FROM FOREST HILL TO FLORIDA, MEET YOUR NEXT DESIGN ADVENTURE
DESIGNER OF LUXURY
FERRIS : RAFAULI GOING FOR GOLD
SINCE 1996
OBJECTS OF DESIRE SEE WHAT HAS CAUGHT OUR FANCY
THE BIGGEST COLLECTION OF LUXURY VILLAS IN ST. TROPEZ
In our collection you will find villas with stunning sea views, contemporary interiors, helipads, tennis courts and more. Enjoy full security and impeccable service from maids & babysitters to chefs & chauffeurs. All 100 villas are in excellent locations. They are situated no further than a few minutes drive from the St. Tropez centre and the beaches of Pampelonne.
www.sttropezhouse.com 2 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
GRAND TOURING AUTOMOBILES 740 Dupont Street, Toronto ON M6G 1Z6 416.530.1880 grandtouringautos.com
summer 2016
GRAND TOURING AUTOMOBILES MAPLE 101 Auto Vaughan Drive, Maple ON L6A 4A1 905.417.1170 grandtouringautosmaple.com
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 3
4 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
You can lead an interesting life now, or embellish your autobiography later. The Continental GT. For more information call 416 530 1880 or visit BENTLEY TORONTO 740 Dupont Street, Toronto, ON, M6G 1Z6, Canada
summer 2016
Š Bentley Motors, Inc. Model shown: Continental GT Speed.
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 5
CONTENTS SUMMER 2016 / VO VOLU VOLUME LUME ME 2200 / IS ISSU ISSUE SUEE 2
10
THE SUNSHINE (E)STATE
46
Florida’s The Related Group takes notes from Toronto living
OBJECTS OF DESIRE Let there be light with these mood-lifting finds
24 GOLDEN BOY
Architectural designer Ferris Rafauli on fashion, fast cars and mega-mansions
18
MIKE TYSON spares no punches when discussing childhood dreams and his acting career
HEAD SPIN!
Flip the book for fashion, philanthropy and auto
18
13
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Stay up all night with these whimsical pieces and sweet classics
20
DOWN TO EARTH Stalk the latest rocks from our favourite Toronto boutiques
TROPICAL MODERN Step inside one of Johannesburg’s architectural jewels
ON THE COVER Photographed by Farzam Hosseindoust, Ferris Rafauli wears a Pal Zileri dress shirt and blazer from Dalla 8 WHEN PORSCHES FLY Dezer Development’s latest project is an auto enthusiast’s dream in the sky 36 EVERYBODY HAS WATER Meet G. Raymond Chang Award recipient Vivienne Poy More stories inside ... 6 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
Designed by luxury designer Ferris Rafauli.
SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS STARTS AT HOME
905.791.7770 | 151 East Drive, Brampton, Ont.
www.neffkitchens.com summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 7
DOLCE REAL ESTATE
3
1
2 1. A top view of the Porsche Design Tower’s luxury-infused fifth-floor Amenity Deck 2. Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Development 3. An exterior view of the upcoming Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 4. A peek inside one of the 132 luxury residences in the Porsche Design Tower
WHEN PORSCHES FLY
4
Meet Gil Dezer, the man who’s making Porsches soar 60 storeys above the ground
L
ooking at the renderings of the Porsche Desgin Tower, it looks like something out of a sci-fi film. Really, it’s surreal. The tall, cylindrical structure is stunning and sleek, almost extraterrestrial-looking, but it’s the interior plans that are getting the design world talking. Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Development, is one of the youngest developers I’ve ever sparked a conversation with, and he’s also one of the most important. The South Florida-based mogul has worked on a slew of world-renowned projects, among them being his collaborations with the infamous Donald J. Trump, the Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences and Trump Towers in Sunny Isles Beach. But when I ask what his proudest achievement has been thus far, he doesn’t list any of his past buildings — he names the one that’s set to open its doors this summer. “The Porsche Design Tower is my pièce de résistance,” he says on the phone from his office in South Florida. “We’ve done a lot of firsts in that building, from 8 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
the car elevator that takes you in your car to your apartment to the plunge pools on every single balcony. We have amenities in there that you’ve never seen before, like race-car and golf simulators. It’s an amazing playground of a place you’re going to move into and never want to leave.” Evidently, Dezer likes a good collaboration — he’s also working with Carlos Rosso at The Related Group to erect the ultra-luxe Residences by Armani/Casa in 2018 — and this partnership with the Germany-based Porsche Design Group promises to be one of his most iconic matchups yet. But while he thrives in partnering with the world’s biggest brands to make good things happen, that’s even more the case when he teams up with philanthropic initiatives. When he’s not busy bringing a building into existence or spending time with his young children, Dezer is devoting his time to a few poignant causes. He’s one of the founders of the Mount Sinai Medical Center Foundation in Miami Beach and is a Young President of the Miami Heart Institute. And then
there’s the Florida Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) that he’s a member of, and that cause especially hits home. “It’s karma,” he says. “Life has been good to me and you get to see others that are misfortunate, specifically with the FIDF. These are young kids who go to war to protect not just the state of Israel but Judaism as a whole. I’m Jewish, so that’s important to me.” Listening to Dezer speak about his work both in and out of the office, it’s obvious to me that he really does love his job. He relishes in watching his revolutionary buildings come to life, in seeing the awe in the faces of South Florida as their skyline continues to evolve with Dezer-made skyscrapers. “I’m not here for fame or anything like that — I’m a very simple guy,” he says. “I don’t mind being in the background and having these brands on my buildings. We just closed a buyer on a unit and he was telling me, ‘Oh, I thought that Donald Trump built those buildings.’ And that works for me.” www.dezerdevelopment.com Summer 2016
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEZER DEVELOPMENT
WRITTEN BY AMANDA STOREY
summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 9
DOLCE REAL ESTATE
2 3
1 4
1. A rendering of one of the waterside decks of Auberge Miami, a condominium heavily focused on art and design 2. Carlos Rosso, president of The Related Group’s condominium development division 3. An exterior rendering of Hyde Beach House 4. A look at the exterior amenities of the Residences by Armani/Casa
THE SUNSHINE (E)STATE
The Related Group is doing what we all thought impossible: making Florida even better. And they’re taking some notes from Toronto’s book, too
C
WRITTEN BY AMANDA STOREY
arlos Rosso is president of the condominium development division at The Related Group — the guys who’ve brought you some of the most bright and brilliant towers in the Sunshine State — and when he was in Toronto this spring, he couldn’t help but notice that we’ve kind of nailed the condo living thing. “We looked at all the micro-units that Toronto is developing, because I think you’re doing a fabulous job that we need to learn from and imitate here,” says the Armenian-American developer, who has also in the past overseen the development of over 10 million square feet of hotels and office buildings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are excited about that. We want to see a transformation happening in Florida.
10 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
We call ourselves urban optimists, and really think that people coming together in cities is the best way moving forward, the best way for the environment and the best way for the culture.” While The Related Group has already started working their way toward that goal by erecting a series of condominiums that are as beautiful as they are functional, their latest developments promise to be the biggest yet. There’s Residences by Armani/Casa, a project that The Related Group is collaborating on with Dezer Development and, of course, the legendary Italian fashion house, set to open in 2018. Then there’s Hyde Beach House in South Florida’s Hallandale Beach, a hip new movement that fuses the sleek luxury of condominium living with a natural, beachy lifestyle, set for 2017. But the art-infused Auberge
Miami in the city’s booming arts and entertainment district is one tower on the rise that Rosso is particularly proud of. “Auberge Miami really involved recreating, or redesigning, an existing project, and I feel particularly proud to be bringing for the first time a brand like Auberge into the urban landscape,” says Rosso of the development, which will open its doors in 2019. “They are more of a boutique hotel that’s more reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie, always in these idyllic locations, and now it’s the first time that they’re doing an urban hotel. I think we have designed a fantastic building and it’s going to look amazing.” When asked what else this year will look like for The Related Group’s condominium development division, Rosso explains that while he’s very much at home building up the South Florida skyline, he does have his eye on the ever-evolving real estate landscape of the Great White North. Fingers crossed that if he does plant some design-forward towers in our territory, he brings that sweet Florida sunshine with him. “I was really impressed in Toronto, and I felt that they’re doing some fantastic jobs there,” says Rosso. “We would love to be a part of it.” www.relatedgroup.com Summer 2016
YOUR ROME AWAY FROM ROME FOR
YOUR HOME
A Time to Celebrate ... S Since May 1986, we have continued the family tradition of offering the finest service to match the finest in European furnishings. We would like e tto thank our customers for their continued loyalty and look forward to sserving you in the future. In celebration of our 30th anniversary, many e g exclusive collections throughout the showroom are reduced starting ffrom 30%. Visit our showroom and enjoy!
TThe Simone family
CONTEMPORARY | MODERN LIVING | CLASSIQUE
2663 Steeles Ave. W., Toronto, ON | 416.667.0080 www.martindanielinteriors.com www.dolcemag.com |
summer 2016
DOLCE MAGAZINE 11
DOLCE REAL ESTATE
1
3
THE
“200 RUSSELL HILL”
LIFESTYLE
Two powerhouses of design — luxury developer Simon Hirsh and Toronto’s interior design darling Lori Morris — have collaborated on the city’s next big thing, and we’re obsessed
S
WRITTEN BY AMANDA STOREY
imon Hirsh’s success story has been a bit different than most other developers’. It began in Whistler, B.C., where he designed and developed custom luxury log-andtimber homes, and eventually he found his way to Muskoka, Canada’s other elite retreat. There, he designed his way through cottage country, erecting $7 million vacation homes for Toronto’s exclusives. It was these clients who began bringing him closer to the city, 12 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
asking him to create their year-round abodes — not just their summer ones. This is what led Hirsh and his company, Hirsh Development Group, to the address of 200 Russell Hill in Toronto. It’s a dream-come-true plot of land on which Hirsh and his team — Rafael + Bigauskas Architects and interior designer Lori Morris of House of LMD — are building something that Torontonians have never seen before, at least not on their turf. Tentatively opening its doors in fall
of 2018, 200 Russell Hill will be a 22unit structural masterpiece, designed to stand out in its affluent neighbourhood by offering spacious units that feel more like large houses than suites. The concept meshes Hirsh’s roots in luxe cottage country with Morris’s taste for deep refinement, and the result is a fusion of romanticism and art deco, comfort and style. “With 200 Russell Hill, I’ve been given the opportunity to express my artistic integrity and to be able to design a space that is both traditional and modern at the same time,” says Morris. “The style I went for was ‘sexy lounge’ with accents of black lacquer and metal brass detailing as well as deco-inspired furniture and finishes. It’s very stylized, very sophisticated, very French, very timeless and very LMD.” The project is a huge milestone, not just for Hirsh Development Group and House of LMD, but also for Toronto as a whole. Architectural and design feats aside, 200 Russell Hill will present its residents with a wholly elevated lifestyle reminiscent of a stay at a boutique hotel. From the fitness and yoga studios, spa and wine lounge to the in-house theatre, pet-wash room, private library and piano lounge, the Forest Hill estate will boast a way of life that’s all its own. “We wanted do something very unique, luxurious, top of the market,” says Hirsh. “Buyers have seen this sort of thing in Manhattan and London, and now they’re amazed to be seeing it here in Toronto.” www.200russellhill.com Summer 2016
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HIRSH DEVELOPMENT GROUP
1. The five-storey, 22-unit project has claimed a stunning forested property in the affluent Forest Hill neighbourhood 2. Designer Lori Morris of House of LMD themed the interior as a sophisticated, “sexy lounge” 3. With its menu of exclusive amenities like a pet-wash room, a massage room and a wine bar, 200 Russell Hill has curated a lifestyle of its own
2
Catch our coverage of this fashion shoot in Germany at www.dolcemag.com
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREAS ANDÉ, ROCKENFELLER & GÖBELS / STYLIST: ROLF BUCK HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTIST: KERSTIN J. HAJDU / MODELS: JOHANNA, PLACE MODELS AND JULI, M4 MODELS
Get lost in the whimsy of this summer’s wardrobe, which proposes an ethereal dance between sweet classics and bewitching new concepts
Be adventure-ready with a floral gown-and-jacket set / Gown and jacket: Karen Millen; shoes: Saint Laurent; bracelet and bag: A Cuckoo Moment; sunglasses: Swatch summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 13
Translucence is in. Take the dare by donning light, lovely tulle / Gown: Heide Hoffer; ring: A Cuckoo Moment; slip: Yummie Tummie; brooch: stylist’s own
14 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
Take notes from nature — make a garden out of your ensemble / Gown, skirt and bag: Karen Millen; brooch: A Cuckoo Moment
summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 15
Past meets future in an ultramod silhouette and classic flowy elements / Bodice and skirt: Sammler Berlin; bag: A Cuckoo Moment 16 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
Show off the bold side of black and white in a thoughttriggering jumpsuit / Jumpsuit: Heide Hoffer; ring and necklace: A Cuckoo Moment; glasses: Spitfire summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 17
JEWELRY
2
1 3
6
7
5 4
DOWN TO EARTH This planet has given us a lot of beautiful things, among them being the rings on our ďŹ ngers. This summer, Dolce falls in love all over again with the divine rawness of our favourite rocks
18 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
PHOTO BY CARLOS ARTURO PINTO / TEXT BY AMANDA STOREY
1. VALENTE JEWELLERS, 18-karat white gold and diamonds 2. !XAM DIAMONDS, 18-karat white and rose gold and diamonds 3. FORTUNES FINE JEWELLERS, 14-karat white gold, diamond, pink tourmaline, citrine, peridot, blue topaz 4. MARK LASH, 18-karat yellow gold, diamonds, turquoise 5. FORTUNES FINE JEWELLERS, 14-karat yellow gold, diamonds, pink tourmaline, citrine and peridot cabochons 6. PENWARDEN FINE JEWELLERY, 14-karat rose gold, diamonds, rose quartz 7. STUDIO1098, 14-karat white gold, green sapphire and diamonds 8. ANICE, vintage 18-karat gold and diamond 9. STUDIO1098, 14-karat white gold, purple sapphire and diamonds 10. VALENTE JEWELLERS, 18-karat white gold and diamonds
14
9 17
12
15 18
8
11
16
10
summer 2016
13
11. !XAM DIAMONDS, 18-karat white gold, black and white diamonds 12. PALLOTTA JEWELLERS, 18-karat white gold and diamonds 13. PALLOTTA JEWELLERS, 18-karat gold, blue topaz and diamonds 14. STUDIO1098, 14-karat white gold, blue sapphire and diamonds 15. !XAM DIAMONDS, 14-karat white gold, rhodolite garnet bezel and diamonds 16. !XAM DIAMONDS, 14-karat rose gold, 6.15-carat light pink morganite, diamonds 17. VALENTE JEWELLERS, 18-karat white gold and diamonds 18. PALLOTTA JEWELLERS, yellow topaz and diamonds
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 19
The patio extends seamlessly out from the living area, paved with the same large ceramic tiles used throughout the house. While the pool appears large, its size is exaggerated by the beach entry, which slopes gradually into the water
As you enter the house a powerful and arresting space opens up to a triple-volume, seven-metre-high living area framed on either side by walnut-clad floating staircases with frameless glass balustrades
TROPICAL MODERN HOME DESIGN
This architecturally bold and decisive Johannesburg home has another side to it — subtle and filled with clever contrasts
L
ocated in the Johannesburg suburb of Hyde Park, this house, which is part of a cluster of three, begins with a mystery. From the driveway it appears like an almost featureless, off-shutter concrete monolith. It has a gigantic, 3.8-metre-high mechanicallooking steel door set into the facade with a wheel, a crank handle and a bolt that slots into a groove in the ground. It might even look fort-like in its apparent unwillingness to betray anything about 20 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
what happens behind that impenetrablelooking door. Even the garage is disguised: rather than three doors, there’s simply a sleek, mute wooden surface on an extension of the L-shaped courtyard. But there’s another dimension to it: a softness that comes into focus the longer you look. The driveway surface is criss-crossed with a grid of narrow strips of grass. The top of the concrete facade is bordered with a row of plants that dissipates into the sky, so the monochrome is softened with a splash
of green. Principal architect Enrico Daffonchio of Daffonchio and Associates Architects points out that rather than being forbidding, this approach creates a sense of anticipation. “What’s happening up there?” he asks. (A Le Corbusier roof garden with a Jacuzzi and yoga deck, if you must know.) When you pass over the threshold, you enter a triple-volume, seven-metrehigh hall. “It’s a very powerful space,” says Daffonchio. There’s a balancing act between opulence and almost overSummer 2016
PHOTOS BY GREG COX
WRITTEN BY GRAHAM WOOD
the-top extravagance on the one hand, and raw, bare minimalism and simplicity on the other. The space’s interior wall is raw off-shutter concrete, as it is outside, but the walls on either side have soaring staircases with glass balustrades that seem to lift off into the air. They’re sleek and refined, glinting in contrast to the rawness. At strategic points, wooden ceilings and walls and the undersides of staircases add warmth. The whole house is an essay in contrasts, a layering of raw and refined to create an exhilarating tension between the two. “It’s a very thin line between being bold and exciting and over-the-top,” says Enrico. The sense of opulence belies the home’s economical use of space. You soon realize that the space you’ve entered is the house. “Basically the concept of this house is that it’s one room,” explains Daffonchio. “There’s no separate patio, there’s no separate kitchen. You don’t have different rooms. You can change it a little bit by opening and closing the doors, but it’s essentially one space. It’s like a really amazing, super-generous, superluxurious room.” The central, dramatic volume is bookended on one side by the kitchen area and on the other by a reading nook in a beautiful well of light. To the front of the house, the lounge and dining areas are defined by a lower, stained white oak ceiling. The wall behind the kitchen island is clad in walnut. “The timber is really great to give the space warmth and define it,” says project architect Frances Joynt. A little like the garage doors, while the panelling might appear seamless, it actually disguises cupboard doors and storage. Similarly, the fine Neolith used for the kitchen island can be used for surface and sides, so the island appears like a smooth, sculptural block rather than a jumble of drawers, although it, too, contains storage. To the side of the kitchen, a reflective black glass sliding door can be moved over into a cavity in the wall to unite the kitchen area with a back-of-house kitchen and scullery. When not needed, it presents another seamless surface contrasting with the raw concrete, but it is cleverly softened with the reflections of the garden it catches. “You really have a very intentional, a very decisive use of materials,” says Daffonchio. While the raw concrete is layered with contrasting materials like wood and glass, or in the case of the summer 2016
Principal architect Enrico Daffonchio and project architect Frances Joynt enjoy the powerful space of this Johannesburg home. Wallace Chaise Lounge by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poliform; Ipsilon stool by Rodrigo Torres for Poliform; Parentesi lights by Achille and Pier Giacamo Castiglioni for Flos
“YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT HAVING TOO MANY ELEMENTS OR TOO MANY MATERIALS” — Enrico Daffonchio
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 21
The first floor appears to almost float above the hollow ground floor. The landscaping by Patrick Watson is entirely indigenous and is designed to appear almost as an extension of the architecture. The design is based on a structured grid of grasses of varying textures and lengths picking up on the lines of the house
The vanity in the guest bathroom is a prime example of the way in which Enrico Daffonchio and Frances Joynt have layered and contrasted raw materials. “When you have a mirror and brass over the raw concrete, there’s such a strong tension between the materials,” says Daffonchio
The home’s cinema lounge, which opens onto a covered patio, is made intimate and cosy with grass cloth wallpaper and a Paco rug. The Calvinia coffee table and Cube side table are by Tonic Design
guest bathroom, brass, the layering is restrained and carefully modulated. “You have to be careful about having too many elements or too many materials. To play with more than three or four materials, you really risk making a mess,” he adds. The pared-down forms, like the kitchen island, carefully avoid visual busyness. The lower (but still not too low) oiled white oak ceiling in the lounge and dining areas creates a sense of intimacy softened with the use of timber. When you make such bold, decisive architectural choices, you have to fill the rooms with decisive, bold interior design and furnishings. The lounge and dining areas in turn look over the pool and garden. They have a 3.8-metre-high floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door that can disappear into a cavity in the wall. “The doors actually slide around the corners so you can open this whole space and it flows out onto the patio,” says Joynt. It’s one of those seemingly simple things that is actually very complex (because of that corner). The huge ceramic tiles 22 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
that run throughout the ground floor travel seamlessly outside and right up to the pool deck, helping to blur the distinction between outside and in, joining rather than separating spaces. Even the beach entrance to the pool is a gradual transition contrasting with other hard edges. In another clever inversion, the soft material of the landscaping is precise and geometric — a straight-lined pattern of differing heights and textures of grass picking up on the lines of the architecture. Seen from the garden, the house appears to be the polar opposite of its massive concrete south facade. It’s transparent and light, and almost invisible. “You have the first floor floating on an almost hollow ground floor,” says Daffonchio. “When you look from the front, the bedrooms are aloft, and
the ground floor is very open.” The unchanging nature of the entrance is also contrasted here with sliding screens for the bedrooms upstairs. This is partly an effect of the home’s passive solar design for energy efficiency. “It’s layered: shutters, balustrade, glass, curtains,” Daffonchio points out. “You’ve got four layers you can use to modulate the light.” But it also has the effect of constantly changing the facade with the time of day, seasons and its inhabitants’ needs. The contrasts and tensions are everywhere, bringing a conceptual richness to the house. In turn, the effect is calming and energizing. The effect is coherent, a kind of contained grandeur that retains its intimacy. It’s focused without ever being dull. www.daffonchio.co.za Summer 2016
September 10 — November 12, 2016
THE WAREHOUSE 100 Sunrise Avenue, Unit 150
Toronto, Ontario Canada M4A 1B3 TELEPHONE: 416 214 9490 FACSIMILE: 416 214 9503 EMAIL: contact@sandraainsleygallery.com WEBSITE: www.sandraainsleygallery.com Verdant Green Chandelier (detail), 2012 53 x 72 x 68"
summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 23
GOLDEN BOY
SUCCESS STORY
WE STEP INSIDE THE HIGHFASHION, FAST-DRIVING WORLD OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER FERRIS RAFAULI TO DISCOVER WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING UP SUPER HOMES — AND RAPPER DRAKE’S VIP HIDEOUT — THAT ARE NOTHING SHORT OF SPECTACULAR
F
erris Rafauli’s work may be big and bold, fast and fearless, but there’s more to his mega-mansions for the rich under his Ferragamo belt. At 11 a.m. on a Friday, at the Ferris Rafauli Architectural Design Build Group office in Oakville, the architectural designer appears, all smiles and boyish charm, leading the way through glass double doors to a boardroom with white leather walls studded in an art deco pattern. His company headquarters is a study in elegant design: milky furnishings and marble floors, mirrored surfaces and a sleek fireplace.
24 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Wearing a buttoned-up dress shirt under a black leather jacket, Balmain jeans and a rose-gold Rolex on his wrist, the fashion-forward founder of one of the most eminent design-build firms around looks more like a couturier than a builder. “But don’t be fooled by an impeccably dressed human being,” says former client Patrick Chetcuti, president of First Canadian Title. “He’s an extraordinary talent for a relatively young person, and just like his homes his wardrobe is about being at the very highest level.” Like the deconstructive forms of Canadian-born Frank Gehry or the sweeping, fluid shapes of the late Zaha Hadid, 38-year-old Rafauli possesses the very same passion needed to push past
architectural boundaries and elevate design. This innate desire to build loud has launched Rafauli into becoming one of the leading — and youngest — architectural designers this country has seen in the last decade. Boasting monomaniacal attention to detail and a gilded touch that gleams throughout his classically disciplined, transcendent super homes, Rafauli’s standing in the luxury market is hardly unexpected for a natural-born builder who eschews trends and vanilla design. The first time Chetcuti met Rafauli was by chance. The title insurance exec and his wife were driving down Lake Shore Boulevard in Toronto when a beautiful home in the midst of construction caught their attention. Summer 2016
PHOTO BY FARZAM HOSSEINDOUST
WRITTEN BY SIMONA PANETTA
Ferris Rafauli, founder of Ferris Rafauli Architectural Design Build Group. Blazer: Dalla; dress shirt: Pal Zileri; belt: Salvatore Ferragamo; watch: Rolex Sky-Dweller Gold
summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 25
This luxurious great-room bar boasts a slab onyx back wall with a leather-wrapped, plum-coloured bar and sculpted glass lighting 26 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FERRIS RAFAULI ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BUILD GROUP FURNITURE AND LIGHTING DESIGNED AND BUILT BY FR UNDER HIS DESIGNER LINE OF FURNITURE
Chic and classic, this great room features a 25-foot soaring ceiling, stone walls infused with luxurious silk, and leather-wrapped door frames
“I’M A PASSIONATE DESIGNER, AND THAT’S WHERE MY FLAIR COMES FROM, THAT’S WHERE MY STUDY COMES FROM — IT DERIVES FROM CLASSICAL NATURE”
With plans to find a quality builder to bring their own dream home to life, they stopped the car for a closer look. “We saw a fellow on-site in a truck wearing a hard hat and work boots so we asked him if he knew who designed the home. And he responded, ‘I did!’ [Rafauli] then took us through the home and we were just flabbergasted by the construction, the design, the symmetry — we’d never seen anything of that quality before,” says Chetcuti. The serendipitous encounter eventually led to Chetcuti enlisting the services of the Ferris Rafauli firm, and the result was nothing short of spectacular. “All you need to do is bring your toothbrush and move in,” Rafauli promised him. Over the course of 26 months, the designer of luxury estates erected Chetcuti’s Dundas Valley home from the ground up and infused it with a rich, country-chic esthetic achieved by hardwood floors, a combination of marble and stonework, bronze, glass, summer 2016
Country chic takes on new meaning in this glam master ensuite bathroom. Designed and built by the FR firm, it features floor-to-ceiling marble walls with mirrors, bronze frames and transoms, and an oversized spa shower with three sets of shower heads and controls
and former CEO of Lakeport Brewing, answers it best. “The thing that strikes me most about [Rafauli] is his passion for his work. It was very clear at the time — and continues to be — that you can tell that in his mind he can picture something completed … he can close his eyes and — Ferris Rafauli see what that house is going to Ferris Rafauli designer furniture and look like as you describe what it is that his signature layered technique. “You you want.” don’t realize the impact this has on your Upholding the gold standard of some vision until you see it,” says Chetcuti of of the finest boutique hotels in the world, Rafauli’s strength in blending materials Rafauli’s design mind conceptualizes together. “It becomes a piece of art and builds all his multi-million-dollar for him.” residential and commercial projects Bringing up stately homes in affluent from beginning to end. It’s a seamless pockets across Ontario, Rafauli’s MO that has the firm executing all offerings — which have recently architectural drawings, interior designs expanded to include a celebrity’s VIP and the construction of the entire lounge, brand collaborations and the project, including landscaping, interiors, FR luxury furniture collection — conjure exteriors and the design and build of his up the look of a wide-eyed emoji as the furniture line. “I become OCD controlbrain wraps itself around the question, freak over every detail,” he says. “I’m a “How on Earth did he build that?” Teresa passionate designer, and that’s where my Cascioli, noted Canadian entrepreneur flair comes from, that’s where my study www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 27
PHOTO COURTESY OF FERRIS RAFAULI ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BUILD GROUP FURNITURE AND LIGHTING DESIGNED AND BUILT BY FR UNDER HIS DESIGNER LINE OF FURNITURE
Walls crafted with multiple layers of silk and suede, along with mirrors, Macassar trim details and an Indiana grey, buff limestone fireplace, transform your typical master bedroom into a modernclassic piece of art
28 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 29
PHOTO COURTESY OF FERRIS RAFAULI ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BUILD GROUP FURNITURE AND LIGHTING DESIGNED AND BUILT BY FR UNDER HIS DESIGNER LINE OF FURNITURE
Agnissed min ut dolorem zzril eu faccumsan vel dit ad do et wis aliquat, commy nim dignim aciliqui tio ex
Sumptuous and inviting, this great room features 25-foot ceilings and walls layered with fine materials, custom-designed bronze screens and floors in cut slab marble 30 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
PHOTO BY FARZAM HOSSEINDOUST
comes from — it derives from classical nature and discipline — but every part of a project is equally important to the next. I like to see things come together and become real.” Rafauli’s unwavering commitment to flawless design and precise scale is so deep that if even one minor detail is a millimetre out of place he will redo a room — all at his own expense. He also scours the world for the best and most unique materials, and imports plants and vegetation from Vancouver and California to ensure that the landscape and building align in look and context. He’s even gone as far as adding extra squarefootage to a client’s home if he sees that a pool or a Among Ferris Rafauli’s favourite fashion designers are Balmain, Tom Ford and Yves Saint Laurent. Here, he wears basketball court should be a gold-and-black leather jacket from YSL and a T-shirt by bigger because, scale-wise, Alexandre Plokhov it’s the right thing to do, he explains. being recognized for his niche luxury To put it in perspective, some touch, and for joining forces with select of Rafauli’s projects include a people and marques that represent the 30,000-square-foot home in the Greater consistent, high-level output of his own Toronto Area that features a 100-foot work. In a recent collaboration that put heated knife-edge pool, handmade his drive to the test, Rafauli was asked bronze screens, a full indoor spa and by the Policaro Automotive Family to 3,000-sq.-ft. master bedroom with a twodesign and build a lavish lounge within storey walk-in closet; a glam Muskoka the Porsche flagship store in Oakville. cottage mansion nestled in nature and The designer lounge, which will include amenities like a tennis court and interior furniture custom-made by the Ferris walls clad with slab marbles, leathers, Rafauli firm, will allow clients to pick suede and exotic woods; a French villa in out colours and fabrics in an edgy and the countryside with a 200-foot-long art inviting space. Rafauli has also specially gallery hallway, hand-polished woods, put together his own seasonal collection hand-dyed pony fur, a wine cellar and of colour and leather options for those a Cineplex-sized movie theatre; and a who dare to go beyond the traditional 43,000-sq.-ft. manse, also in the GTA, black-on-black. “You can quickly see with a three-storey lobby, 5,000-sq.-ft. how talented and passionate he is about master bedroom and a 12-car garage. his craft,” says Francesco Policaro, Ferris Rafauli is also the firm behind general manager at Porsche Centre the interiors of the French beaux-artsOakville, who met Rafauli through inspired The Randall Residences, an mutual friends at a charity event. “It’s not opulent, 36-unit condo development hard to trust someone with such vision in downtown Oakville with classic and confidence.” Rafauli was also asked interiors and exotic finishes like zebra to design and build a luxurious lounge and Macassar woods. Often coming up within Policaro BMW in Brampton, ahead of deadlines, the FR firm takes which will feature slab marble flooring, on a careful amount of projects per year exotic wood panelling and glass walls, to to ensure that disciplined and seamless be completed by June of this year. design is carried through from start Rafauli’s fearless approach to to finish. The firm currently has a design and top-to-bottom style has waiting list. resulted in iconic projects at a level of Boasting a posh client list of sophistication, speed and accuracy that VIPs, successful businesspeople and few and far between have mastered. It celebrities, Rafauli prides himself on summer 2016
WHAT SHOULD EVERY MAN HAVE IN HIS CLOSET? Fresh bottle of Aventus Creed Yves Saint Laurent leather biker jacket, white T, Balmain jeans and Louboutin kicks
HOTTEST FASHION DESIGNER ON YOUR RADAR THESE DAYS Olivier Rousteing, creative designer for Balmain fashion clothing
BEST PLACE IN TORONTO TO SHOP Louis Vuitton Maison store on Bloor Serpentine on Cumberland in the Yorkville area Men’s Holts at the corner of Bloor and Bellair streets Harry Rosen at the corner of Bloor and Bellair streets
PERFECT CAR FOR A SUMMER RIDE Ferrari 488 GTB Spider
YOUR GO-TO GROOMING PRODUCT TO KEEP YOU LOOKING FRESH Straight-edge razor
CURRENT DESIGN OBSESSION Dream walk-in closets
FAVOURITE (ALCOHOLIC) DRINK Gaja white wine
TOP THREE GUILTY PLEASURES Cars, clothing and jewelry
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 31
PHOTO COURTESY OF FERRIS RAFAULI ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BUILD GROUP FURNITURE AND LIGHTING DESIGNED AND BUILT BY FR UNDER HIS DESIGNER LINE OF FURNITURE
Chic, modern and classic, this library room is like no other. The space includes a beautifully constructed ceiling cladded in high-gloss Macassar, leathers and bronze trims, and a luxurious couch made with pony fur hand-dyed to achieve a dark olive-green hue 32 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
Reflecting the pristine and stately feel of an art gallery, this seemingly endless hallway features slab marble floors and a stone mirror frame that holds an antiquecut mirror wall summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 33
was only a matter of time, then, until a celebrity like Drake would invite Rafauli on board to bring his champagnepopping, über-intimate party hideout in the Air Canada Centre to life. A titillating space for exclusive VIPs to hobnob the night away, the Sher Club features sexyeccentric touches like crushed red velvet, pony-hair hides, piano-black gloss walls, hand-blown sculptural art and a rich black-and-gold scheme that rocks out to a modern-baroque vibe. With the weight of super structures and big-name projects on his shoulders, Rafauli is surprisingly centred and well put together, his highly disciplined, Type A personality stretching across all compartments of his daily life and life’s work. “My days begin early — I have 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. starts and I’m typically the first guy in and the last one out,” he says, taking intermittent sips from a small cup with a mystery liquid he 34 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
refers to as his “brain juice.” Turns out it’s espresso, and lots of it. “I believe that if you don’t set goal lines for the week at this calibre of work then things just don’t move efficiently. It’s premeditated and methodical and I work a lot of hours, but the days are different because there’s so many layers to what we do,” says Rafauli, his right wrist dripping in Cartier diamond bracelets. A week after our interview I catch up with Rafauli for his photo shoot with Dolce Magazine. His boardroom is now transformed into a makeshift walk-in closet brimming with runway denim, crisp dress shirts and blazers from his favourite top fashion brands like Balmain, Tom Ford and Dalla, whose designer personally sent him several pieces fresh off the catwalk. Slipping on a black-and-gold Yves Saint Laurent leather jacket over a simple white T-shirt, Rafauli explains that his appreciation for
dressing in haute couture or owning a lithe supercar are not for show, but rather a reflection of the high-luxury design and quality he puts back into the world. “I have an appreciation for nice stuff because I respect the work that goes into it. I’m in the game of understanding it; it’s in my DNA,” says the owner of several exotic wheels, which include the 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB. “So it’s not just a designer jacket or a fast car — it’s about the appreciation of what it took to make it.” As for balancing his long workdays to squeeze in some dolce vita, Rafauli doesn’t ask for much. “The sweet life for me is being able to be happy at work and happy with who I’m working with because that makes me feel good — it very much influences my mood and it influences my design. If you’re not happy, you can’t buy that.” ferrisrafauli.com / @ferrisrafauli Summer 2016
PHOTO COURTESY OF FERRIS RAFAULI ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BUILD GROUP FURNITURE AND LIGHTING DESIGNED AND BUILT BY FR UNDER HIS DESIGNER LINE OF FURNITURE
Happy hour never ends in this rich and sexy wine and bar lounge. Its modern, sleek design consists of suede, glass and slab marble walls with bronze structural screens that overlook an indoor, all-marble pool with glass walls. A walk-in wine cellar and serving area makes it the perfect place to host special private parties
SOUTHEAST ASIA’S MOST IMPORTANT SHOW SUPPORTED BY THE JEWELLERY INDUSTRY 4-7 NOVEMBER 2016 MARINA BAY SANDS
www.SingaporeJewelleryGemFair.com SJGF-SG@ubm.com
summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 35
Vivienne Poy, chairwoman of Lee Tak Wai Holdings, founder of Vivienne Poy Mode and retired Canadian senator
SUCCESS STORY
EVERYBODY HAS WATER The unshakable Vivienne Poy reflects on a life of fashion, politics and a firm commitment to community service
36 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
The Lees owned many buildings in the then-British colony. In the ’60s, Poy explains, Hong Kong periodically faced water shortages. Because many high-rises pumped water up from the ground to the top, if you lived on higher floors the lack of pressure during leaner times meant you were forced to line up downstairs for a turn at the tap. “But in our buildings, water is first brought
up to the roof, then it comes down,” says Poy. “Everybody has water. That’s the difference.” Today, there’s ample evidence illustrating the advantages of this inherited people-first attitude in the office of Lee Tak Wai Holdings, the company Poy chairs. Dozens of photos of Poy with community groups, politicians and dignitaries, including the Summer 2016
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIVIENNE POY
V
ivienne Poy’s father, the late, great businessman Richard Charles Lee, never wanted to be the wealthiest man in Hong Kong. “Actually, he was really upset with people who speculated on land and on buildings to make a quick profit,” Poy recalls. Yes, his companies had to be in the black, but people were his priority.
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL HILL
Dalai Lama, and numerous plaques, awards and framed commendations dominate the shelves and walls. She’ll add another honour to her collection this April: the G. Raymond Chang Award at the seventh annual benefit gala for the University of the West Indies. The award recognizes leadership and a commitment to bettering communities in Canada and abroad — something Poy is no stranger to. Over her 75 years, Poy has become a resolute trailblazer with seemingly unending success. She’s launched a fashion company, Vivienne Poy Mode, became chancellor of the University of Toronto, authored half a dozen historical and academic books and became the first person of Asian descent to be a member of the Senate of Canada. She’s also been a patron, chairwoman or board member of over 60 community endeavours, earning a deluge of praise, including a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. But despite all the lives she’s touched, Poy remains reserved about her social standing. “If it’s a well-recognized, wellestablished organization then I don’t mind, because I’ve done community service ever since I can remember,” she says of the near-annual ritual of award reception. But she makes it clear: “I don’t do things to be known.” Adding with a chuckle, “I actually expect to be forgotten.” Instead, Poy hopes others can learn from her example. “That to me is the best legacy: not to remember me, but that they have learned something that they will also pass on to future generations,” she says. “It’s the same when you bring up children and grandchildren, that they will have good human values.” It’s these values that Poy looks for in the causes she supports. She uses the example of the Mon Sheong Foundation, a charitable organization that promotes Chinese culture through caring for the elderly and providing other community services. They came to Poy in need of financial support in the early ’90s, when they operated out of a single building on D’Arcy Street in Toronto’s Chinatown. Poy introduced them to corporate sponsors and wealthy patrons in the Chinese community who could sustain their work. She even launched the Cathay Ball for added fundraising. “This November will be the 25th anniversary,” she says of the ball. Today, the foundation has grown to include locations in Richmond Hill and summer 2016
Scarborough. “Perhaps I made that little difference of just showing them the way. Otherwise, who knows? They may still be in Chinatown. One building.” Such is the power of the Vivienne Poy name. And it’s not just her reputation that holds sway. Her salt-and-pepper hair rolls like a cresting wave, creating a fitting metaphor: despite her small stature and grandmotherly demeanour, Poy’s unbreakable will makes her a force of nature. When I suggest this, she laughs and says, “Oh, absolutely.” But where does this iron spirit come from? “Stubbornness,” she laughs again. She
“PEOPLE CAN CHANGE WITH THE WIND. I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR PEOPLE LIKE THAT, BECAUSE WHAT’S RIGHT HAS TO BE RIGHT” explains her father was very much the same way. “He’s the type who would go down with the ship,” she says. “If he was the captain, he would go down. He would absolutely not budge. He’s that type, and I’m the same.” What’s important to Poy is never giving up on your values. “You have to have your principles in life,” she explains. She doesn’t appreciate those who waver. “I come across a lot of them,” she adds. “People can change with the wind. I have no respect for people like that, because what’s right has to be right. It’s either right or it isn’t right.” After Poy was selected as a senator in 1998, one of her big achievements was having May recognized as Asian Heritage Month. But arguably her most notable effort was tabling a bill to change a lyric in the Canadian national anthem from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command” to make it more inclusive for women. Twice she had the
votes, but twice parliament prorogued. For critics, Poy argues that the lyric she’s proposing was the original. “The original wording was ‘us’ and it was changed just around the First World War to get the young men to go to war,” she explains. Other politicians have now taken up the charge and Poy is convinced it will eventually be changed. “It will have to happen, because the next generation, my grandchildren’s generation, they won’t accept it.” Vivienne Poy Mode was born out of the merger between Poy’s love of art and her practicality. She painted all her life and wanted a career that was artistic but also a viable business. She already had a BA in history from McGill, which she earned after first moving to Canada in 1959, so she decided to take fashion arts at Seneca College. A life-long learner with a Ph.D., Poy was determined to absorb everything there was to know about fashion — designing, pattern -making, sewing. Friends pestered her: why go to school? Just start a company and hire people to do the work. “That’s not the way I do things,” she says. “I love learning how to do things well. That gives me good grounding.” By knowing the ins and outs of every level of the business she would understand the process so she could better manage the company. This leadership style was a cornerstone that allowed the business to thrive for a decade and a half. Poy’s idea of the good life is simple: being happy with the friends and family around you. But it also means being at peace with yourself. When you don’t have that peace, it shows. You look at a person, she explains, and you can see it in their eyes. “They may be smiling at you, but you know. You know that deep down inside that is not a good person,” she says. “I can always tell. To me, if there is a kindness in my eyes then that’s good, and I’m at peace. You don’t need a lot of material things around you. You don’t need it. Nobody needs it.” She believes too many people forget that we enter this world empty-handed and we exit the same. “Whatever we have, monetary-wise, if we don’t use it properly then it’s useless,” she adds. “I always think that if money is just accumulated and you don’t use it for the good of others it’s not necessary. It’s not good for anybody.” It should flow down to others, like water in a properly built tower. And with Poy, no one goes thirsty. www.viviennepoy.ca www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 37
SINCE 1996
Publications Mail Agreement # 40026675
THE POWER OF VIVIENNE POY: LEADERSHIP & INTEGRITY
DR. ROCHELLE SCHWARTZ: PIONEERING A GAME-CHANGING CANCER TECHNOLOGY ART, JEWELRY & DESIGN — PURSUING THE SWEET LIFE, DOLCE STYLE
MIKE TYSON PULLS NO PUNCHES ON SECOND CHANCES IN A BARE-ALL CANADIAN EXCLUSIVE
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016 US / CDN $10.00 DISPLAY IN FASHION / LIFESTYLE UNTIL AUGUST 26
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 1
A Grand New
PALM BEACH
POINT of VIEW
THE BRISTOL IS THE MOST AMENITIZED ULTRA-LUXURY TOWER IN FLORIDA, FEATURING: 3,700 TO 14,000 SQ. FT. RESIDENCES | THREE TO FIVE BEDROOMS | 75-FOOT LAP POOL | FITNESS CENTER YOGA STUDIO | PERSONAL TRAINING ROOM | HIS AND HERS SPAS | STEAM ROOM | SAUNA
561-222-4444 | BY APPOINTMENT ONLY | THEBRISTOLPALMBEACH.COM | SALES@THEBRISTOLPALMBEACH.COM PALM BEACH ISLAND SALES GALLERY: 440 ROYAL PALM WAY, SUITE 100, PALM BEACH, FL 33480 DEVELOPED BY FLAGLER INVESTORS LLC
ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE AN OFFER TO SELL, OR SOLICITATION TO BUY, CONDOMINIUM UNITS TO RESIDENTS OF ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION CANNOT BE MADE OR ARE OTHERWISE PROHIBITED BY LAW, AND YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR PURCHASE WILL DEPEND UPON YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCY. THIS OFFERING IS MADE ONLY BY THE PROSPECTUS FOR THE CONDOMINIUM AND NO STATEMENT SHOULD BE RELIED UPON IF NOT MADE IN THE PROSPECTUS. THE PRICING AND AVAILABILITY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. FOR NEW YORK RESIDENTS THE COMPLETE OFFERING TERMS ARE IN AN OFFERING PLAN AVAILABLE FROM THE SPONSOR, FILE NO. CD15-0055 (*Note that Sponsor and Seller are the same.)
2 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 3
4 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
Exclusively selected furniture and designs that are built to last, and leave a lasting impression.
Fashion-forward products from across the globe, hand-picked by our lighting design specialists.
SHOP NOW AT PRIMALIGHTING.CA 255 Bass Pro Mills Drive l Vaughan, Ontaro l 905 851 1188
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 5
SUMMER 2016 • VOLUME 20 • ISSUE 2 Publisher/Editor-in-Chief MICHELLE ZERILLO-SOSA michelle@dolce.ca Director of Editorial SIMONA PANETTA simona@dolce.ca Director of Operations ANGELA PALMIERI-ZERILLO angela@dolce.ca
ART DEPARTMENT Co-Founder/Creative Director FERNANDO ZERILLO fernando@dolce.ca Web Project Manager STEVE BRUNO Senior Graphic Designer CHRISTINA BAN Web Designer YENA YOO Web Developer JOHNSON TA
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Copy Editor SIMONA PANETTA Fashion & Home Décor Editor MICHELLE ZERILLO-SOSA Beauty & Travel Editor ANGELA PALMIERI-ZERILLO Proofreaders NINA HOESCHELE, SIMONA PANETTA Writers MICHAEL HILL, AMANDA STOREY Contributing Writers JUSTIN MASTINE-FROST, CEZAR GREIF, GRAHAM WOOD Contributing Photographers GREG COX, MARCO GROB, FARZAM HOSSEINDOUST, JEAN MAO, JESSE MILNS, GEORGE PIMENTEL
VIDEO DEPARTMENT Videographer CARLOS ARTURO PINTO
ADVERTISING Director of Marketing ANGELA PALMIERI-ZERILLO angela@dolce.ca Director of New Business Development SUSAN BHATIA susan@dolce.ca Senior Account Manager MARIO BALACEANU Account Manager MIRIAM KANBAR Social Media Manager SARAH KANBAR
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES T: 905-264-6789 Toll-Free: 1-888-68-DOLCE info@dolce.ca • www.dolcemag.com Office Administrator ALESSANDRA MICIELI Front Covers MIKE TYSON Photo By Marco Grob / FERRIS RAFAULI Photo By Farzam Hosseindoust
Dolce Magazine is published quarterly by Dolce Media Group, 111 Zenway Blvd., Suite 30, Vaughan, Ont., L4H 3H9 T: 905-264-6789, Toll-Free: 1-888-68-DOLCE, F: 905-264-3787, info@dolce.ca, www.dolcemedia.ca Publication Mail Agreement No. 40026675. All rights reserved. Any reproduction is strictly prohibited without written consent from the publisher. Dolce Magazine reaches over 900,000 affluent readers annually through household distribution across Canada. Dolce Magazine is also available to over 100 million digital consumers of Magzter Inc. and Issuu. Inquiries about where else Dolce Magazine is available for sale may be directed to Dolce Media Group: info@dolcemedia.ca or 905-264-6789. The yearly subscription fee is CDN $34 and US $48. Send cheque or money order to Dolce Media Group, 111 Zenway Blvd., Suite 30, Vaughan, Ont., L4H 3H9, Canada The opinions expressed in Dolce Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or advertisers. Dolce Media Group does not assume liability for content. The material in this magazine is intended for information purposes only and is in no way intended to supersede professional advice. We are proud to be a Canadian company that has successfully published magazines for the past 20 years without any government funding or financial assistance of programs to cover editorial costs. It has all been possible thanks to the wonderful support of our readers and advertisers. ISSN 1206-17780 Next Issue: Fall 2016 ©2016 Dolce Media Group. Printed in Canada. Follow us at:
6 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
twitter.com/dolcemag
facebook.com/dolceluxurymagazine
@dolcemag
SUMMER 2016
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 7
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Michelle Zerillo-Sosa Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
“The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of small separate self, feeling guilty or proud of that self, and he offered revolutionary teachings that resounded like a lion’s roar, like a great rising tide, helping people to wake up and break free from the prison of ignorance”
D
o you believe people deserve a second chance? Most people might agree that everyone deserves a second chance. But how many have a deep conviction of this? Too often we are good lawyers of our own mistakes but very good judges of the mistakes of others. And it is with this thought that I invite you to discover how boxing icon Mike Tyson turned his life around after an all-too-well-documented, trouble-filled life. Here is a man who has paid his debt to society and has tamed the tiger within. The world gave him a second chance and we bring you the story to see what he is doing with it! He makes a compelling argument that what President Barack Obama has done for his children and all blacks and Latinos (even if you don’t agree with him) is just incredible. Obama has created a reality just by becoming president and a new dream capacity for Tyson’s children that he could never do
— Thích Nhất Hạnh himself. This is Mike Tyson today. He has made a conscious decision to change his lifestyle of a hustler, a player and a cool guy so he could adopt the lifestyle of a working man, a good father to his children and someone who has finally grasped the meaning of gratitude. While being interviewed at his home in Las Vegas, he reveals how it took him 50 years to understand the meaning of the word “gratitude.” “I tried to kill myself for 50 years … then I finally found out the meaning of gratitude.” See story on page 16. Speaking of gratitude, there is plenty of that being felt by the proud homeowners of a home designed and built by the very fashion-forward Ferris Rafauli. His vision of building great architectural masterpieces that stand the test of time has touched so many in the city’s most affluent neighbourhoods. His personal love for fast cars is no secret — it’s a direct correlation of his love and appreciation of fine details. Fine things boast fine details,
much like all of his projects. Many have come to know him for his approach of “build big or go home” … how else can one sum up the magnitude of his projects? This is how he rolls. And it’s no surprise that his personality matches his projects. Flip the book to page 24 for his story. We hope you enjoy this summer edition of Dolce Magazine, filled with what makes life ever so sweet. May your summer be filled with special memories as you embark on your quest of living your dolce vita … just remember to approach it with a mindset of gratitude and love. Namaste,
Michelle Zerillo-Sosa Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
michelle@dolce.ca @dolcetweets |
@amorebagstoronto
Dolce Magazine The Honey of Life Sin
8 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
ce 1996
SUMMER 2016
SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER 2016 Q U E E N S L A N D, A U S T R A L I A CATWALK SHOWS // TRADE LOUNGE INDUSTRY Q&A //AWARDS & MORE
@SCFF_AUST
W W W. S U N S H I N E C O A S T FA S H I O N F E S T I VA L. C O M SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 9
CONTENTS SUMMER 2016 / VOLUME 20 / ISSUE 2
46
OBJECTS OF DESIRE Art, gems and Aussie synth-rock bands — it’s an inspiration overload
16
34
ADDRESSING THE SUPERCAR IN THE ROOM A British car
24
IRON MIKE
collector unveils a galleryrestaurant hybrid in Miami
The “baddest man on the planet” reveals a softer side in this Canadian exclusive
GOLDEN BOY Luxury designer to the stars Ferris Rafauli brings ultra-luxe living to a whole new level
25
HEAD SPIN!
BELLE OF THE BEACH
Flip the book for home design and real estate
Swap the red carpet for white-hot sands this summer
38
32
CHAMPAGNE TASTES
REFINED SPORTING Take the high road with the 2016 BMW 650i Gran Coupe
A toast to the opening of Pusateri’s Saks Food Hall in Toronto
ON THE COVER Photographed by Marco Grob, former professional boxer Mike Tyson 40 MERLOT AND LAB COATS Philanthropist Todd Halpern on making a difference in Canadian health care 44 HOPE IN THE SMALLEST PLACES A game-changing family raises $1 million to launch the Panov Program at Mount Sinai Hospital More stories inside ... 10 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
VOTED VAUGHAN’S WORST VEGETARIAN * RESTAURANT *No vegetarians/herbivores were harmed in the making of this ad
www.XXIchophouse.com SUMMER 2016
info@XXIchophouse.com
905 893 CHOP (2467) www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 11
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE AND GALA
Katie Couric
Madame Sophie GrégoireTrudeau
Antoinette Mak
Toronto’s Shangri-La Hotel was abuzz with prominent leaders like journalist Katie Couric and the Hon. Madame Jean Augustine, who joined honorary chair and gala keynote speaker Madame Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau at the International Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Conference and Gala on March 4-5, 2016. Net proceeds went to Plan International Canada’s Because I Am a Girl global initiative to end gender inequality. www.becauseiamagirl.ca
TOMMY HILFIGER CELEBRATES OPENING OF EXHIBITIONISM The Rolling Stones debuted its first international exhibition, Exhibitionism, at the Saatchi Gallery in London, England. Tommy Hilfiger, who designed a limited-edition denim collection to celebrate the opening night gala, joined members of the iconic rock band as they debuted over 500 rare and original artifacts. www.tommy.com
Dee Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Marci Ien
Rebecca Jameson
The 7th annual Toronto Benefit Gala for the UWI took place at the Ritz-Carlton on April 2, celebrating dedicated individuals and raising funds. This year, the Hon. Dr. Vivienne Poy received the coveted G. Raymond Chang Award. www.uwitorontogala.com
Mick Jagger g Charlie Watts
Peter Sloly
Keith Richards Christine Hall
Ronnie Wood Neville Poy
12 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Sarena Johnson
TORONTO BENEFIT GALA FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES (UWI) PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOMMY HILFIGER
Michael Hyatt Vanessa Luna
Kevin Pennant
PHOTOS BY GEORGE PIMENTEL
Guest
Vivienne Poy
Wesley Hall
Leyla Sloly
SUMMER 2016
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
DOLCE WAS THERE
480 EGLINTON AVENUE WEST TORONTO 416 256 5229 9033 LESLIE STREET RICHMOND HILL 905 881 5229 MARKLASH.COM 1 866 881 5229
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 13
DOLCE WAS THERE
Jonathan Bernier
Francesco Policaro
Porsche Centre Oakville recently hosted a soiree in celebration of the newly launched Porsche 911, welcoming an array of Porsche-loving guests, including Porsche Centre Oakville’s brand ambassadors Jonathan Bernier, goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC forward. www.porschecentreoakville.com
President of Cineplex Media Salah Bachir hosted his second Salah Bachir Show at the RitzCarlton with the goal of raising another $500,000 for the Bachir Yerex Family Dialysis Centre at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. More than 350 guests experienced performances by Tony Award nominee Louise Pitre, R&B singer Billy Newton-Davis and more. www.stjoestoronto.ca
Hilary Weston
Amanda L. Sherrington
Earle O’Born
Robert Mantella
Sylvia Mantella
Sandra Faire
Joe Mimran
Janice O’Born Arlene Dickinson
14 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Sergio Sosa
Michelle Zerillo-Sosa
Ivan Fecan Elizabeth Dowdeswell David Onley
Valerie Pringle
Jeffrey Patrick
Kimberley Newport-Mimran
Sharyn Jacob
Ellis Jacob PHOTOS BY GEORGE PIMENTEL
THE SECOND ANNUAL SALAH BACHIR SHOW
Salah Bachir
Jacob Yerex
PRINCE’S CHARITIES CANADA’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY
At the fifth anniversary of the Prince’s Charities Canada, the Hon. Hilary Weston, chair of the board, hosted a celebration at Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street. Many supporters were in attendance, including the Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, fashion designers Joe Mimran and Kimberley Newport-Mimran, and Melissa Grelo of CTV’s The Social. www.princescharities.ca SUMMER 2016
PHOTOS BY TOM SANDLER
Sebastian Giovinco
Basil Policaro
LAUNCH OF THE NEW PORSCHE 911 AT PORSCHE CENTRE OAKVILLE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PORSCHE CENTRE OAKVILLE
Catch our coverage of the launch of the new Porsche 911 at www.citylifeTV.ca
Original jewellery designs and fine craftsmanship by Christopher Valente
131 whitmore road, unit 8, vaughan, ont.
| t: 905.851.1266
www.valentejewellers.com SUMMER 2016
@valentejeweller
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 15
Agnissed min ut dolorem zzril eu faccumsan vel dit ad do et wis aliquat, commy nim dignim aciliqui tio ex
PHOTOS BY MARCO GROB / STYLING BY ISE WHITE / GROOMING BY NATASHA CHAMBERLIN
And we thought he couldn’t shock us any further. Get to know the boxing legend outside of the ring
16 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
IRON MIKE
T
yson in Vegas. The city of sin had been the stage for so many of his iconic fights, so it wasn’t surprising that Mike Tyson asked to do this cover story here, where he lives with his wife and kids. It made sense: Iron Mike in his city of show business, gambling and fights. A match made in heaven. Or it used to be. Tyson’s life has been a welldocumented roller-coaster ride. A difficult childhood, then his meeting with trainer Cus D’Amato that changed everything. He was a world boxing champion by age 20. After three years in prison for rape allegations that he has always contested, he still had about $400 million in the bank. Within a few years, he’d spent it all and declared bankruptcy, mainly due to his addictions. He had hit rock bottom. But seemingly out of nowhere, he started an acting career, and over time, the “baddest man on the planet” stopped fighting his good side. The reinvention of Mike Tyson had begun. Everyone deserves a second chance, but perhaps that’s never been more true than in the case of this icon, who stepped out of the ring and into a new
SUMMER 2016
THE WORLD GAVE HIM A SECOND CHANCE. NOW, DOLCE SITS DOWN WITH THE BOXING ICON TO SEE WHAT HE’S DOING WITH IT
day movie career. With his youngest daughter sitting on his lap, we settle in on his living room couch to get to know the new Mike Tyson.
BOXING
INTERVIEW BY CEZAR GREIF
Q: Looking back, is there any part of your career as a professional fighter that you would change? A: No. Everything happened for a reason. You and me probably wouldn’t be here if I had gone a different direction.
version of himself: Mike Tyson, actor, stand-up comic, cartoon character and, most importantly, caring father. In fact, he has branched out to doing so many different projects that fans are asking, “who is Mike Tyson in 2016?” Upon arriving at Tyson’s home, which is perched on the hills that overlook Las Vegas, I’m greeted by his friendly wife Kiki. After waiting a few hours for Tyson to join us, when he finally did, he was as focused and professional as the moment he’d step inside the ring, matching the intensity of his boxing days with the charisma of his present-
Q: You have said before that you were not comfortable with people’s image of you. Which part would you want to change? What did people not understand about you? A: That I’m a human being. In my profession, I became the best. Some people even think the best ever. I don’t really think I’m “the best ever,” but the reason why people think I’m the best ever is that I was willing to go places that no one else was willing to go, physically, emotionally, professionally. I just wanted to be the best that I possibly could be in my particular time. Not necessarily at that moment, but for posterity, for my great-great-grandkids. That’s what www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 17
Better don your boxing gloves: Mike Tyson spares no punches when discussing childhood dreams, his acting career and his icons
18 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
people have been saying — probably for my own self-preservation, my selfaggrandizement, my ego as well. In the end, it’s all about energy.
Q: Do you have a favourite boxing movie? A: Rocky III: Eye of the Tiger, the one with Mr. T.
Q: Were you already thinking about history at that time? A: I don’t know. I guess, as a young kid, with low self-esteem and insecurities, I didn’t want my pre-eminence to be ignored.
ACTING
Q: What do you think is missing from the world of boxing today? Do you think MMA/UFC is the new “exciting thing” like boxing was when you started? A: Boxing is such an enigma, as a sport. This is what it really is: two hundred years from now, there will probably only be five fighters that people will remember. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about having money, about becoming rich. They won’t stop mentioning your name until the planet’s disintegrated: that’s what this is really about. People are stating their names in the art of pugilist, fisticuff, combat, fighting. I like the word “fighting.” That’s not a politically correct word in this field anymore. Fighting is not cool now. It can conjure up negative stuff, but not if you use it in a spiritual perspective. Fighting is spiritual, but you just can’t see the spiritual in it because it’s mostly dominated by the physical aspect. We want to be Achilles in our own mind. The king of all the fighters. Q: But he had one weakness that did him in … A: We all have weaknesses. He probably had other weaknesses but we were only told of one. That’s on my bucket list: before I die I want to go to Achilles’ grave in Greece. Q: If you were a kid today, do you think you would still do boxing, or would you be attracted to Mixed Martial Arts? A: I don’t know. The only reason I became a boxer is because I met somebody when I was pretty young, pretty raw, who was an ex-boxer and knew about training. If he had been a wrestling coach, I would’ve been a wrestler. I just think at that particular time of my life, I was ordained to be a fighter champion. The sport was boxing, but I look at it as fighting. I always wanted to be the best fighter in the world. I know it sounds crazy! SUMMER 2016
Q: How did you decide to become an actor? A: One of my friends was doing a movie and said, “Mike, come see us do the movie.” I was on set and my friend, who is the director, asked me to hit another friend who is one of the actors, for real. He said, “Mike, you gotta hit Bob.” I said, “are you crazy?” I looked at these guys and said, “I ain’t doing it.” The actors said, “Come on, Mike, you gotta do this for the movie!” I said OK, and I hit him! I thought, “these guys are crazy!” That’s how it all started. Then I was in another movie. It started to feel natural to me. So my manager said, “Mike, we’re gonna do this for real now. We’re gonna take it seriously. We’re gonna make some money. But first, you gotta make sure people pay you for this!” Because I was just doing it for my friends, I never got paid at the beginning. I used to go out with them, hang out all night. Just like what you do with friends. Q: Most people became aware of you as an actor with the movie The Hangover. A: That was pretty good for my career and me. Everything took off after that, I did other things, I did my one-man show. It opened up the door and let me branch out to do other things — things I never dreamed of doing before.
“I’ve become a fan of gratitude. I’d never really understood gratitude before; I didn’t think that word sounded well. But now I understand it, I’m committed to it. It can help you with your mistakes too. No need to beat yourself up over your mistakes. Be gentle with yourself”
Q: How do you look at the movie, a few years later? A: With gratitude, a lot of gratitude. That’s what I hear all the time, “where’s your tiger?” People want to pay me to sing the song [“In the Air Tonight”] and do crazy things. Q: Since seeing The Hangover, I was wondering if you were a fan of the Phil Collins song “In the Air
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 19
Tonight” in real life? A: Oh yes, absolutely. In the eighties, when I was a young kid, I was singing “I can feel it coming in the air tonight” when I wanted to become champion of the world. Good times. Q: I saw your great one-man show Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth recently. I was wondering how the idea to do such a show came about? A: I’d seen Chazz Palminteri’s show A Bronx Tale on stage. Q: Robert De Niro told me he first saw it on stage and then they made the movie version of it. A: The stage version is better than the movie. I saw the movie once, but I saw the play five or six times! I kept travelling to see the show. This is the real thing that got me to do this show. It’s not ego. The audience was so captivated, and it was like nine hundred people. They didn’t make any noise. There was silence, I was like “wow!” You could’ve heard a mouse piss on the carpet. At that moment, I turned to my wife, who was there with me, and told her, “Baby, I want to make people feel like he’s making me feel right now.” If I could make people have that feeling, I knew I’d have something. Q: I think that’s what people felt when they saw your show too. A: That’s why I’m so happy! It meant they felt about me the way I felt about him, Chazz Palminteri. That’s really performing at your best. Q: It’s not really stand-up comedy, but there are funny moments, it’s like … A: A roller-coaster of emotions. That’s what somebody told me. I like that. Q: Did you have favourite stand-up comics growing up that inspired you? A: So many. Richard Pryor is great. George Carlin is great. Robin Williams. They can cross all boundaries of race. Joan Rivers was great. Eddie Murphy is great. But no one’s like Richard Pryor. Times are different. But I’ll tell you why nobody’s better than Richard Pryor. It’s his humility, his intestinal fortitude. He would sometimes bomb out, but then come back the next day and make people die from laughing! [Laughs] Oohh … I like that! He could get destroyed the day before, but come back for more the next day. 20 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Q: Do you have plans to get back on stage? A: We’re going to do different shows. Addicted to Chaos, Manic Moments — those are the names of my future stage projects. Q: Now you even have a new cartoon TV series called Mike Tyson Mysteries. That’s very different from the rest of what you do. A: I didn’t want to do it at first. Two executives came to my place and presented the project. I said, “I don’t want to do that crap.” They called me again and said, “Try it.” It turned out to be a No. 1 hit! It took me by storm. When I saw the finished product I said, “Wow, this is pretty awesome.” Q: It almost has a seventies vibe to it, like Scooby-Doo. A: It’s like The A-Team meets ScoobyDoo. But we got pigeons instead of a dog. Q: And now you’re doing martial arts movies. Can you tell us about your new movie Ip Man 3? A: It’s really awesome. And I’ve got another one, a fight movie coming up called Chinese Salesman. And the one with Donnie Yen … I’m just very grateful to be part of that. I’ve become a fan of gratitude. I’d never really understood gratitude before; I didn’t think that word sounded well. But now I understand it, I’m committed to it. It can help you with your mistakes too. No need to beat yourself up over your mistakes. Be gentle with yourself.
[having sex with] a beautiful woman, buying a great suit, buying a house, having a nice car, eating great food. But now, to me being nice to yourself is just staying in the house with my kids, being in the pool, or just having some private time with myself in the guest room and smoking a cigarette, eating some blueberries! [Laughs] Doing some karaoke with the kids. That’s being kind to yourself. Q: But sometimes in life there’s also luck involved. You’re five minutes late and wouldn’t meet the person that would change your life. A: It’s not called luck; it’s timing. Luck comes when you’re working so hard, so hard and you’re not getting anywhere. You’re almost planning to give up. But, boom! It happens and you’re good to go. Q: How was the shooting of Ip Man 3? A: It was so smooth. Besides breaking my finger, it was very smooth. Three weeks of fighting. Half a per cent of drama, but other than that, it was just smooth. We shot in Shanghai.
Q: Compassion starts with yourself, that’s part of Tibetan Buddhism. A: It took me almost fifty years to understand the meaning of the word “gratitude.” Fifty years to find out to be nice to yourself. I tried to kill myself for fifty years! Then I finally found out about gratitude.
Q: Was it your first time in China? A: It was my sixth time in China. There’s too many people there to be a democratic country. But with the right strategic plan, they could be like a platinum mine. There’s so much good that comes from there. They have some amazing antiquities that they’re still doing research on. There’s so many secrets there. There’s a province, in the desert part, very dry, with Caucasian giants [Tarim mummies]. Like eleven or twelve feet, I think. Blond hair, blue eyes. They probably married some Asian or Chinese people, three thousand years ago. When I saw them, my friend said, “They look like Chuck Norris!” They said they might have come from when the Greeks were fighting in India.
Q: Then it’s great because it means the future is looking so bright. A: Yes. But that’s why I’m mad. Because I could’ve had this bright future so much earlier. It’s just one word that you have to understand. You have to be in touch with that word. I think the experiences you go through allow you to be in touch with that word. But I could’ve avoided a lot of stuff just with that word, with “being nice to yourself.” Argh! I thought “being nice to yourself ” was
Q: Ah, from Alexander the Great’s army? A: Yes. The women were like eight feet tall. You can still see the faces and the hair of the mummies really well, they don’t even look old — but they’re three thousand years old! The masses of people in China don’t know about it. The basic focus of most people is on everyday life, on food. Or focusing on what’s going on with the government. They have about nine thousand SUMMER 2016
African refugees there, many of them undocumented. I’ve seen some Russians there. All types of great, beautiful people there. It’s a good place. The new movie I did there is with Africans and Russians.
In the midst of a storied career that twines boxing with acting, Mike Tyson has become a brand that the world can’t get enough of
Q: I saw some news about it; it’s called The Chinese Salesman, right? A: Yes. Q: What is the story of this movie? [Silence] A: I’m not really allowed to talk about it yet. I’m a bad guy … [he laughs] I’m a real bad guy! Q: Were you familiar with Donnie Yen [甄子丹] before filming Ip Man 3? A: Absolutely. I’m a martial arts fanatic! The Shaw Brothers [㔗㗉㩄♀], and all the other movies of that time, I’ve seen them all! Q: What’s your favourite? A: Oh … let me see. I think Gordon Liu’s Heroes of the East [㔗㗉㩄♀]. In that movie, Shaolin faces ninjas. Gordon Liu was also in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Monk. He has health problems now. He was in Kill Bill too. Five Deadly Venoms [㣗⛠] — that was pretty awesome too. There’s just so many awesome movies. And not only the movie. What makes some movies is not just the movie, but certain scenes. And once you’ve seen the whole movie, you forget about it and still think only about that one scene! So you have to see the movie again and again to get it. Do you kind of understand? Q: Yes. Like when you saw Bruce Lee facing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game of Death. A: Ah, Bruce Lee. Let me explain what he means to the black community: the three scratches, wooooo! He’s just super bad! Smooth and bad! It was a different time. Q: He was born here but went back to Asia, he was the first one to make East and West meet. A: Listen. Now we have computers and everything. But back then, we didn’t know any other Chinese [people]! We only knew Bruce Lee. Before Bruce Lee, there was only that detective guy, Charlie Chan — and he wasn’t even played by a Chinese actor. Before Bruce Lee, there was no politician, no Asian entertainer in America, there was nothing. Bruce SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 21
From the great Ali to pigeons, from the legendary to the quirky, Tyson talks his most significant inspirations
22 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
Lee was the guy that made us go out in the street, start fights, kick people in the head, sometimes for no reason! Bruce Lee made us do that. After watching his movie, we thought, “I gotta do this stuff to somebody!” Q: He even invented a new martial art. A: He was a different kind of fighter. He didn’t believe in fighting in any tournaments. I remember a Bruce Lee conversation, he was talking with somebody and they were talking about grappling. Bruce Lee was saying, “When I think of grappling, I think of being on the ground. When I think of being on the ground, I think of being stomped! When I’m fighting four or five guys, I can’t afford to be on the ground!” Bruce Lee took it to another level. He wasn’t thinking about one guy, he was thinking about taking on five guys! This guy’s hard core!
LIVING Q: I remember reading that you grew up in a poor neighbourhood and then tried to fit in the “white world.” Can you explain the contrast between the two? A: What surprised me the most is what was going on in my head. My head made it bigger and worse than what it really was. People being good people. Once I knew Cus [his white trainer and mentor] had my total back, one hundred per cent ... for instance, this one time, there were some professional South African fighters coming from abroad living in the house with Cus and me. They came to train because of the gym. It was during the time of Apartheid. And I remember Cus talking to them and saying, “Listen, let me explain something. There’s a young black boy in the house, he’s our family. I expect you to respect him as you respect us.” When he said that, boom! That just knocked me away. I knew this was my house then. I have to conduct myself like it’s my family. I have to respect this house, I have to protect this house, make sure nothing happens to this family. Q: You’ve had a reality show on Animal Planet called Taking on Tyson. Could you talk a little bit about this? A: That was a few years ago and that was like the biggest show in Europe. Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your love for birds? A: It’s just what I do. I can’t even explain it. It’s just the first thing I ever did — raise pigeons. The first time I got into a fight, it’s because someone killed one of my pigeons. Q: You still have pigeons? A: Oh yes. I just moved into my new house, but as soon as I build a coop for them, I’m moving them here with me. When I die, I have to will them to somebody, somebody needs to come and get them. Q: Why did you decide to live in Las Vegas? A: When I first came here, it was for the Olympic trials and I lost. But I thought, “This is the greatest place!” Great hotels, free food, awesome-looking chicks, bunny girls — I was just having fun. It was like, 1983, 1984. This is just who I am now, living in Las Vegas. Q: Las Vegas is now much bigger than it was in 1983. SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 23
DOES YOUR BAG grab attention? make you stylish? help cure malaria?
A: Listen. In 1983, Cus, my coach, thought Las Vegas was an oasis. He’d seen it in the sixties, and was saying, “Look at how big this place is!” Now that I think about it, back then in 1983, Vegas was nothing! There were only maybe three or four hotels. It was nothing! It was low-class — you could take a girl and do her in the stairwell! Now it’s high-tech lifestyle. In 1984, it was still like a horse town. They had big-time fights, but it was still a horse town. Q: You’ll never leave Vegas, then … A: I don’t think so, God willing. But my kids, they’re their own people. For me, this is where I will stay.
BAGS
amorebags.ca In Support of
30% from the sale of each bag goes to MSF info@amorebags.ca @amorebagstoronto
“WE NEED TO TALK!” We have seen your marketing We can help with your brand identity
Marketing | Web Design | Video Production | Print Design Branding | Social Media | Custom Publishing
www.forestcontractors.com
www.loro.ca
www.dolcemedia.ca | 905.264.6789
Q: I heard you like Donald Trump. A: Donald Trump is a very interesting and engaging guy when you meet him. You look at his turnout [at his meetings] and at his polls, you can see why. You can learn a lot from him. I think in China, they know him better than I do, they did deals with him. The Chinese government knows him. He’s the best at what he’s doing right now. Today is his moment. They can’t take it from him right now. It doesn’t mean he’ll be president, but I hope he wins the nomination. The people want him. The country is for the people. He’s getting close to catching up with Obama as far as slack, as far as how much hate he’s getting. Q: It’s sad that some people never gave Barack Obama a fair chance … A: What Obama accomplished is incredible. It’s a milestone. My mother could never dream of seeing that. Regardless of what he does. The image of who he is, my mother couldn’t dream that. Her mother and father could’ve never dreamed that. My children, their dream capacity, their intestinal fortitude, can go places I can never go just by watching him becoming president. Even if I don’t agree with him, what he can do for my kids, I cannot do. It’s amazing what he has done for blacks, for Latinos, just by being there. He can take them to somewhere we could never go, that’s the future. He’s the catalyst for many other successful black pioneers — just because of him. My son is better because of him! My grandson will be better because of him! That’s one thing we never thought would be possible. It’s just so awesome. Q: Your past troubles have been well documented, but you’ve been able to turn your life around and have a second chance and renewed success as an actor. What advice would you give to people who have been down on how to get back up? A: You can change your mind anytime you want. You could be who you want anytime you want. You could say, “right now, I want to be in entertainment” — become that person! Work with that. Get the lifestyle. I used to have the lifestyle of a hustler, a player, a cool guy. Now I have the lifestyle of a working man. I go to work, I come back home grateful to have children. I’m not even supposed to live in a house like this. I’m very grateful to be living in this house. I’m so grateful. Q: Thank you, Mike. A: Thank you, brother. I need to go do some cartoons now … Mike Tyson Mysteries! @miketyson
24 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
TEXT BY AMANDA STOREY / PHOTOGRAPHER: DIEGO NOSSA STYLIST: ROMINA SERGI / HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTIST: MICHELLE LELIA / MODEL: ALEKSANDRA NIKOLIC
When on a getaway, go big or go home. Chunky jewels and a hint of incandescence ignite your warm-weather look / Bodysuit: Holt; necklace: Dannijo
BELLE OF THE BEACH White-hot sand is the new red carpet. Get swept away by this season’s otherworldly seaside styles, with their bold new silhouettes and radical accents
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 25
Chokers, bandeaus and flowing fabrics are all in. Combine them to create this summer’s signature look that speaks to a refined fearlessness / Earrings: Kendra Scott; top: BCBG; pants: Modest
26 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
SUMMER 2016
June Siesta at Carrera y Carrera Thursdays 5–7pm Your eyes are a work of art to be framed appropriately. Dress your ears with something shimmery and watch your features light up / Earrings: Kendra Scott; top: BCBG
Tapas and Refreshments, Special Prices, and More…
1 38 Cumberland St, Unit 6 (Old York Lane), Toronto
SUMMER 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 27
Channel your inner royalty with the classic blend of white and gold in a silhouette fit for a queen / Swimsuit: Holt; necklace: ChloĂŠ; bracelet: Aldo holtmiami.com
28 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
Break some rules — bring your gems to the beach. They’ll make scandalous conversation with this summer’s modern shapes, lines and tones / Swimsuit: Holt; earrings: Macy’s; bracelet: Charming Charlie holtmiami.com
Summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 29
MORGAN FREEMAN
In Pursuit of La Dolce Vita
What’s your dolce vita? It could be celebrating the talent of another; it could be bringing home a glimmering new timepiece to help you navigate these warmer months. Whatever your definition, this collection of different dolce vitas is sure to make yours even sweeter WRITTEN BY AMANDA STOREY
30 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
ARGENTINA’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
MORGAN FREEMAN HONOURED AT THE 43RD CHAPLIN AWARD GALA The on-screen finesse of Academy Awardwinning actor and former Dolce coverguy Morgan Freeman was honoured by the Film Society of Lincoln Center at the 43rd annual Chaplin Award Gala in New York on April 25. Upon receiving the prestigious award, Freeman joined the list of legendary past recipients including Elizabeth Taylor, James Stewart, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep and others. www.filmlinc.org
PHOTO COURTESY OF ADIDAS
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
QUEEN ELIZABETH
ADIDAS UNVEILS NEW KIT FOR ARGENTINA’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM Argentina’s beloved soccer team just got an outfit upgrade! Adidas outfitted the boys with a smashing new jersey to be worn during Copa América Centenario 2016. Designed by Adidas, the kit sports the colours of Argentina’s flag on the back of the neck, three white strips along the sides and other new features to complement the classic c white and blue stripes. www.adidas.ca
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUBLOT
QUEEN ELIZABETH RINGS IN HER 90TH WITH A PARADE HRH Queen Elizabeth enjoyed quite the birthday bash this April 21, spending her special day touring the streets of Windsor with the Duke of Edinburgh, smiling at the crowds that gathered to sing her “Happy Birthday” and, if lucky, get the chance to present her with flowers or other gifts. Her Majesty claimed to be “terribly happy” during the day’s events — after all, it was her 90th.
HUBLOT WATCH
COLOURIST TO THE STARS JOHNNY RAMIREZ HITS THE 6IX What do Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears, Jessica Alba and Sophia Bush all have in common? Their locks have been coloured to perfection by Johnny Ramirez, the messiah of hair. Ramirez was in town recently at Tony Pham’s Yorkville hair boutique LAC + CO and tended to the manes of some of Toronto’s elite, bestowing upon them his signature “lived-in” style that’s oh-soperfect for summer. www.lacandco.com JOHNNY RAMIREZ
Summer 2016
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHNNY RAMIREZ
#DOLCEMAG
HUBLOT OPENS GLOBAL FLAGSHIP STORE IN NEW YORK CITY Hublot <3s NY. The luxury Swiss watch brand launched its flagship boutique in the Big Apple on April 19 at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Crowds flocked to experience a dynamic dance routine followed by the ribboncutting ceremony. Afterwards, members of the media, VIPs and friends of the brand — including brand ambassadors Usain Bolt and soccer legend Pelé — were welcomed inside to take a look around. www.hublot.com
A DV E R TO R I A L
PHOTOS BY CARLOS ARTURO PINTO
LA BOUTIQUE NOIRE
Y
es, the shop is as cool as it sounds! La Boutique Noire, Yorkville’s newest luxury retailer, launched in September 2015 and since then the corridor of 90 Yorkville Ave. (previously home to La Trou Normande) has transformed into an elegant cul-de-sac. La Boutique Noire houses more than just sophisticated, stylish men’s and women’s clothes, shoes, accessories, niche perfume as well as a small line of art — it houses owner Aylar Mousavi’s vision of taking luxury shopping to an entire new level. Mousavi’s inspiration for La Boutique Noire came from her travels to N.Y., London, Paris and Dubai. The boutique’s chandeliers and pristine marble floors are just the beginning of the shop’s sexy yet timeless design. It’s amid this dynamic atmosphere that shoppers will discover top-tier luxury brands, most of which are exclusive to La Boutique Noire in Canada. 90 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, Ont. | 647-351-1122 | www.laboutiquenoire.ca
REDEFINING LUXURY SHOPPING
6 PM TO 1 AM
HORS D’OEUVRES
Summer 2016
ENTRÉE STATIONS
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 31
AUTOMOTIVE REVIEW
REFINED SPORTING — THE 2016 BMW 650I GRAN COUPE She’s not just a pretty face: sleek and sexy inside and out, the 2016 BMW 650i Gran Coupe has us floored
reaching highway speed in 4.5 seconds. They both offer plenty of legroom and cargo space in a long touring sedan body, and given the similar price of entry their interiors are clad of equalcalibre materials, differing only in minor esthetics. Sure, one has a slightly more windswept form, but basically tomato, tomato, right? Surprisingly that couldn’t be further from the truth. For starters, the 7-series has a longstanding position in the market as the more mature gentleman’s sedan. That’s not to say that there aren’t any young 30-somethings out there who are 7-series owners, but the car most often finds favour among those who started with the 3-series in their 20s or 30s, and worked their way through the model range. The 6-series, on the other hand,
Cool yet refined, the 650i Gran Coupe has captured the attention of not only BMW enthusiasts, but the market as a whole
WRITTEN BY JUSTIN MASTINE-FROST
W
hen the first few 6-series Gran Coupes started hitting the road in 2012, BMW enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes (myself included) were left slightly confused. After all, the 6-series had always been a coupe, and if you wanted a large BMW sedan for roughly $100k the 7-series was perfectly capable of satisfying all your needs. The thing is, BMW always has a knack for finding a buyer niche that none of us could have guessed existed, and in the case of the 650i Gran Coupe, they managed to find one that would wind up appealing to enthusiasts just as much as it does in the market as a whole. The 650i Gran Coupe versus 750i is a classic example of the fundamental difference between examining two cars on paper versus in the flesh. On paper, they both come with a 4.4-Litre V-8 engine capable of 445-horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. The 650i Gran Coupe is a negligible one-tenth of a second slower from 0-100 km/h, 32 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
GENERAL SPECS ENGINE: 4.4-L TWIN-TURBO V-8 HORSEPOWER: 445-HP TORQUE: 480 LB-FT 0-100 KM/H: 4.5 SECONDS TOP SPEED: 240 KM/H PRICE: $102,000 (CAD)
Summer 2016
has a much more youthful feel to it. Its sculpted bodywork screams cool-yet -refined. Its proportions are genuinely akin to those of its two-doored sibling in the same manner as Aston Martin’s Rapide and Audi’s hulking beast, the RS7. That said, the brand (and its competitors for that matter) can continue to shout four-door coupe until they are blue in the face, but they’re all still sedans by textbook definition. Though the 650i Gran Coupe is easily louder and more bold than the 7-series in the visuals department, it’s also just plain louder thanks to a wonderful sports exhaust system. Gran Coupe’s twin-turbocharged V-8 has a deep and satisfying rumble at idle that builds to a substantial roar as it works its way toward the redline. BMW loves to say
that the 6-series Gran Coupe turns any road into a red carpet, and as much as I hate marketing fluff, they’re kind of right in this case. This thing is your rolling Tom Ford tux with its exhaust note playing the part of your royal entrance fanfare. There’s no arguing that BMW has knocked it out of the park when it comes to design, but the greatest part about BMW lives much deeper than visual appeal. The latest version of their direct-injection twin-turbocharged V-8 remains an absolute treat to drive. Power comes on very early in the lowrange, and thanks to its all-wheel drive system and its quick-shifting 8-speed gearbox the mighty Gran Coupe can rocket off to dangerously quick speeds in a matter of very few seconds. Through
the twisty stuff, the 650i is very well composed. Thanks to the latest variant of BMW’s adaptive suspension system, the big tourer firms up to limit body roll through the corners, and remains supple when the road surface becomes less-than-perfect. Tipping the scales at just under 2,000 kg, the Gran Coupe is by no means a lightweight, yet every chance I’ve had to get behind the wheel I’ve been impressed with how agile it manages to feel when pushed. If you’re in the market for a serious full-sized performance sedan, BMW’s sleek and sexy Gran Coupe makes a compelling case. If it doesn’t draw you in with its stylish good looks, it may just as easily win you over if you take a moment to get behind the wheel. www.bmw.ca
BMW has always had a knack for transcending good looks and creating a vehicle that’s as beautiful to look at as it is to drive. The 650i Gran Coupe, with its roaring twin-turbocharged V-8 engine and sleek exterior is no exception
Summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 33
Car collector and museum owner Elo, the founder of Miami Supercar Rooms
ADDRESSING THE SUPERCAR IN THE ROOM
T
he customs officer looked suspiciously at the orange and blue tractor. “‘What is this thing? Why do you have Lamborghini on this tractor?’” recounts Elo, the British automotive collector who goes by the simple single name. The founder of England’s London Motor Museum was shipping a selection of his near250-vehicle collection to the U.S. for his latest business venture, but he’d hit a roadblock. “I’m like, ‘It’s a Lamborghini tractor.’ He’s like, ‘Lamborghini doesn’t make tractors.’ I’m like, ‘Sir, yes they do.’” Elo gave the Coles Notes of the Italian sports car manufacturer’s history, explaining how Lamborghini made farming machinery long before they made track-devouring exotics. “I had to educate the customs officers here 34 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
A British car collector launches a novel gallery/ dining concept that combines automotive art and creative cuisine in Miami WRITTEN BY MICHAEL HILL
in Miami because they were going to impound it, thinking I had a fake tractor that was representing the brand in the wrong way,” he adds with a chuckle. Today, Elo can laugh off this minor speed bump — education, after all, is a major part of his new automotive gallery-meets-dining concept, Miami Supercar Rooms. Based in the trendy Wynwood art district, the 15,000-squarefoot private members’ club combines a celebrated collection of iconic, vintage and custom cars with exclusive gourmet dining. For $3,000, guests purchase a “pod” for the evening, where they enjoy a five-course meal alongside a legendary mechanical stead, including such rarities as a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, a 1937 Delahaye
Bugnaughty, a 1961 Ferrari 196 SP race car, a one-of-a-kind derivative of the 1935 Bugatti “Atlantic” known as the “Pacific” and, of course, the orange-andblue 1953 Lamborghini tractor, the only one in America and one of only three remaining in the world. Each pod also comes with its own associate. The associate facilitates the evening and answers any questions about the car — where it was built, how it was built, why certain aspects of the car look the way they do and any other historical details that make the car unique. You can even sit in the car and start it up. It all culminates in what Elo describes as “pure automotive bliss,” a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a unicorn of the automotive world. Summer 2016
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIAMI SUPERCAR ROOMS
AUTOMOTIVE ART
Summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 35
Miami Supercar Rooms’ dining experience allows guests to purchase a pod, where they can enjoy a custom five-course meal prepared by a local chef next to classic vehicles, such as a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing and a 1958 Maserati 450 S vintage racing car (right). Each pod also comes with an associate who can answer any questions guests have about the car
“Where else do you ever get to sit in a 1955 Mercedes? Where would I ever get to sit in a 1935 Delahaye? Where else would I get to sit in a 1932 Rolls Royce? And these things make the experience ever so amazing,” Elo says. “Like I told a gentleman the other day, we’re not selling dinner for $3,000. What we’re selling is the experience — the experience of being knowledgeable about this particular classic car.” Every month, Miami Supercar Rooms partners with local restaurants, bringing in some of the best chefs the city has to offer. “We believe everybody is a master of their own craft,” Elo explains. They wanted to give those craftsmen the ability to be creative and customize a menu that matches the prominence of the cars on display. “You could go to [the chef ’s] restaurant tomorrow, you won’t buy that, because he’ll go back to his set menu. And that’s what we sell here. We sell that uniqueness of the experience,” says Elo. The seeds of Miami Supercar Rooms were planted on Valentine’s Day 2014. Elo and his wife decided to host a dining event at their museum, inviting a chef friend to whip up a special menu for 12 tables. After its announcement, they sold out in 30 minutes. “We go, 36 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
“I MAKE PEOPLE SEE WHAT’S SO BEAUTIFUL IN OLD CARS” — Elo, owner of Miami Supercar Rooms whoa, people like the idea of siting by a nice classic Bugatti, Ferrari or whatever and being able to dine,” Elo explains. This thought began seeping into his experience of dining in London. “Being in London, there’s no parking at the restaurant. You gotta park two miles away,” Elo says. “I used to sweat all the time: what’s happening to my car?” He would fake bathroom breaks just to run out and make sure everything was fine with his vehicle. “I said to my wife, ‘The day someone makes a restaurant you can drive your car in and have it parked right next to your table, I’m in.’” When
the family was vacationing in Miami, they found the perfect location to launch this concept. When asked where this love for cars comes from, Elo explains he’s been enamoured by beautiful machines for as long as he can remember. As a kid, his parents bought him a little pedal car that he’d ride from dawn ’til dusk. “I’d do everything in that car until I was tired and I’d go to bed,” he recalls. When he got to the age where he could drive, he purchased his first car, a Volkswagen Golf. He quickly upgraded to a Saab 900, a hand-me-down from his uncle, and the collection grew from there. By the age of 25 he owned 30 cars. When he was 30: 66 cars. But he quickly ran out of places to park his vehicles and had to store them in a nearby warehouse. When his friend’s parents would come over, he was always excited to show off his collection. A friend’s dad proclaimed, “‘Man, it’s like a museum.’” That idea became stuck in his head. After a career in modelling and an attempt at launching a fashion company, eventually Elo gave in to his passion and opened the London Motor Museum. Today it’s a British institution housing 247 different cars, from legendary muscle cars such as Summer 2016
Miami Supercar Rooms houses a number of rare classic vehicles, including this 1937 Delahaye Bugnaughty
a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 to iconic film and television cars such as the Batmobile from both the 1966 TV series and 1989’s Batman. “I am a complete and absolute lover of shapes and design. I look at the art of the car, not the performance of a car,” he says. He speaks of “road art” with the passion of a tried-and-true aficionado, recounting stories of the automotive past, extolling the chrome and fins and head-snapping shape of cars from the ’50s. “In the ’70s, with the invention of plastic, the world changed. It became accountants that decided how a car looked,” he says. “With the invention of plastic we lost craftsmen. The craft of the automotive world died.” Today, he still hosts seminars about the art behind the car. “I make people see what’s so beautiful in old cars,” he explains. With Miami Supercar Rooms, he’s hoping an American audience will see that same beauty. He’s giving out 300 free memberships to Miami Supercar Rooms under the condition that prospects pass a test demonstrating a Summer 2016
certain level of car knowledge. “For all those that want to be members, the first thing we do is we send them a little quiz and ask them little things and if they cannot tell me the difference between a Japanese car and an American car then there goes their membership, they lost it,” he says. During the day, members are free to use the space as a place of work, enjoy a drink from the open bar (“We are the only open-bar gallery there is in the U.S,” he says) or just relax. For those who want to show off their prized automotive steed, Miami Supercar Rooms will also arrange to put that prized car on display. Elo explains that they already had a guest bring in his $1.5-million Porsche 918, while another rolled in with a Lamborghini Veneno, one of only three in the world. “Like my friend said to me, ‘You’ve got the only thing in the world where you can bring your car onto the dance floor,’” he chuckles. And what more could a car lover want? www.miamisupercarrooms.com
For a Unique Shopping Experience ... BOUTIQUE SPECIALIZING IN LUXURY BRANDS AND DECORATING SERVICES
905.265.1400 info@frenchfeathers.com www.frenchfeathers.com
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 37
1
2 3
1. A peek at the in-house prosciutteria, Pingue Prosciutto Bar, which serves up local charcuterie 2. The Saks Food Hall by Pusateri’s was designed to look as tasty as the cuisine it serves 3. Oysters with chocolate, and tuna crudo 4. Frank Luchetta, president of Pusateri’s, Ida Pusateri, owner of Pusateri’s, and John Mastroianni, VP of merchandising at Pusateri’s 5. Select media, personalities and Toronto foodies savoured the incredible menu items at the VIP cocktail and dinner party in March
4
FOOD
CHAMPAGNE TASTES
T
ickling the culinary fancy of select media, personalities and Toronto foodies alike, the beloved Pusateri family toasted the opening location of its Saks Food Hall with a VIP cocktail and dinner party at CF Sherway Gardens in March of this year. The VIP evening kicked off with flutes of Veuve Clicquot and tasty apps, followed by a five-course meal produced by Pusateri’s corporate chef Tony Cammalleri. Guests such as style icon Jaclyn Genovese and Sportsnet anchor Jackie Redmond indulged in delectable dishes that included oysters garnished with chocolate, tuna crudo, chickpea panelle, Kung Pao sweetbreads, braised beef cheeks and cauliflower croquette. Fit for food royalty, the tasty spread was set upon a long table dressed in white
38 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
and accented by lush flowers arranged by Pusateri’s own luxury home and floral shop division. While the mood was lush, the top grocer family made sure to make everyone feel at home. President Frank Luchetta said a few words, expressing the excitement he shared with the Pusateri’s family over this incredible new endeavour, which they have watched bloom into a reality over the past few years. Days before, on March 7, the family came together to officially welcome guests to the food hall by cutting into a massive panini in lieu of a ribbon cutting. The Saks Food Hall by Pusateri’s delivers high-end ingredients and culinary experiences inside the worldrenowned luxury retailer’s Canadian locations at Sherway Gardens and soon on Queen Street in Toronto, hosting several unique culinary stations
that include a Nutella-themed café, a sushi bar, a champagne and raw bar, a prosciutto station, a Greenhouse Juice bar, a catering station, a grab-and-go station and more. As one of Toronto’s most distinguished curators and creators of fine foods, Pusateri’s has been evolving since its foundation in the 1960s — and this partnership with the world-renowned Saks Fifth Avenue further establishes it as an international culinary destination. With locations on Avenue Road (its flagship), on Yorkville Avenue, in Bayview Village, in Oakville and now in Toronto, the family-owned and Canadian-operated Pusateri’s has become the local authority not only in cuisine, but also in the areas of catering, event, floral and giftware services. www.pusateris.com Summer 2016
PHOTOS BY JEAN MAO
5
Summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 39
PHILANTHROPY
MERLOT AND LAB COATS
PHOTO BY JESSE MILNS
Todd Halpern is a man of many titles, among them being father, son, president of one of Canada’s biggest wine-importing companies and vicechair of the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. He sat down with Dolce to reveal how he blends his two passions, using everyone’s favourite elixir as a vessel for making a difference in Canadian health care WRITTEN BY AMANDA STOREY
40 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
T
he charmingly rugged corner building in the heart of Chinatown isn’t what I am expecting to see as I arrive at the address of Halpern Enterprises. The only things that assure me I’m in the right place are a nondescript sign tucked above a hidden entrance, and the fact that the building is settled smack-dab in between Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto General Hospital. If you enjoy a passionate relationship with fine wine, you’re familiar with Halpern Enterprises. It’s one of the biggest wine importers in Canada, with a portfolio that bursts with over 300 of the world’s most sigh-worthy vintages, from Bordeaux to Napa Valley, from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir. Which is why I try to snuff my surprise as I enter the company’s aged headquarters. The building has character, and as I scan my surroundings it becomes clear that its president doesn’t waste investments on things like shiny new office buildings. As vice-chair of the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation (TGWHF) Board of Directors, Todd Halpern is known to spend his cash on much more important things. Halpern sits in his office, a modest room that was once his father’s apartment. Surrounded by photos of museum-worthy wine bottles and framed memorabilia from past renditions of his world-renowned annual Toronto fundraiser, the Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival, he looks out his window at the colourful bustle of the neighbourhood he’s watched evolve since his childhood. “There’s a lot of history here for me — we’ve only been here for 90 years,” he jokes. Diving into the story behind 400 Spadina Ave., Halpern explains that the space has belonged to his family ever since 1929, when it was his father’s home and pharmaceutical business (the entryway I just came through once housed the medical delivery horses). Eventually his parents bought their family home up at Bathurst and Sheppard, and growing up, Todd would ride his bike down to spend his evenings and weekends stocking the shelves. But it wasn’t Halpern Drug Store that he eventually took the reins of. Ever the wine connoisseur, Harold Halpern had a passion project: he’d been running his wine-importing business on the side for years — the ongoing joke being that he would medicate Summer 2016
his friends by day and get them drunk by night — and in 1976 he decided to close the pharmacy to let his importing company blossom. But not long after, in 1980, Harold fell ill with a subdural hematoma, and Todd stepped in. “I had just graduated high school, and the company was financially in trouble,” says Halpern. “My mother was going to close the business down, but I told her to let me go to Europe and see what I could do.” The 19-year-old Halpern spent two weeks in Europe talking the talk with the who’s-who of the industry, and came
home having nailed down a selection of very poignant brands, among them being France’s Domaine de la RomanéeConti, the most famous winery in the world. With a new and improved portfolio, Halpern Enterprises became über-profitable by the end of that year, and Todd was able to expand the company. He found a business partner, Edward Milstein, and the two opened in America with a new brand called the Sorting Table before buying their own vineyards in Burgundy, France. He pours me a glass of ChassagneMontrachet Morgeot from his own
“HEALTH IS EVERYTHING. I FOUND OUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS AT A YOUNG AGE” — Todd Halpern
2016 GRAND CRU CULINARY WINE FESTIVAL This year’s edition will take place in Toronto from Friday, Oct. 28 to Saturday, Oct. 29 Approximately $1 million is expected to be raised from this year’s event Of the proceeds, $250,000 will go to heart research, $250,000 will go to orthopedic surgery and $250,000 will go to lung repair and regeneration research Those interested in attending can enquire to Irene Salvani, irene.salvani@uhn.ca or 416-340-4800 ext. 6279
winery, Remoissenet Père et Fils — which is, needless to say, fantastic — as we tour the photos that hang on his office walls. Behind his desk is a framed doctor’s lab coat, a gift to him from the hospital as a thank-you for all he’s done as Board Champion. Many University Health Network (UHN) doctors have signed it: it’s covered with the scrawled well wishes of heart surgeons, the Surgeon-in-Chief, orthopedic surgeons, pancreatic cancer surgeons. One of them even thought to doodle a wine bottle sticking out of the front pocket. This year, like every year, a handful of them will receive a portion of the earnings from Grand Cru. Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival is one of the many ways that Halpern amplifies the TGWHF every year. There’s a reason why he was recently named one of Toronto’s top 10 “power party” throwers: since it all began 12 years ago, the annual event has become talked about around the world, having raised over $22 million net for UHN. And it’s not your grandmother’s fundraising gala. Last year’s Grand Cru was a complex, three-day event that began with a wine tasting, followed by 30 private dinners. Each dinner brought www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 41
together a top chef and a UHN scientist with about 24 other guests. “Every year it changes up. I believe in giving to everybody in the hospital, not just to one specific area,” he says. Last year the money went to stem cell research at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine. This year, $250,000 will go to heart research for Dr. Phyllis Billia, $250,000 will go to orthopedic surgery for Dr. Raja Rampersaud, and another $250,000 will go to Dr. Shaf Keshavjee for lung repair and regeneration research. The remainder raised will go to research infrastructure. Throughout our conversation, I discover that Todd Halpern is a champion of numbers — a skill I suppose comes with the jobs of being the vice-chairman of a hospital network and president of one of the biggest wineimporting companies in the country. Without pause, the man lists the years that some of his grandparents arrived in Canada from Austria and Poland; he reveals six-figure donations from various international business moguls; he indulges me in the list of his all-time favourite wines (’47 Cheval Blanc, ’29 Romanée-Conti, ’45 Mouton Rothschild and 1864 Château Latour); and he fires off the exact dates he and his wife Ellen have spent exploring Europe with their good friends Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson. But there are two dates he hesitates on, and I know it’s not because he’s having trouble remembering. In fact, he remembers too well. I ask him when his parents passed. Laminated beneath the glass of his conference table is a series of old photographs and newspaper articles, one of which is a snap of Harold and Esther Halpern at a gala in support of Toronto Western Hospital, in the Oct. 9, 1968, edition of The Mirror. “My mother died on Aug. 23, 2013, my dad on Oct. 5, 2013,” he says as we both take in the photo of his parents, frozen in time and mid-laughter. “Forty days apart.” They are the reason why Todd Halpern got involved in the hospital in the first place. He was 20 years old — a year after his father’s brain surgery — when he decided to start supporting the local hospitals at some capacity, and it was in 2005 that he became a member of the Board of Directors of TGWHF. Eventually it was brain cancer that took his mother and a heart problem that 42 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Todd Halpern and his wife Ellen’s names on the TGWHF’s plaque of Platinum Donors
claimed his father, and while their deaths changed Halpern’s life completely, he took his sadness and made something good out of it: on April 14, 2014, the Esther and Harold Halpern Health Research Centre at TGWHF was named in their honour, and in December 2014, so was the Harold and Esther Halpern Chair in Neurosurgical Stroke Research at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre. “Health is everything. I found out how important it is at a young age, because my dad took sick when I was 19,” he says. “People don’t realize it until they’re in their late 50s, 60s, because they’re losing a parent, or they’re sick themselves. When you get sick, you realize, ‘Oh my god.’” Halpern has taken it upon himself to prevent those “Oh my god” moments for other people. He’s become a model for vice-chairmen everywhere, making the absolute most out of his title at the TGWHF by getting involved in any way he can. Aside from chairing Grand Cru, he’s also the co-chair of the Brain Campaign, which aims to raise $200 million to provide the world’s best scientists, clinicians, neurologists and neurosurgeons at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre with the tools and support needed to continue their paradigm work on diseases of the brain, and he’s also a campaign cabinet member of the Campaign to Cure Arthritis. And when he can’t pencil in
his time, he sends his wine — a happy second-best option. In an age where family values are losing their sheen and philanthropy is often synonymous with “phony,” Todd Halpern drives Halpern Enterprises in a way that stays true to the goodness with which his father founded it. His brother Colin joined the company in 1991, and together they have watched it ripen into one of international prestige. His son Adam also just entered the family business, and both his children share their father’s commitment to continuing the Halpern legacy of giving back. And then there are his friends in high places, who Halpern talks about as though they’re his extended family — and who come in handy when the TGWHF launches new fundraising campaigns. “The connections I’ve met through this business have made everything else possible for me in my life,” says Halpern. “When you have the golden vinegar, everyone comes to you.” While it’s true that the richest and most famous of wine nuts flock to this family-run company for its esteemed elixirs, the opposite is also true: Todd Halpern, the man who Robert Parker himself once called the “Canuck wine king,” shares his wealth, his time, his golden vinegar with the world to make it a better place. And that’s the way Harold Halpern always intended it to be. www.tgwhf.ca Summer 2016
With its injections of jazz, rock, R&B and mod-pop, plus unexpected elements like acrobatics and a dynamic light show, 7Sould’s performance is set to reignite the Canadian music scene
THE 7SOULD REVOLUTION
ENTERTAINMENT
This is big: breakout Toronto band 7Sould is bringing something completely different to the international music scene WRITTEN BY AMANDA STOREY
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPH STRUBE
I
t’s one of those frustratingly snowy mid-spring mornings as I drive to the recording studio to meet a Toronto band called 7Sould. As I drive, I turn on their music to get prepped for our chat — and by the end of the first song, “Found,” something magical happens. The fusion of jazz, rock, funk, Latin and modern pop makes me feel like I’ve been on a round-the-world trip in four minutes and six seconds, and suddenly the blizzard I’m engulfed in doesn’t really matter anymore. 7Sould is brand new, not only in the sense that they’re preparing to debut this summer, but also in the way that they’ve come up with a completely novel concept. They’re not just a band. Comprised of 12 musicians, a team of acrobats and an electrifying light show, 7Sould is a full-on production. And with its members hailing from different corners of the planet (think Cuba, Summer 2016
Jamaica, Poland, India, the Philippines, Quebec and Armenia), the music is a unique collage of cultural sounds that bursts with colour, character and audio caffeine. Founders Joaquin Nuñez Hidalgo, who plays drums-percussion and acts as musical director, and Mark Daniels, who plays congas and percussion, wanted to give their audiences an experience that goes beyond swaying to a set of songs — they wanted their shows to be a multi-sensory, storytelling experience. So with the help of veteran choreographers and directors Michael Challenger (Broadway’s The Lion King, Chicago and The Producers) and Kafi Pierre (Cirque du Soleil and Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera), they created a plot out of their vibrant original songs: each 7Sould show follows the journey of a young musician seeking solace in his craft. Much like a play, the show unfolds in an adventure of sights, sounds and
feelings all at the same time. “It breaks some new ground,” says Daniels. “We’re taking the best of great musical theatre and we’re mishmashing it together. And what you end up with is a surprising hybrid, because the energy that comes off the stage is almost palpable. It’s a visual and oral feast, all at once.” The show, titled “Underneath” — which, according to Challenger, speaks to the fact that music lies beneath all of life’s obstacles — will be experienced for the first time this summer at the Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto. And as Daniels reveals to me, the show has already been pre-booked for numerous international festivals for the following year. In the meantime, brace yourselves for the musical revolution of 7Sould, which promises to be one of the biggest acts to emerge from Canuck territory in 2016. www.7sould.com www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 43
Dr. Rochelle Schwartz and Yaron Panov with their son, Adam. The family raised $1 million to launch the Panov Program research study at Mount Sinai Hospital
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
HOPE IN THE SMALLEST PLACES
A family’s fight against an aggressive disease and their battle to bring a potentially game-changing technology in cancer treatment to Canada WRITTEN BY MICHAEL HILL PHOTOGRAPHY BY FARZAM HOSSEINDOUST
Y
aron Panov’s cancer returned. In the spring of 2011 the then 60-yearold husband and father of two had been diagnosed with liposarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, and underwent surgery to have it removed from his abdomen. But roughly four months after the procedure, the cancer grew back. He was given four to six months to live. 44 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
“Suddenly they tell you it’s cancer and there’s no cure, and you don’t know what to do. You’re completely lost,” Panov recalls. “I was scared. It was: this is it. I’m going to die, I have to organize my things, and this is it.’” It’s a cold reality faced by many Canadians diagnosed with a lifethreatening disease. In a medical system with only so much money to spend on so many sick, patients can become
numbers and doctors must make hard choices as to which cases they believe they can treat successfully. A long-shot case such as Panov’s wasn’t one of them. It was devastating news. But it was a fate Panov’s physician-wife Dr. Rochelle Schwartz simply wouldn’t accept. “I’m not the type that takes no for an answer,” she says. Despite the heavy weight of her husband’s death sentence she soldiered Summer 2016
on, looking for answers. Her sister had told her about a friend in Baltimore who was diagnosed with lung cancer; he too was given only six months to live. But the man began working with Dr. David Sidransky, a leading oncologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine and founder of technology company Champions Oncology. He was able to find a new lease on life through an innovative approach to cancer treatment that utilized avatar mice technology. Avatar mice technology takes cancerous tissue from patients, often during biopsy or surgery, and implants it in mice. By taking part of the tumour and the surrounding “neighbourhood” — blood vessels, fat cells, nerve cells, etc. — they’re able to grow a replica of the patient’s cancer in the mice. They then test various chemotherapies or cocktails of them on the cancer in the mice to determine which is most effective against the cancer. “Instead of trying it on the person you start to try it on the mice,” says Dr. Schwartz. These tiny beacons of hope eliminate much of the hit-or-missing of chemotherapy, boosting the treatment effectiveness from a disheartening 10 to 30 per cent to an encouraging 94 per cent. It also means patients don’t have to suffer the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy — the pain, the nausea, the uncertainty — for nothing. This treatment, which Dr. Schwartz notes has been used in the U.S. and Israel for roughly nine years, however, isn’t available in Canada. Dr. Schwartz contacted Dr. Sidransky to see what the options were for her husband. After a teleconference was arranged with top sarcoma specialists, they determined it wasn’t chemo Panov needed, but a good surgeon. It came with a hefty price tag, but it would mean Panov’s life. They flew down a few days later for the surgery. When they returned from the U.S. they were rocked with more bleak news: they were “blacklisted.” “When we came back from the States, no doctor in Ontario would see my husband,” says Dr. Schwartz. “We were very upset. We were very disappointed. We were very angry.” They were forced to travel back down to the U.S. for three more surgeries, which cost $75,000 each. With the bills racking up and no help from OHIP, they resorted to selling their home to cover the $350,000 they would eventually spend on the surgeries and the avatar mice treatments. But despite the Summer 2016
mounting expenses, they were making headway. The mice avatars revealed a new chemo, an MDM2 inhibitor, that was working. The problem was getting it, and the mice avatar technology, here. “I just decided we can either be angry and upset or we can use our energy and turn it around and do a family project of bringing this technology to Canada,” says Dr. Schwartz. They began working with Mount Sinai Hospital and were told if they could raise the $1 million needed for a five-year research study the hospital would take it on. They endeavoured tirelessly to find the funding, including through two galas organized by their son Adam, which raised $57,000 and $222,000 respectively in proceeds. With the money eventually in place,
“THIS IS THE FIRST TECHNOLOGY THAT ACTUALLY HELPS PATIENTS TODAY, NOW” — Yaron Panov they established the Panov Program in Precision Chemotherapy for Sarcoma Research at Mount Sinai, welcoming their first patient into the study this past November. Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford was also part of the study, but unfortunately time was not on his side when he succumbed to his cancer on March 22. The Panov Program’s goal is to find customized chemotherapy treatments for patients with life-threatening sarcomas. Panov, now 65, has been undergoing treatment at Mount Sinai for the past three months and they’re seeing positive results thanks to the greater precision granted by the avatar mice. “It’s liquefying the tumours,” says Dr. Schwartz. Even with the whole sarcoma community monitoring his case, Panov is feeling upbeat. Undergoing chemo is already a taxing experience, even without the uncertainty of its effectiveness. Knowing that all that pain and nausea
will be worth it eliminates pressure and negativity. “What is positive with this whole story is that I didn’t have to go through the experience of getting this chemo just to be told, ‘Sorry, it doesn’t work,’” he explains. While he’ll be on chemo periodically for the rest of his life to keep the cancer in check, the precision from the avatar mice technology has given Panov that one thing no money can buy: time. Time to allow for new, more effective treatments to develop, but most of all: time for new experiences with family and friends. “This is the first technology that actually helps patients today, now,” Panov says. “It’s not some kind of research that in five, ten years maybe it will work. It’s today. And that’s why I wanted to bring it to other patients in Canada, so other people can enjoy that luxury of not testing the chemo on you but testing it on the mice.” The family believes their story is a testament to the power of second opinions. “If I was afraid of offending the doctors he would be dead,” Dr. Schwartz says. But she doesn’t want patients to disregard a doctor’s suggestion. It takes roughly three months to grow the cancer in the mice and test the various chemos. For those with aggressive cancers, that’s time they can’t afford. As such, the mice avatars should be grown in parallel. “This is in conjunction. It’s not instead of,” she adds. “If your doctor’s treatment works on you, great, then you’re going to continue that treatment. But if it doesn’t work then we start having some other options.” With the Panov Program being so successful, the family has decided to launch a second stage. This new phase will raise another $1 million in a collaborative effort to help sarcoma doctors at Mount Sinai, the Ontario Cancer Institute and hospitals in Israel hunt down the genetic switch that turns benign cells into cancer cells. But the family is also starting to look at their personal future, even if it’s in the smallest things. When sons Adam and Elan were younger, Panov and Dr. Schwartz used to take the family to Disney World every year. “So for my 60th birthday they said, ‘Mom, we’re taking you back to Disney World,’” Dr. Schwartz explains with a warm smile. “I said, ‘Great, we have something so good to look forward to.’” Sometimes in life that’s the best gift of all. www.supportsinai.ca/panov www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 45
46 DOLCE MAGAZINE | www.dolcemag.com
Summer 2016
2
1
ROOM WITH A VIEW Nestled in the mountains in Italy’s Cortina d’Ampezzo, Cristallo Hotel Spa & Golf is like something out of a fairy tale (or maybe a Bond film) with its ornate architecture and dreamcome-true amenities, like its in-house spa. www.cristallo.it
SPRITZ BLITZ Paris-based Parfums arfums de Marly’s “Herod” fragrance for men and women is an aromatic adventure, matching masculinity with femininity in its smoky moky vanilla scent. Its warmth and strength echoes hoes the power of the 18th-century stallion after which it is named. www.laboutiquenoire.ca
6
3
2
TOO POOL FOR SCHOOL If you’ve ever wondered what South Beach’ss largest pool looks like — or feels like — you u can find it at the ultra-luxe Fasano Hotel & Residences esidences at Shore Club when it opens in 2017. 17. The pool will be a legendary 9,500 square uare feet. In other words, get that Speedo ready. y. www.fasanoshoreclub.com
5
LET THERE BE LIGHT Portugal-based DelightFULL lives up to its name by crafting mood-lifting lighting, like this brass c Etta E Round chandelier. With its artistically charged shape, it’ll light up a room more than the average lamp ever could. www.delightfull.eu
4
IN GOOD SPIRITS The House of Martell is one of the world’s oldest French cognac houses — it was founded in 1715 — so it’s no wonder their elixirs are so good that the company just won a double gold medal at this year’s San Francisco Spirits Competition. www.martell.com
IT’S BOUQUET WITH ME Inspired by the floral motifs hand-embroidered on Manila shawls, the Emperatriz Bouquet Maxi Pendant sparkles with a mix of 18-karat gold and diamonds, creating a delicate yet strong take on the classic floral theme. www.carreraycarrera.com
1
3
Pendants and symphonies aand pop art Bentleys, oh my! summer by checking off the Secure a sensational summe treasures that have caught our o attention
OBJECTSof 5
6
4
Summer 2016
www.dolcemag.com
|
DOLCE MAGAZINE 47
7
8 10
9
WATCH THE THRONE Stay on schedule while tapping in to your inner royal with the Moto 360 timepiece by Motorola, which not only tells time, but displays texts, advises on the best places to grab a drink and even sets reminders. All packed in a sleek design, it’ll have you ruling your kingdom seamlessly. www.motorola.ca
11
BEST FOOT FORWARD It’s wedding season, and whether you’re waiting at the t altar or watching from the pews, menswear boutique LodinG wants to dress you to the b nines. You’ll want to say “I do” to their line of n fun and sophisticated wedding accessories. www.loding.ca
10
9
12
POP ROCKS Play with this year’s favourite colours by donning this treasure by Knar Jewellery, embedded with a juicy SYNTH-SATIONAL If it’s a fresh concoction of blue sapphire, red ruby and summertime anthem that you seek, give diamonds in a platinum setting. www.knar.com Australian electronica-pop band Miami Horror a listen. Funky and ultra-fun, their techno ballads FIRST IMPRESSIONS Canadian artist are the sweet musical elixir we didn’t even Zac Kenny’s intricate and colourful know we craved. www.miamihorror.com impressionist paintings have hidden messages about life, loss and love. His solo exhibition, A Day in the Paint, will be showing at Toronto’s Navillus Gallery in May. www.navillusgallery.com
8
LOVE BUG Okay, so it’s a Bentley. But there’s lots of love in this exclusive, one-of-a-kind Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible, which was painted by British pop art icon Sir Peter Blake (he designed the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album cover) to be auctioned off for Care2Save Charitable Trust. www.care2save.co.uk
7
11
12