the white desert

The White Desert hotel in Antarctica which has played host to the likes of Prince Harry and Bear Gryllis, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by undergoing a complete overhaul to add to the already long list of creature comforts provided in the middle of nowhere: heated domes, fur throw blankets, gourmet meals and once-in-a-lifetime encounters with Emperor penguins. The heated dome pods shelter guests from the bitter cold (it is a balmy 15 °C, maximum), sleep them in plush double beds, and serve up gourmet meals prepared by a professional chef who cooks for a Formula 1 team when she’s not in the Antarctic. Dining chairs are warmed by fur throws, beds are backed by decorative fabric and bamboo headboards, floors are hardwood, and amenities such as hot showers, sustainable toiletries and writing desks are all there. Items for the refurbishment were flown in from Cape Town but what is more impressive is what they fly out of Antarctica, to keep the place pristine. The White Desert hotel claims to have zero impact on the environment there, keeping all structures temporary and literally whisking away waste of all sorts (including human waste)— flying it out of the continent. Most of the power to keep things running here is from renewable sources and the company is an accredited CarbonNeutral venture. The hotel is set to reopen with its new look in November. Due to harsh weather conditions, it is only open for two months, November and December, with seven to 11-night itineraries cost a steep $71,500.

lord shiva

We at The Luxe Café got you up close with Rosa Lladro when the brand launched the porcelain statue of goddess Saraswati, having launched their India collection much earlier in 2002. Well, the Spanish brand’s India collection now has another heavenly addition to it: the Porcelain image of Lord Shiva. Lladró is one of the leading names in the world of high porcelain. Limited to 720 pieces, the statue portrays Lord Shiva wearing a string of Rudraksha beads, holding a gilded Trishul and a wooden dumroo and seated on a base with a ‘lingam’ painted with real gold lustre. Along with this masterpiece for 2016, by mid-2017 Lladró intends to launch a porcelain retrospective of the Gita Saar, a significant part of the Bhagavad Gita. Raul Rubio, the sculptor who earlier created the porcelain figurines of Ganesha and Ram Sita, came to India, in 2012, on a four-city tour of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. As part of this tour, he visited the temples of Radha Krishna and Ram Sita situated in Mathura and Vrindavan, to draw inspiration for his sculptures. Sculptors at Lladró also refer to mythological books and browse the Internet to perfect the designs of the deities, along with taking help from priests and astrologers to ensure perfection.

dlf emporio

DLF Emporio has just launched the 9th edition of its annual property, the Luxury Shopping Festival from 1st October till 27th October 2016. The festival is an exclusive window into the upcoming season of festivities with patrons getting the opportunity to win luxurious designer gifts, holiday packages and a lot more. In addition to exhibiting some of the most coveted creations in luxury lifestyle, the festival offers shoppers the chance to participate in daily, weekly and mega lucky draws on a minimum shopping of INR 20000 and win designer gifts and International holiday packages. The mega lucky draw winner of the Luxury Shopping Festival will win an exquisitely crafted necklace from The House of Rose. The highest spender of each week of the festival will win fabulous holiday packages to Dubai, Cape Town, Bahamas, Maldives courtesy, One&Only Resorts. Dinaz Madhukar, Senior Vice President, DLF Luxury Retail and Hospitality said, “We are delighted to host the 9th edition of the Luxury Shopping Festival at DLF Emporio, which also marks the start of the festive season. We look forward to celebrating with our guests and providing them the opportunity to win luxury gifts.” The Luxury Shopping Festival 2016 will also showcase an exclusive pop-up store by the winners of DLF Emporio Design Awards 2015-16 and exhibit their collection for two weeks at DLF Emporio.

giglio shoe range

Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo has launched a made-to-order program for its men’s Giglio shoe range. Ferragamo announced the bespoke service in early summer, and launched the tramezza.ferragamo.com Web site on Oct. 5. The program will allow consumers to customize Ferragamo’s footwear styles based on personal tastes and includes the Oxford, Monkstrap and Monkstrap Boot styles. Options for customization include material, color, buckle finish and the option to personalize the sole with lettering. Consumers can begin the customization process either in-store or online, by accessing a design configurator that recreates the in-store customization experience. The finished pair of bespoke shoes will be presented in Ferragamo’s signature red shoebox, which would be designed to resemble a small personalized trunk.

henrik fisker

Henrik Fisker is all set to revive Fisker Automotive by introducing an all-new premium electric car, to be unveiled sometime in the middle of next year. With talks that it will set the new standard for range between charges, there are high expectations for the vehicle.  Said to have greater head room and leg room than other cars in production, the vehicle is also expected to be constructed using innovative materials and will incorporate revolutionary battery technology. Henrik Fisker, who will serve as Chairman and CEO of the reformed company, has claimed that the car would completely disrupt the electric vehicles market. A few years ago in 2012, the company had launched the world’s first electrically propelled luxury GT called the Fisker Karma, which used a petrol generator to recharge the battery and was a bold vision by the brand and had generated huge excitement.

mouthpiece with sgnl

Innomdle Lab, a spin off from Samsung Electronics has developed something so remarkable it looks straight from a sci-fi flick. It’s called the Sgnl Smart Strap and it lets you answer calls by just placing your finger against your ear, while your phone remains in your pocket! The strap connects with your phone or smart watch using Bluetooth technology and helps you answer calls miraculously through the BCU (Body Conduction Unit). Sound is transferred via vibration through your own body and is amplified by the ear chamber.  Studies have shown that at the average voice frequency of 2000 Hz there is very little signal loss. The Sgnl Smart Strap fits most watches and can even be used without one as a wrist strap.  The enclosed microphone is naturally right by your mouth as you hold your finger in place.  With a single hour’s charge on the micro USB you have a 7 day stand-by or 4 hours of talk time.  Priced at $140, the Sgnl strap is dust and waterproof and compatible with Android 4.4 and iOS 8 and newer operating systems.

king midas eyes

Did you ever tell your beloved her eyes shone like jewels? Or did you ever have your lover say that to you? Well, that could be a very literal thing now, with the world’s first pair of contact lenses worth $15,000— fashioned from diamonds and gold. Created by Chandrashekhar Chawan, optometrist at Shekhar Eye Research Centre, these were originally inspired by his wife’s jewel-encrusted teeth, and profits from their sale would go into the treatment of people suffering from Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Each pair of lenses weighs 5 grams in total and sits away from the cornea at an average distance of about 6mm to 9mm. To sooth the eye, water is held in front of the lenses. Shekhar Eye Research added that the design will not prevent the eyes from getting oxygen. So if you really fancy a pair of bejewelled eyes, you need to get right there because only 3996 pairs of these lenses will be made, available in white gold or yellow gold, with the option to have 18 diamonds in them.

most expensive donut

Created with gilded leaves, a gold dusted Belgian chocolate flower and—hold your breath—edible diamonds, this £1,000 donut is not just the world’s most expensive but also the most delectable. Unveiled by Krispy Kreme at Selfridges department store in the UK about two years ago, the confection was created to mark National Donut Week — a fundraising effort benefiting the UK Children’s Trust charity. The donut took three days to assemble and lists all the ingredients of decadence like a Dom Pérignon vintage 2002 champagne jelly with a raspberry and Chateau d’Yquem crème. Finished with a passion fruit glaze and gilded with edible 24K gold leaf, it is seductively adorned with hand-made 23K gold dusted Belgian white chocolate lotus flower, blossoms, ivy, butterflies and edible diamonds. Sitting pretty atop a Krispy Kreme Cocktail made from raspberry and passion fruit syrup, 500-year-old Courvoisier de L’Esprit Cognac and topped with 2002 Dom Pérignon champagne, this is one helluva tempting creation!

flagship store

Italian fashion house Fendi is all set to open a new Flagship store on Canton Road—a prominent space spanning over 4,000 square feet across three floors. Slated to open officially in late October, the store will showcase Fendi’s diverse collection of fashion-forward products in a contemporary space. In celebration of the Canton Road flagship, FENDI will launch an exclusive and limited collection of items, including the iconic Pure White Peekaboo, the limited edition Speech Bubble Collection for men, and the Hypnoteyes charm.

armored maybach

The Mercedes-Maybach S600 Pullman 2016 is the latest in the line-up of Mercedes Benz ulra-luxe protected vehicles. Designed to provide optimum safety to politicos, top notch celebrities and so on and so forth, the Pullman provides detailed protective controls, all this while spoiling you with decadence. The car boasts of specially made steel integrated into the cavities between its body structure and outer cavities while the aramid and PE components throughout the exterior render further protection. The side windows are coated with polycarbonate and a steel divider is placed behind the rear seats to shield passengers from possible blows from the back. While the VR9 feature marks the car bulletproof, the Directive ERV 2010 blast rating means it can additionally safeguard passengers from fatal blasts, too. Of course, being the luxe-tank that it virtually is, the car bulk weighs at 5.1 tonnes and is 6.5 meters long. Furthermore, like its non-armored counterpart, the Pullman is powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 engine delivering 530 hp and 830 Nm of torque from just 1,600 rpm while indulging you with executive seats at the rear that recline up to 43.5 degrees. The beefed up Pullman is now available for booking in Germany for a cool 1.4 million euros ($1.56 million) with actual deliveries commencing in 2017.