SEMPE & ST. TROPEZ - FOREVER

ST. TROPEZ - ARRIVING BY BOATSt. Tropez is like a dream.   The infamous destination on the French Riviera is the hottest summer "see & be seen" spot - hands down.   The quaint village on the sea has some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere in the world.   There is an ironic competition however between natural and manmade attractions.   While the beauty of the mountains, the color of the deep blue sea, and the overall landscape are breathtaking... it's the manmade creations that might have you gasping for breath.   Yachts, Breasts, & Lips - all get bigger season after season!BOTERO ON THE SQUARE - ST. TROPEZ

While it is the glitz, glam, and vulgarity of some of the tourists that make St. Tropez a guilty pleasure for people watching, somehow the excess is diffused by the spirit of the village. SUPER COOL YACHT IN ST. TROPEZ  It's the charm of the shops -tailored for this  "at the beach" experience.    The farmers market and antique fair on Sunday is not to be missed.   Where else can you buy Hermes & Heirloom tomatoes while in flip flops, and take a boat ride back home??

If you can - arrive by boat.   Traffic on wheels is insane.   I go on a friend's boat whenever I visit, but there are public ferries from a few nearby towns as well.   We make a day of it by arriving early and having breakfast on the harbour.  Then a little shopping around, maybe an ice-cream & we are out.  I never stick around long enough to make it to Les Caves du Roy at the Byblos hotel, but I'll leave that to Paris Hilton and whoever she is working for  that summer!  If you plan it well you can have lunch at one of the chic beach clubs West of the village.    This year we found a great alternative to Club 55.    Cabane Bambou is beautiful and breezy.   They have a super friendly staff and a clientele that is a bit less saturated with Americans than 55.   I love Club 55, but sometimes you want low key.  Of course there are so many options... New Coco,  Nikki Beach, Tahiti, etc.   If you have kept to your bikini diet all year, then hit the nude beach that is just next to Cabane Bambou - what's more exotic than being naked on the French Riviera?ST. TROPEZ FARMER'S MARKET - SUNDAYS

This year I was also so happy to see two amazing art exhibitions in St. Tropez.   The Botero sculptures are large and dominating - which is typical of the artist's work.   There is an overt sexuality to Botero's sculptures that is somehow able to be shock and sooth at the same time.    A perfect choice for St. Tropez!

At the Louis Vuitton boutique, the French fashion house hosted a showcase of an artist known for his witty cartoons of society and scenery.   Jean-Jacques Sempe and his creations are -oh- so French.  JASON AT LV BOUTIQUE IN ST. TROPEZYou probably recognize his unmistakable style from his numerous covers of The New Yorker.   Sempe (as he is usually referred to) always has an ironic twist on a situation.  Usually his aim is to make you laugh - which he achieves time and time again.   Many times, we are laughing at ourselves as we recognize the silly hypocrisies we all live with day to day.   Never mean spirited, Sempe's observations are more a pat on the head, than a slap in the face.JEAN-JACQUES SEMPE - HIS VISION OF ST. TROPEZ    Also a perfect artist to be shown in St. Tropez!   In fact, the artist has referenced this playground of the rich and famous many times over the years.    For a closer look at some of his work, and to learn more about Sempe - click LOOK.

BANG BANG BOOKMARC

BOOKMARC - 400 BLEECKER STREET PH: Jason JobsonWhat might seem like a lost episode of the Twilight Zone is in fact just another day in retail on Bleecker Street in New York's West Village.   The street has become infamous for the waiting line for cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery.  More recently  the lines at the Marc Jacobs accessories boutique that sells Marc Marc Jacobs leather goods, t-shirts, and trinkets was rivaling the bakery!    Jacobs was the first designer to call the street home, and has increased his number of boutiques there year after year.    Last week the company opened the fifth store front on the street (seventh in the neighborhood).   BOOKMARC is the first full scale book shop for the company...   click   BOOKMARC-ED to read on and see more pictures of what's in store!

LEGACY THE "NEW" LUXURY

LOUIS VUITTON - ARTISAN ADNo industry  loves to promote a trend or a catch phrase like the fashion industry.   Season after season marketing campaigns tell us what is the "new" black or the latest silhouette that Women must have on their back and or in the closet.  During the eight years of the Bush administration, consumers were drunk on credit.  Click Luxury to read on..

MADONNA DOES DISHES TO STAY IN VOGUE

DOLCE & GABBANA - SPRING 2010

This is really a "Campaign Watch" article, but I couldn't resist the temptation..   Madonna doing dishes is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.   The queen of re-invention is once again the star of a major fashion campaign for Spring 2010 as she works the kitchen for Dolce & Gabbana.  DOLCE & GABANNA - SPRING 2010

Madonna was just the face of Louis Vuitton, not for one, but two consecutive seasons.   Marc Jacobs was over the moon to have Madonna star in the campaigns back to back.   They were photographed together at parties, Madonna attended Marc's Spring fashion show, - clearly fashion friends.  THEN, Madonna posed for Dolce.  Friendship over.   Marc was quoted as saying that he doesn't want Madonna at his Fall 2010 fashion show - and that she was never invited to the last show.  The designer said she called and said she was coming - so what could he do?   What could he do?  How about not have her star in the campaign of the French fashion house you have creative control over?  Anyway, back to the Dolce Ads.

Madonna looks beautiful as she channels Sophia Loren in an homage to Sicilian cinema in Dolce & Gabbana's Spring campaign.   There is a sensuality and passion in the pictures that capture the era of the great Italian cinema of the 50's.  Cleavage and Pasta -now THATS Italian!  Like Cher, Madonna has continued to "Turn Back Time" year after year.   The latest images give her an other - worldly glow of youth and vitality.       

DOLCE & GABBANA - SPRING 2010Bravo D&G, you obviously got the attention of the fashion crowd - or at least of one fashion designer!  Bravo too to Madonna.  In a year when Lady GaGa has stolen her thunder from even the most die-hard fans, Madonna remains current in fashion mags around the world with this main line campaign.

MGM CITY CENTER DRAWS LINE IN THE SAND

CITY CENTER FACADE - CRYSTALS SHOPPING COMPLEXWOW!…  What else can you say when you look at the future.. or experience it?   That is exactly what City Center, the largest and most dramatic urban complex ever to bow in Las Vegas feels like.   The latest project from the MGM Mirage Group, City Center is a work of art on a scale that mere mortals rarely accomplish.    Already dubbed “Dubai West” due to its size and opulence,  City Center sparkles, dazzles, and redraws a line in the sand – separating it from any other property in this already glamorous city.    I was thrilled to get an advanced looked at the complex early this week. JASON IN THE MIDDLE OF RETAIL HEAVEN It didn’t take much to get me on the plane to Vegas to be one of the first people to experience City Center!  Also, how often do you get to look at 8.5 Billion dollars?  That staggering budget won't be topped anytime soon.CRYSTALS INTERIOR - 500,000 SQUARE FEET

Despite the worst economic environment in 75 years, MGM pushed ahead with the uber project that broke ground back in 2007.   Bravo!   The company should be applauded for recognizing that when the economy recovers during 2010 and 2011, this property will be the luxury destination in Sin City, if not the world.     It will take years or at least a decade for any other future project to outdo this work of art.    Not to mention that since the credit crackdown of 2009 – who will ever be able to line up funding like this anytime soon?    

Crystals is the luxury retail complex that features astonishing boutiques from the biggest names in fashion.   Of course Louis Vuitton took the center by storm by opening  their largest boutique in the U.S.-  3 levels of open air design displaying the latest LV collection, as well as custom made products for Vegas like a traveling  roulette wheel in your own LV trunk!  Don't ask the price!     Tom Ford opens his second boutique in the US that will no doubt host the unveiling of the designers women's collection in 2011.    French “it” collection Lanvin also chose City Center to unveil it’s second state side boutique after Bal Harbour– opening early 2010.   Fellow French fashion house and luxury benchmark –Hermes- will also be a part of the massive atrium.

The real star of the Crystals shopping complex is the building itself.  There is over 500,000 square feet of luxury retail shopping destinations!   At the center of the building sits a three story wooden tree house designed by NYC based architect David Rockwell.  DAVID ROCKWELL'S TREEHOUSE The curved lines of this wooden Café / lounge in the sky makes me think of Star Wars – a futuristic image of a minimalist cantina.   At the same time, the shape and position of the tree house looks like an abstract heart, pulsating life to all corners of the Crystals.   Rockwell is known for breaking boundaries and taking projects to the next level.   He is a prolific talent - in the past year alone working on such diverse projects as the state of the art Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, the set of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, and this out of this world retail environment in Las Vegas. (And this is just his projects happening in North America).   Rockwell gave the building smooth lines that soften and calm the feeling created by Fellow Architect and dreamer, Daniel Libeskind, who designed the facade and outer building of Crystals.   Jagged edges of steel and glass envelop Rockwell's world of smooth wood and filtered light.  SMOOTH LINES AND CALM LIGHTING IN THE CRYSTALSThe overall effect is like some futuristic bio-dome where only luxury goods and those who can afford them have survived.   The Crystals and City Center are about as unlike any other structure in Las Vegas you can imagine.    City Center and Wynn are not only at opposite ends of the strip in Vegas, they are polar opposites when it comes to aesthetics.   

Amazingly, the 8 billion dollar City Center has only one gaming property – Aria.  The stunning hotel and casino has 4,000 guestrooms!  The lobby is unlike any casino - hotel you have ever seen.   Calm and serene with live trees everywhere you look.   To help Aria take shape, the powers that be enlisted another rock star of design, NYC architect Peter Marino to contribute to the casino itself.   Marino is the darling of the fashion world,  creating some of the biggest and most luxurious Fashion boutiques in the world for global brands like Chanel and  Christian Dior. CITY CENTER DRIVEWAY -VERY BLADE RUNNER   For City Center Marino created the VIP gaming area of Aria.   The inspiration was the curves and natural flow of the Grand Canyon.  HIGH ROLLER GAMING ROOMS BY PETER MARINO AT ARIA Marino outdid himself with this visually  stunning  space.   He was able to create a sense of calm for those who will be risking large sums of money on every hand!   Not only visually stunning, Aria is proud to have received LEED GOLD certification for the property – another first for a project this size.

The talent of the MGM management is that they are able to present this ultra luxurious property- while at the same time offering enough options for those on a more limited budget.   Case in point,TERRENE BOUTIQUE two of the retails stores owned and operated by the MGM management offers a range of price points that give the same look as the luxury designs for sale in the Crystals complex.    Terrene for Women and Viceroy  for  Men,  both stores off the lobby in Aria. 

I can’t even go into the restaurants here and do them justice.   There are 16 in Aria alone!   More to come on the eating options, but just be warned – don’t eat for a week before you go.  I'll be writing about this for days, as there are so many details to cover!   Oh, did I forget to mention, Elvis is in the building?   That's right, Cirque du Soleil has created another show for Las Vegas.   This time, honoring the King of Rock & Roll himself.   The theater at Aria houses the show and also has the only official Elvis store in Las Vegas.  

After you rock City Center, pop across the strip one night to Planet Hollywood to take in the former “Girls Next Door” star Holly Madison  in her new burlesque production - PEEPSHOW.  Holly went from being one of Hef's harem to being the hottest tease on the strip.. or something like that.  Hef who?   HOLLY MADISON OF PEEP SHOW

Bottom line, Get yourself to Las Vegas  in 2010!   With all the incentives being offered, there has never been a better time to go.   You are guaranteed have a great time.   There are so many great deals on airfare and many of the major hotels are offering packages with steep discounts.   Some are even giving casino dollars to spend on the property.   Jet Blue also has direct flights from the new terminal at JFK.  Good Luck!