Bailey, copyright ©1965 by the Condé Nast Publications (UK)

BBC/Kudos

Compare the pair. Top Jean Shrimpton, as she appeared in Vogue shot by Bailey in 1965. Above Karen Gillan and Aneurin Barnard as Jean Shrimpton and David Bailey in a publicity shot for We’ll Take Manhattan, which aired last week on BBC4.

The visitor stats have been very clear: one of the most searched-terms at Lucire has been David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton over the last few days.
   Presumably, it’s due to BBC4’s We’ll Take Manhattan, a TV film about a ground-breaking New York shoot by David Bailey and his model and lover, Jean Shrimpton. The shoot defined, according to the programme, the 1960s.
   As previewed in Lucire, the BBC4 film starred Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) and Aneurin Barnard as the couple. While it took a little while to get going—it begins with the pair boarding a jet to head to New York, then goes into flashback—with the charged arguments between Bailey and Vogue fashion editor Lady Clare Rendlesham occupying a great deal of the action once the story gets back on track. The centre of the argument: that it’s the 1960s, that Bailey wants to catch more liveliness, and that the stuffy portraits shown in British Vogue—which had, of course, covered the Coronation the decade before with HM the Queen and aristocratic ladies-in-waiting—were a thing of the past.
   Of course it’s idealized, but it’s not too far from the truth when the film claims that Bailey and the Shrimp defined the decade.
   The forces had been coming in for a while, but perhaps not with the youthquake that the Bailey represented after national service was abolished in 1962 and there was plenty of youthful energy around Britain. Technological changes in the 1950s and the telephoto lens already meant fashion photographers were experimenting with more lively shots, and Vogue photographers such as Irving Penn, Norman Parkinson and Antony Armstrong-Jones (later Lord Snowdon) were capturing moments that the magazine’s readers would not have seen the decade before. While staged, they appeared to be casual moments, with the model seemingly living her life in the editorials.
   What Bailey did was take this into raw sexiness, tapping correctly into the Zeitgeist. Starting at British Vogue in July 1960, Bailey had in fact met Shrimpton while she was being shot for a cornflakes advertisement by Brian Duffy. And unlike the film, Bailey was actually very grateful for the gig and knew what British Vogue was: ‘When Vogue offered to pay me to photograph beautiful women all day I thought I was on a dream-boat.’
   Gillan captures the innocent country girl that Shrimpton was at that point, which makes the transformation into ’60s sex icon all the more poignant. Never mind posh locations with Bailey: the Shrimp was on the floor, legs akimbo, complete with teddy bear or another prop. Skirts got shorter, progressively so till 1966, and Jean Shrimpton and her long legs modelled plenty in the decade. It might not be inaccurate to say that Shrimpton was the 1960s supermodel, along with Twiggy—certainly they were two of the most recognized women in Britain.
   Vogue had gone from being a magazine read by the well-to-do lady to one that reached the masses—and for the first time, its pages even became pin-ups.
   Bailey has remained in the public eye with his ongoing work, though Shrimpton has opted for a quieter life, running a country hotel. Both had reportedly approved of the script, which showed them in a positive light—though given Shrimpton’s silence over the years, we’re guessing it must have had some verisimilitude for her to give it the nod.
   There were some glaring mistakes—a 2005 Chevrolet taxi zooms by in a 1962 scene in New York—and Mad Men it was not, neither in feel nor in execution. Where Kudos was once known for lavish productions—Life on Mars springs to mind—some corners felt cut, probably thanks to the recession and the difficulty of securing locations that still looked “’sixties enough” in New York. It lacked the pace of another winter BBC film around this time last year: Eric and Ernie, covering the pre-fame period of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.
   But, on the other hand, period Vogue covers were faithfully re-created, the wardrobe department did extremely well securing period costumes, and Frances Barber stole the show with her portrayal of Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland in the New York scenes. And it summed up the period well: while a telemovie will take liberties with history, there was no denying that Bailey and Shrimpton were influential and very deserving subjects.—Jack Yan, Publisher

How appropriate that the 2,000th entry in the ‘Insider’ section of the Lucire website would be devoted to something very important to the internet.
   On January 24, the US will vote on internet censorship, despite the opposition of the majority of American citizens, with the Protect-IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in Congress.
   It’s little wonder that many Americans hold their Congress in such low esteem—when their Representatives do nothing that their title requires of them.
   It stifles the First Amendment: everyday Americans who are engaging in free speech who aren’t infringing copyright might still find their websites taken down.
   Ever film something innocently on your cellphone that has some music in the background? You could be found guilty, too—and face up to five years in prison.

Lawmakers don’t get it: the US joins Iran, China and North Korea
Why should a publication HQed in New Zealand care? It affects non-American websites, too, because it potentially blocks us from being seen by the American public. If you publish in English, there’s a fairly good chance the largest number of your readers will be American. If you have a site e-tailing products, you could well have a lot of US buyers.
   Already, New Zealand has seen amendments to our Copyright Act that have come thanks to pressure from American lobbyists. Amendments which already saw the most ridiculous debates in Parliament where one MP equated the internet to the fictional Skynet of the Terminator films. Amendments which our Prime Minister was against before he was for. In both major parties’ quest to appease foreign groups ahead of the voter, “guilt by accusation” is now part of New Zealand law.
   While President Obama has come out against the bills—though the White House’s words have been vague—this is no time to be complacent. The copyright amendments resurfaced in New Zealand in largely the same form. The bills have not gone away. Americans need to keep the pressure on their politicians to express how they all feel.
   Right now, American lawmakers want to put the entertainment lobby ahead of their own voters, by seeking to pass legislation that puts the US on the same playing-field as Iran, China and North Korea.

We believe in a fair go
We’re not against the idea of copyright, at least not the form that existed when we first started in the publishing business. In fact, we rely on copyright as our means of protecting our and our contributors’ authorship. But we are against this bill in the US.
   Copyright disputes should happen with due process. While we find ourselves on the side of the complainant in most cases, we believe that those who infringe copyright should have an opportunity to remove affected works, or offer an explanation. We believe in the common law right that there is a presumption of innocence. We believe in a world where people have a fair and equal access to justice.
   However, this bill goes further. A mere accusation of an infringing link posted by users can block a website to Americans.
   Lawmakers have defended the bill by saying it protects copyright, but it won’t. Those who still want to share copyrighted content will do so—simply by typing the IP address of the site into their browsers.
   The laws can remove any defence an innocent web publisher might have. Governments and corporations can potentially take down any website, creating new liabilities on the internet. As this is one of the areas of growth in many countries, the US included, it has the potential to harm economies.

Act now: it’s that important
You can read more here: it’s a simple guide to the proposed laws, explained far better than I could. The SOPA Strike website also has a good summary.
   We’re urging the 38 per cent of our readers in the US to stand up for your rights. Write to your local Representative or Senator, and let them know that you do not support these bills. If you use the internet, this will affect you. If you have never involved yourself in the passing of a bill before, this is important enough to warrant your attention for the first time.—Jack Yan, Publisher

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

Lucire publisher Jack Yan and Emma Beer

Moët Amongst the Stars

Samantha Shorter, Daisy Uffindell and Ngahuia Williams

Kimberley Crossman and Mark Dye; Rai Banbury and Tim Phin

Matt France and Toni Street; Nick Dwyer and Shavaughn Ruakere

Get Frank founder Rich Henry and Nicky Clarke

TF1
Above Delphine Wespiser soon after being crowned as Miss France. Our article on her win was the most-read this year.

Last year, quite a few readers were interested in the most visited news articles on the Lucire website. This excludes the features we have on the main part of the site. Nevertheless, it gives us a fair idea of what people were interested in during 2011.
   Our most popular article of 2011 was about the new Miss France, Delphine Wespiser. It might have helped that Lucire was the first English-language publication to break the news, though traditionally we’ve noticed there has always been a healthy interest in Miss France.
   Our Honor Dillon article was next. This was a 2010 piece, but with Dillon marrying fiancé Dan Carter earlier this year, people were curious. The fact Dillon was modelling underwear will have prompted some extra searches that we didn’t anticipate.
   Unsurprisingly, given how much coverage this got at the time, Scarlett Johansson gets into third place with our story on her modelling for Moët & Chandon. In fact, each time we run a story on Johansson, there’s a good amount of public interest.
   The wedding of HSH Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock gave royal-watchers their second major celebration of the year, after HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton. But, with more media covering the British event, Lucire netted a slightly larger share of the Monaco one to get it into fourth place.
   And in fifth, Keira Knightley’s Coco Mademoiselle campaign got plenty of fashionistas and fans popping by, initially to get a preview.
   Stories on Vanessa Paradis, Miss New Zealand 2011 Priyani Puketapu, Brooklyn Decker, Bar Refaeli and Miss Prestige National 2012 Christelle Roca take us to 10th place.
   For actual search terms, the patterns were similar, though we can add Princess Catherine or the Duchess of Cambridge, Miss Nationale 2011 Barbara Morel, Aishwarya Rai, David Bailey and Jennifer Garner into the mix.
   Any bets from our readers on the top celebrities of 2012?

World of Wearable Art (WOW) founder, Suzie Moncrieff, becomes a Dame in the New Zealand New Year honours’ list today.
   Her honour comes on the same day as a similar award for businesswoman Rosanne Meo, and knighthoods for former All Blacks’ coach Graham Henry, former TV chef and Wellington City Missioner Des Britten, Todd Corp. chairman John Todd, and philanthropist Colin Giltrap. Painter and sculptor Ralph Hotere (Te Aupouri) was appointed a member of the Order of New Zealand.
   Moncrieff’s honour comes on the eve of WOW’s 25th anniversary. She started the event to promote wearable arts in Nelson, before it later moved to Wellington. It is a world-class event that attracts international media each year. The Hong Kong Jockey Club plays host to WOW later in January.
   In other news, comedian Russell Brand and singer Katy Perry will divorce, after only one year of marriage.
   Brand filed for divorce on Friday at the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences.
   They had already spent Christmas apart, not wearing their wedding rings.

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

In another media “he said, she said”, Daniel Craig has denied ever calling the Kardashians ‘idiots’, in a brief red-carpet Q&A with our colleagues at ITN.
   The actor, promoting the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, wonders how he could have ever given them a label, considering he has never seen their TV show.
   ‘I haven’t read this article, so I can’t comment about it … I’ve never seen The Kardashians, so I actually don’t know how I could have done that,’ he said.
   The principal online reference we could find to the alleged quotation was a promotional entry in British Vogue’s website, publicizing the January 2012 issue of British GQ.
   ‘Craig was equally reluctant to talk about married life—citing the Kardashians as an example of the reality show tell-all culture that he considers his approach the antithesis of.
   ‘“Look, I’m in love,” he told GQ flatly. “I’m very happy. And that is as far as I’m prepared to go. Life is long, life goes wrong, and I don’t want to say something now that might be thrown back later … Ultimately, people are saying, “Give it six months”. Well, guess what? I’m not responding. Life is long and I am hopefully in this for the long run … If you sell it off, it’s gone. It’s precious. It’s worth more than money. You can’t buy your privacy back … Look at the Kardashians, they’re worth millions. Millions! You see that and you think, “What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a f***ing idiot on television and then you’ll pay me millions?”’
   The story made its rounds in the media. In the overwhelming majority of cases, Craig’s quotation was published before the GQ interview was released, with media citing it as though they had read it. Media also gave their take on it, which, based on our analysis, wasn’t what Craig actually stated.
   Based solely on the excerpt above, Craig simply extrapolated an idea on what he would do from the Kardashians’ desire to flaunt their lives publicly.
   At no point did he call the Kardashians ‘idiots’.
   However, it’s tempting to connect Craig’s analysis with a criticism of the Kardashians—simply because one sentence followed another. It’s often done by media, probably even by us (errare est humanum), because people want to find justifications for what they read or hear.
   Nevertheless, there are now claims the Kardashian family expects an apology, according to the tabloid press. If true, one would think that, as the frequent subject of many misquotes themselves, they would be more insightful. Or, for that matter, as public figures, one should be able to rise above it—or, until they hear it from Craig directly, understand that the media are a filter.
   Welcome to the world of 24-hour news and round-the-clock gossip—and those celebrities that seem so easily baited by them.

Summer Rayne Oakes, who has a long association with Lucire, tells us that her short film, Extinction (eXtinction to give its official capitalization) can be viewed for a very limited time (a total less than two days from the time of this post) on Dailymotion. You can view the film at this link.
   This important work highlights what we realistically face on our planet in our lifetime, and why looking after it sustainably and sensibly is the only hope for humankind. Beautifully photographed, Extinction puts forth powerful arguments in its short running time—and we would be wise to heed its message.
   In the beauty department, Billie Goat Soap has launched a natural soap range made from goat’s milk, with a pH level close to our own skin. Goat’s milk is high in vitamin A, B6 and B12, while it naturally contains a high amount of antioxidant selenium and lactic acid. Both the plain and milk and honey soaps retail for NZ$13·50 each.
   Meanwhile, Stanley Moss has reviewed another very fashionable Parisian hotel—pop over to the main part of the site to see his story on 7Eiffel, located in the vicinity of the École Militaire and Invalides.