Monthly Archives: April 2011

Mercedes-Benz Concept A-Class

Mercedes-Benz launches Concept A-Class

Mercedes-Benz Concept A-Class

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a radical overhaul of its A-Class compact at Auto Shanghai. The German automaker said that the new Concept A-Class was “the first heartbeat of a new generation.”

It signals a major departure from the boxy outline of the current A-Class, popular in cities because of its small size, in favor of a long hood, low silhouette and more sporty appearance.

Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener said that the new look was inspired by “the wind and waves, as well as aviation engineering, resulting in this ‘cool’ look.”
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1664 Christian Lacroix parisiennes

Christian Lacroix artwork for 1664 beer

1664 Christian Lacroix parisiennes

Christian Lacroix has teamed up with Kronenbourg 1664 for this exclusive set of designed beer bottles, pint glasses, trays, bowls and coasters.

“For years, beer accompanies my small moments of relaxation, alone or shared, which delight me daily. At the presentation of the 1664project, I immediately felt inspired” says Mr Christian Lacroix, name with which he now signs his creations.

“The art of the creation is the indicator that prompted me to act, to design, and to share with you today my creative passion associated with this genuine product”.
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China Luxury Customer

China gets the luxury goods – but maybe not the style

China Luxury Customer

A rise in the spending power of China‘s younger consumers is apparently not helping them when it comes to picking up a little style at the same time.

Mainland Chinese media have this week picked up on a report released by the Hong Kong Institute of Fashion Buying and given it a interesting spin, saying that while more and more younger Chinese are now able to spend lavishly on luxury goods, they have been unable to pick up the one thing money can’t buy — good taste.

That report showed that the age group for consumers of luxury goods and high-end fashion in China was between 20 and 50 years old — and compared that to the age group of 40 and 60 years old found for the same habits in Japan.
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Ghost Extended Wheelbase

Rolls-Royce Launch Extra-Spacious Ghost Model

Ghost Extended Wheelbase

Rolls-Royce unveiled its new Ghost long wheel base car for the first time at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show.

The Ghost Extended Wheelbase is designed for users who require even more room from the luxury marque’s massive Ghost sedan and is expected to be popular with the ever-increasing number of wealthy buyers in China.

The addition of 170mm to the car’s wheelbase has significantly enhanced the legroom making it ideal for those looking to use it as a chauffeur vehicle.
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Kwanpen boutique Singapore

Singapore brand carves niche in luxury market

Kwanpen boutique Singapore

In a luxury industry dominated by European brands, a Singapore company is making inroads with an exclusive line of colourful handbags made from crocodile skin.

Selling for as much as $20,000 apiece, Kwanpen bags are made in a spacious, brightly lit workroom where about 50 staff work meticulously to meet the exacting demands of fashionable women the world over.

Kwanpen is a family-owned enterprise operating in one of Singapore’s industrial suburbs, the only luxury leather goods brand from a city-state better known for electronics, petrochemicals and finance.
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Mini Goodwood

Mini and Rolls-Royce team up for special edition

Mini Goodwood

Iconic compact car maker Mini has unveiled a collaboration with top luxury marque Rolls-Royce at the Auto Shanghai show, which opens this week.

Boasting “top-grade materials, the highest level of workmanship and stylish supremacy,” the ‘Mini Inspired by Goodwood’ special edition transfers some of the luxury trappings of a fully-fledged Rolls-Royce into a much smaller package.

It was conceived at Rolls-Royce‘s design division in Goodwood, UK and is finished with several touches which will be familiar to fans of the luxury brand.
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Kirsten Dunst for Bvlgari – Commercial

kirsten dunst Mon Jasmin Noir

For everyone wondering if the lion in Bulgari’s Mon Jasmin Noir print ads was real, there’s proof now: actress Kirsten Dunst can be seen cuddling with the majestic animal in the brand’s new filmed commercial.

Wearing jewels from Bulgari’s Mediterranean Eden Collection, which was unveiled in February during Milan fashion week, Dunst jaunts around the garden of an Italian palazzo, presumably taming the wild creature with her heavenly smell.
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The Volvo Concept Experience

Volvo launches ‘Concept Universe’

The Volvo Concept Experience

Swedish automaker Volvo has unveiled a new concept for the Chinese market at Auto Shanghai, which opens this week.

The luxury sedan concept suggests Volvo intends to take a definite upscale direction with its next model and is geared towards China’s growing cadre of luxury-lovers.

Dubbed the Concept Universe, the vehicle is designed to capture Volvo’s traditionally Scandinavian design and to anticipate what modern luxury car buyers want, adding a coupe-like roofline to escape the ‘boxy’ feel of some previous Volvo designs.
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World Best Restaurant 2011

Denmark’s Noma named best restaurant for 2nd year

World Best Restaurant 2011

Denmark’s Noma restaurant was named best in the world for a second year running Monday in an international poll dominated by European establishments but with new entries from China, Peru and Russia.

The Copenhagen restaurant of chef Rene Redzepi was voted number one in the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2011, a list compiled by more than 800 international restaurant industry experts for Britain’s Restaurant Magazine.

Noma hit the headlines last year when it deposed famed Spanish restaurant elBulli from the top spot it had held for four years. ElBulli was not included this year because it is closing later this year.
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2012 Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagen unveils new Beetle

2012 Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagen has unveiled the latest incarnation of its iconic Beetle at the Auto Shanghai show in China.

The German automaker said that the new Beetle has been envisioned with the target “design a new original” to ensure it paid tribute to 70 years of Beetle history.

The redesigned model has been made significantly more aggressive, with a lower profile than its 1998 predecessor and a more confident design which is reflected in the vehicle’s self-assured stance — although it’s still unmistakably a Beetle.
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aston martin India

Aston Martin launches in India

aston martin India

Aston Martin on Friday announced its entry into India, one of the world’s fastest-growing automobile markets, with the launch of three models in the country.

The British luxury sports car maker joins Ferrari, Maserati, Bugatti and Lamborghini, whose vehicles are sold in India to a growing list of rich sports car enthusiasts.

“India represents a new opportunity for us,” said Michael van der Sande, chief commercial officer at Aston Martin.

The iconic carmaker will offer the V8 Vantage, priced at 15.5 million rupees ($348,341), the Rapide at 21.5 million rupees ($483,146) and the One-77 at 200 million rupees ($4.5 million), and will soon add more models, it said.
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Easter Eggs Swaroski Guido Gobino

Swarovski x Guido Gobino Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs Swaroski Guido Gobino

Swarovski and Guido Gobino the renowned Italian chocolate maker have teamed up to create these beautiful Easter eggs.

Created from the finest aromatic cocoa powder, emblazoned with gold and crystals, each egg comes with a unique Swarovski crystal pendant.

Only 100 pieces of these luxury eggs will ever be created. Prices are available on request only and will be available from Guido Gobino shops in Milan and Turin.
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Ferrari headquarters

Ferrari Should Be Worth $7.3 Billion in IPO

Ferrari headquarters

Fiat is considering a listing of sportscar maker Ferrari before getting a majority stake in U.S. maker Chrysler.

Fiat owns 20 percent of Chrysler and is planning to increase its holding to 35 percent once it meets restructuring goals.

Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne said that he has a price in mind if bankers are interested in pursuing his company’s flagship brand of Ferrari: 5 billion euros.
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caviar factory

Abu Dhabi to build largest caviar factory

caviar factory

Abu Dhabi is closer to building the world’s largest caviar farm after two dozen live sturgeon were flown from Frankfurt in last month.

The fish arrived at the world’s largest aquaculture plant in Abu Dhabi, a new 60,000 square meter facility that is expected to produce 32 tons of caviar a year.

The notion of building a caviar market was an audacious and ambitious one for a desert city.

But as appetites for luxury goods continue to climb in this affluent city, spiking demand for one of the most decadent food products was destined to follow.
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Yachts Hainan Rendez Vous

Success for Hainan Rendez-Vous 2011

Yachts Hainan Rendez Vous

After four thrilling days of exclusive parties, glamourous entertainment and intense networking, the Hainan Rendez-Vous 2011 ended last Monday leaving no doubt about its status as the region’s leading yacht show.

The superyacht show, which also incorporates a business jet exhibit and displays of luxury properties and high-end brands, once again drew crowds of China’s most affluent individuals to Sanya city in the ‘Chinese Riviera’ of Hainan Island.

This year’s edition had twice as many exhibitors as last year’s Hainan Rendez-Vous, and generated several billion RMB worth of transactions.
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galliano

John Galliano sacked from own label

Galiano photo

John Galliano, sacked as chief designer at Christian Dior amid a furore over alleged anti-Semitic remarks, has now been fired from his eponymous label.

Women’s Wear Daily said Galliano, 50, had been “formally sacked” by directors of the John Galliano label, which is 91 percent owned by Dior.

It added that a sell-off of the upmarket label was not an immediate priority for the owners, despite “unsolicited expressions of interest in the business” coming in from China, Italy and the Middle East.
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Oprah Winfrey show

Oprah Winfrey charging $1 million for ads

Oprah Winfrey show

The Oprah Winfrey Show is seeking $1 million for 30-second commercials during the program’s May 25 finale, according to Horizon Media Inc.

The $1 million mark is reportedly more than last year’s ABC “Lost” finale, which commanded $900,000, and Fox’s $650,000 price tag for its “24” finale.

The $1 million asking price is rare for a series finale, but it’s not the highest in history according to Horizon Media.
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Aston Martin Experience iPhone app

The Aston Martin experience on iPhone

Aston Martin Experience iPhone app

Following on from the success of the free ‘Explore’ App released in December 2010, Aston Martin announces the release of the premium ‘Experience’ App.

Apparently developed with the “same ethos” with which Aston Martin designs and engineers its cars, the new app combines some of the functionality of the automaker’s former app, Explore, with some new, premium features.

The most useful is a partnership with luxury city guide series “A Hedonist’s Guides” to provide guides to 40 global cities, with images and video for each destination.
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Holograms Burberry show

Burberry Beijing – Hologram Runway Show [video]

Holograms Burberry Beijing show

To celebrate the opening of its Beijing flagship store, Burberry staged its biggest runway show to date on April 13, at the Beijing Television Center.

The fashion-meets-technology extravaganza featured Brit rockers Keane who had never before performed in the country, stunning lifelike holograms, and an impressive turnout of celebrities and top models on and off the runway.

dita von teese lingerie

Dita Von Teese to design lingerie for all sizes

dita von teese lingerie

The burlesque dancer is readying an underwear collection in everything from petite to plus-size. She announced the news via Twitter on April 13.

Von Teese said she had “just signed a new lingerie deal!!! Glam underpinnings in XS to plus-sizes! Launching in Australia, then going global shortly after. Excited!”

The star — who previously starred in a Wonderbra ad — said: “I love lingerie that fits well and is also beautiful, bringing function together with glamour and sensuality…
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