When Katy Perry visited Sydney earlier this year, she took on the role of weather girl on Channel Seven’s Sunrise, presenting the national forecast dressed in what was, for the usually outrageously clad pop star, a rather subdued floral two-piece.
While it was intended to be a little tongue-in-cheek, her ensemble reflected how we have traditionally tended to view our weather presenters – as a little on the, let’s say, conservative side.
But take a look at any of our major networks these days and you’ll find Australian weather presenters are anything but ordinary in their fashionable quest to be more than just weather girls.
Channel Nine’s Livinia Nixon, for instance, is a champion of Australian labels, often sporting Scanlan Theodore, Camilla and Marc, and Country Road. The mother of two is also a big online shopper and counts The Iconic, ASOS and River Island among her favourite retail destinations.
When on the road for work, she trawls shops for outfits that will look good on camera. While trends come and go, weather presenters need to be ever aware of what works on camera – just because it looks good on the catwalk doesn’t mean it will translate to television.
This season there’s an abundance of floral, pastels and monochrome prints – but curating this for the TV screen requires careful sartorial know-how. Enter the stylists who are employed by the networks to source outfits, and have an eye for what will deliver for a television audience.
“Our head stylist, Marina Piche, makes sure we’re on trend and wear clothes that don’t clash with the maps behind us,” Nixon says. “When I am out and about on a shoot, I might pop into a shop if I spot an outfit that will work. I’ll take a photo and send it to Marina. I always look online, too.”
Nixon says her TV style comes down to looking fashionable without overdoing it. “If I put on a dress and we spend more than a minute trying to make it work for television, we don’t use it,” she says. “You certainly get a feel for what works on TV and what doesn’t.”
Peplums and colour blocking agree with the camera, as do fitted A-line skirts, jackets and structured silhouettes. Neoprene is fast becoming a favourite fabric for its chic look but others, such as silk and linen, are a no-go.
“If I wear linen in summer, every time I get in front of the camera I need to have it steamed,” Nixon says.
“I avoid it because it’s high-maintenance. I am running between an office and the studio, and we’re time poor.”
It’s not just the weather presenters who are keen to soak up fashion trends. Viewers follow their moves diligently, many tweeting or posting on social media if they like an outfit – or not.
Channel Seven’s Jo Silvagni has presented the weeknight weather since January. She’s a fan of figure-hugging silhouettes in bright colours for summer on screen, but off-screen she prefers pants and looser-fitting items.
“I tend to chase colours,” she says. “I am better in red and royal blues than brown. Sometimes what I love, others don’t. We try to accommodate for viewers too; they want to see different things. I am in the over-40 age bracket and it’s nice to show women my age that we can look really smart in a figure-hugging dress too.”
“Baggy doesn’t work on the screen,” Silvagni says.
“I try to stay away from black and the darker colours. The first picture viewers see is of Melbourne at 10 minutes to seven, so to be wearing black to match the view wouldn’t be right.
Like Nixon, Silvagni also prefers to support Australian designers, but she’ll wear items she’s had for 20 years, tweaking the look with accessories.
She also prefers buying in-store to online. “I buy the odd shoe online, but with clothes I like to try it on and I love shopping.”
Channel Seven’s weekend weather presenter Giaan Rooney, the former Olympic swimmer who recently returned to the network from maternity leave, loves fashion. She was presenter at this year’s Melbourne Spring Fashion Week opening night runway, looking fabulously on trend in a monochrome fitted dress.
Rooney says the key to her look as weather presenter is working with Seven’s stylist, Ben Amery, who buys the outfits and understands her body type.
“I am a boyish figure straight up and down, and we always try to go for things that will accentuate the waist,” she says. “Pregnancy usually throws that theory out the window and you can’t do anything that’s waisted, but it worked for me. I went for styles I wouldn’t have otherwise – like empire line. I could get away with it because of my boyish shape.”
Rooney says painterly and bright florals don’t work on camera, as they can strobe and distract from the bigger picture. But block colours are fine. She often wears Sheike – a Sydney label – and she also enjoys wearing Leina Broughton, from Queensland.
“As weather presenters we’re all under the same lighting restrictions and all trying to find something the others won’t wear,” Rooney says. “I feel a social responsibility to say it’s OK to wear things more than once. You want to get good wear out of something, but the fashion world tends to dictate otherwise. I think if you revisit a dress down the track it’s OK.”
Vanessa O’Hanlon, who has presented the national weather on the ABC for five years, can’t reveal the individual labels she loves because of the national broadcaster’s editorial policy. But she does admit to being a fan of vintage silhouettes, leaning towards skirts and blouses, and simple shift designs.
“I tend to wear dresses and skirts because I feel more corporate than when I wear pants,” O’Hanlon says.
“I am also petite and find it hard to buy certain things, like pants. When peplum was in, I bought a few pieces, but you do find that fashion keeps on revolving. I love the ’60s, a good shift dress and the hair from that era. I tend to draw from that as well when it comes to my on-camera look.”
O’Hanlon loves fashion beyond her role on TV and enjoys shopping online, but says some online purchases haven’t delivered in terms of fabrication or quality.
“I often spend time sending stuff back, so it’s easier to go in-store and buy,” she says. “When you’re busy with your work, you don’t have time to go shopping at a leisurely pace, so using both avenues can work for sourcing outfits.”
