The Luxe Chronicles

Guerlain Releases Episode 2 Of "Exploring Orchidée Impériale by Michelle Yeoh"

Episode 2 of Guerlain's "Exploring Orchidée Impériale by Michelle Yeoh" has been released. The focus of this second episode is the flower itself and Guerlain's experimental garden located in Geneva founded by the brand to further their research into the orchid's anti-aging properties.

Books: Confessions Of An Eminence Grise? Not Really But Still Worth The Read.

While we're awash in books about fashion, I find few of them are truly insightful about the fashion industry per se. Still, there is occasionally an author that manages to pull back the curtain and peak behind the glamourous facades to tell a story that is both entertaining and edifying about the inner workings of the industry. Sara Gay Forden's The House of Gucci and Alicia Drakes' The Beautiful Fall come to mind. You can now add one more title to this very short list: Jean-Jacques Picart's Des vies et des modes.

Luxury: Cartier Set To Unveil Short Film.

This coming March 4, Cartier will be releasing L’Odyssée de Cartier, a short film retracing the iconic jewellery house's history and cultural influences through the ages. Unlike Dior and its series of short films featuring Academy-Award laureate Marion Cotillard however, the star of this production will be feline.

I Thought Friday Would Never Get Here ...

This image is a reasonably accurate depiction of my week. Enough said. A lovely, relaxing weekend to all!

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Fashion: How Much Is Too Much?

The grande dame of British fashion has spoken and her verdict on our style quotient is not exactly kind. In an interview with the U.K. daily The Independent just prior to enveiling her Vivienne Westwood Red line at this past London Fashion Week, Westwood had this to say about current sartorial standards:

Luxury: China, China, China!

Unless you happen to live in a cave with little or no contact with the outside world, you can't help but be aware of the central place China occupies in the expansion strategies of most Western luxury and fashion brands. Whether a brand is selling cognac, cars or handbags, China's growing class of millionaires, billionaires and middle class constitute an irresistable lure. Yet, for all the chatter surrounding China's luxury consumption and the cultural challenges of doing business there, I rarely hear any discussion surrounding the ethics of doing business with one of the most repressive regimes in the world.

Luxury: A Milestone Well Worth Celebrating For Martell Cordon Bleu.

The least we can say is that the last 100 years have been rather eventful: Armed conflicts (including two world wars), countless natural disasters, the nuclear arms race, space travel, the near complete demise of Communism, the eradication of certain diseases and the emergence of new ones, the mapping of the human genome, the birth and rapid proliferation of the Internet and countless other events big and small which have shaped the world as we currently know it. Any luxury brand that can navigate a century's worth of upheaval and tumult and come through it with it's heritage and flagship product intact deserves to celebrate. And celebrate is precisely what historic French cognac producer Martell intends to do!

Luxury: Exploring The Science Behind Guerlain's Orchidée Impériale.

The recession has done little to dampen the ardour of luxury brands for celebrity spokesmodels and so the love affair between perveyors of fineries and practitioners of the seventh art continues unabated. French cosmetics brand Guerlain is set to unveil today the first of a series of short films dedicated to its Orchidée Impériale skincare line featuring Michelle Yeoh.

Friday!!!!

It's the end of a long week and if that's not worth a little dance, I don't know what is!

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

What I Miss About London … It's The Little Things

I woke up feeling slightly "homesick" this morning which is strange because I've now been in Paris long enough for it to feel like home again (sort of). As I slowly settle down into a routine, it is now that I find myself missing my former home. Ironic isn't it? It's not that I miss London's perpetual traffic jams or dysfunctional public transport system. Rather, it's the little things that make a place familiar and contribute to your sense of belonging.