Fiona Kotur Marin, founder of KOTUR, is a native New Yorker, but currently lives in Hong Kong. Fiona is well traveled, culturally and artistically inclined.

In 2004, Fiona Kotur Marin started he own company designing her own handbag collect, named KOTUR. Her handbag line started after discovering a vast treasure trove of decorative vintage fabric woven by European Couture Houses during the 60’s and 70’s.

Kotur’s background experience comes from designing accessories for Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, and collaborating with long time friend, Tory Burch when launching her line.

Fiona Kotur Marin’s design philosophy was first inspired during the repair of her Ming dynasty chest.

The brand KOTUR immediately brings a reaction of style and elegance. KOTUR embodies chic retro glamor, that stylishly integrates innovative exotic elements.

The KOTUR collection includes sophisticated minaudieres and clutches; exotic skins handbags and the iconic Wallace day bag. Today, the KOTUR brand today is well received throughout United States, Europe and Asia.

To purchase KOTUR handbags, go to your local luxury retail store.

Photo Courtesy of BillionaireXchange

Help may be on the way for online auction sites such as BillionaireXchange and EBay.

Site traders are hoping for less restrictions on selling luxury goods under EU (European Union) regulators’ plans to knock down barriers to Internet sales.

The European Commission, who is the 27-nation EU’s antitrust regulator, is currently drafting up new guidelines on the extent to which companies can restrict trade through their own authorized dealers.

In a story from Bloomberg News, who obtained the draft plans, it details how how the Brussels-based regulator will apply competition rules to agreements between online producers and sellers.

The draft states that luxury-goods makers would be prevented from imposing any quantity limits on Web-based sales by distributors who are already authorized to sell goods through their “brick and mortar” stores.

This EU move is wonderful news, especially for luxury auction sites such as BillionaireXchange.

Courtesy of: Savoir-Faire.com

Proudly launched in November 2008, Savoir-Faire.com (update, site is no longer online) is a unique luxury gift site founded by HH Princess Kasia Al Thani, who is married to a brother of the Emir of Qatar.

The inspiration behind Savoir-Faire.com was actually based on true love. Princess Kasia Al Thani was unable to locate that perfect birthday online gift for her husband. The result is the elegant site: Savoir-Faire.com

The sophisticated site was inspired by Princess Kasia Al Thani’s desire to create the ultimate in luxury gift sites in one convenient location. She brings together luxurious brands, designers, and experienced craftsmen from all around the world.

A small sample of the stylish brands listed on Savoir-Faire.com include: Marie Chantal kids wear, Anya Hindmarch handbags, Kilian fragrances, and Geoffrey Parker Games.

Princess Kasia Al Thani has surrounded herself with a talented and experienced team of experts. Leading the list is top fashion editor and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, who picks her favorite gifts in “Rachel’s Favourites”

Rachel Zoe explains the reason for her involvement in Savoir-Faire, “I wanted to become involved in Savoir Faire because there isn’t anything else like it in the market. To me, buying gifts for your friends and loved-ones is such a mammoth task.”

Courtesy of: Savoir-Faire.com

In addition, Loree Rodkin who is the jewelry designer of choice for First Lady Michelle Obama, introduced a beautiful collection that’s unique for the site.

Princess Kasia showcases her personal favorites on the “Kasia’s Picks” link. You can find a wide variety of stunning luxury gifts that will please even the most demanding shopper.

Founder Princess Kasia Al Thani states, “I am really proud of what Savoir-Faire has achieved – we’ve spent months finding the best quality products and most exciting brands, designers and craftsmen. I think we’ll offer something totally unique – a simple service to send beautiful and memorable gifts that any recipient will treasure.”

The thorough selection process for all Savoir-Faire.com products is comprehensive. Each product on the site is handpicked for its uniqueness, design, quality and exquisite presentation.

In addition to offering superior service, you can also build your very own gift box or select one of their pre- arranged gift boxes for different occasions, with premium gift wrapping and packaging services.

So why not treat the one you love with a special gift …… Princess Kasia Al Thani did.

Inspired by the latest haute couture, the limited-edition Perles de Cartier women’s watch is made of 18-karat, rhodium-plated, white gold with round diamonds and two, freshwater pearls.

Its white mother-of-pearl dial features a flinque pattern accented by enamelled Roman numerals.

This watch from the Cartier Libre Collection combines sheer brilliance with style.

Dark grey in color, this captivating watch has a brushed canvas strap and is set with 389 diamonds for a total weight of approximately 2.9 carats.

Price tag – $55,000

eBay is one of the biggest success stories on the Internet. What if you don’t want a porcelain cat or used pair of jeans, but are in the market for hard to find luxury items? The answer is the BillionaireXchange.

The BillionaireXchange is the world’s first online auction and trade site for luxury items. They are the first international auction and exchange site for the affluent. BillionaireXchange draws wealthy buyers from all over the world searching for high-end luxuries, either for sale or auction.

Browsing the classy site, you will find an amazing variety of luxury items, covering the following categories: Arts & Antiques, Luxury Vehicles, Boats & Yachts, Luxury Real Estate, Jewelry & Watches, and Places & Helicopters.

At the time of this writing, some of the premier luxury items available include mansion estates owned by basketball star Shaquille O Neal and Hall of Fame football quarterback Dan Marino, a St. Regis Penthouse in San Francisco, 2008 Riviera Sport Yacht 4700, 2007 Murcielago LP640 Coupe car, and a 2004 Dassault Falcon 900c jet.

Registering on the site is simple and easy process, designed to screen for unqualified and/or undesirable elements. Once registered, members of The Xchange can buy, sell, bid-on, auction, and or exchange luxury items from all around the world.

If you are looking for trading your luxury items, then BillionaireXchange can help you too. Imagine trading your upscale mansion in Beverly Hills, California for an elegant Chateau in France. How about trading your antique custom Rolls Royce for a new model Bentley. For wine connisieres, exchange a bottle of your best 1802 Chateau Lafitte for a bottle of 1947 Cheval Blanc. The possibilities are countless. So, ask yourself, “What is the luxury object of your heart’s desire?

To be successful, the management team of BillionaireXchange strongly believe in protecting the integrity of the luxury brands for auction, as well as offering secure escrow transactions. They partnered with industry leading Safefunds to provide escrow services for both buyer seller transactions.  By offering this service, the company provides its members with piece of mind in either buying or selling these desirable, high ticket items online.

BillionaireXchange is headquartered in Miami Florida, but has an aggressive plan to expand internationally. They are moving forward with opening new offices in Beverly Hills, China, Germany, Dubai and the U.K. The company believes it’s critical to have representation in these key, global areas.

So what are you waiting for? Your luxury dream is now only a click away.

Photo courtesy of: Jaded By Knight

Founded in 2004, Jaded by Knight was created by Los Angeles Designers Noah Dayani & Michael Amiri.

Their high-end luxury clothing collection draws influence from years of personal travels through various street markets and vintage shops from around the world. They desire to create a look that embodies the essence of privilege and individuality.

Jaded by Knight believes their clothing line has gone beyond the definition of a fashion brand and has moved towards representing a lifestyle and culture that is shared among the world’s elite.

The brand is currently carried by some of the world’s most exclusive and finest shops worldwide, such as L’Eclaireur in Paris, Harvey Nichols in London, Hong Kong, Dubai, Royal Flash Tokyo, and H. Lorenzo in Los Angeles.

We are proud to present one of Jaded by Knight’s upcoming pieces from their newest collection.

Last month, Jaded By Knight released one of our finest Luxury Jackets. It’s a limited edition “Swarovski Skull Leather Jacket.”

The skull leather jacket is made in the United States by artisans and washed by hand. The lining is a custom silk print with vintage Americana images. The skull is a hand printed painting and then each swaroski crystal is hand set into the eyes of the skull on the jacket.

There are only 100 pieces ever made and the leather jackets will go to only the best stores worldwide.

Jaded By Knight is a fashion favorite of many of the world’s rich and famous. So you better hurry and get yours fast. What a terrific fashion statement. Impress your friends with this amazing skull leather jacket from Jaded By Knight.

View their entire collection at:  Jaded By Knight

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Heuer Watch Company was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer. Heuer watches soon became well recognized for their high level of accuracy and workmanship. The precise watches were perfect for the timing of sporting events. Heuer soon found its market niche.

After almost 150 years of focusing on the watch industry, Tag Heuer is now taking aim at the luxury phone market. The company is offering us the “Meridiist”.

The Meridiist is Swiss-engineered and hand-assembled. Although the Tag Heuer Meridiist will cost you around $6,000 for the mobile phone, it seems to fall short on features justifying its lofty price.

For example, the features of the Meridiist don’t even come close to most of the ultra-luxury cell phones out on the market, such as the Vertu family of phones.

Similar to the AURA by Motorola, the Meridiist is produced by ModeLabs, which also a long history in timepieces.

Although Tag Heuer has been manufacturing sports watches and chronographs since 1860, we expect a lot from them. But I’m not sure they delivered enough value for the steep price.

The designer suit is one of the most misunderstood garments on the market. The reason for this is because there are so many suit vendors vying for the consumers attention, that it is hard to keep focus.

This article will review five different suit brands to give you an idea of what to look for when evaluating a suit designer. After reading this article you will have a basic understanding of Bill Blass, Botany 500, Borrelli, Brioni, and Brooks Brothers.

Bill Blass suits can be compared to Jones of New York and Evan Picone. You will find that this suit has a futuristic feel to it. Plan on paying in the area of $300.00 for an all wool suit.

Vintage suit lovers take pride in their Botany 500 suits and so should you. This classic suit was made popular on the televisions of Americans all over the country. Expect to pay top dollar for a good condition Botany 500 suit.

Borrelli is a designer from Italy specializing in luxury models. You will find that the high quality materials are matched in styling and stitching. However, you will also find that the high quality also equals a high price tag.

Brioni suits are spawned in Italy and are full of style and class. If you don’t believe me ask any of the Pierce Brosnan starring James Bond films. Expect to pay over two thousand for a suit this grand.

The Brooks Brothers suit is an American suit that has been around since the turn of the century. This suit is traditional, classic, and perfect for the office. The cost of this suit is usually in the $1,000.00 range.

Use the knowledge in this article to go forth and begin reviewing your own suit options. Read through the hype and choose a suit that is great for you.  Author: Victor Santerino

Last month in Shanghai, China, over 40 designers from around the world shared a catwalk for the first time in mainland China at the EcoChic Shanghai fashion show www.ecochicfashions.com. The celebratory event, supported by leading financial firm UBS, seeks to promote environmental sustainability in the fashion industry.

EcoChic was developed by the Hong Kong-based non-profit organization www.green2greener.com, to display and promote eco-fashion. The EcoChic Shanghai gala evening is part of the UBS Greater China Conference which this year focuses on sustainable development.

We initially did a story on the Hong Kong EcoChic event. Click Here to read that story.

“Style is about attitude and behaviour – not about the way you dress,” according to international designer, Nathan Jenden, who includes in his portfolio a cocktail dress made of recycled Indian saris. “More and more mainstream designers are using eco-fashion in their collections. Eco-fashion is not just about the future of fashion – it is about the future of the world!”

The fashion industry is the second only to agriculture in terms of the consumption of water worldwide while the production of cotton alone is responsible for the use of 25 percent of the world’s chemical pesticide.
Eco-fashion not only makes use of eco-friendly textiles, such as organic cotton, silk and hemp, but also seeks to use reconstructed clothing, with an eye to making the fashion industry more environmentally friendly.

The event in Shanghai focused on three different types of fashion: ready-to-wear, eco-couture and vintage. Around 15 eco-friendly ready-to-wear labels from around the world including three from China, showcased eco-friendly clothing alongside eco-couture designs from international superstars, Diane von Furstenberg, Thakoon and Nathan Jenden. Promoting vintage clothing as the epitome of recycling, the show also featured edgy and glamorous fashion favored by celebrities including Kate Moss and Maggie Cheung.

“This amazing and collaborative event is the fashion industry’s response to increased concerns for the environment,” says Dr. Christina Dean, founder of www.green2greener.com. “The fashion industry is often seen as being inherently un-eco-friendly because it encourages us to consume more and more new fashion. But we are showing that we can still love fashion, look great and also consume in an environmentally-friendly way.”

Nicole Yuen, Head of Equities China, UBS Investment Bank, said: “A focus of our Greater China Conference in Shanghai this year is sustainable development. I’m delighted that EcoChic is a part of the conference. It has proved to be highly effective in raising awareness of environmental issues among the investment community. A sustainable business does not need to compromise profits, technological advancement and competitiveness, but rather seeks to combine business strategies that meet its financial needs with measures aimed at protecting, sustaining and enhancing human and natural resources.”

EcoChic Shanghai has drawn support from leading Chinese designers, including Jenny Ji, Lu Kun and Dorian Ho, who all used textiles produced in China and made from bamboo, hemp or organic silk that do not require as much pesticide as conventional textiles.

“I am using certified organic silk from China, my Motherland,” says Dorian Ho, who has designed an iconic ‘EcoChic’ red organic-silk eco-couture dress with a distinctive East-meets-West look.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about using fashion to attain a more eco-friendly lifestyle,” says celebrity Josie Ho.

At the EcoChic Shanghai gala evening, following the fashion show, Sotheby’s auction house will conduct a live auction to raise funds for WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature) China.

Further funds will be raised by the sale of some of the clothes that appear on the catwalk via online trading platform www.green2greener.com.

Long gone are the days when the passion for jewelry rested with women alone.

Nowadays, men are becoming as enamored with jewelry and accessories as they are with cars, hi-tech gadgets and gizmos.

Jewelry designers have finally woken up to this fact and are now offering exclusive and extensive men’s range of jewelry, ranging right from diamond-studded watches to bracelets, chains and pendants. In this section, we take a look on the latest developments in this trend along with the major newsmakers in this aspect.

The Beckham Story :

Speaking of men’s jewelry, soccer star David Beckham created quite a stir when he displayed a dazzling collection of men’s jewelry at his famous pre-World Cup party. England’s Ashley Cole, who arrived wearing only jewelry and no shirt under his dinner jacket, assisted him in his efforts.

This was further followed by a charity auction wherein Beckham showcased his exquisite diamond encrusted watch, created by Jacob Arabo. In addition, Beckham was also perhaps the first man to publicly wear two diamond earrings, placing men’s’ jewelry fashion firmly on the front stage and marking the onset of an amazing trend.

The New Scenario :

Jewelry is no longer the domain of women only. Men have largely come to accept and recognize jewelry a symbol of class and style. Urban men, who like to appear trendy, are also taking to the ornaments to add a hip look to their appearances. The exclusive men’s’ jewelry showrooms have mushroomed in the last few years, catering to the growing need of the contemporary generation.

This trend is further accentuated by the portrayal of men supporting flashy pieces of jewelry in cinema. From the mafia kings carrying extravagant neckpieces, to the young lover wearing a kinky bracelet gifted by his fianc, men across all channels are being quick enough to adopt the trend.

In addition, where earlier gold was almost the only choice, nowadays platinum, diamonds and even stones rule the rooster. The likes of exclusive platinum or combination of metals, diamond encrusted rings and earrings dominate the scene, though smaller trinkets also appear in the picture. The entire trend gives enough reason to the jewelry and fashion industry to invest substantive resources in the men’s jewelry lines.

By the look of it, in a few years time, it is quite possible that men’s jewelry will be available to suit all types of budgets and tastes, not just remaining as the exclusive domain of the rich and famous.

Michelle Obama has been called “my rock” by her proud husband, President Barack Obama. Amongst the wild presidential ride she’s endured, she’s said this many times: nowhere but in America would her story be possible.

Born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964, Michelle grew up in a working class Chicago neighborhood during a time the United States embarked on some of the most tumultuous years of the civil rights movement.

She was the daughter of a local water treatment plant worker who suffered from multiple sclerosis. Michelle Obama rose to attend two of the most prestigious universities in the United States – Princeton as an undergraduate and then followed by Harvard Law School.

Unlike her husband Barack Obama, who was the son of a Kenyan student and white Kansas mother, Michelle Obama can trace her family tree back to the beginnings of slavery in the U. S. and embodies the heritage of the nation’s African Americans.

Given all the media attention, Michelle Obama is now being touted as the first fashion icon to inhabit the White House since Jacqueline Kennedy nearly a half-century ago.

From the shape of her eyebrows to her Jackie O-esque hair, Michelle Obama’s look has become a nationwide obsession.

But it seems that Obama’s approach to fashion is different than that of Jacqueline Kennedy.

Kennedy was all about designers and pale colors. Obama shops off the rack at stores ranging from J.Crew to White House / Black Market. And when Michelle does wear a designer label it tends to be Maria Pinto, a Chicago-based designer relatively unknown until recently.

Obama goes for color. Black and red prints, and dresses in red, coral, violet and purple all spiced the campaign trail. Stripes don’t scare her, even when they’re horizontal. With her lean body and impeccable posture, anything she wears seems to work.

President Barack Obama is immensely proud of his wife, and her accomplishments. For much of their married life for instance, she earned more than him especially in at the University of Chicago medical center.

“Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude that she is remarkable. They are right about this — she is smart, funny, and thoroughly charming. She is also very beautiful,” he said recently.

Regardless of how the future unfolds, Michelle Obama will become the ultimate symbol of the American dream, as the first African American first lady, as Barack Obama takes the presidential oath of office.