Archive for October, 2007
Maybelline New York Worldwide announced today that Julia Stegner, the stunning German supermodel and media star, has become Maybelline’’s newest spokesperson. She joins Maybelline New York’’s prestigious roster of A-list celebrities including Christy Turlington, Erin Wasson, Adriana Lima, and Zhang Ziyi.
In true fairy tale fashion, Julia was discovered in 1999 by a modeling agency in Munich while she was still in high school. During a trip to Paris with her mother after graduation, Julia met with major fashion houses who convinced her to pursue a full time modeling career. After opening the Autumn/Winter Yves Saint Laurent show in Paris in 2003, she went on to shoot their campaign. Shortly afterwards, she shot the cover of Italian Vogue with the immensely talented Steven Meisel. Julia quickly became a sought after model, gracing, one after the other, the covers of countless prestigious magazines including Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Japanese Vogue, German Elle and I-D Magazine to name only a few. Always close to her family and friends in Munich, she maintained her home base in Germany and traveled frequently for work. During her visits to New York she grew to love the city and moved there two years into her career.
Julia is a perfect addition to Maybelline New York’’s amazing team of spokesmodels: incredibly fresh, beautiful and cosmopolitan, she is also very smart, well-spoken and involved. In May 2006 Julia traveled to Sierra Leone as a good-will ambassador for Unicef. Her trip was documented by German Vogue in order to help raise awareness for the cause. Julia continues to remain involved with Unicef and plans to deepen her involvement to raise money for children in need. “We are thrilled to have Julia Stegner join our Maybelline New York family of spokespeople,” says Cheryl Vitali, Senior Vice President - Marketing, Maybelline New York * GARNIER. “Julia embodies the spirited, confident energy that is Maybelline New York. We”re looking forward to working with her on many campaigns for the brand.”
Julia is extremely excited to be joining Maybelline New York because of her early memories of the brand as one represented by super models and which made some of the first cosmetic products she ever used. “Growing up I always used Maybelline products. My first mascara was Great Lash which was a favorite of all of my friends at the time and which I am still using today.” Julia is honored to become part of the brand legacy and to be a “Maybelline girl”.
When she is not traveling the world for work or charitable involvements, Julia can be spotted playing basketball, her favorite sport, on the outdoor courts in New York, or riding her bicycle in her East Village neighborhood.
Julia has also appeared in campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana and many others. She has also collaborated with the world’’s most renowned fashion photographers including Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, Peter Lindbergh, Craig McDean, Inez and Vinoodh, Steven Klein, Mert and Marcus, and David Sims.
Julia will make her sensational television and print debut for Maybelline New York in February 2008.
October 17th, 2007
The story of Pamela Anderson and her ex-husband’s just got a little more twisted. The drama took a surprising turn recently.
Anderson was recently married for a third time, to Rick Salomon. Salomon is known for his relationship with socialite and part-time model Paris Hilton, and their famous sex tape ‘1 Night in Paris.’ Hilton was reportedly getting cozy with Anderson’s ex-husband Kid Rock, sparking rumors that they are dating.
Hilton was spotted partying with Kid Rock over the weekend in Toronto. According to reports the couple “hooked up” at a nightclub. Hilton was in the area to film her next movie ‘Repo! The Genetic Opera.’ Rock was in Toronto to perform in three gigs on Saturday.
Hilton recently made headlines after she was spotted with a Swedish tourist, whom she is also rumored to be dating. Alex Vaggo was a pizza delivery boy when he met the hotel heiress and recently praised Hilton for her generosity. Thanks to Hilton, Vaggo is breaking into the modeling business. The pair have been spotted out numerous times together.
October 17th, 2007
Kate Moss has gone platinum blonde for her latest fashion shoot, but it’s not all that it seems, according to reports.
However, it’s only a wig, despite looking like the ultimate bombshell to unleash her new lines for TopShop.
The latest line includes plenty of ruffles and chiffon and is a step away from the plain and simple tailoring of the previous designs.
There are also plenty of little black dresses, tailored tuxedos and lots of glimmer and shimmer, mostly in this season’s must-have colour, black.
TopShop boss Sir Philip Green will celebrate the launch of the collection at an A-list party at exclusive Annabel’s club.
The new lines go on sale in stores from 25th October and prices will range from ?35 to ?250.
October 16th, 2007
Heidi Klum and Seal announced at the Automobilforum in Berlin a three-year cooperation. “Klum and Seal are a modern patchwork family. They are natural and unpretentious personalities, tolerant and globally orientated – and thus represent values which can be attributed to Volkswagen, too,” explains Stephan Grühsem, head of Group Communication at Volkswagen.
Seal has had close ties to the Volkswagen Group for some time now. The relationship began at the launch of the new Passat in Hamburg in February 2005. “Our relationship has turned into a real friendship,” Grühsem revealed at the press conference. “Seal truly has petrol in his blood. He is extremely savvy when it comes to knowing the ins and out of our automobiles.” And since Heidi Klum also has long-standing ties to Volkswagen, it seemed only natural to devise a promotion concept that would accommodate both of them as a couple. “It is their first joint appearance as brand ambassadors,” says Grühsem.
“With the Tiguan we want to take new innovative directions – not only with regard to the car itself, but also with respect to how we present it,” explains Jochen Sengpiehl, the head of Marketing at Volkswagen. An analysis revealed that Heidi Klum and our brand are an ideal fit. She is authentic, radiates a zest for life and Volkswagen buyers are able to identify with her. Heidi Klum is probably the most famous German personality in the US, with twelve appearances on the Jay Leno Show and her own successful television show which has won her three Emmy nominations. She has positive credentials all round and has the reputation of being the typical German “Fräuleinwunder”. This is the reason why Volkswagen wants to intensify their work with them in the US.
The collaboration will begin with the campaign for the Tiguan, which entails both print ads and a TV commercial as well as Making-ofs to be posted on the Volkswagen website and a video broadcast by the couple to the dealership conference in Andalusia. The TV commercial will feature Seal’s new CD, “Living the Right Life”, as the soundtrack.
“I told the VW guys that they should leave the Tiguan with us in Los Angeles …a great car:
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nimble, fast and full of technical refinements,” enthused Seal. “My garage is full of products from Volkswagen. If it was possible I would testdrive every new car from them coming out.“ Technically sophisticated automobiles with a discerningly sporty design – that’s what fascinates him.
It’s actually Heidi Klum, though, whose relationship with Volkswagen cars goes back much further. Even as a little girl, Heidi rode around town with her dad in a VW Bus. “Some years later, we went on holiday in a Beetle convertible,” Klum laughed. “We still have it today. It has a really unique colour: amber gold.“ She herself, says Klum, adores the successor to the Beetle, the New Beetle, adding that she has a hardtop and a convertible version of the car parked in her garage in LA. These days, however, the family is so large that they actually only travel in the T5 Bus.
The couple says its collaboration with Volkswagen has been a lot of fun, that they made a good team and were able to contribute ideas of their own and that they look forward to more joint appearances for Volkswagen.
-article from Maktoob Business
October 9th, 2007
STRIKING the perfect pout wasn’t the only thing on Australian supermodel Gemma Ward’s mind as she paraded on the Paris catwalk last week.
The world’s No. 1 high fashion stunner is also establishing herself as hot acting property, using her international modelling career to boost her profile for the big screen.
Sydney-based director Elissa Down, who gave the 19-year-old her first taste of acting in 2001 with short film Pink Pyjamas, says Ward oozes X-factor.
Down says when it came to casting a lead actress to star in her directorial feature film debut, The Black Balloon, Ward was top of her wish list.
“When I first saw Gemma all those years ago at just 13, you could tell she was going to make it,” Downs said.
“She is a very natural actor and so engaging. Some people wondered about having a model (in The Black Balloon) and now they have seen her work they are like ‘oh my god’. There is something personally pleasing about that for me. She is just so good.”
The Perth-born performer appears alongside Toni Collette and Jack Thomson as Jackie in the coming-of-age drama, which will hit screens early next year.
Down wrote the part with Ward in mind.
“When we started writing we had Gemma in mind and then bless her cotton socks she went and got famous on us,” she said. “But she was still interested.”
The Black Balloon is Ward’s third film, with her turn as a masked stranger opposite Liv Tyler in suspense thriller The Strangers set for release late next year.
As the world’s 10th highest-earning model, Ward took home $3.4 million in the past year but has scaled back catwalk commitments as acting takes priority.
For the Paris fashion shows last week Ward walked only for the top houses such as Celine, Givenchy and Balmain.
At 19, her new womanly curves were also on show this week filling out the forms of a diaphanous gown at Valentino - a stark contrasts to past years when she was known for “doll like” girlie looks.
October 8th, 2007
SHE was slammed for being too thin, but Australia’s Next Top Model winner Alice Burdeu is having her cake and eating it too after being signed by major US agency Elite Model Management.
The willowy redhead was the star figure at the centre of a raging skinny debate throughout the Fox 8 series earlier this year, but Burdeu has been given the big fat thumbs up by the agency which manages the world’s top catwalkers - including supermodels Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell.
Her Australian agency Priscilla’s confirmed the signing and revealed the Vogue covergirl had attracted interest from five agencies during her meet-and-greet trip.
“They were all very interested in signing her but Alice felt the best about Elite and her career will be in fantastic hands there,” Priscilla Leighton-Clark told Confidential yesterday.
“It’s a testament to the kind of show Australia’s Next Top Model has become because Alice is of an international standard and she’s really proved that now - she’s amazing.”
The jetset life has taken off for Burdeu, who is due to head back to the US tomorrow to shoot a campaign for make-up guru Napoleon Perdis, one of the key prizes she collected for winning the Next Top Model crown.
She’ll then spend the next month commuting between Sydney and Manhattan before relocating permanently to the Big Apple, living in one of Elite’s famed “model condos” under the agency’s supervision.
The stellar signing should come as a huge confidence kick for the painfully shy Burdeu, who has openly struggled with poor self-image and insecurity throughout the TV series.
October 8th, 2007
AS a young schoolgirl in the 1980s, Australian supermodel Megan Gale would happily plaster her nose with bright pink zinc.
Twenty years later, the supermodel is using an “invisible” version of the popular sunscreen to expand her multimillion-dollar empire.
Gale wants to break into the US market with her Invisible Zinc, which has become the top-selling cosmetic at David Jones department stores.
The move will capitalise on public concern about sunburn in the wake of a class-action lawsuit against US chemical sunscreen manufacturers, which have been accused of failing to disclose they do not protect against harmful UVA rays.
Zinc stays on the surface of skin and acts as a physical barrier to both UVA and UVB rays.
“I think everyone is becoming more and more aware of the dangers of spending too much time in the sun,” Gale said.
And in a bid to make Invisible Zinc more accessible in Australia, new pocket-sized versions will be sold at Priceline and Woolworths stores.
-article from SundayMail
October 7th, 2007
Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova has shocked the fashion world by returning to the Paris catwalk just three weeks after giving birth to her third child, reports claim.
Already mother to five-year-old son Lucas and 18-month-old daughter Neva, the 25-year-old beauty gave birth to baby Viktor three weeks before appearing in Valentino’s ready-to-wear collection show.
A source told New York gossip column page Six: “She’s looking more beautiful than ever.”
Baby Viktor - named after the model’s grandfather - is Natalia’s second son with husband Justin Portman, a British real estate heir, whom she married in 2002.
The super mum ranks seventh in the Forbes list of highest earning models in the world, earning an estimated $4.5 million (?2.2 million) in the past year.
Natalia follows in the footsteps of Victoria’s Secret supermodel and TV host Heidi Klum who returned to the catwalk, looking fabulous, straight after giving birth to her third child with singer husband Seal.
-article from Bounty
October 7th, 2007
Mascara advertisements in which Kate Moss’s eyelashes were digitally enhanced were banned for breaking the rules, the industry watchdog said yesterday.
Kate Moss mascara ads broke rules
The agency behind the campaign denied that Moss wore false lashes
The agency behind the Rimmel campaign denied that the model wore false lashes, but gave no evidence to prove it, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Magazine and television advertisements for Rimmel’s Magnif’eyes mascara broke the rules by using images that may have exaggerated the product’s benefits, the watchdog ruled.
The TV commercial’s claim that the mascara gave “70 per cent more lash lift” could mislead viewers because it referred to a change in appearance not actual lash length, the watchdog said.
The ASA found the Rimmel magazine advertisement featuring Moss in breach of advertising rules. The TV commercial broke rules relating to misleading evidence.
The advertising agency J Walter Thompson said Moss’s eyelashes had been “cleaned up and enhanced”. But it did not explain how the appearance of the model’s lashes had been changed.
-article from Telegraph.co.uk
October 6th, 2007
Shoppers have been flying to New York to snap up fashion bargains for years. But now the tide could be turning - and it’s because of the Kate Moss effect.
Barneys, one of New York’s most iconic department stores, is charging its customers almost double what Brits pay for elements of Kate Moss’s Topshop collection.
The current exchange rate is about $2 to the pound, but this doesn’t seem to be reflected in many of the prices paid by American fashion shoppers.
Much of Moss’s spring/summer range is equal to the UK price tag in the current Barneys sale, yet many of her new autumn/winter clothes are selling for much more.
It means US fans of her designs may decide to fly here for a better deal. The light blue Seventies flare jeans have a ?50 UK price tag, but cost $158 (about ?79) in New York.
Her black mohair jumper with hole detail is on sale for $198 in Barneys, roughly ?99, even though it sells for only ?55 in the UK. But the biggest mark-up is on a silk chiffon flowery smock dress. It’s ?100 in the UK, but New York fashionistas face a $425 price tag - at ?212.50 that’s more than twice the UK price.
A Topshop spokesman said they didn’t have jurisdiction on prices, adding that import costs and taxes could push up US prices by almost three-and-a-half times.
Barneys declined to comment.
-article from Daily Mail
October 6th, 2007