NATALIE Imbruglia is loving life in LA and being the new face of Kailis and its stunning pearls.
It was a dream shoot that could have turned sour at any moment. In the idyllic tropical landscape of Karma Kandara Resort, Bali, the Kailis team had not anticipated rain. So with internationally renowned photographer Juli Balla, celebrity stylist Christine Centenera and the star of the show, Aussie actress and singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, waiting nervously for the sun to return, they decided to call on some divine intervention.
“The location was mind-blowing, but the day before the shoot it was raining,” Imbruglia says.
“Some Balinese priests came and performed a weather ceremony to ask the gods to keep the rain away. It worked – we had blue skies for the two days of the shoot and, can you believe it, the rain was back the next day.”
Imbruglia is the latest ambassador for WA pearl brand Kailis and says it’s the first jewellery line that she’s endorsed.
“I admit I had a preconceived idea of what pearl jewellery was like,” she says.
“Sonia (Mackay-Coghill, Kailis’s general manager) approached me earlier this year and the collection she showed me was wonderful and so modern. From there I knew I wanted to work with this great Australian brand.”
Mackay-Coghill believes it’s a defining campaign for the company.
“Natalie embodies the ‘international Australian’ – she is incredibly inclusive, while radiating this enduring beauty that we know will connect with our audience internationally,” she says.
Imbruglia, who will be the face of Kailis for two years, still calls London home, but has made a base in Los Angeles where she is working on a new album.
“I have made a habit of changing environment while songwriting, and LA is the perfect location to start this process,” she says.
“So many Australians are doing so well here. Funnily enough, Guy Sebastian (fellow X-Factor judge) lives in the same area in LA as me, so we have hung out a few times, which has been fun.
“I am really enjoying songwriting in LA and making the most of the beautiful climate. It has a great vibe and is full of talented people who are very creative and supportive.
“I keep being told by the locals how popular we Australians are here.
“I am a real outdoors person. I love hiking in the hills, eating well and going to the beach, which is obviously a contrast to London.”
One thing Imbruglia won’t be doing again in a hurry is running a marathon. The singer pulled on the joggers for the London Marathon, raising funds for the UN’s End Fistula campaign,
“That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I raised a lot of money for End Fistula and the other charitable partners of Virgin Unite,” she says. “But my feet have never been the same.”
Imbruglia says it’s been a while since she was in Perth and hopes to plan a trip to visit friends here. Now with her Kailis connection, Perth and Broome might be on the cards sooner.
Source: PerthNow
