Lindvall with the Lohla-Jayne bag in glossy black python and mid-calf length patent Helena boots.

Jimmy Choo goes dramatic in its Autumn-Winter 2008 campaign, shot in New York by renowned fashion photographer Terry Richardson.

Lindvall is the star of Jimmy Choo’s Autumn/Winter 2008 campaign.

The dramatic caged Glenys heel in green python.
WHERE footwear is concerned, there is more than one way to wear the shoes in advertising campaigns… and Jimmy Choo is known for its glamour and thrill-driven ads, accentuated by powerful accessories.

Jimmy Choo’s Autumn/Winter 2008 advertising campaign is an extension of this philosophy.

Shot by New York-based fashion photographer Terry Richardson (who is renowned for his wildly vivacious work), it features American supermodel, Angela Lindvall.

The images encapsulate the new collection, as worn by a woman who lives the life she dares.
The gilt and marble splendour of the newly renovated Plaza Hotel on Central Park in New York provides the setting for the campaign.

It takes the shape of a montage of “moments”, as seen unfolding in the course of one night.

Each moment sees the label’s Autumn Winter designs as the centrepieces of the action. As Lindvall jumps from curb side to limo, the new soft-structured Lohla-Jayne bag in glossy black python and mid-calf length patent Helena boot are pushed into the fore frame.

Kicked up against the tiles of the hotel bathtub, the dramatic caged Glenys heel in green python is caught.

On the backseat of a limo, the casual luxury of the giant patchwork water snake Saba bag is revealed and against the baroque chair, the boho glam of the beaded fringe suede Bill boot.

She checks her reflection in the elevator, wearing the Harley sunglasses embellished with Swarovski crystal studs on the temples. As the night rolls on the pace is upped, peaking in the revolving door shot.

Lindvall emerges, half seen, clasping the starfish emblazoned star Char clutch and striding out in the Glint - a guillotine toe, rhinestone studded platform bootie. Every piece is seen as an entrance-maker.

The Autumn/Winter 2008 campaign is the first to be produced in collaboration with AR, the NY-based creative agency.

The campaign introduces a new graphic language for Jimmy Choo that captures the cinematic qualities and dynamism of the brand.

Launched in tandem with the campaign is a new marketing initiative, a 48-page perfect-bound magazine featuring images from the campaign alongside exuberant stylised images and collection shots.

“Our collaboration with the exceptional creative talents of Terry Richardson, Angela Lindvall and AR, conveys a new and powerful vision; perfectly capturing the energy and modern spirit of the Jimmy Choo woman for the Autumn/Winter 2008 collection,” said Jimmy Choo president and founder Tamara Mellon. - Compiled by Syida Lizta Amirul Ihsan

῕ The Autumn/Winter ‘08 collection is available at Jimmy Choo, Lot G43, Ground Floor, Suria KLCC. Call 03-2300-7788 for more information.

New Straits Times

A necklace made by Wong.

SU AZIZ finds out what it takes to make your own beaded jewellery.

Vicky Wong says mastering the technique is easy

THERE is something to be said about glittery, beaded jewellery. Display them in a shop window, and most women are drawn to them. Due to its popularity, these jewellery are now ubiquitous. They come in all sorts of designs, made from humble glass beads to the more high-end Swarovski ones.

The trick to owning as many as possible to match the numerous outfits you already have hanging in your over-stuffed closets (don’t deny this, I know things!), is to make your own.

According to beaded jewellery maker, Vicky Wong, you have to learn the technique.

“Once you have mastered the technique, it is simple. The tedious bit would be where you have to make it look neat.” Therein lies the problem.
Wong has been at it for the past three years. “I am planning to attend an advance class to learn more and get a certificate,” she said.

The 35-year-old secretary started this as a hobby which later became a profitable side-income project. “It started with friends wanting such jewellery and from word-of-mouth,” she recalled.

The basic steps, according to Wong, consist of learning to use the clasps, and wires and the skill of looping.

“Every single thing you do when it comes to beaded jewellery requires looping.” Looping is basically using curved wires to connect the beads together to form shapes and designs.

Wong also realised she likes teaching this craft. “There is more satisfaction and a camaraderie with friends. When we discover a new design, we experiment and learn together.”

Looping the pieces of jewellery has become second nature to Wong. She handled the round nose equipment effortlessly to form a curve from a perfectly straight wire. Her miniscule curve to lock in a bead for an earring is both smooth and neat. Has it always been like this?

“No! It was disastrous in the beginning. It took me a year to master it.” Patience, as they say, is a virtue.

The basic equipment can be found in any bead or wedding paraphernalia shop for approximately RM30. The kit will consist of a flat and round nose, and a cutter.

“To start off with a beading kit of your own, you will need between RM200 and RM300. But as you go along and become more adventurous, you will find yourself buying the more pricey accesories such as Swarovski and the more sophisticated beads.”

However, even when you have mastered the technique, connecting the beads can be tough.

I take around an hour to loop a hundred beads and half-an-hour to connect them.”

Start by making a simple necklace, which will require 10 or 20 beads.

“That might take around half-an-hour,” said Wong.

Beaded jewellery workshop

VICKY Wong, who has been teaching the art of making beaded jewellery to single mothers from the Women’s Institute of Management (WIM), will be conducting a workshop for four consecutive Saturdays, beginning July 19.

The workshop will be held at Wisma WIM on Jalan Abang Haji Openg in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

A fee of RM450 will be charged per participant. Materials and beading tools will be provided. For details, call 03-7725-0268. For more of Wong’s handiwork, log onto vickywoh.blogspot.com

New Straits Times

Label-loving technophiles have it good these days. More and more luxury-goods companies are crossing over to the once-staid sphere of tech gadgets and stencilling their glitzy logo on every thing cold and metallic, from humble thumbdrives to notebooks.

The mobile phone is a favourite target. Prada and LG collaborated to create the Apple iPhone lookalike KE850, Armani and Samsung for the chrome-edged P520, and Julien MacDonald and Sony Ericsson for the sprightly K510i. And who could forget the ritzy gold Razr born from the blessed union between Dolce & Gabbana and Motorola?

Last month, renowned Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer announced a tie-up with French design label Modelabs to create a line of luxury mobile phones that will be released in the second half of next year.

New York-based clothing designer Vivienne Tam showed off a concept-edition MP3 player that boasts a gleaming scarlet body with seductive curves not unlike those of a teapot handle, albeit a very stylish one.

It seems that international fashion houses have wisely caught on to the “ker-ching” revelation that their coveted brand status can rub off on a raft of goods beyond handbags and apparel.

After all, tech gadgets are veritable fashion accessories - what you carry and use reflects your personality and style. For fashionistas, a designer logo on any object gives them immediate bragging rights.

But pretty as they may be, the fruit of the liaisons between fashion labels and electronics makers sometimes appears to be wanting in functionality. Under the swanky hood, you may find that the specifications are nothing to scream about, and the features disappointingly pedestrian.

Remember the Philips-Swarovski memory sticks masquerading as crystal hearts and jewelled locks? All that bling is a treat for the eyes but the added bulk also means that users might not be able to slot other peripherals into their computer’s ports.

Last year, French jeweller Cartier also unveiled a USB flash drive, androgynously sleek in brushed palladium and unapologetically chichi with embossed numbers mimicking watch bezels. The drive has a grand total of 1GB of memory capacity, and will cost nearly $1,000. You pay a premium for the name, not for technical superiority.

Some electronics makers disguise basic specifications by hooking up with a fashion brand. For example, Samsung recently dressed up its no-frills 3G Z240 clamshell by painting it crimson and stamping it with the logo of Spanish designer Vittorio and Lucchino.

Beneath the alluring front however, it is still a simple phone with basic specifications - 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth-capable, and 25MB of internal memory.

Sometimes, functionality and practicality are sacrificed to preserve the aesthetics of a product, and the priorities of luxury fashion houses do lean towards pleasing the eye. Look at six-inch stilettos, ultra-skinny jeans and rib-crushing corset tops - not very functional, are they?

Similarly, a qwerty keyboard on a phone is terribly handy but designers are not rushing to slap one on because it just does not look very good. After all, phones conceived from designer marriages favour smooth touchscreens and petite keypads, not clunky keyboards.

At the end of the day, it is simply a matter of priorities. Looks and functionality are not mutually exclusive but one of them sometimes takes a backseat.

Consumers often unconsciously make buzzword-compliant devices their starting point, and then ask what features they would be willing to sacrifice for brand cache.

The Prada LG KE850 might not be 3.5G or WiFi-enabled but its 2-megapixel camera is respectable, as is its battery life.

The reality is that the average tech device already meets most consumer needs, and high-end specifications and designer looks are both luxuries. The question then becomes which luxury do buyers want to pay a premium for.

Word has it that Samsung-Armani will be debuting an LCD screen at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next year. There’s no word on the technical specifications but it will probably not be too shabby. Would we want one? Hell, yeah! -

Channel News Asia