Wednesday was a hard day at the office, in fact, I'm not quite sure how I got through it! That is - got through it without doing an insane amount of damage to my credit card!!!! I attended the Grand Opening of the final stage of redevelopment at Chadstone - The Fashion Capital and it was sheer and utter bliss!!! It had all the pomp and ceremony of any Grand Opening that is of any significance. Between the trumpeted fanfare and models in gorgeous Grecian gowns carrying velvet pillows with the scissors on them for the official ribbon cutting ceremony - it really was quite special!

Chadstone, now the largest shopping complex in the Southern Hemisphere with it's amazing 530 shops is something for Melbournians and Australians to be very proud of. I have travelled the world, shopping in all sorts of wonderful locations, but I must admit that I am so thrilled to live a mere 15 minutes away from Chadstone. It is way up there, as far as it's world class appeal and now with the new Luxury Mall which includes 12 of the most prominent luxury brands under the one roof, I cannot feel anything but spoiled. Combine this with the fact that there are also another 50 Australian and International Boutiques - you simply cannot go wrong!!! Centre Manager, Stephen deWaele commented about how "It is an amazing time for Chadstone. Chadstone is known for having a heritage for it's fashion and innovation and now it is truly a world class Shopping Centre."

People flocked through the doors and the sales staff were swarmed with the counters being five or more people deep - as shoppers began snapping up what was on offer. In Chanel, the specially designed exclusive handbag designed by Karl Lagerfeld specifically for the Chadstone store, was flying out the door with over twenty sold by lunchtime. Considering the bag costs nearly $5,000; I think that is a pretty amazing feat in itself. But if you have the money then why not? After all, there were only 100 of these bags produced and so it is such a huge collectors item that will last forever. But the registers were ringing up in all the stores with staff and stock levels being re-examined due to the overwhelming response from the crowds. One such family who were "spending up big time", were Rose & Jack Ta, who spent around $15,000 with commitments to return the next day to spend more. They were not phased by spending that amount of money saying, "we work very hard and don't feel guilty in spending our own hard earned money - we enjoy it!"

Comments from the representatives of the luxury brands were all along the lines of how delighted they were to be opening in Chadstone. Susie Stenmark from Chanel said, "...it is in reponse to women wanting shop in an envirionment such as this and therefore they are delighted to be in exactly this right place." While Philip Corne from Louis Vuitton shared how despite the economic climate he was not surprised to see how many customers were in the store because, "Louis Vuitton is known for it's history and quality and that's what people are after." Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Australia Kirstie Clements noted, "the redevelopment is truly amazing...Chadstone is the premiere destination for shopping within Australia."

Australian super-model Nicole Trunfio, was on hand to open the centre saying, "I am so pleased to be part of the celebrations here at Chadstone. I have walked the catwalks of Milan and Paris for many of these luxury brands and it is so wonderful to see them here under the one roof. The customers here in Chadstone are truly spoiled."

So with all that is on offer now, between the opening of all these amazing stores, Valet Parking, a Conceirge and Stylist Service and the phenomenal exhibition Covet - Chadstone is one place that has all your Christmas shopping needs well and truly covered!!!