White Fox fashion moguls, aged 32 and 33, spend $60m on two Vaucluse houses (2024)

Rag traders Georgia and Daniel Contos bought their first Vaucluse home two years ago for $34.5 million, but the hefty price tag did not stop the couple from buying another house up the road, this time for more than $25 million.

The $60 million worth of real estate was described by a clothing industry insider as offering the couple somewhere to live while they undertake a major redesign of the first trophy home.

It’s a testament to the success of the couple’s online fast-fashion brand, White Fox Boutique, that they started a decade ago in their early 20s on the back of social media and influencer marketing.

White Fox now has showrooms in Sydney and LA, and the ranks of influencers spruiking their skimpy dresses, bikinis and over-sized hoodies have been joined by billboards and ads on the back of countless Sydney buses.

The couple’s first Vaucluse home was one of the big-ticket sales of 2021, and ended almost half a century of ownership by Andrews Meat wholesaler Peter Andrews and his wife Irene. A development application to partially demolish the 1976-built house and rebuild it to a design by Bruce Stafford Architects at a cost of $3.7 million was approved by council last week.

Meanwhile, the Contoses’ more recent acquisition is a 1920s residence down the road designed by architect F. Glynn Gilling that was sold as a turnkey home by former Regal Funds Management investor Julian Babarczy and his interior designer wife Olivia.

It was a bullish result for the Babarczys given they paid $4.3 million in 2014, and unsuccessfully tried to sell it in 2020 for $15 million, although the exact sale result – and the Contoses’ identity – has remained a tightly guarded secret by co-agents Warren Ginsberg, of Ray White Double Bay, and Alexander Phillips, of PPD.

The Babarczys have taken the proceeds to Melbourne, buying a Toorak mansion for about $23.5 million from National Tiles founder Frank Walker.

The success of White Fox has not come without some drama. Last year one of the brand’s influencers Kerri Gribble was publicly dropped for allegedly fat shaming fellow influencer and OnlyFans star Mikaela Testa.

Then there was the plastic incident in June, whereby a happy post by Georgia atop a mountain of clothing orders at their Sydney warehouse backfired as social media followers accused the company of contributing to excessive waste and landfill.

Spring pickings

Spring is clearly almost here, judging by the uptick in high-end homes for sale this week. Among the highlights is the historic Warrawee residence known as Lynwood for $14 million to $15 million by food packaging businessman Ted Nathan and his wife Jennifer.

The Nathans, who until recently were co-owners of Huhtamaki Tailored Packaging, are selling given their move to Freshwater wherethey set a $16.45 million suburb record in April buying the designer digs of AI and social media start-up founder Matthew Kapp and his wife Joanna Kapp-Cales.

The Nathans’ long-held Federation residence with swimming pool, tennis court and circular driveway – owned a century ago by Australian potter Nell Holden of the General Motors Holden family – is listed with The Agency’s Glenn Curran.

In Bellevue Hill, Sotheby’s Michael Pallier is asking $28 million for the modernist house owned by Diana Bray and her late husband Michael Bray.

Designed by architect John Suttor, it was purchased by the Brays for $240,000 in 1978 when Michael was mayor of Woollahra.

John Comino – to stay with former mayors of Woollahra – is selling in Vaucluse for about $10 million.

Comino has owned the 1926-built house, Cherwell, since 1993, paying $960,000, before being elected mayor eight years later. Ray White’s Thomas Popple and McGrath’s Craig Pontey have set an August 31 auction.

Meanwhile, hotelier Graham Campion and his wife Marisa, the daughter of property developers Bob and Margaret Rose, are set to find out how the trophy home market has fared since they bought their Vaucluse waterfront home 18 months ago.

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The couple paid $25.27 million for “Rockpool” in late 2021 from former Westpac chief David Morgan and his wife, former Labor MP Ros Kelly. Renovated more recently, Pallier is asking $32 million.

The Campions’ decision to sell comes a year after they sold the Longueville Hotel for about $50 million, ending about a century of Campion family control.