“MONOGRAM is timeless, yet with this project we wanted to celebrate it in a way that defied the conventions of ‘classic” , says MICHAEL BURKE, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LOUIS VUITTON.

In celebration of Louis Vuitton 160th Anniversary, Vuitton assembled six renowned ‘Iconoclasts’ for this special ‘Icon and the Iconoclasts’ project.

Six masters in their own discipline, Christian Louboutin, Cindy Sherman, Frank Gehry, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Newson and Rei Kawakubo, will be given carte blanche to create a personally inspired bag and/or a piece of luggage, using the iconic Monogram.

Click here to find out more.

“But I actually enjoyed writing the notes because in the process of opening a note, feeling the paper, seeing the imperfection of the writing, reading the message in another person’s voice, you actually feel like you have a piece of that person in your hand.”

We couldn’t agree more. Personal handwritten notes grow rarer by the day. It may seem nostalgic, but I still believe there’s room for the handwritten note in personal and professional communication. They cost something, mean something, and have permanence in a way emails and text messages don’t. They let the people in our lives know we appreciate them enough to do something as archaic as pausing for 15 minutes to put pen to paper in an attempt to connect and sustain a relationship with them.  Do you agree?

Read more here.

Coming a long way from the times of glamour and excess, the banker’s suit has been given a spiffy, economical update in these enlightened times. With slimmer silhouettes, narrower lapels and textured blend of fabrics, Wall Street Journal pays homage to Italian tailoring in a beautiful spread featuring some of the best woodworkers…A perfect marriage of fashion and craft no less.

See the full spread here.

” The reality is that dressing well helps us in our personal, family and business lives – making us more attractive to employers, strangers and potential lovers. It reflects self-confidence and success.”

We couldn’t agree more. Dressing up, not necessarily in only expensive threads, is a means by which we project ourselves to the outside world, a subtle but telling indication of the kind of people we are and the beliefs we have. A gleaming pair of shoes, for instance, may hint at a neat, self-assured man who takes effort to polish his prized footwear, or a hidden collar pin a sign of the meticulousness, and high-minded ideals one has- not only in fashion, but also his approach to bigger things….Do you agree?

Read more here.

Known for producing a top crop of genius fashion talents, The Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts is amongst the very best in the world. Having a reputation that highly encourages experimentation and intellectual thought, delve behind the best minds of the Class of 2012 to explore the fascinating world of fashion, art and design..

Watch the video here.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a major exhibition will bring together a spectacular array of dress, uniform and robes worn by the principal royal party. Works of art, paintings and objects used on the day will also be on display to recreate the atmosphere of that extraordinary occasion.

In particular, sketches by British couturier Norman Hartnell, whose design for The Queen’s Coronation Dress, considered to be his masterpiece of royal couture, is immortalized in an intricate drawing. In watercolour and bodycolour over pencil, it shows in detail the full-skirted gown with its tiers of rich embroidery terminating in a wide multi-coloured border.

Something you wouldn’t want to miss if you were in London..

Visit the site for more information here.