VIP Report

The Latest from the World of Luxury

Masterpieces in Milan Designer Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli have commissioned Rem Koolhaas - architect of Seattle Public Library - to design a dedicated Milan home for the Prada Foundation, www.fondazioneprada.org. The cultural center will continue to feature Foundation shows of Anish Kapool, Steve McQueen and Sam Taylor-Wood and will benchmark with another WOW.travel favorite, Houston TX's Menil Collection, www.menil.org		Art Dubai Sheikh Majed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, opened Art Dubai, which was held March 19-22, 2008, at Madinat Jumeirah - with a fringe exhibition, Creek Art fair, across town in Bastakiya district. Art Dubai had 68 exhibitors from 28 countries, www.artdubai.ae


Tomas Maier’s Bottega Veneta “If you’re never in fashion, you are never out" says Tomas Maier, Creative Director of PPR's Bottega Veneta - shown, one of his next season's designs for Bottega Veneta. Maier, an architect's son from Pforzheim, Germanym, also has two Tomas Maier boutiques in Florida, in Miami Beach and Palm Beach, www.tomasmaier.com		B Cellars begins Asian exports Duffy Keys, a long-time hotelier, is now a Napa Valley winemaker. B Cellars is a partnership with Jim Borsack and winemaker Kirk Venge and, says Keys, they intend to begin exporting to China and the rest of Asia shortly. www.bcellars.com


Reveille released for millions Elisabeth Murdoch, 39, Chairman/CEO of Shine, www.shinelimited.com, has paid $125 million for Reveille, which produced The Office and Ugly Betty. Her father is Rupert, and her husband is public relations supremo Matthew Freud, one of the talented offspring of Sigmund Freud's grandson, Sir Clement Freud - who once hired your WOW.travel editor to serve strawberries and cream at London's Regent Park outdoor Shakespeare.		Victory for India’s “Viru” CHENNAI, India: Virender Sehwag, known as Viru, smashed the fastest recorded triple century in history - going to an amazing 319 total runs - as India gave South Africa a dose of their own medicine in the first cricket Test on March 28th, 2008. Sehwag was born in New Delhi born 20 October 1978, in Delhi GMR Sports, which owns Delhi's DareDevils, announced Hero Honda as their main sponsor of the team for the awaited DLF IPL Twenty20 tournament. Virender Sehwag is to captain the team. Kingfisher and Adidas will be the associate sponsor and apparel sponsor respectively for Delhi Daredevils. www.indiancricket.net


Arteaméricas Art Fair Celebrated names like Fernando Botero(shown, is his Los Bailarines, 2001) - as well as Tony Bechara, José Bedia, Lygia Clark, León Ferrari, Wifredo Lam, Jesus Soto, Rufino Tamayo and Hugo Zapata - were included at Arteaméricas Art Fair, Miami Beach Convention Center, March 28 to 31, 2008. www.arteamericas.com		Lewis Pugh in Dubai Long-distance swimmer Lewis Pugh - seen here at the North Pole - will be one of the speakers at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2008, Dubai, May 3-5, 2008, www.arabianconference.com. The Kiwi Collection delegation at this vital global travel and tourism industry event will include President Philippe Kjellgren, and Mary Gostelow, moderating the session on new hotel brands.


Novikov’s new property on Lake Como Moscow restaurateur Arkady Novikov is said to be the new owner of the late Gianni Versace's stunning 20-bedroom Villa Fontanelle on the banks of Lake Como (his sister Donatella has been using it for corporate entertaining since his death). Novikov's numerous restaurants include Café Vogue, China Club, Club T, Kish Mesh, Sirena and Yolki Poliki, www.novikovgroup.ru		Fashion Flies at Emirates Palace Hotel Abu Dhabi saw a brilliant display over four days in March 2008. A custom-built venue in the gardens of the Emirates Palace Hotel, www.emiratespalace.com, hosted catwalk shows by Missoni as well as Aisha Desmal, an Emirati designer from Abu Dhabi, Milia Maroun from Lebanon and a special collection designed and produced by the Shaikh Zayed Private Academy, www.zayedacademy.ac.ae


SWISS Chef hails from Lake Lucerne Renee Rischmeyer, who is guest chef for SWISS until the end of May, is Executive Chef of the luxury Park Hotel Weggis, on the banks of Lake Lucerne, www.phw.ch For the airline's First and Business class passengers, Rischmeyer's creations include filet of beef with Parmesan crust on Asian vegetable salad with black bean risotto, and timbale of elderflower mousse with raspberries, with wine from Valais.		eBay and Facebook’s PayPal: Peter Thiel American Peter Thiel, 40, is said to be one the most eligibles bachelors in the USA (well, he is worth $1.2 billion). He made $1.5 billion when eBay bought PayPal, which he c0-founded, and cleverly subsequently invested $500,000 as Facebook's first supporter.


The European Fine Art Fair Aeneais and the Sibyl in the Underworld (photo), by Jan Brueghel the Younger, 1598, was one of the major sales during 2008's The European Fine Art Fair TEFAF, in Maastricht. The 73,245 visitors included big growth from Brazil, China and Russia. Next TEFAF, similarly sponsored by art insurer AXA Art, is scheduled for March 13-22, 2009, www.tefaf.com		Campbell models for Kisa Naomi Campbell modelled at Kisa's recent fashion show, www.kisalondon.com. Kisa is owned by Alexei Kiselev (son of Russia's Walter Cronkite, Yevgeny Kiselev, one-time general director and chief correspondent of NTV), his Georgian wife Maia Tarkhan-Mouravi, and Pole Andrea Stefanowicz Sabrier.


Around the World in 80 Ways President/CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World Paul McManus joined Sir Elton John at a pre-Oscars party to annunce a million-dollar round-the-world trip for two. Around the World in 80 Ways celebrates Leading's 80th birthday, and ten percent of all package sales goes to The Elton John AIDS Foundation, www.lhw.com		A new venture for these brothers: Vineyards French-born brothers Daniel (left) and Georges Daou, after highly-successful IT startups in their chosen home of California, are now big into wine, www.daouvineyards.com. They are already shareholders in the Baja California winery Paralelo, part of Casa De Piedra www.vinoscasadepiedra.com, created by Mexico's best-known winemaker, Hugo D'Acosta.


Stars linger at luxury resort Antonio Banderas and Liam Neeson (seen here with Pierce Brosnan in Seraphim Falls, 2007) were at Villa d'Este just before its official annual opening, March 1st, 2008. They were shooting The Other Man, directed by Richard Eyre. The glorious luxury resort, on Lake Como is run by GM Danilo Zucchetti, www.villadeste.com		An innovative approach to luxury in Dubai Baron Jean-Paul van Gysel de Meise is transforming the 'Greece' island on Nakheel's man-made The World archepelago off Dubai into a luxury V resort. All 65 rooms will be 'owned', with investors having two months' use of their space annually, plus 50 percent of revenue otherwise, www.j-interiors.com. Van Gysel's many eclectic ventures include a myriad of directorships, and Le Plaza, Brussels, www.leplaza-brussels.be


Theron and Townsend host Hollywood Dominos Charlize Theron and longtime boyfriend Stuart Townsend supported the first Hollywood Domino Tournament, at the Beverly Hills Hotel - well, she was supporting her cousin Inge Theron, who, with Daya Fernandez, devised the new game that will be officially launched late 2008, www.hollywooddomino.com The tournament was sponsored by jeweler de Grisogono, www.degrisogono.com, whose founder, Fawaz Gruosi presented a $25,000 check for The Art of Elysium, helping Hollywood stars to volunteer their time to artistic workshops for seriously ill kids, www.theartofelysium.org		Moscow House of Photography Ralph Gibson's Chiaroscuro (shown) was one of the exhibits at the Moscow House of Photography's Gibson master-class, March 18-22, 2008, www.mdf.ru/english. Director of the House of Photography is the Olga Sviblova, former wife of poet Alexei Parshchikov and often called the most beautiful woman in Moscow.


Quilvests invests in Sushi Simon Woodroffe (photo) - one-time show producer for The Rolling Stones - see Yo! Sushi go to even greater heights, www.yoshushi. He founded the conveyor-belt sushi concept in 1997 on £150,000. Now Luxembourg-based Quilvest has bought it for £51 million (Woodroffe owned 22 percent, and a perpetuity royalty on all UK sales). Quilvest, headed by CEO Christian Baillet, manages high wealth for the descendants of Argentine beer baron Otto Peter Bemberg and other clients, www.quilvest.com