MISSION TO MERCURY

Only available in selected Swatch Stores

MISSION TO THE SUN

Only available in selected Swatch Stores

S HOT ON LOC ATION I N TR I ES TE, I TA LY.

L U X E L E AT H E R T R AV E L G O O D S F O R T H E E V E R Y D AY WA N D E R E R

W A N D E R E R S T R AV E L C O . C O M

S H OT O N LO C AT I O N I N M E R A N O , I TA LY.

Fendi top, fendi.com;
Iordanes Spyridon Gogos
x Akira Isogawa skirt,
iordanesspyridon
gogos.com.

ON THE COVER

Chloé wears Romance Was
Born x Paul Yore gown,
romancewasborn.com;
Yousef Akbar stocking shoes,
yousefakbar.com.
Photography by Simon Eeles/
Art Box Black. Fashion direction
by Naomi Smith. Styled by
Jordan Boorman. Hair by Diane
Gorgievski/The Artist Group.
Makeup by Linda Jefferyes/The
Artist Group. Production by
Robyn Fay-Perkins.

FA S H I O N

146

A LL N I G HT L O N G
Glimmering makeup
looks designed to last
long past midnight.

29

TRENDING NOW
Your guide to soft dressing

36

THE GET
Watches worthy of your wrist

37

THE PIECE
Tiffany and Co.’s ode to the ocean

38

DESIGNER DOSSIER
Crafting Cartier’s Grain de Café

40

THE BUY
The making of a Celine icon

42

SPOTLIGHT ON
Omega fuses form and function

44

CL A SS AC TION
Quiet luxury jewellery staples

108

FRONT & CENTRE
Georgina Burke showcases the
season’s latest collections

116

G A R D E N PA R T Y
Chanel’s autumn/winter collection

126

N E W N O S TA LG I A
A lesson in layering with Gucci

134

101 I D E A S
Make a statement

140

SHOPPING
The colour special

B E AU T Y
146

INTO THE NIGHT
Evening-inspired makeup looks

154

MY SALON SUCCESS
We pick the brains of the
beauty industry’s top names

158

H A I R R E PA I R E R S
Hair heroes to the rescue

160

HOT TO OLS
The best styling devices in town

161

B E AU T Y TA L K
With Bella Hadid

162

SPOTLIGHT ON
Dior Prestige’s Le Nectar Premier

164

THE EDIT
Beauty news

166

THE FOUNDER
Terry de Gunzburg’s cult faves

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMON EELES; KELLY GEDDES; EVE WILSON.

LIFESTYLE
172

INTERIORS
At home with Lucy Fenton

176

T R AV E L
The buzziest new beach clubs

180

THE EDIT
Lifestyle news

172
S T Y LE S E T
Take an interiors note
out of Lucy Fenton’s
little black book.

176

I N TH E C LU B
Dip your toes into the
best of barefoot luxury.

Astonishing orange

Nicky Briger
EDITOR
Deputy editor MELISSA GAUDRON
ART & PHOTOS
Creative director JUANITA FIELD
Art director LESLEY JHOTY
Designer NATASHA BARISA
Photo director ROBYN FAY-PERKINS
FASHION
Fashion director NAOMI SMITH
Junior fashion editor JORDAN BOORMAN
Market editor EMILY GITTANY
BEAUTY
Beauty director SALLY HUNWICK
FEATURES
Features editor BREE PLAYER
Fashion features and lifestyle editor SAMANTHA STEWART
Features writer HARRIET SIM
Copy director DANIEL MOORE
Senior copy editor HILARY BOARD
Editorial coordinator/junior writer FRANCESCA HARTLEY
DIGITAL
Digital managing editor ALEXANDRA BRUCE-SMITH
Senior writers CASSANDRA GREEN, REBECCA MITCHELL
Writers KIRSTY THATCHER, TENEAL ZUVELA
Shopping editor MADDISON HOCKEY
ADVERTISING
National brand manager MELANIE SAVVIDIS
Sales director NSW, Vic, SA, WA KAREN HOLMES
Head of Qld sales JUDY TAYLOR
Implementation executive SERENA COX

CHIC
BA I T

MARKETING
Marketing director LOUISE CANKETT
Senior marketing manager JESS TAYLOR
Research director NATALIE BETTINI
Junior subscriptions campaign manager ANJALI ISRANI

Some styles are forever,
and Louis Vuitton’s
newest version of the
ladylike slingback,
the Shake,
is pure class.

ARE MEDIA
Chief executive officer JANE HUXLEY
D irector of content and commercial AGNIESZKA HATTON
Sales director ANDREW COOK
Finance business manager MELISSA TANUDJAJA

Printed by IVE, 81 Derby St, Silverwater, NSW 2128. Distributed nationally by Are Direct, 31 Heathcote Road, Moorebank, NSW 2170. Published 12 times a year.
Trademark “marie claire” owned and registered in Australia and New Zealand by Marie Claire Album, a French Société that has its registered office in Paris, France.
Published under agreement by Are Media Pty Limited, ABN 18 053 273 546, 54 Park Street, Sydney. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in whole or part without prior written permission. No responsibility taken for unsolicited material. Use of trademark is strictly prohibited.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEVAK BABAKHANI. STYLING BY JORDAN BOORMAN.

Louis Vuitton
shoes, $1840,
au.louisvuitton.com.

MARIE CLAIRE INTERNATIONAL
Executive director JEAN DE BOISDEFFRE
International deputy & finance director FÉLIX DROISSART
International brand director NICIA RODWELL
Chief content officer GALIA LOUPAN
Chief digital officer DAVID JULLIEN
International fashion & beauty chief editor FLORENCE DELADRIÈRE
Senior international brand manager CÉLINE HANANEL
International editorial coordinator MARIE BAZIN

ROMA

ED ITOR’ S LE TT E R

FAR LEFT Our
cover star, actor
Chloé Hayden,
talks candidly in
our interview,
from page 66.
LEFT The marie
claire team with
Chloé (third from
the right) at the
cover shoot.

NICKY
LOVES

I

f you’ve ever had to host or speak at an audiencepacked event, you’ll know it’s a tough gig. There’s
pressure to be entertaining, engaging, concise,
composed – oh, and not dissolve into a teary mess
in front of hundreds of people. I once nearly did
just that, and I blame this month’s cover star, Chloé
Hayden. I’d just handed the 26-year-old Heartbreak
High actor the Rising Star award at our Women
of the Year event, and she decided to give an
impromptu, impassioned speech about the pain
and pitfalls of growing up with autism and ADHD.
Chloé spoke of the relentless bullying she endured as
a kid (she attended 10 schools in eight years), and how
she’d sit by her bedroom window at night, praying
that Peter Pan and Tinkerbell would spirit her away
because “I didn’t feel like I belonged on this planet”.
Chloé felt ostracised and alone until she eventually
found the courage to speak about her experiences
online under the pseudonym Princess Aspien, and
soon amassed an army of fans across the globe.
Her words moved me: I have close family
members and friends on the spectrum and they’ve
all relayed similar heartbreaking stories, which is
why autistic people are four times more likely to
suffer from depression, and six times more likely
to attempt suicide. Thankfully, people like Chloé
are changing the way we view autism, not just via

her lovable character Quinni on Heartbreak High,
but through her empowering book Different, Not Less,
her powerful podcast series Boldly Me, and the many
speeches she delivers regularly to spread her message.
She also uses her social media channels (totalling
one million followers) to smash stereotypes, challenge
conventions, call out bad behaviour and support
“my community”. In our interview, Chloé says life
would’ve been completely different had a character
like Quinni been in the media when she was growing
up. Pop culture is hugely influential, but it needs
someone like Chloé to supercharge that power and
make it her own. Turn to page 66 for Chloé’s raw,
revealing and joyful story, as well as her spectacular
shoot featuring some of spring’s brightest looks.
Speaking of which, the September issue is always
dedicated to showcasing the new season as we slide
towards that magical time of year when layers are
shed and wardrobes require a refresh. Filled with
80-plus pages of gorgeous fashion and beauty,
this issue is designed to trigger a bold new mood.
From colour-infused pieces and pretty accessories to
elevated separates and dreamy dresses, spring’s retro,
feminine vibe is right up my alley. On my wish list? A
pair of slingback kitten heels, a slimline pencil skirt,
classic statement bag and drool-worthy jewels (there
are more than 50 pieces sprinkled throughout the
issue). Hopefully our pages, socials and site will
steer your style this spring, whatever your budget.

Nicky Briger
EDITOR

FACEBOOK FACEBOOK.COM/MARIECLAIREAU INSTAGRAM @MARIECLAIREAU
TWITTER @MARIECLAIREAU TIKTOK @MARIECLAIRE_ AU WEB MARIECLAIRE.COM.AU

24 | marieclaire.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEVAK BABAKHANI; SIMON EELES @ ART BOX BLACK. STYLING BY JORDAN BOORMAN.

Prada shoes,
$1620,
prada.com.

ALLIANCE IS POWER

NEW

SYMBIOSE

SALICYLIC ACID + PIROCTONE OLAMINE + BIFIDUS

CELLULAR ANTI-DANDRUFF HAIRCARE
LONG-TERM EFFICACY ALLIED WITH LUXURIOUS CARE

K AI L I SJ EW E L L E RY.COM . AU

TRENDING NOW

Modern
FEMININE
Delicate lace, intricate florals and gamine
knits herald a new wave of soft dressing
PHOTOGR APHED BY JEDD CO ONE Y
ST YLED BY J O R DA N BO O R M A N

Christian Dior dress,
$26,000, gloves,
$1800, and shoes,
$1890, dior.com.

marieclaire.com.au | 29

TREND IN G N OW
Bottega Veneta top,
$5510, bra, $2210, skirt,
$5860, gloves, $1670,
and shoes, $1540,
bottegaveneta.com.

1

2

3

4

8

6

5

7

30 | marieclaire.com.au

1 Camilla and Marc blazer,
$950, camillaandmarc.com.
2 Celine ring, $1100, celine.com.
3 Wanderers Travel Co bag,
$169, wandererstravelco.com.
4 Lee Mathews cardigan, $399,
leemathews.com.au. 5 Chanel
boots, $4840, 1300 242 635.
6 Saint Laurent bag, $7600, ysl.
com. 7 Tiffany & Co. necklace,
$10,800, tiffany.com.au. 8 Gucci
belt, $1155, gucci.com.

Fendi top, $1980,
skirt, $2980, and
boots, $7350, fendi.
com; Agmes earrings,
$640, agmesnyc.com.

Louis Vuitton
jacket, $9450,
top, $3900, and
skirt, $7950, au.
louisvuitton.com.

TR E N D I NG N OW

Moniq Elizabeth top,
$560, @mnqelizabeth;
Burberry pants, $3290,
au.burberry.com;
Jimmy Choo shoes,
$1350, jimmychoo.
com; Agmes earrings,
$640, agmesnyc.com.

1

2

3

4

5

7
9
1 Coach dress, $1095,
coachaustralia.com. 2 Chanel
brooch, $1940, 1300 242 635.
3 Charles & Keith shoes, $143,
charleskeith.com. 4 Helen Kaminski
hat, $325, helenkaminski.com.
5 Sportmax top, $1380, world.
sportmax.com. 6 Frankie4 shoes,
$259.95, frankie4.com. 7 Jacquemus
bag, $1290, at modaoperandi.com.
8 Meadowlark necklace, $1699,
meadowlark.com.au. 9 Celine
sunglasses, $790, celine.com.

6
8
marieclaire.com.au | 33

TREND IN G N OW

2

Christopher Esber
dress, $1695,
christopheresber.
com.au; Jimmy
Choo shoes, $1550,
jimmychoo.com;
Agmes earrings,

4

5

8

6

34 | marieclaire.com.au

7

1 Siedrés dress, $990, at moda
operandi.com. 2 Alaia bag, $1420, at
modaoperandi.com. 3 Longines watch,
$2275, longines.com. 4 Max Mara
skirt, POA, maxmara.com. 5 Claudie
Pierlot bracelet, $170, at davidjones.
com. 6 Coach shoes, approx $550,
coachaustralia.com. 7 Sandro top,
$410, sandro-paris.com. 8 Christian
Dior belt, $2950, dior.com.

HAIR BY ADAM DYER/SAUNDERS & CO. MAKEUP BY KIM PHAM. MODEL: TESS ANGEL/PRISCILLA’S.

3

Miu Miu cardigan,
$3950, and shoes,
POA, miumiu.com;
Uniqlo cardigans
(underneath), $39.90
each, uniqlo.com;
Anna Quan skirt,
$550, annaquan.
com; Agmes
earrings, $640,
agmesnyc.com.

T REND IN G N OW

1

2

3

QUALITY TIME

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 Omega, $7550, omegawatches.com. 2 Chopard, POA, chopard.com. 3 Gucci, $1850, gucci.com. 4 Christian Dior,
$8100, dior.com. 5 Chanel, $9700, 1300 242 635. 6 Longines, $6325, longines.com. 7 TAG Heuer, $4600,
tagheuer.com. 8 Cartier, $19,200, cartier.com.au. 9 Van Cleef & Arpels, $16,300, vancleefarpels.com/au.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEVAK BABAKHANI. STYLING BY JORDAN BOORMAN.

Stay punctual and stylish with a luxury wristwatch

TH E PI

EC

E

t
n
B
a
i
L
l
l
U
i
r
E
B
Highly anticipated each year, the Tiffany & Co.
Blue Book high jewellery collection dives into an
ocean of legacy, writes Samantha Stewart

I

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF TIFFANY & CO.

t’s not known exactly why French jewellery designer Jean
Schlumberger had such a passion for the ocean. Perhaps it
was because of his holiday house in Bisdary on the islands of
Guadeloupe, or the stories found in great literature. What is known
is that this affinity with the deep blue sea and its marvelous creatures
provided him with a never-ending tide of inspiration.
Schlumberger started working at Tiffany & Co. in 1956, where his surreal
marine designs – from gold mackerel with emerald eyes to sapphire-encrusted
anemones – caught the attention of many high-profile clients, including Hollywood
stars Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. This year, Tiffany’s annual Blue Book
collection of high jewellery pays tribute to the timeless designs of Schlumberger.
Titled Out of the Blue, the ethereal, luminescent collection will be launched in
two phases throughout the remainder of 2023. The first phase is the summer
collection, exploring seven aquatic themes. The Shell theme’s transformable
pendant features a detachable diamond brooch that reveals a black opal
of more than 19 carats. The Coral theme’s pieces feature exuberant
tanzanites, sapphires and yellow diamonds, while the Starfish theme’s
standout necklace (pictured here) sees starfish tangled between
black opals, aquamarines, tourmalines and diamonds.
Blue Book 2023: Out of the Blue will debut at
an exclusive high jewellery celebration at The
Landmark, the refurbished Tiffany & Co.
store on New York’s
Fifth Avenue.

marieclaire.com.au | 37

D

STATE of GRACE

GNE

ESI

S
DO SIE

R

R

A penchant for elevating the
ordinary to the extraordinary
led to Cartier’s new Grain de
Café collection, evoking Old
Hollywood glamour for the
modern woman

TR E N D I NG N OW

OPPOSITE PAGE

Brand ambassador
Elle Fanning
smoulders in
Cartier’s new Grain
de Café jewellery.
THIS PAGE, FROM
TOP More than 60

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CARTIER. WORDS BY SAMANTHA STEWART.

prototypes were
made for the
pieces; the coffee
bean motif was
launched in 1938;
and the Grain de
Café rose gold,
obsidian and
diamond ring,
$34,400, cartier.
com.au.

A

simple coffee bean was all it took to inspire
the French high jewellery maison to design
some of the most recognisable pieces of the
20th century. In 1938, Jeanne Toussaint,
Cartier’s first female creative director
(and a regular patron of Paris’ thriving cafe culture),
unveiled the now-legendary Grain de Café collection
of exquisite pendants, earrings, rings and brooches.
A symbol of creative freedom, nature and carefree
elegance, the pieces became global jewellery icons in
the 1950s, when they were gifted by the maison to
Hollywood starlet Grace Kelly when she married
Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Thereafter, the
newly crowned Princess Grace of Monaco was
rarely spotted without her favourite jewels.

“Grain de Café introduces
a new preciousness”
– Marie-Laure Cérède, Cartier creative director

To celebrate the revival of a collection anchored
in the house’s history, actor and Cartier global
ambassador Elle Fanning was transformed into
a modern-day Grace Kelly. American director
Alex Prager captured the glamorous vision of
the 1950s in a campaign filmed on the French
Riviera, where the playful pendants radiate
and shimmer under the sunlit French skies.
To encapsulate the brightness and light, more
than 30 craftsmen were involved in the creation
of the bejewelled flora. The result is a vibrant gold
collection set with diamonds, rubellite and
obsidian, which move with the body and where
the slightest gesture creates a precious jingle.
Discover the limited-edition creations
at your preferred Cartier boutique.

marieclaire.com.au | 39

T REND IN G N OW

Celine by Hedi
Slimane Chain
Shoulder Bag
Triomphe in
Triomphe Canvas,
$4800, celine.com.

THE

BUY

Creating a
CLASSIC

Celine by Hedi
Slimane Clutch
on Strap Tabou
in Triomphe
Canvas, $1950,
celine.com.

40 | marieclaire.com.au

HERE AND
ABOVE Celine
by Hedi Slimane
Ava Triomphe
bag in Triomphe
Canvas, $3450.

COURTESY OF CELINE. WORDS BY MELISSA GAUDRON.

S

ome bags are just meant to be
icons of their time. And Celine’s
latest Ava Triomphe shoulder bag
is making all the right moves into
classic territory. Launched as
part of the luxury French house’s winter
2023-24 collection, unveiled in June, the
body-hugging bag is a nod to both the
old and the new. The old, in terms of
the crescent-shaped aesthetic so adored
at the turn of the century, but stamped
with a modern currency courtesy of
Celine’s golden Triomphe plate on
its magnetic flap.
For lovers of French-fashion history,
the Triomphe logo (featuring intertwining
Cs) was designed in 1972, inspired by the
chains encircling Paris’ Arc de Triomphe.
It was relegated to the Celine archives for
decades before being brought back to life
by artistic director Hedi Slimane in his
debut show in 2018. Now, of course, it is
forever representative of the Celine brand.
The Ava Triomphe, which comes
with a zip closure and adjustable strap,
is available in tan or white canvas, or in
black, chestnut or tan calfskin. It’s part
of Celine’s coveted Triomphe Canvas range,
which now spans wallets, vanity cases,
backpacks, clutches, totes and box bags.
We’ll take one of each.

CELINE A/W 2021

Celine’s latest offering is
both a nod to the past and
a hope for a new tradition

S P OTL

T REND IN G N OW

IG

HT ON

INTO
THE
DEEP

tylish, seaworthy and designed for all aquatic
pursuits, the story of Omega’s preferred timepiece
for ocean exploration could pass for maritime
folklore. The story begins in 1932, when
pioneering divers wearing the Omega Marine
watch ventured down into Switzerland’s Lake Geneva,
reaching the record-breaking depth of 73 metres.
Although not all who seek a quality wristwatch have
underwater-oriented goals, a love of quality and design
unites those who desire a luxury timepiece.
Honouring Omega’s rich maritime heritage and
sophisticated craftsmanship is the Seamaster Aqua Terra, a
sleek stainless-steel wristwatch water resistant to 150 metres.
This year marks the Seamaster’s 75th anniversary, and while
it stays true to its seafaring roots, much has changed. Now
powered by Omega’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800,
the 38mm edition features a shimmering dial of summer blue
that connects with hour indicators in the shape of miniature
sailboat hulls, filled with Super-LumiNova.

42 | marieclaire.com.au

OMEGA Seamaster
Aqua Terra
38mm, $11,225,
omegawatches.com.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF OMEGA. WORDS BY SAMANTHA STEWART.

Form meets function and
heritage meets innovation
with Omega’s classic
Seamaster timepiece

T REND IN G N OW

1
2
3

5

4

15

CLASS ACTION
Elevate the everyday with these quiet luxury
staples. Buy now, wear always

6

14

7

13

8
9

12

11

1 Swarovski necklace, $380, swarovski.com. 2 Anna Rossi Jewellery earrings, $79, annarossijewellery.com. 3 Cartier brooch, POA, cartier.com.au. 4 Mimco
earrings, $89.95, mimco.com.au. 5 Pandora earrings, $129, pandora.net. 6 Roger Vivier pin, $1080, rogervivier.com. 7 Tiffany & Co. bracelet, POA,
tiffany.com.au. 8 Sarah & Sebastian ring, $1295, sarahandsebastian.com. 9 Pandora necklace, $419, and charm, $89, pandora.net. 10 ANTON Jewellery
bangle, $8500, antonjewellery.com. 11 Swarovski earrings, $329, swarovski.com. 12 Sener Besim ring, $300, senerbesim.com. 13 Anna Rossi Jewellery
earrings, $69, annarossijewellery.com. 14 Georg Jensen bracelet, $14,500, georgjensen.com. 15 Van Cleef & Arpels ring, $36,900, vancleefarpels.com/au.
44 | marieclaire.com.au

COMPILED BY JORDAN BOORMAN.

10

MADE WITH AMORE

Sustainable
Italian Elegance
Sophisticated, timeless appeal is at the core
of Tema Moda’s sustainability. Elegance and
classic, with precise silhouettes and attention
to detail, each piece is made to withstand the
test of time.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN

Our design ethos is very simple: to bring
authentic, elegant, and sustainable Italian
fashion to the world without the high price tag.
Tema Moda makes its clothes with very
high-quality sustainable fabrics and is
incredibly dedicated to every single stitch.
Each piece is hand-crafted by local Italian
artisans - it is this heritage of experts that we
are committed to supporting in our journey.

MADE WITH AMORE – AlwaysTM
For more styles and information,
visit temamoda.com.au
Marta Dress $399.00
Marta Shoulder Wrap $199.00

NEWS FE E D
WO M E N L I V I N G F E A R L E S S LY A R O U N D T H E G L O B E

ARGENTINA

SHELVING the ISSUE

Once reserved for coupon queens and doomsday preppers, stockpiling
groceries in bulk has become a cheat sheet for the cost-of-living crisis.
“Whenever I see a discount, I buy,” says Sara (pictured), from Argentina,
which has the third-highest inflation rate in the world. “I have enough
shampoo for a year and a half. As long as there is no expiration date, I just
pile up ... I’m looking for deals and discounts all the time.” Pulling back the
curtain on the crippling effects of economic turmoil, photographer Irina
Werning showcases the way money habits have shifted in her new photo
series Inflation! “It creates poverty and makes societies more unequal and
less productive,” she says. “Some call it funny money but it’s not funny at all.”

48 | marieclaire.com.au

NE W S F E E D

GLOBAL

Prized
Possession

Despite the undisputed success
of the FIFA Women’s World
Cup, achieving gender equality
still feels like a pipe dream for
women’s sport. (Want proof? The
gender pay gap in professional
golf is 83 per cent, and coverage
of women’s sport in Australia
rarely rises above 10 per cent
of total sports coverage on
any given day.) There is some
good news, though, with the
International Cricket Council
announcing in July that women’s
and men’s teams playing in its
global events will now receive
equal prize money. Howzat!

McSweeney won
the 2023 BAFTA
for Best Comedy
Actress for her role
in Derry Girls.

UK

OFF the
R ACK

Having a slew of fashion designers
lining up to dress you might sound
like a dream scenario, but for
Irish actor Siobhán McSweeney
(Derry Girls) a $US398 high-street
gown felt like the perfect fit for
the prestigious BAFTAs (British
Academy Film Awards) ceremony.
“I refused to wear anything by a
designer who would not design
for my body if it wasn’t BAFTAnominated,” said McSweeney in
a red-carpet interview. Stepping
out in a sleek red vinyl gown by
US label Fashion Brand Company,
which offers sizing up to 7XL,
the gown perfectly captured the
star’s talented body of work.

AU S TR A LIA

LEAD
the WAY
For 35 years, Petina Tieman was
unaware of her Indigenous heritage.
Today, she’s a celebrated First Nations
woman, being named a finalist in
the Indigenous Businesswoman of
the Year category at the esteemed
Supplier Diversity Awards for 2023
(which celebrates the achievements of
First Nations businesses). Overcoming
trauma and abuse during her early
life, Tieman now runs a number of
business workshops for women from
disadvantaged backgrounds, helping
them transform their hobbies into
profitable micro-businesses.
LEFT Petina Tieman (far left) with Sarah the
Duchess of York (centre) and Dr Tererai Trent
at the 2023 Women Changing The World
Awards Global Summit in London, in April.

USA

Curtain Calling
After an LGBTQ storyline caused a high
school in Indiana to cancel its student
production (a queer retelling of Robin Hood),
a group of theatre teens decided the show
must always go on. Relocating the play to an
outdoor theatre, the students performed to a
crowd of about 1500 people, including
bulletproof-vest-clad security guards.

50 | marieclaire.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY BY IRINA WERNING; GETTY IMAGES. WORDS BY HARRIET SIM.

The play, titled
Marian, or The True
Tale of Robin Hood,
is a gender-bending
take on the heroic
outlaw story.

NE W S F E E D

“Let’s redirect
our rage away from
the mirror and
towards ageism”

W E N E E D T O TA L K A B O U T. . .

AGEING
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK LEARY. AS TOLD TO HARRIET SIM.

Melissa Doyle opens up about the power of
growing older and why she’s not fazed by fine lines

W

e start ageing from
the minute we are
born. The more time
we have, the more we
learn, celebrate, love
and experience. That’s what makes
ageing so glorious. So why do we
fear it so much?
Ageism has such an insidious
impact on the lives of older women.
Just look at the multibillion-dollar
anti-ageing industry that sells us the
idea that ageing is something to hide
or rectify, and the fact that women

over 55 are the fastest growing cohort
of homeless people in Australia.
Thankfully, the chorus of those
who are pro-ageing is getting louder.
We are seeing more and more women,
from model Paulina Porizkova to actor
Naomi Watts, using their platforms
to decry the anti-ageing narrative.
As a society, it’s important that
we identify, protect and create more
opportunities for women to age into
the role of elders in our communities,
families, workplaces and government
institutions, so that we ensure women

aren’t unfairly aged out of these spaces.
To do this, we need to shift our rage
towards the right things.
If the external changes that ageing
brings are something you want to do
something about, go right ahead. Let
her among us who has never looked
in the mirror and thought “Wait a
second” cast the first stone. But let’s
not get bogged down in the “war” on
wrinkles and grey hair. That’s where
the people and institutions that profit
off anti-ageing want us to focus and
spend our time and resources.
Instead, let’s redirect our rage
away from the mirror and towards
the wage gap, towards ageism in the
workplace and towards the persistent
blind spots in medical research when
it comes to women’s health. Nobody
is coming to save us ladies, we have
to do it ourselves.
Whether or not a woman has a
safe, stable and supported older life
is directly related to whether she
was safe, stable and supported in
her younger life. There are actions
we can take when we’re younger to
change this trajectory: from learning
financial literacy to knowing your
rights in the workplace.
If you’re a late bloomer to all this
ageism nonsense ... you’re not too old
and it’s not too late for you to impact
the quality of your ageing experience.
The first step is to take a deep breath
and initiate the hard, uncomfortable
conversations – from retirement to
mortality, relationships to intimacy,
finances to housing security – that
must be had if we’re going to make
lasting positive changes, not just for
ourselves but for generations to come.
How to Age Against the Machine
by Melissa Doyle and Naima Brown
(Hardie Grant, $45) is out now.

marieclaire.com.au | 51

INNOVATION
Breton seaweed and
Reishi mushroom

THE SUPER-POWERS OF ADAPTOGENS
AS A SOURCE OF HYDRATION

SOURCE

Tailor-made hydration that lasts 48 to 72 hours
and improve skin’s resistance to daily environmental stress.

Adaptogen
rehydrating serum
90% quenches thirsty skin(1)

Adaptogen
moisturising cream
91% the skin is plumped
and radiant(2)

Adaptogen
moisturising gel
100% provides a feeling

Adaptogen
spray moisturiser
91% provides a feeling
of freshness instantly(4)

of freshness(3)

Adaptogen
moisturising eye stick
100% eyes look
bright and fresh(3)

Combine this routine
treatment with
the Gym Beauté®

(1) Use test carried out on 21 volunteers. Applied t wice a day for 4 weeks. % of volunteers who noticed the ef fect.
(2) Use test carried out on 23 volunteers. Applied t wice a day for 4 weeks. % of volunteers who noticed the ef fect within 24 hours.
(3) Use test carried out on 20 volunteers. Applied t wice a day for 4 weeks. % of volunteers who noticed the ef fect.
(4) Use test carried out on 22 volunteers. Applied once a day for 4 weeks. % of volunteers who noticed the ef fect.

R EPO RTAGE

FASHION
Quiet luxury may be the trend du jour, but it took a back
seat during the recent haute couture shows in Paris, where
opulence and high drama swept the runways

STÉPHANE
ROLLA ND
Paying homage to the late
opera soprano Maria Callas,
Stéphane Rolland staged a
theatrical couture show in
Paris’ extravagant Opéra
Garnier. Models floated up
the marble staircase and
walked through the theatre
(where guests were seated) to
a soundtrack of Callas singing.
The designer was inspired by
photographs of Callas during
the ’60s and said, “Those
images really show what was
the glam and the elegance in
Paris at that moment.”

RE PORTAGE

I R I S VA N
HERPEN
The Dutch designer
looked to all things
aquatic – and the
possibility of humans
inhabiting the ocean
– when seeking
inspiration for her
fantastical creations.
“I come from
the Netherlands,
where we are below
sea level,” said van
Herpen backstage.

56 | marieclaire.com.au

S C H I A PA R E L L I
Following the controversy
of the faux taxidermy at
Schiaparelli’s spring/summer
couture show in January, the
creative director of the house,
Daniel Roseberry, decided
to try a new tack. “I wanted
this season to feel much more
free, spontaneous, painterly,”
he said. “The idea of the last
collection was really to suck
the air out of the room. It’s
what happened. I think the
idea [for autumn/winter]
was to really try to keep
the focus on the collection
and go deeper and deeper
into the techniques we
wanted to show.”

GIORGIO AR MA NI
Giorgio Armani’s couture show, a
week before the famed designer’s
89th birthday, saw a resplendent
display of ruby-red roses. Exquisite
sequined blooms glistened on
garments, which managed to
maintain the perfect measures of
glamour and restraint the legendary
house has built its legacy on.

R E P ORTAG E

CHRISTIA N DIOR
While creative director Maria
Grazia Chiuri’s couture
show for Christian Dior was a
masterclass in restraint, it was
also a breathtaking collection
of minimalist gowns inspired by
Greek and Roman antiquity. The
pleated dresses were reminiscent
of Doric columns, while nymphlike gowns paid homage to the
Greek and Roman goddesses.

FENDI
For Fendi’s couture collection,
creative director Kim Jones
took an unusual approach.
“I started with looking at
Delfina Delettrez’s Fendi high
jewellery, which she’s done
for the first time,” he said.
Jones’ resulting palette flowed
“in almost an organic way,
with colours and embroideries
based on the hues of natural
stones, rubies and sapphires”.

marieclaire.com.au | 59

RE PORTAGE

60 | marieclaire.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIEN DIRAND; IMAXTREE/SNAPPER IMAGES; COURTESY OF CHANEL AND SCHIAPARELLI. WORDS BY BREE PLAYER.

CHANEL
Creative director Virginie Viard’s
show encapsulated what it
means to be a Parisienne. Models
– including longtime Chanel
muse Caroline de Maigret (top
left) – strolled along the Seine
River in chiffon gowns paired
with Mary Janes, while carting
flowers in woven baskets.

VIKTOR
& ROLF
Following their topsy-turvy
spring/summer couture
collection earlier this year,
Viktor Horsting and Rolf
Snoeren continued their
ironic and surrealist take
on fashion. Marking the
label’s 30th anniversary,
the design duo said, “We
wanted the celebration to
be about the tiniest garment
there is: the bathing suit.”

SHE MADE
ME DO IT

It’s considered the ultimate act of domestic violence,
but the horrific crime of “spouse revenge filicide” –
where a parent kills their own children to get back
at their former partner – is on the rise in Australia

Models pictured
above are in no way
related to this story.

C RI M E

Hannah Clarke
and her children,
Laianah, 4, Aaliyah,
6, and Trey, 3.

hen Ingrid
Poulson ended her
marriage to her
abusive husband,
Phitak Kongsom,
in 2003, he left a menacing note on her
car threatening to kill himself and take
her with him.When it became clear she
would not be returning to their home
in Sydney, he sent her a letter warning
he was going to cause her “big hurt”.
In the end, he inflicted a
punishment more shocking than
her murder or his own death. He
killed their two children instead.
“Nothing tops the crime of
retaliatory filicide,” says Melbourne
criminologist Judy Wright. “For the
surviving parent, living with the guilt
that her children were killed to pay her
back for ending a relationship ... is the
most agonising punishment a man
can possibly inflict on a woman.”
Tragically, while overall
homicides in Australia appear to be
on the decline, filicides are not. In
2019, a study of 238 child murders
in Australia from 2000–2012 showed
that when children died in domestic
murders, 18 per cent were killed by a
biological parent or step-parent – and
the perpetrators were generally men.
Less than a third of revenge killers
were the children’s biological mothers.
According to the study by
the Monash-Deakin Universities’
Filicide Research Hub, while domestic
murders had declined in Australia,
the filicide rate remained higher than
in the UK and Canada. And where a
motive had been established for the
crime, a major contributing factor
was a recent marital breakdown.
An inquest into the 2020 deaths
of newly separated Hannah Clarke
and her three children backed this up,
reinforcing the study’s findings that
it’s not only women who are in danger
when domestic violence turns deadly.
Queensland Deputy State Coroner
Jane Bentley was told that in the two
years since Rowan Baxter had poured
petrol over Clarke and his children

ABOVE The deaths of
Hannah and her children
in Brisbane in 2020 led
to an outpouring of grief.

“Retaliatory filicide
is the most agonising
punishment a man
can possibly inflict
on a woman”
¸Xg^b^cdad\^hiójYnMg^\]i
and burnt them to death, murders by
dousing had doubled, and more violent
offenders were using the same threat
to instil terror into abused families.
The case also showed that while
separation is known to be the most
dangerous time for a woman, it is
also a dangerous time for her children,
particularly when there are disputes
about access. Tragically, unlike other
child homicides, the young victims of
retaliatory murders are never the true
targets of an aggrieved, enraged father.
The children are collateral damage in
a crime where the real target is the
surviving mother.

Today, as Queensland prepares to
become the first state to criminalise
coercive control (an insidious form
of family violence) we have yet to find
a solution for crimes like these. But
some positive inroads are being made.
The Clarke family’s foundation, Small
Steps 4 Hannah, has been tackling the
issues at the roots, teaching kids in
schools about respectful behaviours
and delivering programs to men’s
groups about domestic violence and
coercive control. It is also funding the
building of accommodation for women
escaping family violence, while other
charities (such as Hearts of Purple
and Friends with Dignity) have helped
provide crisis accommodation. Two
designated domestic violence police
stations have also opened in Brisbane.
But there’s a long way to go. At a
time when one Australian woman dies
every week at the hands of an intimate
or former spouse, and another 10 are
hospitalised each day with injuries
from domestic violence, it seems
the lessons are not being learnt.

marieclaire.com.au | 63

FROM LEFT Dionne Dalton, pictured
10 weeks after the murder of her
children, at a campaign to protect
children against domestic violence.
Michelle
Steck with
her daughter
Kelly.

MICHELLE STECK

D I O N N E D A LT O N
To his Brisbane electorate, One
Nation candidate Jayson Dalton, 32,
was a devoted family man whose
political agenda included fighting
family violence. But behind closed
doors, Dalton was an unpredictable
bully who routinely beat and
terrorised his wife, Dionne, leaving
bruises no-one could see.
When the mother of two finally
fled her violent four-year marriage
in 2004, she suffered a breakdown
and was hospitalised with the sort
of PTSD doctors typically observe
in soldiers returning from combat.
When Dalton heard his wife was
in hospital, he demanded custody
of Jessie, 17 months, and Patrick,
12 weeks, confident this would force
Dionne’s return to the marital home.
He was given temporary custody
but lost his bid for full-time care
and was livid that he would now see
them only on alternate weekends.
Dionne spent the weekend at
her mother’s home on the Gold
Coast, preparing for the kids’ return,
but Dalton was making plans of his
own. In the early hours of April 25,
2004, Dalton sedated his children
and suffocated them with plastic
bags. He adorned Jessie in her
mother’s wedding ring and other
special jewellery, and posed her
beside her baby brother on the
marital bed, writing the times of
their deaths on the wall. Later,

64 | marieclaire.com.au

he lay between his lifeless children
and suffocated himself too.
When Dalton failed to return
the children, Dionne called police,
and her stepfather drove her to her
former home. “From the moment I
saw the blue flashing lights outside
my house I knew,” says Dionne,
whose collapse when she heard the
news was captured by TV cameras.
Dalton had spent the weekend
searching online for information on
suicide. “At 8.30 that morning, he
had emailed me a goodbye letter
before calling his father to say he
and the children were about to
take a long sleep,” she reveals.
The funerals passed in a blur as
Dionne braced herself for a Mother’s
Day without her babies. “It was so
unreal – I just felt completely
empty,” she says.
In July, determined her children’s
lives had to count for something, she
joined Hetty Johnston’s campaign to
give children a voice in parliament,
and later worked with domestic
violence groups in Queensland.
Today, Dionne is happily married
to Glenn Fehring, and a mother to
teenagers Sean and Melissa. “I’m
blessed to have found happiness
again,” she says. “But the pain and
the aching loss never goes away.
It never leaves you.”

On New Year’s Day 1993, Perth
woman Michelle Steck, 24, packed
her bags and left her abusive four-year
relationship with her violent partner’s
words ringing in her ears. “You’re
going to pay for your actions for a
very long time,” spat Kevin East, 34.
After she left with her children –
Kelly, almost three, and Wesley, seven
months – the menacing continued
as East turned up at her new home
threatening to “get” her. “When he
discovered I was seeing someone else,
he wrapped himself in Glad Wrap and
turned up on my doorstep threatening
to stab himself,” she says.

“The police felt
sorry for him and
even let him use my
shower before
arresting him”
– mother Michelle Steck
On the pretext of helping with
some rewiring, the electronics expert
secreted listening devices in Michelle’s
new house in Collie, WA, bugging her
phone so he could spy on her as he had
when they were together. Later, he hid
in her roof to monitor her more closely.
“I returned home one day and
heard my toilet flushing,” explains
Michelle, who slipped out and called
police. “They felt sorry for him and
even let him use my shower before
arresting him.” He was released
without charge, so Michelle took out
a restraining order, but East continued
to watch her from the bush block
across the road.
In November, Kelly returned from
a visit saying that her father had put
a cushion over her face while she ate
a biscuit. Michelle’s lawyer said the
word of a three-year-old would not be

C RI M E

FROM BELOW Jack and Jennifer Edwards
had everything to live for, and their mother,
Olga, tried desperately to protect them.

Family lived in fear
of gun-owning father

The Edwards’ Normanhurst home; financial adviser John Edwards;
right, estranged wife Olga Edwards. Main photo: Wolter Peeters

Olga Edwards and her two children,
Jack, 15, and Jennifer, 13, fled their
Normanhurst home two years ago,
escaping a life of fear and violence. Left
enraged and embittered, John Edwards
used his own guns to kill their children on
Thursday. He returned to the family home
and took his own life. Lucy Cormack and
Sally Rawsthorne report. NEWS PAGE 8

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIAM KIDSTON/NEWSPIX; COURTESY OF MICHELLE STECK; JAMIE HANSON/NEWSPIX; FAIRFAX; NEWSPIX; GETTY IMAGES.

O L G A E D WA R D S

considered reliable. “So we have to wait
until he does something?” she yelled.
On Sunday, December 12, 1993,
Michelle’s worst fears were realised
when East failed to return her
daughter. In a heated phone exchange,
she told him police were at her house
waiting for him. East bolted. A
nationwide manhunt began, and
Michelle spent an agonising Christmas
praying for her daughter’s safe return.
In fact, Kelly had been taken on
a 200km drive into the bush near
Beverley, WA. At 3.15am the day after
her abduction, East ran a hose from
the exhaust into the car, killing Kelly
and himself. Their bodies weren’t
discovered until January 10. “He’d
hidden the car to make it harder to
find them, and [wrote] a death diary
recording Kelly’s final moments to
add to my suffering,” says Michelle.
“The police advised me not to read it.”
The day before he fled, East had
posted Michelle recordings of the
songs “My Michelle” and “Sweet
Child O’ Mine” both by Guns N’ Roses,
evidence of his proprietorial attitude.
Today, Michelle has a new life
with her long-term partner, a former
political rival she met during her time
in local politics, where she lobbied for
change and became a campaigner
in the war on family violence. “The
tragedy is that the red flags were
always there,” she says, “and even
when I waved them in people’s faces,
nobody listened until it was too late.”
If this story raises concerns, please
call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the domestic
violence hotline on 1800 737 732.

On July 5, 2018, retired financial planner John Edwards parked his car near
Sydney’s Pennant Hills train station and waited for his daughter. Unlike other
parents who waited with engines idling, ready to drive their children home after
the afternoon school commute, Edwards was not there to give his daughter a
lift. Armed with a Glock semi-automatic pistol and at least two 10-round
magazines of ammunition, Edwards, 68, was on a countdown to murder.
Two years earlier, Edwards’ Russian-born wife, Olga, 35, had fled the
marital home with their children – Jack ,15, and Jennifer 13 – to escape the
terrifying regime of abuse and violence that had been a disturbing theme
in five of his six previous marriages.
Facing yet another divorce, Edwards tracked his frightened family down.
Furious, he bombarded his estranged wife with abusive phone calls and
stalked her and the children, who were traumatised by his violence.
When Olga reported his past violence and stalking to the police,
he’d already got in first, warning them she might make false allegations
against him to bolster her claim for custody. Police failed to properly
record or follow up her allegations of violence with the children.
In 2017, with the battle for custody before the courts, Edwards applied for
multiple gun permits and joined a local gun club. Events ramped up in April
2018, when he lost his bid for shared custody. He bought two high-powered
handguns to add to his cache of firearms and his focus shifted to his children.
But first he had to find them.
Whether he hired a private detective or stalked Jennifer himself is not clear,
but by July he knew her after-school movements. He watched his unsuspecting
daughter board a bus and followed her home to West Pennant Hills.
Screeching behind her onto the driveway, Edwards chased her into the
house, where she fled to her brother’s room and the terrified siblings tried
to hide under Jack’s desk. Edwards followed, opening fire on his cowering
children, who died from multiple gunshots.
By the time their solicitor mother arrived home at 6pm, her house was a
crime scene, and police were waiting with the shattering news that her children
were dead. “My husband is responsible for this,” she told them, unaware the
killer lay dead in her former marital home after shooting himself. At the suicide
scene, police found the murder weapon, copies of Jennifer’s train timetables
and a T-shirt proclaiming, “Best Dad in the World.” The inquest heard that
Edwards was a bully feared by his 10 children and six of his seven ex-wives.
In her findings, handed down in 2021, NSW State Coroner Teresa
O’Sullivan found that systemic failures by police, the Family Court and the
NSW Firearms Registry had all contributed to the deaths of Jack and Jennifer
Edwards. The Firearms Registry failed to perform background checks for
a gun licence, the NSW Police failed to investigate Olga’s complaints of
stalking and violence, and the Family Court failed to protect the children.
Her recommendations included mandatory DV training for police and registry
staff and better sharing of information between them and the Family Court.
Tragically, it was too little too late for Olga Edwards, who was so bereft by
her loss that she took her own life before the inquest was concluded.
This feature article is an edited extract from Look What You Made Me Do:
Fathers Who Kill, by Megan Norris (Big Sky Publishing, $32.99).

I NTE RV I EW

On a
high

Chloé Hayden on
healing, Heartbreak
High and finding her
happily ever after
WORDS BY ADRIENNE TAM
PHOTOGRAPHED BY SIMON EELES

Iordanes Spyridon
Gogos x Akira Isogawa
x Clair Helen dress,
iordanesspyridongogos.
com; Christian Dior
boots, dior.com;
Swarovski ring,
swarovski.com.

IN TERVI EW

“Being autistic
meant I had to
mask my whole life
in order to survive,
so I had to perform”

Iordanes Spyridon
Gogos x Akira Isogawa
x Clair Helen dress,
iordanesspyridongogos.
com; Yousef Akbar
stocking shoes, yousef
akbar.com; Swarovski
ring, swarovski.com.
OPPOSITE PAGE Comme
des Garçons top, at parlourx.
com; Michael Lo Sordo
top (underneath) and skirt,
michaellosordo.com; Prada
shoes, at parlourx.com.

rowing up, Chloé
Hayden didn’t see
anyone like her on
screen. Bullied and
ostracised by her
school peers for
being “different”, she was diagnosed with autism at
the age of 13 and switched to home education after
attending 10 schools in eight years. She spent many
of her teen years blogging about her experience with
autism under the pseudonym Princess Aspien and,
to her surprise, thousands of people reached out in
response, thanking her for making them feel that
they weren’t alone.
Today, the 26-year-old is once again paving
the way for neurodivergent people all over the world
with her Logie-award nominated portrayal of autistic
character Quinni in Netflix’s Heartbreak High series
reboot. The hit Australian show, which is shooting its
second season, was lauded globally for its grittiness as
well as its diversity and truthful representation. While
previous depictions of autistic characters were mainly
played stereotypically by neurotypical men, Hayden’s
rendering is nuanced and authentic.
As well as starring in Heartbreak High, the actor
is the host of the new podcast Boldly Me, where she
interviews high-profile personalities about being their
true, bold selves. Hayden is also the author of last year’s
release Different, Not Less: A neurodivergent’s guide to
embracing your true self and finding your happily ever
after, which is a practical guide as well as a personal –
and at times heartbreaking – account of what she went
through as a child. In it, she tells of finding notes in her
school locker telling her to kill herself. Once, she had a
sleepover party and gave BFF necklaces to the girls who
attended, only to discover they’d thrown them in the bin
the next day, saying, “We’d never be friends with you.”
Teachers told her she needed to “grow up” and gave her
detention when she cried about not understanding
her lessons.
Fast-forward to now and Hayden’s life is a far
cry from those dark days. In December last year, she
and partner Dylan Rohan got engaged, with the star
sharing the happy news on her social media accounts,
which total about 1 million fans across TikTok and
Instagram. The couple have just bought their first
home together.
“Marriage means I get to spend forever with my
best friend,” Hayden tells marie claire on the set of
her cover shoot. Rohan, who is listening in, adds,
“And build a future together.” They smile adoringly
at each other.
Here, the winner of marie claire’s Rising Star
accolade at our 2022 Women of the Year awards
reflects on what life might have been like had autism
been represented more on screen when she was young,
and why she’ll always speak her mind and stand up
for her community.

Romance Was Born x Paul Yore gown, romancewasborn.com;
Yousef Akbar stocking shoes, yousefakbar.com.

I NT E RV I E W

How did it feel to be nominated for the 2023 Most
Popular New Talent Logie for your role as Quinni
in Heartbreak High? I remember when I first got
the role of Quinni in Heartbreak, me and Mum were
joking about the idea of attending the Logies one day.
Mum said to me, “Oh my God, now you’re on Netflix,
imagine that one day you get to go to the Logies!”
And I was like, “Oh my God, that’s crazy! That would
never happen. Imagine that.” We weren’t even pipedreaming a nomination. We were pipe-dreaming
just attending. So to be nominated in two categories
[Heartbreak High was also up for Most Popular
Drama Series] in my first year isn’t anything we
ever dreamed would’ve happened.
You’re obviously a talented actor. Was acting
always on the cards for you? I’ve always wanted
to be a performer. When I was a kid, I used to force
my siblings to do plays with me and I’d direct them.
I’d make my sister play Barbie with me but I was
like, “Here’s your script.” I was always putting on
performances and writing songs [from] age four,
which were not good, but I knew I loved performing.
Being autistic meant I had to mask my whole life in
order to survive, so I had to perform. When I learnt
that performing could be my job, I was like, “Well,
I’m doing this shit for free, so I
might as well get paid for it!” But
as soon as I left the house, I was
nonverbal. I couldn’t speak to
anyone. It wasn’t really an option
for me. My dad would joke that if
I wanted to be a performer, I’d have
to mime. But performing was my
biggest dream in the entire world.
So despite the fact I couldn’t even
walk in a straight line, let alone dance, and that I
froze up whenever I was asked to sing or speak in
front of people, my parents were like, “Well, this is
her dream, so we’re gonna do whatever it takes to get
there.” Every time I got kicked out of a dance class
for being too bad, my mum would say, “That’s fine,
we’ll find you another one.” We used to live in this
tiny little town in the bottom of Victoria and my dad
would drive me eight hours every week just to go to
an acting class. My dad is the best person in the
whole world, I love him so much. When I was like,
“I want to be a motivational speaker,” he was like,
“OK, well, you’re going to speak to me first.” So every
single night, my mum and dad would sit there and
I’d stand up and read monologues to them. Despite
all odds, they made sure I was able to get to where
I wanted to be. I owe everything to them.
What was your reaction when you were told
you had the role of Quinni? When I got the role,
I was doing a motivational talk in Albury-Wodonga.
At nine o’clock at night, I had 30 missed calls from
my agent. I got off stage at halftime intermission and
my PA was like, “Daniel’s calling you, I don’t know
what’s happening.” And I was like, “That’s so weird.
It’s nine o’clock on a Friday night. What’s he doing
calling me?” So I step outside and I call him back
and he doesn’t even say hello. The first thing he says
to me is, “Are you sitting down?” And as soon as he

said those words, I didn’t even ask what else, I just
broke down, sobbing my heart out. There was a
security guy watching me, going, “What do I do with
her?” I was on the ground in an alleyway, crying my
eyes out. And then I had to go back in and finish the
show, still bawling my eyes out. But I couldn’t tell
anyone for almost a year because we had to keep it
a secret until a couple months after we started
shooting. So I went back in and people were like,
“Oh my God, are you OK?” And I was like, “Yeah,
I’m just really happy to be here!”
When you were shooting the first season, did you
have any idea just how loved this show would
become? Not even close. I knew that it was special
because when I got the casting brief for Quinni, she
was very boldly depicted as a neurodivergent person.
And I’ve never seen that before. It’s [usually] like,
this person is “quirky” or this person is “XY”. We
never actually see “this person is definitively neurodivergent”. So I knew it was going to be special, but I
didn’t realise how many other people would think it
was special. We had a couple of people who’ve been in
the industry for a long time say to us, “Are you guys
prepared for when the show blows up?” and all of us
were like, “That’s not gonna happen. It’s Australia,
that sort of stuff doesn’t happen to
Australians.” And then the day after
it came out, I was walking through
Sydney and I got mobbed. And I was
like, “Oh, OK, this is big!” It was
a full Hannah Montana moment.
My whole world just turned around
literally overnight. It was crazy.
What would it have meant to you
and your family to see a character
like Quinni when you were diagnosed with
autism at 13? It honestly would have changed
the whole trajectory of my life. You can’t be what
you can’t see. Growing up, never seeing myself
represented, I grew up thinking I wasn’t supposed to
be here. In some ways, it’s the most overwhelmingly
exciting thing to be able to be one of the firsts. Young
people can look at Quinni and go, “OK, if she exists
as wholly and beautifully and unapologetically as
she does, then I can too.” But in other ways it’s
devastating that it took us so long to get to this point.
I don’t think people understand just how much of an
impact media has on the way we perceive reality.
Media chooses what our reality is. Probably weekly
I will still get messages or comments in real life
going, “You’re nothing like Sheldon Cooper [the
character in The Big Bang Theory].” It happens all
the time. And it’s because this is what we believe
autism to be. Even when we see real versions of it
in the news or whatever, it’s always done in a really
negative way. It’s “This person did this and, oh, by
the way, they’re autistic.” So if I’d had a Quinni
growing up, not only would I have felt represented,
but my family, my teachers, my peers in school and
so many other people in my life would have gone,
“OK, I understand what this is because I’ve seen
it before,” rather than, “I think I understand what
this is because I’ve seen an incorrect stereotype.”

“The day after
Heartbreak came
out, I was mobbed.
My world turned
around overnight”

marieclaire.com.au | 71

CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP Hayden (in

green) with the cast
of hit Netflix series
Heartbreak High at
the 2023 Logie Awards;
with her fiancé Dylan
Rohan at marie claire’s
Women of the Year
awards; and in a scene
from Heartbreak High.

In your book Different, Not Less, you wrote
about being viciously bullied as a child and how
much it affected you. Was it cathartic to write
about your experience? In some ways it was really
beautiful. In other ways it was really, really difficult
because in order to make sure that my story was
being told and that other people were able to be
heard, I had to go back to a lot of trauma I had
buried very deep and that I didn’t ever want to
bring up again. But I knew how important it was
to make sure that these stories were told. I have a
philosophy that everything happens for a reason.
My understanding of that is: I went through what I
went through so another young girl doesn’t have to.
Do you ever feel the weight of being a role model
or representing an entire community of people?
Sometimes there’s definitely a pressure there. At
times I get comments saying, “You don’t represent
me” and “You can only talk for yourself ’’ and I agree,
I can only talk for myself. I can only speak from my
own experience. But the amount of messages I’ve
received saying, “I got my autism diagnosis after
watching Heartbreak High,” or “I’m starting to
openly stim [short for self-stimulating behaviour]
more often watching your videos,” or “I understand
myself now and my family understands me now,”
makes it a lot easier to ignore the negative voices.

72 | marieclaire.com.au

Aside from autism, you’ve openly spoken about
being diagnosed with ADHD, endometriosis,
adenomyosis and Postural Orthostatic
Tachycardia Syndrome [POTS]. Is there
anything you don’t like to discuss? I think there’s
things I’m still healing from that I’m not ready to
talk about, but there’s nothing that I’m a closed book
over. Maybe that’s the autism and me not knowing
social cues and being like, “I don’t know what things
I shouldn’t say so I’m just gonna say it all.” I’ve always
thought that if I had something I needed to say, I’m
going to say it.
What are your thoughts on the writers’ and
actors’ strike currently happening in the US?
I think it’s incredibly important to strike. I’m very
pro-union. If it came down to it in Australia, I’d be
the first one on the picket line. I absolutely stand in
solidarity with [the strikers].
You and Dylan were engaged last year and will
wed next year. How is the wedding planning
going? I don’t really have time to plan anything.
My mum’s my low-key wedding planner. And I have
the most incredible PA, who is just on the ball with
everything. So we’ve kind of come up with themes
and basic ideas, and I’m like, “You go do something
and then when it’s A or B, I could choose from that.”
What was your first date like? On our first date,
Louis Tomlinson from One Direction was going
on tour and his tickets were coming out. Dylan had
made this beautiful picnic down by the river and
halfway through I’m like, “Look, this is great but
I need to buy Louis Tomlinson tickets.” And he
was so fine with it, but I was sitting there on
Ticketmaster freaking out! I was just like a little
gremlin trying to get these tickets on our first date.
I got the best tickets you could and then I went,
“Anyway, where were we?” [Laughs]
Speaking of One Direction, earlier this year
you were at a Harry Styles concert in Melbourne
and stadium staff made you feel unwelcome
when you attempted to access Marvel Stadium’s
sensory room. You met with the CEO of the
stadium to discuss how to ensure this didn’t
happen again. How do you feel knowing you can
exact positive change? My voice was taken away
from me for so long, so I still struggle to remember
that I do have the ability and the power to incite
change. I mean, all of us do. But I think particularly
in circumstances like that, I forget that I don’t
have to be a victim. When Marvel said, “OK, we
will build another sensory room; we’ll make sure
more people can fit in it and we’re not going to
fact-check people,” I was like, “Wow.” I still feel
like I’m 16 years old and blogging in my bedroom
as Princess Aspien. I kind of forget that it’s not
just me anymore; it’s a million people on my social
media and [they all] have my back. Sometimes
when the negative thoughts are a bit too loud, I
just open Instagram and open the first message
in my message requests and read the most beautiful
comment. I’m like, “Nah, I’m doing OK. I’ve got
a lot of people on my side.”
Heartbreak High is streaming now on Netflix.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMON EELES/ART BOX BLACK; GETTY IMAGES. FASHION DIRECTOR: NAOMI SMITH. STYLED BY JORDAN BOORMAN.
HAIR BY DIANE GORGIEVSKI/THE ARTIST GROUP. MAKEUP BY LINDA JEFFERYES/THE ARTIST GROUP. PRODUCTION BY ROBYN FAY-PERKINS.

I NT E RVIE W

Iordanes Spyridon
Gogos x Akira Isogawa
x Clair Helen dress,
iordanesspyridongogos.
com; Christian Dior
boots, dior.com;
Swarovski ring,
swarovski.com.

“I’ve received
messages saying, ‘I got
my autism diagnosis
after watching
Heartbreak High’”

FROM LEFT Miss Sahara 2023
finalists Hillary Omoregbe
(representing Nigeria), Afaf Saad
(Sudan), Charmaine Chaparadza
(Zimbabwe), Tamirirashe Matara
(Zimbabwe), Janine Baraka
(Congo), Ruva Shoko (Zimbabwe),
Henrietta Adomako (Ghana) and
Nyaradzo Wekwete (Zimbabwe),
flanking 2022 Miss Sahara winner
Rider Antwi (fifth from left) and
Miss Sahara founder Anyier Yuol
(fifth from right).

74 | marieclaire.com.au

IN S PI R AT I ON

The
AFRICAN
QUEENS
In the world of soulless beauty pageants,
our homegrown Miss Sahara is a shining light
of satin, sequins and empowerment for a
new generation of trailblazing Australians
PHOTOGRAPHED BY BONNIE HANSEN WORDS BY MELISSA GAUDRON

t is 15-minutes until show time,
and backstage the Miss Sahara
contestants are in a mild panic.
The national costumes – in
particular, the jawdropping
jewellery – are creating some
last-minute hitches. Volunteers
scramble to get the adornments in
their correct positions, stacking layers
of necklaces, rings and bracelets on the
anxious pageant participants, snaking
them around arms, legs, necks, hands
and heads. The dressing room is an
epic explosion of colour, prints,
textures and beading.
For Nyaradzo (Nyara) Wekwete,
who at 28 is the pageant’s oldest
contestant, it’s a final chance to secure
her bright-blue traditional isicholo hat
before opting to escape the mayhem.
“I’m going to go and listen to my music
before I have a panic attack,” she says,
slipping out of the dressing area,
adjusting earpods as she leaves.
With nerves taut and the clock
ticking, it’s time for some final words
of encouragement from Miss Sahara
founder Anyier Yuol, who appears
in front of the throng in a sequinned
showstopper frock, gathering the
eight finalists into a huddle.
“I am so proud of you all,” she says.
“You have all worked so hard to get
to this stage. But now is the chance to
showcase how beautiful each and every
one of you is. Tonight is about showing
everyone the essence and beauty of
the African queen.”
The girls whoop in delight and
head offstage to begin the proceedings
that will culminate in the crowning
of Miss Sahara 2023. The pageant is
a celebration of Australian African
women and kicks off with an elaborate
national costume section, then a
(non-judged) swimwear category and
the evening gown finale. Throughout
the journey the participants have been
adorned with sashes and given lessons
in deportment, styling and make-up.
So far, so Miss Congeniality.
But while the event has all the
hallmarks of a traditional beauty
pageant (minus the mentions of world
peace), Miss Sahara is so much more.

RIGHT Miss Sahara
finalists gather in the
marshalling area to put
the finishing touches on
their amazing outfits.

T

he charismatic founder at
the helm of the pageant
is both its beating heart
and its ambitious soul.
A South Sudanese refugee
who spent the first decade of her life in
Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, Anyier
Yuol started Miss Sahara in 2018 after
competing in local beauty pageants
that sadly lacked diversity.
“I entered beauty pageants to
increase my confidence,” explains
Anyier. “But I noticed pretty quickly
that I never saw other women who
looked like me. African women and
women of colour were poorly represented at these pageants. I saw this as an
opportunity to launch Miss Sahara so
we could celebrate the rich cultural
diversity of Australian African women.
“But while I really love the
beauty aspect of it and for increasing
representation in the fashion industry,
it’s the leadership aspect of the
program that I am most excited by.
It’s about empowering women from
culturally diverse backgrounds to
make real contributions to society.”
The annual competition is open to
women from all over Australia, with
each participant representing their
African background. The 2023 cohort
has women from Zimbabwe, Nigeria,
Sudan, Ghana and the Congo and their
progress is assessed over the night by a
panel of judges. The women are from
the large African communities spread
throughout Australian suburbs.
One of the main facilitators of the
Miss Sahara leadership program is
Juliana Nkrumah, founder of African
Women Australia and a legendary
figure in the Africa diaspora, who now
sits on the judging panel. She said she
looks for women who can be passionate
ambassadors, who can articulate about
purpose and representing their communities. “As I tell the girls, it’s about
what comes from the inside that’s
important, not what’s on the outside.”
Anyier agrees with “Aunty Juliana”
and is so passionate about the changemaking aspect of Miss Sahara that
the initiative is now part of her Lead
Beyond Education charity, which

76 | marieclaire.com.au

THE PREP

Anyier Yuol knows
how to make an
entrance. RIGHT
The incomparable
MC Sheron Sultan.

T H E P E P TA L K
provides life-changing education,
leadership and human-rights advocacy
for young women and girls from refugee
backgrounds. Anyier believes in the
power of change in her adopted country.
She wants more inclusivity. She wants
more diversity. She wants more equality.
She wants contestants to dream big
– and they are inspired by her passion.
For Rider Antwi, the 2022 winner,
the program has not only helped give
her a laser-beam focus to complete her
studies while working to become a
financial planner, but to see how to
pay it forward in her own community.
“I wasn’t really interested in the

“MISS SAHARA
CLEEBRATES THE RICH
CULTURAL DIVERSITY
OF AUSTRALIAN
AFRICAN WOMEN”
– founder Anyier Yuol

Tamirirashe Matara
and Henrietta
Adomako in their
evening gowns.

beauty pageantry part of Miss Sahara as
I am a tomboy. I am literally wearing
pants under this dress, I swear,” Rider
adds, laughing and lifting her voluminous skirt. “But I liked what Anyier
was doing, especially around empowering young girls. I didn’t know anyone
like her, especially a Black woman.
“Miss Sahara helped me to identify
a gap in our culture around money,”
Rider continues. “Parents don’t talk
about money with their families.
Traditionally, fathers see themselves
as providers, so girls often miss out on
being empowered. Now I have been
running workshops for women on
financial literacy and how important
it is. The most important thing I learnt
being a beauty queen is that I could
also open doors for other women.”
Janine Baraka, a finalist who
lives in South Australia, has been
inspired to look for ways she can
make a difference in Adelaide, home

IN S PIR AT I ON

CLOCKWISE FROM
BELOW On the

Anyier Yuol (right),
with model Malaan
Ajang, working the
room at Sydney’s
Doltone House.

to a growing African community, and
she has found her own way to give back.
“I work in the foster-care system
where the percentage of Africandescendant children keeps on growing,
but these children don’t really have
an identity,” says Janine. “They think
putting on African attire is taboo and
they are ashamed to eat African food
as it is foreign to them. So I ran a
workshop on African culture, which
many of these children attended, and
they loved the chance to talk about
their heritage. We don’t have anything
as beautiful as Miss Sahara in South
Australia, so I wanted to learn how I
could make an impact and I’m now
determined to look for new solutions.”
For Nyara Wekwete, a soon-to-be
film school graduate, the experience
has been nothing short of an
awakening – personally and politically.
“I am passionate about inclusion in
films, as I grew up watching stories
that weren’t about me,” she says.
“I’m also LGBT, so the Black, queer
experience is the story I really want to
tell [to] help break the stigma around
it. A lot of families, like my parents, are
not very accepting. I want kids who are
like me to know that they are not alone,
that what they are experiencing is not
insanity, and how they feel is valid.”

TH E COMP

“I WANTED TO LEARN
HOW I COULD MAKE
AN IMPACT. NOW I’M
DETERMINED TO LOOK
FOR NEW SOLUTIONS”
– Janine Baraka

B

ack at the pageant, the
judges have whittled it
down to the top three,
who must each answer
a curly question from one
of the judges. First up is Afaf Saad, a
stunning 23-year-old registered nurse
from Sydney’s western suburbs, who
is passionate about health education.
The question is a doozy about beauty
pageants and objectifying women.
“Beauty pageants are more than just
being a pretty face and glamour,” she

catwalk in stunning
evening gowns;
Ruva Shoko receives
her award from
Network Ten’s Daniel
Doody; Charmaine
Chaparadza in
swimwear; more of
the evening gown
parade; Afaf Saad in
her Sudan-inspired
national costume;
Nyara Wekwete
dancing in her
national costume.

answers. “They push you to do good
and give back. It has taught me
leadership skills and how to chase
what I want, and what I want is
change for my community.” The
speech gets raucous applause (even
without the mention of world peace).
Henrietta Adomako is up next
and is asked about what could be her
greatest contribution to the African
community in Australia. The 21-yearold arrived in Australia four years ago
from Ghana, travelling with her family
to Australia to “find a better life”. It’s
a dream that is coming true as she is
completing her medical-science degree.

IN SPI RATION

TH E CROWNING
CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP
LEFT Miss

HONOUR ROLL
Henrietta Adomako
Miss Sahara 2023
Hillary Omoregbe
1st Runner Up
Afaf Saad
2nd Runner Up
Charmaine Chaparadza
Best in Evening Gown*
Janine Baraka
People’s Choice
Nyaradzo Wekwete
Woman of Impact
Ruva Shoko
Best in Swimwear*
Tamirirashe Matara
Social Media Favourite

Sahara 2022
Rider Antwi
(who admits to
wearing pants
under that
dress!); waiting
for the big
announcement;
Miss Sahara
2023 Henrietta
Adomako after
her win; and the
final walk down
the runway.

* Judged on creativity
and confidence

CLOCKWISE
FROM ABOVE

Miss Sahara 2023
is hugged and
crowned by
last year’s queen
Rider Antwi; and
the top three
finalists pose
together onstage.

78 | marieclaire.com.au

“My greatest contribution is to be
a voice for the young girls out there
who can’t speak for themselves,” she
says with quiet confidence. “Being a
medical student, I aspire to find cures
for diseases that worry women and to
foster a community where women
feel safe to speak up about issues.”
After a final strut down the catwalk
by all the contestants, the winner is
finally announced and Sydney’s
Henrietta Adomako is crowned Miss
Sahara 2023. But in the world of
beauty pageants, everyone’s a winner.
“If a girl like me – someone who is
introverted and not at all confident
about being out of my shell – can win
Miss Sahara then it’s proof girls can be
whatever they want to be,” Henrietta
says. “That’s been my biggest lesson
from being a part of Miss Sahara.”
The other contestants concur about
the magic in the Miss Sahara recipe.
For Nyara it has been a life-changing
chance to find her own community in
Australia. “There’s a sisterhood here
that doesn’t happen back home,” she
says. “It’s very tribal in Africa, but
maybe here in the diaspora we find
the things that bind us together
even though we are so different
from one another.” Maybe Miss
Sahara has worked out the secret
to world peace after all.

SUBSCRIBE & RECEIVE
Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water Cream by
Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water
Cream is an ultra-hydrating moisturiser
with good bacteria and hyaluronic acid to
help maintain the skin barrier for a calm,
clear, hydrated complexion.

VALUED AT

$66

@ANTIPODESSKINCARE

12 issues for $64.99 - SAVE 46%* via automatic renewal
Plus, a BONUS Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water Cream by

VISIT magshop.com.au/MCGIFT
or CALL 136 116 and quote M239MCM
*Savings based on cover price of $9.99 on a 12 issue recurring subscription. After your first 12 issues, your subscription will continue at $64.99 every 12 issues. You can
cancel your subscription at anytime. Offer valid from August 16th, 2023 to September 20th, 2023 to Australian residents only. The bonus gift will be sent to the purchaser
of the subscription. Subscribers will not receive gifts available at retail. For terms and conditions, visit magshop.com.au/mcgift. Our privacy policy can be found at
aremedia.com.au/privacy and includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including the provision of targeted
advertising based on your online activities). If you do not want your information provided to any organisation not associated with this offer, please indicate this clearly at
time of order or notify the Promoter in writing.

FIR ST P ERS ON

THE CONWOMAN

In the mid-2010s, Caroline Calloway ruled Instagram due to her pithy posts of life
at Cambridge University. Then, it all came crashing down around her in a spectacular
internet slapdown. Here, in an extract from her new memoir, Calloway tells her truth
LE T’S RECAP, WHO IS CAROLINE CALLOWAY?
Scammer might be Caroline
Calloway’s first memoir but it’s
not the first time she’s written
about her life. The 31-year-old
influencer has been doing that
since 2013, when she first made
an Instagram account and bought
40,000 fake followers for $US4.99.
Calloway’s early Instagram posts
were long and intimate accounts
of her life at the University of
Cambridge, where she was studying
art history. Her romanticised tales
of British academic life – with its
river punts, champagne-charged
student parties and calamitous love
affairs – found Calloway her first
readers, who treated her Instagram
account like a Dickensian serial.
It was the beginning of
Calloway’s carefully curated
online identity, which, over the
years, has taken on many forms
to include New York socialite,
Instagram artist, OnlyFans creator
and, perhaps most famously,
scammer. Calloway was first called
a scammer around the time she
attempted to host a series of now
infamous “creativity workshops”
to pay back a $US100,000 book
advance she owed a publisher for
a book she’d never written. The
internet accused the workshops of
being disorganised and overpriced,
while images of Calloway’s 1200
empty mason jars went viral. People

80 | marieclaire.com.au

compared her to the notorious
con-artist Anna Delvey, while
articles described Calloway
as a “one-woman Fyre Festival”.
Then, in a revealing tell-all
for New York magazine’s website
The Cut, Calloway’s close friend
claimed to be her ghostwriter.
The essay tore the remainders of
Calloway’s perfected online persona
to shreds – so Calloway made
herself a better one.
She took back the word
scammer and turned it into her
brand. She began wearing T-shirts
with the word brandished on her
chest like a scarlet letter. Calloway
became the one thing women
embroiled in scandals aren’t
allowed to be: completely and
utterly unapologetic – and it was
hard not to love her for it.
Ironically, Scammer is not
a scam. Calloway’s 158-page
self-published memoir is a funny,
slightly mad and yet very real book.
Within it, she reclaims her narrative
and provides new insights into a
story we thought we already knew.
The book also gives Calloway a
new identity: one as a published
author. “I’m going to spend the rest
of my life writing books, whether
or not other people believe me,” she
tells marie claire. From Caroline
Calloway, you wouldn’t expect
anything less.

he worst scams I ever
perpetrated were the ones
for which I was never
caught. I lied on my
application to England’s
University of Cambridge. Here’s how. I
began by photoshopping my transcript
results from Phillips Exeter Academy.
Was this difficult with their complex
visual watermark? Yes. But I’m an art
historian and artist.
The reason Cambridge didn’t
catch me was that every time you
apply to the school, you apply to one
of the individual colleges and not to
the university itself. These colleges
are totally decentralised and loathe
sharing anything amongst each other
– including files on applicants.
I only had to change one grade on
my American report card from Exeter
but it was a bad one. My senior spring
I’d gotten a D+ in Ancient Greek as
that class was at the same time my
boyfriend had a free period, during
which he liked to fuck me in his
top bunk bed.
I changed that D+ to an A-. Then I
lied to Cambridge like this: on my two
AP English Lit exams, I’d gotten one
5 and one 4. Ditto AP Latin exams.
I told Cambridge I got four 5s instead.
My lies looked so rhythmic next to all
my other 5s in AP Art History and
Italian, and so believable next to my
perfect score on the reading section
of the SATs. I’d all but failed the math
portion because I can’t count, but
I’d failed the writing segment, too,
because I couldn’t finish it in time.

FI RST P ERS ON

My Cambridge interview was
scheduled for my 21st birthday. I spent
it with my mom and my art history
textbooks in a pub, cramming between
my meetings, scraped-out with stress
by the time we nervously clinked pint
glasses and toasted about good luck.
Twenty-one is an age that means
nothing in England.
Perhaps you’d think I feel guilty
about lying on my Cambridge
application but I don’t. I think I
made the right choice then, just as
I am making the right choice writing
about my lies now. It’s not about
what’s best for the texture of my
day-to-day happiness. It’s about
what’s best for the art.
Will Cambridge take my degree
away? Will there be a public outcry?
People already think there is nary but
tinsel and fluff in my pretty, evil mind.
I can’t imagine that shooting myself
in the foot of the best credential I have
going will help the literary critics
take me seriously. But my goal is to
write as if already dead. Living with
a veil of daydreams between myself
and reality for so long – all the years
of telling people I’m a writer who
hasn’t written any books – was
good practice for this. Courage
takes courage, but you can always
substitute it with self-delusion if
that’s all you have in the pantry.
The night I found out I’d gotten
into Cambridge, I saw a shooting
star – swear to fucking God! I saw a
shooting star in New York City, the
place where you see celebrities on
the streets every day, but the night
sky turns that weird opaque and
starless mauve most nights.

“If you’ve never had
a scandal, continue
to have none. If you’ve
had one, begin having
as many as you can”
The January after I turned 21
in a country where no-one cares,
I’d had a pretty rough Christmas. All
my relatives on my mom’s side thought
applying to Cambridge a third time
after I had already been rejected twice
was overindulged lunacy – a spoilt
fool’s bratty errand. A waste of money
on flights. My aunts tilted their heads
in unison. “Aren’t you already a
sophomore at NYU?” And again
I’d explain my dream of being a very
specific, Anglophilic writer into their
hearing aids. It unsettled me that my

only relatives who found my vision
for my life – and the books I’d write
about it – sound, were my dad and his
siblings. At my second Christmas
dinner, my uncle fingered the war
medals he’d bought in thrift stores,
tinkling them like bells. “You’re a
shoo-in,” he said gravely, eyes
unfocused. Alone in the car later
with my mom, she said not to stress
and that she’d always love me either
way. Back in the city beneath a tangle
of fire escapes, I saw the shooting star’s
unmistakable comet tail.
I checked my mailbox. Thick
envelope. Official Cambridge crest.
I sat down on the floor, tore it open,
and wept. Next autumn my real life
would finally begin. It was all
happening. I’d done it. Suddenly
I had a free spring and summer
ahead of me to murder in cold blood.
The booming beauty of Cambridge
wrecked me so exquisitely that first
autumn. Stars, balls, river bridges!
White lies, black tie, after-dinner port!
Fumbling with bike locks, library
books and brass doorknobs in mittens!
The apple tree where Isaac Newton
discovered gravity (legend) and the
statue of Plato that Lord Byron
dressed up in drag for a prank (fact).
Everything at Cambridge drums up
a priceless historical significance; it
should belong in a museum, really.
But the true magic of Cambridge
is that – for three years – all of this
belongs to you. You’re waking up
in castles each day until you
eventually forget who you are.
Whenever people complain that
I write too much about Cambridge – or
even Exeter – that I just can’t let it go,

HISTORY OF A SCA MMER
2016

Five hundred
t hous d doll ars

500000

2014
2012
Calloway is
a student at
NYU. She
joins Instagram
and makes an
account called
Adventuregrams.

2016

Calloway reaches
200,000 followers
on Instagram.

2013
Calloway is accepted to Cambridge
university and moves to England.
She starts posting long Instagram
captions about her life there.

Calloway secures a
$US500,000 book deal
with Flatiron Books
for a memoir titled
And We Were Like.

2015
Calloway signs
with literary agent
Byrd Leavell.

2 017
Calloway announces
the book deal is over
because the proposed
novel is too focused on
her love life. She tells her
followers she owes the
publishers $US100,000
for the advance that was
already paid to her.

2018
Calloway
moves back to
New York and
announces a
global creativity
workshop tour
to pay back
the money.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CASEY BROOKE LAWSON;
GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF CAROLINE CALLOWAY.
ADDITIONAL WORDS BY TENEAL ZUVELA.

I always think, wow! If they’re this
angry now … Just wait until I’m
50 and still talking about it.
For many years I wondered if the
mortifying emails I sent to journalists
during my sophomore autumn at
Cambridge would one day swarm
into the scandal that finally brought
me down – the dark and dreaded
menace that’d been haunting me
since I’d stared into the flames at
Exeter. But nope. It’d be worse.
Worse than, “To whom it may
concern, My name is Caroline
Calloway and perhaps you want
to do journalism about how I’m
studying at the renowned and
illustrious Cambridge University,
but also have half-a-million Instagram
followers”? A hellscape of pomp and
cringe, but what else to say?
In the winter of 2014 and the
spring of 2015, online culture was
still an emerging beat. Newspapers
didn’t have designated reporters
covering it. “Tech and influencer
freelance writer” was not yet a valid
Twitter bio. Instead, I had to google
“Kylie Jenner Snapchat” and see which
journalists were among the first to
translate social media posts into news.
I was always tired and always
awake, thanks to Adderall. I was
also as popular as I’d ever be at college.
I’d wrangled the creamiest pale-yellow
dorm room for my second year. It’s
a long story but my own college –
St Edmund’s – was built during a
period of intergalactic peace and I
much preferred to live at Downing
College, which was a cluster of fluted
Ionic columns and Georgian villas
straight out of Bridgerton. I had a

2019
Two $US165
workshops go ahead
in New York before
the rest are cancelled.
Attendees claim
the workshops are
disorganised and
overpriced. Calloway
is called a scammer
for the first time.

tiled fireplace in my room and a piano
I couldn’t play that the college paid to
keep in tune. There, I threw parties
so raucous that more than one friend
called me “The Gatsby of Cambridge,”
which is what I’d like on my
tombstone, thanks!
After everyone went stumbling
home from my parties to sleep or fuck
or read books relevant to their degrees,
I’d sit alone among the reeking plastic
champagne flutes. There, I’d scour
Google for journalists to whom I could
pitch myself so violently it felt physical.
In the spring of 2015, The Daily
Mail became the first publication to
print the name “Caroline Calloway”.
They presented me not as a writer
but as a ditsy, oversharing American
trying to find a husband. Could you
ever imagine an up-and-coming
young male writer making a name
for himself online being portrayed
as attending Cambridge university
to find a wife? Even “oversharing”
is a sexist verb used to demean
women memoirists the same way
“emasculating” has no female
equivalent.

“Self-obsessed
attention-whore, other
women will think, even
as they click on you”
If you’ve never had a scandal
before, continue to have none. If you’ve
had one scandal, then begin having
as many as you can. This way, each
bad news item about you becomes a

2019

2021

Natalie Beach publishes an
essay titled “I Was Caroline
Calloway” on the website
The Cut, where she accuses
Calloway of being a bad
friend and claims to be the
ghostwriter of Calloway’s
early Instagram captions.

Calloway
begins selling
a homemade
skincare product
she calls “Snake
Oil” for $US75
a bottle.

smaller pie-slice of your public identity.
The collective memory for pop-culture
fatigues so fast. It’s the Kardashian,
Trumpian principle of information
entropy and overload. One scandal will
define you, but a million little scandals
add up to a helpless shrug. If you’re a
man, you will be hailed a renegade
media mastermind. If you’re a woman,
people will pity your soulless addiction
to fame. How sad and out-of-control
you are, throwing yourself into the
news cycle again and again.
Will you ever master this
compulsion to overshare? Maybe
it is clinical malignant narcissism –
needing attention even at the cost of
more controversy? It doesn’t matter
if you say to reporters, on podcasts,
in your own fucking writing, “Listen!
Part of the art I want to make is a
kind of theatre of the self and of the
internet! I talk about myself because
I’m a memoirist! Stop pathologising
my command of craft!”
Self-obsessed attention-whore,
other women will think, even as they
click on you. Just as I would them. It’s
too late for us. We’ve already drunk the
poison like fish because the patriarchy
is an ocean and its hate is the water
we swim through every day just trying
to exist. But, who knows, maybe our
daughters’ daughters will get it right.
Maybe they’ll really like this book,
my body of work, me.
This is an edited extract from
Scammer by Caroline Calloway
($US65, carolinecalloway.com).

2020
Calloway creates an
OnlyFans account and
starts making what she
describes as “softcore
cerebral porn”.

2023
2022
Calloway deletes all of her posts
and disappears from Instagram.

Calloway returns to
Instagram with the news
she has published her first
memoir, Scammer.

marieclaire.com.au | 83

DROWNING

in DUPES
As influencer and TikTok culture pushed products to cult status, the dupe (short
for duplicate) craze was born. It started as an attempt to find alternatives that were
cheaper, or at least available. But today, dupes have taken over the originals,
proving shoppers will buy anything – except the real thing. By Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz

FA SH I ON

I

n retrospect, the mirror was
always ridiculous. Bordered in
faux gold and crowned with
baroque molding, Anthropologie’s
Gleaming Primrose Mirror is
2.1 metres tall and costs $US1,600.
And yet the moment I saw it on
TikTok, I was possessed by the
overwhelming urge to own it
immediately. I couldn’t afford the real
thing, so I followed one commenter’s
advice and searched for a dupe – a
cheaper alternative that should, in
theory, look as good as the original
for a fraction of the price.
A brief search on TikTok revealed
dozens of Gleaming Primrose dupes.
The most popular video recommended
one for $150 (all prices are in US
dollars), but it was sold out. I kept
scrolling. Overstock dupe? Also gone.
Ikea’s wouldn’t arrive until December.
Another version was $175 without
molding (so just a regular mirror?). An
influencer sent me to Amazon, where
the mirror was available for $125.99. I
was about to check out when I realised
the item in my cart was 3cm tall – a
creepy little dollhouse mirror! Other
videos suggested I make the mirror for
$20 before I was lobbed back to
Amazon, where I finally bought a dupe
from the affiliate page of someone
named Juliana, who has 2 million
followers. It was $100 and arrived last

week. It’s the wrong size and looks
awful. The glass is distorted, and when
I stand in front of it I look like I’m in a
fun house.
Not too long ago, my search might
have been successful, back when dupe
was still a catch-all term for moneysaving product recommendations.
On TikTok, the hashtag and its
mutations – doupe, doup, doop, give
or take a few vowels – have amassed
billions of views, comments and likes.
Influencers have built enormous
followings shilling dupe
recommendations in every product
category, from makeup to electronics
to food, and when a dupe goes viral,
both it and the original product often

Today, the dupe
itself is more valuable
than the original

sell out. But as dupes have taken on
a life of their own, all sense of what
makes a good one seems to have been
lost. Today, the dupe itself is more
valuable than the original, and the
quality alternatives have been eclipsed
by a tsunami of trash. This is Peak
Dupe, when the basic rules of
spending and quality no longer apply.
When the word dupe emerged
from the cosmetics world in the early
2000s, it just meant duplicate. There
were far fewer cosmetic brands then,
and people wanted products that
resembled sold-out, limited-edition
or discontinued products from
MAC, which was the brand everyone
was buying at the time. Dupe as a
term “just kind of caught on”, says
Christine Mielke, a longtime beauty
influencer and founder of Temptalia,
a beauty-product review site that’s
been curating a “dupe list” for the
past 13 years.
The definition of dupe as a cheaper
alternative came a little later, around
the 2008 recession. “People would say,
‘If you can’t afford the MAC 239 brush,
get the Sigma 239 brush,’ ” Mielke
says. When the first wave of beauty
YouTubers in the 2010s started making
tutorials, they made accompanying
dupe videos, too. It wasn’t long before
the concept caught on more broadly.
One former influencer remembers

marieclaire.com.au | 85

SEEING DOUBLE
The marie claire team reveal
their favourite dupe scores
Lululemon’s $100 Align leggings,
released in 2015, as the first noncosmetic item to get widely duped.
Soon, dupes took over clothing, shoes,
and home goods – items without
ingredient lists.
It’s easy to procure dupes of some
luxury products, such as the globular
Bottega Veneta earrings. Other dupes,
like super-fake designer handbags,
take some know-how or – if you’re OK
with a crappy copy – an understanding
of how online marketplaces like
DHgate.com work. Of course, many
of these dupes are just knockoffs,
though no-one wants to call them
that. The term dupe “has less negative
emotional baggage than ‘counterfeit’
or ‘knockoff ’ even though the word
encapsulates counterfeit goods and
products that look like other products”,
an IP lawyer tells me. As another
lawyer put it: “Nobody wants to be
like, ‘Yeah, I got this awesome
knockoff.’ But ‘I got this great dupe’ –
you sound savvy.”
What’s weirder is that now
there are knockoffs of knockoffs.
Ostensibly, the dupe shopper’s goal
is to save money on expensive
products, but scrolling through the
hashtag on TikTok, most dupes are
for products that rarely surpass
$100. The most commonly duped
products are from mid-range
brands such as Skims, Aritzia and
Lululemon. Many duped items are
totally banal, like cleaning sponges
or toilet paper.
Lots of dupes don’t even save you
money, or only a couple bucks. Some
are even more expensive than the
original, including a Revlon dupe
of a MAC lip liner, a LaCroix dupe,
and ones for Bath & Body Works
candles. There is a whole corner of
TikTok devoted to “fast-food dupes”,
where users buy and prepare
groceries, a more expensive, laborious
and time-intensive process than
going through a drive-through.
Sometimes there is a moral argument
to help justify the price: the dupe is
fur free, cruelty free or ethically made.
Maybe it wants to free Palestine or
is from a small brand that deserves
your money – even if it’s more than
the original, even if it doesn’t even
look like the original! Such is the
curious case of bootleg Nike
sweatshirts, custom-embroidered

86 | marieclaire.com.au

“There’s nothing better than a pigmented eyebrow pencil, but for a
long time the high street didn’t cut
it. The L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist
Skinny Pencil reminds me of the
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz.
It’s $20 cheaper and makes for a
great option when the Anastasia
one is out of stock. Plus, it’s a lot
nicer on the purse strings.”
– Cassandra Green, senior writer

“I’ve been eyeing the Hermès Oran
sandals for an upcoming Europe
trip (the ultimate ‘quiet luxury’
sandal), but at $1155 there’s not a
chance in hell I can afford them and
flights to Italy. Luckily, Nine West
has a near-identical pair for $159.”
– Alex Bruce-Smith, digital
managing editor

“After seeing Selena Gomez’s
Retrofête alphabet earrings, I was
influenced. I was ready to pay
$181 (per earring), only to be
waitlisted for two months. I turned
to TikTok, where I discovered a
world of sparkly dupes. I went
with the identical Etsy option,
which cost $30 and no wait time.”
– Samantha Stewart, fashion
features and lifestyle editor

“Countless TikToks were singing
the praises of the Skims classic
tee, and I knew I needed it.
Unfortunately the tee is so
popular, I spent six months on a
waitlist until my savvy shopper
best friend pointed me in the
direction of Glassons, where they
stock a replica. Bonus – it was
quite a bit cheaper too.”
– Bree Player, features editor

items that use bastardised branding,
take months to ship and run
customers over $70 apiece. Ultimately,
just deeming something a dupe
seems to generate demand, even
if no-one can really agree on what
a dupe is.
“I found the best dupe” is the
standard opening line of millions of
dupe videos on TikTok. Delivered in
a conspiratorial tone, the phrase
suggests that there is some special
science behind the dupe-hunting
process. Emily Wainwright, an
interior-design influencer, is often
asked to find dupes for Restoration
Hardware products, a US brand
famous for its Cloud Sofa, a $6,000
down-filled couch owned by Kylie
Jenner and several popular YouTubers.
Wainwright uses Google: “I’ll type
the name into Google Shopping,
then I’ll go to the shopping tab, and
then I’m kind of sifting through page
after page.”
If something looks like a close
match, she’ll click in. This will
take her to more tabs, which she’ll
comb through until she finds a close
enough match. Then she’ll read
reviews and check things like colour,
dimensions and materials. Because
many furniture stores buy their
products wholesale, she can even
check whether the dupe is made by
the same company as the original.
“It’s time-consuming,” she says,

GETTY IMAGES. THIS STORY ORIGINALLY RAN IN THECUT.COM..

FA SH I ON

“but it’s really just persistence.” The
whole process takes about 15 minutes.
For Sarah Adekola, finding a dupe
“literally takes less than ten seconds.”
“Most platforms – ASOS, Zara or
Amazon – have a reverse imagesearch. It’s a little camera icon. You can
upload a screenshot of any luxury
product and these platforms are going
to search across their products to find
you a match,” she says. In other words,
the platform finds the dupe for you,
and just about anyone with a computer
and the patience to scroll can find a
good dupe. They don’t need an
influencer, but maybe they just want to
be influenced. Although Adekola is a
finance influencer, she’s pivoting to
style to share her dupe-hunting
methods. “People are like, ‘Oh, do
more content on this.’”
Most dupes that people tout as
smart buys on TikTok are just random
things they find on Amazon. The
company has an affiliate scheme
that encourages influencers to plug
Amazon products on their socials
and direct audiences to their Amazon
Storefront to buy those things.
When someone buys, the influencer
gets a cut. “I’m always sceptical when
I see #ad, #sponsored,” says an
influencer who recently shuttered
their Amazon Storefront. “Now
everyone is just taking sponsorships
to make money and forgetting about
their audience.”

Many dupes are just
knockoffs, though
no-one wants to call
them that
It’s no wonder that when a product
goes viral, you’ll suddenly see 50
different content creators telling you
to stop what you’re doing and buy this
dupe – from their Amazon Storefront,
from which they earn a commission, or
from this website, from which they
earn a commission. Don’t walk – RUN
are the words superimposed on
thousands of videos. The urgency
works. “The products are almost
always shitty,” my 22-year-old
sister-in-law said when I asked her
about shopping Amazon Storefronts.
“But you always buy. You always
get influenced.”
Now even mainstream brands are
embracing dupes. L’Oréal recently
tapped multiple sets of twin
influencers (get it?) to make ads for
one of its shampoos, a dupe for a
“high-end” item that looks just like
one of Olaplex’s. In January, the
official Whole Foods TikTok posted
a #DupeAlert video about the “dupe
snacks” it sells: organic and gluten-free
versions of Oreos and Coca-Cola. Last
month, Lululemon invited customers
to a “dupe swap”, where they could

trade in their copycat leggings – that
is, a “qualifying dupe product” – for a
pair of real ones. “We saw it as a really
fun way to play into something that is
a real part of our culture,” Lululemon’s
chief brand officer told CNN, “but in a
way that really puts the focus back on
the original.”
My experience with the Gleaming
Primrose Mirror wasn’t unique. There
are now dupes of dupes of dupes: a
Shein dupe is a Zara dupe is an
Aritzia dupe is a Jenni Kayne dupe
is a Khaite dupe. The gulf between
the Shein item and the Khaite one is
gigantic, so much so that the idea of a
dupe has become a joke. Someone on
TikTok holds up a crappy Kmart
purse: “Prada doooooupe,” they’ll cry,
pronouncing the word in a ridiculous
accent, dissolving into giggles. The
beach, dogs and gel pens are therapy
dupes. The backlash to this meme is
already under way. “The dupe jokes r
not funny anymore,” wrote one
influencer. “I find this trend super
annoying,” wrote another. People
seem sick of dupes more generally;
there’s a nascent “anti-dupe”
movement on TikTok, where some
influencers are urging their followers
to just buy the original.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love
a good dupe. Don’t come for me.
But ...” one user explains in a recent
video. “I spent more time and money
on trying to find the most perfect
dupe than I did if I were to just buy
the real thing.”

Donald Trump’s rise
emboldened many
right-wing women.

S O CI E TY

The rise of
alt-right female
influencers
There is an insidious and rapidly growing movement of
alt-right women making extremism relatable on social media.
They share tips on how to propagate a more conservative world
and rally women to dismantle feminism. marie claire reports

T

oxic femininity is real!”
says a steely-eyed woman
dressed in a black lace top
and bright red lipstick with
a red rose tucked behind her
ear, the artificial background in her
video strewn with flowers and frilly
lampshades. The woman is Daisy
Cousens and she’s one of the leading
lights in the female alt-right influencer
movement in Australia. She has more
than 200,000 subscribers on YouTube,
posting regular videos with names like
“Why pretty women should NEVER be
feminists” and “Leftism makes young
women MISERABLE!”
Cousens, who occasionally works
as a mainstream journalist and holds
views that are very conservative but
not extreme, is one of a growing
number of female influencers who
have recently become players in
various conservative – or at the end
of the spectrum, far-right extremist
– movements around the world, a
sphere traditionally dominated by men.
These women come in various
guises. Some, like Cousens, could
just be called deeply conservative rather
than extremist. But others, such as
Americans Lana Lokteff and Hannah
Pearl Davis, front media channels that
attack everything from feminism and
immigration to transgenderism and
vaccines. Yet more have transitioned

their views into the political sphere,
such as Islamophobic activist Laura
Loomer, who secured the Republican
nomination for a seat in Florida in
2020 and is now reportedly being
courted by Donald Trump for his 2024
White House campaign. And others,
almost too numerous to count, are
adorned with blonde braids and floral
milkmaid frocks, and adhere to the
“trad wife” movement, an Instagramfriendly trend that ostensibly promotes
1950s-style patriarchal family values,
but at its most extreme dovetails with
hard-right political dogma. “Women
are crucial to spreading ideology with
a smile and making it seem palatable,”
Seyward Darby, author of Sisters in
Hate, told Vice World News. “It’s
about putting a gloss on it.”
There’s no clear data about how
many women are players in what can
loosely be called the far right or alt
right, not least because the movement

“Women are crucial to
spreading ideology with
a smile and making it
seem palatable”
– Seyward Darby,
author of Sisters in Hate

Australian Daisy
Cousens’ views are
attractive to many
conservatives.

itself is so fractured and segmented
(it’s made up of everything from
armed militia like the Oath Keepers,
hate groups like the Proud Boys and
Christian nationalists, QAnon
conspiracy theorists and various
shades of racists, sexists and
homophobes, to traditionalists
who hold extreme regressive views
in terms of gender and race politics).
At the pointy end of the spectrum,
we do know that far-right terrorism
itself is increasingly a threat globally.
Data from the 2019 Global Terrorism
Index found a 320 per cent increase in

marieclaire.com.au | 89

SO CIETY

Female Trump
supporters
celebrate in
Washington,
DC, after his
inauguration in
January 2017.
RIGHT Former
Miss Hitler pageant
entrant Alice Cutter.

violent activities undertaken in the
name of far-right beliefs in the West
in the five years leading up to 2018.
In Australia, ASIO has reported
increasing far-right threat activity
for several years.
But although women are beginning
to show up more regularly at real-world
manifestations of far-right activity –
a number were at the heart of the
January 6 Capitol riots following
Donald Trump’s electoral defeat in
2022 – their sharpest weapon tends
not to be a sword or knife, but the
internet. In the age of selfies, likes
and followers, women are playing
an increasingly prominent role in
amplifying and broadcasting the farright’s messages, and doing it in a way
that makes them look more attractive,
to both women and men. “Although
I think women are too emotional for
leading roles in politics, this is the time
for female nationalists to be loud,” Lana
Lokteff told a rally in Sweden shortly
after Trump took office in 2017. “Why?
Men. Women have a special power to
inspire and motivate men.” Later, she
added coyly, “I guess, to be really edgy,
it was women that got Hitler elected.”

J

ulia Ebner is a research fellow
at the Institute for Strategic
Dialogue, and with Jacob Davey
wrote the paper “How Women
Advance the Internationalization
of the Far-Right”. “As the spectre of
internationalised right-wing extremists
continues to grow, the success of women
in the virtual sphere becomes particularly problematic,” they wrote. “These
broadcasters [are] often serving as a
soft introduction to hard-edge ideology,
facilitating the ‘red-pilling’ [meaning a
political awakening] of individuals who
are vulnerable to radicalisation.”
In 2016, one seismic – and very
visual – event seemed to turn the tables

Nazi imagery is
popular among
some extremist
groups, but not
supporters of
trad wife values
(pictured right).

on the idea that women were merely
bystanders in the world of the far right.
British neo-Nazi youth group National
Action organised a Miss Hitler
pageant, where classically attractive
white women were paraded as though
in a beauty competition and asked to
elaborate on their racist views. “Many
comment that they see women at our
demonstrations but … they rarely get
much spotlight or recognition,”
organisers said beforehand. “We
organised this competition to give
our girls a chance to express their
beliefs and share their motivations
for embracing National Socialism.”
And embrace it they did. The eventual
winner, a Scottish woman whose
identity was concealed, shared her
anti-Semitic views with the audience
and declared that if she could kill
anyone on earth it would be former
German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
because of her support for refugees.
If you trawl back through far-right
archives on the internet, the year 2016

“These broadcasters
[are] often serving as
a soft introduction to
hard-edge ideology”
¸ója^V;WcZg"gZhZVgX][ZaadlVii]Z
?chi^ijiZ[dgIigViZ\^X:^Vad\jZ

seemed to be a turning point for women
emerging on the far right. This was the
year that right-wing fringe thinking
as a whole was granted a brand new
legitimacy with the US presidential
nomination and eventual victory of
the openly xenophobic champion
of the alt-right, Donald Trump.
A post from that era on the
juggernaut white nationalist
message board Stormfront has
women wondering how they can
recruit more of their own into the fold.
“When I look at people from a White
Pride event I don’t see very attractive
people; it’s mostly overweight bald
guys,” reads one message from 2016. “I
would rather go to a White Pride event
and see people looking like Taylor
Swift. If we strive as a group to [look]
our best then women will want to join.”
Another respondent adds, “I think a
gentle approach is best. While it’s easy
to get up in arms and take a more
aggressive approach, you’d have a
higher chance of success if you were to
do something like holding workshops
to the tune of ‘Young women – enjoy
your European heritage and explore
the culture and crafts of your people.’”
That suggested workshop name
would work perfectly as an overarching
slogan for the “trad wife” movement,
which, at its most sinister apex, is
the precise example of the “gentle
approach” to leading people into
white supremacy advocated by that

PHOTOGRAPHY BY AAP; GETTY IMAGES; YOUTUBE; @LACEYLAURENLYNN/INSTAGRAM. WORDS BY ALICE WHITING.

FROM LEFT Laura
Loomer; and a
tweet from Lacey
Lynn (below left).

Stormfront poster. Trad wives, which is
believed to have begun around 2013 on
an old internet forum called “Red Pill
Women”, can be found in all corners
of the internet. They advocate living
according to traditional gender roles:
a man working out of the home to
support his family, while the wife takes
care of the children and household.
Their aesthetic (trad wives are almost
always white, often blonde, and favour
WWII-era hairstyles and dirndl
dresses) and attitude hark back to
the Kinder, Küche, Kirche (“children,
kitchen, church”) doctrine popular in
Germany from the late 19th century.

T

o be clear, many women who
call themselves trad wives
advocate for nothing more
alarming than bread baking
or popping on lippy before
their husbands get home from work.
There’s nothing wrong with dressing
conservatively or reverting to prefeminist gender roles, if that’s what a
woman chooses to do. But Dr Kristy
Campion, senior lecturer in terrorism
studies at Charles Sturt University, says
matters become concerning when trad
wives begin amplifying the political
views of the far-right, giving them a
sheen of authenticity. “These women
often support anti-feminism, which is
also championed by the men of the
movements,” says Campion. “That gives
[men] reinforcement or validation.”
And it may not stop with antifeminism. “You also see them being

“The dark marketing
tactics of terrorism is
something scholars
have talked about
for decades”
– Dr Kristy Campion, senior
lecturer in terrorism studies
quite homophobic and transphobic,”
says Campion. “They may use their
Christian values to reject the teaching
of gender identity in school. They tend
to present themselves as the protectors
of children.” A far-right trad wife called
Lacey Lynn recently demonstrated that
her commitment to submission has
waded into the realm of violence,
tweeting there is “no such thing as
marital rape”, adding that “marriage is
consent.” The trad-wife movement also
produced the “white baby challenge”,
which began when white nationalist
Ayla Stewart, known online as
Wife with a Purpose, declared, “As
a mother of six, I challenge families
to have as many white babies as I
have contributed.” More white babies,
fewer of any other, the theory goes.
Creating a permissive environment
for these views is what concerns
terrorism experts like Campion. The
rhetoric is partly about pointing to
others (immigrants, Jews, Indigenous
Australians, LGBTQ people, etc) and
blaming them for your problems, but
it’s also about presenting an attractive,
almost utopian vision of an alternative.

“[Far-right influencers] provide this
set of behavioural norms so people who
are feeling lost, alienated or hopeless
can absorb it and create what we call
‘identity certainty’,” says Campion.
“For people who feel that the modern
world is out of control, or never know
where they stand, that can have a really
powerful effect on their involvement in
a movement.” Once you strive to live
in that paradise – one that is, of course,
largely a fantasy curated for social media
– you begin accepting new standards
of morality. And, in extreme cases, that
morality legitimises violence against
your enemies. “It’s something that
terrorism scholars have talked about for
decades – the dark marketing tactics of
terrorism,” says Campion. “It’s not just
about violent imagery, it’s also about
nostalgic and romanticised visions.”
The remedies to the amplification
of far-right views online are anything
but straightforward. For a while,
various social media companies
blocked or banned many of the loudest
proponents on mainstream platforms,
but anyone with a few basic googling
skills could still track them down on
their own platforms or alt-right social
sites like Parler, Gab or Truth Social.
Today, under the leadership of Elon
Musk, Twitter – now X – has walked
back its censorship of these individuals
and groups, giving them a fertile field
in which to recruit members. But his
wholesale embrace of their unpalatable
messages is making it far harder for
him to monetise the platform.
From a policing perspective, while
authorities have increased monitoring
of far-right groups, Campion says little
can be done unless an individual or
group makes credible threats or uses
language that directly incites terrorism
or violence. Urging women to make
more white babies or reject feminism
in favour of cooking for your husband
doesn’t exactly meet the threshold. But
what is crucial is that law enforcement,
citizens and even parents should
remain vigilant about the reality that
extremism isn’t limited to one gender.
“Women and girls get involved for the
same reasons as men and boys,” says
Campion. They may just be hiding it
behind lipstick and a freshly baked cake.

marieclaire.com.au | 91

HI GH S PEC
FOR STYLISH SPECS THAT EXUDE QUALITY AND
FLAIR, FEAST YOUR EYES ON MIMCO EYEWEAR,
EXCLUSIVELY AT SPECSAVERS

A DV E RT IS I N G F E AT U RE

T

here’s quality, and then there’s
locally designed quality. Mimco,
icon of the Australian design
scene, is the latter, boasting
enviable designs made with incredible
craftsmanship. And now the fashionforward brand is launching a brandnew eyewear collection exclusively
at Specsavers.
So much more than just eyewear,
the Specsavers Mimco Eyewear collection
features 13 optical frames and seven
sunglass styles in stylish acetate and
modern shapes, all beautifully designed
to enhance the individuality of the face
they adorn. Bold and ensemble-elevating,
the range features a wide array of styles
that suit any occasion and complement
CP[QWVƂV(TQOFWNEGVRKPMVQPGUCPF
UQHVEWTXGUVJCVIKXGCHGOKPKPGCPFƃKTV[
vibe perfect for a long lunch, to minimalist
wire frames that enhance your power in
CP[DQCTFTQQOOGGVKPICPFENCUUKEEJWPM[
DNCEMQTDQNFVQTVQKUGUJGNNUJCFGUHQTC
touch of ’tude while out and about, there’s
a spec for any scene.
(CUJKQPCUKFGVJGEQNNGEVKQPoUKORGEECDNG
craftsmanship and attention to detail
ensures each pair maintains its utmost
quality for a good time and a long time.
And made from a bio-based acetate that’s
better for the Earth than traditional acetate,
it’s feelgood eyewear in every sense.

Mimco 11, $249

1.

2.
4.

3.

5.

Opposite page: Mimco RX 05, $249. This page: (1)
Mimco 08, $199. (2) Mimco Sun RX 02, $249. (3) Mimco
05, $249. (4) Mimco 11, $249. (5) Mimco Sun RX 01,
$199. Shop instore or online at specsavers.com.au

C U LT U R E
V

IN

G A
M
OMEN

HA

YO U R F I X O F F I L M , M U S I C , A R T & B O O K S

ARIANA
Greenblatt
T

There’s a long-held tradition in the
Greenblatt household. Whenever
Ariana lands a new role, a room in her
family home in Colorado is transformed
into the theme of the project. “When
I found out I had got the part in Greta
Gerwig’s Barbie, I came home from
school to the sound of Aqua’s “Barbie
Girl” playing,” she recalls. “Mom had
decorated the whole room in a Barbie
theme, complete with a pink cake.”
Taking on the role of Sasha in the
hotly anticipated fantasy comedy,
Ariana plays the human daughter of
Gloria (America Ferrera). “Going to
work every day on the set of Barbie’s
dream house was incredible,” says the
actor. “We’d blast ’90s music in the
morning and Michael Cera [who
plays Allan] and I would challenge each
other at Wordle. He’s a genius and beat
me every time. Margot [Robbie, who
plays Barbie] is like my older sister.
I still text her with updates on all
my high school gossip.”
Having a megastar on speed dial
might seem like it would secure you
bragging rights among your peers,
but hanging with Hollywood icons is
second nature to the teenager. Earlier
this year, Ariana starred alongside
Adam Driver in the film 65, and with
Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart in
Borderlands, out early next year.
With a hit film under her belt, Ariana
has her sights set on a new goal this
year: gaining her driver licence. But
once she passes, a Barbie convertible
isn’t on her wish list. “My dream car
is a matte black Dodge Challenger
because my favourite singer of all time,
Billie Eilish, has one,” she says. “I want
to follow in her lane.”

W AT C H

Barbie is in
cinemas now.

GUTTER CREDIT

The 15-year-old American
actor has taken on the
biggest film of the year

CU LT U RE

A little bit

ANNIE

Schitt’s Creek star Annie Murphy
dives into mermaids, deepfakes
and comfort viewing
It’s been three years since Schitt’s
Creek wrapped. Where do you think
your character Alexis would be now?
Based on her past adventures, which
are so expansive and colourful, she
could literally be anywhere.
If there were an opportunity for you
to play Alexis again, would you?
Of course I would! It was the most
special time in my life. I had so much
fun playing that character. The cast
are all such dear friends. It would be
a dream. But Alexis isn’t getting any
younger. No-one wants to see a woman
in her late sixties teetering around in
high heels. I mean, of course there are
women in their late sixties who can
rock stilettos, but I won’t be one of
them. So we need to get on with it
if there’s going to be a reboot.
When fans meet you in the street
what’s the most common thing
they say to you?
Post-pandemic so many people,
myself included, had a really rough
time with their happiness and their
mental health. I think the thing I hear
most commonly, which is the most
special, is that the show helped them
get through some tough times and I
know how important those shows can
be. For me, that show is The Office.
When I’m feeling low I put it on and
feel comforted and like I’m watching
my friends and everything’s going to
be OK or a little bit better. To find out
that Schitt’s Creek has become one of
those shows for people means a lot.
You play a mermaid in Ruby
Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Was
that a childhood dream come true?
I spent a lot of my childhood
willing myself to be a mermaid
and unfortunately it didn’t take.
So this was the second-best thing. It
was surprisingly juicy and fulfilling
playing an evil character.
Black Mirror has such a passionate
fan base. What was your reaction
when you first read the script for
your “Joan is Awful” episode?

When I read the script, my jaw kept
dropping and dropping and dropping.
Then I got to the end of the episode,
and immediately turned back to page
one so I could start wrapping my brain
around what was happening because
it’s a real mindfuck of an episode.
The episode comments on AI and the
use of deepfake technology. How
familiar were you with deepfakes?
Charlie [Brooker, the series creator]
usually has his finger on the pulse but
when the episode dropped it couldn’t
have been more timely, with AI
snowballing at this terrifying rate and
the writers’ strike going on in the US.

Murphy (with
co-star Catherine
O’Hara, right)
in Schitt’s Creek.

“IT WAS SURPRISINGLY
JUICY AND FULFILLING
PLAYING AN
EVIL CHARACTER”
Writers are currently asking that their
jobs not be replaced by computers,
and that the computers not be trained
using their work. It’s like it is a crazy
thing to say out loud. I just read an
article that said that 80 per cent of
old jobs are easily replaceable by AI.
I hope that the Black Mirror episode
can spark some conversation about the
potential deeply negative repercussions
of what happens if we don’t check
ourselves quickly.
Are there any Easter eggs in the
episode that were missed?
I’m wearing a Boney M. T-shirt.
[They] appear later in the season.
What’s a role you’d like to play next?
I’d love to do a beautiful period piece,
where I’m walking along the sea in a
black dress mourning the loss of my
last partner.
– by Harriet Sim
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
is in cinemas September 14.

marieclaire.com.au | 95

BOOK CLUB
Translated into 42 languages, Isabel Allende novels are a global
treasure. Here are the tableside tomes that shaped her work

M Y FAVO U R I T E
VILLAIN

DR ACUL A
– BRAM STOKER

“Dracula is the
perfect villain because
he is terrifying but
can’t help himself; he
has to kill to live. He
is seductive, cruel, the
prince of darkness.”

T E E N AG E
OBSESSION

ONE
THOUSAND
AND ONE
NIGHTS
– ANTOINE GALLAND

“This novel revealed
to me the infinite
possibilities of fantasy,
eroticism and
storytelling.”

The HIT LIST

THE BOOK I WISH
I COULD READ
AG A I N F O R T H E
FIRST TIME

ONE
HUNDRED
YE AR S OF
SOLITUDE
– GABRIEL GARCÍA
MÁRQUEZ

“One of the best
novels ever written, a
classic. I plunged into
the crazy, magical
universe of the novel
with such joy!”

You’ve written nearly 30
novels. What character do
you resonate the most with?
Strong women. They are always
the protagonists in my novels.
What do you love about
writing historical fiction?
The research about a time,
a place and an event gives me
half of the book. That makes
my job much easier.
Where is your favourite
place to read?
A couch in the living room
for hardbacks, the car for
audiobooks, and my Kindle
on aeroplanes.
Where is your favourite
place to write?
My “casita” (little house).
That’s a coach house where
I have my office.
What’s been the most
challenging moment in
your career so far?
I don’t know. Writing is not
a career, it’s a lifestyle.
You once said that you’ve
“never been scared of being
alone”. What frightens you?
Dementia.
Allende’s latest book is The Wind
Knows My Name (Penguin, $35).

Indulge your ears, eyes and soul in these culture-defining moments

Guts

Red, White & Royal Blue

OLIVIA RODRIGO

PRIME VIDEO

SYDNEY LYRIC THEATRE

If her punk-pop debut album Sour was the
break-up album you didn’t know you needed,
her sophomore album Guts is the remedy to
any romantic rebound. Out September 8.

The coronation hype might have fizzled but
don’t put away your monarchy merch just yet.
The anticipated LGBT rom-com series
came out on August 11. Binge it now!

Journey down the yellow brick road and
discover the untold story of the witches of Oz,
as the cult musical Wicked returns this month.
Visit wickedthemusical.com.au.

96 | marieclaire.com.au

Wicked The Musical

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIZIANO LUGLI; LORI BARRA; JONATHAN PRIME; TAYLOR MILLER/CONTOUR RA BY GETTY IMAGES; GETTY IMAGES. WORDS BY HARRIET SIM.

... WITH ISABEL ALLENDE

CU LT U RE

“I WAS VERY
SELF-DESTRUCTIVE.
I WAS LUCKY TO FIND
ACTING BECAUSE IT
WAS VERY LIBERATING”

OF T
H

E

M

AN

MO

NTH

DAVID
HARBOUR

Everyone’s favourite TV cop talks to James Mottram about fast
cars, Hopper’s future in Stranger Things and life with Lily Allen

Your wife, Lily Allen, is on the London
stage right now in The Pillowman.
Were you there on opening night?
I wish. Her girls had to finish school.
And so I was with them in New York.
I did get to take one of them to a Taylor
Swift concert, which is pretty exciting
for both of us! So I’ve been playing
single dad in New York.
Would you ever act with Lily?
I don’t know. I mean, I really like what
she’s doing. But I do find that acting
brings a certain energy to the people
involved. In general, acting is about
conflict and drama. So some of that
energy has to be inherent to the
relationship. And I don’t know if I want

to bring that into my personal life. In
fact, a lot of my working relationships
have somewhat of a distance. And that’s
conscious because I want the drama
to be able to be as free and as real as
possible. And I do feel like, with Lily,
if something was very real in a scene,
it might hurt her feelings and I don’t
really want to do that.
In your new film Gran Turismo,
you play racing driver coach Jack
Salter. What was the big appeal?
The script reminded me a lot of this
movie I grew up with as a kid and I love
so much: Hoosiers [from 1986]. It’s
got that real classic sports feel to
it, this euphoric underdog story.

Are you a fast driver?
I’m not that into speed, to be honest.
Big machines that are fast ... they kind
of scare me. We shot a lot in Atlanta
and that highway in Atlanta – getting
on and off that – just terrifies me. I’m
not one of those people who weaves
in and out of traffic. I like to stay in
the second slowest lane and just
cruise along.
In the film, players of the video game
can join an academy to become real
race drivers. If you could set up your
own academy, what would it be?
Occasionally I think to myself that
I’d like to teach acting workshops. So
I guess I could have the acting academy
where I yell at students and get them
to stay on the line and not commit!
In the past, you’ve talked about
facing alcoholism. Do you feel
acting saved you?
Absolutely. I mean, I was very
self-destructive ... I was lucky to
find acting because it was very
liberating. And it continues to be
very liberating. Right now is a time
when I’m unable to work because of
the strikes. And I find it very difficult
actually to exist in the world without
this release.
How do you feel about the
phenomenon that TV series
Stranger Things has become?
I do feel somewhat that Stranger
Things and [my character] Hopper ...
they are things that we’ve done and
we’ve given them to you. And now you
have your own experience of them and
create your own world. It surprises me
how enormous it has become. But it
does seem to have taken on a life of its
own that barely involves me anymore.
Could you see yourself playing
Hopper for years to come?
We’ll see if he survives season five!
He might wind up with Jessica Fletcher
in Murder, He Wrote or something –
a show where he’s off solving crimes.
I’ll pitch it to Netflix!
Gran Turismo is in cinemas now.

HARVEY NORMAN PRESENTS

Coffee culture
Pre-program up to six drinks,
then make them straight
from the touchscreen.

How do you have your coffee? Any way you like
when you can be your own barista.

M I L K Y O U R W AY
Create barista-quality silky
milk coffees for every taste
with Breville’s Auto MilQ
feature. Boasting smarter
tech, the new alternative
milk settings for soy, oat,
almond and dairy milk
will calibrate temperature
and air injection time for
your favourite milk, to
deliver perfectly textured
microfoam. It also features
an auto purge steam wand
for easy cleaning.

S T E P - B Y- S T E P
B A R I S TA
GUIDANCE
The Barista Touch
Impress features
simple step-by-step
guidance that lets you
select from eight
pre-set coffees or
program six custom
coffees of your own.
Plus, Breville's Impress
Puck System with
automatic dosing and
assisted tamp makes
every brew a breeze.

Breville The Barista Touch TM
Impress Coffee Machine,
BES881SST2JAN1, $1999.

Stainless Steel
BES881BSS2IAN1

HARVEYNORMAN.COM. AU

online / mobile / instore

Matte Black
BES881BTR2IAN1

RECIPES
Espresso Crème Caramel with
Cacao Nib Praline; Boozy Spanish
Coffee with Almond milk
Find the recipes at hn.com.au/recipes

Have it your way
from short blacks to
espresso martinis.

RECIPES
Mille Feuille with Espresso
Creme Patissiere and
Berries; Ginspresso Martini
Find the recipes at
hn.com.au/recipes

Smart
and sweet
Enjoy even the most exotic coffee concoctions at
home with the latest features at your fingertips.

SWEET FOAM
FUNCTION
The stylish Jura J8 is
packed with clever
technology to effortlessly
deliver 31 specialty coffee
recipes. Savour perfectly
flavoured coffee with the
innovative Sweet Foam
function which infuses milk
foam with syrup during
preparation to deliver your
preferred sweetness, taste
and texture.

SMART CUP
SENSOR
The J8’s Coffee Eye
integrated sensor
detects your cup’s
position and adapts
the choices available
on the display for a
super-simple user
experience. Smart
grinding and dosing
ensure consistency to
enhance flavour and
adapt the intensity
to your palate.

Jura J8MIDNIGHTSIL, J8 Automatic
Coffee Machine, $3499. Also available: Jura
24265, Cool Control 1L G2 Milk Cooler, $379.

HARVEYNORMAN.COM. AU

online / mobile / instore

Explore
new tastes
Some like it hot, others over ice. Have
the best of both worlds, pronto!

Access over 100 creative
recipes on the Coffee Link
app to take your coffee
game to the next level.

COLD EXTRACTION
TECHNOLOGY
Enjoy the refreshing Cold
Brew function on the
De'Longhi Eletta Explore.
In under five minutes, it
delivers that cool, smooth
flavour you crave thanks
to a unique pump system
that uses ambient water
temperature, and infuses
the coffee under low
pressure, so you can make
the most of a variety of iced
coffee recipes.

50+ CAFÉ
STYLE RECIPES
Indulge your every
coffee mood with
more than 50 hot and
cold drinks at a tap
of the user-friendly
touchscreen. Or
connect remotely with
the Coffee Link app
to adapt your flavour
extraction, discover
new recipes and access
exclusive content.

De'Longhi ECAM45086T, Eletta Explore
Automatic Coffee Machine, $1799.

HARVEYNORMAN.COM. AU

online / mobile / instore

RECIPES
Coffee-Infused Madeleines
with Rose and Pistachios; White
Chocolate Macadamia Affogato
Find the recipes at hn.com.au/recipes

RECIPES
Coffee and Hazelnut New York
Cheesecake with Caramelised
Espresso Syrup; Iced Mocha
with Whipped Baileys Cream
Find the recipes at
hn.com.au/recipes

Creative coffee,
crafted at home
Enjoy café-style coffee and create latte art
masterpieces with perfectly textured milk,
just the way you like it.

Use the steam wand to
create the perfect foamy
base for your latte art.

ONE-TOUCH
BREWING
TECHNOLOGY
Offering the onetouch convenience and
consistency of Nespresso’s
signature capsule and the
flexibility of a fully automatic
steam wand, the Vertuo
Creatista lets you craft a
wide range of coffee recipes
made for six cup sizes, from
perfect piccolos to luscious
lattes. No barista required.

AN INFINITE
NUMBER OF MILK
COFFEE RECIPES
Create silky, perfectly
textured micro-foam
hands-free milk with
the assistance of both
three custom milk texture
and milk temperature
settings, plus fast heat-up
to facilitate your favourite
coffee recipes.

Nespresso BVE850BSS, Vertuo Creatista Capsule
Coffee Machine by Breville, $1099.

S H O P O N L I N E W I T H YO U R LO C A L S TO R E
HN.COM. AU OR CALL 1300 464 278
Harvey Norman® stores are operated by independent franchisees.
Promotion ends 23/09/2023.

R E ADE R EV EN T

HAIR
MASTERED
EVENT
Hair obsessed? Want to achieve your
hair goals? Join us for a special event
with marie claire and BEAUTY/crew.
Hair Mastered, in partnership with OGX,
promises to be a fun, informative and
interactive day focused on all things hair.
There will be two sessions, each offering the opportunity
to have all your haircare and styling questions answered.
You’ll also get to meet some of Australia’s leading beauty
editors and hair experts, including marie claire beauty
director Sally Hunwick, BEAUTY/crew editor Delaney
Loane, celebrity hair expert Aimee Hershan and beauty
expert Dominic Porras.
They’ll be sharing advice on how to lift your haircare
and styling game. You’ll also get a personalised haircare
consultation when you settle into the chair for a touchup session at the OGX Styling Bar. All this pampering
and expert advice will no doubt make you hungry,
so we will also have refreshments, barista-made coffee,
champagne and gourmet snacks at each session. Plus,
everyone who attends will receive an exclusive gift bag
valued at $250. Session places are limited so get
booking to secure your place now.

TI C K E T S
$75pp
+ you’ll receive a gift
bag valued at $250

Complimentary
glass of
champagne
& gourmet
snacks
WHEN: Saturday September 16, 2023
WHERE: La Porte Space, 87/103 Epsom Rd, Rosebery NSW
There are two sessions available to select from:
SESSION 1: 10.00am – 12.30pm
SESSION 2: 1.30pm – 4.00pm
For further information: rsvp.marieclaire@aremedia.com.au

THE PANELLISTS

SALLY HUNWICK
marie claire beauty director
IG @sallyhunwick

DELANEY LOANE
BEAUTY/crew editor
IG @delaneyloane

DOMINIC
OGX ambassador
IG @dom.skii

AIMEE HERSHAN
Hair styling expert
IG @amieehershan

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

B O O K N O W ! OGXHAIRMASTERED.eventbrite.com.au or scan QR code

marieclaire.com.au | 107

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICOLE BENTLEY. STYLING BY NAOMI SMITH.

front &
centre
Australian model of the moment
Georgina Burke showcases the
season’s latest collections

PHOTOGRAPHED BY HOLLY WARD STYLED BY NAOMI SMITH

OPPOSITE PAGE
Sportmax jacket,
$6445, world.
sportmax.com; Nancy
Ganz briefs, $59.95,
nancyganz.com;
Prada shoes,
POA, prada.com.
Thonet side table,
at anibou.com.au.
THIS PAGE Max
Mara coat, $5975,
maxmara.com.

OPPOSITE PAGE
Chloé dress, $10,610,
chloe.com. THIS PAGE
Miu Miu jacket, $7000,
top, $2650, stockings,
$415, briefs and shoes,
both POA, miumiu.
com. Thonet chair,
at anibou.com.au.

Valentino dress,
and tie, both POA,
valentino.com;
Nancy Ganz briefs,
$59.95, nancyganz.
com.au; Miu Miu
shoes, POA,
miumiu.com.

OPPOSITE PAGE
Prada jumper, $2370,
and skirt, $21,000,
prada.com; Miu Miu
shoes, POA, miumiu.com.
THIS PAGE H&M jumper,
$100, hm.com; Prada shoes,
POA, prada.com;
stylist’s socks.
Hair by Madison Voloshin/
Assembly Agency. Makeup
by Isabella Schimid/
Assembly Agency.
Model: Georgina Burke/
Be Frank Group.
Production: Emily Gittany.

Chanel top, $22,130,
shorts, $9940, stockings,
$780, belt, $4720,
shoes, $3030, bag,
$9160, and earrings,
$1900, 1300 242 635.
OPPOSITE PAGE
Chanel knit, $6830,
skirt, $8560, boots,
$4840, earrings, $1660,
and necklace, $3860,
1300 242 635.

GARDEN
PARTY
Chanel’s historic house emblem,
the camellia flower, is in full bloom
for autumn/winter 2023
PHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORGES ANTONI
STYLED BY JANA POKORNY

Chanel knit, $11,930,
shorts, $8470,
stockings, $780,
boots, $3980, bag,
$6570, and earrings,
$3150, 1300 242 635.
OPPOSITE PAGE
Chanel vest, $8300,
dress (underneath),
$17,200, gloves,
$2770, bag, $13,830,
and earrings, $2060,
1300 242 635.

Chanel jacket, $9340,
sunglasses, $900,
earrings, $2560, and
necklace, $2650,
1300 242 635.
OPPOSITE PAGE
Chanel jacket,
$17,460, sunglasses,
$900, and earrings,
$2560, 1300 242 635.

OPPOSITE PAGE
Chanel jumpsuit,
$11,330, belt, $9110,
earrings, $3150, and
necklace, $3860,
1300 242 635.
THIS PAGE Chanel
jacket, $17,120,
skirt, $7440, boots,
$3980, bag, $9680,
and earrings, $1310,
1300 242 635.

Chanel jacket, $16,600,
skirt, $10,890, stockings,
$780, boots, $3980,
earrings, $1420, necklaces
(from top), $3860 and
$3940, and belt (worn
as middle necklace),
$9110, 1300 242 635.
OPPOSITE PAGE Chanel
dress, $6830, belts, (gold)
$3980 and $4720, boots,
$3980, and earrings,
$2460, 1300 242 635.
Photography by Georges
Antoni/The Artist Group.
Styling by Jana Pokorny/
Kaz Kingdon Productions.
Hair by Kyye/AP-Reps.
Makeup by Victoria Baron/
MAP. Models: Willow Jay/
Priscilla’s; Lily Rendall/
Vivien’s. Production:
Robyn Fay-Perkins.

NOSTALG

IA

Blurring the boundaries between the past
and the future, Gucci’s latest collection
showcases a fresh take on layering and colour
PHOTOGRAPHED BY HOLLY WARD STYLED BY NAOMI SMITH

OPPOSITE PAGE

Gucci top, $2450, bra
(underneath, sold as set
with briefs), $1100, skirt,
$4250, stockings, $530,
belt, $1155, shoes, $1760,
bag, $5720, and earrings
(worn throughout), $2105,
gucci.com. THIS PAGE
Gucci top, $1100, bra
and briefs (underneath,
sold as set), $1100, skirt,
$9250, shoes, $1760, and
bag, $5325, gucci.com.

Gucci jumper, $1850,
shirt (underneath),
$1000, pants, $2050,
belt, $1155, shoes,
$1295, bag, $5720,
and rings (worn
throughout), from
$1560, gucci.com.
OPPOSITE PAGE

Gucci coat, $5550,
shirt, $1450, jeans,
$1800, belt, $1155,
and shoes, $1350,
gucci.com.

OPPOSITE PAGE

Gucci top, $2250,
pants, $4250, belt,
$1155, and shoes,
$1295, gucci.com.
THIS PAGE Gucci
top, $2800, bra (sold
as set with briefs),
$1100, skirt, $2250,
stockings, $530, belt,
$1155, shoes, $1760,
and bag, $5720,
gucci.com.

OPPOSITE PAGE

Gucci top, $2150, skirt,
$2800, stockings, $530,
shoes, $1760, and bag,
$5720, gucci.com.
THIS PAGE Gucci top,
$3650, bra (sold as set with
briefs), $1100, skirt, $5200,
stockings, $530, belt,
$1155, shoes, $1760, and
bag, $5325, gucci.com.
Hair by Koh/Vivien’s
Creative. Makeup by
Gillian Campbell/The Artist
Group. Model: Shantae
Leslie/IMG. Production:
Emily Gittany.

SHOPPING
101
ideas
Accessorise to perfection
as you elevate your look with
classic statement pieces
PHOTOGRAPHED BY OLIVER BEGG
STYLED BY JORDAN BOORMAN

Cue top, $425, cue.com;
With Harper Lu pants,
$165, withharperlu.com;
Poppy Lissiman
sunglasses, $160,
poppylissiman.com;
Zara shoes, $69.95,
zara.com/au; COS
earrings, POA, cos.com.

S HO PP I N G

2

Here’s to silver linings! Mix, match and stack
cool-toned bangles and chains, and
embrace on-trend oversized earrings.

1

1 Elka Collective blazer, $369, elkacollective.com; Del
Villar dress, $259, delvillar.co; Chusette stockings,
$23.95, chusette.com; Zara shoes, $69.95, zara.com/au;
L.G.R sunglasses, $560, lgrworld.com; COS earrings,
POA, cos.com. 2 Bec + Bridge top, $160, becandbridge.
com; Scanlan Theodore pants, $320, scanlantheodore.
com; Essēn belt, $249, essenthelabel.com; Zara boots,
$299, zara.com/au; Dinosaur Designs bangles, (second
from left) $260, (fourth from left) $300, dinosaurdesigns.
com.au; Louise Olsen bangles, (first from left) $375, and
$495, dinosaurdesigns.com.au. 3 Pfeiffer dress, $350,
pfeifferthelabel.com; Chusette stockings, $23.95,
chusette.com; Brie Leon earrings, $129, brieleon.com;
COS necklace, POA, cos.com; model’s own helix earring.

3

marieclaire.com.au | 135

SH OP P IN G
1

2

3

1 Zara jacket, $149, and boots, $299, zara.com/au;
With Harper Lu top (underneath), $90, and skirt, $170,
withharperlu.com; Brie Leon bag, $220, brieleon.com;
model’s own helix earring. 2 Brie Leon bag, $220,
brieleon.com. 3 H&M dress, $79.99, hm.com; Chusette
stockings, $23.95, chusette.com; Zara shoes, $459,
zara.com/au; A-Esque bag, $500, a-esque.com;
Dinosaur Designs rings, (from top) $220, $280
and $310, dinosaurdesigns.com.au.

136 | marieclaire.com.au

Everyday life calls for a
versatile black handbag.
Don’t be afraid to play with
different shapes and sizes.

With Harper Lu top, $190,
withharperlu.com; St Agni
shorts, $279, st-agni.com;
Chusette stockings, $23.95,
chusette.com; Zara shoes,
$69.95, zara.com/au; Perple
bag, $277.50, perplewomen.com.

HAIR BY ADAM DYER/SAUNDERS & CO. MAKEUP BY CARLY LIM. MODELS: MILESHKA/PRISCILLAS; ANNALIESE/PRISCILLAS.

Elka Collective dress, $299,
elkacollective.com; Zara boots,
$299, zara.com/au; Oroton bag,
$399, oroton.com; Brie Leon
earrings, $129, brieleon.com.

S HO PP I N G

From pointed-toe boots to
crystalised flats, step out in
footwear that does all the talking.

1

2

3

1 SIR. top, $320, and skirt, $320, sirthelabel.com; Chusette
stockings, $23.95, chusette.com; Essēn shoes, $379, essen
thelabel.com; St Agni bag, $349, st-agni.com; Brie Leon
earrings, $129, brieleon.com; Dinosaur Designs rings, (from
top) $220, $310 and $280, dinosaurdesigns.com.au; model’s
own helix earring. 2 Pfeiffer top, $250, pfeifferthelabel.com;
Cue pants, $385, cue.com; Zara shoes, $149, zara.com/au;
Louise Olsen bangles, (from left) $375 and $495, and ring,
$280, dinosaurdesigns.com.au. 3 Cue top, $615, and skirt,
$395, cue.com; Chusette stockings, $23.95, chusette.com;
L.G.R sunglasses, $560, lgrworld.com; Zara shoes, $69.95,
zara.com/au; Brie Leon earrings, $129, brieleon.com.

marieclaire.com.au | 139

COLOUR S PECIAL

’

FRIEND OF AUDREY

It’s time to venture beyond your neutrals and embrace a pop (or more) of colour

H&M jumper,
$89.99, hm.com.

Sandro shirt, $605,
sandro-paris.com.

Wanderers Travel
Co. bag, $199,
wandererstravelco.com.

Dinosaur Designs
ring, $240,
dinosaurdesigns.
com.au.

PRETTY
IN PINK

Frankie4 shoes,
$189.95, frankie4.com.

If Margot Robbie’s
wardrobe for Barbie
taught us anything, it’s
that life is better when
you step out in pink.
Charles & Keith
shoes, $116,
charleskeith.com.

Swarovski bracelet,
$329, swarovski.com.

Bondi Born
pants, $425,
bondiborn.com.

Auguste the Label
skirt, $179,
augustethelabel.com.

LMND shirt,
$115, lmnd.com.au.

Bondi Born dress,
$425, bondiborn.com.

Charles & Keith bag, $139,
charleskeith.com.

Viktoria & Woods
top, $390,
viktoriaandwoods.com.
Le Specs sunglasses,
$79, lespecs.com.

FA SH I ON

Faithfull the Brand
dress, $319,
faithfullthebrand.com.
Bondi Born
top, $325,
bondiborn.com.
Veja shoes, $240, veja-store.com/en_eu/.

Witchery top,
$149.95,
witchery.com.au.

SUNSET LOVER

Charles &
Keith bag,
$119,
charleskeith.
com.

INTO
THE BLUE
Cool, calm and
collected, the colour
of the sea and sky can
easily be adapted to
your office style with
an azure or navy blazer.

H&M blazer,
$99.99, hm.com.

Third Form
top, $160,
thirdform.com.au.

Charles &
Keith
shoes, $123,
charleskeith.com.

Le Specs sunglasses,
$69, lespecs.com.

$
Witchery pants,
$199.95,
witchery.com.au.

Marle jacket,
$300,
marle.co.nz.

Arms of Eve cuff,
$260, armsofeve.com.

Viktoria & Woods
skirt, $290, viktoria
andwoods.com.

marieclaire.com.au | 141

FA SHI ON

Charles & Keith
shoes, $89,
charleskeith.com.

Elk top, $169,
elkthelabel.com.

Arms of Eve
bracelet, $89,
armsofeve.com.

Venroy dress,
$180, venroy.com.

H&M bag,
$24.99,
hm.com.

Source Unknown
bag, approx $100,
sourceunknown.com.

H&M shoes,
$59.95,
hm.com.

Shona Joy
dress, $220,
shonajoy.com.

THE
GREEN
DREAM
For a shade exuding
confidence and
wellbeing, go green.
Start with touches
of lime in your shoes,
jewels and handbags.

Elk top, $199,
elkthelabel.com.

Swarovski earrings,
$155, swarovski.com.

Faithfull the Brand
skirt, $179,
faithfullthebrand.com.

Friend of Audrey
shirt, $259.95,
friendofaudrey.com.

H&M pants,
$59.99, hm.com.
Le Specs sunglasses,
$59, lespecs.com.

Pandora bracelet,
$269, pandora.net.

Maison de Sabré
bag, $229,
maisondesabre.com.

H&M shirt,
$89.99, hm.com.

FAITHFULL THE BRAND

Vans shoes,
$149.99,
vans.com.

Calvin Klein
skirt, $269,
calvinklein.com.

GIVE
PE ACH A
CHANCE

Friend of Audrey
dress, $269.95,
friendofaudrey.com.

Play with warmth
this spring. Liven up
your day with a bold
midi dress, or keep
things simple with a
statement accessory.

One Teaspoon
top, $39,
oneteaspoon.com.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEVAK BABAKHANI. COMPILED BY EMILY GITTANY.

Elk pouch,
$119,
elkthelabel.
com.

Swarovski
earrings, $325,
swarovski.com.

H&M dress,
$34.99,
hm.com.

Arms of Eve ring,
$99, armsofeve.com.

Ecco shoes, $249.95, ecco.com.

VRG GRL top,
$75, vrggrl.com.
VRG GRL pants,
$105, vrggrl.com.

Specsavers sunglasses, $149 (for
two pairs), specsavers.com.au.

marieclaire.com.au | 143

SUBSCRIBE & RECEIVE
Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water Cream by
Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water
Cream is an ultra-hydrating moisturiser
with good bacteria and hyaluronic acid to
help maintain the skin barrier for a calm,
clear, hydrated complexion.

VALUED AT

$66

@ANTIPODESSKINCARE

12 issues for $64.99 - SAVE 46%* via automatic renewal
Plus, a BONUS Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water Cream by

VISIT magshop.com.au/MCGIFT
or CALL 136 116 and quote M239MCM
*Savings based on cover price of $9.99 on a 12 issue recurring subscription. After your first 12 issues, your subscription will continue at $64.99 every 12 issues. You can
cancel your subscription at anytime. Offer valid from August 16th, 2023 to September 20th, 2023 to Australian residents only. The bonus gift will be sent to the purchaser
of the subscription. Subscribers will not receive gifts available at retail. For terms and conditions, visit magshop.com.au/mcgift. Our privacy policy can be found at
aremedia.com.au/privacy and includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including the provision of targeted
advertising based on your online activities). If you do not want your information provided to any organisation not associated with this offer, please indicate this clearly at
time of order or notify the Promoter in writing.

EDITED BY S A L LY H UN W I C K

N AT U R A L LY G O O D
With up to 95 per cent natural-origin ingredients and
raw materials sourced sustainably from around the globe
– think Marzolo mandarins from Calabria, Italy, and
honey extract sourced from Guerlain’s own beehives
in Calabria – these eau de toilettes are eco luxuries. In
keeping with the brand’s commitment to sustainability,
the close-fitting outer packing (pictured left and below)
reduces waste, and its wonderfully tactile recyclable
cellulose fibre is sourced from eco-managed forests.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA.

FROM TOP, GUERLAIN
Aqua Allegoria Harvest
Mandarine Basilic EDT, and
Aqua Allegoria Harvest Nerolia
Vetiver EDT, $274 each.

marieclaire.com.au | 145

INTO the NIGHT
Night-time is your moment to add a touch of
sparkle to your makeup and hair. And, as always,
diamonds are a girl’s best friend
PHOTOGRAPHED BY KELLY GEDDES
MAKEUP BY PINKY HAIR BY KOH
BEAUTY DIRECTOR SALLY HUNWICK

HIGH SHINE
Mood lighting calls for skin
that glows from within thanks
to featherweight layers of
foundation and highlighter.
Turn to page 153 for how to
get these stunning after-dark
makeup looks.

Lauren (left) wears Ganni bodysuit; ANTON Jewellery Rock Candy honey quartz
diamond drop earrings, $16,950, Rock Candy honey quartz diamond pendant necklace,
$9250, and Rock Candy honey quartz oval ring, $7450. Steffany wears Rasario dress
(from Net-A-Porter); ANTON Jewellery Riviera Monaco fancy yellow diamond drop
earrings, $71,800, Riviera heart-shaped fancy yellow diamond halo studs, $4950, Riviera
pear-shaped diamond halo studs, $5950, Classic Tennis 12ct diamond necklace, $58,950,
Aura Tennis 8.5ct diamond necklace, $29,950, Riviera Monaco fancy yellow diamond
bracelet, $79,800, Classic Tennis 5.8ct bracelet, $24,950, Classic Tennis 2ct bracelet,
$7750, Riviera pear-shaped fancy yellow diamond halo eternity ring, $24,950, and
Wedding Vivid oval-cut diamond eternity ring, $12,650, all at antonjewellery.com.

BE AU T Y

BE AUTY

SMOKE & SMOULDER
Dark, statement eyes make a big impact after dark.
Steffany (left) wears Sandro dress; ANTON Jewellery Riviera pear-shaped diamond halo studs, $5950, Classic diamond 4-claw stud
earrings, $1950, Classic Tennis necklace with emerald gemstones, $19,800, Classic Tennis bracelet with emerald gemstones, $17,800,
Classic Tennis bracelet, $7750, and Riviera Cannes diamond multi-cluster ring, $35,950. Lauren wears St Agni dress; ANTON
Jewellery Riviera Cannes sapphire and diamond pendant necklace, $4950, Allure Tennis 3.51ct bracelet, $11,450, Classic Tennis
5.8ct bracelet, $24,950, and Riviera Cannes sapphire and diamond ring, $86,300, all at antonjewellery.com.
148 | marieclaire.com.au

WING IT
The ever-chic winged eye
has French vibes that are
perfect for an evening out.
SIR. top; ANTON Jewellery R.08
single ear cuff with diamonds, $1150
each, R.08 Matrix drop earrings,
$2950, R.08 Matrix lariat necklace,
$7950, R.08 Deux diamond bangle,
$8800, and R.08 Embrace multirow bangle, from $31,950, all at
antonjewellery.com.

N I G H T-T I M E F L U S H
Blush is the latest beauty obsession, so
feel free to amp up colour after sunset.
Lauren (left) wears Aje dress; ANTON Jewellery
R.08 pointe drop earrings, $1850, R.08 single
ear cuff with diamonds, $1150, Icon eternity
ear cuff, $850, R.08 deux diamond necklace,
$43,950, and R.08 embrace multi-row bangle,
from $31,950. Steffany wears Aje dress; ANTON
Jewellery R.08 contour diamond huggies,
$2850, R.08 single ear cuff with diamonds,
$1150, Classic diamond 4-claw stud earrings,
$1950, R.08 link diamond necklace, $85,000,
R.08 diamond statement link bracelet, $55,800,
and Capri Dreaming lighthouse diamond ring,
from $5450, all at antonjewellery.com.

BE AU T Y

R E A D Y F O R I M PA C T
A red lip always ups the stakes and injects some drama.
Christopher Esber dress; ANTON Jewellery R.08 pointe drop earrings (medium), $1850, Capri Dreaming lighthouse huggies, $5450,
Icon eternity ear cuff, $850, Allure single diamond ear cuff, $695, Classic Tennis 12ct diamond necklace, $58,950, Capri Dreaming
lighthouse diamond bangle, $14,950, Classic Tennis 5.8ct bracelet, $24,950, Capri Dreaming lighthouse diamond ring, $5450, Capri
Dreaming vine diamond ring, $2650, and Wedding Vivid oval-cut diamond eternity ring, $12,650, all at antonjewellery.com.

marieclaire.com.au | 151

GET GLOW I NG
Layer up skin-loving products for a natural-looking radiance.
St Agni dress; ANTON Jewellery R.08 chain drop earrings in yellow gold, $2950,
and R.08 pointe lariat necklace in yellow gold and diamonds, $2950, antonjewellery.com.

BE AU T Y

GET the LOOK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY GEDDES/SAUNDERS & CO. STYLING BY EMMA COTTERILL/RELOAD AGENCY. HAIR BY KOH/VIVIEN’S CREATIVE. MAKEUP BY PINKY (NICOLE THOMPSON)/DLM.
MODELS: LAUREN STEVENSON/IMG; STEFANNY AGIUS/VIVIEN’S. ART DIRECTOR: LESLEY JHOTY. PRODUCTION: ROBYN FAY-PERKINS. WORDS BY SALLY HUNWICK.

From a healthy flush to high-impact eyes and lips, these beauty looks will dazzle ’til dawn

HIGH
SHINE

SMOKE &
SMOULDER

Sleek hair and skin
that glows under
mood lighting is
so seductive. To
achieve this, celebrity
makeup artist Pinky
suggests using
highlighter before
foundation. “Use a
fluff y brush to buff
highlighting cream
over high points,”
she says. “Then use
a smaller fluff y brush
to add foundation
where you need it.”

For eyes, “try applying
deep-sea blues swept
over the lids and under
the lower lash line,” says
Pinky. She also suggests
patting shimmery
shadow onto lids with
fingers, to allow light
to bounce off them at
night. Kohl-lined eyes
are a classic. “Define the
crease line with shadow
then blend a fine wash
of eyeshadow over the
lids.” Apply a hair mask
to locks for a sleek,
undone vibe.

HOLME BEAUTY Brush
Number One, $37; CHANEL
No.1 De Chanel Skin
Enhancer in Intense Amber,
$94; RAE MORRIS Invisible
Mattifier Powder, $80.

WING IT

N I G H TTIME
FLUSH

Nothing is more chic
than a winged eye.
This version is
strong yet still
feminine thanks
to its delicate and
precise point.
“I used a felt-tip
pen to create the
sharp lines,” says
Pinky. For the hair,
Koh added a Kevin
Murphy shine spray
to keep locks
looking sleek yet
still touchable.

Blush and night-time
might not seem like
an obvious match,
but it’s a great way
to add a youthful glow
to an evening look.
“Start with a cream
blush buffed on with
a fluff y face brush
then tap a powder
blush over the top
for extra vibrancy,”
says Pinky.

MAKE AN
I M PA C T

GET
GLOW I NG

A statement lip
allows the rest of
the face and your
hairstyle to stay
pared back. “Liquid
lipstick is the secret
to a bold, clean lip
in a flash,” says
Pinky. “Apply sheer
layers for a strong,
flawless finish and
add lip conditioner
if the result feels
too matte.”

GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Line
It Up 24-Hr Gel Pencil Eyeliner
in Spiderwebs, $31; NARS
Single Eyeshadow in Outremer,
$30; DAVINES Nounou Hair
Mask, 250ml, $55.

RARE BEAUTY Soft Pinch

Tinted Lip Oil in Delight,
$35; GUCCI BEAUTY Rouge
à Lèvres Matte Lipstick in
505 Janet Rust, $72.

Create flawless skin
with good prep and
sheer makeup
layering. “Spritz
and massage a
hydrating mist into
skin,” says Pinky.
“Next, massage in
serums rather than
heavy moisturiser.
Then add a sheer
layer of foundation
and concealer only
where needed.”

CHARLOTTE TILBURY Magic

Vanish Colour Corrector
in Fair, $51; CLARINS Skin
Illusion Velvet foundation
in 105N, $58.

marieclaire.com.au | 153

Inside my

SALON SUCCESS
Beauty is booming. marie claire’s Sally Hunwick talks to
leaders in the industry to find out exactly what it takes to excel

The new KODA salon
in the QVB, Sydney.
RIGHT Diane
Gorgievski.

KO DA SA L O N S

Fo u n d e r D i a n e G o r g i e v s k i
KODA’s Bondi salon has long been a favourite among
A-listers. Now, with a new location in Sydney’s QVB, the
salon is set to also service professionals and urbanites.
Y O U R I N S P I R AT I O N I’ve been in the hairdressing

industry for 27 years. When I founded KODA Bondi
seven years ago, my goal was to elevate salon services to
match the level of excellence found in top salons globally.
W H AT ’ S N E W The salon at Sydney’s QVB has been

designed by leading interior design studio Arent&Pyke.
It’s a seamless blend of nostalgia and futurism, which
invites clients to indulge in a state of ultimate relaxation.
U N I Q U E S E L L I N G P O I N T ? One exclusive offering is
the hair facial service [blending hair label] Davines Naturaltech and the innovative Maletti steam basin. It fuses
haircare with wellness, leaving clients deeply relaxed.

“THE BEST HAIR ADVICE I’VE RECEIVED IS TO
AVOID OVERCOMPLICATING THINGS. STEPPING
BACK AND TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT YOUR
WORK CAN PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHTS”
– Diane Gorgievski, @koda_cutters

B E S T H A I R T I P Embrace and work with your natural

hair texture. Healthy, well-cared-for hair is beautiful and
serves as an excellent foundation for any hairstyle.
S I G N AT U R E S T Y L E Deconstructed hair. And I could not

live without Davines Naturaltech Calming Shampoo.
B U S I N E S S E T H O S Successful entrepreneurs possess

free-thinking and determination. Finding something you
truly love and immersing yourself in it every day is key.

154 | marieclaire.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PRUE RUSCOE.

BEST HAIR ADVICE

BE AU T Y

FAC E + B O DY BY S M

Fo u n d e r S a n j a M a r i a

With salons in prime Sydney locations (Paddington
and Mosman) and a cult following, Face + Body by SM
has established itself as an epicentre for tailored, resultdriven skin treatments, “tweakments” and injectables.
T H E I N S P I R AT I O N The inspiration was to create a

point of difference whereby clients are offered treatments
that look beyond the generic list of beauty services. This,
combined with bespoke customer service, allows the skin
goal to have an “all-round concierge” and holistic feel.

FROM TOP LEFT Sanja
Maria, and the interior
of Face + Body by SM in
Sydney’s Paddington.

B U S I N E S S E T H O S A N D M A N T R A This is built on the
fact each client’s desired treatment goal is a personalised
one. My longtime clients can attest to my mantra that
skin is a commitment. Technology and treatments have
come a long way but getting the best results requires a
pragmatic approach. I don’t push a “quick fix”. Results
are better when treatments are tailored for you.
T H E G O O D A N D B A D It’s no surprise that operating

a business requires a lot of dedication, commitment and
time. For me, it’s not just the hours I put into each clinic,
it is also the additional upskilling, training, research and
development that has to be done. As a single mum, I
have to be realistic and allocate my time and energy fairly
between the business and my five-year-old daughter.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAYBEN MOUSSA. AS TOLD TO FRANCESCA HARTLEY.

T H E J U G G L E One of the highlights has been mastering

the parenting and work balance, and seeing all my hard
work and dedication pay off. I am still blown away by
the loyalty of my clients in a very saturated industry.
To have clients who have been with me for over 10 years
... I feel such a sense of pride. It is my main driving force
to continuously improve my offering.
D E S E R T I S L A N D P R O D U C T The DMK Foamy Lift

Kit [enzyme mask]. It mimics the in-clinic enzymes.
B E A U T Y E N T R E P R E N E U R T I P Surrender to the

process. Take the highs with the lows and maintain
a positive attitude through all situations.
W H AT ’ S N E W I am extremely proud to have ventured

into the latest technologies in women’s health, [which
treat] everyday issues faced by females of all ages and
demographics. These treatments will be exclusively
available in our Mosman clinic.

BUSINESS TIP

“AS AN
ENTREPRENEUR THERE
IS NO QUITTING
OR FAILURE, SIMPLY
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR IMPROVEMENT”
- Sanja Maria,
@faceby_sm

BE AUTY

FROM LEFT Mariah Rota and
Jordan Crugnale, and the
interior of Cole Hair Studio
in Sydney’s Double Bay.

C O LE H A I R STU D I O

Fo u n d e r M a r i a h R o t a a n d
co- owner Jordan Crugnale

Luxurious and modern, Cole Hair Studio’s creative
stylists take inspiration from runway-driven trends,
new techniques, and the latest technology to elevate
and transform hair. The inclusive salon is a must
for specialty colour work and hair extensions.
T H E I N S P I R AT I O N Rota says: I saw a gap in the market

U N I Q U E S E L L I N G P O I N T ? Rota says: Cole Hair is a

luxury, modern salon based in Double Bay, Sydney. Our
salon specialises in all aspects of hair, especially colour
and hair extensions. Our senior stylists are internationally
trained, all with many years of experience. We are now
a salon of 13 hairdressers who work together and inspire
each other to create the fabulous vibe that is Cole Hair.
D E S E R T I S L A N D P R O D U C T Rota says: As someone

with frizzy, unruly hair I can’t live without Kérastase
Discipline [Keratin Thermique] leave-in heat protector.
It reduces hair breakage, and offers anti-frizz and antihumidity action.
B E S T H A I R A D V I C E Crugnale says: No matter how

shiny it may make your hair, please do not use anything
other than salon-quality shampoo. Silicone will be the
death of all hairdressers. Also, don’t lie to us, we can tell!
Y O U R S E C R E T W E A P O N Rota says: I was taught

resilience and determination at a very young age by my
dad. I am the only one who can make a difference to
my life, and whatever the curve ball I’ll work through it
and come out of the experience more knowledgeable.
Being a business owner is about strong leadership,
ambition, determination, energy and empathy. My
staff and my clients are my world.

ENTREPRENEUR TIP

“BE BRAVE AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
BE PREPARED FOR HARD WORK AND KNOW
THAT YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES”
- Mariah Rota, @colehair.studio

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK MORFFEW (HEADSHOTS); TIMOTHY KAYE (SALON IMAGES).

for a luxury salon that was modern and appealed to
clients of all age groups. I wanted to create a space where
everyone felt welcome. We all like to present well, and
when there are special occasions families and friends
want to come to the salon together. Cole Hair is a salon
where everyone feels welcome. The vibe is sufficiently
young if you are on the younger side, but equally calm
and attentive if you are slightly older.

SA L O N H E R

Fo u n d e r M i c h a el Kel l y
Michael Kelly found solace in the hairdressing industry
as a teenager. Today he owns thriving Salon HER in
Sydney’s Darlinghurst, where big names book in for
natural-looking highlights, killer blowdries and
(yes) cocktails.
W H Y H A I R D R E S S I N G When I first started in

the industry I was, like most teenagers, a little
misplaced at school. I knew I was creative and
could talk under water, so hairdressing as a career
path seemed fitting. Quickly I realised that I
possessed the natural talent and grit to achieve
my goals. That belief in myself was what really
catapulted me into the next 20 years of my industry
growth and progression.
B U S I N E S S T I P One of the best decisions I made for

Salon HER was not to launch the brand prematurely.
I took my time to understand myself as a person first
and then as a leader to really make sure that business
ownership was the right direction for me.
U N I Q U E S E L L I N G P O I N T ? We offer a boutique salon

experience for those who crave a bespoke service in an
intimate and relaxed setting. Designed by Folk Studio to
emanate the vibe created in chic hotel lobby bars found
in downtown LA, your sense of time slows down, you
sink in, open your laptop or a magazine and really take
the time to check in with yourself and the people around
you. We take our drinks seriously too. After-work haircuts
[can be enjoyed with] a much-needed negroni.
S E C R E T W E A P O N I keep a healthy check on where
I’m at with my emotional energy. To do this ... I keep
my phone on silent and I don’t sleep with my phone
in the same room. I wake up early, minimise my time
on social media, and keep Sunday as the day of rest.
I also meditate daily and only have people around me
who believe in me as a person.
B E S T H A I R T I P We put so much weight on the way

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TERENCE CHIN.

we look these days that we often forget to appreciate
what we have and the beauty we naturally possess.
Whatever it is, enjoy it. If it doesn’t work out or you
need to change something about your hair, then do it.
You never know unless you give it a go.

BEST BUSINESS TIP

“WITHOUT THE TEAM THERE REALLY IS NO
SALON HER. I’M VERY HUMBLED BY THIS
REALISATION AND IT MOTIVATES A LOT OF
THE CHOICES I MAKE FOR THE BUSINESS”
- Michael Kelly, @salonher_

FROM TOP
LEFT Michael
Kelly and the
interior of Salon
HER in Sydney’s
Darlinghurst.

marieclaire.com.au | 157

T

he bad news: between
Covid and the cost of living
crisis, people are getting
fewer haircuts. And
with that arises a slew of
concerns previously sorted by regular
salon visits (and a professional eye).
The good news: there are products
that can help. Effective formulas are
just a same-day-delivery away, but it’s
hard to know which ones will work.
Hairstylists Anthony Nader (founder
of RAW salon) and Jaye Edwards
(founder of Edwards and Co) sort
through these pesky issues and advise
how to maintain overall hair health.

CONCERN #1

U N R U LY F R I Z Z
Hydration is key for combating frizz,
says Jaye Edwards. He suggests
applying products right after you
shower to lock in moisture; think
of it as “skin flooding” for your hair.
While there are external aggressors that
contribute to frizz, it often comes down
to genetics, so “work with your natural
hair texture, rather than against it”. For
wavy to curly/kinky hair, products such
as Bread’s Curl Capturing Gloss gel are
essential in reducing frizz and taming
flyaways while retaining texture and
volume. Living Proof’s Smooth Styling
Serum is a great option for straighter
hair types and will leave locks looking
polished and sleek.
1 BREAD Hair-Gel Curl Capturing Gloss, $48.
2 LIVING PROOF No Frizz Smooth Styling
Serum, $57. 3 KEVIN MURPHY Killer Curls
Rinse, $47.95. 4 REDKEN Frizz Dismiss Rebel
Tame Heat Protecting Cream, $42.

Treat common hair concerns and
replenish your mane with expert
advice from the professionals.
Francesca Hartley reports

HAIR
REPAIRERS

1
3
2

CONCERN #2

6

5

SCALP ISSUES
The root cause of oily or greasy hair
could be your scalp care (or lack of).
Aveda’s new Scalp Solutions range has
adaptogenic herbs and hyaluronic acid
to help maintain the heath of your
scalp’s microbiome. Meanwhile,
treat dandruff with a salicylic-dosed
shampoo, like the one from Kérastase.

4

158 | marieclaire.com.au

5 KÉRASTASE Symbiose Crème Hydrating
Anti-Dandruff Shampoo, $57. 6 KLORANE AntiDandruff Rebalancing Shampoo with Galangal,
$24.99. 7 AVEDA Scalp Solutions Exfoliating
Scalp Treatment, $80, and 8 Scalp Solutions
Stimulating Scalp Massager, $58.

7

8

10

16

CONCERN #5

11

9

12

CONCERN #3

DA M AG E
For damaged and brittle locks, Anthony
Nader recommends a quality hair mask.
“Think of it as a facial for your hair,” he
says. “The more you feed your strands,
the healthier they’ll be.” With styling
tools, use a heat-protective spray
beforehand and “try half the heat
temperature”. Also, rinsing with
cool water after washing will help
by closing the hair cuticle. And finally,
try an at-home bond-repair treatment.
“I’d stick to using a bonding product
weekly and consulting with your stylist
in salon,” says Edwards.

DULLNESS
Locks lacking lustre? Nader suspects
your shower routine may be to blame.
“If your hair strands are frail and lack
shine, I’d say you’re using the wrong
shampoo and conditioner,” he explains.
“Ask your hairdresser to prescribe the
best products for your hair type.”
Other factors can be diet, sunlight
and chemical damage. Try adding
serums from Iles Formula (dosed
with Australian botanicals) or Guerlain
(enriched with black bee honey) into
your daily hair routine, to promote
vitality and shine. Nader’s preferred
application involves “a few drops onto
damp hair. It blow-dries in beautifully
and doesn’t appear dirty or feel heavy”.
13 ILES FORMULA Haute Performance
Finishing Serum, $84. 14 FEKKAI Brilliant
Gloss Shampoo Shine & Anti-Frizz, 250ml, $36.
15 GUERLAIN Abeille Royale Scalp & Hair
Youth-Oil-in Serum, $230.

14
13

9 VIRTUE LABS Restorative Treatment Mask,
150ml, $100. 10 EPRES Bond Repair Treatment,
$98. 11 ORIBE Gold Lust Transformative Masque,
$105. 12 K18 Molecular Repair Hair Oil, $94.

15

17

18

CONCERN #7

COLOUR HARM
Unfortunately, colour treating your hair
risks chemical damage, and “using
non-salon quality products at home
will also create build up and affect
your colour”, says Edwards. His advice?
“Put down the bleach, have a decent
trim and invest in a quality restorative
treatment.” To extend your colour,
he suggests “booking in for regular
glosses, which are 15-minute in-salon
treatments that help make your colour
pop without a full colour service”.
16 ELEVEN AUSTRALIA Keep My Colour Blonde
Toning Spray, $27.95. 17 O&M Clean.Tone Cool
Blonde Colour Treatment, $39.95. 18 L’ORÉAL
PROFESSIONNEL Metal Detox Serum In Oil, $60.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA; NICOLE MCCLUSKEY/APIX SYNDICATION.

19
CONCERN #4

SPLIT ENDS

CONCERN #6

Supposed split-end saviours are on the
rise (and amassing millions of views on
TikTok’s #hairtok). But Nader warns
these “revolutionary” products may
not be giving the results we had hoped
for. “Once the hair is split, it’s split,”
he explains. “There are products on
the market that can ‘mask or seal’
a split end but it’s not permanent.”
Nader’s solution? Regular haircuts
because “why do you want to grow
unhealthy split hair?” So if your last
trim is a distant memory, preventing
frayed ends from splitting further up
the hair shaft sounds like a very
good reason to book in.

Try an inside-out approach to
hair loss and thinning. Invest in
a high-performing ingestible
(JSHealth and Vida Glow stock
some of our favourites) and active
topicals such as Vegamour’s GRO
Serum or Robe Haircare’s Tonic.
Both are lightweight and dosed
with phyto-actives that work
overtime to revitalise the look
of hair and help improve body.
Just make sure you apply them
consistently, as thicker-looking
locks can take time.

THINNING
21

20

19 ROBE HAIRCARE
The Comb, $39.99, and
20 The Tonic, $69.99.
21 VEGAMOUR
Gro Hair Serum, $105.

B E AUTY

THE ROUND UP

Hot Tools

There’s a new wave of high-tech devices
changing the way we style our hair

“It had to be ceramic plates,
no question. These distribute
heat evenly for smooth,
frizz-free ironing,” says Ltn
founder Anthony Nader.
LTN Hair Straightener
Original Styler 1" Plates, $220.

PO

WERFU

L
YING

A BOU

N

PE

R AT O R

FI
SLEEK

Dyson’s beloved,
lightweight,
high-performing
hairdryer uses
intelligent heat
control to dry
hair quickly sans
heat damage.

NISH

SM

OOTH O

CE

UL

DR

TR

DYSON

Want megavolume?
Mermade Hair’s
unique ovalshaped brush
promises an
ever-on-trend
bombshell
blowout
with ease.

Say farewell to frizz and hello
to smooth strands. Advanced
ionic technology minimises
static and pesky flyaways. Pair
with the Moroccanoil haircare
range for a sleek finish.

Supersonic
Hair Dryer in
Prussian Blue/
Rich Copper,
$649.

MOROCCANOIL Smooth Style

Ceramic Heated Brush, $199.

MERMADE HAIR

Y

LONG -

W

ET

S
Ghd’s groundbreaking Air-fusion technology
combines drying and heat technologies to
channel an ultra-concentrated airflow. Use as
a straightener on wet hair to minimise styling
time and reduce heat damage.
GHD Duet Style Hot Air Styler in Black, $595.

L

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA. WORDS BY FRANCESCA HARTLEY.

TH

Air Styling & Drying System, $499.

SILVER BULLET

Platinum Curling
Iron, 25mm,
$129.95.

TING C

TO D
R

SHARK BEAUTY Shark Flexstyle

RL

T

New to our shores, Shark Beauty’s
Flexstyle tool comes with six
attachments for versatile styling.
A true multitasker, this tool will
take you from hairstyles A to Z.

U

-S

YLER

Achieve glamorous
red-carpet ringlets
or effortless
soft waves with
the help of this
tourmaline and
ceramic barrel.
Four heat settings
up to 200°C create
curls that will last.

AS

E M U LT I

Blow Dry Brush
in Baby Lilac,
$109.

TA L K

BELLA HADID

B E AUT

Y

“IT’S NOT ONE PERSON
OR THING. I GET
INSPIRATION FROM
ALL WALKS OF LIFE”
Pillow Talk for a dreamy everyday look
and Walk Of No Shame for instant
confidence. On the red carpet I love
the [shade] Ruby Blur. If I want a bold
finish, I’ll swipe on two coats with the
applicator. It gives a really different look.
MY G O -TO H A I R S T Y L E has long
been a slicked-back bun because it’s
so easy and seamless. In summer,
when I’m on the farm, I like to keep
my hair natural and just air dry.
IN MY BATHRO OM YO U ’LL FIND

Dr Bronner’s Lavender soap, Honey Pot
PH soap and everything Vegamour
[haircare]. I have a large collection of
hair masks that I’ve built over the years.
I always use masks to slick [back] my
hair and will often use sesame oil and
coconut oil to make my own.
MY B E S T B E AU T Y TI P came from

[makeup artist] Sofia Tilbury, who
taught me to dot-dot-blend with the
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Beauty Blush
Wands. It’s been all over TikTok – you
just dot on the apples of the cheeks,
all the way to the ear, and then blend
upwards for a lifted effect. It’s so quick
and easy. I’m glowing in literal seconds.

The model and ambassador for cult
beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury talks
inspiration, favourite products and her
holistic approach to skin and haircare
PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA; GETTY IMAGES. AS TOLD TO FRANCESCA HARTLEY.

I ’M IN S PIR E D BY so many different

1

places. I’m like a sponge – always
soaking up everything around me – so
my beauty looks are a culmination of
all the influences I encounter in my life,
whether that’s on set, on the street
or online.

3

MY B E AU T Y PHILO S O PHY I S
I N E V E R LE AV E TH E H O US E
W IT H O U T using my Airbrush

Flawless Finish Powder [by Charlotte
Tilbury]. If I don’t have time for
anything else, I swipe that on and it
instantly gives me that smooth, blurred,
matte finish. Charlotte Tilbury’s
Hollywood Flawless Filter [illuminating
primer] has also been a staple in my
beauty routine since she created it.
The glow it gives is just magic.
I instantly feel like a goddess!
I ’M O B S E S S E D W ITH the new
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless
Lip Blur. It has this gorgeous, soft-focus
finish that I just love. Sometimes I’ll
wear it blurred, using my fingertips to
tap the colour onto my lips and diffuse
up to the lip line. I wear the shade

2
4

“Beauty comes from within.” Whenever
I feel good on the inside, I think I look
best on the outside too.
W H E N O N T H E G O, I T RY TO drink

as much water and get as much sleep
as I can. I always make sure I have a
Kin [Kin Euphorics, the non-alcoholic
beverage company Hadid co-founded]
in my hand to keep me feeling balanced,
help stabilise my mood and give me
that much-needed burst of energy.

5

1 CHARLOTTE TILBURY Airbrush Flawless Finish
Powder in Medium, $73. 2 VEGAMOUR Gro
Revitalizing Conditioner, $79. 3 DR BRONNER’S

6

Pure-Castile Liquid Soap in Lavender, 237ml,
$14.95. 4 CHARLOTTE TILBURY Matte Beauty
Blush Wand in Dream Pop, $55, and 5 Airbrush
Flawless Lip Blur in Ruby Blur, $49, and
6 Hollywood Flawless Filter in Medium, $70.

marieclaire.com.au | 161

SP OTL

B E AUTY

H
IG

T ON

SIGN of the TIMES

Turning back the clock could be less far-fetched than imagined, now that
science has discovered what causes the signs of ageing. By Sally Hunwick

DIOR Prestige
Le Nectar
Premier, $950.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA; COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN DIOR.

O

ur desire to stop time – or at least halt
its effects on our bodies – is not new.
From fairytales of magical potions
to stories of mythical fountains, the
allure of eternal youth has long been a
source of fascination. And while there are inalienable
truths we must accept (the passing of time being one),
science has been working on taking prolonged youth
out of the realms of fiction and into reality.
Research has shown that a complexion that
belies our chronological age is the goal for many
of us. More than that, though, the aim now is to
make our skin behave like younger skin – so it
doesn’t just look younger, it is younger.
But before science could work out how to
turn ageing on its head, it needed to work out
exactly why our skin ages in the first place.
“The challenging part was discovering the
age trigger,” says Laure Crabbe-Vert, the scientific
coordinator at LVMH’s Life Sciences department.
“For the first time, we have discovered [a process
called] cellular senescence, which are cells
that are unable to function properly.”
Crabbe-Vert explains that senescent
cells – aptly also known as “zombie cells” – are
cells that have died and stopped multiplying yet
stay in the skin releasing chemicals rather than
disappearing. “This was really a major discovery,”
she says. “We worked out that the release of these
harmful molecules can then affect the skin
environment and the neighbouring cells.”
Like a naughty teenager who has a bad
influence on her friends, the zombie cells affect
surrounding healthy skin cells by sending out
inflammatory signals. This makes the healthy
cells act in the same ageing way – effectively
“spreading” ageing throughout the skin.
This phenomenon means that ageing can
course throughout the body at an accelerated rate,
affecting skin structure, texture and colour. The
effect when we look in the mirror (or into a camera
on Zoom) is a loss of skin volume, tone and radiance,
and an increase in sagging and wrinkles.
Dior’s scientists have taken this new knowledge
and made it their mission to help reverse the signs
of ageing. Turning back the years on our complexion
is a big call but the experts at the maison believe that
– with consistent use – its newest serum, Le Nectar
Premier, is able to help pause the ageing message at
its source (coined the age signal), thereby helping
to slow the visible signs of ageing.
It all comes down to one very special rose. At the
heart of Dior’s luxury skincare line, Dior Prestige,
the Rose de Granville is more than just beautiful.
It is able to bloom twice a year, and the house’s
scientists have studied the flower to determine
how it has such impressive life force and resilience
to bloom perfectly even after the harshest winter.
The question was, could such resilience help to
fortify our skin cells in a similar way?
Cultivated in the Dior Rose Garden in Normandy,
near Christian Dior’s childhood home in France,
the buds became the focus for Le Nectar Premier.
Twice as concentrated as the blooms, each bud is

“WE WANT TO
ENCOURAGE THAT
A LUXURY PRODUCT
CAN ALSO BE GOOD
FOR THE PLANET”
– L^g\^c^Z9djijgVjY"hX^Zci^ëX
communication director of
Parfums Christian Dior

handpicked on a single spring day at a particular
hour. Through a process of cryo-extraction, where
buds are cryo-frozen, then cryo-ground and
filtered, scientists have created a concentrate
called Rosapeptide Premier, a patented complex of 99
molecules derived entirely from the special Dior rose.
“The Rosapeptide acts on the skin mechanisms
and reverses the three dimensions of ageing,” says
Virginie Couturaud, Christian Dior’s scientific
communication director. Engineered for optimum
absorbency into the skin, the new complex is
said to be able to act on the age signal as well as
support skin structure, smooth and strengthen,
and leave skin looking more luminous and even.
But no product is a complete cure-all. Couturaud
says it is important to have a complete skincare
routine in play. “It’s very important to give your skin
all the micronutrients for optimum skin function.”
She recommends combining Le Nectar Premier
with other products in the house’s Prestige range,
such as the cult-followed La-Micro-Huile de Rose as
a pre-step and Dior Prestige La Crème as a densityboosting third step. Combined, the effect on the
skin is the appearance of more volume, a more
refined texture and enhanced radiance.
And you can feel good using it, too. Each of Dior’s
roses is sustainable and traceable. Further evidence:
Le Nectar Premier’s formula has 97 per cent naturalorigin ingredients, while its luxe packaging is not
only refillable (a first for the brand) but also made
from recycled and recyclable glass and boxed in
recycled cardboard. “We are very proud of this,” says
Couturaud. “The refill system means a reduction in
carbon footprint, [and] we want to encourage that
a luxury product can also be good for the planet.”
It certainly shows that luxury and sustainability
can be happy bedfellows. And like that rosebud
that blooms perfectly each season, perhaps true
skin renewal is also not as far off as we imagine.
Certainly, some of the women who tested Dior’s
product said they felt like four years had been
wiped off their faces. So, fountains aside, while
we may not be able to stop time per se, one day we
may be able to suspend our skin as time marches on.
Dior Prestige Le Nectar Premier is available
from September 3 at dior.com.

marieclaire.com.au | 163

B E AUTY

L

UXE

ND
I
F

P E AC H Y K E E N
ZIMMERMANN S/S 2023

This skincare-makeup hybrid
skin tint from Chanel’s N°1
is your quickest route to a
peachy, glowing complexion.
Each of the three pearlescent
shades gives off warm tones
and is dosed with camellia
extract and oil as well as
hyaluronic acid to keep skin
hydrated and plump looking.
CHANEL N°1 De Chanel
Skin Enhancer, $94.

FRIZZ FREE
Dream: having a
professional hairstylist do
our hair every morning.
The next best thing?
This blow-dry milk from
Kérastase. On the back
of the brand’s long-loved
Thermique range, this
new niacinamide and
plant-based protein dosed
styling product will boost
your blow-dry and ensure
frizz-free styling for even
very dry hair types.

CARTE
BLANCHE

KÉRASTASE Nutritive Nectar
Thermique, $61.50.

BUY

E
GR A

T

the

WHITE GLO Charcoal
Whitening Toothpaste, $5.99.

O N T H E D A I LY
It’s not summer yet but there’s never a wrong moment to
remind ourselves to wear sunscreen – every day. And the
good news is that formulations are now so fine-textured
and lightweight they act like a primer under makeup.

makeup, grime and SPF and leave
skin cleansed and super soft.
What’s more, its sweet citrus scent
gives instant feel-good vibes.
KESTER BLACK Overachiever
Balm Cleanser, $64.

164 | marieclaire.com.au

BEST FOR: GLOW

BEST FOR: EVERY DAY

MECCA COSMETICA
To Save Face SPF30 Facial
Sunscreen, 100g, $40.

LA ROCHE-POSAY
Anthelios Invisible Fluid Facial
Sunscreen SPF 50+, $35.95.

This new recruit to Mecca’s
sunscreen lineup is super
lightweight and leaves skin
with a satiny glow, which
means it can be worn on
its own or under makeup.

With very high UVA and UVB
protection, this cult-followed
fine-textured sunscreen sinks
into skin and won’t leave a
shiny slick. Consider it
your morning staple.

Always follow the directions when wearing SPF, avoid prolonged sun
exposure, wear protective clothing and a hat and reapply as directed.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA; IMAXTREE/SNAPPER IMAGES. WORDS BY SALLY HUNWICK.

To lift your teethwhitening game, look to
activated charcoal, which
can help remove stains.
The mint-flavoured White
Glo daily toothpaste
improves whitening with
five technologies, while
also being enamel safe
and protecting teeth.

NEW
STABILIZING
REPAIR
CREAM
helps stop
sensitive skin
within 1 week*

before

after 1 week

*See a reduction in redness, irritation, and itchiness
within 1 week. Independent clinical test, 31 subjects,
2 applications/day for 8 weeks.

TERRY DE GUNZBURG

I A M PROUD O F the cult status of

By Terry’s Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder.
Used together with our new gamechanging Hyaluronic Glow Setting Mist,
the finish and longevity of your makeup
will be completely transformed.
THR E E PRO DUC T S I C A N ’ T LIV E
W IT H O U T A R E By Terry’s Baume

de Rose, which is a lip lifesaver with
such a luxurious scent; our Hyaluronic
Hydra-Powder is an absolute staple;
and finally the Crayon Blackstar
[eyeliner] in the shade Terrybleu,
which has a beautiful pigment. The
infusion of anti-ageing ceramide 3
makes it perfect for summer.
T H E CO N C E P T O F G LOW led me

to create the iconic Touche Éclat
[concealer], a product that brightened
and enhanced the skin, defying the
prevailing trend at the time of heavy,
matte coverage that simply conceals
flaws. As a creative director, convincing
Yves Saint Laurent to launch Touche
Éclat after three years was a pivotal
moment for me.
A S A PR O FE S SI O N A L M A K EU P
A R TI S T, my inspiration stemmed from

my work with luxury fashion houses
and renowned fashion photographers,
like Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin.
Collaborating with these creative minds
taught me the importance of redefining
style and embracing innovation.
TH E B E AU T Y INDU STRY has
seen remarkable transformations since
By Terry was founded 25 years ago.
Countless new brands have emerged,
making the landscape more competitive,
while social media has allowed us to
connect to a broader audience.

2

By Terry is the OG when
it comes to cosmetics that
double as skincare. We talk
to the French founder and
makeup artist about cult
products and must-haves

1

3
6

NATUR A L R A DIAN CE I S

embedded in By Terry’s DNA.
All our formulas are carefully
designed to be illuminating, not
shimmery. I have a deep passion
for using potent, effective ingredients
and I’ve always believed in the power
of hyaluronic acid, even before it
became an industry buzzword.
By Terry is the only brand with a
full hyaluronic routine across skincare
and makeup. We have been exclusively
working with a Korean skincare lab for
over five years to create a breakthrough,
exclusive technology that features
eight types of hyaluronic acid at
three different molecular weights.

166 | marieclaire.com.au

TO B E A B E AU T Y ENTR E PR E N EUR
YO U N E E D a relentless spirit,

resilience, and a willingness to
persevere. INGU (I Never Give Up)
is my motto. These are the key traits
I live by and strive to instil in my team.
I C A N H O N E S T LY SAY there isn’t

much I don’t love. I feel incredibly
fortunate to have the opportunity to
channel my creativity and share new
ideas. It keeps me motivated every day.

4
ALL PRODUCTS ARE BY TERRY
1 Brightening CC Serum in Apricot
Glow, $126. 2 Brightening CC
Palette, $92. 3 Baume de Rose, $86.
4 Hyaluronic Pressed Hydra-Powder,
$86. 5 Ombre Blackstar Cream

5

Eyeshadow in Bronze Moon, $64.
6 Hyaluronic Glow Setting Mist, $71.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA; COURTESY OF BY TERRY. AS TOLD TO SALLY HUNWICK.

THE FOUNDER

B E AUTY

ANTHELIOS INVISIBLE

FLUID SPF50+
FACIAL SUNSCREEN

SELLING
SUNSCREEN
IN AUSTRALIAN
PHARMACIES*

YOUR LIGHTWEIGHT
INVISIBLE DEFENCE
AGAINST UVA & UVB
DERMATOLOGICALLY TESTED FOR SENSITIVE SKIN
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE. Apply 20 minutes before sun exposure. Sunscreen is only one part of sun protection, so wear protective
clothing and seek shade. Avoid prolonged sun exposure. Re-apply frequently in accordance with directions.
*Circana MarketEdge, AU Pharmacy Scan, Unit & Value sales Total Suncare Protection Category, YTD to 02/07/2023.

B E AUTY

COLOUR CUES
Move over pink, there is a new hue we need to
get into: peach. This warm, orange-tinged tone
is a must if you want to get skin looking glowy
and youthful, and Aussie brand Runway Room
has nailed it with its clean, mineral version.
I love that its jojoba and vitamin E-dosed
formula blends seamlessly into my cheeks and
around my eyes for a healthy, natural-looking
pop of colour that helps nourish and protect.
RUNWAY ROOM Peach Punch

Mineral Cream Stick, $59.95.

S E N SUA L &
S U S TA I N A B L E

TRIED &
TESTED

Fans of Burberry will swoon for this
vanilla-based gourmand fragrance.
Perfumer Amandine Clerc-Marie
set out to make the perfect vanilla
accord using three types of
vanilla, including vanilla caviar
for the first time in perfumery, and
hints of lavender from Provence.
In another first for the brand,
the bottle is now refillable.
BURBERRY Goddess EDP,
100ml, $275; 150ml refill, $275.

Our top picks of the latest products,
by beauty director Sally Hunwick

With notes of rose mixed with
blackcurrant, patchouli milk and
woody notes, this Givenchy scent
is feminine, elegant and alluring in
equal measures. The bottle is 20 per
cent recycled glass and cased in
cardboard from FSC-certified forests.
GIVENCHY Irresistible
Rose Velvet EDP, 80ml, $221.

LASH
L OV E R S

P O W E R P L AY
I’m keen to ramp up my eye look with
this Byzantine-inspired eyeshadow
palette from Chanel. And not just
because of the stunning rich hues
(I am all in for the ruby tones of
the Parure Impériale palette)
but also because each of the
four palettes opens up to
a dazzling battered gold.
It’s reminiscent of the
baroque spirit so adored
by Gabrielle Chanel in her
haute couture and jewellery
pieces but, for me, its like opening up
a treasure every time I want to tuck in.
CHANEL Les 4 Ombres Byzance

in Parure Impériale, $120.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
If only Aussie skincare brand TBH was around when
I was in my teens. Many of its vegan products are
designed to help with acne. I’m into this SPF 50+ face
moisturiser, which is oil-free and breakout friendly.
TBH Skin Shady Face Moisturiser, $39.95.
Always follow the directions when wearing SPF,
avoid prolonged sun exposure, wear protective
clothing and a hat and reapply as directed.

168 | marieclaire.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EDWARD URRUTIA.

It’s a toss-up between
mascara and lip balm for
my desert-island makeup
must-have, so give me a new
lash-maker and I’m happily
testing its strengths. Here are
my two top picks this month.
Best for fanning:
Benefit Fan Fest, $48.
Promising a big, bold look,
this mascara fans out every
one of my lashes with ease.
It’s also smudge-proof
(mandatory) and gives me
24-hour wear.
Best for lengthening:
Hourglass Unlocked Instant
Extensions Mascara, $51.
This tubing vegan formulation
attaches microfibres to your
lashes for showstopping
lift, length and impressive
definition.

LIFESTYLE
F O O D , T R AV E L A N D I N T E R I O R S I N S P I R AT I O N

EDITED BY SAMANTHA STEWART

OUT OF OFFICE

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MANDARIN ORIENTAL, BODRUM.

Wave the winter blues goodbye and
grab a cocktail as we check into the
world’s most lavish beach clubs.
On the home front, liven up your
space with inspiration from local
interior designer Lucy Fenton.

Eat, shop, beach, repeat:
pull up a sun lounge
at the LV By The Pool
beach club at the
Mandarin Oriental,
Bodrum, Türkiye.

Lucy Fenton, interior designer and
founder of Fenton & Fenton, opens
the doors to her colourful abode

The stylish and comforting
lounge room has a sofa and
coffee table by Fenton &
Fenton, a huge photo by
Dave Kulesza and a portrait
(right) by Nunzio Miano.

172 | marieclaire.com.au

L I F ES T YL E

W

hen Lucy Fenton gets home
from work and walks in the
front door of her house in
the Melbourne suburb of
Malvern, she feels calm.
Sort of. Constantly surrounded by bright,
bold homewares at her chic interiors store
Fenton & Fenton, the interior designer
confesses she finds it hard to switch off from
work mode. “I do love our house and the
things in it and I love coming home to it,”
she tells marie claire. “But in this day and
age I find myself constantly connected to
the office through my devices, so I admit I
sometimes bring the stress home with me.”
Fenton shares the home with her
husband, Josh, children Pepa, 10, and
Woody, eight, and their much-loved family
dog Reggie, who prefers sleeping on the
couch over a walk. When the couple were
looking for a home for their young family,
they couldn’t quite find anything that suited
their needs within inner Melbourne, so
they began to look further afield.
“We were initially drawn to the area
because it just works so well for the kids,”
she explains. “We loved our city life but
it wasn’t practical with Pepa and Woody.
Malvern has beautiful parks, great schools,
so [the kids] live alongside their friends.
It’s a really practical family house all on
one level, and the kids’ bedrooms are down
the hallway. There’s a big yard where they
can play. We saw it and knew it felt like
a good place to have a young family.”
While Fenton has a tendency to bring
her work home with her, at least in one way
it’s proven to be incredibly beneficial: the

“WE LOVED OUR
CITY LIFE, BUT IT JUST
WASN’T PRACTICAL
WITH THE KIDS”

Owner Lucy Fenton
loves being surrounded
by colour. Artworks by
Michele Luminato
(left) and Liam Murphy
(behind Fenton) pop
against the dark walls.
ABOVE The house
features works by
local and international
artists, including a piece
by Australian Robyn
Rankin in the hallway.

marieclaire.com.au | 173

174 | marieclaire.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVE WILSON. WORDS BY BREE PLAYER.

bold, eclectic furniture, homewares and artworks
that create this vibrant and unique home are a
combination of pieces from her store as well as
her travels.
Fenton struggles to describe her interiors style
because she isn’t one to play by the rules. When
pressed, she says, “I’d say it’s very eclectic. I like
to mix different styles, eras and colours. But really,
I like practical and I’m not precious. It can be as
beautiful as you want to make it, but at the end
of the day your home has to be liveable.”
And the family do plenty of living in their
house. Sunday mornings are spent going for a
walk or a bike ride via their favourite coffee shop,
and breakfast is pancakes cooked by Josh. The
afternoons are for watching the football – the
family are big Essendon fans. “Family or friends
frequently pop around impromptu to watch the
football with us, or have a casual barbecue.
Nothing planned or too rigid,” she says.
Eight years after trading her inner-city pad
for a home in the ’burbs, Fenton reflects on what
the change has meant. “When I moved here I
thought, ‘I have friends and I don’t have time to
make new ones,’ but we’ve met so many families
and it’s been so exciting getting to know them,”
she explains. “I grew up out in the country and
moved to Melbourne, so I didn’t have that
close-knit neighbourhood childhood where
you go to high school knowing everyone
from primary school. I’m glad my kids
have that.”

Ten-year-old Pepa’s
room is a pink paradise.
ABOVE The open-plan
kitchen and dining room
are a neutral reset in the
otherwise bright and bold
home, featuring artworks
by Alexandra Plim (large)
and Emma Gale (the two
smaller pieces).

L I F ES T YL E
A Luminere mirror from Fenton
& Fenton hangs in the hall.
RIGHT Sculptures by Nadia
Robertson sit atop a vintage
Indian cabinet, while art by
Jacques Mauhin hangs above.
BELOW The home’s front room
features rich, bold colours
that invite you to luxuriate.

GET the LO OK
Love Lucy Fenton’s home decor? These
four key pieces will help take you there.

“IT CAN BE AS
BEAUTIFUL AS YOU
WANT TO MAKE IT,
BUT AT THE END OF
THE DAY YOUR HOME
HAS TO BE LIVABLE”

1
Freedom rug,
from $249,
freedom.com.au.

3

King Living
table,
$4690,
kingliving.
com.au.

Fenton & Fenton
side table, $390,
fentonandfenton.com.au.

2
4

Fenton & Fenton
vase, $360,
fentonandfenton.
com.au.

NOBU HOTEL MARBELLA
S PA I N

Don your best resortwear and set up for a
day of five-star indulgence at Nobu Hotel’s
Chiringuito beach club. Situated along the
Golden Mile, this glamorous waterfront
hideout serves delicious Mediterranean
cuisine – from its famous black paella to the
fresh espetos. As the sun sets, the house DJ
gets things going as the alfresco space
transforms into a buzzing nightclub. slh.com

If you’re fond of sand dunes, salty air and a cocktail or two – with the best
beach views in the world – consider your next seaside getaway sorted

L I F ES T YL E

FROM ABOVE
Dive right into the
tranquil pool at Nobu
Hotel Marbella; and
the Deluxe Room’s
neutral-toned interiors
flow effortlessly out
to the balcony.

marieclaire.com.au | 177

LI FESTYLE

AZURA
PER I-PER I B E ACH CLU B
MOZ A MBIQUE

Mozambique calls for lazy long lunches by the sea and
what better place to do so than the only beach club in
the Bazaruto Archipelago? The intimate yet laidback
party atmosphere complements the scrumptious
seafood-led Mozambican menu, highly Instagrammable
swing seats and open-air bar boasting the best frozen
margaritas in town. Post-swim, order a round of crab
casquinhas to your private pavilion, bop to the local
beats and lap up the holiday bliss. azura-retreats.com

COMO B E ACH
C L U B AT C O M O
UMA CANGGU
BALI

For those seeking a Bali
experience that promises
Bollinger over Bintangs,
look no further. Designed
in the style of a traditional
surf shack, this refined yet
relaxed beach club redefines
easy living. Here you’ll find
an eclectic kitchen that
never stops, a standout
cocktail list, daybeds
delivering poolside bliss
and sea views to make the
folks back home jealous.
Topping things off are
talented local live musicians
and DJs, providing the ideal
soundtrack to your island
getaway. comohotels.com

178 | marieclaire.com.au

S A N D O M E N I C O PA L A C E ,
TA O R M I N A , A F O U R
SEASONS HOTEL
I T A LY

WORDS BY SAMANTHA STEWART.

On a hilltop overlooking the Ionian Sea, the
distinctive Blu Mediterraneo print signifies
Dolce & Gabbana’s takeover of the beach club
at Sicily’s San Domenico Palace (yes, the one
in the second season of The White Lotus).
The former monastery, decorated by the
luxury Italian fashion house, includes the entire
infinity pool area and terrace, creating an
exquisite setting where guests can soak up the
beauty of the south of Italy. fourseasons.com

LIF ESTYLE

CHECKING IN
THE LANGHAM,
G O LD COA ST

This month, we’re pouring a glass of The Pastoralist
Cabernet Sauvignon from Riddoch Coonawarra’s 2021 vintage.
This award-winning silky-smooth drop has notes of fresh
blackcurrant combined with underlying cedar oak. Bottoms up!
riddochcoonawarra.com.au

R E D, R E D W I N E

Miele’s TwinDos system
takes the effort out of
laundry day thanks to its
automatic dosing feature
and ability to blend
two liquid detergents.
It will ensure all your
garments are washed
to perfection. From
$5349 for the WWV
980 WPS 9kg
washing machine.
miele.com.au

180 | marieclaire.com.au

WO O D CU T

A steak restaurant may not be the first place you think of
for breakfast, but Crown Sydney’s Woodcut is proposing it
should be, thanks to its delicious New York-style brunch.
It’s designed to share, and there’s no better way to spend
a Sunday. Make sure you pair it with a French 75 cocktail
– it’s what they’d do in Manhattan. crownsydney.com.au

WORDS BY SAMANTHA STEWART; BREE PLAYER.

Glamorous, feminine and
chic are not usually words
you’d associate with the Gold
Coast, and yet The Langham is
exactly that: an opulent haven
where you can indulge in high
teas, day spas and cocktails.
Take your best girlfriends
and live your best life.
T H E R O O M S Big enough
to throw a party in and with
views across the glistening
ocean, you’d stay there all
day if the rest of the resort
didn’t have so much going on.
The rooms’ plush beds will
ensure you sleep like a
dream and the giant tub
is an invitation to chill
that you can’t pass up.
D I N E Start your evening with
The Grand Jewel cocktail in
the hotel’s Palm Court before
indulging in the eight-plate
chef’s set menu at Akoya – one
of the two hotel restaurants.
Make sure you pace yourself,
as you won’t want to miss the
pina colada pavlova.
G E T T H E R E 38 Old Burleigh
Road, Surfers Paradise,
Queensland.
langhamhotels.com

TA I L O R M A D E

THE ART OF CAKE
COLLECTION HAS ARRIVED
Carefully crafted by Four Seasons Hotel Sydney’s Head Pastry Chef Quentin Zerr,
enjoy the collection of artisan cakes at home.

 VMM`V\YÄYZ[VUSPULVYKLY
use code marieclaire10

LI F E S TO RY

From pioneering pop music to fighting for civil rights, Dionne
Warwick has always been a force of nature (look no further than her
Twitter account for proof). In the wake of her internet renaissance,
we bow down to the legendary artist and activist. By Alley Pascoe

ionne Warwick was
preparing to taste the
sweetness of success.
It was 1962 and a
21-year-old Warwick
was standing on the cusp of her big
break, having just recorded a demo for
the song “Make It Easy on Yourself”,
which was meant to be her first single.
When Warwick found out that music
producer Burt Bacharach had given
the track to a male artist, Jerry Butler,
the taste in her mouth turned sour.
During a heated argument, Warwick
raised hell. “We have a problem here,”
she yelled at Bacharach. “You want me
to record with you? I am who I am.
Don’t make me over, man!”
In a twist of fate – or a righting of
a wrong – the argument inspired what
would become Warwick’s debut single.
“Don’t Make Me Over” was released in
October 1962 and it went on to reach
the top five of the R&B charts (her
surname, “Warrick”, was misspelled
on the label, so she became Dionne
Warwick). But her penchant for
fighting the patriarchy didn’t change.
Born Marie Dionne Warrick on
December 12, 1940, the artist’s life
started in New Jersey where her
family were part of the gospel group
the Drinkard Singers. Her mother,
Lee Drinkard Warrick, was one of
the original members of the group

and eventually managed the band.
Warwick recalled that her mother
was employed at an electrical plant
and never missed a day of work. “I
believe this taught us the worth of
responsibility and the importance
of earning your way through life,” she
later revealed in her autobiography.
“This was especially significant given
there were not many role models for
women who aspired to careers and

work of their own at that time.” Her
father, Mancel L. Warrick, was a
minister and worked as a porter for
the railroad, considered a prestigious
job for Black men in that period.
Warwick first took to the stage at
the age of six, when she was given a
standing ovation for her performance
of “Jesus Loves Me” during Sunday
church proceedings. One round of
applause was all it took to propel her

Warwick performing
in December 1969.
OPPOSITE PAGE
The star in 1975.

marieclaire.com.au | 183

LI FE S TO RY

towards a music career. At 17, she
won Amateur Night at Harlem’s
legendary Apollo Theater and she
soon began working steadily in a
group of backup singers. But Warwick
wasn’t built for being anyone’s backup;
she was destined to be front and
centre. Bacharach, the aforementioned
music producer and composer, spotted
her star power and signed her to his
production company. “She has a
tremendous strong side and a delicacy
when singing softly – like miniature
ships in bottles,” he is quoted as saying.
Bottles are easily smashed,
however, and Warwick faced the
shattering pressure of being a Black
woman trying to make it in a maledominated industry in the 1960s. This
was a time when women needed their
husband’s signature to get a credit
card, when they could be fired for
falling pregnant and when the
contraceptive pill was still illegal
in some US states. It was also a time
when racial segregation existed, when
civil rights were but a dream for Dr
Martin Luther King Jr, and when
50 per cent of African-Americans
lived in poverty. This time of turmoil
and injustice was the backdrop to
Warwick’s success. When her album
was released in Europe, a white
woman was featured on the cover and
Warwick’s fans did not know she was
Black. While trying to appeal to both
Black and white audiences, Warwick
was accused of being a sell-out and
criticised for mostly working with
white male producers, like Bacharach.
After she performed a 15-minute
medley at New York’s famed Copacabana, Barbra Streisand’s manager came
into Warwick’s dressing room and told
her she couldn’t just sit on a stool and sing
for 15 minutes without saying a word to
the audience. “Well, I just did,” she bit
back. “And I got a standing ovation.”
Later on, Warwick revealed, “I
have always been motivated by people
who tell me what I can’t do.” That
pushed her to continue to release hits
and become known as the artist who
“bridged the gap”, defying genres and
racism. Her original version of the
song “I Say a Little Prayer” reached
number four on the Billboard pop
chart in 1967 and received acclaim

In a 1981 studio
photo session.
BELOW With her
cousin Whitney
Houston at a
1990 awards
presentation.

when Aretha Franklin released a cover
the following year. In 1969, at the
Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles,
Warwick was the first AfricanAmerican solo female artist of her
generation to win the prestigious
Grammy for Best Contemporary
Female Vocalist Performance, for
“Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”.
It was the highlight of her career,
but there were many more to come.

“THE MALE EGO IS A
FRAGILE THING. IT’S HARD
WHEN THE WOMAN IS
THE BREADWINNER.
I HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN
CARE OF MYSELF”

Warwick’s first
European record
cover pictured a
white woman.

T

o say that Dionne Warwick
is a feminist icon might
downplay the challenges she
has fought and overcome as
a Black woman who grew
up during the Civil Rights Movement
in America and who became one of
the highest charting female vocalists
during the rock era of 1955-1999
(second only to Aretha Franklin).
Warwick was a pioneer in the pop
genre and continues to be a force
for change in the music industry. For
many years, she’s been an open critic
of the misogynistic tone of gangster
rappers who spit rhymes about bitches
and hoes, famously inviting Snoop
Dogg and Tupac Shakur to her house
to “call me a bitch” face-to-face.
When she wasn’t busy calling out
sexism or selling 75 million singles
worldwide, Warwick was blazing trails
in her personal life. She married
William Elliott, a television actor, not
once but twice. First tying the knot in
1966, Warwick divorced him in 1967
and then remarried three months later.
For Warwick, it was a case of “can’t do
with, can’t do without, so I married

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Elton

GETTY IMAGES.

John, Warwick, Gladys Knight
and Stevie Wonder performing
at the AIDS Concert ’88 in
Washington, DC; her Taylor Swift
tweets; giving a tribute to Berry
Gordy and Smokey Robinson in
2023; with her sons in 2014; and
at the 1969 Grammys with her
husband, William Elliott.

him again”. The couple had two sons,
David and Damon, before divorcing
again in 1975. During the divorce,
Elliott requested $US2000 a month
in spousal support, which was denied.
“I was the breadwinner. The male ego
is a fragile thing. It’s hard when the
woman is the breadwinner. All my life,
the only man who ever took care of me
financially was my father. I have always
taken care of myself,” said Warwick.
As well as taking care of herself,
Warwick has also looked after the
community. A firm advocate for
LGBTQI+ rights, Warwick recorded
“That’s What Friends Are For” as a
charity single with Elton John, Gladys
Knight and Stevie Wonder in 1985.
The song topped the Billboard charts
and won a Grammy. Warwick donated
all profits, more than $US3 million, to
AIDS causes. “You have to be granite
not to want to help people with AIDS,
because the devastation that it causes
is so painful to see. I was so hurt to
see my friend die with such agony,”
she told The Washington Post in 1988,
before going on to serve as the US
Ambassador of Health under the
Reagan and Bush administrations.

If you thought Warwick would
slow down as she got older, you
clearly haven’t been paying attention.
She was a force as a twenty-something
pop star and she’s still a force as a
grandmother. In 2002, the then
61-year-old was detained at Miami
International Airport after security
found 11 suspected marijuana joints
in her lipstick case; she was charged
with possession. In 2013, she declared
bankruptcy, supposedly due to the
mismanagement of her business
affairs and amassing a tax bill of
about $US10 million.
Now, at 82, Warwick has been
crowned the “Queen of Twitter”. She
issued a much-needed warning against
idiocy when she tweeted in early 2021,
“Remember: If I follow you today, I can
unfollow you tomorrow if foolishness

“YOU’D HAVE TO BE
GRANITE NOT TO WANT
TO HELP PEOPLE WITH
AIDS BECAUSE THE
DEVASTATION IT CAUSES
IS SO PAINFUL TO SEE”

is your thing.” Later that year,
she spoke for everyone when she
came out against food combination
abominations, like Oreos dipped in
mayonnaise. And then she became the
internet’s favourite grandmother when
Taylor Swift re-released a version of
“All Too Well” in 2021, singing about
leaving her scarf at an ex’s house
(cough Jake Gyllenhaal cough). In a
series of tweets, Warwick called on
Gyllenhaal to do the right thing: “If
that young man has Taylor’s scarf, he
should return it.” She went on to say,
“It does not belong to you. Box it up
and I will pay the cost of postage, Jake.”
And so, Dionne Warwick continues
doing what she has always done best:
fighting for women to receive what is
rightfully theirs. Also: sticking it to
people who tell her what she can’t do.

marieclaire.com.au | 185

LA ST WO RD

dancing to music. When I started getting
into this job more seriously, Mum was
right by my side. I don’t know where
I’d be without her. Mums see you for
who you are, in ways that no-one else
will ever be able to, if you’re fortunate
enough to have a great relationship.
There are times when they say things
you don’t want to hear [but] I think
that’s what true love is. I feel really
lucky to have continued into a really
good adult relationship with my mum.
I’m continuously inspired by her work
ethic and I owe [mine] to her.

“You don’t have
to worry about
your social battery
when you’re with
the right people”
THE WOMEN WHO MADE ME

GRETTA RAY
The Melbourne singer-songwriter opens up
about those who helped her find her voice

M EGHAN C ALL AGHAN
AND LEAH SPURGEON

I met my two best friends when we were
five years old. Meg was like a magnet I
was drawn to. She’s creative, smart and
extremely hilarious. I connected with
Leah through Meg, and soon enough
we were all in the same imaginative
headspace. The three of us fit seamlessly
together. When we started high school
it was very obvious to everyone that
we had arrived as a trio. We went
everywhere and did everything together.
There’s a certain point in friendships
where you start growing and learning
and doing different things. It’s easy to
drift apart when people change, but
the three of us continuously proved to
each other that we could grow together.
Meg and Leah have always been really
understanding of all the things that

186 | marieclaire.com.au

come with my career. I often go to them
with new music to get their advice. The
best thing about childhood friends – and
the right people – is that you don’t have
to worry about your social battery when
you’re with them.
K AT H M U R D O C H

Growing up I was always surrounded
by music. My parents loved listening to
the great storytellers of our time: James
Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Rufus Wainwright
and Paul Simon. Mum was always really
supportive of my interests and nurtured
my creativity. It was Mum who first
taught me how to play guitar. During
my childhood, we spent a lot of time
in a town called Kennett River on
the Great Ocean Road. Some of my
favourite memories are from those times
with Mum, being by the beach and

My first CD was a Kylie album when
I was seven. Kylie was the first artist to
really get me excited about pop music.
I had a pretty on-and-off relationship
with pop through my childhood and
teens. When you’re a kid, pop music
is colourful and exciting. I remember
sitting in the car as a child and listening
to Kylie, Hilary Duff and Taylor Swift
when we were on roadtrips. [Later on]
I definitely closed my eyes to pop music
for a while. I went to a wonderful, very
artsy high school and I felt like I needed
to be perceived as cool and edgy and
different. Being able to reflect on music
now through the lens of being a pop
writer is really interesting. I realised
that pop music can be emotional and
evocative and deep. I’m so inspired by it
and how many different variations there
are and what you can do with it. There’s
still this taboo around pop music [and
this idea that] because it’s catchy it can’t
be complex and intelligent, when in fact
it means that the artist worked extra hard
to make sure the song was going to
resonate and stick with you. That’s
powerful. Having someone like Kylie,
who is so successful and has come from
the same place as me is so inspiring.
I found out recently that her song
“Spinning Around” was released when
she was 32 years old and that “Can’t Get
You Out of my Head” was released [a
year later]. It makes me feel excited to
keep striving to do the best that I can in
my career, because I have some years of
experience under my belt. Now I’m in a
really comfortable place with my art and
I feel really good about my new songs. I
never could have done what I am doing
now when I was 18. It’s good to have
those reminder stories, like Kylie’s,
because there’s definitely a narrative
[out there] that you can only find
success as a very young female artist.
Gretta Ray’s new album, Positive Spin,
is out August 18.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CYBELE MALINOWSKI. AS TOLD TO HARRIET SIM.

KYLIE MINOGUE