Australia’s darling of the catwalk, Jennifer Hawkins, took to the MYER stage on Thursday night to mark the launch of the iconic Australian store’s Autumn Winter 2015 collection. Surrounded by 350 guests, including Alex Perry, Napoleon Perdis and CEO Bernie Brookes, the evening showcased a taste of what we’ll be rugging up in for the coming seasons.
No stranger to the limelight, 2015 will mark the eighth year of Jen’s collaboration with MYER, making her first appearance for the brand on catwalks in 2007. Since then, she’s seen the trends change, colour selections come and go, and hems get shorter, edgier and sexier than ever.
Jen’s complexion was striking against the sophisticated new proportions, clean lines and architectural silhouettes paraded, with her eye on a few piece for her own personal collection. A nod to the 70s, a sneak preview of the new season wares featured bold prints, flared pants and jumpsuits, as well as textures like suede and stiff leathers.
A Rescu. regular, we caught up with the divine Miss Jen before the show to talk clothes, collections and the dreaded wardrobe cull:
Backstage Interview with Jennifer Hawkins at MYER A/W15 Fashion Show
RESCU: How are you? It’s great to see you!
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Yeah I’m good, it’s just been so busy today ahead of the show.
RESCU: Alright, let’s talk about this whole phenomenon of editing your wardrobe and getting rid of excessive consumption, yet women are drawn to shopping. I was wondering if you could help us live through your life, because you’d be a woman who gets so many things. Obviously you can’t have an endless wardrobe, so how do you edit your wardrobe to make space for new things for new season stuff?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Well I move a lot, so whenever I move I do a cull and so my sisters and my friends are always like ‘I’ll have it, I’ll have it!’.
I’m actually doing a cull this year and I want to make a little eBay store and I want to give all the funds to a charity, so I really want to do that. It feels nice to give back a little bit, so that will be happening when I have downtime, so I think that’s the best way to do it. Or give it to the Salvo’s.
RESCU: So are you disciplined about the cull, because a normal person could not have anywhere near the wardrobe space that you do, and you would still get five times the amount of clothes…
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Well sort of, I don’t really. There’s a lot more I could purchase. Quite a lot from the new season. or that I see or wear on the catwalk. Or girls are next to you trying things on… It’s like you see it, and you’re in the moment. But then you really have to think about it and take a step back for a couple of days and re-evaluate what you need to buy.
Sometimes you’ve got ten pieces and you need… three. So I think it’s about not purchasing things when you’ve got that adrenaline of shopping, because you’ll just purchase everything.
RESCU: So we’re going into Autumn/Winter, are there key things you’re going to make room in your wardrobe for? That you’re really juiced up on adrenaline about?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Toni [Maticevski ]’s pieces – particularly the pants that were tailored to me, but anyone could buy them – the flared, white pants, they’re really great. I’d like to steal those or purchase them!
The Arthur Galan jumpsuit; that was really beautiful, easy to wear. A lot of white suede out on the catwalk, so there’s some great pieces around in that fabric this season. Beautiful pencil skirts you could put with a tee, with a leopard jacket over the top for winter. And a coat, I really love a good coat for winter.
RESCU: Do you update every year?
JENNIFER HAWKINS:: Yes, I get one or two coats each year. I think that’s all you really need in Australia, or trans-seasonal if you’re travelling. A pair of good boots, definitely. And a felt hat, I’m a hat girl. So a felt hat from MYER is great.
RESCU: Going into Autumn/Winter, is there anything you think is a tricky trend this season that you’d like to master, or you’re going to absolutely avoid?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Flares! I think a lot of people will be scared of them, but there’s a lot out there and I think if you can feel confident in them, then just give it a go. I’ll definitely be giving it a go. I mean, I’m doing it in public, with cameras around but… I will give them a go in my ‘off-time’ too!
RESCU: You’re pretty much a summer girl, and you’ve got your beautiful tanning range, which we’re a huge fan of. What are your go-to pieces in winter then if your normal off duty look is summer-based?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Jeans, definitely. In my downtime, boyfriend jeans. A leather jacket, whether it be a sunny day and it’s getting cooler; you can sling it over your shoulders or wear it. I love a beanie, I love that vibe – with a pair of jeans and sneakers. But I also love dressing up and wearing something sexy for Jake, so a pencil skirt and little singlet to go out at night is really beautiful.
RESCU: So do you shake up your beauty routine with seasons, or do you stick with what suits you?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: I shake it up a little, but I do love luminiser for beautiful skin. I think you can have that season to season because it is Australia. We’re a lot more into lips, and lip colours in winter.
RESCU: So you’ll experiment with lip colour?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Yeah, or darker or deeper lips, a little bit more experimentation than in summer.
RESCU: If you had to pick some key items for your husband Jake, what would you love to see him wear this season?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: I love light denim on guys and a blazer, and a tee here and there. And a beautiful suit, that’s a must. The guys out there all look amazing on the catwalk! I was picking, and looking… there’s some great pieces of casual outfits for men, as opposed to suiting up. Which is great, because I do love a good tee and jeans for men in Australia.
RESCU: And in terms of va-va-voom, you’ve got access to the best designers in Australia, and also the world, are there any go-to designers for you for black tie?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: Alex [Perry] makes your feel incredible, he just pulls you in in all the right places. You do feel va-va-voom… that’s the way he makes you feel! Toni [Maticevski] if you want something a bit more edgy. And Yeojin [Bae] I think she’s really feminine.
RESCU: I was so inspired by the beautiful red dress by Yeojin that you wore last time, it was amazing.
JENNIFER HAWKINS: She just has a way, her tailoring is so beautiful and really feminine, and not overtly sexy. It’s more understated.
So yes, you’ve got all those different designers to pick from!
RESCU: And as a last question, if you had to give advice to your 15 year-old self about fashion, what would it be?
JENNIFER HAWKINS: I had no idea about anything to do with fashion until… eighteen maybe? I don’t know, take some risks. Read more magazines. Read more fashion magazines, I had no clue to be honest. And don’t wear your sister’s clothing, because… yeah, it doesn’t look very good on you.
