Cabin crew
Luggage house Louis Vuitton has adapted its posh Pegase trolley to international cabin standards - perfect for first-class flyers afraid of checking it in. Available in ubiquitous monogram or Damier-check canvas designs, as well as discreet Taiga leather, the trolleys are ideal for co-ordinating laptop cases and duffle bags. For details call 2968-1338.
Free radicals
Radical Fashion, the ripped, torn and ruffled exhibition now taking over the hallowed halls of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, is a long-overdue ode to fashion's uncompromising avant-garde. Pret-a-porter pioneers such as Vivienne Westwood (below), Rei Kawakubo, Jean Paul Gaultier and Yohji Yamamoto are each given a space to install their ensembles, as are fresher-faced radicals such as Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen (below, who, fittingly, constructed a padded cell to house his disturbing designs). But you'll have to hurry - the show ends on January 26 - or content yourself with the exhibition catalogue, edited by curator Claire Wilcox. It costs $270 from Page One, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui. Another publication worth reading is Visionaries, a collection of interviews with some of the world's most influential designers. Written by Susannah Frankel, fashion editor of the Independent newspaper, the book brings together everyone from Azzedine Alaia to Zandra Rhodes ... via Westwood, Junya Watanabe and Yves Saint Laurent. It's yours for $511 from Page One, or for US$31.50 (HK$245) from amazon.com.
B seen
Bally, the stuffy leather brand that has enjoyed a renaissance in recent seasons, is mining its Swiss past for inspiration. Clean and graphic accessories, from purses and pen cases to travel wallets and key fobs, come in colourful canvas and leather and are often printed with a big B logo that looks more Bauhaus than bourgeois status symbol. From Bally boutiques; call 2527-2536.
