Holiday Gifts: " Frimousses de Createurs " for Unicef

Collector's Dolls to benefit a good cause.

For the 8th consecutive year, an A-list of personalities, from fashion designers, prestigious jewelers to contemporary artists and movie celebrities have put their imagination and talent to create Frimousses de Createurs. Currently on view at the Petit Palais in Paris from November 30 to December 5, these unique dolls will then be auctioned off at Drouot Montaigne on Dec. 7. All proceeds will go to to support Unicef's initiative to help children in Darfur.
This year, 90 prominent personalities team up with Unicef to designed an exquisite doll, each of them inspired by a theme....

Miu Miu

Sonia Rykiel

Chloe

BCBG MaxAzria

Dolce Gabbana

Chanel

Mauboussin

Jeff Koons

Prada

Jerome L'Huillier

Oscar de La Renta

Petrossian

To view more unique dolls and details, click on Frimousses de Createurs

Thanks to Marie-Pierre de RF for the tip

La Belle Kate !

At 36, Kate Moss looks back in the last 18 years of her modeling career and chooses the snapshots she likes most and puts them on the market. Featuring at the New York gallery Danziger Projects, the model publishes a limited edition of 30 portfolios of photographs by 11 of the world's leading photographers, among them Annie Leibovitz, Mario Sorrenti, Chuck Close,  Mario Testino and more... Asked by the New York Times on her favorite picture, Moss chose the black and white image taken by her then-boyfriend Mario Sorrenti in 1993. "Even though I wasn't that naïve at the time, I really look it. I was in a relationship with him at the time and it was a very intense period of my life - it was my growing-up stage. I think I was 18 or something. I'd left London and went to New York and everything started to happen."
Each portfolio will be on the market for $75, 000, figure expected to go up as the series sells out.

Mario Sorrenti, New York, 1993

Glen Luchford, Time Square, NY 1994

Bruce Weber, Golden Beach, Florida, 1997

Annie Leibovitz, Paris, 1999

David Sims, London, 2006

Mario Testino, London, 2008

Exhibition at Pulse Art Fair in Miami on December 2 to 5

Images, courtesy Danziger Projects
To view more images, click on Danziger Projects

Source Vogue.it

Asia meets Paris elegance at Shangri-La Hotel, Paris

If you plan to spend the holidays in a big city, you might consider the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris. Set to open on December 17, the five-star hotel is part of the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts group, one of the world's most respected hotel companies based in Hong Kong.
Built in 1896 as the private home of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's grand-nephew, Prince Roland Bonaparte, Shangri-La Paris dedicated four years to meticulously restore Bonaparte's Palais Iena to its original splendour. Today, the palace at 10 avenue d'Iena has once again become an address for Paris' chic and culture set, just as it was more than a century ago. Nestled in the refined , residential 16th arrondissement between the Place des Etats-Unis, Place d'Iena and the iconic Trocadero high on Chaillot Hill, the hotel is located across the Seine river and steps away from several museums. The restored landmark retains its residential heritage and offers 81 rooms including 27 suites, making it the most intimate of all Shangri-La Hotels worldwide. Imperial insignias and ornate monograms of Prince Roland Bonaparte, subtly integrated into the architecture, are complemented by Asian influence in the decor and ambience of the hotel.

Architectural detail, a Ming Dynasty inspired vase in the entryway

Grand Salon

Restaurant La Bauhinia features an uncovered and restored glass cupola modeled after the Eiffel Tower

Duplex Suite

Luxury minimalist in the Penthouse Suite

Deluxe Room

Detail of the Suite Imperiale, which originally housed prince Roland's private rooms

Unobstructed views of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine river from the majority of rooms and suites

Courtesy Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts

The Art of Thierry Poncelet: " Ancestral Dogs "

As a great collector of classical art and a lover of dogs, Belgian artist Thierry Poncelet has ingeniously managed to comically reinforce the human individual's expression, creating an interactive situation where his portraits are not humans disguised as dogs, but dogs taking on a human character. Poncelet's unique talent, exceptional technical skills and experience in restoring 18th and 19th century paintings, and the surrealistic substitution of dog's heads on ancient portraits, have made him internationally famous. Though some perceive his work as a social satire, Thierry Poncelet's true magic is not to mock humans, but " to give dogs humanity."
Some of his artwork is currently on view at Le Printemps in Paris.

Ancestral Dogs

Courtesy Thierry Poncelet

To view more click on Thierry Poncelet

" Noel au Chateau "

Celebrate the holiday season with " Noel au Chateau, Christmas at the Castle, " at the Printemps, the posh and trendy department store in Paris. Escape to a world of magic, dreams and enchantment with its window displays. The fairytale theme features marionettes gorgeously dressed by designer Alber Elbaz from the House of Lanvin, and artworks created by Belgian artist Thierry Poncelet.

Window Lanvin

Window Alexander McQueen

Window Lanvin

Window Balmain

Window Lanvin

Window Valentino - Saint Laurent

Window Cavalli

Window Lanvin

Window Lanvin

Window Manish Arora

Window Nina Ricci

Video of the opening hosted by Alber Elbaz and actress Kristin Scott Thomas

Inauguration des vitrines "Noël au Château" from Printemps on Vimeo.

Images courtesy Printemps Paris