 The troubled global economy doesn’t appear to be curbing Roberto Cavalli’s appetite for entertainment and lifestyle projects.
The designer and Lebanon-based Pragma Group said they have a licensing agreement to open five Cavalli Clubs and 15 Cavalli Cafés in the next five years in cities across the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and South America, including Beirut; Istanbul; Mumbai, India; Shanghai, and São Paulo.
In the first two years, two Cavalli Clubs and three Cafés will open in five cities. In the second, three-year, phase, 10 venues will be unveiled in other locations. The investments will be financed through a fund dedicated to expanding Pragma Group’s lifestyle business.
There are existing Cavalli Clubs in Florence and Dubai — the latter also in a deal with Pragma — in addition to a Just Cavalli Club in Milan and three Cavalli Giacosa Cafés in Florence.
“The Cavalli Club Dubai represents probably the best interpretation of the lifestyle I have been creating with my fashion,” said Cavalli, who celebrated the brand’s 40th anniversary this year. “Together with the experience of the Pragma Group, we will further expand the network of clubs for entertaining my followers in some of the most important cities in the world.”
 For those of you fabulous girls who LOVE to shop (that makes most of us) and have deep pockets (ok, that narrows it down) Excitations, a unique gift-giving company, is offering private NYC shopping tours starting from $500. It isn't pocket-friendly, but instead of aimlessly wandering the streets of Manhattan, you and a friend can get a guided tour of the Garment District that makes stops at showrooms, sample sales, and boutiques. You'll also get access to inside sales and merchandise at wholesale prices. Because not every fashionista is created equal, before embarking on your fashion journey, you must fill out a survey designed to customize your tour. After a day of nonstop shopping, get treated to lunch at a trendy restaurant, along with a gift bag. Who knows, you may even get a chance to chat with a designer. If you have cash to burn and want an effortless NYC shopping experience, this is perfect for you. It's time to start hinting this to the boys!
Those who don't know about it, should CARE to learn about it.
Freedom should NOT be taken for granted by anyone. It should be embraced...
 Betsey Johnson is entering the ranks of fashion designers turned top interior designers with her very first hotel collaboration. Johnson has designed an Eloise-inspired suite for the Plaza Hotel in New York. The fictional subject of Kay Thompson's classic book "Eloise", and later of the "Eloise at the Plaza" movie, has inspired the room's design, which features the character's signature pink and black palette. The two-bedroom suite features even more surprises related to the character, a six-year-old who "moved into" the Plaza in 1955.
The room, geared toward both adults and children, features Johnson's unique, whimsical style to combine the worlds of the Plaza's well-known luxury and her own fashion-forward quirkiness (view photos below).
 Talk about flying first-class.
London's Gatwick Airport is offering pasty jet-setters free St. Tropez spray tans after a poll found that vacationers would rather expose their cellulite or belly bulge than their pale skin, the Daily Mail reports.
According to research by the airport, men are more worried than women about looking pale on holiday.
Those polled said that their biggest holiday gripe is baring their pale skin, with 32 per cent of people dreading revealing their pasty complexion.
The findings were announced at the launch of Gatwick Glow, which offers passengers St Tropez spray tans before they fly. Travellers said they felt more comfortable revealing their cellulite and wobbly bellies than pale skin.
More than half said having a bronzed body would give them more confidence during their first day on the beach.
Men fear exposing their tanless skin more than women, with 36 per cent admitting it is their top holiday worry compared with 29 per cent of women.
Kim Francis, marketing manager of Gatwick Airport, said: 'Gatwick Glow is designed to give our passengers a boost. We want them to head off on their holiday feeling great about themselves.
'And, with almost half of holidaymakers worrying about burning on the first day, we've partnered with St Tropez to offer the spray tan facility so passengers can fly off already sunkissed, which we hope will prevent them from overdoing it on the beach.'
The offer runs until Sunday, so go get your tan on if you're in London!
 Maryam Al-Joaan is an icon, not just for our Kuwaiti society, but for the female pioneers and entrepreneurs of the Middle East. Maryam has been selected to embark on a Canadian expedition bound for Antarctica in February 2011, see link here. Maryam is in need of a sponsor for her expedition, so please don’t hesitate to help. If you're not responsible for sponsorship, then please mention this terrific opportunity to the person in charge. Come on everyone, let's make this happen! You can contact her at [email protected] or [email protected] For more details visit her Facebook page or see 360Dewan's post regarding Maryam!
Best of luck & success to Maryam & her team! :)
 If you're traveling to NYC soon, then you MUST swing by and see these elaborate Bergdorf Goodman window displays on 5th Ave!
Store windows take forever to put together. Especially when you work at places known for their innovation, like Barney's New York, Bergdorf Goodman, or very clever specialty boutiques.
For example, Bergdorf Goodman's current windows, showing a vast array of vintage and miniature mannequins, hat-display heads, and Rebecca Martinez's pictures of vintage mannequins, took six years to plan and assemble.
"We always have projects on the back burner, so gradually, over time, we accumulate," David Hoey, director of visual presentation at Bergdorf Goodman, tells StyleList.
"It's not that simple, but one of the things we specialize in is putting together unusual collections -- antique toasters, vacuum cleaners, ventriloquist dummies, all kinds of crazy stuff."
Martinez's photos are from a series called "Beauty Challenged," and the mishmash of material conveys all sorts of challenges -- the shifting standard of beauty, the changes aging brings about, how a little peeling paint isn't the worst thing in the world.
 Hoey pulled it all together by dressing the mannequins in gorgeous new bits from Libertine, Badgley Mischka, Gucci, Miu Miu, Carolina Herrera, and more. Hoey's past efforts will be celebrated this fall with the release of the Assouline book "Windows At Bergdorf Goodman." And someday in the future, we can look forward to seeing his collection of vintage Barbie clothes. "We've been collecting for two or three years," Hoey says, adding, "we're going to pin them together to make curtains."
Here at The Manhattan we are in LOVE with all things vintage, so we were excited when we found this item! Take a seat back in time with this nostalgic Pan Am airplane window. Interesting and unique, the window is a part of the last existing Pan American Boeing 707, the N880PA, making it a rare and extraordinary collectors piece for pilots, airplane aficionados, world travelers and anyone who keeps their eyes on the skies. Pan American, a household name in air travel used the Boeing 707 for the first pure-jet service from New York to Paris. This piece of history is considered "green" (reclaimed components), is made entirely of aluminum, includes necessary mounting hardware and instructions, and will cost you $1,500. Purchase your window HERE before they're all booked! :)
A Pan Am air hostess in 1970s uniform.
Does ONE person really need to take this much luggage on a holiday getaway???
Fashionable luggage? Yes.
All of it necessary? No.
What are your thoughts?
 If you think Britney Spears' request for a dance pole in her hotel room, or that Jennifer Lopez's request for special flowers and candles was ridiculous, then you ain't seen NOTHIN' yet!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have some super divas in the form of manly strong football players participating in this 2010 World Cup!
Check out their divalicious demands below. While some are kinda cute, others are just WEIRD!
Let's begin with Argentina (a.k.a. The Super Divas, a.k.a. Prima Donnas) -6 PlayStations - Special toilet seats & basins for "El Diego" Maradona (the E-Bidet we mentioned in our previous post) - Ten hot dishes a day -14 different salads for every meal - All rooms to be painted white - Three different pasta sauces w/each meal -At least three puddings w/each meal - A braai once in three days (Afrikaans for "BBQ" or "roast") - Ice cream available all day B R A Z I L -Hot hot coffee, hot hot coffee and hot hot coffee
-A lot of cookies
-No chocolate
-They asked that the pool be heated to exactly 32ºC and that it be covered
-They are bringing along 2 Portuguese chefs, but will not be "taking over the kitchen" M E X I C O -Will bring their own priest to conduct church services in a church on the premises
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