The Evolution of Luxury Fashion: From Traditional to Sustainable

Luxury fashion is a constantly evolving industry that has been pushing the boundaries of creativity and exclusivity for decades. From haute couture to streetwear, luxury fashion offers a wide range of styles and aesthetics for every taste. However, as the industry evolves, it is also important to consider the impact of luxury fashion on the environment and society.

10 Reasons Why You Must Sail The Genting Dream! - Part 2

Time for Part 2 of  my two part series which tells you 10 Reasons Why You Must Sail The Genting Dream. I can't wait to share the 5 remaining awesome reasons with you! If you missed Part 1 then read it here - https://goo.gl/fCRghQ

10 Reasons Why You Must Sail The Genting Dream! - Part 1

*Happy Warning - This is a picture heavy post!

Having been lucky enough to have sailed the Genting Dream cruise, this is something I recommend everyone to experience! Such experiences stay with you for life, especially if the reasons are as mind blowing as the ones I am going to talk about in this post. I still can't get over the magnanimity of the vessel and what I felt, when I first saw Genting Dream docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal at Hong Kong - it was like a ship out of my dreams and my excitement knew no bounds! I was going to sail the Hong Kong high seas for 2 days before returning back to Hong Kong, and having heard so much about the Genting Dream, it was a trip I was totally looking forward to. Sailing on a cruise ship was not new to me as I had done it in India about 10 years ago, but this was just something else! From zip lining over the sea, to enjoying some great shows, to dining at some of the finest restaurants on board, the 2 days just whizzed by in a jiffy, yet gave me some of the most beautiful memories to cherish!

5 Amazing Ideas For My Dream Home!

Everyone has their own version of a dream home. Some would love to live in a luxurious apartment, some would want a row house and some would like to have a villa. Mine would be a modern villa by the beach or really close to the sea! Well not just that, my dream home will have my home design fantasies come to life as much as possible. My fantasies are inspired by what I see on my travels, in movies, in books and of course on the internet, especially Pinterest. I have putting together my ideas and documenting them for a while now, so that when I finally have the resources to have my dream home, it is nothing less than perfect!

My Super Amazing Michael Kors Haul!

Nothing gives a fashion lover more happiness than getting good deals, especially if the deals she gets are on one of her favourite luxury brands. I know you agree and by now you must have also guessed that I am talking about some really amazing deals that I got on one of my favourite brands - Michael Kors (thanks to the title ;-)!).

It’s All About The Gucci: Spotting A Fake!

With the number of luxury brands increasing, the presence of fakes has increased. A case in point would be the watch industry which has been one of the main targets of the counterfeits industry and this has caused a lot of problems within the watch industry over the years. Gucci watches are one of the most replicated ones at the moment and you can see loads of replicas in the market these days. So, it is important to be wary while buying a Gucci watch because chances are you might even end up buying a fake one without ever realizing it.

This brings us to the question: how do you spot a fake Gucci watch? Are there any rules or tips one needs to follow so as to remain on the safer side?

Precious moments with Calvin Klein...

Calvin Klein recently launched two of its most beautiful collections ever, Spellbound for Women and Earth for Men in Mumbai as a part of their A/W 2015 collection launch in India. Ri(t)ch Styles was one of the privileged on the select guest list invited by them to preview the to be launched collections and spend time with the brand and their favourite Diana Penty. The venue was the stunning Asilo at Palladium Hotel and we had a beautiful evening spent with the precious collections by CK as moments seemed to just fly by.

Calvin Klein's every collection makes my heart skip a beat and this time was no different. I fell in love with the gorgeous Spellbound collection where time pieces and jewellery were encapsulated in python embossed leather in stunning colours, and stainless steel to captivate your senses. You are bound to have people asking you about this collection if they see it on you. The grey set from the collection fit in so well with my outfit, that I kept it on for most of the evening :)

There were collections on display other than Spellbound too and my next favourite was the Period 3 collection. I particularly fell for the rose gold watch with a mother of pearl dial. It has a classy design with a bracelet look which is unique and gives the wearer a feeling of being different. Looks very pretty on the hand too :)

The rest of the range was quite stunning too with pretty time pieces and jewellery that could take you from casual to work and day to night.

From the men's range, the Earth collection was definitely my favourite and I particularly liked the aspect where the dial colours had been matched to the strap colours. The ruggedness of the collection was what made it to my must have list as once in a while I do love wearing men's watches for the androgynous appeal and for my love for big dials :)

Other than the highlight which was the Earth collection, Calvin Klein made sure that the men have a huge choice this A/W right from watches to accessories to jewellery.  

 

These pieces will soon be available across all Calvin Klein outlets for you to own, so keep your patience for a bit just like I am :)

As we were spending precious time with the brand that evening, we shared all our moments with the hashtag 'ckminute' which is a globally used tag for admirers of the brand and evangelists alike celebrating their moments with Calvin Klein watches. Check out my moments across social media with #ckminute to know more on the lovely evening :)

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The Luxe Café - Global Luxury at your fingertips

Having been a part of the Publishing Industry in India particularly the Luxury domain, I know for a fact that there are hardly any publications in the B2C market covering Global Luxury that focus on high-quality curated content and don't give the eyes an eye sore. After having developed a highly respected magazine for the Indian Luxury market, I know the pains it takes to put together a product that shares first-hand information and a 360 degree view of the elite lifestyle choices in today's world. So one day while browsing for one of my work projects when I came across TheLuxeCafe.com,  I was truly impressed by how well it was fashioned as a virtual salon for the serious purveyors of luxurious living. As an online luxury lifestyle magazine, this virtual café is poised to be a one-stop destination for people globally who appreciate exclusive tastes, travels, technology and much more. The content revolves around Fashion, Interiors, Auto, Real Estate, Travel, Gastronomy, Personas and Ideas.

India is still on the path to 'Luxury Consciousness'. The delay isn't because we do not have the disposable income due to which we are disinterested, but because there isn't proper access to required information. The Luxe Café is trying to bridge this gap by appointing not only experienced writers, artists and design specialists to create a unique offering, but also selected industry experts to directly engage with the readers and provide them first hand authentic information to make informed choices regarding premium brands.

Editorial Director of The Luxe Café, Manisha Mayur Shekhar [ex-journalist and luxury marketing expert] has her focus very clear. As luxury enthusiasts are on the rise not only in cosmopolitan cities but also in upcoming tier II & III cities, she wants to extend the experience to the discerning audience who are becoming highly brand conscious in these cities as well. To put it rightly, India has become the new destination for Luxury. According to a recent report by ASSOCHAM and Yes Bank, India's luxury market is expected to reach $14.72 billion by 2015 from an estimated $8.21 billion last year, with about 30% of the customers coming from smaller cities. The rapid growth of the Indian middle class has ensured that a larger number of consumers are able to afford luxury goods than ever before. Luxury is no more just for the privileged few. Therefore, Manisha has made sure that The Luxe Café is uniquely designed and features a selection of engaging, informative and exciting stories, reviews, experientials and tips from brands directly to consumers, thus making it not just a regular online magazine,but a quick gateway to the world of luxury.

My favourites hands down were the Fashion and Travel sections.

Personalities like HH Maharaja Gaj Singh, Rosita Missoni - founder of the Italian fashion house Missoni, Malav Shroff - boating tycoon, Dinaz Madhukar - President of DLF Emporio, Riccardo Bestetti – creator of bespoke Italian men’s shoes, are some of the famous names from among the selection of many more who will be associated with The Luxe Café. This for me means hanging out with the best and appreciating the finer things in life.

Those looking for a good read on the Luxury Industry, do log on to The Luxe Café and I promise you will be awestruck! Meanwhile I am heading there to read the latest stories :-)

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Ri(t)ch Styles' Victorinox Christmas wish list

Watches are my new obsession these days. While I always had a fetish for watches, over the last few years my craze for them had reduced. Lately I have noticed a revival of the craze, but this time majorly for the luxury watch brands. Victorinox with it's innovative range of watches is a part of this obsession (you saw my detailed review of the I.N.O.X watch recently here). With Christmas just a month away and my someone special’s birthday too round the corner, I have been evaluating the various options that Victorinox has to offer, and have kind of zeroed down on a wish list to choose from.

1. Night Vision

The Night Vision watch line has been a success since it first appeared in 2003. The new watch launched from this range this year embodies the existing successful features of being luminous yet multi-functional, along with being available with two new bracelets options: 'Black Ice' PVD steel or a black leather strap. Last year it had been launched with the rubber strap options in green and black.

The wearer can illuminate the dial for optimal time reading, turn on a continuous beam and even launch an SOS rescue signal, in Morse code, that can be seen clearly a kilometer away. How cool is that! This avant-garde lighting feature uses low-energy consumption LED technology that is perfectly integrated into the sleek design of the dial and bracelet. It has two separate batteries for light and time, and also a battery end-of-life indicator. So no worries about exhausting the battery with any kind of usage or getting stuck with a watch that suddenly stops working when you are rushing for something important. Works perfectly for me!

The electronic module of the Night Vision is an exclusive Victorinox Swiss Army creation that has been developed and manufactured in Switzerland, and no other watch on the market offers anything like it.

2. Chrono Classic
Chrono Classic is a 'three-step' watch. A classic timepiece dedicated to the reading of hours and minutes, it is also a chronograph accurate to the hundredth of a second. The transition from one mode to the other is performed through a simple double click of the crown. This returns the three central hands to 12 o’clock and turns the date window at 6 o'clock into a counter displaying the zero-zero position. Perfect for a Chartered Accountant (that's what P.S. is ;-) - financial stuff all the time!) whose every minute is important when it comes to money matters. Money is time after all!

The most amazing thing about the Chrono Classic is that you can switch back to normal time-reading mode while the chronograph continues running (here is the video). This technical prowess is due to the watch’s Swiss Made FM13D quartz movement, which is manufactured by Soprod, a Bernese Jura company with which Victorinox Swiss Army has worked closely. This collaboration has resulted in an exclusive development: the numerical representation of 1/100th of a second, which is performed by two small rotating discs on the lower part of the dial.

The display form of the Grande Date, a perpetual calendar, is another unique feature of the movement. The guilloche decoration covering both discs recalls the shape and decoration of Swiss Army Officer’s knife. No wonder this is called a classic! I'm confused here between the dark grey dial and bezel with Black Ice PVD coating, and the champagne dial and bezel.

The I.N.O.X. watch I reviewed earlier, is also a part of the wishlist along with the above two. Why don’t you guys help me out in picking one from these? :-) Drop in your sweet comments with the suggestions!!!

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I partnered with the brand to write this article

Victorinox marks 130 years with its 'Made to last' watch - I.N.O.X.

The 130th anniversary of Victorinox definitely deserves a special celebration, and they know it better than no one. So to celebrate it, they launched a very very special watch - I.N.O.X - a timepiece that echoes the unique values of Victorinox’s signature product, the Swiss Army knife: authentic, robust and reliable in all conditions thus making it a lasting product that pledges quality. The watch commemorates linking of two different crafts by a single philosophy: respect for Swiss know-how and its peerless standards of quality. The watch is named I.N.O.X. as a tribute to the history of Victorinox, because ‘Inox' in French means ‘stainless steel’, an early 20th century invention that was responsible for the development and success of the Swiss Army Knife.

Let's look at why the I.N.O.X is a 'Made to last' watch. To start with, the watch has been designed to withstand unusual levels of stress and has passed 130 brutal strength tests with flying colours. Further, the watch is made of solid steel. The watch’s case has been stamped and machined in the metal, creating a protective envelope of unmatchable strength. The dial is a single sealed piece and the indexes are not applied in the usual manner but stamped. The axis and the attachment of the hands are reinforced. The horns are protected against warping and solidified by a crossbar. The crown, too, is protected, as is the crystal by the slightly elevated bezel. Finally, its been reinforced with the original 'bumper' - a removable bumper protector composed of nylon and silicone that matches perfectly with the crown, the case and the back, without disturbing legibility. While being useful and functional, the protector gives the I.N.O.X. its unique look.

Designed to withstand unusual vibration, shock and temperature changes, it has been reinforced well beyond the standards of a conventional timepiece. Hence the I.N.O.X. can resist a 10-meter drop onto a concrete surface, have a 64-ton tank drive over it, is guaranteed to maintain a perfect seal underwater to a depth of 200 meters. and resist two hours in a washing machine as well as a sandstorm. It can defy variations in temperature from -51° C to +71 ° C and 12G forces of acceleration and deceleration. I.N.O.X. has also been subjected to attack by corrosive products such as gasoline, solvents, oils, cleaning products and insecticides.

Despite the I.N.O.X. being made to last with exceptionally strong characteristics, it still remains a harmoniously designed timepiece - compact and solid yet sleek. The steel has been subtly sculpted and polished to catch the light.

The 2014 collection comes not only in black but also in khaki green and navy blue and all versions are equipped with a Swiss made Ronda quartz movement.

After knowing so much about the I.N.O.X., I have come to a conclusion - We all want a precious companionship to last forever and with these qualities the I.N.O.X. is definitely a perfect “companion for life.”

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I have partnered with the advertiser to write this article.