Kate Moss is the new face of St Tropez, the self-tanning brand, leading its first global advertising campaign.
   Two shots have been released: one of Moss in a white, one-piece swimsuit, and another in the nude.
   The campaign will be in print and online, and appear in point-of-sale materials from summer 2013. St Tropez is also encouraging users to use the hashtag offtosttropez on Twitter for a prize draw, which will include a holiday.
   The company has also issued a how-to video on how to get Moss’s tan in the campaign. Says Nichola Joss, St Tropez’s global tanning and skin-finishing expert, ‘To achieve Kate’s pool-side bronze for the shoot, the St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse applied with a St Tropez Applicator Mitt gives a natural-looking, streak-free result with a flawless finish. St Tropez Powder Bronzer perfects the look with a beautiful contoured effect and enhances the natural shape of Kate’s body.’
   The iconic supermodel says she has used the St Tropez brand since its inception.
   Michelle Feeney, CEO of PZ Cussons Beauty, the owner of St Tropez, said in a release, ‘As a global beauty brand with a heritage in tanning, St Tropez is now in 18 countries and women from Rio to LA are seeking the benefits of safe tanning. Kate’s fashion icon status is important to us but now her growing number of beauty campaigns proves that her appeal as a beauty icon resonates with confident women across all age groups globally.’

Finnish-owned label Lindex has released imagery from the second push for its spring 2013 season, featuring actress Penélope Cruz.
   The first part of the campaign, which showed Cruz in casual and red-carpet settings, broke on April 24.
   This latest campaign sees Cruz wearing her favourite items in a home environment.
   The company says this part of the collection has a Latino inspiration, with neutral colours (khaki, black, grey, white) offset by pepper green and mandarin red. The patterns include animal and jungle prints, fringes and tie-dyes.
   There are the usual staples of dresses, singlets and shorts. Lindex’s design manager, Nina Starck, gives the example of shorts, knitted top and a bikini underneath for a boho-chic look.
   To emphasize a retro feel, Cruz can be seen in one image posing next to a turntable with an LP.
   This latest part of the Lindex spring collection hits stores, online and offline, on May 6.
   Cruz won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in the 2008 Woody Allen film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. News of the Lindex spring campaign breaking first surfaced on April 15.
   While a Swedish-originated brand, Lindex was acquired by the Finnish retailer Stockmann in 2007. It currently has around 400 stores, including Russia and the Middle East.

As expected, H&M and Beyoncé have released their video jointly promoting the fashion brand and her latest music, entitled ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’.
   The video follows the star’s release of a teaser promoting her Mrs Carter Show World Tour, which kicks off this month. It was first posted on her YouTube channel.
   The 90-second advertisement features Beyoncé in various swimwear and sundresses, beautifully photographed, showing off her figure as well as H&M’s summer styles.
   The advertisement was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and complements the print campaign shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in Nassau.
   Beyoncé moves to the sound of her song, ‘Standing on the Sun’, which will be available worldwide and via hm.com from May.
   Donald Schneider, creative director of H&M, summarized the campaign when we published the news last month: ‘H&M’s summer campaign starring Beyoncé is an epic fantasy, with glamour, drama and also a sense of paradise. It was amazing to watch her on the shoot make it all look effortless—a quality that makes her such an icon for women around the world. The campaign is the essence of Beyoncé, and also the essence of H&M this summer.’
   Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design for the retailer, noted, ‘There’s the perfect bodycon dress, as well as a flowing sundress that makes a real statement. And of course there are the bikinis, especially the fringed bikini. What makes these pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style.’
   The collection is available from May.

Thomas Salme

Shooting in Milano with beautiful Italian model Fiorella Dominici, wearing a Basler Fashion dress from Germany designed by Scot Brian Rennie, by me, Thomas Salme from Sweden. A big international mix.
   Dominici is 22, a graduate in economics, Russian and English at Cattolica University. She is still studying in order to graduate in international management. Her slogan is: ‘positive thinking and … believe in your own skills and capabilities more than in social connections.’
   The designer of this beautiful yellow dress is Brian Rennie. He has been called the ‘designer with the Hollywood gene’ and the ‘king of couture’ by some. He outfitted Kim Basinger for the Academy Awards, designed a wedding dress for Jennifer López and counted Princess Diana among his clients, according to his official bio.
   Rennie studied fashion at the Royal College of Art, and joined Escada after completing his studies. He was there for over 20 years, and rose to the rank of head designer.
   As creative director of Basler Fashion, his clothes carry what the company calls a ‘distinctive design signature. Æsthetically outstanding and consistently feminine, they are primarily created to flatter women and to beautify them. Passion and originality characterize the designs of Brian Rennie.’—Thomas Salme

Thomas Salme

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

Having viewed the Zambesi winter collection late last year in amongst the craziness of New Zealand Fashion Week, I had forgotten what my favourite pieces were (as so happens when you view collections six months before they are due in store and in quick sucession). When the invitation to attend the Wellington store’s winter launch appeared, the chance to stroll down memory lane and rediscover my favourites, and find some new gems, was welcome.
   Zambesi is one of those labels that is best appreciated up close. What appears to be plain shirting fabric is, in fact, a very fine mesh; or a print is turns out to be something else upon closer inspection. With the models rocking some looks from the collection, it was a joy to rediscover those well turned-out and brilliantly cut coats and jackets, tailored in fine wools and pieced together with wax-finish leathers. There were the beautiful brocades and jacquard prints featured on pants and dresses, the gorgeous knitwear, and one of my favourite standout prints of the season, the chequerboard print in butter yellow and ink navy.
   Stand-outs from the small showing in store were: the lace and knit dress—a beautiful, tight, sleeved dress with almost lace crochet detailing with tiny sequin embellishments, the perfect day-to-night outfit; and the black sheer silk shift dress with bandage-like side detailing and fringe work. The movement when the model walked was exquisite and very on trend with the flapper-esque feel to it all.
   From the menswear range, everything, from the military-style coats to the sharply tailored Slimane-like suiting, was very slick and super-stylish. The chequerboard pattern shirt is a must for winter, crafted in beautiful almost lace-like fabric. Also on the must-haves, one of the many coats that are in the collection: my favourite was the double-breasted wool coat with piece leather sleeves—cut with a surgeon’s scalpel this is a classic that will never date.
   The hair for the show had a very cool vibe to it—a mix of dishevelled chic, a wet look mixed with dry rough-and-tumble—directed by Buoy creative director Michael Beel. It was the perfect touch to the collection.
   Zambesi’s winter collection is in store now.—Sopheak Seng, Fashion and Beauty Editor

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

We recently mentioned that the Milano exhibition to accompany The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s Classic Revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld had new works, so that those attending in the Italian fashion capital would not feel they were getting a second-hand collection that had already done the rounds in Tokyo, New York, London, Paris and Berlin.
   To whet our appetites of the shoot Karl Lagerfeld did with Keira Knightley, Diane Kruger, Carla Bruni, Carole Bouquet and others in his studio in January 2013, Chanel has released a single image of Kruger reinterpreting the house’s little black jacket.
   Some 20 international celebrities and ‘close friends of the house’ participated.
   The exhibition, held at the Rotonda di via Besana (at the via Enrico Besana, 12), opens April 4, with entry free to the public from April 6 to 20. Opening hours are 10 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. At the same time, displays at Chanel’s via Sant’Andrea boutique will show jackets from the spring–summer 2013 ready-to-wear collection.
   Dubai is the next destination after Milano. More can be found at www.thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com.

April 25: Beyoncé releases ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’—see her new video here

For years, Hennes & Mauritz hired spokesmodels who were familiar, but not instantly recognizable. There’s none of that these days as the retailer announces a partnership with Beyoncé, who will appear in print and TV advertising for its summer 2013 collection. Its last big name, promoting its autumn 2012 line, was Lana del Rey (see Lucire 28), as H&M ties in fashion with the biggest names in the music industry.
   Beyoncé kicks off her Mrs Carter Show world tour on April 15, and the new campaign ties in with that. The advertising features ‘Beyoncé as Mrs Carter in H&M’, with the company saying that it represents ‘the idea that all women can be all things: strong, vulnerable, sensual, maternal, fun, flirtatious.’
   The TV commercial, to be released online in full and edited for TV, features a new song from Beyoncé, ‘Standing on the Sun’. The song will be available worldwide and via hm.com from May.
   Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin shot the print campaign in Nassau, while the commercial was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
   In a release, Beyoncé says, ‘I’ve always liked H&M’s focus on fun and affordable fashion. I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by the four elements—fire, water, earth and wind. It was a beautiful shoot on a tropical island. It felt more like making a video than a commercial.’
   The famed Donald Schneider, now creative director at H&M, says, ‘H&M’s summer campaign starring Beyoncé is an epic fantasy, with glamour, drama and also a sense of paradise. It was amazing to watch her on the shoot make it all look effortless—a quality that makes her such an icon for women around the world. The campaign is the essence of Beyoncé, and also the essence of H&M this summer.’
   Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of design for the retailer, notes, ‘In the campaign Beyoncé is wearing the key pieces from H&M you need for life in the sun this summer.
   ‘There’s the perfect bodycon dress, as well as a flowing sun dress that makes a real statement. And of course there are the bikinis, especially the fringed bikini. What makes these pieces even more special is that Beyoncé herself had input into the design, and they are full of her own personal style.’
   The collection, which includes swimwear and beachwear from the H&M for Water collection benefiting H&M for WaterAid, hits H&M stores, on- and offline, from May.

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

Four Wellington labels—Philippa & Alice, Love Hotel, Mardle, and Highnoontea—were part of Willis York’s winter showcase at its Taranaki Street, Wellington premises on a very warm Friday night.
   The event, showing the labels’ autumn–winter 2013 collections, had a total of 20 looks, five from each.
   Four models, with hair by Willis York using L’Oréal Professionnel, came down the catwalk in their underwear, each putting on the first look from each label at the end of the catwalk. When the show began in earnest, the model wearing Philippa & Alice stood up and kicked off the first five, with another four models arriving wearing other outfits from the range.
   While the number of looks from each label was limited, it gave those attending a good feel of what was on offer: very noticeable tartan jacket and pants from Philippa & Alice; Love Hotel’s focus on kimonos for the autumn–winter season; Mardle’s comprehensive range of staples, from T-shirts to maxi-dresses; and Highnoontea’s well executed coats and jackets.
   They also demonstrate that Wellington designers aren’t afraid to use colour for winter, in line with the Zeitgeist abroad.
   Sponsors for the event included Quick Brown Fox, Broken Shed Vodka, ECC Lighting, C. G. R. Merchant & Co., Ultra Shoes, Whittaker’s chocolate, Willis York, Cup o Love Catering, Julian Danger (for the lingerie), and Tag.
   We’re pleased to note that all these young labels have continued a high standard. We were only introduced to Mardle and Love Hotel last year, and we’re happy to see their designs get stronger.—Jack Yan, Publisher

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

Above From the Willis York winter showcase.

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography

Top Lucire publisher Jack Yan and Rhonda Grant. Above Lucire fashion editor Sopheak Seng. Below Behind-the-scenes preparations captured by Nikita Brown.

Nikita Brown/Nikita Brown Photography