Rap star Lucacris was in France this week debuting his new Cognac at the Vinexpo event. Ludacris arrived in style in a chauffeur-driven Bentley and posed with a bevy of beauties dressed in identical black dresses. Ludacris worked with Birkedal Hartmann, a Norwegian-owned Cognac producer to create Conjure, which will debut in Norway in July and then here in the U.S. in the fall. The Grammy-award-winning rapper says that he went to the Cognac region in France to help create the spirit. He worked with Birkedal Hartmann's master blender, Philippe Braastad Tiffon choosing more than 40 different brandies to create the blend. Decanter reports that while Cognac usually has a grade such as VO (very old) or VS (very special) on the bottle, Conjure is ungraded because it mixes several different grades. The bottle design includes a print which is composed of naked female silhouettes. The cognac will sell for $34.

The AFP reports that Ludacris added a bit of excitement to Vinexpo with some of the top names in the wine businesses lining up for autographs. Ludacris said that his favorite drink is Cognanc and Coke which makes me think this Cognac will skew to the sweet side. Birkedal Hartmann currently ships 400,000 bottles of cognac a year but with Ludacris on the team hopes to sell a million cases. Other musicians including Snoop Dogg, Swiss Beatz and Dr. Dre have also entered the Cognac business, adding interest to a drink category that has been seeing decreasing sales recently.

Lincoln Center is such an awesome new venue for New York Fashion Week…after just one season it’s already one of my favorite places to shoot street style in the world. Lots more NYFW photos still to come from Lincoln Center and all around town!


Her jeans and heeled-oxfords worn without socks are cute…but here it’s all about her hair and her huge floppy hat and her high-necked linen blouse with the antique lace detail at the collar and cuffs. This all looks perfect together! It really suits her and looks quite natural as well.

Hi there – I’m super excited at the moment because I’m heading to the airport later today to fly to Paris for Fashion Week! Can you believe it?? I think I may have the best job in the world! And…if that wasn’t exciting enough…I’ll be arriving early on Wednesday…which happens to be…wait for it…my birthday! And…there’s more…I’ll be heading to London after Paris to hit Portobello Road and Brick Lane markets…and I’ll be shooting London street fashion too of course! You can follow me on Twitter if you want to hear more about my travels. So, Paris photos coming soon…for now, here are more of my shots from New York Fashion Week. I hope Anna doesn’t mind me calling her a girl… xx Mr. Newton