Monday, December 3, 2012
Fresh-faced Heidi Klum shakes off late night partying to help Sandy relief effort in New York
No hangover here! Fresh-faced Heidi Klum shakes off late night partying to help Sandy relief effort in New York
By Mike Larkin
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A man of enterprise once claimed sleeping is for wimps.
And it seems Heidi Klum shares this mindset, for she shook off a night of partying to hand out Storm Sandy aid in New York on Sunday.
Hours after her famous costume party, the supermodel looked like she was having a great time as she lugged around boxes and handed out supplies to those left in need due to the natural disaster.
Putting her back into it: Heidi Klum seemed to be relishing helping with the aid effort in Seaford, New York on Sunday
She was working with AOL, Patch and The American Red Cross to provide the much needed supplies.
And she seemed to relish getting stuck in with aid workers and helping them with their task in Seaford, which is in the Nassau County of New York state.
The 39-year-old had dressed in a suitably utilitarian way, donning a navy bubble jacket, leggings and boots.
The Project Runway host also seemed to be enjoying getting to mix with the locals, and was spotted giving them a cheerful wave as she went about her work.
She also spent time pressing flesh with the local emergency service workers, even posing for photos with the lucky chaps.
Taking a breather: Heidi cheekily posed for a photograph while standing on the aid truck in the town
Back to the grind: Once she had caught her breath she soon returned to carrying out her good deed for the day
Mrs Klaus: Handing out toys will have truly been an especial joy for the philanthropic mother-of-four
Her outing came just less than 24 hours after she enjoy a hedonistic evening at her Haunted Holiday Party in the Big Apple.
Heidi, who is divorcing her husband of seven years Seal, looked like she was having a great time bouncing on Santa's knee while dressed as Cleopatra at the bash.
She had postponed her annual Halloween party due to Storm Sandy, and looked thrilled to be finally enjoying the event, which she gave a special Christmas holiday flavour.
Many will be wondering exactly where she gets all of her energy, especially as she is now dating her macho bodyguard Martin Kirsten.
In the holiday spirit: Heidi was full of good cheer as she waved at locals as she went about her good work
Not so Klum: The whole crowd seemed excited to be getting the change to see the supermodel in the flesh
Quite the reward: No doubt having their picture taken with Heidi was a dream come true for the hard working emergency services workers
Just like old times: Both Heidi and Santa seemed to be enjoying bouncing her on his knee
Liz Jones gets up close and personal with Valentino Garavani: Master Of Couture
Liz Jones gets up close and personal with Valentino- the only man she'd trust to make her next wedding dress
By Liz Jones
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Here are some questions I battle with every day: is fashion art? Do clothes matter? Should women shop in Primark even in a recession? Who, if I ever get married again, would I pick to design my wedding gown?
In a quiet backstage room at a preview of a new exhibition — Valentino: Master Of Couture — at Somerset House, London, I attempt to get some answers.
The designer Valentino Garavani, born in 1932, sat before me in an impeccable grey suit and crocodile loafers so shiny you can check your lipstick in them.
Grand designs: Valentino and one of his gowns
His wrists are covered in bangles and bracelets, and his face is the colour of the deck of one of his super-yachts.
Has he heard of Primark? ‘Prada? You ask Prada?’
No. Primark — a fast fashion outlet. Very cheap. ‘Ah! I’m not able to do cheap, cheap, cheap. The High Street, they’re very good at what they do, they do fantastic, but they copy. They copy me.’
The House of Valentino, which he founded in Rome in 1959, has not only never used a sweatshop, it has never used a sewing machine. All garments are handmade by seamstresses called le ragazze — ‘the girls’.
Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld once whispered in Valentino’s ear: ‘Compared to us, the rest are making rags.’
And on the strength of this exhibition of Valentino’s greatest hits, he was absolutely right.
The 140 gowns are displayed on mannequins colour-coded for each decade: mint for the Fifties, mustard for the Sixties, parma violet for the Nineties and so on.
They stand alongside a catwalk (which is where the visitor must walk) lined by gilt chairs bearing the names of the couturier’s most devoted fans — from Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy to Madonna, Lady Gaga and Anne Hathaway. The dresses are immaculate and a testament to a lifetime of work.
The Sixties fashions are my least favourite: swing coats, mini- skirts, ponchos and something in salmon. But every other decade has timeless gowns, such as the 1992 black-and-white tulle gown with white ribbon worn by Julia Roberts at the 2001 Oscars.
The second part of the exhibition shows how the dresses are made, with videos and swatches of fabric revealing the soon-to-be-lost techniques of haute couture: how to fashion a ‘volant’ — a floating flounce — or a ‘soutache’ — a decoration to conceal a seam — and a rose, Valentino’s signature flower, using silk tulle.
And couture is not dead, even with the advent of shops such as Primark. But as fashion critic Cathy Horyn notes in the 2008 documentary The Last Emperor: ‘There is no one who can replace Valentino. Because unless you were learning about couture in the Fifties, from people who learned it in the Twenties, you are not going to get any more information.’
Valentino retired in 2008, his company sold to a conglomerate, and the fear is his brand will go the way of so many, including Halston and Cardin: merely a name behind handbags and scent sold in duty-free shops.
And that would be a huge shame. Close study of his dresses shows that he knew how to flatter form.
He hates exposed ankles in evening gowns, saying: ‘A dress that reveals a woman’s ankles while she is walking is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.’ But this practice is commonplace these days, given it is now the job of a designer to sell shoes.
There are the inevitable ‘Valentino red’ gowns here, notably a 1959 evening dress covered in silk roses, but my favourite item is a light pink organza cape, made in 2007.
Close study of his dresses shows that he knew how to flatter form
The showstopper, though, is the wedding dress made for Marie-Chantal of Greece in 1995, which took 25 seamstresses four months to make, and has me almost wishing I could rustle up a fiancé. Would Valentino, a self-professed Anglophile and fan of Downton Abbey, like to come out of retirement and dress our very own Duchess of Cambridge?
‘I find Kate very beautiful, she is not too [he gesticulates wildly, bracelets jangling] much, she is modest. And yes, I would very much like to give her a dress.’
Kate, that is an offer you simply cannot refuse.
Valentino is at Somerset House until March 3, 2013; £12.50, concessions £9. Visit somersethouse.org.uk.
LIZ JONES SPIES ON...OXFAM'S VINTAGE POP-UP SHOP
It’s such a brilliant idea, I wonder why someone hadn’t thought of it sooner. Take William Banks-
Blaney — the best vintage fashion expert in the land — and send him to every Oxfam shop and warehouse to snuffle out hidden gems to be sold in a pop-up shop in London (premises donated free) and online.
At the store’s launch on Wednesday night, you’d have been forgiven for thinking you were in a Paris atelier or at least William’s own swanky boutique on Marylebone Lane.
Nothing was squashed, there was no smell of mothballs and everything is grouped in colour and style. In among the Sixties Mary Quants, the Seventies Ossie Clarks, the Eighties Westwoods and even an original wool coat worn by a Suffragette, are lots of vintage High Street brands, too, such as early Miss Selfridge.
Prices are not sky-high, ranging from £5.99 to £120, and I guarantee you will find a unique party dress, a gorgeous piece of knitwear and even a very now pair of gold pumps. A truly ethical way to dress.
The Oxfam Edit is at One Newchange, London EC4M 9AF and online from today — visit oxfam.org.uk/fashion.
More from Liz Jones...
- Why is Kate trying to look old before her time? LIZ JONES gives her verdict28/11/12
- LIZ JONES FASHION THERAPY: 'I've seen the future of beauty - and it's blingtastic!' Liz Jones heads to Liverpool to try out Harvey Nichols' new Beauty Bazaar25/11/12
- Larger than life beauty queens: LIZ JONES was ready to mock the pageant that starts at size 18 - but found herself surprisingly moved23/11/12
- LIZ JONES FASHION THERAPY: Can the handbag hospital save my old battered bags?18/11/12
- The cynical greed of celebrity fashion lines: As the Kardashians become the latest stars to launch a style line, LIZ JONES tries on their outfits, then says enough is enough11/11/12
- Why I detest this bare-faced chic: As celebrities claim to go without make-up for charity, LIZ JONES hits back07/11/12
- Mary Berry's recipe for style: Never mind her baking, her jazzy dress sense at 77 is causing a stir. LIZ JONES got an exclusive peek into her wardrobe31/10/12
- LIZ JONES: You don't pay for my cats - so why should I pay for your kids?30/10/12
- VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
Bar Refaeli shows her life isn't all glamorous as she shares snaps of her painful tooth treatment and magazine photo shoot
'Ouch!' Bar Refaeli shares snaps of her painful dental visit... but she soon recovers for smouldering photo shoot
By Leah Simpson
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She looks a picture of perfection, even right down to her teeth, in a new photo shoot for Spanish Glamour magazine.
But this past week has been an eventful one for Bar Refaeli, at least as far as her dental health is concerned.
The Sports Illustrated model posted a picture of herself on Twitter while she was in the dentist chair.
'Ouch!': Bar Refaeli tweeted a picture of herself in the dentist chair
The 27-year-old can be seen with her mouth wide open and a tube running down the inside of her cheek.
A blue paper towel is placed beneath her jaw to catch any stray fluid.
It’s a hardly a glamorous look but Bar still managed to look great in the awkward position.
True beauty: The blonde also showed off a snap of herself in a new photo shoot for Spanish Glamour magazine
With her highlighted blonde locks falling away from her face, it only emphasises her fresh-faced beauty and perfectly shaped eyebrows.
It’s not clear whether she was simply there to have a check-up or if she had experienced some trouble with her teeth.
However she didn’t seem to having the most comfortable time as she tweeted: ‘At the dentist... Ouch!!’
The day before she was dressed casually on a shopping trip in Berlin with her father Rafi.
Carefree: Bar was seen doing some shopping in Berlin, Germany the day before her dentist visit with her father, Rafi Refaeli
Bar also shared with her hundreds of thousands of followers on the micro-blogging website, a snap from one of her new photo shoots.
In the images she wears an asymmetric black dress which is teamed with a structured necklace.
Bar stands against a white background as her long tresses are blown around by a wind machine.
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