The limited-edition Lamborghini by Versace which we first wrote about plans for in 2006 is finally going into production for fall. The car, which will be a convertible in contrast to the coupe originally developed, will be a bright pastel white with a black-and-white leather interior. The price of the special-order Murciélago LP 640 Roadster Versace has yet to be named, but expect to pay a healthy premium above the model's already hefty base price of $358,000. The V12 roadster, designed by Donatella Versace and just unveiled in Milan during Men's Fashion Week, will feature a see-through engine bay cover and the fashion house's signature Greek key motif on the doors, front fascia and nappa leather seats. Versace has also designed an accompanying line of black calfskin accessories including luggage, wallet, gloves, driving shoes, hat and even a pair of leather jeans all bearing an engraved metal Lamborghini Versace tag.
Fashion designer Donatella Versace took a timely inspiration for her latest fashion show. The woman who once said she wanted to dress Hillary Clinton in more feminine outfits and less pantsuits has turned her attention to Barack Obama. Versace dedicated her Spring-Summer 2009 collection presented Saturday evening to Obama. Of course she had some fashion tips for the Presidential candidate as well, she urged him to shed the tie and "jazz up the shirt." Her collection was certainly short on ties and long on jazzy colors, offering suit jackets with double lapels or no lapels at all, slim shiny trousers and shirts in summery pastel shades of pale blue, lemon yellow and lavender.
At the start of Milan's Furniture Salon fair, Versace returned to home turf showing their new furniture collection at the the Italian designer's show apartment in a 15th century palazzo. Reuters reports that the apartment was divided into theme rooms devoted to cities such as Tokyo, Rome and Los Angeles. They've even stretched away from the classic Versace black and white with silver or gold accents by adding other colors to the collections. The Versace Medusa's head logo is still integrated into many of the designs. The new Versace Home boutique opened in Milan on Wednesday. The gallery below features a couple pictures from the Gianni Versace Cocktail and Boutique Opening including what just might be my favorite picture of Donatella Versace ever.
It's not as impressive as the Harry Winston job last year but the thieves who raided Damiani jewelry's showroom in Milan on Sunday earn points for ingenuity. BBC News reports that the thieves dug an underground tunnel to a Milan showroom and then seven men, dressed as police, came through a cellar wall, tied up the staff and stole several million euros of jewelry in just a few minutes. Many of the showroom's best items weren't there they were in Los Angeles getting their red carpet moment at the Oscars. The men were reportedly unarmed. They tied up the staff up with plastic cable and sticky tape, locked everyone in the bathroom except the manager, who was forced to empty the lockers. The thieves left few traces of their crime behind and it appears to be a very professional job.
If you're looking for a unique and humorous stocking stuffer gift for a loved one that's still somewhat useful, perhaps a designer fly swatter would fit the bill? These swatters available from Charles & Marie are pretty basic in material (being made of typical plastic) but the unique angle is noticed when you look closer: the design of the swatter is modeled after a mini street map of Milan, Italy. Created by designer Nicoletta as part of her Pandora Design line these would make a great gift for someone crazy into fashion, crazy into European travel, or just crazy into killing flies. $15
If you've been pondering springing for the $5800 Manrico cashmere sheets but would like to test them out first, you can head to the Presidential and Royal suites at the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan. The Manrico sheets are also available for purchase at the hotel. The hotel is getting ready for its 80th anniversary and has 48 newly refurbished guest rooms and plans to open a new restaurant, Acanto. Of course given that the Royal suite costs $3,500 and the three-bedroom goes for an astounding $13,000 per night you might just be better off buying the sheets and using them on your own bed (but where would the fun be in that?) The Presidential suite has its own elevator, swimming pool, Turkish bath, sauna, dining room, parlor and corner terrace all on the tenth floor of the hotel and is one of the most fabulous hotel suites in all of Europe.
Zaha Hadid is an architect known for her innovative and
deconstructionist designs, which are found throughout the world. During Design Week in Milan, Hadid created a
futuristic kitchen setting out of DuPont Corian. The Z-Island
kitchen included two main units, one associated with "fire," which housed the cooktop, and one associated
with "water," which had the sink and dishrack. In addition to these fairly basic functions, the "sensory-
responsive kitchen environment" had multimedia sound and video equipment embedded into the islands, all of which
could be controlled with a central touch panel. The modular wall storage featured a coating that gave it "advanced
sound and light diffusion capabilities" to enhance the overall experience of being in the room.
Last week
in Milan, Dutch designer/artist Maarten Baas debuted an unusual furniture
collection made of
clay. Not only is it made of clay, but it is hand-sculpted by the designer himself. While the furniture is much
more appealing than I would have expected clay furniture to look, there is still the question over whether such a
design could appeal to a wide audience, beyond the walls of the exhibition room. Is it comfortable or must it be
resigned to the same status as a sculpture and preserved as art for the sake of art?
Is this the kitchen of the future? Innovative
architect Zaha Hadid partnered with Corian and Ernestomeda to create the Z Island by DuPont Corian. The kitchen
island, which was shown off at Milan Design week, has two free-standing island units, one for "fire" and one
for "water," a modular wall cabinet, a wall covering system with special light and sound diffusion
capabilities, and a long work bench. The main island unit can change from a horizontal cooking and eating
surface into a vertical digital surface with an LCD screen for TV or computer use and an iPod. The cooking
area has a special heating plate and the main island has a touch control panel. The wall treatment has acoustic
properties and a customized LEDs that allows the user to change the music and lighting. The kitchen island even has a
scent diffusion system that can be programmed to dispense different scents throughout the day. Pictures of the Z island
in Milan can be found at designws.com.
You've probably seen those Bombay Sapphire Gin
advertisements that feature unique martini glasses. Check out the winner of their Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass
Competition, Global Final 2006 which was announced as part of Milan Design Week. UK-based designers, Tomek Rygalik and
Jorre van Ast created this glass called 'Inverted' and won themselves a $15,000 prize. In order to drink from the
glass you pick it up by the long stem. Interesting but one too many martinis and I'd be certain to poke myself in the
eye with this thing.
