RENÉE NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2003

Renée's health fears                                                           
                                                                                                      

By Mark Reynolds, Daily Mail                           
September 24, 2003

It is a role which demands she pile on four stone - rising from a size six to a 14 - in only three months.

As she prepares for the long awaited sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Renée Zellweger has turned to dieticians in an attempt to avoid long-term health problems.

The actress has been warned that losing weight quickly once filming ends could lead to kidney problems, erratic blood sugar levels and unsightly stretch marks.

Miss Zellweger, 34, admits that she has become extremely concerned about the potential damage she is doing to her health with her diet of pizza and pies.

'This time I will be working very closely with a diet doctor to make sure it doesn't affect my energy,' she told Now magazine. 'You have to be careful about dramatic weight changes in short periods of time.

'I did it again because I loved the new script and all the good guys are back. I love Bridget. I feel very close to her. We both have had our ups and downs when it comes to love.'

After putting on and subsequently losing a similar amount of weight for the first Bridget Jones film - which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic - Miss Zellweger said she was left feeling utterly exhausted through lack of exercise.

Despite the physical strains of the role, she said she was still relishing a second chance at playing the unlucky-in-love singleton.

She said she was less daunted this time about being an American trying to pass herself off as a 'Britain icon'.

Miss Zellweger has suffered failed relationships herself with the likes of Jim Carrey and George Clooney.

She is currently dating White Stripes singer Jack White but has had to leave him behind in the U.S. while she works on Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

And the fashion 'Oscar' goes to
September 22, 2003 [telegraph.co.uk]
 

On Thursday, designers and celebrities will gather for the climax of London Fashion Week - the British Style Awards. Hilary Alexander reports

The Lycra British Style Awards 2003 on Thursday night will be one of the most spectacular red carpet events in the fashion calendar. Formerly known as the British Fashion Awards, the ceremony is making a comeback with a new name, a new sponsor and an international cast of celebrities.

Former Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson will host the event at Old Billingsgate Market as a star-studded climax to this season's London Fashion Week, which opened last Saturday.

Anderson's gown for the evening is top secret, but it is known that it will be created by a British designer and will undoubtedly rely on the flexible qualities of Lycra (the evening's sponsor), the stretch fibre that is one of the foundation stones of the fashion business.

Anderson will be joined by a host of celebrity award presenters, including Renée Zellweger, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall, Britain's hottest young actress, Keira Knightley, Sir Ian McKellen, Martine McCutcheon and top model Heidi Klum. Sophie Ellis Bextor, Emma Bunton and Skin will be among the stars giving musical performances.

The awards, known as the fashion "Oscars", showcase Britain's clothing and textile industry - our 13th largest export - which is valued at £11 billion and employs 225,000 people. This year, the award list has been broadened to include prizes for Photographer of the Year, as well as for the most stylish men and women in television, film, music and sport.

The most prestigious "Oscar" of the night, however, is the British Designer of the Year award. This year's nominees are Alexander McQueen, Julien Macdonald, Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson and rising star Roland Mouret.

McQueen, who now shows his collections in Paris, has already won the title three times - in 1996, 1997 and 2001. In June this year, he was named International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and, in the same month, was honoured with a CBE.

Stella McCartney (the new Mrs Alasdhair Willis, following her marriage on the Isle of Bute in August), who also shows in Paris, has previously won the Glamour award (in 2000), and was named the VH1/Vogue Fashion and Music 2000 Designer of the Year.

Julien Macdonald, who shows his spring/summer 2004 collection at London Fashion Week on Wednesday and is the creative director of Givenchy in Paris, is a past recipient of the Glamour award (2001).

Matthew Williamson and Roland Mouret have both just shown their new season's collections at New York Fashion Week. Williamson, who is planning to open his first London flagship store next year, has received nominations in previous years, but has not won an award. Mouret, a young French-born designer, has had a meteoric rise since establishing his business in London in 2000 and is tipped to win at least one award this year.

The nominees for the other key categories

New Generation: Luella Bartley, Sophia Kokosalaki, Roland Mouret.

Glamour: Julien Macdonald, Alexander McQueen, Roland Mouret.

Contemporary: Burberry, Betty Jackson, Paul Smith.

Menswear: Ozwald Boateng, Richard James, Paul Smith.

Accessory: Manolo Blahnik, Anya Hindmarch, Orla Kiely.

High Street Fashion Retailer: New Look (left), Reiss, Zara.