Alan Raga

Above: The moment: Tania Dawson hears the news that she’s been working toward for most of 2016, that she is the new Miss Universe New Zealand. Centre: After the announcement, Samantha McClung crowns her successor, Tania Dawson, Miss Universe New Zealand 2016. Above: Second runner-up Larissa Allen (left) and runner-up Seresa Lapaz (right) flank Miss Universe New Zealand 2016 Tania Dawson.

Secondary school drama and music studies’ teacher Tania Dawson, 23, was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand 2016 Saturday night at Skycity Theatre, taking home prizes including a stay at Plantation Bay Resort & Spa in Cebu, Philippines and the use of a Honda Jazz RS Sport Limited for the duration of her reign.
   Dawson, who is of half-Filipina extraction, was also the crowd favourite, with a large group of supporters in the live theatre audience.
   The event proved to be a Filipina one-two, with Seresa Lapaz, who was born in the Philippines but is a naturalized New Zealander, coming runner-up.
   Both ladies hail from Auckland, while second runner-up Larissa Allen comes from Tauranga.
   Dawson was crowned by her predecessor, Samantha McClung, who flew from Christchurch to join 2013 titleholder Holly Cassidy in a special parade featuring the exclusive designs of Ankia van der Berg of Golden Gowns.
   The sold-out audience enjoyed entertainment from special guest performers Stan Walker, Frankie Stevens, and Ali Walker, as well as the cast of Oh What a Night!, who appeared in a recorded segment filmed earlier on Saturday.
   The destination for Dawson, as well as the other national titleholders, is uncertain, but there have been suggestions it could be the Philippines, and already Lapaz has vowed to support her former competitor should she venture there.
   Dawson says she sees herself as an advocate for education, and entered the competition because she wanted to practise what she preached: to challenge herself and overcome any self-doubt.
   Repeating their roles from last year, Stephen McIvor and Sonia Gray hosted. Stevens was also on the judging panel (particularly appropriate given his similar role in NZ Idol), alongside motivational speaker and social practitioner Areena Deshpande, director of Head2Heels and former Miss Universe New Zealand director Evana Patterson, AJPR boss and BRCA cancer gene awareness champion Anna Jobsz, and arguably the top make-up practitioner and educator in New Zealand, Samala Robinson.
   Thanks to the support of Miss Universe New Zealand’s sponsors, including platinum partners Honda New Zealand, Bench, Skycity, the Quadrant Hotels and Suites, Golden Gowns and Beau Joie, and the fund-raising efforts of each year’s finalists, Miss Universe New Zealand cracked the $100,000 barrier with its donations to Variety, the Children’s Charity, this year.
   The stream was carried on Lucire, The New Zealand Herald and Stuff, and a delayed version will appear on 3Now.

Oliver Hadlee Pearch

H&M will retail the Kenzo × H&M collaboration announced last month, with the line joining its Sylvia Park store on November 3. With the time difference, this means the New Zealand store is the first to carry the line.
   Since joining Kenzo in 2011, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon have set their own fashion agenda with collections full of bold colours and vivid prints, revealed through high-impact shows, artist collaborations and creative digital campaigns. Global influences and traditions are remixed and fused with the energy of the street, resulting in collections that are both inspirational and accessible to their fans around the world. At Kenzo, fashion expresses freedom, joy and individuality for all.
   â€˜We can’t wait to share with everyone the world of Kenzo × H&M, with all of its creativity, fun and love of fashion,’ said Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative adviser at H&M.
   Last month, the brand revealed the four first looks from the collaboration which combine vivid personalities and bright prints of the clothing for a fun atmosphere.
   Amy Sall, a student activist based in New York and founder of SUNU: Journal of African Affairs, Critical Thought & Æsthetics is photographed beside Juliana Huxtable, a 28 year old artist, poet and DJ also based in New York, wearing tiger-print jerseys, roll-neck tops and matching high-waisted leggings. They also wear black leather gloves containing a pink logo print and jacquard knitted tiger-sock shaft boots.
   The second look shows the 19-year-old musician and performance artist based in Paris, Oko Ebombo. He wears a parka with a removable printed collar, block colour tiger-print jeans, plus padded flip-flops with tabi socks. Ebombo also wears a tiger-printed cap with an attached scarf, a printed woven scarf and the tiger-printed cross-body bag.
   The third look shows Isamaya French, a make-up artist based in London, part of the London-based collective, Theo Adams Company. She wears an oversized leather jacket with pink faux shearling lining, with a matching tiger print jersey roll-neck top, and high-waisted leggings.
   The final look is revealed on Anna of the North, a 25-year-old Norwegian musician who gained global attention earlier during the year with her track ‘The Dreamers’. She wears a fresh interpretation by Kenzo’s creative directors, of an iconic design by founder Kenzo Takada: a short folkloric ribbon dress featuring various prints from the collection.
   â€˜With this collaboration with H&M we want to think big, push the boundaries and bring the new energy of Kenzo to everyone around the world,’ say Lim and Leon.—Bhavana Bhim

Oliver Hadlee Pearch

Chanel yesterday opened its first Fragrance & Beauty boutique in Auckland. The store is located in the historic Britomart Building and marks the 12th Fragrance and Beauty boutique opening across Australia and New Zealand collectively.
   Chanel have maintained the original 1900s brickwork building, with its traditional kauri timber floors. Combined with the contemporary products, customers are treated to a stylish boutique experience.
   Upon entering the boutique, customers are invited to discover the latest Chanel make-up creations as well as a skin care bar. Along with fragrance, Chanel is delighted to début a new range of eyewear to New Zealand customers. The eyewear salon will present a comprehensive collection of Chanel sunglasses, including the classic codes of the house—white camellias, pearls, tweed and interlaced chains. Beauty and fashion are combined in the boutique, giving clients the opportunity to select the latest eyewear shape, complementing their face and make-up look.
   David Blakeley, managing director of Chanel Australia and New Zealand, said, ‘The opening of the first boutique in New Zealand is a momentous occasion for Chanel. We are able to deliver an immersive, service orientated experience to our clients in a retail environment that we have specially created to showcase our fragrance, beauty and fashion eyewear offerings together in a new and very exciting Chanel way.’—Bhavana Bhim

International Swedish retailer, Hennes & Mauritz, will open in New Zealand on October 1.
   The new store will be located at Sylvia Park, Auckland, and span two storeys and 2,300 m². The new store will have men, women, youth and children’s apparel and accessories. The H&M Studio collection for autumn–winter 2016–17 (above) will appear at the store, as well as the Modern Essentials by David Beckham collection.
   â€˜We are excited to be making progress on our arrival in New Zealand and look forward to welcoming customers through the doors of H&M at Sylvia Park on the 1st of October,’ said Hans Andersson, Country Manager for H&M Australia and New Zealand in a release.
   The store will open at 10 a.m. on October 1. Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. all days, except for Thursday and Friday, when it will close at 9 p.m.
   Lucire has been covering the growth of the retailer since 1998, and noted its pioneering programmes in corporate social responsibility and designer collaborations.

Committee of 100 and BeBe Jacobs

The Committee of 100 (C-100) came together for a celebratory event in Los Angeles to praise Chinese-American achievements in the midst of a society that tends to build bridges of understanding between cultures successfully. The extraordinary committee, founded in 1990, consists of acclaimed personalities including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and figure-skating champion Michelle Kwan. Co-founded by renowned architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I. M. Pei), known for his structures including his beautifully designed Louvre Pyramid in Paris and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the committee intends to unite successful and prominent members of the Chinese-American community, sharing and discussing their endeavours while honouring Chinese culture. As an invitation-only committee, they recruited numerous distinguished faces in various industries to promote leadership and camaraderie between greater China and the United States. Headquartered in New York, they also host eventful gatherings in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Beijing and San Francisco.
   In April, the C-100 2016 annual conference took place at the prestigious Beverly Wilshire. The two-day summit included a number of panel discussions with various speakers such as Congressman Ted Lieu (Democrat, Calif.), Kevin Tsujihara (chair and CEO of Warner Brothers), Ari Emanuel (co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor) and Joe Tsai (CFO of Alibaba) discussing cases including Hollywood, China and the US–China economic and political outlook. Ming Tsai, chef and restaurateur, Joan Chen, actress and director, and Constance Wu, lead actress in Fresh off the Boat, also took centre-stage as they alluded to their Chinese-American journeys. Along with discussions throughout the day, a gala celebrated C-100 award winners for their considerable successes. Bob Chapek, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, won the Business Excellence Award. The Philanthropy Excellence Award went to the chairman of Hang Lung Properties, Ronnie Chan, as well as Gerald Chan, the chairman of Morningside Group.—Lola Cristall, Paris editor

UNAIDS

Top UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé with Victoria Beckham. Above Charlize Theron addresses the high-level UN event.

On Sunday, Victoria Beckham made her first public appearance since London Fashion Week, speaking at the United Nations in New York in her capacity as a UNAIDS goodwill ambassador at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.
   Beckham spoke on the first day of the Social Good Summit, appearing alongside other luminaries such as HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, UNDP administrator and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Charlize Theron, Jennifer López, Laverne Cox, Alek Wek, and humanitarian Graca Machel.
   Beckham saw her platform as one where she can help the goal of ensuring that no baby is born with HIV. ‘I will do whatever I can to raise awareness. I feel very passionate about this,’ she said. ‘I recently visited South Africa and was so touched by the women I met and felt inspired. I came home and I knew I had to do something.’
   Said Theron, Messenger of Peace for the United Nations and founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, ‘There is a generation in jeopardy. Young people are falling through the cracks in the Aids response. But there is reason to hope, we know what works—empowering young people to take care of their health.’
   The UN has set a goal of ending Aids by 2030, as part of its ambitious Sustainable Development Goals.
   Clark noted, ‘For me it’s about peaceful and inclusive societies, because without that we don’t have the basis for any sustainable development at all. It’s about momentum, hold people accountable, hold your governments accountable, stay engaged as citizens, keep advocating on social media and not wait 15 years to see what happens.’

Jose J. Martinez

Top H&M will launch a complete beauty line. Above H&M opened in Perú with 2,000 queuing up.

Hennes & Mauritz has dabbled in beauty before, but this autumn will see the Swedish fashion retailer launch a full line, with make-up, hair care, body care and beauty tools. The company says the range will complement its fashion line and change seasonally, and that it will go out to all 900 stores worldwide and online at hm.com. It will consist of 700 products, with seasonal drops of new and limited-edition colour collections, and replace all current beauty products at H&M.
   There will be two additional subsidiary collections: a premium line and an Ecocert-approved, sustainable Conscious line.
   â€˜We are very excited to offer “fashion for the face” at H&M. It’s an opportunity to be inventive and creative, and to have fun with colours,’ said Sara Wallander, concept designer at H&M Beauty in a release.
   The announcement comes on the heels of H&M’s announcement that it has opened a store in Perú on Saturday. As with many of its earlier openings, there were plenty of fans queuing up to get a first taste of the Swedish retailer. The new store, one of the largest globally, is located at the Jockey Plaza mall in Lima, spans three floors, and includes H&M Home. The autumn fashion collections for men, women and children and the Conscious collection are represented.
   Of the 2,000 who came to the opening, H&M handed out gift cards: the first three in line received gift cards of S/. 700, S/.500 and S/.300 respectively; the next 299 in line received S/.150 each, and the last 998 in line, S/.70.

Jose J. Martinez

Above, from top At the H&M Lima opening: Marina Mora and Percy Lucio. Natalia Merino. Rebeca Escribens and Maria Grazia Gamarra.

A Lucire special promotion

Nivea has never forgotten Mothers’ Day. Each year, there’s an inspiring promotion, and even though most of us will think of our Mum constantly, it’s nice to have the one day where we celebrate motherhood.
   Because of the different dates of Mothers’ Day, Nivea UK had already put out a touching I Love You Mum promotion in March, telling a story through the eyes of a child. However, for countries celebrating Mothers’ Day in May—and there are a lot of them—there’s a new campaign called Mum Was Right, with, of course, a slight variation called Mom Was Right as well as plenty of linguistic differences.
   The idea: who is the best life coach, ever? It’s your Mum: the one person who gave you great advice, not that you always listened. But when you did, you discovered that in the long run, usually when you are an adult, that she was right all along.
   The promotion shows women from all over the world recounting the times that their Mums were right, from a woman recalling how her mother gave her advice during her pregnancy; to a cellist whose mother encouraged her to continue her lessons; and an illustrator whose mother told her to follow her dreams, and now it is her career. Fully subtitled, it shows how the love for your mother is universal, and how Mums always have great advice.
   Nivea encourages people to head to their website and share a picture quote with their mothers’ best piece of advice. Or, just head to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and post these words with the hashtag #MumWasRight. It’s a great way to celebrate Mothers’ Day, or any day you want to tell your Mum that she was right.

Post sponsored by Nivea