Italian luxury design house Prada said Thursday its net profit soared 72.2 percent in the year ending January 2012, driven by strong retail sales especially in Asia.

Net profit rose to 431.9 million euros (575.29 million dollars) compared to 250.8 million euros previously, the company told the Hong Kong stock exchange where it listed last year with a $2.46 billion initial public offering.

Consolidated net revenues grew 24.9 percent to 2.56 billion euros, boosted by a 37.6-percent jump in retail net sales to 1.96 billion euros.

In 2009, Gucci filed a lawsuit against Guess for copyright infringement, seeking over $124 million in damages. Now the two companies are finally in court.

Gucci’s people say that Guess knocked off over $200 million in merchandise, with the “clear intent” to make people think what they were buying was “Gucci”

Gucci claims that the LA-based fashion brand infringed on its trademarks by imitating four specific Gucci signatures: the green and red stripe; the interlocking “G” pattern; the square “G” and the brand name’s delicate script font.

The Fondation Cartier, the contemporary art museum of the luxury jewelry house, will present its latest expo, Cartier, Jeweler of the Arts, in Paris beginning April 3.

The exhibition brings together four artworks made by artists including David Lynch and Takeshi Kitano using precious and semi-precious stones no longer deemed suitable for the brand’s jewelry. Preview images of what they came up with here.

While China is drinking more and more wine each year it appears also that consumers are drinking more and more of the same type of wine.

According to a recent survey produced to help promote May’s Vinexpo Asia-Pacific event — the largest wine industry gathering in the region — 99.5 percent of wine drunk in China is still wine, and 91 percent of the still wine drunk is red wine.

As African hotels continue to boom, Virgin has announced that it is to become the latest name to move into the continent.

Virgin Limited Edition, Richard Branson’s luxury travel brand, is set to open a 12-tented camp in the Masai Maara Game Reserve next year.

The Mahali Mzuri camp will hold double-occupancy tents, meaning a maximum of 24 people at one time, with fully inclusive services set to include meals, drinks and daily game drives around the area.

For a new film festival in Thailand called Film on the Rocks Yao Noi, an outdoor cinema was constructed in the most unlikely of places: right on top of the water.

The amazing venue is called the Archipelago Cinema and is tucked away inside a bay surrounded by towering island rocks and lush jungle plants.