SDA Bocconi School of Management has announced its Fashion Entrepreneur Challenge competition, with an intensive fashion management course at its Milano campus as first prize.
   Entrants are encouraged to submit a business plan, whether it is ‘Opening an internet-based fashion business, launching a new line of accessories with a low environmental impact or introducing a new distribution model for the footwear sector,’ says the school. The deadline is April 30, 2010.
   The course includes studies in strategy and branding to help the winner launch their own fashion, luxury or design business.
   In a release, the school states, ‘The competition will reward 15 participants who propose the most innovative and financially viable ideas. The competition is open to individuals or teams composed of a maximum of three people from anywhere in the world. Candidates can upload their applications on a dedicated e-platform. The business plan should include a detailed description of the idea, plus plans for financing as well as the participants’ CV. A three-minute video with the teams’ pitch may also be included.’
   The 15 winners will participate at the course on July 12 and 13.
   The school promises that all participants will receive feedback on their proposal from the selection committee.
   The programme is part of a larger summer school project launched by the Milanese city council.
   For more information, visit summerschool.sdabocconi.it/fashion.html.

Giorgio Armani has dressed Martin Scorsese and Leonardo di Caprio for the première of Shutter Island at the Berlinale, the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, the company has announced.
   The company is a key sponsor of the New York première of the movie, with Armani’s niece, Roberta Armani, attending.
   The cocktail party for the New York première on the 16th is to be held at Armani Ristorante, within Armani Fifth Avenue.

Who can resist the possibility of time-travel into the intrigue and splendour of this legendary yearly celebration? Visions of masked, caped gentlemen and ladies drifting down mysterious, shadowy, lamp-lit and cobbled passageways of La Serenissima, in search of elegant salons and romantic assignations. Opulent late Renaissance costumes of incredible finery. Minuets and baroque melodies, counterposed with the traditional delicacies unique to the setting. For the truly impulsive, here’s a superior last-minute package deal which might just deliver such a magical and memorable feast for the senses. It’s a chance to get out of your iPhone and email, and head back to another era, into a world of decadence and splendour, set among the canals and palazzos.
   Next weekend experience the near-mythological, through a special promotion at the Luna Hotel Baglioni Venice. On Friday, February 12 you can be part of the ‘Ball of the Baglioni Counts’ and on Saturday the 13th attend the Great Carnival Ball, during a minimum two-night stay, which includes masked ball, buffet breakfast and an entry for two to the Casinò di Venezia overlooking the Canal Grande. The Marco Polo Salon, with its massive School of Tiepolo murals, has got to be the ideal setting for dinner and desserts, followed by a live performance of Puccini’s La bohème, sung by a troupe from La Fenice. Dance away the rest of the night to the sounds of a cool DJ. There’s even the possibility of modelling some vintage costumes, with cloak and mask. Or steal away to the casino and try your luck at cards or love.
   The Luna is perhaps my favourite hotel in Europe, ideally located just around the corner from Piazza San Marco. It boasts a classical and intimate atmosphere, superb canal view rooms and faultless service. It has the best concierge in the world, Antonio Massari. This special promotion has prices starting from €280 per night, an incredible offering, and one which could deliver some of those fantastical memories we cherish for a lifetime, the kind of thing we tell our grandchildren about. For more information, see www.baglionihotels.com.—Stanley Moss

Giorgio Armani has released its winter 2010 eyewear collection, all with a slight ’50s–’60s retro style, paying tribute to designs in its archives. The first collection comprises thirteen men’s and one women’s models. (Below are the men’s styles first, with the women’s style at bottom.)

Photographed by Thomaz

While Lamborghini released news of its Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni in the middle of last year, this is the first time we’ve been able to get our hands on it. Or, more accurately, our occasional contributor Thomaz, who recently took a few shots of it.
   Unlike most of us when we take pictures of cars, he turned his snapshots into a full-fledged shoot, which, while not quite the sort of fashion editorial that might appear in our print-edition pages, do show off the vehicle well.
   The Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni is named for the company’s famous test driver, who has worked on every model the Sant’ Agata car manufacturer has put out since 1973. Power output is 550 hp, with a top speed of 320 km/h. Production is limited to 250 units worldwide, which makes this the rarest of the Gallardo models.

Italian designer Daniela de Marchi’s Anemone ring uses silver, bronze and copper, which allows for more distinctive shapes, according to her.
   Using a patented process called Dropage, where heat is used to bring wax to a liquid state, then brought back to a solid one in tiny spherical drops, forged individually. Burnishes and varnishes give over 20 different colours, matched to gemstones.
   De Marchi can be reached on 39 02 8699 5040 or through her website at www.danielademarchi.it.

Last year, we had quite a few stories on Burberry, including news of actress Emma Watson at its London Fashion Week party.
   The actress is clearly in the Zeitgeist these days: Watson, now the face of the brand, has débuted her second series of advertisements for the British label.
   She’s also particularly recognizable, thanks to the mass appeal of the Harry Potter films.
   Shot by Mario Testino, Watson appears in campaigns for all three Burberry sub-brands: Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London and Burberry Brit. Young brother Alex Watson is among the male models who join her.
   Watson is currently a freshman at Brown University.

Above Mario Testino and Emma Watson, photographed in September.

First bags of the year that caught our eye: the Armonia collection from Alessandra Gucci for spring–summer 2010.