Les mondes du luxe

The Ingénieur Automatic 40, IWC Schaffhausen’s first anti-magnetic wristwatch, features an all-new blue dial, highlighting rhodium-plated baton hands filled with luminescent material to guarantee legibility. This model with its mechanical movement takes up the aesthetic codes of the Ingénieur SL, originally designed by Gérald Genta, the famous Geneva-based watch designer, in the 1970s.

From 26 January to 25 May 2025, the Fondation Beyeler near Basel is unveiling a new group exhibition entitled ‘Northern Lights’. Nearly 80 landscapes painted between 1880 and 1930 by artists from Scandinavia and Canada will be on show. Inspired by the boreal forest, the works immerse us sometimes in the radiant light of endless summer days, sometimes in long winter nights.

“Mon enfant, ma sœur, Songe à la douceur d’aller là-bas vivre ensemble!” These few verses by Charles Baudelaire could resonate in the series of exhibition rooms at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel. “Invitation to the Voyage” (1857) is also the name given to the exhibition soon to open at the Fondation Beyeler in German-speaking Switzerland from September 22, 2024 to January 26, 2025. This Henri Matisse retrospective brings together over 70 major works from private collections and leading European and American museums. It links the common recurring themes that link the two French artists: Matisse and Baudelaire.

The brand of precious writing instruments invites the general public to discover the art of writing. The ‘Let’s Write’ competition starts this September 2024 (and runs until 31 October 2024) in several European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Austria) and will elect the five best pens in five different languages (French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish). The prize is a two-day trip to Hamburg to visit the Montblanc factory and the iconic Meisterstück 149 gold-covered fountain pen, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The stories selected by the jury will then be immortalised in a book available in all Montblanc boutiques. Visit a Montblanc boutique and the Montblanc website to find out how to get your writing kit.

From February 29 to April 16, 2024, the Impulse Gallery in Lucerne hosts the exhibition ‘Okurerutaiyou – Delayed Sun’ by Keiko Kimoto. This artistic journey traces the development of Kimoto’s work. Born in Kyoto, she spent over 25 years in Berlin, where she fused traditional Japanese techniques with contemporary European art. This exhibition explores the Japanese concept of [MA], revealing the essential pauses in time and the empty spaces that allow life to connect and feel.

Fascinated by space since early childhood, seven-time Formula 1™ world champion and IWC watch ambassador since 2013, Lewis Hamilton, experienced an astronaut training flight under real-life conditions. To offer him this experience, IWC partnered with the Polaris program and its philanthropic director and pilot instructor, John “Slick” Baum.

Artcurial is celebrating the centenary of the Jardin Majorelle with a new auction. On 30 December, at the Mamounia Palace in Marrakech, two works by Jacques Majorelle will be offered for sale for the first time: Aouache à Télouet , estimated at between €350,000 and €500,000, and Bijoux Berbères , estimated at between €250,000 and €350,000. For this sixth edition, ‘Un Hiver Marocain’ will be pre-exhibited in Paris, Milan, Brussels and, from 27 December, in Marrakech.

 

To launch the new Portugieser collection at Watches and Wonders in April 2024, Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen teamed up with a scientist and a music composer to create an original music playlist: A tribute to eternity. Created by film composer Hans Zimmer and renowned physicist Brian Cox, it was performed for the first time this summer in London by an orchestra (the Britten Sinfonia) at the prestigious Royal Opera House, during Brian Cox’s live show “Symphonic Horizons”. Through this musical choice, IWC has chosen to honor science, art and time, to reflect the beauty and timeless nature of the Portugieser, the Swiss watch manufacturer’s first secular calendar.

From January 24 to July 21, 2025, the famous Musée du Louvre in Paris will unveil for the first time a historic exhibition 100% dedicated to fashion. In the heart of the French capital, “La Mode au Louvre” will present 65 looks and 30 accessories from the 60s to the present day. Around 40 iconic designers and brands will be featured, including Karl Lagerfeld, Dolce & Gabbana and Yohji Yamamoto, as well as promising young talents. A special homage will be dedicated to Marie-Louise Carven, founder of the House of Carven and an iconic figure in French haute-couture. This is a major first for the world’s largest museum, which until now has only allowed certain houses to show during Fashion Week.

La Cité de la musique hosts ‘En Amour’ by Adrien M & Claire B from February 9 to August 25, 2024, an immersive exhibition where Laurent Bardainne’s music and November Ultra’s voice envelop the audience in an ephemeral human choreography and propose a celebration of rituals around love and separation. This symbolic experience blends visual art and live performance, with the audience becoming an integral part of the work, exploring the concept of [MA] – a space to breathe, feel and connect, a synesthetic spectacle of color, form and sound.

At the end of the 1950s, Pop Art swept across both sides of the Atlantic, and included many leading artists, including Tom Wesselmann. From 17 October 2024 to 24 February 2025, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris is devoting an exhibition to this timeless artistic movement. ‘Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…’ presents a selection of 150 paintings and works by 35 artists of different generations and nationalities.

As it does every year, the capital of fashion and luxury is opening the doors of its most unusual and emblematic places. Here are three events not to be missed on the weekend of 21 and 22 September 2024: the Institut Joaillerie Cartier is exceptionally opening its doors to the public in its historic private hotel to discover the company’s treasures and precious stones and chat with its craftsmen – Chanel’s fashion factory (the 19M) is offering visitors the chance to discover the expertise of Chanel’s art houses in the Paloma, Lesage and Ateliers Lognon workshops – Finally, at number 26 Place Vendôme, jeweller Boucheron is opening its historic boutique-workshop to the public and its private flat usually reserved for privileged customers.

From September 12 to 15, the Comité Montaigne, which brings together most of the French fashion and luxury houses, is organizing an exceptional stroll through the streets of Paris. Each of the 26 prestigious houses and venues on Avenue Montaigne and Rue François-1er – in the heart of the Champs-Elysées district – will open their doors to present an “objet extraordinaire” specially designed for the exhibition. This ephemeral open-air gallery was created in 2012, and once again promises a wonderful meeting between art and luxury. Not-to-be-missed pieces include the sculpture “Dina à la natte” by Jacquemus, the exclusive collection of three fragrances by haute parfumerie Henry Jacques created from an exceptional rose, and the Malle Golf by Louis Vuitton.

From September 14 to November 12, 2024, Château La Coste, located in one of France’s oldest wine-growing regions, unveils a collective exhibition initiated by Margaux Plessy. Featuring over fifteen emerging international artists, the immersive exhibition will tell the story of a night, from sunset to sunrise. In Richard Rogers’ gallery, visitors will be plunged into the warm, intimate world of a bedroom, and experience a tightrope walk to the rhythm of the works and references of the greatest authors of French literature.

From February 9 to August 25, 2024, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris presents ‘Yves Saint Laurent: Transparencies, the Power of Materials.’ This exhibition explores the contradiction and power of transparency in fashion through materials such as chiffon, lace, and tulle, used by Saint Laurent as early as the 1960s. With around forty textile pieces, sketches, patterns, photographs, and accessories, as well as works by modern and contemporary artists, the exhibition highlights the complex relationship between fashion, the body, and reinvented nudity, celebrating the powerful and liberated woman according to Yves Saint Laurent’s vision.