Every year during the holiday season Evian, the World’s Most Luxurious Natural Spring Water, teams up with a European artist to create a special bottle. Over the years the pieces have become real collectors pieces.

Last year for Paris Fashion Week Evian partnered with Christan Lacroix and this year they worked with high fashion designer and Hermès Creative Director Jean Paul Gaultier.

He uses two unique creations – a “Prêt-à-porter” and an “Haute Couture” version – to crystallise the very essence of Evian water with his wonted talent

The German design genius Karl Lagerfeld has created what will be one of the most sought after bags next season, and he didn’t even have to try that hard !

At the Paris Fashion Week, Lagerfeld presented an interactive bag with his face printed on the front. Models held the bag over their faces as they strutted down the catwalk.

The man really knows how to bag a good idea!

A close friend of Louis Vuitton’s creative director Marc Jacobs, filmmaker Sofia Coppola is collaborating with the brand to design a one-off collection of handbags and shoes.

Little else is known about the collaboration at this stage. It is expected that the new collection will initially only be available in Japan before being available at Louis Vuitton stores worldwide.

Sofia and her famous father Francis Ford Coppola, recently starred in Louis Vuitton’s “core values” ad campaign, which was photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

The men’s wardrobe does not offer a wide spectrum of refinements. Especially masculine accessories are limited… So I was happy when I discovered a new company that produces beautifully designed men’s cufflinks called ARMREVOLUTION.

The London based company company has elevated cufflink design and function, to the level of watches and cars, which go through constant innovation ! Each style of ARMREVOLUTION cufflinks are a unique and considered “Arm architecture”.

“The brief to our London design team was to completely rethink the way that a French cuff shirt is attached at the wrist and I’m very proud of what they came up with. Our goal from the start was for our designs to be so innovative that we would be able to patent them….Innovation is key to every aspect of ARMREVOLUTION-through our products, packaging, events and customers service we aim to be different.” states founder and chairman Anthony Hayward.

Recently, the design team at ARMREVOLUTION has launched a six piece collection entitled “Perpetual series”. These unique cufflinks are inspired by the intriguing Bauhaus movement and are made from the finest Japanese stainless steel.

Each pair of cufflinks comes uniquely engraved with an identification number and a guarantee certificate, which, when registered on the ARMREVOLUTION website, provides access to the events surrounding the membership of this exciting brand.

The “perpetual collection” is available by appointment only at www.armrevolution.com. Each pair comes with a nicely designed reusable magnetic acrylic box and lovely leather traveling case. Prices ranging from $695 to $750.

You know there’s not just the Louis Vuitton Luggage to make your trip the stylish one ever! There’s also the latest edition of the Louis Vuitton City Guides!

For 10 years, the Louis Vuitton City Guides have been capturing the spirit of cities.

Now with the new 2009 edition, there are many new destinations and new sections with a vintage-inspired look inspired from the label’s iconic travelling trunks.

A new book out by author Dana Thomas, called Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Lustre, explores how the manufacture of luxury goods, and in particular luxury clothing, has been outsourced almost in its entirety to a handful of developing countries such as China and Turkey.

Dana Thomas knew it was time to investigate ‘luxury’ when her clothes started falling off. ‘In 2002, I bought a pair of cotton-poplin cropped trousers at Prada for $500. I put them on, and the gentle passing of my foot ripped the hem out. I put my hand in the pocket and it tore away from its seam. I squatted down to pick up my two-year-old and the derrière split open. I hadn’t had those trousers on 10 minutes and they were literally falling apart at the seams. I mentioned this to a former Prada design assistant. “It’s the thread,” he told me. “It’s cheaper and breaks easily.” Of course, not all Prada goods are shoddy . ..’

Thomas explains that despite the protestations of certain luxury house owners, the competitive landscape for luxury goods companies is one which makes this phenomenon hard to resist.

For the last sixty years, the actual production of luxury goods themselves has become much like any other type of product. The big difference is the way in which these luxury goods have been marketed to make you feel a particular way.

How? By creating a desire so powerful that, as Tom Ford, the designer and marketing genius behind Gucci, puts it, “It’s like you’ve gotta have it or you’ll die.”

As Thomas notes in her book, the lion’s share of a product is made in China but then a small piece (a piece of stitching or pocket, for instance) is added in the West so that the ubiquitous ‘Made in China’ label can be avoided and the luxury illusion can be maintained…

The book isn’t especially well written or well edited but Dana has a wicked sense of humor and pulls no punches in describing the decadent denizens of the “Deluxe” world.
Even if you know nothing about fashion, this book will fascinate, educate and entertain. The section on Louis Vuitton is eye-opening. The chapter on the making of a Hermes bag is priceless. Also, in the last few pages of the book, Thomas describes what the truly rich now buy, which is basically what you can see everyday on Luxuo :)

DELUXE: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre by Dana Thomas
Allen Lane £20/$40 pp376