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

“H.Stern began building its international reputation as an influential and leading jewelry house in 1945, when Hans Stern founded the company in Rio de Janeiro. For over six decades, H.Stern has continuously surprised the industry and media with its exquisite creative philosophy, becoming not only a reference in the world of design, but also an innovative avant-garde jeweler for the modern woman. Today, H.Stern is often seen on the most renowned celebrities of our time and on the pages of the top international fashion and lifestyle magazines.”

Feathers are very popular for fall. But, have you ever heard of a feather bracelet and earrings? H.Stern has taken the step to create a unique jewelry by introducing the Feather Collection.

It recently releases a 7″ bold, heavy and chunky bracelet. The bracelet is made of 18-karat brushed yellow gold (weighing a total of 123.05 gram). It also incorporates a locking bar closure.
To complement the bracelet, H.Stern also releases a matching dainty earrings from the same collection. Again, it is made of 18-karat brushed yellow gold (but this time weighing a total of only 19.49 gram). To add the bling, it is accented with two diamonds (weighing a total of 0.05 carat). It uses post backs and is 2 1/2″ in length.

The bracelet retails at $21,000 whereas the earrings at $4,900.

“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.

Luxuo is pleased to introduce Luxury Interactive 2009, a corporate event taking place on 16 – 18 March 2009 at Le Meridien Hotel – Piccadilly in London. On this occasion, we are glad to offer a 25% discount code to all the Luxury Retailers.

The event will bring together leading luxury brands to advance the use of interactive media and the online channels to create exceptional interactive customer experiences and drive luxury e-business through interactive learning.

Luxury Interactive helps luxury brands to attract new customers and increase profit margins by learning e-commerce strategies that have already been implemented and have succeeded.

U.S. Submarines, has developed a 2-person model submarine called the Triton 1000.

It is always great to own a yacht and have those parties by the deck. However, after a while, you may need something more exciting : the small submersible is lightweight and engineered specifically for deployment from medium-to-large yachts.

With an overall height of 1.85 meters and an overall length of only 3.2 meters the Triton fits on many mid-level boat decks and at 3.3 tons it can be launched using existing equipment from most yachts (and if you still don’t own a yacht, you can attach the sub behind a truck or a SUV).

Its design provides for excellent visibility and high levels of comfort, while luxury leather seating and full air conditioning offer the pilot as much comfort as possible in such a small space.

The operations are easy : the unit’s controls include intuitive joystick controls and touch screen monitors. In addition, U.S. Submarines provide piloting and maintenance training to the owner or crew with no additional cost, so you don’t kill yourself and make manufacturer U.S. Submarines look bad.

Triton pricing begins at $1.69 million and if you are wealthy enough, you can also have a look at some of the most luxurious private submarines you could own.

For more information on the Triton 1000, see the sub’s website - Source : TFOT