Luxury London Magazine November 2019 by Luxury London Media

MAGAZINE

November 2019 £7.00

AUTUMN

S TAT E M E N T LONDON’S MUST-SEE EXHIBITIONS, THE MEMPHIS

DESIGN MOVEMENT & WHY DE NIMES BLUE IS THE CAPITAL’S NEW FAVOURITE COLOUR

Discover the HIGH JEWELRY COLLECTION

LONDON, 171 NEW BOND STREET 0207 907 8800 LONDON, FINE JEWELLERY ROOM HARRODS 0207 907 8899 HARRYWINSTON.COM

www.tasaki.co.uk TASAKI_UK_LUXURY LONDON MAGAZINE_OCT11_SEPT_ATELIER_WATERFALL_2019_434x280.indd Toutes les pages

170 New Bond Street 020 3967 3730

11/10/2019 17:15

TIME IS PRECIOUS MAKE THE MOST OF IT

T H E U LT I M AT E AIRPORT EXPERIENCE PRIVATE ENTRANCE BUTLER | LUXURIOUS SUITE EXCLUSIVE SECURITY EXPERIENCE CHAUFFEUR | PL A N E H EATH RO WVI P.C O M

CONTENTS

28 UP FRONT

78 40 PRIZE LOTS

62 AN AMERICAN

A record collection of whisky 10 EDITOR’S LETTER

goes under the hammer

13 THE BRIEFING

42 QUEEN OF ARTS

The London gallery shaping

The most expensive Banksy painting to date

26 ON LONDON TIME George Bamford on life in the capital 28 EDDIE REDMAYNE The actor reaches new heights in his latest film

C U LT U R E

Britain’s artistic tastes 48 ‘AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY

IN BURGUNDY The Silicon Valley billionaire merging wine and technology 66 RESTAURANT REVIEW

Omino Brazillian Barbecue

INTERIORS

DIFFERENT’ How Monty Python became

70 ALL THINGS BRIGHT

one of Britain’s best-loved comedy shows

CONNOISSEUR

AND BEAUTIFUL The modern designers inspired by the Memphis movement 78 AN ADVENTUROUS PALETTE

36 THE AGENDA

56 BON VIVEUR

How Farrow & Ball painted

The V&A honours the

London’s best New-

the town red, blue and every

shade in-between

automobile industry

Mediterranean restaurants

108

COUTURE

ESCAPE

88 FASHION STATEMENT

112 ICE BREAKERS

Behind the scenes at Extinction

The coolest hotel openings and

Rebellion’s London Fashion Week protest

travel accessories this season 116 UNIVERSITY ARMS

94 THE STYLE SOLUTION

A literary-inspired escape in the

The best rental fashion and

heart of Cambridge

vintage suppliers in the capital

118 CRUISIN’ ALONG

100 CLIP ART

Inside Truefitt & Hill, the

122 C ROWN OF THE PALACES

200-year-old British barber shop

The award-winning Mughul-

106 GAIJIN GARMS

inspired hotel neighbouring

The Japanese fashion brands

The Taj Mahal

infiltrating London’s style

124 SLEEPY IN SEATTLE

108 MADE TO MEASURE

A 10-day cruise along the Danube

Exploring the tranquil

Jeremy Hackett shares his top

hometown of Amazon, Starbucks

style tips

and Jimi Hendrix

COV E R The Pink Zebra restaurant was designed by Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio for Feast India Co., photography by Suryan Dang, studiorenesa.com

EDITOR Richard Brown

FROM THE EDITOR November 2019 Issue 18

DEPUTY EDITOR Ellen Millard SENIOR ASSISTANT EDITOR Anna Prendergast EDITOR-AT-LARGE Annabel Harrison CONTENT DIRECTOR Dawn Alford

We launched this magazine in the summer of last year with a simple mission statement: to champion ethical luxury. But wasn’t ‘ethical luxury’ a non sequitur? A concept as oxymoronic as a lesser evil? Isn’t ethical luxury exactly that? A meeting room was booked; time set aside for some blue-sky thinking. We decided fairly swiftly that luxury shouldn’t be defined by price, but by value. And it was changing attitudes towards value in which we were interested. For several years, after all, it’s been patently obvious that the force driving change in the luxury industry – in food, fashion, travel, transport – is an adjustment in what constitutes value in the eyes of clued-up consumers – namely choice, transparency, authenticity and things that don’t f**k up the planet. Which is why we decided to cover London Fashion Week in September not from the front row – to which we obviously were invited, you’ll understand – but from the viewpoint of the campaigners outside. Activists such as People Tree founder Safia Minney MBE, former Metro fashion editor Bel Jacobs – who Anna Prendergast, our own eco-conscious fashion reporter, marches alongside on page 93 – and other protesters who haven’t turned their backs on fashion, but for whom fashion isn’t something you should redefine every six months. It is changing attitudes towards value – a dichotomous appreciation of both nonconformity and tradition – that is redirecting our understanding of luxury towards experience, service and longevity. You can see it in London’s booming vintage fashion stores and designer rental boutiques (p.94); in the continued success of the capital’s oldest male grooming emporium Truefitt & Hill (p.100); in Hackett’s decision to open its first bespoke operation on Savile Row (p.108); and in our collective obsession in Farrow & Ball’s uniquely eccentric approach to pigmented liquid (p.78).

ONLINE EDITOR Mhairi Graham HEAD OF DESIGN Laddawan Juhong SENIOR DESIGNER Ismail Vedat GENERAL MANAGER Fiona Smith PRODUCTION MANAGER Alice Ford COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Rachel Gilfillan BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORS Samantha Lathan Danielle Thirsk BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE Madelyn Curnyn BRAND EXECUTIVE Dom Jeffares MANAGING DIRECTOR Eren Ellwood

Enjoy the issue – we hope it’s of value.

PUBLISHED BY

RICH ARD BROWN Ed itor LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

ONE CANADA SQUARE, CANARY WHARF, LONDON, E14 5AX T: 020 7537 6565 WWW.LUXURYLONDONMEDIA.CO.UK

Our typical customer is not typical. And that’s exactly how we treat them.

43–44 New Bond Street, London W1S 2SA london�wempe.com +44(0)20 7493 2299

The Breitling Cinema Squad Charlize Theron Brad Pitt Adam Driver

LAND

PREMIER

AIR

SEA

#SQUADONAMISSION

BREITLING BOUTIQUE 130 NEW BOND STREET

LONDON

CA2103_Cinema Casual Premier_217x280_Luxury London Magazine.indd 1

02/10/2019 10:54

T H E B R I E F I NG T H E L AT E S T N E W S F R O M T H E W O R L D O F L U X U R Y P.14 THE ART Banksy’s Devolved Parliament sells for record price

P.18 THE CAR Bentley revives its iconic Team Blower racer

P.20 THE ARCHITECTURE An abandoned warehouse-turnedoffice in Camden

P.22 THE HOTEL Check in at a pint-sized paradise in New Zealand

P.24 THE WATCH Roger Dubuis unveils its first standalone store in London

Photographer David Yarrow’s monchrome menagerie goes on display at Maddox Gallery Westbourne Grove (p.16)

THE ART

IT’S (MONKEY) BUSINESS AS USUAL AT THE ART SALE OF THE YEAR BANKSY’S DEVOLVED PARLIAMENT WENT UNDER THE HAMMER AT SOTHEBY’S AUCTION LAST MONTH

A year after Banksy shredded one of his own artworks in front of the very audience who had just been bidding for it, another of his anti-establishment pieces went up for auction in London. During Frieze fair in October, one of the capital’s cultural highlights, a four-metre-wide frame went under the hammer at Sotheby’s. Devolved Parliament depicts politicians and speakers as chimpanzees, and is the artist’s largest piece on canvas. As divisive as the leaders it satirises, the painting has split critics into two camps: those who think it’s a cut-throat commentary on the state of British politics (despite the fact that it predates Brexit), and those unimpressed by the lazy caricature of chambers. The latter camp might be chastened by the fact that, after 13 minutes of bidding, the canvas sold for £9.9m, beating Banksy’s previous auction record of £1.54m for Keep It Spotless. Since the destruction of his mural in Dover, which depicted a workman chipping away at a star in the European flag, Banksy posted on Instagram that he had planned on updating it on 31 October, the impending Brexit deadline. “Seems they’ve painted over it,” he wrote. “Nevermind. I guess a big white flag says it just as well.” AP.

LUXURY LONDON

THE BRIEFING

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

THE EXHIBITION

DAVID YARROW CAPTURES MOTHER NATURE FROM ITS BEST ANGLES

THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S BEST WORKS HAVE GONE ON DISPLAY AT MADDOX GALLERY

David Yarrow’s first encounter with a wild animal wasn’t without its problems. In Amboseli, Kenya, the photographer attempted to snap a lioness and her cubs by spraying his camera with deodorant and dropping it in a metal casing, 200 yards from where the family slept. As predicted, the lioness approached to inspect the foreign object, and Yarrow captured the moment using a PocketWizard remote-control unit. What happened next, however, was less predictable: taking the 22-pound box in her jaw, the lioness made off with both the camera and the card. The money shot – and Yarrow’s equipment – had been pinched by one of the world’s most ferocious predators. Today, the photographer is wiser to the unpredictable nature of the world’s beasts and his portfolio proves it. See Yarrow’s best shots for yourself at Pride Rock, a new exhibition at Maddox Gallery, the venue celebrating its fourth anniversary this year. EM. Pride Rock runs until 23 October at Maddox Gallery Westbourne Grove, 112 Westbourne Grove, W2, maddoxgallery.com

03 THE CAR

LUXURY LONDON

THE BRIEFING

BENTLEY REVIVES SIR TIM BIRKIN’S TEAM BLOWER RACER A CONTINUATION SERIES OF 12 MOTORS WILL BE PRODUCED AND MODELLED ON THE MARQUE’S HERITAGE CAR

Created in 1929 by Sir Tim Birkin, Bentley’s four Team Blower motors took to the racetracks of Europe, with the most famous model – Birkin’s Team Car No.2 – playing a pivotal role in both Le Mans and the factory Bentley Speed Six victory in 1930. While it never won an endurance race, the car was still the fastest of its kind at the time and garnered a plethora of loyal fans – including Ian Fleming, who selected the supercharged 4.5 litre Bentley as James Bond’s motor of choice (the Aston Martin DB5 was originally merely an MI6 ‘pool car’). Now, a century since this heritage racer was produced, Bentley is reintroducing it in

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

a fleet of 12, one for each race the original four competed in. The continuation series was announced at Salon Privé Concours d’Elegance and comes off the back of Bentley’s successful Blower-inspired Continental GT Number 9 Edition cars, of which 100 were produced and sold. Each of the new models will be as identical to the original as physically possible, a task that will be undertaken by Mulliner, the marque’s bespoke coachwork division. The 12 continuations will feature four cylinder, 16-valve engines and a pressed steel frame. It will take the team approximately two years to complete the series. EM. POA, bentleymotors.com

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

04 THE ARCHITECTURE

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK PHOTOGRAPHS BY RORY GARDINER

LUXURY LONDON

THE BRIEFING

CAMDEN’S COOLEST NEW OFFICE AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE-TURNEDWORKSPACE HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED ON ONE OF CAMDEN’S MOST ARCHITECTURALLY ATTRACTIVE STREETS

Tasou Associates specialises in sensitive conversions of listed buildings and period structures, particularly within Conservation Areas. The workspace at 9 Jeffreys Place, a street named after the Earl of Camden’s wife Elizabeth Jeffreys, had been disused for several years, in part due to its inability to harness natural light in the two-storey space. In taking on the project, Tasou was mindful of the neighbourhood’s industrial heritage, honouring it with choice materials such as a rooftop extension clad in dark standing seam zinc, and a folded steel staircase by Creighton & Son, which also designed the bespoke spiral staircase at De Beauvoir House in Hackney. Wever &

Ducré designed the lighting, but a newly-installed skylight did the heavy lifting, allowing natural light to stream into both storeys. The central staircase structure both unites and divides number 9, creating a natural partition on the lower floor, and sliding timber shutters provide privacy at street level. The Georgian six-over-six sash windows have been maintained to illuminate the bright, minimal palette provided by oak, walnut, plasterboard and a patchwork of exposed brick. The building was originally built in the 1850s, but after two years of restoring the space from the inside out, the Tasou team has brought it firmly into the 21st century. AP.

J effreys Place was the street where Amy Winehouse bought her first property, later moving to Camden Square

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

The project at 9 Jeffreys Place has been shortlisted in the The Architects’ Journal’s AJ Retrofit Awards

LUXURY LONDON

THE BRIEFING

LESS IS MORE AT LINDIS LODGE THE LATEST LODGE TO LAND IN NEW ZEALAND

THE HOTEL

PROVIDES A DOWN-TO-EARTH EXPERIENCE OF THE COUNTRY’S EVER-CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Downsizing is on the up: the last few years have seen a growing trend in pint-sized places to stay, from A-frame cabins and igloostyle domes to shepherd’s huts and treehouses. Even Amazon’s DIY tiny homes became a property problem solver earlier this year, and the increasing demand for compact living spaces underlines a return to the concept of ‘less is more’. In New Zealand’s South Island, among North Otago’s remote Ahuriri Valley landscape, The Lindis has opened three mirrored pods. At 20m2, the cuboid pods are filled with natural light from wraparound mirrored glass walls that bring the dramatic scenery of the valley

outside in. Efforts to reduce their impact on the environment, such as geothermal heat pumps, rainwater harvesting systems and state of the art insulation, are shared with the original lodge, and their design echoes the clean lines and warm wooden accents of Scandi interiors. Besides the pods’ outdoor tubs, king-size beds and organic botanical toiletries by Auckland-based Ashley & Co, the one-way reflective glass means you can enjoy the natural beauty of the valley’s backdrop from the cosy comfort of your own bedroom. The valley is also home to wetlands, Canyon Creek and Ahuriri River, which makes for one of New Zealand’s top spots for fly fishing and hiking. AP.

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

The Lindis lodges, from approx. £1,000 per night, thelindis.com

LUXURY LONDON

THE BRIEFING

T H E WAT C H

EXCALIBUR HURACAN REF. RDDBEX0748

ROGER DUBUIS’ LONDON DEBUT GENEVA’S WATCHMAKING GIANT OPENS A NEW STANDALONE STORE

Seven months after Roger Dubuis’ new CEO Nicola Andreatta took over from JeanMarc Pontroué, the Swiss watch manufacturer has opened a flagship on Old Bond Street – its first standalone boutique in the UK. The London showroom is the first in a year of international openings, including China, Singapore and Dubai. The store channels Roger Dubuis’ highoctane, high-impact signature skeleton watches: one wall features a giant stress crack, like someone has driven into it or struck the surface. The shattered effect radiates out from a display cabinet – inside, two watches

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

pack a metaphorical and visual punch. There’s also a minibar in the private showroom: drinking and test driving (a Dubuis, that is) is encouraged. After all, investing in one of Geneva’s most exclusive timepieces is cause for celebration. While Andreatta plans on maintaining the limited and exclusive production (and therefore the rarity) of Dubuis watches, he’s also determined to bring them to a curious new crowd in the capital. 45a Old Bond Street, W1S, rogerdubuis.com

O N LO N D O N T I M E

GEORGE BAMFORD M O D I F I C AT I O N M AV E R I C K GEORGE BAMFORDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S L AT E S T C U S TO M WATC H C O L L A B O R AT I O N I L L U S T R AT E S E X A C T LY W H Y H I S S T R E N G T H LIES IN COLOURING OUTSIDE THE LINES

Interviewed by Anna Prendergast

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

he concept behind Bamford Watch Department’s latest collaboration with jewellery designer Black Badger started around 50 years ago – before either company existed, and when custom wristwatches were as futuristic as a Flux Capacitor. In 1970s Michigan, Ford factories would spray car components with layer upon layer of primer, paints and topcoats, resulting in overspray building up on mounting equipment over the years. By happy accident it was discovered that by cutting into the resulting material, known as Fordite (or Motor City agate), psychedelic patterns revealed themselves, much like geological rock. Back to London in 2019, and the collaboration between Bamford and Black Badger has produced ten exclusive TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 watches with ‘Fordite’ dials.

exists in Hyde Park, from the sports to the ice cream vans. When you run around the park you realise how beautiful the city is. I love going on a voyage of discovery around Borough Market and Dover Street. There’s a new chocolate shop, Marchesi 1824, that just opened opposite The Connaught – I don’t even eat sugar, but it’s exquisite.

Why work with Black Badger? My approach with these things is never ‘Is this going to be good for business?’ but ‘I know we’re going to make something amazing’. I met James Thompson [founder of Black Badger] about five years ago – I think what he does is so cool. I’m sure this will be the first project of a few.

What are your favourite menswear haunts in London? I have a bit of a sneaker collection and I predominantly wear trainers, but George Cleverley is developing something with a trainer bottom for me at the moment. Nick Foulkes introduced me to Budd Shirts, and I really love their attitude and their attention to detail. I tend to go to Caraceni in Italy for tailoring, but I love what Huntsman does. I’m so excited that Double RL has just opened in Carnaby as well, I really missed it after the Mount Street store closed.

How will the watch industry adapt to an ever-increasing demand for sustainable products? A watch lasts for generations – it is the opposite of fast fashion. Many companies are working with recycled materials, the perishable components like straps will be improved. Customisation also takes something out of the trend cycle – the product becomes yours, which means you’ll develop a better relationship with it and appreciate it for longer.

Do you know what kind of cars would have been sprayed in this way? We’d like to think it was a Ford GT or a Mustang, but in reality it would take months to track down the individual models. Each layer acts as a snapshot in time – which makes it incredibly fitting for a watch.

How do you feel about Brexit? I feel like the city has got to a point where we just need to get on with it – it’s happening, and bemoaning Boris Johnson won’t move it forwards.

Why so few watches? The material is so delicate – if it flexes, it will break, so each one took a long time. It felt right to keep it to 10 based on how long it took the material to develop, and how long each one took to manufacture.

As someone who works so closely with time, how’s your punctuality? I’m too optimistic – I’ll always leave the absolute minimum time required to get somewhere. As soon as I’m late, it messes up my whole day – it’s a domino effect. As you can probably tell, I also like to chat, so that doesn’t help!

Why did you choose the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5? I love the Carrera – the simplicity of the case, the chamfered edges – and the window just worked so well. What is your favourite way to spend time in London? I love the world that

THREE OF THE TEN LIMITED EDITION BWD X BLACK BADGER ‘FORDITE’ TAG HEUER CARRERA CALIBRE 5s, BAMFORDWATCHDEPARTMENT.COM

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

bamfordwatchdepartment.com

READY EDDIE GO E D D I E R E D M AY N E ’ S C A R E E R I S R E A C H I N G N E W HEIGHTS AND A THIRD BEST ACTOR OSCAR N O M I N AT I O N B E C KO N S . Y E T H E R E M A I N S C H A R M I N G LY M O D E S T A N D A D M I T S H E S T I L L W O R R I E S A B O U T H I S N E X T PAY C H E Q U E

Words: Dawn Alford

hen Eddie Redmayne first came to global prominence, it was clear from the off that Hollywood had very much fallen for his typical boyish charm. The Westminsterborn actor and model has enjoyed a career that straddles noteworthy dramas The Theory of Everything and The Danish Girl, big-budget epic Les Misérables, and the magical box-office smash franchise Fantastic Beasts. His latest project hopes to tap into an already proven combination, as Redmayne reunites with his compatriot and The Theory of Everything co-star Felicity Jones in Tom Harper’s ballooning epic The Aeronauts.

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

“I never had any lofty ambitions other than to be able to earn my living on the stage”

LUXURY LONDON

INTERVIEW

“Having become good friends and remained good friends with Felicity over the years, it made everything so much easier and more comfortable,” smiles the 37-year-old. “Especially due to the nature of this story, which involved two people sitting together in a basket for a significant portion of the filming.” The film is based on the 1862 world-recordbreaking altitude flight by British aeronauts James Glaisher and Henry Coxwell, which saw the pair reach a height of around 11,887m by gas balloon. Jones’s Amelia Wren replaces the character of Coxwell. Shooting at high altitude offered plenty of opportunity for mid-air mishaps. “It was wonderful and terrifying in equal measure,” Redmayne explains. “Gas ballooning is very different from hot air ballooning. Hot air ballooning allows for more control because you can keep raising yourself up and down. With a gas balloon, it’s literally a hydrogen-helium-filled balloon with a basket attached to it – and we had a certain amount of trepidation attached to the prospect of going up in one.” And with good reason, as Redmayne recalls. “On the first day of shooting, we wound up crashing into

these trees around 20m high and came careering down to the ground. The basket smacked over and Felicity’s head – I’ll never forget the sound – cracked against this champagne chest, and then there was total silence.” Jones was thankfully OK. “We had this slightly hilarious moment at the end of filming where I was like, ‘Wasn’t that fun?’” Redmayne laughs. “And she said, ‘Actually it was really hardcore and slightly horrendous.’ I think I had more fun than she did.” Following a positive premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the biopic could well be on course to secure yet more silverware for Redmayne’s trophy cabinet – not that the star himself is wrapped up in visions of a second Oscar win in the near future. “I never had very lofty ambitions other than to be able to earn my living on the stage. I loved doing theatre at school and I enjoyed being part of that world. I wasn’t thinking much beyond that and so I didn’t have any specific ambitions when it came to working in film. Once I began acting in movies, I took a very practical approach – one job at a time – where I simply wanted to do the best possible work with every character I played.”

THIS PAGE EDDIE REDMAYNE AND FELICITY JONES IN THE AERONAUTS; OPPOSITE AND OPENING PAGES EDDIE REDMAYNE STARS IN A CAMPAIGN FOR OMEGA’S SEAMASTER AQUA TERRA SERIES

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

FROM TOP DAN FOGLER AND EDDIE REDMAYNE AS JABOB KOWALSKI AND NEWT SCAMANDER IN FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM; EDDIE REDMAYNE AS STEPHEN HAWKING IN THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

He says he is usually inclined to let himself be pushed out of his comfort zone. “I’m always surprised by how other people see me and the kinds of roles I get offered, as opposed to those I’m more anxious to play. I tend to be drawn to characters that scare me or challenge me in some way, but you never know until you read the script what is really going to excite you about a character. It’s very easy for me to immerse myself in a world that does not exist. I am good at letting my imagination run wild if, for example, I’m in front of the green screen, pretending to scream at creatures in Fantastic Beasts. Sometimes while I’m acting, I feel like a child who’s been given permission to have as much fun as possible, and come very close to believing myself to be whoever I’m playing at the time.” Some of his best parts, including roles as Stephen Hawking and Lili Elbe, he says that he never expected to get. “My only goal in this business

LUXURY LONDON

INTERVIEW

“For many years I did nothing but go from one job to another, but in doing so you give yourself no time to properly live”

has been to keep working regularly. That would have been more than enough for me. I never for one moment take things for granted. There’s this pressure to keep working and working because you never know when the roles might stop coming in.” This can prove more stressful than glamorous, he adds. “For many years I did nothing but go from one job to another, but in doing so you give yourself no time to properly live. While I was shooting The Danish Girl, I was promoting The Theory of Everything, and while I was shooting Fantastic Beasts, I was flying to promote The Danish Girl. I remember one time I happened to finish shooting at five in the morning on a Saturday in London, catch a plane to Los Angeles, land at seven in the morning, do a day of interviews, screening and red carpet, and then have to fly back immediately to London for night shooting on Beasts.” Redmayne is still getting used to living in the spotlight. “I’ve tried to learn how to be entertaining while doing talk shows but I’m not very good at that,” he sighs. “Since I don’t have the security of a character to protect me, I try to be funny at all costs, but I never manage to pull it off.” One of five children, Redmayne was the first in his family to break into acting. He made his stage debut aged 11, appearing in a London production of Oliver! directed by Sam Mendes. As he explained to the The Telegraph, “I was workhouse boy number 40. It was such a minor part that I didn’t even meet Sam Mendes.” Redmayne attended the prestigious Eton College and was in the same class as Prince William. It was there that he fully fell in love with acting. “It was thanks to the greatest drama teacher I could ever have wished for, Simon Dormandy. He inspired me to continue acting and I owe him so much,” Redmayne recalls. “He treated us like professionals and that kind of respect and guidance makes you want to take things very seriously. When you have someone like that giving you advice and

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

encouraging you every step of the way, you feel that you can accomplish anything. We still stay in touch and over the years I’ve continued to seek out his advice and work with him if I think I could use some feedback when I’m preparing for a role.” At Cambridge University, Redmayne studied art history, and landed his first substantial stage role in the 2002 production of Twelfth Night while still a student. Soon after, he was cast in The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, a performance that earned him accolades including Outstanding Newcomer at the 50th Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2004. During university, he also had a fleeting career as a model and while it wasn’t his natural calling — “It was the most hilariously unsuccessful event ever” he told The Telegraph — it did set him up for a number of fashion gigs he has since secured as a Hollywood star, most notably Burberry in 2012, for which he starred in a campaign alongside Cara Delevingne and, as of 2015, OMEGA – a brand he was introduced to by his father, and for which he is ambassador for the Seamaster Aqua Terra series. Away from the spotlight, he lives in London with his wife, PR executive Hannah Bagshaw, whom he married in 2014 at Babington House in Somerset, following a two-year romance. The couple had a daughter, Iris May, in 2016, and a son, Luke, in 2018. Redmayne took a break from acting for the first time in his career after his daughter was born and says becoming a parent was an “extraordinary” feeling. “The amazing thing is, everything that everyone tells you beforehand – which is all cliché – is true. You’ve heard it all before, and yet when you’re experiencing it, it feels like the first time and you find yourself telling everyone these things as if they’re completely new and original thoughts. There’s this amazing thing with children: whenever you’re having a bit of a tired moment or something, it’s like she’s always just one stop ahead of you, smiling you along. It’s great.”

P.36 ADWOA ABOAH, ROYAL FEMALE, FASHION BY GOSHA RUBCHINSKIY, LONDON, 2017, ©TIM WALKER STUDIO, COURTESY MICHAEL HOPPEN GALLERY

DIARY DATES The latest events to add to your calendar this month

P.40 UNDER THE HAMMER The most expensive whisky sale on record

P.42 IN THE FRAME The London gallery steering the artistic zeitgeist

P.48 FUNNY BUSINESS How Monty Python became Britain’s mostloved comedy

C U LT U R E MUSIC,

MUSEUMS AND

MASTERPIECES

Running in tandem with his blockbuster V&A exhibition, Tim Walker’s second show at Chelsea’s Michael Hoppen Gallery will focus solely on his portraiture. Wonderful People, 25 October – 25 January, 3 Jubilee Place, SW3

TH E AG E N DA YOUR CURATED GUIDE TO CULTURE IN THE CAPITAL Words: Anna Prendergast & Ellen Millard

M AY F A I R SEBASTIAN CHAUMETON PRESENTS THE COOKIE MONSTER AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE Blurring historic artworks with television’s favourite puppets, Sebastian Chaumeton makes a commentary on the overload of information that permeates our lives – and screens – in his new exhibition, Fuzzy Futures. Look out for Kermit The Frog striking a pose in Chaumeton’s interpretation of Matisse’s Dance and the Cookie Monster reimagined as Hokusai’s The Great Wave of Kanagawa. 18 October – 7 November, Maddox Gallery, 8 Shepherd Street, W1J, maddoxgallery.com

LUXURY LONDON

C U LT U R E

WIMBLEDON GALERIE PRINTS LONDON CELEBRATES FIFTY YEARS OF MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY The best rock and pop musicians from the past five decades are being honoured in a new exhibition at Galerie Prints London. Featuring shots of Prince, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones, to name a few, the show provides a candid peek at life on tour, from Sting riding a horse to Presley playing a tune on the piano. Until 26 November, 152 Arthur Road, SW19, galerieprints.com

FROM TOP ELVIS PRESLEY SPENDS SOME TIME ON A PIANO WHILE WAITING FOR A SHOW TO START AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON FIELDHOUSE, 1956, ©PHILLIP HARRINGTON; PRINCE WEMBLEY ARENA, 1986, ©MICHAEL PUTLAND

MARYLEBONE ALONGSIDE TERRY O’NEILL AND RANKIN, BAFTA-WINNING ALISON JACKSON PAYS HOMAGE TO HER MAJESTY If anyone could be forgiven for flicking a middle finger up at a camera it would be the late Princess Diana, which is exactly what makes you look twice when you come across Alison Jackson’s hyper-realistic fauxtography. Her favourite subject is the royal family – catch a collection of her works curated by Monica Colussi at God Save the Queen this month, which celebrates the monarch and her personal brand of Britishness. Until 1 November; Motor Village Marylebone, 105 Wigmore Street, W1, motorvillageuk.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

IMAGES COURTESY OF ALISON JACKSON

SOUTH KENSINGTON THE V&A EXPLORES THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY You don’t need to be a petrolhead to enjoy the V&A’s latest exhibition. Cars: Accelerating the Modern World explores how the automobile industry accelerated the pace of change over the past century, through technology,

design, manufacturing and architecture. Fifteen cars will tell the story of mobility design, from the first ever motor to an autonomous flying car. A selection of of products, fashion, graphics, photography and film will also be on display to juxtapose the motoring industry with wider spheres of design and public life. 23 November – 19 April 2020, £18, Cromwell Road, SW7, vam.ac.uk

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LOWRIDER CONVENTION IN LOS ANGELES ©2019 NATHANAEL TURNER; ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT AND WIPER MOTOR WITH WIPER BLADE, ROBERT BOSH GMBH, 1926, IMAGE COURTESY OF BOSCH; MESSERSCHMITT, KR200 CABIN SCOOTER BUBBLE TOP, 1959 ©LOUWMAN MUSEUM – THE HAGUE (NL)

LUXURY LONDON

C U LT U R E

W O O LW I C H LONDON’S ONLY CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKING FAIR RETURNS THIS NOVEMBER Unless you’re a Top Gear fanatic or a particularly avid reader of the Highway Code, you may not know that Margaret Calvert is the woman behind the design of the UK’s road signs. Now turning her hand to matters of art, Calvert will unveil her second screenprint edition at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair this November, alongside works by more than 300 print artists – from Fiona De Bulet’s Red Palm to Charles Chamber’s Rupert the Bearexit. £10, No.1 Street, Royal Arsenal, SE18, woolwichprintfair.com

STRAND 24/7 EXPLORES WHAT IT MEANS WHEN TECH TAKES OVER If you’re a sucker for increasingly prophetic shows like Black Mirror, where technology infiltrates future society to the nth degree, Somerset House’s exhibition 24/7 will appeal to your sense of dystopian dread. 31 October – 23 February, £14, Strand, WC2, somersethouse.org.uk

ABOVE, FROM TOP SPRITES I, ALAN WARBURTON, 2016; LES GRANDS ENSEMBLES, PIERRE HUYGHE, 2001; SENSE OF TIME, TED HUNT, 2019

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

BELOW RED PALM, FIONA DE BULAT, MONOTYPE, 65 X 85 CM

LUXURY LONDON

C U LT U R E

UPCOMING ESTIMATE: £ 30,000-£ 50,000

Crowded Street Scene, Laurence Stephen Lowry R.A Famed for capturing the essence of life in the industrial districts during the 20th century, L. S. Lowry’s

PRIZE LOTS

Crowded Street Scene is typical of the artist’s work, which often depicted bustling urban landscapes. The painting will be offered as part of Bonham’s Modern British and Irish Art sale. Modern British and Irish Art, 20 November, bonhams.com

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP CROWDED STREET SCENE, LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY R.A, COURTESY OF BONHAMS; FOUR BIG, JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, 1982, ©CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LIMITED 2019; THE MACALLAN 60 YEARS OLD, FINE & RARE SERIES, CASK #263, 1926, COURTESY OF SOTHEBY’S

UPCOMING E ST I M AT E : £350,000- £4 50,000

The Macallan 1926 60 Years Old from Cask #263

SOLD

£8.6m

ESTIMATE: £ 7. 5M-£ 9. 5M

The most valuable collecton of whisky to ever be sold at auction will go under the hammer this autumn. Sold alongside Sotheby’s Annual London Car Auction, the lot is offered by a private seller and is estimated to be worth a total of £4m. Included in the sale will be an originally-labelled 60 Years The Macallan 1926 from cask #263 – a.k.a ‘the holy grail of whisky’. The Ultimate Whisky Collection, 24 October, sothebys.com

Four Big by Jean-Michel Basquiat led the sales during Christie’s Frieze Week auction, realising £8,605,250 in a sale that totalled £64,507,125. The piece was created in 1982, a pivotal year in Basquiat’s career. Aged just 21, he had graduated from street artist to gallery grandee, with solo shows in LA, Rome, Rotterdam and Zürich. The artist himself said 1982 was the year he “made the best paintings ever”. Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction, christies.com LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

C ANARY WHARF · COVENT GARDEN · JERMYN STREET O L D B ROA D S T R E E T · O N E N E W C H A N G E · R E G E N T S T R E E T S L OA N E S T R E E T · W E S T F I E L D W H I T E C I T Y

H A C K E T T. C O M

QUEEN OF

I T ’ S E A S Y TO A S S U M E T H AT I T I S H I G H - P R O F I L E ARTISTS AND DIRECTORS OF BIG-NAME GALLERIES T H AT S H A P E T H E N AT I O N ’ S TA S T E I N A R T. T O S E E W H E R E T H E P O W E R R E A L LY L I E S , H O W E V E R , Y O U N E E D T O V I S I T A S M A L L , E A S I LY - O V E R L O O K E D GALLERY ON DOVER STREET – HOME TO C L A R E N D O N F I N E A R T, I T S A L L - F E M A L E B O A R D A N D I T S F O U N D E R H E L E N S W A B Y, W H O , A S H E A D O F T H E U K ’ S L A R G E S T A R T G A L L E R Y G R O U P, A R G U A B LY D O E S M O R E TO S H A P E T H E N AT I O N ’ S TA S T E I N A R T TH AN ANYO NE IN TH E BRITIS H ART B USI N ESS

Words: Josh Sims

ometimes, Helen Swaby decided some years ago, if you want something done properly, you have to do it yourself – even if that’s selling art. “I’d just had a very bad experience trying to buy a painting – you know, having to press a buzzer to get into the gallery only to be looked up and down,” she says. “You can see the gallery assistants are sizing you up, making the assumption perhaps that you’re too young to buy, only to watch a big customer come in and be fawned over. That was how the art market was 25 years or so ago – very elitist.” So Swaby, then working in cattle management systems in the agricultural world, decided to go direct. She’d come across an artist whose work she loved – Sherree Valentine Daines – and approached her to buy a painting. “My friends would come around and see this art on my walls and ask where they could get it. And that gave me the idea,” says Swaby. Used to driving all over the country, she bought a little red van and started visiting art shows and signing up artists, whose work she would then sell via art parties she held at her country cottage home. “It was all just a hobby, but it kept growing,” she recalls. “The agricultural market was great but I can’t say I had a passion for it. But my passion for art grew very quickly.” Walk down Dover Street today and you’ll see a gallery called Clarendon Fine Art. Pop over to Richmond, Wimbledon, Chelsea or Hampstead and you’ll find Clarendon galleries there, too. They, and another seven Clarendon galleries, all belong to Swaby. As, in fact, do another 42 galleries THIS PAGE, FROM TOP STUDY FOR across the country, under the UNTITLED II (THE BAR), FABIAN PEREZ; ASCOT GLAMOUR, SHERREE VALENTINE Whitewall Galleries brand DAINES; BREATHING SPACES AND OTHER PATHS OF LIGHT, JOHN WATERHOUSE name, all opened over the OPPOSITE PAGE WINTERLIGHT ON THE MULL OF KINTYRE, JOHN LOWRIE past 13 years. Swaby also MORRISON OPENING PAGE STUDY FOR exclusively supplies some LUNARES NEGROS II, FABIAN PEREZ 100 other galleries, from Newcastle to Bournemouth, on a kind of franchise basis. Put them all together and Swaby is certainly the biggest single art provider in the UK. As such, she’s become, at grass roots, hugely influential in how art is acquired and enjoyed, not least through collaborations with the likes of Coutts, the Ritz London, Bollinger, the Althorp estate and, most recently, Cunard – for whom Clarendon arranged the cruise line

company’s first artist-in-residence programme. “For me the art world still has something of a reputation for being pretentious and elitist – and my mission has been to make art accessible to all, and, what’s more, to make buying and owning art a lovely experience,” says Swaby. “We have galleries that look good – contemporary rather than the fuddy-duddy look of many small private galleries. They’re the kind of places that a customer should walk into and say ‘wow!’ But, more than that, it’s all about inspiring customers who may not know an awful lot about art. I don’t think these are the kinds of customers who have been looked after by the art world. They’ve been made to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, intimidated. But the fact is that most people who go into a gallery don’t know much about art. It’s just that something has caught their imagination.” The art world’s obsession with making a return on art – art as investment, rather than art for art’s sake – has in recent years confused many galleries’ approach to sales, and sometimes the attitude of those looking to buy. Swaby concedes that most people who buy art quietly hope they’ve

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

“If you get a contract with us it’s like a musician getting a deal with Sony” made a wise investment, “but that’s probably fantasy,” she warns. “We’re trying to persuade people to acquire a piece of art because they love it, because, as we try to explain, the enjoyment you get every day from having something you love on your wall is quite a profound thing.” Not that Clarendon and Whitewall’s influence doesn’t push up prices. Daines’ paintings perhaps sold for around £25,000 25 years ago. Swaby’s group recently sold one for £150,000. The company does everything it can to raise the profile of the artists on its books and, certainly, to get onto those books is a major step up for any aspiring artist – not least because Clarendon and Whitewall’s scale means their potential customer base suddenly explodes exponentially. “It’s a platform that can put them on the map in what is a very competitive market,” explains Swaby. “If you get a contract with us, it’s like a musician getting a deal with Sony. So every day the company receives calls and submissions. We don’t sign as many new artists as we’d like because we want to keep it all tight, while also recognising that the art world has been too fixated on catering to high-net-worth individuals. It’s only now that it’s realising that there’s a huge customer base among people who just like art.” That said, if you want to spend £1m on a painting, Clarendon Fine Art can help you. Works by modern masters such as Henry Moore, Marc Chagall, Peter Blake and (especially popular now) L. S. Lowry are all part of the group’s inventory, as are pieces by artists of such stature only their surnames are required – Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Warhol and so on. Naturally, Swaby explains, her smaller gun artists love the credibility of seeing their work hung alongside big shots. Finding and nurturing these smaller guns is no easy task. They often serve as ideal entry points for people looking to buy their first pieces – and increasingly savvy buyers are drawn to newer talent, like Pip McGarry, Fabian Perez and Christian Hook over blue-chip work. Sourcing and

looking after new talent is, she argues, something only an organisation the size of hers can do properly; the solo gallerist typically just doesn’t have the time or access. “We often take on artists without an established reputation, even straight out of art school sometimes – that doesn’t put us off at all,” says Swaby. “Their work has to be aesthetically appealing, show great workmanship, be innovative and maybe have the potential for value growth. To begin with I just leaned towards art that I liked because I thought that if I couldn’t sell it then at least I could put it on my own walls. But as the years have gone by we’ve become more responsive to demand for certain types of art that I might not have at home in a country cottage. The point is to be able to offer something for everyone.” Not that there isn’t a cut-throat streak in Swaby. Gallery groups such as hers are few and far between. When she first started to grow, a lot of people in the industry got busy telling her it wouldn’t work out, not least because plenty had tried to open four- or fivegallery-strong businesses, only to go under a few years later. But, she reckons, she seems to have found “some magic ingredient that makes it work, not least an amazing team that really wants to look after customers and, what’s key, a readiness to have some fun, which allows us to build brand loyalty.” The broader art world, she suggests, just can’t stop itself from being oh-so-serious and po-faced. But, she stresses, she does have to maintain that magic ingredient. “I feel that the art we acquire is, within its sector, always of great quality. But it’s always up to the customer to decide if they love it and want it. And if the talent doesn’t get that love from the customer then they probably don’t last so long in our portfolio.” As Swaby notes, the gallery world is changing rapidly. “Globalisation, tech, the fact that there are many more young 20-something art buyers out there now – all of this is making the art market so much more dynamic than it has been in a long time. I hope I can be a good role model for young people coming into the art dealership world, especially perhaps in recognising that it’s not necessarily a male domain.” More than that, though, she says she wants to transform lives by helping people discover the joys of art, just as she did. “I hope we’re slowly changing the perception of art, helping people understand that it isn’t some rarefied thing only rarefied people can buy. Art can be democratic.” clarendonfineart.com

LUXURY LONDON

C U LT U R E

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP CLARENDON FINE ART AT 46 DOVER STREET; ROMANCE UNITES, DANIELLE Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;CONNOR AKIYAMA; ON THE HIGHGROUND, MACKENZIE THORPE; WAITING FOR THE ROMANCE TO COME BACK (STEPS), FABIAN PEREZ; ISTANBUL, ANTONIO SANNINO OPPOSITE PAGE DANCING THE DREAM (BRONZE), CARL PAYNE

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

‘A N D N OW FOR SOMETHING C O M P L E T E LY DIFFERENT’ HALF A CENTURY ON FROM THE VERY FIRST EPISODE B E I N G B R OA D C A S T TO A B E W I L D E R E D B R I TA I N , LUXURY LONDON EXPLORES HOW MONTY PYTHON’S S U R R E A L A N A R C H Y M A D E I T S WAY F R O M S T U D E N T D I G S TO S U P E R S TA R D O M

Words: Rob Crossan

oarding schools, corporal punishment, inedible dinners and endless respect for your elders. If you were a child growing up in provincial 1950’s Britain, even being a member of the relatively prosperous middles classes didn’t mean much in the way of luxury or privilege. In drab towns and villages from Western Super Mare to South Shields, life after the war, if you happened to be a bright child with artistic tendencies, centred on getting out of these remote places and to Oxbridge, where, if you’d read the right Evelyn Waugh novels, you could still believe that a fantasy life of port, punting and promiscuity awaited. John Cleese (from Western Super Mare), Eric Idle (from South Shields, along with Michael Palin (Sheffield), Terry Jones (Colwyn Bay) and Graham Chapman (Leicester) were all the sort of bright children who had exactly these kind of aspirations. Though how this morphed into a comedy phenomenon now entering its half century is a tale as unlikely as any silly walks ministry or self defence against soft fruit class. For these were the kind of comedic legends that emerged from the minds of these men who were expected, in the cases of Cleese and Chapman, to grow up to become quantity surveyors and doctors. These teenagers, mostly ensconced in old-fashioned boarding schools, were, however, able to receive voices from beyond the grimness of their Victorian educational barracks.

Thanks to primitive radios, the likes of Stanley Unwin’s Showtime and the Goon Show, heard on crackly Bakelite radios, provided an anarchic and still deeply strange comedic universe that would prove to be immense influences on the team that would become Python. All five future Pythons went to either Oxford or Cambridge; part of the first generation of men from outside the Etonian realm who were able to get into these hallowed halls. It was here that they would watch, and be mesmerised, by Beyond the Fringe, the group consisting of Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennet who were fast becoming the pioneers of modern satirical comedy. “I didn’t even know that you were allowed to be that funny,” recalled Eric Idle who admitted to literally falling out of his seat with laughter when he first watched his older Oxbridge compatriots on stage. University revue shows and the Edinburgh Fringe all beckoned for the boys themselves, with Jones and Palin, and Chapman and Cleese, already establishing themselves as formidable writing duo’s.

It was in the Scottish capital, in the summer of 1963, that the four men, plus Eric Idle who was also performing in a sketch show, would first meet and, almost immediately, discover that, among their audiences, were TV execs and theatre producers on the lookout for fresh talent. And so, aged just 22, Cleese and Chapman went Stateside, to star in a Broadway adaption of their show Cambridge Circus. It was while in New York that the duo met Terry Gilliam. A graduate of political science in California, it would be through his animations and cartoons that this young man from Minneapolis would find his creative voice. Working for a humour magazine called Help, Gilliam met Cleese and Chapman in a bar in Greenwich Village. He would be the last to join the Pythons, staying in America while the five others came together as writers for the very first time on The Frost Report, a sketch show headed by David Frost. Another Oxbridge man, Frost took the early 1960’s satire boom onto television with That Was The Week That Was, a smash hit show that was only

LUXURY LONDON

C U LT U R E

PREVIOUS PAGE JOHN CLEESE/MINISTRY OF FUNNY WALKS SKETCH CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT THE PYTHON GANG FILMING IN THE 1970S; LIFE OF BRIAN (RELEASED 1979); TERRY JONES AS MR CREOSOTE ALONGSIDE JOHN CLEESE AS THE WAITER IN THE MEANING OF LIFE, (1983); THE PYTHON GANG FILMING IN THE 1970S

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

From that moment, comedy would never be the same again cancelled when it was believed, by BBC bosses, that its scathing lampoons of politicians could influence voters in the forthcoming 1964 general election. It was inside the writers’ room of Frost’s next show, that the Pythons-tobe really honed their craft; working on a live show to tight deadlines in an environment where no idea was too far out for a weekly audience of 14 million. Cleese and Chapman would go on from there to form one half of the four man team that made At Last… the 1948 Show, in 1967; a show that ventured considerably deeper into the surreal with sketches involving deranged psychiatrists and ferrets. Eric Idle, along with Terry Jones and Michael Palin, however, went down the

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT THE TEAM POSE FOR PUBLICITY IMAGES, EACH APPEARING AS ONE OF THEIR MOST FAMOUS CHARACTERS; ERIC IDLE AND MICHAEL PALIN IN THE MEANING OF LIFE (1983); JOHN CLEESE AS THE HEADMASTER IN THE SAME FILM

road of children’s programming, writing and performing in a show called Do Not Adjust Your Set’. Attracting a sizable adult audience, despite its weekday afternoon timeslot, the show had live music from the Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band and its strange, bohemian air caught the attention of Terry Gilliam who, having made his way to London, forced his way onto the show to provide animated segments. Finally, in 1969, it was Cleese who contacted Palin and Jones to ask if the two writer duo’s plus Idle and Gilliam should work together. “They’d just done another show called A Complete and Utter History of Britain”, recalled Cleese. “I contacted them and said ‘Well, you won’t be doing any more of those will you?’ We were always putting each other down.” Nobody can remember where the first meeting of all half dozen men took place in April 1969. Some remember it as being in a park, others in an Indian restaurant. What’s certain is that their subsequent meeting with Michael Mills, head of comedy at the BBC, was the final breakthrough: “We were intimidating because we didn’t give a damn,” Cleese has said. “We wanted it all on our own terms. We weren’t overawed in any way.” Owl-Stretching Time and The Toad Elevating Moment were both put forward as titles before Monty Python was agreed on. And so, finally, in the less than

desirable timeslot of 10:55pm on a Sunday night on the 5th of October 1969, the first episode was aired. Called Whither Canada, the country was, in a style true to form for Python, never once mentioned in the entire programme. From that moment, comedy would never be the same again, Fast forward half a century and with one Python dead (Graham Chapman who died of throat cancer in 1989) and with Terry Jones suffering from dementia, the Python story is now almost at an end; the remaining members of the gang steadfastly refusing to reunite for the 50th anniversary this year. It was Terry Gilliam, the only American and perhaps the closest thing to an ‘outsider’ in the Python gang, who perhaps best described how these young Englishmen from the most unprepossessing provincial backgrounds changed the comedy landscape forever. “There are a lot of people who have come to believe in Python as a form of honesty, as opposed to what is normally presented on television,” Gilliam stated in an interview. “Here is a show that is outspoken, says what it wants to say, does extraordinary things, takes all sorts of chances, is not out to sell corn plaster, or anything. It is out to entertain, surprise, enlighten even.” montypython.com

LUXURY LONDON

C U LT U R E

A N D N OW F O R S O M E T H I N G C O M P L E T E LY P R O F I TA B L E … HOW WEALTHY ARE THE SURVIVING PYTHONS? AND HOW DID THEY MAKE MONEY BEYOND WRITING ABOUT SILLY WALKS AND DEAD PARROTS?

JOHN CLEESE With an estimated wealth of £13.5m, Cleese has had to dig into his personal coffers a few times over the years to shell out increasingly large payments to his ex-wives. To recoup the money spent on his three divorces, he did one round of shows called The Alimony Tour. Cleese still has plenty in the bank, however, thanks to his role in two Bond movies, the first two Harry Potter movies, Shrek and the recent acquisition of Fawlty Towers by Netflix. MICHAEL PALIN Palin’s long-running tenure as a go-to TV presenter for adventure travel programmes (his latest was a trip to North Korea for Channel 5 this year) as well as a steady stream of film and TV roles (he can be spotted as the narrator in last year’s big-budget ITV adaption of Vanity Fair) plus his relatively humble lifestyle (he still lives in a relatively modest house in North London) puts his fortune at around £15.9m. TERRY GILLIAM Four decades as a Hollywood movie director and creator of cult hits such as Brazil and 12 Monkeys have left Gilliam with an estimated fortune of £39.8m. TERRY JONES Before the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Jones kept up a steady stream of work as a presenter, writer and actor – his final role being a voice-only part in the Simon Pegg film Absolutely Anything which came out in 2015. His current estimated fortune of £11.9m may have been higher were it not for the bill which came from the aftermath of divorcing his wife of four decades in favour of a Swede more than 40 years younger than him in 2009. ERIC IDLE Perhaps the Python who has retained the closest ties with the show, much of Idle’s fortune of around £47.8m has come from the profits of the stage show Spamalot which he co-wrote. He continues to write successful songs too – including the soundtrack for The Boxtrolls in 2014 which grossed over £50m at the box office.

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

Get into the Christmas spirit at The Langham, London! Boost your culinary confidence with a festive class at Sauce, our cookery school, or treat yourself and friends to a dining or drinking experience with us. From hot toddies at The Wigmore to chic cocktails at Artesian, from a charming afternoon tea at Palm Court to an indulgent New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feast in Roux at The Landau, we have a world of ways to enjoy the very best of the season at The Langham.

1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London, W1B 1JA T 44 (0) 20 7636 1000 F 44 (0) 20 7323 2340 langhamhotels.com

Langham Luxury London Nov19.indd 1

14/10/2019 15:22

CONNOISSEUR TA ST I N G N OT E S FO R T H E U R B A N E E P I C U R E A N

P.56 BON VIVEUR Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NewMediterranean restaurants

P.62 CLOUD WINE Meet the tech billionaire-turnedwine producer

Darwin & Wallace, the team behind some of Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best neighbourhood bars, is opening its latest outpost this October. No.35 Mackenzie Walk in Canary Wharf will offer a menu of British classics, as well as lengthy wine and cocktail lists. Bottoms up! no35mackenziewalk.co.uk

DISHES AT HAYA RESTAURANT, NOTTING HILL

LONDON’S BEST NEW

NEW-MEDITERRANEAN R E S TA U R A N T S L O O S E LY I N S P I R E D B Y T H E S E P H A R D I C J E W I S H D I A S P O R A , T H E F I R S T WAV E O F T H E C A P I TA L’ S L AT E S T C U L I N A R Y M OV E M E N T WA S L A R G E LY S P E A R H E A D E D B Y G R A D U AT E S O F OTTOLENGHI KITCHENS AND FOUND ITS FEET I N R E S TA U R A N T S S U C H A S B E R B E R & Q , T H E P A L O M A R A N D T H E B A R B A R Y. N O W, P L E N T Y OF OTHERS ARE OPENING THEIR DOORS AND REFINING THE FOOD

Words: Nick Savage

t’s difficult to put one’s finger on the appropriate coinage to describe the new type of eatery that has taken hold in London. To date, descriptors for this uber-prominent dining trend have run from neologisms like New Israeli and Neo-Mediterranean to the rather inspecific Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern. What underpins them all is the humble vegetable. The days when steakhouses reigned supreme and there was a burger joint opening its doors on every corner appear to be over. Instead, chefs are following in the footsteps of Yotam Ottolenghi and Bruno Loubet, putting vegetables in the limelight and drawing from the traditions, and especially the spices, of countries hemming the Mediterranean. Israeli, Lebanese, Turkish, Greek and Moroccan influences are then spliced together to create dishes that sing with flavour yet won’t cause your cardiologist undue stress, nor upsize your carbon footprint. Bubala was opened on Commercial Street by Marc Summers and head chef Helen Graham on the back of a successful series of supper clubs. Named for the Yiddish term of endearment and located just a stone’s throw from the house where Summers’ grandmother grew up, Bubala serves a scintillating array of vegetarian dishes inspired by those served in the bistros of Tel Aviv and Beirut. The dining room

could have been lifted from either city, with a light and airy, vaguely distressed vibe which is as cool as it is comfortable. Yet the food is Bubala’s most riveting facet. Skewers of shitake and oyster mushrooms with soy, coriander seed and maple are deeply earthy, brimming with flavour, even surpassing that of their meaty brethren. Dishes such as pumpkin tirshy with harissa, preserved lemon and kalamata as well as grapefruit ezme with tahini meld unorthodox flavours and work supremely well. After just one visit, it is obvious that the mantle has been carried. The same applies to HAYA on Kensington Park Road in Notting Hill. Translating as ‘life’ in Hebrew, it’s been launched by Muscovite Victoria Paltina with Israeli chef Oren King captaining the kitchens. Like Bubala, HAYA is inspired by Tel Aviv, King’s home city. They’ve focused on the relaxed ambience, seasonal produce and unfaltering commitment to deliciousness that typifies that dining scene. Whether one is dropping in for a breakfast of shakshuka, a lunch of quinoa salad with feta and pomegranate or a fully-fledged supper with a smattering of dishes, HAYA delivers on all fronts. Norma is a bit different from the rest. Ben Tish has put his brand on the haunch of London’s dining scene with restaurants like Salt Yard and The Stafford Hotel. For his newest opening, on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, he’s homed in on the island of Sicily, and particularly how its cuisine

LUXURY LONDON

CONNOISSEUR

Norma vividly illustrates the overlap between two seemingly separate cuisines draws as much from northern Africa as it does the ocean around it. As such, Moorish influences are found in a variety of dishes, such as North Sea hake with lemon, hazelnuts and medjool dates or smoked cod’s roe with grape molasses, charred onions and pane carasau. Norma vividly illustrates the overlap between two seemingly separate cuisines. To bring it all home, Ottolenghi himself opened a restaurant earlier in the year that has received much fanfare. Rovi on Fitzrovia’s Wells Street, looks outwards from Ottolenghi’s tried and true repertoire to incorporate culinary techniques. This is apparent in the live fire cooking on display that has made heroes out of restaurants such as BRAT and Smoking Goat. But it’s also apparent in the inclusion of tempura and dashi from Japan and a sizeable amount of fermented preparations from Scandinavia and central Europe. As one would expect, it’s all been put together with aplomb. It’s great to see that both the supply and the demand exist for restaurants that lead with vegetables, and in such a brilliant package to boot.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP ROVI; INTERIORS AND DISHES AT HAYA OPPOSITE PAGE NORMA

bubala.co.uk; haya.london; normalondon.com; ottolenghi.co.uk

Man-about-town, Innerplace’s Nick Savage, gives you the insider lowdown on London’s most hedonistic haunts 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 £75 a month. innerplace.co.uk

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

LUXURY LONDON

CONNOISSEUR

TRADE SECRETS CALLING ALL CULINARY CONNOISSEURS, B U D D I N G M A S T E R C H E F S A N D A M AT E U R COOKS – SAUCE BY THE LANGHAM IS OFFERING A SERIES OF FESTIVE COOKERY CLASSES HOSTED BY THE HOTEL’S LEADING CHEFS

‘T

he Best Roast Potatoes Ever’ is a bold claim to make. But The Langham’s executive chef Chris King is in a good position to make such a statement. At the hotel’s pub, The Wigmore, King’s team produces 150 kilos of chips a day – and his remarkable roasties are based on the same recipe. They’re also delightfully simple to make, and, true to claim, delicious. But don’t take our word for it. At Sauce by The Langham, the hotel’s state-of-the-art cookery school, King is sharing his trade secrets – and potato roasting wizardry – in a series of festive master classes. The Christmas Menu Cooking Class will see you learn core kitchen skills, as well as prepare – and eat – a threecourse meal under the guise of The Langham’s top chefs. The class will begin with a lesson in canapé crafting, followed by a hands-on Christmas dinner tutorial, where you will learn how to cook a roast rib of beef as well as King’s masterful roast potatoes. Almond frangipane mince pies will complete the meal – a sweet treat sure to satisfy even the biggest of Scrooges. For mini master chefs, Sauce by The Langham is offering a Kids’ Gingerbread Making Class, for which budding cooks can get their hands dirty with dough making and festive decoration. Parents are welcome to roll up their sleeves and join in the action, too. At the end of both classes, guests will be provided with a Sauce by The Langham gift bag and a recipe pack from the day – providing the tools needed to rustle up your own festive masterpiece. Aprons at the ready… EM

At Sauce by The Langham, chef Chris King is sharing his trade secrets in a series of festive master classes

Christmas Menu Cooking Class, 9 November and 4 December, £250 per person; Kids’ Gingerbread Class, 7 and 21 December, £50 per child, saucebylangham.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

WINEGROWER / CREATOR / COGNAC VISIT LA MAISON RÃ&#x2030;MY MARTIN RESIDENCY AT CLAUDE BOSI. 81 Fulham Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 6RD Please drink responsibly

To apply for membership and receive access to exclusive events, visit lamaison.remymartin.com or scan this QR code

AN AMERICAN IN BURGUNDY

IN 2014, US TECH BILLIONAIRE MICHAEL BAUM AC Q U I R E D T H E A R I S TO C R AT I C C H ÂT E A U D E P O M M A R D W I N E R Y, M A K I N G H I M T H E F I R S T A M E R I C A N T O O W N A N E S T A T E I N B U R G U N D Y. A P P LY I N G S I L I C O N VA L L E Y T H I N K I N G T O A V E R Y T R A D I T I O N A L I N D U S T R Y, H E ’ S N O W O N A M I S S I O N T O C H A N G E T H E N O T O R I O U S LY B E W I L D E R I N G WAY B U R G U N D Y I S S O L D A N D E N J O Y E D – A N D R U F F L I N G S O M E C O N S E R VAT I V E F R E N C H F E AT H E R S IN THE PROCESS

Words: Josh Sims

“W

ould I describe myself as a nerd? Oh yeah, definitely,” says Michael Baum with a chuckle. “Now I can quite happily spend my days talking about how best to monitor nitrogen cycles in the soil.” That’s a new topic for Baum, albeit one that fits his profile. Baum is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and, more recently, the owner of Château de Pommard – a French winery and estate established in 1726 – making him the first American to own such an estate in Burgundy. It’s not only a new venture for him, but a new kind of venture. Baum, 57, made his money in the very different world of tech, as the creator of six start-ups, five of which he sold and the last of which, Splunk (which produces software for analysing machine-generated data), went public with a record-breaking $5 billion (£4 billion) initial public offering. He can wax lyrical about the impact artificial intelligence will have on big data, the super-serious problem of cyber security and the fact that driverless cars are a long, long way off. He

looks the part too, with a preference for wearing black – black jacket over black T-shirt, black jeans and black sneakers – offset with a flat top in silver-grey. He’s not the only Silicon Valley king investing in wine, of course, although he’s looked well beyond Napa Valley to the old world. “Back in California they talk of old vines and they mean around 35 years old. Here they mean 120 years old,” he laughs. “But then it’s very different over there in many ways. The Napa Valley way is to make the same quality of wine every year, year after year. But in Bordeaux you have the vintage effect. Every year the wine is different. That’s something I find fascinating.” With long tradition comes a guarded industry somewhat stuck in its ways – ways that Baum, an outsider in terms of both his nationality and his professional background, aims to change. “Burgundy has a tradition that’s powerful but limited, which only appeals to a certain audience. And historically producers have sold to wholesalers, so they haven’t had to think about their brand,” he says. “That’s very different to how things are done in Silicon Valley, where the model is to really be in touch with the consumer. At Pommard we’re taking a more Silicon Valley model – 90 per cent of our sales are now direct to the consumer. And I have ambitions to apply tech to the wine business.” That’s likely to include the use of genetic analysis of soil, for example, which is something Baum’s team at Château de Pommard is now investigating with a view to better understanding what type of plant best suits different types of soil (Pommard is unusual in having several distinct soil types across its land). “There’s a place for laboratories in making better wine, which is something Napa Valley is understanding. But here in France it’s all nose and palate,” says Baum. It is because most wine lovers’ noses and palates are somewhat limited that, following successful beta testing, Baum will launch the Vivant app next year, to

LUXURY LONDON

CONNOISSEUR

help subscribers better buy and understand their wine. Baum is well-versed in start-ups and his philanthropic pursuits have seen him launch Founder.org, an organisation that provides funding and mentoring to graduates who have a good business idea but might otherwise fail to follow it up. “We looked at the data on job creation and found that start-ups are clearly a massive job creation machine, especially those launched out of university. But then over and over we kept coming across students who had a great business idea but no intention of doing it themselves,” explains Baum. “They all just planned to go and work for someone else. We want to help them pursue their ideas, to get them off the street – off Wall Street, that is.” So far Founder has invested in some 128 start-ups, with initial investment followed up with additional backing to the tune of $5 million (£4 million) a pop. With that eye for spotting business potential, Baum’s own Vivant looks pretty sure to succeed. “The world of wine is complex. From the grape varieties to the chemicals used, from vintages to how best to pair it with food – understanding what you’re actually drinking is not easy,” says Baum. “But the more you know, the more you enjoy. So with Vivant we’re taking what we’ve introduced at Château de Pommard – wine experiences and vineyard visits – and we’re reaching more people by effectively putting that on a digital platform. I don’t know why this hasn’t been done before.” But then, as he says, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to wonder why there was no Uber until a few years ago. Subscribers to Vivant will be able to scan any microchipped bottle for a complete assessment of the wine and 24/7 access to a wine advisor, as well as to live-broadcast wine experiences around the world. “The idea came about 18 months ago when I was at a wine event in Shanghai,” recalls Baum. “People who didn’t speak English kept coming up to me with pictures of their experience at Pommard. They loved that human connection. The question was how to scale that up. How do I connect, say, a wine lover in Shanghai with an expert in Argentina?” Vivant’s utility is also timely because, Baum argues, younger generations are paying close attention to what goes into their wine: transparency, he says, is set to be a major industry trend, which is why the whole process behind Pommard wines will, using Vivant, be trackable. Although “more people are waking up to the idea that they don’t want to drink wine with chemicals in it,” Baum says that there’s a lot of resistance in the wine industry to giving up conventional and “convenient” agricultural methods, and he has little time for the efforts made by the big players towards responsibility,

dismissing moves towards biodegradable packaging as “a neat experiment, but they never scale it up. It’s just marketing.” He also feels that the industry has been “lousy” at giving information about what’s in wines because there’s “no regulation”. “I’d hope that we can encourage change across the industry,” he says, adding that driving reform requires an outsider approach. To this end, as Californian progressiveness might dictate, Baum is leading a push for a more natural approach to wine making. Pommard’s own production is now close to 100 per cent biodynamic (a form of organic growing) and Baum aims to act as a curator for the increasing number of biodynamic, organic and responsibly produced wines now available. It is, he concedes, a small beginning. “Go into most restaurants and ask for a biodynamic wine and you normally get a blank stare,” he says. “But that also represents a huge opportunity.” And exploiting opportunities has characterised the career of Michael Baum. “It’s the combination of tech and wine that gets me most excited,” he says. “An interest in the world of wine started as a hobby and has turned into a business. Going to a meeting with clients to talk about wine is fun, right? Well, that’s not always the case with tech...”

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

LUXURY LONDON

CONNOISSEUR

REVIEW

OMNINO BRAZILIAN BARBECUE THE BEST STEAK RESTAURANT YOU’VE NEVER HERD OF IN BRAZIL, BARBECUE IS R E L I G I O N . A N E W C I T Y- B A S E D STEAKHOUSE IS SPREADING THE WORD

Words: Richard Brown

ou can’t make good wine with bad grapes; you don’t get a decent barbecue with bad meat – facts of which Eduardo Barsotti and Ruth Cezar are clearly aware. Having opened the underthe-radar Omnino Steakhouse in Leadenhall in 2014 – Barsotti heading up the kitchen, Cezar overseeing the front of house – the couple – Barsotti of Argentina, Cezar of Brazil, both previously of Gaucho – launched a second Square Mile-based meat Mecca – Omnino Brazilian Barbecue – earlier this summer. You’ll

find it on the spot where Fleet Street meets Ludgate Hill. For its lamb and pork, Omnino uses the award-winning Rhug Estate in North Wales; the majority of the restaurant’s beef comes from the Argentine Pampas, except for three specific cuts that hail from a small farm just south of the Brazil-Uruguay border. Omnino uses the same supplier as Hawksmoor and Goodman – telling you all you need to know about the seriousness with which the restaurant treats its steak. Whereas you’ll have to fork out £33 for a 400g rib-eye in Hawksmoor, however, and £32 for a 250g fillet in Goodman, Omnino charges you a respectively reasonable £38.95 for a starter, a selection of tapas and 12 – yes, that’s a dozen – types of premium meat stuff. This being a Brazilian joint, the meat arrives in all-you-can-eat, rodiziostyle, overly-salty, cooked medium-towell-done (medium-rare is not a thing in the land of Samba) and is carved at your table from big metal skewers by men with sharp silver knives. The trick is not to eat too much too soon. Toscana sausage, marinated chicken, roast pork and slices of lamb provide an oleaginous overture to a fleshy finale of spicy ribeye and Argentine fillet. Omnino’s pièce de résistance, however, is its picaña – a little-known cut that’s as tender as fillet, as rich as rump, which, for whatever reason, no one seems to eat outside of Brazil. The décor is a dark, disconcerting clash of heavy-chestnut floors, bronze

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

chandeliers, deep-red banquettes, charcoal-grey walls and black metro wall tiles. Thankfully, the place is lit up by the sunny, South American disposition of Cezar and her congenial staff. If you know any Brazilians, or have been lucky enough to have spent any time in the botecos of São Paulo, you’ll know that in Brazil, barbecue is religion. Not for them processed burgers and mushy kofta kebabs. It’s a faith you won’t find practised in the cheap-meat, buffet-style rodizios of London’s more tawdry tourist attractions. For a true taste of Brazil make for Omnino – it might just serve the most authentic picaña this side of Rio. Lunch: Mon - Fri, £24, six sides and six types of meat Dinner: Mon – Sat, £38.95, 10 sides and 12 types of meat 7-9 St Bride Street, EC4, omninorestaurants.com

ORIGINAL, LIMITED-EDITION ART DECO POSTERS

Limited to editions of 280, our newly-commissioned Art Deco posters feature glamorous holiday destinations around the world, ski resorts in the Austrian, French and Swiss 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 £395 each.

Private commissions are also welcome.

Pullman Editions Ltd 94 Pimlico Road Chelsea London SW1W 8PL www.pullmaneditions.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7730 0547 Email: georgina@pullmaneditions.com

Our central London gallery

View and buy online at w w w.pullmaneditions.com Pullman Ed Luxury London.indd 1

09/07/2019 12:13

INTERIORS I T ’ S W H AT ’ S I N S I D E T H AT CO U N T S

P.70 GOING FOR BOLD How the Memphis movement is inspiring modern design

P.78 LIFE IN COLOUR The stories behind Farrow & Ball’s signature shades

Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Studio is the brains behind The Pink Zebra, a restaurant by The Feast India Co. in Kanpur, which features a flamboyant design. Millennial pink walls and monochromatic striped floors provide the ultimate Instragram fodder (p.77)

THIS PAGE SWEET DROPS, PHOTO COURTESY OF SCHNEID STUDIO/©NOEL RICHTER OPPOSITE PAGE HAYON STUDIO, VALENCIA, SPAIN, PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYON STUDIO/©KLUNDERBIE, BOTH ©MORE IS MORE BY CLAIRE BINGHAM, PUBLISHED BY TENEUES, TENEUES.COM

ALL THINGS

BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL O N C E D E S C R I B E D A S “A S H O T G U N W E D D I N G B E T W E E N B A U H A U S A N D F I S H E R - P R I C E ” , T H E 2 0 TH- C E N T U R Y M E M P H I S M O V E M E N T I S T H E M A R M I T E O F T H E D E S I G N W O R L D . L O V E I T O R L O A T H E I T, E T T O R E S O T T S A S S ’ S D AY - G L O W, P L A S T I C F A N TA S T I C A E S T H E T I C I S C R E E P I N G B A C K I N T O M O D E R N D E S I G N , O N E M I L L E N N I A L P I N K S O FA AT A T I M E

Words: Ellen Millard

t all started with Bob Dylan. On a December night in 1980, the crooner’s Minnesota twang floated out from the stereo and through the rooms of Ettore Sottsass’s apartment on Milan’s Via San Galdino, where the designer was hosting a group of architect friends. Already a design dignitary, Sottsass had made his name in 1969 with Olvetti’s cherry-red Valentine typewriter – a product Apple would later look to for inspiration when designing its ubiquitous iPods. He was due to create a new line of furniture with carpenter Renzo Brugola, and had gathered his cohorts for a brainstorm. With Dylan as their soundtrack, the team set to work. They wanted an antonym to the design establishment of the time, which was obsessed with minimalism and mid-century modern aesthetics, and averse to the bright prints and hues Sottsass loved so much. His was a vision of colour, a marriage of Art Deco and Pop Art but bigger, bolder and brasher than before – an 80s reincarnation of the two. The Memphis movement was born, and its moniker cherry-picked from the song of the night: Dylan’s Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again. A postmodern mismatch of furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glass and metal objects was envisioned by the 21-strong group. Geometric shapes, pastel and neon hues, terrazzo tiling, monochrome stripes and, perhaps most whimsical of all, squiggles, were thrown into the kitsch mix and presented

at the 1981 Salone del Mobile in Milan. The debut was shocking, contrasted as it was against the clean, angular creations of the time, but the group wasn’t fazed – sticking a proverbial two fingers up to the design establishment was at the core of the movement. “It is misleading to think about Memphis as a style. The images that everyone saw in magazines and during the exhibitions were of lesser importance than our intentions,” Memphis group member George Sowdon says in More is More by Claire Bingham. “We wanted to be free of the set of rules that modernism had become, which were no longer sufficient to satisfy the needs and the changes taking place in society. These rules were holding back the experimentation needed to take a fresh look at what design was all about. You could argue, as with all events that call into question the validity of established ways, that Memphis was the style of dissent.” Although the Memphis team continued to show at the festival for the next seven years, by 1988 it had disbanded, its founder having jumped ship three years earlier. Short-lived though it was, the Memphis canon was seminal, and has been revered by some of the world’s top creatives. Karl Lagerfeld was a fan and bought the entirety of Sottsass’s first collection, decorating his Monaco home in homage to the movement. David Bowie, too, was an admirer, and when his art collection was auctioned off at Sotheby’s for £1.3m in 2016, more than 400 of his treasures were found to be Memphis creations – among them Michele De Lucchi’s

“Memphis opened many doors to an individualistic, postmodern approach”

FROM TOP BETTER BANKSIDE, CAMILLE WALALA; CARLTON ROOM DIVIDER, ETTORE SOTTSASS, £11,915, ARTEMEST.COM OPPOSITE PAGE 46TH ANNUAL KIPS BAY DECORATOR SHOW HOUSE BY SASHA BIKOFF, 2017

Flamingo side table, Peter Shire’s Bel Air armchair and Sottsass’s Carlton room divider. Even in fashion, Memphis has had its moment – Christian Dior’s AW11 couture collection paid tribute to the group with frothy technicolour skirts in pastel shades, terrazzo-style dresses and geometric headpieces. In 2019, Memphis seems even more modern and all the more collectable – helped by the fact that many Memphis designs are still in production by Memphis Milano today. Even those less keen on the movement cannot deny its enduring influence on contemporary designers, whose boundless creativity, Sowdon argues, is in thanks to Memphis. “In 1982, the British design and architecture critic Jonathan Glancey wrote that ‘Memphis was pernicious,’ and he was right,” he says. “Memphis opened many doors to an individualistic postmodern approach, demonstrated now by the freedom designers have today.” In More is More, Bingham showcases the contemporary homes and designers inspired – whether directly or indirectly – by the group, from the 46th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which was given a Memphis-style makeover by Sasha Bikoff in 2017, to Feast India Co’s Kanpur-based restaurant and bar, for which studio Renesa was commissioned with the design directive ‘how do we dip a zebra into a deep pink sea?’ “There was something so wrong feeling about the Memphis aesthetic – so contrary to the zeitgeist of the time – that it appealed to my sense of the perverse,” says interior designer Tom Barlett, who created a Memphis mecca in Cara Delevingne’s London home. “There is a certain ugliness and brashness to it that at the time probably seemed punkish, but now seems charming.”

HAYON STUDIO, VALENCIA, SPAIN, PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYON STUDIO/©KLUNDERBIE ©MORE IS MORE BY CLAIRE BINGHAM, PUBLISHED BY TENEUES, TENEUES.COM

The pair worked together to collate a postmodern medley of furniture and objects, both old and new – from Sottsass’s Carlton room divider in the living room to a mismatch of Memphis-inspired chairs by 21st-century design houses Moustache, Gubi, L’Abbate and Mattiazzi in the kitchen. Even the bathroom, although not typically Memphis in style, takes cues from the movement in its whimsy – the walls feature a hand-painted mural of an azure blue sky by Sarah Hocombe, decorated with three luminous balloon lights by CrousCalogero for Estiluz. Camille Walala, a textile, graphic and interior designer, is another creative who has reaped the fruits of the Memphis group’s labour. Her Memphis-style prints have brought buildings to life across the globe, from London to New York. Head to Singer Street in Shoreditch to see her Dream Come True design on the face of Splice’s office building; Brooklyn’s Industry City to see her trompe l’oeil creation painted on the exterior of a warehouse block; or to Ohio, where she revitalised a 1920s bank-turned-yoga studio with a riot of colour. Jonathan Adler, whose homeware and soft furnishing designs have been described as ‘neo-Memphis’, takes saccharine shades and pairs them with kitsch emblems, from rainbow Perspex dishes to acrylic sculptures crafted in a menagerie of shapes. At the heart of Adler’s work is a tongue-in-cheek playfulness that captures the essence of Memphis. Think rainbow pots decorated in candy stripes and labelled ‘LSD’ and ‘Hash’; neon needlepoint cushions carrying the missives ‘Boss Lady’ and ‘Benevolent Dictator’ and a ceramic menorah in the shape of a sausage dog. Even millennial pink, the saccharine shade that first reared its dainty head in 2012, can be traced back to Memphis – it was Sottsass’s hue of choice. For inspiration, look no further than India Mahdavi, whose sugarplum tearoom at Sketch has won a slew of design awards and many a social media post. In essence, Memphis’s biggest imprint of all is simply the desire to not take design too seriously. It’s a sentiment that’s perhaps best summed up by group member Peter Shire who, when asked what he thought made Memphis so remarkable, responded: “Aretha [Franklin] was asked a similar question. The guy said: ‘What do you think makes you so good’? You can see her reel back, then she thought about it and said: ‘Well, you know, you’ve got to have something going on’. That’s probably about it. There was something going on.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT OLD OHIO BANK IN CLEVELAND, OHIO, BY CAMILLE WALALA; MORE IS MORE BY CLAIRE BINGHAM; TECHNICOLOR DREAMHOUSE, NEW YORK, USA, PHOTO ©COURTESY OF SASHA BIKOFF INTERIOR DESIGN/©GENEVIEVE GARRUPO; HOMEWARE BY JONATHAN ADLER

More is More by Claire Bingham is out now, £29.95, published by teNeues, teneues.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

Luxury London-January 2019 edition-Maxlight.indd 1

12/12/2018 3:57 pm

LUXURY LONDON

INTERIORS

LEFT PHOTOGRAPHY BY SURYAN DANG, IMAGE COURTESY OF RENESA ARCHITECTURE DESIGN INTERIORS STUDIO

MEMPHIS MEMENTO

Words: Ellen Millard

1. THE PINK ZEBRA AT THE FEAST INDIA CO., KANPUR, DESIGNED BY RENESA ARCHITECTURE DESIGN INTERIORS, STUDIORENESA.COM 2. PATTERN CHESS PIECE STOOLS, FROM APPROX. £4,359, ANNAKARLIN.COM 3. EBBA CUSHION, £45, HABITAT.CO.UK 4. RARE PARIGI SOFA BY ALDO ROSSI FOR UNIFOR COMO, ITALY, £5,351, 1STDIBS.COM

Maximalist interiors capture the essence of Memphis design. From Camille Walala rugs to Anna Karlin’s chess piece stools in playful prints, the movement is having a moment. Even original Memphis pieces are enjoying a resurgance. Antiques e-site 1stDibs has seen a 50 per cent increase in Memphis searches in the past three months, says 1stDibs director of fine art Anthony Barzilay Freund. “Because ‘good taste’ is now such a moving target – and because eclecticism is in full flower – [Memphis] pieces don’t seem nearly as iconoclastic as they originally did,” says Freund. Go forth and be bold.

5 5. KARTELL MEMPHIS STOOLS & VASE, DESIGNED BY ETTORE SOTTSASS, FROM £199, UTILITYDESIGN.CO.UK 6. ARIA RUG BY CAMILLE WALALA, FROM £900, FLOORSTORY.CO.UK 7. SET OF FOUR POSTMODERN DINING CHAIRS, £12,030, 1STDIBS.COM 9. GLOBO FIVE-LIGHT CHANDELIER, £1,895, UK.JONATHANADLER.COM

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

AN ADVENTUROUS PALETTE C O L O U R C U R AT O R , J O A S T U D H O L M E , S H E D S L I G H T O N H O W FA R R O W & B A L L C H O O S E S I T S FA M O U S PA I N T N A M E S , T H E E M P OW E R I N G QUALITIES OF COLOUR AND THE PREMISE OF HER NEW BOOK

Words: Annabel Harrison

was wrong – I’ll admit it. I had presumed that a Colour Curator would be a visual person through and through, seeing the world as a palette of possibilities and able to explain exactly how a splash of Lake Red, Mizzle or Nancy’s Blushes could enhance my home. No – it takes about five minutes for me to understand why Walpole singled out Joa Studholme as one of the most influential storytellers in British luxury this year, and why it’s the names of Farrow & Ball paints, rather than Studholme herself, that have become a talking point, from Elephant’s Breath to Dead Salmon – the latter a shade which refers “to the flat or ‘dead’ finish of an aged pink painted at Kedleston Hall in 1805”. The British company has been going strong for more than seven decades, founded by chemist John Farrow and engineer Richard Ball in 1946. They built their first factory in Dorset – where the company is found today – and supplied paint for the Ford Motor Company, Raleigh Bicycles, the Admiralty and the War Office. Notable is Farrow & Ball’s early commitment to going green; nine years ago, its entire range of oil-based paints became ecofriendly, water-based finishes with low VOC (volatile organic compounds). Today’s customers can expect everything from recyclable paint tins to responsiblysourced wallpapers. Colour is of course at the heart of Farrow & Ball and Joa Studholme has been in its creative engine room for 23 years. Here she tells us more about her job, her sources of inspiration and how to add colour to your home.

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP TRERON NO.292; RANGWALI NO.296 OPPOSITE PAGE BANCHA NO.298

On colour trends: Grey-mania is over, at least in London, but those in the country are still embracing grey, so I try really hard to create alternatives to the likes of charcoal, such as dark green or dark red. Strong colours. People are becoming braver about using colour and that’s down to so many things. Most of it is social media, and Pinterest – users follow people like Kit Kemp who use loads of colour. I do lots of consultancy and the same images always come up. There was a time when all the interiors magazines looked identical and you’d think, ‘I’ve seen this house before’. It could have been in LA or Dalston. The great thing about decorating at the moment is that all the rules have gone out the window.

On the Farrow & Ball colour card: I try to create a palette that is thrilling and intriguing and empowering. The reason I say empowering is that hopefully people look at a colour and think; if Farrow & Ball is offering it, there must be room for it in my home, even if it is in the smallest space. On her current favourite colour: Right this moment? I’m slightly obsessed with gloss, so Bancha in full gloss. It’s a darker colour, named after Japanese tea leaves, because it gives the feeling of having a cup of tea. I really love it. I have a little house in Somerset and it’s all new colours – I cannot resist changing them all the time!

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I try to create a palette that is thrilling and intriguing and empoweringâ&#x20AC;?

On the stories behind the paints’ names: To me, these are as important as the colours. Over the years, we’ve talked about them much more because people love them, and are enthused by them. Sometimes the name comes first. We never say ‘let’s just call it that’; they are always really thought through, as we love a tricky word. That’s also intriguing for people, and they’re brilliant selling tools, too. There are Farrow & Ball fanatics who have named the tables at their wedding after certain colours. They love the associations. Treron is a green version of Pigeon, and a treron is a green pigeon, although it sounds like something out of an LA gang! It’s about getting people to think. It could be a silly or old story – the pigment for India Yellow was originally found in the urine of cows. Inchyra Blue, a bespoke colour I made for Lord and Lady Inchyra, is a very uncertain colour. Is it blue? Is it green? Is it grey? You can’t quite tell. It was really popular, and there was a lot of intrigue about how to say it. On new colour De Nimes: This has been very popular and was totally inspired by workwear. A lot of people, when I first presented it, just thought it was me being pretentious! It’s fashionable but very down-to-earth, exactly like denim. Denim never goes out of fashion. The name really suits the colour. It’s all a bit subliminal.

LUXURY LONDON

INTERIORS

THIS PAGE JITNEY NO.293 OPPOSITE PAGE DE NIMES NO.299

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

THIS PAGE SULKING ROOM PINK NO.295 OPPPOSITE PAGE PAEAN BLACK NO.294

LUXURY LONDON

INTERIORS

“People imagine this great big laboratory and it’s just me at my table with ramekins”

J OA’ S T O P T I P S O N A D D I N G C O L O U R TO YO U R H O M E

On the creative process: It’s so radically low tech, what I do. It’s bonkers! People imagine this great big laboratory and it’s just me at my table with ramekins and spoons. One knows the colours that one might want to put forward; I know because I’m out on the road all the time in people’s houses so [I can spot], dare I say it, ‘gaps’ in the Farrow & Ball palette.

Try to get a little colour into your home, just to give it some soul. This can be inside a cupboard or pantry or loo, or rooms you don’t use very often – if you have the luxury of a guest room, why not do something amazing with it? If you have children, it’s important that they take possession of their own space, even if it’s just letting them choose the colour of the inside of their wardrobe. It will make them smile when they open it, then the mother can shut it and forget it’s there!

On the book Recipes for Decorating: Difficult second book – difficult second album! Hadn’t I said it all in the first book? We decided it would be interesting for people to see all my advice in action. It took a little time because we had to find 13 houses around the world and [owners who were] willing to have them photographed. I was thinking that all the elements of a room are like the ingredients of a recipe; you have to balance them correctly to get them right. So we’ve done a case study of each house and given literally every single ingredient that went into it, including light, how colours combine etcetera.

If you have a doorway and it’s not very big, you can make it feel ten times grander and more handsome by painting a rim of about a foot either side all the way around it. It suddenly becomes a great big door.

Most of us live in our kitchens, if we’re not at work – you want it to be the biggest, lightest space in the house in the day, but at night, for it to be cosy and to embrace some colour. If you have a kitchen with a little loo, or a tiny space with not much light, that’s where you can use strong colours, even if it seems counter- intuitive.

FARROW & BALL: RECIPES FOR DECORATING BY JOA STUDHOLME, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES MERRELL, £30, OCTOPUSBOOKS.CO.UK

Put dark colour on the spindles of a staircase to create a dark spine through the house.

Look at your light and your architecture, and think about how you’re going to use a room. Often people look at their sitting room which might be quite screen-centric, or fire-centric, and think – how are we going to make this as light as possible? You never go in there when it’s light!

In addition to its signature palette of 132 colours, Farrow & Ball has collaborated with the Natural History Museum to create a collection of 16 new shades called Colour by Nature, farrow-ball.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GERMAN LARKIN, COURTESY OF BULGARI

COUTURE CUT FROM A DIFFERENT CLOTH

P.88 FASHION’S FUNERAL Behind the scenes at Extinction Rebellion’s LFW protest

P.94 BEYOND RETRO London’s best fashion rental and vintage solutions

P.94 WORK IT OUT Fitness tips from the Bodydoctor

P.100 SHEAR SUCCESS The 200-year-old British barber shop

P.106 STREET STYLE The Japanese trends inspiring London

P.108 JEREMY HACKETT On sustainable style and Savile Row

The award for the most dramatic SS20 show location goes to Mary Katrantzou, whose latest collection was shown at the ancient Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion. The high drama continued with the clothes and jewels, the latter of which were designed in partnership with Bulgari.

S T A T E M E N T

T H O S E I N V O LV E D W I T H T H I S S E P T E M B E R ’ S L O N D O N FA S H I O N W E E K W E R E H E L D AC C O U N TA B L E F O R T H E I R C O N T R I B U T I O N TO T H E C L I M AT E C R I S I S B Y P R OT E S T E R S . LUXURY LONDON MEETS TWO KEY PEOPLE BEHIND THE PLACARDS, TO DISCUSS T H E C AU S E S T H E Y ’ R E C A M PA I G N I N G FO R

Words: Anna Prendergast

Tuesday 17 September, a crowd gathered beneath the Sir Henry Havelock statue in Trafalgar Square. The statue is inscribed with a quotation from the British general addressing those who went to war for their country: “Soldiers! Your labours, your privations, your sufferings and your valour will not be forgotten by a grateful country.” It’s a potent message, and an appropriate one under which to begin a march against what many are calling this generation’s war: the climate crisis. The protest was organised by Extinction Rebellion, a grassroots environmentalist group that has mobilised the public like no other in recent history. Known as XR, the group campaigns against governments and organisations whose inaction is resulting in the destruction of rainforests and coral reefs, and the deaths of animals and humans. The fashion industry was always going to be high on its agenda. Throughout history, fashion has been used as a platform for protest, from the suffragettes’ colour-coded outfits to Richard Malone’s F*** Boris T-shirt, which he wore on the catwalk at the end of his LFW show. But protests against the fashion industry have only recently evolved beyond the cliché illustrated in a scene from Sex and the City, in which animal rights activists scream “Fur is murder!” at Samantha and throw fake blood over her white fur coat. During September’s LFW, several peaceful protests dominated headlines, taking up space where the trends used to be. Love Disfigure championed body positivity; the inaugural Trans+ Pride called for liberation and inclusivity; PETA campaigned against the use of leather. In February, Vivienne Westwood used her own AW19 show to protest about climate change, and Stella McCartney cast models from XR. On the first day of September’s LFW, XR campaigners turned heads themselves, gluing themselves to entrances and staging a red-carpet ‘die-in’ that symbolised the blood on the hands of the fashion industry. Some wielded signs that read ‘Fashion = Ecocide’. A core group, including Higher Studio’s Sara Arnold, former Metro fashion editor Bel Jacobs and People Tree founder Safia Minney MBE, made impassioned speeches, marched along The Strand and swarmed the streets, ending the week with a dramatic funeral procession complete with two coffins. XR called on the British Fashion Council to cancel future fashion weeks. The fashion industry is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to environmental destruction, and it’s largely thanks to XR that consumers are increasingly familiar with the statistics. In 2018, the UN reported that 85 per cent of textiles end up in landfill or incineration, the industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industry combined, and produces 20 per cent of global wastewater. “We cannot continue business as usual,” said Minney after the funeral, at which she spoke. “Businesses themselves need to be a tool for change, because being an ethical consumer is not enough – this level of consumption has to stop. We are finding ourselves at this cultural edge and we can change, but it’s happening far too slowly.” Arnold, one

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

EXTINCTION REBELLION TAKES TO THE STREETS DURING LONDON FASHION WEEK, SEPTEMBER 2019. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BEN DARLINGTON, GARETH MORRIS AND TED DAVE

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

Gucci and Burberry retroactively took steps to make their London shows carbon neutral, but is it enough? of the driving forces behind splinter group XR Boycott Fashion, agreed. “Fashion is a fundamental part of our culture, but the fashion industry is not. It prioritises profit over people, and XR is demanding that this changes.” Arnold drives change in her work, too, running rental fashion business Higher Studio (read more on p.94). Among LFW attendees, there was a general sense of admiration for XR’s mission. But there was also a disconnect, with many ready to point the finger of blame towards the high street but not accept responsibility within the luxury sector. Gucci and Burberry retroactively took steps to make their London shows carbon neutral, but is it enough? “Carbon offsetting isn’t a long-term solution,” says Minney. “Luxury brands have a moral obligation to show leadership in this area.” Aside from championing second-hand, rental and vintage fashion in order to stem the bloody flow of new clothes, Extinction Rebellion doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but it is asking the right questions. Its volume is increasing in both noise and numbers, and soon the industry will have no choice but to respond. Like Havelock’s soldiers, XR’s labours won’t be forgotten – they will be remembered not just by a grateful country, but by an indebted planet. Want to know more? Visit rebellion.earth and get involved with Safia Minney’s Real Sustainability Centre at safia-minney.com

LUXURY LONDON

COUTURE

Metro’s former fashion editorturned-activist Bel Jacobs helped coordinate Extinction Rebellion Boycott Fashion, a campaign encouraging people to stop buying new fashion for a year. Here, she provides an insight into how she helped mobilise the funeral march during London Fashion Week

The first thing I did on the day of the funeral march… was try to be normal. I have a daughter, so I try not to miss breakfast. I prepped for the panel I took part on at London Fashion Week, arranged by the British Fashion Council, discussing why XR Boycott Fashion had asked for LFW to be cancelled. After, I headed to Trafalgar Square for the Funeral March. I wore… a smart black jacket, a long black skirt, and a top hat. The fashion crowd did us proud: they looked glamorous, but nothing was specially bought for the event. Being anti-fashion is not the same as being against creativity. When you stop being spoonfed trends, you make use of what you already own or what you find in secondhand shops. Being part of Extinction Rebellion is like... being part of a big family. Since November 2018, I’ve been surrounded by like-minded people who care as deeply about people and the planet as I do. When you meet another rebel, you can bypass the usual small talk.

end of the day, we made a protective circle around the last few protestors who had volunteered to be arrested and we sang to them. A woman looked at me and said, very quietly, “It has begun”. And it has.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GARETH MORRIS

ON THE STREETS WITH…

XR BOYCOTT FASHION’S

B E L JACOBS report that was published at the end of last year, giving us 11 years to get to net carbon zero, was a wakeup call. So when Extinction Rebellion was asking for stewards in London to help block the bridges last year, I was there. At the

You can rely on Extinction Rebellion’s culture of communication and its emphasis on the bigger picture to see you through any small disagreements. I joined Extinction Rebellion because... the UN

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

The most memorable moment during the funeral was when… we stopped at 180 Strand and three of us did readings on the ecological emergency. I chose a text from Raoni Metuktire, chief of the indigenous Brazilian Kayapo people. “You destroy our lands, poison the planet and sow death, because you are lost. And soon it will be too late to change,” he says. It’s such a powerful letter to the people destroying his home and his forests. Then we sang the Extinction Rebellion song People Gonna Rise Like the Water. The best part of the day… was when the marchers took over the song, even after we had finished. They sounded so sad and so full of hope at the same time. It was emotional – I’ll never forget that moment. The worst part of the day was the nerves. I thought that 10 people would turn up and we’d be wandering down the Strand on our own, looking forlorn. After the march… I went home and watched a silly movie with my daughter. I was elated, astonished, proud, full of hope – but I try to keep things stable at home for her. She’s the reason I do what I do.

THE STYLE SOLUTION L U X U R Y LO N D O N ’ S G U I D E TO T H E B E S T R E N TA L FA S H I O N A N D V I N TAG E S U P P L I E R S

Words: Anna Prendergast

THE RENTAL REVOLUTION HURR COLLECTIVE Hurr is the go-to for sisters and sustainability activists Venetia (right) and Rosanna Falconer, lending brands such as Zimmermann, Dodo Bar Or and Matthew Williamson (below). There’s incredible variety, and everything is in pristine condition. hurrcollective.com

M Y WA R D R O B E H Q At Eco-Age’s Green Carpet Fashion Awards in September, supermodel Arizona Muse rented a dress from My Wardrobe HQ, a new platform where you can rent items for anything between one day and one year. It’s scheduled to launch this month, but you can register for membership now – Poppy Delevigne has a collection available to rent, and if you fall in love with a piece you can buy it, too. mywardrobehq.com

THE ENDLESS WA R D R O B E In July, a report by Censuswide predicted that Brits would spend £2.bn on summer clothes they’d only wear once. The Endless Wardrobe has specially curated sections – one of which is designed to wear on holiday – so you can wear De La Vali in Valencia and Free People in France with a clean conscience. theendlesswardrobe.com

HIGHER STUDIO Sara Arnold sources avant-garde brands with an elevated edge such as Comme des Garçons and Margiela. She also supports BFC Positive Fashion designers such as Phoebe English, who took a stand against seasonal collections this year. Users can also try the clothes on before they rent them at the Higher Library in east London. higher.studio

GIRL MEETS DRESS Girl Meets Dress is a great name to know for last-minute nights out and impromptu invitations. You can try on up to three styles, and only pay for the one you wear. Browse designers such as Stella McCartney, Self Portrait and Beulah London. girlmeetsdress.com

LUXURY LONDON

COUTURE

London’s 5 Best Vintage Boutiques

1 3 C I R C A V I N TA G E In Circa Vintage’s Fulham boutique, find iconic Hermès silk scarves and Louis Vuitton vanity cases (Bentley’s in Chelsea is also excellent for vintage Goyard). Book an appointment to sift through rails of velvet, jacquard, brocade and tulle – Circa specialises in occasionwear, with one-off Ossie Clarkes and costume-style Chanel jewels. 64 Fulham High Street, SW6, circavintage.com

L AU R A VO N B E H R Never bought vintage before? Laura’s eye for Shrimps-style prints and retro Laura Ashley makes her studio the perfect stepping stone between store-bought and secondhand. She’s got a knack for introducing clients to new shapes, specialising in 70s prairie dresses, 30s slips and 80s party dresses. 17 Amhurst Terrace, E8, lauravonbehr.com

FOUND AND VISION From Versace streetwear to Vivienne Westwood couture, Found and Vision has a punky attitude. A hit with Japanese designers and the music set, it has a thrift-shop feel, too, so you still get the thrill of the chase. Hamish Bowles, Camille Charriere and Rita Ora are fans. 318 Portobello Road, W10, facebook.com/FoundAndVision

W I L L I A M V I N TA G E At William Vintage, CEO Marie Blanchet sources one-of-a-kind haute couture that would be at home in a museum. She’s in the process of revamping the studio, but in the meantime has launched an online collection on Matches Fashion, including a rotation of one-off YSL, Dior and Versace pieces. 2 Marylebone Street, W1, williamvintage.com

4 T H E V I N TA G E SHOWROOM Predominantly menswear, The Vintage Showroom is an archive of stylish military deadstock – but some of the smaller sizes are perfect for boyfriend-fit jeans, boxy Harrington jackets and retro neckscarves. It’s a treasure trove of early century designs, but it’s neater than a soldier’s barracks thanks to owners Roy Luckett and Douglas Gunn. 14 Earlham Street, WC2, thevintageshowroom.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

DOCTOR’S ORDERS S O R E N O W N E D A R E T H E R E S U LT S A C H I E V E D B Y B E L G R AV I A’ S B O DY D O C T O R , T H AT G A M E O F T H R O N E S ’ K I T H A R R I N G T O N S A I D H E ’ D O N LY R E M O V E H I S , E R , K I T I F H E ’ D F I R S T B E E N T R A I N E D B Y C O M PA N Y F O U N D E R D AV I D M A R S H A L L . A S B O DY D O C T O R PA R T N E R S W I T H H E R M A J E ST Y ’ S P H A R M AC I ST J O H N B E L L & C R OY D E N O N A N A L L- E N CO M PAS S I N G N E W W E L L N E S S O F F E R I N G , M A R S H A L L D I S C U S S E S T H E C H A N G I N G FAC E O F F I T N E S S A N D E X P L A I N S W H Y L A U G H T E R W I L L A LWAY S B E T H E B E S T M E D I C I N E

Words: Mhairi Graham

n 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, a relatively unknown Kardashian family made its TV debut and British model and author Sophie Dahl was billed as the shrinking woman, dropping from a voluptuous size 16 to a svelte 10 in just six weeks. David Marshall was revealed as Dahl’s trainer, and soon Rachel Weiss, Rio Ferdinand, Gerard Butler and Kate Moss were all lining up to get lithe at his studio, then based in Primrose Hill. The entertainment industry began to refer to him as the fourth emergency service. A lot has changed since 2007, particularly in the world of health and fitness. The £30 gym class, £7 protein shake and £110 round of cryotherapy have become normal elements of the modern fitness regime – but are such things really doing us any good? "In my opinion, there is a letter missing at the front of HIIT,” says Marshall in his typically forthright manner. “People come to us after they have tried out their local gym or supposed superstar trainer and they don’t look back.” Marshall is the self-styled Bodydoctor. His enduring regime, which has scarcely altered in two decades, remains the only fitness programme to be medically approved by a major healthcare company, and is supported by a little black book of the capital’s best practitioners. “We’re not a gym

and we’re not a personal training centre. Our job is to make people healthy and the best that they can be.” Located beneath St Peter’s Church in Eaton Square, Belgravia, the Bodydoctor studio is a serene warren of fitness studios, with white walls and wooden floors and kitted out with state-of-the-art machinery. There are rarely more than two people training at the same time. “It’s the antithesis of a KX or Equinox gym,” comments Tanya Rose, CEO and founder of Mason Rose PR agency, and Bodydoctor regular. “You go to train, not to be seen, and the programme is completely bespoke. I dropped two dress sizes within a month of signing up.” Bodydoctor alumna Lily Allen shed 19lb under Marshall’s guidance, dropping from a size 12 to a size 8. Allen then recommended Bodydoctor to her brother, Alfie, while he was working on Game of Thrones. He, Richard Madden and Kit Harrington soon had it written into their contracts that they would not remove their clothes on camera unless they had trained with Marshall first. Marshall’s signature programme is a sequence-based regime that eschews typical cardiovascular workouts in favour of exercises that achieve long, lean muscles, coupled with a low-sugar, low-GI diet. The Bodydoctor book, which outlines

LUXURY LONDON

COUTURE

the symptoms of type two diabetes – and this is why it is so unique.” So, what of my own experience with Bodydoctor? Already quite slim, I wasn’t looking to drop dress sizes in record time, but rather tone up ahead of my imminent wedding. Having spent a chaotic six months blindly navigating London’s vast fitness landscape I felt jaded, overwhelmed and mentally low. I’d scrambled about lifting weights under dark lights, floundered on treadmills and nearly knocked someone out in what was supposed to be a non-contact boxing class. I’d thrown hundreds of pounds at something that had done very little, other than dent my confidence. At Bodydoctor, private sessions really are private (I was often the only one in the gym) and smoothly incorporate weights, cardio, pilates and yoga, with a dash of signature jovial diversion. Within a few sessions, I not only exercised better but, more importantly, I felt better. As Marshall puts it: “You only look good when you feel good; you only feel good when you are good and you’re only good when you’re healthy.”

his programme in layman’s terms, has been sold across the world. “It’s about doing it properly,” explains Marshall. “No quack cures, no starvation diets. You can do all kinds of stupid things for a quick fix, but it’s not sustainable or healthy.” Above all, a session at Bodydoctor proves that laughter is the best medicine. Thanks to Marshall’s outlandish sense of humour and amusing anecdotes, you will find yourself smiling as you sweat, while he regales wild tales that distract you from the task in hand. “Behind the funny hyperbole and witty one-liners, he’s not cavalier with his craft,” says hairdresser Nicky Clarke, who has known Marshall for more than 35 years. “It’s results and safety first. He has a very different approach to anybody I had trained with previously.” Bodydoctor has now partnered with Marylebone’s prestigious John Bell & Croyden, pharmacist to Her Majesty the Queen, on the InResidence Fitness programme. An inhouse nutritionist will create a bespoke diet plan that works in tandem with your training regime to improve your overall health and fitness. “The partnership has been designed for people looking to make positive changes,” comments John Bell & Croyden’s general manager Alexander Johnston. “This could be post-natal, rehabilitative or even reversing

Bodydoctor, 119 Eaton Square, SW1W, For more information, call 0207 235 2211 or visit bodydoctor.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

LUXURY LONDON

PROMOTION

HOUSE OF CARDIES C A S H M I R I N O ’ S L U X U R Y C H I L D R E N ’ S C LOT H E S A R E C R A F T E D I N B E A U T I F U L FA B R I C S A N D S T Y L E S T H AT C A P T U R E T H E E S S E N C E O F C H I L D H O O D

hen Maria Busquets’ first child was born, her eyes were opened to the world of children’s clothing. Within it she found a lack of styles appealing to both her daughter’s gentle skin and her playful personality. Cashmere cardigans seemed the perfect solution, but the pallid colour options did not. She decided to take matters into her own hands, and set herself the task of creating a clothing collection made from beautiful fabrics and in a multitude of styles. By the time Busquets’ second child was born in 2000, Cashmirino was too – a luxury cashmere and clothing company for babies, toddlers and children, which marries both

exquisite craftsmanship with charming, traditional designs. The designer travelled the world to source the best factories and artisans to craft her clothes, and today the company works with independent manufacturers in Italy, Inner Mongolia, Peru and Spain. Cashmirino’s collections are, by nature, limited edition, and working in collaboration with these local communities ensures their age-old crafts are kept alive. When it comes to the clothes, think timeless classics with a sustainable twist. In Cashmirino’s Burlington Arcade store and on its website, you’ll find a selection of plush cashmere knits, cosy accessories and cotton shirts and dresses in Liberty of London prints. During the

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

colder months, there’s no better winter warmer in which to wrap your child than a Cashmirino cardigan, of which there are more than 30 different styles for boys and girls – available in 100 per cent cashmere, superior blend Royal Alpaca wool and super-soft Pima cotton. The colour choice, too, is vast, and some of the the label’s signature styles – such as the SOFI cashmere cardigan and the NICO cashmere jumper – are available in more than 15 different hues. Not limited to little ones, Cashmirino offers a selection of its boys’ styles scaled up for dads, too, so they can mix-and-match their favourite knits – like father, like son. 31 Burlington Arcade, W1J, cashmirino.com

TO READ TO MORE READ TO ARTICLES READ MORE TO MORE ARTICLES READ LIKE ARTICLES MORE THIS LIKE ARTICLES VISIT THIS LIKEVISIT THIS LIKE VISIT THIS READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS VISIT TOTO READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS VISIT LIKE THIS LIKE VISIT THIS LIKEVISIT THIS LIKE VISIT THIS TO READ TO MORE READ TOwww.luxurylondon.co.uk ARTICLES READ MORE TO MORE ARTICLES READ ARTICLES MORE ARTICLES www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk LIKE THIS VISIT READ MORE ARTICLES www.luxurylondon.co.uk LIKE THIS VISIT TOTO READ MORE ARTICLES www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk TO READ TO MORE READ TO ARTICLES READ MORE TO MORE ARTICLES READ LIKE ARTICLES MORE THIS LIKE ARTICLES VISIT THIS LIKEVISIT THIS LIKE VISIT THIS READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS VISIT TOTO READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS VISIT www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk www.luxurylondon.co.uk

@luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial   @theofficialll @luxurylondonofficial  @theofficialll  @theofficiall  @ @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial @theofficialll @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial  @theofficialll @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial   @theofficialll @luxurylondonofficial  @theofficialll  @theofficiall  @ @luxurylondonofficial @luxurylondonofficial @theofficialll @luxurylondonofficial  @luxurylondonofficial  @theofficialll

C L I P

A R T

ST JAMES’S TRUEFITT & HILL HAS BEEN COIFFING AND BARBERING AN ILLUSTRIOUS CLIENTELE FOR MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES. AS SHE MARKS 2 0 Y E A R S AT T H E H E L M , D I R E C TO R J OA N N A B R O U G H T O N E X P L A I N S H O W S H E S T E E R E D A B R I T I S H H E R I TAG E B R A N D I N TO A G LO B A L P H E N O M E N O N

“I

Words: Josh Sims

’d like to say I was some kind of visionary and that I could see the boom in male grooming coming,” says Joanna Broughton, “but the truth is that I could just see the value in the business, in a company that was the first in its field, and which is still going. I was impressed by the history – and that’s something that money can’t buy.” Broughton is the co-owner of St James’s barbering institution Truefitt & Hill, which she and her husband Alan bought some 20 years ago as part of the family’s portfolio of business interests. Back then, the idea of male grooming was still considered slightly effete, for ‘metrosexuals’. Truefitt & Hill was, to many, just another central London barber’s shop, albeit, by some accounts, the very oldest of barber’s shop still in operation – established in 1805. Dickens dubbed it “the excellent hairdresser’s” and the barber counts the likes of Laurence Olivier, Cary Grant, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery and Winston Churchill among its illustrious former clients. Churchill was a regular – and to honour his death in 1965 the business closed its doors for the day. A lot has changed since then: male grooming has become one of the fastest-growing markets in the beauty industry, and Truefitt & Hill operates more than 40 stores around the world, in locations from Canada to South Korea, Singapore to Azerbaijan, with two more branches, one in Prague, one in Melbourne, opening later this year. Buying the company might have seemed a “strange decision back then,” says Broughton,

who has a business background in interior design and lifestyle publishing, “because the male grooming market hardly existed. But it was a question of the potential one could see in it. Things move in and out of fashion and yet Truefitt & Hill still was, and still is, successful. There was this core of men – over generations, in fact – who had always supported it, who went to it because their fathers did, and their fathers before them.” That might make Truefitt & Hill sound rather ‘establishment’, like another wood-panelled club with plenty of portraits of dead dignitaries and colognes and badger brushes in the toilettes – which is just how the St James’s branch looks. It’s a long way from the dynamic, nightclubby atmosphere of contemporary barbering brands. But Truefitt & Hill’s wilfully traditional atmosphere is perhaps what’s to be expected from what was once the court wigmaker and court hairdresser to King George III, King George IV, King William IV and Prince Albert, from a barber’s that regularly featured in the novels of Thackeray and in the gossip of Punch. Hardly surprisingly, it still holds a Royal Warrant. But, far from any perceived stuffiness putting people off, this, Broughton suggests, is the secret of Truefitt & Hill’s appeal. “I think there’s this resurgence of interest in nostalgia now – that sense that the ‘old days’ were better than today, an idea that’s not accurate but which has deep appeal. It’s something heritage brands have played on, of course – that sense of solidity,” she argues. “Globalisation has robbed many urban environments of diversity

LUXURY LONDON

COUTURE

and people are getting tired of the monotony of seeing the same shops offering the same goods wherever they go. That’s driving people towards smaller brands, but especially smaller, historic ones because they often embody certain values – brands that feel real rather than put together by a PR agency.” All the same, Broughton concedes, these are tough times for any shopkeeper – given high rents, the economy, online shopping and the monopolisation that’s playing out in many sectors. Certainly Truefitt & Hill isn’t above playing to its Britishness if it appeals to the local customer. Much as, historically, it offered fragrances with names like The Choice of the Rifle Brigade, The Royal London Yacht Club and Aldershot Bouquet, now in its US and Indian branches customers can get a Royal Shave or the Buckingham Palace Service. “If you offered either of those to a customer in St James’s they’d think you were insane,” says Broughton, who was born and raised in Poland and so can speak with something of an outsider viewpoint. “It’s just not subtle or discreet enough for the London customer. But Brand UK is still a strong one, and while that association between Englishness and gentlemanliness and refinement might be a stereotype, there’s an element of truth to it that still appeals, even to the English.” Coping with change is, in a sense, what the male grooming industry is all about now. When a newfangled contraption called the motorcar became all the rage, Truefitt & Hill offered C.A.R., a product formulated to keep windswept drivers’ hair in place; when beards were in fashion – no, the urban lumberjacks of Shoreditch didn’t get there first – Truefitt & Hill sold what it called a ‘cosmetique stick’ to help keep the face furniture in good order; when, at the turn of the 20th century, pedicures and manicures became, finally, treatments men would consider, it offered those as well. According to company legend, when Truefitt & Hill manicurist Christine Drew helped cure one client of his nailbiting habit, he gratefully bought her a house on Cheyne Walk; and when longer hair came in for men, with the mid 1950s and the advent of the ‘teenager’, Truefitt & Hill didn’t down scissors, but embraced the new styles, even if it sighed in relief a little when the short back and sides returned. Some men, at least, have always pondered their pompadour. “What really surprises me still is how little men know about shaving, given that many of them do it

every day. I think it’s a product of a rushed world in which we’re always grabbing at the fastest solution. Perhaps it even explains the resurgence of the beard,” says Broughton. “But whatever the current styles, being well-groomed has, I think, always been fashionable, and especially now that men don’t typically think being well-presented is any threat to their masculinity.” Yet it would be a shame if Truefitt & Hill, or any of the traditional barber’s shops, were to get too contemporary in their outlook. The shamanic talents often ascribed to the very earliest barbers – in some tribes the cutting of hair was considered a holy act that drove out evil spirits – have given way to the role of the confidante, in what has been, and remains, arguably, the only male sanctuary sanctioned by society at large. It’s where, after all, a barber might once have asked sir if he required ‘something for the weekend’ – the connotations of which are perhaps now lost

“What surprises me still is how little men know about shaving, given that many of them do it every day” on younger generations, let alone Generation Z. These days, barbers are more likely to dispense a head massage. Yet, while providing an improved appearance may be the ostensible function of barber’s shops, they’re also – as snooker halls and football terraces used to be – a temporary break from womankind, as fragrant as that may be. “You get used to the masculinity of the Truefitt & Hill environment,” laughs Broughton, speaking as a woman in a very male world (though, in the Victorian era, Truefitt & Hill launched one of the first ladies’ salons). “There’s a certain feel to it, a special atmosphere. Going into our London branch is like walking into one of St James’s clubs – and I remember going with my husband into one of those to find that women weren’t even allowed in certain rooms. We’re not like that. If a woman came in and wanted a haircut, then of course we’d be happy to give her one. But none have come in yet. We probably wouldn’t offer a shave. We don’t do legs.”

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

103

LUXURY LONDON

PROMOTION

THE CITY EDIT

THE ROYAL EXCHANGE, EC3V THEROYALEXCHANGE.CO.UK

T H E R O YA L E X C H A N G E H A S T H E P E R F E C T A C C E S S O R I E S T O G I V E YO U R WA R D R O B E A N A U T U M N U P DAT E

TD TOM DAVIES Seeking some winter sun? Don’t forget to pack these Sienna sunglasses by TD Tom Davies – inspired by the designer’s favourite clients, these handcrafted shades feature a jazzy tortoise-shell design and ZEISS lenses. £295, 25 Royal Exchange

JO MALONE LONDON It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas: Jo Malone London’s latest scent, Rose & Magnolia, combines two heady floral fragrances to create a suitably festive cologne. £104, 24 Royal Exchange

WORN BY ROYALTY, HALCYON DAYS’ SIGNATURE MAYA TORQUE BANGLE IS AVAILABLE IN A RAINBOW OF COLOURS Spotted on Lady Amelia Windsor during Mary

Katrantzou’s 10 th anniversary London Fashion Week show last year, Halcyon Days’ signature Maya Torque bangle has since become a jewellery box staple. Available in gold plate or palladium, each bracelet features two enamel tips in different colourways.

Take your pick from black, red, orange, ivory or turquoise – or, if you’re spoilt for choice, opt for all five and stack them together for maximum effect. Gently squeeze around your wrist for a custom fit. £110 each, 27 Royal Exchange

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

105

SAGE BROWN Handmade using full grain calf leather, this purple Carol Ann tote from Sage Brown is the perfect size to carry your daily necessities. A suede, cobalt-blue lining adds a secret, zany touch. £225, 31 Royal Exchange

VISVIM X MR PORTER, SHOT BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV

GAIJIN GARMS AS THE RUGBY WORLD CUP REACHES ITS CLIMAX, J A PA N F E V E R C O N T I N U E S TO S W E E P AC R O S S T H E GLOBE. NOWHERE IS THIS MORE EVIDENT THAN I N T H E I N C R E A S I N G I N F L U E N C E O F J A PA N E S E FA S H I O N B R A N D S O N T H E S T R E E T S O F L O N D O N . HERE’S OUR PICK OF THE BEST MENSWEAR BRANDS FROM THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

Words: Dom Jeffares

MOUNT FUJI

S E LV E D G E YO U R S O U L Like matcha and manga, Japanese denim has been one of the country’s most desirable exports. Many denimheads consider Japanese selvedge denim to be the best in the world as a result of its manufacturing on vintage shuttle looms. Iron Heart’s jeans have been ‘over-engineered’ to the extreme – if bikers swear by them, they’re probably good enough for your urban commute. £332, Iron Heart, rivetandhide.com

LUXURY LONDON

COUTURE

WAT C H O U T Don’t be that snob who only buys Swiss. Grand Seiko, Seiko’s premium watch division, is the crème de la crème of Japanese horology. More accurate than most mechanical watches, thanks to Seiko’s unique automatic Spring Drive system, and finished to meticulous levels not seen at a similar price point, those in the know will appreciate your choice. £6,500, SBGA231, seikoboutique.co.uk

BLAZIN’ HOT Rule no.1 to dressing well: K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple, Stupid. The Birmingham Blazer from Soundman should be an ever-present piece in every man’s wardrobe. Based on an early workwear garment and predominantly modelled on British factory workers’ uniform from the earlier parts of the 20th century, this is made with a washed-out indigodyed Sashiko fabric – 100 per cent cotton and 100 per cent hard-wearing. £469, Soundman, clutch-cafe.com

SNEAKER TIME The Japanese fashion landscape is often a bewildering place, as any foreigner visiting Japan can attest. Recreating Americana is a national obsession – a remnant of the American occupation post WW2 – and their sartorial tributes to the land of Dean and McQueen are unparalleled. These sneakers, inspired by US Naval-issued footwear, are entirely made in Japan and feature a vulcanised construction, where the soles are bonded to the uppers through a firing process in a kiln. £125, Pras Shellcap Low Sneakers, clutch-cafe.com

C O AT TA L E S Were you to combine American workwear with Japanese sensibility, you would arrive at something like Visvim. Founded by Mr Hiroki Nakamura in 2001, the brand has developed a cult following. This ‘Yukata’ coat is the kind of stand-out piece you can drape over pretty much any outfit and still look like you’ve made a considerable effort, as evidenced by Mr Nakamura (centre in main image). £3,640, Visvim, mrporter.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

107

KNIT WITS It’s amazing what putting an embroidered heart motif on a garment can do, right? A favourite of celebs (Pharell, Drake, Justin) and front row regulars, Comme des Garçon’s Play cardigan pulls all the heartstrings with its childish irreverence. Made in Japan, you’ll gain instant access to pre-season previews and art galleries around the world, such is the appeal of that heart to creatives across the globe. £254, Comme des Garçons, doverstreetmarket.com

MADE TO MEASURE AHEAD OF THE OPENING OF HACKETTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FIRST BESPOKE S T O R E , AT 1 4 S AV I L E R O W, THIS NOVEMBER, FOUNDER JEREMY HACKETT DISCUSSES PRIME MINISTERIAL SUITING, COLOURFUL SOCKS AND S H O P P I N G S U S T A I N A B LY

Interviewed by Dom Jeffares

As a young man, you worked on Savile Row. Now you’re opening your very own store on the same street. How does that make you feel? I first worked on Savile Row in the early 1970s for a remarkable retailer, John Michael Ingram, which was an inspiration to me and where I first learnt about bespoke tailoring and proper cloth. I have to admit though that I am not a tailor – I can barely sew a button – but I know people who can. It never occurred to me that one day I would have my own shop on Savile Row in the listed townhouse once owned by Sir Hardy Amies, to whom I once sold stiff collars. I feel very privileged to be on Savile Row and in the company of such prestigious neighbours. What makes Hackett such a quintessentially British brand? It was not a marketing plan to create a British brand when I started Hackett in 1983 – it sort of evolved. I have always appreciated British clothing and in the early days I decided to model our clothes on Savile Row tailoring, albeit in a ready-to-wear format, and it just took off. You’re given the choice to wear casual attire or smart tailoring for the rest of your life. Which do you choose and why? This is a difficult question to answer because there is a time and place for both, but given the choice I would opt for wearing a suit – not because I have to, but because I feel more comfortable. Often when I wear casual clothes I feel like a sack of potatoes, whereas a well-tailored suit flatters my imperfect shape and makes me feel more confident. I am often asked what I wear at home and I usually say, ‘I might throw on a velvet smoking jacket and tartan trews, with monogrammed velvet slippers and a silk polka dot dressing gown casually thrown over’. In truth, it is more likely to be a pair of jeans and an old pullover.

You’re asked to dress a future Prime Minister in three suits. What do you choose for him? I notice that you are presuming a future Prime Minister will be a man, so on that basis I would suggest firstly that he has his suits tailor-made. I think that a plain navy blue single-breasted suit would be a top priority. Nothing says more about being British than a grey flannel suit. Fox Bros in Somerset makes the best flannel, and made the cloth that Winston Churchill wore. My third choice would be again navy blue, but double-breasted for when there is a need for the Prime Minster to adopt an even more formal air. Who would make your list of current best dressed men? Charlie Watts, Bill Nighy, Jude Law and, my favourite, David Hockney, who appears not to give a damn but always looks great. Should a man’s belt match his shoes? Yes, in fact if I am wearing a watch with a leather strap it would bother me all day if it didn’t match my shoes. Yes, I am receiving therapy! What are your thoughts on colourful socks? I love them. I remember being at a dinner party in Spain and a female journalist asked me “Why do the British wear red socks”? I had never given it any thought before.

What are your top tips for dressing sustainably? It occurred to me that in the early eighties, when Hackett sold second-hand clothes, we were at the forefront of sustainability. I am an advocate of buying less, but buying well. At Hackett, we don’t dispose of unwanted garments but look at various charities to see where the clothes will be of most benefit. Our designers are currently working on a collection of sustainable clothing – it requires a different mindset but it is in motion. Where do you shop other than Hackett? I tend to shop at Hackett mostly, no surprise there. I buy my underwear from the Swiss brand Zimmerlie because I believe your underwear should be as good as your outerwear. I have my shoes made at either George Cleverley or Henry Maxwell, which coincidentally was once based on Savile Row – I would regularly peer in the window and marvel at the bespoke shoes, although at the time I couldn’t afford them. I still can’t, but it would be mean of me not to live beyond my means – to paraphrase Oscar Wilde. Didn’t someone once say “if you want to know if a man is well dressed, look down”? hackett.com

Some people travel just to see the rest of the world. Carrier clients travel to experience the best of the world.

Discover travel through our eyes and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never see the world in the same way again Established since 1980 and with royalty and celebrities amongst our clients, Carrierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discreet, attentive and bespoke service is held in the highest regard. Your every need, every preference and every whim is catered for, no request is too small and no challenge too big.

Search Carrier Holidays

Visit: carrier.co.uk Call: 0161 826 1914

ESCAPE TO STRIVE, TO SEEK, TO FIND...

P.116 A NOVEL IDEA A literary-inspired escape in Cambridge

P.118 RHYTHM OF THE RIVER A 10-day cruise along the Danube

P.122 DESIGN RIGHT An award-winning Mughul-inspired hotel in India

P.124 COFFEE CAPITAL The home of Starbucks is surprisingly sedate

Norway’s Fjordland presents ski-andsail opportunities in abundance – head to secluded slopes via the Lofoten Islands, where the Northern Lights regularly come out to play (p.112)

ICE BREAKERS B R E A K T H E W I N T E R S P E L L AT T H E S E F L E D G L I N G H O T E L S , H O T LY - A N T I C I P AT E D R E O P E N I N G S , B I G - N A M E B E D R O O M S A N D CO O L N E W C R AS H PA D S

Words: Anna Prendergast

Make a reservation at Umami, Baglioni’s Japanese restaurant, where the Indian Ocean pools beneath the best seats in the house – two overwater tables.

CAERULA MAR, BAHAMAS

LDIVES

BAGLIONI, MA

Straw cloche hat, POA, chanel.com

Sun

CAERULA MAR, BAHAMAS

Eden Rock’s grand reopening on November 20th will mark the beginning of a new chapter for St Barths, which has been gently rebuilding itself since Hurricane Irma in 2017. Martin Brudnizki’s maximalist interiors will come to the Caribbean for the first time, and three new suites are named after members of the Eden Rock family: Jane, the owner, Pippa and Vogue – as in Middleton and Williams, who recently married Jane’s sons James and Spencer Matthews. Two big names have also arrived in the Maldives. The first Baglioni property to open outside of Europe brings knockout Italian glamour to the Dhaalu atoll in the form of Riva sunset cruises, bolentino and iced Ferrari Trento served at two minutes past 7pm every evening (a Baglioni tradition, celebrating the Champagne house’s birth year, 1902). The Standard, meanwhile, is welcoming a cool new crowd of solo

travellers and groups of friends to Huruvalhi Island, shifting the archipelago’s long-held romantic reputation. Meanwhile, the Bahamas is also in a transition period following Hurricane Dorian last year. Caerula Mar on South Andros, whose owner raised over £150 million to support the island’s restoration, is set to open this November. oetkercollection.com; theroyalportfolio.com; caerulamar.com

André Aciman’s sequel to Call Me By Your Name is the beach read we’ve all been waiting for since Luca Guadagnino brought Elio and Oliver to life in 2017’s Oscarwinning screenplay.

ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

Polar explorer Børge Ousland commissioned architect firm Snorre Stinessen to design the cantilevered sea cabins on Manshausen island in Norway.

SWEDISH

Chef Ragnar Martinsson fuels adventurers and adrenalin-seekers at Niehku (left), with the help of an engine pit-turned-winecellar beneath the restaurant.

LHR airport socks, £45, Tibi, tibi.com

Ski Navigate peaks – and peak season – without the crowds at heli-lodge Niehku Mountain Villa, where the slopes of Swedish Lapland are yours for the carving. Sweden’s tallest peak, Kebnekaise, is just 15 minutes away by air, and there are more than 60 other summits to choose from. The lodge itself is a log-burning, blonde-wood, Scandi skier’s dream (which is what niehku means in Sami), but the purity of the powder and next-level access is what guests really go for. If you’d rather travel by sea than sky, Black Tomato has designed a ski-and-sail trip through Norway’s Fjordland, travelling on a traditional schooner along the Steigen coastline, through the Lofoten Islands and finally arriving at Manshausen sea cabin. Ski peaks that are only accessible by boat along the way, and find yourself beneath the Northern Lights in the Lofotens. If old-school, good-time glamour is what you’re after, Hotel Schweizerhof in Zermatt was carefully restored to its former glory by Michel Reybier (of La Réserve success) in 2018 and has once again become the ubersmart jet-set’s alpine hangout. Cable cars will spirit you away to Chez Vrony for the best view of the Matterhorn. niehku.com; blacktomato.com; schweizerhofzermatt.ch

Ski boots, £890, Prada, matchesfashion.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

113

LAPLAND

SPF 50 balm, £16 for 20ml, Tropic, tropicskincare.com

SONOP, NAMIBIA

Twenty per cent from the sale of Grant MacDonald’s wildlife-inspired cufflinks goes towards Tusk, a charity that supports conservation initiatives throughout Africa such as the anti-poaching Mali Elephant Project. £220, grantmacdonald.com NAMIBIA

Safari

NYUNGWE HOUSE, RWANDA

Rwanda has emerged as Africa’s hottest destination this year, having spent 25 years in a state of healing after suffering the mass genocide of 1994. Now, it’s a leading example in conservation and peace, with premium tour operator One&Only opening two new digs from which to experience the country’s wildlife. Nyungwe House is set among a tea plantation and opened in October 2018, and Gorilla’s Nest, where guests will be able to witness native mountain gorillas, will open this month. Further south, hotelier Arnaud Zannier opened Sonop this summer among the dunes and boulders of Namibia’s desert. The tented lodge is designed to mimic the colonial safari experiences of the 1920s, albeit with considerably more comfort. Stargazing and nature-spotting (kudus, leopards and oryxes wander the landscape) by horseback are highlights. At the newly-imagined Puku Ridge in Zambia, eight thatched suites overlook South Luangwa National Park where lions hunt, zebras feed and leopards loiter. It’s run by Africa’s first carbon-neutral safari business, and conservation is key. Go on a game drive by day and take a telescope to the rooftop starbeds by night. oneandonlyresorts.com; zannierhotels.com; theroyalportfolio.com

RWANDA

Silk scarf, £340, Hermès, hermes.com

Camera DC-GX800, £299.99, Lumix, panasonic.com

LUXURY LONDON

ESCAPE

JK PLACE RIVE GAUCHE, PARIS

4 NEW BEDROOMS TO BOOK IN LONDON

NOBU BARCELONA

IL PALAZZO EXPERIMENTAL, VENICE

Boston loafers, £390, Crockett & Jones, crockettandjones.com

T H E H O X T O N S O U T H WA R K A cult favourite, The Hoxton’s latest outpost in the capital is also its coolest, with tactile interiors by Ennismore and a supper spot called Seabird to which foodies will flock. 40 Blackfriars Road, SE1 thehoxton.com

T H E B I LT M O R E A polished hideout in one of London’s poshest postcodes, with Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton at the pass. 44 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1, hilton.com

VENICE

City Venice is a city of melancholy and majesty, but Il Palazzo Experimental has brought a fresh optimism to its waterlogged ways. Expect Experimental Group’s usual standard of cocktail-making alchemy alongside Venetian cicchetti, and canalside vistas of Giudecca. Meanwhile, Nobu’s empire expands in Barcelona, with a scaled-up restaurant and 259 rooms arriving, fittingly, in the energetic neighbourhood of Eixample (Catalan for ‘expansion’). The eponymous restaurant on the top floor has skyline views and Nobu Matsuhisa’s signature dishes, such as yellowtail sashimi with garlic purée. Singapore’s Raffles

Alexa Chung’s trench, designed in collaboration with Barbour, is an urban, all-weather staple. £300, harveynichols.com

has reopened after a £130 million renovation; New York’s literati are moving into the Moxy downtown, and Marrakech welcomes its first Oberoi property. JK Place Rive Gauche has opened its iron gate to an elegant crowd in Paris, where there are influences from David Hicks’ design and Blakes Hotel in London. Speaking of which, the capital is on track to open a record number of hotels next year – and 2019 has been strong, too. Eyes right for the four most fun places to sleepover in the city. palazzoexperimental.com; raffles.com; barcelona.nobuhotels.com; jkplaces.com; moxy-hotels.marriott.com; oberiohotels.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

115

T H E P R I N C E A K AT O K I Serene, minimal design reflects Japanese culture with traditional fusuma panels and tranquil light-filled spaces (akatoki means sunrise). 50 Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch, Marylebone, W1, theprinceakatokilondon.com

M A M A S H E LT E R The hotel version of Hackney’s gaudiest restaurant, Gloria. Think funky, fringed lampshades by Rockett St George, clashing prints and a late-night bar scene. mamashelter.com; 437 Hackney Road, E2

A W E E K E N D AWAY

UNIVERSITY ARMS C A M B R I DG E A S A U T U M N L E AV E S S K I T T E R I N T O T H E L O B B Y O F T H E C I T Y ’ S S M A R T E S T H O T E L , F I N D A R E A D E R ’ S R E T R E AT A M O N G C A M B R I D G E ’ S L I T E R A R Y L E G E N D S

Words: Anna Prendergast

iterature is Cambridge’s lifeblood, and the city has educated and inspired some of the world’s top writing talent from Sylvia Plath to Stephen Fry. While the Bloomsbury Group may be long gone, the city is rarely short of writers to tell its stories. Over the years, John Simpson has bought reading material at antique bookseller G. David’s, Tim Hayward rescued local institution Fitzbillies and Zadie Smith observed that the ‘joy’ of Cambridge was its abundance of ‘people reading books in a posh place’.

I can think of far worse ways to pass the time than reading books in a posh place, and the University Arms seems purpose-built. Once a coaching inn, the hotel turned into one of the UK’s biggest openings last year after an £80 million refurbishment by architect John Simpson and interior designer Martin Brudnizki, who brought a strong sense of nostalgia for halcyon days spent at school and plenty of references to the university after which it’s named. Collegiate stripes on the corridor carpets remind you of the repp tie you packed to wear at supper;

storage bins in the bedrooms look like boarding school tuckboxes. All of it is accented with a shade of duck-egg that lands carefully in between Cambridge blue and Fortnum’s blue. The Library, a relaxed living room, is set around an original fireplace where afternoon tea is served (I can think of no better meal to pair with a book – nothing goes cold, everything can be eaten with one hand). The hotel’s suites are named after local scholars, most of whom attended the university. The Stephen Hawking suite has a grand, Regency-style curved bow window overlooking Parker’s

LUXURY LONDON

ESCAPE

Piece, where cycle paths cut the green space into quarters, and light-filled bedrooms have cosy corners for binge-reading poetry and stories and science. There are even desks for when inspiration strikes. Whilst gorgeous, 10 out of the 12 suites are named after men, the only exceptions being Virginia Woolf and Rosalind Franklin. If anyone deserves ‘a room of her own’ it’s Woolf, but considering this year marks 150 years since women were accepted at Cambridge University, their presence seems to be something of an afterthought. The cocktail menu (similarly named after local legends) doesn’t namecheck a single woman, and bathrooms are filled with products by Dr Harris, a ‘specialist in gentlemen’s grooming’. In such a place, it was a disappointing discovery, but not a dealbreaker. Balance the scales at The Rising Tide: Women at Cambridge exhibition at the University Library from October 14. On the lower ground, the hotel’s heritage is elegantly matched with cool, contemporary fixtures. Brudnizki’s signature patchwork of paintings are somewhat subdued compared to those at Annabel’s or The Ivy: witty, whimsical illustrations of Cambridge characters yawning in punts and stumbling out of pubs surround the tables in Parker’s Tavern, the hotel’s restaurant. Here,

Chef Tristan Welch has developed his own style of haute canteen with a menu and dining space jovially reminiscent of boarding school staples. You’ll want to ask Sir for seconds of his spaghetti bolognese, and even the grown-ups can’t resist the colouring-book-style ordering system for ice cream with all the toppings. There’s even the odd harmonised rendition of Happy Birthday, as if the King’s College choir had popped in to celebrate. By evening, slick waiters sling trays of drinks around at improbable angles and speed, while breakfast has an informal, convivial feel of a club you can’t help but want to be a member of. Cambridge might be one of the few

universities that doesn’t get a reading week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spend your own there. Find a willow tree next to the River Cam to hide under while the punts sail past, bury your nose in a book stowed in your satchel and take a crash course in comfort at the University Arms. University Arms Hotel, Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1AD; universityarms.com; doubles from £225

HOW TO GET HERE The fast train from King’s Cross takes 48 minutes to Cambridge W H AT T O B R I N G An empty notepad for your bestseller W H AT T O W E A R Shoes you can cycle in; there are pretty blue bikes you can borrow during your stay WHERE TO GO Fitzbillies for Chelsea buns; Kettle’s Yard for a quirky history of the area, The Flower House for a bouquet to pop in your bike basket. Don’t miss the Literary Festival from November 29th, too

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

117

CRUISIN’ ALONG A 1 0 - D AY C R U I S E A L O N G E U R O P E ’ S S E C O N D L A R G E S T R I V E R O F F E R S A C O N T I N E N TA L V I E W WITH A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

Words: James Lawrence

et’s deal with the drawbacks first. A meandering river cruise along the Danube is hardly likely to get the pulse racing; a vessel’s top speed is typically around 20 knots (23 miles per hour). When family and friends discovered that I was due to spend 10 days exploring one of Europe's great rivers, they could hardly contain their mirth. “You'll be bored witless” (I've edited slightly) was one response, until I pointed out that the impossibility of switching off is the gripe du jour. Suddenly the pitch looked a lot more attractive. Ten days of limited connectivity, no work emails, stunning scenery and hiking and cycling in fresh air. Smugness was quickly replaced with jealousy. It’s a sign of the times that, for many people, the ultimate (and often unobtainable) personal luxury is simply disconnecting for a while. Sitting on the patio deck of the sumptuous Crystal Ravel riverboat, I felt like an oxygenstarved diver coming up for air. On any and every river cruise itinerary, there’s always 360° of scenery to see from your ship, but the Danube stands head and shoulders above the competition. From its source in the Black Forest, it passes through or touches the borders of 10 countries, including

T H E DA N U B E Stretching for 1,770 miles, the Danube is Europe's second longest river (after the Volga in western Russia). The Danube was once a longstanding frontier of the Roman Empire, and today flows through 10 countries – Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Moldovia, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia. The scenery is astonishingly diverse, switching from deep gorges and mountain ranges to vast marshy plains, while the riverbanks are dotted with medieval towns and some majestic capitals: Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. Our itinerary was a round trip from Passau to Vienna, stopping off at the Danube’s prettiest towns and cities. Launched in June 2018 by Crystal cruises, the Crystal Ravel is the epitome of elegance: it boasts Palm Court, a beautiful glass-domed atrium area, as well as a spa, gym, small swimming pool and gorgeous patio area, and excellent bars and restaurants. Like other ultra-lux cruises, the Crystal Ravel’s itinerary is all-inclusive, so the price covers access to all dining venues, endless champagne refills and other benefits such as health and fitness sessions. But even if you never venture further than your cabin, you’ll be constantly, mercilessly pampered. Ours felt like a boutique hotel suite, with modern furnishings, an earth-inspired colour palette and an insanely comfortable bed. Crystal has mastered the river cruise cabin, and the needs of anti-social travellers. Vienna, however, tempts even the most jaded tourist out of their suite. We started at the Hofburg, the former imperial court, and

it’s well worth visiting. What began as a small fortress in 1275 grew over the centuries into a vast palace, a homage to grandiose Gothic and neo-Renaissance architecture. It was the seat of Austrian power for more than six centuries, and successive rulers were all anxious to leave their mark. But while the Hofburg is globally renowned for offering visitors a glorious day of cultural enrichment, Vienna’s nightlife is sorely underrated. When we returned to the city in the evening, the Altstadt (old town) was buzzing, as the boisterous revellers sipped Aperol spritzes and local grüner veltliner white wine. The atmosphere was lively and welcoming, and the setting was similarly perfect, with neoclassical architecture and stately palaces providing an ostentatious backdrop to a rapidly escalating party. The tranquility of our river cruise was wonderful, but now it was time to liven things up a little. To get the most out of Vienna after dark, you need an open mind because first impressions can be deceptive. Take Drechsler, for example, a seemingly sedate well-established café which unexpectedly transforms into a miniature club at the weekend. It’s just one of the many surprises in store – clubs and live music venues can be found in all sorts of unlikely locations in Vienna, from boats moored on the Danube to disused subways and a former sauna. After visiting Vienna, we explored the picture-postcard destinations of Grein and

LUXURY LONDON

ESCAPE

VIEW OF THE OLD CITY PASSAU AND FORTRESS VESTE OBERHAUS, GERMANY

T H E D E TA I L S Transfers to London Heathrow via Paddington were supported by GWR. Singles from Cardiff to London Paddington are available from under £30 each way, gwr.com Prices from £5,344 per person for a 10-night Danube cruise round trip from Vienna and visiting Durnstein, Melk, Linz, Passau, Bratislava and Budapest. Price includes 10 nights in a suite with butler service with all meals and drinks onboard, a choice of excursions in each port, overseas transfers and gratuities, crystalcruises.co.uk

Linz at a leisurely pace – but hurried back for lunch, as the boat’s charms were becoming seductive. Strangers became acquaintances and then friends, after sharing the same space for 12 hours each day, with champagne poured at every possible opportunity. And people watching is surely the ultimate pleasure of ‘enclosed’ travel: the Australian family who kept discussing the failings of the Brits (we got our own back) and an awkward meeting between left-wing Californians and staunch Trump supporters made for entertaining eavesdropping Feeling guilty about all this slovenly indulgence, however, we did dedicate some time to hiking and cycling, before giving Austria’s Krems an der Donau a proper inspection. Krems, in the UNESCO-listed Wachau wine region, is everything you’d expect from a picturesque Austrian town, with a cobbled 18th-century core, churches and russet-roofed houses flanked against a tapestry of terraced vineyards. It’s also the home of Schloss Gobelsburg, a family-run winery that produces sublime vintages of riesling, pinot noir and grüner veltliner – Austria’s signature grape. Visitors are welcome and a splendid tour was followed by an extensive tasting and the opportunity to visit the onsite store. We reached the end of our journey in

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

121

Passau is the perfect place in which to leave the stresses of life behind Passau, another impossibly quaint city, near the German-Austrian border. Straddling the Inn, Ilz and Danube rivers, Passau occupies a charming setting, and its colourful baroque townhouses ripple in waves of red roofs towards rolling green hills. Dubbed the Venice on the Danube because of its Italian ambiance and narrow streets, it is the perfect place in which to leave the stresses of life behind. After ambling along its leafy riverside promenades and cobbled marketplaces, take time to try a pilsner, weisse (white) or dunkel (dark) beer. I concede that the Crystal Ravel’s soothing rhythms are not for everyone: the atmosphere is very sedate and it’s a fairly expensive proposition compared to similar cruises. But, as I find myself approaching 40, the world’s famous coastal cities, with their excessive noise and constant stimulation, are rapidly losing their appeal. I hope Crystal’s ethos never moves an inch.

CROWN OF THE PALACES T H E O N LY I N D I A N H O T E L T O H AV E W O N T H E P R E S T I G I O U S AG A K H A N AWA R D F O R I T S E XC E L L E N T R E P R E S E N TAT I O N O F M U G H A L A R C H I T E C T U R E , ITC MUGHAL IS A FITTING TRIBUTE TO ITS WO R L D - FA M O U S , I VO R Y-W H I T E N E I G H B O U R

Words: Lily Devan

LUXURY LONDON

ESCAPE

n a city where the singular star attraction is not just world renowned, but has been for centuries, the odds seem stacked overwhelmingly against both travellers and luxury hoteliers: a perfect storm for cookie-cutter tourism. The Taj Mahal, in sprawling white stone splendour, is spectacular in the extreme – for its craftsmanship, scale and what it represents: the rule of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and the love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (notwithstanding the thousands of men whose lives would have been given to its construction). Appreciating its majesty today demands an early start, an iron will to block out the noise as crowds descend and the help of a discerning guide. The reward is colossal, but what of when the wonderment is over? In a city that swarms with tourists, finding a true refuge is nothing short of essential. And while the architectural bar is raised high in Agra, the ITC Mughal somehow exceeds expectations. With soaring ceilings, ornate marble floors and pristine quiet gardens where fountains trickle languorously, this hotel inspires slipping into an imperial reverie. More than 200 rooms are crowned by three tiers of suites, with a separate lobby centred around a suspended swinging divan that sets the regal tone and leads the way. Modern luxury is married with Mughal sensibilities here: sleek monochromes offset by a saffron armchair; ruched metallic curtains and canopies; marble bathrooms with ornate trinket boxes. Below, authentic north-western cuisine comes courtesy of the appropriately named Peshawri, where its open-kitchen clay tandoor presents slow-cooked black lentil dal bukhara, vegetarian kebabs and an impressive array of breads. Both Agra’s exceptional fort and the Taj Mahal are a tenminute drive away, but this dazzling hotel makes that fact seem – almost – irrelevant.

In a city that swarms with tourists, finding a true refuge is nothing short of essential

Stays at ITC Mughal Agra start from 12,000 INR per night (approx. £137), itchotels.in

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

123

SLEEPY I N S E AT T L E

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

HOME OF HENDRIX AND COBAIN, A N D C O F F E E C A P I TA L O F T H E W O R L D, S E AT T L E H A S P L E N T Y TO B O A S T A B O U T. B U T T H I S L A I D - B A C K C I T Y D O E S N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; T P L AY O N I T S BRAGGING RIGHTS

Words: Rob Crossan

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

125

LUXURY LONDON

ESCAPE

“Don’t be too fooled; people are in a hurry here. Amazon is based here and there’s a lot of money floating around. But you wouldn’t notice a lot of the time. There’s humility to people from Seattle – bling isn’t really the way things are done here.” Grindle is right. Seattle doesn’t brag about its cultural heritage like other cities do. For a perfect example, I head to the Museum of Pop Culture, a Frank Gehry-designed creation of shimmering steel, 140,000 sq ft in size, which is supposed to resemble a smashed electric guitar but is more commonly referred to as locals as ‘the blob’. Vast as the building is, complete with ‘sound labs’ where visitors can try their hand at DJing, singing and jamming with full kit in professional studio conditions, only a small room on the ground floor is devoted to the city’s two most famous musical sons. The grunge exhibition neatly showcases the story of the local Sub Pop label that signed Nirvana (Kurt Cobain’s cardigan plus one of his school art pieces are on display here) while the Jimi Hendrix exhibition is even smaller. Born in Seattle in 1942, Hendrix returned to the city to play only a handful of times after global success arrived, yet the minutiae of his life is expertly captured here, from his TWA travel bag to his passport to one of the mixing desks from the Electric Ladyland Studios, which he founded in New York but recorded in for only a few weeks after it opened in the summer of 1970 – Hendrix died shortly afterwards, aged just 27.

he garden is full of pigs. Ceramic, life size pigs, to be precise. The porcine creations look more than content with their position, looking out over the cerulean waters of Puget Sound. They don’t even seem to mind the fact that there are tubs of flowers perched on their backs. They’ve found the most relaxing spot in Seattle, perched on the rooftop Pike Place Market Urban Garden, which only the savviest visitors can find. A multi-layered market which, incredibly, is considered by some estimates to be in the top 40 most visited attractions on the planet, Pike Place is the biggest draw in Seattle but it still manages to have a civilised air about it. From the DeLaurenti wine store offering flights of smallbatch vinos from Washington State to the subterranean bookstores which, with impeccable literary taste, display tomes from Bukowski, Kerouac and Roth in their windows, this is a market that has long since surpassed its original purpose as an open space for farmers to sell vegetables from their wagons in the early years of the 20th century. Sipping my coffee on the roof next to the pigs, looking out over the Sound, I wonder just how it is that Seattle came to feel so different. Famous for coffee, plaid shirts, grunge and a propensity for rain, this is a city that, both geographically and psychologically, feels far removed from the rest of mainland America. Tucked into the north-west corner of the country, Seattle has liberal, progressive attitudes and remarkably low (by domestic standards at least) gun crime statistics, which seem almost defiantly counter-poised against the prevailing Stateside political trends. “I think it’s true to say that this isn’t your typical US city”, says James Grindle, a tour guide from tour company Show Me Seattle, who has agreed to spend the day taking me off the beaten tracks of what is already a fairly off-the-beaten-track kind of city.

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

127

It feels incongruous that such loud, radical music comes from such a harmonious city. Seattle’s parks, and there are plenty of them, are rich in cedar, larch and sequoia. In Ballard Locks, salmon swim through an ingenious fish ladder that enables them to travel from Alaskan saltwater back to fresh water to breed. Huge glass screens in tunnels underneath the lock enable me to view huge coho and sockeye gracefully navigate the deep navy depths. Over in the Olympic Sculpture Park, an immense installation by Alexander Calder of a giant, red, sheet-steel eagle stands alongside benches chiselled to resemble huge eyes. This all combines to lend a surreal air to what was once nothing more than a brownfield industrial site crisscrossed by disused railway tracks.

It feels incongruous that such loud, radical music comes from such a harmonious city

Though let’s not kid ourselves about Seattle’s number one contribution to western society. More than Hendrix and Cobain, its coffee, chiefly that produced by Starbucks, which was founded here here almost half a century ago, is likely to remain the city’s number one export for decades to come. Down at Pike Place, the very first branch, complete with original, rather lo-fi signage, is besieged by tourists wanting to pick up commemorative mugs along with their mochas and lattes. Except it’s all so much froth, as this isn’t the original Starbucks at all. The first store, opened in 1971, was a few blocks away on Western Avenue. But it shut up shop four years later, making the mobbed Pike Place branch certainly the oldest Starbucks, but not the first. Far more interesting is the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the Capitol Hill district. This is the ‘test kitchen’ for the chain and, wonderfully, it looks nothing like the cookie-cutter interiors seen the world over. With burlap sacks of coffee piled up against the walls, copper casks and a marble and teak bar counter, the Roastery feels more like an inner sanctum of caffeine appreciation than a mere coffee shop. To experience Seattle at its finest, looking through the window with a coffee in hand doesn’t quite cut it. With breezes stiff enough to make you realise why Cobain and co were so fond of wearing thick plaid shirts, Seattle looks at its most beautiful when you’ve wrapped up warm and are walking along its surprisingly lengthy sandy beaches. I head by ferry over to West Seattle where the beachfront is lined with condos and, thankfully, a few remaining vintage wooden beach shacks looking directly out over the, dark sand beach. Considered by some to be Seattle’s answer to Coney Island, the beachfront here has a family-friendly feel, complete with ice cream kiosks, playgrounds and sun loungers. But, as with all of Seattle, there’s a quietude here too, alongside the knowledge that, beneath these waters, lurk the city’s most fearsome residents. The venemous giant Pacific octopus can grow up to 100 pounds in weight, can squirt ink and can withstand a pull of 1,000 times its own weight. Companies such as Seattle Dive Tours organise group dives where you just might spot one of these monstrous creatures, close at hand.

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

KIMPTON ALEXIS HOTEL Terrified at the prospect, I decide to find someone who has lived to tell the tale of encountering these beasts of the Sound. I don’t have to look far: “It’s been proven that an octopus can recognise individual humans, even make friends with them,” says Ryan, a local amateur diver who I speak to on the beach as the sun begins to bleach the waters of the Sound a light orange and gold. “Octopuses seem to know how much strength they have,” he continued. “As long as you’re not posing a threat, they’ll give you a hug and a squeeze. But never too tightly. They’re pretty chilled deep down, I think.” In Seattle, it seems even some the mightiest monsters of the deep have learnt how to relax.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP AMAZON HQ, SEATTLE, ©SEARICK1/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; BEDROOM, BATHROOM AND LIVING AREA AT KIMPTON ALEXIS HOTEL; AMAZON HQ, SEATTLE, ©CK FOTO/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM OPPOSITE PAGE MONORAIL, MUSEUM OF POP CULTURE, SEATTLE, ©OKSANA.PERKINS/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

129

Inspired by the city that it calls home, Kimpton Alexis Hotel is housed in a 1901 Italian Renaissance Revival building that was reconstructed after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Today, it's home to 121 rooms decorated with Surrealist art, Rococo mirrors and, in a nod to the city’s largest private employer, Amazon Echos. Hole up in the resident Bookstore Bar & Cafe with the latest bestseller – via Kindle, perhaps? – and a glass of one of its many rare whiskies. alexishotel.com; visitseattle.org

Santorini, Greece

Discover

Glorious Greece Immerse yourself in the best Greece has to offer, from iconic Santorini to lesser known gems like Monemvasia - and stay longer with 6 late nights in port. After island-hopping in luxury on our boutique ship, head inland on our 5-night post-voyage tour to discover the ancient wonders of the Acropolis in Athens and Meteora, where you'll be awed by the monastaries perched atop towering rock pillars. 11 NIGHT GREECE INTENSIVE VOYAGE 7th July 2020, Azamara Journey®

5 NIGHT IN-DEpTH ExplORATION OF GREECE

Featured Voyage

Post Cruise Tour

Itinerary:

Balcony Prices From

£3,893pp*

• Athens

• Nafplio

• Thebes

• Kalambaka

• Mycenae

• Epidaurus

• Delphi

• Meteora

Guided Tour Prices From

£2,980pp*

UP TO $1000 OBC + FREE WI-FI** BOOK BY 8TH DECEMBER TO SECURE THIS OFFER Call 0344 481 7690= | Visit Azamara.co.uk/MoreOnboard *Price based on Balcony stateroom category. Itineraries subject to change and availability. Call or visit Azamara.co.uk for full pricing and details of inclusive amenities. Visit website for further information and full T&Cs. **Selected 2020 voyages. †Calls cost the same as calls to geographic numbers (01 or 02) and are included in your landline or mobile free call package.

Customer Rating based on independent verified reviews.

P.133

P R O P E R T Y T H E F I N E S T H O M E S I N T H E C A P I TA L

INSIDER KNOWLEDGE The latest property news from prime central London

P.140 STREETS AHEAD The top properties hitting the market this month

Boasting a view of Buckingham Palace, No.1 Palace Street is (almost) as regal as its neighbour (p.140)

A well presented penthouse with natural light throughout.

1 3

Bina Gardens, SW5 This beautifully presented third and fourth floor duplex apartment is ideally situated in the heart of South Kensington and boasts three double bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms. • • • •

Kris Ericsson looks forward to helping you. kris.ericsson@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6123

Wonderful glass roof in reception room Spacious roof terrace Immaculate condition Approximately 2,135 sq ft

Guide price

£3,750,000

Share of freehold knightfrank.co.uk Connecting people & property, perfectly.

LUXURY LONDON

PROPERTY

INSIDER KNOWLEDGE FROM LONDON’S PRIME CENTRAL PROPERTY MARKET

M AY F A I R M I L L E N N I A L

loves Mayfair,” says Peter Wetherell, the estate agent’s chief executive. “The Mayfair lettings market has become the dominant sector within the district for big deals over the past 24 months and the market is extremely buoyant at present.” Clarges Mayfair was designed by architects Squire & Partners and comprises 34 residences with interior design by award- winning Martin Kemp Designs. The building’s amenities include a swimming pool, spa, cinema, and hotelstyle concierge and porter. The new tenant will be in good company – Clarges Mayfair is reportedly home to more billionaires, millionaires and celebrities than any other new apartment development in London.

A £30K-A-MONTH APARTMENT IN MAYFAIR IS LET TO MILLENNIAL TENANT IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS

Think millennials spend all of their money on Pret a Manger sandwiches and avocado-based breafkasts? Think again. In September, Wetherell let a £30,000-a-month apartment in Clarges Mayfair to a 20-something tenant, who snapped up the 1,593 sq ft, two-bedroom residence in less than 24 hours. It is one of the fastest super-prime lettings deals ever conducted in Mayfair, with the tenant signing for a 12-month lease. “Our tenant only wanted to live at Clarges Mayfair and

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

133

P L A N S I N P L AC E MONACO’S REDD ACQUIRES LANDMARK MANSION BUILDING IN MAYFAIR

Luxury property company REDD has bought a £15m building in Mayfair’s Balfour Place, with plans to turn it into a luxury mixed-use scheme. The 9,364 sq ft five-storey mansion block was designed by Eustace Balfour, the Grosvenor Estate’s architect, in 1891 and was originally built as a private residence. Following WWII, it was converted into offices and apartments. REDD has appointed design house 1508 to steer the creative process, while Savills and Wetherell will act as property advisors.

W H AT A C O R K E R BERKSHIRE’S CORK HOUSE SCOOPS 2019 STEPHEN LAWRENCE PRIZE

The Royal Institute of British Architects has announced Cork House in Berkshire as its winner for the 2019 Stephen Lawrence Prize. The innovative, carbon-neutral property was designed by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton for a private client, and is made almost entirely from cork. All of the building’s components slot together without

glue, and can be easily dismantled and reused or recycled. The Stephen Lawrence Prize aims to encourage emerging talent by celebrating and rewarding new projects that were constructed for less than £1m. Founded in 1998 in honour of Stephen Lawrence, who was embarking on a career in architecture prior to his murder in 1998, the award includes a £5,000 prize and has been sponsored by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation since its inception.

AT Y O U R S E R V I C E THE LADY MAGAZINE LAUNCHES TRAINING SCHOOL FOR HOUSEHOLD STAFF

Bylaugh Hall, dubbed ‘Norfolk’s answer to Downton Abbey’, is set to become the home of a new training academy for domestic staff. Hosted by The Lady, the 130-year-old women’s weekly, the service will train bodyguards, butlers and housekeepers in the skills required to serve a modern HNW household, with further courses planned for carers, gardeners and chalet girls. The magazine will also launch a recruitment agency for staff and their employees, which will run in tandem with the service.

LUXURY LONDON

F E AT U R E

BRICK BY BRICK CORONADO COMPLETES LONDON’S LARGEST BRICK BUILDING SINCE THE EDWARDIAN ERA

BANKING ON IT FORMER BANK OF NEW YORK TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO LUXURY RESIDENCES

The gilded halls of the former Bank of New York in Manhattan will become home to 566 residences in 2020. The Art Deco building, located in the heart of the city’s financial district, is being renovated by Macklowe Properties, which is creating an ultra-prime residential development spanning studios to four-bedroom apartments. An additional 174,000 sq ft

of retail space and a 74,000 sq ft health and wellness member-based club will be included in the conversion, along with an enviable penthouse with views of New York Harbour and the Statue of Liberty. Residents will be automatically joined to The One Club, which provides access to a 70,000 sq ft athletic club, pantry-stocking and catering from Whole Foods Market, full-floor event and entertainment space, personal storage spaces, dog grooming and spa services.

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

135

Developer Coronado has completed a £92m development in London’s West End comprising 116,000 bricks – making it the largest brick building built in the area since the Edwardian era. Designed by architects Shard Architecture and with interiors by Colonado Interior Designs, One Molyneux Street includes one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes, and comes complete with 24-hour concierge, a hotel-like lobby, residents’ media lounge and underground parking. The development was built on the site of Elliot House, a former Metropolitan Police Residence built in 1939 and used to house officers during the Brixton and Poll Tax riots.

L I V E P O S I T I V E AT B AT T E R S E A P O W E R S TAT I O N

Battersea_ad_Luxury_London_Magazine_v02.indd 1

Discover a place like no other, now open, with exclusive spots to dine al fresco and endless views of the River Thames. Unique and luxurious homes designed by world renowned architects with a selection of apartments from studios to penthouses. • Studios 1, 2, 3 & 4 bedroom apartments and penthouses available • Zone 1 tube station opening in 2021 • Direct River access to the City and West End by MBNA Thames Clippers River Bus • Residents’ club including bar, business centre and lounge • Gym, pool and spa • Investment guarantee available • Leasehold 999 years • Prices start from £510,000

Limited availability Call +44 (0) 20 3797 1883 or email sales@batterseapowerstation.co.uk to make an appointment. Search Battersea Power Station

14/08/2019 17:45

DI S C OV E R I NG C OV E N T G A R DE N ’ S N EW BEST K EP T SECR ET A dramatic residence, in a secluded address, situated at the heart of London’s most celebrated cultural neighbourhood. 40 contemporary apartments, ready for occupation. To arrange a viewing of our show flat please contact: sales@londonewcastle.co.uk / residential.sales@cbre.com

CHAPTERHOUSE.LONDON

Vision. Passion. Perfection. The fires of the imagination, fuelled by desire, creating the exceptional. The mind of the architect and the skilled hand of the craftsman, it is the pure elegance of simplicity, and nothing less than perfection is acceptable. Renowned for its stunning cliffs and golden sands â&#x20AC;&#x201C; unspoilt and rich in culture and history â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vale do Lobo is one of the finest resorts in the Algarve, and the perfect setting for a home like Casa da Quinta.

Priced EUR 13.75m +44 (0)20 3146 6247 www.roqueproperties.com info@roqueproperties.com

CDQ_LuxuryLondonMagazine_280x217_Nov19.indd 1

10 first class bedroom suites and dramatic open plan living and entertaining spaces are adorned with beautiful materials and exceptional design and craftsmanship. With state-of-the-art technology, stunning landscaped gardens, private terraces, and an infinity pool with breathtaking Atlantic views, only those lucky enough to experience it first hand will ever truly understand. Because although the fires of imagination that created it have died down, its heat will be felt forever.

02/10/2019 10:08

STREETS AHEAD DISTINCTIVE HOMES ON THE PROPERTY MARKET THIS MONTH

N O . 1 P A L A C E S T R E E T, S W 1

One of London’s first five-star hotels is being transformed into a luxury development. Located opposite Buckingham Palace and St James’s Park, No.1 Palace Street – formerly The Palace Hotel – comprises 72 apartments and a roster of luxury amenities, including a state-of-the-art fitness centre, 20m swimming pool, cinema, library and meeting room. Each apartment takes advantage of the building’s grand 19th-century architecture, with some apartments boasting fivemetre high ceilings. The development is set to complete in 2020. From £2.55m, northacre.com

LUXURY LONDON

PROPERTY

KENSINGTON PA R K R OA D, W 1 1

This Notting Hill home has been colourfullydesigned by interior specialist Barlow & Barlow, which drew inspiration from the owners’ Cuban heritage, and Notting Hill Carnival.

The upper-maisonette, three-bedroom apartment is spread across two floors and boasts a spacious rooftop terrace, complete with an outdoor kitchen, dining area and views over west London. £2.475m, 020 3761 9691, russellsimpson.co.uk

R A D N O R WA L K , S W 3

Heritage features and contemporary design meet in this four-storey Chelsea townhouse. Inside, a modern, openplan living area makes the most of the property’s space, with a kitchen and dining area leading out to a private terrace garden. Five bedrooms are split across the property, with one in the basement, three on the second floor and a third on the top floor – the latter of which benefits from a roof terrace. £3.5m, 020 7730 0822, savills.com

LUXURYLONDON.CO.UK

141

Chelsea Embankment, Chelsea SW3 £3,750 per week

Furnished

Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill W11 £1,950 per week

Furnished

An exquisite five-bedroom penthouse, refurbished to the very highest specification with stunning views over Chelsea.

A stunning three-bedroom house conveniently located between Holland Park and Notting Hill Gate.

1,789 sq ft (166.2 sq m) Three bedrooms | Three bathrooms | End of terrace | Patio | EPC rating E

Chelsea 020 3504 5588 | Chelsea.lettings@struttandparker.com

Notting Hill 020 3773 4114 | Nottinghilllettings@struttandparker.com

Priory Walk, West Chelsea SW10 £4,250 per week

Pembroke Square, Kensington W8 £2,750 per week

Unfurnished

An utterly charming family house extending to 3,278 square feet within The Boltons Conservation area.

A simply stunning family home, with a large private garden and lovely green views over the elegant garden square.

Chelsea SW10 020 3813 9185 | ChelseaSW10lettings@struttandparker.com

Kensington 020 3813 9477 | Kensington.lettings@struttandparker.com

*After an offer is accepted by the Landlord, which is subject to contract and acceptable references, the following charges and fees will be payable before the commencement of the tenancy: Preparation of Tenancy Agreement £222 (Inc VAT),

/struttandparker

@struttandparker

struttandparker.com

60 Offices across England and Scotland, including prime Central London.

ZA337_S&P_Lux_London_DPS1_Nov.indd 1

10/10/2019 10:54

Cranley Place, South Kensington SW7 £7,500 per week Unfurnished

Shorrolds Road, Fulham SW6 £995 per week

A stunning six-bedroom family home in the heart of South Kensington with access to Onslow Square Gardens.

A fabulously bright four-bedroom family house boasting wood flooring throughout, situated a short walk from Parsons Green and Fulham Broadway.

Unfurnished

South Ken 020 3504 5901 | SouthKensingtonlettings@struttandparker.com

Fulham 020 8023 6671 | Fulham.lettings@struttandparker.com

First Street, Chelsea SW3 £1,650 per week

Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge SW1X £1,975 per week Furnished

Furnished

References per Tenant £54 (Inc VAT), a deposit – usually between 6-10 weeks of the agreed rent. Any rent advertised is pure rent and does not include any additional services such as council tax, water or utility charges.

Strutt & Parker is a trading style of BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory & Property Management UK Limited, which provides a full range of services across the residential, commercial and the rural property sectors.

ZA337_S&P_Lux_London_DPS1_Nov.indd 2

10/10/2019 10:55

Smith Street, Chelsea SW3 £4,650,000

Freehold

Clarendon Road, Notting Hill W11 £6,500,000

Freehold

A super four/five-bedroom house with a terrace and south westfacing garden.

A beautifully presented family house with off-street parking in this highly sought after address.

Chelsea 020 3504 5588 | Chelsea@struttandparker.com

Notting Hill 020 3773 4114 | Nottinghill@struttandparker.com

Eaton Row, Belgravia SW1W £2,995,000

Freehold

Cresswell Gardens, South Kensington SW5 Price on application Freehold

This immaculate three-bedroom mews house offers flexible living behind a period façade, arranged over only three floors.

A magnificent family house with outstanding proportions and the rare benefit of direct access onto the exquisite Cresswell Gardens.

Knightsbridge 020 3504 8796 | Knightsbridge@struttandparker.com

Chelsea SW10 020 3813 9185 | ChelseaSW10@struttandparker.com

/struttandparker

@struttandparker

struttandparker.com

60 Offices across England and Scotland, including prime Central London.

ZA338_S&P_Lux_London_DPS2_Nov.indd 1

10/10/2019 10:57

Holmead Road, Fulham SW6 £2,450,000

Freehold

Campden House, Kensington W8 £1,800,000

Leasehold

Fulham 020 8023 6671 | Fulham@struttandparker.com

Kensington 020 3813 9477 | Kensington@struttandparker.com

Barkston Gardens, South Kensington SW5 £1,300,000 Share of Freehold

Headfort Place, Belgravia SW1X £4,950,000

Benefiting from high ceilings, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom raised ground floor flat is offered in superb condition, with access to award winning Barkston Gardens.

A beautifully refurbished townhouse with elegantly styled accommodation, in the heart of Belgravia.

Freehold

ZA338_S&P_Lux_London_DPS2_Nov.indd 2

10/10/2019 10:58

Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea SW3

ÂŁ7,500 per week Furnished

Chelsea 020 3504 5588 | chelsea.lettings@struttandparker.com

/struttandparker

@struttandparker

struttandparker.com

60 Offices across England and Scotland, including prime Central London. ZA336_S&P_LuxuryLondon_IBC_DPS_November.indd 1

09/10/2019 09:30

Cambridge Place, Kensington W8

ÂŁ5,750,000 Freehold

Kensington 020 3813 9477 | kensington@struttandparker.com

ZA336_S&P_LuxuryLondon_IBC_DPS_November.indd 2

09/10/2019 09:30

Luxury London Magazine November 2019

Articles inside

Ready Eddie Go

All Things Bright and Beautiful

"And Now, For Something Completely Different"