“Shang Xia, nouvelle marque chinoise d’Hermès” ran the headlines of French newspapers in September announcing the landmark launch of Hermès’ new China-designed and produced luxury brand, Shang Xia, in Shanghai. Homewares-focused (at least initially), the discreet Shang Xia (translated as ‘Up Down’) is reviving ancient Chinese traditions of artisanal craftsmanship in the form of finely-crafted furniture, florid, ornate objects and hand-woven silk and cashmere garments.

www.shang-xia.com/en/

“The virile racer becomes the perfect gentleman”, extolled French artisanal luxury maison Hermès in relation to its 2008 collaboration with Alsace-based Bugatti to produce the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès, a refined, sublime upgrade on the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 that debuted in Geneva 2008. And virile this racer certainly is. Never mind the 16-cylinder engine, four turbochargers or a top speed that’s a nudge over 400 km/hr, the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès is a glorious poster board for the tactile potency of Hermès, with the entire interior, seats, steering wheel and dashboard covered in bull calfskin (including Hermès wallet and accessories inside dash) and leather-lined panels and trunk (with custom-fitted ‘Toile H’). This isn’t the first collaboration between the partners. Ettore Bugatti purchased a custom-made suitcase from Hermès in the roaring ‘20s, then the Bugatti Atlantic 57S coupe was awarded Grand Prix d’Honneur in 1937, with the jury praising the Bugatti for its use of Hermès-installed pigskin-covered cigarette cases, vacuum flasks and travel trunks. There are a handful of Bugatti Veyrons already in Singapore, but at the time of press there still hasn’t been a Singaporean purchaser of the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermès. Considering the car is priced from 1.55 million Euros and counting, we may perhaps still have to wait.

www.bugatti.com