Jackie ‘O’ Henderson hits fashion week amid ARN legal battle

Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has made her first public appearance since the axing of The Kyle and Jackie O Show on the penultimate night of Australian Fashion Week at the L’IDEE WOMAN runway show.

Dressed in a simple black strapless gown from the designer, the radio host looked fresh-faced at Walsh Bay’s The Neilson Nutshell amid her high-profile lawsuit against ARN.

It’s the first time she’s stepped out for a public event – the only other exception being when she made a quick and low-key appearance at best friend and manager, Gemma O’Neill’s Her Best Life retreat in April. Talking to the Daily Telegraph, she dodged questions about her former colleague, Kyle Sandilands, and said she was there to support her friend, Pip Edwards, who served as creative director for the runway show. Henderson attended with her daughter, Kitty.

Australian Fashion Week can sometimes be condescendingly referred to as “fashion weak”, but look past the attention-grabbing attendees who are there for easy exposure, and you’ll find plenty of genuinely stylish people who know how to put together an outfit.

This week, Sydney Harbour is the picturesque backdrop for AFW as it decamps from Carriageworks to its new home, the Museum of Contemporary Art.

While the runways act as a forecast of what’s to come, street style tells us what’s trending now. Already, the best of it demonstrates that great Australian style is defined by a cool insouciance – matching outfits be damned.

A statement shoe never hurt anyone

If there’s one place you want to be putting your best foot forward, it’s here. And in the case of AFW attendees, that’s translated into statement shoes, like a 2018 Prada flame wedge heel or a black pointed-toe slingback with neon green accents.

Outside the Beare Park runway show at the Sydney Opera House, Lisa Wipfli and Pip Edwards both paired their outfits from the brand with sky-high platform wedge heels.

Eagle-eyed fashion fans will recognise them as similar to the breakout shoe from designer Chemena Kamali’s debut 2024 show for Chloe, which saw Siena Miller, Kiernan Chipka and models Liya Kebede and Georgia May Jagger all wearing the same style in the front row.

But sometimes, the shoe is only part of the statement, as was the case with Mode Sportif founder Deborah Symond-O’Neill, who paired her fluttering, metallic blood orange Toni Maticevski dress with satin slingback Saint Laurent heels each topped with a rose.

Jeans and a nice top

Disquieted by Margot Robbie’s laid-back Chanel look for the Met Gala after-parties? You need to get with the times, where jeans have been elevated beyond an everyday basic. Blame Matthieu Blazy’s haute couture interpretation, but denim reigns especially supreme currently, with fashion editors and influencers pairing their jeans with structured black button-up jackets like stylist and brand consultant Caroline Tran.

Other attendees preferred cropped jacket styles, while young filmmaker ingénue Phoebe Wolfe chose to wear hers with a simple black silk top, black sunglasses and a Chanel 25 handbag on her shoulder.

The bomber is back

What better way to hide from your frenemies than behind a face-concealing bomber jacket? While we’re not suggesting any of the AFW attendees were hiding from anyone, plenty of them sported the oversized bomber jacket style, often with a high-collar that definitely could be used to hide half their face if ever they needed. Stylist Irene Tsolakas wore a chic leather style, while actor Krew Boylan opted for a matching set.

Read more of our Australian Fashion Week coverage:

• How much is that bikini in the window? The business of fashion week
• ‘I can’t make a woman look ugly’: Maticevski returns to the runway
• What to expect at Australian Fashion Week? For starters, skinny is back

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