The Black Book for November 2015

Miu Miu launches its first fragrance; three Cadenas collections from Van Cleef & Arpels; Haute Couture chai from TWG Tea Burj Khalifa; and Muse, a brain-sending meditation headband.

Miu Miu's first eponymous fragrance. Courtesy: Miu Miu

Miu Miu

The Miu Miu brand has a certain rebel-like quality that is firmly rooted in the company's ethos. One only need look at the brand's founder, Miuccia Prada (who, incidentally, spent five years as a mime before going into the family business), to understand where this stems from. The brand is once again bending the rules, this time with its first fragrance. Rather than follow the trend of a delicate or sensual bottle, the eponymous fragrance is encased in soft blue, pillow-shaped, opaque glass – a take on the brand's signature matelassé design – topped with a fun red balloon-like disc. Miu Miu, designed by perfumer Daniela Andrier, features lily of the valley flowers, including real jasmine, real rose absolute and synthetic green notes. The middle and base notes eventually give way to warmer tones such as wood and Akigalawood, an extract of patchouli. The campaign for the new fragrance, featuring the French-English actress and model Stacy Martin, was shot by American fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Martin is seen with exaggerated winged-eyeliner, swept-back hair and a sky-blue-patterned Miu Miu party dress that complements the glass bottle. The set-up is a take on early 1960s cinema, and perfectly mirrors the brand's playfulness. Miu Miu perfume is available in perfumeries and department stores across the UAE and starts at Dh245 for 30ml.

Van Cleef & Arpels

In the early 20th century it was considered uncouth for a woman to wear a wristwatch – let alone to check the time while in company. To solve this problem, jewellery brand Van Cleef & Arpels designed the Cadenas watch – a bold bracelet with an attachment in the form of a padlock, which featured a discreet clock face. Now, Van Cleef & Arpels has reimagined one of its most emblematic pieces, in three collections. The Cadenas collection, set in yellow gold, is available with a double snake chain bracelet or an alligator strap. The Cadenas Sertie collection, available in yellow or white gold, features diamonds on the upper surface of the case and the attachment of the alligator strap. The Cadenas Sertie also comes in a Bracelet Or version, distinguishable by its double snake chain bracelet. The Cadenas Pavée is available in three designs: the serti setting has an alligator strap and features diamonds on the upper surface of the case and round diamonds on the case, clasp and dial; the Bracelet Or setting has a white gold snake chain bracelet and princess-cut diamonds; and the Saphirs Roses Bracelet Or is set in pink gold and adorned with pretty pink sapphires and white diamonds.

TWG Tea

Though the brand's logo confusingly boasts the year 1837, TWG Tea was first established in Singapore in 2008. The 1837 is, in fact, a reference to the year that the island city-state became a trading post for teas and spices. The brand at present has locations in 19 different countries and offers more than 800 different teas, along with several tea accessories including tea tins, cast-iron teapots and fine bone china. For residents of the UAE, TWG has unveiled its Burj Khalifa Haute Couture Tea, an homage to the country's most iconic building. The tea itself is a blend of Yin Zhen, a rare variety of white tea, and other ingredients such as sweet mints and orange blossoms. The Burj Khalifa Haute Couture Tea is available exclusively at all TWG Tea salons and boutiques in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and is priced at Dh175 for a tin.

Muse

Fashion and neuroscience rarely go hand in hand. That, however, was the impetus for Ariel Garten, herself a fashion designer and neuroscientist, to create Muse. Through a collaboration with Trevor Coleman and Chris Aimone, co-founders of InteraXon, Garten developed a brain-sensing meditation headband. The device measures whether a person's mind is calm or active during a meditation session. The headband – which is surprisingly cool, discreet and available in black or white – is paired with an app that picks up on brain signals and then matches them to the sound of the wind. When the mind is calm, the wind is calm. When the mind is active, the wind picks up. The app, which also requires the use of headphones, guides the listener through meditation sessions and tracks the individual's progress in a private account. Muse also gives points, goals and challenges to keep each user engaged. The brand recently launched a new version of the app, following numerous requests from customers, with new features, including challenges based on the latest brain research, customisable session lengths (now available for up to 60 minutes), enhanced tutorials and a new exercise dubbed Sensation of Breath. The new app is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android, while the headset is priced at US$299 (Dh1,098) and can be purchased from the Muse website.

Read this and other fashion-, jewellery- and lifestyle-related stories in Luxury magazine, out with The National on Thursday, November 5.