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Meet the Up-and-Coming Australian Models Who May Be the Next Miranda Kerr and Abbey Lee Kershaw

Let these ones to watch be your inside guide to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia.


Australia is replete with several things: koalas, bodies of water, small packets of Vegemite, and, perhaps above all, supermodels. There’s Miranda Kerr, Elle Macpherson, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Gemma Ward, Catherine McNeil—the list goes on and on. The saturation of good genes is no more evident than during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, which kicked off the Resort 2018 season in Sydney on Sunday evening. In honor of the occasion, editors, buyers, and bloggers have descended upon the city to take in the latest collections from local designers, including Dion Lee, Sass & Bide, and Christopher Esber, worn by some of the countries rising stars. Here, five stand-out Australian models to watch this season.

Name: Zoe von Gerlach

Instragram: @zoevongerlach

Where you’ve seen her before: The 19-year-old model is an international catwalk favorite, having recently walked in Giorgio Armani‘s Tokyo show. She was also one of the few non-scions to walk in Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2017 show.

What you’ll find on her feed: Backstage snaps with fellow model pals, and runway shots with sincere, heartfelt thank you’s to the designers for casting her. Aw.

Name: Olivia Jones

Instragram: @oliviadelane

Where you’ve seen her before: Jones broke into the New York fashion scene as an exclusive for the Calvin Klein Collection Fall 2016 show. Since, she’s walked for Rodarte, Valentino, and Givenchy, among others.

What you’ll find on her feed: Plenty of selfies, with a few beach shots thrown in for good measure.

Name: Franny

Instagram: @frannycowap

Where you’ve seen her before: The model, who professionally goes by just her first name, has walked in several of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci shows, including the most recent Fall 2017 collection.

What you’ll find on her feed: Gorgeous landscape snapshots from her many travels, including recent jaunts to London, Lisbon, and Paris.

Name: Sophie Ryan

Instagram: @sophieryan

Where you’ve seen her before: Working with many local designers in the Australian fashion scene, including Alex Perry and MacGraw.

What you’ll find on her feed: Beauty shots that show off her striking eyebrows and enviable curls, as well as several posts lamenting upcoming finals.

Name: Mariah Strongin

Instagram: @mariahstrongin

Where you’ve seen her before: With the biggest social media presence of the bunch, you may very well be one of her nearly 16,000 Instagram followers. She also spends a good deal of time in New York, quickly becoming a red carpet staple at major film premieres and fashion events.

What you’ll find on her feed: Bikini shots on the beach—and intense workout videos that show just how hard she works for those photo opps.

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