ger GE N E V I E V E M c CA S K I L L Ma rket i ng C o ord i nat or MON IQU E W E H R M A N N

C h ief D ig it a l O f f ic er N IC OL E S H E F F I E L D
D i re c t or of C om mu n ic at ion s S H A RY N W H I T T E N
G enera l Ma na ger, Net work S a le s , NS W PAU L BL AC K BU R N
Prestige and Lifestyle Director NICK SMITH

VO GU E AUST R A L I A m a ga z i ne i s pu bl i she d by New sL i feMe d ia P t y Lt d (AC N 0 8 8 92 3 9 0 6). I S S N 0 0 4 2 - 8 019. New sL i feMe d ia P t y Lt d i s a w hol l y ow ne d s u b sid ia r y
of New s L i m it e d (AC N 0 0 7 8 7 1 178). C opy r ig ht 2 017 by New sL i feMe d ia P t y Lt d . A l l r ig ht s re s er ve d . 2 Holt St re et , Su r r y H i l l s , NS W 2 010. Tel : (02) 92 8 8 3 0 0 0.
Po s t a l add re s s: Vog ue A u s t ra l ia , New sL i feMe d ia , L evel 1 , L o cke d B a g 5 0 3 0, A lex a nd r ia , NS W 2 015 . E m a i l : e d it vog ue au s t @ vog ue .c om . au .
Melb ou r ne of f ic e : H W T Tower, L evel 5 , 4 0 Cit y R oad , S out h ba n k , Vic t or ia 3 0 0 6 . Tel : (0 3) 92 92 2 0 0 0. Fa x : (0 3) 92 92 32 9 9.
Br i sba ne of f ic e : 4 1 C a mpb el l St re et , B owen H i l l s , Q ue en sla nd 4 0 0 6 . Tel : (0 7) 3 6 6 6 6910. Fa x : (0 7) 3 62 0 2 0 01 .

Su b s c r ipt ion s: w it h i n A u s t ra l ia , 13 0 0 6 5 6 93 3 ; over s e a s: (61 2) 92 82 8 02 3 . E m a i l : s u b s @ m a g s on l i ne .c om . au .

Su b s cr ipt ion s m a i l : Ma g s on l i ne , R epl y Pa id 8 70 5 0, Syd ney, NS W 2 0 01 (no s t a mp re q u i re d). We b sit e : w w w.vog ue .c om . au .

C ondé Na s t I nt er nat iona l JON AT H A N N E W HOUS E C ha i r m a n a nd C h ief E xe c ut i ve 

WOL F G A NG BL AU P re sident JA M E S WO OL HOUS E E xe c ut i ve Vic e P re sident

P r i nt e d by PM P L i m it e d , Pa p er f ibre i s f rom s u s t a i n a bl y m a na ge d fore s t s a nd c ont rol le d s ou rc e s .

22 JANUARY 2018
 VOGUE

Editor’s letter

T
here is so much to celebrate as we ring in the new
year, and yet it would be remiss of me not to
acknowledge the losses our Vogue family felt at the
the close of 2017. Azzedine Alaïa passed away in
November. I last saw the designer following the
memorial service for the brilliant Italian Vogue editor
Franca Sozzani in February. I wore an Alaïa dress –
which I think is the greatest little black dress I’ve
owned – a few times on the week of his passing; it seemed like the fitting
thing to do. His singular vision, wonderful shoes and couture will be
forever missed. (Read Suzy Menkes’s tribute to Alaïa on page 26.)
A month prior, the world of Vogue also lost its visionary leader Samuel
Irving “Si” Newhouse, Jr. His taste, passion and commitment drove the
direction of the Vogue brand since the 1960s. He hired legendary editors
including Diana Vreeland and later Anna Wintour and worked
alongside the amazing art director Alexander Liberman. His cousin,
Condé Nast International’s chairman, Jonathan Newhouse, has expertly
steered the international ship under which the Vogue Australia title sits.
As we start our 59th year of publication, it is timely to acknowledge the
man – and family – whose patronage and passion for the world of Vogue,
the arts and fashion remains unparalleled.
To that end we celebrate the new year with the stunning, witty actor
Carey Mulligan wearing an epic Giambattista Valli gown. And because
we know you may be reading this edition on holiday, we decided to focus
many of our pages on fascinating people who we think you will enjoy
learning about. Melissa George, a long-time collaborator of Vogue, shared
an update on her pain and triumphs during a trip home in November
(page 128), and we caught up with the talented teenage actor Millie Bobby
Brown (page 112) when she was in town to promote her Netflix hit
Stranger Things. We give you lots to think about with our story about the
future (page 136), and introduce you to the remarkable Katharina Grosse
(page 148), whose work is on display at Carriageworks in Sydney. Lastly,
we catch up with the beautiful model Pania Rose (from page 154), another
friend of Vogue, whose life we covet. These are wonderful and sometimes
unexpected women. As our essay on the future says: “Welcome to the
future – it’s a future that will be brilliantly, unashamedly female.” And
yet, at Vogue, we know it is a future that just would not be the same had Anna Wintour and “Si”
Newhouse Jr. in 1989.
there not been two very remarkable, now sadly passed, men.
GET T Y IMAGES

EDWINA McCANN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

24 JANUARY 2018
 LIFE
NEEDS
A D V E N T UR E

PA S PA L E Y.C O M
 IN MEMORIAM

Alaïa forever
The legendary designer Azzedine Alaïa died in November at the age of 82. Vogue
international editor Suzy Menkes reflects on his last collection, and her memories of Alaïa.

W hen Naomi Campbell walked on to the catwalk in July 2017

to start the first couture show in six years by Azzedine
Alaïa – the man she calls “Papa” – no-one had any inkling
this would be his last presentation. Rather, I was transported back to
A gathering of seamstresses was working on a single bridal dress,
whose lace train stretched from end to end of the room.
In July, when we crowded into the baking hot iron-and-glass
showroom for the autumn/winter presentation (Azzedine produced his
another era. collections to his own timetable), I thought of how many times I had sat
It was the 80s and out of the height of that orgy of opulence strode the around Azzedine’s kitchen table while his partner Christoph von
very first supermodels: Naomi, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Weyhe kept control of the long-haired dog. The conversation was always
Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, Claudia Schiffer and their in many languages: Carla Sozzani would translate for photographer
colleagues were like an army taking on the fashion world. Arthur Elgort, while international stylist Carlyne Cerf, her voice rising
Alaïa collected these independent beauties with a new spirit, from a growl to a screech, would convey the latest gossip to Azzedine.
encouraging them to wear his clothes with pride. He would be smiling, or just occasionally look thin-lipped and solemn.
And what clothes! The body-hugging dresses gave Alaïa the nickname, As Naomi started the show, wearing a turban covered in plastic, the
the King of Cling. Knitted dresses transformed lithe bodies into writhing crowd roared with approval. In front of me were the former First Lady of
serpents; the black leggings and bodysuits that were the Alaïa signature France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy; documentary producer and former model
formed the base for curvy coats or fitted jackets made from crocodile. Farida Khelfa, whose family were originally from North Africa, like
It is a myth to claim that Alaïa, Azzedine; and Nicolas Ghesquière,
born in Tunis and a student of creative director of Louis Vuitton.
Azzedine Alaïa
sculpture at its School of Fine Arts, with model
If the audience leapt with joy at
had ever moved off-stage. Or that Frederique the bright colours for coats and
he lost interest in inventing new van der Wal in dresses, we also sighed with
Paris in 1986,
shapes and showing his clothes. Or photographed delight at the black dresses, woven
even that he was really a ready-to by Arthur Elgort. in lace and knit to play peek-a-boo
wear designer whose body- with the body, or boldly mixing
skimming dresses were produced leopard patterns that might be
by an Italian factory. glimpsed through black pleats.
“I have been doing couture since Long or short, there was a gleam to
the inception of my career – much the materials, with a V-neck velvet
longer than ready-to-wear,” Alaïa top and glimmering long skirt on
said as he showed me the Naomi for the finale.
workrooms on the third floor of his Everything fashion loved was
building in the Marais district of there, including shoes, gaining a
Paris. They were filled with tables powerful place for Alaïa in
bearing scissors, paper patterns collaboration with Ferragamo,
and pins. That is where the tiny while the company as a whole has
figure of Alaïa, whose embrace in been supported by the Richemont
the long arms of Grace Jones is part luxury group since 2007. This show
of fashion folklore, worked on his was the 10th anniversary of
creations all alone in the middle of the collaboration.
the night. After prolonged clapping and
“While I enjoyed and still do cheers, Azzedine, as ever, did not
enjoy doing ready-to-wear, my come out, believing that the praise
roots are in couture – all my clothes should go to his atelier, not just to
are first made by myself, all himself. Backstage, the designer
patterns are traced by me and then sat, a small figure in his eternal
developed by my couture ateliers,” uniform of black cotton Chinese
he said, explaining that 30 people pyjamas, smiling shyly at this
are dedicated to the hand-craft. sweet moment of success.
GET T Y IMAGES

I remember when Azzedine, Dear Azzedine, your friends –

with his naughty, plump-cheeked and the entire fashion world – will
smile, took me up to the atelier. miss you so. ■

26 JANUARY 2018
A M AV I 2018

JANLOGAN.COM
VOGUE
Contributors
MATTHEW
THOMPSON
After Vogue approached the
Mustang Owners Club of
Australia to borrow a vehicle for
the fashion shoot ‘A class of its
own’, from page 40, it was
Matthew Thompson’s Mustang
that won the starring role.
“I emailed some pictures and
received a call 20 minutes later,”
says the registered nurse and
midwife. Thompson, who joined
the team on set for the day, is
pictured above with his wheels:
“It was great to see how the
photographer Jake Terry looked
for the correct light/shade
contrast for the shot – like an
artist making a perfect painting.”
28
ANNA MILA
GUYENZ
“Returning to Sydney after more
than two years was such a special
experience for me,” says German
model Anna Mila Guyenz.
“When I first started modelling
I went to Istanbul and then
afterwards to Sydney and I truly
found myself here.” Visiting this
time around to shoot ‘A class of
its own’ proved just as positive
for Guyenz. “I felt so free and able
to be totally myself. I fell in love
with the whole styling: hair,
make-up and clothes!”
DICK PAGE
Make-up maestro Dick Page
worked with the Vogue Australia
team on the Carey Mulligan
cover story in New York. ”I kept
Carey’s make-up very simple. She
has a great expressive, distinctive
face, and I didn’t want to get in
the way of how she naturally
looks,” he says. Page’s extensive
career has allowed him the
opportunity to work on some of
the world’s most influential titles.
“I’m lucky in that I often have
exciting new avenues to explore
in my work.”
RUTH MARSHALL-
JOHNSON
After starting her career in fashion
journalism, Ruth Marshall-
Johnson moved into the trends
industry and is now foresight
director at The Future Laboratory.
“We specialise in researching and
communicating the cultural,
economic and technological forces
that are shaping the future for
consumers and lifestyle industries
J A M E S G I B B S I N S TA G R A M . CO M /A N N A M I L A O F F I C I A L J A M E S M A I K I J A K E T E R R E Y
globally,” she says. Turn to page
136 to read about the trends you
need to know about in 2018.
JANUARY 2 0 1 8
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H E AVEN SCENT

4.
New year,
11. new wardrobe.
Have a sartorial
rebirth with
these new season
wardrobe cues.

5.

10.

6.

SU PER NATU R AL

A crystal expert
on how to
cleanse and H IT R EFR ES H
energise your
life for a The beauty
fresh start. 7. New Year’s
resolutions
to keep you

W O R D S : DA N I E L L E G AY P H OTO G R A P H S : J A M E S CO C H R A N E G E T T Y I M A G E S I N D I G I TA L
on track

E D WA R D U R R U T I A A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
in 2018.
9.
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13.

ONLINE

Vogue.com.au
This month is all about rebirth and new beginnings. A new year awaits, so it’s time to cleanse,
recharge and activate, from your wardrobe to your beauty cabinet. Check your horoscope
then look to the stars literally and figuratively. After all, it’s the beginning of red-carpet season.
T WIT TER , FACEBOOK , INSTAG R AM , YOUTUBE AND TUMBLR: @VO G U E AU STR ALIA ; SNAPCHAT: @ M I S SVO G U E AU STR ALIA

32 JANUARY 2018
 VO G U E VAU LT

Holidays, 1960 Condé Nast Internationa l

Cha irma n a nd Chief Executive: Jonatha n Newhouse

Helmut Newton’s influence on Vogue Australia in the 1960s was undeniable.

President: Wolfga ng Blau
Executive Vice President: Ja mes Wool house
Here, the iconic photographer captures his muse, Maggie Tabberer. The Condé Nast Internationa l Group of Bra nds
includes:
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Published under License or Copy rig ht Cooperation:

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Brides, Condé Nast Center of Fash ion & Desig n, Vog ue Me
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House & Ga rden Gou rmet, G Q St yle, Gla mou r Ha i r
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“Helmut Newton really changed my life for me,” says legendary Australian model Maggie Tabberer Subscription rate for 12 issues post pa id is $82 (w ith i n
Aust ra lia). Copy rig ht © 2017. P ublished by NewsL ifeMed ia .
on being mentored by the influential German-born photographer. “For the first time I knew what it A l l rig hts reser ved. Reproduction i n whole or pa r t w ithout
perm ission is st rictly proh ibited. NewsL ifeMed ia is a
was to work hard.” Newton first discovered Tabberer when the statuesque Adelaide model was 23, licensed user i n Aust ra lia of the reg istered t radema rk s
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and became instantly enamoured with her. “Listen,” he told former Vogue editor Sheila Scotter, “I’ve the exclusive rig ht to use those t radema rk s i n relation to
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found this woman with the most fantastic face.” Tabberer’s long legs and high cheekbones came to of the t radema rk s. P ri nted i n Aust ra lia by PM P L i m ited.
dominate the magazine’s fashion pages in the 1960s. Pictured above in a shot taken by Newton for Dist ributed by Gordon a nd Gotch Aust ra lia P t y Ltd,
tel 1300 650 666.
Vogue at Bayview in Sydney, she captures the carefree, adventurous spirit of the Australian summer.

34 JANUARY 2018
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40
P
V
V
O

O
I

I
G

ST YLING PE T TA CH UA
PHOTOG R APHS JAKE TER R E Y
A CLASS OF ITS OWN
We’re giving you a head start. The

re-invented for your 2018 wardrobe.

E

classics – some you’ve seen, some new – are

N
U

T
W
E

W O R D S : Z A R A W O N G   H A I R : R E N YA X Y D I S M A K E- U P: K E L L I E S T R AT TO N M O D E L : A N N A M I L A G U Y E N Z
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
THE WHITE
SHIRT
The update sees wider
cuffs inject that bit more
theatre on white poplin.
Hugo Boss shirt, $210.
Fella Swim bodysuit,
$200. Bassike pants,
$495. Paspaley
earrings, $10,240, and
necklace, $7,960. René
Caovilla shoes, $1,345,
from Liberty Shoes.

JANUARY 2018 41
VOGUE V IEW POINT

THE POLO
SHIRT
Athletic-flavoured fashion
has been permeating the
runways in recent years,
but the polo shirt may be
its most sophisticated
(and cool) take yet.
Bally top, $3,275. Lacoste pants,
$299. Tiffany & Co. earrings,
$620, and necklace, $3,050.
Cartier bracelet, $9,900.
Aquazzura shoes, $960, from
Cosmopolitan Shoes.

42
 THE SLIP DRESS
What some may have
thought was a fleeting
trend has now been
elevated to a staple. Add
a casual air with sneakers
and backpack, and press go.
Christopher Esber dress,
$440. Cartier earrings,
$5,200, bracelet, $9,250,
and ring, $5,300. Chanel
bag, $12,590, from
the Chanel boutiques.
Balenciaga shoes, $1,185,
from Sneakerboy. Beauty
note: Payot My Payot BB
Cream Blur Medium.
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
JAKE TERREY

JANUARY 2018 4 3
VOGUE V IEW POINT

THE
TRACKSUIT

Hear us out. The fabric is

everything and the all-over
singular colour look
elongates the silhouette.
Note: must be worn with
heels. Go forth and prosper.
Sportsmax top and pants,
both P.O.A. Fila hat, $30,

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
from The Iconic. Witchery
earrings, $50. Chanel cuff,
$990, and shoes, $1,860,
from the Chanel boutiques.
Cartier bracelet, $9,900.
Tiffany & Co. ring, $330.
Balenciaga bag, $1,330, from
www.matchesfashion.com.
JAKE TERREY

44 JANUARY 2018
VOGUE V IEW POINT

THE
HOODIE

A touch of preppy charm in

the form of this subtly striped
piece grounds the femininity
of the flippy skirt.
Dion Lee top, P.O.A.
Jacquemus skirt, $605, from
www.Net-A-Porter.com. Tiffany
& Co. earrings, $620, and
necklace, $3,050. Gucci bag,
$2,130, and shoes, $890.

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
THE TANK
Did it ever really go
away? Maybe not, but
it’s due for another look
with relaxed cuffed
trousers and heels.
Giorgio Armani top, $530.
JAKE TERREY

Ellery pants, $1,095. Tiffany

& Co. earrings, $620, and
bracelet, $1,600. Balenciaga
shoes, $1,030, from Parlour X.

46 JANUARY 2018
VOGUE V IEW POINT

TA K E N OT E

W O R D S : A L I C E B I R R E L L S H OT O N LO C AT I O N AT P R I N C E A L F R E D PA R K , S U R R Y H I L L S
TALENT
POOL
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
That summer feeling of
warm air on bare skin
can be captured in a
pair of slip-ons: pool
slides sit as prettily
kicked off next to
water as on your toes.
ART DIREC TION D IJANA SAVO R
PHOTOG R APHS G EO RG I NA EGAN Calvin Klein slides, $90.

48
 Isabel Marant slides, $535, from Parlour X.

Ancient Greek Sandals slides, $245. Mapoésie towel, $99.

Double Rainbouu slides, $185.

Fendi slides,
$1,020. Country
Road towel, $65.

JANUARY 2018 49
VOGUE V IEW POINT

SNAPSHOT

Only
natural
ST YLING K ATE DARVI LL
PHOTOG R APH D U N CAN KI LLI CK

M ake hay, or so they say.

There’s something about
raffia that immediately
steers the mind to palm fronds casting
shadows on sand. Keep the palette
neutral to mimic sun-bleached shades
of driftwood, stone and straw. The
natural materials and raw tones cast a
Blue Lagoon light on pieces that can be
worn undone in the heat of the day
(think sundress with flats) and done up
for night (the near-sepia effect allows
the more daring to wear it all over for
cocktail hour). These summer
statement pieces are like a welcome lei

M O D E L S : TA L I A B S C H I R I N F R O S C H E L L A V E R B E R N E J A S M I N E D W Y E R
to long hot days. Alice Birrell

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
From left: Talia Berman wears an Alice

H A I R : TAY LO R J A M E S R E D M A N M A K E- U P: P E T E R B E A R D
McCall dress, $490. Delpozo headpiece,
P.O.A. Christopher Esber sunglasses, $350.
Oscar de la Renta earrings, $550.
Zimmermann bag, $395. Sanayi shoes,
$1,940; Schirin Frosch wears a Chanel dress,
$6,540, from the Chanel boutiques. Sarah
J Curtis hat, $650. Sportsgirl clutch, $30.
Avec Modération shoes, $525; Ella Verberne
wears a Dior dress, $8,200. Helen Kaminski
hat, $170. Witchery earrings, $50. Chanel
bag, $5,050, from the Chanel boutiques. Sass
& Bide shoes, $490; Jasmine Dwyer wears a
Kit X top, $425. Sass & Bide top, worn as
skirt, $360. Dita sunglasses, $550. Sportsgirl
earrings, $16. Rachel Comey bag, P.O.A.
Roger Vivier shoes, $1,270.

50
JANUARY 2018 51
VOGUE V IEW POINT

BEACH
BASICS
Find a similar T-shirt from
Bassike, which releases a
limited-edition Vogue
T-shirt annually for Vogue
Fashion’s Night Out in
September. Similar
swimwear bottoms from
Calvin Klein Underwear
or Aqua Blu.

52

Summer loving
It encapsulates all we adore about holidays – escapism, fantasy, freedom, balmy days and
long nights. Zara Wong ponders the rise of resortwear and Australia’s flair for the category.
P
acking for holidays now is serious business. “I’m
always thinking about how I can dress for the
surroundings!” admits Natalie Decorte of The Polo
Project, who favours Paddo to Palmy maxi-dresses and
Marysia swimsuits. Montarna McDonald, founder of PR
firm The Audience Agency is a serial over-packer. Her
fiancé’s mandate of a strict one-suitcase-only rule for their
latest Italian trip meant several months of planning outfits,
which included her favourite Hermès slides and Lucy Folk
accessories. “I laid out everything I wanted to take and
with all my looks planned, so I spent less time rifling
through the wardrobe and more time poolside with an
Aperol spritz.” Event designer Kristen O’Neill’s theme for
her holiday dressing is determined by locale, opting
for Italian designers on a trip to Italy. “My favourite pieces
were a Dolce & Gabbana hydrangea dress and a Gucci
sweater, perfect for flying in,” she says of the sojourn.
When once we saved our cocktail dresses and heels for
occasions and home, now our suitcases are being laden with
dressed-up pieces to wear on summer holidays. These pieces
have a sense of design to them: a chic shell-button Albus
Lumen linen shirt, an exuberant Caroline Constas tiered
skirt or a bohemian print Spell & The Gypsy Collective dress.
“I think women spend more time planning their holidays
and destinations these days – they want to look and feel
good whilst there,” says Pippa Holt, who in 2016 founded
her self-titled label of caftans hand-woven in Mexico.
The lead-up to a holiday builds up anticipation and
encourages outfit planning. “I feel like people want to look
stylish on their holidays and are now more aware of what
is available in a market, with an increased media platform,
which I think is great!” says Marina Afonina, a fashion
stylist turned designer with her label Albus Lumen.
The obvious appeal of a holiday wardrobe is that it
reminds us of happy times.
“For me, resortwear sits hand in hand with escapism; it’s
the uniform for setting off and leaving reality behind,”
says Australian designer Camilla Franks, a pioneer in the
vacationwear space. “I think all of us want to be part of
that – especially as life nowadays can be so relentless and
intense.” It is a sentiment echoed by Elizabeth Abegg of
Spell & The Gypsy Collective. “When I lived in Sydney and
visited Byron Bay I’d put away my skinny jeans and ditch
the monochrome and pack my long gypsy dress and
kimonos. I guess Spell was borne from that desire to escape
to somewhere exotic.”
Undoubtedly, it’s the prevalence of travel (in access and
J A N WA LT E R S
exposure) and the rise of social media that has pushed the
vacationwear category along. It was a trend sighted by Sara
Fuller, who opened dedicated vacationwear store Pam Pam
TRENDS
in Sydney’s Double Bay. “I think social media is definitely responsible for the trend
to dress in summer style all year round. We are constantly seeing images of tanned,
gorgeous girls on holiday at the beach dressed in vacation style, who transport us to
sunny, glamorous places!” While the trend did not originate from social media –
considering the resort season’s increasing prevalence as an international fashion
week moment and presence in retail stores – Instagram has been the platform to
propagate the category. “Social media definitely influences my wardrobe,” explains
McDonald. “The majority of the girls I follow on social media are European and
I adore their effortless chic style, both in everyday dressing and holiday looks.”
With the ease of travel comes with a softening of strict seasons, with citizens
crisscrossing from hemisphere to hemisphere, chasing the sun. This perennial
traveller has become a boon for retailers, many of which have dedicated vacation
departments. “With a global audience, our customers travel every month of year, so
I always try to make sure there is something exciting and new in our vacation studio
to choose from,” says Chelsea Power, a buyer for Matches Fashion.
Says Franks: “It was once really exclusive to just swim brands, but I see more and
more designers are including this in their yearly
offering. It’s a joy to see.”
“For me, Alice McCall’s eponymous label’s signature
resortwear occasionwear playsuits and mini-dresses have had
an increasingly distinct holiday tinge. “Resortwear
sits hand in has become more premium and very fashion-
hand with forward recently. For our brand it allows for more
escapism; it’s diversity in dressing and the ability to step it up a
notch by paring it back with statement accessories
the uniform while also layering pieces for cooler seasons.”
for leaving As Power remembers: “When I first started
reality behind” buying in this category there were a few swim
brands and lots of contemporary brands that did
summer dresses, but hardly any brands were
dedicated to vacation dressing as is the case now.”
Vacationwear is easy, too: “Light, tactile and super-easy to pack,” says Anna Sergiou,
Myer’s Australian and international designer buyer. Hayley Bonham, co-founder and
co-owner of Bonèl PR and creative workspace La Porte, favours pieces that “don’t
overcomplicate, are classic, and make you feel chic without trying”. “I love wearing
beige and white, so when posting an image in a beautiful location I tend to think more
about the beauty of where I am … my outfit usually works into this.”
Designer Caroline Constas points out there may not always be time on holidays for
wardrobe changes, so clothing needs to have multiple functions and work in beach-to-
bar scenarios. “I spend my summers in Greece and we are often on the beach from
morning until evening, then make our way to a restaurant or bar. So a great bathing
suit is crucial, along with something that can be worn over it to look put together and
chic.” Turkish designer Gül Hürgel notes that vacation means a loosened sense of one’s
usual beauty routines. “Women want to look chic without make-up and hair done at
all times – a beautiful dress speaks for itself so saves their time, too.”
Raechel Temily, co-founder of London-based label Kalita, remarks that there have
even been changing perceptions of the resortwear category. “There’s this outdated
perception that ‘holiday’ clothes are somewhat expendable – cheaper, throwaway
pieces that you wore once or twice on a trip somewhere. That paradigm doesn’t hold
true anymore. Now we need clothes that travel with us through our lives; to be →
JANUARY 2018 5 3
VOGUE V IEW POINT

enough of a sartorial chameleon that they’re worth the time and expense we’re putting designer, my work wardrobe usually consists of jeans and
into them. They’re the new workhorses of our wardrobes. No-one saw that coming.” things I can run around in. I treat holidays as a time when
And with our base in Australia, there is a higher propensity for designers to take I can dress up, wear my favourite pieces and enjoy a little
cues from their own lifestyle. “We know how to celebrate long hot summers. It’s part slice of la dolce vita.” Though she confesses she has a, “bad
of Australia’s DNA,” puts forth Myer’s Sergiou. Many Australian designers have habit of picking up a few things before I vacation and an
commented that their labels emerged from noticing a gap for “simple and chic even worse habit of picking up a few things on the trip”.
holidaywear”, as Albus Lumen’s Afonina puts it. Adds Decorte: “Returning from holidays, there is always a
“Australians are known for resort dressing, because of our climate, so it makes crossover for a few weeks where you try and keep in holiday
sense that we’re finally being recognised on the global stage for a sector of the fashion mode, but alas the practicality of life and work slowly
market that we’re actually really good at and that comes naturally to us,” says creeps in and I end up dressing for efficiency and comfort.”
Georgie Renkert of We Are Kindred. The joy of travel can inspire inventive ways to approach
For Sophie Coote and Nikki Campbell of Sir the Label, it was their coastal upbringing dressing. “Being on holiday always refreshes my
that helped shape their label, known for its feminine take on classic vacationwear perspective and taste,” says Haley Boyd of Marais. But the
silhouettes and featuring knots and wraps. Spell designers believe that holidaywear can be worn for
“Australian style is the epitome of effortless work back home – in moderation. They suggest belts to add
resortwear,” says Coote, who attests that their “I’ve definitely structure to a flowy dress and pairing sheer fabrics with
label was not initially intended to be resort, but slips or tailored pants. Holt wears her colourful caftans in
designed for “all the in-between – the pieces you
started the city with an Hermès Collier de Chien belt, “to give
throw in your suitcase without thinking”. wearing more them an urban twist”, or with a knit tied around the neck.
Designer Julz Valiant sees a passion for travel as colour and And as Power surmises of the Matches Fashion client: “She
a distinctively Australia feature, too. Launched might buy a dress for the beach but wants to make sure she
from her now-home in the US, her label Valiánte
being more can wear it in the city or at home.”
is worn by Australian expatriates like Naomi adventurous in Bonham says her recent trip to Puglia inspired her to
Watts and Bambi Northwood-Blyth. “It’s a natural mixing labels embrace a lighter style of dressing for work. “I love a beige
instinct,” she says. “I have always been a bit of linen suit or short suit with a white cotton tee or shirt.” It is
a nomad, a beach lover, and have casual style.”
and trends” one way to prolong warm summer holiday memories. And,
Dublin-based Pippa Holt remembers styling the could it be that on holidays another facet of our fashion
‘holiday dressing’ pages when she worked in magazines. “Alex [Alexandra Shulman, personalities can emerge? “I’d love to think some of that
then editor of British Vogue] knew I loved that area of product,” she says. “My effortless Italian style has rubbed off on me since my trip,”
grandmother, Dame Zara Holt, had holiday houses by the sea in Portsea and in far says McDonald of her holiday’s effect on her day-to-day
north Queensland. I grew up spending holidays there, watching Zarie’s flamboyant Sydney wardrobe – hotel rooms demand to be matched
style of tropical dressing. That inspired me, as did the Australian lifestyle for with a Jasmine & Will silk pyjama set; there’s a steady
dressing for long, hot summers at the beach.” rotation of statement earrings for the day; and a penchant
The escapist element of travel makes for greater self-expression in fashion. “I feel for Dolce & Gabbana. “I’ve definitely started wearing more
it’s a way to express yourself on holidays in ways you may not normally dress back colour and being more adventurous in mixing labels and
home,” says Sharni Lindsay of Nancy King, whose home base of Queensland means trends. I think I’ll really notice the influence now the
her designs are always going to be appropriate for the heat. Australian summer has arrived and I can wear all my
For some, it is a brief flirtation in another way of dressing. O’Neill, for example, opts holiday clothes. I’ve been praying for the warm weather so
for practical attire for her working life in New York. “As a former chef and now event I could pull out those outfits again!” ■

TAKE THE LOAD OFF

1. Alice McCall jumpsuit, $420. 2. Zimmermann skirt, $795. 3. Sir the Label shorts, $240.
4. Nice Matin playsuit, $140. 5. Spell & The Gypsy Collective dress, $399.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

54
 G E O R G I N A E G A N J A N WA LT E R S
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

David Jones.
selection at
jumpsuit, from a
Stella McCartney
JUMPSUIT
RELAXED

JANUARY 2018 55
VOGUE V IEW POINT

STYLE SYLLABUS

In the
shade
Lashings of colour was the
old way: hue drenching in
a single shade is the new. Just
ask Poppy Lissiman, creator of
snapped-up technicoloured
accessories. By Alice Birrell.

ST YLING MAR I NA AFO N I NA

PHOTOG R APHS D U N CAN KI LLI CK

Stella McCartney top, $949, from David

Jones. Fendi skirt, $2,220. Balenciaga shoes,
$850, from Harrolds. Poppy Lissiman bag, $155.

56

Stockings, from Costume Box.
Manolo Blahnik shoes, $1,620, from
Harrolds. Poppy Lissiman bag, $115.
A canny way with colour has the ability to make
fashion legends. Dries Van Noten is the master,
casting his alchemy to great delight, and further
back Elsa Schiaparelli’s “bright, impossible, impudent”
pink thrilled audiences. Nearer to now, Sies Marjan and
Demna Gvasalia nail the knack for a lesser-known shade,
an off-beat gem hiding in the spectrum. But what of the
wearer? Well, the right steps can be a style triumph.
For someone like accessories designer Poppy Lissiman,
who has made a name for herself with saturated clutches
and sunglasses, colour has always led her world, but not
always her wardrobe. “It’s exactly half black and half
colour, and I would know because I colour-coordinate the
whole thing,” she says. The Perth-born, Sydney-based
designer says choosing the right shade is important. “You
can commit head to toe to one colour – you just have to
know if it’s one you feel happy and confident in.”
For her, that’s veering toward the vermillion group on
the wheel. “I love to wear head-to-toe red – that’s one of my
“You can commit head
to toe to one colour –
you just have to know
if it’s one you feel happy
and confident in”
Kate Sylvester jacket, $729. Albus Lumen
dress, $1,150.
Poppy Lissiman
sunglasses, $115.
favourite colours and probably the most heavily featured in my wardrobe after
black,” she says, adding orange is another current fix.
The key to wearing it top to toe is all in the approach taken by designers such as
Stella McCartney, Fendi and Marc Jacobs this season; nuanced renditions of classic
paintbox colours, veering left of the usual spectrum of red, yolk and ocean and into
warm brick, jade and a better, brighter millennial pink. Lissiman advises to choose
one hue and approach tonally. “It’s really hard having different pieces from different
brands and expecting them to match exactly,” she says, noting the aim is to build
around one hue with variations lending intrigue. “I like that they’re all different.”
Growing up in Perth, and saving her money for her first-ever purchase from Louis
Vuitton – a set of hair baubles – Lissiman found that ‘different’, to her, was good.
“I wore them to school and just got teased because people couldn’t believe that I’d go
and buy hair baubles at that price,” she remembers. “I thought they were incredible.”
Beating the standard path into starting a label wasn’t for her either. After launching
her own store in Perth, stocking international labels, including her own now obsolete
clothing collection, sales of her clutches began to eclipse her entire in-store inventory
and so she made the switch to accessories exclusively in 2014. Now her e-boutique
stocks her all-vegan, ethically made bags, eyewear and a newly added jewellery line
with characteristically offbeat motifs like evil eyes, serpents and shooting stars. →
JANUARY 2018 57
VOGUE V IEW POINT
Attico jacket, $1,625, from
www.matchesfashion.com.
BRIGHT IDEAS
Michael Lo Sordo skirt,
$945. Poppy Lissiman
sunglasses, $115. Stockings
from Costume Box.
Raf Simons shoes, $1,030,
from Sneakerboy.

“I love to wear Witchery

head-to-toe red jacket, $200.

– that’s one of 

my favourites”

Fendi bag, P.O.A.

Stuart
Weitzman
boots,
$1,325.

M A K E- U P: V I C TO R I A B A R O N A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
P H OTO G R A P H S : G E O R G I N A E G A N D U N C A N K I L L I C K H A I R : P E T E L E N N O N
Motifs like these have been drawn from the neon-lit worlds of Asian metropolises – Lissiman
has been visiting cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo two to three times a year for the past 10 years
for work (to manage production of her pieces) and pleasure – and the pastiche world of the
internet. But colourful accessories shouldn’t be about realism, she says. “In this Instagram age, it’s
not so much about the practicality, it’s more about being seen in it,” she says, referring to her
customer base who are eagerly wait-listing her sunglasses, like the ‘Le Skinny’, which is a Dion Lee dress, $2,300.
favourite of Bella Hadid, before they’re available on her online store. “I think sunglasses really
tapped into that [purpose], like getting the ultimate selfie. They’re not blocking out rays, they’re
ones that people are wearing out at night,” she says. “It’s over the top, but it’s cool.”
Just like monochrome in the brightest colours, both take a brand of boldness that made
Schiaparelli’s shocking pink so compelling. Just channel a school-age Lissiman who stood out on
purpose. “I felt like everyone else had the worst style, which sort of reinforced what I was doing
was right, or at least in my head it looked good,” she says, laughing. “I just dressed for myself.” ■ Poppy Lissiman
L an sunglasses, $115.

58 JANUARY 2018
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The looks of love

Fusion is a renowned collection
of exquisite rings and pendants
from Georg Jensen, designed by
Nina Koppel. The beauty of her
designs is the flexibility each piece
gives to the wearer to alter the style
according to taste or clothing. Each
piece interlocks seamlessly with
others, allowing for combinations
of yellow, white and rose gold,
with or without gemstones.
Visit www.georgjensen.com.

VOGUE Simply the zest

For the summer months,

DIARY
L’Occitane has specially updated
its invigorating Verbena range,
known for its use of the organic
verbena herb that grows along
Explore what’s in store and the paths of Provence, France.
worth having this month. Featuring eau de toilette, lotions,
soaps, a new shower gel and
more, the range is much-loved
for its unique, fresh and zesty
aroma. For further details,
visit www.loccitane.com.au.

Shiny happy people Get the Gigi look

It’s a quick and convenient way Gigi Hadid makes her style
to freshen up your look, but dry statement by designing an
shampoo can leave hair looking exclusive collection for Vogue
dull and parched. Joico Beach and Eyewear. Take your cue from
Body Shakes clean hair while the runway and create your look
adding volume without the sticky with retro-chic shapes, bold
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it textured, shiny and soft. For style and personality at
details, visit www.joico.com.au. www.vogue-eyewear.com.

Ode to a gem
Van Cleef & Arpels’s High
Jewelry collection Le Secret
features the stunning Fleur bleue
ring. Part flower, part poem, the
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like a sunless garden). Contact
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 VOGUE V IEW POINT
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shoes,
$1,860 for
a pair, from
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boutiques.
W O R D S : Z A R A W O N G M O D E L S : TJ B R YA N T E M M A H A R R I S PA U L A S A N Z
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

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Ancient Greek in theme but not in style or shade, these shoes have been
injected with Chanel’s signature wit in the form of miniature scroll heels.

ST YLING B E TH I E G I R MAI
PHOTOG R APH PI ER R E TO U S SAI NT

JANUARY 2018 61
VOGUE V IEW POINT

Dark arts
Fashion has long been
enthralled with a darker side,
but this time around it emerges
into the light and speaks
to us all. By Alice Birrell. From left: Harrolds x
Heart of Bone cuff,
ART DIREC TION D IJANA SAVO R $2,200, necklace,
PHOTOG R APH EDWAR D U R RUTIA $1,395, and ring, $475.

62
 W MIDNIGHT
ant a quick path to perplexity? Try to
untangle what Gothic is. “I am not
a Goth!” was a catchcry for young men
and women in underground clubs, or emerging from
the solitude of their bedrooms in all black from their
boots to their Siouxsie Sioux plume of ebony hair.
Okay. “It’s only people that aren’t Goth that think the
Cure are a Goth band,” lead singer Robert Smith told
reporters, seemingly even more curiously. Were the
morose mobs skulking gloomily around the streets,
refusing to join in the rampant consumerism of the
1980s, a kind of fashion fiction? Given it’s making its
overtures known again this season, surely not?
“What is the idea of Gothicism? Is it the heavy use
of black, decorated lace layers?” asks Helen Sac,
director at global trend forecaster WGSN, who
forensically monitors the comings and goings
on runways. “I think the idea of ‘Goth’ has become
an easy label ubiquitous with anything that looks a
bit dark and ‘subversive’. Look a bit deeper though,
and it is always more than that.”
So spool forward to fashion at this moment – clock
the body-swallowing proportions at Balenciaga, the
explosion of sequins at Gucci, the fantasy feathers at
Prada … but wait, what was that at Alexander
McQueen? A symbol of Cornish witchcraft sewn in
among sequins on a gown. Look quickly to Gucci!
A bat winging its way across an intarsia knit. At new
label Alyx, leather strapping and chains slung from
belt loops and harnesses sat over slip dresses.
But save the sighs. What could be a resurgence of
maudlin post-punk days is far from down and
dismal. For the first part, it’s not all black. Layered
sheers, micro florals, froth and flounce abound; the
aforementioned McQueen dress was light as air, and
at Alyx, the dresses were white cotton.
“For me, it’s really romantic,” says Kathleen
Buscema, womenswear buyer at Australian luxury
boutique Harrolds, of Gothic motifs like skulls, hearts
and daggers. “It’s similar to why we like going on
scary rides or watching horror movies. It’s that idea of
being pushed into something exhilarating. In fashion,
it’s the same.” Take Melbourne jeweller Emma
Abrahams, whose label Heart of Bone has produced
an exclusive collaboration with Harrolds, where
clients can have pieces custom engraved. “We
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
imagined lovers carving each other’s initials into trees
or school desks with knives, getting heart tattoos and
sending each other roses,” she says of the charm
necklaces and rings adorned with these same badges.
What’s exciting now is maintaining a veneer of
seeming sweetness, while hinting at a darker side. It
STILL LIFE: GEORGINA EGAN
is Emily Brontë’s Catherine hiding a wild passion for
an ill-matched man, wandering romance-stricken in
a cotton nightdress. Victorian Gothic writings, with
overtures of the supernatural and elements of
antiquity, hinted at another time, the thinking being
that with the exploration of the world, less was left to
the imagination. The unseen, metaphysical world
became a great source of inspiration.
Today the modern equivalent is the transparency
SHIFT
of a digital world: hardly a corner hasn’t had a light
shone in it. Mystique, ever more allusive, can be
conjured in the way we dress. Try a turn in one of Daisy
bralette,
Australian label Daisy’s broderie anglaise babydoll $575.
dresses. They’re almost sweet, except they’re micro
short and nipped-in in all the right places. Founders
Renee and Gibson Fox are inspired by American
horror and true crime, and deliberately deal with
tensions of contrast. “We use an interplay of
opposing ideas to create something that feels new.
We’ve explored purity versus eroticism, medieval
Rag & Bone skirt, $565.
versus modern and, most recently, good versus
evil,” says Renee, who points out holiness and
divinity were also key themes in Gothicism.
The trick, then, is in the subtlety. Details and
fabrics are a suggestion, racy or not, rather than an
aggressive proposition. Take Daisy’s simple swathe
of flushed flesh-toned silk as a slip, or new label
Orseund Iris’s update on corsets – there are no hooks
and eyes, and no overtly restricting boning. In fact,
they’re made as knits, with a subtle underwire
outline. “Making pieces like [these] that intentionally
Rebecca
accentuate the bust originated solely on the element Vallance
of design,” says Orseund Iris designer Lana Johnson. bodysuit,
“I’m only now becoming more and more aware of $289.
my undeniable and relentless love for celebrating the
female form in all of its manifestations.”
And others are following suit, recognising the
power in acknowledging our darker side. Sexuality,
an undercurrent that has charged the collections of
Demna Gvasalia at both Vetements and Balenciaga
with fetishist Spandex and thigh-high boots, is
brought out of the previously dimly lit boudoir and
into the open. One only has to look at Bella Hadid’s
Kate
Met Gala catsuit dress and fashion’s current taste for
Sylvester
harnesses over dresses to see the inflections. pants,
London-based label Fannie Schiavoni has made it its P.O.A.
stock in trade to produce delicate body chains and
metal mesh bras to layer over clothes.
The prevalence of bodysuits under jeans, leather as
daywear, and mini-skirts are also part of this.
“Women are empowered, not objectified,” says Sac.
“It’s the new wave of femininity,” says Buscema. To go
dark, whether it is through symbolism, a latticed
black fabric, or an emphasis on the body, is to
acknowledge the shades of light and dark in the world.
“To me, it’s a profound unspoken language that
communicates to the world you are insightful and
fearless,” says Abrahams, who sees skulls not as
a marker of death, but a memo to live well. “[It is a]
memento mori … a reminder that we are all created
equal. Having respect for this gives the wearer of
a skull an edge and confidence. It’s unapologetic and
says to the world: ‘Seize the day, enjoy life, have no
regrets.’” What could be more bright than that? ■ Alexander Wang skirt, $1,399.
JANUARY 2018 6 3
VOGUE V IEW POINT

Islands in the sun

An individual point of view in a connected world
is a precious thing. Lucky New Zealand has the
perfect storm of elements giving rise to a
wonder gen of designers. By Alice Birrell.
ST YLING DAN AHWA
PHOTOG R APH JAKE TER R E Y

W
e’d say there’s something in the water in New
Zealand except that it’s not quite accurate. If
you’ve ever ventured over the Tasman, then you
might know there’s something about the water, and the sky,
and the snow-mantled Alps, and the strangely Jurassic-
looking forests of fern and ancient kauri. This backdrop,
wittingly or not, and in fascinating ways, has given life to the
newest contingent of designers to come out of the country:
a cohort of energised, fiercely determined and vastly
different creatives with visions that are sparking interest in
the world from which it is geographically removed.
It’s not that the pristine natural beauty has directly
dictated the designs of these young talents, it’s that it has
shaped them in different ways, sometimes subtle, sometimes
abstract. “The light here is harsher than Australia, which
can be tricky to work with, so an understanding of that is
crucial,” says Karen Inderbitzen-Waller, who, along with
creative partner Delphine Avril Planqueel, work as a
photography duo producing stripped-back fashion images
against typically New Zealand micro and macro settings:
from weatherboard suburban houses to theatrical sand
dunes and vast dams. The results are arresting and semi-
surreal. “In Auckland, you only need to drive 30 minutes to
get a variety of landscapes, from a beach to a volcano,” adds
Planqueel. “That’s the beauty here.”
“It’s quiet among the rush,” says Georgia Currie of
Georgia Alice, a label that is now stocked internationally,
with recognition growing. “I feel like when I’m home, I can
focus on new collections and the business.” Net-A-Porter
fashion director Lisa Aiken sees this giving younger labels
a head start. “In an industry saturated with so many
options, having this clarity of vision is essential,” she says.
That physical remoteness has a dual effect. “There just
isn’t the population to support a large fashion industry, so
the jobs aren’t there,” says Elizabeth Wilson of buzzy label
Eugénie. “The upshot is that it inspires people to go for it
and start their own labels.” It also means the trend of talent
being lured away to work at existing big houses, rather
than establishing an original one, is not as prevalent.
Instead, a tight-knit community of different individuals,
each with something of their own to say, exists. “We see
each other all the time,” Auckland-based designer Wynn
Hamlyn Crawshaw, of label Wynn Hamlyn, says over the
phone. “We’re super-friendly.”
For Paris Mitchell and Georgia Cherrie of Paris Georgia,
a label with a focus on high wardrobe staples, collaboration
is the norm. “It definitely feels so supportive, like →

64
 From left: Madeleine Harman, Jessica Grubiša, Georgia Currie, Wynn Hamlyn Crawshaw (in his own clothes),
Georgia Cherrie, Paris Mitchell and Maggie Hewitt, wearing their own labels and Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoes, $100.

JANUARY 2018 65
VOGUE V IEW POINT
hanging out with all of those guys on Monday getting our photo taken,”
says Mitchell of the Vogue shoot in Auckland. “You feel like you can
share information, you know? Everyone’s happy to share.”
Championing the local industry, then, is part of a resourcefulness
that comes from having less choice in production and distribution.
Workers can finesse techniques when labels produce the majority of
their output in New Zealand factories. Local materials, especially wool,
play a large role. “In many situations, there is only a few degrees of
separation from raw material to final product, creating a very personal
touch in our companies,” observes Dame Pieter Stewart, founder of
New Zealand fashion week.
With this in mind, it’s less surprising that the
International Australia and New Zealand regional winner “THE
of the Woolmark Prize for 2017 was, in fact, from New
Zealand. Harman Grubiša, founded by Madeleine Harman
REMOTENESS
and Jessica Grubiša, often draws on the colour palette of INSPIRES
both the urban and windswept locales of the Land of the PEOPLE TO
Long White Cloud, the duo making elevated everyday
pieces with a tailoring focus. From the beginning, they
START THEIR
were cognisant of the impact having a fashion label has on OWN LABELS”
the environment. “New labels are the role models for the
future,” says Grubiša. “It’s quite literally unsustainable for
this industry to continue doing what it has always done. We decided
early on that if we produced something new, we weren’t going to do so at
the sacrifice of people’s wellbeing.” They make everything locally, adding
they know all their makers by name.
Timing, too, is on the country’s side. There’s an ‘X’ element working in
their favour that is a confluence of shifts in the world. “I really think it
is easier to be a global brand based in New Zealand more now than
what it was even 10 years ago,” says Maggie Hewitt, creative director of
Maggie Marilyn, a label whose wearable twists on core wardrobe pieces
– a raspberry knit with a flounced sleeve, a pair of trousers with a ruffle
running the length of the leg – has seen runaway success since it was
picked up by Net-A-Porter. Jo Knight, fashion consultant and mentor to
Hewitt, says a wearable, relatable approach translates the world over.
“There is a casualness innate in the New Zealand way of dressing that
sometimes makes elevated pieces more accessible.”
All of the designers share the view that there are elements that need
to be in step with an international mind-set. “Our connections, and
Paris obviously living in New York, really helped us a lot to develop our
STEPPING OUT TO THE LOCAL INVESTMENT PIECES WITH THE DESIGN SIGNATURE OF THEIR MAKERS TO BUY INTO NOW.
Harman Grubiša Georgia Alice jacket, Maggie Marilyn
pants, $380. $935, from The Undone. top, $475.
66
international presence,” says Cherrie, who lived in Spain while Mitchell
worked as a stylist in the US. “Otherwise it would’ve been a lot slower
for us,” says Mitchell. “Those connections are everything.”
Though Currie says New Zealand afforded her the chance to grow at her
own pace, she’s focusing on establishing herself internationally. Harman
Grubiša, while rooted in an accessible approach to luxury that mirrors
the laidback New Zealand lifestyle, shot its most recent look book in New
York, with model and previous Yves Saint Laurent muse Lili Sumner.
Maggie Marilyn’s label captures this local/international paradox. Her
collections are made in both New Zealand and Italy. On the other hand,
Crawshaw, known for his modern take on knits, from lean
jumpers to slimline skirts, works with a company in
Auckland that has been in business for generations,
knitting by hand before machines were brought in. “Even
though we’re in New Zealand, they’re totally at the
forefront of what’s possible to knit,” he says.
Most agree that they could remain headquartered in
New Zealand if that was what the designers wanted. “I don’t
think the idea of ‘overseas is better’ is a thing anymore,”
says Imogen Wilson, a photographer, stylist and head of
The Others, a model agency that champions local street-
casting. “It’s more about recognising what you like and
appreciating it, despite the location, reach or status.”
Another reason to look into their corner is the pervasiveness of a
lighter, more colourful aesthetic than the country has been known for in
the past. Call it the optimism of a younger generation, or put it down to
the country’s politics: the 13th nation in the world to achieve marriage
equality is ruled by female prime minister, and they’ve continually
worked to maintain meaningful relations with its Maori population.
This, and more, has the world watching. “Emerging brands from
more unexpected markets are catching the attention of the industry,”
says Aiken. “Customers are very engaged with finding something new
that isn’t overly exposed.” Time zones, too, can be seen to work their
way. “The industry is realising we’re working while they’re sleeping,
and some love it,” says Knight. “Unfortunately for us, at certain times of
the year, that means we never sleep.” With varying aesthetics, this new
guard shares that positivity. “There’s this natural confidence to
everybody,” says Mitchell. “There’s a common thread in our group of
friends who are starting businesses, like Georgia and Wynn and all
these designers. I mean, we’re young and we’re just going for it.” ■
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
GEORGINA EGAN
Wynn Hamlyn Paris Georgia
sweater, $410. skirt, $370.
JANUARY 2018
 Fashion at
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VOGUE CU LTU R E

ART

Wave of glory
A dazzling cape worn by Rihanna propelled Chinese
designer Guo Pei into international fame. From her atelier
in Beijing, the artist shares her inspirations and asserts
the true spirit of haute couture. By Sophie Tedmanson.

A utumn in Beijing is a stunning explosion of eye-catching

golden yellow leaves from the ginkgo trees. They line the
streets of the bustling city, surround the gates of the Forbidden
City, and provide a breathtaking burst of colour through a forest leading
out to the studio of Guo Pei, China’s most famous couturier.
Yellow is one of Pei’s favourite colours, rather fittingly, since it was an
extraordinary intricately embroidered canary-yellow cape worn by
Rihanna to the Met Gala in 2015 that elevated the Chinese designer onto
the international fashion world stage.
“I love green as a colour, but even though I love green in my designs
there is lots of yellow,” Pei says through her husband Jack Tsao, who is
acting as her translator.
“I loved the colour yellow when I was little but my mother said: ‘No!
This is for the royal family only!’”
She is referring to imperial yellow, the sacred colour of the Qing
dynasty. “In Chinese culture, we love colour. You can see it in the
architecture [all around Beijing]. I’ve been inspired by paintings from
the royal family, from architecture … In [my] embroidery you see so
many different and beautiful colours – the combinations are amazing.
Colour is very, very important for emotion.”
Emotions are very, very important to Pei, who uses them both
as inspiration for her couture and ready-to-wear collections, as well as
evoking them for her customers through her extraordinary creations.
We are sitting in the mirror-lined fitting area of her atelier, the Rose
Studio, which she launched in 1997 and which resides in a multi-level
warehouse near the Olympic site in the outer suburbs of Beijing. It is an
impressive maze of floors of myriad rooms with scores of men and
women – there are 500 in her employ – busying themselves with
dressmaking, pattern-making, intricately embroidering and fashioning
accessories. Upstairs three women are busy styling the latest of 300
couture costumes that have been commissioned for a new Chinese
television drama, in another wing a group are knee-deep in beads – gold
beads – fashioning headwear, while in the sewing area half-finished
gowns for her next couture collection (to be shown in Paris in January
2018) adorn dressmaker dummies. This sneak peak at couture in the
making is extraordinary. I am particularly taken by a voluminous black
and gold hoop embroidered skirt that is so grand and extravagant
I cannot work out where the model will stand, let alone how she will
walk in it. But the holy grail is yet to come: I am taken into a room, →

68
GET T Y IMAGES

Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala

wearing the Guo Pei cape gown
that gained global attention.

JANUARY 2018 69
VOGUE CU LTU R E

Looks from Guo Pei’s

spring/summer ’17 haute
couture collection at the
Conciergerie in Paris.
Carmen Dell’Orefice, 86,
(centre) closed the show.

70
shoes removed, behind two red curtains and beyond a ‘do not enter’ sign
and into what can best be described as an Aladdin’s cave of couture – a
veritable goldmine of rows and rows of custom-made gowns that form
the DNA of Pei’s history. There are traditional Chinese wedding dresses
with ‘cloud’ collars and pleated skirts with a rainbow of embroidered
fish and butterflies; white, blue and silver Ming-vase inspired sheaths;
tassel dresses that shimmy and shake just so; rows of reds and feathers
and heavily beaded dresses laden with crystals that seem to weigh
more than the teeny-tiny-waisted women they are made for.
They do indeed rouse emotions – wonder, awe – and an urge to touch
every garment.
Back downstairs and Pei explains that the inspiration behind her
latest couture collection, Legend, came from an 18th-century cathedral
she stumbled across two years ago in St. Gallen near Zurich, Switzerland,
where she was visiting nearby embroidery factories. She was drawn by
a “spiritual feeling”; an emotion of devotion that lent itself to the
religious iconography that adorns the collection. That, combined with
the excess of Marie-Antoinette, who was imprisoned in the Conciergerie
in Paris, where the collection was shown, helped inform her creations.
“What inspired me was the amazing interior of this church,” she says.
“For me it’s not so much about religion but what touched me was the
belief, the belief that people have, how strong and powerful it is for
human beings – the power to devote ourselves, to dedicate for love or
for what we believe. It’s refreshing for the soul.
“I want people to see my work and be touched and be responsive.
I wanted to use embroidered thread by hand to express what I received
when I arrived at the church, in a spiritual sense. It’s not about believing
in God, it’s a contribution, a mission … you have been touched by
something … it’s a feeling, and without feeling there is no purpose.
I wanted to give this feeling to the people.”
The Legend collection will be shown in Melbourne from December
2017, featuring in the National Gallery of Victoria’s Triennial, an
inaugural exhibition of design, art and architecture. The exhibition will
include works from 100 artists and 32 designers from around the world,
each chosen for representing cutting-edge technology.
After the NGV Triennial, Pei says some pieces from her Legend
collection will travel to New York to be exhibited at the Costume
Institute’s exhibition Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,
the same theme for the Met Gala that opens it in May. In a nice synergy
for Pei, the 2018 Met Gala will this year be co-hosted by Rihanna.
Pei’s gowns are indeed works of art: show-stoppers like Rihanna’s
yellow fur-trimmed cape gown that took two years to create, with
50,000 hours of hand-embroidery and stitching.
It is her craftmanship for exquisitely intricate handmade, often avant-
garde creations, that earned Pei the nickname ‘the Alexander McQueen
of China’. She has the ability to blend Chinese history through traditional
embroidery and ancient motifs – dragons, butterflies, silk flowers –
with modern design. She has single-handedly brought Chinese fashion
to the Western world, a responsibility that is not lost on Pei.
“Many people say I am a pioneer in fashion as a designer, and the
work I have done represents China’s fashion history,” she says. “For me,
it is a responsibility, and a mission.”
Pei was born and raised in Beijing, where her mother and grandmother
would take her for evening strolls as a child, and she would soak up the
history and the environment: ornate dragons carved on temples here,
the colours of the leaves there. “We lived right in the centre of the city
next to a very old park, so every night after dinner my parents
or grandparents would take me for a walk, and I would see lots of
“Whatever engravings from the Qing dynasty
the pieces, in everyday life – the patterns and
colours are everywhere,” she says.
whether “Also, in my parents’ house they had
masterpieces a beautiful big vase, so I would look
or showpieces, at that every night.”
Pei began making her own clothes
I ensure one soon after she could walk and, as a
thing for my little girl, would raid her mother’s
clients: when wardrobe and recreate items into
ones for herself. “At aged seven,
they receive a I took one of my mother’s shirts and
couture piece, turned it into a dress. I made some
they can keep pleats, even though I didn’t know
how to use a sewing machine and
it for life … had never been taught how to sew,”
It’s eternal” she recalls with a grin.
Cut to four decades later and Pei
had steadily built up a career in
China. Then Rihanna walked up the red-carpeted steps of the Met in the
that gown and the world took notice. “I was already famous in China, but
in one night the world knew about me. I was very surprised by how the
gown worn by Rihanna became recognised around the world,” she says.
“People didn’t know [the name] Guo Pei, but at that moment, because of
Rihanna, everyone knew it. For me it was like climbing a mountain and
reaching the top. Over the past 20 years I’ve wanted to learn and see the
world and start doing couture. I wanted to keep moving up to learn more,
but unexpectedly when I reached that position, people saw me too.”
In 2016, she was invited to join the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute
Couture in Paris, making her couture week debut in January of that
year, becoming the first Chinese national to do so.
“I just love couture,” she says. “Couture can release the concept that
is in my mind, from beginning to end. Whatever the pieces, whether
masterpieces or showpieces, I ensure one thing for my clients: when
they receive a couture piece, they can keep it for life. This is something
I really, really appreciate. It’s eternal.
“I don’t like fashion trends, because they keep on changing; people love
for the moment then the next day it’s different. It’s frustrating. People lose
themselves – they don’t know what is good and what is bad, they don’t
know what they love. But fashion interests everyone, whether you are
rich or poor, young or old, the power of fashion affects everyone – the
reality of fashion is that it affects people’s lives. Couture is loyal: if you
love something, you love it forever. My clients are loyal to themselves,
loyal to their families, loyal to their careers, loyal to their lives. Most of
the time they love me because they are a good friend, but they also love
my philosophy and mentality and we influence each other.”
As for the future of haute couture, Pei – who personally invests in her
pieces so much she is known to thread a strand of her own hair into
selected garments – admits it lies in appreciation of the detail, in its
existence as an art form.
“It’s more important to show the spiritual side of haute couture,” she
says. “We can still maintain the spirit through a small portion of the
detail. In the past it was a statism – a kind of appreciation of aesthetics
and beauty for very specific people. But now I don’t think so. I think
now the haute couture spirit is more of an appreciation, and it’s more
important that everyone should have the right to appreciate it.”
The NGV Triennial, featuring Guo Pei’s spring ’17 haute couture collection, is
on until April 15. Go to www.ngv.vic.gov.au.
JANUARY 2018 7 1
VOGUE CU LTU R E
Polyester saturated
A new film by one of Australia’s most out-there directors
revisits the 1970s in all its garish glory. By Jane Albert.
T
here is a scene in Swinging Safari where you wish you could press pause. Of
course, it’s live cinema and therefore impossible, but the visual delight of
Radha Mitchell in skimpy gold lamé, Jeremy Sims in an eye-wateringly tight
and sweaty tan polyester safari suit, Kylie Minogue almost unrecognisable with
a bowl haircut and lurid blue eyeshadow, and Guy Pearce in way too many shades
of brown is a scene that deserves to be lingered over.
Swinging Safari reunites the team behind 1994’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of
the Desert, including writer/director Stephan Elliott, costume designer Lizzy
Gardiner and producer Al Clark. Set in suburban Queensland in the 1970s, the film
is a biting satire as seen through the eyes of its 14-year-old protagonist, budding
filmmaker Jeff, and his introverted best friend Melly.
Elliott throws everything at the film, from cask wine to sunken lounge rooms,
shag pile carpets to fondue and brown, lots and lots of brown, all brought to life by a
spectacular collection of 1970s fashion that may well be best forgotten.
Swinging Safari also happens to be semi-autobiographical, borrowing heavily from
episodes in Elliott’s own youth and his friendship with Gardiner, on whom the
character of Melly is loosely based. “As a filmmaker Stephan is almost out there on
his own,” says Gardiner. He makes truthful, very funny, outrageous films people
can either handle or they can’t. There is a sadness to Swinging Safari, an undertone of
misplaced people and parents who didn’t know what they were doing, but it is really
Stephan’s love letter to a period in time that was crazy and insane.”
72
Scenes from Swinging Safari, featuring Kylie Minogue (in a
blonde bowl haircut), Guy Pearce, Asher Keddie and Jeremy Sims.
Putting any film in the hands of Gardiner is a safe bet –
here is a woman who collected her Oscar statuette for
Priscilla in an unforgettable dress made entirely of American
Express Gold cards – and in Swinging Safari she does not
disappoint. A 1970s child herself, Gardiner immersed
herself in the period and discovered a ready supply of
clothes available in op shops and vintage stores. “The 70s is
both inspiring and horrific in terms of fashion,” she says.
“There’s still a lot of really fantastic clothes around, because
there was so much polyester, so it survived.” Dressing the
cast was particularly gratifying, with key actors all happy to
push the boundaries of taste. “As soon as the cast saw the
clothes they burst out laughing and said: ‘Yep, bring it on.’”
A “hideous, hilariously terrible” hot-pink jumpsuit worn
by Asher Keddie was a particular favourite, only matched
by the safari suit Sims wears for the key party where it all
goes so spectacularly wrong. “Jeremy was such a good
sport: it was pure polyester and it was extremely hot and
extremely tight, it split five or six times … I like to push it,
I like having fun and I love period, but I also love beautiful
taste, beautiful fashion,” says Gardiner.
Working again with Elliott and the Priscilla crew was as
madcap as you might expect. “It was great fun, hilarious,
mad – but really fun. Someone gets hurt, always,” says
Gardiner. “You do have unique experiences when you work
with Stephan. That’s why I love it. Because it’s madness.”
Swinging Safari opens nationally on January 18.
JANUARY 2018
VO GUE PROMOTION
 PRADA OLFACTORIES IS A COLLECTION OF 10 UNISEX EAUX DE PARFUM. EACH 100ML
FRAGRANCE IS SOLD INDIVIDUALLY, $410. THE SCENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT SELECT
PRADA BOUTIQUES AND DAVID JONES ELIZABETH STREET, SYDNEY. GO TO WWW.PRADA.COM.AU.
VO GUE PROMOTION

3. PURPLE RAIN
PRADA’S ICONIC IRIS
REIMAGINED. THE FRAGILE
PERENNIAL FORTIFIED
INTO AN OPULENT
BLOOM THAT EVOKES
ITS NAMESAKE GODDESS
OF THE RAINBOW:
A LINK BETWEEN LAND
AND SKY, HEAVEN AND
HUMANITY. PURPLE RAIN
IS THE COMPLEX YET
UNDERSTATED SCENT
OF IRIS, POTENT IN ITS
POWDERY CHARMS.
CHARMS
1. CARGO DE NUIT
AN OCEAN VOYAGE
UNDER THE COVER
OF NIGHT. CELESTIAL
NAVIGATION AND
SHADOWY CARGO. A
DARING YET ADDICTIVE
JOURNEY. HANDLE
WITH CARE. CARGO DE
NUIT IS THE SCENT OF
A TWILIGHT PASSAGE
ON THE HIGH SEAS.

2 . NUE
2. N AU
A SO
SOLEIL
A GOLDEN NECTAR
BURSTS FORTH
FROM A NEWLY
CULTIVATED
FLOWER. CLAIMED
BY A BESOTTED
MONARCH, IT IS
SPIRITED AWAY AND
COAXED TO BLOOM
AGAIN IN A DESERT
HIDEAWAY. NUE
AU SOLEIL IS THE
SCENT OF AN
ORANGE BLOSSOM
DIPPED IN GOLD.

4. DAY FOR NIGHT

A MODERN ENCOUNTER WITH THE
ANCIENT, PRESERVED FOR ETERNITY
IN HARDENED HONEY. THE PATIENT
WORK OF A QUILL PEN BRINGS LIGHT TO
A DARK CHAMBER. DAY FOR NIGHT IS THE
ULTIMATE AMBER SCENT: THE FOSSILISED
MADE NEWLY MYSTERIOUS
MYSTERIOU AS THE
NATURAL BECOMES PREC
PRECIOUS.

6. UN CHANT D’AMOUR
A PURE WHITE CLOUD
DISSOLVES INTO
LAYERS,, REVEALING
THE COMPLEXITY
OF WEIGHTLESSNESS.
A GLIMPSE IGNITES
A SURGE OF EMOTION,
GIVING WAY TO
TENDER IMMERSION.
UN CHANT D’AMOUR IS
THE SCENT OF HUMAN
TOUCH, AT ONCE
CALMING AND CARNAL
 5. MARIENBAD 9. HEATWAVE
A HOTEL SUSPENDED BETWEEN AN ISLAND ARRIVAL, AS EVENING
WESTERN EASE AND EASTERN WANES. STEPPING INTO HUMID
OUDS. SOUVENIRS OF AN DARKNESS, THE AIR DENSE WITH
ELEGANTLY CRUMBLING A SILENT CHORUS OF NIGHT-
EMPIRE: LEATHER-BOUND BLOOMING FLOWERS. HEAT WAVE
VOLUMES TO BE DEVOURED IS THE SCENT OF COMPLICITY IN
WITH SPICED TORTES, PARADISE, STEAMY AND DECADENT.
BLACK COFFEE AND A VIEW
OF THE DANUBE. MARIENBAD
IS THE SCENT OF A CHARMING,
BAROQUE ESCAPE, OTHER-
WORLDLY IN ITS RICHNESS.
ITS RICHNESS.

7.. PINK
N FLAMINGOS
NGOS
A CLOUD OF PINK
BUBBLES FLOATING
THROUGH THE
HEART OF TOKYO.
THE JOYFUL
EMBRACE OF NATURE
AND THE SYNTHETIC
ANIMATES THE FAMILIAR
TO PRODUCE A
HEIGHTENED
FORM OF BEAUTY.
PINK FLAMINGOS
IS THE SCENT OF
FLUORESCENT PINK
BLOSSOMS, STYLISED
AND INNOCENT.

10. DOUBLE DARE

BEYOND CHARTED TERRITORY, A
DISCREET WILDERNESS FLOURISHES
R ON MANICURED GROUNDS. CREATURES
ROAM IN A WARM HAZE OF SPICE AND
LEATHER. EVOLUTION TAKES WING.
DOUBLE DARE IS THE SCENT OF
A RAREFIED PRESERVE, A BALANCE
8. TAINTED
N LOVE
OV OF THE EXOTIC AND THE EXQUISITE.
PLAYFUL AND CHARMING, WITH
A REGRESSIVE EDGE OF NOSTALGIA.
A GLOSSY AND SEDUCTIVE BULLET
FIRED FROM THE LABORATORY
TO THE VANITY. TAINTED LOVE
IS THE PERSONAL YET UNIVERSAL
SCENT OF LIPSTICK: A CELEBRATION
L. OF SYNTHETIC ALLURE.
VOGUE CU LTU R E
FILM
Boom time
A new wave of talent is joining
our most successful stars in a
renaissance of Australian film-
and television-making both at
home and in Hollywood, writes
Sophie Tedmanson.
PHOTOG R APH L AR N CE GO LD
From left: Alethea Jones, Danielle Macdonald
and Katherine Langford at the Australians
in Film awards in Hollywood in October.
74
A
cross three states in America last October, some of Australia’s
biggest stars were getting to work in the business of making
movies. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Margot Robbie was
starring in and producing the indie film Dreamland, co-starring fellow
Australian Travis Fimmel, in between taking meetings with up-and-
coming Australian director Alethea Jones. While in Atlanta, Georgia,
our Oscar-winning actors Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe were
starring alongside Joel Edgerton in the US movie Boy Erased, which was
being adapted and directed by Edgerton, who in turn was producing it
with his brother Nash and their long-time Australian producing partner
Rebecca Yeldham. Meanwhile back in LA, among the many Australians
working in Hollywood, screenwriter Luke Davies and director David
Michôd were making the final negotiations with George Clooney to
direct and star in their TV adaptation of Catch 22. To cap off the week,
the Australians in Film Gala was held to honour writers, directors,
producers and actors succeeding in myriad films and television series.
Back home, while Thor, the Marvel blockbuster filmed on the Gold
Coast was taking the box office by storm with its international cast led
by Chris Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett, veteran director Bruce
Beresford returned to Sydney to film Ladies in Black, an adaptation of an
Australian novel set in a 1950s department store. It stars the young
Angourie Rice, who at just 17, has already starred as Crowe’s daughter
in the buddy cop movie The Nice Guys, with Kidman in Sofia Coppola’s
The Beguiled, and in Spider-man Homecoming – all while somehow
continuing her high school studies in Melbourne.
Australians have well and truly infiltrated Hollywood on all levels,
and 2017 was a stellar year for Aussies making movies at home or
abroad, representing the old and the new vanguard of Australian
filmmaking and being part of a new ‘Aussiewood’ renaissance: a high
calibre of home-grown talent creating extraordinary content that is
winning accolades from the Oscars to the Emmys (and likely this
month’s Golden Globes) in blockbusters and independent productions.
This new renaissance comes during a time of digital streaming
leading to new avenues opening up and more opportunities offering
alternative paths for artists to make their projects. As a result, our stars
are broadening their success in different ways: venturing from big to
small screens and from front of the camera to behind the camera. Recent
examples include Baz Luhrmann and Naomi Watts making Netflix
shows (The Get Down and Gypsy, respectively), and Nicole Kidman
producing and starring in award-winning television.
Kidman has had a prolific 18 months and spent most of her time on
Australian-made productions: Jane Campion’s TV series Top of the Lake:
China Girl, filmed in Sydney, DC Comics’s Aquaman, made on the Gold
Coast, and the Oscar-nominated Lion, the Australian co-production
partly filmed in 2016 in Tasmania. Then there was Big Little Lies, the
enormously popular TV series based on the Liane Moriarty book of the
same name. The show won four Emmy awards, including most
outstanding TV drama, with Kidman winning for acting and producing.
Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival in September, Kidman told
Screen Australia that as a producer she is still passionate about telling
Australian stories, and has more planned.
“I’m always trying now to support and give back to the Australian
film industry, because it made me who I am today,” she said.
Kidman co-produced Big Little Lies with Reese Witherspoon and
Australian producer Bruna Papandrea (Gone Girl and Wild), who will
next adapt the story of Penguin Bloom, I’m Australian. We never have enough
starring Naomi Watts. She is also money or time but we have a track
working on another novel adaptation record of making amazing films.’ He
with Australian director Kate Dennis, admitted he liked my answer. But he
who was Emmy-nominated for her also pushed the shoot back to 2018.”
work on The Handmaid’s Tale. These women represent the new
Dennis, who was recently awarded breed of ‘Aussiewood’. It was a term
the Annette Kellerman Award for coined on the back of the Australian-
pioneering females in film (sponsored made and produced hits that
by Vogue Australia), at the AiF infiltrated LA in the late 1990s/early
Awards, is one of those relatively 2000s when Kidman, Crowe, Watts
unknown outside the industry who is and their peers – Geoffrey Rush, Cate
enjoying success in Hollywood. She Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine
says: “Australia is definitely riding Martin, Simon Baker et al – were
a very successful wave at the moment establishing their Hollywood careers,
in that our television is getting and the likes of the Matrix trilogy,
recognition internationally. Our Moulin Rouge!, Mission Impossible II
producers are making incredible and Star Wars Episode II and III were
connections worldwide, which all made at Sydney’s Fox Studios.
enables us to make pieces that not And they are emerging in a time
only get seen all over the world but where people are thinking outside the
have financing structures that allow box to get the job done. Some are
them to tap into that international Clockwise from top left: Danielle Macdonald in Patti Cake$; a scene forming their own production
from The Handmaid’s Tale; Naomi Watts in Gypsy; Shailene Woodley,
pool of money, so it lifts our shows to Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies; Cate Blanchett companies with friends – such as
a much higher quality level.” in Thor; Katherine Langford (right) in 13 Reasons Why. Robbie, whose new film I, Tonya, is the
Among others honoured at the AiF first offering from her company,
awards in October were Breakthrough
Award winners Katherine Langford, “AMERICANS FIND OUR LAIDBACK which she formed with her husband
and best friends. Robbie thinks it all
Danielle Macdonald and Alethea Jones. ATTITUDE REALLY APPEALING” boils down to the ‘can do’ Australian
Langford was the breakout star of this spirit. “I don’t know if it’s an Aussie
year’s Netflix teen suicide drama 13 thing or this generation thing or both,
Reasons Why, Macdonald was snapped up by Hollywood agency CAA but it really is a mentality of ‘why don’t we just do it?’” she says.
after her debut Patti Cake$ wowed the festival circuit and recently starred Robbie adds that the bar has been lifted, in turn allowing creatives to be
as Jennifer Aniston’s daughter in the upcoming Dumplin; Jones will more adventurous. “I think audiences are more intelligent and are less
direct the first live-action movie of the Mattel doll Barbie, which will star easily pleased so you have to work hard and cut through the masses –
Anne Hathaway. Luke Davies was also honoured for his portfolio of there’s so much content out there, so why should people watch yours?”
work, including being the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Lion. Others are uniting powerful players: Boy Erased is the first time
Also in attendance were others pushing the boundaries: Kitty Green, Kidman and Crowe have ever starred together; while Thor: Ragnarok not
whose mockumentary Casting JonBenet was a hit at Sundance Film Festival only brought Hemsworth and the Oscar-winning Blanchett together for
before being picked up by Netflix; Claudia Pickering, whose indie film the first time, but helped put the Gold Coast on the film-making map.
Frisky was made on just $5,000; and AiF host and actor Patrick Brammall, Blanchett admits that part of the attraction to working on Thor was that
who starred in and co-created the TV series No Activity for the Australian it was filmed in Australia. “I was so relieved that it was happening in
streaming service Stan, and which has since been picked up by CBS All Australia … there is nothing like Australian crews: no bumps, and the
Access streaming service to be adapted to an American version skill level is extraordinary,” Blanchett told Vogue, while advocating for
executive produced by Will Farrell and also starring Brammall. better funding initiatives to attract more filmmaking here. “I really
The LA-based director Jones, who won Tropfest in 2012 with the short hope one day the various state and federal governments will wake up
Lemonade Stand and took her first feature Fun Mom Dinner (starring Toni and realise what an extraordinary industry we have.”
Collette) to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, says the push in Hollywood Chris Hemsworth, who was last year named the highest-earning
for more diverse stories has played a key part in the new age of Australian in Hollywood by Forbes magazine, says that while he will
filmmaking, and the Australian attitude proves attractive to Hollywood continue on his Thor success, he also wants to become part of the action
heavyweights in getting those made: “Americans find our laidback behind the scenes too, and has already begun setting up a production
attitude really appealing. There was a time when Barbie was going to be company at home with his mates. “I just want to work more in Australia,
in production by the end of 2017 and I had a studio executive stare me and yes, tell Australian stories, but also work on our shores. We have such
down and say: ‘You’ve barely made anything. What makes you think you a huge pool of talent, and we see lots venture elsewhere to get the work.
can get this film done in that time?!’ Without thinking I replied: ‘Because There are so many opportunities waiting to be grabbed a hold of.” ■

JANUARY 2018 75
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V O G U E

SUN
DAYS
While slip, slop, slap
may be routine
among Australians,
sun protection
remains one of the
most mystifying,
complicated and
fastest-moving areas
of beauty. Remy
Rippon asks the
experts for their tips
on covering up.

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
S ATO S H I S A I K U S A / T R U N K A R C H I V E S

B E A U T Y
78
JANUARY 2018 79
VOGUE BE AUT Y

80
 Myth busters
Opinions on sun protection are just that: opinions. Here, the real experts separate fact from fallacy.
THE MY TH: A L L S U N S C R E E N S A R E C R E A T E D E Q U A L
THE REAL DEAL: Sunscreen regulations may take the crown for the least sexy topic in
beauty, but that’s not to say they should be dismissed. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods
Administration (TGA) is strict when it comes to regulating sunscreen, meaning the
products sold in Australia are among the best globally (to be sure, look for the ‘Aust
L’ licence number, which means it has passed testing). Dismiss anything less than
SPF 30 (this means it should block over 96 per cent of UV-B rays), and apply a liberal
application of SPF 50 cream when stepping outdoors, particularly in summer. Broad-
spectrum protection, meaning the sunscreen is also effective against UV-A rays, is
paramount. “There needs to be specific broad-spectrum ingredients within them,
such as octocrylene, octinoxate, octisalate, Tinosorb S and Uvinul A Plus, that are
not only broad-spectrum but also photo-stable,” says Tracey Beeby, global education
ambassador for Ultraceuticals.
THE MY TH: S U N S C R E E N S L A S T F O R Y E A R S
THE REAL DEAL: You wouldn’t eat rotten veggies, so you should apply the same
principle to all your beauty products, particularly one as important as sunscreen.
Fun fact: if the main use for the product is sun protection, the TGA dictates that it
must clearly indicate a used-by date. It’s usually six months from the date of opening,
but remember to check the dates seasonally and toss anything that’s passed its
expiry. Foundations or tinted moisturisers spiked with SPF but may not fall under
the category of ‘sunscreen’ and therefore might not indicate expiry, so be sure to
swap them out each year. The rule of thumb: if it’s borderline, bin it.
THE MY TH: I D O N ’ T B U R N , I O N L Y T A N
THE REAL DEAL: Of the experts interviewed, the response was unanimous: any form
of tan is an indication of trauma and damage to the skin cells, even if redness or
burning isn’t visible. “External or superficial burning does not need to be present for
the skin to have been damaged. UV-A rays, which are not felt as heat, are a prime
example of this. These rays penetrate deeper into the skin, and while they do not
superficially burn, they are responsible for most of the damage that is done with UV
exposure,” says Beeby. And the sun doesn’t discriminate. “No-one is completely safe
from the detrimental effects of the sun – anyone of any skin colour can suffer from
THROW SOME SHADE: Cover all bases with these protective shields.
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
S ATO S H I S A I K U S A / T R U N K A R C H I V E S
Invisible
visible Zinc
Ziinc Facial Ultraceuticals Ultra Rationale Beautiful Skin
Dermalogica
l gi
Moisturiser
isturiser SPF 30 UV Protective Daily Luminizing Superfluid
Pure Light SPF50, $97.
UVA-UVB,
UVB, $35. Moisturiser SPF 50+, $74. SPF50, $85.
skin cancer,” says Emma Hobson, education manager for
the International Dermal Institute and Dermalogica. The
takeaway? DIY your bronzed glow with a faux tan.
THE MY TH: I O N L Y R E A L L Y N E E D T O
PROTECT MY FACE
THE RE AL DE AL: While our complexions are the most
exposed to light and, in turn, the sun’s rays, the
most common mistake people make is slathering SPF only
on their face. “It’s equally important to protect the rest of
the body as it is your face: skin cancer and its associated
lesions can appear anywhere on the body and frequently
do,” says Hobson. Meanwhile, areas apart from the face
that show the visible signs of ageing – hands, arms,
décolletage and even knees – should also be well protected.
“The skin on the body is also equally affected by the ageing
process of the sun,” says Hobson.
THE MY TH: S U N S C R E E N G I V E S M E
BREAKOUTS
THE REAL DE AL: Okay, this isn’t exactly a myth. Heavy
sunscreen formulas, while affording effective protection,
also have a tendency to cause a slew of skin issues, such as
enlarged pores and breakouts. “Avoid vegetable oils such
as jojoba and sesame oils in sunscreens, as these can clog
pores,” says Richard Parker, founder and director
of research and development at Rationale, a brand at
the forefront of sunscreen innovation. At risk of stating the
obvious, only use a facial sunscreen on the face, as general
body sunscreens are usually heavier. Hobson recommends
a fragrance-free formula that’s “compatible with your skin
type and condition”. A thorough double-cleanse in the
evening will maintain glowing skin, sans breakouts.
Mecca Cosmetica Feel G
Good
ood Inc
Inc.
To Save Face SPF 30 Sunscreen Lotion
Mineral Gel Cream, $38. SPF 50+, $25.
JANUARY 2018 81
VOGUE BE AUT Y

The D word
Are we getting enough vitamin D? Are we getting too much? Dermatologist Dr Belinda
Welsh, from Victoria’s Complete Skin Specialists, decodes the debate.
“Over the last few years, the vitamin D debate has
led to confusion when it comes to balancing sun
protection and the need for vitamin D, which is
important for healthy bones. We can confidently say
in Australia, during the summer months, when the
UV index is often 3 or above, most adults produce
sufficient vitamin D as a result of normal day-to-day
outdoor activity. Generally, sunscreen use should
not put people at risk of vitamin D deficiency. It is
in the winter months that sunscreen is not needed
BRONZE AGENTS: Faking it is the best policy when it comes to tanning.
Here are the formulas to take you there.
Turn back
the clock
We know that sunscreen
protects the skin, but what
if the damage is already
done? Here, the ingredients
to reverse the after-effects
of sun exposure.
1. L E A R N T O
LOVE TOPICAL
RETINOIDS
Whether your skin is sun-
damaged or not, any diligent
skincare regimen should include
some form of vitamin A, like
tretinoin or retinol. “They can
partially reverse skin changes
induced by sun exposure,” says
Michelle Hunt, cosmetic and
laser dermatologist and fellow
of the Australasian College of
Dermatologists, adding that
topical tretinoin has even been
shown to improve the overall
appearance of sun-damaged skin,
reducing fine lines, hyper-
pigmentation and skin laxity.
A word of warning: retinoids
and some outdoor time is helpful to keep vitamin D actually increase sun sensitivity,
levels in the healthy range. so only use one in the evening
“If you have good vitamin D levels over summer, and wash it off come morning,
your body can rely on this store for one to two before applying sunscreen.
months, so for most people, if their levels drop over
winter, it can be corrected when UV levels are higher. 2. A P P L Y
With our high rates of skin cancer, sun protection ANTIOXIDANTS
and prevention remains a priority, even for those “Antioxidants like vitamin C, E,
with vitamin D deficiency. If needed, oral vitamin D and B3 work by trapping free
supplementation remains a good option.” radicals, thereby reducing
inflammation,” says Hunt. “They
help to protect the skin from
UV-induced cellular damage.”
3. K N O W Y O U R
ACIDS

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
Cell turnover is one of the most
fundamental actions of healthy
skin, and ageing is accelerated
when it starts slacking off.
Alpha-hydroxy acids (or AHAs)
S ATO S H I S A I K U S A / T R U N K A R C H I V E S

aim to counteract this by

“improving skin texture and
reducing the signs of ageing
by hydrating the skin and
prompting shedding of dead
St. Tropez
Trope Gradual
dual James Read Coconut Model Co Self-Tan St. Tropez Self Tan
Tan Plus Sculpt And Melting Tanning Express Bronzing Face skin cells from the outer layer
Dry Body Oil, $20.
Glow, $36. Balm, $50. Sheet Mask, $13. of the skin”, explains Hunt.

82
JANUARY 2018 8 3
84
VOGUE BE AUT Y

S T I L L L I F E : E D WA R D U R R U T I A H A I R : R E N YA X Y D I S M A K E- U P: K E L L I E S T R AT TO N
M O D E L : A N N A M I L A G U Y E N Z A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
 SKIN
Water baby
Long lauded in the wellness world, H2O is now awash in the beauty realm, with a host of cleverly
formulated products delivering a flood of age-defying hydration. By Remy Rippon.
ST YLING PE T TA CH UA
PHOTOG R APH JAKE TER R E Y
I
t took a 22-hour flight to remind me of the unrivalled
benefits of water. On touchdown in Sydney after a
recent work trip, my previously plump and adequately
hydrated skin looked sallow and crepe-y, like a prune, the
faint lines on my forehead now unmistakable etches.
Within minutes of walking in the door I was sporting a
sheet mask that promised to “drench the skin in hydration”.
When it comes to skincare, hydration may not have the
shiny-new allure of the latest beauty crazes, but it remains
one of the most beneficial things we can
“WATER-BASED
do for our skin. Not to be confused with
dryness, which stems from a lack of oil,
dehydrated skin is brought about from a SKINCARE
lack of moisture within the skin.
PRODUCTS,
“The cells within your skin are made up
of water, and if these cells have limited USED AT NIGHT,
access to water reservoirs, then it will ALLOW THE SKIN
most certainly affect the function of the TO REJUVENATE
skin,” says Kaye Scott, co-director at The
Clinic in Sydney’s Bondi Junction, noting ALONG A NATURAL
dehydrated cells show up in the form of CYCLE WITH
dryness, tightness and skin flaking. “Skin THE REST OF
that is properly hydrated looks and feels
healthier and more supple.” THE BODY”
No conversation about hydration can
disregard hyaluronic acid. While you
may associate the term acid with more brawny forms, such
as glycolic and lactic acids (used to slough away skin cells
and aid cell turnover), hyaluronic assumes a different role.
Firstly, it already occurs naturally in the skin, but when
applied topically, it acts like a moisture messenger service,
deep-diving into the layers of the skin attracting and
delivering water stores, and in turn, plumping out fine
lines and wrinkles. “Humectant is a term used by chemists
to describe molecules that provide hydration. They retain
water and are essential to healing dehydrated skin.
Hyaluronic acid is the gold standard when it comes to
humectants, as it attracts and retains 1,000 times its weight
in water,” says Peter Thomas Roth, founder and CEO of the
eponymous skincare line. And he should know: the brand’s
Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream is like a tidal wave
for your face and is periodically sold out globally.
Beyond hyaluronic acid, a slew of new beauty brands are
highlighting water as the key ingredient. K-beauty brand
Cremorlab’s products are predominately made from
thermal water – found 1,100 metres below sea level, no less
– containing minerals which they say acts like a super-
charged hydrator. “Skin absorbs water faster than it does
oil, because the human body is water-based,” says Sean
Son, general manager of Cremorlab. “Water-based skincare
products, used at night, allow the skin to rejuvenate along
a natural cycle with the rest of the body.”
Tatcha, a once under-the-radar beauty brand found only in
the kits of skincare enthusiasts but now a global phenomenon
by way of Kim Kardashian’s Instagram, is also serious about
hydration. Its Water Cream has a cloud-like consistency Tatcha The Water
Cream, $99.
that magically disappears into pores leaving no oily residue.
Perhaps the original aqua beauty
product, micellar water, is also having a
resurgence. The make-up-removing and
hydrating water-based formula burst onto
the beauty scene several years ago to great
acclaim. And rightly so: the product
cleverly cleanses and moisturises in one
swift application, harnessing a technology
hair brands are now utilising too.
Redken had its eye on micellar water
for some time, says model and the
Cremorlab Aqua
Tank Hydro Plus
brand’s muse Catherine McNeil, on Water-Full Mask,
pack of five for $59.
the release of its first-of-its-kind
clarifying shampoo. Used once or twice
per week, Clean Maniac Micellar Clean-
Touch Shampoo acts like a magnet to
product build-up and impurities without
stripping the hair of essential moisture. The consistency is
more like your favourite serum than a creamy shampoo. It
won’t satisfyingly lather up, but it does leave hair deeply
cleansed while retaining its shine.
All this talk of water raises an unanswered query. Does
drinking plenty of water contribute to better skin? While
every Victoria’s Secret model will tell you that their
glowing complexion is the result of guzzling three litres of From left: Redken
Clean Maniac
water per day, the evidence to support this theory is Micellar Clean-Touch
slippery. There’s little recent research on the topic; a 2007 Shampoo, $33; La
Roche-Posay Micellar
study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic
Water Ultra, $26.
Science made confusing findings. In subjects who
consumed two litres of water daily over the course of two
weeks, the pH level of the skin remained unchanged, and
skin density increased, while skin thickness decreased. Go
figure. Nevertheless, drinking the recommended amount
of water has a host of other benefits to the body, but
hydration for the skin is still best applied topically, says
Scott. “Drinking water to replenish moisture in the skin
isn’t as effective as topically applying water-based skincare Peter Thomas Roth
Water Drench
products, as the body’s organs will absorb most of the Hyaluronic Cloud
Hyaluro
water, leaving minimal benefits for the skin.” ■ Cream, $75.
J A N U A R Y 2018 85
VOGUE BE AUT Y
Clockwise from top left:
Dior Vernis True Colour,
Ultra-Shiny, Long Wear
Nail Lacquer in Coral
Crush, $41; O.P.I Infinite
Shine Nail Lacquer in One
Heckla of a Color!, $23;
Sally Hansen Complete
Salon Manicure Nail
Lacquer in Magic Carpet
Ride, $15; Tom Ford Nail
Lacquer in Pink Crush, $52.

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PROFILE

A vision splendid
Twenty years after launching Mecca Cosmetica, Jo Horgan is sitting
pretty at the helm of a booming beauty business, writes Remy Rippon.
ST YLING K ATE DARVI LL
PHOTOG R APH H U G H STE WART

J
o Horgan isn’t someone who takes no for an answer. Just ask Jenni Lister, then
CEO of Nars Cosmetics, who some 20 years ago had no plans to launch into the
Australian market until an English-born, Melbourne-based 29-year-old began
calling … relentlessly. It’s lucky then that Horgan wraps tenacity, persuasiveness and
determination in a bright and energetic shell. “They said they only took that first
meeting because they felt so sorry for us,” she explains. “We were so nice and polite on
the phone and we’d leave about five messages a day and they finally went: ‘Alright.’”
Horgan’s game plan was simple. In a nutshell, she cherry-picked a handful – seven
in total – of the most pioneering, exciting or niche beauty brands not currently
available in the Australian market, and forged a path to offer them under the stylish
umbrella of Mecca Cosmetica. Of the sugary doggedness that plagued Nars and a
handful of brands that also had reservations about launching into the then-sleepy
Australian market, Horgan’s retort was unwavering: “You just have to take every
problem of theirs, own it and then take control of it so that in the end they are left
with not one objection. Interestingly, that helped build the entire Mecca model.”
To this day, that ‘model’ means being unafraid to challenge perceptions. To ask
questions. To problem-solve. To do what it takes to deliver the very best customer
experience at every Mecca-branded touchpoint. And there are plenty; 83 outlets at
the time of press, which includes Mecca Cosmetica (a curated edit of niche and cult
high-end beauty brands), Mecca Maxima (a slightly younger-skewed beauty addicts’
go-to destination) and Mecca in Myer (a shop-in-shop concept).
Today, Horgan is on a whirlwind stopover in Sydney for our shoot. She’s smack-
bang in the midst of touring her Australian and New Zealand stores to toast the 20th
birthday of Mecca Brands. On a bustling Friday afternoon, perched in a window seat
at Paddington eatery 10 William St., I clock Horgan striding across the street at
double pace in Marni sandals. Her immediate warmth and sunny disposition
mirrors the energetic buzz of the restaurant.
Reflecting on the milestone, Horgan is giddy and proud, although admittedly she
is weary from what has been one of the busiest years in the brand’s history. In 2017
alone, Horgan opened 17 doors and, in August, launched her own brand of colour
cosmetics, aptly dubbed Mecca Max. Three years in the making – the production
floor “littered with rejects” – its arrival aims to further pad out a beauty junkie’s
toolkit with keenly priced ‘life proof’ concealers, ‘pash and dash’ lipsticks and ‘wink
weapon’ eye palettes.
Isn’t it easier, I ask, to simply sell another brand’s products à la Mecca’s original
model? Horgan pauses briefly, as she does before responding to most questions,
to gather her thoughts. She explains that her objective from the very early days of
H A I R : P E T E L E N N O N M A K E- U P: P E T E R B E A R D
the brand was always to bring the best in global beauty to Australia, and if that
means shifting from brand editor to creator, then so be it. “It is the harder road,
D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

there’s no question.”
It’s glaringly obvious that taking the easy road has never been Horgan’s forte.
Jo Horgan wears
However, that’s not to say that good fortune hasn’t been on her side. When Mecca
a Victoria Victoria
launched in 1997, the beauty industry was on the cusp of a digital revolution. Beckham shirt and Stella
Facebook launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Instagram in 2010. With them came McCartney pants, from
Harrolds. Georg Jensen
selfie culture, and contouring prowess to boot. In 2016 alone, beauty-related content earrings. Tiffany & Co.
generated more than 55 billion views on YouTube, and in its wake, a new → ring. Georg Jensen ring.

88
JANUARY 2018 89
VOGUE BE AUT Y
digitally savvy beauty addict who can differentiate between strobing
and highlighting (to the uninitiated, the difference is minimal).
I tiptoe around the point that while the idea for Mecca was an
extraordinary one, perhaps there has been a component of luck in
Horgan’s success story. She’s characteristically forthright on the subject:
“I always say this: luck plays an enormous role in any business success.
When Mecca started, it was so ‘right place, right time’,” she says.
“I really think that the wind has been at our back for the last five years,
and digital platforms have unlocked this incredible appetite for beauty.”
With that increased demand has come some stiff competition. The most
hefty rival is the beauty juggernaut that is Sephora, which launched into
the Australian market in 2014, but there’s also a bevy of start-up
e-commerce beauty sites that ship globally. It’s a crowded market, yes, but
Horgan is adamant Mecca’s strong customer base and their ability to
adapt to change will remain their main advantage. “Lots of competitors
come into the marketplace. It’s not just about what they’re doing, it’s more
about whether what we’re doing is the very best thing that we can for our
customers, and if it is, we have to go hard and fast after that.”
Horgan moved to Australia with her parents at 14, before her university
studies took her to the US and finally back to London, where she landed
her first gig, at L’Oréal. It was during this time that Horgan was dragged
along to the launch of backstage beauty brand M.A.C, at Harvey Nichols,
which subsequently planted the seed for Mecca Brands. “That was
insane,” she explains animatedly. “That really stuck with me. I saw
amazing brands almost vibrating on the shelves. It’s just palpable, and so
at that point I was like: ‘These brands have to come to Australia.’”
Two years later, Horgan was back on home turf, still with L’Oréal, but
sitting on a nest egg in the form of a “tiny house” she had bought in
Perth after graduating university for “like fifty something thousand”.
She sold it for a small profit that would become the equity to open the
first Mecca Cosmetica store on Melbourne’s upmarket Toorak Road.
Now, Horgan, along with her husband and co-chief executive of
Mecca brands, Peter Wetenhall, and their two daughters, lives a stone’s
throw from the original store (the jewel in Mecca’s crown, complete
with a fragrance concierge) as well as Mecca’s head office. Horgan goes
to bed early and wakes at 5am (“I do have rituals, and they sound
annoying,” she jokes). She meditates or practises yoga three times per
week (yes, annoyingly disciplined), before waking her children and
beginning “that slightly torturous hour getting the kids out the door”.
A key to their fruitful working relationship is that Horgan and
Wetenhall travel separately to the support centre – internal lingo for
Mecca HQ – and look after different aspects of the business. Likewise,
they sit at opposite ends of the office and never argue in front of the
team, parameters they put in place after an initial adjustment period
when Wetenhall joined the business in 2005. “I have this enormous
respect for him. He is very smart, really strategic, really calm and
considered, and he doesn’t have to prove anything,” she says. “But
I realised quickly, this is going to be a really trying commitment, so
again, create a solution. We bought a second car. So now we don’t drive
[to and from work] together. And the second thing is, there can only
be one boss and that’s easy: it’s me,” she says happily.
Interestingly, being at the helm of a multi-million dollar business hasn’t
diminished Horgan’s appetite for actual beauty products. She’s as
90
animated when speaking of the custom palette that Hourglass Cosmetics
Pantone-matched to Mecca’s specific shade of pink for the brand’s
birthday as she is of the customer experience, or the look of her shopfronts.
She’s self-deprecating (“I’m the jack of all trades and the master of none,”
she laughs of her role as founder) and she exudes the kind of put together-
ness that unconsciously urges you to correct your posture and tuck
a stray hair behind your ear. Her own hair is neatly pulled back into a
ponytail and she sports only a swipe of neutral eyeshadow against
a canvas of even skin. From the white buttoned Acne shirt, rolled at the
sleeves, to her geometric print Dries Van Noten trousers, she exudes
a functional, stylish ease; the type of woman who wouldn’t be held back
by heels too high to run in or a handbag too tiny to be functional. Within
minutes of meeting her, it’s impossible not to like her.
It perhaps comes as no surprise then that Mecca Brands has remained
ranked in the top five best places to work (for companies with over 1,000
employees) by Great Place to Work
for the fourth consecutive year,
“I saw coming in at second spot last year.
amazing She nurtures talent, too; many of her
staff members started their careers
brands almost within a Mecca store before shifting
vibrating on to a role within the support centre.
the shelves. “About eight years ago, this great
girl came to see me and she was
It’s just doing a masters. I said: ‘You’re
palpable, and amazing. I really want to tap into
so at that point your knowledge. I can find you any
job in the support centre. But my
I was like: advice is to you is that if you want
‘These brands to have a really accelerated track at
have to come Mecca, you should work in store,
learn to manage people, learn how
to Australia’” we manage finances and learn how
to operationally run a business, and
she did it,” she says. “And from that was born the graduate program.”
Beyond beauty, she sits on the National Gallery of Victoria Foundation
board, whereby she’s also been instrumental in supporting women in
the arts. “Jo understands the importance of fostering the creativity of
emerging artists, through her support of a long-term mentoring and
grants program,” says Tony Ellwood, director of the NGV. “Jo’s support
of the arts demonstrates a great commitment to empowering women in
their contemporary art practice.” The gallery even played host to the
biggest celebration of all: a gala evening with over 700 Victoria-based
Mecca staff to thank them for building the brand from the ground up.
Continuing the celebratory spirit, and perhaps the ultimate show of
just how far she has come in 20 years, a jumbo-sized fluoro-pink box
lands on my desk. Inside sits the stuff of beauty dreams, with brands
from Le Labo and Urban Decay to Stila, Bobbi Brown and Nars all
wrapping their best-sellers in customised Mecca birthday packaging. “A
special palette of roses to celebrate Mecca’s 20th year,” reads the package
from Chantecaille founder Sylvie Chantecaille. Nars even collated a
collection of five limited-edition lip shades. Something tells me Horgan
no longer needs to flood voicemail to get what she wants. ■
JANUARY 2018
 BEYOND BONUS
BEAUTY AND WELLNESS SPECIAL

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VOGUE BE AUT Y

FITNESS

Outside edge
The new way to reap the benefits of your exercise
regimen is to take it outdoors, discovers Remy Rippon.

E
veryone knows the feeling of a morning run. The crisp air on the tip of your
nose, the sun peering through the trees, the washboard density of the
bitumen that reverberates like an electric current from the soles of your
trainers to the ends of your fingertips. Put simply, there’s nothing quite like stepping
outside for your daily dose of physical activity.
While the benefits of outdoor exercise – be it running, walking, cycling or even
yoga – are felt immediately, the wellness boom and its associated gym and exercise-
class-based culture has meant many of us have swapped open air for closed space.
And it may be to our detriment. “When you’re outside, you’re exposed to sunlight,
hopefully clean air, and it’s great for your mental clarity, sense of self and connection
to the wider world,” says Bodyism founder James Duigan, who, despite creating
some of the most exclusive and beautifully appointed gyms around from London to
the Maldives, insists on the indisputable benefits of open-air training.
Physically, too, ‘green’ exercise subconsciously makes us work harder. In fact,
mentally, we perceive activities like walking and running outside to feel easier in
our natural surroundings, as opposed to on a treadmill at a gym. A 2013 study of the
benefits of outdoor exercise concluded that when participants controlled how fast
they walked, they naturally strolled more quickly outdoors than they did indoors.
Wherever it may take place, science unanimously agrees that physical activity has
the ability to improve your mental state; anxiety levels are commonly managed with
regular exercise. However, recent reports suggest that outdoor exercise, in particular,
can “improve negative mood subscales, such as tension, anger and depression”. And
it doesn’t need to be in the form of a gruelling sweat session or an exhausting run.
Indeed, the first five minutes of outdoor exertion have the most significant impact
on one’s mood and self-esteem. As Duigan surmises, the military-mimicking
instruction often deployed by gym instructors can have an adverse effect on stress
levels. “While appealing to some, all the loud noise, TVs and trainers shouting at you
can lead to more stress,” he says. “Distracted workouts can get a bit monotonous,
too, and that’s when some people can lose interest or, worse, injure themselves.”
It’s little wonder, then, that participation levels in outdoor endurance challenges,
such as Tough Mudder and ultramarathons, have soared in the past few years. The
reason for this is twofold: behaviourally, we’re more likely to adhere to a given
exercise regimen if it’s a) goal orientated and b) in a natural environment. “Creating
an outdoor program is great because you make the commitment, and if you’re
measuring your goals along the way, then you’ll keep turning up,” says trainer and
transformation coach Cameron Byrnes. “This is something most people don’t get
from going to a gym.” Likewise, the terrain (sand, road, hills) as well as the elements
(wind, rain, sunshine) present natural obstacles and therefore plenty of variety.
While unlikely surprises present new challenges, it also pays to be prepared. With
safety and connectedness in mind, the new Apple Watch Series 3 is enabled with its
own cellular capability. Just like your iPhone, it can stream your favourite playlist,
make calls, text and even send out an SOS. The right apparel, too, is paramount.
Invest in sun-protective clothing – look for a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor)
rating to shield skin from UV-A and UV-B light – and always apply SPF 50 sunscreen
before stepping outside. Likewise, wind-resistant jackets and appropriate footwear
should be commonplace for demanding hikes or mountain climbing.
The right equipment is important, as is the right mindset. “Remember, exercise and
movement should nourish your body, not punish it,” says Duigan. “Being outdoors
is the kindest thing you can do for your body.” Time to step outside the box. ■

92
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JANUARY 2018 93
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 CAREY
Private, unaffected and funny, British actress Carey Mulligan’s passion for her craft
shines true as she discusses her latest roles and juggling work through pregnancy.
By Alice Cavanagh. Styled by Christine Centenera. Photographed by Emma Summerton.
Carey Mulligan wears a Giambattista Valli haute couture ballgown, P.O.A. Emma Mulholland x Pared sunglasses, $290.
Bulgari earrings, $27,700 and $49,900. Her own stud earring and wedding band, worn throughout. Cornelia James gloves, $130.
Georg Jensen ring, $995. All prices approximate; details at Vogue.com.au/WTB.

100
JANUARY 2018 101
 A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

Maison Margiela
Artisanal by John
Galliano dress, P.O.A.,
and belt, P.O.A.
Alexandra Mor earring,
$46,345. Lynn Ban
rings, $7,535 each.
CREDIT

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sneakers, $130.

102
 C
arey Mulligan is a hard one to read. A highly with her first child, barely blinked. “I wrote to him and said: ‘You’ll never
respected actress (set to follow in the footsteps guess, but I’m pregnant again. So can I do it pregnant?’ He said: ‘I don’t
of serious British thespians like Maggie Smith see why not.’” What’s more, her changing physical state barely altered the
and Dame Judi Dench), she’s a public figure plotline for her character. “I loved that he didn’t rewrite my character,
who has garnered a reputation for being that he just didn’t make a fuss about it. It felt more real to life, because
politely distant – she’s certainly extremely when you’re pregnant you do just go about your life.”
guarded about her personal life. Unlike many Mulligan would know: tomorrow she is packing up the whole family
other celebrities of her generation, the actress and flying to LA to begin the promo tour for Mudbound. “It’s the same as
does not maintain a social media presence when I had my daughter,” she says of her busy schedule. “We started
and has effortlessly avoided public break-ups, feuds, wardrobe press for Suffragette like three weeks after I gave birth to my daughter, so
malfunctions or any of the other histrionics that provide fodder for the you just get back into it and it’s fine, because it’s not like filming, where
tabloids. In one respect, her carefully managed image has added to her you need to use your brain all the time. It’s much more about kind of
gravitas: if less is said about her personally then it’s easier for the audience showing up.” On the Vogue cover shoot, she brought along her son when
to be swept away by her in he was just two months,
character. Just when you breastfeeding between shots.
think you have her pinned as “We had a really fun time; it
the fresh-faced innocent, was mad,” she says of the
she’s metamorphosed into photo shoot, which sees her
the beleaguered wife. decked out in dramatic haute
As such, I have prepared couture dresses on a rooftop
myself for a circumspect in New York. “I was putting
encounter with a thoughtful on sunglasses and wearing
and somewhat solemn Brit, these absolutely enormous,
but am heartened when I join crazy gowns. I like shoots
an approachable and very when you can sort of
talkative Mulligan for coffee disappear into it all.”
at the Ivy in Kensington. “It’s very much in Carey’s
(She’s happy, even, to throw mind to play real people who
in an f-bomb to illustrate a are doing real things,” says
point from time to time.) Hare when I speak to him on
Petite in person, with her the phone. “In both of my
hair bleached blonde and projects, she played the
her face bare save for a dash principal instigator of the
of mascara, the 32-year-old action. When people talk
breezes into the restaurant about female role models,
without any entourage, that’s not what is important
dressed effortlessly in an – what is important is that
oversized men’s shirt and stories are driven by women.
black jeans. Carey wants to be the person
Over the past two years, who runs the story. She also
all has seemed quiet on the wants to 100 per cent believe
work front for Mulligan, that this might happen in the
who, along with her husband real world. She hounded me
of five years, musician about rewriting a scene in
Marcus Mumford, now has a Collateral. I eventually did
two-year-old daughter and and it is 50 times better than
a four-month-old son, but what I wrote originally.”
today she has a slew of new As an artist, Mulligan is
projects to talk about, including Dee Rees’s latest feature film, Mudbound, a big fan of director Paul Greengrass’s style of documentary realism. “I
recently released on Netflix, and the upcoming BBC drama Collateral. It’s think everything she does in life is an extended audition for one of his
reassuring to note that her hiatus, while juggling pregnancy and films; we’re all there to help her,” jokes Hare. She is certainly most
motherhood alongside a career, hasn’t posed a threat. In fact, quite comfortable disappearing into gritty, pedestrian roles. In a surprising
the opposite. revelation, given some of harrowing parts she has taken on, she says that
E M M A S U M M E RTO N

With Collateral, written by acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and she found the glamorous Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s production
director David Hare, she was just six weeks pregnant when she was of The Great Gatsby her most challenging role to date. “It was the first time
offered the lead part of the detective. Yet Hare, who she had worked with I’d played a character where I knew I had to look a certain way, you
on the revival of his theatre production of Skylight when she was pregnant know?” she explains. “Daisy is described as like ‘the King’s daughter’ →

JANUARY 2018 103

 Chanel haute couture
embroidered organza
dress, P.O.A. Van Cleef
& Arpels earrings
and ring, P.O.A.
The Ten: Nike Air Max
90 sneakers, $160.

104
 Christian Dior haute couture
embroidered ballgown, P.O.A.
Emma Mulholland x Pared
sunglasses, $290. Bulgari
earrings, $27,700 and $49,000.
On right hand: Tiffany & Co. ring,
$16,400. Bulgari ring, $4,620.
Lynn Ban ring, $7,535. Bulgari
ring, $6,850. Tiffany & Co. ring,
$3,500. Alexandra Mor ring,
$24,625. On left hand: Tiffany
E M M A S U M M E RTO N

& Co. ring, $22,100. Lynn Ban

ring, $7,535. Repossi ring, P.O.A.
Cartier ring, $11,500. Lynn Ban
ring, $7,535. The Ten: Nike
Blazer sneakers, $130.

JANUARY 2018 105

 Iris van Herpen couture
gown, P.O.A. On left hand:
Lynn Ban ring, $7,535.
Cartier ring, $8,900. Lynn
Ban ring, $7,535. Cartier
ring, $12,600. On right hand:
Cartier rings, $11,500,
$44,300, $6,200 and
E M M A S U M M E RTO N

$2,650. On middle finger:

Lynn Ban ring, $2,025.
Beauty note: Estée
Lauder Illuminating
Perfecting Primer.

106
JANUARY 2018 107
 Ronald van der Kemp couture
dress, P.O.A. Le Specs Luxe
by Jordan Askill sunglasses,
P.O.A. Bulgari earrings,
$49,000. Cornelia James
gloves, $130. On right hand:
Tiffany & Co. ring, $16,400.
Bulgari ring, $4,620. Lynn Ban
ring, $7,535. Bulgari ring,
$6,850. Tiffany & Co. ring,
$3,500. Alexandra Mor ring,
$24,625. On left hand: Tiffany
& Co. ring, $22,100. Lynn Ban
ring, $7,535. Repossi ring,
P.O.A. Cartier ring, $11,500.
Lynn Ban ring, $7,535.

108
 Schiaparelli haute
couture tulle dress,
E M M A S U M M E RTO N

P.O.A. A-morir
sunglasses, $520. Van
Cleef & Arpels earrings,
P.O.A. The Ten: Nike Air
Max 90 sneakers, $160.
and the ‘golden girl’ by Fitzgerald. So I think the weight of that kind of cotton fields of deep Mississippi, the film follows two former servicemen
got in my way. I felt too self-aware and I just couldn’t give everything that – one white, one African American – and their families, as they struggle
I wanted to give.” to make ends meet and navigate intense racial tensions. Mulligan plays
While undeniably a delicate beauty, Mulligan has never pursued roles the role of Laura McAllan, the wife of one of the farmers. It’s a supporting
that are defined by her appearance. I can’t help feeling this might have part, but the camera can’t help but be drawn to her. Timid at first, as the
contributed to the unanimous industry-wide respect she has garnered, film progresses she emboldens Laura with the stern defiance of a woman
although it’s a shame to consider that beautiful women still have to be trapped by her circumstances.
strategic to be taken seriously. “After An Education, Carey got thrown into Another light-hearted part, I tease? She laughs. “If I read a role and
the film industry and was like a lot of young women who immediately think: ‘I could probably do it quite easily’ then I don’t bother. Because
find themselves playing the adored or the admired, in which they’re unless it’s really hard and quite scary, there’s no point in doing it,” she
ultimately objects,” Hare offers. “She bore that for a while and then threw says with characteristic pluck. “Plus, I had watched Dee’s first feature,
it off. I’ve never spoken to her about it, but I can only imagine that she Pariah, and that was such a good film, so concise and well told, and
decided it wasn’t for her.” emotional, but not sentimental,” she continues. “I just thought: ‘Whatever
When Mulligan and I meet, it’s during the aftermath of the Harvey she does next is going to be amazing and I want to be in it.’”
Weinstein scandal; the subsequent #MeToo hashtag has been filling up For Mulligan, Mudbound meant signing on to yet another period piece,
everyone’s Twitter feed. Mulligan doesn’t do social media: “I was on a trend that seems to befall most British character actresses. Yet to say
Instagram, but I got rid of it, because I found myself just looking at other her career has been defined by such
people’s babies,” she jokes, but like everyone else, she’s been caught up in roles would be remiss: she memorably
the news cycle. “I mean it’s appalling, but I’m not surprised by a lot of the tackled raw, of-the-now roles in both
things coming out, which is a sad state of affairs, really.” Drive and Shame. Still, after her most
Although she started out young, she says she feels like one of the lucky
If I recent releases, Suffragette and Far
ones. “I know a lot of actresses, friends of mine, who have felt vulnerable, read a role and From The Madding Crowd, she does
but I don’t think I ever have, in that sense.” She continues: “I have felt think: ‘I could admit that she was reticent to get back
belittled and I think I’ve felt kind of lesser-than. I’ve definitely into costume.
experienced sexism in terms of how I’ve been treated. When I’ve tried to
probably do it “I was sort of really, really
assert my opinion on scripts, for example, I feel I’ve had to fight a bit quite easily’ determined that the next thing I did be
harder to get my voice heard.” then I don’t contemporary,” she says, “but Dee’s so
A self-professed theatre geek, Mulligan has been performing since the smart, so current and modern, and
age of six and shakes her head at the suggestion that there was any other
bother. Because I knew that she would imbibe the film
path she could have taken. “I never did any professional acting while unless it’s with all of that and it wouldn’t feel
I was at school, but acting was just my thing and I tried to do every really hard ‘old’, because the story just couldn’t be
extracurricular version of it,” she says, adding with a wry smile: “I was more relevant.” Much of the press
shit at sport. I mean, I was enthusiastic, but I was useless.”
and quite around the film so far has been about
After high school, she applied to drama school but didn’t get in. A scary, there’s the pertinence of its theme: racial
chance encounter with Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, and a lot of no point tensions from 70 years ago that eerily
grit on her part, secured her a part as one of the Bennet sisters in Pride & echo today’s current affairs. “I think
Prejudice alongside Keira Knightley. From there, things slowly took off.
in doing it in a weird way current events have
She did some TV – Agatha Christie and Doctor Who – and spent time on made the film more accessible, so if
stage at the Royal Court, doing what all English actresses do at some point that is the way people discover it, that
in their career: bonnet dramas. Then along came the coming-of-age hit An is okay,” says Rees, adding of Mulligan’s performance: “Carey immersed
Education in 2009, which garnered her a BAFTA award, along with Golden herself in the process, she jammed the dirt into her fingernails and gave
Globe and Academy Award nominations. She’s never looked back. this very internal, restrained performance. She had read Hillary’s book
In An Education, Mulligan played the part of the ingénue Jenny to [on which the film is based] and we added elements to the script. She
perfection, but she has avoided making missteps of her own. Just scan her really brought forward things into the character.”
filmography and you won’t find a single so-so project. Her secret weapon is For her next act, Mulligan will return to the stage at London’s Royal
perhaps a case of severe pickiness, which has meant she hasn’t been afraid Court in February for a five-week run of a new one-woman play by Dennis
to hold out for the right opportunity. “If I can imagine some brilliant actress Kelly. This seems to me to be the final feather in her cap – the ultimate test
doing this role and think to myself: ‘Well, that would be nice, I could go and for an actor to undertake, and she’s visibly excited by the opportunity.
sit in a cinema and watch them’ then I know that I just shouldn’t do it and I “It’s very rare to get a one-woman show: there’s more written for men and
should let it go,” she says. Recognising a role isn’t right for her has served there aren’t that many written for women. I’ve only ever seen one,
her well. To date, she’s clocked up projects with a who’s who of directors: Joe I think,” she says, happily. “I actually never thought it would come up.”
Wright, Michael Mann, Oliver Stone, Nicolas Winding Refn, Steve McQueen Daunting though it might be, she says that she is slightly more
and the Coen brothers, to name but a few. “I have a wish list at home that comfortable on stage than on camera. “In theatre, once you get through
E M M A S U M M E RTO N

I am just ticking off,” she says, jokingly. (In all seriousness, though? Paul the initial previews, which are fucking unbearably nerve-racking –
Greengrass, she does have her sights set on you next.) I don’t even know how I’m going to do this one – you kind of get in your
Mudbound, her first feature release since 2015, marks yet another coup stride and then it feels great.” No mountain too high for Mulligan. Let’s
for the actress. Set in the aftermath of World War II in the mud-caked just hope Greengrass is watching. ■

110
Valentino Couture
gown, P.O.A.
Hair: Serge Normant
Make-up: Dick Page
Manicure:
Yuko Tsuchihashi
Set design: Viki Rutsch
 Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is
embracing celebrity with surprising maturity,
writes Sophie Tedmanson. Styled by Kate Darvill.
Photographed by Nicole Bentley.

112
 Romance Was Born top,
$650, and pants, $440. Her
own necklace and ring, worn
throughout. All prices
approximate; details at
Vogue.com.au/WTB.
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
CREDIT

JANUARY 2018 113

 N I CO L E B E N T L E Y.

Fendi top, $2,050,

and skirt, $2,150.
Stylist’s own mask.

114
Chanel dress, $8,050,
from the Chanel
boutiques. Tiara from
Snog The Frog. Emma
Mulholland x Pared
sunglasses, $290.
Dr. Martens shoes, $250,
from General Pants Co.

JANUARY 2018 115

 M
illie Bobby Brown is sitting at a table, all smiles and sunny
teenage disposition. But something strange occurs once I begin
our interview: her head tilts down, her brow furrows, her lips
purse and she slowly lifts her gaze back up and I get the stare. The
British teen star in front of me has suddenly morphed into Eleven,
her intense character with psychokinetic abilities from the hit
Netflix 80s drama Stranger Things, a breakthrough role which has
catapulted Brown to international stardom. It is momentarily
unsettling, until she breaks into a smile and her eyes light up again. Phew.
Brown is a typical 13-year-old teenager: in the space of 30 minutes she displays a range of
emotions from serious and focused to excitably chatty to surprisingly mature for her age.
Her conversation is littered with “likes”, she is occasionally distracted by the texts beeping
on her phone and constantly plays with the sheared-open tassell sleeves of her Dion Lee top
and mini-skirt ensemble.
Two years ago, no-one had heard of Millie Bobby Brown, then she burst onto our
streaming screens with a shaved head and that intense stare as Eleven. Stranger Things, the
retro science-fiction drama set around the mysterious disappearance of a teenage boy,
complete with supernatural forces and science experiments, has changed the life of Brown
and her teenage co-stars. Child stars have traditionally negotiated a difficult path in trying
to cope with the intense pressure of fame and celebrity at a young age. And as one of the
most popular teen stars of 2017 – cover shoots with Teen Vogue, fashion associations with
Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein, and treading red carpets from the Golden Globes to the
Emmys, where she received a nomination for outstanding supporting actress this year –
Brown, and those surrounding her, are determined to create a different trajectory, especially
in this modern age of social media and intense paparazzi focus (even this photo shoot with
Vogue Australia was captured by paparazzi photographers lurking in the bushes).
“It’s my choice to do this,” she says, rather circumspectly, when I ask how she copes with
the sudden attention. “Like, I have chosen to act and I know what comes with acting is fame
and photographers and paparazzi and interviews all the time, and I love it because it’s my
favourite thing. I don’t want to be sitting at home doing school. I mean, I do do that,
obviously, but I know what comes with it and I love it. But definitely going back home to
Georgia and sitting there and not doing anything … that’s what I have to try to cope with.
Because I can’t really deal with the quiet time.”
She stays grounded by living with her family in Atlanta, Georgia, in between her filming
commitments (Stranger Things is filmed there, as was her feature film debut Godzilla: King of
the Monsters, which was shot earlier this year) and travelling the world for promotional
obligations, comic conferences and snatching holidays where she can in between.
“LA is definitely not a place that I want to grow up in. I love going there and when I’m
there it’s really fun and LA is an very interesting place … but I just don’t want to grow up
there, because I think living in Georgia, in literally the cowboy farmland where I live,
I love it so much, because it’s just so chill there and nobody recognises me. Everybody’s old
and seriously nobody has Netflix there. So I just live in a quiet place, which I love. And
when I go to LA, it’s fun for a second. And then at the Emmys, I’m like: ‘I can’t wait to go
back home.’”
Brown was born in 2004, which means the 1980s are well and truly a vintage era for her.
She admits that starring in a pre-digital, pre-mobile-phone bygone era took some getting
used to. “At the beginning I was like: ‘Why can’t Eleven just call Will? Or FaceTime him and
N I CO L E B E N T L E Y.

be like: ‘Yeah, where you at?” she says, gesticulating a rap move. “But you can’t do that, or
say that, in the 80s. So you have to use these really big radios, or these walkie-talkies, and
it is crazy. I didn’t know what a record player was until a year and a half ago. But I got one
for myself for Christmas, so I am really happy.” →

116
Loewe dress, $4,650.
Vintage hat, $235,
from The Vintage
Clothing Shop.
 N I CO L E B E N T L E Y.

Romance Was Born

jacket, $2,200.
Fragrance: Marc
Jacobs Daisy EDT.

118
 Aside from the material differences, Brown has discovered how life
itself was different, and the teenager suddenly gets rather philosophical.
“I’ve learnt so much from the 80s, and I think the one thing that I am
jealous of is people from the 80s had freedom, like not because I am well
known, but no child is allowed freedom these days. I mean, the world is
so dangerous. I feel like in the 80s you could ride your bike and go to the
supermarket without telling your parents, or go and find your best
friend in the Upside Down [the fictional alternate universe in Stranger
Things] and that’s fine, because your mum really does not mind. But
now my mum is like: ‘You’re going where? No, I am coming with you.’
So, yeah, it is definitely something that I am very envious of.”
As Brown talks she focuses with her
distractingly deep brown eyes. She
bears a striking resemblance to a young
Natalie Portman, or even Winona I get to
Ryder, the 90s icon who also stars in
Stranger Things. Despite not sharing
tell my stories
many scenes, Brown says Ryder has that I feel I want
passed on some valuable acting tips to to share with
her young co-star, such as to separate
parts of her scripts to retain an element
the world, and
of surprise for her character, so her keep the things
reactions on screen are more genuine. I that I don’t want
wonder how, at such a young age,
Brown can channel such intense
to, and I think
emotion needed to play Eleven, who that’s what’s so  Ghesquière hosted Brown and her co-stars at the Louis Vuitton
has a limited vocabulary, and whose awesome about
emotional scale runs the gamut from
confusion to crying to wonderment to
this
screaming in frustration, often in one
scene. Brown reveals she has a song she
turns to, which “gets me going as soon as I listen to it”, but, of course,
won’t reveal what the song is.
“That’s what I do as an actor: I channel things,” she says. “So I will
channel a sad thing that happened to me once, and I will cry from that.
Or I will channel a really angry thing that will make me so angry, or a
funny thing … But there is this one song that I listen to that makes me
cry almost immediately.”
Eleven is like a goth version of herself, Brown admits, a character
through which she evokes her darkest emotions, and something she
revels in. “What’s so special about Eleven is that I get to play her for
eight months straight and then come out of it and be Millie again,” she
says. “I think if you saw my filming in general you would see a
different Millie. I get very into character and I become goth. I don’t
wear make-up for the eight months, I don’t do my hair, I don’t wear
colours. I went through a stage, like at least three episodes, where
I would just wear black sweaters with beanies, black nail polish. I was
going through goth and it was bad. And I was like: ‘Oh no’ and that’s
what I become when I am Eleven, I become this whole different Millie
and it is just more deep and intense and I love it, because then I can do
my light stuff, and be happy.”
It is easy to forget Brown is still a young girl coming of age in the
spotlight, and dealing with typically teenage situations in front of the
whole world. For example, her real-life first kiss was with co-star Finn
Wolfhard [the 15-year-old who plays Mike], on screen as Eleven last
year. As for that kiss, Brown giggles like a schoolgirl and admits
the she and Finn nervously chewed Tic Tacs before their scene, which
was on a closed set.
120
“It was crazy. I was so nervous, because I had never kissed a boy before,
and it was going to be documented? Really? Like, people are going to
watch that?” she rolls her eyes. “When I am 30 I am probably going to be
married and I’m going to be like: that was my first kiss, on camera!”
Brown has forged a strong bond with Finn and the other teen cast
members, and they attend school together on the Jackson, Georgia, set
of Stranger Things. She is passionate about education; if she wasn’t an
actress, she would love to study forensic science, she says. But Brown is
also passionate about embracing humanitarianism, wanting to harness
her celebrity for good – “I just want to keep inspiring people and using
their voices” – and recently joined UNICEF as an advocate for World
Children’s Day, which took place on November 20.
“Education is a really big thing for me,” she says. “And I think that’s
what’s so cool about Stranger Things and the platform that I have, is
using my knowledge on what I have. I mean, I am 13, I am not an expert
on this, so I am still learning myself, but I have the voice to speak about
things that I feel so passionate about and … I want girls to learn and
have an education and I want to help kids. I feel like that is so important.
A big thing for me is World Children’s Day, which is a big day for
everyone, especially children! Just to kind of celebrate how amazing
they are. I have a five-year-old sister myself and, I mean, I am a child,
and I frickin’ love it, to be honest with you!”
Brown enjoys fame and the perks that come with it, including being
embraced by the fashion industry: Raf Simons featured her in his debut
campaign for Calvin Klein by Appointment in January, while Nicolas
headquarters in Paris and subsequently paid homage to them by
sending a Stranger Things T-shirt down the runway at his spring/
summer ’18 show in Paris in October.
“I think fashion is something you can tell a story with in a picture,
instead of literally telling the story,” says Brown. “Which is so amazing;
it is kind of like acting in its own little way, acting with clothes that are
telling the story. You’re kind of letting the clothes tell the story instead
of your face. And I think it is so cool and beautiful and artistic.”
Social media is another of Brown’s favourite things. She has more
than 8.5 million followers on Instagram, where she regularly posts
videos of herself rapping or singing with her dog. She also adores her
fans: during our interview she received a text from a young American
cancer patient whom she has befriended. Brown shows me a photo the
girl had texted of her smiling in recovery, and Brown’s face lights up.
But she is conscious of keeping her guard and maintaining an element
of privacy in her young life.
“There is Millie, and then there is Millie Bobby Brown,” she says.
“Like, you know that person and I am the same person, obviously, you
see that part of me, but there are so many things I keep to myself and
there are things like stories on set that mean so much to me, that
I don’t like broadcasting to the whole world, and there are things that
definitely people don’t see, and I love that. That’s what’s so amazing:
I get to tell my stories that I feel I want to share with the world, and
keep the things that I don’t want to, and I think that’s what’s so
awesome about this. That’s what’s so cool, and people ask: ‘How is it,
having the public eye constantly look at you?’ and I am like: ‘You can
stop that at some point, you know?’ Like I can go and hibernate for at
least two months, and there I am, like a nobody. You can just stabilise it,
N I CO L E B E N T L E Y.
and I have great people surrounding me and I have a great team and a
great family and friends. So I still have that [quiet] life, and then I go out
to LA or New York or wherever, and I get to live that [famous] life again
and I love it. I’ve got the best of both worlds.” ■
 Coach vest, $1,295,
and dress, $3,500.
Dr. Martens shoes,
$250, from General
Pants Co.
Hair: Linda Jefferyes
Make-up: Koh

JANUARY 2018 121

 Wardrobe.NYC is sold as
capsule collections: four-piece
collection (jacket, shirt, T-shirt
and skirt), $2,000; eight-piece
collection (coat, jacket, sweater,
shirt, blouse, T-shirt, skirt and
legging), $4,000. This page:
blazer, shirt and leggings.
Opposite: coat. Céline shoes,
$1,500. All prices approximate;
details at Vogue.com.au/WTB.

122
T H I N K
P I E C E S
Borne from a desire to create the perfect capsule
wardrobe – in four pieces, or eight – e-commerce-only
brand Wardrobe.NYC was conceived by Vogue fashion
director Christine Centenera and her partner, designer
Josh Goot, to address the notion of modern and
sustainable luxury. Interviewed by Zara Wong. Styled by
Christine Centenera. Photographed by Will Davidson.

JANUARY 2018 123

 Blazer, T-shirt, skirt
and leggings. Céline
shoes, $1,050.
 ZARA WONG: “JOSH AND CHRISTINE, YOUR NEW LABEL, WARDROBE.NYC, IS DRIVEN BY A
UNIQUE CONCEPT. CAN YOU EXPLAIN IN YOUR OWN WORDS WHAT THAT IS?”
JOSH GOOT: “We design eight pieces per season for men and women. It’s all designed in
New York and made in Italy. Each of those pieces coordinate as a wardrobe, and are
available as a single pack of four or the full pack of eight from our website only, so it
keeps the prices lower than they would be usually, since there’s no retail margin.”
CHRISTINE CENTENERA: “People are becoming more conscious of how much they’re
consuming. And so I looked to how I dress. I have a huge wardrobe but I wear
similar pieces every day. I asked the questions: ‘Where can I get the perfect blazer?
What silhouette should I be wearing? What colour should it be?’ So I thought that if
we can create and market them in the right way, we provide a solution.”
JG: “One of the core elements of the business is the culture of less. We design less and
we will produce in limited qualities. In a way, it is anti-fashion because it is about
practicality and the essential elements, crafted from the best textiles by the best
people and with the best manufacturing standards. And because the model is direct
to consumer, we can provide unprecedented value for true luxury goods.”
CC: “There are subscription-box businesses, but not like this with this level of design
and quality – a luxury direct-to-consumer wardrobe.”
ZW: “WHEN DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR WARDROBE.NYC?”
JG: “We started thinking about it a long time ago, and we started to talk about it about
two years ago. Back then, I was in New York often and I had time away from Australia
to think about what was happening in the industry and how I thought the model
could be modernised and improved for the future to combine luxury and technology.
I spoke to Christine about it and she really liked it, so we decided to do it together.”
ZW: “CHRISTINE, WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN JOSH FIRST MENTIONED THE CONCEPT TO YOU?”
CC: “I thought it was really innovative and had great potential. I was hesitant to get
involved at first, but at the same time, I’ve always been interested in the product
development and communications side of the industry. I also knew that the concept
ZW: “DO YOU THINK BEING A WOMAN HAS INFLUENCED HOW YOU
APPROACH DESIGNING THE WOMENSWEAR?”
CC: “Absolutely. These pieces form the basis of my wardrobe
and inform how I dress every day. No matter what I’m
doing, whether in the office, shooting, in transit, on the
weekend, or out at night, these pieces are like building
blocks. They’re the foundation that I build an outfit around.
The combination of the collections as a whole has made me
really proud, but if I were to single out pieces, I can’t wait
to wear the coat and blazer.”
ZW: “HOW DO YOU FINALLY LAND ON THAT PERFECT CUT?”
JG: “We’re trying to democratise the cuts, because we talk
about democratic luxury. So when it comes to say, the cut of
a blazer, it means that it shouldn’t be too shaped in the
waist, that the sleeve shouldn’t be too fitted, that the body
should perhaps be elongated to provide some coverage,
that the shoulders shouldn’t be too pronounced or be too
subtle, that the fabric should be practical, forgiving and
durable. There is a real core of practicality and utility
running through the design decisions.”
ZW: “WHAT IS ONE THING YOU ONCE HELD TRUE ABOUT FASHION
THAT YOU’VE RECENTLY CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT?”
CC: “I think there’s a distinction between ‘fashion’ and
modern, practical clothes. For us, this is about great design
and quality, without excess. I also think the attitude towards
fashion is changing – people want to identify with a label
that reflects the changing times, and I think Wardrobe is
a new model that achieves luxury without waste.” ■

was personal and relevant to me. Day-to-day, I wear the same pieces over and over
again. When I find the ‘perfect blazer’ or the ‘perfect black skirt’, I’ll often buy two
because I know how much I’ll wear them.”
ZW: “JOSH, WITH THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, DID YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR OWN
LABEL GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE?”
JG: “Yes, but this is a very different way of working, because with the conventional
collections business your development cycle is typically very short and broad. This is a
study in the reverse, because the development process is very deep and quite elongated,
so we had time to really work on the cuts, the construction, and to optimise every
element. For me, it’s a much nicer way of working. There’s a utilitarian thread running
through the decisions; so, for example, we’re using the same textiles for men’s shirting
as we are for women’s. There is a very focused supply chain: we’re working with the
best providers of each category, but only buying one article from them in one colour.”
ZW: “YOU HAVE BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR MANY YEARS, BUT THIS IS A COMPANY YOU
HAVE FOUNDED TOGETHER. WHAT IS YOUR WORKING RELATIONSHIP LIKE?”
CC: “We each have our strengths and so I think at the end of the day we complement
each other, and the interest from investors has come from us combining our
strengths. The challenge comes from me working full-time, so when I come home,
Josh is ready to go, so I’m working double days. I’ve worked in publishing and as
a stylist for half my life and always worked for large companies and organisations,
so to build a business and brand from scratch was completely different.”
JG: “Christine was right when she said we bring very different things to the table,
and it’s finding the balance that really does inform the brand’s feel. There’s a lot of
both of us in the brand. It’s been a huge learning curve, but it’s been a great year.”
ZW: “AND WHAT HAS BEEN A PARTICULAR HIGHLIGHT OF THIS PROCESS?”
CC: “Seeing people’s reactions. It’s a lot to take in, but literally everyone who has seen the Wardrobe.NYC
product gets it and says it’s a no-brainer. We don’t see it as a fashion label: it’s a brand.” founders, designer Josh
W I L L DAV I D S O N

Goot and his partner,

JG: “That so far has been the most encouraging element. We’re trying to get away Vogue fashion director
from the notion of fashion, of trends and of it being fleeting. We’re trying to make Christine Centenera.
pieces that are forever, that will never go out of style.”

JANUARY 2018 125

 Blouse, men’s
pants, leggings.

W I L L DAV I D S O N

126
Coat, sweater, blouse,
T-shirt, leggings. Céline
shoes, $1,050.
Hair: Jenny Kim
Make-up:
Courtney Perkins
Model: Charlee Fraser
 B R A V E
H E A R T
It’s been a tumultuous year for Melissa George, but the Australian actress
is proving her mettle and extraordinary versatility with new roles in film and
television. Jane Albert talks home, hardship and career with the star
during her recent visit. Styled by Petta Chua. Photographed by Jake Terrey.

M
any Australian expats speak wistfully about triggers of home, and
the moment they know they’re back on Australian soil. For some, it
is the unique Antipodean light, or the trace of eucalypt that lightly
scents the air. For others, it’s the deep blue of a sky that seems to
stretch on endlessly.
But for Melissa George there’s one specific moment that lets her
know she is home: a simple two-word phrase she always hears as
she hands over her Australian passport. “I love the music they play – all the Australian
songs from the 80s and 90s like John Farnham and INXS, all the songs I heard growing
up with my parents in Perth. But it’s the man or woman who stamps your passport,
who says [and here George adopts a super-ocker accent]: ‘Welcome ’ome.’ It’s just that.
‘Welcome ’ome.’”
It was indeed welcome when, for a few precious days in November, home was The
Cullen in Melbourne, where George was staying courtesy of luxury watch and jewellery
makers Kennedy, who had invited her to Derby Day as their guest. George flew in direct
from New Orleans and the set of The First, an eight-part Hulu miniseries she is filming
opposite Sean Penn. It was a whirlwind trip: a photo shoot with Vogue, some Kennedy
commitments for which she would wear Australian designer Jason Grech, followed by
a day at the races dressed by Schiaparelli, before returning to New Orleans via some
family time in Paris with young sons Raphaël and Solal.
It all appears very luxurious, but the reality is another story. George is awaiting the
verdict on a joint appeal in Paris related to an ugly custody battle with former partner
Jean-David Blanc that followed a domestic violence incident in September 2016. As it
stands, George is forbidden from taking the children outside France without Blanc’s
consent. One of the many side-effects of her domestic situation is that the film and
television actor has turned down various offers over the past 12 months, preferring
to stay close to her sons rather than accept work that invariably requires her to be in
the United States and beyond. →

128
Melissa George wears
a Loewe top, $6,950.
Salvatore Ferragamo
pants, $1,795. Graff rings,
$30,800, $26,200
and $3,500. All prices
approximate; details
at Vogue.com.au/WTB.

J A N U A R Y 2018 129
 A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

Louis Vuitton jacket,

$6,450, and shirt,
$1,700. Victoria
Beckham jeans,
$395, from Harrolds.
Cartier earrings,
$5,200. Tiffany &
CREDIT

Co. ring, $2,050.

Marni shoes, $1,175

130 JANUARY 2018

 Céline jacket,
$3,750, and
pants, $2,150.
JAKE TERREY

J A N U A R Y 2018 131
 “There are
no words to
put into what
happened:
you cannot
believe it.
Nobody knows
even an eighth
of it … But I’m
better today”

Giorgio Armani shirt,

$2,350. Givenchy
pants, $2,200. Cartier
watch, $7,300, from
Kennedy. Cartier
ring, $53,500.

132
 Christian Dior
dress, $8,400.
Cartier watch,
$7,300, from
Kennedy. Bally
shoes, $895.
JAKE TERREY

Vintage chair from

Grandfather’s Axe.

J A N U A R Y 2018 133
 The Melissa George sitting before me today is refusing to be cowed, family at least twice a week. That can’t be easy, I venture. “Nope,” she
hopeful the judge will rule in her favour and determined to find a silver shoots back, “but I’m doing it. And the boys are very, very good about
lining in what she says has been a hellish 12 months. Dressed simply in it. They’re happy, they couldn’t smile any bigger.”
blue jeans, a white blouse and an elegant mustard jacket, George is As much as she has missed working, she acknowledges there are worse
poised and genial. She ushers me into her hotel room and offers me a cities to be tied to than Paris, particularly with her dual passions for
drink – no gatekeepers monitoring our every word, just the pair of us. fashion and art. “Oh, my God, I love it!” she enthuses. “[The late] Azzedine
She is candid, but savvy. After all, here is a woman who has successfully Alaïa recently invited me to his atelier for lunch, I took Raphael; and I live
made it into her third decade working in the notoriously tough industry around the corner from Schiaparelli. I became very close to them going to
of show business. She knows what she’s doing. Cannes; designer Bertrand [Guyon] and I were judges on the jury for
Now 41, George became a household name when she was just 16 years Hyères [International Festival of
old, courtesy of the iconic Aussie television soap opera Home and Away. Fashion and Photography] and I just
A keen tap, ballet and jazz dancer growing up in Perth, George was also “It’s almost did Schiaparelli’s campaign. So I get
an accomplished national rollerskating champion when a brief spell in these little things I wouldn’t if I was
modelling introduced her to a casting agent. The role of teen runaway
like when life somewhere else.”
Angel Parrish followed soon after, forever altering the course of George’s beats you The Pompidou is a regular haunt
life. “I left Perth to go to Sydney to be a teen actress and it was really down, you get and she often takes the boys to the
hard. I used to lock myself in the closet and call my mum and cry,” she Rodin Museum, where they love to
recalls. Within three years she had a huge fan base and had made enough
more humble, run in the gardens. “I love that side
money through a side business selling Angel-themed pyjamas to buy more calm, of Paris – the couture, the art – every
herself an apartment in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay, and in 1996 moved to reflective. single week there’s a magnificent
Los Angeles after landing a role on the pilot Hollyweird. The show was new exhibition.”
cancelled but George was paid out in full, subsidising her next two years
There’s peace While 12 months can be a
in Hollywood. There she earnt supporting roles on films such as Dark in it, you dangerously long time for an actor
City and Steven Soderbergh’s The Limey before her big break came, with know? So to step away, it doesn’t seem to have
David Lynch’s noir thriller Mulholland Drive. Since then she has been done George’s career any harm. Her
continuously in demand: from Alias with Jennifer Garner to the lead in
I’m looking latest Australian film, The Butterfly
The Amityville Horror opposite Ryan Reynolds, a 2009 Golden Globe forward to the Tree, filmed before her relationship
nomination for In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne, a role on Grey’s Anatomy, next chapter” breakdown, is in cinemas now. Shot
a key role in both the Australian and American series The Slap, The Good over five weeks in Queensland’s
Wife and the lead role in the 2016 series Heartbeat. Mount Tambourine, the low-budget
Along with her fairytale rise to fame came unwanted attention from drama is a beautiful, gentle coming-of-age story that centres on Fin (Ed
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, but George had the Oxenbould from Paper Planes) and his father (Ewen Leslie from The
wherewithal to immediately put his bathrobe-clad advances in their Daughter), who are both grieving the recent death of their mother and
place. “Why did we need him to make us feel worthy, as actresses? Why wife. George plays the tender and sensual character of former burlesque
did Hollywood put so much power in the hands of this man to decide dancer Evelyn, who bewitches them both, with sensitivity and
whether we won an Oscar or not, whether we’d be successful or not?” intelligence. “That was a really special little gem,” George says with a
she ponders, before ruefully noting she was demoted to a smaller part smile. “The experience of being in Australia with my two kids, that was
from the lead role in Weinstein’s Derailed in favour of Jennifer Aniston wonderful, and the writer-director Priscilla Cameron and the whole
not long after. “But we’re tough,” she continues. “Times are changing. crew brought everything to the table.”
They won’t get away with it and they don’t get away with it.” More recently, George recruited the help of her mother, Pamela, to
It was Weinstein who introduced her in 2012 to Blanc, a wealthy travel to Galway for 10 days to film Don’t Let Go, a drama about a couple
French entrepreneur with whom she would have Raphaël and Solal. grieving the loss of their five-year-old daughter and trying to rebuild
And now it has all gone horribly wrong. their marriage. Then came the offer of a casting for The First, created by
With the case ongoing, George is restricted in what she is allowed to Beau Willimon (House of Cards), about the first human mission to Mars.
say and do, but she is not holding back on her determination to stay George filmed and edited the scene herself in her apartment, resulting
positive. It hasn’t been easy. “There are no words to put into what in Penn hand-picking her to play his wife. “I was so excited because
happened: you cannot believe it. Nobody knows even an eighth of it. It I love him as an actor and cherish every scene that man has ever done
was not good, not good. But I’m better today,” she says. Fellow actor and on film. He looks fabulous and is gorgeous and I would not say no to
friend Isabella Rossellini flew to Paris to offer George support, leaving that!” she says, laughing. “I loved watching him on set the other day –
her with a letter containing a message George has adopted as her he did this powerful, dramatic scene … it’s nice to be a little bit
mantra: “She said there are no mistakes, so maybe your destiny is to be frightened when you go to work.”
making these very exclusive choices. When you’re forced to limit your Reflecting on the past 12 months, George concludes she is a better
choices, you make better choices. And that’s what I’m doing.” actor, and a better person, as a result. “I noticed that with Don’t Let Go
She is adamant her sons will grow up having a loving relationship emotions were very available and my demeanour on set was much more
JAKE TERREY

with their father, as she did, and makes a game each week of searching relaxed,” she says. “It’s almost like when life beats you down, you get
out special items for their papa – a small rock or a vegetable they’ve more humble, more calm, reflective. There’s peace in it, you know? So
grown that all goes into a special bag for him; and they FaceTime as a I’m looking forward to the next chapter. Maybe love – who knows?” ■

134
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

Giorgio Armani dress,

$7,800. Cartier watch
$7,300, from Kennedy.
Marni shoes, $1,175.
Vintage chair from
Grandfather’s Axe.
Hair: Peter Beckett
Make-up: Colette Miller
Shot on location at
Labassa, National Trust
of Australia (Victoria),
CREDIT

courtesy of Grzan
Squared.

J A N U A R Y 2018 135
TALKING
ABOUT
THE
NEXT
GENERATION
Step into the future, one shaped by the progressive
mind-set of Generation Z. From female empowerment
to non-binary identities and an increased social
conscience, the youth of today are redefining life
in the 21st century. By Ruth Marshall-Johnson.
Welcome to the future: a future that will be brilliantly, unashamedly female and
will be led by an impressive new generation of entrepreneurs but only if, over the
next decade, we can turn today’s encouraging dialogue into defining action.
There is a growing mainstream narrative around the greater inclusivity of
women in all walks of life. Yet when we dig a little deeper, research reveals
that women are still one of the greatest untapped markets (the equality
gap in pay and funding of female businesses still exists) and that gender
faces the greatest threat from future automation.
Women and men are missing out on the huge productivity,
possibility and potential that could come from unleashing female
innovation and entrepreneurialism, which would in turn help us
to address the structural, systemic barriers holding women back.
Furthermore, a variety of impressive Generation Z female
entrepreneurs have created business successes and the
expectations, values and needs of these women are different
enough from those of previous generations to have an
exciting and transformative impact on the future of work
and business … if we listen to them.
While Generations X and Y are busy talking about
progress, members of Generation Z are getting to
work. They have realised that the current system is

136
not working for them and are recalibrating, reorganising and
redefining what it means to live in the 21st century. As their borderless
identities become more complex, the need to understand the nuances
in how they navigate and define themselves is now more important
than ever before.
By 2030, the world’s population will increase by more than one billion
to reach 8.6 billion, according to the United Nations. In developing
markets such as Africa and Latin America, a new wave of consumers
with increased purchasing power will emerge. This will be driven by
the regions’ large youth populations – with consumers aged 15 to 24
comprising 19 per cent and 17 per cent of the respective countries’
populations in 2015 – and increasing access to technology.
Climate change will also continue to wreak havoc on the planet. The
United Nations predicts that the global population living in extreme
poverty could increase by between 35 million and 122 million by 2030
as a result of climate change and its impact on farmers’ incomes.
Alongside this, the rapid pace of technological advancement will
continue unabated, driving feelings of displacement, particularly
among people from lower socio-economic groups.
The merging of these shifts is creating a collective identity crisis, as
World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab explained to
delegates at the 2017 meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland: “With such fast change, which they cannot anymore
digest, and the complexity of the world – many people ask themselves:
‘What is the purpose of my life in such a world?’”
The rise of third-stage globalisation, defined as the movement of
people globally, has driven the decline of homogenous and
heteronormative communities. Increasingly, young people are asking
existential questions such as: ‘Who am I?’ and: ‘Where is my place in the
world?’ in a bid to find their authentic self.
TRENDS RISING
A powerful new drive for equality by women at home and in the
workplace could hold the key to our political, economic and social
salvation as we wrestle with the modern demons of our post-crash,
post-truth world.
It will take until 2186 before the global pay gap between men and
women finally closes at its current rate, according to the World
Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2016. Globally, only five
per cent of leadership jobs in the technology sector are held by women,
according to Girls Who Code, and of those receiving venture capital
funding, only eight per cent globally are women.
But dig deeper, and you find a different story. Advances in female
equality could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025, according
to McKinsey. Women will control three-quarters of the world’s
discretionary spending by 2028, according to Ernst & Young’s Growing
Beyond – High Achievers report. Women directors and CEOs in the
boardroom boosted company return on equity by 36 per cent between
2010 and 2015.
At the Future Laboratory, we believe that these are obvious signs of
the emergence of a series of influential consumer and technology trends
driving us towards a female future that rewrites the narratives around
gender, career and family.
Women will use these trends to redefine what it means to be an
entrepreneur around a new set of priorities that will force governments
and businesses to sweep away old ideas of power, diversity, fluidity
and privilege.
F L U I D M I N D -S E T S
Over the next decade barriers to the hiring and promotion of women in
senior roles will fade away as Generation Z – now aged 17 to 27 – arrive
in their millions. This is a generation with a fluid, borderless and
gender-neutral way of thinking that seems certain to sweep away old
certainties around the male/female divide.
Flexible working and living opportunities create a level playing field
across which women can escape the age-old expectation that they will
accept the chief burden of childcare. It seems that the men and women
of Generation Z will be a driving force in making flexibility a viable and
inspiring lifestyle choice in the decades ahead.
In a recent survey of Generation Z in the US by Northeastern
University, almost two-thirds (63 per cent) said they want to be
entrepreneurs who create their own businesses and personal brands,
and shape their work/life balance around what works for them.
Generation Z teenagers see entrepreneurship as a way to make a
statement about themselves, and the sort of world that they live in, and
they are 50 per cent more likely than Millennials to care about using
work to make a positive impact, according to a recent study by design
agency Seymourpowell.
“They are creators with a global social circle, confident and heavily
politicised,’ says Thalia Mavros, founder and CEO of The Front. “They
are very fluid with gender, race and ethnicity, and are ready to stand up
for what they believe.’
THE E-MOTIONAL ECONOMY
Hard-headed considerations about the bottom line will make women
a visible and powerful part of the post-artificial intelligence (AI)
workforce as female traits such as emotional intelligence, empathy,
vulnerability and intuition become the future drivers of business.
According to the World Economic Forum, by 2020, emotional
intelligence will be the sixth most sought-after skill, ahead of judgement
and decision-making and negotiation. L’Oréal recently reported that
sales staff hired for high emotional intelligence sell $91,000 more
annually than colleagues hired for more traditional skill sets.
In stark contrast to the traditional ‘take one for the team’ culture of
Silicon Valley, businesses are beginning to accept that a female point of
view is an asset rather than a liability in the working world.
Ellevest, a new digital assets platform, caters for female investors who
see risk in a different way from their male counterparts, and new co-
working spaces such as Shecosystem in Toronto promote lifestyle values
such as sustainability, collaboration, community and wellbeing that
have been shown to appeal to professional women.
“Women deserve a workspace and culture that empowers and
inspires them to be their best,” says Shecosystem founder Emily Rose
Antflick. “Sometimes it’s worth building our own table rather than
fighting for a seat at a table where we don’t really want to be in the
first place.”
NEW MASCULINITY
With masculinity under increased scrutiny, a new kind of male
consumer who is not wedded to traditional masculine ideals will →
JANUARY 2018 137
emerge in the 2020s. Male stereotypes about ‘manning up’ and ‘being
the breadwinner’ will be abandoned as men embrace the role of the
stay-at-home dad, explore non-binary identities and speak openly about
their insecurities.
“In the US, men are running household budgets now,” says Brian
Millar, founding partner of the Emotional Intelligence Agency. “It is
almost as if the man’s voice in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) has
been oppressed or suppressed. We have been making assumptions
about what men think and feel.”
Brands in the beauty industry are missing out on a potential growth
market by ignoring the rise of male beauty. In 2015, Mr Porter, whose
average consumer is 35, reported growth of 300 per cent in men’s beauty
and grooming products, while ASOS has partnered with male beauty
brand MMUK to offer a make-up range as part of its grooming offer.
“We are very much aware of the current shift toward using either
products targeting the opposite gender or products that are inherently
non-gendered,” says Rintaro Okamura, head of product at Shiseido
Men. “We see this not as a mere consumer trend happening within the
realm of cosmetics, but rather as a small part of a larger societal shift.”
More than a third of US Generation Z consumers believe that gender
does not define a person as much as it used to, according to J. Walter
Thompson, and 56 per cent of 13 to 20-year-olds say they know someone
who goes by a gender-neutral pronoun such as ‘they’, ‘them’ or ‘ze’.
ECO -ANXIE T Y
Consumers are increasingly anxious about the state of the environment.
According to a report by the American Psychological Association:
‘People are deeply affected by feelings of loss, helplessness and
frustration due to their inability to feel like they are making a difference
in stopping climate change’.
Amid this wave of eco-anxiety, consumers are quickly moving to
change their behaviour. Veganism has grown by 500 per cent since 2014
in the US, according to a report by GlobalData, highlighting how
consumers are increasingly connecting ethical, sustainable lifestyles
with wellbeing and wellness. According to the Vegan Society, 42 per
cent of vegans in the UK are aged 15 to 34, and veganism is one of
Britain’s fastest-growing lifestyle movements. “Younger shoppers are
especially conscious and want to know more about where their products
are coming from,” says Yael Aflalo, founder of eco-friendly fashion
brand Reformation. “They are actively looking to make a change.”
Y O U T H F U L N AT I V I S M
Citizens in emerging markets such as China and Africa are
re-evaluating their cultural heritage and driving positive definitions of
national identity.
These consumers are no longer swayed by Western-style marketing
that relies on stereotypes. “Chinese Millennials find it so frustrating to
see China painted through a prism of the past,” says Louis Houdart,
founder and global director of branding and design agency Creative
Capital. ‘They are born in incredible modern cities with infrastructures
that are often far better than those that exist in the West.”
Clothing by fashion label Yat Pit features traditional loose and flowing
silhouettes with Chinese fastenings under the tagline: reviving lost
Chinese culture. “We want to promote Chinese clothing to this generation
and not have our outfit choices dominated only by Western aesthetics of
just T-shirts and jeans,” says designer and co-founder On-Ying Lai.
138
Africa is the most youthful continent on the planet, according to the
United Nations. African creatives are making their voices heard as the
number of people with internet access grows across the country. “The
internet is a great leveller,” says Samuel Mensah, founder of Ghanaian
fashion brand Kisua. “The speed with which you can access markets
and generate awareness about your brand is unprecedented.”
Big brands such as Kenzo are tapping into this development. Its
collaboration with Nigerian-born film-maker Akinola Davies Jr, stylist
Ibrahim Kamara and photographer Ruth Ossai presents an authentic
picture of modern Nigerian youth culture under the slogan ‘Unity
is Strength’.
This youthful iteration of nativism is driven by a need to feel heard
amid the noise of Western culture. “We feel disconnected,
unrepresented, unheard and uninspired,’ says Jameela Elfaki, founder
of AZEEMA, a magazine that creates fashion-driven editorial designed
to spark a dialogue on Islam and Arab and African culture.
THE INSTITUTION-LE S S CONSUMER
In the next decade, a new kind of consumer will emerge who seeks to
disconnect entirely from existing financial, media, lifestyle and
government institutions, and trade directly with their peers.
This trend is already emerging among adopters of Bitcoin, which
tripled in value between January 2017 and June 2017. Michael Novogratz,
former manager of investment firm Fortress Investment Group, believes
that the cryptocurrency market will be worth $5 trillion by 2022.
Its success is partly driven by growing trust among consumers in
encrypted, peer-to-peer transactions, and growing distrust in
traditional institutions such as commercial banks, central banks,
regulators and governments.
“We are going to see whole industries ploughed over by software
contracts living in these blockchains,” says Olaf Carlson-Wee, founder
and CEO of Polychain Capital, who envisages the rise of decentralised
versions of Facebook, Uber and Etsy.
This shift is not limited to cryptocurrencies, the dark web or
blockchain technology. The secondary fashion market is growing,
driven by Generation Z consumers. Young, entrepreneurial influencers
are trading everything from Supreme T-shirts to vintage Alexander
McQueen skirts by mixing, matching and modelling pieces on
Instagram, and selling them directly to their fans on platforms such
as Depop.
VIRTUAL ENTREPRENEURS
Digital tools will help to level out the inequalities between the sexes
over the next decade, creating a borderless world epitomised by open
dialogue and collaboration across continents and countries, and the
growth of a network of female-friendly virtual support networks.
Over the next decade, the emergence of AI- and virtual reality-
powered mobile devices will empower women in developed economies
to run businesses, train and seek mentorship anywhere and at any time
to nourish their entrepreneurial instincts.
It’s a development that will spread to emerging economies as levels of
connectivity improve. The first iterations of this trend can be seen in
the doubling of the amount of time that women spent watching
entrepreneurial videos on YouTube between 2015 and 2016.
New apps such as Bumble Bizz and BuiltByGirls are jump-starting
remote networking opportunities by matching women with their career
peers and mentors online. The founders of both want to break out of the
male-dominated Silicon Valley echo chamber with mobile platforms that
enable female founders to connect with experts anywhere in the world.
T R I B A L M E N TA L I T Y
In the coming years, there will be a shift from individual empowerment to
collective strength. This is an approach that stands for sharing, learning
and pooling resources together, and will be driven by young consumers’
need to reassess their purpose and attain a sense of fulfilment.
We are leaving the notion of individualism behind. “We live in a world
of exchange and a changing economy in which young people want to
work together in all disciplines,” says trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort,
discussing the individualist nature of the fashion sector. “The fashion
world is still working in a 20th-century mode, celebrating the individual,
elevating the ‘it’ people, developing the exception, in a society hungry for
consensus and altruism – a world in which individualism is long over.”
Collectives that encourage competition, respect and collaboration
offer a solution to the crisis of identity felt by consumers. Physical
gatherings in particular are bringing online communities that might
otherwise never meet together, and forging close relationships that are
not possible in the online sphere.
This is particularly evident in the rise of non-binary safe spaces
created by collectives including UNITI, Gal-dem, BBZ London, Siren
and Batty Mama, which are frustrated by the lack of representation of
women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ issues in mainstream culture.
These primarily digital communities will continue to grow as media
platforms look to collaborate with them as part of their future growth
strategy. “Groups provide all of us with a sense of purpose and hope,
moral validation that we are needed and part of something bigger than
ourselves, comfort that we are not alone and that a community is
looking out for us,” Facebook founder and owner of Instagram Mark
Zuckerberg said in his June mission statement.
FOREVER LEARNING
Education has traditionally been a male-centric, front-loaded affair:
a binge of learning up to 21 with the expectation of 40 years or more of
unbroken and linear career progression to follow. But in a future
of increasing healthy longevity, this model is no longer fit for purpose.
With life spans of up to 150 being forecast for our children, life-long
education to train and retrain us for a succession of different careers
will be far more suited to a gender-equal future in which both sexes
have flexible jobs and equal childcare duties.
“The three-stage model of education, work and retirement just can’t
hack it over 100 years,” says Andrew Scott, professor of economics and
former deputy dean at London Business School.
School of Doodle taps into this change. “Rather than trying to change
the world to support girls, it’s more efficient to support girls so they can
change the world,” says co-founder and creative entrepreneur Molly
Logan. The learning platform is set up as a virtual collective comprising
80 teen ambassadors, six teen editors and 32 teen content creators.
Achievements are rewarded with virtual currency that can be
exchanged for internships or one-to-one tutorials.
I N C U B AT I O N N E T W O R K S
A new wave of action-orientated, peer-to-peer support systems are
emerging to offer advice, moral support and access to finance for
women seeking to break through the glass ceiling without adopting the
ultra-competitive strategies of their male colleagues.
Radical Brownies provides girls of colour with practical tools to help
them engage with what matters to them. FutureGirlCorp offers practical
advice, business modelling, finance and marketing to help women to
build global corporations, not cottage industries. “I am passionate
about economic empowerment for women,” says Sharmadean Reid,
who founded nail salon Wah Nails without any business background.
“FutureGirlCorp is my way of helping the next generation of female
business entrepreneurs get off to the best possible start.”
ANTI-ECHO CHAMBERS
Living within a safe echo chamber of female-only clubs and networks
is a danger that tomorrow’s leading female entrepreneurs will
recognise, and go to great lengths to avoid. Diverse networks that focus
on value and information exchange, and provide access to information
and connectivity across race, class and gender offer a path to success
and promotion. Consequently, we should aim to build a borderless
circle of trust, empowerment and leadership.
“Everybody in the world has different skill sets. We can’t just limit
this to being a conversation for women only,” says Louise Leolin,
co-founder of DinoByte Labs.
“We will need to use technology to break out of these echo chambers
to access all of the different skills and mind-sets that we will need to
help each other, and to ensure that more of us can succeed.”
L E G A C Y- B U I L D E R S
Long-term vision, rather than get-rich-quick strategies, will lie at the
heart of a vibrant female future. Increasing numbers of young female
entrepreneurs are focusing on learning and leaving a legacy as opposed
to starting up and selling.
Unlike their older Millennial predecessors, who are now in their early
30s, younger Millennials – in their mid-to-late 20s – and the first
members of Generation Z entering the workforce see success as a
patience game.
They are driven by a dream of building a business that will be a
legacy to their own values and beliefs, and in which investors will join
them for a mutually beneficial, life-long journey.
Rather than seeing independent living as proof of their success, they
will be willing to return to or stay at home with their parents for longer
in order to ensure they have the emotional and physical support to pour
100 per cent of their energy into career-building.
Not flying the nest as soon as possible will be seen as a valued
privilege and a fundamental foundation for mental and physical
wellbeing, rather than as evidence of a failure to build a fully rounded
life at the first opportunity.
“You have to look after yourself and I don’t think people mark that as
highly as they should when they’re starting out,” says Phoebe Gormley,
founder of Gormley & Gamble. “The only way you are going to be
successful is if you work your business around who you are as a person
as well. If you don’t survive, your business won’t survive.”
Ruth Marshall-Johnson is foresight director at the Future Laboratory, London.
The Future Laboratory hosts its annual Trend Briefing at Carriageworks in
Sydney on February 7, 2018 and at Deakin Edge in Melbourne on February 14,
2018, and presents its Female Futures Forum on February 8, 2018 at
Carriageworks, Sydney. Go to www.thefuturelaboratory.com.
JANUARY 2018 139
 RAINBOW
W A R R I O R
A kaleidoscope of colour and optimism reflects in all the sunshine of a new year.
Styled by Sara Moonves. Photographed by Ryan McGinley.

140
 Opposite: Loewe dress and
boots, P.O.A. This page: Miu
Miu coat, $13,300. Model’s
own earrings. Beauty
note: Joico Beach Shake
Texturizing Finisher. All
prices approximate; details
at Vogue.com.au/WTB.
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
CREDIT

JANUARY 2018 141

 This page: Balenciaga dress, $2,800. Raf Simons hat, P.O.A., worn throughout.
Opposite: Alexander McQueen top, $2,540, and skirt, $4,175.

R YA N M c G I N L E Y

142
JANUARY 2018 14 3
 Opposite: Christian Dior dress, $4,700. Fleur du Mal bra, P.O.A. Commando underwear, $35.
This page: Marni coat, $2,010. Giorgio Armani skirt, $2,800. Céline bracelets, P.O.A.
R YA N M c G I N L E Y

JANUARY 2018 14 5
 This page: Missoni dress, P.O.A. Loewe boots, P.O.A. Opposite: Marni dress, $2,650. Céline necklace, P.O.A.
Make-up: Sarai Fiszel
R YA N M c G I N L E Y

Model: Jean Campbell

146
JANUARY 2018 147
Katharina Grosse in
her studio in Berlin.

148
 L A R G E R
T H A N
L I F E
Katharina Grosse, one of the most thought-
provoking and audacious artists of the moment,
has been commissioned to create a large-scale,
site-specific work for Sydney Festival 2018.

I
By Alison Veness. Styled by Stefanie Klopf.
Photographed by Peter Funch.
t’s 8am in Berlin. “You’re in my kitchen, and I’ve just
cooked breakfast, so it’s not very neat!” German artist
Katharina Grosse says with a laugh. There is artwork
in the background and the last flowers of summer
filtered through the sunlight in her lush garden.
Grosse is off to her studio soon, where she is working
on a major piece for the National Museum in Prague,
two very large paintings on fabric, each 20 metres by 50
metres. So big, in fact, that she has rented a huge
industrial space to work in. “I paint on the floor and the
whole process of putting the layers together is very
complex,” she explains. “I’ve been painting nonstop on it
for two months. It’s a big project; it’s very unusual and
I think it’s a turning point for me. It is more like painting
a plan rather than a painting. The two painted cloths are as
big as wall paintings; they are independent from the wall,
yet they change the feel of the space completely. It’s a new
approach to what a painting could be, so I’m very excited.”
For Sydney Festival 2018 the work will be similarly large-
scale, made from 7,000 square metres of theatre fabric
from Germany, and pieced together by an industrial
specialist in Sydney using a sewing machine on rollers.
It will completely cover the walls of the huge space at
Carriageworks. “This large folded fabric will be crammed,
really crammed into the space like a tent that will be upside
P R O D U C T I O N : M AYA I S E L I AT P R O D U C T I O N B E R L I N

down,” Grosse says. “I’m going to paint in it, on the folds

and on the whole structure inside, with a spray-gun, and
you’re going to be able to go inside and see it or you can
H A I R A N D M A K E- U P: M E L A N I E S C H O E N E

walk around the outside. I’ll create a soft space.”

Her work within the space will be totally intuitive. “I’ll
make the decisions on site, according to the light that’s
coming in and the situation. We’ve built models and,
of course, we’ve decided how to engineer it and we’ve had
to experiment in the studio to understand how to build it,
but once I’m in it and see it, I’ll decide how to paint it and
which colours to use.” →

JANUARY 2018 149

This page and
opposite: Untitled
(2016), from MoMA
PS1’s Rockaway!
series, New York.
The title of the work, The Horse Trotted Another Couple Of Metres, Then
It Stopped, is not a description of what it will be: the title has its own life,
she says. “It describes that moment, you know, when you go into the
kitchen, because you wanted to get the car keys and then all of a sudden
you don’t know why you are there … and in that moment when you
don’t know, you realise something else about yourself, something that
you can’t describe, that you’re on this planet and that the scent in the air
is beautiful, you are somewhere, going some place, but then you halt,
then you think that’s what I’m doing … and so that’s a little bit of what
we are doing. And then it also refers to this absurd behaviour of mine
to need a really huge surface to paint on …”
Her site-specific work is huge. Absurd is an appropriate description, as
it suggests the illogical, the wildly inappropriate, too, which are perhaps
the realms to which Grosse’s work moves her audience. Her work wasn’t
always monumental. “I began with very small formats,” she explains, but
“the spray-gun gave me the acceleration and I was never afraid of size or
up-scaling: it was natural. I never thought of huge formats as something
really daring: I took it for granted that I could go there, even as kid, if
I was painting a garage wall. But it took a moment to be able to produce
really large works. To start working with a team made a difference. It was
a big step and I had to learn how to communicate what I intended.”
Grosse has a pool of 15 to 20 artists and other creatives who work with
her, an art historian/gallerist studio manager and an engineer. (“He is
150
actually my brother, a mechanical engineer, and he manages all the
technical aspects and the studio team.”) She is also adding an archivist
and researcher to her team.
For someone whose work becomes so grand and epic, Grosse’s process
is rather straightforward: she “simply just begins”. There are no rituals,
just a good night’s sleep. “When I’m on site, I only paint. I don’t go out.
I get completely wrapped into this kind of 10-day extreme painting thing.
When you paint from morning to night and you only deal with colours
that are totally filling your imagination and your inner vision … it’s very
interesting. I think about emotions and it’s really fascinating, but I like
them to exist without reason. I am fascinated by aggression, but I don’t
© K AT H A R I N A G R O S S E A N D V G B I L D - K U N S T, B O N N 2 01 6
like to be aggressive towards somebody. I think tenderness is an
interesting emotion as well, but if it has been directed towards a certain
goal, it’s less fascinating; it becomes limited. An emotion without a cause
that is just filling you up – I like this. To feel these things while I work is
very good, like a trampoline from which I can go to other places.”
P H OTO G R A P H : PA B LO E N R I Q U E Z
Her intuition to a site, material or moment is quite incredible, indelible,
too, as it leaves a mental and physical imprint. One of her favourite
CO U RT E S Y O F M O M A P S 1
achievements and moments on her journey so far has been her 2016
contribution to the Rockaway! series, the transformation of the derelict
Fort Tilden army aquatics site at Rockaways, in Queens, New York. It is
a pink magnificence of randomness, remote and uplifting. “It’s being
repainted as we speak, but that was really the team, the site, how
naturally I accepted I would paint while they all sunbathed … So many
things that I didn’t do became part of the work, like the sand from the
sand storm during that big hurricane [Sandy] that had shifted into the
building and had altered it, so that it had already turned into something
different. So there were things done to the building that you would call
‘land art’ and I was just highlighting those. It was great.”
In 2017 she created a similarly provocative site-specific work in
Denmark. “I did a piece on a huge area of park wasteland, beachside
with a street right through it. Amazingly, it caused a lot of resonance in
the audience, some of it aggressive, some positive, very engaged. There
were discussion groups on TV.” Grosse’s Asphalt Air and Hair (2017) was
commissioned by ARoS Aarhus Art Museum. “There was a lot of
magenta, pink and white on the grass and the trees and everybody had
to go right through the painting on their way to work, because it also
covered a busy intersection. People asked if it’s art. And what is art?
Who allowed her to paint on ‘our’ public property? Does she destroy
nature? But is the intersection itself more destructive than the work?
That was interesting,” she recalls.
Next stop will be Australia, which she finds “super fascinating”. Her
first visit was for the Biennale of Sydney in 2000. She stayed for two
months. “The city was so open and vibrant, the nightlife was amazing,
the people totally out there, showing themselves. I found it fascinating
that it resonates to mid-European culture, but looks at that from far
away and mixes in other things, not only the Aboriginal culture but the
interchange of different points of view, too.”
The size and scale impressed her. “The trees, the streets, and the sheer
abundance of growth and the vastness of the land. When I flew over the
country, I was glued to the plane window,” she says. Grosse also visited
Darwin and Kakadu National Park, fascinated by the Aboriginal rock
paintings and the relationship that they have to time, space and location.
“I thought I’d understand it, but then realised I don’t,” she muses.
In 1969, environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude famously
wrapped up Sydney’s Little Bay, a first in the series of Kaldor Public Art
Projects. Wrapped Coast – One Million Square Feet was immense and I ask
her if there is any particular work of that iconic partnership that
resonates. Grosse says she remembers as a child Running Fence (1972–76),
a white nylon fence, 5.5 metres high, which spanned just under 40
kilometres in California, “that was up and out there; my parents were
big fans”, she says. Wrapped Reichstag (1995) she saw “in the flesh, so I saw
very late Christo, but it was not only him, there were the other Arte
Povera artists, too, and Manzoni’s ‘shit in a tin can’ [Piero Manzoni’s
Artist’s Shit, from 1961], something you couldn’t see but could imagine.
But I think Christo and all the land art people showed me that a work
can be somewhere else: it doesn’t have to be in a museum.”
One of her earliest works was a large piece of white fabric sitting
between two tree trunks in the forest. “I painted it with wet paint →
JANUARY 2018 151
and then threw soil on it. I was maybe 20 then, and I made tree pieces.
As a child I had worked with bark in the forests. It took me a long time
to get back to painting. For me, it’s about the imagination, like
a proposal, imagining something that is not there, very different
to Christo, where his imagination is linked to materialised things: he
veils. For sure, there are two different influences for me: the painted
and the built. Together they are the area I’m thrilled by,” she says.
Her mother is the painter Barbara Grosse. “She showed me how
natural it is to work, to draw, to look at things, to have books around,
and to not separate it from your normal life.” Born in 1961, one of her
first memories of painting is from school, and even then, she says: “I was
always very convinced of my work, very confident about how I put
things together. Once I was drawing a circle, square, a triangle – one of
those silly school things – and I had a whole theory about how it should
be and everyone was put off by this insistence, I was even dissed
for it … but I was confident about it.”
Grosse’s spiritual home is New Zealand. “I like the west coast, west of
Auckland. There is something about the country and the light which is
amazing. I like to work there or just stay for a month or two and do
something to relax, to surf, to swim, to read, to be totally away. People
can’t reach me, so I’m not thinking I’m missing out. I can relax there and
reconnect with everything and get my system back together in a sense.”
152
Her greatest fear (apart from sharks) is “probably all around love.
I want to be loved. I think love is the most amazing experience, it’s your
biggest desire. To fall in love or be in love is amazing and is a state of
mind where all debating falls away. That’s a little bit like when you
work as well; you are very close. So maybe to not be in love [would be
the fear] I think, or to not connect emotionally and miss that feeling.
When I paint I have a similar emotional feeling and relationship to the
world as when I am in love.”
Her partner is New Zealand abstract painter Judy Millar. “She has
her own career and her own life, but also in the end even when we can’t
see each other, she is the most important person in my life; she always
has an ear for me. We both develop our works without the feeling that
one has to serve the other, which is really great. She totally understands
me. I’m lucky.”
I ask Grosse what she hopes for. “To paint the White House, or something
similar some day … and peace. I’m hoping we get a better understanding
of how we can live on this planet together. We need to stop taking
advantage of others, of women, it’s unacceptable that we take advantage
of other cultures and other groups as well. That has to stop.”
Sydney Festival 2018 runs from January 6 to 28; www.sydneyfestival.org.au.
Katharina Grosse: The Horse Trotted Another Couple Of Metres, Then
It Stopped can be seen at Carriageworks, Eveleigh, from January 6 to April 8.
P H OTO G R A P H S : A N DY K E AT E N I C T E N W I G G E N H O R N
© K AT H A R I N A G R O S S E A N D V G B I L D - K U N S T, B O N N
Untitled Trumpet (2015)
at the Venice Biennale.
 CREDIT
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B

This Drove my Mother up

London Gallery, London.

the Wall (2017), at South

JANUARY 2018 15 3
154
 A L L A T S E A
Escaping to their Long Island retreat, model Pania Rose and her family embrace
the laidback lifestyle reminiscent of her home in Australia. Now based in New
York, she reflects on falling in love, and why she is still an Australian at heart.
By Zara Wong. Styled by Gillian Wilkins. Photographed by Jake Terrey.
Pania Rose wears a Céline dress, $5,000. On right arm: Michael Kors bangle, P.O.A. Georg
Jensen bracelet, $650. On left arm: Georg Jensen bracelet, $1,275. Her son, Cas, wears a
vintage vest, $30, from C’s Flashback. Little Creative Factory shorts, $79, from Kido Store.
Bobo Choses leggings, $52, from Kido Store. Her husband, designer Thaddeus O’Neil,
wears an A.P.C quilt, $1,035. Thaddeus O’Neil jacket, $1,670, top, $455, and pants, $760,
all worn throughout. All prices approximate; details at Vogue.com.au/WTB.

JANUARY 2018 155

 Loewe top, $1,745, from
Parlour X. Oroton scarves,
$145 and $155. Georg
Jensen bracelet, $650.
Beauty note: Endota Spa
Organics Deep Hydration
Face Moisturiser.

156
 Cas wears stylist’s own pants
and belt. Pania wears
a Sandro top, $460,
from David Jones. Miss
Crabb shorts, $240.
JAKE TERREY

Georg Jensen bracelets,

$1,275, $475 and $425.

JANUARY 2018 157

 Pania wears an Ellery top,
$1,895. Zimmermann
swimsuit, $270. Georg
Jensen bracelet, $475.
Cas wears a Bassike
Mini top, $45. Stylist’s
own pants and belt.

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
CREDIT

158 JANUARY 2017

 Zimmermann top, $595, and
bikini, $270. J.W. Anderson
skirt, $1,195, from Parlour X.
On right arm: Michael Kors
bangle, P.O.A. Georg
Jensen bracelet, $475.
JAKE TERREY

On left arm: Georg Jensen

bracelets, $425 and $650.
Stylist’s own belt.

JANUARY 2018 159

160
JANUARY 2017
CREDIT
A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
 Cas wears a vintage
vest, $30, from
C’s Flashback. Little
Creative Factory
shorts, $79, from Kido
Store. Bobo Choses
leggings, $52, from
Kido Store. Pania
wears a Céline dress,
$5,000. On right arm:
Michael Kors bangle,
JAKE TERREY

P.O.A. Georg Jensen

bracelet, $650. On left
arm: Georg Jensen
bracelet, $1,275.
 A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
Cas wears a
Maje sweater, $470.
Printebebe shorts,
$44. Pania wears a
Christopher Esber
top, $740, and pants,
$790. Bassike bikini
top, $190. Georg
Jensen bracelets,
$1,275 and $895.
CREDIT

Hair: Sophie Roberts

Make-up: Peter Beard

162 JANUARY 2017

 J
ust two weeks – that’s all it took. Two weeks after Pania we had kids.” But soon she will obtain American citizenship. “It’s
Rose had met Thaddeus O’Neil he proposed to her. something I hadn’t really considered until this current political climate,
(She said ‘no’. But keep on reading, because it ends well.) and with my husband and son being American, I thought it would be
Then, a few weeks later, she changed her mind. “The first wise to be the same as them,” she says sagely. “But I’m still Australian
time I said ‘no’, because I thought it was moving too fast, and I claim my Australian citizenship proudly.”
and that he didn’t know me. Then, I thought: ‘Let’s do Contrary to convention, Rose, at the age of 33, has had a longer
it!’” she says, laughing at the memory. “He wanted to get modelling career than most, with clients such as Endota Spa, for whom
married straight away,” she says over the phone, “but she is the face, as well shooting for Tigerlily.
I needed to tell my family and give them a chance to Discovered in Perth, she says she started modelling “later than most,
organise themselves to get over to New York from Australia and New at 18”, after she had “saved up all my money and moved to Sydney”.
Zealand.” The eventual 50-guest wedding was held in Long Island near Success came quickly and after only
the couple’s current weekend property, with flowers that they picked five months it was suggested she
from a local farm. move to New York, where she has
The two met on set while Rose was working as a model in Sydney.
Her work been for close to 14 years.
O’Neil was an assistant for photographer Richard Bailey. “This all increased She comments that her work
happened a month before I was about to go to New York for the first noticeably increased noticeably in the past year.
time, and my husband was born and raised in Long Island, so he “I think that’s partly because there is
showed me around the city. We fell madly in love, and got married a
in the past more diversity in fashion and
year later,” she remembers. O’Neil had been living in Australia for year. “I think advertising these days,” she says,
seven years and was planning to stay there permanently. “Then that’s partly noting her mix of freckles from her
I uprooted him and brought him home.” Dutch side and olive skin from her
For the Perth-born model, the time away from Australia has brought
because Maori heritage. It’s a marked change
out her sense of Australian-ness. Living predominantly in New York there is more from her earlier career, when the US
City, it is on weekends when she, O’Neil and their son, Cas, return to diversity in fashion industry demanded the “all-
their Long Island property to refresh. “It really keeps us balanced; we American girl look, and my category
really need nature,” she contemplates. “I think with a lot of Australians,
fashion and of look was considered more exotic”,
what sends them away from New York is that there is just too much advertising she explains. “I’ll be honest, it’s not
cement. But the stability of being able to go out to Long Island, where these days,” even a choice [to keep on going],”
we have a beautiful organic farm five minutes away, an ocean and the she adds of her longevity in the
bay, means there’s a really nice balance between city life and nature.”
she says industry. “It’s just complete luck that
And with regular travel for work, the couple are careful to schedule I’m still here, so I have immense
around their son – she tells me that she recently refused a job to ensure gratitude for it.” Taking 18 months off work during her pregnancy and
she got back to her son in time, and is home every weekend. “I’m never the birth of her son increased her appreciation of the industry and her
usually away for more than four days and my husband is very capable career and the opportunities it provides.
and is an amazing dad.” Next for Rose is a travel television show where she asks strangers to
O’Neil’s eponymous fashion label is currently in the Council of accompany her on adventures. Rose has that easy countenance and a
Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Incubator program, and has won natural friendliness that would make the daredevil-travel-host concept
rave reviews for its unisex designs, inspired by a surf lifestyle. O’Neil work. As well as being beautiful, she has crystal-clear articulation, so
had worked as a model and photographer before turning to design, and her voice emanates authority. Her friend working on the project
Rose was heavily involved in the beginning with the accounting and suggested her because, “you know, being Australian, well-travelled and
bookkeeping as well as producing his fashion shows for New York easy-going, he thought that might be something I would try out. So
fashion week, organising food services, casting models and styling. “It I said yes!” Living in America has made her realise the rarity of being
made me realise that I knew a thing or two!” well-travelled, which has become a joy and the highlight of her career
Although her roots are now firmly in the US, establishing herself as a model. “Being Australian, we’re so far away, so we’re desperate to
there permanently was never part of the original plan. “Growing up, see what the rest of the world is like,” she says, ensconced in her New
JAKE TERREY

I had never even been attracted to the US. I wanted to go to Canada, York home, awaiting a flight to Morocco. Another chance to travel? As
because of Degrassi Junior High!” she says, laughing. “For the first few Rose would say, referring to a theme that seems to be recurrent in her
years of our marriage we thought we would return to Australia when life: ‘Let’s do it – just say yes.’ ■

JANUARY 2018 16 3
VOGUE VOYAGE

164
 An island of
one’s own
P H OTO G R A P H S : J A S O N LO U C A S

Kokomo, an idyllic Fijian island resort by

Australian property developer Lang Walker, is a luxury
E D I TO R : M A R K S A R I B A N

getaway like no other. By Edwina McCann.

At sunset, a staff member at Kokomo Private Island, Fiji, walks between villas
toward the beach. Opposite: the pristine waters off the island.

JANUARY 2018 165

VOGUE VOYAGE
L
ang Walker does not do things by halves. The billionaire property
developer is driving me around his Fijian luxury island in a Gator,
proudly pointing out various aspects: the lush gardens designed
by Suzanne Misaele, which include a newly completed pebble staircase,
nursery gardens for orchids, and the huge vegetable patch and orchards
to feed the island’s guests with sustainable and organic produce.
Cinnamon trees from Mel Gibson’s nearby island have also been used to
create tables, pergolas and to build the wellness centre. Lang’s passion and
vision – which in the past five years has transformed Kokomo Private
Island Fiji from a half-finished resort into one of the most beautiful and
lusted-after luxury holiday destinations in the world – is infectious.
Kokomo is part of the Kadavu islands group and sits in some of
the most pristine and naturally beautiful waters in the Pacific, as the
incredible nearby diving and snorkelling attests. Lang gave the island
the same name he has given all of his 20-plus boats, from the first when
he was just 10 years old to his most current, a 196-foot superyacht. “I’ve
spent 30 years diving in this area, and there are very few
like this with sandy beaches.” With his construction hat
on, this was one of the things that attracted him to the IT’S FLAWLESS
island, when a friend tipped him off about an overgrown, IN ITS
semi-developed resort he had anchored off. Lang visited
and, observing that there wasn’t a reef close to shore that
DELIVERY,
would pose a barrier to carrying everything over to THE VERY
the site, decided he could fix the problem and finish the BEST WITHOUT
project, so against his wife’s wishes he bought the island.
But back to the Gator ride. “G’day Bob!” he calls out as he
UNNECESSARY
passes an equally cheerful workman who is still on the FUSS
island finishing some final jobs. Lang is involved with
every detail: he knows most of the resort’s 215 staff by
name, and is passionate about getting it right, traits that have no doubt
served him well in business and are the secret to much of his success.
Another secret to his success is seated right beside him: his wife of five
decades, Sue Walker. Their enduring and prosperous partnership has
seen the super-glamorous Sue don more than her fair share of hard hats,
and her knowledge of the project is equally deep. “The kids’ club [which
includes a jungle gym and a fountain with a shallow pool] will really be
activity-based,” she explains: “Arts and crafts and picnics on the beach.”
At which point one of her grandkids flies past on a buggy with a
fabulously painted face and a smiling Fijian nanny. Today, with the
island complete, there is a complimentary Kaji Club for kids aged four
to 11 and some independence for the older ones in the teens’ retreat or
pizza-oven cafe.
The week I visit, Kokomo is also playing host to the extended Walker
family, as it has done on many occasions during the years of
construction. Their involvement and guinea-pig-style testing of every
facet of the island is one of the reasons it offers so much more than other
luxury travel experiences. It’s literally made for a billionaire and his
family, and every guest is made to feel like one, too.
So to understand what makes Kokomo so special, you need to
understand a little bit about the man who built it. Lang started his career
in earth-moving, and Walker Corp, established by Lang and his father in
1964, is today one of the biggest private development companies in
Australia. I ask how many developments he thinks he has delivered.
“I guess a couple of hundred,” he answers. “I’ve never counted them.”
(It’s actually more than 1,000.) These include the iconic Woolloomooloo
166
Wharf in Sydney and the current redevelopment of Collins Square,
which will deliver the country’s second largest commercial mixed-use
development and revive Melbourne’s Western Precinct.
“Our legacy is developing iconic, large-scale, award-winning
developments. Where others see a challenge, we see opportunity,”
reads the company’s website, and nothing could be truer of the
experience of developing Kokomo Island. “(The island) was the most
challenging job ever, logistically,” says Lang. “And the problems! You
think you have solved a few and then every day new ones were thrown
at you.” To solve some of these issues Walker bought two barges and
built a world-class (and extremely expensive) water treatment and
desalination plant, of which he is particularly proud. He also created
his own airline, and ferries guests to and from the island by helicopter
(tail number KOK) and Twin Otter seaplane (OMO), with flights taking
about 40 minutes from Nadi airport.
“The bit I really love is design,” says Lang. “And he wants to be the
machine driver, too,” adds Sue when we dine at their
personal villa, designed by Keith Lambert, that evening.
Being interested and able at both is Lang’s talent. Their
villa is near the Yaukuve Spa Sanctuary, an original
village that has been beautifully converted and offers
everything from double treatment rooms by a pond, yoga
classes, special healthy spa cuisine and a medicinal herb
garden. The spa uses all-natural Sodashi products from
Western Australia and offers body wraps, exfoliation,
massages and facials. With a daughter-in-law who once
worked in the beauty industry, its development has also
been expertly overseen.
Months later, when Kokomo is open for business, I dine
again with the Walkers at their Sydney home to sample the new menu by
chef Anthony Healy, whose resume includes another five-star Fijian
resort, Laucala, as well as Lizard Island. Lang knows his wines and also
knows one of the challenges in Fiji is getting the food right. As such, he
personally chose Anthony to oversee all dining experiences on the island,
which can also be taken in your private villa. Sourcing locally is the key,
and the menus have been developed to include honey from the island’s
bee farm, eggs from locally raised chickens, vegetables and herbs grown
on the island and the fish of the day. The day we went out game fishing
we returned with a dogtooth tuna, which considering our lack of
experience can be credited to the island’s expert fisherman, who
accompanied us. It made for the best sashimi I have ever tasted.
There are few dining experiences that can live up to Walker D’Plank, so
named by in-house artist Christopher Kenyon, who has created more than
65 artworks for the island. It offers an Asian fusion menu and includes a
grill where freshly caught lobster, fish and crab is cooked to order. I think
it perfectly reflects the personality and passion of its namesake, and the
Kokomo experience in general. It’s flawless in its delivery, the very best
of everything without pretension or unnecessary fuss.
There really is no better place for a luxury getaway, either for a
romantic holiday for a couple in one of the 21 beachside villas with
private pools, or for the intergenerational family holiday in one of the
six luxury hilltop residences with their private gardens, infinity pools
and generous living spaces. As with everything Lang does, it has not
been done by half.
Kokomo Private Island Fiji; www.kokomoislandfiji.com.
 The Walker D’Plank
restaurant is nestled
within a pretty cove.

Kokomo Island’s jetty and the Twin Otter

seaplane, which ferries passengers from
the airport to the resort.

The island’s owner, Each of the resort’s

Lang Walker. 21 beachfront
villas has its own
infinity pool.

An open-plan luxury suite

where a traditional tapa
cloth hangs above the bed.
J A S O N LO U C A S E T H A N R O L LO F F LU K E S I M O N

Designed for privacy, a

beachfront villa sits tucked
amid the coconut palms.

JANUARY 2018 167

VOGUE SOIR ÉE
1.

2.

THE WHITE PART Y

All white with

7.

3.

Dom Pérignon 4.

Arguably one of the smartest parties of the year is the

annual White Party, hosted by Sidney and Fiona Myer
for 200 of their friends and family on the grounds of
the exquisite Myer family home in Toorak. With Dom
Pérignon flowing and the all-white dress code, Vogue
heeded the style theme and was there as part of the
exclusive guest list. Fiona Myer elegantly showed off
some of her White Story fashion collection pieces, as
20 models meandered beautifully around the grand
green garden. The chic soirée – the brainchild of
Mrs Myer and Dom Pérignon queen Deeta Colvin –
has taken on a life of its own, having become one of 5.
the most sought-after invitations of the Spring Racing
6. Carnival at Flemington. Vogue and GQ joined guests
including Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford, David
Smorgon, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and partner
David Panton, actor Rachel Griffiths and artist
husband Andrew Taylor, Karl Stefanovic and fashion
designer Jasmine Yarbrough, interior designer Blainey
North, the Lyall hotel’s Rowina and Peter Thomas, Sue
Morphet, Dominique Ogilvie, Skye Leckie and Dom
Pérignon’s Bruce Nancarrow. Melissa Hoyer

K Y L I E I VA J A M O N YO U R CO L L A R

1. Myer family members, from left, William, Jessica, Fiona, Edward and Sidney. 2. The Myer family home. 3. Sophie Coote, Yan Yan Chan and Nikki Campbell.
4. Fiona Myer, Julie Bishop and Rachel Griffiths. 5. Steph Allen, Harriet Armstrong and Ella Dumbrell. 6. Guests on the grounds. 7. Karl Stefanovic and Jasmine Yarbrough.

168
 1.

2. 3.

4.
D ER BY DAY

QT Melbourne gets
its breakfast chic on
As the Melbourne Cup festivities kicked off in November, the designer
hotel QT Melbourne hosted an exclusive breakfast at The Rooftop at
QT, in association with both Vogue and GQ. Celebrity guests and
industry luminaries at the pre-Derby Day event ascended on the
well-appointed rooftop prior to heading out to Flemington, indulging
in a carefully curated race-day menu created by the QT Melbourne
culinary team, including an oyster bar, a ‘caviar luxe’ tasting station,
a delicate pastry platform, grills from the robata and roving canapés.
Guests sipped on G.H. Mumm NV, Pimm’s, Boag’s Premium and
Capi Water and, fortunately, none of the smartly attired guests went
too overboard in imbibing. Well, they all had an entire racing carnival
to get through. “Vogue and GQ were delighted to be returning to QT 5.

Melbourne for the second annual QT Derby Day breakfast on the

stunning rooftop,” said Edwina McCann, editor-in-chief of Vogue
Australia. “It turned out to be the perfect place to take in the
atmosphere of Derby Day overlooking a sunny Melbourne CBD,
ahead of what was a fabulous and fashionable day trackside.”
Guests at the breakfast included Rebecca Vallance, Georgia Love
and Lee Elliott, Natalie Roser, Michael Klim, Dylan Alcott, Donna
Demaio, Sarah Czarnuch and Shiva Singam. MH
8.

7. 6.

1. Natalie Roser and Emma Rose. 2. Dasha Gold, Sarah Czarnuch, Carly Gordon and Ellen Donald. 3. Roberto ‘Malice’ Malizia, Josh Bozin, Sam Wines, Shaun Birley.
4. Edwina McCann and Nick Smith. 5. Rebecca Vallance and David Gasan. 6. Georgia Love and Lee Elliott. 7. The G.H. Mumm NV flowed freely. 8. Desiree Deravi and Michael Klim.

JANUARY 2018 169

VOGUE PROMOTION

Top chef
When you need a helping hand,
the KitchenAid Pro Line Blender
will be right beside you. Whip up
healthy smoothies and soups, or
nut butters and dressings, in a jiffy.
The four pre-set programs and
asymmetric blade system mean
you can achieve the smooth results
you want whether you’re working
with frozen fruits, hard nuts or
fibrous vegetables. Visit www.
kitchenaid.com.au for details.

VOGUE
Thing of beauty
Thanks to Anton’s Hello Yellow

DIARY
Collection, you can feast your
eyes on the rare and natural
beauty of an untreated fancy
yellow diamond. Surrounded
Explore what’s in store and by a diamond halo and white
worth having this month. marquise diamonds, the highly
covetable central 1.50-carat yellow
diamond is set on a diamond-
encrusted 18-karat white- and
yellow-gold band. Visit
www.antonjewellery.com.

Back in black Facing facts

Black never goes out of style, and It’s never too early to start a skincare
the minimalist Casey bag in black regimen to protect against the harsh
cowhide from Belle Couleur is Australian climate. Endota New
proof. Each Belle Couleur piece Age Peptide 8 Hyaluronic Serum
is a one-off, emphasised by the harnesses the power of scientifically
raw, natural beauty and unique advanced peptides to help target
characteristics and texture of the and correct the visible signs of
hide. Features include a tassel zip ageing, without the use of harsh or
detail, internal zipped pocket and invasive treatments. Live in harmony
three internal card pockets as well with our natural environment and
as a detachable shoulder strap, choose skincare that supports your
so it can double as a clutch. journey to better wellbeing.
Visit www.bellecouleur.com.au. Visit www.endotaspa.com.au.

Eye for design

A flattering pair of frames can
be the only accessory you need.
Calvin Klein’s new designs offer a
range of sunglasses and frames in
mixed materials and colours like
blue, purple, silver, gunmetal and
gold that exemplify the essence of
this iconic brand. There’s a shape
to suit every visage from modern
cat-eye to classic to vintage-
inspired to navigator.
Visit www.marchon.com.
 Capricorn
22 DECEMBER – 20 JANUARY
It might feel like you have secret
superpowers this month. Wield
them wisely to lose frenemies, but
beware of denting the egos of the
good guys while you’re trying out
your strength. Your powers of
attraction are also supercharged,
making you a natural leader. And
as for your bucket list, get busy
ticking off those ambitions.
STYLE ICON: Georgia May Jagger
Aries
21 MARCH – 20 APRIL
Feeling hemmed in could lead to
you channelling your energy into
your career this month. Finding
a balance between roles as go-to
gal at work and innovative party
planner among friends is a
challenge you’ll devour, and one
that could bring new career and
even love connections your way
now and in the months ahead.
STYLE ICON: Jessica Chastain
Cancer
22 JUNE – 22 JULY
A recent deluge of responsibilities
at home could leave you feeling
overwhelmed this month, so
learn to delegate. Those close
are more willing to assist, so be
precise about communicating
your needs. This frees you up to
explore sensual delights with a
significant other or to immerse
yourself in a creative passion.
STYLE ICON: Joan Smalls
Libra
23 SEPTEMBER – 23 OCTOBER
A rethink of your career is likely,
as all things home-related have
more of a pull on your heart and
your head this month. Figure out
a work scenario that satisfies your
A S T R O LO G E R : S T E L L A N O VA
ego but which also nourishes
your soul, feeds your mind and
pays the bills. Relationships get
quirky again, though this time
you’ll adore the unpredictability.
STYLE ICON: Dakota Johnson
Aquarius
21 JANUARY – 18 FEBRUARY
It’s a fast and furious month for
your career. Go easy on the fury,
as others around you, especially
at work, may seem frustratingly
slow, and even love relationships
could suffer from your short fuse.
Book a spa day and eat right, so
not only will the glow return to
your halo but you’ll be radiating
inner goodness and love, too.
STYLE ICON: Christina Ricci
Taurus
21 APRIL – 21 MAY
Relationships have the power
to liberate you now, and as your
often possessive tendencies
become more manageable
you’ll be hurling yourself into
connecting with others with
enthusiasm. Knowledge can also
be liberating: get serious about
adding to your experience so a
new way of living can open up.
STYLE ICON: Cate Blanchett
Leo
23 JULY – 23 AUGUST
January is traditionally a month
for beginnings, but your year
starts with a couple of necessary
endings. Ditch your emotional
baggage and also a style or
attitude that just isn’t you
anymore. A shift in the way you
connect is a game-changer now
as frivolity gives way to taking
love and work more seriously.
STYLE ICON: Mila Kunis
Scorpio
24 OCTOBER – 22 NOVEMBER
Events that arise this month could
lead to you feeling stuck on home
turf for a while, but it’s by laying
firm foundations now that you’ll
be able to satisfy your sense of
adventure later. A career situation
could veer off on a tangent now,
too. You know that things happen
for a reason, so see it as a welcome
chance to follow your destiny.
STYLE ICON: Emma Stone
Pisces
HOROSCOPES
January
19 FEBRUARY – 20 MARCH
You’re more stable now with
relationships based on friendship
rather than on blind love or
passion. Obsessing about your
spiritual beliefs could get intense,
so be open to new ideas, but aim
to retain only what expands your
mind and soul. A reboot of your
health and work routines is also
worth investing in this month.
STYLE ICON: Dakota Fanning
Gemini
22 MAY – 21 JUNE
A financial situation could reach
a peak this month, but other
more stable funds are out there
if you do your research and stay
alert to inspiration. Overseas
options, education and the
media could be calling your
name, and romance may also
be in the mix. Make working
smarter and healthier your M.O.
STYLE ICON: Carey Mulligan
Virgo
24 AUGUST – 22 SEPTEMBER
When it comes to your romantic
desires and artistic potential,
your determination is
unshakable now. You’ll get
what you want through effort
– plus a pinch of stealth. Friends
and simple pleasures could feel
neglected: avoid being so
focused on the destination that
you forget to enjoy the journey.
STYLE ICON: Cameron Diaz
Sagittarius
23 NOVEMBER – 21 DECEMBER
Previously, ‘more’ was always
better for you. Now you’re able to
appreciate that wanting what you
have beats having what you want,
and as money may feel restricted
this month, that reined-in
approach fits the bill. But keep
optimistic and play the waiting
game, as you’re being set up for
bigger and better things to come.
STYLE ICON: Chrissy Teigen
JANUARY 2018 17 1
 GEORGIA MAE ZOE AUSTIN
Zoe Austin provides high quality,
Georgia Mae is an affordable sterling silver jewellery.
Australian based fashion First and foremost we stand for and
VOGUE AUSTRALIA DIRECTORY

label, embodying its celebrate individuality. Because of

creators love for textures, this, we know that within our
colours and stand out selection of jewellery there truly is
pieces. something for everyone. We travel
to different locations across the
All of our products are globe to bring together a selection
designed in Melbourne of beautifully designed and crafted
and crafted with attention jewellery, just for you.
to detail. craigieburn@zoeaustin.com.au
zoeaustincraigieburn
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MOVE YOUR BODY OUT WITH AUDREY

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matter what shape, size or stage Take the journey Out with Audrey.
of life you might be in.

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PALOMABLEU BARE BODY BOUTIQUE

Paloma Bleu showcases owner The Bare Body Boutique is
Laura’s hand picked and exclusive Australia’s number one swimwear
items from brands sourced locally store offering the hottest and
and internationally. Visit the stylish range of bikinis in one place.
Albert Park Store for Laura’s one With the likes of the Kardashian’s
of a kind styling service or shop spotted in their swimwear, there’s
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176 Bridport Street, Discover the curated collection
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I LOVE LINEN BLUSH CLOTHING

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Delivered straight to your
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PLAYHOUSE
A dynamic mother/daughter duo
who want to give women the
freedom to play with fashion. A
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Use code ‘VOGUE’ for 20% off!
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ILOVELINEN blushclothingplayhouse
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READY OR NOT JO MERCER
A dynamic designer boutique that
offers diverse collections imported
from across the globe. Classic

VOGUE AUSTRALIA DIRECTORY

beauty with a charismatic edge. Summer, Sandals and Sale.

Equipment | Go Silk | Joie | Shop all the summers

Hunkydory | Free People | 3x1 hottest styles in the
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STATE OF STYLE MASCHEK

STATE OF MIND...STATE OF STYLE
Your online fusion of luxury
designer fashion, health & lifestyle.
Specialising in personalised client
care, showcasing designer labels
including Thurley, Sancia, Misha
Collection, Mode Collective +
Many More.
Exclusive to Vogue readers 20%
off every order in January using
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A diverse celebration of art,
beauty and life, Maschek
designs indulges the free
spirited woman with a luxurious
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exquisite embellishments, fine
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Receive 20% off online
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State Of Style Boutique Maschek

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stateofstyle.net.au laureenmaschek.com

EVAS SUNDAY

Eva’s Sunday is an Australian

designed linen label with a
modern, layered aesthetic.

Stocked by 80+ boutiques

around Australia & New
Zealand or available in one
of our stores. Details online.

JANUARY 2018

evassunday
evassunday.com.au
 SWNABT swn bt FRANK AND ENID
Debut SS17 Collection created Frank and Enid is a fashion and lifestyle
by Sydney based designer store with a diverse fusion of Australian
VOGUE AUSTRALIA DIRECTORY

Kara Davis. and International labels.

A collection of feminine styles Our intermix of fresh contemporary

with an edge made in luxury silk products will not be found everywhere.
and cotton fabrics. Shop online or visit us instore.
Feel brave, effortless and free.

SWAN ABOUT in luxury. 72 Macquarie St,

Dubbo, NSW 2830

swnabt Frank and Enid

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BELLE COULEUR MUSSEN BOUTIQUE

Australian luxe leather and Mussen Boutique is a Canberra based

hide accessories label. women’s clothing destination focused
on beautiful, affordable fashions.
Each piece is an original Always on the look out for that
designed to be uncomplicated perfect piece founders Mia & Zimona
in form and function with an have a passion for Australian Design
emphasis on the raw beauty and strive to deliver unique and
and unique detail of the fashion forward styles with
natural hide and leather. exceptional customer service.

Belle Couleur
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GET INTO FASHION

STYLING WITH AN ONLINE
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Work as a freelance fashion stylist or within
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AustralianCollegeOfProfessionalStyling
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A’ILAH CLOTHING
(pronounced - Ay-Lah)

A’ilah Clothing is an online

Australian boutique store stocking
the most sought after Australian
labels.
ZEBRANO | SIZES
Exquisitely designed clothes and a selection to die for ...
We stock designer labels that are
not easily accessible in store and Select from Australia & NZ’s top labels in sizes 14+.
deliver feminie, audacious and Mela Purdie, Chocolat, Obi, Curate by Trelise Cooper, Euphoria,
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Shop our new collection now. Get your order delivered GST FREE and get FREE RETURNS on all
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View lookbooks, discover trends & shop.
ailahclothing
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RITMO BCN TIGER AND TAUPE
Hola! We welcome you Ritmo BCN. Matte lips have never felt so good.
Beautiful, classic and comfortable Tiger & Taupe’s Signature Collection

VOGUE AUSTRALIA DIRECTORY

espadrilles designed in Barcelona of matte liquid lipsticks are highly
and handcrafted in an espadrille pigmented to create a defined, velvet
heritage rich village of Spain. matte finish. The lightweight, creamy
formula allows for effortless application
Sustaining the Spanish heritage and long lasting comfort. Available in 7
of the espadrille, our design high-impact shades from nudes to deep,
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focus on crafting all the classic Exclusive for Vogue readers. Take 10%
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GINGER + BLONDE CO OLIVIA&THYME

A small boutique in the beautiful Wedding photography for the
Whitsundays strives to bring stylish modern romantics, the eclectic
and comfortable clothing to their lovers and the wild visionaries.
lovely customers. Bec + Bek are the
ladies behind the brand and they love Based in Melbourne, Australia -
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ISLE AND ARLO

An Australian leather
goods line. Inspired by
luxe and simplicity, we
offer a premium
collection - essential for
the everyday woman.
Available exclusively
online, and select
stockists.
For 15% off your first
order use discount code
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FLORENCE AND
MARABEL COLLECTIONS

A Mother & Daughter collaboration

QUEEN BEE offering quality handpicked designer
pieces for the modern woman.
Bump friendly trends, the latest breastfeeding wear and special occasion
dresses. With over 60 designer brands, you’ll find that pregnancy can be Alessandra, Binny, Coco Ribbon,
JANUARY 2018

fashionable. Life With Bird, Mela Purdie,

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Enjoy a stylish pregnancy 10% off with discount code VOGUE10
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 L AST PAGE

EYE SPY
The look-twice effect of Nicolas Ghesquière’s design touch is manifested
on Louis Vuitton’s traditional monogram with half-masked clutches.
From left: Louis Vuitton pochette, $3,150, and dress, $9,250;
Louis Vuitton pochette, $3,200. Carla Zampatti top, $549.

ST YLIST K ATE DARVI LL

PHOTOG R APH H U G H STE WART

A L L P R I C E S A P P R OX I M AT E D E TA I L S AT V O G U E . CO M . A U/ W T B
W O R D S : Z A R A W O N G H A I R & M A K E- U P: P E T E R B E A R D
M O D E L S : J E S S I C A A N D E R S O N E M E L I I N A P O R VA R I

176 JANUARY 2018

The Ultimate Luxury Jewellery And Swiss Watch Destination

OFFICIAL STOCKISTS OF

CHADSTONE • DONCASTER • T: +61 3 9569 1000 • antonjewellery.com

 garbiñe muguruza

When your
determination
is unrivalled,
you’ve made
history.

This watch is a witness to the

emergence of one of tennis’s most
graceful young stars. Worn by a player
whose poise and determination led
to her second Grand Slam® title at
The Championships, Wimbledon.
It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.

OYSTER PERPETUAL datejust 36