Prestige Hong Kong _ Jun 2019

HONG KONG JUNE 2019 HK$50

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RICHARD EKKEBUS AGAINST THE TIDE

WATCHES OF THE YEAR | HONG KONG’S BEST CANTONESE CUISINE SUN, SURF AND STYLE IN SYDNEY | RIDING HIGH IN THE AUDI Q5 PLUS TADAO ANDO | ELIZABETH DEBICKI | SASKIA DE ROTHSCHILD

UNDERCOVER

FISHY BUSINESS

NIC GAUNT; GIGI LEE

The morning of our cover shoot with Richard Ekkebus, superstar Hong Kong chef and culinary director of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, dawned hot, humid and perfectly overcast for our first location at Big Wave Bay. The boy from the seaside jumped right in – literally – splashing around with a supporting cast of fish, crabs, oysters and veggies while stylist Tasha Ling sweated over the designer duds Ekkebus favours when he’s not in his chef whites. Our goal was to show a different side to the top chef and it’s safe to say Nic and Bex Gaunt delivered, and then some. “Richard was so much fun to work with,” says Bex Gaunt.

“He was totally game for striding into the sea and getting thoroughly soaked, and had no qualms about us putting a live crab on his head!

He was brilliant.”

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CONTENTS 16 18 20 135 160

UNDERCOVER EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS DIARY WATCHES 2019 BACKSTORY

AGENDA

22

EDITOR’S PICKS What’s on our radar

24

STYLE Rock your wardrobe

29

DISCOVERY Ones to watch

30

JEWELLERY A cornucopia of stone and metal

32

BEAUTY Shades, salves and scents

34

TRAVEL Goss for globetrotters

36

DINING Tickling the taste buds

38

ART Masters old and new

39

AUCTIONS Going, going…

40

TOYS Cool kit to covet

42

THE THIRTYSIX BAR & CO Taken to Cask

44

MET GALA Fashion Camp

50

WOMENSWEAR Lady of the Lake

58

LOUIS VUITTON House of Wonders

60

SHIATZY CHEN Stitches in Time

62

ALISON LOEHNIS Unfinished Product

66

PRODUCTS Flight Plan

68

TATA HARPER Force of Nature

70

SKINCARE Doctors’ Orders

74

RICHARD EKKEBUS Sea Change

VIP

FASHION

BEAUTY

COVER

74 Richard Ekkebus

JACKET DONDUP AT HARVEY NICHOLS T-SHIRT AMERICAN EAGLE

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NIC GAUNT

8

CONTENTS PEOPLE

84

ELIZABETH DEBICKI Woman on the Verge

88

ARCHITECTURE Tadao Ando

92

ART & ANTIQUITIES SerpentiForm

96

COLLABORATION Daniel Arsham x Rimowa

TOYS

CARS Audi Q5

RSVP

102

EVENTS On the town

112

DINING Hong Kong’s best Cantonese cuisine

118

WINE Saskia de Rothschild

122

TRAVEL St. Regis Aspen Resort

126

TRAVEL Sydney’s waterside charms

130

TRAVEL Ducasse sur Seine

132

RESORT Robinson Club Khao Lak

INDULGENCE

126 Surf’s up in Sydney

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DESTINATION NSW

98

CULTURE

8°0 COLLECTION

HONG KONG

Tama Miyake Lung EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gigi Lee

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Jon Wall

Zaneta Cheng

SENIOR EDITOR

Stephen Reels

FASHION & FEATURES EDITOR

P.Ramakrishnan

COPY EDITOR

Jeremy Wong

SOCIETY EDITOR

Michael Alan Connelly

Sepfry Ng

EDITORIAL INTERN

Fontaine Cheng

DIGITAL EDITOR

ART DIRECTOR

James Carver

SOCIETY EDITOR AT LARGE

Dara Chau

HEAD OF DIGITAL CONTENT

Jing Zhang

EDITOR AT LARGE

Aydee Tie

DIGITAL WRITER

Philip Chan

SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER

HEAD OF MARKETING

Janet Ho

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Kavita Daswani, Andrew Dembina, Alvin Goh, Nick Goodyer, Mark Graham, Divia Harilela, Theresa Harold, Gary Jones, Elle Kwan, Gerrie Lim, Tasha Ling, Stephen McCarty, Joanne Ooi, Mathew Scott, Stephen Short, Payal Uttam, Joe Yogerst CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Dino Busch, Until Chan, Lionel Deluy, Christiaan Hart, Chun Ho, Joe Kwong, Ruby Law, Ricky Lo, Gordon Lund, Marco Ponti, Mike Ruiz, Laurent Segretier, Samantha Sin, Calvin Sit, Giovanni Squatriti, Olivier Yoan

PRESTIGE ASIA

Grace Tay

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, SINGAPORE

Chris Hanrahan

MANAGING EDITOR, INDONESIA

Steve Chen

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, TAIWAN

Julie Yim

ACTING EDITOR, MALAYSIA

François Oosthuizen

MANAGING EDITOR, THAILAND

The Hong Kong edition of Prestige is published under licence from Burda Singapore Pte Ltd. Copyright © 2019 Hubert Burda Media Hong Kong Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of Hubert Burda Media Hong Kong Ltd. All opinions expressed in Prestige Hong Kong are those of the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by Hubert Burda Media Hong Kong Ltd. Rights reserved. Prestige is a trademark of Burda Singapore Pte Ltd. Hubert Burda Media Hong Kong Ltd accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, transparencies or other materials lost or damaged in the mail.

Address all editorial and business correspondence to: Prestige Hong Kong, Unit 1401-04, 14/F, Universal Trade Centre, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 3192 7010. Advertising and Marketing: salesandmarketing@burda.hk | Editorial: editor@burda.hk Prestige Hong Kong is printed by C. A. Printing Co. Ltd, 9/F, Cheung Wei Industrial Building, 42 Lee Chung Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2866 8733.

Prestige Hong Kong is published monthly. Single copy price is HK$50. For local and overseas subscription information, please email: subscription@burda.hk. Tel: (852) 3192 7020.

CYPRIS WHITE SWAN RING WITH TWO CABOCHON RUBIES AND 183 ROUND DIAMONDS BOUCHERON

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HONG KONG

Sven Friedrichs

INTERIM MANAGING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER

Tony Cheong HEAD OF SALES

Janet Wong

Wendy Cheung

ASSOCIATE SALES DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE SALES DIRECTOR

Astor Chan

Sammy Heung

CREATIVE SERVICES MANAGER

SALES INTERN

Talia Jackson

HEAD OF CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Brian Bailey

Linda Mak

PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR

Georgia Parungao

CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER

Prudence Ng

Annie Yung

OFFICE MANAGER

Grace Wu

CONTENT LEAD

PARTNERSHIPS INTERN

Daisy Wan

ACCOUNTANT

ACCOUNT OFFICER

PRESTIGE ASIA

Lena Kwek

Ronald Liem

MANAGING DIRECTOR, SINGAPORE

PUBLISHER, INDONESIA

Steve Chen

PUBLISHER, TAIWAN

Steven Chan

PUBLISHER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, MALAYSIA

Waraporn Siriboonma PUBLISHER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, THAILAND

INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES BURDA COMMUNITY NETWORK Germany Vanessa Noetzel Tel: (49 89) 9250 3532 Email: vanessa.noetzel@burda.com Michael Neuwirth Tel: (49 89) 9250 3629 Email: michael.neuwirth@burda.com Austria / Switzerland Goran Vukota Tel: (41 44) 810 2146 Email: goran.vukota@burda.com France / Luxembourg Marion Badolle-Feick Tel: (33 1) 72 71 25 24 Email: marion.badolle-feick@burda.com UK / Ireland Jeannine Soeldner Tel: (44 20) 3440 5832 Email: jeannine.soeldner@burda.com USA / Canada / Mexico Salvatore Zammuto Tel: (1 212) 884 4824 Email: salvatore.zammuto@burda.com BURDA INTERNATIONAL Italy Mariolina Siclari Tel: (39 02) 9132 3466 Email: mariolina.siclari@burda.com

Martin Weiss

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Sven Friedrichs

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ASIA

Chua Siew Gek

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR

THE FOUR SEASONS OF TIFFANY HIGH JEWELLERY COLLECTION EARRINGS WITH TWO CUSHION-CUT PINK SAPPHIRES AND 400 ROUND PINK SAPPHIRES TIFFANY & CO.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

TASTE SENSATIONS As a resident of Hong Kong and an editor for local lifestyle publications for the past decade, I’ve eaten at my fair share of restaurants both gritty and grandiose. But only a few really stand out among the lot and, except for the secret North Point sushi spot I’m keeping to myself, my first recommendation when anyone asks about my favourite local restaurants has always been Amber.

Ever since my initial visit, a leisurely post-wedding brunch with friends about nine years ago, Richard Ekkebus and his team have impressed with their exquisitely presented dishes that manage to be light and intensely flavourful at the same time. I can still remember tasting more than a dozen dishes back to back from a new seasonal menu and walking out of the restaurant feeling nothing but immense satisfaction.

So when I heard the news that Amber would be closing for six months and reemerging with a new look, a new menu and an entirely new philosophy, my interest was obviously piqued. And what better way to celebrate this bold new venture than to talk to the man responsible for it?

Society editor P.Ramakrishnan’s conversation with Ekkebus reveals the motivation for the changes while Nic and Bex Gaunt’s photographs perfectly capture the Dutchman’s love of the sea and his craft. As you’ll see and read, Amber is much more than a restaurant and Ekkebus is much more than a chef. The initiatives they’re implementing, from supporting local craftsmen to reducing our consumption of refined sugars, have the potential to drive real change in Hong Kong.

No doubt this is an exciting time for Amber, for Hong Kong and, not least of all, for our taste buds. Not to be left out, we also shine a light this issue on the city’s finest Cantonese restaurants. These venerable institutions are home to some of our favourite food, Chinese and otherwise, and it’s only right that they are recognised as well.

Elsewhere, senior editor Jon Wall reports back from SIHH and Baselworld on the most covetable watches of 2019 while editor-at-large Jing Zhang describes her recent visit to the beautiful shores of Sydney. Fashion and features editor Zaneta Cheng has also crisscrossed the globe of late, and shares her adventures with Louis Vuitton in France, Shiatzy Chen in Taiwan and the brand-new Robinson Club in Thailand.

June is shaping up to be a great month. We look forward to joining you wherever your plans take you, which hopefully include a meal – or two or three – at Amber.

Tama Miyake Lung | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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HONG KONG JUNE 2019 HK$50

RICHARD EKKEBUS AGAINST THE TIDE

WATCHES OF THE YEAR | HONG KONG’S BEST CANTONESE CUISINE SUN, SURF AND STYLE IN SYDNEY | RIDING HIGH IN THE AUDI Q5 PLUS TADAO ANDO | ELIZABETH DEBICKI | SASKIA DE ROTHSCHILD

PHOTOGRAPHY NIC GAUNT ART DIRECTION BEX GAUNT STYLING TASHA LING facebook.com/prestigehongkong @prestigehk

@Prestige_HK

CONTRIBUTORS

For patrick jendrusch, fine art has always been an important source of inspiration, combining the timeless with the transitory nature of fashion. Born in Germany and currently based between Berlin and Southeast Asia, he studied classical painting and photography in Rome and continued his studies in the Netherlands. Jendrusch’s works have been featured in international magazines such as Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. For his Prestige debut, he captures the beauty of nature and the spring/summer womenswear collections at Hong Kong’s Nam Sang Wai wetlands (“Lady of the Lake”, page 50).

syan leung has worked in styling at Farfetch, visual merchandising at Joyce and fashion coordination at Calvin Klein, but he especially enjoys putting together fashion editorials. The stylist and art director has been published in numerous magazines around the world, including this issue of Prestige (“Lady of the Lake”, page 50). Other clients include celebrities and advertising agencies, while Leung is also the founder and fashion director of Mindly.journal, a Hong Kong-based online magazine.

nic and bex gaunt are photographers who specialise in painting with light and finding unique perspectives. Whether a portrait, a fashion shoot, interiors, fine art, or food and beverages, their images are infused with humour and surrealism, and impart textures and a unique atmosphere that renders their work evocative and instantly recognisable. Originally from the UK, the couple has been based in Hong Kong for the last eight years, where they live with their 12-year-old daughter Cymy. In this issue they capture chef Richard Ekkebus in his elements — the seaside and the kitchen — for our cover story (“Sea Change”, page 74).

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SCAD

COMBINES INNATE CURIOSITY WITH

PROFESSIONAL FINISH.” Cameron Campbell-Wilkens

Principal design strategist OneDesign Digital Devices at Amazon

Courses of study are registered with the Hong Kong Education Bureau, registration numbers: 261958-261971, 262196-262202 and 262909. It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognize any qualification to which these courses may lead.

DIARY

HONG KONG

Until July 7

VAN GOGH ALIVE — THE EXPERIENCE Explore Vincent van Gogh’s artistic journey in this stunning multisensory display of more than 3,000 images of his artworks projected across the walls, columns and floors of the exhibition space at FTLife Tower.

ASIA-PACIFIC

Until June 29

WELCOME TO THE PARADE Through this exhibition by Ota Fine Arts Tokyo, artists Akira the Hustler and Jong YuGyong, born 22 years apart, challenge society’s notion of “ordinary living” from the perspective of minority groups subjected to prejudice and discrimination — Akira is gay while Jong is a third-generation ethnic Korean living in Japan.

June 6-23

DARK MOFO Held by the Museum of Old and New Art over three weeks, Tasmania’s winter festival dishes up a bold programme of art, music and gastronomy while exploring rituals and sociopolitical ideology through exhibitions, performances and symposiums.

June 21-24

June 22

UNDER THE LION’S ROCK Having recently been put forward for inclusion in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, breakdancing is capturing a new generation of practitioners and followers. Under the Lion’s Rock aims to inject this energy into the local breakdancing scene, with top dancers from around the world converging on Hong Kong to showcase their skills in the competition.

EUROPE & THE AMERICAS

Until June 15

CY TWOMBLY: NATURAL HISTORY Bastian London presents two of American post-war artist Cy Twombly’s most significant portfolios — Natural History I and II — that explore the relationship between natural and human history, and man’s desire to categorise the unknown.

June 21-23

FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL Camp and party in style to an impressive international line-up — including Norwegian DJ Kygo, and American artistes Travis Scott and Panic! At The Disco — at the largest camping and music festival in the East Coast, taking place at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware.

June 26-28

YUGEN As part of the 2019 Art+Tech Summit: The A.I. Revolution, Christie’s New York presents a special exhibition featuring Yugen, a moving-image piece combining art and artificial intelligence that was created by filmmaker and artist Martha Fiennes, and features actress Salma Hayek Pinault.

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PEARCEY PROPER (FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL)

June 14-16

HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT CARNIVAL Dating back some 2,500 years, dragon-boat racing is an indelible fixture of the season. While the Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 7 this year, the official CCB (Asia) Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races take place a week later in Victoria Harbour. Thousands of racers and spectators at the Central Harbourfront venue ensure a fullblown party, complete with man-made beach, music performances and a street-food gala.

STORYFEST 2019 The third edition of this annual festival brings local and international storytellers to Singapore’s The Arts House to celebrate storytelling as an art form. Expect a variety of workshops, masterclasses and a curated art exhibition, under the theme Make Believe.

LE CADRE GALLERY Hong Kong tel. +852 25261068 lecadre@netvigator.com

ASIAN BRAND REPRESENTATIVE Antonio Tien Loi Tel. +65 91865033 info@tienloi.it

AGENDA editor’s picks SOCIETY EDITOR P.RAMAKRISHNAN IS TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC THIS SUMMER, THAT SON OF A BEACH

FEATURING HAND-PAINTED PRINTS INSPIRED BY THE AQUARIUM LIGHTERS IN THE DUNHILL ARCHIVE, THIS BEACH BAG IS BEAUTIFUL — AND PRACTICAL

THE NEW LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN PERFORMANTE SPYDER MADE ITS HONG KONG DEBUT LAST MONTH AND IT’S BEEN RUNNING CIRCLES IN MY ROSTER OF COVETED CARS. I CAN’T DRIVE, BUT I CAN DREAM

I MAY BE SEEN IN PUBLIC AT THE MOST GLAMOROUS SOIRÉES, BUT I’M A BLUE-COLLAR GUY AT HEART. ESPECIALLY IF THAT COLLAR IS HEMMED

BY TOM FORD

AS I’M ALWAYS RUNNING LATE, I PLAN TO GET BACK ON SCHEDULE — AND IN STYLE — WITH THE EXQUISITE SANTOS DE CARTIER

Summer Blues

In the thick of Hong Kong’s humid, acrid season, I’m keeping it cool with these inspired accessories.

My rose-tinted glasses are starting to look a little turquoise...

VILEBREQUIN AND DESIGNER JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC HAVE COLLABORATED ON A BEACHWEAR CAPSULE COLLECTION — AND IT’S BRIGHT, BOLD AND BODACIOUS

LES COLOGNES LOUIS VUITTON ARE HEADY INDEED, BUT MY PERSONAL FAVE IS AFTERNOON SWIM, WITH NOTES OF ORANGE, BERGAMOT AND MANDARIN, ACCORDING TO PERFUMER JACQUES CAVALLIER BELLETRUD

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LORO PIANA’S SUMMER WALK LOAFERS ARE MADE FROM WATERPROOF SUEDE. INSPIRED BY DECK SHOES, THESE ITALIANMADE SLIP-ONS FEATURE LATEX SOLES FOR ADDED DURABILITY. I OWN TWO PAIRS ALREADY

CREATED BY KIM JONES IN COLLABORATION WITH HAJIME SORAYAMA, THIS DINOSAUR ROBOT AND SAKURA-PRINT BILL AND COIN HOLDER FROM DIOR WILL HOLD MY HARDEARNED CASH NICELY

AGENDA style

INITIAL HERE

It was only a matter of time before Burberry revealed its first Monogram collection designed by chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci. Following its initial campaign of pretzel-like interlocked Bs, this version interlocks the TB of Thomas Burberry after Tisci discovered a selection of 20thcentury logo motifs in the archive.

Created with British art director and graphic designer Peter Saville, the collection marks the beginning of a new house code.

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Joyce has joined forces with the Sarabande Foundation, established by the late Lee Alexander McQueen to support emerging artists and designers. Do your part by visiting the pop-up shop before June 12.

RISING SONS

It’s time to look beyond the established Japanese design titans and into the island nation’s burgeoning roster of contemporary designers. Mr Porter has collaborated with the likes of Ambush, Beams Plus, Kapital and Neighbourhood on an exclusive capsule collection celebrating style and culture. The Japan Edit features 15 brands and 122 pieces of clothing, shoes and accessories.

LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

Karl Lagerfeld’s final métiers d’art collection for Chanel is finally hitting stores. Taking inspiration from Egypt, the show drew on the ancient civilisation’s precision and intricacy to showcase the craftsmanship of the specialist workshops acquired by the maison over the years. This is not a subtle collection, but then again, Karl was never one to not go out with a bang.

MALE CALL

Sartorially savvy men can get excited for SS20. This season marks Clare Waight Keller’s first fully fledged, standalone men’s fashion show for the house of Givenchy. The Italians have even taken note and invited the brand to be guest designer at Pitti Uomo.

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AGENDA style

AMBUSH

FENDI

Ten-Hut!

The world is crazy and we all need order, so it’s natural that the utility trend is coming back full circle from its ’70s heyday. This time around, the military-inspired look gets the minimalist treatment — think soft canvas belts on tailored cargo pants at Givenchy, pockets galore at Fendi and plenty of this season’s hottest colour, beige. Pair with sculptural heels or satin slides for a clean finish.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

GIVENCHY

ISABEL MARANT

HERMÈS S

VANESSA BRUNO

FENDI

MAX MARA AT MYTHERESA.COM

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UP IN ARMS

Thanks to movements such as Time’s Up and Me Too, staying silent is no longer in style. Clothes and collections have become canvases and soapboxes for a wide range of designers’ beliefs and opinions to varying degrees of loudness. From young British talents such as Phoebe English, Richard Malone and Bethany Williams, whose focus is squarely on sustainable fashion, to more established designers like Stella McCartney, who opted out of fur and leathers since the start of her brand, designers have a lot to say.

BACK TO EARTH RALPH LAUREN HAS COMMITTED TO REMOVING AT LEAST 170 MILLION PLASTIC BOTTLES FROM LANDFILLS AND OCEANS BY 2025 AND TO DO THAT THE BRAND RECENTLY LAUNCHED ITS CLASSIC POLO SHIRT IN A HIGH-QUALITY YARN MADE FROM THE RECYCLED MATERIAL AND DYED USING A WATERLESS PROCESS. PLASTIC WASTE AND OUR WORLD’S PREDILECTION FOR PLASTIC PRODUCTS IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING GLOBAL CRISES TODAY, SO BUY YOUR EARTH-FRIENDLY POLO — AND GET A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE WHILE YOU’RE AT IT.

FIGHTING AIDS TO MARK THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF MAISON MARGIELA’S ICONIC AIDS T-SHIRT, MM6 HAS CREATED A COLLECTION TO SUPPORT AIDES, A FRENCH, COMMUNITYBASED NONPROFIT THAT WORKS TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS AND VIRAL HEPATITIS. THE ORIGINAL T-SHIRT PRINT BEARING THE SLOGAN, “THERE IS MORE ACTION TO BE DONE TO FIGHT AIDS THAN TO WEAR THIS T SHIRT BUT IT’S A GOOD START” APPEARS ON BAGS, SHOES, LABELS AND ACCESSORIES AND THE LININGS OF GARMENTS.

GLUTTONS GALORE VIVIENNE WESTWOOD HAS LONG BEEN BEATING THE SUSTAINABLE-PRODUCTION DRUM, AND HAS NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM MAKING HER POINT. IN A VIDEO SHOWN ALONGSIDE HER CURRENT COLLECTION, DAME VIVIENNE ANNOUNCED THAT “CONSUMPTION IS THE ENEMY OF CULTURE”. HER ACTIONS BACK HER WORDS, TOO. WESTWOOD USES ENTIRELY SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC COTTON AND LINENS, AND HER FLORAL JACQUARD OFF-THESHOULDER DRESSES WERE MADE FROM WOOD PULP EXTRACTED FROM PLANTATIONS MANAGED BY REFORESTATION PROGRAMMES.

BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS A PROMINENT VOICE IN HONG KONG’S LGBT COMMUNITY, KAYLA WONG HAS MADE ACTIVISM THE CORE TENET OF HER BASICS FOR BASICS BRAND. SOLD ONLINE AND AT EATON HOTEL, THE PIECES FOCUS ON FAIR TRADE AND LOWERING CARBON FOOTPRINTS USING SURPLUS FABRICS, SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND ORGANIC COTTON. WONG’S EQUALITY T-SHIRT STANDS FOR GENDER EQUALITY BUT ALSO THE FREEDOM FOR ALL TO LOVE WHOMSOEVER THEY WISH.

AGENDA style

Richard Malone

COOL, FASHION-CONSCIOUS FEMALES NOW HAVE A COUTURIER WHO SPEAKS TO THEIR HEART. THIS LONDON FASHION WEEK STAR IS RETHINKING LUXURY CLOTHING FOR THE SOCIALLY AWARE WOMAN OF TODAY Richard Malone doesn’t design for “women” per se. He designs for the individual — which is appropriate, given that the designer is a true original himself. “I never specify what I believe femininity to be,” he says. “I think the tropes or stereotypes of femininity and masculinity are very dangerous. That pressure to perform or define yourself so narrowly has never interested me.” Instead his preferred customer, like his work, never defines or subscribes to any sort of norm.

The 27-year-old Irish designer is London’s newest rebel darling. Shortlisted for the LVMH prize, Malone graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014 and launched his line a year later. The women who gravitate towards his pieces — for instance, art dealers and gallery enthusiasts — are those who appreciate the art, the quirk and the designer’s sustainable practices.

Taking inspiration from sculpture and the working-class garb of Wexford, his Irish hometown, Malone approaches his work as a craftsman. “Like my dad, who’s a painter and decorator, or my uncles who are

carpenters and builders, you take pride in what you make with your hands,” Malone says. “You elevate it to something new, something beautiful and permanent.”

It’s also a way for the young pioneer to push against what he sees as exploitation at every level of the fashion industry. “I became more aware when I noticed people appropriating working-class aesthetics and taking ideas from real images,” Malone explains. “That horrid thing where rich designers go somewhere where people are poor or suffering economically, then put their clothes on these people in order to make a fashion image.

“I find it personally appalling and extremely lacking in imagination and integrity. It’s very cliché fashion and one of the things I hate most about the industry, making images that go nowhere only to seek and reinforce stereotypes for an ever-progressive upper class.”

It’s why the label seeks to produce sustainably — think fair practices, equitable pay, ethically sourced fabrics — and why Malone makes it a priority to work with private clients.

“Luxury to me is something that’s cared for, lovingly made and responsibly made,” he says. “Time is the greatest luxury.”

GOT MY EYE ON

Giorgio Armani

IT’S TRUE, FASHION EDITORS LOVE TO SHOP. IN THE SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY, WE’RE GIVING YOU A GLIMPSE OF THE NEWEST PICKS TO MAKE IT ON TO OUR WISH LIST

Roger Vivier

45r

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Michael Kors

AGENDA discovery

THE LURE OF COUTURE

HOW SHANGHAI DESIGNER STEPHEN YUAN BROUGHT STYLE AND SOPHISTICATION BACK TO THE BUND

TOP: PETER XU STUDIOS

ABOVE: DRAMATIC PLUMES RIGHT: DESIGNER STEPHEN YUAN

You might not be familiar with Mofiel, but in China the brand has made its mark with sophisticated silhouettes and dramatic flourishes for evening.

The couture label’s young designer and founder Stephen Yuan combines a knack for marketing (he used to work at LVMH) as well as invaluable informal couture tutorship by the late Lee Alexander McQueen. When Yuan interned at McQueen’s office in London, the designer offered to teach him at his own house at the weekends — an opportunity of a lifetime, seized earnestly.

A strong aesthetic supported by delicate flourishes has made Mofiel popular within Yuan’s circle in China. He’s often serving savvy city women, who work in lifestyle and fashion industries.

“There are the iconic, dramatic pieces here,” Yuan explains as he takes us on a tour of his Shanghai boutique at the Peninsula Arcade, “and the more mass ready-to-wear that includes our knits, which we produce in-house — cashmere vests, cardigans with lace or fur details — which is more for walk-in customers. But the majority of our customers still love the couture, the made-to-measure items tailored to them.”

We admire the dramatic plumes of feathers on crisp structured gowns, a series of off-the-shoulder monochrome shapes reminiscent of old-school Givenchy or Stefano Pilati’s YSL and then full and voluptuous taffeta skirts, all hand-embroidered in his local atelier.

One dress took about six months to make. “For the skirt,” says the designer, “I used fine pieces of silk cut into 2- to 3-centimetre pieces and had them all hand-sewn into 3D florals that were raw-edged … so the effect looks like feathers.”

The glossy store acts as showroom for Mofiel’s collections but also Yuan’s own aesthetic tastes and personal collectibles. There are displays of vintage jewellery and an antique Louis Vuitton trunk he found in Japan, painted by an artist he commissioned. Art deco-inspired interiors are “designed to reflect the Shanghai home of the brand … and the Peninsula being on the Bund Gardens, with all its historical significance.” Most clients come by appointment; hidden away is a VIP salon for celebrities and big clients.

“This step in my career has allowed me to upgrade everything, not only my first store, the bigger collection with 82 looks, but also the techniques I use,” says Yuan. “Chinese couture has changed a lot. Many customers [who buy] from the big luxury brands now want something different and unique. Most of the Western brands still offer styles in Western shapes and sizes, so often they have to re-tailor everything — sometimes re-tailoring can be more complicated than making something from scratch.”

Among his strongest sellers now are suits, which definitely benefit from bespoke fitting for different bodies. Women are attracted to the strong looks of his designs (which are less girly compared with much Chinese couture) and even many of his gowns will have an element of suiting.

Yuan’s world travels inform many designs. Inspiration for high waists might be taken from New York, for example, or a black-and-white palette influenced by “the forever classicism of Paris… Then for Shanghai, there’s the embroidery and the iconic pattern of the peony. It’s a real combination of the Chinese and the Western here.” Jing Zhang

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AGENDA jewellery IN FULL BLOOM

Featuring a modern interpretation of the star-shaped flower created

by Georges-Louis Vuitton in 1896, the new B.Blossom fine-jewellery collection aims to “meld attitude with playfulness”. The extensive range of rings, cuffs, earrings and necklaces comes in pink and yellow gold with onyx, malachite, white agate, pink opal and, of course, diamonds.

FIT FOR A QUEEN

Chaumet presents its latest Joséphine high jewellery collection, a dazzling array of feminine, botanical-inspired pieces with exceptional stones in rare and intense hues. Besides earrings, rings and necklaces, don’t miss the stunning tiaras.

ONE TO WATCH

Blending the elegance of jewellery with the skill of watchmaking, the latest Sweet Alhambra collection of timepieces from Van Cleef & Arpels features the iconic clover-inspired motif with gold beading and, for the first time, interchangeable leather bracelets.

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DIOR JOAILLERIE IS MARKING ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH MIMIROSE, COMBINING THE MIMIOUI AND ROSE DES VENTS SIGNATURES IN THE FORM OF MINIATURE LUCKY CHARMS

Hong Kong-born and Macau-raised Sarah Ho has built an award-winning fine-jewellery business with her distinctive Numerati collection and elegant oneoff pieces. She talks to Prestige during a recent exhibition with Phillips auction house.

COLOUR THEORY

Cartier celebrated the Hong Kong debut of its Coloratura high jewellery collection in lavish style, with an exhibition of more than 450 creations and a series of gala dinners (see RSVP, page 103) at the Rosewood Hong Kong. The new collection is a celebration of colour, stones and “the four corners of the globe” paired with exquisite craftsmanship.

What inspired you to pursue jewellery design?

My love for jewellery started quite young, when I was in Macau. My grandmother was an incredible woman, and so unusual for her time. Even now the market is all about rubies, emeralds and sapphires, and my grandmother would wear whatever colour jewellery would match her outfit. After school, I went into fashion design. But I just found myself constantly playing with sparkling things. I also love ceramics, so jewellery was kind of a combination of fashion and working with my hands.

Tell us about your first collections.

Origami was my graduate collection, because when I was presented with a sheet of metal the first thing I wanted to do was see if I could fold it like a piece of paper. The second was Swirl, inspired by my mother [a top model in ’60s London]. And then I had a series of playing cards, which paid tribute to my family in Macau.

What are you working on now?

I recently launched an initiative called Full Circle.

One part of it is tracing the journey of the gemstones we work with, and the other is donating a percentage of proceeds from each piece back to the environment or the communities the stones come from. There are some really amazing stories with these stones.

GRAND DADS

Show Dad the love this Father’s Day — June 16 — with a personalised gift from Tiffany & Co. Whether you choose a money clip, bracelet or set of metallic playing cards in a leather pouch, he’s sure to get the message.

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AGENDA beauty

SHINING STAR Its name may be a mouthful, but Unreal High Shine Volumizing Lip Gloss by Hourglass is poised to be your pout’s new BFF. Shea butter and avocado hydrate while light-reflecting particles bring the brilliance.

Available in 18 shades, from Halo (clear with gold shimmer) to Icon (a deep blue-red).

MORE THAN SKIN DEEP J-Beauty brand Tatcha was first inspired by the elaborate rituals of the elegant geisha. Now you can follow in their delicate footsteps with your own daily beauty regimen. Key among the steps is a proper cleansing, which The Deep Cleanse delivers thanks to its natural fruit exfoliants.

Light Fantastic

Summer’s here and it’s time to get glowing.

Guerlain’s new make-up collection features several must-have items, including these limited-edition Météorites Perles de Satin Light-Revealing Pearls of Powder in beige and gold with hints of fuchsia or orange.

FIND YOUR BLISS

Or find your way to Bliss Spa, that is. The in-house pampering palace on the 72nd floor of W Hong Kong offers a wide range of awardwinning treatments for face and body. We tried the Carol Joy London facial and Saltability Himalayan Salt Stone Massage, the latter featuring warm organic salt stones massaged along the body’s meridians, and there was truly no other word to describe it except pure #bliss.

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TO MARK THE HYDRA SPARKLING RANGE’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY, GIVENCHY REVISITS OLD FAVOURITES AND PROMOTES ITS NEWEST INNOVATIONS

Newly reformulated with powerful botanical ingredients and a uniquely feminine fragrance, the Extra-Firming Range from Clarins has everything you need to reduce the signs of ageing – day and night.

FIRST-AID KIT If, like us, you found summer arrived before you had a chance to properly prepare yourself, fret not. Net-A-Porter has compiled the beauty essentials of the season so all you have to do is click and wait for your box of goodies, whether you’re after an invigorating body scrub or a bit of bronze in a bottle.

The biggest news in the beauty space of late? Alessandro Michele’s new Gucci Make-Up line and its coveted lipsticks #prestigehk | PRESTIGE

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AGENDA travel IF YOU LOVE SCOTLAND AND ARE A SUCKER FOR THE ROMANCE OF RAIL, THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO SATISFY BOTH PASSIONS THAN BY BOOKING A BERTH ABOARD BELMOND’S GLORIOUSLY OLD-SCHOOL ROYAL SCOTSMAN LUXURY TRAIN

SENSE CHECK

Those readers who aren’t planning to spend the next few months semi-comatose — and we’re assuming that means all of you — will be delighted to learn that Aman Resorts is offering its guests “a summer of conscious living”, with programmes that entail Slow Living in Montenegro, Space for the Senses in the Greek Peloponnese and, in September, a three-day Javanese Samadhi Retreat at Amanjiwo (above).

Peak Season

Famed as one of the world’s leading off-piste ski resorts, the Swiss village of Verbier is equally compelling in summer, when the downhill runs turn a lush green under brilliant blue skies. Head there for hiking, mountain biking, paragliding and all manner of outdoor activities — and make The Lodge your home. This vast chalet accommodates up to 18 adults and six kids — and all in the lap of luxury (including a team of Michelin-trained chefs).

ROOM WITH A VIEW There can’t be many lounges that look out on a vista like this — which is one very good reason to pack your bags for a remote corner of China’s Yunnan province, where the new Sunyata Hotel Meili — a recent addition to the Design Hotels portfolio — combines Tibetan architectural and Japanese wabi-sabi principles, while occupying one of the most majestic spots on Earth.

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CASTAWAY CHIC

You might call husband-and-wife hoteliers Sonu and Eva Malmström Shivdasani the king and queen of barefoot luxury — and at their Maldivian resort Soneva Jani they’ve honed their recipe to a fine art. Linked by snaking boardwalks across the shallow, sparkling waters of a lagoon and with vast villas that feature such hedonistic amenities as sliding roofs and private water slides, it’s the perfect spot in which to unleash your inner castaway.

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AGENDA dining Having conquered England with its award-winning sparkling wines, Nyetimber has set its sights on Hong Kong and Singapore. Look for its Classic Cuvée, Blanc de Blancs, Rosé, Demi-Sec and more at Watson’s Wine and select hotels.

TEA PARTY

Luxury skincare brand Amorepacific is teaming up with the Clipper Lounge at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, for an exclusive afternoon tea. The sweet and savoury bites, featuring the same green tea that powers Amorepacific’s skincare, are presented with dry ice that evokes the early-morning fog over a tea field. Available until June 30.

IN SEASON

Spring has arrived at Sha Tin 18, in the form of seasonal dishes and creative desserts. Chinese chef de cuisine Ho Chun Hung incorporates his popular homemade sauces, including the tantalising new Chinese wampi paste made from the subtropical fruit and natural honey, into several recipes while pastry chef Kelvin Lai whips up new versions of his regular crowd pleasers.

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Next of Kin

Arron Rhodes (pictured) and Chris Grare of Gough’s on Gough and Lily & Bloom fame, respectively, have joined forces for a new restaurant “celebrating the lasting bonds of family and friendship”. Kinship focuses on sustainability and transparency with a farmto-table concept and relaxed atmosphere.

Meat Market

Hong Kong just can’t get enough Japanese-style beef these days. Wagyu Vanne by Gosango is the latest yakiniku specialist to set up shop here, taking over 3,500 square feet in Causeway Bay’s Tower 535. The brainchild of Tokyo-based celebrity chef Vanne Kuwahara serves up grilled beef, wagyu sandwiches and a 10-course tasting menu.

GREEN SCENE

FOOD TOUR

Ivan Pun and JIA Group are bringing Pun + Projects’ newly opened Yangon brasserie to Hong Kong for a three-month pop-up in Sai Ying Pun. The Pansodan, named for the historic road on which the original eatery is located, showcases authentic Burmese cuisine in the format of a French brasserie. Email info@thepansodan.hk for bookings.

Newly opened in Causeway Bay’s Lee Garden Two, The Leah aims to entice with no-fuss British fare, classic and creative cocktails, and an expansive terrace. Don’t miss the chicken, leek and bacon pie, washed down with a Wimbledon Cup — all enjoyed after 7pm, when members club Maggie & Rose closes for the day.

SPICE TRADE

Not one to rest on its Michelin laurels, the New Punjab Club has launched a summer menu celebrating the best ingredients of the season.

Executive chef Palash Mitra takes inspiration from the Punjab region’s rich flavours in dishes such as tandoor-roasted venison with channa salaad and green chili chutney, and slow-cooked okra flavoured with fresh turmeric and cumin.

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JOINTLY PRESENTED BY LEHMANN MAUPIN AND MASSIMO DE CARLO, HAND:WORK:II DISPLAYS CHICAGO-BASED ARTIST MCARTHUR BINION’S LAYERED, DISCIPLINED STYLE. UNTIL JULY 6

LIFE’S WORK

Spanning several decades of the artist’s career, Tai Kwun Contemporary’s MURAKAMI vs MURAKAMI is a must-see for fans of the sometimes confounding but always amazing Takashi Murakami.

Until September 1

DRAWING ROOM

Eddie Martinez presents his second solo exhibition with Perrotin, bringing his colourful mixed-media paintings to Hong Kong.

The Brooklyn-based artist is known for his “incessant” drawing habit, which often finds its way on to his canvases. Until June 29

SURFACE TENSION The densely layered and genre-defying paintings of Garth Weiser are in the spotlight this month at Simon Lee. The new works, created by painting, spraying and scratching, blur the lines between 2D and 3D. Until June 27

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: COURTESY THE ARTIST AND LEHMANN MAUPIN, NEW YORK, HONG KONG AND SEOUL; 13THWITNESS; COURTESY THE ARTIST AND SIMON LEE GALLERY; COURTESY THE ARTIST, PERROTIN AND MITCHELL-INNES & NASH, NEW YORK

AGENDA art

AGENDA auctions

THIS DIAMOND AND ENAMEL AIGRETTE, BY MELLERIO DITS MELLER OF PARIS, CIRCA 1905, IS A HIGHLIGHT OF CHRISTIE’S MAGNIFICENT MUGHAL JEWELS AND OBJECTS AUCTION IN NEW YORK ON JUNE 19

1962 FERRARI 250 GT SWB BERLINETTA

BY SCAGLIETTI

August 15-17 At its August auction in Monterey, California, RM Sotheby’s has revealed it will be offering this stunning 1962 Ferrari Berlinetta without a reserve price. Nonetheless, those in the know reckon that the car, which has the chassis number 3359GT and is one of only 40 steel-body examples to be produced that year by the coachbuilder Scaglietti, is likely to fetch US$8-$10 million. More recently, the car was fully restored by Ferrari Classiche and received a Mention of Honour at the 2012 Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza.

OMEGA LIMITED-EDITION YELLOW-GOLD SPEEDMASTER CHRONOGRAPH, c. 1969

June 12 Among the more than 500 lots on sale at Bonhams Hong Kong’s Centennial Collection: 100 Year of Timepieces sale, of particular note is this extremely rare yellow-gold Speedmaster Chronograph, dated 1969. It’s one of a limited series that commemorates man’s first landing on the Moon, when Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin wore a Speedmaster as he made his first moonwalk (see also page 150). This highly desirable commemorative watch is expected to fetch HK$130,000-$260,000.

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AGENDA toys CIRCULAR SOUND

Designed like a piece of elegant furniture, Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay A9 speaker not only fills any space with sound from its 480-watt digital amplifier but, whether free-standing or wall-mounted, also looks beautiful. Made from high-quality wood, aluminium, plastic and fabric, it connects wirelessly and is operated using simple touches and hand gestures.

UNLEASH YOUR INNER CHEF Whether it’s tinkering with cars and bikes or whipping up something delicious in the kitchen, guys just love playing around with kit. That’s why we reckon the fellas will also be itching to give full rein to their culinary capabilities by getting their hands on KitchenAid’s new, limited-edition 4.8-litre Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, which amazingly marks the appliance maker’s 100th anniversary.

BLACK CAT

Based outside the English city of Coventry, the Jaguar Classic heritage operation restores and occasionally recreates many of the car company’s most famous and sought-after automobiles. Among its most recent projects is this superb rebuild of a 1954 XK120 roadster, which took 2,700 hours to complete, for the male model and passionate Jaguar enthusiast David Gandy. Featuring a 3.4-litre straight-six engine, which after rebuilding now produces 225bhp, a slick-shifting gearbox, uprated disc brakes and solid black paintwork, the car’s inspired by Lightweight racing models of the period and is ready for its new owner to compete in historic motorsport events. Gandy was involved in the renovation at every stage, and personally chose the colours and materials himself.

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GET READY FOR PRESTIGE’S ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE VERY BEST IN BEAUTY AND WELLNESS*, NOW WITH EXPANDED COVERAGE OF WELLNESS AND GREEN BEAUTY CATEGORIES WATCH THIS SPACE AND PRESTIGE ONLINE FOR ALL THE UPDATES AND AWARD WINNERS *To submit your products or treatments for consideration, or enquire about commercial opportunities, please send an e-mail to editor@burda.hk

#prestigehk

prestigeonline.com

VIP

ANA R

AMANDA LAU AND ALAN YUEN

PHILIPPE NGUYEN JEREMY WONG

VIVA CHENG, IVAN LUI AND LOK GORK

SIMONE FERRETTI

CHRIS PETERSON AND LAUREN ROSE

KAMILLA HOLST AND ADRIANA LICA SAMUEL SALVADOR

THE THIRTYSIX BAR & CO

TAKEN TO CASK

LEO CHOW

What? A casual cocktail gathering to celebrate our May issue at the newly opened ThirtySix Bar & Co on Hollywood Road, where we welcomed those featured in the issue (and issues past) for a shot of whisky or three. We whisked our friends away on a whirlwind voyage of discovery at this highball cocktail bar, named after the 36 copper stills used at The Macallan’s new distillery, and whose able staff provided us with modern renditions on several classic drink themes.

Blame it on the rain: While our society editor went into his usual conniptions as intermittent rain puddled the paths, merry guests trickled in and out throughout the evening. Although you’ll see many of them on these pages, we’ve edited out a rambunctious few (visuals post consumption are neither for faint heart nor fair maiden!).

Yeoh, where you at? Of course we invited our May cover star Michelle Yeoh – and her crew – for the gathering, but she wasn’t quite out of Africa.

In fact, she was holidaying at Pilanesberg National Park, posting several pictures of wild animals she encountered – breaking up her posts with snaps from our cover shoot. God, we love that lady!

For more images, log on to prestigeonline.com and follow us on Instagram at @prestigehk ADRIENNE LAU

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VIP

MET GALA

FASHION CAMP What? The annual Costume Institute Gala at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is, bar none, the most over-the-top fashion extravaganza, putting its distant cousins (the Oscars, the Cannes red carpet, any fashion week in any fashion capital) to sartorial shame. Even this colourful spread does little justice to the festival – nay, explosion, of colours and glitter – that was this (lest we forget) fundraising dinner. The red carpet was fringed with photographers from around the globe as Hollywood and international stars mixed, mingled and bent at the knee to Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, chair of the annual Met Gala since 1995.

Seminal theme: Before you flip further, to explain these outfits the night had a theme – Camp: Notes On Fashion. What is camp? Susan Sontag wrote in her essay, “Notes on Camp”: “The essence of camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” Several celebrities had a field day with the invite and tugged at the symbiotic strings of their designers (many of who accompanied their clients to the soirée) to go all out on the first Monday of May (the night of the hedonistic event).

They believe: Camp-ers didn’t disappoint, be it Céline Dion (who channelled Cher), Jennifer Lopez (who channelled Cher) or Emily Ratajkowski (who, er, channelled Cher). No surprise that the surprise performer of the night was – wait for it – Cher.

Boys will be girls: Be it pop star Harry Styles in a Gucci gossamer blouse (with pearl earrings), Jared Leto in a red ensemble studded with semi-precious stones (also by Gucci) and carrying a likeness of his own head as accessory, or Ezra Miller in Burberry (corset and a face full of make-up), many men let loose their inner diva. Taron Egerton in understated Salvatore Ferragamo on any other night would top a best-dressed list, but the actor set to play Elton John in the singer’s biopic disappointed tremendously on a night like this. Especially considering the access he had to the ultimate camp icon – the feathers! The wigs! Oh well.

LUPITA NYONG’O IN VERSACE AND BVLGARI PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI AND NAOMI CAMPBELL IN VALENTINO

CARA DELEVINGNE IN DIOR HAUTE COUTURE GAL GADOT IN GIVENCHY HAUTE COUTURE AND TIFFANY & CO.

MARK RONSON IN VALENTINO

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG IN HER OWN DESIGN

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EMMA STONE AND NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE IN LOUIS VUITTON

KENDALL JENNER IN VERSACE AND TIFFANY & CO.

GEMMA CHAN IN TOM FORD EZRA MILLER IN BURBERRY AND TIFFANY & CO.

ALICIA VIKANDER IN LOUIS VUITTON

LAY ZHANG AND ADUT AKECH BIOR IN VALENTINO LADY GAGA IN A BRANDON MAXWELL GOWN AND TIFFANY & CO.

F EATURE

MAKING THE GRADE Ron Chen, CEO of ATLAS, describes how he’s disrupting the operating model for Grade A offices

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FROM OPPOSITE: THE RECEPTION AREA AT ATLASPACE IN HONG KONG; RON CHEN; AN OFFICE SETTING IN HONG KONG

WHEN RON CHEN graduated from the University of York’s Law and Management School in Britain, it was never his intention to co-found a HK$6.8 billion start-up. But fast forward several years and now, as CEO of ATLAS, Chen is currently overseeing 25 projects with a total of 2.3 million square feet of office space around this region.

Previously, Chen had worked in Morgan Stanley’s investment-banking division, where he participated in several successful capital-market transactions. The biggest takeaway from that experience? “There’s no room for mistakes,” he says, “because when you’re dealing with billions of dollars, a 1 percent error in calculations can result in millions of losses, so there’s zero room for error.”

Chen attributes his attention to detail and

unwavering work ethic to his on-the-job training at Morgan Stanley. His experience with funding, financial modelling and learning how to gain an investor’s trust also helped him grow ATLAS from mere start-up to near-unicorn status.

Chen and three friends founded ATLAS in a small office space on Hong Kong Island in 2016.

“When we started the company, we wanted to be involved in something in the real-estate industry, and that’s why we went to Korea, Thailand and Singapore, to see all the different businesses.

When we travelled to Guangzhou and other major Chinese cities, we observed lots of commercial construction.”

After putting their observations together with third-party data, the team could clearly see there

was an excess of office space across the border.

What Chen and his team wanted to know was, “Who’s going to digest this space – or, will the demand meet the supply?” Through further research they learned that the Grade A office model hasn’t changed for the past three decades, offering only two services: leasing and property management. And this is where ATLAS found an opportunity to capture value in the market.

“Basically, the landlord offers the tenant security and cleaning ladies, and that’s it,” Chen says. To harness the explosion in supply on the market and to create value for his customers, he knew he needed to create a win-win scenario.

“We asked ourselves, if we can change the entire office-operating business model to mirror that

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F EATURE

of the hotel-management model, will it work?”

This became the question that drove ATLAS to achieve success in the market.

Designing a Grade A office model that’s inspired by a hotel model allows ATLAS to attract SMEs, start-ups and lower-budget companies.

Lower-budget companies have historically avoided Grade A offices due to high investment costs, but ATLAS set out to change that.

“If you’re a low-budget hotel customer and sharing a room with someone else, what will you do? You’ll share a twin room. But if you have a larger budget, you’ll upgrade and stay in a junior or deluxe suite. Or maybe even a presidential suite.

Hotels offer a wide range of products and services.”

What ATLAS does is offer a co-working space that’s similar in price to a hotel twin room, which attracts entrepreneurs and start-ups, while providing tailor-made premium private offices by request for SMEs and large enterprises.

Whether they’re occupying a co-working space or private offices, all tenants are able to enjoy concierge services provided by a Guest Experience Team that’s based on those found at five-star hotels.

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Moreover, whereas most people would only enter a Grade A office building if they worked or had meetings there, ATLAS now offers a onestop shop to capitalise on the density of consumers in such a building.

The company has developed several ATLASbranded businesses, including a fitness centre, coffee shop, bakery, canteen, brewery, spa and art studio, which is innovative in a sector that generally limits its offering to private offices and co-working space without other facilities and services.

Chen walks us through a typical day of one of its Grade A office clients. “At 8.30, when you enter the building you stop at ATLAS Coffee for a cappuccino then go to work. At lunchtime, you can go to ATLAS Kitchen for casual dining, or to ATLAS Fitness to work out without leaving the building. In the evening, you can go to ATLAS Wine or ATLAS Sports (a golf-simulator studio) to have a more casual business meeting to close the deals. Alternatively, you can go to ATLAS Spa or ATLAS (Art) Studio to refresh your mind and end your wonderful day.”

ATLAS, which opened its first centre at

Guangzhou Agile Centre three years ago, has now expanded to 20 centres in Greater China, covering the main central business districts in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Xi’An. Last year, the team decided to open the Hong Kong centre at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui with a total of 50,000 square feet under the name ATLASPACE. “Hong Kong is our hometown and ATLAS is a Hong Kong-based company,” says Chen. “Also we saw the Greater Bay Area opportunities. With strong footprints and connections across Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, we picked a location that’s closest to the high-speed railway station in Hong Kong. Within the first three months, our 60 percent occupancy proved we’d made the right decision.”

ATLAS is now offering its clients a new service: Headquarters by ATLAS. From location selection and interior design to construction and property management, ATLAS has a dedicated team to manage the project from the first step.

“You know how frustrating and time-consuming it is to find the right office space and manage the interior design of the site?” asks Chen. “ATLAS has strong connections with property owners and we

have a team of architects, project managers and property-management consultants. Also, we have partnership and investment in world-leading furniture and office-facilities companies. Our service will assist the company to save time and money by moving into its new office on schedule, so it can focus on business expansion instead of worrying about procurement, design, constructions, etc.”

When asked about his goal for ATLAS, Chen says it’s to manage the entire building, from co-developing the projects to property management, in order to achieve a win-win situation with property developers.

“With our experience and expertise in managing the current 25 projects in the region,” he says, “ATLAS is a strategic partner for SMEs and MNCs to find, build and manage their offices, and for property developers to add value to their buildings, which would differentiate them from other Grade A offices nearby,” Chen says.

“We don’t intend to dig wide, but to dig deep, to offer different ranges of products to change the traditional Grade A office infrastructure.”

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: A MEETING ROOM IN SHENZHEN; A COWORKING SPACE IN SHENZHEN; ATLAS COFFEE; ATLAS FITNESS

atlaspace.com.hk

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FASH I ON

LADY OF THE LAKE

LOOK TO THE RELAXED DRAPE OF TULLE AND GOSSAMER SILKS FOR THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER, WHEN EVERYONE FEELS LANGUID AND ONLY THE MOST ETHEREAL LOOKS WILL DO PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK JENDRUSCH | ART DIRECTION AND STYLING SYAN LEUNG HAIR PETER CHENG | MAKE-UP VANESSA WONG | MODEL SASHA VIL AT SUNESEE

DRESS AND NECKLACE CHLOÉ BRACELET CHANEL OPPOSITE PAGE: JACKET AND TROUSERS CHANEL DRESS (WORN AS TOP) LOEWE EARRINGS DIOR

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FASH I ON

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DRESS STELLA MCCARTNEY NECKLACE CHANEL OPPOSITE PAGE: DRESS DIOR EARRINGS CHANEL

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FASH I ON

DRESS ALEXANDER MCQUEEN JEWELLERY GIORGIO ARMANI HAT CHANEL OPPOSITE PAGE: DRESS EMPORIO ARMANI EARRINGS GIORGIO ARMANI

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FASH I ON

DRESS AND BELT DIOR BRACELET CHANEL SHOES AQUAZZURA OPPOSITE PAGE: DRESS TOM FORD BRACELET CHANEL

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FASH I ON

HOUSE OF WONDERS

The heart of Louis Vuitton lies in a suburban Parisian home and workshop once occupied by its namesake founder. zaneta cheng tours the property, where she discovers that the spirit of craftsmanship is as alive as ever

T

he world is no stranger to Louis Vuitton. But while it seems everyone knows the global luxury brand and its ubiquitous monogram, not many know whence it came. Louis Vuitton was 16 years old when he decided to become a trunk maker and began an apprenticeship at the Parisian atelier of Monsieur Maréchal. Vuitton honed his craft for 17 years before opening his own workshop in 1854 at 4 Rue Neuvedes-Capucines, near the Place Vendôme.

Vuitton was so successful that five years later he had to expand his operations, establishing an atelier – and later, his family home – on the outskirts of Paris. He started with 20 employees in 1859, growing to nearly 100 in 1900 and 225 in 1914. The house itself is hidden behind suitably bourgeois yet unpretentious gates on the Rue Louis Vuitton in Asnièressur-Seine. Aside from the rather conspicuous street name, nothing about it gives the brand away.

Asnières, as the site is called, is not open to the public and only rarely are select groups are allowed in. When the house is open, the lower floor is warmly lit, with treats and tea served in the parlour as if it’s still being lived in, as it was – until the 1980s – by descendants of the Vuitton family.

“This is really the beginning of it all,” a guide explains to our small group. “This is the house that the Vuitton family lived in when Louis Vuitton, the brand we know today, became what it is. So that’s why this home is such an important part of the house’s DNA.”

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A closer look at the decor reveals obvious art nouveau inspiration. Kitchen tiles depicting three floral motifs show a version of the LV insignia that brand specialists surmise might have inspired the monogram we know today.

The monogram made something of a splash in 1896 when Vuitton’s son Georges designed it for his father to put on his trunks. Given that customers previously had only their own names and initials embellished on their bags, Vuitton’s decision to add those of the brand simultaneously shocked and delighted. Customers who bought the new design customised it by placing their own names on top, a practice that’s still popular.

Separated from the house by a small courtyard is the workshop. On the ground floor, woodworkers assemble trunks using a mix of woods, including slabs of poplar (exceedingly light) at the base and African okoume (a hardy tropical wood known for its ability to withstand the elements) to protect the contents.

In another room, the sounds of metal hitting metal ring out as locks and assembly parts are made. The lock system that Louis Vuitton uses is unique. Nineteenth-century travellers could have anything from three to 20 keys

depending on the length of their voyage and the number of trunks. To simplify matters, Vuitton introduced a single key that could be used for every trunk in a customer’s set.

Next is an upstairs room whose constant 23 degrees C and 65 percent humidity maintain the brand’s precious skins and exotics. The amount of stock is impressive, as it’s designed to accommodate any and all bespoke requests. Skins are meticulously checked for blemishes before being cut on the same floor, either by hand or machine.

This is where the Louis Vuitton touch really comes into play. While the machines play a valuable role, nothing can be achieved without the human eye and experience. During our visit we meet an artisan who’s been with the workshop for 42 years and has trained many newcomers in the craft, whether painting exotics or glueing and laying the LV monogram so that each insignia is perfectly aligned.

Before we leave the workshop, we glimpse a bed trunk being made for a custom order. It’s an updated version with modern springs and a thick mattress that folds into the trunk encasing. We’re told that it’s a bed with all

the mod cons, because the original version is at least a quarter smaller and the mattress much thinner.

For proof, we’re taken into the estate’s dedicated exhibition space, La Galerie, where Louis Vuitton leather goods are juxtaposed against one another in the two-storey space – the Steamer bag is displayed near a cluster of travel trunks and a classic laundry bag to explain the evolution of the brand.

Upstairs is dedicated to the brand’s place in the world of design, from a Frank Gehry-designed Twist Box for the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the impossible-to-miss Karl Lagerfeld-designed punching bag that occupies pride of place next to an exclusive football trunk and trophy trunk designed for the FIFA World Cup. La Galerie is an apposite way to end our tour – a tidy summary of the way the house balances past and present. In some way, it also gives reprieve to those who aren’t well versed in Louis Vuitton history, because in each trunk, garment, design object and even perfume, one can see the enduring confluence of heritage and modernity.

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FASH I ON

STITCHES IN TIME TO MARK ITS 41ST ANNIVERSARY, SHIATZY CHEN IS OPENING UP ITS DESIGN PROCESS TO THE PUBLIC. ZANETA CHENG TRAVELS TO TAIWAN FOR A CLOSER LOOK

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alking through Shiatzy Chen’s Whisper in Threads in Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park, it’s evident that the Taiwanese brand places craft at the centre of its identity.

Pieces that comprise the autumn/winter 2019 collection, inspired by Miao tribeswomen, greet guests in a section of the exhibition devoted to the colours red, black and silver, while others inspired by plum blossoms fill the pre-autumn section. Near the end is a seamstress, mesmerisingly pushing and pulling string through silk as the form of a phoenix emerges.

The final alcove is home to a wall of sketches replete with a digital interface tracing the autumn/winter collection from inspiration to garment.

The project has been on the mind of founder and design director Tsai-hsia Chen (otherwise known as Madame Wang) since the brand’s 40th anniversary. And never one to do things by halves (after all, the brand remains the only Chinese import to have a permanent spot on the official Paris Fashion Week schedule), every detail has been carefully considered.

She talked to Prestige at the exhibition.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE AUDIENCES WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THE EXHIBITION, ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE BRAND AND ITS COMMITMENT TO TRADITIONAL CHINESE CRAFTSMANSHIP? Every collection tries to tell a story from elements of Chinese culture. This autumn/winter I was inspired by the straps that mothers use to secure their babies to them in the Miao tribe. Han Chinese use a cloth, but the Miao straps are meticulously embroidered. It brings to mind the relationship between a mother and her child, how a mother raises her child and once the child grows up he or she takes care of the mother in turn.

The exhibition also shows the seamstresses’ skills and how their deft hands turn sketches into works of art on a garment. I hope it gives

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people a better understanding of the entire design process, and the skill and art of embroidery.

EMBROIDERY HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT THE HEART OF SHIATZY CHEN. IS THIS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY A LIVE SEAMSTRESS AT WORK IS PART OF THE EXHIBITION? Yes, I’ve always considered that supporting this art form is very important.

There are many skilled seamstresses in China – in Guizhou and especially Suzhou. We look for our seamstresses in these two places, where they number in the thousands. They work on garment and tapestry embroideries for months and, given the number of ethnic-minority groups in China, each with their own distinctive crafts, I think it’s crucial to preserve and protect these industries to keep them from disappearing.

WHAT DO YOU THINK KEEPS YOUR CLIENTS LOYAL TO THE BRAND? The qipao is a unique piece of clothing and Eastern styles bring out a certain air in Chinese women that can’t be replicated. Those who come back to us generally attend different events and are told they look fantastic. They get compliments abroad and it makes them feel special.

I really think that when Chinese women wear a qipao, the garment brings out an aura of Eastern grace, sophistication and beauty that’s very different from Western-style dress, so we must preserve this garment.

AS CHINA’S NOW KNOWN FOR COUNTERFEITING, WILL IT BE HARD TO PUSH LUXURY? If you go back to the Song and Ming dynasties, our silk and paper were the most coveted in the world. Only after the fall of the Qing dynasty did the country become poor and things were made in a slipshod and rough manner, because there was simply no money. The Chinese then never spent time recovering these ancient arts. The thing is, though, critics of the Chinese the world over should probably realise that many of their crafts were originally taken from the Chinese before they modified the technique to make it their own.

I think we should look to our own histories and traditions, and not only revive dying crafts but also improve and evolve the industries. But that depends on the people of China, which is out of my control. I can only keep going at my own brand, creating luxury products that we’ve innovated to raise the level of the brand. That’s important, because if you don’t keep improving your product, your brand won’t go anywhere.

WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE YOUNGER CHINESE DESIGNERS TO MAKE USE OF THEIR HERITAGE IN DESIGN?

Absolutely. But it depends on the way they use it. It must be modern and appeal to buyers and clients alike each season. There’s no risk in replication, because these elements are conceptual and if taken literally, all designs would be the same and the stories would be the same every season. But it’s like when we buy cloth in Paris. Everybody in the world goes there to buy their cloth, but what they come out with is different, and even those who buy the same bolts come out with clothes that are totally distinct.

HOW DO YOU KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM HAVING DESIGNED FOR SHIATZY CHEN FOR SO MANY YEARS? I don’t count the years. I’ve always had a goal inside – to make Shiatzy Chen a respected international brand. So this goal serves as my motivation and gives me that energy. I think everyone needs to have a goal or an aim – that’s the best way to keep moving forward.

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FASH I ON

C UNFINISHED PRODUCT ALISON LOEHNIS, president of luxury e-tailers Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter, talks to zaneta cheng about the elusive analogue-digital balance and why it pays to put customers first

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ompetition, conflict or cannibalism has plagued the conversation around print and digital ever since the latter entered the picture. But for Alison Loehnis, president of global luxury e-tailers Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter, the multi-platform approach – a balance between digital and analogue – has been central to the brand’s success. It’s a key engine that keeps the platform serving the needs of its customers and one that ensures they come back again and again.

“Our customers have come to trust that we’re going to show them things that we know they’ll find interesting. But equally that’s where content comes in and is so important,” Loehnis tells me one soggy afternoon in Paris. “For us, content has never been about being an addon. It’s been about bringing product to life for the customer. So if we’re telling you about a new designer, maybe you want to hear that Peter Do worked for Phoebe at Celine and maybe you want to know why his fabrications are like this.”

Born a shoppable e-magazine, Net-A-Porter understood the need to harness content alongside its retail business right from the beginning.

Later on, this digital content expanded into print and became Porter magazine. Similarly Mr Porter, the group’s menswear e-retail arm, produces print content in the form of Mr P, a style-focused broadsheet.

“If you think about Mr Porter being so quintessentially British and this idea of the broadsheet, we loved the idea, for both of them, to get into print,” Loehnis says. “And it was counterintuitive, because people would say, well, you’re a pure play, and yes, we’re a pure play, but our customers are consuming content in different kinds of ways. They’re not solely on their phones and back then they weren’t solely on their laptops. They actually were going through magazines and newspapers, so our customers are actually multi-platform, and it was a wonderful way of expressing our brand.”

Loehnis’s enthusiasm for the multi-platform approach comes from its demonstrable success. When asked if she believes in print’s ability to exist alongside digital, her response is immediate – “Yes, absolutely.”

“We look to our customers every year to ask what products they’re interested in and what we could do better,” Loehnis says. “We did all this research and basically realised that everyone is consuming things in print and in digital.”

Not that she’s unaware of the changing landscape, however.

“And for sure the equilibrium, the percentage of each that they’re consuming has evolved, but for sure they’re operating in a multiplatform way.”

That Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter have secured a successful working balance between digital and analogue is testament to Loehnis and the group’s ability to fill gaps in the market, something Loehnis attributes to a maniacal focus on customer first.

“Going back to 2009, there was this new phone and then these apps coming out. We thought, ‘How do we make things easier for you?’ And I think that, for me, the whole dialogue around how you sell online has changed, too, with the amazing growth of mobile,” she says. “But for me the notion of selling fashion online is that you’re making someone happy. So I like to think that because fashion should be playful and fun, you should also save people time and make it easier.”

Mobile now counts for roughly 70 percent of transactions in some of the group’s regions, with early adoption coming from Asia and the Middle East, where there’s no correlation between size of screen and size of basket.

“Is mobile the future? One hundred percent. I mean, what we’re seeing is the same way [it was with] the take-up of e-commerce and the take-up of desktop and then desktop to laptop, but it’s about following your customer and then anticipating where he or she will be and trying to stay a step ahead. And understanding which platforms and technologies are going to be most relevant.

“I think what sets us apart is this unflagging customer centricity and the notion that everything we do is for him or her. It might sound

“For me the notion of selling fashion online is that you’re making someone happy”

obvious but there’s lots of excitement around gizmos and gimmicks, and that’s never anything we could consider unless it’s genuinely going to make your life easier.”

Despite the continual success of mobile – in fact, Loehnis says that customers can easily buy a US$100,000 watch using their phone – the group has continued to maintain its focus on the analogue, fine-tuning it where customers can be better served.

“We have same-day delivery in Hong Kong, New York and London, and some of our drivers in London, which is the most mature of our same-day-delivery markets, will say, ‘You know, sometimes I drop stuff off at my clients’ houses and they want me to wait. I hope it’s OK.’” And I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, of course it’s OK,’ and I was thrilled because it showed that everyone at every part of the organisation is thinking about the customer. So we created this thing called Wait & Return. And for the customer it’s wonderful, right?

But again it’s just thinking, and this is a very analogue example, of how to make life easier for you.”

Thus, customer loyalty becomes a closed loop, thanks to the digitalprint, digital-analogue configuration. “We find, perhaps unsurprisingly, those who read our content become our most engaged, so we follow a clear trajectory between reading and spending. I think it’s about bringing products to life across platforms. And if you think about the roots of Net-A-Porter, what we were, the idea is that we’re a fashion magazine that you can shop from and it’s connecting the dots.”

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SEL ECT

FLAWLESS FINISH

La Prairie’s Skin Caviar Complexion line welcomes two new members: the Powder Foundation and Loose Powder IT WAS NOT so many years ago that the idea of using caviar in skincare was but a distant dream, yet through its innovative approach to research, La Prairie made this possible, infusing the rich nutrients inherent in this ingredient into the skin for unparalleled benefits.

The next step in this natural evolution was to harness this technology for the brand’s make-up products – imagine a foundation or powder that had the ability to hide all your skin’s flaws, while

actively working to improve its overall quality.

Combining the science of skincare with the artistry behind make-up, La Prairie introduces two new additions to its Skin Caviar Complexion Collection: the Skin Caviar Powder Foundation SPF 15 UVA/PA++, as well as the Skin Caviar Loose Powder.

This technologically advanced duo offers customisable and buildable tints that help you put your best face forward, with flawless

LA PRAIRIE IS THE FIRST COSMETICS BRAND TO INFUSE ITS PRODUCTS WITH NUTRIENT-RICH CAVIAR EXTRACT

textures that offer natural colour correction and stunning luminosity.

The Powder Foundation is the world’s first to be infused with caviar extract, which begins as a creamy base, relaxing into a soft, cashmere-like finish which protects against UVA and UVB rays, while an exclusive Cellular Complex lets the skin drink up nutrients. Buildable and blendable, the product’s coverage is matt but with an underlying glow so that you look fresh all day long.

The Loose Powder, once again the first of its kind to contain caviar extract, provides the perfect finishing touch. Finely milled and light, it sweeps on to leave but a trace of powder for an invisibly immaculate veil, illuminating the complexion and keeping your make-up in place.

In addition, La Prairie has created a trio of brushes – for the liquid foundation, powder foundation and loose powder, respectively – designed to be used with Skin Caviar Complexion products, so that the perfect products have their perfect partners, which utilise high-quality synthetic bristles.

Add to that the Skin Caviar Essence-in Foundation SPF 25/PA+++ and the Skin Caviar Concealer Foundation SPF 15, and La Prairie now offers a full range of Skin Caviar Complexion products in a variety of finishes to satisfy the make-up and skincare lover’s each and every need. laprairie.com.hk

THE SKIN CAVIAR COMPLEXION LINE COMBINES THE SCIENCE OF SKINCARE AND THE ARTISTRY OF MAKE-UP

THE BUILDABLE POWDER FOUNDATION PERFECTS AND PROTECTS WITH CAVIAR EXTRACT AND AN EXCLUSIVE CELLULAR COMPLEX

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BEAUT Y

FLIGHT PLAN

Taking to the skies this summer? tama lung has just the ticket for arriving at your destination looking ‒ and smelling ‒ fresher than when you left

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etween the dry cabin air, sodiumrich food and questionable hygiene standards, we can all agree that air travel is rough on our skin, our bodies and any attempt at looking or feeling halfway decent.

But with hours to do little else except watch movies and try, in vain, to sleep, flights can be the perfect time to indulge in some spa-style pampering. All of the products you see on these pages are TSA-approved (that’s 100 ml/3.4 ounces or less for liquids, in case you’ve forgotten) and so convenient that you can use them without even leaving your seat.

If you follow any celebrities or supermodels on social media, you’ve probably read about or even seen selfies of them applying a sheet mask right after take-off. 111Skin’s version is a great option when flying, thanks to its gel-like structure and super-fine fibres that help lock moisture into the skin. It’s designed for use before a big event or after a holiday, so be sure to bring one for the departing flight and one for the trip home.

If you’re worried about scaring fellow passengers with a full face mask, you can always opt for Laneige’s new Cica Sleeping Mask. The yeast-enriched formula can help skin withstand external irritation, something that’s practically guaranteed with plane travel.

Finally, when it comes to freshening up mid-flight or before landing, be sure to pack some moisturiser, fragrance, lip balm and hand cream. After all, just because you stepped off a 16-hour flight doesn’t mean you have to look like you did.

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EVE LOM Rich enough to withstand arid cabin conditions and infused with botanical extracts, the Moisture Cream is a pleasant treat mid-flight or at your final destination.

LE LABO With its alcohol-free safflower-seed-oil base and convenient roller-ball applicator, Le Labo’s liquid balms are our choice for fragrance on the go.

BYREDO Rose of No Man’s Land Hand Cream combines muchneeded hydration and a unique rose and pink pepper scent. And it’s only 30 ml.

FRESH Who doesn’t want to smell and feel minty fresh after a long flight? The new Sugar Mint Rush Freshening Lip Treatment releases a cooling sensation when lips are pressed together.

111SKIN Tested in extreme conditions not unlike a commercial airline flight, the Anti Blemish Bio Cellulose Facial Mask soothes, purifies and rebalances the skin.

DARPHIN The Stimulskin Plus MultiCorrective Divine Eye Cream comes with two massage tools so you can enjoy your very own facial at 35,000 feet.

LANEIGE The K-Beauty brand has added to its popular overnighttreatment line with Cica Sleeping Mask, featuring a forestderived yeast that’s proven to restore and strengthen the skin barrier.

AESOP Weary travellers are in for a treat with this set of four hair- and bodycare staples in refreshing botanical scents. Also available are Departure and Jet Set kits.

BEAUTY BLENDER The Selfie Shield dry oil primer will ensure you’re, well, selfieready while providing SPF 38 protection from any UV rays streaming through the window.

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BEAU T Y

FORCE OF NATURE As TATA HARPER launches her wildly popular and naturally powered skincare range at Joyce Beauty, she tells tama lung why non-toxic and hightech are no longer mutually exclusive

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“Do you want the technology to come from artificial chemicals or from natural chemicals that grow in the earth?”

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ata Harper loves a good face mask. Some might even say she introduced the world to – or at least gladly spread the gospel of – the concept of multi-masking, or treating different areas of the face with different masks. But once her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer, the skincare enthusiast, who credits her love of beauty to her grandmother and other cosmeticsobsessed relatives she grew up with in Colombia, wanted a mask – and, of course, a cleanser and an essence and a moisturiser – that not only provided amazing results but also eliminated the need for harsh, toxic chemicals. So, what did she do?

“I was like, how am I going to replace my super-high-tech Swiss skincare line that I’ve been using forever?“ Harper tells me when we meet at Joyce Beauty in early May. “I started Googling what these products are actually made of, beyond those two or three ingredients the salesperson talked to me about. Because they’re made from so much more than just the active ingredients. You need preservatives, you need emulsifiers, you need stabilisers, you need pH balancers, you need thickeners. That’s where all the shortcuts are made. Companies typically spend their resources on the one hero ingredient but then after that it’s just a lot of cheap industrial chemicals.”

Harper started looking at options in the “natural” skincare market.

“They show you all these things that have algaes, roses, honey and then you turn the box around and you’re like, wait, this is the same thing again. The parabens, the PEGs, the SLS’s, the glycols, all those antifreeze derivatives, all the petroleum…”

Eventually, Harper took matters into her own hands. “I had no idea if I could do better, honestly,” she says. “But I was like, I’m going to try. It took five years working with a lot of scientists, a lot of chemists, in different fields helping me and teaching me.”

In 2010, Tata Harper the brand launched from its namesake’s farm in the northeastern US state of Vermont and immediately captured the attention of consumers looking for non-toxic skincare that provided the same results they had come to expect from mainstream luxury brands.

“That’s what we stand for, really: it’s cutting-edge technology but without a single drop of synthetic chemicals or any shortcuts along the way, including the level of active ingredients,” Harper says. “Natural skincare was not a place where people were making high-tech formulations. But the most high-tech stuff right now is in naturals;

they’re not mutually exclusive. It’s more about: do you want that technology to come from artificial chemicals, or do you want it to come from natural chemicals that grow in the earth?”

Tata Harper products, which include a full range of cleansers, masks, serums and more targeted treatments, are made from around 800 raw materials sourced from 68 countries – including five herbs grown on Harper’s Vermont farm. And given the nature – pun intended – of the ingredients, everything is crafted with utmost care at the company’s dedicated facility.

“Brands almost never make their own products. That was the biggest surprise, honestly. Especially with luxury skincare, where it’s almost an expectation because part of what makes a product luxury is the craftsmanship and the know-how that you bring to the equation,” Harper says. “So we were like, OK, we’re not really participating in that.

We want to make our products. And that has also ended up guaranteeing to our customers freshness because then you don’t end up with eight months’ worth of inventory that in some cases doesn’t get to the client for up to a year.”

Harper and her team still manage the entire manufacturing process, ensuring that the time between when a product is made and when it’s sold is about two months. And while the signature green-and-gold Tata Harper packaging remains the same, the company is constantly tweaking formulas and incorporating new technologies.

The beauty entrepreneur’s eyes practically light up as she describes the breakthroughs happening in the natural skincare space. “They’re extremely powerful and they represent today the latest in science and skin, whether it’s algae technology or stem-cell technology or the neuropeptide technology we bring in from Israel, all the redensifying technology that’s coming out of Germany. Plus all the functionals, all the natural preservatives, emulsifiers, everything,” Harper says. “It’s a really exciting time to be doing what we’re doing.”

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BEAU T Y

DOCTORS’ ORDERS A healthy, youthful-looking complexion is no longer the sole domain of the big beauty brands. ZANETA CHENG and TAMA LUNG meet three medical professionals shaking up the skincare industry

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n case you’ve forgotten, or perhaps weren’t aware, our skin is an organ. In fact, it’s the largest organ of our body, responsible for everything from temperature regulation and vitamin production to protection from UV radiation and other potentially damaging toxins, allergens and carcinogens. It’s also a vital barrier between our inner organs and the outside world, and a key indicator of our age, health and attractiveness.

Armed with this knowledge, as well as the expertise that comes through years of medical training, increasing numbers of doctors are entering the skincare market with painstakingly

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developed product lines and often proprietary ingredients.

Three such doctor-founded brands recently debuted in Hong Kong, hoping to tap into our obsession with effective, science-backed skincare that’s powered by Mother Nature.

It just so happens that all three brands hail from Germany, the latest hotbed of so-called clean beauty. The country’s reputation for high-tech engineering and sustainable living have made it the next in line after K-Beauty (Korea) and J-Beauty (Japan). Here we meet the latest champions of G-Beauty: Dr Barbara Sturm, Dr Augustinus Bader and Dr Timm Golueke.

DR BARBARA STURM

“Number one, I’m a woman. Two, I really care about my skin. Three, I’m not just in a white lab coat mixing creams; I’m also talking to my patients. And four, if something is not an obsession for me, I’m not doing it,” says Dr Barbara Sturm when asked what sets her namesake skincare brand apart. “There’s no motivation for me except for healing my own skin, looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘Perfect.’”

Sturm, who began her medical career as an orthopaedist, burst on to the beauty scene with the vampire facial.

She developed the treatment, which uses a patient’s own platelet-rich plasma, after trying to resolve her own skin issues.

“I spent a fortune on products, and nothing helped,” she says. “I was like, stop it right here. I’ll do my own cream.

I used proteins made from my white blood cells but also growth factors. I started using it and never went back to my facialist.”

Soon Sturm’s patients were asking for products too, “but I couldn’t recommend anything, so I had to come up with own.” With her orthopaedic background and scientific training, she focused her research on inflammation.

“Inflammation is what kills us. It’s what makes us sick, what makes us age, be red, be irritated. Inflammation takes down our tissue and really destroys our body in slow motion,” she says. “Diets can cause a lot of inflammation.

Travel. Acid peels and retinol actually cause inflammation.

Especially today, the air isn’t clear any more, food is getting worse and so on.”

But the worst culprit of all? “Bad skincare products,” she says. Sturm therefore set her sights on highly antiinflammatory ingredients and discovered the powerful

regenerative effects of the Central European medicinal plant purslane. The vitamin- and mineral-rich herb is combined with other active ingredients such as skullcap, Vitamin E, shea butter and hyaluronic acid in hero products that include the Super Anti-Aging Serum, Enzyme Cleanser, Deep Hydrating Face Mask and the innovative Anti-Pollution and Sun Drops.

“Most anti-ageing systems are damaging your skin in order to make it grow. But the best things for anti-ageing are anti-inflammation, hydration, nutrition and telomerase activation. Your skin also has a lot of mechanisms to take care of itself and the skincare is just there to help,” Sturm says. “It’s a new approach. I don’t think anyone in the skincare industry would tell you the same thing.”

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BEAU T Y

DR AUGUSTINUS BADER

“An Austrian doctor from the medieval period once said that if he could create fever, he could cure everything,” says Dr Augustinus Bader, the German scientist who has harnessed the power of inflammation and stem-cell rejuvenation to create The Cream, a cult product that’s caused a ruckus on the beauty scene in the past two years.

The product is a single cream to be applied without serum, on clean dry skin. It seems simple but the formula has its roots in burn scarring and transplant science from as far back as 1986, when Bader first travelled to Shanghai as a medical student to attend a conference on burn treatment, long before Bader had any contact with the skincare industry.

“These doctors, who were extremely advanced in the medicine of burns, were transplanting pig skin to people who were burned from head to toe and only had a bit of skin left on the soles of their feet,” Bader recalls. “Four weeks later the body rejected the pig skin, but this gave the patients’ skin enough time to expand on the body, so they survived these massive burns.

“This really inspired me. Maybe it was the first example in the world where one’s own stem cells were grown on the body, rather than what the rest of the world was doing where they grow cells outside the human body.”

Because of this, Bader went on to work at a transplant surgery where he was encouraged by his head of department to figure out ways to extend cell generation in an effort to multiply a body’s existing cells rather than rely on organ donation. “Your body is need-driven,” Bader explains. “It only activates its stem cells if there’s a need, so if I were to cut my hand, my body would know where the site of injury is immediately and direct signals to fix those wounds.

“Inflammation is seen as something extremely negative. But in reality it’s a signal that starts a repair process” — Dr Augustinus Bader

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“Inflammation is seen as something extremely negative,” he adds. “Nobody wants it, but in reality it’s a signal that starts a repair process, where your body activates your immune system. People think that when we get older we have a shortage of stem cells, but in reality they sit inside you until they’re activated. So think of the cream as skin food concocted with the perfect ingredients in the perfect concentration for stem cells to work at their optimum.”

It was Bader’s decade-long research in burns that really brought the masses to the cream Bader’s eponymous brand produces today. “I had a small clinic where people would come in with problems on their skin – burns and such – and I’d try to fix it. I’d put on my cream and they’d get beautiful skin,” Bader says, showing images of diabetic wounds that healed using his wound cream as well as month-by-month snapshots of a 13-year-old burn victim whose skin returned to normal over the course of a year of treatment.

“I started to realise that people become happy when they use a skincare product. Beauty is something that can really give self-esteem. You know, medical doctors really don’t think this way, but I think from everyone I treated that it really gives them self-confidence.”

DR TIMM GOLUEKE

Named for one of its core ingredients, Osmunda regalis, Royal Fern is the brainchild of dermatologist Timm Golueke and research scientist Leonhard Zastrow. The nine-piece collection is based on the patented Royal Fern Complex, which blends extracts of the evergreen and sunlight-resistant fern with seeds from the Voacanga africana tree, wild rose blossoms, sea buckthorn and UV-reflecting mineral oxides.

“Fern is highly anti-inflammatory, highly antioxidative, and it inhibits the telomeres that cause more pigmentation,” explains Golueke, who first learned of the ingredient’s health benefits from a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. “It’s an all-in-one agent to fight all signs of ageing.”

Golueke was motivated to create skincare – and hair- and scalp-care – products after repeated requests from his

patients. “This is how it starts. Then you think, should I do it?

And you talk about it, you think about it. You can have the idea but it’s not easy to do it,” he says. “So we started looking at ingredients and then this study came out, and we started developing the complex. I didn’t know how complicated it is.

It really takes four years to do everything from the testing to finding the packaging.”

Royal Fern – whose key products include the protective Phytoactive Anti-Aging Serum, concentrated Phytoactive Anti-Oxidative Ampoules and nutrient-rich Phytoactive Hydra-Firm Intense Mask – is produced in a small factory outside of Munich, and Golueke still relies on patients, friends and therapists to assist in research and development.

And unlike most dermatologists, who specialise only in aesthetic treatments, Golueke says at least half his patients visit him for common skin issues such as acne, rashes, melasma and mole checks.

“This is where the line started, with so many questions.

We’re all overwhelmed by duty-free shopping, social media, 50 beauty products being recommended to us by different channels every day,” he says, emphasising the importance of working with a dermatologist to really examine the products we’re applying to our skin and the treatments that are most appropriate.

In response to Dr Sturm’s claim that acids and peels make skin worse rather than better, Golueke says, “She’s not a dermatologist. Sometimes you have to peel. Or sometimes patients need to take Accutane, or do a monthly peel to prevent scarring. I think it’s a healthy mixture and, of course, overdoing anything is bad.

“You don’t always have to reinvent the egg, as we say in Germany. You don’t look good when you don’t look happy.

So you shouldn’t be neurotic about everything. And if you think a cream isn’t good for you, just stop using it.”

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COVE R

SEA CHANGE RICHARD EKKEBUS IS BRINGING A DINING EVOLUTION — NOT REVOLUTION — TO HONG KONG AS HE YANKS THE RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE AT THE NEWLY REFURBISHED AMBER OUT OF LUXURIOUS COMPLACENCY. P.RAMAKRISHNAN CHEWS THE (PLANT-BASED) FAT WITH THE CITY’S PREEMINENT CULINARY MASTER PHOTOGRAPHY NIC GAUNT | ART DIRECTION BEX GAUNT | STYLING TASHA LING

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COVE R

T-SHIRT LAGERFELD AT HARVEY NICHOLS

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eel free to protest copiously online against our bold-faced proposition that Richard Ekkebus is the most famous and finest chef living in Hong Kong. The culinary director of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, with a staff of 72 (at last count) and overseeing all cuisine at the hotel and its collection of eateries and bars, Ekkebus created and then championed Amber, the hotel’s signature restaurant, to a ranking as high as 20 on the list of the World’s 100 Best Restaurants. But that’s just one feather in his highly festooned cap; for the 10th consecutive year in 2018, Amber was awarded two stars in the Michelin Hong Kong and Macau guide.

While most would rest comfortably on their star-studded laurels, for the past six years Ekkebus has had grand plans to completely alter what was essentially a faultless restaurant, and had the lofty idea of changing not only its DNA but also expanding the cuisine culture of the five-star hotel as a whole. But not with predictable, tedious global expansion, rather with in-house, evolutionary changes to ensure that the hotel would be a key dining destination in a city long overcrowded with culinary alternatives.

But first, a bit of background. Ekkebus began his career with an apprenticeship in his native Netherlands under Michelin-starred chefs Hans Snijders and Robert Kranenborg. In his home country, he won the prestigious Golden Chef ’s Hat for Young Chef of the Year, an honour that encouraged him further to perfect his craft and dispense with his engineering-degree studies. This was much to the dismay and chagrin of his father, who didn’t speak to him for two years after he quit college. But under the tutelage of some of the greatest

chefs in France, including Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Passard and Guy Savoy, he honed his skills.

While in France, how could this foreigner make his mark in the notoriously difficult, esoteric, distinctly French, overtly snobby world of chefs and their kitchen-confidential games? Well, for one thing, he refused to play. Ekkebus didn’t even bother to compete. Instead, his wannabe “gypsy soul” led him on to a flight to Mauritius to become executive chef at the Royal Palm and then, years later, to the Sandy Lane in Barbados. He still considers Mauritius home (he has a sprawling house there – “where my wife and kids go a few times a year, far more than I do!”). In 2005, he was appointed executive chef for the Landmark Mandarin Oriental through an accident of fate (more on that later).

While things were swimming along, in December 2018, Amber closed for several months for renovations. Ekkebus spent his time exploring new ingredients, contemplating the needs of diners and evolving a bold new culinary philosophy.

Amber’s revered French-style cuisine was changed dramatically – the restaurant’s progressive menu has now dispensed with dairy products, minimised refined sugar and reduced salt, inviting diners to appreciate flavours in their purest form. So much effort, and such a big, expensive gamble. Will it pay off?

While it wasn’t the first question that came to mind when we finally meet in the innards of the hotel, it was one that lingered. Having dismounted his beloved motorbike and freshly changed from all-black denim into the crisp white linens worn by all cooking staff, Ekkebus discussed, well, just about everything during a series of conversations.

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FIRST, THE BASIC QUESTION: WHY RENOVATE AMBER WHEN IT HAD STELLAR REVIEWS AND A MILE-LONG WAITING LIST? YOU KNOW THE ADAGE, IF IT AIN’T BROKE…

That’s a good question, but to put it simply I didn’t want to take for granted the fact that Amber was so successful for so many years. I asked myself, if we continue in the same way, will it have another 50 years of shelf life? So, I came up with this new sort of evolution on the old Amber – which by the way, wasn’t so old.

I also thought, why not add three more restaurants while we’re at it?

So we went a bit insane. We opened SOMM by Sommeliers, which has a very strong food component. We built a brand-new Amber, of course, and a private room that’s hidden behind a wine cellar. Then we have two Japanese eateries: Sushi Shikon, the only three-Michelin-star sushi restaurant in Hong Kong, moved in with us, and also Kappo Rin, whose chef Masa-san is from Kyoto. It’s also supervised by the head chef of Sushi Shikon.

NOT ONLY THE RESTAURANT, BUT YOU’VE GOT A BRAND-NEW LOOK TOO. I’m going to be 53 soon, so I’m trying to be healthier. What’s going to be the next 15 and probably the last 15 years of my career? Is it going to be the same old, same old or is it going to be something very different and exciting? I decided to do something different and exciting.

FOR THE RESTAURANT, IT’S MORE THAN A COSMETIC, INTERIOR DESIGN CHANGE… Exactly. Well you can’t just make a cosmetic change – that’s just lipstick on a pig. A delicious pig, but still a pig! I really wanted to make a profound change. When we opened 15 years ago, we were a disrupting force. I think we wanted to be, once again, this disrupting force, but in a thoughtful way.

We decided, in a French restaurant, to take out that very old style of cooking, cut refined sugars, minimise salt. Not to become a more healthy restaurant but really to improve the experience. In a restaurant like this, we need to change the perception of what fine dining could be. And that’s the statement we want to make in the new Amber.

YOU’VE INVOLVED MANY FROM THE LOCAL COMMUNITY IN THIS PROJECT. Well, I think we all talk about sustainability but people always forget about the sustainability of making sure that people around you are able to make a good living. I wanted to make sure that we support local artists, local tailors, local food suppliers. My son is an artist; he studies at Parsons and I know how difficult it is to make a career in the arts.

I used to buy French jackets for all the chefs to wear. One day I asked a great local woman, who has a line called Milk, if she wanted to make chef jackets for me. And she brought me this great jacket – now all my staff uniforms are from her. It’s creating this organic cosmos of people who live on the success of the restaurants. Everything in our orbit, we want them to succeed.

Also, you can’t live for 15 years in Hong Kong and not be sensitive to how much opulence there is but also so much waste too [gesticulating outside to the crowded streets of Central] – in the sense that people don’t even realise the problem that they’re creating. I felt that we as a restaurant needed to be more in the forefront of trying to create a movement from a professional perspective and making a change in Hong Kong and especially in how we consume it.

It was very important for us that that that became the golden thread through the whole project. We wanted to cut out the industrial washing of white linen, so we have no tablecloths. We also went for natural and stained materials instead of, you know, dyed, chemical things.

DOES THIS GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO INGREDIENTS? THERE’S A CERTAIN HIGH-STATUS VALUE TO STATE THAT THE STEAK IS FROM ARGENTINA, THE WAGYU FROM JAPAN, THE RED WINE FROM FRANCE, THE WHITE FROM NEW ZEALAND AND SO ON. Of course. In the past I always thought that chicken from France would be the best chicken, but we’ve started to find a source closer to home. We have a chicken that comes from New Territories because there’s a farm where people are doing great things and we want to support them and see that they can make a living out of that.

And we’re building a rooftop garden here as we speak to grow all the small vegetables and herbs. You know something funny? Most of my chefs have no clue how a vegetable, flower or herb grows! And it’s very strange because I was born and raised in the countryside.

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GARDEN ROOFTOPS SOUNDS LOFTY.

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But we have to start somewhere – to make Central more green, and to bring more oxygen to Central. We really need to reduce our carbon footprints. Maybe the majority of our restaurant guests aren’t bothered with it, but through this messaging and by explaining why, we can plant a little seed of this idea to buy local. We did the maths; we were bringing in 35,000 kilograms of dairy products every year. Think of that carbon footprint. Insane.

THE MENU WON’T CHANGE FUNDAMENTALLY TO SOMETHING TEDIOUSLY HEALTHY, WILL IT?

We’ve always been seafood-focused, because that’s who I am. I was born and raised next to the sea, so seafood is where I’m comfortable. I always love vegetables. I had a hippie mum and we were always veggie-driven in our home. And it’s a very Dutch thing. I always had a heavy hand on vegetables but a very light style of cooking. So we were never a place like Caprice or Robuchon, butter and cream. We always had a lighter touch.

I want people to have an amazing meal here and not go into a food coma after. I thought of this after a recent trip to France.

HOME BASE OF ALL FINE DINING.

Exactly. We ate at all the fine restaurants, food marathons. We ate at so many Michelin-star restaurants but after, we could do nothing. We wanted to go see the museums but we collapsed in food comas. And I thought, it should be a better feeling when you leave a restaurant.

That’s what triggered for me that we need to cook differently.

When we cut the salts and sugars, the flavour was better. We replaced cream with tofu. Maybe not as exciting, but we replaced milk with water.

All of a sudden there’s a very different flavour profile. I had this little discussion with my team about how much dairy we would use in a menu on average. We put everything on a tray: the cream, butter, milk. The tray was so heavy – who wants to eat all this in one sitting?

WHAT ELSE DID YOU ELIMINATE?

We started by asking the question, what really makes you feel bad after eating? We identified refined sugars. We need protein, but let’s use better protein. We need fat. So we started to buy all these different types of oils; we identified about 70 blended and basic oils. We use about 30 on a daily basis now. People don’t like salty foods. So we started to work more with umami and less with salt.

I call them dogmas, but I think these are limitations actually. [They push] us to be more creative. Instead of ultimately falling back on the little cream, a little butter, it forces us to think. We want to bring in fat elements that could enhance the dish? So we experiment with oils; olive oil, flaxseed oil, rice-bran oil, almond oil, avocado oil, pumpkinseed oil, all types of flower oils – all of a sudden we see the possibilities these oils have within the flavour profile.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO HONG KONG IN THE FIRST PLACE, BY THE WAY? After Barbados, I was on my way to New York when 9/11 happened.

Every plan went on a toss, as everything I’d planned with my family was gone. And then Mandarin Oriental came along and offered me a couple of opportunities that I didn’t want initially. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse; they asked me to create a restaurant from scratch.

They just asked us to make it a world-famous restaurant.

IS YOUR FAMILY IN THE HOSPITALITY BUSINESS?

My grandparents were. My grandfather ran the bar and my grandmother was always in the kitchen. Because my father was a child of hotelrunning parents, he always told us never to go into hospitality; you’d have no private life, no family life and it’s too much hard work and, “I don’t want you to go through this. I’ve seen it with my parents and they both died before they were even 60.” I was studying engineering, and to earn money on weekends, I worked in the kitchens. I hated what I was studying and I loved what I was doing part-time, so I made the switch.

My father didn’t speak to me for years – but then later he came around and he was very proud of me.

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T-SHIRT AND SHOES MAISON MARGIELA JACKET DONDUP AT HARVEY NICHOLS JEANS AMERICAN EAGLE SUNGLASSES PUMA

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SPEAKING OF PRIDE, WHAT DID THE MICHELIN STAR MEAN TO YOU WHEN YOU FIRST GOT IT?

HOW DID YOU LAND YOUR FIRST APPRENTICESHIP?

I would read Gourmand, a very famous French magazine at the time, about all these famous chefs. I would buy books in French, but my French was very average and I would obsess over these people, especially Guy Savoy. I heard hundreds of people wanted to learn under him.

But I was also very clever: I knew he loved rugby and I used to play rugby. I wasn’t that great, but I made sure to talk a lot about rugby and how much I loved it. He said, “You’re hired.” Sometimes you need to do your homework.

WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE GREAT CHEFS YOU WORKED WITH?

I think Guy Savoy really made a mark on me on a human level, because he was so strong. Some people really have it in themselves to lead people and he’s a natural-born leader. You’d want to follow him if he walked into a fire, without question. I’ve worked with people who’ve been extremely tough on me, like Robert Kranenborg in Holland, a two-star chef. He really taught me about cooking and the refinement of cooking, and he always called it playing with fire. Cooking is not just putting things on the stove; it’s about regulating fire and how to get the best extractions. And then working with Pierre Gagnaire was about trusting your instincts. He’s not a guy who’s about written recipes, his style is very unconventional. He’s like the jazz man of cooking. I learned from him the only person that’s in charge when you’re cooking is yourself.

It’s the greatest recognition that we’ve had through all these years of repositioning and rethinking. But that honour hangs like the Sword of Damocles – I’ve been reading in The New Yorker about chefs who killed themselves over the fall of a rating or the pressure to maintain it. It’s just an opinion, after all.

I was very close friends with [the late chef and owner of La Côte d’Or in Saulieu, France] Bernard Loiseau and it’s extremely personal and it’s very hard to grasp for me. Some people can’t take it. Opinions aren’t facts, no matter how well articulated.

VERY TRUE.

It does piss me off, though, I’m going be honest with you. I stopped reading TripAdvisor reviews because it affects my day and it shouldn’t because it’s one person’s opinion. There are colleagues, however, whom I really respect; when they come here I really want to hear what they think. Opinions are like ... well, they’re like a butthole.

EXCUSE ME?

Everyone has one. But it doesn’t mean anything. Constructive criticism, that I can take.

Visit prestigeonline.com for Fast Food, a round of quick-fire questions with Richard Ekkebus.

SO YOU’VE BEEN TO PIERRE IN HONG KONG?

Yes, of course, many times. When he [Gagniere] comes to town, we try as much as we can to catch up. I still call him Chef. I’m not competitive with him or his restaurants. I want to do well for myself, not disappoint myself. You don’t want to do well to beat other people, you do it for yourself. For the pride you have in what you do. #prestigeprofiles | PRESTIGE

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WOMAN ON THE VERGE THE 14TH RECIPIENT OF THE WOMEN IN FILM MAX MARA FACE OF THE FUTURE AWARD, ELIZABETH DEBICKI TALKS TO ZANETA CHENG ABOUT DEFINING HERSELF AS AN ACTRESS AND NAVIGATING AN INDUSTRY STILL GRAPPLING WITH ITS TREATMENT OF WOMEN

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he’s pretty, don’t you think?” remarks a friend while we’re watching Widows one evening on holiday. I take a closer look at Alice, the abused and arguably most oppressed character in the critically acclaimed Steve McQueen heist movie. She’s shaped in the movie by the men she’s with and even by Viola Davis’s character Veronica. Alice is pretty in a delicate sort of way, but it’s hard to define because she is wan and her face more often than not communicates defeat.

I’m surprised because Alice’s face doesn’t trigger the competitiveness that a comment like that would usually summon. Perhaps it’s because I’m watching her in a scene where she’s staring at her tear-stained face in her vanity mirror, having just lost her abusive husband, and she’s being berated by her mother to pull herself together and to use her remaining femininity to go into prostitution. I don’t feel competitive so much as indignant.

Alice is more than her looks. Alice has to be more than her looks because she’s a victim of being blonde-haired, blue-eyed “pretty”.

Then something about her face clicks. It had been a few weeks since I met Elizabeth Debicki in Milan at Fashion Week, fresh from the announcement that Max Mara had awarded her its 2019 Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award. At the time, she was impeccably dressed in the Italian brand, hair slicked back, face perfectly madeup – almost entirely unrecognisable from the listless blonde

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in the beginning of Widows and more akin to her suave breakout role as Jordan Baker in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 hit The Great Gatsby, a character that the star herself credits for her impressive entry into acting.

“My first real job in the industry was Baz’s film,” she recalls. “It was huge. It really elevated my access and reach to material, and all of a sudden it put my name on a map that I didn’t even know was a map yet. It was fast and I’m the first person to say that it was a very unusual boost, but how it happened was just really organic.

“Because Baz in a sense is quite transgressive and didn’t want to cast probably the way he – you know, he had big stars in the movie, so he could put the net out and find a genuinely unknown human being. Because I’d never done a job before, I mean, that was really the beginning of things, and then I fell into a series of really great jobs and worked with amazing people like Cate Blanchett, Isabelle Huppert and Guy Ritchie.”

I’d spent a full nine minutes with the actress, who’s warm, intelligent and self-assured. She was seated in a large felt chair in a private room at a five-star hotel in Milan, so I suppose I can be forgiven for failing to draw an immediate connection between Elizabeth Debicki – the breakout Australian star who’s become a firm fixture in the spotlight in six years, working with the best from Leonardo DiCaprio to Cate Blanchett – to the defeated character I was watching on screen.

Debicki has, in a way, been typecast in strong female roles, from Victoria, a beautiful, patronising villain in the spy film The Man from U.N.C.L.E to Jed Marshall in The Night Manager and Virginia Woolf in Vita & Virginia.

“The reason I loved playing [Alice] so much is because I’d never really been able to play a character that had such a significant arc,” Debicki says. “Alice was a woman written onto the page in a beautifully nuanced way, She was highly complex. She had a painful but all-too-recognisable history of abuse from her husband and suffered from the consequential systemic absence of a sense of self-worth.

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“WHO YOU ARE IS DIFFERENT FROM ANYONE ELSE. GO FORWARD WITH THE COURAGE TO WALK YOUR OWN PATH” She’d been told her entire life that she should be seen and not heard, that she should be submissive to figures of authority at any cost of any feelings of empowerment, or any experience of having space to use her own voice or to make her own decisions about her own future.

“I feel like, in the movie, she really represents something potent about the psychology of a woman going from somebody who has accepted their fate and accepted the kind of societally imposed patriarchal structure where you don’t have any value or worth on your own. You’re an adjunct to man, and she’s uneducated and doesn’t feel like she has any skills.

“Alice’s journey was a chance to have a dialogue. It’s about the evolution of a woman who breaks free from societally imposed roles that are stagnating her and causing her pain and [who] finds independence in becoming economically self-reliant as well as developing a burgeoning trust in herself as a capable and strong human. You kind of watch her discover all these things about herself, that she’s really intelligent, she’s empathetic – and to be able to play that was so empowering.”

It’s a performance that has the actress tipped by critics for an Oscar nomination. But it’s also allowed Debicki to redefine herself and her breadth as an actress while at the same time encouraging other women to do something similar. “You, your core and who you are, what you have to say as an artist, is radically different from anyone else,” Debicki says when asked what advice she has to give to other women in the film industry. “Your greatest gift is your individuality, so even when it’s tempting to do so, out of habit or insecurities that plague us all, comparative thinking can be defeating. Go forward with the courage to walk your own path.”

COURTESY OF MAX MARA

Debicki’s individuality marches to a beat that has attracted brands like Max Mara. “I was really surprised and then really honoured when I found out about the award,” she says. “The support of Max Mara in my career is really affirming. It makes me feel supported and makes me want to keep going. I think when people recognise your work at this stage in a career, it’s really bolstering. That the brand takes the time to celebrate and acknowledge women and their work is important, and it’s important for women to celebrate women.”

Perhaps this is why Debicki’s looks don’t polarise her female audience, because she is – and works to be – so much more than meets the eye. “The beauty of working in our industry is that you never know what role, what challenge is just around the corner,” she says. “The landscape for women in film and TV is changing as more women are writing and producing and directing, and this means as actresses we are given material that’s written with subtlety and authenticity from the inside of the woman’s journey that we’re watching play out.

“When it starts from the grass roots with this honesty, with women being in charge of the story of the women they’re portraying, I think we can engage female audiences in a real way. I find myself very drawn to these kinds of projects, which I’m seeing more and more lately.”

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ABOVE: PHOTOGRAPHS BY TADAO ANDO OF SPACES HE DESIGNED RIGHT: THE ARCHITECT WITH DESIGNER GIORGIO ARMANI

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SHAPING SPACE AS ARMANI/SILOS IN MILAN HOSTS THE CHALLENGE, AN EXHIBITION OF TADAO ANDO’S WORK, JING ZHANG CONSIDERS THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF THE PRIZE-WINNING AND LARGELY SELF-TAUGHT JAPANESE ARCHITECT

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n Tadao Ando’s architecture, I see an extraordinary ability to transform ‘heavy’ materials, such as metal and concrete, into something truly exciting,” said fashion mogul Giorgio Armani, as he announced their latest project together in April. “I very much like his use of light, a fundamental element that helps shape the character of spaces.”

Ando’s work commands a reverence around the world that’s almost religious. There’s something monastic yet grandiose about the Japanese architect’s bare, massive concrete structures, and the way light illuminates around and through them.

From the monumental lavender-covered temple that completely circles a 13.5-metre-high Buddha statue at Sapporo’s Makomanai Takino Cemetery to the Modern Art Museum at Fort Worth Texas and the completely circular art gallery housed in the 19th-century Paris Bourse de Commerce, Ando has infused almost spiritual meaning into the material. In the case of his churches (the Ibaraki Kasugoaka’s cut-out cross of light and the water cascading down on Chapel on the Hill) and temples, that meaning is expressed almost literally.

“I wish to create an architecture that will live on eternally,” he explains, “not in substance or form, but as a memory within people’s hearts.”

Winning the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 1995 put the Osaka-born architect on a new plane. His career over five decades has been an evolution of a man largely self-taught in architecture, who began in the age of hand-drawn sketches and vast imaginations. Remarkably, he worked as a truck driver and professional boxer before finding his calling in architectural design.

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“I WISH TO CREATE AN ARCHITECTURE THAT WILL LIVE ON ETERNALLY AS A MEMORY WITHIN PEOPLE’S HEARTS”

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Through apprenticeships, night classes and visits to buildings around the world, he honed his skills and unique attitude to space, materiality and light. First intrigued by architects such as Le Corbusier, Ando went on to develop an approach that was unique and rather unmistakeable – a curious blend of Japanese tradition with bold, impactful, contemporary style. He opened his first office in 1969 in Osaka, quickly gaining renown – and over the decades became perhaps Japan’s most famous contemporary architect.

Armani has long been a fan. Ando’s philosophy and precision inspired the Italian in 2001 to commission him to design Armani/Teatro – an impressive industrial monolith – in Milan’s via Bergognone. The Ando retrospective, which was also shown at the Centre Pompidou in Paris last year, is readapted and designed for the Armani/Silos space in Milan. Titled The Challenge, it runs until July 28 and was inaugurated in April during this year’s Salone di Mobile by both Armani and Ando.

“I’m very happy about this new collaboration and believe that Armani/Silos, with its austere, evocative atmosphere, is the perfect place to express the poetry and power of his work,” said Armani.

ABOVE AND OPPOSITE, BELOW RIGHT: DELFINO SISTO LEGNANI E MARCO CAPPELLETTI

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The essence of The Challenge is at the crux of why Ando finds architecture so fascinating. Whereas some architects just wish to dominate a space with their creations, this one seems more concerned with the way in which manipulated spaces can affect human feeling. There’s great emotional power to the Zen-like structures that Ando specialises in – the effect is elevation of spirit through a scaled reminder of human humility.

Since the exhibition encompasses Ando’s endeavours for the past half-century, the architect hopes it can also “contribute to the future development of design and culture”. Organised into four major themes – Primitive Shapes of Space, An Urban Challenge, Landscape Genesis and Dialogues with History – the narrative traces his architectural ideologies and structures over his career, and his use of nature, water and light. There are mock-ups of his biggest projects to date, such as his restoration of the Punta della Dogana in Venice and the Bourse project.

“As architecture encounters various phenomena, it activates new dialogues. It is these dialogues that speak to people’s souls. How can I shape these dialogues to be more fundamental and more fruitful?” he asks. “There’s no single answer to this question, as every project has its own unique context. This is what makes architecture challenging.

This is why it’s fun.”

Fun seems almost too flippant a word for what Ando does. The rawness of grey concrete touches on elements of Japanese wabi-sabi, whereas the perfect sweeping curves of his massive circular spaces and ovals can be heart-stopping to those who visit. He favours concrete, glass and steel, as well as floating pavilions, panels and gardens. The barren smoothness of the concrete is achieved by varnishing the formwork before pouring the material. Fun is not quite the word that springs to mind for those beholding his structures – “awe” is perhaps more apt.

This work has earned Ando many accolades apart from the Pritzker. After only 10 years of working as an architect, he won the annual prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan in 1979 for his Row House in Sumiyoshi (commonly referred to as the Azuma House), while the School of Architecture at Rome’s La Sapienza University bestowed on him a Laurea Honoris Causa in 2002.

“Tadao Ando is an absolute master of architecture, with an unmistakeable aesthetic style that comes very close to my sensibility,” said Armani, who shares with the architect an almost obsessive love of greyscale, precision and pure tailored lines.

It’s natural to become introspective and reflective when collating a summary of your life’s work. At 77 years of age, and after half a century in the field, Ando remains “eager to continue tackling the endless challenge of creating

architecture”. He’s explained that he views his hand as an extension of his thinking process and of his creative mind – and how important it is to keep that mind fresh, hopeful and in discovery mode.

“No matter your age, it is better to be an unripe green apple than a ripe red apple. To be unripe is to be youthful, to be naive, to be energetic,” Ando says. “When you have matured completely, you are no longer able to learn anything new or attempt things that might end in failure.

To quote one of my favourite poems, Youth by Samuel Ullman, ‘Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul’.”

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE TOP: INSTALLATION VIEW OF THE CHALLENGE; ONE OF ANDO’S LANDSCAPE GENESIS PROJECTS; A 3D EXHIBIT AT THE CHALLENGE; AN URBAN CHALLENGE

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FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF TIANCHEN TIMES; YUNNAN PROVINCIAL MUSEUM

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES The fourth edition of Bulgari’s SerpentiForm exhibition has arrived in the ancient Sichuan city of Chengdu, showcasing the enduring influence of the snake in art, jewellery and design. tama lung gets a sneak peek during the lavish grand opening

GILDED BRONZE BUCKLE WITH TWO DANCING MALE FIGURES, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY, 202 BC–8 AD OPPOSITE: SUN HAO, EVERYTHING DEDICATED TO YOU, 2019

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ew creatures have captured the imagination over the millennia like the snake, the insidious reptile that is at once graceful, mysterious and, often, deadly. It has appeared in some form across almost every culture, religion and civilisation, representing anything from fertility and rebirth to protection and salvation.

The snake is also a favourite icon of modern-day artists and craftsmen, in particular those associated with the Italian luxury house Bulgari. It was 1948 when Bulgari first took the legless reptile and reinterpreted it as a timepiece, its body coiling around the wrist and its mouth housing a small dial.

Over the decades since, the Serpenti has become a crucial symbol of the brand, reinterpreted in various forms from watches to necklaces to handbags, as well as one of its most enduring inspirations.

It was this sense of symbolism and history that led Bulgari to create a book dedicated to snake-inspired artwork and antiquities, which sparked the idea for a first-of-its-kind exhibition in the brand’s home city of Rome in 2016. “We really wanted to celebrate the serpent not for the jewellery but for what it inspired artistically across the planet in many different cultures and many different times,” explains CEO Jean-Christophe Babin. “Art, to me, is the ultimate expression of human

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ABOVE: KANG CHUNHUI, ROOT OF ALL LIFE–JADE, 2017 LEFT: POTTERY FIGURINE FROM THE CHENGHAN KINGDOM, 304–347 AD

genius because it’s a mix of creativity and engineering. I was in Egypt last week showing some of my kids the pyramids and behind those pyramids you have a quest for beauty, you have a quest for eternity, but at the same time you have very sophisticated engineering knowledge just as you would find in a Bulgari high jewellery necklace. This is the kind of beauty that appeals to several senses and so we didn’t want to do a jewellery exhibition; we wanted to provide for the first time ever the artistic context of our main jewellery symbol Serpenti through the ages.”

Subsequent SerpentiForm exhibitions have been held in Singapore and Tokyo, but when it came time for this year’s event, the maison shifted its focus to China and the context it could bring to the project. “We realised that this topic of the snake could be extremely meaningful in China because of the cultural relevance of the snake and so we started to expand and deepen our research,” explains Lucia Boscaini, Bulgari’s brand and heritage curator.

And as they searched for a local partner that could source the Chinese artwork and provide a suitable venue, Chengdu Museum emerged as the most logical choice. Not only is it located in one of China’s ancient capitals, a noted centre of art and heritage, but the museum itself shares qualities of the snake, having shed its dated 1980s-era form to reopen as a striking, modern building in 2016.

“Chengdu Museum has a permanent collection that’s really amazing and has a lot of snakes coming from really interesting artworks of the past,” Boscaini says. “We met them several times and of course they knew us as a commercial brand, so it took a while to get to know each other and understand the real potential of the message. We worked together for several months, identifying unique items from both sides, and this is definitely the most sophisticated exhibition we’ve had so far.”

Having sampled some of the city’s artfully presented fare – Chengdu is famous for its teahouse culture and appreciation of leisurely pursuits – and spent an afternoon watching giant pandas sleep, roll over and occasionally saunter in search of bamboo, we arrive at Chengdu Museum to be greeted by an army of security guards and by waiters bearing trays of champagne.

It’s nearly time for the grand-opening ceremony and in true Bulgari form, we’re graced by the appearance of singer/actor (and former boy band member, who still makes young fans scream and swoon) Kris Wu as well as Hollywood icon Uma Thurman. But once all the excitement has died down, attention shifts back to the exhibition and the treasures to be found past the neon-lit SerpentiForm entrance.

First are the Chinese and Italian antiquities, ranging from a representation of the mythical Xuan Wu (an entwined turtle and snake) to a statue of a young Hercules grappling with two snakes and underlining the fact that the snake has carried cultural and religious meaning for

“We wanted to provide the artistic context of our main jewellery symbol through the ages” — Jean-Christophe Babin

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: CHENGDU MUSEUM; COURTESY OF TIANCHEN TIMES; MUSEI CAPITOLINI, PALAZZO NUOVO, ROME, ITALY; PRIVATE COLLECTION; BVLGARI HERITAGE COLLECTION

CULT U R E

STATUE OF YOUNG HERCULES WITH SNAKES, 160-180 AD

thousands of centuries. “It’s really amazing how the craftsmanship is so similar to jewellery,” Boscaini says. “The detail is so sophisticated.”

From weapons and talismans, we move to more contemporary pieces by artists such as Alexander Calder, Niki de Saint Phalle, Heri Dono, Joan Miró, Philip Taaffe and Joana Vasconcelos. The snakes slither their way into Medusa-inspired paintings and more playful pop-art drawings and sculptures. The work of French-American Saint Phalle in particular illustrates how the snake, which typically represents sinister, monstrous elements, can be transformed into something innocent and joyful – a practice that helped the late artist recover from personal tragedy and devastating depression.

But Bulgari didn’t stop at existing works by world-famous and wellestablished artists. Babin and Boscaini also enlisted Chinese artists to create their own depictions of the snake. Sun Hao and Chengdu artist Yang Miang made pieces especially for the exhibition, adding to a number of pieces curated by the consultancy Tianchen Times.

Having travelled through time and space with the serpent in all its many forms, we arrive at the final hall and its theatre and opera costumes, vintage evening dresses and fashion photography. The eyecatching display is meant to illustrate a modern and more personal perspective on the snake and its role as a woman’s means of seduction.

“I think we’re now in a historical moment where we don’t learn anymore by just reading. We have so many different media around us and everything’s moving so fast. So that’s why I tried in this exhibition, like in the others, to introduce an element of emotion,” Boscaini says.

“The exhibitions we try to build are very immersive, including the music and the images, because we try to offer something that’s beyond the rational learning that you can experience in a regular exhibition. I think it’s more contemporary because it helps people of all backgrounds, and maybe you don’t remember the year a certain artwork was created but you can enjoy its beauty.”

TIPPING THE SCALES

BVLGARI CELEBRATES THE MANY INSPIRING MOTIFS OF THE SERPENT

Whether it’s a bracelet that curls up the arm or a snake’s head adorning a handbag clasp, serpent imagery has become indelibly associated with the Bulgari brand. “There’s no real meaning in terms of the values it’s symbolising; for us it’s more an aesthetic source of inspiration,” explains Lucia Boscaini of the snake motif. “But then it’s also a challenge in terms of craftsmanship.”

Indeed, the Serpenti collection originated from the secret watch developed soon after World War II, and that featured the innovative Tubogas technique inspired by gas piping. The sleek, flexible band was an immediate success and went to inspire further interpretations, especially with the arrival of CEO Jean-Christophe Babin in 2013.

“Serpenti was really the restart of high jewellery for Bulgari, but we also saw potential for more accessible items like pendants and rings and different representations of the snake, not only literal ones like the animal wrapping around the wrist but also elements like the skin itself,” he says. “We really tried to express the snake creatively in different ways and addressing different price points.”

Many of these creations are on display at Chengdu Museum, at the close of the SerpentiForm art exhibition, including contemporary pieces and archival items on display for the first time.

FROM TOP: SERPENTI BRACELET-WATCH IN GOLD WITH POLYCHROME ENAMEL AND FANCY YELLOW DIAMONDS, CIRCA 1967; MELONE EVENING BAG IN THREE-COLOUR GOLD WITH DIAMOND, CIRCA1978

SerpentiForm runs until August 25. See serpentiform.BVLGARI.cn for an augmented-reality experience and to discover a hidden digital artwork

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CULT U R E

CASE STUDY FAMED FOR HIS CRUMBLING, FULL-SIZE REPRESENTATIONS OF EVERYDAY ARTEFACTS, ARTIST DANIEL ARSHAM HAS NOW TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO A SUITCASE, WRITES JON WALL

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orn in Cleveland, brought up in Miami and now based in New York, contemporary visual artist Daniel Arsham creates work that spans the spectrum between art, architecture and performance; to these eyes, many of his recent pieces also combine elements of sculpture, hyper-realism and decay.

In Hong Kong for Art Basel 2019, Arsham explained that his “broad ranging” oeuvre falls into two categories.

One is “fictional archaeological works that investigate contemporary objects as if projected into the future, and the other [is] architectural manipulations, works that disrupt the surface of the object.

“I grew up in Miami,” he said, “and I saw the city evolve, and the lack of preservation of historical things. They’re constantly tearing things down and building things up, which I’m sure is the case here in Hong Kong. And there are places where this meets in the middle, where you can be building one up and tearing one down next to it, and that place in between is what interests me.”

As to the suggestion that his crumbling representations of everyday objects and cultural artefacts – such as his installation of an eroded Delorean, a car made famous in the movie Back to the Future, in pyrite and quartz – are somehow dystopian, Arsham counters that he prefers the word “inevitable. Everything that exists today will become an archaeological object, so by considering the process as inevitable gives us a different perspective on the everyday.”

Arsham is a co-founder of the multi-disciplinary New York design practice Snarkitecture, whose commercial collaborations include store interiors in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and the BEAM Nightclub in Bangkok.

Individually, he’s also worked with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Adidas, and his most recent project is a collaboration with Rimowa.

Available from May 17 in a numbered and signed limited edition of 500, the Rimowa x Daniel Arsham Eroded Suitcase is an imagined future archaeological discovery that “illustrates how new technologies can quickly become obsolete”. The irony? It’s presented in a gleaming, brandnew special-edition attaché case.

FROM TOP: CASE WITHIN A CASE; DANIEL ARSHAM; A RIMOWA AND ITS IMAGINED ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION

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T OYS

JOIN THE Q

REPLICATING THE RUNAWAY SUCCESS OF AUDI’S FIRST-GENERATION MID-SIZE SUV CROSSOVER, THE Q5, DIDN’T REQUIRE ROCKET SCIENCE, WRITES JON WALL. IT SIMPLY MEANT MORE OF THE SAME — ONLY EVEN BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY CHRISTIAAN HART

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or someone who claims immunity to the charms of SUVs, not only do I find myself driving an awful lot of these needlessly oversized motor cars, but also on occasion I’m even forced to admit that the better ones are actually rather good. So here I am again, grinning and bearing it as I punt around town, gazing down on lesser mortals from the privileged perch afforded by the hot seat of yet another urban tractor – and it’s all for your benefit.

This time, however, I’m aboard Audi’s second-generation contender in the mid-size, premium-crossover segment, the Q5. It’s a car with which you’re almost certainly familiar, as it first arrived on these shores almost two years ago – and now it’s available, fully loaded with all manner of tech and luxury, in a discreetly flashy “limited-edition” version.

The original Q5, you may recall, was unveiled around 10 years back and followed in the sizeable wake churned up by Audi’s first-ever SUV, the monstrous Q7. Positioned somewhere between a motor car and a Mack truck when it elbowed its way on to the market in 2005, that latter machine is perhaps known best for its thuggish countenance, which snarled “Get out of my way!” at cowering motorists unfortunate enough to behold its unfeasible bulk bearing down on them in the rear-view mirror.

Fortunately, the smaller Q5 was much less menacing. More soft rock than heavy metal, and satisfying the ballooning demand for a car offering limited off-road capability and an elevated driving position, this familyfriendly Audi quickly established itself as the preferred transport of soccer mums the world over. Indeed, in its nine years of production the first-gen model sold more than 1.6 million units, the kind of numbers one imagines the company could have hardly dared dream about when it first set about building SUVs. With such a runaway success on its hands, Audi was never going to break the mould for the Q5’s second coming, even though it was new in almost every respect. Built on an evolution of the VW Group’s MLB platform, it’s marginally longer, wider and taller than its predecessor, though in concept, appearance and proportions it’s more or less identical.

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T OYS

There are clues, however, such as the angular single-frame grille, which is now as much a corporate trademark as the former Auto Union’s four-ring logo, and exterior styling that’s sharper, tauter and more defined than before. Beneath the coachwork lurks a mix of aluminium and highstrength steels largely similar to that found on the current A4 saloon – and that, crucially, means the latest Q5 is significantly lighter than both the outgoing car and its current rivals, which should translate into gains in performance, handling and fuel economy.

My test vehicle is badged as a Q5 45 TFSI quattro, which denotes neither that it makes a mere 45 horsepower, nor that there’s 4.5 litres of engine nestled beneath the bonnet. Instead – and no thanks to a bewildering naming system introduced two years ago – those numbers indicate that the motor produces a maximum output in the 169-185kW band (which, now that I’ve written it down, still makes no sense whatsoever). You’ll probably find these figures much more enlightening: the Q5’s 1,984cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine produces 249bhp at 5,000-6,000rpm, with a maximum 370Nm of torque available from just 1,600 revs – and in the unlikely event you’re interested in a middleweight SUV for its performance potential, they also reinforce Audi’s claim that the car hits 100km/h from a standstill in 6.3 seconds and eventually reaches a top speed in excess of 235. Granted, your trousers are unlikely to self-combust from the excitement of driving the Q5 hard, but it’s certainly brisk for its class, with the 2-litre motor delivering a solid and sustained punch from the very bottom of the rev range.

The Audi is also fitted with the latest “ultra” version of the quattro allwheel-drive system, which in this incarnation is intelligently deployed whenever the additional traction is needed; in normal conditions the car is driven through the front wheels only. As for the transmission, it’s the familiar twin-clutch S Tronic seven-speed, whose up- and downshifts are

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often so smooth and impeccably judged that I occasionally wonder whether there’s anything actually in the engine bay, so silent is the powertrain. When forced to work hard, though, the motor can sound as harsh and tuneless as any four-cylinder unit, which is as good a reason as any to resist the urge to engage Sport mode.

When it comes to chassis development, however, Audi has clearly managed to get its mojo working during the past few years and the Q5 is generally notable for an air of quiet refinement. This is in spite of the fact that the S-line trim package means we’re riding on passive suspension (active dampers are an extra-cost option) and 20-inch alloys shod with low-profile rubber; big wheels sure look cool, but they’re rarely a recipe for ride comfort. Inevitably there’s some roll (the car is, after all, almost 1.7 metres tall), but the body is well controlled, there’s plenty of grip, handling is predictable and the steering is precise. The downside, however, lies in a helm that switches from being over light to too heavily weighted, with an artificiality that prevents the Audi from being genuinely fun to drive.

Among its owners, however, complaints such as these are unlikely to hold much sway, not least because the Q5 is as easy to live with as it’s versatile, capable and comfortable, with an interior whose fit and finish are as exemplary as the car’s perfectly aligned exterior panels. Unlike their counterparts at Benz, the folks at Ingolstadt have resisted the urge to dazzle the Audi’s occupants with Hollywood-style glitz; instead, they’ve created a cabin that impresses more through restraint, spaciousness and superb appointments.

AUDI Q5 45 TFSI QUATTRO

ENGINE: 2-litre turbocharged inline four TRANSMISSION: seven-speed dual-clutch MAX POWER: 249bhp MAX TORQUE: 370Nm @ 1,600-4,500rpm MAX SPEED: 237km/h ACCELERATION: 0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds WEIGHT: 1,720kg

Black is the dominant colour – in fact, it’s just about everywhere, from the electrically operated sport seats upholstered in two leather trims and the three-spoke, flat-bottom steering wheel to the carpet-lined luggage area. You might even call it sombre were it not for the illumination provided by deep windows and large panoramic roof.

There’s more than ample room to pack four full-size passengers aboard – comfort at the front is excellent, as are the driving position and visibility – and with the rear seat in place there’s still sufficient space to store everyone’s belongings. Flatten the second row of chairs and you could almost set up home here, with entry and egress facilitated by an electric tailgate that works at the touch of a button. It goes without saying that the entertainment, communications and information systems, which include a virtual display, a 7-inch colour monitor, navigation system and smartphone interface with Bluetooth, are class leading.

All of which brings me back to the beginning, because much as I want to say rude things about the Audi Q5, the more I drive it the more difficult I’m finding it to do so. It’s classy, roomy, smooth, quiet (largely), well made and practical. It even drives decently enough to engender a degree of contentment, if nowhere near excitement, and meets just about every need that a prospective owner might reasonably enumerate. In fact, if it weren’t an SUV I might even admit to liking it rather a lot...

TEACHER’S PET

WHEN IT COMES TO CARTING THE KIDS TO CLASS, WHICH PREMIUM CROSSOVER SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

BMW X3 Now in its third generation, the X3 finally drives like a Beemer should, though the Audi’s cabin just pips it.

JAGUAR F-PACE The Jag’s got panache and performance, but can this sporting Brit match the Audi’s classy interior?

MERCEDES-BENZ GLC Handsome on the outside and glamorous within, it’s a C-Class estate on steroids. Which is both good and not so.

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RS VP EVAN LIN

NING JING

JOLIN TSAI

BVLGARI

SNAKE CHARMER What? Jointly curated by Bulgari and the Chengdu Museum, the SerpentiForm exhibition opened in late April and explores the multifaceted meanings of the snake. More than 180 precious artworks and antiquities from East and West are showcased in the exhibition, which runs until August 25. (See page 92 for Prestige’s report on the exhibition and grand-opening festivities.)

Stars aligned: Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin was joined by brand ambassadors Kris Wu and Jolin Tsai as he introduced a glittering array of artefacts and jewels at the glamorous gathering.

KRIS WU

LI QIN

TONG LIYA

ANTONIA LI

ROSAMUND KWAN

EILEEN YING, CLAUDINE YING AND BRIGITTE LIN

SHARON AND ALAIN LI

CARTIER

QIN LAN

ADRIAN CHENG AND NIGEL LUK

LIVING COLOURS What? The grand – and we do mean grand – Hong Kong debut of Cartier’s Coloratura High Jewellery Collection, with gala dinners at Rosewood Hong Kong to which the region’s glitterati were invited. Not one, but two nights of dinners ensured that every major VIP in town was invited to see the spell-binding jewels.

The accompanying exhibition showcased more than 450 pieces, with a combined value in excess of HK$1.6 billion.

FYI: The collection’s name derives from a 16th-century Italian word signifying a highly elaborate virtuoso style in music; it, in turn, has its roots in the Latin “to colour”. Unsurprisingly, the jewels showcased myriad rich, rarefied hues that were absolutely incredible.

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RS VP CHOPARD

TIME AND AGAIN What? Chopard presented its new L.U.C (which, for the uninitiated, stands for Louis-Ulysse Chopard) watches with an exclusive preview followed by a VIP dinner at The Chinese Library. The venue was transformed into the L.U.C Academy, a horological workshop granting a behind-the-scenes look into the craftsmanship that characterises Chopard’s novelties.

Get in the game: In an interactive learning experience, the maison’s master watchmaker demonstrated Chopard’s horological expertise alongside the latest novelties from Baselworld, which include the brand’s first flying tourbillon.

BRANDON CHAU

LUNG LUNG THUN AND KEN KOSHIYAMA

JONATHAN HO FRANKLIN AND IRENE HENG

WENDY LAW, COLLEEN YU-FUNG AND JENNY CHAU

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ERIC CHOU

EDWARD MA

PAKHO CHAU

DIOR

GLAD LADS

ADAM PAK WESLEY WONG

What? Boys to men made a beeline for the cocktail reception at Dior Homme’s pop-up in the Landmark atrium, which was fronted by a jaw-dropping 5-metre-tall sculpture by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama.

The brand showcased its latest wears – and tears – for the debonair gents (as well as several others) you see on this page.

I heart Tokyo: Echoing artistic director Kim Jones’s futuristic theme from the label’s pre-autumn collection, the Japanese influence was visible on shoes and accessories, leather goods and ready-to-wear looks.

JONATHAN CHEUNG

RS VP MAYAO

HILARY FAN

GUCCI

ZOOMING IN What? The unveiling of a new handbag – Gucci Zumi – brought the usual retinue of fashionistas to Landmark one balmy evening, and we joined them for a glass of champagne.

Inspired names: For the inquiring, the new line is named after the Los Angeles‐based actress and experimental musician Zumi Rosow. At the event, it was a game of spotting who already owned the sought-after bag with its interlocking G and horse-bit hardware. As expected, several fashionable ladies strutted in with bag in hand, fresh from the spring/summer 2019 show.

YEN KUOK

GLADYS LI

VINCY YEUNG

LAURINDA HO FEIPING CHANG

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HARRIS CHAN

CARRIE LAM ANDREW YUEN AND JUDY YU

WENDY SIU

KARENA LAM AND ALAN CHAN CHRISTOPHER JACKSON, ANDERSON YANG MICHELLE NIEN, JULIEN-LOÏC GARIN AND NERO IP

LE FRENCH MAY

BON VOYAGE What? The 27th annual Le French May kicked off with a grand-opening ceremony and reception at Sha Tin Town Hall. With “voyage” as this year’s theme, the festival promises to transport attendees at its various events through time and space, and from East to West. The six-week-long extravaganza of all things français began with the first solo exhibition in Hong Kong of the work of late painter, sculptor and filmmaker Niki de Saint Phalle, which was enjoyed by politicos, celebs and socialites alike.

RS VP ANGIE NG

CINDY CRAWFORD

TERRANCE LAU

OMEGA

MODEL BEHAVIOUR What? The unveiling of the new Constellation Manhattan Ladies’ Collection by Omega with a global supermodel, Cindy Crawford, and a coterie of her – and the watch’s — fans.

Model mayhem: We knew the presentation would be a well-peopled affair because news broke earlier in the day that la Crawford had just jetted into town. A face of the brand since 1995, she was welcomed to the Ritz-Carlton’s Ozone by a chorus (well, cacophony) of screaming fans. The supermodel has a long association with Hong Kong; she first landed here in the mid-’90s while promoting her movie Fair Game and has been back several times since, more often than not in a timely manner with the Swiss watch brand.

JIMMY TANG, RAYNALD AESCHLIMANN, EMILY TANG AND JIMMY MAK ZELIA ZHONG

HILARY FAN

AKINA FONG

ELVA NI FLORENCE TSAI

JENNIFER YU

ASHLEY LAM

VERSACE

CHANYEOL

SHOE IN What? Crowds trailed along Queen’s Road as Versace launched its new Cross Chainer sneakers with Chanyeol, a member of Korean boy band EXO. The Central store was packed to the rafters with fans dressed in the Italian brand’s best-known motifs.

Well heeled: We spotted familiar faces in the throng, including Jennifer Yu, Mira Yeh, Ashley Lam, Akina Fong, Ming Ho Tang, Antonia da Cruz, Antonia Li, Faye Tsui and Feiping Chang. The ladies were more than happy to switch to the bling’d-out sneakers from the pencil-thin stilettos for which Versace is famous. We did, however, spot Alix Fownes in towering black-and-gold Versace heels. “Pain is beauty, my friend,” she explained.

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RS VP

ATELIER COLOGNE

CARMEN CHOI, YVONNE KUNG AND VIVIAN LI

FRESH AIR What? Atelier Cologne transformed bar/ restaurant Big Sur in Central into a tropical fiesta to launch their latest tangy perfume, Pacific Lime.

Music of the night: There were several familiar faces in the mix ‒ Michelle Wai, Jacqueline Chow, Sherie Kong and Andrew Pong, among others.

During the event, singer-actor Chui Tien You made a surprise appearance and performed two songs. With an enthusiastic mariachi band greeting all attendees, copious drinks and activities, it was a fun Friday night out in Soho as the party spilled into the streets.

CHUI TIEN YOU AND MICHELLE WAI

JACQUELINE CHOW

ANGELA HONG AND ANDREW PONG

ROSEMARY VANDENBROUCKE

VANGIE TANG

IRIS

ANGIE NG COFFEE LAM

WELLNESS WARRIORS What? IRIS: Your Escape, the two-day outdoor fitness fest in Hong Kong, brought out throngs of models, socialites and fitness enthusiasts in all their Spandexed glory.

A wellness weekend filled with yoga, fitness classes, group meditations and interactive performances in the heart of Central – we’re all for it! Om sweet om!

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CHRISTOFFER CHENG RACHEL MA

KHROMIS

EYE CATCHING What? Eyewear brand Khromis opened its Pacific Place pop-up with a cocktail party. Numerous local celebrities and influencers attended, among them Jessica Cambensy, Kenta Sakura – and the shady characters you see here.

RUBY LAM

GRACE CHAN DICKSON YU

GLORIA LO

SOPHY WONG

RAINIE YANG

PANDORA

FLOWER POWER What? Pandora launched its new Love in Full Bloom collection with a pop-up party at The Gateway Arcade in Harbour City. The guest of honour was actress and singer Rainie Yang, who arrived decked out in the latest jewellery, as did several other fashionable females, including Elva Ni, Jacqueline Ch’ng, Evelyn Choi, Ruby Fung and Ruby Lam. ANDY LIN

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IND U L GE N CE

PRIDE OF PLACE DINERS IN HONG KONG CAN FEAST ON ALL MANNER OF INTERNATIONAL CUISINES, BUT ITS CANTONESE FARE IS ARGUABLY THE BEST IN THE WORLD. JAMES CARVER AND SAMMY HEUNG GET TO KNOW THE FRAGRANT HARBOUR’S FINEST FROM THE CHEFS WHO PREPARE IT

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ith the recent release of a global Michelin guide devoted entirely to Cantonese cuisine – the first publication by the famed foodies’ bible, in fact, that’s dedicated to a single school of cookery – we decided it was high time for us to revisit a handful of Hong Kong’s dining institutions that have elevated the food of southeast China to a fine art.

YAN TOH HEEN

Renovated last year to resemble an exquisite jade jewellery box, the Cantonese eatery at InterContinental Hong Kong has earned two Michelin stars for five consecutive years and five stars from the Forbes Travel Guide for three consecutive years. The man behind its celebrated dishes is Lau Yiu Fai, who’s been with the restaurant since 1984.

“Due to our proximity the sea, chefs cooking Cantonese cuisine have access to the freshest seafood, which requires us to reveal the uniqueness of the ingredients and a sense of spontaneity,” says the executive chef.

“It’s not enough to just follow recipes; we need to show our personality.”

To do so, Lau adds layers of taste and texture. “For instance, to enhance the crispiness and succulence of our Peking duck, I created two new sauces: osmanthus plum and black garlic chili. We also serve six garnishes: green papaya, cucumber, red chili, pineapple, pomelo and spring onion. It caters to the tastes of both younger and older customers.”

Indeed, being a specialist in Cantonese cuisine doesn’t limit Lau to local ingredients. “I once travelled to the foot of Sakurajima in Kagoshima to find the radish for our turnip cake and a wet market in South Korea to search for seafood for our new dishes,” he says.

And while innovation plays a big role in the menu, traditional dishes are the reason Yan Toh Heen is hailed as one of the world’s finest Chinese restaurants. “After more than 30 years, most of all we want to continue to delight food lovers with our cuisine, service, ambience and spectacular harbour views,” Lau says. “My goal is to earn three Michelin stars, and my motto is: Don’t believe in luck and fate, but cause and effect.”

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CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: LUNG KING HEEN EXECUTIVE CHEF CHAN YAN TAK; CHAN’S CRISPY SCALLOPS WITH FRESH PEAR, SHRIMP PASTE AND YUNNAN HAM; SEVENTH SON’S FAMOUS CRISPY CHICKEN

LUNG KING HEEN

Known for exceptional dim sum and Cantonese “masterpieces”, Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong is the first Chinese restaurant in the world to be awarded the Michelin three-star rating and the only Cantonese restaurant in town to receive the accolade – and for an impressive 10 consecutive years.

Executive chef Chan Yan Tak was born and raised here, and serves as an inspiration for other local chefs – his success has proven they don’t have to travel abroad to become culinary stars. “I’ve been amazed at the response from people around the world,” Chan says. “I just carry on doing what I do and what I enjoy, and that’s cooking good food for people.”

What Chan means by that includes signature dishes such as steamed lobster with scalloped dumpling, wok-fried prawns with organic black garlic and dried chili, and, to celebrate this month’s Dragon Boat Festival, organic glutinous rice dumplings with abalone and conpoy, osmanthus and chestnut, or termite mushrooms, crabmeat and red beans.

For the boy from Kowloon, all the Michelin stars in the world can’t beat the sense of community among his team and the city at large.

“When I go to the wet market to buy some fish or vegetables,” he says, “I know I’ll always see the same faces and be served by the same people who’ve worked there for 20 or 30 years.”

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SEVENTH SON

Named for Chui Wai Kwan – the seventh son of Chui Fok Chuen, founder of the Chinese restaurant group Fook Lam Moon – Seventh Son is a story of family and tradition.

“I’ll always remember my roots and be grateful for his teachings,” chef and Seventh Son founder Chui says of his famous father. “I try to maintain the quality of the food in the restaurant by adhering to my father’s techniques and to the high quality of ingredients he used.”

Chui started as an apprentice cook at Fook Lam Moon at the age of 14 and within six years took over the position of head chef, before eventually establishing Seventh Son in 2013. His most popular dishes include such traditional Cantonese favourites as crispy chicken, barbecue suckling pig and bird’s-nest broth with fresh crabmeat.

Despite his restaurant being included in the Michelin guide and having received one star for its Shanghai branch, Chui values the recognition from his customers even more. “Their satisfaction and recognition is the most crucial thing for me,” he says. “Seeing my employees working hard and customers coming back are what I enjoy.”

Chui also hopes that the rest of the world will come to appreciate his style of food. “I think the future of Cantonese cuisine will develop towards Guangzhou,” he says, “as more new talented chefs come from the area.”

“I JUST CARRY ON DOING WHAT I ENJOY, AND THAT’S COOKING GOOD FOOD” — CHAN YAN TAK OF LUNG KING HEEN

LEI GARDEN

Founded in 1973, Lei Garden has grown into one of the largest Cantonese restaurant groups in Asia, with 25 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and Singapore.

Founder and chairman Chan Shu Kit is dedicated to delivering a seamless Cantonese dining experience. Over the decades, his chefs have invented thousands of new dishes and recipes. Most notable among them is XO sauce, first created by Lei Garden in 1983 with a blend of conpoy, ham and shrimp roe, and its world-famous chilled mango pudding, created in 1987 and featuring grapefruit and sago.

Of its 11 branches in Hong Kong, seven are featured in the Michelin guide with the original Mong Kok location and Kwun Tong earning a coveted star for “Cantonese fare reliably cooked with fresh ingredients” and recommended dishes such as double-boiled teal with Cordyceps militaris and fish maw.

Chan works tirelessly to ensure that all of his restaurants focus on the customer first and foremost. “Setting noble goals, studying hard, being a good person and doing good deeds” – this is the motto Chan learned from his father and that he’s ingrained in everyone who works for him.

ABOVE: SEAFOOD SOUP WITH DEEP-FRIED RICE AND MINCED MEAT; THE DINING ROOM AT LEI GARDEN’S IFC BRANCH

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T’ANG COURT

Wong Chi Fai started cooking for a simple yet wonderfully obvious reason – his love of eating. Despite the long hours and harsh conditions of working in a Chinese kitchen, his efforts quickly paid off with recognition from diners and industry peers alike.

“When I first joined T’ang Court, I soaked the sea cucumber for too long and it turned to jelly,” the executive chef says, laughing. “Luckily, Chef Kwong, the head chef at the time, taught me and made sure I did it right the next time. He once said that a small improvement in your dishes every day is already way better than no improvement at all.

This is also my motto when it comes to the milestones I’ve achieved through the years.”

Those milestones include three Michelin stars and a Hong Kong’s Best of the Best Culinary Award. At T’ang Court, Wong focuses on authentic Cantonese cuisine, such as sweet and sour pork with fresh fruit, and braised sliced pork with preserved vegetables.

“Unlike other Cantonese restaurants that emphasise fusion and presentation, we focus on the aroma and the taste of the food,” he says. “In traditional Cantonese cooking, we use the maximum heat to cook ingredients in a limited time. That’s why it’s extremely difficult to control the degree of doneness of the food. You need to be very experienced in order to get the hang of it.”

That’s not to say Wong is averse to innovation. “In order to cater to the tastes of younger customers, we use ingredients from around the world,” he says. “Like in our stir-fried beef, we use the traditional style of stir-frying with wagyu from Japan, which is popular nowadays.”

THE CHAIRMAN

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: THE ENTRANCE TO THE CHAIRMAN; STIR-FRIED LOBSTER WITH SPRING ONIONS, RED ONIONS AND SHALLOTS FROM T’ANG COURT, EXECUTIVE CHEF WONG CHI FAI

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Tucked away on a side street in Central, The Chairman has quickly moved up the rankings of the region’s best restaurants since its opening 10 years ago, including the 11th spot on this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Chef Kwok Keung Tung, whose signature dish is steamed flowery crab in aged Shaoxing wine and chicken oil with flat rice noodles, believes that the simplest food demands the highest level of culinary skill.

He and his team also pride themselves on sourcing all ingredients locally, whether hand-picking seafood at Aberdeen Fish Market each morning, growing vegetables at their organic farm in Sheung Shui or buying pork and chicken from suppliers in the New Territories.

As legendary chef Ferran Adrià once described it, this is “the future of Chinese food”.

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FIFTH ESTATE After interviewing prison inmates and filming American women soldiers in Afghanistan, SASKIA DE ROTHSCHILD, a former journalist for The New York Times and still only 32, is now the head of arguably the greatest wine name on Earth, Château Lafite-Rothschild. jack suckling went to Chile to meet her

FRANÇOIS POINCET, DBR (LAFITE); MATT WILSON

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: DOMAINES BARONS DE ROTHSCHILD’S LOS VASCOS ESTATE IN CHILE; SASKIA DE ROTHSCHILD; THE LAFITE WINE CELLARS IN BORDEAUX

hatever I do, I get to the bottom of it,” says Saskia de Rothschild. The aristocratic 32-year-old winemaker has been telling me what it’s like to interview prison inmates for a month in the Ivory Coast, track down dictators in West Africa for The New York Times and film an investigative documentary on American women soldiers in Afghanistan.

We haven’t even touched on the subject of wine yet.

Of course, everyone who makes the transition into the wine world has a story to tell. Art historians become learned scholars of obscure Italian grape varieties, jaded rockers hang up their guitars to make funky Argentine Malbec. Yet this journalist-turned-winemaker happens to be taking over the reins of arguably the greatest wine estate on earth, Château Lafite Rothschild.

“Once people are aware you know what you’re talking about, it’s easy,” she tells me, laughing, though she takes her job as the head of the famous first-growth Bordeaux and vast global wine company very seriously. “That’s why I went back to education and got a Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology (Bordeaux). I needed to understand everything.”

Rothschild is the youngest person currently heading a first growth. She’s also the first female chairman of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), the parent company of Lafite and a host of other estates.

The famous Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 placed Lafite first out of all the region’s Premier Crus, and it was among Thomas Jefferson’s favourites. With origins dating back to medieval times, the chateau was purchased in 1868 by James de Rothschild. Some say it was his intention, as a member of the French side of the banking dynasty, to outdo his nephew, Nathaniel de Rothschild, who’d just bought neighbouring Mouton Rothschild, also in

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ABOVE: CHẬTEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD OPPOSITE: HARVEST TIME AT VIŇA LOS VASCOS

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Bordeaux’s Pauillac appellation. The two branches of the family maintain a healthy rivalry to this day.

However, we weren’t meeting in the lavishly adorned drawing room that flanks the Lafite stone turret, decked out in the style of Napoleon III with red velvet chairs, wall hangings and embroidered curtains. We didn’t even venture into the hallowed underground cellars, which, as Rothschild explained to me on my last visit, house what’s perhaps the world’s largest collection of fine Bordeaux.

No, my latest encounter with the Rothschilds unfolded against a much more low-key backdrop: Chile’s Colchagua Valley. The family had invited a small group of close supporters and distributors for the 30th anniversary of their Los Vascos wine estate, which is located away from the Andes and towards the coast, some 200 kilometres southwest of Santiago. As far as I could make out, I was the only wine journalist.

Saskia and her father Eric, whom she’s succeeding, seem to take a more relaxed approach in their South American hideaway, unfettered by the formalities and customs of Bordeaux. We all jump into the back of a pickup truck.

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“I’ve never done this before,” says Eric, with great excitement.

Eric, 78, is tall and slender with wispy tufts of white hair; Saskia, her grainy locks flowing, is petite but robust. She’s donned a baggy beige blouse and straw hat for the soirée with designer maroon boots, exuding an air of a New York tomboy participating in a community garden in Gramercy Park, but ready to head out to a club after nightfall.

Meandering down the valley through tidy vineyards, as the sun casts long shadows against the rolling hills, we descend into what’s known as a quebrada in Spanish, a natural ravine carved out by a stream over thousands of years. It’s totally obscured from ground level. Any observer would have no idea a party and celebratory ceremony were about to begin.

“I never imagined I’d be working in the wine industry,” admits Saskia as she looks out wistfully across the valley; as far as the eye can see, it’s all hers – literally thousands of hectares. “I grew up mainly in Paris but would go to Bordeaux on weekends. I’d help at the winery – for example, around harvest time – but my main interest was journalism.

Then, when I was working as a reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, I planned a trip to come back to help with the blending. It was at that time I decided I needed to spend more time in Pauillac. I needed to understand the pruning and everything else. I wanted to go deeper into it.”

Between sentences, she snaps a few photos with her Leica.

We’ve reached the quebrada. For the occasion, two long tables with candles have been drawn up in the deepest part of the depression. I’ve lugged my suit around South America for one month for this day, but hardly anyone’s wearing a jacket or tie. It’s not long before we’re on our feet for the main act: a performance of Easter Island dancing.

DBR CEO Jean-Guillaume Prats, formerly the chief of LVMH’s wine division and now a trusted pair of hands to advise Rothschild, takes centre stage. He shakes his hips to the energetic Polynesian rhythm as vigorously as possible, vying for first place in the dancing competition. Afterwards, the lights are turned off and we watch the stars in pure darkness. The estate manager takes us through each constellation in as much detail as he would a vineyard parcel. It’s all slightly surreal.

The next day takes a more official format, with Rothschild guiding us through the tasting of Los Vascos’ top bottling: Le Dix. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Shiraz and Chile’s signature Carmenere variety, the wine has been steadily improving over the years. “We can make exceptional wines at Los Vascos,” she explains. “But we can always do better. We want every one of our estates from France to China to have its own identity. In Chile, we’re trialling hillside vines and different rootstocks to add complexity to the wines.”

The sprawling property, with around 700 hectares under vine, has had its share of ups and downs over the years. Its

buildings were heavily damaged and huge amounts of wine lost in the 2010 earthquake, while fires swept through in 2017 ravaging vineyards and woodlands alike. But the Rothschilds rebuilt and came back stronger. They introduced drip irrigation and installed detailed sensors up and down the valley for more precise water management and vine growing.

Tasting through a selection of Le Dix really gives you a sense of the leap in quality from about the 2012 vintage onwards.

The previously slightly herbal character dissipates and the tannins become more integrated.

Rothschild’s biggest challenge, though, may be closer to home. Bordeaux’s number-one market is China, where Lafite is the most revered premium wine in the land, and her company also makes table wines in the Shandong Peninsula.

However, winemaking there is difficult due to humid conditions and a lack of wine culture. Moreover, less than a decade ago prices plummeted, with bottles of Lafite losing almost half their value. Macroeconomic concerns persist and the brand, long a symbol of wealth, has fallen out of favour with some younger, more cautious Chinese consumers. The rampant counterfeit market for Lafite doesn’t help the situation either.

“I think the image of Bordeaux is very dusty,” admits Rothschild. “We have to make it shine in a different way. While we’ve been out of the picture, Burgundy has got a lot of fame.

Now we need to show that Bordeaux is about winemaking.”

There’s been a push at Lafite over the last few years to spray only organic fertilisers, and a number of hectares are farmed using biodynamic principles. Biodynamics, more stringent than organic methods, is an alternative philosophy that seeks to treat agriculture holistically, in tune with nature and the surroundings.

“We’ve got to protect the people who make our wines and the people who drink them. We don’t want to leave any chemical residue whatsoever in our wines. Although we’re experimenting with biodynamic and organic viticulture, you have to be careful. I think there are places globally where it works well, but in Bordeaux you need to have ways to manage your wines in certain years. What drives me every day is finding our own path and really understanding all these different farming approaches.

As a journalist, Rothschild told many stories through her assignments to faraway places. She left no stone unturned in her pursuit of truth and knowledge. Her personal story on wine is just beginning, but it’s already exciting and profound, considering she’s sparing no effort to leave her mark on this most legendary of wine estates.

“I think the image of Bordeaux is very dusty.

We have to make it shine in a different way”

FRANÇOIS POINCET; DBR (LAFITE)

Jack Suckling is contributing editor at JamesSuckling.com, the website for the international wine critic

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M

y first inkling that Aspen, Colorado ‒ where I’m going to watch a bit of polo ‒ could be unlike any other destination I’ve visited comes when I notice dogs around me on the flight from Los Angeles. Four of them, in the cabin, immaculately groomed and behaved, and nonchalantly accepting the attention of their various humans. And all heading for Aspen.

The chatty flight attendant gently ribs the ground crew. “Those guys put a kid in the service row,” she says as she swaps the boy sitting next to the emergency exit for an adult. Just before the aircraft starts taxiing, the captain emerges from the cockpit and, grinning at the congregation, closes the door. It’s that kind of flight.

Once we’re aloft, breathtaking views of basin and range country repeat dramatically until suddenly the sky is full of Aspen around the tilting wing: Aspen Mountain, Aspen town and bare aspen trees backlit golden in the late afternoon against the snow and the brown land. It’s an unforgettable introduction. My aspens dear...

Unlike most winter visitors to the remote Sawatch Range resort town, I’m not here for the skiing or the snowboarding, the snowshoeing or even the fat-tyre biking. I’ve come for the St. Regis Snow Polo World Championship, the sixth consecutive year the event has been staged in Aspen. And of course I’ll be staying at the title sponsor’s local property, the St. Regis Aspen Resort.

As I check in to the red-brick, three-storey hotel there’s a champagne sabrage ceremony in the courtyard, a St. Regis tradition in which bottles of bubbly are opened ceremonially with a sword. The hotel bears an elegant, well-shod air, a testament to the philosophy of John Jacob Astor IV, who opened the first St. Regis in New York in 1904. Its

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH While staying at the St. Regis Aspen for the resort’s Snow Polo World Championship, steve reels also finds himself enchanted by the laid-back ski town and its bars, bookstores, galleries and, yes, recreational marijuana

raiment is not new but impeccably tailored and durable, an old-money understatement of confidence and quality that cares little for the clean severity of Starckian minimalism and even less for the garnering of New Age credentials for mindful well-being. A house that knows how to have a good time.

Champagne-refreshed, I’m taken to my room, where I find a warm sweater and beanie hat considerately provided by the hotel’s lobby shop, Alps & Meters. The room is cosy, smallish, without desk or chair but with plenty of closet space for heavy coats and ski pants. Rugs and wood flooring lend a comfortable, old-world feel, one reinforced by the restrained lighting, though I find myself having to go to the bathroom to do anything that requires a bit of visibility. The famous St. Regis soft bed and pillows are certainly in evidence, but being one of those hair shirts who prefer hard bedding I’m unable to appreciate them. And there’s no obvious USB port for device charging ‒ an absence that resolves itself on my third day when I find a bank of the things concealed in a place that somebody not into his seventh decade might have found intuitively.

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But none of this matters because what really marks out this property from so many others is the sheer ease of being a guest. To walk through the front doors into the lobby is to walk into a favourite aunt’s home. The lounge that leads off from the entrance is dominated by a huge hearth with a roaring fire; around it sit clusters of guests dressed in “Aspen casual” and reclining in armchairs and on sofas, while a dozen dogs ‒ again ‒ of refined breed vie with excited children to get under your feet. At one end is a bar dominated by a long mural of an enigmatic woman riding a white horse while yellow aspen leaves swirl around her, a depiction of a local native legend. At the other end a musician strums and growls Americana.

You can spend hours immersed in this warm ambience.

But of course Aspen is all about playing in the snow. “This town needs snow,” a concierge remarks, and she’s not the only one I hear expressing relief that there’s recently been snowfall. I stroll a couple of hundred metres along the road to Aspen Mountain’s Silver Queen Gondola, where scores of skiers and snowboarders are swooping in, rose-cheeked, breathless and exhilarated, and jumping straight back into the gondola queue for one more run before the mountain closes for the day. A sign informs me that it’s 31 degrees Fahrenheit (-0.5 C) here at 2,400 metres elevation and 17 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 C) 1,000 metres higher up at the ski hut. Apparently it’s a warm day.

From the gondola the mountain’s patchwork of ski fields and conifer forest is revealed as tiny plummeting figures cut diamonds in the snow.

The hut at the top is festooned with icicles hanging from the roof. Inside, there’s a fireplace, a pizza unit, framed monochrome photos of Aspen past and, at a long bar, people fortifying themselves with champagne and beer before taking to the slopes for a final descent. I wonder if you can be drunk in charge of a pair of skis.

Back in town and looking for a souvenir, I stroll into a shop displaying

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There’s an agreeable vibe to Aspen, where everybody comes to enjoy themselves but nobody is hell-bent on pleasure T-shirts in the window and past a screen wall to be confronted with an apothecary-like set of shelves, each small compartment displaying a different strain or blend of marijuana. “I’ll need to see some photo ID sir,” says the young beardy-weirdy behind the counter to my grizzled 62-yearold countenance. “I don’t carry any,” comes the peevish counter-thrust.

“That’s fine sir,” ‒ dazzling smile ‒ “we’re open until 11.” As I leave the shop, dignity strangely undented by this surreal exchange, I notice that the T-shirts in the window all depict plants with long pointy leaves.

Recreational pot has been legal in Colorado since 2014, and Aspen’s 40-hectare downtown is home to a number of boutique dispensaries stocking the crop. These operate cheek-by-jowl with outdoor gear shops, art galleries, and luxury fashion stores run by the likes of Ermenegildo Zegna and Brunello Cucinelli, as well as by local designers of high-quality attire. Restaurants and bars are also thick on the ground, and most evenings I find myself gravitating to The Red Onion on East Cooper, a bar established in 1892 that’s now patronised by a gnarly mix of buffalo-plaid-clad locals and snowboard boys with straggly beards and baggy pants. All come for the cheap beer, cheerful grub and local music acts.

There’s an agreeable, laid-back vibe to Aspen, a town where everybody comes to enjoy themselves in the snow, but nobody is hell-bent on pleasure. It’s a sedate sort of place ‒ Ted Bundy once famously escaped from its prison ‒ and if strolling around the compact town centre

seems like too much effort you can hail a horse and carriage, or jump in the extraordinary Ultimate Taxi, a cab that offers an exuberant surround-sound experience with flashing cabin lights, funky beats and even live drumming by the driver as it proceeds at a snail’s pace along the streets of downtown. My goodwill towards the municipality is confirmed when I wander into Explore Booksellers, which displays second-hand books in a cavernous two-storey Victorian building, and ask for one on geology whose title and author both elude me. “That’ll be

Annals of the Former World by John McPhee,” says the genial whitebeard behind the counter after I describe the volume, unaware he’s just made an Aspen advocate of me.

That night there’s a St. Regis Midnight Supper at the resort’s Eleven Madison Park restaurant, named for the address of the original St. Regis in New York, though it takes place a little earlier than midnight as the polo players in attendance have the small matter of a world championship to deal with the next day. And in fitting tribute to the sport’s Central Asian roots, the reception for the dinner is held in yurts specially erected for the evening in the courtyard.

The day of the snow polo final dawns bright and sunny. I make my way to the polo field at Rio Grande Park, where a commentator is warning people to step back when the polo ponies charge by as “a polo stick wrapped round your neck is not a good look”. Opposite, next to the John Denver Sanctuary, stands the VIP pavilion, where I initially take up position and avail myself of canapés, beverages, pastries and other tasty comestibles. Nacho Figueras is here, the world’s most famous polo player, but he’s not mounted today, his team having been eliminated in the preliminaries. But it’s a strain watching the sport from the pavilion as it’s positioned so that you’re squinting into the sun, so I cross the tracks to the cheap seats ‒ well, patch of snow ‒ and enjoy the spectacle from there.

It’s hugely entertaining, being played on a smaller pitch than grass polo and with only three players per team instead of four. The ball is also bigger, somewhere between a baseball and a football, and filled with air so that it’s possible to send it sailing over players’ heads or even to juggle it with the mallet on a solo run. At the end of the day, team Richard Mille capture the St. Regis Snow Polo World Championship, defeating 2016 winners Flexjet 6-5 in a closely fought contest. Let the festivities begin! Er, continue...

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THE LUCKY CITY

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ellow five o’clock sunlight streams through huge glass doors that face the vast blue Pacific, flooding Icebergs’ crisp, modern interior. The balmy Bondi Beach air outside is dense enough to taste on the tongue – saltsprayed, windswept and a gentle reminder of the mighty forces of the waters below. Waves swell and crash, occasionally spilling into the saltwater pool where locals, the shade of dark honey, do laps.

It’s quite the view to behold from the bar balcony. Maurice Terzini, owner of Icebergs, Bondi’s most iconic restaurant and bar, is telling me about the history of the famous winter swimming club. His restaurant and bar has looked out over it since opening, serving a great selection of wines and innovative, modern Italian fare with an Australian edge and “flavours my parents would recognise”. A must-visit on a Sydney trip, Icebergs also does international projects such as a pop-up during the architectural biennale in Venice, and is the site of a legendary New Year’s Day party.

Terzini started in restaurants in his teens as a waiter, and then moved to Milan in the mid-1980s (his sister was then designing for Missoni).

There he worked in restaurants at a time when, he says, “Italian pop culture was big, the disco movement was big and when Milan Fashion Week was the fashion week”. When Terzini finally returned to Australia, he was hooked on the F&B industry and started opening his own venues.

“I was good at it,” he says, smiling.

This is a perfect place for sunset drinks and dinner at the end of my Sydney stay. The first time I travelled to Australia, a friend and I (backpacking and both then in our early 20s) had to be rescued by helicopter from a deserted beach at the northern tip of Queensland.

There was a double kayak involved and the threat of lurking giant saltwater crocodiles, but that’s a story for another time. Fortunately, this trip down south was much less stressful, lapped in luxury with smooth sailing on all sorts of land, air and sea vehicles.

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We started off at the impressive Qantas business-class lounge in Hong Kong, a classy state of affairs with warm lighting, delicious food and equally delicious wine. The Australian airline started its first Hong Kong-Sydney flights 70 years ago, so 2019 marks an important anniversary in the link between the two cities. Once on board and in business class, I slipped into the complimentary grey PJs, sipped a glass of the airline’s finest bubbly and fully reclined my seat for the ensuing 10 hours – warm, friendly Ozzie hospitality all the way.

Once in Sydney, we made our way to the city’s most famous view: the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was admittedly a bit of no-brainer. But another way to enjoy those sights is the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb (though not if you’re acrophobic), which gives you unbeatable bird’s-eye views from atop the famous arch.

You’ll be strapped to a safety line and have to wear a dorky blue jumpsuit, but it’s worth the effort – Eva Longoria, Hugh Jackman and Ben Stiller have all had a go.

To enjoy that famous cityscape at a slightly lower altitude and over a chilled glass of wine and fresh local seafood, head to Café Sydney, housed in the historic Customs House building. Try a glass of young, crisp Hunter Valley semillon from the expertly chosen wine selection, paired with fresh, wonderful oysters.

The impressive list is hand-picked by sommelier Simon Curkovic.

“Really, the concept here is to try to serve the best of Australia an iconic Australian location,” he says. “When I first inherited the wine programme, my brief was to produce the best listing of Australian wines in the country, albeit in a small condensed list of around 200 wines.”

“Having run collections that range into thousands of wines with multiple verticals of Burgundies, Bordeaux and so on, a lot of that is superfluous,” Curkovic explains. “It’s actually harder to curate a smaller selection of the best compared to amassing a huge cellar stretching to thousands and thousands.”

SACHA STYLES AT UNSPLASH

AFTER DISEMBARKING FROM HER 10-HOUR FLIGHT TO SYDNEY, JING ZHANG QUICKLY ADAPTS TO THE RELAXED VIBE OF AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST METROPOLIS, AND AN ENDLESS ROUND OF DINING AND DRINKS AROUND ITS GLORIOUS HARBOUR AND COASTLINE

A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE POOL AT BONDI ICEBERGS

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After a long, leisurely lunch, it was time to indulge in a bit of shopping.

I love the boutique feel of the Strand Arcade in the city centre, which houses cool local designers like Aje, Dion Lee and Bassike.

Sydney’s fashion scene made a name for itself with athleisure – beach and resort wear – for obvious reasons. Last month’s fashion week showed off great brands such as Double Rainbouu, Tigerlily and PE Nation – perfect for outfitting hipster babes, sunny city girls and beautiful BoBo (bohemian bourgeoisie, in case you’re not familiar with the term) types.

However, one of the city’s most loved and respected fashion names is Kyoto-born designer Akira Isogawa, who has a Strand Arcade store and is often considered the Dries Van Noten of Australia.

“I tend to have women tell me that they’ve had garments of mine for over 20 years,” Isogawa says when we meet at his atelier on the outskirts of the city. “Many pass on my clothes to their daughters and the next generation.”

The trans-generational appeal, West-East mix and beautiful refinement of his pieces have set him apart in Sydney’s style scene for decades. He’s inspired by Australian ease as well as his own heritage, that “Japanese philosophy which is a bit Zen and wabi-sabi – an appreciation of the raw and unpolished”.

“Sydney is definitely relaxed,” the designer says, laughing, over a pot of tea served in delicate porcelain cups. The young Isogawa learned how to pattern-make and construct garments in the late ’80s after immigrating to the city from Japan. After his early collections made waves in Australia, two women in the 1990s became crucial to Isogawa’s debut in London, Milan and Hong Kong: Joan Burstein of Browns in London and Hong Kong’s Joyce Ma, who were both great clients, he says.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SYDNEY’S FINGER WHARF; A LOOK BY AKIRA ISOGAWA; FRESH FARE AT MANTA; POWERHOUSE MUSEUM

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LEFT: JAMES HORAN, DESTINATION NSW; ABOVE: NIKKI TO

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE EVENINGS WAS DINNER WITH FRIENDS IN THE OPEN AIR, SAMPLING SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS

Sydney has been the designer’s home for more than half his lifetime.

“I’ve been here for 33 years,” quips the 55-year-old. “I love Japan, but it’s more a place for me to go back and visit now, rather than to live.”

Visit Isogawa’s retrospective exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo (showing until June 30). Also interesting is the White Rabbit Gallery – famous for its impressive collection of Chinese contemporary arts. And just bordering Hyde Park in the centre of town is the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a classic museum worth checking out; in addition to native Aboriginal and Australian as well as European art, there are some noteworthy Francis Bacons and Picassos here.

It’s no surprise that coastal Sydney relies so much on its waterfronts to charm, but it’s not just the bays at Bondi, Bronte or Manly. Having gone through an impressive revitalisation, the Barangaroo neighbourhood along Sydney’s sprawling waterfront is now dotted with an array of smart, sexy new restaurants, shops and bars. Barangaroo was formerly a bustling port where shipyards once stood, but is today host to shiny new venues, tower blocks and soon a Crowne casino. Here, we ate lunch at the slick and spacious Cirrus, and had dinner at the young, buzzy Japanese restaurant Zushi amid the lively after-work office crowd.

Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo is prime real estate and home to trendy restaurants, hotels and Australian billionaires. One of my favourite evenings included dinner with friends in the open air at the chic Manta restaurant, sampling small but potent and creamy Sydney rock oysters from the Merimbula estuary – all washed down with a bottle or two of crisp rosé.

“There’s an amazing amount of food styles and experiences on offer in Sydney,” says Manta’s proprietor, Rob Rubis. “I’ve been in restaurants for more than 35 years, owning more than 30, and I’ve never seen a bigger change in the industry than in the last decade.

“This wharf is an iconic site with all its history sitting on the harbour.

In the early 1800s it was originally a centre for storing wool and loading local and overseas ships with bales and bales of the golden fleece,” he explains. Today, gentrification has obviously transformed the area, but the skyline views and “the warmth of the setting western sunshine” still make it ideal.

Sunny climes and city aesthetics are obviously conducive to outdoors wining and dining here, but it’s the fabulous, high-quality Australian produce from both land and sea that really hammers home the appeal of Sydney’s dining scene. The upscale Hotel Centennial (not an actual hotel – confusing, I know) in Paddington is a fabulously elegant spot at which to hide away from tourists. And the pretty, residential area of Potts Point is filled with great neighbourhood restaurants, such as Fratelli Paradiso and the Apollo.

As it settles into late evening, a welcome breeze enlivens the torpid air.

Locals tell me that Sydney’s once vibrant nightlife scene was significantly muted by new government laws a few years ago. But there’s still fun to be had. Great cultural spots, such as the Golden Age Cinema & Bar in the popular Surry Hills area, draw a fun crowd in the evenings. Screenings here range from art house and vintage to documentary, and live music that packs out the bar and stage on Thursdays and Saturdays. My kind of place exactly.

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Revered French chef ALAIN DUCASSE has brought his unique vision to the Seine and, as tama lung discovers, guests are in for an all-around delicious experience

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PHOTOS: PIERRE MONETTA; PORTRAIT: ANNIE YUNG

RIVER OF DREAMS

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magine cruising down the Seine River, your boat gliding silently past the Eiffel Tower and Musée d’Orsay en route to Notre Dame and your turnaround point at Île Saint-Louis.

Now imagine a couture-clad waiter placing a glass of grand cru Château Latour and an artfully presented dish of warm guinea fowl and duck foie gras pâté in front of you, courtesy of none other than the esteemed French chef Alain Ducasse.

If it sounds too good to be true, Ducasse himself has assured me it is in fact for real – and the realisation of a long-held dream. “It’s such a unique proposal in Paris, I must say. An electric boat: no pollution, no noise, no bad smells,” the multi-Michelin-starred chef remarks when we meet at his Hong Kong restaurant, Rech, at the InterContinental.

“There’s a restaurant on the Seine, in the middle of Paris. It’s unique.”

Ducasse sur Seine is a joint venture between the Ducasse Culture division, river and harbour tourism experts Citysurfing, and anchor investor La Caisse des Dépôts. It’s the first fully electric boat built to receive guests (i.e. not solely for private use) and to offer a complete fine-dining experience with its fully equipped kitchen as well as 36 cooks and pastry chefs preparing everything on board during each 100-minute cruise.

“Not many people thought we could succeed in having a 100 percent electric boat,” says Ducasse, who brought his passion for the environment and preserving our natural resources to the project. “Even the architect of the boat thought it was a joke at first. But by the end of the meeting, he was convinced I was serious.”

Once engineers figured out how to move 300 tonnes using only electric power, thanks in part to China’s cutting-edge battery technology, Ducasse sur Seine was constructed outside Paris by specialists in Seine River boats. Resembling a land-based hunting lodge rather than a naval ship, it stands out for its classical symmetry paired with generous use of curves, as well as large bay windows that allow uninterrupted views between interior and exterior.

The architecture sorted, Ducasse and his team turned their attention to the decor and the cuisine. Design duo Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman translated the chef ’s vision of purity and simplicity into a palette of grey and silver with river- and wave-inspired finishes. Even the tablecloths, tableware and porcelain represent a link between French tradition and modern hospitality, down to the unusual images of the rose window at Notre Dame found on the underside of the dessert plates.

The recipes, meanwhile, showcase French regional traditions as well as the elegant, contemporary fare for which Ducasse is famed. Free-range, corn-fed chicken is deboned and butterflied, spread with a herb butter under the skin and then roasted. A single-serving cookpot, a signature Ducasse dish, features slowly stewed seasonal vegetables and grains. And not to be overlooked are the elegant pastries, including a crispy chocolate praline whose shape recalls that of a boat.

“What we are looking for is harmony between what you see, what you eat, what you breathe. Everything has to work together,” Ducasse says.

“It’s my idea of what cooking is about, what design should be, how you should experience Paris. And it all comes together very nicely for a delicious experience.”

Indeed, every detail has been considered. As guests arrive at Ducasse sur Seine, a light graphic is projected on the pier and again on the ceiling of the dining room. Adjustable LEDs adapt to the time of day and lights of the city outside. An original soundtrack, with tracks from Daft Punk to Édith Piaf, are interpreted by a harpist and played in a precise order to correspond to the monuments diners cruise past during their meal.

Upon embarking or disembarking, guests are also likely to catch sight of the Ducasse sur Seine logo and a special phrase on the bow of the ship: voluptas urbis adposita. Inspired by the official motto of Paris – fluctuat nec mergitur (we may be tossed by the waves, but never sunk) – the words translate as “the pleasures of the city unfurled on the table”, or as Ducasse envisioned this unique proposition: “a feast for the eyes as well as the palate”.

IND U L GE N CE

ACTION STATIONS

Robinson Club recently opened its first resort in Thailand’s Khao Lak region. zaneta cheng suits up for one of her most unusual holidays yet

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t’s a hot, humid night in Khao Lak. The rain is about to arrive and I’m digging into bratwurst and currywurst on the lawn of Robinson’s first property in Thailand – just one indication that this is going to be a different resort experience than I’m accustomed to.

Holidays by the beach are usually idyllic in the best sorts of ways.

There isn’t much to do except cycle through sleeping, waking, eating and lazing about. The most strenuous activity is typically deciding which body of water to lounge beside, which book to read and whether to head for the spa that day.

But for those wishing to do more alongside their lounging, and for families with children, the decision-making becomes slightly more complicated. Enter Robinson Club Khao Lak. This newly opened German import, a 90-minute drive north from Phuket, sits on a secluded beach with 320 rooms in 15 different configurations. Besides four restaurants and five bars, there are three premium swimming pools, four tennis courts, a nearby golf course and national park, and enough sports and activities to fill a year-long stay.

After enjoying a warm welcome at the spacious reception hall, my first

stop is the main restaurant. The buffet is extensive, with Western favourites as well as a poke-bowl station and two counters for Thai fare.

The dizzying array of dishes is expertly cooked in a wonderfully comforting way that conjures up images of dining al fresco at your summer home on a European evening.

A closer look at the dish descriptions explains why: all the labels are marked in German first, English second. Most people around me are also speaking German. It’s no wonder Robinson Club has an unparalleled reputation for providing its guests a taste of home, if you will, however foreign the lands they travel to may be.

They certainly know how to take care of their guests. Families with small children have a nursery and playroom at their disposal, replete with games, activities and meals – and German-speaking staff, of course.

Older kids can enjoy the parent-free ROBS club or spend their days playing badminton and beach volleyball or stand-up paddleboarding.

Those looking for a health kick can sign up for the WellFit programme, designed to bring harmony to body and mind. Besides a bespoke diet plan, the resort’s personal trainers can create a workout

regime that incorporates yoga, spinning, Power Plate and Thai boxing.

Indeed, Khao Lak is perfect for travellers with a bit more derring-do, because the landscape encompasses jungle and beach. I wonder aloud if the destination was chosen because of the German predilection for wandering – the staff don’t contradict my suggestion.

Robinson Club can also arrange cultural activities, including a full-day tour that brings guests to local Thai markets for more authentic souvenirs than the standard elephant trinket. My group visits local temples and we get our hands dirty at the elephant sanctuary, where guests no longer ride the beasts but feed and wash them. This is followed by cooking lessons, lunch and a bamboo-rafting excursion.

Evenings are perhaps the most enjoyable time at Khao Lak, when families can dine at the beachside à la carte restaurant to the sound of rushing waves, and where the steak and tuna tartare are exceptional.

Where I find most pleasure is the resort’s Taste Jam Street Food Market, a replica of a Thai night bazaar that offers all manner of German and Asian cuisine. As I take another serving of the excellent currywurst, I can’t help but think that maybe these Germans are on to something.

SEL ECT

THE LIVING IS EASY

Just in time for lazy summer days and breezy evenings by the beach, Giorgio Armani takes the indispensable jacket and gives it a relaxed new elegance

GIORGIO ARMANI has always known how to change with the times. The jacket in his newest menswear collection exemplifies that fact.

“We live in a time of extreme informality, which often reveals the need for precision. Nowadays elegance can be soft, and comfortable,” says the designer. “With this collection, I proposed up-to-date double-breasted jackets, as easy to wear as shirts or T-shirts, that can even be worn on bare skin; yet they’re still able to give the effect of a natural and relaxed elegance.”

Deconstructed and shed of its traditional linings, the jacket is soft and naturally flowing. Colour variations include chalk white, hemp grey, and blue with hints of turquoise and powder blue. Worn with a slim-fitting waistcoat and flowing, rolled-up trousers, the beach-ready jacket offers “a wealth of possibilities of expression, materials and colours”.

And while the 1980s style reference is unmistakeable, Armani has made sure the look is wholly contemporary and in no way nostalgic. armani.com

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WATC H E S 2019 THE CUTTING EDGE OF HAUTE HORLOGERIE

Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 42 Rolex

WATCH E S 20 1 9

A. LANGE & SÖHNE

The Zeitwerk gets a date display, along with several other subtle improvements For A. Lange & Söhne, 2019 isn’t just the 25th anniversary of the Lange 1 – a milestone the brand is celebrating with a series of commemorative timepieces – but also the 10th year of the Zeitwerk. Although the latter collection hasn’t received quite the attention of the Lange 1, it was recently extended with a new Zeitwerk Date.

The Zeitwerk’s uniqueness, of course, lies in its digital time display, which is achieved using three separate discs, a solution that’s remained unchanged since the watch’s debut. This is regulated by a device that releases a consistent amount of energy from the mainspring to the escapement once every minute, and moves the discs as a coordinated jumping display.

Although the basics are well established, adding a date display to the Zeitwerk proved challenging, as the unique time indication precludes the use of either hands or apertures.

The solution for the Zeitwerk Date was to employ a glass ring that runs around the dial’s periphery, which is printed with the date and has a single red marker that serves as a pointer.

Thus the Zeitwerk’s aesthetic is preserved.

Two pushers at 4 and 8 o’clock serve as correctors. The one at 8 o’clock advances the red marker and thus quickly changes the date, while the other, which is new to the Zeitwerk family, advances the hours. The power reserve has also been doubled, so that a fully wound Zeitwerk Date runs for 72 hours.

AUDEMARS PIGUET Although seemingly straightforward, the new Code 11.59 collection is anything but

For years Audemars Piguet and Royal Oak have been more or less synonymous, but things look set to change with the introduction of Code 11.59, a completely new watch collection that’s arguably the brand’s most significant product launch in the past two decades.

The Code 11.59 is a round watch, but one with numerous twists. For a start, its octagonal case middle is reminiscent of the Royal Oak’s bezel and is a nod to the brand’s heritage of experimentation with shapes; the octagon’s sides are each divided into three facets, which are either polished or linearly brushed. The sapphire crystal is also unusual, in that the top surface is curved on two axes to resemble a

saddle – a detail that’s only revealed when the watch is seen from the side. And then there are the lugs, which are only attached to the casing at the top; the lower ones float freely, with the tiniest gap showcasing the close manufacturing tolerances.

Code 11.59 was introduced with six models: time‑only, chronograph, perpetual calendar, flying tourbillon, skeletonised tourbillon and minute-repeater, which are mostly available either in pink or white gold. According to CEO François-Henry Bennahmias, the new line – which will eventually account for 20 percent of the brand’s total sales – is currently sold only in Audemars Piguet boutiques.

Last year, Baume & Mercier unveiled the Clifton Baumatic collection, which paired the familiar case of the Clifton line with a new Baumatic proprietary calibre. The movement was a major step forward for the brand, which had previously relied on third-party calibres, and its impressive specifications included a fiveday power reserve. It was also accessibly priced, with most references of the new timepiece priced below US$3,000, and COSC-certified variants just US$200 higher.

For 2019 Baume & Mercier has expanded the Baumatic collection and jumped straight into the high-complications segment with the Clifton Baumatic Perpetual Calendar. Again, this new watch is equipped with the Baumatic calibre, only here it’s enhanced with a Dubois Dépraz perpetual-calendar module, which accounts for the differing lengths of the months, as well as the extra February day during leap years. It measures 42mm, slightly larger than the time-only variant’s 40mm, but is well balanced, with its displays spaced out evenly across the dial; the simple dial indications further bolster its aesthetic appeal, while also maintaining legibility.

As the Clifton Baumatic Perpetual Calendar is powered by the Baumatic base movement, it not only offers a power reserve of five days but also much longer service intervals than normal mechanical watches – according to Baume & Mercier, it requires maintenance every seven years instead of the usual three to five.

BAUME & MERCIER Introduced last year, the Clifton Baumatic line now gets a perpetual calendar

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With a heritage that goes back more than 280 years, Blancpain is the oldest surviving watch brand in the world. For 2019 the company, now part of the gargantuan Swatch Group, is delving deep into its vast reserves of tradition to create a new limited-edition version of the Villeret Quantième Perpétuel, a run of just 88 watches in a platinum case and with a deep blue dial that are available exclusively at Blancpain boutiques.

Named after the village in which the brand was founded in the 18th century, the sevenhand Villeret incorporates a perpetualcalendar complication that’s regarded by Blancpain as the embodiment of classical horological values. In this incarnation, it indicates the day of the week, date, month and year (including leap years) until 2100, without any adjustment, with three sub-dials at 3, 9 and 12 o’clock and a moonphase at 6; a large central hand also counts off the seconds. The absence of visible pushers to adjust the complications enhances the Villeret’s classic elegance; instead, these can be altered by small under-lug levers.

This beautiful timepiece is powered by Blancpain’s 5954 calibre, which offers a power reserve of 70 hours. It comes in a 40mm platinum case with double-stepped bezel and is water resistant to 3 bars. A blue alligator strap with folding clasp completes the sophisticated package.

BLANCPAIN

A hallowed name marks almost 300 years of watchmaking with – what else? — a perpetual calendar

BREGUET

A burrow into the archives results in a watch of peerless elegance and simplicity

Founded in Paris in 1775, relocated to Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux some 200 years later and now one of the jewels in the Swatch Group’s crown, Breguet continues to build on its lengthy heritage of excellence and innovation (Abraham Breguet produced the first tourbillon in 1801) by creating watches that are among the most exquisite and sought-after in the world.

Kicking off 2019, the maison has introduced a new model, the Classique 5177 Grand Feu Blue Enamel, that in every way exemplifies Breguet’s refined aesthetic. Perhaps most remarkable is the

deep and lustrous blue of the Grand Feu-enamel dial, which echoes the hue obtained during the traditional watch-hand blueing process and is achieved through firing at a temperature in excess of 800 degrees Celsius. The open-tipped hands are of rhodium-plated steel, which – along with the silvered numerals (in a font devised in the 1780s by Abraham-Louis Breguet), stars and other markers – facilitate legibility against the blue dial and there’s a small date window at 3 o’clock. More discreet still are the “secret” Breguet signature above 6 o’clock

and the chapter ring with Roman numerals.

Power, with a reserve of 55 hours, comes from a numbered and signed 777Q automatic calibre with silicon balance spring that’s a work of art in itself – fortunately you can feast your eyes on its hand-engraved gold oscillating weight and Côtes de Genève finishing through the case back. Housed in a fluted 38mm white-gold case and fastened with a blue alligator strap and white-gold buckle, it’s such a paragon of elegance and simplicity that a watch more desirable than this is hard to imagine.

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Unrelenting in its mission to pursue the nigh-on impossible, the Roman jewellery house of Bulgari has this year pulled another wonder of watchmaking out of its hat, in the form of the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic, whose combination of both of the above-named functions in a timepiece that’s just 6.9mm thick is blowing just about everyone away. (And if you were wondering how thin the BVL 318 calibre needs to be to fit into a case as slim as that, it measures a staggering 3.3mm.)

That this Octo Finissimo – which we can confirm is the world’s thinnest mechanical chronograph – wears as light as a feather on the wrist almost goes without saying, for not only is the world’s thinnest mechanical chronograph

BVLGARI A wonder of watchmaking achieves the virtually impossible

ultra-skinny but its angular case, dial and bracelet are fashioned from titanium. And in spite of the Octo’s distinctively angular design cues and busy six-hand display, the long and lean hour markers and restrained font mean it’s also minimal and modern.

In addition to hours, minutes, seconds and chronograph functions, there’s also a 24-hour GMT dial at 3 o’ clock, which is neatly adjusted by a pusher on the opposite flank of the case.

Add a 55-hour power reserve to its abilities and the fact that the amazingly compact – and beautifully finished – movement can be admired through a case-back crystal and you’ll have no difficulty appreciating why this is indeed a remarkable timepiece.

CARTIER

After 115 years, the world’s first pilot’s watch finally becomes a chronograph

Dating back to the early 1900s and the pioneering days of aviation, Cartier’s Santos can fairly be claimed to be the precursor of the modern pilot’s watch – it is, of course, named after the Brazilian-born inventor and aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, for whom the very first example of this timepiece was created.

Today, more than 100 years later, the Santos remains a staple in the Parisian jeweller’s portfolio of watches following a major upgrade of the entire collection in 2018 and with a further expansion revealed at this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH).

Among the new models that were revealed in Geneva is a range of Santos Chronographs, which are powered by a tweaked version of the maison’s 1904-CH MC calibre, and are available in various versions – stainless steel with black ADLC bezel, steel with yellow-gold bezel or solid rose gold (and with a range of alligator and rubber straps and metal bracelets that all feature the Cartier QuickSwitch system, as well as deployant clasps) – but all in the collection’s largest case, which measures 43.3mm by 51.3mm. Especially noteworthy is this sixhander’s neat operation, which is via a single

pusher at the left side of the case and a multifunctional crown.

Although exquisitely elegant, with a silvered satin dial and Roman numerals, the Santos is an authentic tool watch: its automatic movement features a column wheel and offers 48 hours of power, and 10-bar water resistance means you needn’t worry too much about giving it a soaking. The hands and hour markers are luminous, too, so just like those aviators of yore, you’ll have no problem reading the time whether you’re flying at 40,000 feet or safely down on terra firma.

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CHANEL

Always more than merely a pretty face, the J12 has evolved into a properly serious timepiece

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the unveiling of the J12, Chanel’s wildly popular dive-style watch in black or white ceramic that can be seen adorning the wrists of fashionable females around the world. So what better way for the maison to celebrate this milestone than by giving it a major upgrade?

Although this 38mm three-hander closely resembles its predecessors, within its case beats an entirely new heart. Out has gone the old

ETA-sourced calibre, which was good for some 40 hours of power, and in its place is a movement from the recently established Swiss manufacturer Kenissi, which not only supplies Tudor with high-performance calibres but also has close ties with Chanel through the latter’s 20 percent stake. The new 12.1 movement, which is COSC-certified, very nicely finished and visible through a case-back crystal, offers a more than respectable power reserve of 70 hours and, in keeping with the J12’s more sporting mien, the watch’s 20-bar water resistance means properly professional marine capability.

Otherwise, as we’ve said, the 2019 J12 is

pretty much as before, with case and bracelet in highly polished ceramic and, as one would expect from a house that’s famous for its lacquer beauty boxes, an exquisitely lacquered dial with luminous Arabic numerals that, for this major internal upgrade, have been slightly updated; as before, the date window is located between 4 and 5 o’clock.

If the J12 has always been far more than a pretty face, Chanel’s latest upgrades have elevated this latest iteration of its contemporary classic way beyond the merely modish. In fact, this always elegant timepiece now deserves to be taken very seriously indeed.

For 31 years a supporter of the Italian Mille Miglia automobile classic, which today is less a race than a somewhat more leisurely re‑ enactment of a once‑brutal event, Chopard co‑president Karl‑Friedrich Scheufele is almost as passionate about motor cars as he has been about re-affirming his company’s horological heritage.

Embodying both of Scheufele’s enthusiasms is this latest novelty from Chopard, the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph Zagato 100th Anniversary, a splendid limited‑edition salute to the famous Italian carrozzeria, which was founded in 1919 and today still creates beautiful and bespoke car bodies. With a lustrous lacquered dial in Italian racing red, this stylish 42mm six‑hander in steel features both the Chopard and Zagato logos at 12 o’clock, and Superluminova‑coated baton hour and minute hands and markers, with a date window between 4 and 5 – and to emphasise the timepiece’s sporting intent there’s a tachymeter scale on the internal bezel.

Although not powered by an in‑house calibre – it’s actually supplied by ETA – the movement carries COSC chronometer certification, so the Zagato is a seriously accurate timepiece.

With a 42‑hour power reserve and 5‑bar water resistance, it’s supplied on a bund strap with tone‑on‑tone stitching that references both the fasteners on old‑time car boots and the finishing on Zagato upholstery.

CHOPARD

A stunning new chronograph jointly celebrates a classic car race and a famous Italian carrozzeria #prestigehk | PRESTIGE

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CORUM

The secrets of an ancient alloy are reinterpreted for a thoroughly contemporary timepiece As its name at least partially suggests, the limited‑edition Lab series in Corum’s Heritage collection is all about risk, experimentation and (to employ a word now overused to the point of meaninglessness) disruption – indeed, according to the brand, it’s about “establishing a dialogue between the past and the present”.

To that end, the new Lab 01 timepieces are statements in themselves, being made from a contemporary interpretation of an ancient alloy known as Damascus steel. This metal of exceptional hardness and resistance to shattering dates as far back as the 4th century CE, when it was developed for the manufacture of weapons. It also has a distinctive waved pattern, which can be admired in the barrel‑ shape cases of the Corum Heritage Lab 01 Damascus watches, every one of which will, in its own subtle way, be unique.

Both timepieces are powered by the CO 410 skeleton calibre, which features Côtes de Genève finishing, is designed specially to fit the case and offers 50 hours of power. Also visible through the crystal is Corum’s signature micro rotor with its arresting spiral pattern.

Treated with black DLC and with Superluminova-filled hour and minute hands and dial accents in either blue or green, these two additions to the Lab family are each offered in limited runs of 99 pieces.

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GRAFF

Designs that pay artistic tribute to Chinese history

London-based jeweller Graff was flexing its watch‑making and métier d’art muscle at Baselworld with a range of artistic and highly complicated GyroGraff timepieces, among which were two watches that pay tribute to a pair of the most historic structures in China.

Depicting respectively the Great Wall of China and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, each watch features intricate craftsmanship such as hand‑engraving, miniature painting

and gem‑setting, with results that appear three‑ dimensional and almost lifelike. Shown here, the GyroGraff China Great Wall of China depicts, in relief layers, an aventurine starry sky, hand‑engraved gold‑mount towers and walls with ink‑patinated brick detailing, a green painted forest of finely hammered gold, and a paving of baguette‑cut diamonds.

Both GyroGraff China watches are powered by a hand‑wound calibre that’s regulated by a double‑axis tourbillon and features a pair of complications: a three‑dimensional moon phase and a power‑reserve indicator. In a 48mm rose‑gold case and featuring 11.49 carats of diamonds, it offers a 65-hour power reserve and is worn on an alligator strap.

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HERMÈS

A magic combination of detail, yet modern and minimalist The Parisian house of Hermès, which began by manufacturing equestrian harnesses but now encompasses a vast spectrum of luxury, from high fashion to homewares, is increasingly carving out a reputation for its distinctive and innovative watches. This year, the maison has burnished its horological credentials still further, and has especially caught our eye with a pair of breathtakingly different yet equally stunning new timepieces, the Arceau l’Heure de la Lune and the Slim d’Hermès Titane.

We’ve talked at some length in these pages

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about the beautiful and other-worldly Arceau, yet in its own way the new Slim in titanium is just as special. An exquisitely detailed yet gorgeously modern and minimal 39.5mm men’s dress watch, its cool, anthracite dial is enlivened with pops of orange at 12 (figures) and 6 o’clock (small second hand and hour marker), and uses a unique font that’s cut into the chapter ring. Those orange highlights are also reflected on the underside of the black alligator strap, which conveniently peeps out at the edges.

Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight”

IWC

The Pilot’s Watch collection gets an update with new complications and materials The Pilot’s Watch collection is IWC’s most thematically diverse, and this year the manufacture has strengthened each sub-line’s distinctive identity with a range of new models.

Technically, the highlight is surely the Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “Le Petit Prince”. According to the company’s Walter Volpers, the placement of such a delicate complication as a constantforce tourbillon in a rugged Pilot’s Watch might have seemed like a stretch, but Le Petit Prince provides the poetic and romantic context in which it makes sense. The timepiece also debuts hard gold, a proprietary alloy that’s similar in composition to the brand’s red gold, though by tweaking the process to alter the alloy’s crystalline structure, hard gold is denser and five to 10 times harder than regular red gold.

Material innovations continue elsewhere in the collection, with Ceratanium, a titaniumbased composite, making its first appearance in the Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Top Gun Ceratanium, while the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Mojave Desert” marks the first use by IWC of sand‑coloured ceramic.

The Spitfire line has also been updated with new models in bronze. What’s unique here is the matt finishing, which should eventually yield a darker, almost black patina that the polished alloy can’t attain. Moreover, the Spitfire line, which now comes only with manufacture movements, includes a new limited-edition Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight”. Thanks to its unique Timezoner complication, the watch functions like a world timer on demand, with the time and date of the selected city displayed via an aperture at 12 o’clock.

Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “Le Petit Prince”

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JAEGERLECOULTRE

The Swiss manufacture’s latest masterpiece shows how even familiar complications can be improved upon Jaeger-LeCoultre is known for high and grand complications that are developed and produced inhouse. In this tradition – and unveiled at SIHH amid a general dearth of complicated watches – the manufacture’s latest marvel is the Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel.

The Gyrotourbillon is the brand’s proprietary take on multi-axis tourbillons, which ostensibly negates timekeeping errors due to gravity by constantly rotating the balance and escapement through every possible orientation. The manufacture’s fifth iteration of the device, it’s some 15 percent smaller than its predecessor, which not only helps create a more wearable watch, but also makes space for other complications.

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Indeed, the timepiece’s name hints at the rest of its complications, beginning with the Westminster minute repeater, with four sets of gongs and hammers instead of the usual two – so that instead of a pair of high and low notes for each quarter, it plays segments of the Big Ben chimes.

The perpetual calendar in this watch has likewise been modified. Its biggest improvement over “traditional” perpetual calendars is its ability to be adjusted both forward and backwards, which makes correcting the date display a cinch.

Finally, there’s the movement’s remontoir d’égalité constant-force mechanism, which uses a tiny secondary spring to “feed” a regulated amount of energy to the escapement once every minute.

This doesn’t just improve timekeeping precision, but also has the added effect of creating a jumping minutes hand.

The Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel comes in two versions.

Both are in white gold, with one sporting a blue flinqué enamel dial and the other a silver grained dial. Only 18 pieces are available in total.

MONTBLANC

The new Heritage collection completes the brand’s product revamp Montblanc has consolidated its various Heritage lines into a single collection, which now serves as the brand’s pillar for dressier, vintage-inspired watches. Naturally, the process involved reworking the watches’ design; the Heritage family now has a consistent look that references Minerva wristwatches from the 1940s and ’50s.

The new collection’s watches feature round cases in 40mm and 42mm sizes, but fully polished just like their vintage counterparts.

These, in turn, are fitted with domed dials sporting two-tone finishes that further recall timepieces from the mid-20th century. A combination of dot and Arabic-numeral indices, colours such as salmon, and Dauphine hands further accentuate the vintage vibe exuded by these watches. Box-shaped sapphire crystals complete the package.

The Heritage collection spans a wide range of complications, beginning with the Heritage Automatic, a simple time-only model that eschews even a date window. The Heritage Automatic Day Date and Heritage GMT models are a step higher, and fill the simple complications range. Above them sit the Heritage Monopusher Chronograph, a midcomplication that’s also available as a Pulsograph Limited Edition, which uses an exceptional hand-finished Minerva movement.

Finally, the Heritage Perpetual Calendar completes the high-complication segment of the collection. It’s available in steel as a regular reference in the permanent collection, and in red gold as a 100-piece limited edition.

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Originally developed in the mid-1950s as a chronograph designed for use in field sports and motor racing, the Speedmaster (it was named for its then-exclusive tachymeter scale that today is a feature of many chronos) became far better known in the late-’60s after its adoption by Nasa for its Gemini and Apollo space programmes.

So it’s more than fitting that to mark the 50th anniversary of astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s moonwalk on July 21, 1969 (Aldrin – pictured right – strapped his Speedy to his wrist above his spacesuit), Omega has unveiled its own magnificent tribute to this achievement, in the form of the Speedmaster Apollo 11 Anniversary Limited Edition, 1,014 pieces of which are on sale from next month. A recreation of the commemorative Apollo 11 Speedmaster of 1969, but in a special gold alloy known as Moonshine, this new 42mm anniversary masterpiece features a gorgeous burgundy bezel with yellow-gold dial and onyx hour markers.

It’s powered by the hand-wound Omega Master Chronometer 3861 calibre with co-axial escapement, which can be viewed in all its goldplated magnificence through the transparent case back and, beating at 26,100vph, offers 48 hours of power. And, as if to hammer down this particular Speedy’s out-of-this-world heritage, the case back ring also features a commemorative inscription, as well as beautifully created proportionally sized representations of areas of the Earth and its Moon.

OMEGA

A limited-edition Speedmaster, which is truly out of this world, commemorates a special moment for mankind

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PANERAI

The Submersible has come into its own, with the promise of exclusive experiences for buyers of its limited-edition novelties In Panerai’s restructured product line‑up, the Submersible now stands as a separate collection alongside the Radiomir, Luminor and Luminor Due, a revamp that was accompanied by the unveiling at SIHH 2019 of a host of new Submersible models.

The Submersible collection now comprises three lines: the core Divers Professional, exemplified by the 42mm PAM683 dive watch in steel with a ceramic bezel insert; the more hardcore Marina Militare line of what Panerai calls “survival instruments”; and the Ocean Saving range of Submersibles themed on environmental‑protection initiatives.

Especially noteworthy are the more exclusive variants within each sub‑collection. The Marina Militare line, for instance, features a “regular” Submersible Marina Militare

Carbotech (PAM979) in carbon composite, though a special PAM961 variant shares most of its specs, but comes with green accents.

The latter is available only in a limited run of 33 pieces, whose buyers will be offered a training session with the Italian navy’s frogman commando unit. Similarly, the Divers Professional Submersible Chrono Guillaume Néry Edition comes in PAM982 and 983 versions; the latter is limited to only 15

examples, with buyers invited to dive with freediving champion Guillaume Néry in French Polynesia.

Although the new Submersibles don’t depart radically from previous versions, there’s a cohesiveness to the collection that should enable Panerai to flex its creative and watchmaking muscle even further, while the offer of exclusive experiences is clearly in line with luxury‑market trends.

PARMIGIANI FLEURIER New gem-set references underline the Tonda 1950 collection’s versatility One of Parmigiani Fleurier’s two collections of round watches, the Tonda has proportions that can easily be tweaked into various sub‑lines.

Among these, the Tonda 1950 is the most classically styled and represents a return to basics for the family. All models are ultra‑thin, yet display the collection’s signature elements, from long curved lugs to delta‑shaped hands.

This year sees the addition of four new references, three of them featuring diamond‑ set bezels and the fourth an array of coloured stones formed into a rainbow, and have wider bezels to accommodate the stones, which in turn means a slightly reduced dial area.

Conversely, to balance the altered proportions and serve as a counterpoint against the gem‑set bezel, the brand signature on the dial has been slightly enlarged.

Featuring 51 round diamonds, the Tonda 1950 Stone-Set model is offered in rose gold with a pink, deep blue or mother‑of‑pearl dial. The Tonda 1950 Rainbow, on the other hand, has 36 baguette‑cut stones – 21 sapphires in various hues, six tsavorites, six amethysts and three rubies – and is only offered in pink gold with a motherof‑pearl dial. And thanks to the ultra‑thin, 2.6mm PF701 calibre, these Tonda 1950 timepieces maintain a svelte 8.3mm profile.

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PATEK PHILIPPE

Gorgeous elegance that’s to be expected from this revered watchmaker

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The latest in a line of classic and much revered men’s chronographs that was introduced in 2010 with the 5170, Patek Philippe’s handwound 5172G comfortably bridges the divides between smart and sporty, contemporary and old-school, while throwing in more than a hint of pilot-style practicality into the bargain. Not that this isn’t in every way imaginable the gorgeously elegant and covetable timepiece we’d expect from that most revered of Swiss manufactures.

In fact, the 5172G just about has it all, from its 41mm white-gold case, with blue-varnished dial and luminous gold-appliqué Arabic numerals, to its handstitched navy-blue calfskin strap, three-tier lugs and intricate guilloche pushers.

And then there’s the CH 29-535 PS chronograph calibre, whose design incorporates six patented innovations; it beats at 28,800vph and, with the chrono function disengaged, offers a reserve of 65 hours.

Strapped to the wrist, this is an object of such beauty that you may not wish to remove it at all, but then you’d be neglecting the exquisite craftsmanship of the movement, whose lavish finishing – bridges with chamfered and polished edges, and Côtes de Genève decoration – deserves to be lovingly gazed at through the case-back glass for hours on end. Something, if you’re fortunate enough to own one, we assume you’ll be doing very often indeed.

PIAGET

New watches in the ladies’ Possession collection effortlessly combine horological and jewellery-making excellence The Possession started out as a jewellery line, with every piece featuring a spinning element – such as a ring or a bead – conveying movement, dynamism and playfulness. Last year, Piaget unveiled a Possession watch collection in which this signature was translated into a freely rotating bezel, as well as a riot of colourful stones and interchangeable straps. The 2019 novelties build on this by offering more choices and creating stronger links to the jewellery line.

The “basic” Possession models this year are a pair of pink‑gold watches in 29mm and 35mm sizes, each featuring a cherry‑red dial, diamond‑set bezels and indices, and a matching alligator strap. A more lavish version of each is available in white gold, with a full diamond-pavé case and dial. Rounding off the collection is a 29mm high‑jewellery reference with a diamond‑pavé white‑gold bracelet.

Like last year’s models, none of these watches has a crown, lest it break the outline of the round case and detract from the spinning bezel; instead, the time is adjusted via a case‑ back keyhole.

Piaget has also introduced a new Possession cuff watch, whose 29mm case is seamlessly set into a Milanese mesh bracelet with a tight weave that almost resembles fabric. The play with light here is a sight to behold – the mesh’s shimmering textured surface contrasts with the sparkling brilliant‑cut diamonds, which in turn frame the soft lustre of the mother‑of‑pearl dial.

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RICHARD MILLE A new and unusually playful range of wrist candy marks a radical departure from the brand’s tech-focused norm

At SIHH 2019, Richard Mille momentarily shifted its attention from the usual retinue of racing drivers, tennis players, track and field athletes and equestrians to the somewhat different demographic of women in general.

And in doing so, it came up with a limitededition collection that, for a brand perceived as relentlessly tech- and performance-driven, is for once unusually rebellious and playful.

Comprising 10 models, each of which is produced in 30 pieces, the Richard Mille Bonbon Collection is so exuberantly colourful that you might almost feel like sucking on them – and as, beneath the acid-bright candy colours, these are as technically advanced as

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any timepieces produced by the manufacture, that would be a mistake. Constructed around baseplates and bridges in grade 5 titanium, encased in tinted ceramics, layered with materials such as carbon TPT and quartz TPT and set with an entire spectrum of coloured gemstones, they’re subdivided into collections of Sweets (for example, the RM 07-03 Cupcake) and Fruits (such as the RM 16-01

Citron et Fraise), and recall childhood treats like liquorice rolls or gumdrops.

All watches in the collection are powered by a skeletonised automatic in-house movement with hours and minutes, and adjustable rotor geometry and, depending on the calibre, have a power reserve of 50-55 hours. Water resistance, which also varies from model to model, is from 3 to 5 bar.

Although Roger Dubuis’s latest novelties belong to two wildly disparate universes, each reveals the brand’s penchant for edgy, technical watchmaking that melds form with function – while injecting its signature design codes.

For men, this year’s focus is the deepening partnership with Lamborghini – and especially its Squadra Corse motorsport operation. This is seen in the brand’s trio of new timepieces: the one-of-a-kind Excalibur One-off, the 88-piece Excalibur Huracán and the Excalibur Huracán Performante. All three timepieces feature the familiar skeletonised Excalibur case, but come with various appointments inspired by the Italian marque, such as pronounced use of carbon and rubber. The movement architectures also sport Lamborghini signatures, including the hexagon motif, while in a nod to the engine layout of Lamborghini supercars, the balance wheels are variously inclined.

For women, Roger Dubuis has unveiled the Excalibur Shooting Star, a continuation of the brand’s Astral Skeleton theme, where movement bridges are open‑worked into star‑ shaped motifs as an angular counterpoint to the sensual curves in more typical skeletonised movements. The Excalibur Shooting Star is relatively small at 36mm, but it nonetheless has a skeletonised flying tourbillon at 7 o’clock, the result of two years’ development. Enamelling and gem‑setting help to complete the scene, with stars at every level of the dial and movement. Two versions of this pink‑gold watch are available, one with blue accents and the other with pink.

ROGER DUBUIS

Technical watchmaking comes in different flavours, which Roger Dubuis is only too happy to demonstrate

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ROLEX

More than 60 years’ involvement in sailing at its highest levels have produced the perfect blend of unabashed luxury, nautical style and rugged practicality: the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 42 For more than 60 years, Rolex has taken to the high seas in partnership with some of the most celebrated races, regattas, clubs and sailors in the prestigious sport of yachting. Among them are such blue-ribbon offshore events as the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, held each December in Australia, and the biennial Rolex Fastnet Race, from Cowes in Britain to the tip of southern Ireland and then to Plymouth, which will take place in August this year.

Championships and regattas with which the leading Swiss watchmaker is partnered include the Rolex TP52 World Championship, the annual Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and biennial Rolex Swan Cup (both in Sardinia), and the Rolex Giraglia, held each June in the Mediterranean from Saint-Tropez to Genoa, while prestigious clubs include the Britain’s Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

Here in Asia, the brand has partnered since 2008 with the Rolex China Sea Race from Hong Kong to Subic Bay in the Philippines, and globally with leading figures in the sport that include such luminaries as the multichampionship-winning American sailor Paul Cayard and gold-medallist Olympians Sir Ben Ainslie (UK) and Robert Scheidt (Brazil).

Rolex’s involvement across the entire spectrum of sport – and not only yachting – dates back to the company’s early days and the belief of its founder, Hans Wilsdorf, that its products should be sufficiently reliable, robust and precise to adapt to the ever-more-active lifestyles of their users. Thus, in 1926, Rolex produced the world’s first waterproof wristwatch, the Oyster, with a screw-down bezel and case back, and winding crown, whose water-resistant abilities were proved the following year when one emerged from the sea

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in perfect condition after spending more than 10 hours on the wrist of Mercedes Gleitz who successfully swam across the English Channel.

That first Oyster served as a real-world test bed for the host of Rolex Professional timepieces that have followed in its wake, all dedicated to pushing the envelopes of performance and precision. They include the Oyster Perpetual Explorer and Explorer II, the Cosmograph Daytona, the Submariner and, more recently and probably of special interest to the yachting fraternity, the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master and Yacht-Master II. While the latter features a regatta-timer complication, the Yacht-Master is a perfect example of stripped-down sporting purity, with a bidirectional, 60-minute bezel that’s ideal for reading sailing times between, for example, a pair of buoys. When it debuted in 1992, in a 40mm case, it was the first Professional Rolex to launch in a precious metal (gold); since then, it’s also become available in Rolesor (Oystersteel and gold) and Rolesium (Oystersteel case and bracelet, and platinum bezel), as well as a 37mm case.

This year, Rolex extended its Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master collection with the new Yacht-Master 42, which at 42mm is slightly larger than the Yacht-Master 40 of 2015. It’s available in a single reference, with monobloc middle case, screw-down case back and winding crown in white gold, and black lacquer dial and Cerachrom insert on the bidirectional, 60-minute rotatable bezel.

This new timepiece is powered by Rolex’s new-generation, self-winding Calibre 3235, which features a paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring and provides approximately 70 hours of power; this new movement now also powers the Yacht-Master 40. A highly durable bracelet in Oysterflex – a material developed and patented by Rolex that was first seen on the Yacht-Master 40 – completes the package.

The embodiment of both Rolex’s unending quest for watchmaking and its long and rich association with all things oceanic, the new Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master 42 is a rare combination of luxury and rugged practicality – a timepiece that’s perfectly at home at sea or on land.

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TUDOR

A new Black Bay chrono in steel and gold is yet another masterstroke of daring

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Tudor’s astonishing resurgence continued at Baselworld 2019 with the unveiling of several new models, including the Black Bay Bronze with Slate Grey Dial and Black Bay P01 divers, and the wholly unexpected Black Bay Chronograph Steel and Gold, whose striking two-tone metalwork is a clear nod in the direction of the brand’s parent, Rolex.

Building on a theme already pursued in the Heritage Black Bay S&G, the Chrono throws all caution to the wind, with yellow gold not only sprinkled around the sub dials and fixed black bezel, but also employed for the pushers and crown as well as, of course, at the centre of the bracelet (it’s also available with a brown leather or black fabric strap – and is supplied with an additional leather cuff strap). Size-wise, this Black Bay is a relatively restrained 41mm,

and its COSC-certified MT5813 calibre, which is essentially a Breitling B-01 that’s been further developed in collaboration with Tudor, features a column-wheel mechanism and vertical coupling, as well as a silicon balance spring, and offers a decent power reserve of 70 hours. Water resistance of this five-hander is 20 bars, and there’s arresting lume on the hour markers and hands (the hour hand bears the familiar “snowflake” pattern of the brand’s dive watches).

Since Tudor introduced its own manufacture calibres a few years ago, Black Bays have been disappearing out of stores so fast that these days they’re nigh-on unobtainable. We’re expecting pretty much the same scenario when this immensely cool and stylish newcomer goes on sale this month.

Along with – errm – erotica, matters aquatic have long been among the consuming preoccupations of the house of Ulysse Nardin, and with its new Marine Mega Yacht, the Swiss brand has (and we hope you’ll pardon the expression) really pushed the boat out.

Encased in solid platinum and offered in a limited edition of just 30 pieces, this extraordinary 44mm watch is regulated by a flying tourbillon that’s caged in what looks like a maritime propeller. The upper part of its blue grand feu-finished dial resembles the prow of a ship, while its complications include an orbiting moon phase, a power‑reserve indicator that’s shaped – and operates – like an anchor on a chain (the latter appears to be attached to a windlass at 12 o’clock), and a tide‑height indicator that operates in real time in relation to a specific location and seasonal coefficients.

Whether or not these and other functions will ever be used in earnest by serious mariners is a moot point; what’s not in doubt is that the Marine Mega Yacht remains a remarkable embodiment of man’s obsession with the ocean in a single timepiece. Powered by the UN‑631 calibre with 80 hours of power, it’s water resistant to (a perhaps surprisingly land‑ lubberly) 5 bars and comes on a fully integrated navy‑blue alligator bracelet.

ULYSSE NARDIN

If sailing is your obsession, the fabulous new Marine Mega Yacht is guaranteed to float your boat

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BACKSTORY

DOUBLE VISION On view at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery on June 6-25, the Vision of Hong Kong from Two Generations: Yau Leung/Lee Ka-Sing exhibition and sale presents a visual documentary of this city through the eyes of two local photographers, one working in the 1960s and the other more recently.

Comprising 50 black-and-white images by the late Yau from the ’60s and 30 contemporary photographs by Lee in monochrome and colour, the works depict Hong Kong in the colonial era and as the city is now, post-Handover. As this image attests, Yau, who was known as the “Cartier-Bresson of Hong Kong”, beguilingly documented everyday life in a fast-changing city. “Although our works differ in subject matter, style and period,” says Lee of the exhibition, “both Yau and I are motivated by love of our city [and] I’m thrilled to partner with Sotheby’s ... not only as a memento of my friendship with Yau, but also as a platform to share his legacy and the wonderful past of Hong Kong with fellow photography lovers.”

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