MEMO PAD
Byline:
LAUDER’S NEW FACE? Reports are circulating that Estee Lauder USA is talking to British actress Elizabeth Hurley, a.k.a. Hugh Grant’s girlfriend, about becoming the beauty firm’s new spokeswoman. Hurley would replace Paulina Porizkova, whose contract wasn’t renewed. A Lauder spokeswoman declined to comment on the report, but she added that the company may announce a decision on a new spokeswoman on Wednesday.
STEPPING OUT: Ralph Lauren has finally joined the alfresco set. This week he launched his first outdoor ad campaign, for Polo Sport fragrance, underwear, socks and boys’ wear. The ads will appear on a variety of TDI media, including king-size bus posters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco; telephone kiosks and billboards in New York, and beach shelters and telephone kiosks in Los Angeles. The campaign was created by Carlson & Partners. The first leg of the campaign will appear over the next four months.
FASHION DETOUR: Detour, the L.A. lifestyle magazine, will roll out a redesign next Wednesday, with 55 pages of women’s and men’s fashion. The March issue features Robert Downey Jr. on the cover and gives fashion more play than in the past. Detour was launched eight years ago in Dallas by publisher Luis Barajas, who moved it to L.A. four years later. The March issue contains 160 pages, with 60 pages of advertising, including Calvin Klein, Guess, Dolce & Gabbana, Joop, Gaultier, Diesel and Buffalo. The fashion includes a spread of nine young actors in different designer outfits. A Detour billboard will be mounted next week on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, featuring Downey in Versace underwear.
LOCKE ON: Edie Locke, former fashion producer of Lifetime TV’s “Attitudes,” has become the fashion producer of “Simply Style,” a daily half-hour fashion and lifestyle program on the cable network The Learning Channel, which goes to 31 million homes. The show will be hosted by Leah Feldon, a Los Angeles-based correspondent for People and In Style magazines. Locke will start shooting the first of 60 half-hour episodes this month and will include segments on the New York designer collections.
TOP MAN: Philippe Guelton, international controller of Hachette Filipacchi USA, will assume the additional responsibilities of publisher of Top Model, a new post. He will coordinate the advertising of the U.S. edition of Top Model. The magazine is published quarterly in 11 languages.