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)

Page Six magazine reports that a new generation of young hipsters are moving in on the worn armchairs of the gentlemen’s club in the USA…

An increasing number of under-35ers are eschewing the clamor of DJs and draft beer for the more refined atmosphere of white wine and rosé… and the clubs are adaptig to meet the new gernationJoshue David Stein, take over the leather armchairs — (JoshuaDavidStein.com)

Today is UNESCO World Book Day, so it felt like a timely moment to mention that - to some people - the arrangement of a book collection is increasingly as important as the contents of a book collection …

Assouline offers a ready-packed set of bookshelves, and although purchasers can’t choose the individual books, they can choose the color of the shelving… The shelves carry the quotation, “Culture is not a luxury but a necessity” which may be true, but the instant library at a cost of $30,000 rather pushes the definition of necessity… — (Via Assouline)

If quantity is what you are after, then, Strand Books, offers a service where books can by purchase by the foot. Their aim is to “custom design a library that is sure to please the eye and satisfy the mind.” Clients include Steven Spielberg, Polo Ralph Lauren, and the newly re-opened Plaza Hotel. — (Via Strand Books)

Designarta Books in the offers a similar service, for the home, and happily, for the yacht. Their focus is on “luxury and elegance and a passion for superior quality… with the knowledge and experience to create a bespoke library that is both personal and unique.” (Via Designarta Books)

If a book collection becomes overwhelming, then London-based Levitate Architects have an ingenious solution to hide books in an incredibly beautiful way — (Via ApartmentTherapy)

Meanwhile if you would prefer to read a book, rather than admire it, or its shelving, then My Special Book believes that the book might as well be about you; get your own biography here… — (Via MySpecialBook)

One of the most powerful truths about hip-hop is the way in which it constantly evolves and reinvents itself. Two years ago, hip-hop was characterized by a Cristal-wielding Gucci-name-dropping attitude.

It was a time when rappers signed merchandising deals with fashion brands, but with 50 Cent’s G-Unit line and Eminem’s Shady brand now out of business, rappers are consolidating their relationship with more aspirational products.

The fascination between hip-hop and luxury brands has not lessened, but the relationship between hip-hop’s most well-known rappers and luxury brands is clearly evolving.

Rappers are beginning to leverage their business acumen to have a stronger role at the heart of luxury brands, not just as consumers, but increasingly as consultants, and with a role to deliver a new generation of consumers to brands that are in various stages of familiarity with a less traditional consumer base.

Those that are most effective are, unsurprisingly, the most visible and those with the biggest cross-over appeal; Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and P Diddy.

The relationship between rappers and luxury has taken three main forms…

#1 The rapper as luxury spokesperson… P Diddy + Ciroc in $100M deal (Via EFluxMedia); Kanye West + Absolut (Via Reuters)

#2 The rapper as luxury creative director… Pharrell Williams + Louis Vuitton (Via AllHipHop)

#3 The rapper as luxury strategist… Jay-Z’s new advertising agency has already been rumored to have signed several luxury clients (Via MTV)

As emerging markets become increasingly interested in luxury brands - and the luxury industry looks East to greet them - different attitudes are emerging based on the heritage of luxury in the country and the speed of socio-economic change.

In India, self-defined “brand freaks” evolve from Gandhi to Gucci (Via The Washington Post)

Russian experiences a “backlash against post-Soviet flashiness” (Via The Guardian, UK)

While in China it “is not really about aesthetics… it is just about displaying money.” (Via Agence France Presse)