Byron Bay ‘murfers’ have moved on one month after Vanity Fair takedown
"What Byron uniform?" posted Courtney Adamo (second from left) on June 23. Photo: Instagram
Put it down to good karma.
The Byron Bay ‘murfers’ – mothers who surf – taken down in a brutal Vanity Fair story that drew global attention and debate a month ago have all moved on, beautiful lives intact.
The glossy US magazine devoted huge space to the women and their picture-perfect dusty rose knits, wide-legged beige pants and tousle-headed children in a fascinating, snaky piece that asked if living the dream is possible in reality or just on Instagram.
As Vanity Fair put it, the ‘murfers’ are Byron Bay’s “mid-tier family lifestyle micro-influencer[s], which, if you don’t know, is a thing”.
The story slammed them – with mother of five Courtney Adamo getting particular heat – for using sponsored posts and paid collaborations to sell a consumer-free life.
It roasted them for not allowing their children (Zephyr, Koa, Coco, Autumn, Wilkie) screen time but sharing the same kids’ personal moments on social media. It pilloried them for promoting a simple life only made possible by being rich.
Adamo (with son Wilkie) spruiking a mum and baby skincare range in May. Photo: Instagram
Everyone weighed in. The ABC slammed the influencers for painting an unrealistic version of Byron life. Sites like Whimn and Mamma Mia had their say about what Vanity Fair got wrong.
“I say hats off,” wrote the Sydney Morning Herald’s lifestyle editor Sarah Berry.
“If I, too, could afford a cleaner, a $10,000 oven and could manage to keep porridge and snot stains off my tops and only have strategically unstyled holes in my clothes, then I bloody well would.”
But while the rest of us rose up in defence of Vanity Fair’s victims, it seems they didn’t need our help.
In fact, if their Instagram accounts – I know, necessary irony – are anything to go by, the story caused nary a ripple in their charmed circle.
Or maybe they’re just so evolved that they made a Michelle Obama pact and all went high when a major magazine went low.
Rather than fall from grace, Adamo increased her Instagram followers from 250k to 262k.
She also got out of Dodge, heading to the US for her younger brother’s Washington wedding, according to her feed which she saturated with photos of sunsets and captions about clam digging for supper.
Adamo and family then flew on to London and Italy, where they managed to get a reservation at impossible-to-reserve Da Adolfo in Positano, ate gelato in colour-coded togs and never looked over-tired once.
Aimee Winchester, who runs a women’s and children’s clothing line, didn’t miss a beat for her 87.1k followers.
She and her husband took their children – five, like Adamo – to the Shangri-La Fijian for a winter getaway.
“Been talking to my girls a lot about HIGH vibrations,” Winchester, who dropped careful mention of an airline into her Insta snaps, captioned a photo of three of her daughters jumping into the sea.
“Everything in the universe has an energy and that energy vibrates at a certain frequency. By having kind thoughts, kind words to say and being kind to yourself and others you RAISE your vibration!”
Aimee Winchester, husband Dave and two of their kids in Fiji on July 28. Photo: Instagram
Similarly, naturopath Amanda Callan bounced back from Vanity Fair by posting about healthy food (omelettes with peas and mint, nettle tea, al fresco roasted pumpkins) and inspirational sayings: “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Sm5plABEa/
Sisters Mia and Hana Taninaka, who share an “ethical” children’s linen line, also seemed super unfazed by their global bashing.
Mia’s Insta feed, which she posts to a handful of times a week, has been added to with snaps of children in morning sun, surfboards, art work, breastfeeding (in a very ‘murfer’ bodysuit) and ‘me’ time.
Expecting twin girls next month, Hana has her bassinet ready for them to share, enjoying a baby lunch in her honour and musing on how she wants to give birth: “Mamas, we’re bloody incredible.”
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