Design

Industry City, Brooklyn

Fashionista recently wrote about Brooklyn’s Industry City, the six-million-square-foot waterfront complex located in Sunset Park and called ‘SoHo of Sunset Park’ by the New York Times. Exciting as the Industry City development it for many in New York, the January 2014 article cited the significant number of artists vacating the area once thought safe from development and rising rents.

Jamestown, the developer owning Chelsea Market and its partners bought a 50 percent stake in the 16-building complex, has joined forces with Belvedere Capital and Angelo Gordon in the $1 billion development which will include a hotel, a huge amount of retail space and slots for technology startups.

High tech may be the priority for Jamestown, but Fashionista writes that Industry City offers up a ‘burgeoning fashion population’ that includes 25 companies and currently makes up just 6 percent of the tenants. Alexis Bittar is reportedly abandoning former hot spot Dumbo to take a 17,000-square-foot space in the new development.

The IC website gives a strong nod to Sustainability. Read on.

Condé Nast International Luxury Conference

APPLE has arrived as a major brand competitor for fashionista and luxury consumer $$$. It’s only good business that APPLE design visionaries Sir Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson will open the first Condé Nast International Luxury Conference to be held in Florence in April 2015.

Vogue international editor Suzy Menkes will dialogue with the duo to discuss the ’21st century definition of luxury and their collaborative work to date’.

Apple is now a powerful part of the luxury industry, Menkes said today. The iPhone, iPad, and the forthcoming Apple Watch are in direct competition with handbags, timepieces and high-end accessories. I want Jony Ive to tell the conference delegates where 21st century luxury is headed.

The event will be held on April 22-23 at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. See event website.

Related: Bain & Company’s 2014 Annual Global Luxury

International tourism and a stronger middle class are shaping luxury trends, including luxury experiences and alternative luxury channels, with a focus on consumer nationality rather than geography.

Bottega Veneta Opens Home Palazzo

The Palazzo Gallarati Scotti in Milan is now home to the first-ever Bottega Veneta home store. Creative Director Tomas Maier told Style.com: ‘The evolution has been purposefully gradual and deliberate, as we have never been interested in doing anything flashy or of-the-moment.

The grand, neoclassical setting makes BV’s clean, minimalist furniture appear all the more covetable—not that it needs the help. “Some of these new pieces are more rustic than others, more refined,” Maier said, “but each one is versatile, functional, and beautifully crafted to last a lifetime.” Now all you need is a casual palazzo in which to store your Bottega Veneta furniture—until then, your regular living space will just have to do.

New York Falls To #4 City For The Super-Rich