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Weekend FT: Lifestyle Models sell real estate in New York

Posted by Unknown Senin, 20 November 2006 0 komentar

Beauty is in the eye of the freeholder

By Julie Earle-Levine

Published:November 20 2006

At first glance, Paolo Zampolli's premises in downtown Manhattan looks like those of any other luxury real estate broker. Listings for multi-million-dollar condominiums are displayed on Paramount Realty's floor-to-ceiling windows. The usual glossy magazines, comfortable leather sofas and Italian espresso maker are all present.

What is striking is that the real estate brokers in Mr Zampolli's Greene Street office are as eye-catching as the sleek apartments they are selling. These agents are mostly fashion models, many of whom have swapped the catwalk for what they hope will be another lucrative career.

Zampolli's strategy of training models as real estate brokers is an intriguing response to an increasingly competitive real estate market. "It is all aboutluxury and attractiveness," he says. "If you are going to buy an apartment, why not with a beautiful, smart woman?" Mr Zampolli, the owner and president of a modelling agency, ID Model Management, decided two years ago to branch out into real estate at the suggestion of his friend Donald Trump, the property developer.

He recently formed a partnership with Prudential Douglas Elliman, New York, the state's largest real estate services company. ID Model Management, which is in the same building as ID, has a stream of models on their way to fashion shoots. The models leaving Paramount are on their way to show off apartments in much the same way as they might launch a designer's fashion collection.

"For me, the focus is now more on square footage than on fashion magazines," says Mr Zampolli. He says 12 models will be working for by early next year. Six already have broker's licences while the others are still studying for their real estate exams.

Good looks are not the only factor. After years spent attending glitzy parties, many models have acquired a valuable network of wealthy contacts. Angie Everhart, a 37-year-old actor and supermodel, has become one of Mr Zampolli's agents after a 20-year modelling career. "Fashion is the centre of a lot of worlds and lifestyles. You get to meet rock stars, presidents, sports stars and your regular Joes on the street," she says after sweeping into Mr Zampolli's office in knee-high boots, silk blouse and dark designer jeans. All such contacts are possible buyers. "I know a lot of wealthy people round the world, so it made sense for me to get paid to tell them about apartments," she says. With other projects on the go, she intends to sell real estate part-time. "I am only going to sell ultra-luxury properties. No sixth-floor walk-ups. I'm sorry if it sounds snobby but it's just not my style," she says.

Maria Markova, a 21-year-old Russian model with a real estate broker's licence, works part-time for Mr Zampolli while studying philosophy and literature at Colombia University. "I started modelling at 17 and got bored. Now I'm selling real estate to make extra money," she says. Ms Markova has sold two multi-million-dollar apartments at a development on Wall Street.

Aleksandra Slowinska, a Polish-German model in her 20s, worked for ID be-fore studying architecture and interior design in New York and real estate at another firm before joining Paramount Realty. "Real estate is a wonderful transition for a model. You meet all the people when you are modelling and your contact sheet is important. It is almost the same in real estate," she says. Ms Slowinska has not sold any properties yet because, she says, she has focused on her full-time job at Costas Kondylis & Partners, a New York architectural firm that specialises in residential high-rise buildings, but she is confident she will. "One of my goals in real estate is to sell whole buildings," says the blonde, 6ft model.

Mr Zampolli has plans for developments in New York, Brazil and Milan, and believes prime real estate is "easy to sell, whatever the city". He says models can compete with more seasoned brokers. "Some models are not only extremely beautiful, but they are also exceptionally driven." For models, whose careers start at 15 and often end at 24, real estate is a new way to make money.

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Weekend FT: Antigua

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 19 November 2006 0 komentar

Balancing newcomers and natives

By Julie Earle-Levine

Published: November 18 2006

The view from the aircraft as it lands in Antigua is mostly green and lush. On the ground, alongside a dirt road, there are mango trees dripping with fruit and hand-painted signs advertising pigs and ducks for sale. Locals sit out in front of small shacks selling roast birds and Wadadli, the island beer, or beside stalls laden with "black" pineapples, coconuts and bags of sugar cane, a reminder of what used to be the island's main economic driver.

Now, of course, like other Caribbean destinations, Antigua depends on tourism and real estate development. And the pace at which new luxury hotels and houses are being built around its 365 beaches ("one for every day of the year") as well as rapidly rising property prices stand in stark contrast to the traditional laid-back nature of the island. The building boom begs the question: will Antigua, just 14 miles long and with a population of 70,000, lose its charm?

"Antigua is probably a little hot now with quite a lot of development going on," says Gordon Campbell Gray, who opened Carlisle Bay, a five-star hotel on the island's south coast, three years ago and is now planning "a civilised, small amount of villas in a quite Antiguan style" nearby. "Even the land next to us, which we very stupidly didn't buy back [in 2003], has gone up in price considerably."

Local estate agents say that beach-front land has jumped from $6 per sq ft four years ago to $20 per sq ft, or $215 per sq metre, today. Land with distant views of the water that cost $1.25 per sq ft has more than quadrupled in price. "For some buyers, money is not an option, [and] some locals are seeing this as their golden opportunity and selling," says Dominique D'Aloia, owner of Paradise Properties Connection, who has lived on the island for 25 years. "Now, everyone wants to live here or at least have a home here." Rock musician Eric Clapton, Virgin tycoon Richard Branson and actor Timothy Dalton are owners on the island and fashion designer Giorgio Armani bought two villas with ocean views on the north-west coast last year.

Antigua's first "golden era" was in the 1980s when British entrepreneur and yachtsman Peter de Savary injected millions to develop the St James's Club, on a 100-acre private peninsula. But after five or six years of activity the island's property market settled down. Two decades later there are new major players, including Amsterdam-based luxury home builder La Perla International Living and Sandals Resorts. Both are significantly expanding their operations in Antigua, while smaller hoteliers, such as Campbell Gray and Cocos and Cocobay founder Andrew Michelin, are opening new properties, some of which include one or a handful of condos and villas. Right next to Armani's stunning cliff-side retreat at Shell Beach is the Galley Bay Club, a new development of 40 luxury, two-bedroom apartments with natural coral stone floors and ocean views priced from $795,000.

"Previously, [development] was only hotel-based but there were very few villa or residential communities being built," says Ian Fraser, managing director of Fraser & Associates, a commercial property and hotel management company in Antigua. Partly thanks to the exposure offered by the West Indies hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup, "we now expect to see quite a lot of these."

La Perla started developing its first resort in a cove on the Atlantic-facing coast, a gated community called NonSuch Bay, in 2004, says Hans Verver, the company's sales director in Antigua. Most of the 70 condominiums in phase one have been sold to British buyers at prices from $485,000 for a one-bedroom to nearly $1m for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom property with a private terrace. The development, which includes a beach club, private gardens and pools, and a small private marina on nearly 40 acres, is due to be completed in 2007.

La Perla has also bought several other properties, including a large tropical peninsula with views to Montserrat and Nevis that it hopes to develop with a US partner, and Jolly Harbour, a large marina, golf, hotel and residential complex on the west coast that it is updating and expanding. "There are 600 properties here but it is not overbuilt because it is spread out," Verver says. "We are also selling plots for construction of individual villas."

Fraser, whose company will provide local management to NonSuch Bay, grew up in Antigua and says the island has changed enormously. "There is talk of a large 300- or 400-acre development on the cards and it may have some social element where there is a requirement to build low income housing as part of it," he says.

Mark Cochrane, a developer whose parents were born and raised in Antigua, is already balancing his desire to benefit from the wave of American and British buyers looking for luxury homes with an obligation to give back to the community. His company, NUVN Development, one of the largest high-end homebuilders on the island, will next year launch a residential development for locals with 60 houses priced at about $100,000. "Many local houses are wooden, built a long time ago, and some, still standing from hurricanes, need repair. We are bringing new styles and designs for a reasonable price."

For now, developments in Antigua remain scattered and isolated and most islanders think the government has done a good job of preserving open spaces. Alex Michelin, whose London-based company Finchatton is involved with his father Andrew's new Hermitage Bay hotel project, notes that only about half of the beaches are accessible by road and only 20 have resorts on them. "It's now seen as 'the' chic unpoilt place to be in the Caribbean as Barbados becomes overdeveloped; property prices have soared; and it even has its own private jet terminal for the super-rich. But the speed of development looks to stay steady," he says. "If developing was easier on the island, more [resorts] would have [already] been built."

Officials are now working on a master plan to guide new construction over the next decade and working to forge links between wealthy newcomers and less wealthy locals. "We are being very careful about the way we progress," says Lorraine Headley, the island's director general of tourism, who is based in the capital and cruise-ship port, St John's. "There is always a delicate balance on an island where there is limited land, but residents recognise the benefits of investment, tourism and jobs. Many Antiguans are landowners anyway."

She notes that hundreds of islanders plan to open their homes to visitors during the cricket. But not everyone is embracing the building explosion. "More buildings mean more people living here, which will make the island more crowded," says one small business owner. He worries that the "genuine, down-to-earth Antigua" could disappear.

Others hope the developments might improve the island's infrastructure. Antigua has only one main road, which it is upgrading for the World Cup, but many are just bumpy dirt tracks with few road signs.

Rob Sherman, a 30-year resident of Antigua who lives on a 400-year-old sugar estate surrounded by royal palms, banana and mango trees, is encouraged by the upscale nature of the island's new developments. "It's [still] a beautiful place to live," he says.

His wife, Bernadette, a local businesswoman and board member of the Island Academy International school, agrees. Both natives and newcomers appreciate Antigua for what it is now - safe, relaxed, spiritual and fun - and "hopefully they can keep all this going as the island changes", she says.

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Business: Weekend FT - Dolly Lenz

Posted by Unknown Senin, 28 Agustus 2006 0 komentar

HOUSE AND HOME: 'I'd condo all of Central Park if I could'

Jul 29, 2006

Dolly Lenz is typing furiously on one of her three Blackberries, with one phone pressed to her ear and another ringing beside her. She dives for her Chanel bag but misses the call. "Hello, hello, hello?" Then both phones are ringing and do not stop.

Lenz, who is vice-chairman at Prudential Douglas Elliman in Manhattan, has been the top-selling real estate broker (as measured by dollar value of sales) in the US for the past three years. In the 12 months to May, she racked up $500m in deals, for which she should earn at least $8m in commissions. Late night meetings at Nobu or Cipriani downtown (she's been known to attend three business dinners in an evening) and at least two lunches at Michaels or the Four Seasons are the norm seven days a week. She even admits to keeping a Blackberry at her bedside so she can respond to e-mails in the middle of the night.

I spend an afternoon with her at Cipriani Club Residences, a luxury condominium development, where Bruce Willis, Harvey Weinstein and Naomi Campbell, among others, have bought units. She's overseeing sales and marketing for the development, in addition to handling other prime properties around the city. But, when I ask her about stress, she laughs. "Do I throw the phone at people? No," she said referring to Campbell's reported tantrums. "I eat lots and lots of chocolate. Like three candy bars a day. Cheap chocolate, and Bellinis." (Prospective buyers at Cipriani are offered the restaurant's signature cocktail, and Lenz sometimes joins in.)

In spite of her schedule and diet, the 48-year-old Lenz is petite, with girlish, long blonde hair. She wears four-inch patent leather heels and a snug-fitting black Armani suit, one of the 30 black suits she owns. This is her uniform every day except Sunday, when she still works but might put on jeans. She says she rarely sees her husband and two teenage children for dinner. "My husband likes it that way," she jokes. "That is why we've been married happily for more than 25 years."

A native New Yorker and a former accountant, she seems like a born saleswoman: blunt, fast-talking, occasionally coarse, but still charming. "This is like a million six, with all the services," she says of one condo. "This is classic. Everyone wants it." Later, she declares a studio apartment with a fold-out sofa bed and a $890,000 price tag a deal. "Cipriani is a 106 unit building, other units downtown are 600 apartments. It's a classy building, the average age is 27 to 45. I'd love to be 27." Click, click, click. Her heels tap away on the polished wood floor. "Look at these refrigerators, completely hidden. This is what people are going to be killing for in Manhattan. It's the perfect pied-à-terre. It's like a jewel box." The week we meet, Lenz has sold three Cipriani penthouses to two Wall Streeters in their 30s for a total of $7.5m; a $200m building lot to an Italian developer; and 14 apartments at a mid-town development, the Veneto. "I've got $1bn worth of listings on my website, that's a third of Prudential Douglas's business in New York," she says.

The value of the property she's sold over her 20-year-plus career is more than $5bn, including deals for whole buildings, estates in the Hamptons and homes in London and Barbados.

Still, she says, it has been a long climb in a cut-throat world. "Oh my God. When I started, no one would show an apartment with me," she says. "They'd say 'Who are you? Which rock did you crawl out from under?'" But Lenz was lucky to have top-notch clients early on. These included singer Barbra Streisand, whom she helped to sell several apartments and eventually to purchase one. "We looked for almost 19 years," she says. "I learned the whole market as a result, and she introduced me to a lot of people."

Now she works with numerous celebrities. She says Revlon boss Ronald Perelman is her most interesting; but others can be difficult. "I sold P. Diddy an apartment, [and] his people wouldn't sign," she says. But "I said 'If you want the apartment, you need to put down $400,000, like now'. As a woman, I have to be very tough."

Lenz, who has moved 38 times in Manhattan and currently lives at the Park Imperial atop the Random House building at 56th and Broadway, prides herself on knowing when a buyer is ready to seal a deal. She says it takes her about 12 minutes. "You can just tell. You can tell when a man is going to buy. They start to perspire. You can see it in their face. It's like when men see boobs. It's that same look."

She says she conspires with many women to encourage their husbands to buy and enjoys that part of the business. "I love hearing about people's lives. I have 307 marriages to my credit. I love matching people to people. Are you married?"

As for a widely reported real estate bubble, Lenz is unsurprisingly bullish, especially about the top end of the market. "I think there is a good balance of supply and demand, but if there was a huge oversupply, well that would affect only the cookie cutter [condos], like in the last bubble in 1990, when there were 10,000 new apartments," she says.

That said, she's always hoping for more new developments in Manhattan. Although she starts each day at 6am with a 12-mile run through Central Park (still carrying those phones and Blackberries), she thinks the 843-acre oasis could be put to much better use. "You know, I'd condo all of Central Park if I could," she says. It's clear, once again, that selling property will always be her top priority.

Prudential Douglas Elliman, tel: +1 212 891 7113, www.elliman.com

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Travel: New York Magazine - Sydney

Posted by Unknown Selasa, 04 April 2006 0 komentar

Sydney
By Julie Earle-Levine

After years of swaggering self-promotion, the dream is finally coming true: Sydney really is on the verge of joining the ranks of the world’s great cities. Sydneysiders are starting to rise to the top of the fashion, art, architecture, and food worlds. (Not to mention the city’s Hollywood connection: Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts, and Nicole Kidman call the city home.) With success comes prosperity—apartment prices have doubled in the past five years and the stock market just broke the magical 5,000 mark—and there is no end in sight. The country is primed to become America’s gateway to China: This year, the Opera House introduced guided tours in Mandarin, Qantas started flying direct from Sydney to Beijing, and Prime Minister John Howard started negotiating a free-trade agreement with the Chinese premier. Of course, big successes also bring problems—big-city problems. The riots that exploded in the southern suburb of Cronulla in December divided the town along ugly ethnic lines. Sydneysiders were forced to take a long, hard look at themselves. Then Howard announced, “I do not believe Australians are racist.” That nasty business over, they’ve gone back to wining, dining, beaching, and generally enjoying a quality of life—hyperbole alert—unmatched in the world. - J.E.

Hotel Finder:
If you like the City Club’s oversize glass showers, you’ll love the soaking tubs at Establishment.
If you like the historic feel of The Library, you’ll love the Chelsea Guest House.
If you like the harbor views from the Ritz Carlton Battery Park, you’ll love looking out over the Opera House at Park Hyatt Sydney.

Glossary: Sydneysider Slang
Bottle-O: Liquor store, where you load up on a “slab of amber fluid” (a case of beer).
Budgie smugglers: Speedos, also called “dick pointers.”
Crack a coldie: Open a beer, quite possibly over a barbie.
Dinkum: Real, genuine.
Dog’s eye: A flaky meat pie.
Fancy a cheeky shampoo?: Want to get a drink?
Good on ya, mate: Thanks a lot.
Pacific peso: A$1; i.e., 70 cents.
Pom: A Brit (“bloody Poms”).
Root rat: Sex addict.
Shark biscuit: Surfing novice, a kook.
Spunk: A hottie, especially a male (“what a hunk of spunk”).
Westies: From the Western suburbs; i.e., the bridge-and-tunnel crowd.

Sydney
BEACHES
Step Into Liquid
The city has 40 beaches to choose from, and each has its own style, from its most famous, Bondi, to Palm Beach, Sydney’s version of the Hamptons. Surf lessons are a cliché, but one you should indulge in wholeheartedly. And if you’re gonna learn to shred, it ought to be with Tony Morley, one of a team of mostly blond-haired, tan pros at Lets Go Surfing, a school at North Bondi known for its small classes and highly trained instructors. Morley, 26, has been surfing since he was 10 and specializes in teaching beginners to stand up on Bondi waves, which look tame but can have gnarly rips (A$69 for two-hour group classes; 61-2-9365-1800).

BONDI - Yes, it can be a tourist trap—expect busloads of Japanese visitors and swarming British backpackers—but without the crowds, it can be truly gorgeous. To experience the quiet, beautiful Bondi, go at 6 a.m. for laps with the locals along Campbell Parade; after, have an espresso at the Bondi Tratt (61-2-9365-4303), serving “brekkie” from 7 a.m.

TAMARAMA - Barely-there bikinis rule at Tamarama, a tiny beach around the cliff from Bondi that’s big on attitude and style. Prime flaunting hours are weekends, from noon to 4 p.m. Stop by the Beach Café (61-2-9130-2419) for a fresh mango smoothie. Don’t miss the regular surf lifesavers’ drill, when good-looking, athletic bodies scramble into the surf and power through the waves. If you feel like you might need to be rescued, this is the place to do it.

MANLY - Families go to Manly Beach, on Sydney’s northern shores, for laid-back surf breaks. Leave the city from Circular Quay; it’s a quick trip by ferry. If you miss the boat back, wait for the next one at the Manly Wharf Hotel (61-2-9977-1266), a good spot for a Carlton Cold and a bird’s-eye view of the dock.

PALM - An hour’s drive from the city, Palm Beach is a glamorous day trip, especially in a ragtop—or even better, by private seaplane (Sydney Harbor Seaplanes, 61-2-9388-1978). Aussie film types, financiers, and other movers and shakers own mansions at “Palmie” and lunch at the Beach Road Restaurant (61-2-9974-1159). Try the roasted blue-eyed cod.

BALMORAL - Balmoral Beach is like its own small island, with lovely swimming beaches: no surf and no rips to worry about. Don’t drive here—parking is impossible—just catch the ferry or bus from Circular Quay. Every weekend in summer, there is free Shakespeare in the Rotunda. Go to the Bathers’ Pavilion (61-2-9969-5050), a changing shed from the twenties that’s now a chic light-filled café and restaurant: the perfect spot for sundowners right on the beach. -J.E.

PLACE TO BUY FISH YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF -
Christie’s SeafoodsSydney Fish Market (61-2-9552-3333) Go at ten on a weekday to avoid the early-morning rush. Christie’s, the first shop on the left-hand side as you walk into the New Arcade, sells the sea: from sweet, pink king prawns to black-lip abalone. Select your fish, and have it cut for sashimi or cooked to order at the grill counter. Christie’s has tables, but sitting by the docks with screeching seagulls is more fun.

WAY TO GET PIPES LIKE RUSSELL CROWE’S - Kayak Touring, The Spit Bridge, Mosman (61-2-9960-4389) On a half-day guided kayak tour of Sydney’s Middle Harbor, you’ll work your way past waterfront mansions with megayachts and the serene Garigal National Park with its bush vistas and stunning sandstone formations. Expect to see bandicoot below and white-bellied sea eagles soaring overhead. (A$99 for three and a half hours).

SHITKICKERS YOU CAN’T GET AT HOME - R.M. Williams389 George St. (61-2-9262-2228) Now that the whole Ugg debacle is more or less behind us, go for what Australia does best: leather boots (cowboy and others). Guys should buy the Comfort Craftsman in chestnut, black, or the new must-have tone, whiskey. Sheilas (that’s Aussie for fair-dinkum women) should snare the black suede Aberfeldy boot with white stitching. Neither is available yet at R.M.’s Manhattan store.

PLAN FOR NOT GETTING RIPPED OFF - Hogarth Galleries7 Walker Lane, Paddington (61-2- 9360-6839) Dodging the tourist traps of Sydney’s Aboriginal art scene is a bit like unguided shopping for diamonds on 47th Street. Stick to Hogarth, the oldest commercial dealer in Australia with the hottest painter around: Rosella Namok, a 26-year-old abstract artist who paints with her fingers. -J.E.

Sydney
THE TOP FIVE Seafood Restaurant

1. If you can’t score a beach-view table at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, hit nearby Swell for plump Sydney rock oysters and crispy skinned salmon (61-2-9386-5001).

2. For four-star fare to rival Eric Ripert’s, there’s only one option: Tetsuya’s. A confit of trout served with daikon and fennel is chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s signature dish (61-2-9267-2900).

3. At Glass Brasserie, demand a table close to the open kitchen to watch (if you’re lucky) chef Luke Mangan prepare your line-caught barramundi, served whole (61-2-9265-6068).

4. Foodies hang out at Flying Fish, in inner-city Pyrmont. Ask for a table on the outside deck and try chef Peter Kuruvita’s spicy Sri Lankan snapper curry with basmati rice (61-2-9518-6677).

5. Golden Century is as crowded, noisy—and delicious—as Joe’s Shanghai. Fish and crabs are brought wriggling to your table before being dispatched to the kitchen (61-2-9212-3901). -J.E.

TREND -D.O.M. Pubs“Dirty old man pubs” are making a comeback—especially those that haven’t been renovated and therefore still have charming features like spittoons underneath the bar. Try the Darlo in Darlinghurst, the historic Cooper’s Arms in Newtown, the Nelson in Bondi Junction, the Shakespeare (a.k.a. “the Shakey”) in Surry Hills, or the Beauchamp, which just reopened in Paddington. -J.E.

Sydney, Woollahra
Antiques Road Map - The new neighborhood for old things.
Sydney is the oldest city in Australia, settled in 1788, so the antiquing is fabulous. Not only are there treasures still to be found, but the favorable exchange rate makes shopping here a much better deal than in, say, London. Start at Anne Schofield Antiques, known for its stunning South Sea pearl earrings, then make your way along Queen Street; stop for lunch at Bistro Moncur before venturing toward nearby Oxford Street for the grand finale: the Woollahra Antique Centre, with 50 shops. Avoid Sundays, when many stores are closed.

1. Anne Schofield Antiques36 Queen St. Jewelry—Georgian neoclassical cameos, French Deco baubles—from the eighteenth century to the fiffties.
Simon Johnson

2. Simon Johnson55 Queen St. Not antiques but a gourmet store worth a stop: Buy the preserved lemons and satay paste to bring home; salt caramels for the walk.

3. The Art of Wine & Food80 Queen St. Everything from absinthe glasses to hippopotamus-tooth corkscrews.

4. Howell & Howell84 Queen St. Antique mirrors, lamps, and stools from France, Italy, and Spain.

5. Tim McCormick’s 92 Queen St. Rare books, prints, and maps; ask to see the Colonial manuscripts.

6. Three Antiques stores in a row 104-108 Queen St. Tortoiseshell brushes and vintage pens at Michael A. Greene, early-Victorian dining tables and chairs at Gaslight, and unusual pieces like a Charles X cherrywood birdcage at Martyn Cook’s.

7. Bistro Moncur116 Queen St. Break for a bistro lunch: Order the grilled sea scallops or the popular pure pork sausages with potato mash.

8. Woollahra Antique Centre160 Oxford St. The three best specialty shops: Cast, Tin and Other Toys; Art Nouveau; English and Continental Glass. -J.E.

BAR CRAWL
WHERE TO DRINK NOW - Kings Cross
Acclimate at the Crest Hotel’s Goldfish Bowl bar, right above Kings Cross station, where all the Westies arrive by train. Watch the world outside through greasy windows, with a chilled, A$3 schmiddy in hand.

Dine across the street at Bayswater Brasserie. It’s a bit like Balthazar and caters to a young, savvy fashion-and-art crowd. Bartender Naren Young serves stiff drinks: Try his Shanghai Charlie.

Move on to LadyLux, just off Darlinghurst Road. The best nights, Fridays and Saturdays, tend to be packed with a model-gorgeous crowd. Secure a spot on the guest list by e-mailing mailto:Rochelle@ladylux.com.au.

End the night at the Bourbon, formerly the Bourbon and Beefsteak. The place has great history: Originally it catered to GIs on R&R leave from Vietnam.

DOWN UNDER FASHION DECODER
There’s a parallel universe Down Under: The fashion looks familiar, but the names (and the prices) are not. Right now the Sydney boutiques are putting deep discounts on their remaining summer stock. To take advantage of the seasonal flop, start at the Centennial Park end of Oxford Street, and shop your way north.-J.E.

From left to right:Jayson Brunsdon = a young Yves Saint Laurent
Lisa Ho = Vera Wang
Josh Goot = Helmut Lang
Lover = Marc Jacobs
Kirrily Johnston = Proenza Schouler + Jil Sander
The hookers are out in full force after 2 a.m. (Prostitution is legal here.) Time to call it a night. -J.E.

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Travel: Christian Bedat/Town&Country Travel

Posted by Unknown Selasa, 21 Februari 2006 0 komentar

The Wonder Boy of Watches - Swiss watch magnate Christian Bedat likes to heli-ski in Canada, relax in the Maldives and vacation with his family in Forte dei Marmi. We caught up with him between trips.

Spring 2006

IN the 400-year-old Swiss watch business, where legacy is practically a prerequisite, Christian Bedat has achieved enormous success in a remarkably short eight years. He launched Bedat & Co in 1996, and almost immediately it was heralded for its luxury designs (think handstitched hot pink alligator straps). Watchmaking is in Bedat's blood: His mother Simone, was a founding partner in the Geneva-based Ramond Weil.

A former Swiss army officer, Christian spent most of the 1980s in Hong Kong, manufacturing watches for United Colors of Benetton by Bulova. He returned to Switzerland to collaborate with his mother, first at Raymond Weil, where he led the design team, then in the launch of Bedat & Co. The company was purchased in 2001 by the Gucci Group. Today, the forty-one-year old is the vice president and creative director of Gucci Group Watches, as well as the CEO of Bedat & Co, whose signature, square faced watches are sold in the United States, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong and Brazil.

Overseeing the prosperous company, Bedat spends his days traversing time zones, traveling frequently from his home in Geneva to New York, Hong Kong, Paris and Tokyo. He likes a bit of adventure - he's an avid scuba diver - as well as downtime with his wife, Diane and their five children. He's obsessed with design, whether of luggage or of an airplane's interior, and is always searching for unusual ideas.

What impact do trips have on your work?
The more you travel, the more you experience. I like to think about new designs when I am fully relaxed - in a quiet, remote location, away from my day-to-day life. Certain colors and shapes can be inspiring. Recently, my wife and I went to the Amanpulo resort, on a private island in the Philippines. It has just 40 casitas and is surrounded by very clear, blue water and there is a coral reef for diving. I started considering sporty designs and ended up sketching the No. 7 women's watch on a napkin. The turquoise water inspired a turqouise grosgrain silk strap.

Describe some particularly adventurous trips from recent years.
Diving in French Polynesia, in the Fakarava atoll on the south pass was amazing. During one dive, I could not believe how many sharks I saw. First there were five or six, then fifteen and finally, maybe three hundred. It was one of my most memorable dives, but was it daring? Not really. Have you heard of many divers eaten by sharks? The majority of them aren't very dangerous. I have also gone helicopter skiing in British Columbia: white powder, wild skiing and high speeds. I found it quite exciting. We explored the Monashee and Cariboo mountain ranges, skiing almost nonstop every day. I am planning a return visit this year.

Where have you always wanted to go?
The North and South Poles. I would love to see the icebergs. I'd like to visit the Galapagos Islands too. I have heard that the fauna there is incredible.

How do you find good local restaurants when you are traveling?
I always go with friends who will look after me. Hong Kong is one of the best places in the world for food. I eat mainly Chinese, in restaurants on hidden streets where there are no other foreigners. I go to Lucy's in the Stanley neighborhood, a small place that prepares Shanghainese dishes. In Geneva, I like the Auberge Communal d'Onex for excellent Italian food. In winter, it serves whhite truffles. For tasty chicken and fries, there's Carnivor du Centre, in the centre of the city. In Las Vegas, I'm fond of the Red 8 Asian bistro, at Wynn Las Vegas. The shark-fin dumplings were amazing and the dim sum reminded me of Hong Kong. The restaurant Noodles, at Bellagio, also has dim sum on weekends.

Have you had any especially memorable meals?
A most interesting experience was chicken sashimi in Kagoshima, Japan. I put a lot of sauce on it. And once when I was in Tokyo, I had beef tongue - cooked and raw.

What are some of your favorite hotels?
The Gora Kadan, outside Tokyo in Hakone National Park, at the foot of Mount Fuji, is serene and beautiful. It's the former summer residence of the Kan-In-No-Miya imperial family, and it has cypress baths. In France, I love the views, from the hills in Les Baux de Provence. Ousta de Baumaniere there is romantic and has good food. In Italy, Sardinia is appealing: The Hotel Cala di Volpe has excellent service and food, especially the lunch buffet.

What do you look for when booking a hotel?
I always request the least expensive room at the Four Seasons (or any other hotel for that matter) . It's worth asking, and I'm often rewarded. I think a fair price is $350 to $700 a night.

Where do go to undwind and be pampered?
When I'm on vacation, I like getting a facial, a massage, everything but nail polish. The resort town of La Baule, on France's Atlantic coast, is an ideal place for a reviving week of treatments. My wife and I like to stay at the Royal-Thalasso Barriere. At the Four Seasons at Kuda Huraa, in the Maldives, you can get a massage while looking at the ocean.

When you travel with your family, what do you like to do?
During the winter, we spend every wekeend in our chalet in Villars. We all love to ski. I like to cook (especially Indian curries) so we eat mainly at home, except for the occasional outing to enjoy traditional Swiss fondue or raclette. During the summer we go to Forte dei Marmi for a week. It's like the Hamptons for the Italians, who come from Florence or Milan. You can lead a simple life or that of a jet-setter. We stay at a family style hotel. Lunch is taken by the pool (at the Bagno Piero) and consists of traditional dishes, like penne pesto and Milanese. There are plenty of shops, but we prefer just to relax.

Any advice for traveling with children?
You need patience, organisation and big cars. We went on a tour of Switzerland in a minivan last year, visiting the Transport Museum in Lucerne. We stopped for a cheese fondue in Gruyere and walked by the lake in Lugano. The children loved it. Traveling really opens their eyes and creates memories for them.

Which airlines do you prefer?
In terms of first class, Japan Airlines is the best. British Airways, Air France and JAL have beds that are completely flat now and they supply nice pajamas. I am also in love with Cathay Pacific's first class lounge in Hong Kong. The bathrooms are clad in black marble, and the showers are out of this world. You can order from a real menu, and there is even Haagen-Dazs ice-cream.

Dou you have any packing tips?
Plan ahead and pack light. I never check my luggage, usually a small Bottegga Veneta or Hermes bag. I carry my laptop, two phones, my passport, my Ipod, my headphones and an Hermes accordian picture frame with photos of the kids. I pack the same amount for one night as I do for a week. I'll take three shirts and a jacket, and then use the hotel for laundry. I wear suits made by Frank Namani and Gucci shirts. Shoes have to be casual. I like Prada, Tod's, Gucci and John Lobb. And I'm never without my Bedat & Co watch.

What are your favorite travel gadgets?
I use Skype to speak over the internet with my family and friends. My newest device is the Archos AV 700, a mobile digital video recorder. It records television programs and movies, and you can watch them on the go. It stores 400 hours or 250 movies.

What have you recently bought back from a trip?
I jsut bought five robes (by Robeworks) from the Four Seasons and had them shipped home. The inside is made of terry cloth and the outside is brushed cotton. I make a purchase if I happen to see something and am tempted. Five years ago, Diane and I were staying on a Turkish junk with friends for a week. One of them bought leather necklaces with black stone pendants for everyone. Years later, I saw one made of jade with gold and diamonds. I got a plainer version. Now I always wear it, except when I do karate.

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Business: Miami Condo King out to Trump Donald

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Las Vegas's latest colossus will be a slice of Barcelona: that's the vision of a larger-than-life developer with movie star mates.
Julie Earle-Levine reports
February 18, 2006

JORGE Perez's excitement is palpable when he is talking about his Las Vegas project Las Ramblas. It's a colossal Barcelona-inspired $4 billion hotel condo and casino complex he is building with the actor George Clooney.Unlike Clooney, Perez -- who speaks animatedly, hands outstretched to show just how big this project is -- is not a household name in America. Yet.

Perez is the largest residential condominium developer in the country, a Miami version of New York real estate developer Donald Trump without the bad hair and aggressive self-promotional skills.

In Miami, Perez has already built 55,000 units and his $13 billion Related Group has plans to build another 15,000 units in South Florida and Las Vegas in the next four years. Atlanta is another target.

It is a lofty ambition to build a "first" anything in Vegas, a city that is thought to have seen it all and where a new hotel or condo tower seems to be built every other day (even Donald's ex-wife Ivana Trump is building her own 82-storey luxury residential building called Ivana Las Vegas). But Perez believes his Las Ramblas project really will be unique.

In an interview in his headquarters in Miami, Perez, 56, who was born in Argentina to Cuban parents, outlined his vision for Las Ramblas, and shared his passion for building and fast cars.
Las Ramblas, just off The Strip, will spread across 11 hectares and feature 11 towers, including a five-star hotel, condos and bungalows -- that's more than 4000 units in total -- a spa and health club, nightlife, dining, shopping and, of course, a casino.

It will also have an open-air pedestrian promenade modeled after Las Ramblas in Barcelona, even though this is glitzy Vegas and residents may well be dodging drunk tourists armed with super-size, brightly coloured cocktails in plastic cups.

The project is due to be completed early 2008.

Perez has based the project on his favourite city, Barcelona.

"Sitting in a cafe having tapas, seeing the trees, flower shops and bookstores in Barcelona is a wonderful experience we are going to recreate," he says.

To do this, he's bringing together his dream list of architects, designers and entertainers including ubiquitous designer Philippe Starck on the interiors, and architect Keith Hobbs of United Designers Europe.

George Clooney and Rande Gerber (the nightclub owner better known as Cindy Crawford's husband) are involved.

Clooney is also talking to his friend Brad Pitt about "designing" for the project.

Both superstars famously love Vegas, and then of course there was the movie, Ocean's Eleven, where Clooney and Pitt, aka Dapper Danny Ocean and Pitt as a card ace, staged an elaborate heist at Las Vegas's Bellagio casino.

Perez says Clooney and Gerber will be "extensively involved in multiple aspects" of Las Ramblas, which is due to start construction in mid-2006.

More specifically, as investors and residence owners, they will contribute to the design and direction of the project, including the hotel, restaurants and entertainment and "the look and feel of the casino".

Clooney has said the project will be a "first class experience, with a five star hotel, the coolest bars and clubs and an exceptional spa", reflecting his personal taste and interests. "We're clearly putting more than just our names to this project."

Perez says he is negotiating with an up-market brand for the hotel, and is pushing forward with reservations.
Perez is hoping the project will create the kind of frenzy he is used to seeing in Miami.
While the market has recently cooled in that city, Perez recalls buyers were scrambling to buy and "flip" (resell) properties.

Some of Related's 1000 unit condos in Miami sold out within 36 hours of being announced.
On talk of the real estate bubble in Miami, Perez says he is certain there will be a short-term correction, and that development is peaking.
"It is red hot. There is a crane on every corner."

But he is confident strong local and international demand will create another boom. "I think Latin Americans continue to see Miami as their capital, and I can't think of another city in America that is better poised for growth."

He has seen strong interest in Apogee, his latest high-end project with 66 of 67 units sold, mostly to domestic buyers. Their average price is $5.3 million.

Miami's potential is greater than Las Vegas, New York and Atlanta, some of the other favourite cities for developers to be in, he says.
In New York, Related developed the Time Warner Centre, and also developed and owns the W Union Square and the Mandarin Oriental.
Atlanta is another growth spot where Related is looking to make its mark. "We have a piece of land and are trying to zone it into a great urban city, building around 4000 apartments and bringing in great restaurants, architecture and design."

But it's not all about buildings for Perez, who started out as building affordable housing in Florida. He set up Related with New York developer Steve Ross in 1979, and last year, Related had $4.3 billion in revenue.

"What really makes me tick is not just building a building, but changing a city," he says. Can he really change Vegas? "Las Ramblas is all about getting away from the glitz, The Strip and the casinos, and creating a more elegant environment."
He sees visitors strolling a tree-lined promenade, ice cream cone in hand, dropping into Gucci and other luxury retail shops and dining at up-market restaurants and cafes.

Perez does love the high life and owns a 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena Spider and a 2002 Mercedes S500 AMG, but his favorite car is much like him -- a low-key, fast-moving and nimble yellow Mini Cooper convertible.

Perez is swiftly and aggressively changing America's skyline, city by city.

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Business: Walking the Plank in the Big Apple

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The Weekend Australian
Julie Earle-Levine reports
February 18, 2006

SCOTT Andrews was paying $US2600 ($3450) a month to live in the top floor of a Greenwich Village building when he got notice that rent for his 74sqm apartment would jump to $US3000 a month.He was interested in buying, but escalating prices meant he would need at least $US1 million to secure what he had been renting, and moving into a smaller space was unappealing. He moved out, and on to the Hudson River.

Andrews, 30, who is a commercial property developer, bought a three-bedroom motor yacht, with a living room large enough to fit his two lounges, and now lives at a marina with postcard views of Manhattan. Several of his friends are now doing the same.

His new home is moored at Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey, across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Andrews figures he has great waterfront views and pays a third of the cost of rent, after slip fees and maintenance.

"I thought, I can buy a tiny, second-floor walk-up in Manhattan with no light, and no views for half a million bucks, or spend half of that on a boat ($US250,000) and get a view of Manhattan." His neighbours include teachers, doctors, office workers and finance types.

'Liberty Landing, is the second-largest marina on the east coast of the US with 600 slips, and is part of Liberty State Park. The park is a bonus, a 8km bike path along the water, past Ellis Island and more green than you might see in the city walking for 10 blocks.

It is also favoured by liveaboards, because it is well protected from the sometimes choppy Hudson. Andrews' marina has showers, a laundry, and its own "pub", a dockside bar and grill.
He catches a $US5 water taxi to his offices at the World Financial Centre, splitting his time staying on the boat and at his girlfriend's house in the East Village.

The only downer so far is that the ferry stops running at 8.45pm, so he has to catch a train, which runs all hours, and a taxi to reach his boat. Still, he wakes up on board a light-filled, gently bobbing boat with views to die for. "I wish I'd done it sooner."

It sure sounds attractive, but there are catches.

Leasing a slip, as well as "liveaboard" fees for marina utilities can cost about $US15,000 a year, including expenses to haul the boat out of the water to paint, and for repairs. Then there is a lack of space on smaller boats, and the winter months can be brutal.

At the West 79th Street Boat Basin in Manhattan, about 50 people live on boats with names like "Freedom" and "Orca". Some have two bedrooms, and two decks, and simply hop on and off the island for work and play, buying groceries from nearby Broadway, or by having the food delivered to the boat.

The marina is a mish-mash of luxury boats, houseboats and yachts, many with children's toys, bicycles and everyday house stuff on the decks. When this reporter visited, the owners looked happy, mostly because the weather that day was perfect. "Usually in January, in any one of the past 25 years, it is seven degrees outside. Once it was below 20 degrees for a week," says one man. Owners heat their floating homes with a diesel furnace or electric heater.

But as soon as the snow melts, the marina is inundated with hundreds of phone calls from people who want to live there. They just want to know how to do it. A resident who has lived there for many years recalls that in the 1970s, it was "like the wild, wild west". "It was kind of a hippie community, people who wanted to live in an alternative way in the city. It was very crowded, with too many boats. Even now it is a different kind of person who lives here, someone who has a free spirit."

Freedom has its price. "Unless you live in the most dilapidated apartment building in Manhattan, you wouldn't be concerned about your living space," another liveaboard says. "But if you come home to a boat and it is taking water, well you might have a three-hour project ahead of you."

Liveaboards at 79th Street maintain their year-round status because they staked claims prior to 1997, when the city curtailed year-round dockage from April through October. Anyone new trying to live there permanently will find a four-year waiting list, unlike Liberty Landing, where there is no wait.

Linda Ridihalgh editor of LiveAboard magazine estimates there are 30,000 liveaboards in North America.
"It's a lifestyle that has wide appeal," she says. She grew up near the Mississippi River, and has spent her life on boats. Most people do it for lifestyle, she says, not to save money.

New houseboats cost anywhere from $US50,000 to above $US1 million.
Others buy smaller sailboats and are "transients" -- those who live on boats with V-shaped hulls that are more mobile than houseboats.

Many people buy a stunning, luxury houseboat and fit it out with designer everything. But they only last a week. Some people never get over motion sickness or they realise, it's not easy.

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