Vogue Australia 2015-05...

WORDS: ALICE BIRRELL

Homing

instincts

As the NEW face of a homegrown

label,Naomi Wattstraces

her style roots.

ustralians have a well-known
tendencytoclaimothersasour
own, but for the record, Naomi
Watts considers herself one of
us.“Wemoved[toAustralia]whenIwas
14andthat’swhenyoureallystartthinking
about growing up,” she says over the phone
from LAX, having just arrived for awards
season.“I’venowliterallygotoffaplane,
andeverytimeIfilloutthoseforms,Ihave
to say I’m British, but ... I identify with the
Australianwayoflifemore.”
NowbasedinNewYorkwithpartner
LievSchreiberandtheirtwochildren,the
actressisoneofthemoreindefatigably
elegant red-carpet regulars. When Watts
showsuptoanevent,she’llusuallymake
thebest-dressedlists.“Italwayshasto
represent me; I can’t wear clothes that

don’tfeellikeme,”shesaysofhersignature

column dresses, most recently sunny

dandelion Gucci and silver Armani Privé.

It’s this real-talking sensibility that

landed Watts the role as the face of

Sportscraft’s autumn/winter campaign and

a special 66-piece collection in conjunction

withWoolmark.“Whenyoutakeonthese

things you’ve got to have good feelings

about it,” she says.

“Occasionally I’ve gone out and got

talked into things and regretted it later,”

she says of red-carpet dressing. “Tilda

Swinton and Cate Blanchett always get it

absolutelyspoton,butI’masmall-framed

person. I can’t wear overwhelmingly strong

clothing.” Which is why you’ll see Watts

papped around her Tribeca neighbourhood

inslouchyknits,jeansandatweedblazer,

orasoftlytexturedcoat–nothingtoofar

removed from the Woolmark collection.

Watts’s fashion pedigree is stronger than

some of her Hollywood contemporaries;

her mother was a costume designer who

went on to work as a stylist in television.

Watts herself, a model at 18, worked at a

magazineby19.“IwasworkingatFollow

Me magazine,” and before that at a

department store, “putting together

fashionshoots,withfairlyboringbitsof

clothing, trying to make them interesting”,

she admits.

Whenshe’sawayfromHollywood,it’s

still those relaxed, easy pieces she returns

to, and refreshingly, the easy lifestyle.

“Every year at Christmas time, when

everythingshutsdown,theplaceIwantto

go is Australia.” See? One of us.

A

MODEL FRIENDSHIPS
Friendsinfashion,lifeandinVogue.

Both leggy, blonde

andVictoria’sSecret

alumni, Karlie

Kloss and Taylor

Swift also covered

the March 2015

issueofUSVogue.

Former rivals Jourdan Dunn (left)

andChanelImanmadeupon

a photo shoot before appearing

together on the November 2009

cover ofTeen Vogue.

All models and all faces

of major brands, Cara

Delevingne, Georgia

May Jagger and Suki

Waterhouse (above,

from left) are the

British It girl clique who

fronted the April 2015

edition of UK Vogue.

■

86 – MAY 2015

in VOGUE

GETTY IMAGES MIKAEL JANSSON CARTER SMITH