Australia's Next Top Model, Episode 10: Really? The Miu Miu?

In this week's episode the three remaining girls fought it out in a Harper's Bazaar maybe-cover shoot. One of the dresses all three modeled was this familiar little number:

Someone needs to stick a fork in this Miu Miu dress:

Composite image courtesy of Red Carpet Fashion Awards.

Cos baby, it's done.

p.s. This is the HB lady, right?

Australia's Next Top Model, Episode 6

This week's episode was a bit fun. Loved Amanda and Joanna's reactions to the snake that was to be their photoshoot buddy:

Undoubtedly the best line of the show came from Cosmopolitan magazine's stylist who noted that they 'chose animals that were inspired by the accessories'. Think about it hun:

While I didn't think Kathryn's photo was much worse than anyone else's, I really don't understand her appeal as a model. She might be this year's Caris for me in that respect.

The colours in the shoot were gorgeous. It seems like the Cosmo's fashion content has improved since the days when I read the tacky mag:

And though I agree it was time for Brittney to be outty, I have no doubt she will be more successful outside of the show than she was on it.

Australia's Next Top Model, Episode 5

I'm a week behind on my AuNTM commentary because since I saw Sophie's photo I haven't been able to stop trying to figure out who she reminds me of:

I still haven't got a proper answer but I think it might be a woman from an early 90s Special K ad. She's definitely tapping into the Impulse era in which they used "There she goes just a walking down the street" as the soundtrack.

I also have to admit what a fierce sexy diva Kelsey is. 

Also, did Alannah Hill use all the makeup? Charlotte was looking a little... tired:

Underwater Love: AuNTM, Episode 4

Sophie's new hair:

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Come on! It's just so not right.

The good news is that her photo was hot (in a way that I'm sure Sophie would appreciate):

There was even a slight Hana Soukupova resemblance:

And a general Ursula Andress vibe to the photo:

The other good news was that the episode was awash with awesome swimwear (though unfortunately none of it in Megan Gale's bla collection):

Seriously good styling, I must find out who the designer is. Almost enough to make me want to wear high-cut bathers.

... but seriously, I can never do that.

Oh, and Chantal's togs:

Adorable much?

And here's a game of AuNTM 'Where Are They Now?', or more accurately 'Where were they a little before Now, but still quite a bit since Then'. 

Last year's two finalists Cassie and Tahnee:

Both looking gorgeous, though I'm not sure why Bettina Liano decided to style the latter in what looks like a maternity bra, when balconettes have long been an ally of buxom women everywhere.

Fair up the clacker: AuNTM, Episode 3

Another yawn of a photo shoot, with a bunch of pretty girls looking pretty. What can I say, beauty shoots aren't my bag. But I will admit that Kelsey brought it:

Oh, it was brung! If the judges keep her on the show only to pull an 'Actually, you're too short' at the eleventh hour, I will be pissed.

Brittney is increasingly reminding me of Emma from cycle 4:

Both are exceedingly lovely, tall and slim but lack the drive and talent of some of their competitors.

So here is my beef #1: Why not cut just one of the superbly inane comments given by the various contestants and instead provide the name of the designer whose garments were worn in the challenge?

In case you were wondering, the clothes were from Elliot Ward-Fear's RTW 2010/11 collection, which I have discussed previously. Thank heavens it wasn't a walking challenge.

Beef #2: When it comes to fashion, I just don't think Joh Bailey gets it. Chantal complained that her new haircut made her look old:

She was right to.

Ditto for Sophie:

Both girls looked much better colour-wise, but the cuts were more suited to Double Bay ladies who lunch, than fashion models.

P.S. Did you know that Joh Bailey and designer Peter Morrissey used to be a couple? Cute.

Beef #3: For the elimination Sarah wore a dress from Prada's Fall 2010 RTW collection:

Now, I'm not one of those stinkers who thinks that Sarah is looking old or fat this season - her skin looks pretty gorgeous to me, and, come on, girl just had a baby! In any case the dress was originally presented on 'curvy' model Doutzen Kroes. (The quotation marks on 'curvy' aren't there because I don't think Doutzen is bodacious. She clearly is. I just think it's a stoopid word and am embarrassed to use it.):

In fact, though I am both a Prada and Doutzen devotee, I don't think the dress was terribly flattering on either woman. But this is not my beef. The real problem for me is that I have to ask why it so hard for an Australian celebrity to wear an Australian designer, on an Australian, fashion-based TV show. Step it up, Sarah.

Australia's Next Top Model, Episode 2

The shoot for this episode was a total snooze-fest with double denim done in the worst kind of way. The photos themselves were over-exposed up the ying yang. Nevertheless, Amanda totally killed it:

Looks like Patty over at Frockwriter might have backed the right horse.

Unfortunately there were other problems, with a few girls getting their bitch on and targeting Kimberly. The bullying, though thankfully less severe than in Cycle 4, is a total gross-out. I have no idea what would drive a group of girls to gang up against one person so horribly, but there does seem to be some weird class stuff going on, with Kimberly being the self-professed bogan of the house. Though for someone who seems to be viewed as unintelligent by the other girls, Kimberly was surprisingly eloquent when describing her own loneliness and I found myself very moved by what she said. Though she crashed and burned during the Channel V spot, she was still more personable than many of her competitors.

The other girls' lack of basic decency aside, what strikes me is their total lack of media savvy. Surely they realise that they are being filmed at every moment, and that their unkindness will undoubtedly be beamed into the lounge rooms of Foxtel-owners around Australia (that's hardly anyone, but still). On a similar note, I recall in Cycle 4 how Alex (the fashionista of that year's cohort) flubbed, Vogue Australia editor, Kirstie Clement's name during one of the regular segments in which the interviewer is neither seen nor heard. The footage aired showed her saying something along the lines of 'Kristie.... Wait, is it Kristie or Kirstie?'. The show does not include a narrator who would comment at such moments. Had Alex just powered through, not acknowledging her mistake, there would have been no way for ANTM, in its present format, to highlight the moment. A little media-literacy would go a long way with a lot of the girls.

In other news, I finally figured out who a couple of the girls remind me of. Joanna looks like a cross between a young Sofia Coppola and Romeo + Juliet-era Claire Danes.

And someone else too, maybe? As is, it's not a bad combo.

And at her best moments Megan has a bit of an Angela Lindvall vibe.

I guess I was a bit slow figuring that out.

Finally, Chantal is fortunate enough to at times resemble Olivia Palermo.

But she also pronounces 'clothes' as 'clue-ths'. Unspeakably annoying.

And GREAT GUGA MUGA, Sarah! Congratulations on your boobies... I mean baby.

Nah, I meant boobies.

Also, the new mentor, Josh Flinn, is totally adorable. I love his low-key sweetness and St Augustine Academy threads.

P.S. The ANTM website is insanely annoying to navigate. It makes me want to stab myself in the Alex Perry. Fix it, Foxtel.

Reflections on Australia's Next Top Model, episode the first.

Thank God cycle 6 has begun, I've been waiting with bated breath. The season started off well with a photo shoot after my own heart: Mad Men themed. Indeed the styling for the shoot and especially Brittney's outfit, looked fantastic though unfortunately the brilliant emerald green of her jacket was lost in the final photograph:

Thoughts so far:

1) I can't believe Sophie is only 19:

She was the most Betty Draper-esque in the shoot (obviously a good thing in my books) but I hope they give her a make-under in coming episodes - she looks way too Princess Diana-ish at mo.

2)Kathryn photographs like a whiter and more conventionally-featured Samantha Harris:

3) I wasn't a huge fan of Jessica's looks but am totally gunning for her after hearing Alex Perry's appraisal of 'not pretty enough'. God that man is such a crashing bore.

Jessica reminds me quite a bit of Daniel Johns' missus, Louise Van Der Vorst, who in turn looks like a pointier version of Gemma Ward:

4) ANTM deserves the latest fat scandal. I can fully accept that the current fashionable silhouette is an extremely slender one - successful models who do not conform to this ideal are in a tiny minority in the industry. For this reason I think it is unconscionable for the show to allow 'curvier' girls like Ashlea on show. I can only assume they do this (knowing they won't fit into sample sizes) in order to create some drama.

16 year-old Ashlea was too big for the clothes shown on the catwalk at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week and was subsequently not allowed to compete in one of the episode's two challenges. While not a stand-out, her photo was perfectly pretty and one can only assume that the fact of her omission from the catwalk, and therefore her size, counted against her. ANTM needs to stop sitting on the fence when it comes to larger girls - don't put them on the show as a token gesture.