Luxury London Magazine Winter 2022

CALL OF THE WILD Skiing in the cowboy town of Jackson Hole yields some of the best slopes in the States

INT O THE DEEP Ski-touring is the latest Alpine phenomenon, and Verbier is the best place to go off-piste

WINTER 2022 Issue 30

Things aren’t looking promising, at the time of going to print. Simpson’s Tavern, London’s oldest chophouse, has been serving sincere plates of steaks and stews to the great and the good since 1757. During that time, the restaurant has weathered fires and floods, World Wars and terrorist attacks, plagues and pandemics. It’s been brought to its knees by some greedy landlords in Bermuda.

Simpson’s is about as egalitarian and unpretentious as it gets. Dickens is said to have dreamt up Ebenezer Scrooge while looking through its frosted windows. Apparently he ate there himself. There’s a 200-year-old tradition where they ask if you’d like a sausage with your main course, irrespective of what main you’ve ordered. There’s a stewed cheese eating challenge. The most expensive dish costs £15.85. Last Christmas, I met a waitress who’d worked there for 30 years. Today, I read in the paper that she’s been made redundant.

Despite a crowdfunding appeal, a number of broadsheet op eds, and the admirable efforts of Giles Coren, doors remain chained up, food left to rot in the fridge. In a last ditch attempt to save it from permanent closure, Simpson’s is bidding to become a protected community heritage site. But even that might not do the trick. At a time of year that’s meant to bring peace and goodwill, let’s hope Simpson’s landlords have a change of heart. It would be a miserable thing indeed if such a treasured institution was lost to a squabble over something as drear y as rent arrears (Simpson’s is being hounded for money owed from the time it was forced to close during the pandemic. It can pay, the restaurant says, just not all in one go).

A not too dissimilar story is rumbling on over in Ottawa. If you’ve ever been to the Canadian capital, you’ll know that the city’s Château Laurier is akin, in cultural status, to our St. Paul’s Cathedral. And still, an investment company is allowed to purchase the landmark hotel and submit plans to obscure its beloved neo-gothic turrets and towers behind a bland, blocky extension. They want to create more rooms (the hotel already has more than 450). Staggeringly, and to the white-hot anger of locals, the plans have been giving the green light. Learn more on page 26.

Something more uplifting. Have you seen Season Two of Industry? Good isn’t it? And how about that Venetia Berens – star of the show, right? She’s played by a lady called Indy Lewis. You may not have heard that name before, but you will from now on. Trust us (p.40).

What else? Lashana Lynch. BAFTA’s 2022 Rising Star. Pffft, a bit late to that party, BAFTA. Lynch had already gone stratospheric and is still on the ascent (p.36). Plus, electric Bentleys (p.22), pit-stop safaris (p.30), naughty books (p.54), proper English shoes (p.82), lost Japanese whisky (p.68), and where to ski, stay and play in the Alps this winter (p.90).

I really do hope to see you in Simpson’s soon, for a side of sausages and a bowl of stewed cheese. Until then, enjoy the issue and spread the word.

RICHARD BROWN Editorial Director

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Richard Brown

DIGITAL EDITOR

Zoe Gunn

ASSISTANT EDITOR Anna Solomon

DIGITAL WRITER

Ellie Goodman

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Annabel Harrison

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Rob Crossan

Josh Sims

HEAD OF DESIGN

Laddawan Juhong

DESIGNER & PRODUCTION

Georgia Evans

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Fiona Smith

MANAGING DIRECTOR Rachel Gilfillan

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Asleen Mauthoor

CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGER Alice Ford

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Eren Ellwood

PUBLISHED BY

6 SALEM ROAD, LONDON, W2 4BU T: 020 7537 6565 WWW.LUXURYLONDONMEDIA.CO.UK

From Merlot to mascara, La Mer to Laphroaig –dazzle and delight with Hampers and Gift Sets this festive season.

The Briefing

THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF LUXURY

plans to redevelopment Ottawa’s famous Fairmont Château Laurier hotel have ignited fierce protests in Canada’s typically tranquil capital (p.26).

HEAD

01

THE RESTAURANT

Mirazur, Menton

AUSTRALIAN WINEMAKER PENFOLDS CELEBRATES ITS FIRST FRENCH RELEASE BY PARTNERING WITH 2019’S ‘WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANT’, MIRAZUR – SHAME, THEN, THAT THE REST OF THE MENU FEATURES AS MANY MISSES AS HITS

Words: Rob Crossan

If Mirazur had been open for lunch in the days before Interpol, running out without paying could have caused a diplomatic incident. The three Michelin-starred restaurant, voted ‘Best in the World’ in 2019 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants compilers, occupies the very last house in France.

In the narrow, bikini-bottom-brief gap between Monaco’s eastern border and the Italian state line, lies Menton, a raffish and, by the standards of the Cote d’Azur, low-key town (I saw only one Ferrari showroom). Mirazur, the creation of Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, clings to its very fringes.

In a structure that looks like it was built in the 1930s as a ‘dine-with-a-view’ kind of establishment (though nobody seems to know what restaurant was here before Colagreco moved in back in 2006), the yachts, villas and money laundering boltholes of the Riviera gape out in front of the spherical dining room.

Head out the back door and you’re 10 footsteps from the Italian border post; the ver y same one that Edward Fox spun his coupé through in The Day of the Jackal on his way to attempt to assassinate Charles de Gaulle.

Behind the restaurant lies the three-tiered steppes built into the cliff face that house Mauro’s gardens, from which much of the menu is created. The ruins of what was once a villa belonging to Prince Albert of Belgium stand rotting amid banana trees, nasturtiums and a forest of sunflowers – the restaurant’s way of battling the larcenous prices of sunflower oil prompted by the war in Ukraine.

Colagreco’s punch bag hangs from one tree, clearly a form of stress relief for the former accountant from Buenos Aires, who has also cajoled his staff into yoga and acting lessons.

Downstairs in the restaurant, the kitchen team beaver away in a glass-walled room, which gives the visitor the impression of watching food being prepared in a human-sized aquarium. Mirazur claims it takes one-and-a-half members of staff to produce

each single dish. That may explain why staff (if you include the waiters) seem to outnumber guests in the upstairs, pale-woodenfloored dining room, which seats barely 50.

French food critics were, predictably, somewhat snooty about the fact that a non-French chef won the title of the World’s Best Restaurant in 2019. The long Covid break has meant the booking frenzy that was triggered by the award (8,000 bookings in three days) has abated slightly. Sadly, the same can be said for the superiority of more than one of the dishes.

Mauro has stated he is inspired by Miró sculptures and Impressionist painters in creating his dishes, and there’s more than a touch of a Henri Matisse stained glass window in the amber, orange, yellow and pink surface layer of raspberry reduction and cosmos flowers, glistening in aspic. Gently tearing the reduction apart reveals a hidden layer of veal tartare; a little too grey in colour and much flabbier than necessary.

It’s like ripping open a geisha’s kimono to find the innards of Joseph Merrick; aesthetically unpleasant and a textual and flavour disaster; confirming what we all (except Colagreco) already know to be true; namely, that raspberries and veal tartare don’t belong in the same postal district, let alone in the same dish.

Things did improve markedly after this catastrophic misstep. The yellow beetroot with saffron was a mesmerising creation, the colour of a cartoon sunrise with the extra sweetness and colour that yellow beetroot provides given room to breathe and not be overwhelmed by the saffron, here taken from the banks of the nearby River Roya.

The pork from Ibaiama pigs bred in the Basque region is shaped like the neck of a guitar and falls apart in decadently

thin, muscular slices. It is accompanied by a paddling pool of what is described simply as ‘carrot’ but is in fact a gloopy residue with the exact colour, and, it must be said, taste, of Heinz Cream Tomato Soup. Note to the kitchen; this is not the place for Nigel Slater-style retro nostalgia.

My highlight was the guinea fowl with green curry. The fat on the guinea fowl slid off like a wet towel on a bathroom door hook, when it should be crisped and welded to the meat. But the meat itself was done to perfection with the green curry sauce a masterpiece of poise and balance that does what all green curry should do: go heavy on the basil and light on the coconut milk.

My meal was accompanied by wines from the Adelaide winemakers Penfolds, which recently acquired vineyards in France in order to develop its first European release. Its blowsy, unpretentious, deceptively well-rounded reds combine well with Mauro’s dishes in the main; both parties being keen to strip down the purple prose that requires menus to be ‘explained’ by faltering waiters.

Mirazur roughly translates as ‘look out to the blue ocean’. Many will be more concerned with looking at the bill; it’s impossible to get out of here without spending at least £700 for two. For that kind of price you expect something tantalising close to the best meal of your life. What you get is merely a diverting one with the odd trumpet blast amid a few too many bum notes. But the view is a knockout and, should you have a fake passport, that border post is within dashing distance – even after eight courses.

Tasting menu without wine €380, 30 Avenue Aristide Briand, 06500 Menton, mirazur.fr; penfolds.com

© JOVANI DEMETRIE

THE

02

MOTORCYCLE

Triumph Rocket 3 R 221

DELIVERING 165 BHP AND CAPABLE OF 0-60 MPH IN 2.73 SECONDS, TRIUMPH’S MADCAP ROCKET 3 R 221 IS THE FASTEST PRODUCTION ROAD BIKE EVER PRODUCED

Words: Charlie Thomas

There are some opportunities that you just don’t turn down. The opportunity to ride up the famous Goodwood Hill Climb during the Festival of Speed is one such chance. Especially when the invitation comes from Triumph. Particularly when that invitation involves the most powerful production motorcycle ever made.

For someone with relatively little motorbike experience on the road, let alone climbing a hill at a speed, it was a particularly daunting prospect. I had, for years, watched skilled drivers and riders catapult themselves up this particularly pretty part of Sussex with reckless abandon. I would stand next to my dad and marvel at Sir Stirling Moss in his Mercedes 300 SLR, or Juan Pablo Montoya in his Williams BMW F1 car. More recently, I saw Valentino Rossi ride into Goodwood House itself. These people are heroes and legends of motorsport. I am not. So, when I found myself queuing up at the start line, mounted on what is essentially a car engine with two wheels, hideously underqualified, a wave of terror consumed me.

To understand the Triumph Rocket 3, first you need to consider the numbers. Its inline three-cylinder engine is the largest ever made for a production motorcycle, with a 2,458 cc capacity, and it’s the torquiest ever too, producing 221 Nm at 4,000 rpm. This bike, the 221 edition, is named to celebrate the latter. The engine pumps out 165 bhp, propelling it from 0-60 mph in just 2.73 seconds, the fastest time ever recorded for a road bike, and a feat that would eclipse most supercars.

The bike is pure hyperbole. The rear tyre is the widest I’ve seen on two wheels, while the front Brembo discs demand their own gravity, indicating the stopping power needed to slow 291 kg of pure muscle. Rev the bike in neutral and the engine physically moves you, darting the entire frame to one side with each flex. Twist the throttle on the move and you’ll see why.

When attempting something for the first time it doesn’t help to watch professionals do it first. Ahead of me in the queue at

Goodwood was Martin Craven, the motorcycle stuntman from No Time to Die, who wheelied off the start line with the precision of an expert marksman. As I approached for my own slot I considered a wheelie of my own, then I thought of a collection of the 200,000 plus people that attend the Goodwood festival each year, and their glee at watching a man in a too-tight leather suit drop a 2.5-litre bike before even getting going.

So, as the marshall gestured for me to begin my run, I engaged first gear, let out the clutch and edged forward in what was likely the slowest start of the day. Yet, such is the engineering prowess of the bike, once on the move, its size and weight is largely forgotten. It’s a testament to the confidence the Rocket inspires that I accelerated hard under the bridge in second and third, feeling the full force of the bike’s record-breaking engine.

It has a blistering, relentless pace that feels like it will go on forever. It has six gears but it’s difficult to imagine the Rocket ever running out of steam. I crossed the finish line in what felt like 10 seconds of pure adrenaline – a buzz, I am convinced, that would be difficult to replicate on, or in, any other vehicle.

In the automotive world, it’s common practice for bikes, and cars, to fall short of their names. But the Rocket is pure Ronseal. It’s big, brash, powerful, expensive and everything else an overthe-top muscle bike should be. It feels special, and while it’s dominated by that engine, it’s a well-rounded performer in every

other sense. You snap through the gears in a way that would please mechanical purists; the brakes surprise you with their sharpness; and it tackles corners effortlessly, providing that you commit.

There’s also no shortage of impressive tech, from keyless starting to multiple driver modes, a trick digital display and hill hold control, which handily prevents you from rolling backwards on inclines.

And that’s before you get to the looks. Every inch of the bike is so full and purposeful, from the huge engine block to the sweeping triple header exhausts, from the drag-strip tyres to the cavernous radiator. In full ‘221’ spec, complete with blood-red paint job, its brutish, dominant looks turn heads. People hear you coming, and continue to look until you’ve ridden past. Park up and they stop and stare, marvelling at the engineering, the sheer size of the thing. For some, it seems, the allure of the Rocket is simply too much.

I know this because upon Triumph loaning me the bike for a post-Goodwood follow-up ride, it took less than 24 hours for the Rocket to be stolen from a motorcycle bay in central London. I guess the intention was for the thieves to sell the bike on. Yet I suspect the high-minded individuals will have a hard time saying goodbye to the Rocket once they’ve ridden it. You see, once you’ve experienced the thing, it’s a very difficult bike to bid farewell to.

Poor them. From £21,500, triumphmotorcycles.co.uk

CAR

Bentley Batur

THE CARMAKER’S MOST POWERFUL EVER MACHINE POINTS TOWARDS AN ALL-ELECTRIC FUTURE

Words: Rory FH Smith

When Bentley pulled the covers off the coachbuilt Barchetta-style Bacalar back in 2020, it represented more than just another limitedrun, super-exclusive grand cruiser. It signalled the British carmaker’s return to its coachbuilding roots – the art of lovingly handcrafting car bodies, just like they did in the good ol’ days. Mulliner – a legendary coachbuilding name owned by Bentley, that dates back as far as the 1700s – was revived and rebooted to take up the mantle of producing these automotive artworks and now it’s time for its highly-anticipated second album. Enter the Batur.

Like the Bacalar, the Batur is named after a natural body of water – Lake Batur, in this case, on the island of Bali, Indonesia. In the same way that its topless predecessor represented more than just another exclusive, hand-built car, the Batur has been given the duty of showcasing the new design direction for Bentley’s all-electric age. Giving us the first glimpse of the design language that will shape the marque’s first fully-electric car in 2025, the Batur is a bold statement that shows how Bentley isn’t prepared to sacrifice its ‘unapologetic’ aesthetic as it heads electric. Designed under the stewardship of Bentley’s new Director of Design, Andreas Mindt, the former Audi designer focused on what he believes are the three main Bentley design elements and reinterpreted them into a new, cleaner form.

“The first element is the ‘resting beast stance,’ which comes from our DNA,” says Mindt, gesturing towards the Batur’s rear haunches at its global reveal at Monterey Car Week in California. “It’s not an attacking beast, it has a relaxed and calm but powerful attitude – it’s sitting on its rear wheel.

“Feature number two is the endless bonnet line, which comes from our past, only this is our latest take on it. The line connects the bonnet and the body but it’s not just a line – it’s a whole architecture. The front fender is far out and then we push it far in [in the mid-section] to give way for this resting beast stance. The shape is really important for us. It’s really reduced and it’s the essence of what Bentley should be.

“Then there is the upright elegance. It’s self-confident, it’s not

leaning back – it’s really strong and looking straight onto the street. But when you look at the front, it’s not just the radiator, it’s the front lights as well – everything is upright. It’s not apologetic. These are the three important elements for us. It’s purified, it’s simple but it’s progressive at the same time.”

Launched amid the hustle and bustle of Monterey Car Week, the Batur attracted the attention of some of the most affluent car collectors in the world. Yet Bentley wasn’t there looking for buyers. Each of the 18 Baturs that will roll off the production line is already accounted for. With prices starting from £1.65m, excluding taxes and options, Bentley is confident no two Baturs will look the same thanks to the level of personalisation available.

True to the art of coachbuilding, the Batur takes the idea of bespoke craftsmanship to a whole new level. Those lucky enough to step foot in Mulliner’s design consultation lounges and spec a Batur can choose between low-carbon leather, sourced from Scotland; Dinamica, an alternative suede-like sustainable material; Natural Fibre composites, a sustainable alternative to carbon fibre; carpets made from recycled yarn; and 3D-printed 18K gold touches in the cabin.

“We’ve learnt a lot of things by doing cars like the Bacalar,” says Paul Williams, Director of Mulliner and Motorsport at Bentley. “We learnt about the things that we can do on these low-volume cars that you can’t do on a mainstream car, so we’ve started to push those boundaries a little bit more.

“With this car, we’ve done things like 3D-printed gold in the interior and 3D-printed titanium, so we’re looking at different ways of using materials that we can only do in really

unique and special cars like this.”

Despite showing the way for Bentley’s all-electric age, the Batur sports the latest version of the marque’s rip-roaring 6.0-litre W12 engine, marking one of the last blasts for the beast that’s powered cars from Crewe for the past two decades. Producing more than 730hp, however, the Batur is the first of Bentley’s new coach-built cars to receive a performance tweak.

“For the first time in a Mulliner car, we’ve taken the step to play a little bit with the engine performance, so what you see here for the first time is a performance increase above the standard top-end of what we produce today,” says Williams.

“This car is not just a demonstration of what we can do with coachbuilding – it’s also a demonstration of the breadth of what we can do as Bentley and what we can do for really special, low-volume cars like Batur.”

While the Batur might be a super-exclusive – not to mention expensive – styling exercise, it heralds something much more important for the car industry – a return to coachbuilding. As more carmakers turn to smaller electric powertrains with fewer components, the design constraints associated with traditional combustion-engine cars fall away, opening the floor to new, innovative designs and creativity. Walk for five minutes around the Concours lawn at California’s Pebble Beach and it’s clear

to see that the cars that leave a lasting legacy are those that are carefully sketched, styled and handcrafted.

“One of the things we do with Mulliner is to try and show future design language, so we used this opportunity to show what a future Bentley is going to look like,” says Williams. “This is how we see the future of Bentley.”

While the Batur and Bentley’s new design direction might divide opinion, the Crewe-based carmaker’s commitment to revitalising coachbuilding is something to be applauded. In an age of mass production and increasingly short product lifecycles, a coach-built car like the Batur – designed and built by human hands – is surely the greatest luxury of them all.

From £1.65 million, bentleymotors.com

While the Batur might be a super-exclusive – not to mention expensive – styling exercise, it heralds something much more important for the car industry – a return to coachbuilding

There’s a joke they tell in Canada. In Toronto, everyone says, ‘Thank God it’s Monday!’ Joke being, in Toronto, everyone is obsessed with making money. In Montreal, they say, ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ Joke being, in Montreal, people like to let their hair down. In Vancouver, they say, ‘Yo man, what day is it?’. Joke being, well, you get the joke (NB. Hollywood comic and cult stoner Seth Rogen is from Vancouver).

Ottawa, Canada’s capital, doesn’t get to be part of the joke. You can look at that in one of two ways. Either, that Ottawa is so culturally rich and socially diverse that it’s impossible to pigeonhole into some pseudo geo-anthropological identity box. Or, that Ottawa is boring. (NB. shock-noughties-comic Tom Green is from Ottawa. Which in no way reinforces the point in this paragraph in the same way the Seth Rogen reference nods towards the point in the paragraph above. Green’s a good guy. He’ll prove it later).

There is one joke about Ottawa, though. How many civil servants work in Ottawa? About half of them. Ho ho ho. Here’s the context...

In 1840, the Act of Union merged French-speaking Lower Canada (today’s Quebec) with English-speaking Upper Canada (now Ontario) to form the united Province of Canada (the country, by the way, didn’t officially gain control of its own constitution until 1982). Unable to settle on which city should act as the capital – in the space of two decades, Kingston, Montreal, Toronto and Quebec were all, to varying degrees of limited success, granted capital status – the Canadian parliament eventually asked Queen Victoria to pick for them.

In 1857, after considering various proposals, the Queen plumped for Ottawa.

What’s all this got to do with a joke about civil servants? Well, between 1859 and 1866, Canada embarked on the largest construction project in North American history (up until then), building a string of authoritative-looking buildings on top of a hill that would eventually house the Canadian Parliament, the Supreme Court, the residence of Canada’s viceroy, and the Office of the Prime Minister.

04

THE HOTEL

Fairmont Château Laurier

THE OTTAWAN HOTEL HAS BEEN A SYMBOL OF CANADA FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS. NOW, A PROPOSED EXTENSION THREATENS TO CHANGE THE CAPITAL’S FAMOUS SKYLINE FOR GOOD

Words: Richard Brown

Over time, Ottawa became home to almost all of Canada’s federal government institutions, including the Bank of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Department of National Defence, and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

Upshot being, today the federal government is Ottawa’s largest employer. Staggeringly, according to a survey published in 2021, it employs more than 116,000 people in a city of just over one million.

Hence, jokes about civil servants and Ottawa being ‘the city that fun forgot’. It probably doesn’t help that Ottawa also emerged as a hub for the famously riotous biotech and telecoms industries. (Nortel was based in Ottawa, before some creative accounting led to the largest bankruptcy in Canadian history.)

Personally, we didn’t struggle for things to do in Ottawa. There’s plenty to fill up a three-day itinerary, between the markets and the museums and the river and the canal. It may not buzz like Toronto, or deliver the sort of spontaneous, disco-in-adisused-church kinda nights out that Montreal has the potential of frisbeeing your way. But it dwarfs Kingston and was the most attractive city centre of our 17-day rail-trip (Toronto > Kingston > Ottawa > Quebec > Montreal > Dead).

Ottawa is the Loire Valley, Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Palladian England, baronial Scotland and Ancient Rome, on steroids, all in one place. It’s like going to EPCOT in Orlando, if EPCOT were life-sized. Actually, bigger.

There are other hotels in Ottawa, but you’ll want to stay in the Fairmont Château Laurier (the Loire Valley bit). It looks up to the Parliamentary buildings (the Edinburgh bit), across to the Senate Building (the Rome bit), and down on the Rideau Canal (which you can’t really compare to anything else; in winter the canal freezes to form the world’s largest skateway).

Indeed, so emblematic of not just Ottawa, but of Canada in general, has the hotel become, that when EPCOT was designing its Canadian pavilion, the theme park based its imitation minihotel on the very-maxi Château Laurier.

An interesting, if macabre, historical footnote: the launch of the hotel, in June 1912, had been delayed by three months out of respect to Charles Melville Hays, President of the Grand Trunk Railway, who commissioned the building’s construction, but who died on-board the Titanic while journeying back for its grand opening.

If the outside of the hotel is Renaissance-era French manorhouse blown-up to North-American-proportions, inside is highland-castle-meets-Great-Gatsby-mansion. Floors are an ocean of marble; walls a forest of wooden-panelling. Corridors are wide enough to herd moose through, if indeed it’s possible to herd moose (I’m pretty sure they’re solitary animals, thinking about it). You could plonk an ice hockey rink in the lobby and still have space for a concierge desk.

There’s an indoor Art-Deco swimming pool that takes you back in time; and a contemporary restaurant and bar that brings you right back. With building statures in central Ottawa previously restricted to the height of the Peace Tower, directly opposite, the hotel’s ritzy rooms offer some of the best views in the city. Previous lodgers include Sir Winston Churchill, King George VI, Nelson Mandela, Herbert Hoover and Queen Elizabeth II.

More recently, the Fairmont Château Laurier has made

headlines for couple of a reasons. One involving a roaring lion; the other some greedy clowns.

In August 2022, a staff member noticed something suspicious about a famous portrait of Winston Churchill that had hung in the hotel since 1941. The picture, known as ‘The Roaring Lion’, was taken by revered photographer Yousuf Karsh, who was residing at the hotel at the time, shortly after Churchill gave a wartime speech to the Canadian parliament. It’s the picture you picture when you picture Winston Churchill. Black waistcoat, black blazer, polka-dot bowtie, his hand on his hip, his forehead furrowed. It’s the one on the £5 note.

Something about the portrait was off. The frame was different. On further inspection, it transpired that the photo was a fake. The original had been nicked; swiped, hours of trawling through CCTV footage revealed, sometime between 25 December 2021 and 6 January 2022. The artwork is yet to surface.

The second story has been rumbling on for some time. In 2016, shadowy Vancouver-based real-estate barons Larco Investments, which acquired the historic building in 2013, submitted plans for a super-modern extension. The proposal would have seen two giant, straight-lined pavilions added to the Château – one 10 storeys high, the other 11 – creating an additional 214 suites (the hotel already has 426 rooms, to give

you a sense of scale) and effectively covering the building in a Christo-type wrap of steel and glass.

It’s as if an investment company were to buy St Paul’s Cathedral and then erect a huge silver box around it, so the only thing you could see was the tip of the lantern on top of the dome.

Larco Investments – which, despite funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars into tax havens, the Panama Papers revealed, also owns the building in which the Canada Revenue Agency is based, ironic – has since submitted new proposals, reducing the height of the pavilions to seven stories and the number of suites within them to 147. It’s done little to quell public ire.

“It’s almost as if somebody said, ‘How are we going to hide that building?’” said Tom Green (see, good guy), speaking on a Canadian news channel. “‘What is the best, most effective way you could do that?’”

On Twitter, the extension has been compared to a giant air conditioning unit. And a prison. Those are some of the politer tweets. Following the city council’s decision not to rescind planning approval in 2019 – to shouts of ‘Shame! Shame’ from the public gallery – Green arranged a picnic in a neighbouring park in protest.

“It’s an incredible place,” he told reporters. “It is a world class place. You can’t recreate that. That’s something that we have that shouldn’t be messed around with.”

In 2021, the extension was given the green light.

You can joke about Ottawa all you like. But when corporate greed trumps public opinion, trampling over history in the process, you’ve got to wonder who’s doing the laughing.

Rooms from £330 per night, fairmont.com

You could plonk an ice hockey rink in the lobby and still have space for a concierge desk

VICTORIA FALLS, ONE OF THE SEVEN NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Sanctuary Retreats

Words:

Deborah Cicurel

Watching an impala be torn to shreds, then sitting as still as a corpse so as to avoid becoming one yourself, might not be how you’d usually spend a holiday. Then again, there’s very little that’s run-of-the-mill about Botswana’s Chobe National Park.

Home to the world’s largest concentration of elephants, the park lies in the north of the country, on the border with Namibia, and is home to some 80,000 of the endangered animal. For the first part of my trip, I’d come to stay at Sanctuary Retreats’ Chobe Chilwero camp, set on the banks of the Chobe River.

In the first day alone, I’d seen lions resting in the shade of a tree, a herd of elephants wander within touching distance of our truck, a family of baboons carefully grooming one another, and a territorial crocodile chase a baby hippo away from its nest (the hippo escaped, just).

Today, it’s barely 7am, and my guide, Cavin, has unearthed a young leopard, following its tracks to a bush where it could barely be spotted (if you’ll pardon the pun). A dead impala, killed the day before, lays in a neighbouring bush, waiting to be devoured.

“Let’s wait here,” says Cavin, as we gawp from the safety of our safari vehicle. “I’m sure it will come out to have its breakfast.”

Sure enough, half an hour later, the leopard prowls over to the impala and begins tearing into its carcass, turning around occasionally to show us an impressive array of teeth, in case we might have our own designs on its morning meal.

The jaw-dropping amount of wildlife in this national park means

that you’re almost certain to see big cats, herds of elephants and a family of rhino, seemingly unaware they are being watched, both on game drives in the national park and boat trips on the Chobe River (as well as lodges in Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Namibia, Sanctuary Retreats operates six river cruise ships).

Back at Chobe Chilwero, you can enjoy a ‘spafari’ in the hotel’s treetop spa, which offers locally-inspired treatments such as a de-stressing African heated stone massage, which uses mineralrich volcanic basalt rocks and shea butter, and an African potato anti-ageing body experience, in which a warm African potato and marula wrap detoxes and hydrates. I can assure you that a few moments of contact with volcanic basalt rocks will be enough to put you in an unimaginably deep sleep.

The rooms and views are as spectacular as the wildlife, but it’s the attention to detail that make this sanctuary so special. Housekeeping staff appear three times a day, folding towels into the shapes of animals, while a waitress went to the length of printing out a recipe so that I could attempt to recreate a cocktail at home, with limited success.

Safaris have a reputation for being hard to get to. Expensive flights followed by long, dusty drives. Chobe Chilwero is just 10 minutes from Kasane Airport. Close to the border with Zambia, it also provides the opportunity to leapfrog to another Sanctuary Retreats’ property, the Sussi & Chuma camp, which is just an hourand-a-half drive away.

Set on the Zambezi River within the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National

Prices at Sanctuary Sussi & Chuma start from approx. £425 per person per night based on two people sharing on a minimum fournight stay. This includes all meals and drinks, two daily shared game viewing activities, including a tour of Victoria Falls on the Zambian side, game drives in the National Park, a sundowner cruise, local school and village tour, and return transfers from Livingstone Airport. Prices at Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero start from £370 per person per night based on two people sharing on a minimum four-night stay. This includes all meals and drinks, two daily shared game viewing activities, park fees and return transfers from Kasane Airport, sanctuaryretreats.com

Park, Sussi & Chuma (named after Dr David Livingstone’s faithful friends, Sussi and Chuma) is just as luxurious as its Botswanan sister lodge, with 12 gorgeous guest rooms set in treehouses connected by wooden walkways. The setting may be rustic, nestled between Jackalberry trees, but that doesn’t mean you need to go without 21st-century conveniences, including high-speed Wi-Fi and USB ports. The meals are superb, and there’s a spa and a terrace from which to enjoy the magnificent sunsets, cocktail in hand.

The national park is one of the smallest in Zambia, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be short of adventures. The lodge offers a host of hair-raising activities, including game drives, walking safaris, cruises and canoeing, or fishing on the Zambezi. You can also take a tour of the local village to see the community projects the lodge is involved with, including meeting women who turn old glass bottles into gorgeous jewellery.

There are no lions or leopards at Mosi-Oa-Tunya, but there are elephants, crocodiles and rhino, the last of which are watched over 24/7 to protect them from poachers. Our guide walked us to where the rhinos were snoozing in the midday sun.

Another huge draw for visitors to Zambia, of course, is Victoria Falls, often cited as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The thundering waterfall and its otherworldly mist can be seen either from the Zambian side or the Zimbabwean side. The lodge can organise tours, which include all visa formalities should you wish to see the cascading water from every angle.

In the space of a week, I’d seen all of the so-called Big Five –lions, leopards, elephants, rhino and buffalo – and, truth be told, could hardly recognise myself in the mirror. Despite seven days of 05.30 starts, the person reflected back at me looked refreshed, invigorated, fully awake. A week in the animal kingdom can do that to you, apparently. Well, a week in animal kingdom with daily spa appointments, anyway.

Another huge draw for visitors to Zambia is Victoria Falls, often cited as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

06 Fabrice Guérin

THE FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER’S IMAGE OF AN UNDERWATER SINKHOLE IS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Words: Richard Brown

In the heart of a silence just interrupted by my air bubbles, darkness gives way to this freediver, who goes back and forth from the bottom of this cenote to the surface,” says French photographer Fabrice Guérin. A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. Guérin found this particular cenote in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where sinkholes were commonly used for water supplies (and occasionally sacrificial offerings) by the ancient Maya peoples.

“This specific freshwater sinkhole – calm, clear and without current – is ideal for dive training” says Guérin. “A sulphur cloud located about 20 meters below reflects the sunrays which then work a real miracle. Originally the hydrogen sulphide layer is flat, but as we enter it repeatedly, clouds form, giving us an impression of underwater waves.”

The photo was announced as a finalist in the Adventure Photographer of the Year category at the 2022 Ocean

Photographer of the Year awards. It was pipped to the post by Switzerland’s Franco Banfi, who won first prize in the adventure category for his photograph of a freediver swimming with a pod of five sperm whales on the shores of the Caribbean island, Dominica.

The annual awards, sponsored by dive-watch manufacturer Blancpain, aim to illuminate the beauty of the oceans and help promote conservation by highlighting the threats oceans face. This year, the panel’s six judges – including International Photography Hall of Fame inductee Paul Nicklen, founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers, Cristina Mittermeier, and Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Shawn Heinrichs – unanimously selected Ben Thouard’s image of a surfer getting wiped out by a giant wave in French Polynesia as the overall winner.

oceanographicmagazine.com

Season ’TIS THE

Photography: Colin Ross Styling: Maya Linhares-Marx

Previous page, clockwise from top left

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LASHANA LYNCH ATTENDING THE VANITY FAIR OSCAR PARTY 2022, 27 MARCH 2022

The spectacular rise of Lynch LASHANA

EARLIER THIS YEAR, BAFTA HONOURED LASHANA LYNCH WITH THE 2022 RISING STAR AWARD, PLACING THE HAMMERSMITH-BORN ACTOR IN A ROLLCALL OF PREVIOUS WINNERS THAT INCLUDES JOHN BOYEGA, TOM HOLLAND AND DANIEL KALUUYA.

NOW, AFTER A STRING OF PHYSICALLY POWERFUL PERFORMANCES –NO TIME TO DIE , DOCTOR STRANGE , THE WOMAN KING – LYNCH TAKES ON THE MUCH-LOVED, AND MUCH MORE VULNERABLE, MISS HONEY IN THE FILM ADAPTATION OF MATILDA THE MUSICAL

Words: Adam Davidson

To say that Lashana Lynch’s trajectory has been meteoric might just be the biggest understatement in Hollywood. Demonstrating one of the most accomplished ranges in Tinseltown, in a few short years Lynch has been cast as everything from an air force pilot in Captain Marvel , a secret agent alongside Daniel Craig in No Time to Die , a fearless African warrior in The Woman King, and, most recently, the primary school teacher Miss Honey in the much-anticipated Matilda the Musical.

Lynch may have been announced as the recipient of BAFTA’s 2022 Rising Star Award in March this year, but, truthfully, by then Lynch had already gone stratospheric.

Born in Hammersmith to Jamaican parents and raised in Shepherd’s Bush, Lynch initially pursued a career in music, attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone as a child. “You can’t sing without acting,” she was told by a teacher, “and you can’t act without singing; both of them come hand in hand.”

Taking heed of the advice, Lynch studied a bachelor’s degree in acting from the ArtsEd School in Chiswick. Roles in Fast Girls, Still Star-Crossed and Bulletproof followed shortly after she graduated.

After the physicality of her roles in big-budget blockbusters No Time to Die and The Woman King, Lynch’s latest role will see her lean into her softer side, and showcase her vocal ability, as she takes on Roald Dahl’s much-adored Miss Honey.

If you’re a child of the 1990s, there’s a good chance that memories of Danny DeVito’s Matilda will be indelibly seared into your brain. Mara Wilson making pancakes to a backing track of Rusted Root songs, Bruce Bogtrotter’s chocolate cake and, of course, the saccharine sweet Miss Honey, played with enormous warmth and empathy by Embeth Davidtz.

Given the action-packed performances of her recent work, Lynch admits she was caught by surprise when the initial call came through from Matilda director Matthew Warchus.

“I was quite confused when I got the call but I was glad they trusted me to deal with this level of softness,” says Lynch, “because I hadn’t really shown it yet. I was dying to do it.”

Adapted not from the original Dahl text, but from Tim Minchin’s and Dennis Kelly’s Olivier-winning stage musical, Matilda tells the story of the titular neglected young girl, who is sent to Crunchem Hall by her parents when they find out she has been skipping school. After arriving to find how her new headmistress, the tyrannical Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson), runs the school with an iron fist, Matilda decides to stick up for her fellow pupils and fight back.

Starring alongside Andrea Riseborough and Stephen Graham, Lynch plays Matilda’s angelic teacher, who uses her position to preach a message of acceptance and kindness – the polar opposite of the fearsome Trunchbull.

Lynch was excited to finally be able to put her vocal training to good use. With childhood dreams of becoming a singer, musical theatre had always appealed, but Lynch had been put off by the prospect of performing in eight shows a week. Matilda represented the best of both worlds.

“I was excited to manipulate my voice in a different way,” says Lynch, of finding a “sound” for Miss Honey. “My voice is a

little raspier and deeper, but I was able to find a voice in Miss Honey that was bursting to come out. Every single song of hers is a journey to finding out more and more about herself.”

Speaking about the songs in the movie, written by Tim Minchin, Lynch says: “Tim Minchin’s work is completely genius. Every character’s songs have their own personalities and there

“I feel like I’ve almost spiritually been given the opportunity to gift my childhood self something I didn’t get”

LYNCH ATTENDS ROALD DAHL’S ‘MATILDA THE MUSICAL’ WORLD PREMIERE AT THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, 5 OCTOBER 2022

is not one lyric, note or inflection that doesn’t match what the character is feeling at that given moment.

“Miss Honey singing in her home is a completely different style to her as she’s about to walk into Trunchbull’s office or when she’s singing with Matilda. Every single song has a different style, cadence, tone and tempo which made my job simpler because I could just dive in and let the lyrics speak for themselves.”

As a child, Miss Honey was one of Lynch’s favourite book characters. She is acutely aware that the character would have been familiar to many other children, especially though Embeth Davidtz’s performance. Still, Lynch was determined to bring something fresh and unique to her own portrayal.

“As the character is so well-known, I wanted to make sure I was doing a completely different take on Miss Honey. I was

adamant not to play anyone else’s version, to not look at any other references, I didn’t even go back to the original book. I wanted to start from the beginning and build the character from scratch; she is a Black woman, a Black teacher in an era when she could easily be the only one in her town.

“She has a traumatised childhood, so how would she communicate? Where does she speak from? How does she stand? Does she blink a lot? Does she shake or stutter? All these questions really influenced how she would stand her ground when she felt powerless. Singing actually helped a lot with that. But many of those questions remained as questions because it helped me to play the anxiety and physical nervousness that really served the kind of Miss Honey I was intending to portray.”

Lynch credits her own childhood experiences, and one of her own primary school teachers, for helping her prepare for the role. “I had my own Miss Honey,” says the 34-year-old, “someone I really looked up to. She was a Black woman, too, and taught me how to sing and how to be confident and be myself. I thought that Miss Honey is just that: she is here to make the children their best selves in the most organic and sweet way, but also through the most tremendous amount of pain and trauma. She is very much triggered by everything going on in the school.”

And, while the subject of race isn’t explicitly explored in the film, for Lynch, the opportunity to offer young girls the kind of representation that was denied her as a child is especially meaningful.

“I feel like I’ve almost spiritually been given the opportunity to gift my childhood self what I didn’t get. It’s incredible that I get to watch myself create something for younger generations. Of course, it’s amazing to be able to play someone in charge, someone who can handle themselves and handle their body, but it’s also great to be able to play someone like Miss Honey, who is a saviour – she is the one to lean on and she is the one who is handling her stuff in the most gracious way. Yet she also has her own story to tell behind closed doors – that is really special to me.”

The opportunity to play a more vulnerable character is a diversion from the types of roles Lynch had been cast in up until now. It was rewarding, she says, to play someone that wasn’t a superhero, or a secret agent, or a kick-ass warrior. Someone that was far more down-to-earth and “real”.

“It’s inspiring to see a young Black woman on screen not be perfect, not striving for excellence and not having to adhere to any rules that are being placed around her,” says Lynch. “For a long time, I read scripts where Black women don’t get to just be [themselves] on the page. I’m grateful that there’s been a shift that allows a Black woman to play Miss Honey.”

Although it doesn’t matter what race Miss Honey is, Lynch adds, she believes her casting sends a clear message of thanks to the Black women that gave up their time to support her as a child. She now hopes to be able to speak to young people about how incredible they can be, whatever their background and life experiences.

“Every single thing I have done in my career has led me to be able to play Miss Honey,” says Lynch. “I needed the strength and the grit to be able to find the vulnerability.”

‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ will be released in cinemas on 25 November

LYNCH AT THE WORLD PREMIERE OF ‘CAPTAIN MARVEL’, LOS ANGELES,

REMEMBER THE NAME:

Words: Richard Brown Photography: The Other Richard Hair and makeup: Dani Guinsberg

he first season of Industry may have flown under your radar. Other things on your plate, probably. The bigmoney, cocaine-fuelled, sexheavy banking (/bonking) drama (kicking yourself now, aren’t you?) dropped during November 2020. You’d just got your head around the rule of six and how many scotch eggs you had to ingest every half-an-hour to avoid getting turfed out of the pub. Then tiered restrictions, then lockdown proper. There was a lot going on, even though nothing was going on.

Plus, the first season of the jointly HBO-and-BBC produced series – written by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, two Oxfordeducated ex-bankers in their early 30s – didn’t exactly get critics gushing.

The first episode was directed by BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winner Lena Dunham. The season counted Virgil Abloh as a fan. The late Louis Vuitton artistic director and Off-White founder designed an entire Industry-inspired capsule collection after DM-ing the show’s creators (the clothes never got made, much to Down and Kay’s disappointment, due to red tape surrounding licensing agreements). But the season was clunky, clichéd and, by Down’s and Kay’s own subsequent admission, basic. They might not have used that actual word. But it was. It made you cringe.

Season Two got off to a flier. A scandal-dense script and snappier dialogue made good the lazy tropes – and soundbites – of Season One. There’s a synthy-80s-inspired soundtrack. The new episodes are nuanced. They’re layered. They’re good.

Indy Lewis was only 18 when she first auditioned for Industry She’d never really considered a career in acting, truth be told. In fact, Lewis was due to start a degree in International Relations at Durham University. But, as luck would have it, just then a casting director – unrelated to Industry – visited her Sixth Form, Tiffin Girls’ in Kingston-upon-Thames, and the half-Sri Lankan, halfWelsh, Chelsea-born almost-uni-goer made it down to the final two. Thanks, but no thanks, Durham.

Lewis didn’t get the part. But she did get the details of an agent. She took a gap year, applied to drama schools, got a place at Wandsworth’s Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. And then the Industry audition, and then her first proper gig – a Spanish series called La Fortuna with Stanley Tucci – and then a cameo in Industry Season One, and then a pretty-unexpected, if she’s being honest, full-on narrative arc in Season Two.

And now Lewis is getting recognised in restaurants in East London and DM’ed on social media, which is nice but weird, and there are interview requests and fancy photoshoots –a front cover! She’s currently living with her writer-sister

in Hackney, which she loves. What next? Who knows. Indy Lewis wants it to be real, though. She likes the earthly, honest stuff. She always wants to be challenged. Indy Lewis. Remember the name.

Had you really never considered a career in acting before a casting director visited your school? Was it that experience that made you decide not to go to university? I had always thought about going into acting in a very vague aspirational way, but never gave the idea any real credit until I began to get further into that first casting process. It definitely changed my mindset – especially as I went to quite an academic school where that pathway seemed far less viable. Aside from acting, I had always been a little indecisive and struggled choosing a degree, so when I got into drama school it was a relief to feel happy and confident in what I had chosen for myself. Between that and university there was no question in my mind of which to choose.

Which drama school did you go to? I went to ALRA [the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts], initially for a three-year BA, which I had to switch for a one-year foundation because I was working on La Fortuna. This was during the pandemic so we had some very strange Zoom lessons for the first term!

You almost went to university to study International Relations. Why that course? Again, indecisiveness had a part to play – International Relations encompassed a range of my interests, so I was drawn to the broadness of the topic. I loved humanities in school and the idea of studying a subject that was so in the present and relevant, while still drawing from history and culture really appealed.

Why do you think Industry has proven such a hit? The characters. The financial context of the show is thrilling – but I think watching these deeply flawed characters interact with one another and make these super high-stakes decisions is what makes Industry so compelling. You really get into the headspaces of these people and must navigate why you feel drawn to characters that can seem – on the surface – like horrible people. I think now we are living post pandemic; we aren’t looking as much for escapism, we want to watch shows that challenge us, that we have to unpack for a bit after watching.

previously described feeling like you had imposter syndrome when you arrived on the set of Industry... Industry was my second proper job, so I still felt (and feel!) very new to everything. Being on this massive set with some amazing directors and fully established cast was certainly imposing to begin with, and I was anxious to do justice to the script, and my wonderfully complex, fully-fleshed out character. In a sense, fiction became reality in some ways; like me, Venetia was a new recruit, externally polished and costumed, internally hoping to prove her worth, and justify her place. It was easy to settle in after a few days though, everyone was so open and warm.

You’ve

“We want to watch shows that challenge us, that we have to unpack for a bit after watching”

With such a young cast, how was the atmosphere on set? It made it a lot easier to form connections with people, and just feel comfortable having more of a laugh at times. On my last job [La Fortuna], I was the youngest in the cast by about 20 years! So this time on set it was great to feel a bit more camaraderie in the green room.

Season Three, any news? Yes! Industry will be back for season three!

What did you do on your gap year, other than apply to drama schools? Nothing very exotic. I mainly worked – nannying for one family. Otherwise, I applied to lots of little courses, read lots of books, and watched a lot of films.

What’s the best thing you’ve watched in the past six months (other than Industry)? I discovered Call My Agent! pretty late and have gone through it alarmingly fast. I find myself exclaiming ‘Putain!’ at minor inconveniences.

How are you finding the increasing levels of public attention? Have you found yourself getting recognised in the street? Only once – I was flagged down by a lovely lady after dinner with a friend. People from all over the world are watching Industry, so experiencing how that translates on social media has definitely been a strange thing to get used to.

How’s your relationship with social media? Is the effect platforms are having on people’s mental health, young people in particular, outweighed by their capacity for good? I mainly use social media for messaging and communication – it’s how I stay in contact with most of my friends, who are now all over the country at different universities. I can see the ways in which it can become insidious, especially in peoples’ formative years, and especially for young women and girls, and know people who have benefitted from ‘media cleanses’ every now and again. I think I’m still very wary of it, and try not to engage too much in

its extremely public nature – but staying connected to people has been so important mentally, especially in the face of isolation and distance, so I’m very grateful to its power of communication.

What do you spend the most time on, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram? Your accounts are private. Could you explain why that is please. I use Instagram the most, mainly to message friends. I’ve never really understood Twitter and had to delete TikTok because it had me in a vice-like scrolling chokehold. I recently made my Instagram public as I was doing publicity for the first time for Industry, which has been a bit strange with people getting in touch, but it’s been nice to hear how many people really love and have responded to Series Two so far.

How often do you Google yourself? Be honest. Ha! I might do a cheeky search after an interview has come out, but I’ve tried to steer clear of comment rabbit-holes and Reddit threads. My friends will do a stalk every now and again though and send me rogue articles they find funny.

I read that you’re a vegetarian. How seriously do you commit? I’ve been some form of vegetarian since I was

“The scripts that resonate with me the most are always rooted in real, kitchen-sink lives”

about 14 and do abide by it for the most part. I was vegan for a while, and though I’m not any more, I still avoid eggs and milk where I can. I would never buy or cook meat for myself but every now and again, when I’m abroad or in a nice restaurant, I can be persuaded to digress…

What’s your idea of a good date? Something interactive or artistic to discuss over shared food with some rambling in between. Or a film, with dissection over a drink at one of the local independent cinemas.

Which book would you suggest everyone should read? Calvino’s The Complete Cosmicomics is so beautifully written. Outlandish imaginings on the creation of the natural world and universe. My sister is also a brilliant writer – so anything by Ashani Lewis!

Where’s somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit, but haven’t? Australia or New Zealand – I would love to explore their wildly different terrains and ecosystems, though I would avoid the spiders if possible.

You can pick one superpower. What would it be? Teleportation. Never having to wrangle Google Maps and TFL again.

What’s your favourite London neighbourhood? Where I am now – Hackney.

Favourite London restaurant? My Neighbours the Dumplings always has me relaxing my vegetarianism. Recently, José Pizarro at the RA for amazing Spanish food.

Are there any other projects you’re currently working on? I did have something lined up for this summer, but it was pushed back to sometime next year, so I’ll have to wait and see.

What sor t of role would you most love to play next? The scripts that resonate with me the most are always rooted in real, kitchensink lives; so I’m drawn to roles like that. But I think because I’m still coming to terms with myself as an actor right now, I want characters and themes that will challenge me, I want to see what I can do after being stretched a bit.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? I’m quite happy with where I am right now, at home with a nice cup of coffee.

‘Industry’ is available on BBC iPlayer now.

Culture

MUSIC, MUSEUMS AND MASTERPIECES

48 The Agenda Your curated guide to culture in the capital 54 Lady Chatterley’s Lover The book that was almost never published

In Conversation with Clive Myrie Why the veteran war reporter remains committed to the call of the front line

From the SS23 collection of designer Harris Reed, who will be taking part in London Fashion Week in February (p.49).

THE AGENDA

YOUR CURATED GUIDE TO CULTURE IN THE CAPITAL

Edited by: Anna Solomon

UNTITLED, TAKURO KUWATA

1Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art

Hayward Gallery

Until 8 January 2023

There is something satisfying about this Hayward Gallery exhibition, which is full of blobs, globs and goo. Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art is the first large-scale show in the UK to explore how artists use clay, and to celebrate its tactile, organic and plastic qualities. Featuring 23 artists who specialise in the unique material, pieces range from abstract giants to tiny representations of the everyday. They also vary in finish, technique and topic, addressing themes like architecture, social justice and the body. All are united by the humble yet extraordinary medium of clay.

£15 (free for members), southbankcentre.co.uk

Show details are yet to be released, but February is the month that the international fashion set descends on the capital for a week of couture and catwalks. It’s sure to be, as ever, full of showstopping collections and social media-ready moments, as well as a bursting schedule of satellite events and after-parties.

The year is 1960. Young activist Nelson Mandela rallies the people of South Africa to protest against apartheid –the country’s institutionalised system of racial segregation. In 1962, he is sentenced to life in prison, where he will spend the next 27 years living under harsh conditions meant to break his resolve, but Mandela refuses to give up his ambitions of equality. Infused with the rhythms of South Africa –and presented in partnership with the Mandela family – this Young Vic musical tells the story of a man whose sacrifice culminated in him becoming the country’s first black Head of State, changing the course of modern history.

From £12.50, youngvic.org

London Art Fair Business

Design Centre 18 - 22 January 2023

Whether you’re a seasoned collector or first-time purchaser, the London Art Fair is the definitive destination for modern and contemporary art; it showcases a line-up of more than 100 galleries, exhibiting work from both up-and-comers and famous artists like Henry Moore, David Hockney and Paula Rego. The LAF also runs a programme of performances, immersive installations, talks and tours.

£19.50 (day pass), londonartfair.co.uk

ANTI-CLOCKWISE FROM TOP L’APRES MIDI D’UN FAUNE, JAMES MCNAUGHT, 2021; IRIDIUM’S TREASURE, BEN UNSWORTH, 2022; LES EVENTAILS JAPONAIS, LIZZIE RICHES, 2022; ALL COURTESY OF PORTAL PAINTERS

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON, SEEN ACROSS GREEN PARK, MAKINO YOSHIO, C.1911; ARMOUR, MYOCHIN SCHOOL OF ARMOURERS, 1537–1850; DAGGER AND SCABBARD, C.1500 (DAGGER), 1868–71 (SCABBARD); FOLDING FAN SHOWING MOUNT FUJI, UTAGAWA KUNIHISA II.

Japan: Courts and Culture

The

Queen’s Gallery

Every Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 26 February 2023

The Royal Collection in Buckingham Palace holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art in the western world. Rare porcelain, embroidered screens and exquisite paintings have been acquired over 300 years of diplomatic and cultural exchange between the royal and imperial families, reaching the British Court through trade, travel and treaties. From samurai armour sent to James I in 1613 to a Coronation gift for Elizabeth II in 1953, many of these items were commissioned or presented by Japanese royalty. Japan: Courts and Culture, therefore, seeks to explore centuries of Anglo-Japanese relations via these objects; as well as providing insight into a world of ritual, honour and artistry, the exhibition is also a showcase of sheer objective beauty.

£17, rct.uk

M.K. Ciurlionis: Between Worlds

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Until 12 March 2023

Building on its reputation for spotlighting lesser-known artists, Dulwich Picture Gallery is showing the works of Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis. The symbolism and art nouveau proponent is considered a pioneer of abstract art in Europe. This exhibition will bring together more than 100 of his works, created over a short career that nonetheless earned Ciurlionis the accolade of Lithuania’s most prolific painter.

£15, dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

GOOD Harold Pinter Theatre

Until 24 December

John Halder is a ‘good’ man. But how do you remain ‘good’ when your survival is threatened? As the world hurtles towards another global war, Halder, a decent, music-loving German professor, finds himself swept along with a movement that crescendos towards an unthinkable finale. David Tennant returns to the West End to take up the lead role in this timely reimagining of C.P. Taylor’s play, directed by Olivier Award-winner Dominic Cooke.

From £20, haroldpintertheatre.co.uk

SPARKS (III), M.K. CIURLIONIS, 1906

In the 1960s and ’70s, Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz created sculptures from woven fibre. They were soft and ambiguous – towering works that hung from ceilings. They were also novel, with this sort of installation little-seen in the art world at the time. This exhibition presents an opportunity to explore ‘the Abakans’, in a forest-like display in the 64-metre gallery space of the Blavatnik Building at Tate Modern. It’s atmospheric, immersive, and a true homage to a woman who pioneered abstract sculpture.

£16 (free for members), tate.org.uk

Magdalena Abakanowicz: Every Tangle of Thread and Rope

Tate Modern 17 November 2022 21 May 2023

THE that kick-started the

BANNED BOOK SWINGING SIXTIES

WITH THE LATEST FILM ADAPTATION OF LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER ABOUT TO DROP ON NETFLIX, WHY DOES THE ORIGINAL NOVEL STILL REMAIN A BYWORD FOR LITERARY EROTICA NEARLY A CENTURY AFTER IT WAS WRITTEN?

Words: Rob Crossan

Sexual intercourse began in nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me).

Between the end of the Chatterley ban. And the Beatles’ first LP.

Annus Mirabilis, Philip Larkin

Sixty-two years ago, bookshops across the UK were doing an even brisker trade than usual in the run-up to Christmas.

But the rush had nothing to do with festive shopping for familyfriendly tomes to distribute to relatives before the turkey was carved. The queues were for a book written over three decades previously which would, with sales of two million copies over the coming 12 months, outsell even the Bible.

Even now, the reputation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence is still so powerful as to render a clear perspective of the book nigh on impossible.

The tale of an upper-middle-class married woman and her torrid affair with gamekeeper Oliver Mellors, partly prompted by her husband Sir Clifford Chatterley being paralysed from the waist down, explores themes of integrity, wholeness, class and the relationship between mind and body.

But it was the language and the sex scenes which resulted in Lawrence, unable to find a publisher who would print it, only ever distributing 1,000 privately-made copies to friends and subscribers in 1928. Contrary to popular belief, the novel isn’t an endless succession of sex scenes. But when they appear, they leave little to the imagination:

And when he came into her, with an intensification of relief and consummation that was pure peace to him, still she was waiting. She felt herself a little left out. And she knew, partly it was her own fault. She willed herself into this separateness. Now perhaps she was condemned to it. She lay still, feeling his motion within her, his deep-sunk intentness, the sudden quiver of him at the springing of his seed, then the slowsubsiding thrust.

A heavily edited version of the book did appear in the UK in 1932 but it wasn’t until 1960, 30 years after Lawrence had died, that Penguin Books found themselves under the scrutiny of the Obscene Publications Act due to the publisher, finally, deciding to print the full, unedited novel.

Rather than suppressing the book for another three decades, it was the implantation of the Obscene Publications Act the previous year that actually prompted Penguin to publish the unedited version. The new law stated that that any book considered obscene by some but that could be shown to have “redeeming social merit” might still be lawfully published.

With the unedited version of Lady C, as it had become known, having recently been given the all-clear to be published in the United States, Penguin co-founder Allen Lane saw his chance, publishing the book with the familiar Penguin orange-and-white paperback cover design for just three shillings and sixpence, the same price as a packet of 10 cigarettes.

It was partly the fact that the book was now affordable to people beyond the middle-class literary cognoscenti that prompted the Director of Public Prosecutions to act.

Penguin may have felt that the public were finally ready to

devour full-strength Lawrence. Prosecutor Mervyn Griffith-Jones felt differently. As the trial began at the Old Bailey on 20 October 1960, he asked the jury: “is it a book that you would even wish your wife or your servants to read?”

Griffith-Jones continued by arguing that the novel could “induce lustful thoughts in the minds of those who read it”, and also that it “sets upon a pedestal promiscuous and adulterous intercourse. It commends, and indeed it sets out to commend, sensuality almost as a virtue. It encourages, and indeed even advocates, coarseness and vulgarity of thought and language.”

That vulgarity consisted, according to the prosecution, of 13 sex scenes and 66 swear words, from ‘balls’ and ‘arse’ to much stronger expletives which, even today, can’t be published in magazines like the one you’re reading. Not only that, but GriffithJones even took issue with words like ‘bowels’ and ‘womb’ which appeared in the prose.

Mollie Panter-Downes was a journalist reporting on the trial for The New Yorker magazine. With laconic importunity, she described the bizarre spectacle that was unfolding in Court Number One.

“Practically every description of lovemaking in the book must have been read out by Mr. Griffith-Jones, with awful emphasis and the air of imparting some reprehensible rite that would be news to all his listeners, and it was interesting how well the writing stood up to the treatment.”

The defence was well prepared when the time came. Leading counsel for the defence Gerald Gardiner stated that Lawrence was regarded by some as the greatest English writer since Thomas Hardy. He spoke of Penguin’s high reputation as a publishing house but most importantly, he instructed the jury that what they must ask themselves was one of the test questions of the new Obscene Publications Act: was it likely to corrupt or deprave the weak?

SIR ALLEN LANE, CHAIRMAN OF PENGUIN BOOKS, DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER THE COURT TRIAL, 2 NOVEMBER 1960

Members of the jury were then given a few days to read the book themselves. Barred from taking their copies home, they were made to read it in the jurors’ room before, over the course of three solid days, 35 different professors of literature, authors, publishers and four Anglican churchmen took the stand to testify to Lady C being a work of high literary merit.

These included E.M. Forster (a friend of Lawrence) who stated that he put his late fellow novelist “enormously high” in the “great puritan stream” of English writers. While Dr John Arthur Thomas Robinson, Bishop of Woolwich, stated that Lawrence was trying to portray sex as something sacred, in the real sense of an act “almost of holy communion.”

By the time the defence rested, it seemed that the jury would be able to complete a PhD in Lawrence Studies. Some witnesses noted that some of the dozen men and women in the jury box visibly wilted as the hours of protracted academic debate between Griffith-Jones and the learned array of Lady C devotees on the scatological and thematic significances of the novel were dissected, scene by scene, swear word by swear word.

Lawrence once spoke of Lady C as being a ‘little boat’ that he was ‘determined to stand by… and to send her out into the world as far as possible’. Posthumously, he was to have his wish granted. It took the jury just three hours to bring in the verdict to Mr. Justice Byrne of not guilty.

London’s largest bookstore at the time, W&G Foyle Ltd, told the BBC its 300 copies were sold in just 15 minutes and it had taken orders for 3,000 more copies on the release date of 10 November – just a week after the verdict was reached. Four hundred people were in the queue waiting for the shop to open. Hatchards in Piccadilly sold out in 40 minutes. Selfridges sold 250 copies in the first few minutes with a spokesman for the department store

stating: “It’s bedlam here. We could have sold 10,000 copies if we had had them.”

The book continues to sell, partly in thanks to numerous TV and movie adaptations over the past 60 years. Yet there was one copy of Lawrence’s ‘little bird’ that recently had its wings clipped.

In 2019, arts minister Michael Ellis put a temporary export ban on the actual copy of Lady C used by Justice Byrne at the 1960 trial. With many passages underlined by the judge’s wife, Dorothy, so he “would know where the dirty bits were”, the book had been sold at Sotheby’s in London for £56,250 to an unnamed American buyer along with the damask bag that Lady Byrne made to ensure that her husband could carry the book discreetly around the Old Bailey.

Sir Hayden Phillips, chairman of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, said: “The prosecution of Penguin Books for publishing Lady Chatterley’s Lover was one of the most important criminal trials of the 20th century. Judge Byrne’s copy of the novel may be the last surviving contemporary ‘witness’ who took part in the proceedings.”

The export ban was upheld and, thanks in part to a crowdfunding campaign, the book now belongs to Bristol University. With some of the pages coming loose and a rust mark left by a paper clip on the cover, it’s far from the most pristine copy of Lawrence’s novel. But it’s a small, yet vital, remnant nonetheless of a trial that brought sex, swagger and the Swinging Sixties a small step closer to reality.

The new adaptation of ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ debuts on Netflix on 2 December 2022.

A DELIVERY DRIVER FOR PENGUIN BOOKS DELIVERS COPIES OF LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER, 2 NOVEMBER 1960

In conversation with CLIVE MYRIE

HIS REPORTING FROM THE FRONT LINE IN UKRAINE EARNED THE RESPECT OF LIVING ROOMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HERE, FOLLOWING MULTIPLE TRIPS TO THE VANGUARD OF THE CONFLICT, THE MULTI-AWARD-WINNING WAR CORRESPONDENT, NEWSREADER AND MASTERMIND PRESENTER, CLIVE MYRIE, DISCUSSES HIS COMMITMENT TO UNDERREPORTED STORIES AND BECOMING A TARGET HIMSELF

Words: Rob Crossan

t’s supposed to be intimidating. That’s the whole point!”

Clive Myrie could easily be talking about reporting from war zones. He’s been doing it for a quarter of a century, covering conflicts from Liberia to East Timor to Ukraine. But the veteran, Bolton-born newsreader and BBC World Affairs Correspondent has, for the last year, been placing himself at the fulcrum of an entirely different scenario based around fear and darkness where a lack of knowledge can result in brutal elimination.

“ Mastermind is definitely scary. But there’s always that sense when you’re watching that you want to know how you’ll do yourself. It’s a way of finding out not just how little you know, but also how much you know. I like the idea of families joining in and trying to answer the questions.”

It was exactly half a century ago this autumn that the first episode of Mastermind aired. Hosted by the late Magnus Magnusson, the show’s distinctive, and uniquely intimidating format, was inspired by the Gestapo techniques used on the programme’s creator Bill Wright, who spent three years as a prisoner of war during World War Two.

The format, 50 years on, is almost identical. And Myrie, 58, is happy to admit that there are no plans to ‘soften’ the show’s brutal format that sees contestants walking, often with physicallynoticeable trepidation, to the famous black leather chair to answer quick-fire questions on general knowledge and their own specialist subject matter.

“Let’s be straight, it is an interrogation. You’re being grilled, as the clock ticks down, on what you know,” says Myrie. “That can be as spine-tingling and uplifting as it is frightening.”

Taking over from John Humphrys as interrogator last year only cemented Myrie’s position as one of the BBC’s most valuable assets. Away from the relative comfort of the Mastermind studio, Myrie has, of course, become one of television’s most well-known, and decorated, war reporters, flying in to some of the roughest corners of a world where the rules of engagement are shifting in an ever more dangerous direction.

“Just a couple of weeks ago I had to do a refresher of a Hostile Environment course which war correspondents do,” he says.

“Basically, it teaches you how to work effectively and safely in war zones. You learn about flak jackets and what different kinds of mortars and shells can do to people. The biggest change from 20 to 30 years ago is that journalists are now the targets. We are seen not just as impartial observers trying to report the truth of a war. We’re seen as participants by one side or the other in the propaganda. By reporting the war fairly, you can immediately be seen as the enemy by one side.”

Anyone looking through Myrie’s Twitter feed for an insight into his personal views on the conflicts he covers will be disappointed. When pushed, however, he admits to feeling an acute sense of distress at what he’s seen over the past nine months of reporting from Ukraine.

“It’s a particularly nasty and brutal war with two major European armies,” Clive asserts. “You walk around any bombedout area on the outskirts of Kiev, or a city centre or residential area that’s been heavily hit, and you see the devastation. I just

imagine in my own mind the hell-scape that’s been visited on people cowering in their basements and their sheds. Seeing all that is just dreadful but the column of burnt out Russian military vehicles in Bucha really stuck with me. There were bodies of charred Russian soldiers still inside the tanks.

“But it’s always the attacks on the defenceless that stick with me the most. It’s the attacks on residential areas where there are no soldiers, no military installations at all. These are areas that are simply attacked to sow panic and fear and put pressure on the authorities to change their war posture.”

In front of the camera, Myrie is the consummate diplomat, reporting on the most emotive of stories with unwavering composure. Any “pushing” he does behind closed doors at the BBC is, he tells me, directed at getting permission to cover stories in parts of the world where conflicts fly under the radar of much of the British print and broadcast media.

“There are stories going on all over the place that aren’t getting the attention and oxygen that perhaps they should,” says Myrie. “The BBC can’t cover everything – although it does try its very best through the World Service. The civil conflict in Ethiopia right now is something that I’m getting a lot of comments about online but is only really getting featured in the middle of some newspapers every now and then. Then there’s the situation in Yemen and the attacks in East Africa and the problems with Islamic militancy in the Sahel region in southern Sahara. I’m keeping a close eye on Taiwan, too, and the situation there with the tensions with China.”

Myrie was born in Lancashire to Jamaican parents. Since he first began as a radio broadcaster for Independent Radio News, reporting from Belfast in the early 1990s, the media landscape has changed beyond recognition. Yet, despite now being one of the BBC’s most recognisable faces, Clive believes a lack of diversity in the media is still a pressing issue.

“It’s certainly not a case of ‘job done’. Representation is getting better but we have to will the change. You have to have a public shopfront representing diversity for certain. It was Sir Trevor McDonald who was my great influence as he was pretty much the only person on TV when I was growing up who looked like me.”

Living in London with his partner of 30 years, Catherine, who works as a furniture restorer and upholsterer, Myrie’s frenetically busy schedule only has the briefest of respites, usually in the form of a holiday to Italy where he can indulge in his love of classical music. The BBC’s recent Ukraine’s Musical Freedom Fighters with Clive Myrie delved into that passion, following Myrie as he travelled across Ukraine to meet musicians who were preparing to leave their families in order to create an orchestra and perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was a rare insight into Myrie’s personality away from the camera, yet when I ask if he might one day use his limited spare time to write something even more personal, about his life and his opinions, his response is self-effacing.

“For me to have a space to give my own opinions would go against everything the BBC has stood for over the past century and so it just isn’t something that interests me. It’s just not part of my make up to just dribble on about what I think about something. You’re never going to confuse me with Owen Jones or Peter Hitchens, that’s a promise!

MYRIE TALKS TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY IN KYIV, APRIL 2022

“I have thoughts on Liz Truss, Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson. I’m a human being and I have a vote just like everybody else in Britain. The difference is, when I walk through the doors of Broadcasting House my thoughts suddenly, miraculously, majestically disappear! That is the point. People are not paying the licence fee to hear my opinion. They’re paying it to hear factual accounts of the news and my efforts to dig as deep as I can within me to find the truth.”

And yet, even Myrie, clearly so deeply committed and impassioned by the mantra of giving us the news ‘straight’, can’t help but feel occasionally peeved by the verbal crutches other journalists use when deploying the nightly news.

“I do get irritated a little when I hear journalists and news reporters on TV responding to a question with the word ‘absolutely’,” he laughs. “I promise you that now I’ve said that, you’ll notice it all the time. It’s not the worst thing in the world but it does make me want to suggest that there are other words out there that can be used other than ‘absolutely’.”

With a schedule full to bursting with news reading and now, interrogating the British public on one of TV’s most popular quiz formats, it seems to be the quest for veracity in whatever Clive does that lies at his core. That, coupled with the desire to hear the stories of individuals who, through no choice of their own,

have been placed in the centre of war, are what propels Myrie into getting on yet another flight to a difficult corner of the world.

“Civilians are always bearing the brunt of armed conflict. But I’ve seen more and more cases of civilians being specifically targeted in recent years. It’s changed, it’s gotten worse,” he says.

“It’s made me even more determined to try and tell the truth and try to be as objective as possible. It’s stiffened my resolve to report on the mechanics of conflict and the dynamics of the wars we’re living through.”

‘Ukraine’s Musical Freedom Fighters with Clive Myrie’ is available on BBC iPlayer now

“I have thoughts on Liz Truss, Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson. I’m a human being and I have a vote just like everybody else in Britain”

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Connoisseur

TASTING NOTES FOR THE URBANE EPICUREAN

Pullman meets Palermo in Fitzrovia’s slickly-designed Sicilian, Norma (p.66).

TOP TABLES

TEMPERATURES MAY HAVE COOLED BUT THE CULINARY ACTION IS HEATING UP ALL OVER THE CAPITAL. THESE ARE THE HOTTEST NEW RESTAURANTS AND BARS THAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT THIS WINTER

Words: Nick Savage, Innerplace Concierge

SCOTT’S RICHMOND, TW9

London’s most famous seafood restaurant, Scott’s, has opened a second location in Richmond, mooring up on the bank of the River Thames on Whittaker Avenue. The riverside restaurant spans two floors: the lower with an impressive crustacean bar serving oysters, wine, champagne and cocktails; the upstairs floor featuring a central bar that hosts DJs from Thursday through to Saturday. A 32-cover terrace offers outstanding views and the perfect backdrop for some al fresco winter dining.

4 Whittaker Avenue, scotts-richmond.com

KOYN, W1

The latest opening from restaurateur Samyukta Nair (of Michelin-starred Jamavar, Bombay Bustle and MiMi Mei Fair), KOYN has opened its doors on Grosvenor Square to early acclaim. Laid over two storeys, the restaurant offers an excellent sushi bar on its ground floor and trademark plates from executive chef Rhys Cattermoul on the lower section. Highlights include robata-grilled hojicha-smoked lamb marinated with spicy kuromame miso, and the mouthwatering wagyu ishiyaki.

38 Grosvenor Street, koynrestaurants.com

RESTAURANT ST BARTS, EC1

The team behind Nest in Hackney and Fenn in Fulham has opened Restaurant St. Barts in Smithfield, though this latest venture is a little different from its previous restaurants. That’s because a 15-course tasting menu (£120) is at the heart of its offering. Executive chef Johnnie Crowe has assembled a menu that’s a hyper-seasonal British affair, and each dish will apparently feature only two ingredients in addition to the ‘star’ of the dish. So it’s maybe not quite as full-on as a menu with 15 courses initially suggests.

63 Bartholomew Close, restaurant-stbarts.co.uk

YOPO, W1

YOPO, in the heart of Fitzrovia’s multi award-winning boutique hotel, The Mandrake, has re-opened with a newly-evolved design and a modern South American menu packed with European influences. YOPO’s critically-acclaimed executive chef George Scott-Toft created the new, seasonal menu, which travels through Argentina, Chile and Peru. Creative design elements and intriguing cultural artwork throughout the restaurant provide the perfect aesthetic for Scott-Toft’s show-stopping culinary odyssey.

20-21 Newman Street, themandrake.com

ELIS, E2

Chef Rafael Cagali was already running the two Michelinstarred restaurant Da Terra at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green. This autumn, he took over the hotel’s second restaurant, previously called the Corner Room. The new restaurant, Elis, is a more casual spot serving up a relaxed interpretation of Rafael’s Brazilian-Italian heritage.

Patriot Square, restaurantelis.co.uk

OWL & MONKEY, SW7

Located inside The Other House South Kensington, which launched in the autumn, the Owl & Monkey is London’s latest cocktail hotspot, shaking up oneof-a-kind signature cocktails and equally exciting non-alcoholic alternatives. The entire menu, be it the cocktails or a tempting menu of delicious small plates, is underpinned by sustainability –driving an innovative use of local and seasonal produce.

15-17 Harrington Gardens, otherhouse.com

Innerplace is London’s personal lifestyle concierge. Membership provides complimentary access to the finest nightclubs, the best restaurants and top private members’ clubs. Innerplace also offers priority bookings, updates on the latest openings and hosts its own regular parties.

Membership starts from £100 a month, innerplace.co.uk

REVIEW:

NORMA,W1 RESTAURANT

AT LAST! A WEST END SICILIAN THAT AIMS HIGHER THAN PASTICCIO

Words: Rob Crossan

Is it just me or is the décor inside London restaurants getting better at avoiding pastiche? The memory of this writer is long enough to recall the seemingly unquestioned tautology that if your restaurant served Italian food then it absolutely must be festooned with red-and-white chequered tablecloths, be staffed by lascivious waiters doing suggestive things with pepper grinders, and be backgrounded by a soundtrack of Nessun Dorma on repeat.

The same goes for anywhere serving French bistro food: rustic bicycle in the corner, Marc Chagall poster on the wall, and irritatingly, an accordion occupying some other spot. American joints? Wall-hung star-spangled banner, illiterate menu and staff on the brink of a nervous breakdown (in Britain, they don’t even get to keep the tips!).

We’ve never asked for our literature to be packaged in this way. I can’t remember a Mark Twain, Saul Bellow or Paul Theroux novel ever featuring a Big Mac on the front sleeve – just so we can be sure we’re reading a book penned by an American author.

So, it’s gratifying that restaurants across the capital have gradually turned down the interior design obvious-omoter.

Which brings us to Norma, a Sicilian restaurant now in its third year, owned by the Stafford Group, which also runs the eponymous St. James’s hotel beloved by visiting Statesiders for its traditional, wood-panelled American Bar and old-fashioned, country-house style rooms.

Norma, by comparison, is a gratifyingly subtle and snug interpretation of a Sicily that goes beyond Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra prints. With its retro railway carriage-like booths, Norma is more Pullman meets Palermo. The wet fish counter by the front door sparkles with stone bass so fresh that they look like they might make a wriggle for The Thames. Elsewhere, arches and mosaics nod to Sicily’s Moorish past.

The crowd on my Monday night visit was a mixture of informed foodie couples snuggling in booths, and walk-ins who looked gratified that they’d found somewhere that wasn’t going to cost as much as the Charlotte Street Hotel, or have the braying, larcenous machismo of the always-shockingly-poor Gaucho steakhouse, just down the street.

Sicily has never gone in much for prodigious quantities of meat in its dishes. Historical poverty, a plentiful piscine larder and that Moorish influence prioritises citrus, anchovies, aubergine and nuts over the buttery gluttony of Bologna or the polenta carb crawling of Lombardy.

The most carnivorous thing I ate when I was last in Sicily was a goat’s spleen and ricotta sandwich in a Palermo street market. It was a peasant snack borne of simplicity and frugality that spoke of slow cooking, slow afternoons and demonstrated how economic paucity can still produce crescendos of flavour. I still have slightly guilty dreams about it.

There’s nothing quite so uncompromising on Norma’s menu. The virtues of Sicilian economy are most brilliantly manifested in the restaurant’s snack-option starter of spaghetti fritters: chunky wheels of crisped-up pasta, snow globed in parmesan and served alongside a jug of parmesan-and-oliveoil fondue. I ate and ate and am still wondering how I can convince Norma to deliver an unmarked paper bag of these to my door under cover of darkness so that I might gobble them up under my duvet.

The beech-smoked anchovies were a riposte to the grim, brinesoaked tinned variety to which us Brits have become accustomed. Served here on crostini with sun-dried tomato pesto and oregano, it’s like finding that the dandruff-sprinkled Stephen King fan in your year at school is now a cover model for GQ.

The ‘primi’ courses can be served in small or large portions. I skipped the mammoth-looking ‘secondi’ options, filled with whole fish and parmigiana, in favour of a larger bowl (or, more accurately, sea shell) filled with unctuous crab linguini. The crab, chilli and lemon butter were cooked to a texture more granular than creamy and were laced and threaded with the most reliable of all pastas. Raucous, fresh and vigorous; it was everything a pasta dish so seldom achieves north of the Po River.

Pleasingly, it’s easily possible to navigate the Norma menu without spending more than £40 a head, before wine. Our sommelier Francesca recommended a wine from her home island of Sardinia; a moderately dry Vermentino with a sea-breezy bouquet that doesn’t tip over into full blown perfumery.

Long ago, The River Café fetishised the nauseating idea of gentrifying peasant food for smug metropolitans with Botoxed noses and liberal poses. At Norma, you don’t need a potentate’s brown envelope to sample executive head chef Giovann Attard’s creations. You just need to book about two weeks in advance. And have long divorced yourself from finding a giant pepper grinder or a picture of Dean Martin in a suit remotely uplifting.

8 Charlotte Street, normalondon.com

in a

LIGHTNING BOTTLE

DURING THE TWO DECADES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 20 TH CENTURY THAT JAPANESE SPIRIT MAKER, TAKARA SHUZO, TURNED ITS HAND TO PRODUCING WHISKY, IT NEVER OFFICIALLY CREATED A SINGLE MALT. YET, TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE DISTILLERY CLOSED DOWN FOR GOOD, RUMOURS BEGAN CIRCULATING OF A SECRET LOST BATCH, INSPIRING AN INDIANA JONES-STYLE HUNT FOR ONE OF THE RAREST JAPANESE WHISKIES EVER CREATED

Words: Josh Sims

If most detective stories are, in the end, a whodunit, Stephen Bremner’s is more of a whereisit. Bremner is the managing director of Scotch whisky maker Tomatin Distillery Co, and works in the small town of Tomatin, 15 miles down the A9 from Inverness. Yet, thanks to some serious digging, a lot of questioning and countless hours of riffling through old documents on the other side of the world, he’s now also in possession of arguably the oldest and rarest of Japanese single malts. Whisky which is now, take a deep breath, selling for £25,000 a bottle.

Why, Bremner had long wondered, was so little known about the history of malt whisky production by Takara Shuzo –Tomatin’s parent company – and, in particular, about the whisky produced by its pioneering distillery in Shirakawa, located in the Fukushima Prefecture some 200km north of Tokyo? The Shirakawa distillery had, after all, already been making whisky for almost 20 years, between 1951 and 1969, before switching to the production of other spirits. Its buildings were finally demolished in 2003 and the land later gifted to local people following the devastating 2011 tsunami.

The lack of interest had always puzzled Bremner. So, when rumours began circulating that a lost batch of Takara Shuzo still existed, somewhere, he began to investigate.

“It was one of those situations where I’d been working for

Takara Shuzo for almost 20 years and over time came to hear about how they’d once had this malt whisky distillery in Shirakawa. So I’d ask, ‘is there any stock left?’ And I’d always get a sketchy answer,” Bremner explains.

“In part that was because Takara Shuzo is a really big company, and in part because the guys I’d ask likely would [for cultural reasons] never put the question further up the food chain. So I’d just get a ‘no, we don’t think so’ all the time. But then one day I asked another Japanese colleague and he told me that there were rumours of a lost parcel of stock. He’d spoken to the right people – but then he got moved to a US subsidiary. So I tracked him down, had a number of conversations with him, and so the hunt began.”

Firstly, Bremner tracked down a couple of employees – now retired – who had worked at the distillery in the 1980s. “They knew about this parcel, knew some things but they didn’t know much,” says Bremner. The demolishing of the Shirakawa distillery meant that many of the historical records had been lost, but some, including notes regarding production in the 1950s, had survived.

“We just started to put together all these small pieces of information – the type of barley that would have been used then, the type of casks, and slowly this information gave us the clarity we needed to convince us that this parcel really did exist. We got the impression that some people at the company, though not many, had heard about this parcel too, but just didn’t think

about it too much, especially as this is a company that’s long been about another product entirely. And, besides, the Takara Shuzo’s warehouses are pretty enormous.”

Indeed they are. Picture the closing scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which the Ark of the Covenant is hidden away in an anonymous crate among millions of crates in a vast warehouse. Now, picture a similarly anonymous stainless steel container, ignored and untouched for decades, in the corner of a similarly vast warehouse in the Miyazaki Prefecture, at the other end of Japan. And yet, there it was, finally uncovered in 2019, full of this very special brew. Small wonder that some in the whisky trade have, laughs Bremner, tried to paint him as some kind of Indiana Jones. “Unfortunately, I’m not that cool.”

The alcohol archaeology didn’t stop there. With documentation awry, how could Bremner know he’d found what he thought he’d found? Samples were sent to Scotland for independent analysis by two specialist companies – they confirmed that the liquid had been matured for decades, and, most importantly, that it was a single malt.

So, what’s the big deal? The excitement to whisky nerds lies in the fact that Shirakawa produced whisky only for blending, notably for its Takara Shuzo’s flagship King brand – it never, officially anyway, produced a single malt bottling. This is the last remaining parcel of just 1,500 bottles of a secret single malt – the only single malt from the now-demolished Shirakawa distillery.

fact, distilled in 1958, the bottling is the earliest known single vintage (that is, from one single year) from any Japanese distillery.

“From the whisky buff ’s point of view that makes it extremely interesting,” says Bremner. For those not so into the whisky side of things, its rarity makes it interesting from an investment perspective. The past 10 years have seen Japanese whisky, and single malts especially, become very collectible – indeed, for many collectors, it’s right up there. And they like

Commercial whisky production in Japan began in 1924, upon the opening of the country’s first distillery, and, while the quality wasn’t world-class, the spirit found growing popularity during the US occupation post-World War Two. The domestic market kept growing until the late 1970s, when the drink industry’s radical shift from brown to white spirits – vodka and gin, mostly – persuaded many manufacturers to shift production to shochu, a traditional Japanese white spirit distilled using sweet potato, barley or corn.

At the time, shochu was regarded as a low-class, rough-neck drink. Takara Shuzo would reinvent it as an upscale spirit, called Jun, in part through a marketing campaign involving David Bowie, Sheena Easton and John Travolta, and in part by being the first company to mature shochu, just like whisky, in casks. Whisky somewhat fell off the radar. It wasn’t until around the turn of the millennium that an interest in Japanese whisky – now from niche, small-batch producers – began to pick up, revived in part through

“Even if this whisky had come from Scotland the only reaction would have been ‘Wow!’”

In

the Japanese single malts that are lesser known.”

two examples (Suntory’s Hibiki 21-year-old and Nikka’s Yoichi 10-year-old) grabbing first and second prize at Whisky Magazine’s Best of the Best contest in 2001.

“I think there was a snobbishness about Japanese whisky that held back its appreciation, but competition wins encouraged more people to try it and discover that it’s produced to a very high standard,” says Bremner. “They reflect that cultural Japanese attention to detail. And in the last few years, interest in Japanese whisky has gone through the roof. That this mysterious release has been several years in coming together – and the fact that nothing about the process has been straightforward – only adds to the intrigue. It’s been difficult getting here, that’s for sure.”

Even now, not everything about the single malt is fully understood. Bremner can’t, for example, be precise as to how many years the whisky spent in cask. There can be no certainty around production methods either, though analysis suggests Japanese malted barley and Mizunara oak casks, both of which would be hard to replicate today.

Of course, age and rarity do not automatically make for goodtasting whisky – especially one that’s been stored in stainless steel tanks of the kind used for shochu. After tracking the stuff down,

Bremner was, understandably, nervous upon trying it for the first time.

“We could have found it and discovered that it was just not very good, and we couldn’t have released it. So I have to say that when I first went to taste it I was slightly apprehensive. And I think the owners of the distillery were nervous about letting me taste it, too, because even in their eyes Scotch is still at the top of the whisky pyramid.”

When Bremner did eventually taste the whisky, he was blown away. “I would quite happily put it up against our top single malts. They [the distillery] had no idea what they had. They had no idea how significant it was. It was just unbelievable. Even if this whisky had come from Scotland the only reaction would have been ‘Wow!’.

Bremner’s batch predates the first ever known Japanese single malt by 17 years, and the boom in interest in Japanese single malts by some three decades. Unsurprisingly, the 1,500 bottles that have resulted have piqued the interest of collectors around the world.

What, then, are the chances of uncovering another lost batch? “We’ve looked,” says Bremner, “but I can assure you that there’s no more Shirakawa after this.”

Shirakawa 1958, £25,000, tomatindistillery.com

STEPHEN BREMNER

A COUNTRYSIDE CHRISTMAS

A warm welcome. A scent of mince pies. The roar of the fire. The pop of champagne. The ultimate festive stay. Coworth Park.

To dressing gowns what Rolls-Royce is to long-wheel-based saloons, New & Lingwood’s latest Aviary-embroidered robe features quilted cuffs and lapels of teal silk. The perfect Christmas present for the gentleman who really does have everything. £3,500, newandlingwood.com

Nouveau

PREP

Edited by: Anna Solomon

CANVAS B-BUZZ 23 BAG

We’re going back to school with this satchel-style bag.

Don’t worry, the canvas material and leather shoulder strap are plenty sturdy enough to transport your books from first to second period.

£1,650, balmain.com

Cher Horowitz would definitely wear these kick-flare trousers from Ralph Lauren. The all-American outfitter has been churning out preppy attire for more than 50 years, so these Clueless-worthy cropped-legs are right on brand.

£349, ralphlauren.co.uk

ALANUI ARGYLE CARDIGAN

Argyle is the insignia of the preppy dresser. Emily Ratajkowski donned the diamonds for a recent Miu Miu campaign, and Alanui has also jumped on-board the trend.

£795, net-a-porter.com

Louis Vuitton

CLEMENTS RIBEIRO REGATTA SWEATER

Be tennis- and rowing-ready in this Clements Ribeiro sweater. Louis Vuitton also went down the sporty route this season, with models donning rugby stripes.

FRAYED TWEED MINI SKIRT

The micro-mini is out. Introducing: the nano-mini. In fuschia dogtooth, if possible.

£880, versace.com

AUDREY CARGO MINISKIRT

checks? Now, thigh-grazing St. Trinian’sinspired minis are encouraged.

FELT WOOL BERET

Dressing like a mid-century schoolgirl at an eccentric English bording school? Why not?

£130, gucci.com

GRAPHIC V-NECK VEST

V-necks, v-necks everywhere. This season, if the collar isn’t plunging, we don’t want it. The punky twist on this Ganni vest takes it from class nerd to toocool-for-school.

£165, ganni.com

have been given the Gucci treatment (a five centimetre platform).

£865, gucci.com

The Fabulous World of Dior

AT HARRODS

© SOPHIE CARRE

THIS IMAGE AND ABOVE © ANDREA CENETIEMPO

here is no other country in the world –besides my own – whose way of life I like so much. I love English traditions, English politeness, English architecture. I even love English cooking.” He may not have been able to resist ribbing English cuisine, but Christian Dior forged a rich relationship with the UK throughout his career – and with Harrods department store in particular.

Indeed, in 1953, it was within Harrods that Dior chose to open his first in-store boutique. In celebration of that 70-year relationship, from 10 November to 3 January 2023 a large-scale exhibition, inspired by the magic of Christmas, will explore Dior’s different worlds and symbols, from fashion to beauty and everything in between.

It will be the first time a brand has collaborated with Harrods on the spectacular festive lighting on its Brompton Road façade, and the first time a brand has hosted some sort of activity on every one of the department store’s floors.

Within the ground-floor windows, you’ll be able to see a reinterpretation of sketches created between Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri and Roman artist Pietro Ruffo for the Dior Cruise 2023 Collection. You’ll also be able to spot miniature creations of some of the fashion house’s most emblematic dresses – such as the Tourbillon, Soirée d’Asie and Junon pieces –rendered in confectionery and candy form.

The Fabulous World of Dior at Harrods will also see the launch of two pop-up spaces. The first, Atelier Monsieur

Dior, will be stocked full of ready-to-wear garments and accessories, with several high-end products, including trunks and Miss Dior chairs designed by Philippe Starck, on sale for the special occasion. Within the mini-boutique, Lady Dior handbags will be transported on a conveyor belt, like a scene straight out of Father Christmas’s workshop. The second pop-up, an ephemeral gift shop, has been conceived as a cabinet of curiosities, inviting visitors to find the perfect present for Christmas.

There’s also an exhibition dedicated to three buildings that are symbolic of Monsieur Dior. Dior’s Parisian flagship at 30 Montaigne, Monsieur Dior’s family home in Granville, and his former home Château de la Colle Noire, have all be reproduced in gingerbread and confectionary to create a micro Dior village.

Dior Café, also part of the festive celebrations, continues the gingerbread theme. A collection of key Dior pieces, including the Bar jacket, the Dior Book tote, Lady Dior bags, and bottles of J’adore perfume, have been recreated as gingerbread biscuits.

Elsewhere, there’s a brand-new menswear capsule collection, the main Cruise 23 Collection, and a 17-metre tall light sculpture, the largest Harrods has ever hosted. If you’re looking for a way of getting into the festive spirit this winter, The Fabulous World of Dior promises to get you in the mood.

‘The Fabulous World of Dior’ runs from 10 November to 3 January 2023, 87-135 Brompton Road, harrods.com

Lady Dior handbags are transported on a conveyor belt, like a scene straight out of Father Christmas’s workshop

MADAME MASSIGLI, WIFE OF THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR IN ENGLAND, INAUGURATES THE DIOR ROOM AT HARRODS, 1954 © LEONARD A.BROWN

Edited by: Richard Brown

MAN about TOWN

From luggage stores on Savile Row to barn raisers in Bishop’s Stortford, the latest going-ons in the world of men’s style

A BARNSTORMING SUCCESS

FOR PRELOVED WATCH BRAND

The pre-owned watch business is going gangbusters, but then you already knew that. In 2018, global luxury behemoth Richemont gobbled up secondhand marketplace Watchfinder for a rumoured £250 million. Last year – as swollen Rolex waiting lists persuaded more punters to consider their preloved options – Germany’s online Chrono24, which turns over hundreds of millions, acquired plucky British e-tailer, Xupes.

Now, a year into the partnership, Xupes, which was set up by watch-mad Joe McKenzie in 2009, has been officially rebranded as Chrono24 UK – with the business opening a Soho House-inspired barn in McKenzie’s hometown of Bishop’s Stortford to celebrate.

As well as a bar, lounge and library, the Grade-II listed barn is home to snazzy rooms where clients can try on a vast onsite inventory. Within the building, the ‘Watch Atelier’ will handle servicing and repairs, with, says McKenzie, hopes to grow the lab into the UK’s biggest independent watch centre. Hats off. chrono24.co.uk

BENNETT WINCH ARRIVES ON SAVILE ROW

It’s become fashionable to sound the death knell of Savile Row, it seems. Forecasters have been prophesying the imminent annihilation of the navel of menswear for years. Changing dress codes! Casual Fridays! Streetwear! Loungewear! WFH! The writing’s on the wall!

Hmmm. Not from where we’re sitting. From where we’re sitting, it looks like Savile Row is having a moment. The Service, the street’s first coffee shop, has just moved into a permanent residence at number 19. After a two-year pop-up experiment, Edward Sexton, the enfant terrible of pointy shoulders and cartoon-wide lapels, has announced that he’s back for good at number 35. And, one door down, British bag-maker Bennett Winch, maker of proper weekend holdalls, has become the first luggage outfit to open a flagship on the Row. Savile Row didn’t die; it just went lifestyle.

bennettwinch.com

INTRODUCING COLHAY’S THE NEW(ISH) NAME IN PREMIUM MEN’S KNITWEAR

Longevity. The word on which Colhay’s was founded (it sounds heritage, doesn’t it? But the company only launched in 2019). Its mission? To make clothes – knitwear, specifically –hardwearing again. Clothes that last decades, like your dad’s clobber used to do. Before fast

fashion and throwaway culture and jumpers that lose their shape after a couple of washes. Not so Colhay’s gear. Colhay’s chunky knits, shawl cardigans and submariner roll-necks are built to last. In search of the finest fabrics, company founder Ronnie Chiu wound up in the Scottish Borders (Hawick to be precise). He only manufactures from 100 per cent natural lamb’s wool and

long-fibre cashmere (the strongest, softest stuff). The name? A portmanteau of Chiu’s sister’s name (Coco) and his wife’s sister’s name (Hay). Colhay’s has already built up a following among menswear denizens of New York and Hong Kong. London-based wool-lovers can find the brand in Fitzrovia’s Clutch Café. Go have a gander. colhays.com

BEST OF BRITISH

Three recent standout drops from homegrown horologists

BAMFORD

‘BAD FORM’ GMT Romaric André, aka seconde/ seconde/, shot to (horologic) fame by pimping watch hands. A perfect fit for the king of collaborations, then, Mr George Bamford. £1,600, bamfordlondon.com

CHRISTOPHER WARD C65 SANDHURST BRONZE SERIES 2

One of only five global watch brands officially approved by His Majesty’s Ministry of Defence, Christopher Ward’s latest chronometer is inspired by the historic Smiths W10 field watch of 1969. £995, christopherward.com

BREMONT SUPERNOVA

Described by the brand as the most important launch in its history, Bremont has introduced its in-house movement into three new core collections, including its first integratedbracelet watch, the Supernova (right). £7,995, bremont.com

Made in

Northampton

FROM THE DARKNESS OF A FADING INDUSTRY, CROCKETT & JONES HAS EMERGED A S A SHINING LIGHT, CARRYING THE TORCH FOR A TRADITIONAL CRAFT THAT’S IN SHARP DECLINE. LUXURY LONDON GOES BACK TO THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH SHOEMAKING

Words: Richard Brown

ou can’t keep a factory going on crocodile shoes.” Well, you can. If by crocodile shoes you’re talking about a certain type of plastic foam clog, which, against all the odds, have gained a cult-like status among TikTokers, thanks, in no small part, to Mr Justin Bieber. But James Fox, Crockett & Jones’s head of marketing and e-commerce, isn’t talking about plastic foam clogs beloved by Canadian pop stars. James Fox is talking about proper, grown-up, Goodyear-welted, made-in-England shoes. And James Fox can’t make those types of shoes quickly enough.

I’ve been invited on a tour of Crockett & Jones’s Northamptonbased headquarters, an inner-city factory that emerges out of a row of Victorian-era terraces and transports you to a time when Art Deco was en vogue – the symmetrical, Tiffany-blue tiling in the second-floor toilets is straight out of a Wes Anderson film – and when buildings were made of brick. Well, mostly. Fox explains that the five-storey section of the factory we’ve just left, added to the original in 1910, was actually the first all-steel-structured building in Northamptonshire. It allowed natural light to flood through huge glass windows, something that Crockett & Jones’s shoemakers continue to benefit from today. “Oh, and you see that oak wooden flooring over there?” Fox points out. “That’s

If Crockett & Jones isn’t single-handedly spearheading top-tier English shoemaking, then it’s certainly shouldering most of the weight

from an old naval warship.”

Amid the racks of yellow lasts – Last 200 dates back to 1934 and is still used to mould Crockett & Jones’s Chukka boots today –and banks of men and women (it’s a fairly even split) huddled over benches, staining, stitching and welting, we’ve stumbled upon a very un-Crockett-and-Jones-like pair of pointy derbies in black crocodile leather Top shelf, explains Fox. More than £4,000 a pair, but that’s mostly due to the crocodile hides, which cost almost £1,000 apiece. Crockett & Jones doesn’t make many of these scaley, outré party shoes. You can’t buy them online; they have to be ordered by special request in store. You can’t keep a factory going on crocodile shoes, after all.

Today, Crockett & Jones manufactures between 100,000 and 120,000 pairs of shoes each year. Down from its 1930s heyday, when annual production was around 750,000. But a world away from its nadir in the 1970s, when an influx of cheap, foreign-manufactured footwear – and the eagerness of department stores to stock it – decimated great swathes of Northampton’s historic shoe industry.

It was touch and go, for a while. The business had simply run out of cash. A meeting was called. A document issued: ‘The Closure of Crockett & Jones’. Step in 25-year-old Jonathan Jones, a fourth generation Jones who’d recently abandoned a prospective career in law to devote his life to the family business (his father, Richard, was managing director).

Persuading suppliers to extend their terms of credit, Jones set to work refining Crockett

& Jones’s product line and building a network of wholesalers. “Wholesalers were the key,” says Fox, “and they remain so today.” He lists the names of some other well-known Northamptonbased shoemakers that turned their backs on wholesalers to disastrous effect.

After two decades of hard graft, and constant product refinement, by the early 90s Crockett & Jones was supplying almost all of London’s premium footwear retailers and making whitelabel shoes for a number of household names, including Ralph Lauren.

Footings secured (pun intended), in 1997 a ribbon was cut on a flagship retail store at 69 Jermyn Street. Ten more bricks-and-mortar stores have followed. This year, to mark 25 years of success on Jermyn Street, Crockett & Jones took two of its most iconic styles, the Cavendish loafer and Coniston boot, both of which featured in the company’s inaugural 1997 retail collection, and, for the very first time, produced them in super-strong, super-rare Hatch Grain Shell Cordovan leather (you can identify Hatch Grain Shell Cordovan leather from lesser leathers by its unique oily sheen, the result of a slower-thanusual tanning process, Fox explains).

If Crockett & Jones isn’t single-handedly

It was touch and go, for a while. The business had simply run out of cash

spearheading top-tier English shoemaking, then it’s certainly shouldering most of the weight. In 1968, the British shoe industry employed some 92,000 workers. It manufactured more than 200 million pairs of shoes in that year alone (the vast majority destined for the domestic market). Only a few English shoemakers survive; of those that do, many are under foreign control: Church’s was bought by the Prada Group in 1999; John Lobb had been snapped up by Hermès back in 1976; Edward Green was bought by an American leather magnate a year after that.

Like Hermès and Patek Philippe, Crockett & Jones is one of very few luxury brands still in family hands. (Fox hates the world ‘luxury’, ditto, but perhaps he’ll value the Hermès and Patek Philippe comparison). Fox runs me through the family tree.

Jonathan Jones is now managing director, his father an honorary chairman. Jonathan’s brother, Nick, is production director, his two children, Philippa and William, now represent the fifth generation of Joneses to have worked for the company. Of the Crocketts? Sadly, many were lost during the Second World War, a conflict that saw Crockett & Jones manufacture more than one million boots for servicemen and women. Even Fox is part of the family, having entered the firm through his marriage to Philippa.

In the finishing room, there’s a rack of whole-cut racy black Oxfords ready for polishing. The 007 insignia embossed on the stealthy black shoe-trees inside point towards what, probably, surely, represents the biggest news in Crockett & Jones’s modern history.

While a lot of the cars and clothes and bottles of Heineken we see in Bond films are the hammy result of paid-for partnerships, the shoes that 007 has been wearing since 2012’s Skyfall have been

at the bequest of Daniel Craig himself.

A long-time Crockett & Jones customer, for his last three outings as the sharp-dressing secret agent, Craig insisted on wearing shoes that had been made in the factory in which I’m standing now. Remember the premiere of No Time to Die? You know, when Craig wore that fuchsia-pink double-breasted velvet dinner jacket and the commotion it caused became the most talked-about moment in menswear in, like, ever? Have a stab at who made the shiny, patent-leather dress shoes he was wearing that evening? Uh-huh.

So, business is good. Derbies and Oxfords might not sell like they used to. But loafers are up; boots are in. A sign of the times. They could sell more shoes, if they could manufacture them quickly enough. E-commerce is booming; retail is strong. But they’re flat out – it’s a laborious process, manufacturing shoes (mostly) by hand. Eight stages of production. More than 200 unique operations. Each pair spends two months on the production line. Crocodile shoes even longer.

Crockett & Jones still puts a layer of cork in the cavity between welts and uppers. Very few shoemakers bother with that expensive faff any more. So far, the company has steered clear of the whitesoled sneaker arena. Any plans to dip a toe into that saturated pond? Not on your nelly.

Nope, Fox and family are happy doing what generations of Crocketts and Joneses had done before them. Manufacturing proper, grown-up, Goodyear-welted, cork-filled shoes from its time machine in Northampton. Oh, and the odd crocodile shoe too, whenever an order comes in.

crockettandjones.com

Derbies and Oxfords might not sell like they used to. But loafers are up; boots are in

Limited to editions of 280, our newly-commissioned Art Deco posters feature glamorous holiday destinations around the world, ski resorts in the European Alps, and the world’s greatest historic automobiles. Over 100 designs to choose from, all printed on 100% cotton fine art paper, measuring 97 x 65 cms. Priced at £420 each (inc. UK sales tax). Private commissions are also welcome. All images and text copyright © Pullman Editions 2022

The futuristic retreat bringing world-class beauty treatments to Bolzana (p.94).

Words: Imogen Lepere

ITALY’S GARDENA GRÖDNERHOF CELEBRATES ITS CENTENARY

It had only been a few years since the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire, which counted the South Tyrol region of the Dolomites among its territories, when Antonio and Anna Demetz first opened Hotel Gardena Grödnerhof in 1923. Today, it may be firmly in Italy, boast a Michelinstarred restaurant and be preparing to celebrate its 100th ski season, but some things remain the same.

For a start, it is still run by the fourth generation of the founding family and the vast wine cellar has some labels to prove it. Although interiors have been given the Farrow and Ball treatment, they still feature wooden panelling and crackling fires that create a convivial, cosy atmosphere. And most importantly, it’s still ideally located for enjoying the epic Alpe di Siusi, the largest high-altitude plain in Europe and a Mecca for cross-country skiers with more than 80km of trails.

The hotel’s dedicated ski concierge is on hand to directly downhill you to the nearby cable cars waiting to whisk you to the Gherdëina Skiring and Sella Ronda ski circuit, too.

Approx. £303 per night on a B&B basis, gardena.it

LEFAY RESORT & SPA DOLOMITI LAUNCHES ONE OF THE ALP’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE SPA PACKAGES

More than 150km of trails, four snowboard parks and turrets of natural rock that blush apricot at sunset – there’s a reason the Madonna di Campiglio area regularly hosts international competitions like the Alpine Ski World Cup. After a day on the slopes, what could be more indulgent than floating in an outdoor pool overlooking sugar-dusted forests and the twinkling lights of the village of Pinzolo? Well, perhaps a massage. And an immersion in a Dead Sea-style saltwater lake. Have it all and more at Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti, an unapologetically luxur y address with the most-varied spa offering in the mountains – plus enough sustainability credentials to make even Greta Thunberg crack a smile. The hotel’s newly-launched ‘ski and wellness’ package includes a two-day ski pass, as well as a neck/back massage and sports massage – ensuring you head home supple, ski-satisfied and desperate to return.

Approx. £973 per night on a B&B basis, dolomiti.lefayresorts.com

CONSENSIO CHALETS MAKES THE LEAP FROM FRANCE TO SWITZERLAND WITH ITS FIRST PROPERTY IN DAVOS

With its gabled roof and sun-trap wooden balconies, Tivoli Lodge appears to be every inch the traditional Swiss chalet. Inside, it’s a sevenbedroom, private-spa-sporting extravaganza, complete with dining room with a vast log-burning fireplace and a sculptural table seating 10 –a worthy receptacle for the delicious meals two private chefs whip up throughout the day

The first property outside France to be included in Consensio Chalets’ high-end portfolio, it also boasts that elusive trump card: the ability to ‘ski in and ski out’ on a black run. If that sounds a little too exhilarating, or you’re feeling the effects of unlimited Perrier-Jouët Champagne, Davos Klosters has something for everyone with six ski areas including family-favourites Madrisa and Rinerhorn and sporty classic, Parsenn.

Alongside a manager and host, the chalet’s staff also includes a concierge to take care of things like equipment hire and lift tickets, allowing you to spend more time on the slopes.

From £67,300 for a week’s private rental, consensiochalets.co.uk

ALPINA DOLOMITES’ COMO SHAMBHALA RETREAT BRINGS WORLD-CLASS BEAUTY TREATMENTS TO BOLZANO

Whether you’re particularly stressed, or in need of a pre-festive season glow up, Alpina Dolomites’ new spa is sure to put the spring back in your step. It’s named after the mythical Buddhist kingdom of Shambhala and, in truth, there does seem to be something almost sacred about the smell of Alpine herbs drifting on clouds of steam from its bio-sauna.

The indoor and outdoor pools both have panoramic views over the Alpe di Siusi, while the hotel’s striking spiny architecture mirrors the craggy peaks of the mountains. The Sella Ronda ski route has been named the best in the world on several occasions. This full-day adventure will see you crossing four dazzling Dolomite passes and five postcard-perfect Alpine villages where you can stop for hot chocolate – or something stronger –along the way. Dreamy.

From approx. £364 per night on a B&B basis, alpinadolomites.it

THE AIRELLES COURCHEVEL HOTEL LAUNCHES TWO STANDALONE CHALETS

Staggering scenery and guaranteed adrenaline rushes are two of the many reasons to love snow sports. Grappling with ski boots at the end of a long day doesn’t quite make the list. At Airelles, in the Jardin Alpin district of Courchevel, a dedicated valet will carry your gear from the bottom of the slopes, removing your boots and offering you a hot drink as they do so.

A duo of shiny new chalets – one sleeping 12, the other 15 – offers the exclusivity of a private rental with all the facilities of the hotel. In practice, this means a spa with ever ything from an indoor pool to Iyashi dome, an in-house sommelier and soft furnishings that are as velvety as angel hair. You also have access to the hotel’s three on-site restaurants. From dogsledding to night-skiing (post dinner in a remote hut), the snow experiences organised by the concierge team promise to be second to none.

From approximately £120,000 for seven nights on a full-board basis, airelles.com

CALL OF THE WILD

A COWBOY-TOWN BASE CAMP FROM WHICH TO EXPLORE YELLOWSTONE IN THE SUMMER, COME WINTER WYOMING’S SALOON-STUDDED JACKSON HOLE OFFERS SOME OF THE BEST SLOPE ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES

Words: Nick Savage

It’s one of the most infamous inbound runs in North America. After a 10-foot vertical drop, you’re met with a rock-hard 45-degree pitch. The snow is low in the hourglass-shaped chute today, making the prospect of running Corbet’s Couloir all that bit hairier. Two skiers have just successfully made the drop, before pulling big, easy 360s over a riser – testament to the sort of skill you need in your locker to take on the legendary run.

There’s a murmur of apprehension in the crowd as another skier sidles up to Corbett’s lip. He hesitates, sizing up his approach, then jumps. He hangs in the air for a moment before touching ground, where he fails to stick the landing. At first it happens slowly, then escalates quickly. His limbs flail wildly as he gains momentum down the slope. The crowd collectively gasps as he rolls over an outcrop of black boulders. You can almost hear his ribs popping.

He snowballs downhill for another hundred feet or so before coming to a stop, then gets up, limps and laughs. “So, I guess I’m the Jerry of the day,” he shouts back to the group peering down at him from the top of the cauldron. Respect. My own desire to drop into Corbet’s Couloir has, however, been whipped away in the breeze.

While Jackson Hole, Wyoming, may be renowned for its expert terrain, in reality it’s a mountain that’s accessible to everyone, from bunny-slope neophytes to veteran steeps skiers. The resort mountain features 133 named trails, 2,500 acres of slopes and 4,139 feet of vertical rise from base to peak. It’s said that about 50 per cent of the ski area caters to beginners and intermediates. There’s also some 3,000 acres of gated backcountry terrain.

I dip into this briefly after sampling a Jackson Hole staple – the excellent bacon and peanut butter waffle sandwich at Corbet’s Cabin at the upper terminus of the aerial tram, best enjoyed in

the rarefied air at 10,450 feet. With the proper ballast sticking to the ribs, we exit through the gate into the Rendezvous Bowl searching for some good, old-fashioned cowboy powder. It’s a warm day and the conditions are a little risky, but we have an excellent time linking turns in perfectly-distanced glades of blue spruce and ponderosa pine.

I’m splitting my stay between two towns: Teton Village, located slope-side at the foot of the mountain; and Jackson Hole, a 20-minute drive away. Apparently, both are busier in the summer when tourists from across the globe use it as a base for discovering Yellowstone National Park, as well as hiking, flyfishing, mountain-biking and other outdoor pursuits.

In recent years, Jackson Hole in particular has become a zeitgeisty redoubt for American movers and shakers, especially tech mavens from Silicon Valley, due as much to the pristine nature of the town (97 per cent of almost 4 million acres in Teton County are federally owned or state managed) as to Wyoming’s tax friendliness – here, you won’t pay income, estate, inheritance or excise tax.

Dick Cheney has a place near Jackson Hole, so too does Kanye West, who famously purchased Monster Lake Ranch in neighbouring Cody (although he’s now in the process of selling it). Less controversial celebrity inhabitants include Harrison Ford, Sandra Bullock, Travis Rice and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

My ski guide regales me with a story about Lil Wayne. The rapper had arrived by private jet at the resort, purchasing boots, bindings, snowboards and top-end winter sports apparel for himself and his entourage. He was taken to the top of the mountain and completed just the one run, then gave the entirety of the equipment to the guide, alongside a $5,000 tip, before jumping back on his aircraft.

The appeal of Jackson Hole, for powder hounds, is a ski bum

In recent years, Jackson Hole in particular has become a zeitgeisty redoubt for American movers and shakers, especially tech mavens from Silicon Valley

culture that has flourished since the 1970s. For others, the draw is the town’s laid-back, Old-West atmosphere. It’s an ambience that’s personified in the Mangy Moose Restaurant and Saloon’ in Teton Village, where we grab frosty pints of Jenny Lake Lager from local brewery Snake River as a live band hammers out tunes from the Grateful Dead.

Part of the reason I came to Jackson Hole was to avoid traffic jams, but the next morning I find myself mired in one nonetheless. At Eagle’s Rest Cutoff, not far from our hotel, an immature moose calf has moseyed into a bottleneck at the base of the mountain where the groomed slope tightens to pass over a bridge. It sniffs the air and gazes lazily behind its shoulder at a handful of gormless onlookers. A skier pulls up into a hockey

stop, the sound of ice and snow crashing through the still blue morning, then stares down the outsized animal.

A snowboarder notices too late and has crested the riser of the bridge. He removes his board and walks back up to the skier. There’s a steady accretion of downhill sportspeople. As it turns into a pileup, the moose remains patently unbothered. Finally, three brave skiers make a run for the left-hand side of the slope. The animal turns and, unhurriedly, lumbers off into a copse of evergreens. Later in the day, we find it sunbathing in a thicket of aspen.

After a night at the Terra Hotel – if you choose to stay elsewhere, at least pay a visit to the hotel’s excellent Italian restaurant – we transfer to Hotel Jackson, situated just a stone’s throw from the heavily-Instagram-ed elk arches of the town square on Glenwood Street.

The boutique hotel is owned by a Lebanese family, which is reflected in its tasty Middle Eastern restaurant FIGS. After an array of superb cocktails in the Sacajawea Library, I’m shown to my suite, which is faultless Wild West elegance. The rooms are clad in weathered grey timber, the bed is covered with a knit blanket, the headboard crafted from black leather, and small red flames kiss the glass of the in-room fireplace.

The sun is shining brightly on my last afternoon in Wyoming. I decide to go for a stroll and grab a drink. A motorcade courses its way through the belly of Jackson Hole. The Teton County ski team has emerged victorious from the ski races at Snow King Mountain, a local resort which looms imposingly above the town. Tousled teenagers lean out of the windows, bathing in victory-lap adulation.

I only just manage to make it into the anteroom of the worldfamous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Dulcet tones escape from inside. Peering past the woman manning the souvenir shop, I can make out the stage, where Jennifer Nettles warms up her vocal cords alongside her band Sugarland. The shopkeeper informs me that she’s been her favourite singer since she was 12.

Stetsons and mesh trucker hats abound in the nearby Silver Dollar Saloon, just around the corner from, and sharing the same ownership as, the Cowboy Bar. The bartender mixing gimlets has a black eye. Leather hanging art runs like a chyron above the bar, depicting Old West stereotypes: cattle drives; big-game hunting; fierce native Americans, banditry and other silver-screen tropes. An oil painting illustrates a snappily-dressed cowboy rubbing the legs of a crimson-bodiced woman. Soaking it in, alongside the gin, it’s impossible not to feel the thrill of the American West.

Jackson Hole is that rare place that confidently looks both to the future and the past. Though it is assuredly keeping up with the spirit of the age, it still holds tight to its western roots, offering visitors the true sense of adventure that has come to characterise the image of the western United States. Whether for its worldbeating powder, Wild West romance or unvarnished luxury –there’s a reason Jackson Hole enjoys a place at the top table of North American ski resorts.

Return flights from London Heathrow to Jackson Hole (with a stopover in Denver) from £777 with United Airlines; The Hotel Jackson, from £283pp with breakfast, hoteljackson.com; The Terra Hotel, from £342 pp with breakfast, hotelterrajacksonhole.com; jacksonhole.com

Jackson Hole is that rare place that confidently looks both to the future and the past

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DEEP Into the

AS A GROWING NUMBER OF ADVENTURERS DISCOVER THE JOYS OF THE BACKCOUNTRY, A NEW DISCIPLINE HAS GRIPPED THE ALPS –SKI TOURING. ALREADY A BENCHMARK LOCATION FOR THE FREERIDE WORLD, THERE’S PERHAPS NO BETTER PLACE TO GO OFF-PISTE THAN VERBIER

Words: Nick Savage

he contrast with London’s wet winter streets is stark and sensuous. Just a few hours after bidding farewell to England, a quick one-and-a-half hour flight to Geneva and a train journey to Le Châble, just south of Verbier, Switzerland, I’m at the trailhead of La Barmasse, at the foot of the 3,084-metre Mont Rogneux.

With cold fingers I fix black, woolly sealskins to the bottoms of the two skis of a splitboard, taking pains to ensure that there are no air bubbles between base and glue. Moments later, as uninterrupted sunlight and pellucid blue skies darken into a brilliant celestial tapestry, we begin our ascent into a pillowed snowscape of evergreen forest that the Brothers Grimm might have dreamt up. The dry alpine air, richly oxygenated by European spruce, feels nothing short of therapeutic.

Splitboarding, the snowboarding equivalent of ski touring (or ski de randonnée), has become a rising force in the world of winter sports over the past decade. As might be surmised from the name, a splitboard is essentially a snowboard that splits in half to become two skis. Utilising this technology, one can climb mountains, explore the backcountry and reach spots that even a helicopter would be hard pressed to access. For the devoted skier, untracked powder is the preeminent luxury, and touring allows one to reach it best.

It’s not without its challenges, though. The lethal spectre of avalanche and accident hanging over snow-covered mountains means that one must prepare for every eventuality before venturing into the backcountry.

Verbier is one of the few resorts worldwide where one can drop into a rental facility and walk out with the full touring kit needed to mitigate those risks: avalanche transceiver, probe, shovel, a splitboard with special pivoting bindings, sealskins, telescopic poles and a ski-specific 40-litre backpack. With this, along with spare clothes, water, a headtorch, first aid, food and sundry other small but necessary items, we continue up the mountain into the darkness, climbing from 1,300 to 2,103 metres, led by our guide Richard Michellod.

Perhaps of any article one brings along, a physically fit guide of cool mind and ample experience is the most important, and Richard ticks both of those boxes.

As we rise through the temperate zone into the threshold of the Alpine, the trees begin to dwindle and the moonlight congeals to the point where headtorches are no longer necessary. Happy to be in the mountains, experiencing a jolt of joie de vivre, I round out the climb with a clumsy sprint to the mountain restaurant Cabane Brunet, where we dust down snowy clothing

Tand make merry in the mountain refuge.

The landlord Jean-Marc Corthay arrives, arms freighted with bottles of local light red Gamay and crisp white Fondente, both from the Valais region, which puts some heat back in the blood. It’s the roiling blonde cauldron of raclette and gruyère, however, that really drives home the fact that we’re in Switzerland. We dispatch two bowls of it with fresh crusty bread, cornichons and pickled onions, before ordering a third. Richard recommends that we drink peppermint tea to avoid the molten cheese going claggy in the stomach.

I arise in the morning to hot coffee and the house cat, a grey tiger named Spatule, who runs amok amongst legs of tables, chairs and guests. In the still dark we organise our equipment then emerge into an alpine mountainscape denuded of trees but thronged with rock, snow and stars. We continue our ascent through knife-cold air. Roseate alpenglow blossoms to the east, eventually unfurling into crisp daylight. Striking out for Mont Rogneux, flanked by the towering Petit Combin and Grand Combin, we follow the ski tracks through fields of unblemished powder.

At an easy pace we ascend 900 metres over three hours before eating sandwiches on top of a muscular ridge of gneiss beneath the Col du Rogneux. It’s not what we had initially set out for, but Richard explains that it’ll be easier to descend from this point for splitboarders as there are no long flat spans to contend with. Removing and packing the sealskins and preparing ourselves for the descent is a bit of a faff, but it’s worth it for the solitary downhill and impeccable snow.

The phrase ‘earn your turns’ has become one of those dusty old adages that, like cockroaches, survives the test of time – but there’s truth in it. As we descend 1,450 vertical metres we crisscross the track we’d taken to get to Col du Rogneux at various intersections. After exerting ourselves for one long run, after two days’ climb, each turn feels precious. It’s my first time on a board since before the pandemic and I’m a little rusty, but it’s as fine a reintroduction to the sport as one could wish for.

When we arrive at the trailhead, our transport makes a beeline to the lifts to catch the last gondola to Cabane Mont Fort. At 2,457 metres it’s one of the more prominent high mountain refuges in the area, an infamous stop-off on the Haute Route. Here, we bid adieu to the last day-skiers enjoying the panoramic, IMAX-worthy vista from the outdoor pavilion, crack beers and watch the sun set over Mont Blanc and Grand Combin. The exclusivity, not to mention the lager, is intoxicating.

The next day, after sleeping like Rip Van Winkle for eleven hours, I bag first tracks on the pistes to catch a series of lifts and arrive at the 2,740-metre peak of Chassoure for a day of ‘slackcountry’ – off-piste that’s reachable by skinning or hiking from the resort. We bootpack parallel to the ridgeline and above the frozen Lac des Vaux before popping up on the other side for the descent.

The trail is named Champs Ferret, which translates to ‘Rock Garden’. It’s aptly named as it’s pocked with shark-like lurkers

After exerting ourselves for one long run, after two days’ climb, each turn feels precious

of gneiss and granite waiting to blow up your board. It’s a lot of fun. We drop into steeps from the ridge. Rooster tails abound before the slope planes out into a series of shelves resembling a staircase. The snow is unbelievable, and mostly untracked.

From here, we return by lift to Mont Fort for one final run down its saddle with the peak of Bec des Rosses. Immense spruce stand sentinel in towering copses downslope, wide bald gaps of sintering powder between them. It’s made more personal when Richard points out the ‘mayens’ – little huts for housing cattle –that he used to work in as a child.

Even though it’s only been a couple days since taking off for the mountains, there’s still a surreal aspect to arriving back in the village of Verbier. Strong drinks quickly wash away the sensation.

Verbier is easily one of the most sought-after resort towns in the Alps, and certainly in Switzerland. Many of London’s top brands have opted to set up shop here, with the wine-obsessed private members’ club 67 Pall Mall occupying prime frontage on Rue de Médran, and both Gregory Marchand’s famous Gallic enclave Frenchie and Experimental Group’s Experimental Verbier further east. Searching for the classic Swiss aprés experience, we let loose with cocktails at the excellent Alp &

Horn before settling in at a supper for the ages at Le Rouge.

Walking off the evening’s overindulgences the next morning, I stride past the flagship Burton snowboarding store in the middle of town and do a double take. I’m surprised to see that the central window display features a splitboard with all the trimmings: crampons, skins, poles… the lot. Everything required to ascend and freeride the extraordinary terrain hemming in the resort.

During the enforced isolation of the pandemic, many people, particularly those who value the outdoors, had to become more autonomous in their pursuits. Splitboarding embodies this principal, and for neophytes looking to give it a shot, there’s perhaps nowhere better in the Alps than Verbier.

Hôtel de l’Ermitage, from £147 per night per room, ermitage-verbier.ch; Cabane Mont Fort, £42 per person per room www.cabanemontfort.com; SWISS operates up to 180 weekly flights to Switzerland from London Heathrow and London City, swiss.com; the Swiss Transfer train ticket covers a round-trip between the airport/Swiss border and destination, from £131.50, sbb.ch; verbier.ch

Even though it’s only been a couple days since taking off for the mountains, there’s still a surreal aspect to arriving back in Verbier

The Six Senses pool inside the soon-to-open The Whiteley. The development is part of a £3 billion investment in Bayswater (p.125).

SCANDINAVIAN COTTAGECORE

Edited by: Anna Solomon

Last year, the cottagecore aesthetic really captured people’s imaginations. The ever-increasing pace of modern life had us harking back to a simpler time, perhaps, and our homes became places where we could escape into our nostalgic interior lives. The trend, however, does pose the risk of running from the quaint into the stuffy. That’s why, this year, cottagecore is looking away from the English Arcadia of the Thomas Hardy era, and towards Scandinavia. In Copenhagen and Oslo, interiors are minimal; but head to the Stockholm archipelago, or forests of Finland, and you’ll find a different sort of hygge. Still eminently cool, don’t get us wrong – nothing else would do from our Nordic friends – but cute. Kitsch, even. More scalloped edges than dust ruffles; wobbly ceramics over Waterford crystal. It can be difficult to put the ‘Scandinavian’ into ‘Scandinavian cottagecore’. But never fear. We’ve put together an edit of pieces that toe the line between cosy and cool – you know,

Blue lobster scallop plate £65, amuselabouche.com

£319.99, daals.co.uk

Oily baby red and nude £65, vaisselleboutique.com

Swing rocking chair £5,088, finnishdesignshop.com

Tapered pendant shade £70, pooky.com

Blossom linen rectangular cushion £60, birdiefortescue.co.uk

Cabbage bowls £18, birdiefortescue.co.uk

Henley pink scalloped edge drawer chest

Tufted plaid rug £998, anthropologie.com

Squiggle jug £85, matildagoad.com

Oval lacquered frame with pressed cosmos £180, matildagoad.com

Frame sofa £7,800, beataheuman.com

Image: Elisabeth Toll

Hollyhocks velvet castle chair £2,495, houseofhackney.com

Tangina rouge side table £1,790, decoralist.com

Raffia scallop lampshade £185, matildagoad.com

Raffia scallop candle shade £80, matildagoad.com

I,

CLAUDIO

THE GODFATHER OF CONTEMPORARY MINIMALISM, CLAUDIO SILVESTRIN HAS BUILT A CAREER ON FINDING THE SOULFUL IN THE SIMPLE, COMMISSIONED BY THE LIKES OF GIORGIO ARMANI, CALVIN KLEIN, ANISH KAPOOR, ELON MUSK AND, FOR THE PREVIOUS 15 YEARS, KANYE WEST. HERE, SILVESTRIN TALKS ARCHITECTURE AS A CIVILISING FORCE AND WHY IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER FOR BUILDINGS TO PROVIDE PLACES OF REFUGE

Words: Josh Sims

“I do not get out of bed unless I am going to create something exceptionally beautiful”

Claudio Silvestrin says that his job is to find poetry in people. Sadly, the acclaimed architect adds, this isn’t always easy. “There’s too much [of people] looking at Instagram [for ideas], too little risk-taking,” he laments. “People are influenced too much by the imagery they’re bombarded with, which form a fashion of the moment. Right now people tend to want what they’ve seen already, because that’s reassuring. The pandemic hasn’t helped – people are more afraid, less willing to experiment. And creativity has to involve risk-taking, for the designer, for the client who’s putting up their money.”

Take, for example, the infinity pool, that staple of upscale

resorts and holiday homes. Silvestrin, who established his eponymous architectural firm in 1989, all but invented it. But his idea had the pool running from the inside of a house into an exterior space. And because keeping pool and building separate is the orthodoxy, that idea of unifying the two still meets resistance.

“People see what they see and that becomes the dogma,” says the 68-year-old. “It’s easier to move a mountain than it is to break some conventions. So the work for me becomes about finding the one per cent of poetry left in the client.”

It’s for that reason that, increasingly, Silvestrin’s clients tend not to be major corporations – though he’s designed resorts and

malls, hotels and museums, and is now working on an airport in Siberia – but rather private individuals, with whom he has the most successful working relationships: the likes of Giorgio Armani, or Anish Kapoor, Elon Musk or, most notably, Kanye West. Indeed, if the maniac rapper and the laid-back, bespectacled purveyor of an intellectual-yet-still-warm brand of minimalism seem like unlikely bedfellows, it’s actually, according to Silvestrin, when curious minds meet that magic happens – reflexively conservative planning authorities permitting, he stresses.

Silvestrin designed West’s Manhattan apartment, which is more serene emptiness than the pimped-up pad you might have

imagined. The pair were, at the time of print, working on a huge, if closely guarded, project in Wyoming that, claimed Silvestrin –speaking before anti-Semitic comments led to West being dropped by brands including Adidas, Balenciaga and GAP – looks decades ahead into the possibilities for architecture. As he put it, you don’t need many clients to find satisfaction in work. “Just a few enough with the balls [to think originally] will do”.

“I was never interested in chasing celebrity,” says the Zurichborn, London-based Italian. “In fact, I’m not very ambitious. The clients I have just seem to have come to me out of the blue. But I do tend to attract strongly creative people and I notice that

“I do tend to attract strongly creative people and I notice that they’re not afraid of sharing with other creative people”

VICTORIA MIRO GALLERY, LONDON © JAMES MORRIS

they’re not afraid of sharing with other creative people.

“I remember meeting [the artist] Richard Serra, who had a piece in this installation I did. He was a huge star and I was a young architect very few people knew at the time – and he shook my hand, a very strong hand from working with all that steel! And we had a chat like we’d known each other for a long time. There wasn’t that battle of the egos but an openness. People say ‘it must be really hard to work with creative people’, but actually it’s harder to work with people who aren’t creative.”

Indeed, says Silvestrin, it’s difficult to find satisfaction in a client relationship that isn’t mutually trusting. After all, he points out, these are times in which there are more individuals with more money, which encourages some clients to want to have more of a say in projects, regardless of their ability as architects.

“Sometimes the internet gives us the [false] impression that we’re doctors, but sometimes that we’re all artists,” he chuckles.

Having studied under the celebrated graphic and industrial designer A.G. Fronzoni in Milan, Silvestrin continued his training at the Architectural Association in London. In 1986, he established Pawson Silvestrin Architects with fellow minimalist proponent, John Pawson. One of the pair’s earliest successes was the massive Neuendorf House in Mallorca. Convention would have been to paint the structure white, like so many other buildings on the sun-scorched island; Silvestrin persuaded the clients to make it more reddish brown, matching the colour of the earth there.

Consequently, the building still looks fresh more than three decades on. It’s still sparse – Silvestrin says he’s never understood why anyone needs, say, 30 pairs of shoes – but the natural materials, the understated palette, the signature Silvestrin calm, mean that it’s anything but austere.

These things matter to Silvestrin. Not because he’s down on the present state of architecture, though he does laugh that “we’re in the days of slowing down for [the discipline] – more than that, we’re putting the handbrake on”. Nor is it that he’s nostalgic – he notes having recently re-watched Dr. No and realising how the Ken Adam sets still look 100 years ahead of our time despite the film enjoying its 60th birthday this year.

“It’s just that you don’t see the same daring now. But maybe it won’t be as it is now in 10 years’ time. It’s cultural, so it’s likely a phase that will pass,” says Silvestrin, who believes in architecture’s potential as a civilising force. No other creative discipline, he argues, has the totality of architecture, “since you don’t just look at it, but touch it, exist for much of your life inside of it.”

“I certainly suggest the possibility that architecture can bring positive emotions, that it can make life nicer, more interesting,” says Silvestrin, his focus being on designs that are meditative, more inclined to space and silence than busyness and boisterousness.

“Vocational architects go to bed thinking of how to solve a problem for a space with the intent of improving the quality of life of the client. Certainly, there are some buildings that I go into that make me feel depressed, or at least not joyful. There’s a heaviness and a coldness to these spaces, in the use of the materials, dark colours, not much natural light – but that feeling is very subjective and it would be monotonous if all architects felt the same.”

That’s why, he concedes, his own singular style isn’t for everyone. He draws an analogy in saying that he’s more artisanal boutique than supermarket. Or, if he really had his way, perhaps more cathedral. It’s the one commission that’s evaded him so far, but which, he reckons, he’d find most fulfilling.

“Not least,” he jokes, “because there’s no need to deal with practical questions like ‘where do I put my socks and underpants?’ When you do a house, you have those kinds of things to think about. With a cathedral there’s nothing mundane. It’s pure light and space. It’s peacefulness. And no shaving cream.”

Why, Silvestrin wonders, don’t more people seek refuge from the 21st century’s maelstrom of white noise in architecture? Why do we not pursue peacefulness in buildings in an age of 24/7 screen time and pointless information flows? Why, he contends, are we seemingly only embracing more noise?

“Why is it that we’ve forgotten how to do stillness?”

Silvestrin doesn’t have the answer. Yet step inside one of his buildings and you can’t help but feel it’s a question we might do well to ask more.

“I certainly suggest the possibility that architecture can bring positive emotions, that it can make life nicer, more interesting”

GIORGIO ARMANI’S LONDON STORE © JAMES MORRIS

KANYE WEST’S MANHATTAN LOFT APARTMENT © MARINA BOLLA

ROCCA SINIBALDA CASTLE, LAZIO

A PENTHOUSE DESIGNED BY SILVESTRIN IN PARIS © MARINA BOLLA

YOUR ULTIMATE LONDON ADDRESS

Located on London’s prestigious Grosvenor Square, The Biltmore Mayfair is a unique, luxurious hotel. A place where every detail is thought through. With elegant interiors and unrivalled comforts, it’s truly a hotel to fall in love with.

Featuring 250 opulent rooms and 57 curated suites, The Biltmore Mayfair offers personalised touches with a seamless balance of distinctive character and unrivalled service. Step inside and prepare for an exceptional experience at Your Ultimate London Address.

ComfortZone

Words: Anna Solomon

THE PENINSULA RESIDENCES BY THE PENINSULA HOTELS

The Peninsula Residences is the other big opening on the horizon, looking to welcome guests from early 2023. At that point, 25 exclusive residences will join 190 guest rooms and suites, all enjoying a privileged location in the heart of Belgravia, overlooking Hyde Park Corner and the Wellington Arch. The development comes with a suite of amenities, including destination restaurants, a spa providing wellness and beauty treatments, and a ballroom. The Peninsula Residences will also feature a one-storey arcade with over 1,100 sq m of shopping space – property owners will benefit from access to all of this, at the same time as having their own dedicated facilities.

Apartments from £12,937,500, knightfrank.co.uk

THE OWO RESIDENCES

BY RAFFLES

With its completion now imminent, The Old War Office is one of the most hotly-anticipated branded residences in the capital. The Whitehall building was completed in 1906 and served as an administrative centre for the British Army until 1967. The Haldane Suite, named after the war secretary at the time the building went up, has hosted Kitchener, Churchill and Profumo. The War Office sat largely derelict until 2016, when the MoD handed it to the Hinduja conglomerate, which, in partnership with Raffles, has converted it into 120 suites and 85 residences. All residents will have privileged access to Raffles’ ‘six star’ services and amenities, including a spa and a collection of nine restaurants and bars.

Apar tments from £3.95 million, struttandparker.com

MAYFAIR PARK RESIDENCES BY THE DORCHESTER COLLECTION

Located in the heart of Mayfair, boasting views over Hyde Park, lies Mayfair Park Residences, a Dorchester Collection branded residence – it adjoins 45 Park Lane and is a minute’s walk from the group’s namesake hotel. The development blends the heritage of The Dorchester and the innovation of 45 Park Lane: its Georgian façades are juxtaposed by a third building crafted from white travertine stone. Inside, interiors are the work of Jouin Manku, who has blended historical references with custom details. Amenities range from a dedicated concierge, to use of the spa and access to bars and restaurants at both 45 Park Lane and The Dorchester, where you simply charge the bill to your apartment.

Apartments from £4.25 million, savills.com

TWENTY GROSVENOR SQUARE

BY FOUR SEASONS

The residences at Twenty Grosvenor Square are managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, whose staff maintain 37 homes of three to five bedrooms. Residents are, again, privy to all the services offered by the group, including 24-hour concierge, valet parking, a cinema, a fitness centre, and housekeeping. Property owners at Twenty Grosvenor Square also benefit from a dedicated sommelier, valet laundry and dry cleaning delivered directly to their walk-in wardrobes, plus embassy-grade security. There is a ‘garden library’, a landscaped courtyard, and a 25-metre pool with adjacent vitality pool, sauna and steam rooms.

Price on application, savills.com

THE SKY RESIDENCES AT ONE BISHOPSGATE PLAZA

BY PAN PACIFIC

Living at One Bishopsgate Plaza means experiencing the hospitality of Europe’s first Pan Pacific Hotel. This branded residence in the Square Mile boasts stunning interiors by Yabu Pushelberg, as well as five levels of amenities, including private dining rooms, a heated 18.5 metre infinity pool, a state-of-the-art gym, a mindfulness studio and treatment rooms, multiple meeting rooms and a ballroom for hire. The restaurants, bars and private dining spaces – Ginger Lily, Straits Kitchen and The Orchid Lounge – are also worth a mention.

From £1.325 million, savills.com

THE WHITELEY BY SIX SENSES

William Whiteley Limited may not have garnered the same fame as Selfridges, Liberty or Harrods, but it was, in fact, London’s first department store. After its closure, it changed hands various times, before being bought by developer Meyer Bergman in 2013, which is converting 1.1 million sq ft of historical real estate into luxury residences. The Whiteley will comprise 139 high-specification homes alongside a Six Senses hotel with 110 rooms, plus 14 branded residences, whose owners will have unfettered access to the building’s cafês, restaurants, cinema, gym, spa, and members’ social and wellness club. The project is set to complete in late 2023, and could also prove a savvy investment: it is part of a £3 billion landowner investment in Bayswater – the least expensive of the neighbourhoods around Hyde Park.

Apartments from £1.5 million, knightfrank.co.uk

Introducing Salboy, one of the UK’s fastest growing property developers

One Cluny Mews, London SW5

Salboy’s first residential scheme in London - One Cluny Mews is a boutique 35 unit new build site located in a private garden courtyard in the popular Philbeach Gardens neighborhood. Situated in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, directly adjacent to St Cuthbert’s Church, a Grade I listed Anglo-Catholic edifice with a fascinating history, this development is located in an idyllic and central location.

Viadux, Manchester M1

Viadux is an elegant 40 storey glass tower, designed by internationally renowned Simpson Haugh Architects. This striking new addition to Manchester stands proudly above the iconic Grade II former railway station viaducts and Manchester central’s busiest transit hub. Enveloped within its arches, Viadux boasts world class amenities including a private residents swimming pool & spa, fully fitted gymnasium, yoga studios, private lounge, bar, cinema room, karaoke room & podium terrace garden.

Holland Park Gate, W8

Do you remember the Odeon on High Street Kensington? It was a favourite among locals and, thanks to its impressive Art Deco façade, a venue for red carpet premieres attended by stars including Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet. The Odeon – which first opened in 1926 and became so popular that it was known as simply ‘Kensington Cinema’ – has since closed, to be bought and regenerated by the developer of No. 1 Grosvenor Square and Lincoln Square.

Enter Holland Park Gate. You’ve probably heard of it; it’s been one of the most talked-about projects of the past few years – big-ticket conversions of landmarks usually are. The development is not only part of a wave of period conversions in London, it has also joined the snowballing trend of being handled by a luxury hospitality brand, this time in the form of Saint Amand concierge.

Saint Amand provides the bespoke service of a five-star hotel, looking after Holland Park Gate’s extensive amenities, which

include a 25-metre swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms, private treatment rooms, a gym and yoga studio, meeting rooms, and a health club and spa by Italian designer Piero Lissoni.

Holland Park Gate’s neo-classical façade directly faces the entrance to Holland Park, as well as London’s Design Museum. It comprises four buildings centred around a leafy courtyard, which house 71 apartments and penthouses. There are many soughtafter addresses in London, next to all manner of spectacular landmarks, but few combine a prime postcode with such direct access to green space. And, if you tire of Holland Park (impossible, in our opinion), Hyde Park is just a short stroll away.

But, as we say, you have everything you need on your doorstep, from the super-convenient High Street, to quiet corners like Kensington Church Walk and the lovely Kyoto Gardens in Holland Park. Much-loved bistro Maggie Jones’s (a favourite of the late Princess Margaret) is your new local. So you’re in good company.

From £2,990,000 to £23,500,000, savills.com

AN IMPOSING TWENTIES-ERA CINEMA HAS COME BACK TO LIFE AS HOLLAND PARK GATE, ONE OF THE FEW GREEN SPACE-ADJACENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

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