Wants&needs
IN THE BAG
One of the more unusual projects in Milan this year is a collaboration between Jules Wright, founder and creative director of The Wapping Project in East London, and international travel accessories brand, Tumi. Wright was commissioned to create an installation to mark the launch of Dror for Tumi, a new collection of bags debuting globally at Salone del Mobile 2012 designed by Dror Benshetrit of New York based Studio Dror. Titled 'Passaggio', the immersive multimedia installation is hosted by Tom Dixon's MOST - and staged in the Museum of Science and Technology's Sala delle Colonne, a breathtaking space rarely opened to the public. One of the main reasons Wright took on the project was the bags themselves. 'I liked the fact that movement was suggested by the bags,' she explains. 'They're very witty, intelligent pieces. We used them as our luggage as we raced around Europe shooting the film and images.'
TEA TIME
Some people are just as passionate about a cup of fine tea as they are about a bottle of fine vintage wine. And this package is for those people. Just two hours by train from Shanghai is Fuchun Resort, a 150-acre tea plantation in Hangzhou, China that sits in the shadow of the Fuyang Mountain. Recognised in the esteemed Leading Hotels of the World list, the resort recently launched a package that offers luxurious tea-infused retreats. The Tea Retreat Package includes a stay in a suite, along with such nature-embracing delights as picking the local Longjing tea before pan-frying the leaves with the help of the resident Tea Master, as well as tea-based massage treatments and tea sets overlooking the resort's peaceful lake. fuchunresort.com
SNAP HAPPY
A heavyweight camera is almost a standard for intrepid travellers - but the around-the-neck approach is so uncouth, which is why you should go for a more refined approach. Fujifilm recently teamed up with British luxury luggage brand Globe-Trotter for a limited-edition suitcase that contains a full FinePix X-Pro 1 system. The case itself is made of vulcanised fibreboard with brass rivets and locks, as well as a leather trim, while a look inside reveals the much-admired Fujifilm X-Pro 1 compact camera, three lenses, flash and a filter. It's the ideal system for snappers on the go, but only 12 have been made, with each retailing for GBP5,695 and available exclusively at London's famed department store Harrods. harrods.com
ON THE BALL
Timing is everything and the Fairmont hotel group got it just right, setting up the Grand Hotel Kyiv in Ukraine - the luxury brand's first hotel in Eastern Europe - just as the city braces to share centre stage with Poland during the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, which runs from June 8 to July 1. In the heart of the capital's historic Podil district, this classically designed hotel features 258 guestrooms and 54 suites, as well as royal and presidential suites with views of Podil Square and the Dnipro River. Head to the Grand Cru Champagne Bar, where guests can sample an impressive selection of champagnesor the Vintage Cocktail Bar, which offers classic cocktails, cigars and world-class shisha. fairmont.com/kyiv
