THE (RE)MAKING OF MIRANDA: HOW KERR GOT REVENGE
Call it Miranda’s revenge. A year after ending contracts with Victoria’s Secret and David Jones, Miranda Kerr is again everywhere. Not only has the newly single Kerr been linked to some of Hollywood’s hottest A-listers, she is on track to double her pay to more than $15 million this year — for working fewer hours. For those who wondered if she had lost the “Miranda factor”, she tells The Saturday Telegraph: “Actions speak louder than words. I’m not the type of person who would want to go out there and defend myself because that’s not who I am.’’ In the past month, the 30-year-old has announced mega-deals with some of the world’s biggest brands, including multi-national retailer H&M, taking over from Brazilian beauty Gisele Bündchen. Giant billboards of the Gunnedah girl as the global face of Reebok and H&M have popped up in New York’s Time Square and Paris’ Galeries Lafayette.
The former Victoria’s Secret angel is also creating perfume for Escada, designing tea sets for Royal Albert, writing federal government-approved books for girls and is about to appear as a vocalist in her first music video with Broadway star Bobby Fox. “I pretty much have my schedule for the next two years,’’ Kerr said from her Manhattan apartment this week. The transformation of the Kerr brand from lingerie to lifestyle is only now being seen but has been three years in the making.
Kerr last year stared down claims that her star was fading after her DJs and Victoria’s Secret contracts were not renewed within weeks of each other. “I’ve started taking more control over the past few years, especially being a mother,’’ she said. “I instigated talks with David Jones and I love my association with them but I realised I couldn’t commit to the amount of days they wanted.’’ She said she was “very happy” DJs chief executive Paul Zahra was staying in the role: “I like him a lot.” Since breaking up with husband Orlando Bloom, she has been romantically linked to a string of Hollywood and business A-listers, including Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and James Packer. While speaking about her new line of tea sets, I asked if she was aware that Mr Packer’s senior executives were once fond of peppermint tea. She laughed but said: “I’d prefer not to comment about that at the moment.’’ She revealed that, despite all the speculation about her private life, she still speaks to Bloom every day. “We really respect each other and love and care for each other,’’ she said. “We’re very close friends, we speak every day.’’
Their son Flynn, who has just turned three, was a factor behind Kerr’s business transformation, as well as her desire to focus more on private ventures, such as her skincare products company KORA Organics which now sells in 60 countries. Kerr said her workload had changed from six days a week across two countries to shorter spurts of two or three days, enabling her and Bloom to share parental responsibilities.
“It’s the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had — these moments are so precious,’’ she said. “It’s so important that I balance my time ... to make sure my phone is turned off and we get to interact and play, whether we’re drawing or in the kitchen baking muffins.’’ She told how her son was already taking after his supermodel mum by being health conscious. “The other day he wanted a blueberry smoothie, ‘They’re full of antioxidants, he says’,’’ she recalled. “I’m like, where did you get that from?’’ The young Bloom is also taking French lessons twice a week. Kerr will return to Australia in May with Flynn for the first time in a year, catching up with her family in Gunnedah. She denied there was a rift with her mother Therese, who stepped down as KORA chief executive to focus on her own line of personal care products. “She’s following her passion and I’m following my passion — so it’s good,’’ Kerr said.
Source: dailytelegraph.com.au