Thursday, July 24, 2008

Haurex Watches

Haurex Watches: "Haurex Watches are amogst the Top 10 most popular Italian fashion accessories today.

Haurex Challenger Gold Plated WatchManufactured by the leading company in the Italian luxury watches industry, Haurex watches can be found on the shelves of all important luxury stores all over the world.

What made these watches so successful is the fact that Haurex realized early on that watches are no longer simple ‘time indicators’ and that they evolved into interactive gadgets that can do a lot more, without going too far away from their main function.

The watch has become a “status symbol”, just like many other accessories – shoes, bags, belts, necklaces or jewels. It’s become a mean to project your identity and, why not, increase your confidence everyday situations."

Franco Moschino Bio

Franco Moschino: "Franco Moschino is one of the most provocative and un-orthodox Italian fashion designers we’ve ever seen. His unusual view for fashion brought him loads of criticism from established fashion designers at the time, being called by the media as 'The Court Jester' or the 'Bad Boy' of fashion."

Born in Abbiategrasso, a small town in Lombardy, 14 miles from Milan, he frequented Accademia delle Belle Arti in order to become a painter. Doing various fashion sketches in order to fund his studies, he soon caught the eye of Giorgio Armani, who gave him a job in 1971 as a sketch artist for his new collections. He went on to draw his whole publicity campaigns.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Versace To Redesign The Madison avenue Clock Tower

Italian fashion house Versace on Tuesday revealed it is set to redesign the interior of one of New York's landmark buildings, the Madison Avenue Clock Tower.

The restyling of the tower's interior will include the creation of over 50 luxury residences, communal areas and a private health spa, while the first two floors will house an exclusive club designed personally by Donatella Versace.

The Clock Tower, also known as the Metropolitan Life Tower, was built in 1909 by architect Napoleon Le Brun, who took his inspiration from the famous bell tower, or 'campanile', in Venice's St Mark's Square.

It was the world's highest building until 1913, when it was outshot by the 57-floor Woolworth Building.

''The Clock Tower project is further confirmation of Versace's leadership in the luxury interior design market and represents Made in Italy excellence,'' said Versace CEO Giancarlo Di Risio.

The New York project will be carried out in partnership with Israeli luxury real estate experts the Afi Group.

Versace has increasingly made forays beyond the world of fashion in recent years.

Earlier this year it kitted out two private helicopters with interior fittings and has also worked on resorts, luxury jets and automobiles.

In May Versace announced it was building a 51-floor skyscraper in Panama City which will house 100 apartments, slated for completion in 2010.

Versace closed 2007 with a revenue of 310.6 mln euros ($484.3 mln), up 7.8% year-on-year.

Diesel Buys Majority Stake In Viktor & Rolf's Creation

Diesel, the Italian denim brand, has bought a majority stake in Viktor & Rolf, the Dutch fashion brand run by the eponymous artist and designer duo.

Only The Brave, the parent company owned and run by Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, has acquired a majority holding in the popular brand for an undisclosed amount.

Only The Brave plans to develop Viktor & Rolf, create new licensing agreements, open stores and build a luxury brand "for the future", Mr Rosso said.

"Ever since the beginning of their career, Viktor & Rolf have tickled my curiosity for their unbelievable out-of-the-box creativity. We studied each other for more than two years to get to this point," he said.

The deal shows that despite the credit crisis, merger and acquisition activity is continuing in the high-end fashion arena. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, who founded the company in 1992, are famous for bridging the gap between fashion and art with their eye-catching designs.

They currently have an exhibition at London's Barbican Art Gallery. In 2006 they created a fashion range for H&M, the Swedish-based high street retailer.