The new 196 room, W hotel in Santiago, Chile recently opened (Grand Opening on November 17th) in Santiago’s trendy fashion and entertainment district.

The lobby has a lot going on. Lots of pattern, texture, colour and artifacts. At first I thought it looked too busy and cluttered, but in a way it is more interesting than your average hotel lobby, and I think the move away from the W’s original mandate for minimalism is on trend and necessary for the hotel chain to stand out amongst competition.The rooms and suites look tasteful and contemporary. I’m not a fan of the very yellow stained woodwork in the “marvelous suite” shown above, but at least it’s original and different.

It always surprises me all of the “designer” hotels that open in this city, but I guess with a population of over 6 million, Santiago is quickly becoming a trendy cosmopolitan destination.

Designers: Tony Chi of New York, and Sergio Echeverria of Chile

Brooks Brothers is helping men everywhere live the Don Draper dream. Designed by Janie Bryant, the Emmy nominated costume designer for the show, this Mad Men edition suit is a slim cut gray sharkskin suit with diagonal pockets. There’s only 250 of them! With a mere 1,000 dollar price tag that’s more than a tempting offer from the folks at Brooks Brothers. I imagine the Ken doll version of Mr.Draper is also in the works.

In Dubai, 30,000 workers labored over the course of four years to produce the city’s first metro system. Opened to the public in September, the $7.64 billion budget is double what developers expected, but the automated system is the longest in the world, with over 52 kilometers of track and 29 stations. Monumental air-conditioned pedestrian bridges protect riders from the desert heat as they approach stations, and once aboard, luxury compartments and wireless internet service pamper them between destinations.

Whether residents in the notoriously hot city will abandon their cars remains to be seen, but officials say they expect annual ridership to exceed 200 million.

Photo by Lucy McRae

Photo by Lucy McRae

Chlorophyll Skin from Lucy McRae on Vimeo.

You’ve probably seen Lucy McRae’s photography work on the cover of Frame and Neon magazines. In addition to these fabulous commissions, she is actively engaged in various collaborations with other artists…most recently a video with artist Mandy Smith. It’s a stunning experiment with color, movement, absorption and the body.