Prestige Hong Kong _ May 2019

HONG KONG MAY 2019 HK$50

HONG KONG

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MICHELLE YEOH STATE OF GRACE IS POLO MAKING A COMEBACK? | THE SURPRISING WINE TO DRINK NOW THE RARE AND REGAL RUBY | CHECKING IN AT THE ST. REGIS HONG KONG PLUS EDOARDO CAOVILLA | LI SHURUI | PARTY PAGES GALORE

UNDERCOVER

SECOND TO NONE

OLIVIA TSANG

Between her acting, activism and peripatetic lifestyle with longtime partner Jean Todt, Michelle Yeoh is a hard woman to pin down. But the Malaysian-born star, who keeps a residence in Hong Kong, enjoyed a homecoming of sorts with this month’s cover shoot. The first celebrity to grace the cover of Prestige, for our premiere issue way back in September 2005, may be a bit older ‒ not that she looks it ‒ and undoubtedly wiser but she’s still a natural in front of the camera. On a whirlwind visit for the amfAR Gala Hong Kong 2019, and with her home undergoing renovations, Yeoh set up camp at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental. It was a flurry of activity as photographer Olivia Tsang and her crew set up lights and tested shots, while a team from Loro Piana steamed an array of spring/summer pieces chosen especially for Yeoh’s petite frame. Yeoh arrived fresh from the gym, caught up with her hairstylist and makeup artist, and was soon having so much fun that the rest of us couldn’t help but smile along with her. Michelle, please visit us again soon.

You can be our cover star anytime!

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CONTENTS 6 UNDERCOVER 16

EDITOR’S LETTER

18 DIARY

160 BACKSTORY

AGENDA 22

EDITOR’S PICKS What’s on our radar

26

STYLE Rock your wardrobe

32

JEWELLERY A cornucopia of stone and metal

34

WATCHES Fine art for the wrist

36

DISCOVERY Ones to watch

38

BEAUTY Shades, salves and scents

42

DINING Tickling the taste buds

44

TRAVEL Goss for globetrotters

46

ART Masters old and new

48

AUCTIONS Going, going…

51

TOYS Cool kit to covet

54

62 74

VIP

ART BASEL HONG KONG A fair to remember

FASHION

WOMENSWEAR La Vie Parisienne EDOARDO CAOVILLA Shoe-In

46 The solo exhibition of work by Argentinian

Op artist Julio Le Parc at Perrotin Hong Kong

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CONTENTS 90

“Inner strength, we call it. Nothing in life is easy. Anything you want to do, it comes through discipline” Michelle Yeoh

JEWELLERY 80

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Blood and Stone

BEAUTY 84

PRODUCTS Sunny Side Up

88

GUERLAIN Olivier Echaudemaison

COVER 90

MICHELLE YEOH True Grit

PEOPLE

100 MIKE FLEWITT The Car Guy 104 MOTHER’S DAY In Her Shoes

CULTURE

108 AUCTIONS The Art of the Sale 112

ART Li Shurui

SPORT 114

POLO The Hong Kong Beginners Cup

TOYS 120 CARS

Ice driving with Porsche

RSVP

128 EVENTS On the town

INDULGENCE

146 TRAVEL Saigon’s New Wave 150 WINE Beaujolais 2017 154 HOTEL

Domaine des Etangs

158 HOTEL

OUTFIT LORO PIANA WATCH RICHARD MILLE

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OLIVIA TSANG

The St. Regis Hong Kong

HONG KONG

Tama Miyake Lung EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gigi Lee

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Jon Wall

Zaneta Cheng

SENIOR EDITOR

FASHION & FEATURES EDITOR

Stephen Reels

P.Ramakrishnan

COPY EDITOR

Michael Alan Connelly

Sepfry Ng

SOCIETY EDITOR AT LARGE

Fontaine Cheng

DIGITAL EDITOR

ART DIRECTOR

Jeremy Wong

SOCIETY EDITOR

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.

TREASURE OF RUBIES HIGH JEWELLERY COLLECTION CLIP VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

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HONG KONG

Petula S Kincaid

MANAGING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER

Perpetua Ngo

GENERAL MANAGER – SALES

Janet Wong

ASSOCIATE SALES DIRECTOR

Wendy Cheung

ASSOCIATE SALES DIRECTOR

Astor Chan

CREATIVE SERVICES MANAGER

Talia Jackson

HEAD OF CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Brian Bailey

Linda Mak

PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR

CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER

Prudence Ng

Annie Yung

OFFICE MANAGER

Georgia Parungao CONTENT LEAD

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

RED CARPET COLLECTION 2019 RING IN WHITE GOLD AND TITANIUM WITH ONE BRILLIANT-CUT TANZANITE, BRILLIANT-CUT PARAIBA TOURMALINES, DIAMONDS AND AMETHYSTS CHOPARD

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EDITOR’S LETTER

TIME WARP As I sit down to write this letter, I still can’t quite believe this is our May issue. I mean, honestly, where has the year gone? It feels like just yesterday we were setting our – since forgotten – New Year’s resolutions. Then CNY and Art Week came thick and fast, and here we are talking about Le French May, dreaming about summer holidays and putting together our wish lists from the pre-autumn collections.

But I’m certainly not complaining, because this issue is one we’re particularly excited about. And how could we not be when we have the incredible Michelle Yeoh on the cover? We were lucky to spend an afternoon with the actress, humanitarian and all-around amazing woman on the eve of the amfAR gala and, as fashion and features editor Zaneta Cheng discovered, the real Michelle Yeoh is even tougher – and streaks more compassionate – than the characters she plays on screen. She’s also a joy to work with, a fact that photographer Olivia Tsang captured so beautifully in our shoot at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental.

Speaking of a joy to work with, society editor P.Ramakrishnan and creative director Gigi Lee got to spend a day with a trio of Hong Kong mums and their little ones, all aged five or under, for a special photo shoot in honour of Mother’s Day (that’s May 12, in case you need reminding). From the sounds of it, the mini models provided plenty of entertainment and laughs.

Elsewhere in this issue, we reflect on some of the action of the last few months with coverage of the friends who visited us at Art Basel Hong Kong and all the VIPs, celebrities – and even a British royal – attending the raft of parties, premieres and openings across town.

Senior editor Jon Wall sat down with McLaren boss Mike Flewitt during his Hong Kong visit, before jetting off to the frozen tundra of Chinese Mongolia to test his ice-driving skills with Porsche. And Steve Reels joins a crew of rookie polo players as they battle it out for the Hong Kong Beginners Cup. Finally, editor-at-large Jing Zhang lives up to her title with reports from Bangkok, where she checked out Van Cleef & Arpels’s stunning Treasure of Rubies collection, and Saigon, an up-and-coming luxury travel destination and her favourite stomping ground of late. It may almost be the middle of 2019, but in many ways it feels like we’re just getting started!

Enjoy the issue.

Tama Miyake Lung | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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HONG KONG MAY 2019 HK$50

MICHELLE YEOH STATE OF GRACE IS POLO MAKING A COMEBACK? | THE SURPRISING WINE TO DRINK NOW THE RARE AND REGAL RUBY | CHECKING IN AT THE ST. REGIS HONG KONG PLUS EDOARDO CAOVILLA | LI SHURUI | PARTY PAGES GALORE

PHOTOGRAPHY & STYLING OLIVIA TSANG OUTFIT LORO PIANA facebook.com/prestigehongkong @prestigehk

@Prestige_HK

DIARY HONG KONG

May 12

ASIA-PACIFIC

CHEUNG CHAU BUN FESTIVAL Floats of deities such as Pak Tai, Tin Hau and Kuan Yin are carried in procession through the narrow alleys of this tiny island alongside costumed children raised on poles who appear to glide through the air; but for many the main attraction is the bun-snatching event, in which competitors race up and down a 14-metre-high tower covered in 9,000 plastic buns, gathering as many of the comestibles as they can in an attempt to be crowned King and Queen of the Buns.

May 17-19

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR With a mission to spread the joy of owning works of art, the Affordable Art Fair now operates in 10 cities around the world. This seventh Hong Kong staging of the event — at the Convention and Exhibition Centre — features more than 100 galleries, both local and international, offering budding collectors the chance to own affordably priced art. Prices range from HK$1,000 to $100,000.

May 24-June 15

VIVID SYDNEY 2019 Returning to Australia’s harbour city for its 11th year, the annual Vivid Sydney is an enthralling festival of light, music and electronic art. The event’s highlight is surely the Lighting of the Sails, in which the facade of the Sydney Opera House is transformed into a canvas for brilliant light projections.

May 26-June 2

CHUNCHEON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL One of the leading performing arts festivals in South Korea, the event features performances by local and international mime groups and artistes in the areas of music, dance, installation art and short films.

Until November 4

SETOUCHI TRIENNALE 2019 Held every three years across 12 islands in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea region, this contemporary art festival aims to revitalise participating communities through art, design, architecture and culture. The Triennale is divided into spring (until May 26), summer (July 19 to August 25) and autumn (September 28 to November 4) sessions, with different events and exhibits that reflect the changing seasons.

EUROPE & THE AMERICAS

May 5-August 25 May 17-19

DON GIOVANNI Hong Kong Opera takes on Mozart’s towering work based on the rise and fall of the notorious fictional Lothario Don Giovanni (also known as Don Juan).

Sumptuous sets depicting 17th-century Spanish high society provide the backdrop to this dramatic tale, with singers Marcelo Guzzo and Richard Ollarsaba sharing the title role and Martins Ozolins conducting the orchestra.

SERIOUS PLAY: DESIGN IN MIDCENTURY AMERICA Contemplate the whimsical works of 40 revolutionary designers, from Charles and Ray Eames to Paul Rand and Eva Zeisel, and how they paved the way for fresh ideas for the American home. The exhibition is held at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado.

Until September 8

EARLY RUBENS Take in the works of Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most influential artists of the Flemish Baroque tradition, at this exhibition at the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco.

The showcase features more than 50 of his earlier works, from 1608 to 1620, that laid the groundwork for his eventual fame and influence.

Until February 16, 2020

MARY QUANT Dedicated to the English fashion designer Mary Quant, who popularised miniskirts, hot pants and Peter Pan collars, this retrospective at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London charts the early years of her career. It showcases more than 200 garments and accessories from 1955 to 1975, as well as never-before-seen pieces from her personal archive.

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DIARY HONG KONG

May 1-June 30

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LE FRENCH GOURMAY; WILLY RONIS, AUTOPORTRAIT AUX FLASHES, 1951; NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE, BANC DES GÉNÉRATIONS; NÄSS (PEOPLE)

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LE FRENCH MAY The annual celebration of all things French has grown so much in the 27 years it has been staged that it now fills June as well. This year, more than 120 programmes spread over dozens of venues highlight French heritage, from cinema and circus to art and gastronomy and just about everything in between.

Themed Voyage, the extravaganza promises to take audiences on a journey in spectacular dance, music, photography, design and theatre performances, transporting the public through time and space from East to West in a cultural carnival of unabashed Frenchifying.

Highlights include From Paris to Venice — a Photographic Journey by Willy Ronis; a comic performance by virtuoso clown and mime Julien Cottereau, Carte Blanche; an exhibition

by Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the most significant female artists of the 20th century, including some of her monumental outdoor installations; a Massala Dance Company performance that melds North African dance with hip hop, Näss (People); a 10-feature exploration of French cinema titled Love, Passion and Glamour with films by the likes of Jean Cocteau and François Truffaut; and a concert by the gifted kora (21-string harp) player Ballaké Sissoko.

And for a less cerebral experience, the gourmet food and wine of the Loire Valley are profiled in partner restaurants, as well as grocery and wine shops across Hong Kong and Macau, in Le French GourMay. More than enough cultural cruising to gain your “I’ve been Gallicised” gong.

Programme and ticketing information can be found at frenchmay.com

AGENDA editor’s picks WONDERING WHAT EDITOR-AT-LARGE JING ZHANG’S PLANNING TO PACK FOR HER UPCOMING SUMMER VACATION?

THE TINTED-LENS, ALEXANDER MCQUEEN JEWELLED EYEWEAR FEATURING LITTLE BUGS IS PERFECT FOR THE SEASON

WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BUY ME THIS SLIM D’HERMÈS TITANE WATCH FOR SUMMER. IT’S IN SUPER-LIGHT TITANIUM AND ACCENTED IN HERMÈS ORANGE — AND I’M A SUCKER FOR MASCULINE WATCHES ON WOMEN

LIGHT, EASY-TO-WEAR MINIMALIST JEWELLERY IS TOP OF THE LIST FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON. I’LL BE SPORTING MY GOLD APHRODITE RING WITH DAINTY PEARL FROM DE LA FORGE, AT THE SWANK

OBSESSED WITH THE ULTRALIGHTWEIGHT MARC NEWSON AND LOUIS VUITTON ROLLING LUGGAGE COLLABORATION, MONOGRAMMED AND IN ALL SORTS OF COLOURS

THESE GORGEOUS LANVIN HEELED SANDALS WILL MAKE FOR ULTRA-SEXY SUMMER PARTY SHOES. THE FEATHERS AND RICH COLOUR WORK WONDERS TOGETHER

LOVING THIS LIGHT BUT LAYERED BAMBI-ESQUE PRINT OUTFIT AT BURBERRY — SUMMER TRENCH, LIGHT SHIRT AND THOSE ACCESSORIES! RICCARDO TISCI’S VISION OF THE BRAND IS TAKING SHAPE, AND WE’RE PAYING ATTENTION

Out of Office

Holiday season is finally upon us and I’m looking forward to a bold, bright-hued wardrobe refresh for those balmy evenings and days by the infinity pool

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AT THE END OF THE DAY, I’LL BE THROWING ALL THE ESSENTIALS INTO THIS STYLISH BACKPACK FROM LONGCHAMP

AGENDA style PASSED MASTER “Before the 18th century, there was no bad taste,” Karl Lagerfeld ruminates in his Chanel Métier Class podcast. “Although there’s a lot of good stuff around … I don’t think [creatives today] always make the biggest intellectual effort.” The maestro may have gone, but his iconoclasm lives on in the first of the maison’s series of four podcasts, which also feature Amanda Harlech (pictured), Pharrell Williams and president of Chanel Fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky.

ON PEDDER IS GRANTING EVERY WOMAN’S WISH TO GO TO THE BALL, WITH A PERFECTLY CURATED COLLECTION OF FOOTWEAR. IT’S ALSO COLLABORATED WITH ILLUSTRATOR PHILIPPE CALLANT ON A MINI ONLINE “STORYBOOK”, SHOWING THAT THE MODERN-DAY CINDERELLA’S FAIRY TALE IS BUT A PAIR OF NEW SLIPPERS AWAY — WHETHER THEY BE BY YEEZY, CULT GAIA OR MIDNIGHT 00.

IT’S PERSONAL

Until May 7, Dior Men is heralding its pre-autumn 2019 collection with the installation in Landmark of a 5-metre-high robot sculpture pop-up created by Hajime Sorayama; clients can also personalise their T-shirts in-store. For ladies, from May 9 to 20 at Pacific Place, the house is introducing its new ABCDior personalisation service with a pop-up featuring the Dior Oblique Trunk, where clients can have their name embroidered on the Dior book tote or Diorcamp messenger bag.

You’re Invited

Contemporary femininity and the spirit of sisterhood have always sat at the forefront of Miuccia Prada’s mandate. This spring/summer, Prada invited female architects Cini Boeri, Elizabeth Diller and Kazuyo Sejima to design new pieces out of the brand’s signature nylon.

Prada hopes to collaborate across disciplines to advance a creative conversation, and to shed new light on the synthetic polymer.

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SUMMER LOVIN’

Drawing on Loewe’s vast archive of print designs, Jonathan Anderson’s Paula’s Ibiza collection recalls the heyday of the quintessential Mediterranean-island boutique and its connections with the creative scene. Think patchwork denim, silk scarves and crochet knitwear alongside paisley shirts, espadrilles and this season’s inescapable bucket hat. This beatnik parade is available at Loewe stores and on Net-A-Porter.

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AGENDA style SALVATORE FERRAGAMO HERMÈS

GIORGIO ARMANI

JIMMY CHOO

TSUMORI CHISATO VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Feeling Blue

“I love pink! It’s the navy blue of India,” Diana Vreeland once famously declared.

While she may have said it with a twinge of envy for the subcontinent’s predilection for brights, blue in all its shades is making a strong return this season. One theory is that we’re at the intersection between minimalism and a return to femininity and maximalism, so the colour that’s often considered neutral and classic makes a perfect base for any designer’s flights of fancy.

MICHAEL MICHAEL KORS 45R

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HUGO BOSS

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VERSACE SHIATZY CHEN

Francesco Fucci, the new creative director at Theory, sits down with Prestige during a recent visit to Hong Kong.

BOTTEGA VENETA

VALENTINO

BAG LADIES

AFTER A LONG SPELL OF MINAUDIÈRES AND MORE DIMINUTIVE HANDBAGS, THIS SEASON SEES THE RETURN OF LARGER, LOUDER HOLDALLS. WHILE BURBERRY AND DIOR OFFER A CAPACIOUS LADYLIKE PURSE WITH THE TB BAG AND 30 MONTAIGNE RESPECTIVELY, VALENTINO’S VRING AND BOTTEGA VENETA’S ARCO BAGS ARE DECIDEDLY LARGER OFFERINGS FOR THE WOMAN WHO WANTS TO HAVE — AND CARRY — IT ALL.

You’ve worked at Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg and The Row. What excited you about joining Theory?

I think there’s a common philosophy running through all the brands, which is about creating a wardrobe for the modern woman, staying with purity and maintaining a minimalism about the clothes. Theory is a strong brand, it’s bold. It’s a modern company making quality clothes with good fabric for real women, When I moved to New York 11 years ago, I was selling prints and my first sale was to Theory, so it’s very interesting that, 11 years later, I’m the creative director of the women’s collection.

Theory is known for classic, minimal pieces.

How do you plan to update or refresh this aesthetic?

I started with resort and reworked [Theory founder Andrew] Rosen’s idea of wardrobe staples like a jacket, pant and shirt. I took the menswear glossary of basics and translated it to the woman’s body, exploring the quality of fabrics and how to make those relevant.

BURBERRY

DIOR

TOD’S

What inspired spring/summer 2019, your second collection for the brand?

My memories of a southern Italian summer.

It’s a celebration of summer, be it the flirtation, the love or just the laziness of the season. It was too hot to do anything, so we just waited for the evening to dress up. The colour palette draws from the fields of burnt soil, to the oranges, reds and yellows of the sunset.

What look encapsulates your vision for the season?

The first look, the pinstripes. Because it’s part of Theory, it’s a jacket and pants, which speaks to the brand. Also, the way I like to show it is with just the bra underneath, showing skin, so there’s a feminine, sexier side to the suit. As if the woman is wearing her husband’s suit. I like that.

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AGENDA style

Samuel Gui Yang

CHINA IS FINALLY THROWING ITS HAT INTO THE RING OF EAST-MEETSWEST DESIGN. SHANGHAI FASHION-WEEK DARLING SAMUEL GUI YANG MARRIES THE DICHOTOMY WITH APLOMB Like so many Chinese designers today, Shenzhen-raised Samuel Gui Yang went overseas — to Central Saint Martins — for his undergraduate and postgraduate education.

Bringing fresh perspective to the somewhat overplayed notion of East meets West, the London-based Gui Yang imbues his Western training with a Chinese influence and marries his fascination for the human form with his interest in tradition.

Gui Yang’s work has captured attention in Milan, Los Angeles, Paris and London. His initial presentations took the form of art installations, his garments encased in giant blocks of ice as female dancers pulled, tugged and danced in Gui Yang’s rubber pieces — demonstrating the way the human body interacts with rubber as the skin heats up and begins to perspire.

Recently, Gui Yang has shown at Shanghai Fashion Week with Labelhood, continuing to work with the human form as well as the interchangeability of Chinese heritage with his

own design language. Manipulating elements of traditional garb, from the button clasps to the qipao collar, Gui Yang reinterprets these rich cultural codes in each collection. For spring/ summer 2019, his pieces seek inspiration in the Ming vase — the shape frequently considered by many as the ideal for the female body. Working with a palette of muted and dark blues, greys and whites, traditional button knots and collars are contrasted with strong, modern lines and proportions. Zaneta Cheng

Jimmy Choo

GOT MY EYE ON

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 Saint Laurent

ba&sh

Club Monaco

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

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

AGENDA jewellery

QEELIN ADDS A SPLASH OF COLOUR TO ITS WULU RANGE WITH GRADE A JADE, AN ALL-NATURAL FORM OF THE STONE THAT HAS NOT BEEN CHEMICALLY TREATED, PLUS ROSE GOLD AND DIAMONDS

A Cut Above

Unveiled in New York last year and recently showcased in Hong Kong, the Four Seasons of Tiffany high jewellery collection celebrates flora, fauna and “the architectural complexity found in nature”. Each unique piece features modern and graphic shapes rendered with rare techniques and exceptional gemstones.

THE HEAVYWEIGHT

Tipping the scales at 1,109 carats, the Lesedi La Rona is the largest gem-quality rough diamond discovered in more than a century and the second largest ever found. Laurence Graff, who had already purchased a 373-carat rough diamond believed to be from the same stone, acquired the piece and proceeded to cut and polish it into the world’s largest square emerald-cut diamond (302.37 carats), a process that took 18 months.

FASHION FORWARD

In a first for the fashion house, Giorgio Armani Privé introduces a “haute jewellery” collection. The hand-crafted pieces are designed to complement the brand’s haute couture, with the spring/summer collection featuring a blend of clean lines and art deco-inspired styles.

The sparkle comes courtesy of rubies, sapphires, onyx, diamonds and natural grey Tahitian pearls.

MAMA BEARS

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Emperor Jewellery presents its “Mini Me” series of pendant sets inspired by pandas, giraffes, cats and other adorable animals.

Each Mom and Baby set is available with a single diamond or fully encrusted.

Beyond Perfect

A diamond specialist since 1888, De Beers Jewellers has mastered the 4Cs and now goes to even greater lengths to distinguish those stones that meet its True Brilliant seal of approval. The proprietary technique involves finding stones with perfectly symmetrical and expertly aligned facets that create “fire, life and brilliance”.

“A ballet of golden beads”, the Perlée collection from Van Cleef & Arpels now includes diamond-studded rings, transformable necklaces and, for the first time, secret watches

GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

Featuring a variety of new icons and fresh takes on classic designs in three signature metals (sterling silver, Pandora Rose and Pandora Shine), the new Pandora Garden collection is made for women with a love of nature and creativity. Choose from the butterfly, the four-leaf clover, the ladybird or the flower — or why not all of the above?

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AGENDA watches BEJEWELLED JUMBO THAT TUDOR GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH IS EVIDENCED BY THIS IMMENSELY COOL BLACK BAY CHRONO IN STEEL AND GOLD. A STAR AT BASELWORLD, IT FEATURES AN IN-HOUSE CALIBRE WITH COLUMN WHEEL AND VERTICAL CLUTCH

Among the novelties displayed at Baselworld 2019 by London jeweller Graff was the Endangered Species watch collection, featuring dials set with gold and precious stones using a process known as diamond-marquetry. Shown here: the elephant.

Slim Stunner Hermès’s recent horological efforts, including the Slim d’Hermès Titane dress watch, are really rather special. In fact, from its 39.5mm satin brushed case and unique numerals to its thin H1950 movement, this super-svelte newcomer from the Parisian maison is nigh on perfect.

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Bronze case, khaki-green dial, oversize hour markers and Elite 679 automatic calibre with 50-hour power reserve – what’s not to like about Zenith’s new, military-inspired 45mm Pilot Type 20 Extra Special Adventure?

PLAYING FOR PEACE

Ivorian football legend Didier Drogba is the latest sporting hero to join the Richard Mille “family”. The former Chelsea, Olympique de Marseille and Galatasaray player, who finally retired from competitive football in November last year, runs his own foundation dedicated to peace in both his native Côte d’Ivoire and on the entire African continent. He’s also a vice president of the Monaco-based Peace and Sport organisation, a role that will be enhanced through his tie-up with the Swiss watch brand.

UNDER THE RADAR Presented at Baselworld in March, Bulgari’s stealthy new Octo Finissimo Ceramic combines a 40mm case with an ultra-slim profile measuring just 5.5mm. As well as the case, the watch’s crown, dial and bracelet are also made from matte ceramic, while the superthin BLV 138 automatic calibre, which has a power reserve of 60 hours, can be seen through the caseback crystal.

TOP GUN

Breitling’s chunky pilot’s watches may have fallen out of fashion of late, but we’re loving this this stunning re-edition of the 1959 Navitimer. Yes, we’re as bamboozled by the functions and numbers as you probably are, but with its 41mm case, beaded bezel and hand-wound movement offering 70 hours of juice, this vintage-style chronograph is spot on in every way.

GRACEFULLY GREY In white gold, Chopard’s 43mm, five-hand L.U.C Quattro chronometer features a combined small-seconds and date sub-dial at 6 o’clock and retrograde 216-hour power reserve indicator at 12.

Powered by the hand-wound L.U.C 98.01-L calibre and with an unusually elegant grey dial, it’s available in a limited edition of just 50 pieces.

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AGENDA discovery

A GOOD YARN

THOUGHT CASHMERE TOO HOT FOR SUBTROPICAL CLIMES SUCH AS HONG KONG’S? THINK AGAIN, SAYS DESIGNER VIVIAN CHANG Cashmere for summer? Before you decide that I’ve gone utterly mad, let me explain. I’ve been crushing on Shanghai-based cashmere brand Crush for some time now. Founded by Taiwanese designer Vivian Chang in 2009, the cool, effortless, independent label has made a name for itself with timeless designs, beautiful fabrics and cross-generational appeal.

From feather-light tees and figure-hugging ribbed dresses to tank tops and formal-style jackets right the way to wintry chunky knits and fluffy teddy textures, Chang has made sure there’s plenty for every season — and even the steamy summers.

“I started because I love cashmere, but I didn’t see any unique cashmere brands out there,” says Chang, who studied fashion design at FIT in Los Angeles. “In the beginning I had only that, but now I’ve incorporated some silk and cotton.”

Styles are minimal and clean, but easy to dress up with edgier, more trend-focussed pieces, such as a leather jacket, killer heels or flatforms. The texture and tactility is central to Crush.

“To start each collection, I visit all my suppliers and look at the new yarns they have,” Chang explains. “I combine different yarns to make my own yarn. I always start with fabric research.”

It’s this approach that defines the kinds of shapes and styles that the designer creates, while at the same time making sure it’s “all up to date”. Versatile separates mix and match well, and make for some of the most comfortable outfits I’ve ever worn. Very precise and clean, Crush keeps young through freshness of colour and modern style.

The brand has been a fixture at Lane Crawford for several seasons, a testament to how many fans it has year-round in this subtropical city.

“I’ve wanted to do this timeless style since I started,” Chang says.

“My customers are very feminine and confident, and they travel a lot. My knits don’t get wrinkled so you can just throw them into your suitcase. It’s all hand-washing, so really travel-friendly.”

Chang’s focus on beautiful fabrics and timelessness puts her in a similar fashion vein to the folks at Loro Piana or Bruno Cucinelli, but obviously on a much smaller scale — and more affordable. She’s now selling in almost 80 stores around the world, but doesn’t do much PR — customers keep coming back for the quality, shape and form.

“When I first fell in love with cashmere it was with this type of chiffon-ish cashmere,” she says, showing me a well-draped, ivorycoloured top in her pristine showroom. “It’s so thin but still so warm, so you never have to look chunky in the winter — just layer up. And for summer, it’s super light and comfy.” Jing Zhang

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FROM TOP: A LOOK FROM THE CRUSH COLLECTION; THE BRAND’S FOUNDER, VIVIAN CHANG

THE

SCAD ALUMNI

NETWORK IS A GALAXY OF STARS.�

Andrew Sibert

Interaction designer Google B.F.A., user experience (UX) design, 2018

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.

AGENDA beauty

GRAND ESCAPE

If you’re in the mood for a quick getaway, why not opt for a staycation in your own backyard? From now until December 30, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is offering local residents an exclusive 24-hour accommodation package.

Escape 24 includes a 24-hour stay in a Harbour View Room, access to the 50-metre outdoor pool and 24-hour fitness studio, free parking for one vehicle, and a choice of either HK$1,000 spending credit at the Plateau Spa or dining outlets, or Grand Club access for two. The package is priced at just HK$2,980 per room per night, plus 10 percent service charge.

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Hailed as nothing less than “the pencil that does it all”, the Artist Color Pencil from Make Up For Ever can be used on cheeks, lips, eyes and brows.

The blendable wax-infused formula comes in 20 versatile shades offering a matt finish.

BRIGHT EYES Combining brightening and anti-ageing technologies, Helena Rubinstein’s Prodigy Cellglow line aims to deliver smooth, firm, glowing skin. Its latest addition, The Radiant Eye Treatment, comes with an eye massager that can be filled with hot or cold water for a relaxing treatment or eye-opening workout.

THE HEAT IS ON

The first sauna to incorporate dry-salt-inhalation “halotherapy” with infrared technology is now welcoming weary urbanites at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

The Mandarin Spa’s new Breathe & Detox experience for two begins with a 30-minute session in the sauna, followed by a 90-minute Lymphatic or Breathe massage, the latter targeting the upper body and sinuses. Until June 30

Coming up Roses

The scientists at Dior have developed a unique expertise in skin micro-nutrition by studying the precious Rose de Granville and its rare ability to draw micro-nutrients from its environment. The latest fruit of their labours is Dior Prestige La Micro-Lotion de Rose, the first balancing and refining lotion designed to purify the skin while maintaining its comfort.

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AGENDA beauty

TOP SHELF

Haute parfumerie house Henry Jacques has added to its Masterpieces collection with a pair of fragrances housed in whimsical crystal flacons inspired by spinning tops. Mr H & Mrs Y were created as the embodiment of French elegance, each with its own unique fragrance — featuring cedar leaf, sandalwood and patchouli for him; and ylang-ylang, rose damascenia and jasmine for her. The flacons, meanwhile, were a labour of love for artistic director Christophe Tollemer, who spent three years developing the multifaceted shapes that would hold the precious parfum.

THE SKIN ON OUR LIPS IS SUPER DELICATE, SO IT NEEDS EXTRA TLC. ENTER LA MER’S NEW THE LIP VOLUMIZER TO HEAL, HYDRATE AND PLUMP WITH ITS MUCH-LOVED MIRACLE BROTH

Sun Dazed

A follow-up to its popular Satin Matte Cushion Compact, Tom Ford’s new Glow Tone-Up Foundation Hydrating Cushion Compact is the first of its kind in the brand’s summer-ready Soleil Collection.

The SPF 40 formula delivers sheer coverage in five translucent shades and one Rose Glow Tone-Up shade to be used for a brightening finish.

GLOW FOR IT

Clé de Peau Beauté has you set for summer with its latest seasonal make-up collection.

Each piece is designed to impart radiance from every angle, from the Refined Lip Luminizer in limited-edition shades of Porcelain Pink and Glacé to the Luminizing Face Enhancer compact with its blend of orange, pink, silver and gold for an all-over healthy glow.

With the launch of Natura Bissé’s new global pollution-protection collection, Diamond Cocoon, we sit down with director of corporate education Laura Gamboa for some skin-saving tips.

What are the main pollutants we should be concerned about when it comes to our skin?

There are many, but I have to mention three that are particularly vicious to our skin: particulate matter (PM), tropospheric ozone and nitrogen dioxide. Tropospheric ozone: absolute direct damage to the microbiota. Nitrogen dioxide (typically from cars and factories) is linked directly to hyperpigmentation and damage to cells. Combined with PM, all together they deplete the skin’s oxygenation, damage skin cells, and provoke respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

How does the Diamond Collection work to combat these dangers?

On one hand it’s actually acting as a shield, preventing PM from adhering to the skin. On the other, it’s preventing them from damaging the skin on a deep cellular level.

What are the key steps we can take to protect our skin?

First of all, I would start fortifying it so whatever it’s exposed to doesn’t damage it so easily. Then I would start shielding it, protecting it from the outside world. And lastly, at the end of the day, be sure to cleanse the skin properly.

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AGENDA dining Wine Not?

Established by the owners of two of Burgundy’s top domaines, Château de Meursault and Château de Marsannay, Piin serves up more than 2,000 Burgundyexclusive bottles along with a selection of small plates by a former Fook Lam Moon chef.

HIGHLAND PARK’S LATEST EXPRESSION, TWISTED TATTOO, IS A SINGLE MALT COMBINING SPIRIT MATURED IN FIRSTFILL BOURBON CASKS WITH THAT MATURED IN SPANISH RIOJASEASONED WINE CASKS, A CLEAR, AROMATIC WHISKY WITH A LIGHTLY PEATED FINISH

Spice of Life

Dong Lai Shun, the Beijing and Huaiyang cuisine specialist at The Royal Garden, has introduced a range of delicacies to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Head chef Sze Chiu-kwan’s latest creations include chilled beef fillet and bean jelly noodles, poached mandarin fish with vegetables, and braised mutton (pictured), all finished with sour and spicy flavours.

SPRING DELIGHTS

Perennial afternoon-tea favourite The Peninsula Hong Kong has jazzed things up for the season with the help of chef de cuisine Andy Cheng and executive pastry chef François Delaire. Its Springalicious Afternoon Tea, available until May 31, features savoury items such as a crab-and-vegetable choux pastry and a veal pâté pistachio, alongside sweet highlights including freshly baked raisin scones, sakura-andraspberry cake, and an indulgent financier with chocolate chantilly.

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Made in Japan

Tai Kwun has two new tenants. The “otherworldly” Gishiki cocktail lounge (pictured) is helmed by mixologist Billy Lau while omakase eatery Sushi Zo, founded by Keizo Seki and with branches in Tokyo, Bangkok and New York, offers two seatings per day for a maximum of seven diners.

ALL FOR ONE

Is it a club, a lounge, a restaurant? The so-called hybrid entertainment venue Ignis by Link appears to be all of the above. Newly opened at LKF’s California Tower, the two-storey space houses a lounge area with LED walls and DJ platform that connects to a dining room by spiral staircase.

OUT TO SEA

Having enjoyed a slew of accolades, including a Top 10 ranking on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, the trio behind Soho cocktail bar The Old Man have opened a second venture, aptly named The Sea by The Old Man. The spin-off continues to take inspiration from legendary author Ernest Hemingway and his 1952 novel, with innovative drinks presented in a humble, rustic style.

The world’s only Krug Room, inside the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, is ushering in spring with a new 10-course menu and fresh decor.

Guests can book a variety of dinner packages with wine pairings from the extensive Krug collection.

AGENDA travel

MOOD MONOCHROME With interior decor that riffs on the black-and-white exteriors of the city’s colonial mansions, Singapore’s new Outpost Hotel Sentosa styles itself as an “island getaway for adults and couples”. As this is the Lion City, we doubt that’s quite as racy as it sounds, but this is still a radically cool hotel, with one of the wildest rooftop pool complexes we’ve ever come across.

SPIRITUAL SAFARI

Travel specialist andBeyond is offering an eight-day, seven-night South African Yoga Retreat in early November, a small-group adventure that takes in the “powerful natural energies” of Cape Town and, near the country’s northeast coast, the Phinda Game Reserve (pictured above). If the lotus position among elephant, rhino and lion is your thing, we’re assuming this one’s for you — as for ourselves, you’ll likely track us down at the bar.

TIMELESSLY TUSCAN

Known for heavenly tropical hideways and sleek urban boltholes, Como Hotels & Resorts now counts an historic European rural retreat in its portfolio. Located 30 minutes’ drive from Florence, Como Castello Del Nero is a 300-hectare Tuscan estate, at the centre of which is a 12th-century castle that now houses 50 guestrooms and suites, a Michelin-star restaurant and the obligatory Como Shambhala spa. We’re not sure which we love more — the views outside or the stunning interiors.

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LOCAL HERO

As any Londoner will tell you, the British capital is a collection of villages — and how better to experience village life than by staying in one such neighbourhood? A favourite base of ours is the intimate, friendly but properly sophisticated Marylebone Hotel, which is less than 10 minutes’ easy walk from the shops of Oxford Street and Mayfair, yet also just a few steps away from Marylebone High Street and its charming, small-town feel.

Accommodations here are homey in the best possible way — meaning they avoid the depressingly ubiquitous cookie-cutter clichés of most hotel rooms — and we especially love the suites.

These range from a queen-bed studio, via a spacious luxury suite with the air of a downtown den, to a pair of rooftop affairs

with glassed-in terraces and proper fireplaces, and magnificent views across the rooftops of Central London.

Back downstairs, there’s even an 18-metre swimming pool, as well as a proper spa.

Dining chez nous in London generally makes no sense at all, yet the Marylebone can also claim a genuine neighbourbood restaurant, in the form of its chic, stand-alone 108 Brasserie.

So after an exhausting day’s shopping, museum-hopping or sightseeing, there’s no reason whatsoever to step outside until the next morning — unless it’s for a quick nightcap with your new neighbours in the pub across the street.

So next time you’re in the Big Smoke, do as we do: stay local.

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AGENDA art DREAM SCAPE

Comprising some 50 paintings, Dreams of Chinese Painters: Yitao Collection at the Sun Museum offers viewers a window into the often-enchanting world imagined by Chinese artists. Highlights include the 3.5-metre-tall Scenery of Tiaoxi by Shitao, one of the Four Monks of the early Qing Dynasty, and the vibrant, ink-splashed Autumn Landscape (pictured) by Zhang Daqian. Until July 13

TALL ORDER As part of its Art Basel activities, Lehmann Maupin presented Austrian artist Erwin Wurm’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. You can still catch his boundarybreaking sculptures and photography at the gallery’s Pedder Building space.

Until May 11

AND DON’T MISS THE ASIA DEBUT OF ARGENTINIAN ARTIST JULIO LE PARC. THE 90-YEAR-OLD’S PIONEERING OP ART IS ON SHOW AT PERROTIN HONG KONG. UNTIL MAY 11

PAINT IT BLACK

As part of Le French May’s month-long cultural extravaganza, Alisan Fine Arts presents its first-ever solo exhibition of sculptor and “painter of black” Pierre Soulages. Born in Rodez, France, in 1919, Soulages has spent the past 40 years working on a series of layered, textured paintings he calls Outrenoirs (“beyond black”). Until June 29

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T H E G R A N D T A S T IN G

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BY JA M E S S UC K L I N G

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A MUST-ATTEND EVENT FOR EVERY SERIOUS WINE LOVER!

Ho

Discover incredible wines from the Andes at one of the best premium wine events in Asia!

Get to know owners and winemakers from iconic wineries Taste 100 outstanding wines Featuring only wines rated 90 points or higher

Grand Tasting Tickets starting at HK$350 www.jamessuckling.com/event/great-wines-andes-hong-kong-2019/ Tickets also available on

AGENDA auctions RM SOTHEBY’S IS OFFERING THIS 2012 ASTON MARTIN V12 ZAGATO, THE FIRST OF ONLY 150 EXAMPLES BUILT, IN ITS SALE AT VILLA ERBA, ITALY, ON MAY 25

ÁNGEL BOTELLO, PAISAJE, 1955-1960 May 2 The Spanish-born and Frenchraised Botello emigrated to the Caribbean after the outbreak of World War II, where he spent the rest of his life painting and sculpting. This oil on board (the title translates as “landscape”), formerly in a private collection, is offered at Swann Galleries New York and has an estimate of US$12,000-$18,000.

ROBIN’S EGGGLAZED VASE

May 29 An exceptional pear-shape robin’s egg-glazed vase bearing the Yongzheng Emperor’s reign mark and dated 1723-1736 is offered at Christie’s Spring Series of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Sales in Hong Kong. Measuring 27.7cm high, it’s estimated at HK$6.5-$7.5 million.

ROLEX GMT-MASTER REF. 6532

May 28 This rare and highly sought-after example of Rolex’s classic 1950s dual-time tool watch in stainless steel is one of several highlights of Phillips’s Hong Kong Watch Auction at the JW Marriott Hong Kong. It’s estimated at HK$940,000$1.87 million.

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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

AGENDA toys

WHEN BMW ROLLS OUT ITS NEW Z4 ROADSTER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHO DOES IT HIRE TO PHOTOGRAPH IT? YUP, THAT DUDE WITH THE HASSELBLAD’S NONE OTHER THAN NEXT-GEN BECKHAM, BROOKLYN

FLOAT MY BOAT

Bored with pootling around the islands in that 40-foot cruiser? Then Italian yacht builder Benetti could have just what you’re looking for — in the form of this rakish new 108-metre-long FB275 Giga Yacht, which was launched at its Livorno shipyard in March and even counts a cinema among its amenities.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Combining black chrome and anodised gold finishes, and available this autumn, Leica’s tribute to cinematography, the M10-P ASC 100 Edition, comes with a 35mm f/2 Summicron lens, a Visoflex electronic accessory viewfinder and an M-PL-Mount Adapter that enables the use of many cine lenses. We call that a wrap!

ROCK THE HOUSE DOWN

Wired for sound? So 2009. Now that US-based wireless sound specialist Sonos has a distributor in Hong Kong, you can plonk one of its compact speakers in every room and have your entire residence rocking to your favourite playlists in no time.

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ADDRESS: 8 MOUNT NICHOLSON ROAD, THE PEAK, HONG KONG website: www.mountnicholson.com.hk enquiry: +852 2118 2108 Private viewing by appointment only Developers

Sales Agent

VIP

DIANA D’ARENBERG

MARCIN NOWAKOWSKI AND NATALIE SÖDERSTRÖM

ART BASEL HONG KONG

A FAIR TO REMEMBER What? We partnered with Art Basel Hong Kong once again for the seventh staging of the city’s most exciting, peopled, talked-about, visited, sales-driven and viewed art event, which, in all its colourful, immersive and gigantic glory, took over the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Booth buddies: On the evening of the vernissage, long before the doors opened to the general public, we invited friends of Prestige to pop over to our booth for a glass or two of bubbly (thank you, Ruinart!) and an exclusive VIP preview of the entire affair. We sent many of our guests into the halls, champagne flute in hand; Chinese whispers have it that some of our dears even bought a piece or two.

Painting by numbers: If you thought that last year’s records couldn’t possibly be topped, you were wrong. This year’s fair attracted 242 galleries, including 21 new international participants, with a further welcome surprise being the Discoveries section, a platform focusing on solo shows by emerging artists that featured 25 new galleries. As we head to print, the total tally of sales has yet to be confirmed but conjecture has it that it was an exceptionally fine year.

Sold!: The unmissable Lee Bul piece Willing to be Vulnerable (Metalized Balloon) Balloon), which greeted guests entering the venue, sold for more than US$200,000; Andy Warhol’s 1962 Campbell’s Elvis went for a rather more stratospheric US$2.85 million – and, why, a blow-up canvas print of our very own Prestige March 2019 cover featuring Neo Rauch was coveted by a connoisseur, so we offered it to him at a very reasonable price…

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BOHAN QIU

RINA AND HARESH WADHWANI KELVIN MA

JESSICA JANN AND KENNETH KING

RUBY LAW FAYE TSUI

DANIEL YOON

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VIP RACHEL MA AND MAX DAVIS

DI CLAU, AARON KOHLER AND RAFAEL RAYA CANO

RACHEL PARKMONBALLIU

MALCOLM CLARKE AND JOHN DAWSON RUTH CHAO

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SEL ECT

SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT

An exhibition of contemporary artist Wang Xiaobo’s work, staged by the Art Futures Group, probed the nature of human existence HONG KONG’S Art Futures Group recently presented an exhibition of artist Wang Xiaobo’s work at Elements, Tsim Sha Tsui. The exhibition featured 10 of Wang’s hyperrealist works.

The artist, born in 1974 and based in Beijing, is known for his focus on the human form and its relationship with the psyche. A devotee of Chinese contemporary oil-painting masters Jin Shangyi, Zhu Naizheng and Yang Feiyun, he is best known for his Inverted Woman and Two Person’s World series. Wang’s paintings remain popular with collectors and have been shown and sold around the world: in 2012, Inverted Woman fetched just over HK$4 million at auction.

His latest work follows a period of deep contemplation during which he pondered the nature of human existence and its various expressions.

Wang’s two most recent series are entitled Searching for Light and Sinking and Floating.

The former explores the search for light – and truth – from the perspective of a child. Sinking and Floating, meanwhile, uses the artistic device of a fat woman as a tongue-in-cheek metaphor for social expectations and desires.

“Now that I am the father of two kids, I can observe childhood closely through my children and reflect on my own childhood in Searching for Light,” says Wang. “Kids are curious about everything and they dream about their future – the common traits of mankind throughout evolution.”

The exhibition was the first collaboration between the artist and Art Futures Group and represented the culmination of much hard work on the part of the group and its founder and CEO, Jeremy Kasler.

“Wang’s artistic perspective and thoughtful exploration of humanistic philosophy have won admiration from collectors,” said Kasler ahead of the exhibition. “I believe that his latest series will again create a sensation in the market. I look forward to the fruitful results of our collaboration.”

Established in 2010, Art Futures Group is the world’s leading investment broker for Chinese contemporary art. As the first in Asia to offer a complete end-to-end art investment service, it is dedicated to helping its clients profit from portfolios containing the market’s most exceptional finds.

The group is backed by an expert team, thorough research, comprehensive knowledge of market developments and financial acumen built on more than two decades’ experience in alternative assets.

Wang Xiao Bo: My Humanistic Philosophy was held from March 26 to April 14 at the Water Zone at Elements, Tsim Sha Tsui artfuturesgroup.com

VIP

OLIVIA DAWN

JULIE JAMET AND MICHELLE WONG MARIKA NANNI

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DORIAN HO

JULIEN-LOÏC GARIN

SEL ECT

WINE GLASS TASTING EVENT HELD AT THE RACING CLUB, HAPPY VALLEY RACECOURSE

WISDOM IN A GLASS

Whether it’s the finer points of horse racing or expert guidance in the fine art of wine appreciation, The Racing Club offers countless opportunities to enhance your knowledge and your life

I KNEW THAT there are different shapes and sizes for wine glasses, but I was never aware of how important it is to have the right glass for the right wine, or the difference the wine glass – or stemware – makes in the appreciation of the nuances of wine.

Whenever I go to an event hosted by The Racing Club I learn something new, whether it’s by enriching my knowledge of horse racing or through immersion in one of the club’s exciting lifestyle programmes, such as the wine glass tasting event I went to recently.

At the event, we learned that there are three key elements to stemware – the base, the stem and the bowl – but the best glasses, known as grape-varietal-specific stemware, have finely tuned bowls whose three variables of size, shape and rim diameter are crucially important if you want to appreciate a wine fully. The bowl size determines how much air is in contact with the wine, the shape

controls how the wine flows to the opening, and the rim diameter regulates how fast the wine flows and how it’s delivered to the palate.

We had top-grade Riedel grape-varietal-specific stemware on hand, provided by Riedel’s distributor, Town House, whose general manager Suresh Kanji led the tasting session. I was astonished to learn from Kanji that “70 percent of a wine’s aroma comes from smelling, and only 30 percent from the palate”. Intrigued, I wanted to know how stemware affects this.

Kanji first took us through the four sensations of wine: bouquet, the quality and intensity of the aroma; texture, the exciting and diverse styles of “mouthfeel”; flavour, the balanced interaction between the fruit, minerality, acidity and bitter components; and finish, the pleasant, seamless, harmonious, and long-lasting aftertaste. He further explained the two ways to smell wine: orthonasal olfaction, or sniffing in the glass, and retronasal

olfaction, which is when aromas travel up the internal nares located inside the mouth to the nose. This is why some people swoosh the wine inside their mouth – it’s to facilitate the aroma entering the internal nares.

I felt a sort of epiphany when we were handed a goblet, a glass from days of yore formed by pouring molten glass over a cone-shaped mould, thus precluding the possibility of fine-tuning the shape. The aroma and taste of the wine we sampled from it was totally different – and definitely inferior – to that of the same wine from a piece of grape-varietal-specific stemware.

Apart from the wine, we enjoyed Parma ham, Emmental cheese and chocolates that were specifically selected to pair perfectly with the different types of wines. And of course, the time to meet and mingle with other like-minded racing enthusiasts, with friendships that go beyond the race-track.

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SEL ECT

SHOT ON LOCATION

LUXURY IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

Singapore’s South Beach Residences launches its second phase, offering spacious, stylish and luxurious units with panoramic views and all the latest amenities

SEEKING TO TAP into the trophy apartment craze in Singapore? Look no further than South Beach Residences. This exquisite 190-unit condominium, boasting an environmentally conscious design, sits on top of the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach and is part of an integrated development that includes a Grade A office tower and an exciting array of dining and lifestyle establishments linked to the Esplanade MRT station and City Hall MRT Interchange.

With all 50 units of the first phase having been sold, South Beach has released another 25 units for sale. Designed by Foster + Partners in collaboration with Aedas and jointly developed by City Developments Limited and IOI Properties, these stylish residences come with either two,

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three or four bedrooms, and range from 936 to 2,616 square feet. There are also six sprawling penthouses, each crowned with an open-to-sky rooftop deck with its own private spa pool and ranging from 3,897 to 6,728 square feet.

True to its name, South Beach Residences is designed to provide stunning panoramic views of the sea, the city’s central business district and the Marina Bay area. Coveted units include those with a direct view of Marina Bay and the Singapore Grand Prix race track. These units also allow residents to enjoy spectacular fireworks displays during festive celebrations such as the National Day Parade and the New Year countdown.

Two sky gardens and an infinity pool also serve as vantage points to view the urban cityscape,

making South Beach Residences apartments “trophy assets” for discerning homeowners.

Raising the bar in hospitality is its Signature Residential Services. Homeowners will be connected with well-trained residential hosts who can assist with an assortment of tasks from making restaurant reservations to organising a wedding party. A Resident Card allows homeowners to enjoy cashless transactions and exclusive privileges at the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, such as when dining at acclaimed restaurateur Alan Yau’s Madame Fan or Akira Back, a contemporary Japanese restaurant by celebrity chef Akira. southbeachresidences-sb.com

FASH I ON

CHANNEL THAT EFFORTLESS JE NE SAIS QUOI WITH A MASTERFUL MIX OF WARDROBE CLASSICS, STREET STAPLES AND ELEVATED BASICS

la vie

parisienne

PHOTOGRAPHY JOEL LOW | FASHION DIRECTION JOHNNY KHOO | STYLING JACQUIE ANG | HAIR SEAN ANG USING KEVIN MURPHY MAKE-UP KEITH BRYANT LEE USING CHANEL BEAUTY | PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ALFIE PAN | FASHION ASSISTANT JESSICA KHOR MODEL DASHA G AT MANNEQUIN

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CARDIGAN, TROUSERS, CHOKER, NECKLACE, BELTS (ONE WORN AS NECKLACE) AND BAG CHANEL HAT MAISON MICHEL SHOES, STYLIST’S OWN

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FASH I ON

JUMPSUIT AND BAG HERMÈS SHOES JIMMY CHOO JEWELLERY AND WATCH CARTIER

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JACKET MAJE CAMISOLE GIORGIO ARMANI EARRING BVLGARI

FASH I ON

OUTFIT CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE

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BLAZER GUCCI SHIRT TOD’S SHORTS MAJE SHOES ROGER VIVIER WATCH VACHERON CONSTANTIN SOCKS, STYLIST’S OWN

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BLOUSE COACH 1941 TROUSERS LONGCHAMP HAT MAISON MICHEL SHOE MANOLO BLAHNIK WATCH VACHERON CONSTANTIN

COAT AND CLUTCH BOTTEGA VENETA SCARF HERMÈS JEWELLERY CARTIER SHOES, STYLIST’S OWN

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BLOUSE VALENTINO JEWELLERY CARTIER

DRESS VERSACE SUNGLASSES GENTLE MONSTER NECKLACE (WORN AS BELT) BVLGARI

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OUTFIT DIOR

OUTFIT GIVENCHY

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SHOE-IN

EDOARDO CAOVILLA TAKES ZANETA CHENG ON A TOUR OF THE RENE CAOVILLA FACTORY IN ITALY’S VENETO REGION TO EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC BEHIND THE BRAND’S RENOWNED SHOES

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or the diminishing number of companies that seek to make their mark by focusing on quality and craftsmanship rather than publicity, there’s greater pressure now than ever before. Faced with today’s logo-mania and ceaseless marketing messaging, it takes a unicorn to cut through the noise and deliver product with both substance and style.

With recognition exceptionally high around the world, the Italian shoe brand Rene Caovilla is one such rarity.

Peruse any image of a female celebrity on the red carpet, whether it’s Jessica Chastain, Kim Kardashian, Yang Mi or Song Zu’er, and there’s a good chance she’ll be wearing the brand’s sky-high coiled heels. In fact, a peek into the company’s Fiesso d’Artico factory in Italy’s Veneto region is evidence that Asian customers are enthusiastically snapping up Rene Caovilla’s bespoke creations.

You’d have been forgiven in the past for not knowing that the snake-coiled sandals are called Cleo and that they’re the signature of a label that until recently was known only to the cognoscenti. But Edoardo Caovilla’s determination to grow the brand globally will soon ensure that the name is as recognisable as the shoes.

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“It’s taken me two years really to evolve the brand and to refresh and modernise the Cleo from my father’s original design,” says Caovilla, who’s not only the CEO and creative director but also the son of the founder and president, Rene. “Customers love our DNA. It is strong and they appreciate the quality. But we’re now looking to give women more occasion to get in touch with the DNA, so we expanded the categories. We branched into sneakers but were careful not to become a sneaker brand, maintaining the quality and never deviating from our price positioning.”

A key expansion decision of Rene Caovilla was to open its own stores, which are now found in 27 markets around the world, including one in Hong Kong (Harbour City – and there are also plans to open another in ifc). “It’s very important for us to have our own stores,” says Caovilla, “as multibrand retailers are limited to their specific customer, so in order for us to really create our own universe, we’ve worked to open direct brand-to-consumer stores.”

But while creating its own universe might seem an uphill climb for many brands, that’s definitely not the case for Rene Caovilla, whose world comes alive during a visit to its factory. The business started in the 1920s as a genuine cottage industry that occupied the home of the founder’s mother and employed just three people, Today, that same spot houses part of the family’s shoe archive, as well as the factory where Rene Caovilla produces more than 100,000 pairs of shoes each year.

That archive contains thousands of shoes, including the very first version of the Cleo as well as footwear produced for early Valentino collections. Although it no longer does so, the company also made shoes for a number of fashion houses, counting Chanel, Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren among its clients. Turn a few of those early shoes upside

FASH I ON

down and you find that Rene Caovilla painted the soles red – much like that other brand with which we associate the colour today.

Downstairs at ground level, the factory hums with activity. In Hong Kong, the cost of a pair of Rene Caovillas runs to five figures, a price that’s at least partly reflected in the time and effort it takes to create each one. Every

The longest-serving employee at the Rene Caovilla factory, she talks at length about the early days before the company began to use laser cutters to assist with production. Indeed, her fondness for the brand is shared by many of her colleagues, who, like her, come from the surrounding area, learned their craft with the company and speak its name with reverence. They include the Galaxia, a quality-control team of four women who carefully examine each pair of shoes before it leaves the factory, and the laser-cutter operators, who have enabled the brand hugely to expand its range of styles.

“It’s important for me really to deliver on what the brand considers luxury,” says Caovilla. “I’m working to align the evolution of the brand with the evolution of society. These days, it’s not about ownership. The new generation want to know our values, where and how we produce and why we choose to do so – human values. This is luxury today.”

Given the brand’s push to enlarge its market presence, it would be easy to imagine that it’s looking to expand beyond women’s shoes, particularly with accessories and jewellery collections in the pipeline. So, is a move into men’s and children’s shoes likely?

The answer is a resounding no.

“My point has always been to give more power to our brand equity.

If you look at womenswear companies that venture into baby and menswear, in a couple years they will have been sold,” Caovilla says. “It’s a way for a business. It’s not the way for a brand.

“We’ve always been in love with women. You don’t need to be huge to be one of the best.

Because if you work with a longterm view like we do, you create value.”

“EVEN A PLAIN PUMP WITH NO ACCESSORIES COMBINES 42 DIFFERENT PIECES” element of each shoe is created in-house, right down to the last detail. Computers and modellers turn sketches drawn by the design team into 3D models; various rooms house the strass, Swarovski crystals, embellishments and skins that go into making each shoe; the factory floor, meanwhile, throbs with noisy machines, while artisans carefully thread beads on to fabric for the brand’s Veneziana shoe.

“There are many elements that go into the last of our shoe,” Caovilla explains. “Even a plain pump with no accessories is a combination of 42 different pieces. Each one comes from a different supplier with different lead times, and that’s broken down into 11 sizes. You have to assemble them together and if you make only one mistake, the shape and the comfort is ruined. It’s engineering combined with aesthetics and it’s a big reason why many shoemakers don’t tend to own their production.

“But we don’t see this as something that can be counted in the number of hours. It’s a question of how many generations of knowledge you need to make these shoes.”

Take Signora Annelisa, for example, whose strong yet delicate hands are testimony to the three decades during which she’s stitched leather and delicate embroideries. “I started with [Rene] Caovilla, the president, when we were both children,” she says with the generous smile of someone who truly lives la dolce vita. “I’ve given my life to my job here and I’m very happy. My family and parents also work here.

I now teach the younger ones a lot, because in this part of Italy it’s important to pass on the skills and traditions of shoemaking.”

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THE HEIGHT OF FASHION

Givenchy introduces the Mystic, a couture-inspired handbag for pre-autumn 2019

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AS THE REIGNING artistic director of Givenchy – and the first woman to hold the post – Clare Waight Keller has been crowned “the UK’s queen of couture”. Now the lauded fashion house is taking cues from Keller’s haute couture silhouettes for its pre-autumn accessories collection. The Mystic bag combines the structure and sophistication of high fashion with the versatility and simplicity of ready-to-wear.

Designed to “simultaneously suggest power and restraint”, the top-handled Mystic features sculptural shoulders and an elegant V-shaped flap.

It’s crafted from fine calf leather with details such as hand-sewn topstitching and hand-painted edging.

The handle is made from a triple layer of suede, calf leather and a hand-applied bombé cushion.

A stylised double-G clasp in a silky gold finish is half-hidden by the graceful flap, adding to an aura of secrecy – whether the bag is open or closed, its contents remain concealed. A back pocket, meanwhile, provides a practical spot for storing essentials.

The Mystic comes in eight colours – black, natural, desert, storm grey, aubergine, pale pink, yellow and lichen – with an ample inner

compartment lined in contrasting suede. It also boasts a removable, adjustable strap so that the bag can be carried by hand or worn cross-body or over the shoulder.

The bag can be personalised with extra-large gold-finish charms shaped like dice, a whistle or a medal and covered with a protective leather sheaf. The result is a fashionable, functional accessory with all the elegance and refinement of haute couture. givenchy.com

JEWE L L E RY

BLOOD AND STONE

As the maison’s NICOLAS BOS unveils Van Cleef & Arpels’s latest high-jewellery collection in Thailand, he explains to jing zhang the mystique and symbolism of rubies

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NEHA EARRINGS WITH DETACHABLE PENDANTS IN WHITE AND PINK GOLD WITH RUBIES, WHITE CULTURED PEARLS AND DIAMONDS

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he colour of love, passion, royalty, blood and burning embers, the red of precious rubies has been prized around the world for millennia. In the 1980s, Jacques Arpels of Van Cleef & Arpels even told a journalist that rubies were his favourite stone. Indeed, the jewellery house has had a love affair with the ruby for more than a century, crafting stunning creations such as the 1937 Peony Clip – a riot of bright rubies depicting the peony flower, surrounded by diamond foliage, and once owned by Princess Faiza of Egypt.

Fast forward 80-plus years and we’re in Thailand, known in the world of stones as a ruby capital – a centre of trade, cutting and treatment – for the unveiling of the Treasure of Rubies collection. It took the Van Cleef house around 10 years to gather stones that total more than 3,000 carats – all to create 60 unique pieces in a corpus meant to take us on a journey to the heart of this bright and burning hue.

“It’s very often referred to as the King of Stones,” says Van Cleef & Arpels’s celebrated president, CEO and creative director Nicolas Bos. “All stones have their own personality, history and specificity, so it’s not totally impossible to rank them in a hierarchy, but it’s true that rubies for the longest time have been considered the most regarded, the rarest and most symbolic stones, all over the world, even before diamonds.”

Whether it was Medieval Europe, Asia, India or China – “pretty much everywhere that there was access” – bright red rubies were often treasured as “the holy grail”. And in this collection, Bos often let specific stones lead the way in terms of design, adjusting to reveal and maximise the beauty of each one. It’s a series of creative choices made in the ateliers with the craftsmen, looking at style and whether a piece is more “graphic or ornamental or something else”.

Bos is obviously reluctant to choose a favourite piece, but he will identify the Andaakar necklace as one of his personal highlights – made from white gold, pink gold, rubies and diamonds with an oval-cut hero ruby of 5.03 carats.

“This type of structure I really like – there’s a lot of references here, and mixing of colours and combinations,” he says of the alternating golds that offer a wave effect in a solid-looking, articulated structure that’s still very comfortable hugging the neckline.

There’s a lot to look through in this collection, a veritable treasure chest of innovative and versatile pieces (Van Cleef is known for its

transformable, detachable pieces) that will tantalise the most discerning high-jewellery fans.

The launch in Thailand was also a nod to the history of rubies in this area of the world; the mystique of Asia, as well as the house’s own travels here. “One of the references during design was the 1950s-’70s, when the Arpels brothers were travelling constantly to Asia, Southeast Asia and India to source all the stones,” Bos explains. “It would be strange to launch it in Paris or Rome – we thought it would be more fitting here.”

This stylistic influence resulted in Asian-, Indian- and Persian-inspired Van Cleef pieces of that time “that we wanted to pay tribute to with this collection. There’s that context.”

It’s the context that’s helped produce some of my own favourite pieces.

The Rubis Imperial necklace is a jaw-dropping, fluid creation with nine rows of ruby beads totalling 1,066 carats and held with a huge bejewelled diamond clasp – an epic homage to the Maharajas of India. I can’t help but think it would look great in my own (currently quite bare) collection – perhaps when I win the lottery.

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We’re wowed by the powerful swirl of the Berunda (a two-headed bird from Indian mythology) bracelet cuff with cushion-cut stones. The ultrafeminine, Indian-inspired Priya transformable long necklace charms with pink sapphires and tasselled pearl and ruby beads. And the Duo de Diamants pear-shape earrings with detachable pendants show the versatility of the house: wear them as gobstopper showpieces for a gala or take off the pendants (with 20.37- and 21.26-carat diamonds) for a more discrete look.

The strength and brilliance of the ruby is showcased in many iterations here – as Bos says, “it’s always been a ‘hero’ stone”. Of course, that’s partly due to the brilliant shades of red that so easily and impressively conveys love, passion, power, strength and energy.

As one of the very few people in high jewellery who heads both the business and creative sides of a large maison, Bos is himself in a unique position. He got into jewellery “a bit by coincidence”, but all with the Richemont Group, first working at the Fondation Cartier where he handled business as well as a collection of contemporary art.

“I was always doing both the business and creative sides,” he says.

When the same group purchased Van Cleef & Arpels, Bos was asked come on board “with pretty much the same philosophy … working with creative people, experts, collaborations … making the business sustainable, as well as training the next generation of craftspeople so that the brand can invest in the future.” The L’École Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery schools are testament to this.

“This house still exists and is active today because it’s always been able to combine a real creativity and innovation with a sense of commercial business. You need to have both,” says the jeweller. And yes, today, it’s hard not to notice the butterflies, 3D flowers and the

THIS PAGE: THE RUBIS FLAMBOYANT TRANSFORMABLE NECKLACE CAN BE CONVERTED INTO A RING

famed four-leaf Alhambra motifs dominating the brand’s highly successful commercial lines.

That balance is hard to come by. A jewellery brand that is no more than an exercise in creativity and craft won’t survive if there’s no good business supporting it. “There are many examples of this,” Bos adds.

There are also many examples of houses going too commercial and losing touch with their original artistic spirit.

With the luxury industry in a state of flux, brands must be careful when adapting to new ways without losing their essence. The 1930s, ’50s and ’60s were great decades for high jewellery, Bos says, but 20 years ago, the industry was just emerging from a lull in the ’80s and ’90s. And the revival of fashion houses, such as Gucci in the late ’90s, made many in jewellery look towards fashion as role model, where they tried “to duplicate elements of communication, distribution, business models and even the way of working with stylists and designers – as in fashion, which I don’t think is necessarily relevant to jewellery.”

“We create pieces that are here to last forever. We cannot develop a collection in three or four months – it takes many years and we’re working on a lot of them in parallel. The idea of a collection in fashion is to capture the flavour of the day, but in jewellery you have to be relevant yet more timeless,” Bos says.

The way that Van Cleef & Arpels looks at things is all about “developing it in our own way. We are specific, we have our roots and history that we want to maintain,” he explains, “but we also have connections to the world of art, to the world of craftsmanship and to the world of fashion.”

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS SA

The strength and brilliance of the ruby is showcased in many iterations – as Bos says, “it’s always been a hero stone”

PHOTOGRAPHY RICHARD RAMOS AT FAST MANAGEMENT STYLING DENISE HO | HAIR & MAKE-UP MIGUEL ALVAREZ AT ANA PRADO MANAGEMENT | MODEL MYRTILLE REVEMONT AT MODELS 1 (LONDON) | PRODUCTION AND CASTING FRANCISCO ANTON-SERRANO AT FAST MANAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS HECTOR SILVA, CHRISTIAN VARAS AND LOUIS DE ROFFIGNAC | STYLING ASSISTANT ANNA PIROSKA-TOTH PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS JAIMEE GONG AND THY VAN NGUYEN

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A SKETCH OF THE AMOUR SACRÉ CLIP WITH TRADITIONAL MYSTERY-SET RUBIES; A MODEL WEARING THE ZIP COUTURE LAURIER DE RUBIS NECKLACE AND FEUILLE DE RUBIS RING; CLAUDE, JACQUES AND PIERRE ARPELS IN 1975

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SUNNY SIDE UP

UV exposure factors in everything from crow’s feet to far more serious health concerns. TAMA LUNG rounds up the best new products to protect yourself

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ou’ve likely heard the alarming statistics ‒ one in every three cancers diagnosed is of the skin, with the global incidence of melanoma only increasing as ozone levels are continually depleted ‒ and chances are you’ve suffered the consequences of too much sun.

The good news, though, is there are several easy ‒ and even downright pleasant ‒ ways to protect yourself from the harmful effects of UV and associated light pollution. This season sees the launch of a host of innovative skincare products incorporating SPF protection along with powerful antioxidants that can defend against the oxidative damage caused by blue light and infrared rays.

Unlike sunscreens of old, these new releases come in a variety of textures and easy-to-absorb formulas. In addition to traditional creams and SPF-infused moisturisers, look out for oils such as Natura Bissé’s C+C Dry Oil Antioxidant Sun Protection SPF 30 or featherweight liquids such as Shiseido’s White Lucent Day Emulsion with SPF 50+ protection.

Perhaps the most exciting innovations for skincare fans are the deceptively effective Sun Drops from Dr. Barbara Sturm and Sun Silk Drops from Coola. Both are delivered by dropper, and can be applied just before sun exposure.

They can mixed with moisturiser or applied as needed throughout the day.

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PAYOT Hailed as an “invisible sunscreen for face and body”, Crème Divine has a lightweight texture and holiday-worthy scent with notes of bergamot, honey, jasmine and vanilla.

COOLA This newly launched organic sunscreen boasts an innovative serum-like formula that combats blue light, infrared rays and pollution in addition to providing SPF 30.

GUERLAIN The healing properties of honey combine with powerful protection against UV, infrared and blue light in the new Abeille Royale Skin Defense Youth Protection SPF 50.

DR. BARBARA STURM Now exclusive to Joyce Beauty, this German brand is shaking up the skincare world.

Its innovative Sun Drops nourish and strengthen the skin while providing SPF 50 broad-spectrum protection.

BAREMINERALS With Okinawan long life herb to strengthen, mineral-based sunscreen to protect and green coffee bean to brighten, Skinlongevity Vital Power Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 just might do it all.

ESTÉE LAUDER Part of the brand’s new Perfectionist Pro Collection, Multi-Defense UV Fluid offers SPF 45 protection using 100 percent mineral-based sunscreen plus antioxidants.

SISLEY With an even higher level of protection than previous versions, the new Sunleya G.E. Age Minimizing Global Sun Care SPF 50 aims to slow the appearance of wrinkles and dark spots while stalling the loss of skin firmness.

NATURA BISS BISSÉ Formulated with carrot and grapeseed oils as well as Provitamin D, the innovative C+C Dry Oil Antioxidant Sun Protection SPF 30 hydrates while it protects.

SHISEIDO The Japanese skincare brand’s White Lucent Range is all about a luminous, even complexion.

Its brand-new Day Emulsion provides lightweight, longlasting protection.

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: ARTIST CHUL-HYUN AHN AND HIS WORKS LIGHT DRAWING AND 4 DOTS

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EVERYDAY REFLECTIONS

La Prairie’s latest partnership with Art Basel in Hong Kong last month saw the creation of three specially commissioned works by artist CHUL-HYUN AHN, all of which meditate on the meaning of light

WHEN LA PRAIRIE initially approached South Korean Chul-Hyun Ahn to collaborate with the brand for an installation at this year’s Art Basel in Hong Kong, the artist wasn’t too familiar with the Swiss skincare line – but then again, he’s probably not the target customer. “I didn’t know about La Prairie products,” he admits, ”so I was searching on the Internet, and it turns out it was quite a global company!

“When I logged on to their website, they have products, but also a lot of other content – culture, science. So actually I was impressed.

And then we agreed to do the collaboration and they sent me La Prairie samples and I brought them home, and my wife was thrilled.”

What was also attractive to the artist was the carte blanche he was given, and the themes of light, colour and reflection, three topics that are already central to his practice. “It was perfectly matched,” says Ahn. “They use light for their best interests, which is to increase and make the natural beauty of skin last longer. I use light to help my concepts become art. So we have a common interest, using the same material.”

La Prairie has spent the last five years decoding the science behind light, upgrading the science behind its White Caviar collection so that it not only increases brightness and decreases pigmentation, but also improves luminosity.

Explains Dr Daniel Stangl, the brand’s director of innovation, “We had to think, what does luminosity mean? What are the factors that influence luminosity? This has to do with light, and when we’re talking about light, we have to think about how light is really dealing with our skin.

As a result we came up with the equation of light.”

In essence, when your skin is pigmented – touched by the brown of UV damage, grey from pollution, red from inflammation and yellow from oxidative stress – it doesn’t reflect light. The solution, then, to bringing forth this light, is to erase the offending colour spectrum. In the White Caviar product line, this is done via key ingredients such as Lumidose. “Lumidose decreases the amount of the pigment melanin,” says Dr Stangl. ”The less pigment you have, the less light is absorbed, the more light is left for being reflected, which is a very simple principle. You also need reflection from the surface, but reducing pigments is a key pillar.”

Ahn, in turn, uses light rather to pose questions that are as timeless as the quest for eternal youth and beauty. “I am using my materials – mirrors and light – to try to decode my question, my equation, trying to make infinite space and talk about emptiness and physical travelling versus spiritual travelling,” he says.

In many ways, Ahn’s perspective adds another dimension to the relationship that exists between

LA PRAIRIE’S DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION, DR DANIEL STANGL

art and beauty. “When people are looking at my art, they’re appreciating it and searching for their own space and perspective to experience art and beauty,” he explains.

Art, after all, pervades all parts of the world of beauty, even those most technical. He may be a man of science, but there is art yet in Dr Stangl’s concepts, and, indeed, his words: “There are many contact points between art and science. Scientists must be very curious; scientists try to be creative in linking facts together in a way that no one else has thought about, that opens a new view of biological systems, for example. Art can open your eyes to give you a new view on something that is common.

Art is also something that communicates with you, brings something that is inherently in you, out. Art may help to see the world in a different way, and that’s what we do as well, we want a new view of the skin. But it’s the same attitude: curiosity, and coming up with surprising new solutions.” laprairie.com.hk

BEAU T Y

THE FRENCH CONNECTION OLIVIER ECHAUDEMAISON has led a life as colourful as the lipsticks he’s famed for developing. tama lung gets to know the creative director of the House of Guerlain

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hen is a make-up artist no longer a make-up artist?

When they become a true artist. Or, perhaps, in the case of quintessential Frenchman Olivier Echaudemaison, an artiste. The creative director of the House of Guerlain, who was in Hong Kong recently to launch the new It-Colour collection of customisable Rouge G de Guerlain lipsticks, has built his career not on creating products to make women look beautiful but instead by making women feel beautiful and, more importantly, confident.

“Make-up can give a woman style, personality and make her feel secure. You know, there is security in make-up. It can make them feel not stronger, because I hate that word, but I think much more confident.

And a woman who is confident in herself is a winner,” he says. “I love to give them some tips to win.”

Echaudemaison actually started out as a hairdresser, initially as the personal assistant to the famed Alexandre de Paris. “A thousand years ago,” he says, joking, “I started a job with a magazine as a studio hairdresser. I was one of the first in the ’70s to do that. Back then, the models were very big stars. Not like today, when every girl is a ‘top model’ – they are just ‘model’ – the top models were Veruschka, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton. Stars, legends.”

At the time, models did their own make-up, creating signature looks or what Echaudemaison calls “their own face”. He would do their hair and then watch them do their make-up. “Every girl had something unique.

And I thought, I want to do that,” he recalls.

“So from the hair, I go to the face. I made a lot of mistakes until I found my own style, which was not really natural, but it looked natural.

In the ’80s make-up was very heavy. On a 19-year-old girl, maybe it looks good. But on a 40-year-old lady it looks terrible. So I started to remove it, make it very simple with soft eyeshadow, not aggressive.

“There are two things that make women really women for me, and make men go completely crazy. Lingerie. And lipstick”

I prefer the personality of the face rather than the make-up. Always. That is my rule. I think the most important is you, not what you are going to wear.”

Echaudemaison would go on to do make-up for fashion shows, up to 12 per season, and a stint at British Vogue as a coordinator for beauty, fashion and covers. When he arrived at Guerlain in 2000, the maison was, as he describes it, “boring bourgeois” and “sort of a ‘sleeping beauty’”.

“I didn’t try to make it the opposite because it’s too dangerous to lose what you have and not gain something new,” he says. “So I go slowly by what I call toys – lipstick and things like that are toys for a woman. And I make beautiful objects.”

It was Guerlain, Echaudemaison reveals proudly, that created lipstick as we know it today. “It’s incredible. Before, lipstick was a little cream or liquid worn by actresses or singers on stage. And, as you know, in the 19th century, the bourgeoisie were very boring. The wives were taking care of the house and having babies. But the men had mistresses, who were the most glamorous. Just look at the paintings – they used candle wax and colour on their lips.

“So in the beginning women wore lipstick to keep the husbands at home,” he continues, laughing. “There are two things that make women really women for me, and make men go completely crazy. Lingerie. And

HAUTE STUFF GUERLAIN’S CULT LIPSTICK GETS A HIGH-FASHION UPGRADE

lipstick. You can be in a restaurant in Paris or anywhere else and if a girl arrives wearing stilettos, with red lips, all the guys look and go – uh – ‘sex bomb’. A girl arrives with flat shoes and no lipstick, nobody looks. It’s fascinating.”

It was only natural, then, that Echaudemaison would transform lipstick for the new generation of Guerlain customers. “I wanted what a woman always needs to apply lipstick: a mirror. But I wanted the mirror to be very discreet. You can flirt with it in a restaurant. Flirting is part of being feminine. And it’s very important to make a woman happy,” he says, showing how the Rouge G case flips open to reveal a mirror. “I’m always thinking, how can I make women happy? So: lipstick, flirting and to have a mirror. And that was really a revolution in that business.”

Rouge G de Guerlain has since become one of the maison’s most iconic products, and Echaudemaison’s one true must-have. “It’s a big mistake to be without lipstick,” he says. “What’s fascinating to me about lipstick is that sometimes it changes the colour of the skin and suddenly creates a light in the eyes. I can see sunshine in a woman’s eyes because of the lipstick. It just gives a touch of – ding! – sparkle.”

Launched last month, Rouge G de Guerlain’s new It-Colour collection features 12 semi-matt lipstick shades and eight cases to allow customers to create their own “couture objects”. The new doublemirror cases, designed by Parisian jeweller Lorenz Bäumer, are adorned with leather in a choice of colours including Urban Emerald (pictured), Rock ’n Navy and Hype Purple.

“The most successful one is the red,” says creative director Olivier Echaudemaison of the Imperial Rouge version, “by accident.”

The new lipstick shades, meanwhile, range from a discreet nude to an incandescent coral with names such as Rouge Intense, Nude Rosé, Rouille,

Chocolat and Corail. The formula comes infused with hyaluronic acid for hydration as well as black cumin seed oil, also known as “oil of the pharaohs”, for its antioxidant, nourishing and regenerating benefits.

The allure of the collection, Echaudemaison points out, is not limited to women. “It’s the first time I’ve seen men in our stores buying lipstick for their girlfriend or their wife. Because it’s inexpensive and it’s a beautiful gift. They can even get a name engraved on it.”

And if you’re seeking a “no-mistake shade”, always look for the one that ends in 25. “I make one in every collection,” Echaudemaison says. “It’s a perfect red.”

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TRUE GRIT

MUCH OF MICHELLE YEOH’S ILLUSTRIOUS THREE-DECADE-LONG FILM CAREER HAS BEEN LAID OPEN FOR AN ADORING PUBLIC. BUT WHO IS THE REAL WOMAN BEHIND THE SCORPION KICK? ZANETA CHENG FINDS OUT PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING OLIVIA TSANG | HAIR DERRICK NG | MAKE-UP KAMEN LEUNG WARDROBE LORO PIANA | WATCHES RICHARD MILLE LOCATION THE LANDMARK MANDARIN ORIENTAL, HONG KONG

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COVE R

THAT MICHELLE YEOH IS NOTHING LIKE

the characters she plays on screen becomes increasingly evident as our day’s shooting proceeds. She’s smaller than you’d ever imagine and exceedingly lovely­to be around.

In between shots Yeoh catches up with those she knows around her. “I hope your mum is feeling better,” she says to an old industry friend, with evident concern. She’s just as easy among those she doesn’t know, so we slowly gather round and, before we know it, everyone’s talking about the latest app they’re playing with, whipping out their phones to show her their new obsessions, just as they’d do with their favourite auntie.

It’s difficult to imagine this is the same Yeoh who played Eleanor Young, the ferocious matriarch of Crazy Rich Asians, with such froideur, or the solemn and fierce martial-arts characters she’s known for – from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to her recent role in Ip Man 4. The only clue is in her lithe and powerful body, which she stretches and flexes as lenses are switched and lights fixed.

When I mention this, Yeoh’s response is easy and immediate. “But of course I’m not those characters. I’m an actor, right?” She smiles and continues, “I’m an actor who’s stepping into different shoes and I hope that each time I get the opportunity to explore a character that isn’t me. Because I don’t want my audiences to go, “Oh that’s Michelle Yeoh playing [whatever character] in whatever movie, but it’s still Michelle Yeoh.’”

Michelle Yeoh, as it happens, almost didn’t become the household name it is today. In her early Hong Kong movies the Malaysian-born Yeoh was known as Michelle Khan, a decision made by local studio D&B, which considered the name more marketable for international audiences. “It’s quite a funny story,” she recalls, “when they did that Michelle Khan thing.

“One day my uncle called my dad and asked, ‘Did Michelle marry a Pakistani? Why did she become Michelle Khan? Like Imran Khan? Which Khan is this?’ And my dad went back to me and said, ‘Yeah, so why is your name Khan?’ To which I replied, ‘Aiyah, long story.’”

Ultimately, it was Barbara Broccoli, producer of the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies that Yeoh was working on, who encouraged the up-and-coming actress to use her own name. Broccoli rightly assumed that if audiences could pronounce Khan they could certainly pronounce Yeoh.

Yeoh, now 56, smiles with easy grace as she recounts her past, but each of her successes came with blood and sweat – albeit probably very few tears. Although she still does her own stunts, reams of interviews recount her early days in the heyday of Hong Kong’s film industry when Yeoh pushed herself to the limit, crashing through glass, jumping off moving vehicles and continuing to perform take after take until a director asked her to rub the dirt off her arm, which in fact was large purple bruises.

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“WHATEVER I DO, I DO IT FULL-0N – NO HALF MEASURES. EITHER THAT OR JUST DON’T DO IT BECAUSE YOU WON’T LEARN ANYTHING”

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“Inner strength, we call it,” Yeoh tells me. “Nothing in life is easy. Anything you want to do, it comes through discipline – and because as I child I learned ballet, that taught me discipline. I mean, if you stand on pointe, you’re already learning how to smile through pain, so I think that conditioning teaches you that life can be hard but it’s OK, because if you ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing and you answer with all the right reasons, then you’ll put up with it.”

Does Yeoh reserve this strength for her work – which currently includes a recurring role on the TV series Star Trek: Discovery and her recent casting in the Avatar franchise – and separate it from her personal life? “It can’t be separate,” is her instant response. “I mean, even though we say we should keep it separate, it’s a part of you.

You can’t possibly.

“I think where I’m very blessed is that my passion and work are all intertwined, so I don’t ever feel like, ‘Ugh, I have to go to work.’ I’m sure there are days where we all think, ‘Man, can’t I just stay in bed for another half an hour?’ because you know, we work crazy hours, but then once you’re there, the reasons for being there give you that excitement, that joy.

“And whatever I do, I do it full-on – no half measures.

Either that or just don’t do it because you won’t learn anything, you won’t be successful at what you’re doing.

There’s no guarantee that it will be a great success, but the most important thing is that the attitude must be there.”

This all-or-nothing attitude is particularly evident in Yeoh’s humanitarian endeavours, to which she has devoted much of her personal time.

A Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme since 2016, Yeoh was in Kathmandu during the devastating Nepal earthquake of 2015. “The day before, Jean [Todt, the French motorsport executive who’s been her partner since 2004] and I were in one of the pagodas that were destroyed and I thought, ‘Well, that could easily have been me,’” she recalls. “I felt very helpless. We got out safely, but when we were leaving I felt great sadness. That I was going home and leaving behind

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people who were homeless. But leaving was the right thing to do because I’m not a firefighter, I’m not a rescue worker, I wouldn’t be able to do the right things.”

Thanks, however, to an independence of spirit that she attributes to her father, Yeoh got in touch with the Drukpa nunnery whose nuns are trained in martial arts – and who she knew would be going to help the villagers beyond the capital. “They were the ones who really needed help,” she says, “because when it happened in Kathmandu, all the people came pouring in to help, to assist. But the Drukpa have worked with these families before and they knew them, they knew the number of people in the villages and they knew the needs. Because it’s one thing when you send a lot of things, but are you sending the right things to the right people? You can’t just send blankets upon blankets upon blankets – what’s anybody to do with all of that when what they need is, say, powdered milk?”

Ultimately the right things went to the right people and Yeoh arranged to go back. That was when the second earthquake, the big one, hit the country. Despite the pleas of those around her not to go, Yeoh insisted. Why? “I always have this feeling that you have to believe. You can’t live in fear. That’s what I wish for our generations to come: freedom from fear,” she says eagerly.

“If you’re always afraid, afraid of dying, then what becomes of your life? I’m a part of this world that I want to be better and safer, and it’s a responsibility I have to our future generations. We can’t just come and do whatever we want, destroy whatever there is. And there’s always that

“YOU CAN’T LIVE IN FEAR. THAT’S WHAT I WISH FOR OUR GENERATIONS TO COME: FREEDOM FROM FEAR” lovely feeling of giving back, which is much more fun than simply taking. And we must learn to reach out a helping hand, because think back to when we came to Earth, someone reached out a helping hand to literally help us out.

So I went back.”

Yeoh’s help came in the nick of time, as the imminent arrival of the monsoon season meant that the taskforce urgently needed to distribute supplies before villages were cut off. Having ensured that rice and powdered milk had reached the families in need, she then returned a year later in her capacity as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, with the aim of helping to reinvigorate Nepal’s tourism industry.

“The tourism department said that if I showed that I was happy to go, then others might realise it was safe for them to go to Nepal too,” Yeoh explains. “While I was there, we travelled around the country to speak with the villagers and though things had calmed down, I realised that women – whom I saw walking on the road as I was in the car – were walking miles to get water.

“During the earthquake the wells dried up, the water disappeared and they couldn’t have trucks at every point, so

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“WE HAVE TO WORK AS A TEAM. I LOVE THAT PEOPLE ARE, IN A SENSE, FORCED TO WORK TOGETHER, TO GET ON AND MAKE THE BEST THING HAPPEN. I FIND SO MUCH JOY IN IT” they had to have a main station and these women would walk three, four hours to get there and carry water back on the heads. Water’s heavy, you know, and they’re not just carrying two small buckets. They have these huge things on their heads and if you think about that, it’s six hours of their time taken away from working in the fields or at home.

So these poor women were running themselves ragged.”

Not one ever to sit wringing her hands, Yeoh returned home with a plan, which she executed on a trip to Kuala Lumpur with the help of some kindred spirits. “Fortunately, I was invited to a wonderful event by Mrs Wang at Shiatzy Chen,” she says.

“She’d brought in friends from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, all lovely, lovely people, so I got up and told them I’d just come back from Nepal and that I knew they were all really generous in spirit and of heart, so could they help me.

I started the ball rolling and put in US$10,000, so Madame Wang said she’d match me. Soon ladies were giving and giving – and next thing we’d collected a good chunk of change and we built three wells back in the villages.”

Although she makes it sound easy, Yeoh’s ability to rally

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people around something she believes in stems from an innate love of family and community. “I have a great passion for what I do and I always think it’s a magical kind of work that brings people together. We have to work as a team, because we can’t work by ourselves. I love that people are in a sense forced to work together, to get on and make the best thing happen. I’m always learning something new and that’s why I find so much joy in it.”

“I wouldn’t be here without my family,” says the Ipoh native, who was bestowed the title Dato in 2001 for the recognition she brought to her home state of Perak. “But my family doesn’t just encompass the ones who are connected to me through blood. I have an extended family here in Hong Kong. I have a group of girlfriends. We’re like sisters with different surnames. So for me, this is also the family I choose.

You can choose all these amazing people, so over the years, my family has extended beyond my brother and his kids. I have my godchildren, and my friends and their children, so I have a big family, an international family.

“And that’s how it should be. Because I think if you take care of other people, they will take care of you.”

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s befits the boss of McLaren Automotive, the astoundingly successful British manufacturer of supercars, Mike Flewitt is what’s known as a “car guy”. His career in the automotive industry, which spans more than three decades, included lengthy stints at RollsRoyce, Ford and the former racing and tuning operation TWR, before he arrived at McLaren as COO of its fledgling road-car business in 2012. Promoted to CEO the following year, the Liverpool-born Flewitt has presided over the company’s ascent into the ranks of the most respected motor companies in the world, a feat all the more remarkable for the fact that McLaren Automotive sold its first production car less than eight years ago and remains a relatively niche player.

Based in an impressive Foster + Partners-designed facility some 50 kilometres from Central London, McLaren has bucked industry trends by remaining small, profitable and independent – last year it sold slightly fewer than 5,000 cars, which represents an almost 44 percent increase over 2017. Utilising common architectures for both chassis and power units (respectively a carbon-fibre monocell and a mid-mounted 3.8- or 4-litre turbocharged V8 engine), these are built in three distinct series – Sports, Super and Ultimate – at prices that range from around US$190,000 to as much as $2.5 million.

When he’s not running a business, Flewitt and his Swedish wife – who also happens to be an accomplished automotive engineer – relax by racing historic Lotus Elans, the classic, lightweight British ’60s sportscar created by Colin Chapman, who along with Kiwi car racer and designer Bruce McLaren is one of Flewitt’s heroes. He also

travels extensively and during a recent visit to Hong Kong, when he opened McLaren’s new showroom, Flewitt also found the time to chat about the company, its cars and the future – which, as he reveals here, includes the introduction of an entirely new line of GT cars very soon.

How is a McLaren different from other supercars?

We set out to build great supercars and the thing that underlines everything we do is that we try to build the best driver’s car, genuinely and without compromise. We don’t let aesthetics, fashion or even technology compromise that objective – the technology’s there to make it a better driver’s car, it’s not there as a statement of technology. We think that they’re the best driver’s cars in their class. What tends to mark out our customer base is that they’re largely enthusiasts, people who like motorsport and who like technology. They love driving – it isn’t a lifestyle purchase, it’s because they love those intrinsic elements of the car.

How has McLaren managed to succeed when other companies have struggled?

The [road-car] company launched out of the motorsport business, and our first sales were, I think, in June 2011.

Then in 2013 we took stock of where we were and redefined our plan going forward, which was to create a volume of around 5,000 cars a year. That would give us the scale and the returns to continue to invest, to be independent and to spend money on new technology so we can keep on renewing the product – and to keep the product pretty exclusive as well, so we can command the price and position and so on, because this could never be a volume market for us – it has to be an exclusive one.

THE CAR GUY WITH ANNUAL SALES OF MCLARENS NOW NUDGING 5,000, THE COMPANY’S CEO, MIKE FLEWITT, TALKS ABOUT THE BRITISH MANUFACTURER’S MISSION TO BUILD THE WORLD’S BEST SUPERCARS — AND WHERE IT GOES FROM HERE — WITH JON WALL

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We also looked at the products, so we now have this threetier range, which we need to command that market and achieve that volume. Since then, what we’ve been doing is looking at the marketplace and populating it with vehicles that we believe will be exciting for our customers. We always want to put cars in segments where we’re going to be the best in class, so we won’t evolve into sectors where frankly we’re not going to be. Loads of times I’m asked, “Why don’t you guys build SUVs?” But frankly that’s not consistent with the brand and it isn’t what our customer base is after. The world is full of SUVs – there are people doing superb SUVs – so why would I wake up one morning and think we could design a better SUV than Porsche or Range Rover? It would be arrogant to think we could.

Mind you, if you’d suggested to Porsche 25 years ago that they were going to build SUVs they’d probably have thrown you out the door. But what are they now? They’re an SUV manufacturer that makes some sportscars.

Last year Porsche did about 250,000 cars of which about 60,000 were sportscars, but they did sportscars for 50 or 60 years before that – so my flippant answer to that is, “Ask me again in 50 years!” No, we’re focussed on the kind of cars that we make and because the market nowadays is very much a global one we sell the same cars in China as we sell on

the East and West coast of the US, in the Middle East and in Europe. We’ve got a global market and the opportunity for global demand, so we’ll go out and build very focussed cars that are targeted at being absolutely the best in their class, however small that class is.

So you won’t build an SUV. But will we see McLaren moving into other niches?

We’ve got a car coming this year, which I describe as a GT. If you look at the way we’ve evolved, we’ve definitely moved towards a more driver- and maybe even slightly trackfocussed orientation, which left an opportunity for a car that’s for the road rather than the track. So we’ve developed a car that will still be the most sporting and most McLarenesque GT in the market – because that’s our place, it’s got to be a driver’s car – but it won’t be track-focussed. And you’ll get to see that before too long. If we built an SUV, that would be stretching the brand, but this is developing the brand and it still plays to our strengths.

It’s ironic that McLaren Automotive arrived almost at the point when people were saying, “Oh, we

“THIS COULD NEVER BE A VOLUME MARKET FOR US — IT HAS TO BE EXCLUSIVE”

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE LEFT: MCLAREN’S IMPRESSIVE TECHNICAL CENTRE AND FACTORY OUTSIDE OF WOKING, UK; THE NEW SUPER SERIES 720S SPIDER; MIKE FLEWITT IN THE HONG KONG SHOWROOM

don’t want to drive cars any more, we want our cars to drive us.”

I think these are fundamentally different markets. I don’t want to sound flippant, but we’re not in the transportation business, we’re in the entertainment business. I was driven here in a minivan this morning – that could just as easily have been an EV or autonomous vehicle. But when I get up at 4am on a Sunday morning to go driving or I want to go to a track, I’ll be driving a supercar. I think we’ll find the transportation market evolving and grasping technology that will be more efficient, whether environmentally or in terms of time or convenience or whatever. Taxis could be autonomous for all we care, but that’s a different market from ours. For McLaren, full driverless capability is irrelevant.

Will there be autonomous McLarens?

There’ll be autonomous capability. We see opportunities in areas like braking, cruise-control systems, lane-departure and all of these aspects that make the car safer – and potentially autonomous capability in certain environments, such as city driving. But for us it’s about how you apply that opportunity – and it will always be about driving pleasure.

We’re only trying to sell around 5,000 cars a year in a global car market of more than 80 million, and there are enough people who love cars and love driving.

What about the internal-combustion engine? Does it have a future?

It does have a future. We’re in a world where about 2 percent of the cars are electric and 98 percent have internalcombustion engines, but that will change over time to become completely the opposite. We’re going to go through a period of hybrids – by 2025 McLaren will probably be 100 percent hybrid. And hybrid power is great, because it enhances the characteristics of the internal-combustion engine. Full EV for us will only come if we can build a better supercar with EV. We’re very much a niche proposition, an enthusiast’s proposition – people will still want that.

One problem with electric power, of course, is the weight of the battery.

The McLaren Senna weighs 1,200kg; we calculated that as a hybrid and for the same power and range, that car would weigh 2 tonnes. That’s crackers, but it’s changing. In 2013 we launched the P1 and in 2020 we’ll sell the first Speedtail.

The battery in the Speedtail is half the weight of the P1 battery. So in that time it’s already moved a long way. It’s still nowhere near where we want it, but at some point it will become a viable proposition. Our challenge then will be: let’s say we’ve got a fully viable battery, but is the car exciting? Sound quality, vibration – I mean “nice” vibration – emotion: those will be the challenges.

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IN HER

SHOES At the turn of the last century, vaudeville comedian and writer W.C. Fields famously declared, “Never work with children or animals.” That maxim was put to rest with this month’s photo shoot to celebrate Mother’s Day, by the adorable munchkins of three Hong Kong ladies: ANA RIVERA, LOUISE WONG and ALISON CHAN EL AZAR. Their kids had us oohing, aahing and laughing as they tried on their mums’ designer accessories. And at the end of a long, exhausting day, we learned that motherhood isn’t child’s play

PHOTOGRAPHY RICKY LO | STYLING FLORENT THIÉBAUT HAIR CANNIS CHAN AT BRUNE BLONDE MAKE-UP MEGUMI SEKINE AND LETICIA BISHOP ALL SHOES SERGIO ROSSI

Owner of modelling agency Model One, wife and mum (to Maya Ji Hye Garland, almost four, and Ryan Mathew Garland, nine months), Ana Rivera is used to multitasking. But if her kids had inclinations to follow in their glamorous mother’s footsteps, husband Brad has put his foot down. “He firmly believes the kids need their education and that’s a top priority,” Rivera says. “But I run an agency, so my perspective is a little different. I can see the opportunities [the modelling] industry can afford Maya, should she choose to pursue it later. Already, she’s done a few shoots that have been fun and ageappropriate when she’s been on holiday. And all the money she’s earned has been saved for her.” On the day of our shoot, little Maya tries on her mum’s sparkling shoes (“Look, princess shoes!”) and is hardly camera-shy. “As long as they graduate,” says Rivera, smiling, “they can do whatever they want.”

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ON RIVERA: DRESS HUGO BOSS ON MAYA: SWEATER AND SKIRT RALPH LAUREN ON RYAN: HIS OWN CLOTHES

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ON WONG: TOP RALPH LAUREN TROUSERS EMPORIO ARMANI ON AFFA: DRESS EMPORIO ARMANI KIDS

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Louise Wong hasn’t let motherhood get in the way of an unstoppable career as a model and influencer (as we go to print, she has nearly 90,000 followers on Instagram). In an industry genuflecting to the new and forever young, she has stiff competition at home in the person of her own progeny, Affa Tsang, who at age five is all kinds of fierce. “I’ve become the background in my own shoot!” Wong says with a laugh as her daughter steps into her Sergio Rossi pumps. “I had no idea she can pose and take direction so well. I’ve only taken her to photo shoots maybe five times ever.” Despite the magic we see on screen, Wong draws the line at signing her little one to an agency, despite lucrative offers. “I think children should have a childhood. I don’t want her to work. Luckily, she wants to be a doctor or nurse – but her career choices change daily. Whatever she wants to be, I’ll support her 100 percent.”

ON CHAN EL AZAR: JACKET AND TROUSERS EMPORIO ARMANI ON KHALIL AND KAIA: THEIR OWN CLOTHES

“Both were surprises,” says Alison Chan El Azar as she tries to somehow get her two younglings, Khalil El Azar, age three, and Kaia El Azar, two, into the same frame for our most bemusing and amusing shot. There are plenty of distractions: our photographer’s cat, a football, a box of toys and a mini circus tent filled with wonderment – well, a stuffed bunny, to be exact. “Girls are more independent and boys more needy – that’s what I’ve discovered with motherhood,” says Chan El Azar.

As the first in her squad to have children while her socialite girlfriends hit every event, after-party and concert in town, this young, fit mum has no regrets. “I feel like my life basically just started with the arrival of my children. I can’t wait for my friends to settle down and join the bandwagon. I’m not missing out on anything. As long as my kids are happy, I’m happy.”

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THE ART OF THE SALE Art Basel and Art Central weren’t the only games in town in recent months for collectors, who turned out in force to set new records in the contemporary-art auction market.

TAMA LUNG checks out the top lots

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A fibreglass sculpture by neo-Pop artist Yoshitomo Nara, The Little Pilgrim (Night Walking) was Lot 21 at Christie’s First Open sale. The prolific artist, who grew up in postwar Japan, has become known for his portrayal of anime-type characters that are at once childlike and sinister, but his Little Pilgrim series is said to show a softer and more ethereal side of his oeuvre. Estimated at HK$400,000-$600,000, it realised a price of HK$875,000.

FROM LEFT: CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD (2019) ; COURTESY SOTHEBY’S

T

he end of March may be widely remembered for the massive art fairs that took over Hong Kong, but it was also a bumper few days for the city’s auction houses.

“When the hammer fell on the final lot of tonight’s evening sale, Sotheby’s concluded what now stands as the highest totalling series of Contemporary sales ever staged in Asia – a testament not only to pan-Asian demand, but also to our ability to stage innovative and exciting auctions that set new benchmarks for the international market,” said Yuki Terase, the firm’s head of contemporary art, Asia, at the close of its Contemporary Art Evening Sale on April 1.

“In the evening sale, we are deeply honoured to have set a new auction record for Yayoi Kusama, demonstrating yet again the importance of Hong Kong in the artist’s market.

We also achieved a new auction record for Ethiopian-born female artist Julie Mehretu in what was the artist’s auction debut in Asia.”

Sotheby’s one-day sales total for contemporary art in Hong Kong came to HK$802 million with every lot exceeding its pre-sale high estimate. Besides Kusama and Mehretu, records were set for eight artists with man-of-themoment Kaws, aka Brian Donnelly, commanding HK$116 million for The Kaws Album, one of 33 lots from the personal collection of Japanese designer and entrepreneur Nigo.

Christie’s, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong showing at its First Open on March 31, bringing in a total of HK$47 million at its first Hong Kong art sale of the year. “The enthusiasm from collectors was overwhelming,” noted head of sale Dina Zhang. “Taking place during a weeklong series of events surrounding Art Basel, the sale demonstrated the ability to convene global collectors as they acquired works across genres and cultures.”

The undisputed highlight of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale was Yayoi Kusama’s Interminable Net #4. The painting, from 1959, is considered an extremely rare example from the most radical, transformative and accomplished period of the Japanese artist’s career.

Kusama arrived in New York in June 1958, and soon embarked on a series of critically acclaimed monochrome canvases. Interminable Net #4 followed the Infinity Net series

and showcases the detailed, repetitive brushstrokes that would culminate in the repeating dots that the artist is internationally recognised for today.

Interminable Net #4 had been kept in private collections for decades and was estimated at HK$50-$70 million. The oil-on-canvas work eventually sold for HK$62.4 million (US$8 million), setting an auction record for not only Kusama but also for a female artist in Asia.

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In a strong performance by a Western artist, Mark Grotjahn’s Untitled (Yellow White Butterfly) achieved a price of HK$26.6 million from a high estimate of HK$30 million.

The geometric painting is part of a series the artist began in 2001 that explores perspective and composition.

Grotjahn describes himself as an abstract painter. “I want to be non-representational,” says the artist, who is also well known for his Face series of paintings. “I would like to be more and more abstract. I want to feel meaningful, but I don’t want any more to represent a face, a body.”

His was one of three pieces out of the top 10 lots at the Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale that were scooped up by anonymous buyers. The remaining seven works went to Asian private buyers.

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FROM LEFT: COURTESY SOTHEBY’S; CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD (2019); RICHARD LIN (LIN SHOW-YU, 1933-2011), UNTITLED, 1971 © BONHAMS

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Christie’s First Open was curated to appeal to new and seasoned collectors alike with its mix of sought-after contemporary Western and Asian artists at accessible prices.

It also featured several current icons of pop culture, including Banksy, Kaws and Takashi Murakami.

The latter artist from Japan had just two lots in the sale, with Sphere (White) closing out at HK$81,250. The silkscreen print bears the usual Murakami hallmarks ‒ bright colours, designer logos, repeating patterns and a pop playfulness.

“I would like you, the reader, to experience the moment when the layers of Japanese culture, such as pop, erotic pop, otaku and H.I.S.-ism fuse into one...” the artist wrote in his manifesto. “‘Super flatness’ is an original concept of Japanese who have been completely Westernised. With this concept, seeds for the future have been sown. Let’s search the future to find them. ‘Super flatness’ is the stage to the future.”

MASTER MINIMALIST BONHAMS PRESENTS THE RENOWNED RICHARD LIN

Also held to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong, Richard Lin Show Yu | A Retrospective of Major Works from the 1950s to ’70s was exhibited at Bonhams auction house on March 18–30.

The retrospective of 30 rare works by the late artist, the first-ever exhibition of its kind in Hong Kong, followed his first European retrospective at Bonhams London in October 2018.

Born in Taiwan in 1933, Lin studied architecture and fine arts in London. His first solo show was held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1958, and six years later he represented Britain, and was the first Chinese artist to feature, in the leading contemporary-art show Documenta III in Kassel, Germany.

Over the course of his career, Lin developed a formal minimalist style, as shown in his White series from the 1960s, which redefined his interpretation of Chinese landscape paintings.

Among his pieces sold by Bonhams in recent months is Untitled (The Black Sun), selling for HK$3.46 million, against an estimate of HK$850,000–$1.25 million.

On May 27, an exceptional work shown at Documenta III, 1.3.1964 — Painting Relief, goes on the block at the Bonhams Modern and Contemporary Art sale in Hong Kong.

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FOUND IN TRANSLATION

Artist LI SHURUI talks to ZANETA CHENG about the complexities of women and worship, and why feeling confused is the first step to clarity when it comes to her Lady Dior As Seen By video animation

D

ior is familiar with idolatry. From its beginnings the fashion house has been an object of worship, with legions of women – be they celebrities or otherwise – lusting after its creations each season, from ready-to-wear to handbags.

Artist Li Shurui sees worship and idolatry as almost an inherent need in humans, and when she was commissioned to create a video installation for the Lady Dior As Seen By exhibition at Art Basel Hong Kong, she knew it was the concept she wanted to work with.

“Paintings are easier, because you work within the confines of a canvas,” Li explains as we sit in front of the screen showing her video animation of a conversation via messaging app between two people, which is conducted in English on one side and Chinese on the other.

“But this project was harder, because it requires more of an idea, so I needed to think about what I wanted to say through this canvas and then, once I set my direction, think of the language and the various ingredients that would be needed to make my point.”

In the video, the dialogue – which was written by Li – discusses Kumari, the Nepalese tradition of living goddesses. In this virginworshipping practice, which dates from the 17th century, a prepubescent

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girl is selected from a particular caste of Nepalese society and worshipped as a goddess until her menstruation begins, at which point she re-enters normal society.

“For me, fashion is akin to religion,” says Li when I ask her what piqued her interest in the Kumari. “It’s an industry, but you see customers worshipping brands. Brands can become so powerful, they become part of cultural change. When I heard about the Nepalese living goddesses, I saw a connection.

“Worship is a complicated act, I think. It’s one single word but it encompasses so much and so can apply in so many contexts. When I go to church or a temple, I worship statues and feel a sense of calm. When I read something that blows me away, that, for me, is also a sense of worship.

“Today,” she continues, “beauty is something we idolise. We all have a face, which is open for people to judge. Some faces become objects of

worship. It’s out of the subject’s control. Brands consume beauty.

Women, models, icons – they’re very similar to these living goddesses – these women are used as materials and symbols for worship but in different cultures they take on a different form.”

The collaboration is particularly apt as Li identifies strongly with Dior’s current feminist message. “I really think we’re living in the best era – better than ever before. I myself am a feminist,” she declares.

“There have been many instances in my working life where I’ve been treated poorly because I’m a woman, so I’m glad there’s a brand that’s willing to take this stance. It’s great that Dior is giving women a platform to make themselves heard and to tell stories.”

The story she tells through her digital creation is not quite as it seems and it’s important to remember that Li, who mostly works as a painter, was surprised when Dior approached her specifically for a video work – one that, when you really look at it, evokes slight feelings of disconnection.

“It’s not totally digital,” she admits. “It’s a mix of traditional techniques. I’ve tried some animation before, so when approaching this piece I wanted to create a blur between past tradition and the future.”

The way Li did this was to paint wooden blocks by hand and then piece them together, mosaic-style, to yield an image that seems digitally engineered. She and her team then took more than 70,000 images to create an animated video that simulates a pure digital video.

“I wanted people to consider this idea that if you see a painting in LED and the LED you’re looking at is actually a painting, then what’s the difference between the two? Because in our society now, many things on the surface look the same, but a deeper look can reveal that those seemingly similar things are in fact very different. This is not quite digital and not quite a painting, so it blurs the line.”

One further step she takes into this grey area is her deliberate choice to conduct the conversation in two languages. “I knew this would be fine in Hong Kong, where most people can read and comprehend English, Cantonese and Putonghua. Had this been displayed elsewhere, I wouldn’t have done this, but our lives go from one platform to another.

Our thoughts are just as jumpy.

“Hong Kong is a perfect place to highlight this, because conversations can be held in two languages and be perfectly understood. It’s also an interesting cultural point. because for those who can only speak one language, it creates this strange feeling.”

It’s important for Li that her work arouses curiosity, even if audiences don’t sit for the entire 11-minute duration. Her ultimate aim is to encourage everyone to consider his or her current landscape.

“We live in an age of ephemera,” she says. “It’s a challenge to get balance. There’s so much information these days and we’re not fully prepared for everything that’s being developed. The development of humanity has become so uncertain. Who knows what the future will be like?”

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POLO’S COMING HOME IN THE UNLIKELY ENVIRONS OF A NORTHERN CHINESE INDUSTRIAL CITY, THE REVIVAL OF POLO IN HONG KONG TAKES A GIANT STEP FORWARD. STEVE REELS REPORTS

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LAU CHI YAN

H

orses thunder by, barging into one another, nostrils flaring, flanks rippling, muscle, bone and sinew working in unison and in curious counterpoint to the delicate plaiting of the horses’ manes and tails. The riders seem almost an afterthought, perched atop the awesome symmetry of these athletic steeds. This is polo, the sport of kings, rugby on horseback, traditional preserve of the aristocracy and the military.

Except that this game is being played by Hongkongers at a polo ground in Tianjin, northern China. And half of them had never ridden a horse just 10 months ago.

In Britain, the sport is all about the princes Charles and Harry; internationally, dashing Argentine Nacho Figueras is the pin-up boy; here in Hong Kong, it’s business royalty Aron Harilela and former Shanghai Tang boss Raphaël le Masne de Chaumont – but you won’t see them play locally.

There’s no polo in Hong Kong.

It wasn’t always thus, though the evidence for its existence is tantalisingly scanty. The visiting Prince of Wales played a game of polo – organised by Sir Paul Chater – at Causeway Bay in April 1922, and an aerial photo from the 1920s shows part of Causeway Bay polo ground. Golf pro Joann Hardwick remembers watching polo in Shek Kong as a child, a memory borne out by the photograph overleaf showing the teams at a 1973 Army vs Civilians game posing with a youthful-looking Hong Kong Governor Sir Murray Maclehose and Lady Maclehose at Borneo Lines military base in Shek Kong, now occupied by the PLA and known as Shek Kong Barracks.

Former cavalryman Bob Sanders (the player at far right) says, “We played polo twice weekly on a ground adjacent to the Shek Kong airstrip. Civilian and army players on Borneo ponies, some only 12 hands tall and all with mouths of steel.” But as the great open tracts of the north filled up with refugees and new towns, and the British departed, polo faded away.

That was until Dave Savage and Andrew Leung took action, albeit from opposite ends of the sporting hierarchy.

Leung is a burly, gregarious Hong Kong-born barrister who grew up in Manchester. His father, Stephen, a racehorse trainer and the first Chinese polo player in Britain, introduced him to the sport of polo at a young age. “I was riding at four,” says Leung, “and playing polo at nine. By

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CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: ACTION AT THE HONG KONG BEGINNERS CUP; THE TIANJIN STABLES; 1973 ARMY VS CIVILIANS POLO MATCH; THE SOUTH FIELD GRANDSTAND

may well come to be seen as a seminal event. The teams each comprised two beginners, one intermediate-level player and one experienced player, with one of the four being female. A rule barring each team’s experienced player from scoring goals offered further incentive to the fledgling equestrians, who found themselves performing on one of the sport’s most imposing stages.

Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club is a staggering development, a neo-classical-style château set in a 90-hectare estate and surrounded by manicured gardens, fountains and life-size statues of polo players and ponies captured in full flight. Sumptuous interiors of rich woods, leather and marble, and yet more sculptures, leave you in no doubt that this is a club worthy of the sport of kings, an impression reinforced by brochures advocating it as a suitable venue for the “new nobility” and a place in which

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: RICH MCHARDY; LAU CHI YAN; STEVE REELS; COURTESY OF BOB SANDERS

the time I was 19 I was a good player, but then I went to university and dropped it all.”

An epiphany at the age of 38 in 2016 – “I suddenly realised what I really wanted to do, and that was to play polo again” – led him back to the saddle and into Hong Kong’s homeless polo community. But the epiphany didn’t stop there. “I realised that I could really make a difference by introducing new people to the sport,” he says. “And I thought the best way to do that was to organise training and competition for them.”

But where? Hong Kong didn’t have the real estate for a polo ground, and Leung didn’t have the resources to fund one anyway. It turned out that billionaire businessman Pan Sutong had a polo project underway in Tianjin, northern China, a fully equipped club with ground and stables and Argentinian grooms – so Leung went there.

By the end of 2017, he’d organised monthly training sessions in Tianjin and Thailand for his band of Hong Kong starters, and come up with the ambitious concept of the Beginners Cup, a polo tournament for Hongkongers who had, for the most part, never ridden a horse before, to be played at the Tianjin ground.

It was an audacious and courageous move, but one which payed off when, in October 2018, the Hong Kong Beginners Cup was staged at Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club with four teams – EB Communications, Deacons, Lam Tsuen and the host club – taking to the field in Tianjin for what

to “mingle with owners of storied French chateaux”. Well, they’re not here when I check in, but it’s hardly surprising – the club incorporates a hotel with more than 100 rooms and suites, a spa, fitness centre and two swimming pools, and a good dozen restaurants, including the showpiece Le Pan, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Edward Voon.

And folk do seem to go to bed early here, judging by the ranks of dark townhouses and apartment towers with nary a light showing that I pass on my approach to the hotel.

Hoping to visit the complex’s fabled five-storey wine cellar, I take a quick shower and am somewhat bemused when my bathroom light-switch fitting falls out of the wall, dangling, and again when I open the balcony door only to be unable to close it, the handle revolving merrily around the latch.

A pre-breakfast stroll reveals what I’d missed the previous

evening. The adjacent Fortune Heights residential development and Central Business District – which along with Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club comprise Pan’s Goldin Metropolitan project – are unfinished and barely occupied.

Before me lies a vast acreage of luxury townhouses and tower blocks – including a 297-metre-high, 117-storey skyscraper – that stand like grey concrete sentinels at the tomb of a forgotten emperor. The polo, it seems, is the only thriving facet of this ambitious undertaking. Its facilities seem to be in demand. On the same day as the Beginners Cup, the club is also hosting a show-jumping tournament, a dog show and a wedding. Apart from the clubhouse/hotel and the stables, there are two international-standard polo fields, one of which – the South Field – is flanked by a stunning double-tiered grandstand in French Renaissance style with spectator paddocks and 20 VIP suites.

I spend the morning in the lead-up to the Beginners Cup with Rich McHardy, a British videographer who’s making a film of the event. He shoots the teams at the clubhouse in their tournament livery. He takes footage of them wandering around the hotel and in its courtyard. He films at the stables, a vast complex housing 140 polo ponies, a pro

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HEADLESS GOAT ROMP

While the modern sport of polo has its origins in northeastern India — from where the British military adopted the game and spread it around the world in the late 19th century — the real provenance of polo lies in the vast panoramas of Central Asia.

Mounted nomads played ancient variants of the sport — which, like the modern game, became gentrified with its adoption by royalty and the elite of society — in Persia and Byzantium, in Tang-dynasty Xi’An and in northern Pakistan. It was here, in 1996, that I saw my first game, in the polo ground at Gilgit on the Karakoram Highway, played by dashing dandies with Errol Flynn moustaches and riding breeches, and cheered enthusiastically by a large crowd of men in shalwar-kameez.

More whimsical modern takes on the game include Thai elephant polo and Mongolian camel polo (played on Bactrians), both based on modern polo rules.

But one ancient variant never became gentrified and is played to this day across the enormous dramatic sweep of Central Asia: buzkashi, or headless-goat polo. Also known as kok-boru, this brawl on horseback is played in the deserts of Afghanistan, on the steppes of Kazakhstan and in the high pastures of Xinjiang. It’s played under the dramatic peaks of Tajikistan and in the fastnesses of the Altay mountains. And it’s played in Kyrgyzstan, where I watch it at the World Nomad Games in 2018.

The games feature a riotous set of activities such as eagle hunting, archery, wrestling and horsemanship, held mainly at a jailoo (high pasture) in the Tienshan Mountains, but the kok-boru is the main draw, staged at a specially built arena on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. I’m at Altay vs Mongolia and, to me, watching from the stands, it looks like a free-for-all as first one team then the other wrests control of a 35kg headless goat and tries to deposit it in a kazan or scoring circle at each end of the playing field, which is about the size of two football pitches laid end-to-end. But this blithe description belies the sheer brutality of the game as players crash into their opponents, striking them and their horses with whips or even gripping the whip in their teeth to free both hands for mounted wrestling, the battered carcass hooked under a thigh. “Boring game,” says my Kyrgyz neighbour. “These guys don’t know how to ride our horses. They whip too hard.”

I can’t wait to see an exciting game.

KOK-BORU AT THE WORLD NOMAD GAMES

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shop and a members’ lounge. I learn that a polo pony is not actually a pony but a horse, albeit one with specific qualities. A polo pony is nimble on its feet, intelligent enough to respond to rapid changes of direction and speed, and calm enough to cope with barging into other horses and the unpredictable whip of a 52-inch mallet around its head. “The best polo ponies come from Argentina,” says Mono, one of six Argentinian polo players working at the club as groom-cum-trainer. “There used to be 20 grooms, and well over 200 horses from top bloodlines were stabled here,” he continues. “The best age for horses is five to 15 or 16. Now, some of our horses are already 16. We need to bring in new ones every two years but there’ve been no new horses for two years now.”

It’s an uneasy statement that sits alongside others that suggest that Pan Sutong’s initial surge of investment and enthusiasm in Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club and the adjacent luxury property developments has, if not exactly ground to a halt, at least waned significantly. I ask a number of people when the project is due to be completed. The answers are variations on a theme. “That’s a good question.” “Your guess is as good as mine.” Or, more tellingly, “The money’s run out.”

It’s the South Field that’s the venue for the Beginners Cup. At 300 yards by 160 yards plus safety zones, it’s huge, about the size of eight football pitches, As I walk along the touchline in front of the spectator paddocks, I pass McHardy, who’s filming Leung for the video. “I had an idea of bringing together all Hong Kong residents who could horse ride or had an interest in playing polo,” Leung is saying to the camera. “People of different races, ages, genders and also nationalities, get all of those to come together and play in the inaugural Hong Kong Beginners Cup. “Polo is a high-adrenalin sport,” he continues. “It takes

LEFT: STEVE REELS; ABOVE: LAU CHI YAN X 2

EXPERT HORSEMANSHIP AND THE WARRIOR CODE LIVE ON IN CENTRAL ASIA

“IT TAKES COURAGE TO PLAY THIS SPORT. YOU SHED BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS” — ANDREW LEUNG

ABOVE LEFT: ANDREW LEUNG IN ACTION AT THE HONG KONG BEGINNERS CUP

courage to get up there [on the horse], go at speed and try to hit a small white ball. You shed blood, sweat and tears.

Let’s face it, they’re playing polo at speed, hitting the ball at a canter, scoring goals, and I know for a fact that that was just a dream 10 months ago.”

Leung’s polo initiative is not the only one in town. In 2014, Dave Savage of Asia World Polo set up the Hong Kong Polo Team (HKPT), the first ever Hong Kong representative team, and one that’s achieved encouraging success, including winning the Singapore Polo Open in 2016 and, in the same year, the Korea Cup on Jeju island.

“I’m the kindergarten, if you like, and Dave’s the university,” says Leung. “But we work together and I turn out for the Hong Kong Team when required.”

HKPT is also looking for a clubhouse at which to host riding lessons, polo coaching and team practice, and has identified an as-yet unnamed location near Sai Kung. HKPT

is, however, a company set up to promote polo playing and appreciation, and points out on its website that it’s not the official national association for the sport, though its Hong Kong-based activities may well lead one to ask where this leaves Pan’s Hong Kong Polo Development and Promotion Federation – the official representative for Hong Kong in the Federation of International Polo – whose events have all been held in Tianjin and whose only affiliated club is, well, Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.

But all that seems far away today as the tournament gets under way with a march-past of the four teams, the flag-led procession fleshed out by a group of cute, pony-mounted child players and a pony-drawn buggy driven by a man dressed in an 18th-century frock coat and tricorn. The four teams take each other on in a knockout tournament, with Kwan Lo’s EB Communications facing Leung’s Lam Tsuen in the Sunday final. At 3-3 going into the fourth and final chukker, it looks as if Leung’s unlikely squad of Tai Po Hakkas might pull off a famous victory, but it’s EB Communications that prevails with a 5-3 win. And as the champagne corks pop and Lam Tsuen’s beginner Michael Li lifts the trophy for Most Valuable Player, Leung is already thinking about blooding the next group of rookies.

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THE WHITE STUFF AN INVITATION TO JOIN PORSCHE’S ICE-DRIVING EXPERIENCE IN INNER MONGOLIA IS NO TIME FOR COLD FEET, DISCOVERS JON WALL

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W

e’re more than a thousand kilometres north of Beijing, close to China’s borders with Russian Siberia and Mongolia, in a vast area of prairie known as the Hulunbuir grasslands. For much of the year it’s cold up here: average temperatures dip below zero in late October and won’t return to positive numbers until May, so when I step off my flight at Hailar airport late in the evening in early March, it’s freezing.

That, however, is all for the good, because I’ve travelled all the way up here to spend a couple of days boning up my ice-driving skills in Porsche China’s Snowforce customer programme. Just as car and tyre companies do in other cold corners of the world, such as Arctic Sweden and Finland, the German manufacturer has leased a couple of small lakes outside Yakeshi (a city of almost 400,000 people whose existence I’ve been totally unaware of until now) in Inner Mongolia, two tracts of water that should remain reliably frozen until at least the end of April. It’s on these

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icy surfaces that I – along with around 60 other participants, most from mainland China but a handful from Hong Kong – will be slipping and sliding around in a variety of cars from the Porsche range: mid-engine 718 Boxsters and Caymans, and rear-engine 911 Carreras, but also a few allwheel-drive Cayenne SUVs and even a large Panamera saloon thrown in for comparison.

Dawn arrives the next morning, predictably frigid but bright and sunny, which is typical of winters here, and after a hurried breakfast we file out to board the buses that take us to the lake. As we’re driving out of town through woods of slender larch trees, the sunlight shafting diagonally down through the trunks and branches, I notice there’s surprisingly little snow around and for a moment have alarming notions of my Porsche, with me in it, disappearing through a hole in the ice into the chilly depths beneath. But when we round a bend in the road and catch sight of the lakes it’s clear I need have no such worries: a sturdy and unbroken sheet of white covers the surface of each one, with networks of tracks – short straights, long curves, tight bends and hairpins – ploughed out from the snow on both.

We file off the buses, past the red-clad instructors lined up to greet us, and into the “tent” that Porsche has erected beside the lakes. Glass-walled on three sides, wood-floored,

warm and exceedingly spacious, this two-storey structure is our daytime base for today and tomorrow – it fact, it’s so civilised and comfortable that I could happily move in permanently. It’s here that we eat and relax when not out on the ice, and where we’re also given our pre-drive briefings each day; the latter are exclusively in Mandarin, which I don’t speak, but fortunately an affable Singaporean instructor named CK takes me off into a corner and, with the help of a laptop presentation, delivers the whole spiel to me, one-on-one, in English.

The Hong Kong contingent is paired off for the duration, two students per car and five cars to a group; my partner turns out to be a Taiwan-born engineer named Tony, whose collection of wheels back home in Hong Kong includes a Ferrari F12 (though he tells me he’s seriously contemplating a 911 GT3 RS). We strap ourselves in, check the intercom’s working and then, with traction control engaged, motor slowly out on to the ice in our convoys of Carreras for the first of the day’s exercises.

Our instructors work us hard, car after car after car, and with a driver change after every three or four attempts at each exercise. We begin with a couple of short slalom courses, traction control now fully turned off and with drive mode set to Track, where we learn how the Carrera’s rearmounted engine results in a propensity to oversteer (in other words, to turn in far more sharply than intended), and how to counteract that by counter-steering (in other words, with the wheel held roughly at half a turn the opposite direction) while applying judicious dollops of

WE LEARN HOW THE CARRERA’S REAR-MOUNTED ENGINE RESULTS IN A PROPENSITY TO OVERSTEER #prestigehk | PRESTIGE

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power. CK shows us how it’s done and it’s not only mightily impressive but also makes perfect sense. Once we’re behind the wheel, however, it all seems so counterintuitive and our responses so uncoordinated that our efforts appear hopeless in comparison.

We move on to a figure-eight and then a wide circle of ice, around which we slide, first by swinging out the Carrera’s heavy tail and then catching it by counter-steering and holding the car in an extended drift with the revs at around 3,000 (or that, at least, is the general idea). Thus – and for some reason this seems to work more easily for me than the first pair of exercises – I’m careening round and round anticlockwise while steering to the right. We’re getting slightly better, our instructors’ major gripes being that we’re doing too much of everything: too much power and way too much steering. And that’s it for the morning session.

We switch to the mid-engine 718 after lunch – ours is a soft-top Boxster, whose roof we’re ordered to keep firmly raised (though in these temperatures that’s no hardship at all) – and whose relatively neutral handling, thanks to the concentration of mass in the car’s centre, is in marked contrast to the tail-happy Carrera’s. More exercises and more repetition – it’s the only way – and though I can

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observe little discernible improvement in my own skills, when we’re finally let loose on our first proper stretch of track I can at least get round it without embedding the car’s nose in a drift of snow.

In fact, over the course of two days there’s no real “Eureka!” moment, because on the rare occasion when I do get it right, falsely emboldened I go out again and get it all wrong. Nonetheless, across the entire group there’s a growing sense of confidence, so that by lunchtime on Day Two, after a second morning in which we’ve alternated between 911s and 718s, our instructors are hectoring less and even handing out the occasional plaudit. We’re sent out on to the longest and trickiest course of all, a threekilometre serpentine of ice and snow containing a seemingly

endless curve that we’re supposed to negotiate sideways, from start to finish. Granted, the 718 and I aren’t exactly dancing together like Fred and Ginger, but after three relatively smooth laps in quick succession, nor do we trip over each other’s feet either. Result!

Just as it should do, the programme ends with some lighthearted fun. We still haven’t driven the Cayenne, so as a kind of finale we motor out to the far side of the lakes and a course we’d never seen till now. We’d assumed Porsche’s high and heavy SUV would be more than a handful – but

THE 718’S NEUTRAL HANDLING IS IN MARKED CONTRAST TO THE TAIL-HAPPY CARRERA’S how wrong we were. In no time at all we’re cavorting joyously on the slippery surface like a small colony of elephant seals, the cars looking bizarre and ungainly on the ice, yet in spite of their bulk proving easily, safely and even gracefully controllable – and hugely, laughably enjoyable into the bargain.

Indeed, the big 4x4’s unexpected ice-driving abilities come as a revelation to all of us – so that when we’re headed back to the airport I ask the Hong Kong contingent to name the high point of the Snowforce programme, the answer is unequivocal. “The Cayenne,” says everyone without hesitation. “Definitely the Cayenne.”

CHILL THRILLS

911 CARRERA Its rear-engine layout makes the Carrera tricky on ice — but once mastered it can be a joy.

IN PORSCHE’S ICE-DRIVING ARMOURY, EVERY WEAPON’S A WINNER

CAYENNE Who’d ever have thought that Porsche’s big SUV could be such a hoot on the slippery stuff?

718 BOXSTER/CAYMAN In spite of the Cayenne’s hilariousness, this would be our choice for four-wheeled winter fun.

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ROOTS OF AN ARTIST DEBUTING IN THE Ruinart Lounge at Art Basel in Hong Kong this year were some of the latest works

by Brazilian photographer and mixed-media artist Vik Muniz, where six large-scale photographs from his Shared Roots exhibition dominated the booth.

While his Flow Polyptych became the spot for many visitors to grab a picture – including the portrait you see of the artist here – a piece simply titled Chardonnay Leaf is the one that lingers in the memory long after leaving the exhibition – particularly when a video projector reveals time-lapse clips of how it was created and the sheer effort that went into its making. The giant ampelographic representation of the Chardonnay plant is composed of leaves, shoots and branches from the Sillery vineyards, and was created in one of the crayère chalk cellars belonging to Maison Ruinart in Reims. It invites ruminations on the relationship between man and nature – or at least, that’s what Muniz intended.

When asked about using unconventional material to create his work, he laughs and says, “You know I’ve been accused of that by many art writers and critics, but I don’t understand it. You know what’s in paint? In the 18th century, ground mummy powder was one of the ingredients! They had all kinds of parts from animals, or very rare stones, or even the rot of corpses in it. Paint is not something simple, my friend. If you think about classic, vintage drawings you’re making art with something weird. Paint itself is a composite of the living and the dead.”

It was a meeting in Paris with Ruinart president Frédéric Dufour that ultimately led Muniz to his Hong Kong vernissage. The French champagne maison has fostered relationships with luminaries in the art world for decades. This year, it chose Muniz, the self-described “low-tech illusionist”.

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Renowned for repurposing everyday materials for intricate recreations of works of art, he has an almost tongue-in-cheek approach – for example, his interpretation in peanut butter and jelly of Andy Warhol’s famous 1963 work Double Mona Lisa. Or the 2008 large-scale project he undertook in Brazil photographing trash-pickers as figures from emblematic paintings such as The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David. To top it all, he then recreated the photographs in large-scale arrangements of trash. The project was documented in the 2010 film Waste Land in an attempt to raise awareness of urban poverty – and grabbed an Oscar nomination in the process. From humble beginnings in São Paulo to the Academy Awards, Muniz’s life is a series of remarkable journeys.

The artist and Dufour had long wanted to work together and, for 2019, eventually decided that the time was right.

“I think these things can go both ways,” says Muniz of the collaboration. “A lot of people are sceptical about putting artists and technicians together. The LA County Museum put Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, in touch with Robert Irwin for a project. It was a total disaster, because they couldn’t see eye to eye.

They were two very smart people. But it doesn’t mean necessarily that they’re going to find a middle ground. Art is generally able to create a certain ambiguous area for discussion.”

However, the discussions worked out perfectly for Muniz, who spent several days during last year’s harvest at the Sillery vineyard, one of the most northerly in continental Europe, and at Forêt des Faux de Verzy, where he discovered its uniquely shaped trees. Thus were planted the seeds of his ideas for his premiere showing in Hong Kong.

But when asked if he could have ever foreseen this when he was first starting off, Muniz nods.

PORTRAIT: SAMUEL SALVADORE

Brazilian mixed-media artist Vik Muniz was in town to showcase his work at Art Basel Hong Kong

“Well, yeah, I did. If you think about the historical importance of somebody’s work, it has to do with context, you know. Let’s go back a little bit.

In the early 19th century when photography was invented, people said that painting is dead. And in fact, you can go anywhere and buy a painting today. So photography did not kill painting. A medium does not kill another medium, it just transforms it.”

He transformed what he saw in the fields and vineyards to create the pieces for the exhibition.

Enraptured by the long process required to produce Ruinart and the journey from hardship and adversity to wonder, he created through his art “an ode to the power of nature and its creative flow”, and he captured the relationship between humans and nature in an image of the hands of the maison’s chef de caves Frédéric Panaïotis.

“Actually,” says Muniz, “photography liberated painting from the prison house of representation.

It didn’t have to represent things anymore, it could be anything else. I think it’s a very interesting turn of events that the ghost of painting comes back after almost 200 years to haunt photography, in the form of digital imaging.”

As we part while standing beside Flow Hands, one of his larger digital images, he says: “Every time I do an installation in a museum I have to make sure I’m in tune with what the directors are trying to convey. It was the same with this project.

But I also take into account what the tour guide has to say, what the cleaner thinks.

“You know how to piss off the art critic of The Times? Let him know that the opinion of the guy who mops the floor in the museum matters to me more than his column.”

RS VP JENNIFER AND ADRIAN CHENG

LAY ZHANG

ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD FIONA XIE

HA JI-WON ROSAMUND KWAN

AMFAR

MICHELLE YEOH

HEIDI KLUM AND TOM KAULITZ

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DIGGING DEEP What? When it comes to star and celebrity wattage, few affairs are bigger or brighter in this city than the annual amfAR fund-raising gala dinner, which this year took place at the season’s hottest new venue, Rosewood Hong Kong. (Many guests joked they should just book a room there as they were in the mintyfresh hotel at least four times a week!)

Hollywood calling: During a night of star gazing, we spotted Alexander Skarsgård, Pharrell Williams, Heidi Klum, Kyle MacLachlan and Nicole Scherzinger (who also performed), with Michelle Yeoh, Choi Jin Hyuk, Ha Ji-Won, Fiona Xie, Pierre Png, Carina Lau, William So and Rosamund Kwan among the Asian contingent.

Honourable mention: The gala honoured entrepreneur Adrian Cheng for his contributions to the struggle against HIV/Aids. As we were going to print, we understood that around US$2.75 million had been raised for that very worthy cause during the evening.

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NATIONAL PRIDE

Family-run furniture business Flexform stays true to its Italian roots by creating sophisticated pieces of the highest quality

COMFORT, QUALITY, modernity, timeless elegance and design consistency are just some of the values that define Italian furniture manufacturer Flexform. Founded in the Brianza furnituremanufacturing district of northern Italy in 1959, the company has since pursued global expansion by opening a series of flagship stores across Europe, America, Asia and Australia.

But the heart and soul of the Flexform brand remains firmly rooted in Italy. Everything from design concept to finished product is realised in the country, with a single plant in the city of Meda responsible for sourcing materials and producing each piece to the highest possible standards.

While Flexform produces furnishings for most rooms of the home, its core business is sofas. Every Flexform sofa is made from highquality leather, fabrics, wood and metal with the brand’s trademark soft, generous cushions. They are made exclusively with Assopiuma Gold Certified goose down from animals used as a food source, that were neither force-fed or live-plucked.

The same environmental approach extends to all materials, which are sustainably sourced, as well as product durability. In fact, Flexform aims to create long-lasting pieces with discreet, timeless designs that create an atmosphere of comfort, elegance and well-being.

Effortless style is the hallmark of the Flexform client, an “affluent, sophisticated but never flashy, ‘inconspicuous consumer’ who prefers to surround themself with beautiful things not for appearance’s sake but for their intrinsic qualities.” And if those things are made in Italy, they’re all the better for it. flexform.it

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RS VP RUBY LIN

VICKY CHENG AND COLLEEN YU RYAN SUN AGGIE HSIEGH

ARTHUR DE VILLEPIN

AUDEMARS PIGUET

TIME TO PARTY What? Audemars Piguet marked the opening of its lounge at Art Basel Hong Kong with a cocktail party at Loft 22 in California Tower, Central. More than 500 guests, including Taiwanese actress Ruby Lin, turned up for the gathering, which was presided over by the brand’s vice chairman, Olivier Audemars.

ALAN SEE

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HEDWIG TAM

ASHLEY LAM ESTHER SHAM

DEBORAH HUNG

CHOPARD

ENCHANTED EVENING What? Chopard presented a scintillating new high-jewellery collection, aptly named Magical Setting, at the Presidential Suite of the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.

Flower power: Among the fans of the brand who attended the private and exclusive affair – it featured a vast floral decoration that was almost as overwhelming as the jewels on show, as well as ballet and harp performances – were Kathy Chow, Ashley Lam, Esther Sham, Feiping Chang and Deborah Hung.

KATHY CHOW

RS VP FIEPING CHANG

DIOR

DOUBLE WHAMMY What? The house of Dior hosted two events during Art Basel: the return of the Lady Dior As Seen By exhibition at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and, in the brand’s Landmark boutique, a selection of works by artists including Tunga, Morgane Tschiember, Vincent Beaurin and Liu Jianhua. On this page, we’re looking at the opening cocktail event for the latter.

By invitation only: Among the VIPs who swanned in and around the store to view the art and accessories were Korean actress Hyo Jin and socialites such as Adam Pak, Antonia Li, Wesley Wong and Elly Lam (whose personal collection of all things Dior is quite possibly second to none in the city).

HILARY FAN

EDWARD MA

HYO JIN CHADI VON GUNTEN AND DAVID VON GUNTEN

SUE CHANG

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ANTONIA LI

MARTIN WONG

ASHLEY LAM

BO-LIN CHEN

FENDI

THE SHAPE OF THINGS

CARINA LAU

What? At the Landmark atrium, a few steps away from its store, Fendi presented its exhibition The Shapes of Water, kickstarting the luxury maison’s Nature in Motion programme of projects.

What’s new, Pussycat? On the guest list for the cocktail party accompanying the show were more than 300 celebrities and society figures, including Carina Lau, Michelle Ong, Pansy Ho, Tina Leung, Olivia Buckingham and others from the ranks of the fashionable. Many were thrilled at the surprise appearance of former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, in town for amfAR, who dazzled in a brightly coloured ensemble.

Chancing upon la Scherzinger, the Prestige society editor professed his deep love for the singer, who held his face and replied, “I love you too, baby boy,” before strutting off.

He hasn’t washed his mug since…

NICOLE SCHERZINGER

BRYANBOY, ELLY LAM AND YOYO CAU KATHY CHOW

MICHAEL LAU

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LOUI LIM

LOUIS VUITTON

OBJECTS OF DESIRE What? For the second consecutive year, Louis Vuitton showcased its Objets Nomades collection in Hong Kong.

The event was the first to be held within the historic Central Magistracy – now renamed Tai Kwun – following its revitalisation.

Outstanding: Award-winning design duo Raw Edges unveiled their latest Objet Nomade at the event, before displaying it at last month’s Fuorisalone in Milan. Among the other highlights were tables by Atelier Oi and Atelier Biagetti.

Wang’s world: Cocktail in hand, visitors walked into a grand architectural space created by Joyce Wang Studio. Among them we spotted Aaron Kwok, Doona Bae, Karena Lam, Isabella Leong, Juno Mak, Wyman Wong, Elva Ni, Fish Liew, Hedwig Tam and Zelia Zhong.

HEDWIG TAM AARON KWOK AND SHAY ALKALAY

KARENA LAM, DOONA BAE AND ISABELLA LEONG FISH LIEW

JUNO MAK

JOYCE WANG AND ANDRÉ FU

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RS VP SUNNY WANG

IVAN LUI

KARENA LAM

BRUCE TONG AND CHRIS TONG

MONTBLANC

GREEN SCENE What? Montblanc CEO Nicholas Baretzki joined celebrities Karena Lam and Sunny Wang to preside over an event held both to mark the reopening of the brand’s refurbished store at 1881 Heritage and to unveil its latest 1858 watches.

Go wild: The venue was transformed to replicate nature and the wild, with natural wood decorations, an LED wall displaying the rushing rapids of a waterfall and a foliage-covered greenery wall – and all in honour of the themes of the 1858 timepieces: reflection and reconnection with nature.

EMILY AND JIMMY TANG

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WESLEY WONG

PAULO PONG, KATHERINE IP, HENRY CHENG, LEUNG CHUN-YING, SONIA CHENG, AND ADRIAN AND JENNIFER CHENG

JULIAN AND MICHELE REIS HUI

ROSEWOOD HONG KONG

COMING UP ROSES

RENÉ CHU

MICHAEL TIEN AND ALBERT YEUNG ANTONIA DA CRUZ WITH CASPER AND ALIX FOWNES

What? The Rosewood Hong Kong made its mark on the city’s magnificent skyline as the super-luxurious property on the Kowloon harbourfront opened with great fanfare last month. The Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood has hosted several top-tier events of late, but none more glittering than the grand unveiling of this stunning new hotel.

Fab 40: With Rosewood celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019, it was a hallmark year for the group’s CEO, Sonia Cheng, who invited more than 800 business leaders and guests to the cocktail reception. It was a night to get lost and to lose friends within the plush confines of the hotel’s first three floors, which were open to one and all. Endless champagne and fine wine, a superb sampling of cuisine from the resident chefs, live music, DJs, celebrity sightings … it all added up to an exhilarating – and exhausting – soirée of the season.

PANSY HO

IVAN AND ANGIE TING

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RS VP FRÉDÉRIC DUFOUR AND VIK MUNIZ

RUINART

ROOT OF THE MATTER

CAROL BECKER LACAVE, BASSAM SALEM AND TERESA SALEM

JAMES PATON TARYN COX AND ANTONIA DA CRUZ

What? A fine mix of culture, art and the fashionable was found at the Ruinart lounge at Art Basel Hong Kong, where Brazilian artist Vik Muniz showcased his scorching art collection, Shared Roots.

Golden bubbles: During the fair’s vernissage, Muniz and the champagne maison’s president Frédéric Dufour hosted more than 100 VIP guests, who made serious inroads into several cases of Blanc de Blancs, Rosé and “R” de Ruinart. Asked about his six new works on display for the first time ever, here in Hong Kong, Muniz said he was celebrating man and nature.

For more on Muniz, turn to page 126

CHRISTINE KUO

FABIEN VALLERIAN, JULIEN-LOÏC GARIN AND PIERRE-LOUIS GUILLON

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BRIAN AND SANDY STEWART

ANKIE BEILKE JESSICA C, KAMILLA HOLST AND ANA R

PASSION PROJECT

PRINCESS EUGENIE OF YORK

We at Prestige got hooked on to the Sharkwater Extinction project via Olivia Buckingham, a VIP guest at the Hong Kong premiere. We spoke to her after the showing.

How did you get involved with the project?

I first met Rob Stewart in Hong Kong when he came to premiere his first Sharkwater documentary, back in 2007. Until then, I was completely unaware of the effects of shark finning and the extent of damage it was causing. This particularly ignorant view of mine was set to change all due to one person — Rob. You knew the young director; what was surprising about him?

Rob’s complete determination was astonishing. He explained in the first documentary that sharks have gone from predator to prey and he opened my eyes to the corruption surrounding the shark population in marine reserves. Despite these creatures surviving Earth’s history of mass extinctions, they can still easily be wiped out today due to sheer human greed.

What’s his enduring legacy and memory?

Rob sadly passed away during the filming, but I’ll never forget our first meeting, his drive, his charisma, his passion — it was infectious. And when I think of how he and his mission had changed and shaped people’s views globally, it was only natural to want to support and help when the premiere came to Hong Kong. I want to support his family and his legacy, even if I only manage to help 1 percent, it will totally be worth it.

REYNA HARILELA AND OLIVIA BUCKINGHAM

SHARKWATER EXTINCTION

SEA CHANGE What? Princess Eugenie of York, along with Brian and Sandy Stewart (producers and parents of the late Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart), hosted the Hong Kong premiere of Sharkwater Extinction at Palace IFC. Prominent figures from the worlds of film, art, culture and society attended to lend their support to the makers of the documentary and their efforts to save the endangered species.

Royal imprimatur: Of her involvement with the film the princess – who is also an ambassador for global ocean charity Project 0 – said, “It’s such a wonderful cause and [the director] Rob is such a hero and inspiration, so any way we can share his message and the story of these sharks and what the world can do to be a part of it is amazing.”

SHARON KWOK

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RS VP ONG SEONG-WU

JOEY YUNG XXXXX XXXXXXXX

VALENTINO

FISH LIU

LORD OF THE VRINGS What? Maison Valentino unveiled its new Valentino Garavani Vring handbags at a cocktail reception in its Landmark store.

Just the one: Although singer Joey Yung, actresses Charmaine Sheh and celebrities Jennifer Yu, Fish Liew and Tsang Lok Tung had their glittering moment at the photo line, all eyes were on K-pop phenomenon Ong Seong-Wu of the boy band Wanna One, with all three atrium balconies packed with screaming fans.

CHARMAINE SHEH JENNIFER YU

TSANG LOK TUNG

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GAVIN CHIN

CHAUMET

KEEP SAKES What? To showcase Chaumet’s latest Boléro women’s watch collection, the brand hosted a glamorous cocktail at Lee Garden One, transforming the venue into an elegant showroom.

A photo exhibition featuring Emily Lam Ho, Joanna Lui Hickox and René Chu was on show and all three were on hand to pose next to their portraits while wearing their own Boléro timepiece. The evening was capped with a surprise appearance by Karen Mok.

BALMAIN

TOO HOT TO HANDLE

QIQI

What? After a preview of its latest collection in its Landmark store, Balmain hosted a sizzling cocktail at Zuma. So popular was the oversubscribed event that the entrance became a bottleneck where bouncers and the restaurant’s perky staff alike had to sort out the invited from the gate-crashers who wanted to get in among the gorgeous guests and the freely flowing champagne.

KAREN MOK RENÉ CHU EMILY LAM HO

WESLEY WONG

JEFFREY NGAI JOANNA LUI HICKOX

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RS VP ANTHONY LUN AND EDWARD NG

SARAH ZHUANG

MAGGIE XIA AND BONNIE KWOK

JULIAN CHEUNG AND ANITA YUEN CHEUNG QIQI AND SIMON YAM

THE HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

MUSIC OF THE NIGHT What? The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra held its 45th Anniversary Gala Dinner – “The Timeless” – at the Conrad Hong Kong. Matthew Cheung, the Hong Kong SAR’s chief secretary for administration, was among the many local luminaries who were treated to performances by the orchestra’s musicians. Proceeds from the event will be used to support the orchestra’s long-term development, as well as its education and outreach programmes.

RAY LUI AND XIAOJUAN YANG LUI

FRANCK MULLER

ROUND THE CLOCK What? Franck Muller held a lavish and colourful bash to present its latest Asia Exclusive Vanguard Crazy Hours novelties at the Kingston International Centre in Kowloon.

Crazy about Franck: Among those attending the Crazy Hours 24/7 party were Asia ambassador Julian Cheung with his wife Anita Yuen, celebrity couple Simon Yam and Qiqi, and Michael Wong and family.

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SHIRLEY CHEUNG

EDWARD NG, WINNIE NG, JIN LING, DAPHNE HO, ANSON CHAN AND JOAN CHAO

Y. S. LIU

JIN LING AND MICHAEL MACLEOD

JEANNIE CHAN

ANDREW PONG

IPSA

STRONG FOUNDATION What? Beauty brand Ipsa hosted a party at The Murray Hong Kong to launch its Powder Foundation N. Celebrities joined members of the press to sample the “#AirySoftMakeup experience” offered by the popular brand’s range of new products.

WIYONA YEUNG

KELLY CHEN AND JUSTIN CHEUNG SHING MAK

LORRETTA CHOW

MARTELL

TAKEN TO CASK What? The annual Home by Martell event – a night of cognac and connoisseurs – was held at the Central Harbourfront.

This year, it took the form of a collaboration between the cognac house and local artist Victor Wong, and featured the world’s first artificial-intelligence ink artist AI Gemini and its works.

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RS VP DENISE YEUNG

VICTORIA TANG OWEN AND MATHIAS AUGUSTYNIAK

ESTHER SHAM KRYSTAL JUNG

ASHLEY LAM

NATURA BISSÉ

MAGIC MOMENTS What? Natura Bissé took over Sugar at East Hotel to present “the magic key to pollution-proof skin by Diamond Cocoon”. Laura Gamboa, the brand’s director of corporate education and spa development and the mastermind behind the new collection (see page 41), was brought in from Barcelona to enlighten the audience on the products’ benefits.

FAYE TSUI

CHRISTINE FOK XXXXX XXXXXXXX AND CAROLINE FOK

MIU MIU

M SQUARED What? Design duo Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag aka M/M (Paris) took over the Miu Miu Landmark store with their e-MIU-ticons art installation from late March to early April. For one night only the pair showed up to customise products and draw e-MIU-ticons on T-shirts, sneakers and accessories. Fans of K-pop, however, were perhaps even more entranced by the appearance of singer Krystal Jung on the same evening.

ELLY LAM

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REBECCA MCGEOCH

CHELSEA KUOK AND JONATHAN CHEUNG

HARRIS CHAN

MINO

PRADA

STYLISH SANCTUARY

FEIPING CHANG

What? In the thick of Art Basel, Prada provided a refuge by taking over a floor of Tai Kwun’s Barrack Block. With intimate dining areas, lounges that doubled as galleries, and a private salon, Prada Mode Hong Kong served as a temporary private club offering its members a unique experience with a focus on contemporary culture. We were there merely for cocktail hour, when the place was – we hope, uncharacteristically – heaving.

ELSON LUK AND VINCY YEUNG

TINA LEUNG

WHISTLES

SMILES TO GO What? In a collaboration with British artist Claire Knill that lasted from Hong Kong Art Week until the end of April, Whistles showcased installations designed for its Pacific Place store. Among the trendsetters attending the opening were the omnipresent Elly Lam and Feiping Chang, Veronica Lam and Tina Leung.

TIFFANY SHEK AND PEARL SHEK

HELEN MA

VERONICA LAM

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SAIGON’S NEW WAVE

AFTER DECADES OF WAR, DECAY AND REBUILDING, A NEW WAVE OF STYLISH, CONTEMPORARY, HIGH-END OPENINGS HAS TRANSFORMED VIETNAM’S MOST COSMOPOLITAN CITY. JING ZHANG REPORTS

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PETER NGUYEN

T

here are vintage elements from 1960s Saigon in the design,” says Peter Cuong Franklin, as we walk through his intimate, glossy, beautiful little bar with a balcony overlooking a Vietnamese wet market. “We’re trying to build a bit of the old and the new combined together, but everything is custom-made in Vietnam.” Cuong Franklin is a chef, and former investment banker and Hong Kong resident, who made his name at Viet Kitchen and Chom Chom. Today he owns the fivestorey Anan restaurant, bar and rooftop in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.

“I’m doing something called ‘New Vietnamese’,” the chef explains. “We want it to be real, coming from this place, from Saigon – real ingredients and real people.”

Cuong Franklin is constantly delving into the beautiful ingredients and recipes of Vietnamese food, but as a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in France, his cuisine at Anan is definitely inventive – at every point there are new twists and ideas on traditional dishes. But he tries to avoid overused terms like “fusion” or “authentic”.

“I think most people don’t know what [authentic] means,” he scoffs. “It’s easy to use this word to hold back a lot of what’s called minority or subculture food in the US or the West.”

Cuong Franklin points out that people don’t often complain that “it’s not authentic” when chefs innovate with French, Italian or Swiss cooking (or much of Western cuisine) – but it often gets thrown around with Asian food.

“When they use it on Vietnamese food, it can tie it down.

When they say, ‘That’s not authentic Vietnamese food,’ it has a negative connotation; it has a cultural negativity assigned to it. That’s why I prefer to avoid that word. The reality is that food is changing, even the people in the markets and streets – their food is changing too. Some people wouldn’t even know what the fuck authenticity is, even if it hit them in the face.”

Clearly, the proprietor is not one to hold back. But the approach has worked a treat for his restaurant and bar.

Anan has turned into something of a chic hotspot for the city, a must-go, -see and -taste for local movers and shakers, as well as for out-of-towners who care about gastronomy. A busy open kitchen operates below the glowing gold of the

Anan neon signs on the ground floor and guests satiate themselves, starting with phở rolls or crunching Vietnamese tacos while sipping on something delicious, such as a Cotton Candy Old Fashioned or a Dragontini.

Anan is just one sign of how much the leisure lifestyle scene has moved forward in the city. Standout Saigon restaurants to visit range from Vietnamese (Anan and the Temple Club), to Japanese (Hajime for Kansai-style okonomiyaki, Torisho for yakitori and Kiyota for omakase sushi) and even incredible pizza (4P’s).

The last time I visited was about eight years ago, when the truly trendy hotspots of Ho Chi Minh City were few and far between. The city today, armed with a confident economy and a population with an average age of around 32, is taking a more international lifestyle in its stride.

Hip designer-led restaurants and speakeasy-type bars with inventive cocktails have popped up all over the city, luring savvy visitors looking for more than just museums and motorbike tours.

To stay, there are, of course, the classic hotels such as the Majestic, the Caravelle and the Continental, all close to the

LEFT: CENTRAL SAIGON. ABOVE: BUFFALO CARPACCIO AT ANAN

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waterfront in District One and possessing their own heritage and charm. But for those who prefer modern luxury spaces with truly international levels of service, we suggest heading towards the grandeur of the Park Hyatt Saigon; otherwise it’s the boutique Bach Suites Saigon or the Hôtel des Arts Saigon MGallery, a block away from one another in District 3.

It’s difficult not to be impressed when entering the Park Hyatt. Sunlight streams through the enormous lobbylounge windows, setting a scene with a grand piano, immaculate staff and a well-dressed clientele gathered at tables. The hotel is built on the site of a former US officers’ quarters, but today is a gathering spot for the city’s newly moneyed. Rooms combine elegant French-style decor with a touch of Indochina, all very genteel with cool muted palettes. The pool is a lovely place to relax and get away from the hectic traffic and streams of motorbikes.

Old-world charm meets modern Saigon neatly here at the 245-room property. Do some people watching while dining outside on Italian food at Opera restaurant, designed by the famous Japanese interior-design firm Super Potato. You’re right next to Saigon Opera House (a major landmark) and Dong Khoi – the charming old boulevard that’s now home to Saigon’s Chanel and Louis Vuitton stores.

For a hotel that’s a lot smaller and more intimate, there’s Bach Suites – just a stone’s throw from the old Notre Dame Basilica. This gorgeous little boutique gem also recalls Vietnam’s colonial past – tall French windows, elegant architecture, marbled floors and white panelled walls accented by striking black. I’ve spent many a breakfast and lunch with local friends in the pristine ground-floor restaurant eating its modern take on healthy, flavoursome Vietnamese cuisine.

This 30-plus-room hotel is a bit of an aristo-chic haven in District 3, a great luxury spot in which to escape the noise and bustle of the main city, and small enough for some truly personal service from the staff. Our suite came furnished with kitchenette, dining and living area, and a sumptuous king bed in the bedroom. Lush velvets, marble tabletops and heavy drapes all come with the European art decoinspired interiors and colonial aesthetic – it’s no surprise that the property is part of the Design Hotels collection.

A three-minute walk around the corner is the Hotel des Arts Saigon MGallery. A bit of a mouthful, this boutique has nonetheless become an impressive addition to the city’s hospitality scene. Elegantly designed and buzzing with the local well-heeled, MGallery’s rooftop Social Club is a mustvisit, even if you aren’t staying at the hotel. With fabulous

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TOP, LEFT AND RIGHT: COURTESY OF DESIGN HOTELS

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DINING AT BACH SUITES; A BACH SUITES BEDROOM; OPERA VERANDAH AT THE PARK HYATT SAIGON; ANAN DRAGONTINI; PETER CUONG FRANKLIN

cocktails served by groomed, hipster barmen, the venue seems to be aiming for an upscale Bali-esque vibe, albeit one that’s high in the sky in the middle of a city of almost nine million people. If it’s laid-back luxury with a fashionable edge you’re looking for, this is the right spot for sundowners going well into the evening.

The Social Club rooftop bar is a poignant place from which to consider how this Southeast Asian country has emerged from the more rough-and-tumble times. Vietnam is now the fastest-growing economy in the region. A former capital of French Indochina, Saigon has emerged the easy winner of most cosmopolitan city in the country, with an incoming tide of young, international, well-travelled immigrants and savvy Vietnamese returnees.

It’s all propelled the luxury, lifestyle, leisure and dining scenes into new territories, with more luxe and sophisticated spots being allowed to flourish. While spending time with some recent international émigrés to the city, who’ve been part of this movement, it’s clear that the boom is still strong.

Cuong Franklin, who’s Vietnamese but grew up in the US, has seen “Saigon change a lot in the last few years … Hong Kong is a very commercial place, but here it’s a little less commercial – you can take a bit more of a risk and that’s why I can rent a whole building here.”

It’s a time when a place like Anan can do a special, offmenu take on the humble phở that costs US$100.

“We’re trying to create a new experience,” explains Cuong Franklin. “We’re giving something that I think is worth it, and using wagyu and seven different cuts of beef, things like that … and people are very interested and buying!”

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BURGUNDY’S QUIET LITTLE SECRET

Over the past couple of years, wine critic JAMES SUCKLING has tasted hundreds of bottles of a relatively lesser-known wine near Bourgogne, France: Beaujolais. And he can’t stop raving about it

N

ow is the time to drink Beaujolais. The wine from this warm, welcoming French region just north of Lyon has traditionally been regarded as something of a poor man’s Burgundy, a cheap, cheerful bottle to drink rather than collect. But the quality coming out of many of the wineries of Beaujolais in the last few years shows how “cheap” can quickly translate into “great value”, and I look forward to every new release. The region is teeming with energy and has also attracted an army of talented and ambitious younger winemakers keen to explore its beautifully diverse potential, a treasure of old vines and diverse terroirs.

For starters, the recent swing towards natural wines sprang from the late Jules Chauvet in the Beaujolais region. Today, 30 years after his death, Chauvet’s philosophy and methods still reside in the minds and practices of many current Beaujolais producers. Yet there are also dozens of traditional winemakers producing handcrafted, soulful bottles.

More widely, the world’s taste for lighter and more balanced wine has been met by many Beaujolais producers as they move to make the Gamay grape (nearly all Beaujolais wine is made from Gamay) a more interesting, compelling and profound shade of red. Gamay has an ability to instantly deliver juicy, flavoursome and satisfying reds for

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immediate drinking, creating wines that have depth, tannin structure and ageing potential.

And look at the prices. Most of the top wines sell out of their cellar door at between €10 to €20 a bottle to consumers – even in a great vintage like 2015. Winemakers lament they barely make enough to cover their costs. “We don’t make wine to get rich,” says Jean-Paul Thévenet of Fleurie. “We make wine for people to drink and enjoy.”

The 2015 vintage will certainly do that. Historic vintages don’t come very often in Beaujolais, but the 2015 draws comparisons to the legendary 1947, a hot and dry year producing powerfully rich and longlived wines. The most recent vintage on the market, 2018, may be even better than 2015. And great vintages like these can age. I have drunk bottles that are half a century old and they’re still in good shape.

The 2015s I’ve reviewed were rich in alcohol and fruit with an underlying freshness. Many were amazing wines showing wonderful depth of fruit and ripe tannins. Tasting them alongside the 2014s and 2016s, the 2015s showed superior depth and density. The balance of fruit, structure and acidity was irresistible.

“People say that 2015 is like 1947, but I was actually there in 1947,” recalls the 84-year-old Georges Duboeuf, the patriarch of the famous

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Beaujolais firm. “The grapes that were fermenting in our wooden vats in Pouilly-Fuissé were so hot that my grandmother made me get ice to put in the must. I can’t say if 2015 is at the same level but it is exceptional.

Everything was excellent in 2015.”

The top wines of 2015 are more expressive than most. Some seem more like ripe Grenache or Syrah than Gamay. Many bottles are more than 14 percent alcohol. Others push 15 percent. But the magic in cru Beaujolais is that they still showed their true character despite the sunny vintage and all of the fruit and alcohol that came with it. The Moulin-à-Vents had excellent linear structure. The Fleurie showed great aromatics and fine tannins. Côte de Brouilly exhibited an underlying tannic strength. The character of 2018 seems very much the same but with more freshness.

“People have been too focussed on Beaujolais nouveau,” says Nicole Chanrion, a small grower making excellent wines on her small estate in Cercié in Côte de Brouilly. “We want people to understand that Beaujolais is made to be drunk from one to five years on release.”

Sonja Geoffray of Château Thivin in Côte de Brouilly adds, “I’m a little sad that most of the 2015 Beaujolais will be drunk right away. They will be so much better in a few years.”

The 2016 and 2017 vintages are also both highly regarded, proving that

The top wines of 2015 are more expressive than most.

Some seem more like ripe Grenache or Syrah than Gamay

BEST OF THE BEST MICHEL GUIGNIER MORGON CANON 2017 SCORE: 97

JAMES SUCKLING’S TOP BEAUJOLAIS BOTTLES

Very impressive red and dark berries with a layer of fresh flowers and sous bois.

The palate has a super-juicy edge with fine yet assertive acidity and a long, richly fruited finish. Impressive clarity and power in terms of structure. Drink or hold.

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ON LEFT: CAPTION AVENIR NEXT REGULAR ALL CAPS 6PT XXXXXXXXXX

YOHAN LARDY MOULIN-À-VENT VIEILLES VIGNES DE 1903 2017 SCORE: 97 There’s a very impressive sense of balance here, thanks in part to the more than 100-year-old vines.

Dark fruit, earthy notes, chocolate and spice all in abundance. The opulent tannins are captivating.

Drink or hold.

CHÂTEAU THIVIN CÔTE-DE-BROUILLY CUVÉE ZACCHARIE 2017 SCORE: 96

Stunning, concentrated black cherries and plenty of the characteristic acidity of the vintage, both seamlessly interwoven with the gentle tannins and the minerality through the very long, super-clean finish.

Exemplary use of oak.

Almost endless finish.

Drink or hold.

Beaujolais is on a roll, not to mention the just-coming-out superb 2018.

“I like the 2016 wines,” says Alex Foillard, one of Beaujolias’ young producers. “They show great typicity, freshness and fruit. They are very drinkable wines with lower alcohols.”

And the 2017s showed off the diversity of the region. Some highlights: The Michel Guignier Morgon Canon 2017 delivers a more brash, dark fruit impression; powerful yet thrillingly seductive. Château Thivin Côtede-Brouilly Cuvée Zaccharie 2017 shows how oak can be deployed to heighten great Beaujolais. This wine is certainly going to repay cellaring.

The 2017 Morgon Montchoisy from Jean-Claude Debeaune really takes the appellation to another level again. Super dark fruits are

JEAN-MARC BURGAUD MORGON GRANDS CRAS 2017 SCORE: 96

This is a powerhouse with such precision and detail. So energetic. Very impressive aromas with spicy, fragrant red and purple fruit, leading to a plush and juicy palate with rich and velvety, fruitsoaked tannins. Exceptional wine. Drink or hold.

wrapped in dark chocolate-like flavours and carried on long velvety tannins. A must-try wine and completely enthralling. And Antoine Sunier’s Morgon 2017 offers a plush array of ripe fruit in the strawberry and cherry zone. A beautifully conceived wine.

Good quality Beaujolais clearly has its place in the growing premium wine market of today so you need to take it seriously, especially considering the reasonable prices. Asia, particularly Hong Kong, is overheated with excitement for wine from Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, but in doing so it’s overlooking one of the treasures of France – Beaujolais.

See JamesSuckling.com for more reviews and tasting notes

JEAN-CLAUDE DEBEAUNE MORGON MONTCHOISY 2017 SCORE: 95 Very deep, dark-fruited Morgon with dark cherries and plums, wrapped in dark chocolate and carried on fluid, velvety, long tannins. Great depth here.

A level of structure you would normally associate with more celebrated appelations such as Cornas or Corton. Drink or hold.

ANTOINE SUNIER MORGON 2017 SCORE: 95

An exceptional wine that has a very plush array of ripe fruit, in the strawberry and cherry zone, with hints of cocoa and a long and succulent palate.

Super fine, ripe tannins.

Exhilarating finish.

Excellent. Drink or hold.

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LADY OF THE LAKES

In the heart of France lies a spot where history and whimsy collide. zaneta cheng visits the Domaine des Etangs to discover the magic lurking beneath the towers and turrets of this 11th-century château

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’m picked up at Angoulême railway station in a classic blue ’70s Citroën DS, replete with pillow-soft springs and squashy leather seats. It’s a breezy, sunny day – rare, I learn, for this part of France – and little do I know it, but my introduction to the Domaine des Etangs has begun even before my arrival at the hotel.

We drive through green hills and plains, and past manoirs or castles that instantly summon up myths and legends. It’s in stark contrast to the more arid landscapes of the Mediterranean, because while this is considered southwest France, it’s also near to the more central region of Charente-Limousine where rain is frequent, the vegetation is lush and lakes abound. As to the latter, I’m told that Domaine des Etangs (the word means “ponds” in English) is named for the tracts of water that dot the 1,000-hectare property.

The landscape hints at what’s to come. We drive past the impossibly beautiful Château la Rochefoucauld, which was built more than a thousand years ago, and I remember that this is also the land in which the 17th-century writer Charles Perrault set his fairytale Cendrillon (better known to English-speakers as Cinderella). But not even these can adequately prepare me for my destination.

There’s a crunch of gravel and suddenly the car is gliding up an avenue of ancient oak, through a gate and on to the property. The greenery parts and at the end is the 11th-century château, the epitome of every five-year-old’s idea of a French castle.

Although once home to the medieval knights of Chasteignier de la Roche-Posay, the château is less a fearsome fortress than a gracious, inviting manor. Dragonflies – an emblem of the hotel – hover around me as I walk across a manicured lawn beside a pond reflecting the château’s turrets; it’s as if I’ve been transported to another time.

Inside, the dream continues, thanks to the efforts of architect and designer Isabelle Stanislas, who was commissioned to transform the property into a luxurious hotel after the death in 2008 of its former owner, the billionaire French businessman Didier Primate, for whom the estate had served as a country home. The result is interiors that aren’t merely immaculately restored, but also warm, personal and inviting.

Stepping through the main doors, it’s as if I’ve walked into a functioning castle – one where I might spot a gowned duchess peering down from the sweeping circular marble staircase that leads to the upper landing, but that’s also been softened by playful touches, contemporary lighting and some astonishing works of art. During my wanderings I stop to admire a Picasso and then a Matisse, while meteorite fragments, ceiling lights that resemble planets and an impressive telescope in the Salle de Famille all purvey an astronomical theme that runs throughout the salons and rooms.

My room isn’t ready when I arrive so I take a quick tour, peeking first into the vast Attic TV and games room, whose vaulted hardwood ceiling stretches to the floor and which looks down over the grounds below.

Down in the basement I discover thermal baths, which I make a note to find time for, and then head into the library, a tall yet cosy room tucked on one side of the building. Here, I plonk myself on to a deep window seat and, with a hot chocolate and a book for company, wait for lunchtime to come around.

Set among gardens and woodland, and with abundant rooms to lounge in and the freedom with which enjoy it all, the Domaine des Etangs fast becomes less of a hotel and more like a home – just as I find myself treating the one-Michelin-star Dyades as if it were my very own dining room. Helmed by chef Loïc Lecoin, the restaurant is set in an adjacent

building and serves lunch and dinner without any of the fussy dress codes usually associated with such establishments. There’s no menu – instead, the friendly waiters ask for any preferences – light or heavier; meat, fish or vegetarian – and relay my moods to the chef so he can concoct something suitable. What emerges is invariably meticulously prepared and served, and it’s all so indulgent that having wine with my main meals each day is unavoidable.

Once my accommodations are ready, I realise I’m to be the lady of the castle. The Soleil (sun) suite is one of the rooms on the landing I’d looked wistfully at on first entering the main building. Fittingly, sunlight streams into the sitting room through large windows and, as I stride across the broad space to my circular bedroom, the wooden floorboards creak ever so slightly. Whenever I’m ensconced here, which is quite often, I divide most of my time between the bathtub and the bedroom, where I gaze up through a glass ceiling to the tower in which it’s set.

In either case, the urgent pronouncements of French TV newscasters – when not in use, the set is concealed in a curved cupboard – seem like bizarre intrusions on my reverie.

Part of the Domaine’s paradisiac appeal is the complete freedom it grants to do as you please. One rainy afternoon I do just that, cycling across the property past lakeside cottages that can be rented by families who seek both space and privacy. It turns out that the estate is home to at least three herds of cows, all of which stare at me as I pedal past at breakneck speed through the drizzle.

On a sunnier day, I take a generous picnic out to the small dock on the main lake, and row out to the middle of it for a lazy lunch. No permission is needed and afterwards I engage in some more lazing in the thermal pool, before my appointment in the Moulin, the hotel’s spa, which is set in an old mill that once ground the flour for the Domaine’s bread.

In the evenings, after feasting on local fowl, scallops or forest chestnuts, I carry my nightcap – liqueur or cognac and a dessert – on a tray back to my suite and run the bath. Save for occasional birdsong, nights at the Domaine are blissfully silent and sleep comes quickly and easily. Mine are dreamless but that hardly matters, because when I wake, the very real prospect of another day at the Domaine easily supplants my wildest subconscious imaginings.

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE PAGE: THE HOTEL SITS AMONG SEVERAL SCENIC PONDS; SEASONAL FRENCH FARE; THE SPACIOUS VÉNUS SUITE; THE PLUSH BED IN THE MARS ROOM

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A GRAND J ENTRANCE The St. Regis Hong Kong makes its longawaited debut with all the glitz and glamour for which the hospitality brand is renowned. petula s kincaid checks in

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ohn Jacob Astor IV, thought to be the wealthiest man in America and among the richest in the world in his time, founded the St. Regis New York in 1904. Described by the New York Times as “the finest hotel in America”, the popular gathering place for the city’s luminaries was so advanced for its day that it had a telephone in every room.

Astor was aboard the Titanic when it sank in 1912, but only after helping his pregnant wife into the last lifeboat. His legacy now lives on at more than 40 St. Regis properties around the world, the newest, of course, being right here in Hong Kong. Following a ribbon-cutting on the morning of April 11, the St. Regis Hong Kong celebrated its grand opening in the tradition set by the famed Gilded Age doyenne and pioneer of high society, Astor’s mother Caroline.

The Midnight Supper, styled after Caroline Astor’s legendary afterparties, welcomed an intimate group of Hong Kong’s own high society with special guest Gemma Chan ‒ of Crazy Rich Asians and Captain Marvel fame ‒ adding her star power. A five-course menu prepared by the culinary director of the hotel’s French fine-dining restaurant L’Envol, Olivier Elzer, was paired with wines by chief sommelier Tristan Pommier.

Acclaimed Hong Kong designer André Fu has used his vision to combine a classic style with contemporary elegance L’Envol is one of three dining outlets at the St. Regis, which also include Cantonese restaurant Rùn, headed by award-winning chef Hung Chi-kwong, and The Drawing Room, which offers international fare and an indulgent afternoon tea in its stunning space as well as on the adjoining Astor Terrace.

Perhaps even more inviting, and likely to become a favourite gathering place for locals, is the St. Regis Bar and its colourful mural depicting Victoria Harbour, landmark buildings, mountains and even a nod to the Astor legacy with a Pepsi sign that once stood near one of its New York hotels. The bar offers a craft cocktail menu in addition to more than 800 wine labels and 100 champagnes. If that wasn’t enough reason to visit, there’s the hotel’s signature cocktail since 1934: the Bloody Mary.

Here, it’s been given a Cantonese twist with dried tangerine peel, five spices and Kowloon soy sauce, and you can enjoy it with live jazz in the bar every evening.

It’s at the bar and in fact throughout the hotel that one feels the blend of the St. Regis’s Gilded Age heritage with modern luxury and style.

Acclaimed Hong Kong architect and designer André Fu has created the interiors of the 27-storey hotel using his vision to combine a classic style with contemporary elegance. The result is an understated luxury that feels timeless, with pops of colour and signature design elements to reflect the diversity of the city.

The St. Regis Hong Kong offers a total of 129 rooms ‒ 112 guest rooms and 17 signature suites to be exact ‒ that range from 538 to 2,583 square feet, all with wood flooring, sumptuous textures, and marble bathrooms in a bright and relaxing space. What’s more, in-room checkin is available for all rooms and suites.

And it wouldn’t be a St. Regis without complimentary butler service, which comes standard with every room. We’re talking about personalised service that’s available 24 hours a day, from unpacking and pressing suits to delivering tea and cupcakes to packing everything up before checkout. The Hong Kong flagship will also introduce eButler chat ‒ where guests can contact their butler through an app or dedicated line, e-mail, WhatsApp and WeChat.

For those who can tear themselves away from their room, there’s one more must-experience St. Regis tradition: the nightly sabrage, a ceremony using a sabre to open a bottle of champagne, that dates back to the battles of Napoleon. Who are we to argue ‒ cheers!

BACKSTORY

COOL CAT

Built in France and designed by the VPLP practice of naval architects, whose team includes the former design chief of the Renault car company, Patrick le QuĂŠment, the new Lagoon 40 sailing catamaran made its regional debut at the recent Singapore Yacht Show and is being introduced to Hong Kong by Simpson Marine. The 12-metre-long vessel (it has a maximum beam of 7 metres) is designed for both performance and comfort, and features a tall mast and a wing-shaped topsail, as well as a range of luxurious accommodation layouts, with up to four cabins for a maximum of 12 people, and ample seating in both the saloon and on the aft deck. Spacious and sleek, it could hardly be more ideal for lazy weekend cruising on local waters this summer.

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