AIR Magazine - Empire Aviation - July'23

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FEATURES

Thirty Four Let’s Be Clear

For years bad skin blighted the life of Scarlett Johansson — now she’s launching her own luxury skincare line.

Forty Meeting of Minds

How a collaboration between The Elder Statesman and Zegna plays into traditional notions of Italian refinement.

Forty Six Viva La Diva

A new exhibition is showcasing elaborate outfits and artefacts to celebrate divas in all their extravagant glory.

Credit: Tina Turner wearing the Flame dress designed by Bob Mackie (1980).

Photo by Gai Terrell, Redferns. Getty Images

REGULARS

Fourteen Radar

Sixteen Objects of Desire

Eighteen Critique

Twenty Art & Design

Twenty Six Jewellery

Thirty Timepieces

Sixty Four Travel

Fifty Eight Gastronomy

Sixty Eight What I Know Now

Fifty Four Motoring

As Lamborghini celebrates its 60th anniversary, we look back on its history of striking supercars.

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief & Co-owner John Thatcher john@hotmedia.me

ART

Art Director Kerri Bennett

Illustration

Leona Beth

COMMERCIAL

Managing Director & Co-owner Victoria Thatcher

PRODUCTION

Digital Media Manager Muthu Kumar

Media City, Dubai, UAE

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media is strictly prohibited. HOT Media does not accept liability for any omissions or errors in AIR

Credit: The Lamborghini Book, teNeues

Welcome Onboard

JULY 2023

Welcome to this issue of AIR, our private aviation luxury lifestyle magazine for aircraft owners and onboard guests.

As we reach the peak summer travel period, many of us are considering inspiring destinations to explore. There is a strong demand for air travel as people seek to make up for lost time and opportunities over the last few years. Time has become the most recognised scarce resource, and people are more determined than ever to make the most of it.

For those seeking private air charter options, we are excited to announce the latest addition to our managed fleet of aircraft: a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) operated on behalf of the owner. This spacious and beautifully appointed plane will be in high demand among private charter customers due to its luxurious interior configuration.

The BBJ is based on the Boeing 737-700 commercial airliner and offers luxurious intercontinental travel with a seating capacity of 18 passengers. It’s an excellent option for VVIP and executive corporate air travel, and we believe it will prove to be a popular charter option in the region. Typically, BBJs for charter attract corporations, governments, and even head-of-state missions that require this aircraft’s size, range, quality, and unique onboard options.

In addition to the BBJ, we have an advanced and diverse managed fleet of business jets that includes Bombardier Global, Embraer Legacy, and Gulfstream jets. These superb aircraft are in strong demand from the charter market. However, the BBJ is a different scale and a significant addition, and we expect to welcome charter guests from across the globe who are interested in this aircraft.

You can read more about the BBJ and its amenities in this issue.

Enjoy the read.

Paras P. Dhamecha Founder & Managing Director

Contact Details: info@empire.aero empireaviation.com

Cover : Scarlett Johansson /Alamy

Empire Aviation Group Adds First BBJ To Its Charter Fleet

Empire Aviation is delighted to unveil the latest addition to our charter fleet — a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ). This ultra-long-range aircraft is configured to accommodate 18 passengers and four crew members, specifically designed to cater to an array of operations. With the BBJ's capability of flying up to 12 hours non-stop, covering distances of up to 6200nm at speeds of up to 541mph, it will open new possibilities for passengers wanting more onboard options for long-haul trips.

The BBJ offers several amenities for passenger comfort and convenience,

which makes it suitable for all types of travellers, including high-level executives, VIPs, celebrities, and heads of state. The spacious cabin spans a length of 79 feet, height of seven feet and width of almost 12 feet, making it an ultra-large-cabin aircraft. The interior design, custom made by renowned Paris-based designer Alberto Pinto, is divided into four main areas: boardroom, lounge, VIP ensuite bedroom, and business office.

Additionally, there are two restrooms, one of which features a shower. The BBJ's spacious interior provides

ample room for passengers to move around, relax and work, making it the ultimate private jet for long trips.

Empire Aviation has been providing exceptional business aviation services for over 15 years, with a mission to increase both corporate and leisure travel via private jets. The company has aircraft based across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa from most of the leading aircraft manufacturers. Adding the BBJ to our managed charter fleet takes our services to a new level, providing passengers with a luxurious and comfortable way to travel across long distances.

Ultra-long-range Boeing Business Jet is configured to accommodate 18 passengers

Fashion photographer Thierry Le Gouès shot some of the nineties’ most memorable images, his work for avant-garde style magazines like i-D and The Face featuring the eradefining models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigova, and Helena Christensen. Yet he was also one of the first photographers to exclusively feature models of African heritage and ethnicity. The experimentation and innovation that made him a star is captured in 90s By Thierry Le Gouè , a new book released this month by PowerHouse Books, which comprises many striking examples of his awardwinning work.

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Master craftsmanship, effortless style and timeless appeal; this month’s must-haves and collectibles

DIOR CRUISE 2024

Presented in Mexico City, Dior’s Cruise collection takes a deep dive into the South American country at large, Maria Grazia Chiuri engaging with a select group of artisans skilled in traditional techniques to produce pieces big on embroidery and weaving. They include Hilan Cruz

Cruz, a Nahua weaver who was invited to collaborate on a series of shirts and dresses incorporating embroidery which reflect the flora and fauna of his community’s environment. The collection also features jewellery items created using native goldsmith techniques.

HUBLOT BIG BANG UNICO NESPRESSO ORIGIN

In what’s a world first, Hublot has partnered with Nespresso to transform used coffee grounds from the latter’s capsules into watch straps, while the aluminium capsules themselves are recycled and used to create the bezel, crown, and the pusher. Recycled

aluminium, of which 28% comes from Nespresso capsules, is also the key component of the watch’s 42-mm case, anodised in vibrant green. In all, it took Hublot a whole year to uniformize the colours of the seven different materials that make up the watch. Time well spent.

Saint Laurent’s staple chain bag, the Jamie 4.3 (christened after Jamie Bochert), enters the new season with its signature codes enhanced. Made in Italy, it comprises soft black lambskin, Le Maillon chain rings, and the Carré Rive Gauche patchwork motif have

been amplified to an attention-grabbing XL size, with a large flap that’s secured by a magnetic snap closure and, inside its leather lining, both zipper and patch pockets, useful to house personal items. Moreover, the sliding chain allows for its length to be adjusted for a tailored fit.

SAINT LAURENT JAMIE 4.3 CHAIN BAG

CLEEF & ARPELS ALHAMBRA

Drawing inspiration from the good fortune a four-leaf clover is said to grant its holder, the Alhambra motif was introduced by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1968, first in the form of a long necklace comprising 20 motifs that, as luck would have it,

was so successful it became a staple of the house’s offering. Continuing to evolve over the course of the intervening decades, the collection has now been bolstered by a new bracelet, reversible ring, necklace, and watch.

VAN

LORO PIANA

FALL WINTER 2023-2024 WOMEN’S COLLECTION

So thorough is Loro Piana in its quest to find only the very best fibres, that this collection alone features finds from New Zealand and Australia (wool), to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina (vicuna), and Mongolia (cashmere), countries which further inform the designs; shearlings and chunky

knits in natural fleece tones reflective of Mongolia, rich wools and leather in natural hues reminiscent of New Zealand’s scenic landscape. Feminine shapes mingle with masculine lines across the collection, with products as distinct as they feel.

“Between a tribute to the glamour of great film stars and evoking the world of fun to be had with aerobics, sports, and roller skating, between the dream on one hand and what you want to wear on the other, it’s all a question of balance,” said Virginie Viard in her show notes.

So it was no surprise that Los Angeles was the setting for a collection that runs through the decades with unbridled joy, from the 1920s and 30s to the 1970s and 80s, each illuminated by a multicoloured palette and shades emblematic of the house.

CHANEL CRUISE 2023/24

GEMFIELDS X HOUSE OF MERAKI J’AIME

Prior to forging her reputation as the ‘Emerald Lady’ via her own fine jewellery brand, House of Meraki - the first to focus on emeralds - Gargi Rathi would spend her childhood summers in Zambia admiring the treasures unearthed by emerald miners at a

weekly market. It sparked an undying love of the gemstone that’s further indulged by a new collaboration with Gemfields, who have mined the exquisite emeralds for a wide collection of earrings, rings, and necklaces exclusive to Net-a-Porter.

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

Dir. James Mangold

Age-defying archaeologist Indiana Jones returns to the big screen (hat intact) to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history.

AT BEST: ‘A comforting if not especially challenging reboot.’ — Dave Calhoun, Time Out

AT WORST: ‘Just a compendium of old bits from the earlier films. That it ends at all is a blessing.’ — Roger Friedman, Showbiz 411

Joy Ride

Dir. Adele Lim

Four unlikely friends embark on an epic adventure that becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, and belonging.

AT BEST: ‘A hilarious, high-energy film that follows the road trip genre closely before subverting in its own way.’ — John Fink, The Film Stage

AT WORST: ‘May not be Bridesmaids-level brilliant, but it’s got more than a couple hall-of-fame-worthy comedy set-pieces.’ — Peter Debruge, Variety

Susie Searches

Dir. Sophie Kargman

An awkward college student with a failing true-crime podcast seizes the opportunity to boost her campus and online popularity by solving the mystery of the missing hometown heartthrob.

AT BEST: ‘Some bitingly funny moments and clever surprises along the way.’ — Kristy Strouse, Film Inquiry

AT WORST: ‘Aims to be about loss and loneliness, but spins its wheels toward mediocrity instead.’ — Robert Daniels, indieWire

Talk To Me

Dir. Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

A group of friends are thrilled to discover they can conjure spirits, until one unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

AT BEST: ‘A terrifically scary horror offering thanks to powerful performances.’ — Kristy Puchko, Mashable

AT WORST: ‘Hardly a bad horror film, but the disconnect between what was and what could be looms large.’ — Matthew Monagle, Austin Chronicle

In Jamie Brenner’s Gilt , a budding jewellery designer is out to reclaim a storied family diamond that her estranged grandparents denied her deceased mother. “Family drama, summer love, and one fabulous piece of jewellery combine to create a delicious page-turner that I positively could not put down. Brenner’s perfect pacing and prose shine as brightly as the diamond at her novel’s centre — and cement her status as a standout voice in fiction,” praises fellow author Kristy Woodson. “A light yet juicy family drama… If you love gossip and diamonds, or are a big women’s fiction reader, best-selling author Jamie Brenner’s latest is the perfect poolside read for you,” reviews Reader’s Digest. In Publishers Weekly, Brenner’s work is hailed as a “great skill” for “describing fine jewellery and the workings of the industry, and makes all of her characters engaging.”

“This compelling novel weaves together the past, the present, and a possible future in a panoply of memory,

experience, and social unrest,” writes the Library Journal of Erika Kobayashi’s Trinity, Trinity, Trinity. “[It] examines the shifting sands of memory and interconnected identity in a fluid landscape shaped by nuclear radiation, social media, and social connection. Highly recommended.” Vulture was equally impressed: “It’s this layering that makes Kobayashi’s otherwise subtle, light-footed writing intriguing. She stacks and Tetrises themes in such a way that their meanings only become clear when seen in relation to one another — the Olympics, Nazis, Hiroshima.” Fellow author Susanna Moore writes that the novel, “Encloses the reader in a terrifying world undreamed of by the irrational. Humans reduced to themselves, their solitude and incompleteness, make their way cautiously through a world of ordered disequilibrium. Kobayashi writes with an ironic potency that illuminates the actual at every mysterious point.”

In Influence is Your Superpower,

Zoe Chance — the professor behind Yale School of Management’s most popular class — divulges the one thing that influences behaviour more than anything else. “This book is special,” states New York Times bestselling author, Robert Cialdini. “It invites you in with the promise of a truly important topic, charms you with engaging stories and stylings, and treats you to a buffet of beautifully presented, scientifically grounded life lessons about social influence. By the end, my greatest wish was for even more pages.” Another bestselling author, Daniel H. Pink, writes that the book “is so jammed with insight that you’ll find useful advice on almost every page. This smart, accessible book will definitely make you a better persuader — and might even make you a better person.” Meanwhile, fellow Yale professor Laurie Santos calls it, “An absolute treasure trove of small (and often surprising) changes that we can all make each and every day to become more effective influencers.”

Floral Tribute

Bringing couture techniques to menswear, the men’s atelier at Christian Dior is bursting with the great designer’s beloved lily of the valley

WORDS: STEPHEN DOIG

The energy in Paris is somewhat frenetic. Across the city, a series of explosive protests against President Macron’s retirement bill has left detritus and scorch-tinged banners among the pretty pavement cafés. But within the inner sanctum of the Dior Men atelier, a stone’s throw from the Avenue Montaigne, there’s an ecclesiastical sense of calm and order. This is a space of glacial white, an impression heightened by the vast windows through which spring sunshine streams; a world of method and precision sheltered from the tensions outside.

“We’re something very special here,” says Myriem Peyret, director of the men’s atelier and custodian of a studio that began life as a tailoring epicentre for men under Yves Saint Laurent when the wunderkind took over from Christian Dior on his untimely death in 1957. Today, led by British designer Kim Jones, this studio is busier — and more experimental — than ever. “Paris is the home of couture. The fact that we have a men’s atelier in-house is absolutely unique, and the craftsmanship is exceptional,” says Jones. Since taking over in 2018 (from Belgian Kris Van Assche), he has made it his mission to apply the kind of fantastical techniques

seen in women’s couture to his menswear. The atelier is modest in scale compared with the four nearby workshops devoted to Dior’s womenswear and couture, but the skill and output are just as impressive. Specialising in shirtmaking, tailoring and pattern cutting, it is home to 17 artisans, some of whom have worked here for more than 20 years.

“We are always looking into the archives and reinterpreting couture designs to adapt them for men at the atelier,” says Jones. “There’s so much you cannot see, so much magic hidden in the construction.” He has been pushing the boundaries season after season during his tenure at Dior Men, from fantastical embroidery across suits to intricate beadwork on knitwear, and organza layers that evoke the maison’s women’s couture. For his autumn/winter 2023 collection, the designer explored the transition period between Monsieur Dior’s death and Yves Saint Laurent’s accession and the renewal of the house. And nothing speaks to a fresh sense of hope like the emerging buds of spring.

Chanel may lay claim to the camellia, but roses are synonymous with Dior, inspired by his childhood garden in Granville on the Normandy coast and the lush Eden of his Château de

La Colle Noire refuge in Provence. “After women, flowers are the most divine creations,” the designer once said. His favourite bloom was not the rose, however, but the lily of the valley, references to which Jones discovered in the archives in the first collections by Saint Laurent: in 1959 the designer created a spectacular shawl covered with buds of lily of the valley. An idea was sparked to fuse this most feminine couture design with men’s tailoring. Lilies of the valley weave their way throughout the history of Dior — on a 1954 gown created for French film star Françoise Arnoul, as the base for Diorissimo perfume, and expressed in the work of Saint Laurent, John Galliano and Raf Simons. This was the first incarnation of the simple poetry of the pretty white flower in the men’s collections, and to create a bouquet of three-dimensional flora Dior enlisted Maison Lemarié, ‘the last couture feather makers and florists in the world’, founded in 1880 and maker, coincidentally, of Chanel’s iconic camellia.

The delicate process of creating the flowers begins with hand-cutting circles of ivory organza about the size of a coin. From there, a craftsperson holds a minute heated tong-like device to the centre of each one. This causes the fabric to ‘wilt’ around the heated centre and create the distinctive bell shape of the flowers. This meticulous operation is repeated more than 2,000 times to create the required number for a floral lattice weaving its way across the torso of the jacket. The process takes two and a half weeks.

Once the individual flowers are secured on to organza-coated wire stems, the next stage of intricacies begins. “It was essential that the jacket would be constructed as the embroidery was applied, not a jacket with embroidery placed on top,” says Peyet of the garment whose decoration worked organically with the shape and folds of the jacket. As the stems form a single connected network, their application involves patience, dexterity and many pairs of white gloves.

The word difficile is uttered (somewhat darkly) across the atelier as Peyret describes applying each sprig with the added challenge that touching the actual ‘petals’ of the organza flowers would crush them. The monastic discipline of the atelier suddenly makes sense.

One honk of a gilet jaune horn outside and a whole bunch of exquisite organza blooms could end up in the compost bin. Apparently, disasters did occur during the crafting of prototypes; a bonding instrument used to heat the panels set fire to one of the jackets days before the show. But for those who watched the final look make its entrance in Paris in January, the effect was mesmeric, each tiny bud bristling as

the model stomped down the catwalk. This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment belies the hours that went into the jacket’s construction. The atelier is now making them to order for private clients, although numbers will be extremely limited and the ateliers are already focusing on the next show. “We start a new season, just like the plants and flowers,” says Peyret. But the craft heritage they represent remains firmly rooted.

‘ The fact that we have a men’s atelier in-house is absolutely unique, and the craftsmanship is exceptional ’

The Art of Security

Experience the pinnacle of German-designed security and craftsmanship with a HARTMANN TRESORE Signature Safe

The ultra-strong centrepiece of each German-engineered Signature Safe is meticulously built according to state-ofthe-art technology, utilising industrially manufactured, high-strength steel to achieve multi-level penetration protection. The impermeable core is then customised by our master artisans, who bring their close attention to detail and expertise to every aspect of the manufacturing process.

Through our team of experienced designers, metalworkers, wood shop artisans, and upholsterers, excellence is ensured at every stage, resulting in the embodiment of individuality and security — your belongings are safeguarded by a unique design that reflects your personal style.

A modern company with a proud history of traditional craftsmanship in Germany. Founded around 160 years ago as the Hartmann forge and wheelwright’s workshop, founders Christoph Hartmann and Elvira Weidemann went on to specialise in safes back in 1983.

Presently, it boasts an extensive

network of six branches throughout Germany, while HARTMANN TRESORE AG has extended its presence to international markets. Its influence now spans across various countries, including France, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates, providing peace of mind for over 250,000 satisfied customers.

Our safes meet industry standards and are certified and compliant with insurance company requirements, ensuring the ultimate protection for your most valuable treasures.

Jewellery Safes

Protect your valuable possessions in style with our specialised Jewellery Safes, meticulously designed to provide a secure and stylish storage solution for your rings, earrings, necklaces, and more. Combining outstanding security, elegant design, and tailored care, our safes ensure your most precious items and sentimental mementos are protected. With drawers lined in your chosen colour — featuring special compartments for specific jewellery

Jewellery safes are the epitome of bespoke

Watch Safes

Experience the ultimate in watch protection and customisation with our meticulously designed Watch Safes. Tailored to your individual needs and tastes, our safes feature customisable interiors, including your desired choice and number of automatic watch winders. Discover a certified security solution that not only safeguards your valuable collection, but also reflects your unique style, providing the perfect showcase for your cherished timepieces.

Masterpieces

Safes which are as unique as their owners, our Masterpieces are custombuilt, remarkable items for discerning customers who understand security in terms of style and personal taste. Unrecognisable as safes at first glance, each bears its owner’s unique, individual signature and gives an insight into his or her taste and personality. As such, Masterpieces do not follow any rules, only the traits of their owners.

The ‘Egoiste’ safe is an outstanding example, one that could easily serve as an inspiration for the design of your own Masterpiece safe. The work of fashion designer Miklós Schiffer, this oval safe was created with a combination of exquisite wenge

wood and cream-coloured, handstitched leather. It offers numerous shelves, drawers, and watch winders, providing ample space not only for valuable watches and jewellery, but also for other valuables and special mementoes.

Meticulously crafted in a timehonoured way and artfully designed, a HARTMANN TRESORE safe is a unique combination of safety, style, and desirability.

hartmann-safes.com

The Watch Safe defines timeless luxury pieces, such as ring racks, necklace compartments, and watch cushions — our safes go beyond mere storage to truly encapsulate the sentimental value of your treasured jewellery.

Over 160 years of innovative ideas, professional competence, and trusted expertise Competence, and Trusted Expertise.

The ‘Egoiste’: dreams forged into personal masterpieces

Spicing Things Up

In the hands of Cindy Chao, two hefty emeralds grew into a pair of exquisite brooches inspired by the humble cardamom pod

WORDS: ANNABEL DAVIDSON

Most people have at least some vague knowledge of the Indian spice cardamom – it’s what gives flavour to a chai latte or spices up basmati rice. You may even have a little jar of dried pods in your spice rack, quite drab and unassuming. Fresh cardamom, however, when still on the stalk, takes the form of shiny, bright green berries, far juicier looking than you’d expect.

It’s understandable, then, that the Taiwanese jeweller Cindy Chao took the humble spice as her inspiration for two huge Black Label Masterpieces – one-of-a-kind pieces that it takes all the savoir-faire, ingenuity and artistry at her disposal to bring to life.

The granddaughter of a renowned architect, Chao launched her label The Art Jewel in 2004, producing just a handful of pieces per year at prices that run into six figures. She has been appointed a Chevalier dans

l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and has pieces in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

Three years ago, Chao was sitting on a pair of astonishingly large cabochon emeralds of 81 carats each (imagine a gobstopper sliced in half), but hadn’t yet conceived what to do with them when she happened upon cardamom while looking through a book of botanical drawings.

“I was looking for ideas,” she says, perched on a sofa in a suite of the grand Hôtel de la Marine during January’s Paris Haute Couture week. “Not inspiration – because inspiration comes to you – but ideas, when I saw a drawing of cardamom pods.”

Originally thinking she might make a pair of earrings (“but who can handle 81 carats of emerald in each ear?”), then that she might put both emeralds

in one pod, she eventually settled on two similar but distinct brooches.

“I decided not to put the emeralds together, because you really need something to contrast them with. So I decided on pairing each of them with a sort of false pod, but made from rose-cut diamonds set in titanium to give each emerald something soft to contrast with.”

That something soft is more like a glowing diamond husk than anything solid – like the delicate skeleton left behind by autumn leaves. It serves not only to highlight just how plump the emeralds are, but also to contrast with their substance and heft.

The brooches, trembling in their glass vitrine, really have to be seen if the sheer scale of them is to be appreciated. Chao is delighted by how astonished people are at their actual size – each a good three inches long, two wide, and as deep as an inch at certain points.

“Pictures are two-dimensional so it’s very hard for people to visualise a work from an image alone,” she says. In reality, it’s not only the size that needs to be seen to be believed, it’s the 360-degree view of each brooch from all angles.

“You know, people say the ultimate art form is actually engineering,” Chao says. “Being able to do very precise calculations and build on them to get the final 3-D result.”

And the brooches – like all of her works, particularly her Black Label Masterpieces – are indeed like small architectural feats. Each piece has several layers of exhaustively detailed titanium framing, set with hundreds upon hundreds of yellow and brown diamonds, leaf-green tsavorites, lime-green demantoids, green sapphires and alexandrites.

Contrasting with the deep green of the giant cabochon emeralds –which themselves contain ‘gardens’ of tone and shade – and the bright white of the rose-cut diamonds, these gemstones give the brooches a truly organic, living feel, as verdant hues flow into more autumnal yellows, touches of purple and blue provide depth and contrast, and varying shades of titanium act as a canvas to let the whole riot of materials sing.

But how on earth, without sketching a design, does Chao translate what’s

in her mind’s eye in a way that an entire team of casters, stone cutters, setters and polishers can understand it? She carves it from wax.

Lost wax casting isn’t unique to Chao – the method of carving or moulding wax before letting metal fill the void it leaves in a mould when melted has been used all over the world for thousands of years. But it is the only method Chao uses to bring her visions to life. In fact, the wax model that she carved for each brooch is a masterpiece in its own right, a giant seed pod in green, translucent in the places where the wax is thinnest, dark in others to represent the mass of the cabochon, the pod itself unfurling and twisting to reveal its depths.

“It took me about a year and a half to do the wax sculpting,” Chao admits, “because I change things about a thousand times. I don’t have a specific image in mind when I’m sculpting, it just grows from the wax as I go. And

‘ People say the ultimate art form is actually engineering’

then we get it into manufacturing.”

That’s a hard-sounding word for a process so delicate and painstaking. In reality, the precious wax carvings, with all their minute detail – including spaces for every single one of those stones – are sent to Chao’s atelier in Geneva, where master craft workers cast them in titanium.

“The Swiss are the best for titanium because they’ve been working with it for such a long time – they started using it in watches first, so they’re very familiar with the material,” explains Chao, ever the perfectionist.

The stones are set one by one, before the various layers are intricately pieced together. “Pre-Covid, I was able to travel to Geneva and be there throughout the whole process,” Chao tells me. “It’s such a relief to be able to see it all happen again.”

The final piece of the puzzle is anodising the titanium to obtain the right shade. What is essentially an electrical process that changes the surface colour of the metal is rapid and delicate – a second more of the current can have unwanted results. “You can reverse it, but it’s very difficult,” Chao says.

Considering all this, plus the sourcing and recutting of stones, the polishing and setting of every single tiny diamond or garnet, not to mention the wax carving and casting, anodising and finessing, and it’s no wonder that Chao never simply sketches her ideas then has them brought to life.

These masterpieces are small buildings, involving architecture, engineering, calibrating and decorating. They’re the result of thousands of hours of work to bring Chao’s idea to fruition, and all starting with a loose pair of glowing green gemstones and a flick through a book of botanical drawings.

When we meet in Paris, one of the brooches has already been sold to a collector. “A client has purchased it, and I asked him if he was going to gift it to his wife,” Chao tells me. “He said no, he bought it for himself, maybe not even to wear, just to enjoy.”

Let’s hope he has the good sense to install it in a vitrine, expertly lit from all sides, and in the centre of the room. This is one jewel that requires 360-degree viewing.

Credit: © Annabel Davidson / Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023

Take A Dive

How a revolutionary piece of aquatic equipment became an aspirational accessory

When Jacques-Yves Cousteau and engineer Emile Gagnan invented the aqua-lung in the 1940s, it revolutionised not only diving, but undersea exploration. Released from the restrictive tether of an air hose and heavy copper helmet, a diver could swim freely with only a tank, a mask, and a pair of ns, and the new sport of scuba diving was born. The innovation also created the need for a new kind of wristwatch, and within a few years the dive watch, as we know it, was also born.

It was 1953 when a trio of Swiss brands introduced the first dive watches: Zodiac’s Sea Wolf, Rolex’s Submariner, and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms. This year sees all three celebrating their 70th anniversary. Dive watches are as popular as ever, despite the fact they scarcely see the deep end of a swimming pool nowadays. So what is the allure? A good place to start is with the watch itself.

The original brief was simple. It had to be watertight, highly legible, and able to track elapsed time. It was — and still is — a simple creature with one job. All three of the first dive watches got it right at the outset, with rotating timing rings, luminous bold dials and hands, and well-sealed steel

cases. The Sea Wolf claimed to be “Especially Waterproof “ to 200m, while the Fifty Fathoms was named for what was then considered the deepest a person could safely dive (92m). The Submariner, meanwhile, was based on Rolex’s already proven “Oyster” case, with its screwed-down caseback and winding crown. With a head start, these watches were favoured by navy divers, shipwreck hunters, and underwater explorers for decades.

By the mid-1960s, scuba technology was no longer only the domain of scientists and military frogmen. Diving’s popularity was booming, with TV shows such as Sea Hunt and James Bond films like Thunderball ring the imagination of adventurous viewers. Cousteau’s films and television programmes inspired a generation of divers, and the watches he and his crew wore became aspirational accessories. Brands duly responded with oversized, rugged watches that not only withstood the rigours of diving, but captured its essence. Almost every watch company had one to offer, with designs that claimed to make them more watertight or legible or perform dierent functions: the Aquastar Deepstar’s bezel could calculate decompression stages, while the Favre-Leuba Bathy tracked depth, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris sounded audible alarms.

In the late 1960s, Doxa released its Sub 300, with an innovative nodecompression scale engraved onto its bezel. It also boasted a clasp that expanded to t over a wetsuit sleeve and a bright orange dial, the rst of its kind. Other brands, including Certina and Jenny, followed with increasingly colourful dials and more daring designs. Omega branched off from its stalwart Seamaster, long the choice of Royal Navy divers, to introduce truly avant-garde case shapes, abyssal depth ratings, and vibrant blue dials. Dive watches weren’t just the province of the land-locked Swiss brands. In Japan, Citizen and Seiko created their own versions that were prized for their ruggedness and affordability. In the mid-1970s, Seiko introduced titanium and quartz movements in its dive watches, both groundbreaking features at the time. Titanium is ideal for subaquatic use due to its corrosion resistance, strength and light weight, while a battery-powered quartz

movement was more accurate and less susceptible to damage. In the 1980s, Citizen developed the Aqualand, the first dive watch with an integrated electronic depth gauge, a timepiece that would become as much a symbol of a diver as a pair of aviator glasses are to a pilot.

In the 1980s another innovation changed diving forever. The digital d ive computer, worn on the wrist or on a tethered console, meant a diver could track his depth and time, along with other data, at a glance. No longer was an analogue watch and depth g auge necessary. It could have spelled an end to the dive watch’s popularity. But it didn’t.

While the dive computer meant fewer traditional watches were seen on divers’ wrists, it did, in essence, free the dive watch from a purely functional existence. Like a sea creature that crawled out of the ocean and grew legs,

‘

Like a sea creature that crawled out of the ocean and grew legs, dive watches evolved into accessories for an adventurous life’

Opening pages, from left to right: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1; Rolex Submariner This page: Rolex Submariner Opposite page: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 2

Credit: © Jason Heaton / Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023

dive watches evolved into accessories for an adventurous life, and symbols of rugged capability. Its over-engineered features might not be tested on the ocean oor but a dive watch became a talisman of bravery that could imbue its owner with a little extra nerve when the going got rough, whether that be in the boardroom or up a mountain.

It is a different world today to that of 1953. We live in a time of increased complexity, automation, and

programmed obsolescence. People seek tangible links to a simpler time, when people waxed their own cars, split wood for heat, and made things with their hands. It’s why workwear is popular, and vinyl records are back in vogue. A dive watch may be the ultimate expression of this, a sturdy object that has always done its job under difficult conditions, quietly and dependably. It is, in fact, a symbol of how we want to see ourselves. And that’s pretty deep.

For years bad skin blighted the life of Scarlett Johansson — which is why she’s now launching her own skincare line

WORDS: VASSI CHAMBERLAIN

Scarlett Johansson is sitting at a desk in the bedroom of her pretty, Marie Antoinette-style New York apartment, the walls covered in an eaude-nil wallpaper awash with pale golden fronds. Her Nordic blonde hair is pulled back and parted in the middle, and she’s wearing a grey crewneck jumper and large black reading glasses that frame the contours of her angelic face. She brings to mind the 17th-century Dutch maid she portrayed in Girl with a Pearl Earring, the 2003 film adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s novel, itself inspired by Vermeer’s famous portrait, c 1665, who the art critic Alastair Sooke once described as having a face “as luminous as the moon in the night sky”. He might as well have been talking about Johansson.

“I’m re-entering the world after four months living in 1968 Cape Canaveral space-race world,” she says of Project Artemis, her production company’s latest film, in which she stars with Woody Harrelson and Channing Tatum.

Yet we are not here to talk movies, rather the launch of her own skincare brand, The Outset, co-founded with her business partner, the Californiaborn entrepreneur Kate Foster, who is also on our call and similarly ensconced in her New York bedroom, her dog lying on the bed behind her. The celebrity beauty brand market feels pretty crowded these days, I say. Can there really be room for yet another shouty launch? Plus, hasn’t she always eschewed the spotlight, choosing not to be on social media? Why now?

Johansson, 38, regards me attentively, almost scholarly like. “I was at my wits’ end,” she says, cradling her forehead in one hand, explaining how her teenage years and most of her twenties were blighted by severe acne. She grimaces remembering the moment a make-up artist on the set of 1998’s The Horse Whisperer remarked that her skin looked like an eruption on Mount Vesuvius.

“I was always being told my skin

‘ I don’t want to see all the outtakes. It’s part of the reason I don’t have social media’

was dirty,” she says, “that I needed to clean it more. I used to go to Macy’s and buy endless products. For years I would go through cycles of drying out my skin, getting more breakouts, not using moisturiser. It was a chronic issue I couldn’t get a handle on, and I had access to great dermatologists.”

After years of frustration, particularly with how young girls are pushed into using increasingly complex and harsh ingredients to treat problem skin, she decided to do the one thing you are told to never do: use a moisturiser. “I’d never done that before because I was so terrified of any kind of oil.” Within a week her skin was looking so much better.

“I hadn’t had skin like that since I was 12. People would ask me if I’d just had a facial. I knew there was something there but I just couldn’t find a brand that had a cohesive regime.” She started thinking about creating her own skincare range, but with two important caveats: she didn’t want to license her own name or go down the white label route, ie using another company’s products for her brand. “I wanted to do it from scratch

and I needed a producing partner.”

Just before lockdown she was introduced to Foster, who has always struggled with skin irritations herself and with whom she clearly gets on well, through a friend in the venture capital world. “I remember our first meeting was in your production office,” Foster says. Johansson immediately interjects: “But our first date was at that Aura Bar restaurant.” Do they remember what they both wore? “You had red lipstick on,” Johansson says. “Yes, I did,” Foster replies, “and probably the white buttondown shirt I am wearing now. I remember you had on some really awesome Gucci pants, like blue and eye-catching, and you’d obviously been there before because the waiter knew your drink.” They both laugh. Foster looks at me and says: “Scarlett likes a margarita.”

The pair bonded during Covid as mothers of young home schooled children. (Johansson married her third husband, Colin Jost, with whom she has a two-year-old son, in 2020. She also has an eight-year-old daughter from her second marriage, to the

These pages: Stills from Lucy, 2014

French journalist/art curator Romain Dauriac, while Kate has a daughter and son, who are ten and seven.) “It was something to focus on other than having to explain what subtraction means,” Johansson says, rolling her eyes.

The Outset — the name reflects the skin regime you should adopt from a young age, or indeed at any age — is a simple but cohesive offering the pair tested endlessly on themselves, made up of soothing and clean ingredients that nourish rather than strip the skin’s natural barrier. The range consists of a micellar cleanser, serum, moisturiser, vitamin C eye cream, night cream, face oil, gentle exfoliator and a blue clay mask. The packaging is equally low-key and discreet: pale, smoky crystal bottles with pretty blue writing.

I wonder if having her own image constantly reflected back at her as an actress affected Johansson, yet she is refreshingly sanguine. “My job requires me to have an awareness, but I’m also free of the trappings of it at the same time,” she answers. “I don’t watch playbacks or look at pictures when I do shoots. I don’t want to see all the outtakes. It’s part of reason I don’t have social media. I’m self-aware enough to know your body and face changes, but that constant self-analysis is so counterproductive. I make an effort to not be hyperfocused on my appearance now, to be gentle and kind to myself because I’ve spent so long obsessing on the quality of my skin.”

They were surprised to discover early on that 30 per cent of their customer base is male, and both of their husbands now use The Outset diligently. “Scarlett’s

vision was for it to be genderless,” Foster says, adding that her husband refused to post an online review until he had properly tried the products. Johansson’s husband loves the eye cream apparently. “I’d never used one before but he does all the time. So Colin has been our eye cream tester — he applies it every day,” she says, giggling sweetly.

I ask them what they make of Kate Moss, who last year debuted her own wellness brand, Cosmoss. “She’s so cool,” Johansson says immediately. “I don’t know her personally but everything I read about her, it’s like she’s always having a great time, she’s beautiful and carefree, like she knows there’s one chance on this earth and she’s taking advantage of that, and that’s wonderful.”

Beauty routines aside, do they subscribe to the current “feed your skin” nutritional supplements fad? “In the past I went on diets of turmeric, lemon juice or active charcoal, I did so many things like that but never found that it affected my skin much,” Johansson says. “I didn’t do dairy for years, but that didn’t make a difference either. The biggest thing is not drinking alcohol because it affects my sleep so much. It’s a hard thing to adopt because I like a glass of wine at the end of the day.”

I have one last question for them: are they good girls, do they take their make-up off religiously every night?

“Absolutely,” Foster says. I turn to Johansson. “Yes,” she says. “I might have had three margaritas but I will still do it, even after a premiere. And I floss!”

The Outset is available from cultbeauty.com

‘ I make an effort to not be hyperfocused on my appearance now’

The collaboration between The Elder Statesman and Zegna both subverts and plays into traditional notions of Italian refinement

meeting of minds

WORDS: STEPHEN DOIG

The lush dampness of Trivero, in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, is pretty far from Instagram-perfect Lake Como or Tuscany. It’s even farther, both in terms of terrain and mindset, from the freeways and perma-blue sky of Los Angeles. But immediately upon arrival in this rugged part of Italy close to the Swiss border, with its crags and waterfalls, Greg Chait, founder of LA-based cashmere specialist The Elder Statesman, felt right at home.

“ Perhaps it was the fact that it came on the back of the pandemic and lockdowns, perhaps it was something to do with the peace of the forests, which are so ancient, but suddenly there was a sense of ‘and breathe,’” says Chait.

B ut he wasn’t here for a wellness retreat. His trip was strictly business, visiting what he terms the “holy grail” of fabric production – Zegna’s mill in its 38-square-mile nature reserve. And he was here to form a creative marriage between the two brands.

“ I think we’ve both been curious about each other for a while, and this has been two years in the making,” says Zegna’s creative director, Alessandro Sartori, who plays the patrician Italian to Chait’s laid-back West Coaster. “We share a passion for pushing the boundaries of what you

can do with materials and changing up tradition, so while we could see each other as competition, actually it’s more exciting to have a conversation and learn from each other.”

T he fruit of that dialogue is the Zegna X The Elder Statesman collection for winter ‘23: heavyweight robed cardigans in acid brights or distorted ikat motifs, plush corduroy-cashmere suits in pistachios and lilacs, and pillow-soft sweaters in saturated shades. The textures may be candyfloss soft, but the colours pulse with attitude.

S ince founding The Elder Statesman in an industrial area of downtown LA, Chait has built up a cult following among the city’s creatives (and the Silicon Valley tech bros up the coast) for his interpretation of cashmere, applying playful print and searing bright tie-dyes to take the preciousness out of the cloth. This caught Sartori’s eye, since his own MO at Zegna has been to turn any traditional notion of Italian refinement on its head.

“ I think we’re both very curious about the capabilities of materials and what you can do with them –ways you can subvert or redefine traditional notions of what’s luxurious,” says Sartori of their shared geekery around all things cashmere. “It was a two-year conversation where we

‘ We share a passion for pushing the boundaries of what you can do with materials and changing up tradition’

exchanged ideas about how Zegna and The Elder Statesman could work in harmony together.” They might seem diametrically opposed – Zegna’s storied tailoring history vs the luxe bohemia of the West Coast – but the two have a shared mission statement to casualise the traditional tenets of menswear.

“ We’re both about comfort, but in different ways,” says Sartori. “For me it has been about turning the suit into a leisure-wear item and bringing a new sense of freedom to how men dress.” Knitwear has been essential to that mission, either in using soft cashmeres over traditional wools or linens, or swapping out stiff cotton shirts for knitwear. The collection harnesses the prowess of Zegna’s mills – the brand manufactures everything, from its own yarns to a tireless R&D department devoted to fabric wizardry – and applies that Italian finesse to a potent dose of LA cool. “For guys like me, it’s an astonishing thing to see,” says Chait of the processes involved in making the pieces.

“ We started with the yarn itself, creating a totally new kind of weave,” says Sartori. The designer – and his team of artisans – needed a looser, softer density of cashmere with less tension than is usual. But it still had to be robust enough to endure dyeing and some rigorous testing to make it “roadworthy”. The process was laborious – taking almost a year on the tension of the yarn alone – and the solution was to go back to basics with an old-fashioned loom operated entirely by hand, to physically determine the exact density in the yarn.

F rom there, the crafting of the collection could begin. The USP of The Elder Statesman’s knitwear – which is dried using the sunlight in the back alley behind the brand’s factory in LA – is its laid-back, shrug-on-and-headto-Malibu surfer appeal. To speak to that aesthetic, the weaving was done without seams. This makes the process longer and more intense, but the resultant fit is softer and unstructured.

F or Chait, the commitment to sustainability in the making process, as well as the use of natural components wherever possible, was part of the attraction. “My company is 15 years old, and suddenly you’re faced with the knowledge and skill of 110 years of history and expertise. In Topanga

Canyon and Nine Palms there’s a lot of talk about earthiness and working with nature, and that’s great, but here in this space this brand has been doing incredible things in conservation for decades,” says Chait of the rewilding project that the house’s founder, Ermenegildo Zegna, initiated to replant the area that had been devastated by deforestation, back in the 1950s.

T he water that washes through the factory is rainwater, and the process uses natural dyes, with plants, vegetables and flowers making up the colours for Zegna’s mainline collection. These were still employed with The Elder Statesman range – the cornflower blues and soft yellows of the shirting come from flowers – but synthetic dyes also had to be incorporated to achieve those distinctive rainbow hues. Spines from prickly teasel heads

are used to texture the surface of the cashmere, something that became a hallmark of the collaboration – each piece has a tufted surface. “To get that shaggy effect and the right kind of pile we had to experiment for a long time – too many needles and it was too rough, too few and it was too smooth – so it was real trial and error.”

“

In the end we’re both obsessed with provenance and working with what nature gives you,” says Chait. “Look at Chef’s Table ,” he says, referring to the hit Netflix series about the working practices of famous cooks.

“Or the farm-to-table movement, or the popularity of chefs like Alice Waters. It’s about a more authentic way of living, and that’s what we do with our cashmere.” If you’re in the mood for Italian-West Coast fusion, Chait and Sartori have the perfect recipe.

Left: Alessandro Sartori

All pages: Zegna x The Elder Statesman

‘ For me, it has been about turning the suit into a leisure-wear item and bringing a new sense of freedom to how men dress’

A new exhibition at the V&A in London is showcasing elaborate outfits and artefacts to celebrate divas in all their extravagant glory

WORDS: CHRIS ANDERSON

Above: Cher, Elton John, and Diana Ross at Rock Awards, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1975; Various Locations; Mark Sullivan '70s Rock Archive

Photo: Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images

In modern celebrity culture, the term ‘diva’ might be uttered in the same sentence as strong female personalities, such as Barbara Streisand, Beyoncé, or Mariah Carey. We might also associate it with someone flamboyant, over the top, and demanding or difficult to please. But now it takes on another meaning, as the title of a major exhibition, Diva, at London’s V&A museum.

Curator Kate Bailey seems clearly amused when asked for her own definition of the word. “It’s really a multi-faceted meaning that’s changed and transformed over time,” she says. “Diva is actually an Italian word meaning ‘goddess’, so we’re really looking at where it entered into everyday use, and why and where it’s been redefined. But we’re definitely trying to challenge any negative connotations, and see the word as a positive.”

The museum is certainly trying hard to make its case, amassing more than 250 objects, featuring dresses and costumes worn by famous names, photography, design, music, and live performances. The sleek fringed dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in the 1958 movie Some Like it Hot, stage outfits worn by singers Tina Turner, Pink and Cher, and a couture Julien MacDonald gown, with matching diamanté-studded wellington boots, chosen by Dame Shirley Bassey for a performance at Glastonbury, are among the highlights.

For Bailey, the common use of the term ‘diva’ began in entertainment with female opera singers. “It was about women with a voice finding their voice,” she says. “People applied this term, diva, to the female opera singers gaining prominence in the mid-19th century, simply because of their ‘divine’ voices. It became associated with these exceptionally-talented performers, making their presence felt in the male-dominated world of entertainment, being creative, and seen almost as a kind of trailblazer, pushing boundaries. Even then, you see how a diva might be interpreted as difficult or demanding, fighting their corner, making themselves heard, and so on.” Social movements, such as the rise of feminism, and the quest for equal rights, echoed and strengthened the diva image that was emerging, as

This pages, clockwise from below: Billie Holiday at the Albert Hall, 1954

Photo: Harry Hammond / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Lizzo wearing Viktor&Rolf, New York City, 2021. Photo: Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images; sketch of Flame dress for Tina Turner by Bob Mackie, 1977. Original Artwork by Costume and Fashion Designer, Bob Mackie; Costume, designed by Christian Dior, worn by Vivien Leigh as Paola in Jean Giraudoux's play, ‘Duel of Angels’, Apollo Theatre, 1958 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Right: Tina Turner wearing the Flame dress designed by Bob Mackie (1980). Photo by Gai Terrell, Redferns. Getty Images

shown in the exhibition. “So we’ve organised the story chronologically, starting with 19th century opera, moving into Victorian times, and then witnessing the emergence of the female Hollywood actors, or ‘drama queens’,” Bailey continues, noting another popular term from history with its meaning twisted through the years.

“And then we move to the showgirls and dancers, and the modern-day icons, such as Beyoncé or Lady Gaga.” Learning about the strong female figures from the early days of Hollywood seems a particular highlight. “They were incredible artists, forging their own identities, and starting their own production companies,” she says. “I’m thinking of Leah Baird, Joan Bennett, Joan Fontaine, Madeline Brandeis, and Rita Hayworth. They inspired others, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland.”

American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas, prominent throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was said to be as famous for her temperament as her singing, with Opera News c alling her “the definition of a diva” in 2006. But for Bailey, such behaviour was needed to exercise status and freedom in the face of competing artists. “There’s a sense that being a diva was more of an attitude, and it could be quite liberating,” Bailey continues. “It doesn’t need to apply to a specific gender either, and can be fluid, and this is something we explore in the exhibition, looking at how male figures such as Sir Elton John or Prince embodied the diva persona, with extravagance. For example, we have Elton’s Louis XIV-inspired costume, designed by Sandy Powell, worn on the singer’s 50th birthday in 1997, complete with towering wig and 15ft train.”

Bailey describes other ways the exhibition revisits the diva. “The diva may use their power, their voice, to speak out on a certain cause or topic, from civil rights to Vietnam,” she says. “And what does it mean to have that power, that pushing back?

As a performer, you probably have a team to support you, but you’re the one who steps out on stage, into the limelight, and you’re the one who faces all the scrutiny, the pressure, and the responsibility.”

Sometimes those pressures can be difficult to deal with, and Bailey

These pages, clockwise from right: Grace Jones wearing Issey Miyake molded corset, Drury Lane, 1981. © David Corio; Maria Callas taken as Violette in La Traviata, by Houston Rogers © Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Portrait of Adelina Patti, by Franz Winterhalter ca. 1865-70. Reproduced courtesy of Harewood House Trust; Elton John 50th birthday look with wig and boat hat, designed by Sandy Powell, 1997 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Screenprint of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol, 1967 © 2022 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Licensed by DACS, London

‘ You see how a diva might be interpreted as difficult or demanding, fighting their corner, making themselves heard’

cites Britney Spears and Whitney Houston, also featured, as two females that struggled with their status. “And on the flipside, you have Kate Bush, who decided to withdraw from fame, and that’s actually a form of power in itself, to be able to do that,” Bailey says. “These days, with social media, there’s a sense that it’s easier for the diva to decide if they want to be public-facing or not.”

Even Missy Elliott, Debbie Harry, punk diva Siouxsie Soux, and Lebanese singer Fairuz, are all given their time at the V&A to shine, with items sourced from around the world and the museum’s own archives. “There are some items being exhibited in the UK for the first time, like the dress worn by Theda Bara in the silent movie version of Cleopatra from 1917,” says Bailey. “It’s so delicate and fragile, and the fact it still survives is amazing. Then we’ve got some outfits that Maria Callas wore for her performance at the Royal Opera House, a canary-yellow dress once worn by Ella Fitzgerald, handwritten lyrics by Sade, and make-up owned by Canadian actress Marie Pickford, plus video projections, artwork and music, with a programme of seminars and workshops, an accompanying book, and hopefully some live performances.”

So can the Diva exhibition, tracing the history of the word and its interpretation, steer it back towards a more positive meaning, ushering in the next stage of its development?

“I hope people visit it and view it as positive,” Bailey concludes. “Or get the sense that there’s definitely more to it. You have this strong courage, an appreciation for the craft, and a vision and creativity. And the personalities you might think of as divas, I hope they’re seen differently.”

Diva runs at the V&A London until April 7, 2024

7, 2024

‘ It was about women with a voice finding that voice’

Credit: Diva runs at the V&A London until April

Right: Whitney Houston performing at Wembley Arena, London, May 5, 1988. Photograph © David Corio

From Nought To Sixty

Lamborghini celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Time to look back at six decades of hits, misses, corporate mayhem, and unforgettable cars

WORDS: CHRIS ANDERSON

Where would the world of Italian supercars be without Lamborghini? Thinking of the country’s most famous motoring brands –such as Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo – Lamborghini is actually the baby of the group, and a mere 60 years old this year. It has certainly carved a niche for itself in that time, producing superexpensive, refined, ultra-fast vehicles, big on design, yet a more comfortable alternative to the likes of, say, Ferrari.

To help mark the 60th anniversary of this legendary brand, publisher teNeues is releasing The Lamborghini Book by motoring journalist Michael Köckritz. Packed with glorious images of key models, with pages dedicated to each, the author has also sourced interviews with Lamborghini personnel, and delved behind the scenes to look at how the cars are designed and built. Setting out his intentions, and helping to distinguish the carmaker from its rivals, Köckritz states early on, “You buy a Ferrari when you want to be somebody. You buy a Lamborghini when you are somebody.” Does that mean founder Ferruccio Lamborghini wanted to be somebody?

Back in 1958, he had bought himself a Ferrari 250 GT two-seater coupé, followed by a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta and a 250 GT 2+2 four-seater. In fact, as a successful entrepreneur, starting his own tractor company, Lamborghini Trattori, in 1948, he had indulged his passion for cars and built quite the collection, with Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, and a Jaguar E-Type. But the Ferraris troubled him, as he thought them too noisy and rough, with sub-standard parts, though he was quickly dismissed when voicing his concerns to a certain Enzo Ferrari during one particular trip to the company’s headquarters in Maranello. Lamborghini’s response was to take the bull by the horns, or rather visit the ranch of a friend who bred Spanish fighting bulls and, after being so impressed with the strength and grace of the animals, deciding to use their image as the badge of his very own car company, basically creating what he thought Ferrari should be. In 1963, Automobili Lamborghini was born, with its first model, the 350 GT, a two-door coupé designed by Italian coachbuilders Carrozzeria Touring, with a V12 engine from exFerrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini. The first car to really put Lamborghini

Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster

Lamborghini Revuelto

Ferruccio Lamborghini

‘ Ferruccio Lamborghini created what he thought Ferrari should be’

on the map, however, came in 1966 with the Miura (Italian for ‘fighting bull’), and the first with a rear midengined, two-seat layout. It was also the fastest production road car at the time of its release, and the first to earn the ‘supercar’ designation, with a top speed of around 262km/h. A sleek body from Marcello Gandini, who would later design the Countach and the Diablo, served as the finishing touch, with Köckritz enthusiastically describing the Miura in his book as “very loud and very, very sexy”.

The company expanded rapidly during its first decade, but sales plunged in 1973 following the worldwide financial downturn and the oil crisis — ironically, the same year that the Miura was discontinued, and just before Ferruccio himself retired. Lamborghini responded with a new car, the Countach, noted for its big rear spoiler, scissor doors, and sharp-angled ‘Italian wedge’ front nose, but despite this model’s popularity, built until 1990, the company still struggled financially, with its ownership changing three times in the 1970s, and bankruptcy being declared in 1978. Fortunately, the 1980s represented a bold resurgence, with Lamborghini bought out of receivership by new owners who invested heavily, eventually selling to Chrysler in 1987, who in turn sold it

to a Malaysian conglomerate in 1994. The Diablo, the first Lamborghini to exceed 320km/h, had been launched in 1990 as a replacement for the Countach, and with another sale to Volkswagen in 1998, who placed the carmaker under the control of its Audi division, it felt like things were finally looking up. The Murcielago, the V10 Gallardo, and the Aventador, with its V12 coupés and roadsters, all launched, but with the 2000s ushering in more economic turmoil, sales began dropping again.

Today, Lamborghini consists of three distinct model lines — the V10 Huracán range, the Urus SUV series launched in 2019, and the all-new Revuelto plug-in hybrid, with its three electric motors and modern V12 engine combining to produce 1,001hp. There have been the occasional special editions too, with Lamborghini launching the Countach LPI 800-4 recently as a modernised revival of the model it delivered in the 1970s.

Perhaps more change awaits the carmaker as it enters the electric age. It remains fairly exclusive, with around 2,000 employees, delivering just over 9,000 cars worldwide each year. But 60 years on, as this book illustrates, despite the occasional hard times, there are many models to reflect on and celebrate. Who knows where Lamborghini will be in another 60 years.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560 Polizia

Lamborghini Miura

Lamborghini Countach

The Lamborghini Book by Michael Köckritz is out now, published by teNeues

Dinner Is Served

It took Chef De Cuisine Tom Allen only a matter of months to scoop Dinner by Heston Blumenthal its first Michelin star. AIR heads to Dinner to find out why

WORDS: JOHN THATCHER

Speak to any chef who has scaled the heights of their profession and you’ll invariably learn that the driving force behind their ascent was a childhood ambition to become a professional cook. “I actually wanted to become a Formula One driver,” says Tom Allen, Chef de Cuisine at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, bucking the trend. And yet he has indulged his love of speed by driving the Atlantis The Royal-based restaurant to one of the quickest Michelin stars ever awarded — barely three months from opening. Formula One’s loss was certainly gastronomy’s gain, and the swiftness with which Tom and his team earned their first star was fully deserved — high level cooking that is as technically excellent and exciting as it downright tasty. In their pursuit of the former, chefs can sometimes overlook the latter, but the need to make things tasty is ingrained in Tom. “My Mum and Dad weren't particularly well off financially, and Dad used to grow our vegetables and we’d buy the cheaper cuts of meat. But the food my Mum cooked with it all was, above all else, tasty, and that instilled its importance in me, along with an appreciation of where things come from.”

What Tom’s family were rich in was a feeling of togetherness. “We’re a very close family, and mealtimes always brought us together,” he remembers fondly. Not that those mealtimes were strictly harmonious, thanks to Tom’s rapidly maturing palate. “I had a very good palate from a young age, which my parents didn't really pick up on. But I could tell if my Mum cut corners somewhere. I’d be like, ‘Mum, this is different?’ I remember one time, bless her, she burned the gravy. And she must have burnt it badly, because when we sat down for dinner, I was like, ‘What's that smell?’ And she was like, ‘What smell?’ I was like, ‘It smells of carbon,’ and I left the table in search of the source. The rest of my family were oblivious to it and carried on eating as normal, but this carbonised gravy was poured over everything on the plate and I just couldn’t eat it. I was only about ten at the time, and I was told off by my Dad for not eating the meal my Mum had stood and cooked. My punishment was the washing up, and when I picked up the gravy pan I was like, ‘Aha! That’s what it was!’”

Tom shares those heightened senses with his mentor, Heston Blumenthal, who changed the entire landscape for British cuisine through ventures like The Fat Duck, his eccentric, world famous restaurant just west of London.

“If I was to smell a certain smell, I'm transported back to being a fouryear-old on the beach in Torquay with my parents, going to buy popcorn,” says Tom. “So working with Heston

and his whole thing for nostalgia, this emotional connection with food and how it brings people together, is something I could really relate to and have built on over the years.”

Eighteen years to be precise, dating to 2005 when Tom left the comfort of his 30-seat, hometown restaurant Lumiere in Cheltenham to join Heston at The Fat Duck, the same year it was voted to the world’s best restaurant and secured global fame for outlandish creations like snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream. No pressure, then. “It was a real shock,” concedes Tom. “There was a fine line between whether I was going to sink or swim. Luckily, I swam. It was hard, it was pretty tough, fast-paced, not a great deal of sleep; all the things that go with working at a high level, but to be part of it was an incredible experience.”

After three years at The Fat Duck, Tom moved on within the group to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in central London, working closely with Heston to indulge their shared passion for inquisitiveness. “I remember as a child asking ‘why?’ all the time and naturally being asked to stop by my parents after a while. But it shows wonderment, it shows creativity, and to question why is how it all started for Heston.” (By way of acknowledging the fact, Heston created a coat of arms, on which is a duck with a magnifying glass). “A lot of people say pastry is an exact science, you need to weigh everything. But why shouldn't you

‘ I had a very good palate from a young age. I could always tell if my Mum cut corners’

weigh everything for a sauce or a puree? Or why, when you're making mashed potatoes, shouldn’t you use the same amount of butter, the same amount of salt, the same amount of milk?”

Such insatiable curiosity feeds into Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, born from Heston’s fascination with the history of British food, and in particular a recipe that was served to a monarch 300 years ago. He recreated it for one of his TV shows, and after researching the wider topic discovered that Britain actually boasts a huge food culture, the history of which had been largely forgotten.

On the menu at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal you’ll therefore find dishes that honour this lost heritage (dishes date to as far back as the 14th. century), each infused with a dash of Heston’s celebrated playfulness. Chief among them is the now iconic Meat Fruit, inspired by a traditional medieval dish of pork mince worked into a ball and covered with green herbs to resemble an apple. At Dinner, this is translated into a smooth-as-silk pâté disguised as a mandarin, a process that requires three cooks working five hours.

The rest of the fascinating menu is the result of meticulous research undertaken at places like museums, the British Library, Hampton Court Palace, and via cookbooks such as those used by the royal chefs of

England’s King Richard II. A plate of powdered duck breast with pickled cherries stems from The Modern Cook , an influential Victorian-era cookbook which contained elaborate recipes cooked for Queen Victoria. A starter of smoked trout is inspired by a recipe of Charles Carter’s from c1730, who cooked for dukes and lords (the higher the social standing of the diner, the more prestigious the chef). Safe to say, you won’t have eaten anywhere else quite like it in Dubai.

The creativity extends to adapting such recipes to make them alcohol free, a task more complicated than it sounds to maintain the same exacting flavours. “We spent last summer working with high-quality grape juices and vinegars, and went through the menu to remove as much alcohol as we could. Hand on heart, and speaking as a chef, in a blind tasting you wouldn’t know the difference due to the quality of ingredients we're using.” A brilliant example is a vegan truffle, for which the grape juice has been infused with smoked woodchips and tea has been added to increase the tanning level that you get from alcohol.

That’s the sort of detail Tom and his team (the talent of whom he highlights throughout our chat) delve into to ensure that the authentic Dinner experience can be enjoyed by all. And enjoy it they most certainly will.

Look The Other Way

Discover an entirely new way of staying in London this summer, at The Other House South Kensington

London has long been a favourite summer destination for GCC residents looking to escape the heat while indulging in luxury retail, world-class dining, and the unmistakeable energy of a London summer.

For travellers wishing to immerse themselves in an unrivalled London lifestyle – whether it’s for a long weekend or the whole summer season – The Other House South Kensington promises a home-away-from-home experience in the heart of the city’s most exclusive neighbourhood.

A first of its kind for the UK, The Other House concept has been shaped through a residential lens rather than

a conventional hotel approach. It offers something completely unique for those wanting to live like a local, to feel it is their ‘other house’, whatever the length of stay – be it a day, a month or a year. Pioneers in the art of combining the comforts of home with the pampering of a private club and the luxury amenities of a hotel, The Other House South Kensington is now welcoming guests into its latest collection of Club Flats, the new premium Club Combos. Ranging from studio-style flats to three bedrooms, these chic urban retreats are now available to book for the summer break.

Perfect for larger groups and GCC families, the Club Combos comfortably accommodate four to

10 people. Guests have the option to interconnect two, three or four Club Flats all behind a single front door or around a private internal courtyard, which acts as the ultimate majlis. Featuring discrete private flats that open onto communal living spaces, these exceptional residences allow guests to reconnect – and disconnect – as they wish, making them ideal for multi-generational family stays. For special occasions, the Courtyard Combos comprise five private flats, sleeping 10 guests in total. These feature-packed abodes are centred around a leafy two-storey courtyard with a glass-covered atrium, providing the perfect place to celebrate and

collaborate in a stylish alfresco-style setting – no matter the London weather.

The founder of The Other House, Naomi Heaton, worked closely with the award-winning London-based Bergman Design House to bring her bold vision to life. Located off corridors with alternating designs and colours to create a changing ‘streetscape’, the Club Flats are all named after famous local residents so each has its own unique ‘address’. Featuring a sitting room, kitchenette, bedroom and elegant shower room, these eclectic spaces are saturated with rich colours – think teal blue, deep green and oxblood red – layered with velvets, British tweed and bold botanical prints. Laser-cut metal screens with a burnished gold and brass effect feature as striking yet functional artworks, separating the bedroom and the sitting room.

The property boasts over 200 Club Flats, private meeting and dining rooms, and elegant event spaces. Open to residents and local members, its Private Club includes two bars, a screening room and an extensive wellness offering, including a vitality pool, state-of-the-art gym and wellbeing studio. A destination in its own right, The Other House also plays host to all-day dining at The Other Kitchen café; intimate hang-out spot The Library; and destination cocktail bar The Owl and Monkey, which are all open to guests and members for a dynamic day-to-night atmosphere.

The Other House has been recognised as Global and Regional Sector Leaders for Sustainability by GRESB Real Estate Assessment 2022. Its commitment to having a positive environmental impact begins by refurbishing and repurposing historic buildings, and then renovating them in the most sustainable way possible. Sustainability informs every operational decision, from using eco-conscious materials, British-made fabrics and furniture, to carrying out lifecycle assessments, using electricity rather than gas, and serving sustainable food and drink from low-waste kitchens.

What’s more, The Other House empowers its residents to choose if they want to be part of this journey, whether by monitoring the building’s energy consumption or by deciding how much housekeeping they want.

JOURNEYS BY JET

Force of Nature

Patina Maldives may not have a monopoly on the Maldives’ natural attractions, but what it makes of them is uniquely brilliant

WORDS: JOHN THATCHER

Whether rated four stars or five, average or award-winning, the chief — and always mesmerising, no matter how many times you’ve visited — attraction of every resort in the Maldives comes courtesy of Mother Nature. That magnificently hued ocean, cotton-soft sand, and abundant marine life all come as standard.

What separates the finest resorts from the also-rans isn’t always abundantly clear. At Patina Maldives, however, it’s as clear as the ocean that rings it.

Resplendent against the inky night sky in vivid pink and blue, James Turrell’s light-filled, timber-made art installation, Skyspace Amarta, is unlike anything else you’ll set eyes on in the Maldives, a striking, private sky observatory that invites you to walk around inside it, exploring space and the light that inhabits it. Not only does it provide a window to the infinite splendour of the star-stitched sky above you — via an aperture in the ceiling — but also a window to the ethos of the resort as a whole: unique, beautiful, thoughtful. This is certainly the case with the architecture. Designed by acclaimed Brazilian architect, Marcio Kogan (the first time he has applied his considerable skills to a hotel), 90 one- to three-bedroom Beach and Water Pool Villas and 20 Fari Studios merge so well with their environment that their highly refined aesthetic almost goes unnoticed. I say almost, because when you pause to admire (as you will) the sizable rectangular structures that are a feature across the whole island (rooms through to the spa and restaurants), you see how their clean lines draw a parallel with the purity of the island. “We were able to produce architecture that is much less important than nature,” Kogan explains. “Contemporary, classic, and elegant, it is like the hotel does not exist in this place. Everything disappears. Life, people, and nature are more important than architecture.”

Kogan’s belief really feeds into the resort’s overarching philosophy, allowing guests — as my family were for a long weekend — to fully enjoy their spectacular surrounds.

Patina Maldives, the inaugural flagship property of Patina Hotels & Resorts, sits on Fari Islands, an archipelago 45 minutes from Malé that also features a Ritz Carlton, whose restaurants you can visit while staying at Patina, and soon a

Capella, the idea being that this trio of chic resorts will harmoniously form an upscale social environment, the like of which you won’t find anywhere else.

At the heart of it all is Fari Marina Village, home to a vibrant Beach Club, a boutique stocked with a decent range of avant-garde designers, and a winning selection of restaurants that, although they sit side-by-side and share the same design (fully open at the front, moodily lit), have their own unique air. This is the place to come to watch the sun slip away with an inventive cocktail in hand, one characterised by music — ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’; ‘Don’t Let Me Down’; ‘Strawberry Letter 23’; you get the idea — as a nod to the prevailing vibe, which sees a DJ spin the mood. The sushi, sashimi, and citrus-laced ceviches here all hit a high note.

Next door to the Beach Club, and therefore still in earshot of the DJ, is Farine. Normally I wince at the very thought of a buffet, but Farine’s starter spread of antipasto is as fresh and inviting as it is varied, while the short but sweet selection of a la carte mains are all excellent. Standards don’t slip a few sandy steps away in Brasa, where South American flamegrilled meats complement a range of region-wide specialities; particularly good are those drawn from Peru.

By day, the Village is home to a

shiny food truck flipping gourmet burgers and a strikingly-hued Tuk Tuk handing out complimentary scoops of ice cream topped with all manner of sugar-loaded sweet treats. No prizes for guessing where my two daughters spent most of the holiday. But Patina’s biggest gastronomic draw card is situated elsewhere in the resort, aside the calming lagoon. Wok Society, for which you have to book in advance to snag a sought-after table, is exceptional right the way through its long menu, with the homemade dim sum as good as any you’ll find anywhere. And while Patina scores very highly for its food — even the all-day dining venue Portico delivers on quality day in, day out — its wow factor is wellbeing. It’s serious business here, and they’ve selected their staff accordingly. The yoga and Pilates instructors were the best I’ve ever come across, as was the massage therapist. There’s a Watsu pool, flotation tank, and in the gym a Pilates reformer to use at your leisure, but what makes you fully aware that they’ve thought of everything is actually a square shaped pond that’s dotted with water lilies. The yoga studio purposefully looks out to it, so that during morning practice you see beams of sunlight kiss the flowers to unveil their spectacular blooms. Naturally, this is one resort we can’t wait to revisit.

James Turrell’s Skyspace Amarta

Wok Society

Organic garden

Tuk Tuk Gelato

Nadine Merabi

CREATIVE DIRECTOR, NADINE MERABI

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is to not give up when it gets tough. I have experienced many setbacks during my career, as most designers and growing businesses do, and it took a few years for me to get my brand where it is today. There were so many times when I wanted to give up, but there was just a burning fire inside me I was so passionate and determined about.

One thing I do every day is to make sure that I take time to disconnect from work and spend quality time with my family. From 6-8pm, I’m unavailable for work as that’s bath, bed, and cuddle time.

A lesson I learned the hard way was that sometimes you need to take a step back. We grew from 30 to 100 staff in 12 months, and I couldn’t keep up. Sometimes you need to slow down to

grow and build firm foundations and a culture. I can’t be as involved in every aspect of the business, but I have an amazing management team now that surrounds me and keeps me fully involved. Nobody knows your business like you do and it’s hard to step back, so having a team that you trust makes it easier.

My father is my biggest inspiration in life. I’ve looked up to him all my life and our Lebanese roots still inspire me when I’m designing new, vibrant pieces. I’m constantly inspired by the people I’m surrounded by and travel. The newest Resort collection is a direct manifestation of this.

Personal success to me is being happy and raising smart, beautiful, kind children, as well as seeing so many beautiful women wearing my designs.

I would tell myself to always take a risk and try new things, especially if they scare you! I was aged 29 when I decided to start something of my own. I went from playing hockey professionally to becoming a fashion designer, and it all started with me watching a YouTube video to teach myself how to sew. I never expected for it to turn into a global business, but I’m so proud that I took the risk.

Building women’s confidence is my biggest driver. It’s all about making memories and growing the business. This is everything to me and I’m so lucky I can be part of so many people’s special occasions. For every woman who smiles wearing my designs, you also make me smile. I’m not slowing down anytime soon.

Nadine Merabi’s debut Resort collection is out now

Illustration: Leona Beth

A Racing Machine On The Wrist