"When the famous toy brand, Margarete Steiff, allows itself to produce the first ever "couture" teddy bear, it's with the master of today's luxury Karl Lagerfeld. A unique and unusual collaboration that shows us, one more time, how Lagerfeld is always on the avant garde. Steiff keeps on the innovation and brings you the first teddy bear made for older kids." Via Colette.
The teddy bear comes wearing the famous black suit and sunglasses, an outfit by the designer that one got used to over the years. And of course the famous button in the ear, that all Steiff plush toys carry, is also present. You can expect this to be a collectors item.
The Karl Lagerfeld Teddy Bear by Steiff, will be released in September at Neiman Marcus in New York and will retail for $1,500 a piece.
Related article :
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Karl Lagerfeld's Luxury Bear
Monday, July 28, 2008
Vlaemsch() - RendezVous
Summer is in the Air so it is time to redecorate your walls and give them a “luxury touch”. Are you ready for a change?
Casimir, one of the leading designers of his generation in Belgium, has been producing and distributing furniture designs under his own name since 1995.
His designs are characterised by his use of warm, rich varieties of wood. Although his comfortable, sturdy pieces of furniture wouldn't have been unfamiliar to Breughel, Casimir's use of surrealism, through some clever optical illusions and semiotic, adds a new dimension.
He established recently the Vlaemsch()-collection. Vlaemsch() stands for Flemisch traditions, humour, design, simplicity, sensible, the surreal, no-nensense, quality and solidity, and combines creativity with the highest level of quality : quality of design and quality of product.
Casimir works together with a team of international designers and Wallpapers “RendezVous1&2” are their latest creations :
Carmen Devos for Tickle magazine said “These “naughty” patterns take their inspiration from those repetitive floral garland patterns which so many of our forebears were exceptionally fond of.
It is only upon re-focussing our eyes, inclining your head slightly to the left and humming the Brabançonne that you may discover yourself surrounded by intertwining figures, salaciously winding themselves around your walls in never-ending twists and turns of shameless sensuality.”
They are both available in three colors (black on beige, red on red and silver on beige) at their online store. The vinyl papers come in 0.53 x 10m rolls at 70 euros each!
Friday, June 6, 2008
24 karat gold automobile sculptures
For more than 25 years, Michael Dunlap has crafted uniquely original automobile models. Typically they are built to 1:12 scale, hand engraved and finished in 24 Karat gold. They are purchased for different reasons -- their beauty as artwork, display in museums and trophies to commemorate special automotive racing events.
Each model is a commissioned order. Therefore, the price is determined by the complexity of the project desired by the client. The Indy cars displayed on the website got sold off for $60,000 and the NASCAR models managed to generate $70,000. Mike Dunlap is currently pricing a yacht, for a potential client in Dubai, for around $180,000.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Top 9 unique structures soon to be built
Obviously, construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. couple that with multi-billionnaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile-high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.
below are 9 strange and unique structures which have either been approved or are in the final stages of approval. some have already been partially constructed.
welcome to the future landscape.
1. aqua, usa (website)
from a distance this skyscraper, to be completed in 2009 in chicago, will seem quite traditional. it’ll only be when you get close and look up that you can appreciate the ripple/jelly effect created by variously sized balconies from top to bottom.
2. chicago spire, usa (website)
the phenomenal chicago spire, when completed in 2010, will be the world’s tallest residential building and the tallest building of any kind in the western world. seemingly modelled on the image of a giant drill poking through the ground, the 609m structure will dominate the chicago skyline.
3. cctv headquarters, china (website)
at a modest 234m the cctv building isn’t going to stand out from a distance. however the design and shape is a crowdstopper to say the least and will be another incredible addition to beijing’s skyline in time for the 2008 olympics. the shape, described as a ‘z criss-cross’ results in a very high, seemingly unsupported corner at the front. let’s hope there’s a glass floor up there.
4. regatta hotel, jakarta (website)
taking on a nautical theme, the developers say the 10 smaller towers represent sailing boats whilst the larger building is ‘the lighthouse’. it’s the lighthouse that steals the show for me, possibly the most incredible looking structure i’ve seen for a long time. if it ends up looking anything close to these pictures i’ll be impressed.
5. residence antilia, india (architects’ website)
construction has begun on residence antilia despite opposition from those who see it as an ‘excessive’ design in a city where more than 65% of the population live in slums. politics aside and after you recover from the initial shock of seeing a skyscraper that resembles an ikea cd rack, the building actually looks like it may succeed as a stunning, unique, green piece of architecture.
6. russia tower, russia (architects’ website)
topped with an observation deck over the city of moscow, russia tower will become the tallest building in europe when completed in 2012 and twice the height of the eiffel tower. construction has already started on this angular beast which was designed by foster & partners, also responsible for the gherkin and spaceport america, currently in development.
7. penang global city centre, malaysia (website)
following months of speculation and sturdy opposition, this humungous project is in the final stages of approval and apparently construction will start very soon. even so, due to the size of the plan it will take at least 15 years to complete. resembling a sci-fi city, the area will be crowned by 2 x 200m towers and completely transform the small island of penang.
8. gazprom headquarters, russia (architects’ website)
this gigantic, 300m tall glass flame of a building will house the gazprom headquarters in st. petersburg, dwarfing all structures in its vicinity. it will apparently change colour up to 10 times per day depending on the position of the sun. the building has already been nicknamed ‘corn on the cob’ by unhappy locals.
9. burj dubai, dubai (website)
this is the big one. when completed next year it will be the tallest man-made structure in the world and the tallest building by a long shot with a predicted height of 818m. note: currently the tallest building on earth, excluding an antenna, is taipei 101 in taiwan which stands at 509m. the photo below is the building’s current state: the skyscrapers below the burj dubai used to look tall.
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