From Your Personal Shopper in Lugano: an Exclusive Shopping Day in Via Nassa

Lugano lies in a bay on the northern side of Lake Lugano, surrounded by numerous mountains offering splendid viewpoints. The traffic-free historic town centre, the numerous buildings in Italianate Lombardy style, the exclusive museums, the mountains, lake and a packed calendar of events all invite visitors to see the sights, soak up the atmosphere – and enjoy “dolce far niente”.  The town centre with its Mediterranean-style squares and arcades, and numerous parks with sub-tropical plants such as the Parco Civico on the shores of the lake invite you to laze around, enjoying the atmosphere.

In Lugano there are all kinds of shops and department stores in which you can find almost anything.

Via Nassa is one of Lugano’s historical streets – its particular and sophisticated shops will accompany you in your shopping. Under the 270 meter long, ancient city porticoes on the lakeshore, there are many different kinds of shops: jewellery, clothing, gastronomy and antique shops are just some of the many, without forgetting a few department stores as well. Via Nassa, Lugano’s number one shopping destination, accompanies you during your shopping outings with its elegant and sophisticated atmosphere.

Via Nassa offers a fantastic range of shops from famous fashion designers’ boutiques to delicatessens and bakeries. Some of the luxury brands you can find here are Hermes, Versace,  Gucci, Issey Miyake, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Cartier and Bulgari.

For Luxury Watches and Jewelry, the most important are Bucherer and Les Ambassadeurs.

LES AMBASSADEURS

It prides itself on its unique choice of some of the most exclusive watch and jewellery brands from around the world combined with a high level of expertise among their employees.

Here is a selection of the featured brands at LES AMBASSADEURS: Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Blancpain, Breitling, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, IWC, Urwerk, Ulysee Nardin and Jaeger LeCoultre.

BUCHERER

Shopping at Bucherer with it’s famous Rolex collection is as logical an extension of any stroll through the city’s shady lanes as is sipping a cappuccino in a small sidewalk café.

Carl-Friedrich Bucherer opened his first watch store in 1888 in Lucerne and laid the foundation for a successful family business which has extended to a 3rd generation. Today, Bucherer is one of the leading watch and jewellery retailers in Switzerland with over 1100 employees.

As watch and jewellery specialists, Bucherer stocks exclusive world-class brand names such as Rolex, Carl F. Bucherer, Chopard, Piaget, IWC, Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, TAG Heuer, Tudor, Baume & Mercier, Longines, Rado, Hublot and Gucci

From Your Personal Shopper in Milano: Prada designs costumes for ‘The Great Gatsby’

Prada and Miu Miu have designed outfits for the upcoming  movie The Great Gatsby. Baz  Luhrmann’s dazzling silver screen adaptation, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey  Mulligan and Tobey Maguire, is creating a new buzz, and it is  fashion-related.

According to an interview of Miuccia Prada published in Vogue, 40 dresses  from past Prada and Miu Miu collections will be adapted for the movie.

While Gatsby’s couture will be inspired by the elegant  1920s, Prada Spring/Summer  2012 menswear collection represents a very seductive first approach of  this era’s fashion interpretation.

It’s not a first-time partnership for the designer and director: Prada worked on Lurhmann’s 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, designing a suit that was worn by Leonardo Di Caprio – who, coincidentally, also stars in The Great Gatsby. Lurhmann also created a series of short films for the recent Prada and Schiaparelli exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Carey Mulligan’s outfits will also be styled with Tiffany & Co’s sparkly  creations.

Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation of the famous novel published by Francis Scott  Fitzgerald in 1925 will hit cinemas in July 2013.

From Your Personal Shopper in Paris: Chaumet Bee My Love Collection

Chaumet celebrates the expression of love through an irresistible collection of Bee my love rings. The bee has been a Chaumet icon since the days of the Empire, a symbol of power and immortality, and has now inspired a new collection of romantic jewellery: Bee my love. There are nine ring designs, each displaying the perfect geometry of the honeycomb, which can be worn alone or in infinite combinations.

To satisfy every taste, the Bee my love rings are available in white, yellow or pink gold and in three styles: plain gold, semi or fully diamond-paved.

The bee, the symbol of Napoleon I

The bee was the symbol of Napoleon I, which was then adopted by his personal jeweller. Through the Attrape-moi si… tu m’aimes collection, the bee has become a Chaumet icon. It embodies the game of love, shared feelings and the power of the hive, a solid, everlasting home.

As a tribute to this winged muse, Chaumet has now redesigned the honeycomb, the perfect hexagonal shape that structures the hive, with superb jewellery and luxury jewellery designs on which the bee comes to rest: tiaras, necklaces, watch straps, earrings, rings and brooches.

9 rings, 5 million combinations

From Your Personal Shopper in London: OPI honoring James Bond with 18 karat gold polish

OPI is set to release an 18 karat gold leaf topcoat in October in the lead-up to Christmas.  Created to celebrate James Bond’s Golden Anniversary, The Man With The Golden Gun  contains real 18 karat gold and comes in a special, limited edition collectable bottle. As you can see in the picture, applying the topcoat will add amazing flecks of gold which is very exciting news for nail art lovers. It’s almost like the Shatter polishes but so much more decadent and radiant.

From Your Personal Shopper in London: Hermes French Olympics Equestrian Kit

HERMÈS is creating the kits for the French Olympic equestrian team, when they compete in the London 2012 Games this month.

The French luxury brand is providing the riding jackets to be worn by both the show-jumping and eventing team.

Hermès  has released a sketch, which includes a navy,  blazer-style jacket, featuring red lapels.

The piece has been tailored using a light, flexible technical fabric,  enabling the players to move comfortably. The last time Hermès teamed up with the French national team was for the 1996  Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.

Hermès joins other designers including Salvatore Ferragamo (San Marino), Stella McCartney (Great Britain), Ralph Lauren (USA), Prada and Emporio Armani (Italy) in dressing teams for this year’s Summer  Olympic Games.

From your Personal Shopper in Milano: Vip Luxury Service Launches the New Frontier of Luxury Shopping in Milan, London, Paris, Cannes. The Future of Personal Shopping: Vip Video Shopping Service

After the great success in Italy in the last months,  Vip Luxury Service,  a company dedicated to providing the most discerning clients with a complete selection of products and services, starting from september, will launch the Vip Video-Shopping Service in Paris, London and Cannes.

What is Vip Video Shopping Service?

It is the new frontier of luxury shopping, a unique shopping experience dedicated to the most demanding and selected customers . You will be surprised at how easy it is and how much fun it can be.

In partnership with some of the most prestigious multi-brand stores and fashion brands, our personal shoppers, in real time video conference, will bring customers in the most exclusive fashion boutiques and they will be able to purchase items displayed in the store and have it shipped to their countries.

Customers will have the sensation of being physically in the shop; our personal shoppers, together with shop assistants, will show the collections and help customers with purchases.

Vip Video Shopping Service will give customers an exclusive access to fashion designers: custom orders, pre-orders etc etc

No matter where the customer is, VIP Luxury Service offers the customer the opportunity to shop in Italy, Paris, London, Cannes.

For additional informations http://www.vipluxuryservice.com

From Your Personal Shopper in London: Jimmy Choo unveils new collection designed by contemporary artist Rob Pruitt

Jimmy Choo’s latest project…  a capsule collection created by contemporary artist Rob Pruitt. After making a name for himself on the New York art scene in the 1980s with his own signature brand of humorous, brightly coloured artworks, he’s lent his hand to design with this new collection for Jimmy Choo.

Famous for his glittery panda paintings and dégradé canvases, his work for Jimmy Choo encompasses two-tone clutch bags in lace print as well as rainbow coloured courts with zebra print heels. His love of glitter, zebras, pandas and dégradé colours all make an appearance in the collection, which features 19 styles of shoes, bags and accessories.

The artist created a unique duo of angel and devil pandas symbolising the dual personalities of the Jimmy Choo woman, and these feature heavily in the line of 19 styles of shoes, bags and accessories.

“The panda is a recurring image seen throughout the body of my artwork. It’s a symbol that reminds us both to tread lightly and to appreciate the adorable. They represent the harmony of yin and yang,” said the artist.

The new collection will hit stores in November.

From your Personal Shopper in Lugano: Villa Principe Leopoldo Hotel & Spa, Golden Silence and Charming Luxury

Villa Principe Leopoldo Hotel & Spa is a five star boutique hotel, member of Relais & Châteaux, with great class and elegance, with breathtaking views over the lake and the mountains.

The Villa is marked by its strong Italian spirit and Mediterranean style accommodating spacious rooms and suites.

The gourmet temple Restaurant Principe Leopoldo is the hotel’s most prized attraction with a cuisine that reveals authenticity, passion and respect for its ingredients, not forgetting the territories and traditions. Jewel of the Hotel is Kiso, a heavenly, exclusive Spa offering luxury, privacy and tailor-made treatments.

Villa Principe Leopoldo Hotel & Spa is located at only 2 km from the city of Lugano, not very far away from what used to be Hermann Hesse’s house, on the Collina d’oro, an elegant residential district.

The historical main building – the Villa – is, together with the nearby Residence (of more recent construction), one of the most refined luxury hotel establishments in Lugano.

Enveloped in soft environments and in the lush vegetation of a natural world blessed by the sun. This boutique Hotel consists in 37 rooms and suites in the Villa and 38 in the Residence, all airy and decorated with great taste, extremely bright, roomy and comfortable; all rooms are  overlooking the garden or the lake of Lugano.

VILLA PRINCIPE LEOPOLDO HOTEL & SPA

Via Montalbano 5

CH-6900 Lugano

Tel. +41(0)91 985 88 55

Fax +41 (0)91 985 88 25

info@leopoldohotel.com

www.leopoldohotel.com