Lifestyle FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014 After topless coup, returns as face of adonna, still toned at 56 and riding a wave of “Madonna is one of the true icons of Versace,” designer fourth time since 1995, taking over the baton for this sea- acclaim for a recent topless photo shoot, was Donatella Versace said in a statement. “I am thrilled to have son from . The Versace deal comes hot on the Mnamed yesterday as the face of Versace’s my friend and the most powerful and directional artist as heels of Madonna’s topless appearance in the December spring/summer 2015 collection. Extending a long-standing the face of Versace for Spring 2015,” she said. Decked out edition of Interview magazine which has been greeted relationship with the house, the American in a laser-cut leather dress, Madonna shoots the viewer a with near universal acclaim and interpreted as an act of singer was snapped for the new campaign by photogra- smouldering look framed by the flowing blonde locks seen empowerment for women in their 50s. — AFP phers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who captured her in on previous Versace faces, from Lady Gaga to Christina black and white, standing showing off her lean frame and Aguilera. sitting poised on the edge of a chair. She is starring in the luxury brand’s campaigns for the

File photo shows US star Madonna after visiting the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre. — AFP

British vlogger beats JK Rowling with bestseller

British video blogger has sold more than 78,000 copies of her first book in a week, beat- Aing established authors like JK Rowling and Dan Brown. “Girl Online” by 24-year-old Zoe Sugg set a record for sales of a debut novel in Britain, the media reported on Wednesday, citing records that have been kept by Nielsen BookScan since 1998. Sugg, better known as “Zoella”, started out in 2009, handing out beauty and fashion advice on YouTube to a legion of fans via her video blogs or “vlogs”. Her account has six million followers, mainly teenagers. One of them, a 13-year-old girl, persuaded her publisher father-Penguin Random House director Tom Weldon-to give Zoella a two-year contract. The result is a novel about the feelings of a young adoles- cent with a blog. The rights for the book have been sold in 25 languages. “I’m legit blown away by this. I never in a million years thought that so many of you would pick up a copy of Girl Online. Almost wanna cry,” she tweeted. — AFP