Cassy Bhairo
IVANA J
Jess A
Marie M
Shoe lovers in London have been glued to their mobile devices and computer screens in a race to win a pair of free Jimmy Choos.
The Jimmy Choo trainer hunt or "CatchAchoo" race offers the winner the chance to keep a free pair of the shoes so loved by celebrities if they can figure out where they are in London according to clues left on social networking sites Twitter, Facebook and foursquare.com.
A picture of a Jimmy Choo bag is taken in the location and left on the sites, where a company representative will wait for a short period of time with the shoes on display.
Those who have figured out the clue must race to the location, approach the representative and say: "I've been following you" to win the shoes.
The competition, which has been running since April 19th will carry on until someone wins the prize.
"There have been some close shaves when people have missed the shoes by a minute or two. But it triggers the motivation to catch them next time," a Jimmy Choo spokeswoman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Huge diamonds and gems with royal cachet are expected to fetch strong prices next week as buyers chase unique pieces in a revived international jewelry market, rival auction houses said on Friday.
The semi-annual sales in Geneva, Europe's capital for jewels on the block, follow highly successful results in both Hong Kong and New York, according to Christie's and Sotheby's.
Collectors from Asia, especially China, and the Middle East are increasingly bidding for top-quality gems in the Swiss city alongside traditional buyers from Europe and the United States.
"The market now seems to have returned in great strength. Last year was one of our best years," David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's Europe and Middle East jewelry department, told Reuters in an interview.
Sotheby's, which had record sales in Hong Kong last month, expects to net 35 million Swiss francs ($32.77 million) at its jewelry and watch sales in Geneva.
"The vast majority of the sale comes from private owners. Virtually all the noble section has never been on the market before. The jewels are fresh and quality is very high," he said.
"Period jewelry, collection jewelry and noble jewelry are getting scarcer and scarcer. Competition is growing and estimates are being exceeded quite comfortably. Also for fine diamonds and colored stones," Bennett added.
Jean-Marc Lunel, head of Christie's jewelry department in Switzerland, said buyers are paying top prices for high-quality diamonds, colored gem stones and jewels of special provenance.
"Colored diamonds take the direction of Hong Kong. In Geneva, we are focusing on fine quality, signed pieces from French master jewelers," he told Reuters, pointing to pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boivin and Chaumet.
CHINESE ACTIVE BIDDERS
As Chinese buyers now take home roughly 20 percent of its jewelry, privately held Christie's has moved Brenda Kang, a Chinese-born Singaporean expert, to its Geneva offices.
"The Chinese are very, very active in the jewelry field. They have a lot of interest but are not always successful, they are also under-bidders. But they are bidding actively and fiercely in all our jewelry auctions," Lunel said.
Christie's estimates that its Wednesday night sale will fetch between 23 million and 33 million Swiss francs.
Its star lot is a flawless rectangular-cut white diamond weighing 40.21 carats, estimated at $4.5 million to $5.5 million. A stunning necklace set with 20 round diamonds, known as a riviere, could go for $1.8 million to $2.4 million.
Christie's also offers a diamond and enamel brooch designed by award-winning British jeweler Shaun Leane, who named it "White Light" after being inspired by a Dylan Thomas poem about the first snow of winter.
"It is an extraordinary jewel, a modern contemporary creation and of course a unique piece," Lunel said of the brooch, estimated at $1 million - $1.5 million and whose cascading diamonds weigh a total of nearly 41 carats.
Star lots at Sotheby's sale on Tuesday are an emerald-cut white diamond of 52.82 carats and a ring by French jeweler Alexandre Reza mounted with a vivid blue diamond of 5.02 carats alongside a white diamond of the same pear-shape of 5.42 carats.
The large white diamond is type IIa -- the top grading for both polish and symmetry, meaning it is the most pure.
"It's a new stone, therefore the buyer has the possibility of naming it," Bennett said of stone, estimated to fetch $7 million.
Feathers stuck on eyebrows. Men in skirts. Pink nipple tassles. Models painted blue who could have come straight off the set of the movie Avatar.
Australian Fashion Week did not disappoint those who love -- or loathe -- the extravagant flourishes on the catwalk with the bizarre standing out from a sea of more muted shows that consisted mainly of black, grey and white.
But the aim of the 15th annual Australian Fashion Week was serious -- to promote both established and a new guard of Australian designers locally and overseas in a market that is strengthening after last year's global financial crisis.
Many of the 160 plus international buyers and media who descended on Sydney for the week-long show agreed the collections weren't so offbeat and added to the image of Australian designers coming up with wearable, unique fashions, and not just swimwear.
"The bulk of the designers showing at (Australian Fashion Week) beat to their own localized drum, hardly touched by the major shifts that the northern hemisphere fashion capital shows have prompted," wrote blogger Susanna Lau of stylebubble.co.uk.
"The (Australian) designers have developed their own aesthetic ... and their home fanbases regularly buying these brands proves that."
With London, New York, Paris and Milan securely placed as the world's four fashion capitals, Australia is trying to position itself as the main fashion center in the Asia Pacific region.
Founded 15 years ago by Australian PR and marketing consultant Simon Lock, Australian Fashion Week has grown over the years to be bought in 2005 by marketing and management company IMG whose portfolio also includes fashion events in New York, London, Milan, Berlin, Miami and Mumbai.
"We are looking to expand in Asia and considering several other possibilities," Daniel Hill, general manager of IMG Fashion Australia, told Reuters.
PLUS-SIZED MODELS PROTEST
Last year's Rosemount Australian Fashion Week shrunk by 15 percent amid the global financial woes but numbers were back up in 2010 with over 165 registered international buyers and media, up from 134 a year ago, and more than 60 shows, up from 41.
One of the most closely watched designers was Dion Lee who made his debut at last year's fashion week while established labels Zimmerman and Alex Perry were also praised.
On the catwalk Aboriginal model Samantha Harris created a buzz, kicking off the show on Monday for Lisa Ho.
Few Aboriginal models have been successful to date with supermodel Naomi Campbell commenting on the absence of Aboriginal models but Harris, 19, has been a rising star since she entered a contest in a teenage magazine in 2004.
Her appearance at fashion week coincided with her appearance on the front cover of Vogue Australia's June issue, the first Aboriginal model in the coveted position in 17 years.
Harris was one of the models in Camilla Franks' 20th Century Fox sponsored show painted in blue like a character from Avatar, all of them tall and thin.
A group of plus-sized models protested on Thursday, claiming they have been shut out by the Australian industry and wearing T-shirts with slogans such as "I love my curves."
Big Gal Models agent Darrianne Donnelly said the industry had gone backwards after showcasing 18 plus-size models last year. "The public wants to see themselves, in all shapes and sizes, not just size 6," Donnelly told Sydney's The Daily Telegraph.
The textile industry is on the verge of collapsing as yarn dearth has pushed a number of value-added textile producers to shut their businesses. For saving the industry from extinction, the industry stakeholders have realized the need to develop a joint strategy.
During a meeting with the spinning sector representatives, held last week, the garment producers pulled back their earlier demand on higher regulatory duty imposed on yarn exports and now want only five percent duty on these exports. However, the representatives of spinning sector strongly opposed the regulatory duty on yarn exports, mentioning it as an impractical move.
The regulatory duty cannot be imposed on yarn exported to China as it is forbidden under the free trade agreement, signed between the two countries, said Akber Sheikh, former Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Punjab Zone. The country exports around 60 to 70 percent yarn to China.
As the rates of yarn are linked with that of cotton, it has become difficult to control yarn rates, said Ejaz Gohar, Chairman APTMA, Punjab. For instance, prices of yarn increased from Rs 760 per 10 pounds in June 2009 to Rs 1,260 per 10 pounds in April 2010 due to the increase in rates of cotton from Rs 3,350 per maund to over Rs 6,700 per maund, he added.
However, the rise in yarn prices is far less when compared to the hike in the rates of cotton. The spinners have stopped importing cotton from international markets following the quota imposition on yarn, informed Gohar. Moreover, the farmers are also against the imposition of yarn quota due to fear of lower consumption of cotton by local spinners.
Also, the farmers support free market economy as it has helped them in the past to receive global rates on their yield. They also support free export and import of yarn and seek free export and import of cotton.
Combined measures will be taken to meet with the fabric requirements of the country’s textile industry. Thereby, apart from being one of the leading garment producers and exporters, Sri Lanka will also be producing its own fabric to meet its industry’s needs.
The government has decided to make Sri Lanka non-dependent on other nations for its fabric requirements. More so, the government also thinks that, meeting the country’s textile industry’s cloth requirements is as important as meeting with the country’s demands for food and housing.
Country’s industrialists, local investors, exporters and the government are intending to join hands to formulate a program so as to commence with various projects for the textile industry. This will help supply garments in the country.
In addition, the government will also make an effort to modernize and develop the textile industry by establishing more industrial zones specifically in the North and East of Sri Lanka to further promote the industry and generate more job opportunities.
Sri Lankan emigrants and Diaspora living abroad will also be called upon by the government so that they could invest towards the development of the country. This investment will help further to facilitate the industrial zones with state-of-the-art infrastructure thereby, providing job opportunities.
Care would also be taken by the government to attract multi-national investors to invest in the industrial development of Sri Lanka.
Singapore, March 2010 - With the global economy on its road to recovery and buyers’ investment appetite returning, there has never been a better time for machinery manufacturers companies to showcase their products and demonstrate thought-leadership to their clients.
In the hub of Southeast Asia and close proximity to the Indian sub-continent, Singapore is the undisputed business destination and strategic hotspot where the buyers meet sellers. The Asia Apparel and Textile Machinery Exhibition (AAMA-TEX) is back for its eighth edition as the apparel and textile machinery focused platform that congregates the major industry stakeholders in the region.
Organised by the Sewing Machine Traders Association, Singapore (SMTAS) and the Textile & Fashion Federation, the established series of AAMA-TEX exhibitions dedicated to the garment and textile industry,will be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands,Singapore.
The event will showcase a more extensive range of textile machinery compared to previous editions,complementing its all-encompassing apparel machinery selection. The comprehensive exhibit profile includes machinery, systems, equipment, accessories and services used in the manufacturing of garments and textiles, with an emphasis on technologically efficient and environmentally sustainable exhibits.
Mr Benny Pua, Chairman of the AAMA-TEX 2010 Organising Committee, said, ““The market is on a steady curve of recovery, and the key industry players are eager to be as aggressive, if not more; to push their products to potential and existing clients. Having gone through a slow and sluggish 2009, machinery manufacturers are doubling up their sales efforts to make up for lost time. We are very pleased to put together AAMA-TEX 2010, which is held at an opportune period, to provide this platform to both leading textile machinery manufacturers and buyers to assess the latest technological development, which is the most critical driver to sustainability in a highly competitive market ”
With an extensive visitor promotion campaign, AAMA-TEX 2010 is targeting to attract some 5,000 visitors and global buyers. These include garment and textile manufacturers, distributors, importers, traders, consultants, designers as well and fabric and textile specifiers. The key visitor markets are ASEAN and South Asia textile and garment regions.
The Indonesian Textile Association (API), revealed that the expected market situation in 2010 will improve, considering the economic recovery of developed countries will be more visible by mid-2010. The API expects the Indonesian textile and apparel exports to reach US$10.66 billion in 2010, as global demand returns to normal.
The Thai Textile Manufacturing Association (TMA), reported that the Thai textile industry is rebounding with an export growth of 10-15% forecast for 2010. They revealed that the forecast is based on optimism gained through the region’s expanding opportunity. TMA is also involved in the collaborative effort with the ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries (AFTEX) and the ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE), to form the Source Asian Full Service Alliance (SAFSA), to enable the effective pairing of local manufacturers and buyers within the region and from around the world, promoting ASEAN’s capacities and regional synergy to facilitate the needs of the global market.
On the positive outlook, Mr Ma Onn May, Director of Gimmill Industrial Pte Ltd commented, “There’s been some investment interest in factories and production facilities in South Asia, especially Bangladesh. We are definitely looking at increasing our machinery order quota, and are looking forward to sourcing for new products. Trade exhibitions are always good platforms to start with.”
Exhibitors who confirmed at AAMA-TEX 2010 include Yamato, Hashima, The Veit Group, Shing Ling, Focus Garment Tech, Ngai Shing, Macpi SpA, MAICA Srl, Sclavos, Singapore Machinery, Sprayway Singapore, Twin Star Singapore, United Texmac, VI.BE.MAC SpA, H.S. Machinery, Pfaff and AMS System Services.
Some of the key features of AAMA-TEX 2010 are:
- National and regional pavilions representing Singapore, Germany, Italy, Fujian, Calcutta, Ningbo, and Taiwan.
- The Global Buyers Summit is a complementary event organised by TaFf. This summit is designed for apparel manufacturers, retailers and merchandisers, to complete the entire value chain for the apparel and textile sector.
- Online business matching portal to assist exhibitors and visitors to pre-schedule appointments and culminate with face-to-face meetings at AAMA-TEX 2010.
Mr Joel Lee, Project Director of AAMA-TEX 2010 added, “We have put in place a robust sales and marketing plan, and will be working closely with industry experts, partners and associations to ensure a strong take-up of exhibition space and attendance by quality visitors. With our move to the latest venue in town, Marina Bay Sands, we are confident that this will be a whole new experience for all AAMA-TEX participants.”
AAMA-TEX 2010 has received strong support and endorsement from local government agencies such as International Enterprise Singapore and Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, as well as from
overseas trade agencies such as ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries (AFTEX), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer Exporters Association (BGMEA), China Sewing Machine Association (CSMA), Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), Egyptian Textile Development Association (ETDA), Guangdong Sewing Equipment Chamber of Commerce (GD Sewing), Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA), Textile Machinery Manufacturers Association, India (TMMA) and the Taipei Sewing Machine Association (TSMA).
M&S reveals the first pictures of its brand new menswear advertising campaign featuring former footballer and sports pundit Jamie Redknapp. Jamie will be the new face across all menswear ranges for the next year and will be seen modelling key pieces from the Blue Harbour, North Coast, Autograph and tailoring ranges. The campaign reflects the retailers new brand direction, following on from the new womenswear and food campaigns which launched in March.
In his first print campaign, which launches on 8th May, Jamie is seen modelling relaxed casualwear from the retailers Blue Harbour brand and was shot on location in South Africa.
Steven Sharp, Marketing Executive Director, says: “We’re delighted to have Jamie on board. He’s got a great sense of style and I think the ads look fantastic.”
Jamie Redknapp says, “I was thrilled when M&S asked me to be their new face of menswear, it’s such an iconic brand and one I’ve always held close to my heart. I always like to dress sharply and I think the M&S ranges are fantastic.”
ABC's recent prime-time movie "Beauty and the Briefcase" starring Hilary Duff showcases the latest fashions from wedding and evening gown designer Arefeh Mansouri.
"As an up and coming designer, it was great to see some of my favorite handywork on the silver screen. I wanted to display a wide range of designs from avant-garde to simple and chic," says designer Arefeh Mansouri.
This year has been very busy for the renowned designer. After designing her beautiful tote bags for both the Emmy and Oscar charity events, Arefeh Mansouri feels this to be a great start since starting her line in the US only 3 years ago.
On the auspicious occasion of the South Indian Hindu festival Akshaya Tritiya, Damas launches an exotic new collection of jewels under its highly popular Kiku Pearls brand where five-petal flowers bloom in splendour amidst 18k yellow gold settings, diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires and emeralds presenting vibrant pendant chains, stud earrings and rings.
Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be one of the most sacred festivals due to the rare positioning of beneficial planets, which augurs eternal prosperity and success for any new beginnings made and for valuables bought on that particular day.
The Kiku Pearls special Akshaya Tritiya collection’s central motif is a five-petal bloom at the heart of which is embedded a peerless round diamond brilliant set in a five-pointed star. It is ringed by rubies, sapphires or emer-alds and further encircled by large ‘petals’ featuring freshwater pearls.
Interspersed by sparkling diamond bril-liants their lustrous beauty is further enhanced. Damas then displays its creative touch by featuring each of its magical blossoms on large stud earrings, pendants and rings of fantasy.
Bold yet feminine, this array of festive jewels is available in three options featuring rubies, sapphires and emeralds and comes in extremely price friendly options: pendant AED 1,090, earrings AED 1,370 and ring at AED 1,090. The total set is priced at AED 3,550.
Tamjid Abdullah of Damas Jewellery commented, “We are indeed very happy to present the special Kiku Pearls Akshaya Tritiya collection. Floral inspired and visually splendorous, it perfectly reflects the joyous mood of an ancient festival. By blending a rich and colourful array of precious materials it unfurls grand options as adornment for jewellery lovers seeking opulent and extraordinary options as adornment.”
Ajay Pandey – GM Category & Marketing Head of Damas jewellery said, “Indians form one of our largest section of shoppers and the new Kiku Pearls Akshaya Tritiya collection is designed to perfectly capture the mood of the occasion. As Damas has always been sensitive to both the needs of its customers as well as to market fluctua-tions these jewels come at very attractive price options too.”
Discover Damas’ floral artistry in its special Kiku Pearls Akshaya Tritiya collection now available at select Damas outlets across the UAE.
Puttin’ on the Bliss – a clothing company committed to inspiring women to feel good and have fun – has announced the launch of its first organic T-shirt collection on April 22, 2010, to coincide with Earth Day. The company will donate 10% of all website sales of the shirts to Earth Day Network, which is an organization with a mission to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide.
The new T-shirt line-up is an extension of the company’s popular ‘Bliss Happens’ collection. Adorned with the fun and uplifting message, the eco tees are made of 100% certified organic cotton produced by a system of farming that avoids the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers and genetically modified seeds. The cotton is also colored using organic dyes. This method of growing cotton has a remarkable impact on the environment. It takes approximately one pound of chemicals to grow three pounds of conventional cotton, whereas organic cotton is grown chemical free.
“We are excited to be adding organic items to our clothing collection,” says the company’s President, Leah Bruns. “Our apparel is designed to inspire feelings of joy and optimism. Being kind to the planet is an important part of living the blissful life that we aim to encourage. The organic cotton fabric is ultra soft, wears well and is extremely breathable. I know that our customers are going to be very happy with this product offering."