Singer Lana Del Rey has been unveiled as the star of high street store H&M's autumn/winter 2012 campaign.
Lana Del Rey in H&M's latest campaign
High street giant H&M have confirmed rumours that Lana Del Rey is the global face of their autumn/winter campaign.
"The mood is very L.A. noir," Donald Schneider, H&M's creative director, told WWD . "It's inspired by our fall collection." Del Rey - real name Elizabeth Grant - wears a pale pink angora jumper and matching micro shorts with her hair in its trademark beehive in the campaign, which was shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
Rumours first surfaced at the end of last month when the New York Posts' Page Six reported a source as claiming Del Rey was in the process of shooting with the Swedish brand.
The star, who released her debut album in January this year, has been welcomed into the fashion industry with open arms, appearing on the cover of British Vogue 's March 2012 issue, having a Mulberry bag named after her and being signed up by model agency Next Models.
Del Rey has also recorded a cover of Blue Velvet for a short film that will be released on September 19 via hm.com. Edits of them film will then form television commercials.
It's another coup for H&M who are already gearing up for forthcoming collaborations with Maison Martin Margiela and Anna Dello Russo , both of which are set to land in stores later this year.
It wouldn't be a Madonna tour without the outlandish outfits - Jean Paul Gaultier's conical-bra corsets, Dolce & Gabbana's rhinestone confections and Givenchy's S&M-ish leather have been some of her most memorable in the past. For her MDNA tour, which stopped off in London last night, they come courtesy of Gaultier again, who has revamped his famous piece from 1990's Blond Ambition tour - and one Fausto Puglisi, whose menacing bullet chains, fur coats and ram masks for her backing dancers are pitch-perfect.
"It's all about the incredible work of Arianne Phillips [Madonna's long-time stylist]. She knows what works on Her Madgesty. It all started during the promotion of Music, when Madonna wore my blouses. I was a boy and Arianne and Madonna have trusted me ever since. At the MTV Europe Music Awards in Stockholm [in 2000], Madonna wore an amazing Dolce & Gabbana red cowboy suit and I designed bling-bling, Swarovski accessories for her. I can't forget all the work I did by hand, putting hundreds of crystals and beads on while flying from Rome to New York. The hostesses were looking at me like I was ET."
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith is donating $100,000 to help the survivors of the movie-theater shooting in Colorado pay for medical expenses. Smith didn't know any of the victims of the July 20 shooting in Aurora, which left 12 people dead and 58 injured.
But the news hit home because he says his oldest son Peyton was at a similar midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Returns" in Charlotte that same night. Smith says "I can't imagine getting someone severely injured, one, and then, two, trying to figure out how to pay for it."
Smith made the donation to the city of Aurora. Smith says he made the donation public because he wanted to challenge others in high-profile positions to step up and contribute to the cause.
In 2004, Atlanta-based producer Jazze Pha helped launch Ciara's music career and made her a household name. Two years later, Ciara decided to switch it up and the pair haven't worked together since 2006. In recent years CiCi's albums haven't topped the charts and many say she needs that old thing back! We caught up with Jazze Phizzle at the BET Awards and he had some interesting things to say about Ciara's current predicament.
There's a new poster display at the London Transport Museum, in celebration of the Olympics. Unusually for London Transport, who normally had a rich heritage in commissioning poster artwork for events in London, only one poster was actually commissioned by London Transport during London’s 1948 Olympics. Maybe as the UK was in the grip of postwar austerity at the time and there were strong arguments against spending funds on the event.
However posters have been used since the early 1900s to encourage travel to sporting events and activities. The display at the museum includes posters promoting football, The Boat Race, swimming, tennis and ‘bicyclism’ (perhaps that influenced the term Olympism used in 2012's Opening Ceremony last night). Works by Tom Eckersley, Herry Perry and Austin Cooper will be on display.
The poster display runs until 13th September at London Transport Museum. Make sure you take in their excellent Mind The Map exhibtion when you are there. Entry is free for children and tickets for adults are £13.50 (£10.00 concessions) and tickets allow free entry for a whole year. More details here
Stella McCartney designs a capsule childrenswear featuring 'Little Miss Stella', the Little Miss character inspired by her.
Arlo T-shirt, £30, from Stella McCartney's Little Miss Stella line launching in August
A couple of years ago, Stella McCartney collaborated with the people behind the Mr Men and Little Miss series to design a new character. The result was the dead adorable Little Miss Stella (inspired by McCartney, naturally), who appeared on the invitations - a proper Little Miss book - to her spring/summer 2007 catwalk show.
Little Miss Stella - isn't she cute?
In terms of literary greatness, perhaps the story - Little Miss Stella meets Little Miss Nobody, otherwise known as Billy No Mates because she's wearing last season's shoes or something, designs an amazing suit for her and turns her into a somebody - doesn't quite rival War and Peace 's, but, then again, War and Peace doesn't have a character whose skin tone is a fetching shade of blue. You win some, you lose some.
Felt tips from the Little Miss Stella line
Little Miss Stella is the inspiration for McCartney's new seven-piece Kids' capsule collection, and appears on everything from babygros, jumpers and T-shirts, to bags and felt-tips.
What's in a name? A lot of legal bother if it happens to be Gucci.
The Gucci logo. The double interlocking G's do not stand for Guccio Gucci... Photo: REX
We love it when a family finds a name they like and sticks to it, like George Foreman who named his five sons George (George Jr., George III, George IV, George V and George VI), and Jermaine Jackson who named three of his eight offspring Jermaine, Jaimy, and Jermajesty.
Sadly, however, such family pride doesn't always lead to happy endings.
Yesterday in Florence, a judge ruled against Guccio Gucci and his brother Alessandro Gucci, the great-grandsons of Gucci founder, Guccio Gucci in an intellectual property case brought by the Gucci Group.
WWD report that Guccio and Alessandro's handbag and accessories firm ToBeG Srl has been found guilty of infringement of Gucci's trademarks "illegitimately" using the names "Gucci" and "Guccio Gucci" for its marketing communications and website activities.
The judge ruled that the use of the name 'Guccio Gucci' "determined an unfair association" between ToBeG's products and Gucci's trademarks, and said that its behaviour "constitutes an act of unfair competition to Gucci's detriment because the advertising materials of the defendant caused confusion with Gucci's products and business activities and took unfair advantage of the qualities and reputation of Gucci's products".
Sales of Holmes & Yang, the fashion label run by Katie Holmes, are reported to have risen stateside since the actress announced her divorce from Tom Cruise.
As they say, no publicity is bad publicity, and Katie Holmes is the latest proof of that.
Sales of her Holmes & Yang fashion line have reportedly soared since she announced her high-profile separation from Hollywood husband Tom Cruise at the end of last month.
According to a clerk from the Beverly Hills branch of US department store Barney's, the brand has been "selling particularly well", reports Fox News . The New York branch has similarly confirmed that sales are up, although no exact figures have been given.
News of the sales boost comes two weeks after it was announced that Holmes & Yang are preparing to show their spring/summer 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week for the first time this September.
The former Dawson's Creek actress has been spotted wearing pieces from the label - which is designed in collaboration with stylist Jeanne Yang - a number of times since the split, including for a much-hyped appearance on Project Runway.
The first pictures have surfaced of Yves Saint Laurent's controversial rebranding following a name change to Saint Laurent Paris.
A photo of Yves Saint Laurent's rebranding, taken by LOVE magazine's Katie Grand. Photo: Katie Grand/Twitter
It caused quite a stir when newly-appointed creative director Hedi Slimane announced that YSL would be undergoing a name change - from Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris - and now we can finally see how his reimagination measures up.
The first images have surfaced of the fashion house's rebranding, courtesy of LOVE editor Katie Grand, who took to her Twitter page to share the photo. The Instagram picture shows the new 'Saint Laurent' typography, which currently adorns the construction boards surrounding the brand's soon-to-open Mercer Street, New York store. Unfortunately, according the New York Magazine , the new branding has since been covered up by posters, thanks to T-shirt brand Rocksmith (who clearly know a good advertising opportunity when they see one).
Another picture featuring a black product box with the new branding on it has also appeared in the latest issue of Vogue Paris , showing 'Saint Laurent' with Paris written in smaller type beneath, surrounded by a thick black frame.
The image that appears in the August issue of Vogue Paris. Photo: Vogue Paris
When the name change was announced in June the brand confirmed that they will continue to use the iconic overlapping YSL logo, which was designed by Cassandre in 1963, and that the rebranding will only apply to ready-to-wear, with the house's official moniker remaining as Yves Saint Laurent.
Slimane showed his first collection for the house, Resort 2013, to select buyers earlier this month, but the world will get to see his spring/summer 2013 collection during Paris Fashion Week this September.
Cars Land opened last month in the Disney California Adventures. I knew this about a year ago, nagbukas na pala. Haay, I wish I could go there someday. Just as much as I love the movie "Cars", I believe I will have a great time in Cars Land too!
When you think of cycling in New York City, you think of David Byrne (who doesn't own a car), and valet bike parking at Wilco concerts in Prospect Park, and left-leaning young people with crooked Bern helmets and "muffin tops" riding Urban Outfitters bikes to jobs in graphic design. Meanwhile, when you think of cycling in the American South, you think of getting run off the road by people in pick-up trucks, getting attacked by beagles on dirt roads, and being chased away from moonshine stills by blunderbuss-wielding bootleggers.
Well, stereotypes are dangerous, because nothing could be further from the truth. Firstly, artisanal bootlegging is currently the hottest thing going in Brooklyn, pickup trucks are the new fixie, and blunderbusses are the new iPhone. Secondly, meet William "Billy" Carrington, Kentucky's foremost bicycle advocate:
I fell asleep about a minute and a half in, but I gather he wants you to ride a bike. Also, would it kill you to pick up the phone and call someone once in awhile?
I'll spare you his talk on the Olympics, but it may not surprise you to learn he's rooting for the USA.
Speaking of misconceptions, there are people who dismiss Rapha as a purveyor of overpriced cycling accessories, but the fact is they have many satisfied customers, such as this one who took the time to email me recently:
youre always ragging on Rapha chamois cream...i got some and now my nuts smell amazing
Presumably he either found someone willing to smell his "pants yabbies" for him, or else he's extremely flexible. Either way, I'll take his word for it.
And now, I'm pleased to present you with a quiz. As always, study the item, think, and click on your answer. If you're right you'll crow like the Dorking cockerel, and if you're wrong you'll see Belgians.
Thanks very much for reading, ride safe this weekend, and for Lob's sake would you just take the time to pick up the phone and call someone? Sheesh.
--Wildcat Rock Machine
1) According to Yahoo!, the 2012 Tour de France was won by Stanley Wiggins.
7) An Australian cyclist who was arrested for drunk cycling because he was "swerving along Bower Rd and struggling to maintain control of his bike" turned out simply to be a sober triathlete on a training ride.
Ludacris and Swizz Beatz talk about the importance of being a man of your word in this music business, and in life period. Pay close attention as they both drop valuable gems that can take you far in the music business and in life.
Iona recruit Michael Haynes was shot and killed in Chicago on Thursday, police said. Haynes, 22, was shot while attempting to break up a fight, his cousin told the Chicago Sun-Times. Police said he was shot in the wrist, chest and lower back and was declared dead at a hospital more than an hour later, according to the Sun-Times. "He was an innocent victim, very loved by everybody," Haynes' cousin, Kandice Blouin told the Sun-Times. "He was our meal ticket. He was going to heal this hood and they took his life." Haynes, a 6-foot-7 forward, averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds for Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, last season, the New York Daily News reported.
"It's just so hard," Iona coach Tim Cluess told the Daily News. "I don't know how to describe it. Once you got to know Michael you just couldn't wait to coach him. He came from a very rough area in Chicago and he just wanted to make a better life for himself. He was just looking for a chance to change his life."
Check out the official trailer for Future's new video "Turn On The Lights" premiering on BET's 106 & Park Monday, July 30th! Tune in to BET at 6 PM ET.