Monthly Archives: February 2013

Rabbit Beach Lampesuda

Top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world

Rabbit Beach Lampesuda

It’s not a beach in the Caribbean or in the middle of Oceania that’s been named the most beautiful in the world but the Mediterranean coastline of Rabbit Beach in Italy that has taken top honors.

In TripAdvisor’s 2013 Travelers’s Choice Beach Awards, Lampedusa island, the southernmost point of Italy, 115 km away from Tunisia and home to Rabbit Beach, got the most rave reviews from online users of the travel website.

Of the 276 beaches identified among millions of TripAdvisor user reviews, the remote Italian outpost of Rabbit Beach emerged a favorite for its white sandy, pristine beaches and sweeping views of the Mediterranean coastline that looks clear out into the sea.

The best time to visit is May through to September. Aside from sunning oneself on the beach, diving and snorkeling are also popular activities.

One user called it the most beautiful beach on earth for its “Crystal clear blue water which you can walk in for half a mile, sand bars everywhere. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful this place was.”

The only country to boast more than one placement in the top 10 list meanwhile, was Brazil for Baia do Sancho and Lopes Mendes Beach.

Here are the Top 10 beaches around the world, according to TripAdvisor members:

1. Rabbit Beach, Lampesuda, Italy
2. Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
3. Whitehaven Beach, Airlie Beach, Australia
4. Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
5. Flamenco Beach, Culebra Puerto Rico
6. Playa de las Catedrales, Ribadeo, Spain
7. Lopes Mendes Beach,Ilha Grande, Brazil
8. Horseshoe Bay Beach, Southampton Parish, Bermuda
9. Eagle Beach, Aruba
10. Rhossili Bay, Swansea, Wales

kim wilde

British Airways announces ‘Gig in the Sky’

kim wilde

British Airways is hoping to break a Guinness World Record for the highest concert when the carrier flies iconic 1980s bands like Bananarama and Go West 43,000 feet in the air, where they will perform a special concert for travelers.

The charity gig will raise funds for UK-based charity Comic Relief and Red Nose Day, in which the public is encouraged to “do something funny for money.” Funds go to the underprivileged in the UK and the impoverished in Africa.

Other 1980s icons who will join the mile-high gig include Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet and pop singer Kim Wilde.

The retro concert is being staged to hearken back to 1985, the year Comic Relief aired the first of their star-studded biennial telethons.

Cabin crew will don original uniforms from the era complete with shoulder pads and serve retro foods like cocktail sausages, pineapple and cheese on skewers, mini prawn cocktails, pineapple upside down cake, gobstoppers and popping candy –- all of which were the height of sophistication back to the 80s.

British residents can purchase tickets by texting ‘Fly’ to 64100. Texts cost £5 and will be donated to Comic Relief. The flight is scheduled for March 10.

Hermes Arceau Petite Lune 38mm

Hermes Arceau Petite Lune

Hermes Arceau Petite Lune 38mm

Hermes marks the 35th anniversary of its Arceau collection this year. Marking the occasion, the maison introduces is offering a smaller, more feminine version with a 38mm diameter and adding a new complication displaying moon phases.

The Arceau Petite Lune features asymmetrical lugs evoking the shape and curve of a stirrup, and sports a mother-of-pearl dial either in white or black.

The watch’s alligator strap, crafted in the Hermes workshops using the saddle-stitching technique, is available in three colors — indigo blue, elephant gray or black.

Pedro Almodovar

Pedro Almodovar is the new face of Galeries Lafayette

Pedro Almodovar for Galeries Lafayette

French department store Galeries Lafayette announced on February 18 that Spanish director Pedro Almodovar was the new face of its men’s store.

The store’s iconic photographer, Jean-Paul Goude, portrayed Almodovar in a refined dandyesque outfit, consisting of a dapper suit and an oversize coat and holding the script of his upcoming film “Los amantes pasajeros” (“I’m So Excited”), a light comedy shown in US theaters in June.

The official campaign comprises posters on billboards throughout France, on the web and on catalogues starting in late March.

Galeries Lafayette will inaugurate its revamped men’s space on Paris’s Boulevard Haussmann (9th arrondissement) in May.

bentley flying spur

Bentley reveals new Flying Spur

bentley flying spur photo

Bentley Motors said it will unveil its redesigned Flying Spur, the company’s most powerful four-door model ever, at the Geneva Motor Show on March 5.

Designed to set a new benchmark in the “luxury performance” segment, the redesigned Flying Spur has an evolutionary design which borrows cues from the Continental GT and Mulsanne.

As such, the sedan has a lower and wider appearance which is further enhanced by curvaceous surfaces and muscular rear haunches.

Notable highlights include LED-infused headlights, ventilated front fenders, a more upright grille and 19- to 21-inch alloy wheels.

The company said the Spur’s 6-liter, 12-cylinder engine generates 616 horsepower and will drive the 5,451-pound sedan from zero to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, and to a top speed of 200 mph.

“Bentley’s new Flying Spur is the ultimate luxury performance sedan. Our engineers have worked tirelessly to ensure that the Flying Spur is the perfect combination of power, comfort, refinement and hand-crafted quality,” said Bentley chairman and Chief Executive, Wolfgang Schreiber.

via worldcarfans

bentley flying spur

burberry made to order

Burberry Launches Made-To-Order Catwalk Service

Burberry fashion show

British brand Burberry is proposing an innovative new way to do business, rolling out a new ‘Runway Made to Order’ service during the current London Fashion Week.

Traditionally the collections are shown to buyers and journalists at shows and private presentations around six months before they hit the store.

It’s there that buyers attempt to assess likely demand and order differing volumes of items from the collection, which get manufactured and delivered in the following months, before finally hitting retail. Hence the Spring 2013 styles that were shown off last September are only just hitting stores now.

Burberry is aiming to leverage its enormous social media influence and online fan base to cut out the middle man, offering the brand’s biggest fans the chance to pre-order their own personalized versions of the latest Autumn-Winter 2013 styles.

This season all the bags and outerwear shown in the Burberry runway presentation Monday are currently available to pre-order now online.

burberry made to order

According to the brand “each piece is made to order for you” and customers are also given the option to personalize their items with bespoke nameplates for free.

This ‘hot off the runway service’ has run since Sep 2010, but it’s the first time that Burberry acolytes have been able to make their own special mark on the garments.

The brand is also boasting “smart personalization” — NFC (near field communication) chips in the items will tell the story of the garment from manufacture to delivery, when they are held up to compatible NFC-enabled devices.

They will also display their history when customers visit high-tech Burberry stores (enabled with NFC readers and giant screens) for an added “Minority Report” vibe.

The ‘Runway Made to Order’ service is set to run for the next 13 days. The following video explains more about the campaign:

Richard Nicoll

Tropicana collaborates with Richard Nicoll

PepsiCo has tapped British designer Richard Nicoll to create a dress inspired by the newest edition of its Tropicana juice line, Trop50.

At 100 percent silk, the sunny, orange and coral one-size-fits-all dress was created to promote the new low-calorie orange juice.

Sweetened with a natural plant extract, stevia, the new juice has 50 percent less sugar and 50 percent fewer calories than regular juice.

Only 50 of the dresses, adapted from Mr. Nicoll’s trademark Stella t-shirt dress, have been created and are available exclusively on Atelier-To-Go for £555, or nearly $900.

Richard Nicoll

Features include a keyhole button fastening at the back of the neck, short sleeves with double buttoned cuffs and a contrasting orange block of color at the back.

Sales profits will go towards Fashion Targets Breast Cancer ; the leading charity fashion campaign by Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

The move is Tropicana’s first designer collaboration, and comes in the same week that Diet Coke announced designer Marc Jacobs as its creative director for 2013.

Tropicana Trop50 dress

Admiralty Arch London

Armani to turn Admiralty Arch into luxury hotel

Admiralty Arch London

According to The Daily Mail, Italian fashion house Armani is hoping to turn an iconic London landmark, the Admiralty Arch, into a luxury, £100 million hotel.

The ceremonial entrance from Trafalgar Square to the Mall that leads to Buckingham Palace will be transformed into a 100-room hotel designed floor to ceiling by Giorgio Armani if the deal goes through.

After opening properties in Dubai and Milan, Armani has long talked about opening a London outpost of Armani Hotels, toying briefly with the tony neighborhood of Knightsbridge, home to luxury properties like Bulgari, the Berkeley and Mandarin Oriental.

Early indications are that the hotel will be outfitted in sleek marble for the property’s 80 to 100 guestrooms, royal and presidential suites at an estimated renovation cost of £600,000 per room.

The hotel, which is reportedly to open in December, 2015, will house a restaurant and bar and, predictably, an Armani boutique.

Any development plans for a hotel in the century-old edifice, meanwhile, would need to pass security measures given that the arch overlooks Whitehall which is lined with British governmental offices.

London Admiralty Arch

Hotel brands with top online street cred

Hilton Hotel Shanghai

When it comes to online chatter about the best hotels for service, location, rooms and amenities, the Hilton, Marriott and Four Seasons brands come out on top.

Between May and October 2012, the trio of hotel names ranked highest in what market research company MavetMagnet calls ‘Conversational Relevance’ which measures both the amount and positivity of a hotel brand’s online buzz.

In areas such as service and location Hilton Hotels earned a positive score of 58 percent, followed by Marriott at 56 percent, and the Four Seasons with 51 percent.

Other elements that proved to be important to hotel guests included everything from the view, water pressure – for which the Ritz-Carlton and the Hilton emerged as leaders – service and the brand’s cachet, dominated by the Four Seasons.

Other findings:

– Among the most important attributes for hotel guests are the property’s location, centrality and accessibility to nearby amenities: Nearly two-thirds of online conversation on the ‘functionality’ of a hotel revolved around these considerations

– A hotel room’s size, connectivity and technology are among the most important to guests.

– The shower’s water pressure is more important than the comfort of a bed.

– The hotel staff’s responsiveness to personal attention and needs is also much talked about/

– Family travelers were particularly concerned about room noise.

Meanwhile, as of 11 am GMT, February 18, the top hotel influencers on social media tracker Klout include a bevy of Las Vegas properties including the MGM Grand Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay and the Palms Casino Resort.

miss dior natalie portman la vie en rose

Dior – La Vie En Rose starring Natalie Portman

On Friday, February 22, Dior unveiled a new ad campaign for Miss Dior directed by Sofia Coppola. The film shows actress Natalie Portman looking refined and radiant.

After sharing two teasers for its campaign, the luxury fashion house finally revealed the film directed by Sofia Coppola. As usual, Natalie Portman looks elegant in her role as a fresh and radiant Miss Dior.

In various shots, the American actress, who is wearing a Dior Couture dress by Raf Simons, is carried away by love, in keeping with the theme for the new campaign.

miss dior la vie en rose

airbus a380 private jet

Prince Alwaleed sells A380 flying palace

Airbus A380 prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, ranked #29 on the list of global billionaires by Forbes magazine, has sold off his Airbus A380 jet plane, according to media reports.

Prince Alwaleed, whose net worth in March 2012 was estimated at $18 billion, ordered the A380 way back in 2007, and had ordered multi-million-dollar customisations to it, which made the media dub his aircraft as ‘the flying palace’.

The 57-year-old used the proceeds from the sale to expand his investments in Saudi Arabia and the greater Middle East, Sanbar said in an e-mail.

Alwaleed’s fortune has surged $8.5 billion since April 2012 as Kingdom shares have almost doubled in value. The diversified investment company, which controls stakes in Citigroup, News Corporation and the George V hotel in Paris, accounts for more than two-thirds of Alwaleed’s net worth.

Alain Ducasse opens a chocolate boutique in Paris

Alain Ducasse le chocolat

Alain Ducasse has thrown his chef’s hat into the increasingly saturated Parisian chocolate scene with a bean-to-chocolate store that will open this week.

Set in the heart of Bastille inside what was formerly a garage, Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse is the culmination of a 30-year-old dream for the Michelin-starred chef who put chocolatier Nicholas Berger in charge of the boutique.

The premise? A bean-to-bar chocolate shop, where cacao beans will be roasted on-site before being melted, tempered and handcrafted into bonbons, bars, pralines and ganaches.

Cacao beans are sourced from countries as diverse as Madagascar, Peru, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Vietnam, while ganaches and bonbons are flavored with everything from lime, blackcurrant, mint, prune-Armagnac, coconut-passion fruit, vanilla, coffee and lemon-tea. Other ingredients used include peanuts, pistachios, hazelnuts and dried fruit such as orange, ginger and raisins.

Concrete brick walls, and vintage antique shop finds such as steel gates which once guarded the former Bank of France lend the space an industrial feel, in tandem with the boutique’s bean-to-bar concept.

Meanwhile, Ducasse opens his chocolate boutique a few months after luxury tea house Ladurée threw open the doors to their first shop dedicated to chocolate.

Nicholas Berger

Sahara Noir Tom Ford ad campaign

Tom Ford releases exclusive scent for the Middle East

Sahara Noir Tom Ford ad campaign

Sahara Noir by Tom Ford will launch at select locations in the Middle East this March before rolling out to Europe in early summer.

Tom Ford has gone on an Oriental adventure with his new frankincense-based scent, using the history and culture of the region to build an impressive new scent specially designed for the Middle East.

“Middle Eastern culture has an extraordinary appreciation for the luxurious, emotional and memorable qualities of fragrance; perfume is worn there in a way that feels very familiar to me. Sahara Noir is my interpretation of this heritage,” said Tom Ford.

The fragrance opens with bitter orange, sweet oasis grasses and Levantine cypress. The heart is composed of frankincense that is offset with cinnamon, Egyptian jamine and Moroccan rose. Sahara Noir finishes with cedar and vanilla tones.

Presented in a gold version of the classic Tom Ford fragrance bottle, the perfume is packaged in a fluted gold box. Prices are not yet available.

Amex reveals 2013 trends for US travelers

brazil christ redeemer

American Express has revealed the top travel trends for US citizens in 2013, with Brazil proving the most popular overseas destination.

The findings in the American Express consumer travel report are based on a recent American Express Spending & Saving Tracker survey.

In total 50% of Americans have already booked, or plan to book, a trip in the coming year and 87% of these people with travel plans intend to spend the same or more than last year on their vacations.

According to Amex the most popular international destinations of 2013 are Brazil, New Zealand, Morocco, Scotland and Banff National Park in Canada. Domestically Americans intend to travel to Seattle, Washington; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Nashville, Tennessee; Denver, CO; and Palm Springs, CA.

The report also discovered that those in the US are returning to the rails with train travel becoming more popular.

US travelers are also going to diverse locations such as Borneo to observe exotic wildlife and booking cruises to the Asia-Pacific region, while cycling getaways through French wine country or the Rocky Mountains are increasingly popular.

Banff National Park

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta supercar

Ferrari named best coupe and best cabriolet

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta supercar

Two awards from French publication L’Automobile Magazine bring the Italian carmaker Ferrari‘s international honors tally up to 25.

Ferrari continues to rack up awards at the same rate at which one of its customers collects speeding tickets. Its V8-powered 458 Spider was announced best cabriolet and its V12-powered big brother, the F12 Berlinetta was named Best Coupe at this year’s L’Automobile Magazine Best Cars 2013 awards

The honors, from one of France’s most respected automotive publications, brings the number of international awards for the marquee up to 25 in the last 12 months.

But the awards are deserved as the current Ferrari line-up is one of the strongest in living memory in terms of power, performance, choice and looks.

The 458 has set new standards in terms of what can be expected from a mid-engined V8 car, while the F12 Berlinetta offers the same levels of speed and performance that could only be found in the range-topping Enzo hypercar several years ago.

Ferrari 458 Spider

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Enter Wine Business

Chateau Miraval

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will be releasing their first bottles of wine next month, produced from their sprawling French estate in the south of France.

The first bottles to be released out of their Château Miraval vineyards in Correns about 110 km east of Cannes will be Miraval rosés, due out on the market in March.

Chateau Miraval terrace

The Jolie-Pitts purchased the 500-hectare property for $60 million USD and are in the midst of extensive renovations including the installation of stainless steel tanks.

Chateau Miraval vineyard

The wines will be produced and distributed by the Perrin family, current owners of Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, who began working on the estate during the 2012 harvest.

Chateau Miraval PinkFloyd

Currently the estate produces red and white wines and a rosé named Pink Floyd after the group that recorded one of its albums in a studio on the property.

Vivienne Westwood Kate Middleton

Vivienne Westwood urges Kate Middleton to buy less

Vivienne Westwood Kate Middleton

Vivienne Westwood urged Prince William’s wife Catherine on Sunday to stop buying so many outfits and to be more environmentally responsible in the way she dressed.

The British designer was speaking to reporters before her show at London Fashion Week, where she handed out a “climate revolution charter” which called on people to “buy less, choose well, make it last”.

Westwood, a long-time environmental activist, was asked what advice she may have for the Duchess of Cambridge, who has become a style icon since marrying into the British royal family in 2011.

“I don’t have any advice to her, except I think it would be great if she wore the same clothes over and again, because that’s very good for the environment and it would send out a very nice message.”

The 71-year-old added: “If you’re going to all that trouble to get an outfit that suits you, then you should keep on wearing it. I mean, you don’t have to have a red outfit one day and then something almost the same in blue the next.”

Vivienne Westwood

Marc Jacobs limited edition Diet Coke cans

Coca-Cola unveils Marc Jacobs-designed cans

Marc Jacobs limited edition Diet Coke cans

Coca-Cola has launched a limited-edition collection of Diet Coke cans designed by their creative director Marc Jacobs to fete the soda brand’s anniversary in Europe.

The trio of cans pays tribute to the fashion decades of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, with each silhouette created to incarnate the woman of her time.

Inspired by the bright lights of Broadway and Radio City Music Hall where the zero-calorie drink first made its global debut in 1982, Jacobs sets a tuxedoed woman against a motif of butterfly bowties for the 1980s, for instance.

The 1990s were marked by glamour and “sartorial audacity,” represented by a dame clad in a fuchsia frock, long gloves, stiletto heels and extravagant felt hat.

And, according to Jacobs, the first decade of 2000 can be characterized by a collision of sporty chic energy, incarnated by a silhouette sporting a bob, geometric stripes and a houndstooth bikini bottom.

Jacobs takes over from Jean Paul Gaultier who served as creative director for Diet Coke in 2012. The Marc Jacob cans are now available across Europe.

minnie mouse lanvin

Lanvin unveils dress for Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse in Lanvin

Lanvin and Disney have released a new video showing Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz designing a special dress for Minnie Mouse.

Wearing her classic polka dot dress Minnie hops in a vintage Cadillac and is driven from her home at Disneyland Paris to the Lanvin headquarters in the center of Paris.

Taking a tour of the Lanvin studios, Minnie picks out a couple of things she likes and watches as the design team work fitting garments to a model.

Then the designer and the fashion loving mouse sit down to sketch out some ideas. Minnie is “definitely a true fashionista” according to Elbaz.

“When I showed her two dresses, she knew exactly which one she wanted. She likes to show her heels and loves earrings, jewelry, colors and everything that sparkles.”

Back at Disneyland a seamstress creates Elbaz’s design before the final fitting takes place with Lanvin team and Minnie can enjoy her midnight blue dress. Disney has announced that Minnie will be leading the proceedings in a fashion show held at the theme park on March 23.

Paco Rabanne 1 Million Intense

Paco Rabanne to introduce new 1 Million

As summer approaches, Paco Rabanne has a new fragrance on the way. The brand will offer a sensual variation of its iconic men’s fragrance 1 Million from March 1.

The fragrance, called 1 Million Intense, has top notes of blood mandarin, cardamom, black pepper and saffron. Rose absolute, neroli and cinnamon form the perfume’s heart. The base is made up of white leather, orris root, patchouli and sandalwood. Prices start at 56 euros for a 50 ml spray.

The 2 stars of Lady Million and 1 Million – Dree Hemingway and Matt Gordon – will be back for the new campaign. The shots by Nathaniel Goldberg and the black & white video by Paul Gore were inspired by iconic Hollywood imagery, especially Goldfinger.

Paco Rabanne 1 Million Intense

Keira Knightly Chanel ad censored in the UK

The advertising authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom has censored Keira Knightly’s Chanel Coco Mademoiselle advert after it appeared next to children’s film “Ice Age 2.”

In the video, Knightly’s character races on a motorbike to a photoshoot where she is undressed by the photographer. Wrapped up in nothing but the bedsheets she distracts him, before making her mysterious exit. This was too much for some parents, and the ASA interevened after complaint that the commercial was unsuitable for the children likely to be viewing the film.

“The ASA acknowledged that the undressing in the ad took place in the context of a photo shoot but nevertheless considered those scenes involved sexually suggestive content,” announced the authority.

Chanel argued that Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was ‘known for being a strong, independent woman’ herself, but was unsuccessful in its efforts to fight the ban. According to the ASA “the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form in or around programmes of particular appeal to children.”

The 60-second spot was directed by Joe Wright, who has since gone on to work with Chanel again on the recent Chanel No. 5 campaign featuring Brad Pitt.

The UK authority has recently banned ads by retailer American Apparel, and in 2011 censored a print ad by fashion brand Marc Jacobs featuring a 17-year-old Dakota Fanning in a ‘provocative’ pose.

Keira Knightley for Coco Mademoiselle