Famed French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's incredible collections of art, antiques, furniture, decorative objects and personal effects were recently auctioned off in a series of sales fetching a total of over $700 million. Now the legendary couturier's Paris duplex on the Rue de Babylone, which housed many of his most prized possessions collected with longtime partner Pierre Bergé, is being put up for sale as well. The 5,400-sq.-ft. spread with a massive garden has been listed with prestigious Paris-based agency Emilie Garcin and is expected to fetch at least $30 million, WWD reports. Pictured above is the cover of The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, a stunning book about the eye-popping environments Saint Laurent created.

This holiday season Ralph Lauren has come out with a number of luxurious offerings rooted in the spirit of 1930's Sun Valley, the famous Idaho ski resort frequented by socialites and celebrities. The designer's Holiday Collection "embodies wintry sophistication with luxe cashmeres, rich tartan plaids, regal velvets and chic yet rustic details, creating gifts with a nod to classic American heritage and modern sensibility." Standout items include a tartan plaid duffel bag made of rich wool with saddle leather trim for $1,500, and the Brabham Vice Box at $4,995 (above), a streamlined case containing handsome crystal barware, sleek coasters and a debonair poker set. As a limited edition of 50, each box bears a numbered plate. Other home items evoke the inviting world of the Adirondacks or a sleek urban environment, with a sophisticated jewel-toned palette executed in sumptuous materials.

[via JustLuxe]

Ken Freivokh, designer of the famed Maltese Falcon, the world's largest, most high-tech, beautiful and costliest sailing yacht, has gone classic for his latest project, the 1920's-inspired superyacht Sycara IV (above). The 151-ft. luxury yacht, built by the Burger Boat Company in Wisconsin, is designed to cruise the Great Lakes in high style and is partly inspired by John F. Kennedy's yacht the Honey Fitz. The aluminum-bodied craft resembles a classic wooden motor yacht with a schooner bow and fantail hull. The Art Deco-inspired interior woodwork is a masterpiece of handcrafted mahogany and madrone burl, with ebony, sycamore and padouk accents highlighted with stainless steel details in scores of inlays and moldings. Lalique bathroom fixtures are the finishing Deco touch. Of course she's also equipped with every bit of state-of-the-art tech you'd expect in a modern superyacht.

[via JamesList]

Art Basel isn't the only thing taking Miami by storm - dashing designer Duncan Quinn has opened a limited edition pop-up shop in the city's design district that's a shrine to gentlemanly pursuits and fine tailoring. In addition to his full range of Savile Row-inspired menswear the British-born bon vivant's 6,000-sq.-ft. space features a full-sized indoor croquet pitch; a 1962 Maserati 3500GT, one of only 359 made, specially ordered and owned by famed Formula One driver Peter Revson; and a killer collection of vintage Ducati motorbikes, including a 450 Desmo from the 70's, a 350 Desmo, built in 1969 and a 1985 F1 prototype.

There are also limited edition croquet shirts and t-shirts exclusive to the venue; a bespoke lounge with Dormeuil fabrics; an installation of Ruby couture motorcycle helmets from France; Hendrick's Gin cocktails; and more. Famed shoe designer Christian Louboutin, who has his own op-up shop down the block, was their first customer, coming in to buy an outfit for his own opening, while Birmingham band The Twang, who opened the Glastonbury Festival in front of 500,000 people, played a one-off show for the DQ faithful there on Friday night. The shop will be open until Dec. 12th, then once a month for dinners and tastings and otherwise by appointment.

Australia's Warren Yachts is getting into the high-end flybridge speedster scene with its new $16 million, 120-ft. S120. Twin 2400HP MTU 16V2000 M93 Diesel engines propel the Peter Lowe-designed craft to a maximum speed of 26 knots. Her main entertaining area is on the main deck, in the yacht's large and bright deckhouse. A partition separates the guest areas from the state-of-the-art bridge. The partially shaded aft deck features a bar, lounging area and sunpads. Above the deckhouse is a sundeck and the foredeck features a large outdoor seating area as well. The main salon features an open dining room with seating for eight and a large lounging area. The interior has a four cabin layout with accommodation for up to eight guests.

Chic luggage and travel accessories company Tumi has partnered with Hg2, the Hedonist series of travel guides, on a distinctive, stylized set of guidebooks in a bespoke case. Eight customized Hg2 guides – for Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo, Berlin, New York, Buenos Aires and Dubai – come sheathed in Tumi's signature ballistic nylon.

To evoke the theme of travel, the open case has a handle and luggage tag. Infused with the Tumi lifestyle, the colorful customized guides, known for their lavish photography, contain original content and serve as a passport to the best each city has to offer.

Each chapter is segmented with sections dedicated to, Work, Rest and Play. For the complete immersion in a particular destination, the guides include a comprehensive address book of key contacts for everything from gyms and hair stylists to florists and more.

With a retail value of $125 as an added bonus each purchase will be accompanied by a complimentary one-year membership to Hg2.com with updates and extras.

[via JustLuxe]

The Range Rover is the automotive embodiment of a distinctly upper class British sporting aesthetic, as quintessentially English and aristocratic as the country houses dotting the verdant landscape. The luxe SUV was introduced in 1970, expanding upon the utilitarian Land Rover first designed by the Wilks Brothers in 1948. The preferred country conveyance of Prince Charles and his kin, the marque continues to dominate the upper end of the SUV spectrum in the UK and abroad despite having passed out of British hands.

For 2010 the Range Rover and its rakish younger sibling, the Range Rover Sport, were treated to a makeover encompassing several significant engineering and design upgrades. We had a chance to ramble 'round the scenic byways of Vermont recently in the latter. At 375 hp, the normally aspirated Sport model has nearly the same power as the previous year's supercharged version, capable of 0 - 60 mph in 7.2 seconds (just 0.1 seconds off the pace of the outgoing supercharged unit).

The Sport's smooth, refined, responsive performance and good looks mark it as a thoroughbred in all respects. For 2010 the exterior has a somewhat cleaner, more sculpted appearance. LED headlamps combine with a new two-bar grille, front bumpers and fenders to create a more sporting, aerodynamic, low-slung stance. At the rear, new light clusters and a revised bumper design mirror the smoother front-end. The interior has been comprehensively redesigned as well, using higher quality materials and finishes.



Leather is used extensively on major surfaces, in a wider choice of colors. To create a more sporting feel, rich dark shades "sandwich" narrow sections in lighter tones, completed by a generous selection of stylish wood finishes. There are luxurious new seats front and rear, which feature a deeper, more sculpted shape. A new adaptive sport mode provides more aggressive shift points and "learns" an individual driver's style to provide more appropriate responses to throttle inputs. The supercharged model now comes with F1-style paddle shifters on the steering wheel as well.

The fascia-mounted touch-screen system houses a new hard-drive navigation system while a new portable audio interface also allows connectivity to an array of personal audio storage devices, USB sticks and iPods. A new Surround Camera System features five digital cameras which relay a near 360-degree view to the touch-screen display. You can even zoom in. And one of our favorite new features is the automatic High Beam Assist technology, which turns them on and off as needed, detecting preceding and approaching traffic. Perfect for those country roads at night.

Continuing our series on the seasonal smorgasbord of over-the-top exclusives offered by that glossy chronicle of the filthy rich Robb Report, we present their $2 million single malt Scotch experience. The profligate publication's gift package includes the following: a private tour of the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, conducted by their malt master Biran Kinsman, where the recipient and a guest will learn firsthand how the famed single malt is produced before selecting a personal vintage cask of their own; a rare bottle of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old (above); two nights' accommodation at Ballindalloch Castle, home since 1546 to the Macpherson-Grant family, who will host a dinner in the recipient's honor; first-class roundtrip air travel for two from any U.S. city to Edinburgh; one night's stay and dinner at Edinburgh's renowned Prestonfield Hotel, plus a guided tour of Edinburgh Castle; private roundtrip helicopter rides from Edinburgh across the Scottish Highlands to the Glenfiddich Distillery; and a private tour of the historic Johnston's Woolen Mill and a traditional Scottish lunch with the owner.

For more than a century, Beemster has been hand-making gourmet cheese on its sustainable farm in the Netherlands. The cheese is matured for a minimum of 18 months and carefully crafted by master cheese makers. Michael Blum, Beemster's resident cheese expert, has some tips for holiday entertaining ranging from presentation to accompaniments and wine pairings:

1. Consume at Room Temperature: Cheese is most flavorful to consume at room temperature. All cheeses are best stored below 7 degrees Celsius/45 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Make the Cut: allow cheese to sit at least one hour at room temperature before cutting. Remove the rind by cutting back into the cheese half an inch before grating. Cut small snack-sized squares for cheese-plates or salads and grate cheese into small slivers for pasta or pizza.
3. Go Nutty: Cheese pairs excellent with nuts. Spruce up your cheese plate by including pecans, walnuts, macadamias or cashews. If you or your guests have a nut allergy, other snacks that go well with cheese are apples, grapes, pears, figs, dates, olives and picles.
4. Old and Sweet: Older cheeses, such as Beemster X-O, pair well with sweeter wines like Rieslings and ports.
5. Get Fresh: Young and fresh cheeses taste best with lighter beers. A good rule of thumb is the more mild the cheese, the lighter the beer.

Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, famed Scotch whisky distillery The Macallan is offering its acclaimed Sherry Oak 18 Years Old single malt in a gift box made of beautiful, solid oak, connoting the distillery's commitment and attention to the special interplay of spirit and wood.

Meanwhile, the distillery has also developed a smaller, 375ml bottle for the 18 Years Old, matured exclusively in oak sherry casks from Jerez, Spain, and a replica 1.75L bottle for The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, ensuring a range of gift options for lovers of fine spirits this season.

"The Macallan is always looking to enhance its original core collection with unique packs that appeal to consumer needs," notes Jim Brennan, Brand Director, The Macallan. "This year we're providing new sizing and packaging options at accessible price points to encourage sharing and to promote gifting."

The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old Oak Gift Box is priced at $149.99; The Macallan Sherry Oak 18 Years Old, in a stock-stuffer 375ml size is priced at $79.99; and The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Years Old, in the 1.75L size is priced at $99.99, translating to plenty of extra spirit for sharing with friends and family and at virtually no extra cost.