my Princely little souvenir

here's my most prized souvenir from our recent trip: a Richard Prince for LV "Tag" necklace:




its an 18k rose gold bread clip (you know, those little plastic things that seals a bag of sliced bread) i purchased from the Matsuya Ginza LV boutique in Tokyo. at first i thought it was just a simple dog tag, but on close inspection they did resemble bread clips. here's a comparative photo of the real thing with its luxe version:




i love how LV makes ULTRAluxe versions of the most mundane things. remember those Chinatown laundry bag-looking Street Shopper totes made out of woven calfskin? i totally get it, but not a lot did. so i was even more excited and amazed when the SA told me the tags were by Richard Prince.

SOLD!

here's a clearer photo of the front:





and a shot of the back bearing the artist's signature:





the bags he's collaborated for LV this season also bear his signature. i guess this makes them more like wearable art pieces than just bags or jewellery.



i did a little research about the background of these golden bread clips and i've come across an article about Richard Prince's Second House art installation that included a "necklace fashioned from bread fasteners". this house sadly got struck by lightning and burned to the ground in June 2007. more info about about the artist and the house's sad ending HERE.


i'd say these golden LV versions have now turned into a little memento mori for the ones that perished. these bread clips made their debut on the neck of Marc Jacobs when he took his bow at the LV Spring/Summer 2008 show:




he's wearing my tag's more opulent siblings.




here's a clearer photo of the other variants:






one more pic of my little slice of the Richard Prince + LV mania about to sweep the world:




i've struck LV gold!

Tokyo Drift

here are photos from Tokyo - the final leg of our family holiday.



a view of the Sumida River from our hotel room window during the day:







and at night:







here's the famous intersection near the Shibuya train station:







the world's busiest intersection taken from the warm and familiar comfort of reputedly the world's busiest of Starbucks coffee outlet. so busy, they only have half the standard selection and offer one size for drinks - grande.



we were told that it rarely snows in the city, but it did on the second day we were there. here's a photo of men shovelling snow in front of the main shrine at the Meiji-Jingu Shinto Temple.







welcoming party at Paul Smith, Harajuku:







nice touch. very Paul Smith. we really wanted to take photos of the famous girls of Harajuku, but i guess the snow kept them all indoors.



here's a photo of the market stalls on the approach to the Asakusa Kannon Buddhist Temple







the Japanese people have certain characteristics that are polar opposites: ultra conservative on one side and a seriously whacky streak on the other. here's a fine example of this whackyness i found at the Asakusa markets:







don't ask. i didn't have the guts to enquire what they are. all i can tell you is that they're from this stall that sold candy and snacks:







so i'd assume they're edible and probably sweet. hehehehe...



here is one of my favourite buildings in Tokyo:







its the Asahi Beer Hall, designed by Philippe Starck. more info about this building can be found here.



this is me taken from one of the glass floors up the Tokyo Tower:







if Paris is the home of Louis Vuitton, Tokyo is the land of LV. you'd see lots of men, women and even children carrying or wearing something from Vuitton. in Tokyo, there are 11 LV boutiques - both free-standing and stalls within department stores - compared to the 5 in Paris. of the 11, i was only able to go to 4:



LV Omotesando:






i believe this is the one that started the trend for mega-designer/brand name-stores-as-architectural-destinations all over Tokyo.



LV Namiki-Dori, Ginza:






the pale squares of the façade glow at night. its even got a public street sign:






LV Matsuya Ginza:






located in Tokyo's premiere shopping street, this LV boutique is by far the busiest. it was as if they were having an end-of season sale! this is the only one that carried the newest pieces such as the new Monogram Limelight clutches in gold PM and noir GM:






and the very first Richard Prince for LV bag i've seen - the Monogram Pulp Weekender PM (a.k.a. Spongebob):






there were a few more, but i already got caught using my mobile phone camera.



LV at the Seibu Department Store in Shibuya:






that's a wrap! family holiday is now over. back to the normal routine, which one kinda misses after a while.



previously: Roman Holiday, Paris partie deux, London Calling, Postcards from Shanghai.

Roman Holiday

more snaps from our recent trip....

our first port of call whenever we visit the Eternal City is the Sta. Maria di Aracoeli Church:



we always say hello to the Bambino enshrined in a little chapel just to the side of this grand altar. for more info about this image of the Child Jesus click here.

emerging from this centuries-old church perched at the highest point of the Capitoline Hill, one is greeted by this view:



"Benvenuto a Roma!"

obelisks taken as war booty from Egypt's ancient pagan temples are scattered everywhere in Rome. with such abundance, one tends to pick a favourite. here's mine:



nicknamed the Elephantino, this little obelisk surmounted on a baby elephant by Bernini can be found in front of the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church just behind the Pantheon.

not everything is ancient or baroque in Rome. contemporary art can also be found here. but not as widespread of course. here's a modern interpretation of St John the Baptist's martyrdom found in a small chapel inside the old St. Mary of the Angels & Martyrs basilica:



a wee bit disconcerting at first, but one eventually succumbs to this powerful image.

like any Catholic, a visit to Rome won't be complete without a visit to the Vatican. no matter if one's been before:



which is still in Christmas mode too. just like the Notre Dame in Paris.

likewise with any LV fanatic, a visit to the local LV boutique is a must. if i recall correctly the current boutique in Via Condotti used to be Valentino. the last time i was here the LV store was smaller and on the other side of the street.



here's a photo of the other crowd-drawing staircase around Piazza Spagna:



designed by Peter Marino, these plasma screen steps are a stairway to heaven indeed!

and here's the lesser known San Lorenzo in Lucina boutique just a few blocks away:



that's all from Rome and Europe. we headed east next. stay tuned!

Paris partie deux

sorry for the late post. but as promised here more photos from our Paris visit:

here's an obligatory shot of the Louvre:




... and Notre Dame still in Christmas mode:



and no trip will be complete without going up the Eiffel Tower. no matter if you've already been before. can't be helped. here's a shot of the queue from above:



the Tower was so far up it was snowing! here's my youngest brother challenging us to a show fight (he lost):



here i am incognito at the foot of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre:




and yes, i did visit the Mothership:



it was heaven! 5 storeys of LV goodness. the first time i went (yes i visited more than once) i was in such a high i didn't really remember much.

this is what it looked like the last time we were in Paris:




and guess what we saw right across the original Goyard Maison in rue Saint Honoré:



not so original huh?

and here are the Mothership's two slightly smaller satellites in Ave Montaigne:




and Place Saint-Germain-des-Pres:



still the best place to shop for LV if you're feeling slightly agoraphobic. come in around 10am or 3pm.

next door to the Ave Montaigne boutique is the LVMH headquarters. guarding either side of the entry are two large Murakami pieces:



oh to have just one! still more photos from our trip to come...

how many LV bags did you see?

in a very rare move for a high-end luxury brand, Louis Vuitton is releasing a television advertisement centered around a travel theme. scheduled to be released worldwide on 15 February, here is an advanced screening:



so, what do you recon? i think its is very well-made, classy and awesome in a very understated way. extremely effective in my opinion. i only spotted 2 LV bags in the whole 90 second ad which is a good thing.

more info about the advert can be found HERE