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.’

MAC has unveiled its latest Viva Glam campaign, featuring Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper. Proceeds from the sale of its Viva Glam VII lipsticks will benefit the MAC Aids Fund.
   The spring 2010 edition sees two new lipstick shades, with a light coral red lustre bearing Lauper’s name and a light blue–pink lustre with Lady Gaga’s.
   The collection hits counters on March 1, retailing at NZ$40.
   The MAC Aids Fund will announce $2·5 million in new donations to fund model programmes that address the vulnerabilities and inequities that place women at increased risk for HIV and Aids, says the company.
   To date, the MAC Aids Fund has already raised over $150 million to combat HIV and Aids.
   ‘I think it’s absolutely insane that some people have fewer rights than others, and I’m grateful that MAC has decided to focus on women while I’m a Viva Glam spokesperson. I have so much to say and so much to share, and I’m going to let my lips and lipstick do the talking!’ says Lauper in a release.
   ‘I’ve been familiar with the campaign and have been wearing MAC since I was 10 years old. To be joining the likes of iconic former Viva Glam spokespeople is an honour. My new Viva Glam lipstick colour is amazing. It’s very me—a bluish pink, great for every day, a little bit ’80s. I hope that women buy this lipstick, and honour themselves and honour the cause,’ says Lady Gaga.

We have already tried the Volvo XC60 with collision avoidance—and in good Swedish tradition, the new Volvo S60 takes the safety idea a step further.
   Newly announced today, with its world première at the Salon de Genève on March 2, the S60’s pedestrian detection, using a camera and radar, has a full automatic brake. It can detect pedestrians who walk into the road in front of the car, warn the driver, and automatically apply full braking power if the driver does not respond in time.
   The car can avoid hitting a pedestrian at under 35 km/h. Over this speed, the car will reduce speed as much as possible to help minimize injuries to the pedestrian. The system will detect children over 80 cm tall.
   The new chassis includes new stability control and traction control measures. Below are videos of the S60 in motion and a full explanation of its party trick.

Who can resist the possibility of time-travel into the intrigue and splendour of this legendary yearly celebration? Visions of masked, caped gentlemen and ladies drifting down mysterious, shadowy, lamp-lit and cobbled passageways of La Serenissima, in search of elegant salons and romantic assignations. Opulent late Renaissance costumes of incredible finery. Minuets and baroque melodies, counterposed with the traditional delicacies unique to the setting. For the truly impulsive, here’s a superior last-minute package deal which might just deliver such a magical and memorable feast for the senses. It’s a chance to get out of your iPhone and email, and head back to another era, into a world of decadence and splendour, set among the canals and palazzos.
   Next weekend experience the near-mythological, through a special promotion at the Luna Hotel Baglioni Venice. On Friday, February 12 you can be part of the ‘Ball of the Baglioni Counts’ and on Saturday the 13th attend the Great Carnival Ball, during a minimum two-night stay, which includes masked ball, buffet breakfast and an entry for two to the Casinò di Venezia overlooking the Canal Grande. The Marco Polo Salon, with its massive School of Tiepolo murals, has got to be the ideal setting for dinner and desserts, followed by a live performance of Puccini’s La bohème, sung by a troupe from La Fenice. Dance away the rest of the night to the sounds of a cool DJ. There’s even the possibility of modelling some vintage costumes, with cloak and mask. Or steal away to the casino and try your luck at cards or love.
   The Luna is perhaps my favourite hotel in Europe, ideally located just around the corner from Piazza San Marco. It boasts a classical and intimate atmosphere, superb canal view rooms and faultless service. It has the best concierge in the world, Antonio Massari. This special promotion has prices starting from €280 per night, an incredible offering, and one which could deliver some of those fantastical memories we cherish for a lifetime, the kind of thing we tell our grandchildren about. For more information, see www.baglionihotels.com.—Stanley Moss

If you haven’t helped already, or would like to again, please do what you can for the victims of the Haïti earthquake. Mia Farrow appears in this latest PSA for UNICEF with some sober reminders of the situation.

Tickets have just gone on sale for Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief fashion show, to take place during the fall 2010 collections at New York Fashion Week.
   Taking place on February 12 at 7 p.m., tickets cost between $100 and $150 and are available via Ticketmaster.com.
   The runway show will be hosted by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and will feature internationally recognized designers, celebrities and VIPs. All the donated garments will be auctioned online at Net-a-Porter starting February 15. The donation is tax deductible and 100 per cent of the event ticket sales will benefit CARE.

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.

Afingo (www.afingo.com) says its new website, newly launched this month, will connect fashion designers directly to their audiences in a social network.
   ‘For consumers, Afingo.com will give exclusive access to learn about the latest fashion trends directly from their favourite designers. Designers and retailers can share behind-the-scenes industry information with customers in exchange for immediate consumer reviews and opinions,’ says its release today.
   ‘The multi-functional fashion portal allows consumers to offer input directly to designers and retailers about their collections, provides designers with necessary information to give consumers exactly what they want, assists retailers by selling products directly to consumers and helps “in the biz” suppliers to develop a thriving business.’
   Consumers will be able to rate designs from their profile pages, while designers can post look books and give information on when new products become available to the public.
   The site will also connect retailers, providing store location information and contact with designers.
   Basic membership is free, with VIP access for consumers beginning at US$49 per annum. Designers and retailers can expect a fee of US$29·99 per month or US$299 per annum beginning in February.
   The site has been founded by Canadian-born Liza Deyrmenjian. Moe Somani serves as COO.

Jennifer Hawkins has broken her silence over her nude cover photo for Marie Claire Australia, which has caused a great deal of controversy this week.
   The former Miss Universe says the shoot was only done to raise money for an eating disorder charity, and to promote a healthy lifestyle.
   The furore has surrounded claims that the shoot, which appears to be untouched, was about proving that every woman has flaws.
   It was sparked on the 4th by Australian radio presenter Bianca Dye, who called Hawkins an improper role model for body image in a Murdoch Press newspaper supplement.
   Hawkins calls the misunderstanding in the media, which was fuelled in numerous Murdoch Press publications, embarrassing.
   She stresses that her relationship with Myer, the Australian department store chain, remains strong, although she admits she should have informed the company of the shoot.

BMW has previewed the models it will show at Detroit (the North American International Auto Show) later this month. The Z4 sDrive35is will receive its American début—BMW emphasizes it can do 26·1 mpg (US), while hitting 100 km/h in 4·8 seconds. (The regular sDrive35i that Lucire tested managed a respectable 29 mpg touring.)
   BMW will also show its 1-series-based electric car, the Concept ActiveE, and the Mini Concept Beachcomber, a latter-day revival of the Mini Moke.
   The ActiveE shows some promise for mass production, producing 170 hp from its electric motor. However, boot space shrinks to around 7 ft³, while the car weighs some 3,900 lb. Still, it is an advance that should not be sneezed at, as it may bring the fully electric BMW closer to reality. Videos below preview the two concepts and the new Z4 model.

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.

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.

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.

Above Grace Kelly in a publicity shot for Rear Window.

The Victoria & Albert Museum will showcase Grace Kelly’s wardrobe with over 50 of her outfits on show, including hats and the original Hermès Kelly bag. Grace Kelly: Style Icon runs from April 17 to September 26 in room 40 of the Museum.
   Her dresses from films such as High Society and Rear Window are included, as well as the gown she wore to accept her Oscar in 1955. The dress she wore on the announcement of her engagement to HSH Prince Rainier will be on display, along with her lace wedding dress, which she wore in her marriage ceremony in 1956.
   As Princess Grace of Monaco, she had a selection of couture gowns from Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Yves St Laurent. Mainly from the 1960s and 1970s, 35 outfits will be shown.
   The exhibition will also include film footage, posters, family photographs and magazines.
   Kelly died in 1982 after a car accident, and would have turned 80 last month.
   An admission charge will apply.

[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.