Audi, Volkswagen’s premium brand, has launched a plug-in hybrid for the European market, based on the A3 Sportback.
   The Audi A3 Sportback E-tron will be sold through 410 dealers in Europe, including 105 in Germany. The German retail price is €37,900. A leasing plan sees the A3 at €319 for a 36-month term. First deliveries will take place this winter.
   The vehicle has an 8·8 kWh lithium–ion battery pack for its electric motor with a range of 50 km, but combined with its 1·4-litre petrol engine, it can manage 900 km. The combined power output is a claimed 150 kW (204 PS), with fuel consumption at 1·5 l/100 km (188 mpg Imperial) and carbon dioxide emissions at 35 g/km.
   The A3 Sportback E-tron’s battery is under the rear seats, allowing maximum cargo space, while the car weighs in at a reasonable 1,580 kg.
   Early reports indicate a seamless switch between electric and petrol modes, but some noticeable road noise from the standard tyres and the quiet electric motor.
   Audi plans for every E-tron dealer in future to have a charging station for customers, who can use it even after purchase. For the German market, Audi will offer an installation service where a technician checks the electrics at a customer’s home, makes the necessary adjustments, and installs the charging dock, for charging the car safely.
   Customers can even opt for what the company calls ‘Audi Energy’, essentially electricity generated from hydroelectric sources in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
   Wayne Griffiths, Audi’s head of sales in Germany, says there is high interest among dealers and customers for the new model: ‘The combination of efficient drive technology and a sustainable energy source is really what the market is looking for.’

A Lucire special promotion

We are used to seeing L’Oréal Paris have the world’s most glamorous models and celebrities appear in their advertisements, so it makes a nice change when everyday people are asked to appear—as they do in its latest Elvive Fibrology thickening hair care promotion.
   Between January 22 and April 24, 2014, Boots UK, looking at its online and offline purchases, says one item from the Fibrology range is sold every 12 second on average, making it one of L’Oréal’s most popular lines.
   Having real people makes the advertisement more easily related, and L’Oréal builds on the initial promotion by having each woman in the ad—Zoë, Sarah, Priya, Jade and Lucy—elaborate even further on their favourite Fibrology hair care product.
   For Zoé, it’s the Thickness Booster serum; Sarah says she can feel the Fibrology shampoo ‘expanding’; Priya favours the Double Serum; Jade likes the Fibrology Thickness Booster; and Lucy names the conditioner.
   Each woman gives her tips on using the product and reveals her one secret based on her use of Fibrology.
   Their Q&As are made complete by their sharing thoughts on how their L’Oréal Paris TV shoot went—where they were treated just as one might see Eva Longoria, Cheryl Cole, Aishwarya Rai or Araya A. Hargate pampered on set.
   Each was auditioned beginning with a casual casting session, while the day of filming saw the women choose from a variety of outfits. Zoë says, ‘More importantly, my hair has never looked better!’ It does seem that the enjoyment they’re having in L’Oréal Paris’s promotional video below is genuine—and, after all, they are worth it.

Post sponsored by L’Oréal Paris

For US customers, Dita von Teese’s lingerie line is now available through Bare Necessities, the largest online retailer of branded and designer intimate apparel.
   Von Teese’s lingerie, which retails in other countries (under the Von Follies brand in some), is known for fitting virtually every body type, for those who love the burlesque star’s sense of fashion.
   Bare Necessities says that that it stocks full-figured and fuller busted sizes up to an E cup, and will carry the collections Madame X, Man Catcher, Sheer Witchery, and Star Lift.
   There is also exclusive video content at the Bare Necessities website. The company also has certified bra experts who can assist customers via telephone on 1 877 728-9272, from Monday to Friday, 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. ET.

Andreas Rentz

Georgia May Jagger was guest of honour at Reserved’s German launch at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. Jagger, who also serves as the new label’s face for autumn–winter 2014–15 and walked the catwalk on the night, was among numerous celebrities, including Franziska Knuppe, Daniel Brühl, Jasmin Gerat, Elyas M’Barek, Eva Padberg, Anna-Maria Mühe, Anna Julia Kapfelsperger and Anastasia Zampounidis. Reserved’s ‘Let’s Fashion’ party at Alte Münze Berlin was anything but reserved, with its 1,200 guests.
   DJs Beck To Beck, Terranova, Oskar Melzer, Adam Port and Rampa, and Niki Pauls performed, as well as indie band Oh Land.
   The launch, which showed the autumn–winter 2014–15 line, rather than the spring–summer 2015 one, marks the expansion of LPP SA’s brand into the German market. Reserved already has 500 stores in eastern and central Europe, and this month it will open its online store for German customers. Real-world shops will appear in the autumn at Recklinghausen, Stuttgart, Bremen and Hannover, with further stores planned in every main centre, as well as London and Paris, and in Croatia and Qatar.
   Polish-based LPP’s other brands are Cropp, Mohito, House and Sinsay. The company has revenues of over €1,000 million.

Andreas Rentz

Above Ellen DeGeneres’s Twitter photo with Bradley Cooper in the foreground, which has been re-Tweeted over 3 million times.

Award-winning TV host Ellen DeGeneres will lend her name to a home ware, ready-to-wear fashion, accessories and pet care items range called E. D., to début as a capsule collection for the holidays this year, with a full collection launch in spring 2015.
   She is working with J. Christopher Burch, founder of C. Wonder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital.
   DeGeneres will provide creative direction while Burch provides brand development and manufacturing expertise. E. D. also has Michael Francis, chief global brand officer, Dreamworks Animation and former global CMO of Target; Marisa Gardini, managing partner of E. D. and former president and CEO of Isaac Mizrahi; and Janet Grove, former corporate vice-chairman of Macy’s Inc. and chairman and CEO of Macy’s Merchandising Group.
   DeGeneres said in a release, ‘I’m so excited to work with Chris and our incredibly talented team on this new venture. I’ve always wanted to launch a line of home goods, clothing and accessories. I already get to be inside people’s living rooms with my show. Now I get to be in their kitchens, in their beds, and in their pants. Wait. That’s not what I meant.’
   Ellen DeGeneres’s show is entering its 12th season and has won 51 Daytime Emmys. Her social media following comprises over 29 million Twitter followers and 15 million Facebook fans. Her Twitter selfie from the Academy Awards was the most re-Tweeted image in history (with three million re-Tweets). She has also received a Peabody Award and an Emmy Award, while her three books have all débuted at number one on The New York Times’ Best Seller List.

Réné Vaile

Pop sensation and Grammy Award winner Lorde, who has already lent her name to a limited-edition make-up line at MAC Cosmetics, visited her home town, Auckland, New Zealand, to promote it at the MAC Pro Britomart store.
   Lorde appeared with Amber Dreadon (Amber D), MAC’s senior make-up artist, and the Britomart-based artists. Senior management also attended the event: Tanya Jackson and Jodie Matthews, the brand general managers from New Zealand and Australia respectively; and Marie-Ann Billens, general manager of Estée Lauder in New Zealand.
   Dreadon had worked on Lorde’s look at the Grammys earlier this year.
   The Lorde Pure Heroine amplified deep plum lipstick, and the Penultimate eyeliner in Rapidblack true black, each retailing for NZ$40, go on sale on June 27.
   The products will be available online and at select locations throughout New Zealand. MAC has hashtagged the campaign MACLorde for social media.

Réné Vaile

Net-a-porter has announced that its US customers can purchase a Diane von Furstenberg-designed Google Glass through its online store today, making it the first third-party retailer of the much-hyped product.
   The DVF Made for Glass design, available in five colours (black, green, plum, brown and white), retails for US$1,800, and includes a frame, shade, earbud and case. A limited number is available.
   Founder Natalie Massenet said in a release, ‘We are thrilled to offer Glass to our tech-savvy customers who are true leaders and innovators in style and lifestyle. We pride ourselves on leading the way in delivering the best in service, product, and technology and we are excited to bring Google Glass to our US customers, ahead of the Glass consumer release.’
   US buyers can visit Net-a-porter’s DVF Made for Glass page at www.net-a-porter.com/Shop/Designers/DVF_Made_For_Glass. Due to Net-a-porter’s geography-based serving, non-US buyers will be asked to sign up for updates, and cannot purchase.
   All data recorded by Google Glass are stored by Google, including photos, videos, audio, and location. Users can record pictures and video offline if they prefer. Google has not announced if it would use these data for ad-targeting purposes as it does with some user data from Gmail.

As previewed on our Facebook, Hennes & Mauritz will partner with the Whitney Museum of American Art and artist Jeff Koons in the opening of their five-storey, 57,000 ft² 589 Fifth Avenue store on July 17, 12 p.m. H&M will sponsor the Whitney Museum’s Jeff Koons: a Retrospective, and collaborate with the artist.
   The new US flagship store, the largest for H&M, is inspired by a museum, according to the company, with a five-floor atrium, a 26 by 20 ft LED screen on entry, a glassy façade, a wall of mirrors, and green and white marble tiles.
   Koons has designed H&M’s limited-edition Balloon Dog leather handbag, while his work appears on display within and as the store-front façade of the new store.
   The handbag will be sold in selected US markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas, and online at hm.com from July 17. Some will be sold at the Whitney during the retrospective, which opens June 27 and runs through October 19 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
   H&M Home will also retail at Fifth Avenue, as well as accessories, lingerie, and childrenswear.
   The first 500 shoppers will receive an H&M T-shirt and an Access to Fashion pass worth between US$10 and US$500, among other offers.
   Store hours are between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, with a late night of 10 p.m. for Friday and Saturday.