A Magazine, Issue 98

People/Style/Culture/Art

HOLIDAY Travel Tales from Mira Minkara, Rawan Bazerji, Marc Ghazali and Anthony Saroufim Sizzling Summer Styles. Lebanon Through a Kaleidoscope. Rediscovering Spain's Splendors

no.98 May/Jun/Jul '19 LL10,000

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98 No.

Inside May/June/July 2019

The Holiday Issue

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FRONT / 44 Who’s Who / 46 Editor’s Letter The inspiration behind this issue / 48

Contributors A brief selection / 54 Let Me Take You Far Away When travel is your life

/ 70 In Focus What’s on this season / 100 Objects of Desire Hot stuff for summer / 106 Magic Runway Catwalk shows that make you dream / 112 In the Studio with Anthony

Saroufim / 118 Renewing the Norton Art in West Palm Beach / FASHION / 124

Summer Escape Travel-inspired trends / 128 Sun-Splashed Siren Stylish swimwear / 150 My Italian Fling Sizzling looks for summer / FEATURES / 164 A Decadent

Dip Into a Parisian Legend Les Bains and all that / 168 Designing for People New

York’s Hudson Yards / 172 Subject In Conversation with Najla El Zein / 180 Fashion

That Sustains Us Luxury brands move toward ethical fashion / 186 Artsy Gems

buccellati.com Macri Collection

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Fashion by Aïshti, jewelry by George Hakim / 212 Back to the Jet Age An architectural marvel revived / 216 The Window Warrior Samar Younes’ visual wonderland / 218

Walking Lebanon Warren Singh-Bartlett discovers hidden parts of the country / 230 Beirut Fragments Fashion with a city backdrop / 242 That Scorching Summer A

2006 flashback / PLAYGROUND / 254 Where We’re Eating / 258 On Food Wild ice

cream flavors / 260 On Wellness Enticing scents / 262 Where We’re Detoxing / 264 A

Spanish Escapade Tour three vibrant cities / 270 Where We’re Staying / 276 On Drink Cocktails full of veggie goodness / 278 Where We’re Drinking / 280 The Last Page

People/Style/Culture/Art

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HOLIDAY Travel Tales from Mira Minkara, Rawan Bazerji, Marc Ghazali and Anthony Saroufim Sizzling Summer Styles. Lebanon Through a Kaleidoscope. Rediscovering Spain's Splendors

no.98 May/Jun/Jul '19 LL10,000

On the Cover A Mag’s summer issue is as dreamy as an endless vacation. Our cover girl Sabina is in a MaxMara dress and vintage Givenchy eyewear, and she’s carrying MaxMara shoes. Shot in Italy by Stefan Giftthaler / Styling by Amelianna Loiacono

People/Style/Culture/Art Publisher Tony Salamé Group TSG SAL

Editor-in-chief Marwan Naaman

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Creative director Mélanie Dagher

Senior art and production director Maria Maalouf

Fashion photographers

Copy editor Stephanie d’Arc Taylor

Coordinating editor Sophie Nahas

Prod Antzoulis

Stefan Giftthaler

Senior photo editor Fadi Maalouf Art director Maria Khairallah

In-house fashion photographer Raya Farhat Contributing writers Salma Abdelnour

Rayane Abou Jaoude

Mohamad Abdouni Bachar Srour

Feature photographers Celine Meunier Rabee Younes Stylists

Tracy Lynn Chemaly

Amelianna Loiacono

Niku Kasmai

Graphic design intern

Tala Habbal

Karim Hussain

Charles Nicola

Sabina Llewellyn-Davies

Marion Garnier

Folio artist

Rhea Saad

Michelle Merheb

J. Michael Welton

Warren Singh-Bartlett

Editorial intern

Advertising director Melhem Moussallem Advertising manager Rawan Mneimne

Senior marketing coordinator Magaly Mosleh Printing Dots: The Art of Printing

Responsible director Nasser Bitar

Aïshti by the Sea, Beirut, Lebanon tel. 961.4.717.716, aishti.com, aishtiblog.com

Aïshti Downtown, Beirut

Aïshti by the Sea, Antelias

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Happy Days What would it be like to go on an endless holiday? In this latest issue of A Mag, we take you on a perennial vacation, beginning in Beirut and stretching all the way to Los Angeles, while going through London, Paris, Copenhagen and various parts of Spain and Italy.

We chat with young Lebanese people who have built their lives around travel and tourism, infusing their love of adventure into their daily affairs. We take a look at art and design across the globe, including a reinvented museum in Florida, the newly unveiled Hudson Yards in New York and a particularly striking art piece now hanging at the AĂŻshti Foundation. And, of course, we plunge head first into the spring and summer collections, celebrating looks that best capture that holiday feeling of joy, fun and happiness.

Marwan Naaman @marwannaaman

Contributors

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Prod Antzoulis Prod Antzoulis is a Cyprus-born, Dubai-raised photographer and creative director. Based in the Middle East, he shoots professionally, as well as for the heart, capturing daily sparks of attraction and fashion setups. His clients include the likes of Gucci, Aïshti, Rimowa, Farfetch and Level Shoes. His work can also be found in various publications including Oyster, Purple Diary, Dazed, Schön!, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and Mille World. See his editorial spread, shot on location in Beirut, on page 230.

Tracy Lynn Chemaly Tracy Lynn Chemaly is a design and lifestyle writer working between South Africa and Mexico. A career in journalism and communications led to her love of design, and she’s invigorated when interviewing people who thrive in their creativity and celebrate the work of the hand. She was previously managing editor of Condé Nast House & Garden and Gourmet magazines, and communications director at Africa’s only collectible design gallery Southern Guild, during which time she ran South Africa’s annual Business of Design conference. When she’s not exploring museums and galleries, she can most likely be found eating chilaquiles on a street corner. Read her interview with Najla El Zein on page 172.

Mélanie Dagher Mélanie Dagher is a Berlin- and Beirut-based designer.

After completing a Master’s degree in fashion media production at the London College of Fashion, she worked for international publications – like Wallpaper*, Tank, I-D and Dazed and Confused – and collaborated with artists such as Juergen Teller, Oliver Hadlee Pearch and Maurizio Cattelan, among others. She was then named creative director of A Mag, L’Officiel Levant and the Aïshti Foundation. In her role, she explored the fashion and art worlds, working across different disciplines and mediums. She is now working with Highsnobiety and up-and-coming international music platform Colors Studio.

Warren Singh-Bartlett After 20 years in Lebanon, Warren Singh-Bartlett moved to Seville, which is like Beirut, only in Europe.

Author and freelance journalist, he writes on a diverse array of subjects, from architecture and design to conflict, social issues and, of course travel, which is where his heart lies. He has contributed to publications like Wallpaper*, Departures, Financial Times, Fields & Stations and Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. He has just finished a science fantasy novel, which begins in 13thcentury Andalusia during the Reconquista and ends in a city lost between universes. He has clearly been heavily influenced by life in Lebanon. Check out his folio on page 218.

AISHITI BY THE SEA ANTELIAS

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MARCJACOBS.COM

LET ME TAKE YOU FAR AWAY Photography Rabee Younes

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What would it be like to construct your career around the leisure industry? Here are six Lebanese who have transformed the holiday experience into a day-today to job, offering services related to travel, food, drink, hospitality, tourism and even body art. A Mag photographed these six movers and shakers along Lebanon’s shore, with the Mediterranean as a backdrop, in a tribute to the country’s ancient seafaring traditions and as a nod to the Lebanese people’s constant craving to look beyond the country, to riches that may await far from this tiny stretch of land along the Eastern Mediterranean.

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MARIANNE ABOU JAOUDE

TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL AND TOUR ORGANIZER Founder and managing director of Le Passeport Culinaire (The Culinary Passport), Marianne Abou Jaoude possesses a certified culinary travel professional diploma, a Master’s degree in cultural and tourism engineering and a BA in hospitality management, plus 16 years of experience in the culinary and hospitality industries.

With Le Passeport Culinaire (lepasseportculinaire.com) travel club, Abou Jaoude takes visitors on culinary adventures around the world, to experience special chateaux, terroirs, farms and Michelin-starred restaurants, offering them a new way to travel and a unique way to experience a destination. In May, she’s organizing a trip to St. Emilion in Bordeaux for Le Passeport Culinaire. She has a special fondness for that part of France: “It’s where I first experienced the harvesting activity in the midst of the first UNESCO vineyard landscape in the world and stayed in a charming chateau,” she says.

What do you love most about your work?

The culinary travel cycle is extremely interesting to me. It is the driving force of my day-to-day professional life. The discovery phase excites me the most and motivates me to embark on new culinary adventures.

Name one person who has left a lasting impact on your life and explain why.

My former general manager at Le Bristol hotel in Beirut, Mrs.

Nazira el Atrache, who is currently my managing partner at Le Passeport Culinaire. She believes in the human being, as well as the potential and talent every person holds in himself or herself.

Where do you go in Lebanon to disconnect from everything?

Rashaya al Wadi is one of my culinary rural escapes, allowing me to disconnect and enjoy an escapade in the midst of the meadow, with a shepherd and his herd, while tasting dairy products prepared with goat milk and reading an inspiring book.

Which is your favorite holiday destination outside Lebanon?

Tuscany, Italy. To be more precise, the town of Montalcino, where you can taste the finest Brunello di Montalcino wine made of pure 100% Sangiovese grapes.

Which destination would you like to visit and never have before?

I would love to travel back in time and visit Vienna, Austria for its unique culture, from classical music, opera houses, coffee shops and museums, to the famous Sachertorte and Apfelstrudel.

If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would it be?

Make it a point to think positively, even in times of despair and sadness, and trust people more.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Lebanese dessert: Mafroukeh. European dessert: Panettone.

Describe yourself in just one word.

Achiever.

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KAREN KLINK

ILLUSTRATOR AND TATTOO ARTIST Beirut-born Karen Klink is an art direction and advertising graduate, who found her true calling after a one-year illustration course. Now based between Beirut and Barcelona, she dedicates her time to illustration and tattooing, collaborating with international magazines, music labels and fashion designers. Klink creates fictive worlds and pseudo-mythical, mutated and anthropomorphic creatures, using ballpoint pen and sometimes watercolor as her primary mediums, almost exclusively on skin and on paper. When asked which is her favorite holiday destination outside Lebanon, she finds it impossible to name just one. “I have too many favorites,” she says, “whatever involves an island and delicious food.”

What do you love most about your work?

Getting intimate with someone’s secret world in the process of creating art.

Name one person who has left a lasting impact on your life and explain why.

My grandad’s full presence whenever I was around him always filled me with something magical, which makes him the most authentic person I’ve ever known.

Which was your most memorable trip and why?

The Azores are breathtaking, I’ve never seen anything like them. Nature is an explosion for the senses.

Where do you go in Lebanon to disconnect from everything?

A tiny beach in Batroun.

Which destination would you like to visit and never have before?

Tokyo.

If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would it be?

I wouldn’t, my past mistakes are too funny, I wouldn’t have any good stories to tell otherwise.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Warm brownies with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Describe yourself in just one word.

Fly.

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HANY BOURGHOL LAWYER AND BARISTA

Hany Bourghol, who founded Cortado espresso bar in Beirut’s Gemmayze with Jean Antoun, is the general counsel of the L’Oréal Group for the Middle East and Levant region. He was born in Northern Lebanon where he attended the French Lycée, and later moved to France to pursue a law degree. During this period, his passion for languages encouraged him to stay with host families in the United States, England, Spain and Latin America. He then received a scholarship to Canada, where he completed his LLM studies in Ottawa. His interest in coffee developed during his internship at the United Nations in Thailand – that’s when he started visiting coffee plantations around the world and working on his barista skills. When he’s not at the office or behind his coffee machine, he’s touring the world for fresh ideas or spending time with his family. When asked to describe himself in one word, he says he’s “resilient.”

What do you love most about your work?

Being a lawyer and a barista at the same time created the perfect balance in my life. I am lucky to work for one of the best multinationals during the week, while concentrating my weekends for my passion.

Name one person who has left a lasting impact on your life and explain why.

I can’t think of just one person. Many people had a big impact in my life, one of which is my mother, who through her behavior at work and in life showed me the fruits of dedication and perseverance. I find myself applying her work ethic at Cortado.

Which was your most memorable trip and why?

My trip to Japan with my business partner Jean. It was the basis of a fruitful collaboration between us, and it’s when we decided to open our coffee shop Cortado.

This is also the place where we had our first exposure to coffee specialists.

Which is your favorite holiday destination outside Lebanon?

Definitely Mexico, where I have had the chance to go on multiple occasions. The spiciness of the country and its extraordinary people make it the best destination.

Which destination would you like to visit and never have before?

Colombia and its multiple coffee plantations.

If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would it be?

Not to sound cliché, but honestly, I don’t believe I would. Each and every experience I have had so far shaped me and brought me to where I am today.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Definitely a chocolate-based dessert, without forgetting the double chocolate cookies prepared daily by my business partner and chef at Cortado.

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RAWAN BAZERJI

SET DESIGNER AND HOTELIER Rawan Bazerji is the owner of Bouyouti guesthouse in Beiteddine, in Lebanon’s Shouf mountains. She’s also a successful set designer, who discovered her affinity for the creative trade while studying advertising at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA). Bazerji has worked on over 150 TV commercials, two short films and a feature film. She’s also created window displays in Paris and Beirut for the likes of Sandro, John Galliano, Cerruti, Petit Bateau, Au Gant rouge, Rabih Kayrouz and The Silly Spoon. She says that Bouyouti is the project that’s closest to her heart, and the one place that she heads to in Lebanon when she wants to disconnect from everything around her.

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What do you love most about your work?

Its ephemerality. The fact that I can jump from a universe to another, I build and I deconstruct and then pass to another world.

Name one person who has left a lasting impact on your life and explain why.

My parents, because they armed me with positivity, love of life and family, and we share this passion in a common project in the Shouf area called Bouyouti.

Which was your most memorable trip and why?

Sri Lanka was a destination that marked me because I was completely disconnected from my everyday life, as if I was transported to a kaleidoscopic world.

Which is your favorite holiday destination outside Lebanon?

Every new escape represents a nice holiday. I like to be surprised. But I enjoy going to Paris once a year to have my dose of romance, cultural exposure, fashion, design, exhibitions and art.

Which destination would you like to visit and never have before?

South Africa and Tokyo.

If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would it be?

I’ve learned to overcome obstacles, and that’s what makes life more interesting. I wouldn’t change a thing.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Profiterole.

Describe yourself in just one word.

Passionate.

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MIRA MINKARA

COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST AND TOURIST GUIDE After earning a degree in tourist guidance in 2002, Mira Minkara worked for years as a freelance tourist guide, an assistant manager and coordinator for NGOs in Tripoli and Beirut and a customer professional in Prague (Czech Republic). She was also coorganizer of the Spring Festival Beirut (2010) and Beirut’s Art Center’s communication manager for four years. She’s currently running Mira’s Guided Tours, organizing tours around the old city of Tripoli while explaining its traditional crafts, Rachid Karami International Fair, the Mina seaside and Tripoli’s old train station. Minkara lives between Beirut and Tripoli, her beloved hometown city, as she could never live with one and without the other. She says that her most memorable trip was to Turkey: “The first time I went to Konya, home of Rumi’s shrine for a Sufi gathering, to celebrate his death or as they call it ‘the wedding night.’ It was a very intense spiritual experience.”

What do you love most about your work?

When the tourists I’m guiding through Tripoli look absorbed by my historical facts, stories and anecdotes with a slight smile on their face.

Name one person who has left a lasting impact on your life and explain why.

My grandmother who had 14 kids! She used to tell me to go out and travel as much as I could, and that the most important thing in life is to be thankful and accepting of what I have.

Which was your most memorable trip and why?

First time I went to Konya in Turkey, home of Rumi’s shrine for a Sufi gathering, to celebrate his death or as they call it “the wedding night.” It was a very intense spiritual experience.

Where do you go in Lebanon to disconnect from everything?

The Rachid Karami International Fair. It has a beautiful park and fantastic buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Or Koura, where I look for trees and flowers.

Which is your favorite holiday destination outside Lebanon?

Czech Republic.

Which destination would you like to visit and never have before?

Brazil.

If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would it be?

The separation with my dad, my childhood home and school, when we had to move to Lebanon from Abu Dhabi when I was 10.

What’s your favorite dessert?

Chocolate fondant.

Describe yourself in just one word.

Nonconformist.

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MARC GHAZALI

HUMANITARIAN AND TOURIST GUIDE Marc Ghazali is a political science graduate from the American University of Beirut, now working in a humanitarian organization that helps Syrian refugees.

He founded Beirut Urban Tours back when he was still a student as an initiative to promote “political tourism” in Lebanon and to connect the urban to the political. The Downtown Beirut walking tour, “Layers of a Ghost City,” has been running for over two years every Saturday, attracting young students, nonprofit professionals and tourists. He says there’s one destination to which he’s never been and that he’d like to visit: “Cape Town, South Africa. I don’t know why but it’s at the top of my list.”

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What do you love most about your work?

I really like that the tour is a platform for me to send a message. I get to spread controversial ideas and generate a debate.

Name one person who has left a lasting impact on your life and explain why.

As nerdy as it sounds, a professor back at university. She was so inspiring that I eventually switched majors, and I am where I am today.

Which was your most memorable trip and why?

Definitely my trip to Wadi Rum in Jordan. The colors, the scale, the overwhelming feeling and the company made it magical.

Where do you go in Lebanon to disconnect from everything?

Ehden, especially during wintertime when the village is empty.

Which is your favorite holiday destination outside Lebanon?

I don’t have one actually. Anywhere with a beautiful beach works.

If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would it be?

On a good day I feel like I wouldn’t change anything. On a bad day some ideas pop up but nothing significant.

What’s your favorite dessert?

A good lemon tart.

Describe yourself in just one word.

Empathetic.

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In Focus We Want Quant_____ London’s Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum is hosting the first ever international retrospective about iconic fashion designer Mary Quant.

Focusing on the years between 1955 and 1975, the show relates how Quant harnessed the youthful spirit of the 1960s and used mass production techniques to create a new look for women. Items on display include classic Quant looks, never-before-seen designs and details about the fashion designer’s career. “The V&A is such a precious and iconic organization for which I have the utmost admiration and respect, and it is a huge honor to be recognized by them with this dedicated exhibition,” says Quant. “It was a wonderfully exciting time and despite the frenetic, hard work we had enormous fun.” The show is sponsored by King’s Road.

Until February 16, 2020, vam.ac.uk/maryquant

John Cowan Archive

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In Focus Dreaming in Dior_____ Drawn from the extensive Dior archives, “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams,” at London’s Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum, presents over 500 objects, with over 200 rare haute couture garments shown alongside accessories, fashion photography, film, vintage perfume, original makeup, illustrations, magazines and Christian Dior’s personal possessions. The exhibition highlights Dior’s total design vision, encompassing garments, accessories and fragrances. From horticulture to global travel and historicism, the show reveals the sources of inspiration that defined the French fashion house’s aesthetic. Daring designs by Yves Saint Laurent and rational garments from Marc Bohan share the space with the flamboyance of Gianfranco Ferré, the exuberance of John Galliano, the minimalism of Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri’s feminist vision of fashion. The exhibit shows how each artistic director has stayed true to Dior’s vision of haute couture, while bringing their own creative sensibilities to the house.

Until September 1, vam.ac.uk

Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts/ARS New York, Azzaro, Tony Elieh, V&A

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Hollywood Revisited_____ French fashion house Azzaro is the latest luxury label to join the Aïshti family. Inspired by Hollywood’s Golden Age, the dresses from Azzaro’s spring/summer 2019 collection are both purified and flamboyant, in materials such as muslin silk and pleated lurex, and colors that range from blue and fuchsia to purple and gold. A blissful blend of exoticism and retro glamour.

Available at Aïshti stores

Wild About Warhol_____ The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is hosting the first retrospective of Andy Warhol’s work since 1989. Titled “Andy Warhol – From A to B and Back Again,” the show covers three floors of the museum and includes works that are unique to the SFMOMA. Highlights from the show include “Marilyn Diptych,” “Green Coca-Cola Bottles” and “Liz #6.” The new show reveals complexities about the artist, while reintroducing him to 21st-century audiences.

May 19-September 2, sfmoma.org

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Picturing the Orient_____ Lebanese design company Images d’Orient just opened its first stand-alone store in Beirut. Located on Rue du Liban in Ashrafieh, the colorful boutique carries some of Images d’Orient most beloved products, including coasters, dishes, tin cans, trays and cups, all inspired by traditional Middle Eastern architecture and design. Founders Peggy and Charbel Raphael tapped architect Rabih Geha to design the space. Geha looked to Mediterranean architecture to create a façade of successive arched windows that lead the eye to an interior of continuous arched doorways. Modular lights with glossy aluminum reflectors, brushed stainless steel and perforated steel mesh give a contemporary and edgy feel to the place. A terrific new showcase for Images d’Orient. imagesdorient.net

In Focus Second Time Around_____ The second outpost of We Are The People just opened on the ground level of Aïshti by the Sea in Antelias. Designed by architect Rabih Geha and curated

by Aïshti’s creative retail director Mouna Harati, the new space carries key pieces from various brands in an engaging, pink-splashed environment.

We Are The People is updated weekly and sometimes even daily, offering new and utterly desirable pieces from the coveted design brands carried

by Aïshti. The one-on-one customer experience adds pleasure to every shopping expedition.

Raya Farhat

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In Focus

I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll_____ The great sound of the 20th century, rock ‘n’ roll left an indelible imprint on culture and society. At its inception, the revolutionary musical genre appealed to musicians who fell under the spell of the electric guitar and the distortion of early amplifiers. At the same time, rock fans became fascinated with the instruments used by musicians. In a landmark exhibit dedicated exclusively to the instruments of rock ‘n’ roll, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York presents approximately 130 such instruments alongside rock posters and costumes. “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock ‘n’ Roll” examines the profound impact of this art form that forever changed music.

Until October 1, metmuseum.org

Karantina Digs__________ Lebanese designer Karen Chekerdjian officially launched her office and showroom last April. Set in the Kamel Building, a former tannery and slaughterhouse in Karantina, the 600-square-meter space functions as both a workspace and gallery, allowing guests to view Chekerdjian’s magnificent designs and to also glimpse her and her staff at work. As part of the launch, Chekerdjian is hosting “Above Ground/Outer Space,” an exhibit that runs until June 30 and that showcases some of her most dramatic pieces, including her Grande Vague bench, Terra Continens table and Totem side tables. Smaller items, like her intricate jewelry, are also on view. Placing her pieces in such a vast space is an inspired move: it allows visitors to fully appreciate the scale and spirit of Chekerdjian’s oeuvre. karenchekerdjian.com

Corneliani, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alain Sauma

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Suited for Spring__________ Corneliani has introduced a range of new suits for spring/summer 2019. The Italian menswear label offers lightweight suits in a shiny or matte finish, while combining silk with superfine wool to ensure a feeling of utter luxury. Comfortable yet carefully constructed, Corneliani’s suits are ideal for the warm-weather season.

Available at the Corneliani boutique in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

AÏSHTI BY THE SEA, ANTELIAS 04.71T7716 EXT. 297

In Focus

Art in a Gesture________ The Beirut Art Center reopened in a brand-new space last April, not too far from its original digs and still near Beirut River. The launch exhibit, “Touché,” highlights the gestures that give form to artistic practices, focusing on artists either engaged in movements or producing traces and deliberately discordant representations. There are installations, sculptures, drawings and paintings by the likes of Majd Abdel Hamid and Ismail Bahri, plus films and photographs by such artists as Nesrine Khodr and Roman Signer (whose “Wasserstiefel,” from 1986, is pictured above).

Until June 22, beirutartcenter.org

Beiteddine Art Festival, Marek Rogowiec, VG Bild-Kunst Bonn

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Best of Bauhaus_____ The Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen is celebrating 100 years of Bauhaus with a landmark exhibit. Titled “Bauhaus #itsalldesign,” the show features rare examples from the fields of design, architecture, art, film and photography, including works by such Bauhaus artists as Marianne Brandt, Marcel Breuer, Lyonel Feininger, Walter Gropius and Wassily Kandinsky. By showcasing classic Bauhaus works alongside newer works by the likes of Hella Jongerius, Enzo Mari, Norman Foster and Konstantin Grcic, the exhibit highlights the present-day relevance of the German art school.

Until December 1, designmuseum.dk

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Music in the Mountains_____ Broken Wings is the highlight of this year’s Beiteddine Art Festival. The new musical, which premiered on London’s West End and promptly sold out, is based on Gibran Khalil Gibran’s classic novel. British-Lebanese actor and singer Nadim Naaman teamed up with Qatari composer Dana Al Fardan to create the musical, which remains true to Gibran’s timeless themes of gender equality, freedom to love, tradition versus modernity, wealth versus happiness, immigration and the importance of home.

Broken Wings is the first-ever musical to be based on a Middle Eastern work. Its staging in Lebanon’s historic Beiteddine Palace, in the ancient Shouf mountains, gives the musical particular resonance.

July 24-26, beiteddine.org

In Focus

Chloé by the Sea_____ Aïshti by the Sea’s waterfront terrace was transformed into an open-air runway last April, as five Chloé girls modeled key pieces from the brand’s latest spring/ summer 2019 collection. While guests looked on, the models glided on luxurious Iwan Maktabi rugs, showcasing outfits that blissfully reflect creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s take on hippie modernism. The current Chloé collection is rich with silk scarves, flowing skirts and flared pants in colors that range from ceramic neutrals to sunset shades of orange, terracotta and faded blues. The sun-drenched fashion journey across the Mediterranean was followed by a private lunch.

Available at the Chloé boutique in the Beirut Souks and Aïshti by the Sea.

Art Returns to Venice_____ The world’s most dazzling art exhibition is back. The 58th edition of the Venice Biennale, titled “May You Live in Interesting Times,” is curated by Ralph Rugoff, director of the Hayward Gallery in London, and includes 90 national participations at the Giardini, the Arsenale and Venice’s historic city center. Four countries make their Biennale debut this year – Ghana, Madagascar, Malaysia and Pakistan – while the Dominican Republic exhibits for the first time with its own pavilion. “The title of this exhibition could be interpreted as a sort of curse,” said Biennale president Paolo Baratta, “where the expression ‘interesting times’ evokes the idea of challenging or even ‘menacing’ times, but it could also simply be an invitation to always see and consider the course of human events in their complexity.”

May 11-November 24, labiennale.org

I Feel the Earth Move_____ Italy’s Marche region, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2016, provides the setting for new work by three photo artists: Olivo Barbieri, Paola De Pietri and Petra Noordkamp. The three artists spent long periods in the affected areas – Visso, Camerino, Arquata and Pescara del Tronto, Pieve Torina, Pievebovigliana, Muccia and Ussita – where they met locals, visited various areas and developed, each with his or her own aesthetic, different artworks inspired by what they saw around them. The result of their artistic exploration is featured in the “Terre in Movimento” exhibit, on view at the MAXXI Museum in Rome.

May 11-August 29, maxxi.art

Olivo Barbieri, Pulse Production, Venice Biennale

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In Focus Stylishly Casual__________ Young fashion label Casasola – it was launched in 2013 – creates ethically made and sustainable dresses designed for both elegance and comfort.

The simple yet stylish cuts come in basic black or white, or in rich shades of burgundy. Celebrities who have been spotted wearing Casasola include Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Alicia Vikander.

Available at Aïshti in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

Casasola, Estate of Fred W. McDarrah, Neous, Salzburg Festival

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New Way to Step_____ Since launching in 2017, UK-based shoe label Neous has garnered fans around the globe. Designers Vanissa Antonious and Alan Buanne were inspired by the Bauhaus school to create shapes that are stark but striking, while using such materials as wood, transparent paneling and supple suede. Standout summer styles include sleek booties (in tan or white) and sexy sandals with sensationally creative wooden heels.

Available at Aïshti in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

Proud to Be_____ Stonewall marks its 50th anniversary this year. The momentous event started in New York on June 1969, as an uprising against a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar. The uprising turned into six days of demonstrations and conflicts with law enforcement, marking a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.

Today pride parades inspired by the Stonewall uprising are held in June in cities throughout the world. In a moving tribute to the historic event, the Museum of the City of New York presents “PRIDE: Photographs of Stonewall and Beyond by Fred W. McDarrah,” featuring McDarrah’s images of the initial Stonewall uprising, portraits of significant figures in the LGBTQ rights movement and photographs of pride marches, protests and public events for the LGBTQ community. Not to be missed.

Opening June 6, mcny.org

Voices of Summer_____ Opera aficionados can once again look forward to a superb program at the annual Salzburg Festival. This year five new operatic productions will be staged in the picturesque Austrian town, as well as four new drama productions and numerous concerts as the festival’s artistic director Markus Hinterhäuser focuses the spotlight on the mythology of antiquity. The opening opera is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Idomeneo, staged by Peter Sellars.

Another highlight of the festival is the return of the acclaimed opera Alcina by George Frederick Handel and a powerful interpretation of Salome by Richard Strauss. Enriching the festival’s concert program is Franz Welser-Möst, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic at the Felsenreitschule. As always, the festival offers an artistic program rich in variety.

July 20-August 31, salzburgfestival.at

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In Focus From Russia with Art_____ Natalia Goncharova was a trailblazer in her native Russia. In 1913, when she was just 32, she held a major exhibit that established her as the leader of the Russian avant-garde. The artist then moved to Paris, where she remained for the rest of her life. In addition to designing costumes and backdrops in France for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes, she also experimented with book designs and created looks for fashion houses in Moscow and Paris. The Tate Modern in London is celebrating Goncharova with the first-ever UK retrospective of her work. The exhibition showcases some of her most important artworks, while exploring her diverse sources of inspiration, from Russian folk art and textiles to the latest trends in Modernism and beyond.

June 6-September 8, tate.org.uk

Eastern Myths_____ Artist Simone Fattal, who was born in Damascus, raised in Lebanon and lived in California and Paris, is the subject of a major retrospective at the MoMA PS1 in New York. “Simone Fattal: Works and Days” brings together over 100 works created by Fattal over the last 40 years, including abstract and figurative ceramic sculptures, paintings and collages that draw from a range of sources like war narratives, landscape painting, ancient history, mythology and Sufi poetry. The show explores the impact of displacement, as well as the politics of archeology and excavation, as these themes resonate across Fattal’s complex artistic practice.

Until September 2, moma.org

ADAGP Paris/DACS London, Simone Fattal/Kaufmann Repetto

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Phoenician Spring_____ For the delicate Phoenician Script jewelry collection, Ralph Masri gleaned his inspiration from the ancient Phoenician alphabet, infusing history, lore and timeless flair into each of his evocative pieces. Highlights from the breathtaking collection include a diamondencrusted ring and earrings. Masri, a Central St. Martins graduate, recently landed at the number two spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Middle East List, which singles out the region’s most influential youth in the region in diverse fields. He was one of only six Lebanese to be included on the list. Ralph Masri jewelry is available worldwide, at such retailers as Harvey Nichols in London and Bloomingdale’s in Dubai, and at the new Ralph Masri showroom in Downtown Beirut. His jewelry is available online at Moda Operandi. ralphmasri.com

Jack Whitten Estate and Hauser & Wirth/Genevieve Hanson, Ralph Masri

Jacking It Up_____ Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof is hosting the first-ever European solo exhibit of American artist Jack Whitten, who passed away last year. Titled “Jack’s Jacks,” the show begins with early gestural paintings strongly influenced by Abstract Expressionism, and then traces Whitten’s development as a painter all the way through his later experiments with structure and materiality. There are 30 major Whitten works on display, many of them paintings dedicated to historical events and prominent people. Highlights include 2011’s “Apps for Obama,” created in honor of the United States’ former president.

Until September 1, smb.museum

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In Focus

A Burberry First__________ Burberry’s spring/summer 2019 collection is the first complete range by the label’s new chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci. While the collection functions as a tribute to Britain’s individuality and eccentricity, it’s also one of Burberry’s most international to date, seeking to infuse a continental spirit into signature Burberry items. Highlights include a sheer white top and skirt with animal prints, tailored leather skirts and plenty of reimagined trench coats.

Available at the Burberry boutique in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

Teddy Wear________ Moschino’s lovable teddy bear is back for summer. This time around, our furry friend is dressed up in beads, sequins and crystals and adorning a hoodie, two T-shirts, a tulle T-shirt dress, a pullover, a cardigan and a sleeveless leather vest. Trust Moschino to always infuse fun and fables into its fashion.

Available at Aïshti in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

An Objective Obsession__________ Tamara Al-Samerraei’s work takes center stage at Marfa’ art gallery in Beirut. In “What Floats in Space,” the Kuwaitiborn, Beirut-based artist showcases recent works that started off with the idea of an object, a form that was real but then took over Al-Samerraei’s imagination to become something of an obsession. She looked at that object – whatever it may have been – absorbed it, digested it and, through a process of revelation, created a series of dazzling new artworks.

Until August 13, marfaprojects.com

Burberry, Marfa’, Moschino

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In Focus

Tales of Exile_____ A moving and timely exhibit at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC poses urgent questions about the representations and perceptions of migration, historically and within the scope of the current global refugee crisis. Titled “The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement” and co-curated by the New Museum’s Massimiliano Gioni and Natalie Bell, the show features work by over 60 international artists, including Lebanon’s Marwan Rechmaoui, plus Yto Barrada, Kader Attia, Danh Vo, Mark Rothko, Dorothea Lange, Chantal Akerman and John Akmofrah. Through installations, videos, paintings and photography, the exhibition explores personal and collective tales of human movement and the ways in which artists bear witness to both historical events and more subtle shifts in cultural landscapes.

June 22-September 22, phillipscollection.org

Raya Farhat, Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress, Moncler, Adrian Paci, Philosophy

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Japan Streetwear_____ The breathlessly anticipated 7 Moncler Fragment Hiroshi Fujiwara collection for spring/summer 2019 has arrived in Beirut. A collaboration with Japanese streetwear designer and founder of Fragment Design Hiroshi Fujiwara, the Moncler collection has elevated streetwear to high design level, with branded hoodies, T-shirts and sweatpants as key pieces of the collection. Emblazoned with the Moncler Fragment tag, these new releases are sure to become collector’s items.

Available at Aïshti in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

Sleek Seafood_____ Sassine’s Le Merou fish market has moved to Armenia Street in Mar Mikhael and is now named Merou Seafood. The new place is smaller than the original and more of a restaurant than a fish market – although you can still order your favorite fish and seafood and take them to go. The casual 40-seat restaurant serves various kinds of local and imported fish and seafood, including salmon, tuna, sea bass, sea bream, red mullet, lobster, oysters, crab, mussels and much more. What’s different here is that unlike other Lebanese fish restaurants, you can come in for a meal and have your favorite type of fish without ordering the traditional Lebanese mezza – it’s a sweet and easy experience for the trendy set and their parents. Merou Seafood serves lunch and dinner and opens early for those who want to drop by and pick up their fish during the morning hours. facebook.com/merouseafood

Flouncy Philosophy_____ Lorenzo Serafini’s spring/summer 2019 collection for Philosophy is a sexy romp, a romantic trip to an exotic North African destination. There are loose-fitting, breezy white tops paired with cinched-up animal print pants, black micro shorts matched with lightweight animal print jackets and a superbly sensual crop top, also in animal print, that’s guaranteed to make all those around you swoon.

Available at Aïshti in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

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In Focus

Fantasy Footwear_____ Beirut-based designer Nada Debs (pictured here with Diego Rossetti) teamed up with Italian shoemaker Fratelli Rossetti to create the Design at Your Heels limited edition sandal. Featuring Debs’ signature mother-of-pearl inlay in natural solid walnut wood, the sandal features a zigzag pattern that symbolizes the intertwined heartbeats of Milan and Beirut, two cities that are both design hubs for their regions. There are 60 pieces of the coveted sandals only, available either in off-white or in red nubuck. Magic south of your ankles. nadadebs.com

Bag It_____ Curvy and delightful, Prada’s Sidonie is a fine calfskin and leather bag that comes in various colors and two different models, top-fastening or flap-fronted.

First introduced in 2000, the Sidonie bag has been reimagined to fit the needs of the contemporary woman. Celebrities who have been spotted carrying the must-have bag include Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Hailee Steinfeld.

Available at Aïshti in Downtown Beirut and Aïshti by the Sea

Arabian Icon_____ Late Syrian artist Nazir Ismail is celebrated in a major retrospective at Art on 56th gallery in Gemmayze.

Titled “Fifty Three Years,” the show includes rare and early works that focus on Maaloulah, the ancient Christian village in Syria that he called home, as well as landscapes and still lives that later paved the way for his evocative portraiture. Ismail first started exhibiting his work in 1966, and he’s been featured in the Barjeel Art Foundation, the Sharjah Biennale and the Museum of Qatar.

Until June 1, arton56th.com

Art on 56th/Nazir Ismail, Nada Debs, Prada

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In Focus Courting Controversy _____ In a two-part exhibit, the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan examines the impact and lasting legacy of late American artist Robert Mapplethorpe. The first part of the exhibition, on view until July 10 of this year, features highlights from the Guggenheim’s collection of Mapplethorpe holdings, including selections from the artist’s early Polaroids, collages and mixed-media constructions, such as photographs of male and female nudes, plus portraits of artists, celebrities and acquaintances. The second part, which opens on July 24 and runs until January 5, 2020, addresses the artist’s impact on the field of contemporary portraiture, while aiming to reflect the many complex conversations surrounding Mapplethorpe’s work that have arisen over the past three decades. guggenheim.org

Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

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OBJECTS OF DESIRE Photography Raya Farhat

SHOES GIANVITO ROSSI __________ STEP INTO SUMMER WITH THESE YELLOW BEAUTIES, IDEAL FOR CASUAL DAYWEAR OR A GLAM NIGHT OUT

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Bag Loewe _______ Blue like the summer sky, this bag will turn heads at both the beach and office

BAG D’ESTRËE __________ MAKE A BOLD FASHION STATEMENT WITH THIS MOST STYLISH OF SUMMER ACCESSORIES

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Bag The Volon ________ A little bit of pink goes a long way.

Snap it before somebody else does

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SHOES PRADA __________ CLICK YOUR HEELS AND FLY AWAY HOME: A TRENDY TAKE ON THE RUBY RED SLIPPERS

Words Tala Habbal

MAGIC RUNWAY Fashion shows are taking us on exotic adventures This page and opposite page: Gucci

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IMMERSIVE FASHION SHOWS ARE A FORM OF STORYTELLING

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This page: Valentino Opposite page: Dior

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The clothes are always breathtaking, the models are always Instagram-worthy and the excitement from the moment you enter the venue to the moment the lights dim is palpable. But recently fashion labels have started adding another innovative component to the fashion show experience.

More and more brands are moving toward creating experiential fashion shows, which not only showcase fabulous couture, but also transport guests to a completely different dimension. Fashion shows have become less about just the clothing and more about what the clothing embodies. The immersive shows are a form of storytelling, as brands aim to invigorate all five senses to create unique and exhilarating experiences of whimsy and fantasy.

Fashion houses like Chanel, Balenciaga, Maison Margiela, Dior and Alexander McQueen have all been

at the forefront of the new trend in immersive fashion shows, successfully pushing the boundaries of what has come to be expected during fashion week.

A strong message of feminism was embodied through an immersive Cirque du Soleil-inspired experience for Dior’s spring/summer 2019 couture show. Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri pulled out all the stops to transform the show space into a circus ring, complete with a tent lined with a string of lights and female acrobats carrying one another down the runway, setting the stage for the exuberant Big Top-inspired collection that was to follow.

Amid sub-zero temperatures in Paris last January, guests at the Chanel spring/summer 2019 couture show were treated to a short summer escape to the Italian Riviera. The late great Karl Lagerfeld transported guests to a sunny Italian villa lined with palm trees,

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This page: Balenciaga Opposite page: Alexander McQueen (top) and Chanel (bottom)

sandy pathways and even a pool. The 2019 Sur la Plage ready-to-wear show was another immersive extravaganza that literally brought the beach indoors.

Barefoot models paraded down pristine sandy shores, as the tide slowly rolled into a backdrop of a secluded beach hut and sunny, blue skies.

Pierpaolo Piccioli wanted to send a strong message about equality in his Valentino spring/summer 2019 couture collection. By casting black models to bring a mid-century 1948 Cecil Beaton photo of WASP-y females to life, Piccioli told a story of strength, femininity and diversity. The exuberant collection of ostentatious gowns with intricate details of embroidery, ruffles, lace and appliquĂŠs was presented in a floral euphoria. Gorgeous romantic floral

arrangements served as the backdrop for the bold and bright collection, while some models were even dressed as actual flowers from head to toe.

Things at the Balenciaga spring/summer 2019 couture show got a bit psychedelic as Demna Gvasalia collaborated with artist Jon Rafman on bold LED screens that surrounded the runway walls, floors and ceilings. The theatrical presentation was an attempt to transport guests inside someone’s digital mind,

with the sound of raindrops falling and scenes of virtual water trickling into infinity. The head-spinning experience complemented a collection of bold blazer dresses with exaggerated shoulders, strappy billowy dresses with Eiffel Tower prints and matching pinstriped shirt and pant ensembles.

With the use of beautiful, unique venues and tailored special effects like sounds scents or elements of nature, brands are going above and beyond the realms of the ordinary to produce fashion shows that are the definition of thinking outside the box.

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IN THE STUDIO WITH ANTHONY SAROUFIM

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Words Rayane Abou Jaoude Photography Celine Meunier

A MAG TALKS BRUTALISM AND BEIRUT NIGHTLIFE WITH ARCHITECT AND PHOTOGRAPHER ANTHONY SAROUFIM

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Gabriele Basilico’s Beirut 1991 (2002 edition), a book with the most beautiful and saddest pictures of Beirut after the war

My Super 8 film camera that I found in a flea market in Paris

My Canon AE-1 35mm film camera with a 24mm 1:2.8 lens

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A 3D printed model of the Dome, or the Egg, which I used as a study model for my Master’s degree project My Kodak disposable camera that I use for my ongoing project Les Indisciplinés

Lebbeus Woods’ War and Architecture, with the following quote: “Architecture and war are not incompatible. Architecture is war. War is architecture. I am at war with my time, with history, with all authority that resides in fixed and frightened forms.�

Small format prints of the Egg cinema in Beirut

Vintage binoculars, a gift from a dear friend

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The Paris Brutalist Map because of the love I have for Brutalist buildings. I want to create the Beirut Brutalist Map

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Much of Anthony Saroufim’s photographs center on one basic premise: Brutalist architecture, wherever he can find it. Massive concrete blocks, towers, apartment complexes, churches, theaters – his work is a raw depiction of buildings characterized by plainness and functionalism in different forms of white and grey, occasionally a welcoming pink or blue. Buildings that, despite their history and grandeur, are often ignored, disregarded or eventually torn down. “I’ve always liked the buildings that are considered concrete where the structure is apparent and it’s true to what it is really, it doesn’t need additional decoration or ornaments,” Saroufim says.

The Paris-based artist has always been passionate about both architecture and photography, having done them separately until his diploma project at the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture (ESA), “where I found a way to merge them in a proper way,” he says.

In fact, Saroufim’s diploma project was entirely devoted to the Egg, or the Dome, a large, oval Downtown Beirut building known for being the first cinema in Lebanon, now decrepit and abandoned, save for the occasional exhibition or event. He’s also a huge fan of the Interdesign building in Hamra built by Khalil Khoury, and the Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli built by famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Saroufim even exhibited his photographs of the fair at an exhibition hosted by the Brazilian Embassy in

Lebanon. “Every time I go back to Lebanon I go back [to the International Fair] and take more pictures because it’s in a state where the decay is so strong, and no one is taking care of it, and it might fall down one day. So I want to capture it every time at every step in case it falls down,” he says.

He’d only lived in Beirut post-Civil War, so he’d seen the reconstruction of Lebanon but not its destruction.

Photography became to him a physical reconstruction of the city. He studied at the Lebanese American University before moving to Paris and has since then been working at architecture agencies while also working as a photographer. Photographing Brutalism is where he really found his niche.

He also does not use digital cameras, instead opting for a Canon AE-1 and experimenting with different types of film like the Cinestill 800T, Kodak ColorPlus and expired film. “I really think that it’s more interesting to work in film than in digital photography because first of all, you don’t need to post-edit the picture, it’s really raw and there are natural colors that are closer to your eye,” he says. “Especially that in architecture photography nowadays, all the digital photography is so perfectly aligned, so high resolution, that in the end it looks more like a rendered image that’s out of a computer than a photograph taken by a human. So the closer to what humans see, the better it is for me, and I think I can accomplish this better with film photography.”

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But it’s not easy work. It can be quite difficult to gain access to certain buildings like the Egg, as it’s entirely fenced off. To photograph the infamous Holiday Inn in Downtown Beirut, which is surrounded by soldiers and is sealed off completely, he had to do it from a friend’s apartment which, to his luck, faces the abandoned hotel.

And while Saroufim’s passion lies in photographing concrete structures, another project of his takes on an entirely different subject: Beirut nightlife. Titled Les Indisciplinés, it was born out of a desire to shoot something a little less serious and more freeing, and so, armed with a disposable camera, Saroufim began taking photographs of his friends at clubs and house parties whenever he was on holiday in Beirut. The French word indiscipliné means the unmanageable, the disobedient, a quality he aims to depict in his photographs, which are shot entirely in black and white. Extremely intimate, veritably wild but with surprisingly comfortable subjects, they offer “a closer and more personal look at the hidden side of our nightlife.”

His friends trust him, Saroufim says, so they directly pose or immediately say yes to a picture, which is most of the time a completely effortless task. And while his Brutalist photography may take a bit more focus and attention, that, too, seems to come completely natural to him.

“THE CLOSER TO WHAT HUMANS SEE, THE BETTER IT IS FOR ME, AND I THINK I CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS BETTER WITH FILM PHOTOGRAPHY”

Words J. Michael Welton

RENEWING THE NORTON

Foster + Partners renovates a classic 1941 Art Deco Museum in West Palm Beach

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Clearly, this was not a renovation for the faint of heart.

But after nine years, the sleek stucco-and-terrazzo results have created nothing short of spectacular. “2010 was the first site visit by Foster + Partners’ Michael Wurzel,” said Hope Alswang, executive director at the

Norton. “We were a 12-year-old Volkswagen, and then someone handed us a Lamborghini.”

She’s not exaggerating. On February 1, the tag-team of Foster and Wurzel walked a crowd of about 200 reporters, editors and interested parties through their rationale for the redesign. “The original entry was on the east side, a courtyard was at its heart, and you entered on axis,” said Foster. “With the additions, somehow you entered on the side – I got to the original main entrance and there was a sign that said: ‘Oops – this isn’t an entrance. Please follow the sidewalk to the south-facing entrance.’”

Katy Harris/Foster + Partners, Nigel Young/Foster + Partners

Consider the hurdles that Foster + Partners overcame in giving new life to the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida: there was the original 1941 Art Deco design, commissioned to Marion Sims Wyatt, architect of Mar-a-Lago (US president Donald Trump’s Florida golf resort), by Chicago industrialist Ralph Norton and his wife, Elizabeth. There were the two modernist makeovers in the 1990s and 2003, shifting the main entrance away from South Dixie Highway and impairing the original east/west axis in the process.

There was the total renovation over a two-year period, while galleries and collections remained open to the public. And there was an 80-plus-year-old Banyan tree out front, the environmental hero of this story.

THIS WAS NOT A RENOVATION FOR THE FAINT OF HEART 119

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“We went back to the original Beaux Arts design. It had a crossventilation and a lot behind it that we very much liked�

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That would never do for this British architect. The entrance may have shifted, he said, but the most intuitive one was still on South Dixie Highway. “So the first move was to reinstate the entrance – to remove the asphalt and parked cars,” he said. The organizing axis around the courtyard was restored in the process, and suddenly moving through the museum was a breeze again. “We went back to the original Beaux Arts design,” Wurzel said. “It had a cross-ventilation and a lot behind it that we very much liked.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge, though, lay in uncovering surprises while keeping the museum and its collections open to an appreciative public. “The unknown is always hidden away,” he said. “And there was the concept of a museum that remained open through construction for two years, with artwork and the building around it.”

Both architects call that ancient Banyan tree on South Dixie Highway the main protagonist of this renovation.

It was there when the original building went up, and it’s thrived ever since. Now the roofline scoops out to meet its branches, and its roots remain intact. “It’s such

a signifier,” he says. “No roots were impacted – we did a scanning of them all and looked at how the foundation went out.” Sure, there’s an Oldenberg sculpture out front, and scads of classical and contemporary pieces inside. But this museum’s a gem unto itself – with a Banyan tree that only adds to its sparkle.

AÏSHTI BY THE SEA ANTELIAS | 04 717716 EXT 232 AÏSHTI DOWNTOWN BEIRUT | 01 991111 AÏSHTI DUNES CENTER VERDUN STREET | 01 793777

SUMMER ESCAPE

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Varenna and St. Tropez provide soul and inspiration for two dream trends. Get ready, get dressed, go!

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Chloé 1. Balenciaga 2. Cult Gaïa 3. Alexander McQueen 4. Dsquared2 5. Chloé 6. Valentino 7. Gucci 8. Off-White 9. Amina Muaddi 10. Burberry 11. Off-White

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AĂŻshti by the Sea, Antelias T. 04 71 77 16 ext. 274 and all AĂŻzone stores T. 01 99 11 11 Follow us on instagram: @melissashoeslebanon

SUN-SPLASHED SIREN PHOTOGRAPHY BACHAR SROUR STYLING CHARLES NICOLA SHOT ON LOCATION AT AQUAMARINA, TABARJA, LEBANON

This page and opposite page: She's in a Saint Laurent swimsuit and Alessandra Rich earrings

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This page: She's in an OsĂŠree swimsuit and MSGM top Opposite page: She's in an Off-White swimsuit and Prada skirt

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This page: She's in an Alberta Ferretti dress

Opposite page: She's in a Saint Laurent swimsuit and Balenciaga top Model Asya at Velvet Management Hair Edimar Chawiche at AĂŻshti Spa Makeup Dina Younes at AĂŻshti Spa

MY ITALIAN FLING PHOTOGRAPHY STEFAN GIFTTHALER STYLING AMELIANNA LOIACONO SHOT ON LOCATION IN ITALY

This page: She's in a Moschino total look Opposite page: She's in an Alberta Ferretti total look

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This page: She's in a Prada total look Opposite page: She's in a Valentino tunic and Valentino Garavani sandals

This page: She's in a Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini total look Opposite page: She's in a Dsquared2 dress and Carrera sunglasses, and she's carrying a Michael Kors bag Model Sabina Ruegg at Fashion Model Management Hair and makeup Cosetta Giorgetti

Words Marwan Naaman

A DECADENT DIP INTO A PARISIAN LEGEND

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Les Bains

In Paris, Les Bains blends the glamour of a recent past with the 21st-century’s zeitgeist

Chateau Marmont hotel. Filmmaker Jean-Pierre Marois, who’s owned the building at 7 Rue du Bourg L’Abbé in Paris’ third arrondissement since the 1960s, oversaw four years of renovations to transform the space into a stylish 39-room hotel.

Les Bains is something of a Parisian legend. In the 1980s and ‘90s, the place (then named Les Bains Douches) was the French capital’s most iconic club, the place to be for stars, celebrities, fabulous people and all those who longed to bask in their limelight. At the door, the infamous Marie-Line would size guests up and down, all of them dying to cross the club’s threshold.

She would then blink and utter the most dreaded sentence for partygoers: “Désolée... Ce soir, je crois que ça ne va pas être possible.” (Sorry, it’s not going to be possible tonight.) Inside, the likes of Roman Polanski, Catherine Deneuve, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Andy Warhol, Linda Evangelista, David Bowie, Kate Moss and Yves Saint Laurent danced, drank and dove into the mosaic tile pool, from the late night into the early morning hours. Les Bains was Paris’ answer to New York’s Studio 54, and when it closed in 2010, it took with it a temple of freedom and a whole era of raucous revelry.

While it reopened briefly in 2013 as an artist’s residence, it wasn’t until 2015 that Les Bains took on its current incarnation as a dreamy boutique hotel, this time around tapping into the vibes of LA’s star-studded

As envisioned by interior designer Tristan Auer, the rooms and suites are plush cocoons of quiet decadence, with rust-red sofas inspired by the one inside Warhol’s Factory, green linens and mahogany furniture. Some of the courtyard-facing rooms have lovely balconies filled with a profusion of plants, adding to the leisurely vintage feel of the establishment. The bathroom is accessible via a shiny white door and disappears completely once the door slides seamlessly shut.

Les Bains’ previous life, as a glamorous and exclusive nightclub, is most evident in its bespoke spaces. To the right of the main entrance you have the Salon Chinois, a cozy boudoir with its own fireplace and reserved for hotel guests. Drinks are available here amid 19thcentury artworks under a soft light streaming through

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the China-inspired stained-glass windows. And if you want to hold an extra special event, you can reserve the Salon Secret, a stunning Parisian apartment designed

by Auer and accessible via private elevator. For a complete change of mood, you can head to Les Bains’ underground wellness space, where you’ll find a vitality pool with massage jets and a steam room.

Back on the ground floor, Roxo restaurant and bar, which opened in late 2018, is one of Les Bains’ most visually pleasing spots. First the bar. This ultra-popular destination, where locals and visitors congregate after work hours and well into the night, has a sculptural bar in the center of the space, with golden lights emanating from a volcano-like red ceiling. Here, barman Eric Sablonière heads an all-star mixology team that includes current French cocktail champion Benjamin Cousseau. Some of Paris’ most inventive and delectable cocktails are served at Roxo bar, and they include a reinvented Bellini prepared with a red fruit purée.

The restaurant that’s part of the space operates under the culinary wand of Brazilian-born chef Bruno Grossi, who worked with the likes of Marcus Wareing and Guy Savoy. Open from 7am until 11pm daily, and serving all three meals plus afternoon fare, the restaurant is particularly charming at dinner, when revelers congregate around small dishes to share. Some menu highlights include green asparagus with candied lemon, filet of roasted quail with grape molasses, caper falafels and tapioca fingers with Comté cheese.

After drinks and dinner at Roxo, you can head to the club, located under the hotel. Although the space has been revamped, the famed swimming pool is still there, as is the original Philippe Starck-designed black-andwhite checkered dance floor from the ‘70s. With these vintage touches, the hotel draws a palpable timeline from its fabled past to its dazzling current incarnation.

For more info, visit lesbains-paris.com

Words J. Michael Welton

DESIGNING FOR PEOPLE How architects and landscape architects created a human scale for New York’s Hudson Yards

To call Hudson Yards in Manhattan colossal would be an understatement. Not since Rockefeller Center has a mixed-use development of this magnitude been undertaken in New York City. With five super-tall towers and 11 million square feet on 28 acres, it’s the largest private development in the history of the United States.

Its first phase opened on March 15. A matching development closer to the Hudson River is now being designed. The first, master-planned by KPF, features two towers by that firm, another by SOM and still another by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group.

They’re joined by a shopping center with interiors from Elkus Manfredi. The towers reach as high as 1,300 feet; at ground level they’ve been brought down to human scale by landscape architects Nelson Byrd Woltz.

The development derives its name from the working rail yard beneath it, originally built in 1908 to connect Grand Central Terminal to New Jersey via a tunnel beneath the Hudson River. Here, 21st-century engineers have placed about 300 concrete caissons, rising 16 feet above and sunken 40 feet down into bedrock, between the tracks. Atop the caissons, they built a seven-foot “sandwich” of concrete. In between two layers are all the wiring, pumps and pipes to power the project. “The heroes here are the engineers,” says landscape architect Thomas Woltz. “They’re building a new neighborhood in the city all at once, over a pit of trains in Hell’s Kitchen.”

That’s right: it’s cooled from temperatures that rise to 150 degrees, a byproduct from the trains running below. “There’s air conditioning that’s cooling the trains, but it’s spewing hot air outside,” says Michael Samuelian, a former planner at Related Companies, the developer. “We’re cooling the soil by running air through the concrete slab so the tree roots don’t get shocked by the temperature below.”

Rainwater drains into a 60,000-gallon collection tank that stores and reuses it to irrigate the site’s 225 new trees – including garden settings of Hudson Valley native species like oak, black gum and bald cypress – for a net-zero impact. There are also 28,000 shrubs and perennials planted. “It’s a gentle space in a tough part of the city,” Woltz says. “It’s a much-needed intersection of landscape metabolism.” He wanted to create a humane space the scale of people among tall towers of glass and steel. “The goal is to welcome them through the ellipse, and to create a ceiling plane with the trees, making it the living room of New York City,” he says.

Scott Frances/OTTO, Forbes Massie, Related-Oxford

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THE LANDSCAPE Woltz’s landscape design is a graceful series of concentric ellipses that links the buildings to “Vessel,” a climbable sculpture by Thomas Heatherwick that’s meant for viewing the neighborhood – and the city.

Woltz’s design also includes a public plaza, four-and-athird acres in size, with plantings sunk anywhere from 18 inches to seven feet deep, and soil that’s cooled so plants can thrive.

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“It’s a gentle space in a tough part of the city. It’s a much-needed intersection of landscape metabolism”

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THE NEIGHBORHOOD When all is said and done, the development will add more than 50,000 jobs, plus 4,000 new apartments, 10% of them subsidized housing, and even a school.

One of the first residential apartment buildings to be finished was One Hudson Yards, a 38-story building designed by Davis Brody Bond, with lavish interiors

by Andre Kikoski Architect. It opened in 2017, and its 178 apartments filled immediately. It now entertains a waiting list.

Related asked Kikoski for a building interior unlike anything ever done – and he obliged them by creating materials specifically for the project. “We worked with an arts foundry to cast some metal pieces – a huge wall in the lobby is cast from silicon bronze panels,” he says. “We created contemporary Czech light sculptures that are mouth-blown, hand-pulled glass for the lobby ceiling.” Next to nothing came from a catalog. “The materials and techniques were artisan-derived so it was about craftsmanship,” he says. “It has a handmade, beautiful feeling of being organic and special, all together in one executive environment.”

The common areas achieve an emotional level that elevates how people feel when they congregate and create community. “We were not just designing an aesthetic environment, but spaces where neighbors come together,” he says. “It’s cool that architecture can do that – for people to live more fully and richly.”

Sure, Hudson Yards looms over the Manhattan skyline – one tower even looks down on the Empire State Building. But designers like Woltz and Kikoski have worked mightily to create spaces that people can relate to on a personal level. And there’s magic in that.

Words Tracy Lynn Chemaly

IN CONVERSATION WITH NAJLA EL ZEIN One designer is transforming materials, emotions and sensory elements into works that are capturing the world’s attention

Najla El Zein is a Beiruti designer capturing the fascinated attention of galleries, private collectors and world-renowned institutions. Her sculptural seating and pregnant-form benches having been acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London. The 36-year-old, who was born in Lebanon and raised and educated in Paris, recently exhibited a monumental solo show at leading New York gallery Friedman Benda, marking her significance on the world stage.

El Zein completed her studies in product design and interior architecture at France’s famed École Camondo, whose conceptual approach to objects and space, and their connection to one another, have become leading reflections in her own work. However, it was two years spent in Rotterdam, post-graduation, that really founded the direction the artist has pursued ever since.

First working in scenography and then in experimental cinema, she gained integral insights into the capacity for materials to change. “It was like a revelation to see their approach to material,” she says of the cinema work where film was transformed into imagery. “The result was really fascinating to me.”

The second fundamental influence on her work was opening her studio in Beirut in 2011, following her parents’ relocation to Lebanon from Paris. “Things moved very quickly after that,” she reflects. “It was extremely revelatory in terms of who I am and what I want to do.”

In 2012 El Zein showed with the now-closed Lebanese gallery SMO at the inaugural Design Days Dubai, where her enchantment with unexpected materials was

Damien Arlettaz, Daniel Kulka, Courtesy of Najla El Zein and Friedman Benda

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evident. Her wall-mounted lamp made of stainlesssteel spoons was led by her fascination with their reflective nature, shape and curvature. “The material transformed itself on its own,” she says of the resulting imagery of a drop of water. “You forgot about the spoons, and it became something else.”

Such elements of mystery are what charge her work.

“I have an interest in transforming things that are conventional, or using unconventional materials in a different way,” she explains. This mysterious evocation is highlighted in “Breathing Wall,” a three-dimensional installation she created for an apartment-residence lobby, where individual units making up the wall rotate at different times, revealing varied configurations of white and gold diamond-shaped facets, creating what El Zein describes as “a space in movement.”

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Equally enrapturing was “The Wind Portal,” designed for the 2013 London Design Festival and consisting of an eight-meter-high passageway in the V&A, made up of 5,000 hand-folded windmills. “I wanted to tell a story through feelings,” she says, pointing to childhood memories of blowing or running with handheld windmills. It was also led by the context of this gateway situated between the old and new sections of the museum, highlighting the notion of entering or leaving. “We did this by designing wind,” she says of the resulting sensory experience. “You could hear the wind, feel the wind and see the windmills turn.”

The surprise discovery by the passerby and the subsequent engagement with the viewer are themes that recur in her work. “Creating discussion and interaction are very important to me,” she says.

“It’s not about making beautiful things, it’s about creating something that does something, revealing a hidden layer.”

The Friedman Benda show, “Transition,” did just that. An exhibition of three collections of work, all inspired by her own personal transformation as a wife, mother and lover, creates a unified dialogue that references human states such as desire, emotional disorder, femininity and introversion. “Distortion” benches show pregnancy in stages, as bumps protrude from the concrete seats at different heights and positions, while “Fragmented Pillars” reference the disruption and fragility that come with such life-changing moments. In the “Seduction” series of stone-sculpted benches lies a story about the varying degrees of human connection, illustrated by benches standing either on their own, or as two pieces of stone sensuously intertwined.

Although the materials in these new works aren’t ostentatious enough to distract from the story, their careful consideration – from soft, cool concrete to sand and plaster, travertine and sandstone – is all part of the conversation, the mystery of which is left for the viewer to uncover.

AVAILABLE IN LEBANON: AÏSHTI DOWNTOWN, AÏSHTI BY THE SEA, AÏZONE BEIRUT SOUKS, AÏZONE ABC ASHRAFIEH, AÏZONE ABC DBAYE, AÏZONE ABC VERDUN 01 99 11 11 EXT. 140, DUBAI: DUBAI MALL T. +971 4 3882 270, MIRDIFF CITY CENTER +971 4 284 3007, JORDAN: CITY MALL +962 6 582 3724, KUWAIT: THE AVENUES MALL +965 2259 8016

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Words Niku Kasmai

FASHION THAT SUSTAINS US 180

This page: Gucci Opposite page: Burberry

© Gucci, BFA-Matteo Prandoni

Ethics and respect for the environment are integral to 21st-century fashion

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“MODERN LUXURY MEANS BEING SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE”

from its collections completely as of spring 2018. The second pillar, humanity, sees the company recognize the value of its employees by pushing for gender quality, diversity and inclusion. And thirdly, Gucci is developing new business models, ones that are designed to improve efficiency while fostering innovation.

RESPECT STELLA MCCARTNEY When it comes to environmental awareness, Stella McCartney is a true pioneer. The label never used animal fur – cruelty-free fashion was and remains central to the brand ethos. In addition, Stella McCartney has been at the forefront of innovation, coming up with new ways of creating silk, using alternative (vegetarian) materials for leather and sourcing wool from animal welfare farms.

But Stella McCartney is also concerned about other aspects of production: regenerated cashmere, sustainable viscose and organic cotton are three key, environmentally friendly materials used to create the brand’s signature looks.

Stella McCartney also collaborates with various NGOs – such as Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Parley for the Oceans and many more – as a reflection of its company values.

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Luxury fashion has moved into new territory, one that’s set by an educated, environmentally conscious 21st-century consumer. Increasingly, trendsetters are demanding to know how the clothes they’re buying are produced, and whether the brand they love is pursuing a sustainable production course. Customers want the real behind-the-scenes story – they need to know how each item they’re buying was made and who and what was involved. The world’s top brands have taken note, and they understand that in order to retain their clientele, they must integrate sustainability into their narrative.

BURBERRY GOES GREEN Last year, Burberry made headlines due to its business policy of destroying unsold product – millions and millions of dollars’ worth of stock. The negative press surrounding this practice did much harm to the brand’s reputation, showing that consumers were indeed concerned about the business practices of luxury labels.

GUCCI’S CULTURE OF PURPOSE Gucci is placing ethical considerations at the heart of its brand. “Gucci is committed to a culture of purpose, putting environmental and social impact at the heart of the brand,” said president and CEO Marco Bizzarri.

“Together, by committing to a culture of purpose, taking responsibility and encouraging respect, inclusivity and empowerment, we want to create the necessary conditions for a progressive approach to sustainability.”

Gucci’s 10-year Culture of Purpose sustainability plan, unveiled in 2017, rests on three pillars. First, the environment. The company plans to reduce its environmental impact by ensuring that 95% of its raw materials are traceable. Gucci also eliminated animal fur

This page: Burberry

In response, Burberry quickly announced that it would immediately halt its practice of putting unsold goods in a landfill.

In parallel, new chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci announced that his first collection for the British brand (spring/ summer 2019) would be absolutely furfree. “Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible,” said Burberry’s chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti. “This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success.

We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products.”

DVF AND LONGEVITY Starting with the iconic wrap dress that she invented in 1974 and moving on to her embrace of bold colors and patterns, Diane von Furstenberg has always had her pulse on what fashion lovers wanted. After nearly 50 years in the fashion industry (she launched her eponymous brand in 1972), the designer continues to be at the forefront of global movements, most notably through her DVF Philanthropy organization. Divided into three segments – DVF Voices, DVF Awards and DVF Gives – the organization allows the designer to leverage her brand in order to help people and communities in need.

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This page: Stella McCartney

When it comes to environmental awareness, Stella McCartney is a true pioneer. The label never used fur – cruelty-free fashion was and remains central to the brand ethos DVF Awards is an annual event, which seeks to support women who have had “the courage to fight, the power to survive and the leadership to inspire.” Every year, DVF Awards singles out five women who are each awarded $50,000 to develop their work within their own communities. Then there’s DVF Voices, a platform for women to connect that organized celebrations on such

key dates as International Women’s Day. Through DVF Gives, the label actively supports causes and organizations, including the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and The Shed, which opened in April 2019 and is New York’s first multi-arts center designed to commission, produce and present performing arts, visual arts and popular culture. Additionally, DVF

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Gives is working with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) on a sustainability roadmap that focuses on innovative textiles and farmed fur substitutes.

THE FUTURE IS ORGANIC These four brands are just a few of the ones currently making a shift toward more environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. They understand that they have a responsibility toward the communities among which they operate. Ultimately, this shift is essential if luxury brands want to retain the 21stcentury consumer.

This page: DVF

ARTSY GEMS PHOTOGRAPHY MOHAMAD ABDOUNI STYLING CHARLES NICOLA SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE AÏSHTI FOUNDATION

She’s in an Alexander McQueen jacket. Her ring and earrings are by George Hakim

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Both pages: She’s in a Vince top, Vince dress, Neous shoes and George Hakim necklace, rings and earrings Model Anastasiia Haltseva at Agents Model Management Hair Edimar Chawiche at Aïshti Spa Makeup Christian Abouhaidar

Words Niku Kasmai

BACK TO THE JET AGE An Eero Saarinen landmark finds new life as a retro-inspired destination

This page: Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport (above) Opposite page: The TWA Lounge at 1WTC (top) and the TWA Hotel’s glass curtain wall (bottom)

Jesse David Harris, David Mitchell, Max Touhey

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The TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport is a mid-century marvel.

Completed in 1962 and designed for Trans World Airlines by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, the building became an icon immediately upon its unveiling, captivating travelers with its futuristic flair. The wingshaped roof, tube-shaped departure and arrival corridors and massive windows – with grand views of moving jets – marked a clear moment in architecture, when designers were looking to the stars and imagining an almost palpable Space Age. Unable to handle the size of modern aircraft, and following the dissolution of Transworld Airlines, the TWA Flight Center closed in 2001. In the meantime, in recognition of Saarinen’s revolutionary vision, the TWA Flight Center’s interior and exterior were declared a New York City Landmark in 1994 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

In May 2019, 57 years after its original launch, Saarinen’s wing-shaped landmark came back to life, this time as the playfully conceived TWA Hotel. MCR, one of the largest hotel owners in the United States, joined forces with JetBlue and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to oversee the complete overhaul of the building, while preserving its architectural importance. The developers added new hotel structures, set back from the original terminal, designed to reflect the TWA Flight Center’s unique look.

In total, the new hotel comprises 512 guestrooms, six restaurants, eight bars,

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conference space and a massive public observation deck.

In keeping with the 1960s spirit of the original structure, the guestrooms – housed in two low-rise buildings – feature Saarinen-designed mid-century modern Knoll furnishings, martini bars, vintage rotary phones and gleaming terrazzotiled bathrooms with Hollywood-style vanities. Wood elements and brushed brass add warmth to the spacious rooms, all of which were designed by New Yorkbased architecture and interior design firm Stonehill Taylor. Outside the rooms, the curved hallway is carpeted in TWA’s

signature red, adding further mid-century flair. “We envisioned a refined guest experience in dialogue with Saarinen’s masterpiece, a serene refuge from which to enjoy views onto one of the busiest airports in the world,” said Michael Suomi, principal at Stonehill Taylor. “Ultimately we wanted the TWA Hotel room to help create the level of excitement for and pride in aviation that travelers once felt during the rise of the industry.”

Emily Gilbert

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The TWA Hotel’s impressive glass curtain wall comes courtesy of US engineering firm Fabbrica. With its seven panes and 11.5-centimeter thickness, it’s the second thickest glass wall in the world after the wall at the US Embassy in London. This means that guests can sleep soundly at any

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time of day and even watch planes take flight without hearing them. “The rooms will provide unparalleled style and comfort to our guests as well as powerful views of Saarinen’s terminal or flights preparing for takeoff through floor-to-ceiling, full-width, soundproofed windows,” said Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR.

The hotel’s eatery is Paris Café, operating under the helm of celebrated chef JeanGeorges Vongerichten. The original Paris Café (and the Lisbon Lounge next door) were originally outfitted by Parisian industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who also created the 1955 Coca-Cola contour bottle, the 1959 TWA twin globes logo, the 1963 Studebaker Avanti and the 1971 Shell logo.

“From the moment guests and visitors arrive at the TWA Hotel, they will find themselves immersed in the ethos of 1962’s rich culture, architecture, sights, sounds and ambiance,” said Morse. “The attention to the smallest of details permeates the entire guest room experience, paying homage to the magnificent landmark and special time in American history.”

This page: Reception desk modeled after Jet Age city center TWA ticket counters (top), MCR’s TWA Collection with a library of historic design and branding books (middle) and David Klein’s Fly TWA Florida (left) Opposite page: Vintage rotary phone in the TWA lounge (top) and the Ambassadors Lounge in TWA Lounge at 1WTC (bottom)

Words Tala Habbal

THE WINDOW WARRIOR Lebanese visual merchandiser Samar Younes is creating amazing window displays across Europe and the United States

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Drawing on a range of skills and using unique techniques to create experiences and tell stories through her work, the multi-faceted Lebanese-born Younes has worked on projects for some of the biggest names in retail, from Selfridges and Harrods to Barneys, Coach, Bloomingdales and Le Bon Marché.

“Unlike typical visual merchandising that primarily deals with merchandise curation and presentation, my multidisciplinary experiential creative approach draws from the variety of disciplines and skills acquired over the years, such as architecture, advertising, sound, lighting, fashion, culinary, interior, object, beauty and art curation,” Younes says,

“injecting a new approach to visual merchandising that is artful and multi-sensory.”

After studying architecture in Lebanon, Younes moved to London where she pursued a degree in design for performance at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design. Younes then relocated to New York where she got her start working on window displays for Anthropologie.

In addition to her stellar portfolio of projects, the 42-year-old has recently launched Samaritual, a consultancy and interdisciplinary design studio, which she hopes will allow her to broaden the scope of her work and empower her to work on more personal projects. “The future is all about the hybrid customer experience,” she says, “the experience in which customers engage with a brand in store in the new ‘digital, interactive, mobile, social’ realm.”

Samar Younes

As a self-proclaimed experiential creative director, visual merchandiser, visual curator and creative strategist, with almost two decades of experience under her belt, Samar Younes blends her background in architecture, art and design to create bespoke window displays for retailers around the world.

“VISUAL MERCHANDISING THAT IS ARTFUL AND MULTI-SENSORY”

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WALKING LEBANON WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY WARREN SINGH-BARTLETT

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Three years ago, as part of my extended farewell to a country I loved passionately, I participated in a month-long, 480-kilometer walk from one end of Lebanon to the other. From Marjeyoun, we wound north, snaking across the southern Bekaa and then up, over and along Mount Lebanon, all the way to Aandquet.

Following the Lebanon Mountain Trail, we stayed with families, enjoying their bountiful hospitality, seeing a side of the country that I suspect even many Lebanese do not know exists. Daily, we were witness to Lebanon’s immense natural beauty, and cultural and historical wealth – all of which, lamentably, is suffering sustained attack. After 19 years in Lebanon as a journalist, the country I encountered was so much richer than I ever imagined.

I am now recording those memories, and others, in my book, Walking Lebanon. Delivered in weekly installments, it is free to read on my website at singhbartlett.com/news. I invite you to walk (vicariously) with me.

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The Old Man in the Tree He says his name is Abu Dehin and he gives us green almonds as we pass and then invites us to sit and have some matte, then regales us with stories of life in Hasbaya’s police. He kisses a Lebanese flag, magicked out of somewhere, and tells us we are all children of the same God and then, with a salute, bursts into a rousing rendition of “Kulluna lil Watan� as we continue our walk.

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Battle Scars Lebanon’s ruins aren’t all ancient. These trenches were excavated by the Syrians. They’ve seen better days but when it comes to leaving a legacy, concrete is not the best choice. Not that the soldiers who dug them were thinking of that. They were probably more worried about surviving winters or Israeli bombardment. Shallow and exposed, I wondered how much they protected against either. My guess? Less than a wing but (possibly) more than a prayer.

And Then, There Was Silence Lake Qaraoun attracts tens of thousands of migratory birds, who come here to rest and mate on their way to and from Africa. When we crossed it on the way to our own rest that evening, the only mating behavior we observed was human. The water reflected a long, sliver of a cloud and the young cypress were in perfect silhouette and for a moment, there wasn’t a sound in the world.

Remembrance of Things Past Lebanon is no stranger to mass relocations. Take the Christians of Majdel Balhiss. They decamped for Canada decades ago, but their church remains open. Likewise, the Muslims of Aaitanit began leaving over a century ago, but their prayer room remains. Neither church nor musalla are used, but both are still cared for by villagers, testament to Lebanon’s tradition of coexistence, a history stronger, more deeply rooted and more important than its history of conflict sometimes suggests.

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Torn The Qannoubine Valley is a gigantic tear in the landscape, one of many rift valleys in Lebanon. As impressive as it is, Qannoubine is far shorter than its big sister, the Bekaa, the northernmost extent of the Great Rift Valley that begins down in northern Mozambique. What Qannoubine lacks in size, it makes up for in drama and from the top of Jabal el Makmel to the valley floor, the drop is a vertiginous 1,700 meters.

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Here Be (Not) Dragons With landscapes like these, it’s easy to understand why the ancients saw mythical creatures everywhere. The Greeks claimed a giant wolf inhabited the Nahr el Kalb gorge, explaining the howling noise it made on stormy nights (hence its modern name). Early Christians believed St. George supposedly left his dragon outside the Al Khodr Mosque, opposite the Forum. As for modern Lebanon, the only mythical beings it believes in appear once every four years (or so) on Nijmeh Square.

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Duke of Hazzard The car, I mean. Not the house. Though it is fit for a duke. But then Jezzine is full of beautiful old homes. The aristocratic arcades of the Kenaan Palace caught my eye, but it was the lime-colored car parked insouciantly in front that made the shot.

Whose was it? The family tearaway’s? Some “funny uncle” experiencing a midlife crisis? There was something so delightfully decadent about it that I had to take the snap.

Stairways to Heaven In Lebanon, you’ll find agricultural terraces everywhere. These beauties are north of Jezzine. You’ll often come across old, disused or even ruined terracing, too, but where they are still in use, the intricate Escher-esque geometries they form can be mesmerizing. Recent archaeological research suggests that Lebanon may be home to some of the oldest terraces in the Mediterranean and some of those in the Batroun region may have been there for more than 12,000 years.

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A Patient Man On a pine-forested hilltop near Niha sits the Shrine of Nabi Ayoub, Job, in English. He allegedly lived here for seven years until the Angel Gabriel split open a rock beneath today’s shrine and told Job to bathe in the water that emerged. It cured his afflictions and made him 50 years younger. “Did it?” I asked the sheikh. “Where is the spring now?” “Ah,” he replied, eyes twinkling, “it doesn’t flow for everyone.”

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He’s the King of the Castle Which makes me the dirty rascal. After picking our way painstakingly across the rocky hillside below the Baatara Sinkhole, we came across this magnificent specimen. Sitting on its own hill, this home, complete with mandaloon windows and Marseilles tiles may look traditional, but it’s new. The house occupies such a perfect lookout position that it came as no surprise when I learned later that it belongs to a former officer in the Lebanese army.

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Dip Me in Honey One of the first things I noticed about Lebanon was the quality of its light. At the end of a summer’s day, for example, when there is just enough dust in the air, the light is so rich, so treacly and so very flattering, that it seems as though, you, the mountains and everything in between, have been dipped into a jar of honey. Golden Hour, a measly 60 minutes elsewhere, lasts almost 90 here.

Fountains of Paradise In the center of a large arcaded square, the ablutions fountain at Tripoli’s Mansouri mosque is a lovely example of early Levantine Islamic architecture. It incorporates elements from Crusader and Roman structures that once stood nearby, a blending and repurposing of different artifacts and civilizations so typical of Lebanon, which despite its recent reputation for sectarian conflict, is a living tapestry of different cultures and faiths that has always been more about accommodation than elimination.

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Man on Mars As sunsets go, this one high above The Cedars was a corker. The mountains reddened, the air thickened and as mist crept up the valley, I flashed on those photos of Marathon Valley beamed home by Rover. Suddenly, I was no longer watching sunset from the top of Mount Lebanon, I was watching it from the top of Olympus Mons on Mars. Overactive imagination? Perhaps, but Lebanon is nothing if not a flight of fantasy.

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Billy No-Mates The English slang term for a person with no friends applies perfectly to this monument. All on its own outside Iaat, no one knows why it exists. Rumors abound. (St.) Helena put it up during her whirl around the Holy Land in search of relics. It’s a victory column, a funerary monument, a puzzle that unlocks a fabulous golden hoard, a stop sign for passing UFOs. OK, maybe not, we’ll probably never know for sure.

BEIRUT FRAGMENTS

PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING PROD ANTZOULIS ILLUSTRATIONS MARION GARNIER

This page: She’s in a Prada suit, Oséree swimsuit and Miu Miu earrings Opposite page: She’s in a Jonathan Simkhai top, Cinq à Sept skirt and Loewe belt.

Her bag is by Bottega Veneta

This page: She’s in an Alaïa dress and Loewe belt Opposite page: She’s in an Alaïa dress, Roberto Cavalli pants, Loewe belt and Saint Laurent earrings

Opposite page: She’s in a 16 Arlington dress and Saint Laurent earrings This page: She’s carrying a The Volon bag

This page: She’s in a Saint Laurent top and Saint Laurent earrings. Her bag is by Balmain Opposite page: She’s in an Oséree swimsuit, Dior sunglasses and vintage earrings

This page and opposite page: She’s in a Miu Miu skirt, 16 Arlington top, Miu Miu shoes and Miu Miu earrings. Her bag is by Staud

This page: She’s in an Oséree swimsuit, Unravel Project pants and vintage earrings. Her bag is by Serpui Opposite page: She’s in a Prada suit, Oséree swimsuit, Miu Miu earrings and Prada shoes. Her bag is by Gucci

Words Marwan Naaman

THAT SCORCHING SUMMER Flashback to A Mag’s 2006 Beirut shoot Photography Petrovsky & Ramone

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The shell of the Holiday Inn hotel in the background

When we were putting together A Mag’s 2006 summer issue, we were mirroring a boisterous, upbeat energy that had taken hold of the Lebanese. It had only been a year since we’d regained our independence, and all of us believed that that particular summer would herald a return to Lebanon’s Golden Years. We knew that thousands of Lebanese were returning to their country for the summer holidays, to celebrate Lebanon’s newly regained freedom with their fellow Lebanese. For A Mag, we selected some of the places that best symbolized Beirut’s singular Mediterranean beauty to photograph: the Raouché rocks, the sweeping white-sand beach at Ramlet el Baida, the Manara lighthouse, the Beirut Hippodrome and the Golf Club. Tragically, before we went to print, the July war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out, shattering our hopes and dreams. But rather than give in to despair, we decided to print our issue of A Mag – even while the bombs were dropping overhead.

The result was one of our most breathtaking publications, titled “Lebanon, My Immortal Beloved.” And now, 13 years later, we take a look back at the holiday that never was – and the beauty that continues to shine through.

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Above: Ramlet el Baida Below: The Beirut Luna Park

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Golf Club of Lebanon

Above: Hanna Mitri ice cream Below: Beirut’s old Manara lighthouse

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Above: Beirut Hippodrome Left: Abandoned Beirut home

Beirut’s historic Ahwet L Ezez (glass coffeehouse) in Gemmayze, now permanently closed

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Above: The RaouchĂŠ rocks Left: The Holiday Inn hotel

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Fast Building, 344 Pasteur Street, Gemmayze, Lebanon T. +961 1 562 777 F. +961 1 449 000

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PLAYGROUND

Mayha

Rue Pharaon, Mar Mikhael, mayhabeirut.com Mayha offers a new kind of dining experience in Beirut. The intimate Mar Mikhael restaurant only seats 12 guests, around a circular bar, and offers prix-fixe menus for lunch and dinner. The emphasis here is on Japanese cuisine, and more specifically, omakase, which in Japanese means “I’ll leave it up to you.” In omakasestyle dining, the chef prepares a series of dishes and then serves them – lightest to heartiest – ensuring that they’re always creative and innovative. At lunchtime, Mayha offers either nine-course ($45) or 12-course ($70) menus, while dinner is a gourmet affair with 19 courses priced at $150. Wine and sake pairings are also available for those wishing to maximize the omakase dining event. – Michelle Merheb

Uformel

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COPENHAGEN

Studiestraede 69, uformel.dk Uformel is one of Copenhagen’s most creative restaurants. The 80-seat gourmet spot offers a seasonally changing menu of small dishes, allowing guests to sample four or five courses during each meal, complete with inspired wine pairings. Specials may include such innovative affairs as raw Danish shrimp with horseradish, rhubarb and tomato juice; tartare of Danish beef with dried tomatoes and black pepper; and breast of guinea fowl with lardo, white asparagus and pepper. Each dish bursts with unexpected flavors, capturing the complexities of every ingredient. The lemon tart with vanilla ice cream is a sensuously sweet way to end the meal. With its velvety dark feel and brass and gold colors, as envisioned by designer Søren Vester, Uformel is the ideal destination for a distinctive culinary outing in the Nordic city. – Marwan Naaman

Raya Farhat, Uformel

Where We’re Eating

BEIRUT

A better way to live

AĂŻshti, Seaside Road Antelias, Lebanon T. 04 717 716

Where We’re Eating

LINDESNES, NORWAY

Under

Balyveien 48, under.no Europe’s first underwater restaurant comes courtesy of architecture firm Snøhetta. Named Under and located in Lindesnes in southern Norway, the restaurant is five-and-half meters below the surface, amid the dramatic and icy waters of the North Atlantic. Designed to blend seamlessly with its environment, the concrete structure resembles an artificial reef plunging from the craggy shoreline into the wild sea, a sort of sunken periscope. Inside the 40-seat restaurant, diners get incredible views of the changing seabed throughout the seasons and as a result of the varying weather conditions.

Operating under the helm of Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard, Under is a fine dining institution that offers a seasonally changing menu featuring locally sourced ingredients. In the words of Ellitsgaard: “Fresh ingredients and pure, naked flavors are of the utmost importance to us. At the same time, we want to provide a unique dining experience that ushers our guests beyond their comfort zone.” – Marwan Naaman

Ivar Kvaal

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Phantom Reactor, a new breed of wireless speaker, starting $1,250

AĂŻshti, Seaside Road Antelias, Lebanon T. 04 717 716

BEIRUT

Where We’re Eating

Words Salma Abdelnour

SPECIAL KIND OF CHILL The world’s wildest ice cream flavors

TOURTE DE BLETTES The Nice specialty tourte de blettes – a tart made with Swiss chard, pine nuts, golden raisins and cheese and sweetened with apples and sugar – is incredibly tasty eaten by hand or with a fork. But as an ice cream? It sounds like a stretch, but the flavor wizards at the Nice ice cream shop Fenocchio decided to give it a try. The sweet and savory green scoops became so popular, they’re now a mainstay on the menu at all three Fenocchio branches.

CRAWFISH When it’s crawfish season in Texas and the southern United States, locals get together for messy crawfish boil parties, where they peel and eat mounds of the tiny lobster-like crustaceans boiled in a Cajunspiced broth. Texas’s Red Circle Ice Cream shop wants to capture the thrill of the experience, in ice cream form of course. The Crawfish ice cream scoops at their Houston branch include juicy bits of the shellfish, along with plenty of butter, spices, garlic and a dash of hot cayenne pepper.

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Ice cream has gone totally nuts. Not nuts as in almonds and pistachios.

Nuts as in insane. At least, that’s what anyone who loves having ice cream for dessert might think about the latest flavors, which sound more like breakfast, lunch or dinner than anything resembling a sweet treat. But it’s no surprise that just about every imaginable ingredient is finding its way into ice cream. The urge to eat frozen liquid mixed with a favorite flavor goes back millennia. In ancient Persia, royalty liked to eat frozen rosewater mixed with sh’ayrieh (vermicelli). In 500 BC, the Greeks flavored snow with honey. For modern day ice cream artisans, every ingredient is fair game. Read on for a few fascinating new scoops to taste on your summer holiday.

GHOST PEPPER The Ice Cream Store, a 50-year-old sweets shop in the popular beach town of Rehoboth, Delaware, has done the seemingly impossible: created an ice-cold scoop that will set your mouth on fire. Anyone who loves hot peppers and ice cream need look no further. Ghost Pepper ice cream is named after one the world’s hottest peppers, and it’s made with a base of vanilla ice cream mixed with fresh pepper mash and a hot sauce appropriately named You Can’t Handle This. The freezing temperature of the ice cream won’t even come close to taming the flames on your taste buds. So how hot is this stuff? The store makes you sign a waiver before you try a scoop.

SURFER’S BREAKFAST Breakfast in ice cream form? Yes, please. This scoop is the latest from Humphry Slocombe, the San Francisco shop that also invented the classic Secret Breakfast ice cream flavor, aka cornflakes and milk with a shot of bourbon. Surfer’s Breakfast ice cream melds buttermilk, granola, jam and black sesame, for a protein-and-fiber-packed scoop that will get you in shape to catch some waves, or just fluff out your beach towel and lounge. Humphry Slocombe is no stranger to serving ice cream scoops that double as meals. Its recent inventions include foie gras ice cream, salt and pepper ice cream and prosciutto ice cream.

OLIVE TAGGIASCHE Olives don’t belong anywhere near your dessert – or so you might think before you taste Olive Taggiasche gelato. This flavor comes courtesy of Rome’s iconic Fatamorgana, which specializes in dense, ultra-creamy gelato made with all-natural ingredients. The Taggiasche scoop riffs off the concept that olives and dairy pair perfectly well together (see: Lebanese labneh breakfast). The taste of the fruity black Italian olives is tempered with sugar, for a salty-sweet gelato you’ll find yourself oddly craving morning, noon and night.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE HUMMUS The fact that hummus ice cream now exists means one of two things: the global fascination with chickpea puree has reached its logical conclusion, or the universe is imploding. Like it or not, hummus ice cream is here. But this isn’t just a regular scoop flavored with hummus.

Instead, the frozen dessert is made with a vegan base of chickpeas and tahini mixed with chocolate or vanilla. The ice cream has gotten tons of buzz at New York City’s Hummus and Pita Company, where it riffs off the chain’s mega-popular hummus shakes.

CIGARETTE Smoking a cigarette after dinner is a vanishing tradition, but now there’s cigarette ice cream. The dessert shop IceDEA at Bankgok’s Art and Culture Center is known for its wacky inventions – mushroom ice cream, tofu ice cream, chocolate scoops shaped like steaks – and one of its latest is a cigarette flavor. This scoop is made with a coffee base, so if you like to end your meals with a cigarette and a cup of coffee, now you can have it all.

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AĂŻshti, Seaside Road Antelias, Lebanon T. 04 717 716

How We’re Detoxing

Words Marwan Naaman

BOTTLING THE PARISIAN NIGHT

Fragrances that tell an extraordinary story 260

While Les Bains Douches closed its fabled doors in 2010, the locale has retained its mystique. In fact, the place reopened in 2015 as Les Bains, a bijou hotel that recaptures the glamour of the nightclub’s heyday.

Directly across the street, at 2 Rue du Bourg L’Abbé, the hotel also operates La Boutique Les Bains, an edgy concept store that carries fashion, art and design pieces, as well as the full range of Les Bains Guerbois fragrances and body care products.

The four eaux de parfum that form the range include 1885 Bains Sulfureux, 1978 Les Bains Douches, 2013 Résidence d’Artistes and 2015 Le Phénix. The names and dates reference a key event for the establishment: its initial opening as a spa in 1885, its transformation into a nightclub in 1978, its ephemeral existence as a canvas for the world’s most renowned street artists in 2013 and, of course, its rise from the ashes to become an exquisitely designed hotel in 2015. The scents themselves capture the specific era of Les Bains’ existence, with musk, sandalwood, papyrus and violet combining to

create 2013 Résidence d’Artistes, or cardamom, ginger, patchouli, cedar wood and amber blending to become 2015 Le Phénix.

Les Bains Guerbois products also include scented candles, a three-salt melting body scrub and flamboyant body oil. A treasured piece of Les Bains Paris to take home with you.

Visit laboutique.lesbains-paris.com

Les Bains Guerbois

Some perfumes carry with them the indelible scent of memory. Such is the case for Les Bains Guerbois, an exclusive range of fragrances first launched in 2015.

The line’s inspiration is twofold: first, it harks back to the original Les Bains Guerbois spa, which opened in 1885 and was the first contemporary spa in Paris. The perfume line is also inspired by the legendary 1980s and ‘90s Parisian nightclub Les Bains Douches. Both establishments were set within the same historic building at 7 Rue du Bourg L’Abbé in Paris’ third arrondissement.

Available in all AĂŻzone stores T. 01 99 11 11

Where We’re Detoxing

MARBELLA

The legendary Spanish resort’s story dates back to 1954 when it was founded by Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe.

It was built as the private hideaway home of an Italian duchess on the most beautiful beach of the Mayan Riviera.

XPU-HA, MEXICO

Hotel Esencia

Carretera Cancún, hotelesencia.com Hotel Esencia is a majestic 50-acre estate at the midpoint between Tulum and Playa del Carmen in Mexico. The estate’s provenance as a place of leisure for nobility was the guiding inspiration for its modern reimagining when it relaunched in 2014, and since then it’s picked up countless awards, with The Sunday Times calling it “the most heavenly hotel on Earth.” The main house remains the hotel’s centerpiece, around which footpaths lead to 38 suites and three villas in which guests enjoy privacy and top-notch hospitality. Ideally situated far from huge resorts and the roar of pleasure boats, the immaculate bay of Xpu-Ha is a natural haven where each year sea turtles make their nests.

This season, the hotel continues its story as an ancestral cradle of culture, cuisine and comfort with the launch of new beach-side suites and a coffee bar serving a menu with flavors that will transport you around the regions of Mexico. – Karim Hussain

Hotel Esencia, Marbella Club, Terranea Resort

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Marbella Club, Bulevar Principe Alfonso von Holenlohe, marbellaclub.com Marbella Club was envisioned as a rustic beach club attracting Hollywood film stars and European royalty. The result of Prince Alfonso’s joie de vivre was a carefree utopia that evolved organically from humble intentions and today has benefited from a complete renewal. One example is the Kids Club: 5,000 square meters reserved for children and offering gazpacho-making, gardening, flamenco-yoga, archery, art upcycling and perfume-making. Also new to the Marbella Club is a progressive approach to wellness, including a holistic studio where health practices provide long-lasting benefits to modern-day issues ranging from adrenal burnout and insomnia to weight loss and fitness. A daily agenda of wellness activities includes aerial yoga, Pilates and nutritional wellbeing workshops. The teaching approach is intuitive, deeply nurturing and healing. Expect to reap the benefits of a destination spa within a beach hotel environment without having to compromise on your kids’ good time. – Karim Hussain

LOS ANGELES

Terranea Resort WHEN IT OPENED 10 YEARS AGO, TERRANEA RESORT SET THE STANDARDS FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LUXURY. 100 Terranea Way, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, terranea.com Set on the dramatically lovely Palos Verdes Peninsula, about a 30-minute drive from Los Angeles International Airport, the tranquil, idyllic resort covers 102 acres along the Pacific Ocean. Accommodations encompass 582 guestrooms and suites, including casitas and villas, and The Bungalows at Terranea, which feature spa and wellness-focused amenities. Guest attractions range from a full-service spa and fitness center, to a golf course and four swimming pools. The self-contained destination also offers nine different dining establishments, allowing visitors to experience distinctive cuisines without ever leaving the resort. – Niku Kasmai

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A SPANISH ESCAPADE

Words Marwan Naaman

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THREE IBERIAN CITIES TO MAKE YOU SWOON There’s something special about Spain. I had the privilege of growing up in the south of the country, in Malaga, and got to know Andalusia and its treasures quite well. But the rest of Spain remained mostly unknown to me, and it wasn’t until a recent return trip to the country, to the cities of Madrid, Zaragoza and Valencia, that I got to know – and fall in love – with a place where I grew up but that I perhaps didn’t fully appreciate as a young boy.

MADRID Madrid, while a European capital, often had to take a backseat to other, more high-profile European capitals, like Paris, London and Rome. Even within Spain, vacationers opted for Barcelona and its Mediterranean coastline, or the sun-drenched Costa del Sol in the country’s south.

There was a feeling that Madrid was more insular, less international and perhaps less dynamic that other parts of Europe and Spain. That may have been the case a decade or two ago, but things have certainly changed for the city.

Seemingly overnight, Madrid has taken on an unabashedly cosmopolitan sheen, offerings attractions to rival any metropolis.

First you’ve got incredible museums: the illustrious Prado, with its unparalleled collection of European art; the Thyssen, holding one of the world’s most important collections of 20th-century art; and the Reina Sofia museum, which has a spectacular modern addition by architect Jean Nouvel and is home to Picasso’s breathtaking “Guernica.” The CaixaForum Madrid, a visual feast courtesy of architects Herzog & de Meuron, hosts ancient and contemporary art exhibits as well as various cultural festivals.

In terms of monuments, there’s the spectacular Royal Palace of Madrid, where every picture you snap is Instagram-worthy, and the gorgeous Almudena Cathedral across the way, with its striking chapels and

Romanesque crypt. Plaza Mayor, one of Madrid’s main public spaces, was once the city’s market and is now lined with lively bars and restaurants. Nearby Puerta del Sol, with its famous clock, is the city’s busiest public square.

Then there’s the Parque del Buen Retiro, an urban green lung that covers 1.4 square kilometers. Majestic sculptures and monuments dot the sprawling park, and there are also various lakes and ponds upon which ducks and swans glide at all hours. The park is home to the magnificent Crystal Palace, a translucent glass structure in which art exhibits are held.

Madrid is also a city of neighborhoods, and each one offers a distinctive flavor. The hippest is Chueca, home to the LGBT community and now a hub for trendy cafés, bars, restaurants and stores. The Mercado de San Antón houses produce, meat, seafood, eateries and snack joints on three engaging levels, while restaurants like Casa Salvador and El Pepinillo de Barquillo serve contemporary takes on classic Spanish fare. Madrid Pride takes place in Chueca every year at the end of June.

Malasaña, right next to Chueca, is edgy and happening, with vintage stores, shops operated by young designers and casual bars, while Las Salesas, north of Chueca, is a buzzy, self-contained village with some of the capital’s most creative clothing boutiques.

Near Las Salesas, Salamanca is Madrid’s most expensive neighborhood. Here, you’ll find all the high-end retails stores plus many of the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants.

In Salamanca, Platea is a former cinema that’s been transformed into a gourmet food hall, with varied establishments serving cuisine that’s a cut above the rest.

Madrid’s boundless energy is perhaps one of its most seductive traits. At all times of day and night, there’s something to see or do, while the locals’ friendliness and endless joie de vivre add a festive vibe to virtually any experience.

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ZARAGOZA Zaragoza in Aragón is less than 90 minutes east of Madrid by train, and while it’s Spain fifth largest city, it remains seductively sleepy, off the beaten tourist path, but with untold wonders to discover.

We arrived in the city in the early afternoon, just as stores and establishments were closing down for the timehonored siesta. Businesses in Spain’s major cities no longer shut their doors during the midday hours, but they still

do in Zaragoza, and while it may be inconvenient for visitors, it adds charm to this ancient city with narrow streets, engaging plazas and bijou museums. The best thing to do during the lunch and siesta hours is hit the old town (Casco Antiguo) and sample delectable tapas. Places like La Republicana, Los Victorinos and El Tubo serve such specialties as croquetas (ham croquettes), santurce (sardines with potatoes and tomatoes) and albardilla (pastry with leeks and blue cheese), all best washed down with a glass (or pitcher) of ice-cold sangria.

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Start your foray into Zaragoza by visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, the city’s most photographed monument. This gigantic, awe-inspiring Baroque landmark was constructed between the 17th and 18th centuries and it’s the most important pilgrimage church in Spain after Santiago de Compostela. Highlights include frescoes

by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya. The best views of the Basilica are from across the river – just walk across the stone bridge (Puente de Piedra) that straddles the Ebro river and look back for spine-tingling vistas of the magnificent church.

Nearby, La Seo del Salvador is another major Zaragoza cathedral. While its exterior is less imposing than Our Lady of the Pillar, La Seo’s interior is even more spectacular, featuring a range of Romanesque, Mudéjar, Gothic and Baroque architectural styles, as well as a major collection of artworks. Built between the 12th and 16th centuries and also housing a rare tapestries museum, La Seo was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

Zaragoza once was a major Roman town – it was in fact named after its founder, Emperor Augustus (Caesaraugusta). As such, it possesses significant Roman monuments that can easily be explored during a leisurely morning stroll. Start at the Roman forum, opposite the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. Here, you can purchase a map and entrance ticket to view all Roman sites and artifacts. The ticket will provide access to the Roman forum, Roman theater, Roman baths and Roman walls, as well as the fascinating Roman museum (located inside the forum), which features recreations of the forum and of daily Roman life.

While we were outside the Museo de Pablo Gargallo (the late Spanish sculptor who hailed from Aragón), waiting for it to reopen at 5pm after its midday closure, a middle-aged Spanish musician arrived on Plaza de San Felipe where the

267 Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences

museum is located. He started playing gripping, plaintive Spanish music and as he did, elderly locals gathered around him, as if in answer to his musical lament. They then started dancing in circles, changing partners, swaying to the melody, with smiles on their faces. It was a moment that captured Zaragoza’s ancient traditions and its inhabitants’ sweet, quiet happiness.

VALENCIA From Madrid, it takes less than two hours to reach Valencia by train. We arrived here after our Madrid and Zaragoza sojourns, and chose to stay in the historic center (Citutat Vella), with its cobblestone streets, open-air cafés and architecture that ranges from Roman to Modernist, with a strong Moorish touch. One of the most popular attractions here is the Mercat Central (Central Market), a delightful Art Nouveau structure that now houses a bustling market selling, fruits, vegetables, produce and local specialties.

But Valencia’s top attraction is easily the City of Arts and Sciences, an architectural marvel that encompasses over 350,000 square meters. Mainly designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the City of Arts and Sciences was completed in stages, with the first of seven structures (L’Hemisfèric) inaugurated in 1996, and the last one (covered plaza and performance space L’Àgora) unveiled in 2009.

Each building that forms part of the city is a masterpiece in its own right. The breathtaking science museum for example – El Museu des Les Ciències Príncipe Felipe – looks like the white skeleton of whale, floating atop a body of water. Another building, L’Hemisfèric, resembles an eye that blinks, opening and closing onto the adjoining body of water. L’Hemisfèric includes an IMAX cinema and planetarium, with the projection room situated inside a futuristic sphere.

El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, which first opened in 2005, took 14 years to complete. The visually splendid building,

which looks like a cross between an ocean liner and a spacecraft and has often been likened to a helmet, has three main areas, including a main performance space that seats up to 1,800 guests. L’Àgora, the last of Calatrava’s buildings to be completed (in 2009) is a metallic structure that looks like a pointed ellipse and has been used to host special sporting events. In 2020, the City of Arts and Sciences will get a brand-new structure, courtesy of Spanish architect Enric Geli-Ruiz. His CaixaForum Valencia cultural center, to be set within Calatrava’s Àgora building, is designed to resemble a translucent flying saucer, and will reflect the City of Arts and Sciences’ futuristic feel and purist aesthetic.

After visiting the City of Arts and Sciences, head to the adjoining Turia Gardens. Valencia’s Turia river flowed around the city until the middle of the 20th century, when it was diverted to avoid flooding. The river bed was then transformed into an engaging, visually stunning green space with bicycle trails, running paths, fountains, tennis courts and more, providing a year-round playground for locals and visitors alike.

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Before leaving Valencia, head to the Mercado de Colón.

Housed in a 1916 Modernist landmark that once was a market, the Mercado de Colón is a trendy hub for bars, restaurants and shops that’s buzzing at all times. Choose your favorite spot and order Agua de Valencia. The delicious local specialty is a mix of cava, orange juice, vodka and gin that’s sure to hit the spot after a long day of sightseeing. Raise your glass and say cheers to Spain.

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Palais Amani

FEZ

Where We’re Staying

The Moroccan city of Fez holds Africa’s largest medina.

12 Derb el Miter, Oued Zhoune, Medina, palaisamani.com Fez is a splendid UNESCO World Heritage Site originally founded in the ninth century and whose cultural riches include madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains. Inside the medina lies Palais Amani, an Art Deco riad that was partially rebuilt in the 1930s and now houses 18 guestrooms and suites. The latest offerings at Palais Amani include three new guestrooms designed exclusively with Moroccan products, a cooking school on the hotel’s rooftop (where guests learn to prepare Fassi, traditional Moroccan or Sephardic dishes) and a hiking package that allows guests to experience Berber life while taking in the spectacular landscapes of the Sebou Valley and Rif Mountains. Back at the hotel, the large garden at the center of the palace is a heavenly setting lush with orange trees and resonating with birdsong. Palais Amani provides a distinctive way in which to get to know Fez. – Niku Kasmai

Palais Amani, The Kensington

109-113 Queen’s Gate, doylecollection.com The celebration package includes tickets to view the mustsee exhibition “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams.”

Running until September 1, 2019, the Dior show brings to life the history of one of the world’s most iconic fashion houses with theatrical settings that present the gowns created by designers that include not only Dior himself, but also Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferrè and John Galliano, over seven decades. Set among the leafy squares, museums and parks of the Royal borough, The Kensington feels more like a beautiful private residence than a traditional hotel, making it the perfect base from which to visit not only the V&A, but also the Science and Natural History Museums that are also “on the block.” The three-night package includes a stay in one of the hotel’s sumptuous Signature Suites, two tickets to the exhibition and a round of bespoke The Corolle cocktails. – Karim Hussain

LONDON

London’s V&A has partnered with its neighbor, The Kensington Hotel, to create “The House of Kensington.”

The Kensington

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Aïshti By the Sea, Antelias, T. 04 71 77 16 ext. 272, Aïzone stores and retail sport shops Follow us on instagram @NEWBALANCELEBANON and on facebook New Balance Lebanon

Where We’re Staying

Words Marwan Naaman

NORDIC ADVENTURES A DESIGNER STAY IN COPENHAGEN

Absalon Hotel, Andersen Hotel

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free Wi-Fi, a Samsung LED TV, a minibar stocked with goodies and a Nespresso machine for that necessary shot of caffeine. Toiletries are by Molton Brown, to enjoy in the Philippe Starck bathroom. The yellow rubber duck you’ll find inside the bathroom is yours to take home!

Another most convenient offering is a smartphone to carry with you wherever you go in Copenhagen.

Connected to the Internet and featuring free local and international calls, this nifty device allows you to remain connected wherever you are, whether in the Danish capital or on exploratory adventures outside the city, perhaps to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art or the northern city of Helsingor.

As far as Nordic cities go, Copenhagen is possibly the loveliest. Surrounded by canals and offering a pleasing mix of ancient and ultra-contemporary architecture, Copenhagen is a place that moves to its own beat. The city has almost entirely foregone cars and replaced them with bikes – there are as many bikes lanes as car lanes, and certainly more bikes than almost anywhere else in the world – and at the same time it has invested heavily in beautifying and expanding its public spaces, including parks and historic sites. To get a real taste for Denmark’s capital, it’s important to stay in hotels that reflect Copenhagen’s ethos, places like sister properties Andersen Hotel and Absalon Hotel.

ANDERSEN HOTEL Vesterbro is a vibrant district in Copenhagen. Here, you’ll find the dynamic Meatpacking District, with its trendy restaurants and bars, as well as the famed Tivoli Gardens theme park, a longtime favorite of adults and children alike. Vesterbro is also home to the Andersen Hotel, a colorful boutique property with 69 rooms splashed in festive hues of red, green, fuchsia and turquoise.

While you can stay in a number of stylishly designed rooms (with names like Brilliant, Cool and Wonderful), opt for the spacious Amazing junior suite. These suites feature a comfy oversized bed, a lounge corner with a sofa bed and are flooded with light. Guest amenities include

If you book directly with Andersen Hotel, your room rate includes a sprawling organic breakfast buffet, featuring a selection of freshly baked bread, including gluten-free options, Danish pastries, fruit salad, porridge, cheese, charcuterie, jam, eggs and much more. Breakfast is served in the ground-floor dining area adjacent to the lobby, in a colorful space doused in shades of fuchsia, purple and beige.

Andersen Hotel also provides guests with rental bikes, allowing you to navigate and explore the city at your own pace. There’s no better way to get to know the quietly charming Nordic metropolis.

For more info, visit andersen-hotel.dk

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portion of the bar becomes a restaurant in the morning: this is where a generous buffet breakfast is served daily.

Breakfast offerings include cereal, yogurt, cheese, jam, bread, smoked fish and ham, plus a fresh selection of croissants and Danish pastries: a great way to fuel up before heading out to explore the city.

ABSALON HOTEL Right across the street from the Andersen Hotel stands the stately Absalon Hotel, an elegant 161-room hotel that was founded in 1938 and remains a family owned property. A sister hotel to Andersen, Absalon offers much of the same amenities, but while Andersen feels like an intimate boutique hotel, Absalon is grander, busier and constantly buzzing with upbeat energy.

For your Absalon Hotel stay, choose a super-quiet, topfloor Superior Room, with either courtyard or street views. These spacious havens are created by Londonbased Designers Guild and feature king-size beds, 40-inch LED TVs, free Wi-Fi and Nespresso machines. The sprawling bathrooms all have tubs, plus Philippe Starck design elements. And like the Andersen, Absalon Hotel offers guests a handy smartphone to carry across the city, allowing constant connection and ease of navigation.

One innovative feature at Absalon Hotel is Concept24, available if you book directly with the hotel. Under this novel rule, guests are allowed to keep their room for 24 hours, regardless of their check-in time. For example, if you check in at 8pm, you can keep your room until 8pm the next day – this is particularly convenient if you have a late flight or need to use your room prior to departing the hotel. Concept24 is also available at Andersen Hotel.

When staying at Absalon Hotel, be sure to check out the ground-floor bar. Decorated in a blissful mix of greens, blues, beiges and grays, the bar serves delectable cocktails and regularly hosts musicians, singers and DJs. The back

This being Copenhagen, bikes are available for rent at the hotel, making it easy for you to tour the city. The hotel’s front desk staff can also arrange various other activities for guests. Available 24 hours and fluent in various languages, attendants can organize tours, recommend restaurants (and reserve a table), get Tivoli Gardens tickets or book a sightseeing boat tour along the city’s waterways. Staying at Absalon Hotel, it’s easy to fall in love with the Vesterbro neighborhood – and all of Copenhagen.

For more info, visit absalon-hotel.dk

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What We’re Drinking

Words Salma Abdelnour

Veggies in Your Vodka Cocktails are the new salad

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What if you could solve the two big challenges of summer vacation – too many cocktails, not enough healthy eating – at the same time? Introducing the salad cocktail, a drink that comes packed with so many delicious veggies, it might as well be a salad.

The cocktail engineers at bars and restaurants around the world are coming up with all kinds of ingenious ways to deliver serious veggie nutrients in the form of booze. So go ahead, order another round. You’re on holiday. And don’t worry, cocktails starring these ingredients count as a salad in our book.

RED AND GOLDEN BEETS Cocktails don’t get much more ambitious than the Nazca Lines drink at Dirty Habit in Washington, DC. It’s made with a new brandy-like spirit called Singani 63, and it features sweet red and yellow beets, along with fresh strawberry and black pepper.

Never mind salad: this delicious, nutrientpacked cocktail is like an entire lunch. And if you’re sitting at the bar idly while you sip the drink, ask where its name comes from. Short answer: Nazca Lines are designs in the sand, created thousands of years ago in a Peruvian desert and still visible from the sky.

CARROTS AND CHILI PEPPERS The Convert cocktail has a lot going for it in the veggie department. Not only does it feature sweet carrots and mildly spicy poblano chili peppers, but it also has a base of Amaro Montenegro, a 135-year-old Italian spirit whose secret recipe involves 40 plantbased ingredients. Try the Convert at the Cambridge, Massachusetts restaurant Alden and Harlow, just off Harvard Square.

cocktails, and the bartender will create a stunning procession of drinks based on seasonal vegetables and fruits. One drink you might come across features Japanese yam, a sweet-potato-like root vegetable, warmed up and mixed with the distilled spirit shochu and topped with a shower of grated dark chocolate. Come back another night, and you might taste a drink made with fava beans or tomatoes or spicy wasabi.

FENNEL The sophisticated, licorice-like taste of fennel delivers a flavor punch everywhere it shows up, and that includes cocktails. At London’s Artesian Bar, fennel makes an appearance in a new cocktail called That Moment When You Discovered Who You Were, where it adds its veggie powers to the blend of premium vodka, prosecco, mango and gentian herb.

Will the drink help you discover your identity? We can’t vouch for that, but at least it will make you feel like a grown-up.

PARSLEY, TARRAGON AND CHERVIL In the United States, parsley is typically used just as garnish – which seems unfair to an ingredient that deserves its own starring role, as tabbouleh makes eminently clear. But at the new Existing Conditions bar in New York City, parsley adds a key flavor component to one of the boldest cocktails on the menu, the Fines Green, a brandy sour made with Armagnac, green chartreuse, lemon and simple syrup, and showcasing the tastes of parsley, tarragon and chervil. The bartenders freeze the herbs using liquid nitrogen, then crush and muddle them into the cocktail.

It’s an herb-centric drink that not only looks green. It tastes green too.

JAPANESE YAM Leave it to a Tokyo bar to create some of the most subtle and imaginative cocktails on the planet. At Gen Yamamoto, you can order a tasting menu of omakase-style

Lyaness

LONDON

Sea Containers hotel, 20 Upper Ground, South Bank, seacontainerslondon.com Newly opened Lyaness, inside the totally stylish Sea Containers hotel, is the brainchild of Ryan Chetiyawardana, popularly known as Mr. Lyan and celebrated as one of the world’s leading bartenders. For his latest concept, which replaces the award-winning cocktail spot Dandelyan, Chetiyawardana offers a novel take on the traditional cocktail menu. There are seven core ingredients used, and guests get to choose the one that they prefer, resulting in a sort of participatory experience and distinctively personalized drink. Sipping on a delectable cocktail while sitting on a retro-inspired pale blue sofa, in full view of the River Thames, has got to be one of the most quintessential London experiences. – Marwan Naaman

Raya Farhat, Anthony Ghanimeh, Lyaness

Rue Mar Antonios, Gemmayze Set on Myu’s former digs right off Rue Gouraud, the lively spot has floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, an alfresco terrace and a vast interior space with a bar along its back wall. Open all day long, Café Standard specializes in creative cocktails and serves a restrained menu with such bar favorites as mini burgers, edamame, salads and msakhan (served like soft tacos). Café Standard is particularly lively in the evening and at night, when locals and visitors come out for drinks, nibbles and great music.

You can sit outside, enjoying the Beirut night, or inside at your own table or at the bar – each area has its own charm. – Michelle Merheb

Café Standard

Joe Mourani’s Café Standard is one of the hottest new destinations in Gemmayze.

BEIRUT

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London has a swanky new place to guzzle artisan cocktails.

HOUSE OF BUTLERS Rue Pasteur, Gemmayze, Beirut

Have you been to Beirut’s newest cocktail joint? The recently opened House of Butlers, set on Rue Pasteur and spilling out onto the sidewalk, serves up intoxicating and highly creative drinks, all prepared by on-site mixologists. With a row of golden bottles in the background, and sitting either on comfy couches or plush bar stools, you can sample such concoctions as Bramble, deliciously addictive and made with gin, raspberry purée and lime juice, or the above par Negroni, blending Campari, sweet vermouth, gin and bitters. Martini lovers can opt for the sinful Espresso Martini, prepared with vodka, espresso, coffee liqueur and simple syrup – a great alternative to your standard evening cup of joe. Come just before sundown and stay until well after midnight.

– Marwan Naaman

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Words Marwan Naaman

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THE LAST PAGE YEW BROUGHT IT UP There’s something sensuously intriguing about Christina Quarles’ paintings. The 34-year-old artist, who was born in Chicago and now lives in Los Angeles, creates carnal, semi-figurative paintings that explore serious themes, such as racial and sexual identities, yet at the same time still exude a feeling of happiness. In recognition of her work, Quarles has received various awards, including the inaugural Pérez Prize from the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2019. The painting featured here, “Yew Brought It Up,” was completed in 2018 and is currently on view at the Aïshti Foundation, as part of the “Trance” exhibit.

AD Beatrice Rossetti - Photo Federico Cedrone

FLEXFORM BEIRUT Aïshti Home Solutions Tel. 04 717 716 ext 403 athome@aishti.com

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