RIMOWA Vitra Collection.

Another day, another collaboration.  This time it's Vitra and Rimowa.  Seemingly odd bedfellows, as one makes furniture and home interiors, and the other makes luggage.  However, to reconcile this the collaboration has produced a piece of luggage, which is also furniture.  And a toolbox.

The main attraction is of course the stool.  Made from Rimow'a aluminium, with a snazzy interior, and soft cushion on the top, it attempts to fundamentally address that age old problem, not having anywhere to sit, and wanting to sit on your luggage.  This may sound flippant, but it's a reality.  We have lost track of the amounts of time when travelling and using Rimowa luggage that we have slumped down, turned the case on the side, and used it as a stool.  This simply adds a cushion to that arrangement.

The problem with this however is that in our experience the luggage buckles under our weight.  This might be an us problem, but we do wonder the practicality given our experience of selling luggage as a seating solution.  It's also not very large, being 47cm x 39cm x 40cm, which makes its capacity limited, but too large to put in some carry on's, doubly making its utility questionable.  

It's available now for £2,200, but we would caution sitting on it.  As for the toolbox, it's merely the classic Vitra toolbox in Rimowa's aluminium.  Oh and there's a set of stickers too, but no-one cares about those.

Dyson Bring Back the Personal Fan with the CF01.

 

Way back in the early noughts Dyson released their first blameless fan.  It was revolutionary in its design, and quite literally changed the landscape of the home fan market.  It's impossible now to look for a fan without being bombarded with numerous clones, all which frankly are quite superior to the original.

This is reality with the first release.  Put up against modern Dyson's it's quaint, and as mentioned, it's heated by competitors.  The original is of course well and truly discontinued, and in terms of functionality it would need to be termed a "personal" fan for a desk or small space.  However, we've been missing a small desk unit for some time.  

The PureCoolMe was the last time we saw one, but that was discontinued back in 2021.  Since then it's been huge units that are well over a meter in height.  This compact reissue is therefore a breath of fresh air, both figuratively, and literally. 

At 55cm high, and 36cm at the widest point, and weighing only 1.8kg, which is a good 600g lighter than the PureCoolMe, and full of modern features, and far more powerful, and quieter, than the original, it's also remarkably reasonably priced at just £249.00.

We approve.  In a sea of dross, this is a genuinely decent product.  Available now.

Non Functional Jewellery Trend.

A possible trend is emerging, of non-functional jewellery.  The term "trend" is difficult to define, however if enough repetition is identified then it might be possible to suggest a trend exists.  We feel if a few more of these are seen it's certain to be the case.  In respect of the phenomenon, we are referring here to pieces of jewellery which appear to be a device of some type, but in fact are entirely non-functional, and are purely for decoration.  

The two examples we have seen in the last couple of weeks are the "No Time" watch from Our Legacy, and the "RacerPods" necklace from Racer Worldwide.  

The Our Legacy has the shape, appearance, and look, of a simple dress watch, and the RacerPods appears to be a set of AirPods.  Both however are neither.  The No Time has on the back "no movement", and is a blank nothing.  While the RacerPods are likewise blank steel jewelery.  The No time costs £740, and is made from Sterling Silver, while the RacerPods are steel, and cost £55.

This is post-irony at its most ludicrous, and as joke products they are amusing.  The idea of paying money for these however is faintly ridiculous, and hopefully this whole concept dies a death before it becomes a trend.  We can only imagine the types of grinning idiots that would find these amusing or clever.  They're not.  As indeed the people who would wear them are also not clever.

One of a kind Gerald Charles sells at Christie for $120,000.

We rarely write about auctions, as frankly they're normally pretty dull.  When we do it's only when there's a combination of an unusual piece and record breaking or unreasonable price being met.  The Gerald Charles watch sold at Christies rare Watches auction on May 12 2025 meets both these criteria.

The piece itself is a one of a kind edition of the brands GC39 Remaster.  The watch sells in steel for $38,000, and this version in titanium has a unique opal dial.  Movie fans will remember an opal featured in Uncut Gems a few years ago.  In the film Kevin Garnett was captivated by the way light played through the stone.  This dial demonstrates all this beauty on top of a jumping hours complication.  The real personal touch is the winning buyer will have their initials engraved on the back of the case.

As for the sale price?  The watch was predicted to sell for  $47,000, a bit over the price a steel model goes for, however, the hammer price was $120,000, almost three times the pre-auction estimate.  

The buyer's anonymous, and apparently the proceeds will go to a children's charity that helps children digital lives.  Difficult to know what that means, and obviously if someone really wanted to help they shouldn't need to get a luxury watch in exchange for doing so.  However one things for certain in respect of what this sale shows, at a certain level of the economy the cost of living crisis doesn't appear to exist. 

 

Bang Olufsen A1 3rd Generation - No difference really but we want it

 

Bang Olufsen have announced the release of the third generation of their A1 speaker, and we have be entirely upfront, that we are conflicted.

This entry will be brief.  As brief as the differences between the generations.  Same body. same dimensions, same weight, same appearance.  If the only thing that matters to you is aesthetics then move along.

However, the new model bas better bass response, longer battery of 24 hours non stop playtime and improved bluetooth connectivity.  However it looses Alexa connectivity.  But why anyone would want that on a bluetooth speaker is a mystery.  Also it's conference calling is advertised is far better.

This is where the conflict comes for us.  It's fundamentally the same as the previous mode.  It seems to carry on the B&O releases recently which seem to be mere cosmetic improvements, such as the recent earbud release we wrote about (here).  But, all that being said, we still want it.  This might be testament to th underlying exceptionality of this product,  In any case, we ar all in. Available now for £299 and Bang Olufsen's website and stores, and it does at least have some new colours.

ST Dupont jumps on Branding Change Bandwagon with Bland Serif Logo

The ceaseless march towards dull conformity amongst luxury brands continues, with ST Dupont's quietly introduced new logo.  

We have lost track of the amounts of brands that followed Hedi Slimane's Dior, then Saint Laurent Paris, rebranding.  Yet the amusing thing that these lemmings rushing towards the cliff edge fail to understand is that it's not a smart move.  Homogeneity is precisely what consumers are attempting to move away from by purchasing luxury goods.  By adopting a stale Serif look because SLP"s stock went up just makes your brand look boring.

While the Arnault family's entire progeny seem to think it's a great idea, as demonstrated by them removing every ounce of originality in everything they touch.  Other companies realise their error and revert.  For example, we wrote of Burberry and Saint Laurent Paris returning to the classic logo.  Albeit in the most confused way possible. (Burberry article here, and SLP article here)

So it comes then to ST Dupont.  Who scrapped the elegant calligraphy of a logo that can be found on lighters for over 100 years, and opted for the standard Serif mundanity.  In fact, we dislike this even more, as it has an annoying ST orphaned to the left of a large bold "Dupont".  It makes the logo look more like it's a collectible for the Dupont chemical company than a lighter from the storied smokers brand.  

Sadly this new logo has already made its way onto lighters and products in their catalogue.  So it's a good chance it will be around for a while.  Until they realise their error and go back to the only one that worked.  If it aint broke, don't fix it.  A saying "Dupont" might need to reconsider.

 

Prada Braves Choppy Luxury Waters Buying Versace for $1.35bn.

 

We steer clear of global geopolitical events usually on this little blog, and we won't change that in any significant regard today.  We can however without being partisan make an objective statement, that at time of writing in early 2025 the luxury market is struggling, with even Hermes targets not being met, and that due to world events, it's a tough time to be a luxury brand.  These facts make Prada's decision to go ahead with acquiring Versace a particular bold move.

The reality is that deals like this are years in the making.  Numerous high-level meetings, and copious due-diligence studies. These stages take considerable time.  There may even have been some sort of penalty for not completing the acquisition after a certain point.  Nonetheless, to take a large chunk of capital, even if partially leveraged by debt, in such uncertain times, is admirable.

We applaud the brazenness of the act, and are hopeful it reinvigorates both brands.  With Versace's glamour dragging Prada out of its dull eternal 1960's aesthetic, and Prada tempering some of Versace's most vulgar excesses/. Let's wait and see. 

The RowLaunches Homewares in a Typically Annoying fashion.

Some luxury brands effortlessly manage to command the market, and supremely dominate with the history and cachet to maintain their permanent position.  For example, Hermes.  Other brands have a quietly confident and elegant turn to them, which manages to imbue them with a sense of relaxed elegance.  Such as Brunello Cucinelli.  Others are try-hard and kind of annoying.  The Row fans into the last of these in our view, and their launch of homewares has demonstrated this once again.

Don't mistake this for disdain of the quality.  The Row produces clothing which feels like the wardrobe from that 1990's Ryan Phillipe Dangerous Liasons. Ultra high-end minimalist chic luxury. And the fact this comes from former Disney stars, even if they only touch lightly on it, is remarkable.  But it is absolutely necessary to be so irritating about it?

Form the secret last-minute fashion show notifications, to the demand that attendee's surrender their mobile phones at the door.  It's all so extra, and quite silly.  If the products weren't so good, we'd have nothing but pure hate.  For their new homewares they did the same.  A surprise announcement out of nowhere. So dumb.

The products are characteristically exceptional.   Solid colour throes, wool bedding, and the finest cashmere, it's an outstanding selection of the very best simple interior pieces, with prices starting from £1,200 for small cushions.  Great item's, and the start of a premium home interior collection, but seriously, drop the pretentious marketing.