Monthly Archives: June 2013

‘World’s most expensive champagne’ costs £1.2 million

A luxury champagne maker has created what it’s calling the most expensive bottle in the world after encrusting the logo with a 19-carat diamond worth £1.2 million.

Gout de Diamants

Handcrafted from 18-carat solid gold, Goût de Diamants’ Superman-style signature logo is centered by a single, flawless deep-cut white diamond weighing 19 carats, replacing the Swarovski crystal that normally inhabits the space.

The bottle was created for an unnamed private client. The label is also hewn from 18-carat solid white gold and is engraved with the client’s name.

Commissioned to create the one-of-a-kind bottle was Alexander Amosu, no stranger to pimping out other objects like iPhones and BlackBerrys.

In 2009, the designer from the UK also set a Guinness World Record for creating the most valuable suit. Made from gold thread, Himalayan pashmina, qiviuk and vicuna, the bespoke men’s suit took more than 80 hours and 5,000 stitches to create.

Gout de Diamants Champagne

Meanwhile, inside the Goût de Diamants Brut Diamond bottle is a blend of Grand Cru Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that offers a floral, refreshing and creamy texture and ends with a light and elegant finish, says the champagne maker.

Coach goes baseball crazy for Father’s Day

Coach baseball bat

The US luxury lifestyle brand Coach has got some fun gifts with a sporty edge this Father’s Day, set for June 16 in the US.

The brand has teamed up with some sporting specialists for new baseball-themed Father’s Day gifts, handcrafted in the USA.

The three-piece capsule collection contains a baseball bat and glove as well as a special limited edition wallet crafted from leather recovered from vintage mitts.

The gloves, produced by Massachusetts-based company Valkyrie, will retail at $348, with a choice of seven different colors, and will be available in 128 stores.

The painted bats (which come in four different colors), were made in collaboration with Texas wooden bat specialists the Warstic Bat Co. and will sell for $248 in 11 select Coach boutiques.

The collection hits Coach stores in the US on Saturday, June 1 and will be available at Coach.com from early June.

Larisa Katz

Luxurious Mercedes Viano by Carisma Auto Design

The Carisma Viano

A seemingly humble van could be the solution for those that want to travel in state, but without drawing unwanted attention to themselves.

The Carisma Viano is perfect for those who like to travel first class but hate the often crass statement that arriving for an engagement in a less than subtle Rolls-Royce Phantom or (soon to be defunct) Maybach makes.

And while it may start out life as a Mercedes van, on the inside the attention to detail and the scope of bespoke touches and luxury features is limited only by a client’s imagination.

Its makers, Carisma Auto Design, claim that, as such, no two of its Viano conversions are the same and that discerning customers are equally likely to specify their vehicle as a mobile office as they are for traveling in complete unbridled comfort.

The leather interior on each conversion is sourced from barbed-wire-free countries and each installation is designed, hand-built and fitted by master craftspeople who learned their trade restoring classic cars to concourse condition.

Recent client requests have included solid crystal ashtrays and champagne flutes; integrated fountain pens and ink wells; and a 42-inch TV and refrigeration units.

But as well as old-school luxury, the Carisma Auto Design Viano comes with the latest technological innovations.

Clients can specify a Windows or Apple on-board operating system, paired with a Bang & Olufsen sound system for optimum multimedia enjoyment.

And if a van, even one built by Mercedes is too utilitarian for some clients’ tastes, Carisma also does an equally subtle but luxurious line of Land Rover conversions.

The Carisma Viano interior

Plane

Flyers name their favorite airlines

Virgin America A320 interior

Virgin America is emerging as a clear favorite within the airline industry, adding another accolade to its belt this year after travelers put the carrier at the top of the heap.

After topping the 2012 Airline Quality Rating report released last month, more than 16,000 readers of US-based publication Consumer Reports likewise gave the carrier top marks for, among other things, its comfy leather seating and in-flight entertainment system.

Some of the more innovative features out of the airline’s entertainment system Red, for example, include a chat service that allows passengers to strike up a virtual conversation with other flyers using the touch screen on their chairback.

Last month, the airline debuted what Richard Branson described as an in-flight flirting service where passengers can now order drinks for their onboard crush using the same system.

Meanwhile, other airlines that got top nods from consumers of the publication include Southwest, which was lauded for its onboard service.

JetBlue also came out ahead for its in-flight entertainment, cabin cleanliness and comfort: seats come with a couple extra inches of legroom compared with other airlines.

At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, no-frills carrier Spirit Airlines won the dubious title of receiving one of the lowest overall scores for any company the magazine has ever rated, said Consumer Reports, mainly for tacking on a slew of extra fees such as a $10-$19 booking charge and up to $100 per carry-on bag.

In the Airline Quality Rating, based on figures from the US Department of Transportation, Virgin America posted the strongest performance in baggage handling, at a mishandling rate of 0.87 per 1,000 passengers.

By comparison, American Eagle posted a mishandling rate of 5.8 per 1,000 passengers.

The full report is available in the July issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Bowers Wilkins 805 Maserati Speakers

Prabal Gurung redesigns All Nippon Airways uniforms

Prabal Gurung

Prabal Gurung is set to design uniforms for around 10,000 All Nippon Airways cabin and ground staff to celebrate the airway’s 60th birthday in 2014.

Famed for dressing celebrities as diverse in the style stakes as Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga, Gurung has built up a dedicated following for his use of modernist prints and clean lines.

Based in New York City, where he previously designed for Bill Blass, Gurung launched his own label in February 2009 and was awarded the runner-up prize at the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.

Gurung has previously collaborated with Target on a capsule collection, but this is the first time the designer has created a uniform for an airline.

Earlier this month British punk designer Vivienne Westwood unveiled new eco-friendly and sustainably sourced designs for the Virgin Atlantic airline staff.

Comme des Garçons launches Andy Warhol collection

Comme des Garcons Andy Warhol

Comme des Garçons creative director Rei Kawakubo has designed a new capsule collection in homage to the American pop artist Andy Warhol.

The collection of T-shirts, footwear and accessories for men and women uses prints and imagery orginally created by one of the 20th century’s most iconic visual artists.

It includes a rucksack (€378), while T-shirts range from €126-141, and the print sneakers are €189.

“I think Warhol and Comme des Garçons both work in the total area of creation, without borders and limits, and with a similar disdain for establishment rules,” Comme des Garçons CEO Adrian Joffe told the Telegraph.

The 15-piece collection went on sale this week at the Comme des Garçons in Paris on rue du Fbg St Honoré and at the Dover Street Market concept store in London.

Comme des Garçons regularly collaborates with other brands and artists including Coca-Cola, Converse and Hermès.

Dinner in the sky over Venice in June

Dinner in the Sky Venice

From June 19 to 23, guests at Hotel Cipriani on the isle of Giudecca in the Venetian Lagoon will be in for a truly celestial meal: 22 guests at a time will be invited up for a Dinner in the Sky — at a big table on a rotating platform raised 164 feet in the air over the hotel pool. Two chefs will take turns feeding the fearless guests.

Up there in the air, the paying guests will be able to relish a whole gourmet meal or just an apperitivo, prepared alternately by Cipriani Hotel chef Renato Piccolotto or Cips restaurant’s Roberto Gatto.

Those opting for the aperitif will be served appetizers and pre-dinner libations, from €50 per person. These half-hour aperitivi will be offered daily at 5:15, 6 and 6:45 PM from June 19-23.

The three-course dinner with assorted wines will cost from €250 a pop. The one-hour meals will commence daily at 8 and 9:30 PM.

Dinner in the Sky has already been served in several major cities, including Paris, London, Dubai, Las Vegas, Sydney, Monaco and Brussels.

To reserve your Dinner in the Sky: dinnerinthesky@hotelcipriani.it

Grand Canal Venice Italy

New creative heads at Marc by Marc Jacobs

katie hillier

Marc Jacobs has taken a bold new step, handing over creative control of his Marc by Marc Jacobs diffusion line to a new creative director and a women’s ready-to-wear design director for the first time in the brand’s 13-year history.

Katie Hillier was appointed first as creative director, and immediately hired Luella Bartleyas design director for the label. Bartley, a former fashion writer, was head of the successful ‘Luella’ from 2001 until it closed in 2009, during which time the brand became a favorite of London it-girls Alexa Chung and the late Amy Winehouse.

Bugatti Veyron to star in Transformers 4

Western Star big rig

Although “Transformers 4″ won’t hit the big screen until June 27, 2014, images of a few new vehicles starring in the film have been released.

A 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse (in two-tone black and baby blue) will be featured as Autobots in the new movie.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Transformers 4

Alongside the Veyron and Stingray Bay also released an image on his website of the new Optimus Prime. This time the leader of the Autobots is based on a Western Star big rig, complete with red flame graphics over dark blue and plenty of chrome.

Western Star big rig Transformers 4

Saint Laurent Fall Winter 2013 Ad Campaign

Cara Delevingne Fall 2013 Saint Laurent

Cara Delevingne, wooed by all the leading fashion designers, is back in the limelight. This time around, England’s eccentric fashion model is posing for Saint Laurent, under the expert eye of Hedi Slimane.

Saint Laurent has been recruiting top-name models for its campaigns lately, particularly since the advent of Hedi Slimane as creative director.

After Edie Campbell, Julia Nobis and Freja Beha, it’s the English top model’s turn to be the face of the prestigious French fashion house.

The latest campaign, shot by Slimane in Los Angeles, shows the British beauty from the front and from behind wearing garments and accessories from the Fall/Winter 2013 collection.

The second part of the campaign, which is devoted to men’s wear, will be unveiled at some point in June.

Cara Delevingne

Chanel opens pop-up nail bar in London

Chanel nail station Selfridges

From May 31 to June 12, Chanel will be celebrating its “unique love affair” with nails with a nail bar feature ‘Le Vernis Couleurs Culte de Chanel’ at the famous Selfridges store on London’s Oxford Street.

There will be plenty of Chanel cosmetics specialists offering redeemable nail shape and paint options, and true beauty fanatics will also be able to book an appointment with celebrity nail specialist Sophy Robson (£30, approx €35).

“London’s Flyest Nail artist,” who has worked with clients including Tom Ford and Iceberg, will be in store on June 5 and 6.

To add to the excitement there will be three special shades of the Le Vernis nail polish — Bel-Argus, Azuré, and Lilis — available exclusively at the pop-up.

Just last month fellow French luxury brand Christian Dior celebrated its own nail varnishes at Harrods in London, where artist Sophie Harris-Greenslade produced designs inspired by recent catwalk pieces by Dior creative director Raf Simons.