NANCY GONZALEZ Opens First Hong Kong Store @ IFC Mall

Nancy Gonzalez, the accessories designer opened her first Hong Kong store in the ifc mall. Partnered with Bluebell Group, the store has taken over a 580 square feet space and combined traditional workmanship with innovative forms and textures, qualities that are both exemplified in her collection and in the interior design of the store. 

The store designed by Rawlins Design under the direction of Santiago Barberi Gonzalez, President and Creative Director of Nancy Gonzalez. Inspired by clean lines and rich materials of the Art Deco era, especially the work of Eileen Gray and Jean Dunand. Strong thresholds define the entire space. Handbags are displayed on folding screen-like devices composed of matte-finished palmwood and bronze.  Each display is individually lit with tiny LED lights to avoid an excess of harsh ceiling luminaries. The folding screens frame the product in strong silhouette.  A central glass vitrine houses the accessories, with sleek ottomans tucked underneath. 

Mr. Santiago Barberi Gonzalez, President and Creative Director of Nancy Gonzalez states: “In designing this store, I chose materials that are indigenous to the geographical location as well as link to the Colombian heritage of the brand.  In this case palmwood, also referred to as zebra-wood, a rare exotic wood grown in tropical rainforest climates is found in South East Asia and Columbia.  Gold an important ore in precolombian art is also prevalent in Chinese art.  Screens a prominent architectural fixture in Asian culture are used to display the bags.  All of these elements are used to create a profound environment that allures the customer.”

A second space invites further exploration. A palmwood-lined shell gives way to an opulent yet clean-lined gold leaf interior, trimmed with velvet upholstery.  Nancy Gonzalez handbags and accessories repose gracefully upon light, glowing surfaces.  To this end, glowing resin shelves wrap the space.  The shimmer of this translucent resin is complemented by the plush velvet back panels.  All is sheltered by a vaulted ceiling rendered in gold leaf.   One wall is reserved for a rotating selection of art from the Gonzalez family collection, further elevating the shopping experience.   

JIMMY CHOO @ The Year of Snake CNY Pick

Jimmy Choo has prepared a selection of red and gold items that are perfect for your new year wardrobe! Red is for luck and joy and Jimmy Choo’s red Calista clutch and Candy clutch are perfect  to carry red pockets, whether you are in the giving or receiving end. Step chicly into the new year with a must have this season with the futuristic T bar red Taste sandal to create a complete outfit.

Gold is for wealth and prosperity. For evening glamour, choose Chandra gold metallic leather clutch bag with chain detail. Alternatively, the streamlined cylinder clutch bag, Cosma, provides an edgier look now available in disco ball gold. The iconic Cayla magnetic flap clutch made from woven metal is the ultimate evening accessory.



VALENTINO @ POP POIS Collection

Pop is a primary art style. It’s an object you desire instinctively without thought or reason. The Polka-dots which are iconic elements of Valentino’s world are enlarged in a grid of a cartoon print and it’s as if they have lost their jolie madame mood, but not their joie de vivre. In the newest designs the dots are a pattern that hypnotically and playfully adorns the silhouette. The spirit of the past is celebrated but modernized with a focus on nonchalance and lightness. The mood is sunny and festive while the style is direct and striking. 

The Pop Pois project is fascinating in its simplicity: in it, square and rectangle shapes flow. This capsule collection is based on a module – the polka-dot double silk twill scarf with a maxi billboard logo – that comes in three sizes or elementary shapes such as a top, maxi-top, pajama pants and a bikini. The distinction between outfits for day and night, public and private, and indoors and out is dissolved in a liquid concept of fashion and lifestyle. 

Pieces are interpreted and combined freely: all that is needed are quick, effortless gestures that reveal contemporary taste. Pop is the deliberate irony of a flaunted logo and the choice of spontaneous design. Dots run rampant on everything from the VaVaVoom bag and espadrilles to the unique packaging and tissue paper. The polka dot covered creations are this seasons new must-have objects of desire.

HOGAN 2013 @ Snake-Year Limited Edition

HOGAN 2013 Snake-Year Limited Edition  inspired by the 12 animals representing the Chinese zodiac, The shoes and handbags were designed with a heavy Chinese touch featuring a tone of Chinese red coupled with a snake pattern profiled by golden and deep black stitches, explaining the unique understated elegance of HOGAN and making it one of a kind for the Year of the Snake. Handbags are the containers of happiness. Delicate and flaring finery is embedded in the exclusive snake pattern, and golden color tassels are well furnished to enhance the elegance. HOGAN’s snake-year limited handbags herald the upcoming year of the snake with an auspicious hand-made spring design.Inheriting the signature casual luxury style of the most classic HOGAN Interactive series, the shoes are made of soft and premium leather, presenting an vintage beauty, and the light yet sturdy rubber soles speak for the low-key pragmatism inside. The leather is tinted with Chinese red, representing the imperial luxury of the East, and the snake pattern is ingeniously styled to go with the “H” logo of the brand, leaving an unsaid implication of well-wishing for the Year of snake.

HOGAN’s snake-year limited ballerina feature a vibrant snake pattern, styled in the form of a living dragon. Shining patent leather is neatly mated to soft chamois to unfurl a dash of subtle elegance and frisky New Year mood.

MIU MIU Opens @ Macau's Four Season Galleria

 MIU MIU opened its second point of sale in Macau's Four Season Galleria department store. The store, designed by Architect Roberto Baciocchi, offers the brand's ready-to-wear, bags and footwear collections. Outside, the store reflects the brand's avant-garde personality, windows are integrated in the façade made of crystal and backlit metal screen, with light boxes framed in mat golden profiles. 

 The inside, extending over 305 square metres on a single level, comprises three rooms communicating through wide mirror-clad passageways. This location, characterised by Miu Miu's sophisticated aesthetics, evokes the charm of a bank vault, where individual products are presented like precious objects, displayed in safe-shaped furniture made of mat gold and crystal. The products' preciousness is also highlighted by golden counters located at the centre of each room. In the ready-to-wear area, the mirrored niches where outfits are displayed remind the brand's elegance and sophistication. Golden damask sofas and armchairs complete the furniture and create intimate salons.

Celebrities Wear Harry Winston @ The 19th Annual Actors Guild Awards

Jessica Chastain wore Water by Harry Winston "Splash" diamond necklace set in platinum.

 Hugh Jackman picked a 42mm Rose Gold Midnight watch, shirt studs and cufflinks.

Naomi Watts Wears FABERGÉ @ Los Angeles 2013 SAG Awards

 Naomi Watts wore Fabergé White Diamond Clover earrings set with magnificent white and rose diamonds and Fabergé Solyanka Emerald Cabochon ring set with an ethically sourced cabochon emerald* of 14.50 carats and 263 round white diamonds. to the 2013 SAG Awards.

Celebrities Wears Roger Vivier @ The 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards

 Jennifer Lawrence wears Roger Vivier Boite de Nuit

Jennifer Garner wears Roger Vivier Pilgrim Mini and Jessica Alba wears Roger Vivier Prismick Clutch

Nicole Kidman wears Roger Vivie Boite de Nuit and Freida Pinto wears Roger vivier Papillon Sandal.

Carmen Chaplin Celebrates Jaeger-LeCoultre 180th Anniversary @ SIHH 2013

Carmen Chaplin graced the SIHH with her presence to present her short movie <A time for everything> which pays tribute to time, heritage and reveals the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox watch of her grand-father, Charlie Chaplin. Carmen Chaplin and Jaeger-LeCoultre had a story to share. They decided to make an art project that was revealed last night on the occasion of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 180^th anniversary. When Charlie Chaplin settled in Switzerland, the government wished to give a welcome present to this great man whose talent made its mark on History. Charles Spencer Chaplin received a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, featuring a back engraved with the words: Hommage du gouvernement vaudois à Charlie Chaplin – 6 octobre 1953 (A tribute from the government of the Canton of Vaud to Charlie Chaplin – October 6^th 1953). This historical watch is exposed at the SIHH.

Involved in a broad-ranging partnership with various major cinematographic events (Venice Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Abu Dhabi Film Festival), the Manufacturer decided to celebrate the memory of Charlie Chaplin and his watch by asking Carmen Chaplin  to direct a short film on the theme of time. “I am intrigued by the fact that they have been ticking steadily for more than a century. My grandfather’s watch particularly moves me, because he gave it to my father, Michael Chaplin, his son, when he turned 14. Then my dad gave it to my mum as proof of their love on their wedding day. It was a real good-luck charm because they have been in love now for 45 years”. This was doubtless the reason that Carmen decided to act in this art film alongside her mother and her daughter, Uma. Three generations of women from the same family to illustrate the idea of transmission, the passing of time and inheritance. Carmen Chaplin’s A Time For Everything was premiere last night at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie .