Air nasjet oct'15

ISSUE FIFTY THREE OCTOBER 2015

Tom Hardy Luxury • Culture • People • Style • Heritage

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Features SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2015 2015 : ISSUE : ISSUE 5352

Fifty

Amazing Emma

Managing Director

John Thatcher

The queen of the silver screen, Emma Stone, is honoured to appear in her second Woody Allen movie

Group Commercial Director

Fifty Four

David Wade

Twin Peaks

Victoria Thatcher Editorial Director

david@hotmediapublishing.com

In their heyday, the Kray twins were London’s most notorious gangsters

Commercial Director

Rawan Chehab rawan@hotmediapublishing.com

Sixty-Two

Couture Clothing

Business Development Manager

Post-fashion week dispatches from behind the scenes of some of the haute shows

Rabih El Turk rabih@hotmediapublishing.com

Editor

Richard Jenkins

Seventy

richard@hotmediapublishing.com

Working Class Hero AIR salutes John Lennon, on what would have been his 75th birthday

Senior Designer

Andy Knappett

AIR

Designer

Emi Dixon Illustrator

Andrew Thorpe Production Manager

Sikandar Pd. Chaudhary Editorial Intern

Teresa Francis

8

Contents

AIR

OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Eighteen

Forty Six

Seventy Eight

Radar

Timepieces

Travel

Anton Corbijn’s newest ¿ lm celebrates one of cinema’s most stylish stars – James Dean

Meet Christophe Claret, whose gaming watches are both stylish and incredibly complex

The most stylish way to follow the gol¿ ng season, right up to its Dubai climax

Twenty Nine

Seventy

Art & Design

Motoring

Dubai Design Week is nearly upon the city – and its organisers are very excited

Paul Hollywood road tests the fearsome new Lamborghini Aventador

Thirty Eight

Seventy Four

Jewellery

Gastronomy

Family-owned Buccellati make some if Italy’s most incredible pieces of art

The man at the helm of the world’s second best restaurant’s new book

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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Nasjet OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Welcome Onboard OCTOBER 2015

On behalf of all at NASJET it is my pleasure to welcome you on board and wish you a pleasant journey to your chosen destination.

With the peak summer holiday season now ended I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the tremendous upsurge in demand for private aviation services and NASJET’s leadership role in making Saudi Arabia the foremost country in ownership of private aircraft in the Middle East.

In statistical terms, Saudi Arabia has 30 percent of all the aircraft owned by individuals and companies in the Middle East, with 150 aircraft registered inside the Kingdom and another 700 owned by Saudi businessmen abroad.

Furthermore, while the region accounts for only about six percent of the global business jet market, the Middle East market is set to grow rapidly, with more than 200 aircraft expected to be delivered to the region by 2015, according to an estimate released by global research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

In addition, another 400 units are expected to enter the GCC’s business fleet within the next eight years. All things considered, it is not surprising that the major aircraft manufacturers see ever greater opportunities within the Middle East region, where on another hand, the business jet market is more developed than China or Russia.

It is your loyalty that enables NASJET to be a major player in putting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on top of the regional business jet market and we look forward to enjoying your support for many years to come so that we can continue to provide you with the luxurious comfort, impeccable service and commitment to your safety, all of which make NASJET the first choice for discerning travelers.

Thank you and enjoy for flight with us.

Saad Al Azwari CEO

Contact Details: clientservices@nasjet.com.sa nasjet.com.sa T. +966 (0)11 217 2070 13

Nasjet OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

NASJET signs international handling agreement with Jet Aviation At EBACE 2015 in Geneva, NASJET signed a Fixed Base Operation (FBO) global service agreement with Jet Aviation. Under the agreement, Jet Aviation is to provide handling services through its global network of FBOs to the fleet of NASJET aircraft

As the largest and fastest growing private jet operator in the Middle East, NASJET operates a diverse international fleet of more than 70 aircraft. Jet Aviation currently manages 19 premium FBO facilities across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. The two companies signed an agreement at EBACE 2015 in Geneva to have Jet Aviation provide seamless handling services to the NASJET fleet.

“We are always looking for strategic partners with whom we can ensure our customers receive personalized service and end-to-end support wherever they may be,” said NASJET CEO Mr. Saad Al-Azwari. “Jet Aviation shares our values and our commitment to excellence and we look forward to a long and successful partnership with them.”

“Our goal is to secure the greatest comfort and convenience for our 14

customers by anticipating their needs,” said Monica Beusch, general manager of Jet Aviation Zurich and head of FBO Services in EMEA & Asia.

“We look forward to welcoming the NASJET fleet throughout our network and to adding value to their operation by assuring smooth travels on the ground.”

Jet Aviation’s fi xed base operations provide customers with executive VIP terminals, conference rooms, business services, passenger and crew lounges, snooze rooms, crew showers, weather and flight planning services. The company offers private aircraft handling and full FBO services, including domestic and international flight handling, line maintenance services, refueling, immigration and customs services, passenger and crew transportation, as well as catering, hotel and local transport arrangements.

FOR SALE: 2010 Falcon 7X (SN 82) on exclusive with NASJET/TJB aircraft sales This Falcon 7X has the latest stateof-the-art EASY II cockpit which enables pilots to monitor and control the progression of the flight using Dassault’s highly optimized version of Honeywell’s Primus Epic digital flight deck.

This one owner from new aircraft has always flown privately, with its own dedicated and experienced crew. It can fly non-stop from New York to Riyadh; Riyadh to Perth; and Abu Dhabi to Tokyo. It can land at airports with restricted runways, such as London City. The luxury 14seat cabin boasts multiple options including high speed broadband enabling passengers to stay

connected while relaxing at 41,000 feet. It also includes Satellite TV that can be watched throughout the cabin ensuring you never miss your favourite TV show. If you find yourself stressed at the end of a busy day then you can unwind listing to music through the multiple ipod docks while the EMTEQ Quasar full spectrum lighting system relaxes with mood lighting of your choice.

The Dassault Falcon 7X is also a very strong competitor in the market place due to its much 15

lower fuel burn (7X burns 380 GPH and Gulfstream’s G450 GPH) and lower maintenance costs (2.62 SAR maintenance hours per flight hour compared to 5.74 SAR for Gulfstream’s G550). The aircraft is also enrolled on Falcon Care and ESP platinum elite engine and APU pay by the hour programs providing peace of mind that all schedule and unscheduled future maintenance is budgeted for.

For further information please email sales@nasjet.com.sa

Nasjet OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Our Services A host of services await you when flying with NASJET AIRCRAFT SALES Buy from the best. As a world-class owner, operator and manager of private aircraft in the middle east since 1999, we offer real-time market pricing analysis, aircraft financing with preferred lenders, aircraft inspections, sales and marketing collateral, and assertive price negotiation.

stress away and give you peace of mind knowing that an established and experienced international operator is able to manage your asset efficiently.

NASJET has in excess of 70 aircraft under management. Aircraft owners gain many privileges and financial benefits by being within a NASJETmanaged fleet, including economy of scale on fuel, fleet insurance, training and maintenance.

FRACTIONAL

Benefit from our experience.

We have the advantage of a close working relationship with many of the leading business jet manufacturers, including Boeing, Airbus, Gulfstream, Bombardier and Hawker Beechcraft. Over the years, the team has successfully completed over 45 new aircraft deliveries, working with owners to ensure their aircraft is completed to the highest specification and within budget.

Access a fleet of jets – with guaranteed availability. With the NASJET fractional program you buy a share in a jet, ranging from an eighth to a half. You can have all the advantages of aircraft ownership for a fraction of the cost.

Your share guarantees you a certain number of flight hours per year in your jet or in a comparable aircraft.

Fractional ownership costs are pre-agreed and fi xed annually – no end-of-year financial surprises, just seamless international access to a fleet of aircraft. You can also enjoy all the benefi ts of the fractional program without the long-term commitment, with the 12-month lease program.

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FLIGHT SUPPORT

Have the experts do all the work.

Owning a private jet is certainly a pleasure, but it’s also a major undertaking. NASJET can take that

Expertise and purchasing power.

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COMPLETIONS-ADVISORY

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the principal’s crew or an internal corporate flight department can access a menu of services provided by the NASJET flight centre.

GROUND SERVICES In 2013 NASJET, and their partner ExecuJet, launched ground services for private aircraft flying into the Riyadh private aviation terminal, Saudi Arabia. The collaboration builds on the two partners’ reputation for providing a superior and competitive level of service.

ON-DEMAND CHARTER The best option for ultimate flexibility without the commitment.

Chartering with NASJET gives clients access to the largest and most closely-managed fleet in the region.

We are focused entirely on safety, service and value. By owning many of our aircraft, we are able to make an immediate decision on aircraft availability. NASJET’s dedicated 24/7, 365 days a year charter department, based in Riyadh, are able to provide instant competitive quotations. The NASJET block charter program has all the benefi ts of adhoc charter but with guaranteed availability, flexible payment terms and billing based on actual flight times.

Visit nasjet.com.sa for more information.

Radar

AIR

OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Huddled against the rain in New York’s Times Square, with his collar upturned against the wind – this is perhaps the single most iconic shot of James Dean, taken before his career-defining movie East of Eden had even been released.

But what of the man behind the camera? Dennis Stock was a Magnum photographer who befriended Dean in 1955, whose career is being immortalised in Anton Corbijn’s new film Life. A-list actor Robert Pattinson plays Stock, while the brooding intensity of James Dean is brought to life

by Dane Dehaan.

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Critique OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Film The Martian Dir: Ridley Scott An astronaut is abandoned on Mars after a mission goes wrong, and must survive until he can be rescued.

AT BEST: “It’s a giant boon for NASA. Space exploration here is nothing but noble, exciting and worthwhile.”

The Guardian AT WORST: “The supporting cast feel underserved and at 141 minutes, it’s a bit long.”

Empire

AIR

Legend Dir: Brian Helgeland Tom Hardy plays both lead roles in this violent account of the Kray twins’ legacy.

AT BEST: “Hardy gives utterly fascinating performances in his dual role.” The Independent AT WORST: “It’s too long and too muddled to stand among the greatest British gangland films.” The Telegraph

Steve Jobs Dir: Danny Boyle New biopic about the former Apple head, starting before the release of the first Macintosh in 1984.

AT BEST: “Michael Fassbender brings an American icon to life.”

Slashfilm AT WORST: “Boyle isn’t an automatic fi t for the material, his hyperkinetic style growing tiresome.” The Guardian

Pan Dir: Joe Wright Origin story exploring Peter Pan’s beginnings, with Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard.

AT BEST: “The director displays his typical formal virtuosity and keen eye for young talent.” Variety AT WORST: “The actors all try hard to keep the energy up but never get convincingly in synch.” Hollywood Reporter 20

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Critique OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

AIR

Theatre

I

t’s been an age since the Roundabout Theater last produced Old Times, in 1984 – so long, in fact, that Harold Pinter came to rehearsal to tutor the cast. Oscar nominee Clive Owen now makes his Broadway debut in a revival of the 1971 play, which also features original music by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.

The New York Times writes that Old Times is: “The unsettling drama of desire and blurred realities by Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. Owen is Deeley, a man quite looking forward to meeting Anna, his wife Kate’s friend from long ago. But as the night goes on, Anna’s visit quickly shifts from an ordinary sharing of memories to a quiet battle for power.” Douglas Hodge, a frequent performer and

director of Pinter’s works, directs the haunting and passionate revival. It runs until November 29.

Keira Knightley is another Hollywood A-lister due to make her Broadway debut this autumn, as the eponymous heroine of Thérèse Raquin. The play, which will open Roundabout Theatre’s 2015/16 season, is based on the celebrated novel and play by French naturalist author Emile Zola. Directed by Evan Cabnet and using a new adaptation

by Helen Edmundson - commissioned

by Roundabout Theatre Compan Theatermania writes that Knightley will be joined in the principal cast by two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winner Judith Light (The Assembled Parties) as Madame 22

Raquin, Tony Award winner Gabriel Ebert (Casa Valentina) as Camille, and Matt Ryan (Constantine) as Laurent.

Knightley takes on the title role. Newly announced cast members include David Patrick Kelly (Once), Jeff Still (Fish in the Dark), Mary Wiseman (An Octoroon), Glynis Bell (The Winslow Boy), Alex Mickiewicz (Robin Hood), Sara Topham (The Importance of Being Earnest), and Ray Virta (Hedda Gabler).

In the drama, Thérèse has made peace with her loveless marriage to a weak man when her world is turned upside down by the entrance of Laurent.

Unable to ignore their passion, the pair sets off on a violent path that may have far worse consequences for the perpetrators than for the victims. It runs until January 3, 2016.

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Critique OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Art

F

rank Auerbach is one of Britain’s most celebrated living painters, and a new Tate Britain exhibition features drawings from the 1950s to the present day, offering new insights into his work. In total, a survery of over 70 paintings spanning more than half a century are shown. The Guardian has written: “Auerbach is best known for his depictions of London’s streets and for portraits of a regular cast of friends, family and lovers who have sat for him for decades, made with paint so thick and heavy that there was sometimes a risk of it sliding off the canvas after the work has been completed. His method over the years has remained pretty constant, time-consuming and ruthless: if he isn’t satisfied with a work at the end of a day, he scrapes off all the paint into a bin and starts again, which means the final version of the painting is made comparatively rapidly.” Jackie Wullschlager of the Financial Times has Auerbach as “a great figurative painter who has spent a lifetime digging deep in concentration on a few familiar motifs” See it from October 9 until March 13, 2016.

A major new exhibition is now running at Le Louvre in Paris. A Brief History of the Future, based on the book of the same name by Jacques Attali and published in 2006, brings a number of contemporary artists into a dialogue with noteworthy works from different eras, retracing in the present an account of the past conducive to a clearer view of the future. Art Dependence writes: The complementary Louvre exhibition anticipates the future based on a subjective reading of the past and translated by artistic creations from the previous millennia. Fifteen contemporary artworks are also included. New technologies provide interactivity as they encourage visitors to share their own views before, during and after the exhibition. Furthermore, a photo booth will allow visitors to create their own ‘gif’ (animated picture) and

add a message for the future to it. The exhibition runs until January 4, 2016.

The transformational era of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt will be represented through 230 objects and groups in the major international exhibition Ancient Egypt Transformed, at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, from October 12 until January 24, 2016. Ranging in size from monumental stone sculptures to delicate examples of jewellery, this is the first comprehensive presentation of the Middle Kingdom being 24

exhibited in the United States. The Culture Concept writes: “Fashioned with great subtlety and sensitivity the exhibition will be drawn from preeminent collections within The Met itself, as well as some 37 museums and collections throughout North America and Europe. The ancient Egyptians were truly amazing, creating a civilisation that lasted for over 3,000 years. We owe our calendar of 365 days to the ancient Egyptians who were the first to divide the day and night into 24 hours.”

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Books

AIR Magazine

B

y the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas comes David Mitchell’s latest book, recently listed as Publishers Weekly Literary Fiction Top 10 Pick for Fall 2015.

Slade House, which inhabits the same universe as Mitchell’s bestseller The Bone Clocks, started out as a short story the British author published on Twitter last year.

The Telegraph says: “It tells a thrilling tale that opens in 1979 and tumbles towards a climax on Halloween 2015, days after the book will be published in the UK. Mitchell experimented with Twitter as a storytelling platform in 2014 to release The Right Sort ahead of the publication of The Bone Clocks, and is returning to the social media platform for Slade House. He will begin a new Twitter story from the perspective of one of the characters in Slade House from early September until October 27, when the short story is published, allowing people to follow one person’s journey to the mysterious building’s front door. Kirkus Reviews was similarly enthused, saying: “Though there’s something of an inside joke happening on every page, Mitchell serves up a story that wouldn’t be out of place alongside The Turn of the Screw. Ingenious, scary, and downright weird.”

From the Nobel Prize-winner and best-selling author Orhan Pamuk comes his soaring, panoramic new novel A Strangeness in My Mind: A Novel, his first in six years. Telling the unforgettable tale of an Istanbul vendor and the love of his life, here is a mesmerising story of human longing, sure to take its place among Pamuk’s finest achievements. The Financial Times says: Despite its length, A Strangeness in My Mind is in one sense a fairly conventional Bildungsroman. It tells the story of Mevlut Karatas, a street seller from a poor village in Anatolia who as a child moves to Istanbul with his father.

When they arrive the pair are armed only with a broken fl ashlight, a kettle

and some straw mats, but over time Mevlut’s father begins to make a modest life for himself in the city.”

Max Liu of The Independent writes: “This is a joyous novel but it features tragedies. Whether they elope or enter arranged marriages, female characters are expected to obey their husbands. For millions of women throughout history, we’re reminded, marriage has involved being sold and bought. ‘We are not for sale,’ Rayiha tells her father before her sister, Vediha, unleashes her soliloquy.”

National Book Award winner Patti Smith is back with a new biography, M Train, which she herself describes as “a roadmap to my life”. Woven throughout are reflections on the writer’s craft and on artistic creation.

Kirkus Reviews reflects: “Spending much of her time crouched in a corner table of a Greenwich Village cafe sipping coffee, jotting quixotic notes in journals, and ‘plotting my next move,’ the author reflects on the places she’s visited, the personal intercourse, and the impact each 26

played on her past and present selves. She describes a time in 1978 when she planned to open her own cafe, but her plans changed following a chance meeting with MC5 guitarist Fred Sonic Smith, who swiftly stole and sealed her heart with marriage and children.

A graceful, ruminative tour guide, Smith writes of traveling together with Fred armed with a vintage 1967 Polaroid to Saint-Laurentdu-Maroni in northwest French Guiana, then of solitary journeys to Frida Kahlo’s Mexican Casa Azul and to the graves of Sylvia Plath, Jean Genet, and a swath of legendary Japanese filmmakers.

After being seduced by Rockaway Beach in Queens and indulgently purchasing a ramshackle bungalow there, the property was destroyed

by Hurricane Sandy - though she vowed to rebuild. In a hazy, often melancholy narrative, the author synchronizes past memories and contemporary musings on books, art, and Michigan life with Fred.”

Dubai Art Design & Design Week OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Dreaming of Design The inaugural Dubai Design Week will put the city on the map as the emerging design capital of the world WORDS : RICHARD JENKINS

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I

AIR

t’s fair to say that Cyril Zammit has a lot on his plate. He’s the Fair Director of the long-running Design Days Dubai, and has added yet another string to his bow in being an instrumental part of Dubai Design Week, which makes its debut from October 26-31 at Dubai Design District (D3). The event will be focused around D3, with talks, exhibitions and installations found there, but will also be popping up all over Dubai – so visitors to the emirate shouldn’t be surprised to ¿ nd surprising and impressive temporary design works popping up everywhere from The Dubai Mall to JBR. Parisian-born Cyril Zammit’s design career began at the Institut Français in Prague, before a stint at the cultural department of the French embassy in London for three years. Next came a sponsorship management role at Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and a host of other curious jobs before settling in the Middle East to work with the Tourism Development and

We are trying to position Dubai as an international design nucleus Investment Company in Abu Dhabi. In 2011, he was approached by Ben Floyd, one of the co-founders of Art Dubai, to start a fair entirely dedicated to collectible and limited-edition design – which would become Design Days.

And now, the next step in Dubai’s quest to become the design capital of the world – Dubai Design Week. Zammit tells AIR: “Usually, design weeks focus on their national market. With Dubai Design week, we are trying to position Dubai as an international nucleus for the global design community, as well as becoming the regional capital for design.”

Dubai Design Week now coincides with Downtown Design, the city’s other trade fair. So are we reaching the peak level of design fairs that one city can handle? Zammit says: “I don’t believe the design calendar is that crowded in Dubai. I would even dream to have more events throughout the year. When we launched Design Days Dubai in 30

Opening page: Dubai Design District, d3, the focus of Dubai Design Week activities bird eye view This page: Dubai Design District, d3, the focus of Dubai Design Week activities, Creative Community Workshop courtyard

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AIR

‘Abwab’ is a unique initiative to spotlight the region’s most exciting design talent 2012, we were the only design event in the entire region. I know there is a new design gallery opening soon here and maybe more to come. We are also looking at developing new events in 2016.”

Dubai Design Week recognises the importance of design fairs, that are set up to make sales, but it aims to get people inspired in the art found in design, rather than the sales that can be made. Zammit says to artists: “Communicate with us. Let’s sit down together and see how we can work together on the event, but also on installations as our goal is to extend the map of events.”

One way Dubai Design Week is announcing itself is with its showcase known as ‘Abwab’, Arabic for ‘doors’.

It’s a unique initiative that will put the spotlight on the region’s most exciting local design talent. Abwab is a series of six pavilions, which will showcase the work from six different countries – Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE. Zammit says: “Each of the curators for the pavilions have been assigned a theme, which is the element of play. So each one will have its own interpretation.

Some will be a game; others will take a different approach. Since the inception of our company, Art Dubai Group LLC, we always focused on being events of discovery. Dubai Design Week follows this path in presenting countries that are not associated with a design scene.

This said, we found curators for each pavilions who will demonstrate how strong the design creativity scene

is in their national country. We will select 5 new countries each year with the UAE remaining the permanent pavilion. The content of Abwab will be an amazing adventure to rediscover the element of play from these six countries and probably a great eye-opener on emerging talents too.”

As a relatively new player on the design scene, Dubai is naturally keen to promote new artists and designers.

Zammit agrees, saying: “With a format like a design week, there is a great chance for emerging talents to be seen in town. We teamed up with six international design weeks to showcase fresh design brands in Downtown Design, from San Francisco, Mexico, Istanbul, Helsinki, Melbourne and Beijing. We will also have a series of installations in the city by international and locally-based designers such as Aljoud Lootah, Zeinab Al Hashemi and Latifa Saeed from the UAE, Var & Mar from Spain and Estonia, Guto Requena from Brazil, Cuppetelli & Mendoza from the USA, and many more. As Dubai is a real point of convergence, we have also decided to invite regional designers to work on a theme-based creation in 6 identical pavilions 32

designed by Dubai Loci architect ¿ rm. They will be present from Tunisia, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the UAE. I’m very excited to see Guto Requena’s speci¿cally commissioned adaptation of the Love Project come to Dubai. I’ve known Guto for some time now, having worked with him on part editions of Design Days Dubai, he’s a master in digital design and has this fascinating way of weaving poetic narrative and everyday emotion into all of his installations. Love Project is something everyone will be able to relate to – the retelling of a personal love story but within a completely new and unique experience – and is certainly one of Dubai Design Week’s events and activities not to miss.”

Dubai Design Week has also taken international strides, and was a guest city at Beijing Design Week 2015, which ran from September 23 to October 7. Beijing Design Week has long championed its Guest Week format, and by inviting Dubai to take part, gave the city a real vote of con¿dence in its international standing. Who knows how long it will be before an invitation to appear at Dubai Design Week holds the same prestige?

Opposite page: Duffy London, Shadow Chair, Stainless steel This page: Bejing Design Week, at which Dubai starred

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Art & Design OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Private Property AIR

This month’s contemporary art auction at Christie’s Dubai will see almost 100 paintings from private collections make their debut on the market. Hazel Plush reveals the ones to watch

W

hen a plain Egyptian girl agreed to pose for artist Mahmoud Saïd in 1926, she couldn’t have dreamed how far her portrait would travel. Pictured tucked inside a window frame, doe eyed but truculent, this nameless model surely wasn’t a renowned beauty – but her portrait has captured the imagination of art critics and collectors worldwide.

It’s her open, challenging gaze that ¿ rst catches the eye – and Saïd’s smooth brushstrokes that draw you deeper in.

Négresse aux Bracelets is just one of the stand-out artworks that will be sold at Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Art auction on 20 October. The event will bring yet another landmark haul of ¿ ne Middle Eastern paintings to the Dubai sale room – each one an example of local-born artistry.

The prestigious auction house has years of experience in curating such sales, but October’s event is set to eclipse its predecessors. The reason?

80% of the 122 lots are from private collections: little-known paintings by

the region’s most famous artists, that have been treasured by families and coops for years. Until now, these pieces have languished in the possession of collectors in Dubai, Beirut, Baghdad, Japan, Italy, the UK and USA. This will be many paintings’ ¿ rst ever appearance at auction – including the surly, seductive Négresse, being sold by the artist’s brother’s estate.

For Hala Khayat, the Head of Sale for Dubai Modern and Contemporary Art, the opportunity to compile such an exclusive auction line-up is a great honour: “It’s an indication of the sustainability of the market, and a testament to the trust that private collectors have in us to deal carefully and respectfully with their art,” she says. And of course, that bounty of privately owned pieces has attracted the attention of collectors from all over the world.

The art collection of the UAE’s Khatib family is one-such high-pro¿ le draw.

The couple helped to establish the art market in Dubai in the 1990s, and even 34

hosted painters from the wider region when they visited the city to share ideas with their contemporaries. Five pieces from the Khatib collection – by Fateh Moudarres, Nazir Nabaa and Maamoun Al Homsi – will be offered at auction.

Meanwhile, Beirut’s Moughanni family is renowned for its trove of Lebanese paintings from 1960-70 – when the country’s art scene was at its richest, most colourful and diverse – so all eyes will be on its contributions to the sale. The collection will be selling paintings by Paul Guiragossian and Elie Kanaan, who both drew great inspiration from their Lebanese heritage – a fascinating glimpse into Lebanon’s ‘Golden Age’ of art.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Asim Abu Shaqra, the esteemed Palestinian artist who died of cancer in 1990 aged just 28 years old. Shaqra drew on the rich culture and heritage of his forefathers, as well as the political disputes that plague his country. He painted still-life cactus plants as a metaphor for Palestine’s

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Previous Page: Mahmoud Saïd, La Négresse aux bracelets, 1926, oil on canvas This Page: Manoucher Yektai, A Portrait of Robert Monroe, 1962, oil on canvas

political and geographical landscape, and as a reference to their initial use as a territorial marker. Shaqra’s oeuvre offers a rich glimpse into life in Palestine through the eyes of a young creator, and his work is expected to reach $300,000 at auction.

“Every private collection is important due to the love and care that the collector put towards it,” says Khayat, “and the collector’s level of knowledge about their ¿eld can be inspiring to all of us.” In April 2010, that passion resulted in a landmark auction result for Christie’s: a two-part sale of works from the Dr Mohammed Said Farsi collection – all of which sold out.

It’s little wonder that these highpro¿ le sales are attracting international attention – and, in a unique twist, Christie’s has take the pre-auction previews on tour. In addition to this month’s three-day exhibition at

Dubai’s Jumeirah Emirates Towers (18-20 October), a selection of ten key paintings were Àown to New York in September, for viewings in Christie’s NYC HQ at the Rockefeller Center.

This was the ¿ rst time that Christie’s Dubai has exhibited its Modern and

The collector’s level of knowledge about their field can be inspiring to us Contemporary Art pieces stateside.

A Portrait of Robert Monroe made its Christie’s debut in the New York pre-sale exhibition – to the pride, I’m sure, of its American-Iranian painter Manoucher Yektai, who is now aged 92. The sitter Robert Monroe is a well-known and highly regarded photographer whose work has been 36

featured in high-pro¿ le magazines such as Vogue and Newsweek. Art collectors, however, will be most intrigued by Yektai’s craft: he combines his Persian culture with abstract expressionism and portraiture drawn from his years working in Europe and America.

The result is both disorientating and challenging – a nod, it’s tempting to surmise, to the perplexing, shifting relationship between east and west.

In that light, perhaps we should view Christie’s decision to showcase the paintings in New York as more than just a tactical move to conjure up more sales. By revealing its artistic bounty to its American counterparts, the auction house is broadening the horizons of Middle Eastern art, and showcasing the rich creativity and talent of its founders on the international stage. The beauty of the region’s art lies in its vigour and strength – two timeless attributes.

THE LONDON JEW ELLER

Jewellery OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Timeless Treasures AIR

Buccellati is perhaps the most renowned name in Italian haute couture jewellery and with good reason, thanks to a history that dates back over 100 years. AIR finds out more about the name behind some of the world’s most beautiful objects WORDS : HAYLEY SKIRKA

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hen goldsmith Mario Buccellati founded his family business in the streets of Milan in the wake of the First World War, he drew from Italy’s rich design history. Incorporating elements of the Renaissance period and fundamentals from the Roman Empire era, he evolved a craft that would see Buccellati produce intricately handmade jewellery boasting a certain distinction. And it was a distinction that wasn’t to go unnoticed.

Before long, Milan’s elite would frequent the boutique, enraptured by the intricate works of art on offer.

Notable among them was the infamous poet, Gabriele D’Annunzio, who ordered countless pieces upon which

to shower his troupe of lovers, which included Italian silver screen star, Elena Sangro - a woman who was on the receiving end of many a D’Annunzioordered Buccellati creation.

As the company grew, a young Gianmaria Buccellati watched in wonder as his father crafted dazzlingly intricate pieces sought after by the rich and famous. Pieces such as the original emerald and diamond band ring that inspired a similar piece in the high jewellery collection of the moment. Mario’s creation boasted brushed yellow gold, topped with a delicately pierced white gold panel and boasting no less than twenty glittering diamonds, stunningly accenting a vivid green emerald.

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Enraptured by his father’s work, Gianmaria was quickly caught up in the world of gemstones and before long had taken up his role in the empire. In 1965, upon the death of his father, he inherited the business with his brothers, each of whom would eventually evolve the dynasty in their own way. Gianmaria retained ownership of the production and laboratories and, before long, expanded to build a retail presence in New York.

Today, the brand also has boutiques in Paris, Sardinia and California, not to mention various franchises worldwide.

Today, Gianmaria’s Buccellati is responsible for some of the most unique, intricate and detailed jewellery pieces in the world. Devoting his life

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to his work, Gianmaria never tired of designing works of wearable art.

Even in his latter years, he would craft special collections so unique that they would take two years to create and were never sold, but instead exhibited across the globe.

Earlier this year, Gianmaria passed away and - in true Buccellati tradition - his children now oversee the legacy.

Andrea Buccellati, Gianmaria’s eldest son, is president and creative director and ensures all designs retain the authenticity of the company. Explaining his direction, he said: “I think I’m perfectly in line with my father’s style, as I have learned every little thing from him. Of course, I have a slightly different approach but the style remains unaltered. Maria Cristina, Andrea’s sister, is global director of communication and also ensures that elements of her father’s taste, which she absorbed over many years, are reÀected in the company’s communication.

In true Buccellati tradition, his children now oversee the legacy With such a long-standing history, where does Andrea continuously ¿ nd inspiration for new designs? “Nature surrounds us completely and it is very easy to be inspired by it, as it offers a full range of colors, shapes and emotions. That is why it is one of my sources of new ideas, but I also draw inspiration from the art and architecture of different periods.”

The process of creating a piece of Buccellati is a timely one, explains Andrea: “The inspiration can come directly from the client or it can be originally mine. The second step is always drawing, sometimes tens of sketches to ¿ nd the right balance of shape and colours. Then I meet the artisans who will be in charge of handcrafting it, on an important piece I meet them every ¿ fteen days to check how the jewel is developing. The process takes months.”

With such a lengthy process, surely the temptation exists to introduce new technology? Not so, af¿ rms Maria Cristina: “Technology will always

remain the same, the same as in ancient times - no lasers, no machines whatsoever.”

Where then, do the company ¿ nd the artisans, so skilled in practices of centuries gone by? In line with Buccellati’s family focus, Maria Cristina explains: “Most of our artists pass their skills on through generations. In fact, a lot of those working with us today are the sons of those who used to work for my father and grandsons of those who worked for my grandfather.”

The Buccellatti cuff bracelet, a favourite with clients today, demonstrates Buccellati’s ongoing sought-after status in haute couture ¿ nery. Each bracelet features intricate details and ancient techniques such as the hand-engraved, yellow gold piece studded with ¿ve silver rosettes, each of which is delicately set with rose-cut diamonds and laterally engraved and brushed, it’s a true work of art and iconic of the Italian masters.

Despite being steeped in tradition, Buccellati is far removed from the 40

ancient portrayal that might be expected of a company with a 100year heritage. In fact, Andrea’s own daughter Lucrezia has recently stepped in as the company’s ¿ rst female designer, a move that will ensure the company has as much of a handle on the future as well as they do the past.

Speaking about the change, Andrea explains: “She probably interprets the Buccellati style in a more modern way, but she remains true to it. I notice she puts a female touch on her creations, but I am sure her style will remain traditional as she learned from me, and I learned from my father, who learned from my grandfather.”

Fusing the world’s most beautiful gemstones with a long timeline of tradition allows Buccellati to create distinctive, incredibly rare jewellery.

And with Andrea already picking up the task of creating bi-annual exceptional collections for worldwide exhibition, Buccellati looks set to infuse the world with its timeless beauty for many years to come.

Left: Broche Perla This Page: Sapphire and Diamond Necklace; Emerald Ring, CLASSICA Earrings; Cuff Bracelet

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Timepieces OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Traditionalists Versus ‘Rebels’ at the Dubai Watch Week TARIQ MALIK

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ne of the things I enjoy most about the world of haute horlogerie is the dynamic between the old and the new.

Vintage watches will always be my passion, and it is remarkable how many of the top brands are restaging their classic designs from a bygone era. ‘Vintage’ seems to be a popular taste in watchmaking right now.

On the other hand, I love to see the new generation of independent watchmakers – these so-called ‘rebels’ –fly in the face of tradition, and create watches unlike anything we have ever seen. Brands like Urwerk, with their daring EMC certainly fi t this category. New advances in the realms of microengineering are pushing the limits of what is possible in a wristwatch.

If the watch industry is steeped in anything, it is tradition. This is understandable, considering where they came from. In years gone by, prestigious watch brands had to be seen as reliable, respectable, and tasteful. But times are changing, and so are the tastes of the high-end watch market. Reliability and respect are still vital, but traditional tastes are not the only ones catered to.

Perhaps the wealthy are not as stiff and traditional as they once were.

This is good news for the ‘rebels’.

This will be an interesting month, with the Dubai Watch Week kicking off on the 18th at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The venue is a gallery environment dedicated to art, and during Watch Week it will be used as an opportunity to forge stronger

links between the Middle East and the traditional home of watchmaking, Geneva.

Under the Patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and together with the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), all the elements are in place to create a remarkable experience. Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the leading watch retailer in the UAE, is at the forefront of the preparations.

I was pleased to notice one of the 43

details of the program: Besides the superb watches on display, there is also an element of social investment at work. There is a scholarship and internship program aimed at those who are interested in the art of watchmaking. According to the organizers, the aim is to “introduce the first UAE based watch maker to the Swiss watch industry”. This is all of huge benefi t to the region.

Apart from this, numerous discussion panels on very interesting topics will be held with world-class moderators

Timepieces OCTOBER 2 015 : ISSUE 53

AIR Magazine

and speakers. I am extremely excited to attend this event, which will be second to none. The educational aspects will dominate and everyone is invited to join in and learn.

On display will be creations “preselected by the jury as well as the competition’s prize-winning models.”

Among the many distinguished speakers at the event, some of the independent brands will have a special VIP platform. It is aptly named the Rebels of Horology.

Greubel Forsey, H. Moser, MB&F and Phillipe Dufour are on the list, and they will be relating their stories about what it took to introduce revolutionary ideas into such a traditional market.

Watch enthusiasts, connoisseurs, market leaders and watchmakers will all be present. The ‘Crème de la Crème’ of the watch world will be in Dubai. The ‘pre-selected’ watches for 2015 include the 10th anniversary

A creative adult is a child who survived Horological Machine, or HMX from watchmakers MB&F. This is certainly one of the more non-traditional models to look out for.

MB&F’s founder Maximilian Büsser had a sketchbook as a child, filled with concept drawings of imagined supercars. His passion carried over to his adult ideas about watchmaking, and can be seen in each “Horological Machine” they produce. They aren’t watches, in the normal sense of the word.

Their philosophy for this piece, and all their other creations, incorporates the idea: “A creative adult is a child who survived.”

I look forward to the event, and expect that it will be quite an education. I believe that only good things will come from promoting this kind of artistry and engineering in the region, and I am excited to meet some of the personalities behind the designs that I have long admired.

Full details are available online at dubaiwatchweek.com Tariq Malik is co-founder of the UAE’s only vintage watch boutique, Momentum. momentum-dubai.com 44

AIR Promotion OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Baros Maldives The essence of The Maldives

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ure, hassle-free luxury in lush, natural surroundings, that’s the essence of Baros Maldives.

It’s a small tropical island ringed by a reef vibrant with marine life and encircled by a golden beach, with 45 thatched villas nestled among swaying palms and 30 water villas poised over a translucent lagoon.

Created from timber and sandstone, each villa has a king size bed and décor of elegance, with en-suite bathroom in a garden courtyard or with a panoramic lagoon view. Eleven have their own beachside plunge pool, and all have enviable seclusion enabling guests to indulge in ultimate relaxation.

With three gourmet restaurants, a palm grove bar and an intimate cocktail lounge, Baros Maldives has discreet, 45

knowledgeable staff who respect guests as individuals and are always on hand.

They can arrange excursions, organise a romantic sandbank dinner, a lagoon cruise by local dhoni or an eco-friendly diving or snorkeling safari. The Spa features the ¿ nest botanical therapies as well as yoga to rejuvenate the spirit as well as the body.

Baros Maldives is an award-winning resort exclusive to resident guests, just 25 minutes by speedboat from Male’ International Airport. No small children, no motorised vehicles, no annoying noises disrupt the serene tranquility of this pure tropical paradise.

Baros Maldives: Tel. +960 664 26 72, reservations@baros.com; www.baros.com

Timepieces

AIR

OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Game on Christophe Claret produces exquisite watches with a twist. He tells Richard Jenkins about the inspiration behind his gaming timepieces 46

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hat does your watch do? My daily-wear, a vintage Rolex Oysterdate, doesn’t do much. It tells the time, and has a date wheel, and that’s pretty much it in terms of complications. The world’s most complicated timepiece is currently an ornate pocketwatch created by Vacheron Constantin, built over eight years to celebrate the brand’s 260th anniversary in 2015. It features almost anything you can imagine a watch capable of, including a star chart, dual calendar mechanism, multiple alarms, night-time silence function, and a mind-boggling amount more. Vacheron had to pour every moment of their 260 years of watchmaking experience into this outrageous timepiece, and yet there’s something it doesn’t do – provide games.

Enter Christophe Claret. 25 years ago, after learning his trade at the watch school in Geneva and then in the Roger Dubuis atelier, Claret opened his own boutique studio in Le Locle, Switzerland. Claret says: “I have always been fascinated by watchmaking, since I was very young. That is why, at the age of 16 I went to Geneva for watchmaker training. During this period, before and after school, I restored motorcycles to make pocket money to buy my ¿ rst

tools and equipment to mount my ¿ rst watchmaker workshop.”

For the ¿ rst two decades of its existence, Claret used his incredible mechanical knowledge to produce movements for some of Switzerland’s highest-pro¿ le watch brands. And then, in 2009, the well-publicised crisis to hit the Swiss watch industry came, and Claret was forced to take action with a unique idea. He says: “The idea of gaming watches came to me during the 2009-2010 crisis. Indeed, at that time I imagined there might be crazy years as there was after the crisis of 1929, so I thought I had to create a watch in relation to these crazy years.

It was in this period that, during a week in St. Tropez, I found by chance, in an antique shop, an object that immediately tilted me. It was a box the size of a cigarette pack with a small bolt that allowed the launch of two different face of the dice on discs, that allowed one to play craps. It is from this object that came to me the idea of making the Black Jack piece, which is much more complex since it has 5 discs and all this is miniaturized in a watch.“ ’Complex’ is most de¿ nitely an understatement. In order for Claret’s gaming watches to operate reliably, they are stuffed to the lugs with complications that would make most 47

I thought I had to create a watch in relation to these crazy years watchmakers tremble. Claret agrees, saying: “The dif¿culty with a watch game such as the Black Jack, the Baccara or the Poker is to respond to the randomness of the game and with the maximum possible combinations of cards [more than 885, 000 for the Black Jack], but especially to be able to reproduce all possibilities of the game on a watch. The dif¿culty for the Poker was also to put 52 cards in a very restrained space and to be able to play all possibilities of Texas Holdem, this is why this watch is so complex.”

It’s not only complicated gaming watches that Christophe Claret produces. The company’s traditional pieces aim to ‘reinterpret haute

AIR

horlogerie,’ with stunningly detailed dials and internal workings. For his own personal preference, Claret says: “I currently wear, and have for more than two years, the Maestoso which is a traditional detent escapement with constant force. This movement took us a lot of work, seven years in total.

I always wished achieve this kind of complication because for me it is the only escapement with its beauty and complexity that can stand up to a tourbillon. It is partly for this reason that I realised it, in order to offer a credible alternative to the latter.“ And indeed, like many high-end manufactures, Christophe Claret is becoming just as interested in the increasingly lucrative women’s market.

Most of the pieces have an ornate Àoral style, and Claret says: “Both watches that we have made for our women’s collection start from the daisy. Indeed, when I wanted to make our ¿ rst women’s watch, I wanted to reproduce a game of the 16th century known by all young women, the stripping of the daisy. By reproducing the random nature and romance of this game, I wanted to make a big complication exclusively for women, which was totally innovative and that allowed me to earn the great watchmaking prize in Geneva. I think I aimed right in relation to the commercial success of this product.”

Despite the uncertainties facing many smaller-sized yet higher-priced watchmakers, Christophe Claret has a clear plan for the future, beginning with expansion in the watch-loving Middle East. The Christophe Claret range is available through Seddiqi & Sons, and Claret is coy about how things are going since joining the watch stable, saying: “Since we opened in the Middle East market only a short time ago, I cannot answer. Nevertheless,

Both watches we have made for women start with the daisy we will make every effort in order that the customers of this new market understand our products. Our plans are to develop internationally the introduction of the brand by the opening of new points of sale and by the opening of Agency P.R in Russia, Latin America and Asia. Concerning the development of the brand and our products, we have of course very interesting products in work in our extreme watches collection, gaming watches collection, traditional complications watches collection and ladies complications.” The smart bets are on Christophe Claret going from strength to strength.

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WOODY’S

GIRL As Emma Stone becomes one of the few actresses to appear in more than one Woody Allen film, she reflects on her meteoric rise to stardom WORDS : FRED ALLEN/THE INTERVIEW PEOPLE/RICHARD JENKINS

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mma Stone looks like she’s in the wrong era. With her almond eyes, auburn hair and delicate features, she could easily be a silver-screen siren from the 1940s.

Which makes it even more surprising how at home she is as the very essence of the 21st century movie star, with charm, charisma and a disarming sense of humour that endears her to men and women alike. From early supporting roles in frat-comedies like Superbad to her latest ¿ lm, Irrational Man, Stone has a mesmeric, magnetic screen presence that has catapulted her, along with Jennifer Lawrence, to the very top of the Hollywood tree. So much so, in fact, that iconic director Woody Allen has selected her to appear in two of his ¿ lms – the ¿ rst was 2014’s sprightly Magic in the Moonlight, and the latest is Irrational Man, a stark existential drama that sees her character Jill fall for Joaquin Phoenix’s tormented, erratic philosophy professor. Stone says of Allen: “I’m not his muse, but we do work together very well and I’m honoured that I’ve had these opportunities to work with a director who is part of ¿ lm history.

Irrational Man is a very different and much darker ¿ lm than Magic in the Moonlight which was this magical ¿ lm that we shot in southern France and where you could feel so relaxed and overwhelmed by the setting. I think that [Irrational Man] is making a more serious commentary on the human condition and other themes that Woody is very interested in exploring.”

Allen’s work is famously littered with examples of men being intrigued and infatuated with complicated women, and Irrational Man – though much bleaker than Allen’s early ¿ lms like Annie Hall – also ¿ts this template.

Stone says: “The older-man, youngerwoman theme has been the subject of a lot of ¿ lms over the years, and the same applies to the student-professor relationship. But in this story those issues are less important than the underlying questions about faith and morality. Jill is attracted and fascinated

by Abe, but she’s also a self-con¿dent young woman who won’t just follow him blindly. My thinking about Jill’s life is that she’s grown up in this middleclass, very clean-cut family. It’s almost like there is this craving for some toxic

energy to come into her life because she so desperately doesn’t want to be, you know, like everyone else in her town.”

Working on multiple Allen ¿ lms isn’t something most actors get to do – but working on two Allen ¿ lms with such a difference in tone is something even rarer, although Stone notes the atmosphere on set didn’t alter much.

She says: the atmosphere was still pretty lighthearted although maybe not as relaxed and heavenly as it was when we were shooting Magic in all those beautiful French locations. But Woody and Joaquin were often joking

If you do something that runs against his vision, he will definitely let you know about it around and it was pretty pleasant to be on the set even though of course some of the scenes were very serious.

But Woody doesn’t waste a lot of time explaining things. There’s very little if any rehearsal, and he works very quickly and doesn’t want to do a lot of takes. He’ll ask you to speed up when you’re saying your lines or tell you to do it a little differently if there’s something he sees that will make the scene work better. Woody is very cool and knows exactly what he wants. But he still gives you a lot of freedom and is willing to let you add some of your own inspiration to your character as long as your interpretation is consistent with what 53

he expects or what he thinks works well. If you do something that runs against his vision, he will de¿ nitely let you know about it and he’ll ask you to do it again. The rhythm is very smooth, though, and I love working with him.”

26-year-old Stone is enjoying a stellar period of her career, with an Oscar nomination for her performance in 2014’s Birdman, and ever-more challenging roles to take on. Discussing the Oscars, she enthuses: “It was an unbelievable experience. Totally beyond anything you can imagine. I was sitting in the front row with my mom and next to Julianne Moore and it was so surreal to be part of an event that you grew up watching and suddenly you’re part of it.” And as well as charming her audience, she’s also winning over her castmates. Stone is self deprecating in her description of some the acting royalty she’s worked alongside, saying: “I’m ¿ nding myself more in love with the process than ever. Sometimes being on the set you meet such nice people and the cliché about feeling that you’re part of a family is absolutely true.

I remember while I was working on Aloha (the summer ¿ lm directed

by Cameron Crowe) and we were in Hawaii. I wasn’t feeling that good for a few weeks and Bill Murray would always be there to look after me and cheer me up. Bill would bring me all these wonderful little presents every day on the set. One day he would buy me a sun visor and then next day a bracelet or keychain. Bill was so sweet and those are the kinds of memories you cherish.”

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DOUBLE TROUBLE The Krays were Britain’s most notorious gangsters. In the new film Legend, Tom Hardy portrays the violence and demons of both men WORDS : MARK EDMONDS

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The brutal biopic is carried by the sheer power of Hardy’s performance

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W

hen they were young, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, as their wise old mum always used to say, were special, different from everybody else — but they were also the same. They were identical twins.

They spoke alike, dressed alike, even thought alike. When Ronnie was ill, which was often, Reggie would show the same symptoms. That strange synergy and closeness meant that for much of their “working” lives, even when they were separated from each other in prison, they operated as one; a doubleheaded murder machine capable of extraordinary acts of blank-faced violence.

In Legend, the new ¿ lm about their reign of terror in 1960s London, they have become the same person once again — played simultaneously, with low-key menace, by Tom Hardy. Best known for his roles in Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dark Knight Rises and Warrior, Hardy delivers a performance as the twins that is no less than a tour de force.

The decision to cast Hardy in two roles came soon after the writer and director Brian Helgeland ¿ nished the script. “I had to cast Reggie ¿ rst,” says Helgeland. “He’s the lead, and that would limit me. I’d then be looking around for an actor who looked like Ron. Benedict Cumberbatch, say, is never going to look like him. I had seen Tom in the ¿ lm Warrior, which had a Reggie Kray quality about it. When we sat down to talk about it, it was obvious

Right: Reggie (left) and Ronnie Kray at home in a series of shots taken by renowned photographer David Bailey

that Tom wanted to play Ron — he kind of said, ‘If you let me play Ron, I’ll give you Reg.’ We decided that night that he was going to play both.”

Casting one actor in two roles presented Helgeland with some technical problems. Shots in which both Ronnie and Reggie appeared would be cut using a split-screen technique, and Hardy would record Ronnie and Reggie’s dialogue separately. “Then Tom would play it back in his ear — and respond to himself.” says Helgeland.

Hardy’s task was made more complex by the fact that, as the Krays grew older, their personalities took on distinct, separate characteristics.

Reggie was brighter, more strategic in his thinking. Ronnie, beaten down by the demons of schizophrenia, became evermore determinedly violent.

They changed physically, too; they were no longer identical. Ronnie’s increasing reliance on drugs, to “calm him down” and stop him thinking about murder, caused him to put on weight; for his performance as the much-heavier Ronnie, Hardy wore prosthetic “plumpers” — gum guards made out of silicon; he puffed up his body, moved his head down. Make-up designer Christine Blundell drew back his hairline. Reg soon became Ron; Ron became Reg. Nowhere in the ¿ lm do you see the join.

This brutal biopic is carried by the sheer power of Hardy’s performance.

To both roles he brings a studied, low-voltage menace that electri¿es 56

the storyline. The violence is shocking because it is so by-the-by. That’s the way the Krays did business. In the ¿ lm, quiet chats in the pub about the empire are punctuated with casual maiming and torture. In one scene, Ronnie, who had always been the more dangerous and unpredictable of the two, is enjoying breakfast in Pellicci’s, his favourite East End cafe. Ron says: “Darling, can I have another egg?

I’ve eaten this one.” He then calmly arranges a meeting with the rival Richardson gang. An hour or so later, he is seen in a pub attacking the gang with a pair of claw hammers. Shortly afterwards, he was certi¿ed insane.

The ¿ lm shows that Ronnie adored the process of violence, but Reggie, quieter and more cerebral, did not À inch from it, either. While Ronnie would simply slice his victims’ faces, Reggie’s techniques were subtler. It was

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This page: Tom Hardy as both Kray brothers in the new film Legend.

he who had perfected the “cigarette punch”. He would offer a victim a cigarette only to break their jaw as he moved to give them a light. If you want to break a jaw, Reggie had learnt, it’s much easier if it’s open at the time.

The murder of Jack “The Hat” McVitie is a crucial scene in the ¿ lm. It was a seminal event in the lives of the twins, since it marked Reggie’s coming-of-age as a murderer, but also the beginning of the end of the Krays’ reign of fear.

The scene is choreographed with brutal precision; a stunt double is used in some takes, but on screen we really only have eyes for Hardy. Reggie’s victim, a low-level member of The Firm, is stabbed to death at an East End party in a room full of witnesses.

With a carving knife, Reggie slashes and blood pours out of McVitie’s body.

The camera cuts to Ronnie as he looks on approvingly. “Go on, Reggie, do him.” It is a gripping piece of cinema, all the more disturbing because it is shot in the prosaic surroundings of a neat and tidy Àat. (So much blood was spilt that the Krays had to pay for new carpets.)

One of the intriguing — and

If you want to break a jaw, it’s much easier if it’s open at the time controversial — aspects of the ¿ lm is that Hardy plays Reggie sympathetically.

Leaving aside the maiming and torture scenes, we are left with a picture of an intelligent, even considerate young man. Reggie’s appetite for violence was not piqued as often as his brother’s.

“I thought at the beginning that if Reggie’s not going to be the hero of the ¿ lm, what’s the point?” says Helgeland.

“I don’t need to spend two years of my life making a ¿ lm like this, when I could spend 10 minutes telling you what a despicable person he was. In ¿ lm, there is often such a black-andwhite morality. You are either good or evil. It’s diminishing, in a way, to whatever it’s applied to. Reggie Kray had an inner life, he wasn’t a monster.

But I’m not trying to soft-pedal what he was responsible for.”

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Left: Ronnie Kray leaving court after release from a menaces charge.

The relationship between Reggie and his long-forgotten ¿ rst wife, Frances Shea, is a central theme of the ¿ lm.

Reggie married Shea in 1965. In typical Kray style, their wedding photos were taken by David Bailey. Their marriage lasted just months; Frances left him — in the ¿ lm, following a beating from her husband — and began calling herself Shea again. She tried to get the marriage annulled on the grounds of non-consummation, but Reggie delayed proceedings, imploring her to return and promising a second honeymoon in Ibiza. Before a court got the chance to hear the annulment case in 1967, Frances, alone, depressed and pilldependent, ended her life. She was found dead from an overdose, and was buried — under the name Kray — in the family’s showpiece plot in Chingford.

Reggie never really recovered from

At their clubs they dined with Diana Dors and Judy Garland his grief, and although Frances’s central role in the Krays’ story has been overlooked in the macho folklore that always accompanied it, her death marked a turning point for the twins’ empire. Helgeland realised this when he met Chris Lambrianou, a former member of The Firm, outside one of the Krays’ old haunts in the East End. Lambrianou and his brother, Tony, had lured Jack McVitie to his death in 1967. Along with the twins, they were found guilty of the murder, were sentenced to life at the Old Bailey in 1969, and served 15 years.

“Chris Lambrianou remembered Frances well, and he said that she was the key,” says Helgeland. “She was the reason that they all went to prison.

When she killed herself, Reggie stopped functioning.

“Before that, if you were seen talking to a policeman in their neighbourhood, within 24 hours you’d get a visit from Reggie. That was how he would keep 61

control. That’s how he would put out the ¿ res, he just kept everything running smoothly, getting into the police, getting at the juries. When Frances died, he just stopped doing that. Chris said that once she died, he was just waiting for somebody to come and take him away.”

When the Krays were ¿ nally jailed for life for the murders of McVitie and George Cornell — the latter having been shot dead by Ronnie — their empire soon crumbled. Their tentacles had once stretched to the upper echelons of the Establishment; juries had been nobbled, detectives bribed, celebrities had been sucked in — even senior politicians had succumbed to their power.

In their heyday, they became part of Swinging London; at their clubs they dined with Diana Dors and Judy Garland. “They were the best years of our lives,” wrote Ron in his autobiography. “They called them the Swinging Sixties. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were rulers of pop music, Carnaby Street ruled the fashion world and me and my brother ruled London. We were untouchable.”

The twins remained in prison pretty much until their deaths: Ron’s in 1995; Reggie’s in 2000. Along the way, the strange cult of the Krays gained momentum. There were absurd jailhouse marriages and, when they died, ostentatious, old-school funerals complete with hard-nut mourners and mountains of wreaths. The Krays had become part of the mythology of the old East End: a lawless, Dickensian enclave that had more in common with the 19th century than the 20th or 21st.

When Brian Helgeland was researching his ¿ lm, he found no living relatives — no one bearing the name Kray; he did speak to one or two retired gangsters. He also visited the actress Barbara Windsor at her home. She did talk about the Krays.

“She was kind of funny. She told me, I know they did this, I know they did that — they did terrible things. But then she lowered her voice and said, ‘They were always polite and respectful to me.’”

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The couture business is booming. Claudia Croft was in Paris to see behind the scenes as clients from around the world, for whom one of a kind is all that matters, did their shopping

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Opening Page: Versace This page: Giambattista Valli

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t’s breakfast time at the Four Seasons Hotel Georges V, Paris, and the couture clients are up, coiffed and ready for the day. A RollsRoyce Wraith with a Lalique Spirit of Ecstasy on its bonnet is purring patiently outside. Inside, nobody wears jeans and T-shirts. The new trend among couture clients is to dress to the nines at 9am, and there are women in gilded Dior frock coats and froufs of Chanel chiffon. The shows are one big social whirl, and everyone wants to capture the moment, but nobody carries a sel¿e stick (although they probably would if Chanel made one).

Instead, these wealthy women task their Àamboyantly dressed gay walkers with taking pictures as they preen and pose beside the catwalk in their handmade ¿ nery. It makes for great people-watching.

Couture is a curiously ageless world.

The only way to date people is by their nose jobs and gems. A classic Nancy Reagan facelift and a suite of emeralds puts you in your seventies. If you’ve got a big, layered blow-dry, pert bosoms and a bejewelled Chaumet Dandy, you’re probably in your early ¿ fties. The women with Del¿ na Delettrez jewellery, huge lips and older husbands are thirtysomething third wives.

No wonder Raf Simons believes his biggest challenge is to inject some reality into couture. “I want it to be both dynamic and modern,” he said, in the garden of the Musée Rodin where the Dior show was staged.

His clients want couture for many reasons: “They come for a red-carpet dress or a wedding dress, but you also have couture clients who live their life like that every day, so you cannot walk around with something that is 30kg and overtly theatrical. Where are you going to go? Are you going to stand in front of your mirror all day?

I am thinking how it can be placed in

today’s reality.” Simons is determined to rede¿ ne what Dior and couture can be in the 21st century. His collection answered every rich-lady cliché with something surprising, creative and fresh, including corduroy bell-bottoms, virginal nightie shifts and nipped-in New Look dresses covered in pointillist dots made from thousands of tiny feathers.

Simons was inspired by the Hieronymus Bosch triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, and although gardens are a perennial theme at Dior, Simons wanted his to be “more loaded, more sexual, different — and with forbidden fruit, not Àowers”, which explains the racy open-sided gowns.

What would Monsieur Dior say about that, I ask. “You have to allow yourself to make it more modern,” Simons replied. “You have to give yourself the freedom to do whatever you need to make it work. Now, after three years

Simons is determined to redefine Dior at Dior, I feel free to be inspired by whatever I am inspired by. I don’t feel stuck to the Dior DNA. People have known it for so many years as that speci¿c thing, but you have to have the guts to go out, even if it’s criticised. For me, the only way is to believe in the idea of evolution.”

He wasn’t the only couturier in an experimental mood. At Armani Privé, there were fantasy feathered dresses and marvellous jackets from colourful dreadlocks of fabric. And in a collection brimming with ideas, John Galliano at Maison Margiela fashioned ingenious frocks from what looked like potato sacks and needlepoint samplers.

At Versace, Donatella moved out of her comfort zone to “bring out 64

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Left: Chanel This page: Chanel

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the softness, the vulnerability of the Versace woman”. Her models looked like rock-chick wood nymphs, in delicate Àuttering gowns with artfully tattered hems and towering glamrock platforms. Giambattista Valli made his biggest-ever dresses, their huge tulle trains dwar¿ ng the models.

“Next season I will do minimalism,” he said backstage. He was joking, much to the relief of his glossy customers.

Minimalism is the last thing they want.

Many commentators expressed their discomfort at watching the lavish pageantry of couture while the Greek economy teetered, but couture exists in its own bubble. Nothing can prick it, not the Greek crisis, the Chinese slowdown or even Ramadan (many Arab clients, who were observing holy month, sent envoys to buy for them).

Chanel has seen double-digit growth this year, while Armani’s couture business is up 30% and Gaultier’s 20%.

This success cannot breed creative complacency, cautioned Karl Lagerfeld, who has no desire to play safe. “I gamble with collections more than ever,” he said in the specially constructed Chanel casino, complete with slot machines that always came up with the number ¿ve. “I’m always telling myself, ‘You can do better.

You’re lazy. You can make an effort.’”

And he did. Lagerfeld opened his show with what looked like classic Chanel jackets. They were, in fact, created on a 3D printer using a special metal compound — a ¿ rst for couture. The results were seamless, cagelike jackets and skirts, which were painted to look like traditional speckled tweeds or embellished with the house’s signature ribbons and trim.

The next day, Lagerfeld was innovating again, this time for Fendi, where he has been the designer for 50 years. The Italian luxury house, showing for the ¿ rst time on the couture catwalk, took fur where it had never been before. There was mink cut to look like feathers, sable melded with clear plastic to create geometric waves on a minidress, and hand-dyed feathers embroidered into plush pelts.

Many of the coats were reversible and even more lavishly embroidered inside.

Whether you like fur or not, this was a virtuoso display of craftsmanship and imagination. These were also the

most expensive clothes in Paris. The cheapest thing on the catwalk was apparently €150,000. And the most expensive? A sable coat tinged with silver, each strand hand-coloured to create a moonlit effect. It was estimated to be worth €1m.

A price tag like that would not trouble the Fendi customer. The net worth of the people taking their seats in the gilded theatre where the show was staged might have been enough to bail out Greece. Immediately after the show, the collection was displayed on mannequins, each with its own security guard, and the clients, including one handsome Chinese couple whose toddler daughter was wearing a miniature Fendi yellow fox coat, shopped into the night.

There simply aren’t enough hours

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This new business model appeals to the modern, time-poor couture customer in the day for all the shopping that couture’s elite clients wish to do. Michael Russo, of the hugely successful London-based house Ralph & Russo, kept his Paris atelier open until midnight during couture week.

The frenzy is fuelled by the house’s exclusivity policy. It only makes one of each dress design per territory, so clients have to be quick if they want their frock. “The moment the show is over, the phone goes crazy. They text us directly,” he said. By the end of this year, he and his design partner, Tamara Ralph, will have nine international boutiques, including in Singapore and New York. Customers can not only order the catwalk designs, they can also buy dresses that will be ¿tted on them without taking the usual two months to make. This new, almost-on-demand business model appeals to the modern, time-poor couture customer and has delivered huge success and rapid growth to the house. Russo is a savvy businessman, who knows how to appeal to new markets. He put his gilded bridal gown, with its 13ft veil and train, on the well-known Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros, hoping it would broaden the label’s appeal. The day after the show, the lavish gown was sold.

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Left: Versace This page: Giambattista Valli

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WORDS : RICHARD JENKINS

TO THE

TOPPERMOST

On what would have been John Lennon’s 75th birthday, Martin King from The Beatles Story speaks with AIR about the boy that grew into the man who would change the world

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orking class hero. Musical icon. Bigger than Jesus.

Some of these labels were bestowed upon John Lennon, and some he came up with himself. One thing is for certain, and that is that John Winston Lennon changed the face of music and the world at large during his too-short lifetime, cut down by Mark David Chapman’s pistol at the age of 40. But what of the boy behind John Lennon – what about his childhood inspired him to become the most famous musician in the world?

For answers, AIR spoke to Martin King, Director of The Beatles Story in Liverpool, an exhaustive museum that covers every era of the band’s popularity, from their early iterations to the Fab Four the world grew to love.

Lennon was born into disruption.

The city of Liverpool he arrived in on October 9th 1940 was, according to King, “Like the rest of Europe, disrupted by the Second World War. As soon as John was born, he was put in a protective area so that if a bomb did go off there’d be no shattering glass or anything like that that could harm him. So it was quite a disruptive world, and although his parents were married, his father was a merchant seaman and was away a lot, so John had all the threats of U-boats and all those things the Second World War had. It wasn’t the vibrant, poor Liverpool of the 19th century, it was a city at war really.”

Lennon’s upbringing was far from typical. King says: “John’s childhood was driven by dif¿culty. His Aunt Mimi fundamentally brought him up, although his mum Julia was on the scene she was a free spirit and wild, and in the 60s and 70s that may have been ¿ ne, but it wasn’t in the 1940s.

Some people within her own family regarded her as not necessarily the best person to bring John up. So John had as much stability from his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George as he did from his mum. His dad was also a drinker, you could say he was a bit of a ne’er do well, and for most of John’s life he was an absentee father. So Aunt Mimi really brought him up and tried to create stability, but strangely enough the elements of his real father and real mother were in John. John was a rebel; he was a creative free spirit like his mum. That brought some trouble

for John who didn’t conform at school.

In those days people wanted regular jobs and conformity, but John was more interested in the new rock and roll music, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and that dreaded thing, girls. The thing that marked him out from others most was his interest in guitars and music, from his mother who taught him how to play the banjo, and that soon converted, like it did for Paul McCartney and George Harrison, into studying chords, to actually 72

playing rudimentary tunes from an early rock and roll movement called skifÀe. It was pretty much three chord rock and roll and he was doing it very young, and very effectively. There was a real artistic streak in John but his rebelliousness meant that his school reports were not what you’d like to bring home to mum and dad.”

Lennon’s rebellious streak and aptitude with a guitar led him, naturally, to be something of a leader of the boys at his school. King says,

Opening page: Screaming Beatles fans.

This page, clockwise from far left: The band arrive at San Francisco airport; Lennon aged 23; Performing in Hamburg in 1961; Lennon at home in Liverpool during his school days

“In the mid-1950s, he formed a band in high school – his high school being Quarry Bank High School – called The Quarrymen. They weren’t learning musical notes – if you put sheet music in front of John he wouldn’t have understood it. John would practice in school breaks, at his mum’s house and his own house, and then he started playing small shows locally. Famously at St Peter’s church in Walton, south of Liverpool, he met Paul McCartney, who was on the back of a Àat coal 73

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Although John was the rebellious one who dressed like a teddy boy, Paul was more goodygoody

truck playing the cheapest acoustic guitar you could imagine with his mates around him playing washboard bass. Later that day Paul showed John that he could play some chords that John couldn’t, and famously Paul’s impression of Little Richard impressed John so much Paul was invited into the band. Later on, someone else was introduced to John who went to school with Paul, was younger still and even better on the guitar, and that was little George Harrison. It was like minds coming together – they weren’t kicking a football around, but were in each other’s houses talking about chord progression. Although they were different ages they were brought together by the love of rock and pop music.”

The common narrative is that Paul McCartney’s parents didn’t approve of their well-to-do son hanging around with the relative ruf¿an John Lennon,

but according to King, that version distorts the truth. He says: “Mimi and George’s house was quite middle class and although John was the rebellious one who dressed like a teddy boy, Paul was more goody-goody. Uncle George didn’t like Paul at ¿ rst because he was a ‘notch below’, a council house boy, so it was all quite mixed up really. A lot of parents didn’t like their children mixing with John Lennon because he was a certain type: he was loud, he was the class clown, he was truanting from school, so that was the reason why people didn’t particularly like John - it wasn’t a class thing. John went to a grammar school, passed the 11+ and his background was pretty good, but at the time he was a rebel. They were drawn to each other, John and Paul.

George and Ringo came from quite poor backgrounds and were more the working class boys who made good, rather than John – an artistic rebel, 74

Clockwise from top left: George Harrison’s mother, Louise, at home; John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi; Exterior of Ringo Starr’s Liverpool home

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Left: John Lennon, 1964

against the conformity of his auntie and uncle.”

As the Beatles began to take the form that would eventually take over the world, an opportunity arose to make some cash and learn their trade in Hamburg. King notes: “They weren’t the ¿ rst band to do it, but they were one of the ¿ rst. As you can imagine, it’s post-war Europe and Liverpool had been Àattened by bombing, so had Germany, so Germany was looking to recover and in Hamburg there were a number of music clubs hungry to provide entertainment. There was a promoter called Alan Williams in Liverpool who sent some bands over and arranged for the Beatles to go over.

They did it pretty much because they’d get more money than if they were doing clubs in Liverpool. The band were very young and very inexperienced, hadn’t travelled abroad before and it was an adventure – they weren’t sure what they would ¿ nd.”

What they found was a proving

John would say the band were going ‘to the Toppermost of the Poppermost’ ground that certi¿ed them as one of the most exciting musical groups in the world, who just four years later would utterly conquer the charts. As for John, the story of his success and later years is well known. As a teen, would he believe his legacy today? King says: “The 14 year old John probably was uncomfortable in his own skin, was anti-establishment, was quite funny and sarcastic but would he himself have thought that he could actually have created such a massive thing? I’m gonna say probably not, if he truly did, that’s so much vision to have.

“The boys used to say to each other, ‘Where are we going?’ and John would say ‘To the Toppermost of the Poppermost’, signalling that the top of the charts was the goal – but never before or since in such a short period has there been an artist who has become such a cultural phenomenon.

“The Beatles almost created the industry and that’s unprecedented, so to explain that to John, he would have laughed.”

Motoring

AIR

OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Superpowered Lamborghini’s latest supercar is put through its paces - by a celebrity baker WORDS : PAUL HOLLYWOOD

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ou may ask what I am doing behind the wheel of the Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce. I’m a TV presenter and baker, you may say, more used to talking about sponge cakes than supercars. When I get excited and start reciting facts and ¿gures, people tease me. Brake horsepower? Bake horsepower, more like, they say. Or, “What’s your favourite ¿ lm, Paul? Scone in 60 seconds?”

But before you stop reading about what I think of the 217mph Superveloce, allow me to present my petrolhead credentials. Yes, I’m a baker, but I am also a racing driver. I’m currently driving for Beechdean racing team in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 alongside Jonny Adam — the Aston Martin factory driver and a British GT racer — and I’m aiming eventually to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours myself.

So what do I think of the Aventador SV? Well, let me put it this way: it is better in many ways than Chris Evans’s LaFerrari, which I drove last year, and if that isn’t a testament to how good it is, I don’t know what is. I have been a fan of Lamborghini ever since I was a boy. The Countach was my wallpaper for many years. It was the perfect supercar. A couple of months ago I decided to drive its modern equivalent.

I called up a dealer near Sevenoaks in Kent and asked if I could try one of the Hurácans in his showroom. The thing that appealed most was the paint job. The Hurácan came in bright green — a proper supercar colour.

I was impressed and asked for a go in the “standard” Aventador too. That impressed, but it’s nothing compared with what you see in the pictures on these pages — the SV. Superveloce means superfast, and they aren’t kidding. The SV takes the basic Aventador and strips it down, pumps up the engine and makes it all around sportier. It is by far the quickest car that Lamborghini makes. The SV just looks so beautiful, and from every angle. Most striking is the large rear wing, which can be manually adjusted to three positions and, so I have read, increases aerodynamic ef¿ciency and downforce without increasing drag.

At the front is what Lamborghini calls a more “open” style, with larger air intakes to improve cooling and a skirt and two front wings providing improved aero and greater downforce. The standard Aventador is a great-looking car, but this is how the car should really have looked in the ¿ rst place.

Lamborghini is making only 600 of these SV versions, and it wouldn’t surprise me if, based solely on the looks, they start appreciating in value almost immediately. But what is it like to drive? I mentioned the Countach earlier, and I recall people saying it was as hard to drive as it was beautiful to look at. Because I had already 81

driven the standard Aventador, I knew the SV wasn’t going to be like that. You get in and the ¿ rst thing you notice is the start button, under a À ip catch — like the missile launch button in a jet ¿ghter. You press and the engine roars for a couple of seconds and then settles to a thrum.

I can’t say I wasn’t a little nervous taking it out on the road. Although I frequently reach 150mph on the track, driving a car like this on normal roads is a different matter altogether. Plus, the roads were wet after a recent downpour, but the weather was warm. Warm, wet roads — probably the most dangerous conditions after black ice. Oh, and Lamborghini had told me that because the tyres were new they would need to be scrubbed in for 50 miles.

With all this in mind I kept the revs pretty low.

I also had the car in Strada - or road - mode and in auto. But you know what it’s like. It’s hard to leave well alone. I switched to Sport mode, put the car in manual and pressed the throttle. The acceleration was instantaneous. This car is fast — 0-62 in 2.8 seconds. And the noise is like nothing you have heard. The big V12 behind your head

The roadholding is brilliant, helped by the four-wheel drive sounds like the F1 engines from a few years ago, before they went all responsible and quiet. Change gear in manual, Corsa mode, and it thumps like my racing car. Really mechanical - you are thrown forward in the seat every time you change up. It is savage. Every time you touch the throttle, it feels as if you are playing a computer game and have just hit the thrust button.

But the roadholding is brilliant, helped by the four-wheel drive and the rear tyres, which are the widest I have ever seen on a road car. It gives you con¿dence. Visibility is excellent, too: unlike in some supercars, you can see out of the back easily, and the windscreen is so huge you get a panoramic view of the road ahead. Everyone else can see you, too. I had more looks from other road users than I have had in any other car. I even heard one someone say “wowwwwweee” as I went past, something I haven’t heard for 20 years.

Most drivers won’t take this car past 55% of what it can actually do. Only Lamborghini testers and track-day drivers will get anywhere near its full potential. It feels as though it wants more than you can give it on the road.

This is an old-school wild child Lamborghini, with every supercar ingredient present and correct. What’s more, you could buy three of these for the same price as a LaFerrari. If you can call any UK Sterling 300,000 car a bargain, this is it.

Gastronomy

AIR

OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

“I wanted to call it No Recipes, but the publishers weren’t sure it was a good idea for a recipe book” He’s the genius at the helm of the world’s (second) best restaurant, but in terms of personality he’s far removed from his contemporaries in the chef whites.

Say hello to Massimo Bottura WORDS : RICHARD JENKINS

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assimo Bottura is no ordinary chef. As anyone who has watched him tell scared-looking contestants on MasterChef that he wants “to eat their emotions on a plate” will know, he approaches things differently. Over the course of an exhausting hour with the fast-talking Italian, our conversation constantly swoops off at tangents, taking in sociopolitical theory, fast cars, Bob Dylan and the redemptive nature of art. The one thing we don’t talk much about is food.

It doesn’t matter too much because we already know he can cook, courtesy of the three Michelin stars held by his Osteria Francescana in Modena and its permanent residency in the top slots of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (it’s currently at No 2). The previous day he had cooked a Àawless lunch as guest chef at the Connaught in London.

Sometimes chefs stumble when asked to perform outside the safety blanket of their own kitchen, but 52-yearold Bottura relished the challenge.

‘Memory of a mortadella sandwich’ took four years to perfect, the sausage meat transformed into a foam and served with a Àat bread made with powdered crackling in place of Àour. ‘Caesar salad’ is composed of 21 different salad leaves and takes two days to assemble.

‘The crunchy part of the lasagne’ is just that – the bits every child tries to steal when the dish is put on the table.

Bottura had introduced each dish with the pride of a conceptual artist explaining his latest creation. Which, to him, is exactly what he is. “We don’t cook to create great food,” he says. “We cook to give messages. What I want to convey is that if you focus too much on everyday life, on your obligations, on the things you do to pay the bills, you will be lost. But if you can leave open a little space in your life for poetry, it will change your life.”

This, he says, was the message behind his most famous creation, ‘Oops! I dropped the lemon tart’.

What looks like – and indeed came about from – an accident in the pastry section is now, in his eyes, a door to an imaginary world. “One day we were plating two lemon tarts to ¿ nish the service and Taka [his sous chef] dropped one, so he was ready to kill himself. ‘No, don’t kill yourself,’ I said.

‘This is beautiful: we’ve found poetry in imperfection, and it’s only through imperfection that you can transfer emotion.’ ” Am I getting this right? It’s a kind of surrealist pudding? A lemon-Àavoured cipher for the unknowable?

“Almost. Like living in a dream. It makes the visible invisible.”

It’s hard to imagine a chef like Gordon Ramsay intellectualising a pudding. But whether it’s the Italian accent or the zeal of the delivery, Bottura gets away with it.

His cookbook, Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef, is equally left-¿eld.

Explanations of dishes are interspersed with pictures of albums by Thelonious Monk, Lou Reed or Bob Dylan, and favourite books such as Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The recipes themselves appear almost an afterthought, relegated to the back. “Oh, they are irrelevant,” says Bottura. “It’s about the chaos of my mind. I wanted to call it No Recipes, but the publishers weren’t sure it was a good idea for a recipe book.”

In Italy there are three things that can never be messed with: the Pope, football and your grandmother’s recipes The cover is deliberately plain. “It’s timeless,” he says, “like a Holy Bible.

We don’t want people to think this is a trendy book. It’s all about stories.”

Given Bottura’s slender frame, the title makes clear he is an unreliable narrator. “I’m saying, ‘Don’t take life too seriously.’ At the end of the day, we are chefs, working and serving food.”

And in many eyes he really isn’t to be trusted. He is famous as the chef who dared to deconstruct Italian classics.

“In Italy there are three things that can never be messed with: the Pope, football and your grandmother’s recipes.”

It wasn’t always that way. When he ¿ rst started cooking, at a roadside trattoria outside Modena, he focused on traditional dishes from the region, 84

with a heavy emphasis on pasta.

After a while, he felt trapped, and Àed to New York where he met his wife, Lara. It was she who introduced him to contemporary art, “which is all about the message, not about what you see. It’s all about the transference of emotion.” He’d returned to Modena with the intention of closing the trattoria when Alain Ducasse came in for lunch. By the end of the meal, the world’s most decorated chef had offered Bottura a job in Monaco at the Hôtel de Paris, and Bottura didn’t hesitate.

A few years later, he decided to go it alone again and returned to Modena to open Osteria Francescana in 1995. An osteria is even lower down the pecking order than a trattoria, but the cooking was anything but. Soon, inspired

by art, he was experimenting with deconstructed parmesan soufÀés and a geometric zuppa inglese. Life was hard, though, and for years it was a struggle to keep things going, Bottura selling his car and beloved Harley-Davidson to keep the osteria aÀoat.

Then, in 2001, by chance an inÀuential critic got stuck in gridlock on the road from Milan to Bologna and turned off the motorway to have lunch. He raved about it, and by the year’s end Bottura won his ¿ rst star. “That changed everything. I started to feel comfortable with myself.”

Comfortable, but still the outsider; the Italian chef who seldom serves pasta “because guests feel cheated as it’s so commonplace”, or who will make a risotto by cooking it in parmesan milk

rather than adding it at the end.

He tells the story of an artist who, when asked to paint a portrait, “painted a spot of paint in the middle of the canvas. ‘This is your portrait from ten kilometres away.’”

This, Bottura says, is the perfect metaphor for what he is trying to achieve in his own restaurant, to paint a portrait of the Italian kitchen from 10km away. “We have stretched our culinary traditions so much we think they’ve almost disappeared, but out of the distortion there is always a return to order.”

Crikey. And your diners are getting all that when eating?

“Yes, totally. It’s pure emotion.”

When it comes to developing the menu at Frederikshøj, “I always think of food, 85

new compositions and new dishes,” says Hallal. “My inspiration comes from my daily life, whether it is at home with the family, in the kitchen at Frederikshøj or cycling on the road. Anywhere I can ¿ nd inspiration.”

With Aarhus set to be the European Capital of Culture in 2017, we can look forward to hearing more about this emerging culinary destination. And at just 35, we’ll no doubt be seeing more from Hallal, too. Whose career would he most like to emulate? “The chef who has impressed me most throughout the ages is Alain Ducasse,” he says. “It’s amazing that you can be so many years at the top and still develop your food.”

Reservations at Osteria Francescana can only be made online, via osteriafrancescana.it

Travel OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Your Race Ends Here

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umeirah Golf Estates once again provides the ¿ nishing line for the Race to Dubai on November 19-22, the culmination of this year’s 48-tournament European Tour.

Host to the DP World Tour Championship since 2009 (the ¿ nal event in the race), Jumeirah Golf Estates has set a benchmark on the world stage in terms of both its Fire and Earth courses and community developments. Here you can live in the lap of absolute luxury in one of Redwood Avenue’s exclusive villas, while mere yards from your door are what players and commentators alike consider to be among the best golf courses in the world - Henrik Stenson was so impressed be became Jumeirah

Henrik Stenson was so impressed he became an official global ambassador Golf Estates’ of¿cial global ambassador.

If you’re Àying into Dubai to enjoy the corporate hospitality on offer at this year’s event – and to cast your eye over the spectacular residential communities while you’re at it - there is only one place to stay: The Poseidon Underwater Suite at Atlantis, The Palm.

With Atlantis serving as the of¿cial hotel partner of the event there’s every chance you’ll be dining next to a slew of star players in the evenings, but it’s the aquatic attractions in your suite which will prove the biggest draw – both your outsized bed and bathtub look out to a Àoor-to-ceiling aquarium.

Coupled with that is the VIP treatment you’ll enjoy as a guest of this submerged suite: complimentary return airport transfers, a private cabana at the pool and beach and, topping the list, a dedicated butler willing to bend to your every whim. jumeirahgolfestates.com 86

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What I Know Now

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OCTOBER 2015 : ISSUE 53

Dame Kelly Holmes DOUBLE OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST AND AMBASSADOR FOR DAMAN ACTIVELIFE’S ELECTRIC RUN

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s a youngster running was the only thing I actually found made me level, on par with other people. I wasn’t very academic in school, and when I found running I was encouraged to run by my PE teacher, and I just loved it. I suppose as a kid, you just go after things that you like. What set me apart was that I was dedicated, and I didn’t look at it like I was giving anything up. I had a dream to be an Olympic champion.

Being in the military taught me discipline, which is really important in the military but also in athletics, because you do need big discipline to follow the schedule that your coach sends you, as well as discipline with

your nutrition, sleep and everything.

Another one is working hard. Nothing is given to you in the Army, you get told to do things and you may not necessarily like them, but you have to do them if you want to be better. When you’ve got a weekly, monthly, yearly schedule you have to be disciplined.

If I could go back and talk to my teenage self, I’d probably just say that everything will be alright in the end, and just keep pushing. Don’t ever give up, which is the advice I was given, really - don’t worry about the tears, you’re going to get them but if you just keep going it’ll all be good.

I’ve always been taught to be polite things like please and thank you can get you a long way, and it’s also about respecting people because when you’re on the way up you’re going to get on the nerves of people, and when you’re on the way down, you’re going to know about it. I give everybody, no matter what their background, where they’re from, or what they do, respect.

Since retiring, what I’ve done is learn to give everything a go that comes as an opportunity. I want to be a successful businesswoman and I’ve got to learn so much about that. Even now when I run my own café business and I oversee things, it makes me feel like I’ve got so much to learn in that arena, and that now drives me, because I’m excited to learn, and do what I do. ElectricRun.ae

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