Watches & Wonders 2022: Bravery of conquering the time

As the "keepers of time", mechanical watches have an experienced elegance that stands peacefully beyond the flamboyant race of smart watches. Elegant and humble. Not turbulent, yet nevertheless persisting throughout time to triumph over time.

That is why the luxury watch exhibition Watches & Wonders 2022, which will take place at Palexpo Exhibition Center from March 30 to April 5, has piqued the interest of collectors all over the world. The event is a tour back in time from the past to the future, revealing an eye-catching, emotional feast of the mechanical and craftsmanship miracles of approximately 40 notable watch brands.

 

Geneva - The inception of mechanical watch drive your spiritual journey

 

Lake Geneva, the crystal sky, and the bustling city, with an overhead perspective of the Rhone River port and the snow-capped Alps. All images are from the Watches & Wonders 2022 teaser, a charming high-end watch industry expo in Geneva: Mechanical wristwatches have a tremendous appeal and are filled with pride for enthusiasts.

This year, Watches & Wonders is organized in two formats: in gallery and online, to exhibit extraordinary timepieces from 38 companies such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Chopard, Hublot, TAG Heuer, Tudor and Chanel, Sinn, Louis Erard…

Not only with the presence of famous brands, Watches & Wonders 2022 is an opportunity to validate the skill of enthusiastic emerging businesses.

 

No limit for perfect handiwork to unleash creativity

 

Patek Philippe is stirring up worldwide collectors as the heart of the show. For the first time, two seemingly incompatible functionalities coexist on the same timepiece: Annual Calendar and Second Time Zone in Annual Calendar Travel Time. With up to 8 patents, this timepiece is a great demonstration of the art of craftsmanship. Another significant distinction is that Travel Time readily mimics complicated moves to show the precise time in local time rather than "home time."

An iPhone with the latest version might excite you, but that sensation will pass and be replaced by something else.  With Patek Philippe watches,you possess the passion and love that remains constant and accurate despite life's ups and downs. This is exactly how the tourbillon works smoothly, virtually totally eliminating faults caused by gravity's impact.

 

Similarly, it is unusual to find a brand that deviates from the standard to manufacture watches as timeless as Hermès watchmaking artisans. The Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur dial watch, inspired by the desire to see the world, is a fantasy voyage with the convenience of getting anywhere in a few steps. The beauty of time shows itself in hypnotic clarity when viewed through the orbit of the watch.

 

The Immortality of an opulent wristwatches

A masterpiece of art never goes out of vogue. That is why the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 watch was chosen as the winner of this year's Watches & Wonders by foreign journalists.

The Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 is regarded as the masterwork of spirits seeking new experiences. The case, dial, and strap are all constructed of pure gold, and the bezel with engraved grooves is all delicate and careful, deserving of the title "wonder of marvels."

Historiques 222 was inspired by the original 222, which debuted in the 1970s. This year is also regarded as the "end of the era" of mechanical watches due to the quartz crisis and the debut of the low-cost battery-powered quartz movement. In just 13 years (from 1970 to 1983), approximately 1000 watch brands disappeared, including several well-known names. Nonetheless, Vacheron Constantin, the world's oldest watchmaker (more than 280 years), survived the crisis and has been revived in splendor till this day.

If the Historiques 222 was born in a time of crisis, the Chopard Alpine Eagle was born during the "recovery period" of mechanical watches. St. Moritz was founded in the 1980s, when Sir Karl-Friedrich Scheufele was only 22 years old.

The Alpine Eagle is a sports watch with a highly polished body and bezel that epitomizes Chopard's distinct style. The hour hands and indexes inside the dial are all constructed of rose gold plated with Rhodium and coated with Super-Luminova material for easy viewing in low light circumstances. The second hand is particularly created to be aesthetic while emulating the majestic "snow eagle" plume.

 

As the time goes on people become more impatient. However the ticking sounds like regular breathing, reminding us of our interests, aspirations, and ideals.

Is it for this reason that, despite all of the hard laws of elimination, mechanical watches continue to be revered by collectors?

Saint Laurent
Spring Summer 23
by Anthony Vaccarello

From the moment Yves Saint Laurent discovered Marrakech in 1966, the city became the designer’s intimate refuge, where he enjoyed a calmer, easier rhythm of life in contrast to his busy Parisian work schedule.

The eminent personal significance of Marrakech for the house founder is the evocative backdrop for Anthony Vaccarello’s thoroughly forward-looking Men’s Spring Summer 2023 collection for Saint Laurent. If there ever was a line between what constitutes a ‘masculine’ wardrobe and what makes clothes ‘feminine,’ it elegantly dissolves here.

The tuxedo, perhaps the most seminal element of the Saint Laurent vocabulary, once again gets reinterpreted, refined and imbued with possibility, a continuation of the variations Vaccarello explored in the brand’s Autumn Winter 2022 collection for women. Exciting choices encompass new collar and shoulder solutions, single and double-breasted options, as well as a debonair yet modern cream iteration of the tuxedo in lightweight silk faille.

A predominant high waist and wide leg create an elongated shape occasionally interrupted with narrow or boxy accents. The silhouettes are globally more relaxed, reflecting an ease of life typical of Marrakech. Outer pieces are looser, fluid, less constructed: gathered satin coats envelop the body almost to the ground while tailored jackets have a graphic sharpness. Grain de poudre, a finely tactile wool fabric with a long association at the house – Yves Saint Laurent loved using it – makes a strong showing, recurring in multiple looks.

The show’s setting honors the majestic beauty of Morocco : inspired by Paul Bowles’ 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky, Vaccarello, in collaboration with the London-based artist and stage designer Es Devlin, conceived an awe-inspiring set in the middle of Agafay desert – a ring-shaped luminous oasis amid the vast, arid unknown. Hope and mystery juxtaposed as a metaphor for life’s fascinating complexity.

In Bowles’ timeless words :

“We think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”

Find more information about Saint Laurent at here 

Hermès opens a new expanded store in HCMC's Union Square

Hermès is delighted to announce the opening of a new duplex store within the Union Square in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, on the 16th September 2022. The dual-aspect unit spans on two floors, a significant expansion from its former location in an adjacent unit, allowing visitors to explore all 16 Hermès métiers - including, for the first time, the beauty offering. The new store occupies a noteworthy corner spot in Ho Chi Minh city's vibrant District 1, overlooking both the city's grand 19th-century opera house and the tranquil Lam Son Square. 

Conceived by the Parisian architecture agency RDAI, the store opens directly onto the historic Dong Khoi Road. Its distinctive façade integrates woven wooden panels which offer a subtle nod to Vietnam's artisanal weaving tradition and ensure light filters into the store. Inside, the space is characterized by a bold use of colour, which pays homage to local craftsmanship as well as the house's enduring savoir-faire. The palette draws on the classical French architecture of the city as much as the vibrant shades of the local landscape. 

Stepping into the store from the Dong Khoi Street entrance, guests are greeted with a striking display of women's silks, followed by the jewellery and perfume collections leading to leather goods beyond. A bright mosaic floor set with the emblematic Hermès ex-libris creates a cheerful atmosphere, inviting to discover the equestrian and homeware collections to the right. To the left, a sweeping staircase in tobacco-coloured stone with rusty-red metal railings and a leather-wrapped double handrail dissipates light through the space and leads to the second floor. 

Ascending the stairs, visitors discover a wooden version of the carré "Pégase Paysage" by Christian Renonciat, lacquered by local craftsmen, before being embraced by the rosy-toned environment that houses the women's ready-to-wear collections. Progressing to the airy jewellery and watches department leads to the men's ready-to-wear and the shoe collections. A warm ambiance is created by brightly hued carpets in patterns inspired by undulating rice terraces, with marmorino walls in terracotta shades for women and copper-yellow shades for men. Intimate spaces allow for surprises: the women's spacious fitting room, for instance, is lined in embroidered azure-blue fabric with dots of bronze, giving the impression of sparkling water. 

A series of custom windows by the Vietnamese sculptor Thai Nhat Minh have been commissioned to inaugurate the new store. Born in Vinh Phuc province, north of Hanoi, Thai Nhat Minh's work typically explores the simplification of form to capture emotion and spirit. For Hermès, the artist has created a typically animated work incorporating traditional paper flowers from Thanh Tien village in Phu Mau commune, which is renowned for making paper flower offerings, in particular lotus flowers. Featuring a "flower horse", a three- dimensional model of a horse made of paper, and submerged in a magical, surreal, and romantic world, the vitrines perfectly encapsulate the meeting of Hermès's equestrian heritage with Vietnam's traditional craft. 

An unabashed impulse for colour informed by the local landscape and an equally enthusiastic embrace of traditional craftsmanship ensures that this Hermès store will enchant both local clients and new guests alike. 

Since 1837, Hermès has remained faithful to its artisan model and its humanist values. The freedom to create, the spirit of innovation, the constant search for beautiful materials, the transmission of savoir-faire of excellence, and the aesthetic of functionality all forge the singularity of Hermès, a house of objects created to last. An independent, family-owned company which encompasses 16 métiers, Hermès is dedicated to keeping the majority of its production in France through its 52 workshops and production sites and to developing its network more than 300 stores in 45 countries. The group employs more than 18,400 people worldwide, including more than 11,500 in France, among whom more than 6,000 are craftsmen*. Axel Dumas, a sixth-generation family member, has been Hermès CEO since 2013. 

Founded in 2008, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès supports projects in the areas of artistic creation, training and the transmission of savoir-faire, biodiversity, and the preservation of the environment. 

* As of 30th June 2022 

Find out more about Hermes here 

The Bentley Home Collection: Inspiring A New Way To Live

Launched in 2013, the Bentley Home collection signifies a new vision and expansion for the most sustainable luxury automotive brand in the world: Bentley Motors. Defined by exquisite, cutting-edge materials and exceptional craftsmanship, the Bentley Home collection transforms the beloved Bentley brand to revolutionize interior design. The collaboration between the British Maison, remarkable Italian artisans, and the most innovative designers makes this world-class collection a champion of luxury furniture.   

Designed by world-renowned architect and designer, Carlo Colombo, the strong distinctive lines and timeless shapes of each creation materializes with the expression of luxury in all the details. Just last year, Bentley Home launched its new, 2021 Collection, which features four bold furniture designs hand-crafted with unique materials and finishes that blend innovation, technology, and fine craft.  

Now, you can live the way you drive. In luxury.

 

Kepi Coffee and Side Tables

 

The Kepi coffee and side tables redefine what a living room coffee table should look like. Inspired by the elegant detailing of a Bentley dashboard, the Kepi C table interprets Bentley Motors vision into furniture design. The Kepi C table features overlapping cylindrical elements at different heights with leather structures. It also comes with a wooden top covered in leather, veneered Warm Grey Fiddleback Sycamore, or Burr Walnut Briar-Root.

 

Leiston Veneered Armchair

Inspired by the legendary Bentley Continental GT, the Leiston Veneered Armchair designed by the acclaimed architect and designer Carlo Colombo features embracing curves, soft diamond quilting on the interior of the back and armrests, and precious metal frogs bearing the Bentley logo attached to the frame. This stylistic and elegant design is a reflection of the exquisite craftsmanship of the Bentley Home Collection.

 

Ambleside Veneered Bedside Table

 

The Ambleside Veneered Bedside Table offers a contemporary update of the traditional bedside cabinets. While the top and external frames feature veneered Warm Grey Fiddleback Sycamore, Smoked Liquidambar or Burr Walnut briar-root, the top can be customised to come in Calacatta or Valentine Grey marble. The overall aesthetics is a unique reimagination of a bedside table with internal structures that rise like an exquisite mystery box.  

 

President Veneered Desk

 

Inspired by the evocative interior designs of Bentley Motors, the President Desk features the aerodynamic style and silhouette that reflects the world of automobiles. This time, the innovative interior of Bentley Motors is translated into your office. This exquisite desk with attached storage space comes completed with a full and curvilinear structure entirely covered in leather. It also comes in wooden top covered in leather, with tempered extra-clear glass, veneered Warm Grey Fiddleback Sycamore, Toffee Brown Smoked Larch, Smoked Liquidambar or Burr Walnut briar-root.  

New Dior store at Union Square Saigon

 

Dior Debuts A New Store At Union Square, Saigon’s Premier Shopping Destination

 

With a spacious layout elaborately designed to encapsulate the luxury brand’s spirit, Dior at Union Square,  a new store in the heart of Saigon guarantees a unique experience for fashionistas from around the world.

Preserving the essence of the French Maison of Sir Christian Dior and his passion for art, the store’s creative interior designs, and decor reflect the brand’s audacious and quintessential identity. The store illuminates a radiant atmosphere with white and gold decor and a soft color palette highlighting the interior walls. Additionally, the interior of Dior is decorated with the original artworks from the prominent Negropontes Gallery in Paris accompanied by luxurious furniture brands like Agapecasa, Domeau Peres, Da le Espada, Massproduction, and Armenio. 

From the elite interior decor and architectural designs to the unique experience that the store has to offer, Dior at Union Square truly embodies the essence of the luxury brand by optimizing the use of space, allowing customers to flow freely to and from every corner of the store.

While the women’s section of the store is interspersed with a white, gold, and beige palette and a display area with ready-to-wear women’s designs, the men’s section is carefully curated with blue tones and gentle beige, emphasizing the masculine elegance of the men’s collection.

In addition to that, the space between the men’s and women’s sections is carefully crafted to include alternating displays of jewelry, accessories, shoes, and handbags, creating an all-encompassing shopping experience for Dior customers. 

But that’s not even the best part. 

Dior at Union Square offers a unique, VIP experience with unlimited customizations on a variety of products including the Dior Book Tote bag, the Saddle bag, shoes, and accessories, enabling customers to personalize their favorite items. This premier service integrates modern technology with the brand’s ability to improvise masterful designs in order to create the best product for its customers. Dior also includes an exclusive lounging area alongside the fitting rooms to enhance the shopping experience of Dior’s VIP customers. 

Being a local trendsetter or an international fashionmonger, you’re no stranger to Dior’s renowned Haute Couture. With every new store, Dior continues to empower women to rediscover joy, elegance, and beauty by revolutionizing the conventions of elegance and femininity. But the French Maison does not only create fashion, it creates an all-inclusive experience, from the architectural structures and interior design that customers see when they first enter the store to each clothing item that is worn. No matter where you are from or where you are heading, Dior will inspire you to embrace your extraordinary individuality. And now, you can get the full VIP experience at Dior Union Square.

7 Fashion Trends for Fall/Winter 2022

Despite the world being upended by a global pandemic and the rise of international crises in the last few years, 2022 is looking a bit brighter. Designers from all walks of life have grappled with the question: “How do we make clothes that’s reflective of the current state of the world?” As society begins to normalise, so too does the fashion industry. 

This year’s Fall/Winter Collections of 2022 presented at New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week has taken the world by storm. From Saint Laurent’s sophisticated tailoring and re-imagined vision of the modern woman to Hermès’ construction of leather and fine knitting to convey the growth of femininity, as well as the strong personality in Christian Dior, this year’s runways made a way for classic fashion trends to re-emerge, this time with an audacious sense of new-age femininity. Featuring a cross-section between retro and modern patterns and traditional suits with a sprinkle of risque details, the Fall/Winter Collections of 2022 has got a whirlwind of edginess, 90’s throwback, festive colours, classy knits, oversized suits, and a whole lot of sequins. 

Without further adieu, here are the 7 Fashion Trends for Fall/Winter of 2022. 

 

Knits 

Knitwear is far from novelty, but the Fall/Winter Collections of 2022 have added some fresh and surprising elements. Feminine and sensual or classic and timeless, knitwear has been redesigned and crafted to express elegance with a pop of colour. Knubby, hand-knitted outerwear and oversized knitted coats have graced the runways in sophistication while other designers like Zoe Champion and Wei Lin have demonstrated a multitude of ways to play with the texture of this versatile material. 

Sweater weather has never looked better. From Dior’s striped sweaters, Ulla Johnson and Bevza’s lengthy and cozy sweater dresses to Fendi’s maxi knitted skirt, knitwear is back with more to accessorise than before and with a perfect opportunity to play up layering. 

 

Leather 

Designers have showcased their Fall/Winter Collections for 2022, and it’s clear that leather (and faux leather) is coming back in all forms. Hermès, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and all of our staple designer brands have utilised leather in a myriad of ways. 

From mini skirts and versatile leather jackets to handbags and leather boots, our favourite designers have highlighted the authenticity of the essence of leather while reconceptualizing this timeless material into modern-day pieces. New York Fashion Week has seen leather jackets and trench coats dominate the stage, a reminder that you can never go wrong with leather.

 

Chain Belts 

Although we’ve come a long way in 2022, the 90’s best of the best are still lingering with us. Hence, chain belts are going to be the queen of accessories this coming Fall/Winter, and Chanel is leading the way. 

Pair it with a high-waisted trouser and box-cut jacket or dress it down with low-cut pants, accentuating the midriff, and you’ve got a confident, bold statement on the scene.

 

Low-rise Pants 

While high-waisted pants have been dominating the market in the new era, low-rises are making a comeback. From designer brands like Bottega Veneta to Balenciaga, low-rise bootcut, cargo pants, and denim jeans are all hitting the runway in full force this season. 

The runways have demonstrated the versatility and class of exquisite low-rise trousers and denim, made loosely to sit along the hips, exposing a little midriff for our everyday, modern woman.

 

Sheer & Shiny 

Nothing says sultry and sexy more than a little shiny and sheer. Or in this case, a lot of sheer. Christian Dior, Tom Ford and Givenchy are spicing up this Fall/Winter season with elegant silhouettes and embellished sheer pieces. From metallic sheer dresses and colourful sheer tops to sheer black tights inspired by Blumarine and embroidered by Gucci, shimmery sheer and classic sheer accessories have broken through the barriers of Spring and Summer and made its way to our Fall/Winter collections. 

Trench Coats 

You can never go wrong with a statement trench coat, certainly not with the many iterations of trench coats featured in the Fall/Winter Collections. From its history of practical, military wear, the trench coat has transformed its way into our hearts as a simple, elegant, and functional piece that transcends gender lines. 

With classic felt material, the Christian Dior Fall/Winter collection of 2022 has made its mark in this year’s lineup. You can expect to see more of the casual, chic look pairing various types of trench coats. 

 

Bra Tops & Bralettes 

Bralette in the Fall or Winter? You might think we’re crazy, but that’s what the runways are cooking up this season. From Fendi’s neoteric cuts to Versace’s elegant patterns, bralettes are the microtrend for Fall/Winter 2022. 

Infuse a little sexy into your wardrobe by pairing bralettes and bra tops with oversized suits, suit jackets, or a pencil skirt, or you can dress it down with a baggy button-up worn open, or a pair of loose jeans. Best worn with loose, slouchy clothing, an embellished bralette is sure to make a statement. 

2022 will be the year for fashion’s comeback, and this time, with a sprinkle of nostalgia. We can expect to see brighter colours and unique textures recreated from vintage pieces as we head into the Fall and Winter, an indication and reflection of what designers and consumers alike are hoping for as we enter a new era.