Chrysler was relying on smoke and mirrors for a while as it bid to come back in 2009 and 2010 from its bankruptcy and rescue by the U.S. taxpayer and Fiat.

But increasingly the company is turning out worthy brand-new or substantially overhauled models, such as the Dodge Dart and the new Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee. And it's those new vehicles that are fueling the company's continuing ability to post year-over-year healthy monthly sales increases after many pundits thought the strong comparisons of 2011 would be too much for Chrysler to overcome.

To build on that momentum, Chrysler is developing what it's calling "buzz packages" — special versions of nameplates that connect in a pyschographic or marketing sense with subsets of the overall markets for its increasingly successful nameplates. In its buzziest buzz package, Chrysler will roll out an 8 Mile edition of the Chrysler 200 sedan in partnership with Eminem.Continue reading...

Neiman Marcus has released its 2012 Christmas Book, with the fantasy gifts as over the top as ever, including a $100,000 chicken coop, a limited edition McLaren 12c Spider for $354,000, a $30,000 walk-on during a performance of Broadway's Annie, and his and hers watches from Van Cleef & Arpels for just north of $1 million. The watches, by the way, include a unique brand experience:

The package includes a first-class trip to Paris for a weekend, where you'll visit the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique and jewelry atelier. And a first-class trip to Geneva for a day of private tours of the Van Cleef & Arpels watchmaking workshops and a meeting with the designers and watchmakers. While in Paris and Geneva, Van Cleef & Arpels will arrange luxury accommodations, remarkable dining experiences, and entertainment to suit your preferences.

This also marks the first year that Neiman Marcus has released a mobile app to access exclusive content tied to its Christmas Book, and the first year it's going mass market via a tie-in with Target this season: a Holiday24 collection of 50 exclusive gifts by CFDA designers including Rodarte, Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta and Prabal Gurung, which will be sold starting Dec. 1st at both stores' retail and online locations.

Below, take a closer look at the 86th edition of the Christmas Book:Continue reading...

Heineken isn’t just James Bond's new beer of choice, with a swanky limited edition collectors' edition in Europe whetting fans' thirst for the upcoming Skyfall movie. The brand also is consumed by enough Americans to make it the nation’s top upscale beer import. And the Dutch brewer wants to keep spreading the brand love.

With that in mind, Heineken has partnered with New York's up and coming Public School fashion label to create a limited-edition camouflage duffel bag in honor of the third annual “Heineken 100,” which honors “tastemakers,” according to a press release. The pair previously collaborated on a limited-edition T-shirt that you may have missed.

"We chose Public School as a partner because their clientele, like ours, are open-minded, confident, resourceful men who know quality, seek out new experiences and are ever-evolving in all aspects of their life," said (Bond-worthy named) Olga Osminkina, senior brand director of Heineken USA. "We hope this is one of many future collaborations with innovative and accomplished designers who align perfectly with the aspirations of the Heineken consumer."

The brewer is all about new looks these days as it also has redesigned its packaging for the first time since 1946 — meaning that James Bond isn't the only star on its bottle. The brand's new “Star Bottle” design (see below) that's coming to the U.S. is now rolling out to some vendors in New York and is scheduled to be on shelves in the rest of the country by March of next year.Continue reading...

Mikhail Baryshnikov is considered one of the best ballet dancers in the history of the world. The man was a dominating cultural force of the 1970s and early ‘80s, but don’t think he’s washed up and ready to hang out in his rocking chair.

Nope. Baryshnikov is still dancing and getting his fingers into other forms of self-expression, too. He and famed modern-dance choreographer Mark Morris last week debuted a new work in Seattle entitled “A Wooden Tree,” the New York Times reports.

And don’t worry, dance fans — it wasn't your only chance to see the 64-year-old perform the piece. He’ll be traveling to Sarasota, Fla., later this month to perform it again and then heading to New York City next April for another performance. For the rest of us schmoes who won’t be able to attend any of these shows but would like a little piece of Baryshnikov in our everyday lives (and for whom a daily viewing of “White Nights” doesn’t suffice), there is another option.Continue reading...

Sergio Marchionne got Chrysler dealers from across America fired up this week by pulling the wraps off dozens of potential new models and variations of vehicles that are in the pipeline for the next few years, including aerodynamic versions of current best-selling nameplates for Jeep, a vastly improved Chrysler 200 sedan, and an all-new Chrysler 100 subcompact that would fill a niche where the brand hasn't had a credible entry for decades.

But most of the hardware that the Fiat and Chrysler CEO showed off in Las Vegas is for the future. Right now, with double-digit sales increases each month, Chrysler has been doing a great job of selling just a very few all-new or substantially overhauled models along with others that are mainly reskinned. And one reason they've been so successful is some innovative marketing.

Chrysler launched a new initiative in that regard during Fashion Week in New York, introducing a new Chrysler 300C John Varvatos Limited Edition and a Chrysler 300C Luxury Edition featuring the stylings and touches of the menswear (and now kids) designer. A native of Detroit, Varvatos was featured in a TV campaign for his 300 collaboration with the automaker.Continue reading...

While fashionistas bring their stilettos to the streets of New York for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week spring runway shows, wool is likely one of the last fabrics on their minds.

Woolite is hoping to change that, opening its first pop-up store in New York's Soho district an extra week, through Sept. 16. The installation promotes the brand's new laundry detergent — all of the items sold in the store have been washed in the detergent and carry its distinctive scent — and will be promoted with a Twitter party today.

According to the press release,

True to the brand's campaign slogan, "WooliteWashed. Clothes look like new, longer", each item showcased will be washed in Woolite® so that consumers can experience firsthand and be amazed by the brand's product benefits. Consumers will be able to purchase limited-edition garments and accessories (which have been) pre-washed in Woolite, from five notable designers – Dannijo, Felix Rey, LNA, Laundry by Shelli Segal, and Timo Weiland. Items will retail from $28-$60, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Save the Children, a non-profit creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world.

Halfway around the world, one of wool’s top wool-producing nations and trademarks – Woolmark – has partnered with famed Australian photographer Anne Geddes, who has made a name for herself taking photos of babies in flowers and other fairytale-like settings, “to photograph them nestling in cradles of wool,” as Stock and Land notes, for a 2013 calendar that features what may be the cutest interpretation of a logo ever.Continue reading...

Call it Projector Runway. Diane von Furstenberg made a splash with her collection that debuted Sunday during the New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 shows — and not just for her chic prints and flowing palazzo pants.

The New York-based designer also put Google Glass augmented reality glasses on the catwalk, with her models wearing the high-tech specs and capturing the action on the runway (more on that below).

Also wearing the web-enabled specs at the show: Google co-founder Sergey Brin and von Furstenberg (who addressed Googlers on her vision back in 2006) herself.Continue reading...

H&M's upcoming (Oct. 4th) accessories collaboration with Anna Dello Russo has spawned an oddball music video and a social media contest reaching out to fashionistas on Facebook and Instagram.