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Single Malt Launches New Whisky to Mark 125 Years

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Only 286 bottles of Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage to be released

Glenfiddich, the World’s Most Awarded single malt Scotch whisky, unveils the Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage, an exclusive 25 Year Old expression. With only 286 bottles to be released, Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage is one of the rarest and finest examples of Glenfiddich’s malt making expertise.  

Distilled on Christmas Day 1987, as part of the single malt’s centenary celebrations, this special release marks 125 years of pioneering whisky making at The Glenfiddich Distillery. It was selected on Christmas Day 2012, the distillery’s 125th anniversary, by its founder William Grant’s great-great grandson, Peter Gordon and his son, Dougal.

All 286 bottles of Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage were taken from just one cask, selected by Glenfiddich Malt Master, Brian Kinsman and William Grant’s descendants. Brian Kinsman said: “The whisky’s unusually high ABV of 55.2% signifies the uniqueness of this precious, cask-strength liquid. It is a true connoisseur’s choice and with a host of evocative flavours and subtle aromas it marks another milestone in our pioneering history.”  

Decorated in rustic copper and a rich blue with a beautiful case, the presentation and packaging of each of these individually numbered bottles reflects Glenfiddich’s rich history.  

Commenting on the release Company Director Peter Gordon said: “Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage celebrates an illustrious 125 years of innovative whisky making. It’s a true honour to be able to choose such an exceptionally rare spirit to celebrate my great-great grandfather’s pioneering legacy and our continuing commitment to create ‘the best dram in the valley’.”  

Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage boasts complex and sensuous flavours that have been allowed to develop and mellow in oak casks for a quarter of a century. Rich fruit cake, toasted almonds and cinnamon flavours flourish on the nose, underpinned by a zesty citrus note enveloped in vanilla sweetness, allowing hints of hints of liquorice, leather and ground coffee. On the tongue it takes on a beautiful velvety texture, rich and spicy with a sweet sherbety flavour. The depth of oak tannin creates an intriguing balance of sweet and dry with a luxurious mouth coating oiliness, which is decadently succeeded by a long-lasting, sweet, oaky finish.   

5 specially numbered bottles of the Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage will retail for a minimum of USD1,168 and will be available in Indonesia from 22nd January 2014 in a silent auction bid. The auction bid will last until January 31 at http://glenfiddichanniversaryvintage.com/id/.  

Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage Unveiled

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New single malt released to celebrate 125 years of pioneering whisky making

JAKARTA, 22 January 2014 – Glenfiddich, the World’s Most Awarded single malt, reveals the Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage, one of the rarest whiskies ever released by the whisky maker – only 286 bottles will be available. Celebrating 125 years of whisky making at The Glenfiddich Distillery, this limited edition 25 Year Old whisky, is the latest addition to the coveted Glenfiddich Rare Collection.

This special whisky is steeped in history. It was casked in a European Oak sherry butt on Christmas Day 1987, Glenfiddich’s centenary anniversary. A quarter of a century later, Glenfiddich Malt Master, Brian Kinsman pre-selected a small number of the special centenary casks so that  on the 125th anniversary of the first spirit running from the distillery’s stills, Glenfiddich founder William Grant’s great-great grandson Peter Gordon and his son Dougal could choose cask number 19996 to become the Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage.  

Commenting on the release Company Director Peter Gordon said: “It was an honour to select this whisky. Born of two momentous anniversaries for our distillery, this whisky truly reflects the pioneering spirit that has underpinned our 125 year history and my great-great grandfather’s legacy of making ‘the best dram in the valley’.”  

Bronze in colour, Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage has a nose of rich fruit cake, toasted almonds and cinnamon flavours, underpinned by a zesty citrus note enveloped in vanilla sweetness, allowing hints of liquorice, leather and ground coffee. On the tongue it takes on a beautiful velvety texture, rich and spicy with a sweet sherbety flavour. The depth of oak tannin creates an intriguing balance of sweet and dry with a luxurious mouth coating oiliness, which is decadently succeeded by a long-lasting, sweet, oaky finish.  

Brian Kinsman, Malt Master added: “Bottled from just one European oak sherry cask and testament to the uniqueness of this exclusive whisky, Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage has a cask-strength ABV of 55.2%. Glenfiddich has been family run since 1887 and with the freedom of independence and the foresight of long term planning, we have created the largest collection of single malt stock anywhere in the world. It allows to us to create exceptional and fantastic tasting whisky.”  

To complement a whisky of this calibre, prestige and quality, each individually numbered bottle is finished with a rustic copper and blue design and is presented in its own beautiful case.  

Matthew Fergusson-Stewart

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William Grant & Sons Southeast Asia Brand Ambassador

Matthew Fergusson-Stewart is William Grant & Sons’ Southeast Asia Brand Ambassador and a veteran of the whisky industry.  

Born in 1976, the native Western Australian first encountered whisky when he studied chemistry at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth. Matthew gained his first appreciation for the liquid after seeing how three simple ingredients – water, malted barley and yeast – can fuse together in a perfect harmony to produce the greatest diversity of flavour and aroma characteristics in any spirit.  

He became irrevocably hooked on single malts on the very day of his university graduation, when he celebrated over dinner with his family and finished the meal with one of Islay’s famously peaty whiskies. This love affair with single malts eventually led him to name his first born daughter ‘Islay’ in 2012.  

Upon graduation, Matthew entered the corporate world as a business consultant but the lure of the dram pulled him back soon after.  

Having spent the last decade honing his thirst for the whisky craft, Matthew accumulated a wealth of first-hand experience from learning within the whisky industry. Aside from having been the State Manager of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Western Australia, Matthew was also the creator and Director of Stewart’s Whisky Consultancy when he moved to Singapore. Since Matthew’s move to Singapore, he’s managed The Auld Alliance that houses Southeast Asia’s largest whisky selection, and created an interactive website to help aficionados select their preferred single malt based on each individual’s flavour preferences. He is also the author of two authoritative and somewhat controversial papers on chill-filtration, published by the prestigious Malt Maniacs.    

As an experienced whisky educator, Matthew enjoys nothing more than talking to people about the ‘Water of Life’, and maybe even sharing a dram or two. As he frequently tells guests at his tastings, with a sly grin, “Don’t worry about asking too many questions, you’ll get tired of me talking about whisky before I get tired of talking about whisky”. In his role as William Grant’s Brand Ambassador for Southeast Asia, Matthew hopes to extend the reach of his favourite single malts through his guiding principle: “If you try to sell bottles of great whisky you’ll sell a few, but if you sell the experience of enjoying great whisky, you’ll sell a lot more”. Bearing this in mind, Matthew looks forward to sharing his passion for (and occasionally a dram of) the ‘Water of Life’ with many more people across the region.

Flexible Working Stems Costly Staff Turnover

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Attract and retain top staff with flexible working

Business people in Indonesia reveal flexible working is often the make-or-break of job offers. 79% reveal that they would choose one job over another similar one, if it offered flexible working. A staggering 73% confirm that flexible working also improves staff retention, finds the latest survey by Regus, the global workplace provider.  

Recruitment is an expensive process that many global businesses are keen to reduce. The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) estimates the cost of an employee leaving at £4,625, rising to £5,000 for managers and professionals. 

With employee retention reported as a priority for over a third of business, what measures should businesses be prioritising to slash hiring costs, attract and retain top staff? Flexible working, respondents reveal, provides a solution to all three.  

The survey, canvassing the opinions of more than 20,000 senior executives and business owners across 95 countries, confirms that in Indonesia flexible working can be used to avoid employee churn (and the consequent expense of recruitment agencies) as 77% of respondents point to flexible working as a perk that attracts top talent.  

The research also found that:  

  • 76% of respondents say offering flexible working makes employees more loyal;
  • 60% of workers would actually turn down a job that ruled out flexible working;
  • 68% say they would have stayed longer in their last position had flexible working been an option.

Commenting on the study, John Henderson, Regus Asia Pacific Regional Director says: “Hiring and retaining top talent is an age-old priority for successful businesses, but not all companies can afford to offer golden bonuses or mouth-watering salaries while remaining competitive. Stemming churn is also vital to avoid incurring recruitment agency costs and the inconvenience of starting the hiring process.”

“Flexible working, which is lower cost than fixed office working, offers the attractive perks of lower stress and better work:life balance to existing and prospective employees, and provides a low cost solution to attracting and retaining those top workers. It’s also striking how mainstream the perk of flexible working has become, with many respondents actually choosing their jobs on the basis of flexibility.”  

Regus is the global workplace provider

Its network of more than 1,700 business centres in 100 countries provides convenient, high-quality, fully serviced spaces for people to work, whether for a few minutes or a few years. Companies like Google, Toshiba and GlaxoSmithKline choose Regus so that they can work flexibly and make their businesses more successful.  

The key to flexible working is convenience and so Regus is opening wherever its 1.5million members want support – city centres, suburban districts, shopping centres and retail outlets, railway stations, motorway service stations and even community centres.

Founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 1989, Regus is based in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, please visit: regus.com

Digital Revolution

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Tidak bisa dimungkiri, pengguna mobile (ponsel dan tablet) makin membesar, bahkan ada yang memprediksi akan mengalahkan pengguna desktop atau laptop. Fakta mengejutkan justru datang dari internal tentang perubahan yang menarik terjadi pada kebiasaan pembaca dalam mengkonsumsi detikcom.  

Biasanya trafik terbesar datang dari desktop, yaitu user membaca melalui laptop atau PC-nya sambil duduk, sekarang user membaca sudah sangat mobile. Bisa dimanapun dan kapanpun baik melalui aplikasi detikcom untuk Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, maupun melalui m.detik.com dari browser.

Data akhir 2013 menunjukkan, pengguna berperangkat bergerak (mobile) menyumbang 65% pageviews, di mana 45% bersumber dari aktivitas pengguna detikcom dari mobile application dan 20% berasal dari m-site.

Ini fakta penting, karena pergeseran akibat teknologi mobile lebih cepat dari yang diperkirakan. Tapi ini sebetulnya tidak berbeda dengan fakta yang dikemukan Apple bahwa jumlah kumulatif download aplikasi dari App Store mereka selama 5 tahun terakhir sudah mencapai 40 miliar.

Yup, gadget, mobile application, dan mobile lifestyle telah diterima menjadi norma yang baru generasi kiwari. Kehadiran ponsel, tablet, atau phablet, juga tersedianya akses online via teknologi broadband, hot spot WiFi, serta layanan data dari operator selular, telah mengubah secara dramatis gaya hidup jutaan umat manusia di permukaan Bumi, menciptakan apa yang disebut sebagai digital revolution.

Yodhia Antariksa di detikinet menulis, merebaknya gaya hidup digital itu pada akhirnya juga melahirkan sejumlah implikasi serius bagi cara kita bekerja dan menjalani ritual hidup. Ada berapa implikasi yang layak dicermati.  

Pertama, The Death of Paper Publication. Penerbitan buku/koran/majalah yang berbasis kertas akan mati. Tanpa melakukan digitalisasi, tak pelak banyak media cetak konvensional di Tanah Air yang ditinggal para pembacanya.

Kedua, The Rise of Smartphone Screen. Layar ponsel pintar kita pada akhirnya telah mengubah cara membaca, bahkan mendekonstruksi kebiasaan kita dalam memperoleh informasi. Dalam dunia digital yang serba bergegas dan ringkas, orang enggan lagi membaca artikel atau tulisan yang terlalu panjang. Dalam layar yang kecil, semua informasi harus dihadirkan secara pendek.  

Ketiga, The Rise of Digital Learning. Dalam jagat digital, kita juga kian akrab dengan maraknya beragam aplikasi untuk menunjang proses pembelajaran. Beragam digital learning apps tersedia secara melimpah di apps store, seperti AppleStore dan GooglePlay/Android Marketplace. Jadi screen ponsel pintar tak lagi hanya sekadar alat komunikasi, namun telah bergerak menjadi digital learning tool yang keren dan empowering.

Welcome to digital world! (Burhan Abe)  

Sumber: MALE 65

E-Commerce

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Belanja online sudah menjadi bagian dari gaya hidup masyarakat Indonesia. Kemudahan, hemat waktu, dan tenaga, menjadi daya tarik tersendiri. Apalagi semua ini tidak hanya dilakukan via desktop atau laptop, tapi juga via smartphone yang tentu lebih praktis.  

Berbagai layanan belanja online tak hanya menyasar produk fashion ataupun elektronik, tapi juga kuliner dan paket wisata. Kemunculan e-commerce penunjang gaya hidup masa kini, tentu bukan suatu kebetulan, tapi berkaitan dengan naiknya pendapatan rata-rata orang Indonesia.  

Pendapatan kelas menengah Indonesia saat ini sudah menembus US$ 4.000, naik dua kali lipat dibanding tahun lalu, dan banyak yang memprediksi akhir tahun 2014 bisa mendekati US$ 5.000. “Sebanyak 50 persen populasi Indonesia usianya di bawah 30 tahun dan mereka adalah usia produktif yang well educated, punya pekerjaan bagus, dan berpikir pada hal-hal lifestyle,” ujar Rama Mamuaya, CEO DailySocial.net, situs berita mengenai teknologi web dan Internet, memberikan analisis.  

Indonesia merupakan negara dengan pertumbuhan pengguna Internet yang cukup tinggi, ada yang menyebut kini mencapai 74 juta. Tak pelak lagi, Indonesia sebagai pengguna terbanyak di Asia Tenggara, dan sekitar 4,5 juta orang berbelanja secara online pada 2013. Ada memprediksi angka tersebut akan meningkat hingga 8,7 juta pada 2016.

Cukup banyak pelaku e-commerce di Indonesia, baik kategori startup maupun yang besar, yang beroperasi di Indonesia. Lazada.co.id, Zalora.co.id, Berrybenka.com, Tiket.com, Rakuten Belanja Online (RBO), dan Qraved.com, untuk menyebut beberapa. Mereka mendapat berkah dari maraknya bisnis online di Indonesia, bahkan RBO, misalnya, telah menjadi salah satu anak perusahaan Rakuten yang tumbuh paling cepat di dunia.

Menurut Andry Suhaili, CEO dan founder PriceArea, mesin pencari e-commerce kepada Tech in Asia, nilai perputaran uang di e-commerce di Indonesia, tercatat sekitar US$ 1,8 miliar, dan akan meningkat hingga US$ 4,49 miliar pada 2016. Yup, ada potensi luar biasa dalam bisnis Internet serta e-commerce di Indonesia. (Burhan Abe)

Sumber: MALE 64

The Vanishing Newspaper

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Gelombang digital agaknya tak terbendung lagi. Sudah banyak yang meramalkan bahwa digitalisasi mulai merambah ke segala aspek kehidupan kita. Setelah teknologi digital masuk ke dunia komunikasi, cara menyampaikan pesan pun berubah.

Media sosial yang sedang marak, misalnya, memudahkan orang lain untuk bertukar informasi. Sementara itu aplikasi chatting, membuat komunikasi tak terhalang jarak. Bukan hanya komunikasi personal, konten marketing, bahkan kampanye politik pun, mulai dilakukan di dunia maya – via komputer, bahkan perangkat mobile.  

Seperti apa teknologi digital akan terus berkembang, tidak ada yang tahu pasti. Namun, tentu tidak berlebihan kalau besar Google Eric Emerson Schmidt, berpendpat bahwa masa depan media cetak adanya di dunia digital.  

Hal tersebut bukan tanpa alasan. Perhatikan saja, siapa di antara kita yang tidak mempunyai  ponsel atau smartphone. Bahkan sebagian di antara mereka sudah mempunyai tablet, minimal smartphone yang berukuran besar, yang sering disebut phablet. Asal tahu saja, phablet seperti Galaxy Note 3 berukuran 5,7 inci, tahun lalu laris manis,  dan tahun ini akan banyak lagi produk sejenis yang siap masuk pasaran.  

Peranti-peranti tersebut sudah menjadi bagian dari kehidupan mereka, mulai dari menelopon, ber-networkingvia media sosial atau aplikasi chatting, mendengarkan lagu, main game, browsing, dan tentu saja mengonsumsi berita via onlinedan media digital.  

Saat ini, khususnya di Indonesia dibandingkan negara maju, peralihan media offline ke online memang belum nampak besar. Tapi pergerakannya di kota-kota besar lumayan cepat, bahkan tumbuh seperti deret ukur. Peredaran smartphone dan tablet yang terpusat di kota-kota besar, ikut mengubah gaya hidup digital kaum urban Indonesia, tidak berbeda dengan gaya hidup penduduk dunia di kota-kota besar.

Banyak pakar membuat prediksi bahwa media cetak akan menjadi masa lalu. Tak kurang dari Philip Meyer, yang menulis buku The Vanishing Newspaper yang meramalkan koran bahwa akan berakhir dalam beberapa tahun ke depan. Hal ini juga diamini oleh Asto Subroto dari lembaga Survey Mars.

Ramalan terbaru dan cukup mengejutkan, seperti diisebut di muka, datang dari Eric Schmidt, bahwa usia media cetak tinggal lima tahun lagi. Ia meyakini gelombang digitalisasi akan berpengaruh kepada perkembangan media, yang tadinya cetak beralih ke digital. Selain mengurangi biaya cetak, dengan basis digital penerbit bisa lebih mudah mencapai target pembaca. Bukan mustahil, semakin meluas pembacanya, pengiklan pun semakin tertarik beriklan di media digital agar tepat sasarsan. (Burhan Abe)

Sumber: MALE 63

Kaffein

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Coffee-for-thought

Every cup is specially tailored for you. Please talk to our barista about your preference, our baristas would be glad to personalize a cup for you. Be it extra shot of espresso, homemade syrup, skim milk, or go experimental and wild with your own creations? Go ahead! We are doing a cup just like how you like it.

Ran out of ideas on what to order? No problem, specialty drinks are lined up. Pick from choices of Babycinno to a simple classic Americano. The choice is yours.

Make you happy

Stop wondering what we serve to make you feel delightful. Of course there is something special for everyone. Hot or iced, blended or not, wonderful menus are lined up for your palate. And what’s a good fun without a plate of savories or sweet cakes? Be sure to couple up your drinks with options of snacks and deserts for a perfect delight.

Don’t miss out on the full dining menu selections, ranging from Mini Bites, Soup and Salad to Sandwiches/Burgers, Local Delight and Desserts too.

What’s brewing?

Carefully processed and organically grown, our coffee beans are processed to a constant and perfect blending. Kaffein offers range of Arabica beans that are grown from several rainforests in the highland area of Sulawesi, Aceh, Sumatra, Java, Flores and Papua, and 100% Arabica beans.

Seek & you will find

You will find us in every possible corner of shopping malls, offices, residential areas, hospitals, transit points, (airport, gas station, rest area), universities and more coming up!  Kaffein comes in different forms of carts, counters, mini or full-sized café where each different location serves different kind of ambience.

The Ambience

Some feel that coffee best enjoyed in the kitchen in the wee of the morning, others like it on their work desk, in the car and the rest just love to sip it at home. Surprise surprise! We have the exact setting, just like how you like it. We have choices of casual seats, lush sofas, and cool comfortable outdoor lounge. Discover the different ambience in the all of Kaffein’s outlets.

Sharing is indeed caring. We care, thus we share.

Do you know?  By drinking a cup of Kaffein, do realize that you have made an incredible impact in a child’s life? Together with Panorama Foundation, you have taken part in the improvement of a child’s quality of education and health.

Djakarta Warehouse Project

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Acara LA Ice Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) 2013 sempat menyedot perhatian para partygoer Jakarta. DJ asal Jerman, Anton Zaslavski atau Zedd, menjadi salah satu DJ yang ditunggu kehadirannya dalam acara yang digelar di Ecopark, Ancol, Jakarta, Jumat, 13 Desember lalu, itu.

Dengan menyajikan hitnya, seperti Stay The Night, Spectrum, dan tentu saja Clarity, Zedd seperti menyihir penonton. Meski diguyur hujan dan beralaskan lumpur, ribuan clubbertak bergeming, malah bergoyang mengikuti irama.

Selain itu, sekitar 40 DJ internasional dan lokal tampil. Sebutlah Alesso, Breakbot, Flight Facilities, Madeon, dan Martin Solveig, juga DJ Riri, Hizkia, Anton Wirjono, serta sang master David Guetta.

Bagi Anda yang belum akrab dengan event ini, pergelaran DWP tahun ini adalah yang kelima. Sementara musik jazz punya Java Jazz, blues punya Jakarta Blues Fest, DWP adalah pesta musik dance. Tidak tanggung-tanggung, ada sekitar 45 performer yang menggetarkan saraf musikalitas audiens, yang membuat badan bergerak dan berjoget ria sepanjang malam.

Ada keriaan, pasti ada musik—dan bukan kebetulan kalau musik dance yang menjadi pilihan. Merunut sejarahnya, perkembangan musik beriringan dengan berkembangnya industri elektronik. David Dunn dalam “A History of Electronic Music Pioneers” menyebut kemunculan musik elektronik bermula dari dibuatnya Clavecin electrique, yang didesain oleh Jean-Baptiste de Laborde di Prancis pada 1759. Sementara itu, Wikipedia mencatat, pada 1969 lagu Popcorn, yang dirilis oleh Gershon Kingsley, banyak disebut sebagai lagu pertama yang mewakili Dance Track(McCurley dan Flynn, 2013).

Terlepas dari berbagai pendapat tersebut, musik elektronik kemudian populer dengan sebutan musik dance, techno, trance, house, dan akhirnya muncul sebutan electronic dance music (EDM)—istilah yang dimaksudkan untuk merangkum semua genre musik jenis ini.

Apa pun, yang jelas, EDM telah mewabah ke seluruh dunia. Beberapa contohnya adalah Levelsmilik Avicii yang sempat menjadi anthem untuk setiap keriaan. Begitu juga dengan Titanium dari David Guetta atau We Found Love sebuah kolaborasi apik antara Rihanna dan Calvin Harris. Hingga fenomena Harlem Shake  sampai Katy Perry, di lagu Dark Horse dalam album terbarunya, Prism, juga menawarkan musik trap yang berasal dari selatan Amerika Serikat. (Burhan Abe)

Sumber: MALE 60

The V.I.P.s by Arantxa Adi

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Absolut Elyx Arantxa Adi  The V.I.P.S 2014 Collection berlangsung di Kempinski, Jakarta, 11 Desember 2013. Ultra premium vodka nomor satu di dunia ini berkolaborasi dengan desainer Arantxa Adi mengadakan acara fashion show dan dinner.

Acara ini juga dimeriahkan oleh Siera Sutedjo, Maria Calista,  dan Raisa. Juga ada DJ Patricia, DJ Hizkia, Avakustik, dan tentu saja 35 top model yang membawakan busana Arantxa Adi. Sedangkan percaya acara dipercayakan kepada Javier Justin dan Aimee Juliette.    

Absolut Elyx, the world’s number one Ultra Premium Vodka, with Arantxa Adi will again presents Arantxa Adi The V.I.P.s 2014 Collections, which will take place on Wednesday, December 11th, 2013 at the exclusive Grand Ballroom Kempinski Hotel. This fashion show will also become a celebration to mark the launch of Absolut Elyx in a new 3 liters bottle. This must attend event will begin punctually at 6:300 p.m.  

A timeless class and sophistication of High-end Fashion and Couture, infused with handcrafted luxury of the ultimate Ultra Premium Vodka.  

Arantxa Adi is a renowned Indonesian designer who has been involved in the fashion world for more than 14 years. His greatest achievement includes being chosen by Citizens of Humanity to design for the US denim label for Fall 2010 where he is the only designer from Asia who was given the honor.   For Arantxa Adi The V.I.P.s 2014 Collections, Arantxa Adi has prepared his latest creations as a tribute to the late Elizabeth Taylor and Absolut Elyx. The character and elegance of Elizabeth Taylor and Absolut Elyx is the source of inspiration for this young and talented fashion designer in creating his modern lifestyle fashion for all of the Indonesian vodka connoisseurs. 

This elegant fashion show will be difficult to achieve without the presence of Jay Subiakto, who is famous for his vision, creativity and visual beauty in all of the performances he has handled, as the art director for Arantxa Adi The V.I.P.s 2014 Collections.