Chanel Wine With Karl Lagerfeld Label Goes Perfectly With His Orrefors Wine Glasses.

above: Wine label and Wine glasses designed by Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel.

Back in October, fashion and wine blogs were sharing the news that Chanel Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld was illustrating a wine label, expanding his already enormous repertoire as a legendary fashion guru, film director, photographer, product designer and more. As a matter of fact, he recently designed a selection of glassware for Orrefors, which includes... you guessed it, wine glasses.


above image of Karl Lagerfeld courtesy of Celotto/Getty

Karl Lagerfeld for Château Rauzan-Ségla

The winery, Château Rauzan-Ségla, whose exterior was the subject of Karl's illustration for the label, was founded in 1661 by Pierre de Rauzan and was acquired by CHANEL in 1994.


above: Château Rauzan-Ségla, situated in the heart of the Margaux appellation

On its 350th Anniversary and to celebrate the exceptional quality of the 2009 vintage Château Rauzan-Ségla is proud to announce a very special – one time only – collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld. To honor these two milestones (the anniversary and exceptional vintage), Lagerfeld has brought his iconic drawing style to the label with a rendering of the Château Rauzan-Ségla.






Tasting Notes and Ratings for 2009 Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux:

• 94-96 points Wine Enthusiast: "Big tannins here, very dry, but the fruit seems rich enough to support it. It is finely structured, very dense, made for the long haul."

• 93-96 points Wine Spectator: "Shows a lovely concentration of currant and blackberry. Hints of vanilla follow through to a full body, with layers of ripe and pretty fruit to this. Very fruit-forward..."

• 92-95 points Robert Parker: "...This large estate appears to have produced their greatest wine since the 1986. The alcohols came in at 13.9%, and the wine reveals extraordinary density, power, and richness as well as explosive fruit, and terrific acidity, intensity, and power. Yet it tastes like a crisp, delicate Margaux. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. This outstanding 2009 should age nicely for 35-40+ years."

• 90-93 points Tanzer's IWC: "Ruby red. Perfumed aromas of currant, spices and flowers show an intriguing candied quality. Light and lively on the palate, with suave, peppery dark berry and mineral flavors lifted by a spicy element on the back. Finishes long and pure, with noteworthy inner-mouth energy and fragrance. This wine's very polished tannins make it deceptively delicious to taste today, like so many 2009s.

• 94-96 points - Wine Cellar Insider: The 2009 Rauzan Segla is deep ruby. The perfume offers jammy blackberry, fudge, fennel, earth, spice, and floral notes. Full bodied with a rich texture, round tannins, and structure to age, this sublime wine ends with long, pure sensations of sweet berries.

This special edition Château Rauzan-Ségla Margaux 2009 wine is being distributed by Harvey Nichols for £160. Buy it here

Karl Lagerfeld for Orrefors.


Creator, photographer, designer and editor Karl Lagerfeld likes nothing more than expanding his modes of expression. And what better way to do that than to present his first line of crystal products with Orrefors. With an insatiable curiosity, always in search of new creative experiences, this multifaceted artist has had an uncommonly rich career, during which he has developed a perfectly chiseled graphic identity. And now the clean lines and streamlined design of that universe grace this inimitable collection of glasses, bowls and vases.



In transparent, black or milky white crystal, the series unites the strict lines and contemporary elegance of Karl Lagerfeld with the exacting quality and expertise that has characterized Orrefors for over a century.

See the full collection here

A Different Way To Set Diamonds. And Your Dinner Table. Diamonds In Glass.

Way back in February of 2008, I blogged about DIG, Diamonds in Glass, an Austrian company that came up with a way to suspend genuine cut diamonds in borosilicate glass.

The high quality faceted diamonds appeared in stemware, napkin rings, keychains and jewelry items for both men and women. Since 2008, things have changed at DIG. The shapes and silhouettes of their stemware are different and colored or frosted glass is now available. While they still carry jewelry and keychains, those styles have changed as well. And now they've included some unique collaborations such as eyeglasses.

DIG Tableware


DIG uses Wesselton Diamonds of VVS1 clarity. The customer can choose from various sizes depending upon the application. Due to the curvature of the glass, the diamond has the appearance of being much larger than it actually is.

DIG Drinking Glasses
White wine glasses with diamonds in the stems:

Red wine glasses with diamonds in the stems:

Champagne and Multi-use glasses with diamonds in the stems:

Champagne flutes with diamonds in the stems:

Their drinking glasses, made of borosilicate glass with diamonds embedded in the stem come in white wine, red wine, multi-beverage and champagne styles. The diamonds can be embedded in clear, frosted, black or blue glass surroundings. Diamonds are available in four sizes; 0.15, 0.20, 0.30, or 0.5 carats.


The DIG Imperial glass:


The Imperial Glass is the most expensive Champagne glass in the world (at least DIG says so). The stem of the glass is exquisitely handmade of 180g gold with extreme care by the company Tauerngold. Contained in the Imperial Glass are a total of 8.1 carats of diamonds. The diamonds are partly set into the golden stem by hand, and partly implemented according to the Diamond in Glass process.



DIG Napkin Rings:



DIG Caviar bowl and spoon:

DIG caviar dish with spoon has a total of 0.30 ct. of diamonds. A diamond is in the stem of the bowl and one in the spoon. The diamonds are backed with glass available in clear, blue, black or frosted.

DIG Jewelry
DIG Diamond Pendants/ necklaces:






DIG Diamond Rings:
Various size stones available and settings in white gold or stainless steel.




DIG Earrings:



DIG Cufflinks:


DIG Keychains:



DIG & Andy Wolf Brille
DIG & Andy Wolf eyelasses with a total of 0.20 ct.Diamond set in yellow gold in the temple stem.


Miscellaneous:
The DIG Kings Saxophone was especially designed and made for Thailand’s Millionaire Expo. The saxophone is 38cm high and weighs about 1kg. In the instrument there are 7 diamonds, having a total of 2 carats, as well as 280g of gold.



The DIG Kings Saxophone comes in a wooden case with a black piano lacquer. The King of Thailand’s Royal Coat of Arms is also hand painted onto the casing. The Kings Saxophone was completed after 100 hours of careful and skillfull handicraft.

Austrian duo, glassblower Natascha Schenk and designer Tobias Berger together are Diamonds in Glass:



They sell a few of the above items in their online webshop, but you can contact them for other options as well as custom designs.

Diamonds in Glass

Edible Drinking Glasses That Encourage You To Litter. Jelloware.

The folks at The Way We See The World have designed edible, flavored and naturally biodegradable gelatinous drinking cups, that when tossed on the surface of the planet, actually contain organisms that nurture the growth of grasses and plants.



Jelloware re-imagines the concept of drinking, and imparts a new experience in the way it feels, tastes, smells, moves, and is even disposed of.



The cups are made entirely out of agar agar (a gelatinous substance made from red algae) and cast in different flavors, such as lemon-basil, ginger-mint, or rosemary-beet, each specifically designed to compliment a corresponding drink.



Jelloware is meant to be thrown into the grass after it is used, as agar agar* is a seaweed extract and actually nurtures the growth of plants.



*Agar (agar agar) is used in laxatives, as vegetarian gelatin substitutes, as a thickener for soups, jellies, ice cream and other desserts, and as a clarifying agent in brewing, and for paper sizing fabrics. Chemically, agar is a polymer made up of subunits of the sugar galactose. Agar polysaccharides serve as the primary structural support for the algae's cell walls.(source: wikipedia)


above: The concept and design won them the honor of Runner Up for Structural/Sculptural Integrity in the GSS Jell-O mold competition.




THE WAY WE SEE THE WORLD is a product design consultancy comprised of Monica Bhatia, Chelsea Briganti, Ingrid Zweifel, and Leigh Ann Tucker, that pulls its lens back to take in the edges, where contexts take shape and boundaries form. We believe that design is fundamentally a creative response to the evolving challenges of the present. We are keen eyes in a world that changes with each blink, locating innovation in the space created by emerging realities.

Thanks to PSFK for bringing this to my attention and to Yanko Design for some of the additional images.