MODEL KATIE PIPER ACID ATTACK see the video at http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/01/12/katie.piper.acid.attack.cnn London, England (CNN) — Katie Piper had everything going for her — a blossoming career, a wonderful life and a beautiful face. But that all changed after a horrific acid attack in March 2008 destroyed everything as she knew it. The young model and television presenter, who was 24 years old at the time, was leaving her apartment in a London suburb when she was attacked by a stranger waiting for her with a cup of sulfuric acid. Stefan Sylvestre threw the cup of corrosive liquid on Piper, burning the skin on her face, neck, chest and hands. She was also left blinded in one eye. Sylvestre was asked by Piper’s former boyfriend, Danny Lynch, to throw the acid on her face because she ended their short relationship. To make matters worse, two days before the attack, Piper was raped by Lynch in a London hotel room after ending the partnership. “It wasn’t a random attack and there was a motive if you like,” Piper told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Connect the World. Meanwhile Piper’s parents were called by the police to tell them what had happened. “I can remember going ‘not her face, please not her face’,” Piper’s mother Diane wrote on The Katie Piper Foundation web site. “I knew if anything happened to her face as far as she was concerned it would be the end of everything.” Piper spent nearly two months in hospital and was placed in an induced coma for 10 days. The attack also severely damaged Piper’s throat and she was forced to be fed through a tube in her stomach. Today, Piper now wears a special plastic pressure mask for 23 hours a day, in an effort to flatten her scars. “You can see looking at me that it physically changed my appearance, but it goes a lot deeper than that.” “It changed my life as I know it — it changed my career, it changed my relationships with people. Lynch was found guilty of inciting the acid attack in October 2008 and subsequently convicted on the rape charge in April 2009. He was given two life sentences, and will serve at least 16 years in jail. Sylvestre received a 12-year sentence for throwing the acid. With her attackers behind bars, Piper is determined to get her life back on track and rebuild what she can. “Time was a great healer and I’ve managed to not get my old life back, but I can rebuild. And I think I’ve stayed focused and determined.” “It was an attack with the intent to destroy me, and I decided that it wouldn’t destroy me and that I would still have a life. I try to stay positive.” Piper has told her story around the world and has started the Katie Piper Foundation to help raise money for burns victims across the UK. Since the attack Piper has made remarkable progress. Surgeons took the drastic measure to remove the skin from Piper’s entire face and use a skin substitute called Matriderm to re-build the foundations before grafting skin from her back and buttock onto her face — it’s the first operation of its kind to be done in one operation, according to Piper’s Web site. Piper plans to continue her work raising money for burn victims and to help spread the message that there is life after difficult challenges. “I think it’s important to try and set yourself many goals — try to take each day as it comes,” Piper said. “I think there’s a lot of strength that can be gathered from support.” http://www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk/index.html Dear Katie, you are incredibly smart and focused. And you are still extremely beautiful, in fact he felt…. as you survived and you remain stunning. Why are those things happening in the world? I cannot understand it….. I lost my face in a car accident when I was 18 years old. Unless Katie’s case, it was my fault, I was not playing enough attention to the road and made a fatal mistake, my car bounced and crashed into a stone wall. My 18 years of life played a few seconds in front of my eyes. Then came the crash, inevitable, silent, in slow-motion, then sudden and powerful. When it was over, I thought I had died after hurting the wall, I could hear people screaming around my car and rushing, it was day time on a busy road. Blood was everywhere, the music still playing a silly song on the radio as if nothing had happened. I was afraid the car would explode and burn me alive inside it. But I could not move because of the chock. People then took me out of the car and lied me down waiting for the ambulance. because of the strong wind hurting my opened wounds, someone covered me completely with a blanket, also people arriving on the site were telling each other that I had died. I thought i was dead ut could hear everything like they tell in the movies… Not good feeling at all! The ambulance came quickly and took me to the hospital. All what I could think about at that time, was how much pain I would give to my family…. also I did not want to give any contact details so that nobody could tell my parents… so silly of me. My parents found out that something was wrong when i did not come home at night from College and they found out that I was at the major hospital emergency services into intensive care. I went into a 5 hours surgery, small pieces of glass were slowly removed from my skin and 86 stitches were made on my face only. I stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks and I could not see my face. The building where i was hospitalized was made for people like me or Katie, without any mirror so that we would not crash mentally and I would keep healing one step at the time. I stayed home for almost a year, barely seeing people outside of my relative, doctors and close friends. Until the day I went to see The Police in concert in Montpellier and Sting, the lead singer saw my troubled face (I was in the front row) and he dedicated “Every Breath You Take” to me…. (Coincidentally I met him at the Ritz Carlton gym while I was there exercising as well. I did not mention anything to him of course but remembered it like it happened yesterday). This made me realize that it was time for me to move on and make the best of what my face had became. I have then 4 plastic surgeries withing the 5 following years to reconstruct my face as much as possible. I have many scares on my face, lots of them… but I wear them as jewelry, there are part of me, there are my friends and not my enemies. This is what I always tell women: -”love yourself with your imperfections because they can transcend to become your special charm”. I was chatting with Jennifer Lopez’s bodyguard while she was doing her hair and make-up for a shoot and he said that the best of me was… the scares on my face (he had a lot as well because of a crash and street fights). If you suffered from an accident, if you have scares, if your body is not conventional, if your mind sets you apart, if if if if…… in fact it makes YOU special, unique, different and interesting from others. This is how you have to see it…. BE POSITIVE and cherish yourself, because nothing really matters if you have attitude! Trust me!

OMG! the shooting with Leslie Kee yesterday in Shiroganedai was AMAZING! I will post some pictures later. Now going to the gym, yehaaaa!!!!

What’s Eating stylist Rachel Zoe?!!

YOU ARE PLANNING TO GO TO HONOLULU? THE BEST SURF SCHOOL IS HANS HEDEMANN. THE TEACHERS ARE COOL AND YOU WILL LEARN SO FAST. ALSO IT IS RIGHT ON THE BEACH, AT THE CORNER OF THE KAPIOLANI PARK. CLASSES ARE EITHER AT 9AM, 11AAM & 3PM. CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR BOOKING WWW.HHSURF.COM

GOING SURFING IN WAIKIKI WITH…

JAMES (MANAGER)RON STARSETHTANDEM! SETH RICHARD LUCA NOA JOSH SEAN ripping BEN JAMES

FAMILY PADDLING

Hans PHOTOS BY JOSEPH LIBBY FAMILY PADDLING @ THE NORTH SHORE ME WITH LUCA & KEN JAY WITH LUCA KEN LUCA & NOA

The Women of Nine for VOGUE Go behind the scenes with Nine stars Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Marion Cotillard as they shoot the November cover with Annie Leibovitz on the beach in California. It was raining and windy this morning in Honolulu, also we stayed home and I took the chance to post a few topics on my blog. But now, I just fed my boys lunch and I am going surfing with them now in Waikiki!! After we plan on seeing NINE at the movie theater with a big bag of fresh popcorn… life is beautiful in paradise! I remember Penelope talking with Monica her sister (in Spanish) about the making of this movie, also it will be fun seeing it finally. Have you already seen it?

LADY GAGA FOR VOGUE

Far From Home They venture out to hunt for wild strawberries in the woods, where Gretel’s lily-white frock shines against the dark foliage of the Tree-men. Before long, though, they’re hopelessly lost. Dior pleated silk-chiffon dress. Fendi platform Mary Janes. Tree-men costumes courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. Golden Slumber The Sandman (played here by Sasha Cooke, who has appeared in the Met’s production) sprinkles magic dust onto the frightened children, who fall into a deep sleep and dream about a banquet served by a fish maître d’. Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière wool-silk jacket. Chloé flats. Sandman and fish maître d’ costumes courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

MEGAN FOX BEHIND THE SCENES FOR HER ELLE COVER SHOOT… HERE!

• WE’RE SHOOTING THE 2010 OFFICIAL PROGRAM on the 11th, Tuesday, with Leslie Kee with the 14 finalists and Emiri Miyazaka for Magazine House. It will be this year official program, for MUJ 2010, which will be sold in all major bookstores in Japan.
• The theme this year is Studio 54, DISCO, also it will be a lot of fun!
• TV network TBS, “Evening Wide”will be making a program/ documentary about the finalists’ training and the show on March 9th, and will air between 5-7 pm on a weekday.
• Stay tune!

ELLE’s February cover girl on motherhood, heartbreak, and the future of her career

Stretch cotton dress, Gucci, price upon request, at select Gucci stores nationwide. White gold and diamond earrings, Jacob & Co., price upon request. White gold and diamond watch, Van Cleef & Arpels, price upon request. White gold panther ring with diamonds, emeralds, and onyx, Cartier, price upon request. Photos: Tom Munro, styled by Joe Zee Goatskin and chain jacket, Moschino, $4,695, at Moschino Boutique, NYC . Silk jacquard bodysuit, Dolce & Gabbana, $1,295. Leather shorts, $725, cotton leg warmers, $55, both, Alexander Wang. Grommet-detail leather sandals, Giuseppe Zanotti Design, $1,095. Leather jacket, Rag & Bone, $1,495, at Scoop, NYC. Cotton V-neck T-shirt, Armani Exchange, $25. Jersey leggings, Prada, $390. Leather cap, David Samuel Menkes, $125. Diamond stud earrings, Chopard, price upon request. Yellow gold and diamond panther necklace, Cartier, price upon request. Yellow gold and diamond link necklace, Jacob & Co., price upon request, Lambskin fingerless gloves, Lauren Urstadt, $125. Leather-mesh platform sandals, Gucci, $990. On why she never considered in vitro fertilization, like her character in The Back-Up Plan: “When it comes to family and relationships, I’m quite traditional. Just because of the way I was raised. And I also believe in God and I have a lot of faith in that, so I just felt like you don’t mess with things like that. And I guess deep down I really felt like either this is not going to happen for me or it is. You know what I mean? And if it is, it will. And if it’s not, it’s not going to.” On the merit of her romantic comedies: “I think Maid in Manhattan and Monster-in-Law are very layered movies. And that’s why they’re so successful. People don’t like shitty romantic comedies. Nothing that’s shitty is going to make $100 million.” On hosting a dinner for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor: “She didn’t realize what she was going to symbolize. And it’s always scary to be thrown into it–that’s what I felt like when I did Selena. You’re thrown out there, and all of a sudden you’re not anonymous. You are now known. And that’s a lot to handle. It’s scary at first. Then you get used to it. And so she was in that moment of her life where it’s just like, What the hell? Everybody’s clapping for me. People are writing about me, talking about me, I’m on TV. She was just a judge in New York.” On competing with twenty-something pop idols as a 40-year-old mom: “This is what I do—what, because I have kids and a husband now I’m not supposed to be me? I’m a more heightened me if anything. Hyper J.Lo. Everything I wanted before, I want twice as much now. And that doesn’t mean material things; it means to explore more, to think more. Being an artist doesn’t start because you’re 21, and it doesn’t end because you’re 51. You are who you are until the day you die.” On betrayal: “This is something I haven’t been through once in my life. This is something I’ve been through a few times in my life. Where you really have your eggs in one basket and that breach happens and you know you should go but you’re still in love and you just don’t know what to do. It hits you because it’s not like you’re a cheater, and a liar, and I hate you, and you’re no good, and I’m leaving. It’s not that. It’s like, I’m tormented. Even though you’ve done this and I know it, I still don’t know what to do. I know I should go, but I don’t want to. And that’s why it’s such a fucked-up thing.”

I love Camilla’s Frank Kaftans and I want to share her feminine collection with you. I made a selection of my favorite ones. CAMILLA FRANKS The vivacious Camilla Franks created her first kaftan five years ago. This former actress had been making her own theatrical costumes for years and inspired by her mother’s love of kaftans, launched a collection that would change the course of Australian fashion history. With fans such as Sharon Stone, Prince, Nicole Kidman, Mischa Barton, Bette Midler, Kim Cattrall and Elle Macpherson, it wasn’t long before Gwen Stefani, Paula Abdul, the Pussycat Dolls, Fergie and Beyonce would all embrace her wow factor flair for colour and design. The Camilla label brings worldly charm and exotic flavour to timeless fashion. “It’s a label that doesn’t discriminate,” says the designer who constantly travels the world in search of inspiration. “I make for all shapes and sizes – all personalities and walks of life – I just want to make women look and feel beautiful whether it’s in a figure-hugging micro mini or a lavishly bejewelled cocktail dress”. Special thanks to Tina Lutter, another kaftans lover (and the one who best wear them in the world,… (forget Beyonce, Sharon Stone ect…she is the one!) You can shop on line HERE