Barbie is the girl that has it all. An impossibly thin waist. A face that never ages. All sorts of fun careers and now we can covet her jewellery. Come October 20, Christie’s New York will be auctioning off the world’ most expensive Barbie (presale estimate of US$300,000 to US$500,000.) Yes, you can buy a small apartment in Hong Kong with this Barbie. Of course the apartment will be tiny judging by the soaring property prices but still, not a bad deal for a 50 year old plastic doll. What makes her so expensive? She will be wearing a necklace featuring a one-carat fancy vivid pink diamond alongside three carats of white diamonds created by fine jewellery designer Stefano Canturi. The item will be auctioned without reserve and all profits from the sale will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Now my question is, is there any way to transform this necklace into a pendant or brooch so that whoever buys it can also have a chance to wear the piece?

Images: Canturi Jewels

Every time I travel, I curse myself for having such nondescript luggage in plain black so when I saw that Tumi has launched a set of pink luggage, my heart gave a little flutter. In recognition of national breast cancer awareness month, Tumi partnered with Susan G Komen for the Cure to create pink travel accessories. 20% of proceeds are donated to Susan G Komen for the Cure and the collection showcases a pink carry on hard case, pink packing cubes and a foldable tote. And if you are unwilling to let go of your black boring luggage, why not get a pink leather luggage tag to add a spruce of colour?

This collection is available during the month of October for purchase on www.Tumi.com and ranges from US$25 – US$395.

As with every October, brands around the world come up with innovative ways to raise awareness for breast cancer and this year is no different. So expect to see quite a few posts this month highlighting some of our favourites.

First up is Ralph Lauren who is celebrating their 10th anniversary of Pink Pony, the brand’s global initiative to raise awareness and funds in support of the fight against cancer. This year, they are celebrating this milestone by auctioning off over 200 unique items and once-in-a-lifetime experiences via an online auction at www.charitybuzz.com/RalphLauren.

Here are some highlights that us Geeks feel are particularly cool:

For the Fashion Geeks:
Go Behind the Scenes at a Ralph Lauren Advertising Photo Shoot
Meet the models and crew and get a rare glimpse at what it takes to create one of Ralph Lauren’s iconic advertising campaigns.

Walk the Runway with Valentina
The face of Ralph Lauren Collection , Valentina, will spend an hour in New York City giving you and a friend the scoop on her life as a model, the essentials of walking the runway and tips on how to break into the business.

For ShoeGeek’s corgi, Foxy:
Your Dog Will be a Star in a Ralph Lauren Ad
Think your pooch has what it takes to be a star? Your dog will join an elite group of canines when he or she is photographed for an iconic Ralph Lauren ad campaign. As a reward, your pup will receive a signature accessory from the Ralph Lauren dog collection.

For the boys:
Ralph Lauren Takes you on a Personal Tour of His World Famous Car Collection
You and a friend will receive a tour of this extraordinary private collection of classic cars given by Ralph Lauren himself, including vintage Bugattis, Ferraris, Porches and more. The finale of your experience – a ride in one of these world-class driving machines.

For shopaholics:
Shop till You Drop with Du Juan
The top supermodel will pamper you as your own personal shopper as she takes you around her favorite shopping haunts in her hometown of Shanghai, topped off with a guided tour of the new Ralph Lauren store at the Peninsula Hotel, and lunch at the chi-chi Sir Elly's overlooking the historic Bund.

For soccer fans:
Play soccer with Hidetoshi Nakata
Kicking back with Nakata: Go head to head and toe to toe with Japanese football legend Hidetoshi Nakata: you and four of your friends will scrimmage against Nakata and four of his teammates in his native Japan for a friendly game of futsal followed by sumptuous dinner at one of Tokyo's chic eatery. And take home a Nakata-autographed Polo sports item as your memento.

For film buffs:
Lunch with Maggie Cheung Man-yuk
Enjoy a sumptuous lunch with the iconic actress at the new exclusive Ralph’s restaurant in St. Germain, Paris, and take along two of your friends, after which you get an autographed Ralph Lauren bag personally signed by Maggie as a souvenir of your rendezvous.

100% of net proceeds from this auction will benefit the Pink Pony Fund of The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation. The online auction begins Friday, October 1st and runs through October 21st at www.charitybuzz.com/RalphLauren. In addition the Pink Pony 10th anniversary products are now available in selected stores where 100% of the sale of these items will also benefit the Pink Pony Fund

To celebrate its first global flagship opening in Shanghai, Coach has launched a celebrity charity imitative whereby 60 international and Asian stars will design customized Coach totes for an online auction. Titled Star Totes, this campaign has been vastly successful in other parts of the world having started in Japan. Taking the campaign to China for the first time ever, you can expect to see totes designed by Jessica Alba, Lucy Liu, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore, Charlize Theron, Jackie Chan, Gigi Leung, Chin Ling Lin, Dee Hsu, Karen Mok, Chen Yao, Xiaoran Li, Yuanyuan Gao, Liangying Zhang and Alek Su, to name but a few.


Coach has chosen the Jackie Chan Almsdeed Foundation to benefit from this initiative and all proceeds from the auction will go to the foundation. The online auction starts on April 22, to coincide with the flagship’s grand opening date with no minimum bid set. For more details and a full list of celebrities participating, visit http://china.coach.com/startotes or call the Hong Kong Central flagship store at 2868 9676

You can always depend on Hong Kongers to commercialise anything as long as there’s an element of charity in it. This time, it’s both. YY9 Gallery is doing an ‘exhibition’ on canvas bags created by over 100 artists, designers and celebrities including Barney Cheng (fashion designer), Cathy Lee (former model now society tai tai), Craig Au Yeung (comic artist), Chow Chun Fai (artist who paints HK movie scenes), Douglas Young (founder of G.O.D), Prudence Mak (of Chocolate Rain fame), Steve Leung (interior designer and architect) and more. Each will be given a plain canvas bag to ‘recreate’ the bag in some incarnation. After the exhibition, the bags will be sold under silent auction. Starting bid is HK$1,000.

While reading through the list, Cathy Lee’s name sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. What does a tai tai have to do with the rest of the art crew? Well it becomes clear when you take a look at the charity element. All proceeds are donated to the Chi Heng Foundation which help ADIS impacted orphans and their families in mainland China. And whose pet project is the Chi Heng Foundation? Why Cathy Lee of course.

Exhibition Period: 8 - 30 May 2009

YY9 Gallery
G/F., 83-85 Sing Woo Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat 10-7pm (closed on Sun and Public Holidays)
T: 2574 3370 yy9@2bsquare.com www.2bsquare.com