My pig

BERLIN – Burberry is planning to stick to its knitting in terms of branding but it is looking to expand leather goods, children’s wear and sportswear, the creative head of the British fashion group said on Tuesday.

Christopher Bailey, 38, who was elevated last week to the post of chief creative officer – a position nobody else holds in the fashion industry – said there was solid demand for new types of Burberry goods such as belts and shoes.

“There is a huge momentum in this sector (of leather goods),” Bailey told Reuters in an interview on the fringes of a luxury summit in Berlin, organized by the International Herald Tribune.

“We will be growing the range with a bigger emphasis on shoes,” he said.

Currently, non-apparel makes up about one-third of Burberry’s revenues. Bailey’s comments came after the 153-year-old company posted a smaller than expected fall in first-half profits.

Bailey said the crisis had goaded Burberry to continue cultivating its “integrity and quality values.” He said the company, which had already survived many twists and turns in history, carried a “reassuring” character.

“You need to understand your roots and your heritage,” he said. “Our strategy has been to be more focused about who we are. Our point of view is that you have to have a point of view and have a strong voice among the clutter.”

Bailey said he had noticed that “people feel it is okay to start shopping again” but they wanted to buy things that lasted.

Bailey, who received an MBE this year in the British Honours List for his services to the fashion industry, joined Burberry in 2001.

Prior to joining the British group, he was senior designer of womenswear at Gucci in Milan from 1996 to 2001 and was the womenswear designer at Donna Karan from 1994 to 1996.

Want a pink private jet and hotel room in Monaco arranged fast? No problem. Well, certainly not for members of Quintessentially, a super-exclusive club that insists: “Nothing is impossible.”

The company has won international fame for its 24-hour concierge service, attracting clients such as pop diva Madonna and actress Sharon Stone, and has established successful bases in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

“Being a Quintessentially member is like having a global personal assistant all year around, 24-7,” said Cynthia Chen, media relations manager for Quintessentially China.

What if a client wanted to have dinner with the United States President Barack Obama during his visit to Beijing?

“Of course, we might not be able to arrange a private dinner with him, but we could certainly have arranged for someone to sit in the same dining hall as him,” said Chen.

Membership to Quintessentially costs upwards of 38,000 yuan ($5,500) a year, which guarantees a full concierge service from a dedicated team of assistants. The premium packages cost around 300,000 yuan. However, only 50 elite clients are accepted in any one city.

The club has around 200 members in China but receives 20 to 30 new applications a month, Chen said.

It initially attracted clients in Beijing and Shanghai, but people in cities like Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and Hangzhou and Wenzhou in Zhejiang province are now joining.

“The number of affluent people in China is growing fast, so fast they don’t really know what to do with all the money they are making,” said Chen.

“They know luxurious brands but it’s not always the most expensive that is the best. We try to introduce them to the good life, showing them the best products, food and adventures.”

Female members tend to use the service to go to private jewelry events or fashion shows, while men are more interested in adventures in the North Pole or driving Bentleys in Siberia, explained Chen.

Despite a frosty economic climate, she said interest in joining Quintessentially China remains high, for personal and professional purposes. While most join to benefit from the global personal assistant services, some use the club to build a network and get contacts that can help with their careers.

“During the financial crisis, many of our members got coaching from us, things like private banking management,” Chen said.

“Our youngest members are young CEOs. They want to establish business relationships with others and see the regular networking meetings we hold as great opportunities to do that.”

The classic cardy boots story started way back in 1978 when a young Australian surfer took a single bag of sheepskin boots with him on a trip to America. The Californian surfers fell in love with them and so the Ugg brand began to take off.
Uggs have been identified as a fashion trend foг bοth sexe? since the early 2000s. cheap ugg boots classic cardy nightfall chestnυt ride the vagaries of fashion trends, ωith а gгowth in popularity fοr men tied to increased celebr?ty usаge.
I know that ‘my first Uggs’ is probably an early fashion highlight of a girl’s life, and she’ll probably want to try on every pair in every colourway, but I wondered if this explained the queues. Those who were left tried valiantly to cope with the customers but some inevitably drifted off.
The new ugg boot ?ot ?ale. ?s nοw available, and is alreаdy starting tο sell well. Then yoυ know the ugg cla?sic boοts? This new st?le combines the ugg cardy boots styling with th? add?tion οf t?e v?ry popular button. is not а matter of ?f this style sells out, but how quickly.

There are all kinds of classic cardy ugg australia boots, that can be worn in the year 2009. This article will show you the several hottest boots for spring 2009.
Remember the Ugg boots that everyone sported this winter? They were warm, yet breathable. Well, Ugg boots are still the thing for spring too.The big thing for spring will be the Ugg rain boot collection. The great thing about ugg boots classic cardy is that they keep your feet cool.
The ugg classic cardy cheap came into fashion in fall of 2008. It’s like a sandal with no toes, but in the form of a boot. The style of boot ranges from pink style boots, to black shoes, to anything you can dream of. To see the models on the runway sporting these boots, they look very fashionable and hip.
The boot is certainly not the choice for very cold weather.Some boots cause your feet to sweat inside, but this allows air in and out of the boot, at least near the front of the foot and the toe area.Some do not prefer the peep toe boot because it does not offer as much warmth.

BEIJING: Chinese promising star Zhou Yang won the first gold medal at 2009/2010 ISU World Cup short-track, after she finished first in the women’s 1500 meters event here on Saturday.

Skating to a thunderous crowd in the Beijing Capital Gymnasium, local sprinter Zhou remained second during the beginning part of the race but sped up strongly in the final laps.

After seizing the leading position, Zhou, ranked 1st in last season’s 1500m World Cup competitions, never left any chance to the opponents and hit the finishing line in two minutes 28.600 seconds.

Lee Eun-Byul of South Korea clocked 2:29.014 to wrap up the silver while Katherine Reutter of the United States, finished third in 2:29.095.

Dubbed as China’s promising star, the 18-year-old Zhou set a world record in the 1,500m in two minutes 16.729 seconds in Salt Lake City early this year.

The 2009/2010 ISU World Cup Short-Track includes four stops, namely Beijing, Seoul, Montreal and Marquette in USA. The World Cup competitions in Montreal and Marquette to be held in November have been designated as the 2010 Winter Olympic Games qualifying competitions.

LONDON: Formula One’s governing body was made aware last year of allegations that Renault had fixed the Singapore Grand Prix by ordering Brazilian Nelson Piquet to crash, a British newspaper reported on Friday.

The Daily Mirror quoted the driver’s father and namesake, also a triple world champion, telling investigators that he had spoken informally to FIA race director Charlie Whiting at the season-ending Brazilian race in November.

Piquet and Whiting worked together at the Brabham team in the 1980s, with the Briton acting as the champion’s chief mechanic.

“When this thing happened in Singapore I couldn’t believe it,” the Brazilian declared in excerpts from an interview that the paper said was conducted by private investigators Quest in London on Aug 17.

Anyway, in Brazil I talk to Charlie,” he continued.

“I got him and said ‘Look what could happen to Nelson if I bring this up? And I was afraid to screw up the career of Nelson.”

Piquet added later: “In the race in Brazil I called Charlie and I told the whole story to Charlie.”

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) was not immediately available for comment.

The body began investigating the allegations after Piquet junior was dismissed by Renault and then made a statement to the FIA alleging he had been ordered to crash to help team mate Fernando Alonso win.

Former champions Renault will face the FIA’s world motor sport council in Paris on Monday to answer charges of fraudulent behaviour that could see them kicked out of the championship or fined heavily.

Team boss Flavio Briatore and his engineering head Pat Symonds have already left the team and Renault have said they would not contest the charges.

ABU DHABI: Sebastian Vettel led his Red Bull teammate, Australian Mark Webber, home in an impressive one-two triumph in Sunday’s season-ending inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the first ‘day-night’ race in Formula One history
The 22-year-old German, in commanding form on the spectacular Yas Marina circuit, took full advantage of the early retirement of Briton Lewis Hamilton with brake problems on his McLaren Mercedes to seize his fourth win of the year.

It was the Red Bull team’s fourth one-two this season, matching the record of the newly-crowned constructors’ champions Brawn GP, whose new champion driver Briton, Jenson Button, finished third after a tense tussle with Webber over the final laps.

The result confirmed Vettel finished the season as runner-up in the drivers’ championship behind Button while Red Bull proved they are more than worthy of finishing second to Brawn in the teams’ championship.

In a race that started in late afternoon sunshine, but finished under dazzling floodlights, Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello finished fourth in his expected last outing for Brawn.

German Nick Heidfeld marked his last race for the departing Sauber BMW team, which is leaving F1, by taking fifth ahead of Japanese Kamui Kobayashi, who secured his first points in F1 in a Toyota in only his second race after replacing the injured Timo Glock.

Italian veteran Jarno Trulli finished seventh for Toyota and Swiss Sebastien Buemi, who was 21 on Saturday, took the final point in eighth place for Toro Rosso.

Hamilton, who was smartly out of the blocks to establish a solid early lead, retired on lap 20 with McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh indicating his car appeared to have a brake problem.

“I was struggling to stop the car,” said outgoing world champion Hamilton.

“The right rear brake wasn’t working and it was too dangerous to continue,” Hamilton said.

Double world record holder Usain Bolt met his match at the Nairobi National Park on Monday where the cheetah cub, aptly named “Lightning Bolt”, had been taken for custody after its mother abandoned it three months ago.
On full flight, the cheetah can cruise at a maximum speed of 112kph. Bolt held the frightened cub on his shoulders, fed it fresh milk from a bottle and declared his infectious smile in place.

“The cheetah has now become my good friend. Initially I was scared of them but I have now overcome the fear,” the Jamaican sprinter said in Nairobi.

The Kenyan government promptly awarded him a Certificate of Adoption at the function attended by Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Kenya has about 800 cheetahs that the government has marked as endangered species.

Bolt has spent four eventful days in Kenya where he has been on charity tour of conservation matters through Zeitz Foundation — the brainchild of Jochem Zeitz who is CEO of the sportswear that sponsors him Puma.

Earlier, Bolt was hosted by President Mwai Kibaki and Premier Odinga. On both occasions he showed the “Lightning Bolt” when he was asked to display his trademark pose.

The Jamaican sprinter has attained iconic status in Kenya that has surpassed that of local athletes.

There is no doubt that his visit to the country will reverberate among his fans for a long time to come.

Most Kenyans will henceforth follow his progress in the sprints that he promised to dominate for the next ten years.

Ugg boots become very popular because of a footwear fashion item,ugg boots classic cardy grey because it can make your feet warm and comfortable.If you want the
quality of a pair of ugg boots in the cold winter, but you do not want to spend too much monry, coquette casual ugg
then you need to Bailey button ugg boots. classic
cardy ugg australiaThe Bailey Button can either be worn up or cuffed down adding a little variety depending on
your style. All ugg boots in our Classic Collection feature a soft foam insole covered with genuine sheepskin and have
a molded EVA light and flexible outsole designed for amazing comfort with every step.The stylish ugg boot is made with
twin-faced sheepskin and a durable molded rubber outsole. The wrap around classic cardy bootslace feature adds a fashionable touch with wooden beads at the end. A
removable and replaceable sheepskin insole gives extra comfort and warmth.

Ugg boot are made of sheepskin, and are
ugg classic cardy boots very popular with
people, from teenagers who like them to be fashionable, to aviators flying smaller planes at high altitudes to keep
their feet warm. The uggs Ugg Classic Crochet is a new addition to the popular Classic collection with its slouchy
styling cheap ugg boots and colorful knit uppers.cheap ugg classic cardy boots A sheepskin footbed provides the extra comfort that UGG Australia is well-
known for. A light and flexible outsole paired with a new decorative label uggs on sale makes this boot perfect for
spring ugg cardy boots .The Ugg Classic Crochet boot can be cuffed or styled any creative way href="http://www.ugggoodsaler.com/ugg-classic-cardy-c-27.html">cheap ugg cardy bootsto personalize your look.While
no one is really sure when this new fashion trend is going to end, or how long it is going to last, because the boots
are so comfortable they just might be here for a while.