Nikki Webster

Four years ago she stood up and sang at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. Today she’s finishing high school, designing clothes and accessories for her own fashion label and performing live for thousands of fans.

You’ve been very busy designing all of the clothes and accessories for your Nikki Webster range. Where do you come up with the ideas for your stuff?
Designing clothes is something that I’ve wanted to do for so long and I know when I was little, I wanted to wear the clothes that the 17-year-olds wore, so I used to get stuff made especially for me all the time. It’s weird though, sometimes I will be sitting down and an idea will pop into my head, so I will jot it down, but my influences come from everywhere. I travel overseas once or twice a year to places like L.A. or London to have a look at international fashion for inspiration.

A lot of the clothes in your label are pink – are you a bit of a pink girl?
Definitely, and I know that a lot of the people who wear my clothes like pink as well. It’s all of the girly stuff from my label that is in demand at the moment.

What’s your favourite item of clothing from your label?
That’s a hard one! We’ve got some stuff coming out soon which has a cartoon of me drawn on it. It’s going to be an ongoing theme and it’s one that I definitely like because it’s fun.

Four years ago you were just a normal girl, what’s it like now juggling fame, a career in singing and fashion, school and time with family and friends?
It is hard, but you never know what’s going to happen. One day you could have four things on and the next day you could have nothing. Your family and friends kind of get used to it so when you phone them up and say you’re free, they make sure they’re free as well.

Did you ever expect what this is what you’d be doing career-wise?
No, everything has just been amazing. I thought straight after the Olympics I’d go home and go back to school on Monday. (Laughs) But I thought I’d have to wait until after school to release albums so I’ve had a head start in that department!

You’ve had a pretty amazing career for someone who is only 17 years old! What has been your absolute highlight?
I think just performing. The whole package is pretty good, I’ve learned a lot about the entertainment industry and I enjoy meeting new people but I love performing. Live performance is what it’s all about.

Source: Girl Power
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Smells like tween spirit

Nikki Webster is now 17, but is she acting her age? Craig Mathieson reports.

In an empty auditorium at the Yarraville Club, Nikki Webster is singing to her past. Standing on stage, running through Somewhere Over the Rainbow as part of her pre-show soundcheck, the 17-year-old pop star is clad in black: leather jacket, jeans and boots.

A few metres to her right, on a large video screen, is an image of herself as a 13-year-old, all perfect teeth and an explosion of pink. She’s older now but her image is still the sweetly precocious girl thrust into the public eye at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

It’s the last day of the Victorian leg of Webster’s latest national tour, which has taken in locations from Ballarat to Ferntree Gully. She hits the road during school holidays; shows are at either 11am or 2pm – sometimes both – and feature Webster singing, in a strong voice for her size, over a recorded backing track while four dancers run through choreographed routines behind her.

It’s a sturdy business framework. Nikki Webster is already a brand name. She’s released three albums, appeared in musicals and now has a signature clothing range. A new line, designed by Webster, appears every two months, in competition with the range by America’s titans of tween, 18-year-old twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Continue reading Smells like tween spirit

Nikki takes on the big girls of pop

There are now clothes to match the music, and the tweens love it, Christine Sams writes.

Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa, Peter Morrissey . . . and, er, Nikki Webster. OK, perhaps it’s a stretch to compare the Australian pop starlet with some of the nation’s esteemed designers, but 16-year-old Webster has entered the world of fashion with her own clothing range.

At Kmart stores across the country, tween girls are snapping up Nikki Webster jeans, skirts and dance wear. The official launch of the range has been timed to coincide with the release of Webster’s new single, a cover version of Dancing In The Street.
Continue reading Nikki takes on the big girls of pop