Star turn for lady in red

Showstopper … Jennifer Hawkins appeared for Myer yesterday in a red chiffon gown by Camilla and Marc.
Photo: Brendan Esposito

Elicia Murray
August 28, 2008

The sun came out yesterday for Myer and its golden girl, Jennifer Hawkins, who launched the store's spring/summer collection.

Defying bleak retail sector forecasts for one day, at least, the store's advertising figurehead - a former Miss Universe - made her first appearance in an itsy-bitsy acid yellow frilled bikini from her new swimwear line, Cozi by Jennifer Hawkins.

Sky-high bondage-style gladiator sandals were not the only catwalk hazard. Beneath the domed ceiling of Byron Kennedy Hall, at Moore Park, a 500-strong crowd watched models negotiate a revolving circular runway with a giant gold-and-white striped "sun" disc as the centrepiece.

Three weeks ago, David Jones held its Brazilian-themed season launch across the road at the Royal Hall of Industries.

Hawkins, 24, said she felt extra pressure because she had helped design Cozi, which features bold prints, stripes, spots and frills.

"I want to see the other models to make sure that it fits right," she said. "It's not that I've got to worry about just my own swimwear."

Hawkins said she would not put an expiry date on her career as a swimwear model.

"I would not want to set an age because I might get to that age and want to keep going."

Her boyfriend, Jake Wall, put in an eye-catching, bare-chested appearance modelling Armani Jeans.

But floaty fabrics and floral prints dominated the looks for women, with colours along the spectrum from soft pastels to vivid cobalt blues, fuchsias and yellows. Hems ranged from micro-mini layered leather skirts at Camilla and Marc to floor-skimming maxi dresses by Leona Edmiston, Charlie Brown and Mad Cortes.

For men, jeans and shorts were looser and paler, moving away from the fashion set's ubiquitous stovepipe styles.

Fifteen children took part in the parade, wearing such "mini-me" creations as Wayne Cooper's Wayne JnR line, which is based on his adult range.

Front-row seats were reserved for Myer's local designers, including Cooper, Jayson Brunsdon, Josh Goot, Toni Maticevski, Yeojin Bae, Nicola Finetti and brother-and-sister team Camilla and Marc Freeman, who designed the full-length red chiffon and lace gown that Hawkins wore to close the show.

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