We alluded to Lucire being on cellphones, Blackberrys, Ipods and similar devices last week when this blog disappeared briefly due to a technical glitch.
   Lucire has been on portable mobile devices for some time, if you count the many cellphones out there that are capable of surfing the web. These take the existing website’s code and modify it to fit the smaller screens. But shortly, there will be a difference. In fact, anyone who has surfed in to these ‘Insider’ pages first on a portable device will have noticed some changes already.
   I’m still waiting for the green light from one of our technological partners before telling you who it is, but I can say Lucire is now providing a class-leading, mobile service. 
   Rather than have your phones and portable devices converting our data, we convert the data for you.
   That means a streamlined download, along with properly targeted and designed advertisements, not the big ones that you might be forced to see on some services. You’ll get faster pages.
   All mobile users need to do is surf in to the blog URL (lucire.com/insider) rather than the main one to get our new version. You’ll see these posts, with the videos omitted (for now), plus access to text-only versions of some of our web articles.
   There’ll still be images from this blog, shrunk down to fit mobile devices.
   But since a lot of you prefer surfing the regular website using your mobile devices, you will still have that option and not experience any changes for the most part.
   For the regular pages, keep browsing to the usual website (lucire.com) and they’ll work as they always did.
   Therefore, you can get quick news on the go on a mobile device now through Lucire, which will help you stay even more ahead of the Joneses. You can get research from the main part of the site to impress your friends. It’s up to you how you access this site.
   I was asked yesterday by a client, ‘But who will read it?’
   The answer is I do not know. But I do know that in 1997, when I was asked the same question about web magazines, few could definitively say who would read those.
   In 2001, when we first launched a portable-device service with Plucker, very few read that. However, times have changed, as has the technology.
   I do know that the thirst for information is greater today than it has been at any time of human history, and Lucire can now do on cellphones what we do online and in print: keeping readers one step ahead.

Bond girl Caterina Murino, who played Solange in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, and was best remembered in a scene riding a horse along a Bahamian beach, joined other celebrities in the Chinese capital as the Beijing Olympics drew to a close.
   Murino, sponsored by Omega, jokingly talked about a James Bond film scene in to Quantum of Solace (a good lead-up there, Caterina—you got us). The second video features miscellaneous views at Beijing—the gentleman on Murino’s left is Omega’s Kevin Rollenhagen. The final video follows Murino visiting the Omega pavilion in Beijing.

We’ve heard from our friend Brad Green at Peace Love Life, which we featured a few months ago. To refresh your memory, Peace Love Life sells T-shirts where proceeds go to a charity in the place they are inspired by. They have also sold 2,000 shirts since they began the venture and there’s a redesigned website.
   Meanwhile, one of their customers, Michael Stack, is a civilian working at Camp Victory in Baghdad, says Brad. Ugandan Guards work security there and Michael purchased 50 Peace Love Life Uganda shirts as gifts to the men there. The Ugandan-themed shirt benefits Uganda itself: $10 from each sale is donated to Invisible Children.
   ‘Many of these men come from the parts of Uganda that have been affected by the war,’ says Brad. ‘Now in a way they work to protect us.’
   Michael’s images tell the story.

We apologize to readers for the loss of service on this blog for a few days. Lucire is planning a mobile edition and we had a glitch (caused by human error) in one of the lines of code. Please stay tuned as we do have news items to post up here from earlier days—there’s still a bit of tinkering to be done.
   Hopefully if the service is working properly, those surfing Lucire on their cellphones and PDAs will be arriving at this page first rather than the traditional home page: we believe if you have the smaller screens to contend with, you will want up-to-the-minute news before they want the big glamour photographs on the traditional website home page. Please let us know in the comments what you think—it’s part of our extension into hand-held media and a new, exciting stage of our development.

There’s a small snippet about Jennifer Hawkins and the spring–summer 2008–9 lingerie range from Lovable over on Lucire’s fashion index page, but behind the scenes we were given a press-release Q&A with the former Miss Universe.
   These tips purport to come from Hawkins, and it’s likely the beauty queen endorsed them. In any case, the advice isn’t too bad. We’ve featured an edited selection below.

The Strapless Cocktail Dress
Q: I’ve got large boobs but I love this season’s eighties inspired prom dress, is there a way that I can wear one without worrying about it slipping down?
JH: The prom dress can look fabulous on almost any figure, as its [sic] gives you that classic hourglass figure. The key is to choose the right strapless bra that gives you enough support and doesn’t slip down round your waist after an hour or two. The secret is to look for styles that have an added “bone” inserted on the outside of each cup, giving the bra that extra stability.

The Halter-neck Frock
Q: I love halter neck dresses but I HATE not being able to wear a bra underneath them, what do you suggest?
JH: There’s a new generation of bras out there that convert specially into halter necks just for this kind of tricky situation!! Go into your local lingerie boutique or department store and get the experts to show you what’s available and how to fit them. These bras can look a bit complicated = lots of strap everywhere and a multitude of different techniques for different dressing requirements, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t tried one before. And they work wonders for a halter-neck dress …

The Silk Slip
Q: Silk and diamonds, a girl’s best friend! Or so they say. Silk’s supposed to be flattering, but I’m utterly confused about what lingerie to wear underneath as the fabric shows every little lump and bump. Jennifer, help!
JH: Body Silk by name, Body Silk by nature! The key to wearing silk is to find the smoothest, most seamless lingerie you can. Technological advancements in fabric cutting has given girls the perfect solution to this age old issue, with a whole world of beautiful discreet, ultra-comfy lingerie that can only be spotted if you’ve got X-ray vision. This said, there are a couple of pointers – make sure your undies fit perfectly (small ones cut unattractively into your skin) The same theory applies to your the bra.

   Lovable stockists are listed at www.lovable.com.au; needless to say, the company has a bra for each situation listed above, from the strapless contour bra available up to a 16E, to the Suddenly Shapely five-way convertible bra, to the Ultraskin and Body Silk collections.

[Cross-posted] You’ve all heard the controversy over whether Red Chinese gymnast He Kexin is 14 or 16. A hacker has found documents in the Baidu (the Red Chinese search engine) cache that indicate she is 14. Some commenters have attacked the hacker, pointing out some potential errors in the search. A few point out that it’s really strange that official documents relating to He Kexin are disappearing from Google and Baidu.
   Meanwhile, it was revealed that last year, the Xinhua news agency—a branch of the Chinese Communist Party—reported that He was 13.
   The Politburo has denied it ever gave the agency her age.
   It has emerged since that the People’s Daily, another arm of the Communist Party, reported in May that He was 14. I’m surprised this page has not been altered yet, while all the old spreadsheets have disappeared, and other articles have either been modified or deleted from the web.
   Will the Politburo dare suggest that that it never gave the newspaper her age either? Has the journalist lately “disappeared”?
   One speech given by a leading Red Chinese official last year introduced He as 13, to no subsequent corrections.
   I’m simply using the Red Chinese’s own official mouthpieces to raise a question, because all this seems really contradictory: 14 before the controversy, 16 (in the same newspaper) after. What gives?
   As a Chinese person I am really delighted that the Chinese people have done so well in the medal stakes. The Olympics are one time I root for someone who is Chinese because I can put politics aside. But when it comes to things that put us all in disrepute, I can’t help but point to those that might be responsible.
   If it were not for any age limit, I say the Chinese athletes in gymnastics totally deserved their medals for some outstanding performances.
   The age question itself comes into fashion more than often—I stood by the choice of a 14-year-old winner, Elle Gibson, in the Cadbury Dream Model Search competition last year, because she was the best and I was confident of the management that she would receive. With less reputable agencies, I would be the first to cry foul over a model who is too young. Some of those same concerns about exploitation drive my worries over He Kexin.
   I find it sad that a teenager (14 or 16) has been caught up in this when she is an innocent party. I hope that He does not face any bans if she is found to be underage. If there is deception, the parties behind it need to dealt with.

From as close as Detroit to as far away as China, 21 students around the world were chosen to design and engineer a hydrogen-powered car for the year 2020 as a part of the Annual Design Internship Program, by General Motors.
   Each team of interns had a designer, an engineer, a sculptor, and a trim and colour artist. Together, they came up with six futuristic concept cars. In addition to being gas-free, the concept cars also had to meet the needs of international drivers in the emerging markets of China, India and Russia.
   While these concept cars probably won’t be available in showrooms anytime soon, the students have gained real-world experience to help further their future careers, hopefully designing petroleum-free transportation for all of us.
   What’s also important from a shareholder’s point of view is that GM is clearly setting its sights on non-western markets to help its bottom line. The company has had a good record in Europe in terms of creating competitive product, something which it has the resources to replicate with its ventures in Russia and China, building Chevrolet and Buick models.

The British Fashion Council (BFC) today announced that the winner of its MA scholarship scheme is Nabil El-Nayal (left).
   The scheme provides funding for fees for MA fashion design courses and is part-funded by the London Development Agency. Any final-year fashion students from colleges that are members of the BFC’s Colleges Council may apply. Nabil will take up his place on the Fashion Womenswear MA at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London in September.
   A shortlist of applicants were invited to attend an interview with a panel of industry insiders including: Anne Tyrrell, BFC Colleges Council Chair; Christopher Bailey, Creative Director at Burberry; Alison Edmond, Fashion Director, Harper’s Bazaar UK; and Simon Ward, Head of Operations BFC (below right).
   El-Nayal recently finished his BA (Hons.) in fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University and greatly impressed Bailey in his interview. Bailey commented, ‘There was a beautiful sense of lightness in Nabil’s work that came through in his portfolio. His compassion and energy was inspiring and he has a natural charm.’
   Tyrrell said, ‘This scholarship is a welcome addition to the BFC’s support for emerging design talent in the UK. It is a long time since I have seen such a talented and beautiful portfolio as Nabil’s and look forward to seeing his work progress through one of the most respected MA courses in the world.’
   Edmond added, ‘Nabil’s work has complete conviction.’
   Sarah Ebanja, Deputy Chief Executive at the London Development Agency, said, ‘The scholarship programme aims to make the most of the wealth of talent coming out of the UK’s fashion colleges. The London Development Agency supports the British Fashion Council’s efforts to nurture this creative talent to generate successful business ideas. London has long been at the forefront of fashion and holds a worldwide reputation for encouraging cutting-edge talent. By investing in the stars of the future now, it will ensure that London’s status continues to grow and thrive.’

New Zealand fashion label Ruby—which we think is going to go from strength to strength with its retail expansion—is going for a pirate theme for its new line of jewellery. Bangles and bracelets hide secret messages within, treasure-chest rings can be opened and a door necklace reveals a skeleton within. Available from Ruby’s boutiques in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Top: The publicity shot for Glam God, featuring all the contenders. Above: Lucire alumnus Brad Batory at work.

On August 21, 10 p.m. EDT on VH1, Glam God premières, and there’s a Lucire connection. In 2003, associate publisher Ann Fryer was introduced to Indashio designer Brad Batory, who walked the talk when it came to donating the proceeds of his shows to charity. In 2005, Brad worked on quite a few of our covers and shoots for the then-nascent print edition as a team member, and he seemed to have a natural affinity with the celebrities we showed. Largely, I think, because he’s respectful. It seems only natural that Brad is on this new reality TV show, which is summarized thusly:

Twelve stylists from all walks of life move into an L.A. loft to compete for the coveted title of GLAM GOD. At stake: representation by a major styling agency, a celebrity spread in US MAGAZINE, and $100,000. In this first episode, they meet their host, actress Vivica A. Fox, along with her glam panel of judges, US WEEKLY Bureau Chief Melanie Bromley, and celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch. After viewing highlights from their portfolios, Vivica and her glam panel select four team leaders for their first challenge: “Who wore it best?” Each team must create a red carpet moment using identical designer dresses. By the end of the night, two stylists will be eliminated from the competition and sent home.

   Folks, Brad is one of the nice guys in this business—so please send out positive vibes for him.