SkiddMark » fashion

Bruno Senna quits racing to focus on his modelling career..?

Steve Davies — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Yesterday, Lotus Renault GP confirmed Romain Grosjean as its 2nd driver for 2012 alongside Kimi Raikkonen, displacing the team’s 2011 drivers Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov.

In a statement shortly after, team boss Eric Boullier confirmed Petrov’s contract had been terminated and that he would not be in line for the team’s test and reserve driver role (presumably linked to his recent outbursts against the team).

And that just leaves Senna looking for a seat. So it seems ironic that on the very same day as the Grosjean announcement, Senna should appear modelling the new Lotus ORIGINALS collection. When he pictured himself sitting in for Lotus in 2012, I doubt he envisaged it being a lounge chair..

Bruno Senna and Lotus CEO Dany Bahar open the new Lotus ORIGINALS retail store in Hethel

Is this the price to be paid for waiting in the wings?

For what it’s worth, I remember enjoying Bruno’s drives in GP2, where he would comprehensively out-drive Vitaly Petrov and battle on equal terms with Romain Grosjean, so apart from his variable performance at times, I can see little justification in replacing him with Grosjean apart from the obvious financial ones (Grosjean is managed by team boss Eric Boullier and French oil giant TOTAL will be a team sponsor in 2012).

Lotus describe their new retail concept as “..a clear sign of their new brand identity and befitting the current and future collection of cars planned for 2013 and beyond.”

The first step in this process is opening the brand’s first retail store at Group Lotus HQ near Hethel.

In fact, if you’re in the area it might be worth popping in and taking a look, because in addition to the latest range of apparel and accessories, the retail store is also showcasing the new look customers can expect from Lotus dealerships in the future.

The new Lotus ORIGINALS retail store in Hethel

The dealership environment has a modern look and feel with an inviting lounge area where customers can browse the Lotus library or leisurely spec their new Lotus car. Lotus’ latest models will be on display in the store, with full paint and trim swatches to complete the Lotus shopping experience.

Commenting on the launch Group Lotus Director of Licensing and Merchandise Wiebke Bauer said: “It’s a very proud day for us today, it’s more than a simple store opening. One of the biggest challenges we have as a business, outside of selling cars, is to make the Lotus brand as accessible as possible. We have many fans out there in the world who aren’t necessarily in a position to buy one of our cars but they still want to be part of the Lotus world and this means a lot to us.”

Opening hours are 8.30am until 5pm (Monday to Thursday) and 8.30am until midday on Fridays. Hopefully you won’t find Bruno serving from behind the counter, but within the broadly defined contract he seems to be under with Lotus, you never know.

Let’s hope we see him in a race suit and off the cat-walk soon.

Gucci, Armani and…now Lotus

Steve Davies — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:46:00 +0000

February 2011 will mark the launch of new luxury lifestyle brand, Lotus Originals. Inspired by the Lotus DNA of innovation and design excellence, the debut collection is a range of performance outerwear, refined, luxury knitwear and leather goods that reflect the craftsmanship, heritage and spirit of Lotus. Lotus Originals will be exclusively available from the Lotus website (www.lotusoriginals.com) from February.

The launch of the new range is a natural step in the repositioning of Lotus as a lifestyle brand. As the saying goes, the devil is in the detail and the Lotus Originals range is no exception to this. Lotus have carefully hand picked the very best suppliers and materials to work with ensuring that the range reflects the future of Lotus. Those who appreciate the finer things in life can indulge themselves with 100% cashmere sweaters and hand-treated leather in the form of a stunning leather jacket, inspired by the 1970s drivers’ suits.

Wiebke Bauer, Director of Licensing and Merchandising for Lotus said: “Our goal with the Lotus Originals concept was to create a range of apparel and accessories that really capture the true spirit of our iconic British brand. Lotus Originals isn’t just for traditional car enthusiasts, on some of the pieces the branding is very subtle allowing the style and quality to shine so we hope that it will appeal to a much broader audience. We have developed a collection that is luxurious in a classic, understated way so it is easy to wear every day yet still make you feel part of our very special brand.”

Motor racing and sports car heritage have been used as inspiration for the collection. For example selected pieces are textured in a stylised way to signify tyre treads whilst elsewhere a white ‘armband’ design shows the interpretation of race track markings.

Wiebke Bauer, Director of Licensing & Merchandising for Group Lotus

Throughout the collection each piece is detailed thoughtfully to reference the brand’s unique DNA and automotive history. Polo shirts and T-shirts feature double stitch edging and a playful approach to branding, with vintage Lotus logos, racing stripes and car silhouettes. Block colour numbers relate to the dates of famous racing victories of the 1960s and 70s, as well as 1948 – the year that Lotus founder Colin Chapman built the first car.

The clothing collection is accompanied by a range of Lotus Originals lifestyle accessories. Hand-crafted luggage is available in sumptuous tan leather or lightweight canvas and calfskin leather driving gloves in tan, black, Lotus green and bright yellow are the ultimate driver’s indulgence. Exclusive gaming sets in lacquered carbon fibre and leather wallets, belts and luxury desk accessories are also available as part of the Lotus Originals lifestyle range.

The Lotus Originals collection will be exclusively launched online at www.lotusoriginals.com on February 23, 2011 to mark London Fashion Week’s Menswear Day.

A London flagship store is scheduled to launch towards the end of 2011.

Photo Gallery

Launch of the 2010 Pirelli Calendar

Steve Davies — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:55:59 +0000

It is perhaps the true measure of a petrol-head that when we open a thread entitled ‘Pirelli Calendar’, we look around (vainly) for a picture that contains something related to the subject of motoring.

Well thanks to Lamborghini we will attempt to satisfy such lust with a few pictures from outside the 2010 Pirelli calendar presentation, which took place in London last night.

Unfortunately they’ve spoiled two of the photos with musician James Blunt standing in the way, but I guess we shouldn’t grumble, it’s great to see some car porn (almost) achieve centre stage at a Pirelli Calendar launch.

A Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce and two Gallardos – an LP 560-4 Spyder and the latest limited edition, rear-wheel drive LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni – chauffeured some of the best known celebrities from music and show business to the event, including English model and socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, that chap Blunt and a few other minor-celebs from the world of fashion.

Reading further into Lamborghini’s press release we had cause for even greater concern about the Sant’Agata company’s good taste…

For the occasion, all three Lamborghinis sported a new feature: hidden LED lights which, positioned under the wheel arches, illuminated the tyres in homage to the Milan-based tyre company.

Hopefully this latest design feature won’t reach the official options list.

Pirelli’s calendar is filled with 30 photos of 11 nude models posing on a Brazilian beach. The edition was shot by Terry Richardson with one model calling it “the best thing I’ve done in my whole life.” Quite a compliment from a 19 year old..

The calendar which was first shot in 1964, is given as a corporate gift to a limited number of important Pirelli customers and celebrities, and before you ask. no we don’t have any spare ones lying around to share with you.