AIR Magazine - Nasjet - September'23

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ALPINE EAGLE XL CHRONO

Epitomising the pure and sophisticated aesthetics of the Alpine Eagle collection, this 44 mm-diameter model is crafted from Chopard’s exclusive, high-quality Lucent Steel™ The innovative features of its chronometer-certified Chopard 03.05-C chronograph movement, equipped with a flyback function, are protected by three patents. Proudly developed and handcrafted by our Artisans, this exceptional timepiece showcases the finest expertise and innovation cultivated within our Manufacture.

FEATURES

Thirty Four An Actress For The Ages

Is Margot Robbie now the ultimate 21st century movie star?

Forty House Proud

Lisa Armstrong on how Donatella Versace has taken the house her brother founded to new heights.

Forty Eight How Gabrielle Became Coco Chanel

Meet the curator of a new exhibition charting the designer’s transformation.

Credit: Gabrielle Chanel, 31 rue Cambon, Paris, 1937

Photo: Roger Schall/Condé Nast/Shutterstock

REGULARS

Sixteen Radar

Eighteen Objects of Desire

Twenty Critique

Twenty Two Art & Design

Twenty Six Jewellery

Thirty Timepieces

Fifty Four Motoring

Sixty Two Travel

Sixty Four What I Know Now

Fifty Eight Gastronomy

He’s the bad boy of the foodie world, as famous for his attitude as his Michelinstarred restaurant. But has Tom Sellers mellowed?

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief & Co-owner

John Thatcher john@hotmedia.me

ART

Art Director

Kerri Bennett

Illustration

Leona Beth

COMMERCIAL

Managing Director & Co-owner

Victoria Thatcher

PRODUCTION

Digital Media Manager

Muthu Kumar

Media City, Dubai, UAE

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

Welcome Onboard

SEPTEMBER 2023

NASJET is the leading private aviation operator and services provider in Saudi Arabia that delivers world-class services in aircraft management, charter, flight support, sales, and completions. Launched in 1999 in affiliation with US partner NASJET Inc, NasJet — originally NASJET Middle East (NJME) — demonstrated the highest levels of regional expertise by being the first private company in Saudi Arabia to be awarded an Aircraft Operating Certificate (AOC) by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). The company has since grown to managing/supporting in excess of 15 fixed-wing aircraft and employing 92 in-house aviation industry experts. We operate 24/7 from a state-ofthe-art flight centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, delivering superior levels of safety, service, and value.

VISION

To be the leading business aviation solutions provider in the Middle East.

MISSION

• Safety: Our clients’ and employees’ safety and security are the highest priority in all our operations and services.

• Standards: Our clients receive the utmost levels of service with world-class standards.

• Empowerment: Our employees are vital to our success and rewarded for outstanding performance and innovations.

• Profitability: We strive to ensure the full success and profitability of our organization.

• Responsibility: We pride ourselves on our work ethics and strive for the highest levels of professional standards.

VALUES

• Transparency: We are transparent with our clients and with each other.

• Efficiency: We achieve the highest levels of efficiency within our organization.

• Communication: We work as a team and communicate with each other to improve the success of our business.

Recently we have relaunched our company website to provide a more user-friendly, design-driven portal, which provides a full overview of our services and outlines the advantages of utilising them. You can visit it at nasjet.com.sa

We welcome the opportunity to serve you onboard one of our private jets.

Captain Mohammed Al Gabbas Chief Commercial Officer

Contact Details: nasjet.com.sa / +966 11 261 1199

Cover : Margot Robbie Art Streiber/AUGUST

Ways We Can Serve You

Full range of services cater to your every need

Aircraft Management

Owning a private jet is certainly a pleasure, but it is also a significant capital investment. We can handle that hassle and give you peace of mind knowing that an established and experienced international operator is efficiently managing your aircraft. The company has grown to managing/supporting in excess of 15 Middle East-based aircraft.

Charter

NASJET has a dedicated fleet of ultra-modern aircraft available for immediate charter, including Airbus, Gulfstream, Legacy, and Citation Excel. We are also able to source any type of aircraft in the world if our fleet does not match your preference. Your requests and personal requirements are managed by a team of highly experienced charter experts focused on making your trip exceptionally comfortable and seamless. Remember, we are looking to exceed your expectations, with our Client Service team operating 24/7, 365 days a year, to ensure we are doing just that.

For frequent charter clients, we have a number of flexible and dynamic Block-Charter programs with all the usual benefits of the on-demand charter but with additional cost savings based on volume discounts and flexible payment terms. The charter programs allow you to take control of your flying requirements on a trip-by-trip basis. At the same time, it grants you access to the largest regionally managed fleet with seamless operations and a superior level of safety, reliability, and value. For Charter Broker inquiries, please contact our 24/7 charter department at +966 11 261 1199 or email charter@flynas.com.

Flight Support-Aircraft Owners

Aircraft owners managing an aircraft internally can still benefit from NASJET's unrivaled level of international support and significant

'economy of scale' cost-saving benefits. The NASJET Flight Center, Client Service, Charter Team, and Engineering Teams operate 24/7, supporting owners with flight planning, overnight & landing permits, ground handling, fuel management, accommodation, catering, aircraft insurance, maintenance, and evaluations. NASJET will provide aircraft owners with 'back-up' aircraft at attractive prices when their aircraft is unavailable. The core management fleet includes Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Embraer, and Gulfstream aircraft.

Aircraft Sales

As a world-class owner, operator, and manager of corporate aircraft, we are in a unique position to understand the many advantages and disadvantages of aircraft ownership. We offer real-time pricing analysis, aircraft financing at preferential rates, aircraft inspections, sales/ marketing collateral, and assertive price negotiations. Close ties with the leading business aircraft manufacturers, operators, and international sales brokers further ensure the information presented is accurate and timely. Dedicated teams are able to handle legal and administrative documentation, including registration and licensing, as well as scouring the market to present you with the widest

possible choice of aircraft. We have the required experience to enter into negotiations on any aircraft model, and together with marketing and advertising experts, we can help you buy or sell your aircraft with cost efficiency and the utmost discretion. With NASJET, you can be assured that your aircraft sale or purchase is being managed by aviation experts.

Completions Advisory

If you are planning to purchase a new 'green' aircraft or refurbish your current aircraft, we have the capability and wealth of experience to ensure the completion and delivery of the aircraft is to the highest standard, protecting the future residual value of your aircraft. NASJET and appointed partners provide advice on the design, selection, and installation of the cabin configuration, layout, type of seats, carpets, sidewall treatments, and other furnishings, entertainment and communication systems, galley, and lavatory fixtures, avionics packages, exterior paint, and extended warranty programs. Operating business aircraft in extremely hot and humid climates can mean the finishing and preparation of materials must be of a specific requirement. Capitalising on our regional knowledge as an operator of over 15 fixed-wing aircraft with hundreds of thousands of miles flown across every continent in the world, we guarantee your aircraft will be finished to the optimum standard.

Introducing Our Fleet

Over 19 fixed-wing aircraft are under our management

Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) A318

In NASJET, we have two types of Airbus A318, an aircraft that combines Airbus reliability and intercontinental performance.

Airbus A320neo

Airbus A320neo is distinguished by its innovative technologies and the spaciousness of its cabin the widest in the single-aisle aircraft category. The aircraft is equipped with a new generation of engines that contribute to a 15% cutback in fuel consumption and harmful emissions and a 50% reduction in noise level.

Boeing (B767) and Boeing (BBJ3)

Boeing Business Jets bring the best of private air travel, offering customers a wide range of Boeing products. The robust characteristics of this aircraft also provide an excellent value proposition

when outfitted for more personalised space, unmatched reliability, and worldwide support.

Gulfstream (G450) and Gulfstream (GIV-SP)

NASJET is the longest-standing Gulfstream operator in the Middle East. You can fly in a spacious and comfortable cabin, which includes a full-service galley to serve your favourite meals.

Embraer Legacy 600 and Legacy 650

The NASJET Legacy 600 has installed an Ionization System that eliminates 99.9% of all microbes, bacteria, germs, bad smells, etc., in the cabin air during flight. This Legacy 600 is the first and only business jet to have this system installed during the Covid-19 pandemic and will significantly reduce the virus's spread within the cabin air.

Cessna Citation Excel

The Citation Excel aircraft combines transcontinental range and remarkable efficiency in a beautiful mid-size jet. The cabin offers a comfortable room and a spacious interior. The high-quality leather seats are extra wide with full reclining capabilities for optimal comfort.

Bombardier Challenger 850

The Challenger 850 aircraft is considered a mid-range aircraft which offers a spacious cabin and a large baggage area.

Dassault Falcon 900B

The Falcon 900B aircraft is one of the quietest three engine aircraft with an excellent transcontinental range and the ability to carry a greater number of passengers.

We are also able to source any type of aircraft in the world if our fleet does not match your preference

The exceptional creations of Wallace Chan, one of the world’s greatest living jewellery artists, have an appropriate stage to shine this month when they go on show at Christie’s headquarters in London. The largest ever European exhibition of Chan’s work, highlights include the Legend of the Colour Black , a unique shoulder brooch sculpture that contains a 312.24ct cut black diamond as its centrepiece, known to be the world’s largest. The intricate piece also features Wallace Chan Porcelain, a material Chan has spent years developing that’s five times stronger than steel. Another notable brooch, The Joy of Life , features Chan’s emblematic butterfly, composed of pink sapphire, sapphire, tsavorite garnet, diamond, yellow diamond, pearl, and titanium.

Wallace Chan, The Wheel of Time, September 4-10, Christie’s London

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

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

MESSIKA

MIDNIGHT SUN HIGH JEWELLERY

Valerie Messika’s 10th high jewellery collection draws inspiration from the nightlife of the 1970s, capturing the energy, euphoria and glamour of a decade that birthed legendary clubs like New York’s Studio 54. Showcased by Carla Brunei, the collection is split

into sets, through which dazzling yellow diamonds are a running theme, not least in the Glitter Fever set. For it, Messika uses the traditional snow setting for the first time to light up 15 cushion-cut yellow diamonds, ranging from two to 15 carats.

RICHARD MILLE RM 72-01 LE MANS CLASSIC

As June came to a close this year, over 9,000 vintage racing cars roared their way around the legendary Le Mans circuit for the 11th staging of Le Mans Classic, the bi-annual event Richard Mille has supported since its inception. From 2008, the

brand has also developed a timepiece — in the Classic’s signature green and white — to mark each event. The RM 72-01 LMC boasts the company’s first flyback chronograph and is limited to 150 pieces, so you’ll need to be quicker than those racing cars to get one.

Louis Vuitton steps up its shoe game with the launch of Shake, a versatile design that takes its visual cues from the Twist bag and is defined by a square toe in front, a block heel shaped as a V, and the monogram adopted as the closure on the upper tongue. Offered

in a variety of styles and heel sizes — from pumps and slingbacks to sandals, Mary Janes and loafers — colour options extend from core shades of black and nude to rose, burgundy, marine blue, and attention-grabbing leopard print.

LOUIS VUITTON LV SHAKE

TAMARA RALPH COUTURE FALL/WINTER 2023-24

Tamara Ralph, formerly one half of Ralph & Russo, the British couture brand that designed the Duchess of Sussex’s engagement dress, debuts her eponymous brand with this exceptional couture collection. “We are creating the world we wish existed,” she said, which makes for a

world draped in sumptuous materials like silk crepe, chiffon, silk satin organza, silk taffeta and velvet, with embellishments aplenty (roses encrusted with crystals, ornate cages draped in pearls and crystals). Bold, colourful, and confident, it’s a statement of intent from Ralph.

CHANEL

TWEED DE CHANEL

Of all the many codes that run through the house of Chanel, tweed is arguably the most overt. A staple of the fashion collections, tweed debuted as a high jewellery collection in 2020, and makes a return for the latest dazzling assemblage, comprising 64 pieces in all.

Its centrepiece is the spectacular Tweed Royal necklace, resplendent in yellow gold, white gold, diamonds, and rubies. Transformable, the lion’s head can be worn as a brooch or as a necklace, and the pear-cut diamond as a ring.

At the turn of the twentieth century and for decades after, to own a Duesenberg was to own what was widely considered to be the best car in the world. Knowing its standing, Duesenberg never used an image of the car in its advertising, only a scene reflecting the lifestyle of its privileged owners. This 1929

Duesenberg

was originally purchased by William Wrigley Jr of Wrigley chewing gum fame, but ended up in a storage yard, from where it was purchased in 1941 for the princely sum of $20. Now its asking price is $2,950,000.

by

RM SOTHEBY’S DUESENBERG MODEL J ‘SWEEP PANEL

Model J ‘Sweep Panel’ Dual-Cowl Phaeton

LeBaron

HELLESSY RESORT 2024

Designer Sylvie Millstein, who spent a decade at Chanel before launching her own brand from her New York apartment in 2012, has built it on a sound footing of meticulously tailored designs that can be worn time and again. In fact, to prove the point, a couple of

styles from the brand’s archive have been recast in this collection. Elsewhere, opulent textures, iridescent sequins, and lurex chenille are reworked onto statement suiting and separates, with a colour palette that spans pastels to dark neutrals.

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Perpetrator

Dir. Jennifer Reeder

When a reckless teenage girl is sent to live with her estranged aunt she experiences a radical metamorphosis. Soon, teen girls at her new school go missing.

AT BEST: ‘A smart high-school horror in which empathy takes on supernatural qualities.’ — Carmen Gray, Sight & Sound

AT WORST: ‘The tonal uncertainty is hardly helped by an arch performance style that too often strays closer to play-acting than acting.’ — Jessica Klang, Variety

It Lives Inside

Dir. Bishal Dutta

A mysterious, empty mason jar broken in a moment of anger unleashes an ancient Indian demonic force to shatter a teen’s reality.

AT BEST: ‘A demonic horror tale that plays recognisable genre hits with a cultural twist.’ — Matt Donato, Slashfilm

AT WORST: ‘Suffers from frustrating execution, generic plotting, and underwhelming thrills.’ — Rendy Jones, Rendy Reviews

Scrapper

Dir. Charlotte Regan

Following the death of her mother, a reality-resistant 12-year-old girl is forced to reunite with her estranged father.

AT BEST: ‘One of those sweet, funny films that takes pleasure in the wonder of youth.’ — Josh Flanders, Chicago Reader

AT WORST: ‘Trying too hard to be funny and offbeat and ends up being too often simply annoying.’ — Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter

Cassandro

Dir. Roger Ross Williams

An amateur wrestler rises to international stardom after he creates a character that upends the macho wrestling world.

AT BEST: ‘[An] entertaining biopic, which doubles as a gorgeous depiction of mother-son love.’ —David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

AT WORST: ‘The film isn’t as good or polished as the leading performance due to the run-of-the-mill biopic structure.’ — Hector A. Gonzalez, The Movie Buff

When We Were Sisters , by Fatimah Asghar. traces the intense bond of three orphaned Muslim American siblings who, after their parents die, are left to raise one another. “Pop culture will have us believe that all parentless pain must be channelised into greatness in a Potter world or a Gotham City. Asghar’s triumph lies in completely reclaiming identities from any such stereotypical lens,” writes Vogue India. “Braids lyric and narrative vignettes into a tender, vivid, heart-aching story of three orphaned sisters and the world they create together, the great beauty and stunning pain of that belonging,” says Electric Literature of Asghar’s debut novel. Time also heralds it as “exquisite,” a book which “wrestles with gender, siblinghood, family, and what it means to be Muslim in America, all through the lens of love.”

Chelsea Martin’s Tell Me I’m An Artist examines themes including class divide and the shame of

choosing a different path to that laid out for you. “This is the great contemporary American novel about class. Martin’s debut captures the often unconsidered ways that class will shape a life you’ve convinced yourself in charge of. [It] also does that magic thing that only the greatest of fiction can do: It makes you think that maybe art can save you,” reviews Seattle Times . “It’s the larger feminist question ungirding these pages that gives the book its weight: What do women owe their families? And what happens when they cut those ties to become artists?” poses Anisse Gross for the San Francisco Chronicle. “Even though Joey [the main character] doesn’t end up making any great art, her path is a reminder that pursuing one’s vision of an artistic life is its own reward, and a messy personal life is often part and parcel of the art journey.” How much truth is there in the

adapted adage ‘What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’? That’s the question posed by author Mike Mariani in his new book What Doesn’t Kill Us , whose own life was transformed by the onset of a chronic illness. “If you listen closely, this book will ask you to reexamine everything you believe about incarceration, injury, tragedy, and joy — and to think harder about how we might all do better, as individuals and institutions, to support the thriving of every human life,” says fellow author Leslie Jamison.

Publishers Weekly calls it, “A heartrending examination of surviving trauma… Mariani concludes with penetrating wisdom on the nature of suffering, positing that whether tragedies make someone stronger is less important than how they shape one’s identity.” While Kirkus Reviews states that it carries, “A strong message of hope in the face of life-altering trauma.”

Shooting Star

How a football-loving grandmother became the offical photographer to a rock star

Asingle mother of three children and a grandmother of two, Sharon Latham has survived a hideous car accident and cancer twice to power through as a latecomer photographer. She has photographed some of the world’s most recognisable faces, making her way through possibly the most male-dominated industry of all, football. As the former official photographer for her beloved Manchester City, Latham is currently in place as the official photographer for Burnley FC, recently documenting their relentless

march into the Premier League. Her unusual journey began when her father died when she was eight years old. Her only item of inheritance from him was his camera, which she picked up there and then and never put down. Although her love of photography was undying, her journey towards a career in the industry didn’t begin until almost three decades later. First, came a marriage to the wrong man at 18. Three children, a divorce, a second marriage and various unsatisfying career choices later, Latham had her

epiphany. Her second marriage had failed, she was in her mid-30s, and she decided that it was now or never.

With her fourth decade not too far away, Latham packed-up her belongings and moved from Manchester to Liverpool. It was the noughties and the music scene was on fire, and as a fan, she went to every gig she could, offering her photography services for free. Yet her talent and chutzpah meant that she didn’t have to work for free for very long.

With momentum and wind in her sails, Latham soon made a name for

WORDS: CARU SANDERS

herself and steady work soon flowed from the sports and music industries.

Fate, though, would soon deal another serious blow.

On the way to an assignment, Latham was involved in a horrific car accident that would break her back in two places and leave her wheelchair-bound for a year and a half. It would put her career on indefinite hold, but such was her standing in the community that almost as soon as she had fully recovered in 2007, her friend Robert Foster called to ask whether she was still in the game of sports photography, with a tip off that Manchester City were looking for a photographer.

L atham immediately threw her hat into the ring, beating off all the other candidates to become the official photographer for the club for the next five years. Meanwhile, she continued to keep her hand in rock photography, and after striking up a friendship with one of Manchester City’s most famous fans, Noel Gallagher, she started photographing him.

So impressed was he, that L atham

became Gallagher’s official photographer in 2016 and has since snapped many rock ‘n’ roll legends: The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Dave Grohl, Johnny Marr, Paul Weller, and Harry Styles are among the many famous faces to have posed in front of her lens. While in Los Angeles as part of High Flying Birds’ US tour in 2018, Gallagher instructed Latham to put her camera down and enjoy some downtime with the band. In the same venue, Lars Ulrich from Metallica and Clem Burke, the drummer from Blondie, were enjoying drinks. “I said to Noel, ‘Look over there, there’s a Bradley Cooper lookalike,’” Latham laughs. “Noel then said, ‘Shazzer, that is Bradley Cooper’ and introduced me.

“Noel left, and Bradley and I ended up talking about photography and then he said, ‘C’mon, let’s have a selfie’”, Latham recalls. She explained that her phone had run out of battery, so Cooper took the photo on his device. “The next morning, I woke up with a hangover to a message and a photo from Bradley Cooper”, she smiles. Later that year, their paths would cross again at the premiere of A Star Is

Born. With the crowd of photographers vying for the best shots of Cooper and Lady Gaga, Sharon climbed on a stool to give herself an additional advantage. Cooper stopped in his tracks. “I know you”, he exclaimed, recognising her.

“I’m terrible with names, forgive me. You’re Noel Gallagher’s photographer!”

Sensing that her co-star Cooper and this photographer were on friendly terms, Lady Gaga pulled Latham aside to offer some exclusive shots. “I’m going to pose especially for you, Sharon”, said Gaga, who loved the shots so much that her PR people tracked down Latham via Instagram and bought one.

Since Latham’s father died, all she has done is take photographs, although she still can’t quite believe that she makes a living from it. Now in her 50s, whether photographing Noel Gallagher from the side of a Glastonbury stage, or at Burnley FC, capturing their return to the Premier League, she is conscious that she really is living the dream. Sharon Latham’s work is available via RedHouse Originals Gallery redhouseoriginals.com

Left: Manchester Arena, 2018. “That was the first time I photographed the arena since the Manchester bombing. I found it very overwhelming. This is my area, my town; it’s an amazing venue, an amazing place to shoot. I remember sitting on the stage and literally crying.

I don’t know how Noel could cope with those lyrics (Don’t Look Back In Anger) being sung to him with such emotion,” says Sharon

Right: Joshua Tree Natonal Park, 2018.

“Just the best video shoot ever. Weird as hell. We drove two hours from LA into the desert and there was all this equipment set up in the middle of nowhere. The gun was just a prop of course, but it looked cool,” says Sharon

‘ The next morning I woke up to a message and photo from BradleyCooper’

History Repeating

London-based Indian jeweller Krishna Choudhary explains how he channels centuries of family heritage into breathtaking contemporary designs

WORDS: CHRIS ANDERSON

Talking to Krishna Choudhary, a 10th-generation Indian jeweller, at Santi Jewels, his appointment-only atelier in London’s Mayfair, you begin to wonder what it must have been like for him growing up. Raised in his family’s opulent ancestral home in Jaipur, Choudhary was constantly reminded of the strong lineage he hails from, with his ancestors supplying exquisite gems to India’s maharajas and noblemen during the 18th century, and much of that heritage on full display, with lavish jewels and artefacts at every turn.

Some of those pieces have even travelled to the UK with him, and as he speaks he pulls box after box from his desk and cupboards, each containing items from the family vault, revealing how he occasionally lends to museums, including London’s V&A. But their presence is also useful to explain Choudhary’s heritage, the designs and precious stones of the past, and how each becomes part of his modern interpretations – yes, your Santi Jewels purchase could contain jewels that are hundreds of years old.

As an example, Choudhary takes out a flower pendant of his own making, featuring six early laldi Mughal spinels and two rare Golconda diamonds, suspended from a black silk cord. The floral motif takes its cues from an antique arm band worn by Indian emperors and kings, which also featured spinels, cut in a specific way to retain their maximum weight and colour, but appearing flat. The Golconda diamonds, meanwhile, are from the famed Indian mines of the same name, closed in 1830, known for producing some of the world’s finest gems, including the Koh-i-Noor diamond, part of the British Crown Jewels.

Each jewellery piece is not just

Previous page: Krishna Choudhary, at Royal Gems & Arts in Jaipur, by Ashish Sahi

Left: Krishna Choudhary

Right: Royal Gems & Arts in Jaipur, by Ashish Sahi

fascinating due to the colour, the sparkle and the intricate design, but also the history that accompanies it. “Mughal artisans would create composite designs of natural patterns, such as flowers, and play with a fluid sense of the symmetry,” says Choudhary. “The laldi spinels were sourced in Afghanistan, and first set during the Mughal period, which ended in the 18th century. I also use Colombian emeralds, Kashmir sapphires, and natural Basra pearls from the Arabian Gulf, all from the family archives, set by hand into modern graphic designs of titanium or platinum.”

Santi Jewels, which Choudhary explains produces just 12-15 designs a year, also offers rings, earrings, brooches and bracelets. A pyramid ring, with an 18th century emerald mounted on the top, is featured in the display on the desk between us. It has a band of diamonds that echoes the ornamental openwork screens common in Indian architecture. “The cut of the emerald is different to what you might see in European jewellery,” says Choudhary. “The focus there is on perfection and symmetry, but this is about retaining size and colour.”

Choudhary reveals that the emerald was sourced by his father, Santi, decades ago, himself a jeweller – the founder of Royal Gems & Arts in Jaipur, one of India’s most exclusive jewellery houses – and whom Santi Jewels is named after, founded in 2019. “My father is very much into the classic style, while I prefer contemporary, so we disagree a lot,” laughs Choudhary. “In fact, he was here just before you arrived.”

While he may have been influenced by his father and his heritage, becoming a jeweller of such acclaim

still requires skill and dedication. Originally, Choudhary had little interest in the family business, but after obtaining degrees in business, and Islamic and Indian art history, he studied at the Gemological Institute of America. Looking at images in books, he noted that many of the items pictured were similar to those displayed at the family home in Jaipur, and he realised the importance of his lineage. He now cites “passion” as the driving force that keeps him designing, and pursuing new ideas.

As Choudhary pulls more items from his drawers – this time a set of Cartouche earrings, with a chevron motif and dramatic trickles of diamonds, cut into wafer-thin titanium – you might wonder who these pieces, which sometimes take years to put together, appeal to. Indian businessmen or historians, perhaps? “It’s a lot of collectors, people with a passion for art, and a lot of affluent clients from Asia, the Middle East, and the technology world,” Choudhary explains. “And their education, learning about this history, is part of the process. It’s a different audience to the one my father deals with.”

With his creations starting at $30,000, and a modern take on classic ingredients, Choudhary is offering something unique to his customers. And his work is an endless source of fascination to the jeweller himself –as our meeting ends, he recalls the exact moment this interest consumed him. “It was when I was studying gemology, and seeing the connections to my family,” he says. “I went back to Jaipur and looked at one of the stones from the archives under a microscope. It was like there was a whole other universe in there. No other jeweller can offer anything like this.”

‘ My father is very much into the classic style, while I prefer contemporary, so we disagree a lot’

Watchmaker OfTh e I m p elbisso

Time takes a leap with Andersen Genève’s new timepiece

WORDS: NICK WATKINS

Amidst the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing and infamous Woodstock festival, a remarkable new timepiece emerged on the scene that propelled its creator into the upper echelons of horology. The year is 1969 and young watchmaker Svend Anderson’s ground-breaking Bottle Clock was not only deemed a work of art but would also signify the start of an illustrious career.

Little did Anderson know that his rather elaborate side hustle would in fact be the catalyst for a life at the very top of his profession. In fact, his neverbefore-seen creation was so impressive it earned him the reputation as the ‘Watchmaker of the Impossible’. While critics raved about the incredible Bottle Clock, Anderson was still working at Gübelin in Geneva doing after-sales service – but it wouldn’t be for long. Suitably impressed by his handiwork, Patek Philippe soon came knocking, and soon Anderson was working on and repairing the world’s most complex timepieces.

Demand for the Bottle Clocks continued throughout the 1970s, with 38 being sold in total. Following a decade working for Patek Philippe, the time came for Andersen to take the next step in his career, and Andersen Genève’s doors opened for business on January 1, 1980. Ever since, the brand has been the epitome of Swiss watchmaking excellence, with one example being the extraordinary Secular Calendar complication – which needs no adjustment in the years 2100, 2200, and 2300. “In 1996 I developed a very compact mechanism,” Anderson tells AIR. “This was in order to have the four years of the normal ‘perpetual calendar program’ to a program wheel turning once in 400 years. All of this has to take place in a tiny wristwatch. It’s not ‘downsizing’ the secular perpetual calendar mechanism that you see in clocks or pocket watches – like the Calibre 89 from Patek Philippe. It is a different and very smart way to position the wheels inside the module. No patent and top secret!” He adds.

In 2020 the company celebrated its 40th anniversary with the release of four stunning timepieces featuring a refined interpretation of the classic Jumping Hours complication. Now recognised as the brand’s signature,

the complication again features on Andersen Genève’s latest timepiece – The Jumping Hours Rising Sun Edition. Unveiled in Tokyo earlier this year, Andersen Genève has once again raised the bar with its new limitededition offering. The ultra-slim design has a unique blend of pink gold dial in a superbly handcrafted platinum case. Powered by the Frederic Piguet 11.50 movement, the two-barrel architecture ensures a long power reserve of 70 hours. Andersen Genève’s managing director, Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, explains that working with precious metals is a challenging task for even the most skilled artisans. “The lugs take a lot of time to manufacture. Then they have to be perfectly polished without breaking the angles, which is not an easy task for the polisher! Platinum is very hard to work with, as it ‘sticks’ to the tools, as they say. Then, once perfectly polished, they are welded to the satin finished case.” Collectors should count themselves lucky as fifty of the new timepieces

have been made – an increase on the number of the brand’s sold out limitededition watches released two years ago.

“We made a forty-piece limited edition Jumping Hours with a hand guilloché BlueGold dial to celebrate our 40th anniversary,” Aeschlimann states.

“This year we decided to offer a slightly higher numbered limited edition for the Jumping Hours Rising Sun Edition,” news that’ll delight the “watch literate” Japanese collectors, as Aeschlimann puts it. “Japanese and Italian collectors are the most demanding on Earth,” he says. “It’s an honour to have ambassadors in those countries, as they’ve been loving Swiss watches since the 1950s.”

Years of experience and hard work allow those at Andersen Genève to take that knowledge forward into current creations. Traditional watchmaking methods remain largely in place for the artisans in the Andersen Genève workshop, who work alongside high quality independent partners that manufacture certain components. For the new Jumping Hours, artisans were able to study the complication they made in the 1990s for Cartier’s limited edition Jour et Nuit for the exclusive Pasha collection. “We never start from scratch,” Aeschlimann points out. “The Cartier complication was the base to develop the new Jumping Hours module. Everything has been redeveloped and tested, and we now have a very robust, accurate, and beautifully finished Jumping Hours Module. Some timepieces can have 70 hours power reserve, which is outstanding bearing in mind that the movement without complication has a maximum of 80 hours power reserve. It took us a lot of time to achieve this and we are very proud of it.”

Both the Rising Sun and the four 40th anniversary Jumping Hours timepieces are made all the more desirable as the clock is ticking on creations from the hand of Andersen himself. “I do not think I will create new models at the age of 90,” he admits when asked if plans are already in place for the brand’s 50th anniversary. However, collectors shouldn’t fear as Aeschlimann, Andersen’s successor, confirms, “There are many timepieces that I want to offer to collectors. Some beautiful projects will soon be ready.”

‘ There are many timepieces that I want to offer collectors’

Previous page: Jumping Hours Rising Sun Edition in platinum

Right: Shellman Voyage Andersen Genève, 2005

How Margot Robbie became the ultimate 21st century movie star

WORDS: ROBBIE COLLIN

The key to understanding Margot Robbie isn’t any of the roles she’s played or professional moves she’s made. It’s a WhatsApp message she sent in October 2017.

A few months before receiving her first Oscar nomination for her work in the ice-skating drama I, Tonya , the then-27-year-old actress was due to give a speech at a glossy soirée playing tribute to women in Hollywood.

S he could hardly avoid addressing the #MeToo scandals unfolding at the time: the New York Times had run its expose on Harvey Weinstein just two days earlier. But what extra light could she personally shed? To work it out, she sent out an appeal to her London group chat of young women working in the industry, largely behind the scenes. What should she raise there? Which important stories remained untold? The ensuing flood of replies were compiled by her into an open letter, which she later read out at the event. It was signed not by Robbie herself, but simply “The Girls Club”.

W hat do we learn from this? First, that she is not averse to doing her homework. But second, and more importantly, that even four years after her career-making turn in The Wolf of Wall Street – by which point she was a comic-book heroine, had starred in a glossy con-artist caper opposite Will Smith, and had become famous enough to cameo in The Big Short as herself – the vanity that so often goes hand-inhand with early-stage movie stardom (equal parts ego trip and survival

strategy) had simply never kicked in.

S ix years on from then, she’s now literally Barbie incarnate; the star of the plastic doll-themed summer smash-hit comedy which, despite its almost invisibly subtle marketing campaign, you may have heard about. But in toy terms, she still prefers to be off the shelf and down in the box.

T hat attitude was hardwired during her soap opera days, where rattling out episodes at speed was a group effort, and the usual Hollywood hierarchies (stars and mortals, cast and crew) simply didn’t exist. Like other Australian stars before her – Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue – she honed her craft on TV show Neighbours , moving to Melbourne from her family’s farm in rural Queensland and pestering her way into a role at 17 years old.

S he was cast as Donna Freedman, a quirky free spirit who was initially only meant to appear for a short run of episodes. In the end she stayed for 327 – and they would have gladly had her for longer, if other doors hadn’t begun to swing temptingly open on the other side of the planet.

S he moved to Hollywood at 21, during the annual audition binge of pilot season, and within weeks had been cast opposite Christina Ricci in the period drama series Pan Am . The show tried to do for air hostessing what Mad Men did for the ad business, but it was cancelled after one season, and from the solitude of her private trailer, Robbie missed the canteen camaraderie of the Neighbours days.

‘ Margot has a unique audacity that surprises and challenges and just burns like a brand into every character she plays’

These pages, from top to bottom: Still from Mary Queen of Scots, 2018; Still from Wolf of Wall Street, 2013

N ow with a freer schedule, she was auditioning again – and was cast by Martin Scorsese in The Wolf of Wall Street over more established talents like Blake Lively and Amber Heard when, improvising during a reading with Leonardo DiCaprio, she slapped her A-list scene partner across the face. No vanity, no hierarchy: that goes for co-stars too.

S corsese would later rave to Time magazine about the classic Hollywood actresses whose trademarks she’d brought to the present: “Carole Lombard, for her all-bets-off feistiness; Joan Crawford, for her grounded, hardscrabble toughness; Ida Lupino, for her emotional daring. Margot has all this in addition to a unique audacity that surprises and challenges and just burns like a brand into every character she plays.”

B ut for Josie Rourke, who directed Robbie’s Bafta-nominated performance as Elizabeth I in 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots , the historical direction of travel is reversed. “Many of her most famous roles, from The Wolf of Wall Street to Suicide Squad to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , have been described as bombshells, and I think by that people mean they line up with a very 20th century idea of female sexuality on film,” she says.

“ But Margot is an inherently 21st century performer – she understands what that image is and how to access it, but she’s also in conversation with it, and able to reflect on her role in its authorship.” In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , that process became the film’s greatest scene: Robbie as Sharon Tate sitting in the cinema and watching

the real Sharon Tate play Freya Carlson, the sexy klutz, in The Wrecking Crew , losing herself in the hall-of-mirrors artifice of it, while delighting in the reactions it elicits from others.

P erhaps that explains why Barbie was all Robbie’s idea. After a previous iteration of the film fell through, she went to meet with Mattel in 2018, fathomed her own take on this Stepfordian icon of midcentury femininity (yes yes, Barbie was a politician and an astronaut too), and then spent a year persuading Greta Gerwig to direct and co-write it.

“ There are people who adore Barbie, people who hate Barbie – but the bottom line is everyone knows Barbie,” Robbie later told the New Yorker , before conceding that her deconstructionist approach was a “tall order” for a summer film based on a popular toy brand. “The dangerous thing about making something for everyone is that you ultimately make it for no one.” At one point, she debated at length with the Barbie brand guardians over a proposed scene in which her character (known as ‘Stereotypical Barbie’) is accused of being damaging to girls’ selfesteem. After six hours of discussion, it was decided it should stay in.

T o Robbie, that sort of control matters. One of the first things she did after The Wolf of Wall Street was set up her own production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, with some close friends and her then-partner (and now husband) Tom Ackerley. (She’d met Ackerley when he was working as an assistant director on her 2014 film Suite Française: once again,

hanging out with the crew paid off.)

T heir first film, I, Tonya , retold the Tonya Harding scandal from the iceskating world: like Robbie’s Barbie , the actress embraced her as a love-orhate figure, and the role yielded her first Oscar nomination. A few years later, LuckyChap co-produced Birds of Prey , a comic-book spin-off in which Robbie’s Harley Quinn, from Suicide Squad , took centre stage, and wrestled back control of her fate and image.

R ourke remembers watching Robbie in the original Suicide Squad , before the filming of Mary Queen of Scots , “and realising that such a big part of star power is dignity. I mean, the film was completely insane role, but she gave an incredibly dignified performance in the middle of a lot of other stuff that was swirling.” For Rourke, that’s what makes her a screen actress for the ages: “that dignified, earthed presence, where she can just hold a moment on screen for herself, makes an instant compact between her and the audience: ‘don’t worry, wherever this goes, you’re safe with me.’”

O ver the years, other unmade versions of the Barbie film have come and gone: Anne Hathaway and Amy Schumer were both at one stage attached to earlier iterations of the project. Perhaps Robbie felt like such a good fit because of that reassurance – and perhaps because, like Sharon Tate watching herself on screen, there’s that sliver of distance from, and playful curiosity about, the mechanisms by which this fantasy is made.

I n short, she’s in on the joke – and she wants you to be in there with her too.

‘ Such a big part of star power is dignity ’

WORDS: LISA ARMSTRONG

How Donatella Versace has taken the house her brother founded to new heights

On the bright, sunny morning we meet in her penthouse offices on the 10th floor of the shiny new Versace HQ in Milan, Donatella Versace is giving it the full works. Superficially, at least.

On closer acquaintance, however, there are subtle signs she’s moved on from the cartoon Donatella who was such a tabloid staple. The hair is still a knowingly unnatural shade of platinum, but it’s shoulder rather than waist length. The diamond slabs that used to adorn her knuckles have been replaced by some kind of ‘spiritual’ Chinese bracelet (truth be told, she’s bored with it but can’t get it off). The tan is more Biedermeier oak than mid-century teak and the tight, tight black clothes of yore have been replaced by a twinset and pearls.

Actually, that last bit isn’t true. The black trousers are still tight, though flared from the knee. On top, she’s wearing a floaty purple chiffon blouse. On her feet – it would be disappointing if otherwise – five-inch heels. This is Donatella at 68: thoughtful, selfdeprecating, but not giving any quarter to the Grow Old Gracefully lobby.

What must it be like to be the very public face of a brand that has always set a premium on an explicitly youthful sexiness? The answer’s not simple. While she was always shy, Donatella never exactly shunned the limelight – not like her daughter Allegra, for instance, now 36, who works for the company strictly behind the scenes. But in the early noughties, with the explosion of celebrity magazines prowling for humiliating pictures of celebrities, she was hunted.

Her response? To get more tanned, more tweaked – and back on the exercise bike. “I had a problem for so long with people looking at me and being judgmental. It’s a lot to take in. For years, I wanted to be invisible… but I’m a public figure for this company. I get that.”

Donatella, untrained and for a long time, unserious, was never meant to become one of the most famous designers in the world. In her seventh decade she finds herself fronting a company that’s bigger than ever since Capri Holdings (the fashion group, founded by Michael Kors, which also owns Jimmy Choo) bought it five years ago for just over $2 billion. All this has made her an unexpected role model. She balks at that suggestion. “If people like me now it’s probably just because

I’ve been around such a long time.” She’s underselling her achievement: there’s something impressive about the way she’s survived and ultimately thrived. “I have to pinch myself sometimes,” she says of how things have played out. There was a time – mid noughties – when the Versace business looked precarious. Her brother Gianni’s ‘more is more’ philosophy of piling baroque patterns on to animal prints, embellishing everything with gold Medusa heads and working in some bondage straps for good measure was always divisive. But his genius for tailoring and pushing creative and technical boundaries earned him unanimous respect. He was the first fashion designer to be given a solo show at London’s V&A, in 1985; he designed costumes for La Scala, the Royal Opera House and the San Francisco Opera. Even his arch rival, Armani, described him as “a great creator.”

After Gianni’s death in 1997, Donatella stepped into the breach. At her best, she brought a more wearable, less theatrical sensibility to the house that could nevertheless produce major fashion magic. The plunging jungle-

print dress that Jennifer Lopez wore to the Grammys in 2000 – so famous that Google created Google Image Search to cope with the demand – was designed under Donatella’s watch.

“The amazing thing about that dress is that it was all quite unpremeditated compared with how planned things are now,” says Donatella. “She just liked it and wore it. I don’t think she thought too much about the consequences.”

The JLo dress was a highlight, but Donatella’s overall creative output was erratic. By the poorly received spring/summer 2005 show in Milan – described by one critic as “a defiant limp” – the brand’s revenue had fallen by €300 million since Gianni’s death.

All of which makes the turnaround since remarkable. Vintage pieces hotly pursued by Gen Z; new collections worn by millennial talent (and Michelle Obama on her book tour) as well as by Hollywood royalty such as Jane Fonda, who still orders pieces in her 80s. “People rightly talk about Gianni’s talent,” says Fflur Roberts, head of luxury goods at Euromonitor International, a market intelligence company. “But there’s a

‘ I don’t think spending a lot of time thinking about how old you are is helpful ’

reason Capri Holdings paid such a high price and has injected so much energy into Versace – and that’s Donatella. She’s the heart of it. She knows the culture of that house inside out.”

In March, with all its old swagger back and then some, the Versace brand took its show to Los Angeles, two days before the Oscars. It was al fresco, with no plan B, and at the last moment, the team had to bring the event forward by 24 hours to avoid torrential rain on their parade. Rather than cancelling, more celebrities wanted to be added to the guest list. Lucky, because by the time 40 seamstresses had been flown over from Milan and the production costs and after-parties were paid for, the event was reputed to have cost $12 million.

As the sun set into the Hollywood Hills, Donatella unleashed some of her best work (tailoring so sharp Gianni would be impressed – inspired, Donatella says, by Joan Crawford) in front of an audience that included old- and new-guard celebrities. Cher, Sir Elton John, Demi Moore, Dua Lipa, Channing Tatum, Miley Cyrus, Lucien Laviscount, Lily James, Anne Hathaway, Pamela Anderson… at the Oscars themselves, Lady Gaga wore the boned black dress Gigi Hadid had modelled on the catwalk while Lily James wore a ravishing soft Versace pink feathered

slip dress to Vanity Fair ’s after-party. Versace’s relationship with James –they began working together in 2022, in a campaign for the brand where she was transformed from English rose to gothic vamp courtesy of a jet-black fringe – demonstrates the new direction in which Donatella has steered the brand, broadening its appeal beyond the obvious va-va-voom starlets.

Transformations are what she lives for. “Like any celebrity, Lily has her insecurities. The red carpet experience is like being naked. The whole world is looking and you can’t hide behind a character.” This is where Donatella’s beloved corsetry comes into play. But how do you make it comfortable?

“Comfort is a very overrated word,” she deadpans. Except she’s not entirely joking: “In some contexts, comfort is not as important as confidence. Sometimes people put on the dress and say they can’t breathe. I tell them to get used to it. Within seconds, they do.”

In May, two months after the LA show, Donatella, encased in, yes, corsetry, and not looking quite like any other 68-yearold, was on the red carpet at the Met Gala celebrating Karl Lagerfeld. She designed Anne Hathaway’s outfit that night – a tongue-in-cheek Versace take on Chanel that saw Liz Hurley’s 1994 safety-pin dress redone in vanilla tweed.

These pages, from left to right: Jennifer Lopez and Donatella walk the runway during Milan Fashion Week SS20; Versace FW23

The Versace show was then on the road once again – debuting a Vacanza Collection co-‘designed’ with Dua Lipa at the Cannes Film Festival. To be a big player these days, a brand must pull one off these ‘activations’ every couple of months. It sounds exhausting. Donatella keeps fit by exercising (a lot of Pilates), eating mainly vegetables, fish and, occasionally, brown rice, and on Fridays working from her home on Lake Como. She has finally given up smoking. There’s an unlit banana-flavoured e-cigarette in her hand, which is better than the two packets of Marlboros she used to get through daily. “My doctor said if you don’t quit, you won’t see me again.” So she did, overnight.

For the first 42 years of her life

Donatella had a fairly enviable time of it, running around as the indulged sister of Gianni. There’s another brother, Santo, the eldest of the trio, who for years oversaw the business. There was also a sister Tina, older than all of them, who died aged 12 from a tetanus infection. Antonio Versace, the patriarch, came from affluent stock. Francesca, his wife, was a self-made couturier who

determined her children would do well.

“I had a perfectly happy childhood, but we were very disciplined as a family,” says Donatella. She and Gianni, especially, adored one another, but it was, at times, complicated. Donatella and her then-husband Paul Beck, a Versace model and the father of her two children (Daniel, now 33, and Allegra) were so close to Gianni and his boyfriend, Antonio D’Amico, they lived in each others’ admittedly capacious pockets. By their own admission, the family dynamic could get highly operatic.

The Versaces were not exactly publicity averse. “Gianni was the first to dress celebrities,” Donatella tells me. Armani would probably dispute that – he led the Hollywood invasion when he dressed Richard Gere for American Gigolo in 1980 when the Versace company was barely two years old. But while Armani preferred A-list actors, Versace loved them all. Prince, Elton, George Michael, Sting and Trudie (he designed their wedding outfits).... Gianni and Donatella were unashamedly star-struck, endlessly hosting them at their increasingly lavish homes.

‘ Getting lost in things that are just for now can so quickly get out of control’

These pages, from left to right: Versace FW23; Donatella and Anne Hathaway on their way to this year’s Met Gala

It was a dream existence for Donatella, who could play at being designer (he let her have Versus, a spin-off line he launched in 1989) and socialite and muse. He took her advice seriously, listening to her instructions to go shorter, tighter, more, more, more – just as she’d once listened to him telling her to go blonder and browner.

Christopher Kane, the British designer who worked with her in 2009 when she relaunched Versus, says her impact was more profound that she’s given credit for. “Gianni was one of fashion’s greats and together, they were part of something so progressive and new in fashion history. It was Donatella who challenged society’s perception of how women could dress and feel. Even now, there isn’t one fashion student or studio who hasn’t pinned them to a wall.”

Better still, she had influence without the responsibility of running a big company. Also, in those days, without the mob on social media, being famous was arguably a lot more fun.

Until it wasn’t. Gianni was murdered at the family’s holiday home in Miami in 1997 and Donatella, who along with her daughter Allegra, then 11, inherited a major chunk of the company. Donatella had to grow up, step up and become the public face of the brand at a time when she felt “destroyed” inside. The destruction was partly self-inflicted – drink, drugs… Allegra was ill with anorexia. It was a huge amount to deal with.

She grieved for years internally while externally trying to keep afloat a company where the good times were never supposed to stop – all the while under fire from the tabloid press. She understands how Madonna, whom she recently outfitted in a black tuxedo, must be feeling. “She’s been very badly attacked on social media. I think she’s probably feeling quite down.”

Does she think there’s more misogyny and ageism around, as Madonna has claimed? “I don’t like to give it too much thought. If people are misogynist towards me, frankly that’s their problem. I decided a long time ago it’s not going to change the way I behave.”

Outwardly, she’s not making any obvious concessions to age. She looks after her skin more carefully than in the past and no longer tans the way she did.

“When I realised how much the sun was

destroying my skin, I stopped.” Also the fillers have gone. “I don’t like that look any more, so I had them removed.

“I don’t think spending a lot of time thinking about how old you are is helpful,” she says. “I think it’s more important to be kind – to others and to yourself.” She’s naturally drawn to outsiders, donating to charities and lending support to underrepresented communities. Plenty see her as a shoulder to cry on. I start to ask her something about empathy – “I try to forgive myself,” she says, suddenly. “But some things I can’t forgive myself for.”

Her voice falters. “I still have so much guilt from those early times, after Gianni died.” I assume she means guilt for initially letting the company slide, but, even after all these years, her grief is more visceral than that. “Gianni wanted us all to get to Miami a day earlier than we did – Paul, me and the children. But for some reason, I don’t remember exactly what, we didn’t. We were in Rome and I said, ‘What’s the rush?’ If we had [gone sooner], there would have been more security around the house, because of the children…” She brushes tears from her eyes. For almost 30 years, she has believed that if they’d arrived earlier, Andrew Cunanan wouldn’t have got close enough to her brother to shoot him.

If the house of Versace has not, like some of its Italian peers, fallen foul of political correctness in recent times, that’s partly because Donatella and Gianni Versace were always inclusive. Donatella has made a point of working with young talent and she has a shrewd eye. After she relaunched Versus, she collaborated not just with Kane, but JW Anderson, another British standout who now runs Loewe, then Anthony Vaccarello, who went on to head Saint Laurent. Kane recalls how she puts people at ease. “She has this rock-star vibe but she’s very downto-earth and funny to everyone.”

“I think if you listen to your team, you’re more likely to get it right,” Donatella says. “But still, you have to be very careful what you say now because things so quickly get distorted.”

When I ask what her advice is to younger women today, she responds instantly. “To step back from technology sometimes and not chase likes or followers, because getting lost in things that are just for now can so quickly get out of control.”

Donatella knows where of she speaks and that’s what gives her potency. “But why should young people listen to me?” she laughs. “My daughter certainly doesn’t.”

‘ I try to forgive myself but some things I can’t forgive myself for ’

These pages, from below: Donatella with brother Gianni Versace. 1996; Versace FW23

Lisa Armstrong/ Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023

Left: Gabrielle Chanel, 31 rue Cambon, Paris, 1937. Photo: Roger Schall/Condé Nast/ Shutterstock

A new exhibition charts the designer’s transformation from an impoverished girl to a woman whose style went on to define not just her own era, but ours too

This page, from left to right: Gabrielle Chanel, suit, autumn/winter 1964 ©Patrimoine de CHANEL, Paris/Photo: Nicholas Alan Cope; three looks in situ for the exhibition at London's V&A; Roussy Sert wearing a long white sequin dress by Chanel, and a 15-strand coral necklace, Photograph by André Durst, 1936. ©Andre Durst/Condé Nast/Shutterstock Opposite page: Marilyn Monroe applying Chanel N°5 at the Ambassador Hotel, New York, 1955. Photograph by Ed Feingersh. ©Ed Feingersh/ Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images

How did a French couturière, Gabrielle, become Coco Chanel? A show which opens this month at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London aims to answer this very question through an examination of the life and designs of one of the fashion industry’s most celebrated creatives. Having transferred from the Palais Galliera in Paris, it is the UK’s first exhibition dedicated entirely to the work of Chanel. Curated by Oriole Cullen, the mastermind behind the V&A’s recent Christian Dior exhibition, it will feature more than 200 looks. Visitors will be able to walk among some of the earliest surviving Chanel creations, including costumes for a 1924 Ballets Russes production of Le Train Bleu , and outfits for the actresses Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich. The exhibition will also feature archive photography contextualising Chanel’s life, offering an insight into the process of self-creation that enabled her to become a name synonymous with Parisian chic, from Gabrielle to ‘Coco’. Gabrielle Chanel’s early life was difficult. She was born into poverty in rural France in 1883 and, after the death of her mother, she and her siblings were abandoned at an orphanage by their father. As a young adult, she moved to Moulins where she worked as a seamstress and café

singer, and it was during this period that she reclaimed the nickname Coco, originally given to her by her father. Among her favourite songs in her repertoire was 'Qui qu’a vu Coco', and close friends and family began addressing her as Coco. Shortly thereafter, she met the wealthy British polo player Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel. In a period of limited social mobility, their relationship and Capel’s financial support gave Chanel the opportunity to pursue a career in fashion. With his help, 27-year-old Chanel opened her first shop in 1910, a millinery on Paris’s Rue Cambon. While her early hats were widebrimmed and featured ornate feathers, over time her designs began to reflect the practical elegance that would become her brand’s signature. One such model from 1917, which will be on display at the exhibition, is made of looped braid with a relaxed crown, making it easily collapsible.

Chanel’s hats quickly became popular with the celebrated actresses of the day and it was this success that enabled her to expand into clothing. The brand’s simple and comfortable

‘ Chanel’s imagination catalysed the brand’s success in ways that can still be felt across the fashion landscape today’

designs struck a chord with the women of France, many of whom, exhausted by the pressures of the First World War, were eager to shed the pretence and discomfort of ostentatious dresses and corsets, and embrace simpler styles.

As the brand’s popularity grew, Chanel was able to begin designing accessories and jewellery and, with the help of Ernest Beaux, perfumes. The scent that launched the brand into the world of fragrances was Chanel No5, designed to “smell like a woman, and not like a rose”, with clean, simple packaging. It became the world’s bestselling perfume and the exhibition will feature a bottle of No5 from its original launch in 1921.

Chanel’s imagination catalysed the brand’s success in ways that can still be felt across the fashion landscape today. She made it chic and modern for women to wear black, rather than something to be reserved for widowhood. She incorporated flexible, knitted jersey material that made her clothes comfortable, and she engineered removable cuffs and collars for her collections to make them easier to clean. She even recontextualised the traditional wide-leg trousers used by French naval officers as a flattering garment for women — ultimately a precursor to the modern bell-bottom.

“Gabrielle Chanel devoted her long life to creating, perfecting and promoting a new kind of elegance

based on freedom of movement, a natural and casual pose, a subtle elegance that shuns all extravagances, a timeless style for a new kind of woman. That was her fashion manifesto, a legacy that has never gone out of style,” says Miren Arzalluz, Director of the Palais Galliera, which has contributed looks to the exhibition.

“Her success was based not only on the functionality, comfort and chic elegance of her designs, but also on her ability to grasp and interpret the needs and desires of the women of her time.”

As you wander around the V&A, Cullen recommends looking out for the pops of colour as well. “Chanel is often associated with monochrome, as she favoured black, white and beige,” she says. “But she did also embrace colour, particularly in the latter part of her career, and there are some surprising inclusions in this part of the exhibition.”

The show’s ten themed sections will include an overview of Chanel’s partnerships and inspirations, and consider her 61-year career against the backdrop of a changing European landscape. Her contributions to the industry are lasting, Cullen says. “Over a century from the founding of the house, the name Chanel is undeniably present in contemporary culture.”

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto opens at the V&A in London on September 16

These pages, clockwise from top left: looks in situ for the exhibition at London's V&A; Dorothy + Little Bara priest, Paris © 1960 William Klein; Lydia Sokolova, Anton Dolin, Bronislava Nijinska and Leon Woizikowsky after the first performance of Le Train Bleu in Britain, at the Coliseum Theatre, London, 1924.

Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. © Sasha/courtesy Getty Images

‘ She made it chic and modern for women to wear black, rather than something to be reserved for widowhood’

Heavyweight Contender

The Eletre is the biggest and heaviest ever Lotus and also the company’s first ever battery electric car, but does it drive like a Lotus?

The launch of the Lotus Eletre was held in Oslo, Norway, a country which has sold its soul to the electric car economy, while simultaneously flogging its natural gas to the rest of the world. It’s the kind of hand-wringing dilemma that faces Lotus as it starts to sell the Eletre, its first SUV, a 2.5 tonnes-plus monster and its first allelectric car, with three quarters of a tonne of 112kWh lithium-ion battery in the floor.

Just to remind you, the first production Lotus, the XI of 1952, weighed 432kg. Even the Elise of 1996 weighed only 725kg, so doesn’t the Eletre drive a dagger into the heart of the lightweight construction ethos of founder Colin Chapman’s mercurial genius?

Over 75 years Lotus has proved a rollercoaster ride of mostly riches to rags.

New starts have been as numerous as they’ve been ultimately unsuccessful. Lotus had started to make its first profits since the Seventies when in May 2017

Chinese car-making conglomerate Geely bought a controlling stake for $65 million. The Chinese poured in investment cash while stealthily taking control away from Norfolk, setting up a production facility in Wuhan, China, a technical development centre in Germany, a marketing operation in London and design and technical centres in Coventry. The legendary giantkilling days of the factory surrounded by Norfolk’s flat fields are being gradually brought to an end. And while company founder Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman’s initials might still adorn the Lotus flower badge on the bonnet, his HQ if not quite his vision are fading. What might he think of this car?

To give some idea of the difference wrought with this aluminium-intensive SUV, consider the first-ever Lotus I drove, an Essex Turbo Esprit launched in 1980, a fire-breathing and fragile glass-fibre monster with only two seats, which bought a very real sense of being part of the car and an even more acute sense of jeopardy. The Eletre would leave it for dead in top speed and acceleration while weighing twice as much and seating four (five if you opt for the non-folding rear bench seat). It can also cope with shopping trips, sleeping policemen and occasional visits to a racing circuit. And while you really needed to know what you were doing in that Esprit, the Eletre is a cinch to drive and is warrantied for five years and 100,000 miles.

So, as the final combustion-engined Lotus, the Emira, reaches owners in an ever-more fervent market, Lotus is embarking on yet another new start and moving into the world of battery electric, as well as a forthcoming partial listing on the New York stock exchange.

The Eletre goes on sale this year, with the top model the $155,000 R having its rear motor beefed up to 603bhp with a two-speed transmission. Total output is 892bhp/707lb ft and the top speed is 165mph, with 0-100km/h in 2.95sec and a range of 304 miles. To help keep it in check, it has rear steering and active anti-roll bars as standard.

The Eletre introduces Lotus’s new aluminium chassis frame dubbed Electric Premium Architecture (EPA), which can be scaled up and down for different-sized models. The 4x4 system uses pretty much the entire playbook of keeping powerful electric SUVs rubber-side down with an acceptable ride quality: air suspension, active aerodynamics, active dampers, anti-roll bars and ride height, active limited-slip differential, with rear-axle steering, along with torque vectoring across the car. It also has optional cameras instead of door mirrors; I wouldn’t go there, they aren’t desperately good.

There doesn’t seem to have been much of debate at Lotus about the ethics, practicality or desirability about the all-electric, screen-based, self-driving future, they’ve just dived in and are telling us the water’s fine. Much the same

as in Colin Chapman’s era, then…

From the outside, the Eletre is all jutting wing planes, jet-fighter cool, with actively deploying wings and vents and with a passing resemblance to the Lamborghini Urus.

The facia is straight out of science fiction, with very few buttons and physical controls, which is going to please as many as it deters. The instrument binnacle is a digital strip with sans serif displays of range, speed, temperature and so on.

Mercifully, Lotus decided not to add artificial engine noises to the Eletre and it’s all the better for it.

The seats are embracing, with inflatable panels when you select Sport mode which are a bit pinchy on the kidneys. They’re mostly comfy though and the driving position is excellent. While the squared-off steering wheel is festooned with buttons, there’s not much on the centre console. Most functions are subordinated to the large landscape central touchscreen which isn’t as intuitive as the Tesla equivalent, although you can find most things after prodding and finger-dragging for a minute or two.

The rear seats are comfortable and there’s enough head and leg room for a couple of six-footers, three if you’ve specified the bench. The boot displaces 688 litres if you have five seats, including a hatch under the floor. Fold them and it opens to 1,532 litres.

We drove the 600bhp S first and it was a delight. In Tour mode the ride is

‘ I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced 0-100km/h in 2.95 seconds but the experience is visceral’

Credit: © Andrew English /Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023

finely judged, with a lovely comfortable compliance. There’s a clattering sensation over sharper irregular bumps, but it deals with Norway’s aggressively-profiled sleeping policemen with aplomb. The electrically-assisted steering (Lotus’s first such system) is well judged and for a 2.5-tonne, high-riding 4x4 monster, it turns in well, with a bit of feel transmitted to the wheel rim. Yet it’s no Elise and weight will out. There’s too much head-tossing, side-to-side movement and a feeling of mass.

While carbon-ceramic brakes are an option, the large steel discs are more than up to the job on the road with progressive and strong stopping, which joins the enhanced regeneration provided by the two-motor system to bring the Eletre to a halt without a lurch. The regenerative braking can be adjusted with the left-hand steering paddle.

I’m not convinced by the Sport mode, though, which feels as though an anchor chain got wrapped around the steering column and lends a leaden response to the suspension, which isn’t nice on the road.

Lotus hadn’t been able to get the 905hp R registered for road use so we had to defer to an airfield near Oslo to test its mettle. To say it was raining was an understatement, in fact the runway was a puddle several inches deep. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced 0-100km/h in 2.95 seconds but the experience is visceral; your stomach is forced back in your spine, your vision blurs and your head swims. Frankly it’s horrible. Why you would want a family car which can accelerate as fast as a Formula 1 car in the rain is a bit beyond me.

I have to confess that I didn’t want to like the Eletre. From afar it feels like a betrayal of most of what Lotus stands for and I thought it would be a dog’s breakfast of shuddering ride quality and horribly sharp response to the accelerator pedal. It isn’t. In fact, the S is spectacularly good, with an astounding level of performance and great handling, but not at the cost of ride quality.

My main concern is the willing suspension of disbelief required to agree that a 600bhp, 160mph SUV is entirely appropriate family transport. It might be just me, but 75 years on from Colin Chapman’s first car, a diminutive Austin 7 special with a tiny engine, somehow the Eletre feels just a tiny bit like overkill.

Story Of My Life

He’s the bad boy of the foodie world, as famous for his attitude as his Michelin-starred restaurant. But with two new restaurant openings, has Tom Sellers mellowed?

WORDS: KATIE SPICER

When you come to interview a controversial chef with a lot of enemies and two Michelin stars, the food is not necessarily the primary topic of conversation. So out of respect for Tom Sellers, I am going to start with what he serves at his two recently opened London restaurants: Story Cellar, in Covent Garden, and Dovetale, at the 1 Hotel Mayfair.

“Look,” Sellers says, showing me a video on his phone of a finger and thumb pressing a piece of chicken. “That,” he says, as we watch fragrant juices ooze, “a salad, fries . . . We have Domaine Prieure Roch Nuits-Saints-George on by the glass,” he says of Story Cellar, a fine wine and rotisserie grill.

This is how the new, improved, 35-year-old Tom Sellers rolls. He opened his first restaurant, Story, in 2013, and only five months after he got a Michelin star, aged 26. Like other British chefs Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aikens, his mentor, Sellers was young to get those Michelin stripes. He has cooked for the A-list, hangs out with them, Rudimental compiled the restaurant playlist, and he drives an orange Rolls-Royce.

We meet at Story, near London’s Tower Bridge, Sellers stroking his dog, Boss.

Sellers has a sort of rock’n’roll wunderkind reputation, a lazy response to a few tattoos and regular moody black-and-white pictures. He has never taken drugs and tells me drinking isn’t really feasible with chef work. Relationships are equally tricky, given the 18-hour days he’s used to.

That’s not to say Tom Sellers isn’t a naughty boy, though. He has upset a lot of people. I don’t go into this interview thinking Sellers is a rotter, despite the fact that pretty much everyone I call, including those who say they love him, will mention his capacity to piss people off. His first serious job was under Tom Aikens. He mentored the 16-year-old after Sellers literally came down from Nottingham in 2003 and knocked on the kitchen door of Aikens’s eponymous Chelsea restaurant — at that point the hottest table in town. Aikens says Sellers was “determined… very ambitious… a rough diamond with swagger, a Del Boy, but a talent worth nurturing.”

Two years on Aikens got Sellers a chef de partie job at Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-star restaurants Per Se, in Manhattan, and the French Laundry, in Napa Valley. He left Per Se in 2009, headhunted by the Danish chef Rene Redzepi — a man with “the mind of a true genius”, Sellers says — to work at Noma, in Copenhagen. Sellers tells me a story about sitting on the kitchen floor drinking tea at Aikens’s house the night before he flew to the Per Se job, 18 years ago. “Tommy was giving me this Braveheart speech: ‘Work clean, work fast, work tidy, be the first in and the last out. Don’t screw it up, Tom.’”

Aikens ran a small and notoriously passionate kitchen. “I’ve never seen anything like his work ethic,” Sellers says. What he found under Keller was another realm. Keller’s operation is huge. Sellers describes his kitchens as “calm, eerie, with a methodology of ‘Measure twice, cut once — we don’t make mistakes’.” In New York he cooked three-star cuisine, stole food and lived on cereal and $20 a day. “I’d never even eaten a scallop,” he says. “I’d cooked one long, long before I ate one.”

Later, casually chatting in front of the PR, he mentions he orders Hawaiian pizza sometimes to illustrate the irony of these fine-dining guys eating worse than dogs at home. The PR is genuinely

worried. Do not write that, that is not for publication. Why? It just shows how peculiar the successful haute cuisine chef’s life is, so myopically focused on culinary gymnastics for others. “One day I was sent offline, meaning I got sent home in the middle of service because I put something up on the pass that wasn’t exactly right.” He went back to his flat, on the Upper West Side just below Harlem, “and smashed up my bedroom”. “In the ten years I worked for other people there was little fun.”

Life was no larks after he opened his own place either. As Richard Turner, the chef turned hospitality entrepreneur, says: “I like Tom, he has said some stupid things over the years but, like a lot of big chefs, underneath it all he is sensitive and maybe a little insecure.” The immense influence on Sellers of phenomenally driven male role models is writ large on his story. I rang a lot of industry people before I met him, and one reflected on the “intergenerational trauma” of being a chef, where one ultra-talented psychopath passes down his wisdom, and his issues, to his protégé.

Kitchens are full of boys looking for mentors within a professional structure that is all-consuming. According to Sellers that is the way it sort of has to be. “I want to be an advocate for a better quality of life [for chefs], but we also have a responsibility to be transparent. The fact is you will not be successful working eight hours a day, five days a week. People are wildly disillusioned about what it takes.” We talk about the use of drink and drugs among kitchen staff. “I worked out early on you can’t drink and do this.” He says that if someone who worked alongside him came to work late and hungover, he thought of them as “amateurs”. It takes a certain type of guy, and that guy, depending on who you ask, is “a total idiot”, “proper fancies himself” and “if he was chocolate he’d eat himself”. A female chef remembers Sellers, with a WTF emoji, turning up somewhere with a model girlfriend and a security detail. There are pictures all over the internet of him driving his whopping orange Rolls-Royce, sporting an Audemars Piguet timepiece the size of Big Ben.

‘ Life isn’t about what you achieve, it’s about who you become trying to achieve it’

“Perception is a mother...,” he says. He also has deals with Bang & Olufsen and Formula One, among others. Not only does he go out and get the sponsors himself, sans agent, he uses that money “to pay for the restaurants. And I don’t get to choose the colour of the car, you know.” I respect him.

Turner is right, there is insecurity. When Sellers relaxes he mocks himself a bit more. He’s interesting to chat to. He says that he did a few dinners for Meta at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and has flown to its Menlo Park HQ, where he found Mark Zuckerberg has a whiteboard wall in his office. “I come straight back going, ‘Right, we have got to have that.’ And of course I never wrote on it after the first week.”

He’s fully cognisant that working hard has taken its toll mentally and physically. “People call me a young chef. I feel like an old man.”

Sellers isn’t a bad boy, or an old man, he’s a little boy, arrested at 15, when he first entered a professional kitchen and fell in love with his allconsuming game. Like those Premier League footballers with zero life skills.

“For 20 years all I knew was working 18 hours a day. I didn’t really have anything outside the kitchen. You’re institutionalised. I didn’t build life skills.” He admits he was excited about his two new openings. And “petrified”. Admitting to fear is a new Tom thing. Before, “I never wanted to appear vulnerable.”

He has changed. “I probably didn’t realise it, but I think I was struggling really badly with anxiety, which is something that I didn’t even know what it was,” he says. “This industry beat the shit out of me for a while. I became emotionally guarded about pretty much everything, I guess. A lot of what upset people was me protecting myself. I am sad at the idea I upset people.” It’s a sort of apology. But. “Lots of people upset me lots of times. I would go home and question what I was doing, why I was doing it. I’d sit on a park bench and cry. I was burnt-out, lost and hurt.”

Getting a dog helped: “People never truly understand what he did for me. His unconditional love, his loyalty.” Boss waddles around the restaurant. I assume he sleeps in Sellers’s bed. He gives me a face that says, naturally. Around this time his mother had a heart

attack and there was a bad break-up with a woman. And then the weird horror gift of the pandemic arrived. Holed up with Boss, Sellers spent a lot of time, as many did, saving his business. “And then I started to think. Long nights of the soul just questioning, like, who am I? Why am I doing this? What am I trying to achieve? And who had I become trying to achieve it.” He says he is happy now. It helps that in 2021 Michelin awarded him his second star. How has he changed? Well, he understands that a little time off is a non-negotiable contract you make with your body in exchange for survival. He has yet to take a holiday, but he does go to the pub for lunch and two pints of Guinness on a Sunday. Now he thinks, “Life isn’t about what you achieve, it’s about who you become trying to achieve it.” And for a big-time chef, that’s about as human and humble as it gets.

Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto Japan

While it’s true that most of the world’s finest hotels offer a rich connection to their location via considered design, few places we have visited capture the very essence of a place quite as well as the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto.

It helps that it stands, low-rise and discreet, aside a beautiful 800-year-old Shakusui-en pond garden, into which a waterfall flows and the rich colours of the foliage change in line with the seasons: cherry blossoms in spring, crape myrtle in summer, maple leaves in autumn, and plum blossoms in winter. It’s home to turtles and carp, herons fishing for a feed in the intoxicating sound of near silence, and you can soak in its unique atmosphere from a quaint Sukiya-style tea house, a delightful spot to sip locallymade sake as afternoon bleeds into evening.

The tea house was designed by Kyoto architect Ryosuke Yamamoto, and Japanese artistry is a feature of the hotel both outside and in. Comprised of different forms and styles, artworks are abundant and begin at the hotel’s entrance, where the roof is crafted from cypress and cedarwood and shaped from multiple umbrella-like structures. Elsewhere, Seven Stones, by Tokyo-born sculptor Todo, sees shards of glass embedded in rocks handpicked from the pond garden to reflect Kyoto’s tradition and innovation, while the critically-acclaimed pottery works of three generations of Kyoto’s Kondo family (one of whom was once declared a Living National Treasure) decorate shelving.

Similarly brimming with signature Japanese artistry is the hotel’s – and Kyoto’s – largest suite. Featuring two bedrooms and two bathrooms (their design inspired by Kyoto’s bamboo forest), along with a dining room, pantry, and balcony, the Presidential Suite affords fine views of your calming surrounds, including the historic Myoho-in Temple. For a longer stay, look to the hotel’s outstanding Residential Suites for home-from-home comforts.

Serenity also abounds at the hotel’s spa, which occupies two floors and features a daybed-flanked 20m indoor pool. Come here for a Zen Ceremony, which includes a full-body massage, the application of ginger-infused hot towels, and a unique sake bath, designed for purification and healing.

The terrace of the hotel’s light-filled brasserie is a wonderfully atmospheric spot (hanging over the centuries-old pond) to enjoy the artful dishes of multi-award-winning Chef de Cuisine Ryuji Koga, who spent ten years in Paris, where he was the first Japanese Sous Chef of the three-star Le Cinq at Four Seasons Hotel George V. Here, he fuses the traditions of French gastronomy with Japanese ingredients for a menu big on flavour. For a more intimate affair, the 8-seat Sushi Wakon grants you the opportunity to watch a renowned sushi master chef up close as he works his magic on ingredients flown in fresh from Tokyo’s famed fish market. You’ll note that attention to detail is of paramount importance, just as it is right across this superb hotel.

Alicia Rountree

FOUNDER, ALICIA SWIM

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is to work hard, be clear about what you want in life, and visualise your success. If you follow your passion, anything is possible. But don’t forget to be patient.

One thing I do every day is journal, and I do so the moment I wake up. I always write down everything that comes to mind, whatever it is, to clear my head and start the day afresh. Then I make a matcha latte.

A lesson I learned the hard way was to trust and follow my gut instinct, especially in business. As an entrepreneur, it is often hard to find a balance between doing everything yourself and asking for advice from

experts. Many times I followed someone’s advice despite not being 100% sure about it, and it would end up causing turmoil. Now I always do what my heart and stomach suggest that I do. If I don’t feel peace when making a decision, I look for other solutions.

My mum, the most chic, stylish, and supportive person I know, is who inspires me most. She’s so strong and kind and always knows what to say. She is also an amazing grandmother.

Waking up every day to do what I love and being surrounded by genuine and loving people who never cease to make me smile. That’s my definition of personal success.

If I could go back and advise my younger self, I’d say to take good care of my inner self and listen to my body more, as it knows what it really needs.

I aim to create a whole lifestyle brand around Alicia Swim and Mauritius. I would love to see Alicia Swim in the world’s biggest department stores, like Harrods or Selfridges. I also have a beauty brand launching soon, so I would want that to do well too. Long-term, my plan is to take more work-free trips around the world, as when you have your own business you’re so passionate it’s hard to take time off. I have also just become Mum to a beautiful girl, and I’d love to be as supportive and present as my mum has been for me and my siblings.

Illustration: Leona Beth

A Racing Machine On The Wrist