From top to bottom: Aperlai / Tabitha Simmons / Marni / Proenza Schouler / Jerome C. Rousseau / Opening Ceremony / Sergio Rossi / O Jour / Chloe / Paul Andrew

So for the past three months I’ve been working on some special digital projects and it seems they all seem to be hitting at once before I can start posting about my time on the fashion week circuit. I don’t know how this happens but I’m so happy to finally be able to share with you all exactly what I’ve been getting up to recently.

When I was in Italy at the beginning of July I flew to Milan for two days to work with Shoescribe.com, an Italian online luxury shoe retailer who is part of the Yoox group. I met this brand last September when I was in Milan for MFW during an event they hosted and instantly fell in love with their curated collection of international shoe brands such as Proenza Schouler, Sergio Rossi, Lanvin, Jil Sander and Giuseppe Zanotti.

Nearly a year later, we worked together on this fashion film to showcase some of their hottest items from their spring/summer collections. Like most of the collaborations I do, I had complete creative freedom and came up with the video concept which we executed in just one day.

In the film, I play a girl who with a twist of fate gets her shoe caught in a drain and stumbles into the arms of a complete stranger who happens to be (my real life love) Luke. Through a series of premonitions we fast forward into the future and see glimpses of our first few dates as we get to know each other and eventually fall in love. It only takes one glance to imagine an entire future together…

As a hopeless romantic I wanted this to be an upbeat and cute film so the concept simply revolves around love and how shoes make me feel. They should you feel immensely happy and make you fall head over heels (ha, get it?) in love.

I thought it could also be a nice way to introduce you to Luke properly as you don’t get to see him online as much as I would like as he prefers to be behind the lens. This film was so easy to make as we basically got to play ourselves, constantly laughing, shooting photos and forgetting we were in fact being filmed.

Watch my shoescribe.com film here.

Film by Frame by Frame Italia
Photos by Federico Lomartire
Styling by Nicole Warne

Click here to view the embedded video.

A lot of you have been asking what exactly is #limousine13 and what exactly am I doing with Westfield. Well I’m so excited to be able to share with you all that I’m the new face of Westfield, the largest shopping centre company in the world and number one shopping brand in Australia! My exciting role as the new spring/summer ambassador meant I got to take part in not only shooting their new summer campaign, but also a short fashion film called #limousine13. I also visited Westfield’s premium centres in Brisbane Carindale, Sydney Bondi Junction, Sydney and soon to be Doncaster in Melbourne for press and events.

This short fashion film is a darkly romantic tale about a tragic love. I play a woman who has just broken up with her boyfriend and finds herself and becomes empowered once more through fashion.

I can’t say I’ve ever done any sort of acting and that I wasn’t a little curious as to how I would translate onto film. My overall look is so much darker, moodier and perhaps a lot more sexier than what you’re used to seeing which is exactly what we were going for. My friends and even Luke were shocked when they saw the film, but in a good way they said. I’ll never know if they were being honest with me but Luke seemed to be quite enthusiastic about him not being the only one who’s seen me undressing…

Oh, and if you’re not aware and wondering who my (extremely good-looking) co-stars are their names are Jordan and Zac Stenmark, Australian supermodel identical twin brothers who are even more beautiful on the inside than out. By far some of the sweetest and most entertaining people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting on my journey so far which is going to kill any of your current or future boyfriends.

I hope you all like it and let me know what you think. To be honest I’ve only seen it four times as I barely recognize myself, which I guess why projects like these are just so damn fun! A special thank you to Baker Brand for the consistent support through this entire campaign too.

Campaign photo by Pierre Toussaint
BTS photos by Stuart Miller
Creative Direction by Al Weekes
Styling by Kelly Hume
Make-up by Noni Smith
Hair by Darren Borthwick

Sorry for the delay in posting these last two videos from MBFWA. Many people don’t realise but trying to track down songs to use for free is a very long and time consuming process. I used to spend weeks going back and forth with artists who were kind enough to let me use their songs in the first two videos we ever made for Gary Pepper Vintage (here and here), but we just didn’t have the time or patience to attempt to do this but four times over. So we stuck to the one French girl ‘Miss Emma’ who luckily had the fun, energetic and bubbly sound I was looking for.

Sorry if the videos get a little repetitive too. It’s more about showing the collections than anything else but hopefully next time I can remember to shoot more in between moments. We also added show titles for each designer as I realized it was a little tricky to decipher which collection was which.

Highlights include meeting the beautiful Kym Ellery and laughing about Instagram, the beautiful and other-wordly presentation by Australian Icon Jenny Kee, seeing Phil, Candice and Tommy again and making them dance for my readers. Another Fashion Week slipped by so quickly, and I’m already counting down for the next one but this time it’ll be in New York City with some of my favourite people. What do you guys think? Do you prefer video coverage for the collections or photos instead?

Videos by Luke Shadbolt

Vanessa Bruno Coat / G2000 Dress / Zara Shirt and Wedges / Necklace Collar from Hong Kong / Asos Clutch 

Day Two of MBFWA started early when I was called into hair and make-up for the Talulah show. I’m not going to lie, the thought of walking in a show during MBFWA freaked me out and I had a small panic attack a few days after agreeing to do it. What if I fall over? What if the shoes are too high? Can I even walk in a straight line? I have no idea how it crept up on me so quickly but before I knew it I was opening the show for Talulah and 14 seconds later it was over. I don’t think it’s even sunk in yet, and It was definitely one of the biggest out of body experiences I’ve ever had. It even made the Channel 7 news twice, which you can watch HERE. Strangely enough my nerves never kicked in and I remained calm and collected throughout the whole process, even I surprised myself there!

Fear can be crippling at times, but luckily I had someone there to remind me that it’s never easy when you push yourself out of your comfort zone to do something you never thought you could do. In order to grow you need to take a few risks sometimes, which is simple advice I always seem to forget. Now all I do is look back and think why I was freaking out in the first place? I still have to pinch myself when people ask me how it feels to be the first blogger to ever walk in Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia. Surreal is one word that immediately comes to mind…

This is what I quickly changed into before running off Michael Lo Sordo, one of the most highly anticipated shows of MBFWA and one of my favourites of the week. Sharp tailoring, flattering silhouettes and the chicest outfit I saw all week – the two piece skirt and blazer suit with a red cropped bra – were seen in a stunning range of photographic floral prints in fiery reds and oranges or cool sea green and blues. Sophisticated yet sultry pieces, Michael blurred the lines between strength and femininity. Not only is Michael incredibly talented but he’s incredibly humble and so unaware of how amazing he actually is, which makes me love him even more. He’s definitely the one to watch and I can’t wait to see his label grow in leaps and bounds this year. The happiest of birthdays to Michael as well!

http://youtu.be/evcgCMsz5t4

Zimmermann opened day two of MBFWA bright and early with what looked like every girls pastel dream. Pastel pink, peach, blue and mint were seen on silk jackets, flowing dresses and super cute swimwear in dreamy watercoloured and floral prints. A subtle pink splattered print opened the show, with laser cut circles dominating most of the collection and models hair adorned with white tied bows. Soft, feminine and flattering pieces with a youthful yet sophisticated glow easily made Zimmermann’s SS collection the prettiest all week. And to think day three gets even better…

Photos by Luke Shadbolt, Vogue.com, Talulah.com
Video by Luke Shadbolt