POLO LIFESTYLES Haiti VOLUME II / ISSUE III / MARCH 2018
The World’s Best Chef Daniel Humm Ela Arjandas: The Business of Social Media Rooftop Bars from Budapest to Bangkok
LEADING THE PACK
OPULENT ACCESSORIES WE LOVE D1 MILANO Isabel Englebert Ralph Lataillade LILLY GHALICHI
CAMEL POLO An Arabian Twist on the Sport of Kings
VOLUME II / ISSUE III / MARCH 2018
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stregisdoha.com
ST. REGIS DOHA, QATAR
VOLUME II / ISSUE III / MARCH 2018
POLO LIFESTYLES Haiti T H E M AG A Z I N E
L’ÉQUIPE:
Claude-Alix Bertrand
President/Executive Editor
Josh Jakobitz
SVP Marketing/Editor
Lucy Crabtree Copy Editor
Trystanne Cunningham
Senior Global Style Curator
Christelle P. Pierre
Style Contributor, Port-au-Prince
Mark Wine
Fitness Columnist
Joey Velez
Wellness Columnist
Wendelle Theodore
Style & Culture Contributor, Paris Desk
Hans Ebenman
Travel Columnist
Contributing Photographers
Josue Azor Edgar Grajo Polo Lifestyles is a publication of HT Polo Co.
280 Old County Road, Suite 152, Brisbane, CA 94005
All rights reserved. For information or to advertise, Contact editor@htpolo.com Read online at www.pololifestyles.com On the cover: Camel Polo Trainers of Dubai Polo Equestrian Club Cover photo credit: Gulf Ventures, UAE
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ARE YOU GOING?
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Indio, California Empire Polo Club Season runs January 1 to April 1 www.empirepoloevents.com Palm Beach, Florida International Polo Club C.V. Whitney Cup February 23 to March 5 114th US Open Polo Championships April ipc.coth.com Wellington, Florida Grand Champion Polo Club Top Pony (12 goals) February to April John Joxley (16-20 goals) February to April www.gcpolo.com Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club Gold Cup Series March www.abhabtoorpoloresortandclub.com Barbados Apes Hill Polo Club Barbados Open April www.apeshillpolo.com Buenos Aires, Argentina Copa de la Republica March 20 to April 5
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CONTENTS CAMEL POLO
The treasures of Ralph Lataillade fine jewels page 71
An Arabian twist on the Sport of Kings page 40
POLO LIFESTYLES EDITORS & CONTRIBUTORS
Ambassador Claude-Alix Bertrand
Publisher Polo Lifestyles
Josh Jakobitz
SVP Marketing and Editor Polo Lifestyles
Joey Velez
Mental Wellness Columnist Velez Mental Performance
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Trystanne Cunningham
Senior Global Style Curator Polo Lifestyles
Mark Wine
Fitness Columnist & CEO Functional Muscle Fitness
Hans Ebenman
Travel Columnist The Rooftop Guide
Wendelle Theodore
Style & Culture Contributor Paris
Christelle P. Pierre
Josue Azor
Style Contributor Port-au-Prince
Contributing Photographer Port-au-Prince
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Chef Daniel Humm page 62
Dario Spallone page 58
Lilly Ghalichi page 18
Isabel Englebert page 74
Ela Arjandas on beauty, love, and Instagram page 48
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COMMENTS TO THE EDITOR “Great feed!” “Love it!” “Definitely a ‘must-see’... nothing like this on the market.” “Thank you very much for your support.” “Awesome.” “Thank you so much for the feature!” “Gorgeous!”
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Camels march across the cover of Polo Lifestyles this month, and honestly, I couldn’t be more excited. This cover gave us a legitimate reason to research “fun camel facts” that had the entire office in stitches. In inaccessible parts of Kenya, library books are delivered by camels; camels only spit when they feel threatened; and best of all, camels are born without humps! They develop them as they mature and consume solid food. In Dubai, riders are training camels in the desert for use in polo tournaments. With a lifespan average of 40 years, camels are a solid investment. More temperamental than ponies, but able to race at speeds up to 40 mph, dromedary camels (the onehump species native to the Middle East) are actually gentle giants whose name in Arabic means ‘beautiful.’ Speaking of beauty, the Rooftop Guide joins Polo Lifestyles this month with reviews and recommendations of top hotel rooftop bars and lounges. The Dom Perignon brunch each Sunday at the Hong Kong Ritz Carlton’s Ozone, where unlimited Dom is served with a delectable buffet of international delicacies, is definitely on our bucket list now. Our in-house fashionistas bring us emerging fashion trends and the hottest labels from around the globe, and we’re particularly thrilled to present Isabel Englebert, whose husband plays polo and who’ll present a “Meet the Designer” event at Olivia Preckel in Palm Beach on March 9. Haitian jewelry designer Ralph Lataillade, who operates his entire business of discrete referrals and return customers, is complemented by the stunning photos from Haiti’s Carnival and International Jazz Festival, both held in Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities in February, and captured by my friend with a camera, the talented Josue Azor. March marks another milestone for Polo Lifestyles, as we bring our print production operation in-house. The magazine is now headquartered, curated, designed, edited, and printed in California. This month, we’ll interview and finalize our summer interns, effectively marking the end of winter and our race into the spring polo season. In that case, runners to your mark, get set, go! Best, Josh Jakobitz josh@htpolo.com
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Reposted FOR THE RECORD Curated Instagram posts from February
PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
haitiluxe Duro Oluwu presents a collection inspired by Sca music of Jamaica
o.meraki Celebratory kisses in PyeongChang photo by Ueslei Marcelinoa
taravilabeauty Makeup for @leannemarshallofficial FW18
orianeangel Esmeralda of San Giorgio for Carnivale de Venezia
lagospoloclub Day 2 of the Low Cup, Majekodunmi Cup - Week 2 Open in Lagos
womanslook Royal style every day with Prince Harry and Megan Markle
stepix2017 Vertical slope at the Olympic Games for the women’s downhill
absolutelyx Liquid silk as for as the eye can see. Just the way we like it.
arisutoronto
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Click and comment on our choices... tag @pololifestyles We will share noteworthy comments with you next month
Slovenian ski jumper Nika Kriznar soars through the air in PyeongChang
Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome Carnival, the best in the world, in all its glory
gaelle_le_targat I Am Not Your Negro wins Best Documentary at BAFTAs @raoulpeck
polocamtv Julius Baer Gold Cup; Abu Dhabi 14 / Zedan 6; Wolves Polo 8 / UAE 6
pete_og Philadelphia Eagles win the Superbowl
georgercarrnyc Her Majesty the Queen and Anna Wintour at London Fashion Week
antoniosdiaskouris Fashion Week has it all from haute couture to street style
recordingacademy On the front row of music’s biggest night with @beyonce
themasry Camel Racing in Nuweiba between Tarabin and Mezeina tribes
fopsports
montenegrogram
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GLAMAZON GHALICHI THE BRAVO STAR ON SUCCESS, SALES, DREAMS AND DAYS OFF
With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
Bravo’s The Shahs of Sunset star Lilly Ghalichi didn’t grow up with much, so when she asks if she considers herself self-made, her answer is, “No, I am selfmade.” Her track record and accomplishments prove she’s worked incredibly hard for everything she’s created. Her recipe for success is a short one: hard work. “Nothing in life comes easily. (Many) people dream big, but they’re unwilling to put in the work. I work hard every day toward success; business isn’t a race, it’s a marathon,” she says. At her lowest point, she focused on the positive things in her life. “It was very, very hard. I try to always remember that a part of success is failure. Not everything you do will be a success or page 18
be right; you will make many mistakes. The important part is how you deal with those mistakes.”
focus is on facilitating and nurturing that growth.”
Ghalichi’s multiple brands, companies, and initiatives have her spread very thin at times. “I have found to improve the quality of your work is to know your strength and your weaknesses. You must be able to admit what you are not good at, so that others can focus on those things, while you focus on what you are good at. This way everyone is working more efficiently and productively.”
Ghalichi refers to herself as a Glamazon, and instead of listening to trends and noise, she listens to herself and asks, “What would Lilly Ghalichi want in X? In Y? In Z? Whatever that answer is, I then create. If I don’t love it, it won’t sell. Other companies focus on what is selling well so they can sell that, too; I think (because of our approach) we are distinguished as taste makers or trend setters of our industry.”
Right now, the business-minded star is focused on Lilly Lashes, which has become the number one last brand in the world especially among celebrities, make up artists, and social media influencers. “We are growing exponentially right now, month after month, so my
Recently married, Ghalichi and new husband Dara Mir, also an entrepreneur, had to establish non-working hours to balance their lives. “We made a policy of ‘no work after 8pm’ that’s our time with each other. The same is true for Sundays – no work allowed.”
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Scoreboards & Cocktails
TOURNAMENTS & ACTION IN NOVEMBER
Veuve Clicquot Silver Cup & Open Cup Lagos Polo Club Lagos, Nigeria
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Sponsors GT Bank, BUA Group, Coca-Cola, SNEP Co., Chapel Hill Denham, Wapic Insurance, Metro Captial Arbico, Veuve Clicquot, Balmoral, Bell Oil & Gas, Old Mutual, SAF, Rack Centre, and Power Horse combined forces at Lagos Polo Club.
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Guests sipped on Veuve Clicquot out of the iconic VC orange flutes at the Majekodunmi Cup.
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“Friday Night Under the Lights” Empire Polo Club Indio, California
Friday Night Under the Lights 2018 season is in full swing in Indio, California, at the Empire Polo Club.
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Julius Baer Gold Cup
Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Polo Club February 16 to March 9
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Some of the world’s best polo teams and most respected names from polo descended upon Dubai for the Dubai Polo Gold Cup series: McLaren Cup, Polo Masters Cup, Julius Baer Gold Cup, Dubai Challenge Cup, and the Dubai Cup. Pictured here are early results from Julius Baer Gold Cup.
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Maria Yee & Gump’s Cocktail Party San Francisco, California February 15
Gump’s Department Store honored Maria Yee, celebrating their 30-year partnership and launching her fresh collection of modern furniture. Antares Yee, Maria’s son, introduced his brand Sun at Six, during the same evening. Guests sipped Paul Hobbs chardonnay and nibbled on hors d’oeuvre after the store closed.
Maria and Antares Yee flank Gump’s CEO Michael Mosca.
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JAZZ FESTIVAL - PLACE BOYER, PETION-VILLE
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Haiti’s Colorful Carnival
Port-au-Prince, Haiti - February 11-13 Once a year, Port-au-Prince converges on the Champs-de-Mars plaza for three days and nights of revelry, culture and community before Lent begins. Plezikanaval captured these images of the 2018 “Kanaval”.
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Festival International de Jazz
International jazz musicians join local artists in Haiti each year to honor the jazz legacy of the Caribbean island Port-au-Prince & CĂ´te-des-Arcadins
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The 12th edition of the International Festival of Jazz in Haiti was January 20-27. Festival sites included Karibe Hotel in Juvenat, Royal Decameron Beach Resort in Côte-des-Arcadins, Université Quisqueya in Haut Turgeau, Place Boyer in Pétion-Ville, Institut Français d’Haïti in Bois-Verna, Brasserie Quarter Latin in Pétion-Ville, Presse Cafe in Pétion-Ville, Yanvalou in Port-au-Prince, Café 36 in Pétion-Ville, Les Jardins de MUPANAH in Port-au-Prince, and La Reserve in Berthe. page 37
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CAMEL POLO An Arabian twist on the Sport of Kings
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DUBAI: CAMELS & THE SPORT OF KINGS
Josh Jakobitz, Polo Lifestyles editor josh@htpolo.com
While notions of camels may conjure up images of treks across the desert on stubborn, spitting animals most wellknown for their number of humps, in Dubai, an Arabian twist on the sport of kings is a memorable and often hilarious experience. Camels, members of the dromedaries species (the native one-hump camels of the Middle East) have emerged on the polo scene in a big way. page 42
Inspired by elephant polo played in Thailand, camel polo, practiced and played by eight riders at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club, debuted in 2010 with a lively 15-minute chukker. Since 2010, adventure companies specializing in Middle Eastern excursions have picked up the game and added it to their repertoire of activities for tourists. Unlike elephants, camels are notoriously stubborn, slow on the turn and prone to wandering off. Adrian Sime,
general manager of Gulf Ventures told The National in 2010, “Polo is very unusual for a camel because they have a mind of their own,” he said. “In the middle of a game they often just walk off, sit down or decide not to do anything.” The camels are trained on the outskirts of Dubai from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. The process to train new camels is grueling, according to Steve Thompson, head coach at the affiliated Dubai Polo Academy. “It’s relatively easy in com-
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CAMEL FACTS: Two types: one-hump (dromedary) and twohumps (Bactrian) Camels can reach speeds of 40 mphs Lifespan: up to 40 years Gestation period: 13-15 months panrison to train a horse,” he said. “But when you pull on the reins to make a camel turn, its head just turns around to face you. There had to be endless repetition. When the camel finally (turned and) went two degrees to the right, we (rewarded it with) a date.” Camels, like polo ponies, can reach speeds of up to 40 mph. Holding to the adage that a camel is only as bad-tempered as it is badly treated, the animals are lovingly cared for by the riders and are washed at a well near their stables every day. Abdul Kareem, a rider from Pakistan, said that while a firm hand was needed, particularly when directing the animal to turn, the stereotype of the camel as an aggressive creature is a myth. “I don’t think I’ve ever been bitten,” he said. Camels are only defensive when angered or threatened. Gulf Ventures, who coordinated our camel polo experience, sent Mercedes sedans to the hotel to pick up our group of novice camel polo players. Transported outside of Dubai to a regulation-size polo field, we were greeted with cool towels and bottles of water as the sun blazed over us. The polo camels waited for us to mount, kneeling by the sidelines. Once secured and with our drivers in front of us, trainers handed us our mallets - the longest mallets we’ve ever played with on account of the height of the camels. Camel polo follows the rules of traditional polo. We took part in two eight-player teams, with professional players responsible for driving the camel. Our job was simply hitting the ball as the camels galloped down the field, usually quite amicably. Only twice did a camel refuse to engage in the game, resulting in mass chaos as we all reached for our phones to take photos and videos. When coordinated through Gulf Ventures, participants play on Mondays and Wednesday during the winter season (September to May), receive a camel polo jersey, soft drinks, full instruction and one hour’s worth of play time. The durable camels also lend themselves to more post-match activities than the average polo pony. To book with Gulf Ventures, visit http://www.gulfventures.com. page 44
Camels are known to spit when angered or feel threatened Camels’ humps are actually fat deposits Camels can drink up to 40 gallons of water at a time Camels are born without humps and develop them as they mature
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ELA ARJANDAS
THE BUSINESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Ela and husband Anil Arjandas in Madrid. With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
“I never had any intention to start a blog or grow a large following on social media; one day I switched my private account to a public one – without any expectations,” says Ela Mois Arjandas. “Well, it went crazy, the account (grew) quickly and people were interested in my posts, asking page 48
about who I was wearing, my favorite products, and tips for where to go for dinner.” Ela’s piercing beauty along with unlimited access to the best-of-the best launched her into social media fame. Her husband, Anil Arjandas, already an experienced Instagrammer himself, helped her create her story lines, which includes daily – or more often – updates about bits and pieces from her every day life: thoughts, clothes, travel, her taste and veracity for new products.
“I think back to the days (social media) used for be for furn. Social media friends were like a small virtual family sharing tips, ideas, getting to know each other and building friendships in an unconventional way. Now, things are a little different. Bloggers emphasize the professional aspects and tend to be more accurate in terms of style and quality. As a landmark in our everyday life, it’s gone from being a hobby to a full-time job in most cases.” The full-time social media brand man-
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ager works diligently on brand collaborations to set clear and strong expectations from the beginning. “I feel like both parts can bring something to the table: bloggers understand social media, know their audience and what kind of posts will succeed. When I have a campaign, I always make sure to send the post before to make sure my idea aligns with their goals. It is fun when we all put our minds together to come up with something inspiring, creating and unique. As long as the ideas and expectations are clear , the blogger-brand partnerships are a win-win situation.”
“Right now there are so many accounts and so many people doing this, that you have to show followers what sets you apart – what makes you stand out of the crowd. It’s important to engage with people as you are sending a message, so make it worth their while,” Ela says. The Arjandas both work in the high-end jewelry design business Anil Arjandas Jewels, where they met when she was still Ela Mois – model, “it” girl and brand representative. She grew up in a “very close and happy family that developed with core beliefs and shaped” her. The two wed in September 2016 in Marbella, Spain. When speaking with Polo Lifestyles, Ela referenced Anil’s loving influence multiple times in her journey to becoming a fashion influencer and personality. What does a day in the life of Ela look like? No two days are the same. “I’m constantly traveling and on the move. Sometimes I miss routine,” she confides. Her routine – as much as possible – starts early with light breakfast and checking her social media and emails. She drinks 3L of water each day as part of her beauty regimen. Hotels check-ins and check-outs, visits to Anil Arjandas Jewels boutiques, lunches and dinners require that she looks her best at all times. “When it comes to my skin, hygiene is key. I (dealt) with acne for many years and learned the importance of removing makeup before bedtime. Any moisturizer must have a high SPF. A balanced diet and listening to my body are essential to me.”
Ever a jewelry brand manager, Ela notes that while her closet is a mix of luxury pieces and off-the-rack, jewelry is an investment, appreciating value over the years. Her inside recommendation? Diamonds. Of course.
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Ela’s favorites and recommendations: Favorite fashion treasures: “Leclaireur in Paris, Dover Street Market in London, The Webster in Miami – they all have really cool selections and exclusive pieces. For basics: Zara and H&M, and of course online stores.” Blogs and accounts she follows: @latenightinparis, @ ericapelosini, @vintage70s and @sophiaamoruso Her daily beauty regime: “Nurse Jamie Clear Cleansing Bar in a Jar, followed by Kiehls Calendula infused toner and a rotating variety of moisturizers, including Perricone MD Hydrating Cloud Cream.” Favorite country: “Morocco. Everything about Morocco is magical, every corner is like a hidden gem. You can wander aimlessly through the souks, get lost in the narrow, labyrinthine alleys for hours and be amazed at every corner.” Favorite city: “London is so beautiful to travel around, it’s not only the historical and cultural relevance of the city, but its charming vibe. Don’t miss the avocado toast at The Wolseley. New York never gets old, its iconic skyline makes me feel every time like I am on a movie set. Dubai, you either love it or hate it... But I love it; it always surprises me and I am a Middle Eastern food addict.” Favorite club to let loose: “Cirque le Soire” Go-to brands: “Balenciaga , RE/DONE, Zara.. Hedi Slimane’s designs for Yves Saint-Laurent.” Best weekend getaway:” London.” Finish this sentence: I must go back to… “The Six Senses Zil Pasyon without a doubt. What do I start with.. The views? The impeccable service? The private island where it is located? Its secluded beaches? The food?” Hidden talent: “I love planning and organizing surprise parties. It’s fun and it always challenges me to come up with new ideas.” Travel essentials: Make up remover, moisturizer, hand cream, lip balm, sunglasses and passport
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High Note SkyBar at Aria Hotel – Budapest
THE ROOFTOP GUIDE Eight luxurious hotels with amazing rooftops
Hans Ebenman, travel contributor hans.ebenman@rooftopguiden.se Editor’s Note: We welcome The Rooftop Guide to Polo Lifestyles this month. Hans Ebenman, co-founder and CEO, will be sharing his favorite rooftop hot-spots from around the world. This month, he gives us eight luxurious hotels with amazing rooftops.
Marina Bay Sands – Singapore The ultimate rooftop when speaking of luxurious terraces and infinity pools. This place has it all: the highest infinity pool in the world, lavish restaurants, great bars, attentive service and spectacular 360-degree views over the city page 54
and ocean. To use the swimming pool, you must be a guest at the hotel, but it’s worth every penny. One of the coolest places on earth and also an opportunity to get some memorable photos and likable Instagram posts. Ozone at Ritz Carlton – Hong Kong The world’s highest bar, located at a dazzling altitude of 580 meters, perched on the 118th floor of the super luxurious Ritz Carlton Hong Kong – is the highest hotel in the world. On the 117th floor, guests enjoy the large, indoor infinity pool and rooftop Jacuzzis. One of the best things here is the Dom Perignon
Sunday Brunch. Free flow of Dom Perignon, along with great food in all its forms and a view to die for. On a sunny day, you can see the whole city and surroundings, one of the most iconic skylines in the world. Dom Perignon brunch starts at $1,300 USD/person. Worth every dollar. CRU Champagne Bar at Centara Grand – Bangkok The perfect place in Bangkok for a luxurious rooftop bar with a spectacular 360-degree view. This place works well for both afternoon/evening cocktails and a party night later. Food and drinks
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The press Lounge at Ink 48 Hotel - New York
open to the public. Dress for success to be able to blend in among the trendy crowd. Level 43 Sky Lounge at Four Points by Sheraton Downtown – Dubai One of the coolest city views in the whole world. When darkness falls over Dubai, this is the best place to be. A “loungy” party atmosphere surrounds the terrace, while the guests enjoy the sunset and skyscraper views with a refreshing cocktail in their hand. There’s also a separate terrace – only open to the guests of the hotel – with a rooftop swimming pool. A perfect place to unwind before heading up to Level 43 Sky Lounge for drinks and the party atmosphere.
Level 43 Sky Lounge at Four Points by Sheraton Downtown - Dubai
are made to perfection and the same goes for the attentive service from the staff here. Try their signature cocktails along with Caspian Sea Caviar, foie gras, or freshly chucked oysters from the bar menu. Two floors down is Red Sky, one of the best rooftop restaurants in Asia: fantastic food in a luxurious environment. In other words – the perfect rooftop for the true epicurean. Sky Bar at Grand Hotel Central – Barcelona If you’re looking for the best rooftop infinity pool in Europe, Grand Hotel Central in Barcelona is the place to book your hotel nights. The terrace is the best in the city and the rooftop pool surely adds to the luxurious
feeling that surrounds the whole hotel. If you’re not a guest of the hotel, you can come here after 8 PM for drinks in the Sky Bar. The atmosphere is vibrant and both locals and tourists come here to enjoy drinks while gazing out over rooftops and the Mediterranean Sea. The Press Lounge at Ink 48 Hotel – New York If you’re looking for one of the best skyline views Manhattan has to offer, a visit at The Press Lounge is a must. And in the other direction, you’ll get a beautiful view of the Hudson River – and the sunset can’t be beat. The atmosphere is sophisticated during the day and in the evening, the terrace turns into a vibrant party spot. The rooftop is
High Note SkyBar at Aria Hotel – Budapest Aria Hotel was named as the best hotel in the world by TripAdvisor in 2016, and their rooftop runs in the same league as the hotel itself. High Note SkyBar is the best place for drinks with a view in Budapest. The terrace is open all year and is equally perfect for a long wine lunch as a night out with your friends. The service, food, drinks and décor are flawless. Everything oozes of quality. As a guest of the hotel, you enjoy complimentary cheese and wine every afternoon in the lobby, while listening to live piano performances. Capri by Fraser – Kuala Lumpur Relaxation in a harmonious environment best describes the rooftop at Capri by Fraser very well, largely due to the large and luxurious rooftop infinity pool. It is one of few rooftops in the world that offer private rooftop Jacuzzis. As a guest of the hotel, you enjoy these Jacuzzis while looking out over the Kuala Lumpur skyline. Insider tip: head up here early in the day – sometimes you have the whole terrace for yourself, which elevates the entire experience to a super luxurious feeling. The Rooftop Guide was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2015 by Hans Ebenman and Rikard Fredricson. The lack of a complete and easily navigated guide created the idea, resulting in the world’s biggest web site about rooftops, www. therooftopguide.com, featuring review of over 1,300 rooftop bars in more than 100 cities and destinations.
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D1
MILANO
WEAR YOUR ATTITUDE
Oksana Toussaint-Vig oksana@htpolo.com
Siblings Dario and Alessia Spallone, along with friends Mattia Bodini and Alessandro Pedersoli founded D1 Milano watch brand on the basis that a watch is a social status, shared between both men and women, of technical value. Dario, the CEO, agreed to an interview with Polo Lifestyles. Polo Lifestyles (PL): What is the role of a CEO in brand development? Dario Spallone (DS): The CEO’s role is to bring vision to the table and to translate the vision to the team. I don’t consider myself to be an expert at everything. The brand will be successful and reach where it is meant to be only if you employ the right resources. The CEO’s role is to create the right balance and coherence amongst the team for smooth functioning. PL: From where do you draw your inspiration and ideas? DS: I draw my inspiration mainly from the people I work with. I have a vision that I page 58
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share with my team who then execute and bring the vision to life. The process of an idea converting to reality is a thoroughly inspiring one. I am also constantly inspired by other successful business leaders. I reading autobiographies – they’re a great source to learn about people, experiences, successes and failures. PL: Which product or watch would you like to see get a makeover? DS: The D1 brand recently went through a brand restructure and we are currently very happy with what we have on offer. Having said that, we do keep inventing different versions of existing models subject to demand. For instance we would recreate a model which would be slightly smaller in size to cater to our female customers. “Makeover” is not a consistent part of our brand ideology but we are always listening to our customers and their needs and incorporate that into our designs. PL: Are there any current trends you do like or don’t like? DS: I am not a huge fan of Scandinavian English watch designs. Many of the
iconic watches were born in the Italian market in the 70s. I take a lot of inspiration from this era, which I consider the golden era for watch design in D1 Milano pieces.
pool the expertise of each member for the creation of our time pieces.
PL: What is the process for creating a new watch?
DS: It typically takes up to six months for a design to come to life, from the vision phase to inception to launch, however certain models can take longer, nearly a year.
DS: It is the vision first, which translates into various design ideas. The team then all pitches in and gives input to produce the best possible version. PL: Who is the designer behind D1 Milano? DS: D1 Milano’s head designer is Alessandro. Our team is constructed in a way where in each individual is responsible for their departments and take respective strategic decisions for their allotted sectors. Alessandro works with a design team of two junior designers based in UAE, along with a complete team in Hong Kong to supervise development and execution of each design from start to finish. Our team works in cohesion with one another for the creation of any product under D1 Milano. Every person on the team is an expert in their respective sector and we
PL: And what is the typical lead time on a new design?
PL: Where do you see D1 Milano in five years? DS: At present we are still very focused around developing from a niche to global brand, this will take some time because consistency in execution is the only recipe for a stable and growing project. At present, our watches are available in 500 points of sales and seven mono brand stores across 18 different countries. In 2018, we want to triple this presence and to strengthen our image as a reference point in this category. I am not shy to acknowledge that there will be spend bumps along the way but I am positive with my teams’ dedication and our community’s support we will come through. I was to see D1 Milano become a global brand with worldwide
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How Daniel Humm Became the World’s Best Chef
New York’s Eleven Madison Park was voted the best restaurant in the world, making Daniel Humm the greatest chef currently cooking in any kitchen. By: Jeff Gordinier | Photo credit: Henry Leutwyler
It had been snowing all night. The road down the mountain snaked through an icing of whiteness. Daniel Humm, the young chef whose cooking had brought a Michelin star to this patch of the Swiss Alps, had crawled into bed around three in the morning. Now he was up again, two or three hours later, his bones aching and his eyes bloodshot. Humm had to make it from his kitchen at Gasthaus zum Gupf in Rehetobel, Switzerland, to the market in Zürich, about ninety minutes away. He needed to buy the best lettuces and herbs from the page 62
countryside, the best lemons and oranges trucked in from Italy. His dishes relied on these ingredients, and his dishes were so good, so revelatory, that wealthy customers had started flying to the restaurant via helicopter to eat them. He made this trip to the farmers’ market three times a week. He’d grown up doing the same thing with his mother, arriving at the market at dawn so that she could score the freshest treasures from the Swiss landscape. Being a great chef depends on cooking well, sure, but a lot of it comes down to shopping well. Having been raised to revere ingredients, Humm
couldn’t imagine sleeping in and settling for less. So he put on his boots, stepped into the cold, and got behind the steering wheel of a Mercedes SUV that belonged to his boss at the restaurant. Even in his exhaustion, Humm recognized the moment that he lost control of the Mercedes. “I realized I was going way too fast into this curve,” he remembers. He also realized, as the vehicle slid downward through the ice and snow, that he was heading straight for a steep alpine drop. He was about to go over a cliff. He spotted a single tree that looked like a cinnamon stick rising from a bowl
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of cream. “I was steering toward that tree, trying to hit it,” he says. HIS DISHES WERE SO GOOD, SO REVELATORY, THAT WEALTHY CUSTOMERS HAD STARTED FLYING TO THE RESTAURANT VIA HELICOPTER TO EAT THEM. The tree in the snow stopped his slide toward doom. It also wrecked the SUV. “The car was totally fucked,” Humm says. At that moment, though, the state of his employer’s Mercedes was not his primary concern. “All I thought about was How am I gonna get to the market? The restaurant would not function if I didn›t have the ingredients.» After extracting himself from the shattered hull of the Mercedes, Humm hiked back up the slope to Gasthaus zum Gupf, borrowed another car from a friend, and hauled ass to Zurich to make it to the market in time. “Only on the way back did things start to settle in,” he says. “I realized that I could have died.”
“Dude, it’s been hard.” Humm says this seconds after he tells me the story about the sliding Mercedes. It’s a Monday evening at I Sodi, a restaurant in New York’s West Village where he retreats when he wants what a lot of chefs want on a night off—a bottle or two of good red wine and a few comforting bowls of cheese-dusted pasta, still hot from the boil and just the right amount of chewy. “This is my favorite place in New York,” he says. “I come here whenever I can. It’s really honest, you know?”
always talked about in tandem, like the Glimmer Twins of gastronomy—oversee a renowned restaurant, the NoMad, in the eponymous Manhattan hotel, and a warren of bars and nooks in the same space. They’re planning to open a branch of the NoMad in Los Angeles in the coming year, as well as a new fine-dining sanctuary in a luxury tower at 425 Park Avenue. They also intend to roll out a group of fast-casual spots under the rubric Made Nice. To observers who murmur enviously about the duo’s seemingly effortless march to power, it can all be a bit much to bear—the money, the air-kissy acclaim, the unsinkable Disney smiles. Theirs is the kind of success that makes mortals smirk. “I told him, ‘I can’t hang out with you anymore, because it makes me feel bad about myself,’” says Christopher Kostow, the chef at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley. Humm hired Kostow back when both worked at Campton Place in San Francisco, although in age they’re only a few months apart. “From the very outset, he knew what he wanted to be,” Kostow says. “More than anyone I’ve met in this industry, he had an unmitigated confidence in his ability to be successful.” At Eleven Madison Park, Humm and Guidara are proponents of a vein of white-tablecloth grandeur that suppos-
edly went out of style a long time ago. When people talk about the food there, they talk about a delirium of pleasure, a rush of extravagance that’s usually associated with the Old World. “He’s not only cooking for himself,” says Bo Bech, an influential chef from Copenhagen who has befriended Humm over the past few years. “He’s actually cooking for people. He wants them to be happy. He’s not trying to fuck your mouth with things you’ve never heard of.” Danny Meyer, the man who originally convinced Humm to move to New York City and conjure up dishes that could match the high-ceilinged majesty of the dining room, praises Humm for dodging “a self-satisfying intellectualism that obscures any kind of pleasure.” Meyer goes on: “He can actually satisfy my mind and my hedonistic needs at the same time. Very few people can be a virtuoso as well as a pop artist.” Eat at Eleven Madison Park and a bartender will wheel a cocktail cart alongside your table to make you a Manhattan as deftly balanced as Philippe Petit on a tightrope; a snowy globe of celery root will come hot and tender out of an inflated pig’s bladder before being bathed in a truffle sauce; a sommelier will open a bottle of wine by firing up a pair of tongs with what looks like a Bunsen burner and then squeezing the hot tongs right below the cork to melt the glass; for dessert, a torrent of blue flame will pour down the
Hard is not necessarily a word that people associate with Daniel Humm. At forty, he is the head chef and one of the owners of Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant in Manhattan that is celebrated around the world for a casual clockwork opulence. Symbolically, Eleven Madison Park also serves as a sort of Buckingham Palace: the heart and focal point of an aggressively expanding empire. Humm and his business partner, Will Guidara— the two men work so closely that they’re Eleven Madison Avenue’s Addison Squid page 63
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white slopes of your Baked Alaska. These acts are performed with an unflappable happiness that can, at times, seem beyond human. To describe the protocol at Eleven Madison Park as “service with a smile” is to force it into the company of the flair-wearing fast-casual behemoths. But “Make It Nice” is more than just a hash tagged corporate slogan for Guidara and Humm—it’s a religion. They take niceness to extremes. A friend of mine once dined at Eleven Madison Park and offhandedly mumbled something about Game of Thrones and mead. Before his meal was over, a cup of mead had been brought to his table. The job of the staff member known as the Dreamweaver is to acquire stray threads of conversation from waitstaff and to act on that information (quickly, before you depart with the customary jar of Humm’s handmade granola for the morning after) to make a fantasy come to life. You’ve always wondered what it would be like if you could return to your apartment on the bare back of a snorting snow-white stallion? Be careful what you wish for. All of this, paired with Humm’s relentlessly delicious neoclassical cooking, has elevated Eleven Madison Park into the ranks of the world’s most revered restaurants. Announced every spring, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (like the Oscars and the Grammys) exerts enormous influence, even though there is no shortage of grumbling about the list having bogus origins and dubious value. (When Noma, René Redzepi’s pioneering restaurant in Copenhagen, surprised a lot of people by being named the best restaurant in the world in 2010, the impact on global cuisine, and on Redzepi himself, could be compared to that moment in 1992 when Nirvana’s Never mind knocked Michael Jackson›s Dangerous off the top of the Billboard album charts—both conveyed a sense that everything had changed overnight.) Eleven Madison Park has risen high and fast on the World›s 50 Best Restaurants list in recent years; last year it landed at number three, two spots beneath chef Massimo Bottura’s idiosyncratic Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy. Many chefs and restaurateurs say that it’s only a matter of time before page 64
Eleven Madison Park hits number one, and it has been clear for at least half a decade now that Humm and Guidara would very much like that to happen. When it does, Humm will get to savor—at least for a while—the weirdness of being called the greatest chef alive. (If you give the list credence, he is already the greatest chef in America.) But compared with magnetic, charismatic raconteurs such as Redzepi and Bottura and David Chang and Eric Ripert and Ferran Adrià, he has always come across as something of a mystery. He doesn’t disagree with that assessment. “HE’S NOT TRYING TO F*** YOUR MOUTH WITH THINGS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF.” “Maybe I feel like in all this time, no one really knows who I am,” he says. He’s not exactly taciturn, but his manner of speaking is measured, careful, slow, stereotypically Swiss. When people in the food world talk about him, they usually talk about the caviar-and-cream luxury of his cooking (his roast chicken at the NoMad, stuffed and speckled with truffles and foie gras, is one of the great New York City indulgences of our time) and the epic ambition of his bromance with Guidara. Wylie Dufresne, the boldly imaginative chef behind the defunct wd-50 (who has collaborated with the pair by bringing back some of his most famous dishes for customers at the NoMad Bar), points out that in the eyes of many observers, Humm and Guidara are practically inseparable. “It’s not like they’re stuck with each other,” he says. “But the rise of each of them has been linked to the other. That relationship has helped to define a lot of decisions he’s made. It’s not totally clear where one starts and the other ends.” What fills in the blanks can sound a lot like the stuff of a charmed life: Talented kid rises up the ranks back home in Switzerland; moves to San Francisco and gets four stars at Campton Place (“the brightest star to land in Northern California since Thomas Keller opened the French Laundry,” wrote Michael Bauer in the San Francisco Chronicle); gets noticed by the likes of Danny Meyer
and Daniel Boulud; moves to New York and gets four stars all over again (“Eleven Madison Park, which opened in 1998, now ranks among the most alluring and impressive restaurants in New York,” wrote Frank Bruni in The New York Times); and then just basically rides a ski lift all the way to Valhalla. Make it nice, indeed. That’s the image of Daniel Humm, but it’s only part of the story. The real story is “Dude, it’s been hard.” Slash through that blank white canvas and you’ll find a world of hurt. As we finish our meal at I Sodi, Humm tells me that he’s got a passion for food, a passion for cooking, and I barely pay attention to this, at first, because it seems like a generic thing to say. Then he puts down a glass of wine and explains that when he uses the word passion, he is referring to a German word: leidenschaft. Break down the word and it means something more along the lines of “enjoy suffering.” “That would be my translation,” he says. “Passion is not something pleasant. Are you willing to suffer for this? That’s when you have passion. Otherwise, it’s a hobby. Passion is not a hobby.”
By the time of his near-death experience on that hillside in the Swiss Alps, when he was twenty-five, Daniel Humm had already endured a decade or so of serious leidenschaft. He dropped out of school when he was fourteen and moved out of his family›s house soon after. He never got along with his father. «Emotionally, he just wasn›t there,» he says. «I never did what he told me. The more he was against it, the more I went the other way. I moved away from home when I was fifteen. I›ve never asked for one more thing.» Books such as Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, Bill Buford›s Heat, Eric Ripert’s 32 Yolks, and Gabrielle Hamilton›s Blood, Bones & Butter have taught us all about the burns and humiliations that go hand in hand with the romance surrounding the restaurant stove. Many of Humm’s scaldings have been of the emotional
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variety. “ARE YOU WILLING TO SUFFER FOR THIS? THAT’S WHEN YOU HAVE PASSION. OTHERWISE, IT’S A HOBBY.” As a teenager, Humm fell in love with an older woman; she became pregnant when he was seventeen. “Looking back, I was a child myself, barely eighteen, when my daughter Justine was born,” he writes in an early draft of Eleven Madison Park: The Next Chapter, a cookbook/memoir that he plans to publish in October. «Her mother, Elaine, was the love of my life. Those early years were a blur—I was working so much, exhausted on my few days off, salvaging what little energy I had to spend time with my baby.» He still has vivid memories of a four-day vacation to Brittany in his early twenties during which the trio chilled out in a beach-town rental and feasted on French seafood. He has even sharper memories of the moment when Elaine told him that the relationship was ending; she was leaving him for another man. If Humm had been too young to start a family, he was too young to lose one. He wouldn’t see his daughter again for years. (She is
twenty- one now—tall and stunning— and the two have become close. He also has two younger daughters from a subsequent relationship, although he is now single.) “I was destroyed,” he says. “Without that experience, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It made me selfish. I knew that the only thing that couldn’t be taken from me was my career, so I nearly lost myself in it. It was like my therapy. In a way, she gave me a gift. To get to this point, you need to dig deep. Really deep. You need to be willing to give everything. You even need to be selfish at times.”
I look to my left and I see Daniel Humm tangled up like a pretzel. It’s a Wednesday morning in New York, and the chef and I have met at the Iyengar Yoga Institute on West Twenty-second Street. Humm exercises at the start of every day. It has been that way since he was a kid. “I need it,” he says. “Otherwise, I feel completely lost in my day. If I would ever let this go, everything would fall apart. Even if I sleep three hours, I want to do this.” He has a rotating schedule. Some
mornings he goes for a run; other days he trains with heavy gloves and punching bags among the fighters at Mendez Boxing, on East Twenty-sixth Street. In his youth, he trained for years to be a competitive bicyclist in Switzerland, and he regularly returns to that time’s rhythms for a bike ride up and down the hills along the western bank of the Hudson River. (He’s often joined by Aldo Sohm, the Austrian-born wine master at Le Bernardin.) Twice a week he makes time for yoga. His personal instructor, Lisa Rotell, is elfin in stature, especially when standing next to the leaning tower of Humm’s six-foot-four frame, but her muscles suggest that she could probably hoist him on her shoulders. In some ways, an Iyengar yoga session serves as a useful expression of the painand-pleasure dynamic that constitutes Humm’s own OS. With Rotell’s guidance, we go through a series of stretches, a few of which involve dangling from ropes that are fixed to the wall. At each point that we hover on the edge of agony, she pushes us a few centimeters farther. Each instance of pain seems to produce a concomitant sensation of euphoria—both of us leave the room feeling high. page 65
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Chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara at NoMad
But if you get an endorphin rush in proportion to the pain produced by each pose, Humm’s has to be more intense than mine. The guy has an intimate bond with pain. “I’m very comfortable with pain,” he says. “My cycling career has taught me that. It’s all about pain. It’s about endurance. Whoever can push themselves harder is going to go farther.” He recently pushed himself to do handstands—no mean feat for a man of his height—and when we get to the end of the Wednesday session, I find myself conked out next to him on the floor as he twists himself, with Rotell’s help, into a move that seems more suited to a contortionist than a top chef who needs to let off some steam. This is the moment in a yoga practice when most of us revert to shavasana, or the corpse pose, which might also be described as «lying on the mat and chilling out and maybe even falling asleep to that Jeff Buckley version of ‹Hallelujah.›» Humm, instead, opts for halasana, or the plow pose, in which he lies flat on his back but lifts his legs up page 66
and then over his face so that his toes are somewhere in the vicinity of the crown of his head and his legs hover parallel to the floor. He does this with an extra wrinkle—incorporating a folding chair. His torso lies beneath the bottom of the chair but his legs squeeze through the place in the chair where the small of your back would normally go. When he has bent his sizable body into this position, Rotell places weighted bags on the backs of his thighs. Then he just sits there for a while. All of this helps “rejuvenate the body and mind like you’re taking a nap, which is why he likes it so much,” Rotell later tells me. What looks painful is in fact a source of pleasure. By the time he was twenty-one, Humm had become such a skillful bike racer that he got a chance to compete in the Swiss Championship. The competition took place during the warmer months in Lenzerheide, a mountainous resort town. Humm was determined to kill it, and he launched into the race at a much faster
speed than he normally would have gone in practice. Looking back, he remembers a very steep downhill stretch, followed by a sharp left. The track was gravelly. The momentum overwhelmed him. He wheeled too far out and got caught in the fence that marked the race course. His bike went airborne, and his body catapulted upward. He doesn’t remember the rest. Unconscious, he had to be airlifted to a hospital. He had broken ribs, punctured lungs, a broken arm. He spent six months in bed. Around the time of the accident, Humm’s passion for cooking was surging, and when he looks back, he sees the crash— like his crushing breakup with Elaine—as something of a twisted gift. Had neither happened, he may never have pushed himself as hard as he did in the kitchen. Lying in the hospital bed, he realized that he was squandering his time and leidenschaft on bike racing. “I was good, but I was never going to be Lance Armstrong,” he says. “I decided to put all my energy into cooking. I made cooking my sport.”
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If anything is ultimately bound to nudge Daniel Humm into that top spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, it’s his sheer athleticism. Plenty of chefs work hard. He’s willing to work harder. From the outside, Humm’s accomplishments at Eleven Madison Park may seem to have been written in the stars, but the reality is that his early years in the kitchen were nightmarishly touch and go. The chef arrived in New York in 2006, lured by Meyer, who would later sell Eleven Madison Park to Guidara and Humm. At the time, the restaurant had two stars from The New York Times, which Frank Bruni would soon increase to three, but three stars wouldn›t be enough to help many high-end chefs survive the Great Recession. By 2008, the New York restaurant scene reflected a disaster movie, with massive investments evaporating in sulfurous puffs of smoke everywhere. “Dude, we had nights when we did ten covers,” Humm recalls. “We thought, Maybe this is not the time when the world wants a restaurant like this. We lost money. We weren›t sure we were gonna make it, honestly. And then Frank Bruni came in. We were like, ‘He didn’t come here to give us another three stars.’ He came four or five times. He put us through the wringer.” They cut costs. They waited. They sweated it out. They listened to the clinking of silverware in a half-empty dining room. Bruni bestowed four stars on Eleven Madison Park in August 2009. “We’ve never had an empty seat since that day,” Humm says. “Unbelievable. It was a very emotional moment for us.” By then, though, there had been casualties. Humm may have a high threshold for pain, but not everyone shared his willingness to suffer for perfection. His wrath could scorch skulls. He had earned his stripes in European kitchens where chefs made the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket look like a softy. “Public humiliation, abuse—this is how we kept order,” he says. “This is how we led.” Governed by an “uncontrollable passion,” Humm in those days reacted to even the tiniest instances of tardiness and carelessness with a pent-up alpine
avalanche of rage. “One night, a young cook did something wrong,” he writes in his forthcoming book. “I do not even remember what it was; but I do remember impulsively flinging a quart container of avocado roulade into his face. Will happened to be in the kitchen and see this. After months of allowing me to behave as a terror in the kitchen, he had had enough. He dragged me into our office like a child and proceeded to absolutely demolish me. I was actually scared. He told me that sort of behavior no longer existed in the restaurant or everything was over.” At Eleven Madison Park this past November, I was standing next to Humm, listening to him talk about the evolution of a lobster dish, when we heard, a few yards away, the sleighbellish jingle and crash of a wineglass falling to the floor. A silence came next. You could almost feel jaws and shoulder muscles clenching up all over the kitchen. Humm’s mouth kept moving. He tried to continue the conversation, but then he trailed off. Storm clouds passed over mountain peaks in his eyes. Without shifting his gaze, he called out to Dmitri Magi, Eleven Madison Park’s chef de cuisine. “Dmitri,” he said. “Yesterday something fell. It’s gotta stop. Magi acknowledged this. Humm lowered his eyes. “My old me would have gone over there and yelled at everyone,” he said.
Lately, at forty, Humm has begun to feel as though he has finally found himself as a chef. It’s as if he is just starting out. He used to get inspiration from cookbooks, but he has stopped flipping through them. He spends his free time in art galleries and museums. He has become obsessed with minimalism. He keeps going back to the calming, meditative grids of Agnes Martin; he also returns compulsively to Lucio Fontana, who created his signature works by preparing blank canvases and slashing through each one with a knife. Much of the menu at Eleven Madison Park reflects a similar aesthetic in spite of
its opulence. Unlike many of his culinary contemporaries, restlessly fermenting and foraging in a quest for new flavors and ingredients, Humm fixates on the same ones—white ones, pale ones: apples, fennel, lobster, parsnips. He wants to go painstakingly deeper into each ingredient. He wants to come back to it season after season and make it taste even more like itself. In his mind, he keeps going back to that market in Zurich, hunting for the most perfect head of lettuce, the most exquisite fig. IN HIS MIND, HE KEEPS GOING BACK TO THAT MARKET IN ZURICH, HUNTING FOR THE MOST PERFECT HEAD OF LETTUCE, THE MOST EXQUISITE FIG. He chronicles every torturous step in a dish’s evolution. There is even an archivist at Eleven Madison Park who takes photographs of each dish as it morphs from week to week; those pictures are organized with monastic devotion in a series of R&D binders. Curious about that pear dessert? You can open one of the binders and watch how the dessert changed, just like watching an embryo in a sonogram. Maybe it goes back to his Swiss roots, or that snowy mountainside that once almost sent him hurtling to his death, but Humm’s obsession lately has been whiteness. His most distinctive dishes at Eleven Madison Park have become, like certain passages of MobyDick, veritable studies in whiteness. “The celery root is the most important dish for me,” he says. For years he had tried to figure out how to present dishes in a minimalist way, but he couldn’t quite pull it off. Then it clicked: the bland, pallid bulb of celery, transformed through classic French technique into a luxurious orb. On the plate it looks like nothing much—coming across almost like a golf ball that has splashed into a muddy puddle—but it tastes like everything. “I’m not afraid of making everything all one color,” Humm says. “I like extremes. I live in extremes. I always have.” This article originally appeared in the March ‘17 issue of Esquire.
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RALPH LATAILLADE
BESPOKE JEWELRY CREATIONS With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
In theory, bespoke luxury collections find their way into the hands of quiet consumers and collectors. In practice, jewelry designer Ralph Lataillade will tell you the system of quiet referrals and private sales remain the cornerstone of their business transactions. Raised in Haiti and mentored by European-educated jewelers there, he’s a proud graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology. “(In Haiti), I spent time with them learning quite a bit about jewelry making from A to Z. After graduating from FIT, I was hired by the famed New York jewelry designer Micha Bondanza with whom I worked for 17 years. I consider myself very lucky to have been exposed to very diverse sources of knowledge and experience.” Lataillade started his own line when he was still working full time. “Every waking moment was spent designing
and making models in metal and wax. The challenge was to convert ideas and designs into full-fledge jewelry line in gold and platinum, my metals of choice.” These days, with a full line, Lataillade describes his jewelry as designed for all occasions, from casual chic to a night at the opera, from stud earring for activity to sophisticated earrings and necklaces for formal events. To market his line, he leverages social media presence with the existing system of referrals. “Social media is almost indispensable nowadays to promote your jewelry or anything fashion related. One has to use marketing in all its forms relentlessly to keep a presence and great photographs of your art really goes a long way. Visibility and reaching customers is the key to success. The other important factor is that social media allows you curtail your marketing expenses and reach people/potential buyers outside of the industry crowd.” Lataillade, like his peers, designs
jewelry to make customers feel unique and empowered, but as nearly half of his orders are custom, bespoke designs, he matches colors, textures, and styles to dresses and attire for casual and formal events. “I work hard to create beautiful jewelry that is always functional and unique, and that stands apart from the crowd. My inspiration for my designs comes from multiple sources. I love architecture, modern and classic, Gothic, residential or structural, bridges, overpasses. I also love and get inspired by mother nature, ancient cultures, old mail boxes, metal grates, and everything else under the sun. Sometimes the color and shape of a stone will trigger a design and a flood of ideas. Being creative is a portal into another world and the hard part is to convey your ideas and designs to appeal to your customers.” The best thing about his job? “There is nothing more satisfying than the look of joy and happiness on a client’s face,” he says.
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ISABEL ENGLEBERT
With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
Handcrafted luxury jewelry designer Isabel Englebert fuses traditional and modern materials with avant-garde design. Forbes Argentina recognized her as one of their 35 Under 35 List, and Lauryn Hill buys and wears her couture designs. Not bad for just turning 30 in January.
traveling around the world through her job, to learn, investigate and experience fashion in different places. Only a few years ago, she decided to refocus on the fashion world. She studied design at Central Saint Martins in London and completed a series of courses with goldsmiths. In 2014, she completed
Born in Argentina, she started her relationship with fashion as a model 15 years ago. Working in the corporate world, she seized the opportunity of page 74
“My creations are designed for fashion-forward individuals, who value top quality, attention to detail and modern and unique design. They are not afraid to stand out in the crowd.” With a showroom in Buenos Aires for her bespoke business, designers in Argentina making capsule collections to accompany and complete the haute couture collections, selling at Harvey Nichols in the UK, and more recently in Miami and Palm Beach, she desires to continue growing in awareness and brand presence in very selected places and retailers.
Accomplishments aside, ask her who she is, and the reply is a simple, “I’m a designer.” Focusing on jewelry for now, her line shares a concept, uniqueness, and above all, the unexpected. Recently, she presented a capsule collection of original Japanese kimonos accessorized with a metal obi. “I feel it is really important to follow instinct and vision and never forget what you like. If you design a jewel you would wear, half of the success is (already) on your side. People recognize the authenticity in the brand,” she says.
should have at least one loving jewel that defines her and makes her feel special,” says Englebert.
The designer Isabel Englebert
L’Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris. Her first collection was a clothing line, but jewelry allowed her to be more creative without following too many trends. She focused on special and eternal designs. “I’m convinced that every woman
This spring, she will have an inaugural event in Palm Beach in conjunction with the polo season there. Englebert on her favorite designers: “I love Saint Laurent, Balmain, what Shaun Leane does for Alexander McQueen, and I admire Iris Van Herpen. Although she works with clothes, I really admire her way of treating materials, of investi-
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BESPOKE ACCESSORIES gating and trying always new techniques, and uses of materials.” Englebert on that feeling her bag gives you: I want (customers) to feel as their true self, but “reloaded,” their best version, unique and empowered. Englebert on social media: “I believe social media has changed the way people relate, and the fashion industry is not exception, furthermore its his best friend, they are the perfect camera in which to show its qualities, for storytelling and it also works the other way around, through social media, brands also understand more their customers. All of the big brands, and those who wish to be great, have websites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and some even online sales platforms. Instagram is definitely the top social media for fashion fans, whether it is to show news, reveal intimate details of behind the scenes or to share objects that are inspirational for designers.”
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JOUDESIGNS
PLAYFUL ARAB MOTIFS FOR A MODERN WORLD
Joud Shurrab, designer page 78
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With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
Unexpected Arab motifs, most of them hand-drawn elements, on sleek and sophisticated clutches and bags characterize the craft and imagination of Joud Shurrab, the young designer behind the brand Joudesign. “I had a passion for drawing and designing since I was a little girl,” she says. “I set a goal for myself to create and establish my own brand and my own line that reflect my personality. I set my vision
and started working toward it.” Shurrab’s mother influenced and support her during the infancy of her brand. Later, professors and teachers lent the support she needed to establish her own brand, Joudesign. The result of that support is the Joudesign concept of fully customizable handbags, made according to customers’ request, completely personalized and unique to the individual. The concept is called “Ready to Wear Art.” Nearly 50,000 of her customer base
follows her via social media, which plays a huge part in communication and also tracking global trends. Her customers call attention to themselves with the colorful hand-drawn motifs. “I want women to feel feminine, strong and unique (when they carry Joudesign),” says Shurrab. The brand is retailed in Jordan, Egypt, Dubai, Italy, and Lebanon in addition to her e-commerce. She presented her collection at Dubai Fashion Forward and an event for UNESCO Paris. page 79
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BRINGING JEWELRY TO YOUR FRONT DOOR
ON MEMO
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Debora LaBudde, founder and CEO of MEMO, imagined a shopping experience with the perks of Amazon Prime for the upscale jewelry market. The result, her brand MEMO, brings jewelry to your front door. Oksana Toussaint-Vig caught up with LaBudde for Polo Lifestyles. PL: What first led you in the direction of creating Memo? DL: I have always loved discovering new jewelry designers, but the traditional shopping experience left something to be desired - pieces were often intimidatingly behind glass cases or starkly online with little explanation. Luxury retailers also tend to place minimal editorial focus on the fine jewelry sector leaving a gap between the designer and the customer. I wanted to connect with jewelry - and its designers - in a deeper, more meaningful way. I created Memo as a destination to truly discover and experience fine jewelry. Through rich imagery and video content, clients can discover new designers and understand the craft and inspiration behind their work. Clients are then given the additional and personal step of utilizing the company’s at-home try-on service, also known as taking a product ‘on memo’ for a three-day period. This offers clients the unique opportunity to experience the product before committing to a purchase. PL: Were you nervous at first about building Memo? DL: I have a deep respect for the fine jewelry industry - the long heritage of some of the great jewelry houses and the hard work that is required for emerging designers to build their own business and brand. Having not grown up in the industry, it has been very important for me to always be respectful of those who have been in the industry even while offering something new and innovative. PL: How did you get the idea to create such a site giving customers access to fine jewelry for three days? DL: When I learned of the long standing tradition of jewelers allowing VIP clients to take pieces “on memo” - to al-
low the customer to try on at home before purchasing them - I knew I wanted to identify a way to offer this great service to a much broader audience. PL: Why did you not create your own brand of fine jewelry instead of creating Memo, a site that sells the creations of several brands? DL: I’m not a jeweler by trade, but I’ve always been passionate about fine jewelry. I’m most excited about the exploration of how different techniques, metals and gemstones can create a signature piece and how a designer’s own story and inspiration are shown in their work. It was this insight into distinctively different designers and their work that I wanted to explore and share. PL: How was the audience feedback? DL: When we began speaking with designers about the concept they were very excited to have the opportunity to reach consumers in a new way. The idea that potential clients could view their pieces in person prior to making an investment was very appealing, knowing that often it is the subtle aspects of a piece that make it so special. The additional component of sharing their story within our editorial content was also something and that hadn’t yet been available in the market. PL: You give to your customers the opportunity for to lend the fine jewelry pieces for 3 days before buying them permanently. Are not you afraid that people would prefer to lend jewels for their special occasions and then hand them back to you? DL: Memo’s conversion rate on items initially requested via ‘on memo’ is extremely high -- upward of 80% of our clients who utilize the model proceed to purchase. Even in those cases where pieces do get returned, the client will frequently contact us with feedback or a request for a more customized version of what they previewed. Most clients appreciate the unique service that Memo provides and reciprocate the trust that is extended via the service. PL: What mechanism did you set up to identify potential buyers or everybody
has access to the fine jewelry? DL: Since Memo’s launch in 2016, we have received much praise from both consumers and media for the unique service. Many Memo clients come to us in search of a specific designer that we showcase, however, often times clients enjoy exploring other designers and will come back frequently to the site to view new pieces and collections. PL: What are the criteria required by Memo to choose the designers? DL: Superior quality of design and materials is tantamount as we consider new designers. We also look for designers that bring a unique point of view or who may be known for presenting a particular style or design approach. We’re very conscious to select curated collections that provide a strong representation of the designer’s work and that stand out uniquely from the other designers we showcase. PL: Today, women are much more independent than before, they manage their own money, they do not need the authorization of their spouses to buy anything. Can you tell us how this economic independence of women is profitable for fine jewelry brands? DL: It is truly an exciting time to be in the fine jewelry industry with the rapid growth of designer fine jewelry, the expansion of new designs and styles and the increase of women buying jewelry for themselves. This change is forcing established retailers to rethink how they do business as women have different expectations when buying for themselves. Those that appreciate and can meet the needs of this new fine jewelry client should be well positioned to grow. PL: What’s your vision for the future of Memo? DL: t Memo, we’re constantly looking for new ways to delight and service our clients while enhancing the overall experience of discovering and purchasing designer fine jewelry. Today, we’re looking at new services that we can offer our clients to break down the barriers to exploration of fine jewelry and to continue to make that experience a richer and more meaningful one. page 81
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NICOLE BRUNDAGE Marskinryyppy’s Cinderella story
Nicole Brundage, designer
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With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
tal shoes, lifting the wearer above the quotidian.
Marskinryyppy’s now iconic “transparent” PVC sandal “The Pauwau,” picked up by Barney’s from the first collection, spawned the idea of personalization that is now integral to the brand’s identity in the competitive luxury shoe market. Marskinryyppy is the third and most successful brand from Nicole Brundage, who previously designed at Armani and Zac Posen.
Brundage started making her shoes in her New York flat, molding the heel counter to the shoe with her hairdryer. The luggage repair shop nearby sewed the uppers and a cobbler attached the soles and heels. After identifying a family-owned factory in Italy for production, she launched her namesake brand a year later for AW2006. A second line, Acrobats of God followed for SS2010. Investors helped her realize Marskinryyppy for AW2015, merging the two existing brands under one umbrella.
“Marskinryyppy’s style is a see-saw between art-school experimentalism and playful boudoir eccentricities, a mix of street-smart sensibility and retro-renegade fetish,” says the Texas-born designer. Regarding the transparent “Pauwau,” she credits its success to the allure of the glass slipper from Cinderella, the fairytale that launched a million dreams of dancing all night in magical crys-
“Synthetics have become a forte of mine, as I’ve dabbled quite a bit with elastics and PVC. However, lately I’ve been dipping my toes in the world of embroidery, and am discovering a universe of possibilities for shoe design.
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Colors (and materials) are powerful, and can make or break a shoe. Besides being swayed by trends, neutrals like nude, black, off-white are a given. And then there is RED – in all its nuances that always provokes a sense of magical or erotic femininity and never fails as a shoe color” Now available at Barney’s and Harvey Nichols and worn by Beyoncé and Olivia Palermo, Brundage is enjoying the fruits of years of non-stop work. “I’ve relished creating a team and business that people talk about. What drives me most is creating the kind of satisfaction and excitement for our customers and collaborators that makes them want to come back for more. And nothing beats working with the talented, dedicated, and passionate people on my team and witnessing that communal feeling of joy as the brand advances,” she says. Her team is truly global – press in New York, a factory in Vigevano, a graphic team in Milan, and Brundage in between them all. “I’m accustomed to working in transit,” she laughs. As for the future, Brundage says she’ll be bring an “exciting, unique and pleasant experience personalized products like the Pauwau sandal and upcoming Lola/ Aja pumps on our e-shop. We sell a sense of individuality – that feeling of pride that comes with having something special and one-of-a-kind. The customization is really a creative and intellectual experience, in that the customer must reflect on what she wants to say about herself through her shoes.”
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MING RAY
Sophisticated playfulness With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
Small, ornately decorated with butterflies and flowers in Swarovski crystals, and popping up everywhere from Harvey Nichols to socialite events, Ming Ray bags are immediately identifiable by bag collectors around the world. Initially, Ming Ray started out of a footwear brand, but the sale of four of her now-signature bags for £12,000 each quickly refocused the brand, pouring all resources into the handbag line. “My products are made by the best factories in Italy who also produce for super brands like Chanel, Dior, Louise Vuitton and Valentino. My pieces have a very distinctive style and supreme quality, which in my observation, are best appreciated by women who really know their luxury handbags. My clients have such great taste and knowledge of luxury. What does a woman want when she already has everything and can afford anything? She comes to me for something fresh, bold and unique.” At the age of 8, Ray fell in love with John Galliano’s first collection for Dior and decided to study to become a couturier. She trained with Alexander McQueen and Jimmy Choo in jewelry, textile and handbag design. That all-around training manifested itself in her namesake brand launch, Ming Ray. “The biggest challenge (at the beginning) was trying to get doors opened during my very first season when nobody had heard of me or of my brand. I remember emailing every single PR agency and showroom on earth; they either didn’t reply or told me they didn’t want unknown brand. I went on for months without fruition till I ran into someone who believed in my products. He ended up being my sales director and everything picked up from there.” With a team in place, Ming took to social media to promote her brand. “(The) majority of sales are coming from Instagram nowadays – this is true for brands at every price point. Influencers and bloggers are in the front rows of every fashion show. A traditional ad in Vogue magazine brings a brand a fraction of the attention compared to having an influencer post a picture on her account. If a brand doesn’t exist on social media, it doesn’t exist at all.” Her brand philosophy, sophisticated playfulness, refreshes and reconnects her clients with the light-hearted little girl still inside every one of them. “My inspiration is innocence and seduction – I love it when the two come together,” says Ming. “I love exotics and continue to look for ways to use them beautifully. But I’m also offering Vegan-friendly alternative that have the same artfulness and seduction.” Two stores in London (Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge and Fenwick Bond Street) and three locations in Qatar (Harvey Nichols Doha, 51 East and Galleries Lafayette) carry the playful brand. The entire collection is also available online at mingray.com, luxurypromise.com and thadeuslondon.com. page 89
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WELCOM E H OME
CHELSEA’S FINEST LUXURY - THE TWENTY 1 $10,000,000 The extraordinary embodiment of sleek, innovative contemporary design, The Twenty 1 is a brand new boutique residence setting a premium standard of luxury at the crossroads of prime Chelsea/West Flatiron. Spectacular Penthouse B epitomizes sophisticated downtown living with two sprawling light-drenched stories totaling 4,961 square feet, a large 283 sq foot balcony off the great room, a private 153 sq ft master suite balcony, and your own private parking spot in the onsite garage. One of only nine thoughtfully architected, meticulously appointed homes in this coveted building, the distinctive penthouse boasts four spacious bedrooms, 3.5 elegant baths, and a breathtaking loft-like layout for seamless entertaining. A direct keyed elevator opens into a private vestibule on both levels with honed Supai limestone flooring.
MAGNIFICIENT RENOVATED VILLA SAINT-JEAN-CAP-FERRAT, PROVENCE-ALPES-COTE D’AZUR $33,890,000 In the prestigious and sought-after area of Saint-JeanCap-Ferrat - the jewel of the Côte d’Azur, a renovated neo-provencal property offering: a main villa of 530 sq.m built on two levels with a large living room, dining room, separate fully equipped kitchen, office, six en-suite bedrooms, gym, sauna, game room, home cinema and indoor pool. A guesthouse and two studios next to the swimming pool complete the property. The 2,300 sq.m of gardens are beautifully planted and create a unique natural setting inviting you to relax in the midst of Mediterranean vegetation (palm trees, umbrella pines, and laurels). A large outdoor parking and a double garage are included. This property with sea view is located near the famous Grand Hotel of Cap-Ferrat.
OCEAN TOP OASIS - MALI $5,450,000 Situated on a plateau overlooking Malibu’s magical coastline, this estate takes advantage of iconic views, city-lights, Catalina and the open mountainous terrain below. Designed by John Kilbane and built by the current owners in the luxury gated neighborhood of Malibu Pacifica - located in the center of Malibu. With over four acres, the resort style infinity pool/spa is surrounded by lush landscaping, huge patios and expansive grassy areas. Inside the gated courtyard entry are soaring ceilings, large picture windows & sliding glass doors which welcomes an infusion of light & space. With approximately 7,100 sq/ ft of living space & nearly 4,000 sq/ft of patio and deck areas, this estate is designed to live seamlessly both inside/outside. page 92
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CAPE COD ENTERTAINER’S SANCTUARY $4,655,000 This amazing Cape Cod estate, built in 2016, boasts impressive amenities throughout. Enter through a two-story foyer into this exquisitely designed home filled with light - flooding the open floor plan that seamlessly combines the indoors with California outdoor living. A recently completed outdoor entertaining area is the crowning accomplishment - offering privacy, a beautiful pool and spa, and elegant landscaping with a covered entertaining cabana complete with fireplace, TV, ceiling heaters and adjacent exterior pool bathroom. Inside, the gourmet kitchen features a Bertazonni range, Venatino Bianco Carrara marble & a butlers pantry with wine fridge. Upstairs, the master bed and bath combine to offer a serene retreat with a Soho soaking tub, walk-in marble shower and large custom wardrobe. Located in a cul-de-sac next to hiking trails offers comfort & privacy.
PRIVATE MANSION IN BOIS DE BOULOGNE, NEUILLY SUR SEINE, ILE-DE-FRANCE $92,444,000 A sublime 3,200 sq.m private mansion with its 2,000 sq.m landscaped and wooded garden. Each floor has undergone a meticulous renovation over the past two years. Accessed by three lifts. On the ground floor: a triple reception room, two bedrooms with bathrooms. On the first floor: a master en-suite, three spacious bedrooms with bathrooms and dressing rooms. On the second floor: a movie room, four staff apartments, a 400 sq.m roof terrace. In the basement: a swimming pool, sauna, hammam, eight extensive cellars and a wine cellar. Expansive parking including a petrol pump. Listed by Paris Ouest Sotheby International Realty.
THE PACIFIC - SAN FRANCISCO $9,950,000 With a seventh- and eight-floor perspective, the Penthouses and Grand Penthouse offer spectacular views, single- and double-level living. The spacious interiors range from 3,031 to to 4,048 square feet and include expansive living areas, multiple walk-in closets and open-concept floor plates. The Grand Penthouse includes a glass and steel staircase and a private wraparound terrace of up to 2,264 square feet, providing a unique indoor/outdoor lifestyle to its inhabitants. All floor plates provide endless views of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, the city skyline and beyond.
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AHIKOZA:
Aesthetic Merges with Geometric
With reporting by Oksana Toussaint-Vig and Josh Jakobitz
Founded by Namrata Dudaney, Ahikoza is an exotic skins brand focused on women’s luxury accessories priding itself on design and quality. The label is inspired by her global travels, cultural heritage, and adoration for handbags and exotic skins alike. In November 2017, she became the first Indo/ Indian designer to create a bag with a Victoria’s Secret model. The name ‘Ahikoza’ comes from the Sanskrit words Ahi and Koza. It means the cast of snake skin. With Namrata’s Indian roots, she wanted a name that uniquely captured the core of the brand. With so many different choices available in the luxury accessories market, streamlined her collection by exclusively focusing on exotic skins.
aspects of the business, I love interacting with my clients, and bringing both our design visions to life.” Her favorite handbag is her own Madison Minaudière. “It’s my signature piece, and till this date, the best-selling. Every season we revamp it with different treatments, skins, and bespoke value additions for our clientele,” she says. She communicates with her customers mainly through social media channels, which provides a platform without press filters. Victoria’s Secret model Barbara Fialho co-designed the Rachel and Barbara Fold-over, which is cutting-edge yet highly practical in function. This is the first collaboration known between an Indo/Indian designer and a VS model. “The bag is even more special due to the empowering women behind the design,” Namrata says.
“I’ve always had a passion for design. It’s something that came very naturally – as a second Lessons learned: Following my gut and expenature – to me,” says the designer. As far as rience, something I’m honoring more now. launching her own line, the competitive nature You never stop learning. To be humble as dust. The Julie Minaudière of the luxury market presented challenges that Most important not to develop an ego, and get heightened her awareness and strengthened her footing in caught up in the game. Your clients make your brand. Listen the industry. “Dealing with stylists as a new brand… legalto them. Always try to elevate your product. God is in the ities of business, responding to collectors’ requirements… details. to name a few (challenges). God is in the details.” Indeed, as each bag is intricately crafted to the millimeter with precision Her mentors: To name a few: Giambatista Valli, Bottega Venetta, Eddie Parker and Missoni. I have a love for color and stitching, which the designer oversees. geometry. Each bag is unique, created for active luxury lifestyles, designed for both aesthetic and function. “I want women to feel Her advice: Learn, read and get out there! Take advantage of every internship, and get to know the aspects of the business empowered, like they’re carrying a piece of art. My designs from a grass roots level. are an extension of my art and craft, so I hope that resonates with the customer. Customizations are one of my favorite Buy her bags: in Bali, Singapore and Cape Town. page 95
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ROJA DOVE
Interview by Oksana Toussaint-Vig oksana@htpolo.com
The renowned “nose” Roja Dove spent almost 20 years at the French perfume house Guerlin, becoming the first global ambassador of the brand to emerge from outside of the tight-knit family. He began making his own bespoke scents for his commercial line, Roja Parfums, in 2011. He recently spoke to Polo Lifestyles’ Oksana Toussaint-Vig about the wonderful world of scents. PL: Let’s start with the basics of selecting a scent; I know it’s the thing most readers ask about. What would be your starting points? RD: The most important tip when buying a fragrance for yourself is to
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be thorough. If you smell fragrances freshly sprayed your nose will tire after the third one or so due to the alcohol content, which works like an anesthetic. Smelling the perfume on paper, when the alcohol has evaporated is the only sane way to try a fragrance. Spray a few options on blotter cards, taking note of the name, and smell them away from the perfumery. Compare each one to the next, eliminating the one you like least. Continue this process until you have only one. Then go back to the counter and spray it liberally on your skin, allowing it time to develop: If it is still intoxicating after 30 minutes, you’ve found your signature scent. PL: A smell’s influence on people is very primal, how do you continue to innovate in perfumery without losing touch with those primal instincts? RD: Fragrance has been used to change mood throughout history. It is one of
the best things you can buy to make you feel good as each ingredient works on our subconscious, releasing hormones. Scent is one of the most fundamental parts of intimacy. It is the oldest scent in living organisms and we have it to fulfill three functions: find food, escape danger, and find a mate. When you first see someone you are attracted to, you instantly feel that magical frisson of excitement. As you get closer, you breathe in a little of their perfume and their olfactory tattoo is imprinted on your psyche. This is because we don’t smell with our nose, but with the most primitive part of the brain – the sense of smell being the most primitive of all the senses. When you smell a desirable fragrance on someone, the hormone balance in your body is stimulated and you subconsciously become attracted to them. This is precisely why I have always said that what we as Perfumers do is a little like Alchemy.
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PL: What are your five favorite smells? RD: Ambergris, Labdanum, Rose de Mai, Jasmin de Grasse and Orris. PL: Scents and memories are so closely connected, how do you translate memories into fragrances? RD: Invisible on our wrist, perfume can bring a tear to our eyes. It transports us back to the smells of our childhood – to the signature fragrance of our mothers. Scent is intangible. It can touch us, move us, and inspire our very being. It can transport us to an ethereal realm of memories and sensations. They work like a cat-burglar; they intrude unannounced into our minds and soul. When revisited, they unlock the floodgates of memories and emotions, leaving a profound imprint in our mind. Scent is like a portal to some place inside us that contains risk and revelation. Smell brings everything into Technicolor - it is the most intimate of the senses. PL: How do different travel destinations influence you as a person and the perfumes you make? RD: One thing I really enjoy about traveling is to discover the origins and methods of obtaining the finest materials. For example, I worked for two
weeks each month in the Middle East, for three whole years learning about Aoud. Largely unknown in the West at the time, I got to work closely with this ancient and precious ingredient in a very intimate way. I was so beguiled by the enchanting and exotic material that I decided to release an Aoud scent when I launched Roja Parfums. It proved such a hit that members of Middle Eastern royalty were literally fighting on the shop floor over who would get to be the last tester bottle. What this illustrates is that Aoud is notoriously tough to master, and this why I am delighted when my Middle Eastern clients say to me “How do you know our smell? This is how we like to smell.” It is the most flattering compliment of all, as a Westerner, to appease discerning Middle Eastern clientele. I believe the key to my Aoud’s being so well-received is because I took the time to really learn the intricacies of the material and to strive to do it justice in my own compositions by refusing to compromise on quality. PL: What kind of perfume are you working on right now? RD: I’ve just finished working on my first ever range of hair mists, which has been an exciting new venture. Last year, I released two body creams and had a
lot of involvement with the formula, as I wanted it to be like a skin treatment that just happens to be scented, rather than just a bit of scented whatever. I have taken the same approach with the hair mists, ensuring they are as good for the hair as they smell; those should be out in the coming months. PL: What’s the best achievement of your career? RD: The GREAT Britain campaign was launched in 2012 to capitalize on the excitement and interest generated by the Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics and Paralympics. Since then, the campaign has grown and can now be seen in 144 countries worldwide and nearly 300 cities. In the UK, the campaign is helping British companies to access government services as well as helping them to export more. The GREAT Britain campaign showcases the best of what the UK has to offer to inspire the world and encourages people to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK. Being appointed as an Ambassador for GREAT Britain was one of the proudest moments of my life. Britain is indeed a creative nation, where imagination can flourish to create fragrances, films, music, design, food and literature that connect with people around the world.
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Liudmila:
Victorian splendor, cartoon sensibility Interview by Oksana Toussaint-Vig oksana@htpolo.com
Who is the designer behind Liudmila? My name is Najeeba Hayat and I’m the designer behind Liudmila. I grew up in Kuwait and currently live nowhere, traveling permanently to manufacture and sell Liudmila shoes. When did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career as a luxury shoes designer? It was either that or a career in the foreign service! I chose the former, much page 98
to the consternation of my mother. I was always a fashion obsessive and would draw shoes all over my textbooks and when I couldn’t sleep. It was a natural decision. Who have been your biggest mentors in this industry? My former professors at Ars Sutoria, the school where I studied footwear, Noor Al Sabah, the ex-fashion director of Al Othman in Kuwait who showed me the ropes on the business side and my factory who taught me everything I didn’t already know on the production side.
What was your biggest challenge when going out and starting your own line? There are so many challenges. The first one was getting noticed by the right people, the second was getting retailers to believe in an unknown brand with no connections. Even when you grow, gaining the trust of buyers is still a huge challenge in a market saturated with over-financed brands with massive product ranges and a scorched earth marketing plan from Day 1. How do you come up with such classic and original designs?
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I try not to look at what other brands are doing and I stick to my guns. I make what I want to wear, what makes me feel happy and what infuses my outfits with drama. I try to design from a naive place, from my little world of curved forms, miniature paintings and crazy little girls running around in Victorian boots.
East and China but we have also just opened our own e-commerce so we hope to grow that side of the business!
What role do you think social media plays in the fashion industry?
Where did you learn your craft?
It’s a double-edged sword. Social media obviously gives certain types of brands (especially in beauty or fast fashion/ disposable goods) a major boost in sales especially temporarily but I think in the long run, it could be damaging to luxury. We are an industry built on vision, quality, legacy. Those ideas do not fit with the trend-chasing, disposable, image-only world of social media. That being said, it is nice to be able to communicate directly with your customers. You can speak to them directly and understand their wants and responses. How do you want people to feel when buying your shoes? I want them to feel excited and just a little bit more dramatic. I want the shoes to give their outfits an air of Victorian splendor, an unexpected twist of fancy and fantasy that they can walk in and dance in and that takes them anywhere they want to go. Do you have any store or is all business done online? I sell at top retailers in the UK, Middle
What is the inspiration behind your creations? It depends every season, but the base is a cartoon sensibility with Victorian forms.
I studied at the storied Milanese pattern-making school Ars Sutoria for a degree in all the technical aspects that are involved in footwear production. What it tough getting started in business? Very. The market is saturated and confused but I believe that an original vision and strong production techniques will win out in the end. What has been your greatest achievement in your career to date? Getting into the historic London boutique Browns during my second season was an incredible stroke of luck I could never imagine. The buyers spotted our potential and took a chance on the brand. They never looked back. What types of materials do you use in your shoes? We use very interesting materials like metallic-effect fish skins, hand-painted snake, stretchy calfskins, lurex, etc. From your last collection, what is your favorite design? And why?
That has to be the Hortense stretch-top lace-up boot in brown snake and turquoise nappa. It was named after a murderous nanny in Bleak House by Charles Dickens (one of my favorite writers) and the precise little circular buckles, small, even openings and tight front lace were all supposed to create an atmosphere of secrecy, of a tightly buttoned, ominous uniform. I love shoes that are very adaptable but bring with them a huge sense of personality and atmosphere. This is one of my all-time favorites. For women who aren’t so sure what their personal style is, what advice would give them in finding their style choosing the right shoes? Wear what makes you happy. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. What makes you happy is your style. That’s what makes you unique. With the new year, many women are looking to update their shoes for a fresh new look. What you recommend in terms to achieve a new look for the upcoming season? Go ahead with something that stimulates you design wise, make sure it’s comfortable and wear it every day. That being said, I am a massive proponent of slim-fit ankle boots and think they look great on everyone. What have you learned throughout the course of your career? I have learned that you cannot have fear, if you have a vision, you have to give it your all and try. page 99
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Coach Velez training poolside with US Synchro Team page 102
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MOLD YOUR MIND FINDING YOUR
WHY
PART II
Joey Velez | joeyavelez@yahoo.com
Why do you participate in the daily activities that you do? Some are out of necessity, some by choice, but understanding the purpose of these activities can make them more bearable or more enjoyable.
dures that you will incorporate into your daily routine to help reach your performance goals, or an action plan, with extreme emphasis on the word process. If my outcome goal is lose 60 pounds this year, my performance goal could be to lose five pounds per month, and my process goals could include exercising five times a week, following a meal plan five days a week, running seven miles a week, anything along those line would constitute as process goals. The process is the most important part toward accomplishing our goals, however, nobody likes the process. This takes hard work, determination, dedication, and energy! Nothing will be given to you; you have to go and obtain it for yourself.
Last month, I challenged you to search deep down and discover your why. Asking questions like, “Why is this important to me?” “Why do I enjoy this?” and “What do I want?” are great starting points and lead us into the next progression of understanding our motivation: effective goal-setting.
I was always known as a “bigger” kid growing up. I weighed nearly 13 pounds at birth, garnering the nickname Baby Buddha, and that carried throughout high school and the early years post-high school. In 2010, I weighed close to 250 pounds and was near 35% body fat. I was extremely self-conscious about my weight; I lacked confidence, and was unhappy with the way I looked.
People continuously fail to reach their goals because they lose motivation along the journey. One main cause is because we do not understand why we want those goals. Many of us set resolutions because we believe that you should or must or that “it’s the thing to do”. You are not going to put forth the necessary effort toward things we do not care about, therefore understanding your why is extremely important.
With the guidance of a friend and co-worker, I set out to shed the excessive weight and make a change in my life. My outcome goal was to be near 200 pounds and under 20% body fat. The performance goals were to a stick with a macro-nutrient-based regimen six days per week, increase my cardiovascular activity to twice per week, and workout at least five times per week.
Another main cause for this is due to a lack of preparation and organization. We may understand why we want to lose 10 pounds, but we don’t know how to lose 10 pounds. The average individual would say, “Go to the gym” or “Eat healthier”. However, going to the gym once per week is technically “Going to the gym”, so we need to define the necessary steps we must take in order to accomplish our goals.
My process goals were having biweekly photos to track progress, constant reiteration of why I wanted to lose the weight, and to meal plan several days in advance. In just about three months, I weighed 210 pounds and had my body fat down to around 20%. Not only did I look different, but I felt better than I had ever felt in my life. I was confident, I wasn’t as self-conscious, and most importantly, I was happy.
Effective goal setting consists of setting three types of goals: outcome, performance, and process goals. An outcome goal represents a result in you, something you want to accomplish. We start with the end result because it allows us to develop a plan to reach our goal. That plan begins by setting performance goals, which focus on improvements that one must make or checkpoints you want to complete along the journey. For example, if my goal is to lose 60 pounds by the end of the year, I could set checkpoints of losing five pounds a month. Finally, a process goal represents specific proce-
Breaking down your goals into outcome, performance, and process goals increases your ability to obtain your goals. By bringing awareness to what needs to change, or what you want your “performance” to look like, and how you plan on making these changes, what process you must take, gives you a clearer picture on what needs to be done to achieve those goals. There will be obstacles and challenges along the way, preparing for those situations is the next step in the preparation of accomplishing your goals and dreams. page 103
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FUNCTIONAL TRAINING INSIGHT INTO THE Mark Wine BA; CSCS; USAW; NASM PT, PES, CES
Functional is defined as “something able to fulfill its purpose or function,” according to Wikipedia. Functional Training is defined as “a classification of exercise which involves training the body for the activities performed in daily life”. Taking it a step further, “Functional Training is one’s ability to perform a training regimen and/or exercise that recruits specific musculature being utilized in real life / athletic situations. Often times these movements have similar movement patterns to that of its real life counterpart; however, exercises do not have to mimic the athletic / real life situation precisely to be considered functional training.” FUNCTIONAL TRAINING has become a hot topic in recent times. Simple economics tells us that an increase in demand will result in an increase in supply. The fitness and athletic performance industry has begun to witness a boost in the supply of functional training due to its ever-increasing demand. However, anything that turns mainstream or corporate soon becomes tarnished and water downed. Functional Training is no different. The boost in demand for a more original and creative style of training has resulted in a loss of what page 108
FUNCTIONAL TRAINING truly is. The biggest loss has resulted in training efficiently and correctly for it. FUNCTIONAL TRAINING incorporates all aspects of strength and conditioning / fitness training. Having been involved with Strength and Conditioning departments of NFL teams, Division I Universities, high school programs, numerous health clubs, and owning athletic performance centers, the question has become what style of training do you do? Are you a functional guy? Are you an Olympic power lifter? Are you a strength guy? Are you a speed guy? The answer lies in each question because they are not separate; they are one in the same. FUNCTIONAL TRAINING must utilize power lifting, strength lifting, core movements, speed training, agility training, cross education (one side) training, flexibility enhancement (dynamic and static), range of motion, cross energy training, nutrition and the most functional of all styles, Olympic Weightlifting. Each style of training emphasizes a different component in athletics and fitness, which results in a superior athlete with increased life / athletic performance. Trainers and athletes alike must analyze their sport and look at the movement patterns performed to create an efficient program. Following an analysis, they often formulate movement patterns and attempt to re-create movements exactly to that of the sport. More often than not trainers skip over efficiency, energy system training, repetitions, power training, strength training, sets, rest time, and overall volume as a whole. Emphasis is placed upon the exact movements and the training variables
TRUTH are neglected. Decreased athletic performance and/or real life performance is the result.
Although an analysis of the sport is necessary, even more necessary at higher levels of athletics, we must still develop a better athlete as a whole. If an attempt to make an athlete merely one sport specific, then the results for that athlete will be limited in nature. There is not a “one size fits all” rule of thumb when it comes to exercises. One exercise can be utilized for numerous sports and numerous athletes. Squats, cleans, 2-1 jumps, Turkish get ups, dumbbell front squats, jump rope, stability ball horizontal knee in, agility ladder drills, heavy rope movements, seal sit ups, and so many more can crossover between sports / athletes. The crossover between exercises is not what makes training sport specific or functional; it is the variables that make the difference. Variables such as rest time, sets, reps, the exercise order, speed of movement, range of motion, and so on. Training a professional football player is not the same as training a professional soccer player, although they do share similar characteristics. Similarly, training an advanced fitness enthusiast is not the same as training a young high school athlete. However, each participant can perform power cleans, 2-1 jumps, power jump step ups, and one arm dumbbell bench press if taught correctly. The job of the performance coach is to incorporate movements and variables appropriately.
“Anybody can know exercises, but it takes a coach to incorporate them correctly into a result oriented athletic performance program.”
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Coach Dani Bernat at Functional Muscle Fitness with a youth soccer team from Walnut Creek, Calif., going through the warm-down stretches after training.
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PROUD SPONSOR OF THE HAITI POLO TEAM.
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