W came back from lunch with this new toy in tow. Essentially a 3-bulb torch, it is as kitsch as it is useless. We love it. Its hardware turquoise plastic body is enbossed with a phoenix and dragon, while the main lamp is outfitted in pink and green. We’re slightly perplexed by the position of the bulbs though. There’s the main torch in white, a bulb on the top in its glass house, and most confusing of all, a tiny useless bulb with a white cover that looked like a tail stub. Rather rude actually.. but cute. so cute.

oh and the side is actually a slip-on buckle that could buckle in theory, but doesn’t really. It also comes with its own an electrical plug.

It's a pet.

$5 from a hardware store on Smith St. Also spotted in a toy-store at Hong Lim Complex. (Not very discerning stockists)

Visionaire #56 Solar: cover by Ron Ethridge

Visionaire has done it again. In their latest issue #56, the magazine has gone Solar Interactive, marching to the sexy tune of harnessing green energy - already much discussed at the recent G8.

More an ode to the Sun than an eco-friendly, zero-carbon emission publication, the magazine uses an innovative printing technology (Photochromic Plastisol Inks or PHOT) to produce a publication that turns to glorious Techni-colour in the sunlight.

Peter Lindbergh

David Sims

The magazine encased in an all white embroidery slip-case, is a board-bound book of B&W photographic content, but take it outdoors and the black & white photographs come to life in colours under sunlight exposure. Some even reveal hidden images. Visionaire’s #56 collaborators Yoko Ono, Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, M/M (Paris), David Sims etc have contibuted some awe-inspiring visuals. On the text front, it is usually fluffy or simply non-existent.

M/M (Paris)

Olaf Breuning

Actually this so-called latest technology is nothing new. For a decade now, PhotoChromic inks has been used to stunning effects in custom screen printing and in the advertising industries. Not unlike those novelty T-shirts so popular in the mid-90’s, where colourless ink magically came to life when it was exposed to UV light.

But at a time when Obama is pumping 78.6 billion dollars into the US clean energy industry, it is literally sexier and edgier than the fashion industry. Visionaire’s Sun Salutation pose could not have come at a speedier time.

It is arguably the most visionary (they don’t call themselves Visionaire for nothing) and the most talked-and-blogged about mag, but perhaps, also the least read magazine owing to its limited run - only up to 3000 copies per issue. The hefty price tag of 675USD per year for 4 issues certainly doesn’t help. Much sought-after collector’s issue like no.18 which came in its own Louis Vuitton portfolio commanded a price tag of  USD$5000.

W magazine calls it “couture version of a magazine”.

Expensive, exclusive, inaccessible, but still lusted after by so many. Sure sounds like couture to me.

P.S. you can thumb through Visionaire #56 at Page One and Kinokuniya bookstores. VMan and V, also put out by the same publishers, can be yours to keep at a friendlier price. Sunlight activation not included.

Image source: designscene.net & stylefrizz.com

luxury shame

Oh! To cry out in Luxury Shame!
Instead of the beach, sun and sea, Juicy Couture’s President Edgar Hubert chose a Christmas staycation for his family. He told Reuters that instead of sun-baking in Jamaica,  ”We stayed here in New York over Christmas.” The reason: “I just thought it was not reasonable to spend so much money [to] go somewhere.”

Recession Crunch? No champagne? just drink from the perfume bottle then.

A bunch of bigshot execs at the recent Reuters Global Luxury and Retail Summit echoed the same lux-shame sentiments.

If the state of  our economy’s health lies in where women splurge on  jewellery and the men “invest” in watches, its poor health is telling even in the upper echleons. Saks Chief Executive, Steve Sadove, has stopped treating himself to one nice watch a year. Estee Lauder Cos Inc’s CEO William Lauder flies budget airlines now because: “Quite honestly, an US$89 ticket is pretty damn good against a US$500 ticket.”

The full article here is a juicy read, and quite plainly a clever PR move for the brands. The CEOs’ message: “we are feeling the luxury shame”, and to the guys on the street, “we are in it with you.”

Not buying a $10,000 watch is a sign of  feeling the pinch? Big deal.
Is this a sign of reawakening wallet conscience? A lifestyle rethink? A re-examination of spending values? Or could it be something very pragmatic: shrinking bonuses? Or are the bigwigs really spending it elsewhere, albeit more discreetly? A Christmas staycation with bigger, (but subtle) more expensive Christmas gifts, maybe?
And quite honestly, it is obvious that in these trying times, flaunting one’s wealth is simply uncool (especially so when one is the least affected by the downturn).

In case you were wondering: Luxury Shame, a term coined by Newsweek last year, described as  “the feeling a wealthy person unaffected by the recession has for still being able to buy whatever the hell they want while most of the world is teetering on the brink of utter poverty.” ( as summed up nicely by Urban Dictionary)
For the grand majority of common people, this word just doesn’t apply to us–we simply don’t have a lifestyle luxurious enough to hang our heads in shame over. Isn’t that shameful?

They should have said:  that’s one small moon step, (but) one giant leap for Pop history.

As my facebook bursts at the seams from my friends’ tributes to the King of Pop, one connecting theme has surfaced the most: “I tried the Moonwalk.”

Yes, that effortless, mime-like, friction-defying glide that Jacko did so well. You may have tried, but can you do it?

(more…)

Room to stretch out

The Tai Tai a few rows behind me exclaimed: “Wah! So much storage space, I love this plane already!”

Mes sentiments exactement.

Singapore Airline is promoting its newest A380 business class as the largest sleeper (stretching 34″) in the world. One other thing they have going for them - it also holds the most personal storage space.

I was onboard the Singapore Airline A380 inaugural flight to Paris last month, and 12 hours before I landed in Gay Paree, I was already merrily unpacking my carry-on bag, 10,000 miles up in the sky.

The seats on the side are clearly the choiciest and offers the most privacy in that class. I won’t gush about the flatbed that has already been blogged to death, though I have to admit, was so comfortable I shamefully wished the flight was a little longer.

On the side of the seat are two elbow-height storage compartments that lightly spring open, each big enough to easily fit a briefcase, a laptop, several newspapers, documents and folders etc - all the essentials that affirm your businessman status. The leg room on the front comfortably stows away another carry-on bag. In front of me between the large TV screen are two smaller compartments, meant to house your reading glasses, contact lens case and solution, eye drops, lip balm (something I never do without on a long-haul flight), a small tube of hand cream, pill case, and whatever other essentials you would need to have on-hand during the flight. A decent sized mirror is also available in a hidden compartment for that final vanity check-in before the cabin aisle walk.

Other design touches i adore about the A380:

The good-ol’ top compartment has a nice design touch- a nifty mirror overhead ensures nothing gets left behind from a bag mistakenly left opened during the flight.

Those with a sensitive temperament to sudden light glare will appreciate this. The reading lights don’t rudely ‘blink’ on, but rather, fade off gently. According to the Airbus designer, studies have shown that gentle LED light-play simulating night and day minimizes jetlag. Not just considerate for travel-worn passengers, the LED light-play also enhances the passengers’ mood too. I love the reading light on the side headboard of the seat. It has two modes that switch from soft ambient glow to a focused reading light. As I tend to read more than watch movies on the plane, this was a feature I really appreciated.

I don’t know if they were Sennheiser, but I love their noise-cancelling headsets. I wore them at all times, even when I wasn’t watching the in-flight movie. It certainly worked wonders in cutting out 80% of the ambient plane noise, which was already relatively low compared to other plane models owing to better design and placement of engines.

If you have some serious cash to splurge (absolutely shameful to even consider talking about in such trying times), pick Business over the Suite Class. I strolled down Suite and felt somewhat claustrophobic. When the suite doors were all close, the cabin looked like a train carriage. And don’t think for a second that you’ll get complete privacy, a gap is left between the roof and the door which allows anyone walking down the stairs to peek into the suite. So don’t you honeymooners get any mile-high club ideas in there. Another blogger has already wagged his little disapproving finger at SIA’s puritanical stance of “we are Singaporean, no sex please” here.  For half the price of a Suite Class, the Business Class is sufficiently comfortable and luxurious.

I am quite in love with the L’occitane The Vert (Green Tea) Eau de Toilette I found in the (bright and clean) Business Class washroom. I am now a fan of the scent.

The original £50m Hirst discoball

Here’s a fun project… The most expensive work of art ever created can now be a DIY weekend hobby.  Damien Hirst’s ‘For the love of God‘ (2007), a platinum skull encased in 8,500 diamonds, costing between £8m and £10m to make (which later sold for £50m), can now be replicated in a plastic skull and crystal beads for a mere £49.99.

Talk about High Art trickling down to the masses. A huge leap considering the 50-carat diamond in the middle of the original Hirst piece alone is estimated to be in the region of £3 to £5 million… versus the paltry cost of the large-sized glass crystal on the IHirst.

The IHirst

Contents: plastic human-sized skull, crystal beads (8,601 pieces), glue, paintbrush, tweezers, silver paint and instructions... make you an IHirst

iartistlondon also includes kitsch DIYs of other iconic contemporary art works including those of Marc Quinn, Tracy Emin. Rachel Whiteread, and even Banksy… Whoa!!

Thanks, Ana for highlighting the Ihirst on FB.

It will cost you USD$130 but when you know it’s a book - an object that brings forth knowledge - it’s slightly more forgivable.

Yes, in the midst of a financial crunch where we’re  being persuaded to spend on items tagged with hero terms like “investment value”, “extended mileage”, or “classic and timeless”, coffee table books can be deemed a good investment. After all, they stand the test of time longer than the average T-shirt or sandals (even the ridic-expensive ones), not forgetting that your choice of book will reveal you to be as cultured and intellectual as you want people to think. They are an accessory not just for your facebook profile character, but for your home interiors too. See the ‘investment value’ ? And honestly, very few things can match the smell of a new and mint-fresh book…

The 400-page Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture chronicles the brand’s “humble” beginnings as a luggage brand, to the giant superbrand it is today. The picture book focuses heavily on the collaborations and associations the brand has had with other notable names in the past years: more familiar names include Azzedine Alaïa, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, Manolo Blahnik, Patrick Demarchelier, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Marc Jacobs, Rei Kawakubo, David LaChapelle, Helmut Lang, Annie Leibovitz, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Stephen Sprouse, Philippe Starck, Juergen Teller and Vivienne Westwood.

WOAH. Deep breath here. Sniff these pages and you might just get inspired. There’s so much genius in one volume.

One question. The book is available in English, French and Italian — Where are the Japanese and Chinese editions, seeing as Japan and China are two of the brand’s biggest and strongest markets?

Source: Hypebeast

C threw a hissy fit in the store the other day. Mainly because the ipod had died in untimely fashion - 2 weeks after the warranty had expired. He could have saved his curses for the next swelthering day if he had known “technological Murphy’s Law” wasn’t a personal gizmo attack but a matter of manipulative business savvy. Cliff Kuang’s Burning Question column in the May issue of Wired explains all this easily. “Some gadgets fail just outside of warranty because that’s exactly how they are designed. Products that last forever do not a profitable multinational conglomerate make..” It all boils down to a far flung business model conpiracy, what we’ve all known intuitively.. that gizmos die so you would have to buy more. “But manufacturers also don’t want to get a bad rap for shilling crap, so they engineer their hardware to last just long enough for consumers to feel like they got their money’s worth. They guarantee the gear for that period of time - and not a second longer.” Apparently “Warranty Calculation” is a serious science and there are complex formulas calculated and set in place to ensure C’s ipod never stood a chance beyond its seemingly pre-mature death.

Own a Marty McFly ‘Back to the Future II’ cap

And while we’re on the subject of cool geek info, Amazon’s releasing replicas of Marty McFly’s iridecent cap! Nothing cooler for Butter Factory get-ups than an accessory of the Future (2015, ok!) FROM 1989 in full ultra-reflectvie rainbow splendour and ‘futuristic fastening’ velcro closures.

Doc: No! It can’t be; I just sent you back to the future!

Marty McFly: No, I know. You DID send me back to the future. But I’m back - I’m back FROM the future.

Doc: Great Scott!

Awesome. Better than Mambo on Wednesday nites at Zouk.