T Qatar Issue 11-2011 by Oryx Group of Magazines

62 Jose Antonio Molina brings his baton to qatar

34 remix Qatar

Steinway at The Pearl Qatar. Abaya flows around the world. Fahad Al Kubaisi, Qatari songbird.

88 WAYNE ROONEY OF MANCHESTER UNITED MODELS ONE OF THE SEASON’S JACKETS.

50 get

Must-haves: knit jackets, tasseled loafers, reissued watches. In-Store: Richard James in London.

8 contributors 10 remix

The New York Times Style Magazine fall fashion, 2011

Styled to a T: the Kills, Tom Marchant, Meghan O’Rourke, Nico Landrigan. Harris Tweed turns 100, stylish Seoul, manly bags for weekend warriors, Tim Coppens’s new collection, Karen Elson’s accessories for Nine West, Bernard Touati, a dentist with an A-list clientele. The actor Jason Lee is slimmer, trimmer and a lot less hairy. Profile in Style: Scott Sternberg.

54 Seen Qatar

Cai Guo-Qiang’s ignited passion. By Sindhu Nair. The Boym couple’s design on the region. Jose Molina’s magic wand. By Yousra Samir. Lisa Hubbard, the accidental auctioneer. By Vani Saraswathi.

75 FALL FORWARD

Artwork by Judy Kameon and  Erik Otsea

76 Belge Epoque

wedded to design With two decades of design associations and creations in New York, the Boym couple embark on a Middle Eastern sojourn with plans of rewriting design sensibilities here

80 LITTLE DUTCH GIRL

Having flown the coop as a  teenager, the model Lara Stone  heads home to the Netherlands —  and she ain’t tiptoeing through  any tulips. By Lynn Yaeger.  Photographs by Angelo Pennetta.  Fashion editor: Sara Moonves.

88 man UNITED!

The success of the world’s greatest sports club is the work of Sir Alex Ferguson, 69. Meet the Man in Man United. By Tim Adams. Photographs by Max Vadukul.

100 Timely 42

King Krule. By Jacob Brown. Photograph by Ronald Dick.

On the cover PHOTOGRAPH BY max vadukul. cristiano Ronaldo’s own diamond earrings. for similar styles, go to harry winston.

contributors

B Y k at h r y n b r a n c h

Christiaan Tim

Adams

David

Tim Adams, an author and staff writer at The Observer in London, was a Manchester United fan until the age of 6, when his father bribed him into supporting his team with an Aston Villa jersey for Christmas. ‘‘United remained for me and every other English boy of a certain age the team of style and romance . . . even before they started to win everything,’’ Adams says. For ‘‘Man United!’’ (Page 88), Adams gets inside the head of Sir Alex Ferguson, the team’s manager. ‘‘He’s the English armchair psychologist’s favorite subject, as unfathomable as any father.’’

Armstrong “My idea was always to make a fashion portrait where the person wearing the clothes was more important than the clothes themselves,” says the photo legend David Armstrong of his two subjects in this issue: the poet and memoirist Meghan O’Rourke (Page 25) and the fashion gadfly Karen Elson (Page 20). People have always been at the heart of Armstrong’s oeuvre, and his new book, “615 Jefferson Avenue” (Damiani), shot mostly inside his row house in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, characteristically brims with slender young boys.

& editor- in- chief Yousuf Jassem Al Darwish chief executive Sandeep Sehgal executive vice president Alpana Roy vice president Ravi Raman

publisher

managing editor Vani Saraswathi deputy editor Sindhu Nair fashion & lifest yle correspondent Orna Ballout correspondent Rory Coen Ezdihar Ibrahim Ali editorial coordinator Cassey Oliveira art director Venkat Reddy asst director – production Sujith Heenatigala assistant art director Hanan Abu Saiam senior graphic designers Ayush Indrajith Sampath Gunathilaka M D photography Rob Altamirano managers – marketing Mohammed Sami Zulfikar Jiffry senior media consultant Chaturka Karandana media consultant Hassan Rekkab

clockwise from top left: Christiaan: Angelo Pennetta; Murphy: Damien Cuypers; Armstrong: Ryan Mcginley.

The in-demand hairstylist Christiaan practically grew up in his father’s barbershop, in a tiny Dutch town called Bovenkarspel. The oldest of 12 children, he had to pitch in ‘‘as soon as I was able to sweep the floor.’’ Now he’s known for creating looks for the likes of Lady Gaga and Grace Jones. (Yes, that flat top was his.) For ‘‘Little Dutch Girl’’ (Page 80), Christiaan joined an old friend, Lara Stone, whose golden locks he pinched into messy pigtails on their home turf in the Netherlands. Aside from his work for countless ad campaigns and magazines, Christiaan hopes one day to publish his photo diary, for which he has taken 10 to 20 pictures each day for the past 15 years.

marketing research

& support

executive

accountant

sr. distribution executive

Amjeth Ali Pratap Chandran

Bikram Shrestha Arjun Timilsina Bhimal Rai

distribution support

Qatar

published by

Oryx Advertising Co WLL P.O. Box 3272; Doha-Qatar Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, 44667584 Fax: (+974) 44550982 Email: tqatar@omsqatar.com website: www.omsqatar.com

remix The Travelers

The Kills — the British guitarist Jamie Hince and the American singer Alison Mosshart — are touring Europe and the States for their album ‘‘Blood Pressures.’’

The Mission

While on tour, the Kills obsessively scour record stores, including Monorail Music in Glasgow and Deadly Dragon Sound System in New York’s Chinatown.

The Look

The duo traces their devotion to rocker chic to the pre-Internet days, when they would flip through records and decide what to buy based on a band’s style. photograph BY cameron krone Fashion Editor: andreas kokkino On HINCE: Robert geller coat, QR3,510. go to robertgeller-ny.com. On mosshart: Vera wang coat, QR13,490. all other clothing their own.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

fashion assistant: Elliot SORIANO. Hair by andre gunn at the wall group. makeup and grooming by stevie huynh at the wall group.

styled to a t

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TECH Support

Spin city

Justin Miller, the handsome face of DFA Records and a regular fashion-event D.J., suggests five songs to get the party started. For a complete playlist, go to tmagazine.com. ‘‘Gabriel’’ by Joe Goddard featuring Valentina. ‘‘Temporary Secretary’’ by Paul McCartney. ‘‘Passion (DJ T. Remix)’’ by Phreek Plus One featuring Mr. White. ‘‘This track is sexy,’’ Miller says. ‘‘Nu Nu’’ by Lidell Townsell. ‘‘Everybody’’ by Benoit & Sergio. ‘‘Larger-than-life bass line that is capable of filling the biggest of dance floors.’’

Stamp Act

Harris Tweed, the flecked hand-woven wool from Scotland, is celebrating the centennial of its trademark stamp: a Maltese cross atop an orb. An ancestor to the counterfeit wars raging today, the stamp was implemented in 1911 to distinguish the genuine cloth from machine-milled knockoffs. This fall, designers are offering special-edition pieces in tweed as a tribute to those original weavers, our fashion brave hearts. b ru c e pas k From left: Nigel Cabourn vest, QR17,885. Go to contextclothing.com. Perfecto Brand by Schott NYC jacket, QR2,737. Go to perfectobrand.com. Topman jacket, QR1,315. .

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

From Top: paul Maffi (4); Cedric Bihr; Jens mortensen. miller: fashion editor: jason rider. Grooming by John McKay at Defacto for Dior Men. george m c cracken jacket. our legacy shirt. his own t-shirt.

Tim Coppens’s first complete men’s collection is a wonder not just of technical proficiency — Coppens was formerly the design director of Ralph Lauren’s futuristic sportswear line, RLX — but also of economy. Coppens, a Belgian-born Royal Academy of Fine Arts grad, has no office, no employees and he’s financing his 45-piece collection by himself. The design references are varied. They include a spit and polish riff on the leather jackets and baggy sweats of the Paris banlieues and also a curious repurposing of a Persian Farahan rug, which Coppens chopped up to form the back of a leather-sleeved varsity jacket. Characteristically, that jacket is assembled with almost clinical precision, but the carpet segment is left frayed on the bottom — an inspired touch. ‘‘I don’t want to be brand-marked as a technical designer,’’ Coppens says. ‘‘I want to make beautiful collections with classic fabrics. But the technical aspect gives me a good starting point.’’ Stephen Heyman

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the cavalier

Like Coco Chanel, Pierre-Henri Mattout was born in Saumur, the medieval French town in the Loire Valley famous among wine snobs for its superb cabernet franc appellation, Saumur-Champigny. The town also happens to be an equestrian center of France, home to the Cadre Noir, one of the world’s most prestigious riding schools. ‘‘It’s very uptight, very bourgeois and very elegant,’’ says Mattout, who, as a p’tit garçon, dreamed not of mounting a Lusitano but of being the academy’s head tailor. Accordingly, Mattout’s latest men’s collection — all jodhpur-style chinos, leather elbow patches and whipcord wool blazers in dragoon red — is a paean to his horse-loving hometown. But rather than reboot some bygone vision of aristo chic, Mattout drew on his design experience at Dior Homme, Dunhill and Victorinox. The result is a modern sportswear collection of uncommon elegance, detail-obsessed yet refreshingly remote from the workwear-inspired stuff that’s glutting American runways. s. h.

What’s Your Handle?

Manly bags for the weekend warrior. b. p.

Supple duffel Lotuff & Clegg, QR3,522. Go to lotuffclegg.com.

Suits cased J. Crew, QR832. Go to jcrew.com.

Seoul Brothers

Soft sides Coach, QR2,550. .

Saddle sack Hermès, QR45,625.

portrait by jody rogac

Emerging from the shadow of that other stylish, innovative Asian city (ahem, Tokyo), Korea’s capital has become an epicenter for trends — particularly for men. The evidence is in popular street style blogs like Your Boyhood, Street Peeper and even The Sartorialist (which has featured the model Bae Jung Nam, who, à la Kate Moss, has turned into a style sensation and is the basis of ‘‘Bae Jung Nam-style’’). Korean men, in fact, have started to outshine the women in terms of experimentation and overall expression, wearing everything from Opening Ceremony’s kookiness to the elegant homegrown designer Wooyoungmi. As for shopping, multibrand boutiques rather than staid department stores have been able to stock exactly what the guys are looking for: high-end lines like Givenchy and Maison Martin Margiela (at Boontheshop Men, 7913 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu; +82-2-3445-2841; boontheshop.com; and Tom Greyhound Downstairs, 650-14 B1F Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu; +82-2-34423696; tomgreyhounddownstairs.com) as well as younger labels like Patrik Ervell, Fitbow Kollektiv and Our Legacy (MSK Shop, above, 569-31, 6/F Woo Jung Building, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu; +82-70-82333107; mskshop.net). YURI CHONG

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

fashion editor: jason rider. Grooming by Lisa Aharon at Kate Ryan Inc for M.A.C. Cosmetics. Still LIfes: Jens Mortensen.

Checked bag Louis Vuitton, QR9,307.

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The Guy the look

Nico Landrigan, president of Verdura, Acid color blocking. A grown who, along with up his gem genius palette dad, to a young, hip holiday. Ward, keeps the iconic business in the family.

the girl The Look

A navy Chloe Moretz, age 13 and double-faced cashmere Dunhill coat the breakout star in Kick Ass andgets suited up for business. Let Me In. Next up The Fields.

the details

PHOTOGRAPH BY martien mulder Fashion Editor: bruce pask

dunhill coat, price on request. louis

Brightly coupled khakipaul smith shirt, vuitton suit, QR10,475. QR894, and belt, QR712. drakes tie, about and yellow Just Cavalli dress. QR613. go to drakes-london.com. grenson shoes, QR1,131. go to bonobos.com.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

fashion assistant: renĂŠ fragoso. grooming by eloise cheung at walter schupfer management.

The Trend

The duffle, a classic World War II warmer, gets the uptown treatment from Ralph Lauren and Junya Watanabe.

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lost in a daydream Karen Elson’s new line of accessories taps into this model-turned-musician’s fantasy world of hardscrabble glamour. By Lynn Yaeger

Purple rose Nina Ricci top, QR4,710, and skirt, QR5,440. Karen Elson for Nine West Vintage America Collection shoes, QR544, bag, QR365, and bracelet, QR117. Fashion editor: Ethel Park

nce there was this English showgirl and she used to take the stage right before Archie Rice came on, but now she is old and can barely get up from her rocking chair — but there is a trunkful of her tattered dance shoes up in the attic. And maybe she was your grandma and you just discovered them. Or maybe your granny (great-granny?) was a weathered-butgorgeous sharecropper, a Dust Bowl refugee in frayed frock and battered boots, only — wait! — what if those boots were splattered with glitter?

P H O T O G R A P H B Y david armstrong

This welter of odd references, this battered basket of inspirations, is the driving force behind Karen Elson’s new line for Nine West, a collection that also contains a bracelet that Elson was somehow able to persuade Nine West honchos to engrave on its underside ‘‘The truth is in the dirt.’’ ‘‘Thank God they were game,’’ Elson says with a laugh. ‘‘I am obsessed with the Great Depression and with former showgirls — and the Victorians — the idea of wistful, dark romance,’’ she says, albeit in a very sunny voice. Elson, a haunting singer (she’s working on her second album) and cover girl, manages, through her plainspokenness, her matter-of-fact mien and offhanded way, to be at once a supermodel and an antimodel. Her vision for this

Elson: david armstrong. Hair by Gavin Harwin for Redken/Cutler Salon at Art Department. Makeup by Romy Soleimani for NARS Cosmetics at Management Artists. Still Lifes: JENS MORTENSEN.

A little bit country On Elson: Marni dress, QR4,855. Karen Elson for Nine West Vintage America Collection boots, QR690, and necklace, QR132. Above: a bracelet, QR120, and necklace, QR160 , from Elson’s Nine West collection.

Key pieces Karen Elson for Nine West Vintage America Collection bag, QR360, and boots, QR985.

limited-edition collection was so accurately reflected, she says, that ‘‘the only thing missing is the dust. I love things that are falling apart, but the magic is still there.’’ At first she only meant to do an abbreviated capsule collection. ‘‘It started with a couple of bags and some shoes — very wearable, nothing overly done or complicated,’’ she says. ‘‘I was very tentative. But then I added jewelry. I couldn’t help myself!’’ Now the collection ranges from velvet platform T-strap wedges to framed handbags to burnished lock-and-key necklaces. Though she was born and raised near Manchester, England, Elson lives in Nashville, where she once co-owned a vintage store and was married to the musician Jack White. She’s been in love with America, or at least a highly colored view of hardscrabble America, since she was a schoolgirl, listening to Gram Parsons and Bill Monroe and reading ‘‘The Grapes of Wrath’’: ‘‘I loved Steinbeck. I will never forget being so bewitched by his description of the landscape. Even though I have lived in the States since I was 18, in my head I am still very British, and I do have this romance for towns in Middle America that nobody gets to see.’’ To her credit, she acknowledges that there is a bleak side to her reveries: the has-been dance-hall girl wallowing in memory and the true character of the Dust Bowl, which she concedes was ‘‘a tragic, horrible time, not a hopeful time.’’ But such are the ways of fashion that a down-and-out era can give rise to an authentic aesthetic sensibility. ‘‘The interesting thing with fashion is that it’s really a massive daydream,’’ Elson says. Elson herself has been in possession of this Arcadia made real, in the form of an advance pair of short rough boots that she’s been wearing so solidly for the past couple of months that the soles, she proudly admits, have almost worn through. (When it is pointed out that this is perhaps not the best endorsement for a shoe line, she insists that their soles are in extremis only because she loves them so much and they are heaven to wear. She adds, ‘‘If a model is going to make some shoes, she’s going to make them comfortable.’’) Does she have plans to expand this professional endeavor? She would never call herself a designer, she says, but two seconds later she isn’t ready to rule out the idea of another collaboration. Because, after all, ‘‘which girl doesn’t want to make some dresses?’’ n * All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

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drill, bebe, drill Dr. Bernard Touati is the fashion world’s crown prince. By Joan Juliet Buck

ometimes dentists are lion tamers. Kings and presidents open wide for Bernard Touati, but he is careful, he says, to keep his own mouth shut. His cabinet is in Paris’s Golden Triangle, where Chanel, Dior and Prada are perfectly aligned with the perfumer Caron and the impeccable chocolatier Fouquet. There is no plaque on the wall announcing his presence; he’ll see Diane Von Furstenberg on Yom Kippur if the film director Danièle Thompson asks him to, and Madonna can come in in a pinch, but this isn’t a walk-in clinic. He wouldn’t accept

P H O T O G R A P H B Y nadav kander

payment from Von Furstenberg; she gave him an IOU for two dresses at her boutique instead. ‘‘He’d be worth moving to Paris for three months to see,’’ the designer says. He grew up with Sidney Toledano, the C.E.O. of Christian Dior, who can watch what’s going on in the Dior showroom through the window when he’s being treated in Touati’s office. ‘‘My father wanted me to become a doctor, like Bernard,’’ says Toledano, a touch wistful. ‘‘It would have been simpler.’’ Touati, born 63 years ago in Casablanca, Morocco, is fit, athletic, good-looking; also, low profile, a family man and

Haute dentisterie Bernard Touati’s dental practice may be the Avenue Montaigne’s most exclusive salon.

famous. Married to Lily Buda for 41 years — they met in high school — he has three daughters. When the middle one, an actress and singer named Élisa, found that the producers of a Spanish film she was in had changed her name from Touati to Tovati, she kept the new name, so people wouldn’t keep asking if he was her father. Her duet with Tom Dice, ‘‘Il Nous Faut,’’ was a big hit this summer. Touati knows a lot about a few world leaders, and, because he is diplomatic, as much about their mortal enemies. Surrounded by security, he started treating Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin hospital in 1996 and treated Vladimir Putin in the same hospital, surrounded by even more security. ‘‘The only words I can say in Russian are ‘open your mouth, close your mouth, don’t move,’ ’’ Touati says.

e looked after the teeth of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, now in prison in Russia for financial crimes, and still treats the regime’s archenemy Boris Berezovsky, who has political asylum in Britain. Mrs. Yelstin gives him homemade walnut cakes and jars of malossol pickles every time she sees him. He also treats the wife of Mikhail Fridman and other oligarchs like Alisher Usmanov, who owns a major

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Nadav Kander

Dr. Touati looked after Vladimir Putin’s teeth in a Kremlin hospıtal. ‘The only words I can say in Russıan are ‘‘open your mouth, close your mouth, don’t move,’’ ’ he says. share in England’s Arsenal football team. But he’s a Chelsea man: for well over a decade, until last year, Touati flew regularly to Moscow for Roman Abramovich, who had equipped a full dental clinic in his office just for him. Abramovich had found it a waste of time for him and his friends to keep taking the plane to Paris. ‘‘I thought he was crazy,’’ Touati says, ‘‘but it was very useful.’’ Russian dentistry has caught up with Touati’s standards, and Abramovich now owns the Chelsea soccer team. Touati likes to quote the author of ‘‘The Little Prince,’’ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: ‘‘What is essential is invisible to the eye.’’ ‘‘That,’’ he says, ‘‘applies to root canal — not visible, but essential, determining. It’s like politics — you can’t see the essential.’’ His art is in the concealed and the miniature: early on, while he was still an assistant university professor at Paris V, he created tiny dental burs that are now high-end standard issue. He founded the Société Française de Dentisterie Esthétique in 1983, is the head and chair and president of numerous associations and regularly writes aesthetic surgery textbooks full of truly terrifying close-ups of teeth and gums. Touati was one of the first proponents

of composite inlays and ceramics for veneers and crowns — the worryingly named zirconium oxide and aluminum oxide. Traditionalists in the 1980s sneered at what they called ‘‘the white stuff,’’ but today no one in the public eye wants a glint of metal inside their mouth. ‘‘I can look in someone’s mouth and know their life,’’ he says, sitting behind his desk, wearing a short-sleeved surgeon’s coat, in his immaculate and extensive suite of offices. ‘‘Levels of stress, hygiene, education, socioeconomic background. Are they nervous? The teeth are worn down. If the care is of a high quality, that means a sophisticated background; missing teeth, tartar, bad maintenance — not the same. You can see signs of smoking, or the erosion of bulimia — I can see the personality and the life habits of a patient by looking in their mouth.’’ The blunt health care of the Soviet era meant that when

Oral history ‘‘I can look in someone’s mouth and know their life,’’ says Touati, 63.

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Fang club Above, from left: Vladimir Putin; Valentino; Dr. Touati’s daughter, Élisa Tovati; Roman Abramovich; and Boris Yeltsin all know the drill.

the good times came around in the 1990s, Russian teeth were in pretty bad shape: multiple extractions, simple fillings, metal bridges, dentures, badly done root canals. ‘‘They’d only had cheap materials,’’ Touati says. ‘‘Our big advantage over the United States is the quality of the technicians, the ceramicists. In America, it’s more industrial than artisanal. There can be good work, but it’s not the high artistic level that we have in Europe. We have people with real talent — it’s like haute couture. Our prosthetics are known for that. As Chanel said: ‘Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.’ ’’

ramed photos of the king of Morocco and the Russian nomenklatura are in his bookcase, along with pictures of some entertainers — Patrick Bruel, Jean Reno, Mélanie Thierry, Danièle Thompson and her companion, Albert Koski. In the past, he’s tended to Bernard-Henri Lévy’s teeth as well. ‘‘Some actors won’t give you their picture because they don’t want people to know you redid their teeth,’’ Touati says. One actress has herself dropped off blocks away from his office, so that her driver can’t say she went to the dentist. ‘‘In America, people say they have caps; in France they say they’ve had a bleaching. Some women have had so much done to their lips that they ask to have their teeth lengthened, to compensate. When they smile or laugh, the teeth look like horse teeth. But women have been doing it forever — in antiquity, they used to prick their lips with needles to make them plump.’’ Over a light lunch at a Japanese restaurant where he goes every day, he says: ‘‘I’m an artisan, at your disposal — I have no ego, but I like reciprocity.’’ The waitress, a pretty young Japanese woman, has incisors he finds charming. ‘‘Aesthetic concepts are entirely cultural,’’ he says. ‘‘In Japan, a big mouth is considered unattractive. Geishas made their teeth black to make their mouths look small. They would use

lemon juice to strip the enamel and then lacquer their teeth with India ink.’’ Before coffee, I learn that Northern people — Swedes, Danes, Norwegians — have bigger teeth than Spaniards

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Aesthetic concepts are entirely cultural. In America, people say they have caps. In France, they say they’ve had a bleaching. and Italians. ‘‘It’s because in the south, puberty comes earlier,’’ Touati explains. The worst thing for teeth, he says, is grinding; he advises against bulimia, caramels, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, crunching ice, or using one’s teeth to open bottles and crack crab claws. Late in the afternoon, Dr. Touati fixes one of my teeth. The treatment room is huge, with a Barcelona chair and its ottoman in one corner and his own paintings on the wall. He is a very good dentist; the most noticeable difference between his approach and that of others, however, is in the injection. He pulls the skin of the cheek away before he applies the hypodermic, and slaps it back against the gum just as the needle goes in. You’re so startled by the slap that you forget about the needle. Afterward, he shows me his paintings. The canvases seem cheerful and bright. Looked at closely, some turn out to be collages that incorporate Band-Aids, surgical tape, medical gauze. ‘‘Life isn’t always nice,’’ he says. He’s done a series based on photographs; one of them is of the young Marilyn Monroe. ‘‘She was only 19 in this picture,’’ he says, ‘‘married to the policeman, and was still Norma Jeane Baker, but look — she had two little teeth that had been redone.’’ n

remix styled to a t

Hair by Gavin harwin for redken/cutler salon at art department. makeup by Romy Soleimani for nars cosmetics at management artists.

The Trend

Fluffy! Mohair tees (Jason Wu), skirts (Zero + Maria Cornejo) and sweaters (Givenchy and DKNY) send the new texture message: tactility is all.

The Girl

Meghan O’Rourke, the Brooklyn-raised author of this year’s elegiac memoir ‘‘The Long Goodbye,’’ connects personal loss and political heartbreak in her new poetry collection, ‘‘Once’’ (W. W. Norton & Company).

The Look

A fuzzy Missoni sweater, in sherbet hues, is a surprising and compelling take on polished prettiness.

photograph BY david armstrong Fashion Editor: Ethel Park missoni sweater, QR2,683. donna karan new york skirt, QR3,270.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

remix profile in style The designer Scott Sternberg at home in Los Angeles, wearing pieces from his Band of Outsiders clothing label. His vintage glasses are from Jack’s Eyewear on South La Brea Avenue.

Left: luckily, Sternberg’s mother saved his childhood troll collection. A contingent of Smurfs resides nearby. Below: the living room contains vintage furniture in the style of the Brazilian modernist Sergio Rodriguez.

The designer calls this vintage Western painting ‘‘a little Marlboro Man, a little Richard Prince.’’ The orange desk lamp is his most recent flea market find.

Scott Sternberg

Ask him about his childhood troll collection, his penchant for old Time Life tomes or his worship of baked goods — but please don’t ask the Band of Outsiders designer to expound on his personal style. ‘‘That’s such a magazine question,’’ he says with a groan. Like the cool subversions of men’s and women’s preppy classics his fast-growing label is known for (the first BOO store opens in Tokyo this winter), Sternberg’s L.A. home is a playful amalgam of vintage references and bright color combinations with a winsome splash of naïveté. Sandra Ballentine 26

P H O T O G R A P H s B Y K ava G orna

Above: Sternberg’s closet is bursting with boat shoes he collaborated on with Sperry Top-Sider. Right: he bought the blanket at Shabon on Beverly Boulevard.

Left: magnets keep these Dutch dolls (Sternberg’s favorite tchotchke) locked in a kiss. Below: he is obsessed with Polaroids and uses them for his campaigns and blogs.

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‘ I’ll never tweet about models at a fashion show, but I love sweets and silliness — hence our cookie blog.’ Far left: an old tablecloth map of L.A. Left and below: the designer admits that he’s not a good cook, or even a foodie, but he does like dessert, especially cookies, which he blogs about on bandofoutsiders.com.

Kava gorna

Above: Sternberg has a soft spot for Margaret Keane paintings. Right: his mother gave him these vintage silhouettes.

whisker rebellion Post-â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Earl,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; the actor Jason Lee is slimmer, trimmer and a lot less hairy. By Sandra Ballentine

PHOTOGRAPH BY paul Jasmin

fashion editor: Ethel Park. Grooming by johnny villanueva for olehenriksen. Wesc shirt, QR146. Go to wesc.com. Dior homme jacket (sold as suit), QR14,235. go to diorhomme.com.

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When Jason Lee decides to take it off, he takes it all off. The 41-year-old actor, who played an affable, overweight and almost comically hirsute slacker on ‘‘My Name Is Earl’’ from 2005 until 2009, recently shed 40 pounds and a whole lot of unnecessary facial hair. ‘‘I got chunky during ‘Earl,’ and I had the big mustache for four years,’’ Lee says. ‘‘It was time to clean up my act.’’ He slimmed down thanks to a five-week cleanse under the direction of Dr. Bo Wagner, a leading Los Angeles diet guru. ‘‘He taught me proper food combining, and how to eat for my blood type,’’ the actor says. ‘‘I cut out sugar, starch and booze, and I’m now as trim as I used to be in my early 20s, when I was skating. It’s really gnarly.’’ (Lee became a professional skateboarder at 18 and still heads up Stereo

Skateboards, the skate company he co-founded 19 years ago.) His newly svelte physique inspired him to shop for a sharp new wardrobe, more golden-age Hollywood than scruffy sitcom star. ‘‘I’ve always been into the ’50s, and the whole James Dean, Chet Baker retro thing,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s nice to see the resurgence of the gentleman, and a return to well-turned-out, well-tailored men, like Jimmy Stewart.’’ Lee appreciates heritage and traditional craftsmanship when it comes to possessions and keeps his life on the lo-fi side. He listens to Woolly mammal A scissor-shy jazz (on vinyl), takes Jason Lee (2nd photographs with film, prefers left), back in 1999, to play old guitars and writes on with actors Ben Affleck(L), a Smith Corona typewriter. writer-director His approach to fashion is Kevin Smith(C), equally old school: buttonSalma Hayek(2nd R) and Alanis down shirts (always tucked in); Morissette(R), vintage glasses; pre-World War II denim from the Stronghold in Venice Beach, Calif.; Alden boots from J. Crew Men’s Shop; ties from Jake Vintage in Los Feliz; and sportswear from WeSC, a Swedish label. The actor, who plays a clean-shaven cop on TNT’s ‘‘Memphis Beat’’ (and stars in ‘‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked’’ come December), even vanquishes whiskers the old-fashioned way: ‘‘I go for straight-razor shaves at Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop.’’ Lee’s salt and pepper hair is closely cropped these days. ‘‘Lately I’ve been slicking it back with a thick, beautiful-smelling pomade called Black & White, and I keep my Mason Pearson comb in my front pocket at all times,’’ he says. ‘‘The shaggy hipster thing is wearing really thin. It’s the age of the man once again. Dudes are turning to quality.’’

Here comes the Groom For guys with rough scruff and

Top: AFP; Right: Jens Mortensen (10).

an unruly pelt, products to tone, soothe and tame.

Clean slate From left: the Art of Shaving Ocean Kelp Pre-Shave Gel, QR80. Go to theartofshaving.com. Ren Tamanu High Glide Shaving Oil, QR102. Go to renskincare.com. Brad Ultra Peel, QR640. Go to woodleyandbunny.com. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Toner, QR59. Go to kiehls.com. The New York Shaving Company Original Unscented Shaving Cream, QR66. Go to nyshavingcompany.com. Edwin Jagger DE89L razor, QR135. Go to leesrazors.com.

Edwar d Barsam ian

Mane story Baxter of California comb, QR66. Go to baxterofcalifornia .com. MiN New York Define DHT Inhibiting Shaping Pomade, QR75. Go to minnewyork.com. Bumble and Bumble Bb.gel, QR91. Go to bumbleandbumble.com. MenScience Androceuticals Hair Styling Gel, QR66. Go to shopmiomia.com. Lab Series Root Power Restorative Style Wax, QR66. Go to labseries.com. John Allan’s Matte Pomade, QR84. Go to johnallans.com.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

The Trend

Snow patrol. Après-ski is no longer just for the Aspenites. Luxe winter-sports chic trades slopes for streets at Jil Sander, Moncler Grenoble and Burberry Prorsum.

The Girl

The British actress Andrea Riseborough electrifies as Sam Riley’s bumbling admirer in the film adaptation of Graham Greene’s ‘‘Brighton Rock.’’ She also stars in Madonna’s ‘‘W.E.,’’ due out later this year.

The Look

Think Capucine and Claudia Cardinale in ‘‘The Pink Panther’’: a retro cable-knit crew-neck sweater by Tom Ford. Sleek stirrup ski pants optional.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

photograph BY ben toms Fashion Editor: vanessa traina tom ford sweater, QR6,168. go to tomford.com. burberry prorsum pants, QR2,902.

fashion assistant: guillaume harrison. hair by raphael salley at streeters. makeup by hiromi ueda at julian watson agency using chanel autumn/winter 2011.

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remix profile in style

Erica Reid, in the Park Avenue apartment she shares with her husband and two children. She wears a blouse by Yves Saint Laurent, earrings by Tom Binns Design, a Vionnet bracelet and an Eddie Borgo ring.

erica reid

Every fashion-loving gal has that one piece she just can’t part with. For Erica Reid, it’s a cozy old Joseph turtleneck: ‘‘I’ve had it for 14 years. It’s been with me through my girlfriend, fiancée, wife, pregnancy and mother stages.’’ (She’s married to the record executive L. A. Reid.) When Erica, a budding author, isn’t swaddled in her security sweater, she rocks fierce pieces from Alexander McQueen, Preen, Erdem and Norma Kamali (‘‘so old school’’) as well as a vintage collection that would make Kate Moss weep. She opts for high street style from the likes of H&M and Topshop when the mood strikes. ‘‘There’s no shame in my game,’’ she says. ‘‘I am not a slave to labels.’’ S . B . 32

P H O T O G R A P H s B Y kava gorna

Above: Bijoux make it better. Below: the Reids’ living room features Art Deco furniture and photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

fashion editor: Rae Boxer. Hair by EDRIS for EDRIS Salon. Makeup by Marc Reagan for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.

Above: wearing an ’80s Ungaro frock from her extensive vintage collection. Below: Grammys belonging to her husband, the music producer L. A. Reid.

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Left: her 8-year-old son, Addison. Above: part of the Reids’ sizable photography collection. Below: Arianna and Addison rock out to a favorite song.

kava gorna

Above: the vegan fashionista whips up a green juice wearing a dress by Proenza Schouler and shoes by Tom Ford. Left: the family dog, Donut. Below: at the piano with Arianna, her 10-year-old daughter. Reid wears an Akris gown. Arianna is in a dress by Gap.

“ ”

I wear what works for my body. I’m not six feet tall. I eat — I have flesh on my bones. I like designers who understand curves.

Above: in a crystalstudded dress by Brioni and earrings by Elizabeth and James. Left: a painting by Kathleen Morris presides over the living room.

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incent Corver and I rendezvous over an indulgent breakfast at the Pearl. As I’m tucking into my gloriously calorific cookie I notice the fingers that are cradling his cappuccino. He has a pianist’s fingers; long, slim and welldeveloped, they are the fingers of a musician who’s trained for years to hone his skill. Clearly, this is someone who knows a thing or two about pianos.

Born in Holland, he began piano lessons when he was six, attended Music College at the Royal Conservatoire at the Hague, and then at the age of 23 found himself working with famous American composer Steve Reich. “He’s an incredible composer with so much experience, so I asked his advice” says Corver. “I asked him what I should do next, and I also asked him whether I could join his ensemble. He told me I wouldn’t be happy in his orchestra, as I was too young. Instead, he suggested I formed my own ensemble, and he also suggested I go to the Royal Academy of Music in London for postgraduate study. So

photograph BY Rob Altamirano

piano passion The Pearl Qatar has an exquisite new resident. Steinway & Sons, the world-famous piano makers, are setting up shop in Porto Arabia. Victoria Scott meets the manager of the new Steinway Piano Gallery, concert pianist Vincent Corver.

I did both.” It was while Corver was studying in the UK that his career took a rather different direction. “I suddenly had an urge to do something else besides just playing the piano,” he explains. “I thought if I died, people would write on my gravestone ‘well... he could play the piano very well’. That wasn’t enough for me.” So, Corver decided to embark on a home-study course in Economics alongside his daytime

“ ”

Steinway occupies a double-fronted store just a few doors down from Gordon Ramsay’s Maze on The Pearl. Its elegant, climate-controlled environment showcases the range of pianos available, from an upright for QR28,000 to a full size concert grand, priced upwards of QR841,000. There are clearly many customers in the region who feel the price is one worth paying. “We’ve had a lot of enquiries from hotels and schools, and lots of Qataris have expressed an interest, including some who are connected to the royal family” Corver tells me with a smile. “It annoys me when people suggest there’s no demand for pianos here. In Europe, there’s a piano shop for every 100,000 people. This is the first speciality piano shop in the region - there’s a real need for it.” A grand piano is a sizeable piece of furniture, even for a large home, but Corver tries his best to convince me that everyone should buy a grand if they can afford it. “You can put a concert grand anywhere, and it will look and feel amazing. I say - if it fits inside your home, just get it. An upright piano blends into the wall, but a grand connects space. Plus, if you have a piano at home - it’s not just a house, it’s a house with a piano, and that’s an amazing thing.” n

“I thought if I died, people would write on my gravestone ‘well... he could play the piano very well’. That wasn’t enough for me.”

study at one of the best musical schools in the world. It worked. When he spotted an advert asking for a sales assistant in the piano department at Harrods, he snapped up the opportunity. “I went for the interview and put on my best English accent, in fact I tried my best to do a very posh English accent!” he laughs. “I obviously made an impression somehow, because the next day I had the job.” Well and truly bitten by the retail bug, after his graduation he set up a piano store in Lucerne, Switzerland. Not content with the challenge of running his business, he also continued to perform, and set up a website with the aim of assessing the demand for pianos in the Gulf region. “I sent the results of my research to Steinway”, says Corver. “And they came back with this amazing offer, saying they needed someone to set up their new piano gallery in Qatar. I was here within three weeks.” Just a few months into his new life in Qatar, I ask Vincent Corver what he thinks of his new home. “I’m mesmerized by The Pearl. I love that there’s so much green, everything is beautifully landscaped and finished. The only problem was that I arrived in August, and the place seemed deserted! I have all these photos from my first couple of weeks and there isn’t a single soul in them. It’s better now, thank goodness.”

The best set of keys teinway’s founder set out to build “the best piano possible” and it’s this determination and attention to detail that has made the company a worldwide success story. Each piano incorporates over 125 patented features and processes, and takes nearly a year to be built in one of the company’s factories, either in New York or in Hamburg, Germany. “As a pianist, I’m very aware of Steinway’s legendary name,” says Corver. “The company has a history of making the world’s finest pianos. It’s such an amazing product to sell and to work with.”

Each piano incorporates over 125 patented features and processes, and takes nearly a year to be built

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Melinda Looi used printed fabric to layer the classic abaya effect

Melinda Looiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature luscious trimming adorns the classic abaya look with a special dramatic headgear to match.

Tom Abang Saufi incorporates the prints of Borneo in her interpretation of the new-look abaya.

The Abaya Revolution The abaya is making an appearance on fashion ramps across the world. Debrina Aliyah delves into its growing appeal.

he identity of the abaya has gone through a spectacular journey via a spectrum of perspectives; from a cultural garb with a religious denotation to sometimes, a misunderstood representation of the women who wear it and more recently, a fashion revolution that is appearing on runways across the globe. Just a short decade ago, the world would not even begin to imagine what lies underneath

the iconic long flowing black robe that is synonymous with the women of the Middle East. As fashion becomes more accessible through the in-depth reach of the internet, these women began to adorn their looks with the latest seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dramatic shoes, handbags and accessories, all of which are visible even when wearing an abaya. The natural progress, of course, would be to revamp the abaya itself. The upspring of new young abaya designers in the region has seen the abaya go through a swanky reform with the appearance of batwings, balloon sleeves, embroidery details, sequinned collars and even bold color block trims on the hems. This

sartorial shift elevated the abaya from a simple black robe to lavish designer fashion pieces sought after by the most elite who would not think twice of the price tags to give themselves a more distinguished look. And then the trend caught on with the rest of the world, especially in countries with a sizable community of Muslims. The yearning for modest clothing that adheres to Islamic principle and yet fashionable enough to stay on the pulse of the global style decorum brought to life the Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF) that has shown for six years in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Monte Carlo, New York, Singapore, London and just hot off the catwalk, in Milan Fashion Week

2011. An independent Muslim Fashion Week also took place in October 2010 in Tatarstan, a Muslim-majority Russian state. The centerpieces at these shows are of course, the abaya. Designers from around the globe dished out their versions of this cultural attire, adding local flavors and context, while some daringly gave the abaya a whole new color to match the local communities preference. Award winning Malaysian designer Melinda Looi, fell in love with the abaya after visiting countries in this region, and decided to give it a modern interpretation with her brand’s signature design twist. Looi’s work which incorporates intricate details, volume and drapery has long been associated with glamour and grandeur which is perfect for her opulent versions of the abaya. “I think the abaya looks extremely elegant and stunning on all women. Having met the beautiful women of the Middle East, I fell in love and decided to design the abaya. I draw inspirations from my clients, cultural elements, nature, historical fashion - basically just to create a different theme for each collection.” Even though Looi is not Muslim, she is highly sought after for her couture and ready-to-wear work in Islamic fashion as she maintains a close relationship with her Muslim customers to understand their needs and is ready to give them what they want. “I feel very fortunate to have such great support that allows me to not only understand

Akhawat’s London Fleur abaya features blush colour embroidery

the requirements of Islamic dressing but also the cultural aspects which is an amazing experience.” The buzzing question, of course, is how the local markets react to the introduction of the abaya into their fashion wardrobe. As Looi points out, while her clientele is a good mix of tourists and local Malaysian Muslim customers, there is a surprising trend as more and more non-Muslim fashionistas are picking up on the trend. The main factor being that the abaya is easy to wear, fuss-free and yet exudes elegance and class. This orientation is reflected in the guest list of the IFF gala events, where an increasing majority of the attendees are not Muslims. As British abaya designer Sophia Kara explained, there are more positive responses from non-Muslims that are now taking a keen interest in the design of the abaya. “They are beginning to look at it as a trend rather than a religious attire and this comes from the new wider perceptions on Muslim women which is very different from the concept before as Muslim women were often stereotyped as frumpy women in black cloaks,” Kara said. Kara heads the creative process at Imaan Collections based in the UK, a brand which she describes as faith friendly couture for women. She began designing for herself a decade ago, as she realized the gap in stylish yet modest abaya. As interest grew in her works, she decided to build her label and collections to cater to the market. “I don’t like to dictate or interpret the abaya into any set particular design or structure. I like to create pieces which are a compromise

Imaan Collection’s glamorous version of the evening abaya for special occassions.

between modesty and my own unique taste in fashion, so in a sense, I’m getting the best of both worlds which give me immense pleasure. It is also a sense of relief for women who have struggled for years in finding something that’s been starved of from the world of fashion in the 21st century,” Kara explained. Kara brings her British culture, religion and her heritage as influences in her designs for women who embrace modesty and their own unique identity. The result of her inspiration is the very chic and refreshing Cosmo collection which is a relaxed and casual take on the abaya incorporating high-street influences with the use of wool and denim fabrics. Reinterpreting the abaya for the Western market is an interesting task as the customers generally prefer comfort, practicality and simple designs to match their fast paced lifestyles. Founder of Akhawat, a custom-order abaya service in the UK, Joanna Akhawat observes that her Western clients prefers less drapery, fuss-free fabrics and more fitted styles for daily use, which a big opposite from the Gulf market

Imaan Collection’s British influence gives the abaya a new high-street edgy feel

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preferences. “While the new and fancy Gulf designs are beginning to appeal to the Western market, they prefer to adapt them for pieces that are reserved for special occasions. Here in the UK, special occasions are not always gender segregated and women want to dress up for these events and still remain modestly covered. That is when the fancy embroidery and bright colors comes into play for these custom-made abayas,” Joanna explained. Akhawat’s custom design abaya allows Zabaara features young funky design elements like spikes on shoulders of the abaya.

Combining the influence of east and west results in the very edgy and unique interpretation of the abaya from Imaan Collection.

Using the classic abaya cut, Melinda Looi gives the look a new colour perfect as an evening piece.

customers to select styles, fabrics, colors and size to their preference. The backbone of their designs are influenced by the designer’s travels, mixing different elements from a diversity of cultural dresses. She combines the various elements including traditional Khaleeji abaya drapery, contrasting Asian intricate stitch work, colors and cuts of Moroccan kaftans and bold African prints in the designs to create collections that will appeal to

a wider audience. The brand’s aim is to make the abaya accessible to all by appealing to their individual cultural tastes. Tom Abang Saufi is another designer that is no stranger to incorporating native-inspired prints on her designs and she also champions the growth of abaya and Islamic wear in the South East Asia. Growing up in Borneo, Tom draws a lot of influence from the strong iconic visuals of the region and brings them to life on her collections. She took an interest in the abaya and Islamic fashion design as she saw the emerging need in the South East Asia market who are beginning to embrace the new fashion wave. Her clientele are sophisticated Muslim women who are welltravelled and style-conscious and these women are always on the lookout for modest clothing that are elegant and sophisticated. Tom’s Borneo heritage is evident in her collections as she adopts the very vibrant and colorful culture to give the abaya a vivid new look. There is a lot of fluidity in the designs with a lot of layering as she uses the best of chiffon and satin silk in her work. She sticks to her unique design signature of no zips or buttons in her collection marrying Eastern influence and au courant styles to create clothings that allow women to shine rather than overpowering them. Tom is also garnering a lot of attention from the non-Muslim market for her abaya and Islamic wear in the South East Asia region. She points out that with layering and accessorizing, her customers can attune the clothes to make it just right for different occasions. The abaya trend has caused such an excitement in these new markets that some abaya and Islamic fashion designers have reached cult status and is much celebrated in their own regions. Designers like Indonesia’s Rudy Chandra and Anne Rufaidah, Pakistan’s Mohsin Ali, Singapore’s Natasha Mirpuri

and Sabeen Bani Ahuja, Malaysia’s Rizalman Ibrahim and Radzuan Radzwill are the go-to names when it comes to abayas and Islamic fashion besides their own contemporary design lines. Even the big fashion titans are swept into the new wave with John Galliano, Nina Ricci, Jean Claude Jitrois, Alberta Feretti and Blumarine having presented a special private show in Paris last year where they displayed custom special edition abayas to exclusive clients from the Middle East. The pieces then went on sale in Saks stores of Jeddah and Riyadh. High fashion labels have embraced the abaya movement and offer these customized products exclusively in the Middle Eastern regions. Brands like Fendi, Prada, Etro, Marni, Giorgio Armani and Tom Ford have included shaylas and revamped abayas in the form of kaftans and jalabayas in their collections. As the abaya traverses the world, local designers in Qatar applaud the movement by beginning to adapt and make their collections available to a worldwide audience and yet at the same time innovate to stay ahead in their own markets. As Qatari abaya designer Latifa AlKaabi puts it, there is a constant need to improve on models and styles as the abaya is the most indemand piece of fashion among Qatari women. There are different market needs to cater to the abaya for work hours, leisure hours, evening outings and special occasions. “I think the abaya has become a part of the style of women in many countries because of the comfort and versatility. The growth of the abaya in different markets requires renovation, modernization and diversity as it is with other types of fashion to suit the multiplicity of tastes. In that same approach, we aim to make women beautiful and the abaya is an appropriate piece of fashion that can be designed and revamped to suit different market needs,” explained Latifa. Latifa believes that although the abaya represents a special religious attire, this is no longer a restriction in the new direction where it becomes a sophisticated and modern piece of clothing at the forefront of the fashion scene. In her own work for Zabaara Abaya, Latifa adopts a philosophical approach in developing her designs, by merging the influences of different heritage. “For me, the abaya is more than just a cultural dress or a fashion piece; it represents a special kind of harmony between our civilization and others around the world. With this new movement, women around the world are beginning to experience our thoughts and emotions where the abaya provides a philosophy to our way of life and at the same time displays the brilliance and beauty of women who wear them,” Latifa says.

‫متنوعة ت�ستقيها من خمتلف الثقافات‪ ،‬فهي جتمع ما يظهر �إرث توم بورينيو يف جمموعاتها عندما تعك�س تقدمها بت�صميمات خا�صة تطرحها ح�رصيا يف �أ�سواق‬ ‫بني خمتلف العنا�رص مبا يف ذلك العباية اخلليجية املوروث الثقايف بحيويته و�ألوانه لت�ضفي على العباية‬ ‫بزينتها التقليدية الب�سيطة التي جتل�س على طريف نقي�ض مظهرا جديدا‪ .‬هناك الكثري من املرونة وال�سال�سة يف‬ ‫من �أعمال احلياكة الآ�سيوية املعقدة و�ألوان وق�صات ت�صميماتها مع الكثري من الرتديف (لب�س القطع بع�ضها‬ ‫الف�ستان املغربي والألوان الفاقعة للخامات الإفريقية فوق بع�ض) عندما ت�ستخدم ال�شيفون واحلرير الالمع ال�شيالت وع َّدلت العبايات لت�أخذ �شكل الف�ستان‬ ‫يف ت�صميمات ت�ستحوذ على الإعجاب من قطاع �أكرب من يف �أعمالها‪ .‬وهي تلتزم ب�أ�سلوبها اخلا�ص يف الت�صميم واجلالبيب �إىل جمموعاتها‪.‬‬ ‫اجلمهور �أو امل�ستهلكني‪ .‬تهدف ال�رشكة �إىل و�ضع العباية بعدم ا�ستخدام ال�سحابات يف جمموعتها مزاوجة بني مع متدد العباية عرب احلدود �أخذ امل�صممون القطريون‬ ‫يف متناول يد اجلميع‪ ،‬وذلك عن طريق جعلها تعك�س الت�أثريات ال�رشقية وخطوط املو�ضة احلديثة لتنتج يدعمون هذه احلركة بالبدء بتوفيق جمموعاتهم‬ ‫مالب�س ت�سمح للمر�أة ب�أن تت�ألق بدال عن تكبيل حركتها‪ .‬وتوفريها يف الأ�سواق العاملية مع ا�ستمرارهم يف نف�س‬ ‫ال�سمات الفردية لكل ثقافة‪.‬‬ ‫توم اباجن �صويف م�صممة �أخرى لي�ست غريبة على ت�ساهم توم �أي�ضا يف خلق املزيد من االهتمام يف الوقت يف التجديد حتى يحافظوا على مكانتهم يف‬ ‫�أ�سلوب دمج النق�شات امل�ستوحاة من البيئة املحلية الأ�سواق غري امل�سلمة بعباياتها ومالب�سها الإ�سالمية ِالأ�سواق املحلية‪ .‬وكما تقول امل�صممة القطرية لطيفة‬ ‫يف ت�صميماتها‪ ،‬ولعبت دورا كبريا يف انت�شار العباية يف منطقة جنوب �رشق �آ�سيا‪ ،‬وهي تقول �أن مع الرتديف الكعبي ف�إن هناك حاجة م�ستمرة لتح�سني املوديالت‬ ‫و�إ�ضافة الإك�س�سوارات ت�ستطيع زبوناتها التوفيق بني واخلطوط نظرا لأن العباية هي قطعة املو�ضة الأكرث‬ ‫�أخوات لندن تعمل على ت�صميم املالب�س ليجعلنها تنا�سب خمتلف طلبا بني الن�ساء القطريات‪ .‬هناك احتياجات ملختلف‬ ‫�أنواع العبايات التي ت�ستخدم يف خمتلف املنا�سبات‬ ‫العبايات لتدخل �إىل عامل املنا�سبات‪.‬‬ ‫مو�ضة �أزياء النجوم با�ستخدام لقد اكت�سبت مو�ضة العبايات مثل العمل والنزهة وال�سهرات واملنا�سبات اخلا�صة‪.‬‬ ‫الكري�ستال والتطريز والزخارف اهتماما كبريا يف هذه الأ�سواق قالت لطيفة وهي ت�رشح هذا الو�ضع‪" :‬اعتقد �أن‬ ‫اجلديدة �إىل درجة �أن بع�ض العباية قد �أ�صبحت جزءا من مالب�س املر�أة يف خمتلف‬ ‫م�صممي العبايات واملالب�س الدول ب�سبب ما متنحه من راحة ملن تلب�سها ولتعدد‬ ‫ال�رشق الأو�سط ‪ .‬كما �ضمت العالمات مثل فيندي ‪Fendi‬‬ ‫وبرادا ‪ Prada‬و�إترو ‪ Etro‬ومارين ‪ Marni‬وجيورجيو‬ ‫�آرماين ‪ Giorgio Armani‬وتوم فورد ‪Tom Ford‬‬

‫“‬ ‫”‬

‫اكتسبت موضة العبايات اهتماما كبيرا في هذه األسواق‬ ‫الجديدة إلى درجة أن بعض مصممي العبايات والمالبس‬ ‫اإلسالمية قد وصلوا إلى مرتبة النجومية‬

‫يظهر �إرث توم اباجن �صويف يف جمموعاتها‬ ‫عندما تعك�س املوروث الثقايف بحيويته‬ ‫و�ألوانه لت�ضفي على العباية مظهرا جديدا‬

‫واملالب�س الإ�سالمية يف جنوب �رشق‬ ‫�آ�سيا‪ .‬ن�ش�أت توم يف بورينيو وهي‬ ‫ت�ستمد ت�صميماتها من ت�أثريات‬ ‫ال�صور واملناظر التي تتميز بها املنطقة‪ ،‬والتي جت�سدها‬ ‫وحتييها يف جمموعاتها‪.‬‬ ‫بد�أت توم تهتم بالعباية وت�صميمات الأزياء الإ�سالمية‬ ‫عندما ر�أت هذه املالب�س تكت�سح �أ�سواق جنوب �رشق �آ�سيا‬ ‫ور�أت حاجة هذه الأ�سواق �إىل املزيد منها‪ .‬وت�شمل قائمة‬ ‫زبائنها‪ ،‬الن�ساء امل�سلمات الالئي �سافرن كثريا ولهن‬ ‫ذوق جتاه املو�ضة‪ ،‬ويبحثن با�ستمرار عن املالب�س‬ ‫املحت�شمة الب�سيطة ويتمتعن بالت�ألق واحل�ضور والذوق‬ ‫الرفيع‪.‬‬ ‫‪39‬‬

‫الإ�سالميــة قــد و�صلــوا �إلـى‬ ‫مرتبــة النجوميـــة و�أ�صبـــح‬ ‫ي�شـــار �إليهـــم بالبنـان فــي‬ ‫مناطقهم‪ .‬امل�صممون �أمثال‬ ‫رودي �شاندرا‪� ،‬آن رفيدة من‬ ‫�إندوني�سيا‪ ،‬حم�سن على من‬ ‫باك�ستان‪ ،‬ناتا�شا مريبوري‪،‬‬ ‫�سابني باين اهوجا من‬ ‫�سنغافورة‪ ،‬ريزاملان �إبراهيم‪،‬‬ ‫ورادزوان راتزويل من ماليزيا‬ ‫فقد �أ�صبحت لهم �أ�سماء بارزة‬ ‫يف عامل العبايات واملالب�س‬ ‫الإ�سالمية �إىل جانب ت�صميماتهم املعا�رصة الأخرى‪.‬‬ ‫حتى مو�ضة التيتان ال�شهرية اجنرفت مع املوجة‬ ‫اجلديدة مع تقدمي كل من جون غالياين ونينا ريت�شي‬ ‫وجون كلود جيرتوا والبريتا فرييتي وبلومارين عر�ضا‬ ‫خا�صا يف باري�س العام املا�ضي ملجموعة خا�صة من‬ ‫العبايات للعمالء املميزين من ال�رشق الأو�سط‪ .‬وبعد‬ ‫العر�ض طرحت القطع للبيع يف حمالت �ساك�س ‪Saks‬‬ ‫يف جدة والريا�ض‪.‬‬ ‫تلقفت عالمات املو�ضة الكربى �أي�ضا العبايات وبد�أت‬

‫ا�ستخداماتها‪ ،‬ولكن انت�شار العباية يف الأ�سواق يحتاج‬ ‫�إىل التجديد والتحديث وتعددية الق�صات‪ ،‬كما هو‬ ‫احلال مع الأنواع الأخرى من الأزياء لتلبية خمتلف‬ ‫الأذواق‪ .‬من هذا املنطلق نحن نعمل حتى تظهر املر�أة‬ ‫يف �أجمل �صورها‪ ،‬والعباية هي القطعة املنا�سبة لذلك‪،‬‬ ‫والتي ميكن ت�صميمها وجتديدها �أي�ضا لتنا�سب خمتلف‬ ‫متطلبات الأ�سواق"‪.‬‬ ‫تعتقد لطيفة �أنه بالرغم من �أن العباية متثل منوذجا من‬ ‫املالب�س التي متيز دينا معينا‪ ،‬ف�إن ذلك مل يعد حدا يف‬ ‫االجتاه اجلديد الذي جعلها ُتعرف �أكرث ب�أنها قطعة فنية‬ ‫حديثة يف عامل املو�ضة ويف مقدمة م�شهد الأناقة‪ .‬يف‬ ‫عباية الزبارة التي ابتكرتها بنف�سها تطبق لطيفة مفهوما‬ ‫فل�سفيا يف تطوير ت�صميماتها عن طريق دمج ت�أثريات‬ ‫خمتلف املوروثات الثقافية يف مبتكراتها‪ .‬قالت لطيفة‬ ‫موا�صلة تعليقها‪" :‬متثل العباية بالن�سبة يل �أكرث من‬ ‫جمرد زي ثقايف �أو قطعة من املو�ضة‪� .‬إنها متثل نوعا‬ ‫خا�صا من التجان�س بني ح�ضارتنا واحل�ضارات الأخرى‬ ‫حول العامل‪ .‬مع هذه احلركة اجلديدة يف اجتاه العباية‬ ‫بد�أت الن�ساء حول العامل يكت�شفن �أفكارنا وعواطفنا نظرا‬ ‫لأن العباية تقدم �أ�سا�سا فل�سفيا لطريقة حياتنا‪ ،‬ويف‬ ‫نف�س الوقت تظهر �أبهة وجمال املر�أة التي ترتديها"‪.‬‬

‫يف عباية الزبارة‬ ‫التي ابتكرتها بنف�سها‬ ‫تطبق لطيفة مفهوما‬ ‫فل�سفيا يف تطوير‬ ‫ت�صميماتها عن طريق‬ ‫دمج ت�أثريات خمتلف‬ ‫املوروثات الثقافية‬

‫ا�ستخـــدام جمموعـــات الإميـــان خامــات ال�صوف‬ ‫والدمني‪ ،‬فــي جمموعـــــة كو�سمــو من العبايات‬ ‫جعلها تتميز بالأناقــة واحليويــة وت�ضفي �إح�سا�سا‬ ‫بالراحة والعفوية‬

‫قالت لووي‪" :‬اعتقد �أن العباية تظهر يف غاية اجلمال‬ ‫واجلاذبية على جميع الن�ساء‪ .‬وبعد �أن ر�أيت الن�ساء‬ ‫اجلميالت يف منطقة ال�رشق الأو�سط �أحببت العباية‬ ‫وقررت �أن �أعيد ت�صميمها‪ .‬وقد ا�ستوحيت ت�صميماتي‬ ‫من �أفكار زبوناتي‪ ،‬والعنا�رص الثقافية‪ ،‬والطبيعة‬ ‫واخللفيات التاريخية – كل ذلك حتى �أ�ستطيع اخلروج‬ ‫ب�أفكار خمتلفة تنا�سب كل جمموعة"‪.‬‬ ‫بالرغم من �أن لووي لي�ست م�سلمة ف�إن ت�صميماتها‬ ‫الودودة للأزياء الإ�سالمية اجلاهزة مطلوبة بكرثة خا�صة‬ ‫�أنها حتتفظ بعالقات قوية مع زبوناتها امل�سلمات‪ ،‬لذلك‬ ‫فهي تفهم احتياجاتهن وبالتايل �أ�صبحت يف و�ضع‬ ‫ميكّنها من تقدمي ما يرغنب فيه‪.‬‬ ‫وا�صلت لووي حديثها قائلة‪�" :‬أنا �أح�س �أنني حمظوظة‬ ‫كوين �أح�صل على هذا الدعم الكبري الذي ميكنني من فهم‬ ‫لي�س فقط متطلبات‬ ‫اللب�س الإ�سالمي‪ ،‬بــــل‬ ‫�أي�ضا الأبعاد الثقافية‬ ‫لتـلك الأزيــــاء‪ .‬و�أنـــــا‬ ‫�أعترب �أن هذه جتربة‬ ‫فريدة"‪ .‬وال�س�ؤال امللح‬ ‫هو بالطبع كيف تكون‬ ‫ا�ستجابـــــة الأ�ســــواق‬ ‫املحليــــة ملحـــاوالت‬ ‫دخول العباية �إىل‬ ‫خزانة مالب�سها‪ .‬وكما‬ ‫ت�شري �إليه لووي ف�إنه‬ ‫بينمـــا ت�ضــــم قائمــة‬ ‫زبوناتهــــا ت�شكيلـــــة‬ ‫خمتلــــف ال�سائحــــات‬ ‫والزبونات املاليزيات‬ ‫امل�سلمات هناك اجتاه‬ ‫ال يخلو من غرابة وهو‬ ‫ت�ستخـدم فـي‬ ‫ازدياد عدد امل�سلمات‬ ‫الزبــارة‬ ‫عباية‬ ‫الالئي بـــد�أن يتتبعــن‬ ‫الن�سيج املخملي‬ ‫خطــــوط واجتاهـــات‬ ‫ال�ضفاء مل�ســة‬ ‫املو�ضـــــة‪ .‬والعامـــل‬ ‫من الفخامـــة‬ ‫ع�رصية‪.‬‬ ‫ونظرة‬ ‫الرئي�ســــي فــــي هــــذا‬ ‫التحول هو �أن العباية‬ ‫�سهلة اللب�س وخالية‬ ‫من التعقيدات‪ ،‬ومع ذلك تتميز بالأناقة واجلمال‪.‬‬ ‫هذا االجتاه يتمثل �أي�ضا يف قائمة �ضيوف فعاليات‬ ‫مهرجان الأزياء الإ�سالمية حيث غالبية احل�ضور لي�سوا‬ ‫من امل�سلمني‪.‬‬ ‫قالت �صوفيا كارا م�صممة العبايات الربيطانية وهي‬ ‫ت�شـــرح ظاهــــرة انت�شار العباية �إن هناك املزيد من‬ ‫اال�ستجابات الإيجابية من غري امل�سلمات الالئي يبدين‬ ‫الآن اهتماما كبريا بت�صميم العباية‪ .‬وم�ضت �إىل القول‪:‬‬ ‫"بدت العبايات وك�أنها اجتاه ولي�س زيا دينيا‪ ،‬وقد جاء‬ ‫هذا من النظرة اجلديدة التي تختلف كثريا عن الفكرة‬ ‫ال�سابقة عن املر�أة امل�سلمة‪ ،‬حيث كان ُينظر �إليها دائما‬

‫على �أنها امر�أة حمافظة ال تهتم ب�أناقتها و�أنها جمرد‬ ‫امر�أة ملفوفة يف ال�سواد"‪ .‬تقود كارا عمليات االبتكار‬ ‫يف �رشكة جمموعات الإميان ‪ Imman Collections‬التي‬ ‫تتخذ من اململكة املتحدة مقرا لها‪ ،‬وهي �رشكة ت�صفها‬ ‫كارا ب�أنها حترتم التعاليم الدينية التي متلي على الن�ساء‬ ‫معايري معينة للطريقة التي يلب�سن بها‪ .‬بد�أت كارا‬ ‫الت�صميم م�ستقلة قبل عقد من الزمان و�أدركت الفجوة‬ ‫بني الأناقة والب�ساطة التي تتميز بها العباية وبني‬ ‫ما ت�ستحقه من انت�شار‪ ،‬ومع ازدياد اهتمام اجلمهور‬ ‫ب�أعمالها قررت �أن يكون لها عالمتها وجمموعاتها‬ ‫اخلا�صة التي حتاول من خاللها تلبية احتياجات ال�سوق‪.‬‬ ‫قالت معلقة على ذلك‪�" :‬أنا ال �أود �أن افر�ض على العباية‬ ‫منظومة معينة من الت�صميم �أو ال�شكل‪� .‬أود �أن �أخلق‬ ‫قطعة فنية جتمع ما بني الب�ساطة واحل�شمة من جانب‪،‬‬ ‫وذوقي اخلا�ص يف الأزياء والأناقة من اجلانب الآخر‪،‬‬ ‫وبالتايل �أكون قد حققت الأف�ضل من كال اجلانبني وذلك‬ ‫مينحني الكثري من املتعة والر�ضا‪� ،‬إىل جانب ما يتيحه‬ ‫من االرتياح للن�ساء الالئي يجتهدن كثريا للح�صول على‬ ‫�شيء كن يفتقدنه يف عامل املو�ضة يف القرن الع�رشين"‪.‬‬ ‫ت�ستح�رض كارا ثقافتها الربيطانية ودينها وتراثها‬ ‫كم�ؤثرات على ت�صميماتها للن�ساء الالئي يف�ضلن‬ ‫الب�ساطة واحل�شمة والتم�سك بهويتهن و�شخ�صيتهن‬ ‫اخلا�صة‪ .‬وكانت النتيجة لهذا الإلهام ظهور جمموعة‬ ‫كو�سمو من العبايات التي تتميز بالأناقة واحليوية‬ ‫وت�ضفي �إح�سا�سا بالراحة والعفوية و�سهولة اللب�س مع‬ ‫احتفاظها ب�سمات �أزياء الطبقة الراقية من خامات من‬ ‫ال�صوف والدمني‪.‬‬ ‫يعترب �إعادة تقدمي العباية �إىل ال�سوق الغربية عمال مثريا‬ ‫لالهتمام‪ ،‬خا�صة و�أن امل�ستهلكات يف�ضلن ب�صفة عامة‬ ‫املالب�س املريحة خا�صة �إذا كانت ب�سيطة الت�صميم‬ ‫تتنا�سب و�أ�سلوب حياتهن الذي �أ�صبح يتميز بال�رسعة‬ ‫و�ضيق الوقت‪ .‬الحظت جوانا �أخوات م�ؤ�س�سة �رشكة‬ ‫اخوات ‪ Akhawat‬وهي �رشكة تعمل على ت�صميم و�إنتاج‬ ‫العبايات ح�سب الطلب �أن زبوناتها الغربيات يف�ضلن‬ ‫الأزياء القليلة الزينة والتعقيد وامل�صممة ب�صورة‬ ‫تتنا�سب �أكرث مع احلياة اليومية‪ ،‬وذلك يف تعار�ض كبري‬ ‫مع ما تف�ضله �أ�سواق اخلليج العربي‪.‬‬ ‫�رشحت جوانا هذا الو�ضع قائلة‪" :‬بينما يبد�أ امل�صممون‬ ‫اخلليجيون اخلياليون اجلدد يف التودد �إىل الأ�سواق‬ ‫الغربية يعمدون �إىل تقليد اجتاهاتهم يف الت�صميمات‬ ‫املخ�ص�صة هناك للمنا�سبات اخلا�صة فقط‪ .‬هنا يف‬ ‫اململكة املتحدة ال يتم دائما الف�صل بني اجلن�سني يف‬ ‫املنا�سبات اخلا�صة‪ ،‬لذلك حتب الن�ساء الت�أنق يف هذه‬ ‫املنا�سبات مع االحتفاظ بح�شمتهن‪ .‬وهنا ي�أتي دور‬ ‫التطريز والزخارف والأ�شكال اخليالية والألوان الفاقعة‬ ‫يف هذه العبايات التي ت�صممها �رشكة �أخوات وتنتجها‬ ‫ح�سب الطلب"‪.‬‬ ‫ت�سمح �رشكة �أخوات للزبونات اختيار الق�صات واخلامات‬ ‫والألوان واملقا�سات ح�سب رغبتهن‪ ،‬ويت�أثر اخلط‬ ‫اجلوهري للت�صميم ب�أ�سفار امل�صممة وخلطها لعنا�رص‬ ‫‪40‬‬

‫العبايـــة ثـــورة‬

‫فـــــي عـالـــــم األزيــــــاء‬

‫بدأت العبايات بالظهور على منصات عرض األزياء في جميع أنحاء العالم‪.‬‬ ‫دبرينا علية ‪ Debrina Aliya‬تقتحم بنا عالم العبايات الساحر‬

‫قطعت‬

‫العباية �شوطا طويال يف رحلتها احلافلة التي مرت‬ ‫خاللها مبختلف الأ�شكال والتحورات واملفاهيم لتحديد‬ ‫هويتها ابتداء من امل�سحة الثقافية ذات الأبعاد الدينية‪،‬‬ ‫�إىل ال�صورة النمطية املغلوطة يف بع�ض املرات عن‬ ‫املر�أة التي ترتديها وم�ؤخرا �إىل ثورة يف عامل الأزياء‬ ‫جتعلها تخطو بثقة و�أناقة على من�صات عر�ض الأزياء‬ ‫يف جميع �أنحاء العامل‪.‬‬ ‫منذ ما ال يزيد عن عقد م�ضى‪ ،‬مل يكن من املتوقع �أن يبد�أ‬ ‫العامل حتى �أن يتخيل ما يرقد حتت هذا الثوب الن�سائي‬ ‫الأ�سود الذي مييز املر�أة يف منطقة ال�رشق الأو�سط‪ .‬بعد‬ ‫�أن �أ�صبح الو�صول �إىل منتجات املو�ضة �أكرث �سهولة‬ ‫بف�ضل الإنرتنت الذي اخرتق جميع �أركان املجتمع‪،‬‬ ‫�أ�صبحت الن�ساء يحر�صن على الظهور يف �أبهى �صورة‬ ‫بارتداء �آخر �صيحات املو�سم من الأحذية وحقائب اليد‬ ‫والإك�س�سوارات التي ال تخطئها العني حتى لو كانت‬ ‫ترتدي العباية‪.‬‬ ‫مل يكن التطور الطبيعي للعباية يف عامل املو�ضة املتغري‬ ‫�أقل من �إعادة �صياغة هذا الزي الذي يفر�ض نف�سه بقوة‬ ‫يف هذه املنطقة وحول العامل‪� .‬أدى ظهور اجليل اجلديد‬ ‫من امل�صممني يف املنطقة �إىل �إدخال حت�سينات كبرية‬ ‫على العباية‪ ،‬مثل �إعطائها �شكل �أجنحة الوطواط وجعل‬ ‫�أكمامها منتفخة مثل البالونات وتزيينها بالتطريز‬ ‫املف�صل والياقات املرتترة‪ ،‬وحتى الألوان الفاقعة مع‬ ‫الت�شكيالت الزخرفية الكبرية على احلوا�شي‪ .‬رفعت هذه‬ ‫‪41‬‬

‫الطفرة يف عامل احلياكة العباية من جمرد �سرتة �سوداء‬ ‫ب�سيطة �إىل قطعة فنية �ساحرة من ت�صميم �أرقى بيوت‬ ‫املو�ضة العاملية‪ ،‬و�أ�صبحت �ضمن قائمة طلبات بنات‬ ‫الطبقة الراقية الالئي ال يفكرن مرتني يف ال�سعر من �أجل‬ ‫�أن مينحن �أنف�سهن مظهرا مميزا‪.‬‬ ‫بعد ذلك انت�رشت ال�رصعة يف بقية �أنحاء العامل خا�صة‬ ‫يف الدول التي بها جاليات كبرية من امل�سلمني‪ .‬وب�سبب‬ ‫التطلع �إىل الثياب املحت�شمة التزاما بتعاليم الدين‬ ‫الإ�سالمي احلنيف‪ ،‬والتي تكون من الأناقة مبا يكفي‬ ‫ببقائها بني منتجات املو�ضة العاملية بعد �إعادة‬ ‫�إحيائها من خالل مهرجان الأزياء الإ�سالمية الذي ظل‬ ‫يقام �سنويا ملدة ‪� 6‬سنوات يف جاكرتا‪ ،‬كواالالمبور‪،‬‬ ‫مونت كارلو‪ ،‬نيويورك‪� ،‬سنغافورة ولندن‪ ،‬وم�ؤخرا على‬ ‫من�صة العر�ض يف �أ�سبوع ميالنو للمو�ضة يف ‪،2011‬‬ ‫وقبل ذلك يف �أ�سبوع الأزياء الإ�سالمية الذي �أقيم يف‬ ‫�أكتوبر ‪ 2010‬يف ترت�ستان الوالية الرو�سية ذات الأغلبية‬ ‫امل�سلمة‪ ،‬وكانت العباية بطبيعة احلال وا�سطة العقد بني‬ ‫املعرو�ضات يف كل هذه الفعاليات‪.‬‬ ‫طرح امل�صممون من جميع �أنحاء العامل ت�صميماتهم‬ ‫لهذا الزي الثقايف م�ضيفني نكهات و�أبعادا حملية‬ ‫يف فعاليات العرو�ض العاملية‪ ،‬بينما جتر�أ �آخرون‬ ‫ب�إعطاء العباية لونا كامال جديدا‪ ،‬متا�شيا مع اجتاهات‬ ‫املجتمعات املحلية �أينما كانت‪ .‬امل�صممة املاليزية‬ ‫مليندا لووي التي حازت على العديد من جوائز املو�ضة‬ ‫�أحبت العباية بعد زيارتها لدول املنطقة‪ ،‬فقررت‬ ‫�أن ت�ضفي عليها �أبعادا حديثة من خالل النموذج‬ ‫الذي خرجت به من ت�صميمها‪ .‬العمل الذي قامت به‬ ‫لوي والذي ي�شتمل على الكثري من التفا�صيل الدقيقة‬ ‫واخلامات والإ�ضافات �أعاد العباية �إىل ال�سحر والأبهة‬ ‫اللذان ارتبطت بهما منذ القدم‪ ،‬واللذان يتنا�سبان مع‬ ‫ت�صميماتها الغنية و�أ�شكالها املختلفة‪.‬‬

‫�أعادت امل�صممة املاليزية مليندا لووي‬ ‫ال�سحر والأبهة للعباية با�ستخدامها للألوان‬ ‫املثرية واالهتمام بالتفا�صيل‪ ،‬لتنت�رش يف‬ ‫�أ�سواق جنوب �رشق �آ�سيا‬

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Fahad Al kubaisi Master of Tunes 42

ON A HIGH NOTE With his film debut, Fahad is set to take his music career to new heights.

n December 2006, he took center stage at the spectacular Asian Games closing ceremony. Just a year earlier he had released his hit album Laish? (Why?), which firmly put him on the successful trajectory that landed him his gig with James Horner, singing the opening track of Black Gold. For Fahad, to record with someone as legendary as Horner – Titanic, Troy, Avatar – is the most important milestone of his career. He also recorded a traditional Bedouin song, along with Qatari composer Abdulla Al Mannai, for the film. “It was an exceptional experience. The first time I’ve been involved in something of this magnitude... to not only sing a movie score, but to make my debut at this level, in this environment,” he gushes. As important as the opening score was the Bedouin number he recorded. “I am really happy to share with the world, especially the West, something about our culture. The song is a pure Bedouin melody and I am proud to have shared this with those not familiar with our culture. And am pleased to have the opportunity to do so through Horner,” he says. Fahad has always loved music, and started singing while still in primary school. But he took it up as a profession after he finished his studies in 1997, when he had his first stage performance. “I did not formally train in music, or study it at university level. But I took some courses with talented musicians and also had the privilege of private tutelage to evolve and enhance my skills.” His dream – to remain unrealized – is to share the stage with the late Umm Kulthoum, the Arab world’s most celebrated voice. Of the living, he looks up to Mohammed Abdu. He shares a bond of with fellow Khaleeji singers whom he greatly admires, and collaborates with musicians from the region. Black Gold, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and starring Antonio Banderas, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim and Freida Pinto, was the opening night extravaganza at the year’s Doha Tribeca Film Festival. His compatriots gathered in large numbers not only to enjoy the star-studded film, but also to cheer on a voice they love and embrace. Fahad has a few more projects in the pipeline, including stage shows and albums, but is not quite willing to reveal the details. Yet.

‫فهد الكبيسي‬ ‫ملك األلحان‬

‫‪43‬‬

‫في‬

‫دي�سمرب ‪ 2006‬احتل فهد‬ ‫الكبي�سي امل�رسح يف احلفل‬ ‫اخلتامـــــي لــدورة الألعـــاب‬ ‫الآ�سيوية‪ .‬قبل عام واحد‬ ‫فقط من ذلك التاريخ كان‬ ‫قد �أطلق �ألبومه «لي�ش؟» الذي طار به بنجاح للتعاون‬ ‫مع جيم�س هورنر ليفوز ب�رشف �أداء �أغنية املقدمة لفلم‬ ‫الذهب الأ�سود ‪ .Black Gold‬بالن�سبة لفهد يعترب العمل‬ ‫مع �أ�سطورة �سينمائية عاملية مثل هورنر الذي يحتفظ‬ ‫يف ر�صيده ب�أعمال ناجحة مثل تيتانيك ‪ Titanic‬وتوري‬ ‫‪ Tory‬و افاتار ‪� Avatar‬أهم �أجناز يحققه يف م�سريته‬ ‫الفنية‪� .‬سجل فهد �أي�ضا �أغنية بدوية تراثية بالتعاون مع‬ ‫املو�سيقار القطري عبد اهلل املناعي يف �أحد الأفالم‪.‬‬ ‫قال الكبي�سي بينما كانت �أنفا�سة تتالحق بالكالم «لقد‬ ‫كانت جتربة فريدة‪ ،‬وكانت تلك هي املرة الأوىل التي‬ ‫�أ�شارك من خاللها يف عمل بهذا احلجم ‪...‬ولي�س ذلك فقط‬ ‫لأنني غنيت يف الفيلم بل لأين و�صلت �إىل هذا امل�ستوى‬ ‫يف هذه الظروف‪ .»...‬مل تكن الأغنية البدوية التي �سجلها‬ ‫ب�أقل �أهمية من �أغنية الفيلم‪ ،‬و�أو�ضح ذلك قائال «�أ�شعر‬ ‫ب�سعادة حقيقية �أن �أقدم للعامل وخا�صة العامل الغربي‬ ‫�شيئا عن ثقافتنا‪ .‬الأغنية �أغنية بدوية خال�صة و�أنا فخور‬ ‫بتقدميها �إىل الذين ال يعرفون الكثري عن ثقافتنا‪ ،‬و�أنا‬ ‫�سعيد بح�صويل على هذه الفر�صة للقيام بذلك من خالل‬ ‫هورنر»‪.‬‬ ‫كان فهد يحب املو�سيقى دائما وبد�أ الغناء منذ �أن كان‬ ‫يف املرحلة االبتدائية‪ ،‬ولكنه مل يحرتف الغناء �إال بعد �أن‬ ‫�أكمل تعليمه يف العام ‪ ،1997‬عندما ظهر على امل�رسح‬ ‫لأول مرة‪ .‬قال فهد عن بداية م�شواره الفني «�أنا مل �أح�صل‬ ‫على تدريب ر�سمي يف املو�سيقى والغناء ومل �أتلق ذلك‬ ‫من خالل درا�سة جامعية‪ ،‬ولكني تلقيت درو�سا من‬ ‫مو�سيقيني موهوبني‪ ،‬وح�صلت على درو�س خ�صو�صية‬ ‫لتطوير مقدراتي و�صقل موهبتي»‪.‬‬ ‫يرتبط فهد الكبي�سي بعالقات قوية مع زمالئه املغنيني‬ ‫اخلليجيني الذين يعجب بهم كثريا‪ ،‬وي�شارك يف احلفالت‬ ‫مع مو�سيقيني من املنطقة‪.‬‬ ‫عر�ض فيلم الذهب الأ�سود يف الليلة االفتتاحية ملهرجان‬ ‫الدوحة ترايبيكا ال�سينمائي هذا العام‪ .‬الفيلم من �إخراج‬ ‫جون جاك �آرنود وبطولة انطونيو بانديرا�س ومارك‬ ‫جتمع القطريون‬ ‫�سرتوجن وطاهر رحيم وفريدة بنتو‪َّ .‬‬ ‫ب�أعداد كبرية يف القاعة لي�س فقط لال�ستمتاع بالفيلم‬ ‫املر�صع بالنجوم‪ ،‬ولكن �أي�ضا لال�ستمتاع بال�صوت‬ ‫الغنائي ال�شجي الذي �أحبوه‪.‬‬ ‫لدى فهد املزيد من امل�شاريع يف طور التخطيط والتنفيذ‬ ‫مبا يف ذلك عرو�ض حية والبومات ولكنه ال يحب على‬ ‫الأقل الآن الإف�صاح عن التفا�صيل‪.‬‬

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Harry Winston Cluster inspired

An enduring icon of American glamour, the Harry Winston Cluster has been a defining part of the Winston tradition for more than six decades. Dating back to the archives from the early 1940s, the refined design draws references from nature: the sculptured geometry of flowers and leaves, and the elegant fluidity with which they take shape. Exploring the interplay of different shaped diamonds set at varying angles, the pioneering motif helped to set the stage for Winston’s signature style and continues to inspire new generations in the Winston design studio. In this timeless spirit, Harry Winston introduces a new and captivating collection: Lily Cluster. Exploring early clusters drawings from the archives, Winston designers and master craftsmen worked to reinterpret the iconic motif through a unique, contemporary perspective. The collection starts at $4,900 (QR17,900 approximately).

Pomellato: 10 years of the Nudo

New Nudo Blue London Topaz

Fine Italian jewelers Pomellato marked the 10th anniversary of their iconic Nudo ring with the introduction of a covetable new Nudo collection. The ‘extreme’ version of the brand’s emblematic ring manages to retain the poetic simplicity of the iconic jewel, while accentuating new dimensions and a range of lust-worthy colors. The birth of the Nudo in 2001 revolutionized the ethos of jewelry-making thanks to its simplistic design – which added a touch of humor to the classic solitaire – perfectly in tune with the brand’s unconventional allure. The standout factor of the ring is its versatility. It’s the type of accessory that can play the role of cool casual accompanying a dressed down look comprising a pair of denims, and then easily transform to add sparkle to an elegant gown. It’s perfect for women who like to play around with style, as several rings can be worn together to achieve a colorful combination. The new Nudo collection comes in rose and white gold in the choice of seven stones including Blue London Topaz, Madeira Quartz, Amethyst, Prasiolite, Lemon Quartz, Peridot and Tangerine Garnet. Pomellato is available at Ali Bin Ali Watches & Jewelry, Royal Plaza.

New Nudo Tangerine Garnet and Peridot

Vacheron Constantin: The art of refinement

Classic yet contemporary, the new Patrimony Contemporaine small model reveals its undeniable assets in an engagingly natural manner expressed through pink or white gold. With a hand-wound Calibre 1400, it bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. This new creation lends its own unique aura of timeless charm to the feminine line from the Manufacture. The slender 6.7 mm watch profile radiates purity and sheer elegance accentuated by a rim of brilliant-cut diamonds. The 36 mm diameter case, with its perfectly mastered curves, boasts a pared-down simplicity. The Patrimony Contemporaine small model clearly embodies the majesty of true elegance. Its supreme femininity is unequivocally asserted and proves itself entirely worthy of the noble heritage cultivated by a House founded over 255 years ago.

Montblanc

190 years of chronograph

2011 will be a special year for the chronograph, which celebrates its 190th anniversary. A watch complication which is near to the heart of Montblanc, a brand which not only epitomizes the art of high-quality Swiss watchmaking, but is also the world’s best-known manufacturer of fine writing instruments. Chronos means “time” and graphein means “to write.” The “time-writing” device, the first chronograph was unveiled by its inventor, Nicolas Rieussec, in 1821. Montblanc first paid homage to the inventor of the device for measuring brief intervals of time by dedicating its innovative Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph to the ingenious watchmaker in 2008. As on the original chronograph from 1821, the chronograph hands do not rotate above the dials; instead, they remain motionless while the seconds-disk and minutes-disk turn underneath them. With this, Montblanc created a new face to the chronograph combining tradition with innovation. For the 190th anniversary in 2011, the watch manufacture in the Swiss watchmaking centre of Le Locle now launches the Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Anniversary Edition, which will be available in a strictly limited editions of 190 watches in eighteen carat red gold, 90 watches in 18 carat white gold and 25 watches in 950 platinum.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

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Hermes H for horlogerie

stippled mainplate, an oscillating weight engraved with a sprinkling of “H”s, sprockets, hoop or soleille, bridges, screws, jewels, levers and escape pinions, balances and hairsprings. Quintessentially Hermes, components which, patiently and passionately assembled, make the kind of subtle movement into which masterwatchmakers breathe life. They cut out the heart of the watch to allow the light to shine through and to transform the gears into a decorative element; they incorporate a tourbillon to compensate for the infinitely small variations in rate due to gravity, and they offer a simple, annual or perpetual calendar to display the date, the day and the month, a moon phase to provide astronomical information, Grand Hours or Suspended Time in order to tame the passing of time, or a power reserve to forget about time. This wealth of expertise is handed down from generation to generation by master-watchmakers. Since 1978, the very

finest of them have been brought together in Biel, Switzerland by La Montre Hermes. After this highly technical work comes the more aesthetic touch of the talented specialists who handle the exterior of the watch. These artists, endowed with a rare gift, decorate the case and dial according to the creation of the designer. They enamel thin metal plates to reveal deep, transparent landscapes over which the hands will glide with elegant ease, drawings inspired from the iconic designs of the Hermes silk carres. They engrave mother-of-pearl where iridescent scrolls and arabesques mark out the days and they set diamonds that will light up the passing hours. The very last stage is the fitting of a leather strap, the handiwork of a saddler and leather craftsman who embellishes a carefully selected piece of leather with saddle-stitching. So many disciplines contribute to their birth, so many experts to their fine craftsmanship and exceptional quality.

The Arceau Le Temps Suspendu watch has a new horological complication developed exclusively for Hermes is a world first. Behind a simple and playful gesture lies a sophisticated mechanism capable of making the user forget time via a subtle play of cams, pinions and segments. The mechanics behind the illusion are created by an additional module enabling automatic and spontaneous alternation between suspended time and standard time. Protected by two patents – one for its construction and the other for the play-reducing gear teeth – this gem of horological engineering alone comprises no less than 24 jewels and is equipped with three play-reducing wheels.

Cartier: The Trinity Pearls Collection

Trinity Pearls is a delicate new collection that mixes three tones of pearls in punctuation with the Trinity pattern. Three freshwater pearl colors: pink, white and yellow, produced in the Southern Seas, reminding us of the three-color gold of the Trinity pattern. Two magnificent and exceptional gold pearls from the Southern Seas illuminate the collection, where designs range from classic to highly breathtaking style, with Cartierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eternal creative twist. Pearls have always been interpreted as the embodiment of love, femininity and beauty as well as the symbol of purity and perfection.

* For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

Alfred Dunhill Biz on the go

Designed with the traveling businessman in mind, the Dunhill Avorities Leather 2.0 collection is functional, lightweight and durable. The black cowhide leather has been treated to provide improved durability and scuff resistance, whilst the collection’s tumbled grain quality is complemented with gunmetal hardware. Every piece in the collection comes complete with adjustable shoulder straps and other functional features such as multiple pockets, a padded laptop sleeve, detachable pouches or a trolley panel. The Dunhill Avorities Leather 2.0 range is comprised of five styles. The Single Zip Briefcase and 24 Hour Briefcase both include detachable zip laptop pouches, allowing for easy access if working on a train or airplane. The new Vertical Messenger and ever popular North South Bag offer practicality and space in more casual styles. Each boasts flat zip back pockets which provide easy access at airport security. Interior functionalities include multiple size and shape pockets and a detachable zip pouch with a net pocket. Finally, the Rucksack, an increasingly popular choice for the businessman, provides comfort and ease of use – created in full leather for a luxurious look and increased durability.

Gucci Qatar Exclusives

Gucci is introducing two new handbags for Qatar – the limited edition Stirrup bag and New Bamboo bag, which are two luxurious models from Gucci’s Florentine heritage. Featuring crocodile in two exclusive multi-color finishings, in the shades of rose and purple, the Stirrup bag takes inspiration from an iconic model from 1975. From cutting the various components to the final polish, it takes a seasoned artisan almost two days to craft a Stirrup bag. The overall shape evokes a stirrup and features a spur in light gold hardware on the front panel. Exclusively in natural-purple multicolored python for Qatar, the New Bamboo bag is a reinterpretation of a Gucci style from 1947. During wartime rationing of materials, the Gucci craftsmen cleverly used bamboo cane as a decorative handle on a handbag. Throughout the 50s and 60s, the Gucci Bamboo bag was worn by countless international celebrities, sealing its future fate as a beloved and successful style. For the New Bamboo bag, Creative Director Frida Giannini revisited the classic and updated the bag’s aesthetics while remaining faithful to the spirit and impeccable craftsmanship of the original. Each bag is still created in the same manner as the original and requires 13 hours of work to ensure its perfect details. The bags will be available at the boutique in Villaggio Mall from December 2011. The limited edition bags will both feature a “Qatar Exclusive” metal plaque on the inside lining.

* For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

An advertorial feature

get blue NOTES from top: gucci, QR2,045. fratelli rossetti, QR2,226.

What a gas — tasseled Loafers with socks! Not since 'Ozzie and Harriet' has man’s favorite footwear occupied prime time.

speaking with a brogue tod's loafers, QR2,280. go to tods.com. lanvin jacket, QR9,800, pants, QR4,325, shirt, QR1,077, neck piece,QR566, and tie, price on request. marni socks, QR275.

feet first

walk softly and wear a big trend.

Photographs by KT Auleta Fashion editor: BRUCE PASK 50

SOLE MATES Burberry prorsum, QR2,175. bottega veneta, QR2,995.

HIGH GLOSS FINisH lanvin, QR3,960.

get

CURVES AHEAD vacheron constantin historiques aronde 1954, QR95,700.

NOT FOR POLO ONLY jaeger-lecoultre grande reverso ultra thin tribute to 1931, QR25,735. polo ralph lauren vest, QR602, shirt, QR330, and tie, QR420.

THE CRYSTAL ROCKS longines flagship heritage, QR15,421.

IT might look like YOUR FATHER'S WATCH, BUT REISSUES ARE ALL THE RAGE.

STRAPPING FIGURE iwc portofino handwound 8 days, QR35,600.

FOLLOW THE ARROW zenith captain dual time, QR16,800. THE SPIRIT OF 1787 breguet classique moon phase, QR103,295.

PULSE POINTS montblanc collection villeret 1858 vintage pulsographe, QR182,150.

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hot under the collar boss selection, QR4,362. GrAy anatomy lanvin, QR22,250.

Fasten your seat belts. This seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bomber, in cool, peacetime fabrics, carries a big payload.

elite unit hermĂ¨s, QR32,000.

yo, eisenhower burberry Prorsum jacket, QR7,282, and pants, QR2,375. blk dnm sweater, QR1,277. fashion assistant: miyako bellizzi. grooming by holli smith for redken for men. model: miles garber. block commander neil barrett, about QR4,563.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

still lifes by Jens mortensen

flight club patrik ervell, QR2,190.

cutting edge

get in-store

Richard James The London tailor, known for kitting out rock stars, royals, actors and moguls in killer bespoke suits, is loosening his tie a bit this season. ‘‘Tailoring will never go away,’’ he says. ‘‘In fact, it’s booming. But you also need something to walk the dog in.’’ San d r a Ballenti n e 3

6 5 7

Jens Mortensen (1, 3, 4, 6-8); Interior: Jo Metson Scott.

1. James reinterprets camouflage every season. ‘‘Most prints are feminine, but camouflage is purely masculine,’’ he says. The designer would use this woven tie to spice up a navy suit and white or pale blue shirt. It’s about QR440. 2. The tailor’s colorful ready-to-wear shop on Savile Row (above) is located steps from his tony bespoke operation on Clifford Street (top right), where suits start at QR18,000.

3. He considers this cotton tartan jacket to be both handsome and practical. ‘‘We called the fall collection Tally Ho Savile Row in order to capture the spirit of the moment, with its more casual, country feeling.’’ The jacket is QR2,373. 4. This plush eight-ply cashmere and linen knit would be perfect under a winter coat, he says. ‘‘It’s a very sexy sweater, cut close to the body, and the linen helps it keep its

shape.’’ It costs QR5,370.

or as a formal suit.’’

5. An insouciant polka dot scarf provides the tailor’s signature splash of color. It’s QR1,350.

7. Trust the tailor to design the perfect, three-quarter length shearling. ‘‘It’s very well considered, and very, very warm,’’ he says. It’s QR9,530.

6. Best in show goes to this oversize Prince of Wales check jacket (sold as a suit for QR4,710). ‘‘It’s my absolute favorite piece of fall ready-to-wear,’’ James says. ‘‘The fabric (from one of the finest English mills, of course) is a beautiful flannel that feels like cashmere.’’ He adds, ‘‘You can wear the jacket with jeans

8. If a gentleman buys one shoe for fall, it should be this exaggerated Scotch-grain leather brogue. ‘‘Heavy shoes with thick soles are dominating this season.’’ It’s QR2,080.

james’s London: he usually dines at Scott’s in Mayfair (‘‘I love the smoked haddock with colcannon’’) or the wolseley in St. James’s (‘‘Their peppered steak is perfect’’). Go to scotts-restaurant.com and thewolseley.com. AFter dinner, he listens to music at the Club at the Ivy, a private piano bar above the famous West end restaurant. he haunts Daunt Books for travel tomes (dauntbooks.co.uk) and buys new and vintage eyeglasses at Cutler and Gross. Go to cutlerandgross.com.

P ortrait B Y jo metson scott

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Like a Phoenix: From Ashes to Art Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang creates monumental installations with gunpowder, blurring the lines between destruction and construction. So what is ART? By Sindhu Nair. 54

here is a sense of anticipation, the silence intercepted by a spatter of nervous giggle and some animated chatter in the huge studio space. All eyes are on the artist who oversees the arrangements for the gunpowder firing, and once everything is in place he moves back cautiously. The volunteers follow, holding hands, while others cover their ears. Then BOOM! In that moment our collective hearts miss a beat, as we cast our eyes on what will be revealed through the veil of smoke. More skipped beats as we witness an incredible creation. The birth of something beautiful born of something that is usually correlated to death – Gunpowder. The venue is the exhibition hall located next to the Museum

of Islamic Art. The work is commissioned by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art for a solo exhibition – Saraab, which opens at Mathaf on – December 5. The artist is Cai Guo-Qiang, who is collaborating with local volunteers to produce a series of drawings rendered by igniting gunpowder. Hundreds of volunteers from Doha have assisted Cai and his crew to produce 10 large drawings and an ambitious porcelain mural featuring more than 480 individual panels. Combining gunpowder over stencils with pyrotechnics, Cai creates something spectacular. The final pieces have a sense of motion, an intricacy of images, a strange dynamic that oil pastels don’t achieve. What attracts is not the art alone, but the process itself: the atmosphere that surrounds the creative work, the group synergies of the young aspiring artists that make this exhibition seem uniquely local – with expert guidance and ingenuity.

Cai Guo-Qiang creating a gunpowder drawing from the Miniature Series Photo by Lin Yi, courtesy Cai Studio and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

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Dialogues in design young volunteers and Cai working together. Photo by Lin Yi, courtesy Cai Studio and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

Funnily enough, it is through this loud explosion of art that a timid, shy young Cai tried to express his anger at the social oppressiveness prevalent in the China of the’80s. “It was in 1984, when China had just opened up for trading and the young artists of that time were busy trying to find their unique style of artistic expression,” says Cai. But the creativity, even with the accompanying loud blast, went unnoticed. “No one seemed to understand it.” While exhibiting the art was a tricky process in China, getting the gunpowder was relatively easy, he says, as he was working in a place that produced fire crackers. Cai did not attempt to publicize his work in China but when he moved to Japan in 1986 his baggage was indeed explosive – with around 100kg of his own gunpowder work in canvas. And it was in Japan that he finally got the attention he deserved. Cai was awarded the Japanese Cultural Design Prize in 1995 and the Golden Lion at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999. Involving the community is a far more recent move. In early 2000, when he was exhibiting at the London Tate Modern Museum, he realized that his gunpowder firing attracted a lot of spectators and hence a lot of interest too. Since the process was not open to the public initially, his spectators comprised mostly museum staff and the local media.

“ ”

These projects establish an exchange between viewers and the entire world Ignition for gunpowder drawing Ninety-Nine Horses. Photo by Lin Yi, courtesy Cai Studio and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

ince then he decided to involve locals in this process, especially in countries where contemporary art wasn’t really accessible to all. In 2008, at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, he involved the public for the first time and was overwhelmed with the interactions and the resultant installations. Since then he has been using volunteers for his work and this results in “a direct cultural dialogue with the people,” he points out. “Drawing upon Eastern philosophy and contemporary social issues as a conceptual basis, these projects and events establish an exchange between viewers and the entire world, utilizing a site-specific approach to culture and history.” Each location or site brings out different capabilities and styles, Cai adds. And in the case of his latest project – Ninety-Nine Horses – it also meant tapping into the community’s expertise. “The volunteers are much more familiar with the shape of the horse and I have learnt a lot from my conversations with them, which is why each project is from the soil of the country I exhibit in. “An artist is just a single person, but with such collaborations art becomes easily accessible and comprehensible to every single person in a community, making the final product so much more real,” he says. n

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photograph BY Rob Altamirano

wedded to design With two decades of design associations and creations in NY City, the Boym couple embark on a Middle Eastern sojourn with plans of rewriting design sensibilities here.

By sindhu nair 58

t is a setting in contrast. There is the chatty, cheerful Laurene Leon Boym, all animated as she explores the possibilities of the photo shoot with Robert, our photographer. Then there is Constantin Boym, quiet, visibly tired after his long day at the University, almost bored with the attention and the shoot. There is the view from their apartment on the 27th floor of a West Bay tower that is tantalizing, and the mildly threatening stare of the green-eyed family cat, Ozzy. And back to the power couple whose magical touch is said to have imbued objects with emotion and culture. Constantin Boym started Boym Partners in 1986 and Laurene joined him in 1995. Since then they have been involved in a cultural reawakening of sorts of the design community in New York City, with installations in museums and product designs that always attracted attention. Doha is where the couple have now relocated. In this setting, one wonders how the designing process works for the couple. Who takes the lead, and who brings the various parts together to bind them all in a creative wholeness? “The Boym work process is totally organic,” says Laurene, comparing their working to the synergy within a rock band. “We are multi-instrumentalist, but we tend to specialize and/or take on a specific role, depending on the project. “Sometimes I research and ideate, and then Constantin will come in and give the project an iconic image. Maybe during the fabrication or manufacturing phase I come in again and push the project along. All through the process we are discussing ideas with each other, and all decisions in the design process are made for the ultimate outcome of the project. It’s important to give yourself over entirely to the project, and clients always appreciate the extra special attention. Making something work that’s delightful and funny is hard work.” Laurene decides to pose with her newest creation, a papier-mache deer in dirt brown with colored feathers for horns, a study in contrasts of material and texture. “I am just finishing this one and I love it,” she says, as she settles down to tell us more about their designs that kept the creative fires abuzz in NY City, while elaborating on their plans in Doha. Why Doha? Boym Partners were the winners of the National Design Award in 2009. Their studio’s designs include tableware for Alessi and Authentics, watches for Swatch, lighting for Flos, showrooms and retail displays for Vitra, and exhibition installations for many American museums, including Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The list runs long and impressive, though the design duo seem impervious to their own success. And so you can’t help but ask the obvious question: “What are you doing here in Doha, of all places?” “We definitely wanted to reinvent ourselves,” starts Laurene. “We had this successful design practice in NY City for more than two decades, and then this

opportunity comes our way when Constantin is asked to head the new Masters Program in Design at VCUQ. But that is not all... “There is so much happening in the city. Doha is like the new cultural capital of the world in a way, with new museums, buildings and subways. These are all design interventions and obviously there is a need for more and more of such amenities that are designed for people to use, to live in, to work in, as opposed to just being imported from somewhere. Things that are made in the region by people who understand why and where they

Crude and creative The Timeless installation, views of Vitra design studio, and the designers with their newest product

are being used. It was an opportunity that we just had to explore.” Constantin adds: “Education was a major part of our interest. I came for the job interview and I had observed the dynamics of the place, the pace of construction, and felt that this place was up to something and it seemed the right thing to do, to be a part of what is happening...” For Laurene there was also the mystery associated with the Middle East which pulled her to this part of the world, “a sort of crush for the region,” she explains.

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Timeless

As new designs and innovations hit the market to be consumed by the market and later discarded when time makes them redundant, the Boyms presented a design called Timeless, which indicates their aspiration for timeless values. “We imagine objects that defy time and obsolescence, things that withstand fluctuations of trends and style,” says Constantin of this creation. “This collection attempts to make objects as timeless as ancient bronze monuments. Once we apply our special treatment, the familiar shapes start to look and feel like bronze sculpture. Trivial objects suddenly look permanent and essential. Making Timeless Objects has required a great deal of time and experimentation. The material is applied over the surfaces of the objects with our own proprietary technique. All pieces are made by hand at our studio, in a limited edition. Each object literally carries the fingerprints of its maker. Timeless Objects was presented to the public at ExperimentaDesign in Lisbon in September 2009 and at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in October 2009.”

The Masters Course

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar recently announced the Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies, a unique graduate design program in the Gulf region. It is to head this program that Constantin is here. “Placed amidst a great transformation of the State of Qatar, the program gives students a chance to both learn from this historical process and to influence its future development,” he says. “There is a need for a new kind of designers –new industry leaders – sophisticated global individuals, fluent in most recent trends and capable of moving between different design disciplines. In addition, we need to prepare a next generation of design teachers who one day will take over the program.” “MFA Design acknowledges that design is a highly collaborative discipline, incorporating the transfer of knowledge across traditional domains to create products, environments, forms of communication, and the organization of information. No more than seven students are accepted into the program each year, which allows for individual personalized mentorship throughout their course of study.”

“I have always lived in a diverse sort of place. In that context, Doha too is similar to NY City, with people from all over coming here. In NY I was the only New Yorker, everyone else was from somewhere else.” Education, it seems, underlines their being here too, as both of them want to educate the masses, evoke a design consciousness and initiate an understanding of design in everyday life. “It is not as if design doesn’t exist here,” says Laurene, careful not to upset the local design fraternity, “but the idea is to create a different type of awareness, where it seeps into public perception. Not just for those who are steeped in it but for the common man to enjoy and understand too.” So is there a lack of design awareness, especially in the context of education? “Of course, and that is why we are here. To create a local platform where designers can meet and exchange their expertise to build this place. There are no design studios, no design university until now, no designs that address the local environment. It is a kind of vicious circle and the only way to break it is through education,” says Constantin. “And also by creating a community of people appreciative of design,” says Laurene. “We have been involved in this sort of process from the moment we started to work together, engaging young people, having design actions and discussions akin to design movements. We have already started this with Constantin’s students as we are mentoring them. We love this idea of young people having their own design, design products, installations. It is not about us or our ideas but about what they bring to the table and how they take it further. It is all very satisfying. We like design to be spontaneous, creative warm and expressive as opposed to being dry and stale. We want people to use it and that is what we want

students to understand.” imbibe and react There are a bunch of ideas in the offing. And all of them can be literally seen bubbling inside Laurene’s head. But she is waiting, in a selfimposed hiatus to understand the place she is in, get a feel of it, settle here before she embarks on realizing those ideas. “We took a while to synthesize what we were taking in visually. We wanted to be part of the culture, absorb it and then respond to it. We love motivating young people. We wanted to impart our understanding of the design culture from our experiences. We also want to bring people from the outside to Doha to give their design inputs. Then we have our studios, in NY, we will eventually have our own designs here too.” “Self-design” Ask them about their previous designs and the couple are quite flippant. Probe them about installations and Laurene asks: “Which one? We have so many...!” Constantin says: “It was a long time ago. That was an interesting period of time, when each design process was so exciting.” Constantin talks about that “interesting” designing period when they designed not just objects commissioned by clients, but also for the love of creation while they explored their creative boundaries. “Our studio had this peculiar way of working. Other than commissions from clients we used to work on our own designs. We used to design without any specific goals, work on different themes, and sometimes it resulted in particular prototypes which we used to exhibit, use for design conferences or events. These “self-designs” were very popular. Sometimes companies have asked us to mass-produce one or commissioned us to produce something similar. This was an artist’s way of being a designer or a creator. This is common in Europe, especially in Italy. In the US it took some time for this kind of design intuitiveness to evolve. Somebody had to pave the way, and now it is very popular. Sometimes we worked with such abandon with clients who allowed us freedom; these clients educated us too in the long run. Working with Swatch was one such exercise, because we worked with the genius Alessandro Mendini. Working with Vitra, one of the most advanced design companies in the world, was another such extraordinary process – both artistic and educative.” “We intend to continue this form of product design here, with more such products, a marriage of an Eastern influence with a modern base, which reflects our understanding of the environment,” he adds. Probe about the designs they are working on in Doha and Constantin is emphatic: “Lets discuss it once we finish it.” n

Jose Antonio Molina

The Changing Tide of

Classical Music By Yousra Samir

n early October, 230 artists and performers were flown to Doha from every corner of Latin America to perform in the first Latin American Cultural Festival, an annual event that aims at using visual and performing arts to build cultural bridges between the countries of Latin America and Qatar. During the ten-day festival, which was held at Katara, the Cultural Village of Doha, in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute and the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, audiences enjoyed Latin America’s best rhythms, dances and traditions in a variety of spectacular concerts, performances, shows and film screenings. One of those performances was the highly anticipated collaboration between the Dominican National Symphony Orchestra and the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by award-winning composer, conductor and director of the Dominican National Symphony Orchestra, Jose Antonio Molina. We met Jose a day before his performance to learn more about the concert, titled Caribbean Gems, his musical career and what he really thinks of Qatar’s very own orchestra.

The Maestro Jose Antonio Molina was in Qatar recently with his baton at the ready

Is this the Dominican National Symphony Orchestra’s first visit to Doha? It is my first time in Doha. I’m very excited to be here. I have been in this area before, because in the past year I performed two concerts, one in Damascus in Syria and one in Abu Dhabi with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra, and it was an incredible experience. It was the first time for me to come to this part of the world and I’m so happy that only a few months later I have had the chance to come back again. One of the things I have noticed is that people from this side of the world are very interested in our culture and the best way to show them what we are as a country and our culture is through our music, so 98% of the program I am performing

at LACF is pieces that I have composed and are based on traditional Dominican folk songs, so I think it is a beautiful way for people to know my country through our music. What were your first impressions of Doha? Fantastic. When I arrived at the airport I got the sense of a beautiful energy; people are very friendly, very open and very anxious and curious to know what we are bringing. I can tell you I have no words to express how happy I am with the local orchestra. Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is, by far, one of the best orchestras I have performed with in my entire life. It only took us ten minutes to click and we’ve been having a beautiful time. Do you think LACF will fulfill its aim of building bridges between the various cultures of Latin America and that of Qatar through music, dance and film? Very much. I think it is a beautiful way to collaborate between countries because I believe in the power of music very much, the power of harmonizing and bringing people together. Music does things for countries, for people, that probably nothing else can do and I think that this is a testimony of that. Through music, this part of the world and the Caribbean will be enjoined. I think that LACF is a beautiful initiative. Caribbean Gems involves the participation of the QPO. How did the idea for this collaboration come about? Well, our ambassador to Qatar, Ambassador Hugo Guiliani, is very enthusiastic about our traditions and has a very good musical sensibility and he has always wanted to bring me here to perform our music, so he learned of the idea of putting both of us [orchestras] together and he proposed my name to have a concert with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and thanks to God it became a reality.

What have been your impressions of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra so far? I’ll tell you, one of the compositions we will be performing I wrote in 1987 and it is a piece I have performed in many parts of the world and it’s very popular. With the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra for some reason I feel like I wrote the piece yesterday, because they absorbed it with such dignity and respect and they are a very incredible force of young people and I feel like the piece is so fresh. They helped me to rediscover my composition once again. If I think of an idea of an orchestra to perform my music, I would have never expected that it would be in this side of the world and it’s been an incredible surprise. I think that this might be the best performance of music in my career so far. My music has been performed by great ensembles in the world like the London Symphony Orchestra, which is an orchestra I respect and I have done many performances and concerts with, but there’s something very special about this orchestra [Qatar Philharmonic]. It’s full of young, energetic, extremely talented professional musicians and I just feel very proud to collaborate with them.

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What kind of work and preparation went into making Caribbean Gems a reality? Well, this has been the beautiful thing. I brought fourteen players with me; most of them are part of the [Dominican] National Symphony Orchestra of which I am music director, but the reason why most of my players are here is because there is a very specific ethnic sound from our country that I probably cannot find anywhere [else] in the world. Instruments like the percussion, tamboura, piano, double bass, accordion – they are very hard to find in [other parts of ] the world. So when I first introduced my players they were very well received by the [Qatar Philharmonic] orchestra, they are fabulous hosts, they are very co-operative with my players, with myself, so right now I don’t see them as two orchestras, I see it as one body, one orchestra, coming together.

“Through my music I express not only who I am but mostly what I come from...”

Is Latin American classical music different in any way from what is considered mainstream classical music? There are many composers from this side of the world in Latin America that want to be more avant-garde. I think that the best chance our music has to be universal at some point will be through our traditions, our folk songs... If you look at the music of, let’s say Alberto Ginastera in Argentina, he used malambo and folk dance songs. I think the power of our roots musically are incredible tools that I have, to get across some fresh sound in this incredible symphonic universe. In other words, I don’t see myself writing music other than attached to my origins because it would be the best way for me to let them know what is the sound of the Caribbean, what is the nature of our people. Through my music I express not only who I am but mostly what I come from – the sunshine, the beaches, the coconut tree, the

plantain, I mean everything other than geography – the spirit and essence of my people is in my music and I think that’s why people receive it with such a fresh approach. The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra admitted to me that they have never performed music like this before, so for me that makes it not just a concert but a very unique experience of collaboration. A hundred years ago all you could listen to were composers like Mozart, Bach or Beethoven. Today’s generation are mainly interested in non-classical genres like pop, hip hop, house and rock. So do you think that classical music has any relevance in the 21st century? I think so. You know, the problem is that classical music has been shifting over centuries and music is something that takes time to be analyzed. In other words, in order for us to know what the music of today is we must wait at least one or two generations to look back and say “this is what it was”, because a musical movement is not something you see in a lifetime. Gustav Mahler used to say: “My time will come.” Mahler is very well known, a genius in his time, but he wasn’t recognized in his time. So most of the time with music it takes generations to see if that music was worthwhile writing, if it will stick to the universal repertoire. What I think is that there is classical music now, there has been for centuries and there is always going to be classical music... music can do things for people, things that no other thing in the world can do. So, I believe that classical music is very worthwhile. Would you classify yourself as a 20th century composer or a 21st century composer? Probably 20th century. My biggest influences as a young composer were also people from the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky, Stockhausen and so forth, but obviously some Latin American ones, Alberto Ginastera, Chavez from Mexico, but I consider myself not an avant garde 21st century type of composer. I think I’m finally finding my own voice. When you are young you are an accumulation of many influences in your life and through artistic maturity you finally find yourself and I think, in this regard, I am in a very special moment in my life, in my career, because I think I finally found myself, my own voice. Through the years I am probably at the peak of my artistic maturity right now. So what would you say has been the highlight of your career so far? Well, I have had the fortune of working with Luciano Pavarotti, the famous Italian tenor, for about ten years, and to me, even though I have had very important things in my career, thanks to God, this was the peak of my career. Luciano Pavarotti - to belong to this small bunch of conductors that have the fortune of working with him – he brought to me the opportunity to work with many megastars of the world in his concerts called “Pavarotti and Friends”. I worked with Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, George Michael, Vanessa Williams, Natalie Cole, Michael Jackson and Barry White. The greatest pop stars of the world went to this show and through Pavarotti I got the luxury of working with them, as a conductor and as an

arranger. So definitely Luciano Pavarotti has been the greatest highlight of my career. Would you like the chance to collaborate with the QPO again? In a heartbeat! We have already talked about that. The players are asking me to come back and I’m telling them that I cannot wait to come back. So for sure I want to come back, not only to perform my compositions, but I would like to do a standard symphonic repertoire with them. It’s such a fantastic group of musicians that I know anything you conduct with them is going to be incredible. Have you heard classical Arabic music or traditional Qatari music? I haven’t heard it but I’m very curious to. One thing I can tell you is that my season with my orchestra is going on right now, from August to November, and I have the fortune of bringing to my country a local player from the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. His name is Maias Alyamani, he’s an incredible violinist, he’s originally from Syria and he’s playing in the violin section of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. Unfortunately he’s not in my concert because he’s on tour right now, but he went down to my country and performed his original work and you cannot imagine how well received his music was. So I know that there is something very magical about the music of this side of the world and not only that, but I see that the musicians on this side of the world have certain facilities to interpret and perform the music of Latin America. I think somehow, somewhere there is some common denominator in our eurhythmic structure that there is a certain ease for people from the Middle East to perform Dominican music. They have the eurhythmic flexibility and they feel it very well. I never expected an orchestra from the Middle East would do such great service to music from Latin America. You have worked with nearly every name in the music industry from Andrea Bocelli to Ricky Martin. Which artist would you like to work with who you haven’t worked with yet? Well, that’s a very good question. There are a few people out there. Peter Gabriel is someone in the pop world who I would like to work with. He is somebody who I admire very much. Yo Yo Ma [cellist] and myself have encountered on the same stage. When I came to Abu Dhabi in February Yo Yo was performing there just two days before, we had coffee, we took a picture and we were making plans to see if we can collaborate at some point. So Yo Yo is an artist that I would definitely love to work with at some point n

Lisa hubbard The auctioneer with some of her wares.

Lisa Hubbard

The Accidental Auctioneer By Vani Saraswathi

Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring, that’s coming up in New York. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000. About QR3.65-6 million.

A natural pearl and diamond necklace, Cartier, 1930. A piece that is bound to attract interest from the region.

sundrop Diamond at 110.03 Carats, has been graded Fancy Vivid Yellow, the highest color grading for a yellow diamond, by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). This exceptional stone ranks as the largest known pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond in the world, and has a purity of VVS1.

ry it on.” She thrusts the large yellow diamond, temporarily set in a simple ring, towards me. And as I hold the piece with great trepidation, gently slipping it onto my finger, Lisa Hubbard with unnerving nonchalance lifts a diamond necklace off the dummy and puts it around her neck. “A Cartier signature piece,” she says, before enthralling us with the story of two strong women from the early 20th century who lend their legacies to this piece. In the stories she recounts of the jewelry she handles, Cartier, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels all come alive. One can picture skilled craftsmen hunched over precious stones and metals, working by

candlelight on pieces that will outlive their fine eye and creative vision. She might be Chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewelry division, North and South America, but Lisa’s passion is obviously not driven by her job title. It’s her love for jewels, and the thrill she draws from the history behind the pieces, evident in the dramatic flair with which she recounts those stories. “You look like Julie Andrews, you know.” “Oh, yes.” She rolls her eyes, eager to continue with her tale. At that moment, she is more Pied Piper than Mary Poppins, luring us into her world of exquisite craftsmanship, rare jewels and stones that have an origin older than humankind. In a man’s world Lisa is the first female auctioneer in both Asia and the Middle East – an accomplishment she carries with casual grace. “First of all I was told that there was no way a woman would be accepted in the jewelry industry. Up until then it was all men. Well, then, it was ‘a women would never be accepted as an auctioneer’. I was the first woman auctioneer in Asia and the Middle East, and it did not matter. It was never an impediment.” Her sortie into the business of auctioneering itself was unplanned. “I was an Asian Studies Major in college. I had grown up in New Orleans and moved to New Delhi in 1965. The years when I was in India with my family influenced what I’d study in college. I did not want to teach, so I decided I wanted to move to New York. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I thought auctions were interesting and applied to Sotheby’s. “I got an interview, and even though I had a BA from Berkeley and a Master’s in international studies, I went to Sotheby’s and said I’d do anything. I was hired as the third assistant in the catalog production department. They had to move their chair for me to sit down. I learnt how the company worked, because I, in my lowly position, worked with all the different departments as they put together their catalog for sales. I got to know what their department was like in terms of the art they sold, and what the people were like in terms of the specialists there, and I began to wonder where I would fit in.” Two years into this Lisa decided on jewelry, because she had no background in art history, which was a requisite to work with master paintings. “Jewelry I could learn by doing, so I moved from catalog production to jewelry department,” she says. “My first job then was to write the catalog description. Someone else was measuring and telling me, but I was the one who

Cartier, Platinum and Diamond Sautoir. Priced at about a million dollars, the legacy of this piece (facing page) is interesting. The piece was commissioned to Cartier by Elisabeth Mills Reid (below), an American philanthropist, Daughter of the founder of Bank of California and wife of a newspaperman. Her son Ogden Reid and daughter-inlaw Helen Rogers Reid (right)– who inherited the necklace. helen ran the New York Tribune and the Herald Tribune, that merged to become the New York Herald Tribune, which is no longer in circulation. The piece brings with it the history of two remarkable women

wrote the description and organized the photographs, which meant I had to look at every piece of jewelry we were selling. So that was one way to polish your eye. “The more you see, the more you learn; the more you can distinguish a real from reproduction; what distinguishes a Cartier from a Van Cleef or a Winston.” With that, she was off and running. She did the cataloging, learned to appraise and valuate. “You are talking about the early 80s and it was not such a big business, and there was time to really learn it, work with the more experienced specialists in the department. Then I was traveling, and as the business grew so did I. I lived in Hong Kong, and now I am between Los Angeles and New York. “It is now 35 years later, and it’s an accident. As the company grew, so did my job, and I... my timing was perfect.” Apparently it was not just her timing, but also an indispensable talent to spot the best and communicate it to clients. As she fondles the diamonds on the signature Cartier piece, she says: “The wonderful thing about diamonds like these is not that they’re

perfect. These days, you plot it on a computer screen and cut it to great precision. It still takes nerves of steel for the cutter, but he has all the right machinery. Back in the day, it was the eyes and the hand. So what you have are stones with great charm and character. They were cut by candlelight.” Which brings her to why people love jewelry, and why they choose Sotheby’s for their wares. “It’s interesting, when you talk about jewelry, you envision VCA, Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston – there is a jewelry store on every

block, on every street, in every city around the world. You don’t need to come to Sotheby’s. But if you do come to us, you get a very interesting array of jewels. You will find all those brands, you’ll find colored stones and diamonds in all shapes and sizes. You’ll find signed pieces. You’ll find one-of-a-kind pieces.” Lisa has been traveling to Qatar the past couple of years, and this is her fourth collection she

brings to the country. Penchant for pearls “There have always been clients from this part of the world – maybe not directly in the room, but through their agents. But we are making continuous inroads. Pearls are always interesting for this market but from what I can see there is an interest in everything, not just the decorative. There is always interest in anything that has a history. This is a part of the world that appreciates something that is “old world”.

“Everybody comes with their wares to a world where people can afford them. But you must have something that distinguishes you from your competition. For us I think it’s the variety, and there is enormous appreciation from this part of the world for workmanship from the 20s, 30s and 40s or stones that were not cut yesterday. There’s a great appreciation for Cartier period jewelry in the region.”

As she explains the merits of the natural pearl necklace, Lisa adds: “I happen to think that all of this owes a great deal of gratitude to Mughal jewelry. The use of color, structure, the animals, the framing. You see it interpreted and reinterpreted as you go by, if you look at the David Webb jewelry of the day, or if it was the art deco of the confronting animals, or Cartier’s animals of today.” One of her career highlights is probably the Duchess of Windsor sale in 1987. “That was the first time we did a personality sale. Nobody had seen anything like it. She herself was famous, not least because the King of England abdicated the throne because he couldn’t do without the woman he loved, but her jewelry was original pieces by every one of the great designers of the 20th century. And that collection – we didn’t even realize how important it was in 1987– has stood the test of time. We sold 20 pieces last year, and they have held up their value.” legacy or value? Why do people buy jewelry, especially when the economy is not really robust? “At the end of the day they are tangible assets, they do hold their value, and in some cases they do appreciate. It’s no longer a fashion accessory. People are taking it seriously. Last year we had a surprisingly strong season. This year again the global economy rears its ugly head ... but it’s interesting with jewelry. When the economy is good, the jewelry market is good because everybody is feeling prosperous. When the economy is bad, the jewelry market can still be good, because people start to think about where they are going to put their money.” She stresses that people buy jewelry not for appreciation but for wealth retention. “Generally jewelry is something you need to hold. It’s a long-term investment. Diamonds are the most popular jewels to buy as they have certification, an international vocabulary and have a global market. Colored stones are more subjective. There isn’t a standardized grading of them, it’s a matter of taste, it requires a little more due diligence. Diamonds are an easy thing. Then it comes down to a few signature pieces. A great art deco piece by Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels – pieces not done in volume will always receive great interest.” With the situation now, most people are looking at it for value. However, there are people who love provenance. “They love to know the story, who owned it, who wore it. It’s a way into someone else’s lifestyle. Yeah, we are not so interested in Imelda Marcos’s goods – she was deposed; or Marie Antoinette’s – she was beheaded. But you know there are others with good karma, that bring with them a very happy history, and it’s nice to add your chapter to that.”

trends

jumpsuits • quilting • army surplus • collegiate classics

grease monkeys in the allamerican coverall.

revving up

Photographs by ami sioux. Fashion editors: bruce pask and jason rider 70

hanging out at the shop brooklyn, a garage/clubhouse in williamsburg. from left: on chris logsdon, biker: engineered garments coveralls, QR2,090. denim and supply ralph lauren shirt, QR456. john varvatos boots, QR2,550. on dan lyle, co-owner: marni jumpsuit, QR2,830. Go to marni.com. alternative t-shirt, QR75. on stephen caison, co-owner: patrik ervell flight suit, QR4,380. deth killers t-shirt, QR350. john varvatos boots, QR1,645.

trends

diamond dogs KNOW THE SCORE in quilted outerwear.

the guys from foolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gold records specialize in looking cool. from left: on danny brown, recording artist: Giorgio armani jacket, QR13,122, and vest, QR4,730. t by alexander wang t-shirt, QR336, and pants, QR660. marni hat, QR2,080. on a-trak, co-founder: sacai jacket, QR5,020. t by alexander wang t-shirt, QR300, and jeans, QR1,077. his own hat. on party supplies, recording artist: perry ellis jacket, QR550. marc jacobs shirt, QR2,172.

trends

The cavalry tony-winning PUPPETEERS from ‘‘War Horse,’’ in military drag.

from left: on prentice onayemi: john varvatos coat, QR7,282. club monaco trousers, QR475. giorgio armani boots, $775. on enrico D. wey: nigel cabourn sweater, QR1,744. lanvin trousers, QR3,614. marc anthony boots, QR402. on alex hoeffler: engineered garments shirt, QR1,008. american apparel tank top, QR75. dolce & gabbana pants, QR5,660. cole haan boots, QR1,453. on ariel heller: kenneth cole new york coat, QR723. go to kennethcole. com. alternative henley, QR250. banana republic pants, QR330. emporio armani boots, QR1,807. on jonathan David martin: lanvin jacket, QR14,418. marc jacobs shirt, QR2,700, and pants, QR2,080. john varvatos boots, QR3,280.

trends

letter men vintage connoisseurs in collegiate classics.

showing off at the vintage valhalla local 172 in tribeca. from left: on david chang, co-owner: gant rugger jacket, QR3,632. hamilton 1883 shirt, QR894. kenzo trousers, about QR1,460. grenson shoes, QR1,280. waters & army cap, QR140. on david barnett, co-owner: gant rugger jacket, QR2,172. polo ralph lauren vest, QR602, shirt, QR365, and jeans, QR530. cole haan shoes, QR725. j. crew belt, QR185. on alex james, buyer: tommy hilfiger coat, QR3,277. kenzo sweater vest, about QR1,917. local 172 t-shirt, QR75. woolrich woolen mills pants, QR712. converse shoes, QR401. fashion assistants: elena hale and renĂŠ fragoso. grooming by enrico mariotti at see management. casting by the establishment.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

The New York Times Style Magazine

TRAVEL FALL 2011

fall forward artwork by judy kameon and erik otsea 75

talk On the map Barbara Cuglietta, left, and Lilou Vidal at their gallery, VidalCuglietta. Below: Emmanuel Perceau, who opened the clothing boutique Mapp; Café le Fontainas.

Belge epoque A rising class of tastemakers is making Brussels unexpectedly unboring. By Monica Khemsurov

efore Christina Vantzou, a Kansas City-born art student, fell in love with an American expat during a layover in Brussels seven years ago, she had never given the city a second thought. She assumed it was as bland as everyone said, and when she packed her bags and moved there soon after, she found plenty of Europeans who agreed. ‘‘The people I was hanging out with at the time referred to it as the Mexico of Europe,’’ she says. ‘‘Everyone wanted to go to Paris or London or Amsterdam, and Brussels was just this weird place in the middle.’’ At first, Vantzou stayed mostly for her relationship and for the hefty artist’s stipend she received from the Belgian government, having secured E.U. citizenship by way of

P H O T O G R A P H s by tim barber

her Greek father. But then a funny thing happened. Not only was she discovering that there was more to the cultural scene than she’d imagined, she was also watching as other artists — Parisians, even — began settling in the city. Long ignored or even mocked by its neighbors, Brussels seemed to be entering a kind of creative renaissance. ‘‘Where it used to be like ‘Brussels? Why the heck would you move there?’

“

A new generation of Europeans is beginning to fixate on Brussels’s cheap rents and lack of competition.

”

these days it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve been hearing about all the stuff happening there,’ ’’ Vantzou says. ‘‘Brussels used to be this forgotten place, and suddenly people are talking about it like they were talking about Berlin 10 years ago.’’ Brussels may not quite be Berlin — it has less than a third of the population and none of the sexy post-Wall iconography — but its creative scene is thriving. And perhaps because it has flown under the radar for so long, or because its coalition government is perpetually in shambles, it has remained extremely affordable. Just as the allure of Berlin in the 1990s lay in the fact that young people could run clubs out of abandoned buildings or start their own galleries for next to nothing, a new generation of Europeans is beginning to fixate on Brussels’s cheap rents and lack of competition. Dispelling old notions of the city as boring and conservative, they’ve spent the last few years opening the kinds of hip bars, restaurants, galleries and shops that used to be more rare here.

tim barber

his may sound dubious to anyone who has traveled to Brussels in the past decade, visited the museums and flea markets and the designer flagships along Rue Antoine Dansaert, stuffed themselves full of pommes frites and concluded there was nothing more to do. Brussels ‘‘is definitely not a city where everything is obvious, announced and organized,’’ explains Dimitri Jeurissen, the Belgian creative director of BaseDESIGN. ‘‘There’s a huge amount of cultural offerings, but everything is so understated. You have to scratch the surface to get to the essence of what’s going on.’’ Possibly because of their country’s history of being dismissed, Belgians have tended to keep to themselves and let their achievements go unnoticed. That independence has done wonders for the city’s creative output but nothing for its marketing skills, the lack of which have obscured Brussels’s charms for even the most clued-in travelers. When I first visited, in 2005, there were artists but no contemporary art center like Wiels, which runs a residency program and hosts evening performances by the likes of Nils Bech, a kind of Norwegian Kalup Linzy. There were designers, but no avant-garde design shops like Diito and La Fabrika. There were parties, but not organized affairs like High Needs

Low, which fills a former train station with a cool crowd every three months. And whereas in the past I might not have ventured beyond the legendary Belgian couture mecca Stijl on Rue Dansaert, I discovered on a side street new boutiques like Hunting and Collecting, a sprawling concept store that opened last year with racks full of emerging fashion talents and an installation by Confetti System. Aside from the nook carved out for young Belgian notables like Christian Wijnants, Sandrina Fasoli and Jan-Jan Van Essche, the shop could just as easily be in Paris or New York. Niels Radtke and Aude Gribomont — who left their jobs as an event producer and a fashion editor, respectively, to start the store — were uncertain about doing so on their home turf. In the past, Radtke explains, the couple’s peers could be viciously skeptical of new things. ‘‘Hype means nothing here,’’ he says. ‘‘If Belgians like something, they go for it, and if not, they stand around and watch you go down. But we could never have found this kind of space in the middle of Paris, and Brussels really needed a place like this.’’ Not only is Hunting and Collecting succeeding, its events have become a kind of social linchpin for the A-list, which can now flit between it and Mapp, another shop down the street with a similar experimental bent and a Parisian expat D.J. at the helm. Radtke doesn’t believe this could have happened eight years ago. ‘‘I think it’s a generation change,’’ he says.

Belges du jour The fashion-design duo Sandrina Fasoli and Michaël Marson at their shop.

talk

downtown, filled it with work by established and semiunknown artists and had more than 300 people at their first opening last fall. Even Almine Rech, who owns a top contemporary gallery in Paris, moved to Brussels and opened a space (not far from Barbara Gladstone’s). ‘‘We’ve had a lot more visitors in the last two years,’’ she told me when I dropped in on her 10,000-square-foot former garage off Avenue Louise. ‘‘People are coming from London and the U.S. now that they hear Brussels is cool.’’ Cool it may be, but the city isn’t letting go of what the artist Zin Taylor, a Canadian transplant, calls ‘‘a kind of dark surrealism.’’ Taylor, who shows with VidalCuglietta, says there have been nights when he winds up in a creepy underground swingers’ club from the ’60s, or sipping $2 wine at a 150-year-old bar. ‘‘You go in and out of these pockets of strangeness. That’s what it’s like living here.’’ And that’s why Brussels, with any luck, will never exactly be the new Berlin

“ ”

Cool it may be, but the city still exudes a ‘dark surrealism.’ or Paris; it’s too steeped in its own quirkiness. On my own night out, I went to what I thought was going to be a raucous party for The Word at a local bar, only to find that the place was no more than a tiny cafe on an empty residential street. ‘‘This is the kind of place Belgians love,’’ insisted Lewis, who called the next day to tell me that by 2 a.m. — long after I had retired for the night — people were dancing on the tables. n

Nicholas Lewis calls it the Eurostar effect. Three years ago, he helped found the magazine The Word to catalog everything going on here. The rise of the E.U. was inspiring Belgians — and those from Brussels in particular — to adopt a more European identity. ‘‘People are traveling a lot more,’’ Lewis says, pointing out that the distance from Brussels to Paris by train is just over one hour. ‘‘Our readers can be in London, Paris or Amsterdam all week and come back on the weekends, bringing inspiration with them. They come back wanting more from Brussels.’’ That interconnectedness has also made them confident about staying, as they realize they can work in Brussels and still speak to an international audience. Sandrina Fasoli, the fashion designer, sees the effect more and more among her colleagues — like the designer Cathy Pill and the fashion editor Benoît Béthume — who attended the city’s prestigious La Cambre school and stuck around instead of leaving for Paris. Fasoli and her design partner Michaël Marson keep a workshop and a small store in Brussels, despite the fact that they sell ‘‘mostly in Japan, Korea and other parts of Europe.’’ Perhaps most telling is the influx of Parisians, who would have previously equated moving here with falling off the map. Lilou Vidal, co-founder of the Galerie VidalCuglietta with Barbara Cuglietta, says she felt doors opening for her in Brussels that never would have opened back home in France. After putting in time working for the local dealer Catherine Bastide, the two found their own affordable loft space

essentials • BRUSSELS

Hotels Concept Hotel High-design B&B. 39 Grand-Place; +32-474-03-24-70; concepthotel.be; doubles from about QR805. Odette en Ville A 1920s house with eight monochromatic rooms. 25 Rue du Châtelain; +32-2-640-26-26; chez-odette.com; doubles from $360. Pantone Hotel Colorful newcomer. 1 Place Loix; +32-2-541-48-98; pantonehotel.com; doubles from QR365. Restaurants and Cafes Café le Fontainas 91 Rue du Marché au Charbon; +32-2-503-31-12. Les Filles-Plaisirs Culinaires Catering studio and restaurant with cooking classes. 85 Rue Vanderschrick; +32-2-534-04-83; lesfillesplaisirsculinaires.be. La Meilleure Jeunesse An art-crowd favorite. 58 Rue de L’Aurore; +32-2-640-23-94. Shops and Galleries Almine Rech Brussels branch of the Parisian gallery, with a shop for artist’s editions. 20 Rue de L’Abbaye; +32-2-648-56-84; alminerech.com. D&A Lab Artist-designed furniture with a Surrealist strain. 27 Quai du Commerce; +32-475-94-90-69; dna-lab.net. Diito Contemporary furniture plus midcentury finds. 62 Rue de L’Aurore; +32-2-646-16-10; diito.be. Galerie VidalCuglietta Downtown incubator for emerging artists. 5 Boulevard Barthélémy; +32-2-502-53-20; vidalcuglietta.com. Haleluja Sustainable-fashion mecca from the owner of Stijl. 6 Place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains; +32-2-513-42-50; haleluja.be. Hunting and Collecting The Opening Ceremony of Brussels. 17 Rue des Chartreux; +32-2-512-74-77; huntingandcollecting .com. Mapp Wang and Vibskov in back; music and books up front. 5 Rue Léon Lepage; +32-2-551-17-67; thisismapp.com. Night Life Libertine Supersport Saturday night party for visiting D.J.’s. At K-Nal; 1 Avenue du Port; libertinesupersport.be High Needs Low Culty quarterly dance party in an old train station. Gare du Congrès; highneedslow.be.

tim barber

Hunter-Gatherers Niels Radtke and Aude Gribomont, owners of the new concept store Hunting and Collecting.

little dutch girl

Having flown the coop as a teenager, the model Lara Stone heads home to the netherlands — and she ain’t tiptoeing through any tulips. By Lynn Yaeger Photographs by Angelo Pennetta Fashion editor: Sara Moonves windmills of her mind in mierlo, stone’s hometown, with her parents, michael and toos, left, and the author, right. ralph lauren collection denim jumpsuit, QR3,011. coach belt, QR360. rochas shoes, QR2,537. at ikram, chicago.

home girl in the village of durgerdam. gap t-shirt, QR84. go to gap.com. chloé jeans, QR2,830, and belt, QR2,482. go to chloé.com. miu miu sunglasses, price on request. go to miumiu.com. opposite: touring amsterdam’s canals by boat. louis vuitton cardigan, QR5,840. go to louisvuitton.com. g-star jeans, QR694. go to g-star.com.

‘‘I don’t need a swing in my room, I need a bloody minibar,’’ says the model Lara Stone, distending her worldfamous lower lip and disparaging with a withering shrug the desperately cool flourishes of the designed-to-death hotel — a converted house of detention — where she is staying in Amsterdam. We are in a car speeding back to the city from Stone’s childhood home in Mierlo, a sylvan burg about 80 miles south that could be described (in a good way!) as the Massapequa of the Netherlands. We’ve been hanging out with Stone’s parents, Michael and Toos, eating pancakes at a supremely odd ecclesiastically themed pancake house where a looming Virgin Mary stares down at flapjacks as big as personal pan pizzas. Stone, who has promised to share her impressions of Amsterdam and to chat about what’s so swell — or not — about being Dutch, has spent the morning posing for photos in front of such landmarks as the local windmill, where we are observed by, among other former neighbors, two puzzled

with enthusiasm some of the more intoxicating delights of the city. She loves the Amstel river boat rides because you can have a drink aboard; Vondelpark because it contains what she says are ‘‘some beautiful bars’’; and the beaches at Bloemendaal because you can buy a drink right at the shore. Stone also describes with gusto the town’s infamous marijuana depots, known as coffee shops. ‘‘You just buy it and smoke it, and that’s a good idea — why not?’’ she says. ‘‘I used to smoke so much pot when I was living here. That’s why I can’t remember so much! But really, it’s just a plant.’’ Grass or no grass, Stone isn’t much of a gourmet when the munchies descend, preferring a huge platter of French fries with mayonnaise (apparently she is one of those mythical beasts, a model who eats anything) to the more rarefied culinary efforts of her countrymen. She confesses that her favorite restaurant in town is Febo, where the comestibles are arrayed behind little glass doors, Automat style, a sort of victual version of the redlight district. And speaking of which, Stone also evinces at least a halting admiration for Amsterdam’s notorious ladies (and sometimes gentlemen) of the evening. ‘‘The women are their own bosses!’’ she says. ‘‘They rent their own space, they pay taxes. It’s better than standing on the corner like a crack whore. They get more bloody benefits than I do.’’ But there are other, more wholesome pleasures that delight Stone. She admits that she loves Marken and Volendam, a pair of tourist-laden fishing villages just outside Amsterdam where you can have your photo taken wearing an oldtimey Dutch outfit. ‘‘I went last year with my husband’’ — the British comedian David Walliams — ‘‘and he quite liked getting dressed up, too!’’ Stone may have loved this silly costume, but she says she doesn’t have the patience for vintage shopping, which is a shame given that Amsterdam teems with wonderful used clothing stores. This disdain does not extend to secondhand jewelry, however. During a break from shooting, she swoops into an antiques shop called Dekker Antiquars on Spiegelgracht and spends $10,000 in what seems like seven minutes for a tiny ring, a pair of Art Nouveau earrings and a Victorian diamond bracelet. ‘‘Why not — I am making some money,’’ says Stone, a master of understatement. We set up camp for the Amsterdam portion of the shoot in a cafe on Heisteeg street, where the proprietor graciously allows Stone to change into and out of outfits in full view of the patrons, who — can it be the soporific effects of too much beer and reefer? — express a surprising lack of interest in a halfnaked model. It’s a highly atmospheric quarter: across a narrow lane, the Coffeeshop de Tweede Kamer sells colorcoded pot in test tubes; just next to it, the charming Antiek May offers jewelry and objets de vertu; and across a small square is the Anthenaeum Nieuwscentrum, an international magazine store where intellectual types have been gathering over morning papers for decades. But Stone isn’t leafing through the latest copy of New Left Review. She’s posing half a mile away, on a bridge over the Amstel, flashing her toothy grin, a voluptuary in pigtails, her feet shod in a pair of stilettos, the yellow fuzzy clogs nowhere to be seen. n

Stone says that if she weren’t presently the toast of three continents, she might be working at a mcdonald’s in eindhoven.

holland days Opposite: Clockwise from top left: on the town in amsterdam. tommy hilfiger sweater, QR730. J brand jeans, QR750. H. Stern earrings, QR6,205. WIth mom and dad in mierlo. Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci sweater, QR7,555. at alchemist, miami. Mulberry skirt, QR1,280. givenchy by riccardo tisci shoes, QR2,884. H. Stern earrings, QR6,205. arriving home. edith a. miller turtleneck, QR3,212. at maryam nassir zadeh. j. crew vest, QR360. j brand jeans, QR800. miu miu sunglasses, price on request. coach belt, QR360.

people on bikes who are overheard wondering aloud, ‘‘Sharon Stone?’’ and a pair of bored little boys, one of whom is wearing a T-shirt that says, ‘‘I Scare My Own Family.’’ This anonymity comes as a bit of a surprise — maybe the locals are just discreet? — considering that Stone is one of the highest paid models in the world, with a lucrative Calvin Klein contract. Not to mention that she is a devastating combination of postmodern Brigitte Bardot and quintessential little Dutch girl. Her resemblance to the latter is furthered by her penchant, at least today, for donning a pair of increasingly filthy, yellow plush souvenir clogs, like stuffed animals for the feet, rather than, say, the Givenchy metal-tipped stilettos she wore for the shoot a few minutes ago. Though she has visited innumerable times, Stone has never actually lived in Amsterdam; she left Mierlo as a teenager to model in Paris. To hear her tell it, it was a mutual parting of the ways. By the time she participated in the Elite Model Look competition in 1999, she was ready to break out: ‘‘I was sick of Mierlo. You can only climb the same bloody tree so many times.’’ (Stone, who can be frank to the point of bluntness, adds that if she weren’t presently the toast of three continents, she might at this very moment be working at a McDonald’s in Eindhoven.) People visit Amsterdam for any number of reasons: to take in the Rijksmuseum; to marvel at the charming canals; to shop the adorable boutiques lining the ‘‘Nine Little Streets.’’ And then there are the wastrels who come here for other purposes. By her own admission, Stone was an inveterate party girl in her early years — so inveterate that she went into rehab and hasn’t had a drink in two years. Which does not prevent her from describing

essentials • Amsterdam

Shops Antiekmarkt de Looier A multidealer center, almost a full block long, offering everything from miniature 19th-century toys to massive vintage furniture. Elandsgracht 111; looier.com. Capsicum Natuurstoffen Textile store brimming with ikat coverlets and kimonos. Oude Hoogstraat 1; +31-20-623-1016; capsicumtextiles.com. Dekker Antiquars Exquisite vintage jewelry, from Victorian brooches to Art Deco diamond rings. Spiegelgracht 9; +31-20-623-8992; dekkerantiquars.com. Droog Legendary Dutch design, including such hard-to-find items as the Sticky Lamp and the Soft Washbowl. Staalstraat 7b; +31-20-523-5059; droog.com. Eduard Kramer Antique Tiles A huge selection of antique Delft tiles, the perfect portable souvenir. Prinsengracht 807; +31-20-626-1116; antique-tileshop. nl. Episode Specializing in hipster gear from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, intended for customers who don’t remember those decades. Waterlooplein 1; +31-20-320-3000; episode.eu. Laura Dols An impressive selection of vintage party dresses, if Queen Beatrix invites you over unexpectedly. Wolvenstraat 7; +31-20-624-9066; lauradols.nl. Hotels The Conservatorium Hotel Opening this month, with an interior by the Milanese designer Piero Lissoni. Van Baerlestraat 27; conservatoriumhotel.com; doubles from about $355. The Dylan Amsterdam Small hotel on the Keizersgracht with a superb courtyard. Keizersgracht 384; +31-20-530-2010; dylanamsterdam.com; doubles from QR1,840. De L’Europe The grande dame of Amsterdam hotels, centrally located on the Amstel river, originally opened in 1896 and famed for its collection of paintings by Old Masters. Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-14; +31-20-531-1777; leurope.nl; doubles from QR2,100. Sights Volendam and Marken Not only do the inhabitants of the picturesque wooden houses in this pair of fishing villages just outside Amsterdam wear traditional dress, but you can don one of these outfits, too, and have your picture taken for posterity.

rise and shine at her favorite pancake house in LIEROP, near mierlo. ck one shirt, QR255. Go to macys.com. rochas coat (on chair), QR29, 565, and skirt, QR11,000. GO TO BARNEYS.COM. opposite: canal-side in amsterdam. Calvin Klein Collection sweater, QR2,172. tommy hilfiger Shorts, QR161. go to tommy.com. H. Stern earrings, QR6,205. Coach belt, QR360. hair by Christiaan using kiehl’s. makeup by ozzy salvatierra at streeters using Clé de Peau Beauté Extra Rich Lipstick in T8 and COVERGIRL LASHBLAST VOLUME BLASTING MASCARA IN VERY BLACK. production by abel roskam, bituman produkties.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

Man United! By tim adams Photographs by max vadukul

Million dollar players come and go, but the success of the world’s greatest sports club is the work of Sir AleX Ferguson,69, who, after a quarter century, is not going anywhere. Meet the Man in Man United. Almost 10 years ago, on New Year’s Day 2002, Sir Alex Ferguson believed he had finally retired from the greatest job in English soccer: manager of the most legendary sporting club of all, Manchester United. Ferguson, who had already achieved everything he could in the game he lived for, had celebrated his 60th birthday the day before. Now he was at home, taking a nap after a long lunch, when his wife, Cathy, kicked his foot to wake him up. When he opened his eyes, Cathy was standing in front of him backed by his three adult sons. ‘‘We’ve decided you’re not retiring,’’ she said. And that was that. This incident is remarkable for a couple of reasons. For one, it disproved the most indelible rule of sport — that there is no such thing as a second act, still less an encore. You have to know when to quit. In the decade since he withdrew his notice of retirement, Ferguson has renewed 88

and enhanced his club’s status as the most valuable sporting brand in the world, and eclipsed all younger pretenders. More important, the incident is perhaps the only recorded occasion in which Ferguson, the embodiment of both an irresistible force and an immovable object, has allowed himself to be told what to do. Cathy, his childhood sweetheart and wife of 45 years, had her reasons: ‘‘When he’s under your feet, it’s a nuisance,’’ she has said. ‘‘If he’s here too long, he gets in my road.’’ Ferguson celebrates 25 years in charge at Manchester United in November — the average tenure for a coach of one of England’s premier clubs is just two years — and all reports of retirement continue to be greatly exaggerated. Having taken on all comers for a quarter of a century, and most often prevailed, Ferguson seems to have set his unbreakable will against aging and mortality. You wouldn’t necessarily

Sir Alex Ferguson, English football’s enlightened despoT, has swept more than 30 trophies for The Reds since 1986. He’s also won The Premier League Manager OF THE YEAR 10 times — more than all the other winning managers combined. paul smith suit, shirt and tie, custom-designed for manchester united. his own hublot watch, QR61,685.

FergUsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand of magic was set in 1999 at the CHAMPIONS league final: two last-minute substitute players scored goals and manchester U. was crowned EUROPEAN champion. The Peckham-born rio ferdinand, 32, a CentER-back, is known for his fancy footwork on (and off) the field. he has defended Manchester United for the last decade. hermĂ¨s coat, QR16,700. his own scotch & soda shirt, diesel jeans, five by rio ferdinand shoes, and watch.

bet against him. He has already defied the laws of physics by creating what’s known as Fergie Time, a phrase now common in England that describes the elastic interval that ensues after a match or event is supposed to have ended, but which, in fact, continues. Ferguson created ‘‘Fergie Time’’ out of sheer force of will. His mere presence on the sideline, staring obsessively at his watch, has often caused officials to create nonexistent seconds and minutes to allow Manchester United further time in which to prevail. In those minutes, magic often happens. The pattern was set in 1999 in what was, to those who witnessed it, the most extraordinary sporting turnaround since Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the jungle. Ferguson’s team, competing in the European champions’ League final, the most coveted of all club titles, was losing by a single goal to the German side, Bayern Munich, and the match had all but ended. In desperation, Ferguson introduced two substitute players, as a last hopeless gamble. Within a properly miraculous minute, both players had scored, the adamantine German team had crumbled, and Manchester United had been crowned champions of Europe. As he left the field, with a television camera in his face, Ferguson gave the quotation for which he will forever be remembered. ‘‘Football, eh,’’ he said, ‘‘bloody hell.’’ Maybe not the most articulate phrase that Ferguson, who is often capable of a certain gruff poetry, has ever uttered, but one that encapsulates his philosophy neatly enough: that greatness in sport is not about the possible, but about the impossible. English soccer is, as another famous manager once noted, ‘‘not a matter of life and death, it is much, much more important than that.’’ And if any team represented that fact, it was Manchester United. The mythology of the club, a mythology that’s been constantly renewed in Ferguson’s years, lies in its special ability to exact triumph from disaster. This spirit took root in what happened to the Busby Babes of the 1950s: perhaps the greatest generation of young football players ever assembled at one club, by the manager Matt Busby. The team, mostly in their late teens and early 20s, and led by Duncan Edwards, arguably England’s greatest young player, was already a legendary force when tragedy immortalized them. Taking off from an airfield in Munich in 1958, the plane on which they were traveling crashed, and eight of the young players, including Edwards, were killed. Busby, who was on life support for several days, survived, along with the talismanic player Bobby Charlton, still a director at the club. Out of that wreckage, Busby eventually rebuilt a mesmerizing team around Charlton, which went on to triumph in the European Cup a decade later. Subsequent managers were left to live up to that legend. Until Ferguson came along 20 years later, all had found different, dismal ways to fail. Fergie was handpicked for the role of second coming by Sir Bobby Charlton, now knighted, and the octogenarian Sir Matt Busby, then still at the club in an ambassadorial role. In the years since 1968, the club’s fortunes had not only declined but, worse, those of its greatest rival, Liverpool FC, had risen. Ferguson — a working-class Scot, like Busby — came from Glasgow’s Govan docks, the toughest quarter of what is consistently among the most violent cities in Europe. He arrived with one overriding ambition, which was to knock Liverpool off its pedestal. At the time the idea seemed laughable. United’s rivals had won 16 national titles and five European

titles compared with their own seven league titles and single European Cup win in 1968. This summer, however, Ferguson finally made good on his ambition, securing United’s 19th domestic title, surpassing their intercity rivals by one. They remain two trophies behind Liverpool in Europe, and it is widely believed that Ferguson will not rest until that record is also put right. It is the manner in which this formidable feat has been achieved, however, that makes Ferguson such a unique figure. Though he has become more statesmanlike over

the years — he acted as an unofficial adviser to Tony Blair’s Labor Party government on leadership issues, for example — he has never quite mellowed. In fact, his capacity for megalomania and anger invites comparisons with Shakespeare’s more ferocious protagonists — Coriolanus, say. United players on the receiving end of their manager’s ranting call it ‘‘the hair dryer’’ effect: up-close invective, most often administered at halftime, so moist and salty that it can ruffle even the most structured footballers’ coiffures. His clashes with players over the years have inspired dark sagas that have run for weeks, sometimes months, on the back pages of the newspapers, the most memorable being his standoff with David Beckham, the poster boy of international soccer. After one match in which he felt Beckham, then the team’s captain, had not earned his millions, Ferguson kicked at a stray boot in the locker room

among the most famous sportsmen in the world today is The 26-year-old Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who left a six-year career with the Reds for Real Madrid in 2009, where he is already one of the team’s all-time top scorers and biggest moneymakers. Gucci coat, QR9,125. His own diamond stud earrings. For similar styles go to harry winston.

IN THE teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CURRENT INCARNATION, WAYNE ROONEY, a workingclass hero whose spirit is matched by his skill, is the talisman. Few can forget the Liverpudlian striker Wayne Rooneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s hat trick against Fenerbahce during his Manchester United debut in 2004. Rooney, 25, is now 147 goals deep FOR THE REDS, and going strong. tom ford coat, QR18,177, shirt, QR2,135, and pants, QR3,600. his own kurt geiger shoes. opposite: The 30-year-old Midfielder Michael Carrick, who helped United win the league in just his first three seasons beginning in 2006, is arguably the best passer at Old Trafford. bottega veneta coat, QR10,037. his own dolce & gabbana sweater, jeans and belt.

United they stand Clockwise from top: David Beckham, who began his career with Manchester United, in 2007; the team captain Roy Keane celebrates a victory in 2004; Eric Cantona at the center of attention in 1994; Ryan Giggs, left, and Wayne Rooney, after a goal in May.

and the flying footwear hit Beckham over the eye, drawing blood. The pair had to be separated as they squared off. Beckham, whom Ferguson had nurtured since the age of 11, but whose celebrity marriage to Posh Spice had somehow betrayed that trust, was brusquely sold to United’s Spanish rivals, Real Madrid. It says a lot for the player — and perhaps for Ferguson — that Beckham repeatedly expresses his sustained admiration for his ‘‘father figure.’’ That fierce loyalty is almost universal in Ferguson’s teams. Speaking to students at Dublin University last year about his management philosophy, Ferguson suggested that he divides his style into three graces: control, managing change and observation; though the greatest of all these is the first. ‘‘If I lose control of these multimillionaires in the Manchester United dressing room, then I’m dead,’’ he said. ‘‘So I never lose control. If anyone steps out of my control, they’re dead.’’ Concessions to this stance have been grudging, he said. ‘‘Tattoos, earrings.

It’s not my world, but I’m doing what I can to adjust to it. . . .’’ Experience suggests that Ferguson makes a few more concessions than he had allowed on that occasion. If he has an almost unparalleled ability to renew and refresh teams — no manager in British football history has achieved his sustained success over more than a generation — he has also retained a core of players in whom he places his utmost faith and, whisper it, indulgence. For a while, Beckham was one of those chosen players. Some others include Roy Keane, a hard-drinking, hard-tackling Irishman of fearsome intensity who was perhaps the closest to him temperamentally; Ryan Giggs, a supreme athlete (of whom Ferguson said when he first saw him as a 13-year-old that ‘‘he floated across the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind’’); and Cristiano Ronaldo, a virtuoso Portuguese runner, full of toreador trickery on the ball, who has been key to the renaissance of the last decade, before Ferguson sold him reluctantly, again to Madrid, for a record-breaking £80 million. On the current team, the much-tattooed Wayne Rooney, a working-class hero whose spirit is matched by his skill, is the talisman. Most vivid among all those players, though, was Eric Cantona, a Frenchman who in the five years that he played for the team (starting in 1992) did the most to reignite the legendary flame of the Busby Babes. Cantona, now director of soccer for the New York Cosmos, was the one player, Ferguson likes to say, whom he would have paid good money to watch. Cantona arrived with the reputation of being unmanageable, having ‘‘retired’’ at 25 from French football after memorably informing each official, in turn, at yet another disciplinary hearing, that he was ‘‘un idiot.’’ As well as being a player of uncanny perception, Cantona was something of a philosopher king. He had requested a transfer from his previous club with a faxed one-liner: ‘‘the salmon that idles its way downstream will never leap the waterfall.’’ Cantona’s time at United was a mixture of the sublime and the combustible — unable to ignore a fan’s slur about his native country, he aimed a kung fu kick at the man during a match, leaping salmonlike over the gate. Ferguson stood by him during a ban from the game, in which Cantona taught himself to play the trumpet, thinking of his player, as he once said, as a man in the mold of John McEnroe. Cantona repaid that faith by kick-starting Ferguson’s peerless reign, and by establishing the DNA of its extremes. Over the years, there have been many outrageous feuds: with the BBC, to which Ferguson has refused to speak since 2004, over a perceived slight of his son in a documentary; with match officials (on a weekly basis); and with rival managers, particularly Arsène Wenger of the London club Arsenal, who is yin to Ferguson’s yang — deeply cultured, professorial and similarly insane to win. This maddening intractability has been more than compensated, however, with continuing moments of grace and occasional genius, and above all a lifeaffirming refusal to go gently. Time eventually gets called on even the greatest of sporting careers, but Fergie Time seems to go on forever. n

cantona’s time with united was a mixture of the sublime and the combustible. The French Forward Eric Cantona — nicknamed ‘‘King Eric’’ by fans and fellow professionals — surprised the world of football when he accepted the post of Director of Soccer for the recently revived New York Cosmos. giorgio armani coat, QR14,582. all other clothing, his own.

The mythology of manchester united lies in its special ability to extract triumph from disaster. Javier ‘‘Chicharito’’ Hernández, or ‘‘Little Pea,’’ 23, is not only United’s first Mexican player but is also one of their best and most-promising young Strikers. Last year, he netted a goal within HIS first minutes on the PITCH as a Red against Major League Soccer’S ALL-STAR TEAM. paul smith suit, shirt and tie, custom designed for manchester united. opposite: The Serbian captain and no-nonsense defender, Nemanja Vidic, 29, joined Manchester United in 2006. Since then he has collected (among others) three consecutive Premier League titles, four in total. dries van noten coat, QR7,030. his own giorgio armani shirt and t-shirt and diesel jeans.

Javier ‘‘Chicharito’’ Hernández, or ‘‘Little Pea,’’ 23, is not only United’s first Mexican player but is also one of their best and most-promising young Strikers. Last year, he netted a goal within HIS first minutes on the PITCH as a Red against Major League Soccer’S ALL-STAR TEAM. paul smith suit, shirt and tie, custom designed for manchester united. opposite: The Serbian captain and no-nonsense defender, Nemanja Vidic, 29, joined Manchester United in 2006. Since then he has collected (among others) three consecutive Premier League titles, four in total. dries van noten coat, QR7,030. go to jeffreynewyork.com. his own giorgio armani shirt and t-shirt and diesel jeans. ferdinand, carrick, rooney and vidic: styled by sonia genders; grooming by louise box and paula maxwell at me&co ltd. using bare escentuals and laura mercier; production by the production club. ronaldo: styled by anna roth milner; grooming by nicole walmsley using clinique; production by joy asbury productions. cantona: grooming by odile sibuet; production by alex michanol for megafilm factory; shot on location at hÔtel nord pinus, arles, france.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 98.

brand directory Aigner

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111 Highland - The Mall - 44678678 1 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1051

A. Lange & Sohne

Al Majed Jewelry - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44478888

Agent Provocateur

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2271

Alexander McQueen

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2231

Amouage

51 East -Al Maha Center - Salwa Road - 44257777

Armani Exchange

Villaggio Mall - 44135222

Balmain

51 East - Al Maha Center - Salwa Road - 44257777

Balenciaga

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1861

Banana Republic

Villaggio Mall - 44135222

Barbara Bui

Zai - Salwa Road - 44092600

Betty Barclay

Emporium Shopping Centre 44375796/98

Berluti

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44161860

Bikkembergs

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

Blumarine

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Boss Orange

Salam Plaza - 44485555 The Mall - 44551325 Porto Arabia,The Pearl Qatar 44953876 Extn 1521

Canali

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Calvin Klein Collection

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Carolina Herrera

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Cartier

Cartier Boutique - Royal Plaza 44131381 Cartier Boutique - Villaggio Mall Via Domo - 44507798

Celine

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Chloe

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Christian Dior

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Chopard

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Cugini

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Damiani

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

David Morris

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Diesel

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Dunhill

Brioni

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Burberry

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Elie Saab

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Emporio Armani

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Ermenegildo Zegna

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134765

Fendi

Jaeger LeCoulture

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John Galliano

Frette

John Richmond

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Giorgio Armani

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1921

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Giuseppe Zanotti Design

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2291

Givenchy

The Mall - 44678888

Gucci

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134612

Harry Winston

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Harmont & Blaine

2 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1481

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6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1911

Hublot

Al Majed Jewelry - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44478888 Al Majed Jewelry - Villaggio Mall 44507701

Hugo Boss

Salam Plaza - 44485555 The Mall - 44672200 The Gate - 44077162 Extn 320

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Just Cavalli

4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1751

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Porto Arabia - Parcel 4 - The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 - Extn 1991 Emporium Shopping Centre 44375796/98

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Villaggio Mall - 44507191 Landmark Shopping Mall 44887604

Lanvin Paris

Zai - Salwa Road - 44092600

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Ali Bin Ali W & J - Royal Plaza 44131391

Loewe

Zai - Salwa Road - 44507356 Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44507356

Love Moschino

2 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1061 Emporium Shopping Centre 44375796/98

Louis Vuitton

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134927

Maurice Lacriox Watches

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

M Missoni

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Villaggio Mall - 44507009 The Mall - 44674920 City Center - 44839532 Royal Plaza - 44131398 The Four Seasons Hotel 44935288

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Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

Omega

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Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111 The Mall - 44678888

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Villaggio Mall - 44135222

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Al Majed Jewelry - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44478888

Paris Hilton Bags

Royal Plaza - 44131381

Prada

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Qatar Airways Office - Airport Road - 44453800

Ralph Lauren

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Ali Bin Ali W & J - Royal Plaza 44131391

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Behind Doha International Airport - 44991878

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Romain Jerome

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Rolex

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Ali Bin Ali W & J - Royal Plaza 44131391

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Landmark Shopping Mall 44875222 Villaggio Mall - 44135222

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Swarovski

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Tanagra

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Tiffany & Co.

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N Y T I M E S . C O M / T M AG A Z I N E | M O N T H T K 0 0 , 2 0 0 8

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timely

BY jac o b b row n

King Krule

Deceptively diminutive, Archy Marshall fidgets onstage. He is 17, angsty and awkward. But he is no teeny-bopper. A pleasant dissonance arises when he opens his mouth, and from his slight body emerges a deep, rich sound. His barked out lyrics are first person and loop through cryptic, emotionally raw experiences. A dubstep influence is there, but mostly in his modern sensibility as his music is guitar-anchored. For the last year or two, Marshall has played around Britain under the name Zoo Kid, heading to gigs after school, on weekends and over holidays. This past July he played under his new moniker, King Krule, at a festival in Hyères, France. With his second release due out in October, his seriousness is a welcome counterweight to the YouTube-driven fame of his contemporaries like Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson. ‘‘Teenager’’ need not be pejorative when it comes to lyricism. After all, Arthur Rimbaud was one.

100

P H O T O G R A P H B Y ronald dick . fashion editor : steven westgarth .

new england shirt company shirt, $165. at portland dry goods, Portland, me. call (207) 699-5575. all other clothing, his own. grooming by maarit niemela at D+V using aveda.

After-School Special