Over the past few years, technology has made many steps forward toward the discover of “touch”, but it is right also to find out how the advertising industry is going to give back centrality to the touch. It is obvious that the main classic media (TV, radio and press) can only do little to communicate the experience of touch, but it is interesting to see the creative efforts in order to convey a tactile sensation.

A recent example comes from Louis Vuitton that over the Christmas time made a refined multi-subject campaign wisely focused on the concept of craftsmanship. They are shots by Desirée Dolron, where the focus is not on the models’ body aesthetics anymore but on the act of creating.
They are pictures where the dominant black and a light on the face and on the hands allow to match the beauty of the models with creativity. The moves of the craftsman, if on the one hand amplify the qualitative and exclusive aspects, on the other hand can be interpreted as an invitation to the reader to search with his own hand the touch hidden behind the products of the best maisons. The visual shift from the cliché of the dressed models to the models “who do” is an evolution of the communicative style that we can’t rule out will inspire other brands too.

The hands of the craftsman are hidden in the Rolex campaign too for the woman model Oyster Perpetual Datejust Black, where the visual is dominated in first place by the gemmolog’s pliers who selects the best diamonds to set. The headline “every watch is a canvas to paint” suggests the theme of arts and crafts that come back to suggest that it is the uniqueness of the forger the distinctive element of high quality products. Tactile elements are present also in the last Trinity by Cartier campaign, to underline the uniqueness of who wear the jewel, through digital prints represented by a golden and diamond powder. The hands confer exclusivity and charm to it.

Often even the emphasize on details is an unvoiced invitation to touch. Many campaigns have a photographic approach so to underline the material characteristics of the products, or of some of their parts. The aim is to emphasize those textures that more than others invite to touch. Think of the Tudor Grantour Chrono caompaign, where the lights linger not only on the watch dial but also on the details of the watch band, the hot part, and the mechanical/technological area of the case. To sum up, luxury, craftsmanship and touch are more and more intertwined words also for the communication industry. A thematic area that does not have anything to share with the concept of ostentation, but far from real luxury.

Marco De Angeli, ABC

Italian version

“During the visit to the Maybach Manufaktur of Sindelfingen, I had the inspiration to create tho iconographic pictures conveying the same seducing and dynamic attraction of the Maybach itself”, said LaChapelle.

It was love at first sight since the last spring and it was expressed through a series of pictures whose subjects are the limited edition of the Zeppelin and its ancestor from the 1930s, the Zeppelin DS8, immortalized in the surreal and sensual atmosphere characteristic of the American photographer.

The shots, “Exposure of luxury” and “Berlin stories”, have been presented on the occasion of Art Basel Miami Beach in early December 2009.

Italian version

“Only two months before the second Abu Dhabi Yacht Show, the news that this elite event will move to the wonderful Yas Marina, on Yas Island, will allow us to show to the world all the top infrastructures for spare time that are in evolution in the territory of our emirate.
Yas Island is a perfect location for the event because it features many harbours” said his Excellence Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, President of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, main sponsor of Abu Dhabu Yacht Show, and President of ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center).

Moving to Yas Marina, featuring many docking and mooring structures and a significant number of slots, was necessary due to the need of a huge quay capable to host a bigger edition of the boat show. The latter focuses especially on superyachts and megayachts. The success of the first edition, whose sales reached the value of over 100 million dollars, lets us forecast opportunities for first class business.

The new location is more than adequately equipped to handle the growing number of exhibitors and the number of yachts that will enter the show 2010. The program of the exhibition has been improved and strengthened and they are trying to create the ideal atmosphere to encourage meetings, business and the global interaction among the guests, exhibitors, visitors and potential buyers.

Taking place under the aegis of His Excellence Sheikn Mohammed Bin Zayed Bin Al Nayhan, hereditary prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy captain in chief of the Armed Force of the United Arab Emirates, the show is seen as a fundamental element to crystallize the growing reputation of Abu Dhabi as a nautical destination at an international level.

Among the exhibitors Soraya Yachts, Rodriguez, Platinum Yachts, Perini Navi, Fincantieri Yacht.

www.abudhabiyachtshow.com

Italian version

From March 25 to 28, at the Palazzo della Permanente on Via Turati, Milan, ESXENCE – The Scent of Excellence, comes back. An event dedicated to artistic perfumery.

The sector represents a creative activity that gathers history, communication, desire to convey emotions, memoirs, moments, situations. In Italy, is has reached quite a relevant dimension, both in terms of income and in terms of committed distributors and passionate retailers. It has appealed many international operators thanks to a model that respects both quality parameters and distributive-commercial needs.

Esxence – The Scent of Excellence stands as a candidate, for the second consecutive year, to be the international meeting dedicated to each and every brand operating in favour of the spectacular art of olfactory language that rises more and more to fundamental complement of style choices of whoever loves to stand out.

Esxence is conceived to be an international crossroad of opinions, experiences, suggestions, challenges and knowledge: it hosts original brands, as well as Italian and foreign brand distributors, welcoming, press apart, buyers, and Italian and foreign retailers.
Exposition areas and the internal decorations were studied so to value the peculiarities and the identities of each single brand, through a dressing that is rational, elegant and homogenous, so to highlight the preciousness of each single “product-actor”.

The event, for this second edition too, will offer a number of events and educational-informational activities, which will be spread throughout the four-day show, together with meetings and debates where operators of the sector will analyse the evolution of this niche market. Numerous will be the opportunities for whichever brand wishing to better promote its profile and latest news.

During the open days (upon invitation) to the public, experiential moments for discovering the fascinating Art of Perfume will take place.

March 25-28, 2010
Museo della Permanente
Via F.Turati, 34 – Milano
www.esxence.com/it/

Italian version

Born in the Seventies among the first international art fairs of modern and contemporary art in the world, the event, stage-managed by Silvia Evangelisti, proposes a wide range of works of art from the beginning of the Twentieth century until the most recent trends; 15000 s-m of exhibition, 200 Italian and international galleries, are only a few of the numbers of this new edition.

A unique occasion to discover popular masters like Carlo Carrà, Felice Casorati, Giorgio de Chirico, Gino Severini, together with the conceptual art of Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi and Vincenzo Agnetti, or the movements of informal art of Giuseppe Capogrossi, Alberto Burri and Emilio Vedova; the Spatialism of Lucio Fontana and the Poor art of Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Gilberto Zorio – to whom the Museum of Modern Art of Bologna dedicates an important exhibition until 17th February 2010 – and the representative of the Italian Transvanguard.

Many of the works of art at the fair also offer a wider view on the international stage, with works by Antony Gormley, Wym Delvore, Per Barclay, Tony Ousler, Hans Peter Feldmann, Alfredo Jaar together with the most popular representatives of the English artistic movement like David Ockney, Gilbert&George and Tony Cragg, or the masters of photography like Thomas Russ, Anton Corbijn or Luigi Ghirri. There will also be a collection of works of artists coming from different geographical areas and investigating the state of being contemporary through the use of the most diverse artistic tools like those of the American performer Nick Cave, the installations of the Russian Peter Belvi or the material compositions of the Chinese Zhang Huan.

To the new trends, presented by the emerging Italian and international artists, is dedicated the section Young Galleries, where research galleries with under five years of experience exhibit their works with prices ranging from 500 to 10,000 euros, for collectors just getting close to art or for those who want to discover new talents.

Of course there will also be book launches, meetings and competitions.

For the second consecutive year the International Art Fair Art First dedicates the daily schedule to the theme of collecting: collectors and museum directors will debate on the interaction between private collections and museums and how they enter the Italian and international artistic stage. The goal is to stimulate a dialogue, by inviting also representatives and collectors of the Asia-pacific area due to the synergy with ShContemporary, the first contemporary art fair dedicated to the Asia-Pacific Area organized in Shanghai by the Group BolognaFiere.

The entire city of Bologna will be involved with exhibitions in museums, courts, buildings and streets of the old town. Bologna Art First, an exclusive town itinerary, is at its fifth edition and for the first time it is a project made in collaboration with Julia Draganovic. The project is conceived of as a single big collective town exhibition through a path among images of art and history and it presents from 29th January through the end of February 2010 a series of installations by artists working for the galleries taking part in the exhibition, in order to create a dialogue between contemporary art and unusual locations of the old town and surroundings.

For the third year Arte Fiera OFF will be the frame of several events like exhibitions, concerts, festivals that will take place in Bologna and Emilia Romagna during the Fair.

Saturday 30th January Art White Night turns the old town of Bologna in a big window of contemporary art with the extraordinary opening of museums, galleries, buildings, concerts and exhibitions.

www.artefiera.bolognafiere.it

Italian version

Viaggi in Avventura will take tourists to discover the region of Peruvian central plateaus, via car tracks and on foot.

The beauty of valleys, plateaus, lagoons and mountains is the scenario against which is set an authentic country, far from the masses of tourists and proud of its own tradition. Besides visiting the most important Inca archaeological sites, they will also get in touch with complex cultural realities.

One of the stops: the remote lake region Castrovirreyna, one of the least anthropized areas of Peru. In Ayacucho there is the first contact with the Huari pre-inca culture that blossomed in this area between 450 and 900 a.C. becoming the leader of the widest religious, political and military expansion prior to the foundation of the Inca empire. It will follow the five-day trip leading to the Machu Picchu. Crossing the Chinchero plateau and the Maras’ Salinas – where one side of the mountain was entirely adorned with over 6000 pools for water evaporation – they will arrive in Cusco. The visit to the Tambo Machay and Quenco temples, as well as the ancient stop over, Puca Pucara, and the magnificent fort of Sacshuayaman, will allow for a last dive into the history of this country.

Accommodation: the Mountain Lodges of Peru promote sustainable development by involving local communities in the active management of the lodges and by supporting Yanapama Peru, the NGO that specifically deals with bettering the quality of education for 150 families and with encouraging the local population to contribute to the touristy development of their land.

www.viaggiinavventura.it

Italian version

Cartier, Boucheron, Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpels confirmed their presence.

Will follow AltaromaAltamoda from 31st January to 2ns February 2010.

Italian version

The participants will have the chance to exhibit their car or their collection to be sold.

The event is an occasion for fans and connoisseurs to meet and exchange new and useful information, in addition to a spectacular exhibition of amazing motorcycles and old cars.

The day will not be exclusively consecrated to the auction, but there will take place several initiatives connected to motors, with the occasion to tackles topics of current events, entertainment, culture and sport.

http://www.luzzago.com/

Italian version

Eighty firms will take part in the Show Room consecrated to the home, with a single goal: to support the made in Italy carrying on the tradition of craftsmanship and the typical manufacture bond to the history of our country.

During this 88th edition there will be several moments thought of in order to proclaim, by enjoying food, the art of cooking and the quality of kitchen utensils, tools and accessorizes, necessary “instruments” through which the ingredients – along with the chef’s skills – turn into a memorable experience of the body and of the senses.

Alongside Regional Treats, a project dedicated to the regional cooking thought of to marvel the palate through the charm of a countryside story or of an old recipe, there will be interesting events organized by Macef in collaboration with Gambero Rosso.

The initiative will take the name of Cooking Show and will involve twenty participants per class.
Chef Luca Ogliotti, with an espert oenologist of Gambero Rosso, will direct these spectacular exhibitions. Each turn will last approximately two hours and the themes covered will be: Finger food, Veggie menu, Main courses of the Roman cuisine, Milk puddings and custards, If one evening at a sudden…, Today for tomorrow.

The program is the following:
Friday 15th at 11:00: Veggie Menu
Friday 15th at 15:00: Today for tomorrow
Saturday 16th at 11:00: Finger food
Saturday 16th at 15:00: If one evening at a sudden
Sunday 17th at 11:00: main courses of the Roman cuisine
Sunday 17th at 15:00: Milk puddings and custards

http://www.macef.it/
http://www.gamberorosso.it/

Italian version

It represents one section of the auction house website that will allow the fans of vintage fashion to upload the images of the accessorizes so to be evaluated by Gucci’s experts and to sell the items through Christie’s.

Italian version

Everything is arranged by the Hotel de la Cité of Orient-Express that proposes the tasty package Short Break in the Cité with a € 75,00 credit to spend on gastronomic goods.

www.orient-express.com

Italian version

So, here is the complete calendar of the presentations:

Saturday 16th January 2010
WOOLRICH 10-19 Via Lombradini, 20
CESARE PACIOTTI 14-18 Via Sant’Andrea, 8
HAUTE 14-18 Via Sant’Andrea, 12
TRUSSARDI 1911 14-20 Piazza Scala, 5
FABIO INGHIRAMI 14.30-18 Corso Di Porta Romana, 3

Sunday 17th January 2010
ROY ROGER’S PRESIDENT’S 11-19 Via Sannio, 20
MALO 16-20 Via Archimede, 26

Monday 18th January 2010
AQUASCUTUM 9-14 Viale Luigi Majno, 17
BALLANTYNE 9-18 Corso Italia, 49
VALEXTRA 9-18 Via Manzoni, 3 – 1st floor
FRATELLI ROSSETTI 10-16 Piazza San Carlo, 2
BALLY 10-18 Via Bigli, 11/A
CAR SHOE 10-19 Via Spiga, 1
CHURCH’S 10-19 Via Borgonuovo, 16
LARDINI 11-18 Via Spiga, 48
MASSIMO SFORZA 11-20 Via Sant’Andrea, 3 – 3rd floor
FURLA MEN 11-19 Via Sant’Andrea, 18
ALBERTO GUARDIANI 12-18 Corso Venezia, 29
WOOLRICH WOOLEN MILLS 12-19 Corso Buenos Aires, 2
MOSCHINO MEN 12-17 Via San Gregorio, 28
CARUSO (FOR PRESS ONLY) 13-19 Via Rezia, 2°
GALLIANO 17-21 Via Sant’Andrea, 6
ROBERTO BIAGINI 17-21 Via Induno, 1
BRIONI 18-21 Via Gesù, 4

Tuesday 19th January 2010
BLACK FLEECE BY BROOKS BROTHERS 14-17 Corso Como, 10
MESSORI 14-18 Via Decembrio, 28

Italian version