May 6, 2008
More details are emerging about the Naomi Watts advertisements for Thierry Mugler Angel, from the New York, rather than French, end of the business:
Naomi Watts was the inspired choice for Thierry Mugler, over and above her beauty and her star image. Displaying a modern touch, the actress projects a personality that blends sensuality, voluptuousness and evanescence to evoke the many facets of Angel. A blond fragility, a natural tenderness, an emotional seductiveness âŠ
   Rather appropriately, it was in Los Angeles, city of the angels, and in the Hollywood Center studios, that the commercial was shot, following a scenario by Thierry Mugler and directed by director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls). A Hollywood fairy-tale surrounded by a profusion of Angel stars.
   To immortalize this mythical moment, Thierry Mugler called on photographer Ali Mahdavi to produce the advertising visuals of his Hollywood dream. A worldwide campaign, glamorous and magical, will begin in October 2008.
May 5, 2008

Actress Naomi Watts is the new face of the Thierry Mugler Angel fragrance, it was announced ahead of her début at the Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
  The company says that Watts is âA true embodiment of the fragrance itself and all it representsâ. The campaign breaks in October in the US and features Watts.
   On May 5, Watts, dressed in vintage Thierry Mugler, makes her dĂ©but at the gala, representing âa selection of the unique works of art created by Mugler himself.â
May 2, 2008
GisĂšle BĂŒndchen, whose face promotes products from Disney to Nivea and Aquascutum, is the worldâs top-earning model, according to Forbes.
  The magazineâs latest table of what it calls the top 15âthere are actually 16 modelsâputs BĂŒndchenâs earnings over the last 12 months at US$35 million, more than double that of Heidi Klum, in second place at US$14 million.
  It said that BĂŒndchenâs US$5 million Victoriaâs Secret contract, which ended in December 2007, was included in the totals. But even without it, she still comes up top, thanks to the value of some 20 contracts.
  Klum was helped by her television ventures and campaigns for Diet Coke, Jordache, Mouawad, Volkswagen and Schwarzkopf.
  In third place was Kate Moss (US$7·5 million), followed by Adriana Lima (US$7 million) and Doutzen KrĆs ($6 million).
  KrĆs managed to get into the top five after scoring a Victoriaâs Secret contract on top of her Calvin Klein and LâOrĂ©al deals.
  In sixth place was Karolina Kurkova (US$5 million), with Natalia Vodianova (US$4·8 million), Carolyn Murphy (US$4·5 million), Daria Werbowy (US$3·8 million) and Miranda Kerr (US$3·5 million) rounding out the top 10.
  Isabeli Fontana (US$3 million) appears on the list for the first time at number 11; Gemma Ward (US$3 million), the second Australian on the list, ties for 11th; and Selita Ebanks (US$2·7 million) is 13th.
  Valentina Zelyaeva (US$2·3 million), Estée Lauder face Hilary Rhoda (US$2 million) and Liya Kebede (US$1·5 million) take positions 14 to 16.
April 30, 2008
Itâs not that we havenât kept up with the row over the Miley Cyrus photographs taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair, which sexualize the teenage star, but I have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to news coverage.
  There are quarters in fashion publishing which would deem these photographs appropriate and artistic, just as Leibovitz claimed, and we ourselves have featured teens in and even on the cover of Lucire, looking probably older than they really are.
  But if a subject comes to me and tells me that she is embarrassed by a series of photographs, and for a cover decision she may well be in the know, then thatâs good enough reason for me to have a meeting or a big ofïŹce poll about it.
  And thatâs just what Cyrus, star of the beloved Hannah Montana series, has said of her half-naked bedroom shot.
  In normal circumstances, this matter would be worked out privately between the Cyrus family and Vanity Fairâs publishers.
  Which makes this all rather odd: has the crisis surrounding these images been manufactured? One commenter on a Murdoch Press website seems to think so and, knowing how cover decisions are made, especially those that are potentially controversial, I am seriously tempted to agree.
  Reports suggest that Cyrusâs father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus, was present through most of the shoot.
  What I do know is that the modelling agencies we would work with are protective of their talent and we agree on many aspects of the shoot prior to starting when it involves a young girlâand that means overt sexualization is out.
For once many of the press have taken a moral high ground and that is, at least, pleasing to see, even if I have questions on their consistency. The Fairfax Press noted:
  Interestingly, the op-ed in the Fairfax Press touches on similar subjects to a blog comment that I wrote in discussion with William Shepherd, a marketing expert based in Californiaâone of those smart netizens who reminds me of the days in the 1990s when most people on the ânet were of a certain intellectual level.
  He wrote, on the topic of pornography in Brazil:
  When I think about these words today, itâs not just the online media, as Vanity Fair and others have shown us.
  I do, after all, see the irony of citing the Murdoch Press when it popularized the page-three girl and sensationalist stories founded in sex.
  At the risk of offending fans of certain TV shows, I responded:
  While sex is as woven in to Desperate Housewives as it was into Benny Hill, and those watching it at its late hour (past the watershed?) know what to expect, it gets an awful lot of publicity in TV promos with their share of suggestive imagery at other times. OK, it wasnât the best example of a TV show (which I watched at one point), but the old Friends certainly was. I think itâs difïŹcult to disagree that we have become too obsessed with sex in our society and those early seasons of Friends depended less on characterization and more on innuendo, not often that subtle.
   At the idealistic level there is nothing wrong with this when it comes to showing behaviour between consenting adultsâitâs less objectionable than seeing the extreme violence that has now made it on to prime-time televisionâbut we now face the danger of it going further and further into promoting promiscuity among the young. Expand sexâs reach, and you arouse greater curiosity in our youngest citizens at an earlier age. Itâs like lowering the drinking age to 18, as had happened in New Zealand: now itâs not 17-year-olds sneaking in three years before they are legal, but 14-year-olds with fake IDs.
  That curiosity around sex has always been there with those who are 11 or 12, as any of you reading this will know, but the signals are telling us that as adults we need to give more guidance, and we need to take a stand against marketing that encourages sex at a time when mentally, young people are not prepared for the consequences.
  And it was interesting to read that I am not alone in my assessment; in fact mine seems ill-educated alongside that of an author who has devoted a book to the subject. Fairfax again:
  As long as we sit back, tut-tut when the items make the news but fall back on not caring at other times, then we have lost yet another value. Add that to a huge list in the westâand the eastâsince the end of World War II.
  If certain institutions are being so aggressive as Liebau writes, then adults need to be as aggressive. âBenign dictatorshipâ, in the words of Carr-Gregg, probably describes the families many of us hadâand we turned out all right.
  It was a sort-of democracy in my household because my parents involved me in every family-affecting major decision and I earned their trust so I never had a curfew. But that was earnedâand I was probably lucky I had a good conscience or spirit guide, or something directing me.
  Not everyone is so fortunate, and in this day and age, itâs not a bad idea to be strongly involved in our childrenâs lives because that moral compass no longer comes from those cohesive, homogeneous communities of old, nor does it come from the media, at least not regularly or consistently. We, the regular people, are the last and possibly only resort in our respective families.
UK model of the moment, Agyness Deyn, will release a single, according to British media today.
  It will be her first foray into music, in collaboration with New York-based band Five OâClock Heroes.
  Deyn contributed some vocals to the song, âWhoâ, and will appear in the video.
April 24, 2008
As promised, some better photos from last Saturdayâs cruise with the Miss Universe New Zealand 2008 contestants from my VoigtlĂ€nder Bessamatic, which shows that a 49-year-old camera can get some darned good results.

Samantha Powell (who would go on to win Miss New Zealand 2008, but Miss Horowhenua at this stage), Rebecca Connor (Miss Wellington, sponsored by the Establishment Bar), Rhonda Grant (sponsored by TR Designs, Palmerston North) and Kylie Anderson (sponsored by C. R. Johnson Ltd., and second runner-up to Miss New Zealand 2006).

A 35 mm film version of the photograph from the cellphone, but with a slightly narrower field. Rebecca Connor (Miss Wellington), Hannah Matthews (runner-up, Miss Universe New Zealand 2008, sponsored by Masport), Samantha Powell (Miss Universe New Zealand 2008), Kylie Warfield (chaperone, and Miss New Zealand AsiaâPacific 2005), and Sylvia Laurenson (sponsored by Bettjemans for 2008, and 2007âs runner-up).
My scanner has gone kaput and Iâm now three weeks in the process of getting it ïŹxed. You knowâordering a part, having it arrive, ïŹnding itâs totally wrong (as in: the part does not even exist inside this model of scanner), and now, having a really annoying moirĂ© effect on photographs that do not have a dot screen!
  Iâm less than impressed as I have some lovely photographs from my judging of Miss Universe New Zealand 2008 that I wouldnât mind posting. Girls: donât worryâthe embarrassing ones wonât wind up anywhere on the ânet, though I may email them to you directly.
  These are off one of those newfangled cellphones. The good 35 mm ones will have to wait.

Miss Wellington, Rebecca Connor, sponsored by the Establishment Bar, on the launch to Waiheke. Rebecca was in the top ïŹve and, from what I can tell, a crowd favourite.

Samantha Powell, Miss Horowhenua, who later won the title of Miss Universe New Zealand 2008. She seems to have a natural beauty. I donât think Iâd be revealing too much about the judging if I were to say she gave a ïŹne interview on the ïŹrst night (Thursday).

Some of the top-placed contestants are here in a very leggy shot: Rebecca Connor, Hannah Matthews (runner-up, sponsored by Masport), Samantha Powell are present from left to right. From right to left are Lauren Kyle (Miss Auckland), and Sylvia Laurenson (sponsored by Bettjemans), runner-up in 2007, re-entering (Sylvia came in the top ïŹve this year). That leaves Kylie WarïŹeld third from rightânot a contestant, but one of the chaperones and assistants, who could have easily come in a top position herself in this competition. (She was Miss New Zealand Asia-PaciïŹc 2005.)

The wake from the launch out to Waiheke.

The girls do not starve themselves, as you can seeâyep, thatâs cream on the top of that glass being delivered to Miss Wanganui, Michelle Kleinsmith. And itâs one of two such glasses heading to this table.
April 20, 2008
Paraparaumu-born Samantha Powell, 20, representing Horowhenua, is the newly crowned Miss Universe New Zealand 2008 in a ceremony at the Novotel Ellerslie, near Auckland City.
  Hannah Matthews of Auckland, Miss Masport, is runner-up, followed by Rhonda Grant, Miss TR Designs of Palmerston North.
  Miss Powell says, âItâs a real privilege and Iâll do this country proud.â
  She is a team leader at ASB Bank Wellington and returns to the capital for work âas normalâ right after the pageant.
  An auction to benefit Look Good Feel Better, the charity which helps women with cancer, raised $3,000 at the function.
  Jack Yan, publisher of Lucire, who judged alongside Look Good Feel Better general manager Yvonne Brownlie, interior designer May Davis, and fashion designers Minh Ta and Patrick Steel, says this yearâs judging was far tougher than 2007âs.
  âWe spent six hours on interviews in 2007. We spent the same amount of time this year with fewer contestants,â he says.
  âWe really had to get in to what makes these young women tick.â
  The judges found it was harder to pick a winner as the majority were âcosmopolitan and globally minded,â says Mr Yan.
  Sylvia Laurenson (Miss Bettjemans) and Rebecca Connor (Miss Establishment Bar Wellington) rounded off the top five.Â
   Last yearâs winner, Laural Barrett, performed a song at the event, as did singing duo Anthony & Edward.
   Miss Powell represents New Zealand at Miss Universe at Nha Trang, Vietnam, on June 17.
April 8, 2008
How reliable are these readersâ polls? The British edition of Glamour (May 2008) puts Kate Moss at number one for Britainâs best dressed woman, with Agyness Deyn not even making it into the top 50. Itâs a switch from earlier polls, which had been putting Moss lower during the last four months.
  Britney Spears was named worst dressed, with Jodie Marsh and Amy Winehouse making it on to the same list.
  Following Moss were Sienna Miller, Scarlett Johansson, Rachel Bilson, Jennifer Aniston, Alexa Chung, Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Alba, Keira Knightley and Victoria Beckham.
  Glamour attributed Mossâs success to her Topshop range and her willingness to be experimental with her clothing.
  A month ago, the UK edition of Tatler, owned by the same group as Glamour, put Deyn at number one, and Moss at number two, though the list looks very different.
   Between the two polls, Moss, Chung and Knightley appear.
April 6, 2008
Itâs been three years since Summer Rayne Oakes ïŹrst appeared in Lucire, as a feature interviewee rather than a member of the team. Since then, the association between the magazine and Ms Oakes has strengthened, with her taking the acting editorâs role in 2006 and as editor-at-large from 2007. Here are some shots from that April 2005 story, which to our knowledge have not appeared online, in a quick trip down memory lane today. As the United Nations Environment Programmeâs ïŹrst fashion industry partner, Lucire was destined to be in the same world as Summer Rayne. Itâs been a great association, and we hope itâll continue to grow.


From top: Summer Rayne Oakes in Linda Loudermilk V-neck top in sustainable silk, found lace and vintage thread beads embellishment, Linda Loundermilk vintage lace jacket, and her own necklaces. Hand-made embroidered jackets made of recycled materials from Project Alabama, Carasan Designs woollen tweed corset with hand-beaded Swarovski crystals, and beaded choker. Photographed by Sarah McColgan, make-up and hair by Deshawn Hatcher, styled by André Adkins. Summer Rayne Oakes was represented on this shoot by Boss Models.
Next Page »
|
|
|
|
|
 |