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"I broke down": Emma Watkins opens up on emotional meaning behind latest outfit

<p dir="ltr">While spotting celebrities in gorgeous gowns isn’t unusual, Emma Watkins’ latest appearance in a pink and gold dress has more meaning than it seems.</p> <p dir="ltr">The former yellow Wiggle revealed that the frock was designed with a particular person in mind, which she wore as an ambassador for Frocktober.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The dress that I'm wearing isn't just a pretty dress. [It was] actually created by a beautiful designer, Jaimie Sortino, and it's in honour of his cousin Jenna that passed away,” she told <em>9Honey</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Jenna Crierie was 33 and eleven years into her battle with ovarian cancer, the most lethal gynaecological cancer, when she passed away.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I never actually had a chance to meet her, but I've met Jaimie a few times, that's why those pictures and the dress are quite special," Watkins said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It really is another reminder of the lives that we've lost due to this disease… even though half of us didn't actually get to meet her, it felt like she was there."</p> <p dir="ltr">Endometriosis, a condition which affects one in nine Australian women including Watkins, is among the known risk factors for ovarian cancer, though there are no early detection tests.</p> <p dir="ltr">Watkins recalled how she was brought to tears when she met Leanne Flynn, one of millions of women who had ovarian cancer that was caught too late, for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation’s Frocktober campaign.</p> <p dir="ltr">"She was telling her story about what she's been going through for the last five years, the multiple surgeries and tests. I basically just cried," Watkins said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I broke down in front of the audience, I wasn't expecting to hear such a poignant and connected story to do with the disease itself. Ever since then, I've been highly involved."</p> <p dir="ltr">As a Frocktober ambassador this year, Watkins is fighting to ensure that experiences like Crierie’s and Flynn’s are no longer as common.</p> <p dir="ltr">Even pap smears can’t catch ovarian cancer early, which the 33-year-old said said frustrated her.</p> <p dir="ltr">"That's why it's frustrating, because normally women don't get to pick this up early on. That's the issue," she continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">"When I found that something wasn't right with me, I was already stage four endometriosis. And the same thing with Flynn, you're just too far along."</p> <p dir="ltr">With vague symptoms - think abdominal and pelvic pain, boating, appetite loss, unexplained weight changes and tiredness - and nowhere near the same publicity as diseases such as breast cancer, it can be hard for women to find out before it’s too late.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I think women should be more cautious," Watkins said. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Even for endometriosis, that wouldn't have been picked up with a pap smear."</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b4a53489-7fff-ddd3-653c-7c5df5314124"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">While it might be too late for women who have been diagnosed with late stage cancer, Watkins hopes that campaigns like Frocktober can spark change in the years to come.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: @emmawatkinsofficial (Instagram)</em></p>

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Fashion for a cause: Julie Bishop kicks off Frocktober

<p>Julie Bishop has kicked off this year's Frocktober campaign in style.</p> <p>The former politician and ambassador of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation posed in a stunning red and pink ombre ballgown with the unusual backdrop of a lithium mine.</p> <p>The annual Frocktober campaign is aimed at raising much needed awareness and funds for research into ovarian cancer, which over 1,500 women in Australia are <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ovariancancer.net.au/page/67/about-ovarian-cancer" target="_blank">diagnosed with each year</a>.</p> <p>The ballgown was custom-made by Adelaide designer Jaimie Sortino, who also designed Julie's pink dress from last year's Frocktober campaign.</p> <p>Jaimie began working on the gown last year with his cousin Jenna, who was in the early stages of her ovarian cancer diagnosis.</p> <p>They began working on the dress together as a way to share Jenna's story, who passed away before she could see Julie Bishop in the gown.</p> <p>Jaimie included Jenna's name in the dress, saying "Her story touched many."</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUdqAJAvSCp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUdqAJAvSCp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Jaimie Sortino (@jaimiesortino)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The ombre gown dress features words such as 'raw' and 'emotional' from people living with ovarian cancer and people who've lost loved ones to the illness stitched into the delicate tulle.</p> <p>Julie was photographed at the Mt Marion Lithium project in outback Western Australia by photographer Russell James, who wanted the dress to stand out against the unusual backdrop.</p> <p>Teaming the gown with pink work boots, the mine was chosen for the campaign shoot location to encourage conversations about women's health in every situation, including the workplace.</p> <p>Julie said it was a "great privilege" to support the work of the OCRF in developing a test that will "give women hope in fighting ovarian cancer".</p> <p>"With no early detection test, ovarian cancer is an insidious and dangerous condition," she added.</p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.frocktober.org.au/" target="_blank">Frocktober</a> encourages women to use fashion as a creative outlet and don their most show-stopping outfits to shine a light on the issue of ovarian cancer.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation / Russell James / Supplied</em></p>

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