…..to Fashionista heaven…..

….. Milan….. the chicest city in the world!

….. and a trip to Milan surely means a visit to Corso Como….. the chicest street in the world….. and of course that includes a visit to the sprawling shop and art gallery at number 10….. the chicest shop therein. It’s owned by Carla Sozzani, the super-thin blonde sister of Franca Sozzani who edits Vogue (yep, you guessed it: the chicest publication in the world).

This huge space is home to a superbly curated selection of product design, art, and of course cutting-edge men’s and women’s fashion and accessories…… think Paris’s Colette with added dolce-vita class.

And to make the trip even more glamorous….. I will try to book a room in the three-bedroom boutique hotel, with the imaginatively named Three Rooms, that Sozzani also owns.

10corsocomo.com

No….. I don’t think so…..

I just adore the décor that Louis Vuitton has just installed at their giant luxury space on Bond st. in London.

I am in awe……how incredible are these windows? Life sized Ostriches with wonderfully elongated necks fill the huge space (some across two floors) and carry the latest gorgeous Ostrich skin merchandise in jeweled tones.

Ostrich eggs, some are whole and others are hatched….. revealing the most desirable shoes.

Lots of humor in these window presentations….. and this concept has given me renewed hope (that future window presentations will become more exciting - there are too many boring presentations out there).

You must go and see this new decor for yourself. Even if you don’t buy LV products and your budget is more H&M….. at least looking is free …… and I guarantee that you will love it.

Have you ever dreamed of a true shoe wonderland?

A wonderful, whimsical place full of fabulous footwear that invites you to luxuriate in your unabashed love for stilettos, pumps and boots?

Well my friends, someone has taken that fantasy and turned it into a spectacular reality, and this dream come true is called ShoeWoo.

I was flaneur-ing NY in December….. around Lexington Avenue….. here I stumbled upon this incredible store at 750 Lexington Avenue on 59^th (the third of its kind). I have never seen it before, but I couldn’t resist stopping by to check it out, as the incredible interior space and window decor certainly warranted some attention.

….. and not only is ShoeWoo a fantasy for shoe-lovers, it is unlike any shoe store I have ever visited. It is literally the Wonderland of footwear….. and I half expect to see Alice and the white rabbit walk through the doors.

The space contains two levels, with the ground floor hosting not only a column that looks like it is built with shoes, but a giant glossy pump hung high above shoppers’ heads.

Shoes from brands like Rachel Rachel Roy, Boutique 9, Joan&David, Anne Klein and Nine West are showcased in intricately decorated cabinets as well as on a revolving display upon which a number of shoes spin slowly in beautifully choreographed motion…… as if the rest of the store wasn’t hypnotizing enough…

Head to the back for more shelves of shoes in a beautifully decorated section complete with a velvet-covered chandelier. This is also where you’ll find the stairs to take you upstairs to the “attic” where you can indulge even more shoe shopping and get a birds eye view of the dreamscape below.

….. and Cartier in May?

Well, I got a last minute invitation to the opening of the new Louis Vuitton store, which , of course I had to decline (yeah right).

Anyway, I was in London, and while I was there, I popped by Cartier at the end of Sloane, to view their latest scope….. and these guys do know how to create the most incredible stuff….. and in May, they used real flowers for their décor inside…….and on the outside too.

Absolutely wonderfully….. but what happened….. the general public came along and tried to steal the stuff….. clearly, it’s the thieving west over there in London….. well hallo, come on UK….. these poor decorators properly already fight to get there schemes in place….. you should be ashamed for trying to undermine such forward thinking creativity.

….. until 2013…..

…..Don’t panic….. I’m not referring to the monolithic shopping destination based in Knightsbridge.

 But it is ironic, that this famous department stores strap line is: “There is only one Harrods”.

Once….. a long, long time ago, there was a store in Argentina called Harrods ….. although this store has been closed for a long time.

This old store was opened in 1914, and is actually a branch of the original in London.

Any way, because of a period of great wealth in South America it is actually due to re-open in 2013.

Someone once told me: “anyone wealthy….. at the time when this store was open, sent their laundry to Paris because it came back smelling so wonderfully ‘fresh’” (although I may have made that up).

Well, any way, back to the story about the store: the site remains a sad reminder of faded glory, at least for now….. but how exciting is this? I really hope they maintain the character of the beautifull structure itself which after all would be one of the main reasons to see this store….. and I for one has added it on my list of places to visit….. and if you get there before me, be sure to send me some photos.

….. and as a last side note….. in the future, will Harrods new marketing strapline be “There are only two Harrods”?

….. you’ve done nothing at all”

…..I love this campaign from Diesel. The photography campaign is great fun and I particularly enjoyed the scenarios of how to be stupid.

This is probably one of the best campaign I have seen in a long time from Diesel and it’s an excellent example of how a “multiple” brand can be extraordinarily creative.

…..how the marketing campaign has been translated into a window scheme however is another thing.

Unfortunately the humor of the campaign hasn’t translated that well….. of cause it’s impossible to place mannequins in the exact positions as the models are in, within the original images on their web site……

….. but I do like the various props such as spray cans etc…… although the fun is rather lost? Anyway, maybe….. check it out and see what I mean?

….. so naturally I was drooling over this store!

The Jeff De Bruges store along South Molton st. in London oozes sophistication and really does make me want to stuff my face with chocolate…..

Although, their websites English translates is hilariously:

Sugared Almonds are described as ‘Pills’ & jellied fruit as ‘fruit paste’ (sounds appetizing….. right?).

The store itself is painted in a delicious dark chocolate tone and the product packaged beautifully. This really is sophisticated stuff and worthy of checking out, if you happen to be in London.

…..my favorite chocolatier is still Mariebelle in New York….. but J.D.B has certainly secured a place on my personal top 10.

….. in a store window or a pair of shoes?

I have a couple friends who can stand for hours in front of a shop window….. some time they find themselves virtually licking the glass in attempt to get the shoes out and down on their feet.

That’s how I feel about ‘Home’ stuff. I have a wonderful Italian dining table in my kitchen, everything Iittala has designed of cutlery and kitchenware and absolutely gorgeous upholstered furniture that I sink into at the end of a hard day….. why work if one can’t enjoy sinking into gorgeous furniture and enjoying fabulous food?

Whenever I travel to NYC I spend hours at ABC….. just licking everything in wonder and desire. OK, to be honest my budget is more Crate and Barrel, but one can at least aspire to beautiful things……

I love the Paul Smith Home store in London. It is way out of my price range of cause, but at least looking is free….. but if you can spare £2.900,- for a lovely shell covered dolls house (marked down from £4.200,-) or a ‘Love’ silk wall hanging for only £1.515,- then swing by….. just let me know where this stuff is going, so I can swing by to your house and lick the glass there too.

…..and I celebrated this happy event, with a quick little trip to London last week…..more specifically, a trip to Selfridges. Have you been to Selfridges?

….. whether you want, desire, worship, envy, lust or yearn, Selfridges is the place to be.

This store goes from strength to even stronger, and I can’t help but love it more and more and be drawn in to spend all my money there.

But lucky for me, looking is free….. but the way these guys present their merchandise does make it so desirable, that I can’t help but want, desire, (OK, not worship), envy and lust, almost everything they sell. The atmosphere is electric, the experience is fun and the merchandise is so delicious….. I may need to have another fix very soon to feed my shopping dependency…… I’m just kidding of course, but do go and check them out next time you are in London….. go and be seduced.

….. Etisalat store (seen in mall of Dubai)

….. and I felt compelled to show it to you, as it’s a great example of a beautifully designed and contemporary communications store.

Of course we have all seen numerous of incredible Apple stores dotted around the globe….. but this store really did draw me in (Apple stores don’t tend to).

I wasn’t familiar with this local brand, who describe themselves as “enabling people to reach each other”…… ok, there is the usual marketing bla that goes with just about every brand, but this really is done well.

You can’t subscribe to this brand (if you don’t live in UAE), although they say of themselves that they “are increasingly present in international markets”.

I guess we will need to keep an eye on them.

Via: The Dubai mall