Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

The Tata group has been particularly active in Italy of late, perhaps recognizing the country’s style. First Jaguar became involved with Italian rowing, and now, jazz singer and pianist Chiara Civello has been announced as the new ambassador for the Range Rover Evoque.
   Civello will use the Evoque during the Festival della canzone italiana (Festival of San Remo) this year, from February 14 to 18. She is competing at the festival.
   Land Rover sees a fit with Civello: she is young and becoming more famous and recognized, qualities that it associates with the Range Rover Evoque.
   ‘Chiara Civello conveys the free personality and dynamicity of the latest Range Rover model. But also its elegant and refined character, qualities Chiara’s music possesses,’ the company said in a release.

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

In entertainment news today, Russell Brand and Katy Perry have parted in an amicable fashion, according to reports.
   Perry signed her divorce documents with her trade-mark smiley face, while Brand is not making any claim on his ex-wife’s fortune. The couple did not have a prenuptial agreement.
   Forbes had reported that between May 2010 and May 2011, Perry had made $44 million, while Brand made $7 million.
   The couple were married for 14 months.
   Meanwhile, So Solid Crew’s MC Harvey has backtracked over his claim in a Now interview that he had had a relationship with Britain’s sweetheart, Cheryl Cole.
   Cole then launched into a Twitter argument with Harvey after reading the interview.
   Since lawyers have been involved, Harvey has stated on Choice FM that the relationship was email-based but had never happened offline.
   He told DJ Max, ‘I will 100 per cent say that we had a communication relationship, but have I been out with her? No I haven’t.’
   Cole is now suing Now. A statement reads, ‘Cheryl Cole has today commenced legal proceedings in London against the publishers of Now magazine as a result of its two articles about her alleged “secret romance” with Michael Harvey.
   ‘Cheryl’s lawyers have asked to see Mr Harvey’s alleged emails which the magazine says are “proof” of the “romance” but it claims not to have them in its possession. Mr Harvey’s claims are denied by Cheryl and she looks forward to seeing both him and the magazine in Court at the very earliest opportunity.’

Once a year la Serenissima reverts to its true and elemental nature, as the ghosts come out and history can be felt on every narrow bridge and alleyway. Of course, I am talking about Carnivale, where the imagination soars, as masques and costumes, capes and mystery sweep by you at every corner. The city turns into a fantasy of colour and celebration, flavoured with the scent of decadence and opulence. It is an experience you must have at least once in your life.
   Our friends at the remarkable Luna Baglioni (just off San Marco, with its own arrival dock where your launch can drop you directly) offer a group of incredible ball deals, starting at a not-so-staggering supplement of €290 per person. Room nights additional. You can avail yourself of any of the following:

• Saturday, February 11, 2012: Moon Masquerade at the Luna Hotel Baglioni
• Friday, February 17, 2012: the Great Baglioni Party
• Saturday, February 18, 2012: Grand Carnival Gala at the Luna Hotel Baglioni (€320 per person)

   These offers exclude the room rate, but can include champagne, fancy dress parties, some held in the Marco Polo room dominated by huge School of Tiepolo frescoes, dinner—depending on the date—entertainment, and DJs until the wee hours of the morning. Period costumes can be purchased or rented. Be sure to avail yourself of the insider knowledge possessed by Antonio Massari, the Luna’s amazing concierge, perhaps the best in the world. Then, imagine yourself hidden behind mask and cloak, stealing down a romantic passagio, off for an intimate midnight rendezvous.
   For details, see www.baglionihotels.com/en/destinations/venice/luna-hotel-baglioni/packages/Special%20Venice%20Carnival.—Stanley Moss, Travel Editor

Life doesn’t stop for Nicole Scherzinger: right after finishing the US version of The X Factor, hair care brand Herbal Essences has announced that she is its new global ambassador.
   Commercials featuring the former Pussycat Dolls singer will break in July, in print and online formats. It is expected that some of her music will feature in them.
   Herbal Essences’ marketing director Kevin Crociata said in a release, ‘Nicole is such a beautiful, talented woman who lives every aspect of her life to the fullest. Her sense of self and her zest for life is a terrific fit with the spirit of the Herbal Essences brand.’
   Procter & Gamble’s Herbal Essences line features shampoos and conditioners, as well as styling products. The company says the brand is about innovative technology, performance ingredients and fragrance.
   In New Zealand, Herbal Essences Botanicals (RRP NZ$6·12) are available nationally. For more information, visit www.clairol.co.nz.

The Heart Truth campaign has seen the Coca-Cola Company create newly designed packaging for Diet Coke to commemorate the soft drink manufacturer’s fifth-year support of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) campaign, to promote heart disease awareness. Diet Coke has also participated in numerous awareness-raising programmes to aid the campaign over the last few months.
   Lucire has covered many of the Heart Truth’s Red Dress shows since their inception in 2002, and the latest, for fall 2012, will see five Diet Coke fans join the celebrity models on February 8.
   Diet Coke ambassador Minka Kelly (above) will be on the catwalk this week in a custom Diane von Furstenberg red dress.
   Fans had showed their support on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, hashtagging photographs of themselves with #ShowYourHeart. The five best photographs were selected, and Kelly chose one grand prize winner—who got a shopping spree with a style expert—from them.
   Extending the Twitter campaign, Coca-Cola will donate $1 to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) for every re-Tweet of the Diet Coke Heart Truth post on February 8, with an upper limit of $100,000.
   Coca-Cola will release a special Diet Coke package for February featuring a promotional graphic (left), while over 6,000 million packages will feature the Heart Truth logo through the year.
   Von Furstenberg has also created a limited-edition collection of Diet Coke aluminium bottles, featuring her prints, for sale at her stores and at dvf.com through February. Proceeds go to the FNIH, in support of the Heart Truth and women’s heart health research and educational programmes.
   Diet Coke will also promote heart health programmes with Subway, which will donate $50,000 toward heart health research and educational programmes. Subway will donate up to an additional $50,000, for every photograph uploaded to Twitter with the hashtag #SubwayHeartTruth.

The première of Madonna’s new single ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’’ in Piccadilly Circus did not go particularly well: not only was the video late, but it ran without sound.
   The music video, which features Nicki Minaj and MIA in cheerleaders’ outfits, was directed by Megaforce. It makes references to a lot of Madonna’s past work and is meant to be tongue in cheek.
   Despite the malfunction in London, fans were generally very positive toward the new video when it hit the internet.
   Less contentious is the news that Back to the Future might head to Broadway. Broadway has, in recent years, been very kind to film-to-stage adaptations, including The Producers and Xanadu, which arguably did better there than in the cinemas in 1980.
   Writer–director Robert Zemeckis is in negotiations to pen a new script for the stage, according to ITN.

Toni Mateu

Silician designer Maria Francesca Paternò has released her bridal and haute couture collection for 2012, entitled Ouverture.
   The self-described ‘fashion engineer’ mixes a number of cultures, along with poetry and art, as part of her inspiration.
   The collection features one-shoulder necklines reminiscent of ancient Greece, long and flowing skirts, and a nostalgic use of silk, satin and lace. Paternò’s cocktail dresses have vivid, vibrant colours. She employs only the highest quality materials and techniques.
   Paternò’s atelier is named la Via della Seta, or Silk Road, paying tribute to her love of the material.
   The advertising campaign was shot in Barcelona by Toni Mateu.
   Paternò was mentored by designer Gianna Baragli, and had worked for several notable companies beginning in the 1970s. Her website describes her gowns as works of art ‘brought to life with sentiment and feminine sensibility.’

Top Beth Ditto with John Demsey, Group President, the Estée Lauder Companies Inc., in Paris. Above The Feeling Alive collection from Jane Iredale.

Beth Ditto is MAC’s latest collaborator, with her collection to be released in June. Along with Vanessa Paradis, Catherine Deneuve, Dita von Teese, Christian Louboutin, Juliette Binoche and Grace Jones, Ditto attended the Gala Sidaction dîner de la mode in Paris on January 26 as part of the MAC Aids Fund’s work, and to make the partnership public.
   Jane Iredale is launching a make-up collection called Feeling Alive, with two eye glosses, two Lip Plumpers, a lip-defining pencil and a rosy bronzer available from March. It’s a perfect beauty collection for the winter months.
   We’re wondering how many ‘unique’ shopping events Auckland can take later in February. In the spirit of Vogue’s Fashion Night Out—we’ve already been covering New York, Tokyo and Berlin editions—an event called Shop One Night hits New Zealand from February 23 at 5 p.m., running till midnight in the Britomart precinct, and has been realized by ShopWhatsNew.co.nz.
   The following evening, to kick off the New Zealand Fashion Festival, a shopping event called First Light takes place at Auckland’s High Street, O’Connell Street and the surrounding lanes. Karen Walker reveals her spring 2012 collection, while Ruby launches its Liam collection, all complemented by a shopping experience in the area. More details are at www.highstdistrict.co.nz.
   The winner between these two events: shoppers, who get more fashion than they would normally get on two days in Auckland.
   Finally, we hear that Bodyhaven Spa in the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor in Wellington is offering a Valentine’s couple’s massage for NZ$160 per couple for an hour, with bubbly and a copper tub soak, or pamper yourself for NZ$99. Call 64 4 495-3255 extension 8542 or visit www.bodyhaven.co.nz.