FASHION

This Week’s Model: Abbey Lee Kershaw

Since winning the prestigious Australian 2004 Girlfriend Model Search, Abbey Lee Kershaw, 22, has been one of the most sought after girls in the business, walking for Rodarte and Stella McCartney and starring in...

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From left: Gucci’s spring 2009 fragrance campaign; Calvin Klein Jeans’s fall 2008 campaign.

What happened to your knee? I had torn ligaments and could barely walk. The summer 2009 season was very difficult because I ignored the pain, so when I got home to Australia in December, I had to have the ligaments removed.

Was it difficult not to participate in the runway collections? I missed the madness. It’s hard work and exhausting, but the rush is intoxicating.

From left: Stella McCartney spring 2009; Alexander McQueen spring 2009.

What spring shows are you most excited about? I always look forward to Gucci, and I also love walking in Givenchy. It’s a very intense and sexy show. I’m also really excited London this season because I’ve never done that leg of the collections before.

How do you like living in Williamsburg? I moved to Williamsburg to be a bit of a hermit, but everyone caught on and the place is rapidly morphing into a mini Manhattan. I love it—don’t get me wrong—but I also like to hide. I think it’s time to pack my trinkets and shift.

What are your favorite New York City hangouts? I do like eating and wining at Sweetwater in Williamsburg. I love Prospect Park—watching fireflies at night and going to the bandshell for free music. And the Lower East Side for live bands and beer.

What about clothing? The Salvation Army is my regular!

Who do you spend your free time with? I love my Daisy [Lowe], and Rebecca Seidel is my very best model friend! I’m also very tight with my Kitty Cat—Miss [Catherine] McNeil. I just traveled around the Greek Islands and spent a week camping at Sziget, a Hungarian festival in Budapest with her.

You have several tattoos and piercings including a nipple ring; what is the special significance of them? Let’s just say, if I weren’t a model, I’d be a walking collage. I see my body as a blank canvas that’s aching to be decorated; I find it all very fascinating.

What is your favorite physical feature? I like my hands. They do most of the talking.

“The Skinny” runs every Tuesday on the Editors’ Blog.

Photos: Top: “American Dreamin,” shot by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin; runway, WWD Staff; “Another Woman,” Claudia Knoepfel and Stefan Indlekofer.