It was inaugurated in Rome on 2nd December 2009 the White Gallery, the very first big lifestyle store of the capital, dedicated to fashion, food, design, art and fragrances. An enchanting venue where luxury and excellence rule, starting from the very structure of the store.

Andromeda presents Fluxus, a wavering Murano glass sculpture created to adorn White Gallery. The sculpture originated from the collaboration between artist Michela Vianello, whose inspiration gave concrete shape to the overall concept of the sculpture, and designer Karim Rashid, who designed the Knit – individual hand-made glass element.

“Knit – stated Karim Rashid – for Andromeda is a system I designed of hand-made Murano glass loops that can be woven together from a few to thousands to create endless configurations of delicate ornate glass chandeliers and lighting. Our living spaces and objects should ideally be organic, transformable, flexible and allow objects and furniture to breathe,  to shape the personality of the space. And knit is the fabric of light itself, to forever keep space dynamic, luxurious, and inspiring.”

Fluxus covers a surface area of 60 sq metres, using 42,000 handmade glass Knit elements in 5 colors. The lighting is provided by 5000 punctiform micro lights distributed on the internal surface of the wave.

The White Gallery was conceived to be a contemporary art gallery, stretching over a surface of 5000 sq metre where fashion, design, art, books, music, technology and food will interpret the news and cultural contaminations proper of contemporary lifestyles.

Fluxus is “in charge” of expressing the meaning and identity of the place, through the apparent flow of a structure that seems to be a fabric.
“The challenge – stated Michela Vianello, author of the work of art – consisted in imagining myself as an element and being carried away by a rhythm in an optical, and overall dreamy space, where negative and positive, black and white, would make me move around through a grey area as if it were a pause in an endless journey.”

White Gallery
Piazza G.Marconi, 18/19 Rome (EUR)
info@whitegallery.it
www.whitegallery.it

Italian version

A section of the space, with a seven-marble qualities wall on the background, coming from India, iran, China and South America, is dedicated to flowers: clients can admire a rich variety of orchids exclusively distributed by Trussardi 1911. The new concept store is open at night as well: it’s open everyday until 10 pm. Conceived and designed by the creative directore of Trussardi 1911 Milan Vukmirovic, able to interpret with his contemporary sensibility the excellences of the maison of the Greyhound, the new shop re-creates all the ground floor of Piazza della Scala.

The Café Trussardi as well, inaugurated in April 2008 (with the déhors designed by the architect Carlo Ratti and the vertical installation of green created by Patrick Blanc) now unites and shares its spaces with those of the boutique, creating a unique 400 s-m environment whose floor is made of over a thousand wooden staves painted with craftsmanship. On the first floor of the building lies the restaurant Trussardi Alla Scala, decorated with two stars from the Michelin Italia 2009 guide book, which has recently re-opened after a complete restoration.

Each of the group activity is directed by a young international talent: Milan Vukimirovic, creative director of Trussardi 1911, Massimiliano Gioni, artistic director of the Foundation Nicola Trussardi, Andrea Berton, director of the restaurant Trussardi Alla Scala and of the Café Trussardi. All the activities are created and coordinated by Beatrice Trussardi, who is managing director and head of the group. In particular, in fashion department, Trussardi 1911 represented for the group a great revolution but is a synthesis of the values that have always characterized the Trussardi world: craftsmanship, made in Italy production, use of prestigious materials, definition of the cuts, care of the tiniest details but also an eclectic and contemporary taste redefining the idea of luxury.

Milan Vukmirovic represents a way of working very close to today’s rhythms and values: as a  designer, director of a magazine like L’Officiel, buyer for a multibrand like The Webster in Miami and as a photographer has a wide overlook over all the variables of the fashion world. It’s rather the perspective and the outlook rather than Trussardi’s taste that have changed: Trussardi today is much closer to new generations whose values he represents (mobility, eclecticism, speed but also the great care for details and the taste for prestigious craftsmanship) and it is a luxury brand whose quality is easily be recognized.

Besides Trussardi 1911 there are Tru Trussardi and TJ: both expressing a more informal world, the former dedicated to the city and its rhythms, with its soft but elegant style, the latter for the spare time. Variety is one of the elements of the winning formula by Trussardi: each moment of the day and each occasion can be accompanied by a Trussardi experience.

The restaurant Trussardi Alla Scala is acknowledged as one of the greatest experiences of the new Italian Cuisine and, while it has been growing within its own walls cultivating an informal, elegant and cosmopolitan environment, it has also contributed to renovate the centre of Milan, offering a new outpost of absolute quality. The chef Andrea Berton has been able to combine experiments with a certain rigour in his proposals: the restaurant Trussardi Alla Scala is, in fact, a place where the culinary technique is never showed off and where the pure taste gets the better of complexity or of the research per se.
One of the keys to the success of the restaurant Trussardi Alla Scala has obviously been placing again the clients at the centre of the gastronomic experience: The great novelty of the restaurant has been the recent restoration of the room to make it even closer to the new identity of the brand. With a new inspiration, taken from the urban atmospheres of the contemporary world, the clients can now choose whether to spend the evening looking out on the spectacular view of Piazza Alla Scala, comfortably seating on soft armchairs, or in a more dynamic environment, right at the centre of an open kitchen with a monumental golden wall in the background. It is very important for Trussardi to keep the public away from the idea of a classic starry restaurant where one can almost be in trouble because of the gastronomic research.

Eventually the Trussardi Foundation is currently busy organizing a project which is still at an early stage when it’s preferable not to spread news. The Foundation became popular in the city because of quick and sudden events, but also because of more private and introspective projects, like the last exhibition at Palazzo Dugnani showing the films by the English artist Tacita Dean. The Foundation has a gipsy and varied identity that led it to gain over the past years an important role not only among the institutions of contemporary art in the world, but in the collective imaginary of the city.

Alessandra Iannello

Italian version

How many times we happened to come across, on the screen of our computers or flipping through the pages of magazines, the watches of our dreams? Those little masterpieces of micromechanics aimed at few and wealthy collectors? Tough, if not impossible, is to study them live. But Pisa Orologeria in Milan “offered” the fans of high watch-making  this chance, hosting a two-day event on 17 and 18 September 2009. The exhibition presented pieces that were later auctioned at the extraordinary Only Watch auction on 24 September. The event usually takes place every two years during the Monaco Yacht Show, under the sponsorship of Prince Albert II, and is organized by the Patrizzi & Co.

On show there are all the 35 models that the most important watch-making brands created just for the special auction, whose proceeds will be entirely devolved to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research.

From the builders’ point of view, the Only Watch auction has to rightly be considered a significant showcase. It is a way to explicitly show their skills in realizing small and big watch-making masterpieces, and their generosity towards causes that are worth of attention.

From the fans’ point of view, on the other hand, this is an ideal occasion to spend money with the best of intentions, purchasing proper unique pieces whose value is inevitably meant to increase with time.

Among the exhibited models, it is worth pointing out the very first exemplar of the Monaco V4 by Tag Heuer. This watch, presented at Basel 2004, was the object of infinite discussions and speculations, so much so to transform the announcement of its upcoming entry in the market, in a much awaited event. The meeting, for all lovers, is at Pisa Orologeria, Milan, Via Verri/Via Montenapoleone 9, from 10 am to 1 pm and from 2.30 pm to 6 pm. Free entrance: although it will be difficult to get rid of the desire to wear a new super-watch…

Paolo Gobbi

Italian version

Who loves to surround oneself with accessories and exclusive items can become a member of the RDM Luxury Collectors & Connoisseurs, the international Club based in Milan, Paris and London aimed for luxury items’ and miniature art’s collectors.

The Club offers, for instance, the buying and selling of accessories, watches, pens – old and new – signed by brands such as Montblanc and dunhill.

Events are key to the club. The upcoming one in Milan is “Suite” that will take place in January 2010.

Italian version

On 10th July 2009 the new showroom of Livio de Simone was inaugurated in Milan in Via Savona 55.
The historic Neapolitan brand returns to Milan occupying an area of over 200 metres where one can revive the history of the “stylist-painter” that during the Sixties and Seventies launched a new way of dressing up: easy-going and eccentric, in the sign of all possible colors.

From 10th July to 30th October at the showroom the new Spring-Summer 2010 collection, the new prints and some unseen products will be presented. The area, projected by architect Fabrizio Lepore is at the same time a journey into the past (on show there are in fact historic prints of the brand, vintage photos with Audrey Hepburn and Jacky Onassis, Vogue’s and Harper’s Bazaar’s covers) and a bridge to the future of the brand, which made room for new important investments though keeping a proud firm link with its own identity.

Italian version

Lovers and collectors of precious wines, from 1th July 2009, will have at their disposal an online platform to purchase or sell the most exclusive bottles. At Vinfolio Marketplace it’ll be possible to access the wine market in an easy way from home.

To ideate this platform was Aaron DeMello, convinced that thanks to this tool, sellers and buyers, and fans too, will share a place to easily meet and complete their transactions.

Italian version

The collection is certified Cosmetic BIO by the strictest and most rigorous companies of the sectors: ECOCERT and Cosmèbio.

The biological plum and acerola oils are the highly active ingredients used as anti-aging and energizing basis contained in every product; besides these fundamental substances, each formula contains natural principles reinforcing the specific action of the treatment.

The BIO products by Marionnaud contain a high concentration (98%-99%) of vegetal extracts and essential natural oils, carefully selected for their cosmetic properties, only the 1% or 2% (at most) of synthetic substances (due to a highly regulated production) and at least 10%-15% of fair trade or organic ingredients.

There is no trace of preservatives, petroleum derivates, mineral oils, animal fat, synthetic fragrances, synthetic colourings, GMO, sulphates, nickel, pesticides, fertilizers; they respect nature because they derive from eco friendly and non polluting production processes; they are not tested on animals; they are wrapped into biodegradable and recyclable packages.

Italian version

Four big shop windows, 218 s-m  scattered on two levels connected through a glass and light sandstone stairs, the first store of the griffe in Padova by Peter Marino reminds the same sense of luxury represented by the creations of the griffe.

The aniégré exhibitors are emphasized by elements of mirror-inox and by the parquet flooring and light sandstone, slightly contrasting with the bags, the shoes, the travel goods, the textiles and the sun glasses exhibited, featuring warm and precious nuances.

With good reasons are mentioned among these creations also the two footwear models specifically created for the opening and fully corresponding to the new fashion trends for Him and Her.

Louis Vuitton Padova for Her is an open-tip décolleté with plateau and wooden heel. A retro model characterized by a precious brown python leather patchwork and gold glow on the metal details, on the buckle, rivets and leather finish.

Louis Vuitton Padova for Him is an elegant moccasin shoe with round and taper off tip, in brushed off lucid brown veal refined in a lighter leather and with a small gold steal buckle on which there is the, on the side, the signature by Louis Vuitton.

www.louisvuitton.com

Italian version

Uno A Erre opens a new store in Japan so to mark the success of the brand in the country.

It is a direct management Shop in Shop located in the New Melsa building, in the Ginza area of Tokyo, since always favourite shopping destination of luxury and design lovers.

The store will be inaugurated on 18th June and will host the 18 carats gold collection, the 375% gold collection, the collection of wedding rings and jewels designed purposely for the yes day, and the fashion 1AR collection by UNOAERRE.

Italian version

Sport is part of the DNA of this collection, carrying the name of the popular Swedish tennis player. The items fit as a second skin thanks to the use of natural fresh and resistant textiles. As Borg, champion become an icon of a pop and extravagant life style, they have an unconventional soul: they bring color and joy in a traditionally monochromatic market, suggesting a new model of seduction young, fresh and always in line with the new tendencies in terms of fashion and clothing.

The collection is dedicated to whom doesn’t like to go unnoticed and is conscious of his/her charm without, at the same token, taking themselves too seriously.

At the present time the products of the collection Bjorn Borg can be purchased in about twenty multi-brand stores in Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, but their diffusion is destined to increase in the summer arriving to Milan and other cities of Lombardy.

Bjorn Borg underwear is a brand distributed exclusively by Regina Regis Ltd of Quinto di Treviso.

Italian version

Since now on the customers of the 9 European Outlet signed of Value Retail will have at disposal a tourist guide thought especially to satisfy all their needs. London, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Brussels, Frankfurt and Monaco will no more have secrets and it will be much easier to organize outdoor excursions.

It can be consulted also at the website: www.chicoutletshopping.com this guide, besides providing a map of the boutiques of the most prestigious brands of the world for fashion and household goods, will suggest travel itineraries, where to sleep or to discover the tastes of the place you are visiting, obviously in the name of excellence.

“What we want to achieve is that our clients live an unforgettable experience inside our outlets – said Frank Blanchette, Group Retail & Marketing Director of Value Retail and he continued -: this guide book allows us to come into contact with them even before they come in, creating a special relationship and making them feel safe”.

Italian version

Here is the dog perfume by the American Pepper & Tanky, that creates high quality dog-friendly fragrances.

The items are produced in France with natural oils and little alcohol. There is Puppy Love, fresh and with flower scents of bergamot, amber and jasmine, the soft essence of Vanilla Woof and the fruity one of Peaches n’ Cream, to end with the elegance of Big Dawg, with bergamot, nerols, lavender and musk.

The perfumes Pepper & Tanky are available in the most exclusive boutiques of the United States, in pet-friendly hotels, in Spa dedicated to animals and on the website http://pepperandtanky.com.

In Italy you can find them in Milan, at the Bau Per Miao in Via Solferino.

Italian version