Dubai. Chanel Resort’15

May 14, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Making it big for the shows is pretty natural for Karl Lagerfeld, who already took us to St.Tropez, Miami, Antibes and Singapore for his Resort collections. This time, we travelled to Dubai, the city of United Arab Emirates, that’s full of gold, petrol and luxury. So, no wonder… the collection was presented on a special Chanel island, that had a carved double C all over it! However, the collection itself was one of the worst, unfortunately. It didn’t have that Dubai opulence I wished of! It had flowers, moons, Scottish checks, blond version of Diana Ross curls and a lot of strange themes that seemed to be useless. I suppose Dubai summers are so cold you need to wear socks-up-to-knee… I certainly loved the camel gown that Joan Smalls wore with flats and trousers trousers. Oh yeah, trousers- I see Arabian harems are bag in beige! And I am a little bit disappointed that we didn’t see Sebastien Jondeau in a Chanelized sheikh costume. That’s it!

About the artist: Abdul Qader Al Raes is an artist from Dubai made famous by his monumental art works in palaces and distinguished public spaces.

Myanmar: ANISAKAN WATERFALL

February 8, 2014February 8, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Anisakan Waterfall is the biggest, and the most spectacular waterfall in the whole Myanmar. Located 40km from Mandalay, this place is situated in a deep jungle- to go there, you must go down from a steep mountain for approximately one hour. What’s more, there is a little Pagoda next to the waterfall, and you may see how the monks are working. This place will make your day in Burma a real paradise escape!

Myanmar: TRADITIONAL STUFF

February 8, 2014February 8, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Myanmar is not only famous for it’s Pagodas and beautiful sunsets, but also for wood carving and amazing embroidered decoration. Today I had a chance to visit a huge store full of souvenirs and beautiful stuff that made me want to buy everything- teak Buddha’s, monkey-skull necklaces, pig teeth bracelets, embroidered cushion covers and silk longis. In other words, a fantasy for souvenir-buying monster. And by the way you could see how the wood is carved in traditional, Burmese way!

Myanmar: AROUND MANDALAY

February 7, 2014November 1, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Mandalay, the city of thousand of pagodas, is one of the most beautiful places in whole Birma. However, it also has many other amazing towns on it’s outskirts: Mingun, the little island where you may ride a taxi in posture of a cow carriage and see the biggest bell in the world that weights 101 tons. Then, Ava (Small River)- another jungle-like town, where the teak Bagaya monastery is located within wild flora of this place. And the third awesome place is Amarapura. It’s 12 km south of Mandalay. There, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset from the lake, or from the teak wood U Bein bridge. And photos taken from there are as impressive, as the place itself. Unforgettable experience.

Myanmar: MANDALAY

February 7, 2014February 7, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

That was a very busy day in Mandalay for me… This town can really mix up you with all these 2000 pagodas that are located here. First we visited the Shwenandaw monastery, that is totally made out of the teak wood in a carved technique. What’s more the, Kuthawdaw Pagoda, that contains the largest book in the world (owned by UNESCO) is so mind-blowing, that I am still overhelmed. In Mandalay city, I saw so many amazing things you won’t find anywhere else (note the Kyauktawgyi Pagoda, where a sitting Buddha sits carved in one single piece of marble, weighting 900 tons)… So here are my photos!