Tiah Eckhardt
Sophie Ward
Both Sophie and Tiah’s careers (and most of those in the Perth/NY ‘gang’) began to sky rocket when famous fashion photographer Justin Smith, who is also from Perth, championed the girls as models who commanded attention and were to be taken seriously in fashion.
Sophie went on to walk internationally for the likes of Armani, Diane Von Furstenburg and the Paris Couture shows and has worked for David Jones, loyally touring with the department giant for three years as well as appearing in fashion publications such as Harpers Bazaar, Vogue Australia and L’uomo Vogue.
Tiah has also walked the runways for Armani and Valentino, been featured in magazines such as Dazed and Confused, Another Man, Glamour, Wallpaper and appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair. Along with this she has starred in Campaigns including Agent Provocateur, MAC Cosmetics and for the past few years has been Wheels and Doll Baby’s exclusive pin-up girl.
These days though, Tiah and Sophie’s careers differ somewhat. Tiah’s modelling career has gone from strength to strength, more recently having been signed to London’s Storm Models who also represent Kate Moss. With her appearence in French Playboy (artistic, decadent, playfully artistic images) and being the face of Wheels and Doll Baby, no doubt for many more years to come, she is now a modelling ‘heavyweight’ up there with the best in history.
Sophie’s Top 5’s
Top 5 Songs
- Black Magic Woman, Santana (sentimental for the fact that it’s the first song my amazing man ever sent me during our courtship..)
- Summer Rain, Belinda Carlisle. (As my brother Henri said to me “this is a highly emotional song!”)
- Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home), Paul Young. So cheesy, but so me.
- The Hawk, Richie Havens. I can imagine singing this to my firstborn.
- L’Arena by Ennio Morricone. Powerful. I need steel capped boots.
- Baba O’Riley, The Who. Many a dance-off performed to this song. Intense. All of my songs are “highly emotional!” I think! I want to add
- Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd but I’m spilling over my designated area…
Top 5 Fashion Moments
- Wearing matching full length black wetsuits, tangled up with Gemma in a shoot on the rocks at Cottesloe with Justin Smith back in ’05. “It’s a Ward Octopus!” exclaimed Justin.
- Being up on the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge in a silver Alex Perry gown with a 30 foot train for Harpers.
- Shooting L’uomo Vogue spontaneously at Glastonbury with Daisy Loewe and photographer Max Vedukl, wearing an akubra, leather jacket, mini and boots.
- A shoot for Tank magazine on a rooftop in Covent Garden with a crew of great young friends, wearing a Prada fur helmet and being hand fed chocolate and champagne by the Swedish descendent of royalty I was having a fling with.
- The Emirates Tent when Philip Treacy made me a hat for my Toni Maticevski gown in 2006. Tiah was there! We had a ball! I was 6 foot 6 and Tiah had a dagger hidden in her corset. We left in a stealth black limousine covered in chocolate clutching red roses…
Top 5 Haunts in W.A.
- The river around Matilda Bay for evening walks.
- My house for all its amazing humble decadence.
- Quobba homestead near Ningaloo reef and the whole of the North-West Hwy, haha!
- Tiger Tiger cafe in Perth for cool laneway vibes, .
- And for the sensation that I’m back at a pub in Colorado with rock ‘n’ roll bikers Carnegies. For some reason I love that unpretentious place.
Top 5 Inspirations
- Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii, especially Dave Gilmour harmonizing with the beautiful greyhound.
- Meditation and Yoga. A lot of my insights come from the in-between times of life.
- Natural endorphins: healthy eating, lots of activity, a great (the greatest) man!
- Love is a huge inspiration.
- Generosity is the final and most important element of my floating rush of energy…
Top 5 Passtimes:
- Writing all day upstairs in my room taking jaunts on my imagination.
- Writing love emails to my long-distance man.
- Talking to mum while she cooks at the kitchen table.
- Spending sunny afternoons in the grass.
- Planning road trips, plane flights, and other journeys with my sister or boyfriend.
Tiah’s Top 5’s
Top 5 Bands
- Hole: Live Through This was the first album I ever owned. I stole it off my big sister’s friend when I was 10 and listented to it obsessively for years.
- Deftones: I discovered in High School and changed my life and taste in music forever.
- Jack Off Jill: I never get sick of Jessica Fodera’s combination of childlike lullaby singing voice punctuated with high-pitched screams. Plus, Mark Ryden did the cover art.
- The Cramps: Godparents of psychobilly, they created something totally new and exciting out of a mish-mash of personal references. And Poison Ivy and Lux Interior (R.i.p) were possibly one of the hottest couples in history.
- Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor is a self-taught genius, fullstop.
Top 5 Trends Through The Decades
- Super, Super High Heels: I don’t care if you need a taxi to get from where you parked your car to the front door – they look HOT.
- Anything and Everything 50’s: I’m biased on this because anything 50’s fits my shape like a glove. As well as the prints – big florals, leopard – I love that demure full-skirt dresses and sexy pencil-skirts, off shoulder-tops and capri pants can all exist in the same period of reference. (See Crybaby…..I loved this movie as a kid.)
- Lingerie inspired anything, under or outer: Lace, silk, velvet trim, stockings, suspenders, corsets…I will never get enough.
- Body-con: When I was little I told my Mum I wanted to be a Robert Palmer girl when I grew up. I dare you to find me a woman that doesn’t look hot (or at least think they do) in a Herve Leger dress.
- Mid 90’s: Midriff sweaters, big boots, tartan skirts, over-the-knee socks, denim short-shorts and babydoll dresses. I blame my sister and her friends for being teenagers when I was still in primary school and making me wanna dress like them because I thought they were super-cool. (See Empire Records, Clueless.)
Top 5 Haunts Internationally
- Beatrice Inn, West Village NY: The first place I went to when I moved to NY, it’s teeny-tiny, has a regular crew and feels like you’re kind of just hanging in your friend’s rich parent’s basement loungeroom or something.
- Oxford Art Factory, Sydney: I’ve gone nuts here way too many times. It’s too fun….I’m surprised they keep letting me back in.
- Lit Lounge, East Village NY: Dirty, dank and disgusting in the best possible way.
- Motor City and Darkroom, Lower East Side, NY: They’re entirely different venues but I personally can’t separate these 2 places. A visit to one always preceeds the other and they are a block apart on my old street in LES.
- Little Creatures, Fremantle: Their pale ale is my favourite beer, their pizzas are awesome and there’s little better than sitting out on the back deck in the sun enjoying both.
Top 5 Style Icons
- Dita Von Teese.
- Courtney Love circa 1992.
- Rita Hayworth in “Gilda.”
- Bettie Page.
- Catherine Deneuve in “The Hunger.”
Top 5 Backstage Moments
There’s no such thing as “Top” backstage moments, only worst backstage moments. Unless you’re talking about backstage at concerts, in which case I’d say chatting to Chino Moreno from Deftones side of stage at a Sydney show in 2006.