As you read this, I will be taking my seat at my 14th Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. Yes, I am that old and so are the Zimmermann sisters because they have been at every one too (sorry to dob you in, girls). I have seen the good, the bad and the plain ugly over the years and I thought I would share with you my most memorable moments.

Click here for more memorable moments from Australian Fashion Week

Macy Gray belting out I Try (think: “my world crumbles when you are not here”) at the end of the Marcs show in 1998. It was a surprise, and even the most cynical black-clad fashion editor was bopping along and cheering. Cate Blanchett was in the audience as Harper’s Bazaar’s guest editor. This photo above of Cate with Macy and Mark Keighery, who sadly passed away last July, leaves me misty-eyed.

Christy Quilliam in the Morrissey Edmiston (when they were a duo) show at the first fashion week in 1996. Debate raged when the Daily Telegraph published model Christy in a cut-out maillot, all protruding ribs and hipbones. (History repeated last year when Balenciaga house model Steph Carter, deemed too thin, was banned from Aussie runways.) In the audience, I didn’t notice Christy’s ribs until I saw them in the paper the next day – not sure what that says about my conditioning or attention span. For the record, Christy is now happy and healthy living in NZ. She always claimed she didn’t have an eating disorder, but no one listened.

The launches Tigerlily’s wet and wild first runway show in 2001, with Eva Herzigova in a $500,000 pearl bikini, having water dumped on her in front of an audience which included Jodhi Meares’ then-husband James Packer (his current wife Erica modelled in the show) and his father Kerry. It was one of those moments when worlds collided. And never to be forgotten (or forgiven) is the arrival of ksubi (then tsubi) and their rats in 2000.

Charlie Brown and its stars: Sophie Dahl, Jerry Hall and Jade Jagger.
Oh, to have those budgets again!

The supers Linda Evangelista (despite the backstage tantrum while being poured into an Alex Perry frock); Helena Christensen (twice: once as a model in 1996 and later as a photographer); Erin Wasson for ksubi in 2007 and the lesser-known but beautiful Chrystelle, Marc Newson’s former girlfriend, in 1997.

Special guests Dita Von Teese riding a giant M.A.C lipstick in 2007 and Elle Macpherson as guest editor for Bazaar in 2002.

The theatrics Tony Assness and Terry Biviano in particular. Think: horses, circus stunts and can-cans with pom-poms…yes, those two really turned it on for a good cause: stilettos.

Special mention…
And Collette Dinnigan deserves a nod because the shows were great and only outdone by the settings (Government House, the old Boomerang harbourfront home, and a Paris bar built from scratch). And we needed those delicious feeds!

Erin Wasson with ksubi front row at Josh Goot in 2007, and Eva Herzigova in a $500,000 Tigerlily pearl bikini in 2001 (above); Jade Jagger walks for Charlie Brown in 2005 and Sarah O’Hare walks for Collette Dinnigan at Government House in 2001 (below).

It’s L.O.V.E. I’ve just returned from David Jones’ autumn-winter collections launch where Orlando Bloom sat front row (just three seats away from me!) and winked and smiled as the gorgeous Miranda made her way down the runway. He flew into town on Monday (but you knew that because you’ve seen our cover this week) and today he was seated beside Miranda’s paternal grandma, who he put his arm around and whispered to during the show – so cute! Yes, he is as gorgeous as you would expect in the flesh and he seemed very happy to be there, supporting Miranda. She giggled as she caught his eye at each exit. The clothes were good, in particular sass & bide’s finale of mostly black pieces, Collette Dinnigan’s summery prints, Kirrily Johnston’s fabulous orange, Ginger & Smart’s silky parachute pants and Scanlan & Theodore’s naturalist themes. There may have been other wonderful pieces I missed because, I confess, it was hard to stay focused on fashion. Orlando and Miranda sitting in a tree…oh, they’re just so LOVELY!

Miranda Kerr blows a kiss to boyfriend Orlando Bloom who was sitting in the front row. Photos by Getty Images.

IN PICS:
Click here to see who was at the David Jones AW 09 launch

Exclusive VIDEO:
Click here for Grazia TV’s exclusive behind-the-scenes video of our sexy Miranda Kerr cover shoot

More Miranda Kerr news:
How to get Miranda’s $5m body
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Miranda Kerr: that body
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Miranda's Buddhist wedding plans
EXCLUSIVE: Miranda Kerr interview

Let all past sins be forgot and let’s move on to the Oscars! Here’s my fashion advice for the Best Actress nominees announced today – we’ve even picked out the dress for you and suggested colour where we feel it’s necessary. Why pay Rachel Zoe when you’ve got me, for free?

Click here for our Oscars wishlist: this is what we would like to see the Best Actress nominees wearing

Anne Hathaway, Rachel's Getting Married

Angelina Jolie, Changeling

Melissa Leo, Frozen River

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Kate Winslet, The Reader

I loved Balenciaga’s spring/summer 09 collection, but with the runway lights creating optical illusions on crinkly fabrics that looked like they wouldn’t be out of place on a Christmas tree, the jury was out on its wearability. At least it was for me until Mark Vassallo and I visited the showroom in Paris and I felt them. The dress that Cate Blanchett wore to the premiere of Benjamin Button this week was mounted on a mannequin. It’s super-soft armour, more like silk feathering to touch than tinsel. They are such clever fabrics. Jennifer Connolly’s dress was shown on the catwalk with tricky jersey pieces underneath, but free of its layers it looks even better, just sequins on skin. The sequins are multi-layered and change colour so subtly that up close it is impossible to pinpoint an exact line of transition, like the brush strokes in a Monet. Both Cate and Jennifer shone this week; they were almost iridescent. Nicolas Ghesquiere suggested his clothes looked like “solar panels”, but they looked more like magic to me.

We had high hopes for Katie Holmes — we even thought she showed promise as a designer — but then we spotted her leaving Broadway (on the opening night of your fabulous performance) in this. Don't shoot the designer because by all reports she designed this genie get-up herself!

Looks like jumsuits are the next big thing. View more celebs sporting the trend here.

Our fashion director Mark is sharing the love from London via daily blogs. Read them if you haven’t- they’re bursting with energy and inspiration. Somewhat concerning, however, (at least to me) is his new found passion for jumpsuits. Jumpin’ Jezeeus- how the hell am I gonna wear that? Of course, they have been around since Stella and Stefano Pilati fell in love with them a summer ago, and now it seems there is no avoiding them. I was worried, until I saw Richard Nicoll’s show. He’s come up with the most sophisticated, fabulous way to wear a jumpsuit and a bow down before him for it. The UK born, Perth raised, Saint Martin’s graduate created an elegant jumpsuit! What a feat! The man is a genius. With a nod to the current Forties obsession, it drapes across the top decorated with a Swarovski crystal brooch. From the waist down it moves into the 70s, with a wide leg that buttons on the side.

Let’s hope these arrive at Elle boutique in Perth very soon. If not, this is one trend I may have to pass on.

New York Fashion Week starts today – visit us at www.grazia.com.au for regular updates – and we’re excited. A report in USA Today says designers are spending up big on their shows despite the US credit crunch (even US Vogue has “Value-conscious Chic, When To Spend, Where To Save” on its September cover).

Designer Mara Hoffman says it costs about $70,000 to stage a show. “Buyers are definitely skittish and price conscious,” says New Zealand born, New York-based designer Rebecca Taylor, who has been showing at New York Fashion Week for 10 years.

At Grazia we’ve tuned our crystal ball and we’re predicting a continuation of the new austerity – clean lines and minimal styling which is focused on quality fabrics, clever structure and tailoring. Bring it on! But while we are on the subject of New York, we hope Manhattanites don’t see UK magazine Pop’s latest issue which features a photo shoot of Agyness Deyn falling from a four-storey building onto a crash mat. She looks fabulous and we love a good shoot, but…it kind of reminds us of images we saw seven years ago…in New York. We’re sure they didn’t mean to…but.

We are ploughing our way through lamingtons in the office to celebrate gold medal wins in the pool. It may seem odd to you that watching humans exercising at their physical peak inspires us to expand our waists, but it does. (And if you were a fly on the wall of the Grazia office, it may not be the only thing you would find odd.) Australia has just won gold in the women’s relay, the Editor-in-Chief has just called for more lamingtons and I’ve returned to my desk to find an email in my inbox promising: “drop a dress size in seconds”. It’s from Wonderswim, by Rochford Australia.

Emails claiming one can achieve the impossible through fashion are not infrequent in my line of work, but this one caught my attention because of the irresistible combination of swimwear and an instant tummy tuck care of a material called Powermesh. Perhaps I could have abs like those clever swimmers in the pool and eat my lamington too?

According to the press release I don’t need to resort to plastic surgery, or passing on the lamingtons, or even exercise. There are now swimsuits that can remove up to four centimetres from key fat deposit areas thanks to the flattening and firming care of Powermesh, underwire support and adjustable straps. Then they add graphic prints, sequins and popping colours to distract the eye from “non-assets”.

It’s not the first such product I’ve heard of: Silhouette by Jets combines clever tailoring and carefully constructed panels made of something that achieves the same end. Perhaps all clothes should be made of Powermesh. I rather fancy a pair of pants that remove four centimetres. Now you too can eat your lamingtons with pride.