10 NEWS
SUNDAY JULY 20 2014
Amazing
Grace a
big hit on
catwalk
By MEGAN PALIN
A TERRITORY
equestrian
champion has swapped the
arena for the catwalk and
made her debut in a hautecouture show as part of Paris
Fashion Week (PFW).
Former Good Shepherd Lutheran College student Grace
Simmons, 17, caught the attention of the fashion industry
elite this week when she strutted her stuff on the catwalk in
front of a star-studded front
row including Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, Marion
Cotillard, Charlize Theron and
her beau Sean Penn.
The flame-haired beauty
donned a navy floor-length
coat paired with red trousers as
she glided her way down the
runway for the most prestigious event on the international fashion calendar, in the
gardens of the Musée Rodin.
Grace first hit the runways
at Sydney Fashion Festival last
year and hasn’t looked back,
with influential fashion power
houses tipping her to be the
next international supermodel
to come out of Australia.
The
Girlfriend
Model
Search 2012 winner completed
Year 12 in Queensland last
year, but her ties to Darwin remain strong.
Her parents own a home
and hardware store in Casuarina and a caravan park in Coolalinga and Grace returns to
the Top End frequently to
spend time with friends.
Mother Adrienne Simmons
said Grace was sent by her
management firm to Paris to
watch PFW, but was cast at the
last minute as a model in the
most exclusive of all the runway shows — haute couture.
Your best
friend can
be a lover
THERE is hope for people
stuck in the “friend zone”.
A study by dating website
eHarmony found best friends
also make the best lovers.
Relationship and dating expert Melanie Schilling said
people valued similar traits in
friends and lovers, but there
were a few that elevated romantic partners out of the
dreaded friend zone.
“The top two qualities for
mates and lovers were for
them to be loyal and a good
listener,” Ms Schilling said.
But there were four qualities people looked for to take
things to the next level – intelligence, attractiveness, morals
and work ethic.
Physical attraction was the
trigger to looking at a friend
differently.
“When this friend enters
the room something shifts in
you physiologically, the heart
rate beating a little faster,
sweaty palms, feeling a little
hot and bothered,” Ms Schilling said.
“As that bubbles to the surface and the person starts to
realise I’m attracted to this
buddy of mine, what tips them
over to wanting to pursue it is
the deeper stuff.
“While the initial attraction
is physical and physiological, it
moves on to morals and values
and lifestyle preference, so it’s
really that longer term sustainability for a relationship that
kicks in.”
“What’s
happening to
her is lovely,
because
it’s Grace’s
dream – this
is what she’s
wanted for
a number
of years”
“She was hand-picked (to
walk for) Christian Dior and
Viktor & Rolf,” Adrienne said.
“It’s been an absolute fairytale for her. Grace always puts
110 per cent into everything
she does, whether it’s achieving a (Year 12 final exam) mark
of 96, representing the NT in
national equestrian championships or modelling.
“Her
equestrian
days
(Grace was a member of the
Noonamah Horse and Pony
Club and Darwin Show Jumping Club) prepared her well for
the catwalk — it’s given her a
sense of confidence.”
Grace has deferred her double degree in business and economics so she can embrace
more modelling opportunities.
“She’s a very smart girl and
loves what she’s doing now
and will take each day as it
comes,” Adrienne said.
“What’s happening to her is
lovely, because it’s Grace’s
dream — this is what she’s
wanted for a number of years.”
Grace has currently based
herself in Sydney.
Health woes for
broken hearts
Former Good Shepherd Lutheran College student Grace Simmons caught the attention of the fashion
industry elite in Paris this week
SLEEPING badly after a divorce won’t just leave you with
dark circles under your eyes.
Research shows it could
also cause dangerous increases
in blood pressure, leading to
serious illness.
A University of Arizona
team questioned 138 people,
who were newly divorced or
separated, about how well they
were sleeping. Their blood
pressure was also taken three
times over seven-and-a-half
months.
Those people who regularly
had trouble sleeping saw their
blood pressure increase a few
months later.
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