Business
The whispers of acquisitions in the luxury sector have turned into stock-price boosting open rumors in certain weeks.
First LVMH announced its purchase of Hublot, with perhaps a tequila brand to round out the Moet Hennessy portfolio.
Now two more rumors hit the newswires…
Burberry shares soar 5% on news of a possible acquisition from Coach…
Burberry climbed 21.25 pence, or 4.6 percent, to 483.75 pence, closing at its highest since Jan. 14. The Times newspaper said last month Coach Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-goods maker, was a “possible predator.” — (Via Bloomberg)
Hugo Boss prepares to purchase…
Our criteria is that the brand has to have global recognition and standing and be in the sectors we are specialists in: men’s wear, women’s wear, shoes and accessories — (Via Forbes)
Fashion
The photographic collaboration between Juergen Teller and Marc Jacobs has lasted 11 years; with Teller shooting each of Jacobs’ campaigns; including the most recent highly-publised Posh-Spice-In-A-Bag campaign…
To celebrate the relationship between Teller and Jacobs, Steidl Publishing is to publish a retrospective look… But not until September…
Preview book on amazon.com
The aesthetic created between Teller and Jacobs has reached such a level of familiarity that when New York agency spoofed the look in an initiative called The New Enthusiasm people were surprisingly easily fooled…
Culture
The market for art at auction has shown a year-on-year steady rise; from $4 billion in 2004 to $9 billion in 2007.
So luxury analysts are closely watching the art market for signs that it is beginning to soften around economic worries.
What is beginning to emerge is a sense that a slight stumble in confidence is not the same as the feared collapse with which the art press often appears obsessed…
After three years of speculation about a bust, will this be the moment when the art market finally crumbles?” — (Via Slate.com)
Beverage
The growing trend for molecular mixology in high-end bars is growing into a global phenomenon, and also moving into the mainstream press.
Last week Time magazine explored the story of the trend which began with food, and which is spreading rapidly into the cocktail market.
Chemistry isn’t a word that most people associate with cocktails. But more bartenders are applying the science of molecular gastronomy to the search for a better drink, mixing alcohol with such stuff as liquid nitrogen, alginates and chlorides. — (Via Time)
And courtesy of molecular mixology…
#1 Cointreau caviar
#2 The apparently-nicer-than-it-sounds whiskyburger
