Hotel Williamsburg | Williamsburg - Brooklyn

Brooklyn´s coolest Hotel, and Williamsburg´s first Boutique Hotel.

Lapérouse | Bar, 6e Arrondissement - Paris

Lapérouse´s Historic Bar reopening!

Novikov | Chinese, Pan-Asian and Classic Italian Restaurant, Bar and Lounge, Mayfair - London

Arkady Novikov´s first Restaurant outside Russia - located in the heart of Mayfair.

Fabergé London Boutique | Fine Jewelry Boutique, Mayfair - London

Jewelry Boutique of the super-famous brand behind the Imperial Eggs.

Kitchen Joël Antunès | Provençal Restaurant, Mayfair - London

Provençal restaurant located at the Emabassy Mayfair.

STK Midtown | Steakhouse Restaurant-Lounge, Midtown West - New York

STK´s Second NY location by The ONE Group and designed by ICRAVE. Modern Steakhouse and Chic Lounge.

Kutsher´s Tribeca | Modern Jewish American Bistro, TriBeCa - New York

Modern Jewish American Bistro by Jeffrey Chodorow, Zach Kutsher, Alan Wilzig, Richard Kirshenbaum.

DSTRKT | Contemporary European Restaurant, Bar, Lounge and Nightclub, Soho - London

Übercool Restaurant, Bar, Lounge and Nightclub by the owners of Brompton Brands and Buddha Bar & Restaurant in Vienna.

The Delaunay | Modern European Restaurant, Covent Garden - London

Modern European Restaurant by Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, designed by David Collins Studio.

Krug Happiness Exhibition | Exhibition, Mayfair - London

Celebrity patrons of arts and luminaries own version of happiness. Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts from December 13th to December 20th, 2011.

Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels | Wine Bar, 6e Arrondissement - Paris

Wine bar from the owners of Experimental Cocktail Club, Curio Parlor, Prescription Cocktail Club and ECC Chinatown - Romée de Goriainoff, Olivier Bon and Pierre-Charles Cros.

Pulqueria | Mexican Restaurant-Bar, Chinatown - New York

Mexican Restaurant-Bar by Apothéke´s owners Christopher and Heather Tierney, located on Doyers Street.

Miss Lily´s | Jamaican Restaurant, Greenwich Village - New York

Finally this fabolous Jamaican restaurant by Paul Salmon, Serge Becker, Binn and Genc Jakupi on Culture Divine!

The Balcon | French-British Brasserie and Bar, St. James´s - London

Great French-British Brasserie and Bar located in the Sofitel St. James, designed by Russell Sage Studios and Gorgeous Group.

Archer Street | Bar-Lounge, Soho - London

London´s first Billecart-Salmon Champagne bar hosting monthly soirees.

The Arts Club | Members Club, Brasserie and Oyster Bar, Mayfair - London

Fabulous Private-Members Club located in Dover Street that features a Library, Brasserie and Oyster Bar.

MySuites | Hotel, Greenwich Village and Chelsea - New York

Eight ultra-New York suites located in different West Village and Chelsea buildings.

Senkai | Modern Japanese Restaurant-Lounge, Mayfair - London

The Ignite Group´s latest restaurant located on Regent Street.

Roman and Williams | Design Firm - New York

Fabolous Design Firm behind great venues like The Standard Hotel, The Standard Grill, The 18^th Floor Club (The Boom Boom Room), The Ace Hotel New York, The Breslin, The John Dory Oyster Bar, Royalton, and The Dutch.

In the march of the soul as it moves through time, space is the grand theatre of the consciousness in which this eternal drama unfolds, and it seems that no star in the modern galaxy of designers - these conjurors of space - knows this more profoundly than Roman and Williams.
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Pierre Hermé Paris | Macarons and Chocolats Boutique, Knightsbridge - London

The Christmas Macaron Collection is due in stores on the 28th November.

34 | Steakhouse Restaurant, Mayfair - London

Caprice Holdings Limited Steakhouse in Mayfair designed by Martin Brudnizki.

Hotel Crayon | Hotel, 1e Arrondissement - Paris

Elegancia Hotels latest venue designed by Julie Gauthron and Christophe Sauvage.

Les Grandes Tables de l´île Seguin | Bio Restaurant, Boulogne Billancourt - Île-de-France

Restaurant by Arnaud Daguin, located in the Jardin de l´île Seguin, Boulogne Billancourt.

Matches No.23 | Private Shopping and Events Townhouse, Marylebone - London

Matches´ super-exclusive private shopping and events Townhouse located in Marylebone.

Christian Louboutin Men´s Boutique | Men´s Shoe Boutique, 1e Arrondissement - Paris

Christian Louboutin´s first Men´s Boutique. Located on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau accross his first flagship.

David Chang | Restauranteur - New York, momofuku seiobo | Australian Restaurant - Sydney

Earlier this month, the Momofuku circus, an emblem of the diversity and pioneering innovation of the New York that gave birth to it, arrived at one of the freshest frontiers in global cuisine - Sydney, Australia. Set in an intimate nook in the exclusive retail and eating complex at the rejuvenated Star Hotel & Casino, Momofuku Seiobo promises an organic evolution of Chang’s ebullient and yet finely nuanced cuisine in the context of the seemingly unlimited natural bounty and gloriously multiplicity found in Sydney’s food culture.

With a project slated to open in Toronto next year, next to the Shangri-La Hotel, David Chang’s truly modern American cuisine is taking to the four winds.
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Alan Faena | Developer, Faena Universe | Art District, Hotel, Residential, Cultural and Retail Spaces - Buenos Aires

Little more than ten years later, this barrio now electrifies Buenos Aires, a creative dynamo that powers its growth, a mechanism comprised of components crafted by the finest contemporary hands and at its beating heart, the Faena Art District.

Taking its name from visionary Argentinean Alan Faena, who at eighteen had ripped up the design rule book in creating the revolutionary Via Vai fashion label, this extraordinary urban regeneration project took shape in 2005. Conceived by Faena to be an eternally evolving creative space where cutting edge architecture, vanguard artwork and artists, and the spectacular spectrums of nature converge, interact and create, the district represents a glimpse into the sustainable organic coexistence of the ideal urban future.

In visual poetry of massive subtlety, the giant eloquence of the El Porteño Building, the enormous redbrick grain silo that had so inspired Faena originally, was rephrased as the Faena Hotel+Universe. The one-hundred year old structure was seamlessly recast into a seven-storey, five-star luxury hotel by the hand of global design-guru Philippe Starck.
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L´Arc | Bar and Nightclub, 16e Arrondissement - Paris

New bar concept, new cocktails and smoothies by Teddy Wagner and great music by Sound Designer Jérémie Khlat!

Catch | New-Style Seafood Restaurant, Meatpacking District - New York

EMM Group´s (Eugene Remm, Mark Birnbaum, Michael Hirtenstein) latest venue.  A New-Style Seafood Restaurant by Chef Hung Huynh located in New York´s Meatpacking District.

Kenmare | Mediterranean-American Restaurant, NoLIta - New York

Closed, we´ll miss you!

Carine Roitfeld: irreverent | Fashion Dictator and Book - Paris

Since leaving Condé Nast’s contractual strictures, she has spread her wings like a Victory and taken to the flight of fancy once more, collaborating with fellow style icon Karl Lagerfeld on a high profile campaign for Chanel and producing the extraordinary Carine Roitfeld: irreverent. Only this month, the book’s extravagant launch party at exclusive underground caviar club Chez Raspoutine attested to her continued top tier status in the fashion world, where a bewildering roster of celebrities - including designers Olivier Theyskens, Alber Elbaz, and Giambattista Valli - partied until the early hours at her uniquely decadent Bal des Vampires.

Edited by art-world power-player and editor of the highly influential Purple Magazine, Olivier Zahm, and the Creative Director of Vogue Hommes International, Alex Wiederin, this is a fascinating insight into the creative history of one of fashion’s most daring and instinctively innovative intellects.
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Bunga Bunga | Italian Restaurant, Pizzeria, Bar and Karaoke, Battersea - London

Italian hotspot by Duncan Stirling and Charlie Gilkes located in Battersea.

Bar '21' | Bar-Lounge, Midtown West - New York

The 81-year old 21 Club latest makeover!

La Piscine | Mediterranean and Alpine Grill Rooftop Restaurant and Bar-Lounge, Chelsea - New York

Depending on the season, this Hôtel Americano´s Rooftop Restaurant and Bar-Lounge offers Mediterranean or Alpine Grill by Diego Sanchez-Maitret.

The Americano | French with Latin influences Restaurant, Chelsea - New York

Restaurant located at Hôtel Americano by Grupo Habita with interiors by MCH Arnaud Mintigny.

Romera | Neurogastronomic Restaurant, Chelsea - New York

New York´s first Neurogastronomic Restaurant by Dr. Miguel Sanchez Romera located at the Dream Downtown.

The Double Seven | Cocktail Bar, Meatpacking District - New York

Great reopening by David Rabin, Jeffrey Jah, Will Regan, Mark Baker!  Cocktails by Sasha Petraske and interiors by Gulla Jonsdottir.

The Collection | Southern European-Mediterranean Restaurant-Bar, Chelsea - London

Great reopening of this Restaurant-Bar with Tom Dixon interiors.

Saxon + Parole | American Grill Restaurant, NoHo - New York

AvroKO´s latest American Grill restaurant located in the former Double Crown space.

Régine | Nightclub, 8e Arrondissement - Paris

Reopening of this Parisian classic, with great new interiors by Laura Gonzalez!

Armani/Aqua | Italian-Japanese Restaurant, Armani/Privé | Lounge Club - Hong Kong

In a typically bold move, the Houses of Armani and Aqua, who have both done so much to shape the contemporary style of East and West, lay their aesthetic identities side by side with all the artistry for which such design giants as Armani and Yeo are renowned.

From its name down, the 140 capacity Armani/Aqua is a triumph of juxtaposition. The minimalist chic that imbues every fibre of Armani’s garments flows elegantly through every aspect of Yeo’s flawlessly confident restaurant design, wrought in natural stone, wood, glass and steel, and itself immediately recognisable by its refreshingly direct theatricality.

The sense of harmony soon pulses with the beat of the sophisticated cutting edge electronica tumbling out from the second fruit of Armani and Yeo’s intuitive collaboration. In what has already become an instant hotspot in Hong Kong’s spectacular nightlife, Armani/Privé - also found on Chater House’s Second Floor  - is a combination of an ultra-chic 150 capacity lounge and a roof-top terrace that at once takes the breath away and then dips the senses into a luxuriously tranquil decadence.
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Limelight | Historic Nightclub - New York, Peter Gatien | Nightclub Owner - New York

The Limelight made an immediate impact with its star-studded opening party, where supermodels and elite architects danced the night away with artists and movie stars, all the while being snapped and interviewed by the glamour press.

Offering cutting edge music in an expansive world-class venue (it boasted a 2,500 capacity), and imbued with the unique creativity of the people who had helped create it, the Limelight drew an extraordinary mix of people, from A-list celebrities to weekend thrill-seekers. From Prince strutting his stuff on the dance floor behind the protective wall of his entourage, to Mick Jagger’s 40^th Birthday, which was hosted by Peter Gatien, and the gay community and the fashion crowd who flocked to the ever popular gay nights, every clique was welcome.
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Bread Street Kitchen | Modern European Restaurant, The City - London

Gordon Ramsay´s latest restaurant. Modern European cuisine by Erion Karaj and Interior Design by Russell Sage Studio. Features a Raw Bar!

Sirio Maccioni | Restauranteur - New York, Le Cirque at The Leela Palace | French-Italian Restaurant - New Delhi

This month, Sirio Maccioni took another giant stride across cultures and traditions as he announces his first Eastern adventure, with the unveiling of Le Cirque at The Leela Palace New Delhi.

The Leela Palace is found at the centre of the Diplomatic Enclave area of Lutyens’ Delhi district. A vast section of the city constructed in the early-to-mid Twentieth Century by renowned English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, this was both splendid example of grand contemporary English architecture and symbol of colonial power. It boasts the impressive India Gate and what is now the Official Residence of the President of India, the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhavan, and plays host to the Prime Minister’s Office and a number of embassies.
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Silencio | Private Club and Nightclub, 2e Arrondissement - Paris

Awesome Private Club and Nightclub owned by Savoir Faire - Arnaud Frisch, Emmanuel Barron, and Anthony Caton.  Inspired by david Lynch´s Club Silencio in Mulholland Drive.  People involved with the architecture and design:  David Lynch, Raphaël Navot, ENIA, Ateliers Gohard, Thierry Dreyfus, Domeau et Pérès, Ingélux, Prototype Design, Zset, Signature Murale, Ferdinand Bal! 

Hôtel Jules et Jim | Hotel, 3e Arrondissement - Paris

Opening on December 1st, 2011, this super modern hotel by Antoine Brault & Geoffroy Sciard will feature 23 rooms, The Breakfast Room, Coctail Bar and a beautiful Courtyard!  Now open.

Le Bernardin | Seafood Restaurant, Midtown West - New York

Maguy Le Coze & Eric Ripert´s seafood restaurant reopening with a great design from Bentel & Bentel!

LN-CC | Concept Store, Hackney - London

Concept Store located in Hackney, East London.  Owned by John Skelton and Daniel Mitchell, and designed by Gary Card.

The Box | Bar & Nightclub - New York & London - Las Vegas Coming Soon

The transgressive impulse to plunge oneself down the rabbit hole of corporeal and psychological possibility seems to have been refracted a million times with the advent of the sheer multitudinous ambition of the metropolis. To experience The Box represents just that plunge - down into the dark and musky cleavage of the city, down into the obscure history of vaudeville and burlesque, and into this self-styled “theatre of varieties”.

This ultra exclusive, den of chic iniquity is shrouded in secrecy - with a strictly enforced no camera no cell phone policy - which has only poured oil on the waters of controversy and mystery since it opened in 2007. The sense of the guiltless indulgence of impulse in gilded privacy has also drawn an ever-flowing stream of celebrities and the cream of society nightlife.
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Café de l´Horloge | Modern French Restaurant, 7e Arrondissement - Paris

Musée d´Orsay´s new restaurant designed by Fernando and Humberto Campana ,with Edra elements! 

Mi Piaci 24kt Gold Clutch | Presentation - New York

At the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2012 in New York this month this talisman of the soiree and beauty’s element collided in a breathtaking inverse alchemy. Through a groundbreaking and mind-bending scientific process, modern day fashion magicians - and official sponsors of Fashion Week - Mi Piaci have created something that sounds like it has arrived directly from a storybook. Toasting with champagne, preternatural blonde beauty Caroline Winberg and Mi Piaci’s Gianpaolo Girardello presented the world’s first gold-leather clutch bag at the Lincoln Center this week.

What the supermodel and the Creative Director displayed to a thrilled and expectant audience was neither painted gold nor laminated with gold leaf - the leather literally wore a permanent flexible skin of twenty four carat gold.
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Nicola´s | Temporary Concept Store, TriBeCa - New York

Nicola Formichetti´s Pop Up Shop!  Located in TriBeCa and designed by Gage/Clemenceau Architects.

PUBLIC Chicago | Hotel - Chicago

One of Schrager’s great talents lies in his unerring selection of those with whom he works. His intuitive feel for the industry has drawn to PUBLIC Chicago such stellar talents as Vongerichten and his business partner Phil Suarez, design architect Anda Andrei, premier designers Yabu Pushelberg and Gabellini Sheppard, and hospitality guru Jeffrey Chodorow as a special consultant.

His overarching collector’s eclecticism runs through every element of this vast and yet compellingly intimate project, having commissioned and curated original and unique pieces of art from Brooklyn’s Callidus Guild and Dutch photographer Hendrik Kerstens. The Pump Room itself pays expansive homage to its past, its walls twinkling with a constellation of over three thousand framed stills of the stars that have occupied those famous booths over the years.
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CUT at 45 Park Lane | Modern American Steak Restaurant, Mayfair - London

Wolfgang Puck´s first restaurant in Europe, loacted in the 45 Park Lane by The Dorchester Collection

Maison Ladurée | Sweets (Macarons) and Gourmandises Shop, Upper East Side - New York

Delicious French macaron shop on Madison Avenue!

Hôtel Americano | Chelsea - New York

Great hotel located in the heart of Chelsea by Grupo Habita - Mexican Hotel Group!

noma, Copenhagen

On opening in November 3^rd, 2003, noma’s stated mission was to take “the wild, the inaccessible and the saliently Nordic” ingredients of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland, using “the age-old Nordic principles of conserving foods: pickling, smoking, salting and drying”.

This two-Michelin starred restaurant since 2007 serves forty five covers per day from its haven in Copenhagen’s trendy Christanshavn district - a two hundred and fifty year old warehouse that is part of a complex that once housed the Royal Greenland Trade Enterprise. From this airy, warmly minimalist, Pomeranian pine-floored space parades an exquisite array of Nordic delicacies, where the simplicity with which they are lovingly presented allows the natural-born purity of the flavours to shine through like an arctic sunrise.
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45 Park Lane | Hotel, Mayfair - London

London hotel by The Dorchester Collection.  Great opening today!

Jimmy´z, Monte Carlo

Once, the symbol of luxury travel was the jet plane, those supersonic arrows across the stratosphere that ferried the planet’s wealthiest and glitziest above the lands and seas between New York, Paris, Rio and London. The jet-set were the international globe-trotters who partied lavishly in each of these glamorous cities and many more, often on consecutive nights. While this generation took on the reigns of luxury from the Café Society, an equally gilded elite of international hedonists, both viewed the French Riviera as their personal pleasure resort - the original beach paradise to which their kind were born to enjoy.

It is to Monaco, the jewel within the jewel box, that the more sedate contemporary conveyers of kings and kingmakers now cruise most frequently. This extraordinary citadel built out of money plays host to a constantly revolving carousel of superyachts and their super owners, their charges gleaming in the uniquely Monte Carlo blue.

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Double Crown

Closed, we will miss you!  Really looking forward to Saxon & Parole´s opening this September on the same site - AvroKO´s new restaurant.

The Wavlery Inn

Reserve Online through Culture Divine!

Dream Downtown | Hotel, Soho - New York

New Images!

Palm Springs - un peu d´histoire

“Hollywood has always been a cage... a cage to catch our dreams.”

-          John Huston

With the sharpest and most instant wit, with never a hair out of place and dressed from head to foot in the latest luxuries, our stars have strode and smouldered across both our screens and the collective consciousness for as long as we can remember.

Forty foot high, at once as big as houses and as fragile as the screen on which they are held captive, these gods of the twentieth century have both lived in and beyond our wildest dreams – their own lives often more outlandishly glamorous than those of the characters they play.

The reality of Hollywood, a machine to frame our fantasies, is one from which even its anointed sons need respite – but to where do the glittering vessels of fantasy, those dedicated to its fabrication, go to escape their own reality.

Intriguingly, during the golden age of the eternally inward-looking home of the movies, the answer seems perhaps to have come from the movies themselves – the Western. The vast emptiness and limitless possibility of the desert plains and the eagle circled mountain passes of the great American West had been a staple of America’s great gilded myth-machine since the silent pictures of the 1920s. The telling and retelling of the conquering of the west’s savage wilderness is indeed a cornerstone of American identity.

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