George Parker is the perpetrator of adscam.typepad.com. Every week he shares his opinions on the advertising world with PSFK.

Idea-planner Russell Davies has some interesting ideas within his presentation on his site about playfulness.

Galactic Suite is a bio-inspired orbital station that is attempting to bring space tourism to the masses, as long as you can afford the three million euro price tag.

A new invitation-only site called Rent the Runway lets members rock Badgley Mischka on a Banana Republic budget through an online borrowing system.

Tyler Brule’s team invited Piers Fawkes to contribute some thoughts to the Style Survey 09/10 supplement that accompanied the October 09 issue of Monocle magazine…

Artist Sebastian Bouchard attempts to transform the commonplace Calabash into a commodity in his new piece, C’est la Crise (Crisis Time).

Image credit: Getty Images, bancoposta/Flickr
With sales of luxury goods declining in Japan, an article in the Financial Times argues that we might be witnessing an evolution, or at least permanent change, in consumer behavior there. In the article, Michiyo Nakamoto says that Japan became a mass-luxury market in the 80s and 90s where owning a Louis Vuitton bag or Hermes scarf was a middle-class rite of passage – but mow consumers have grown confident in mixing and matching luxury items with cheaper ones:
“This is not a blip. This is a long-term shift in the market,” said Brian Salsberg, the author [...]

PSFK had noticed that earlier this year that the number of the Monocle magazine video podcasts had declined and the lifestyle-meets-business-meets-travel publication had even experimented with video podcasts which had slideshows of images with accompanying narrator rather than moving image. Meanwhile the weekly and summer special podcasts had become popular and we wondered if the change had been made just because it’s easier and cheaper to produce audio than video content . In an interview in the Independent, Moncole magazine editor Tyler Brûlé shines some light on this topic as he discusses how they have taken the Monocle approach to [...]

With the rampant urbanization of our society, is a little patch of green becoming just as valuable as precious materials like diamonds and gold? Icelandic designer Hafsteinn Juliusson raises that question with his evocative line of “living” accessories called Growing Jewelry. The series of rings containing live moss ask us to rethink our modern definitions of luxury and our relationships to the physical objects that populate our lives. These rings require the same kind of care as any plant, becoming more vibrant and “valuable” as their owners allow them flourish. The retail environment resembles the minimalist design of a greenhouse, repurposing [...]

This is an interesting idea developed by the designer Norihiko Inoue for what has been rather ridiculous range of uber-luxury Vertu phones. Inoue recognizes that technology has shrunk the components of the phone but the look of a Vertu still remains distinctive so he creates a phone that looks like it’s an empty oblong wrapped in black ribbon.
Norihiko Inoue
[via DesignBoom]

Did you ever wonder what kind of head covering Kanye West would wear on a nice bike ride in the country? Well, if you had, it would probably look something like industrial designer Kyle J. Ferguson’s new collaboration with Lacoste on an eco-conscious bike helmet. The helmet, which is made from sustainable materials (but spares none of Lacoste’s lux-preppy trademark look) is comprised of organic wool, thermoformed bio-plastic, low-density cork and soy-based foam.
By way of Treehugger.com comes a very detailed graph of what make’s up Ferguson’s creation:

As you can see, the helmet is not just fashionable, but has many layers [...]

Swarovski has recently made its first foray into the world of self-branded timepieces. The company continually looks for new applications in which to use its crystals – whether that be embedding them in tiles for use in the home, or utilizing them as the basis for their well-known figurines.
The standout from the new line of timepieces is the D:Light digital watch.  It retails for upwards of $1800, but for that money you get a pretty unique watch.  The watch is made from 172 “Xillion-cut” crystals that make up a display panel. A light under the crystals can turn on or [...]

A new report breaks down Chinese luxury consumers into four types – Noveau Rich, Understaters, Connoisseurs and Spirituals – based on social background, luxury experience and income level.

For the ultimate in China-made luxury cars, GEELY has introducted the GEELY GE, which has a striking resemblance to the Rolls Royce Phantom. One of the most distinctive features of the 17.5 foot long GE is a 2+1 seating arrangement with a single seat throne for the rear passenger.  The GE is being unveiled at this week’s Auto Shanghai Exhibition.
[via Jalopnik]

The Mondrian South Beach hotel has a unique vending machine that sells everything from away from home staples like toothbrushes to luxury goods – like a Bentley Arnage. The fancy retail machine, called a Semi-Automatic stocks a list of over the top items including golden handcuffs, land and condos. For anything that can’t fit inside the vast, auto-mat-like contraption, customers trade in a voucher at the front desk to receive their goods. Though the ultra high-end nature of this machine is a bit questionable and gimmicky, the concept behind it is interesting.