AIR Empire Aviation june'14

Page 1

Š Didier Gourdon

Ladies Automatic RM 07-01

CONTENTS / FEATURES

Managing Director Victoria Thatcher Editorial Director John Thatcher Business Development Director David Wade david@hotmediapublishing.com Editor Tracey Scott tracey@hotmediapublishing.com Deputy Editor Richard Jenkins richard@hotmediapublishing.com Features Editor Lara Brunt lara@hotmediapublishing.com Senior Designer Adam Sneade Designer Andy Knappett Illustrator Vanessa Arnaud

Fifty Four

Production Manager Chalitha Fernando

The French siren tells us DERXW KHU ÂżUVW (QJOLVK language movie.

Vanessa Paradis

Advertisement Manager Rawan Chehab rawan@hotmediapublishing.com

Sixty Four

Advertisement Manager Sukaina Hussein sukaina@hotmediapublishing.com

AIR enjoys an audience with America’s greatest ever fashion designer.

Ralph Lauren

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CONTENTS / REGUL ARS

Eighteen

Fifty One

Radar

Interiors

A look at Rinat Shingareev’s thought provoking artworks.

A preview of 2014’s prestigious Design of the Year Awards.

Thirty Two

Seventy Two

Art & Design

Gastronomy

:H UHYLVLW RSLQLRQ VSOLWWLQJ DUWLVW -H̆ .RRQV in a new exhibition.

Superstar chef Wolfgang Puck talks to AIR about his cooking philosophies.

Forty

Seventy Six

Timepieces

Motoring

Laurent Ferrier and Jaquet Jaguar cause a collective 'UR] KLJK OX[XU\ ZDWFKHV MDZ GURS E\ UHVXUUHFWLQJ IURP YHU\ GL̆HUHQW HUDV WKH LFRQLF ( W\SH 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.

Forty Eight

Eighty

Jewellery

What I Know Now

The most sumptuous accessories seen at this year’s Cannes festival.

Luxury watchmaker Jerome De Witt on his life lessons learned.

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EMPIRE AVIATION GROUP

Issue Thirty Seven

WELCOME ONBOARD

Welcome to this issue of AIR, Empire Aviation Group’s lifestyle magazine for aircraft owners and onboard guests. Private aviation may seem like a glamorous and complex industry but, in some ways, it really is simply about providing a straightforward service where quality FRXQWV 3HUKDSV WKH ELJ GL̆HUHQFH LV WKDW the amount of money invested by companies and individuals in business jets can be very VLJQL¿FDQW DQG UXQ LQWR PLOOLRQV RI GROODUV This means the stakes are generally high for everyone involved. A business jet is not only a product of very sophisticated aeronautical engineering, but it also operates in a very highly regulated LQGXVWU\ JRYHUQHG E\ GL̆HUHQW DYLDWLRQ ERGLHV around the world. Due diligence is essential. When you are looking for a new aircraft, you may want to take your time and put yourself into the hands of the professionals. Our technical and quality team works closely with our aircraft procurement division to help source the right aircraft for buyers; it is a process that cannot be rushed and the YHUL¿FDWLRQ SURFHVV DORQH IRU DQ DLUFUDIW FDQ take up to three months. This is because of the extraordinary attention to detail involved in safeguarding our buyers and ensuring that they are purchasing the right aircraft. In this issue, we highlight the deep ‘forensic’ work that our technical team undertakes on behalf of buyers. We hope you like the issue and wish you an enjoyable journey.

Steve Hartley Executive Director

Contact details: info@empire.aero empire.aero - 09 -

Paras Dhamecha Executive Director

EMPIRE AVIATION GROUP NEWS

Quality Assured How EAG’s technical team puts aircraft under the microscope It’s perhaps strange but true – when you are investing millions of dollars in a business jet, the aircraft YHUL¿FDWLRQ SURFHVV WR FRQ¿UP WKH VSHFL¿FDWLRQV RI WKH DLUFUDIW before it can be recommended to the prospective buyer) starts with some homework. In fact, a lot of homework. The due diligence and attention to detail demanded when making a multimillion dollar investment decision in a business jet is a critical element of a successful purchase. Regardless of whether the buyer is buying a new aircraft from an

OEM manufacturer or a pre-owned business jet from the other side of the world, the process is the same and there are three key steps in the YHUL¿FDWLRQ RI WKH DLUFUDIW GHVN research, regulatory review, and a physical inspection. It’s a job for the experienced professionals and this is where the EAG technical team comes in, led E\ +DULVK 6DGDUDQJDQL 'LUHFWRU of Quality Assurance) who brings with him an extensive career full RI NQRZOHGJH DQG H[SHULHQFH PRUH than 37 years) gained at the most senior levels in the commercial and - 10 -

general aviation sectors. Harish also brings the incredibly valuable forensic skills required to assess an DLUFUDIW DJDLQVW WKH VSHFL¿FDWLRQV provided by the seller and ensure WKH\ PDWFK WKH GH¿QHG QHHGV RI the buyer, before rubber-stamping the deal. It’s a two to three month SURFHVV WR FRPSOHWH WKH YHUL¿FDWLRQ – although 15 days is the team’s current record! The team’s professional DSSURDFK WR DLUFUDIW YHUL¿FDWLRQ LV underpinned by meticulous attention to detail that puts every aspect of the aircraft under intense scrutiny. 7KH ¿UVW VWHS LV WR XQGHUWDNH WKH desk research to verify the records of the aircraft, which will have been maintained throughout its operational life. You really cannot over-state the importance and value of this documentation – the log book of an aircraft is really the key to

EMPIRE AVIATION GROUP NEWS unlocking its history, and so without it, the aircraft has no audit trail to follow. 7KH DLUFUDIWœV FHUWL¿FDWLRQ RSHUDWLRQDO KLVWRU\ ORJ ERRN DQG details of where it has been based and operating are all carefully assessed, along with the itemised maintenance records which provide clues and insights into the aircraft’s ZRUNLQJ OLIH LQ WKH FDVH RI D SUH owned aircraft). Even for a new aircraft acquired directly from a manufacturer, EAG applies the same level of scrutiny to verify the VSHFL¿FDWLRQV RI WKH DLUFUDIW DQG protect the interests of the buyer. The regulatory aspects of an DLUFUDIWœV KLVWRU\ FRQ¿UP WKH aircraft’s compliance with the requirements of the jurisdiction in which it has been based; if the aircraft is to be relocated, the team must evaluate the compliance requirements of the new regulatory environment. This LV D YHU\ VLJQL¿FDQW DVSHFW DV registering an aircraft in a new regulatory framework is not an easy or straightforward process and could cost the new buyer more than US$150,000 in additional acquisition costs. The same physical inspection applies to any aircraft before it can EH LQGXFWHG LQWR WKH ($* ÀHHW WKH checklist includes all the major components including engines, interior/exterior, the airframe, and landing gear. Of course, these are just the main areas of the aircraft that are thoroughly checked and each one is made up of thousands of individual, smaller components. The team looks carefully for any signs of external damage, which could be the result of collisions on the ground, or bird or lightning strikes in the air, which may have led to the need for structural repairs. $LUFUDIW YHUL¿FDWLRQ LV D WLPH consuming, arduous examination and needs to be conducted by a team of highly skilled professionals in order to keep buyers safe and ensure that they get exactly what they need and what they pay for. The EAG team

is also uniquely privileged within the region’s private aviation sector to be allowed to audit and issue ARCs ¹ DLUZRUWKLQHVV UHQHZDO FHUWL¿FDWHV – for the company’s own aircraft, as well as other operators. This is yet DQRWKHU PHDVXUH RI WKH FRQ¿GHQFH LQ our team’s capabilities. Of course, when it comes to selling aircraft on behalf of an EAG owner, WKH UHYHUVH VLGH RI WKH YHUL¿FDWLRQ process is needed, helping to ensure a smooth sale/purchase experience. Harish and his team are kept on their toes 24/7 maintaining all the aircraft records which include the various aviation regulatory authority documents with updates - 12 -

$5& DLUFUDIW ¿QDQFLQJ DXGLWV IRU ¿QDQFHG DLUFUDIW ZLWKLQ WKH ÀHHW aircraft owners’ internal audits and not forgetting the inducting of new DLUFUDIW LQWR WKH ($* ÀHHW The challenge occasionally becomes a little easier when there are several of the same aircraft W\SH ZLWKLQ WKH ÀHHW ¹ VXFK DV WKH Dassault Falcon 7X; sometimes it can be more complex, with DLUFUDIW IURP XS WR QLQH GL̆HUHQW manufacturers making up the EAG ÀHHW Regardless of the task, the EAG team of professionals is always equal to the challenge.

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RADAR

Hero worship From Sergey Brin’s all-seeing Google eyes to Michelle Obama as Wonder Woman, Rinat Shingareev’s work has a distinct political edge, yet the Russian artist says he remains politically neutral. “I don’t express my political point of view through my paintings,” he says. “I would never paint a portrait of a man who I disliked.”

Instead, he says the main purpose of his art is to “transmit the spirit of my era through the portraits of famous people.” His celebration of modern icons encompasses everyone from hip-hop stars to British royalty, with Barack Obama a particular favourite. “Many of them have achieved the highest heights in sports, music, politics and other - 18 -

spheres of activity, and their stories inspire others to do great things. “Through my work I just refer to the whole world, revealing my thoughts and ideas. And I am sure that I can change the world for the better, by changing the inner world of one person.” shingareev.tumblr.com

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RADAR

T

here are not many hard-living Hollywood stars from the 60s who could also lay claim to capturing some of the decade’s PRVW GH¿QLQJ PRPHQWV <HW KHOO UDLVLQJ DFWRU GLUHFWRU DQG SUROL¿F SKRWRJUDSKHU 'HQQLV +RSSHU GLG MXVW WKDW 7KLV PRQWK RYHU RI KLV EODFN DQG ZKLWH SKRWRJUDSKV WDNHQ EHWZHHQ DQG ZLOO JR RQ GLVSOD\ LQ /RQGRQ )LUVW VHHQ LQ %HUOLQ LQ 'HQQLV +RSSHU 7KH /RVW $OEXP RSHQV DW WKH 5R\DO $FDGHP\ RI $UWV RQ -XQH 7KH SKRWRJUDSKV ZHUH SHUVRQDOO\ VHOHFWHG E\ +RSSHU IRU KLV

REBEL with a CAMERA Hundreds of era-defining photographs taken in the 1960s by legendary actor Dennis Hopper go on display in London this month Words: LARA BRUNT ¿UVW PDMRU H[KLELWLRQ LQ 7H[DV LQ DQG RQO\ UHGLVFRYHUHG DIWHU KLV GHDWK LQ 7KH\ UHSUHVHQW ERWK DQ LQWLPDWH GLDU\ RI D +ROO\ZRRG VWDU ZLWK SRUWUDLWV RI IULHQGV VXFK DV 3DXO 1HZPDQ DQG $QG\ :DUKRO and a record of the tumultuous changes that VKRRN $PHULFD LQ WKH V IURP KLSS\ FRXQWHUFXOWXUH WR WKH &LYLO 5LJKWV PRYHPHQW 7KH SKRWRJUDSKV FXUDWHG IRU WKH H[KLELWLRQ LQFOXGH SLFWXUHV RI 5R\ /LFKWHQVWHLQ LQ VLWWLQJ RQ WKH ÀRRU RI KLV VWXGLR QH[W WR RQH RI KLV SDLQWLQJV -DQH )RQGD DQG 5RJHU 9DGLP DW WKHLU ZHGGLQJ LQ /DV 9HJDV LQ DQG 0DUWLQ /XWKHU .LQJ -XQLRU DGGUHVVLQJ D FURZG

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1.

RADAR

1. Paul Newman, 1964. 2. Andy Warhol, Henry Geldzahler, David Hockney and Jeff Goodman, 1963. 3. Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim at Their Wedding in Las Vegas, 1965. 4. Untitled (Blue Chip Stamps), 1961-67. 5. Double Standard, 1961. 6. Leon Bing, 1966. 6.

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2.

4.

5.

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‘They represent an intimate diary of a Hollywood star and a record of the changes that shook America in the 1960s’ DOFRKRO DEXVH IROORZHG XQWLO KLV FDUHHU ZDV UHVXUUHFWHG ZLWK D PHPRUDEOH UROH LQ )UDQFLV )RUG &RSSRODÂśV 9LHWQDP :DU HSLF $SRFDO\SVH 1RZ LQ +H SLFNHG XS D FDPHUD DJDLQ LQ WKH HDUO\ V VKRRWLQJ IDVKLRQ LPDJHV IRU JORVV\ PDJD]LQHV 1HDU WKH HQG RI KLV OLIH KH FRQWLQXHG WR WDNH FRORXU SKRWRV RI IDPRXV DUWLVWV 7KHVH SRUWUDLWV KDYH QHYHU EHHQ H[KLELWHG KLQWLQJ WKDW WKHUH LV PRUH WR FRPH IURP +ROO\ZRRGÂśV RULJLQDO HQIDQW WHUULEOH The exhibition runs until October 19. royalacademy.org.uk

All images by Dennis Hopper. All images: The Hopper Art Trust. Š Dennis Hopper, courtesy The Hopper Art Trust. www.dennishopper.com

3.

during the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights PDUFKHV RI $ERXW KLV SKRWRJUDSKV Hopper said: “I wanted to document VRPHWKLQJ , ZDQWHG WR OHDYH VRPHWKLQJ WKDW , WKRXJKW ZRXOG EH D UHFRUG RI LW ZKHWKHU LW ZDV 0DUWLQ /XWKHU .LQJ WKH KLSSLHV RU ZKHWKHU LW ZDV WKH DUWLVW ´ %HVW NQRZQ IRU KLV DFFODLPHG UROHV LQ (DV\ 5LGHU $SRFDO\SVH 1RZ DQG %OXH 9HOYHW +RSSHU ÂżUVW EHFDPH LQWHUHVWHG LQ SKRWRJUDSK\ LQ WKH ODWH V XQGHU WKH HQFRXUDJHPHQW RI -DPHV 'HDQ ZLWK ZKRP KH KDG DFWHG DORQJVLGH LQ 5HEHO ZLWKRXW D &DXVH DQG *LDQW $IWHU D UXQ LQ ZLWK GLUHFWRU +HQU\ +DWKDZD\ RQ WKH VHW RI )URP +HOO WR 7H[DV LQ +RSSHU JDLQHG D UHSXWDWLRQ DV D GL̇FXOW DFWRU WR ZRUN ZLWK +H VRRQ OHIW IRU 1HZ <RUN ZKHUH KH VWXGLHG ZLWK /HH 6WUDVEHUJ IRU VHYHUDO \HDUV EHIRUH UHWXUQLQJ WR /RV $QJHOHV LQ :LWK VWDUULQJ UROHV WKLQ RQ WKH JURXQG KH VSHQW WKH QH[W VL[ \HDUV REVHVVLYHO\ WDNLQJ SKRWRJUDSKV ZLWK D 1LNRQ FDPHUD JLYHQ WR KLP E\ KLV WKHQ ZLIH %URRNH +D\ZDUG +H carried his camera with him everywhere he ZHQW VQDSSLQJ DURXQG SKRWRV GXULQJ WKLV WLPH Hopper put down his camera when he EHJDQ WR ZRUN RQ WKH FXOW ÂżOP (DV\ 5LGHU LQ 7KH ÂżOP ZKLFK KH FR ZURWH GLUHFWHG DQG VWDUUHG LQ ZRQ D SUL]H DW &DQQHV DQG ZDV QRPLQDWHG IRU DQ 2VFDU \HW KLV QH[W GLUHFWRULDO H̆RUW 7KH /DVW 0RYLH ZDV D FULWLFDO DQG ÂżQDQFLDO IDLOXUH <HDUV RI GUXJ DQG

CRITIQUE

Film Jersey Boys Dir: Clint Eastwood Four boys from the bad side of New Jersey become American pop sensations, selling 175 million records before they turn 30. AT BEST: “There’s no denying this ÂżOP KDV D JUHDW SHGLJUHH ´ The London Film Review AT WORST: “Musicals and Clint Eastwood are not always a natural ÂżW DV DQ\RQH ZKRÂśV VHHQ 3DLQW <RXU Wagon will attest.â€? Empire Online

The Rover Dir: David Michod Set ten years after the Western economic system has collapsed, this JULWW\ GUDPD R̆HUV D FKLOOLQJ ORRN DW a dystopian future. AT BEST: “Genre clichĂŠs bleed

into unpredictable and nuanced storytelling.� Film Comment AT WORST: “As freshly staged as it is, this scene-setter annoys with its numerous dramatic implausibilities.� Hollywood Reporter

Grace of Monaco

Edge of Tomorrow

Dir: Olivier Dahan Lavish biopic that recently opened the Cannes Film Festival about Grace Kelly, who swapped Hollywood for European royalty. AT BEST: “A subtle and stylised character study.â€? The Independent AT WORST: “So awe-inspiringly ZRRGHQ WKDW LW LV EDVLFDOO\ D ÂżUH ULVN ´ The Guardian

Dir: Doug Liman 7RP &UXLVH LV EDFN LQ DFWLRQ KHUR mode as a futuristic soldier who ÂżQGV KLPVHOI WUDSSHG LQ D WLPH ORRS of his own death. AT BEST: “This is the best we’ve seen from Cruise in a long time (and we’re big Oblivion fans).â€? Total Film AT WORST: “Tom Cruise may never UHDFK KLV PLG ÄťV SHDN RI VWDUGRP again.â€? Forbes

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CRITIQUE

Books The world of prestigious literary prizes is the subject of Edward St. Aubyn’s satirical novel, Lost for Words. The story centres on the authors vying for the annual (O\VLDQ 3UL]H D ÂżFWLRQ DZDUG REYLRXVO\ EDVHG RQ WKH 0DQ %RRNHU 3UL]H DQG WKH SDQHO RI MXGJHV ZKR will decide who receives it. Some critics have suggested the novel is an act of comedic revenge on the author’s part: his critically DFFODLPHG 0RWKHUÂśV 0LON ZDV D IURQW UXQQHU IRU WKH 0DQ %RRNHU in 2006, but lost out to Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss. Âł7KH QRYHO LV VR EURDG LQ DWWDFN it loses just some of the elegance of the semi-autobiographical 3DWULFN 0HOURVH QRYHOV IRU ZKLFK 6W Aubyn is acclaimed,â€? writes Louise Jury in The Independent. 7KH 1HZ <RUN 7LPHVÂś 0LFKLNR .DNXWDQL DJUHHV that, while it “doesn’t have the depth or resonance of Mr. St. Aubyn’s Melrose novels, it’s not meant toâ€?, adding: “It’s simply an entertaining cartwheel of D ERRN ZLWK a glittering razor’s edge.â€? The Guardian’s Leo Robson, however, found it “gruellingly unfunnyâ€?. “The problem isn’t WKDW WKH ERRNÂśV evocation of cynicism – LWVHOI D NLQG RI cynicism – is so unremitting, but that it is so

ODFNOXVWUH ´ KH ZULWHV Family Life, the second novel from Indian-American writer $NKLO 6KDUPD LV DOVR LQVSLUHG by autobiographical experience. Written from the point of view of eight-year-old Ajay Mishra, whose family emigrates from Dehli to New <RUN LQ WKH ODWH V WKH QRYHO LV ÂłD EULOOLDQWO\ GLVFRPÂżWLQJ VWRU\ RI WKH American dream gone sour,â€? writes The Telegraph’s Benjamin Evans. After a promising start for the family, tragedy befalls them when Ajay’s bright elder brother, Birju, is left permanently brain damaged after a swimming pool accident. “Sharma unearths a plethora of shrewd and moving truths about the nuclear family, particularly its propensity to emotional violence,â€? writes Evans. Randy Boyagoda, writing in the Financial Times, is also impressed. “While [the author’s] EDFN VWRU\ LQYHVWV WKH ERRN ZLWK immediate interest, its distinctive achievement in storytelling terms DORQH PDNHV LW RQH RI WKH \HDUÂśV literary standouts.â€? Meanwhile, Roger Bootle’s The Trouble with Europe analyses what has gone wrong with the EU and what needs to be done to put it right. While not straightforwardly Eurosceptic, the English economist argues that “the EU is a malfunctioning construct for today’s world – and even more so for tomorrow’s. It needs either to undergo fundamental reform RU WR EUHDN XS ´ 7KH 7HOHJUDSKÂśV 6LQFODLU 0F.D\ JLYHV WKH ERRN ÂżYH stars. “[Bootle’s] argument is calm, conversational, rigorous and – TXLWH UHPDUNDEO\ IRU DQ HFRQRPLVW Âą HQWLUHO\ IUHH RI WKH EDĚˆHJDE KLV fellow practitioners have always favoured,â€? he writes. With regular chatter about a potential GCC PRQHWDU\ XQLRQ WKH WRPH ZLOO OLNHO\ prove popular among the business elite in the countries that remain committed to the idea. - 26 -

CRITIQUE

Art A major retrospective at New York’s MoMA brings international attention to Lygia Clark (1920– 1988), a Brazilian artist seen as an LQVWUXPHQWDO ¿JXUH LQ SXVKLQJ WKH boundaries of contemporary art. 2UJDQLVHG FKURQRORJLFDOO\ /\JLD &ODUN 7KH $EDQGRQPHQW RI $UW comprises nearly 300 works and LV GLYLGHG LQWR WKUHH SDUWV HDFK UHSUHVHQWLQJ D VLJQL¿FDQW SKDVH LQ Clark’s artistic development. Having WUDLQHG ZLWK PRGHUQ PDVWHUV IURP WKH ODWH V WR WKH PLG V &ODUN ZDV DW WKH IRUHIURQW RI %UD]LO¶V VKRUW OLYHG 1HR &RQFUHWH PRYHPHQW RI WKH ODWH V DQG HDUO\ ¶ V DQG IRVWHUHG WKH DFWLYH SDUWLFLSDWLRQ RI VSHFWDWRUV WKURXJK KHU ZRUNV 6KH LV DFFXVHG RI ³DEDQGRQLQJ´ DUW LQ WKH ODWH V IRU REMHFW EDVHG SV\FKRDQDO\VLV 7KH VSUDZOLQJ VKRZ LV ³XQXVXDO VRPHWLPHV H[KDXVWLQJ VRPHWLPHV LUULWDWLQJ´ ZULWHV 5REHUWD 6PLWK RI WKH 1HZ <RUN 7LPHV ³+HU HDUO\ ZRUN KDV D GDLQW\ SHUIHFWLRQLVP EXW DOVR a noticeable lack of sensuality. Later H̆RUWV FDQ ÀRS VSHFWDFXODUO\ DQG VORSSLO\ HYHQ GHOXVLRQDOO\ ´ $ULHOOD %XGLFN RI WKH )LQDQFLDO 7LPHV IHHOV WKH VKRZ QHHGV PRUH FRQWH[W JLYHQ WKDW &ODUN LV QRW ZHOO NQRZQ RXWVLGH KHU QDWLYH %UD]LO &ODUN¶V YDULRXV SKDVHV DUH GLVSOD\HG DV ³D PRUH RU less linear trajectory, from prim PRGHUQLVP WR ZDFNHG RXW ERG\ EDVHG LPSURYLVDWLRQ´ 7KH ODWHU ZRUNV VKH ZULWHV KDYH ³QRW DJHG ZHOO DQG OLNH DOPRVW HYHU\WKLQJ HOVH LQ WKLV DULG VKRZ VHHPV DOPRVW EUXWDOO\ GDWHG´ 8QWLO $XJXVW 7KRVH ZLWK PRUH WUDGLWLRQDO tastes will enjoy William Kent: Designing Georgian Britain at /RQGRQ¶V 9 $ .HQW ZDV WKH PRVW SURPLQHQW DUFKLWHFW DQG GHVLJQHU RI WKH HDUO\ *HRUJLDQ HUD D SHULRG ZKHQ %ULWDLQ GH¿QHG LWVHOI DV D QHZ QDWLRQ DQG GHYHORSHG D QHZ ,WDOLDQ LQVSLUHG VW\OH 7KH H[KLELWLRQ EULQJV WRJHWKHU RYHU REMHFWV LQFOXGLQJ DUFKLWHFWXUDO GUDZLQJV IRU VXFK

SURPLQHQW EXLOGLQJV DV WKH 7UHDVXU\ DQG +RUVH *XDUGV DW :KLWHKDOO designs for landscape gardens, sculpture, furniture, silver as well as paintings and illustrated books. .HQW ZDV D ³Ã€DPER\DQW ¿JXUH ZKR EURXJKW RSXOHQFH DQG ÀDLU WR D EHLJH *HRUJLDQ %ULWDLQ´ VD\V 5RZDQ 0RRUH LQ 7KH *XDUGLDQ ³,W¶V OLNHO\ WKDW .HQW SUHIHUUHG JXVWR WR WDVWH ´ KH ZULWHV ³+LV GHVLUH VHHPV WR KDYH been to create a series of spaces RI VRFLHW\ LOOXVLRQ DQG GHOLJKW ´ :KLOH 0RRUH IHOW WKH H[KLELWLRQ LV MXVWL¿HG GXH WR .HQW¶V VWDQGLQJ DV D VLJQL¿FDQW ¿JXUH LQ %ULWLVK GHVLJQ - 28 -

&KULV :D\ZHOO RI 7LPH2XW /RQGRQ VD\V WKH VKRZ¶V SUREOHP LV WKDW LW ³KDV WR GR TXLWH D ORW RI H[SODLQLQJ WR VHW WKH VFHQH´ DGGLQJ ³.HQW LVQ¶W D KRXVHKROG QDPH ´ :D\ZHOO DJUHHV ZLWK WKH VFKRRO RI WKRXJKW WKDW LW ZDV .HQW¶V VRFLDO VNLOOV UDWKHU WKDQ KLV DUWLVWLF WDOHQWV WKDW ZRQ KLP FRPPLVVLRQV ³.HQW LV DQ LPSRUWDQW ¿JXUH LQ GH¿QLQJ ZKDW ZH NQRZ DV *HRUJLDQ VW\OH DQG ZKDW ZH understand by ‘designer’ as opposed WR FUDIWVPDQ 8QIRUWXQDWHO\ WKLV RZHV PRUH WR KLV DPELWLRQ DQG PDOOHDELOLW\ WKDQ KLV JHQLXV ´ 8QWLO July 13.

Theatre Adapted by James Lapine, Act One is a reworking of Moss Hart’s 1969 memoir, following the story of Hart’s life growing up in Bronx poverty to his reinvention as one of America’s most beloved playwrights. Ben Brantley of the New York Times is so impressed with the performances of Tony Shalhoub and Santino Fontana, who share the role of Hart, he says, “Radiating an almost ruthless charm that never conceals the doubt beneath, Mr. Fontana registers as the unbaked, unglazed prototype of Mr. Shalhoub. And the gaze with which the older character regards the younger resonates with the embarrassment, wonder and respect we often bring to the contemplation of our past selves.â€? There’s still time to catch the critically acclaimed Act One, at New York’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre, but be warned - David Rooney of Hollywood Reporter worries the play hews too closely to the source material, noting, “Lapine seems unable to make the hard choices about what to remove. As a play, Act One remains entirely imprisoned on the page from its earliest scenes. As soon as you appoint two actors to play Hart – as an eager youth looking forward and a wiser adult looking back – and give them dueling narrator chores, you’re in trouble. C loses June 15. 8QGLVSXWHGO\ RQH RI WKH ÂżQHVW QLJKWV RI RSHUD HYHU conceived, Tosca is an epic on a scale only the backdrop of early 19th century Rome could contain. Jonathan .HQW ÂżUVW VDZ KLV RSHUD SHUIRUPHG LQ DQG UHWXUQV to the Royal Opera for its sixth revival with longtime Cavaradossi Robert Alagna once again taking the lead

role. Clare Colvin writes in the Express that while most of the ingredients for a classic are in place, not everything about this new production is up to par, noting: “Alagna’s voice is still in good shape and his stage presence packs a punch that is otherwise lacking in the substandard revival. The fault lies mainly with Ukrainian soprano Oksana Dyka, making her Royal Opera debut as the diva Floria Tosca. Her voice has a metallic edge but what grates most of all is her abysmal acting or, perhaps, non-acting.â€? Tosca runs til June 19. Shakespeare didn’t go in for much in the way of gore, but when he did, he made it count as powerfully as any sonnet. Lucy Bailey’s retelling of the story Titus $QGURQLFXV ÂżUVW SHUIRUPHG DW 6KDNHVSHDUHÂśV *OREH 7KHDWUH LQ LV MXVW DV YLVFHUDO RQ LWV UHWXUQ LQ Fiona Spencer-Longhurst of Time Out succinctly sums up the gore-levels by saying: “I felt queasy a couple of times, and did idly wonder if I might lose my dinner over the hapless groundlings below me.â€? However, beyond the EORRG WKHUH LV PXFK WR HQMR\ Âł%DLOH\ÂśV SURGXFWLRQ VWULNHV me as the model of a socially conscious bloodbath,â€? says Spencer-Longhurst. “For the most part, she directs it as a sort of stylised (one might even say Tarantino-esque) black comedy, in which the exponentially escalating cycle of revenge that William Houston’s unstable Roman JHQHUDO 7LWXV DQG ,QGLUD 9DUPDÂśV KDXJKW\ *RWK TXHHQ Tamora visit upon each other is despatched with a camp relish that underscores how fundamentally stupid their actions are.â€? The show runs until July 13.

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Dubai Mall | Dubai Marina Mall | Mall of the Emirates | Wafi | Gold Souk

ART & DESIGN

POP ART PROVOCATEUR -H̆ .RRQV LV WKH VXEMHFW RI D PDMRU QHZ UHWURVSHFWLYH LQ 1HZ <RUN Words: LARA BRUNT

1.

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L

ove him or loathe him, there’s no middle JURXQG ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR -H̆ .RRQV Over the past 35 years, the American artist has become one of the most LQÀXHQWLDO ¿JXUHV LQ WKH FRQWHPSRUDU\ DUW ZRUOG )URP -XQH 1HZ <RUN¶V Whitney Museum of American Art is devoting almost all of its Madison Avenue home to the most comprehensive .RRQV UHWURVSHFWLYH HYHU -H̆ .RRQV $ 5HWURVSHFWLYH IHDWXUHV DURXQG ZRUNV DFURVV D YDULHW\ RI PHGLD SDLQWLQJV VFXOSWXUHV GUDZLQJV DQG SULQWV 7KH H[KLELWLRQ LQFOXGHV WKH DUWLVW¶V PRVW UHFRJQLVDEOH ZRUNV VXFK DV 2QH %DOO 7RWDO (TXLOLEULXP 7DQN 0LFKDHO -DFNVRQ DQG %XEEOHV DQG D VFXOSWXUH IURP WKH %DOORRQ 'RJ VHULHV ± ,W ZLOO DOVR IHDWXUH VHYHUDO QHZ SLHFHV LQFOXGLQJ WKH PRQXPHQWDO 3OD\ 'RK ZKLFK WKH DUWLVW KDV EHHQ ZRUNLQJ RQ IRU PRUH WKDQ \HDUV 7KURXJKRXW KLV FDUHHU .RRQV KDV WXUQHG IDPLOLDU RIWHQ EDQDO REMHFWV VXFK DV EDVNHWEDOOV DQG YDFXXP cleaners into high art, courting controversy but

‘This retrospective will surprise even those familiar with his work’ QHYHUWKHOHVV FDSWXULQJ WKH LPDJLQDWLRQ RI FROOHFWRUV +H PDGH KHDGOLQHV ODVW \HDU ZKHQ RQH RI KLV %DOORRQ 'RJ VFXOSWXUHV D IRRW WDOO VWDLQOHVV VWHHO GRJ WKDW UHVHPEOHV D QRYHOW\ EDOORRQ ¿JXUH D FKLOGUHQ¶V HQWHUWDLQHU PLJKW WZLVW LQWR H[LVWHQFH IHWFKHG D VWDJJHULQJ 86 PLOOLRQ DW DXFWLRQ ± WKH KLJKHVW VXP HYHU SDLG IRU D ZRUN E\ D OLYLQJ DUWLVW ³.RRQV LV ZLGHO\ NQRZQ DV WKH PDNHU RI D KDQGIXO of iconic objects, but this retrospective will for the ¿UVW WLPH GHPRQVWUDWH KRZ WKH\ ¿W WRJHWKHU DV SDUW RI a compelling and multifaceted story that will surprise HYHQ WKRVH IDPLOLDU ZLWK KLV ZRUN ´ VD\V H[KLELWLRQ FXUDWRU 6FRWW 5RWKNRSI ³7KH LQFUHGLEOH UDQJH RI KLV materials, subjects, scales, formal approaches, and WHFKQLTXHV LV YLUWXDOO\ XQSDUDOOHOHG DQG ZLOO PDNH IRU D GUDPDWLF QDUUDWLYH IXOO RI SORW WZLVWV DQG GLVFRYHULHV ,W¶V KDUG WR WKLQN RI DQRWKHU OLYLQJ DUWLVW ZKR KDV SXVKHG DV PDQ\ DHVWKHWLF DQG FXOWXUDO OLPLWV DV .RRQV KDV ´

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ART & DESIGN %RUQ LQ 3HQQV\OYDQLD LQ .RRQV VWXGLHG DUW LQ %DOWLPRUH IROORZHG E\ D \HDU DW WKH LQÀXHQWLDO 6FKRRO RI WKH $UW ,QVWLWXWH RI &KLFDJR +H LGROLVHG WKH SRS DUWLVW (G 3DVFKNH DQG EHFDPH KLV VWXGLR DVVLVWDQW EHIRUH PRYLQJ WR 1HZ <RUN LQ $IWHU D VWLQW VHOOLQJ PHPEHUVKLSV DW WKH 0XVHXP RI 0RGHUQ $UW .RRQV WKHQ VSHQW IRXU \HDUV ZRUNLQJ DV D FRPPRGLWLHV EURNHU RQ Wall Street, a wild departure from the ‘struggling artist’ VWHUHRW\SH +LV ¿UVW VROR H[KLELWLRQ 7KH 1HZ -H̆ .RRQV LQ IHDWXUHG DQ LQVWDOODWLRQ RI ZDOO PRXQWHG YDFXXP FOHDQHUV ZLWK ÀXRUHVFHQW OLJKWV DQG D OLJKW ER[ +LV ¿UVW VROR JDOOHU\ VKRZ IROORZHG LQ VKRZFDVLQJ WKH (TXLOLEULXP VHULHV D JURXS RI ZRUNV LQFOXGLQJ EDVNHWEDOOV VXVSHQGHG LQ WDQNV IUDPHG 1LNH SRVWHUV DQG FDVW EURQ]H REMHFWV ,Q KH FDXVHG D VWLU ZLWK VLPXOWDQHRXV LGHQWLFDO VKRZV DW JDOOHULHV LQ 1HZ <RUN Cologne, and Chicago that included a gold-leaf plated, OLIH VL]HG VWDWXH RI 0LFKDHO -DFNVRQ DQG %XEEOHV WKH VLQJHU¶V SHW FKLPSDQ]HH 7ZR \HDUV ODWHU .RRQV LJQLWHG FRQWURYHUV\ DW WKH 9HQLFH %LHQQDOH ZLWK DQ H[KLELWLRQ RI ZRUNV IURP WKH

2.

Made in Heaven series that depicted nude images of KLP DQG KLV IXWXUH ZLIH ,ORQD 6WDOOHU D +XQJDULDQ ERUQ SRUQ VWDU DQG PHPEHU RI ,WDOLDQ SDUOLDPHQW +LV QH[W SURMHFW WKH ¿UVW WRSLDU\ 3XSS\ D IRRW VFXOSWXUH made of soil and plants, proved to be one of his most SRSXODU ZKHQ LW ZDV XQYHLOHG LQ *HUPDQ\ LQ +H KDV JRQH RQ WR FROODERUDWH ZLWK ¿OPPDNHU *XV 9DQ 6DQW GHVLJQHU 6WHOOD 0F&DUWQH\ DQG SRS VLQJHU /DG\ *DJD

‘The incredible range of his techniques is virtually unparalleled’

3.

7KH ODQGPDUN UHWURVSHFWLYH PDUNV WKH :KLWQH\¶V JUDQG ¿QDOH EHIRUH LW PRYHV WR LWV QHZ IDFLOLW\ GRZQWRZQ LQ VSULQJ $IWHU 1HZ <RUN WKH H[KLELWLRQ ZLOO VSHQG ¿YH PRQWKV RQ GLVSOD\ DW WKH &HQWUH 3RPSLGRX LQ 3DULV IURP 1RYHPEHU DQG WKHQ KHDG WR 6SDLQ ZKHUH LW ZLOO EH RQ YLHZ DW WKH *XJJHQKHLP 0XVHXP %LOEDR LQ VXPPHU -H̆ .RRQV $ 5HWURVSHFWLYH UXQV IURP -XQH WR 2FWREHU LQ 1HZ <RUN ZKLWQH\ RUJ - 34 -

1. Jeff Koons, Aqualung, 1985. Private Collection, New York. © Jeff Koons. 2. Jeff Koons, Loopy, 1999. Bill Bell Collection. © Jeff Koons. 3. Jeff Koons, Fisherman Golfer, 1986. Edition no. 3/3. Julie and Edward J. Minskoff, © Jeff Koons

4. Jeff Koons, SplitRocker (Orange/Red), 1999. Collection of B. Z. and Michael Schwartz. © Jeff Koons.

4.

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ART & DESIGN

The

anti-‘starchitect’ Why Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban is architecture’s most unconventional star Words: LARA BRUNT

W

hile the works of past winners of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which include Jørn Utzon, Renzo Piano and Zaha Hadid, are among the most recognisable buildings on the planet, few could recall a cardboard shelter built for refugees of the Rwandan genocide. Yet, 20 years after -DSDQHVH DUFKLWHFW 6KLJHUX %DQ ÂżUVW FRQVWUXFWHG KLV humble structure, he has been awarded architecture’s highest honour. 7R VD\ WKDW WKH \HDU ROGÂśV ZRUN LV GL̆HUHQW IURP his Pritzker peers is an understatement. “I’m the only architect in the world making buildings out of paper,â€? he told a rapt audience at last year’s TEDxTokyo FRQIHUHQFH $QG ZKLOH KH KDV ṘFHV LQ 7RN\R 3DULV and New York and designs monumental museums and corporate HQs for private clients, Ban’s best known for his temporary paper-tube houses in earthquake-hit nations such as Haiti, Japan, and New Zealand. Founded in 1979 and regarded as ‘the Nobel Prize of

architecture’, many believe Ban’s selection as the 2014 Pritzker Laureate signals a shift for the prestigious award. “The prize has been called a beauty contest,â€? says New York Times’ architecture critic Michael Kimmelman. “Now it’s a sign that good design and good works can both be rewarded.â€? In its citation, the eight-member Pritzker jury praised Ban for “his creative approach and innovationâ€? that are present in all his works. “Shigeru Ban is a force of nature,â€? says jury chairman, The Lord Palumbo. Âł%XW KH DOVR WLFNV WKH VHYHUDO ER[HV IRU TXDOLÂżFDWLRQ WR the Architectural Pantheon – a profound knowledge of his subject with a particular emphasis on cuttingedge materials and technology; total curiosity and commitment; endless innovation; an infallible eye; an acute sensibility – to name but a few.â€? After studying at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in the late 1970s, followed by New York’s Cooper Union, Ban opened his own practice in Tokyo in 1985. Soon after, he began experimenting with unconventional materials such as bamboo and - 36 -

cardboard tubes. He discovered that the tubes were, not RQO\ LQFUHGLEO\ VWURQJ EXW HDV\ WR ZDWHU DQG ÂżUHSURRI As his interest in humanitarian design grew, Ban travelled to Rwanda in 1994 and was surprised by the rudimentary shelters provided by the UN to survivors of the civil war. “They just provided them with a plastic sheet and the refugees had to cut down the trees. But

‘It’s a sign that good design and good works can both be rewarded’ over two million people cut down trees and this caused heavy deforestation,� he says. When Ban proposed his paper-tube shelters to the UN, they promptly hired him as a consultant. Since then, Ban has continued to balance his humanitarian work with commercial projects. Notable projects include the Japan Pavilion at the Hanover World Expo in 2000, an enormous paper-tube shell

structure made out of entirely recyclable materials, and the Centre Pompidou-Metz in France, with its swooping, latticed roof of spruce and larch. While working on the SURMHFW %DQ EXLOW D PHWUH ORQJ SDSHU WXEH ṘFH RQ the terrace on top of the Pompidou in Paris. “We stayed there for six years without paying any rent,â€? he laughs. /DVW \HDU %DQ ÂżQLVKHG D ÂłFDUGERDUG FDWKHGUDO´ LQ the earthquake-ravished city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The A-frame structure, made of cardboard tubes and shipping containers and featuring a striking glass mosaic, can seat 700 people and is built to last for half a century. Current projects include the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, a variation on the wood lattice design used in the Centre Pompidou-Metz that is set to open in August, and the Mount Fuji World Heritage Centre in Japan, due to be completed in 2016. Despite the attention and accolades, the softly spoken architect remains humble. “I see this prize as encouragement for me to keep doing what I am doing – not to change what I am doing, but to grow,“ he says. The world eagerly awaits what Shigeru Ban does next.

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ART & DESIGN

DOWN to EARTH Lower Mill Estate unveils Habitat House, the pinnacle of eco-luxury

T

he United Kingdom’s Cotswolds have long been associated with rolling green hills, freshwater lakes and acres of beautiful forest. ,WœV KHUH \RXœOO ¿QG /RZHU 0LOO Estate, which put these attributes front and centre of their ecocommunity in the heart of this beautiful location. Since it was founded 17 years

DJR /RZHU 0LOO (VWDWH KDV EHHQ DW the forefront of creating innovative design concepts (all of which put WKH KDELWDW ¿UVW WR YDFDWLRQ KRPH EX\HUV ZLWK LWV ODWHVW R̆HULQJ arguably its most ambitious. The aptly named Habitat House is the work of award-winning architects Featherstone Young. Eight of these eco-houses are to be EXLOW HDFK R̆HULQJ WKH YHU\ EHVW LQ sustainable luxury. The Habitat House concept has - 38 -

been developed to both visually EOHQG ZLWK /RZHU 0LOOÂśV QDWXUDO landscape and to create minimal

‘It’s architecture literally at one with nature’ impact on the existing landscape in three ways: visually, by adapting a low lying form using natural materials that complement the landscape; ecologically, by creating

habitat opportunities to replace WKRVH H̆HFWHG E\ EXLOGLQJ ZRUN and sustainably, by adopting best practice passive and active energy ḢFLHQF\ IHDWXUHV FRPELQHG ZLWK low impact materials. As part of the VWDQGDUG VSHFL¿FDWLRQ HDFK KRXVH comes with an air-source heatpump DQG XQGHUÀRRU KHDWLQJ Notable design features include D VORSLQJ ¾OLYLQJœ ZLOGÀRZHU URRI providing habitat for invertebrates, a spine wall structure which follows

the slope of the faceted mono-pitch roof, stone chimney and hanging tile facades (which are great for bats WR URRVW XQGHU WKDW DUH LQWHQGHG WR age and weather to complement the surrounding landscape. “The Habitat House�, explains Sarah Featherstone of Featherstone Young, “draws together two main threads running through our work: a contextual approach to materials and form and a stimulating and inspiring quality of spaces. These - 39 -

combined with the beautiful ODQGVFDSH DQG ZLOGOLIH RI /RZHU 0LOO (VWDWH R̆HUV D GLVWLQFWLYH and alternative architecture quite literally at one with nature. 7KH GHYHORSPHQW R̆HUV homeowners direct water access RQWR 6SLQQH\ /DNH ZKLFK LV VWRFNHG ZLWK ¿VK DQG DFFHVVLEOH all year round for activities such as canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding. Prices will start from £695,000. lowermillestate.com

TIMEPIECES

TARIQ MALIQ

As summer rolls in, we look at some of the most interesting new diving watches Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronograph Blancpain launched this at Baselworld, a follow-up to 2013’s very well received Bathyscaphe (time only) re-issue. To provide some background, last year’s launch was a tribute to 60 years of the Blancpain Fifty )DWKRPV GLYH ZDWFK WKH ¿UVW ¾WUXHœ diver’s watch launched in 1953. The Chronograph takes much inspiration from its heritage by using a domed GLDO ZLWK VXQEXUVW ¿QLVK URXQG hour markers and rectangular hands that provide a nice vintage H̆HFW &HUDPLF KDV SURYHQ WR EH D popular material and is used for the bezel insert. The case comes in at a wearable 43mm and a thickness of 15.25mm. It’s available in either brushed steel with grey dial, or brushed black ceramic with black dial. Both come with either NATO strap or a sail canvas strap, while the steel version also comes with a metal bracelet. The movement used is an all-new Blancpain manufacture movement, which features an automatic chronograph with superfast frequency. The chronograph is also a À\ EDFN FKURQR DQG FDQ EH XVHG XS to a depth of 300m. - 40 -

&DOLEUH GH &DUWLHU 'LYHU 2QH RI WKH PRVW LQWHUHVWLQJ ZDWFKHV RI WKH \HDU QRW RQO\ IURP D GHVLJQ DQG GHYHORSPHQW SHUVSHFWLYH EXW LQ WKH LQVLJKW LW R̆HUV XV DV WR WKH GLUHFWLRQ RI &DUWLHU DV D PDQXIDFWXUHU 7KH 'LYHU LV DQ ,62 FHUWL¿HG GLYLQJ ZDWFK KDYLQJ FRPSOHWHG D QXPEHU RI ULJRURXV WHVWV 7KH PRYHPHQW LV &DUWLHU¶V LQ KRXVH FDOLEHU 0& ZLWK D KRXU SRZHU UHVHUYH $ ZDWHU UHVLVWDQFH RI P SXWV WKLV RQ D SDU ZLWK WKH JROG VWDQGDUG GLYLQJ ZDWFK WKH 5ROH[ 6XEPDULQHU ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR LWV IXQFWLRQDOLW\ DV D GLYLQJ ZDWFK LW LV D PRGHUQ FODVVLF LQ WHUPV RI GHVLJQ DQG DSSHDO 7KH FDVH LV PP DQG DW PP LW¶V RQH RI WKH WKLQQHVW GLYHU¶V DYDLODEOH PHDQLQJ \RX FDQ ZHDU WKLV FRPIRUWDEO\ LQ PRUH IRUPDO RFFDVLRQV 7KH FDVH FRPHV LQ VWHHO URVH JROG RU WZR WRQH VWHHO DQG URVH JROG

Audemars Piguet 2̆VKRUH 'LYHU 6LQFH WKH ODXQFK RI WKH 2̆VKRUH 'LYHU LQ $XGHPDUV 3LJXHW KDV EHHQ H[SHULPHQWLQJ ZLWK GL̆HUHQW PDWHULDOV DQG FRORXUV WR JUHDW H̆HFW KDV EURXJKW XV WKH VWXQQLQJ :KLWH &HUDPLF DQG WLWDQLXP GLYHU :KLWH ZDWFKHV WHQG WR GLYLGH RSLQLRQ LQ WKLV FDVH ZH WKLQN WKH PDWWH ¿QLVK JLYHV R̆ D QLFH VXPPHU YLEH ± DQG VR ¿QG RXUVHOYHV ¿UPO\ LQ IDYRXU 7KH VDSSKLUH FDVHEDFN DOORZV XV WR DGPLUH WKH LQ KRXVH &DOLEHU DXWRPDWLF PRYHPHQW DQG LWV VWDQGRXW URWRU $W PP WKH ZDWFK LV ODUJH EXW VLWV FRPIRUWDEO\ RQ WKH ZULVW 7KH GLDO KDV EOXH DFFHQWV SURYLGLQJ D VXEWOH WRXFK DQG JHQWO\ FRQWUDVWLQJ ZLWK WKH ZKLWH 0HJD 7DSLVVHULH GLDO 7KH ZKLWH UXEEHU VWUDS ZLWK WLWDQLXP EXFNOH R̆HUV H[FHOOHQW FRPIRUW - 41 -

TIMEPIECES

Words: RICHARD JENKINS

NEW KID in town Laurent Ferrier is the hottest name in horology

H

ow can you compete with history? In the world of haute horlogerie, names like Patek Philippe (est. 1851) and A. Lange and SĂśhne (est. 1845) UHLJQ VXSUHPH 7R ÂżQG RXW KRZ Laurent Ferrier (est. 2010) plans WR FRPSHWH LQ WKH UDUHÂżHG ZRUOG RI ÂżQH ZDWFKPDNLQJ $,5 VSRNH ZLWK company CEO Sylvère Demonsais about the company’s short – but so far, extremely rich – history. The quick version of the story is that Laurent Ferrier had been

working at Patek Philippe for 37 years and decided to pour that knowledge into a watch of his own design. Demonsais expands on this: ³+H IRXQGHG KLV FRPSDQ\ QHDUO\ ¿YH years ago, after 37 years at Patek, and he just had a dream – he wanted to make a nice watch, perfect in terms of harmony and construction, ZKHUH WKH PRYHPHQW SHUIHFWO\ ¿WV the case, where everything works reliably and accurately for a long WLPH 7KH ¿UVW SLHFH ZDV WKH *DOHW Classic with a double airspring tourbillon. It’s quite high technically, but it’s traditional watchmaking ZLWK D KLJK OHYHO RI ¿QLVK DQG - 42 -

decoration. The best thing to do with this watch is put it on your wrist. See the balance, and how nice it is to wear.â€? Ferrier’s path to him making his own watch brand didn’t come that easily, though: his biggest opponent was himself. Fascinated by a love of motor cars as well as watches, Ferrier was a skilled driver. He competed in the 1979 24 Hours of /H 0DQV UDFH DQG ÂżQLVKHG ÂżUVW LQ his category behind Paul Newman. 7R FHOHEUDWH )HUULHU R̆HUHG KLV racing partner a Nautilus from Patek Philippe. According to Demonsais: “His French friend said ‘This watch

TIMEPIECES

LV H[SHQVLYH LWœV GL̇FXOW WR JHW pieces, why don’t we make our own company?’ Laurent said no, but his friend pushed him.� The idea took hold in Ferrier’s mind, and over the next 30 years as he rose to prominence, eventually becoming technical director at Patek Philippe before taking the plunge with his eponymous brand. 6LQFH WKH ¿UVW SLHFH WKH *DOHW Classic, launched, Laurent Ferrier has brought three others to market – WKH 0LFUR 5RWRU WKH 6HFUHW DQG WKH Traveller. Each is unique, but each shares Ferrier’s unparalleled gift as a watchmaker. Demonsais stresses

‘He had a dream – he wanted to make a nice watch, perfect in terms of harmony and construction’

that as a small company, it is not possible to create new complications every year. “If you start from scratch with a new movement, it can take easily two to three years,â€? he explains. “For example, we are thinking about adding something on the tourbillon. If you add something it can take maybe a year, but for a completely new movement, that’s another story. We have to make the drawings, test it on the 3D software, order parts in very small quantities. 7KHQ \RX PDNH WKH ÂżUVW SURWRW\SH you test, you adjust, you go back to the drawings and then if you’re lucky in two or three years you have a new movement. You need highly skilled people, you need experience, and you need to know exactly what you want to do. Sometimes the result is not what you expected.â€? Laurent Ferrier’s biggest - 44 -

obstacle is not the quality of the watches, which are of the very highest available in the world. %UDQG DZDUHQHVV LV WKH GL̇FXOW\ Demonsais notes: “It doesn’t help because many people don’t know you. In terms of power and negotiation and visibility, we have WR ÂżJKW DOO WKH WLPH ,WÂśV DOVR D ÂżJKW regarding suppliers and parts. If someone doesn’t pay you on time, you’re going to be in trouble quite quickly. We have good customers and point of sales in Kiev and the Ukraine. These days we don’t sell so well! When you’re too small, those VRUWV RI LQFLGHQWV FDQ UHDOO\ D̆HFW you.â€? On the other hand, a small operation has its appeals – Ferrari is scaling back production to maintain that all-important exclusivity, after all. “I wish we could be like Ferrari,â€? Demonsais laughs, suddenly boyish. “We are RQO\ ÂżYH \HDUV old, so our strategy is to do maybe a few hundred pieces. In our workshop the watchmaker makes his watch from A-Z. Any other manufacturer has people who do certain parts, but we are organised to do only a few pieces. Because of this level of quality, you cannot make that in 10,000 pieces. The strategy is maybe to increase from 100 to 200 or 300 pieces.â€? When other luxury watch brands are putting out tens of thousands of pieces a year, exclusivity like this becomes a premium. So if you can ÂżQG D /DXUHQW )HUULHU EX\ LW Âą \RX never know when you might get another chance.

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TIMEPIECES /DFN RI OHDGHUVKLS PDWHULDOV DQG D VWDEOH HFRQRPLF environment saw the Jaquet Droz brand lie dormant IRU WKH QH[W \HDUV %XW D EUDQG WKLV KLVWRULFDOO\ VLJQL¿FDQW FRXOG QRW UHPDLQ UHVWLQJ IRUHYHU DQG LQ WKH FRPSDQ\ QRZ NQRZQ DV 0RQWUH -DTXHW 'UR] ZDV DFTXLUHG E\ WKH 6ZDWFK *URXS UHDG\ WR WDNH WKH ZRUOG RI ZDWFKPDNLQJ E\ VWRUP RQFH DJDLQ 7KH ¿UVW piece to come out of the reborn Montre Jaquet Droz VWDEOH ZDV WKH *UDQGH 6HFRQGH D VWXQQLQJ \HW VLPSOH SLHFH LQVSLUHG E\ WKH RULJLQDO SRFNHW ZDWFKHV RI WKH WK century. The next decade saw the brand re-establish LWVHOI DW WKH YHU\ SLQQDFOH RI ¿QH ZDWFKPDNLQJ ¶V UHLQWURGXFWLRQ RI WKH 3RFNHW :DWFK ¿UVW GHYHORSHG LQ KDUNHG EDFN WR WKH FRPSDQ\¶V LOOXVWULRXV SDVW while also providing the inspiration for future lines. VDZ WKH RSHQLQJ RI 0RQWUHV -DTXHW 'UR]¶V )LQH :DWFKPDNLQJ :RUNVKRS D VWDWH RI WKH DUW IDFLOLW\ LQ ± ZKHUH HOVH ± 6ZLW]HUODQG¶V /D &KDX[ GH )RQGV 8QGHU WKH OHDGHUVKLS RI 0DUF $ +D\HN WKH FRPSDQ\ UHḊUPHG LWV GHVLUH WR FXOWLYDWH WKH VSLULW RI LQQRYDWLRQ while respecting the traditions that come with 275 years RI ZDWFKPDNLQJ FUDIW Recent years have shown that the demand for Jaquet 'UR] WLPHSLHFHV KDV QRW GLPPHG 6WXQQLQJ ZDWFKHV OLNH The Eclipse, with its display of stars and hand-engraved PRRQ WKH *UDQGH 6HFRQGH FRPELQHG ZLWK WRXUELOORQ he story of Jaquet Droz, today one of DQG *UDQG )HX HQDPHO DQG ¶V MDZ GURSSLQJ the leading manufacturers of highDXWRPDWRQ 7KH %LUG 5HSHDWHG ZLWK H[TXLVLWH HQDPHO end timepieces in the world, begins painting. before wristwatches even existed. In Even now, when the company could be forgiven for 1738, 17-year-old Pierre Jaquet-Droz resting on its laurels, Montre Jaquet Droz continues VHW XS KLV ¿UVW ZRUNVKRS LQ /D &KDX[ WR LQQRYDWH $W ¶V %DVHOZRUOG IDLU WKH FRPSDQ\ de-Fonds, in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland. His unveiled its most modern twist yet, adding silicon to its precociousness in creating new and sophisticated PRYHPHQWV IRU ORQJ FDVH FORFNV ZDV DVWRQLVKLQJ $OPRVW WLPHSLHFHV IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH 7KH *UDQGH 6HFRQGH ZDV RI FRXUVH WKH OXFN\ PRGHO WKDW ZDV XSJUDGHG WR WKLV QHZ immediately, they announced him to Europe’s wealthy ultra-durable material. Only Montre Jaquet Droz could DQG LQÀXHQWLDO FOLHQWHOH ZKR WRRN -DTXHW 'UR]¶V QHZ KDYH SXOOHG R̆ D FKDQJH WR VXFK DQ LQWHJUDO SDUW RI WKH automatic pieces, some with musical complications, to their homes and chateaux. Many historians suggest that ZRUNLQJV RI WKH ZDWFK DQG RQO\ -DTXHW 'UR] HQJLQHHUV VRPH RI 3LHUUH¶V ZRUN ZDV VR DGYDQFHG WKHUH¶V D FDVH WR ZRXOG EH DEOH WR UHSODFH LW LI VRPHWKLQJ ZHQW ZURQJ %XW ZLWK QR OHVV WKDQ VL[ YDULDWLRQV RI WKH *UDQGH 6HFRQG EH PDGH WKDW LW ZDV LQ IDFW WKH ¿UVW FRPSXWHU SW on show, it’s plain to see that Montre Jaquet Droz is Over the course of the next half-decade, Jaquet-Droz QRW VDWLV¿HG WR OHDQ RQ LWV KLVWRULFDO SRZHU IRU VR ORQJ ± DQG KLV VRQ +HQUL /RXLV SURYLGHG LQWULFDWH DXWRPDWD WR NLQJV TXHHQV HPSHURUV DQG UXOHUV RI (XURSH &KLQD it has recognised that the future is just as important to the long-term goals of the company. -DSDQ DQG ,QGLD 6HYHUDO -DTXHW 'UR] SRFNHW ZDWFKHV (YROXWLRQV WR RWKHU SLHFHV ± 7KH %LUG 5HSHDWHU IURP WKH WK FHQWXU\ DUH VWLOO SUHVHUYHG LQ &KLQD¶V 2SHQZRUN¶V H[SHULPHQW ZLWK VNHOHWRQV IRU H[DPSOH Imperial Palace museum today. In 1784 Jaquet Droz – bear this theory out. Jaquet Droz’s relatively small RSHQHG WKH ¿UVW ZDWFKPDNLQJ IDFLOLW\ LQ *HQHYD ZKLFK FROOHFWLRQ LV UHVROXWHO\ DQWL JURZWK $V ZLWK PDQ\ RWKHU would go on to become the spiritual home of horology. OX[XU\ EUDQGV LQ ZKHQ WKHUH LV PRUH PRQH\ WKDQ ,W ZDV GXULQJ WKLV WLPH WKDW WKH ZDWFKPDNHU SHUIHFWHG the art of painting onto the enamel dials – an impossibly ever to be spent, what matters is that a timepiece be individual, exclusive and, of course, beautiful. It needs ODERULRXV DQG GHWDLOHG SURFHVV WKDW WRRN WKH VNLOOHG craftsmen months to complete. The father-and-son team to be expensive enough that it can sell just the right amount to fund development into new and exciting FRQWLQXHG WR ÀRXULVK XQWLO WKH V ZKHQ HDFK GLHG WHUULWRULHV ZLWKRXW VDWXUDWLQJ WKH PDUNHW \HDUV just a year apart from one another, in an era of social of practise suggests that Jaquet Droz has found that upheaval for Europe – the French Revolution and the balance. Napoleonic Wars.

the

Art of Amazement

For over 275 years, Jaquet Droz has been producing horological works of art

T

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‘At 2014’s Baselworld fair, the company unveiled its most modern twist yet’

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JEWELLERY

JEWEL SCHOOL

L’École Van Cleef & Arpels aims to teach ‘enlightened amateurs’ the fine art of jewellery and watchmaking

I

t’s not often that the thought of going back to school sounds so appealing. But then again, for most of us, lessons didn’t take place in an 18th-century townhouse in Paris and revolve around the craftsmanship, or ‘savoir faire’ as the French call it, of high jewellery. Established in 2012, L’École Van Cleef & Arpels aims to introduce LWV VWXGHQWV WR WKH UDUH¿HG ZRUOG of gemstones, jewellery, and timepieces. While the institute welcomes professionals, its focus - 48 -

is on ‘enlightened amateurs’ who are passionate or curious about the GHOLFDWH DUW RI PDNLQJ ¿QH MHZHOOHU\ and watches. The curriculum includes 13 courses divided into three sections: History of Art, the Universe of Gemstones, and Le Savoir-Faire. Participants can enrol in one or several four-hour courses, in French and English, according to their special interests or level of knowledge. These range from introductory classes, such as ‘Symbols and Power of Jewels’ (exploring the legends

STARS in their EYES Here’s our pick of the jewels on show at last month’s Cannes Film Festival…

Actress Valérie Kaprisky chose Boucheron’s white gold and diamond Héra ring

Russian model Natasha Poly wore amethyst and ruby drop earrings from de Grisogono

of jewellery) and ‘Interpreting the Gemstones’ (discovering the emotions that each one conveys), to specialist lessons. Advanced classes include ‘Dive into the Heart of a Mechanical Watch’, which allows students to take apart a watch movement and then reconstruct it, and ‘Explore and Create’, which teaches aspiring jewellery makers how to sketch and trace a design, and craft a mock-up in pewter. The tailor-made classes have an intimate feel, with each one limited to 12 students and private sessions also available. And with centuries

of professional experience between them, the instructors certainly NQRZ WKHLU VWX̆ /HVVRQV DUH OHG E\ an expert team of 23 jewellers, art historians, and watchmakers from Van Cleef & Arpels’ High Jewellery workshop. Alongside its courses, the school DOVR R̆HUV D UHJXODU SURJUDP RI HYHQLQJ OHFWXUHV /HG E\ WZR experts, the two-hour-long sessions explore a given theme, such as ‘Collecting Jewellery: Why and how?’. Courses run throughout the summer. For further details, visit lecolevancleefarpels.com. - 49 -

Chinese actress Gong Li dazzled in a Piaget cuff set with brilliant-cut diamonds

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INTERIORS

CREATIVE stage

Ahead of this month’s Design of the Year Award, often referred to as the Oscars of the design world, AIR takes a look at some of the designers on the shortlist…

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INTERIORS

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A

dvocating creativity, innovation and original talent is something London’s Design Museum does brilliantly. Case in point: its annual Designs of the Year H[KLELWLRQ ¹ D ¿YH PRQWK VKRZFDVH of the very best in architecture, digital, fashion, furniture, graphic, product and transport design. Celebrating its seventh edition this year, the fair culminates in a grand prize for the overall Design of the Year, an accolade often referred to DV WKH ¾2VFDUV RI WKH GHVLJQ ZRUOGœ and fought out by seven creative masterminds from said disciplines. Running until August 25, this year’s exhibition features international design stars such as Zaha Hadid and Miuccia Prada ZLQQHUV RI WKHLU LQGLYLGXDO categories, architecture and fashion, UHVSHFWLYHO\ DORQJVLGH FURZG IXQGHG VWDUW XSV DQG VWXGHQW projects. )URP ,UDTL %ULWLVK DUFKLWHFW +DGLG came the Heydar Aliyev Center in ERRPLQJ %DNX $]HUEDLMDQ +HU HODERUDWH WUDGHPDUN XQGXODWLRQV and folds blur the conventional OLQHV EHWZHHQ DUFKLWHFWXUDO REMHFW and urban landscape. Distinctly neofuturistic, the Center is comparable to her other projects GRWWHG DURXQG WKH ZRUOG VXFK DV WKH Guangzhou Opera House in China, the Riverside Museum in Scotland and the Dongdaemun Design Plaza

in South Korea. In the same category \RXÂśOO ÂżQG D QXPEHU RI IRUZDUG WKLQNLQJ DUFKLWHFWXUDO LGHDV Âą D contemporary art centre located in DQ ROG ERDW ZDUHKRXVH D Ă€RDWLQJ school in a Nigerian lagoon, and the iron façade on Sir Paul Smith’s Albemarle Street store in London. 0LXFFLD 3UDGD PHDQZKLOH IXGJHG SRS DUW SULQWV ZLWK VSRUW\ details and structured shapes to FUHDWH D EULJKWO\ FRORXUHG DZDUG ZLQQLQJ VSULQJ VXPPHU FROOHFWLRQ for 2014. Moving onto furniture, DQG VWDQG RXW VXEPLVVLRQV LQFOXGH Iro, a family of vibrant yet elegant IXUQLWXUH GHVLJQHG E\ -R 1DJDVDND for Established and Sons. Named DIWHU WKH -DSDQHVH ZRUG IRU FRORXU Iro furniture remains true to 1DJDVDNDÂśV PLQLPDOLVWLF VW\OH ZKLOVW PDNLQJ GDULQJ XVH RI EOD]LQJO\ FRORXUHG UHVLQ 7KH ZLQQLQJ REMHFW IRU WKLV FDWHJRU\ KRZHYHU ZHQW WR Konstantin Grcic for his Pro Chair Family, developed for FlĂśtotto. The construction of the chair not only DOORZV PRYHPHQW LQ DOO GLUHFWLRQV but actively stimulates it thereby promoting healthier sitting. While not in the running for the DIRUHPHQWLRQHG DZDUG %DUEHU 2VJHUE\ÂśV %RGOHLDQ /LEUDU\ &KDLU is deserving of a mention. This WKUHH OHJJHG RDN FKDLU VHDPOHVVO\ balances a strong sense of craft KHULWDJH ZLWK VFXOSWXUDO IRUP DQG the needs of readers. Strong but UHPDUNDEO\ OLJKW LW LV RQO\ WKH WKLUG QHZ FKDLU GHYHORSHG VSHFLÂżFDOO\ IRU WKH %RGOHLDQ VLQFH DQG ZRUWK ORRNLQJ RXW IRU DW WKH H[KLELWLRQ 2WKHU QRWHZRUWK\ REMHFWV DW WKH IDLU LQFOXGH WKH DZDUG ZLQQLQJ Seaboard, an innovative musical instrument that reimagines the SLDQR NH\ERDUG 'HVLJQHG E\ 5RODQG /DQJ DQG +RQJ <HXO (RP WKH GHVLJQ combines contemporary minimalism and craftsmanship (an innovative approach that secured its place on this year’s shortlist). 6R ZKHWKHU \RXÂśUH ORRNLQJ IRU WKH GHVLJQ ZRUOGÂśV ULVLQJ VWDU RU VLPSO\ ZDQW VRPH LQVSLUDWLRQ IRU WKH KRPH WDNH D VWUROO DURXQG WKLV VL]HDEOH H[KLELWLRQ DQG OHW WKH PLQG ZDQGHU - 53 -

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Paradis

found

Vanessa Paradis is as famous for her relationship with Johnny Depp as for her career. Two years after their split, she’s moving on Words: TIM TEEMAN

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ood grief, what will Vanessa Paradis WDON DERXW" +HU SHUVRQDO OLIH LV R̆ limits, I am told, as is talking about :RRG\ $OOHQ KHU FR VWDU LQ KHU QHZ movie, Fading Gigolo). Perhaps we’ll start with the blandly decorated, FU\SW OLNH URRP LQ WKH FKLFKL 0DQKDWWDQ KRWHO ZKHUH she has been entombed for this interview. Outside, SXEOLFLVWV KXUU\ DERXW ,QVLGH LWœV QXPELQJ VRIW cushioned hush. 3DUDGLV VLWWLQJ DW D JLQRUPRXV WDEOH LV HO¿Q 'UHVVHG LQ D 7 VKLUW VNLQQ\ MHDQV DQG D ¿WWHG EODFN MDFNHW :KDW VKH LV SUHSDUHG WR WDON DERXW – here in our crypt – is her role in Fading Gigolo, written and directed by actor John Turturro. ,Q WKH ¿OP D JX\ )LRUDYDQWH SOD\HG E\ 7XUWXUUR EHFRPHV D PLGGOH DJHG PDOH SURVWLWXWH RQ WKH DGYLFH RI KLV IULHQG 0XUUD\ $OOHQ 7KURXJK 0XUUD\ KH PHHWV Paradis’ character, Avigal, a grieving widow, who is being pursued by Dovi, a hunky, brooding cop (played by Liev Schreiber). She’s meant to be a client of Turturro’s, - 55 -

WKHQ VRPHWKLQJ Âż]]HV EHWZHHQ WKHP VKH DSSHDUV WR want to leave the strict rules of religious living behind and he falls in love with her. ,WÂśV D TXLHW ÂżOP ZLWK ZKLPVLFDO MD]] PXVLF VR D ELW OLNH D :RRG\ $OOHQ ÂżOP ZKLFK LV FRQIXVLQJ DV KHÂśV LQ LW playing the kind of funny, smart, dishevelled “Woody FKDUDFWHU´ KH XVXDOO\ SOD\V LQ KLV RZQ ÂżOPV ,W LV 3DUDGLVÂśV ÂżUVW (QJOLVK ODQJXDJH ÂżOP DQG KHU performance – a series of longing, questioning glances and whispered phrases – isn’t a million miles away from her yearning, breathy recitation of Joe le Taxi, the 1987 French pop song that made her famous when she was 14. She still sings as well as acts, releasing an album last year called Love Songs. But for a long time Paradis was most conspicuous as Johnny Depp’s partner. They split in 2012 after 14 years and two children (Lily Rose, 15, and Jack, 11), never having married. Depp, 50, is now engaged to the bisexual actress Amber Heard, 28. Paradis has denied that Love Songs was personal VKH GLGQÂśW ZULWH WKH VRQJV KHUVHOI DQG WHOOV PH Âł/RYH VRQJV DUH PDGH IRU HYHU\RQH (YHU\RQH UHODWHV WR them whatever generation you are part of.â€? There are FRQĂ€LFWLQJ UHSRUWV WKDW 3DUDGLV LV SHUIHFWO\ ÂżQH ZLWK Depp’s engagement to Heard, while others whisper that it is an (understandable) source of family tension. Depp UHFHQWO\ VDLG RI 3DUDGLV Âł:H VHH HDFK RWKHU DOO WKH WLPH DQG JLJJOH DQG KDQJ RXW MXVW OLNH ZH DOZD\V GLG 6KHÂśV D wonderful woman. I love her and she loves me and she’s a great mommy. I have nothing bad to say, ever.â€? For her part, Paradis has never badmouthed Depp and appears to have moved on. She was reported to EH LQ D UHODWLRQVKLS ZLWK WKH )UHQFK VLQJHU %HQMDPLQ Biolay (who once dated Carla Bruni, and was previously PDUULHG WR )UHQFK DFWUHVV &KLDUD 0DVWURLDQQL GDXJKWHU of Catherine Deneuve), but rumours now swirl that she is involved with French hairstylist John Nollet, who cut Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow dreads in Pirates of the Caribbean. I ask if she is in love now. “Oh, that is none of your business,â€? she says merrily. “That is my business.â€? She doesn’t know if she’d like more children. “I am more secretive than out there. I think I have always been like that. Growing up in the public eye teaches you to keep your mouth shut to protect yourself. People want to know about everything; it’s never about your art. I am nostalgic for the old days where cinema and everything was beautifully lit and presented and everything else should be private.â€? But still she has to promote her work – ÂżOPV VKH believes in – through interviews. Of this apparent FRQWUDGLFWLRQ VKH VD\V Âł<RX JHW D SULYDWH OLIH <RX GRQÂśW WHOO HYHU\WKLQJ WR \RXU ERVV <RXÂśUH QRW JRLQJ WR JLYH RXW your deep, intimate emotions. Talking about everything is too precious.â€? Well, I say, she did have a relationship with Johnny Depp and when two famous people get together there will always be interest in that. “For sure,â€? Paradis concedes.

‘Love songs are made for everyone. Everyone relates to them whatever generation you are part of’

And, I say, when that couple breaks up, similarly... “Anything I am going to tell you will be returned against PH ´ VD\V 3DUDGLV IRUFHIXOO\ Âł(YHU\WKLQJ , WHOO \RX ZKHWKHU , VSHDN IURP P\ KHDUW LWÂśV QHYHU JRLQJ WR <RX FDQ QHYHU EH ULJKW $ ORW RI SHRSOH DUH MXGJLQJ VRPHWKLQJ WKH\ KDYH QR FOXH DERXW (YHU\RQH LV FRPPHQWLQJ PDNLQJ IXQQ\ MRNHV ZKHQ WDONLQJ DERXW SHRSOHÂśV divorce. I mean, people forget we are human beings, we have kids. How could you be so light, given the fact \RX KDYH QR LGHD ZKDWÂśV JRLQJ RQ" <RX KDYH QR LGHD KRZ unrespectful and how hurtful... so... you know... I don’t NQRZ 7KDW LV DOO , ZDQW WR VD\ DERXW WKDW ´ VKH WUDLOV R̆ Depp is said to have bought his former partner a US$4.4 million home in Los Angeles, where their children attend school. So Paradis divides her time between LA and Paris. She shot Fading Gigolo in the aftermath of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, which she says showed “how much solidarity there was between New <RUNHUV´ /LNH $YLJDO KHU FKDUDFWHU LQ WKH ÂżOP VKH LV GLVFUHHW UDWKHU WKDQ H̆XVLYH ZLWK DQ HQLJPDWLF FRQYHUVDWLRQ VKXWWLQJ GRZQ VPLOH 6KH VSHDNV (QJOLVK VRIWO\ ZLWK VSRUDGLF )UHQFK LI\LQJ

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‘This is inevitable and you’d better embrace it. Ageing with wrinkles and a smile is better than pulled skin and no expression in the mouth’ ,Q UHWURVSHFW LW PDGH KHU D VWURQJHU SHUVRQ ³, JRW WR WUDYHO 7KHUH ZDV VRPHWKLQJ UHDOO\ PDJLFDO DERXW LW ,W WRRN PH D ZKLOH WR JHW XVHG WR IDPH ´ (YHU\WKLQJ KDV LWV DGYDQWDJHV DQG GLVDGYDQWDJHV VKH DGGV ³,W OHW PH GR VR PDQ\ DPD]LQJ WKLQJV , ZRXOG QHYHU KDYH DFFRPSOLVKHG DW ´ 0D\EH VKH FRQFHGHV EHLQJ VR VXFFHVVIXO VR \RXQJ ³PDNHV \RX D OLWWOH OHVV DPELWLRXV´ *URZLQJ XS KDSSLO\ LQ WKH VXEXUEV RI 3DULV ZLWK ³WKH EHVW SDUHQWV´ ERWK LQWHULRU GHFRUDWRUV 3DUDGLV DWWHQGHG GDQFH FODVVHV 6KH ZDWFKHG 0*0 PXVLFDOV VXFK DV 6LQJLQ¶ LQ WKH 5DLQ DQG %RE )RVVH¶V MD]] LQÀXHQFHG FKRUHRJUDSK\ 6KH ZDVQ¶W DQ H[WURYHUW QHYHU WKRXJKW VKH¶G EH D VLQJHU RU DFWUHVV EXW VKH HQGHG XS RQ WKH ORFDO WHOHYLVLRQ SURJUDPPH /¶eFROH GHV IDQV D WDOHQW VKRZ IRU FKLOG VLQJHUV 6KH UHFRUGHG KHU ¿UVW VLQJOH LQ DQG SHUIRUPHG LW DW DQ ,WDOLDQ IHVWLYDO ZKLFK SDYHG WKH ZD\ IRU WKH UHOHDVH RI -RH OH 7D[L ,W ZDV 1R LQ )UDQFH IRU ZHHNV DQG XQXVXDOO\ IRU D VRQJ VXQJ LQ )UHQFK ZDV UHOHDVHG LQ WKH 8. ZKHUH LW UHDFKHG 1R ³1R RQH SXVKHG PH LQWR D UHFRUGLQJ VWXGLR ´ VKH LQVLVWV ³1R RQH NQHZ -RH OH 7D[L ZDV JRLQJ WR EH D KLW ,W ZDV WKH UHDO WKLQJ ´ ,W KDV DOZD\V EHHQ DERXW WKH PXVLF DQG PHHWLQJ RWKHU DUWLVWV VKH LQVLVWV ³7KLV ZDV \HDUV EHIRUH UHDOLW\ VKRZV DQG WKH LQWHUQHW ZKHQ WKHUH ZHUH PRUH RUJDQLF

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CRUISE CONTROL When a sea of tweed tops, sequined smocks and billowing harem pants went careering down the runway for Chanel’s Cruise 2014/2015 show last month, Karl Lagerfeld knew Dubai was the right location for the label’s grand unveiling. AIR went backstage for a closer look at the collection.

‘The influences are multiple, from fairy tales to film, from the paintings of Delacroix to the 1914 creations of Paul Poiret’ - Karl Lagerfeld

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“L

same thing‌ Anti-fashion fashion, millions of people who don’t give ook,â€? Ralph whatever you want to call it, but two hoots about the cult of fashion. Lauren says, Where other designers try to impose something that’s meant to be timeless. “I’m in the Watch Cary Grant in To Catch a an aesthetic on the wearer, Lauren fashion Thief tomorrow, next year, whenever indulges his fantasies, observes his business, – you would still want to be him at the audience then provides them with but I’m not end of it. And a woman will want to be the tools to share the fantasy. When in the fashion business.â€? We are Grace Kelly. That’s timeless.â€? it comes to mustering a palette of VLWWLQJ E\ D NLQJ VL]H FR̆HH WDEOH Because so much of his currency reference he is highly promiscuous: LQ KLV VRXYHQLU VWUHZQ ṘFH DV WKH depends on igniting fantasy, Lauren Navajo print and prairie cowboy impatient honks of yellow cabs echo GHQLP DYLDWLRQ VDIDUL ÂżHOG VSRUWV has never overly worried about faintly up from the New York street UHDOLW\ :KHQ KH GHVLJQHG KLV ÂżUVW Ă€DSSHUV 7VDULVW 5XVVLD DQG WKH below. Alarm bells are ringing, too. hit ‘safari’ collection in 1983 he had all-important Ralph Lauren trope, What on earth is this Bronx-born never been to Africa – in fact he still preppiness, are just a few of the ELOOLRQDLUH SHUVRQLÂżFDWLRQ RI RQH RI hasn’t. As he learnt, reality can be a the world’s biggest fashion brands on themes he has mined over the disappointment. Growing up in the decades. “What I do is make movies about? Even without a speck of due Bronx in the 1950s he diligence I’d know developed a fondness that after 46 years for the EnglishRalph Lauren is LQĂ€XHQFHG SUHSSLQHVV America’s alphaof Brooks Brothers, designer: 500-andwhere he eventually something shops worked. He wore a lot in 80 countries, of tweed jackets – on 23,000 employees, the days when he 15 (at my last count) wasn’t wearing army separate subVXUSOXV Âł6R WKH ÂżUVW brands, revenues of time I went to England US$6.9 billion last [in the 1970s] I was year alone – and upset. I thought I that mallet-swinging would see guys with Polo player logo, in hacking for heaven’s sake. If Ralph Lauren, America’s greatest fashion moustaches jackets. Instead anybody is “inâ€? the fashion business, designer, on a life spent weaving a world of there were Italian suits everywhere then surely it is this ÂżOPLF IDQWDV\ ZRUWK ELOOLRQV RI GROODUV and funny clothes diminutive (5ft 6in, in the windows. It according to Vogue) was shocking. They but wiry 74-yearWords: LUKE LEITCH thought the Italian old. VWX̆ ZDV EHWWHU WKDQ Lauren expands. with my clothes. Movies via fashion.â€? what they had been wearing before. So “What I think is cool is the Today, Lauren has chosen to come I tried to bring back a lot of the clothes expression of yourself. That’s what’s that people thought were old-fashioned WR WKH ṘFH KH FRXOG FRPIRUWDEO\ cool. Take you, if you’d walked in and overlooked.â€? WRGD\ ZHDULQJ VRPH ÂľRXWÂżWÂś WKHQ \RX have retired from a decade ago Now Lauren is thinking of England wouldn’t look like you. But your dark dressed in a melange of hiker, biker again, and not just the idealised vision and cowboy: below a pale-purple coat, your scarf around your neck, he has become hooked on, Downton down jacket he is sporting some your shirt – you look like a writer. You look like you. You’re classical but fringed grey leather cowboy trousers Abbey. “It is one of my great pleasures to watch that show. It is so beautiful. you’re cool. And you’re in the fashion and a pair of battered biker boots The writing is spectacular, the sets are with a touch of tassel to them. This business too. Your clothes are your fantastic and the clothes amazing. It’s is not a uniform, though; he has statement about who you are. And like, ‘Thank you, God, for this!’.â€? Last happily appeared in public wearing I’m sure you thought it, right?â€? month Lauren was back in London “for head-to-toe Lauren-tailored tweed, Whoa, Ralph Lauren is matinee idol tuxedo jackets (teamed WKH ÂżUVW WLPH LQ D ORQJ WLPH´ WR DWWHQG D interviewing me. And trowelling on dinner for the Royal Marsden Hospital. with jeans) and even a sarong. “I WKH Ă€DWWHU\ DV KH GRHV LW %XW KHÂśV It would be poor form to press Lauren OLYH GL̆HUHQW OLYHV ´ KH VD\V ÂłEXW also illustrating the idiosyncrasy for details – philanthropy is its own my product and myself, it’s the that makes Lauren so appealing to

THE MAN WHO

DRESSES AMERICA

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reward – yet it is fair to assume that the Marsden may be in line for some good news: Forbes magazine ranks Lauren as the 195th wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated US$7 billion knocking about in his current account. And cancer care is a long-standing Lauren philanthropic focus. As well as endowing a research centre at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and donating to American cancer care units, Lauren established one. It was set up 11 years ago in Harlem, after Lauren learnt of the low rates of diagnosis there, particularly among African Americans. +H ÂżUVW EHFDPH LQYROYHG KH VD\V ZKHQ Nina Hyde, a journalist friend of his at the Washington Post, told him she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. “I’d had a brain tumour just before I met her, and I felt a very strong connection.â€? Lauren’s benign tumour was removed by surgery in April 1987, a few months after its detection. “We started Fashion Targets Breast Cancer in America,â€? he continues. “And for some reason I thought I was going to be able to save her. Because I couldn’t believe that this woman, this alive woman that I was talking to was not going to be here. But she passed away.â€? It was during this early period of his cancer charity work that he met Diana, Princess of Wales – who was then the president of the Royal Marsden just as her elder son is now. Lauren has met many of his heroes down the years, and proudly escorts me to the HQ VXLWH EDWKURRP RI KLV ṘFH ZKHUH some of his most cherished trophies are hung: signed pictures from Frank Sinatra (complimenting Lauren on his “smashingâ€? Polo ties), Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck and his all-time masculine LGRO &DU\ *UDQW ,QÂżQLWHO\ PRUH respectfully, however, his picture with the Princess sits in a prime spot behind his desk. “Time goes so fast I can’t even UHPHPEHU ZKHQ , ÂżUVW PHW KHU %XW LW ZDV during her troubled times, when she was coming to New York. We did this event for breast cancer. Later she presented me with an award in Washington. Once we met accidentally on a plane going to England and had a good conversation. And when I was in London we met at the &RQQDXJKW IRU FR̆HH 6KH KDG KHU ODG\ in-waiting with her, and I had my son with me. We were friendly in a nice way. And she was always shopping for Polo for her kids.â€? 7KLV XSWRZQ ṘFH SHSSHUHG ZLWK pictures of princesses and movie stars,

Images: Ralph Lauren at Spencer House.

‘My parents’ tastes did not affect me strongly, but with me and my children there is a total connection’

Images: Clockwise from top, Ralph Lauren at Fall 13 Collection Show, Paris; Purple Label Fall 14 suit; Purple Label Fall 14 smoking.

is mere miles from the Bronx of Lauren’s extrovert, tweed-wearing youth, but the gulf between them is enormous. “It was a pretty tough neighbourhood. There was this area, Parkway, near all the schools, where we used to sit. Some guys liked what I wore and some didn’t. But I was just an individual, and a good athlete, so no one said anything to me. Anyway it wasn’t about the guys, it was about the girls.â€? Lauren’s mother, Fraydl, and father, Frank, had emigrated from Belarus. “My father, people say he was a house painter, but he wasn’t. He painted houses when he couldn’t get a job. But he was an artist. Life wasn’t easy with four children so he did what he had to do.â€? Still, the family spent its summers in their small country place in Monticello, outside the city. “It wasn’t much but I loved it,â€? Lauren says. As well as sport and cinema, Lauren was always interested in clothes. He keenly recalls staring yearningly through a shop window at a pair of blue suede shoes when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. “Those blue suede shoes are every pair of shoes I ever desired.â€? After college, a stint at Brooks Brothers and time in the US Army Lauren went to work in 1964 as a tie salesman. Thinking back, Lauren LV LQ IXOO Ă€RZ Âł, KDG QR FUHGHQWLDOV but I was dressed well. With my last money I’d bought some clothes from Brooks Brothers. And I sold those ties. There was this Englishman, I remember‌â€? He pauses. “He used to come over from this company called, Vanners and Fennell? I don’t remember, it’s starting to slip away. [He remembered correctly, though.] Anyway, I loved the way he looked. He used to wear this beautiful scarf, very casually thrown away. He gave me that scarf and I still have it today.â€? Lauren’s success as a salesman

and his observation that the Mod movement had hit a wall in America inspired him to think he could design some ties for himself that PLJKW MXVW ÂżOO D QLFKH Âł6R , DVNHG WKH company if I could. They said, ‘The world’s not ready for you, Ralph!’.â€? Lauren left, found the manufacturer for the then très snob brand Sulka, and produced some three-anda-half-inch-wide ties under the then-inconsequential brand name Polo. “I liked sports. Cricket was a name I liked, and rugby, which I use now. But I couldn’t call it baseball or basketball.â€? Lauren’s ties, launched LQ WRRN R̆ 6RRQ KH IRXQG a shirtmaker who could produce the collars he thought would best complement their shape. And then a suit manufacturer to complement the shirts. That suit manufacturer lent him US$50,000 to start his

KHOSHG GHÂżQH DQ HDV\ WDLORUHG V IHPLQLQH ORRN WKDW LV VWLOO LQĂ€XHQWLDO today. When Lauren designs it is via the ‘rig’, a minutely detailed physical moodboard collated by Lauren’s team. During a trip to New York a few years ago I saw that season’s rig for RRL (my favourite Lauren collection, inspired by his ranch and all things Western, rugged and worn). There was a vast room with Winchesters and saloon doors on the wall, vintage Johnny Cash shirts by the dozen, cabinets full of belt buckles – a treasury of authentic, vintage raw material to act as a lightning rod for design inspiration. Another room, for his prime Purple tailoring collection, featured a painstakingly – and in retrospect awfully Downton-ish – recreation of an English manor house living room, complete with Persian carpet and ÂżUHSODFH $OO RI KLV collections get the same treatment. Which is why, he says: “I hardly ever sit at this desk. I am standing all day long because , ZRUN *RLQJ IURP RQH ṘFH WR company, and so Lauren has another, always moving; menswear, expanded ever since, mushrooming womenswear, children’s, wherever I slowly from one collection to need to be.â€? another. Unsurprisingly for a man so In 1971, the year after being immersed in the images he creates, named America’s best menswear his stores are immersive too. Bond GHVLJQHU /DXUHQ SURGXFHG KLV ÂżUVW Street, opened in 1984, has an collection of women’s clothes, a selection of mannish shirts in whose ocean liner-inspired interior, while H[SDWV VD\ WKH 3DULV Ă€DJVKLS RQ WKH FX̆V GHEXWHG WKH 3ROR SOD\HU ORJR Boulevard Saint-Germain produces that has since been embroidered on the best American food in the city. to tens of millions of garments. The His ultimate store, though, is a Polo polo shirt, prep-wear staple par excellence, was released in 1972. few blocks away at 867 Madison Avenue – the Rhinelander mansion. 7KDW ÂżOPLF VHQVLELOLW\ ZDV UHTXLWHG 7KLV PDJQLÂżFHQW IDX[ JRWKLF IROO\ by Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola when Lauren’s clothes made of a house was built for, but never Diane Keaton look adorable in Annie inhabited by, a 19th-century heiress and fell into decline before Lauren Hall (1977), and Robert Redford bought the lease in 1983. He spent devastatingly dashing in The Great millions on its restoration, installed *DWVE\ /DXUHQÂśV ÂżUVW VWRUH which opened in 1971, was in Beverly a gleaming wooden staircase modelled on that of the Connaught Hills, and his designs for those ÂżOPV Âą DQG SDUWLFXODUO\ IRU .HDWRQ Âą hotel in London, and turned its

‘I built my company, and it still has my message. I’m here every day. So when you see the clothes come out you know they are Ralph Lauren’

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interior into the template Ralph Lauren environment, as dense with detail as those rigs. In 2010 Lauren opened a new building opposite it, a neoclassical chateau made of Indiana limestone to house the women’s collections that complement the men’s in the Rhinelander. In 1997 Lauren took his company to :DOO 6WUHHW R̆HULQJ PLOOLRQ shares at US$24 apiece. Long-term LQYHVWRUV KDYH VLQFH SURÂżWHG WRGD\ the share price is around 12 times that, and after years of expansion under his chairmanship the “market capitalizationâ€? of the company is estimated at US$14 billion. So, outside looking in, just as Ralph Lauren once stared at those blue suede shoes, he would seem to inhabit a landscape entirely unclouded by misfortune. Multiple landscapes, in fact. “I live those GL̆HUHQW OLYHV DQG DP IRUWXQDWH HQRXJK WR KDYH GL̆HUHQW KRPHV <RX ZHDU GL̆HUHQW FORWKHV LQ HDFK HQYLURQPHQW DQG OLYH LQ D GL̆HUHQW way. Jamaica has the sun, and the beach, and is very colonial. My ranch out west is very cowboy, and that’s another dimension in my life. And the house on the beach in Montauk is very rustic.â€? These multiple lives have been shared with his wife, Ricky, his sons, Andrew and David, and daughter, Dylan. Campaign-perfect childhood pictures of them on the beach at Montauk, or on the porch of the family ranch in Colorado are all around us. Today Andrew LV D ÂżOP SURGXFHU DQG '\ODQ UXQV a four-chain sweetshop called Dylan’s Candy Bar that claims its 7,000-strong selection of lollipops and chocolate to be the largest in the world. Naturally, it sells clothes too. Only 42-year-old David is involved in the company founded by his father. As well as spearheading Lauren’s philanthropic foundation, David is a vice-president of the company and oversees its marketing around the world. He is married to Lauren Bush, the niece of George W. Today the children are a key catalyst for Lauren’s own continued

curiosity and drive to innovate. “People are not as old as they were when my parents were old,â€? he says. Âł0\ SDUHQWVÂś WDVWHV GLG QRW D̆HFW me strongly, but with me and my children there is a total connection of life. Age today is not the same thing.â€? Lauren met his future wife, Ricky Loew-Beer, in 1964, thanks to a sore eye. “I went to the doctor, and there she was. She was the doctor’s assistant, and she kept coming into the room. I thought she was sort of paying attention to me.â€? Lauren insists he was not in the habit of propositioning comely medical professionals. “No, no, no! This was one of those very rare things!â€? As for - 70 -

Ricky, once Lauren had asked her out on a date, she ran the suggestion by her boss. Entirely unethically, he cast his eye over Lauren’s medical records and family history, then deemed him a safe bet. Ricky and Ralph were married eight months later. Lauren was still at the very earliest stage of his empire-building but that doctor’s intuition proved correct. Today, the marriage is as solid as the Rhinelander and Ricky acts as muse to Ralph as well as family curator; two years ago she published a book of the recipes, photographs and watercolours she created during the children’s formative years summering in the Hamptons. Just as Lauren began

Image: The Lauren family.

by placing himself – and his own fantasised version of himself – at the heart of his work so the family and its six-strong portfolio of exotic properties has become a fashion Camelot-like cipher for the image of his products. Even unvarnished, then, Lauren’s progress seems charmed. Yet there have, he says, “been lots of shakes along the way. Once or twice I thought I was going to lose my business. And you start to feel pain. That can be good for you, but you still don’t want it to happen.” Lauren is a master of crafting idealised images with beautifully made clothes. Set in the context of his painstakingly designed stores

these act as a prism for the fantasy lives of his customers. So when the occasional blemish sullies the lens of Lauren’s own image, it rather rankles. When he was 16, Ralph and his elder brother, Jerry – who is also deeply involved in the company and helps oversee its menswear – elected to change their surname from Lifshitz, which Frank had brought from Belarus. They wanted something easier to live with. “As a kid, when other kids are laughing at your name you don’t want to raise your hand to it in class. You don’t want to have to carry something that is holding you down.” Today the snarky sometimes use that - 71 -

name-change to suggest Lauren was airbrushing away his heritage: for a man who is particularly keen on “authenticity”, this is annoying. “You know, in those days changing your name wasn’t seen as a denial of where you had come from,” he says. “It was because you didn’t want to be made fun of. People came from Europe, and they Americanised their names. And my name had a tough spelling. I don’t know why it was spelt that way – there was a famous artist called Jacques Lifschutz – but anyway, that was the reason.” Another blot came far more recently. When Lauren unveiled his collegiate attire for Team USA at London 2012, most of it came labelled made in china, as at previous Games. This time, though, in an America sensitive to its position in the world and languishing in a sub-prime hangover, it was seized on. “I was battered by politics,” Lauren says, “and in politics they suck you up and spit you out again. But I know about manufacturing, I try to make the best products I can, and I try to give my customers value.” Lauren’s bemusement is fair enough, when you consider the provenance of most sportswear. “Look at Nike, look at DOO WKDW VWX̆ %XW ZKDW KDSSHQHG happened, and I think it will always be a little stigma.” For the closing ceremony the athletes wore the same designs, but this time Americanmade. Lauren’s assistant curls her neck around the door and says his two o’clock is here – the day’s schedule is a packed one. “You know,” he says as we drift towards the exit, “I built my company, and it still has my message. I’m here every day. So when you see the clothes come out you know they are Ralph Lauren… I try to stay tuned so that I don’t become yesterday’s news. You have to move and keep your mind open.” Still, after nearly 50 years in the saddle, doesn’t it all get a bit much? “It does takes its toll,” Lauren concedes. “I used to be 6ft 3.”

GASTRONOMY

A CUT above Words: RICHARD JENKINS

Wolfgang Puck brings his legendary steakhouse to Dubai

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or a man who appears so friendly on television, Wolfgang Puck is surprisingly angry. “I feel like hitting somebody with a hammer,â€? he glowers good-naturedly. “The head of construction,â€? he adds more VSHFLÂżFDOO\ :KLOH WKLV LV JRRG news for us, it doesn’t bode well for the man responsible for putting WKH ÂżQLVKLQJ WRXFKHV RQ &87 E\ Wolfgang Puck, the latest high-end steak restaurant to land in Dubai. AIR has been given a sneak preview of the restaurant in the days before its opening in mid-May. While the main areas of the restaurant are all broadly in place, and the private GLQLQJ URRP LV HVVHQWLDOO\ ÂżQLVKHG in all its dark-wood glory, it is fair to say that at the time of interview, the venue currently resembles a building site more than an extremely highSURÂżOH GLQLQJ GHVWLQDWLRQ 3ODVWLF sheets and the sound of frantic sawing punctuate our conversation with the world-renowned chef. “I haven’t been here for a year, since we made the deal,“ Puck explains.

“I was not pleasantly surprised; I thought it was going to be further along. But we’ll get there.â€? You’d expect them to. When Puck speaks, people listen. A 40-year career of collecting awards for cooking began at his mother’s side. “It all started with my mother,â€? the chef recalls. “My mother was a chef in hotel restaurants in southern Austria, and every summer I’d visit her for a month and I started to love food. I was hanging out in the kitchen with the pastry chef all the time. I loved all the sweets, and little by little he’d let me make things like whip the cream or the egg whites for D VRXĚˆp RU D SDVWU\ DQG KH VKRZHG me how to do it. Then when I was 17 I moved to France and started to work at some of the best restaurants in France, and then when I moved WR WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV DW WKH UHVW LV history.â€? History indeed. Within months RI PRYLQJ WR WKH 86 3XFN ZDV garnering the attention of the Hollywood elite. As chef at Ma Maison, he nurtured the egos and palates of luminaries and celebrities before striking out on his own - 72 -

with his signature restaurant, the LFRQLF /$ LQVWLWXWLRQ 6SDJR 0RUH UHVWDXUDQWV IROORZHG DQG LQ KH RSHQHG KLV ÂżUVW &87 D QHZ EUHHG RI sleek and modern steakhouses, in Beverly Hills. Wary of the impending ÂżQDQFLDO FULVLV DERXW WR VWULNH WKH western world, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. struck out across the world – opening branches of &87 LQ 6LQJDSRUH /RQGRQ DQG QRZ Dubai. “Dubai is really the centre of the Middle East for tourists and for businesses,â€? he says. “Other areas of the Middle East might be wealthier like Abu Dhabi, but Dubai is really the main location in this part of the world. Maybe Riyadh is ELJJHU EXW LWÂśV D FRPSOHWHO\ GL̆HUHQW culture. The culture in Dubai is very pro-western, we can drink in the restaurant, and so it appeals to me to be in a place like that. And it’s very interesting, I like the culture here. $QG WKHUHÂśV D GLUHFW Ă€LJKW IURP /$ ´ Dubai is currently the hottest place on the globe for celebrity chefs eager to expand their worldwide reach, and there is no shortage of must-try venues for the discerning GLQHU :KDW VHWV &87 DSDUW IURP

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GASTRONOMY

other restaurants here? “There are many steakhouses in America, or Dubai or anywhere in the world now,” Puck admits. “But once you’ve driven a Ferrari or a Bentley, what does that say about driving a Mazda? In a Mazda, when you look out, the road looks the same – but it makes \RX ORRN WRWDOO\ GL̆HUHQW LI \RX¶UH LQ a Ferrari, and it’s the same in our restaurants. Ninety nine per cent of steakhouses have very little talent in the kitchen. They have a guy who puts the steak on the boiler, and they have an iceberg or tomato salad with onions and that might be it. We have talent. We have interesting appetisers like beef sashimi or bone PDUURZ ÀDQ 1DWXUDOO\ EHHI LV RXU main thing, so we have beef from GL̆HUHQW SODFHV ± ZH KDYH VRPH lamb, we have some braised dishes – it will be interesting to see how they like that here because they love it in London. We’ve got Wagyu beef from Japan. We even have a vegetarian menu. We’re going to print the vegetarian menu so when vegetarians come in they don’t have to be shy and worry that they’re a pain, we want to make them feel welcome.” Many chefs enjoy working in the

‘Once you’ve driven a Ferrari or a Bentley, what does that say about driving a Mazda?’

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Middle East because the atmosphere LV PRUH FRQYLYLDO OHVV VWX̆HG GRZQ by tradition – and Puck agrees. “We think the only thing serious should be on the plate. Everything else should be fun. That’s why we play rock and roll and modern music, it should be loud, it should be noisy, it should feel like a party. The open kitchen helps with that. Restaurants shouldn’t be dead quiet. If people really want great steak, they will come here. They can get a steak in many places but if they want the best of the best, they’ll come here. It’s a G4 jet, it’s top of the line. Wherever we go, we’re voted the best. In /RQGRQ 6LQJDSRUH /$ DQG /DV Vegas, it’s the same. We aim for the top of the class.â€? And with that, Wolfgang Puck is RXW WKH GRRU Âą SUHVXPDEO\ WR ÂżQG D hammer.

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MOTORING

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AN

ICON REBORN

Car collectors rejoice as Jaguar begins work on the “missing six” lightweight E-types Words: RICHARD JENKINS

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MOTORING

A

utomotive history is littered with “What Ifsâ€? and “Might +DYH %HHQV ´ +RZ GL̆HUHQW would Chevrolet’s fortunes be if the company had been able to produce all 125 of the Corvette Grand Sports instead of the meagre six they managed? What if Ford had followed through on the concept and built the fabled GT90? How much would the motoring world rejoice if Jaguar built the last six of the 18 proposed Lightweight E-types? One of those questions, at least, now has an answer. In 1961, Jaguar changed the world of motoring with the knockout E-type (or the XKE, to give it its full title). An instant classic, the deliciously long body hit the spot of classic and futuristic design. With an engine famously capable of pushing 155mph, the E-type would stay in production for over a decade and FRPH WR GHÂżQH WKH HQWLUH FRPSDQ\ DV ZHOO as England’s status as the world’s premier designer of sports cars. Enzo Ferrari described it as “the most beautiful car ever madeâ€?, and WKH ODVW ÂżYH GHFDGHV KDYH GRQH QRWKLQJ EXW reinforce the idea. Each year, fewer and fewer of the 70,000-plus E-types on the market stay in circulation, making those that remain even more eye-wateringly desirable. For serious collectors, there is one particular kind of E-type that’s the rarest of them all: the Lightweight. By 1963, Jaguar was in the eye of the

hurricane it had created when it launched its original icon. Eager to exploit the racing potential of this early supercar, the company marked 18 chassis codes for use in production of a new, streamlined Special GT E-type. Known as the Lightweight, it made use of aluminium alloy in the body panels and most of the other metal components of the car, saving some 250lbs in weight. When paired alongside the production 3.8 litre, straightsix E-type engine with a 300bhp output (as opposed to the 265bhp produced by the standard model), the Lightweight became the racer’s choice – indeed, legends of motorsport Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart both took to the track in them and it was capable of reaching 170mph, even more than the 155mph achieved by the original. However, while 18 codes were given, just 12 models were produced (and only 11 of those survive today). For reasons that still stay shrouded in mystery, the remaining cars were never built. So what became of the remaining six Lightweight E-types? Nothing; until now. Following a recent discovery of six unbuilt chassis codes languishing in storage at their Coventry workshop, Jaguar recently announced that it is to build six perfect reproductions of the original Special GT Lightweights. Adhering strictly to the exact VSHFL¿FDWLRQV RI WKHLU IRUHEHDUV WKH VL[ QHZ models will be hand-built in house by Jaguar’s ¿QHVW FUDIWVPHQ 7KHVH SHUIHFW QHZ PRGHOV RI - 78 -

the design classic will be identical to the ones made 50 years ago – from the aluminium body and engine block down to the weight-saving measures such as a stripped-back cockpit and hand-operated windows. Retro styling is currently in vogue with many luxury car manufacturers keen to give discerning motorists a piece of heritage. The

‘Jaguar changed the world with the knockout E-type’ new E-types also form part of the launch of Jaguar Land Rover’s “Engineered to Order� department. In charge of small projects and customisations, it aims to become Land Rover and Jaguar’s equivalent to Mercedes’ acclaimed AMG department, specialising

in the growing area of custom and special HGLWLRQ FDUV $V ZHOO DV WKH ¿QDO VL[ ( W\SHV WKH (72 LV DOVR SXWWLQJ WKH ¿QLVKLQJ WRXFKHV on handcrafted Jaguar XJ Ultimate, and the limited edition Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate. These new Lightweight E-types will prove to be the ultimate luxury item for any collector. Jaguar expects them to sell for upwards of Dhs6 million each, and to increase in value – and even increase interest in the existing 11. The company is currently looking for the right owners for these exquisitely UDUH PDFKLQHV DQG ZLOO ¿UVW EH FRQWDFWLQJ notable Jaguar owners or collectors with an LQWHUHVW LQ UDFLQJ KLVWRU\ 7KH ¿UVW PRGHO ZLOO EH ¿QLVKHG E\ $XJXVW ZLWK WKH UHVW IROORZLQJ soon afterwards, and it begs the question – if Jaguar is willing to reach back into its past for ideas this exciting, who else is planning something similar? - 79 -

LIFE LESSONS

WHAT I KNOW NOW

Jerome De Witt, Watchmaker

My love of horology came naturally. As a child, I once picked up in the drawing room a watch that belonged to my ancestor Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia. I opened it and all the springs jumped out. My punition was to put it together again. It took some years, but this was the beginning of my passion for handmade watches. Inspiration stands everywhere in the world around you. You just have to catch it and transform it to create a watch. You put your dreams and knowledge in a small circle of 3.5 cm diameter, it is such a challenge. , DP D KDUG EHOLHYHU LQ H̆RUW concentration and capacity for dreams and creation. I think that you are successful when you achieve a challenge. Achievement is the step for a new challenge and satisfaction comes from your success – it is a virtuous circle. Anytime you want to make a complication you must face a challenge. I hope that this year I will succeed on a very hard challenge: a special timepiece, which is still a secret. You learn by being modest and mindful to experiences. A key is to know when you do not know. :H GLG QRW ZDQW WR ¿JKW DPRQJ WKH big groups and brands belonging to them. They have too much power and money to compete with. We decided to become the utmost in haute horlogerie, with all our watches totally handmade in house. What’s next for us is carrying RQ VHDUFKLQJ WR ¿QG WKH PRVW complicated and intriguing mechanisms to satisfy the most challenging collectors.

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