Angelina Jolie Print Ad and Video Teaser for Louis Vuitton's Core Values Campaign.

above photo (detail) by Annie Leibovitz


Angelina Jolie is the latest celebrity photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Louis Vuitton's ongoing "Core Values" ad campaign. Posing in a wooden boat in Cambodia, and wearing her own clothes, the print ad broke yesterday and will soon be accompanied by an interview with the actress, filmed on location, to be featured on Louis Vuitton's Journeys microsite.


Angelina Jolie print ad for Louis Vuitton, shot by Annie Leibovitz

The previous ads, photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the Louis Vuitton Core values campaign, are shown below and feature Bono, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride and Jim Lovell and Sean Connery:






What makes Angelina's ad even more beautiful is that Ms. Jolie has donated a large slice of the $10m (£6m) she is said to have been paid from a Louis Vuitton photo shoot to charity, according to Sky News.

The following teaser launched yesterday on Louis Vuitton's Journey microsite:


From WWD:
She’s barefoot, wearing her own clothes, no makeup and toting her own elegantly weathered monogrammed Alto bag. Yet Angelina Jolie looks radiant and completely in her element, reclining on a wooden boat in a verdant, lakeside landscape in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. Jolie discovered the country in 2000 when she filmed “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” and it sparked her humanitarian activism.

She’s the latest celebrity to pose for Louis Vuitton’s popular “Core Values” campaign — and surely the only one who brought four children to the photo shoot, some of whom had to be shooed out of Annie Leibovitz’s frame.

“People are not used to seeing Angelina in this situation,” said Pietro Beccari, Vuitton’s executive vice president, unveiling the image exclusively to WWD. “I like the fact that it’s a real moment. This travel message we give through personal journeys is a fundamental one for the brand.”

The ad is slated to break in the International Herald Tribune on Wednesday, followed by a range of news, general interest and lifestyle publications, including Vanity Fair.

Beccari declined to disclose budgets for the media buy, or comment on reports Vuitton paid the American actress millions for the shoot. He would only say Jolie donated an undisclosed portion of her fees to a charity.

The campaign is expected to run for at least 18 months alongside a few other recent “core values” personalities, including Bono and Sean Connery. Vuitton introduced the advertising concept in 2007 as a way to trumpet its travel roots and showcase its perennial monogrammed leather goods as a balance to its fashion-driven marketing — and to reach a broader audience. Other personalities who have posed for Vuitton include Mikhail Gorbachev, Keith Richards and Catherine Deneuve.

Today, Louis Vuitton posted the teaser on its Web site, louisvuittonjourneys.com/cambodia, foreshadowing an interview with Jolie that will be posted later in the month. In it, she is expected to discuss how her visit to Cambodia was a life-changing experience, awakening her to the plight of Third World countries. She adopted her eldest son, Maddox, from Cambodia and she and Brad Pitt established the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which is active in community development and conservation in the country.

“This campaign is about a very special person and a very special journey,” Beccari said.

And a storied handbag. Beccari showed off several paparazzi shots of Jolie toting the Alto carryall, which is believed to be at least six years old. The style is no longer in production, but “we are considering to re-edit it,” Beccari noted.

Louis Vuitton Journeys/Cambodia

Louis Vuitton Creatures Made Of Small Leather Goods By Billie Achilleos.

above: detail of a Chameleon, made completely of Louis Vuitton's small leather goods.

Recently, Louis Vuitton tapped Chameleon Visual and the incredibly talented propmaker/puppeteer/artist Billie "Fingers" Achilleos for a second time*. In this instance, it was to create four bespoke animals made from Small Leather Goods for their AW11 Press event, which was held in Paris this week.

The Chameleon - for colour:


The Grasshopper - for sounds of zips and press studs:




The Beaver - for functionality:



& the Armadillo - for the materials strength:



Imagery Provided by Louis Vuitton Press Department, via the artist

*Earlier this year Billie Achilleos, the self-proclaimed "Maker of Things" was approached by Chameleon Visual to produce some very unique creatures for the debut windows of Louis Vuitton’s New Bond Street Maison. Each of the 20 bespoke animals was carefully constructed out of genuine Louis Vuitton bags, purses and accessories and resented in dome jars.

The windows were such a success, they did it again for the New York store.

Here's a few images of those, courtesy of the artist:

above left: the window of the Bond Street store and right, in New York.

Bond Street, frog:

Crab and Fish:

New York:

Snake and Rooster:


The talented Billie Achilleous:


Louis Vuitton

Fashionably Dress Your Wounds With Leather Bandages

Scott Amron of Amron Experimental has come up with a chic and clever way to fashionably "dress your wound". The New York designer/artist and electrical engineer sells his "Hurt Couture" pressed black leather bandages 3 to a pack for $15. He claim that the leather actually breathes better. Not sure if that's true, but they certainly look better.



He intends to come out with some Louis Vuitton ones, too (shown above). Get on his mailing list for those here.


Interested in other types of luxury first aid?
• Swarovski studded bandages
• Alyssa Dee Kraus designs sterling silver and 18k gold band-aid jewelry
• Check out the sterling silver bandage rings by Michelle Lopez at Artware Editions.

Gucci, Dior, Hermes Designer Christmas Trees. The 15th Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs.

On December 1st, 2010 the 15th anniversary of the association “Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs” was celebrated at L’Espace Vendôme. The event takes place each year in France where fashion designers, architects and artists create their versions of Christmas Trees to be auctioned off for charity.


above : Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (left) and Jean Paul Gaultier (right) with their Christmas Trees

"Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs”, initiated by Marie-Christiane Marek, uses the biggest names in fashion, design and architecture to create unique art representing Christmas trees to be sold at auction with proceeds benefiting a child-focused charity. This year, like last year, the proceeds will be donated to the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy foundation and allocated for L’enfant @ l’hôpital.




Here's a look at several of the designer Christmas trees from the 15th Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs, followed by a video of the event, both in French and English.

Gucci:


Louis Vuitton:


Chanel:

Marithé + François Girbaud:

Gaultier and Dior:

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (made with tree branches):

Isabel Marant:

Guerlain:

India Mahdavi:

Ali Mahdavi:

H&M:



Rachid Khimoune:

Patrice Gardera:

Sonia Rykiel:

Maxime Simoes and Olivia Putman:

Repetto and Hermes:

Blind Adam ( Thanos Kyriakides) and Damien da Rocha:


The 26 participants included Chanel, Christian Dior, Christian Ghion, Dsquared, Gucci, Hermès, H&M, India and Ali Mahdavi, Isabel Marant, Jakob+Macfarlane, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Louis-Marie de Castelbajac, Louis Vuitton, Marithé + François Girbaud, Maxime Simoens, Olivia Putman, Ora Ïto, Patrice Gardera, Rachid Khimoune, Repetto, Sonia Rykiel, Thanos Kyriakides-Blind Adam.



Le Sapins de Noel des Createurs

In french:

La 15ème édition des Sapins de Noël des Créateurs

With English Voiceover:


A 52 minute program of the event co-presented by Marie Christiane Marek and a renowned designer will air on TV5MONDE on December 26th, 2010.

The Charities
For eleven years Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs has been associated with the Fondation d’Auteuil pour la Maison d’Orly. The Fondation d’Auteuil’s mission is to prevent and protect children between the ages of 6 and 21 years old through teaching whilst taking into account the aptitudes of each child. Among other things, a gymnasium, a play ground and a locker room have all been made possible through this relationship.

2007 and 2008: Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs has been involved with Sol en Si (Solidarité enfants Sida), a charity that supports and accompanies children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS in France and Africa. Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs was able to help in the creation of a therapy centre in Togo thanks to the money raised from its auction.

In 2009, Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs donated the proceeds from its auction to the Fondation Carla Bruni-Sarkozy where it was allocated to the charity L’enfant @ l’hôpital. Founded in 1986, L’enfant @ l’hôpital seeks to help children in hospital in the continuation of their education by providing supplies and IT support. Over the past twenty years, over 100 pediatric services have been provided with this.
images courtesy of © Valérie Paillocher / Le Journal des Femmes, Wire images, Getty images, and France 2



See the trees from last year's event.