a Grand Affair

Natalia Vodianova met Justin Portman, a British property heir, former artist and chess organizer at a Paris dinner in 2001. They married in November 2001 when she was eight months pregnant. In September 2002, over nine months after registering the marriage in the UK, they had a wedding ceremony in St. Petersburg, where Vodianova wore a dress designed by Tom Ford.

The couple have three children: sons Lucas Alexander (born 22 November 2001) and Viktor (born 13 September 2007), and daughter Neva (born 24 March 2006). Viktor is named after Vodianova's grandfather, who had helped raise her after her father's departure. Neva is named after the Russian river Neva.

They separated from February 2010, Vodianova and Portman announced their final separation in June 2011.

What a shame...

pureDKNY, pure good will

The pureDKNY -the environmentally conscious fragrance from DKNY, takes small steps to make a big difference.

A drop of vanilla sourced from Africa, a drop of goodwill. The fragrance bottle is 100% recyclable, the box is biodegradable and for every tree used in the packaging, a tree is planted in its place. DKNY Fragrances is donating 10% of the proceeds to CARE, to help fight poverty in Uganda, where the fragrance’s key vanilla ingredient is sourced.

Here's a nick of interview with Angela Lindvall -the face behind Donna Karan's new fragrance, plus some beautiful and candid behind-the-scenes shots from the pureDKNY advertising campaign which she stars with her adorable son, Sebastian.

How did you feel when you were asked to be the face of pureDKNY?
I am so honoured to be the face of pureDKNY. It feels great to represent something I truly believe in.

What do you like about the fragrance?
Besides being an amazing pure smell of natural oils, I like the fact that the brand has made responsible decisions as a company while launching this new product. The vanilla is harvested in Uganda, which helps support the nation of Uganda and biodegradable plastics and recycled papers are used in the packaging as well. Mostly, I like what the campaign represents, which is all the little moments in life that make life special - the pure moments and relationships in our lives.

Who do you think the pureDKNY woman is?
A strong multi-dimensional woman. A woman who is confident in herself and sets trends, not follows them.

What did you enjoy the most when shooting the advertising campaign?
I love all the DKNY team, Nathaniel Goldburg, and being with my son was a plus. It was very easy going, you wouldn't have even known it was a job - it was more capturing pure moments.

What was it like having your son Sebastian feature in one of the campaigns? And your partner also?
My partner was just there to help with Sebastian and ended up getting booked on the job, so he was super excited. Sebastian and I just hung together and without even knowing we had our picture captured. We all had a really fun trip to NYC.

How was the pureDKNY campaign different from all the other work you’ve done with DKNY?
This was very raw in the sense of the style. It wasn't so much about clothes, but more about a feeling. It was very intimate. This also represents something much bigger and a message that is much needed in the world in which we live today.

Was it important to you that this fragrance supports environmental sustainability?

Absolutely. The industrial revolution opened a lot of opportunities in the past, but those ways are no longer sufficient and sustainable to evolution. There are new ways to do things. But, it is necessary to implement them into existing structures and procedures. I’m very proud that pureDKNY has made these steps and I’m also proud to be a part of it.

Worthwhile

"I understood the danger of focusing only on what isn't there...

What if I came to the end of my life, and realized that I had spent

everyday, watching for a man who would never come to me?

What an unbearable sorrow it would be to realize:

I never really tasted the things I had eaten,

or seen the places I had been;

because I thought of nothing but the Chairman,

even while my life was drifting away from me.

And yet, if I drew my thoughts back from him,

what life would I have?

I would be like a dancer who had practiced since childhood,

for a performance she would never give."

-Sayuri Nitta,

Memoirs of a Geisha

Stella McCartney, Las Vegas

Located within The Crystals City Center project, the Las Vegas Stella McCartney store nestles between two inclined thirty storey ‘crystal’ towers. Like huge glass shards they create a landmark space in their shadow within the Daniel Libeskind designed building. This is the new epicentre of Las Vegas – a complex cluster of angular forms which houses marques from around the world under thirteen (lucky for some) twisting rooves.

The Stella McCartney store sits next to Cartier, close to the Aria Casino entrance – a simple brass facade. Formed with rhombus ceramic tiles defining two large display windows, the central entrance opens with a colourful threshold. This is the beginning of Stella McCartney’s Vegas.

Stella McCartney have collaborated with architects APA from Soho, London with whom they also worked for stores in Paris and Milan, (in association with an experienced local team) to propose the ambitious new store which houses a remarkable crystal horse at its very centre.

Imported from a Scottish Castle, the horse ‘Lucky Spot’ is named after Stella McCartney’s mother Linda’s own horse. Hanging within a vast fourteen foot ceiling space, the crystals are suspended mid air to describe in light the form of George Stubb’s famous equestrian painting ‘The Whistle Jacket’. It is an act of theatre combined with design artistry and a slightly wicked but healthy sense of playfulness. The horse is surrounded by the Stella McCartney latest collection on an array of sculptural sweeping clothes rails and with geometric cubes housing her accessories merchandise. A subtle sense of joy is, we hope, evoked.

On the floor, a traditional Herringbone (designed by Raw Edges with Established & Sons) has been commissioned which subverts the classical feel in beautiful nude tones to depict an enormous sweeping curvature guiding the customers though the collection. At the back of the store, the pattern becomes a classic dotted check plaid subtley merging to a warm luxurious lounge punctuated by brass clothes rail and English furniture.

The fitting rooms go a step further in spectacular tones of veneered maple of warm red, azure turquoise and deep rich flannel grey ; a further inflexion of the traditional, this time in timber panelling set within a room of deep Hague blue.

The new environment mediates between design, artistry and the bravura of Las Vegas in a confident and uncompromising manner.

Chanel Crocs Biarritz Aligator

Chanel loyalists, feast your eyes on the Chanel Croc Biarritz, an oversized (literally huge) Chanel tote designed with black crocodile. Forbes reports that there are three of these in Chanel NYC, two in Chanel LA, and three more wandering around select Neiman Marcus locations.

There is a simply understated external zip pocket with a CC silver pull and dividers on the inside. Not sure if the bag can be found anywhere now, but the Chanel Croc Biarritz deserves fuss and press and spotlight.

The line is inspired by the world-famous holiday resort on the Basque coast of south-west France where Coco Chanel opened her boutique in 1915. The Kaiser designed the line for the Parisian jet set who loves the resort in addition to paying homage to the original jet setting mademoiselle, Coco Chanel.

Coming in at $43,150, this bag is sure to be exclusive not only because of the limited quantity made, but also the exorbitant price tag. Any of you get one of the eight known beauties?

OFF