The love of Brits for high fashion is definitely much intense as shown by the latest release of stamps celebrating fashion.
The Royal Mail lately released a collection of 10 stamps honoring the storied fashion designers and retailers of the country. The series features the designs of the likes of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Ossie Clark and Zandra Rhodes. The range of such fashionable stampsromanticizes that old medium of message via mails as the series also features the boutiques like Granny Takes a Trip, the same boutique which boasted of Beatles and Rolling Stones among its first customers.
In the tantalizingly flamboyant world of luxury where every piece is an artifact and every brand worth its salt has stories galore, there comes a study picking the best out of the best.
The revelation dubbed more-than-150-year old Louis Vuitton as the most valuable luxury brand for a seventh consecutive year, followed by Hermes. The Paris-based brand has been valued at $25.9 billion, a 7% increase from last year whereas Hermes is worth $19.1 billion, escalating by massive 61%.
The study evaluated brands on factors like craftsmanship, heritage and history mainly to tag Swiss watch brand Rolex at third spot and Chanel at number four with a decrease of 2% (valued at $6.68 billion). Gucci at fifth spot showed a downfall of 14% whereas Prada is at number six, Cartier at seven and Burberry bagged tenth place (with a 21% increase from last year).
On the other hand, Louis Vuitton is the 21st most valuable brand across 13 industries in a different list topped by Apple.
From the Kawaii segment, which stands for cute in the popular Japanese culture, there comes arrange of jewellery which can churn your taste buds, not to mention the feast it is to one’s eyes.
A range of miniature rings by a Japan based artist Sofia Molnar is an intricately crafted life-size assortment of eatables and tableware. The designer layers her love for food and jewellery to create this interesting range featuring coffee mugs, donuts, basket of cookies and pack of sweetener et cetera.
The inspiration for the designer comes from the plastic food which is quite popular in Japan. And the collection comes to life with the use of plastic, metal, wood and glue.
The jewellery can be availed on Etsy where the designer sells under the store name SouZouCreations.
Following the launch of Bally’s first store in India in New Delhi, the Swiss luxury brand opened its second store, in partnership with the Bird Group, in Mumbai at Palladium Mall, of late.
The store which covers 1300 square feet showcases Bally’s Spring Summer 2012 collection which includes men’s and women’s shoes, bags, ready to wear and accessories. The collection explores a modern romance in which streamlined sportswear silhouettes meet petal strewn fabrics. Bally’s 160 year heritage of leather craftsmanship is reflected by a sense of Swiss landscapes and traditions, fused with images of a debutante in lace contrasted against Karlheinz Weinberger’s photographs of 1960s working-class teenagers.
The three-dimensional print effect using embroidery and applique brings freshness to the collection whereas embroidered leather swirls, sequin-embroidered tulle, and geometric crystal shards embellish two-dimensional printed fabrics to create a textured landscape.
The scenic French Riviera abuzz with movie stars and glitterati across the world had its share of Indian sobriety when mommy Aishwarya Rai Bachchan attended the 2012 amfAR’s Cinema against AIDS gala dinner at Cannes.
The diva who was at the receiving end of Indian media for not being able to shed her baby weight before Cannes Film Festival quite gracefully pecked the wagging tongues by appearing in an Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla ethnic outfit. She walked the red carpet wearing an off white chikan sari with sequins and zardosi borders worn with a multi colored silk embroidered zardosi blouse.
On dressing her Abu and Sandeep said, “We want Aishwarya to wear the entire spectrum of Indian Couture! We are unabashedly and unapologetically Indian. We believe in the beauty of Indian wear. And trust that its beauty will be appreciated by an International Audience. And what could be more glorious than a classic chikankari in a dulce de leche sari, offset with a multi-coloured zardozi blouse.”
The designer will present his vibrant collection titled, Grey Goose Journey at the event, all inspired by the 4 Grey Goose cocktails – Amour, Lavender Bliss, Fiesta Espanola and Spice craftedafter the four exotic locations of the world taking one through a journey from sophisticated Paris, toEdgy Tokyo, to playful Madrid and finally to disco Mumbai.
The celebrations to mark this collaboration witnessed the who’s who of the city dancing on the tunes of Merlin D’Souza and ShalmaiKolgade. The attendees included Gauri & Nainika, Rohit Bal, Rina Dhaka, NamrataJoshipura, VivekSahni, SanjeevBijli, Payal Jain, Prashant Verma, Harmeet Bajaj, Ambika Pillai and many more.