Garance Dore talks blogging ethics and sitting front row beside Carine Roitfeld at Westfield Bondi Junction

When watching Garance Dore talking in front of a large group of people, it’s hard to believe this well spoken and sweet French woman could possibly have made the fat-models-are-gimmick comment that was blown out of proportion online. In Australia to launch the Garance Dore – Winter With Westfield installation (with boyfriend Scott Schulman in tow), the pretty brunette talked with fashion journalist and blogger Patty Huntington for 20 minutes about fashion blogging, illustration and her own blogging ethics. Here’s the highlights of what she said, we’ve uploaded low res video of the one-on-one chat which you can watch below.

On creating videos and then fielding questions on why every video wasn’t posted on to her website:

Last year I did videos of the fashion shows where I filmed every show and only put on my blog the shows I like. The brands they don’t like that so they call me and ask me ‘why there isn’t video of my show, you were invited’ and I have to say ‘it didn’t work, I filmed it bad’.

It’s going to be a difficult but it’s my selection and if they’re not happy they shout but what do they want from me? You’re not my friend and even if you are we are professionals and it’s a job. And they think its ok after that. I want have the same kind of trust like Cathy Hoyrn. I don’t care about getting banned because I want to show the fans trust. I’m trying to have ethics.”

On why bloggers are now a hot story in fashion:

I think for fashion, what is great with bloggers is that they show a genuine love of fashion and there is no filter. Sometimes it’s crazy, they know everything and people like to feel that excitement … with blogs sometimes it can get get boring ‘oh i love these shoes’ or ‘oh i love that’ but we love to feel the excitement about fashion. I think it bought that that naivety.

On why she thinks bloggers sit front row at fashion week:

Sometimes I feel a little strange when I am sitting next to Carine Roitfeld. I think its crazy. The with bloggers is that they’re not journalists and some become celebrities and they are on the front row not so much about their point of view but their celebrity so people talk. Dolce & Gabbana were the first to do that and got so much press coverage. But then blogs have so many international readers that when we talk about something I’ve realised that when I talk about something on my blog everyone talks about it. Blogs are great because you don’t pay, you just click.

It was a fascinatingly honest Q&A with two of our favourite bloggers which made standing in the beaming sun and having trays of sweets swanning past (just as week out from Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, I can assure you they were hardly touched) all ok.

If you’re in Melbourne or Sydney before May 23rd, get to Westfield Bondi Junction and Westfield Doncaster to check out the seven beautiful illustrations inspired by the winter 2010 collection of Australian designers and one fashion chain: Zimmerman, Gorman, Thurley, Bettina Liano Arthur Galan, Leona Edminston & Country Road.

We’ll be sourcing better quality images of Garance’s illustrations tomorrow, but for now pictures snapped on our phone will have to do.

Garance Dore chatting with Patty Huntington at the Sydney launch of her Winter with Westfield blogger/illustrator collaboration.

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