IF AUSTRALIAN entrepreneur Catherine Arfi has her way, your baby too can become a diva. The founder of baby WORKSHOP was in Hong Kong recently to flog a brand of all-natural, aromatherapy-based creams, gels and shampoos for toddlers - just like the ones used by their rich mummies. The potions come in 'Relaxing', 'Sensual' or 'Invigorating' varieties in hand-blown glass bottles and with coordinated pure olive oil soap. Sylvester Stallone and Michael Jackson buy it for their tots. Go figure.
The prices are very grown-up: almost A$20 (HK$94) for baby massage oil or a three-piece cot quilt set for A$129. The concept was pooh-poohed in this office, where one mother said all her kids needed was a rub down with aqueous cream. Still, the line is sold through stores like Myer and Daimaru in Melbourne, so someone must want it. And in all fairness to Arfi, there is little difference between this high-priced baby care and the Baby Dior frocks that cost almost as much as a Galliano dress.
vanishing cream THE latest wonder slimming product apparently sold two million jars within weeks of its release in France - odd given that 'cellulite' doesn't even exist in the French female vocab. Anyway, Sensorielle by Lierac has just made it to Hong Kong (available at Watson's, Mannings and most department stores), and is bound to be snapped up by women plagued with stretch-marks and other ghastly girlie afflictions. The cream contains Cyclotella, which stimulates skin endorphins, Hydro-Reduxel which fights water retention and the usual elderberry, sweet clover and green tea. It is reported to work wonders. But there is a catch: it needs to be properly massaged into the tummy and thigh areas for at least three minutes a day. There's always the tai-tai option: get the amah to do it for you.
young soles SALVATORE Ferragamo's centenary celebrations rage on. Apart from a string of exhibitions, retrospectives and parties all over the world, the Italian shoemaker is to establish the Young Shoe Designers competition. Students from the Hong Kong Polytechnic and Sha Tin Technical Institute will be competing with peers from Britain's St Martin's College of Art and the Royal Society of Arts, New York's Parsons School of Design, and ESMOD in Paris for the top prize of creating a brand new shoe. The winner will receive 24 million lire (HK$), a trip to Florence - where Ferragamo is based - and the joy of seeing their model produced in limited edition. Oh and of course, all models created by these students will remain the property of Ferragamo.
angled poise IT WAS only a matter of time before those asymmetrical cuts found their way on to footwear. Gianni Dori, whose family owns the Italian Rodo brand, was in town recently with samples of next season's collection in a leather satchel. Major trends included sharply angled, slanted toes, hi-tech fabrics and funky heels that were just this side of futuristic. The shoes have plenty of attitude, so they should sell well here. Expect to spend about $1,500 a pair.
Dori had called in at the Central branch of Lane Crawford on the first day of its sale to see how his products were faring, and watched one shopper shell out $9,000 for a crystal-studded Rodo bag. She got a discount, of course.