awards

On the heels of a three-year, $25 million renovation project that introduced re-styled guest rooms, a new resort-style swimming pool area and a fresh, modern lobby, the Four Seasons Houston has been named the the city's only AAA Five Diamond Hotel. The travel authority's highest and most exclusive rating was awarded to the hotel for an unparalleled experience of luxury and sophistication in an artfully designed setting, complemented by service that goes above and beyond. A destination in its own right, the new $4 million pool (above) at the Four Seasons Houston is downtown's only outdoor, resort-style pool.

The pool, which glows with artful lighting at night, meshes dramatic cityscape views with exotic materials such as Turkish travertine tile, environmentally-friendly Ipe wood decking, and lush tropical plants. The pool renovation included the creation of cabana-style patios, a trellis-covered event space, soothing water wall, hot tub, fire pit and poolside bar. Acclaimed San Francisco-based design firm BAMO also created custom-designed furniture and one-of-a-kind abstract artwork designed for the hotel's luxe new guest rooms.

The probably over-priced i-Gucci "cool" digital watch from Gucci gets a special edition model for the Grammy music awards. Your celebration of "well if they were voted as best they must be good" night can continue with two versions of the i-Gucci that originally came out a few years ago. The round dialed digital watches with LCD screens have fun dial layouts and offers you various types of useful information. For more on functionality - check with Gucci (I just don't want to leave out functions if I list them all).

Carolina Herrera will receive the distinguished title of "Mercedes-Benz Presents" designer for this season's spring/summer 2011 collection debuting on Monday, September 13, at 10 am at Lincoln Center, the new home of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The Mercedes-Benz Presents program has recognized designers who demonstrate dedication to the use of quality materials, unique style and innovative design for the past seven years.

Herrera has designed for many celebrities and high-profile clients including Renee Zellweger, Amy Adams, Michelle Pfeiffer, Emily Blunt, Oprah Winfrey, and Camilla Belle. She joins a prestigious list of past Mercedes-Benz Presents designers including Monique Lhuillier, Badgley Mischka, Narciso Rodriguez, and CHADO Ralph Rucci.

"Carolina Herrera's understated grace, precision design and attention to detail uphold the Mercedes-Benz commitment to quality," said Lisa Holladay, manager of brand experience marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA. "She is a symbol of great success within the fashion industry and especially in New York City, and choosing her as this season's Mercedes-Benz Presents Designer represents the strength of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and the event's bright future at Lincoln Center."

Born in Venezuela, Herrera began her fashion career in New York in 1980 and will celebrate 30 years of her eponymous collection in 2011.

We're a step closer to finding out who will win the biannual Hugo Boss Prize, which is bestowed for achievement in contemporary art. Vying for the $100,000 award this year are the finalists just announced by the Guggenheim: Cao Fei from China, Hans-Peter Feldmann from Germany, Natascha Sadr Haghighian from Iran, Roman Ondak from the nation formerly known as Czechoslovakia, Walid Raad from Lebanon and Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand.

In addition to the cash – and possibly more valuable in the long run – the Hugo Boss Prize winner will also get a 2011 exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York. The winners are selected by a panel of art professionals that includes Ysmil Raymond, curator of the Dia Art Foundation; Udo Kittelmann, director of Berlin's Nationalgalerie and Tirad Zolghadr, an independent writer and curator.

Last year, the honor went to Emily Jacir. Previous winners include Matthew Barney, Douglas Gordon, Pierre Huyghe, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Tacita Dean.

Unlike most art prizes, this one stipulates has no age, geographic or medium-specific qualifications. It is as open as open can be.

Condé Nast Traveler has released its list of reader-selected best places to stay in the world on Concierge.com.

The magazine's 15th annual "Gold List" is "is your ultimate annotated guide to the world's finest properties and cruise lines, as elected by more than 32,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers."

You can browse by destination, type of award (e.g., service, food, location, cruise lines) or alphabetically, where you can see all on the list. Wondering how they were picked? Here's the methodology.

If you're heading to the ESPY Awards pre-party at the Playboy Mansion tomorrow night, be ready to clip and light a Camacho. The cigar company has been selected as the official cigar of the event. So, while you're hobnobbing with the wealthy and beautiful – athletes and other celebrities will be there – pick up a Camacho Select, Triple Maduro (a great, full-bodied smoke), Diploma or 10th Anniversary.

"Camacho Cigars is proud to be a part of the pre-ESPY festivities," said Dylan Austin, marketing director of Camacho Cigars. "The Playboy Mansion is an iconic location that every man dreams of visiting at least once in his life. This only adds to our excitement in being involved in this illustrious event."

The night will include dancing, entertainment, a few poker games and just about everything else you'd expect from a party at the Playboy Mansion. If there's a better way to smoke a Camacho, my imagination can't come up with it.

Prizes – in art, journalism or anywhere else – are intended to show that a particular achievement exceeds the others in its field. The Turner Prize is a prestigious contemporary art award in Britain is for artists under 50 and has been around for 25 years. Here's the problem: the Turner Prize has always gone to art that sucks. Nobody liked the work. So, this year, a prize that typically has gone to pieces that shock is doing some shocking of its own.

The judges hope that the Turner Prize will go to a creation that people actually like.

The four artists nominated this year aren't as controversial as past entries, but they do bring unusual perspectives. Roger Hiorns is described as a "modern alchemist," mixing a variety of household materials with liquid copper sulphate and an empty apartment to express his vision. Enrico David focuses on the human figure, while Lucy Skaer uses photographs as starting points for drawings and sculpture. Richard Wright, rounding out the list of nominees, works with large wall paintings tailored to the spaces in which they appear.

This work makes a bit more sense than at least one past winner (2001): Grayson Perry, a cross-dressing potter, and Martin Creed had an installation consisting of lights flickering in an empty room. Reaction: one visitor threw two eggs at the wall.

And, of course, Damien Hirst is a past winner, though I struggle to understand why. He's only done one installation that worked for me (a year and a half ago, at the Lever House in New York).

Judge and art critic Jonathan Jones observes, "People say 'my child could do that.' It's not conceivable that you could look at any of these artists (in that way)." He goes a bit too far, however, when he continues, "It shows there is a great deal of talent in contemporary art."

Maybe the Turner Prize will redeem itself in 2009. We'll find out on December 7.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie didn't win any little statues at the Golden Globes Sunday night, but they definitely defended their title as the world's most stylish couple. While Angelina eschewed glitz in an elegant and simple frock from Atelier Versace, Brad continued his trend of wearing Tom Ford's finest when the occasion calls for black tie. He wore a black wool Windsor model peak lapel tuxedo, white pique front evening shirt, diamond and white gold shirt studs and cufflinks, black grosgrain bowtie, silk pocket square, black patent leather shoes and a pair of aviator shades all from Ford's menswear collection - and, for those of you who followed the cummerbund debate in this week's Classicist column, Brad (correctly, in our opinion) wore one of those as well, made of black grosgrain silk to match his bowtie.

The value of an Oscar statuette is obviously more about the sentiment and experience than anything else, but what is that little gold man really worth in cold hard cash?

There are several ways of looking at it:

• Resale value for Oscars won after 1950 are limited because the Academy makes all winning celebrities sign an agreement that if they want to sell they have to first offer the statue back to them for $1.
  
• Based on the current price of the gold if melted down each Oscar is worth about $500.
• If sold on the sly (or for pre-1950 Oscars that can be sold in the open) big-name Oscars will easily clear $60,000+, with many hitting 6 figures.

That's not all that much, all things considered. I think if I ever win one I'll be happy to just keep it (hey, I can dream!).

Travel is big business, but with today's technology the world seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Having a truly memorable experience is less about where you go and more about the details that you experience while you're there, knowing what the best options are can make or break a vacation.

The Travel & Leisure Design Awards 2008 cite the best of the best in 15 categories covering everything from the best hotel to the best restaurant to the best travel gadget. How many of them have you experienced?

With the Emmy Awards approaching in just a few weeks, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) took the time to remind celebrities that their swag bags are considered taxable income and need to be reported as such when tax season rolls around. This is no small thing, either. The value of this year's Emmy gifts is estimated to be between $27,000 and $33,000. The ATAS even sent out letters to the presenters asking for compliance with the various tax codes with a waiver to sign, proving that they read it.

One of the reasons that the ATAS is being rather strict is that the IRS reportedly stands to collect over $1million from Oscar bags alone, which were worth over $100,000 each last year, and the ATAS doesn't want to be held responsible for any tax problems stemming from the Emmy Awards.

For a full list of the goodies that the Emmy presenters will be getting, click past the jump.

Celebrities may have gotten some great baby couture at the Golden Globes, but they are also picking some out for themselves, since not too many celebrities can resist spending on their kids. A few other celebrity favorites, from Child.com, include Inky Dink Tees -- which are well liked by moms who include Angelina Jolie and Kelly Ripa -- and City Threads. For bibs, Tess and Winter and Funkie Baby are loved by Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Victoria and David Beckham. Bloomers Baby Diaper Cakes are remarkably popular as baby shower gifts and have been served to half of the A-list.

The nicest baby gifts are the ones for moms. Jill Alberts Jewelry makes one of a kind lockets so stars like Debra Messing, Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick can keep their true loves close to their hearts. Designs can start as low as $650, but can range to more than double that price.  

The fragrance industry just hosted their 34th annual FiFi Awards, the industry's biggest event. The FiFis recognize the best scents, best packaging and best ad campaigns in the industry. Top honors for women's and men's luxe fragrances went to euphoria by Calvin Klein and Armani Code by Giorgio Armani, respectively. The other 2006 winners included:

• Best Women’s Direct Sell : So in Love by Victoria’s Secret Beauty
• Best Men’s Direct Sell: Today. Tomorrow. Always for Men by Avon
• Best Women’s Popular Appeal: Spirit by Antonio Banderas for Women
• Best Men’s Popular Appeal: Stetson Black
• Best Packaging Women's and Men's: Armani Privé by Giorgio Armani
• Best Televised National Advertising Campaign: Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

The Senior Corporate Vice President of Estée Lauder, Evelyn H. Lauder, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for bringing "extraordinary ingenuity, dedication and inner resources [to her company and] to the fragrance industry as a whole."

At this year’s Golden Globes, the stars weren’t the only ones walking away with bags full of free goodies from designers. Actually, they were – but not everything in the bags was for themselves. In addition to more adult-sized offerings, vendors set up a Boom Boom Room that featured lots of stuff for kids and babies.

Crib Rock Couture has updated nursery rhyme characters on fashionable logo-tees. The tees are reminiscent of vintage rocker tee’s and are styled after classic tour shirts, but with the gentler edge that only Miss Muffet can provide. The new 3 Blind Mice tee, from the “Carving Knife Tour” is especially cute at $33.

Diapees & Wipees makes fashionable bags for toting around the most important baby tools, diapers and wipes, without lugging a carrier that looks like a picnic cooler. The bags come in bright, vibrant colors and retail for $14.99.

Snugglebug Baby makes jeweled pacifier clips, which keep fashion-forward parents from losing their baby’s favorite object and lets baby start collecting bling early in life. The clips are $25.00 and come in boys and girls styles, like the Swarovski clip pictured here, with additional customization available.

Where is the best place in the world to drink whisky? According to Whisky Magazine, it's The Pot Still, a pub in Glasgow, Scotland. It recently won the honor at the Icons of Whisky awards in London. The bar has a long history that dates back to the 1870s and features walls of just about every whisky imaginable  (483 bottles and counting). Whisky lovers from around the world have traveled to the Pot Still to make a pilgrimage to the legendary bar. They also offer hearty pub fare and ales on tap just in case you aren't there just for the whisky.