The colourful career of fashion model Naomi Campbell is the subject of a new blockbuster exhibition. Here, she talks breaking through barriers.
Forty Eight The Last Artisans of Venice
From gold beating to gondola making, Tod’s shines a light on the rich history of Venice’s vanishing craftsmanship.
Fifty Six Hooray for Hollywood
Portraits of stars from the Classic Hollywood era are the subject of a new book, recalling a time when the likes of Bette Davis and Greta Garbo ruled.
Credit:
Bette Davis, for The Cabin in the Cotton, 1932.
(Photo via John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)
REGULARS
Eighteen Radar
Twenty Objects of Desire
Twenty Two Art & Design
Twenty Eight Jewellery
Sixty Four Motoring
Seventy Eight Travel
Eighty Gastronomy
Eighty Four What I Know Now
Thirty Six Timepieces
How Richard Mille served another ace for tennis legend Rafael Nadal with the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon.
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief & Co-owner
John Thatcher john@hotmedia.me
COMMERCIAL
Managing Director & Co-owner
Victoria Thatcher
PRODUCTION
Digital Media Manager Muthu Kumar
Welcome Onboard
JULY/AUGUST 2024
More people are paying to travel like Arabian royalty as private jets become more accessible to regional travellers. A tailored travel experience that cuts out the crowds, bypasses tiresome security screenings, dispenses with flight rage and toilet queues – with service when you want it? Millions of others have said the same thing in the wake of the pandemic, upgrading to flying by private jet, a class of flight formerly reserved for billionaires, royalty and heads of state. In total, there were more than 5.3 million international private jet flights worldwide in 2023, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration. It was a new record and the first time the sector surpassed its previous peak, set in 2007.
Numbers could soar further over the decade to come, with up to 8,500 new jet deliveries worth USD 274 billion worldwide by 2032, according to engine and avionics manufacturer Honeywell Aerospace’s 31st annual Global Business Aviation Outlook. An estimated 700 business jets were delivered last year, the company said, and 2023 billings were expected to post a 20% growth.
Business aviation in the Middle East continues to grow and we are now targeting a growth rate of 15% in 2024 over the 10,900 movements that Jetex Dubai handled in 2023.
One reason could be because countries such as the UAE, which bucked global GDP slowdowns, are now home to more high-net-worth individuals than ever. Dubai, for example, plays host to 15 billionaires and 210 people worth USD 100 million or more, called centi-millionaires. That figure that could rise by 78 per cent in 10 years, according to Henley & Partners. The UAE is currently home to 109,900 millionaires, the investment migration firm said earlier this year.
We also anticipate additional throughput at Jetex Dubai with the eventual relocation of Emirates airline, as well as other global carriers, to Al Maktoum International Airport as part of the expansion of scheduled facilities at the airport.
We are also watching other destinations across the Middle East. Riyadh, for example, has 65 centi-millionaires and nine billionaires, a figure expected to grow 85% over the next decade.
Expansion at Riyadh’s King Salman International Airport will have six runways, with more focus on private aviation services. We look forward to finding the right opportunity in the market to extend our operations in KSA.
As always, thank you for choosing Jetex for your global private jet travels. All of us look forward to taking you higher in utmost comfort and luxury –and with complete peace of mind.
Adel Mardini Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Cover : Naomi Campbell
Come Fly With Me
How Frank Sinatra and his Learjet 23 helped pioneer private jet travel
The design of the first private jets focused solely on their function, aiming to deliver efficient air transportation. The Lockheed Jetstar was the first of these aircraft and was made available to the public in 1962. This jet could travel at a cruising speed of 350mph and, despite its mid-sized cabin, could accommodate up to 11 passengers. It quickly became popular due to its affordability, making it much easier for businesses to transport their personnel across long distances.
In 1964, the Learjet 23 revolutionised the market, being the first small jet aircraft to enter mass production. This aircraft was faster, more reliable and had a better fuel efficiency than any other previous private jet.
Compared to later private aircraft, the cabins of the Lockheed JetStar and the LearJet 23 were certainly no-frills, however, that only served to
make them rather special. These jets were products of their time, offering a simple yet elegant aesthetic with plenty of room for added customization. And, despite the lack of luxurious amenities, these aircraft cabins became popular among celebrities for their speed and convenience.
Frank Sinatra was an early adopter, buying one of the first Learjet 23’s in 1965. The cabin was cozy and comfortable, with two leather seats in the back and a divan for three or four extra passengers as needed, plus a fully stocked liquor cabinet and a card table to ensure there was never a dull moment. Sinatra even loaned his learjet to Elvis Presley to take his bride, Priscilla, to the Aladdin hotel in Las Vegas. However, the real appeal of the jet for Sinatra was that it could fly the Rat Pack quickly between Los
Angeles for business, Las Vegas for pleasure, and back to Sinatra’s home in Palm Springs. This proved handy at times, for example, when Sinatra and Dean Martin got into a fight at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills. When the plane picked them up at a nearby airport the following morning, Martin had a black eye and a bloody shirt and Sinatra was sporting a makeshift sling. Luckily, with a small, agile private jet waiting for them, they managed to make a speedy exit.
Today, the legendary aircraft sits in a warehouse at an undisclosed location in California under the care of Jeff Thomas, a noted aircraft historian and consultant who is safeguarding the plane for its current owner, a Belgian collector. Knowledgeable sources estimate that Sinatra’s plane, even in its current condition, could be worth nearly USD 650,000.
The Emory Like No Other
Brought to you by Maybourne, The Emory is a modern masterwork by Richard Rogers and Ivan Harbour.
Whether you choose to use it as a pocket watch, a pendant, or table clock, there’s little doubt that the Arsham Droplet, the multipurpose, visionary timepiece the celebrated contemporary artist Daniel Arsham has designed for Hublot, is a genuine work of art. Crafted from titanium, rubber, and sapphire crystal, the innovative piece is limited to 99 examples and contains Hublot’s Meca-10 movement to deliver a 10-day power reserve. “By combining Hublot’s technical expertise with my own artistic vision, we have created a timepiece that transcends the traditional pocket watch, blending the past, present and future in a captivating and unexpected way,” said Arsham.
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Master craftsmanship, effortless style and timeless appeal; this month’s must-haves and collectibles
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Cartier’s enduring love affair with the animal kingdom is indulged in its latest high jewellery collection of unique pieces, for which everything from flamingos to zebras, turtles to panthers is elegantly sculpted and adorned with a slew of sparkling stones. For this spectacular
Amphista necklace, two symmetrical snakes – their scales fashioned from diamonds and dotted with emeralds, their shapely heads topped with kite diamonds – are separated by a step arrangement of nine octagonal Columbian emeralds, which total 14.72cts.
CARTIER NATURE SAUVAGE
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Now in boutiques, the departing Virginie Viard’s tweed-centric Métiers d’art collection is a colourful one, taking its cues from, among other things, the vibrant music scene that has always proved an antidote to the permanently rain-soaked streets
of Manchester, where it was shown back in December and from where the likes of Oasis and New Order hail.
“For me, Manchester is the city of music,” stated Viard, whose babydoll nighty was no doubt a nod to the city’s iconic club scene.
CHANEL 2023/24 MÉTIERS D’ART
The purest expression yet from the haute parfumerie, Henry Jacques’ Collection de L’Atelier stems from its first and very own rose harvest from 2023, grown on the land that surrounds its atelier in the sun-kissed South of France. This HJ Rose de Mai
absolute extract has been used to create a strictly limited trio of scents – the first rooted in its purity, the other two more playful interpretations – which, to preserve the uniqueness of the first harvest, will never be reissued.
HENRY JACQUES COLLECTION DE L’ATELIER
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
HERMÈS ARCEAU DUC ATTELÉ
Designed by Henri d’Origny way back in 1978, the round shape of the Arceau watch may make this timepiece instantly recognisable, but peer through its sapphire crystal dome and you’ll discover it’s unique – housing a tripleaxis tourbillon and minute repeater and
an overall design that makes numerous nods to other elements of Hermès’ proud history. Available in titanium or rose gold versions – each issued in a numbered 24-piece limited edition – the Arceau Duc Attelé watch comes with a matt anthracite or matt abyss blue alligator strap.
LORO PIANA SUMMER RESORT 2024
For its latest resort collection, the creative team at Loro Piana drew inspiration from the simple Tahitian philosophy of ‘la vie heureuse’, which translates as ‘the happy life.’ As such, it is a collection that’s easygoing by nature; loose and versatile, there are caftans and overshirts for men,
wide-legged trousers, wrap skirts, and kimono-sleeved cropped T-shirts for women, each piece crafted from the fine materials synonymous with the brand. New accessories of note include the Cedar bucket bag, fashioned from rounded calf leather and natural rattan.
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
BOUCHERON QUATRE CLASSIQUE
To celebrate twenty years since the launch of its modern classic, Quatre, Boucheron has designed a whole host of new pieces that, while remaining faithful to the original design codes, feel just as fresh today. Having started out as a ring in 2004, new
bracelets and chokers show how the unique design is easily adapted – and interpreted to be worn many ways. Additionally, that original ring is observed in a stunning collar necklace made up of fifty Quatre rings, each individually crafted.
In the 12 years since Paris-born, New York-based Sylvie Millstein revealed her distinct designs with the launch of her Hellessy label, the brand has carved a much welcome niche in the cluttered world of womenswear. Promoting the idea of a seasonless wardrobe, Hellessy’s
Resort ‘25 collection presents the perfect showcase of Millstein’s signature style –chiefly, beautifully constructed, edgy, and often embellished pieces that simplify the transition from day to night. This look teams the Angie off-shoulder knitted satin twill top with the draped Dita cargo skirt.
HELLESSY RESORT ‘25
VUITTON
AWAKENED HANDS, AWAKENED MINDS
For her sixth – and biggest, boldest yet – high jewellery collection, Francesca Amfitheatrof has found a wealth of inspiration in Paris circa the 19th century, a time when it was the “centre of the world” and attracted a certain 16-year-old called Louis Vuitton.
The 220-piece collection launches with a first chapter of 100 pieces, the scale and skill of which is exemplified by the magnificent Couer de Paris necklace, which has as its centrepiece a uniquely coloured 56.23ct diamond, the collection’s rarest stone.
LOUIS
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Sacred Spaces
Damian Elwes’ latest solo exhibition is a fascinating exploration of iconic artists and their studios
While living in Paris for a short spell during the Eighties, the artist Damian Elwes spent time with contemporary artists, asking if he could sketch the layout of their studio spaces. His interest lay in how an artist’s studio fuels their creativity, and through his sketches he was able to map out their thought process at a particular moment in time, leading to an enduring fascination and, starting this month, Studio Visit, a solo exhibition of engaging works that document iconic artists and their studios.
He began in the spirit of a detective, scouring the internet for available imagery of the studios of celebrated artists like Picasso and Matisse, considering them puzzle pieces that he needed to put together in order to convey a moment in these artists’ lives, chiefly the time they created an iconic artwork, so
as to shed light on the connection between the artwork and its surroundings. In Matisse’s Studio, we see his large canvas, La Musique (1939), central to the composition. Perched on an easel, the colours of the painting seep into the surrounding room. Even the leaves in the painting’s background are echoed in the houseplant that Elwes has included behind the canvas and in the foliage outside the open French windows. Similarly, in Damien Hirst’s Studio we find spatters and speckles of multicoloured paint from Hirst’s signature brushworks mirrored in the colours of the River Thames, which flows in the painting’s background. “Damian Elwes’ pursuit of historical accuracy and attention to detail makes our engagement even more exciting,” says author, art historian and curator Fred Hoffman. “We crave every piece of information he provides us with. And here it needs to be
stated: Damian is relentless in his need to know everything possible, down to the minutiae his artists have chosen to include in their laboratories of creation.
“He is a contemporary art detective who makes an unconditional commitment to accumulate all available documentation of what these artists have chosen to surround themselves with in the studio. In the end, what he depicts is the result of hours, days, weeks, even months of research, scouring every publication and archive where he might possibly learn of each artefact and image that his artist might have considered as source material. In some instances, the studio still exists, while others are long gone; and he is only able to engage the shell of the space previously occupied by the artist.”
In the late 1980s, Elwes moved to New York, where he befriended pop art legend Keith Haring, who encouraged him to become a painter. Painted in Keith Haring’s Studio, among the many cans of spray paint, are two empty green chairs that face each other. They’re there, thoughtfully, to represent the long conversations Elwes enjoyed with Haring, who around the same time introduced him to Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Elwes’ depiction of Basquiat’s studio unfolds from the large piece Mitchell Crew (1983), which leans against the wall. All existing photographs of Basquiat’s studio space are either hazy, hard to decipher, or both. However, after getting to know Patti Astor, who previously exhibited Basquiat’s artworks in the 1980s, Elwes was put in touch with numerous friends of the late artist. He began to reimagine Basquiat’s studio from the memories of these friends and the blurry photographs came to life through their stories.
“One strong takeaway from this particular group of Damian Elwes paintings is the upbeat nature of his world view,” suggests Hoffman. “Damian has gifted us uplifting environments. They make us feel content. These paintings declare that light itself is the subject of a Damian Elwes work. Bathed in the purity of light, we sense the possibility of transcending our materialfilled lives.
“His characterisation of the Basquiat, Haring and Lichtenstein studios are pleasurable and comforting. When focused on downtown New York, whether in the 60s or 80s, the luminosity of
‘ Damian Elwes’ pursuit of historical accuracy and attention to detail makes our engagement even more exciting ’
exterior space filters back into these artists’ studios. Having filled them with light, Damian encourages us to explore their contents.
“It is not clear how Damian Elwes arrived at this place where the distinction between exterior and interior space is diminished through his treatment of light and atmosphere. Because so much of his concern is historical accuracy, I think he
somewhat innocently stumbled upon the subject of light.
“One of Damian’s crowning achievements is his ability to tell the stories of our ‘art heroes’ in such a manner that we are invited to lighten our load, relieved, at least a bit, of the burden accompanying our urban lives.”
Studio Visit runs from July 8-September 22 at Unit, Mayfair, London
Previous pages, clockwise from left to right: Damian Elwes; Edvard Munch’s Outdoor Studio, Skrubben, Norway, 2024; Damien Hirst’s Studio, Thames Wharf, London, 2024
This page, from top to bottom: Francis Bacon’s Studio, 2016; Picasso’s Studio, Rue de la Boetie, 2023; Frida Kahlo’s Studio, Casa Azul, 2010; Roy Lichtenstein’s Studio, New York, 2024. All artworks by Damian Elwes
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King of the Hill
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With a mandate to create dynamic, culturally-centred destinations that support the growth of the region, each and every one of Modon’s developments embodies the essence of its heritage, drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of local history while inviting visitors and residents to explore the idiosyncratic wonders of nature that surrounds them.
With sustainability at the forefront of its endeavours, Modon aligns itself with the UAE’s vision for steady, environmentallyfriendly expansion, while simultaneously staying at the forefront of high-quality, cutting-edge urban development. Working in tandem with Abu Dhabi, Modon is making way for a diverse range of worldclass modern destinations across the emirate as it helps position the UAE capital as one of the world’s best places to live, work and play.
Focusing on holistic living experiences for its residents that prioritise health and happiness, spaces are thoughtfully designed and offer access to nature, wellness amenities such as fitness centres and spas, and community activities that foster social connections. Residents enjoy a harmonious blend of wholesome living practices, cultural enrichment and personal growth opportunities, all within an environment that promotes overall wellness and a sense of fulfilment.
One such venture is Hudayriyat Island, which offers an enviable way of living in the heart of the city. Surrounded by pearly white beaches and home to the emirates’ largest park and a 220-kilometre network of cycle tracks, Hudayriyat Island’s ambitious project unveils an impressive line-up of destinations. Aside from its diverse array of sporting facilities, it is also where you’ll find Velodrome Abu Dhabi, Surf Abu Dhabi, boutique retail outlets, charming cafés and a selection of enticing restaurants.
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With rolling hills reaching heights of up to 55 metres and spellbinding views across the cerulean seas and city skyline, Nawayef, Hudayriyat Island is truly unique in the region.
There are villa options around the base and mid-hill, while The Mansions, its premium offering and the jewel in the crown of the pioneering project, is located at the top.
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Custom-designed and one-of-a-kind, the Mansions are crafted with unique aesthetics, including stunning external wood panelling, showcasing originality and character while avoiding the cookiecutter template. Curvaceously shaped to seamlessly fit into its craggy, undulating setting, wrap around balconies and floorto-ceiling windows guarantee a different –equally striking – outlook from every angle. Expertly constructed, artfully presented and with an invitation for owners to add their own finishing touches, there is nothing homogenous about these majestic homes in the sky.
Use the beauty and serenity of the natural surroundings to inspire your home of the future. A beautiful canvas at the pinnacle of haute living awaits.
Art & Design
The Fairy Godmother
Caroline Scheufele draws on fairy tales to magic up Chopard’s latest Red Carpet Collection
WORDS: JOHN THATCHER
All the stars come out for Cannes. The most important film festival of them all also doubles as one of the most eagerly anticipated fashion shows, its red carpet resplendent with couture creations custom fit for the biggest names in film. And yet it’s not a film star nor a fashion label that rules the red carpet at Cannes. That honour belongs to Caroline Scheufele and Chopard.
Each year since 1998, Chopard has starred in its role as the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival; handcrafting the Palme d’Or, the award every director covets; inventing and creating the Trophée Chopard to award up-and-coming actors otherwise overlooked in an industry that needs immediate hits; and adorning a slew of stars in their masterful watches and jewellery, everyone from Charlize Theron and Cate Blanchett to Léa Seydoux and Lupita Nyong’o. But it’s Chopard’s Red Carpet Collection that always steals the spotlight.
Every year since 2007, Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director, challenges herself, both creatively and technically, to produce a collection of unique high jewellery pieces whose number aligns with the amount of times the Cannes Film Festival has been staged. That number is now 77 and, as in previous years, Scheufele has designed around a theme that holds a personal fascination. Fairy tales.
Characterised by the fanciful, magical, and mythical, the world of fairy tales resonates across cultures and allowed Scheufele to weave her own brand of magic, creating a spellbinding, quirky collection full of wonder with its roots in enchanted forests, fantastic animals and faraway kingdoms.
Standing at the heart of this land of make believe, a mighty oak tree is symbolised by a spectacular necklace, one that interlaces ethical rose gold – for which the brand is synonymous – with titanium, a metal rarely used in traditional jewellery. Here, it offers a rich advantage: its extreme lightness means it can be used to craft multiple elements on a large piece, something that’s not possible with gold owing to its significant weight, while the fact it can be tinted makes it perfect for setting gems, with its chameleon-like ability to adopt a stone’s colour. And so we find in Scheufele’s kingdom this powerful, acorn-dotted tree, its titanium leaves set with tsavorites that blend into the intricate design details, blooming flowers of flamboyant yellow briolette-cut sapphires, and a liberal sprinkling of emeralds. This enchanting example of next-level craftsmanship was executed entirely by hand, taking over six months of painstaking work and the finely-honed skills of four jewellers and gem-setters.
Elsewhere on the forest floor we find the humble mushroom, magically transformed into a remarkable ethical rose gold ring, its cap sparkling
Jewellery
‘This enchanting example of nextlevel craftsmanship was executed entirely by hand over six months ’
with white, orange, cognac and brown diamonds, which total over nine carats. As if frozen by a spell, lily of the valley appears as a brooch, featuring 18-carat ethical white and yellow gold and brilliant-cut tsavorites and diamonds, its tiny flowers lovingly brought to blossom. Another nod to flora comes in the form of a long sautoir necklace composed of pearls, rubellite and amethyst beads and brilliant-cut diamonds, from which hangs a rock crystal pendant ringed by nine individually handcrafted titanium flowers. It frames a single flower of sparkling rubellites, tsavorites and coloured diamonds.
Fluttering their captivating, coloured wings – formed from blue and pink sapphires, topazes, aquamarines, emeralds and brilliant-cut diamonds – a pair of ethical 18-carat white gold butterfly earrings feature two splendid pear-shaped aquamarines, totalling 27.57 carats.
Referencing The Frog Prince, the centuries-old Brothers Grim fairy tale, an 18-carat white and yellow gold ring depicts two titanium frogs – their bodies formed from pear-shaped emeralds – which kiss the base of a crown of rubellites, white and yellow diamonds
Opening pages, from left tp right: Butterfly earrings; Angel ring
This page, from top to bottom: Making of Oak motif necklace; Ring with two pear-shaped emeralds and titanium frogs
Opposite page, from top to bottom: Making of Brooch with lily of the valley motif; making of Mushroom-shaped ring
that’s topped with a single, magnificent 17.71- carat round-cut rubellite.
O f course, no enchanted forest is without its fairies. In Scheufele’s world we find their mother-of-pearl wings at rest on titanium acorns adorned with cognac diamonds, set at the heart of a pair of emerald, oak leaf-shaped earrings. And again at the centre of an impeccable tiara set with over 30 carats of diamonds, both pear-shaped and brilliant-cut, from which, with a wave of her wand, she can be detached and worn as a brooch.
L ike all good fairy godmothers, Scheufele has also magicked up a collection of couture clothing with her Director of Design, Fridtjov Linde, purposely designed to showcase her spellbinding jewellery pieces. It’s created in conjunction with some of couture’s leading suppliers, including 2M Ateliers in India and Jacob Schlaepfer in Switzerland. Silk and tweed were sourced from specialist suppliers in Italy, while seasoned craftsmen from China’s Guizhou province have created needlework motifs of birds and butterflies using ultra-fine silk threads. It's another world, but like Scheufele’s high jewellery, it’s equally enchanting.
The Skies Have It
For the first chapter of Blue Book 2024, Tiffany looks to the stars
Opposite page: Necklace in platinum and 18k yellow gold with a diamond of over 20 carats and diamond accents
This page: Earrings in platinum and 18k yellow gold with diamonds of over three total carats and diamond accents
Jean Schlumberger’s time at Tiffany continues to influence the world of high jewellery. It was the 1950s when the Alsace-born designer was invited to join Tiffany & Co., lured by the promise of a studio designed to his exact specifications and a bounty of the world’s finest coloured stones to work with. He repaid Tiffany for its faith by crafting some of the most extraordinary pieces in history.
Last year, Tiffany’s Chief Artistic Officer, Nathalie Verdeille, explored Schlumberger’s fantastical world to inspire her debut Blue Book collection, taking a deep dive into
his vision of the aquatic world. This year she looks to the skies, expanding on Jean Schlumberger’s attraction to the celestial. Released in three phases – spring, summer, and autumn – Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Céleste has launched with six chapters: Wings, Arrow, Constellation, Iconic Star, Ray of Light and Apollo. Beautiful brooches accounted for some of Schlumberger’s most memorable pieces for Tiffany and Verdeille reimagines them in various chapters, most strikingly in Ray of Ligh t, where a single, fiery red spinel of over nine carats is set against spokes of
yellow gold and diamonds representing beams of light emanating from the sun. For Arrow, elements of Schlumberger’s treasured Trophée de Vaillance brooch, which he designed in 1941, are the stimuli for a stunning set in which Colombian emeralds beguile. While for Apollo, it's Schlumberger’s celebrated brooch of the same name that Verdeille deconstructs to form spectacular pieces rich in meticulous pavé work. Schlumberger may well be the inspiration for this first dazzling drop, but the bold vision is very much Verdeille’s.
Opposite page: Ring in platinum and 18k yellow gold with a diamond of over six carats and diamond accents
This page: Necklace in platinum and 18k yellow gold with red spinels of over 48 total carats, a pink spinel of over four carats and diamonds
The Light Fantastic
WORDS: TRACEY LLEWELLYN
How Richard Mille served another ace for tennis legend Rafael Nadal with the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon
For Rafael Nadal, the year 2008 was extraordinary. A 32-match winning run was spread over three playing surfaces and comprised the longest of such streaks in tennis history. It earned him not just a place in the record books but two Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal, with his Wimbledon win over old foe Roger Federer – at the time, almost unplayable on grass – widely regarded as the greatest tennis match of them all. It was also the year that Nadal met Richard Mille. “I still remember the day when Richard contacted me to discuss a potential collaboration involving wearing a Richard Mille watch during my tennis matches,” says the Spaniard, who has also won a scarcely believable 112 out of 116 matches at the French Open. “As someone who had never worn anything on my wrists, it seemed almost impossible for me to consider.”
But Nadal wasn’t the only one with much to contemplate. “We were moving into the field of ultra-sportswear with a very high-level, high-performance player. Will a tourbillon calibre be able to withstand his ultra-powerful shots and long matches? How can we make it more robust? How can we prevent the watch rubbing with his two-handed backhand?” Those are just some of the questions Salvador Arbona, the brand’s Technical Director for Movements, remembers posing.
Yet, as is always the case at Richard Mille, the greater the challenge, the better the result, and the RM 027 Tourbillon was born. “It changed everything,” states Arbona.
The RM 027 was, at less than 20 grams including the strap, the world’s
lightest watch at the time, and each of its subsequent iterations has pushed the boundaries of possibility. It is a series that draws to its conclusion with the launch of a sixth and final piece, the ultra-light RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon Rafael Nadal Limited to 80 pieces, excluding the strap it weighs 11.5 grams, a record.
“The RM 27-05 brings to bear the vast expertise that the entire collection represents,” says Yves Mathys, Director, Richard Mille. “Definitely,
These pages:
Rafel Nadal wears the RM 27-05 Flying Tourbillon
the link with the first RM 027 is indisputable. And this was something we had very much in mind when we set out to set a record for weight by launching research into materials and movement design. A new, significantly stiffer carbon played a key role in achieving our goal. And in terms of construction and stiffness, the RM 27-05 represents a veritable distillation of our work. It sums up everything we have developed so far for Rafa.”
Julien Boillat, Technical Director for Casings, says that the starting point for the watch’s development was that record-setting weight. “We were lucky enough to benefit from the innovations of the RM UP-01 Ultraflat Ferrari for the calibre. Likewise, for the case, we took the same approach: a stubborn determination to save every last fraction of a gram. There are no screws holding the movement and case together. The entire mechanism sits inside the monobloc caseback, topped by the flange and followed by the bezel and crystal. These put pressure on the calibre to hold it firmly in place. Carbon TPT® B.4 offers the best weight-performancerigidity ratio, bar none. It allows us
to obtain ever thinner sections.
“Every milligramme or millimetre has been pared away from the skeletonised movement and case walls. As with any record, meeting this weight-limiting objective demanded daily training, testing and research...It will take a huge amount of effort to surpass it.”
Even the design of the strap played a pivotal role in saving weight.
“Whereas our elastic bracelets have a rubber coating on the part where they meet the case, here we opted for fabric, eliminating half a gramme from the whole watch,” says Boillat.
“Instead of a sapphire crystal, which is also too heavy, we found a lighter alternative in PMMA, a polymer
‘ What really binds us together is the human side and the strength of our friendship with Rafa’
with an anti-scratch treatment that ensures a level of transparency far superior to that of sapphire. All our research into materials contributed to this record lightness.”
Effort is paramount to Richard Mille’s success, an almost stubborn refusal to settle for anything less than the absolute best of the team’s capabilities. It took eight months of research and development, then 2,000 hours of work just to design the case. Creating the movement took the same amount of time. “At the beginning, ideas come from everywhere, from the technical offices and from management. Nothing is set in stone, everything evolves at each meeting, thanks to our discussions aimed at drawing up these non-exhaustive specifications,” outlines Mathys.
“But what really binds us together is the human side and the strength of our friendship with Rafa. After so many years together, we intend to continue our dialogue for many years to come. The RM 27-05 is a testament to both this long friendship and our shared enjoyment.”
It’s also a remarkable timepiece for an extraordinary athlete.
PURE ESCAPISM
The epitome of quiet luxury, the first-ever fully electric BMW i7 sedan takes responsibility seriously. Its commitment to the environment dictates the use of responsibly-mined and recycled materials, while it fully delivers on its guarantee of an unparalleled ride in absolute style and comfort, whether cocooned in its smart technology-laden cockpit or relaxed as a passenger in its incomparable rear executive lounge seating. A pure statement of automotive luxury that turns every ride into an unforgettable journey
PHOTOGRAPHER: ŽIGA MIHELČIČ
LOCATION: ANANTARA SANTORINI ABU DHABI RETREAT
Stylist
Chloe Bosher
Dress: Missoni
Zimmerman
Dress: Carolina Herrera
Zimmerman
Dress: Dolce & Gabbana
Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana Pages 6 and 7
Abaya: The Kape Dress: Leem
Dress: Dolce & Gabbana
Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana
ICON
The colourful career of fashion model Naomi Campbell is the subject of a new blockbuster exhibition. Here, she talks anger, breaking through barriers and embracing confrontation
WORDS: DYLAN JONES
She was late, of course she was late. But then she’s always been late. When she was working for me at Condé Nast ten years ago, when she interviewed the likes of Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, Piers Morgan and Skepta for GQ, she was always coming to my office in Vogue House, and she was never on time. But that was Naomi. She would then sprawl on my sofa, instruct one of my assistants to fetch her a Big Mac, and pour the charm on. Nothing changes. A few weeks ago, she was 90 minutes late for me at the Dorchester, and even though I gave her a hard time when she eventually turned up, I soon gave up. She has this disarming habit of batting her eyes at you, and it works. Of course, it works. She’s Naomi.
In my experience, she has two speeds: flirtatious and angry. But she didn’t seem too angry when we met. In fact, she told me she was beyond anger. “There’s a few people I regret having a go at,” she said, as she sat down. “But ignoring people is stronger than having a go at them, because no one likes to be ignored.”
Not even Linda Evangelista, who appears to be Naomi’s current bete noire. At one point she was talking about being part of a generation of models who were the original influencers, but while she rattled off the likes of Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Stephanie Seymour, poor old Linda was very conspicuous by her absence.
“Insincerity makes me angry, and ungratefulness,” she said. “Especially when you know you’ve gone out of your way to really help someone, and they can’t say thank you. Not a simple thank you. It’s not anger so much as a grand disappointment.”
When I asked if she was talking about someone in particular, she said, “Correct.” Evangelista and she have unfollowed each other on Instagram, they avoid each other at fashion shows, and now can’t bear to be in the same room together. Or indeed the same postcode. Naomi can’t stand her.
The jury appears to be out about her relationship with British Vogue, now that her close friend Edward Enninful has moved on to bigger challenges.
“With Edward it was like family, and I’d be invited up to the Vogue office and I’d get to go there and hang
out and be part of it, but I don’t even know where the new Vogue offices are. Are they in London? I don’t even know where they moved to. I’ve been a Condé Nast girl for so long, but I’m not sure what I can do to help. I haven’t been asked to do anything. Edward is like my brother, and what he did was so incredible, in such a short amount of time. Six years is quick. I don’t know what they do now [Vogue]. It’s corporate, and it’s a difficult time.”
We were meeting to discuss her show at London’s V&A, which is a big deal no matter how you measure it. A whole show? Devoted to a living model? That’s not nothing. How does she feel about it? After all, it’s enormously flattering.
“I feel honoured and blessed. It’s been a lot of pressure, going through images I haven’t seen for 25 years. It brought back a lot of emotions, a lot of memories. A lot of stories come up, so there’s a lot of nostalgia. It’s the story of a woman trying to get her story across. I’m proud but I’m more interested in my kids knowing that this is their legacy too, as well as this being the legacy of my work. It’s about family too. I also wanted to share with people the workmanship of all the designers I worked with over the years, and all those creatives I got to work with, some of whom are still with us and some are gone. You’re not going to have another Gianni Versace, another Vivienne Westwood, Azzedine Alaïa or Alexander McQueen. They were gems. These people were perfectionists. It’s a different time now.”
Naomi was always breaking through racial barriers. She was the first black woman to appear on cover of Vogue France, the first black woman on the cover of US Vogue’s September issue. Was it exhausting at the time having to fight all those battles or does she feel a huge sense of satisfaction and pride looking back?
“When you’re actually trying to break those barriers, you don’t really understand what’s happening. You don’t know what you’re doing, you’re just doing it. You don’t have time, and it didn’t register. I was just taking any opportunity. Never forget that when I was being offered all these covers, they were never guaranteed. They were always cover tries, so they could
‘That’s what it was like back then for a black woman. Nothing was ever confirmed. You were always waiting ’
have easily not happened. Throughout the 1990s I was always doing cover tries, never guaranteed covers. That’s what it was like back then for a black woman. Nothing was ever confirmed. You were always waiting – did I get it, did I not? The modelling industry is definitely better these days. And it’s all changed because of social media. These days I feel that if you’re a real model, someone who loves her craft, someone who’s committed to championing young designers, then you will shine. Some are only chosen because they have high social media numbers.
“But then I think to myself, if our generation had had social media, what could we have done? If Cindy [Crawford] and Christie [Turlington], Claudia [Schiffer], Stephanie, Tatjana [Patitz] and I had had social media, where would we be now? Someone said to us when we were screening The Super Models documentary in LA for the Emmy committee, a few weeks ago, they said you are the original influencers and I suppose we were. I had never thought about it like that, but it’s true. We are the original influencers. We’re still incredibly supportive of each
other, and I spoke to Christie today actually. Christie I am eternally grateful for because she introduced me to Gianni Versace and told Steven Meisel about me. And Cindy, my original flatmate, we’re still incredibly close still.
“We all still call each other wagon, too. That started with Kate when I used to live in Dublin. We were all wagons. Even Ali Hewson, Bono’s wife. It was just what we all called each other. It was a nickname, a term of endearment. Actually, we don’t really call each other anything else!”
She famously stood by John Galliano after his racist outburst, but is she still friends with him? And is it right he should come back to such fashion prominence? “Hundred per cent,” she said, defiantly. “I’m also in recovery and I totally understand the disease that is alcohol. And I will continue to stand by my friend.”
Let’s face it – Naomi Campbell keeps her friends close and her enemies on the end of a mobile phone, preferably one that’s being hurled in their direction at great force. I once saw her backstage at the Brits berating an assistant for losing her phone and it was a masterclass in delegation (which I think is the polite way of describing it).
One of the great things about Naomi is her self-awareness. She knows she can sometimes go a bit OTT, but she also knows she needs to be kept in check.
“I go back to Streatham a lot as I love south London. My aunts are there, my family is there. I love to shop in Brixton market. I put on my mask and my cap and I buy my Jamaican food, my vegetables. But bloody hell, it’s so gentrified… Brixton Brasserie! I don’t consider myself famous, but my family don’t allow any of that nonsense. I’m still me. It’s more the other way around. Rather than me coming back to Brixton as a famous person, do they embrace me? If there is a confrontation I embrace it. I stop and I speak and they talk to me and I talk to them. It’s the same when I travel. When you go to an emerging market it’s important for them to see you in person and hear what you have to say, so I’m used to it.”
She is also keen to educate her children in London. “I love London and I want my kids educated here. I loved going to school in London, and I’d like my kids to follow in my
footsteps. I haven’t decided where we are going to set up shop, but I hope it’s here. I like the English education system, absolutely. I don’t like the American version of the English education system.”
‘If there is a confrontation I embrace it. I stop and I speak and they talk to me and I talk to them ’
I’m in recovery so having regrets is difficult for me. I would regret it if I was still out there drinking and using, which I’m not. So I can’t live in regret. I have to live in gratitude.”
Was she destined to be a star? “I don’t know about a star, but I definitely wanted to be in theatre or the arts as I loved dancing. Whenever I’m in London I’m always saying I want to go to class. But I never find the time. There’s nothing that smells like a ballet room – the floor, the bar – it’s the freedom of expression of dance that I love so much. My daughter likes to dance too. Motherhood is so much fun. You just don’t know what’s going to happen at any given moment. I feel like I’m reliving my childhood. I just hate leaving home. These days when I travel, I try to make it not longer than 48 hours as it’s too disruptive. Unless I can do a job in and out, then the kids have to come with.”
Does she have any regrets? “Look,
Is it easy? “I love being in recovery. I have my core group and we do conference calls four times a day. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, as you can call in. And now I know all the faces to the voices. We started before covid so when that came along, I was ready. It was a great support. One of the good things about covid was learning to stay still for a moment. Reset. Reflect. And just sit down and not fly. I liked being still for a moment.”
But not forever. Now she’s back, modelling, investing, feuding, and the subject of one of the biggest V&A shows for years. Just don’t get on the wrong side of her.
NAOMI: In Fashion, supported by BOSS, is on at London’s V&A until April 2025
Credit: : The Interview People
This page, clockwise from left: Courtesy Mugler Archives. Photo Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Courtesy Vivienne Westwood. Photo Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Courtesy Off-White. Photo Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Opposite page: A young Naomi photographed in the 70s
From gold beating to gondola making, Tod’s shines a light on the rich history –but uncertain future – of Venetian craftsmanship
WORDS: STEPHEN DOIG
In the northern quarter of Venice’s Cannaregio, where laundry sways overhead, the narrow streets are lined with gold. Literally: there’s a glow from a set of windows on this particular calle, and flecks of gold pepper the air and flutter across the floor within, 18ct fairy dust. These are the workrooms of Mario Berta, a battiloro – literally a gold beater, and the last one still to operate in Venice.
The family has run the business from this workshop, once the home of Tiziano Vecelli (better known as the painter Titian), since 1926. Their tissue-thin gold decorates the lamps in Saint Mark’s Basilica, and gleams on the angel that overlooks it from the bell tower. It also gilds the decorations of the city’s hotels and jewellers.
“We still work with the machinery, desks and chairs that were the originals,” says Eleonora, daughter of Marino Menegazzo and his wife, Sabrina Berta, who manage this family enterprise, founded by Berta’s grandfather’s cousin. The two of us are carefully negotiating the raised slats on which everything in the room sits; at the end of the day, all the gold that has fallen through to the floor is swept up and recycled.
“We don’t let even a drop go to
waste,” says Eleonora. And with good reason: when we meet in April, they are working on one of their most ambitious projects to date, a solid 18ct gold Tod’s Gommino loafer, complete with box, which will take pride of place at an exhibition celebrating Venetian crafts during the Venice Biennale, which runs until November, alongside hat making, glassblowing and engraving.
It’s a particularly poignant project for the Menegazzo family as they are the sole representatives of an industry that in the 18th century boasted 300 competing businesses. What’s more, the Tod’s project may be their swansong. The physical beating is done by the pater familias, Marino. He is 70 years old this year and, with no younger apprentices interested in stepping up to the sheer physicality of the job, they plan to close the business soon. Which is a tragedy, because what they create is truly mesmerising.
“Everything starts with the weather; if you have a bad day weather-wise, you may as well not start,” says Eleonora, referring to the humidity that governs the crafting process. Too humid and the gold will soften and become too sticky to work with; too cold and it will harden. The first stages involve making the
‘ Working with wood is good for my soul ’
‘ You’re creating something that is part of the language and history of the city for ever’
‘fusion’ – ingots from nearby Vicenza are heated to melting point. Once cooled in moulds, the precious metal passes through the ‘pasta machine’ – a creaking, lethal-looking device that flattens the gold from a 6cm chunk to a thin sheet that’s 7m long. From there, the strip is cut with scalpels into 2cm squares and stacked in a little packet with 330 leaves – the most fantastical Post-its you ever did see.
Then the fun begins. Marino takes the shimmering stack across the charming wisteria-draped courtyard to a tiny workroom, where he’ll beat it by hand with a hammer on a stone slab to get it to the desired width. Mosaic gold is the thinnest kind and requires two hours of continuous beating – the methodical thrum of the hammer blows is almost meditative. Thicker widths can take 50 minutes, but once he starts Marino can’t stop – the gold will contract as it cools.
“It’s not about strength, but technique,” says Marino’s daughter as he strikes again and again, using hammers from 3kg to 8kg in weight, a luxury Thor. Marino gauges how much more work there is to do by counting each beat, rather than by the time he’s taken. In four decades, he says proudly, he’s broken only four fingers.
From here, it’s back to the workrooms, where the flattened gold will be sliced into exact squares; gold-cutting team Sabrina and Eleonora work nimbly and, crucially, blow on each cut square. The breath smooths the surface, otherwise it would crinkle. The light in here is muted to soften the glare of the gold leaf.
A few canals away, meanwhile, in a warren of streets blighted by tourist shops, a quieter choreography between man and material is in progress. In a workshop where glossy wooden oars spiral to the ceiling, Saverio Pastor’s athletic frame undulates alongside the flowing wooden structure in front of him, as he deftly chisels the wood. He’s crafting a forcola, the heraldic rowlock on which a gondolier rests his oars, and an icon of La Serenissima, along with the Lion of Saint Mark and the ever-present pigeon.
“It’s a process that’s technical, functional but also artistic, and that matches my character very well,” says Pastor quietly. “I’m happy every morning. Working with wood is good for my soul.”
He founded his workshop 12 years ago, after studying under master craftsman and ‘forcola king’ Giuseppe Carli to create oars and forcole for the gondolas
and rowing boats of Venice, a natural progression from his previous career. “I was an astronomer,” he says. “And in astronomy we have a saying, ‘From the stars to the sty.’ I found out that this building used to be a stable for horses, and it felt natural to move here.”
A native Venetian, he spent his childhood rowing on the city’s opaline lagoon. “There was a time when the city of Venice didn’t consider its importance,” he says, referring to the monstrous cruise ships that towered over the city and upset the ecosystem of its canals. They’ve now been barred. “It’s a delicate balance, and we must remember nature’s importance.”
For the Tod’s exhibition at the Biennale, Pastor created an exaggerated version of his forcola, in which the structure evolves into a pair of hands clasping a mighty oar – particularly resonant in the shipyard in which the exhibition takes place. But day to day, he crafts forcole from huge pieces of timber shipped from the Balkans. He starts with a quarter of a walnut tree, selecting fresh trunks and waiting at least two years for them to dry. After that, a ‘rough cut’ whittles down the proportions, then the timber must be seasoned for another year.
When the wood is finally ready, Pastor will sculpt it into the fluid shape of the forcola. The process will take around 40 hours, from start to finish, and he works with saws and tools in decreasing sizes as it nears completion. He will then fit the hulk of timber into a vice, and work around it to sculpt, shave and finesse each part, rocking a large chisel with two handles back and forth like a pastry chef kneading dough.
Once the form of the forcola has taken shape, he polishes it with sandpaper, and after it’s rested for several hours, he’ll oil it. Now comes the Cinderella moment – the transformation scene in which the forcola is fitted to a gondola. These are hard-wearing practical objects that bear the weight of the oars day after day, so they need to be set just right. Pastor can spot the particular curvature and hallmarks of his designs as they bob past him on the Grand Canal: “You’re creating something that is part of the language and history of the city for ever,” he says.
“Craftsmanship has always been at the centre of what we do, so we wanted to explore what the craft of Venice can offer and apply it to Tod’s,” says the family company’s CEO, Diego Della Valle, who has spearheaded other heritage initiatives across Italy, including
the restoration of Rome’s Colosseum (he enlisted Andrea Bocelli to perform there when it reopened). Tod’s shoes are crafted by hand in the Marche region of Italy, but artisanal excellence is, he says, “part of our culture; quality in everything we do, from food to design and art. It’s essential to support projects that the young generation can discover,”
Portraits of stars from the Classic Hollywood era are the subject of a new book, recalling a time when the likes of Clark Gable and Greta Garbo ruled the box office
WORDS: CHRIS ANDERSON
Anew photographic book, Fabulous Faces of Classic Hollywood, written and compiled by Robert Dance and Simon Crocker, opens with a question. It asks, do we watch movies today to feast our eyes upon a favourite star in the way that audiences in the 1930s flocked to the newest Clark Gable or Myrna Loy picture, or in the 1950s when Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando were all the rage? Today’s celebrities, such as Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson, and Margot Robbie, can generally ensure a strong opening weekend for a film, but an entry to a popular franchise, or a family-friendly animation, can just as easily prove successful. Star power is simply not wielded in the same way as it once was, when individuals were the undisputed draw, rather than the story or CGI. It was a different time, when an actor’s presence, and more importantly their image, held a tight grip on popular culture, with audiences following their every move, on the big screen and in the press. Portrait photography among the major studios, such as MGM and Paramount Pictures, was big business from the 1920s onwards, and used to fuel interest in the next major release. “Each studio had a portrait gallery, employing photographers whose job it was to help create these images of the various stars,” Crocker explains. “The studios pumped out photographs and stories to launch and sustain the careers of their actors. They targeted a public that could be reached through the large number of fan magazines, and there were entire departments dedicated to mailing out photos, hopefully signed, in response to the constant flood of requests.”
The studio portrait photographer was a well-respected figure, with a vital role to play in crafting the public image of a particular star. “In the early 1940s, there was even an Academy Award given out for Best Still Photography,” Crocker continues. “But by the 1950s, it all changed. The gilded glamour of the 1930s and 1940s vanished after the Second World War, and the arrival of small 35mm cameras popularised more candid shots, meaning that these photographers and their work were largely forgotten.” It fell to collectors to keep the era
‘These are names that take you back to a very specific period in Hollywood history and the lavish productions of the day ’
alive, and one just happened to be British film historian John Kobal, who from 1964 onwards amassed magazines, photos, postcards, and memorabilia related to his love of Hollywood. He wrote books, including The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers, published in 1981, showcasing prints from his archives, and organised exhibitions at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York, the National Portrait Galleries in Washington DC and London, and the V&A in London, among other locations. By the time of his death in 1991, The Kobal Collection was well known as a vast Hollywood photo archive of around 500,000 images. Crocker worked extensively with Kobal, and until recently was the chair of his foundation, while co-writer Dance is a trustee. With many of the negatives of these Hollywood portraits to be donated to AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences) in Los Angeles later this year, the pair wanted to celebrate the images in print one last time. The book itself is a snapshot of the decades from the 1920s until the 1950s,
and a record of its biggest stars. “There are so many great names,” says Crocker. “We have some amazing portraits of Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Grace Kelly, Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Natalie Wood, Orson Welles, and Sophia Loren, and even a fresh-faced Clint Eastwood. These are names that take you back to a very specific period in Hollywood history, and the lavish productions of the day.”
It also depicts a time when most actors had exclusive contracts with specific studios, rather than working freelance with their agent, manager,
Opening pages, from left to right: Greta Garbo, 1935, for Anna Karenina, MGM, by Clarence Sinclair Bull; Clark Gable, 1937, MGM, by Laszlo Willinger
These pages, clockwise from left: Clint Eastwood, 1955, Universal Pictures, by Ray Jones; Anna May Wong ,1931, for Shanghai Express Paramount Pictures, by Otto Dyar; Grace Kelly, 1953, MGM, by Clarence Sinclair Bull
and publicist as they do today, with limited control over their next project, who they might work with, or their image. “Today’s actors might not want to work like that, but in those days the studio considered them valuable assets and would protect them,” Crocker adds. “It was another reason they would put out their own photography, controlling how the actors were perceived through the authority of the official portrait.
“But with stars working regularly for the same studio, it meant these great relationships with the employed photographers, and the likes of Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo had these extraordinary bodies of portraiture. Crawford was also unique in that she took the time to sign as many of her photos as she could before they were sent out, and answer fan mail – she knew it was the fans that paid her wages, and she felt she owed them.”
It was also a very different time culturally. “The studios were rigidly conservative, and they wanted to present a white American middle-class product to a largely white middleclass audience in the early days,” says Crocker. “By the early 1930s, films were more sophisticated, and Europeans like Marlene Dietrich
‘The studios pumped out photographs and stories to launch and sustain the careers of their actors ’
became top stars, moving from Berlin to Hollywood. Actors like Anna May Wong, the first Asian-American movie star, still faced discrimination, however, and were often limited to supporting or stereotypical roles. Crocker points to an image of Clark Gable as one of his favourites in the book. “I think it’s an unusual portrait of Gable, taken in 1937 by MGM photographer Laszlo Willinger,” he says. “Willinger was brought over from Germany to make the studio’s rising European stars Luise Rainer and Hedy Lamarr feel more comfortable, but he also brought with him an artful approach, reinforcing Gable’s image as a sportsman, and his love of horses and riding.”
It also returns us to the question posed at the start of the book, asking why these stars are so different.
“Imagine the red carpet back in 1955, with James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Audrey Hepburn, Paul Newman, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, Ava Gardner, and Marilyn Monroe,” Crocker muses. “They don’t make them like that anymore.”
Fabulous Faces of Classic Hollywood is available now from accartbooks.com
These pages, clockwise from left: Marlene Dietrich, 1937, for Angel, Paramount Pictures, by Eugene Robert Richee; Lauren Bacall, 1944, Warner Bros, by John Engstead; Humphrey Bogart, for They Drive By Night, 1940. (Photo via John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images); Orson Welles, 1948, for Macbeth, Republic Pictures, by Roman Freulich. All photos via John Kobal Foundation
ILeading The Charge
The BMW i7 is the ultimate all-electric limo – fast, comfortable, and loaded with luxury and tech, including a huge drop-down cinema screen in the back
f you plan to do your bit for the environment by purchasing an electric car, then why not have the best in terms of performance and refinement? The luxury limousine class has taken its time to join the electrified revolution, but in the last few years is really gaining momentum, leading us to the BMW i7 – a fully electric version of its latest 7-Series model, 47 years in the making, and now in its seventh generation, but here redesigned here from the ground up.
The i7 has been very well received so far, scooping awards in various markets since its debut. Primarily intended to be a chauffeur vehicle, it caters well to drivers, with great performance, handling, and the latest semi-autonomous technology, and also to passengers, with its long wheelbase inviting comfort, luxury, and generous legroom.
There are three models available, each with a thin, high-voltage 101.7kWh battery located centrally under the car. In the entry-model eDrive50, this powers a 449hp electric motor at the rear wheels, offering 0-100km/h in
5.5 seconds, with a maximum range of 610km. The next model up, the xDrive60, has a twin-motor set-up for four-wheel drive and 544hp, providing 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds, and a top range of 625km. Finally, the M70 xDrive, with its two motors giving 660hp, and 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds, has a maximum range of 560km.
Each i7 has a 250km/h top speed. BMW’s adaptive automatic regeneration can add some charge while driving, using satnav and traffic info to judge how much energy can be recouped when you come off the accelerator. Cruising along, the car is incredibly quiet, but if you crave the revs of a petrol engine, the Expressive driving mode will deliver sounds developed by movie soundtrack composer Hans Zimmer. The model you go for will also determine some of the other features, which can be added thanks to a lengthy options list. The new 7-Series styling is bold, with a monster grille at the front and split headlights, and there are two-tone paint jobs, Swarovski crystal headlights, and alloy wheels up to 21in in size if needed.
The optional 48V anti-roll system makes cornering easier, but even with the air suspension and adaptive dampers as standard, the handling is smooth and capable, impressive for such a large car at 5.4m in length. The optional rear-wheel-steering system can add a touch more agility, and drastically reduces the turning circle for low-speed manoeuvres. In fact, there is no shortage of technology with this car. Automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, traction and stability control, radar-guided cruise control, forward collision alert, emergency braking, all-round cameras and parking sensors, speed limit and evasion assistance come as standard. You also get rear cross traffic alert, and a system to warn of a cyclist in your blind spot when opening a door. Options include a semi-autonomous handsfree mode for motorway driving, and a feature that allows the vehicle to be parked remotely via a smartphone app. Inside, drivers (or chauffeurs) can enjoy the BMW Interaction Bar, which spans the dashboard and extends to the inner door panels, displaying ambient lighting graphics based on different themes, providing visual feedback for safety reasons, or acting as a control panel for certain functions. There are also two central display screens, sandwiched together under the glass, which handle the majority of the operations, plus the crystal
iDrive controller and gear selector. The technology even extends to the glass roof, as it can be inlaid with LED strips for mood lighting.
Many prospective owners, or passengers, will be wondering about the all-important Theatre Screen that folds down from the headlining in the roof at the touch of a button, available as an option. A touchscreen measuring 31.3in, with 8k resolution and 32:9 format, the motorised screen has a HDMI input, plus a 5G-compatible aerial system for streaming Netflix and Amazon. You can even request a 36-speaker Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System, with YouTube video-on-demand available for those up front for the first time.
And there is a lot more to make rear passengers feel at home, with two small touchpads in the door panels to control the entertainment and air conditioning. Automatic doors are available as an option, with Merino leather trim (or a vegan alternative) covering the seats. With the Travel & Comfort System or Executive Loung Package you can also add power-adjustable reclining, with heating, cooling, and massaging; a wireless smartphone charging pad; extra-plush headrests and a cashmere wool trim, with the ability to move the front passenger seat out of the way.
As an electric limo, the i7 combines luxury, performance, and cutting-edge technology, setting a new standard in the class.
Go Large
Ibiza was the perfect place to discover the effort that makes the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II so effortless
WORDS: JOHN THATCHER
It’s often the smallest things that make the biggest difference. Those little details that make a large impression. In the case of Rolls-Royce, that ‘large impression’ is the Cullinan Series II, which, if we’re talking in terms of cosmetic enhancement, would appear at first glance to have had more of a tweak than a facelift. But then you learn about the details: seating that incorporates over two million stitches and 11 miles of thread; 107,000 individual perforations in a seat pattern that reflects the changing cloud formations over the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood; and 7,000 laser-etched dots, arranged to form a metropolis-inspired graphic in the Illuminated Fascia panel, which makes its Cullinan debut.
Then there are the details you don’t see. The time and the effort that go into achieving perfection. For Cullinan Series II, Eleanor, the iconic Spirt of Ecstasy, finds herself for the first time cocooned in the car’s rich interior – don’t worry, you’ll also find her as resplendent as ever in her usual spot – where she leans forth in a new Clock Cabinet beneath an analogue timepiece.
Positioning her there was a process four years in development. The idea was to orchestrate a flow of light that originates on the driver’s display, sweeps along the Central Information Display to the Illuminated Fascia, and culminates by first shining a spotlight on Eleanor,
‘An entirely new fabric was fashioned over the course of a year in collaboration with a master weaver’
then bathing her in a soft glow.
“The light had to fall on her perfectly,” says Christine Franck, Head of Colour, Materials and Trim Design at Rolls-Royce. “At first there was too much light on her knees, then the focus was on her head. But finally we achieved the desired effect.” To further enhance Eleanor’s appearance, she was placed on, and flanked, by black, high-gloss panels to create a reflection effect. It’s all in the details.
We spoke to Christine in a quiet, sundappled spot in Ibiza, where we would later traverse the island in both the Cullinan Series II and its Black Badge alter ego, from Bruce Wayne to Batman. But first I was keen to know the reason for the wide smile on Christine’s face. Fabric. It’s her passion, and the Cullinan Series II gave her an opportunity to flex her creative muscle. Take a deep dive into the history of Rolls-Royce and you’ll discover that fabric seats were common in the marque’s early models, with only the chauffer’s seat made of sterner stuff. Leather has since been the material of
choice, but since the rebirth of bespoke at Rolls-Royce, more and more fabrics have been used by customers to create a beautiful point of difference. Now it makes a welcome bow in the Cullinan Series II, for which an entirely new fabric was fashioned over the course of a year in collaboration with a master weaver. This twill textile is formed from natural bamboo fibres, a nod to the bamboo grove in the gardens that neighbour Villa Mimosa in the South of France, the once seasonal home of Sir Henry Royce. Royce is referenced again, alongside Rolls, in the abstract Duality graphic that’s embroidered on the fabric – two letter R initials, creatively entwined. As you’ve probably come to expect, to ensure this pattern was uniform each piece was individually crafted and laser-cut to mitigate the threat of a loose thread spoiling the precision. We’re talking some 20 hours of construction to fit a full Duality Twill interior. Another new element that Christine is rightly proud of is the Grey Stained Ash, which saw veneer hand-stained and lightened with microscopic metallic particles to affect a delicate shimmer. It took four years of development to meet the marque’s exacting standards. Those little details. There’s nothing little about the 23-inch wheels this Cullinan wears for the first time, but at the other end of the scale its slim daytime
running lights are a thing of beauty.
As is driving it along the winding roads that take you down Ibiza’s hills. Despite the V12 engine, it’s as quiet as the all-electric Spectre, as handsome as the Phantom with its SUV proportions, and as graceful as the Ghost as it glides over the road. No wonder it caught innumerable admiring glances along the way.
There were also a few dropped jaws when we swapped rides for the Black Badge version, largely on account that mine was an eye-grabbing shade of pink. You can feel its additional power, engineered, of course, to perfection, but you’re really buying this car to express yourself – the bespoke options are exhaustive.
Since the original Cullinan debuted in 2018, it has had something of a transformative effect on the Rolls-Royce customer, proving so popular with a younger demographic that the average owner is now aged 43, down from 56 in 2010. And whereas before a chauffeur was typically employed, now it’s the owner at the wheel. The Cullinan is the marque’s most popular model for good reason.
Rolls-Royce says it’s because the Cullinan drives effortlessly everywhere. But it takes a huge amount of effort to make a car this impressive. And it’s all there in the details.
Top of the Range
With towering performance, luxury and even off-road ability, the Range Rover Sport SV redefines what a sports utility vehicle can be
WORDS: CHARLIE THOMAS
‘Driving a Range Rover is one of life’s great motoring luxuries’
The word ‘sport’ is not one you might readily associate with Range Rover, but it’s one that has become irrevocably attached to this most revered of off-road brands. Although, it doesn’t make huge sense when you think about it. Why, after all, is a sporty Range Rover necessary? Isn’t this a vehicle designed for gravel tracks, muddy fields and wading through rivers? It is and it isn’t. While the cars are enormously capable in the rough, built with the latest driver aids and technological prowess, it’s difficult to imagine a huge percentage of Range Rover owners driving theirs off-road. Which is where the Sport model comes in.
The demand for ever more powerful, larger and luxurious SUVs is only increasing. It is the market segment that all luxury car makers are relying on to ensure growth and stability. Fifteen years ago it would have been impossible to imagine a Ferrari or Aston Martin SUV, yet both are best-sellers for each company.
And this is where Range Rover was ahead of the curve. Its first Sport model was launched in 2005, when the closest car the Italian sportscar maker had to an SUV was the long, low, V12engined 612 Scaglietti grand tourer.
Originally designed to be slightly smaller, lighter and quicker than the full-fat Range Rover, the first generation, range-topping Sport came with a supercharged 4.2-litre Jaguar V8 engine and brakes from Italian specialist Brembo as standard.
The next generation in 2013 raised the bar. The range-topping model bore the SVR moniker, or Special Vehicle Rating, and it was the most performanceoriented Range Rover ever made. It had quad exhausts, an optional carbon-fibre bonnet and a rear diffuser for cleaner aerodynamics. It also had the 5-litre V8 engine borrowed from the Jaguar F-Type
sports coupé, with 550bhp. It’s the type of expensive SUV you would be likely to see blasting around classier postcodes of cities, popping and banging with its raucous, machine-gun-like exhaust note. And it was preposterously rapid. Fast-forward to 2024 and there’s a new, top-of-the-line Range Rover Sport and, among other things, it’s lost the ‘R’ part of the badge. The Sport SV is the new flagship performance model and it’s the most powerful Range Rover ever: 626bhp, 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds. Huge Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. These are all things you’d expect on a low-slung supercar and yet they are found in this 2.5-ton SUV. “The mission was to develop the most technologically advanced, dynamic, capable performance Range Rover Sport ever,” said Geraldine Ingham, the global managing director, at the car’s launch in Portugal. While the bald performance figures are present and correct, the looks have changed and this isn’t the superaggressive, loud and obnoxious car it once was. The overall look and feel is one of refinement and grace rather than shouty aggression. The body is silky smooth rather than angled, with fewer indents, rakes and pointy bits. The quad exhausts remain, hinting at the power within, but the diffuser is gone, while the rear loses the big Range Rover’s elegant lights, replacing them with a more conventional squinting set-up. This new-found elegance is evident in the way it sounds, too. The old SVR’s supercharged 5-litre V8 was punchy, to say the least. The new 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 unit has 50 more horsepower, but it’s softly spoken and barely audible in comfort mode, effortlessly wafting up to four people along in absolute comfort. Dial in the SV Mode setting and the exhausts open up a little, but it remains a pleasant background noise rather than an all-consuming orchestra.
This engine is shared with the latest BMW M5, and while it doesn’t set your soul on fire, it provides more power and torque than you’d ever need.
The handling is more impressive. Around Portugal’s notoriously challenging Portimao circuit, the SV is confidence-inspiring. You might argue that a Range Rover has no place on a racetrack, but after just one sighting lap it’s easy to forget you’re behind the wheel of a two-and-a-half-ton behemoth. The steering is precise and the front end easy to place.
Noticeable is the lack of body roll, which is thanks to the fancy new 6D Dynamics suspension, a semi-active system that reduces pitch and roll. Most impressive of all might be the brakes, which as tested were the huge Brembo carbon-ceramic items that stopped the car as quickly as it went.
Driving a Range Rover on the road is one of life’s great motoring luxuries. It envelops you like a warm duvet, cocooning you from the stresses of the outside world. Behind the wheel of a Range Rover, every street feels like it has been freshly tarmacked, traffic a momentary distraction.
The Sport SV delivers on this resolute luxury, but with the addition of 626bhp and the confidence that you can out-accelerate most high-performance sports cars. It is two vehicles in one. A limousine that retains the Range Rover’s famed off-road abilities, as well as a threateningly quick V8-powered device that redefines what a sports utility vehicle is. It has rivals; there’s the Bentley Bentayga, the Aston Martin DBX and the Lamborghini Urus, three wildly powerful, hugely expensive machines. They all represent the pinnacle of performance SUVs, but the Range Rover wins for its sheer breadth of capability.
High Luxury on the High Seas
How D-Marin has meticulously crafted the ultimate yachting lifestyle for the privileged few to enjoy at
Dubai’s premium Marsa Al Arab Marina and Marasi Bay Marina
As one the foremost names in the yachting world, D-Marin goes beyond simply providing berthing for yacht owners to open up a world of five-star privileges.
Case in point are D-Marin’s Dubaibased Marsa Al Arab Marina and Marasi Bay Marina. According to Selcuk Balci, Managing Director at D-Marin Dubai, it’s the premium customer experience his company offers that brings discerning clients on board. “Delivering unparalleled experiences within Dubai’s vibrant maritime landscape, D-Marin’s yachting community enjoys a seamlessly integrated and enriched yachting experience. Our marinas are the anchors of regional destination escapades in the Gulf.”
Established in 2003, D-Marin has created one of the largest international chain of marinas in the Eastern Mediterranean and Gulf region, operating 27 premium marinas in Turkey, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Montenegro, Malta, Albania and UAE and picking up numerous prestigious awards along the way.
‘ Marsa Al Arab Marina invites yacht owners and enthusiasts to join an elite community ’
Taking pride of place at the tip of a picturesque peninsula, D-Marin Marsa Al Arab Marina stands as a premier nautical getaway, offering yacht owners an elevated level of service and direct access to the city’s most exclusive private beach, soon to be home to the super-yacht inspired Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab resort and a string of enviable ocean villas.
The state-of-the-art marina offers 82 berths, accommodating the owners of yachts up to 61 metres in length, who have the pleasure of waking to one of the world’s most iconic views: the spectacular sail-shaped Jumeirah Burj Al Arab.
Catering to those seeking an upscale destination with direct access to the sea, Marsa Al Arab Marina invites yacht owners and enthusiasts to join the privileged few in an elite community quite unlike any other.
An annual contract at the Marina comes with a complimentary J Club
Marsa Al Arab Marina
Lifestyle membership, which affords access to the exceptional leisure, wellness and fitness facilities from across Jumeirah’s beachfront hotel portfolio in Dubai, plus a raft of complimentary and discounted offers to dine, stay, and rejuvenate in style.
Clients can also take advantage of the ‘Happy Berth Days’ initiative, which offers up to 15 days of free berthing at each D-Marin marina in Dubai, as well as an additional seven days of berthing at D-Marin marinas worldwide – all of which provide cutting-edge docking and maintenance services and high-security measures.
D-Marin takes fun very seriously, which is why Marsa Al Arab Marina is also the only marina in Dubai to offer dedicated berthing for jet skis.
A short cruise north along the Dubai Canal is D-Marin Marasi Bay Marina, a beautiful 115-berth marina accommodating yachts up to 35 metres in length. Integrating the local landscape to seamlessly connect the Creek with the picturesque Jumeirah coastline, it is redefining the way people
experience urban living in Dubai.
Marasi Bay Marina’s prime location adjacent to The Lana – the first Dorchester Collection hotel opened in the Middle East – affords it breathtaking views of the towering Burj Khalifa and the bustling Business Bay, solidifying its status as a vibrant, connected, easily accessible destination.
With yachting and hospitality going hand-in-hand, Marasi Bay Marina is setting a new benchmark for luxury, with the array of world-class amenities on its doorstep elevating Dubai’s profile as a preferred yachting destination.
Featuring 225 rooms and suites, The Lana, Dorchester Collection, Dubai extends a warm welcome to Marasi Bay Marina’s annual clients, inviting them to enjoy exclusive staycation benefits. The Lana is home to eight restaurants and mixology concepts, four of which have been developed in collaboration with famed Michelin-starred chefs Jean Imbert, Martín Berasategui and Angelo Musa, recognised as the world’s finest pastry chef. Marina clients can embark on a culinary journey and enjoy unique
‘ Marasi Bay Marina sets a new benchmark for luxury, with the array of world-class amenities on its doorstep ’
Marasi Bay Marina
Marasi Bay Marina
privileges at select dining venues. Further member benefits extend to complimentary access to The Lana’s impressive infinity pool and gym, as well as to The Beach Club at Palm Jumeirah to properly rest and recharge.
From the very moment a customer enters their Dubai-based marinas, D-Marin makes every effort to ensure their visit is a memorable one, taking immense pride in the comprehensive benefits and premium luxury services it provides at both Marsa Al Arab and Marasi Bay. It’s this customer-centric approach that guarantees an unparalleled experience for all who choose to dock there.
For berth reservations at Marsa Al Arab Marina: marsaalarab@d-marin.com | +971 55 531 0071; For berth reservations at Marasi Bay Marina: marasibay@dmarin.com | +971 54 582 8076
Marasi Bay Marina
Marsa Al Arab Marina
Dive In
Cerulean seas, pristine beaches, multiple restaurants and a sophisticated spa awaits at The St. Regis Red Sea Resort
Sitting pretty on Ummahat Island, The St. Regis Red Sea Resort celebrates its natural habitat within one of the world’s last unexplored enclaves. Surrounded by crystal clear waters abundant with thriving coral reefs, the exceptional property brings together the best of St. Regis with the shimmering Red Sea coast – a 1,930km strip of calm warm water teaming with underwater life.
A playground where high-spirited adventure and luxury go hand-in-hand, the resort prides itself on being an all-year-round destination that appeals to all ages.
Not only is it strategically located within an eight-hour reach for 85 percent of the world’s population, it is just 90 minutes from Riyadh and a little over an hour from Jeddah, with a scenic seaplane or 40-minute boat ride from the Red Sea International Airport whisking you seamlessly to your dream destination in the sun. A magnet for sun worshippers indeed, and yet equally popular with those seeking to escape extreme summer temperatures – hovering around the 30-degree celsius mark in its hottest months.
Home to one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems, its coral reefs – among the most beautiful and varied on the planet – support a vast array of marine life, including more than 1,200 species of fish, many of which are found nowhere else. Seasoned divers will be hard-pressed to find better underwater experiences anywhere else on earth. With sea activities based around a controlled body of water within the Ummahat Islands perimeter, the resort offers PADI diving courses as well as heritage and conservation dives and snorkelling opportunities galore. There’s also sailing, kayaking, windsurfing and stand-up paddling, including SUP safaris. To ramp up the adrenaline, try eBoarding – quite possibly the most exciting new water sport out there.
Once you’ve exhausted the prospects provided by the gently gurgling gulf in its multiple shades of blue and green, The St. Regis Red Sea Resort is primed and ready to make your stay a truly memorable one. It goes without saying that at St. Regis all villas come with a round-the-clock butler offering unobtrusive, personalised service. Your butler – available on WhatsApp for packing, pressing, photography and everything in between – will escort you from the arrival jetty to your shell-shaped villa, of which there are 90 divided between the beach and suspended
over the water. For easy access to amenities and restaurants the Dune Villas – which start at an impressive 75 square metres – are a savvy choice, while those seeking to fully submerge themselves into their surreal Red Sea surroundings should look no further than the overwater Coral Villas.
Designed for luxury, each sanctuary features a pool and sundeck, outdoor showers and generously sized bathrooms with soaking tubs. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide unobstructed views of the sand, sea and tropical gardens. Those with an entourage in tow can take advantage of the three-bedroom Astor Villas, which can sleep nine. The Presidential Dune Villa is perfect for larger groups, with four ensuite bedrooms that can comfortably accommodate 12. With a butler’s pantry and a media room, it’s tempting to never leave – especially since the resort’s acclaimed chefs can whip up private dining experiences from the comfort of your own villa.
Then again, with five diverse food and beverage concepts, plus options for curated dining experiences in unique settings, you’ll want to venture out. For local fare, Nesma is a bright and airy shoreline haven with a menu inspired by freeflowing Middle Eastern meals. Casual yet brilliantly executed dining can be enjoyed all day long at the Beach Club where, against a chilled soundtrack, the likes of shawarmas, burgers and iced mocktails can be whipped up in the open kitchen.
Japanese-Filipino chef John Mark Gayramara’s omakase menu at Gishiki 45 is not to be missed, while perched atop the house reef is the beautiful Tilina. Its open kitchen serves up a creative haute cuisine degustation menu that changes with the seasons and takes a deep dive into the flavours of the Red Sea for picture-perfect dishes. Night owls, meanwhile, can soak up the jazz and live music at the St. Regis Bar. While the resort exudes grown-up sophistication, it welcomes families with the slickly operated Little Treasures Kids’ club to keep young explorers occupied while adults make the most of the padel and tennis courts, the high-tech fitness centre and the yoga pavilion. But with the gentle sea breeze coaxing guests into even deeper levels of relaxation, you’d do well to simply check into the signature spa – to unwind and recharge for the many outdoor escapades you’re yet to experience.
ULTIMATE STAYS
The centuries-old tale of Aladdin, the street kid who had command of a wish-granting genie, may be the stuff of fantasy, but at Nautilus Maldives a similar story is more fact than fiction.
In place of a genie there’s a House Master, but their MO is the same. Here, in this stunning slice of paradise, your every wish is considered and, more often than not, granted. Take, for example, what the resort calls ‘unscripted dining’, which translates as the menus at each of the island’s three restaurants – thoroughly impressive though they undoubtedly are – being mere suggestions only, in the highly unlikely event that nothing on them takes your fancy. Providing the ingredients are on the island, the chefs will cook anything you ask for. And not just what you ask for, they’ll also serve it to you at a time and location of your choosing. A lavish, candlelit breakfast set up by the pool long after sundown? Sure. Still craving the black cod you enjoyed at one restaurant but dining at another? No problem. Thinking you’d like lunch on a sandbank in the middle of the ocean? What time? The restaurant you fancy eating at is closed? It’ll be opened just for you.
Sometimes you don’t even have to ask. One day our thoughtful House Master, better known as the wonderful Rafu, ran a rose-petal adorned bath for us in the middle of the afternoon.
It’s a fine idea and fits well with he notion that the Nautilus is more private home than resort hotel. And it feels very much like it. There are just 26 beach and ocean houses on the whole island, and it’s distinctly possible that you’ll encounter very few of your fellow island dwellers over the course of a long weekend – the number we met could be counted on one hand. It’s that private.
The perfectly sized Beach House where we stayed, one of nine, opens out to a glorious swathe of white sand and comprises a living room that you can section off from the high-roofed bedroom and a wonderful sun deck flanked by greenery and replete with a shaded swing, minibar, and pool. There’s a similar set up at eight Ocean Houses, beyond which in the biggest-is-best pecking order of accommodation options are a clutch of Residences; a single Retreat, which stands over the ocean, its two bedrooms separated by large living and dining rooms; and the Nautilus Mansion, designed to be the very definition of the ultimate beach house. Which it is – all two floors, three bedrooms, art-filled walls and Missoni soft furnishings.
Your House Master can arrange for you to have any spa treatment in the privacy of your own room, but the island’s intimate Solasta Spa is well worth a visit. Just three glassbottomed, over-water pavilions that – like everything else at Nautilus – will open for you whenever suits, day or night. What’s more, the therapists are excellent.
And while the human touch at Nautilus makes for a memorable stay, it’s Mother Nature who makes it an unforgettable one. Hanifaru Bay, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is a mere 15 minutes away by yacht, and from June to October its warm waters fill with graceful manta rays you can swim among. Closer to your home, the Nautilus’ passionate marine biologist will guide you on a private tour of the house reef, where black tip sharks and turtles are as common a sight as the sun that shines high above.
Paradise most definitely found.
Taste The Difference
Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the man with more than 60 restaurants to his name, on how he acquired his unique palate
WORDS: FRANCESCA SYZ
There wasn’t much that President Obama and Texan Republican hopeful Jeb Bush agreed on back in July 2015, the latter having just announced his intention to run against the former in the presidential elections the following year. Except that guacamole should not have peas in it. On this they were united – unlike those who, like me, love that extra sweet little pop-in-the-mouth sensation they give. The controversy had been sparked by The New York Times running its version of the offending recipe, dreamt up by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the New York-based French chef often credited with bringing nouvelle cuisine to America. GIVE PEAS A CHANCE! cried multiple ensuing newspaper headlines.
ABC Cocina, the Latin-inspired restaurant where he’d introduced the notorious guac, was one of three that Vongerichten opened on East 18th Street and around the corner on East 19th, within the upscale ABC Carpet & Home store in New York, two blocks from Union Square Greenmarket,
the farmer’s market that inspired them. First came ABC Kitchen, in 2010, then ABC Cocina (2013), then ABCV (2017). Each is unique, but they are united by the drive to be plant-forward and sustainable, and all three have been major hits.
Which is probably why Vongerichten has launched ABC Kitchens, fusing all three concepts together, at The Emory in London’s Knightsbridge. This brand-new all-suite hotel, which opened in April, is the sixth within the Maybourne Hotel Group, which includes London landmarks Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley. Vongerichten, aged 66, and with 66 restaurants around the world, has just celebrated 50 years in the kitchen. He is famous for his French cooking techniques coupled with Asian influences, for his fresh, local, organic ingredients, and for dishes that are refined but never fussy. According to New York Magazine, he has probably had more influence on New Yorkers’ dining habits than any other chef. In many ways, ABC cooking is about
simplifying: “Back in the 80s and 90s, everything was too touched, tweezered and manicured,” says Vongerichten.
“So I thought, let’s throw a bundle of baby leaks in the water for a minute and a half, take them out, add vinegar, olive oil, cracked hazelnuts, salt and pepper, – finish. Grill a piece of bread, spread on a little mayo, a little crab meat – done. Roast scallop with a little chilli, olive oil, salt, pepper – done.” The relationship between Maybourne and Vongerichten is long-standing. “We have a lot of trust and respect for each other,’” he says of the Qatari-owned group. He opened Vong at The Berkeley to great acclaim in 1995. It was here that he really unleashed upon London his fusion of French and Asian flavours. In 2017 he launched Jean-Georges at The Connaught, an all-day neighbourhood restaurant still going strong today, with a dedicated caviar section but also pizza, truffle cheeseburgers and fish and chips. So being invited to bring his ABC concept to the newest Maybourne hotel seems like a full-circle moment.
Filled with pale wood curved banquettes, marble countertops, copper wall panels and soft lighting, Vongerichten’s new restaurant, which has an open kitchen, feels intimate and cosy. Overlooking Hyde Park through floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s just high enough to have a view over the passing cars. There’s also a market table display of produce, and an amber glass wine cave that serves as a giant lantern.
A few weeks before the restaurant opened I met up with Vongerichten in New York at the Tin Building, a 53,000sq ft food hall (Eataly meets Harrods in a retro shell), which he launched in 2022 in the old Fulton Fish Market building by Brooklyn Bridge. It’s now home to six restaurants (all his), six casual dining counters, four bars (four blocks from Wall Street, it attracts the after-work crowd), butchers, bakers and market stalls selling both ingredients and ready-to-eat food.
“Everything you see here that isn’t bought during the day will get used in one of the restaurants tonight, so nothing is wasted,” Vongerichten tells me as we wander past stands laden with rainbow carrots, organic butterhead lettuces, kale and big, fragrant bunches of thyme. I’m soon lost in a haze of dry-cured salami, smoked-salted butter and tubs of Vermont mascarpone.
I scan a chalked-up list of suppliers with names like Cherry Lane Farms, Norwich Meadows Farm and Two Guys from Woodbridge, before pausing at a magnificent ice-heaped fish counter (“this is the best of New England’s oyster, lobster, razor clams, scallops”). We stop at a cheese and wine bar – a winning combo, we agree – before continuing on to a little flower shop (“it’s so peaceful in the Bloom Room – sometimes I just come in here and breathe’).
Driven by a desire to promote clean eating through sustainable, organic, GMO-free food, Vongerichten is encouraging a new generation of chefs to think that way too – and to follow their passions. We stop at a pizza stand, The Frenchman’s Dough, where he introduces me to a young Korean chef. “She is incredibly talented and had no desire to do Asian food. What she wanted more than anything was to make pizzas,” he tells me afterwards.
‘ On that first journey from the airport to the hotel I saw guys cooking satays on the street. It was mind-bending’
“I grew up in a family of coal handlers in the Alsace… We lived three generations under one roof, and my grandmother and mother would cook for the workers each day – sometimes there were 35 people, with a big pot in the middle of the table of whatever they’d found in the garden or the market, put out at 12.30,” he recalls. “If you arrived at 12.40, you’d miss it, so it taught me the importance of precision timing.”
Vongerichten was expected to go into the family business, which he was determined not to do. He had never been to a restaurant until his parents took him to Michelin-starred L’Auberge de l’Ill for his 16th birthday. When renowned chef Paul Haeberlin came to the table, his father said, “My son’s good for nothing, can he come and wash dishes?” He spent the first six months learning how to make ice cream, crème anglaise and pastry – all of which require exact science to come out right. It was the best training.
“When I was 23, I went to Asia for
five years, which changed everything for me,” he says. “Master chef Louis Outhier, who I’d worked for at Restaurant L’Oasis near Cannes, phoned me up and said, ‘I want you to go and be a sous chef at the Oriental in Bangkok.’ That’s where I learnt to substitute butter and cream with soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, fresh spices and coconut. Everything was super light. On that first journey from the airport to the hotel, I saw guys cooking satays on the street. It was mind-bending. Rather than boiling things for six hours, I started to do stocks with lemongrass, ginger, chilli, shrimp and mushroom, seasoned with fish roe. Make a soup in three minutes.”
When he got back from Asia, he worked as executive chef at Lafayette at the now-demolished Drake Hotel on Park Avenue. It was here he introduced New Yorkers to vegetable juices and infused oils, lemongrass and ginger, demonstrating that lighter food could be equally delicious. It was also his first experience of an open kitchen (there wasn’t room for a closed one), and the diners absolutely loved it.
“That’s when we stopped tasting things by sticking a finger into the pot and started using clean spoons. It also led to better behaviour as chefs couldn’t scream at each other in front of the public,’ observes Vongerichten.
“It was the first time I cooked with total transparency between diner and chef.”
Other JG hits followed, including JoJo on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 1991 – his first restaurant as both chef and co-owner – and then his flagship New York restaurant, Jean-Georges, which had three Michelin stars for 10 years and still has two today.
Union Square Greenmarket has always been one of his favourite places. He is there regularly, checking produce and meeting suppliers, along with every other reputable New York chef. “Everyone’s standing around remarking on how good the spinach is,” Vongerichten’s right-hand man Daniel Del Vecchio tells me. “JeanGeorges, his son Cédric, Daniel Humm, Marco Canora, Angie Mar, Flynn McGarry – they’re all there.”
I am curious to know whether the arrival of ABC in London means that Maybourne has had a change of heart on vegan menus since Vongerichten’s
friend Daniel Humm, the chef behind three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York, opened a new restaurant at Claridge’s to great fanfare in 2019 but parted ways with it after announcing in 2021 that he wished to make the menu entirely plant-based, and finding the group unreceptive to his vision.
“There’s no question plant-based food is important,” says The Emory’s general manager, Knut Wylde, who has been GM at The Berkeley for the past eight years. “But we feel when it’s a restaurant in a hotel, you have to be inclusive, and for Humm there could be no compromise. I would never have brought ABCV over by itself. Jean-Georges is a pioneer in plant-based menus but not to the exclusion of meat and fish.”
Heading up the London restaurant is Ben Boeynaems, who came up through the ranks working for Gordon Ramsay and Eric Chavot, and was most recently executive chef at The Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair. Vongerichten is excited about the appointment and feels Boeynaems really gets his vision.
“The way I look at it, the food groups are very limited. With meat, you have beef, pork, lamb, then game –venison, wild rabbit, hare. Seafood – shellfish, lobster, crab, shrimp, octopus. But when you look at plants and vegetables, there’s no limit. Spices, herbs, thousands and thousands of different combinations, it gives us a huge palette of flavours to work with.”
On the London menu you will of course find spring pea guacamole (loaded with sunflower seeds and green chilli), plus other dishes I tried in New York, including crisp fish tacos served with aioli and cabbage-apple slaw, and pretzel-crusted calamari with spiced tomato and grainy mustard sauces.
“London has a more informal vibe than a traditional hotel restaurant, all about relaxing, socialising, sharing,” Vongerichten insists. “We have six to eight dishes from each concept, so there is something for everyone.”
I can’t help wondering if he ever switches off and ask him what he does to relax. Married twice but currently single, he says he loves roasting a chicken for his three children and four grandchildren on a Sunday, at his home in Westchester.
“We all love our food,” he says. “My son Cédric is a chef, I’m very proud of him. We have one restaurant together, Perry Street, and he has five more including two French-Indonesian restaurants. My daughter Louise runs a charity called Food Dreams, which raises funds to help kids from disadvantaged backgrounds go to cooking school. My younger daughter, Chloe, wasn’t an adventurous eater at the beginning and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve been cursed.’ Now she eats everything.”
“Oh, and tonight I’m going round to a friend’s apartment to cook for him,” JG tells me, spectacularly stretching the definition of the word ‘relax’, in my books. “It’s me, Daniel Boulud, Gabriel Kreuther and our friend – all four of us cooking, just for fun."
Opening pages, from left to right: Spring pea guacamole; Jean Georges Vongerichten@ lateef.photography
Left: ABC Kitchens at The Emory's Executive Head Chef Ben Boeynaems and Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten @lateef. photography
Franco Loro Piana
CEO AND FOUNDER, SEASE
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is to follow my own instincts and take some time to listen to my inner and deep feelings. In this way, you can achieve the best outcome in most situations, rather than live someone else’s life by following their lead.
One thing I do every day is to take thirty minutes in the morning to breathe, stretch my muscles, and clean my mind before I start my working day. I really wish I could tell you now that I enjoy one surfing session every morning, but I’m positive this will be the case one day.
A lesson I learned the hard way was that you can’t build a good business if you don’t focus on priorities and the critical factors for success. If you want to win any challenge you have to be efficient. As a young entrepreneur, I sometimes lost focus and missed great opportunities.
I am always inspired by people who can turn their passion into their life mission, which assumes a lot of bravery. Pro surfers, experienced sailors, crazy mountaineers and explorers are the ones who really inspire me.
Personal success means happiness to me. Being sure you are doing what you like, surrounded by people you love and respect.
I would tell my younger self that life is too short, so just enjoy every minute. There is no time to waste. Don’t get mad for no reason. Don’t stress. Everything can be sorted out, somehow.
My ambition is to grow my business to the level it deserves and pass it over to my kids, so as to ensure that they have the best opportunity for a bright future.
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