Behind the scenes with Miranda Kerr showcasing this autumn/winter fashion for 2013 from David Jones.
WHETHER it's the quintessential girl-next-door or the drop dead gorgeous glamazon, Australia has had more than its fair share of models who have made their mark on the elite fashion world.
None are bigger than "The Body" Elle Macpherson, but there is a swag of beauties who have come close.
Elle Macpherson recreates same naked Playboy pose 20 years on
Miranda Kerr, Kristy Hinze and Sarah O'Hare (now Murdoch) also became household names after they successfully cracked the international catwalks and fronted high-end fashion campaigns.
In the last five years faces such as Gemma Ward, Alyssa Sutherland, Abby Lee Kershaw, Jessica Hart, Ajak Deng and Julia Nobis have dominated while plus-size beauty Robyn Lawley is proving you don't have to starve yourself to be successful, with a burgeoning modelling career both in Australia and overseas.
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Vogue Australia Editor-in-Chief Edwina McCann rates Kerr, O'Hare and Ward as her top three Australian models of all time.
"All three of them have been successful Vogue cover girls so that endears them to me," McCann says.
"With each of them I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on them, there was something exceptional about them. Miranda was the brunette bombshell and Sarah our version of Grace Kelly."
McCann says the most successful models are more than just the stereotypical pretty face.
"The models at that level, it's not just a beautiful body and face, they have to communicate a message and something beyond that," she says.
The model who has had the most impact in recent years is also the most controversial in my list of Australia's 25 top models.
Melbourne-bred Andrej Pejic has become one of the worlds' most famous models for his androgynous look, walking the runway in both men's and women's shows.
His Melbourne manager Chadwick Models director Matthew Anderson says the chameleon-like model has changed the face of fashion.
"He ignited something new when it was needed, this amazing difference hadn't been around for so long," Anderson says. "There's no shortage of AFL types out there, but he became a hero for anyone that was different. He is now internationally famous and instantly recognisable."
L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival CEO Graeme Lewsey says Australian models are hot property overseas.
"There's a casualness and a healthy lifestyle that comes out in their attitude, how they work in front of the camera, how they move their bodies. That's something quite unique and a lot of people comment on that fact," he says.
Maggie Tabberer
Age 76
Model, fashion and television personality Maggie Tabberer in 1985. Source: News Limited
Brunette beauty Maggie Tabberer was a trailblazer of the modelling world in the late 1950s and early 1960s. She did her first modelling job at the tender age of 14 after being spotted by a photographer at her sister's wedding. She was married at 17 and had two children by the age of 20, but that didn't stop Tabberer from forging ahead with a successful career. Celebrated photographer Helmut Newton discovered her at the age of 23 after she'd attended modelling school, and she quickly became his muse. Tabberer won Australian Model of the Year in 1960. She was a Vogue cover girl in 1961, and striking images of her by Newton appeared in the exclusive 1961 calendar for the Wool Board. Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann says Tabberer was impressive in her time. "We found in the Vogue vaults some shots she did with Helmut Newton, she was truly exceptional," she says. Tabberer reportedly chose to end her modelling career at the age of 25 and started her own PR agency in 1967 before becoming a Logie Award winning TV presenter, magazine fashion editor and successful plus-size fashion designer.
Deborah Hutton
Age 51
Deborah Hutton was first brand ambassador for Myer Grace Bros. Picture: Supplied Source: News Limited
Deborah Hutton first hit the modelling scene at the age of 16, appearing on the cover of Cosmopolitan with her trademark toothy smile and flowing mane of blonde hair. While enjoying regular work at home in Australia, her international career took off. Top international contracts in Germany, Italy and New York led her to work with some of the world's top models and photographers. When she returned to Australia she became the first real brand ambassador for what was then called Myer Grace Bros, a role she filled for more than 10 years. "She was the original face of everything before everyone had ambassadors," Chadwick Models director Matthew Anderson says. "She's had an amazing career, she's always very classy." A successful television presenting career followed, along with several longstanding and lucrative brand endorsements including Qantas and Holden. In January last year she famously became a cover girl again at the age of 50 when she posed naked for the cover of Australian Women's Weekly.
Picture Gallery: Deborah Hutton
Andrej Pejic
Age 21
'Prettiest boy in the world' Andrej Pejic, cover of magazine. Source: Supplied
Internationally famous and instantly recognisable, Andrej Pejic has become one of the worlds' most famous models. His androgynous look has seen him controversially model both men and women's wear. French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld, a big fan of Pejic's, was responsible for his first major magazine fashion spread. In his first European catwalk season in January 2011, Pejic walked both the men's and women's shows for Jean-Paul Gaultier and the men's shows for Marc Jacobs. He's been ranked 18th on the models.com Top 50 Male Models list and was ranked 98 in FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2011. "He has changed the face of fashion," says his manager, Chadwick Models director Matthew Anderson. "He allowed people to push the boundaries with him; he gave people so much inspiration. He opened the doors for difference for a lot of people and that has had a knock on in every area (of fashion)."
Picture Gallery: Andrej Pejic
Jessica Hart
Age 27
Jessica Hart in a photoshoot for Seafolly. Source: Supplied
Famous for her gap-toothed grin, Melbourne born Jessica Hart came to fame when she won the Dolly magazine model search in 2000. She's been a Vogue Australia cover girl and has featured on the covers of Elle Italia and Elite Traveler, as well as appeared in editorial spreads for Harper's Bazaar Australia and Italia, Elle Italia, Cleo and Vogue Mexico. In 2009 she appeared in the famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and has featured in numerous Victoria's Secret catalogues. Hart has fronted campaigns for local brands Seafolly, Target, Myer, Harris Scarfe and Portmans, as well as international labels H&M, Gap, Guess, L'Oraacal and Moschino. The blonde beauty says her career highlights include walking in the coveted Victoria's Secret parade and Louis Vuitton show last year.
Picture Gallery: Jessica Hart
Models Jess Hart and Jen Hawkins go on location in Narrandera NSW for Myer's autumn/winter campaign
Samantha Harris
Age 23
Model Samantha Harris. Source: Supplied
Australia's most famous indigenous model has graced the cover of Australian Vogue (June 2010) as well as the magazine's editorial pages. With an Aboriginal mother and German-English father, Harris's striking looks caught the eye of model managers when she entered a Girlfriend magazine competition at the age of 13. She has walked the runway for leading Australian designers including Alex Perry, Dion Lee and Ellery and has also featured in campaigns for Antipodium, Country Road, Forever New and Kirrily Johnston. In 2011 she was signed as the youth ambassador for David Jones, joining the esteemed company of stable mates Miranda Kerr and Megan Gale.
Picture Gallery: Samantha Harris
THE David Jones ambassador takes you on a tour of their brand new exclusive one-stop wedding shop
Bambi Shmith
Age 86
Gemma Ward walks the catwalk in Ungaro by Norwegian designer Peter Dundas. Picture: Afp Source: AFP
Bambi Shmith was an Australian Women's Weekly cover girl whose career blossomed when she married well-known photographer Athol Smith. Together they worked on many modelling assignments, making Bambi a famous face in Australia. She took out the 1946 model of the year title, in 1951 she was one of the founders of the Mannequins' Association of Victoria and went on to open the Bambi Smith (without the h) Modelling School. The regal beauty made an even bigger name for herself when she married George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II in 1967.
Maggi Eckhardt
Model Maggie Eckhardt from David Mist's 1969 book "Made In Australia". Source: News Limited
During the 1960s Maggi Eckhardt was one of the world's most sought after models. Her modelling career began in 1958 when she was selected to model for celebrated British designer Norman Hartnell. He offered her a job in his London salon and she never looked back. The brunette beauty rapidly shot to international fame modelling top designer brands including Dior and Balenciaga. She posed for a string of famous photographers such as Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton and graced the covers of Australian and French Vogue.
Toneya Bird
Age 43
Toneya Bird and Rex the echidna in an Antz Pantz underwear television advertisement in 1996. Source: News Limited
Simply say "Sic-em-Rex" and anyone around in the late 1980s will remember the line that made Toneya Bird famous. She was the face of the award-winning Antz-Pantz commercials in which she lay on a bed in her underwear with a colony of ants crawling up her leg and her pet echidna Rex nearby to attack. While that campaign made her instantly recognisable, at the height of her career Bird also graced the cover of Cosmopolitan, Cleo and Elle magazines.
Travis Fimmel
Age 34
Travis Fimmel models Calvin Klein underwear in a 2001 advertisement. Source: News Limited
One of Australia's most famous male model exports, Travis Fimmel was the first male in the world secure a six-figure deal to model exclusively for Calvin Klein for a year, sporting the brands famous underwear and fronting the CK Crave fragrance campaign. He reportedly stopped traffic when billboards featuring the blonde headed hunk appeared in London, causing female drivers to rubber neck in awe. He is rumoured to be the inspiration for the famous "Smith Jerrod" character in Sex and the City. At the height of his modelling career he was regarded as the most in-demand male model in the world. He started his acting career in 2003 with the lead role in Warner Bros. 2003 TV series Tarzan and has most recently been seen in the successful TV series Vikings.
Picture Gallery: Australia's Hottest Guys
Elle Macpherson
Age 49
Elle Macpherson has achieved fame and fortune through modelling and a successful business empire. Source: News Limited
Australia's most iconic supermodel, Elle Macpherson transcends all others in terms of mass recognition and appeal. Her quintessential Aussie girl next door persona saw her front the famous TAB cola drink commercials in 1982, which helped kick start her career. But it was her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s that led to her nickname "The Body". She signed with the famous New York Ford Modeling Agency and appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. She became part of the new generation of supermodels, alongside Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford, and in 1986 Time magazine put her on the cover with a feature entitled "The Big Elle". In May 1994 she controversially appeared nude in Playboy magazine. Her entrepreneurial spirit has seen her become a successful businesswoman, with her own lingerie range, and she is currently the host of Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model.
Picture Gallery: Elle Macpherson
Sarah Murdoch
Age 41
Model Sarah Murdoch at the Bonds Fashion Show at the Town Hall in Sydney in 2010. Source: News Limited
With her fresh-faced good looks, beautiful blues eyes and blonde hair Sarah Murdoch's modelling career took off when she was just 17 after walking into Vivien's Management in Sydney. Not long after, she moved to Paris and walked the runway for leading fashion houses including Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld. She became the international face of Wonderbra, taking over from Eva Herzigova in 1997 and signed on as a spokesperson for Revlon in 1999. She has also appeared in advertising campaigns for L'Oreal, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent and Estee Lauder, but it is her longstanding role as a Bonds ambassador (since 2001) that many people best know her. Her magazine covers includes Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour, GQ and Harper's Bazaar, and she appeared in the 1999 and 2003 issues of the iconic swimsuit editions of Sports Illustrated.
Miranda Kerr
Age 30
Miranda Kerr in JETS swimwear at David Jones Spring Summer launch. Source: News Limited
With her trademark dimples and flawless skin, Miranda Kerr's modelling career has catapulted her into the international spotlight. After controversially winning the Dolly magazine model search at 13 she has become one of Australia's most recognisable exports. Most famously she was the first Australian to become a Victoria's Secret Angel, she was the first pregnant model for Vogue Australia when she was featured six-months pregnant and she posed nude for a 2011 Harper's Bazaar photo shoot. Her marriage to Hollywood heart-throb Orlando Bloom hasn't hurt her standing either. Locally she was the face of retail giant David Jones until recently, while internationally her career has blossomed. She walked exclusively for Balenciaga's spring 2010 runway show and in 2012 went on to walk the runway for Christian Dior, Lanvin, Chanel, John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Viktor &Rolf and Loewe. Most recently she replaced Kate Moss for Mango's spring summer 13 campaign.
Picture Gallery: Miranda Kerr for Victoria's Secret
The Australian's Damien Woolnough talks fashion trends and catwalk rituals with Miranda Kerr at the David Jones autumn-winter launch.
Jennifer Hawkins
Age 29
host Jennifer Hawkins in Melbourne. Source: News Limited
The quintessential girl next door, Jennifer Hawkins first came onto the fashion radar in 2004 when she took out the title of Miss Universe, only the second Australian to do so since Kerry Anne Wells won in 1972. In the almost decade since her win, Hawkins has created a lucrative and accessible brand that reaches across beauty, fashion and lifestyle products. Her best known association is as the long standing face of retail giant Myer, which has seen her front all of their fashion campaigns and walk in their season collections launches since 2007. Following in the savvy footsteps of other successful Aussie models, she has branched out into creating her own swimwear and shoe lines.
Picture Gallery: Jennifer Hawkins
Jennifer Hawkins ties the knot at intimate but lavish Bali wedding. Courtesy Channel Seven
Megan Gale
Age 37
Megan Gale dressed in pink to promote David Jones Shop Pink Day. Source: News Limited
Glamazon Megan Gale won a modelling competition in Perth at 18, but her big break came two years later when she was cast to appear in a series of advertisements for the Italian telecommunications company, Omnitel. Gale became an overnight celebrity as soon as the commercial aired, in which she played the part of a voluptuous spy. Lucrative and prestigious modelling assignments and contracts followed including modelling for Italian fashion houses such as Gianfranco Ferraac, Genny and Gai Mattiolo. She returned to star in the David Jones Spring Summer 2001 Launch. The show was such a success Gale was signed as the face of the retail giant. She became their brand ambassador, a role that continues to this day and is the longest held fashion contract in Australia. In 2011 Gale took on the coveted title as L'Oreal's first official ambassador in Australia and New Zealand. She joins the prestigious L'Oraacal Paris 'dream team' alongside some of the world's most beautiful and accomplished artists including Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Jane Fonda, Andie MacDowell and Diane Kruger.
Picture Gallery: Megan Gale
Megan Gale talks about her experience on the set of the new Mad Max film, whilst on the AACTA red carpet.
Ajak Deng
Age 23
AJak Deng, 19, a former Sudanese refugee who started modelling in Melbourne in 2008. Picture: Craig Borrow Source: News Limited
Sudanese born, Melbourne-bred Ajak Deng is an inspiring model success story. She fled her homeland at the age of 12 and lost her mother to malaria in a refugee camp before settling in Australia in 2005. By 2010 she was strutting the most prestigious catwalks in the world for labels including Lanvin and Louis Vuitton. Her first haute couture show was for Valentino. Highly sought after on the world stage, she appeared in the Calvin Klein fragrance campaign for Steven Meisel in 2011 and signed on as a MAC cosmetics model in 2012. In January this year she appeared in Flaunt magazine with musician Bruno Mars in a series of striking black and white images.
Picture Gallery: Ajak Deng
Abby Lee Kershaw
Age 26
Abby Lee Kershaw at home in Moonee Ponds Picture: Alex Coppel Source: News Limited
Blonde bombshell Abby Lee Kershaw first garnered attention when she won the Australian 2004 Girlfriend Model Search, but it wasn't until 2008 that her star began to shine brightly on the international stage. Her debut at New York Fashion Week saw her walk in a total of 29 shows for designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Halston, and Rodarte. She has appeared on the cover of Vogue Australia four times. Kershaw was the face of Chanel's Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 ready-to-wear ad campaign, closed the Chanel Spring 2010 couture show, and opened the Chanel Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 ready-to-wear show. At the height of her career she was ranked fourth on the Top 50 Models Women list by models.com, she currently ranks 12th on the list.
Picture Gallery: Abby Lee Kershaw
Kristy Hinze
Age 33
Kristy Hinze was the youngest cover girl for in 1994. Picture: Andrew Filipovic Source: News Limited
With her wide open smile and fresh face, Kristy Hinze made modelling history in 1994 as the youngest-ever cover girl for Vogue Australia. Hinze moved to Paris in her early 20s to pursue catwalk modelling, appearing for designers including Cacharel, Lanvin, Sonia Rykiel, Jean Paul Gaultier and Gianfranco Ferre. In 2008 she made an appearance on America's Next Top Model and went on to host the first two seasons of Project Runway in Australia. Since 2007 the blonde beauty has been the face and ambassador of Sportscraft and has collaborated with the brand on several collections.
Picture Gallery: Kristy Hinze
Emma Balfour
Age 42
Model turned poet Emma Balfour in Sydney. Picture: Nick Wilson Source: News Limited
One of the faces of the grunge and heroin chic era of the 1990s, it's hard to believe Emma Balfour grew up as a member of Circus Oz, travelling around Australia in a caravan with her mother. When she was 17 she moved to Sydney to begin a modelling career that took her to the elite catwalks of the world. She has walked in fashion shows for Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Chanel, Hussein Chalayan, DKNY, Dries van Noten, Balenciaga, Chloaac, Donna Karan, Lanvin and Calvin Klein, among others. But she turned her back on the modelling world at the end of the 90s to restore some normality to her life. In 2009, at the age of 39, she returned to the runway, appearing on the autumn-winter 2009-10 catwalks in New York for Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs. Harper's Bazaar editorialised she looked, "hotter than ever".
Gemma Ward
Age 25
Gemma Ward graces a Pirelli Calendar. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
At her peak, Gemma Ward was reportedly earning $4 million a year as one of the most sought after models in the world. Her meteoric rise to the pinnacle of her profession had humble beginnings when she was scouted at the age of 14 in 2002, while accompanying her friends to the Australian modelling competition Search for a Supermodel. Ward made her Australian Fashion Week debut aged 15 and later became the youngest model to appear on the cover of the American edition of Vogue. At 17 she became the famous face of Calvin Klein's Obsession Night perfume billboards and was declared one of the top 30 models of the 2000s by Vogue Paris. Ward hasn't walked a runway since the spring 2008 after removed herself from the spotlight following the death of boyfriend Heath Ledger. Her last modelling job was an appearance on the cover of and inside the October 2008 issue of Spanish Marie Claire. Earlier this year she signed with IMG models, with rumours circulating she is preparing to rejoin the modelling world.
Picture Gallery: Gemma Ward
Julia Nobis
Age 21
Julia Nobis relaxes in New York. Picture: Stuart Ramson Source: News Limited
Discovered on the streets of Sydney wearing her school uniform in 2009, waiflike Julia Nobis is one of the hottest models of the moment. She made her debut on the international runway in 2010 as an exclusive for Calvin Klein in New York. Nobis has become one of Australia's most coveted catwalk stars, walking in 72 shows at the autumn/winter 2012-13 fashion shows. In her relatively short career she has appeared in three international editions of Vogue, including as Vogue Australia cover girl in May 2011. In 2011, she joined Dutch model Melissa Tammerjin to appear in Proenza Schouler's spring 2011 ad campaign. In the recent New York Fashion Week in February Nobis walked in 17 shows, opening for Edun and closing for Vera Wang and Victoria Beckham.
Picture Gallery: Julia Nobis
Alyssa Sutherland
Age 30
Alyssa Sutherland at the Gazebo Wine Garden in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney. Source: News Limited
Willowy beauty Alyssa Sutherland has had a long and successful career since winning the 1997 annual Bonne Belle model search of Girlfriend magazine. Her strawberry blonde hair and sculptured features appealed to leading fashion labels including Bulgari, Ralph Lauren, Garnier, Calvin Klein, Chanel, John Frieda, Kerastase, Hugo Boss, and Abercrombie &Fitch. She has graced the cover of countless fashion magazines including Vogue Australia, Harper's Bazaar Singapore, Elle Germany, Australian Style, Glamour Italy and Black and White. She was also highly sought after for editorial spreads in Vogue (Germany, Australia, Italy, Greece and America), Elle (Australia and US), Marie-Claire (UK), Bazaar.
Picture Gallery: Alyssa Sutherland
Robyn Lawley
Age 24
Plus size model Robyn Lawley at Manly on Sydney's northern beaches. Source: News Limited
At 19 Robyn Lawley gave up on torturing herself with fad diets to fit the perfect size 8 and joined a plus-size model agency - and she has never looked back. One of the most sought after curvy models in the world, Lawley was the first plus-size model to be shot for Vogue Australia and the first Australian plus-size model to be on the cover of Madison magazine. She was also the first plus-size model to appear in a campaign for Ralph Lauren. In the June 2011 issue of Vogue Italia Lawley was featured on the cover along with plus-sized models Tara Lynn and Candice Huffine, in a shot taken by esteemed fashion photographer Steven Meisel.
Picture Gallery: Robyn Lawley
Nicole Trunfio
Age 27
David Jones ambassador Nicole Trunfio at the Ivy Bar, Sydney. Source: News Limited
Not unlike many successful Australian models, Nicole Trunfio was spotted by a model scout out shopping one day and invited to enter a model competition - this time the television series Search for a Supermodel. She won the Australian version of the show and came second in the international version. In 2005 she moved to New York to pursue her modelling career and has modelled for designers including Chanel, Dolce &Gabbana, Versace, Christian Dior, Gucci, Fendi, Missoni, Roberto Cavalli, Vivienne Westwood, Valentino, Victoria's Secret.
Not only that she has appeared in an impressive array of campaigns she appeared on the cover of Vogue Australia in August 2008 and in 2010 she was the face of David Jones' 2011 winter launch when Miranda Kerr was on maternity leave.
Picture Gallery: Nicole Trunfio
Janice Wakely
Age 77
International and local success followed Janice Wakely. Picture: Library Nwn Source: News Limited
Classic beauty Janice Wakely's international success is made more significant by the era in which she modelled, during the 1950s and 60s. Travel involved a massive commitment of time and resources, but that didn't deter Wakely who headed to London in 1956 after being regarded as too thin by Australian model agencies. Within weeks she had reportedly been assigned a shoot with Marie Claire in Paris. She was photographed by many leading Australian and international photographers including Helmut Newton, Bruno Benini and Terence Donovan. While Wakely enjoyed international success she also dominated at home, starring in the all-Australian Fashion Parades, featuring on the cover of The Women's Weekly, wearing the Gown of the Year and being dubbed Model of the Year. In 1963, Wakely walked away from appearing in front of the camera, establishing her own model agency along with a successful career behind the lens.
Lynn Sutherland
Age 65
International model Lynn Sutherland. Source: News Limited
Lynne Sutherland, the original blonde-haired, freckled Aussie face to hit the big time overseas, was discovered by Maggie Tabberer at a Waltons department store fashion competition in the late '60s. In 1969 she travelled to Rome for a Woman's Day shoot and went on to sign with an agent in London. By the end of that year she was flown to New York to meet esteemed US Vogue's editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland. She signed with the prestigious Ford Modelling Agency and appeared on the cover of Vogue in both the US and Australia (1971). Sutherland had a long and varied career that ran from the 60s to the 90s.
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