Fashionable tea time!

The Berkeley London, a very prestigious hotel in London, has come up with a fashionable twist to the otherwise traditional afternoon tea.

The designer afternoon tea appointment is called, Prêt-à-Portea, and it is inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world. Prêt-à-Portea is served in the Caramel Room daily from 1pm to 6pm.

The menu is transformed every six months to follow the changing seasons in fashion. So besides their renowned tea infusions and delightful canapés, the main attraction comes with the collection of cakes and fancies that bear big names in fashion and each and everyone is designed with the brand in mind.

Some examples are:

•   Valentino orange and ginger clutch cake closed with oversized chocolate bow

•   Bottega Veneta colour blocking pink and gold pear mousse and clementine cremeux coat with matching macaroon button

•       Dolce and Gabbana signature gold starred chocolate éclair dress filled with hazelnut cream

•             Stella McCartney must-have polka dot sponge cake dress

•     Burberry Prorsum stylish black and white double breasted chocolate biscuit coat with snow white vanilla icing

•             Miu Miu winter spice glittery high-heeled shoe biscuit

•   Jill Sander pomegranate and grenadine mousse dress topped with colourful chocolate flower pattern

•        Lanvin show-stopping cassis bavarois dress with crème de mûre jelly topped with signature folded meringue

•    Sonia Rykiel striped chestnut cream and almond sponge cake dress complete with trendy metallic sparkles

Prêt-à-Portea adds a creative twist to the classic elements of the traditional English afternoon tea with cakes and pastries resembling the latest catwalk designs for the style conscious.

So if you are in London, don’t forget the mandatory appointment for every fashionista who wants to be known as such! 

Eco Gucci

Gucci is going green.

  Delivering on the brand's promise last November to reduce paper use and its carbon footprint, Gucci says its signature luxury packaging now conforms to FSC Certified paper standards and is 100% recyclable.


  It's the latest luxury brand to make good on a Rainforest Action Network-backed pledge to reduce paper in packaging, a commitment that has already signed up Valentino, Versace and Prada.


  Gucci Group now joins those ranks, with a commitment that also extends to its Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Balenciaga brands.


  It’s a major change for Gucci. Bags, boxes, and tissue paper will no longer contain plastic laminate; ribbon and garment bags will change from polyester to cotton; and bags will be labeled: "This shopping bag is FSC certified and made of 100% recyclable material."


  That’s not all: gift boxes will now be given only upon request; and shoes will be combined in one flannel, not two. But perhaps most startling, all Gucci mannequins will be replaced with eco-friendly, shockproof polystyrene versions, 100% recyclable raw material, made in Italy and completed with water-based paints.


  François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO, PPR, Gucci’s owner, stated: “If we wait for customers to make sustainable development a condition for purchasing, then nothing will happen. It's as if green products were somehow not normal. They are normal, it is the other products that are not normal. It's up to us to work out how to make green products the new normal.”

  Gucci has set energy-saving goals in its stores to reduce by year’s end: 35 tons of plastic waste; 1,400 tons of paper consumption; 10,000 tons of Co2 emissions; and 4 million liters of gas oil consumption.

  Mimma Viglezio, Gucci Group EVP of communications, commented, "We hope our actions will also raise awareness inside the fashion industry that it's possible for our industry to make a difference for rainforests and for the climate."

Another trend-setting brand steps up. Go Gucci. Go green.