By BEN TODD and SIMON CABLE
Last updated at 12:31 AM on 3rd September 2010
Still smiling: Her house troubles don't appear to be worrying Kylie Minogue
You know the housing market is in difficulty when even a pad with the cachet of having belonged to a pop princess is struggling to sell.
It’s a lesson that Kylie Minogue is learning the hard way after having to slash the asking price of her multi-million-pound London flat.
The maisonette, situated on the top two floors of a mansion block, was placed on the market for £4.5million earlier this summer.
However, with no takers by the beginning of this month, the price was reduced by £500,000 on Wednesday afternoon.
It is now on sale for £3,950,000 – a reduction of more than 12 per cent.
The flat was refurbished to Miss Minogue’s exact specifications by renowned interior designers and developers Candy & Candy five years ago.
The refit alone was said to have cost £2million.
As the sparse furnishings show, Miss Minogue has already moved out. According to neighbours, the star wants to live in a house rather than a flat.
The service charge for the apartment block – which added up to £9,000 a year – may also have been an irritant.
Miss Minogue, 42, is believed to have bought the Kensington flat in the early 1990s.
She used to share it with her brother Brendan, who moved back to Australia in 2002.
A stairway to Kylie heaven: The sweeping staircase in the popstar's home
Scenic view: One of the four bedrooms with its view of the neighbourhood
'Flooded with natural light': Kylie's maisonette has a spacious lounge with its fireplace
The entrance to the fifth and sixth-floor flat features a sweeping staircase with a brass balustrade and a black piano-lacquered handrail leading to the upper floor.
The apartment – ‘flooded with natural light’ and ‘breathtaking’ according to the estate agent’s details – has four bedrooms, although Miss Minogue used one as a study.
It also has three bathrooms, including one in black marble and another with a free-standing bath, a drawing room, a kitchen/diner and a dining room.
A bed fit for a pop queen: One of the four opulent bedrooms in the former Neighbours star's home
'Breathtaking': Potential buyers will be disappointed to see the flat so sparsely furnished - Kylie's already moved out
You could practice the Loco-motion: Kylie's dance studio is the perfect place to perfect your 'I'm Spinning Around' routine
Miss Minogue also used the top floor loft room as a dance studio.
The singer has been in the U.S. recently but friends say she has no plans to quit the UK and move across the Atlantic full-time.
Instead, she has been looking for a house close by and is said to have already viewed at least one multi-million-pound property.
The former Neighbours actress has also been spending time in Spain, having recently purchased a £450,000 villa on the Costa Brava near the family home of her boyfriend of two years, Spanish model Andres Velencoso, 32.
Blowing (expensive) bubbles:The sumptuous bathroom in black marble is one of three in the Minogue household
Lavish: Even the kitchen has a glamorous feel to it
Slashed: Miss Minogue has knocked off thousands of pounds off her asking price
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 1:44 PM on 1st September 2010
As adverts go, it is certainly eye-catching. But whether it is tasteful to use a lingerie-clad Princess Diana lookalike to sell underwear is another matter entirely.
This bizarre promotion, which urges consumers to 'Feel the Romance of British Royalty', has been splashed across billboards in China by a lingerie company called Jealousy International.
And to mark the anniversary of Diana's death on August 31, 1997 – caused by a road accident in Paris – the lingerie company unveiled the new range at Shenzhen airport in southern China.
Royally rude: The adverts, unveiled on the anniversary of the Princess of Wales' death, ask the customer to 'Feel the romance of British royalty, Diana underwear'
Not amused: The late Princess of Wales has a lingerie brand named after her
Anniversary: Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris 13 years ago today
While in Britain the date was marked by admirers leaving some 30 bouquets of flowers outside Kensington Palace, it was a contrasting scene in Shenzhen.
The model posing as Diana is shown in her bra and knickers, and depicted holding a cello and bow as she casts her eyes down towards a young child.
A British journalist who happened to see the images this morning was appalled. Sam Chambers said: 'I was just going to collect my baggage from the carousel when I saw it flash up on a rolling advertising screen and couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.'
Mr Chambers, who is originally from Kent, but has worked in China for a decade, added: 'I thought, surely not, because it was rolling quite quickly. So I waited to check when it came up again and, sure enough, there was an image of Diana.
'It's all the more striking because today is the anniversary of her death.'
The company which has produced the lingerie, Jealousy International is based in China's southern Guandong province. Its website has a section on the Diana range with a further slogan: 'Free your mind, free your style'.
The apparent attempt to exploit the princess's image is the latest example of how firms around the world have sought to capitalise on her popularity and glamour.
Clarence House, which represents Prince Charles, did not comment on the adverts.
Tributes: Flowers, cards and flags were left outside the former home of the Princess to mark the anniversary of her death
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 10:21 PM on 31st August 2010
When dressing to impress, Naomi Campbell has her choice of the world's top designers.
But even the most expensive clothing can't help when a sudden gust of wind appears.
The supermodel was left exposed when her skirt blew up as she arrived at her hotel in Venice.
Before the storm: Supermodel Naomi Campbell arrives at the Venice Film Festival
Woops! Naomi's skirt was caught as she headed into her exclusive hotel
Her lowcut black sundress already left little to the imagination, with cutout panels showing her legs.
But the wind lifted it even higher to expose her underwear, in an unflattering moment as she headed into her exclusive hotel.
Naomi is in the Italian city for the annual film festival.
Back on top: After her wardrobe malfunction Naomi hosted the Uomo Vogue dinner for Quentin Tarantino
Last night she hosted the Uomo Vogue Hosts Dinner For Quentin Tarantino.
And in her black minidress she appeared to have recovered fully from her earlier malfunction.
The festival opens on Wednesday with a triple-header of Golden Lion-winner Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan and Hong Kong director Andrew Lau's The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, starring Donnie Yen, followed by a special midnight screening of Robert Rodriguez's Machete.
Amongst the 79 films being screened at the festival are Sofia Coppola's highly anticipated Somewhere and Ben Affleck's sophomore directorial effort, The Town.
All dressed up: Jessica Alba is helped from a water taxi as she arrives at an event on the festival's first night
Arrivals: Director Robert Rodriguez, right, and Quentin Tarantino, who heads the festival jury which will decide this year's Golden Lion for best film
