Global Luxury Fashion

1890s – ACCURACY The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1892. Its first series of pocket watches, Broadway Limited, became known as the “Watch of Railroad Accuracy”. The unrivalled precision and reliability of the Hamilton railroad watches put a stop to an epidemic of serious accidents and marked the beginning of a long and continuing journey of successful timekeeping. 1910s – DURABILITY During the second decade of the 20th century Hamilton gained the prestigious rank of supplier to the US Armed Forces. The first of the wrist-watches provided was used by General “Black Jack” Pershing and his troops who were fighting in the European trenches. 1920s – STYLE In the 1920s the winning formula of accuracy and durability gained an extra dimension. The introduction of the Piping Rock and Yankee watch in 1928 confirmed the Hamilton leadership in American style. 1940s – PATRIOTISM During World War II, Hamilton stopped production of watches for consumers to concentrate on the huge task of providing the forces with a total of one million timepieces. The Hamilton marine chrono-meter was the first to be produced by modern manufacturing methods and around 10,000 Hamilton marine chronometers experienced World War II action first hand 1950s & 1960s – INNOVATION The secret assignment, “Project X”, lasted three years and in 1957 resulted in the introduction of the Ventura, the world’s first electric (battery-powered) watch. In 1961 Elvis Presley wore his Ventura in the film “Blue Hawaii”. 1970s – TECHNOLOGY At 12.01 New York Time, on May 6, 1970, the world’s first digital watch started measuring time – made by Hamilton 1980s – NOSTALGIA A revival in the 80s saw the reintroduction of classic Hamilton designs from the 1920s through to the 1960s. Old favourites like the Boulton, Ardmore and Ventura fuelled and led an industry-wide trend of classic watches. 1990s – INTERPRETATION The special Hamilton/Hollywood relationship continued with roles in such films as Men in Black, Lethal Weapon 4, Fight Club, Independence Day, The Talented Mr. Ripley and You’ve Got Mail. Costume designers and stylists remained drawn to the eye-catching shapes and styles of the Hamilton timepieces for bringing a huge spectrum of characters to life. 1920s – STYLE TODAY – SOPHISTICATION Hamilton is established as one of the leading watchmakers in the world with a proven reputation for creating elegant and reliable timepieces. The watches combine a strong American spirit with the unrivalled precision of the latest Swiss movements and technology.

SEE THE NEW SEASON TRENDS

Inside, Vogue’s fashion team identifies the trends that matter as we move forward into a new season of style. A restrained mood prevails in the New Minimalism trend, where luxe fabrics and clean cuts combine in clothes from Stella McCartney, Celine, Balenciaga and Gucci that are pared-down and infinitely wearable.

On the flip side, we saw a lot of bold, juicy colours on the catwalks of Versace, Charles Anastase, Rochas and more – see them all in the Colour Bomb trend.

Things get ultra feminine with the Romantic Lace trend, where gossamer, see-through lacy looks appeared at Christopher Kane, Erdem, Dolce & Gabbana and Antonio Berardi.

Legs take the spotlight with Terrific Trousers from Gucci, Chloe, Marc Jacobs and Pucci, while for evening the big news is a Grunge Glamour combination of a long, silky skirt and a comfy jumper.

On your feet, this season, you’ll be wearing High-heel Hikers. From Michael Kors to John Galliano, winter’s boots come with a lug sole and outdoorsy lacing and buckles.

Leading a luxury lifestyle isn’t always as easy as it looks. That’s why those who are in the know turn to Pure Entertainment Group, a bespoke luxury concierge company, which has been serving the needs of its distinguished members since 2006.

Unlike your typical cookie-cutter concierge company, Pure Entertainment Group provides an all-encompassing luxury lifestyle experience, making it a priority to treat each member as a part of its family while providing access to a worldwide network of A-list suppliers in luxury travel, entertainment and lifestyle.

While it first began as a mostly private company, which served to fulfill the more basic needs of its members, it wasn’t long before the concept behind Pure Entertainment Group really took off, according to Steve Edo, CEO and founder of Pure Entertainment Group. With an extensive background in travel, combined with insider knowledge of the luxury market, Edo decided it was time to expand the concept of Pure, and in 2008, introduced a new array of bespoke luxury concierge services.

“Now, Pure Entertainment Group has built a database of partners and friends all around the world, and we help clients with a wide array of services (luxury travel arrangements, bespoke experiences/events, entertainment concierge and corporate hospitality, personal concierge services),” says Edo. “This company is definitely going global.”

With a passion for creating lasting memories, Edo has built a company that takes great pride in fulfilling a clients’ request, no matter how extravagant it might be. Whether it’s securing a luxury yacht charter, arranging a once-in-a-lifetime Zero Gravity flight experience, or perhaps planning a tour of Cairo and the Nile River with privileged access, Pure is confident that they will exceed any and all expectations. 

When joining the company’s membership program, you are in a sense joining an elite group of people who not only appreciate the finer things in life, but also value the idea of creating lasting memories with the ones they love.

The relationship between fine cars and fine watches has manifested itself as a curious borrowing of traits, where both items have equally borrowed from one another. Cars perhaps have taken the polished good looks and legibility of watch dials, while watches have borrowed “performance feel” from automobiles in terms of design and character. At the same time, each want to borrow personality traits from one another, resulting in cars and watches that feel to the consumers as they have been looking over each other’s shoulders for decades on the design bench.

Wrist watch movements are quite possibly the original high performance machine. Compared to automobile engines, watch movements are much more efficient and reliable. Even mechanical watches that keep moderate accuracy to within about 10 to 20 seconds a day still operate at well over 99.99 percent accuracy. Plus, they can do that operating 24 hours a day for years. Can you think of a single automobile engine that can boast that? I think not. Still, automobiles have the benefit of being emotionally enhancing vehicles,that can provide the thrill of speed, something wrist watches cannot offer. As a testament to going fast, Chopard created the limited edition L.U.C Engine One Tourbillon watch, designed to look much like a performance engine block.

Its case design is very clever. Exterior dimensions make it a rectangle at 35.4-mm wide by 44-mm high, though bulging ends give the dial a much more round appearance — a style quite similar to the classic case made famous by Daniel Roth. Here in all titanium, the watch has polished surfaces on the top and bottom, with satin finished middle sections. It is an amazingly light case, which a presence that mere pictures simply cannot convey properly. The case is matched to a custom, tapered hand-sewn black alligator strap.

The movement doubles as the dial, and has two textured vertical strips appearing like the top of an engine in a luxury car as seen if ones pops open the hood. The L.U.C 1TRM movement is manually wound, and in-house made and designed by Chopard. It has 60 hours of power reserve, complete with a power reserve indicator meant to look like fuel gauge. It is also among a rare breed of COSC Chronometer certified tourbillon movements — making it more than simply appear like a high performance machine. Chopard further design the movement engine to sit on special shock absorbing blocks.

Being included in the L.U.C family of watches, the Engine One Tourbillon has the signature L.U.C style hands (which are beautifully legible). The tourbillon doubles as a seconds indicator with a built-in hand for this purpose. Hour indicators are placed on the bottom of the sapphire crystal, in-line with the style of other Chopard motor sports and automobile themed timepieces. Wearing the watch gives the owner a distinctly proud feeling, as though it communicates their love of sports cars and watches at the same time. Though, the Engine One Tourbillon is a more playful timepiece in comparison to many other L.U.C timepieces that are more ‘classic’ in demeanor.

With an offering of only 150 pieces, the watch further serves as (another) reminder of Chopard’s 150th anniversary. The limited edition set has a high-luxury price that will clearly appeal to well-off gear heads. Those who enjoy multiple cars may opt for this Chopard in lieu of another automobile — given the price — as their next purchase. But if they wait too long, there won’t be any left. Priced at $74,400.

BERNARD ARNAULT, the man behind some of the world’s top luxury labels, has been officially named France’s richest man. He came top of Challenges magazine’s annual 500 wealthiest professionals, with an estimated £18.9 billion fortune.

 Arnault, the founder, chairman, and ceo of LVMH – the large luxury goods conglomerate which includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi, knocked last year’s winner Auchan supermarket owner Gérard Mulliez off the top spot. Liliane Bettencourt, one of the principal L’Oreal’s shareholders came third at £14.3 billion.

 Also rating highly on the list came Hermès and Bertrand Puech families came in forth with £7.1 billion. Chanel’s Alain Wertheimer came eighth place at £7.76 million.

The “Cannes Jaeger-LeCoultre Jumping” event offers some of the highest prize-money in equestrian competitions today. Between the 10th and 12th June, the top thirty riders in the world competed against each other in the finest and most glamorous of settings within a stone’s throw of the famous Croisette.

The CSI***** Prix Jaeger-LeCoultre de la Ville de Cannes prize went to the Australian, Edwina Alexander, for delivering a faultless performance on Cevo Itot du Château in a highly demanding jump-off.

She was joined on the podium by the French show jumper, Kevin Staut, on Le Prestige St Lois and Irish Jessica Kürten, on Castle Forbes Libertina. Both riders faulted on the very last obstacle in the course: an oxer painted in the colours of the City of Cannes.

As the winner, Edwina Alexander, took away 95,000 EUR along with a Grande Reverso 976 engraved with the words, “Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cannes 2010”.

So far in 2010, Jaeger-LeCoultre has also been present at the “German Jumping and Dressage Derby”, and the company will be supporting the “International Concours Valkenswaard” show jumping event in Holland in August. These three events form part of the “Global Champions Tour”, of which Jaeger-LeCoultre is the official partner and timekeeper.

Jaeger-LeCoultre has always maintained close ties with the equestrian world, and particularly with polo with its legendary Reverso, designed in 1931 especially for polo players.

On Thursday 1st July 2010 TAG Heuer had the privilege of hosting a meeting between British F1 Champion Jenson Button and his fans, in the Westfield store, London.

TAG Heuer organised a contest on the web, including GQ.com, DailyMail.co.uk, JamesAllenon f1.com, McLaren.com and TAGHeuer.com. Entrants were asked to submit 4 questions they would like to ask Jenson Button, and the person who composed the best questions won the opportunity to interview him face to face !

The event was followed by an exclusive cocktail party, and the interviews can be seen on each of the five websites next week. Jenson spoke about how he feels just one week before the Silverstone Grand Prix and how he appreciates wearing its Carrera 1887…

f you did not like patent, you better learn to like it. Fall is all about patent leather Louis Vuitton Wallets. I absolutely love the slight bit of edge that patent leather can bring to an accessory. Better yet, it looks super sleek and refined. Miu Miu may be the baby sister of Prada, but does not disappoint when it comes to finding a great bag for a better price many times. The Miu Miu Patent Leather Tote sports black patent leather with slight ruched side panels and gold hardware. The trend for fall is hand held bags that offer a more square dimensions but pack a style punch. There are zip fastening pockets on each side, the option of a shoulder strap, and double top handles. The closure is magnetic stud and the inside is lined in canvas.

You can not tell me that you look at Reese Witherspoon and think she is not cute. Sometimes she looks gorgeous and elegant but all the time she looks cute as a button. Her daughter, Ava, is a complete mini-me, growing up looking just like her mom. It doesn’t hurt that the other part of her genes are from Ryan Phillippe. Last week Reese took Ava for an ice cream run while the paparazzi snapped their every move. Across her body, Reese sported a white Miu Miu Coffer. I imagine that Reese was digging in her bag to find a Purell hand sanitizer wipe for Ava after she finished her ice cream cone. Either way, love the Gucci bag and love these two gals.

Mariska, Rowdy and Chaplin win Les Voiles D’Antibes,
the first Mediterranean leg of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2010
 
Antibes, 6th June 2010 – After four days of regattas, the boats Mariska, Rowdy and Chaplin won in the “Big Boats”, “Vintage” and “Classic” categories respectively on the occasion of the 15th edition of Les Voiles d’Antibes. This was the first leg in the Mediterranean sea of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2010, the international circuit dedicated to vintage and classic yachting sponsored by the Florentine fine watch-making company Officine Panerai. The winners received a Radiomir Regatta 1/8th Second Titanio – 47 mm watch, specially created by Officine Panerai for this new season of regattas and produced in a series of just 500 pieces.
 
Mariska is an auric cutter from 1908, one of the few survivors of the “15-metre International tonnage” class. More accustomed to ascending to the highest step on the podium is Chaplin, the 16-metre Italian Navy vessel built in 1974, previously winner of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge in 2009 in the “Classic” category. Also the Marconi cutter Rowdy from 1916, one of the four NY-40 craft still sailing, had already won the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge in 2008 in the “Vintage” category.
 
The regattas that took place at the famous French resort on the Côte d’Azur saw the participation of 51 boats, split into seven categories. Starting on Thursday 3rd June and thanks to sunny days, summer temperatures and winds that never exceeded 12 knots, the boats were able to complete one regatta every day. The event was organized by the Yacht Club d’Antibes and the Club Nautique d’Antibes.
 
The glorious 12-Metre I.T. (International Tonnage) boats present, French Kiss, South Australia and Kookaburra III, the stars of past America’s Cup challenges, raced in a separate field. South Australia, having won all nine regattas scheduled, was awarded the final victory.
 
Also present in Antibes, though not participating in the regattas, was Eilean, the 22-metre Marconi ketch built by Scottish boatyard Fife in 1936. The boat, purchased in 2006 by Officine Panerai, made its official debut during one of the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge events after undergoing a complete restoration at the Francesco Del Carlo boatyard in Viareggio, Tuscany. The two-mast yacht, as well as being one of the most admired boats on the quayside, sailed every day with representatives from the international press on board.