Caitlin Lomax is well-known to friends of Wish – she first starred in our Winter ’09 shoot Almost Famous, one of our most popular campaigns of all time. The stunning rock’n’roll images of the young model became instantly iconic as posters were proudly displayed in boutiques across Australia and the bus and tram ads stopped traffic!

The WA girl has become an international sensation – three years on and Caitlin Lomax is now one of the most successful Australian supermodels working at the very top of the model industry. Australian Grazia were amongst to pick her beauty; from their very first shoot with her they marked her out as one to watch, likening her rising star to that of Catherine McNeill.

Today editors around the world agree. You’ll see Caitlin Lomax’s distinctive looks on the pages of all the top magazines including Vogue and Harpers Bazaar while she’s a new favourite at the uber-cool fashion bibles Dazed and Confused and Love with super stylist Katie Grand casting her whenever she can. The trend guru’s at Pop Magazine shot Caitlin for the current TOP TEN NEW GIRLS, a defining moment when we knew she’d made it.

The biggest brands can’t get enough of this gorgeous girl – in the past few months she has fronted campaigns for top luxury houses including the ultimate elegance of Parisian Guy Laroche and been the beautiful face of Top Shop’s gorgeously grungy make-up campaign.

Caitlin Lomax is hot news on the catwalks and is now a regular at New York, London, Paris and Milan fashion weeks. She has walked for Chanel and Louis Vuitton, met the world’s biggest fashion names from Karl Lagerfeld to Donatella Versace and giggled backstage with her new colleagues Kate Moss and Miranda Kerr.

We are very proud that this new Australian supermodel is exclusive to Wish for Winter ’12 – the Renegade Romance campaign starring Caitlin Lomax is set to be a new Wish favourite.

Rebel with your lover in vintage shades of mustard, teal, merlot and bourbon and cute retro motifs in reworked paisley, fine oriental patterns and bold kaleidoscope prints. Tease your beloved in crepe de chine, chiffon, silk, suede, jersey, ponti, leather and fur; add lace panel detailing to be perfectly on trend. Be winter perfect in boldly silhouetted draping blazers, signature fur vests and sweetly demure jackets.

Browse the collection in our eBoutique.

To win the competition you were invited to guess the ex-Wish girl who is returning to the brand to be the face of Winter ‘12 – and tell us which of the models from all the years of past campaigns is your all time favourite Wish girl.

Wish Winter ‘12 will feature stunning Caitlin Lomax. It seems we chose well this season as by far the biggest number of entrants named Caitlin and her Almost Famous Winter ‘09 campaign as your favourite ever Wish shoot.

Thanks for all your entries! Make sure to be on our mailing list for news of our next great competition.

PRIZE PACK INCLUDES

$1000 of the hottest Wish Winter fashion

$1500 two night stay for you and your guest at the Grand Harbour Suite of Sydney’s top celebrity hotel – the luxurious Shangri La. Fashion doyennes Elle and Alexa Chung are both fans! A bottle of bubbles will await your arrival so take in the stunning view of Sydney harbour and relax. We’ve included daily buffet breakfast and access to the Horizon Club Lounge

$280 of nourishing hair treats – Miranda Kerr’s favourite Original and Mineral Liquid CCT Gloss Treatment at Atlantis Hair including wash, blow dry and style plus Original and Mineral gift set of It’s In The Bag and Mini Minerals Maintain the Mane

$324 of pure organic make-up – our supermodel loves NVEY Eco because it’s just so good for your skin! Enjoy your gift set of incredible colours for your eyes and lips and beautiful powder and bronzer for your skin

$280 of the perfect supermodel glow – get glam with a Vani-T Sunless Tan Treatment at Dr Naomi plus a gift set including the Vani-T Bronzing Custard, Boheme Mineral Bronzer and a Bare Bronze Temporary Tanning Mousse and Sunless Tan Remover Mitt

$215.00 add sparkle to your flutter with two sets of the Parisian Romance Signature Collection Lashes from top brand Lash Republic, as well as a placement tool and a Swarovski Crystal Curler and Tweezer Set!

Most people think of the maxi dress as a ‘70s trend but in fact it was first seen in the ‘60s. Oscar de la Renta is credited with creating the very first maxi – a trend that has since graced a billion fashionable ankles. In 1968 the New York Times praised a full length cotton lace dress that de la Renta had designed for the Elizabeth Arden salon and a fashion phenomenon was born. The ‘60s movie Dr Zhivago is also credited with some of the success of the maxi as fans craved the romance of Julie Christie’s flowing gowns. Fashionistas rejected the super-short micro minis of the late ‘60s and fashion reversed, sending hems to the floor.

The leading designers of the ’70s all embraced the trend: YSL, Dior, Cardin, Biba and Halston all created signature maxi dresses. As fashion took inspiration from around the world designers adopted the exotic sweeping silhouette of the Moroccan kaftan. By the mid ‘70s the maxi was everywhere, loved by bohemians, hippies and fashionistas alike in psychedelic colours, paisley prints and abstract designs.

Maxis were banished in the ‘80s as power suits with shoulder pads and Valley girls in rara skirts took over. There was no place for the romance of the maxi in the grunge of the ‘90s but finally mid-Noughties the maxi came back, longer and stronger than before. Kate Moss, of course ahead of the trend, was spotted in a stunning maxi at superstar make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury’s Ibiza wedding in September 2006. By 2007 runways were awash with fabric as maxis dominated the catwalks and shone at Gucci, Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney. Fashion hasn’t looked back – the maxi seems to be here to stay.

This time around the maxi is rather more glamorous than the original. Fabrics today are much better and horrible sweaty tales of the ‘70s polyester and manmade fibres now seem like unreal nightmares as we enjoy lightweight cotton, beautiful silks and chiffons. Silhouettes, while now even longer, tend to be sleeker and the feel is less hippy and more refined. Colours are bolder, prints are chic and details are more polished.

Perhaps the reason for the longevity of our love affair with the maxi is it’s total flexibility; more than any other garment the maxi has a chameleon like ability to transform from daywear to glamorous eveningwear. Worn with flats and minimal accessories it’s the perfect summery garment for the beach, a day at the markets or lunch with the girls. Add bold wedges, a signature belt and some eye-catching ethnic earrings and you are ready for date night at a romantic restaurant or a wild night out at the coolest place in town. Take a couple of maxis on a weekend getaway and you are ready for every adventure.

HOW TO WEAR YOUR MAXI

As maxis are now longer than ever be sure that your dresses fall to the perfect spot – never wear a dress that trails on the ground – if you are wearing flats the hem should fall to your anklebone, not below.

It’s a myth that shorter girls can’t wear maxis, but it is wise for petite fans of the look to choose more tailored silhouettes as dresses that are both long and billowing will simply swamp a smaller figure.

CELEBRITIES WHO TAKE IT TO THE MAX

Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Georgia May Jagger define the new bohemian Brit chic while LA fashionistas Nicole Richie, Rachel Zoe and Kate Hudson bring sheer Hollywood glamour to the iconic retro look. Tiny stars Eva Longoria and Kylie Minogue show that small can be beautiful in the perfect maxi dress.

Here at Wish we love our boutiques. We recently ran a competition for our stockists in Western Australia to see who could create the best Window Display. After much deliberation we selected Axel & Rose in Bussleton! They obviously love the Destination Unknown range as much as we do! If you are in the area make sure you check them out.

Axel & Rose
36 PRINCE ST
Busselton, WA, 6280
08 9752 4242

With fashion week days away the city is awash with fashionistas. The world’s greatest designers, stylists and models are all gathering to put on their incredible shows. Lots of ex-Wish girls are in town for the runways – I’m loving catching up with our models and hearing their exciting news. I promise to post more news on our models next week.

xx Annette

It’s always hard to pick a favourite outfit from the campaign images but this season my top trend choice is the image where our beautiful model wears the Zion Maxi dress. I love the whole look, it feels free, almost magical and mystical. It’s incredibly romantic and reminds me of a scene from the English Patient.

I also love that we’ve been able include so much macramé in this campaign. My mother taught me the art – I started on pot plant holders and kept practising. I remember being very proud of my first handmade macramé handbag that I made complete with beading for extra detailing. This year I taught my production team how to create it for our dresses this season. We really enjoyed the feeling of making the garments by hand, the whole experience of craft and handwork is incredibly cathartic.

xx Annette

The searing shades of a scorching summer paint silks in tangerine, chartreuse and emerald or fall in ombre silks from peacock blue to green. Linen and cotton blends in neutral shades of sand, rock and dust evoke the softly shifting dessert landscape while ice cream tones of fresh mint, apricot and vanilla white add freshness in the heat.

Stay cool in Quaker dresses that fall simply to the ankle, summer kaftans, flowing maxis and airy kimono sleeves, or turn up the heat in body-hugging showstoppers perfect for rooftop parties and wild days at the races.

Delight in perfect workmanship from handcrafted macramé necklines and straps to beautiful beading and chic sunray pleating. A collection of contradictions Destination Unknown sees multiple fabrics and textures in one garment and promises to look divine no matter what the location may be.