French touch dominatrix for new Madonna tour

With the help of some of the best of French haute couture, Madonna is to kick off her new "Sticky and Sweet" world tour this week in a slinky dominatrix-style frock coat in black stretch satin designed by none other than Givenchy.

A spokeswoman from the French fashion house said Riccardo Tisci, its designer of three and a half years, had provided not only the frock coat in which the queen of pop will open the tour starting in Cardiff August 23, but also a second outfit.

The outfit for the opening number, worn with a waistcoat and trimmed with jet beads, is influenced by "Gangster Pimp" and "Art Deco", according to the house.

The second outfit breaks with Madonna’s long-running taste for the dominatrix style with a gypsy-style black cape lined in fuschia and a black stretch chiffon dress trimmed with coloured ribbons and coloured metal chains.

Other designers getting a piece of the action for this tour include Tom Ford with suits for the band, Miu Miu and Stella McCartney with footwear, Moschino with sunglasses while there are also other contributions from Yves Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli and Jeremy Scott, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

The fashion world has paid tribute to Madonna as she celebrated her 50th birthday — with some of the industry’s greatest designers hailing her a "style icon".

Her ever-changing image has always attracted praise from fashion gurus.

Designers including style duo Dolce & Gabbana - who created the costumes for several of her tours said:

"Working with her is an endless experimentation to gain a perfect result. She’s very demanding, but we’ve learned so much from her."

And Chanel’s creative director Karl Lagerfeld has also wished the singer a happy birthday — insisting she has made a major impact on the style world throughout her career.

He adds, "She is fashion. Her styles are always inspiring. I liked the early looks but she’s even better now. Her personality, her unique strength and will.

That is stronger than just one look. She is beyond looks. She is Madonna."

And French fashion guru Jean Paul Gaultier offers, "She’s the essence of the American dream, professionalism, obsession and ambition."

http://www.thetimes.co.za/Entertainment/CelebZone/Article.aspx?id=824639

Madonna was my inspiration - now I work for her

HAIRDRESSERS Jasmin Mann and Sam Turner are preparing for their biggest gig when they help out at Madonna’s concert in the Millennium Stadium.

The pair, who work at the Vanilla Rooms salon, are part of the pop queen’s styling team, and today, they begin working on the dancers’ hair styles ahead of the show on Saturday.

Madonna is launching her Sticky and Sweet tour in the Welsh capital and the world will be watching as she wows the crowds with her latest routines.

Jasmin, 29, owner of salons in City Road, Roath, and Brandreth Road, Lakeside, said it was her dream job to help create the look her idol wanted.

“I’m a massive Madonna fan. I grew up listening to her songs,” she said.

“My first ever album was the Immaculate Collection. It was scratched to pieces I listened to it so much. I grew up in the late 1980s and early ’90s when she was ruling the world with her music and style.

“I think she is definitely my style icon. I love the way she reinvents herself. She is always on the edge of fashion and emerging trends. She is exceptional – to be always on the curve rather than following others, that’s amazing.”

Jasmin and Sam were given a briefing on Friday about the work they will be doing. But they did not find out until today about what kind of styles they will be working on.

Jasmin said: “It was amazing standing in the dressing room on Friday, knowing it is where Madonna and her dancers will be.

“I love her personal style. She really put her stamp on everything she does. She directs the style team rather than the other way around.

“It’s amazing to think that I will be helping to create the vision she has decided for her dancers and I will be carrying out her instructions.

“She was definitely my fashion inspiration growing up. I’m so excited about this week.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/08/18/madonna-was-my-inspiration-now-i-work-for-her-91466-21550782/

Golden oldie Madonna celebrates 50th birthday with plenty of bling

There was a massive cake, an extravagant buffet, expensive champagne and rap poets performing a special message to a Birthday Girl who was draped in gold jewellery - but a curious absence of showbiz friends.

Madonna failed to hide her dismay as her closest celebrity pals, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Stella McCartney, snubbed her £100,000 50th birthday party at the swanky Volstead nightclub in London's Mayfair on Saturday night.

It was left to husband Guy Ritchie, 39, daughter Lourdes, 11, sons Rocco, eight, and David, two, around 50 of her dancers and some work colleagues to toast her half century.

In a 40-minute speech to her 90 guests, Madonna thanked Guy, her children and her Kabbalah religion, before admitting: "I'm really disappointed.

"There are a lot of people who are not here tonight, but thanks to everyone who did make it.

"I can't believe I have reached half a century. It only happens once and this is an event I'm glad to be sharing with you."

After a rapturous round of Happy Birthday, Lourdes left her mum teary-eyed by playing a song from Fame on the grand piano as a surprise.

Guy, who helped organise the party, had spared no expense. The buffet, on tables adorned with roses and candles, included kosher-prepared Wagyu beef, foie gras and caviar, all washed down with £450 bottles of Krug Rose champagne, martinis, "Crackbaby" cocktails and mojitos. Dominating the display was a three-tiered chocolate, raspberry and vanilla birthday cake covered in silver balls and crystallised rose petals.

Guy also made a speech, telling his missus: "Out of all your years, you look your most beautiful." But he couldn't resist pointing out that most of Madge's guests worked for her. And he refused to join her on the dancefloor, which had a huge 'M' in the middle.

Weirdly, he had also spent the entire day working. He had organised a private screening for industry critics of his movie RocknRolla at the National Film Theatre on London's Southbank.

A source said: "It was as if he was trying to make a point by not being at her beck and call."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/2008/08/18/3am-exclusive-golden-oldie-madonna-celebrates-50th-birthday-with-plenty-of-bling-115875-20702458/

How does she do it? Madonna parties all night long for her 50th...but is back in the gym just hours later

Madge has 50th birthday bash

MADONNA may have reached her half century, but the queen of pop shows no signs of relinquishing her crown.

With hubby Guy Ritchie by her side, the singer celebrated her 50th birthday in style last night at the Volstead club in London's West End.

Radiant Madonna - wearing thigh boots, a partially transparent chiffon dress and her Kabbalah bracelet - was all smiles as she and Guy partied the night away with friends.

Before donning their glad rags, the happy-looking couple spent the day attending long Kabbalah sessions.

Madonna is the most successful female solo artist according to Guinness World Records, selling around 120 million albums and 40 million singles.

Not one to be accused of slowing down, the super-fit singer is now preparing for her Sticky And Sweet world tour.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/article1569326.ece

Sticky & Sweet Tour Costumes HQ pic's

Pic Source: Madonna-Connexion.Com

Madonna Fabulous at 50

Here are more photo's of Madonna last night as she celebrated her birthday in London... I am really loving the outfit she wore which was Givenchy...




































Photos from Madonna-connexion.com & allaboutmadonna.com

Madonna Celebrates Her 50th Birthday in London

Madonna's Half-Century (Others Care, Even if You Don't) By Liz Smith

On August 16th, Madonna turns 50. She is still young — 50 is the new 25! — but perhaps because she has been a megastar since she was 25, it seems as if she is 80. Remember the famous H. Rider Haggard book (and later an Ursula Andress movie) She? That’s how we think of Madonna — thousands of years old, renewing herself by walking through the magic fire. I think human sacrifice was involved, too. (Well, if you believe her brother Christopher …)

Not since Marlene Dietrich became the "World’s Most Glamorous Grandmother" have I seen such fret and fuss about a star’s age. (Miss Dietrich, who never saw a publicity angle she didn’t love, was initially amused by the glam granny references. Later, as the business of putting "Marlene Dietrich" together became more labor intensive, she was less cheery about it.)

Of course, with every round-numbered birthday that Madonna has passed — 30, 40 – the press has asked, "Is Madonna the Material Girl Now Immaterial? Is She Still Relevant?" The answer is f— yeah, she’s still relevant. When you don’t ask, she’ll be gone. There has always been an unseemly media haste to put an end to maturing female careers, especially when that career is based, at least in part, on good looks or sex appeal.

Truth to tell, Madonna’s record sales are not quite what they once were in the United States, but in Europe she sells three times as many CDs. Ticket sales for her coming U.S. and European concert tour remain stratospheric. (This ongoing aspect of her career is very much like that of the withered Rolling Stones and nobody is bothering to diss their crow’s-feet!)

Madonna is too thin, too worked-out and her hair is way too long. But these are the choices she makes. It doesn’t photograph well. In person — and I have seen her in person without makeup recently — she looks softer, younger and prettier. Not so unappealingly muscular.

People ask me, as Madonna’s birthday approaches, if I have advice for her? Puh-LEEZE. I wish she had some advice for ME. I’d like 600 million dollars.

As a friend, I’d only suggest she relax. As a friend, she’d probably reply, "I will when you will, Liz!" (Several years ago, my newspaper, the New York Post obliged me to ask Madonna if she was ever going to retire? She laughed and said, "Are you?" End of subject.)

Madonna, you keep on keeping on as long as you want. Happy birthday, honey!

Oh, and here are a few other stars who reach the half-century mark this year — Michael Jackson, Prince, Angela Bassett, Kevin Bacon, Ellen DeGeneres, Sharon Stone, Candace Bushnell and Tim Burton.

But as far as the press is concerned, it’s All About Madonna.

Source: http://entertainment.myway.com/celebgossip/lizsmith.html

Jewels and a vegie patch for birthday girl Madonna

A DIAMOND necklace and earrings worth $500,000 was a fitting present for the Material Girl as Madonna celebrated her 50th birthday yesterday.

Madonna's film director husband, Guy Ritchie, reportedly splashed out on the specially-designed gifts from Bulgari as well as naming a rose after his wife and putting in a vegetable patch for her.

After a rough few months in which the couple fended off rumours that their eight-year marriage is on the rocks, Ritchie appears to have gone all out for her big day.

Some of her other gifts were less appealing. No doubt unsure about what to buy a woman who has everything, friend Justin Timberlake is said to have resorted to golf gift vouchers.

One unwanted present came from her brother, Christopher Ciccone, who sent flowers in a bid to make up for his tell-all book Life With My Sister Madonna, The Mirror reported.

Various media outlets sent birthday cakes to her home in Marylebone, central London.

One present sure to win her over, however, was a dress designed by daughter Lourdes, 11.

Madonna's big day was otherwise kept low-key, with a spokeswoman confirming only that the star was in Britain.

A huge party planned at her Wiltshire Estate was expected to be cancelled after she suffered an ankle injury.

Instead she was due to have an intimate gathering of family and friends.

Madonna is listed in Guinness World Records as selling 120 million albums and 40 million singles to earn the title of the most-successful female solo artist.

Her Sticky And Sweet world tour kicks off on August 23 in Cardiff.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24191162-5006003,00.html?from=public_rss

Enjoying the beautiful Big Apple morning, Madonna was spotted taking a stroll near her Manhattan apartment earlier today.

The Material Girl looked a bit punky, sporting a black Smet top, long black shorts, black sneakers and a white and black trucker-style hat as she made her way down the street.
Source

Madonna's Costumes for her Sticky and Sweet Tour

Most people are lucky to work with Madonna once. Costume designer Arianne Phillips has lasted 11 years, from the singer’s Pre-Raphaelite look for “Ray of Light” to the urban cowgirl of “Music” to the Patty Hearst look of “American Life” and on and on and on. In other words, measured in Madonna time, Phillips is roughly 77 years old.

Still, La Ciccone’s upcoming “Sticky and Sweet” tour has had its own unique challenges for her longtime stylist. “Normally we prep in April and May, and open in June,” says Phillips. “This time, the tour begins in August. It’s a nightmare. Everyone in Italy and France is on a beach sunning themselves.”

Thankfully, everyone is a bit of an exaggeration, as Phillips goes on to detail a mile-long list of willing collaborators and everything they’ve designed for the trek, which begins Aug. 23 in Cardiff, Wales, and comes to the United States in early October. Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci designed two outfits, while Tom Ford provided bespoke suits for the band. Three pairs of shoes have been custom-made by Miu Miu, there are thigh-high boots courtesy of Stella McCartney, sunglasses from Moschino, and other outfits and odds and ends from Yves Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli, and Jeremy Scott.

Like her shows in the past, this tour will be divided into four sections. The first references gangsta pimp and Art Deco with Givenchy costumes. This, it would seem, is Madonna’s current take on her longest-running fashion inspiration — the dominatrix. “It’s a theme that runs throughout her career” Phillips says. “She’s not afraid of being hard.” The second section has been termed “Old School,” and harkens back to Madonna’s early days in New York, with Scott’s outfit and some vintage prints from Keith Haring, the late graffiti artist and friend of Madonna who died of AIDS in 1990. “He and Madonna were friends. If her were alive, it would be his 50th birthday as well. So I thought, ‘What if we revisited that?’” Afterward, there’s a gypsy section with more costumes from Givenchy. “Riccardo’s a new young talent. If you look at Madonna’s history with fashion, that makes him an obvious choice.” Finally, there’s a futuristic rave section with lots of Japanese influences.

And while The New York Times complained recently about Madonna’s style choices, Phillips says getting older has had little effect on her sense of fashion adventure. “She always wants to push the envelope. There are no vanity considerations based on her age.” As Phillips adds seconds later, “She looks good in everything.”
Source

Madonna heads home to show new film

Pop superstar Madonna has returned to her Michigan roots to introduce her new documentary at a film festival.

I Am Because We Are was shown at the Traverse City Film Festival, which was co-founded by filmmaker and fellow Michigan native Michael Moore.

Hundreds of fans cheered as Madonna, wearing a black dress, high heels and sunglasses, stepped out of a 4x4 vehicle in front of the State Theatre. She hugged a waiting Moore and posed for photos with him.

Madonna and Moore shared the stage at the theatre before a screening of the movie, which deals with the orphans of Malawi, the African nation where she and husband Guy Ritchie adopted a son.

"It's great bringing my movie to a place that I feel familiar," Madonna told the audience. "Not like the Cannes Film Festival, where nobody's speaking English, or the Tribeca Film Festival, where no one sits down.

"There's something poetic about coming back to the place where I used to come for holidays - camping trips with my dad and stepmother and my very large family," said the 49-year-old singer, who was born to the southeast in Bay City and raised in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills.

Madonna was accompanied by her 11-year-old daughter, Lourdes, and the film's director, Nathan Rissman. Ritchie was not present.

Moore, who won an Oscar for his 2002 documentary Bowling For Columbine, said he was humbled to be able to call Madonna a friend.

"She has such an incredible heart and such a generous spirit," he said. "She does so much out of the glare of the lights to make the world a better place."

Madonna had praise of her own for Moore, 54, a native of the economically downtrodden Flint, Michigan, who also has a home near Traverse City.

Source

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Hard Candy promo gig at Roseland reviews

Here are 2 reviews from NYC daily papers the NY Daily News & the New York Post

Like A Virgin

Madonna Madonna Madonna Madonna

YAY!!!

Blender Magazine's review of Madonna's Hard Candy......

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