Givenchy releases a new fragrance for men named Gentlemen Only. The campaign stars Simon Baker alongside Cameron Russell lensed by photographer Patrick Demarchelier. The actor is depicted using his umbrella to shelter Cameron in the pouring rain with a pure gentleman sense of chivalry.
According to fashiongonerogue, Gentleman Only has a neo-aromatic woody scent that gives off a spicy freshness with notes of green mandarine orange, pink peppercorns, nutmeg and birch leaves.
South Korean technological giant Samsung has revealed a giant flagship ultra-high-definition range of TVs that will retail at $40,000.
At 85 inches from corner to corner, it is a huge screen for a huge price but Samsung has also confirmed that the UN85S9 is about to be joined by two bigger brothers — a 95-inch and a 110-inch model, both of which will be more expensive still.
Samsung claims thatthe UN85S9 is packed full of revolutionary new features, chief among which is the ability to take high definition content and upscale it seamlessly into ultra-high definition to fill the vast screen. It can also pump out 120 watts of sound for that cinema-like experience.
The UN85S9 is an ultra-high definition TV, meaning that it displays images at a resolution four times greater (measured horizontally) than existing high definition content — such as a Blu-ray disc.
Like many other companies that offer similarly technologically advanced TVs, Samsung’s range of UHD TVs can stretch and rescale HD content to fill the screen while boosting its native definition enough to enhance the viewing experience. However true ultra-high definition content is very difficult to come by at the moment. Netflix hopes that it can start streaming this type of content within the next two years, and Japan has set itself a deadline of the 2014 World Cup Final as its date for starting UHD broadcasts.
Samsung to an extent is brushing over this particular problem — who would buy a games console for which no games existed? — not simply by highlighting the set’s upscaling technology but by pointing to a myriad of other features the TV boasts. These include gesture and voice controls and access to Samsung Hub, a servive that allows users to access multimedia content from Samsung.
Still even with a price tag of $40,000 Samsung will probably find interest. In January, LG reported that its comparatively cheap $22,000 80-inch UHDTV had seen sharp sales of 300 units in South Korea.
Furthermore, Digitimes research suggests that by the end of 2014, global sales of UHDTVs could pass the 10 million mark, despite their high price tags, humongous screens and lack of native content.
Have a favorite noodle dish you think is worthy of being served to thousands of airline passengers on one of Asia’s largest carriers? To celebrate National Noodle Month, Cathay Pacific is inviting fans to submit a noodle dish that will be featured on their in-flight menu.
Until April 19, fans can submit their noodle recipe on Cathay’s Facebook page. Dishes will be judged by Canadian food and travel blogger Mijune Park ; celebrity Chinese chef Martin Yan of San Francisco restaurant M.Y. China; and chef Sang Yoon of gastropub brand Father’s Office in California.
The winning noodle dish will be served to Cathay passengers traveling between North America and Hong Kong. The winner will also receive two round-trip Premium Economy tickets from one of their six gateways – Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver – to Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board will also give the winner a special bespoke tour of the city. Dishes will be judged on presentation, appeal, taste, ease of transportation and practicality as an in-flight entrée.
Actress Marion Cotillard returns to modelling for the House of Dior’s Pre-Fall 2013 Lady Dior handbag campaign. The French actress poses for Jean-Baptiste Mondino in looks from the fashion house’s pre-fall 2013 collection designed by Creative Director Raf Simons.
To mark its official launch in the US, the McLaren 12C Spider took to the notoriously dangerous Loveland Pass in Colorado to demonstrate its supercar credentials and to challenge X-Games professional snowboarder, Chanelle Sladics, in the process.
In a specially made video, Pikes Peak International overall record-holder and 2008 Drifting World Champion Rhys Millen races Sladics downhill in the convertible supercar, managing to keep its 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine in check through descending hairpin turns along roads caked in snow and ice.
At 11,990 feet (3,655 m) above sea level, Loveland is the highest mountain pass in the world that stays open during the winter months and is one of the most treacherous stretches of road in the US.
But somehow Millen not only keeps the car under control, he also manages to beat eight-time X-Games competitor Sladics to the bottom of the hill, despite her taking the most direct route.
The McLaren 12C Spider officially goes on sale in the US this week, priced at $265,750 excluding titling, tags and taxes.
A British luxury e-commerce site is selling a travel package that spans two years and takes a couple across the world in the lap of luxury, seeing all of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.
The price of the package? A cool $1.5 million.
The luxury trip will take in all of UNESCO’s spectacular 962 World Heritage Sites, including the Taj Mahal in India, the pyramids in Egypt and the Forbidden City in China as well as less internationally known sights such as the painted timber houses in Halsingland, Sweden and Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in the US state of Illinois.
All of the sites listed have been designated as having outstanding universal cultural and natural value by the UN body. The site specifies that only safe destinations will be visited.
In total the trip will span 157 countries and take two years, during which time the couple will stay in hotels such as Sandy Lane in Barbados, Hotel George V in Paris and The Plaza in New York.
The trip will be orchestrated by bespoke travel company Hurlingham Travel, whose managing director Andrew Barker told The Daily Mail, who were first to report on the special package, “this is certainly the most exciting trip we have ever managed, and is the most remarkable travel adventure imaginable.”
The package is being sold by luxury e-commerce site VeryFirstTo, a site that offers “luxury products and experiences to members and can be tailored to the couple, according to the site.
PPR, the owner of some of the world’s biggest luxury brands (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney), is rebranding itself to help complete a tr ansformation.
From June 18, the business formerly known as PPR (originally Pinault-Printemps-Redoute) will be called Kering (the word has its origins in the Breton language, meaning ‘house’). Kering also unveiled a visual identity includuing an owl logo with a heart-shaped face, and a new tagline “Empowering Imagination.”
Founded in 1963 by businessman François Pinault, the company is now run by his son François-Henri Pinault and has been a publicly-traded entity since 1988. The transition to a luxury holding began with an investment in 1999 in the Italian leather goods specialist and fashion brand Gucci Group.
Kering also own sports brand Puma, and in January this year purchased a 51 percent stake in emerging London design talent Christopher Kane.
One of Britain’s oldest motorcycle companies Matchless London has chosen Kate Moss as the face of its latest campaign. The company was bought up earlier this year by the Malenotti family.
Founded way back in 1899, Matchless Motorcycles manufactured classic bikes until 1966 in South London, but the brand has been reborn in 2013 with a new line of motorbike-inspired luxury apparel.
Brothers Michele and Manuele Malenotti have now hired famed fashion photographer Terry Richardson to shoot Croydon-born supermodel Kate Moss for the upcoming fall-winter campaign. The full campaign, styled by Joe McKenna, is set to drop later this year.
Shot at MC Motors in the East End area of Hackney, London, the latest photographs from the set see Moss straddling Marlon Brando’s Thunderbird 650cc motorbike from the 1953 classic “The Wild One.”
With their experience turning Belstaff from grubby biker label into a global fashion brand, the Malenotti brothers are banking on a collection of leather and washed cotton jackets designed to be suitable both for authentic bike fans and backseat drivers.
Prices are set to range from £900 (€1,000) to £1,300 (€1,500) for the brand’s luxury leather jackets.
Hublot has teamed up with Depeche Mode for a charity project to bring safe drinking water to developing countries. The initiative is part of the Depeche Mode 2013-2014 Delta Machine Tour.
Hublot has created 250 watches for the project, called the Limited Edition Big Bang Depeche Mode. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each watch will go directly to charity: water.
This is not the first time that Depeche Mode and Hublot have joined forces. Back in 2010 they worked on a joint project to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust through a benefit show at the Royal Albert Hall in London and an auction of 12 exclusive watches.
Rolls-Royce parent company BMW is staging the first exhibition of its kind at its BMW Museum in Munich to celebrate the British luxury carmaker’s recent resurgence and to honor the 150th birthday of the marque’s founder, Sir Henry Royce.
The display, which covers more than 1000 m2 and which is spread over five floors, tells the Rolls-Royce in incredible detail, starting with the initial meeting between the company’s founders, Sir Henry Royce and the Honourable Charles Stewart Rolls in 1904 and leads right up to the present day.
The exhibition is packed with some of the most important cars the company has produced over the past 105 years including the 1926 Rolls-Royce 10EX which was developed to show the capabilities of the company’s engine and chassis technology and which Sir Henry Royce engineered and drove himself.
Away from engineering perfection there is also a focus on craftsmanship, coachbuilding and bespoke design, all of which have become synonymous with the brand over its lifetime.
A $3 tag sale buy has turned into a massive windfall for the lucky bargain hunter: the Chinese bowl sold for $2.23 million at an auction at Sotheby’s on Tuesday.
The small pottery bowl, finely crafted with an ivory glaze, turned out to be a thousand year old “Ding” bowl, dating from the Song dynasty, which ruled China from 960 to 1279. The only other similar bowl from the period known to exist has been on display at the British Museum for more than 60 years.
After picking it up for a few dollars down the road in 2007, the buyer displayed it the living room. More recently, they became curious about its value and brought it to experts for an appraisal. Sotheby’s had estimated the bowl would sell for between $200,000 and $300,000.
But four bidders battled over the rare find, and it ultimately sold to renowned London art dealer Giuseppe Eshenazi for $2.225 million.
Ten dresses owned by Princess Diana, including the one worn when she danced with actor John Travolta at a White House dinner, sold for £862,800 at a London auction on Tuesday.
The most iconic item — the strapless dark blue velvet gown worn at a 1985 dinner thrown by US president Ronald Reagan in honour of the Prince and Princess of Wales – raised £240,000 ($363.000).
It was immortalised in the photographs of Diana dancing with Travolta to the song “You Should be Dancing” from his film “Saturday Night Fever”. The dress was bought “by a British gentleman who said he wanted to buy it as a surprise to cheer up his wife”, explained auctioneer Kerry Taylor.
The garments, created by some of Diana’s favourite designers including Zandra Rhodes, Catherine Walker, Bruce Oldfield and Victor Edelstein, share an extraordinary history.
Some were worn by the princess during official trips to Austria, Australia, Brazil, India, South Korea and the United States, said the auction house.
They were then acquired by Florida businesswoman Maureen Rorech at a 1997 sale to raise money for humanitarian charities supported by the princess, 2 months before she was killed in a Paris car crash.
Rorech put 14 of the dresses up for sale at a Canada auction in 2011 after declaring bankruptcy, but only four sold as the “reserve prices were ridiculously high”, said a spokesman for Kerry Taylor.
All of the remaining items sold on Tuesday at prices ranging from £24,000 to £240,000. Two were bought by an “important” British museum, revealed Taylor.
“It’s important for the generations to come,” she added. “Diana was the people’s princess, so the people should be able to see these dresses. This is our heritage, our history.”
French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac was given carte blanche to create a work of art for the new Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche in Morocco.
The permanent art installation, entitled “Fatal Oriental Syncronicity,” has been set up at the center of the luxury hotel’s Le Casart bar.
One of the bar’s walls bears a quote from Michael Curtiz’s iconic film “Casablanca” (1942), uttered by the character Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart: “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world? She walks into mine.”
This is not the first time the luxury hotel chain has called on a major fashion designer for one of its hotels. Karl Lagerfeld is set to design the logo for the future So Singapore, and So Bangkok boasts a Christian Lacroix VIP lounge.
Luxury hotel group Relais & Chateaux has released a set of 33 travel itineraries in 12 countries which they’ve dubbed the ‘Road to Happiness.’
Hotels admitted into the exclusive club are often historic landmarks such as castles or manors, set in some of the most bucolic areas of the world and must meet exacting standards of excellence.
‘Road to Happiness’ routes are mapped to highlight the best of a region, with pit stops that provide sweeping views of the oceanside, ancient ruins and historic landmarks.
Take a virtual tour of some of the properties in Relais & Chateaux’s Road to Happiness guide:
Chateau de Brindos
Set in Biarritz in France’s Basque country, this 5-star hotel is located next to the largest private lake in France, the perfect place for peaceful strolls and romantic stays in the company of the local, wild ducks.
Londolozi Private Game Reserve
This private lodge is endorsed by Nelson Mandela and situated in the heart of the Sabi Sand game reserve in South Africa. The Reserve has been family-run for 86 years.
Amenities and activities include an outdoor pool, hiking, yoga, game viewing, nature walks, bush banqueting, cultural village visit, specialist leopard safari, photographic safari.
Maisons de Bricourt
The Maisons de Bricourt establishment offers sweeping views of the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel and an oyster farm steps from the property.
Terme Manzi Hotel & Spa
Built around a famous thermal hot spring on the island of Ischia in Italy, the hotel offers a slew of pampering services such as mud and thermal therapies as well as a Michelin-starred restaurant, the II Mosaico restaurant.
The French Laundry
Thomas Keller’s flagship restaurant The French Laundry is often described as the gold standard in American dining. With three Michelin stars and a string of accolades, The French Laundry inspires pilgrimages from foodies from around the world.
In case you missed LaFerrari’s unveiling in Geneva, the hypercar is now on display at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello as a part of the “Ferrari Supercar. Technology. Design. Myth” exhibition.
The exhibition gathers some of the greatest Ferrari sportscars ever built, including historical cars such as the 250 GTO, the 250 LM, the F40, the F50, the Enzo and the related competition models.
Along with admiring the cars, visitors will learn about the entire process from the car’s initial conception to the final approval, and they will have the opportunity to see two full-scale models showing the car in various stages of its development process.
The “Ferrari Supercar. Technology, Design. Myth” exhibition will be open until September 30.
Bentley‘s upcoming SUV will look nothing like the XP 9F concept it unveiled at last year’s Geneva Motorshow, according to the luxury car company’s director of sales and marketing.
Kevin Rose, Bentley’s director of sales and marketing, promised the brand’s clients that the SUV would look nothing like its current SUV concept vehicle, and in response to claims that the proposed car is to be called The Falcon replied that if he has “anything to do with it won’t be called the Falcon.”
The car, expected to go into production — possibly in Eastern Europe, rather than in Britain — in 2015-2016 will be priced to compete with the recently launched Range Rover.
A top-of-the-range Range Rover, with all available optional extras can cost up to £125,000, (about US$189,000) and the Bentley is expected to represent the same value but with more exclusivity.
In terms of specific details or specifications, Bentley declined to provide any further information but Schreiber stressed that it “definitely will not be a [Chelsea] tractor.”
The Bentley XP 9F concept features a modified version of the Continental‘s 6.0 liter twin-turbocharged W12 engine. However, hybrid and V8 designs are also being considered for future production.
The big SUV rides on massive 23-inch wheels and tires and features a panoramic glass roof, twin elliptical exhaust pipes and a split two-piece tailgate.
The 4+1 cabin is trimmed in both soft-touch and saddle leather, wood veneers and polished aluminum, bronze and gunmetal.
Bentley also has combined traditional analog dials with reconfigurable “virtual” instrumentation and advanced features such as 3D navigation.
The rear-seat occupants are treated to such amenities as a fold-down keyboard and full Internet connectivity via an iPad, a powered footrest, a drinks table and an infotainment screen for movies, as well as a rear armrest that lifts to reveal a cooled compartment for champagne and glasses.
Cosmetics and skincare brand Estée Lauder has presented the first in a long series of videos entirely dedicated to its international brand ambassadors. French model Constance Jablonski started things off by giving viewers a look at her life in New York.
Each video in the “Day in the Life of an Estée Lauder model” series lasts between one and two minutes and invites fashionistas into the world of Estée Lauder’s most symbolic brand ambassadors.
Constance Jablonski, who was discovered through the Elite Model Look competition in 2006 and who has been a face of Estée Lauder since 2010, lets viewers into her life in New York through images of her makeup sessions, fittings, shows, fundraising and private nights on the town and shopping outings.
The brand will soon unveil new videos featuring Joan Smalls, Liu Wen and Hilary Rhoda who are all brand ambassadors. Watch Constance Jablonski: A Day in the Life of an Estee Lauder Model.
After the success of the first collection launched in France at the end of 2011, John Malkovich is once again delving into fashion, this time around designing beachwear exclusively for Yoox.com.
John Malkovich’s upmarket 17-piece capsule collection for online retailer Yoox is sold under the banner of his ‘bohemian dandy’ label Technobohemian.
Internet shoppers can purchase lightweight summer pieces such as swimming trunks, jackets, T-shirts, shirts, polo shirts and Bermuda shorts. This collection, largely featuring garments in linen and printed cotton, also includes a pair of sneakers and accessories (a hat, two scarves and a belt).
The collection is available now exclusively on Yoox.com. Scarves cost €63 and the T-shirts retail for €105. Swimming trunks will set you back €170 and the sneakers are priced at €183.
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola have directed a new short for Prada’s Candy L’Eau fragrance.
Starring 27-year-old French actress and model Léa Seydoux, Prada has released a teaser video from the latest campaign for the Prada Candy L’Eau perfume.
Seydoux starred in the last advert for the fragrance back in 2011, which was directed by famous French art director and photographer Jean-Paul Goude.
In the new teaser, Seydoux’s character introduces herself to a pair of male characters as ‘Candy’ and is seen greedily stuffing her face with popcorn in the cinema, all while dressed in Prada’s floral-inspired spring-summer 2013 collection.
The full film is set to be unveiled next month, but get set for more teasers in the meantime.
In France, home of the pastry known as the macaron, a special Macaron Day is being celebrated on Wednesday, March 20. The day is organized to discover new recipes the pastry masters have created for this little typically Parisian biscuit. A look at some of the latest trends in macarons.
Apple, mint, cucumber and rocket by Pierre Hermé
Every month, Pierre Hermé develops one new recipe for his Les Jardins 2013 collection. Macaron enthusiasts will be able to taste the most surprising recipe in June: apple, mint, cucumber and rocket.
In March, the macaron of the month is ‘Jardin du Maquis,’ a chocolate and Corsican honey macaron. Price: Les Jardins: €17 for a box of 7, €32 for a box of 12.
Candied chestnut by Christophe Roussel
Pastry chef and chocolate maker Christophe Roussel has created the candied version of a winter treat: chestnuts, an innovation along with rose macarons. Price : €16 for a box of 12, €30 for a box of 24
Jasmine and vanilla cream by Lenôtre
The Lenôtre house is launching three new flavors for spring including a recipe that combines vanilla cream and jasmine jam. Price: €30 for an assortment of seasonal macarons.
A rich cream perfumed with Marie-Antoinette tea by Ladurée
Ladurée, which is renowned internationally for its macarons, has created a new recipe based on a rich cream perfumed with Marie-Antoinette tea. This new flavor is part of the Les Merveilleuses collection. Price: €1.75 per macaron, €14.90 for a box of 6.
Kaffir lime macaroon by Hugo & Victor
The Asian citrus fruit has become one of Hugo & Victor‘s favorites. One of the macarons in the new collection is flavored with this fruit. Price: €1.60 per macaron/ €16 for a box of 8, €29 for a box of 16.
Mojito macaroon by Sébastien Bouillet
Pastry chef Sébastien Bouillet from Lyon was inspired by the popular Cuban cocktail for his new macaron. Other new macarons for the spring/summer collection include passion fruit and banana, lemongrass, lime and basil and apricot and thyme. Price: €1.10 per macaroon.
Chocolate ganache and red berry tea by Arnaud Larher
Arnaud Larher was inspired by spring’s freshness for his new chocolate ganache macaroons perfumed with red berry tea. They are exclusively available in the three Parisian boutiques.
Price: on Macaron Day, free with a donation
Genmaicha – green tea and grilled rice grain macaroon by Sadaharu Aoki
Japanese pastry master Sadaharu Aoki has created seven new macaron flavors including a genmaicha one: green tea with grilled grains of rice. Price: €1.40 per macaron.
Candied ginger and apple by Dalloyau
The new recipe from the Dalloyau house combines the freshness of candied ginger and the slightly acid taste of apples. Price: €8 for an EAT bag of 4, €18 for 10, €24 for 14, €36 for 24, €57 for 40.
Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne could possibly have the tallest building in the southern hemisphere after approval Monday for a new 388-metre (1,280 foot) apartment and hotel complex.
The Victorian state government said Australia 108 would become the world’s 19th tallest building on completion and would be “an outstanding addition to Melbourne’s skyline”.
Architect Nonda Katsalidis said the building, which will have 646 apartments, a 288-room six-star hotel plus retail and office space, was designed to throw a spotlight on the city’s international identity.
“We don’t have an Opera House (like Sydney) but we have a complex culture and all those ideas were thrown into this project,” Katsalidis told ABC radio. “The hotel at the top is designed as a starburst. We took the inspiration from the stars on the Australian flag,” he added.
The world’s tallest building is Dubai’s Burj Khalifa at 828 metres high while Europe’s tallest skyscraper, the Shard in London, stands at 310 metres (1,017 feet).
The current tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere is the Q1 tower on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia, which soars 323 metres to 71 storeys.
