$128,000 for one show

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FACE WITH A PRICE TAG: Olivia O'Driscoll, 17, the hottest thing in New Zealand modelling, is set to earn more than $125,000 for just one show in Paris.

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The hottest thing in New Zealand modelling is set to earn more than $125,000 - for just one show.

Olivia O'Driscoll - who a year ago turned down the chance to model because she didn't feel ready - will make a mockery of the bar set by 1990s supermodel Linda Evangelista, who once said: "I don't get out of bed for less than $10,000."

The 17-year-old, who still lives with her grandparents in Auckland, jets to Paris today and could earn up to 60,000 (NZ$128,500) to model exclusively for Italian label Prada and the high-end brand's other line, Miu Miu.

She had hoped to be treading the boards at Air New Zealand Fashion Week next week, but the Prada offer was too good to turn down.

O'Driscoll's agent, Caroline Barron, of modelling agency Nova, said: "Financially, it was a no-brainer. It is really frustrating because everyone here wants to use her and I feel really embarrassed as NZ Fashion Week is really important to us, but it is important that Olivia is in Paris."

O'Driscoll, who turns 18 in December, was discovered a year ago by a talent scout at an expo - but did not feel ready.

Five months ago, she walked back into Nova. "There was lots going on in my life and I couldn't really commit 100 per cent to modelling at that time," she said.

"When I commit to doing something, I commit 100 per cent and so this year was definitely the right timing for me."

She left for Paris in June, and spent two months modelling at Berlin Fashion Week and posing for top fashion magazines including Teen Vogue for the launch of Jean Paul Gaultier's new fragrance with Gaultier himself.

Ms Barron said she was "a one-in-a-million girl".

"She is not a party girl, works really hard and has got the results."

Despite the absence of New Zealand's hottest catwalk star, fashion week - which kicks off on Monday - has its strongest lineup so far, with nine overseas models, including Leoni van Amstel and Joss Witkamp, both from IMG Paris.

Front-row celebrities expected to attend are model Roshumba Williams, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being a Model, and Nicole Kidman's sister Antonia.

- © Fairfax NZ News