The TV star who is zonked on air – and their Hollywood drug of choice: Plus, society parents turn their backs on Ascham and Cranbrook – and why everyone is mad at Kym Ellery (again): THE GROUP CHAT

Welcome to The Group Chat with Lucy Manly, where Australia’s most-trusted society insider shares the hottest gossip BEFORE it makes the news.

From Paris, with debt 

It was a fashion fiasco when homegrown designer Kym Ellery’s eponymous luxury brand collapsed leaving a string of creditors being owed millions.

After moving to Paris in 2017, she closed her pair of Sydney boutiques two years later, made 22 staff redundant and liquidated the business. In doing so, a string of unpaid creditors was left out of pocket to the tune of $2.6million.

Her company’s operations in the weeks leading up to the collapse would come under scrutiny after records showed she’d transferred the ownership of the prized Ellery trademark to a new company owned by her just 13 days prior.

So I hear eyes rolled this week as the tailors, jewellery makers, stylists, modelling agencies and fabric mills left high and dry learned that Ms Ellery, still based in Paris, had invited her 52,000 Instagram followers to shop her personal fashion archive.

‘I still can’t believe my eyes,’ a scorned local fashion creative tells me.

A source who visited the ‘personal archive’ shop tells me some jackets were going for as much as €800 and Ellery ‘was there personally’.

Since leaving the country in 2017, the 39-year-old has flaunted her overseas success in a series of photo shoots and promotional interviews while living in a luxury apartment in Paris Maison Rocher with her partner Jeremy Rocher and two children.

She denies she fled Australia to dodge her debts to a long list of creditors.

‘Just because you’re in another country doesn’t mean… you’re running away from something,’ she previously told ABC’s Background Briefing.

‘I’m not hiding from Ellery Land closing, and I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me either.’

In another interesting development, her recent ‘rebrand‘ as a furniture designer has past employees scratching their heads.

A source tells me a lamp which Ellery claimed she designed bears a striking resemblance to an old earring that was designed by someone else. The photos I was provided with do indeed suggest some degree of inspiration.

At the peak of the brand’s success, Ellery became the third Australian label to show at Paris Fashion Week in 2015 and gradually earned an A-list following.

But those halcyon days didn’t last, although Ms Ellery’s love affair with Paris has clearly endured.

Aussie rich kids’ Euro trip

Forget Ascham, Cranbrook or Geelong Grammar – it seems even Australia’s top private schools aren’t exclusive enough for some of Sydney’s wealthiest families.

I hear the parents with real money are instead looking to Swiss boarding schools to give their pampered offspring the ultimate head start in life.

For centuries, elite families have been sending their children to Swiss international boarding schools, whose alumni include CEOs, venture capitalists and royalty.

And the one everyone is talking about? Aiglon College.

A favourite of European earls, dukes and princesses, Aiglon combines academic excellence, outdoor adventure and holistic education in a stunning Alpine setting. Frankly, it looks like a finishing school for corporate super-villains.

I hear Roxy Jacenko‘s social media star daughter Pixie Curtis is due to start at the exclusive co-ed college in August.

She will no doubt bump into the eldest daughter of Vaucluse property tycoon Michael Coombes and wife Barbara, as well as the eldest daughter of Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow and his estranged wife, jewellery designer Alina.

But Aiglon doesn’t come cheap, with school fees costing upwards of $300,000 a year.

Swiss boarding schools are known for their long history of educational excellence and peerless networking opportunities that prepare students for a lifetime of success.

We wish the little capitalists all the best. 

And finally… guess who, don’t sue 

Who knew this television personality was fronting the cameras after chugging a handful of THC-laced gummies?

According to industry sources, they gobble up several prescription gummies a day. We get it, telly can be a stressful business.

Cannabis ‘edibles’ have become a favourite among Hollywood celebrities of late. Some of them take them as prescribed while others indulge recreationally.

What’s next, medicinal ketamine?

Actually, come to think of it, I knew a few socialites who’d absolutely love that… 

The subject of this blind item is not mentioned or pictured elsewhere in this article.