Going to support your favourite athletes and sports teams at the London Olympics this year? A day of cheering might take a toll on you, so we suggest unwinding at the Omega House, the luxury watchmaker’s exclusive club in the heart of the English capital’s Soho District, but only if you have an invitation.

The Italians and the French may seem to be always breathing down each other’s neck for supremacy in the world of luxury, but sometimes, the best way to approach things is through a cooperative endeavour to bring discerning customers the best both sides have to offer.

Hermès unveils its latest video promoting the maison’s Petit H Atelier, a creative workshop that brings together materials, artists and craftsmen in a single space to bring life back to legendary Hermès materials in a reinvented form or use.

Philippe Starck, the French designer who’s dipped his toes in creatively penning everything from watches to interiors, unveiled a set of headphone this year in collaboration with Parrot USA – and they’re hitting the shelves at Dubai retailers this week.

If you have a love-hate relationship with Mall of the Emirates, here’s something that might help push you over the fence: we’ve just learned that the leading shopping mall is opening of over 20 new stores and dining outlets this 2012 – the highlight of which is Italian luxury powerhouse Prada, which will open its third largest boutique in the world this June.