For those who need more bling in their lives, Mercedes released these limited edition key fobs garnished with Swarovski crystals.
A limited edition of 800 of these luxurious keys will initially be offered to customers in Japan.
The idea for the Swarovski Mercedes keys came internally, amongst the employees of the company’s Business Innovation Community.
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Hermes rejected on Wednesday “an attack” on its capital by luxury goods giant LVMH, sounding the start of what could become a bitter battle for control of one of France’s most iconic brands.
The head of LVMH, Bernard Arnault announced he had bought 17 percent of his rival Hermes, insisting that this does not herald a hostile takeover but that he simply wanted to become a “friendly” long-term shareholder.
“If you want to be friendly, Mr Arnault, you should withdraw,” retorted Hermes executives Bertrand Puech and Patrick Thomas.
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French Luxury Shoemaker Christian Louboutin plans to open two stores in China next year, propelled by the rising incomes of Chinese shoppers.
The first-ever Beijing standalone store is slated to open in July 2011, followed by a Shanghai boutique in December 2011.
Louboutin said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that he may operate as many as five stores in China in the next three years.
Business-wise, it’s a smart move. China, the world’s second largest luxury goods market, is expected to become the biggest market in the next five years.
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Stella McCartney’s new line of childrenswear, Stella McCartney Kids, goes on sale in stores worldwide and on its dedicated website starting today (Nov 3).
The British designer is the latest to unveil a luxury children’s collection, joining the likes of Burberry, D&G and Dior.
The new line, which comprises styles for babies, boys and girls from ages 0 to 12 years, ranges in price from £14 for a baby’s T-shirt to £130 for a coat.
Each piece in the collection includes styles that have been adapted and shrunken from McCartney’s main line.
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Fairmont has opened its new landmark property in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, becoming the second hotel brand to occupy the Abraj Al Bait Complex.
The hotel is situated inside the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, the focal point of an enormous project to upgrade the precincts of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina.
Standing 76 stories high, the Makkah Clock Royal Tower is the tallest concrete building in the world and features four 40-meter clock faces visible from 17 kilometers away.
Ralph Lauren has opened the doors to a palatial store last month on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. It is built as an extension of the Polo flagship across the street at the Rhinelander Mansion.
The 22,000-sq-.ft. store, reminiscent of the grand Beaux-Arts architecture of the early 20th Century, is dedicated to Lauren’s Women’s and Home collections.
The boutique offers a made-to-measure department for bespoke tailored pieces, an on-site custom monogramming department and a fine jewelry boutique.
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The Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) in Shanghai will hold an exhibition during winter 2011 on Chanel, the iconic haute couture label.
Titled Culture Chanel, it will trace the many inspirations behind the designs of the French house. It’s the latest move by a luxury label to expand its presence in the cosmopolitan Chinese city.
Running from January 15, 2011 – March 14, 2011, the exhibit will showcase over 400 items “including clothing, artworks, manuscripts and films.â€
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The final Louis Vuitton Trophy event is scheduled to start in Dubai on 12 November, featuring six of the top international sailing teams in the world.
The Louis Vuitton Trophy is a two-week sailing event and will take place at the Mina Seyahi, the home of Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC).
The boats used will be identical ACC yachts, the same sort as was used in the Americas Cup between 1992 right up to 2007, with the aim of ensuring that any team advantages fall within the realms of personal skill and sailing expertise.
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H&M continues to build anticipation around its latest designer collaboration with storied French couture house Lanvin.
Over the past few weeks, H&M has been posting videos of designer Alber Elbaz discussing his inspiration for the line on its YouTube channel.
Starting November 2, a sneak peak video of the collection is now available on H&M’s main website.
The four-minute 25 second fashion video clip stars Hannelore Knuts, Jane Schmitt, Tati Collitar and Natasha Poly decked out in frilly Lanvin for H&M frocks.
Astor & Black have teamed up with Bentley’s North American subsidiary to provide a custom-tailored new suit to every client that orders a new Bentley.
“Bentley is synonymous with luxury,” said David Schottenstein, Astor & Black CEO. “We plan to hand select the fabric for these suits”
“The new Bentley owners will also receive a hand-made silk tie and shirt. We are very proud to be an integral part of this promotion.”
The deal was first announced on orders for the new Mulsanne, but is now being expanded to the entire model range.
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Prada has just released on its website the Fantasy Lookbook for its Fall/Winter 2010 collection, which mixes real-life fashion photography with digital illustration.
The companion to the look book, the Fantasy Motionbook, a short film showcasing the season’s top looks using still drawings and animated sequences, will be posted on the Prada website on November 3.
With original artwork by OMA and photography by Phil Meec, the video portrays comic book-like fashion sketches evolving into real-life campaign images and catwalk footage from the F/W 2010 collection.
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US jeweller Tiffany & Co is aiming to make a major push into China as it seeks to tap a growing appetite for luxury goods among the country’s new wealthy.
“China will rapidly become the place where we will have the greatest number of new stores,” Tiffany chairman Michael J. Kowalski said on Tuesday.
The firm, showcased in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, plans to open 25 to 30 outlets across the country over the next three years.
During its current fiscal year, which ends in January, the company will inaugurate 14 stores around the world, four of them in China, it added.
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Lonely Planet has named its top cities to visit in 2011, picking New York as the best place in the world to be next year.
The list, compiled as part of the publisher’s Best in Travel 2011 guide, puts the Moroccan city of Tangier in second place and Tel Aviv in third.
New Zealand capital Wellington took fourth place spot, with the book saying that the innovative and inspiring city might just be the ‘Best Little Capital in the World’.
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The Aviation and Superyacht division of Pure-Sang, in cooperation with Glass-Deco International, introduced its latest luxury vehicle.
“The Beluga: Emperor of the Seven Seas” earned the title of “Best New Super Yacht Concept” at last month’s Monaco boat show 2010.
The Beluga’s transparancy creates an exeptional loft-feeling, with all the luxury of a hotel. The routing in the boat tooks is inspiration from the fairytales of Moby- Dick & Pinochio.
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In addition to Oakley, Gucci will also be rolling out 3D eyeglasses to target the high-end consumer electronics shopper.
Gucci’s version bears its familiar green and red web stripe detail at the temples and center brow bar, and a “Gucci 3D” logo on the right lens.
The Gucci 3-D glasses contain a high tech multi-layered mirrored coating which allows the wearer to view themselves in a mirror without distortion.
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Canadian aviation company Bombardier has launched the Global 7000 and Global 8000 two new large business jets.
The Global 7000 and 8000, which will cost about $65 million, will beat the high-speed range of the $58.5 million Gulfstream G650.
Both new jets will have a high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90; the 7000 will have a range of 7,300 nmi (13,520 km) at Mach 0.85, while the 8000’s range will top out at 7,900 nmi (14,631 km) at Mach 0.85.
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The world’s most expensive and fastest production car has gone on sale in India, with luxury manufacturer Bugatti making its debut in the land of rickshaws.
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which has a top speed of 407 kilometres (250 miles) an hour, went on display in a car dealership in the capital New Delhi on Thursday priced at 160 million rupees (3.6 million dollars).
“India is the hub of luxury, the country of the erstwhile Maharajas, who were the true patrons of bespoke luxury,” Bugatti executive Julius Kruta said in a statement, referring to India’s former hereditary rulers.
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Three bottles of Chateau Lafite’s 1869 vintage each sold for a record price of HK$1.8 million ($230,000) at a sale in Hong Kong last saturday.
All three were bought by the same Asian telephone bidder, said Sotheby’s, which offered almost 2,000 bottles of Lafite shipped directly from the cellars of the chateau in Pauillac, near Bordeaux.
The 1869s – the oldest bottles in a range of vintages that spanned 139 years – were each estimated to sell for between HK$40,000 and HK$60,000.
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The opening of Ramallah’s first five-star hotel will mark another small step in the West Bank town’s steady march towards something resembling normal life.
But its sixth-floor executive lounge looks out on a panorama of unresolved issues that cloud the economic outlook — a built-up Israeli settlement on a nearby hilltop, a Palestinian refugee camp down below and the hazy skyline of distant Jerusalem beyond a grim separation wall.
The Movenpick Hotel Ramallah, a locally owned franchise of the Swiss-based chain, is aimed primarily at corporate clients and has been billed as yet another indication that the occupied West Bank is open for business.
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Lamborghini opened its first official dealerships in Mexico this week, a signal of the growing demand for luxury cars in the country.
The Italian marque’s Mexico City store opened for business October 26 on Insurgentes Sur, one of the city’s busiest streets and a commercial and governmental hub of the city.
On October 27 the marque celebrated the opening of Lamborghini Monterrey in the “Beverly Hills of Latin America,” a wealthy area popular with tourists from around the world.
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They already drive flashy cars, wear expensive watches and eat at top-end restaurants. Now rich Chinese businessmen have found a new way to flaunt their wealth –Â luxury boats.
“They want to go out on the ocean and have fun — and take VIP clients to fish and negotiate deals,” said Zheng Weihang, secretary general of the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association.
With the second-largest number of dollar billionaires in the world after the United States, according to Forbes magazine, China is drawing eager foreign marina developers and boatmakers to its shores to tap the fast-growing market.
China currently has around 1,000 luxury powerboats and yachts moored around the country, and the number is expected to balloon to more than 10,000 over the next five years, Zheng told AFP.
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