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Jodhi Meares aka
Jodhi Packer
Jodhi
Meares (credit: Fairfax)
Jodhi
Meares (born Jodie Kayla Meares in 1972), is an Australian
fashion designer, and former model.
Born
to John Meares and his wife Denise, the couple split
when Jodhi was two years of age. She then moved from
Merimbula, where her father ran a pub, to Sydney,
where she began modelling at just 14.
Meares
took her first steps into the spotlight when she was
chosen as a Moove milk model aged 16. In 1992 she
sang in the band Euphoria, for which she wrote the
song "Karma". Jodhi later made her name
as a swimsuit model before establishing her own swimwear
label, Tigerlily Swimwear.
In
October 1999, she married Kerry Packer's son James
Packer. The heir to the Packer media fortune and the
former swimsuit model were married in the spring,
in a storybook wedding that cost more than A$10 million.
Elton John sang and 750 guests enjoyed a party at
the Bellevue Hill compound of James's father, Kerry
Packer. His wife, Ros, called it "the wedding
of the decade."
In
April 2002, Jodie became Jodhi, said to be due to
her commitment to numerology, although it did nothing
for her luck. In June 2002, Jodhi and Packer announced
their much-anticipated separation, and later divorced.
In
addition to her work as designer and owner of Tigerlily
(named from the character in Peter Pan), and recently
opening the Tigerlily flagship store in Paddington,
Sydney, Jodhi Meares is an occasional reporter for
the Nine Network's travel show Getaway.
She
was recently awarded the hosting job for FOX8's
Australia's Next Top Model which was created as
an Australian version of America's Next Top Model,
the most popular reality
show on the network.
News
Jodhi
steps out with Kashmeares, by Vanda Carson - 25th
January 2008
(Credit:
The Sydney Morning Herald)
Jodhi
Meares, the former wife of James Packer, has not
wasted time since selling her swimwear business
to the surfwear company Billabong last month.
Just
a week after the deal was done she paid off a
$980,000 loan to National Australia Bank and convened
a board meeting to change the wholly owned private
company's name from Tiger Lily Swimwear to Kashmeares.
She
was too busy filming a pay television series yesterday
to say whether the new company name implied it
would be her personal "cash box" or
that she was perhaps leaving behind bikinis for
a new career designing cashmere jumpers.
When
the deal with Billabong was done in December,
market sources said Ms Meares would be paid between
$3 million and $5 million for the company she
built up over the past nine years.
She
designed colourful and fashion-conscious swimwear
sold through hundreds of boutiques, some Beach
Culture stores, owned by Billabong, and the department
store David Jones, with a price range between
$100 and $200.
She
had signed a deal for the designs to be stocked
in the US department store Saks.
The
former swimwear model said she had admired the
"Billabong philosophy" for years and
was "drawn to the fact it is a company built
around a lifestyle".
The
36-year-old, who was both designer and owner of
the brand, has stayed on as a "creative director"
after deciding on a full sale rather than a partnership.
The
brand will help Billabong compete with US rival
Quicksilver's women's brand, Roxy.
Ms
Meares briefly lost full control when she licensed
the brand to Gazal Corp between 2002 and 2004
but, after resuming control, she built its presence
in 700 outlets and late last year opened her first
stand-alone store in Sydney.
In
2006-07 sales increased by as much as 40 per cent
and clothing made up about 65 per cent of sales.
It
is expected to contribute less than 1 per cent
of group sales, or less than $10 million, in its
first full year in the Billabong group.
But
Bell Potter Securities has predicted that sales
could reach $50 million and earnings margins should
increase to about 20 per cent by 2012.
Profiles
Tigerlily
Fashion
Foxtel
Australia's
Next Top Model
Network
Nine 'Getaway'
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