Even as the European auto market suffers in general, the German luxury brands are hatching new ideas to reach well-to-do buyers who are managing to stay above the recessionary fray.
They’re bursting on to the scene with new retailing concepts, including Audi City — which just opened in London in time for the London Olympics crowds — and BMW’s avant garde showroom in Paris.
Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi AG’s head of marketing and sales, essentially speaks for the industry when he notes that “people are placing greater emphasis than ever before on a direct and personal bond of trust with their vehicle brand – especially in respect of the increasing variety of products and available information.”
Since his emergence in the late 1990s, the work of designer Thomas Heatherwick has been hugely acclaimed. He was called "the Leonardo da Vinci of our times" by his mentor and fellow designer Terence Conran.
However, it is Heatherwick’s design for the Olympic cauldron that has made him a household name. When the cauldron, codenamed Betty, was lit by seven young athletes, and its 204 copper "petals" rose to create one huge flame, it caused jaws to drop around the world.
Heatherwick revealed that his cauldron was made in Yorkshire in what he described as "the most sophisticated shed in Harrogate … like the Bond gadget workshop".
Before the Olympics, Heatherwick’s involvements with sport had been less happy. B of the Bang, his sculpture to commemorate the 2002 Commonwealth games, had to be dismantled after fears that its spikes – one of which fell off – could present a danger to passers-by.
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Yeah, we all gotta do it but growing old becomes more interesting when the way you making a living are based on your natural beauty. A new documentary by photographer and filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders interviews some of the most famous supermodels of the last half-century about the topics of fashion, beauty, fame, and aging. HBO‘s About Face: The Supermodels, Then and Now will be broadcast on Monday and features conversations with Jerry Hall, Lisa Taylor, Carol Alt, Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, Isabella Rossellini, Lisa Taylor and Cheryl Tiegs, among others.
The documentary, which was an official selection of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, was filmed in Greenfield-Sanders’ trademark intimate portrait style, and reveals the roles these supermodels played in defining (and redefining) beauty over time. Watch the trailer below:
Nike’s hyperfuse technology creates a unique composite upper made from three distinct layers with special properties: a base stability layer, a breathable mesh layer, and a durable outer skin. These three layers are bonded together to produce a seamless trainer upper that is light, strong, and breathable. Besides the technology, this version of the Air Max 90 comes in a gorgeous original colorway, with a base of white accented by steel grey, metallic silver and bright “infrared”.
Screening tonight as the opening night film at NewFest, New York’s LGBT film festival, is Four, director Joshua Sanchez’s debut feature film. The drama is about two distinctly different couples—one illicit, the other fresh—both secretive and struggling with their personal demons and conflicted desires on a steamy July 4th night in suburban Connecticut.
Four stars Wendell Pierce, best known as Det. Bunk Morleand from HBO’s The Wire, in a controversial role most people never expected to see him in, playing Joe, a middle-aged, married man out on an Internet date with a white teenage boy named June (Emory Cohen, Afterschool, 2008). It’s their first date and Joe is determined not only to show the shy and reluctant June a good time, but through pointed advice and example to get him t0 be more aware and confident in himself and his sexuality. This despite the fact that Joe, himself, is a closeted homosexual. Their own night takes a few twists and turns, though in a low-key and organic way dissimilar from the way most films unwind.
Now before you go running to your coworkers and friends and start spreading rumors, please note that these are only concepts and nothing has been approved by Apple for execution… now we can continue. Designer Antoine Brieux of NAK Studio has taken a step pass all the conceptual iPhone 5 designs and is aiming to win hearts with the next round of updates to the popular mobile device.
This concept houses the home button on the left side of the phone (used with your thumbs), leaving a larger screen for users to enjoy. Brieux uses ergonomic grip cleverly and formulates it with dimensions of 125mm x 63mm with a 4.9 inch screen. What are your thoughts on the concept?
7 For All Mankind today unveils its FW12 Brand campaign. James Franco is back directing, editing and leading the photographic direction, with the brand’s creative agency LIPMAN, for another multimedia campaign.
The FW12 campaign opens with a refreshed 7 For All Mankind You Tube channel debuted today with the trailer, Behind James. The first episode (one of six), a refreshed 7forallmankind.com website and the print creative go live on August 15th. Franco’s creative presence in the campaign represents his on-going role as a creative force behind the 7 For All Mankind image and branding.
Yves Saint Laurent announced last month that it was dropping the Yves from its ready-to-wear line, and the logo looks to have shed a little weight as well.
A big departure from the brand’s iconic intertwining YSL letters, the new logo (revealed on its Facebook page) is all caps in white type on a black background, signaling a return to an earlier period of the company when the logo type was much simpler and straightforward. New York magazine notes commenters on the brand’s Facebook page harrumphing at the change. “Where’s the iconography? This is not iconic,” said one. “YSL without the Y is not YSL,” wrote another.
COPSON ST. is a concept dedicated to tropical living. Their colorful hub is kept alive by a team of creatives ; constantly curating, creating & commentating on everything style, skate and bass related. Created in 2009, after a spring of rolling through the streets of Barcelona, bred via New York & Manchester, and now settled and thriving in London.
For this summer collection, they released a small ‘holiday’ capsule dedicated to those warm balmy days and nights, which includes a selection of tropically infused t- shirts, hats and crews.
In keeping with their signature style of mixing west coast haze with east goat grit, the collection sees a number of rugged bleach stains combined with their typical colorful palettes & playful prints.
This limited edition version of Vans’s Authentic shoe, first sold in the 1960s, from the limited edition Vans Vault collection puts a new spin on a classic style. The Authentic LX Tiki features a woven canvas upper with a unique Tiki pattern and further texture is added by a band of hemp material where the midsole meets the upper. Finally, the signature Vans waffle sole features an orange triangle pattern, adding more intrigue to this unique and exclusive style.
This article titled “Thomas Heatherwick: the man who designed the Olympic cauldron” was written by Alex Needham, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 30th July 2012 13.16 UTC
