Mon, Dec 21, 2009

The Business Times

Diptyque candles

There are scented candles, and there are Diptyque scented candles.

These limited edition options in two of their best-selling scents, Roses and Figeur, while admittedly obvious in their colouring, are a lovely update to the iconic monochrome of the house’s products.

Diptyque candles, $110 each, at The Link Home in Palais Renaissance

Musc de Kublai Khan

Musc de Kublai Khan – or MKK, as it is routinely abbreviated by its devoted cult following – is a powerhouse scent.

The most recent limited edition release from Serge Lutens, it has been exclusively available from Les Salons du Palais Royale Shiseido in Paris in large bell-jar form (perfumistas are known to decant the perfume and split it into several smaller atomizers, given how sought-after and pricey it is) until a few months ago.

While it is now at a more reasonable price and size, what has made MKK so revered still remains: this most animalic of perfumes is supposed to evoke the Mongol ruler of its name after a sweaty pillage on horseback.

As you may have guessed, this unisex juice is only for the serious perfume aficionado.

Musc de Kublai Khan, $202, at escentials at Tangs and Vivocity

Berluti shoes

Could Pablo Picasso and Robert de Niro – life-long fans of Berluti footwear – be wrong?

Wave a pair of their shoes around, and you would think Gisele Bundchen had just walked into the room, given how many men stop and gawk.

Their Pierre – pictured below with a unique single eyelet – is creative director Olga Berluti’s loving update on the classic Tatoue, while the bespoke-inspired Les Demensures Alessandro (above) is given a modern sheen with its dark green hue.

Pierre, $2,330, and Les Demesures Alessandro, $3,090, at Berluti Ngee Ann City

Martin Margiela fine jewellery

With reclusive genius Martin Margiela leaving the house he built, these incredible pieces of jewellery make the perfect souvenir of his mad reign.

Taking classic shapes and putting them in a completely new context – such as making a bangle in the shape of a signet ring, or a cocktail ring in the shape of a stud earring – Margiela fine jewellery is subversive luxury at its finest.

Martin Margiela Fine Jewellery bangle, $4,999. Ring $2,439. At Club 21, Hilton

Hermes Shoulder Kelly

When supermodel Elle Macpherson declared in an interview that she doesn’t wear her Birkins anymore because they are “bourgeois”, you could almost hear the scramble to Hermes stores worldwide as women snatched the lesser known Kelly. Jean Paul Gaultier’s elongated reimagining, meant to be worn on the shoulder, is sure to set off a firestorm.

Hermes Shoulder Kelly, price on application, at Hermes

Zebra print pony skin Ottoman

This wild thing is enough to make anyone’s heart sing. As a table or a couch, it adds something primal to even the most staid living room.

It may be a large for a gift, but don’t worry – the dashing Christopher Noto, owner of Pagoda House, may even hand deliver it.
Zebra Print Pony Skin Ottoman, $7,704, at Pagoda House in Tudor Court

The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places

From the beauty of Babe Paley, the Paris apartment of Ines de la Fressange and the Colombian nuptials of Lauren Davis and Andres Santo Domingo, it’s all here.

If there should be anything on your coffee table this Christmas, it is this seriously fabulous tome.

While books of this type are usually gorgeous to look at – and this is certainly no exception, with sumptuous images by the likes of Avedon, Penn, and Newton gracing its pages – Vogue editors Hamish Bowles and Alexandra Kotur have clearly made the writing just as important.

The result is wonderful prose that makes for a joyous, and juicy, read.

Now on offer for US$47.25 at www.amazon.com (usually US$75)

[email protected]

This article was first published in The Business Times.

more: gifts, christmas gifts