Monthly Archives: June 2013

Hilton Molino Stucky Venice

Top 25 most sought-after hotel brands

Hilton Molino Stucky Venice

After a cull through more than 133 million online searches on Google, Bing, Yandex in Russia and Baidu,Hilton Hotels and Resorts has emerged as the most sought-after luxury hotel brand in the world.

That’s according to the recently released World Luxury Index Hotels report, which looked at the top 70 brands in the world and ranked them in a tidy list that ranks their online popularity.

Here are the top 25 most sought after hotel brands in the world:

1. Hilton
2. Sheraton
3. Westin
4. Four Seasons
5. Hyatt
6. Hyatt-Regency
7. Ritz-Carlton
8. Embassy Suites
9. Renaissance
10. InterContinental
11. Fairmont
12. JW Marriott
13. Sofitel
14. Grand Hyatt
15. Loews
16. Shangri-La
17. Mandrain Oriental
18. St. Regis
19. Le Merdien
20. Regent
21. Park Hyatt
22. Kempinski
23. Jumeirah
24. Langham
25. Taj Hotel

underwater hotel Maldives

The latest in luxury: Underwater hotels

Water Discus Hotel Maldives

A futuristic-looking luxury hotel made up of spaceship-like discs that recalls Star Trek’s Enterprise is set to be built partially underwater in the Maldives.

The Polish developers of the Water Discus Hotel received the green light last week by the national ministry of tourism to begin construction off the island of Kuredhivaru, where the ambitious underwater project will be built amidst delicate coral reefs in crystal clear waters.

underwater hotel room

The two-part structure caters to guests with different preferences: those who want an underwater marine view of tropical fish and colorful coral, and those who prefer aerial views of their lush, blue-skied surroundings.

Water Discus Hotel at night

Suspended up to seven meters above water on five pillars, the upper deck will house the hotel restaurant, a spa, a rooftop seawater pool and a tropical garden, as well as a helicopter landing pad.

underwater hotel rooftop patio

The lower underwater deck — built up to 30 meters below the surface — will house 21 soundproof guest rooms and the hotel bar as well as a submarine, airlocked dive center that leads divers straight into the ocean. For deep-sea divers, the dive center also includes a decompression chamber.

underwater hotel restaurant

Other water activities include three-passenger submersibles for deep-sea exploration, motor boats, water-skiing, jet skis and underwater scooters. Plans are also afoot to build a similar project in Dubai. No details are available on when the hotel is scheduled to open.

Water Discus Hotel

Meanwhile, the spectacular marine world of the Maldives is the setting for another luxury, underwater restaurant and hotel. Set five meters below the surface of the sea, the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island hotel and features 180-degree views of the coral gardens.

underwater hotel

Porsche Design Sport womenswear line

Porsche Design Sport launches womenswear line

Fashion meets function, at least according to Adidas and Porsche Design. The two have joined forces to launch the first Porsche Design Sport womenswear collection.

Just like the menswear range, Porsche Design Sport brings its iconic luxury brand to a range of sporty sneakers, gym hoodies, gym pants, and outerwear in deep purple, gray, white, and black.

On Friday, the brand unveiled its autumn/winter 2013 collection, with its showpiece, the chic Tech Down Jacket, filled with feather and down and good to go from slopes to streets.

The jacket also features smart high-performance features such as integrated gloves, a detachable snow guard, and two hoods, one detachable and filled with PrimaLoft thermal insulation.

Also, you’ll find inside pockets for snow goggles, a mobile phone, and an MP3 player and a ski pass pocket on the left sleeve. For style, a waistband in contrasting colors offers a more feminine silhouette.

Porsche Design Sport has signed on tennis star Daniela Hantuchova to promote the line.

Porsche Design Sport womenswearPorsche Design Sport womenswear Porsche Design Sport womenswear Porsche Design Sport womenswear Porsche Design Sport womenswear Porsche Design Sport womenswear

CTK18

CTK18 White Jade Automatic wrist watch

CTK18

Unveiled in Baselworld 2013, The Chinese Timekeeper is back this year with yet another charismatic addition to its collection: CTK18 – White Jade Automatic.

White jade is rarer and more precious stone than its more famous big brother, green jade! For this limited edition collection, CTK has used grade ‘A’ Burmese White Jade to create that perfect visual contrast for greater legibility on the black dial.

For the very first time on a watch, the illustrious material is skilfully used and its various shades are greatly inserted in the stunning and daring design of a CTK.

This timepiece is priced at HK$32,800 ($4,250) and there are just 18 pieces of them at the Hong Kong Boutique (82 Stone Nullah Lane, Wanchai).

Chinese Timekeeper CTK18 watch

A museum displays Mouton Rothschild wine labels

bottles chateau mouton rothschild

Chateau Mouton Rothschild has announced plans to permanently open a museum that will house its collection of wine labels rendered by artists such as Picasso, Chagall, Andy Warhol and Prince Charles.

After traveling the world, the exhibition Mouton Rothschild Paintings for the Labels will find a permanent home on the chateau estate in Pauillac in the Medoc alongside the existing Museum of Art in Wine.

The chateau is currently undergoing major renovations and is expected to open to the public in June.

Over 70 years, the wine producer enlisted some of the greatest artists around the world to design bottle labels which in addition to Picasso and Warhol included Keith Haring, Anish Kapoor, Salvador Dali, Lucien Freud and Chinese calligrapher Gu Gan.

As compensation, artists were paid with 10 cases of Mouton Rothschild. Labels on display date as far back as 1924, and from 1945 to 2010.

The collection of wine labels, which has traveled to 42 cities since 1981 in locations such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, London and New York, will continue to visit other cities as temporary exhibit.

twister tower

Dubai inaugurates world’s tallest ‘twisted’ tower

cayan tower dubai

Dubai has inaugurated the world’s tallest twisted tower built at a cost of $272 million, setting yet another record for skyscrapers and other engineering marvels.

The 310-metre, 75-storey residential Cayan Tower is twisted at 90 degrees from top to bottom and was inaugurated earlier this week in Dubai Marina — a man-made canal overlooking the Gulf.

Developer Cayan Real Estate Investment and Development Company said 80 percent of its residential units have already been sold. Construction began in 2006, but was delayed due to major technical problems and the 2009 economic downturn in Dubai triggered by the global financial crisis.

The tower was designed by Chicago-based Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the masterminds behind Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s tallest tower and also in Dubai.

Dubai twisted tower

Robert Pattinson Dior

First look: Robert Pattinson’s Dior ad

Robert Pattinson Dior

Robert Pattinson has been named as the latest face of Dior Homme fragrance. The 27-year-old British actor will star in a new campaign for the brand set to hit magazines and TVs soon.

“Today we are excited to announce that he will join the privileged circle of Dior faces. Photographed by American artist Nan Goldin and filmed by French director Romain Gavras, this new Dior Homme communication campaign is currently broadcast exclusively in Europe (except UK) and Asia (except China and Japan),” said Dior in a statement picked up by the Telegraph today.

The fashion house shared the photo (seen above) via Twitter, saying it was “delighted” to be working with the “Twilight” star.

The rumors of the collaboration first emerged last year, with sources close to the star reporting that he had signed a $12 million contract to replace fellow actor Jude Law as the face of the fragrance.

Other faces of the brand include Best Actress Oscar-winning trio Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron, and Natalie Portman, who have recently promoted perfume and bags under the Dior banner.

Born in London in 1986, Robert Pattinson first played in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before hitting global success with his role as Edward in the teen vampire thrillers of the Twilight saga.

Nicholas Kirkwood opens Las Vegas Store

Nicholas Kirkwood Las Vegas store

British shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood has unveiled a new 1,400-square-foot store located in Las Vegas’ Wynn hotel. It is the designer’s second opening in the United States after his NYC flagship.

Alongside the main lines are a number of exclusive Vegas styles that Kirkwood has created especially for the occasion. The first option is a Swarovski Elements embellished point-toed pump with a metal heel in black, strawberry or ocean blue ($1,295).

There’s also an even pricier black and gold zigzag pump, which features Swarovski crystals ($2,995). The two shoes will be available from the Las Vegas boutique from the start of June.

Born in 1980, Nicholas Kirkwood studied at Central Saint Martins in London and went on to work for miliner Phillip Treacy before creating his namesake label in 2005. Alongside his own creations he has designed runway footwear for brands including Rodarte, Peter Pilotto, and Erdem.

Nicholas Kirkwood Las Vegas boutique

TAG Heuer for Automobile Club de Monaco

TAG Heuer Monaco for Automobile Club de Monaco

TAG Heuer for Automobile Club de Monaco

This year Tag Heuer celebrates its long standing partnership with the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) with another special edition Monaco (there was an ACM Monaco one last year as well).

The Monaco Calibre 12 Chronograph Automobile Club de Monaco Black Edition has a 39mm square steel case that is PVD finished for the black look.

The watch has TAG’s automatic mechanical chronograph caliber 12 (ETA 2892 with DD chrono module). The Monaco AMC comes on a black perforated leather strap with an orange “sahara” lining and a steel folding clasp.

The watch was officially announced at the Monaco Grand Prix last week and is now available worldwide exclusively in TAG Heuer boutiques, priced at $8,200.

Source: Perpetuelles – More specs at TAG Heuer

Royal Princess Top Deck At Night

Duchess of Cambridge names Royal Princess ship

Kate Middleton Royal Princess ship

Prince William’s wife Catherine on Thursday carried out her last solo public engagement before the birth of her first child barely one month away.

She launched the new liner the Royal Princess in the southern English port of Southampton, smashing a 15-litre bottle of champagne against its hull in a time-honoured tradition met with a cheer and a sounding of the ship’s horn.

The wind whipped at the 31-year-old’s black and white printed coat, stretched over the most famous baby bump in Britain, and the grey sky threatened rain, but she appeared relaxed as she announced: “I name this ship Royal Princess, may God bless her and all who sail in her.”

The ceremony had echoes of a cold day in November 1984 when William’s late mother, Diana, officially named the first Princess Royal. On her finger, Catherine wore her engagement ring that once belonged to Diana.

Towering above the guests, who all had some association with charities supported by Prince William, his wife and his brother Prince Harry, was the 3,600-passenger vessel, which weighs 141,000 tons and has 19 decks.

Royal Princess Top Deck At Night

The latest ship from the Princess Cruises line, which embarks on its maiden voyage on Sunday, boasts a glass-bottomed walkway extending 28 feet (8.5 metres) beyond the edge of the ship, and claims to have the largest pastry shop at sea.

During the ceremony, which featured music from pop star Natasha Bedingfield and two military bands, a loud noise came from inside the ship’s hull. Catherine and the guests looked over, but the performance carried on.

Alan Buckelew, president and chief executive officer of Princess Cruises, said he was “incredibly honoured” to have the former Kate Middleton as the ship’s “godmother”.

The Royal Princess sets off for her maiden voyage June 16 and will sail the Mediterranean in summer, and travel to the Eastern Caribbean in the fall.

Princess Cruises Royal Princess

cruise terminal

Hong Kong launches new luxury cruise terminal

The Mariner of the Seas

Hong Kong opened a $1.1 billion cruise terminal at the site of its former airport on Wednesday in a bid to become Asia’s hub for luxury liners.

The new terminal, built on the runway of the old Kai Tak airport, will be able to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world — liners of up to 220,000 gross tonnes.

“Kai Tak was the site of our legendary airport and is now turning a historic page by connecting Hong Kong with the rest of the world through the seven seas,” Commissioner of Tourism Philip Yung said.

“With the addition of this new facility, Hong Kong is in full gear to receive mega cruise ships,” Yung said.

Hong Kong new cruise terminal interior

Royal Caribbean’s 1,020 feet (311 metres) long “Mariner of the Seas” was the first mega luxury cruise liner to dock at the two-berth terminal, which boasts a 360-degree panoramic view of the city.

A troupe of lion dancers welcomed more than 3,000 passengers as they disembarked the ship.

Kai Tak Airport

The former Kai Tak International Airport was considered one of the most challenging places to land an aircraft due to its central location in the city and tall mountains surrounding it.

The airport closed in 1998 after being in service for over 70 years and was replaced by the current Chek Lap Kok International Airport.

The cruise terminal will open to the public in the third quarter of the year with its second berth opening in 2014.

Kai Tak Cruise Terminal rendering

Kitsune Tee

Kitsuné creates new ‘Tee & Music’ project

Kitsune Tee and Music

The hip Parisian fashion label and record company is releasing new music and fashion bundles.

Paris based Kitsuné is equally famous for its preppy-directional fashion lines as for the record label of the same name, which has released records by bands including Klaxons, Phoenix, and Hot Chip.

Now Kitsuné is kicking off a new blend of fashion and music with the Tee & Music project, starting with the label’s famous compilations.

Codes will be slipped into the labels of the latest Kitsuné Tee line of t-shirts, giving customers a free download of their choice of one of the label’s latest releases, including “Kitsuné America 2,” “Kitsuné Parisien 3,” and “Kitsuné Maison 12” compilations.

Three different shirts (priced at €60) will go on sale with exclusive print designs including the ‘Z’ design of the London based group Citizens! and the famous Kitsuné faces by illustrator and Vogue Hommes editor André (which first featured on the “Kitsuné Parisien 3” release).

The men’s and women’s t-shirts go on sale June 19 in Kitsuné stores and online at www.kitsune.fr.

Kitsune Tee Music

winestar

French firm breaks taboo with wine in a can

winestar

A start-up out of France is getting a lot of buzz and raising eyebrows for launching a range of canned wines in a country of wine purists, where traditional winemaking traditions are fiercely upheld.

Winestar is the latest company to put wine in an aluminum can, joining the likes of brands like Barokes, Francis Ford Coppola and Friends Just Wine in taking the concept of boxed and bagged wines a step further.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Winestar co-founder Cédric Segal said his goal is to make his company the “Nespresso of wine,” in reference to the concept of single-serve portions.

He’s also targeting a specific market and season: young French consumers who are bypassing wine shelves and instead plucking off cans of fizzy drinks and juices to wash down their picnic dinners.

Segal’s reasoning: lighter, portable, user-friendly cans filled with premium, AOC wines will encourage consumers to put wine back on the picnic menu, practically a summertime sport throughout the country.

Meanwhile, wine consumption in France has experienced a precipitous decline over the years. In 1965, the average per capita consumption was 160 liters per adult. By 2010 that fell to 57 liters.

The latest figures out of France’s ministry of agriculture also show that fewer than one in five French adults now drink wine almost every day.

To launch the new line, Winestar is featuring a wine from Chateau de l’Ille of the Corbieres region, one of 12 AOC wines to be featured. The term AOC — Appellation d’origine contrôlée  — is used to designate the terroir of products like wines and cheeses special to a specific geographical area.

Other AOC wines will come from Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Loire and Alsace among others.

The can, meanwhile, is said to use a special coating that isolates the wine from the metal to ensure stability and the integrity of the wine. A 187 ml can retails for €2.50.

jason wu

Jason Wu takes over at Hugo Boss

jason wu

Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu, famous for his slick, highly urbane womenswear, has been appointed artistic director for womenswear at Germany luxury label Hugo Boss.

“I have long been a fan of Hugo Boss’ vast tradition and lineage in extraordinary tailoring. With the state-of-the-art facilities that are unique to the Hugo Boss design labs, I plan to develop a strong, feminine womenswear collection that reciprocates the brand’s authority in menswear,” said Wu.

“We are absolutely delighted to have an outstanding talent like Jason Wu on board,” Hugo Boss CEO Claus Dietrich Lahrs said in a statement. “This will generate a powerful and creative statement for Boss Womenswear and show our commitment to focus even more on the female side of the brand.”

Born in Taipei, Jason Wu moved to Vancouver, Canada as a child before studying fashion design at the famous Parsons school in New York City.

Launching his own womenswear line in 2007, Wu quickly became known for his classic evening dresses which won legions of celebrity fans. Most influential of all, perhaps, is First Lady Michelle Obama, who picked his designs to wear at her husband’s presidential inaugurations in 2009 and 2013.

Wu is set to take care of all the women’s ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories, and his first work for Hugo Boss will appear in the pre-fall 2014 looks. We’ll have to wait until New York Fashion Week in February to see his runway debut for the label with the Fall-Winter 2014 show.

The designer will continue to work on his own collections under the Jason Wu label, which is based in New York City. Hugo Boss is set to open a new design studio in the Big Apple to work in parallel with the label’s teams in Metzingen, Germany.

cruises

Celebrity Cruises announces Xbox tie-up

Celebrity Solstice

Luxury liner Celebrity Cruises has partnered with Microsoft in a collaboration that will see Xbox and Kinect-themed spaces and gaming areas installed across its fleet.

This summer, entertainment aboard the ships will include theme nights and Xbox-featured activities ranging from sports, dance and adventure to racing for kids.

Adults will also be able to take advantage of the newest form of onboard entertainment through free play, and themed events like Zumba parties and sports tournaments on Kinect for Xbox 360 consoles throughout the ships.

Expansive gaming areas is just one of the strategies used to pacify, perhaps, the toughest onboard critic: antsy, young adolescent passengers.

Royal Caribbean also provides video arcade entertainment for its younger passengers with popular games and programs like Guitar Hero and Nascar, as do Carnival and Disney Cruise Lines.

The Smeg 500 Fridge

SMEG x Fiat 500 mini fridge

The Smeg 500 Fridge

The SMEG 500 takes the diminutive Italian motoring icon of the late 1950s and 60s, chops it in half and turns the front storage compartment into an Energy Class A+ rated chest refrigerator.

The latest addition to a growing range of Fiat 500-based or inspired home furnishings and fittings, the SMEG 500 joins a dining table, picnic table and sofa that are already on sale exclusively through the Fiat 500 Design Collection website, and comes with a €5,500 price tag.

Although taking such a well-loved car and essentially chopping it up may upset some automotive and design purists, the partnership between the two companies and its results aren’t as sacrilegious as first impressions may suggest.

SMEG and Fiat are both trailblazing Italian companies that brought good design and affordable products to the masses. In fact, the companies first came together in the 1950s when SMEG’s know-how enabled Fiat to produce fridges alongside its cars on its production lines, helping to create the Italian market for ‘white goods’ in the process.

As well as being A+ rated, the SMEG 500 fridge offers a 100-litre capacity, a dedicated shelf for cans, automatic defrosting and an operating noise level of 42dB. Available in white, green or red, the fridge is 125cm wide, 80cm deep and stands at 83cm with the bonnet closed.

Smeg 500 mini Fridge

Berluti store London

Berluti opens London ‘maison’

Berluti store London

Luxury label Berluti, which has recently expanded beyond shoes and accessories into ready-to-wear, has reopened the London flagship store.

Set over three floors, Berluti has unveiled a decadent new London home for its menswear, accessories and shoe collections.

“We wanted to create a men’s club where the atmosphere and feeling belongs to a private place where men can feel at home,” creative director Alessandro Sartori told WWD. “We chose London because the idea was to open the first maison where the history of the brand was.”

Designed by Gwenaël Nicolas, the ‘Maison’ boutique includes the brand’s original shoestore, which had been present on Conduit Street for 15 years, but which has now been enlarged to hold the latest ready-to-wear offer.

Nicolas picked typically luxurious finishes, and, in a nod to the brand’s 118-year leather-working heritage, used plenty of the stuff, including a leather-walled bespoke space for appointments with the French and Italian tailors or the ‘bottier’.

Run by Antoine Arnault and part of the LVMH luxury group, Berluti expanded into menswear last year, with luxury collections designed by Sartori, formerly of Italian label Zegna.

Berluti new store London

Isabel Marant for HandM

Isabel Marant to design capsule collection for H&M

Isabel Marant for HandM

French designer Isabel Marant, beloved by celebrity fans like Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba, has teamed up with Swedish retailer H&M for the latest in the brand’s ongoing series of luxury collaborations.

Set to launch on November 14 in around 250 stores around the world and online, Isabel Marant has signed up to create a capsule collection for H&M featuring a selection of womenswear pieces and, for the first time in her career, a men’s line.

“I am flattered by this collaboration: H&M works with the best designers and this invitation is an exciting honor,” said Marant; “I aim at creating something real, that women want to wear in their everyday lives, with a certain carelessness, which I think is very Parisian: you dress up, but do not pay too much attention and still look sexy. The collection is infused with this kind of easiness and attitude. Everything can be mixed following one’s own instincts: my take on fashion is all about personality.”

isabel marant

“We are excited to have Isabel Marant as a guest designer at H&M. The way she mixes different elements in her collections, creating a style that is effortless and urban, makes her very contemporary,” explained Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Advisor at H&M.

The designer collaboration trend first kicked off in 2004 when Karl Lagerfeld created a hit line for H&M. Marant follows in the steps of collaborations with Italian luxury labels Versace,Marni, and Roberto Cavalli as well as French high-fashion brands Lanvin and Maison Martin Margiela who are just some of the big names to have collaborated with the Swedish high-street retailer.

A Paris native, Isabel Marant launched her first collection in 1994. Focusing on womenwear and accessories, the brand has grown into a global luxury label with 11 shops in Europe, Asia and the U.S.