We couldn’t let the day pass without showing you some of the Oscar gowns. These images are courtesy Giorgio Armani, who dressed many of the celebrities at the 82nd Academy Awards last night.

   As previewed yesterday in Lucire, Jennifer Lopez’s Giorgio Armani Privé iridescent icy pale pink silk organza evening gown was much talked about by the public, especially on the Tweetstreams. ‘The dress features high-tech, futuristic fabric with a revealing front slit and a crescent-shaped bustier that cascades into a dramatic side train accented by Swarovski rock crystals. The mermaid silhouette gown is part of the 2010 Privé collection inspired by the romance and mystery of the moon,’ says the company.

   Amanda Seyfried wore a Giorgio Armani Privé soft green silk strapless princess ball gown, again with high-tech materials. The gown has a geometric bustier encrusted with Swarovski crystals and a full skirt accented with mesh panel overlays.

   Academy Award winner Hilary Swank attended the Vanity Fair party wearing a Giorgio Armani Privé black gown with Swarovski beading. Swank can get away with a plunging neckline without looking trashy, and continued her smouldering style with a cut-out back on this dress.

It’s easy to forget that the Oscars were not the only awards for the Hollywood set over the last few days. Last Friday, Film Independent had its 25th Spirit Awards, championing independent film at an awards’ ceremony where the word Avatar was not uttered. (Interestingly, The Hurt Locker was in the running last year.)
   While our article has some photographs, the video below supplied by Piaget has even more celebrities, including Mariah Carey and Pierce Brosnan.

Martin Scorsese must be in the fashion Zeitgeist. After appearing in news about Giorgio Armani and its support for his film Shutter Island, we have received word that the Academy Award-winning director will direct the broadcast advertising campaign for Chanel’s new men’s fragrance. The campaign will star French actor Gaspard Ulliel.
   The campaign breaks worldwide in August 2010.
   Ulliel is probably best known to international audiences for his title role in Hannibal Rising. He has appeared on the cover of Vogue Paris (in January 2007) with Doutzen Kroes. He is also a face for Longchamp and has appeared with Kate Moss in that company’s campaigns.

Peter Ashworth/www.ashworth-photos.com

Above Milliner Stephen Jones in 2008 (image from the Victoria & Albert Museum).

The Queensland Art Gallery will present an exclusive-to-Australia exhibition, Hats: an Anthology by Stephen Jones, a collaboration between the Victoria & Albert Museum and milliner Stephen Jones, from March 27 to June 27, 2010.
   The exhibition features over 250 hats and headpieces. The Gallery notes there will be ‘a twelfth-century Egyptian fez, a wide-brimmed black silk tulle hat from Christian Dior’s first collection in 1948, Mary Quant’s c. 1968 navy blue béret, and Stephen Jones’s Wash and Go hat from spring 1993.
   ‘It also features hats worn by historical and cultural icons:­ Elsa Schiaparelli’s black felt beret worn by Marlene Dietrich in Witness for the Prosecution in 1957, Philip Treacy’s bridal headpiece created for Camilla Parker-Bowles’s marriage to the Prince of Wales in 2005, and Jones’s own creations such as Mick Jagger’s hat worn for the Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang World Tour and Kylie Minogue’s visor headdress on her Showgirl tour.’

Giorgio Armani SpA

Above Penélope Cruz and Jodie Foster in Giorgio Armani gowns. Below Camilla Belle and Sophia Loren.

Among the major labels, Giorgio Armani was the quickest off the bat this morning in getting information on who wore its brand at the Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood last night.
   Penélope Cruz wore a Giorgio Armani Privé black lace gown with a dramatic neckline beaded in a floral pattern, horizontal ribbon striping and fitted sleeves. The hemline flares into a tiered mermaid silhouette. The gown was featured in Armani’s première Privé collection in 2005.
   Jodie Foster presented wearing a Giorgio Armani black strapless gown that is highlighted with a high slit and an exaggerated black satin band.
   Sophia Loren presented in a Giorgio Armani Privé black evening gown.
   Camilla Belle attended the InStyle Golden Globes Viewing Party in a Giorgio Armani iridescent teal beaded cocktail dress. The fully encrusted outfit features an abstract geometric floral pattern and origami pleats at the neckline. Her handbag is a blue metallic leather clutch from Emporio Armani.
   Martin Scorsese wore a Giorgio Armani one-button peak lapel tuxedo with satin lapels, complemented by a classic spread collar evening shirt, bow tie and formal vest. Scorsese is the recipient of the Cecil B. de Mille Award.
   Leonardo di Caprio wore a Giorgio Armani Made-to-Measure two-button peak lapel tuxedo, with a matching microfibre vest and a classic white evening shirt and black bow tie.
   Robert de Niro and Harrison Ford wore Giorgio Armani tuxedos.


Giorgio Armani SpA

Adidas kicked off its Star Wars collaboration in Wellington, New Zealand on Friday with a themed party, compèred by DJ Shan.
   A selection of the new designs were shown, with a promise of more to come in following weeks. Both limited-edition as well as mass-market items were shown, and classic Adidas Originals track tops and sneakers have been modified to feature scenes and characters from the movies.
   Local Star Wars buffs got in to the mood with the Empire outnumbering the Jedis—though I noticed they did not take kindly to my intentionally misplaced quips of ‘Live long and prosper,’ and, ‘Party on, Darth.’
   Passers-by loved the vibe and asked to have their photographs taken outside the Adidas store.
   Adidas had one of the best spreads on offer from any do I can remember in Wellington, thanks to catering by Oriental Bay restaurant, Beach Babylon.—Jack Yan

Last year, we had quite a few stories on Burberry, including news of actress Emma Watson at its London Fashion Week party.
   The actress is clearly in the Zeitgeist these days: Watson, now the face of the brand, has débuted her second series of advertisements for the British label.
   She’s also particularly recognizable, thanks to the mass appeal of the Harry Potter films.
   Shot by Mario Testino, Watson appears in campaigns for all three Burberry sub-brands: Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London and Burberry Brit. Young brother Alex Watson is among the male models who join her.
   Watson is currently a freshman at Brown University.

Above Mario Testino and Emma Watson, photographed in September.

When Lucire first broke news yesterday about Peter Jackson’s knighthood in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours’ List—and before anyone in the country did, I might add—I was particularly delighted.
   Peter Jackson deserves a knighthood not just because he makes marvellous films. Peter Jackson deserves a knighthood because he continues to believe in New Zealand even after certain bodies and their bureaucrats gave him grief.
   Before he was a big name internationally, there was reported tension between Jackson and the New Zealand Film Commission in the 1990s.
   Because Jackson believed in this country so much, he got over it. A lesser man would have thought, ‘If the establishment won’t accept me, I’ll leave.’
   Many of the big Kiwi names in movies are based in California, because when they left there was no centre for movie production in New Zealand. And they wanted somewhere that could understand their vision for making movies.
   Instead, Jackson fought to make his Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand—setting up a world-class hub for film in Wellington.
   While some politicians would like to give credit to the Tourism New Zealand 100 Per Cent Pure campaign for lifting the national image, I’ve always argued it was the effort of one man—Jackson—for bringing the country to the world stage.
   Destination branding can be ignored, passed over as just another tourism ad in a travel magazine. Peter Jackson alone gave it that hook, and if any one man can take credit for the first decade’s economic boosts, it is him.
   Through Jackson not only did the films become nice earners for New Zealand, the tourist industry boomed because of the trilogy. And the Film Commission came right in the end.
   And in many respects, Peter Jackson kicked the tall poppy syndrome idea out of the country’s psyche where it could only be entertained by a few foreign companies who use it to keep Kiwis down. Peter Jackson changed our culture.
   This knighthood is long overdue, but I applaud this honour for Jackson. He is a patriot, a word that should not have politically incorrect shades. His level of pride is just what New Zealand needs. Sir Peter Jackson is an inspirational figure and one hopes many others will have faith in their own beliefs, in the way that he does.