Versace just opened its first store in Boston, Massachusetts, adding to its growing presence in the United States. The 225 square meter space in the heart of the city boasts the opulence of Italy with modern elements. The floor of the store features marble mosaics that take their inspiration from ninth century Byzanite churches. In contrast to the historical touches are the Perspex walls and shelves with brass stars and metallic details that add to the feeling of luxury. The retail space boasts a selection of ready-to-wear collections and accessories for both men and women. Also available within the store are capsule collections by the brand and limited edition offerings that will be made available at the new boutique. To commemorate the opening of the store, the label’s creative director Donatella Versace has designed a mini-collection that borrows elements from the Star-Spangled Banner. The capsule collection will reimagine the brand’s Palazzo stilettos and handbags in brand new shades and shiny cracked leather finishes. The designs will also be embellished with the iconic Medusa and a metal tag inscribed with “Versace Red, White & Blue.”
You only have to wait until early 2017 to buy Oprah’s new cookbook, ‘Food, Health and Happiness: ‘On Point’ Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life’. The cookbook will be the first offering from Winfrey’s new publishing imprint, as yet unnamed, with Flatiron Books. The media mogul’s cookbook is inspired by her recent experiences with Weight Watchers, the program she credits with helping her lose several pounds, she said in a statement. “In the past several months on Weight Watchers, I have worked with wonderful chefs to make healthier versions of my favorite meals,” she said. “When people come to my house for lunch or dinner, the No. 1 thing they ask is, ‘How is this so delicious and still healthy?’ So I decided to answer that question with recipes everyone can enjoy.” Winfrey’s book will be followed up by several nonfiction titles selected by the talk show host, Oscar-nominated actress, Broadway producer and cable network owner. Winfrey has written a previous book, “What I Know for Sure,” a 2014 collection of her inspirational columns for O, The Oprah Magazine. She also wrote the introduction for “O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook,” which was published in 2008, and lent her name to “In the Kitchen with Rosie: Oprah’s Favorite Recipes,” a 1994 cookbook written by her former personal chef, Rosie Daley. ‘Food, Health and Happiness’ will be published on Jan. 3 – just in time for people starting the year off with new diets. The publication date for her memoir is as yet unknown.
The next time you bite into one of Pierre Herme’s macarons, remember that it is a creation of the world’s Best Pastry Chef, a title bestowed on him by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Born into a family of master bakers from the Alsace region of eastern France, Herme’s dedication to macarons has elevated it into an art form. It is very surprising then that he started out not being a fan of the French dessert because they were too sweet. “What prompted me to work on macarons was that before there were just coffee, chocolate and vanilla flavors,” he added. “So it gave me great latitude for creativity.” His inventiveness and creativity made his signature macarons a household name. Steering away from typical flavors, he married ingredients such as olive oil and vanilla, wild rose hip, fig and foie gras to his menu, using sugar “as a seasoning and not a principal ingredient.” Some of his most sought-after flavors include “Ispahan” – a refreshing mix of raspberries, lychee and rosewater – and “Mogador” – a decadent combination of passion fruit and milk chocolate. His patisserie has expanded to include tarts, cakes, chocolates and jams, though the core of his business still revolves around macarons. Collaborations with artists such as Nicolas Buffe, who designed his chocolate boxes, and perfumier Jean-Michel Duriez has helped spread the word about his desserts internationally.
The scene in Goa just got a little more edgy with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide introducing its most anticipated and electrifying brand W to the destination. Set to open in the last quarter of 2016, W Goa will bring its ‘Whatever/Whenever’ philosophy to the sunny beaches of the West coast, adding more chutzpah to the exciting Goa scene.
Christie’s announced the sale of the fancy intense blue diamond, the Cullinan Dream sometime in May. At 24.18 carats, the diamond was regarded as a rare find. Now, the stone befittingly holds the title of the most expensive fancy intense blue diamond to be sold. Fetching over $25 million, the diamond was auctioned at Christie’s on Thursday in New York. Classified as a Type llb diamond, the Cullinan Dream comes from the 122.52-carat rough blue diamond found in the Cullinan Mines of South Africa. The largest of four diamonds to be found, the diamond falls into a rare category that accounts for less than one-half of the 1% of all diamonds found. Now that is some find!
Its unique color is the result of small amounts of boron being trapped in the crystal carbon structure during the formation of the diamond. The Cullinan Dream is now set as a cut-cornered rectangular mixed-cut fancy intense blue and is flanked on either side by a tapered baguette-cut diamond. Other well-known diamonds that have been mined from the Cullinan mine include the 3,106-carat rough diamond known as the Cullinan Diamond, which was then cut into two magnificent gems that now sit on the Imperial State Crown and Sceptre of the British Crown Jewels.
TIMELESS TIMEKEEPER | Set with 8,000 coloured stones, this fish wraps around your wrist and keeps time like a secret in its mouth
There’s nothing more enthralling than a bit of fantasy on your wrist. A dash apart from traditional timepieces, Van Cleef and Arpels’ latest offering is as intriguing as it is elegant. Known for its dazzlingly brilliant pieces, the Parisian jeweler has really amazed us this time.
The Carpe Koï—a one-of-a-kind fish-inspired sculpture that the Maison created last year—is an exquisite watch meant to be your poshest statement piece. You wouldn’t even want to call it a watch-it’s a work of art. Its charm and playfulness are simply unrivaled. The fish wraps itself round your wrist, and if you’re wondering where on earth do you look to check the time, just peek inside the creature’s mouth. Voila! There’s your dial. But that’s not all—a press on the fish’s tail releases the bracelet’s clasp. So you really have a bit of magic on your wrist.
Here are some other fascinating facts about this splendid piece:
The Carpe Koï is set with 8,000 colored stones, including yellow sapphires, spessartite garnets, Paraíba-like tourmalines, and diamonds.
Creating the watch required 3,450 hours of labor.
The watch’s design echoes that of the Carpe Koï ring in the brand’s high-jewelry collection.
LURED BY LORE | These four gallery-perfect bespoke bikes, each with a design reflecting Japanese Lore, are the final part of a series of 47 Japanese-themed machines
This collection of jaw-dropping, avant-garde art-on-wheels comes from the stables of Ronin Art Motorcycles, masters in mechanical design. These bespoke bikes are part of a series of 47 imaginative machines inspired by Japanese lore. The amount selected for the limited production matches the number of Ronin (samurai warriors without a leader) who, based on an 18th-century account, reportedly roamed the countryside seeking revenge for their dead master. The Colorado manufacturer’s own moniker, Ronin Motor Works, was selected for the fact that its bikes are based on the distinctive Harley-Davidson Buell 1125—a model that no longer exists in production.
The 130 hp road warriors feature a high-performance Rotax engine, more than 50 CNC-machined components, TIG-welded tubular subframes, 11 aluminum castings, and a custom monoshock linkage suspension system. Additional enhancements include a front-mounted radiator, new ram air-intakes, a high-flow exhaust system, and cutting-edge electronics. But the engineering is not all that is exquisite. For the final four examples the company commissioned local artists from Denver to design the bikes as one-off representations of their respective oeuvres. The results are as remarkable as each namesake samurai’s acts of valor.
Horibe Kanamaru
SAMURAI STRENGTH | This art-bike represents the never waning strength of its namesake warrior
Artist Jason Thielke meticulously decorated the motorcycle Horibe Kanamaru, named for the 78-year-old samurai nobleman whose strength allegedly never waned. To derive the desired graphic effect, Thielke hand-masked each line, used acid to etch patterns into the raw aluminum, and created contrasting shapes through the use of various blasting mediums. The common thread to his collective work is the struggle between self-control and self-gratification—a battle intrinsic to every mindful mercenary.
Sugeno Harufusa
POP ART | Fashioned with elements of a comic-page pastiche by muralist Scot Lefavor
With a style reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art from the 1960s, muralist Scot Lefavor fashioned the bike Sugeno Harufusa with superimposed elements of his existing painting entitled More Thrilling Adventures with Firearms. The comic-page pastiche includes a family packing firepower, Porky Pig, an armed nun, and a baby smoking a joint while swilling whiskey—a dysfunctional dystopia apropos to the motorcycle’s eponymous Samurai. According to legend, Harufusa’s mother committed suicide to free him from attachments.
DYSFUNCTIONAL DYSTOPIA | The bike reflects its namesake’s story where Harufusa’s mother committed suicide to free him from attachments
Nakamura Masatoki
STATEMENT ART | The Masatoki represents images from a scathing commentary on materialism
Named Nakamura Masatoki, the third motorcycle in the series is also dressed in the superimposed art of Scot Lefavor. The fragments featured are from a scathing commentary on materialism and greed that he created in 2008, the year of the global financial crisis that crippled the housing market in the United States. Included in the original piece are: a lyric from the hip-hop group Wu Tang Clan; an equestrian woman, riding a rat clutching a diamond; and a sleazy lounge lizard inviting the viewer to party. The cryptic collage would be easily deciphered by samurai Masatoki as he was renowned for his perception and detection.
Teraoka Nobuyuki
STRIKING TABLEAU | This hand-painted bike highlights the illustrations found in Japanese full-body tattoo work
The bike Teraoka Nobuyuki highlights traditional Japanese illustration often found in full-body tattoo work. The hand-painted scene by Samuel Lee Turner presents samurai Nobuyuki, the lone survivor in the iconic tale of revenge who, according to legend, was tasked with protecting the spirits of his fallen comrades. The left flank of the vehicle shows him attacking the enemy with a war hammer while the right side portrays his deceased band of brothers as Tengu mountain creatures—a striking tableau to match Ronin’s other worldly design.
The annual Serpentine Galleries Pavilion is back, with a new temporary building. For 2016, the highly anticipated architectural and design exhibit features an ‘unzipped wall’ in Hyde Park that is made of 1,802 fibreglass boxes. Conceptualised by Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG), the firm behind Google’s new headquarters, the pavilion will be open to the public from June 10 to October 9. Standing at an impressive 14m, the structure resembles two walls of boxes moving away from each other. Architects at BIG describe the exhibit as a structure that “embodies multiple aspects that are often perceived as opposites: a structure that is free-form yet rigorous.” The pavilion was originally conceived by Director Julia Peyton-Jones in 2000. Other architects such as, Toyo Ito, and Spanish duo SelgasCano and the late Zaha Hadid have already tried their hand at building the pavilion over the years. During the day, the pavilion will provide visitors with a range of free family activities along with a café. In the evening, the space will be used for performative works by artists, writers and musicians as part of the Serpentine Galleries’ Park Nights program. The annual event will also feature a series of live events on art, architecture, music, film, literature and dance.
HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS | The 4 storey sprawling store designed by Peter Marino. Dior Home, The House of Dior, at 160 New Bond Street, W1
Monsieur Dior, the creative mastermind behind the über-luxe European fashion house – Christian Dior, is famously known to have said, “Living in a house that doesn’t reflect who you are is akin to wearing someone else’s clothes.”
Indeed, home has been really close to the couturier’s heart. As Vogue’s Brooke Bobb notes, “when he[Monsieur Dior] wasn’t busy tailoring Bar jackets, he was curating his Louis XVI–style gilded chandeliers, medallion chairs, and toile de Jouy fabric in his Paris apartment with decorator Victor Grandpierre. Or he was carefully tending to his precious gardens and appointing the sophisticated, rustic corners at his country homes in Milly-la-Forêt and Provence.”
It’s no wonder then, that it wasn’t long before the house channeled his love for décor and gardening into a full fledged home décor line.
Yes, Dior fans. You heard it right!
Though Dior isn’t selling home ware products for the first time, however, the Parisian couture brand has hitherto only sold home ware items sourced from various artists. This new collection marks the launch of the new, in-house ‘Dior Home’ label.
Dior’s signature markers – the grey and pastel color palette, the Dior cannage and Monsieur Dior’s love for florals–have all been effortlessly retained. The brand commissioned 11 designers for the same, including noted names such as Lucie de la Falaise, Michaël Cailloux and India Mahdavi . The range includes hand-blown glass carafes, plates; Dior printed playing cards, crystal glassware and a picnic basket.
But when you Google “Dior Home”, it auto-corrects it to “Did you mean, Dior Homme?”! However, that doesn’t take away the fact that ‘Dior Home’ is a reality. And a gorgeous one, at that.
We at the Luxe Café bring to you, a curation of some of the launched pieces…
Marble Marvel | A classic marble staircase lead you up the storeArrivabene | Handblown Murano glass carafe and cupsVeronique Taittinger | Crockery with the iconic lily of the valley prints from the House’s 1954 Muguet collectionLucie de la Falaise | Traditional wicker picnic basketGiberto Arrivabene | Pastel pink glass paperweightIndia Mahdavi | Dior Home plates. Each plate set includes three plates in three different colors: pink, white, and grayMichaël Cailloux | Deck of Cards inspired by Christian Dior’s gardens in Granville, Milly-la-Forêt, and La Colle NoirePeter Marino | Bronze boxes for the debut line
Michael Kors has put together a layered yet breezy collection for Resort 2017, intelligently put together with the lightest of materials for an airy, yet put-together look. The diverse designs also included mod Sixties dresses with chunky Mary-Jane heels, and sequinned stripes (because who can resist them). His trademark clean silhouettes and impeccable tailoring were evident, despite the graphic optical illusions at play. The American designer had a good idea of what his customers wanted, and this eclectic collection is proof of that.
(Source: www.luxuo.com)
