Godfather of the fashion world, Karl Lagarfeld’s love for his cat Choupette is no stranger to the world. Inspired by his beloved pet is his latest spring/summer collection for women. The season of bloom and sun sees the fresh Choupette-inspired Lagarfeld collection compirses apparels, shoes and accessories. The line flaunts classic colours like black, white, red and grey with big cat-inspired motifs. Some of the pieces even have the signature ‘K’ monogram on them as a tribute to the designer. The casual tank tops and t-shirts with Choupette on them, as well as the quirky card holders, wallets and bags are a real treat. The range also has phone covers, badges, gloves, caps, hang tags and key chains.

Backes & Strauss—renowned for creating high-end luxury timepieces and jewelry and the world’s oldest diamond company established in the 18th century—has since been mesmerising the influential. Adding to its collection, the company has now designed a master timepiece, called the Princess Elizabeth, to pay a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on her 90th birthday. The longest-reigning monarch of UK, Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her 90th birthday on April 21 this year. The diamond-studded timepiece dedicated to the Queen features a striking gold dial that boasts of a younger profile image of the Queen. It is skilfully hand-engraved and enamelled by the brand’s master engraver using the Grand Feu technique with ‘XC’ at the 12 o’clock point. Interestingly, the English Blythe enamel was applied over many layers at a temperature of 900 degrees Celsius. The makers had to control the temperature continuously to give the timepiece a royal purple hue. The 37mm-sized watch’s case features 28 stunning diamonds each weighing 3.95 carats, and sword-shaped hands made using superwhite luminova. Its movement is automatic and the dial shows hours, minutes and seconds. Last but not the least, the strap of the watch is more of a bracelet that comprises 136 diamonds that weigh around 18.57 carats. But there’s more to come yet: another timepiece by Backes & Strauss, as a mark of honour to the Queen, called the Queen Elizabeth, will be revealed in Japan this October.

In 1976, the Italian architect Alessandro Guerreiro, along with Alessandro Mendini and Ettore Sottsass, led a group of designers to form Studio Alchimia. The group was described as “seeking to take the process of creation outside the Modernist design principles”, and to produce “experimental objects as exhibition pieces rather than products for the masses”.The members of the group focused on making products that bore the significance of one-offs and prototypes, their output marked with sensual appearances that disguised the commonplace materials with which they were made, thus shifting the attention to the making as well as to the elements of style. The Alchemists, a recent exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum, showcased works by 15 Singapore-based designers who created objects from disparate materials and methods, including nylon laser sintering, resin pouring, liquid colouring of ceramics, and acrylic textiles moulding. First presented at the Triennale di Milano in April 2015, as part of the Milan Design Week, the exhibition returned to Singapore to open Singapore Art Week 2016. “The intent of the show is not to simply exhibit new production technologies, but to develop along with them, a more contemporary attitude for designing in the global context,” says show curator Stefano Casciani. “This project hopes to serve both as a converging and a departure point for more dialogue and collaboration among this group of designers, as well as future generations of designers to come,” adds co-curator Patrick Chia. The Alchemists exhibition at SAM was organised by Industry+ and supported by the Design Singapore Council, and the Singapore Art Museum.

The serpent has been an iconic Bulgari influence since decades. The brand now pays a tribute to the snake with a special exhibit in Rome. The symbol of the serpent is entwined in the history of humanity for centuries, capturing the imagination right from east to west. It signifies the ability to renew oneself, defeating predators and being fierce. Italian jeweller Bulgari wants to showcase these qualities with an exhibit that shows the creative ways in which the serpent has been portrayed in the world of art, jewellery and design. Lucia Boscaini, Bulgari’s Heritage Curator has specially curated the project. The event will have antique jewellery from Pompeii, the iconic snake creations of Bulgari, contemporary art, photography and artistic illustrations, vintage clothing, theatre and film costumes and objects of design. The Serpenti Form exhibition is on display from March 10th to April 10th at the Museo di Roma-Palazzo Braschi in Rome.

This year’s Geneva Motor Show is packed-full with mind blowing sports cars.  The latest is a display of the finest avant-garde French design combined with state-of-the-art tech, in an electric 2-seater called the DS E-Tense Concept ($NA). Made by Citroën’s newly established DS luxury brand, this performance GT features a 402hp electric motor connected to a lithium-ion battery pack which is mounted underneath the car’s monocoque, carbon fibre chassis.  The motor delivers a substantial 381lb ft of torque to the rear wheels and is able to move the entire 3,968 lbs of the E-Tense from 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 155mph. DS also promises a range of 193 miles before you need to recharge the battery.  Other specs include a low centre of gravity, an independent, double wishbone suspension, and carbon fibre diffuser & flat underbody for improved aerodynamics. In therms of styling you’ll notice the car (finished in a “metallic green ametrine”) appears to be sculptured, boasting 3D fenders with vents behind the front wheels, LED lights & roof-integrated indicators, gaping intakes behind the doors, a chrome plated spine that runs up the hood & down the roof, and a complicated mix of shapes at the back (which instead of a rear windscreen has digital view tech).  The interior has a ‘watchstrap’ seat design, a sculpted steel dashboard with race-inspired toggle switches, a 640-watt sound system, 10-inch touchscreen, and even a luxury BRM watch that you can take out and strap on your wrist.

Regular Legos are for everyone, Gold Legos ($25 for 8 pcs) are for the luxe loving creative minds.  This golden Executive Building Brick Set includes 8 2×4 stud building bricks that can be incorporated with your other bricks to build all sorts of shiny custom creations.  The Legos feature a 24K gold-plated solid metal construction and have clean & crisp lines, making them perfect to display in your modern office or on the coffee table.  Just make sure you don’t have them lying on the floor – stepping on one of these (barefoot) can’t be fun!  Also, keep in mind that making a tower, like the one in the picture, would cost $125-$200, but who’s counting?

The world’s largest hotelier by rooms, Hilton Worldwide Holdings has a new claim to fame: a child-sized robot concierge at the Hilton McLean in Virginia, USA as part of a pilot project with IBM’s supermachine Watson. Charmingly named after Hilton’s founder Conrad Hilton, “Connie” can be used by guests to field questions on local tourist attractions, dining recommendations, hotel features and amenities at the Hilton McLean. Connie will greet guests and answer questions using a combination of Watson’s APIs including Dialog, Speech to Text, Text to Speech and Natural Language Classifier. Believe it or not, Hilton is only the latest hotel to “hire” a robot among its staff, in a worldwide trend that’s aimed at reducing labor costs and capitalizing on the latest technologies. In 2014, Starwood’s Aloft brand introduced ‘Botlr’ to the front lines, a roving robot used mainly to deliver amenities to guest rooms. Botlr works at the Cupertino location not far from tech giant Apple. And last year, Japan opened the doors to the world’s first fully automated, robot-staffed hotel with the Henn-na Hotel, where guests check in, check out, get their rooms cleaned and their luggage conveyed by a fleet of blinking, beeping and rolling robots.

Luxury automaker BMW AG revealed an astonishing concept car called the ‘Vision Next 100’ earlier this week at Munich, to mark its centennial anniversary. The automobile presented by BMW has set the tone for the brand’s design and product development for 100 years into the future. Vision Next 100 aims to give us a glimpse of the future and allows owners to choose between enjoying a high-performance drive and letting the car drive on its own, which basically means the driver can switch between driver-controlled and vehicle-controlled operations. The concept car features organic LED lights that change shape and an interactive windshield with digital display. This one is one of the four concept cars that the company will be unveiling this year. These dream machines will join the MINI and Rolls-Royce Vision cars in London for the European part of BMW Group’s world tour slated to take place between June 16 and June 26.

French luxury fashion brand Lanvin is all set to make a big announcement; they will soon be adding a new member to their fashion maison. Alber Elbaz’s exit was definitely a setback to the brand, considering his absence did reflect in the brand’s collections at a couple of fashion weeks. However, it seems like good days will make a comeback for the luxury French brand as rumours of French couture designer Bouchra Jarrar taking over as Lanvin’s Artistic Designer have finally been confirmed. After a week’s speculation around this bit of news, putting rumours to rest the brand officially released a statement announcing Jarrar as its new Artistic Designer. With Jarrar blending her timeless styling and knack for couture with Lanvin’s mastery in cuts and flowing outfits, the higher-ups at the fashion house are likely to witness something unique, fresh and out of the box in 2017. It has been confirmed that Jarrar’s first collection for Lanvin will make its debut on the ramp during the spring/summer 2017 showcase.

Opening on Sri Lanka’s stunning southern coastline on 1 June 2016, Shangri-La’s Hambantota Resort & Spa will offer unrivalled amenities and experiential activities and set a new standard for hospitality in the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean.” Spanning 145 acres, the 300-room beachfront resort will boast lush tropical gardens, an 18-hole golf course, an artisan village and a wide array of innovative dining, event and entertainment options. Hambantota is located near several national wildlife parks that are home to an array of animals, including wild elephants, the Sri Lankan leopard and thousands of rare and exotic birds. Guests arriving to Colombo International Airport can enjoy Shangri-La’s private luxury coach transfer, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. Seating up to 25 people, resort guests will enjoy the five-star service and facilities for which the hotel group is renowned, with refreshments, cold towels and snacks served during the drive along the scenic coastal route. The resort’s guestrooms include 26 suites with private butler service and range from 48 to 240 square metres. Sri Lanka’s rich culture is honoured throughout the resort and in particular at “The Village”, where guests can explore and interact with local artisans and craftsmen. The Village is dedicated to preserving Sri Lanka’s traditional artisan communities and features four traditional huts where the craftsmen skilfully create, exhibit and sell their items, from pottery and ceramics, to wood carvings and weavings. In the evening, the village transforms into an entertainment venue, showcasing Sri Lankan music and dance performances of Angampora (Sri Lanka’s indigenous martial art and one of the oldest fighting disciplines in the world).