SydCon Unleashed: Beyonce’s Aussie designer, Tyra Banks in Sydney, and Hugh Jackman’s bro the Federal Judge
Sydney chef Luke Mangan buys his longed-for glamour pad. Plus: Tyra Banks is in town, and Hugh Jackman’s bro is a Federal Court Judge. All the Sydney gossip you missed this week is Unleashed.
Confidential
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Having missed out on the Southern Highlands estate Summerside back in 2017 when it was bought by fitness guru Michelle Bridges, acclaimed Sydney chef Luke Mangan has bought the glamorous getaway this time around.
While it’s considerably more than the $2.7 million Bridges paid six years ago in the celebrity auction showdown, the patient Mangan was able to watch the asking price tumble from $7 million when it was listed earlier this year to $4.25 million plus, by which time he picked it up for even less, at $4.2 million.
Mangan, based in Bellevue Hill since 2009 when he and wife Belinda paid $2.5 million for a modernised 1920s home with a pool, had attended the auction six years ago in which Bridges walked away with the keys to the 4.1ha rural estate.
The five-bedroom home has an in-ground pool, tennis court and artist studio, all of which sit in Michael Bligh-designed gardens.
Mangan recently celebrated his chef-hatted Glass Brasserie in Sydney turning 18.
“The milestone makes me feel very old, but I do still pinch myself that I’ve been fortunate enough to have the venue in the heart of our spectacular city for so long!” Mangan posted to his 51,000 Instagram followers.
Bridges, meanwhile, has bought back in Sydney, securing a four bedroom home in Rose Bay with a pool.
The last time she was in Sydney was in 2020, when she called Potts Point home.
She sold her Pomeroy apartment for $6.4 million as she headed to the Southern Highlands following her separation from partner, Steve “Commando” Willis, and to escape the paparazzi badgering her in the local Woolworths.
QUEEN BEY’S AUSSIE DESIGNER
When Beyonce talks, the world listens.
That is why it is a major coup for New York-based Sydney designer Natalie De’Banco to create a custom outfit for the American superstar for her US tour.
“It is unbelievable,” De’Banco told The Daily Telegraph.
“I am in shock … blown away to be honest.”
Queen Bey and her team commissioned the bespoke piece from De’Banco’s label, Bronx and Banco, for her Renaissance tour.
Having shown at New York Fashion Week many times, Bronx and Banco has become one of Beyonce’s favoured designers over the past few years.
The glam catsuit design was crafted with Swarovski crystals that took more than 150 hours to sew.
The coat was constructed from ethically sourced ostrich feathers and featured as Beyonce’s opening look for her Las Vegas show, and was part of her 42nd birthday celebration where the former Destiny’s Child singer called for concertgoers to wear silver to “mirror each other’s joy” and celebrate “Virgo season together”.
Earlier this year, the Telegraph revealed that Beyonce’s team were looking at November tour dates for Sydney at the revamped Allianz Stadium.
Negotiations fell over although fans have been lobbying for the superstar to schedule shows here in 2024.
TYRA’S IN TOWN
Tyra Banks has quietly been in Sydney over recent days, preparing for the launch of her ice cream brand in Australia.
The former America’s Next Top Model star will attend the Fine Food Australia industry event at ICC Sydney on Monday, where she will launch SMiZE & DREAM.
Confidential hears the American supermodel has been busy working behind the scenes on the Aussie launch, which would make sense in that she hasn’t been photographed around town as celebrities usually are when they visit.
CLAWS RUN IN THE FAMILY
His brother is Hollywood royalty, best known for playing the character of Wolverine on the big screen for more than a decade.
But newly appointed Federal Court judge Ian Jackman SC appears to be leaving behind his own set of scars on the legal fraternity after delivering a blistering take-down of a fellow judicial officer in a recent judgment.
Justice Jackman, Hugh’s older brother, publicly criticised outgoing colleague Justice Kathleen Farrell for failing to deliver a judgment in one of her cases almost three years after it was heard.
The claws-and-all attack included a suggestion that Justice Farrell had given no “acceptable reason” for her failure to finalise the case before she departed from the court on August 1.
Justice Jackman, an esteemed barrister of 30 years’ experience before he was appointed to the bench at the start of 2023, swiftly dealt with the matter within three weeks of receiving it.
Ouch.
MASK UP, SAYS TRANSPORT NSW
The dark days of the pandemic are behind us, but it seems some of the Covid-driven hysteria is alive and well in some pockets of Transport for NSW.
Either that, or no one has remembered to change the digital signs on some of Sydney’s buses.
A Sydney Confidential tipster spotted some Covid-era warnings on the 181X service from Wynyard to the northern beaches on Tuesday, as commuters were warned they “must wear a mask on public transport”.
“Fines will apply,” the digital signs declared.
Masks have not been mandatory on public transport for almost a year now.
Perhaps its something that Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s hand-picked department boss Josh Murray can sort out now that his feet are well and truly under the desk of his $588,000-per-year job.
ARABIAWOOD?
A Sydney businessman says he is taking on Hollywood and Bollywood with a global movie production studio being built in Oman.
Michael Ibrahim is working towards a construction date on what he has dubbed “Arabiawood” in the city of Duqm in the first half of 2024.
“It’s a multibillion-dollar project. I see it as history in the making for the Middle East and the world,” Ibrahim told Confidential.
“We all love Hollywood and Bollywood. Now I’m so excited to bring Arabiawood to life.
“We’ll be breaking ground in the second quarter of 2024 and will get under way with the first movie mid-year.
“We have six movies in the pipeline with talent including A-list actors, and there will be opportunities here in Australia too for those working in the movie industry.”
FIRST LOOK AT NCIS: SYDNEY
NCIS Sydney will air in Australia on November 10 — three days before it is exported back to the US to plug an ever-widening gap made by the actors and writers strikes.
The show will make its stateside debut on November 13 on CBS, making it the first international edition of the procedural franchise to be aired in its country of origin.
As the SAG-AFTRA strikes enter their 56th day, all the major film and TV studios are scrambling to find content to put on their channels.
New seasons of everything from Euphoria, The Handmaid’s Tale, Outlander, Emily In Paris, and Stranger Things are indefinitely on ice.
Meanwhile, wholly Australian-made productions are unaffected.
“Practical clothing resonates with all of us on a different level: clothing is a necessity, so if you can shop for something that does double duty with a functional purpose, it’s like a guilt-free ticket to each purchase,” Vogue Australia’s Alice Birrell told The Daily Telegraph.
“It doesn’t hurt that arbiters of taste and style like Kate Moss and Alexa Chung have long worn their wellies with an offhand cool trudging through the mud at Glastonbury, or that the royal family lend them an air of sophistication, giving us normal people permission to pair them with anything.official trailer for NCIS: Sydney came out on Thursday, with the announcement that eight episodes of the limited season will be released weekly on Fridays.
NCIS: Sydney will follow a team of American NCIS agents who form a multinational task force with members of the Australian Federal Police “to keep naval crimes in check in the most-contested patch of ocean on the planet,” according to the show’s logline.
The cast features Olivia Swann, Todd Lasance, Sean Sagar, Tuuli Narkle, Mavournee Hazel and William McInnes.
“NCIS is one of the most popular series in the world, and we’re thrilled to expand this franchise with a uniquely Australian twist,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in a statement.
“With the addition of NCIS: Sydney, our studio and network footprint continues to grow in this fascinating world that has been a proven winner with viewers on both linear and streaming platforms. Featuring the stunning backdrop of Australia, the new series will incorporate the high-stakes intrigue, humor and camaraderie that have kept fans captivated by the ‘NCIS’ teams for over two decades.”
In addition to picking up Aussie TV, CBS has upped its unscripted load for the next couple of months, and will bring over previously-aired episodes of Yellowstone and SEAL Team, along with the British version of its comedy Ghosts, to help fill out its line-up.
GUMMIES ARE BACK IN FASHION
Splish splash, gumboots are experiencing a renaissance — for all occasions and in all weather.
The old-fashioned rubber footwear is no longer for sloshing in the mud or getting dirty in the garden — it is now a fashion accessory.
“Practical clothing resonates with all of us on a different level: clothing is a necessity, so if you can shop for something that does double duty with a functional purpose, it’s like a guilt-free ticket to each purchase,” Vogue Australia’s Alice Birrell told The Daily Telegraph.
“It doesn’t hurt that arbiters of taste and style like Kate Moss and Alexa Chung have long worn their wellies with an offhand cool trudging through the mud at Glastonbury, or that the royal family lend them an air of sophistication, giving us normal people permission to pair them with anything.
“Add to that a more open-minded approach to dressing post-covid, where we clung to our comfortable, versatile wardrobes, and the proliferation of knee-high boots on runways of late, and it’s easy to see why the resurgence of utilitarian pieces is touching all parts of our wardrobe.”
Sydney fashionista Anna Allison is taking on the fashion big guns in launching her new brand, My Tribe Boots.
“My vision was to revolutionise the traditional rubber rainboot, injecting it with a contemporary twist that transcends boundaries,” Allison said.
“We firmly believe that practicality should never come at the expense of style.
“Our boots are a testament to this ethos — fashion-forward, yet inherently functional.”
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