Emirates Man - June 2023

Jay Shetty

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer

MANAGING PARTNER AND GROUP EDITOR Ian Fairservice

EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Amy Sessions amy.sessions@motivate.ae

SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Olga Petroff

FASHION EDITOR Camille Macawili

DIGITAL STYLE EDITOR Sarah Joseph JUNIOR DESIGNER Charissa Canlas EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Londresa Flores

GENERAL MANAGER PRODUCTION Sunil Kumar PRODUCTION MANAGER Binu Purandaran PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Venita Pinto

CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER Anthony Milne GROUP SALES MANAGER

Chaitali Khimji chaitali.khimji@motivate.ae

SENIOR SALES MANAGER

Anna Chipala anna.chipala@motivate.ae

GROUP MARKETING MANAGER Joelle Albeaino WEB DEVELOPER Firoz Kaladi

CONTRIBUTORS

Ahmed

Editor’s Letter

Welcome to Emirates Man – The Summer Escape Issue.

This is your guide to being in the know. From grooming to tech, we’ll ensure you’re ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest gadgets. If you’re into watches, our resident watch geeks will deliver all the detail you need to make the right investment, we interview the guys making moves on a global and local scale and we’ll tell you where the coolest places are to hangout. Welcome to the club.

For the cover we are honoured to have former monk and author, Jay Shetty, who we discuss manifestation, meditation and the power of gratitude with. Jay was also kind enough to share his time with us on his recent trip to Dubai, you can watch the full interview on YouTube where he shares his thoughts on habits, discipline and happiness – a conversation that is as inspiring as it is insightful. Watch obsessives will enjoy the latest installment from The Watch Addict on page 16 while in The Mechanics of Time on

page 38 we look at how Zenith CEO Julien Tornare is reimagining the watchmaker’s existing collection.

We have exclusive interviews with those delivering excellence beyond expectation at every level from Maison Francis Kurkdjian CEO and Co-Founder, Marc Chaya, who discusses scaling a global brand successfully and how important skin is to fragrance in Scaling Scent on page 74 to Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger discussing leadership, taking a customer-centric approach to strategy and innovation in e-commerce in Leading Man on page 50. The coolest kit you can buy is curated in The Boys Toys on page 14, the essentials for a modern man’s beauty regime in Well Groomed on page 20 and James Miller, Founder of Embody Fitness, delivers the inside tract on getting summer ready in The Summer Body on page 78.

Style and substance are intrinsically linked, Emirates Man delivers both. Look smart, live smarter.

Amy Sessions EDITOR / ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Fashion & Watches

CONTENTS

p.12

Monitor News

p.14

The Boys Toys – The latest gadgets to gear up for the outdoor season

p.16

The Watch Addict – An edit of robust timepieces

p.20

Well Groomed – The best grooming essentials to

keep you looking slick for a summer of travel

p.22

The Gamechanger –Cover Interview with Jay Shetty

p.26

The Edit – Beachside Essentials

p.28

Summer Shirts

p.30

Serious Shade –Sunglasses to keep you looking cool for SS23

p.32

The Watch Pioneers

p.38

The Mechanics of Time –An interview with Zenith CEO Julien Tornare

p.42

Ahead of the Pack – Emelie De Vitis, RIMOWA Senior Vice President of Product & Marketing, on what makes the German Maison the leader of the pack

p.44

In Transit – The best luggage for your summer getaways

p.46

The Summer Escape –Six tastemakers share their summer plans and packing essentials

p.50

Leading Man – An interview with Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger

p.52

Time for Summer –Ray-Ban

p.56

The Italian Way –Loro Piana

p.62

The Summer Programme – Loewe

p.66

The Journey – Santoni

Fitness & Grooming

p.72

Summer Scents for a fun-filled summer

Lifestyle

p.84

A Strong Heritage – An interview with Elie Khouri, Founder & CEO of Vivium Holdings, on bringing Cassina to the UAE

p.88

Personal Space – Suited & Booted

p.92

Contemporary Design –An interview with

p.74

Scaling Scent – Maison Francis Kurkdjian, CEO

and Co-Founder, Marc Chaya, discusses scaling a global brand successfully and how important skin is to fragrance

p.78

The Summer Body –Interview with James Miller, Founder of Embody Fitness, on getting summer ready

p.80

The Expert– We discuss style, grooming and business strategy with Sheldon Maduray, Founder of SM Marketing

p.82

Laser Focused – Founder of Ivory Aesthetics Clinic, Shohreh Bagherian on the benefits of using laser for smooth skin

Emirati design pioneer Khalid Shafar

p.94 A New York Minute –Aman New York

p.98 Tagomago – Experience laid-back Balearic vibes

p.100 Summer in the City –La Ville Hotel & Suites

p.102

An Appetite for Success – An interview with Founder of FIYA, Chef Hattem Mattar

p.104

Authentically Asian –An interview with Mott 32 Executive Chef Frankie Yang Tao

COMPILED BY: SARAH JOSEPH THE HERO BUYS

A Summer Adventure

Summer essentials for you to embark on your next adventure

The SS23 Karl Lagerfeld collection fuses the brand’s classic codes with Mars-inspired fantasy and an ever-growing focus on sustainable style approaches. The result is flawlessly translated into a premium assortment of smart-casual pieces that offer a sartorial escape from the everyday.

A GETAWAY

Globe-Trotter’s ‘Centenary’ carry-on suitcase is part of its limited-edition capsule commemorating its 125th anniversary. For easy maneuvering, the suitcase comes with polished gold-tone hardware and telescopic handle. The ‘Heritage Brown’ colour dates back to 1897.

Centenary 125 Leather-Trimmed

Carry-On Suitcase Dhs12,938 Globe-Trotter available at MR PORTER

Aurele Round-Frame Tortoiseshell Acetate Sunglasses Dhs1,438 Tom Ford available at MR PORTER

Garment-Dyed Cotton-Poplin Shirt Dhs725 Save Khaki United

Straight-Leg Garment Dyed Cotton Twill Chinos Dhs747 Save Khaki United

David Cross-Grain Leather and Suede Sandals Dhs1,042 Mr P.

Golf Digest Middle East’s Play & Stay is coming to Abu Dhabi Yas Island

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

Overnight stay for two at Crowne Plaza

Abu Dhabi - Yas Island

One spot in nine-hole tournament (individual stableford format) at Yas Acres

Golf & Country Club with 5pm shotgun

Welcome drink

Evening brunch for two with house beverages at Stills

Terms & conditions apply

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Breakfast for two at Jing Asia - Crowne Plaza

Abu Dhabi - Yas Island

One spot in -18hole tournament (individual stableford format) at Yas Links Abu Dhabi with 1pm shotgun

Welcome drink and prize presentation

Late-check-out and facilities use at Crowne Plaza

Abu Dhabi - Yas Island for non-playing guests

For full itinerary and to book: GolfDigestME.com/PlayAndStay

BEOSOUND A5 SPEAKER

Bang & Olufsen’s latest launch excels in design and sound in equal measure. This powerful speaker comprises of one woofer, two midranges, and one tweeter, delivering a truly immersive sound experience. It boasts an aesthetically pleasing minimal

design by the Danish-Italian design duo GamFratesi and a sleek and seamless user interface that can be controlled remotely from the app. Crafted with natural materials, it adds a laid-back Scandinavian summer feeling to any setting. Dhs5,870 in Dark Oak Bang & Olufsen

THE BOYS TOYS

All the latest gadgets to gear up for outdoor season

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

SSENSE EXCLUSIVE MAD CONTAX T2 CAMERA

Restored from a discontinued Contax T2 Camera, MAD Paris revives it in a one-of-a-kind Barrett Brown and Light Beige colourway. This compact 35mm point-and-shoot camera features func-

tions such as autofocus, aperture priority, AE selection and manual focus on dial and includes a Fujifilm Superia Premium 400 film roll with 36 exposures, enough to document summer memories – analogue style. Dhs20,197 MAD Paris available at Ssense.com

SOLARIS STELLAR HORIZON EARPHONES

A forerunner in a new generation of earphones, the Solaris Stellar Horizon ascends to a new peak of sonic performance. Cased in precision-machined brushed stainless steel with brass accents, it is immaculately built with a custom gold PVD inlay contrasted with laser-cut acrylic, delivering maximum sleek appeal with a powerful and accurate bass drive rhythm to beat. Accessories include a three-fold dimensional leather folding case in black along with timestream cables, silver-plated conductors and more. Dhs9,805 Campfire Audio

CIRRUS NO. 3 IRON STEAMER

A hybrid between an iron and steamer, Cirrus 3 from Scandinavian brand Steamery delivers high-quality steam at a steady pressure creating both a neatly pressed and natural look. This handheld

steamer features an ironing plate that heats up to the same temperature as an iron. Presented in a sleek compact design, it is ideal for travelling and a fastpaced urban lifestyle. Dhs646 Steamery, available at Mr. Porter.com

THE SUITCASE STRIPE BEACH PADDLEBALL RACQUETS

Enjoy your favourite pastime under the sun with this paddleball set from Loro Piana. Made in Italy, it features the quiet luxury brand’s Suitcase Stripes, and the lightweight racquets are expertly carved for a snug grip. Dhs4,400 Loro Piana

TRAVEL TALES

As you make your summer plans and head out to exotic or remote locations, here are the robust timepieces that travel well and can withstand a few bumps and scratches along the way

COMPILED BY: VARUN GODINHO

Chopard Alpine Eagle Cadence 8HF, chopard.com; Right: Panerai Radiomir Annual Calendar Platinumtech Experience PAM01432, panerai.com

Oris ProPilot Altimeter, oris.ch

Montblanc 1858 Geosphere

Chronograph 0 Oxygen

The 8000 Limited Edition 290, montblanc.com

Above: IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40, iwc.com; Right: Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Collection SLGC001 Tentagraph, grand-seiko.com

Bell&Ross BR-X5 Carbon Orange, bellross.com

WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

WELL GROOMED

The best grooming essentials to keep you looking slick for a summer of travel

Cedar and Citrus Lip Salve, 9ml Dhs55 Aesop; Purifying Face Mask, 75ml Dhs51 Horace; The Face Oil, 30ml Dhs642 Augustinus Bader; Silversilk™ Sleep Mask Dhs289 PMD BEAUTY available at OUNASS; Ginger Flight Therapy, 10ml Dhs106 Aesop; Leather-Trimmed Nylon Wash Bag Dhs2,914 Tom Ford; Whitening Mint Travel Toothpaste, 25ml Dhs36 MARVIS available at OUNASS; Superdefense SPF 40 Fatigue + 1st Signs of Age Multi-Correcting Gel Dhs165 Clinique; Soleil Neige Eau de Parfum, 100ml Dhs1,485 Tom Ford Beauty

The Gamechanger

We discuss manifestation, meditation, and the power of gratitude with former monk, author and coach Jay Shetty

What do the first 30 mins of your day look like/your morning routine – and how nonnegotiable are these practices? The way I see it, how I start my day is crucial to how I experience the rest of it, so I’m very intentional about it. Instead of waking up and saying, “I hope today’s going to be a great day,” we should ask ourselves, “What am I going to do today to make my day great?”

For me, my day actually starts the night before. I jot something down on a sticky note that will help me program my mind the next morning. So, if I want the day to be especially productive, I might put a quote or a mantra about productivity, positivity, presence or whatever I want the day to be about. And then when I wake up, it’s right there and I read it a few times, and really try to internalize it. My day then starts with meditation for 1.5 hours. This includes breathwork, visualization and mantra meditation. I then will hike for an hour and then have breakfast and set my intentions for the day. But I think the key concept for everyone is to not be passive about your

day, program it. Set yourself up to have the experience you want to have. When did you know you would lead a life in service of others and how did that path begin? That path for me really started when I decided to become a monk. I’d entered college thinking that I would do something in business or finance, and part way through, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go and see Gauranga Das speak. I resisted at first, but my friend talked me into it. I’m so glad I went, because that talk changed my life. As I instantly learned, Gauranga Das was incredibly intelligent and highly educated, and yet instead of focusing on making money in the corporate world, he’d chosen to become a monk. He seemed so happy with his life and so deeply satisfied – more so than any of the other accomplished and outwardly successful people I’d seen speak. As it turned out he had been to a top school in India and he could have easily gone on to have a high-paying job and experienced that kind of success, but he chose to become a monk and live a life of service. And to me, you couldn’t argue with the results –he was the happiest person I’d ever met at that point in my life. I spoke with him and eventually he invited me to come and visit the ashram where he lived. And so, I had this sort of sampling period where I alternated between doing internships in finance and visiting the ashram, and in the end I decided to become a monk.

Was meditation the big unlock for you in terms of career path and clarity? Without a doubt meditation has been a major source of clarity in my life in so many ways. At the ashram, we meditated a lot, as you’d imagine. But we didn’t just use meditation in the way that a lot of people think of, to try and clear our minds and simply be present. We used it in other ways, as well. Like, we would receive a lecture from one of our teachers on a certain topic, like uncovering our deepest fears, and then we would sit in meditation as a means of giving us space and time to really dive deeply into that exploration for ourselves. And that’s one of the reasons I really encourage people to spend time in solitude, whether it’s in meditation or quiet reflection or enjoying

beauty – that time without all of our normal distractions helps us get clear. It really enables us to deepen our understanding of ourselves – of our values and our desires and what motivates us.

What have been your biggest challenges to date both professionally and personally and how did you overcome them? I think my biggest challenges, both personal and professional, have often come when others didn’t understand or support what for me seemed like a very clear path forward. For instance, when I announced I was going to become a monk, people were like, “Jay, what are you doing?

“You’re throwing your life and your career opportunities away!” When I decided to leave the ashram to embark on this mission of making wisdom go viral, my monk teachers supported me, but they really didn’t understand my vision of sharing ancient wisdom through modern channels of communication. And when I got into the corporate world and told people how I wanted to make these videos incorporating ancient wisdom, people didn’t really understand the ancient wisdom aspect. It’s not easy feeling so certain about something and having so many people not understand it or tell you it’s not going to work. But those experiences were really valuable for me because they helped me develop a sense of when I just need to listen to and follow my own inner wisdom.

If you had to pick one, what is the best tool for combating negativity and leading a life focused on positivity? I think one of the reasons we struggle is that we think if we feel any negative feelings, that’s a bad thing. Immediately we think, “Oh, I need to switch my thinking! I need to be positive!” And so, we try to suppress those emotions. That’s not at all what mindfulness is about. It’s not about pushing anything away, it’s about letting everything flow. So, you notice a negative thought or feeling and you acknowledge it. You say, “I’m feeling really frustrated”. The trick is you don’t reinforce that feeling by going on and telling yourself a story about it. We look for all the reasons we feel that way and we start to reinforce that feeling and it gets stronger. There’s a

“WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE ACTIONS WE TAKE, AND THEN THE MOOD WE WANT TO EXPERIENCE WILL FOLLOW. IF WE LET OUR MOOD DICTATE OUR ACTIONS, WE’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE REALLY WANT IN LIFE BECAUSE WE’LL ALWAYS BE WAITING UNTIL WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT.”

Harvard neuroscientist named Jill Bolte Taylor who talks about this 90-second rule. It’s this idea that when you experience an emotion, the chemical signals of that emotion in your brain last just 90 seconds. If you can go that long without reinforcing the emotion, it can dissipate as those chemicals dissipate. So, the problem isn’t when we have negative thoughts or feelings – we all have those – the problem comes when we dwell on them. Have you always listened to your gut and when were you most grateful to be able to hear it? I think we can actually get into a lot of trouble when we listen to our gut, because when we use that phrase, what we’re often really talking about is listening to our feelings. And, you don’t want your feelings to dictate your decisions. Rich Roll, who’s an athlete and a podcaster, has a great saying, which is that “Mood follows action”. We want to be thoughtful about the actions we take, and then the mood we want to experience will follow. If we let our mood dictate our actions, we’ll never be able to do what we really want in life because we’ll always be waiting until we feel good about it. We’ll never get to the gym because we don’t feel motivated. We’ll never put in the extra work to advance our career because it doesn’t always feel pleasurable to do so. The reality is, we get positive feelings from taking positive action. So in that way, I really try to let my goals lead me rather than my gut. Gratitude is a gamechanger. How has this shown up in your life? I often talk about gratitude lists and gratitude letters, but I’ll share a totally different way that gratitude has impacted my life. A few years ago, one of my greatest teachers and mentors passed away from brain cancer. After he passed, as I was grieving and feeling that pain of his loss – which I’ll of course always feel to some extent – I started thinking about how I could honour his memory, and how I could express my gratitude for all that he taught me. What I realized was that the best way to do that was to embody and live the lessons he shared with me. And that has been such a gift. Not only has it improved the quality of my life, but it has made me

feel so much closer to him, even though he’s no longer with us. So, that’s another way we can experience and express gratitude. We can write lists and letters, and those are fantastic, but we can also live it. Do you believe in manifestation and the ability to create what you can visualize? I wouldn’t say I believe in manifestation in the way that it’s some kind of magic. But I do believe that our thoughts and the vision we set for ourselves are incredibly powerful. That if we’re clear about what we want and we pursue it with focus and determination, we truly can create those things for ourselves. Have you had any mentors on your journey and if so, what knowledge did they impart? I’ve had so many mentors on my journey who have helped me with all kinds of things. Monks who have counseled me spiritually, business leaders who’ve taught me about productivity and strategy and so on. That’s really been a huge source of my learning –looking at what others have done or seeking out advice, and I think everyone can benefit from having mentors in any area of life. I think we hear the word “mentor” and we often think only of business, but the reality is we can have all kinds of mentors. Not just work, but relationship mentors, parenting mentors, and so on. What advice would you give to your younger self? I think in a way that’s a hard question because really, I’m so content with how my life is that I don’t know that I’d change anything in my past. That doesn’t mean that I’m glad about the mistakes I made or the times when I could have made better choices, but I think if we start wishing for a life free of mistakes, we’re sort of missing the point. That material has provided so much leverage for learning in my life. Certainly, I’ve had to go back and make some apologies, as we all have things we wish we’d have done differently. And yet learning how to reach out to someone and say “I wish I’d have done better, and I’m sorry,” is really a growth experience. So maybe I’d tell my younger self, don’t worry about making mistakes, just make sure you learn from them. And also, some of the things you’ll want to do, others will tell you you’re making a mistake, but trust yourself. Lean

on what you’ve learned and know about yourself to make your choices. This is The Summer Escape Issue – what tools do you use to escape/to bring you peace? One of my favourite places to escape is into a book. I love learning, and any day when I feel like I learned something new, that’s a win for me. When it comes to peace, I’ve really gotten into the science of awe lately, and the benefit of having awe experiences – those times when you’re just overwhelmed by the beauty of a landscape or the night sky, for instance. Or you’re at a concert or a sporting game and you’re swept up by the enthusiasm of the crowd. The research shows that those experiences really enhance our sense of meaning in life. They make us feel simultaneously small and somewhat insignificant, but at the same time part of something so much bigger and so beautiful. And so these days, when I want to find peace, one of my strategies is to find ways to experience awe.

“I DO BELIEVE THAT OUR THOUGHTS AND THE VISION WE SET FOR OURSELVES ARE INCREDIBLY POWERFUL. THAT IF WE’RE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE WANT AND WE PURSUE IT WITH FOCUS AND DETERMINATION, WE TRULY CAN CREATE THOSE THINGS FOR OURSELVES.”

THE EDIT

WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

Molino Vintage D-Frame Tortoiseshell Acetate Sunglasses Dhs2,899 Jacques Marie Mage

Portofino LogoEmbossed PVC Frisbee Dhs750 Loro Piana

Grey Beosound Explore Speaker Dhs735 Bang & Olufsen

Linen T-Shirt Dhs381 Hartford

Summer’s best beachside essentials

Straight-Leg Cotton-Blend Twill Bermuda Shorts Dhs889 Canali

U.S. Road Trip Playing Cards Dhs169 RRL

Gemini Wireless Earphones Dhs719 Devialet

Trancoso Wooden Beach Bat and Ball Set Dhs1,037 Frescobol Carioca available at MR PORTER

SUMMER SHIRTS

Laid-back luxe for beach to sundowners and beyond

WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

Left: Cotton Polo Shirt Dhs1,298 Corridor; Below: Cotton Polo Shirt

Dhs1,065 Altea; Logo-Appliquéd Terry Polo Shirt Dhs534 Fear of God

Essentials available at MR PORTER; Crochet Shirt Dhs269 Zara

Right: Striped Cotton Polo Shirt Dhs765 Mr P. available at MR PORTER

Above: Open-knit Vest Dhs199 Zara; Left from top: Logo-Jacquard Silk and Cotton-Blend Polo Shirt Dhs4,383 Gucci; Nolan 6577 Ribbed Cotton-Blend Shirt Dhs726 NN07; Print Shirt Dhs199 Zara

WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

SERIOUS SHADE

Sunglasses to keep you looking cool for SS23

D-Frame Tortoiseshell Acetate Sunglasses Dhs1,076 Tom Ford

Left from top: Solis Aviator Acetate Sunglasses Dhs4,192 Akoni available at MATCHESFASHION; Aviator-Style Acetate Sunglasses Dhs1,356 Saint Laurent Eyewear; Stahl Aviator-Style Acetate Sunglasses Dhs2,190 Mr Leight; Round-Frame Acetate and Gold-Tone Sunglasses Dhs1,937 Gucci Eyewear;

Right: Swingers D-Frame Tortoiseshell Acetate Sunglasses Dhs872 CHERRY LA available at MR PORTER

Above: Aviator-Style Resin and Gold-Tone Sunglasses Dhs1,421 Fendi; Stahl Aviator-Style Acetate Sunglasses Dhs2,190 Mr Leight

THE WATCH PIONEERS

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

Perpétuel Gallery continues to lead in supporting independent boutique timekeepers – recently, bringing the likes of Fears, Havid Nagan, Lang 1943 and Seconde/Seconde/ to the fore, each with a different appeal for enthusiasts. Emirates Man sat down with its founders to discuss all the things that make them tick

When did your passion for watchmaking begin? Nicholas Bowman-Scargill: I first started to be interested in watches when I was six years old and received a watch from my parents, accompanied by a book teaching me how to tell the time. This interest developed into a passion around the age of 13 when I started to appreciate the differences between mechanical and quartz watches, as well as different designs and brands. It was at this point I started building a modest collection. From here my passion never stopped growing and it was in 2011 that I took the big step of getting my first job in the industry, as an apprentice watchmaker at Rolex in London.

Georg Bartkowiak: In the mid-1980s, when I got to High School, located in Pforzheim, Southern Germany, which is the centre of jewellery and watch manufacturing in Germany. Numerous schoolmates were kids of jewellery and watch manufacturers owners, and I got in touch with watch production for the very first time and I was simply fascinated by that, while my parents wished me to become an engineer since my father runs a construction company. However, my interest

drifted off from brick stone to ruby stone… Aren Bazerkanian: I discovered watchmaking a bit later in life relative to what is the typical story you hear from my industry peers. I began paying attention to Rolex and Patek Philippe around 19 years old but discovered the independent niche a bit later. I have been obsessed with the independents since I discovered the Franck Muller Sahara and Casablanca Havana as those were my first exposures to out-of-box watchmaking.

Romaric André: When I started sneaking in Swatch stores while my older brother kept showing me Breguet advertisements in glossy cars magazines. So let’s say at 10 years old?

How did you make this transition from having an entirely different career to building an independent watch brand? GB: Since I was always in production and creation, building full concepts for brands, it was just a logical step, driven not only by experience but rather more by heart and soul to create something “eternal” according to my very personal style, taste and expression.

AB: My first foray into the watch world was FP Journe. It is like graduating from finance

and getting a first job at Goldman Sachs. I learned everything from them. When I was hired, on the first day, I told Laurent, the brother of Francois-Paul, I will not leave this place to go work for anyone else. I will only leave when I am ready to launch my own brand. I designed and built what would become Havid Nagan and the HN00 throughout my time at Journe on my off days and at night. It was a natural progression to go from the pinnacle of an independent brand into operating and building my own the way I wanted to. To see a man, live his life expressing his passion AND building and carrying his own legacy was also a natural inspiration for me. I vowed on my first day on the job that if I was to leave this place, it would be to build and carry my own legacy forward, and not another man’s.

RA: I followed an early and deep feeling that I had which was to “start something” by myself. I failed at it and had to reckon I was probably not made for business. By slapping my face, life pushed me to focus and leverage my main thing, which is creativity. How do you balance the creative and commercial sides of the business, and do you

Previous page: Fears Brunswick; Below: Havid Nagan HN00; Right page: LANG 1943 Field Watch Edition One

feel more drawn to one than the other? NBS: This is an interesting balance and one that always requires careful consideration. As the managing director of a company employing eight people, we need to ensure that everyone is paid on time, and that applies equally to our employees and our suppliers. However, when it is your family’s business you are also needing to ensure that what you create is true to the brand and its history. Fears ran for 130 years before it closed in 1976 so I always have in the back of my mind that the decisions I take today need to be appropriate for the company still operating in another hundred years or more.

Out of the two sides I have a natural pull towards the creative side as I’m blessed with a creative mind. Most days I will come up with two to three ideas for new watches or things we can do in the business. Of course, not all of these are turned into reality but it’s certainly one of the key things that ensures that what Fears creates and does is fresh and exciting.

GB: Before, I always had to share my time for all aspects of business, commercial, PR, creation and production. With LANG 1943,

I had the good luck and destiny to work with an amazing little team in which everybody has their core experience and task. I have the big freedom to concentrate on creation and production. With this freedom, my mind and soul are so much more creative, which leads to amazing products, being detailed in every little aspect. This is the purest luxury for a creative soul!

AB: Most of the time, I feel in harmony orchestrating both aspects. I worked in real estate in my past career so the businessrelated aspect of running a company is not so foreign to me. The creative side is, of course, my favourite because it brings me peace, and fulfillment, and allows me to take the expression I have within and put it outside. It is quite satisfying, on both a cellular and existential level, to see a design drawn out on paper come to life and on your wrist as a finished watch.

RA: Creativity is basically the kid in you. Which means no constraints, no responsibilities, no priorities, no rules. That’s where I feel good and in my zone. But then, if you’re not connected with the real world, creativity starts to feel useless and almost

like a waste of time and energy. I’ve always had this feeling that going outside of my comfort zone was the price to pay to ensure I could regularly go back to my comfort and satisfying zone. Brainstorming alone and finding an idea still gives me an adrenaline rush. That’s still crazy to me how excited I get each time I “find” something. How does the watch space differ in the Middle East compared to other regions? NBS: As someone who is very lucky to travel around the world for my work, the one thing that I have taken from this is that no two regions are the same.

My impression of the watch space in the Middle East is that it is filled with incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable people who have a clear understanding of what they like and want to own. One of the key things that set it apart from other regions is the openness that collectors and enthusiasts have to new, young brands. It’s wonderful to see this excitement for discovery.

GB: The Middle East collectors and consumers are more open to new brands and trends, simultaneously they have a higher budget than average. They have a young

and curious mind to explore new brands.

AB: I have many collectors and friends who are from the region who tell me about the collective attitude and interests in the region. To me, it seems the collectors here are more open to creative and unique independents before the market has already discovered them. They want to share upand-coming creators and are willing to take the leap of faith in supporting emerging brands on the scene.

RA: I don’t really know and I don’t really want to know. I’m quite selfish and I’m searching and looking for what excites me first! Hence, I’m not good at analyzing the differences between territories. What have been the overarching narratives in watch design over the past few years and how does this year’s crop fit in? GB: The biggest impact was the downsizing from 44mm and more to 40mm and below. Furthermore, we can recognize younger and fresh, sometimes comic-like design styles caused by the younger watch enthusiasts. In fact, both had some influence on our brand, such as our 39mm watch case size and a collaboration with hyper-creative Romaric aka Seconde/Seconde/, which has been highly welcomed in the previews.

AB: In terms of design, we all know the stainless-steel sports watch craze and the dive watch derivatives. That craze, although it is not completely gone, has begun to fade away and now collectors, from all regions, are beginning to shift towards watches that are more unique. This has given a path to new creators with new ideas to present themselves and their watch counterparts.

In terms of the practices common in the industry, the demand and waitlists continue to push bigger brands to implement strategies that are meant to leverage and maximize profits over actual collectorship. This was “acceptable” when the rush of demand was newfound; now these strategies have turned off the real collectors and they have begun to venture out into the peripheries of watch collecting, namely into the independent and niche brands. So, for the real collectors, I ask are we ultimately glad these strategies were implemented given they have led us to what we now so vehemently celebrate as independent watch brands?

Is there pressure in scaling the number of quantities you manufacture? NBS: Over the past seven years as Fears has transitioned from a microbrand into a small independent there has been an increased pressure on our production, making more and more watches each year. Since 2016, when I reestablished the company I have been focused on ensuring that the Fears’ catalogue is kept tight with no piece being in the core collection that doesn’t stand on its own.

Our focus is to increase the overall number of watches we manufacture of the current models while at the same time introducing a select few new pieces each year. This way we are able to continue moving the Fears story forward while at the same time ensuring that we still devote care and attention to everything we create.

GB: I do not feel any pressure about that. Since we have the treasure of owning a huge stock of mechanical movements built in the heydays of mechanical watchmaking, our strategy is totally different. We have our schedules and quantities adapted to the availability of qualified watchmaker manpower.

AB: Not for someone like me or my brand. The intent behind Havid Nagan is for it to cultivate a genuine, sincere, and passionate group of collectors. By virtue of those characteristics and the fact that Havid Nagan is such a new brand, the group of prospective collectors is small, relative to the size of the big brands. The brand is not meant to be a vehicle for my capitalistic endeavours; it’s merely a medium through which I express my vision for what the perfect watch is. It is rather a selfish endeavour and one I hope connects with other collectors as my goal is to share my passion with others. That is not to say that’s how things will always be done at Havid Nagan but for the time being, we work with what we have.

Which is the most pioneering piece you've created to date? NBS: Fears is in a lucky

position having created several pieces that put the brand in the spotlight from our solid Platinum watch in 2021, only four years after the re-launch of the company, through to our collaboration with fellow British brand Garrick, resulting in a truly spectacular hand-made and finished watch.

If I had to pick one piece as our most pioneering Fears watch it would be the Fears Christopher Ward: Alliance 01 that we launched at the start of this year. The Alliance 01 jumping hour was so much more than just a new Fears. It featured a rare jumping hour movement where the hours are displayed in a round window at 12 o’clock while the minutes are shown in a more traditional manner with a hand in the centre of the dial. This watch was developed and made with a fellow British watch brand, Christopher Ward, to highlight British watchmaking around the world. I’m pleased to say the 50 pieces we made sold out in just a few minutes and are now being enjoyed by their owners around the world! AB: Considering I’ve only brought one watch to the market for now, it would be the HN00. The case design will always stay consistent throughout each model introduced but the dial layouts and complications will be starkly different moving forward. That being said, I am nearing the final stages of development for my next creation, the HN01 Lucine. It will be a thinner watch, more complicated, and will feature elevated finishing. As I release each model, my intent is to create more complex and intricate models for two reasons; the designs I have in mind are more complex and the collector base I have garnered is high-calibre. This has given me the creative opportunity to truly “flex” within my design parameters. RA: I haven’t yet. By playing on watches already made, by twisting them, I am kind of deconstructing them. I’m working on an “already created” material by essence. I’ll consider myself as “pioneering” the day I’ll make a watch myself from scratch!

“ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT SET IT APART FROM OTHER REGIONS IS THE OPENNESS THAT COLLECTORS AND ENTHUSIASTS HAVE TO NEW, YOUNG BRANDS. IT’S WONDERFUL TO SEE THIS EXCITEMENT FOR DISCOVERY.”

– Nicholas Bowman-Scargill

THE MECHANICS

WORDS: VARUN GODINHO

OF TIME

Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith, is reimagining the watchmaker’s existing collection and completely overhauling its global distribution strategy

Both pages: Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback

Disobedience is central to Zenith. In fact, it is in many ways what saved the brand. Back in the 1970s when employees at Zenith were told that they were to destroy or sell all the tools, components and machines used to make the El Primero mechanical movement, one of them –Charles Vermot – disobeyed. He hid all the vital components in an attic in the watchmaker’s manufacture in Le Locle, along with detailed notes on how to reassemble the machines. A decade later when the brand decided to revive the El Primero – a robust automatic chronograph movement – it was Vermot’s hidden stash that the company fell back on to revive the calibre.

Today, the brand is based out of that same manufacture in Le Locle in Switzerland – which also happens to be the very same manufacture where it all began for the watchmaker in 1865. The El Primero is still the hero calibre for Zenith. Last year it debuted a rose gold Chronomaster Sport with an El Primero 3600 movement that is accurate to 1/10th of a second. This year, at the LVMH Watch Week, Zenith turned its attention to its Defy collection. It rolled out the new Defy Extreme Glacier, Defy Skyline and Defy Skyline Skeleton. “The Defy is a key collection for us, after the Chronomaster. It started with the Defy 21 which had a chronograph that was accurate up to 1/100th of a second. Now, we have the Defy Extreme, the Defy Skyline and the Defy Skeleton which are very much an expression of modern watchmaking,” says Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith.

Tornare took over as CEO of the brand in 2017 and has since then been streamlining its production and operations. He has nearly halved the number of references to 110 from around 200 that were in the collection at the time he started with Zenith six years ago. The design aesthetic of the watches has also been repositioned to be mostly forward-looking, rather than one that is stuck in a draining vortex of nostalgia. “If people want vintage [design], they buy vintage watches. If people want classic [design], they buy

classic watches. But most people today want to buy a 21st-century watch. They don’t want to buy a watch that their father or grandfather would wear, but one that belongs to the current day. Zenith expresses that 21st-century modern, contemporary and dynamic [design],” notes Tornare. That 21st-century design is very much reflected in the new Zenith Pilot collection that was launched at Watches and Wonders in March. Today, Zenith is the only watchmaker in the world that is allowed to use the word ‘Pilot’ on the dial. “Our founders, Georges-Favre Jacot, patented the word in French in 1888, and in English in 1904. Since then, the patent has been renewed and the word Pilot [on the dial] can only be used by Zenith.

“Pilot has been a very important line for us. We’ve formerly had a vintage look to it, but we now have a much more contemporary watch. From a technical point of view, we have an instantaneous big date which updates very quickly,” says Tornare. The Pilot Big Date Flyback watch revealed at Watches and Wonders has an automatic El Primero 3652 column-wheel chronograph calibre where the date change jumps in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it 0.007 seconds. The 42.5mm timepiece comes in options of either a classic stainless steel or a slick black ceramic case version.

Tornare explains that the positioning of the brand’s pilot watches is adventure, rather than combat. It did not want the watches to be a nod to fighter jets or even commercial aeroplanes. “[Our pilot’s watches] are more about the emotion and the sense of adventure. If you think about Louis Blériot, when he crossed the English Channel with a Zenith watch, it was about a sense of adventure more than anything else,” says Tornare of the aviation pioneer who was the first to successfully fly across the Channel back

“PILOT HAS BEEN A VERY IMPORTANT LINE FOR US. WE’VE FORMERLY HAD A VINTAGE LOOK TO IT, BUT WE NOW HAVE A MUCH MORE CONTEMPORARY WATCH.”

in 1909. The current range of pilot watches recently released at Watches and Wonders are not limited editions, but the CEO sheds light on what to expect from the collection. “We already have plans for a limited-edition and also plans to introduce some complications to the Pilot’s watches that are linked to the world of aviation. For now, we have a big date and flyback mechanism, but you can imagine a split seconds, dual time, and world time making its way to the collection one day. We’re not going to put functions that aren’t relevant to aviation such as tourbillons or minute repeaters [in the Pilot’s collection] as those won’t make sense.”

Zenith currently produces around 24,00025,000 watches annually. All Zenith watches are not only purely mechanical pieces, but they also make use of only in-house Zenith-produced movements. “If I want to produce more [watches], I need to get more spare parts and I need to get more watchmakers on board to raise the production levels – and this is not easy. If we grow [our production numbers] by 10-12 per cent in a year, it will be enough. At some point though, there will be a ceiling. I don’t know where that ceiling would be, but there is always a ceiling if you want to maintain the same levels of quality.”

Here, in the Middle East, Zenith has been pushing forward with opening its own boutiques. It took over the management of its boutique at Dubai Mall – where we met Tornare for this interview – and he says that there are plans for another boutique in the UAE. It also formally opened its boutique in Riyadh

this year. “In Qatar and Kuwait, we have partners, but we don’t have our own boutiques there. But one day, we will. We have many requests coming in for boutiques, but I cannot go too fast. I cannot do too many boutiques at the same time and in the same region since we’re also receiving requests from Europe, America and Asia. When I came on board, we had only around five boutiques worldwide, today we have 35. Also, at the time I joined Zenith, we had mostly wholesale across 850 doors worldwide. We would have shrunk down that number to 550 by the end of this year to give our existing partners more watches and an increased market share.”

As part of the LVMH Group, Zenith’s siblings include TAG Heuer, Bulgari and Hublot – each of which has extensively developed their individual watchmaking capabilities. “We collaborate and we share information, but each brand at LVMH has a lot of independence and has to work for itself, with its own set of strategies. We are friends, but we are also competitors and that’s something I believe is very positive,” observes Tornare.

As Tornare defines the evolution of the brand, he’s also opening up new frontiers for it. The watchmaker became the founding partner and official timekeeper of Extreme E, the all-electric SUV race. “Car and watch brands have always been partnering with each other. But I didn’t want to do another regular car-watch deal. I wanted to find different angles. That’s what we found with Extreme E. We go to extreme locations in Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Iceland, and Senegal where the teams undertake races in extreme conditions – so it’s a fantastic concept.”

Another front that Tornare is driving is Zenith’s e-commerce model. Pre-Covid, it didn’t have any of its own e-commerce operations. Today, e-commerce accounts for approximately 5-6 per cent of its global business and the aim is to further scale that figure. Another strategy that Tornare is pushing ahead with is to ensure the authenticity of its watches in the vintage market. The Zenith Icons project is one such endeavour where Zenith restores specific vintage watches that are important from its history such as the A386 that had El Primero movements from the calibre’s birth year of 1969, or the A384 from 1971 and the A385 from the following year. “When you buy vintage watches, you never really know if it’s the real one or if it’s functioning well or even the actual maintenance history of the watch. What we do with the Zenith Icons programme is that we work on buying back certain iconic watches from our history from the secondary market, restore them, add our certification of authenticity to it and sell it with a three-year warranty.”

Tornare reveals that after having focused on its Defy, Chronomaster and Pilot collection over the last few months, it is the watchmaker’s Elite collection which will be the next to be overhauled. “It’s very important for us to get more people to understand what the brand is all about. We don’t want to be show-offs – we don’t want to use the red-carpet effect. Zenith is discreet, it is serious.” And he might as well add another qualifier that has long served it well: disobedient.

This page: (fromtop) Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton; Zenith Pilot Automatic; Zenith Defy Skyline 36

AHEAD OF THE PACK

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

THE PRO PACKER

In choosing the right luggage, there are many things to take into consideration. First, what could fit all your essentials without weighing you down. If travelling with a carry-on, you want it to be lightweight and roomy at the same time. You also want to rely on a brand backed by a reputable history of making specialised travel bags for professionals. The RIMOWA Pilot, first released in 1994, has been and is still a widely desired travel companion for discerning flyers. “Taking its roots from the world of aviation, the Pilot Case became a staple

piece for travelling professionals from a wide array of industries,” shares Emelie De Vitis, RIMOWA Senior Vice President of Product & Marketing. Characterised by its signature hard-sided aluminium exterior, it opens from the top like a classic pilot bag and later featured an interior outfitted with convenient pockets, laptop sleeve, and removable dividers. Inside, an adjustable interior gives its owner the freedom to decide how it best suits their needs. There are pockets of multiple sizes to keep essentials organised, from two zipped pockets intended to hold batteries and chargers, to

a vertical pocket designed for a small water bottle or umbrella. Emelie De Vitis adds, “The beauty of RIMOWA suitcases at every stage, is that they are treasured and loved companions that have real and meaningful lifetime memories attached to them”.

THE SPACE SAVERS

Travel accessories can make packing easier. For longer trips with multiple destinations over the summer, packing cubes are the way to go. The Maison’s Essential collection has been reimagined this season in two new contrasting hues: Petal and Cedar. This update features a newly refreshed interior with a zipped compartment and adjustable dividers with a patented compression system allowing travellers to pack more while keeping them in order. How you arrange your belongings in your suitcase is a matter of personal preference, with popular strategies including rolling your clothes to maximise space and minimise wrinkles; bundling them altogether; or utilising packing cubes to sort essentials by category and keep them compact. Its mesh top panel allows you to see the contents at a glance.

THE SMOOTH MANOEUVRE

When time is of the essence, RIMOWA’s collection of suitcases is supported by a pioneering multi-wheel system to easily manoeuvre around, from short-haul travels to even daily commutes, allowing for a premium and hassle-free experience.

RIMOWA continues to pioneer in the world of travel, continuously crafting the highest standard of tools for frequent travellers. Emirates Man unpacks with Emelie De Vitis, RIMOWA Senior Vice President of Product & Marketing, on what makes the German Maison the leader of the pack

The best luggage for your summer getaways IN TRANSIT

COMPILED BY: CAMILLE MACAWILI

Left page: Original Pilot Dhs5,390 Rimowa; This page: (fromtop) Centenary Leather-Trimmed Carry-On Suitcase Dhs6,874 Globe-Trotter, available MR PORTER; Le Raphia ‘Le Cuerda Horizontal’ Bag Dhs2,405 Jacquemus; Technical Holdall Bag Dhs4,649 Zegna, available at FARFETCH; Country Weekender Bag Dhs15,300 Brunello Cucinelli; Le Monogramme 48H Leather-Trimmed Coated-Canvas Duffle Bag Dhs9,080 Saint Laurent; Evoluzione Leather Weekend Bag Dhs5,577 Serapian, available at MR PORTER; Trunk Plus Dhs5,090 Rimowa

The Summer Escape

From the South of France to Ibiza and Capri, six tastemakers share their summer plans and packing essentials

COMPILED BY: CAMILLE MACAWILI

JOEY GHAZAL

Restaurateur – Ibiza, Spain

“This summer we’re opening The Maine Ibiza in June, taking over a carefully restored 18th-century finca by the small church of Sant Francesc de S’Estany, located by the picturesque salt flats of Salinas, a UNESCO world heritage site, en route to the famous Es Cubells and Platja des Cavallet, and moments from the legendary DC-10 nightclub. I have been coming to Ibiza since 2000 so I have definitely seen the island change over the years and I myself have also evolved

in my tastes of music, nightlife and experiences. In my 20s I was only concerned with partying and now I am more content with a long lunch at Jondal or a drive up to an agro tourismo to have some farm-to-table fare. I am especially looking forward to hosting friends from all over the world at the new restaurant, which is sure to be a hot spot.”

WHAT TO PACK

Sheer Linen Henley Dhs1,368 Commas; Linen Pants

Dhs2,079 Commas; 1394 Aviator-Style Acetate Sunglasses

Dhs1,623 Cutler and Gross available at MR. PORTER; Rubber Slides Dhs1,750 Bottega Veneta

MOHAMMED AQRA

Chief Strategy Officer, Arab Fashion Council –Mauritius East Africa

“Going to Lux Grand Gaube in Mauritius is going to be a fantastic experience. I planned the Northern Lagoon Boating Adventure in my itinerary to explore the hidden gems of the sea life of this paradise island in the middle of the Indian Ocean between South Africa and Australia. I also heard that INTI Mauritius is to die for, for its Peruvian culinary experience, so it’s pre-booked in my itinerary for an evening dinner treat. There is a unique experience called the Hug Me Honey, where you visit the bee hives and try all locally made honey from the resort! And to top it off, late dinner with a honey-based cuisine at Le Tastevin. Chic, and excited about this one!”

WHAT TO PACK

Octagon 1972 Gradient Sunglasses Dhs680 Ray-Ban; Printed Swim Shorts Dhs1,566 Loewe; Fussbett Leather Slides Dhs2,850 Marni; Sun Drops SPF50 30ml Dhs572 Dr. Barbara Sturm

RAMI AL ALI Fashion Designer - South of France

“As a nature enthusiast, I gravitate towards small towns and the countryside, finding solace in their serene charm. Rather than hotels, I prefer renting properties and immersing myself in the local ambiance. Exploring farmers’ markets, cooking with

SHAWN STEPHENS

Founder of Stephen PR – Capri, Italy

“Capri is where I plan to head this summer for its breathtaking natural vistas, immaculately manicured gardens, and spectacular secluded hiking trails – with enough upmarket shopping and dining opportunities across the island. Its extraordinary beauty is best appreciated from sea level and I cannot wait for a sailing adventure.”

local ingredients, and uncovering hidden restaurants are my foodie passions. When selecting destinations, I prioritize stunning landscapes, nature, and delightful weather, and Biot in South France is a perfect summer destination. Travel is about connecting with beautiful surroundings and indulging in authentic experiences.”

WHAT TO PACK

Aviator-style Horn Sunglasses

Dhs2,736 Tom Ford; Zebra Print Swim

Shorts Dhs2,084 Tom Ford; Nacho

Suede Espadrilles Dhs641 Castañer; REPASKIN Light Fluid Body SPF30 Dhs121 Sesderma

WHAT TO PACK

Phantom 1 Wireless Speaker Dhs9,145 Devialet; Classic Linen Shirt Dhs2,100 Brunello Cucinelli, available at OUNASS; Embroidered-logo Canvas Espadrilles Dhs2,315 Saint Laurent

MUSTAFA ABBAS

Filmmaker – Turkey

“I’ll be going to Turkey this summer which is exciting and different for me. I’ve only been there once previously so I’m looking forward to exploring the country and culture – its diversity and authenticity.”

WHAT TO PACK

Crew Neck Jumper

Dhs3,700 Louis Vuitton; Straight Fit Cotton Shorts Dhs1,900 Brunello Cucinelli available at OUNASS; Logo Leather Sneakers Dhs4,100 Prada available at OUNASS

JUSTIN JOSEPH

Co-Founder of Project Chaiwala – Thailand

“I’ll be travelling to Thailand for a fitness holiday to train for Muay Thai, jiujitsu and relax by the beach.”

WHAT TO PACK

Cotton T-Shirt Dhs399 CDLP available at MR. PORTER; O’Malley Sun RoundFrame Tortoiseshell Acetate Sunglasses

Dhs1,497 Oliver Peoples; Crimson Cotton-Jersey Shorts Dhs675 John Elliott; Panelled Low Top Sneakers

Dhs1,744 Acne Studios available at FARFETCH

Leading Man

Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger discusses leadership, taking a customer-centric approach to strategy and innovation in ecommerce

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? I usually get up without the alarm – the excitement of the day naturally wakes me up. I’m lucky that I look forward to each day. I’m not a breakfast person so I usually just have one single or double espresso. That’s it. Then the first thing I do is go online to check my emails and see what the numbers in the business are doing. As Mytheresa is a global business – we have offices in Germany, Shanghai and New York – so we are always on in that sense. If I’m in Munich, I’m in the office by eight o’clock.

How has Mytheresa evolved since it launched in 2006 and what has been the biggest change? On the first day, they shipped three packages and now we ship thousands a day. So, it’s a completely different company now. Back then it was a very German,

European-focused business, we started as a small player but then we started to become much more international. Today, I think it is fair to say we are now the leader in luxury online. Every phase has changed within the company because as you grow bigger, you need infrastructure and processes, and you get a lot of new people with new ways of thinking. I started in 2014 and at that time, 4% of personal luxury transactions were online and now we are at 25%, so it’s not only the company that has changed, the whole world has changed – luxury has changed. Pop culture embraced luxury, so you see younger people wear luxury. Now it’s everywhere. This was unthinkable back then. What is the VIP experience like at Mytheresa and how do you personalise this? The most fundamental layer as a VIP is you get priority in customer service, shipping, and exclu-

sive access to discounts. Those who fall in the next tier are offered personal shoppers. Then there’s another level that comes with privileges – we invite our clients to intimate events or fashion shows. In the end, it is not about money, it’s about what money-can’tbuy type of experiences.

Do you see buying trends or habits on a global scale with clients and how is this similar or different with Middle Eastern clients? I think we are clearly in moment where fashion is more timeless. You see this at Loro Piana, it’s all more timeless fabrication. In the Middle East interestingly enough, The Row, Loewe, Loro Piana are all the top brands in the region. I think there is an appreciation here for the highest quality of material. There is also a high need for elevated dressing for all the fantastic events, but the region also loves a comfortable style – so it’s really a combination but no compromise on quality. Of course, accessories and jewellery are over-indexing. Mytheresa also offers luxury kidswear, and this has doubled its size in this region.

What is your approach to leadership and how do you ensure these values filter down through the different departments that you oversee? The most important thing a leader has to do is to give a sense of direction –and this is not about where people want to go. You need to set direction and once it is defined, that is when you need to trust your people that they will find a way to reach the goal. Direction is so important, and it should not only be the top 20 people that know that. Many meetings could be shorter because you are all working towards the same goal. I think my personal style to be an effective leader is you need to know the details, but you don’t need to manage it. I don’t believe you can manage everything. I have always appreciated leaders that actually know what the business is about or have grown through the ranks.

How do you ensure each touchpoint is focused on client engagement and retention? Again, it’s a clear direction setting. There are debates, “Are we a fashion company? Are we a technology company? Are we an operations company?” If someone has a great idea, we ask “What’s in for the customer?” You need to explain it from the customer’s perspective. If the customer has an advantage, then it’s innovation. If not, I mean, there are so many great ideas and so, you need to instill this, “can we measure customer success? Can we explain

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

customer success?” And I think we are good at not making it too complicated. How do we continue to innovate in tech and not get left behind? The customers will tell you. A lot of the things we have introduced into the company over the last eight years were actually ideas from customers. There have been companies that invented something and then started to look for a customer for it. Our mindset is the other way around. Mytheresa has reported profitable growth in 2022. In a volatile market, how do you ensure Mytheresa is continually set up for success? The world is volatile indeed and so in a situation like that, you need to be agile and flexible. It’s not easy because people generally prefer certainty, they like to know exactly what will happen next year. Surprisingly, even the CEO does not know what happens next year. It’s an unfortunate truth, but we deal with it constructively. You need to be flexible in your business –your budgets and goals. All we can do is continue to have a high ranking in customer satisfaction. If customer satisfaction slips, even if the profits are up, you know a problem is coming. So, we work hard to stay as good as we can with customers.

How do you support new and emerging brands? We’re constantly looking for newness however we are not the perfect platform for emerging talents. We are very curated and have only 250 brands. We try to be behind talents, who are not complete unknowns, but we believe will have a great future and a global appeal.

What have been the biggest hurdles and achievements to date? The biggest challenge of working in a growing company is you constantly have to destroy things in order to build new ones. You always want to be six months ahead of your business in an ideal world. That can be painful as most people don’t like change or don’t want to go to the next level but this is when you learn and grow so much.

What advice would you give to your younger self? Everything today is either black or white – and I think the answer is never black and white. It’s always grey. The answer is more nuanced and calibrated. When people tell you everything is perfect, don’t believe them. It’s never perfect. We tend to be now in an age where it’s either nothing or everything. Not true. You must accept the world is multifaceted.

IMAGES: DOLCE&GABBANA

x MYTHERESA; PORTRAIT BY RODERICK AICHINGER

“A LOT OF THE THINGS WE HAVE INTRODUCED INTO THE COMPANY OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS WERE ACTUALLY IDEAS FROM CUSTOMERS.”

PHOTOGRAPHY:

AHMED ABDELWAHAB WORDS & CREATIVE DIRECTION: CAMILLE MACAWILI

TIME FOR SUMMER

RAY-BAN REIMAGINES ITS ICONIC STYLES TO KEEP YOU LOOKING COOL FOR SS23

Previous pages: (left) Mega Wayfarer; (right) Mega Clubmaster; This page: (fromleft) Mega Wayfarer Optical, Mega Clubmaster, Mega Wayfarer; Right page: Mega Wayfarer

GROOMING: MELANIE MEYER AT MMG; MODEL: COLIN DA LUZ AT MMG; ALL STYLING WITH THANKS TO BLOOMINGDALE’S MIDDLE EAST

THE

ITALIAN

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

Loro Piana delivers elegant ease the Italian way for summer

WAY

On-Screen Style

Lebanese celebrity stylist Cedric Haddad is making a name for himself in the industry. He shares with Emirates Man the moments he feels proudest when he can uplift and inspire, his love for red-carpet, and navigating the daunting task of packing for summer

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? Actually, it takes me two hours to start my day – one Americano for each. The first thing I do is to check my phone and reply to all the messages received especially from celebrities sent after midnight. Then I scroll over social media to stay updated. I take my shower, wear my black outfit, and am ready to kick off a crazy day. What age were you when you first knew you had a strong sense for the aesthetic? Five years old! When I found myself in conversations about fashion and style with family members and friends. I used to give my opinion with full selfconfidence on my mom’s looks and I never forgot what everyone around me used to wear. How did you start your own business and what was the signal that it was the right time? It all started as a hobby – I didn’t know you could create a career out of it at that time. When I was doing my masters, I remember I was 20 years old when I was requested to send over some of my personal looks for a shoot and I was surprised to see my clothes on international models on the billboards. When I got asked to style my first shoot, I was nervous since I had never officially done it. However, I always remember what the producer told me at that time: “Cedric, take it… The ones who are doing it are not better than you.” Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what knowledge did they impart? I learned it the hard way. Twelve years ago styling was not a common job and my dad who is an engineer once asked me: “Are you sure you want to dress people? Is this really what you want?”. My biggest challenge was to prove that yes this is what I

want and once you do it right the sky is the limit. What excites you about the fashion industry in the UAE and the Middle East region? The Arab woman! She has come a very long way and proved to be a style icon to many – and what makes it more exciting is the rise of exclusive collections being dedicatedly made especially for the Middle East. How has your signature style evolved over the years? My ultimate pleasure is for people to know I am behind this look without seeing my name. That’s how #StyledByCed was created: I describe it as timeless, elegant, and strong. I love it when someone sees his or her picture ten years from now and still be able to say “I love myself”. You have both male and female clients – what key pieces do you suggest they each have in their wardrobe? I always advise women to invest in: a little black dress, white poplin 100% cotton shirt, a black tailored blazer, basic straight-leg blue denim, one pair of black straight-leg pants, and black and nude pumps. For men, it would be a formal tailored suit, shirt, semi-formal blazer, a pair of white sneakers and black loafers. What is your advice for packing for multiple locations over the summer? Do not overpack. It’s all about mix and match. Understand the functionality of each garment packed where one piece can be styled in multiple ways so you can use it and abuse it. One important tip is folding – the better you do it, the more space you’ll have. Always remember that you are going to shop wherever you are so make sure to keep space for that. This is The Summer Escape Issue – where will you be escaping to this summer? So far away! On an island where no one can find me.

THE SUMMER

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

PROGRAMME

LOEWE SS23 – WHERE

The Journey

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

Fast moves and cool craftsmanship at Santoni for SS23

ALL AVAILABLE AT SANTONI

SUMMER SCENTS

Signature fragrances for a fun-filled summer

Vétiver D’Hiver 100ml for Dhs830 Armani/Privé;

Santal Calling Eau de Parfum 100ml for Dhs1,337

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Spray 50ml for Dhs1,019

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COMPILED BY: SARAH JOSEPH

Scaling Scent

Maison Francis Kurkdjian CEO and Co-Founder, Marc Chaya, discusses scaling a global brand successfully and how important skin is to fragrance

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? Well, I’m a happy dog owner. I have a Frenchie, and the first 30 minutes of my morning is taking my Frenchie, Cherry, out for a walk. The first 30 minutes is my ‘me time’, having my coffee, going through the news, scheduling my day, and finishing up by feeding my dog. How did your previous roles support you being able to launch MFK and how did you know it was the right time? So previously, I was a partner with Ernst & Young and I was dealing with multiple fields: business, finance, management, marketing, and leadership. I was managing several teams internationally in my role as EY’s global telecommunications markets leader. My experience at EY allowed me to learn a lot about the way you should structure the company financially. It also allowed me to acquire strategic thinking and taught me how to lead people towards a common goal. This was invaluable, but there was a life for me before EY, when I go back to the little boy I was, and my childhood. I have a very strong creative impulse, and I’m lucky that I have these two aspects that coexist: very strong creativity and obviously the now-proven business acumen. I felt that it was the right time for me to move to the next page – which has become the page of my life – Maison Francis Kurkdjian, when I met Francis Kurkdjian. When I met Francis, I discovered how unfair it was that a full category of amazingly creative people were deprived from their ability to exist on their own. When do you decide to get married? You meet someone, you date, and eventually, one day you decide. Life is not about sudden moves or sudden decisions. For me, life is a journey. At some stage, when you know, you know, as they say. I knew it was the right time and I decided to start the journey. At Maison Kurkdjian, I use my business skills – the ones that I acquired at EY – and I use my creativity alongside Francis’s creativity to drive the story. How challenging was the process of refining the fragrances themselves, and did you follow your intuition with this? It was easy for us, because when it comes to creating the scent, there is one person: Francis, and he is a perfumer. That’s also what makes our partnership unique. He gives me the entire freedom and ability to drive the business, and I give him the entire freedom and ability to come up with the ideas that will eventually become scents. And then we talk together. When I have a good business idea and I run it by him, it becomes an amazing business idea. And when he has a story about a scent or an impression or an intuition and we talk about it together, it helps him take it to the next level. But when it comes to creating our perfumes, we are not conceptually marketing driven. We are creativity driven. Francis has an idea, an encounter, a travel: something that inspires him or makes him smile, and suddenly, he feels

the urge to start making it happen; creating the scent that would embody or make his impression come to life. It’s a journey where he needs a name to start the creation. For example, for Grand Soir, we were in New York, the two of us, and we were talking about ‘the grand evening’ in Paris. He said he loves the idea of Paris being a 24/7 city, imagining a beautiful party walking down the streets of Paris having a great evening – and here came the name Grand Soir. Waking up and going out in Paris in the morning is amazing because Paris is also waking up. The sun is amazing, caressing the streets and the buildings. You hear noises, people are starting to go to work, to go to the market. The boulangeries are open. You smell coffee at the cafes. He was inspired by a story about Paris in the morning, and so came the name Petit Matin, the counterpart of Grand Soir. The names, Petit Matin, Grand Soir, helped him create the scents. In our Maison, the creative process is free. It all comes from Francis. Then, it becomes a dialogue between the two of us. But we do not fabricate stories. We have no concepts. It’s all genuinely generated by his creative genius. The bottles are stunning. Did you envision the aesthetics of the brand from the outset? We started the brand from scratch. It was very important for us to host our perfumes, Francis’ creations, in a beautiful flacon. Francis had a few ideas, I was listening to him, but we really wanted an object that would be elegant, beautiful, and timeless, but would not come across as the star. A lot of marketing driven concepts need a wow factor in the bottle, in the design of the shop, in the marketing. For us, the brand had to be beautiful but timeless, and the real star was the perfume that sits in the bottle. The bottle was designed by a friend of ours who is a really talented creative director – his name is Fred Rawlyer.

Fred came to us with this little bottle, and then he improved on it – he added our little logo, the monogram, and added a Japanese style stand. He helped us get the angles of the bottle sharper so that the light goes through the bottle in a very beautiful fashion.

It was actually Francis who came up with the stopper. The stopper was supposed to be round. And then Francis said to me, “I want to put a square on top of the round”. I was like, “What are you talking about?” It’s beautiful. He was right. Everything, it came together. And as you see, all of our flacons are boasting the same type of bottles. We have three sizes. But for us, the most important thing was, again, to have an object that was elegant, that captured light, that was expressive, but that did not overtake the story.

The story is what goes inside the bottle. And that’s what we celebrate. The identity is inspired from Paris. We live in a city that gives us goosebumps. We travel a lot. And whenever you go to Paris and you’re by the Seine river, you realize it’s a stunning city. Our flacons are in zinc, the same as the rooftops of Paris. The zinc is a tribute to the rooftops of Paris. Zinc is a living material. We have stoppers in zinc and stoppers in gold – as in the gold domes of the Monument.

During the creative process, we started naturally going to Paris. Eventually, Paris became our only, or our biggest, source of inspiration. Some brands are Italian and they find inspiration in Rome. Some find inspiration in fashion. We find our inspiration in two things, Paris, and the freedom to be who you want to be through our fragrance water.

How important is skin compatibility in how long a fragrance lasts on the skin? Your skin interacts with the scent and some people will have different interactions, based on their skin and the scent. However, you’ll find that 80% of us will carry the scent in a very similar fashion. There’s a lot of effort that is put behind creating a scent. The story is about first coming up with the inspiration, creating the scent that reflects the inspiration, but then working the chemistry so that the scent is stabilized, that it diffuses, that it has a sillage. And Francis is the king of sillage. When you wear Grand Soir or Baccarat Rouge or Oud Satin and you enter the room, your aura is in the room, and that’s technique. This is not given to everyone. It is like a couturier – why is this gown so amazing? Why do we consider that this gown is perfect? It’s technique that combines, that adds to the genius of creativity to create a masterpiece. It is a big part of our work to make a masterpiece on your skin and to give it longevity.

Have you had to get comfortable in your own skin as a business owner and how has how you view yourself changed? A lot. To be an entrepreneur and to go on a journey of building something while embarking other people alongside you, requires deeper knowledge of yourself, because it’s not linear, it’s hard. I’ve learned a great deal about myself, about others, and I think I’ve worked very hard to learn and improve. I don’t think you can be successful, I don’t think you can lead and inspire unless you have a great level of respect for yourself and some kind of knowledge and self-love so that you can then give it all to others. I’ve done a lot of that.

How many people are in your team now and did you start out alone? A lot. It’s about 150 people in France. Another 40 people in the US, excluding our retail team – that would be in the hundreds. We’ve just created a subsidiary in the UK where we have about 50 people. We have people in China, about 15. We have about six to seven people in Hong Kong. This makes me really proud, to see that there is no ‘I’ in team. There’s ‘we’; we are a people-first company. We say that Maison Francis Kurkdjian is a human adventure. The hero in this adventure is perfume, but it’s a human adventure. And I’m a very proud CEO and co-founder to have the chance to have so many skilled and talented teams around us.

It’s interesting – it’s a testament to the brand that it’s global. It’s not just per region. Yes, we’re in 52 countries.

How do you approach scaling without compromising on quality? You should never compromise on quality, and you should never consider scale as the end game. Scale is the result of time. Mm-hmm. It took us 15 years to open 800

“IN THE FRAGRANCE INDUSTRY, WHEN YOU GO TO BUY PERFUME, YOU’RE BUYING INTO A MARKETING CONCEPT. WHEN YOU COME TO US, YOU’RE BUYING FRAGRANCE THAT IS CREATED BY ONE OF THE GREATEST PERFUMERS OF OUR TIME.”

“WE FIND OUR INSPIRATION IN TWO THINGS, PARIS, AND THE FREEDOM TO BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE THROUGH OUR FRAGRANCE WATER.”

doors. 800 doors can seem a lot, but in our industry, you can distribute perfume in over 60,000 doors. So we picked up hand in hand. And it took us 15 years to open those 800 doors. Quality. You can’t compromise on quality. Our luxury, you know, we, our dream is to be the most luxurious fragrance house, but luxury doesn’t mean anything anymore. So I had to give it a definition. Luxury for me stands in three things. The genius of creativity. And I’ve been talking about that. The genius of Francis Kurkdjian the perfumer. Number two, craftsmanship and quality. You can do beautiful things with ugly materials. The love of excellence is what characterises it. You can’t become a star ballerina or a lead champion in a sport without exercising hours every day. With Francis, we go the extra mile and we worship quality. And three is playfulness, joy, and an uplifting journey through fragrance. For me, when I combine these three geniuses of creativity, craftsmanship, and quality, and an extraordinary journey through fragrance, this is true luxury. So quality is everything to us. And how we did it is you scale up with time, you take time because only when you respect time, things that are done with time are respectable and they last forever. So we live by those values. Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what knowledge did they impart? I did have many of them. It started at Ernst & Young where I had very smart partners and business leaders that were older than me and were able to share their experience so that I can go faster or not replicate their mistakes, or at least have the opportunity not to replicate their mistake. It’s my choice, at the end of the day. I believe in mentorship. I try to be a good mentor for others. And I think that life is all about giving and taking. With Francis, we give a lot. I give a lot and life gives back. I believe that mentorship is part of growth and is part of the give back. I was lucky to receive, and I will give back twice over. What advice would you give to your younger self? A lot of advice. It’s easy to give advice to a younger person, but it’s also important that I wouldn’t be who I am without everything, my entire journey. If I went back, I would not influence myself to be different. However, since I was young, I believed in hard work. I believed in return on investment. I didn’t believe in instant reward, and that’s my generation. We were raised the hard way. Maybe I would advise myself to be nicer to myself, not to be as hard as I was on myself. To take time to respect my body and find a good balance between body and mind. This is the advice that I would give to myself. The notion of instant reward, which we are witnessing today with the younger generation is a source of worry to me, including in the way we hire, nurture, and try to grow our teams.

We hire a lot of young people, very talented, and they believe that everything should be given to them. You give something to someone once, it surprises them, and you make that person happy. You give it twice; you start creating expectation. You give it three times; you start creating entitlement. You give it four times; you start creating dependence. And I believe that the younger generation are at the dependence level of instant gratification, but instant gratification doesn’t exist. You’ve worked so hard to be where you are. People come to our company and after two weeks, say, ‘Oh, I’m not doing enough creative stuff’. Two weeks!

I think that life is made of passion, self-respect, hard work. Play hard, work hard – but work hard comes before play hard. Believe in your potential and be on your axis. Don’t do things that you don’t like. Find the things that you like because you’ll excel in them – and every one of us can

excel in something. If you are a fish and I ask you to climb the tree, it’s not going to work. Yeah. But if I ask you to swim fast, you can swim.

What have been the biggest challenges to date and how did you overcome them? We have no marketing. In the fragrance industry, when you go to buy perfume, you’re buying into a marketing concept. When you come to us, you’re buying fragrance that is created by one of the greatest perfumers of our time. It is like you, like Alexander McQueen who is no longer here, but we love the brand. What he brought to life is a creative vision. Francis also brings a creative vision. Francis Kurkdjian is a creator. He’s a visionary. He’s someone that creates, so, we have no marketing. At Maison Francis Kurkdjian, we are not telling you a story about a brand that was inspired from travel, where the bottle was made by this crazy designer, and this celebrity wears it – this is all marketing. The key point was to start to explain to people that we were a luxury fragrance house that celebrates creativity above all. That marketing is at the service of creativity and not the other way around.

This is The Summer Escape Issue – what does it mean to be comfortable in your own skin? It means to accept yourself and to accept your limits. To accept that you’re not perfect. And that imperfection is beauty. To me, ecstasy is this fine line between pain and pleasure. You can’t be all pleasure or all pain – it’s this fine balance. Being good in your skin is accepting your imperfections and being happy with them, as well as accepting your good aspects and being happy with them. Accepting the balance, respecting yourself, and respecting your taste. A lot of people want to follow a trend. Well, I’m turning 50. I don’t have the body that I used to have. If I wear a skinny t-shirt, I’m not going to look nice in it. If I am not going to accept the fact that I will not look nice in it just because I want to look like a celebrity, it’s not ‘me’, but if I listen to myself and I wear things that make me comfortable, it means that I’m at ease with my body and my mind is no longer at alert. I’m happy, I’m comfortable, I accept myself, I love myself. And so, others will follow. If you love yourself, why would someone not love you?

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

The Summer Body

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine and how does this differ on vacation? My alarm normally goes off around 4.45am so I can jump in the car and start my morning Ironman training by 5.30am which consists of either 2-3 hours of cycling or 3 hours of swimming and running and then a gym session. This is my morning ritual, and it ensures I start the day positively. I feel great when I do this as I train with amazing people, and I am then ready and energised to take on the day ahead. When I am on vacation I do enjoy not needing to roll out of bed before 5am but I will always start the day with physical or mental exercise but in a more relaxed and probably less demanding manner than when I am training for performance. We have eight weeks until we hit summer vacation – how can we shape up in terms of exercise now? Eight weeks is a good amount of time to make a very positive impact on your physique if you follow a high quality training and nutritional programme, but it will require a focused approach with little room for error. I personally prefer having these periods of really dialling in my training and nutrition, especially if I know I’m going on holiday at the end of the phase. In terms of how training would look – I think many

make the mistake of panicking, doing far too much cardio or HIIT classes and eating 500 cals a day in an attempt to radically drop weight. You may drop fat but you are also likely to drop muscle mass and you may feel worse as a result of such a dramatic short term approach. You are going to want to prioritise strength training, specifically compound strength exercises that recruit a lot of muscle mass. Exercises like bench press, cable rows and different forms of squats work all the major muscles in the body and yield a higher stimulus than smaller exercises like bicep curls etc. This will help to preserve lean muscle mass while in a calorie deficit and then by dropping body fat your overall body composition will improve much more and you will see a better physique in eight weeks time. In terms of results that are achievable that will vary depending on individual start points, however if you following the basic principles of a calorie defi-

cit along with at least three, well structured, strength training sessions you will see your body change on a weekly basis. At Embody Fitness many of our clients achieve very dramatic changes in as little as eight weeks by following our expert coaches and nutritionists with a high level of consistency. How important is diet and what should we be eating? At Embody we don’t just look at calories, although a healthy calorie deficit is paramount if we are looking to lean down. A healthy calorie deficit would be roughly a 10-20% deficit. So if your maintenance calories were 2000 kcal per day dropping down to 1600-1800 would be safe for the relatively short period of eight weeks. Depending on your start point, any fat loss of between 0.5-1kg per week is considered safe and sustainable. Also making sure you have at least 1.8g of protein per kilo of bodyweight is essential as this helps with muscle building and recovery. We would also go one step further at Embody – we are ascertaining what could be highly inflammatory foods for our clients from the start of their journey. We make sure you are eating not only for physique but a healthy gut as well, which is essential to optimal health.

One thing I have learned from our coaches at Embody Fitness, who are all qualified sports nutritionists, is the importance of the microbiome. The microbiome is responsible for our immune system, our ability to recover from training and just about every human function. Eating foods that promote good gut health is essential to good metabolic health. Foods like garlic, asparagus and artichokes for example are all prebiotics which will help feed good bacteria in the gut leading to less inflammation (think achy joints) which one could argue would lead to better training performance. At Embody Fitness we are very focused on delivering long term sustainable outcomes, so it’s important to put foods on your plate that not only make you look good but also help you feel great and allow you to perform at your best. Consistency is so important – how does your six-week summer ready programme support staying consistent across all key factors to have you summer ready? Commitment and consistency are two of the most important factors when it comes to achieving life changing results at Embody Fitness. Embody’s transformation programmes are all completely holistic and customised to every person to maximise their outcomes. We undertake a very detailed analysis on our clients at the start of any programme so that we can build the most effective and advanced programme for every individual. Personalised meal programmes and three personalised training sessions a week with regular nutrition and body composition retests are

We discuss getting summer ready with James Miller, Founder of Embody Fitness. And no, you haven’t left it too late…

all performed throughout your two or three month programme. We also want to establish and monitor healthy lifestyle habits to ensure you are on track to reaching your target which we can do through our Embody App. With the launch of our new personalised Embody Meal Plans consistency has never been easier. Should we be prioritising sleep as part of this process? Sleep should be prioritised regardless. Sleep is our time to recharge, reset and regenerate. There is no such thing as over training, only under recovery. Without sleep, the foundations for everything become disturbed and our metabolism can be negatively affected, the ability to recover between training sessions will be compromised and our hormonal levels will fluctuate greatly. To positively set our circadian rhythm – which is our natural internal body clock – we need to aim to get around 7-8 hours good quality sleep each night and try to get to sleep as close to 10pm as possible. Our bedtime routine is crucial when optimising sleep. Switch off blue light (phone, tv etc) 20-30 minutes before bed and do not consume caffeine any later than 8 hours before scheduled sleep time. Supplements including magnesium, zinc and ashwagandha can be great additional tools to help suppress the nervous system in the evening and prepare the body for optimal rest. What is your take on doubling up on workouts in a day – does it work? Personally, I train 2-3

hours a day from 5.30am every morning and then I also do three strength sessions a week at Embody Fitness with one of our sports performance coaches and I take ice baths at Embody around three times a week for recovery. This is a relatively high volume of training a week but it is required to be able to compete at Ironman events which are long and races requiring a high level of endurance fitness. On the other hand, training twice a day for someone that is a complete beginner or hasn’t been training consistently for months isn’t the best of strategies. Let’s take an average client of Embody for example who lives a fairly sedentary lifestyle and doesn’t do any exercise but wants to get in better shape, lose body fat, and have more energy. If that sounds like you, you’re going to see incredible results just from strength training three days a week and being more active throughout the day. Over time you could start introducing more cardio on your non-training days but you’d never have to do

more than one workout in a day to achieve those goals. I say this from experience and seeing thousands of clients who have been able to transform their bodies with our Embody Fitness transformation programmes. How important is hydration? Adequate hydration is crucial and often overlooked because of how simple the advice of “drink more water” might seem. But if you remember that our bodies are made up of 60% water then you’ll appreciate just how vital it is to be hydrated. From regulating our body temperature, lubricating our joints, and improving physical performance, mood, and cognitive function the benefits are countless. What’s the biggest roadblock in getting summer ready in a short timeframe? A lack of commitment and not having the right plan which will lead to results are often two of the biggest roadblocks to achieving results. This is why our clients at Embody Fitness do achieve amazing results… they are definitely committed when they sign up to us and we ensure they are achieving the best personalised programme for them that ensures they see the actual changes in their body on a weekly basis. We have recently launched our Embody Online training programmes which now means for clients who can not physically visit us they can follow our expert guidance in all areas themselves so now all they need is the commitment on their end and watch the amazing results take shape. Do you work out on vacation and what would you suggest if you a) have a gym and b) you can only use your own body weight? Holidays are important to unwind and relax and recharge so I tend to take a lot off my training schedule during this time. However daily exercise is important to me for both physical and mental wellbeing so even if I take a walk, go for a slow jog or do some deep stretching then this is still important to me. If I am on holiday somewhere quite remote or in the Swiss mountains where I spend a lot of my time in the summer I will do a lot of hiking, cycling and swimming and a few body weight “full body” workouts. You can always incorporate the use of bands or suspension cables like a trx if you needed more variety in your exercise selection. However, I will always look to maintain my three strength sessions a week as this is a ritual for me and helps me maintain my strength and muscle mass on top of all the cardio training I do. This is The Summer Escape Issue – where will you be escaping to this summer? I spend two months in the summer in one of my favourite places in the world, Crans Montana in the Swiss Alps. I feel like I am in heaven when I am there with my family and I enjoy the outdoor lifestyle and fresh clean air in some of the most beautiful nature the world has to offer.

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

THE EXPERT

We discuss style, grooming and business strategy with Sheldon Maduray, Founder of SM Marketing

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like/your morning routine? I’m a morning person by nature and an early riser. I start my day with supplements and skincare. Both are important routines that shape the rest of my day. My supplements include probiotics and mushroom liquid extracts, with alkaline water sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt. I like a simple, yet results-driven approach to skincare. I use Augustinus Bader The Cream Cleansing Gel, The Essence and The Cream. How did you know it was the right time to launch SM Marketing and what was the catalyst for this?After working for two agencies for four years, one being a startup and the other a well-established global agency – I saw an opportunity to open a boutique agency with a tailored approach; focusing on two sectors I am most passionate about in the Middle East – Hospitality and Beauty. What is the DNA of the brand and how do you approach things differently? We focus only on brands we truly believe in. Although we are an agency, we integrate ourselves within the brand, becoming an extension of the team – across their entire business. How challenging has it been to stay ahead of the curve in such a fast-paced industry? Staying ahead of the curve in critical times in our industry, requires us to embrace new platforms, foster a culture of innovation for the regional campaigns we run, anticipate change, be adaptable, and continuously learn. By implementing these pillars, we are

able to position ourselves for success in the ever-changing environment.

You are one of the sharpest dressers we know – what’s your signature? Extremely minimalist – simplicity and muted colours are my go-to. Nothing beats a retro Naples trouser – which can be paired with a plain white t-shirt or shirt.

What are your non-negotiables when it comes to grooming? Reaching the pinnacle of anything in life requires a solid foundation; and grooming plays a major factor in this. The connection between physical appearance and self-confidence is key, so my non-negotiables when it comes to grooming is having a consistent skincare routine. It’s a commitment to myself, so even after a busy day or travelling, I always make time for my skincare – never underestimate the power of a little self-care.

How do you approach scaling without compromising on quality? Having the ability to be selective, allows us to maintain the quality of service we provide. For me, scaling well is more important than scaling quickly. I don’t want to dilute what makes us different, just to acquire more clients.

What has been the biggest challenge to date and how did you overcome it? The biggest challenge which we face and I’m sure most agencies do, is how to stay relevant in a constantly changing industry. Staying true to the agency and not stepping out of our desired niche has really helped us

maintain relevance throughout the years. How has social media supported scaling the business? Surprisingly social media has not aided much in the expansion or scaling of our business. Most of the scaling has occurred from campaigns or brand partners achieved throughout the years – we have benefited from the quality of work over the years. Have you had any mentors and if so, what advice did they impart? A key mentor in my life and someone whom I work closely with is Professor Augustinus Bader; Professor of Applied Cell Biology and Cellular Technology at the University of Leipzig, Germany and the co-founder of Augustinus Bader. Seeing his drive and dedication throughout the years, after being challenged constantly; motivates me to strive for excellence and always keeps me mentally stimulated. What advice would you give your younger self? Find something. Find something that you genuinely are interested in and enjoy doing, because getting good at things you genuinely enjoy is extremely beneficial –especially in today’s world – it’s easy to get lost in the mist.

This is The Summer Escape Issue – where will you be escaping to this summer? Japan holds a very special place in my heart; the chaotic imbalance between a mountain top scenery and the almost warehouse-like souvenir shop where aesthetic concerns are absolutely not a priority – makes me fall inlove with this country every time I visit.

WORDS: AMY SESSIONS

Laser Focused

We speak to Founder of Ivory Aesthetics Clinic, Shohreh Bagherian on the benefits of using laser for smooth skin

What do the first 30 mins of your day look like/your morning routine? My morning routine starts with a celery juice and checking my emails. After this, I start my skincare routine, which is lighter and not as intense as my nighttime routine. I spray rosewater on my face and apply a serum depending on how my skin feels. This will be either a hydration serum or antioxidant serum for protection. Then I apply a hydrating moisturizer, eye cream and SPF50.

How did you know it was the right time to launch Ivory Aesthetics Clinic and which steps previously led you to this path? Since I was young, I have dreamt of giving good energy to people. I studied beauty and I started my passion from a very small room in my house and ended up growing so fast that I could not accommodate everyone and decided to move out of the house and open a small place. This small place grew into a very serious professional establishment.

Ivory Clinic is now ten years old.

What is the DNA of the brand? At Ivory Aesthetics we always strive to maintain a high level of professionalism in all aspects of how we operate, from the qualifications of our team to the quality of our service and the cleanliness and safety of our facility. What sets us apart from other clinics is our patient-centric care. We prioritise the needs and concerns of our patients, providing them with personalized care to address their unique goals and concerns.

Our Mission and purpose, is to stay up to date with the latest technology and tech-

niques in the market, continually seeking to improve our services and stay ahead of the curve. We approach our clients with empathy and understanding, we take the time to listen and to make them comfortable. How challenging has it been to stay ahead of the curve in such a fast-paced industry? Staying ahead of the curve in the fast-paced aesthetic industry can be quite challenging, as new treatments, technologies and techniques are constantly being developed and introduced. We need to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in the field if we want to remain competitive and continue to attract clients. We invest in ongoing training and education for our team to ensure that they are knowledgeable and skilled in the latest techniques and treatments. It is important for us to differentiate ourselves from other clinics by offering unique and innovative treatments. This includes customizing treatments to meet the specific needs of individual clients, or developing proprietary treatments that can’t be found elsewhere. I believe that these attributes help us maintain our position as leader in the industry. In Dubai especially, the competition is so high, but we strive to focus on our own quality and strengths, and always share with our clients our experience and knowledge

What are the benefits of laser for hair removal? Benefits of laser hair removal is to target hair follicles with precision, without damaging the surrounding skin. To treat large areas of the body quickly and efficiently, with multiple treatments, laser hair removal can

provide long-lasting results, with many clients experiencing permanent hair reduction, reduced risk of ingrown hairs, unlike shaving or waxing, it reduces the risk of ingrown hairs and skin irritations. You will also notice the improvement of your skin quality.

How many sessions do you need to be completely hair free? The number of sessions required for laser hair removal to achieve complete hair removal varies from person to person and depends on several factors, including your hair type, hair colour, skin colour, and the specific area being treated. On average, most individuals require a series of multiple sessions to achieve long-term hair reduction. Typically, you can expect to undergo anywhere from 6 to 12 sessions spaced several weeks apart for optimal results. However, it’s important to note that complete hair removal may not be achievable for everyone, as laser hair removal typically leads to significant hair reduction rather than permanent hair elimination. Some fine or lighter hairs may persist, but they are often much finer and less noticeable than before. To get a more accurate estimate and personalized recommendation, it is best to consult with our qualified laser therapist at the clinic. They can assess your specific situation and provide a treatment plan tailored to your needs. What precautions do you need to take before and after using laser?

Before Laser Hair Removal:

1. Avoid sun exposure: It’s essential to avoid direct sun exposure and tanning beds for at least two weeks before your laser hair removal session. Sunburned or tanned skin is more susceptible to side effects like blistering, pigmentation changes, and increased sensitivity.

2. Shave the treatment area: Shave the area to be treated a day or two before your session. This ensures that the laser energy is focused on the hair follicles rather than the surface hair.

3. Avoid waxing, plucking, or electrolysis: Laser hair removal targets the hair follicle, so it’s important to avoid any hair removal methods that disturb the hair root, such as waxing, plucking, or electrolysis, for at least four weeks before the treatment.

4. Avoid certain skincare products: Refrain from using skincare products that contain retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) for a week before the session. These ingredients can make your skin more sensitive and increase the risk of side effects.

After Laser Hair Removal:

1. Protect your skin from the sun: After laser hair removal, your skin may be more sensitive to sunlight. It’s crucial to protect the treated areas by applying a broad-

“BENEFITS OF LASER HAIR REMOVAL IS TO TARGET HAIR FOLLICLES WITH PRECISION, WITHOUT DAMAGING THE SURROUNDING SKIN.”

spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher whenever you go outside. Covering the treated areas with clothing or using a wide-brimmed hat is also beneficial.

2. Avoid heat exposure: Avoid activities that can increase your body temperature, such as hot baths, saunas, hot tubs, or intense exercise for at least 24 to 48 hours after the treatment. Heat can further irritate the treated skin.

3. Keep the treated area clean: Gently cleanse the treated area with a mild cleanser and lukewarm water. Avoid using harsh soaps or scrubs that can irritate the skin.

4. Avoid irritants and exfoliants: For a few days following the treatment, avoid using products that may irritate your skin, such as perfumes, fragrances, exfoliating scrubs, or other harsh chemicals.

5. Let the hair shed naturally: It’s normal for treated hairs to shed in the weeks following the session. Avoid picking, scratching, or plucking the treated area to allow the hair to fall out naturally.

6. Always follow the specific aftercare instructions provided by your laser hair removal therapist to ensure the best results and minimize the risk of side effects. Does laser therapy suit all skin types? Laser therapy is a versatile treatment option for various skin concerns, but it may not be suitable for all skin types. The effectiveness and safety of laser therapy can vary depending on the specific laser technology used and the individual’s skin type. Laser devices are designed to target specific chromophores (such as melanin in hair follicles

or pigmented lesions) or specific components of the skin (such as water, collagen, or blood vessels). The interaction between the laser light and these targets can cause heating or destruction of the targeted tissue. Different skin types have varying amounts of melanin, which determines their skin colour and makes them more or less susceptible to side effects from laser therapy. Generally, individuals with lighter skin tones and darker hair tend to be better candidates for laser treatments. However, advancements in laser technology have allowed for safer and more effective treatments for individuals with darker skin tones as well.

It’s important to note that certain types of lasers, such as those targeting melanin, may carry a higher risk of complications for individuals with darker skin. These risks include hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) or hypopigmentation (lightening of the skin) in the treated areas. Therefore, it’s crucial to consult with a qualified laser therapist or licensed professional experienced in laser treatments to determine the most suitable approach for your specific skin type and concerns.

They will assess your skin type, hair colour, medical history, and other relevant factors to determine if laser therapy is appropriate for you or if an alternative treatment option would be more suitable. They may also adjust the laser settings or choose a specific laser technology that is better suited for your skin type to minimize the risk of complications and maximize the effectiveness of the treatment.

How has social media supported scaling the business? Social media has allowed us to establish a strong presence in the region and simultaneously reach a broader audience and increased brand visibility. By sharing informative and engaging content, we get to showcase our expertise, services, and patient results, attracting potential clients and driving traffic to our clinic. Social media also provides an opportunity to build a community, something which is key for every business today.

Have you had any mentors and if so, what advice did they impart? My mentor has been my desire to learn. I have invested time in learning, growing and establishing a deep knowledge of both the beauty and business side of the industry.

What advice would you give your younger self? If I could choose to go back to my younger age I would have studied more towards the medical field, not only aesthetics as I believe that everything works together from inside out. External beauty is connected to the internal as well as factors such as hormones, stress and lifestyle.

A STRONG HERITAGE

Elie Khouri, Founder and CEO of Vivium Holdings, the company behind bringing Cassina to the UAE, discusses success in business and the brand’s design journey

WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

Left page: Cassina store, Dubai; This page: Utrecht by Gerrit Rietveld – Cassina iMaestri Collection

This

Talk us through your career. I started my career in Finance in the mid ’80s and in the late ’80s, I moved into Advertising. This continued until 2000 when I moved into Media to set up the Omnicom Media Group in MENA. The next many years I worked to expand the business and today Omnicom is the leading media company in the Middle East. Parallel to that, I set up my family office, Vivium Holding, in 2017. It is a progressive, first-generation family office specialised in making investments in Art and Design, Real Estate and Technology. Two years ago, I resigned from Omnicom in my capacity as the CEO and now I continue as the Group’s Chairman. For the last two years I have been fully focused on leading the development of my family office. I got into collecting art about 15 years ago when I started to cool down the intensity of my insane work schedule (working 14 hours a day) and found a certain serenity in life. Since then it has become an addiction and over the years I have built a collection of contemporary art from emerging and established artists. Cassina has been designing for almost 100 years. How has the brand evolved over the years? Cassina has always been at the forefront of design since its inception. In the ’50s, they led the way with a new approach to industrial design. The ’60s saw them acquire exclusive worldwide rights to serially produced models by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand which then became the foundation for the iMaestri Collection, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Then followed successful collaborations with architects and designers to envision new forms, which continues to this day. Cassina is now focused on developing a complete collection to offer a holistic approach to the home, covering everything from living, dining, bedroom and outdoor pieces and complimenting this with a range

of contemporary products like home accessories, lighting and objects of desire.

The brand focuses on ‘The Cassina Perspective’ – tell us more. From the eye of a collector, curation is everything in life. That’s how I view The Cassina Perspective, a framework for blending the new and the old, the classic and the contemporary. It is a celebration of eclecticism. It has a pulse on design trends, and it is always spot on. What is the inspiration behind Cassina’s furniture pieces? Cassina has a very wide collection and each piece has its own inspiration and individuality lent to it by its designer. I can share the inspiration behind three of my favourite Cassina pieces and why I think they are collectors’ items.

Utrecht by Gerrit Rietveld – Cassina iMaestri Collection. This piece is a classic designed in 1935 and revived by Cassina in 1988. This

piece is an icon of the neoplastic movement and very distinctive for its structured look with felt upholstery and signature blanket stitching. I love it for its distorted abstraction – it makes sense.

Soriana by Afra and Tobia Scarpa – Cassina. This piece was designed back in 1969 and uplifted by Cassina using circular materials and new colours. This piece is all about generous contours and sophisticated comfort. I love it for its loose and free-spirited design approach and the feel of leisure.

1 Fauteuil dossier basculant by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand – Cassina iMaestri Collection. Its minimalism and geometric abstraction is what draws me to this timeless design piece.

Vivium Holding has partnered with Cassina in the UAE. How do both your values co-relate? Our partnership is the result of our shared values of quality, innovation and excellence. We value design in the same way as Cassina and I believe in its role to inspire the way we live. Cassina is all about democratising design. They hold the Intellectual Property rights of some of the most iconic design pieces in history and have made it accessible to the world. This is something we appreciate very much about the brand.

Cassina is known for high-end authentic design. What is the DNA of the brand? The DNA of the brand is anchored in the values of pure design excellence, authenticity and quality. Cassina is committed to research and innovation and combining technological skill with traditional craftsmanship. That’s how they have been shaping the future of interiors over the last 100 years.

The brand focuses on sustainability. Was this the plan from the outset? A move towards

page: (fromtop) 1 Fauteuil dossier basculant by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand – Cassina iMaestri Collection; Cassina store, Dubai Right page: Elie Khouri, next to Soriana by Afra and Tobia Scarpa –Cassina

sustainability is not something that happens overnight. It is a very conscious and deliberate action that takes years to implement. That being said, the brand formally established the Cassina LAB born from the collaboration with POLI.design at the Milan Polytechnic in 2020. Since then, they have reissued classics like the Soriana and historic models from Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand in circular versions. Extensive work continues to be done on the sustainability front. Cassina is committed to creating products that align with conscious living through the use of circular materials and wellbeing features. It goes without saying that every Cassina product is built to last a lifetime.

The Cassina store in Dubai has been designed to feel like a home – talk us through the interiors of the store. The Cassina Dubai store is the result of a radical revamp of an old villa on Jumeirah Beach Road. We wanted Cassina to have a fitting home in Dubai so we took over a 750 sq.mtr residence and redid the interior architecture to give it a fresh, contemporary look with lots of natural lighting. The interiors of the store is curated by Cassina’s Art Director, Patricia Urquiola and true to The Cassina Perspective, it features an eclectic collection. The house has living, dining and sleeping spaces spread across two levels and the roof top has a cosy selection of outdoor furniture. Soon the walls will be adorned with pieces of art from my private collection. We are taking every step to make it feel authentic and welcome, like you are walking into the home of someone you know very well.

How is Dubai growing as a design capital in the Middle East? Dubai has undoubtedly established itself as the region’s design capital. Strategic moves were made in this direction over a decade ago with curated fairs like Design Days – which came as an answer to the need of the market for collectible and limited-edition design objects. Today, Dubai is home to the region’s main design fairs, prestigious developments, design schools and a growing ecosystem of global and local design brands. There is also an influx of designers moving to Dubai and practices setting up base here. Interestingly, there is an upward trend in the appreciation of design across younger audiences as well. Everything from real estate to product design and fashion is touched by these factors which will further propel the growth of Dubai as a design capital.

What lies ahead for the brand’s future? I know that Cassina is continuing to focus on developing a complete home collection range aligned with The Cassina Perspective. For example, during Milan Design Week, the first designer lighting collection was previewed

and I am sure this segment is poised to grow. Expansion is also big on the cards – both in terms of the collection via collaborations with designers and global growth through a network of monobrand stores. Cassina LAB is also pushing forth its research towards achieving a more sustainable product model. As for Vivium Holding, we will be streamlining our operations and developing

Vivium Living – a vertical focused on art and design. Cassina is the first brand under this vertical. Come Q4 2023/Q1 2024, Spain’s leading outdoor furniture brand Kettal will become part of our portfolio and we will be engaged in opening their first stand-alone store in Dubai. We are also in discussion with five other design brands to bring them to the UAE with a mono brand presence. Our vision is to offer the widest choice of mono brand stores to the region. Each brand we bring will be distinct, innovative and a leader in their own area of expertise. We are invested in engaging with the design community, supporting the industry and elevating the standards of what people can find here. Our long-term plan is also to facilitate collaborations between regional designers and the global brands in our portfolio.

This is The Summer Escape Issue – where do you plan on travelling to? This year my summer will be spent between Ibiza and Greece to enjoy some relaxed down time.

“OUR PARTNERSHIP IS THE RESULT OF OUR SHARED VALUES OF QUALITY, INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE.”

IMAGES: AHMED ABDELWAHAB AND SUPPLIED

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

PHOTOGRAPHY: AHMED ABDELWAHAB

PERSONAL SPACE

In the office with the Founders of Suited & Booted, Ryan Smith and Calvin Smith

How long have you been in this space? We moved into this space in February 2020. Have you custom-built any bespoke pieces? Every detail of our Dubai showroom has been custom designed to create a truly exceptional experience for our clients. From the layout to the tailor-made display cabinets and shelves, the showroom

is carefully arranged to highlight our finest garments and accessories – allowing our clients to appreciate the meticulous attention to detail that goes into each piece. How do you think the interior buys reflect yourselves and the brand? Each aspect of our showroom has been thoughtfully curated to reflect the essence of refined

men’s tailoring. We have hand-picked pieces to create an atmosphere that is inviting and comfortable – using materials such as fine wood, rich leather, and polished metals to add a touch of luxury to the space. Describe your taste in three words. Classy, refined, and timeless.

Contemporary Design

Emirati design pioneer Khalid Shafar shares how he seamlessly blends UAE culture and craftsmanship through his standout furniture pieces

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? I am an early riser. I usually wake up at 5am, start with my prayer and then head to do some sport.

I will either join a very early sports class (at Barry’s) or go for a run on Kite beach and catch the sunrise. I’m a true sunrise lover! This routine changes a bit during the weekend, still waking up at the same time but I enjoy empty spaces that are always crowded during the week for reading a book and a fresh cup of coffee.

Talks us through your career. The journey started in 2010, when I left my corporate position after eight years of progressive growth in Marketing & Communication. I went for further design study and exploration in London, UK followed by Nelson in New Zealand. After graduating from The American University in Dubai with both degrees; Business Management and Interior Design, I felt the need to continue my study and further widen my Furniture Design & Making knowledge. I launched my brand in 2010 and opened my studio in 2011 in Dubai where I am based and practicing today.

What inspired you to launch your own furniture brand? It has always been my vision and career milestone to achieve. I always wanted to create and present to the world a reputable international Emirati design brand that

WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

defines our design aesthetics and sheds light on our culture through creative practices. Your pieces are inspired by the vibrancy of Dubai – tell us more. The UAE in general and Dubai in specific were always rich sources of inspiration for me and a catalyst behind my creative practice. The cosmopolitan demography and the vibrant Emirati culture with its unique crafts accompanied by simple yet resilient materials have shaped the foundation for my practice and designs.

You’ve collaborated with key designers such as Campana Brothers, French Cabinet maker Moissonnier and more – tell us about the creative process. Collaboration is a great playground for any designer yet it’s a very serious platform where two or more design philosophies come together in a common ground to present a creative work. You must be flexible, adaptable, and willing to accept in order to be able to collaborate. Personally, I believe the more differences among collaborators, the more extraordinary, unexpectedly creative work may be born. Your pieces have an archival trade stamp. How do you explore old methodologies to create something new? Emirati culture is in the deep roots of my designs whether it is obviously or subtly exposed. To repurpose materials of the past for today’s creation is a mandate for me as a designer.

Your first collection was The Palm, which was first introduced in 2010, how has this evolved since then? The collection was launched with three designs, LITTLE PALM stool, THE PALM coat stand, and THE PALM coffee tables. Today this collection is evolving and progressing continuously which made it the most iconic among my collections so far. The collection grew to include FALLEN PALM bench, new side tables, new wall mirrors and an extended line of lighting including wall, floor, and table lamps.

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self? Have a vision, focus on yourself, and most importantly be patient. How has the UAE according to you become an important part of the design world? The UAE has always been an incubator for many international design names and events through the years. We have been importing internal designs for decades. Yet, today we are also exporting local Emirati design to the world through individuals and institutions. This is The Summer Escape Issue – what are your travel plans this summer? I have a friend’s wedding in Portugal this July that I am attending, and I anticipate that my summer plans will revolve around this occasion. There is a plan to stop by Istanbul and explore further cities in Türkiye, especially the costal part.

WORDS:AMY SESSIONS

A NEW YORK MINUTE

Aman New York is the perfect mix of peace and fast-paced

AMAN NEW YORK, USA

East meets West and old meets new. Manhattan’s iconic Crown Building is reimagined as Aman New York, where the city’s original architectural splendour and Aman’s harmonious design language collide, projecting the inimitable tranquillity of Aman in the heart of Manhattan’s midtown. It boasts a year-round Garden Terrace, flagship Aman Spa and spacious suites that are among the largest in the city.

The Stay: Among the most spacious in the city, Aman New York’s Suites and Signature Suites are inspired by the airy architecture of Aman’s properties in Southeast Asia. Ideal for business or leisure guests alike, they offer a never-before experienced sense of sanctuary in the very

heart of Manhattan’s midtown – an invitation to switch off from the outside world. From the Junior Suite on Fifth Avenue to the Aman Suite, each offers a functioning fireplace, a first in New York City, while bathrooms (the dividing doors alone took two years to design) are opulent and oversized with oval soaking bathtubs designed to deliver peace at the end of a busy day.

The Dining: Bringing Aman’s eastern roots to one of the West’s greatest cities, Nama celebrates the Japanese washoku dining tradition with authentic, uncomplicated and elegant dishes that champion the world’s finest produce. The restaurant also features a Japanese Hinoki wood counter for hosting omakase fine dining experiences.

If you prefer Italian, make Arva your go-to. Pre Jazz-club this is the perfect start to a night of all good things in life. Drawing its name from the Latin word for ‘cultivated land’ that evolved into the English word ‘harvest,’ Arva brings the rustic, flavourfocused traditions of Italy to Aman.

With a strong focus on fresh seasonal ingredients and uncomplicated, heartwarming dishes, you can enjoy a leisurely dinner for two or a long-table Italian style with friends and family.

The Wellness: In the heart of Manhattan, Aman Spa New York reaches new, uncharted heights in the city, epitomising the phrase urban sanctuary with over 2,300 square metres (25,000 square feet) of space

dedicated to wellbeing. Bringing to life the fullest expression of Aman’s health and wellness concept yet, it offers unmatched facilities including two luxurious private Spa Houses, along with transformative experiences and cutting-edge wellness and performance science, acting as a wellspring for enhanced wellbeing beyond its physical boundaries. Occupying the 9th, 10th, and

11th floors, Aman Spa New York is imbued wit h a deeply contemplative ambience designed using natural materials to create a grounding environment. Every detail has been carefully considered to ease guests along their wellness journey, whether consulting with a functional and integrative medical doctor, Traditional Chinese M edicine Practitioner or experienced Physiotherapist. If you want a sure-fire way to beat any jetlag – try a cryo therapy session. You’ll move from one cold chamber to another and if you can do the 3 minutes you will feel incredible afterwards; expect reduced inflammation, a boost in energy and mental clarity.

The Hero Experience: A quintessential New York concept reimagined by Aman, the Jazz Club brings a sense of occasion back to Midtown Manhattan in speakeasy style. Nightly live performances include jazz, alongside a range of other genres that stem from this great class of music, while an array of New York DJs invoke the energy of celebration and the nostalgia of years-goneby. Whether you’re usually in bed at 9pm or not, this is a must visit while you’re in the city that never sleeps. You won’t regret it.

If you really want to impress, beat the traffic and book a helicopter commute into the city with BLADE. BLADE is a technology-powered, global air mobility platform committed to reducing travel friction by providing cost-effective air transportation alternatives to some of the most congested ground routes in the USA and abroad. You can book a trip directly into the heart of NY, while your bags are delivered to Aman New York for you, saving you the ultimate luxury-time.

WORDS & STYLING: AMY SESSIONS

TAGOMAGO

Delivering truly exceptional dishes and laid-back Balearic vibes

Tagomago is an echo of the White Isle. A restaurant, bar and beach experience like no other in the region, capturing the feel, flavours and bohemian energy of the Balearics. Nestled at the foot of The Palm, built into the archipelago and winding around a private beach, the sea views shimmer and inspire.

Like its namesake – a rugged island off the coast of Ibiza – Tagomago calls to a set of well travelled, cultured creative minds, foodies and free spirits. The guests come to capture sun-drenched memories and create, afresh, dazzling days and incandescent nights under the stars. The ideal location for friends and families.

WHAT TO PACK

Jagger Aviator-Style Sunglasses

Dhs 3,874 Jacques Marie Mage; Jacquard-Knit Polo Shirt Dhs1,132

Mr P.; Slim-Fit Swim Shorts

Dhs480 Onia; + Fear of God Suede

Sandals Dhs1,316 Birkenstock 1774

THE HERO DISHES

∙ Pan con tomate, toasted bread, grated tomato, garlic

∙ Padrón peppers

∙ Garlic prawns

∙ Spicy beef chorizo croquetas

∙ Piquillo peppers stuffed with lobster & mushroom

∙ Spicy chocolate mousse

SUMMER IN THE CITY

La Ville Hotel & Suites double down on minimalist cool for a sophisticated summer staycation

WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

The Stay: Nestled within the urban neighbourhood of City Walk, La Ville Hotels & Suites is a haven of cool amongst the busy city. You can wander at your leisure around the independent boutiques that populate City Walk or take a short trip out for a beach day.

Should you opt to stay in, La Ville Hotels & Suites provides intimately private and peaceful retreats. It is home to 156 contemporary, minimalistic rooms and apartments decorated with wall murals and well-stocked with plush amenities that will make you truly feel at home. The Dining: Whether it’s a quick bite or a leisurely lunch, dine amongst a selec-

tion of chic social eateries with extensive menus at Chival, Graze, and Grapeskin. The leafy manicured courtyards lend a European feel when you dine alfresco, so you’ll feel like you travelled without the airport hassle.

The Wellness: Relax and retreat to La Ville Relaxation Suites, a tranquil spa haven that offers a range of bespoke treatments and products from luxe Anne Semonin and Neom for the ultimate beauty indulgence.

The Hero Experience: The infinity pool at sundown is a must-visit, you’ll get the best view of Dubai’s stunning skyline. www.livelaville.com

WHAT TO PACK

For your staycation wardrobe, consider multi-tasking pieces that pulls double duty and can take your look from day-to-night. Tailored styles in lightweight summer-appropriate materials like cotton and linen are a smart choice for warmer months.

From top: Round-Frame Gold-Tone Sunglasses Dhs1,742 Celine Homme; Linen CottonBlend Shirt Dhs299 Mango; Slim-Fit Short-Length Swim Shorts Dhs1,204 Tom Ford; Boston Suede Clogs Dhs549 Birkenstock

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? The first 30 minutes of my day in the winter are my dreams come true. Every day, I wake up, feed the animals, water the plants, pick what’s ripe, walk barefoot, take a deep breath, say a prayer and then get in the car to take my eldest daughter to school.

You’re the first Arab pitmaster and the king of barbeque – how did it all begin? It’s a hunger (pun intended) that turned into a form of expression that turned into a calling. I was interested in a dish that didn’t exist in the UAE. I made it for myself and my friends. Now we make it for the world. To connect us to them and them to the region and our culture.

Your journey started via a pop-up named after your family – tell us about your journey. The journey has been the evolution of what we’re doing. From grilling in the backyard to cooking in front of the White House as the culinary ambassador of the UAE embassy. More and more the journey has been how barbeque and live fire cuisine connect all cultures and how similar we are. The heart of any house is the kitchen table. The heart of that table is our cuisine.

Where did you hone your cooking skills over the years? I’m still honing my cooking skills as we speak. My mother is still my culinary idol and I don’t think there’s a better chef in the world. Any time I spend with her, I ask her about things she made for us kids and she’s always happy to show

WORDS: SARAH JOSEPH

An Appetite for Success

Founder of FIYA, Chef Hattem Mattar talks us through his bespoke culinary journey and his love for well-sourced ingredients

me the magic behind the curtain. We’ve travelled the world representing the UAE. Texas, Brazil, Australia, London, Egypt, Oman and even the Maldives. Kitchens, train stations, barbeques, neighbourhoods, farms, docks. Anywhere you can light a fire or put a pot. We’ve had the privilege and pleasure to cook and watch some of the best in the world doing it.

For the perfect outcome, food and fire need to work in alignment – what’s your trick to presenting the perfect barbeque? The cool thing about barbeque is there is no trick. It’s not wizardry, but it is magic. Time, experience, traditional, creativity. The combination is endless. Cooking with fire is like a Rubik’s cube that has no wrong answers. The important thing is to know what is the end result you’re looking for

and to be confident in the variables you’re working with to get them. Low and slow for brisket is pretty well known. Hot and fast for grilling is also pretty effective. You’re the first GCC chef to join the prestigious Soneva Stars programme in the Maldives – talk us through your experience. To be called to the list in and of itself was an experience. The team and the island are the perfect example of head-to-toe hospitality and professionalism. We got the freshest ingredients locally and made a menu that reflected the Arabian hospitality and simplicity of the cuisine we make. It was an honour to be included with other experts, craftsmen and creatives to be able to share our passion for barbeque with the guests on the island. You’ve launched FIYA – what inspired you to open this restaurant? FIYA is about the pow-

er of the element to bring people together. It’s real cuisine, in front of your eyes. The intensity of the fires we build every day contrasted with the tranquility of our olive grove setting outside the city. It’s a collaboration between old friends and colleagues in the industry. Tamer El Khayat from Pinza is the first person I did a collaboration with when we started. We launched Mattar and Pinza two weeks apart in 2015. The opening of FIYA is miles further down the same road we started then. It still stands for the same things which is excellent ingredients, incredible service and happiness in everything we do. What piece of advice would you give to your younger self? That’s a tough one. Personally and professionally I would have told my younger self to do it better. I already held and hold myself to a higher standard. In hindsight, I feel like my younger self could have squeezed out a bit more excellence. I don’t think I would have listened to myself anyway. Youth is wasted on the young.

You are a third culture kid – how has your background influenced your cooking techniques? Ten thousand per cent. There isn’t anything that influences my cooking more. Deep roots and strong wings. In everything we do we are exemplifying where we are from with the polish and knowledge of where we’ve been. Arab spices, American techniques. Third Culture Barbeque. This is The Summer Escape Issue – where do you plan on travelling to? I’m cooking at a wedding in Spain for a couple I met while travelling through Brazil. It’s a year long promise that I kept when we hung out. After that and for the first time in seven years, I might actually decide to take some time off during the summer and not put on the apron or have my knives with me. I plan on trip to California through their national parks in the wild of the west. No people. No electricity. No problem.

“THE COOL THING ABOUT BARBEQUE IS THERE IS NO TRICK. IT’S NOT WIZARDRY, BUT IT IS MAGIC.”

“MORE AND MORE THE JOURNEY HAS BEEN HOW BARBECUE AND LIVE FIRE CUISINE CONNECT ALL CULTURES AND HOW SIMILAR WE ARE. ”

Authentically Asian

Frankie Yang Tao, Executive Chef at Mott 32, discusses the culinary evolution in Dubai and

What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine? The first thing I do every morning is cook breakfast for my daughter so I can spend quality time with her before the busy day ahead. I like to try different recipes and make a variety of dishes (she is a massive foodie). I then check guests’ feedback based on their experience from the night before and share their comments with my team, so we are constantly improving.

Talk us through your career. Since I was a child, I have been deeply influenced and inspired by my family. I always wanted to explore and experiment with food. My grandparents are experts in cooking. Every Chinese New Year, we prepare a table full of dishes presented with different styles, tastes, and colours, which makes me admire the culinary process and inspires me deeply. I have been working in Dubai for

17 years (since 2006) and have experience cooking in various luxury hotels. My cooking style is not limited to Chinese food, as I am also experienced in Asian and European cuisine. From 2012 to 2016, I participated in the chef cooking and carving competition held at the Emirates Salon in Dubai. Such valuable experiences constantly inspire my process and have expanded my expertise. I am fascinated by the catering industry, and always treat my work with passion to keep the motivation going.

How do you bring a contemporary approach to fine Chinese dining? I use a variety of cooking techniques combined with modern seasoning and take a lot of time sourcing the freshest ingredients from sustainable producers both local and abroad to maintain the quality of the food. However, what

WORDS: RUMAN BAIG

how important it is to blend traditional cuisine with modern techniques

makes Mott 32 really stand out as a concept is its ability to marry traditional cuisine with modern culinary innovation.

As the brand’s eighth global branch, what sets Mott 32 Dubai apart? Mott 32 Dubai is committed to providing customers with a unique and fashionable food experience, offering a standard of true Chinese cuisine that does not exist anywhere else in Dubai.

The interiors are impressive, and we have an open-air terrace with views across Bluewater Island, JBR, Palm Jumeirah and the Ain Dubai (it is one of the highest restaurants in the world). Our traditional menu is in line with the brand’s culinary creativity, where we use familiar and bold flavours of Mott 32’s signature gastronomy through adapted versions of its classic dishes. The menu concept is consistent yet wide in its offering but

of course, we have adapted iconic and traditional Chinese dishes to fit the local palate of the Dubai market. For example, we do not feature pork on our menu. Some may say this is a challenge being a Chinese restaurant, however I believe it is an opportunity to showcase the versatility of the cuisine and how it can be adapted in a skilful, yet exciting way. By replacing pork with alternative ingredients, it allows us to experiment with new delicacies and flavours, while still respecting the culture.

Tell us about the concept of Mott32 Dubai. Every Mott 32 celebrates the culture and food of modern Hong Kong with a fusion of traditional and culinary innovation. It brings a menu inspired by Cantonese, Szechuan, and Beijing cuisines, and yet also showcases some of the famed restaurant’s own signature dishes. Our food aims to bring the best from the past, with honoured recipes passed down from generations to generations.

The location of Mott 32 Dubai adds to its magnificence. Nestled on the 73rd floor of the Address Beach Resort, the Sunset Hospitality Group has made the whole dining experience so unique by incorporating culinary excellence, an energetic ambiance, and impeccable service all into one. Our culinary team has also been hand-selected by me, with most of our team members coming from other Chinese restaurants and 5-star hotels in the region. I truly believe we have introduced a completely new chapter of Chinese dining to Dubai’s restaurant scene. Having been in Dubai since 2006, how have you seen the culinary industry evolve in the region? In recent years the hotel and restaurant scene, as well as the increasing importance of sourcing sustainable produce from local farms and suppliers, have all contributed to the development of Dubai’s ever-expanding F&B industry. Simultaneously, there is an on-going need for fresh cooking exhibitions and large-scale food festivals. Most of the participants are professional chefs and culinary experts, which promotes the multicultural development of global tastes and deepens the depth of local culinary culture. The city’s culinary scene continues to evolve as society’s tastes and interests in food change and diversify.

Dubai is definitely one to watch for all chefs around the world and now, we are seeing the rise of prestigious culinary awards, such as the MICHELIN Guide Dubai and Gault & Millau. After only four months of operations, I am delighted that Mott 32 Dubai is already the recipient of one toque in the Gault & Millau UAE 2023 Guide. It is the world’s first luxury Chinese restaurant to expand from the East to the West, what makes it a pioneer in the Chinese fine dining scene? “Mott 32” pays homage to 32 Mott

Street in New York, where the city’s first Chinese convenience store opened in 1891. The store served as the nucleus for what is now a vibrant Chinatown in one of the most dynamic cities. It brings the American Tang cuisine style back to Hong Kong in the form of high-end Chinese food and as a result, the menu design is simple and elegant.

The unique collection comprises drinks, snacks, appetisers, and dishes from around the world. The name alone is classic. When it comes to Chinese food, few places can compare to Hong Kong. Whether it’s the best char siew or Peking duck, classic Cantonese cuisine or innovative cuisine, these restaurants can always satisfy all needs with outstanding dishes, with the highest quality of hospitality and beautiful surroundings. What are the hero dishes? We have created an ethical menu which offers Chinese dishes with Western cooking techniques and elegant presentation. Some of the diners’ menu favourites include the Applewood Roasted Peking Duck (which takes 48 hours to prepare), Truffled Mushroom Lettuce Cup Appetisers and Chilled Chicken with Szechuan Pepper and Chilli Sauce. Main courses include the signature Smoke Black Cod, Crispy Triple-Cooked Wagyu Beef Short Rib and Kung Pao Lobster are a must try. Guests also enjoy our selection of dim sum freshly made daily and plant-based signatures for those looking for a more sustainable approach to eating.

How is Mott 32 Dubai different from its counterparts in other countries? We firstly implement the same quality of dishes and service as all Mott 32 restaurants globally. With its expansion to Dubai, we try to evoke the city’s energy and creative passion within our dishes and culinary style and have also curated signature cocktails and mocktails that are reflective of Dubai’s lively ambiance, such as the Fujian Negroni, Hanami, and Forbidden Rose.

“I TRULY BELIEVE WE HAVE INTRODUCED A COMPLETELY NEW CHAPTER OF CHINESE DINING TO DUBAI’S RESTAURANT SCENE.”

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WORDS: CAMILLE MACAWILI

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