Exclusive: Thrilled about her rock star engagement Jodhi Meares unveils some more big news

EXCLUSIVE: Jodhi Meares makes plans for a new life as Mrs Jon Stevens as the chic designer and yoga devotee reveals a project four years in the making.

Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel in The Upside collection by Jodhi Meares. Pic: Will Davidson

NEVER one to hover in the spotlight, Jodhi Meares is thrilled about her engagement news but it is business-as-usual for the former model and successful fashion designer.

Speaking exclusively to news.com.au from New York, the health-minded yoga devotee and serial sports girl was proposed to by her rock star boyfriend Jon Stevens last week.

But, like she has always done, Jodhi prefers to keep intricate details of her private life, refreshingly private.

"We are really happy and thrilled but you know me, I don't like to talk about my private life,'' she says with a grin you can feel down the phone line.

What Jodhi does reveal is that it was an Hawaiian marriage proposal - Jodhi divides her time between Sydney, Hawaii and New York City- and that the handsome pair are thrilled about their impending marriage.

Aside from making wedding plans - which she assures me will be very low-key - it is a new sportswear collection, The Upside, launching in September, that has been taking up time the last four years.

"We have used the Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel for our campaign who is exactly the type of healthy, sports-minded girl that reflects the core brand,'' says Jodhi.

The campaign was shot on a rooftop in NYC with renowned Australian expat photographer Will Davidson and the collection will be stocked in Rebel Sport and Myer as well as on the websites www.stylerunner.com and www.theupsidesport.com

"We have been working on the brand for the past two years intensively but it has been four years since the idea hit me and I have been working on it,' adds Jodhi.

Jodhi says there was a gap in the market place for good-looking yoga gear that has a nod to fashion but doesn't take away the integrity of the practise of yoga.

"The Upside is basically a sports brand that fuses sport and fashion so whether it's yoga or walking or Pilates or whatever sport you are doing I wanted to create pieces that you could wear to them and then out for a relaxed dinner.''

When Jodhi created her swimwear label, Tigerlily - which she went on to sell - it came out of her passion for surf and beach culture as opposed to it being just a whole lot of sexy, string bikinis.

"Anything I do comes from a passion, so when I created Tigerlily it was my beach passion and now with The Upside, it's from my 15 years of practising yoga,'' says Jodhi.

"I have really studied and practised yoga for both physical and philosophical reasons,'' she adds.

The Upside collection is transitional clothing that fuses sport, fashion, leisure and lifestyle and is designed to be worn from sport to street, 'they will look as good with killer heels as with a sneaker.

"There is nothing sexy about the name Active-Wear which at best historically has been 'fun' and 'sporty' so there is no singular word to describe a transitional fashionable leisure brand," adds Jodhi. "At The Upside we call it active-tide.''

Jodie says it will suit a runner, a yogie, gym junkie, surfer, boot-camper, or dancer, with the ideology focusing on health, lifestyle and fitness. The girls collection supports and complements the body with specialist fabrics, unique seaming, panelling, ventilation slits and considered design ensuring the clothes can respond to the demands of vigorous sport. A boys collection is in the works, too.

"We are doing more to nourish our souls and condition our bodies more than ever before and being here in New York at the moment I am really inspired by the amount of people who are seriously looking after their bodies.''

The Upside will available on September 1.