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LVMH Chief Plans $140 Million Art Museum

Bernard Arnault (right), the billionaire chairman of Louis Vuitton parent LVMH and France's richest man, plans to open a $140 million art museum in Paris within the next 2-3 years despite the grim economic forecast. "It's a way of showing that luxury, which often has an arrogant, elitist, egotistical image, can be generous," Arnault's arts advisor Jean-Paul Claverie tells Bloomberg.

Dubbed the Louis Vuitton Foundation and designed by Frank Gehry, the luxury goods kingpin has high hopes for the museum in Paris's Bois de Boulogne on the site of a former bowling alley, which will display LVMH's extensive art collection. "Mr. Arnault often says that as many people will visit the building as will go see the Eiffel tower,'' Claverie says.

The Paris Triangle, A Bold New Look For The Paris Skyline


A few months ago, I mentioned potential plans to change the Paris skyline. Now the first project, a 50-story glass pyramid is moving into more serious planning stages. The move comes after officials voted to drop a ban on high-rise buildings. Le Projet Triangle at Porte de Versailles was designed by Swiss team Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron who designed the Olympic stadium in Beijing. The tower will have offices, a conference center, 400-bedroom hotel and restaurants and cafes. it will be surrounded by parks, gardens and shops. The building is planned to be around 590 feet high which will make the third highest building in Paris. The tower will run on solar and wind power and is set for completion in 2012.

Gallery: Le Projet Triangle at Porte de Versailles

Cartier's 20th Century Masterpieces


Some of world-famous Parisian jeweler Cartier's most beautiful creations are portrayed in a sumptuous new book due out in a couple of weeks. Cartier: Innovation Through the 20th Century (Flammarion, $65), features 165 rare gems reproduced at their actual size, "selected to highlight the milestones of 20th century design." Each amazing piece "serves as a benchmark in the world of high-end jewelry," much of it made for Europe's nobility and bon ton.

Drawing on Cartier's vast archives, many of the pictures are being published here for the first time. Cartier "consistently set new aesthetic, ornamental, technical and stylistic trends" in jewelry design, the book notes, and it continues to do so today. Even their famous red leather boxes have become something of a status symbol in and of themselves. The cover image above shows a platinum, diamond and ruby bracelet made in 1926.

The House of Valentino's 50 Fashionable Years

The remarkable 50-year career of Valentino, founder of the first couture house to be recognized by the French government outside of Paris, is given the coffee table treatment in a lavish new book, Valentino: Themes and Variations (Rizzoli, $75).

The tome on Rome-based Valentino Garavani is published in association with a prestigious exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, curated by the author, Pamela Golbin. The book focuses on the designer's haute couture creations, culminating in his brilliant Paris presentation last January.

"I have always considered my work as the one of a writer," Valentino notes in the foreword. "Over the years I wrote only one story, the one of my style, where each collection represents a single chapter, with all its emotions, ideas and motifs. The looks may change with every chapter, but the main characters are the same, as are the people and things that inspire me."

An Intimate Look at the Legendary Coco Chanel


In 1962, photographer Douglas Kirkland was sent to Paris on assignment for Look magazine to photograph the legendary couturier Coco Chanel. Kirkland, 27, ended up living with the elegant 79-year-old Chanel for three whole weeks, photographing her in public and private. The complete collection of never-before-seen photographs is being published this week in book form - Coco Chanel: Three Weeks / 1962 - by Glitterati to coincide with the 125th anniversary of Chanel's birth.

Included as well are Kirkland's reminiscences. He recalls for instance that as Chanel prepared for the show, omnipresent cigarette dangling from her lips, she snapped, "Fashion has become a joke. The designers have forgotten that there are women inside the dresses." In addition to the regular edition which costs $50, Glitterati will publish a deluxe limited edition of 100 in a slipcase with a signed and numbered Kirkland print for $500.

Qatar's Royal Family to Buy Stake in Lanvin

Famed French fashion house Lanvin of Paris is in talks to sell a major stake in the business to Qatar's royal family. Lanvin owner Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media magnate, is said to be keen to exploit the brand's burgeoning success under current creative director Alber Elbaz, formerly of Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue UK reports.

While nothing is set in stone, the deal is said to be worth many millions. Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is ranked at No. 7 on Forbes' list of the world's richest royals with a fortune of $2 billion. Since Sheikh Hamad ramped up the development of Qatar's vast oil and natural gas reserves, the country now has the highest per-capita income in the world.

The 10 Richest Streets in the World


The Times of London has come up with a new list of the world's 10 richest streets based on property prices. The most expensive street on the globe, unsurprisingly, is in ultra-rich Monaco - Avenue Princess Grace, to be exact, where average prices run about $17,000 per sq. ft. It's a pretty safe bet that anyone with an address there is a millionaire at the very least. In second place is Severn Road in Hong Kong's Victoria Peak district (above), where the average price is about $11,000 per sq. ft. Here are the rest of the runners-up:
No. 3 - Fifth Avenue, New York
No. 4 - Kensington Palace Gardens, London
No. 5 - Avenue Montaigne, Paris
No. 6 - Ostozhenka, Moscow
No. 7 - Via Suvretta, St, Mortiz, Switzerland
No. 8 - Carolwood Drive, Beverly Hills
No. 9 - Wolseley Road, Sydney, Australia
No. 10 - Altamount Road, Mumbai, India

Gallery: World's Richest Streets

Avenue Princess Grace, Monaco, #1Fifth Avenue, New York, #3Kensington Palace Gardens, London, #4Via Suvretta, St. Moritz, #7Carolwood Drive, Beverly Hills, #8

Kate Moss' Latest Starring Role


This is certainly turning out to be a banner season for Kate Moss; it seems every time we turn around she pops up in another fall ad campaign. And we might add that despite all Kate's been through, she's looking more gorgeous than ever. We already told you about her Just Cavalli and David Yurman campaigns, and she re-upped with Donna Karan as well; the latest is for French fashion house Longchamp, for whom she has modeled several seasons running. The cinematic black-and-white ads were shot by photo duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott at the famed Café de Flore in Paris. Kate's co-star is French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who appeared in the last Hannibal Lecter film. Kate's been busy elsewhere as well. She recently posed topless in W magazine and is launching a new fragrance.

Gallery: Kate Moss for Longchamp

Scene 1, Fall '08Scene 2Scene 3Previous Longchamp campaign #1Previous Longchamp campaign #2

The New Paris Skyline?


The skyline of Paris has remained relatively unchanged for the last 18 years but the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is seeking to change that and has presented a bold new plan to the city council. It's currently against regulations to build higher than 37 meters (121.4 feet) in the capital and there hasn't been a new skyscraper built in 18 years. But Delanoë believes that new buildings could help ease the city's housing shortage. Even though nearly two-thirds of Parisians are said to be against relaxing the building rules, the mayor said that a public official's responsibility is to act in the best interest of the public rather than just pay attention to polls.

The council has voted in favor of studying the plan and the citizens will be allowed to weigh in at a conference next year. The plans include a 200 metre pyramidal tower next to the Porte de Versailles with a four-star hotel but other planned residential projects are in the 50 meter range. Advocates say this type of architecture is necessary in order for Paris to compete with other "global cities" like London, Tokyo and New York. Critics say that Paris is beautiful as is and that dramatic new architecture would damage the city's famous charm. Check out the potential new Paris in the gallery below.

Gallery: The New Paris Skyline?

High Fashion Immune To Low Stocks So Far


Like the high-end art market, the high-end fashion market continues to remain afloat in difficult times. This week is Paris Fashion Week and as WWD reports couture, the very top of the fashion world, contains to see strong sales. The number of couture clothes available is very small and clothing is in the thousands of dollars per piece.

So far, the couture business for fashion houses like Giorgio Armani, Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix hasn't seen any fall off from the declining U.S. economy. The customers for couture exist at the very highest end of the economic spectrum and are often immune to even fairly dramatic economic shifts. Also new clients from Russia, the Middle East and Asia continue to provide a stream of new customers.

Chanel reports that today's client wants a lot of attention and can be demanding. The Chanel team has flown around the world for fittings and presentations. It seems that today's couture houses have to work harder for their customers than ever before often because today's clients have increasingly busy schedules.

Couture also remains a way to reinforce a brand's image. We can't all afford the gorgeous Galliano gown shown above but the beautiful couture clothing serves as an advertisement for the quality and inventiveness of the designer.

Famed Trianon Palace Hotel's $30 Million Makeover


The legendary Trianon Palace hotel and spa in Versailles, France where the likes of Marcel Proust, René Lacoste and the Duke of Windsor once frolicked has just completed a breathtaking $30 million renovation. Situated just outside Paris less than a mile from Louis XIV's famed Château de Versailles, the 5-star luxury hotel's upgrades include a new wing, Gordon Ramsay's first restaurant in France, a refurbished Guerlain spa, revamped public spaces and glorious gardens. Noted interior designer Fiona Thompson, who oversaw renovations to the 199-room property, has managed to modernize the 1909 building without detracting from its historic magnificence.

Gallery: Hotel Trianon Palace

Front desk.Lobby luxe.Green with envy.Suite life.Ballroom.

Royal Monceau Prepares To Get Starcked


These days when a famous hotel needs a redesign, they often make a cottage industry of selling off the old design. The Royal Monceau in Paris is selling off furniture, mirrors, minibars, curtains, bar stools, dishes and more in a multi-day auction that ends today. The grand hotel has played host to many famous faces since its opening in 1928 including everyone from Ernest Hemingway to Britney Spears. The sale is expected to bring in around one million euros with some of the top pieces for sale including an 18th century commode and a Louis XIV-style marble table. Next week, on June 26th, VIPs are invited to a "demolition party" to help smash whatever is left over.

The four-star hotel will reopen in Fall 2009 after a thorough redesign by Philippe Starck that will give the hotel a style referred to as "Art Deco revisited which is expected to give the hotel more oomph to attract a younger crowd.

Iconic French Tennis Shoe Arrives in U.S.A.


La Tennis Bensimon, the iconic French sneaker that was a favorite of John F. Kennedy and super-cool musician Serge Gainsbourg, is finally arriving in the U.S. for fall. The classic tennis shoes, rendered in cotton canvas, leather and suede, have long been a favorite of stylish fellows who tracked them down in Europe and Japan. Designer Serge Bensimon, whose grandfather began the business by importing American Army surplus clothing following World War II, says that "For me, creation is a sensitive and eclectic dialogue between art, literature and travel." The men's collection, which will now be available at Bloomingdale's, is "classic and simple yet luxurious, reflecting the essence of Parisian style." Canvas Sneakers have been given the Men.Style.com seal of approval for summer. We're partial to the navy canvas version pictured above. See the gallery for more examples.

[via Kempt]

Gallery: La Tennis Bensimon

Limited edition leather.Cotton canvas stripe.Limited edition leather Suede hi-top.Serge Gainsbourg.

Yves St. Laurent Dead at 71


Famous French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died Sunday in Paris at the age of 71. Laurent will be remembered best perhaps for making menswear sexy for women. His Le Smoking tuxedo for women was considered shocking when it was created in 1966. He was also known for dressing Catherine Deneuve in smart skirts and coats in her turn as a lady of the evening in "Belle de Jour." Laurent retired from designing in 2002 and Gucci bought the YSL brand in 1999. As my colleague Jared Paul Stern mentioned last week, and exhibit of Yves St. Laurent's work is currently on display in Montreal (also see his recent column on Laurent's famed 1962 fashion show). He was also a man of great personal taste as his former New York apartment shows, he will be much missed in a world that often seems short of men of style.

The Classicist: Dior and YSL in Paris, 1962



In 1962, Esquire magazine sent photographer Jerry Schatzberg to Paris to cover the behind-the-scenes action at the Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent shows, at what promised to be an historic fashion moment. Indeed it was, and Schatzberg's shoot turned out brilliantly; the full results have finally been collected in book form, under the title Paris 1962: Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, The Early Collections. Schatzberg was no mere paparazzo; a renowned fashion photographer and filmmaker, he's perhaps best known for the cover of Bob Dylan's 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. His journalistic, documentary style ran counter to the usual carefully-posed fashion shoots of the time, which gave the 1962 session added urgency. But first, a little background.

Famed designer Christian Dior had died five years earlier, in 1957. Yves Saint Laurent, only 22 years old at the time, had been named as his replacement, creating a stunning new collection in a matter of weeks. Laurent held the appointment for only a short time, however, as he was soon conscripted to serve in the French army during the Algerian War of Independence. The fragile fashionista lasted less than a month before a nervous breakdown saw him committed to a mental institution. Meanwhile, Marc Bohan had taken over at Dior, leading Saint Laurent to file for breach of contract.

Gallery: Dior & YSL, Then and Now

Victoire in hat by YSL.Yves Saint Laurent greets a guest.The Christian Dior show.A model on the runway.

Continue reading The Classicist: Dior and YSL in Paris, 1962

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