Located in Florence, the museum's shoe collection documents the entire span of Salvatore Ferragamo's career, from his return to Italy in 1927 to 1960, the year he died.



It highlights his technical and artistic skills which, through his color choices, the creativity of the designs and use of innovative materials made a fundamental contribution to the growth and establishment of Made in Italy.



The exhibition documents his continuous quest for the perfect fit and the invention of special constructions and materials, from the famous cork wedge patented in 1936 and immediately imitated all over the world, to the raffia or cellophane vamps, and candy-wrapper paper used during World War II.



There are the shoes that are famous because they were made for Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. Truly a century of history told by gorgeous shoes! A total must see! While there, don't forget to observe the incredibly small and delicate shoe sizes, as a reference to the recently reported increase in women's shoe sizes, only since 2008.

Whenever I hear conversations about Italy, a comment that always comes up is how gorgeous the men are. Much to my surprise, I have discovered that this is very untrue. Perhaps they are on vacation but the only delicious men I have recently found have been at the museums and made out of marble.

Darlings, I have jetted off to Italy so, ciao! I am currently in Firenze (Florence), the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. Although this might not be one of the fashion capitals of the world, it is not far behind. While walking the steets, I fell over and over again for several stores and their selections of the latest trends.



Patrizia Pepe's certainly caught my eye with their fall collection which featured hot hipster looks in a downtown chic manner. Fierce!



Bottega Veneta, founded in 1966, the Italian luxury goods house is best known for their leather goods.



Les Copains



Bulgari has been setting the pace for Italian style in jewellery, watches, accessories, fragrances. Love their Leoni collection with the lion clasps!



Richard Ginori, 1735



How suiting, as designer Cavalli originally hails from Florence, Tuscany.

Love! My darling Karl Lagerfeld is coming to Copenhagen!

Darlings, get ready because I'm starting my own jewelry line! This means that you will also be the first to get an exclusive sneak peek! Lately I've been hard at work designing my first collection, hope you'll like it.



Why start small when you can start big? My first collection features a range of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I am also considering adding rings later on depending on how they are received.



Channeling a rocker chic in my own way I mixed the fierce looking skulls with pearls in order to juxtapose the two different kinds of beads.



Reow! Disregarding the fur on my arms, don't the bracelets look fab? Blinged up and ready to hit the town!



The blue works perfectly with jeans and the lime green is just so fresh, it's unbelievable! I'm so happy with how it turned out! Starting my own jewelry line also help me practice the techniques used when making them.



Loves it! The shiny black crystal mixed with the soft white pearls looked killer! Super sharp!



The great thing with these lovelies is that you can totally mix and match them. They can also be piled on to glam up any outfit.

A passion for fashion is not my only delight, I also have a great desire to constantly redecorate my room. Shabby chic? That's not exactly how I roll, as you can probably see. Instead, glitter and glamour are my allure! I say, absolutely fabulous indeed.



It is those rare statement pieces and small subtle things that can make or break a room. Personally I like mine to feel intimate, soft and romantic.



J'adore! I recently purchased this stunning carpet which will help make my room ever so more grand.

I love the crafty side of 798! Although it's mainly an art distric, it has become more of a community where people gather and share a common interest for creativity and visual expression.



Down one of the narrow streets I found a funky little stand selling wire creations such as these rose-shaped rings. I couldn't help but buying three for myself. I chose black, silver, and pink as all colors can easily be styled to nearly every outfit.



Fierce! The artist making these made it look so simple, with only a few turns of the wire he had a new creation ready.

Tatsuo Miyajima, HOTO, LED, electric wire, stainles steel, iron frame, h.549 x d.208 cm, 2008.

In Tatsuo Miyajima, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust exhibition blingtastic and future, space galactic seem to be the right description. Each of his pieces employ different sets of tools to express the visceral nature of time and draw the viewer into the experience.



Tatsuo Miyajima, Mega Death

With its mysterious blue glow, Mega Death, forces us to confront a truly terrifying number: 167,000,000, the estimated number of lives lost to war, revolution, violent conflict and genocide in the 20th century. The transformation and glitter of the numbers symbolize "life" of man and the darkness of "zero" symbolizes "death". In Buddhist philosophy, the life of man is interpreted as the repetition of "life" and "death". In other words, "death" is not an end, but is similar to sleep as a preparation for the "next birth".



Wang Shang, Genus Camelliris, H, Twins who never hold hands, Cultivation initiation date: 2009

Also on show were these fabulous glittering earrings. Wang Shang, although graduated from Goldsmiths College, his interests go beyond art. Fascinated by philosophy and science, Wang used his own knowledge and theories of this in order to create his exhibition Sleuthing. The artist describes his show like this, "those things you see with glittering, pearly skin are new plant species under development, and the structures that look like cultivation beds are actually the plants' roots. They reach deep into the soil, absorbing life-sustaining minerals and nutrients. The future of these plants, of course, is also vital to the future of humanity". He refers to the exhibition space as a plant known as
Lab No. 725, where his identity code is 07X351.

At the National Museum of China (!), I stopped by to see the Louis Vuitton Voyages exhibition which runs until August 30th. The exclusive fashion brand of luxury suitcases showed promise as it raved to show hundreds of handmade luggage.



The exhibition did not let down! It wowed me completely, not only by the sheer size of the show but also the range of items on display. Customized luxury suitcases for every imaginable activity and whim, including features necessary only for camping,



It was a Parisian wonderland, showing the art of classic luxury living!



While strolling down the infinite lanes of extravagant and lavish goods, I couldn't keep myself from daydreaming of another time when these beautiful works were in legitimate use. Imagining a Maharaja travelling in style with his personalized shaving kit in hand as he steps onto a fine coal fuelled steam boat. What a lovely escape, it felt as if I were along for his and many other glamorous celebrities' journeys around the world.



Some pieces were simply too cute for words! However, a common thread between the work was that everything was extremely well planned and practical. I certainly would have loved to have one of these cases when I was younger!




The exhibition focused not only on its glorious, successful past but also the brand's transition through the years. Staying in touch with the latest technology, this ultra modern case guarantees safe travelling with your most precious cargo, an iPod with a fierce base.



I appreciate and absolutly love what the Louis Vuitton brand did with their display. Not only did the exhibition act as a small history lesson but also as a big celebration for the Parisian brand, which was founded in 1854. What a triumphant success!



Fireworks set the mood.

Proving he is as inventive as always, Japanese designer Issey Miyaki presented his latest stroke of genius with a display featuring three paper orgami inspired dresses in his Minami-Aoyama store. His truly innovative style comes forth in the technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances.

The flower power continues, as I managed to find Nicolai Bergmann's flagship store here in 5-7-2 Minami-Aoyama. Exciting! The store was a-m-a-z-i-n-g, very large and even featured its own cute little café which was jam-packed with Tokyo's elite.



The store featured lots of fun and quirky designs, I especially enjoyed this egg chair covered in moss. It was originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for SAS Hotel, Copenhagen, in 1958.

Notorious for the number of cute items on the market, Tokyo takes first prize. Hanging at Shinjuku's Takashimaya, I drooled over the Q-Pot boutique stand which featured delicious candy themed jewelry and displays.



Yum, resisting my urge of desperately wanting to pick up one of the maccaroon necklaces and eating it, I instead went on to purchase the gorgeous pink one. Fabu!



In the Minato district I walked the bustling streets of 六本木, (Roppongi), where the nightlife scene is extremely active to say the least. It is also where I found this adorable little pup. Too cute to be true! This darling French bulldog was born on April 26th.

After stopping by David Ben Kay's 798 house/gallery and on my way out of the vast neighborhood, I found the cutest stand selling vintage toy motor vehicles and couldn't stand the thought of coming home without one! What can I say, I'm in love! Although it has a London flag on the roof which seems appropriate considering the fact that I'm moving there, it has a Beijing license plate marked 798. Seems the perfect item to mark my transition from Beijing to London. J'adore!

Went wild at the lovely lifestyle boutique Illums Bolighus. They had so many gorgeous things that I couldn't help but shop up half of the store. I'm currently decorating my college room and can safely reassure you that it will look absolutely splendid when the time comes!

Here is yet another world renowned flower artist and designer based in Copenhagen. Tage Andersen, ladies and gentlemen...

While out and about in Copenhagen, I stumbled upon the international flower designer Nicolai Bergmann's boutique.



Both within and outside of the boutique there were endless fascinating displays and color combinations. Having worked for several years in Japan, I can see where Bergmann gets much of his inspiration from.

Who's got the hots for vintage? I stopped by the royal palace in order to spot several pieces of history on display in the Royal Vintage exhibition.





There were plenty of gorgeous frocks on show and I couldn't help but admiring the amount of time and craftsmanship that went into making these finely tailored garments.





I simply couldn't resist posing in a fabulous gown myself, and therefore try my own hand at being my own personal royalty. I do declare, it worked out perfectly!



I even recieved my own horse drawn carriage!

Continuing my cultural trip around Stockholm's hottest museums and exhibitions, I swang by Prince Eugen's Waldemarsudde to check out couture designer Lars Wallin's show Fashion Stories.



The exhibition was amazing! It was a vast showcase of 150+ garments including some gorgeous accessories as well.



There was also a tremendous range. I especially enjoyed the costumes section which showcased garments designed and worn by celebrities during concerts, dramatic performances and endless redcarpet walks. One of my favorite pieces was in fact this one, I couldn't help but fall for the big dramatic feather and glitter hat. The exhibition was an absolute must see so if any of my fellow jet setters feel like stopping by Stockholm I would strongly advise you to check it out.

Yesterday I stopped by Gustavbergs Konsthall and the exhibition by Swedish avant-garde fashion designers Diana Orving and Martin Bergström.



Diana Orving, Spaces



Orving was especially fascinated by draping techniques and showed a keen interest towards textiles. The fabric installation was dressed in order to project images that personify life and form of the garment.



Installation with photos by Thomas Klementsson and inspired by Martin Bergström's Sandbox.