New Horizons

By Kate Betts

WHAT IS LUXURY? These days that's the question that inspires luxury-goods purveyors as this increasingly competitive business heats up for the holidays. There are the obvious untouchable luxuries, such as the stunning pearl-and-diamond Chanel brooch that graces our cover or the $172,425 limited-edition Montblanc pen smothered in diamonds. Hey, how about a $49,500 handmade Vividus bed from Sweden? Some luxuries are priceless. A quick poll of peers would probably reveal that most people consider time to be their greatest indulgence, especially in this age of 24/7 mobile communication devices. Others might list dream destinations where they can disappear (and turn off the BlackBerry) for some respite: a bicycle ride through the Versailles gardens in France or a sejour at Thailand's Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, where guests learn how to interact with elephants. Paris-based shoe designer Christian Louboutin likes to escape to a house he built on the Nile in Luxor, Egypt. New York City--based wunderkind designer Zac Posen recently ventured to Istanbul (a city currently experiencing a major luxury boom) to collaborate on a special clothing collection for the Turkish luxury-goods company Vakko.

This special supplement to TIME is dedicated to luxury's newest ideas, products, creators and places. Our mission this time is to examine luxury's newest frontiers--from the shores of the Bosporus, where Marion Hume talked to the new generation of freewheeling Istanbullus, to the Thomas Pink store in New York City, where Josh Tyrangiel discovered the comfort of custom-made shirts. Personally, I cannot live without Paris and, more specifically, the French children's-clothing store Bonpoint--possibly the luxury sector's smallest and most promising player.