Michael Tonello's Blog, page 15

A Look Back at Jane Birkin

Photo: Glenn A. Baker/Redferns By the time Jane Birkin had a Hermès bag named after her in 1984, the British actress had already become a household name. She broke out with a role in the 1969 film Slogan, where she met — and sang a rousing duet with — Serge Gainsbourg. The two became a couple, and a magnet for paparazzi. Birkin was often photographed dangling off boats in off-the-shoulder white blouses, wide-leg trousers, and delicate gold chains. She became known for her effortless (and refreshingly minimal) style — and though she hailed from England, she left a lasting imprint on French style.  (Her daughters, Lou Doillon and Charlotte Gainsbourg, are, true to spirit, unfailingly on point.) From relaxed denim and crop tops to tennis shoes and perfect bangs, take a look back at some of Birkin's best looks in our slideshow.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/11/praise-jane-birkin-and-her-perfect-breezy-style.html 

The Making of an Hermes Kelly Bag

The Rarest < LV Birkin > In the World! Meet the Hermes Louis Vuitton Birkin...

This "LV Birkin" is made from authentic Louis Vuitton monogram canvas and Louis Vuitton Vachetta leather, combined with original Hermes Birkin hardware... the ENTIRE bag is hand saddle-stitched using beeswax coated linen thread (just like the craftsmen at Hermes do).  This one-of-a-kind "LV Birkin" is probably the most rare and most valuable handbag in the world. Now that's art!

Christie’s to Launch Handbags Auction in Hong Kong

Luxury handbags are set to go under the hammer as its own category for the first time at Christie's. The centuries-old auction house will hold its inaugural Handbags and Accessories auction on November 24. It has picked Hong Kong as its stage and is bidding off hundreds of handbags with a combined estimated worth of HK$7 million (US$903,000). After successfully selling individual handbags in mixed category sales that also auctioned off fashion items and jewellery, in 2011 Christie's launched Handbags & Accessories as its own category and began bidding off bags online, according to the company's senior vice president and international director of Asia, Europe, Middle East, Russia and India for Handbags and Accessories Matthew Rubinger.

The success of the online-only sales gave the company confidence to grow the category and prepare for its first live auction. "And when we look at the luxury market, some of the biggest buyers of luxury of the last 20 years are here. Many of the biggest brands in the world are investing here, so it just makes sense for us to follow suit with the luxury brands, with the other complementary categories at Christie's, fine jewellery, fine timepieces, wine, to follow suit and do our first inaugural sale here in Hong Kong," Rubinger said.

The inaugural auction will be mostly bidding off rare Hermes handbags, with the most expensive being a dark brown crocodile Hermes Birkin that is expected to fetch US$33,000-$45,000. Rubinger highlighted a smaller Hermes bag, of a blue sapphire color that has been retired since the early 1990s, and explained what good quality skin meant on a crocodile handbag. "And what you look for when you're looking at skin, is you want small scales and you want for them to be symmetrical. So what you see on a bag like this, it's almost perfectly symmetrical back and forth, and the scales are very small. Because of that, that shows that this particular skin is one of the finest skins you can possibly use," Rubinger said. He added he expects the auction market for handbag to expand rapidly in the near future. "And over the last few years, it has really been developing into a real market. I would say, as of right now, it is a real market. It's in its infancy, it is brand new, but it is sufficiently a real market. And we are going to see, over the next five years, over the next ten years, we are going to see exactly what time pieces are, 25 years ago," Rubinger said.

Christie's hired Rubinger and two other staff from Texas-based Heritage Auctioneers & Galleries earlier this year. This resulted in Heritage filing a lawsuit against the auction house giant in June, accusing Christie's of "acts of unfair competition and unethical business practices", and seeking at least US$40 million. Rubinger and Christie's refused to comment on the lawsuit. Apart from handbags, Christie's will also auction off 300 lots of jewellery pieces, with estimated combined value of US$80 million. In the end of November. The highlights included a vivid blue internally flawless diamond ring of 3.39 carats that is expecting to fetch US$4.5-$6.5 million.

Designer Bikes the New Must-Have Accessory for Urban Elites

Bikes with alligator skin saddles, frames adorned with 24 carat gold leaf, or just two wheels designed to your very own personal specifications.From Paris to Tokyo via Milan, designer and customized bikes costing thousands of dollars are the latest must-have luxury item coveted by urban elites in search of “pedal chic”.A world away from the bland utilitarianism of self-service bikes, these top-end cycles are becoming as much a status symbol as the car ever was.And whether they be trendy young professionals or big names in the business world, designers are competing to woo  potential customers with their sleek, luxury models.Luxury firm Hermes, which specializes in leather goods, is one of the market’s leading players. Its Flaneur model comes with a price tag of €9,000. For that, deep-pocketed cyclists get a designer name, eight gears, a carbon monobloc frame and water-resistant taurillon leather saddle and handlebar grips.“This bike is very successful both with regular Hermes customers... but also with cycling enthusiasts, who find something new in it,” Francois Dore, director general of Hermes Horizons, told AFP. “We wanted to set out our vision of cycling as the favorite means of transport for the modern citizen,” Dore said.On the other side of the Alps, bespoke bike company 43 Milano turned to Pininfarina — the Italian car design and coach-building firm — for its “Fuoriserie” model.The chrome steel bike, priced at €8,400, is equipped with a discreet electric motor on the back wheel and inspired by one of the firm’s 1930s cars designs.“The braided leather of the saddle and the handlebar is inspired by the interior of the car,” Paolo Pininfarina, president of the business founded by his grandfather, said.With just a limited edition of 30, it is aimed at “bosses who live in city centers”, he said.The bike is said to have been invented in 1817 by the German Karl von Drais and by the middle of the 20th century it had become a cheap and easy means of transport for the masses all over the world.Today it is also a luxury accessory with car-makers Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini and Ferrari all coming out with their own top-of-the-range bikes.“With bikes, people rediscover the independence that they had with the car, but without any of the inconvenience of traffic.“They can exercise, they can breathe and rediscover their freedom,” Bruno Urvoy, a marketing expert who has also opened his own bike shop in Paris, “En Selle Marcel” (On Saddle Marcel”).Specializing in luxury bikes, the shop sells models made by Italian, British and German manufacturersAnd although they may be expensive compared with other bikes, not all designer models require a second mortgage.For 1,450 euros, you could acquire a Siegfried from Schindelhauer which has a sleek aluminum look. Or, for around double that you could purchase a Ludwig 18 that can be customized according to your individual preference.These bikes have little in common with their more functional forerunners, which were produced in their hundreds of millions.But for Urvoy “the real luxury is customization”. Customers can take him their favorite all-time bike — perhaps one they had as a teenager or the one their grandfather had — and ask him to replace certain parts, accessorize it or paint it.“Before, the car it was very much a sign of social status. Now the bike is taking on this role,” Urvoy said.“It allows people to say to others ‘that’s my lifestyle and my image’. For some, it’s as important as the type of shoes they wear.”                      In Tokyo, too, there is plenty on offer for the well-heeled bike enthusiast.Sueshiro Sano, a ninth generation yacht maker, offers bikes in Honduras mahogany, which he says are more than a match for ones made out of the latest high-tech materials.“Recently, the bikes that I have made have had good results in competitions,” he said.He has made around 20 bikes that have “seduced” customers from Japan as well as the Netherlands, Taiwan and China.At €14,500 each, he said, they offer style and exclusivity — albeit at a price.

Jeff Koons Birkin Bag Sculpture Sells for $4 Million

An almost 6-foot-tall Jeff Koons white plaster sculpture of a woman holding three Hermes Birkin bags sold for $4 million last night at a charity auction in New York, 60 percent more than similar works fetched in the past. 
 

Chanel Files Suit Against "What About Yves"

Jeanine Heller's company What About Yves (made famous for its 'Ain't Laurent without Yves' products) has been served legal papers citing trademark infringement because it is: "Displaying, offering for sale, and selling on her website, and selling to third-party retailers, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt bearing Chanel's CC monogram mark with an image of an animated ghost commonly associated with the motion picture Ghostbusters."
Will Hermès soon follow?

Hermès Launches New Fragrance: Cuir d'Ange

Part of the Hermessence collection, developed by in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, Cuir d'Ange is said to be reminiscent of the smell of Hermès leather. The fragrance is unisex and includes notes of heliotrope, hawthorn, violet, narcissus, leather, and musk.

  

Hermès < Orange Box Observations > Video Series

Sofia Coppola 'Tortured' Over Birkin Price

Sofia Coppola was "tortured for years" over the price of her Hermès Birkin bag.The American actress-and-director comes from a movie making dynasty; her father is famed director Francis Ford, her cousin is Nicolas Cage and her niece emerging film maker Gia.Thanks to her privileged upbringing Sofia was bought a designer bag by her Oscar-winning father, even though he couldn't believe how expensive it was."When I was in my early 20s, my dad was in Paris, and he said, 'Do you want anything?' It was my birthday, and I said I would love a Birkin bag from Hermès. I was way too young to have one, but I wanted one. He went to the store and took out cash, and he got the zeros wrong, and they said, 'Oh, no, no, it’s not that - it’s one more zero,'" Sofia told crowds at Sunday night's Project Perpetual charity auction."So I was tortured for years, because he always told me, 'I can’t believe the price of a handbag that you asked me for.' And so he got me this bag and I carried it when I was too young to have one, and then I kept it in my closet because it felt like too much to have. It’s been in my closet, and when Svetlana [Uspenskaya, Project Perpetual founder] asked me for a bag I was happy that it would become an art piece and help this cause."Other stars to donate bags for the auction were Marc Jacobs and Princess Caroline of Hanover.Svetlana recruited artist Jeff Koons to reimagine the donated bags so they could be auctioned off to raise funds for Project Perpetual, which helps children who are identified as high-risk by the United Nations Foundation."She had this idea about Birkin bags, that a lot of people have these bags and it’s such a symbol of luxury, ‘Could we redirect that wealth towards charity?’ I wanted to make a symbol of charity," Jeff explained to WWD.