Scott McDermott

In true Scandinavian fashion, jewellery brand Pandora continues to be engaged in corporate social responsibility, launching its Hearts of Today programme on Monday.
   Pandora plans to support charitable causes, beyond the ones it is already engaged in now, such as those for breast cancer awareness, and is asking the public to nominate the ones it feels are the most deserving.
   Hearts of Today is for the US only at this point. Pandora has appointed five women who will form the jury that will pick from the public entries, narrowing them down to 20 semifinalists. The public then votes on the top 20, bringing the final number to eight, who will be honoured at a luncheon in November. Each of the eight receives a US$25,000 donation to help their organization.
   The jurors are Penny Abeywardena, human rights advocate; Shaun Robinson, Emmy Award-winning journalist; June Sarpong, philanthropist; Dr Pepper Schwartz, sociologist and author; and Andrea Alvey, member of the Pandora A/S board of directors.
   The jurors will look at health and well-being, community development, and professional and social empowerment, says Pandora.

Quentin de Briey

Bambi Northwood-Blyth, who was one of Lucire’s news-makers of 2013, has now been named the face of the international press campaign for French label Ba&Sh.
   The autumn–winter 2014–15 collection will feature Northwood-Blyth in a shoot in Barcelona by Belgian photographer Quentin de Briey. The label says that the Australian model was chosen for her ‘glamorous freshness, and her bohemian-chic allure.’
   The designers, Barbara and Sharon, said in a release, ‘We were completely seduced by Bambi, her charisma, energy and boldness.’
   The collection contrasts between ‘intensity and lightness, nobility and bestality,’ says Ba&Sh, and is meant to convey pluralism.
   The campaign’s idea centres around femininity, ‘a woman wildly in love, deliberately free and outgoing, with multiple facets,’ or what it dubs ‘ultra-femininity’.
   The campaign breaks in France and internationally from August 2014, on displays, in print and web media. Ba&Sh’s web site can be found at www.ba-sh.com.

Dilmah Tea New Zealand

Dilmah Tea hosted a series of high teas around New Zealand, promoting its socially responsible message along with the rising interest in tea mixology.
   Its Wellington stop on Tuesday, hosted by Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando and his son, Dilhan C. Fernando, the company’s chief marketing officer, and in the presence of Her Excellency Zodwa Lallie, South African High Commissioner, was a particular treat, with a menu designed by Dilmah Real High Tea Gold Medallist Laurent Loudeac, executive chef of the Museum Art Hotel.
   Held at the hotel’s famed Hippopotamus restaurant, guests were treated to everything from ora king salmon sashimi—which we would label as our favourite of the afternoon—to lap sang souchong yoghurt panna cotta and a lychee-infused jasmine tea and rosewater caviar, complemented by various Dilmah teas.
   The selection included Dilmah’s Ran Watte Single Region Ceylon tea, its green tea with jasmine flowers, and its rose tea with French vanilla.
   The highlight was the address given my Merrill J. Fernando, after a video looking back through the history of Dilmah and how his famed catchphrase, ‘Do try it,’ was created by a New Zealand agency.
   He spoke of how Dilmah goes beyond the requirements of Fair Trade with its ethically made tea, because those who grow the tea share in the equity. The value-added components of Dilmah are not done by international traders, but by Sri Lankans, and the company constantly puts money back into the community, funding education, health care, cultural and even business activities.
   Some rivals force down the prices that tea farmers can sell at, keeping them poor, while profiting from the value-added components in the marketing and production chain.
   Mr Fernando also stressed that Ceylon tea is the finest, and that Dilmah, to preserve that integrity, does not mix its teas with those from other countries.
   Through a Trade Me auction, the Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation is also raising money for a culinary centre in Sri Lanka which will train people living with disabilities or have been disadvantaged, so that they can find employment to support themselves.
   They can be found on Trade Me, with the auctions closing on July 27. Items include Parawa Estate Ingalalla Grand Reserve 2007 wine, valued at over NZ$1,250; an individually numbered caddy of a very rare tea, FBOP 1, from the Dilmah Opapa Estate in Sri Lanka; a night for two at the Langham Hotel in Auckland; and two nights for two at the Museum Art Hotel in Wellington.
   In other New Zealand news, new label Trish Peng is running a Fresh Face modelling competition as part of her New Zealand Fashion Week début next month, with the help of L’Oréal Professionnel and Vanity Walk.
   New Zealand women are invited to enter via the Trish Peng Facebook page. Peng and Vanity Walk, a modelling agency, will judge from the uploaded photo and details.
   Entries close August 2. The winner becomes the face of the next Trish Peng campaign, opens Peng’s fashion week show, receives a modelling contract with Vanity Walk, and wins a year’s supply of L’Oréal Professionnel products.—Jack Yan, Publisher, with Lucire staff

Felicity Anderson/Trio Communications

Dilmah

Top Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando with Lucire publisher Jack Yan. Centre Dilmah chief marketing officer Dilhan C. Fernando and South African High Commissioner, HE Zodwa Lallie. Above Museum Art Hotel proprietor Chris Parkin with HE Zodwa Lallie.

For US customers, Dita von Teese’s lingerie line is now available through Bare Necessities, the largest online retailer of branded and designer intimate apparel.
   Von Teese’s lingerie, which retails in other countries (under the Von Follies brand in some), is known for fitting virtually every body type, for those who love the burlesque star’s sense of fashion.
   Bare Necessities says that that it stocks full-figured and fuller busted sizes up to an E cup, and will carry the collections Madame X, Man Catcher, Sheer Witchery, and Star Lift.
   There is also exclusive video content at the Bare Necessities website. The company also has certified bra experts who can assist customers via telephone on 1 877 728-9272, from Monday to Friday, 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. ET.

Lucire issue 33, on sale today, marks a number of firsts and is one of the best we’ve had.
   We’ve always been very fair on who makes the cover. Sopheak Seng, our fashion and beauty editor, and I choose from all the images we have, and these include ones that he has produced as creative director or stylist. And in the years we’ve worked together, he’s opted not to put his ones ahead of others’. We’ve both gone for what is best for Lucire. Some shoots that have appeared on the cover he has worked on in a supervisory role, but others have come from our brilliant network of creatives worldwide.
   Issue 33 sees his first cover that he has directed, and it’s one we’re both exceptionally proud of. Photographed by Dave Richards, and with the A-team of Michael Beel on hair and Hil Cook on make-up, assisted by Jaye Morgan, Natalie Henderson and Andy Alsop, and modelled by Chloé Graham, it’s the first time in 17 years that we’ve cropped the Lucire logo behind the model’s head.
   We realize this technique is commonplace and it’s probably a surprise to anyone reading the above that that hasn’t happened before. And we’ve had many great images—only the best get selected for the coveted spot. But for some reason, when it came to the crunch, we opted to keep the logo complete, as have always done on the website. This time, the image was so striking that we felt it was time to take the scalpel to the logo, thanks to head designer Tanya Sooksombatisatian.
   It is Dave’s first shoot with us, so to score a cover on your first go is very impressive, though it has happened a few other times—Courtney Dailey with Laura Vandervoort in issue 29, for instance.
   I have a feeling, too, that Chloé is the first Scot to be on our cover. While a New Zealander, she hails from Glasgow, and this is rather timely with the Commonwealth Games about to commence.
   I congratulate my good friend and colleague, Sopheak, and I think this is going to be one of those memorable Lucire covers that will be cited in years to come.
   There’s plenty more inside, and you can get a taste of the articles in our issue 33 preview.
   I’m very proud of one shoot by Jon Moe in there, with our California A-team of Jamie Dorman (now in New York, but who was our pointwoman on the shoot), Lei Phillips and Carina Tafalu, and starring two former Miss Universe New Zealands, Laural Barrett and Samantha Lochhead, each in their second appearances in Lucire. Jon lovingly shot this at Riviera 31 at the Sofitel Los Angeles, and I acknowledge our US west coast editor, Elyse Glickman, for her connections with Pivotal Public Relations in getting us the location.
   It’s not the only cover that we can talk about: some of you will have seen Dorit Thies’s and Olga Fonda’s announcement of their cover for Lucire Arabia. (The story is in issue 33, too, but it was strongly felt that Dorit’s shot was the best to début our title there. When you see the pages, you’ll also notice why this is an incredible shoot with the Vampire Diaries star.) We’ll have more on that officially soon, but, for now, you can get your issue 33 through the Lucire website, in print, for tablets (Ipad and Android), and as a downloadable PDF.—Jack Yan, Publisher

Emanuele Scorcelletti

Photographs of actress Riley Keough modelling for de Grisogono at the Grand Hyatt Hôtel Martinez, where she was based during the Festival de Cannes in May 2014, have been released.
   Using one of the suites, Keough modelled wearing various de Grisogono jewellery items, including the latest Allegra line (in Lucire issue 33), as well as designs from the Gocce and Gypsy collections.
   Paris-based Italian photographer Emanuele Scorcelletti, well known for his portraits and his work with luxury brands, photographed Keough.
   The Allegra collection is ‘Dedicated to a new generation of women, who dare to express their radiance, and explore different shapes and jewelled expressions of their individuality,’ says de Grisogono.
   Keough, who is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, began her modelling career in her teens, and first appeared on an international runway for Dolce & Gabbana.
   Her acting début was in The Runaways (2010), and she soon landed the female lead in The Good Doctor (2011) opposite Orlando Bloom. She has recently completed filming on Mad Max: Fury Road, alongside Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Emanuele Scorcelletti

Andreas Rentz

Georgia May Jagger was guest of honour at Reserved’s German launch at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. Jagger, who also serves as the new label’s face for autumn–winter 2014–15 and walked the catwalk on the night, was among numerous celebrities, including Franziska Knuppe, Daniel Brühl, Jasmin Gerat, Elyas M’Barek, Eva Padberg, Anna-Maria Mühe, Anna Julia Kapfelsperger and Anastasia Zampounidis. Reserved’s ‘Let’s Fashion’ party at Alte Münze Berlin was anything but reserved, with its 1,200 guests.
   DJs Beck To Beck, Terranova, Oskar Melzer, Adam Port and Rampa, and Niki Pauls performed, as well as indie band Oh Land.
   The launch, which showed the autumn–winter 2014–15 line, rather than the spring–summer 2015 one, marks the expansion of LPP SA’s brand into the German market. Reserved already has 500 stores in eastern and central Europe, and this month it will open its online store for German customers. Real-world shops will appear in the autumn at Recklinghausen, Stuttgart, Bremen and Hannover, with further stores planned in every main centre, as well as London and Paris, and in Croatia and Qatar.
   Polish-based LPP’s other brands are Cropp, Mohito, House and Sinsay. The company has revenues of over €1,000 million.

Andreas Rentz

Franziska Krug

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin’s spring–summer 2015 collections saw celebrity front rows at two of the first shows: Marc Cain and Laurèl.
   Marc Cain presented a collection at the Erika Hess Ice Stadium with a circus theme, and drew in an international crowd, including former WAG and model Sylvie Meis, Hilary Swank, Marcia Cross (who had made the journey especially for the Marc Cain show), Motsi Mabuse, Franziska Knuppe, and Nina Eichinger.
   His collection showed a return to pastel tones, with stripes, polka dots, flowers and animal prints.
   Marc Cain founder and chairman Helmut Schlotterer says that the label manages to reinvent itself every season and looks forward to strong sales.
   Laurèl, meanwhile, started its show with airline announcements for ‘Laurèl Airways flight LL 1978 to Berlin’ and ‘On behalf of the Laurèl crew, we wish you a very pleasant flight to our Bohemian Summer Islands. Thank you for choosing Laurèl Airways. Bon voyage!’
   The “dream destination” theme wasn’t a case of Caribbean brightness. Laurèl showed plant prints, frills and flowing pants as its take on a summer holiday: yellow, green and blue were the main colours here with only a few in fiery red and black. ‘Bohemian’ was accurate, but the spring–summer 2015 wearer could also be described as independent and confident.
   Guests included model Bar Refaeli and her brother Dor, tattooist Scott Campbell, Nikolai Kinski with Ina Paule Klink, Franziska Knuppe, Wolke Hegenbarth, Heino and Marie Jeanette Ferch, Barbara Becker and Noah Becker, Jana Pallaske, Vicky Krieps, Pegah Ferydoni, Dominic Raacke with Alexandra Rohleder, Fritzi Haberlandt, Jette Joop, Viktoria Lauterbach, Judith Milberg, Giovanni Zarella, Mirja DuMont, Minu Barati-Fischer, Mariella Ahrens with her daughter Isabella, Martin Krug and Julia Trainer, Jennifer Ulrich, Maria Ehrich, Aino Laberenz and director Bora Dagtekin.

Marc Cain

Laurèl