A few years ago, you might not have seen this: Jaguar as the official car of the Federazione Italiana Canottaggio (Italian Rowing Federation).
That was when Jaguar was so stuck with its idea of Britishness, almost to the point of parody. Since Ian Callum headed Jaguar design, the company has been more internationally minded: it may still be British, but it’s an international, forward-looking Britain that the Jaguar brand now represents. And this tie-up signals to the Italian specialist makers that Jag can even get them on their home turf.
The Jaguar Excellence Academy is a programme which will see two athletes from the FIC get a scholarship to either undertake a public speaking course, or a Master in Sport Management or Self-Management, and an English course, and 30 days in the UK with the British Council.
Twenty rowers have been selected initially, with the field narrowing to five with the help of Facebook users who vote at the FIC page, and with the evaluations of the Federazione and Jaguar Italia.
Seven of the twenty are already qualified for the Olympic Games, and six are women. Many are world champions in their categories and two are coastal rowing world champions.
Champagne brands Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon held events in New Zealand last month, each appealing to their very different clientèles.
LVMH’s Mike Hewitt explained that the events were suited to each of the brands: Veuve Clicquot is aimed at a more sophisticated audience, while Moët & Chandon positions itself as a classy, celebratory champagne.
The earlier event at St John’s Bar in Wellington for the Veuve Clicquot Social Season saw a stunning summer’s day, with two branded pétanque pitches created at the venue.
And in case the sun was uncharacteristically bright, Veuve Clicquot provided branded sunglasses in the company colours.
Auckland’s Moët Amongst the Stars event brought together local celebrities to toast 2011, with entertainment from Tim Phin and Dane Rumble—and was considered, if you examine the Facebook statuses of guests—the must-attend summer event of the season.
Veuve Clicquot pétanque event, Wellington, photographed by Mark Tantrum LVMH’s Mike Hewitt, Pat Shepheard, and Charolotte Dawson
Martin Bosley, Jason Pearce, and Rachel Taulelei
Hannah Hopcroft and Ashley Sinclair
Hamish Coleman-Ross, Simon Jordan and Carolyn Enting
Gus Kebbell, Millie Savill, and Tim Forgeson
Nick and Felicity Hill; James Fogarty and Georgia Deane
Chanel has opened a temporary boutique at Courchevel in the French Alps for the winter. The 180 m² store features a minimalist décor with the odd flash of colour. It also has stunning views over the entire Courchevel valley.
Chanel retails its fragrances, fine jewellery, watches, and the cruise 2011–12 and spring–summer 2012 collections at the store. The lounge has an Ipad where the visitor can browse a Chanel app featuring fashion shows and news. Meanwhile, LG has announced the New Zealand pricing for its Prada phone, at NZ$999. Only a few hundred units will be imported to New Zealand, and interested parties wanting to get one up on the now-ubiquitous Iphones are asked to call the company on 0508 547-322 to register their interest.
Finally, emphasizing that luxury seems to be surviving the recession, Tommy Hilfiger will license its men’s and women’s catwalk collections beginning with the fall 2012 season and spring 2013 pre-collections to Ittierre SpA. Ittierre will produce and distribute apparel and the majority of the accessories, with distribution focused on Europe, North America and Asia, at prices between €140 and €2,000, the upper limit north of where Hilfiger had been positioned.
The collections will be sold in six showrooms after the fall 2012 shows at New York Fashion Week, retailing from July. Tommy Hilfiger retains creative control over all collections.
Summer Rayne Oakes and Benita Singh’s Cartier award-winning venture, Source4Style, which helps designers source sustainable fabric through a well designed, transparent website, launches its second version today. Lucire has the low-down in the main part of the site, and this story forms part of some of our next 2012 print and other non-web editions.
We believe this will revolutionize the way the business of fashion is conducted. Think about it: consumers demand sustainability and the trend has no signs of stopping. Yet, according to Singh, suppliers are spending up to 43 per cent of their marketing budgets just on trade shows. ‘It’s a huge up-front time and financial commitment with no guarantee of a return,’ she says. On the other end of the scale, Cornell University research shows that designers are spending up to 85 per cent of their time visiting those same shows, going through online directories, or wading through sample folders.
Source4Style uses the internet to bridge the divide, and has obvious positive implications for smaller suppliers, who are on a level playing field with the big names. Some of these suppliers are in third-world countries, so it’s not hard to see the financial benefit that Source4Style can have for them and their communities.
It’s in line with the ideas in Simon Anholt’s Brand New Justice, where Anholt posited that good brands helped third-world communities find greater profits and margins. Source4Style doesn’t quite give these companies brands per se, but through the site, it allows them to be the equal of businesses that are operating in the first world, and levels the playing field.
It is the solidity behind this venture that sees us devote two web pages and the cover to it. We encourage readers to take a look, as this may well be the moment when fashion changes for good—in more than one sense of the word.—Jack Yan, Publisher
Hennes & Mauritz’s next guest designer after Versace is another Italian label: Marni.
The fruits of the collaboration will be released in the spring, from March 8, 2012, online and in 260 stores worldwide, and promise to bear Marni’s playful, elegant hallmarks.
Founder Consuelo Castiglioni has created both a men’s and women’s line and, like Versace, has gone into the archives and reinvented earlier designs. The prices, as with Versace for H&M, will be at prices closer to that of the mass-market retailer.
‘I wanted to create a true Marni wardrobe by revisiting all our favourite pieces in signature fabrics and prints. As always, I love juxtaposing prints and colours, mixing modern tribal with Bauhaus graphic adding sporty utilitarian elements,’ said Castiglioni in a release.
Margareta van den Bosch, creative adviser at H&M, called the collection ‘a lovely statement for spring,’ and says that customers can expect new combinations of print and colour.
The women’s collection features vivid colours and bold prints, with full pleated skirts and dresses, and a range of accessories to complement them. Fabrics range from silk to crisp cotton poplin, says H&M.
The men’s collection has subtle prints and is said to be ‘relaxed’.
Earlier collaborations included designs from, among others, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Comme des Garçons, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo and Lanvin.
Above Sarah Burton on stage after accepting her Designer of the Year Award from UK First Lady Samantha Cameron.
Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen is the Designer of the Year, it was announced at the British Fashion Awards last night.
Burton has been riding high in the media, for succeeding McQueen and retaining much of his flavour, and for her work on the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding gown this year.
A new award, the New Establishment Award, recognizing a movement in British fashion, was won by Christopher Kane.
Sam Gainsbury of Gainsbury and Whiting won the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator. Gainsbury was behind the Savage Beauty exhibition, which the British Fashion Council states was ‘widely recognized as the most successful fashion exhibition in the world.’
Stella McCartney won the Red Carpet Award, while Victoria Beckham took home the Designer Brand Award for the growth and recognition of her label.
Emerging talent awards went to Mary Katrantzou for womenswear, Tabitha Simmons for accessories, and Christopher Raeburn for menswear.
Kim Jones, now at Louis Vuitton, won the Menswear Designer Award. Stella Tennant won the Model Award, her campaigns this year having included Zara, Reed Krakoff, Etro, Chanel and Céline.
Accessory Designer of the Year was Charlotte Dellal for her footwear label, Charlotte Olympia. As previewed earlier in Lucire, Sir Paul Smith won the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Award. The British Style Award, voted by the public, went to Alexa Chung, as the individual who best embodies the spirit of London and serves as its fashion ambassador.
The Awards were hosted by George Lamb and Lauren Laverne. The audience included BFC ambassador Samantha Cameron, Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, Kate Hudson, Colin Firth, Olivia Palermo, Josephine de la Baume, Marc Jacobs, Lady Harlech and Alexa Chung.
The BFC has worked with Save the Children this year, with MAC, Toni & Guy and Vodafone sponsoring this year’s awards.
Videos of many of the winners, red carpet footage and interviews with Olivia Palermo, Marc Jacobs and Henry Holland can be found below.
From the red carpet
Victoria Beckham, Designer Brand Award
Christopher Raeburn, Emerging Talent Award—Menswear
Charlotte Olympia, Accessory Designer of the Year
Christopher Kane, New Establishment Award
Alexa Chung, British Style Award
Sir Paul Smith, Outstanding Achievement in Fashion
Mary Katrantzou, Emerging Talent Award—Ready-to-Wear
Sam Gainsbury, Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator
Dita von Teese’s new lingerie collection, Von Follies by Dita von Teese, will be available from Target in Australia from February 2012, it was announced today by brand management company, Lime Door Brands.
Von Teese has a personal collection of vintage lingerie, and is said to be inspired by that as well as her long-time love of lingerie.
In that vein, the range launches with grosgrain, velvet ribbons, eyelash lace and control mesh—perfect for those who follow the burlesque dancer’s signature style. Styles such as an overwire bra, high-waisted briefs, garter belts and corsolettes are part of the line, says the company.
Von Teese says she is fascinated by 1950s overwire bras. ‘It’s something that has been quite a task to create, but the end result is so chic, and so unique, I’m very proud of it. It’s a statement piece meant to be seen,’ she said in a release.
Prices range from A$17 for bras and briefs to A$79 for bustiers and fitted corsolettes. Selected bra styles are available up to an E-cup, and briefs to size 20.
’Size range was one of the first things I asked when I was approached to create this collection. It was important to me to accomplish the task of making these beautiful things in sizes that can make any woman feel sexy and glamorous, and I’m very proud that we have been able to do that, while keeping prices affordable,’ said von Teese.
The new range has been developed alongside lingerie company, Diamondcut International, headquartered in Melbourne. Additional items will be added to the range in March and April 2012.
Target’s Australian stores and its website will retail the range.
Above The San Pellegrino–Bulgari bottle celebrating the Grand Palais exhibition, and the new San Pellegrino Sparkles with Bulgari bottle.
San Pellegrino has now brought its limited-edition Bulgari-designed bottle, San Pellegrino Sparkles with Bulgari, to the antipodes.
It’s a celebration of the 125th anniversary of Bulgari, which Lucire covered in December when the company showed at the Grand Palais. However, it differs from the Grand Palais bottle launched in Europe earlier in the year.
This time, Bulgari took a c. 1965 yellow gold necklace design and had it adorn the bottle label. The necklace features brilliant cut diamonds, cabochon emeralds, amethysts and turquoises.
The Bulgari bottle is San Pellegrino’s second initiative under its S. Pellegrino Meets Italian Talents project. The previous collaborator was Missoni.
Meanwhile, LG has announced the New Zealand pricing for its Prada phone, at NZ$999. Only a few hundred units will be imported to New Zealand, and interested parties wanting to get one up on the now-ubiquitous Iphones are asked to call the company on 0508 547-322 to register their interest.
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