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Inspired by a 1787 bol seine (roughly translated as bosom bowl) that artist Jean-Jacques Lagrenée reportedly modeled after Marie-Antoinette’s breast, Karl Lagerfeld’s 2008 version for Dom Pérignon updates the original with a shape taken from Claudia Schiffer, his muse for the ongoing brand collaboration. Also known as a jatte téton, the queen used hers at the Rambouillet château and—as the legend goes—drank Hautvillers (i.e. Dom) champagne from it, making it the first coupe.

Lagerfeld’s plinth of stylized bottles and sleeker, more angular lines lend a more modern look, while his stark white color plays on the 18th-century version’s homage to the pale complexion as a female beauty ideal. Denied U.S. release due to legalities having to do with relating alcohol to sex, rumor has it the sculptural vessel comes with a bottle of 1995 œnotheèque and has a €2,500 pricetag—if you can find one of the 1,000 editions made.

Discovered while on a recent trip to Versailles as the guest of Dom Pérignon to check out an exhibit devoted to Louis XIV and his tastes, we also learned that Lagerfeld knows the height of all the kings.

Veuve Clicquot have long been associated with design passions and have managed to maintain brand appeal and momentum by celebrity designer associations such as Tom Dixon, Karim Rashid and Pucci. This pproach seems to have worked well and it is now we are seeing young up and coming creatives exploring opportunities within the brands parameters.

The concept “Dry Blizzard” is a study of style and a new technical approach to an ice bucket for champagne Veuve Cliquot.

Thomas Lemaire’s ‘Dry Blizzard’ champagne bucket utilizes dry ice and a fan to circulate cold air around the bottle; the double-walled glass design ensures hot hands don’t alter the temperature one iota.

Voyeurism as we know it has been transformed. Simple Playboy subscriptions are a thing of the past for men who like to read the articles. Now, a new business offers a service that makes the magazine delivery just a little bit more interesting. By offering a once a month delivery service of unique vintages of wines which come with a label that features a vintage playboy magazine cover – the whole wine drinking experience just got better. No longer do men strictly need to focus upon their simple magazine subscriptions, and with a little bit of liquid courage from the wine; they might really be able to talk their way into believing that they really do like Playboy for the articles and for those that don’t there is always ’stuff magazine’.

found at uncrate

“Designed by London-based packaging agency The Core, the Ballantine’s Finest self-illuminating bottle, which can be powered by batteries or mains, is only available to the on-trade.

The bottle design is modelled on a graphic equaliser, the dark blue spray coated bottle appears to react to the tonal quality of audio passing through it, by lighting up intermittently to achieve back-of-bar standout.

see it in action at youtube

The working bottle forms part of an on-trade campaign for Ballantine’s Finest, entitled ‘Listen to Your Beat’. Rolling out across bars and nightclubs in the UK and other markets, the campaign is based on the idea that ‘by listening to your own beat and following your own instincts, you will make choices that leave an impression on others.’

Global marketing director for Ballantine’s, Peter Moore, said “The ‘Listen to Your Beat’ campaign will energise our on-trade accounts by engaging consumers in a creative and eye catching manner.”

“A collector’s item indeed! This crafted luminous decanter sheathed in gold by Hennessy would be an exclusive hand-gift for any discerning individual

An exquisite packaging design by Italian designer Ferruccio Laviani, Paradis Horus is an exceptional cognac developed from a masterly assemblage of hundreds of rare eaux-de-vie, perfectly aged for 25 to 130 years. It is has been described as the fruit of a noble alliance between man, the land and the heavens.

‘A divine name for divine perfection. Its name is derived from the mythological god representing the sun. Emerging from the cellar’s obscurity, its luminous eaux-de-vie irradiate. They embody the sun’s power and warm light, forming a cognac beyond compare.

When simplicity, fun and beauty combine with practicality you often get a hybrid of blandness. However, Anni Nykänen of Packlab at Lahti Institute of Design in Finland has really captured something special with this brilliant popcorn package that not only looks good while you pop your popcorns in the microwave but the packaging itselfs pops-up into a nice bowl when your popcorn is ready to be served – which means no washing up. It should be applauded just for that alone. So many other applications for this type of thinking.

Many retail environments have failed to speak with consumer in a language they understand, that has any relevance to them or that manages to stay embedded in their minds for any more than a few minutes. There are a few examples out there, bathing Ape, Viktor and Rolf, Mandarina Duck that have really managed to express the brand through the retail channel as opposed to creating a white elephant something that does not continue the customer journey touch point continuum or add to the overall converstaion. It appears finally Uniqlo have also joined this prestige.They have for some time beien communicating in a unique voice that is distinctively theirs and does not default to the cheap and ubiquitous Top Shop style of language.

Curiosity has completed the design of the Uniqlo Megastore that has opened near Shinjuku station in Tokyo. The new design is strongly influenced by the Tokyo urban landscape and the large entrance, marked with three display towers, recreates a mini-Shinjuku city. As the lighting floor wraps the towers in a glow of light that illuminates the surrounding streets, the shop becomes an active element of the street: attractive, reliable, and secure.

Borderless Entrance: The layout and angulations of the towers inside blur the boundaries between the street and the retail space, creating a unique environment in a busy street of Shinjuku and capturing what is great about Uniqlo, that you can’t help looking.

Reflection of Reflection Entrance: The city seems to have become human scale as you move freely around the three towers. The vertical displays of the entrance are reflected on the mirrored wall creating an amazing gallery of displays, a maze of reflections of reflections, the tower seeming to be inserted within the interior of the shop.

Non Existance Interior: The challenge of the interior is for it not to ‘exist’. Only the clothes should be visible. Display furniture is not only reduced to the minimum but also ‘designed’ to be non-existent with materials selected for their immateriality. A lighting ceiling, displays and counters work together to remove the shadows creating an abstract retail environment where products and customers seem to float in a white glow.

All combine to create the energy and different style that exists within Uniqlo.