A squad of top models with a combined social media following larger than Australia's population graced the runway at Australian fashion week last night for evening wear brand L'Idée Woman.
Star-Studded Runway
US model Taylor Hill, a former Victoria's Secret Angel with over 22 million social media followers, opened the show. She was joined by fellow former angel, Australian Shanina Shaik, along with high fashion favourite Gemma Ward, Sports Illustrated cover star Jessica Gomes, and Australia's Next Top Model success story Montana Cox.
Australian fashion week chief executive Kellie Hush expressed her excitement, saying she 'can't even remember' the last time an Australian runway featured such a high-wattage cast. 'For me it's quite thrilling,' she added.
Behind the Scenes
The casting came at significant expense and challenge for the brand, but co-founder Breeana Smith deemed the investment worthwhile. She described the dress rehearsal as one of her favourite moments of the week. 'It was everything we dreamed it would be, poured out all over this beautiful venue.'
Smith noted that bringing Hill to Australia was 'a highly volatile week of logistics.' 'It was definitely a lot of work, but we love her,' she said.
Originally, a third former angel, New Zealand model Georgia Fowler, was slated to walk, but logistics did not work out. Fowler has modelled for L'Idée Woman before and is 'one of our favourites,' Smith said. 'We were extremely disappointed … but we were just so thrilled to see the result of the model casting come to life on the runway.'
Strategic Model Selection
High-profile models 'really help to establish your connection with your consumer' because 'all of those beautiful women are representing their networks,' Smith explained.
Beyond big names, Smith emphasised that 'from the get go it was crucial to the brief to have a balanced age demographic.' 'The L'Idée Woman herself is extremely diverse, we're selling to mothers, daughters, mothers of the bride … grandmother of the bride, often.'
For Hush, the benefit of famous models was obvious: 'They sold those garments.'
The Show
The show was a shiny spectacle, featuring the pleated metallic and jewel tone gowns and floor length kaftans L'Idée Woman is best known for, alongside iridescent sequins and short satin dresses that are a more recent development for the label.
Behind the scenes, high-profile creative director Pip Edwards was also a star. Held at the Australian Chamber Orchestra's venue on a pier over Sydney Harbour, the show had a Studio 54 atmosphere, heightened when waiters brought out small tequila bottles with straws immediately after the catwalk concluded.
Edwards helped attract a splashy front row, many wearing L'Idée Woman gowns. The audience included a rare public outing from Jackie 'O' Henderson, who is embroiled in a legal battle with her former employer ARN Media.
'We're speaking to beautiful women wearing beautiful product for some of the most important occasions of their life,' Smith said. 'So we wanted to capture that a little bit on the runway.'
Last year, Smith told Ragtrader that L'Idée Woman had grown 750% since its launch in 2019. This was the brand's second show at Australian fashion week, after a debut in 2022.
