WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.540 --> 00:00:04.400 The previous year 2 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.530 to the year I was in the Dolly Covergirl Competition, 3 00:00:07.530 --> 00:00:09.290 Kate Fischer had actually won it, 4 00:00:09.290 --> 00:00:12.245 and she was at the same school, at Girls Grammar. 5 00:00:12.245 --> 00:00:14.077 My friend said, "Well if she can win it, 6 00:00:14.077 --> 00:00:16.410 "you can win it too." (laughs) 7 00:00:16.410 --> 00:00:19.410 So we took some photos and sent them in, 8 00:00:19.410 --> 00:00:21.340 and then I was a finalist. 9 00:00:21.340 --> 00:00:24.364 And my little blurb, I mean it's quite fashionable 10 00:00:24.364 --> 00:00:26.950 if you're into STEM, as everyone is these days, 11 00:00:26.950 --> 00:00:29.310 but my favourite subject was maths, 12 00:00:29.310 --> 00:00:31.000 and I loved skiing. 13 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.898 Because I didn't win, (laughs) I just started working 14 00:00:34.898 --> 00:00:37.810 on weekends and in school holidays. 15 00:00:37.810 --> 00:00:42.810 And I think I was in year 10 when I was in the competition, 16 00:00:42.970 --> 00:00:44.730 so through year 11 and 12 I gradually 17 00:00:44.730 --> 00:00:47.230 started working a bit more. 18 00:00:47.230 --> 00:00:50.640 My first jobs were for a magazine called "Follow Me." 19 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:53.767 And then a couple of "Vogue" jobs, 20 00:00:53.767 --> 00:00:56.390 "Harper's Bazaar" was around then as well. 21 00:00:56.390 --> 00:00:58.540 When I was 17, I had an Australian "Vogue" cover 22 00:00:58.540 --> 00:01:02.330 which was great, and some advertising clients, 23 00:01:02.330 --> 00:01:03.816 and off I went. 24 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:09.530 I kind of did a preliminary trip when I was in year 12, 25 00:01:09.530 --> 00:01:11.559 I did the Ford Supermodel Competition, 26 00:01:11.559 --> 00:01:14.810 and I went to L.A. by myself. 27 00:01:14.810 --> 00:01:16.930 I won that competition and then went to New York 28 00:01:16.930 --> 00:01:19.060 for a couple of weeks, so I'd had a little taste 29 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:21.370 of what it was going to be like, 30 00:01:21.370 --> 00:01:23.373 and then I went back to school. 31 00:01:24.270 --> 00:01:28.250 So I finished year 12, and then off to Paris. 32 00:01:28.250 --> 00:01:31.330 And I just started going on castings. 33 00:01:31.330 --> 00:01:33.673 I thought I had great pictures in my portfolio, 34 00:01:33.673 --> 00:01:36.157 but people over in Paris looked at them 35 00:01:36.157 --> 00:01:37.884 and like, "hmm," you know, 36 00:01:37.884 --> 00:01:42.884 they're kind of a little bit, "daggy Australian," in a way. 37 00:01:43.300 --> 00:01:45.186 So I started working, got more pictures 38 00:01:45.186 --> 00:01:48.020 and then started doing shows. 39 00:01:48.020 --> 00:01:50.419 Then I got very busy traveling and... 40 00:01:50.419 --> 00:01:52.536 so many markets around, 41 00:01:52.536 --> 00:01:55.062 there's Paris, Germany, Spain, Italy. 42 00:01:55.062 --> 00:01:57.300 I was flying from one job to the next. 43 00:01:57.300 --> 00:01:59.920 Sometimes you didn't come home in between. 44 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:03.180 But I was kind of just let free. (chuckles) 45 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:06.252 I don't know if I'd do that with my kids now. (laughs) 46 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:10.870 Back in the '90s, you would either get a telephone call 47 00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:13.230 from your agency in the afternoon before 48 00:02:13.230 --> 00:02:14.970 and check what you had to do for the next day, 49 00:02:14.970 --> 00:02:16.920 or sometimes you got a fax. 50 00:02:16.920 --> 00:02:18.670 You would have to go and visit a client 51 00:02:18.670 --> 00:02:21.340 and show them your pictures, maybe try on some clothes, 52 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:23.720 talk to them about what you'd been doing. 53 00:02:23.720 --> 00:02:25.520 It's more of a collaboration. 54 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:27.590 The client and the photographer, 55 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:29.600 usually an art director as well. 56 00:02:29.600 --> 00:02:31.380 They will all say, "This is what we'd like." 57 00:02:31.380 --> 00:02:33.359 They often have reference images. 58 00:02:33.359 --> 00:02:34.820 They can tell you a story. 59 00:02:34.820 --> 00:02:37.800 I used to do John Galliano's fashion shows. 60 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.070 And he would always make this huge story, 61 00:02:40.070 --> 00:02:43.430 and each character, which was essentially each dress 62 00:02:43.430 --> 00:02:46.740 or outfit, had a story and a part in the story. 63 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:50.980 So when you were walking around through the scene, the set, 64 00:02:50.980 --> 00:02:53.840 you would be imagining that you were this lady 65 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.612 on the rooftop who was running away from something. 66 00:02:56.612 --> 00:02:58.730 There was always a little story. 67 00:02:58.730 --> 00:03:00.290 But I think there was a difference 68 00:03:00.290 --> 00:03:03.250 between putting on a Galliano dress, 69 00:03:03.250 --> 00:03:04.915 it just made you feel amazing. 70 00:03:04.915 --> 00:03:07.350 So just channeling that and thinking 71 00:03:07.350 --> 00:03:08.570 about how fabulous you look 72 00:03:08.570 --> 00:03:10.332 is really the way it works, I think. 73 00:03:10.332 --> 00:03:12.415 (laughs) 74 00:03:13.440 --> 00:03:15.890 'Cause if you don't believe it, no one else will. 75 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:20.930 When I was 24, I was based in Paris. 76 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:22.360 I used to come home three times a year, 77 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:24.620 so I was home for Christmas, home for August, 78 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:26.550 and there was usually either I'd meet mum and dad 79 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:30.460 somewhere, or I came home for an extra trip. 80 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:34.380 And I often worked in Sydney while I was home, 81 00:03:34.380 --> 00:03:36.580 and the portrait that's hanging, 82 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:39.240 it was funny, because I was so used to turning up 83 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:41.290 at a shoot and having hair and makeup, 84 00:03:41.290 --> 00:03:43.800 and they would turn me into a different character. 85 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:45.910 This time, they're like, "Oh no, we just want you." 86 00:03:45.910 --> 00:03:47.400 Like, what are you talking about? 87 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:48.960 Where's the hairdresser? 88 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.570 "Oh, we just want it to look like you did your own hair." 89 00:03:51.570 --> 00:03:53.210 Are you serious? 90 00:03:53.210 --> 00:03:54.650 And no makeup? 91 00:03:54.650 --> 00:03:56.070 "No, no, look how beautiful you are!" 92 00:03:56.070 --> 00:03:58.470 I'm like, "Oh my god." 93 00:03:58.470 --> 00:03:59.640 Worst nightmare. 94 00:03:59.640 --> 00:04:01.380 My hair is hard to do for a hairdresser 95 00:04:01.380 --> 00:04:04.450 at the best of times, so I was a little bit in shock. 96 00:04:04.450 --> 00:04:06.570 But I mean, the photos were beautiful, 97 00:04:06.570 --> 00:04:08.120 and it was quite an interesting shoot 98 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.453 because it was full sunlight and flash, I think. 99 00:04:10.453 --> 00:04:13.150 So the lighting is quite harsh. 100 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:14.450 There's definitely a difference 101 00:04:14.450 --> 00:04:16.190 between the light in Australia 102 00:04:16.190 --> 00:04:18.080 and the light everywhere else. 103 00:04:18.080 --> 00:04:22.963 And, yeah, I've got my little bunch of flowers. (laughs)