Luxury line: Chanel opens at Courchevel; Prada LG phone retailing soon; Tommy Hilfiger licenses to Ittierre

Chanel has opened a temporary boutique at Courchevel in the French Alps for the winter. The 180 m² store features a minimalist décor with the odd flash of colour. It also has stunning views over the entire Courchevel valley.
   Chanel retails its fragrances, fine jewellery, watches, and the cruise 2011–12 and spring–summer 2012 collections at the store. The lounge has an Ipad where the visitor can browse a Chanel app featuring fashion shows and news.
   Meanwhile, LG has announced the New Zealand pricing for its Prada phone, at NZ$999. Only a few hundred units will be imported to New Zealand, and interested parties wanting to get one up on the now-ubiquitous Iphones are asked to call the company on 0508 547-322 to register their interest.
   Finally, emphasizing that luxury seems to be surviving the recession, Tommy Hilfiger will license its men’s and women’s catwalk collections beginning with the fall 2012 season and spring 2013 pre-collections to Ittierre SpA. Ittierre will produce and distribute apparel and the majority of the accessories, with distribution focused on Europe, North America and Asia, at prices between €140 and €2,000, the upper limit north of where Hilfiger had been positioned.
   The collections will be sold in six showrooms after the fall 2012 shows at New York Fashion Week, retailing from July. Tommy Hilfiger retains creative control over all collections.