[Updated with photographs, official quotations] As revealed last year, Hennes & Mauritz is launching a line of David Beckham underwear. The range has just been launched in London, with Beckham himself there for the proceedings.
The footballer went to H&M’s Regent Street store to launch the David Beckham Bodywear line, which will hit 1,800 physical stores and the internet on February 2.
The range will feature briefs and vests, but also T-shirts and pyjamas. New items will be released each season.
In the evening, Bianca Jagger, Emma Bunton, Jessica Ennis and other celebrities toasted the launch at a separate event. Live music was provided by the James Pearson Trio, followed by a set from DJs Mani from the Stone Roses and the Queens of Noize.
‘I am very proud to launch my Bodywear collection for H&M in London. It was amazing to see the product at the in-store launch after so many months of development and meet with fans. I loved the pop-up gentlemen’s club, which felt both traditional and brand-new. It’s the same mix I hope men will find in the Bodywear collection. It was an amazing evening to launch my new collection,’ said Beckham in a release. ‘The début of David Beckham Bodywear is a very special moment for us at H&M. It marks the beginning of a new kind of long-term partnership for H&M, one based on quality and excellent design to H&M prices. I am very excited to see how our customers will receive the David Beckham Bodywear collection,’ added Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M.
‘Lots of people have worked with H&M, so why not David Beckham? I think it’s a really good idea. It means that now everybody can have a bit of him,’ said the International Herald–Tribute’s Suzy Menkes.
The David Beckham brand was developed by Beckham and business partner Simon Fuller in 2011.
København native Stine Riis, a 28-year-old graduate of the London College of Fashion, has been announced as the winner of the first Hennes & Mauritz Design Award. Her winning collection, called Decadence & Decay, was shown on the catwalk at Stockholm Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week earlier today.
The win sees Riis receive €50,000 and 15 of her designs sold in selected H&M stores in Sweden, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands in September.
Stine calls her style ‘tailored future elegance’. She sees the construction of the garments as being part of the design, while ensuring the clothes are comfortable.
The competition jury featured Christopher Kane, Hilary Alexander, Kristopher Arden Houser, Susie Lau, Margareta van den Bosch, and Ann-Sofie Johansson.
‘I am still overwhelmed. Showing at Stockholm’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has been such a great experience. I can’t believe so many people came to see my collection! This award gives me the confidence and financial back-up I need to pursue my dream of building my own brand. I couldn’t have imagined a better start to my career as a designer,’ said Riis in a release.
Alexander complimented Riis, calling her entry ‘a polished, well-cut collection of strict tailoring in contrasting materials including leather, wool, metallic and bonded fabrics. Her silhouette was lean but flowing, and particularly effective was her use of colour: a slim blue and orange bi-colour top, for example, or a blue coat stamped with white.’
The H&M Design Award People’s Prize, decided online by visitors to the Awards’ website, was won by Anne Bosman. She receives a one-month internship at Christopher Kane in London.
Students at fourteen colleges in six countries competed for the prize.
Top H&M reveals a softer look for spring–summer 2012. Above Tanja Baumgartner and Manuel Rauner in the 2012 Bogner Steel calendar, photographed by Manfred Baumann.
With its designer collaborations getting all the media attention, it’s easy to forget that Hennes & Mauritz’s regular retail line can be newsworthy. For spring–summer 2012, the Swedish retail giant has shown a fluid but tailored look, with a 1950s inspiration for women. The white suit is contrasted in this line with kimono-style draped jackets; simple, striped dresses and wide-leg trousers also appear for spring. We note that H&M is on-trend for spring with its use of colour, featuring bright apple green, yellow, apricot and blue; and it has used silk, linen and organza to good effect. Some parallel trends have been adopted for H&M’s menswear line for spring.
Staying in Europe, Manfred Baumann has shot the Bogner Steel calendar at locations in Wels and Vösendorf, Austria. Modelled by Tanja Baumgartner and Manuel Rauner, the 1,000-run calendar will be given only to Bogner Steel customers. More of the shoot appears today in Lucire Men.
Nerua, the restaurant in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, has been awarded its first Michelin Star.
Headed by chef Josean Alija, the restaurant appears in the Red Guide, recognizing the haute cuisine offered by the new restaurant.
Nerua opened in June 2011, with an emphasis on natural gastronomy and an involvement with sustainability. Alija, himself an award-winning chef who was named Best Young Cook in 2000, called the style ‘an essential, intimate cuisine’.
Above Josean Alija and Nerua, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s restaurant. Below More of H&M’s spring 2012 styles. Kacper Kasprzyk
Top Panos Emporio’s Chic dress, modelled by Ellen Bergstrom. Above Strap top and Sensational skirt, from the spring–summer 2012 line.
Panos Emporio has its marketing groove back, by identifying yet another up-and-coming star, this time to help promote its spring–summer 2012 fashion line.
Ellen Bergstrom, in the title role in the TV series Elsas värld, based on Sofi Fahrman’s book Elsas mode, is the model for the range.
The series recently had its début on Sweden’s TV3, and can be viewed at www.tv3.se/play.
Bergstrom recently moved from Vingåker to Stockholm to film the new series, and took time from shooting to model for Panos Emporio.
The fashion range is an extension of Panos Emporio’s core swimwear line, with its first collection exclusively revealed in Lucire at this time last year.
Above Blake Lively and Jessica Alba are among the VIPs at the Versace for H&M launch in New York.
Celebrities including Uma Thurman, Blake Lively, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Hudson, Linda Evangelista, Selma Blair and Chace Crawford joined Donatella Versace and H&M creative adviser Margareta van den Bosch in a venue alongside the Hudson River in New York to début the Versace for H&M line.
Catwalk models included Abbey Lee, Daphne G., Natasha Poly, Sean O’Pry and Lindsay Wixson.
The show itself featured unique designs created for the event.
A party in which Versace’s guests, Prince and Nicki Minaj, performed followed the main event.
The high-profile collaboration is the latest in a long line which has seen Karl Lagerfeld, Comme des Garçons, Viktor & Rolf, among others, bring high-fashion looks to the mass-market Swedish label.
The collection reinvents certain items from the Versace archive, including metal mesh and panel dresses, and a studded leather jacket for women. The men’s collection features printed sweaters, print shirts, suits, and studded leather jackets and trousers, says H&M.
The range goes on sale in 300 stores worldwide and online on November 17.
In a release, Versace said, ‘It was the perfect evening, so glamorous and special. I loved celebrating the launch of Versace for H&M here in New York, an iconic city in which to showcase this iconic collection. Now I cannot wait for it to finally reach stores and be available to the world.’
Van den Bosch said, ‘Donatella Versace has taken us at H&M on an incredible journey since she began designing the collection for us earlier this year, and last night’s fashion event was the perfect culmination. She has given us the essence of the Versace brand, and last night that came to life with a magical catwalk show that we’ll never forget.’
Thurman said on the red carpet prior to the show, ‘I think it is so exciting for Versace to made available to everyone. The collection is cool, colourful, young and very hip.’
Lively added her thoughts: ‘I am such a fan of Versace. The fits for a woman’s body are incredible. I’m also a huge fan of H&M. To have Versace at H&M is the best.’
Blair said, ‘Versace is so incredible and so glamorous. For kids to be able to buy it is wonderful. Donatella is an amazing woman.’
You know the festive season is approaching when Absolut unveils another stunning gift pack. This time, the famous Swedish vodka has launched Absolut Mode Edition, a limited-edition 700 ml gift pack, paying tribute to the world of fashion.
The stylized crystallic glass and a midnight blue textured silk cloth feature is inspired by fashion trends, and reinterpret the classic Absolut bottle in a very stylish way.
In the past, Absolut has worked with Tom Ford, Versace, Stella McCartney, and Jean Paul Gaultier, and locally, with Adrian Hailwood, Lonely Hearts, Federation and Huffer.
The Mode Edition packaging is expected to become a collector’s item. The gift pack will go on sale mid-November in New Zealand at leading liquor outlets, retailing at NZ$39·99.
Absolut has published a cocktail recipe to coincide with the launch of Mode Edition, by New Zealand mixologist Chris Harrop.
Absolut Mode 45 ml Absolut Vodka 20 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice 10 ml elderflower cordial Top with soda Build ingredients over ice in a tall glass, and garnish with a thin cucumber slice.
Panos Emporio, as it expands its clothing line from its core swimwear, will début a new tagline that ties together everything it has done in the last quarter-century: ‘Dare to be human’.
The new tagline was conceived to encompass the brand’s ideas of elegant design, its desire to push the envelope—which it has successfully done in swimwear—and its social conscience.
Speaking of swimwear, Anita Talbert’s Miami Swim report appears now in full online, as do several articles you may have missed: Megan Gale’s L’Oréal ads, Lola Saab looking back at the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Met, and Ian MacKintosh’s interview with illustrator Gerardo Larrea.
Sopheak Seng takes an in-depth look at the Mister show from New Zealand Fashion Week—the one where they got a standing ovation—while Lola Saab begins her New York Fashion Week features with the Argentine Designers’ joint show.
Finally, Lucire wishes to recognize the jewellery designers who were recognized at the New Zealand Jewellery Show last month. TopPrimavera, by Lucas Ebbeke. AboveTimekeeping, by Sarah Walker-Holt.
Papakura-based Sarah Walker-Holt’s Timekeeping, winner of the contemporary section of the New Zealand Jewellery Show Design Awards, is a pendant made using wooden kitchen utensils, firewood, garden twine and nuts and bolts.
‘The solutions Walker-Holt used to construct her piece are not accidental, but in fact are the result of careful decision-making. The æsthetic seems to come out of a DIY vernacular, and assemblage of parts reflects a resourceful keen eye and hand,’ said the judges.
The fine jewellery section saw Auckland’s Lucas Ebbeke win for Primavera, which organizers described as ‘a fine jewellery flower ring that transforms at the flick of a hidden mechanism into a pendant studded with almost $30,000 worth of sapphires and diamonds.’
Judges stated, ‘Lucas Ebbeke’s ring that transformed into a pendant was the clear winner. The design, finish and technical skills involved in the piece were some of the best we have seen. He is surely a master jeweller.’
The event—now in its sixth year—ran from September 9 to 11. It saw over 100 jewellers exhibit their New Zealand-designed and made works, which were on sale during this period. Mayor Celia Wade-Brown opened the event, while TV producer Carol Hirschfeld MCed.
Above Starfish’s Laurie Foon, championing sustainability and living the brand.
As a pioneer in the field of ethical business practices and sustainability, it should come as no surprise that New Zealand designer Starfish is the first fashion label to win a New Zealand Sustainable Business Award. Appropriately, Starfish director and head designer Laurie Foon has been collaborating with like-minded organizations to bring her show to this year’s New Zealand Fashion Week catwalk.
Wellington’s celebrated eco-fashion label continues on an upward trajectory as Lunatopia, its autumn–winter 2012 collection, dares to dream big. This ambition can be seen through Starfish’s business practices and its ethical choices with their clothes, stores, communications, everyday practices and participation in industry initiatives. Of the choice to secure a range of sponsorship partners who share the dream of sustainable business practices, says Foon, ‘Two voices speak louder than one. We’ve learned that the more we share our experiences, the stronger we contribute to raising awareness and action. Together, we believe we can co-create conscious consumer choices in the daily lives of our customers.’
Just as all Starfish garments are entirely and proudly made in New Zealand promoting sustainable fashion, Foon notes, ‘The partners we seek are innovative thinkers that have similar ethical values to ourselves. Our partners celebrate with us and contribute their own way. We all understand that being sustainable, or producing with an ethical focus, is fundamental to doing business in the future.’ For New Zealand Fashion Week, Starfish has carefully selected its major partners to be the Body Shop, Electrolux, Powershop and Project Crimson.
The Body Shop will be using its brand new line, Extra Virgin Minerals make-up, made with 100 per cent mineral pigments and 100 per cent Community Fair Trade cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, to create a fresh and flawless complexion on the Starfish models.
Foon, who as a young woman was profoundly influenced by the Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick, says, ‘I’m still in complete awe that Starfish and the Body Shop are working together to build a strong partnership. It is really befitting that the Body Shop will be providing our make-up look at New Zealand Fashion Week, and that together we can show people that you can still have great style while making ethical choices.’
Electrolux, a company that raises public awareness about the plastic waste that fills our oceans by gathering plastic debris from vulnerable marine habitats and produces limited edition vacuums out of it, has engaged with Starfish with its colourful and compelling Vac from the Sea campaign. Laurie Foon and her design team will create a Vac from the Sea cover, as well as distinctive pieces of jewellery using recycled plastic and Electrolux technologies.
Powershop, a company which allows consumers a choice in which brand of power they use, is actively tracking the power usage of the Starfish show at New Zealand Fashion Week and will then offset the carbon consumed. Starfish is collaborating with Powershop in order to encourage people to manage and reduce their electricity usage.
Powershop will purchase a Gold Standard carbon offset for Starfish, certifying that the emission reduction has occurred and the carbon offset has been retired.
Project Crimson, a trust that aims to protect and restore pohutukawa and rata trees in New Zealand, is teaming up with Starfish for the third time to create a limited-edition fundraising T-shirt for the summer. All profits earned from the sales will go towards protecting the trees. Of the partnership with Project Crimson, Foon says, ‘This year we’ve added a special touch by inviting New Zealand renowned artist Shona Moller to join the partnership. Titled Pride, these distinctive New Zealand made T-shirts will be launched immediately following the Starfish show.’ Lunatopia will be presented at New Zealand Fashion Week on Tuesday, August 30 at
5 p.m. in Shed 2 of Auckland’s new Viaduct Events Centre. Starfish will also participate in the Merino Show on Friday, September 2 at 1 p.m. in the Westpac Shed.—Sabine Ernest
‘The début of David Beckham Bodywear is a very special moment for us at H&M. It marks the beginning of a new kind of long-term partnership for H&M, one based on quality and excellent design to H&M prices. I am very excited to see how our customers will receive the David Beckham Bodywear collection,’ added Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M.
København native Stine Riis, a 28-year-old graduate of the London College of Fashion, has been announced as the winner of the first 
You know the festive season is approaching when Absolut unveils another stunning gift pack. This time, the famous Swedish vodka has launched Absolut Mode Edition, a limited-edition 700 ml gift pack, paying tribute to the world of fashion.
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