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CONTENTS / REGUL ARS
Managing Director Victoria Thatcher Editorial Director John Thatcher Group Commercial Director David Wade GDYLG#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Commercial Director Rawan Chehab UDZDQ#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Deputy Editor Richard Jenkins ULFKDUG#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Features Editor Lara Brunt ODUD#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Senior Designer Andy Knappett
Thirty
Fifty Four
Look 48
Savage Beauty
Designer Emi Dixon
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Fifty
Sixty Six
Perfectly suited
Reluctant star
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Business Development Manager Rabih El Turk UDELK#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Illustrator Vanessa Arnaud Production Manager Chalitha Fernando
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* All images, still or moving, were created in front of a camera lens. Post-processed light trails in the video use only actual information recorded in shot-footage and no CGI.
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Precision, power and originality in action. The first project of its kind, ‘Inspired Light’ combines precision drivers, artists, the Infiniti QX70S Elite Sport, and light painting, to create a truly inspired performance, unlike anything seen before.
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CONTENTS / REGUL ARS Eighteen
Seventy Two
Radar
Motoring
A coffee table tome that imagines the homes of VW\OLVK ¿JXUHV
Is Ferrari’s newest GT ushering in an era of turbocharged supercars?
Twenty Six
Seventy Six
Art & Design
Gastronomy
Mario Marino’s travel portraits, and behind the scenes at Chanel.
Meet the Kuwait-born chef who’s the toast of London’s dining scene.
Thirty Six
Eighty
Jewellery
Travel
Bulgari gets set to steal your heart, and a goddessinspired brand hits Dubai.
AIR checks into the luxurious Chalet Husky in the heart of Val D’Isere.
Thirty Eight
Timepieces Trends from SIHH 2015, and Grieb & Benzinger’s modern masterworks.
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. All prices mentioned are correct at time of press but may change. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in AIR.
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THE BRIDAL COLLECTION Constellation Setting
T H E G A L L E R I A S O W WA H S Q U A R E 0 2 - 6 7 4 3 6 6 6 W W W. G R A F F D I A M O N D S . C O M
AL BATEEN Welcome to the February edition of AIR magazine, your own personal guide to Al Bateen Executive Airport, its developments, its people and the latest news. This issue will take you on a journey through Al Bateen’s facilities and offerings which aim to deliver the best quality services for its customers from aircraft operators, aircraft owners and pilots. We look forward to welcoming more and more visitors throughout 2015, and we remain committed to providing the highest level of private aviation services to our customers from all over the world. On behalf of AIR and the entire Al Bateen team, we wish you a safe journey wherever you may be heading to. We look forward to welcoming you again to the region’s only dedicated business aviation airport. Ali Majed Al Mansoori, CFA Chairman of ADAC
February 2015
WELCOME ONBOARD
Contact details: albateeninfo@adac.ae albateenairport.com - 13 -
AL BATEEN NEWS
a STORY of SUCCESS
How Al Bateen has made great strides in over half a century of service
A
l Bateen Executive Airport, the dedicated business aviation airport of Abu Dhabi Airports, began operations in the 1960s as WKH ÂżUVW PDLQ LQWHUQDWLRQDO DLUSRUW in the UAE capital, until Abu Dhabi International Airport was opened in 1982. Al Bateen was then initially converted into a military air base that operated until the end of 2008, when Abu Dhabi Airports took over the management of the airport and transformed it into a world class executive facility. It currently has stand capacity for up to 90 private MHWV DQG RSHUDWHV IDVW DQG HIÂżFLHQW turnarounds. There are no holding
patterns and, with short taxiing times and a strategic location in the heart of Abu Dhabi, it is within easy reach of the city’s major businesses and leisure facilities. Al Bateen has since witnessed a steady rise in the number of visiting executive jets. Most recently, in 2013, the airport reported an 18% increase in visiting aircraft WUDI¿F DQG D LQFUHDVH LQ WRWDO FRPPHUFLDO DLUFUDIW WUDI¿F FRPSDUHG to 2012. This growth demonstrates the success of the airport in attracting corporate and VIP clients. The emirate of Abu Dhabi plays host WR D QXPEHU RI KLJK SUR¿OH VSRUWLQJ and cultural events throughout the year and many of the visiting VIPs land at Al Bateen Executive Airport. 7R VXSSRUW WKH LQFUHDVLQJ LQÀRZ
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AL BATEEN NEWS
of visitors, a range of new services have been introduced at Al Bateen Airport, such as a new aircraft cleaning service provided by Falcon Aviation Services (FAS), a partnership with Emirates Transport Services and new fuel uplift services. These services are coordinated and offered by DhabiJet, the airport’s Fixed Base Operations (FBO) service provider. DhabiJet brings together all of the requirements for business aviation customers visiting the executive airport, under the management of a single highly trained DhabiJet customer service team. The team acts as a single point of contact for all requirements and works consistently hard to provide the fastest possible services time ‘door to door’ for passengers and crew. Its range of services also includes the meeting and greeting of passengers, refueling, aircraft cleaning services, ground handling, transportations and hotel arrangements. Catering is provided by gategroup of Switzerland, through its ‘Executive Gourmet’ catering facility, offering world class hospitality and catering services to meet the tailored requirements of elite passengers and private jets. For the last three years Al Bateen
Airport has hosted Abu Dhabi Air Expo, the only general aviation exhibition in the Middle East. Air Expo showcases key developments that relate to private aircraft, helicopters, general aviation manufacturers, airport equipment and services, pilot training schools, DYLRQLFV LQVXUDQFH DQG ¿QDQFLQJ It has rapidly become one of the key events in the global business aviation calendar, a testament to Al Bateen’s unique status as the only airport of its type in the region. In February 2014, the third Air Expo attracted a record number of visitors (almost 17,000, a 30% increase on the previous year) and enabled sales worth more than AED5 billion to be generated. Al Bateen Airport is also the home of Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies (GCAS). Since its establishment in 2009, GCAS has provided training for many thousands of aviation professionals, not only Abu Dhabi Airports’ own staff, but also other delegates from all around the world. This has not only been crucial in developing skills and raising operating standards, but GCAS has also in the process established itself as a leading expert in the provision of skills and the raising of standards - 16 -
more generally in the global aviation industry – a huge endorsement of its expertise. Development of professional skills, and especially the employment and training of UAE nationals, is vital to the future both of Abu Dhabi Airports and that of Abu Dhabi as a whole. In this regard, an especially important initiative was the launch of Al Eqla’a train-tohire programme last year, a graduate training programme dedicated to Emiratis and overseen by GCAS. It is the only such training of its type in the region and will play a key role in the harnessing and development of local talent. GCAS also hosted 250 students at this year’s Air Expo, giving them a tour of the show and RI LWV IDFLOLWLHV LQ WKH KRSH RI ¿ULQJ their enthusiasm and interest in a career in aviation. The transformation of Al Bateen Airport in the last six years has thus been nothing short of phenomenal. From having operated for many years as a military base, it has had to change its capabilities to cater for an entirely different sector, demanding the highest standards of customer service. It has rapidly become one of the world’s leading executive airports, a fact for which Abu Dhabi can be proud.
RADAR
>If you want your coffee table to be impeccably dressed this season, you need only buy this slender tome. Fashion House: Illustrated Interiors From the Icons of Style is a beautifully drawn book which depicts the imagined homes of stylish figures both present and past, with Audrey Hepburn, Tom Ford, Coco Chanel and Donatella Versace, among them. “I love to imagine how people inhabit their personal space, where they prefer to eat and how they like to sleep, what furniture they choose and how they decorate a room. A space can say as much about a person as their clothing. This book is about celebrating both,” says author Megan Hess, who is also the official illustrator for Bloomingdale’s. rizzoliusa.com
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Š Fashion House by Megan Hess, Hardie Grant.
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CRITIQUE
Film
Jupiter Ascending Dirs: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a lowly janitor whose destiny is only revealed when part-wolf Channing Tatum explains her true identity. AT BEST: “As ambitious and grandiose in design as everything else the siblings have made.” Screenrant AT WORST: “The decision to shift WKH ¿OP¶V UHOHDVH GDWH ZDV SURPSWHG by weak response to a research screening.” Variety
Kingsman: The Secret Service Dir: Matthew Vaughn Colin Firth plays a suave secret agent tasked with training new recruits in this slick comic book adaptation. AT BEST: “They say the clothes make the man, and these are some killer duds.” The Guardian AT WORST: “Plenty have tried to adapt the 007 shtick to younger characters, with demonstrably dopey results.” Variety
The Seventh Son
Fifty Shades of Grey
Dir: Sergei Bodrov After a plane crash in WWII, the sole remaining warrior of a mystical RUGHU WUDYHOV WR ¿QG D SURSKHVLVHG hero born with incredible powers, the last Seventh Son. AT BEST: “Seventh Son’s producers have played it safe by employing top-class pros for nearly all the key below-the-line positions.” Variety AT WORST: “Watchable but far from memorable, and though a closing scene leaves things open for a sequel, business realities may decide otherwise.” Hollywood Reporter
Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson Long-awaited adaptation of one of the most popular books of all time. A dark character study with a fascinating cast. AT BEST:“For all the expected transgressions, there’s still something romantic watching opposites who attract.” NY Daily News AT WORST: “There are elements of silliness – such as the fact that Christian seems to wear shades of grey almost exclusively, like he’s a Power Ranger.” Screenrant - 20 -
Theatre Movie stars taking a break from the silver screen to hone their craft on stage is a well-worn tradition, but such is the quality of material on show in Constellations, at the Samuel J Friedman theatre in New York, Jake Gyllenhaal’s star presence is almost the last thing one notices. The 70-minute play consists of Gyllenhaal’s character Roland meeting theoretical physicist Marianne (played by Ruth Wilson) at a barbeque, and then observes all the different paths their relationship might take. The Guardian’s Alex Soloski says: “I wish I’d seen Sally Hawkins and Rafe Spall in the London debut, but the director Michael Longhurst has found very ÂżQH UHSODFHPHQWV LQ *\OOHQKDDO and Wilson. They have a lovely time playing with the script and with each other – Wilson with her pointy, pouty features and wonderfully manic energy, Gyllenhaal with his bushy beard and earthier charms. He relies perhaps a bit heavily on blokiness and she on intensity, but they ably vary the mood of each new VFHQH $QG WKRXJK WKH SOD\ Âż[HV RQ physics, rest assured the chemistry is ample.â€? Marilyn Stasio in Variety writes: “Although barely an hour long, this baby bombshell by hot Brit VFULEH 1LFN 3D\QH RYHUĂ€RZV ZLWK emotional highs and lows.â€? Until March 15. At London’s intimate Menier Chocolate Factory, comic actress Catherine Tate works darkly humorous material to perfection in the latest adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. The play is about the nine men and women who have attemped, with varying results, to assassinate US presidents. Time Out says: “Set in a grungy, carnival-like afterlife – beautifully rendered in a traverse staging by designer Soutra Gilmour – the casting is excellent, with stand-out turns from Tveit as the smouldering, Mephistophelian Booth, Andy
Nyman as the disarmingly sweet Charles Guiteau, Catherine Tate as hilarious, laid-back and incompetent Sara Jane Moore and Jamie Parker as a smirking bluegrass balladeer who mocks the assassins before transforming into the most infamous of their number: Lee Harvey Oswald. There’s no glamour here, just desperate men and women grubbing about in the ashes of the American Dream.â€? Charles Isherwood of the New York Times was also impressed by the “superlatively acted productionâ€?, writing: “The choreographer Chris Bailey’s razzleGD]]OH ÂżQDOH FRXOG SURÂżWDEO\ EH toned down, but the last image, soundless but for the frantic panting of the killers as they stare us down, guns leveled, concludes this production on a heart-skipping note. We who enter this carnival of the damned are not likely to soon forget it.â€? Until March 7. Made in Dagenham was a largely IRUJHWWDEOH %ULWLVK ÂżOP IURP about a group of women going on strike for better pay at the Ford Motor Company plant in Dagenham, (QJODQG LQ WKH V ,WÂśV EHHQ given a new lease of life with a theatre production starring Gemma - 21 -
$UWHUWRQ DQG 0DUN +DGÂżHOG DV Labour MP Harold Wilson. Time Out says: “Barely present in the ÂżOP KHUH WKH OXGLFURXV LQHIIHFWXDO Wilson represents the acme of the anarchic humour that playwright Richard Bean has injected into his YHU\ IUHH DGDSWDWLRQ RI WKH ÂżOP It’s very silly, and wryly nostalgia for Old Labour and the foibles of the Britain that 58-year-old Bean grew up in – the ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ writer has unmistakably imposed himself on the show.â€? The performance at London’s Adelphi theatre runs the risk of appearing slightly worthy, says Dominic Cavendish in The Telegraph, although he goes on to say: “But when you’ve got a director as gifted ZLWK YLVXDO Ă€DLU DV 5XSHUW *RROG and a writer as wittily inclined as Richard Bean, the resulting rule of thumb is ‘Never give them a dull minute’. With perky lyrics from Richard Thomas (best known for Jerry Springer: the Opera) and composer David Arnold contributing thumping pastiche Sixties rock and pop, the emphasis is on a sustained feel-good factor - larger-than-life meets tongue-in-cheek.â€? Until March 28.
CRITIQUE
Books The inhumane conditions suffered by prisoners at GuantĂĄnamo Bay have been well documented, but now they are given a personal voice with GuantĂĄnamo Diary by Mohamedou Oul Slahi. The writer’s handwritten journal was the subject of a sixyear battle for the manuscript to EH GHFODVVLÂżHG DQG GHWDLOV KRZ the author was subjected to sleep deprivation, death threats, sexual humiliation and threats against his parents. The Guardian writes: “Slahi’s manuscript was subjected to more than 2,500 redactions before GHFODVVLÂżFDWLRQ RVWHQVLEO\ WR SURWHFW FODVVLÂżHG LQIRUPDWLRQ EXW ZLWK WKH effect of preventing readers from learning the full story of his ordeal. The book is being published with all the censor’s marks in place, and the publishers – Canongate in the UK and Little, Brown in the US – hope they will be able to publish an uncensored edition when Slahi is eventually released.â€? GuantĂĄnamo 'LDU\ LV WKH ÂżUVW ERRN ZULWWHQ E\ D still imprisoned detainee, and his book is sure to create shockwaves around the world as his experience is discovered. Larry Siems, also of The Guardian, says: “The story
he tells is well corroborated by the GHFODVVLÂżHG UHFRUG KH SURYHV DJDLQ and again to be a reliable narrator. He certainly does not exaggerate: the record contains torments and humiliations not included in the book, and he renders several of those he does include with considerable
discretion. Even when the events he recounts are at their most extreme, his narration is tempered and direct. The horrors of those events speak for themselves.â€? Neil Gaiman is one of England’s PRVW SUROLÂżF VFLHQFH ÂżFWLRQ DQG fantasy writers, and his latest work is a series of short stories titled Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. Containing a mixture of new work and previously published shorts, Trigger Warning will contain all of the author’s trademark twists and sense of dread. Indeed, the term “trigger warningâ€? usually applies to an image, idea or words that trigger an intensely unpleasant reaction to the person consuming the media. As Gaiman himself describes it in the introduction, a trigger warning is usually used online to warn people about content that “could upset them - 22 -
DQG WULJJHU Ă€DVKEDFNV RU DQ[LHW\ RU terror.â€? Science Fiction Book Club praises Gaiman’s legacy, writing: “In this stunning anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces RI VKRUW ÂżFWLRQ²VWRULHV YHUVH DQG a very special Doctor Who story WKDW ZDV ZULWWHQ IRU WKH ÂżIWLHWK DQQLYHUVDU\ RI WKH EHORYHG VHULHV² as well as Black Dog, a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection. A writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman transports us deep into the realm of imagination. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.â€? Nick Hornby is the 21st century’s foremost proponent of modern male ennui, but in Funny Girl he evokes a different era entirely: 1960s London. The plot of the book focuses on a ÂżFWLRQDO 79 VKRZ IURP WKH HUD DERXW a young, metropolitan, married couple which becomes a smash hit. The Guardian says: “Nothing Hornby writes could ever be a chore to read, and Funny Girl displays his usual talents for narrative zip and easy human sympathy.â€? The Independent’s Alice Jones isn’t quite so convinced, writing: “It’s a promising trajectory but once Barbara sets about becoming the nation’s sweetheart, she rather runs out of steam. And while Hornby tells us repeatedly that she is an ‘extraordinarily gifted’ comic talent, she never comes across as very funny on the page. The male characters get all the best lines, and as the novel progresses, Barbara becomes more of a cipher for the male psychodramas playing out around her.â€?
CRITIQUE
Art The themes of love, death, sexuality and shame run throughout Marlene Dumas’ artwork. “Secondhand images,â€? she has said, “can generate ÂżUVW KDQG HPRWLRQV ´ /RQGRQÂśV Tate Modern is, from this month, collecting almost two hundred drawings and paintings from private and museum collections from around the world to present Marlene Dumas – The Image as Burden, running from February 5 to May 10. The exhibition was previously in Holland’s Stedelijk museum, which says: “The exhibition closely examines the key themes and motifs that Dumas has developed throughout her artistic career. Special attention is devoted to the works on paper that Dumas produced in the early years after her arrival in the Netherlands, when she DOVR H[KLELWHG KHU ZRUN IRU WKH ÂżUVW time at the Stedelijk Museum and 0XVHXP )RGRU 7KHPHV such as love, death and longing, and the use of texts and images found in the mass media – which are also explored in her late paintings – are evident in these early works, too.â€? Rachel Cooke of the Observer spent time with Dumas ahead of the exhibition’s launch. “Two things about her are immediately DSSDUHQW ´ &RRNH ZULWHV Âł7KH ÂżUVW is her prodigious energy, which comes at you like a gale force wind. She is, quite simply, unstoppable: garrulous, clever, curious, and enthusiastic. The second – this is the important part – is her modesty, her uncertainty, her artistic humility.â€? The son of an American surgeon, John Singer Sargent was born in Florence in 1856 and spent his childhood on the move all around (XURSH ÂżQDOO\ VHWWOLQJ LQ /RQGRQ after a spell in Paris. On his travels, Sargent became friends with some of the most important writers, artists and thinkers of the age, and often painted their portraits. His sitters included Claude Monet, Robert
/RXLV 6WHYHQVRQ DQG $XJXVWH 5RGLQ DQG /RQGRQÂśV 1DWLRQDO 3RUWUDLW Gallery presents a collection of these works from February 12 to May 25. Time Out says: “He’s really the last great exponent of what’s known as the ‘swagger portrait’ – an exaggerated form of the genre, designed to accentuate wealth or fame. Sargent certainly had famous IULHQGV WR Ă€DWWHU ´ 0DHY .HQQHG\ of the Guardian spoke to curator Richard Ormond, who said of Sargent: “Sometimes the surface of the paint is just so gorgeous it’s hard to see the picture.â€? One thing that is indisputable is that Sargent’s work, even 90 years after his death, is as compelling as ever. ,Q IURVW\ :DNHÂżHOG LQ WKH North of England, the stunningly incongruous modern building that is the Hepworth gallery aims to give VRPH DWWHQWLRQ WR DQ RIW IRUJRWWHQ IHPDOH DUWLVW QDPHG /\QGD %HQJOLV She was a contemporary of Andy :DUKRO DQG 6RO /H:LWW ZKR WRRN - 24 -
up more column inches, but with this new exhibition pulling together KHU ZRUN IURP RYHU ÂżIW\ \HDUV WKDW may begin to change. The New York Times writes of the artist: “Benglis is something of a mythic character, as many female artists of the 1960s and early ’70s are by now. Working in pigmented latex, beeswax or polyurethane foam and even glitter, she made daring, often ephemeral or fragile works that have plenty of historical weight but little market SUHVHQFH ´ 7KH /$ 7LPHV VD\V Âł+HU SDLQWLQJV OLH Ă€DW RQ WKH Ă€RRU 7KH\ languorously unfurl in curvilinear compositions made from poured rubber and polyurethane color, all ZLWKRXW EHQHÂżW RI FDQYDV VWUHWFKHU bars or frames. One is titled ‘Odalisque,’ its sensuous roots in the harem laid bare. Others grow into deep, thick mounds of Technicolor cartoon colors or darkly scatological KXHV ´ ,I \RX ÂżQG \RXUVHOI LQ northern England this springtime, LWÂśV D PXVW VHH
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ART & DESIGN
1. - 26 -
A B O U T FA C E As Mario Marino unveils his latest exhibition in Dubai, AIR catches up with the globetrotting portrait photographer to discover what he looks for in a face Words: LARA BRUNT
A
s we gaze at the image of the young Surma girl, shot side-on to capture the fascinating beauty of her earlobe, stretched to envelop a clay disc, and decorative scarring on her upper arm, travel portrait photographer Mario Marino is telling me what it took to get the shot. Travelling for three days on dirt roads through what he calls “t-shirt country, where everyone is wearing cheap, Chinese-made t-shirtsâ€?, ÂżQDOO\ KH DUULYHG LQ WKH UHPRWH corner of south-western Ethiopia, virtually untouched by the modern world, where centuries-old tribal traditions are still kept alive. With no common language, gaining the trust of the tribe was the next challenge. “[Normally], the ÂżUVW WKLQJ , GR LQ D FRXQWU\ LV JR WR the bank and change [money for] kilos of small notes,â€? he says. But in this part of the world, money doesn’t mean much. “There’s nothing, no hospital, no supermarket. So we brought salt and instant soups – the tribes in Ethiopia love instant soups, as there’s salt in it. My driver told me that beforehand and it was a key opener.â€? The image is part of retrospective of the photographer’s work on show at The Empty Quarter gallery in Dubai. Comprising over 40 large
portraits, it is the culmination of several years spent exploring exotic parts of the world, such as ,QGLD 1HSDO DQG &XED ³7R PH LWœV essential to show the beauty and dignity of people,� he explains. Whether capturing spontaneous moments such as a beaming young boy leaning out of a train window next to his grandmother in Rajasthan, or the direct and thoughtful gaze of a young Nepalese monk clad in burgundy robes, Marino’s portraits hint at the personalities, identities, hopes and dreams of his subjects. Born in 1967 in Austria, Marino began his career as a painter in
‘To me, it’s essential to show the beauty and dignity of people’ Berlin, before spending a decade working in an art gallery. When he started taking photographs in his 30s, he found he had learned a lot from the artists of the 19th century and early 20th century and composition came naturally to him. “But you know it takes a very long time to know what kind of photographer you are,� he says. “There’s a big difference when you take a picture when you’re 30 and when you’re 40.� - 27 -
$IWHU ÂżUVW SXUVXLQJ IDVKLRQ SKRWRJUDSK\ Âą Âł, ZDV IDVFLQDWHG E\ FRYHUV IURP 9RJXHÂŤ ,WÂśV LQWHUHVWLQJ but in the end it’s boringâ€? – his natural fascination with people and curiosity about the world around him led to travel portraiture. “The world is full of life – you have to go out. My best pictures are taken ZKHQ ,ÂśP IUHH $V \RX JHW ROGHU \RX understand more the kind of person you are and what you are looking IRU , KDYH D ORW RI IULHQGV ZKR DUH really big names in the market but it takes 20 years to become a great photographer,â€? he says. The ability to empathise with your subjects and an indefatigable ability to pound the pavements are key to taking exceptional travel portraits, according to the snapper. “The great masters of the 20th century, HenriCartier Bresson or Robert Capa, told us you must walk, you must move every day. You have to go out and see the lives of people and understand their situations. A normal day for me involves ten hours walking to see what’s going on, to understand and capture the life of an interesting person,â€? he says. Marino has learned to read the street, scanning his surroundings for that elusive face that piques his LQWHUHVW Âł, KDYH D JRRG IHHOLQJ IRU D JUHDW IDFH RQ WKH VWUHHW ,I WKHUH are 600 people coming [down the VWUHHW@ , FDQ VD\ ÂľWKH VHFRQG PDQ on the right side’. And 90 per cent of
ART & DESIGN the time it works. There’s always a story behind that face,â€? he says. “I’m looking for strong faces and to show a little bit of their identity in their clothes, cultures and religions.â€? The perfect shot is a “combination of the light and the moment,â€? he continues. Using a Nikon D800 camera, Marino shoots the majority of his portraits in shadow, where the light is even, and doesn’t use Ă€DVK RU D UHĂ€HFWRU Âł, KDWH Ă€DVK LWÂśV XQQDWXUDO ,I \RX XVH D Ă€DVK people feel uncomfortable. If you use the natural light, all is perfect and you don’t have so much camera equipment to carry around with you,â€? he laughs. Building rapport is also important.
“You must be connected with the person in front of your camera. Touching a person is very important – if I touch a person, they trust me,â€? he says. Does he ask his subjects to pose? “They are natural, especially in Africa. They have no mirrors there, so they really give me natural poses and positions. It’s good to be a good photographer but it’s also good to be a good art director. I have six or seven frames to give the strongest view of the person.â€? While days spent travelling to farĂ€XQJ SODFHV DQG ZDONLQJ IRU KRXUV on end sounds exhausting, Marino says it is the business side of his profession that is most challenging. “For 20 per cent [of the time] I’m a
2. creative person behind the camera and for 80 per cent Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sitting in my RIÂżFH VD\LQJ ÂľZKDW LV WKH QH[W JDOOHU\ what is the next show?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Nobodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coming to you. You must go out and VKRZ \RXU SLFWXUHV <RX PXVW ÂżJKW every day for your pictures. It must be a love affair â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and you cannot leave,â&#x20AC;? he laughs. When it comes to the Middle East, Marino says he hopes to explore the region and develop projects for Expo 2020 with Princess Reem Al Faisal, owner of The Empty Quarter, who is also a photographer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very interesting person and she will show me the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and Oman. I hope we will ÂżQG WKH WLPH WR WUDYHO WRJHWKHU LQ WKH next years.â&#x20AC;? But for now, Marino will once again return to India to photograph gypsies for a forthcoming book, a country that is endlessly intriguing, he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every day they celebrate another festival on the street so there are a lot of great moments. People also have small living spaces so theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always on the street and this is a big difference. We had that after the war in Europe, but this is still [the case] in India. Big families, small houses and always outside, so you can be a part of it,â&#x20AC;? he says. On show at The Empty Quarter, DIFC, Dubai, until February 17. theemptyquarter.com
3.
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‘The perfect shot is a combination of the light and the moment’
4.
All images © Mario Marino.
1. Surma Girl, Ethiopia, 2011 Size: 64 x 85cm Edition: 1/7
3. Boxer, Cuba, 2012 Size: 110 x 140 Edition: 2/10
2. Portrait of a Monk, Nepal, 2012 Size: 110 x 140 cm Edition: 1/10
4. Jeremina & Ninjo, Cuba 2012 Size: 110 x 140 cm Edition: 2/10
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ART & DESIGN
At the Chanel atelier, artisans dew upon their full and varied skill set to bring Karl Lagerfeldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take on Tyrolean tradition to life for the labelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ParisSalzburg Collection. AIR takes an exclusive, behindthe-scenes peek at their work on Look 48 from the FROOHFWLRQ D PDJQLÂżFHQW cape fashioned from feathers.
ART & DESIGN
ART & DESIGN
JEWELLERY
Heart & Soul Stuck for the perfect gift for your Valentine? Bulgari’s new Cuore collection is understated elegance at its best. Meaning “heart” in Italian, the pink gold collection celebrates the age-old motif with a fresh and modern interpretation. Carved with strong lines, the pendant features diamond pavé on one side and the Italian jeweller’s logo on the reverse. The collection also includes a ring with a heart that can “flip”, displaying either logo or diamonds. bulgari.com
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New to Harvey Nichols Dubai, Bee Goddess describes itself as the world’s first talismanic fine jewellery brand. Designer Ece Sirin brings together mythological symbols from across the globe to create a thoroughly modern aesthetic.
> As eye-catching as it is beautiful, Boucheron’s Fleur du jour “question mark” necklace in white gold is set with rock crystal, white diamonds, pink tourmaline and grey mother of pearl. boucheron.com
In 14-carat rose gold and diamonds, the five-petal apple seed symbolises following your heart.
> Bold and colourful, these pink spinel and diamond chandelier earrings from David Morris make a stylish statement. davidmorris.com Embellished with diamonds, the eight-point Ishtar star on this ring signals new beginnings.
> Engagement rings have always been at the heart of Van Cleef & Arpels. The Solitaire Deva ring features a 12.54-carat pear-shaped diamond that is sure to win any woman’s heart. vancleefarpels.com
This diamond-studded thunderbolt ring is a symbol of creative power and enlightenment. - 37 -
TIMEPIECES
TARIQ MALIK
SIHH 2015: THREE THINGS WE LEARNED The Apple Watch is having an impact The 2014 launch of the Apple Watch had industry insiders and observers cautiously discussing the impact on the Swiss watch industry. Experts predict Apple will sell 30 million devices in its first year (estimated sales of $10bn to $15bn). If accurate, that would make Apple the largest watch company by revenue, bigger than Swatch and Richemont. Watch manufactures have already realised there is minimal demand for them to create something similar and compete. In an interesting acceptance of the demand for smart wearable devices, Montblanc has announced the launch of the e-Strap, a NATO-inspired strap with an electronic module located at the buckle position. In addition to notifying you of calls, texts, emails and social media, it will also provide you with an activity monitor and tracker that can feed into a smartphone app. Montblanc isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the first to market such a device (see Kairos T-Band), but it is the first watch manufacture to address it. For those who want the functionality of smart devices without giving up your vintage Rolex GMT, this is a cool compromise that we applaud. - 38 -
Ladies watches are in focus
Over the last couple of years, manufactures have increased attention towards their female clientele. During SIHH, Richard Mille said that ladies watches were currently about 20 per cent of total sales and he hoped to increase that to 30-35 per cent over the coming years. Actions speak louder than words, and the RM 19-02 Tourbillon Fleur ladies watch, at an expected retail price of $800,000, emphasised where he is putting his resources. Vacheron Constantin launched two limited edition pieces for ladies, one chronograph and the other a dual time. Jaeger LeCoultre Rendez-Vous ladies collection was expanded to include a moon phase complication. We are encouraged to see mechanical complications rather than simply “bling” in addressing such an important market.
The increased value of the Swiss Franc has to be considered The last decade has been a golden period for Swiss watchmakers. Year after year, price increases were accepted as natural law. A shock for watchmakers arrived during SIHH; the Swiss National Bank decided to remove its peg to the Euro, and in doing so allowed the Swiss Franc to increase in value by nearly 20 per cent versus the Euro and 15 per cent versus the US Dollar. This led to quick discussion on whether we can expect higher prices for Swiss watches, both new and vintage. While some brands may take some time to decide on their pricing strategy (hopefully sharing some of the pain with customers), Vacheron Constantin was quick to announce a 7 per cent increase in retail prices across Europe. Reflecting the uncertainty of the moment, other manufactures delayed price confirmations for their SIHH launches. 2014 was a tough year for Swiss watch sales with minimal growth. 2015 sees firms forecasting sales to be flat at best. Tariq Malik is co-founder of Momentum, the UAE’s first and only vintage watch boutique momentum-dubai.com - 39 -
TIMEPIECES
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THE TIME TEAM Grieb & Benzingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s band of master watchmakers love nothing more than breaking apart classic timepieces â&#x20AC;&#x201C; then rebuilding them in new and astounding ways Words: RICHARD JENKINS
A
sk anybody in the luxury business: these days, customisation is king. Nobody wants to drive the same car as their neighbour, or wear the same shoes or the same suits. They want something different, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy to pay for it - so Grieb & Benzinger was founded to provide exactly that. The company CEO, Georg Bartkowiak, explained the inception of the company in an exclusive interview, telling AIR: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The partners involved in the company were all in the industry for at least 40 years. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m the youngster, at the age of 46. Hermann [Grieb] has been in the watchmaking industry for 45 years now. He started as a watchmaker, then specialised in the restoration of historic watches, and became the German specialist for historic watches.
Jochen Benzinger is an engraving and guillochet artist, and we all knew of each other for more than 20 years already. Grieb and Benzingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paths crossed in 2005 at another watchmakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding in Vienna, IRU WKH YHU\ ÂżUVW WLPH DQG WKHVH two guys decided to do something
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We produce watches with soul, made bespoke to order, using specialised techniquesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; together. I joined in 2008 when I met Hermann, and since that time weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had this company running, specialising in bespoke production and watches made with historic calibres with total restoration, complicated movements, all these historic techniques like guilloche, - 41 -
hand skeletonisation and engraving.â&#x20AC;? What the company does, in essence, is get hold of antique watches and movements, break them down to their components and rebuild them to create stunning, modern masterworks that pay homage to their past and still manage to look futuristic. This balance is key to the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal. Bartkowiak says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the ability of using techniques and components that were used 100 years ago. Right now there are a lot of computer-made mechanisms in the watch industry. One wellknown brand I could name produce 800,000 watches a year. This is mass production, made by machines. We produce watches with soul, made bespoke to order, using specialised techniques. The watches we produce are real watchmaking, like the big Patek Philippes from 1890. This gives us the possibility to do one-
TIMEPIECES
‘2015 will see the brand unveil its very first in-house tourbillon’ of-a-kind productions. We are not limited to a standard programme; we have the freedom to create things beside the main road.” Grieb & Benzinger’s small team of seven experts are usually engaged either in creating wild and wonderful bespoke watches for clients, like the Area 51, built for the 12-year-old son of a client and decorated with aliens that had ruby-set eyes, or working on one-of-a-kind pieces dreamed up by themselves. The most recent example of this would be the - 42 -
jawdropping Blue Merit. After such a watch is created, how long does it take to sell? Bartkowiak says: “ The Blue Merit, we just made on our own inspiration to show the public what we can do, what are our abilities, and to show the world that we are here. Sometimes the watches will keep for a few years because it is a perfect showpiece, and we will sell it after we have shown it to everyone. The Blue Merit is the same thing. We will show it off for at least half a year, and then we will sell it. We could sell it straight away, but we like to keep it
to show what we can do.â&#x20AC;? 2015 will see the brand unveil LWV YHU\ ÂżUVW LQ KRXVH WRXUELOORQ the prospect of which excites Bartkowiak immeasurably. He enthuses: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The complexity of our watch is a combination of complications that have never been on the market. I cannot even explain in English. I would struggle to explain in German! But the challenge was to get a movement developed on our own, not going to a Swiss company and asking what they have to sell us. Now we can tell people we made this movement from scratch on our own. It has taken ÂżYH \HDUV FKDQJHG VL]H FKDQJHG components. It is a watch that will only be produced in tiny quantities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; eight, maybe ten per year. Some brands call their watches limited edition and produce hundreds or thousands. We produce eight, and each one will be unique. If you are paying 300,000 euros, you want some personalisation.â&#x20AC;? The true mark of taste, according WR %DUWNRZLDN LV FRQÂżGHQFH in being understated. He ÂżQLVKHV KLV WLPH ZLWK $,5 by speaking about whether watches are as much of
a status symbol as they ever were. Suddenly serious, he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A status symbol is for someone who needs D VWDWXV V\PERO <RXU ÂżUVW OX[XU\ watch is always a Rolex, because everyone knows the value. But once you have the money, you go off to other brands where less people realise the value of it. The more money you have, the rarer the brand you are choosing. People for instance, buying a Greubel Forsey, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care what people think about whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on their wrist, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same with us. People that buy our watches buy them because they can afford them, but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to show off the value. They have the freedom to choose whatever they want, and they wear it for themselves. If people want a status symbol they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy a watch from us, they will buy from a big brand. We are not a status symbol. We are a symbol of independence, and personal taste.â&#x20AC;?
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Lupita THE
EFFECT
2014 was quite a year for Oscar-winning actress /XSLWD 1\RQJ¶R DQG ¿OP DQG IDVKLRQ¶V EULJKWHVW VWDU VKRZV QR VLJQ RI VORZLQJ GRZQ
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For over 160 years, Huntsman has dressed the whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of European and Hollywood royalty. AIR talks to creative director Roubi Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Roubi about leading the Savile Row stalwart in the 21st century
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PASSION AND THE GLORY Next month, Alexander McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Savage Beauty exhibition will be seen by thousands in London. Five years on from this death, Claudia Croft considers his enduring legacy
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ow do you know when fashion is good or not? It all comes down to emotion. Great clothes move people. They provoke a response and demand a strong reaction. Alexander McQueen understood the power of the fashion spectacle better than any designer in recent years. His extraordinary clothes and shows telegraphed strong and provocative messages about history, life, love, death, nature and our place in the world. His themes were grand, but they struck a chord, and not only with fashion insiders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just for people in fashion. When Lee was designing collections, he meant to move and touch people,â&#x20AC;? says his design successor, Sarah Burton. From next month, Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s V&A will stage Savage Beauty, the blockbuster retrospective of McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. There is no better proof of McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power to inspire a vast audience than this exhibition. The retrospective was put together only a year after his suicide in 2010 by the Metropolitan Museum in New York,
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;His style may have been subversive, but it was underpinned by exceptional skillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and was seen by more than 660,000 visitors, making it the Metâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eighth-most-visited show on record. In fact, it was so popular that the museum had to stay open until midnight RQ WKH ÂżQDO WZR QLJKWV $W WKH WLPH RI JRLQJ to press, tens of thousands of tickets have already been sold for the London show, which would have delighted McQueen. He wanted to communicate to a vast audience. His last show, Platoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Atlantis (for SS10), themed around humans evolving into futuristic sea creatures and shown only months before he NLOOHG KLPVHOI ZDV WKH ÂżUVW IDVKLRQ VKRZ WR EH streamed live. For London, the exhibition has been expanded to include a new section devoted to the designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s formative years in the capital. There are pieces from his graduation collection (1992), which was bought in its entirety by Isabella Blow, and from his Highland Rape (AW95) collection, which caused outrage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very raw and has a UHDO DWWLWXGH ,W UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWV WKH SHULRG KH ZDV working in,â&#x20AC;? says Burton of those early 1990s collections. McQueen trained on Savile Row, and even those early pieces displayed - 56 -
1. Portrait of Alexander McQueen, 1997 Š Marc Hom / Trunk Archive %XWWHUĂ&#x20AC;\ KHDGGUHVV RI KDQG SDLQWHG WXUNH\ IHDWKHUV 0RGHO $ODQD =LPPHU Â&#x2039; $QWKHD 6LPPV 'UHVV RI G\HG RVWULFK IHDWKHUV DQG KDQG SDLQWHG PLFURVFRSLF VOLGHV 0RGHO (ULQ 2Âś&RQQRU ,PDJH 5(; 4. 'XFN IHDWKHU GUHVV 0RGHO 0DJGDOHQD )UDFNRZLDN ,PDJH ÂżUVW9,(:
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incredible cut and craftsmanship, says Claire Wilcox, the exhibitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His style may have been subversive, but it was underpinned by exceptional skill.â&#x20AC;? Another special feature will be a room GHYRWHG WR D OLIH VL]H ' SURMHFWLRQ RI .DWH Moss, which was originally created as the ÂżQDOH IRU KLV :LGRZV RI &XOORGHQ VKRZ Her ghostly form, clad in a white chiffon dress, twists and turns to mesmeric effect. Martin Roth, director of the museum, said the London show was a homecoming for McQueen, whose father was a black-cab driver. The designer himself loved the V&A. He once said he wanted to be locked in overnight, and he regularly combed its fashion archives and exhibits for inspiration. The museum is expecting queues around the block when the show opens on March 14. Wilcox believes fashion exhibitions in general have become such huge draws because fashion design is such an effective form of mass communication. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As McQueen did, with fashion you can say quite subtle but important things about society and our culture in a completely accessible way.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work transcends any time,â&#x20AC;? says Burton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as relevant now as it was then.â&#x20AC;? For her, there is a reason why McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work still captures the imagination and provokes the curiosity of so many. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was done with passion, and so many things are not done with passion. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so heartfelt and personal.â&#x20AC;? While the V&A displays McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy to the masses, arguably the designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important parting gift is to be enjoyed by a more intimate crowd elsewhere in London. In 2007, McQueen and colleague Trino Verkade set up a charitable foundation called Sarabande, with the intention of offering arts education bursaries to kids without the ÂżQDQFLDO PHDQV WR SXUVXH VXFK DQ HGXFDWLRQ independently. The idea was informed by McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own background (his aunt paid for his place on the Central Saint Martins MA fashion course) and Verkade was keen to see it come to fruition. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is something that Lee had spoken about with me for 15 yearsâ&#x20AC;?, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He always used to say: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I want it to be an Aunt Renee fund.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Though Sarabande has donated burseries for the past two years, next month sees it open DQ RIÂżFLDO KHDGTXDUWHUV LQ D EXLOGLQJ WKDW ZLOO house 15 free studio spaces for fashion and creative arts students as well as an exhibition area. Its patrons include Naiomi Campbell, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eager to see â&#x20AC;&#x153;the next generation of
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fearless creatives to realise their potentialâ&#x20AC;?. McQueen was the embodiment of the fearless nature Campbell speaks of. Âł+H ZRXOG KDYH D ORW RI FUD]\ LGHDV EXW you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really ever say no,â&#x20AC;? remembered Verkade to The Times. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You had to try everything. That was it. When he wanted to try something, we always had to try and do it, and that became the norm. That is the norm.â&#x20AC;? 6KH VD\V 0F4XHHQÂśV SKLORVRSK\ ZDV Âł,WÂśV 2. WR IDLO LWÂśV 2. QRW WR JHW LW ULJKW EXW LWÂśV QRW 2. not to try.â&#x20AC;?
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It was done with passion, and so many things are not done with passionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; One particular show in New York saw McQueen reshape the boundaries. His idea was for the models to appear as though they ZHUH Ă&#x20AC;\LQJ RQ D WUDSH]H Âł:KHQ KH VDLG LW I thought, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How do we achieve that?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?, said Verkade. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, his last show was just so poetic. You look back on it now and you think, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wow, that was incredible.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? ,WÂśV D VXUH ÂżUH IDFW WKDW WKRVH IRUWXQDWH WR see Savage Beauty will have the very same thought. $OH[DQGHU 0F4XHHQ LQ SDUWQHUVKLS ZLWK 6ZDURYVNL VXSSRUWHG E\ $PHULFDQ ([SUHVV ZLWK WKDQNV WR 0$& &RVPHWLFV DQG PDGH SRVVLEOH ZLWK WKH FR RSHUDWLRQ RI $OH[DQGHU 0F4XHHQ UXQV IURP 0DUFK -XO\ ZZZ YDP DF XN VDYDJHEHDXW\ - 58 -
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The Glamour of Old
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As the current crop of Tinseltown’s brightest stars gear up for this month’s Academy Awards, AIR looks back on the Oscar nights from the golden age of film
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1. Terry Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous shoot of Faye Dunaway, resting by the Beverly Hills Hotel swimming pool the morning after she received the 1976 Best Actress Academy Award. 2. Award presenters Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly wait backstage at the RKO Pantages Theatre, during the 28th Academy Awards.
3. Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood arrive at the Oscars in 1961. 4. Gregory Peck and his wife Veronique pose for an eager photographer at the 1962 ceremony. 5. Legends Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, and David Niven share a joke during rehearsals for the 30th Academy Awards.
3.
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6. Audrey Hepburn shows off her Best Actress award for her role in Roman Holiday, 1954. 7. Fellow actors Humphrey Bogart and then-wife Lauren Bacall snapped backstage in 1952.
5.
7.
Images from Getty Images, Corbis / Arabian Eye
6.
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SIMONS SAYS
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Is Ferrari’s newest GT ushering in an era of turbocharged supercars? Richard Jenkins WDNHV WR WKH VWUHHWV WR ¿QG RXW - 73 -
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GASTRONOMY
OLLIE GOOD SHOW
Meet the Kuwait-born chef who’s the toast of London’s dining scene Words: Ben Machell
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W
hen Ollie Dabbous eventually gets out of the kitchen and sits down to do our interview â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in the basement bar of Dabbous, his London restaurant â&#x20AC;&#x201D; he isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really what I was expecting. When someone has their own surname spelt-out in big letters over the front door you tend to imagine a certain amount of alpha swagger on their part, doubly so if they happen to be billed as the hottest young chef in their country. Plus, in advance of our meeting, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d seen the 33-year-old former public schoolboy, described as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;rock-star chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, as someone fond of leather jackets and jewellery and visible chest hair. I guess that, if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m being totally honest, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I was going to like him very much. Only, within minutes, I do. Dabbous is friendly, thoughtful and self-deprecating, not just by the (admittedly, fairly low) standards of professional chefs, but by anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. He seems a little wired, but to be fair KH KDV MXVW ÂżQLVKHG D SDUWLFXODUO\ long Friday lunchtime service and he will start prepping for dinner the moment Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m out of his hair. He ÂżGJHWV LQ KLV VHDW DQG MLJJOHV D OHJ Somebody brings him a big cup of coffee. Being a chef, he explains almost by way of apology, is knackering. He says that after a while you can look at strangers in bars or on buses and instinctively tell if they work in a kitchen too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be pale,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Slightly gaunt. Slightly frazzled with this distant expression.â&#x20AC;? He is basically describing himself. Dabbous is as lean and sinewy as a superbantamweight, but operating on just four hoursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sleep a night during the week has left dark rings around his eyes. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wearing a sort of leather wristband-type thing, but other than that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem much like a rock star at all. On Sunday, he plans to do nothing more hedonistic than JR WR WKH FLQHPD WKH ÂżUVW WLPH KHÂśOO
have managed such a feat in a year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doing this job, it can feel like an existence rather than a life,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes it can feel a bit like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the fringes of society.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been like this for Dabbous ever since he launched his restaurant at the start of 2012. From the word go, reviewers swooned over his food, typically delicate, balanced, small plates with an emphasis on clean, VLPSOH Ă&#x20AC;DYRXUV UDWKHU WKDQ WKH ELJ butch, macho dishes peddled by some chefs. If anything, Dabbous says his palate is â&#x20AC;&#x153;girlyâ&#x20AC;?, and his menus are always seasonal and inventive without ever quite feeling
fussy. So, like the sound of coddled egg with mushrooms and smoked butter? Barbecued octopus with moscatel grapes? Pulled veal breast with white asparagus and spring WUXIĂ&#x20AC;H" ,I VR 'DEERXV LV \RXU PDQ â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are going to hold him down and stuff him with Michelin stars like PĂŠrigord goose,â&#x20AC;? wrote the Times restaurant critic Giles Coren ZKHQ 'DEERXV RSHQHG DQG D ÂżUVW star was duly awarded in 2013. An immediate surge in interest meant reservations rocketed and, just like that, his Fitzrovia restaurant became one of the most exclusive in London. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was fully aware I was under the magnifying glass,â&#x20AC;? Dabbous VD\V RI WKRVH ÂżUVW IHZ PDG PRQWKV â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was claustrophobic. There were - 77 -
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I knew exactly what I wanted the restaurant to be like, I just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the moneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
GASTRONOMY a lot of critics [coming to eat] and the reviews were better than I could have ever dreamt of. But that created a long waiting list, which creates a level of expectation, which, yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;know, we then had to meet.â&#x20AC;? You get the sense that more than a few celebrities attempted to wheedle their way in. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A month after opening it was chock-a-block. Packed. The general manager came in and said: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just had a phone call from 5LGOH\ 6FRWWÂśV RIÂżFH FDQ ZH VTXHH]H a table in?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It was bizarre,â&#x20AC;? says Dabbous, laughing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was this rare moment of lucidity amid the chaos of prepping. I think I had my hand halfway up a chicken.â&#x20AC;? Since then, he has opened a second London restaurant, Barnyard; has plans for a sister
work back out in the Middle East. I was just a kid at the time, but you can still appreciate when people are WU\LQJ WR NHHS WKLQJV DĂ&#x20AC;RDW ´ He was cooking from the age of six â&#x20AC;&#x201D; pretty much on his own initiative â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and at 15 was doing summer jobs in kitchens, including a month spent at a relativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant in Florence. How were his culinary ambitions viewed at school? â&#x20AC;&#x153;It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something I shouted from the rooftops. When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a teenager, cooking isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly rock â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; roll,â&#x20AC;? he says, then reconsiders: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well, at least it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t back then.â&#x20AC;? School career sessions were, he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;pointlessâ&#x20AC;?. Most of the people in his year eventually ended up â&#x20AC;&#x153;going down the corporate route, ÂżQDQFH RU ZKDWHYHU´ EXW DIWHU $
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;From the word go, reviewers swooned over his food, typically delicate, balanced, small plates with an emphasis on clean, simple flavoursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; restaurant to Dabbous, and has ODXQFKHG KLV ÂżUVW ERRN RI UHFLSHV Dabbous: The Cookbook. Despite all this, he maintains that he is not â&#x20AC;&#x153;part of the sceneâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by which he means doing the usual celebritychef rounds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You get a lot of chefs who do a lot of things, awards and openings or cookbook whatever. But I prefer to keep myself to myself.â&#x20AC;? Still, like a lot of chefs with booming reputations, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been approached to go work abroad, presumably for silly money. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You get a lot of offers, most of which you can discard very quickly,â&#x20AC;? he says. Dabbous, coincidentally, was born in Kuwait. His father, who is French-Italian, worked there as an architect. Dabbous and his mother eventually relocated to Surrey, where he attended Cranleigh School. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d see my dad during the holidays,â&#x20AC;? he explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They both made a ORW RI VDFULÂżFHV WR JLYH PH D JRRG education. He was out of work for DORQJ WLPH GXULQJ WKH ÂżUVW *XOI :DU EXW HYHQWXDOO\ KH HQGHG XS ÂżQGLQJ
levels Dabbous committed to a life in kitchens. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was bad at a lot of things but cooking has always come to me relatively easily. It felt like the natural path.â&#x20AC;? And, ironically, becoming a chef is probably one of the few careers where having gone to public school isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t strictly an advantage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kitchens are a complete leveller. How well you do is based on talent, common sense and drive.â&#x20AC;? Cue, then, a decade of frenetic experience accumulation. At 20, he was working at Raymond Blancâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Le Manoir aux Quatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Saisons in Oxfordshire, and enjoyed stints at Hibiscus, under chef Claude Bosi, and at Mugaritz in Spain, ranked one of the best restaurants in the world. Returning to Britain, he worked as head chef at Texture. Gradually, the idea of what his own restaurant would be like began to crystallise in his mind. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I knew exactly what I wanted to cook, I knew exactly what I wanted the place to be like, I just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the money.â&#x20AC;? And, in a nice bit of - 78 -
circularity, Raymond Blanc would reappear as one of the backers who helped his concept become a reality. Of course, these days everybody wants to be a chef. Working with food is a cool thing to do now, and Dabbous talks about the growing trend of people working in a normal job until theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 30 and then suddenly deciding, full of hope and optimism, that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be a chef. He winces at the thought. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just think, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it to yourself. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s becoming more popular as a career, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting any easier.â&#x20AC;? But if food is, as we keep being told, the new rock â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; roll, does that mean that chefs attract ... yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;know ... food groupies? Girls and boys who hang around outside kitchen doors at the end of a night hoping to hook up with a young chef de cuisine? Dabbous frowns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Um, possibly,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it depends how much youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for it. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve barely got time to see the friends Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got.â&#x20AC;? Actually, he admits later, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recently started seeing someone and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going pretty well. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t elaborate but, I think, it could at least be part of the reason why he talks about not wanting to do this MRE LQGHÂżQLWHO\ Âł:KDW ,ÂśYH OHDUQW since opening is that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to do this for ever,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m enjoying it for now. But I view it as more a sporting career. The way the barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been set with all the reviews and expectation levels, I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let things plateau or drift. We need to keep up this level of intensity and execution, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to do it while Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still physically able.â&#x20AC;? So how long do you reckon youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got left in the tank? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Another ten years or something? After that, it might be a case of retiring from cooking but still working in restaurants.â&#x20AC;? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a part of him, he jokes, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost looking forward to kicking back and just getting really fat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always considered that a sign of success,â&#x20AC;? he says. Then he offers a frazzled smile, gets up and slopes back to the kitchen to start thinking about dinner.
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TRAVEL
SNOW BUSINESS Chalet Husky is bang on-trend and right in the heart of Val Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Isere. Richard Jenkins steps into his skis and pays a visit to the luxury lodge
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TRAVEL
‘After a day tackling the pistes, it’s a welcome relief to hunker down back at Husky, with a three-course dinner provided by the resident chef’
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Richard travelled with Scott Dunn and stayed at Chalet Husky in Val Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Isere. Prices start from £1975 / AED11,475 per person including private chef, villa host, in-resort driver service, fully-inclusive half-board, Emirates flights and airport transfers to and from Geneva. Prices based on a full chalet. Book via 800 035 703 722 (toll free) or scottdunn.com
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WHAT I KNOW NOW
Rami Al Ali
International fashion designer
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CHANEL PRESENTS
"SOUS LE SIGNE DU LION" NEW HIGH JEWELLERY COLLECTION DUBAI MALL, FEBRUARY 2015
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