AUGUST 2018
NATALIE DORMER
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Contents AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
EDITORIAL AIR
Editorial Director 6
John Thatcher Managing Editor
Faye Bartle Editor
Chris Ujma christopher@hotmediapublishing.com
ART Art Director
Kerri Bennett Designer
Jamie Pudsey Illustration
Leona Beth
COMMERCIAL
Forty Four
Another Dimension
Managing Director
Victoria Thatcher
What’s the most liberating development for a female actor? Writing your own script, says Natalie Dormer Fifty
In the Pink Central to social expression, the evocative colour pink has evolved across cultures, eras, ideas and fashion 6
Group Commercial Director
David Wade
david@hotmediapublishing.com
Fifty Six
Commercial Director
Eyes Wide Open
Rawan Chehab
An exhibition unveils a trove of captivating New York photography from the teenage Stanley Kubrick
PRODUCTION
rawan@hotmediapublishing.com
Production Manager
Muthu Kumar
Contents
AIR
AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Sixteen
Sixty Two
A thriller of an art exhibition honours the late Michael Jackson, detailing his ‘on the wall’ influence
What are the benefits of owning a post-war sportscar in the UAE – and how can a collector beat the heat?
Twenty Six
Sixty Six
Heritage Vs Innovation: Czapek & Cie has found its own way to balance the horological tug of war
With the opening of Morimoto Dubai, the acclaimed Iron Chef takes on the City of Gold
Thirty
Seventy
The fantastical world of Lydia Courteille, who Karl Lagerfeld described as “a genius for making jewellery”
Cottar’s Bush Villa in Maasai Mara is a sight to behold – no mean feat in a region that teems with awesome wildlife
Radar
Timepieces
Jewellery
Motoring
Gastronomy
Travel
From Thirty Four
Art & Design
A supercharged showcase keeps Warhol alive in Malaga, plus exploring the soaring prices tagged onto the works of Banksy 8
Tel: 00971 4 364 2876 Fax: 00971 4 369 7494 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in AIR.
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NasJet AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
NasJet is the first private charter company in Saudi Arabia, providing bespoke aviation services for the most discerning clients and institutions in the world since 1999. Currently, the Group operates more than 24 corporate aircraft, making us the largest and most experienced private jet operator in the region with a managed fleet value exceeding USD1.5 billion. NasJet, which is part of NAS Holding, employs over 1,800 industry experts, operating 24/7 from our state-of-the-art flight centre in Riyadh and across the world delivering a superior level of safety, service and value. At NasJet we have the expertise and international experience to operate corporate aircraft worldwide. Every hour of every day, we are moving planes, crews and inventory across continents. We give you peace of mind when it comes to our commercial operations. As a Saudi company we are backed by some of the most prominent shareholders in the world. We are established. On our Air Operator Certificate (AOC), NasJet currently operate:
Welcome Onboard AUGUST 2018
• Cessna Citation Excel, which can seat six passengers and fly for up to three hours non-stop. • Embraer Legacy 600, which can seat 13-15 passengers and fly for up to five hours non-stop. • Gulfstream GIV-SP and G450 Aircraft, which can seat 13-14 passengers and fly for up to eight hours non-stop. • Gulfstream GV, which can seat 16 passengers and fly for up to 12 hours non-stop. • Airbus 318ACJ, which can seat 19-22 passengers and fly for up to eight hours non-stop. • Boeing 767, which can seat up to 44 passengers and fly for up to 14 hours non-stop. NasJet is pleased to offer the following services: • Aircraft Purchase and Sales. We have aircraft available for sale and management, or we can manage the purchase or sale of other aircraft. • Aircraft Acquisition, Acceptance, Completion and Delivery. We can find you the new aircraft that suits your needs, customise it to your liking, monitor the build of the aircraft at the manufacturer, and supervise the final delivery process to ensure a smooth and rewarding private aircraft experience. • Aircraft Management, where we are responsible for your aircraft from all aspects to provide you the highest safety standards, the best service and the most economical management solutions. • Block Charter, where we provide you with charter solutions sold in bulk at discounted rates. • Ad-Hoc Charter, where we can serve your charter needs where and when you need us on demand. With the new GACA Rules and Regulations having come into effect, NasJet has established itself as the first to market our Private and Commercial AOC Services. We welcome the opportunity to serve you, and look forward to seeing you aboard one of our private jets.
Captain Mohammed Al Gabbas Senior Vice President
Contact Details: Cover: Natalie Dormer. By Warwick Saint / AUGUST
sales@nasjet.com.sa nasjet.com.sa T. +966 11 261 1199 11
NasJet AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
A VIP addition: the Boeing 767 NasJet is proud to announce the addition of a new VIP Boeing 767 under its management programme, making it the largest aircraft NasJet currently operates. Adding a Boeing 767 to NasJet’s capabilities illustrates the full strength of the organisation, and adds to its large business jet aircraft portfolio of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. “There’s high demand in Saudi Arabia for large airplanes, and it is a blossoming niche of the market – especially in the Middle East” explains Yosef F Hafiz, Chief Commercial Officer 12
at NasJet. “Regionally, nobody can provide this kind of capacity, and the 767 has been adopted into our fleet because it suits a growing demand for sizeable, long range craft.” The 767 has been long regarded as an asset among the world’s commercial airlines, with its size enabling upwards of 250 passengers to be transported onboard, commercially. Translate those dimensions to the private aviation realm, and you’re ensured acres of jet to enjoy. This particular aircraft, which belongs to private individual, can spaciously host up to 44 passengers, and has the ability to handle any duration the
guest needs – up to 14 hours nonstop, from Riyadh to New York or Washington in the US, for example. An entourage need not travel light, either, as the aircraft stowage area can comfortably accommodate 400 pieces of luggage. Step aboard, and the vessel is a comfortable living space that promises luxury and convenience while in the air. Features include a full galley (in which the dedicated onboard chef can work their magic), two VIP seating areas (with a divan and single seats) and a conference table. The aft of the plane has been fitted with additional leather recliners for
further occupants, and a full bedroom area with en suite and shower makes for the ultimate restful journey. Captain Mohammed Al Gabbas, Senior Vice President at NasJet, regards the aircraft “a piece of art”, while an equally praiseworthy Hafiz deems it “a hotel in the sky.” The 767 is the 29 th plane under NasJet’s management and operation.
Preparing for IPO FLYNAS and NasJet are preparing for its first Initial Public Offering (IPO), mooted for the latter stages of 2018.
NasJet, which used to be a division of Nas Holding, was made part of FLYNAS in an effort to streamline the organisation under one umbrella. The move has further allowed NasJet to tap into new resources which had not been available, hence increasing the efficiency of the overall operation. Once complete, the IPO will see 30 per cent of the company released to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), inviting Saudi citizens to subscribe to the IPO. Yosef F Hafiz, Chief Commercial Officer of NasJet Private Aviation – Commercial, says the decision
was driven by the desire for further success. “It will inject a huge amount of money into the company which will allow us to buy new equipment and new aircraft, enabling substantial growth of the business,” he explains. And while the road to IPO is complex (with many steps still to navigate), on a broader scope Hafiz is positive. “There have already been two strong IPOs in Saudi Arabia this year from real estate investment firms, and we have seen the Tadawul climb to its highest point since 2015. This would be a good year to list, but as with any IPO process it may take a little longer. However our intention is there.”
Welcome to NasJet NASJET AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
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Radar AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
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An illuminating path, 1998 by David LaChapelle. Copyright: Courtesy of the artist © David LaChapelle
AIR
In 1982, the King of Pop caught the inventive eye of the King of Pop Art. Andy Warhol immortalised Michael Jackson on canvas, and a generation of artists have followed suit – detailing MJ’s influence as an artistic touchstone by producing a range of mixed media. To coincide with what would be Jackson’s 60 th birthday, the works of 40 such creative minds have been collated at an exhibition that’s guaranteed to get crowds moonwalking through the door. Michael Jackson: On the Wall, shows at the National Portrait Gallery in London until 21 October
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Critique AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Film Puzzle Dir: Marc Turtletaub A portrait of Agnes, who has reached her early 40s without venturing far from home – until she receives a jigsaw puzzle as a gift AT BEST: “The most unassuming of domestic dramas, sprinkled with just a hint of eccentricity, that comes from a truthful, sometimes painfully honest place.” The List AT WORST: “A slow burning film, but Kelly Macdonald’s performance galvanises it.” The Independent
Blindspotting AIR
Dir: Carlos López Estrada Collin must make it through his final three days of probation, for the chance at a new beginning in his beloved Oakland AT BEST: “ A palpable blast of frustration and rage that shakes you – and should vault Daveed Diggs to the top of every casting agent’s list.” Seattle Times AT WORST: “A hip-hop-flavoured buddy comedy... both arresting and frustratingly flawed.” Hollywood Reporter
Generation Wealth Dir: Lauren Greenfield An incendiary investigation into the pathologies that have created the richest society the world has ever seen
AT WORST: “The sociological and psychological points that it tries to make... are too often unearned or poorly defended.” Hollywood Reporter
Skate Kitchen Dir: Crystal Moselle An introverted teenage skateboarder from Long Island meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew AT BEST: “Exists in a time when it’s still not normalised for men to see women on skateboards, but the crystal clear coolness of the film proves they should get with the programme.” RogerEbert.com AT WORST: “While often conventional, it’s unprecedented: the first movie adapted from an Instagram feed.” IndieWire 18
Images: Sony Pictures Classics; Lionsgate; Amazon Studios; Magnolia Pictures
AT BEST: “A stinging indictment of greed and excess [that] also packs an unexpected emotional wallop.” Nonfics
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Critique AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Theatre
AIR
T
he Lieutenant of Inishmore “is comedy at its blackest. But a play that was hair-raisingly risky to stage in 2001, when bombing of the UK mainland was still current and the peace process was a pipe dream, now seems strangely prescient,” writes Michael Billington for The Guardian, of a play that shows at Noël Coward Theatre, Covent Garden until 8 September. “Its portrait of the sentimentality and sanctimonious rhetoric that often lies behind terrorist violence has acquired new resonance.” One of its stars, Aidan Turner, “Is taking a break from filling the breeches of the BBC’s Poldark [and] has fun with [his character] Padraic’s switch between cold-eyed killer and blubbing cat lover – even if he misses a little of his psychotic dangerousness,” writes Bridget Galton for etcetera. “McDonagh once described the piece as a violent play that is wholeheartedly anti-violence, but while at times he has his cake and eats it here by revelling in grisly scenes, you cannot argue with its continuing resonance, skewering the terrorist mindset and the rhetoric of psychopaths.” By the end, says Natasha Tripney in The Stage, “The pleasingly detailed set... is liberally spattered with gore. But funny as the production is (and it is laughout-loud funny in places), it is also a pretty blunt instrument... The jokes are rammed home, the cartoonish comedy delivered with the force of a nail-gun.” In an adaptation of The Winter’s Tale, at Shakespeare’s Globe, South Bank until 14 Ocotber, “Blanche McIntyre directs a likeable take on Shakespeare’s difficult to classify drama,” reports Laura Barnett for Time Out London. “With its sudden, lurching transition from the tragic events unfolding in Sicilia at the beginning to the more comic, pastoral scenes in the Bohemiaset second half, it can feel like two very different plays welded into one... McIntyre tackles these idiosyncrasies head-on, offering 20
The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Photo by Johan Persson
us a clashing vision of 12 th -century Sicilia.” The perennial question of this ‘problem play’, posits Arifa Akbar in The Guardian, “is whether it is a late comic-romance or a serious drama that only averts tragedy by tacking on a happy ending. Productions often choose to commit to lightness or darkness, but McIntyre finds a third way by underlining the play’s clashing parts rather than obviating them, and showing the joins at the seams.” Natasha Tripney summarises that, “It’s the clarity of the verse that gives the production its potency. It’s strongly performed and there’s a real sense of a company connected to text. But its magic remains intermittent.” “A medieval romance set to rock songs sounds a bit silly on paper,” says The Stage’s Tim Bano of Knights of the Rose, at Arts Theatre through August. “But instead of leaning into that silliness, and embracing the ridiculousness of songs like Total Eclipse of the Heart or Enrique Iglesias’ Hero, this show by barrister Jennifer Marsden remains doggedly
po-faced.” The plot “is basically a medieval Love Island. Love Castle, if you will,” explains Fergus Morgan for Time Out. A band of knights, brothersin-arms, return from war to woo and wed their respective sweethearts. Some of them are after the same maiden. Some of them will chase anything that moves. Some of them plan to stab each other in the back... It’s all just enormously silly. Like the flimsy Camelot it all takes place on, this is basically one big folly. Foolhardy and instantly forgettable, but kinda fun all the same.” This show “should have been a shoo-in for summer blockbuster. It has a playlist that any other juke box musical would die for,” says Anne Cox for Stage Review. Bon Jovi, Meat Loat, Bonnie Tyler, Muse and a bit of Mozart were some of the treats on offer but the music floundered amid a ridiculous and derivative plot that was so absurd that I first thoughtthat it was being ironic. The dire cheesy lines came thick and fast... It is only redeemed by some excellent vocalists and a superb playlist.”
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Critique AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
AIR
Art
“D
orothea Lange is revered as a giant of 20 th-century documentary photography. Her Migrant Mother – an image she took in 1936 of one of the 300,000 Americans who fled the starvation and poverty of the drought-stricken Midwest – is so celebrated that it gets its own little sort-of-chapel here,” writes Chris Waywell in Time Out of Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing, at the Barbican until 2 September. “It’s only part of the story, though. Although the Depression and the Dustbowl spurred Lange to give up taking arty society portraits and hit the road, the rest of her work – less often seen – extrapolates from that experience of the USA on its knees.” Writes journalist Laura Cumming for her review in The Guardian, “She was a visionary whose camera never lied. With such gravely beautiful works of art, Lange got the news out, opening the eyes of Americans to what many could scarcely believe to be happening in their country at that time. ‘A camera is a tool,’ she once said, ‘for learning how to see without a camera.’”
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Crossroads General Store, circa 1938 by Dorothea Lange. © The Dorothea Lange Collection
“This survey of [the] British artist and filmmaker – his first in the United Sates – brilliantly makes a case for his three-and-a-halfdecade career with just four video installations,” says Jospeh R Wolin for Time Out of John Akomfrah: Signs of Empire. “One is from the early 1980s and three are from the last six years. Yet this handful of works... impeccably installed in a series of darkened galleries, summarise the strategies, themes and motifs of his practice.” Says NY Art Beat, “Throughout the 1990s, his subject matter expanded beyond the social fractures of contemporary British society to focus on... the persistent legacy of colonialism to the roots of the contemporary in classical literature... In the past several years, his multichannel video works have evolved into ambitious, large-scale installations.” In an interview with the artist, Art Review concluded, “For him, the human is not only a rational animal, he is also an assemblage of climates, cartographies and languages, both inhabiting and resisting the territories across
which he ceaselessly moves.”It shows at New Museum of Contemporary Art, Lower East Side until 2 September. “Christopher Le Brun paints paintings about painting. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that he paints paintings that aren’t about anything. He just paints, like ‘I paint therefore I am’ or something,” says Rosemary Waugh for Time Out London. These new abstract works at Lisson Gallery [displayed through August] are the result of the current President of the Royal Academy shunning self-reflection on what it means for humans to hold paintbrushes or wittily riffing on some bit of art history.” Of the ‘primary, non-ironic’ pieces, says ArtLyst, “Each line or touch is but one in a procession and continuum of nudges and additions, produced over many months. He occasionally permits a sliver of an edge, horizon line or border to interrupt the tumultuous interior, with his keen sense of colour also contributing to the constant exchanges of movement, energy, warmth and light throughout this radiant show.”
Critique AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Books J
érôme Ruillier’s The Strange “is unusual and affecting work builds the stor y of an undocumented migrant from the perspectives of those whose paths he crosses,” explains James Smar t, in The Guardian. “He worked with a friend from the charity Réseau Éducation Sans Frontières to collect accounts from migrants, police officers and the wider public, and sets the resulting tales in a world peopled by animals. That gives his tale a surreal, universal twist, though he tethers it to France by interspersing the action with bleak quotes from Nicolas Sarkozy and Marine Le Pen.” Zack Smith outlines the plot in Newsarama: “In an unnamed countr y, a man sacrifices ever y thing to head to the big city with hopes of bringing his family along. His stor y is seen from the perspective of neighbours, friends...even a crow flying through the city – a complex por trait of people who help, hur t, connect and fail to understand each other, all as life goes on around them.” Alex Hoffman muses for Sequential State that, “There are some books that demand attention – not because they are flashy, or because they are written by a well-known author, but because they describe perfectly the current moment in time. The Strange is that kind of book... We learn in an af terward that Ruillier used real world stories to create this fictional narrative. Blending these stories together gives it a universal nature, and calls to focus the deeply disturbing systems that all immigrants face in this world.” In Heart: A History, “A cardiologist writes on his favorite organ,” say Kirkus Reviews of Sandeep Jauhar’s labour of love. “No one takes their hear t for granted, especially not Jauhar – director of the Hear t Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Hospital. He delivers a pageturning mix ture of personal experience, family lore, health
advice, and histor y with a heav y emphasis on medical dramatics... Readers’ jaws will drop at stories of daring researchers experimenting on themselves and pioneering surgeons leaving a trail of dead patients... as they perfected machines, devices, and techniques that of ten work miracles.” Say Publishers Weekly, “He achieves a balanced tone throughout, sharing profound admiration for what can be accomplished by treating the hear t as a machine, while also urging the reader, and the medical community, not to under value of the significance of the ‘emotional hear t’... readers will respond by opening their own hear ts a little bit, to both grief and wonder.” Safely to Earth – The Men and Women Who Brought the Astronauts Home, “Tells how a nation star ting essentially from scratch accomplished the ‘impossible’ feat of landing a man on the moon in less than a decade,” remarks John Aaron, former flight controller and project manager of Apollo and Space Shuttle programmes. The book has been penned by Jack Clemons, “An engineer and sof tware manager who worked on both the Apollo and space shuttle flights rehearses some behind-the-scenes activity during the decades he worked with NASA,” writes Kirkus Reviews. “NASA was still basically in the slide-rule, pre-computer era when they first landed men on the moon in July 1969... In a lengthy appendix, he deals with some common questions and dismisses as ‘silly stories’ the rumours that the moon landings were faked... It’s a narrative rocket powered by experience, intelligence, knowledge, and gratitude”. Concurs Publishers Weekly, “The main stor y is economically and briskly told... While the subject may seem like ancient histor y to younger readers, it should attract those who can recall the emergence of manned Apollo launches and NASA’s ‘failure is not an option’ credo.” 23
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Master craftsmanship, effortless style and timeless appeal; this month’s must-haves and collectibles
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
AKILLIS
GUAR ANI NECKL ACE Among the cultural splendours of the Amazonian Guaraní are examples of highly skilled art – and Akillis, the Parisbased fine jeweller, considers this to be a fine muse for its new collection. The maison cites pieces such as this necklace as ‘conveying a truly sacred allure’, in a
‘contemporary expression’ of lore written by the South American indigenous diaspora. The white gold necklace shown here is paved with 180 pariba stones (of 277.07cts) and 15.82cts of white diamonds; an equally resplendent matching bracelet and earcuff can also be acquired. 1
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
LOEWE
G AT E B A G With the trusty saddle for design inspiration, this supple, crossbody tote evokes an equestrian air. It also owes its name to the side-latched metallic pin, dangling leather strip and a knotted front belt bow closure, which is both visually distinctive and practical. Made in Madrid
by expert Loewe artisans, the traditional look of this smooth, leather grain and suede piece is offset by innovative construction – the Gate harbours a removable zipper compartment, for ease of use when onthe-go. Above is the amber and grey calf edition, with caramel knotted strap. 2
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
VA N C L E E F & A R P E L S
S W E E T C H A R M S W AT C H A pink gold bezel, round diamonds, baguette-cut diamonds, baguette-cut pink sapphires, a pink gold dial, and plenty of charm; Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest example of poetry in motion is a feminine timepiece that is as much fine jewellery as it is horological elegance.
Limited to just 10 handcrafted pieces, the 21mm timepiece is bestowed with 923 diamonds (totalling 7.33cts) and 113 sapphires (weighing in at 2.64cts). Hold it to the light and, due to the varied cuts and colours deployed, its precious stones dance with delight from every angle. 3
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
DA L L A R A AU T OMOBI L I
STR ADALE
Italian chassis makers Dallara are a huge name on the track, known in the motorsport domain for dominating across an array of high speed disciplines. But on the highway? Not so much. That’s about to change with the marque’s road legal supercar debut, where racing nous has
been poured into this lightweight demon – you’ll note, for instance, that Dallara has done away with doors. Top Gear said of its test stint behind the wheel, ‘there’s a depth of ability and engineering that means it’s possible to dig deeper and deeper and still find more ability in the car; more speed.’ 4
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
5
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
F E N D I X R I M O WA
LUXE CABIN TROLLE Y This noble new collection of silver aluminium cabin carry is as stylish as it is functional, and marks the second installment of a collaboration between the Italian fashion house and the German luggage experts. The brushed body is subtly graced with the recurring
‘double F’ monogram, and two new accent hues (red and blue) have been unveiled for this limited edition release. Rimowa celebrates its 120 th anniversary this year, and has built its reputation on a global customer service network and in-hotel luggage repair guarantee. 6
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
BEL & BEL
Z- S C O O T E R No, this isn’t a Vespa shorn of its rear half. It’s a self-balancing segway-type machine, with a max speed of 20km/h and aesthetic inspired by the classic designs of Corradino D’Ascanio. It’s an opportunity, as the brand puts it, for one to ‘enjoy driving a vintage vehicle with zero
emissions.’ Dreamt up by Barcelona-based Bel & Bel and bought to reality by Tünkers, the ‘Z’ is equipped with top-tier tech: a TESLA Model S super lithium battery, for example, as well as Michelin vibration reduction technology tyres to ensure adept navigation of urban terrain. 7
OB JECTS OF DESIRE
LOUIS MOINET
S K Y L I N K ‘A L E X E Y L E O N O V ’ This ambitious timepiece reaches for the sky and snags a piece of history in the process. Dedicated to the first man to walk in space – Soviet-Russian cosmonaut Leonov – this 43.2mm watch is truly out of this world. A microcapsule sits at the three o’clock mark
and contains fragments of Kapton foil from the Apollo, as well as actual fibres from his Russian Sokol-K space suit. The colourful dial is a dust-styled depiction of the nebula, while layered hour markers ‘float’, creating further visual of depth. The Skylink is limited to just 75 pieces. 8
Timepieces AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
The Great Escape TARIQ MALIK
H
e was known as ‘The King of Cool.’ Besides being one of the most recognisable movie icons of all time, Steve McQueen’s many passions included motor racing, collecting motorcycles (he had 130), flying airplanes and, of course, collecting fine watches. The actor had an abiding love for his watches, and for his Rolex’s in particular. In fact, up until 1985 Rolex named a special Explorer II after him, with a highly disctinctive orange 24-hour hand. During the late 1960s, McQueen purchased a Submariner ref. 5513, which he later gifted to his stunt double Loren Janes – and now that famous watch is up for auction at Phillips. It turns out that there’s quite a story to the piece. In 1958, McQueen befriended Janes, who went on to work as the actor’s double for action scenes in most of the famous McQueen movies. During the shooting of Wanted: Dead or Alive, McQueen wanted to do his own stunts, but the director convinced him to let Janes do the risky work instead. McQueen was so impressed with the stuntman’s work that they became inseparable, and they went on to work together for 21 years. In the 1960s a Submariner cost around USD250, and McQueen owned at least two of them (his ref. 5512 sold for quarter of a million dollars in 2009). The ref. 5513 which is coming up for auction was the older of the two, and he gave it to his good friend and stunt double, engraving the case-back with the words: “LOREN, THE BEST DAMN STUNTMAN IN THE WORLD. STEVE” Janes never parted with his treasured heirloom, and kept it his entire life. He
passed away in 2017 and the watch was almost forgotten. In 2016 the Sand Fire devastated parts of Los Angeles, gutting a number of Canyon Country homes – one of which belonged to the stuntman and his family. All their worldly possessions – including the watch – went up in flames. Michael Eisenberg, a Beverly Hills real estate broker and prominent memorabilia collector, read the story in the papers. He knew about the watch collection, and contacted Janes’ family to find out what had happened to it. They informed him that it was lost among the ashes, like everything else. But Eisenberg begged them to search through the rubble again – and they discovered what remained of the watch. The case and strap had suffered obvious damage, but the watch was still basically intact. The Rolex went back to brand HQ, where it was lovingly restored with original parts. Interestingly, the dial had been
replaced at some point, and the original two-line, gilt 5513 dial was exchanged for a matte, four-line 5512 dial. Rolex Customer Service was so impressed with the story, that it sent Jane’s wife, Erika, a letter, saying that the company was “proud that he chooses to wear a Rolex Submariner.” The family accepted Eisenberg’s bid to buy the watch, and now it is heading to Phillips were it will go under the gavel, to find a new home. Preliminary estimates are set between USD300,000 and USD600,000, but the watch is expected to sell for considerably more than that. (The Paul Newman Daytona that broke the sales record had a similarly low pre-auction estimate). Will we see another world record, or will the fact that the watch has been restored count against the final bid? Only time will tell. Dubai’s DIFC is home to Momentum, Tariq’s co-founded vintage watch boutique. momentum-dubai.com 25
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Timepieces AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
This Time it’s Personal Taking a leaf from its storied history, boutique brand Czapek & Cie has become a quiet force of bespoke horology WORDS: CHRIS UJMA
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f you don’t know where you come from… then you don’t know where you’re going.’ A prudent notion but, in watchmaking, one that causes certain brands to become fixated on ‘where they’re from’ – perhaps to the detriment of progress. Horology innovation is something of a hot potato. Is relying on the reinvention of classic back catalogue a sustainable (or appealing) business model? And how does a brand move forward with new ideas while remaining faithful to yesteryear – plus the expectations of loyal clientele? Czapek & Cie is one example of how to bridge that divide. Its name carries history: Master watchmaker François Czapek, born around 1832, formed his own brand and made timepieces for prestigious clients – among them, French Emperor Napoléon III. He also authored the first ever book on watchmaking in the Polish language, its title translated as ‘Remarks on watchmaking for the use of the watchmakers and the public.’ Czapek’s eponymous brand was successful, but fizzled out around the 1870s when he fell ill. In 2011, Xavier de Roquemaurel – CEO at Czapek & Cie – joined forces with watchmaking cohorts Harry Guhl and Sébastien Follonier to breathe new life into this historic name. They used an original Czapek timepiece as a starting point, but this was determinedly ‘Czapek for a new era’. “Of late, most watchmaking revivals emerge from those inventing a new presence that relies on a relatively vintage look that echoes the past, or by making copycat timepieces that use techniques 27
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from the previous century,” de Roquemaurel acknowledges. “We wanted to bring the past into the present. When the three of us – Harry, Sébastien and myself – worked around the table, we played this game of putting a fourth chair for François Czapek, pretending he had lived through the last 200 years of watchmaking. We approached our watches from that angle: ‘Would François like this? ‘Would he approve this?’ – but always with a modern twist. That was the difference maker: not to obsess over the past, but to bring matters into the present.” The business model is modern, to say the least. “We decided to release shares in the company. That meant we had to open the books and be transparent, and the collaborative process went beyond the three of us. We opened that door, financially, but did not want to deviate from our watchmaking mission – and it was my task to find the common link between all of the shareholder ideas.” This lead to a selection of exquisite watches – and one in particular, the Place Vendôme Tourbillon, made waves
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in watchmaking circles. “It was the first model that we agreed to make,” he says. The 3430 model [a François-designed pocketwatch from 1850] was the fondation for the 2018 Place Vendôme. “It is a piece that truly represents the future of Czapek & Cie from a dial perspective and from a movement aspect. The word ‘tradition’ is overused in watchmaking, but we do like to take a classic savoir-faire technique – e.g. enamel Grand Feu or guilloche – and align it with contemporary touches.” Czapek & Cie has kept the exciting parts and blown away the cobwebs. Its essence may be an avant-garde 19th century maison, but its boutique status ensures transparency. The CEO engages in straightforward dialogue. You can even find him respectfully discussing the company’s decision-making in the comment sections of renowned, independent watch blogs – communicating with watch lovers who chose to leave feedback on Czapek article reviews. It’s a highly refreshing approach, in an opaque world of slick public relations polish.
“I am simply talking to people who, like us, adore watches, and part of that passion is engaging with them in conversation and telling the truth about our thought process,” he chuckles. “We don’t have to fabricate a story, and sometimes we need to communicate our reasons for making a design decision – not to change anyone’s mind.” His amiable nature is essential to operations, as 80 percent of the pieces are customised. “Very few watchmakers accept the challenge of making a one-ofa-kind piece,” says de Roquemaurel. “That is purely because even with limited numbers of 30-40, you can approach a dial maker to replicate the design. But it takes dedication, energy, time and a level of perfection to make a unique piece, and in the end it is a satisfying achievement.” He cites a prevailing notion that “assumes general watch buyers are motivated by a mindset of, ‘The watch I bought, in ten years it will be worth 100 or 1,000 times its value.’ But when you talk to clients, in actuality it is an emotional purchase, People buy a watch that they fall in love with. They want it to be personal, and on our side, we are not creating a mere product – we pour our time into making something with ‘life’.” For example, with the Place Vendôme showstopper, “It took us three engravers to get the complex Acanthus leaf engraving right, and eventually it was accomplished by Michèle Rothen Rebetez, who works 500m from our atelier, and who trains only one person the art of her craft – her daughter. My opinion is that she’s the best engraver of platinum cases in the world; it is very difficult to engrave platinum, because it is harder than gold and your tool can be unsharpened in 20 seconds.” Bespoke touches grace every inch of these cases and dials: for example, Czapek offers a selection of 12 stones to be set into the crown: a lapis lazui, a malachite. They can create a micro painting upon the dial, or a ‘secret’ engraving – anything a client desires. “We accept limited margins yet have a nice product that the collector can appreciate, saying, ‘Wow, that’s a nice watch, and it is a very fair price,” de Roquemaurel admits. “We sell each oneby-one, and the bespoke personal touch is much sought after. Our offerings are made by watch lovers, for watch lovers.”
Opening pages: A Czapek & Cie secret message, painted on the dial Opposite: A personalised dial for Monsieur Gonzague de Waresquiel Below: Acanthus leaf engraving, in platinum
We are not creating a mere product – we pour our time into making something with ‘life’
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Jewellery AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Rainbow Warrior Step through the looking glass and into the hypnotic, culture-inspired world of Lydia Courteille WORDS : CHRIS UJMA
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n first inspection, the mystical woman opposite looks like a siren straight out of Luc Besson’s space age The Fifth Element. (Or to plump for a less dated movie reference, akin to an ethereal inhabitant of James Cameron’s Avatar, minus the blue tint). Delve into the backstory of this pink-hued picture, though, and one finds that the model’s dreamlike visage is influenced by an authentic culture that is closer to home (and rooted in real history, not a scripted future). The ‘director’ of this scene is French jeweller Lydia Courteille, who opened her first antique shop in Paris 30 years ago, at the tail end of 1987. At first, she collected gems and antique jewellery dating from the 18th century on: “I accumulated 7,000 antique
pieces,” she admits, “but decided to design jewellery that I would love to wear, but couldn’t find.” In 1998, Courteille officially launched her own eponymous brand, and has created over 52 collections to date – with each high jewellery series weaving its own fantastical narrative, inspired by the founder’s forays into other cultures. This flamingoic Rosa del Inca collection, for instance, is influenced by a trip she made to Argentina, and captures the pre-Colombian civilisations that left their mark on the nation – especially the Mapuches, Incas and the Spanish. There, she discovered rhodochrosite, and ‘Rosa del Inca’ is a term used to describe this rose-hued stone. As per Diaguita legend, it symbolises two souls living a forbidden love. 31
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The stone would be found, like blood petals, where their entwined bodies lay a short time after their star-crossed death. This South American-flavoured collection is emblematic of Courteille’s design language – “History, folklore, national style and wildlife are always endless sources of inspiration for me,” she says. “That is all it takes to ignite a passionate and colourful collection.” Burrowing further, she discloses, “There is a bracelet in this collection that depicts the three ages of man, inspired by pre-Colombian pottery. The bracelet has three different sides that slide to reveal demi-faces in the centre, while inside its third level is a face sculptured from rhodochrosite stone. The mineral is pink-orange, which is the exact hue of a sunrise glistening on a Patagonian glacier – a scene that I viewed, in awe, on a trip there.” Aside from “opals and tourmalines of all colours,” Courteille notes an affinity with “coloured stones and unusual materials; those gems that are rare, and less well-known by the public.” Once she finds the central stone for an idea (often a huge, raw and unique protagonist) she designs with hot enamel, large pavé setting and other antique savoir-faire techniques. Her approach has given rise to a cornucopia of rare jewellery series and wondrous themes; journeys through eras and influences, set against a captivating backdrop. Collections include Sahara (which conjures up a world of windswept sands and midnight blue night skies, using opals and brown diamonds), Queen of Sheba (for an alluring sorceress of great intelligence and wisdom, depicted with green tourmalines and brown rhodium gold), Scarlet Empress (baroque pieces shaped from red rubies and extremely rare tourmalines) and Rainbow Warrior Prophecy (inspired by predictions from the tribe of Hopis in Arizona; a kaleidoscope comprising tsavorites, fancy sapphires, rainbow chrsocolles – and more). Such eye-catching trinkets were destined to catch the attention of celebrities known for pushing the style envelope. Nicki Minaj wore a Lydia Courteille harem style ring to The Met Gala in New York, for example, while Taylor Swift donned 32
a ring and cuff for her music video Look What You Made Me Do. Relatable to Minaj and Swift, Courteille’s creative output is tough to emulate: “Anyone can imitate my designs, seen on the internet or in my boutique window, but nobody knows what is inside my head – and I have a lot of ideas to always remain one step ahead,” she says with a smile, when contemplating her plots. “To create your own signature look you have to be rebellious, and courageous enough to refuse what has already been established,” glows the passionate jewellery designer. “Art doesn’t exist without provocation.”
Opening pages: A scene from the Rosa del Inca collection Below: Ferme des animaux Opposite, clockwise from top: Evil Eye Ring from Topaki; 13th sign collection; necklace from Sahara; 13th sign collection; Mouse ring from Animal Farm; Rosa del Inca earrings
History, folklore, national style and wildlife are always endless sources of inspiration for me
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Art & Design AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Souped Up A supercharged new Andy Warhol retrospective at Museo Picasso Mรกlaga charts the creative evolution of The Popfather WORDS: CHRIS UJMA
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Opening pages: Andy Warhol © 2018. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute; Campbell’s Soup Cans part of the Warhol: Mechanical Art exhibition Opposite: Marilyn print, part of the Warhol: Mechanical Art exhibition
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“A
ndy Warhol is still alive,” says José Lebrero Stals, curator of a new exhibition at Museo Picasso Málaga. I brace myself for a delicious Elvis Presley style mythbust, where Stals reveals that the father of Pop Art has been discovered, holed up in the Costa del Sol for all these years. Alas, the expert is sensibly referring to both Warhol’s resonance among an image-obsessed youth, plus his unexplored bounty of unstudied work. (To the art aficionado, this might seem even more delectable than some kooky conspiracy). “Despite passing away in 1987, Warhol is an artist that we are still discovering to this day,” explains Stals. “We know a lot, but The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh harbours much more to examine; films and audio work that have never been edited, and which are still awaiting academic research.” Stals explains that Warhol’s spirit lives on in what he calls ‘the symbolic universe of youth’. “Young people everywhere in the world wear t-shirts with Warhol’s motifs, or have portraits of Marilyn Monroe at home – in fact, they know Monroe from Warhol’s art, as opposed to the actual movies she starred in,” he says. “Warhol was even one of the first people to make ‘selfies’, with a Photomaton box placed in the street, where passersby could take a self-portrait.” Warhol’s enduring popularity makes him a sensible choice for a museum to curate a retrospective of his most famous output. But the aforementioned museum in Málaga, dedicated to its namesake (and local son) Pablo Picasso, is not an obvious venue for a showpiece about this American art icon.
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Warhol’s vision is a reflection of how we live today. Surface image has become an unstoppable force of life
“Though our permanent collection is solely dedicated to works of Picasso, one of our goals is to contextualise his output,” explains Stals. “To do this, we have a regular programme of temporary exhibitions that spotlight relevant artists from the 20th century – which is why we have organised reviews of artists such as Jackson Pollock or Francis Bacon and the School of London.” The curator posits, “You could say that both Warhol and Picasso are arguably the most well known artists of the 20th century – in fact, as I mentioned, to the younger generation Warhol is perhaps better known, given that he spearheaded the Pop Art movement.” That is how we arrive at Warhol: Mechanical Art, that runs until 16 September “and provides a complete and polyhedral journey 38
that enables visitors to follow the creative development of this exceptional artist.” August is a glorious time to visit Málaga – think 30°c, blue skies and zero days of rain. It’s an apt setting for this fun, Pop Art jaunt; a reminder than the sun never sets on Warhol’s relevance, or popular appeal. “He was part of a movement that changed our perception of culture, explains Stals. “His works took commercial products that were easily accessible and made then artistically ‘valuable’ – items that could be bought in a supermarket became the focal point for his special art.” Not only popular items, but popular people, too. The exhibition lauds both, containing Warhol’s recognisable museum art. A collaboration with Obra Social ‘La Caixa’ has ensured
Opposite: Mao, part of the Warhol: Mechanical Art exhibition Below clockwise: Debby Harry and Marilyn print, both © 2018. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, a museum of Carnegie Institute; Campbell’s Soup Can (Turkey Noodle), The Sonnabend Collection Foundation; Self-portrait, © 2018. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, amuseum of Carnegie Institute. All images © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./VEGAP, Málaga, 2018
that of his most coveted pieces are here: prints of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Jackie O, Mao Tse-Tung and the Campbell’s soup tribute. Guests seeking a ‘Best Of Warhol’ will be pleased. Yet those looking for a deeper look at his oeuvre will also be delighted. “He had fingerprints upon design, fashion, music, visual art, cinema, TV and literature. He is influential, not only in the history of art but also in design, advertising and style.” Stals enthuses. “He was a pioneer, interested in new discoveries in technology to produce and reproduce both images and sound. He was an advocate of the Polaroid camera, for example, and walked around with an audio recorder. He mixed popular culture and illustrated culture – Warhol was curious about so many methods of artistic expression, and the fruits of that curious mindset can be analysed.”
Stals expects this blockbuster event to have a high footfall, due to Warhol’s work having stood the test of time. “His vision is a reflection of how we live today,” he observes. “Surface image has become an unstoppable force of life; a blend of image, surface, synthetic images, and the glorious relevance of the unimportant – those little things that everyone has around themselves.” That’s not to mistake Warhol’s works as skin deep, though. “To me, he can be considered the American Henri Matisse,” raves Stals, “because his elegant ability to mix colours is incredible and he has that enviable capacity for synthesis. Andy Warhol is an alchemist of high art, and he took those seemingly meaningless parts of life and elevated them to a place of relevancy. That is something only he could do.” Warhol: Mechanical Art shows at Museo Picasso Málaga until 16 September
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Art & Design AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
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Banking on Banksy? As a new Banksy exhibition opens in London’s Mayfair, Colin Gleadell asks if the big prices the artist’s work currently command are here to stay
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t’s been a long time since there was a big Banksy exhibition, but this month his former dealer, Steve Lazarides, is hosting one at his new gallery in Mayfair. Prices could be as much as GBP6 million for one of the larger works – a far cry from the artist’s humble beginnings on the streets of Bristol in the early Nineties. Famously anonymous, Banksy became well-known very quickly almost as well-known, in fact, as his old pal and oft-suggested alter ego, Damien Hirst. (His identity remains a closely guarded secret, but Robert Del Naja, of the band Massive Attack, and Bristol resident Robin Gunningham are the most popular theories). Yet, even though Girl with Balloon, Banksy’s 2004 print of a girl flying a heart-shaped red balloon, was voted the most popular artwork in Britain last year, he is yet to be collected by any museum. Perhaps the opportunity for them to buy one passed a while back because, as the press release to Lazarides’s exhibition points out, Banksy’s work was subject to a meteoric price rise earlier this century. A print of Kate Moss, for instance, that would have cost GBP49.99 when it was first released in 2005, sold for GBP100,000 in 2008. But what the release doesn’t tell you, is that this figure is still a record for a Kate Moss print by Banksy. By 2012, prices had sunk to GBP28,000, and have yet to come near that high mark again. Like many other contemporary artists, Banksy’s market is prone to sudden price hikes. In the beginning, he was one of the first artists of the social media age. His collectors formed a kind of messaging club, so that everyone knew the price of everything and any shift in price was registered in an instant. Trading up became part of the game. Now, something similar is happening. In the past 12 months, a number of Banksy’s spray-painted works have exceeded estimates by two or three times. In June 2017, for example, a painting of a monkey wearing a sandwich board that says, “Laugh now; but one day we’ll be in charge”, sold for a double estimate GBP293,000. Then, in March this year, Girl with Balloon doubled estimates to sell
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for GBP345,000; and, in June, Keep it Real, 2002, an eight-inch square variation on the monkey sandwich board theme, sold at eight times its GBP50,000 estimate, for GBP418,000. As Lazarides reminds us, Keep it Real originally cost GBP250, so it comes as no surprise, perhaps, that he has organised a Banksy exhibition just as the market seems to be reaching another boiling point. Auction experts attribute the current Banksy wave in part to the increase in global demand for his work. At first, buyers were primarily limited to locals in the film and music business, who enjoyed the irreverence the work carried. But an audience quickly took hold in Los Angeles, with the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie becoming fans. And during the past five years, demand has spread to Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea. The buyer of Banksy’s Laugh Now painting, sold last summer for GBP293,000, was Asian, Bonhams tells me. However, there are other experts who are not sure the bigger prices are the real thing. Acoris Andipa, a private dealer who recently curated a Banksy exhibition at a museum in Rome, says he is aware that some paintings have been bought privately for as much
as GBP1.5 million. (Banksy’s auction record is currently GBP950,000, paid by Damien Hirst’s dealer, Jay Jopling, in 2008, for a big Banksy painting that incorporated a Hirst painting). “It’s a healthy, buoyant market, but GBP400,000 for an eight-inch painting produced in an edition of 25 [for Keep it Real], and GBP6 million for a large unique work [one of those at the Lazarides exhibition] is a myth,” says Andipa. “On the private market, owners are playing a game with buyers in which they quote a price and, when it is accepted, put it up...again and again. They don’t really have any intention of selling; they just want to put the value up and compete with each other. “At auction, some of the works that have been doubling estimates did so because the estimates were just too low. But I am intrigued to know who bought and underbid Keep it Real at that price. I know most of the collectors in the Banksy market, and none would have bid that high. “I think we need to see whether that price is repeated - more than once before we go running around revaluing all our Banksy’s to such a degree.” Banksy, Greatest Hits 2002-2008, runs until 25 August at Lazinc, Mayfair, London. lazinc.com
Opening pages: Photograph by Steve Lazarides, 2000 Opposite: Show me the Monet, Banksy, 2005 This page, above and below: Deride & Conquer, Banksy, 2003; Banksy Greatest Hits 2002-2008 installation
Credit: Colin Gleadell / The Telegraph / The Interview People
In the past 12 months, a number of Banksy’s spray-painted works have exceeded estimates by two or three times
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Tired of being cast in roles as merely ‘a strong women’, starof-the-moment Natalie Dormer discovered the antidote was to cowrite her current thriller In Darkness AIR
WORDS: JAMES MOTTRAM
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n an Earl’s Court apartment block hallway, Natalie Dormer gestured for me to sit down. “Get yourself over to the stairs,” she smiled, “the red Hitchcockian stairs.” The film she was shooting, In Darkness, is a contemporary thriller – as if her nod to Hitchcock hadn’t already given that away – about a pianist named Sofia. Played by Dormer, the visually impaired Sofia gets entangled in a murder case when her upstairs neighbour is killed. That day’s scene saw Dormer fumbling her way into the building’s lift, white cane in hand, with the creepy Marc (played by Ed Skrein) – who may or may not be the killer – in pursuit. Dormer, the fiercely intelligent and striking-looking 36-year-old, who rose to fame on The Tudors and Game of Thrones, had spent days with people at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, getting “a crash course in visual impairment” to help perfect her character. Intriguingly, Dormer is also the co-writer of In Darkness, scripting it with the director – and her off-screen partner – Anthony Byrne. “There was a drought of intelligent thrillers when we started writing this seven years ago,” she says, when we retire upstairs to chat, sitting at the dining room table on the set of Sofia’s apartment. She cites films like Guillaume Canet’s Tell No One and Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia remake as rarities in the field. “And then when Denis Villeneuve popped up and did Prisoners, we were like ‘Exactly!’” With a cast that also includes Joely Richardson and Emily Ratajkowski, Dormer is keen for the film to paint the nation’s capital in authentic brush strokes. “I get frustrated about not seeing the real London on camera. You either see candy box London, if it’s a [Richard] Curtis movie, or you see rough estate gangster [films]… you don’t see central cosmopolitan middle-class London, which is textured.” For Dormer, creating her own script is a first – well, since her days at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. “Like most drama students I wrote a play while I was at drama school and thought I could write,” she says. Then her acting career took off: playing Margaery Tyrell in Game of
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Thrones, working for Ron Howard (in Rush) and Ridley Scott (in The Counsellor) and featuring in The Hunger Games franchise. The script for In Darkness began with Byrne, who wanted to create a story about a woman who hears a murder. On holiday, over dinner, he and Dormer started brainstorming ideas. “I was trying to help him,” she says. “Then he said to me, ‘Why don’t you write it with me?’” The idea had never occurred to Dormer, but it made perfect sense; despite all her success, she was not happy. “I was frustrated about the quality of roles,” she admits. This was long before the increased calls for more diversity in film that have dominated the industry in the past couple of years, and seen films like Ocean’s 8 fire up the box office. Co-writing her own script – and even answering questions on set from her co-stars – has been a real revelation. “It is really liberating,” she says. Nevertheless, Dormer is wary of bandwagon-jumping, particularly with the clichéd call for ‘strong women’ in scripts. “I’m not a fan of the word ‘strong’. I think it’s very reductive. Let’s not just swing the other way… we want three dimensional anti-heroic women, in the same way we have anti-heroic men, since Humphrey Bogart, and Clint Eastwood.” It’s an intelligent and rational view, and Dormer makes the argument persuasively. “I’m talking about gender parity in roles. I’m talking about the 50/50 movement. Let’s not swing the pendulum so far the other way. European cinema is famous for its three-dimensional female characters. It’s just that America and Britain are now catching up.” Dormer’s work on In Darkness also came before she scored the role in the BBC co-production of Picnic at Hanging Rock, based on the novel by Joan Lindsay (and already a famous 1975 film by Peter Weir). In the six-part show, set in the early 1900s, Dormer plays Hester Appleyard, the widowed headmistress of a school for young ladies; mysteriously, three pupils and a teacher disappear on Valentine’s Day – an event that impacts upon the whole community.
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I’m not a fan of the word ‘strong’; it’s very reductive. Let’s not just swing the other way… we want three dimensional anti-heroic women
She characterises both Picnic’s Hester and In Darkness’ Sofia as similarly flawed. “[Sofia] is the same as Hester Appleyard: she is a scared human being, who is trying to work through her demons determinedly.” Hester, meanwhile, is anything but strong. She may be fiery and determined, but she’s also profoundly damaged - and in flight: “I actually think Hester Appleyard is someone who is running away.” Initially, she was reluctant to take on the role. “I didn’t want to get back in a corset. I’ve done a lot of work, but I’m primarily known – especially in the States – for corset-orientated work. [But] I’ve gotten in a corset no more than Keira Knightley has, or Kate Winslet or anyone else.” Still, the image sticks – perhaps because, even before Thrones, Dormer made her breakthrough playing Anne Boleyn in The Tudors (shooting in Dublin, it was where she met Byrne) and then went on to BBC drama The Scandalous Lady W. Gradually, she realised this “reimagining” of Picnic At Hanging Rock wasn’t simply your typical period drama. “[I understood] that it was dark, that it was surreal, that it was a psychological thriller. And that it was funny. It was a plethora of things; it really had a high bar and it was ambitious.” After a two-hour FaceTime chat with Larysa Kondracki, the director behind the first three episodes, she was hooked. “I went, ‘bloody hell, I’m going to Australia.’” Exotic trips to far-flung places are something she’s used to, however. While Dormer describes her own 48
upbringing, just outside of Reading, as “fairly conventional”, she travelled with the school’s public-speaking team to Botswana and Canada. Something of a high-achiever at school – she was also head girl and vice captain of the netball team – the only thing she couldn’t admit to was her desire to be an actress. “In my heart I knew, but I didn’t say it out loud.” Dormer was “academically strong” and won a place at Cambridge to read history, but then she didn’t get the A-level history grade she needed. “S**t happens,” she laughs. “My path suddenly got changed on a dime, really. It got flipped around.” She went to London with her boyfriend – “my first love” – who was studying psychology at UCL, and spent a “soul-destroying year” doing temp jobs, from bar work to selling loyalty cards in a department store, as she tried to get into drama school. Eventually, she made it. “It’s like anything in life,” she says. “[You need] perseverance.” The same could be said for getting In Darkness financed. But since then, she’s also returned to pure acting roles, filming with Sean Penn and Mel Gibson on The Professor and the Madman, a tale about the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary. How was that? “We’ll have to save that for another day! When it gets released… there’s a bit of politics. When it’s cut, then we shall talk.” It’s certainly an intriguing response, but she won’t say more – except to add that she took the role for exactly the same reason as she wrote In Darkness: once again, she was attracted to “a three-dimensional, troubled, and foibled woman.”
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Love it or hate it, pink is central to social expression, be it a symbol of power, rage, resistance to oppression, beauty or romance. The Museum at FIT charts the evolution of this colour’s connotations, across different cultures, eras and ideas
WORDS: OLIVIA CUTHBERT
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he day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration on 8 November, 2016, hundreds of thousands of women swept through the streets of Washington to protest the new leader’s misogynistic remarks, wearing peaking pink hats. Many waved pink banners and wore pink coats to symbolise their solidarity in scenes mirrored across America and major capitals throughout the world. While many feminists embraced the statement, with women – and some men – taking up arms against misogyny by donning the pussycat hats, others felt it trivialised the issues at stake. Writing in The Washington Post, journalist Petula Dvorak urged, “Please, sisters, back away from the pink,” warning that the “cute” hats risked trivialising the serious issues facing women.
The ensuing debate tapped into the contentious relationship between politics and pink, a colour which – perhaps more than any other – provokes a powerful response, particularly in the context of gender wars where its symbolism is never far from the surface. It’s not surprising then that feminism features strongly in an exhibition by The Museum at FIT, exploring the significance of pink in different cultures and societies across the generations. “Pink is such a polarising colour; there are a lot of people who really hate pink and a lot who love it,” says Dr. Valerie Steele, the curator of Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color, and director of the New York gallery. The subject matter will draw a big crowd she says: perhaps 50 percent more than usual, attracting many from the colour’s 51
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The idea that ‘blue is for boys’ carried less weight, because gender norms for girls are much more hotly contested
“big fanbase” as well as “a lot of people who really hate pink.” Entering the exhibition, the first section, ‘Pretty in Pink’, draws on the deep-rooted association between femininity and pink, exploring the various ways this has manifested in fashion trends across the decades. Beginning in the mid-19th century, viewers are invited to compare a bright pink crinoline dress from 1857 with a black man’s suit from 1860, before being walked through a series of costumes showcasing the different shades that came into fashion and the changing ideas of femininity these represent. Designs from the turn of the century, when the fashion tended towards pale pinks, symbolise the delicacy and refinement expected of aristocratic women in the 1900s. By 1912, this had evolved into cherry pink as more adventurous feminine ideals took shape. In the 1920s – the decade of the Little Black Dress – a series of bolder shades emerged leading into the Shocking Pink popularised by Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli in the late 1930s. Gathering pieces for the displays, Steele drew inspiration from colour historian Michel Pastoureau to address popular misconceptions surrounding pink. According to Pastoureau, “It is society that ‘makes’ colour, defines it, gives it meaning,” a premise that is explored across the exhibition, which moves from the mid-19th century through the different decades of the 20th century to today. One of the most significant pieces in the exhibition for Steele is a late-1980s hot pink power suit by French fashion designer Claude Montana. “It looks very self-consciously like an effort to incorporate the symbolism of femininity 52
into the symbolism of power,” Steele says. The suit, which came at a time when women were gaining more authority in the workplace, represents “the uniform of the ruling male class,” being taken over and given “a very clear female stamp”. It marked an abrupt deviation from the distinctly feminine dresses of the 1950s, when gender stereotyping was being reinforced through an insistence on “pink for girls, blue for boys.” The exhibition explores this binary in detail, with an additional section on gender coding in childrenswear that traces the debate through the 1920s, when opinion was divided over whether pink was for boys or girls. This was the decade when pink became a byword for the feminine, a point reinforced through the films of the day and the much-admired wardrobes of Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe who were seen as epitomising the feminine ideal. Pretty pink dresses continued to define female fashion throughout the 1960s; a full-skirted, dusky pink cocktail dress with a rose-bow at the waist by Yves Saint Laurent for Christian Dior gives a glimpse of the prevailing trends at the time and the ideas about women these encompassed. In the 1970s, Steele says, a lot of feminist mothers were trying to avoid colour stereotyping but by the 80s bold shades were reclaiming pink as a symbol of female strength. It wasn’t just through clothes that the significance of pink manifested. Toys, household items and kitchen gadgets were also a vehicle for these gendered associations. Pink hoovers became popular in the fifties and Barbie – the cult girl’s toy of that and subsequent generations - was almost always dressed
and packaged in pink. “Barbie in the early years followed fashion quite assiduously,” says Steele, pointing to 1959-67/8, when her clothes were “chic copies of Paris and London fashions.” By the 1970s, however, Barbie’s looks become younger, “with a very much more pink and sparkly wardrobe that had clearly been geared towards a younger girl.” For a lot of feminist mothers, the pinkification of Barbie, as well as My Little Pony, princess costumes and other girls’ toys, was problematic. By contrast, the idea that “blue is for boys” carried less weight, partly because both genders can wear blue and partly because “gender norms for girls are much more hotly contested,” Steele says. In the second part of the exhibition, where pink is explored in a global context, the artificiality of these gendered associations becomes all the more apparent. Historically, pink has been worn by both genders, with paintings from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries showing a predilection for pale pink attire among men and women of the prosperous classes. It was only later that it was assigned to one gender. A man’s pink habit à la française and a pink bayan are displayed alongside a woman’s pink robe à la française, conveying the more gender-fluid interpretation of pink in 18th-century Europe. At the time, it “had a high prestige value,” and was seen as a fashionable shade for both genders, popular not just in clothes but also art and interior design, Steele says. It wasn’t until the 19th century that that this slowly started to change. “Pink and blue were suggested as interchangeable, gender-neutral nursery colours,’
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There’s now this more self-conscious association of pink with power and rebellion
Opening pages: Evening dress, circa 1954, USA, Gift of Virginia Pope Previous pages:Thierry Mugler, evening gown, 1994, museum purchase Opposite: Comme des Garçons, ensemble, Fall 2016, 18th-Century Punk, Fall/ Winter 2016, Japan, museum purchase Above:Robert evening gown 1910-1914, France, museum purchase; Dress, 18th century, museum purchase; Afternoon dress, pink silk taffeta, 1857, USA, museum purchase. All photos by Eileen Costa, © The Museum at FIT
appearing together in many of the clothes and furnishings found in the baby’s room,” writes Jo Paoletti in her book Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America. Outside of Europe, pink was almost gender neutral in countries such as India, where it has long been worn by both men and women – British fashion writer Diana Vreeland once commented that “Pink is the navy blue of India.” In Mexico, meanwhile, a shade called Rosa Mexicano has traditionally been associated with expressions of national identity. In the past few decades, Western fashion brands have gradually unpicked the gender-loading of pink, most recently through unisex collections designed to challenge deep-rooted assumptions about what femininity and masculinity should look like. Last year, vibrant shades of pink dominated the catwalks, but the message behind the fuschia dresses, powder-pink coats and salmon skirts was clear: Pink is power. This has never been truer than today, says Steele. While moments throughout history have brought pink to the fore, today it has taken on a social and political clout that can be harnessed to
achieve real change. Movements such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the women’s marches have harnessed pink as a symbol of rebellion, taking ownership of a colour once used to pigeon-hole women and reclaiming it as a symbol of strength and solidarity. This is powerfully portrayed through The Museum at FIT exhibition, which highlights the influence of fashion heavyweights like Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons who, “has made it a point to challenge and question the pretty, “feminine” associations of pink, making it more “punk” and powerful,” Steele says. “Now, of course, it is suffering from years of being seen as a lesser colour,” but it’s precisely because of the reaction against it, that she feels pink is “even more powerful today.” She adds, “You now have a new sense that it’s politicised, it’s androgynous, it’s a cool colour. There’s now this more self-conscious association of pink with power and rebellion, which was not so clear in the past.” Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color shows at The Museum at FIT from 7 September, 2018 – 5 January, 2019. fitnyc.edu 55
Prior to Hollywood directorial fame, 17-year-old Stanley Kubrick was capturing captivating life stills of 1940s New York for Look magazine. A new exhibition allows his early creative genius to be viewed through a different lens
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WORDS: CHRIS UJMA
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There’s a visual power. You can’t look these photos without thinking of the films, and then catch yourself forgetting that he was only a teenager at the time
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I
t could be the curiously black comedy based around a nuclear arms race that is Dr. Strangelove, the charged, anarchic A Clockwork Orange, or the horrors of war depicted in Paths of Glory. It matters not. When the credits roll on any of Stanley Kubrick’s thirteen cinematic masterpieces, audiences generally react in two ways: the first is to proclaim, ‘What did I just witness?!’ (with part astonishment and part admiration), and the second is to embark on an existential inquiry into the director’s mind. Just how did he formulate this deft storyteller’s gaze? A new exhibition at The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is some manner of a cross examination, unearthing Kubrick’s creative roots to reveal that his was not an artsy film school education, but life lessons from treading the gritty streets of New York as a still photographer. MCNY has a colossal photographic collection, which comprises the work of individual artists and also of large
photo archives. In the latter case, the art department of Look magazine (one of the two major pictorial news titles at the time, along with Life magazine) began sharing the fruits of its New York City assignments to the museum, from the mid-1940s onwards. “This constitutes about 300,000 images, contact sheets, negatives and such,” explains Donald Albrecht, curator of Architecture and Design at MCNY, “and within this bounty are about 14,000 Stanley Kubrick photographs. He worked at Look from 1945 to 1950, and since most of his assignments were of New York, we have the bulk of his work for them.” This treasure trove forms the basis of Stanley Kubrick Photographs: Through a Different Lens, a show that Albrecht has co-curated with Sean Corcoran, curator of Prints and Photographs at MCNY. “It peels back formative layers and provides the background to a celebrity name, and shows the formation of the ‘eye’ of this now notable film director,” he outlines.
Opening pages: From ‘Rosemary Williams - Showgirl,’ 1948 Opposite: From ‘Peter Arno... Sophisticated Cartoonist,’ 1949, where Arno plays the piano in his Park Avenue apartment Below: From ‘Life and Love on the New York City Subway’, 1947. All photographs by Stanley Kubrick, © SK Film Archives/Museum of the City of New York
When Kubrick was just 17, he took a photograph (with a camera bought for him by his father) of a despondent newsvendor the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt died. The teen submitted his photo to a newspaper, however they declined to buy the image. Kubrick then offered it to Look magazine, and they bought it. His picture featured in the June 1945 edition of the magazine, as part of a timeline about Roosevelt and Vice President Harry S. Truman, who succeeded him in office. Because of its symbolism, Kubrick’s photograph is the largest in the piece: the front pages on the newsstand proclaim ‘Roosevelt Dead’ and ‘Truman Takes Office’. Bored by school, Kubrick then began capturing the life that bustled around him in the Bronx, and “Little by little, he bought such ‘real life’ ideas to Look, and they decided to hire him – as an intern at first, before going on-staff in
what we believe was sometime in the later part of 1946, as the first mention of Kubrick on the masthead is in January 1947,” details Albrecht. Within two months of being hired, Kubrick had published his first long-form, multi-photograph essay, comprising 29 snaps called ‘Life and Love on the New York City Subway.’ “It’s a day in the life of the subway, where he follows people in the morning rush hour, coming home at night, he takes a lot of photographs. Some are staged, while others are orchestrated and candid,” says Albrecht. “Within the parameters of the assignments he was given, his eye does rove. We were told by some of the editors that, Look was relatively freewheeling, and photographers were encouraged to roam and come up with ideas.” Which ideas are Kubrick’s own – and which were instructed – is hard to determine, he admits.
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“We assume that the celebrity profiles were assigned, there’s a 1949 article on the movie star Montgomery Clift, who starred in The Heiress, so they must have said to Kubrick ‘go follow this guy, it will be a big movie.’ In 1950 alone he photographs ‘The First Lady of Television’ Faye Emerson, Leonard Bernstein, boxer Rocky Graziano, and debutant Betsy von Furstenberg. He’s photographing big celebrity profiles.” A great facet of the archive, says Albrecht, “is that we have both what the magazine published, and also the outtakes. Sometimes you see him staging photographs that a family magazine like Look wouldn’t publish; an example is one he staged at a subway stop, where he has positioned a man and a woman kissing against a column – but behind them is a man laying on the floor, perhaps depicted him as deceased or homeless, that shows a negative view of city. That was not published, but it does give a different view or urban life.” Kubrick had stepped into a magazine whose view of 1940s New York was
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twofold, says Albrecht. “The post-war world is depicted as an international media capital. You have articles that Kubrick illustrates with narratives along the lines of ‘New York takes art capital title from Paris’, or ‘New York, new centre of the television medium’. That’s the international ‘new city’ vibe – New York as a cultural capital of the world – that Kubrick helped depict.” Simultaneously, says the curator, New York also remained to them “a city of everyday people, so Kubrick also photographed women shopping with their children, people going to the Laundromat, passers-by attention seeking for the camera... there’s even one piece about city dogs, ‘pampered pets of the concrete jungle’. It’s both extraordinary life, and ordinary life.” This was not yet the glittering, modern city of glass skyscrapers. It had an eye on the prosperous future, yet with a foot planted in the past. “It was never negative, though,” clarifies Albrecht. “In later years, Look did tackle New York’s changing state as a site of crime, poverty and racial strife,
asking if there was too much change happening, and if the city could survive such radical progression. But these were not issues depicted in Look’s postwar ‘Kubrick’ period.” Still, at times there is sharpness to Kubrick’s photography, that focuses on “the harder nose of life, and centres on observation that borders on the voyeuristic. There’s a visual power. You can’t look these photos without thinking of the films, then you catch yourself forgetting that he was only a teenager at the time,” Albrecht says. Kubrick was learning how to frame, light and compose shots, taking cinematic type shots – long, medium, and close ups – while honing an ability to tell stories in sequences of images. He had influences, of course. “Kubrick was enamoured with the photographer Weegee (the pseudonym of Arthur Fellig), a tabloid photographer who took snapshots of crime scenes; there’s an urban brutality that Kubrick mirrors in these photographs.” An article on prizefighter Walter Cartier from 1949 would prove
transitional. Cartier became the subject of Kubrick’s first documentary film, Day of the Fight, released in 1951. The prizefighter shoot is “very interesting,” Albrecht believes. “It’s dark subject matter and the lighting is very film noir, very Chiaroscuro, and you see that carry over into his early films – that black and white cinematography. It shows the direct trajectory between photography and the eventual film work.” Looking back, the director would surmise, “By the time I was 21, I had learned how the world worked.” Albrecht interprets this as “not only referring to the subject matter he was photographing, but also pertaining to how a big, bureaucratic organisation such as Look operated. His time there taught Kubrick how to collaborate, yet
also how to have his own voice and creativity heard: an essential attribute when working for a movie studio.” As far as MCNY is concerned, his photographs are time capsules of an important period for the city. “His Look images capture that prevailing notion that you come to New York to ‘make it’ here,” expresses Albrecht. “It’s a city of self-invention where some make it, while others don’t – and Kubrick, then a 17-year-old with a camera, who never went to college, somewhat epitomises that New York spirit.” Stanley Kubrick Photographs: Through a Different Lens shows at Museum of the City of New York until 28 October. An accompanying book, bearing the same title, is available from Taschen. mcny.org
Opposite: From ‘Park Benches: Love is Everywhere,’ 1946 Left: Betsy von Furstenberg with friends, from ‘The Debutante Who Went to Work,’ 1950. All photographs by Stanley Kubrick, © SK Film Archives/Museum of the City of New York
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Motoring
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AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
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Instant Classic
The Ferrari 250 GT Lusso. The Jaguar E-type. The Lamborghini Countach. Timeless examples of an alluring motoring niche: the two-door European purebred. But what are the challenges – and rewards – of collecting post-war sportscars in the UAE? WORDS : CHRIS UJMA
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omething that fascinates me about a classic car is what demographic bought it when it was new, who it was passed on to, and who buys it in the present day,” ponders Miguel Llorente, gesturing towards a characterful Porsche 944 from the 1980s. Llorente is the assistant manager of the classic car division at Tomini Classics, and its HQ (located on the corner of 24th Street and Umm Suqeim Road in Dubai), is less of a showroom and more of a bolthole for the Berlinetta; a hushed haven of classic coupés comprising Ferarri, Porsche, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and more. The dealership is open to the public – Llorente dubs it ‘Dubai’s de facto car museum’ – and if the car was on a poster on your bedroom wall, you’ll find it here, in all its glory. “In the beginning, the 944 was bought by executives; people who were making it in the world, wanting to create a good impression, but didn’t have enough to buy a 928,” he regales about the model in front of us. “Then it became a high school/college car – cool, sporty and fun, but expensive to maintain, so many fell into neglect. Now a 944 is a highly coveted classic; a nice option that sits just below the classic 911.” For a whole host of European classic cars, their own fabled log history will have an exotic stop in the Middle East, thanks to a burgeoning buying trend. Says Llorente, “At Tomini we decided to focus on a developing niche: high value, collectible European cars. The profile of our portfolio can be defined as the two-door, European sports car, produced between 1939-2018.” Some of the most sought after cars in the region are purchases fuelled by nostalgia; models that people grew up with from childhood, and they are now in a position to own. Llorente remarks about having seen the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari F40 on Dubai’s roads, as well as the Ferrari Testarossa “which is becoming popular as the buying demographic is getting younger. We also see particular reverence for Mercedes – the Pagoda in particular has been an excellent seller Mercedes-Benz has proven reliability record and can handle the UAE swelter very well.” 64
Ah yes, the weather. How does a car built for zipping along cool mountain passes and cruising along pretty costal routes fare with the unforgiving heatwave of Dubai and its neighbours? “The two most decisive factors in this region are temperature and dust,” explains Llorente. “Some of the modifications we can make are upgrading the cooling system with an aluminium alloy radiator, which is around 30 percent more efficient than a traditional steel radiator. We’ve also mastered air conditioning retrofits, so that occupants can stay shielded from the intense heat.” But while Dubai’s elements may not be the most conducive, Llorente explains that the buying climate certainly is. “The UAE is very special in terms of car ownership. We have import conditions that make this a very advantageous place to own any car – be it a collectible Ferrari 599 Zagato or a vintage Porsche 911,” he outlines. “There’s a lot of flexibility from the government and the authorities to
Opening pages: Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, photo by Sid Pandey Clockwise from left: Porsche 911 RS 2.7 by Sid Pandey; Jaguar E-Type Series and Ferrari 512 TR in yellow, both by Shivaum Punjabi. All images courtesy of Tomini Classics
With an older vehicle, there’s a nexus between the driver and the car. That synergy is what draws people to them enable a collector to own a car that they really like. There’s not a lot of tax, and any spec of vehicle can be imported and registered – unlike in the US or Europe, where there are restrictions on car imports to follow regional specifications.” Peace of mind comes in via the UAE’s high level of safety standards, and strict tyre age limits. The means are there to acquire a masterpiece, and some gentle education is required to nurture the blossoming market, Llorente admits. “In terms of the more exotic numbers that were not built for this weather like an Alfa Romeo 6C, a Fiat-Abarth Zagato or a Ferrari 308 Vetroresina, they need extra care. Certain cars are more maintenance intensive; adjusting the carburetor every season, or ensuring suitable storage to avoid cracks in the body and the leather upholstery, for example. These factors are beginning to be understood in a maturing market.” Many Tomini clients are well versed in the ways of classic care, he reveals.
“They work on their own cars, and appreciate the engineering. Some classic cars are actually easier to maintain than an electronicallyloaded new purchase. They are simpler and as a result they give less ownership headaches; they can be more mechanically honest and straightforward, and a trained eye can actually see what is causing the fault – no mystery coding or a gremlin in the system.” He advises against too much tinkering, though. “Most customers understand that customisation may affect the value of the car, and many respect the heritage of the car. Yes, you can install any bolt, any fastener or upholstery on a car and it will be a functional classic but it will not capture the exact essence of when it was new.” In the wider market, he notes, there are acceptable shortcuts, countered by more questionable ways of cutting corners. “At Tomini we believe in provenance, and are proud of restoring cars by the book,” he says, adding, “I admire those who know every detail of the model inside out – who can spot that ‘this bolt is wrong; the texture is incorrect; this upholstery pattern is not made any more, and I know where to get it. Few in Dubai have such talent.” In a world of modernity, there’s also an emotional element to acquiring a classic –a motoring soul just waiting for a driver to be united with. “A fair reason to buy a classic car is that a lot of people want something that won’t plummet like an anchor in depreciation,” Llorente acknowledges. “But it is also a matter of the driving experience. With an older vehicle, there’s a nexus between the driver and the car. That synergy is what draws people to them.” If that doesn’t appeal to the heart, well, there is always the irresistible styling. “Sure, you can go to the Ferrari dealership and buy a brand new model and that is obviously pretty nice,” he confesses. “But pull up to a hotel reception in a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, and you’ve something that nobody else has. It is a symbol of distinction that sets the owner apart.” A slice of cool in the heat, so to speak. 65
Gastronomy AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Iron Awe
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Masaharu Morimoto has expanded his restaurant empire with a new presence in Dubai. Here’s how the legendary chef intends to take over this town
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G
etting to know a chef’s personality usually takes one route: venturing into said expert’s restaurant domain on a curious hunt for idiosyncratic clues (and a glimpse of the maestro in action). This formula is somewhat different for the beloved Masaharu Morimoto. For over a decade, he has been beamed into millions of homes around the world as a star of Iron Chef – a fiercely contested weekly cooking series, where a contender faces off against a skilled chef (such as Morimoto) in a frenetic culinary challenge. “That was a lot of pressure, because when people come to eat your food, they have a level of expectation of what they will be tasting derived from how they see you on TV,” the Hiroshimaborn chef admits in our interview. “Understanding how to balance those personas of ‘Iron Chef Morimoto’ and ‘Chef Morimoto the restaurateur’ is very important for me.” Re-runs of the show uphold the Iron Chef side of the balance, and it is Morimoto’s empire of eponymous
Understanding how to balance those personas of ‘Iron Chef Morimoto’ and restaurateur is very important for me
international restaurants that form the experiential side to his legacy. Morimoto’s journey becgan at a crossroads. Aged 18, his “other dream” was to become a baseball player, and he was deemed good enough to be drafted until a shoulder injury hampered any kind of life in the diamond. Baseball’s loss was fine dining’s gain. After first working in, then owning, a sushi restaurant in his home city, he latched onto the late 80s ‘sushi boom’, as the cuisine gained traction out-West. Following appearances on Iron Chef and Iron Chef America, he opened a flagship Philadelphia eatery in 2001, swiftly followed by a place in New York. Now, 17 years on, the 63-year-old is shaping his omnipresence; savants can encounter his cuisine in Mumbai, Waikiki, Mexico City, Bangkok, Las Vegas and New Delhi, to name a few. The overarching appeal of Morimoto’s fare is the way he bridges the culinary traditions of his native Japan and the American palate. Put another way, this is contemporary fine dining that is easy to fall in love with – and Dubai is the latest city in which to foster infatuation, with the arrival of its own ‘Morimoto’. “I’ve really become taken with the emirate as a destination over the past 67
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few years,” he glows. “Its shopping indulgences, ambitious architecture and vibrant nightlife are now on par with anywhere in the world – and the city’s culinary focus has also significantly risen in stature.” There’s undoubtedly stiff competition in this burgeoning gastonomic hotspot but of all people, Morimoto is wellversed in the art of culinary face off (and, of course, in how to prevail). Morimoto Dubai is the ideal forum for victory. Situated inside the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai, the venue “provides guests a comfortable fine dining experience inside a modern and contemporary restaurant,” he explains – modestly downplaying its majesty. Set across two floors, it has four terraces and boasts amazing views of the Dubai skyline. His restaurant is expansive – enough for 250 covers – though seclusion comes in the form of a private dining room and private terrace on the upper level, accessible only with a special passcode. The menu formulated for his UAE venture “features some of my signature dishes and sushi,” he says, “I’m a sushi chef first and foremost, so the best menu component is our fresh selection of sushi and sashimi.” 68
Chef Morimoto’s seasonal selection of traditional and innovative raw fish preparations are imported from markets around the world, including the famed Tsukiji market in Tokyo. “We have other standout dishes like an oyster foie gras appetiser [the twist being uni and teriyaki sauce], our whole roasted lobster [with garam masala, lemon crème fraîche], and the ‘duck duck goose’ [a duck meatball soup with duck confit fried rice and gooseberry compote]. We’ve excellent Australian Wagyu steaks, too.” He is most animated when discussing the restaurant’s Teppan style cooking counter, “where food is cooked directly in front of our guests, so it is both dinner and a show.” Orchestrating this performance is Chef Teyori, who Morimoto brought in from his Michelin-starred Atelier Morimoto XEX in Tokyo. “The team is delighted to see his unique skills applied at the teppanyaki counters.” There’s only one Chef Morimoto – that’s both praise, and a literal fact. It means he must relinquish certain control, to professionals such as Teyori.
“Having locations around the world presents itself with a unique set of challenges, as I sadly can’t be at all of them as the same time, and I feel strongly about having a personal touch,” he admits. But at this stage he has an arsenal of confidantes to assist in executing his vision. “My corporate team, as well as experienced managers and chefs from my USA-based locations, know all about the standards which are crucial to the successful operation of my restaurant,” he details. “Most importantly, I have a great partner in Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai, whom I can trust to safeguard my brand when I’m thousands of miles away.” On those occasions he is in town, Morimoto urges guests to “feel free to say ‘hi’ to me if you see me around. I may look intimidating on TV, but I’m quite kind in person,” he smiles. His Dubai dining rivals should perhaps be cautious of this softer side. The Iron Chef has a competitive streak and, to steal a baseball term, Morimoto Dubai looks set to be another home run.
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Travel
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AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
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31 JOURNEYS BY JET
Cottar’s Bush Villa Maasai Mara
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aving a trusted local guide to curate a travel itinerary is often rewarding, but far from essential. Sure, said expert can tailor a foodie tour of Italy’s EmiliaRomagna, or an architecture stroll around Berlin. But do without, and a quick Google search will point you in the general direction of the Quadrilatero or The Gendarmenmarkt. Alas, the same can’t be said about that most iconic of adventures, the African safari. The whereabouts of cheetah, elephants, giraffe, zebra and countless other creatures aren’t exactly mapped out online. The Serengeti frontier is vast; one needs to know exactly where to look for action. In the shape of Calvin Cottar, this camp has a man who is regarded as one of the best bush guides in the business – and a trip through Maasai Mara with Calvin at the helm is akin to walking through his childhood home, with the guide pointing out locations that evoke an endless supply of stories and insight. His surname appears above the door, too. This award-winning 1920s
Safari Camp has been continuously owned and managed by the Cottar clan for decades, making them the most established safari family in Africa. This part of Kenya is regarded for abundant game which makes for yearround experience. In turn, Cottar’s is regarded for its jewel: the Bush Villa, designed by Louise Cottar and built by hand, using eco-friendly materials. The villa is a sophisticated, 10,000 square foot abode, catering up to 12 guests who are waited on by a dedicated staff of eight. The villa has its own private 25m swimming pool, a large living room, a dining room, five en-suite bedrooms, and a magnificent viewing deck that assures breathtaking view across the savannah plains. Cottar’s is the only camp situated in the 6,000 acre conservancy, with no hot air balloons overheard, no nearby lodges and no low-f lying aircraft to disturb. A stay here is the epitome of being ‘at one’ with the wilderness. Land into Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, then take a private flight that lands at Cotttar’s own dedicated airstrip. cottars.com 71
What I Know Now
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AUGUST 2018 : ISSUE 87
Leslie Odom Jr. ACTOR, SINGER AND BROADWAY STAR For two years, Hamilton has been such an enormous part of my life. The changes in the wake of the Broadway opening had been so seismic that sometimes there were nights when I would spend a few moments trying to piece together and understand… how? Hamilton was the dream that almost didn’t happen. Only five years prior to encountering Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece, I had made the decision to move on from the business of being an actor. I found myself at one of life’s most common rites of passage – a graduation into my thirties – and I knew from past experience that there would be things I’d have to leave behind. Some things don’t travel well from one time in your life to the next. Like broken-down rides and ratty furniture – bad habits, toxic relationships, unhealthy thought patterns – there should be shedding 72
around ‘graduation’ day. The old stuff will only weigh you down. I’ve had a profound appreciation for the role of the mentor since elementary school. My fifth-grade social studies teacher was the first. As a kid with some behavioural issues, my story would’ve unfolded in a drastically different way without people who cared. Among those mentors was – and is – a Los Angeles acting/life/empowerment coach, expert Boggle champ, and Renaissance man named Stuart K Robinson, a brilliant guy whose practical wisdom has changed many lives. And I swear I’d say the same thing even if he hadn’t let me marry his daughter. As a working actor for over a decade, I had the wounds, calluses, and IMDb credits to show for it. When an opportunity presented itself, you’d be
hard pressed to find many people who tried harder. Yet Stuart challenged me, saying, “You know how to succeed when the phone is ringing, but what about when the phone’s not ringing? What did you do for yourself today? Did you call anyone? In what ways did you take charge of your creative life today?” The solution was so simple and it had completely eluded me. Stu was reminding me of that one thing we all know deep down: if you are willing to take one meaningful step on your own behalf toward making a dream come true today, the universe will meet you where you are and help you take two. When you take steps to better yourself, it is never in vain. Abridged excerpt from Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher and Never Stop Learning – written by Leslie Odom Jr. and published by Feiwel and Friends New York
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