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On Thursday night, Sydney played host to the ELLE Next Gen Awards. Taking place on the first warm spring evening, more than 130 guests arrived to the smell of spring blooms wafting in the air — aptly setting the scene for an evening designed to champion the country’s freshest and most inspiring new talent.
As the sun set, ELLE Australia’s editor, Jessica Bailey — who was dressed in a glittering gown by iconic Australian label Romance Was Born — warmly welcomed the country’s top rising stars and industry leaders into the ELLE world. One that has, for 80 years, acted as a launchpad for emerging creatives in fashion, beauty, music, film, art and literature.
“ELLE has a truly unique ability to connect with young women, and part of that is spotlighting the next generation of Australian talent,” said Bailey in a press release on Friday morning. “Last night was an amazing celebration of our thriving creative industries and the people who are already leading them into the future. Congratulations to all our nominees and to our nine inspiring winners.”
The awards, which were sponsored by Swarovski and presented by OPPO, spanned nine categories, with former ELLE Australia cover girl Sophie Wilde taking out the Next Gen Icon Award. Also amongst the winners list was actor Yerin Ha; fashion designer Courtney Zheng; filmmaker Phoebe Wolfe; artist and filmmaker Hayley Millar Baker; singer-songwriter Kita Alexander; makeup artist, content creator and founder of beauty brand
Embellish Rowi, Rowi Singh; author and advocate Madison Griffiths; and model Anna Robinson.
As guests filed onto the balcony, we captured a few sneak peaks into the exciting projects they’re currently working on. Nominee, Ruby Pedder has previously credited Vivienne Westwood as a major inspiration behind the designs for her eponymous label, Rube Pedder. It was appropriate then, that she wore a vintage mini dress by the designer for the evening, along with sparkling Swarovski jewels. She revealed that she is “working on a collaboration with MECCA at the moment”.
As for her fellow nominees, Courtney Zheng, who took home the fashion designer award, revealed that she is “about to show Spring/Summer 2026 in Paris in three weeks”. Meanwhile Daisy-Rose Cooper of Sleight Of Hand is “doing a runway in Korea in October, which is really exciting”. We were also excited to learn that both Charley and Jacoténe, who were both nominees in the music category will be bringing out new music imminently, while sisters actor Annabel Wolfe and Phoebe Wolfe spoke about their upcoming joint feature film, Purity.
With champagne flowing through the evening, guests mingled on the balcony (with some trying their hand at the claw machine filled with special Swarovski pieces), the night progressed through dinner, as icons of the Australian creative industry took to the stage to present the nine awards. Gemma Ward spoke candidly about her own experiences in the modelling industry, and Maria Thattil celebrated the progress in representation on stages such as this, opening up about her childhood dreams of seeing someone who looked like her presenting on such an occasion.
Aubri Ibrag also flew all the way from Los Angeles to attend the event, and she also presented the filmmaker award, and Maia Mitchell presented the award for the actor category. Presenters also included such as Romance Was Born’s Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, as well as Louise Olsen and Camille Olsen-Ormandy, who opened up about the ways creation flows through their family, and Bri Lee presented the award in the writer category.
Following a brief intermission that saw Next Gen Music Award winner Kita Alexander take to the stage to perform an acoustic version of her hit song, ‘Press Pause’, salmon canapes made way for cheeseburgers as a late-night snack as the DJ turned the volume up.
With a few people still on the dancefloor, guests started heading home with an extra-special gift bag that included the very first release of the ELLE Australia’s September issue, with ELLE’s Next Gen Model winner, Anna Robinson on the cover. Draped in a vibrant Alexander McQueen gown, Robinson sent her regards from Paris, her new home and the location of the cover shoot that took place on the day of the Tour De France.
Along with the first copies of the magazine, the goody bags also included: Airyday SPF 50+ Dreamscreen, Noosa Basics Lip Balm, Essano Vitamin C Gel Cleanser, Cancer Council Raspberry Lip Balm SF 50+, Muk Hair Deep Muk Ultra Soft Shampoo and Conditioner, Iyvos Hydrating Milk Cleanser, Clemence Organics Ultimate Biome Spritz, Glow Up Beverages French Martini Cocktail, Dermapenworld Hyla-Active 3D Sculptured Mask, Vanessa Megan Skincare Group Eleven Active Mist, Lanolips Mini Coconut Lip Balm, Bang on Brows Brow Soap, and the IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream Anti-Aging Hydrating Moisturiser.
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