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Renowned fashion designer Valentino Garavani and his business partner, Giancarlo Giametti, has been fined €33 million ($44 million) based on allegations of tax evasion.
Spokespersons for Valentino and the Italian tax police refuse to disclose the exact figure of the alleged owings.
Statements by reprensentatives from their London offices have declared the allegations “unexpected and surprising,” as Valentino’s position “in the past already had been verified and deemed entirely legitimate and regular.”
Part of the justification is that Valentino moved to London more than a decade ago, and Valentino officially resigned from the company in 2007. In fact the company is now owned by a private equity firm, Permira.
Apparently Italian tax authorities love to target Italian designers – the most obvious earners. And the regulation is that anyone earning revenue on Italian territory is supposed to declare their earnings.
Maybe this is why so many designers are now expanding into Dubai? (Just kidding.)
Lexus has officially obtained the bragging rights as being the first luxury car line to introduce a hybrid vehicle for luxury car consumers. According to Lexus Group vice president and general manager, Mark Templin, “more than 60 percent of entry luxury-car buyers would have considered buying a hybrid if one had been available.”
The technology is pretty much the same as the mechanics already found in the Toyota Prius, including a heat recovery system, and a low-drag exterior shape that improves mileage. Both features are for the purpose of saving energy.
Some new features include an electric-motor steering assist, which wanrs drivers if they are steering out of their lane. A grille-mounted camera is also installed to allow drivers to see objects or pedestrians directly in front of the vehicle.
Pricing has been kept hush-hush, though logically we can expect something between $30,000 to $50,000. Options include LED headlights, driver head-up display, as well as SafetyConnect and Lexus Enform, an Internet and concierge-style service.
Dell‘s new luxury computer line, Adamo, was announced on Friday in Las Vegas, with a model posing around with an Adamo laptop and not even turning it on. No prices have been announced, not even a ballpark figure or any other form of indication other than that it’ll be high-end and high-performance.
“It’s not the only product we’re launching,” said Dell’s senior vice president, Alex Gruzen. “It’s the right time, with the technologies and materials,” emphasized Gruzen, implying that Dell remains focused on serving a new luxury customer segment.
Other products in the works for Dell include a 10-inch ‘netbook’ PC and a mini portable photo printer. More details about Adamo products and specs are expected to be released by June 2009.
‘Adamo’ was chosen, as it is the Latin word for ‘to fall in love with’. Dell is competing with Hewlett Packard to reach the new luxury computer segment – both seemingly following the footsteps of Apple, for more sleeker, stylishly designed computers.
Roberto Cavalli is giving his thumbs up to the idea of consumers reeling in their credit debts with his super sexy signature snakeskin print ‘Cavalli Card’, available from all Roberto Cavalli boutiques worldwide starting March 1, 2009. Application forms may also be obtained online at RobertoCavalliCard.com.
A launch event of the card will also be happening during Milan Fashion Week. The card has iridescent colors and will allow consumers VIP Cavalli services at Cavalli boutiques, access to special sales and invitations to fashion shows and other events. (Really wasn’t sure if this should have gone in edictive or lushbling, however given the fact that Cavalli is in the ranks of luxury fashion, and this is about a credit card, I have decided that it fits snugly in the lushbling arena).
The card will also offer plenty of benefits with partner luxury service provides in the beauty, hostpitality, travel and lifestyle industries.
“I love to immerse myself in new projects — they stimulate my creativity,” said Cavalli.
Iranian-American home developer Fred Milani is selling his Atlanta home, a scaled-down version of the US Presidential White House. There is an Oval Office, American flags everywhere you turn, and the whole estate may be yours for $9.88 million.
The estate has become an Atlantan tourist attraction in itself, with 16,500 square feet of White House replication. Though with very tight security, the interior is like a presidential sanctuary. Some of the bedrooms also have presidential themes, with such rooms as the Lincoln bedroom, which features a mural of Abraham Lincoln and the Emanicipation Proclamation.
Some are saying this “forced sale” is a depressing reality of the current economic situation, as Milani himself made his fortune on real estate throughout America.
However, Milani himself remains in good humour about the situation, as he said to the New York Times, “I may build the Congress building across the street.”
(Above: Milani also built a small Chapel on the estate, after he converted from Islam to Christianity in 1995.)
