Model Hannelore Knuts, 32, has curated an exhibition, Fashion Testimony, to be shown at the Fashion Museum of Hasselt from March 27 to June 6, 2010.
   Knuts’s exhibition offers a glance at her 10-year career, which includes working the professional catwalk at Chanel, Gucci and other top European labels.
   Designers featured in the exhibition include Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermès, Christian Lacroix, Martin Margiela and Dries van Noten. Contributing photographers include Miles Aldridge, Steven Klein, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Michael Thompson and Ellen von Unwerth.
   The aim of the exhibition is to lift the veil on the fashion world. It features some of her favourite images from her first fashion show to today. Some artists have provided works that Knuts felt connected with her.
   Those artists include Marc Claes, Patricia Ghijsens Ezcurdia, Ugo Rondinone, Filip Vandingenen and Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven.
   The Museum states that the exhibition is not a retrospective or a homage to Knuts, but a look in to her world.
   Knuts had been studying photography and, at age 21, turned to professional modelling.
   The Museum is located at Gasthuisstraat 11, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium (near de Groene Boulevard, next to the Holiday Inn and Molenpoortplein).

Top Peter Trevalyan’s Mimetic Brotherhood. Above left The jazz entertainers at the post-launch function. Above right Sculptor Peter Trevelyan.

The Wellington Sculpture Trust unveiled Peter Trevelyan’s Mimetic Brotherhood outside Te Papa on Wednesday. A kinetic sculpture—which changes thanks to hydraulics—it replaces Green Islands by Regan Gentry, which had stood at the same location until last month.
   Trust chairman Neil Plimmer said of the rotating sculptures, ‘It would be for the Southern Hemisphere at least the counterpart of the famous sculpture rotation on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London—which currently features the New Zealand war hero Sir Keith Parks.’
   Trevalyan was the centre of attention at the function that followed the unveiling, attended by luminaries including Mayor Kerry Prendergast and Dr Claudia Orange.

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.’

Considering the media attention surrounding Brooklyn Decker and her 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover, Las Vegas’s move to arrange for 11 of its models to appear seems very prudent.
   The 11 women are there for a three-day programme, which includes photo ops, events and signing copies of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Below is a video featuring the models and mayor Oscar B. Goodman on Las Vegas Boulevard.

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

It’s quite a way to kick off our news coverage for the year: the opening of the Burj Khalifa, standing 828 m (2,716½ ft). Giorgio Armani has announced that it will open Armani Hotel Dubai in the world’s tallest building on March 18.
   The hotel is the first to open under the collaboration between Giorgio Armani SpA and Emaar Properties PJSC.
   The hotel has been designed by Armani and marks the designer’s début into the hospitality sector.
   The company says the Armani Hotel Dubai will be the most exclusive destination in the city.
   Online bookings commence later this month, with registrations now being taken at www.armanihotels.com.
   Milano will be launched next, with a resort planned for Marrakech and Armani Residences villas for Marassi, Egypt.

Elyse Glickman

Things didn’t slow down over the past week, though there was less news to report. However, we do have Elyse Glickman’s special on Chicago dining online today—fitting, given it’s President Barack Obama’s former state.
   A few shots didn’t make it in to the layout, and we showcase them here. Crab cakes at Keefer’s and a steak from Dine make us feel peckish, even with the big Christmas feeds.
   Lucire wishes all readers a very happy Christmas.

Jess Smith

In the meantime, the publisher has a satirical series called ‘History of the Decade’, which began earlier this week, on his blog. It’s in 10 parts, with one year of the first decade of the new millennium covered each day. Part One, covering 2000, is here.

Above Kayaking in San Francisco Bay is one of the top 10 New Year’s events on TripAdvisor’s ‘extreme’ list.

TripAdvisor has announced its top 10 extreme New Year’s events for those seeing in 2010 in the US and Europe.
   And Tampa, Fla. is the site’s last-minute bargain destination, with hotel rates of US$139. New York, meanwhile, is the most ‘extremely’ priced, at US$619.
   1. ‘Nude’ Year’s Eve, Miami, Fla., USA. For those who can’t decide what to wear for the big night, Miami’s ‘Nude Year’s Eve’ celebration on Haulover Beach lets 500 bold travellers ditch the threads and go au naturel. Who needs a full moon to gaze at, when you’re surrounded by fellow moon-ers who dare to bare? All-inclusive tickets cost US$129.
   2. Loony dip, Edinburgh, Scotland. Part of the world-famous Hogmanay celebration, this year marks the 24th annual Loony Dook, a freezing, watery wake-up call in Edinburgh on New Year’s Day. At noon, more than 600 ‘Loonies’ parade in their fancy dress behind a band of pipers before taking a dip into the chilly waters of the River Forth.
   3. Light a torch, Girdwood, Alaska, USA. Strap on the skis, grab hold of a fiery pole, and join hundreds of intrepid skiers as they traverse down Mount Alyeska’s slopes in the darkness at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Officially called a Torchlight Parade, this tradition is open only to participants 14 years or older who are intermediate level skiers and snowboarders.
   4. Festive freefall, Zephyrhills, Fla., USA. Travellers—or fliers to be exact—can literally get the party jumping with a midnight skydive from 14,000 ft. This year, some 600 skydivers from across the world are expected to jump over Zephyrhills as part of the Christmas and New Year’s Skydive Boogie, run out of Skydive City at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.
   5. Party with paddles, San Francisco, Calif., USA. To participate in a unique New Year’s Eve celebration offshore, up to 30 travellers can sign up with City Kayak, a local tour company, to paddle around San Francisco Bay while experiencing the city’s best view of the fireworks. First-time kayakers are prohibited, and tickets start at US$97 for adults and US$87 for kids.
   6. Sea of orange, Scheveningen, Den Haag, Netherlands. At noon on New Year’s Day, the North Sea off of Scheveningen Beach will take on a brighter hue, when 10,000 daring participants wearing vibrant orange hats and quirky garb descend upon Den Haag’s popular seaside resort district for the annual Nieuwjaarsduik, or New Year’s Dive. Thick-skinned swimmers will endure frigid sea temperatures for a good cause, as €1 per participant will be donated to a local charity.
   7. The other bubbly, Torrevieja, Spain. For those truly looking to soak up the New Year, Max Scuba Diving in Torrevieja plans to host an underwater dive in support of Project Aware, a foundation dedicated to conserving underwater environments. The splash down takes place after dark and is open to any level of certified diver. All proceeds for this event will go to Project Aware.
   8. Celebratory sprint: New York, NY, USA. For the über-passionate runners out there, or those just looking to work off holiday meals, the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run four-mile race through Central Park is an ideal New Year’s Eve event. With a fireworks’ show and costume parade thrown into the mix, this celebration is expected to bring out 5,000 jolly joggers beginning at 10 p.m. Entry fees range from US$35 to US$55.
   9. Pucker up, Venezia, Italy. On New Year’s Eve, more than 60,000 people will welcome 2010 by locking lips in San Marco Square as part of Love 2010, the world’s largest communal kiss. A unique way to warm up and get your heart thumping, this annual event aims to be a worldwide symbol of love, peace and brotherhood.
   10. A nose for New Year’s, Barcelona, Spain. With the goal of ending 2009 in ‘the most sporting way possible,’ the city of Barcelona expects more than 4,300 “noses” to hit the pavement for a 10 km road race on December 31 at 5.30 p.m. Called the Cursa dels Nassos, or Race of the Noses, the event is named after the man of many noses of Catalan legend who only appears on New Year’s Eve. Registration is open until December 27 and costs €12 to participate.