Sharp: The Book For Men - Spring/Summer 2014

LO O K B E T T E R • F E E L B E T T E R • K N OW M O R E

WHAT TO WEAR NOW! com plete

STYLE MANUAL inside

SPRING/ SUMMER 2014

STYLE • SUITS ACCESSORIES TIMEPIECES TRENDS • TRAVEL AUTOMOBILES ADVICE

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Contents 26

Introduction Foreword 36 The Right Stuff

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief 38 The Art of Stuff

CHAPTER ONE

Portfolio The One 40 The most loyal companion you’ll ever have: a dog.

A Lightcycle for the Road 42 Lotus’s foray into motorcycles begins with the stunning C-01.

Bulletproof Style 44 An elegant three-piece suit that could save your life.

Nouveau Classic 46 Bespoke leather goods made with painstaking care on Vancouver Island.

At Ease, Soldier 48 Stephen Kenn’s furniture marries military utility with modern simplicity.

A Scotch Odyssey 48 A very special bottle of Johnnie Walker for the loftiest of top shelves.

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The Eyes of the Warrior 50 Portraits offering a glimpse into the psyche of Canada’s top servicemen.

Paradise for Rent 52

The elBulli Archive 56

The Roar of the AK240 60

Richard Branson’s private island, yours for the weekend.

The cuisine that defined an era is immortalized in this new set of books.

A portable music player for those who demand the very best in audio fidelity.

Natural Seduction in the Serengeti 54

A Pool with a View 58

For Your Eyes Only 62

A tented camp on the African savannah where luxury meets the wilderness.

A Spanish vacation home built around a spectacular human aquarium.

Bespoke frames to make you stand out from the crowd.

Into the Wild, for Dinner 56

Winning Hands 60

Taking an Early Bite of the Apple 62

Set in northern Sweden, Fäviken Magasinet is both a journey and a destination.

A magical, mechanical casino on your wrist.

The MetaWatch could be the first smartwatch you’d actually want to wear.

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CHAPTER TWO

Experiences Trolling for Giants 66 In remote northern British Columbia, an Eden of food, drink and fishing.

Beyond Ipanema 72 Brazilian design is back in a big way.

The Man’s Library 78 Substantial books for a gentleman’s shelves.

Detroit Fashion City 84 After conquering the fashion world, John Varvatos wants to rebuild his hometown.

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CHAPTER THREE

Automobiles An Exclusive Affair 88 Bespoke finishes to set your Audi apart from the pack.

The Thinking Man’s Sports Car 92 BMW’s i8 marks both the end and the beginning of the hybrid era.

A Sleeker Spectre 96 The Wraith is a Rolls-Royce unlike any that’s come before.

A Brief History of Very Fast Cars 108 The Porsche 918, its million-dollar price tag and the future of the supercar.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Style Fresh Faces 112 The most coveted watches of the past year beg for a place in your collection.

Rising Stock 120 Finely tailored business wear with just a hint of panache.

The Things He Carried 132 Nice things to hold your nice things.

Pour Homme 138 Five new fragrances that will smell almost as good on her as they do on you.

Treasures of the Deep 144 Dive watches as diverse and colourful as a tropical sea.

Simple Strokes 152 Elegant poolside attire for relaxed summer days.

The Artist as Muse 164 Take inspiration from the most stylish artists of the 20th century.

The Manual 171

How to do everything better: age gracefully, survive a gunshot and win at the races.

Casual Fridays, business Mondays and lazy Sundays by the pool. How to get summer-ready right now.

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Photo: Matt Doyle

The Style Manual 187

Portfolio

The One A best friend

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT BARNES

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ou’ll have plenty of relationships in your life, but few will be as rewarding (and drama free) as the one you have with a fourlegged companion. Sure, you may curse your canine compadre when the weather dips well below freezing and you’re scraping his leavings from an icy sidewalk. And he may drool on your couch and chew up your phone charger, but you will never have a more loyal friend, or one who’s happier to see you when you walk in the door. He also give you a great excuse to talk to women at the dog park.

Wardrobe Stylist: Kate Corbett at Plutino Group; Photographer’s Assistant: Kyle Topping; Makeup & hair by Jodi Urichuk using TRES Two Extra Hold Hairspray for TRESemmé Hair Care/ MAC Cosmetics/Plutino Group; Special thanks to Stacie Fisher.

Fringe leather jacket by Yves Saint Laurent, at Holt Renfrew; lace underwear by b.tempt’d and lace push-up bra by b.tempt’d, at The Bay; sheer garter belt by Victoria’s Secret; zipper booties by Zara, chain-link boot belts ($30) by Town Shoes; vintage jewel bracelets by Carole Tanembaum; leather whip ($400) by Northbound Leather; leather fingerless gloves by Danier; thigh-high nylons by Viola, at Nearly Naked.

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Portfolio 42

A Lightcycle for the Road The Lotus C-01 is the bike of your dreams

it to Lotus to turn sci-fi into reality.

When the legendary British automaker and Formula One race team decided to branch out into the motorcycle business, they enlisted Daniel Simon. You do know his work: he’s the one behind the look of the light cycles in the recent Tron reboot and the spaceship piloted by Tom Cruise in Oblivion. Before that, he worked in the design department at Bugatti—makers of the world’s fastest car.

Since the 1950s, Lotus has been quietly turning out groundbreaking LEAVE

road and race cars, but aside from that the company has been a bit underground—only for those in the know. Remember the white wedgeshaped submarine/sports car Roger Moore drove in The Spy Who Loved Me? That was a Lotus.

All of which goes some way to explaining why the company’s first motorcycle, the $154,000 C-01, stopped us in our tracks when we first laid eyes on it. There are many fast and exotic motorbikes in the world, but none quite so beautiful and perfect as this one. It looks like a jet-engine on wheels, and it’s as close as you’ll ever get to a lightcycle for the real world.

Made of carbon and titanium and powered by a 200 horsepower Vtwin, it’ll have more than enough performance to back up its looks.

And with production limited to just 100 units, it’s still very much for those in the know. —MATT BUBBERS

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Bulletproof Style A battle-ready business suit

SOMETIMES being fashionable means taking risks. New trends, colours or patterns; bold can feel vulnerable. But it doesn’t have to.

Case in point: this suit, tailored by the experts at Toronto’s Garrison Bespoke. It looks, you’ll note, like a suit. A damn fine one, at that. Beneath its snappy windowpane-checked veneer, however, lie several hidden layers of carbon nanotubes—a tightly woven mesh of cylinders of carbon atoms, stronger than steel and lighter than Kevlar.

In short, this getup won’t just stop onlookers in their tracks—it’ll also stop bullets.

While a $20,000 bulletproof suit might not seem like a terribly practical investment for daily wear, it’s the perfect solution for businessmen who often find themselves in tumultuous locations. After all, nothing ruins a form-fitting suit like a bulky bulletproof vest strapped beneath the jacket or, for that matter, a couple of bullet holes in the lapel.

Capable of stopping .22, 9 mm or .45 calibre bullets, the material is manufactured by the same company that makes the personal armour for the US Army Special Forces. It’s so tough, Garrison’s tailors had to cut it with a bandsaw. And because the bulletproof option is available in any of the hundreds of fabrics in Garrison’s collection, you can be as risky and audacious as you like style-wise, while still feeling perfectly safe and secure. —COLEMAN MOLNAR

Photo: Matt Barnes

Portfolio 44

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Portfolio 60

The Roar of the AK240

High-res audio to go from Astell&Kern

Winning Hands

Going all in on Christophe Claret’s new gaming watch 2011, Christophe Claret introduced the Blackjack 21, a mechanical timepiece on which the wearer could play a complete game of blackjack. Next, he set his sights on poker.

In the age of the smartphone, the idea of a portable poker game is no big deal (so to speak). But when you stop to consider the fact that all of the 98,304 possible permutations of a three-hand game of Texas Hold ’Em are carried out by an intricate, mechanical movement housed within the watch’s 45 mm case, Claret’s achievement becomes more apparent. It took the master horologist two years to perfect the prototype.

Press the push-piece at 9 o’clock and the watch deals three two-card hands to 6 o’clock, 10:30 and 2:30. Next, press the 10 o’clock button to see the flop. A push-piece at 8 o’clock deals the turn and the river. Angled shutters inhibit any “long necking” and a cathedral gong chime announces the beginning of each round of betting.

The see-through caseback reveals a roulette wheel that also serves as the winding rotor. Shake the watch (“Place your bets!”) and the wheel spins and an arrow stops on the lucky number.

The PVD-treated titanium case is available in four accent finishes, each limited to 20 pieces and priced at $200,000. As a final touch (and an all-important nod to lady luck) the sapphire crystal discreetly harbours a posing pin-up girl in a whisper of condensation. —CM IN

PORTABLE music players have solved the problem of carrying one’s entire collection on the go. Sound quality, however, remains a major gripe for audiophiles who want to hear music as it was intended: without the compression and distortion necessitated

by MP3 conversion.

Astell&Kern (a branch of the South Korean company iRiver) hopes to address this issue with the release of their newest portable media player, the $2,500 AK240. It’s quicker than its predecessor, has more storage and, most importantly, produces sound that’s even closer to the recording’s original quality, an effect they achieved through—among other feats—the addition of a dual-core processor. (Basically, the use of two analog chips instead of one eliminates any cross-channel pollution and results in cleaner sound.)

It’s bigger than an iPod, sure, but with up to 320 GB of storage, a jutting, angular design, Wi-Fi and a touchscreen set in an aircraft aluminum case, purists will forgive this in favour of uncompromising sound quality. —CM

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Taking an Early Bite of the Apple Meta’s sexy smartwatch

technological innovations take hold and change our lives forever, there’s plenty of opportunity to naysay. The Internet, the electric car, the tablet—the potential of none of these was really understood until Google or Tesla or the iPad came along and showed us the way. So, before you write off the smartwatch as a gimmicky fad, consider that this might be the one to change the game.

With the help of Frank Nouvo—the man who was largely responsible for Nokia’s success early in the mobile boom— MetaWatch has launched a smart timepiece that might just move the segment from novelty to necessity.

Designed to facilitate the mastery of the “art of the glance,” as they describe it, Meta’s two models, the Strata and the Frame, are easy to read and designed to appeal to the fashion-savvy early adopter. The Strata, flat black and squared in titaniumfinished stainless steel, is subtler than the rectangular Frame, which pops from the wrist with its polished stainless-steel finish.

Both connect wirelessly with Android and iOS phones and charge via USB. The screen is split into quadrants, allowing users to choose four informational widgets to appear. Data like weather, texts, schedules, stocks (oh, and the time, too), are on the wrist in plain view, keeping your vital information more readily available than ever before. –CM BEFORE

For Your Eyes Only Bespoke optics from Germany

one who values personal style wants to have the same glasses as anyone else in the room. Neither should anyone have to settle for anything that “almost fits.” Eyewear is no exception. Most people’s faces are not perfectly symmetrical. Ears sometimes hang lower on one side, noses vary in width, and this makes it difficult to find the perfect-fitting pair of glasses. By going bespoke, you get something tailored to your exact specifications—as well as to your distinct tastes.

To these ends, Karir Eyewear in Toronto offers their bespoke eyewear line, the KARIR Collection, to discerning buyers. Each frame is customized for each face, then handmade in Germany. Clients first meet with a consultant to be measured and go over options for frame styles, sizes, colours and swatches. Then, four weeks down the road, their pair of personalized glasses arrives, ready to complete an already singular wardrobe. —CM NO

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Experiences

Beyond Ipanema Picking up where its midcentury pioneers left off, an energetic new wave of creators is spearheading Brazil’s design revolution

BY MATTHEW HAGUE

B Marcio Kogan’s Paraty Nelson house takes cues from mid-century architecture in its clean horizontal lines.

razil is justifiably world renowned for a few things, primarily its exports (painful waxing treatments, many of Victoria’s Secret’s finest ambassadors), its domestic treasures (bossa nova, that giant Jesus overlooking Rio de Janeiro) and, of course, that girl on the beach in that famously catchy song. The country’s architects, furniture makers and interior designers, however, are also deserving of their due—as they are among the most innovative anywhere. And with the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years away, not to mention an economy hotter than the sun over São Paolo, Brazilian design is more relevant than ever. There have also been several noteworthy exhibitions of Brazilian design both here in Canada and abroad. Here’s a primer: Brazil’s most creative minds (and associated, covetworthy buildings, chairs, tables, etc.) that every fan of contemporary design should know.

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Experiences

The Man’s Library An ultimate collection of tomes to line your shelves

BY ANDROSS MOONAH, ANDREW TANG-KONG AND CHRISTOPHER METLER

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he books with which he fills his shelves say a lot about a man: his passions, his priorities, his enthusiasms. More than just compilations of stunning artwork, photos or histories, these books—sturdily bound, hefty and beautifully produced—will add gravitas to any room.

Helmut Newton. SUMO. HELMUT Newton was master of the female form and the pioneer of a provocative brand of photography that blended art, fashion and erotica. Featured in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, SUMO’s original release of 10,000 signed copies sold out soon after publication and quickly became a much sought-after collector’s item.

Explore the King of Kink’s sexual and sensational view of the fashion world in this stunning collection, revised by his widow, June Newton. Taschen, 27 x 37 cm, $150 / Original signed limited editions 50 x 70 cm, from $15,000.

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Detroit Fashion City John Varvatos is going to save rock ’n’ roll. And he’s bringing the Motor City along for the ride.

But there’s still hope for rock ock, if you’ll forgive the yet. It doesn’t lie, as you might expun, is crumbling. For half pect, in the hands of some rangy, a century, it served as a shaggy-haired teen holed up in his thunderbolt at the heart of Westparents’ garage with a six-string ern culture, a screaming electric and a headful of dreams. No, rock playground propelled by youth, n’ roll’s last great chance for sursubversion and grandstanding virBY YANG-YI GOH vival sits squarely on the shoultuosity. From Chuck Berry to The ders of a 58-year-old fashion deRolling Stones, Led Zeppelin to signer named John Varvatos.

The Clash, Nirvana to The White Varvatos has built his namesake label largely on the notion of rock n’ Stripes, every generation got the guitar-wielding gods it deserved. roll as a desirable, familiar and fully consumable lifestyle. His clothes And then, at some point in the last 10 years, the lineage stopped are stylish and accessible with a stage-ready edge—the silhouettes are short. The genre began to fade out of relevancy, eclipsed by hip-hop slim and full of sex appeal; the fabrics are washed and rumpled—and and electronic dance music in pop’s pecking order. In 2010, not a sinhis ad campaigns are studded with rock royalty: Cheap Trick, Alice gle rock album cracked the year’s top 10 best selling albums; in the Cooper, ZZ Top and Willie Nelson, to name a few. By all accounts, the years since, only two albums by acts that are even vaguely rock-adjaconnection is paying off. In just 14 years, the brand has ballooned into cent—Mumford & Sons’ Babel in 2011 and 2012 and Imagine Dragons’ a behemoth worth upwards of $100 million that houses his main colNight Visions in 2013—made the list. At the present juncture, rock mulection, a diffusion line called John Varvatos Star USA, a collaborative sic as it once was—a pulsing, status quo-challenging cultural force—is range of sneakers and clothing with Converse, and five signature fraeffectively dead.

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Varvatos’ Spring/Summer ’14 collection presented a strong focus on polished tailoring, shot through with his signature rock ‘n roll edge.

grances. He has 15 stores across the globe (including his first Canadian location, which opened in Toronto last fall) and authored a recently released coffee table book, Rock in Fashion that collects archival photos of his larger-than-life muses.

Now, Varvatos is taking the next logical step: actually producing the very music that inspires his work. In February, the designer announced the formation of John Varvatos Records, a label in partnership with Universal Music and Republic Records, with offices based in his native Detroit. The goal, Varvatos says, is to discover “the next great, unsung rock n’ roll band.” But while the success of his clothing has proven that the idea of rock is still as marketable as ever, the questions still linger. Is the world ready to listen to rock music again? And can anyone—even someone as savvy as John Varvatos—succeed in the record industry in 2014?

JOHN Varvatos’ life in fashion began, as so many current American designers’ stories do, with Ralph Lauren. In 1983, he joined the then fledgling menswear outfit as a regional sales manager; by the time he resigned in 1999 (for the second time, after a short stint at Calvin Klein in the early ’90s), he was head of men’s design. At Lauren, Varvatos bore witness to—and played a not-insignificant hand in—the birth and rise of a true fashion empire.

“At the time, there was nothing like it,” Varvatos remembers. “Ralph was creating a lifestyle—a dream that people aspired to—with great product and great branding. By my second year there, he took over a mansion on Madison Avenue and created a world in there of a size and scope that no one had ever even approached as a single designer brand.” At the turn of the millennium, when Varvatos set out on his own, Lauren gave him only a single piece of advice: “You should only do it if you really feel like you truly have something new to say.”

He did. From the outset, Varvatos’s lifelong obsession with rock seeped organically into his designs. “It was just something that was part of my DNA,” Varvatos says of the genre. “[Rock] is an energy force, it has an electricity to it that really motivates me. I have a hard time functioning in my day-to-day, especially when I’m designing, without having music on.”

More than just aural stimuli, though, rock n’ roll lent Varvatos’s brand a distinct style and perspective. “Looking back, all the artists I loved growing up had a unique personality and thumbprint—they’re rebellious. And I’ve always felt, especially in the fashion industry, that I don’t really fit in as much. I feel a bit more of a rebel.”

Despite those outsider’s instincts, the industry lauded his efforts almost immediately. Within a year, Varvatos took home the first of his now two CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year awards, plus a Perry Ellis award from CFDA—the fashion world’s version of a Pulitzer. But it wasn’t until later, when he made the unconventional decision to use rock legends in marketing his brand, that the public truly took notice.

“Other people had dabbled in using artists [in their campaigns], but never in the iconic sense, and never respectful in that way,” he says. To show that respect, Varvatos tapped iconic rock photographer Danny Clinch, and had him shoot the musicians—starting with Iggy Pop in 2005—in a looser, more natural manner, against the typical fashion shoot grain. The results were as bold and astonishing as the subjects themselves, impossible to ignore. “It was so well received that it sort of became this wildfire thing, where we had people lined up wanting to be a part of it—some of the biggest names in rock royalty.”

While he quickly shot to critical and commercial acclaim, Varvatos wasn’t without his detractors. As in any rock n’ roll success story, there were those quick to label him a “poseur”—a smug corporate suit exploiting and commercializing the authenticity of rock music to make his fortune. Those accusations came to a head in 2008, when Varvatos

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Automobiles

The Thinking Man’s Sports Car At long last, BMW ushers in the carbonfibre revolution we’ve been waiting for

BY MATT BUBBERS

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arbon fibre has almost become a banned substance at The Book For Men editorial office. The stuff is everywhere: pens, money clips, cufflinks, tie clips, watches, knives and notebooks, and then there are carbon-fibre surfboards, skis, golf clubs and almost any other sporting good you can name. This miracle material that’s lighter than aluminum and stronger than steel came into the spotlight in the first decade of the new millennium, looking as though it had landed from a utopian technofuture. But sometime around the introduction of carbon-fibre-look vinyl stickers (popular with cost-conscious suburban boy racers), it began to lose its sheen. Real carbon became (much like Kanye) played out and not as appealing as it once was, but (also like Kanye), when you think about it, pretty brilliant. And so it was a joyful occasion at BFM HQ when we decided to lift the moratorium for this, the best use of carbon fibre, possibly ever: the BMW i8.

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Automobiles

A Brief History of Very Fast Cars The Porsche 918 and the future of the million-dollar sports car

BY MATT BUBBERS

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here are so many million-dollar cars to spend your money on these days. As a result, the decision about which to purchase has become a difficult one. This is what’s called “a good problem.”

Back in the 90s—a simpler time—this wasn’t such an issue. Provided you were in the new car market—not the classic car market with its 5-, 6- or 50-million-dollar machines, which really are more of an investment than something to be driven—you only had one option: the McLaren F1. Built by a Formula One racing team, with an engine bay wrapped in gold foil, it was the first car with a price tag of over $1,000,000. That was 1994.

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Style

Fresh Faces The year’s top watches

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ast year was good for watch lovers as the world’s great brands unveiled reimagined classics and took bold strides with innovative new designs and movements. These are our favourites— now finally available—any one of which would make a solid addition to any collection.

Prop styling by Joanne Jin

BY ARIEL ADAMS / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT WATSON

CHOPARD SUPERFAST POWER CONTROL

While they produce a wide range of beautiful timepieces—including high complications like tourbillons and perpetual calendars—racing watches inspired by the golden age of the automobile remain a mainstay of the Chopard brand. Among the most exclusive of these is the Superfast Power Control, whose looks take cues from the engines of high-performance cars. New this year are models in steel and rose gold (pictured), with in-house-made movements, which strike a handsome balance between refined Swiss craftsmanship and the adrenaline-fueled world of motorsports. $33,220 at Royal de Versailles Jewellers

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Style

Rising Stock

Dressing for business is no longer a game of garish flaunting. In today’s climate, the mark of true success lies in looking sharp with discernable restraint.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT DOYLE / STYLING BY ALVARO SALAZAR

Style

The Things He Carried Elegant accoutrements to hold your precious stuff

BY COLEMAN MOLNAR / PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT WATSON

Prop styling by Joanne Jin

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VALET TRAY

Your many fine objects deserve better than to be tossed onto a dresser top.

There is no class to clutter. A simple valet tray—like this cast brass option

by Futagami, handmade from poured molten brass in Japan since 1897—adds order to entropy and makes for a tidy home for your smaller, everyday items.

Simple problem. Elegant solution.

Kaufmann Mercantile, $70 (set of 3) Nabucco rose-gold watch ($17,495) by Raymond Weil; gold-and-sterling silver cufflinks ($495) by David Yurman; Constellation phone with leather detail ($6,650) by Vertu, at Bandiera Jewellers; silver arrowhead ring ($175) and silver ring with black ceramic ($200) by Thomas Sabo; brass palladium plated lighter ($450) by Dunhill; 911 Carrera ($96,200) by Porsche; leather tassel keychain (price upon request) by Zegna; American walnut desk ($7,780) at Avenue Road.

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Style

Pour Homme These contemporary fragrances will smell almost as good on her as they do on you.

BY JULIA PARFENYUK / PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIO MIOTTI

VALENTINO UOMO

A rich, sophisticated, elegant scent for a certain kind of man.

This highly aromatic fragrance has a luxurious cedar and leather base, elevated with top notes of bergamot and myrtle, with hints of crema di gianduia and roasted coffee in between. $95 for 100 ml

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Style

Treasures of the Deep A dive watch for every man PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIAN ARMSTRONG

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he oceans that cover most of our world’s surface are wild, mysterious places, inhabited by strange alien-looking creatures.

While the secrets of the vast unexplored deep continue to elude mankind, the dive watch (and the watches that take style cues from it) remains his timepiece of choice, with as many varying styles, species and bold colours as there are fish along a tropical reef. Rugged and audacious, these divers look just as good with a sportcoat as they do with a wetsuit.

Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 2500m 3 Days Automatic Titanio ($12,600).

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Style

Simple Strokes

There’s no need to make things complicated for a day of lounging poolside. Hang loose with an easy blend of bright tones and classic patterns.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT DOYLE / STYLING BY ALVARO SALAZAR

Cotton jacket ($560) and cotton shorts ($130) by Carlos Campos; cotton tee ($310)

by Burberry; acetate sunglasses ($135) by Tommy Hilfiger; DRIVE Eco-Drive ($315) watch by Citizen.

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Style

The Artist as Muse

Six modern masters whose style extended beyond the canvas

BY YANG-YI GOH

DAVID HOCKNEY

In his vivid paintings of twisting English landscapes and fluorescent Californian swimming pools, Hockney has always displayed an uncanny and entirely singular understanding of colour. Canary yellows crash into chlorinated turquoises; persimmons and purples and greens wind and weave like a peloton of cyclists. The 76-year-old Brit applies the same divergent colour theory to his wardrobe. He is, for instance, a known disbeliever in wearing socks in matching hues, preferring instead the relative discord of a red left foot and a lilac right. And it’s in such minor details—in his subtle affectations and expressions—that Hockney attains a look of grace and comfort in his clothing that is impossible to replicate.

SHARP: THE BOOK FOR MEN SPRING/SUMMER 2014

The

Manual HOW TO DO EVERYTHIN G B ETTER

GROOMING

HEALTH

SPORTS

TRAVEL

ETIQUETTE

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FOOD

180

DRINKS

SURVIVAL

CULTURE

172 176

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The Best Bordeaux by Vintage

BY M A R K M O FFATT, WIN E DIR ECTO R, S H A N G RI-LA H OTEL TO RO NTO, A N D CO LEM A N M O LN A R

Bordeaux is synonymous with fine red wine, its roots traceable back to 1152, when Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine toasted the stuff at their wedding.

A combination of the Bordeaux region’s oceanic climate, calcium-rich soil and frequently temperate weather—the latter becoming ever more reliable, thanks to global warming—results in spectacular vintages that are rich, dark and well balanced.

Modern Bordeaux wine took shape in 1855 with the first designation of Premier Cru (or “first growth”) awarded to wineries including Château Margaux, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour and Château Haut Brion. This old boys’ club of producers remained unchanged until 1973, when Château Mouton Rothschild was finally elevated to Premier Cru. Bordeaux wines are a collector’s dream, as they are rich with culture and have a history of producing powerful and alluring styles of Cabernet Sauvignon, while in St. Emilion, we find great houses such as Pétrus and Le Pin for Merlot-based wines. With hundreds of years of history and reflection on how they age, it is no wonder the world market clamours at their release. Today, with the help of great winemakers, climate change and new technology, the wines of Bordeaux continue to grow in mythical reputation and command market prices as robust as their bouquets. Use this guide to spot the best vintages and covet them accordingly.

MELCHIOR 18.0

NEBUCHADNEZZAR 15.0

BALTHAZAR 12.0

SALMANAZAR 9.0

1928-29

Back-to-back victories. 1928’s vintage was a tenacious tannic that took 30+ years to open up. In ’29, hot, dry weather resulted in a robust and ripe vintage.

MELCHIZEDEK 30.0

PRIMAT 27.0

SOLOMON 26.0

Bigger isn’t always better, but in the case of large-format wines, it certainly makes for an occasion to remember.

While magnums are generally available at your local fine-wine store, larger formats will usually have to be special-ordered from a wine dealer (and poured with the help of a siphon or a specially made decanting cradle). Tell your Jeroboams from your Salmanazars with this handy chart.

IMPERIALE 6.0

JEROBOAM 5.0

DOUBLE MAGNUM 3.0

MARIE-JEANNE 2.25

MAGNUM 1.5

STANDARD 0.75

DEMI 0.375

PICCOLO 0.187 L

Know Your Wine Bottle Sizes

SOVEREIGN 25.0

Drinks

provided a smooth vintage high in alcohol content, while ’90, the second hottest year in the 20th century, prompted super-ripe grapes to yield powerful and rich qualities.

2000

1945

The close of WWII added to this year’s legendary status. A cold winter and warm summer led to a dark, concentrated vintage that, decades later, revealed (and is still revealing) some spectacular tannins.

One of the best of all time, surprisingly, as the year got off to a cool start. Still, a hike in temperature in late summer allowed for wines that were fresh, dynamic and rich with plenty of tannins.

2005

1961

The stuff of legend, tannic and rich.

Still very covetable today.

1982

Following the streak of average vintages that plagued the late ’60s and ’70s, 1982’s Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons were fruity and velvety across the board.

1989-90

Another back-to-back success story: 1989’s wet spring and mild winter

Cellar alert! Thanks to near-perfect weather conditions, nearly all varietals were well rounded and tannic. Be selfish and hold onto this one—it’s got real potential.

2010

A result of drought conditions, 2010’s vintage is complex and robust with many of the best bottles measuring over 15 per cent in alcohol content. A modern classic.

SHARP: THE BOOK FOR MEN SPRING/SUMMER 2014

Style Manual

Contents 190 The Modern Suit 192 Shirts and Ties 194 The Mid-Layer 196 Sportcoats and Trousers 197 Summer Scarves 198 Dress Shoes 200 Man Bags 201 Patterns 202 Canadian Fashion 204 Weird Colours

BFM.S/S.14

Style Manual

205 The Monochromatic Look 206 The Hawaiian Shirt 207 Dip-Dye 208 Casual Friday 210 The Suede Bomber 211 Sunglasses 212 Baseball Style 213 Workwear 214 Rainwear 216 Shorts

217 ColourBlocking 218 The Pocket Tee 219 The Polo 220 Sneakers 222 Denim 224 Beachwear 226 The Trench Coat 227 Nautical Stripes 228 Watches 230 Belts 231 Finishing Touches

189

01

a

02

b

Welcome to stress-free business dressing.

Shirts:

Ties:

01)Cotton shirt ($225) by Paul Smith, available at Holt Renfrew

a)Silk tie ($150)

by Sand

02)Cotton blend shirt ($1,120) by Prada 03)Cotton shirt ($100) by Bruun & Stengade 04)Cotton shirt ($165) by John Varvatos, at Harry Rosen

b)Linen tie ($95)

by Ted Baker c)Silk tie ($140)

by Tiger of Sweden d)Cotton tie ($50) by Bruun & Stengade. e)Virgin wool tie ($95) by J.Lindeberg

05)Cotton shirt ($250) by BOSS

All five of these dress shirts pair up perfectly with all five of these ties.

That’s 25 different combinations. Just imagine the possibilities.

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Style Manual

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How It’s Done:

Expand your sailorstriped horizons.

The Coolest Men’s Stores in the World

C’H’C’M’ 2 Bond St., New York, NY, United States Designers from big retail chains are known to stalk this hidden New York gem for “inspiration,” thanks to its ahead-of-the-curve medley of goods from designers that you’ve never heard of, but are about to fall in love with. chcmshop.com

BFM.S/S.14

Orlebar Brown $150

Cotton suit ($900) by BOSS; leather belt ($100) by Strellson; leather boat shoes (price upon request) by Tommy Hilfiger.

Caine, M.

Cream-and-blue is timeless, of course, but it’s also obvious. A nautical pullover with a pinch more personality—like this blaze orange number, for instance— will lend some serious swashbuckling attitude to a crisp cotton suit.

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227

Stuff That Will Never Be Cool Despite what was implied in the introduction, there are certain things that will always be terrible.

Fanny packs • Jean shorts • Socks and sandals • Mock necks • Deep V-neck tees • Zipoff cargo pants • Crocs • Anything leather that’s not outerwear or footwear • Cowboy boots (unless you work on a ranch) • Anything Don Cherry has ever worn • Ironic t-shirts

01

02

The Coolest Men’s Stores in the World

03

05

04

01)Wax braided belt ($178) by Strellson

The belt is the new tie.

At the moment, there’s no accessory more essential. It’s time to step outside your brown and black leather comfort zone.

230

02)Striped belt ($160) by Prada.

03)Suede camo belt ($110) by J.Lindeberg 04)Turquoise cotton woven belt ($85) by Diesel 05)Woven elastic belt ($185)

by Anderson’s

Style Manual

The Armoury 307 Peddler Building, 12 Peddler St., Hong Kong, China A new school haberdashery with an old world vibe, stocked to the brim with enough softshouldered sportcoats, hand-rolled neckties and suede monkstraps to make an Italian sartorialist weep with joy. thearmoury.com

BFM.S/S.14

Every last detail matters.

So take pride in—and have some fun with—the little things. Opt for finishing touches bristling with eye-catching eccentricities.

02

01

03

1)Brass rifle tie bar ($50) by In God We Trust, at Elevator 2)Swarovski crystal cufflinks ($165)

by Duchamp London, at Harry Rosen 3)Gold collar stays ($15) by Tyler & Tyler, at Elevator

04

4)Brass bracelet ($185) by Miansai, at Elevator 5)Sterling silver money clip ($155) by Prada, at Harry Rosen

07 05

6)Sterling silver keychain ($415) by David Yurman, at Holt Renfrew

06

7)Silk tie ($125) by Oliver Spencer

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231

SPRING/SUMMER 2014

Style This is how your suit should look in 2014. It’s neither boxy and oversized like the suits of the ’90s, nor shrunken and skinny like those of the ’00s. It just fits, and fits well. Let’s take a closer look at how and why.

— The Style Manual

Travel On the first day, when we arrived mid-afternoon and only had an hour or two at sea, my only catch was a plump eight-pound Coho—which happens to be a perfect fish for making gravlax. And then it was time to repair to the lodge for a hot shower, a couple of single malts, some sushi and the first of our fourcourse menus with paired wines.

— Trolling for Giants

Automobiles With 624 horsepower, the Wraith is the most potent Rolls-Royce ever made.

From inside the cabin, however, you don’t quite feel as though you’re ever actually accelerating. The roar of the engine never rises above a polite thrum, so it can be a shock to discover the Wraith has gone from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.

— A Grand Departure

Advice Cigars are made for aging: after a number of years, the oils in the leaves begin to blend harmoniously with each other while losing any traces of harshness.

Most cigars reach their apex of taste and smoothness between 5 and 10 years of age, while some just keep getting better decade after decade.

— Finding Vintage Cigars, The MANual

$16.95 • Display until September 8, 2014