2011 April | theUltimateLuxuryCommunity

Royal Wedding Guest Fashion

All the Details of Catherine's Bridal Look!

The Royal Wedding Route!

We take a look at the route the young royal couple will take on their wedding day to Westminster Abbey. Video by AME.info

Google have just confirmed that the Royal Wedding will be streamed live on YouTube, giving everyone with an internet connection the ability to view the regal nuptials as Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot. The coverage of the cermony begins at 9am GMT on Friday 29th of April, or 5am EST. So, however hard you may have been looking for an excuse to miss the “wedding of the century”, you haven’t got one now; providing you’ve got a phone that can watch YouTube over a 3G connection, you can take the future King of England and his soon-to-be-missus everywhere you go, inside your tiny pockets on their big day.

FOUR SEASONS pursues expansion in India

at CPP-LUXURY.com

Leading international luxury hotel chain Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is pursuing major development plans in India, targetting the cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, NCR (national capital region), Goa, Rajasthan (Jaipur and other cities), Kerala and Agra over the next 3 years. The company has already forayed in the Mumbai and Bangalore markets and recently signed a contract for a luxury hotel in the NCR.Christopher Wong, senior vice president, Asia Pacific ,Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts told Hindustan Times that the company recently tied up with the Delhi-based developer The 3C Company wherein The 3C would develop a luxury hotel ‘Delhi One’ in Noida. The total esimated investment for this project is US$450 million. Wong also reconfirmed that Four Seasons has no plans to get into the budget hotel category.In fact, the global hospitality chains have come to recognise the potential of hospitality business in India. Consider this: There are around 1,00,000 rooms across India in all categories. This fades in comparison to cities such as Dubai, Bangkok and Las Vegas where each city has close to this number of rooms.With the number of tourists doubling over the next few years in India there is expected to be an acute shortage of rooms marking a good business potential in the country’s hospitality business.

bonus video : Mumbai | Four Seasons Hotel

Why Luxury Companies Are Best Run by Peasants (and Europeans)

By JOHN REVILL at TheWallStreetJournal

Luxury companies are best run by peasants, with a more than a little help from poets and craftsmen, former L’Oreal executive Professor Charles De Brabant told a Swiss business seminar last week. What LVMH chief executive and chairman Bernard Arnault, who is the world’s fourth richest person is thought to be worth $41 billion, would think about being described as a peasant is unknown.

But getting the right balance of the qualities from all three is the reason why Europeans are much more successful at luxury than Americans, Prof. de Brabant controversially suggested. To be successful in the €168 billion euro global luxury industry, companies need people with peasant-like attributes on the board. This means analyzing situations using proven facts, and focusing on the bottom line and shareholder value.

“Peasants is not meant a derogatory way, but means people who keep their feet on their ground, understand that a penny is a penny, while the designers are up in the clouds,” said Prof. de Brabant, the former head of marketing and sales learning at L’Oreal, at the Lorange Institute of Business in Zurich. Not bad qualities for a CEO, but not enough to succeed in the fantasy world of luxury, Prof. de Brabant said. Instead what is needed is a balance between business leadership (the peasants), creativity (the poets), and enablers in between (the craftsmen). He also posed the thorny question: “Why is it French, Northern Italians, Swiss and Southern Germans dominate luxury and not Americans?”

“If you look at it factually, the Europeans are clearly better,” said Prof. de Brabant.

A 2010 league table of the 15 world’s most valuable luxury brands, complied by brand consultancy Millward Brown, was topped by Bavarian car maker BMW, French luxury group Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton LVMH. The only non-European entrant was Ralph Lauren which crept into the list at number 15.

bonus video : A Review of European Luxury-Goods Makers Stocks

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MISSONI Hotels bank on succes and accelerate expansion

: MISSONI Hotel Kuwait

at CPP-LUXURY.com

Luxury Italian fashion house MISSONI unveiled its first luxury hotel in Edinburgh in 2009 and has since opened in Kuwait earlier this year. The Missoni Hotels project is developed by Rezidor Group (owners of Radisson Blu hotel brand too), the house of Missoni being responsible for design.By the end of 2013, two other Missoni hotels will be inaugurated in Oman and Turkey, while 2014 will see the opening in Ilha de Cajaiba, Brazil, a project which is considered by Chief Creative Director Rosita Missoni as her absolute favourite. Speaking about the challenges of the project, Ms Rosita Missoni quoted the difficulty of imposing an understated design, avoiding the ”too much” tendency”. She also added the interior design of the Missoni Hotels is designed to feel warm, comfortable and cosy to the guests.

video bonus : Hotel Missoni Kuwait

Revealed: World’s most expensive apartment goes to the Ukraine’s richest man

at BornRich

rinat akhmetov worlds most expensive apartment

Lately, a London penthouse in the One Hyde Park property development was sold to a mystery buyer for a whopping £136 million ($222 million), which made it the most expensive apartment in the world. Now, the mystery buyer has been revealed, and he is the Ukraine’s richest man. Rinat Akhmetov, worth £10 billion, has bought the two apartments at the top of the new property, and he plans to make a three-story penthouse. Since the flats were unfurnished when sold, Akhmetov has already planned to shell out another £60 million ($98 million) on renovations and interior design.

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Rolls Royce Ghost extended wheelbase (LWB) at 14th Auto Shanghai Motor Show

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled its new Ghost Extended Wheelbase model for the first time at the 14th Auto Shanghai Motor Show on Tuesday, 19 April 2011.

Fabulous island getaway for couples: Desroches Island Resort in the Seychelles

at PURE

To escape the daily grind, visit the largely secluded Seychelles, a group of 115 islands home to many plant and animal species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Known for being isolated, the Seychelles islands are still pristine, with only 60 of the islands inhabited. Desroches Island in the Seychelles is a 6 km long tropical island that is only a 40 minute flight from Mahe, the largest island. One of the most beautiful islands in the Indian Ocean, it forms part of the Amirantes group of islands (a remote coral atoll.) Protected by coral reef, this exclusive 1 km wide island is sprinkled with coconut trees, boasts 14 km of pristine white sand beaches, and is a rare untouched and unspoiled natural beauty. The luxurious Desroches Island Resort, the only resort on the island, is your gateway to pure bliss. Amidst lush greenery, enveloped by turquoise waters, the resort will amaze you and take your breath away.

With 20 beach suites and 28 villas, the Desroches Island Resort is a small slice of heaven. 25 meters from the water, each air-conditioned beach suite is ideally located around the central area, along the west-facing beach. Each suite has a private veranda, perfect for marveling at the beauty of the surrounding landscape, as well as a private lounge area, luxurious bathrooms, and includes two bicycles included to explore the island.

From one-bedroom beach villas to the regal Presidential Suite, the villas at Desroches Island Resort are absolutely stunning! There are 23 private Luxury Beach Villas, each with three master bedrooms and one child’s bedroom. Overlooking the north-west facing beaches, the Luxury Beach Villas can house up to 8 guests. The ultimate private experience, however, exists with the ocean-view Presidential Villa. Set in tropical gardens within the carefully-preserved nature sanctuary, the Presidential Villa is your opportunity to experience the opulent side to living on a secluded island. The spacious five bedroom villa can accommodate up to 10 guests, and includes a fully-equipped culinary kitchen, an entertainment area, a dining room, and a personal butler. Contemporarily decorated, the villas are all serene and blend in with the seductive atmosphere of this secluded island.

Every suite and villa at Desroches Island Resort includes bicycles, and the villas also include two kayaks, and for a good reason; the Seychelles are a hidden gem of the Indian Ocean, rich in dense greenery and unseen fauna. Make the most of your time in this unspoiled environment and experience the essence of Desroches Island. From cycling tours of the jungle, to guided nature walks, to scuba diving and snorkeling, nature is waiting for you to discover it! Maybe you’ll encounter an ancient tortoise colony, or catch-and-release the most colorful fish you have ever seen.

With a decadent spa, Creole restaurants such as Le Ve Loutier and the Ghost Crab Grill & Pizzeria, endless activities, and a preserved wildlife, the Desroches Island Resort will leave you amazed, enlightened, and relaxed. Experience a new world on the largely untouched Desroches Island, and through discovering nature’s true beauty, strengthen the bonds of family and friendship at the same time. And with a national policy of low volume tourism, privacy is a promise!

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Thought Louboutins were expensive? World’s first £100,000 gold and diamond bespoke stilettos

By Maysa Rawi at Mail Online

With a red sole and sky-high heels, these shoes could easily be mistaken for a pair of Christian Louboutins. But with a £100,000 price tag, the Eternal Diamond stiletto – made entirely from gold and diamonds – makes most luxury brands look High Street.

Created by bespoke jewelers House of Borgezie, the world’s first designs have already created a stir among celebrities.

Girl’s best friend: The Eternal Diamond stiletto is made using 2,200 brilliant cut diamonds, totalling 30 carats

And athough the clientele is strictly confidential until pieces have been completed, we can reveal they include – surprise, surprise – A-listers from the world of football, music and modelling. Venturing a guess on who has placed orders would likely lead to Cheryl Cole, Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton, whose excessive tastes are funded by a bank balance to match. Made by British jewellery designer Christopher Michael Shellis, each pair is handcrafted from solid gold and then encrusted with 2,200 brilliant cut diamonds, totalling 30 carats.

Shellis has spent three years working on the creation, perfect for summer balls, society weddings and red carpet events.

Making a statement: Luckily, the bespoke heels, retailing from £100,000, come with a 1,000 year guarantee

Shellis said: ‘To bring the Eternal Diamond Stilletto to life, I quite literally had to reinvent the fundamental principle of classical stiletto construction. ‘The result is not so much a shoe, but rather a fine piece of jewellery that can be miraculously yet practically worn as the ultimate feminine adornment.’ Luckily, the high heels come with a 1,000 year guarantee. Or a night out on the tiles could end in disaster – or fortune for a lucky

12 Fashion Writers You Should Know And Read

by Krista Peck at Fashionably Marketing.Me

We like to keep you on your toes here at FashionablyMarketing.Me, so the best fashion blogger list with the same faces and same style blogs just won’t do. We’ve come up with a list of 12 (well, actually 13) fashion writers you should know. Don’t let this petite list fool you. We’ve put our fashionable heads together to come up with a list of industry professionals and up-and-coming writers that will provide you with the stylish reading material you crave.

1. Rachel Strugatz – The online editor for Women’s Wear Daily who covers social media and the newly relaunched WWDBlog. The new WWDblog was launched to deliver content in a fun, fresh way that was also relevant to WWD’s Twitter and Facebook followers, as well as lovers of fashion that don’t necessarily work in the industry. You can follower Strugatz on Twitter @RachelStrugatz.

2. Lauren Sherman – The executive editor of Fashionista. Sherman reports, writes and edits fashion industry news, gossip and analysis. Previous to Fashionista, she was a reporter at Forbes, where she covered luxury goods, fashion and consumerism. There, she established and worked on franchise lists including “World’s Most Powerful Fashion Editors” and “Best Cities for Singles.” Before Forbes, Sherman was the online editor at London-based Quintessentially. Sherman has also contributed to publications including Esquire, Businessweek, and AOL’s Stylelist. You can follow Fashionista on Twitter @Fashionista_com.

3. John Jannuzzi – The brain behind Textbook, the rapidly growing, Tumblr-powered style blog with 18,000+ followers, that aims to show the major parallels between fashion, literature, history and music. Textbook shows that connection by styling some crazy editorials for your favorite heroes and heroines. Recently, Jannuzzi has become the Style Editor for Lucky magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @JohnJannuzzi.