From top Tesla’s Elon Musk, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and Leonardo DiCaprio. Leonardo DiCaprio and J.-C. Babin with the Grand Carrera Pendulum concept watch. Leonardo DiCaprio, J.-C. Babin and TAG Heuer honorary chairman Jack Heuer. The unique TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio spoke highly of TAG Heuer’s social responsibility in fighting climate change at an event in Basel, earlier this week at the BaselWorld shows.
   TAG Heuer, supporting the NRDC and Green Cross International, launched what it called the Odyssey of Pioneers, a travelling roadshow promoting its timepieces between March and October this year.
   Tesla Motors is supporting the promotion, with a special edition of its Roadster. The TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster led the roadshow, which departed from Basel at dawn today.
   The Odyssey is planned to be the first round-the-world tour by a zero-emission sports car.
   DiCaprio said TAG Heuer has a ‘global mission … to protect our planet.’ He commended the company for its donations to NRDC and Green Cross International which, he says, are part of the company’s business model.
   He made his support for President Barack Obama publicly known, calling him a leader who understands the necessity of a ‘green revolution’.
   At the event, as part of its 150th anniversary, TAG Heuer launched the Grand Carrera Pendulum concept watch, which is the first watch without a hairspring, replacing it with magnetic fields. Over 600 people attended the celebration.

Left Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria of Merci. Right Medinge director and MIP dean Pierre d’Huy translates for Dominique Benoît of Pictet et Cie. Below The Brands with a Conscience certificate, designed by UffindellWest.

The Medinge Group had a slightly smaller Brands with a Conscience ceremony today at the Management Institute of Paris, reflecting the international nature of the winners. Many were scattered around the globe and unable to attend the ceremony, though two of the European winners made it to the French capital to collect their awards in person: Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria of Merci and Pictet et Cie.’s Dominique Benoît.
   Stanley Moss, CEO of the Medinge Group, noted that it was remarkable that in a year of financial crises, there were two winners from that sector that were doing good. Apart from Pictet, the Co-op Bank received a Brands with a Conscience award.
   The seventh annual awards’ programme also honoured Alibaba Group, Marks & Spencer (for its Plan A initiative), SAP and Selco Solar Pvt. Ltd. Muna Abu Sulayman won the Colin Morley Award and a letter from her was read out in absentia by Medinge member Simon Nicholls.
   Medinge founder Thomas Gad noted that the Awards had become so successful that they had spawned at least one imitator.

Oscar de la Renta recently launched its resort 2010 collection at its newly opened boutique in the Dubai Mall, in partnership with Retail Arabia International. The fashion company’s signature skirt suits, caftans and evening gowns dominate the collection, with accessories such as wide alligator belts, patent and snakeskin sandals, and leather Cordia tote bags completing the ensembles.

Muna Abu Sulayman is today announced as the winner of the Medinge Group’s 2010 Colin Morley Award, given to an individual who has contributed to the betterment of society through sustainable, socially responsible and humanistic behaviour. The award is part of Medinge’s annual Brands with a Conscience list, now in its seventh year.
   ‘It is a great honour,’ a delighted Muna Abu Sulayman remarked, when informed of the award last night by Simon Nicholls, of the Medinge Group, who made the nomination.
   In giving this award, the Medinge Group recognizes Muna’s outstanding work in educational development, poverty alleviation and strategic philanthropy; as Executive Director of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation, developing and implementing operations for humanitarian assistance across the globe; her role as the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be appointed by the United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador; and for exceptional reporting as co-host on popular MBC-TV social programme Kalam Nawaem, in particular her advocacy of rights for women. As a public and media personality, she speaks about issues relating to Arab society, media, building bridges of understanding between east and west.
   Since 1997, Ms Abu Sulayman has served as lecturer on American literature at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. She frequently appears as a panellist at the Davos World Economic Forum, Jewish Economic Forum, C-100 of the World Economic Forum, Brookings Institute Conferences and other venues.
   Medinge, an international collective of brand practitioners, meets annually in August at a secluded location outside Stockholm, Sweden, and collaborate on the list, judging nominees on principles of humanity and ethics, rather than financial worth. The Brands with a Conscience list is shaped around criteria including evidence of the human implications of the brand and considering whether the brand takes risks in line with its beliefs. Evaluations are made based on reputation, self-representation, history, direct experience, contacts with individuals within the organizations, media and analysts and an assessment of the expressed values of sustainability.
   Three years ago the group added a unique category commendation, the Colin Morley Award, recognizing exceptional achievement by an individual or NGO. Mr Morley, a member of the Medinge Group, died in the London Underground bombings on July 7, 2005. The award commemorates his visionary work in humanistic branding.

Filmmaker Peter Jackson will receive a knighthood in HM the Queen’s New Year Honours’ List in New Zealand, according to sources.
   While administered by the Herald-at-Arms in New Zealand, the honours have the sanction of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
   Jackson may style himself Sir Peter Jackson if he chooses.
   Jackson is best known for his adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for which he has been honoured with numerous Academy Awards, including Best Director in 2004.
   Instead of filming the big-budget blockbusters in Hollywood, Jackson insisted on making them on location in New Zealand, using local talent, in spite of earlier tensions with the New Zealand Film Commission. Weta Workshop, a New Zealand company based in Wellington, worked on the digital visual effects.
   While there were many notable filmmakers from New Zealand prior, Jackson and Weta virtually created the modern New Zealand film industry by bringing it to international recognition.
   Additionally, former prime minister Helen Clark was awarded the Order of New Zealand, the highest accolade in the country’s honours’ system.

[Cross-posted] I posted this on my Tumblog earlier today but it is worth repeating here:

I captioned it, ‘We probably will keep thinking [climate change] is someone else’s problem till we encounter threats like the Maldives and other places do: if we don’t do something, our country will disappear. But this graphic is a heck of a good reminder.’
   The pic says it all, really.

Photographed by Meredyth Lewis/JY&A Media

[Cross-posted] I know I blogged enthusiastically about the potential of Koenigsegg buying Saab to put its solar-powered car into production but, as we know, that deal has since fallen through. Saab’s future is uncertain again, even if Dutch company Spyker—which, like Koenigsegg, also makes specialty sports cars—has expressed an interest in buying it. There are still a couple of other bidders, Renco, and Red Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive (BAIC).
   While I’ve very happily dissed BYD for falling foul of intellectual property law (to which some very un-Chinese face-losing types cried over), and had it in for SAIC over its tactics in trying to buy MG Rover, I’ve always applauded those Chinese firms who are willing to showcase the true ingenuity of Chinese designers. The latest Cherys, the MG 6, and even the great symbol of Chinese communism, the Hongqi, actually look the part.
   The acquisition is not beyond Spyker’s capability. A lot of it is restoring the corporate culture and reinstil that Saab pride. While Koenigsegg had plans for a solar car, which fits marvellously with Swedes’ business and social conscience, Spyker might be the sort of owner that would encourage Swedish innovation. Saab’s engineers have not all disappeared and the new 9-5, from what I have seen, is still quite a capable and distinctive car.
   But does it have the readies to ensure long-term survival for Saab? That’s the hardest question to get one’s head around, because if it were there in the family silver, why hadn’t it been used to launch smaller, less exclusive Spykers? Simple: even if the money were there, Spyker hasn’t had downmarket plans in mind. Will it be able to take on a (relatively speaking) volume manufacturer and turn it around, or will Saab simply become another limited-production line, being built by a few hundred in Sweden?
   Meanwhile, we are seeing some interesting tactics being employed by Beijing. I already knew that the old 9-5 production line was making its way over to China, but the latest news is that the 9-3 is heading east, too. Powertrain technology and tooling have also gone, and Saab people will help BAIC integrate the technology into its cars.
   BAIC lacks, of course, a brand, but its styling is fairly sharp among the Chinese automakers when it comes to its own-design work.
   The BAIC acquisitions have been done legally and at arm’s length. There are no stories emerging from Trollhättan about Saab managers getting drunk as Chinese executives entertained them, or false promises about joint ventures that failed to materialize. Already, this shows good faith and face.
   The company has learned from the days when the Jeep Cherokee design somehow leaked from the company and pirate firms were churning out a model to which BAIC itself had the exclusive Chinese licence. It might actually be quite a good defender of intellectual property.
   It has roughly the same number of years in JVs as SAIC, initially with Chrysler, and more recently with Hyundai, so we are not talking about a bunch of amateurs.
   And BAIC has dreams of international expansion. What Chinese firm doesn’t, at this level? What it eyes is less the 9-3 and 9-5, but the Saab name that could adorn a whole generation of new cars.
   The conservative government of Sweden is unlikely to kick up much of a fuss on behalf of the Swedish worker if more assets go to Beijing.
   However, this might be the lesser of two evils, if some production is kept in Sweden—even if it is assembly—than for it to fade away completely as a slightly downmarket Spyker.
   It would ensure the continuation of a brand that will inherently be tied to Sweden, even if some componentry comes off Chinese production lines.
   And is being Chinese that much worse than being German, when Saabs have been rebodied Opel Vectras for some time now?
   If indeed Swedish engineers are flying out Beijing these days to help productionize the 9-3 and 9-5, then the quality will surely be up to Swedish levels.
   It keeps the door open long-term for top-end Saabs still emerging from Trollhättan while more basic models emerge from Beijing. Eastern markets are the ones that are really growing these days, and basic economics suggest that the products should be built where they are most desired.
   And at least whatever BAIC builds will be of Saab design, albeit on Opel platforms. It will not be a Japanese Saab, the 9-2X, which the company’s brand adorned earlier this century when GM had a Subaru share holding. It will not be a big SUV based on the Oldsmobile Bravada and made in Ohio, another of GM’s abominations.
   Whatever BAIC builds at least will have a Saab soul, not one dictated by Detroit economics. BAIC itself has an electric car design which would work quite well with the Saab brand, too. GM’s failure to grasp anything about the Saab culture meant that any differentiation and distinctiveness were washed away by cost controls and the GM way. If it could not keep its own Stateside Saturn division unique, what hope was there for an out-of-sight, out-of-mind outpost, starved of resources to develop new models?
   I wish Saab and Koenigsegg had tied up, or Saab had the volume to be independent. These are not options. Looking at what we have, BAIC might not be the worst suitor. If Saab becomes its only international brand, it certainly would treasure it more than GM, with its many divisions, ever did. And if it understands that brand value and country of origin have some important ties to car buyers, as Tata did when it acquired Jaguar and Land Rover, then Sweden might not lose out. [Full version of this entry at the publisher’s blog.]

On the main part of the Lucire site today: our Paris and New York correspondent, Rola Saab, interviews Abi Ferrin. Rola purposely sought out Abi because of her environmental concerns, and her latest collection was inspired by the Osa rainforest in Costa Rica. Continue reading here.
   As the UNEP’s first fashion industry partner, we haven’t ignored COP 15. Editor-at-large Summer Rayne Oakes is there, and you can see photographs from the event on her personal blog.
   It’s fair to say that Lucire fully believes we need to do something to help our planet—a quest we began many years ago, which the UNEP itself recognized.
   While the planet is on a natural cooling cycle presently, some record highs are still being experienced—highlighting the extremes in our weather patterns. If we don’t address these concerns now, when Earth returns to a natural warming cycle, we will really feel the temperature rises in a big way.
   There’s still a cynical part in our thinking: many climate change conferences have taken place and politicians too often put rhetoric before action. Outside the climate change arena, we’ve seen Davos become a trade fair some years. It’s why this København conference is important: we have to spur our political leaders—who represent us, not special interests—into action.
   We hope the pressure has helped. We have below a video detailing a tentative first draft of a global climate change agreement by the UNFCCC. In short, developing countries like the text, developed countries and Red China don’t. Debate will follow—and citizens really need to lobby their environment ministers more than ever if we want real action.
   The video features Swedish environment minister, Andreas Calgren, and the EU commissioner on environmental issues, Stavros Dimas. Calgren says that the agreement must be broader and have more commitments.

Above Think City cars outside the Bella Centre in København, Denmark.

Electric car companies are using the København United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) as a forum to market their products—which makes one wonder if some of these conferences have come grand trade fairs, rather than one where politicians do any work toward climate change.
   British company Electric Car Corp. has supplied 60 electric Citroën C1 Ev’ie models, which have been purchased by ChoosEV, a Danish company set up by three of the major electric power companies to promote electric vehicles. Following on the newswires this morning was news that Norwegian company Think, along with its fleet customer, Move About, have provided 15 Think City courtesy cars to COP 15.
   However, some exposure for the nascent electric car industry is better than none. The event highlights just how many decades it has taken for such cars to break into the mainstream, and the very small steps that politicians make at such conferences.

Emporio Armani has shown its products to support Product Red and World Aids Day. The products, including a watch and sunglasses, will be retailed online at www.emporioarmani.com, which turns red for the day to promote the global initiative.
   A percentage of sales go to the Red fund, which finances projects in Africa. In addition to Emporio Armani, American Express, Converse, Gap, Starbucks, Bugaboo, Nike, Apple, Dell and Hallmark are partners.

Elle’s best-dressed list for 2009 has US First Lady Michelle Obama in first place in the ‘politique chic’ category, with France’s own First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in second.
   French Sports Minister Rama Yade came third, followed by HRH Princess Letizia in fourth place and French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal in fifth.
   While the political list got the most international media attention, there were numerous others announced by the magazine that were largely ignored.
   Scarlett Johansson got the jury’s vote for the ‘Sexy Bombe’ category. Valérie Lemercier was its choice for ‘Black Addict’. In the ‘Stylista’ category, Tilda Swinton was chosen; Penélope Cruz was best dressed on the red carpet. Elettra Wiedemann is Elle’s ‘New It Girl’, Natalia Vodianova took the ‘Fashion pointue’ category. Alexa Chung was the best dressed Brit.
   The annual list’s jury, which was led by Nathalie Rykiel of Sonia Rykiel, gave Mrs Obama the top place in part based on her uniqueness.
   Olympia Le Tan, Catherine Rousso (chief fashion editor of Elle), Sophie Fontanel, Bertrand Burgalat, Thomas Lélu, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Farida Khelfa and Simon Liberati are with Mlle Rykiel on the jury.
   Khelfa praised Mrs Obama for her risk-taking when it came to fashion.
   It is the second time Mme Sarkozy has come second in the Elle list: last year, she was beaten by Asma Assad, the First Lady of Syria.

In many respects, we’re lucky the Land Rover Discovery is still around. In 1989, the British motor industry was excited by the prospect of a new model from Land Rover that would bridge the gap between the iconic Defender model and the Range Rover, which had become ever more plush in the 1980s. Tipped to be called Highlander (a name which Volvo owned in Europe, and Toyota in some other countries), the vehicle would capture the SUV boom but have the Land Rover pedigree.
   While an attractive vehicle, the Discovery was hardly reliable in its first incarnation, suffering from quite a few bugs. It took BMW to begin putting things right after the Rover Group was sold to the München-based car maker, and under Ford ownership, Land Rover kept improving its quality. Now, with the Discovery 4, things are looking better than ever, though as with the situation 20 years ago, the vehicle has grown far plusher, which perhaps leaves room for the Freelander to grow. Discovery has retained a sort of fashion-item status—something which qualifies it for our pages.
   Ford sold Land Rover to Tata last year, which means it’s now on to its fourth owner over the last two decades. Tata realizes it has a real asset in the brand, and isn’t tampering much; instead, it has found ways to keep the company going on its original path with some of the best four-by-fours in the world.
   To commemorate the 20th anniversary, we have two videos: one showing clips from TV commercials from the last two decades, and another looking at the early R&D days through to the release of the Discovery 4. (We’ve had to host these at YouTube for technical reasons.)

Just shy of its 20th anniversary, Elle Macpherson Intimates has announced its entry into the continental European market with a launch in Berlin last Thursday.
   The spring–summer 2010 collection was displayed at the Galerie Morgen, with supermodel Elle Macpherson herself, as the creative director of her brand, present.
   ‘The reaction to the launch of Intimates in Europe has surpassed all our initial expectations. It’s a very exciting time for me and my design team,’ says Macpherson in a release.
   ‘The focus for the Intimates lingerie has always been on impeccable design, using luxurious fabrics with attention to fit, comfort and affordability. This is what sets the lingerie apart.’
   Guests included Anna von Griesheim, H. P. Adamski, Tamara Gräfin von Nayhauß, Sophie Schütt, Celia von Bismarck, Unrath & Strano, Tobey Wilson, Anastasia Zampounidis, Tanja Bülter, Stephanie Stumph, Marcel Neumüller, Hubertus Regout, Prof Dr Jo Groebel and Fiona Benett. Catering was by Kuchi.
   Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Greece are among the countries the Elle Macpherson Intimates range has now entered. In Germany, Elle Macpherson Intimates is available at Galeries Lafayette and KaDeWe in Berlin, Ludwig Beck in München and Breuninger in Stuttgart. There is also representation in Mannheim and Hamburg.
   Macpherson says that by spring 2010, her brand will be represented in 300 stores in 11 countries.

In tribute to its brand, Ferrari will open Ferrari World Abu Dhabi next year, a theme park with 20 state-of-the-art attractions including the world’s fastest roller-coaster (travelling at over 200 km/h), all under a roof spanning 200,000 m². A G-force experience ride goes over the 48 m roof, to a 62 m point. There will also be a junior driving school with expert instructors, two retail stores (one at 1,300 m²), and two Italian-inspired restaurants.
   The theme park, designed by Benoy, is located on Yas Island on the northeast side of Abu Dhabi’s mainland. The park is owned by Aldar Properties PJSC, and is managed jointly by Farah Leisure Parks Management LLC.

This post has gone online exactly 12 years since Lucire went live on the internet (October 20, 1997, 6 a.m. EST), to commemorate our anniversary.
   Since those humble beginnings, Lucire has branched out from the web and into international print editions. And rather than go on about our history as we did in editions past, we thought it would be fun to provide 12 fun facts about us. Remember, too, that we are giving away free stuff to commemorate our birthday—from the big PDF Supplement with exclusive shoots and images to free wallpapers.
   1. The original web edition was served off a machine in Alexandria, Va.
   2. The online cover changed to a black background on September 11, 2001.
   3. Despite stories in the media to this effect, Jack Yan (publisher) has never been referred to internally as ‘editor’ of Lucire. He believes the external confusion stems from the French éditeur, which appears on his card with its English equivalent, publisher.
   4. The first web edition had stories from New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia and the US.
   5. Lucire was developed under the name Visage and could have been called Volante (now the name of the travel section). Both started with V and ended in e, like some other fashion magazine.
   6. The first retail print edition cover featured Denise Vasi, but prototype issues, which were given away online, included now-San Francisco mayoress Jennifer Siebel on the front page.
   7. The reason the Lucire logotype is in lowercase and sans serif was originally to do the complete opposite to the capitalized, seriffed mastheads of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and others. The original typeface was Helvetica Black, but Lucire Heavy replaced it in 2001. The Dante typeface used in the New Zealand edition from 2008 was inspired by the All England Law Reports—far different from any fashion magazine!
   8. As a newcomer, Style.com advertised on, inter alia, Lucire to get itself established and known in the fashion community. Lucire had linked style.com before Condé Nast even began publishing it: it was once the URL for a fashion retailer called Express Style.
   9. Lucire appeared in two Hollywood films as magazines on the set but was omitted from the final cut. They were Two for the Money with Al Pacino and Rene Russo, and Snakes on a Plane with Samuel L. Jackson.
   10. Lucire’s highest-ranked day on Alexa Internet was in 2003, thanks chiefly to an article in the Christian Science Monitor. It was the 12,000th-ranked site on the internet that day.
   11. The once-popular AltaVista Entertainment Zone got its fashion content from Lucire. Lucire also provided content to Iwon.com during the initial dot-com boom.
   12. Lucire tried to start its web TV brand extension in 2000 under Monica Parente, but the technology for streaming to the quality the producers wanted was not available.