Gilt Groupe’s Jetsetter Takes Off

Online sample-sale company tries to bring its model to luxury travel. (CNN Money)

Halogen Paves The Way for Ivanka to be Queen of Brand Tweet

Ivanka Trump’s followers have doubled since the Digital IQ Index mentioned Trump Hotels (tweeting as @ivankatrump) as a “luxe expemplar.” (Halogen Network)

Hilton Names John Vanderslice as Global Head of Luxury and Lifestyle Brands

Hilton Hotels Corporation (Hilton) today announced that John T. A. Vanderslice has joined the company as Global Head of Luxury and Lifestyle Brands. (Hospitality Net)

Leading Hotel Brands in a Lagging Economy

While occupancy levels and revenues within the hotel industry have continued to sink through the first half of 2009, several hotel brands have been able to keep their heads above water.

While occupancy levels and revenues within the hotel industry have continued to sink through the first half of 2009, several hotel brands have been able to keep their heads above water. (Hospitality Net)

W Hotels Worldwide Breaks New Ground with Fashion on a Global Level

W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and leading industry innovator, unveiled a unique, multi-layered strategy that links the W brand with the global fashion industry while bringing its passion for fashion to life in W Hotels globally. (Travel Daily News)

LuxuryLab Daily Digest

Why Luxury Retail Looks Lavishly Priced (Yahoo Finance)
Many investors seem to prefer a more-upscale shopping experience when it comes to stock picking right now: They want luxurious names adorning their portfolios.

Exclusive Resorts Increase Membership Fees to Stay Afloat (Halogen Life)
The waning economy has taken all aspects of luxury living for a spin. It’s done a number of things, not the least of which is causing some people and businesses to fold and some to improvise. Exclusive Resorts represents the latter.

Art Prices Start to Rise Again (Wealth Bulletin)
After five months of consecutive falls, art prices are beginning to rise again as buyers regain confidence and auction houses learn to adapt to a leaner spending environment.

C.E.O. Helps Jimmy Choo Diversify (New York Times)
Diversification often pays off in tough economic times, and it certainly has helped the luxury brand Jimmy Choo, which, like many companies, has not been immune to the sharp global downturn.

LuxuryLab Digest | Spas Take Off In Asia, Audi Taps Facebook Fans, Fashion Blogs Turn the Internet into a Catwalk, How the Pixel is Evolving Human Sentiment

Spas Take Off in Asia (Fortune)
Healthy living is back in style in Asia, which means a revival of ancient Asian wellness techniques – and an explosion of spas.
HUA HIN, Thailand — Yue-Sai Kan — one of the most recognizable women in China with a cosmetics empire and her own TV show — often needs to get away from the grueling pressures and polluted skies of Shanghai and Beijing, where she lives.

Audi Taps its Facebook Fans to Help Design Car of the Future (Mashable)
More and more businesses are learning that adopting a strategy of incorporating social media to connect with customers is a great way to build a solid brand. Even companies that already have very successful global brands, like Audi are starting to use social media to enhance their presence and garner feedback from users.

Fashion Blogs Turn the Internet into a Catwalk (China Daily)
Glossy fashion magazines are getting competition from Internet fashion blogs that are not only cheaper but also faster.  Before new trends from the catwalks and the streets arrive on the pages of the fashion magazines, they already are posted on the Internet. From secret tips on the hippest accessories to introductions of new artists and designers and styling tips for the perfect look, nearly everything can be found in fashion blogs.

How the Pixel is Evolving as Real Human Sentiment (Goonth’s Posterous)
We’re witnessing this on a mass scale – the adoption of social technologies that are helping to transform communication in incredible ways.  Perhaps something that we may overlook at times, as well as be shocked by, is how the pixel is evolving as a means for real human sentiment.

Spas Take Off in Asia

Healthy living is back in style in Asia, which means a revival of ancient Asian wellness techniques – and an explosion of spas.

HUA HIN, Thailand — Yue-Sai Kan — one of the most recognizable women in China with a cosmetics empire and her own TV show — often needs to get away from the grueling pressures and polluted skies of Shanghai and Beijing, where she lives. (Fortune)

Luxury Firms Push ‘Eco-Posh’

Handbag-makers to hotels are luring a new kind of luxury consumer.

Somewhere in an Amazonian rainforest, an indigenous person is tapping a rubber tree. Two small cuts extract its latex. The tree is left untouched for two years so it can fully heal, while the rubber, once refined, is sent to Italy. There, a craftsman fashions it into a handbag, lines it with recycled Italian cotton shirting fabrics or canvas salvaged from Swedish and Italian Army fatigues, then outfits it with nickel-free hardware. (Christian Science Monitor)