092307AspenLuxuryMP010
SHOT 9/23/2007 - Photos of the Brioni store in Aspen, Co. Brioni is a high fashion clothing company founded in 1945 and from the beginning, Brioni suits were luxuries only afforded to the privileged few, namely Europe's wealthy aristocrats. Brioni is only one of the many high end luxury stores found in the mountain town that has become known as a playground for the rich and famous. Designer labels such as Prada, Bulgari and Gucci all have locations in Aspen. Founded as a mining camp in the Colorado Silver Boom and named because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area, the city is now a ski resort and cultural center. The city emerged as a skiing mecca following World War II and the foundation of the Aspen Skiing Company by Walter Paepcke, a Chicago industrialist who sought to create a utopian community of the mind and body. This historic character of the city has been challenged in recent decades by skyrocketing property values and the proliferation of second homes, increasingly shutting low- and middle-income workers out of the city and creating a large pool of commuters from nearby bedroom communities such as Basalt and Carbondale. At the same time, in stark contrast to its historic character, the city has emerged into international fame as a glitzy playground of the wealthy and famous..(Photo by Marc Piscotty / © 2007)
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