Beijing has banned outdoor advertising that promotes high-end lifestyles as the government seeks to ease public concerns about the country’s widening wealth gap.
Businesses Have been given an April 15 deadline to rectify such ads, along with any that excessively promote “foreign” things.
It gave no details on which “foreign” things were deemed objectionable. Such promotions help create a politically “unhealthy” climate, it said.
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Karl Lagerfeld is directing Magnum ice cream’s latest advertising campaign, which features American actress Rachel Bilson.
The three-piece film series will be revealed on April 21st during the Tribeca Film Festivalfor the debut of an original film series.
Simultaneous to the exclusive premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, the lead film will be released to viewers around the world on Magnum’s Facebook page.
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Luxury SUV maker Land Rover will be making headway into the cycling market this year with the Range Rover Evoque Concept Road Bike.
Built in cooperation with Karbona, the bicycle uses Formula One-derived technology, featuring a carbon fiber frame with an integrated seat tube, alloy handlebars, black chrome trim, a leather saddle, and a 20-gear Shimano Ultegra system.
The Evoque bicycle is expected to be a light, nimble, and clean-looking bicycle that doesn’t compromise its performance capabilities.
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The amount we spent on duty-free increased 13 percent last year with much of the growth coming from increased consumption of luxury products.
The global duty-free and travel retail market was up by $4.5 billion, reaching a whopping $39 billion in 2010.
The increase was particularly marked in luxury goods, suggested Generation Research, which saw a 16.7 percent boost in sales to more than $14 billion.
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Steven Spielberg was recently spotted in St. Barth’s and St. Maarten aboard his new toy, the 86-metre Oceanco superyacht Seven Seas.
Featuring naval architecture by Azure and an interior design scheme by Nuvolari & Lenard, the ship was launched by the Dutch shipbuilder a few months back.
Said to have cost about $200 million, the yacht features an infinity pool with a 15-ft. glass wall that doubles as a movie screen.
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This week has seen the opening of two London luxury properties, proving that the high-end hotel boom in Britain’s capital is still well underway.
On March 14 Marriott opened the St Pancras Renaissance hotel, which has been completely restored to its 19th century glory thanks to a five-year, £200m renovation.
The five-star hotel is situated in the London home of Eurostar, providing an easy place to stay the night if you’re planning on being whisked off to Paris or Brussels early the next morning.
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Guerlain teamed again with Baccarat to manufacture a massive flacon for the ultra-exclusive flacon of their new perfume called L’Abeille de Guerlain.
This Baccarat for Guerlain creation is meant to look like a gigantic bee with its wings faceted like precious diamonds.
The bee has been a symbol of Guerlain since founder Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain came to fame crafting perfumes for Empress Eugénie of France, who reigned from 1853 to 1870; the bee was the emblem of France’s Second Empire.
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Hermès has come out with the ultimate well-dressed gentleman’s accessory – a valet stand in solid mahogany, fine leather and brass with ebony detailing.
The luxe piece is a limited edition re-issue of a classic item created for Hermès in 1930 by famed French decorator and designer Paul Dupré-Lafon.
It features a calfskin hangar for a suit, a calfskin tray for one’s watch and cufflinks, a mahogany shoe rack, and brass hooks and rods for ties, belts and braces.
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One of the highlights of Baselworld 2011 will be the 21 Blackjack by Christophe Claret, a watch that is specially created to allure casino lovers.
Massively complicated, the 21 Blackjack has a brand new Christophe Claret movement in it called the BLJ08.
But what really matters is that in addition to the time it lets you play three games: dice, roulette and cards.
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Odyssey Golf have unveiled a stunning one-off 2-Ball putter encrusted with rubies and diamonds to be sold in world-renowned department store Harrods.
The putter comes complete with an 18-carat white gold head, 240 rubies and 378 diamonds – as well as a price tag of £100k.
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To mark the launch of the Intense Unfiltered 80, and the creation of the Intense family, Belvedere Vodka asked Brand Opus to design a luxurious gift pack.
“The core brand equities of the frosted trees create a frame for the Intense family, whilst paralleling the window device of the bottle design.
The trees are supported by branded etching on the side of the presentation case, to maximize brand exposure.”
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It is hard to imagine when staying at a hotel that it’s actually someone’s job to warm the bed for guests or read them a good night story.
However, Hotels.com, the global hotel booking website, has found that in some hotels around the world, these jobs do in fact exist.
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An 11-month-old Red Tibetan Mastiff has become the priciest dog in the world after being sold for 10 million Chinese yuan, or $1.5 million.
The dog, named Big Splash, or Hong Dong in Chinese, was bought by a coal baron from the north of China.
Reputedly owned by Genghis Khan and Lord Buddha, the Red Tibetan Mastiff is viewed as a “pure Chinese” breed because of its well-documented history and nearly exclusive Chinese population.
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LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods, seems to be having an inspirational spring shopping time.
Just one week after sealing the deal to acquire Italian jewelry house Bulgari, LVMH joins the race for the celebrities’ shoemaker, Jimmy Choo.
As Sunday Times reported this weekend, the shoe brand, founded by Tamara Mellon, could be sold for as much as $804 million.
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Yves Saint Laurent has released pictures from its Manifesto day on March 5, when the brand’s well-known yearly publication and limited-edition bag got distributed in the streets of fashion capitals.
See some of the most stylish fans snatching up theirs in Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Milan, and London.
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Sofitel has opened a luxury property in the new Moroccan resort of Essaouira Mogador on the country’s Atlantic coast.
The Mogador resort is set in some 600 hectares of forest along 4 kilometers of coast line, boasting a 36-hole Gary Player golf course and a number of exclusive villas.
The villas are all designed to be eco-friendly thanks to features such as energy-efficient lighting and water recycling systems.
As of this week, it’s also home to the massive Sofitel Essaouira Mogador Golf and Spa, a spectacular resort property which offers 147 rooms and 28 villas with private pools.
Designed to blend in with its natural surroundings, the hotel is built around a huge stone reception area which offers a view over the golf course and out to the ocean, as well as being home to the Tea Lounge and a cocktail bar.
For gastronomes, the hotel offers live cooking shows on the terrace in the Kasbah Cafe or a more formal restaurant Atelier aux Aromes, which serves a blend of French and Moroccan cooking.
Two of the resort’s villas have been designed by fashion brand Lacoste and Sofitel has also partnered with Clarins and 5 Mondes to equip the property’s 1,300 square meter So SPA.
Accor‘s new property is one of four top-end properties slated to open in Mogador, with Thailand-based Anantara also planning to open a luxury getaway featuring 40 rooms and 60 villas in 2012.
We brought you Blake Lively’s debut Chanel ad earlier in the week and now we’ve got our fingers on the full campaign for the Mademoiselle handbag line.
Karl Lagerfeld personally chose Lively for the campaign, calling her “an American dream girl,” and shot the photographs himself at Chanel’s Parisian headquarters.
The New York Times reports that Lively passed on other modeling opportunities, saying, “Thank you so much, but I am holding out for Chanel.”
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BMW has unveiled the production version of the 6 Series coupe ahead of the car’s debut at Auto Shanghai 2011.
To be released in 2012, this car has a 4.4 litre, twin turbocharged V8 engine. It goes from 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds.
Designed to be the ultimate “dream car,” the coupe features a “shark nose” front-end with bi-xenon headlights and a forward-slanting grille.
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Karl Lagerfeld has designed a pop-up hair salon and concept store for Schwarzkopf in his home town of Düsseldorf, reports WWD today.
The German city – also home of the Schwarzkopf hair care brand – will play host to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in April.
The Lagerfeld’s Schwarzkopf Lightbox by Karl Lagerfeld, which will stay open for four weeks from April 16 before moving on to Milan and Paris.
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InterContinental has become the latest hotel chain to connect its customers to its staff via videoconferencing.
They have introduced a new chat feature which allows guests and future guests to connect with its concierges via Apple’s FaceTime videoconferencing service.
Nine InterContinental hotels around the world have equipped their staff with the new video-capable iPad 2 tablet, allowing them to answer questions and give advice to travelers via video calls before the guests arrive.
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Italian fashion house Trussardi celebrates its 100th anniversary, and to mark the occasion has teamed up with BMW for a special edition 5 Series Gran Turismo.
For the exterior look, the choice fell on an exclusive color – a characteristic warm metallic brown that has been named Heraldic Brown.
The paintwork is executed in three layers and the color of the body changes gradation with varying exposition to light.
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