Urban Life

Audi Cyberstore Launch with Chris Cunningham

Audi’s new flagship hi-tech digital showroom just opened for business in London’s Mayfair. Aspiring Audi owners, and enthusiasts, can call in at the showroom to try their hand at customising any model currently in production using the state-of-the-art facilities and order a car that is truly unique and personal to them.

And to help celebrate the launch, Audi teamed up with artist/film-maker Chris Cunningham, who’s latest work, jagapparatus 1, took center stage. The live exhibit mixes an elaborate and hypnotic ‘dance’ between two industrial robots. The performance is quite mesmerising, utilising heart thumping music, lasers and lots of smoke. Worth a visit just that alone!

For more information on Audi City, log on to: www.audi.com

Check out the promotional video:

VIP Launch Night:

All images courtesy of Audi

Bacardi Ibiza123

To kick start July, music superstars from across the globe performed at the BACARDI Ibiza 123 festival last week. Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Sting, and other live acts such as Tinie Tempah and Labrinth, joined the biggest names in dance music, with DJ’s such as David Guetta, Tiesto, and Fatboy Slim performing at the three day festival.

Attended by over 25,000 music fans each day, the BACARDI Ibiza 123 festival is located next to the sea allowing festival goers the chance to enjoy the sunset whist watching some of the world’s biggest music acts.

Cannes 2012 – Electrolux Opening Gala

17th May 2012. Press Release: Electrolux opening gala dinner celebrates artistic excellence at film Festival de Cannes.

Electrolux brought culinary artistry to the Opening Gala with a dining collaboration between two Michelin star chefs; Bruno Oger and Rasmus Kofoed.

Guests Tilda Swinton and Diane Kruger enjoyed an imaginative menu from Oger and Kofoed that mixed Cannes art de vivre with Scandinavian ingenuity, all created in the Agora kitchen.

Frederique Pirenne, PR Director Europe, Electrolux said: “The Festival is an internationally renowned stage for originality so for the 65th anniversary we wanted to deliver an opening event that reflects the talent and inventiveness that have contributed to its success. We’ve worked with Michelin star chefs for over 90 years, helping to support their creative endeavours in the kitchen, so it makes sense that we honour the festival with a dining experience that matches the artistry of the attendees.”

Situated next to the Palais de Festivals, the Electrolux Agora was a hub of gastronomic inspiration as it brought together Oger and Kofoed – two chefs with different food backgrounds – as well as enabling them to create a menu that showcased modern food innovation mixed with classic technique.

Bruno Oger, owner of the Two Michelin Star Villa Archangel in Cannes, prepared the amuse bouche and main course, which showcased French intuition for ingredient combinations; whilst Bocuse d’Or Gold medal winner, Rasmus Kofoed, prepared a starter and dessert that highlighted the simple strength of Scandinavian produce.

Diners enjoyed a feast of 20 kilos of scallops, 12 kilos of truffles, 21 kilos of morelles and 45 kilos of smoked salmon sides, washed down with 4 kilos of white chocolate and 70 litres of fresh cream.
100 waiters were in charge of making sure service ran smoothly, as well as keeping 2000 glasses polished, and 3000 plates filled, emptied and cleared away.
ENDS

All images © WireImage for Electrolux

Cannes 2012 – Rise of the Guardians Q&A

“Rise of the Guardians” Q&A with Talent and Filmmakers at the Palais des Festivals for the 65th annual Cannes Film Festival.

All images © Getty/Paramount Pictures

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations

May 7 2012 – Press Release: Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada’s Impossible Conversations at Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute – May 10–August 19, 2012

Gala Benefit May 7, 2012, with Honorary Chair Jeff Bezos and Co-Chairs Carey Mulligan, Miuccia Prada, and Anna Wintour; Baz Luhrmann Serves as Exhibition Creative Consultant with Nathan Crowley as Production Designer.

The spring 2012 exhibition organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations. The exhibition, on view from May 10 through August 19, 2012 (preceded on May 7 by The Costume Institute Gala Benefit), explores the striking affinities between these two Italian designers from different eras. Inspired by Miguel Covarrubias’s satirical “Impossible Interviews” for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton orchestrate conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of the designers’ most innovative work.

The exhibition is made possible by Amazon. Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

“Given the role Surrealism and other art movements play in the designs of both Schiaparelli and Prada, it seems only fitting that their inventive creations be explored here at the Met,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Schiaparelli’s collaborations with Dalí and Cocteau as well as Prada’s Fondazione Prada push art and fashion ever closer, in a direct, synergistic, and culturally redefining relationship.”

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the Museum’s Costume Institute Benefit takes place on Monday, May 7, 2012. For the first time in its history, red carpet arrivals will be live streamed from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on metmuseum.org, amazon.com/fashion, and vogue.com. The evening’s Honorary Chair is Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com. Co-Chairs are actress Carey Mulligan, designer Miuccia Prada, and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. This fundraising event is The Costume Institute’s main source of annual funding for exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements.

The exhibition is organized by Harold Koda, Curator in Charge, and Andrew Bolton, Curator, both of the Met’s Costume Institute. Film director, screenwriter, and producer Baz Luhrmann is the exhibition’s creative consultant, and has created a series of filmed elements for the exhibition. The production design for the films is by Luhrmann’s longtime collaborator, Catherine Martin. The exhibition design is realized by Nathan Crowley, who serves as production designer (he was creative consultant for the Met’s exhibitions Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy and American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity). All mannequin head treatments and masks are designed by Guido Palau.

The design for the 2012 Costume Institute Gala Benefit is created by Crowley and Raul Avila (who has produced the Benefit décor since 2007) with Luhrmann as creative consultant.

ENDS

All celebrities dressed by Prada
All pictures courtesy of Prada

IWC: Flagship Boutique Grand Opening in New York City

Madison Avenue, New York’s legendary home of luxury, has added a new attraction: the IWC Flagship Boutique at 535 Madison Avenue. The more than 3′ooo square-foot, bi-level boutique presents the most complicated Swiss timepieces, and welcomes visitors to an inspirational voyage into the multi-faceted world of IWC.

In fact, this opening marks a return to American roots. Florentine Ariosto Jones, an American, is the legendary figure who launched IWC Schaffhausen in 1868. Since then, the luxury Swiss watch brand has made great strides in complicated technological developments and innovative design – now housed in classic timepieces.

Hosted by Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, the grand opening was attended by: Miya Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali) with boxing legends, Evander Holyfield and Larry Holmes. The stage and screen were represented by the dashing Matthew Fox, Chris Hemsworth, Joe Manganiello and Channing Tatum, with supermodels Karolina Kurkova and Adriana Lima, who was looking gorgeous sporting a bump, providing the glamour.

www.iwc.com

All images © Getty/IWC Schaffhausen

Harry Winston – Shanghai Store Opening

April 27 2012, Shanghai, China — Press Release: Harry Winston, Inc., the premier international jeweller and watchmaker, celebrates the opening of its first flagship Pavilion in Shanghai, China, with a stunning celebration highlighting the richly faced history of the 80 year old luxury brand, from its legacy as the “King of Diamonds” to the glamour of the Hollywood red carpet.

Located in XinTianDi, Shanghai’s prestigious area famous for the convergence of eastern and western cultures, Harry Winston Shanghai Xintiandi Pavilion radiates a brilliant diamond, welcoming clients who appreciate the rarity, beauty, and exclusivity of the House’s spectacular designs. Harry Winston unveiled the Pavilion, its latest architectural jewel designed with William Sofield and Studio Sofield of New York, at an afternoon ribbon cutting ceremony attended by distinguished guests including; Frédéric de Narp, President and CEO of Harry Winston, Inc., and famous Hollywood celebrities Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick, who both attended the ceremony wearing Harry Winston to help commemorate this important moment.

Following the opening ceremony, a gala dinner was held on the Taiping Lake nearby, where the jewellery House built a magnificent golden tent, poised on the surface of the tranquil lake like a sparkling jewel. Inside, the invited guests feasted their eyes on a splendid journey through the world’s most incredible
jewels: a special gallery was arranged to showcase Harry Winston’s masterpieces, including Iconic Winston styles, and the new Ultimate Adornments collection, inspired by traditional costumes and adornments around the world, from the Qipao, a Chinese form-fitting dress, to exotic Indian Caftans, to the intricate
beauty of point d’Alençon, the Queen of lace.

As soft music filled the tent, the gala dinner began with a reflection on the brand’s most dazzling moments throughout its 80-year history, followed by a stunning fashion show, with models draped in diamonds from Harry Winston’s Ultimate Adornments collection, and Chinese traditional dresses custom designed by Judy Hua, one of the most promising fashion designers in China. The event closed with a surprise performance by pop singer Jay Chou, who dazzled the audience as he played from his famed white piano, singing the songs that showed his distinguished talent in integrating western elements with traditional Chinese music.

Surrounded by the intoxicating blend of heritage, glamour, rarity and beauty, the exclusive jeweller created a spectacular one-of-a-kind evening that vividly confirmed to the public that Harry Winston, with its time-transcending masterpieces, has taken roots in China and is set to continue to write its brilliant legend in Shanghai.

Ends

www.harrywinston.com

All images courtesy of Harry Winston.

Audemars Piguet – Celebrating 40 years of the Royal Oak

Thursday 19th April 2012 – Press release: Actor and Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, Russian prima ballerina at the Scala and Bolshoi, Svetlana Zakharova and Formula 1 pilot Jarno Trulli, attended the a black tie gala dinner event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Audemars Piguet’s iconic timepiece the Royal Oak.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Jasmine Audemars, Audemars Piguet CEO Philippe Merk, and CEO of Audemars Piguet Italia Franco Ziviani greeted more than 150 guests including the Swiss Consul in Italy General Massimo Baggi and Evelyn Genta, wife of the late Gerald Genta, the designer of the Royal Oak timepiece.

Local celebrities from sports, design and fashion as well as and international guests and press enjoyed a gastronomy dinner held in the garden of the Old Fashion Café, in the heart of Parco Sempione in Milan. One hundred and thirty special guests attended, enjoying a menu specially created by the chefs of the multi-starred restaurant Da Vittorio, wines from Château Malartic-Lagravière and Laurent-Perrier champagne. At 23.00, more than 300 guests were escorted to the after dinner party where they enjoyed music played by DJ Graziano della Nebbia.

To break The Rules, You Must First Master Them
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of its iconic watch the Royal Oak, the Swiss watchmaker from Le Brassus Audemars Piguet, prepared a unique travelling exhibition launched in New York in March. Its second stop is in Milan from 17 to 22 April, coinciding with the week of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the most important event of the year for design professionals and enthusiasts, and chose as its location the Triennale di Milano, the place to be in Milan when it comes to design.

Using design, photography, sound and film from three unequivocally 21st century artists, Sebastien Leon Agneessens, digital artist Quayola and photographer Dan Holdsworth, the Manufacture has curated an exhibition of 100 exceptional timepieces set against the backdrop of a stage that underscores Audemars Piguet’s origins, mastery and artistry. Visitors also had the opportunity to see invaluable memorabilia dating back to the beginning of the seventies as well as to visit a watchmaker’s area including a brocading dial machine where they can closely observe the artistry of Audemars Piguet’s craftsmen.

After Milan, the exhibit will travel in 2012 to Paris (June 6th to 10th), Beijing (August), Singapore (October), and Dubai (December).
ENDS

All images © Getty/Audemars Piguet

Cartier – Tank Watch Collection launch at the Orangery, Kensington Palace Gardens

Friday 20th April 2012 – Press release: Cartier UK celebrated the launch of the Tank Anglaise, part of the iconic Cartier Tank collection last night. It was unveiled in true Cartier style alongside the Tank Folle and the Tank Louis Cartier XL Extra Flat.

Cartier bell boys greeted guests at the entrance of the Orangery, where they were then escorted through the West Apse, decorated by bay trees interlaced with candle lights. Within the Orangery guests were invited to view the iconic vitrine’s displaying the historic Tank watches. At 8.30pm, flanked by trumpeters the Master of Ceremonies brought the guests to attention. With some welcoming words, Arnaud M. Bamberger, Executive Chairman of Cartier UK, proceeded to unveil the Tank Anglaise to great applause and celebration. Cartier UK was pleased to welcome both friends of the Maison, as well as ambassadors of the Tank Anglaise, who were photographed by David Bailey in an exclusive portfolio.

Read our SIHH review of the Cartier Tank Anglaise Grand Modele here.

All images © Getty/Cartier

Vogue Festival with Vertu

April 20 2012. Vertu, the leading manufacturer of luxury mobile phones played host to a private debate and cocktail party at the inaugural Vogue Festival taking place at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Perry Oosting, President of Vertu was joined for the debate by fashion illustrator David Downton; Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and designer Erdem Moralioglu, which was chaired by Alexandra Shulman, Editor of British Vogue.

Attending the evening’s event were: Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Kate Hudson, Tamsin Egerton, Eva Herzigova, Erin O’Connor, Edie Campbell, Cara Delevingne, Laura Bailey, Leah Weller, Christopher Kane and Pixie Geldof, amongst others.

All images © Getty/Vertu

Montblanc – The Beauty of a Second

To celebrate the 190th anniversary of the Chronograph, Montblanc paid homage to its inventor Nicolas Rieussec by producing the ‘Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Open Hometime’ last year, which made its debut at this year’s SIHH. This is the newest addition to the Rieussec collection, which Montblanc has been producing since 2008.

When Rieussec invented the Chronograph, it revolutionised the world of fine watch making by measuring time to an accuracy of a fifth of a second, and Montblanc’s recent project; ‘The Beauty of a Second’, continues to explore this theme by applying it to the world of film making.

So what exactly can you do with a second? As it turns out, quite a lot actually. And, under the watchful eye of master film-maker, Wim Wenders, this question has sparked a great debate and attracted competition entries from all over the world via Montblanc’s dedicated website: www.montblanconesecond.com

The competition has now closed, and the winners were announced at the award ceremony at the historic Astor Lounge in Berlin on March 20. In attendance were stars of stage and screen, media, artists and creatives, including Our Editor-in-Chief, Ataur Rahman, who attended the event with actress Selina Lo.

“One of the great things in cinema is how it makes us aware of time. Each film consists of many brief moments of life that all together create a unique space of time. What if you could contribute to the movie of life. The short film contest ‘The Beauty of a Second’ pays homage to Montblanc’s Nicolas Rieussec’s invention of the Chronograph.” Wim Wenders

Red carpet images from the award ceremony at the Astor Lounge

: Alexandra Kamp

: Clemens Schick

: Selina Lo

: Selina Lo

: Elvira Bach

: Gerd Bostel and Ingrid Roosen-Trinks

: Hubertus Regout

: Tobias Schenke

: Minh-Khai Phan-Thi and Gerd Bostel

: Mr and Mrs Jan Sosniok

: Minh-Khai Phan- Thi

: Alexandra von Rehlingen and Gerd Bostel

: Ulrike Frank

: Franziska Knuppe

: Franziska Knuppe

: Clemens Schick

: Minh-Khai Phan-Thi

: Thomas Heinze

: Wim Wenders

: Esther Seibt

: Eva and Adele

: Alexandra Kamp

: Natalia Avelon

: Roman Knizka

: Tamara Graefin von Nayhauss

: Anastasia Zampounidis

: Gerd Bostel, VP, Montblanc International Marketing, Ingrid Roosen-Trinks, Director, Montblanc Cultural Foundation and Wim Wenders

: Jo Groebel and guest

: Ingrid Roosen-Trinks and Clemens Schick

: Ingrid Roosen-Trinks, Gerd Bostel and Angelika Taschen

: Ingrid Roosen-Trinks and Angelika Taschen

: Montblanc’s ‘The Beauty of a Second’ Award Ceremony

: Montblanc’s ‘The Beauty of a Second’ Award Ceremony

: Montblanc’s ‘The Beauty of a Second’ Award Ceremony

LFW Closing Party

To celebrate the closing of London fashion Week, we organised a last minute party for a selected group of friends in fashion, media, broadcast, art, music and other related industries at Luxx members club in Mayfair.

We have some great interviews with some of the guests, which we will be uploading on to our You Tube channel shortly. In the meantime, here are a selection of pictures taken at the event.

Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol Moscow Premiere

Premiere of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in Moscow.

Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol Dubai Premiere

Premiere of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol on the first day of the 8th annual Dubai International Film Festival, held at the Madinat Jumeirah Complex.