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Credit: Emily Abay
Heel-clad and with a dainty figure, Kookai Australia founder and creative director Danielle Vagner winds the car around bendy roads a couple of kilometres inland from Cabarita Beach on Australia’s Gold Coast. Simultaneously navigating the pit-stop to our next shoot location – a desolate fruit stand – Vagner tells me the Kookai story, one that began in 1992 with a vision to introduce the Parisian label to the Australian market. But when the import costs became too expensive, she and her business partner Robert Cromb began producing basic t-shirts out of their studio in Melbourne and – to cut a long-Australian yarn a couple of wool metres short – today the feminine and alluring patchwork of the French is designed and manufactured in Vagner and Cromb’s own facilities in Fiji. And thus, a widely successful business has ensued.
Last campaign, we saw Vagner and her team bring Sara Sampaio to Australia. The Victoria’s Secret model was on the cusp of something much greater, Kookai striking when the proverbial iron was scorching. So who could follow in Sampaio’s heels as the Spring/Summer 16/17 Cruise campaign star? New York based Kiwi model Georgia Fowler was cast, along with model Megan Blake Irwin to showcase the new collection of tiled prints and rich lace and a new season colour-way in reds and blues with pastel yellow, white, lilac, soft pinks and champagne undertones. GRAZIA was on-set to catch up with the girl at that fruit stand.
GRAZIA: What are your favourite pieces from the collection you’re shooting today?
GEORGIA: “So far I loved the first dress we shot with the split up the leg, it had a beautiful pattern and a cut-out and looked really nice on. It was easy but still sexy.”
You’ve worked with major brands like Chanel, Balenciaga and Victoria’s Secret. What drew you to Kookai and why did you want to shoot with them?
“I love that it is an Australian brand so it feels close to home. It’s accessible for everyone which is really nice and its still got all the high-end design aspects. It’s a great brand and I’m really happy to be affiliated with them.”
Georgia’s favourite look from the shoot. Credit: Emily Abay
Highlight of the shoot?
“I love that I get to come home for it! And that I can be shooting with people I’ve worked with before, it’s fun when you’re on set with people you know. It’s great energy, all the jobs in Australia are usually great energy. I’m super happy to get back and to be shooting at a location like this! It’s gorgeous!”
How do you get in shape prior to a shoot?
“I can’t really get into shape prior to a particular shoot, I kind of have to stay in shape all the time. I love food, so I have to exercise a lot. But I love doing that, I grew up playing lots of sport so I try and get the gym whenever I can, which is difficult with travel. But I’ll travel with a skipping rope sometimes, or I go for walks and try and eat healthily.”
Do you have any tips for staying fit, toned and healthy whilst you’re on the go?
“Sometimes I’ll put my gym gear at the end of my bed and you’ve just got to get up and put your clothes on straight away and do it! Don’t think too much about it, go to the hotel gym, even if it’s for only 20 minutes, and you’ll feel so much better from just getting your heart rate up. There are some fabulous Nike Training apps that you can do on your phone as well which I’ve done in my hotel room. What I do if I’m jet-lagged, or I know I’m going to be tired, is just sign up to classes online and because you’ve paid for it, you feel obliged to go and can’t get out of it! Take a skipping rope and some resistance bands everywhere too. Something is better than nothing.”
Credit: Emily Abay
You got your international break on the Chanel runway. Do you remember what is was like taking your first steps?
“I actually don’t remember it at all, it was such a blur, I was so nervous! I remember getting off the stage and I was talking to Joan Smalls and I was like, ‘Don’t you just get off and then you realise, what did I even do with my face the whole time?’ and she was like, ‘Mmm no, I don’t’. So I was just so nervous, it was all a blur! But it was so exciting! We did it in Versailles and it was beautiful and there were fabulous people watching. It was a really special moment for me.”
You do a great job at transporting your Instagram followers to beautiful little nooks of cities you travel to. What’s your tip for taking a great Instagram shot?
“I take a lot of photos, so I guess it’s just editing out the crap that I also take. But a good filter and I guess when you’re going to beautiful places and locations, there’s a lot around you that inspires you too. So you kind of just look at what’s beautiful in the city and what best captures where you are and what you’re doing at that point in time.”
Credit: Emily Abay
What was your experience with the late Bill Cunningham?
“It’s so sad, he was such an angel and always had such an infectious smile on him. He’s just shot me at a few events and a few years ago he came up to me and said ‘Oh don’t you look exquisite’ and snapped me. Then rode off on his bicycle and I thought it was so touching. I’m not really star-struck around anyone, but I was star-struck in his presence. He is really respected and his documentary is fabulous. If you haven’t seen it, you should all watch it!”
What was one of your favourite things about Cannes film festival this year?
“It was so exciting, it was a whole other world, really. Getting dressed up like that was pretty fun and I got to do it with my girlfriends. We got to go on beautiful boats and it’s a little bizarre but it’s such a beautiful place and we had a lot of fun!”
Credit: Emily Abay
There were rumours that came out of your time in Cannes. As you sign onto bigger campaigns and make a bigger name for yourself, how do you deal with tabloid attention?
“I always try and be discrete. It affects me because it can affect your relationship with people and often it’s untrue. So it can be negative and have an impact. It’s all rubbish really, so you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt because someone is going to write something about everyone at some point in time and it all passes. Ultimately the people that know you, know what you’re about and what you’re like and it doesn’t really matter what some stranger writes. And you just hope people don’t believe everything they read, really.”
Tell us your top three hang out spots in New York
“Go to Mulberry Street. You’ll basically find any Aussie there and if you’re lonely go to Ruby’s for a coffee and you’ll find a friend pretty quickly. I love going for walks along the West Side highline, it’s not quite the beach but it’s nice to see a body of water. And I could just roam around the West Village forever, it’s gorgeous.”
Credit: Emily Abay
Credit: Emily Abay
Credit: Emily Abay
Brand: Kookai
Collection: SS1617 Cruise
Location: Halcyon House
Talent: Megan Blake Irwin & Georgia Fowler
Photographer: Emily Abay
H&MU: Max May
