Local designers go head-to-head

A handful of fashion entrepreneurs, including One Teaspoon designer Jaime Blakey and The Little Black Dress Empire founder Juliette Knox, will compete to be crowned Cosmopolitan Woman of the Year.

The title is reserved for the winner of Cosmopolitan magazine's “Fun Fearless Female” Competition, which is now in its fifth year running. The competition asks readers to vote for who they believe to be the “strongest, most inspirational, fun and fearless females in Australia”, and this year, the competition attracted a record number of votes – 218,000 nationally – which have been narrowed down to 33 finalists across 11 categories.

The categories include Actress, Singer, Entrepreneur, Blogger, Designer, Radio Host, Sports Star, TV Presenter, Author, Role Model, and Rising Star.

Accessory designer Belle Bijoux joined property developer Carly Crutchfield and The Little Black Dress Empire founder Juliette Knox in the Entrepreneur category, while One Teaspoon designer Jamie Blakey, Bec and Bridge duo Becky Cooper and Bridget Yorston, and Something Else creator Natalie Wood made the cut in the Designer category.

Wood said she was proud to be selected as a finalist and felt her label would benefit from the positive association.

“It's a nice honour to be nominated in the Fun Fearless Female Competition as it celebrates strong, creative, inspirational women,” she said.

“For me, it's great be recognised in a field like this because I really believe Something Else is a brand for women that do things - women who are talented and innovative with a love of the arts and culture, so to be nominated amongst leading Australian women who are working hard in their lives to make our society a better is a nice place to be.”

The finalists, which also include the Premier of Queensland , Anna Bligh, singers Julia Stone and Sia Furler, and Jessica Marais from Australian television series Packed to the Rafters, will have to wait until July for the final verdict.

The Woman of the Year, who receives the most votes overall, will be announced at an awards ceremony in Sydney’s Catalina restaurant on July 27, and will receive $10,000 from competition sponsor, Libra.

Finalists have also been photographed by fashion photographer Steven Chee at Sugarmill in Sydney, with shots to be published in the next issue of Cosmopolitan and will also be part of a range of promotional activities in the lead up to the awards.