The global economic crisis may be troubling minds everywhere but those attending the Luxury Collection exhibition this weekend at the K Club in County Kildare, Ireland might do best to put it out of their minds for at least a little while. From now until Sunday, the golf resort will be home to a variety of luxury exhibits including the first Bugatti Veyron on show in Ireland. Art experts from Sotheby's will value paintings, international property developers will be showcasing the latest villas and vacation spots and a collection of 1920s and 1930s vintage jewels will be displayed. The K Club website has a full list of the events planned.

[via Herald.ie]

On Sunday evening, a select group of Los Angeles design luminaries will converge at the intersection of fashion and architecture -- Katy Rodriguez's show at John Lautner's Harpel residence. Models and It Gals like Chloe Sevigny and Christina Ricci will be wearing Rodriguez's latest designs and mingling with guests including artists Shepard Fairey and Raymond Pettibon.

Judging from the collection, it feels like the perfect setting -- the clothes have an architectural quality, and they're filled with the rich, subtle detailing that distinguishes good design from the ordinary, or the ostentatious.

The Harpel house has been meticulously restored by Rodriguez's business partner Mark Haddawy. He's spent the past two years removing a superfluous second story and bringing the house back to its original, sublime logic.

Between the high fashion and the cityscape below, the views should be pretty spectacular. Check out the gallery to see a few images of the Harpel house and more pieces from Rodriguez's Spring/Summer 2009 collection.

Forbes has just released its annual ranking of the 100 most expensive zip codes in America, and what with fluctuating real estate markets some of the results may surprise you. Beverly Hills for example, the famous 90210, barely makes it into the top 10 nowadays with a median home price of $2.41 million, while Bel Air (90077) lags way back at No. 29 with a median price of $1.72 million. New York City doesn't rate an appearance at all until Tribeca zip 10013 clocks in at No. 14 with a median price of $2.2 million.

That famous province of the rich, Greenwich, Conn. (zip 06870 in Old Greenwich) is way down at No. 26 with a median price of $1.75 million. The most expensive zip code in the country? 33109, the tiny private enclave of Miami Beach known as Fisher Island (above), where sales prices rose by $525,000 over the last year and which has an unbeatable median price of $3.85 million. Listed below are the Top 10 zips. You can see a slideshow of the full list here.

1. Fisher Island, Fla., 33109, Miami-Dade County
Median sales price: $3.85 million

2. Alpine, N.J., 07620, Bergen County
Median sales price: $3.59 million

3. Mill Neck, N.Y., 11765, Nassau County
Median sales price: $3 million

4. Newport Coast, Calif., 92657, Orange County
Median sales price: $2.8 million

5. Water Mill, N.Y. 11976, Suffolk County
Median sales price: $2.72 million

6. Atherton, Calif., 94027, San Mateo County
Median home price: $2.7 million

7. Santa Barbara, Calif., 93108, Santa Barbara County
Median home price: $2.7 million

8. Wainscott, N.Y., 11975, Suffolk County
Median home price: $2.56 million

9. Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 92067, San Diego County
Median home price: $2.47 million

10. Beverly Hills, Calif., 90210, Los Angeles County
Median home price: $2.41 million

Our friends at Kempt spotted Dasha Zhukova, Russian oligarch / Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich's gorgeous 27-year-old girlfriend, partying with supermodels and movie stars at an A-list art gallery opening in Moscow the other night. Zhukova (right) rubbed elbows with the likes of Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova (left), sexy star of several ad campaigns, at the opening for megabucks art dealer Larry Gagosian in a former chocolate factory. As we reported recently, Abramovich has bankrolled a new Moscow art gallery for Zhukova, which will mount a major Francis Bacon exhibition in 2010. At the Gagosian show, works by the likes of Jeff Koons and Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami were on display.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming vacation destination extraordinaire, has added a new convenience for its guests and residents alike!

The new tram, currently under construction and opening December 20th, will carry 100 passengers from 6,311 feet to 10,450 feet up in the mountains in just 9 minutes.

The views from the tram promise to be astounding, as with the old tram which has been there since 1966. A beautiful, "visually inspiring" new base terminal will replace the old clock tower base.

The opening of the new tram will feature live music, fireworks, and all kinds of Jackson Hole festivities. Click here for more information.

Whether you head to Jackson Hole for the skiing, the scenery, or just to get away from it all, the new tram, 100% funded by resort ownership, will make your stay more convenient. You can book a Tram-Slam Package this winter for a stay at Teton Village and be one of the first to ride!

Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has a long list of luxury, seasonal wildlife-focused getaways. The picture at right is for their photography workshops which they hold in September and October.

This year, Spring Creek Ranch has something new for the ladies: The Beauties and the Beasts Adventure is taking place October 2-6.

Subtitled "A Women's Wildlife Adventure," Beauties and the Beasts is a four day excursion, venturing from Jackson Hole up into Yellowstone, where there will be naturalist-led hiking and driving, a trip to Old Faithful, and finally, massages back at Spring Creek Ranch. Ladies only!

There's still room! The price is $1,710 per person for double occupancy and $2,110 for single occupancy.

If I weren't busy keeping tabs on New York for you, I'd be there!

The first weekend in November in New York is given over to New York Chocolate Show. Bittersweet Escapes has a package that runs from Thursday, Nov 6 - Sunday, Nov 9 2008. The package includes a Gala Chocolate Fashion Show ticket, VIP passes to the Chocolate Show, admission to Tastings NYC: Gourmet Wine & Food Festival, a custom designed dinner featuring chocolate in both sweet & savory dishes, a desert and wine pairing, an expert chocolate tour of New York, a chocolate pedicure spa treatment and a chocolate brunch. A three-night package starts at: $2,025 for 1 person, $2,765 for 2 people, double occupancy.

Want to support the arts and see a great show? Volunteer usher. it's a great way to get involved in your arts community without spending a dollar.

Years ago, I went to see Eddie Izzard in Boston on his "Circle" tour, and I loved the show so much, I wanted to see it again! I contacted the theater's house management department and asked if they were looking for volunteer ushers. Result: I got to see Eddie Izzard again, and because he's such a brilliant improvisationalist, the show was totally different! I laughed till I cried all over again.

Since then, I've volunteer ushered for a number of shows. Sure, you have to take a few tickets or pass out a few programs, but the experience of seeing a live show is irreplaceable.

Seattle has its own website, volunteerusher.com, and if you search "volunteer usher" and the name of your own city, you just might be surprised by all the opportunities, especially from smaller, under-the-radar organizations it's always fashionable to support. Often times, you even get to meet the performers or the cast!

If there's a show you want to see, contact the theater's house management department and see if they're looking for volunteers. It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.

If you're in the city and have been looking for a way to meld your love of wine with your technology curiosity than consider dropping in at Webster Hall in NYC for this fabulous tasting. Showcasing over 100 different participating vintners along with technology from various web start-ups and more the evening promises to be a good time. Consider it an opportunity to network with other wine lovers and learn a few new things in the technology realm. Its only $45 (advance tickets...or $75 at the door) and will last from 7pm to 4am if you plan to enjoy yourself thoroughly. I know it's short notice but the expo is this Thursday so don't miss out!

Only two more months until this Lilly Pulitzer'ed Steinway can find its home in your parlor. Nothing can better express the fact you travel the Nantucket-Palm Beach axis with the greatest of ease. The venerable design house rolled out this Steinway, among other 50th anniversary treats like a Lillified Jeep Wrangler, at a special preview at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach back in June. In November, the pieces will finally hit market.

On this blog we do a lot of talking about the rise of China's big spenders but one of the flashiest symbols of this new luxury in China is getting a bit of a paring down. When the Millionaire Fair first came to Shanghai in 2006 it showed off multi-million dollar villas, private islands, yachts, a 30-carat diamond, rare wines and a gold bathtub.

Now the event, branded simply as The Fair, will run October 10-12 and include a "roundtable on China's well-being and charity." It will still be a gathering of wealthy Chinese but it will focus on more than just extravagant spending but will also talk about issues affecting the new wealthy such as philanthropy, collecting, investing and inheritance issues.

The much-anticipated Target Bullseye Bodegas officially open today at 10 a.m. in four locations throughout Manhattan, offering discerning shoppers a sampling of their cheap chic wares only until September 15th. The bodegas are scattered across the city in Union Square, Midtown, SoHo and the East Village. The mega-chain has culled 22 designers from its stable, including cult shoe gals Sigerson Morrison and handbag guru Anya Hindmarch.

And although the goods are priced to move, getting your hands on anything could prove difficult if last night's preview is any indication. This season's pop-up store exclusivity -- was it ever so good as Colette X Gap and Commes des Garcons at H&M? -- just might trump designer rags this fall.

Later this month, billionaire tycoon Sol Kerzner will launch his lavish new resort in Dubai with a $25 million party featuring a fireworks display so massive it will be visible from space. The event, for the grand opening of the $1.5 billion Atlantis, The Palm, will have 2,000 guests and last four days capped by a performance by Kylie Minogue (her first in the Middle East), and is being billed as the world's most extravagant party, the London Telegraph reports.

The 1,500 room resort, located on the world's largest manmade island, the Palm Jumeirah, covers several square miles, features 16 restaurants including a branch of Nobu, and is partially bankrolled by the Dubai Royal Family. The fireworks display is being put on by the same pyrotechnics experts who produce the Olympics opening ceremony; however the Atlantis display will be ten times larger than the one in Beijing, making it visible from space.

If you have $4.000 to spend on a wine tasting, this might be the one. On September 25, the Ninth Annual benefit "Once-in-a-Lifetime Blockbuster Wine Tasting Dinner" will take place in New York City. It will showcase the 1990 Bordeaux, a year important for its hot, dry weather followed by some thunderstorms and scattered showers in September and October. The stressed grapes which stopped ripening and then quickly started again once the rains came, were a healthy bumper crop that ended up producing one of the best vintages in recent history.

The dinner will include a horizontal tasting of The Vintage of the Century: 1990 Bordeaux with a dozen different wines rated 96 or higher by Robert Parker including five that have been rated a perfect 100. This is a chance to enjoy the type of wines that make even the most experienced tasters go a little week in the knees. Each flight of these offerings from one of the most extraordinary vintages of the 20th century is paired with a matching gourmet dish.

All wines will be donated and the dinner is limited to just 40 participants who will gather in a private townhouse in Greenwich Village. The meal will be prepared by a renowned New York chef, and the wine will be served by members of the Windows on the World sommelier staff. The $4,000 fee will be donated to a "highly respected" 501(c)3 organization and is therefore tax deductible. Participation is by invitation only. More details can be found here.

[Thanks, David]

In the buildup to London's hosting duties of the 2012 Olympics, the city's planners have created a "Cultural Olympiad" to generate buzz, highbrow British style. Twelve new public works of art are slated to open, the Royal Shakespeare Co. will produce a Shakespearean festival, a film competition will inspire the next wave of British filmmakers and Windsor Castle will be illuminated by a dazzling light show. The city plans to invest around $70 million in the project.

Lord Sebastian Coe, the chair of London's organizing committee for the 2012 Games, will even participate in Martin Creed's conceptual piece of moving sculpture currently on exhibit at the Tate, a piece featuring a runner sprinting across the museum galleries every 30 seconds, followed by an equivalent pause. The museum is calling it the "purest expression of human vitality."

The hope, organizers say, is to connect sports and the arts and provide a major injection of culture that will inspire young artists the way Michael Phelps makes you want to don a Speedo.