Miranda Kerr-looking fabulous

New mum Miranda Kerr and hubby Orlando Bloom attended the "Alexander McQueen : Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala at the New York's Metropolitian Museum last Monday as our exclusive pic from PatrickMcmullan.com shows.
See much more at Patrick McMullan's on-line magazine PMc.

All photographs by Chance Yeh for Patrick McMullan Company (c) 2011

Exclusive-Top Investigator Frank Monte drawn into Department Store Scandal

The same day that Mark McInnes-ex David Jones store CEO has flown back into town to face a $37million lawsuit, the Social Shuttle can reveal that private eye Frank Monte is on the case and  is investigating Kirsty Fraser-Kirk, the former DJ's publicist at the center of the scandal.

Monte with Donald Trump

The Shuttle has always maintained a fairly good on-going relationship with the international private investigator but he wasn't revealing any details when we managed to get through to him tonight.

"I would never either confirm or deny who my clients are " said Monte. "In fact I'm rather surprised you would ask me to". 

He did however confirm that someone had hired him to look into the background of the girl at the centre of a scandal that has rocked Australia's top department store chain and forced Mark McInnes to resign from his job that is said to have carried a yearly salary of $8 million.

A little over 2 weeks ago we called into Lotus Restaurant in Potts Point where Monte was celebrating his 60th birthday with family and friends and ended up chatting via a mobile phone to top US TV interviewer Larry King who had rung to wish the gumshoe all the best.

Monte has appeared on numerous US TV shows including Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern and is a regular name in  the US newspapers. He seems to pop up in all sorts of intriguing cases-from the disappearance of  Michael Rockefeller Jr in New Guinea to the mysterious John F. Kennedy Jr plane crash. He was also head of security for the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis and once led a team of mercenaries into a Middle East country to rout some insurgents on behalf of  the Sheik of Dubai.

And now that our memory of a conversation with the urbane Frank at his birthday bash returns, he did mention that he was working on "something big" without revealing details.

Monte, who has offices in Beverly Hills, New York and Dallas and had recently returned from the US did say on the night that he had been meeting with a former top FBI agent who was an expert profiler.

" We are doing some business together and it involves an upcoming case" said Monte over a glass of Bollinger.And not the everyday stuff-vintage Bolly.

Kirsty Fraser-Kirk

" I've just received a handsome retainer " said Monte. "I'm letting my hair down for the night before I get stuck into a very complex job on the books".

McInnes has said that many of the sexual harassment claims against  him are untrue and that he will be "vigorously defending himself"

Monte dines with Anthony Hayden Guest in New York

On the 2nd of August Ms Fraser-Kirk's legal representatives revealed details of her lawsuit against David Jones and McInnes with the staggering claim they were suing for an unprecedented $37 million. 

The following day David Jones held their Spring & Summer parades with all media mentions consumed by the pending court case.

 Many experts and commentators have speculated that the release of Fraser-Kirk's legal case that day was obviously carefully planed to over shadow the fashion parades (which normally would have starred DJ's star model Miranda Kerr who was still holidaying with her new husband Orlando Bloom).was a strategic mistake and could backfire.

Whilst Frank Monte is keeping his lips sealed on just who his client is, it's an indication that this story is going  to get bigger...much bigger and very very sticky !

"I Wish He Had Touched Me Up !"

That was designer Alannah Hill's claim today when she showed off her wares at the David Jones department store in the spring / summer fashion collection.
This was following the announcement that former DJ's publicist  Kristy Fraser-Kirk's  has launched a $37million lawsuit against the firm following allegations the CEO Mark McInnes "touched her up".

It's the largest claim of it's kind and Fraser-Kirk is asking for 5% of DJ's takings and of McInne's wages during his tenure as boss. She says she will donate the money to charity. Good luck!

This morning's parade at the Sydney flagship store was pretty well packed despite the absence of DJ's mascot model Miranda Kerr who is recovering from her honeymoon after wedding Orlando Bloom.

Nicole Trunfio

She twittered the troops at DJ's at lunchtime :"Hey guys, Thank you so much for chatting with me today. I hope you all have the most amazing day and night."

Alannah says of McInnes: " I threw myself at him. He told me he didn't want to mix business with pleasure." Yeah, sure.

Kristy Fraser-Kirk says McInnes phoned her one night wanting to have dinner with her and said he could have had sex with a brunette the night before.

"Yes I was the brunette, yes, yes I was the brunette," Hill said."He could have bedded me but he chose the other one. He is dreamy". Ahhh..sounds just like she was dreaming .

In place of Kerr there were 4 other 'supermodels'- Nicole Trunfio ,Abbey-Lee Kershaw,  Catherine McNeil and Alexandra Agoston.

Meanwhile as we blog, CH 9's Today Tonight show is screening some ham fisted replies after they interviewed a host of designers at the parade today on the controversy. 2 hapless PR people unsuccessfully tried to snatch a newspaper that ran a headline on the matter out of the reporter's hands .Go to the website and watch the video at the right titled "David Jones Backlash". Why didn't they prep these  PR folk beforehand ?. Didn't people like Megan Gale and designer Alex Perry realise the press was out in force and they would be asked difficult questions ?

Department store scandal

Megan Gale and Mark McInnes 

Sad news today as the CEO of the chic department store David Jones, Mark McInnes steps down following a boardroom stoush over his personal relationship with a female staff member.

The shock announcement came in a one line statement although there have been whispers for months now. McInnes who has been at DJs for 13 years completely overhauled the stores after a disastrous flirtation with an imported American CEO who completely mis-read the local market and attempted to turn the 100 year old up-market purveyors of top quality merchandise into a chain of Bloomingdale style stores.

Miranda Kerr & Orlando at Royal Randwick  (c tSS)

McInnes had the city store completely re-furbished back to  it's original style with marble floors, inexpensive but luxurious food halls, grand  floral displays and personal service from white gloved assistants. He also restored the tradition of a pianist at the Elizabeth Street entrance, tinkling away on a grand piano. The punters flocked back and as anyone knows, popping into DJs just for a wander through the emporium is always an afternoon treat.

So successful were McInnes innovations that Mohamed Al Fayed hired the same team who oversaw the decorations, to tart up Harrods.
McInnes was also behind the hiring of supermodels Megan Gale and Miranda Kerr.

Always a gracious host, Mark hosted a lunch at last year's Autumn Carnival at the Royal Randwick Races for the media and various guests with Orlando Bloom and Kerr.

 He will be sadly missed . With a huge promotional budget that paid off in dividends via huge sales for DJs, McInnes will be a hard man to replace. Where he is off to he isn't saying but with a $2Million pay-off, the world is his oyster. As for David Jones, their share price plunged today on the Stock Exchange following Mark's departure.

Murdoch's "pervert" vanishes !

      Perhaps it's the influence of Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law Mathew Freud, a UK "communications" expert who abhors some of his dad-in-law's enterprises like the wacky Fox News in the USA. Has he become a moral arbiter for the giant worldwide News Corp conglomerate and if so, how far is his reach ?
      This morning in the first edition of Rupert's much loved Daily Telegraph, and in the early morning editions of each of the tabloids throughout Australia, editors with hearts of gold declared the launch of a "Save The Perve " campaign.

     An unfortunate chap had been spotted viewing some saucy snaps of the gorgeous Miranda Kerr, the current squeeze of movie star Orlando Bloom, on a late night TV news broadcast as one of his co-workers fronted the camera explaining the latest financial news.

     We caught a glimpse of the hapless man's face as he turned to stare at the camera . A fleeting look of horror descended. He was busted.

    The video went viral throughout the world. 

     The wheels were soon in motion as an eager editor launched his selfless campaign dreamed up by a enterprising journalist, to save the poor man's business career.

    .

       As tSS sipped an early morning cuppa we pondered how long this latest lunacy would last. But phones were already in meltdown as bleary eyed lawyers from the respected firm, Messers Sue Grabbit and Runn were summonsed from their slumbers.

    Couriers were soon on their way with angry letters of demand. The editor of GQ Magazine from where Miranda's pics had emanted was fuming. Kerr's modelling agent was livid. Even the embarrassed "porn" viewer saw a brief ray of sunlight in his misery as he faced suspension, as the magic word "libel" was mentioned far and wide.

    It was all over by mid-day. The Tele's heartfelt pleas to save the man's career were dashed, along with that of the hapless hack who dreamed up the idea and who probably hoped to earn a place at the feet of the great Murdoch. The piece vanished from the net. Early editions were pulped.

  

   And how was this  all too brief campaign to Save The Perve  illustrated ? Why with a saucy snap of Miranda of course !

Another gratuitous snap of Miranda.


update : the man has kept his job.

ps : ninemsn still carries a "perve" story-there could still be some big cash in this  !