T Qatar by Oryx Group of Magazines

88 Jay-Z, in a Gucci jacket, Calvin Klein Collection shirt, BLK DNM jeans, Jaeger-LeCoultre watch and Nike sneakers, takes five at the construction site of the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Full credit information on Page 93.

14 Contributors 16 REMIX

Styled to a T with Bella Heathcote, Grimes, Paul Weller, Dwight Henry, uncomplicated watches for simple times, Umit Benan’s favorites in Istanbul, Ulrika Lundgren, oldfashioned trunks, some closet organizing tips.

40 REMIX Qatar The New York Times Style Magazine art and design 2012

Double-trouble at Louis Vuitton S/S13, Qatari inspired culture in Japan, UP goes trendy with abondoned material, Jewelry house Boucheron's bold new collection of jewels, Movie time in Doha, Flower power. By Nick Remsen, Art on a Ricardo Legoreta building. By Sindhu Nair, Doha then, Doha now,

languishing in the comforts of the city, Instagram: the little photo app that could. By Nick Remsen, Yan Pei-Ming, the artist who immortalizes people. By Laurene Leon Boym

60 FACE Qatar

In conversation with the Gucci's CEO, Patrizio di Marco, Anand George Zachariah’s introduction to falconry, Wissam Al Mana sets the record straight.

82 THE QUIET AMERICAN Armed with nothing but his books, Gene Sharp has helped spread peace around the globe for 40 years. By Janine di Giovanni.

44 Face

Expert: the makeup artist Pat Mc Grath, On the search for the perfect glow, it's easy to overdo it. By Florence Kane, In-store:Joseph in London

49 TRAD AND TRUE Artwork by Mary Howard.

78 Talk Qatar

Women on Canvas, artist Kezban Arca explores the intensity of women as Leila Heller delves into the gallery culture that is spreading to the Middle East shores. By Sindhu Nair

88 THE HOUSE THAT HOVA BUILT Jay-Z has a piece of the Nets, a glamorous wife and a baby girl who melts his heart. Brooklyn, meet your once and future king. By Zadie Smith. Photographs by Cass Bird. Fashion editor: Sara Moonves.

94 The in crowd

Coats and capes that stand out from the pack. Photographs by Tyrone Lebon. Fashion editor: Sara Moonves.

104 Timely

The poet Steve Roggenbuck.

The New York Times Style Magazine art and design november 2012 - january 2013 On the cover PHOTOGRAPH BY cass bird. jay-z wears an yves saint laurent coat, price on request. calvin klein collection shirt, QR700*.

contributors

Zadie Smith An accomplished novelist, Zadie Smith has also been praised for her essays, especially those in The New York Review of Books. In ‘‘The House That Hova Built’’ (Page 88), she meets Jay-Z on the eve of his latest feat: opening the new home of the Nets, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with eight sold-out shows. Hip-hop is close to Smith’s family: her two younger brothers, Doc Brown and Luc Skyz, are rappers. She grew up in the London borough of Brent, the setting of her latest novel, ‘‘NW,’’ and since 2010, has taught at N.Y.U. ‘‘I’m in the creative writing department, but I try to teach literature through the back door,’’ Smith says.

Sarah Harris Sarah Harris, the fashion features editor at British Vogue, is a perfectionist about her closet — think blue leather panels and clothes and accessories kept like museum pieces in glass drawers. In ‘‘The Great Divide’’ (Page 34), she describes sharing it with her husband and offers tips (commandments, actually) on keeping everything just so. ‘‘My mum always told me that I used to insist on folding my clothes before going to bed,’’ Harris says. ‘‘And I would always line up my shoes in orderly rows.’’

editor Sindhu Nair senior correspo nden ts Rory Coen Ezdihar Ibrahim Ali A b i ga i l M at h ias Correspondent Ol a Diab

Mary Howard On Page 77, the set designer Mary Howard created a ‘‘T’’ logo inspired by Dutch paintings: between a swirling red-velvet drape and the resplendent tail of a peacock is a broken glass window, a riff on Vermeer, and a circular mirror, a play on the 15th-century Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck. (The backdrop was painted by Mike Howard, her husband.) Before Howard, who lives in Brooklyn, began building sets for the likes of Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz and Balenciaga, she built floats for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Mardi Gras parades in her hometown of New Orleans.

Benjamin Bruno For ‘‘Styled to a T’’ (Page 48), the French fashion editor Benjamin Bruno transformed the Canadian musician Grimes into ‘‘a Hitchcockian spinster on a mission,’’ complete with a Céline head scarf. Bruno apprenticed with master stylists and editors like Marie-Amélie Sauvé and Carine Roitfeld after briefly working as a culture reporter at a small newspaper outside of Paris. He often joins forces with emerging talents in the world of fashion, like the knitwear designer J. W. Anderson and the photographer of this story, Jamie Hawkesworth.

Tyrone Lebon For ‘‘The In Crowd’’ (Page 94), Tyrone Lebon photographed winter coats in the dead of summer. ‘‘Even at night, the heat radiating back off the tarmac was intense,’’ he says of the shoot in and around Astoria Park in Queens with five models. The Londoner began his career at 19, when he shot his chums in Edinburgh for i-D magazine. Lebon is also a filmmaker, and this spring the Sundance Channel will air a pair of documentaries he made about the music scenes in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

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

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art director Venkat

Reddy Hanan Abu Saiam senior graphic designer Ayush Indrajith graphic designer Maheshwar Reddy photography Rob Altamirano assistant art director

Senior manager – marketing Zulfikar Jiffry Assistant Managers – Marketing Chaturka Karandana Thomas Jose media consultant Hassan Rekkab

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sr. distribution executive BikramShrestha distributi on suppo rt Arjun Timilsina Bhimal Rai

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Styled to a T

The Trend

Pleat Street. A schoolgirl uniform this isn’t: fluted, folded or gathered, the skirts and dresses at Stella McCartney, Jason Wu and Roberto Cavalli are prepped for big-city success.

The Girl

In 2010, Bella Heathcote, 24, got her ticket to ride when she won the Heath Ledger Scholarship, which helps Australian actors get a foothold in Hollywood.

The Film

This winter, Heathcote, who appeared in ‘‘Dark Shadows,’’ will play a rock star’s girlfriend in ‘‘Not Fade Away,’’ the first movie by the ‘‘Sopranos’’ creator David Chase. photograph BY COllier Schorr Fashion Editor: Ethel Park Givenchy by Riccardo tisci jacket, QR17,070, and shirt, QR3,420; BArneys New York. STella M c cartney skirt, QR4,220; saksfifthavenue.com.

Fashion Associate: Mallory Schlau. Hair by David Von Cannon for streeters. Makeup by Jeanine Lobell using Chanel at the Magnet Agency. Manicure by Bethany newell for dior beauty.

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Snake Charmer

Chan: Oat-Chaiyasith; handbag: jens mortensen.

nurtured by nature

After 31 years of wrapping precious stones in gold, the veteran jeweler Paul Morelli has added handbags to his range. And it turns out that leather goods were always on his mind: ‘‘It’s not like I was going to start making candelabras,’’ he explains. But he wasn’t going to do just any old tote, either. ‘‘I wanted to steer away from what everyone else was doing — the minimal bag, if you will.’’ The collection of more than 40 pieces centers on an array of skins — fur, alligator, python, you name it — made into hobo bags, satchels and minaudières. Many pieces come embellished with Morelli’s signature gold meditation bells, an exotic counterpoint to the line’s classic shapes (as in the QR18,232 alligator minaudière seen here) and a way of creating what the designer calls ‘‘a casual evening vibe.’’ Go to paulmorelli. com. chelsea zalopany

Pomme Chan’s quirky illustrations have charmed the likes of Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg and Nike, who slapped her nature-inspired drawings on ads, a store and shoes, respectively. This year Chan, a Bangkok native and London resident, has branched out with a brand of her own called What If. Available at her online shop (whatifweshop.com), Chan’s line includes dresses, cushions, handkerchiefs and scarves with her signature designs, which might be described as falling somewhere between an Hermès pattern, a Dalí drawing and an Ernst Haeckel print. ‘‘When I look at things, I like to see them really clearly,’’ she says of finding inspiration in the natural world. ‘‘I zoom in and get some abstract shape out of it.’’ Chan’s first batch, released in August, sold so quickly that she is coming out with new designs, including iPhone cases, in November. ‘‘Doing one scarf is easy,’’ she says. ‘‘Doing a whole lot of them is not.’’ ABBY AGUIRRE

motif mash-up The latest prints are an exuberant — and, yes, wearable — mishmash of cartoon blooms, graphic doodles and every-whichway stripes. Peter Pilotto dresses, QR4,070, neimanmarcus. com. Marc Jacobs dresses, QR5,096; marcjacobs.com. Erdem dress (left), QR9,900; net-a-porter .com. Erdem dress (right), neimanmarcus.com.

peter pilotto

marc jacobs

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 102.

erdem

family jewels

The latest gems look like ancestral heirlooms — but come with none of the guilt. PHOTOGRAPH BY grant cornett fashion editor: edward barsamian Top Row (from left): Fabergé karenina opal egg pendant, QR115,200; faberge.com. monica rich kosann amethyst mini oval pocket watch key necklace, QR3,910. second row: cartier trinity bracelet, QR42,225; cartier.com. third row (from left): Pomellato M’ama non m’ama red tourmaline and brown diamond ring, QR11,190; pomellato.com. Chopard Imperiale ring, QR7,535; chopard.com. piaget rose ring, QR6920; piaget.com. fourth row: Mikimoto twist akoya pearl and diamond pendant, QR8370; mikimotoamerica.com. tiffany & company pink and white diamond pendant, QR92,090.

prop styling by lisa gwilliam at jed root, inc.

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* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 102.

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Pyramid Scheme

ALL INCLUSIVE

The artist Rosemarie Trockel has long taken an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to her work: giant knitted canvases, crude ceramics, repurposed housewares, ‘‘mouth sculptures’’ made from chewed gum, and quirky clothing all fit comfortably in her wide embrace. (The image below is from the 2005 series ‘‘From a French Magazine.’’) If there is one thing she rejects, perhaps, it’s labels like ‘‘art’’ and ‘‘artist’’ and the conventional hierarchies that keep them in place. In ‘‘Rosemarie Trockel: A Cosmos,’’ on view at the New Museum from Oct. 24 through Jan. 13, 2013, Trockel shares the floor, and the walls, with work that may not be recognized as art — say, book engravings by the pioneering 18th-century botanist Maria Sibylla Merian or Judith Scott’s yarn-choked sculptures — but whose maverick creators Trockel recognizes as kindred spirits. Alix browne

anne hathaway

abigail spencer

red state

There is something alluring — and a touch familiar — about this hand-draped silk mousseline floor sweeper (above right; QR23,500; jmendel.com) by the designer Gilles Mendel, of J. Mendel. The dress was initially conceived in shades of ivory for Mendel’s friend Dr. Lisa Airan, for the reception of her Tuscan wedding in 2006. One year later, the dress, this time in pale buttercup, made its spring runway debut. Mendel is now revisiting the piece for the 10th anniversary of the brand’s ready-to-wear collections. ‘‘I picked the quintessential dress that came to embody the DNA of the brand,’’ he explains. Having outfitted many stars, including Taylor Swift, Anne Hathaway and Abigail Spencer, in romantic and unabashedly feminine red-carpet confections, Mendel felt that the hyper-ethereal nature of this particular dress ‘‘is as relevant and appealing today as it was the day I first designed it.’’ The best part? The designer reimagined the frock in myriad hues, including periwinkle, which encapsulates ‘‘the classic Mendel feeling,’’ scarlet because it would make ‘‘the best holiday dress ever’’ and ivory ‘‘for the brides.’’ But don’t expect this crystal-trimmed evening number to come with any of the house’s famous fur trim. ‘‘My attraction to dresses like this stems from my background in fur design,’’ he says. ‘‘I’ve always strived to manipulate them in such a way as to make them light and graceful.’’ Stay tuned for shoes and perfume, which are in the works. chelsea zalopany

hathaway: filmmagic. spencer: wireimage. dress: courtesy of J. mendel. trockel: Courtesy Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London, and Gladstone Gallery, New York/Brussels.

As if it weren’t enough for him to transform wrists into weapons, the jewelry designer Eddie Borgo — known for his spiked and studded cone bracelets — is expanding his hard-edged vision with his first handbag. ‘‘More of an object,’’ is actually how Borgo describes the serpent clutch (QR28,210 ($7,750); Bergdorf Goodman), a rigid pyramid made of iridescent plated metal studded with abstract hand-cut glass lotus flowers. The snakeskin and mesh strap has a built-in clip that enables the bag to function as both satchel and clutch. ‘‘With jewelry, I am simply looking at the ergonomic qualities, the structure and the finishing work,’’ says Borgo, who also designed a companion collection of lotus rings, scaly chokers and metal serpent wrap bracelets. ‘‘A bag bridges design and functionality in the most severe way.’’ Steel yourselves: Borgo says he plans to introduce a single new bag every season. CHELSEA ZALOPANY

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The Duchess of cambridge in Alexander McQueen

Givenchy spring 2012 couture

dior Fall 2012 couture

crosscurrents

Alexander McQueen spring 2012

Laurent, the concept of exceptional clothes has taken on a different dimension. Couture — or at least aspects of it — has crept back into fashion almost unnoticed. I was talking to Sarah Burton, the creative director of Alexander McQueen, the week before Simons’s Dior couture show in Paris, in which the walls were decorated with one million (well, that’s what they said!) flowers. She and I were walking around the McQueen studios on a nondescript street in East London when she politely corrected me. No, this claret-colored dress was not made of feathers: it was organza, scissored by hand, and had taken weeks of workmanship. I was dumb not to have realized that the precisely silhouetted McQueen dress that the Duchess of Cambridge wore for the royal Jubilee (shown at left), along with the previous year’s wedding dress, were actually couture by another name. I was told that 18 to 20 clients come discreetly to the studio to have customized outfits made. (Some smart assistant whipped away the Kate Middleton folders and patterns before I could look at them.) And I saw tables where eager hands were forging embroidery and making decoration out of bits of cloth that would wind up on McQueen’s fantastical runways — like the coral and undersea-themed show for spring 2012. There seems to be a ‘‘sort of ’’ couture growing among the ranks of smart designers. At Balenciaga, the garments are often so exceptional that you realize why there has to be a backup supply of more basic clothes to keep buyers happy. When Raf Simons was designing for Jil Sander, he explored

from left: Catwalkpictures.com; catwalking/christopher moore, ltd; Wireimage; catwalking/christopher moore, ltd.

haute stuff

couture or not couture? Suzy Menkes questions the difference.

W Master craft Experimental designers are blurring the lines between couture and ready to wear.

hen I got my first big job in fashion in the 1980s, couture was called ‘‘a laboratory of ideas.’’ Really? The dusty French houses, with their aging designers and gilded mansions, were producing more potent concoctions than the cerebral Rei Kawakubo or the emerging Azzedine Alaïa? Haute couture did make a case for innovation with Karl Lagerfeld’s designs for Chanel, Christian Lacroix’s theatrical haute peasantry and John Galliano’s madcap romanticism. But the creative thrust stayed stubbornly with the lower fashion folk: the Belgians, like Ann Demeulemeester and Martin Margiela, whose clothes looked like they came out of a Bruegel painting; or the streamlined modernism of Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. The old guard remained fabulous, if fussy, while the rising talents seemed to rejoice in simplicity. Phoebe Philo at Céline shone as a new incarnation of Jil Sander: fashion by women, for women. Now, with the arrival of Raf Simons at Dior and Hedi Slimane back where he started, in the ateliers of Yves Saint

a similar haute vision: floor-sweeping duchess satin skirts and perfectly tailored coats in sugary pastels. It is as though playing with couture has become a rite of passage. Of course there is still true haute couture, like that offered by Givenchy, which the designer Riccardo Tisci shows almost in secret. Instead of a celebrity-studded front row, Tisci makes presentations on mannequins while explaining the details of stitching, embroidery and lace work. Dolce & Gabbana has formally plunged into couture, too, showing the collection only to clients. For the rich fashion houses — those owned by corporate conglomerates with deep pockets — haute couture is still the ultimate mark of prestige, a nod to history and a way of distinguishing a brand. Yet in this current fashion climate, seemingly more suited to the streetwise energy of Alexander Wang or the digitalage prints of the London designer Mary Katrantzou, it is hard to say whether haute couture is really beginning to reseed. For designers themselves, surely the allure of couture is about the opportunity to push creativity to its limits, to demand the ‘‘impossible’’ and then find that the word is not in the vocabulary of the studio hands. If the Hedi Slimane debut — and his first-ever women’s collection — succeeds, he might consider the ultimate revival: Bringing back Yves Saint Laurent haute couture. The face-off between Raf and Hedi, on the couture stage, would be worth its weight in hand-cut feathers. n 25

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Styled to a T

The Trend The Girl

The Montreal-based singer/ songwriter Grimes (nee Claire Boucher) broke through at SXSW with her ethereal mix of goth, pop and metal — ‘‘post-Internet’’ music, she once called it.

The Tour

Last month, Grimes set off across the United States and Canada, playing shows with the bands Myths and Elite Gymnastics. photograph BY jamie hawkesworth styled by Benjamin Bruno Céline top, QR7100,Skirt, QR8,200, and scarf, qr2075; thewebstermiami.com. Céline bag, QR16,560, J. W. anderson gloves, QR1580, portfolio, QR16299, and brooch, QR820; openingceremony.us.

fashion assistant: natalie cretella. makeup by andrew gallimore at clm using m.a.c. hair by stephen low at streeters for neville hair & beauty.

Scarf Tactics. With respect to the ladies who lunch, Givenchy, Chloé and Céline have given the classic foulard an urban twist with graphic prints.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 102.

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Pale fire

The italian novelist viola di grado wants to shock you from Sleep. Last year, when she was just 23, Viola Di Grado published her fearless first novel, ‘‘70% Acrylic, 30% Wool’’ (Europa Editions, QR55), which became a best seller in her native Italy and was short listed for the country’s top literary prize, the Strega. This rapid rise was mostly attributed to her shimmering prose. (One Italian critic compared it to ‘‘Oriental porcelain.’’) But Di Grado also stood out for her strange personal style. She wears black lipstick, a sorceress hood and fingerless lace gloves. Recently, she said, she strung naked baby dolls into a necklace. ‘‘Everyone is kind of suspicious,’’ she said in a telephone interview from Rome. ‘‘But I’ve always dressed like this. In Sicily, where I grew up, I was constantly insulted for it. But that only made me want to do it more.’’ Di Grado’s writing is similarly defiant. Her novel — available next month in an English translation by Michael Reynolds — is set in Leeds, England, a ‘‘purulent freckle’’ of a city where the sky is ‘‘the color of a raw chicken thigh.’’ The heroine, the 20-year-old Camelia, is losing her mind. She has her reasons: Camelia’s father was killed in a car accident, and her musician mother has turned into a helpless, self-destructive mute. Mother and daughter communicate only through an invented language of glances, one of several linguistic quirks in this novel: others have to do with Chinese ideograms and a sickening affliction called ‘‘verbal anorexia.’’ While she briefly finds comfort in friendship, or in sex, Camelia is eventually consumed by her madness, and Di Grado seems to mock the reader for imagining a happier ending. ‘‘Use it to mop the bathroom, that story of yours, or I don’t know, to line the hamster’s cage,’’ she writes. Your comfort does not interest her. ‘‘If someone reads the book before bed and then can fall asleep, I think I failed,’’ Di Grado explains. ‘‘Literature has to make you stop sleeping.’’ stephen heyman

A Dream World, Cracked Open 28

bookshelf The Swiss novelist Robert Walser (1878-1956) wrote in a scrawl so infinitesimal, it was once believed to be a secret code. ‘‘Microscripts’’ (New Directions, QR90 ($25), a gorgeous paperback illustrated by Maira Kalman, collects some of his original drafts, including a short story that he squeezed onto a business card. For her rich ensemble novel ‘‘Eight Girls Taking Pictures’’ (Scribner, QR90, Whitney Otto mined the real lives of 20th-century photographers like Imogen Cunningham and Ruth Orkin, creating linked fictional portraits full of glamour and grit. And Viktor & Rolf’s weirdly charming storybook, ‘‘Fairy Tales’’ (Hardie Grant Books, QR70, began as letters that the Dutch designers exchanged with each other while traveling.

‘‘A lot of the pictures I take are initiated as daydreams,’’ says the English photo fantast Tim Walker, whose latest conjurings are collected in ’’Story Teller’’ (Abrams, QR270. This delightful book assembles not just Walker’s frolicsome fashion editorials for Vogue and W (like a 2010 sendup of Humpty Dumpty with Karlie Kloss, above), but also the sketchbooks that led to them. ‘‘I think the very first smell you get of an idea is the most important one, that’s the magical one,’’ Walker says. ‘‘But it’s always on the line of being hammy and stupid and possibly clichéd. I draw to see whether I can pull it off.’’ An accompanying exhibition is at Somerset House in London through Jan. 27.

portrait: chus sánchez.

books

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all aboard

The old-fashioned trunk has gone over the top with crocodile skins, candy colors and distinctive hardware. 1. Ralph Lauren Collection crocodile attaché case, QR49,895; ralphlaurencollection.com. 2. Asprey Londoner travel case, QR8,815; asprey.com. 3. Bottega Veneta alligator suitcase, price on request; 4. Salvatore Ferragamo crocodile beauty travel case, QR115,696; 5. Louis Vuitton crocodile hat box, price on request.

The splashy show opening this month at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, ‘‘Hollywood Costume,’’ will unspool like a highlight reel of classic cinema getups. There’s Dorothy’s pinafore and ruby slippers, Walter Plunkett’s immortal ‘‘drapery dress’’ for Scarlett O’Hara and Hubert de Givenchy’s sleeveless black gown from ‘‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’’ The exhibit, which runs through January, is curated by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, a costume designer who’s thrown in her own rugged creation for Indiana Jones from ‘‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’’ Nadoolman Landis challenges the notion that costumes are only the fancy duds worn in period pieces and fantasy films. Take Michael Kaplan’s contribution to ‘‘Fight Club’’ — a slightly sinister gray suit for Edward Norton and brash printed shirts for Brad Pitt. Displayed side by side, the clothes form two halves of a tormented whole, and illustrate how great design burrows into a movie and becomes invisible. The show, which includes 130 pieces from 50 lenders and took five years to assemble, cleverly exposes the link between acting and costumes. One stunning Adrian gown from the 1937 Joan Crawford vehicle ‘‘The Bride Wore Red’’ is shown under a green light that turns it gray, the way audiences saw it in the black-and-white film. Then the light cuts off to reveal what Nadoolman Landis calls ‘‘pure fire-and-ice red’’ (above) — the color Crawford saw on set, and the color that ignited her performance. FARRAN SMITH NEHME

jungle nook In the unspoiled wilds of southwestern Uganda and northern

Rwanda, Volcanoes Safaris has built a string of high-design lodges that have played host to image-conscious politicos like Rahm Emanuel and former Senator Bill Frist. The lure is not just the land-before-time vistas and the chance to track the elusive silverback gorilla. It’s also the company’s strenuous commitment to do-gooding — a comfort to travelers who might otherwise be reluctant to visit very poor countries rivened by past conflicts. Volcanoes’ newest outpost, Kyambura Gorge (left), sits on a once-derelict coffee plantation near Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. The eight-room eco-lodge supports a collective of coffee farmers and has cleverly used detritus from local villages in its design. Human-animal conflict is a very real problem in these parts; elephants can destroy a family’s subsistence crops in minutes. So Volcanoes has helped villagers learn beekeeping — elephants are terrified of bees — which allows them to protect crops and establish a sweet new revenue stream: honey. Four-day safaris from QR1,870 per night; volcanoessafaris.com. stephen heyman

trunks: brad bridgers. crawford: Everett collection.

Tinsel Gowns

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 102.

face

“

‘Everything I do is very personal. What I work with, I live with.’

PORTRAITS, GRAFFITI: COURTESY OF ULRIKA LUNDGREN. SIDEBOARD, GARDEN: KASIA GATKOWSKA.

”

Above: vintage pottery and San Ming’s sculptures sit on a sideboard in Lundgren’s living room. Below left: when in London, she stays in the Boundary’s David Tang suite. Below right: she photographed this graffiti in East London.

Top: Lundgren and her son, Luca, arrive in Mallorca. Above: her Amsterdam garden is both lush and restrained. Left: she likes to eat lunch poolside at Puro Beach Club in Mallorca. Right: she furnished the lobby of Maison Rika with flea-market finds from Paris and Antwerp and decoupage plates by John Derian. Her twice a year lifestyle magazine, Rika, is on the table.

Left: the feathery found-object sculpture is by the interior designer San Ming. Below: new and vintage furniture decorate Lundgren’s Amsterdam home.

profile in style

Ulrika Lundgren

Top: the designer, Ulrika Lundgren, mixes vintage fur with pieces from Rika, her fashion label. Left: the lobby shop at the guesthouse Maison Rika. Above: the guesthouse is across the street from her clothing boutique Rika. Right: the guest rooms are decorated in her signature palette of black and cream. Go to rikaint.com.

PORTR A I T BY M A R IJ K E A ER DEN

INTERIORS, EXTERIOR: KASIA GATKOWSKA

Whether she’s designing her rock ’n’ roll-romantic fashion label, Rika, decorating the Amsterdam apartment she shares with her family or choosing art for the walls of Maison Rika, her tiny canal-side guesthouse, this Swedish-born, Netherlands-based tastemaker stays true to her roots — for the most part. ‘‘I’m superScandinavian in my style,’’ she says, ‘‘but because I haven’t lived there for so long, I’m influenced by other cultures and the places I go, like London, Paris, Mexico, Mallorca and Bali.’’ A common visual vein that runs through all of Lundgren’s work is her signature palette: black and cream punctuated by jolts of primary color in the form of art and accessories. ‘‘My interiors, like my clothes and bags, are quite urban,’’ she says. ‘‘But I don’t like coldness, so I soften the edges and add warmth.’’ Sa n d ra B a l l e n t i n e

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The iconic American painter Winslow Homer was born in Boston, but his spiritual home was Prouts Neck, Me., a rugged peninsula and exclusive community 12 miles south of Portland in the town of Scarborough. Homer painted some of his most famous seascapes there, in a hunter green clapboard cottage overlooking the coastline. After a $2.8 million overhaul by the Portland Museum of Art, the Winslow Homer Studio is opening to the public this month. The museum bought the two-story landmark in 2006 from the artist’s great-grandnephew, Charles Homer Willauer. (The museum’s association with Homer began with an exhibit of his work in 1893, and today it owns 17 of his paintings and hundreds of his illustrations.) Visitors can tour the artist’s wood-paneled living room, where black-and-white photographs of him and his family sit beside a brick fireplace, as well as his ‘‘factory,’’ a painting room that his brother Charles Jr. added in 1890. A wraparound balcony on the second floor reveals the spectacular ocean view that inspired, among other paintings, ‘‘Lost on the Grand Banks,’’ which Bill Gates bought for more than Dhs 110 million in 1998, and the masterpiece ‘‘Weatherbeaten,’’ which is now part of the museum’s permanent collection. Studio tours will be offered September through December and April through June, departing from the Portland Museum of Art (; portlandmuseum.org; Dhs 200). The show ‘‘Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine,’’ featuring more than 35 of Homer’s oil and watercolor paintings, is on view at the museum through Dec. 30. Overnight visitors can book a room at the Black Point Inn (blackpointinn.com), a hotel dating from 1878 near the Cliff Walk, a scenic coastal trail that passes below Homer’s studio. JILL FERGUS

Artist in residence Clockwise from top: the brick fireplace in the living room of the Winslow Homer Studio; the wraparound balcony and its view; the 1886 oil painting ‘‘Eight Bells.’’

the new new list

Chennai is the new Mumbai

Bridges are the new Parks

Walking is the new Driving

India’s emerging motor city — BMW, Ford and Nissan all have Chennai factories — is revving up. New arrivals include tony retailers (Louis Vuitton, Burberry) and lots of hotels, from big brands (J. W. Marriott, Park Hyatt) and local chains like Leela, which just opened a palatial 326-room retreat on the Bay of Bengal.

Get ready for the High Line Effect. Proposals for copycat projects that would ‘‘green’’ disused bridges and railways are popping up in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. And Chicago recently unveiled plans for the Bloomingdale Trail (above), a park on three miles of elevated track on the Northwest Side.

Kick your car to the curb. In southwest Portugal, explore one of Europe’s best-preserved coastal areas on the new 150-mile Rota Vicentina trail. Or walk the entire Welsh coastline, past tiny harbor towns and pubs once haunted by Dylan Thomas, on the recently opened 870-mile Wales Coast Path (above).

homer, clockwise from top: Trentbellphotography (2); addison gallery of american art, phillips academy. new new list, from left: simon reddy/alamy; City of Chicago; Visit wales.

Room With a View

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Turkish Delights

ISTANBUL, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SIMONE FALCETTA; CHRISTOPHER WISE; COURTESY of NICOL; ali bekman/courtesy of autoban; ali bekman. berlin: Felix Brüggemann.

The designer Umit Benan Sahin, 31, has caught the attention of the fashion world with his namesake men’s-wear collection and his designs for the venerable Italian brand Trussardi. He works in Milan, but he replenishes his creative energy in his hometown of Istanbul. Here, he describes a few of his favorite spots in the city by the Bosporus. tim murphy

Munferit, in the Beyoglu neighborhood, is usually my first stop (Yeni Carsi Caddesi 19; ). The restaurant serves Turkish meze and tripledistilled raki. The foie gras is fantastic and the owner, Ferit Sarper, is really cool. It’s becoming more known — it used to be a secret — but it isn’t sceney.

For breakfast I go to Mangerie in Bebek (Cevdet Pasa Caddesi 69; ; mangeriebebek .com), which is a lot of people’s favorite area. It has a fantastic view and a small-town feel — everyone knows each other. I usually have Turkish tea (the thing I miss the most in Milan) with simit, which is a bagel-shaped Turkish bread, and scrambled eggs with sucuk, a spicy Turkish sausage.

In the summer, the place to go is Anjelique (above; Salhane Sokak 5; anjelique.com.tr), a nightclub right on the Bosporus. It’s a hip crowd with great D.J.’s playing house music. I like to eat sushi at Zuma next door, have a taste of clubbing at Anjelique, then go home. In the winter the bar at Ulus 29, on a hilltop overlooking the Bosporus, is fantastically cozy (Yol Sokak 1; group-29.com).

The little boutiques around Galata include a lot of great vintage shops — you just have to go there and walk around. In Kurucesme, there is a fantastic home design store called Nicol (above; Kurucesme Caddesi 65; nicol.com.tr.), where I just got some amazing handmade vases by a South African artist. As for the famous Grand Bazaar, you need to spend the day there and preferably go on a Monday morning, the only really empty time.

Freund with benefits

For the impatient, socially awkward, unilingual traveler — in other words, for many of us — meeting locals can sometimes seem like a daunting proposition. But what if they came bundled in your hotel price, like Wi-Fi or a fruit basket? In March, Clare Freeman, a British expat and a veteran of Design Hotels, opened Plus One Berlin, a one-room concept hotel that operates a bit like a platonic escort service. Freeman gut-renovated a studio apartment in the city’s rapidly gentrifying Kreuzkölln district and turned the space into an airy urban refuge. She has since enlisted 35 locals, many of whom are her friends, to show guests Berlin from a Berliner’s point of view. ‘‘It’s a curated network,’’ she says of her associates. ‘‘You know you’re not getting just anyone.’’ You might get a German portrait photographer, a Serbian astrophysicist or a Roman coffee aficionado for, say, a quick afternoon drink to get restaurant suggestions or a half day spent as a guide’s plus-one. Past outings include record-release parties, lessons on flea-market haggling and pop-up film screenings at Yaam, a Jamaican beach club on the Spree. Each booking includes a jaunt with a local, and guests can pick whom they’d like to meet and schedule an appointment online. From about QR550 per night; plusoneberlin.com. Plus One Berlin’s founder, Clare Freeman (standing), and her local guides sometimes take guests to Rag and Bone Man, a tucked-away vintage store and cafe in Neukölln.

remix Styled to a T

The Guy

Fabien Riggall is the founder of London’s Future Cinema and Secret Cinema, two series in which films are rescreened with an interactive bent. Coming soon to New York City.

The Show

For ‘‘Top Gun,’’ more than 70 tons of sand were trucked in to Canary Wharf, where live actors recreated the iconic volleyball scene.

The Look

This Valentino cardigan morphs into a car coat, an example of fall’s trend of hybrid pieces. photograph BY robi rodriguez Fashion Editor: bruce pask

fashion assistant: robbie lawrence. grooming BY LEE MACHIN AT CAReN.

valentino coat, price on request; valentino.com. vince sweater, Dhs 715, and t-shirt, QR495; barneys.com. kolor trousers, QR1,985; mrporter.com.

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Styled to a T

The Trend

The turtleneck, humble neck warmer and clothing of choice for the late Steve Jobs, took a high-fashion turn on the runways of Neil Barrett, Hermès and Lanvin.

The Guy

The British rock legend Paul Weller, current face of John Varvatos, will follow his recent (and 11th) solo album, ‘‘Sonik Kicks,’’ with performances in Japan and the United States this fall.

The Look

In the place of a shirt and tie, a John Smedley turtleneck takes a chalk-stripe suit from dandy to mod (something Weller knows a thing or two about). photograph BY sebastian kim Fashion Editor: jason rider john smedley sweater, QR 1,100; mrporter.com. john

varvatos jacket (sold as suit),

QR5,860; johnvarvatos.com.

fashion assistant: elena hale. grooming by andre gunn at the wall group.

his own pocket square.

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the great divide

some tips on the perfect closet — including how to share it with your husband. By sarah Harris

dirty shoes back before cleaning and, if necessary, polishing (and, if so, allow to air out for 24 hours or until the scent evaporates). Thou shalt not hang clothes in plastic sleeves from the dry cleaners for reasons that are threefold: 1) Plastic doesn’t allow clothes to breathe; 2) Plastic attracts dust. Dust attracts moths (that’s just common sense); and 3) This would almost definitely involve a wire coat hanger. And following last week’s

P H O T O G R A P H B Y ronald dick

The writer, wearing near disaster I’m tempted to add a new her own Céline one to the list: Shower before entering. top, Paige jeans A few days ago, Alfie was shirtless, and Manolo having just returned from a run around Blahnik shoes, shows off her Hyde Park, and he happened to brush closet, which has past my Jonathan Saunders silk parka, a padded blue which I had purposefully left hanging leather exterior on the outside of a wardrobe door. (I like and oak parquet flooring. The doors to look at new purchases for a week or so before putting them away.) It’s made and drawers are made from walnut from the sort of fabric that would soak with horn handles. up the slightest speck of perspiration,

Makeup by elias hove at Jed Root; Hair by Colin Gold at Streeters.

’m not going to lie; there are easier people to share a closet with. People who wouldn’t flinch at the idea of hanging more than one shirt on a coat hanger; people who could forgive an ad hoc filing system, one that, say, mixed colors with neutrals, formalwear with casual wear, or — heaven forbid — anything sequined next to anything silk. (The risk of snagging? Who does that?) I’m precious about clothes and looking after them, but my husband, Alfie, who has a 40 percent share of my closet (awarded after a negotiation that rivaled the 1949 Israeli Armistice Agreements), is not. And so the cohabitation of our wardrobes — after I so meticulously designed the space with my carpenter Mario (glass drawers for easy viewing, pull-out shoe shelves, all lovingly wrapped in a very specific hue of blue leather edited down from thousands of swatches), while Alfie and our architect concerned themselves with the minor task of building the rest of the house — has been something of an education. For him. There are basic ground rules, or rather, commandments, to follow, like thou shalt not bring a wire coat hanger into the closet. Ever. Thou shalt not put

This peek inside two drawers in the closet showcases the organization: folded jeans, coiled belts, paired gloves and rolled scarves.

and I guarantee it will be good as new.) I could write a book on cashmere care: hand wash and dry flat, do not dry-clean; fold and segregate by weight, do not hang; and at the end of the season, store away in breathable cotton zipped sweater bags. And above all else, never underestimate the hunger of a moth. I’m a repeat buyer of Total Wardrobe Care’s Moth Boxes and Anti-Moth Essential Oil and Diffuser. Together with Rentokil’s Moth Killer Strips (these odorless paper ribbons are genius, because they kill off these cashmere-munchers as well as their

eggs and larvae), they constitute my triple-threat approach. I haven’t seen a moth in years. I discovered that the debonair designer Roland Mouret, whom I called to quiz on clothes care, learned the hard way. ‘‘Moths? Yes! I live in England! Moths are everywhere,’’ he said in despair. But not in France? ‘‘Yes,’’ he admitted, ‘‘we have moths in France, but I wasn’t wearing cashmere in France, I was spending my money on nightclubbing.’’ Mouret’s moth-eaten cashmere has since been rehoused in his country cottage; he doesn’t seem to mind the holes there. I’ve also taught my husband the important art of airing. After wearing something, I always allow it to aerate before hanging or folding it away. Patrick Grant, Savile Row’s most dapper designer, who has long been fastidious about the way he treats his clothes, agrees. ‘‘I never wear anything two days on the trot, because a good wool suit, like a good pair of leather shoes, needs a day off to breathe.’’ Like me, he color-codes and arranges his raincoats, overcoats and jackets by length. Which, by the way, you would think would be lovely to see when you walk into your closet: your outerwear organized in such a fashion, and shirts, too, sorted by color with the top two buttons fastened so they keep their shape, and yet Alfie compares it to the chilling scene in ‘‘Sleeping With the Enemy’’ when the murderer reappears to align Julia Roberts’s bathroom towels and things quickly take a turn for the worse. ‘‘I seldom dry-clean,’’ Grant told me. ‘‘If I get something on a suit, I sponge it out with clean water and a clean cloth. Even the gentlest dry cleaning isn’t good for wool suits.’’ Nor, for that matter, is ironing. ‘‘It kills fabric,’’ Mouret said. ‘‘When you get that shine on a shirt collar or cuffs, that’s it; it’s all over.’’ He’s right. Like him, I steam. ‘‘If I’m away and without a steamer, my little trick is to use the kettle in a hotel room, it clears creases in a second.’’ To test his theory, I recently asked Alfie to turn on the kettle while I went to fetch his crumpled white shirt. No sooner had I returned with shirt in hand to find the kettle left simmering, and next to it, a cup of steaming tea. And so it goes. n

OPTICAL ALLUSION

Like so many trappings of midcentury manliness, brow line eyeglasses — the kind favored by Malcom X (Above) — have landed in the hipster bargain bin. Leave it to Tom Ford to rescue them with this exquisite version made of gold-plated metal and water buffalo horn, the way they used to be in the 1960s. (The horn component even comes with a certificate of authenticity, along with a special cleansing cream.) The only thing that’s not midcentury about these limited-edition frames is the $2,950 price tag. A L E X T U D E L A

clockwise from top: michael ochs Archives/Getty Images; Jens mortensen; ronald dick (2).

and he missed it by a whisker. I gasped. He said the look of abject horror on my face suggested the ceiling was caving in. I shop on totalwardrobecare.co.uk like friends and colleagues shop on Net a Porter — often and obsessively. This Web site has every kind of closet paraphernalia your heart could desire; I have the shoe puffs, lint roller and knitwear comb. (Spend an hour working this implement over a pilled sweater

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face facts

uncomplicated watches for not-so-simple times. PHOTOGRAPHs BY grant cornett

Clockwise from top left: Cartier Tank Louis Cartier XL, QR52,155; cartier.com. Hermès Dressage Petite Seconde, QR35,630; hermes.com. Bell & Ross WW1 Argentium, QR21,670; bellross.com. Vacheron Constantin Historiques Ultra-Fine 1968, QR137,365; vacheron-constantin.com. Montblanc Star Classique Automatic, QR11,845; montblanc.com. Harry Winston Midnight Automatic, QR81,905; harrywinston.com. Vulcain ‘50s Presidents’ Classic, QR14,510; vulcain-watches.com. A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin, QR92,190; alange-soehne.com. Fabrics from Alfred Dunhill’s Custom Tailoring; dunhill.com. 42

prop stylist: stella metzner for mark edward inc.

fashion editor: bruce pask

ouis Vuitton’s “LV” monogram is one of the most recognized and sought after logos in fashion – omnipresent, from the house’s towering Fifth Avenue flagship to counterfeiters hawking their contraband in Chinatown stalls. But, it didn’t come first – that honor goes to the Damier, Louis Vuitton’s other (and less talked about) signature. Thrusting the motif back into the spotlight, creative director Marc Jacobs sent forth an ambitious Damier-inspired collection for S/S13 – nearly every look featured an adaptation of the one-on, one-off squares. Complete with the beehive hair, the kiss-me-I’m-cute sunglasses and the Twiggy legs (literally and figuratively), the lineup screamed of the swinging sixties – but it was in the details where Jacobs modernized the mod. For example, micro-check patterns were threaded through fabrics and then cut to create a velvet-relief effect. Moreover (and as pictures may not illustrate), many of the pieces featured stacked sequins, hand-applied with couture-like precision. Jacobs broke the catwalk norm by sending out his models in pairs that gave the show a fresh, offset vibe (plus, a welcome change of scenery for the weary fashion-flock – Louis Vuitton shows on the last scheduled day of the season). The duos arrived via a quadrant of escalators and, in retrospect, it seems that Jacobs was going for a slightly bizarre Stepford/suburban teenage youthfulness here – two girls wandering through a mall in very expensive sheer t-shirt dresses. As he says, it may have even treaded a bit on the “perverse.” Plus, the whole thing only lasted six minutes – a record the designer intends to break, season after season. Thus, this was a directional, strong collection for Jacobs, as it showcased a return to the clean and the minimal – away from the candy-shopped and steam-engined ornateness of Louis Vuitton’s 2012 program. Given the catalytic nature of this season in particular, the designer has once again shown he’s as grafted to the industry as ever, without sacrificing any of his idiosyncrasies – a bit weird, indeed, but in all the right ways.

two step

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Delectable jewels Jewelry house Boucheron has been creating original and striking designs for the past 150 years and has a bold new collection of jewels aimed at a new generation of jewelry aficionados. Fittingly named Tentation Macaron, the collection is a playful departure for the house. Tentation Macaron is the fine jewelry incarnation of the House’s new high jewelry line Gaite Parisienne. With this collection Boucheron transforms the hedonistic impulses that were catalyst for its High Jewelry line into jewelry cravings that can be easily satisfied. The round feather light macaroons that have been a sweet and succulent sin for over two hundred years have been reborn as jewels. Their colorful cocoons of flavor now sparkle and shimmer in eight different jewelry pieces forged from the finest precious stones. The rings come in five colors to represent the most beloved flavors of the macaroon, each one more mouthwatering than the next. The cookie’s crust is coated with inset gems while a second layer of jeweled “filling” is cushioned underneath. Boucheron macaroons can also be worn as a set of earrings. They are designed such that a second macaroon can be turned to expose a stunning cabochon cut amethyst.

Givenchy Dahlia Noir Givenchy’s latest perfume, Dahlia Noir, is set to captivate women across the world. This is the first fragrance composed by Francois Demachy who also created the Eau de Parfum and developed by the creative director Riccardo Tisci, who has imbibed the elements of his creative designs. According to its creators, the fragrance resonates with fragile strength, a confluence of opposing forces and a quintessence of Givenchy style. The floral perfume is based on rose, iris and mimosa, while sandalwood and patchouli lend a woody depth. It is also blended with Tonka bean. The Dahlia Noir Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette come in three spray formats namely 50 ml, 57 ml and 30ml, and each evokes a quintessential Parisian flavor.

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Tod’s timeless heritage Tod’s celebrates an era of timeless elegance through a series of portraits of Italian men. The sense of style that is represented by the models showcases an inimitable quality which is proudly "Made in Italy" and depicts the value of hand made craftsmanship. It attempts to portray a respect for the past and one’s roots. The book of portraits attempt to depict the sophistication of Italian-made designs. The coffee table book is a great keepsake.

Tanagra presents Mario Cioni Tanagra, the Middle East’s leading luxury home decor and gift store has announced the arrival of inspirational Italian brand Mario Cioni and its wonderful collections, now available in its UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar stores. Founded in Italy in 1958, Mario Cioni & Co. focuses on creating crystal objects out of the finest raw materials and on design originality that shows off true art form and craftsmanship, as well as on accomplishing exceptional finishing whilst also supporting young up-and-coming designers. Mario Cioni, the founder of Mario Cioni & Co., has always treated each of his creations as a work of art, dedicating all his skills and meticulous attention to each piece. Today, Mario Cioni & Co. has set a benchmark for high-end crystalware manufacturing with its renowned quality of products. Mario Cioni’s children, who have been taught everything he knew, have taken over the company since his passing and are dedicated to creating their own pieces with the same passion and attention their father did with his same philosophy of excellence. Mario Cioni & Co. designs and produces all its pieces entirely in Italy, taking advantage of its valuable know-how in the field, which has developed over decades, and the ability of its designers to include stylistic and functional characteristics in their creations which give prestige to any occasion and home they are part of. The brand expresses different conceptual worlds, lending a voice to the complementary styles within the framework of the same creative soul whilst satisfying the tastes and needs of an increasingly varied and heterogeneous clientele. 46

Estée Lauder launches Very Estée Estee Lauder unveils Very Estee an all-new, contemporary Floral Woody Musk fragrance which is a celebration of the Estee Lauder woman’s affinity for style and luxury. Estee Lauder was a visionary who had a deep understanding of women’s universal, timeless desire for style and beauty. Very EstÈe embodies both the rich heritage of the brand and its strong emotional resonance with the contemporary Estee Lauder woman. “The name Very Estee reflects a celebration of the style, sophistication and modernity shared by EstÈe, the woman, and Estee Lauder, the brand”, said Karyn Khoury, Senior Vice President, Corporate Fragrance Development Worldwide, Estee Lauder Companies. “Very Estee the fragrance honors all of those things from a heritage point of view, but it also embraces the strong, vibrant connection between the brand and the contemporary Estee Lauder woman who personifies all of those attributes.”

JAMES BOND’S CHOICE James Bond has sported an Omega wristwatch since the film ‘Golden Eye’ in 1995 and in the four following films he relied on his timepiece throughout numerous action scenes and daredevil feats. In the film’s latest release ‘Skyfall,’ Bond adorns the steel-on-steel Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m 42mm with a matt black unidirectional rotating divers’ bezel. Omega ambassador Daniel Craig embarks on yet another thrilling adventure as the legendary James Bond. To celebrate the launch of ‘Skyfall,’ Omega is launching the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M”Skyfall” Limited Edition watch.In the film, Naomie Harris’ character Eve will also be wearing an Omega Aqua Terra with a black dial, a stainless steel case and a matching bracelet. BÈrÈnice Marlohe’s character. Severine wears an Omega De Ville Prestige with a mother-of-pearldial, a stainless steel case and a stainless steel bracelet. Bond’s watch for the new film is driven by the Omega Co-Axial calibre 8500 whose revolutionary Co-Axial escapement and free sprung balance deliver long-term stability and precision, dramatically reducing the need for servicing. Also equipped with an Si14 silicon balance spring, the watch is delivered with a four-year warranty. The hands and indexes have been treated with Super-LumiNova and are legible in all lights and conditions and offer a stark contrast to the matt black surface of the dial. 47

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Qatari culture recreated in Japan

oppongi Hills is one of Tokyo’s most popular spots. It commands a 360-degree view of Tokyo, and is host to an array of leisure facilities that include everything from chic shops and hotels, to an effervescent arts and culture scene in the form of galleries and cinemas. Last month, however, it played host to something quite different – a full-scale Qatari souk. So how on earth did an authentic reconstruction of a Qatari souk land itself 5,000 miles away from home? Thankfully, this was exactly what Qatar Museums Authority, organizers of the five-day event, were hoping. The event, called “Qatar Week: Ferjaan in Tokyo”, formed part of Qatar Japan 2012, a year-long series events celebrating 40 years of ties between Qatar and Japan, and one of its key objectives was to share insights into Qatari culture and build deeper understanding between the two nations. Japanese people, over 5,000 per day according to

audience surveys, streamed in to witness the souk and were fascinated by what they saw. Reina, a 28-year-old Japanese executive, was one of them. She laughed when she recalled her first encounter with the Ardah, the traditional Qatari sword dance. “At first I was absolutely terrified, the noise, the thunder of the drumming and the men wielding swords. It seemed the equivalent of the Japanese samurai,” she giggled. Continuing, she added, “But then I really began to enjoy the spectacle, and some people even joined in. It was absolutely fascinating – I really didn’t know too much about Qatar before.” Before Reina rushed back to work in downtown Tokyo, she was able to pop into "Ferjaan cafe" to check out the Qatari coffee, “As you know, in my country tea is connected to our culture and we have tea ceremonies. Qatari coffee is special and I learnt how it plays a role in tradition and heritage. It’s so nice to see how in so many ways our cultures actually share similarities.” The event was attended by Princess Takamodo of the Imperial Palace, Qatar’s Ambassador to Japan HE Yousef Bilal and other VIPs.

UP Factory at VCUQ

tretching possibilities is what Renny Ramakers and her team at Droog excel at. The Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar recently presented "The UP Factory by Droog Design". The opening reception was preceded by a lecture entitled "Materials Matter" by Ramakers, co-founder and director of Droog Design. Droog creates products, projects and events around the world in collaboration with designers, clients and partners. With offices and a store in Amsterdam, and retail partners worldwide, Droog offers a selection of accessories, lighting, furniture and studio work that change one’s experience of daily life. Droog projects pioneer new design directions, new collaborations, creative tools and business models that offer a unique perspective. Ramakers was educated as an art historian at the University of Leiden. During her studies she was more interested in a break than in continuity. After her studies she decided to specialize in design and to make history herself by creating projects which could stretch the boundaries of design thinking. In 2009, Ramakers launched the Droog Lab series, "Here, there, everywhere", in collaboration with

designers, consulting experts and local partners, Droog speculates how people in daily situations worldwide can inspire new directions for design. Current and past project locations include Dubai, New York, the Canadian North, Moscow, Belgium, Mumbai and China, where themes ranging from ambition to survival and copying have resulted in outcomes ranging from imaginary brands to future city concepts and new business models. As curator, Ramakers creates highly interactive design festivals around the world, establishing new collaborations and experiences inspired by the location. Ramakers curated "Pioneers of Change", a festival of Dutch design, fashion and architecture that took place in New York in 2009, attracting over 25,000 visitors over two weekends. In 2010, with "Saved by Droog", Droog began purchasing dead stock for creative re-interpretation. "UP", a new economic model for bringing dead stock back into circulation through redesign was launched in 2011. In 2012, Renny Ramakers was named one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World” by Newsweek. Ramakers focuses on establishing new collaborations and developing new tools and scenarios grounded by societal relevance, but always with a twist. She believes conceptual thinking with the focus on a different perspective can not only solve problems but also open up new possibilities. 49

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Encounter, Calvin Klein’s new perfume for men Calvin Klein’s new perfume for men has a woody fragrance. Encounter was developed by perfumers Honorine Blanc and Pierre Negrin and includes fragrance notes of mandarin, cardamom, pepper, jasmine, patchouli, rum, cognac, agarwood, Atlas cedar and musk. Meant to impart a hint of mystery, the perfume is both addictive and appealing. It was released as part of a "Dare to Encounter" campaign. In an effort to achieve greater interaction with its consumers, the brand even launched a dedicated website. The website hosted a number of challenges which gave winners a chance to view a short film based on the perfume. This in turn enabled the selected few to be part of a special lucky draw.

Taking fashion to new heights Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have taken over the creative direction of Kenzo from 2011. Thanks to their new vision, the label has revived the spirit at the origin of its success. Founders of the concept store "Opening Ceremony," launched in September 2002 in New York and creators of the eponymous label, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim are now at the helm of Kenzo, aiming to inject their original energy into Parisian fashion. At the core of their approach, there is a love for travel, culture and fashion that manifests itself in all that they do. With "Opening Ceremony", they successfully combine up-and-coming brands as well as established labels, while defying the standard expectations of the moment. In the image of young Kenzo Takada, who managed to cleverly upset the codes of the 70’s, this new creative duo breaks away from the expected. Driven by the environment of the 21st century, they consider the KENZO style like a game with resolutely personal rules. Originally from Japan, Kenzo dreamed of coming to Paris. His wish became a reality in 1970 when he opened his first boutique, "Jungle Jap", located at the stylish Galerie Vivienne. Right from the start, he offered a different vision from the establishment of Parisian couture and the closed creative universe at that time. Visionary, and surrounded by an exciting group of friends, he anticipated a free global spirit. With their Asian roots and Californian influences, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim want to take advantage of all creative aspects of the world around them. Collaborating with avant-garde artists, musicians, actors, designers and many others, they have brought to Paris a unique twist. Their spontaneity and experience are indispensable to fashion. Their mission at Kenzo is to instill a real joy of living and convey a new freshness to the brand, while at the same time continuing to surprise and to shake up the "jungle" of fashion.

Lights, Camera, Action abouT local talent

this year DTFF is all

he fourth edition of the much-anticipated Doha Tribeca Film Festival will take place this year from November 11 – 24 – a two-week long celebration of film and culmination of artistic and funding initiatives by Doha Film Institute. This year’s festival carves a unique niche with a focus on regional and local films that tells the stories of communities from the Arab world. While years past have seen international celebrities and Hollywood influence, DTFF 2012 brings the agenda close to home to capture quintessential moments in history that have been happening in the Arab world in the past decade. The opening movie to anchor the festival is The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Mira Nair – weaving the story of a conflicted Pakistani man who falls in and out of love with America. The festival continues with a large selection

T World of cinema Scene from The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Lyrics Revolt, Mira Nair, the director of the opening movie at DTFF 2012, scene from The Rise of the Guardians. 52

of shorts and feature films in the exciting Made In Qatar section, premiering with the red carpet screening of Lyrics Revolt – a documentary that reveals the power of political hip hop in the midst of regional turmoil. The local productions include a much-talked about horror movie, Lockdown – a zombie thriller directed by Mohammed Al-Ibrahim and Ahmed Al-Baker, as well as Angel In June – the story of a young charitable girl based on real-life events in the Filipino community of Doha. DTFF 2012 also pays tribute to Algerian cinema to celebrate the country’s 50 year of independence and the audience will get to watch selections of movies from post-colonial Algeria to modern day. Other than movies, DTFF 2012 will see myriad activities aimed at promoting the interest of films among the community of Doha – including talks, panel discussions and concerts. DTFF 2012 will take place at the main hub, Katara Cultural Village, Souq Waqif, MIA Park and the new purpose-built Sony Open Air Cinema.

Bottega Veneta AFP

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bserve a celebrated perennial springtime bulwark – the flower. Botanicals across the board have been razor-sharpened as of late, thanks to the dawn of advanced digital print techniques (look no further than London-based designer Mary Katrantzou for proof ). Hyper-real with million-bit color – such motifs read as the fabric equivalents to our iPad screens. S/S13 will see a breathy return to lo-fi territory, with uncomplicated iterations of daisies, carnations and roses blossoming across a latticework of in-the-now sensibilities, silhouettes and styling. In fact pan-industry, designers harkened back (whether to their biological roots, such as with Proenza Schouler’s cool-kid neon mash-up, or to eras long gone – see J.W. Anderson’s Bakelite bracelets) whilst looking forward. Call it the new-new retrofuturism; time travel in reverse to redefine what it means to be modern, if not ahead of the proverbial curve. It begs the question – to what extent do fashion shows exist not on runways, but crossroads?

FLOWER POWER, TOMORROW by NICK REMSEN

New York While the concept of past-meets-future could be discussed at length this season, let’s stick with the trend as applied to the staple. 3.1 Phillip Lim went for a fresher brand of nostalgia – that of nineties grunge, sped up to 2013 levels. Here Lim used a basic all-over garden tapestry print – most impressively when paired with a lightweight moto-jacket and a statement tee – similar in a sense to, say, Seattle thrift store garb. The simple layout helped to enhance Lim’s mission; this was the designer heralding an expired "fashion moment" by making it relevant for today – and in revisiting the era, he subsequently reconfigured it for the upcoming teens.

Simone Rocha afp

Erdem Courtesy of Erdem

Prada, AFP

3.1 Phillip Lim Courtesy of 3.1 Phillip Lim

Christian Dior AFP

Dries Van Noten afp

London Rising star Simone Rocha reflected a knowing contemporariness in her collection through its easy-does-it candor, as if to say there’s no such thing as grandeur in a post-recession world. Rocha had her fun though, namely with fluorescent sunflowers crocheted into oversized trench-coats and day-dresses. Nothing was overwrought or overworked – what she did was tap the vein of next-gen style setters on her very first try, without any major technological fireworks. Rocha seemed to imply that little, simple and monochromatic decorations are OK, but that ornament is indeed crime. Unlike Rocha, and for those preferring a more maximalist approach, Erdem Moralioglu (of his eponymous line Erdem) has consistently used ornate and intricate themes in his floral patterns. This tactic remained for spring, though the designer did layer in an apt array of timely references. The silhouettes were largely fifties (with an eighties slant), ostensibly spraypainted with neon orange flowers (envision: the color of roadwork warnings). The dichotomy between the futuro-pantones of the petals and the domesticity of the dresses rendered this collection somewhere in the air between inherent and apparent – a dateless capsule drawing from what’s been done and what’s yet to come. Milan The Miuccia Prada mind game keeps the fashion

world on its well-capped toes, forcing editorial hysteria, criticism and adoration alike. This time around marked a significant departure for Prada, as she consciously veered off the tracks of last season’s formality, stringing together a tableau where the sixties collide with an austere take on Japan. Interpretations of daisies, oftentimes Warhol-ian in composition, appeared throughout the catwalk. 2D and without frills, Prada’s flowers are in effect more cyanotype than Photoshop - but the ways in which they were placed (sparingly) and conceived (modishly) conjured up a new and perhaps sartorially clairvoyant total package. Such a prediction would be betting safe – the house does have a proven track record of inciting mimics, for months if not years to come. In one of the strongest shows of the season, Bottega Veneta presented a masterfully conceived catalogue of dresses – many of which featured a no-fuss carnation print in various forms. Tomas Maier (now in his second decade as creative director of the label) utilized these lofidelity flowers on 1940’s shapes, made current by the details – python stripping and metal, to be exact – and his exceptional color pairing skills. There is an intrinsic, omniscient tastefulness in Maier’s work; he doesn’t go for the “it” bag or the cover-friendly dress. Keeping this in mind, endless possibilities abound in envisioning the Bottega girl or woman – is she a Palm Beach art collector? A Lower East Side auteur? A Qatari

billionaire? Chances are, any fashionable woman will lust after these clothes; they’re retro in feel but ageless in context, and what could be more modern than that? Paris Dries Van Noten reached fashion Nirvana (very much in the vein of Kurt Cobain's aesthetic) in one of his best collections to date. Also drawing from the grunge period, Van Noten breathed new life in to plaids and poppies through various fabric treatments – most extraordinarily when playing with diaphanous sheer. This Belgian designer is not known for tailoring or structure – but rather, his kaleidoscopic mixes of prints and gender associations. Case in point: very few people can do what Van Noten does, and this season, he set Paris’ benchmark by spinning something totally new from the old. Even current fashion-media darling/default minimalist Raf Simons upheld the trend in (part of ) his debut ready-to-wear for Christian Dior (after a critically acclaimed couture show this past summer). His closing looks – four to be exact – boldly showed full-bodied skirts, emblazoned with straightforward rose motifs under a kind of static, iridescence-screened duchesse. This collection did not reach Van Noten levels of originality, but Simons did not have to; he took his intense study of Dior’s heritage and manifested his own vision of a prim future, steeped in the house’s archival history. 55

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Art on architecture The architecture of the building by itself nurtures greatness. That the building is the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) is not a coincidence. And now there is an art collection within. T Qatar explores this juxtaposition of art within the architectural marvel, and the reasoning behind adding another layer to an already beautiful skin. by sindhu nair

he huge lobby with bridges connecting the two sides of the campus, traditional motifs that pattern the walls, a sense of other such large spaces beyond, a splash of color on one of the barriers, the streaming skylight – the “wow” features within CMUQ are far too many to list here. And, when it is the work of the world-renowned Mexican architectural enterprise Legoreta + Legoreta, you can’t help but keep an eye out for the master, Ricardo Legorreta’s signature style. Known for his penchant for bright colors, massive masonry walls, courtyards and facade cutouts that interact with the bright sunlight, Ricardo (who passed away in December 2011) doesn’t disappoint his followers, as all his features find a

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place in this institution; and he has gone a step beyond by incorporating traditional motifs that give the building a sense of locality. Elaborating on his design, he was quoted as saying: “We used natural materials such as stone and marble that is going to age well and look good in this particular environment. The combination of color accents creates a happy atmosphere that stimulates teachers and students, and encourages them to work together. With the use of color, we also wanted to create environments for the different uses of the building so that each space has its own personality.” The philosophy of the building is connected to the social experience of the university. “CMUQ wanted to be the heart of Education City,” he said.“Having two sides of the building with a green spine in the middle was the basis of the design. Similar to buildings in other cultures, this design creates space for people to pass

Work of art previous page: Pilar Climent, 2008, glass, sandstone and steel. From above: Prof Doug Cooper, 2008, mural art, Ali Hassan, mural, Rana Begum, 2008, powder-coated Aluminum

through and circulate.” As soon as the building was complete, CMU-Q embarked on another art journey – of engaging students and visitors in art appreciation, a process initiated by the architect himself. Alexander Cheek, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Design explains, “At our main campus in Pittsburgh, there are many forms of public art, and extending that here helps to further strengthen the Carnegie Mellon experience. Our College of Fine Arts in Pittsburgh is highly ranked in many of its programs and it’s important that our Qatar students have as much exposure to the arts as possible.”

The artwork is currently serving as a backdrop in the building, but we hope to begin some programs with the students to raise interest in the fine arts.

Art in retrospective Kevin Lamb, who was the Assistant Dean for Planning at CMUQ when this project was at the initialization phase, was instrumental in art being a major constituent inside the building. “We developed the program for the building after we had most of the functional aspects, like classrooms, figured out. We wanted to identify ways to link to the home campus in the US. Doug Cooper’s 200 foot-long iconic mural for

Carnegie Mellon Center (1996) that shows the campus and Pittsburgh in three time periods was the starting point. He readily agreed to participate, and from there we went on to consider other art opportunities in the building. At the time, we were not sure of a budget for such, but we started planned the lighting and art-hanging tracks into as many spots as we could in the building,” he says. Displaced memory Doug Cooper is a Andrew Mellon Professor at the School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon Pittsgurgh. He has completed many such installations, though none as “ground breaking as this”. Doug feels that personal history has been central throughout all of his work. “The relationship to place is central in my work. It takes a long time, a lifetime in fact, to truly know a place. That’s an unavoidable limitation in any work I do,” he says. But here in Doha, he seems to have transited that challenge easily. Doug seems to have had a deep insight of the desert country through the stories the students’ weaved. Doug’s mural is the focal point of the art installations. Located near the admissions area, covering the entire wall of a passage and spreading to the walls nearby, the mural is a stunner, in magnitude and in the span of stories amalgamated. The mural makes you look and feel, and then each element in it serves as a mnemonic to the sights and experiences, the memories and associations of life in Doha. If what Doug set out for was a visual connect, then he seems to have succeeded completely. 57

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But it was no easy task. The size and the distance were the two biggest challenges in completing the project, he says. “The mural weighs approximately 1,700 kilos. Individually, some of the panels weigh as much as a large man, and it took three, sometimes four ,men to raise them into place. There are more than 4,000 screws holding the mural together and to the wall, and it arrived in Doha in a container on a ship that had passed through the pirateinfested waters off Somalia,” he describes. “When I found out the constraints on shipping schedules, something I found out part-way through, this greatly affected my production schedule. That and its weight. With its multiple layers, it weighs TONS,” he says. Doug realized that his usual material of charcoal would be ill-suited to represent a coastal Arab country. “But I did have a vague sense that the project might be possible if it could combine drawing in some way with photography. In that way, I thought I might build on what I anticipated might become a colorful tableau of sand, geometry, eclectic architecture and carpets. I did a quick exploratory image in late summer 2007, and then called my daughter Sarah Cooper. She and an Austrian friend Nina Gorfer had founded a photo/graphics firm, SEEK, in Gothenburg, and I asked them if they might be interested in working together on this,” says Doug, explaining the process. The site was the next step. “I visited Doha in December 2007 to scout the mural’s site. I had arranged with Kevin that the mural would extend the length of a 9 meter-long curving wall outside the Admissions office. I thought the mural might parallel the program of admissions by providing a sense of entry to the building. When I saw the corridor and the hallway annex outside the nearby faculty lounge, I knew I should expand the scope of the project to engage the interesting sight-lines and corners of that space as well,” he says. Doug then went on to apportioning roles. “I would generate the mural’s overall visual concept, its architectural foregrounds and response to sightlines and assemble in my Pittsburgh studio. SEEK would develop the background geography and depict the stories we would gather. But nothing could have prepared us for the number of cranes and the long lines of blue-suited construction workers we found as we began our fieldwork,” says Doug recalling the stage when he began his process of collecting stories for the story board for the representation in the mural. “This was a place in a state of hyperchange...” Through the process of etching reminiscences, Doug and his team came to realize that, with Qatar’s rapid change, memory itself would become a highly charged issue. “Places fill a mnemonic role in the lives of people everywhere, in particular among elderly. Place provokes

memory. But, the familiarity of a street or a well-known landscape from one’s childhood is more than just an opening to sentimental journeys down memory lane. Familiarity of place is central to the stable connection one must maintain with the world outside,” he reflects as he wonders whether memory itself is a risk in such a place as Doha, where it takes a mere second to wipe out a whole street. “It was from observations such as these that the mural’s overall theme of displaced memory began to take shape. As a counterpoint, we sought something eternal with which to begin: finding this through trips out into the desert and in images and stories of camels and falcons.” Explaining his story collection process, Doug says, “That was fairly easy. Collaborating with my daughter Sarah and her partner Nina was key. For cultural reasons, they were able to communicate with female students in ways that I could not, and we did find the female students to be the most open subjects.” The story of art continues While none of the other art forms are as large or as arresting as the mural, all of them have been painstakingly sourced and placed in the setting. “One of our students studying business administration, Rafay Abbasi, was an integral and important part of the art selection process,” says Alexander. “In our meetings and gallery visits, he brought an important perspective and sensitivity on what artworks had both aesthetic interest and intellectual depth.” The massive scale of this architectural marvel would be intimidating for the person who takes the task of adding to it, but for Alexander, it is the space that provided the canvas. “There were many spots in the building designed to hold artworks – open wall spaces, lighting installations, etc. – but more deeply, the whole aesthetic of the building (an art form in itself ) with magnificent color, texture, and natural light, helped make the selection process somewhat easier. Many pieces spoke to us for their color or texture as ones that would fit nicely. We were also attracted to many pieces for their intellectual content, fitting in an educational institution. Other pieces, while we liked them aesthetically and intellectually, perhaps didn’t seem right for the building because of their voice or content. Not everything we saw fit ted into the ethos of our institution,” he says. Alexander adds: “The artwork is currently serving as a backdrop in the building, but we hope to begin some programs with the students to raise interest in the fine arts. Our committee has also been active in promoting the collection outside of CMUQ , inviting people in from Education City, Qatar Foundation and Doha at large. The fact that all the art is from regional artists will help increase levels of interest and engagement.”

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doha then, doha now

Unwinding at The Sharq Village and Spa is a magnificent and luxurious experience of sorts. by nick remsen

rriving at The Sharq Village and Spa, Doha – feels a bit like partial timetravel – the tranquility of the Sharq's native Qatari architecture transports you, at once, to an era long gone, but you remain wholly in the present when taking in its world-class amenities. It is an alien feeling, exciting in its newness. However, this property also pleasantly provides a humbling surprise – a poignant antidote to West Bay's

shining skyscrapers, tying tradition with modernity, if you will. Serenity sinks in almost instantly – there is no trace of anything pre-fab, no clubby lobby house beats. The opportunities for peaceful reprise are seemingly endless here. Upon arrival, I was immediately whisked to the property's Royal Villa, a spectacular standalone structure, functioning ostensibly as a hotel within a hotel. Guests at the Royal Villa enjoy a private entry, a dedicated staff and an array of exclusive benefits – including a fullsized indoor pool, waterfall included! That desk you'll be writing on? A QR110,000 bespoke piece made of leather, metal and wood – one of only two ever produced. The palatial bathroom's azure hue? Rare Brazilian marble. The annex bedroom? Designed specifically for your

security detail. Every last square centimeter of this building is designed to swaddle its occupants in the throes of luxury, retaining a finely-tuned balance of tradition in setting and modernity in entertainment. If all of the above hasn't convinced you to stay for at least an overnight, consider this: the Royal Villa boasts an enormous wraparound deck, fit for everything from late-night shisha to desert sky stargazing. The Sharq's Six Senses Spa is another marvelous facet of the resort. It's massive – even by Gulf standards! And, it's built into a latticework of corridors and hallways so intricate one can't help but feel completely safe and sound, tucked away from Doha's harsh end-ofsummer air. Down the corridors, around cerulean pools glinting in the night's light, up brushed stone steps– the entire space is a harmonious blend of blue, tan, white and wood. I was assigned a massage therapist from the south of France, completing a three-week residency in Doha - Six Senses regularly rotates in the "best hands" from the world over. "Light," I said a bit wearily; most masseuses don't seem to know the meaning of: "'I don't really like any pressure at all."

It turned out to be the best massage I've ever had, without an ounce of discomfort (despite a permanently knotted back, I've never quite grown accustomed to anything deep-tissue). I've also never received a massage with an education! According to the practice of Ayurveda, my body type is that of the "wind". Somehow this therapist could discern my restlessness just from looking at me. It was interesting to hear the philosophy behind the treatment. Mind you, the Ayurveda offerings are very oily as they use elixirs derived from plants; the therapist will ask you about your skin type and use the applicable formulas. However, it's nothing a quick rinse can't fix. Now, on to the rooms. Whether you prefer dusk or the witching hour, I'm fairly certain even the most hardcore insomniac would find solace in The Sharq Village and Spa's accommodations. I enjoyed a dream-filled night, when normally I can't stay asleep for more than two or three hours; the beds are plush, the sheets are of highthread count and there's a safe, cocooned feeling you don't often experience in newer properties. The drapes are luxurious, thick and heavy and are complemented by flat-screen TVs and well-

stocked mini-bars. I'm not sure if every room has a balcony, but mine was enormous -fitting and perfect for reading T Qatar, or watching the latest Family Guy episode on your iPad – thanks to the in-room, high-speed Wi-Fi. However, my favorite part of my experience here lies beneath all of its bells and whistles, in its simplest aspects that make it most enjoyable, and unique. Where so many in Doha try to impress with pyrotechnic-like wow-factors, this property really lets you be. It's not "in your face". It's truly serene; among the most tranquil places I've been in the Gulf, let alone the world. For example, sitting on the hotel's beach at sunset, with planes banking away overhead, with the city's halogen and neon flickering to life as the daylight softens – you just can't get much more of an exclusively-in-Qatar experience than that. So, I'll change what I said at the beginning of this review. The feeling here is not so much akin to halfway time-travel, but more like locating a crossroads in the continuum that is time - it feels like you're simultaneously between two eras, the old and the new. It's this feeling of unique juxtaposition that I love and treasure about my time in Doha, and nowhere was it more perfectly captured than at The Sharq Village and Spa. 61

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INSTAGRAMANIA by NICK REMSEN

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uwait City, May 2012. I’m sitting at Dean and Deluca with Yvan Rodic, a well-known and worldtraveling street style blogger, in the ostensible belly of a gigantic shopping mecca on the edge of the metropolis. It’s a quiet moment in our 48-hour trip to Kuwait – we’re enjoying the frosty air-conditioning and the sterile, universal drum of mall acoustics. But then, materializing from the polish comes a girl, no older than 20, excitedly jabbing at us with her iPhone screen. “You! I know you! I’ve just seen where you’ve been,” says the stranger, “you’re The Facehunter right?” Indeed, Mr. Rodic’s online moniker is The Facehunter.

But it wasn’t through his website that this young woman had come to know of his whereabouts – it was Instagram. “I’ve abandoned Twitter,” says one friend back in London, when I relay the extraordinariness of Kuwait’s obsession with the application (evidently I’d been late to party, having only downloaded it a week before departing for the Gulf ). What struck me about Kuwait was the fact that nearly everyone we met, saw, or heard of was using Instagram on their iPhones or Androids – the excitable mall girl being one of many who had found us from their photo-feeds. Granted, it’s a relatively small place geographically, but it still felt like a phenomenon of sorts – akin to the age-old and decidedly more lo-fi ellipses generated by mirrors back-to-back. Fast-forward a few months, and what you have is the tippy-top of an exponential growth curve; everyone and their mother and everything and its overseer seems to have

Instagram. And why shouldn’t they? It’s downright fun, and, to the scorn of writers everywhere, live-in-2D proof that pictures can oftentimes hold more clout than words. Case in point – over the summer, waking up to Polaroid-colored vistas of sunsets around the world and bronze-kissed, flared-out renderings of so many fireworks became routine – it seemed to galvanize a wiki-trendy aesthetic movement, reflecting a transmuted Eden for the Tumblr generation through a squared-off lens. Dinner party conversations? Ladled with sound bytes such as “I saw you were in the Hamptons on Instagram – you didn’t tell me you were going!” It’s a friendlier proxy than Twitter or Facebook too – following and liking becoming almost reflexive, irrespective of your personal opinions of the photographer. Homesick romancing aside, no realm of the professional world has embraced the telling power of Instagram more openly (or… some may say… aggressively) than the fashion industry. Certain editors have followers in the tens of thousands – sometimes more than the accounts of the magazines they produce. Backstage close-ups of studded platforms, smoky eyes and metallic topstitching filter outward before the show lights dim – a warp-speed preview, no longer reserved for fashion’s elite. Then, once the runway begins, the front row becomes a virtual wall of iPhones – and the eagerness with which some of these people thumb out their hashtags and their opinions when they see a winning look is nothing short of astounding. At the most recent Duckie Brown presentation in New York, I saw my seat neighbor (plucked last minute from the standing crowd) type “FRONT ROW AT #DUCKIE” with about fifteen thousand exclamation points under a not-so-interesting and rather blurry photo of a model in a backless black jacket. I’m all for amped-up fashion gravitas, but this felt (and read) a little desperate. My thinking is, if you’re going to take a picture for your friends and fans (plus then try to attract strangers with hashtags galore), at least make it interesting. Note: hashtags are pound signs placed in front of words or terms. Their purpose is to function as an aggregate search tool. Of course, some are naturally more artistic than others, despite Instagram’s seventeen enhancement filters (effects which alter the raw frame into, for example, vivid orange – “Kelvin” – or darkened and washed out cyan – “X-pro II”). These are the image-makers, those who possess a visceral talent for both timeliness and composition, natural “eyes” thus warranting and building the hype. Mr. Rodic is one of them – he’s got nearly 100,000 followers, and he consistently churns out unique images in a somewhat atypical code for street-style photography. “It is the fastest and most entertaining way to share fashion,” he says. Mr. Rodic doesn’t care so much about the clothes as he does the place – he doesn’t have to shoot Anna Dello Russo in this season’s cover dresses. It’s a nice angle, technically and conceptually – the people of Cartagena or Tbilisi are just as stylish as those in Milano, and deserve to be seen. Nick Knight, the pioneering photographer and founder of London-based SHOWStudio.com, was an early adapter in using Instagram professionally. This past April, he and his team live-streamed a photo-shoot with Cara Delevingne, titled “Pussycat, Pussycat” (Delevingne has since become an in-demand model, known for her playful antics off-set and outside the tents). It was the first fashion editorial at a credited and internationally recognized level to be produced with the application. As Knight says, “The shoot was inspired

by all those Internet memes and animal GIFs that everyone is so obsessed with. Kittens are the most popular images on Tumblr, so we decided to use little animals - kittens, bunnies, dogs and ducks. [Having Delevingne was] so apt, as she has a great following on Instagram. We should embrace these new mediums rather than go against them.” At press time, Mr. Knight and Ms. Delevingne had 25,000 and 102,000 followers, respectively, and the exercise is widely considered to have been a success – garnering high marks across the Twittersphere and beyond. Mr. Knight, who has worked with everyone from Devon Aoki to the late Alexander McQueen, also feels a bit of nostalgia around Instagram – perhaps indicating a greater collective socio-emotional attachment to the image-making platform, which might help in explaining its multi-generational appeal. “Instagram takes me back to the style of my earliest photography; no retouching and no long processes of post-production. I love the instantaneous aspect of it and the challenge of only having a mobile phone to rely on, no props and no help,” he says. Instagram has also proven popular in branding and selfpromotion efforts for everyone from mega-corporations to fashion circuit gadflies to indie creatives. New York Citybased Emilie Ghilaga, a talented young clothing designer who works with a bevvy of bespoke clients between Manhattan and India, says “I love it – it’s yet another technological tool that helps connect you to your audience.” Ms. Ghilaga has developed a little black book the size of Jaipur with clients, many of whom she also counts as friends – lending an apt verity to the ubiquitous term that is social media. “I share all kinds of inspirations and musings that can stimulate creativity in others and aid in the understanding of my philosophy,” she adds. On the other side of the spectrum, global fashion labels have (or are in the midst of launching) dedicated Instagram profiles. Louis Vuitton, for example, sent out a press release entirely dedicated to the inception of its in-house account before its S/S13 women’s ready-to-wear show. They’ve quickly amassed 19,000 fans. So… can it last? Will it reach a saturation point where, perhaps, instant isn’t quick enough – i.e., will we get bored? The answer remains to be seen. But, given the steadiness of its sister and parent entities (those being Twitter and Facebook, to which the company was sold earlier this year for 1 billion USD), it looks like Instagram’s got some legs too it. Whether or not it turns out to be an effective viewfinder for corporate advertising remains to be seen – but, for personal reputation staking, captivating imagery and a user-friendlier premise, it has yet to be beat. If you don’t have it, download it. Then follow me @temirates or @nc_remsen. 1 ●

SUNNY STREET STYLE FROM YVAN RODIC (@FACEHUNTER). Courtesy of Yvan Rodic. 2 ●

EMILIE GHILAGA WEARING HER OWN DESIGN – THE “REDFORD” PANT (@GHILAGA). Courtesy of Emilie Ghilaga. 3 ● 4 ●

FROM NICK KNIGHT’S “PUSSYCAT, PUSSYCAT” SHOOT FOR SHOWSTUDIO.COM, FEATURING CARA DELEVINGNE (@SHOWSTUDIO_NICK_KNIGHT). Courtesy of Nick Knight for SHOWStudio.com. 5 ● 6 ●

MALE MODELS OVER NEW YORK FASHION WEEK (@TEMIRATES). Author's Own. 63

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flight plan

ANAND GEORGE ZACHARIAH’S INTRODUCTION TO FALCONRY. 64

y earliest memory of falcons concerns a pair of piercing eyes, large and black as coal, staring back at me on a rainy afternoon. We used to keep a small group of finches, lovebirds and budgerigars caged in our backyard, and many a time we saw falcons and eagles gnawing and clawing away at the mesh, trying desperately to make a meal out of our pets. They didn’t succeed, but their resolve has led me to view these majestic birds with both awe and fear. The textbooks say that falconry’s origins can be traced back over 4000 years to China, from where it transferred west, in due time, towards Europe. Despite its pan-global presence, no other culture has celebrated falconry in as much reverence as the Arab world. With mentions in the Quran, the sport is oftentimes even considered a rite-of-passage for young men in the Gulf. In September, Abu Dhabi held its tenth International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, which featured the Falcon Release Program run by the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The late Emir instituted the program to prevent the decline in population of wild falcons, whilst keeping the sporting tradition alive. Since 1995, the program has seen more than 1,300 birds released back into the wild. However, none take falconry more seriously than Qatar. The country boasts a large community of zealous hobbyists, a state-of-the-art falcon care facility smack dab in the middle of Doha’s bustling Souq Waqif, and, even a dedicated program at Qatar Airways – whereby prizewinning specimens are flown first class. The idyllic life, falcon-style. To hear more about this pursuit, I caught up with Zayed Al-Ali Al-Maadeed in a spice-scented majlis, already abuzz with conversation by the time I arrived. Rather distinguished Qatari men, dressed in crisp white thobes, were seated on plush jewel-toned cushions sipping Arabic coffee. Two striking falcons were placed as if centerpieces between them. Offering me a bowl of dried fruit, Zayed made me feel instantly at ease in this decidedly foreign setting. By day, 56-year old Zayed works at RasGas, the secondbiggest liquefied natural gas producer in the world. In the evenings, he returns to this majlis – where he mingles with friends, family and falcons. Full of pride, Zayed says, “I believe Qatar is ranked at the top of the list when it comes to falconry and facilities to practice it, in its traditional form.” He sees nothing wrong with perceiving the sport as business – as long as the development is closely monitored. Falcons are under threat due to the overuse of chemicals such as DDT in agriculture, which cause mortal harm to the bird's eggs and blood composition. Zayed sees value in investors who fund falcon-breeding projects that help improve their numbers – partially because such initiatives make the birds more accessible and affordable to a wider group of

enthusiasts. In the long run, he believes that these domesticbreeding projects protect nesting sites in the wild from poaching. However – he is vociferous in expressing his dislike for unnatural hybrid variants that, in essence, are genetically– modified specimens. “Our government has made the correct decision to stop shipping those ‘biologically-polluted’ birds,” he says. When speaking of his passion, Zayed mentions that he’s been on several trips out in the desert, with the shorter get-aways lasting just a weekend, but with some taking as long as four months. On these excursions, hunters usually eat one meal a day – generally comprising meat and rice. Waking at dawn, they are out in the wild till dusk, breaking only for coffee and prayer. They follow a single falcon, never releasing two at a time, and pursue in SUVs modified to cope with the undulating terrain. These cars are equipped with GPS, falcon telemetry, communication radios and satellite phones – all the proverbial works. Using a carefully-selected set of birds, including such species as peregrines, sakers and gyrs, Qataris have been known to travel across the region to hunting grounds in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, North Africa and Central Asia. Acknowledging the growing popularity of falconry beyond the Gulf, especially in Europe and the United States, Zayed encourages the rest of the world to adopt the sport as their own in their own ways. Zayed rears new birds each year, and at the end of every season, releases them back into the wild so that they can build breed – a tradition started and practiced by his forefathers. He uses the Olympics as an allusion to describe his idea of falcon rearing, saying that training a falcon is like developing a novice to become a gold-medalist- superstar athlete. He also acknowledges their innate intelligence – the birds are extraordinarily fast learners. “We are like programmers,” he quips. Training the falcons usually starts in the winter months, where the birds are familiarized with humans and “trust” is established. Beginner falconers are required to assist in everything from skinning pigeons to hooding the raptors, all as part of training. Every year, the younger children present are given a small grant of sorts – they’re handed a baby falcon to take care of over their spring vacations. Zayed says this bestowment gives the novices a sense of responsibility. Zayed is currently mentoring his son in falconry, and is also involving his daughters – a concept uncommon in Qatar. Like learning a non-native language, the first decade of a child’s life is the prime window for teaching the sport – the skill of a falconer lies in becoming one with the mind of his falcon. Achieving this state of mind is referred to as Saqqar, and is the highest achievable level as such. After a quick photoshoot, we bid each other goodbye. Zayed expertly puts the hood back on a particularly striking white and taupe bird, and places him back atop his perch. At the door, he recommends that falconry can be a great treatment for high blood pressure – probably a friendly jibe at me for still being in my business suit so late in the evening. 65

‫ويثمن زايد دور امل�ستثمرين‬ ‫�أ�رضارا مميتة ببي�ض الطيور وتركيبة دمها‪ّ .‬‬ ‫الذين ميولون م�شاريع �صندوق تربية ال�صقور التي ت�ساعد على تزايد‬ ‫�أعدادها ‪ -‬لأن مثل هذه املبادرات تزيد من �إمكانية �رشاء ال�صقور من‬ ‫قبل جمموعة �أو�سع من ع�شاقها وب�أ�سعار معقولة‪ .‬وهو يرى �أن هذه‬ ‫امل�شاريع �ستحمي على املدى البعيد مواقع تع�شي�ش الطيور يف الربية‬ ‫من ال�صيد اجلائر‪ .‬غري �أنه �أعرب عن كرهه ال�شديد لعمليات التهجني غري‬ ‫الطبيعية للطيور التي تنتج طيورا معدلة وراثيا‪ ،‬م�ضيفا‪" :‬لقد اتخذت‬ ‫حكومتنا قرارا �صائبا بوقف �شحن تلك الطيور "امللوثة بيولوجيا"‪.‬‬

‫و�ضع الأمري الراحل برناجما للت�صدي النخفا�ض عدد ال�صقور الربية مع‬ ‫املحافظة على التقاليد الريا�ضية‪ .‬وقد �شهد الربنامج منذ عام ‪� 1995‬إطالق‬ ‫�أكرث من ‪� 1300‬صقر و�إعادتها �إىل الربية‪.‬‬ ‫غري �أنه ال توجد بلد ت�أخذ ال�صيد بال�صقور على حممل اجلد �أكرث من قطر‪.‬‬ ‫فالبالد تفخر بوجود جمموعة كبرية من الهواة املتحم�سني‪ ،‬ومن�ش�أة حديثة‬ ‫لرعاية ال�صقور يف و�سط �سوق واقف يف الدوحة الذي يعج باحلياة �إ�ضافة �إىل‬ ‫برنامج خا�ص يف اخلطوط اجلوية القطرية يتم فيه نقل الطيور الفائزة بجوائز‬ ‫على الدرجة الأوىل‪ ،‬مما يجعل ال�صقور حتيا حياة مثالية تليق بها‪.‬‬ ‫ول�سماع املزيد من الأخبار حول هذه امل�ساعي‪ ،‬التقيت مع زايد العلي‬ ‫املعا�ضيد يف جمل�س كان يعبق برائحة التوابل وي�ضج بالأحاديث الودية‬ ‫عندما و�صلت �إليه‪ .‬وكان يوجد يف املجل�س قطريون من الأعيان يرتدون‬ ‫الأثواب النا�صعة البيا�ض ويجل�سون على و�سائد فاخرة مر�صعة بالأحجار‬ ‫الكرمية وهم يحت�سون القهوة العربية‪ .‬وكان املجل�س يحوي �صقرين مهيبني‪.‬‬ ‫وقدم يل زايد وعاء من الفواكه املجففة فجعلني �أ�شعر على الفور بالراحة‬ ‫يف هذا اجلو الغريب عني‪.‬‬ ‫ويبلغ زايد من العمر ‪ 56‬عاما وهو يعمل �أثناء النهار يف را�س غاز‪ ،‬وهي‬ ‫ثاين �أكرب منتج للغاز امل�سال الطبيعي يف العامل‪ .‬و�أما يف امل�ساء‪ ،‬فهو يعود‬ ‫�إىل هذا املجل�س ليلتقي ب�أ�صدقائه وعائلته و�صقوره‪ .‬ويقول زايد بفخر‪:‬‬ ‫"�أعتقد �أن قطر ت�أتي يف �أعلى القائمة يف جمال ال�صيد بال�صقور ومرافق‬ ‫ممار�سة هذه الريا�ضة ب�شكلها التقليدي"‪.‬‬ ‫وثمة تقارير تفيد ب�أن الأموال التي ينفقها ع�شاق ال�صقور يف دول جمل�س‬ ‫التعاون اخلليجي ترتاوح بني ‪ 680 - 408‬مليون دوالر �سنويا‪ .‬وعندما‬ ‫�س�ألته عن ر�أيه يف هذه الريا�ضة التي ينظر �إليها ب�صورة متزايدة على �أنها‬ ‫م�رشوع جتاري‪� ،‬أجاب �أنه ال يرى غ�ضا�ضة يف ذلك ما دامت تتم مراقبة‬ ‫تطورها عن كثب‪ .‬فال�صقور مهددة ب�سبب الإفراط يف ا�ستخدام املواد‬ ‫الكيميائية يف الزراعة مثل مبيدات الدي دي تي يف الزراعة‪ ،‬والتي تلحق‬

‫وحتدث زايد عن حبه لهذه الهواية قائال‪�" :‬إنه قام بالعديد من الرحالت‬ ‫يف ال�صحراء بع�ضها ق�صرية خالل عطلة نهاية الأ�سبوع‪ ،‬وبع�ضها الآخر‬ ‫ملدة �أربعة �أ�شهر‪ .‬وال ي�أكل ال�صيادون يف هذه الرحالت عادة �إال وجبة‬ ‫واحدة يف اليوم تتكون عموما من اللحوم والأرز‪ .‬وي�ستيقظ ال�صيادون‬ ‫عند الفجر ويجوبون الربية حتى الغ�سق وال يتوقفون‪� ،‬إال لتناول القهوة‬ ‫وال�صالة‪ .‬ويتبع ال�صيادون �صقرا واحدا وال يطلقون �صقرين يف وقت‬ ‫واحد على الإطالق‪ ،‬حيث يقومون مبالحقته يف �سيارات دفع رباعي‬ ‫معدلة للتعامل مع وعورة الت�ضاري�س املتموجة‪ .‬وقد مت جتهيز هذه‬ ‫ال�سيارات بنظام ‪� ،GPS‬أجهزة قيا�س امل�ؤ�رشات احليوية لل�صقر عن بعد‪،‬‬ ‫و�أجهزة راديوية وهواتف ات�صاالت ف�ضائية‪ .‬وي�ستخدم القطريون �أنواعا‬ ‫من ال�صقور خمتارة بعناية مثل �صقر اجلري‪ ،‬و�صقر ال�شاهني‪ ،‬وهم‬ ‫م�شهورون بال�سفر لل�صيد يف جميع �أنحاء املنطقة يف اململكة العربية‬ ‫ال�سعودية‪ ،‬والعراق‪ ،‬و�شمال �أفريقيا‪ ،‬و�آ�سيا الو�سطى‪ .‬وك�شف زايد عن‬ ‫تزايد �شعبية ال�صيد بال�صقور خارج دول اخلليج‪ ،‬وخا�صة يف �أوروبا‬ ‫والواليات املتحدة‪ ،‬كما �أنه ي�شجع بقية العامل على اعتماد هذه الريا�ضة‬ ‫باعتبارها �إحدى ريا�ضاتهم ال�شعبية لكن على طريقتهم اخلا�صة‪.‬‬ ‫ويقوم زايد برتبية طيور جديدة يف كل عام‪ ،‬ومن ثم يقوم ب�إطالقها‬ ‫يف الربية يف نهاية كل مو�سم حتى تتمكن من بناء جيل جديد‪ ،‬وهو‬ ‫تقليد كان �أجداده ميار�سونه من قبل‪ .‬وا�ستخدم زايد الألعاب الأوملبية‬ ‫لو�صف فكرته عن تربية ال�صقر قائال‪�" :‬إن تدريب ال�صقر هو مثل تدريب‬ ‫الريا�ضي لي�صبح جنما ريا�ضيا يفوز بامليداليات الذهبية‪ .‬و�أكد �أن‬ ‫ال�صقور تت�سم بالذكاء الفطري الذي يجعلها تتعلم ب�رسعة غري عادية"‪.‬‬ ‫و�أ�ضاف مازحا‪" :‬نحن كاملربجمني"‪.‬‬ ‫وعادة ما يبد�أ تدريب ال�صقور يف �أ�شهر ال�شتاء‪ ،‬كي ت�ألف الطيور الب�رش‬ ‫وتثق بهم‪ .‬وثمة حاجة مل�ساعدة ال�صقارين املبتدئني يف كل �شيء ابتداء‬ ‫من �سلخ جلد احلمام وانتهاء بتغطية ر�أ�س ال�صقر كجزء من التدريب‪ .‬ويف‬ ‫كل عام يح�صل الأطفال ال�صغار على منحة �صغرية من نوع ما من قبيل‬ ‫�إعطائهم �صقرا �صغريا لرعايته خالل �إجازات الربيع‪ .‬ويقول زايد‪�" :‬إن‬ ‫ذلك يك�سب املبتدئني ال�شعور بامل�سئولية‪".‬‬ ‫ويقوم زايد حاليا بتوجيه ابنه يف جمال ال�صيد بال�صقور‪ ،‬كما �أنه يدرب‬ ‫بناته �أي�ضا على ذلك‪ ،‬وهو مفهوم غري م�ألوف يف دولة قطر‪ .‬ومثل تعلم‬ ‫لغة غري �أ�صلية‪ ،‬ف�إن العقد الأول من حياة الطفل هو الإطار الرئي�س‬ ‫لتدري�س هذه الريا�ضة‪ ،‬حيث تكمن مهارة ال�صقار يف جعله هو و�صقره‬ ‫يفكران بطريقة واحدة‪ .‬وي�سمى من يحقق هذه احلالة الذهنية بال�صقار‪،‬‬ ‫وهو �أعلى م�ستوى ملهارات ال�صيد بال�صقور‪.‬‬ ‫وبعد جل�سة �رسيعة اللتقاط ال�صور ودع كل منا الآخر‪ .‬و�أعاد زايد و�ضع‬ ‫غطاء ر�أ�س ال�صقر على ر�أ�س �صقره مبهارة و�أجل�سه على مرب�ضه‪ .‬وعند‬ ‫الباب قال "�إنه يو�صي بال�صيد بال�صقور كعالج الرتفاع �ضغط الدم"وقد‬ ‫يكون قال ذلك يف �إ�شارة ودية �إىل كوين مازلت �أرتدي بدلة العمل‬ ‫الر�سمية حتى يف وقت مت�أخر يف امل�ساء‪.‬‬ ‫‪66‬‬

‫الصيــــد بالصقــــور‪...‬‬ ‫ثقافــــة كـــــل العـــــرب‬ ‫بقلم �أناند جورج زكريا‬

‫يتعلق الأمر بال�صقور ف�إن �أول ما يخطر على‬ ‫بايل عينان ثاقبتان كبريتان و�سوداوان‬ ‫كالفحم‪ ،‬وهما حتدقان بي يف �أم�سية ممطرة‪.‬‬ ‫وقد اعتدنا على �إبقاء جمموعة �صغرية‬ ‫من طيور احلب‪ ،‬والع�صافري‪ ،‬والببغاوات‬ ‫الأ�سرتالية يف قف�ص يف فنائنا اخللفي‪ ،‬وكثريا ما ر�أينا ال�صقور والن�سور‬ ‫وهي حتاول يائ�سة �أن تع�ض �أو تخد�ش حيواناتنا الأليفة عرب القف�ص لكنها‬ ‫مل تكن تنجح يف ذلك‪ .‬غري �أن ت�صميمها على ذلك جعلني �أنظر �إىل هذه‬ ‫الطيور املهيبة مبزيج من الرهبة واخلوف‪.‬‬ ‫تقول الكتب التاريخية �إن �أ�صول ال�صيد بال�صقور يرجع �إىل ال�صني منذ �أكرث‬

‫عنــدمـا‬

‫‪67‬‬

‫من ‪� 4000‬سنة التي انتقلت منها بعد ذلك �إىل �أوروبا‪.‬‬ ‫وعلى الرغم من �أن ال�صيد بال�صقور موجود يف جميع‬ ‫الثقافات‪� ،‬إال �أنه ال توجد ثقافة تقد�س ال�صيد بال�صقور‬ ‫�أكرث من العامل العربي‪ .‬فقد ذكر ال�صيد بال�صقور يف‬ ‫القر�آن الكرمي وهو يف كثري من الأحيان ُيعترب تقليدا بني‬ ‫ال�شباب يف منطقة اخلليج‪.‬‬ ‫ويف �سبتمرب‪ ،‬عقد يف �أبو ظبي املعر�ض العا�رش الدويل‬ ‫لل�صيد والفرو�سية‪ ،‬حيث ت�ضمن برنامج �إطالق ال�صقور‬ ‫الذي يديره م�ست�شفى �أبو ظبي لل�صقور‪ ،‬حتت رعاية‬ ‫�صاحب ال�سمو ال�شيخ زايد بن �سلطان �آل نهيان‪ .‬وقد‬

Yan Pei-Ming

Here and Now

remix Qatar

By Laurene Leon Boym

oha’s blossoming cultural scene got a crash course in the work of Yan Pei-Ming back in its heady early days of 2010. The lesson was a very quick primer on his oeuvre, but quite an impressionable one. HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) had secretly commissioned the Chinese Franco artist to paint majestic 30 foot high black and white portraits of her parents, HH the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and his wife, HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser . The resulting “epic-sized” artworks remain installed on public display to welcome visitors when they arrive inside the great hall of Mathaf, the Arab Museum of Modern Art, and give quite a glamorous impression of the royal couple. The Al-Thani portraits are just the tip of the iceberg panning the long career of Yan Pei-Ming. Curated by

independent curator Francesco Bonami, the exhibition at the QMA’s gallery draws heavily on the artist’s work as a medium to record historical events and portray iconic figures. Devoting an entire gallery to Ming’s paintings in Katara is a gutsy and intriguing choice for the QMA. Although Ming utilizes the traditional and formal format of traditional portraiture, the content of these works is anything but conventional, in it's use of narrative devices freely appropriated from genres as diverse as Socialist Realism and Pop Art. Ming’s painting technique is straightforward and his subjects are usually portrayed face on, with bold and expressive brush strokes. The artist utilizes flattened pictorial space and fluid technique to create monumental, iconic and psychologically-charged paintings. The artist’s portraiture subjects range from much-touted historical figures and political leaders to celebrities. In the past, the artist had skimmed the surface of superficial mass culture for his subject matter, fancying himself as a monochromatic court painter of pop culture royalty. While Ming previously depicted contemporary glossy magazine icons such as singers Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson, financier Bernard Madoff, and artist Maurizio Cattelan, the artist’s newer work traces black and

white grease pencil sketches over the international pop culture landscape. On the flip side to the celebrity culture, Ming immortalizes people marginalized from official historical glorification, such as anonymous soldiers, serial killers, female prisoners and orphans; and curiously enough, the artist includes himself in that dark alternative universe. It’s immediately apparent that in “Yan Pei-Ming: Painting the History”, and in more recent installations of the artist, the focus on superficial contemporary culture is replaced by his recent expansion in his point of view. While Ming continues to name-check traditional portraiture, he’s also broadens his scope of events by telling stories within the artworks. Monastic monochromatic figures are splayed out, lying in coffins or on mortuary tables, or facing a firing squad. It is a wise horizontal conceptual strategy for the artist, because when the canvases contain additional narrative elements and scenes, it is easy to place the work in a larger historical continuum, not pinned to a certain moment in time. The success of Ming’s recent paintings is attributed to his dalliance with the dark side of fame. When strategically eclipsing the sunny side of celebrity in the newer works, the artist loops back to moments in history, previously overlooked, so as to make sense of the recent and distant past. The first part of the exhibition is dedicated to the modern history of Arab culture. Exhibited in a modernist grid format on a freestanding wall, there are more than 100 black/white/ grey watercolor portraits of influential Arab contemporary figures. Ming’s brushstrokes are direct interpretations of newspaper photos of luminaries. The subjects are a mixed bag, as they originate from varied backgrounds, ranging from architecture to politics, literature and even music, such as designer Zaha Hadid, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Lebanese singer Fairuz. In the next section of the exhibition, Ming pays homage to art history and illuminates the lineage of how art has historically chronicled news. There is only one large triptych in this section of the exhibition, which is a loose riff on of one of the most famous paintings in Western art, “The Death of Marat” by French painter Jacques-Louis David. French journalist Jean-Paul Marat was a member of the radical Jacobin faction that had a leading role during the Reign of Terror and he exerted power and influence through his newspaper, L’Ami du peuple (“The friend of the People”). The original canvas by David is a depiction of one of the most famous images of the French Revolution. As in the

original painting, and concurrently in Ming’s red and white execution, there is a depiction of the radical Marat lying dead in his bath on July 13, 1793, murdered by political opponent Charlotte Corday. Corday was later executed by France under the guillotine for her role in the murder. The original masterwork was painted in the months following Marat’s murder, and it has been described by British art historian and writer T.J. Clark as the first modernist painting, for “the way it took the stuff of politics as its material, and did not transmute it”. As an interesting factoid, David originally painted this artwork almost concurrent with the original event, working like a reporter, photographer, or even a court room sketch artist. The treatment of the event, as a transparent document of history rather than a creative interpretation, was revolutionary in its modernity at that juncture in time. The final part of the show is Ming’s interpretation on a slow build, based on David’s “documentary-style” painting process. The cavernous room is generously stuffed with paintings about the history of assassinated political leaders from the beginning of the 20th century, until recently, including Mahatma Gandhi and Che Guevara. Digital photography in its many formats has assisted photojournalists and citizens alike, with the ability to officially and unofficially document news events quickly, and this has appropriated the preserve of artists like David. However, through this exhibition Yan Pei-Ming aspires to prove that in an age where digital images rule, painting can reclaim its role to allow the public to reflect more deeply on history.

Painting History Rola Ibrahim, Rafic Hariri (14 February 2005, Beirut), Mona Hatoum, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Zinedine Zidane(30 January 1948, New Delhi), Edward Said, 69

‫‪Bernard Madoff‬والفنان موريزيو كاتيالن‪Maurizio Cattelan‬‬

‫ف�إنه الآن ي�ستخدم �ألوان ال�شمع البي�ضاء وال�سوداء يف ر�سم لوحاته‪.‬‬ ‫ويف اجلانب املقابل لثقافة ال�شهرة يعمل مينغ على تخليد ال�شخ�صيات‬ ‫التي �أغفلت ال�سجالت التاريخية الر�سمية متجيدها �أو التنويه بها‬ ‫مثل اجلندي املجهول‪ ،‬ومرتكبي جرائم القتل املت�شابهة واملت�سل�سلة‬ ‫وال�سجينات واليتامى‪ .‬وما يثري العجب �أن الفنان يعد ُّ نف�سه من ه�ؤالء‬ ‫ومن ذلك العامل البديل املظلم‪.‬‬

‫من املعر�ض وهو عبارة عن منوذج غري مطابق للوحة‬ ‫“موت مارات” للر�سام الفرن�سي جاك لوي�س ديفيد‪.‬‬

‫كان ال�صحفي الفرن�سي جان بول مارات ع�ضوا يف‬ ‫ف�صيل جاكوبني املتطرف الذي لعب دورا هاما‬ ‫�أثناء فرتة حكم الإرهاب‪ ،‬وكان ل�صحيفته “�صديق‬ ‫ال�شعب”ت�أثريا كبريا على الأو�ضاع ال�سيا�سية يف‬ ‫فرن�سا يف ذلك الوقت‪.‬‬ ‫من ال�سهل مالحظة ذلك يف لوحة الفنان يان باي مينغ ‪":‬ر�سم‬ ‫كانت اللوحة الأ�صلية لديفيد متثل �أحد �أهم و�أ�شهر‬ ‫التاريخ" ‪ Painting the History،‬ويف لوحاته الأكرث حداثة التي‬ ‫م�شاهد الثورة الفرن�سية ‪.‬وكما هو احلال يف اللوحة‬ ‫حتول تركيزه فيها م�ؤخرا من معامل الثقافة املعا�رصة ال�سطحية‬ ‫الأ�صلية وبنف�س القدر يف لوحة مينغ التي نفذها‬ ‫�إىل �رشح مراميه من وراء تلك اللوحات‪ .‬ومع ا�ستمراره يف ر�سم‬ ‫بالأحمر والأبي�ض هناك م�شهد ملارات املتطرف وهو‬ ‫ال�شخ�صيات البارزة بالطريقة التقليدية يو�سع جمال اهتمامه‬ ‫يرقد ميتا يف مغط�س حمامه يف ‪ 13‬يوليو‪1793‬‬ ‫بالأحداث التاريخية برواية الق�ص�ص �ضمن �أعماله الفنية‪.‬‬ ‫مقتوال بوا�سطة غرميته ال�سيا�سية �شارلوت كوردي التي �أعدمت فيما‬ ‫يظهر الأ�شخا�ص يف لوحات مينغ يف تعبري فني �آحادي اللون‬ ‫بعد باملق�صلة لدورها يف جرمية قتل مارات نفذت اللوحة الأ�صلية‬ ‫منعزلني وهم يرقدون داخل التوابيت �أو طاوالت الت�رشيح �أو يواجهون التي تعترب من الأعمال اخلالدة خالل ال�شهور التي �أعقبت مقتل‬ ‫الإعدام �أمام فرق الرماية‪ .‬وتعترب هذه �إ�سرتاتيجية فكرية �أفقية‬ ‫مارات‪ ،‬وقد و�صفها امل�ؤرخ الفني والكاتب الربيطاين تي جي كالرك‪.‬‬ ‫حكيمة من جانب الفنان‪ ،‬وذلك لأنه عندما ت�ضم اللوحة عنا�رص‬ ‫ب�أنها �أول لوحة من املدر�سة احلديثة “نظرا التخاذها الأحداث‬ ‫�سياقه‬ ‫روائية �إ�ضافية وم�شاهد �أخرى يكون من ال�سهل و�ضع العمل يف‬ ‫ال�سيا�سية مادة لها ‪،‬وعدم تبديلها”‪ .‬ومن امل�سلمات الهامة �أن‬ ‫التاريخي الأو�سع بدال من ح�رصه يف حلظة زمنية معينة‪.‬‬ ‫ديفيد ر�سم اللوحة بالتزامن تقريبا مع الأحداث نف�سها بطريقة عمل‬ ‫يعود النجاح الذي حققته لوحات مينغ الأخرية �إىل تعامله املبتكر‬ ‫ال�صحفي وامل�صور ور�سام املحكمة‪ .‬يكمن عن�رص احلداثة الثورية يف‬ ‫إخفاء‬ ‫مع اجلانب املظلم من ال�شهرة عندما يقوم بتوجه �إ�سرتاتيجي ب�‬ ‫هذه اللوحة يف معاجلتها للأحداث ب�أ�سلوب التوثيق ال�شفاف لأحداث‬ ‫اجلانب امل�رشق من ال�شهرة يف �أعماله الأحدث ‪،‬ويعود راجعا �إىل‬ ‫التاريخ‪ ،‬ولي�س يف كونها ت�سجيال جافا لتلك الأحداث التي جرت يف‬ ‫اللحظات التاريخية التي �أغفلت يف ال�سابق حتى يجعل للما�ضي‬ ‫ذلك الوقت‪.‬‬ ‫القريب والبعيد معنى‪.‬‬ ‫يعك�س اجلزء الأخري من املعر�ض طريقة مينغ يف البناء ببطء على‬ ‫اجلزء الأول من املعر�ض خم�ص�ص للتاريخ احلديث للثقافة العربية‪� .‬أ�سلوب ديفيد التوثيقي يف الر�سم‪ .‬الغرفة ال�ضيقة مكد�سة باللوحات‬ ‫هناك �أكرث من ‪ 100‬لوحة من �صور ال�شخ�صيات العربية البارزة عن تاريخ القادة ال�سيا�سيني املغتالني من بداية القرن الع�رشين �إىل‬ ‫املعا�رصة بالألوان املائية ال�سوداء والبي�ضاء والرمادية معرو�ضة يف وقت قريب مبا يف ذلك املهامتا غاندي‪ ،‬وت�شي جيفارا‪.‬‬ ‫�شكل حديث على جدار حر احلركة‪ .‬تعترب مل�سات فر�شاة مينغ انعكا�سا �ساعد الت�صوير الرقمي مبختلف �أ�شكاله ال�صحفيني امل�صورين والأفراد‬ ‫مبا�رشا ل�صور امل�شاهري التي تظهر على ال�صحف اليومية‪ ،‬واملوا�ضيع العاديني على حد �سواء يف اكت�ساب املقدرة على توثيق الأحداث‬ ‫التي يتناولها يف لوحاته تعرب عن خليط من خمتلف اخللفيات من ب�رسعة للأغرا�ض الر�سمية وغري الر�سمية‪ .‬حل هذا الأ�سلوب حمل‬ ‫املعمار �إىل ال�سيا�سة والأدب وحتى املو�سيقى‪ ،‬وت�ضم �شخ�صيات مثل الأ�صالة التي كان ميثلها الفنانون مثل ديفيد‪ .‬ولكن من خالل هذا‬ ‫امل�صمم زها حديد‪ Zaha Hadid ،‬والزعيم الفل�سطيني يا�رس عرفات‪ ،‬املعر�ض حاول يان باي مينغ �أن يثبت �أن الع�رص ع�رص �سيادة ال�صور‬ ‫والرئي�س امل�رصي الأ�سبق جمال عبد النا�رص ‪،‬واملغنية اللبنانية فريوز‪ .‬الرقمية‪ ،‬و�أما اللوحات الفنية فيمكنها �أن ت�ستعيد دورها يف �إتاحة‬ ‫يف الق�سم الثاين من املعر�ض يتناول مينج الطريقة التي ي�ؤرخ بها الفر�صة للجمهور للنظر بعمق �أكرث يف �أحداث التاريخ‪.‬‬ ‫الت�سل�سل الزمني للأخبار‪ .‬هناك لوح ثالثي واحد كبري يف هذا الق�سم‬ ‫‪70‬‬

‫يان بــاي مينـغ‪...‬‬

‫أعمال فنية مؤثرة وخالدة‬ ‫بقلم لوران�س ليون بومي‬ ‫م�شهد الدوحة الثقايف يف �أوج ازدهاره وحتديا كبريا بالن�سبة لهيئة متاحف قطر‪.‬‬ ‫بالرغم من �أن مينغ ي�ستخدم الو�ضعيات التقليدية والر�سمية للزعماء‬ ‫يف مطلع عام ‪ 2010‬وجبة د�سمة يف‬ ‫يف ر�سم �صور الوجه ف�إن حمتويات هذه الأعمال ميكن �أن تو�صف‬ ‫�شكل معر�ض لأعمال يان باي مينغ‬ ‫ب�أي �شيء �سوى �أنها معا�رصة يف حرية ا�ستخدامها �أ�سلوب التدرج‬ ‫‪Yan Pei-Ming.‬وكان ذلك مبثابة مقدمة �رسيعة ولكنها م�ؤثرة‬ ‫لأعماله الفنية اخلالدة ‪�.‬أثناء تلك الفعالية كلفت ال�شيخة امليا�سة بنت واالنتقال بني خمتلف املدار�س الفنية من الواقعية اال�شرتاكية �إىل‬ ‫حمد بن خليفة �آل ثاين رئي�سة جمل�س �أمناء هيئة متاحف قطر الفنان ر�سم القطع وامل�شاهد امل�ألوفة بالطريقة التقليدية‪.‬‬ ‫ال�صيني الفرن�سي الكبري بر�سم �صورة ملالمح الوجه بارتفاع ‪ 30‬قدم �أ�سلوب مينغ يف الر�سم مبا�رش وي�صور مادته يف العادة من الأمام‬ ‫باللونني الأبي�ض والأ�سود لكل من والديها �سمو ال�شيخ حمد بن خليفة وبخطوط وا�ضحة ومعربة من الفر�شاة‪ .‬ي�ستخدم الر�سام م�ساحات‬ ‫منب�سطة و�أ�سلوب مرن ليخلق لوحات فريدة وم�شحونة بالتعابري‬ ‫�آل ثاين و�سمو ال�شيخة موزا بنت نا�رص‪ .‬اللوحتان الفنيتان اللتان‬ ‫تعتربان حتفة من حيث احلجم ويقدمان انطباعا حمببا ل�سمو الأمري والإيحاءات النف�سية‪ ،‬ترتاوح املواد التي ير�سمها بني ال�شخ�صيات‬ ‫و�سمو ال�شيخة موزا معلقتان حاليا داخل �صالة املتحف العربي للفن التاريخية والقادة ال�سيا�سيني وامل�شاهري الذين يكرث الفنانون من‬ ‫ر�سمهم‪.‬‬ ‫احلديث يف ا�ستقبال جمهور املتحف‪.‬‬ ‫لي�ست اللوحتان �أكرث من اجلزء الظاهر من حبل اجلليد من تاريخ يان‬ ‫يف املا�ضي كان مينغ يغطي ال�ساحة الثقافية اجلماهريية بلوحاته‬ ‫باي مينغ الفني الطويل‪ .‬ت�شمل معظم لوحات املعر�ض الذي �أقيم‬ ‫م�صورا نف�سه كر�سام �آحادي االجتاه واللون �ضمن ال�سياق الثقايف‬ ‫يف �صالة عر�ض متحف قطر يف كتارا حتت رعاية الراعي امل�ستقل‬ ‫فران�س�سكو بونامي ‪ Francesco Bonami‬الأعمال الفنية التي ت�سجل العام‪ .‬وبينما كان ير�سم ال�شخ�صيات املعا�رصة ال�شهرية التي تن�رش‬ ‫�صورها الرباقة يف املجالت الالمعة مثل املغنيني ليــدي جــاجـــا‬ ‫الأحداث التاريخية واللوحات التي ت�صور مالمح وجوه ال�شخ�صيات‬ ‫البارزة ‪ .‬وكان تخ�صي�ص كامل ال�صالة لأعمال مينغ اختيارا جريئا ومايكـــل جاك�سون ‪ Michael Jackson‬واملمول برينارد مادوف‬

‫استقبل‬

‫‪71‬‬

face Qatar

T EMIRATES interviews gucci CEO PATRIZIO DI MARCO.

COMBINING GLAMOR AND HERITAGE, GUCCI CLOSES THE CIRCLE. 72

photograph of patrizio di marco C ourtesy of G ucci . next page , t E mirates ' own .

photo courtesy gucci

photo courtesy getty

You have often talked about highlighting the artisanal values of Gucci. Please elaborate. Gucci is a legendary brand that has been around for 90 years, and its perception has fluctuated over time. This is primarily because of the multiple positions the company has retained. Gucci was founded in 1921, and it remained primarily within Italy’s borders until the mid-thirties. Then, Aldo Gucci – he was truly the international soul of the company – opened Gucci beyond Florence, thus taking it global. We opened our first store in New York in 1953, and by the early sixties, we had made it to Japan. Back then, the luxury market was far less crowded – there were very few names that could be labeled as “luxury.” So, Gucci became an expression of “Made in Italy” – of craftsmanship, of hipness. However from the mid-eighties, several parallel lines were introduced and the brand became overexposed. It was then that Gucci’s perception in the mind of the consumer started to decline. Come the nineties, the company decided to streamline the market; Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole did a wonderful job of putting the house back on the map. The clear message in those years was primarily about high-octane glamor and the “jet-set lifestyle,” an aesthetic that Ford champions. In the 2000s, when Frida Giannini took the helm, she went into our archives and closed the proverbial circle. It became our goal to bring Gucci back to the territory it somewhat owns, by telling the story of its rich heritage and its artisanal roots – complementing the glamorous and cool positioning created by the previous era. Gucci seems to have successfully navigated the economic crisis. What has been your strategy? Before the crisis, the luxury market was crowded; consumers

could get whatever they wanted. They were buying on impulse, there wasn’t any emphasis on being individual. Maybe they were buying to show off, to be seen as successful. Just after the crisis, this attitude changed dramatically as consumers became much more interested in not just the product itself, but what was behind the product. They bought pieces, which were unique, or personalized, or even custom made. So, I have to say that one of the reasons for our fair coping was that we actually made this change in tandem with the market’s demands. As I call it, we ‘fine-tuned’ the position of the brand. With this change, we could express the whole breadth of Gucci, and we could recapture sophisticated clients – the core consumers. This was important because whenever there is a crisis, the aspirational base is the first to go. Additionally, the growth of the Chinese market helped support global sales. Gucci is active in social media – how do you balance the brand’s exclusivity with reachability? Managing the balance between exclusivity and accessibility is definitely a challenge we face. In fact, every premium brand has encountered it. A brand can remain niche, but then what is niche? Is niche five hundred million euros? Is niche a billion? You can be a large company and remain niche when you consider just how big the world is, especially when accounting for the growth rate of China and the Middle East. Yes, it may be dangerous to be too accessible, but look at the effect the internet has had. Back then, all the luxury houses stayed away from things like ecommerce. But many, including us, realized that the way consumers were approaching high-end brands was permanently changing. You seem to have a knack for picking emerging talent – such 73

face Qatar

as James Franco, Rihanna and Mark Ronson. How are these personalities selected? It’s not me – it’s Frida who has the eye for talent! I can say, though, that one thing always comes first – for example, take our recent collaboration with Charlotte Casiraghi - we do not consider her a spokeswoman for the brand, but rather, we see her as a friend of the house. Charlotte came on board because of a friendship, which was nurtured over time. We don’t take our ‘faces’ on just as contracts - the relationship is always more amicable than that. If you have someone who is doing it solely for the money, it will never work. The audience will feel it. We are fortunate to have celebrities working with us, because they like the brand and they like what we do.

“

Tell us about Gucci’s partnership with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation. Why is it so important for you to help restore historic films, such as Once Upon a Time in America? Our partnership with the film foundation is part of a broader strategy, which is related to our social responsibility - the third dimension of our brand positioning. We support the preservation of culture for future generations – and such support extends to other arenas as well. Everything we do is part of a larger picture, all developed to stress our social responsibility – be it with the preservation of culture, or the support of music and cinema, or the funding of education through our UNICEF partnership. We do this, not because it is mandatory, but because we believe in being ethical and responsible.

one keystone is products which are bespoke in nature... the middle east is an advanced market for this kind of offering.

”

Tell us about your outlook on the Middle Eastern marketplace; has Gucci adapted its offerings for Arab customers? Apart from offering products applicable to the geography, such as sandals and lightweight garments, the most important thing is to be culturally close to each region we’re in, but still retain a uniform identity. None of this would work if Gucci was totally different between Milan, Paris and Dubai, for example. Let’s not forget that our customers are truly global – they travel the world and they’re highly involved. So, we have this overarching mindset of consistency, but then a number of initiatives are undertaken for each market. These initiatives have one common thread, which is to be wholly personal to the client, be it with accessories or ready-to-wear – it’s similar in essence to our red carpet line. One keystone is products, which are bespoke in nature, complete with top-tier service and after-sale followup. The Middle East is an advanced market for this kind of offering. Of course, traffic to and around the shops is important – the Middle East has these beautiful stores and malls, which

people enjoy, not just for shopping, but as a destination for social outings. It is equally important to be specific to the needs of these individuals, as they are oftentimes the trendsetters. In the Middle East, accessories sales can far outweigh those of ready-to-wear and couture. Have you found this to be Gucci's case in the region? Leather goods still account for 57% of overall business, so it’s likely that accessories will always represent the lion’s share. This isn’t to say, though, that ready-to-wear isn’t growing… Were you always interested in luxury brands? Absolutely not. I joined this industry by accident. My dream as a child was to draw comics and to paint. But then, coming from a middle-class family, this was a stretch – if I’d gone to art school I probably wouldn’t have been able to pay my bills. Thus, by a number of successive mistakes, I ended up studying business administration. I found marketing to be the most engaging course – so my dream became to sell products for Procter and Gamble. The minute before my interview, I received a call from a large textile company in Europe, which had licenses for various fashion brands. They’d signed a joint venture with a Japanese company for a sportswear brand, and they needed a manager. As it turns out, I had spent one year in Japan and I could speak the language. I couldn’t sleep that night. I knew nothing about fashion but it looked like a better fit, despite the security of working for P&G. That’s how it all started. Were you a good artist? As a kid, I was pretty good. Drawing isn’t something that one can really learn – it’s a gift. But any gift has to be nurtured – you have to train. I haven’t been drawing much, but I plan to once I retire. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? To believe in people whilst knowing that sometimes, people can fail you. You have to keep on believing, though. Name your style icons (one man, one woman): Sean Connery in Dr. No – I have never seen a man wearing a tuxedo more elegantly. For women, I’d say Grace Kelly or Charlotte (Casiraghi).

If you were given a one-year sabbatical, what would you do? Travel. Actually, I travel a lot, but I don’t know the world. I would really like to spend time exploring. Places like the Middle East and Asia are fascinating, but I should really begin with Italy. There are so many beautiful places that I have yet to experience… A dream yet to be fulfilled? [Di Marco draws a quick sketch in the air]

ENTREPRENEUR AND LUXURY RETAIL VISIONARY WISSAM AL MANA DISCUSSES HIS SHOPPING EMPIRE IN THE GULF AND HIS LOVE FOR A CERTAIN VINTAGE AUTOMOBILE… PLUS, CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER – HE’S SOON TO WED AMERICAN POPSTAR JANET JACKSON IN WHAT THE MEDIA HAS REPORTED TO BE A LAVISH AFFAIR – BUT HERE, HE SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

THE CANDID mogul

Al mana's 1964 lincoln continental.

Tell us about your earliest inspirations and influences. Whilst growing up in London and attending boarding school, I took a weekend job at a multi-brand store on King’s Road in Chelsea, which sold luxury and contemporary brands. I think this experience really influenced my career and my desire to work in fashion retail. In 2004 you embarked upon a luxury division for your company - what prompted this undertaking? I had signed with Hermès to open the first boutique in the Middle East, which we launched in Dubai that same year. I was also preparing to open Saks Fifth Avenue in Dubai in 2004 as well. It was an interesting time for the luxury sector – many brands were in the process of opening their first stores in the city. Were you always fascinated by luxury brands? If so, why do you think that is? Yes, as I was exposed to them from a young age. However, I must say that the word “luxury” is too commonly used to describe certain products which may carry a brand name, but in my opinion, are not all that luxurious - what I love most about true luxury products is the way in which they are made and the quality of the materials used. What is your vision for this branch of your business? It’s a continuous desire for improvement; we’re trying to provide a superior service, positioning ourselves higher than our competitors and so on and so forth. I am also planning to develop Saks Fifth Avenue in Qatar in the near future. What is the best advice you have ever received? I think reading Machiavelli’s “The Prince” was inspirational. He provides very cunning advice, which is still valid today. What mistake have you learned from the most? 76

That’s a tough question, I try to learn from all my mistakes and I try not to repeat them (although that’s not always the case). Every day there is something new to learn from, I try not to allow disappointments to effect me – although, I have found that you tend to get better at this as you get older. Name one man and woman who you think epitomize style, why? Audrey Hepburn and Cab Calloway. Why? I don’t know… they both look great. Style is a funny thing, you cannot buy it or learn it and it doesn’t look the same if two different people were to wear the exact same outfit …does that make sense? Nowadays I think people try too hard to look stylish – like this one older guy, whom I won’t name, but he walks around wearing sunglasses at night in a tuxedo and oversized jewelry with leather gloves… Describe your personal style. Let me start by telling what is not my personal style. There are a lot of rumors in the media that were started by gossip magazines about me throwing this huge lavish wedding that would cost millions and that I would be giving out gold Rolex watches to all the guests. They are fabricated lies. Firstly, I don’t even like Rolex watches and personally think gold Rolex watches are tacky. I would never have a lavish wedding because it is really not my style, nor would I feel right about it given the poverty that plagues our world. I would much rather give that money to charity, to people who are starving or living in war stricken areas like Syria. What I find very strange is that the Arab media amongst others basically sourced their information from the National Enquirer, out of all magazines. I wear my local attire when I am in this part of the world – it’s very comfortable and I think it’s important to retain a connection to my culture. When I travel I am usually in a pair of jeans and a sweater or hoodie, I love black and grey, and I

love nice fabrics and leathers. I also love sneakers especially high tops; they are so comfortable. Designer you admire most? My favourite men’s designer is Veronique Nichanian, at Hermès. I love her attention to detail and her minimal designs, the rich choice of fabrics and colors. She is very sweet and humble. My favorite women’s designer is Azzedine Alaïa, he is a master in making women look fabulous and he is very down to earth and generous in person. What are your most cherished possessions? My 1964 Lincoln Continental convertible, which I love to drive in California and my Rene Burri photograph collection. What do you do to unwind? I like to listen to the ocean and read a good book or go to the desert and make a fire. I enjoy simple things – they give me the most satisfaction. If you were given a one-year sabbatical, what interest would you pursue? I am really interested in art and photography. I would like to create an exhibition of works at some point – that would be really fun. I think I could do it in a year. Tell us your favorite restaurant & said restaurant’s signature dish: I actually love small, unknown ‘hole in the wall’ restaurants, which you normally wouldn’t hear of. There is a little Thai place in Malibu where I eat all the time – I love their vegetable fried rice and sweet-and-sour prawns. Tell us a dream yet to be fulfilled: I would really like to go on a humanitarian mission to help victims of war and famine, to actually spend time with them and try to give them a fresh start, a new hope on life. It is giving one’s time – and not just one’s money – which is the most fulfilling.

face expert

Beauty Queen

When she’s not creating trendsetting looks for fashion shows and photo shoots, the makeup artist Pat m grath helps concoct creams and colors for Dolce & Gabbana’s makeup line. ‘‘None of it even feels like work,’’ she says. ‘‘I’m lucky enough to collaborate with the very best in the business, so I never get the chance to be bored.’’ Sa n d ra B a l l e n t i n e

portrait: delphine achard; Miss Gadget: beauty products: brad bridgers; in her kit: brad bridgers; skin so soft: water, moisturizer, sk-II, lotion: brad bridgers; Pat’s world: far left: rowland roques-O’neil; book and slippers: brad bridgers.

Miss Gadget McGrath never met a grooming tool she didn’t like. Her latest favorites? The No!No! Hair 8800 ($270; neimanmarcus.com) and the Micro-Pedi ($40; emjoi.com) — ‘‘forget the Ped Egg; this is it for feet,’’ she says. She stocks up on Tangle Teezer combs at Boots in London. ‘‘They’re amazing for black hair and extensions. I give them to everyone as gifts.’’ A fan of Flywheel and SoulCycle spin studios, she’s buying a stationary bike ($2,200; soul-cycle.com) for her home.

in her kit The makeup artist doesn’t travel light. Big shows require up to 40 assistants and 80 trunks, including ones for glitter, sequins and lashes. She finds glitters at Tokyu Hands, a store in Shibuya, Tokyo, with an enormous cosmetics section. ‘‘I can get lost in there for hours!’’ Among her creations for Dolce & Gabbana makeup, she’s most proud of Perfect Luminous Liquid Foundation (‘‘the texture is lightweight and fuses instantly with skin’’) and Glam Intense Liquid Eyeliner (‘‘completely waterproof and comes in amazing colors’’). Both are sold at saksfifthavenue.com. She buys lashes at Ricky’s and Duane Reade.

skin so soft McGrath’s fridge is filled with aloe water from the Juice Press: ‘‘It’s a great detoxifier.’’ She uses Orentreich Oil-Free Moisturizer, which is made by her dermatologist. McGrath refreshes models’ travel-weary complexions with SK-II masks, and for breakouts swears by Dr. Brandt’s Pores No More. She slathers herself with Santa Maria Novella Idrasol body lotion. ‘‘It smells beyond delicious.’’

Pat’s world One of McGrath’s best-kept (until now) secrets is Michelle Roques-O’Neil, a London-based aromatherapist known for bespoke potions (far left; roquesoneil.co.uk). McGrath just bought a copy of ‘‘Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco’’ at Bookmarc, in New York’s West Village. She won’t nestle into her first-class seat without Loro Piana’s butter-soft cashmere slippers. Her favorite place in New York to decompress is Jin Soon Natural Hand and Foot Spa. ‘‘I work with Jin on Steven Meisel shoots. She’s amazing, and her spas work wonders on my tired feet.’’ Sometimes a girl needs more than glitter to feel sparkly: McGrath treats herself to jewelry, like this ring by Lorraine Schwartz.

face

The peel sessions

on a quest for the perfect glow, it’s easy to overdo it. By florence kane

W Thin skinned Facial peels are one ingredient for radiance, but they can be risky as well. 78

hat does the ideal complexion look like? ‘‘You want your skin nice and smooth, almost powdery,’’ said the medical aesthetician Dangene Enterprise, whose Institute of Skinovation is located at Manhattan’s Core Club. ‘‘And it should have a nice glow, like you’re a 3-yearold who just woke up from a nap.’’ With all the treatments, procedures and products at our fingertips today, that glow she describes is certainly attainable. Yet the search for perfection often leads to just the opposite. Instead of achieving plump, soft skin, some women are winding up with visages that are ‘‘thin and kind of stretched, almost like Saran wrap,’’ according to

P H O T O G R A P H B Y G rant cornett

Dr. Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, an assistant professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine and the director of the Dermatology and Laser Surgery Center in New York. ‘‘It puckers like the material would if wrapped tightly on something and looks like if you pricked it with a pin, a clear fluid would come out.’’ This is the over-exfoliated face. For the past few decades, the most dominant recipe for radiant skin has called for removing the dead layers of epidermis to reveal newer, brighter, less-wrinkled skin. But not everyone knows just how often to slough, and some women have been misled into thinking that the more often you do it, the better. Or women exfoliate constantly to ensure that anti-aging or anti-acne serums are delivered more effectively. Exfoliate too frequently, though, with chemical peels or Retin A, and you could encounter a multitude of problems: redness, a strange waxy look and, over time, the thin skin AlexiadesArmenakas described. It can look crepelike and translucent, with capillaries showing (if you’re Caucasian), and is far more prone to fine lines, not to mention increasingly vulnerable to cancer-causing UV rays, than untreated skin. For those with darker complexions, overpeeling can also cause hyper-pigmentation, which can be permanent. ‘‘I saw a patient the other day who told me, ‘I’m addicted to acids. I can’t do without them,’ ’’ Alexiades-Armenakas said. ‘‘She needed an anti-inflammatory to undo the redness and damage, but I couldn’t give her a steroid because that can thin the skin even more. For people who get addicted to exfoliation, it’s very hard to get their skin back to a normal rhythm.’’ When used properly, these acids — alpha hydroxy, glycolic, salicylic, lactic — will strip off the top layer and stimulate new collagen growth. An experienced dermatologist or facialist knows how to choose the correct type and the schedule at which it’s applied. Any ‘‘addict,’’ however, can get around a strict peel regimen by cheating on her regular doctor and going elsewhere. Also, Enterprise said, ‘‘I know there are many doctors who use peels for wrinkles. If you keep peeling someone to get to the other side of a wrinkle, that skin is going to be so thin.’’ Finding the ideal combination of peel strength and frequency is no simple matter, said the dermatologist Dr. Fredric Brandt. There are superficial peels, he explained, which just remove some of the top layer, and then there are ‘‘medium depth, which go probably to the border of the dermis and epidermis, and deeper ones, like the old phenol peels that are rarely used anymore, that go into the dermis or mid-dermis.’’ Additionally, there are now options like carbon dioxide lasers and even stronger fractional lasers. A good dermatologist, Dr. Brandt added, will be sensitive to a variety of factors — lighter peels for younger patients, deeper for those with sun damage — so that there’s less of a need to worry about thinning your skin. ‘‘It’s a fine dance you have to do with your clients,’’

Enterprise said. ‘‘Peels are amazing if you do them for a particular reason; if you play tennis and you’ve got that thick skin that makes you very ruddy. But if you’re a woman in your 70s or 80s and you’ve smoked cigarettes and have skin that looks like tissue paper, we want to do anything we can to build it up.’’ At-home treatments can have their downsides as well. Retinoids like Retin A increase skin turnover and should be used at the correct strength and frequency. ‘‘Everyone used to put it on every night — you brush your teeth, you put on your Retin A,’’ Enterprise recalled. ‘‘Cheeks were getting very thin and people had that glossy look. That waxy skin makes you look older and can make you look dated in the same way your hair or makeup can.’’ Abuse of drugstore or beauty-emporium products is also a danger. ‘‘I’ve done R&D for a large cosmetic company, and unfortunately to launch these over-the-counter peeling agents, the rule of thumb is to recommend twice-weekly use,’’ Alexiades-Armenakas said. And why is that? ‘‘Because if you don’t use it that often, you’re not going to see any results. It’s so weak compared to a dermatologist’s peel, and to compensate for this they have people overuse it.’’ Michelle Harper, a porcelain-skinned fixture on bestdressed lists, believes that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. ‘‘It’s very much like diets,’’ she said. ‘‘There’s

“ ”

Armenakas is at work on a new method for doing so, testing pixelated radiofrequency technology and ultrasound to push anti-acne or anti-aging drugs into the skin. It’s another form of fractional resurfacing, whose advantage, she said, is that most of the epidermis is left intact. Eventually, according to the dermatologist, this science will make its way into an over-the-counter product, in the form of a hand-held roller. There remains, however, the conundrum of what to do until those futuristic gadgets arrive. For now, AlexiadesArmenakas recommends relying on a much older technology — that of the body itself. ‘‘The skin turns over every 28 days,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m of the firm belief that you’re better off having a strong peel just once a month at most, giving the skin a chance to recover, rebound and rejuvenate itself.’’ n

acid test products and treatments designed to ease wrinkles and refresh skin — without the wax-paper effect. At Home

1. Avon Anew Clinical Pro Line Eraser Treatment Developed in concert with the company that pioneered alpha hydroxy acid, this product is formulated to boost collagen production by deactivating collagen blockers in the skin. $40; avon.com.

3. brad bridgers

some women have visages that are ‘almost like saran wrap.’ no one that works for everyone.’’ To maintain her enviable complexion, Harper, a brand consultant who also sits on the board of her sister-in-law Tata Harper’s namesake beauty company, keeps up with the latest research and has tried a range of products and treatments. She uses lasers, microdermabrasion, acids and retinols, all monitored by her doctor. The results? ‘‘Fantastic,’’ she said. ‘‘My skin has become more resilient and smoother over time.’’ It’s a commitment, to say the least. Harper’s routine includes five different acids, plus monthly visits to Dr. David Colbert for his Triad Medical Facial. ‘‘I look at myself and say, ‘O.K., am I having acne, whiteheads or blackheads?’ ’’ she said. ‘‘If so, I’ll move toward beta hydroxy acids.’’ For dry, flaky skin with fine lines, she goes with alpha hydroxy acids like lactic and kojic (for lightening of age spots), combined with the glycolic acid in Brad’s Biophotonic Ultra Peel or Vivité Vibrance Therapy. For something stronger, she turns to Colbert MD Intensify Facial Disks, which provide light microdermabrasion action and contain bromelain and lactic acid. She’s careful not to overdo it, though, since ‘‘the reality is, you need a barrier on your skin.’’ Of course, disrupting that barrier at just the right rate — either by peels, Retin A, lasers or other means — is how you stimulate the skin into creating collagen. Alexiades-

2. By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Primer For those suffering the effects of too much acid exfoliation, this new primer, which contains hydrating hyaluronic acid, makes red and shiny skin more matte, helping makeup to go on smoothly. $59; byterry.com.

3. Eileen Harcourt Pumpkin Mask Harcourt, a facialist, doesn’t encourage her clients to self-apply glycolic or salicylic acids, but she will send them home with a gentle peeling mask like this one. $40; (212) 300-4416; eharcourts.com. In Office

4. Joanna Vargas Skincare Fall Renewal Peel Vargas starts with a diamond exfoliation, followed by a pineapple enzyme peel, L.E.D. light therapy and oxygen treatment. The goal: do away with dead-cell buildup caused by sun exposure and sunscreen. $175; joannavargas.com. 5. Debra Jaliman M.D. Pomegranate Peel The dermatologist’s antioxidantrich fruit-acid peel takes time to produce results but shouldn’t cause redness like stronger acids do. $150; jaliman.com.

face

london Eye

Joseph at the Brompton Cross institution, the head Buyer, Sirlene Di Santolo, helps the world’s most dedicated (and opinionated) shoppers. ‘‘I love to dress intelligent women who know what they want,’’ she says. Sa n d ra B a l l e n t i n e 1. ’’If it’s beautiful, they will buy it,’’ says Di Santolo of Joseph’s customers. She ought to know, having cut her retail teeth working alongside the store’s legendary late founder, Joseph Ettedgui. ‘‘He taught me about luxury and how to push fashion ahead,’’ she says. ‘‘I have the best job. I get to help smart women style themselves in a way that makes them feel confident and powerful.’’ 2. The fashion luminary Michael Roberts, who reportedly ‘‘discovered’’ Ettedgui in 1972,

guest-curated this graphic window display last month to help commemorate the store’s 40th anniversary. 3. According to Di Santolo, this dress by Mary Katrantzou is the perfect way to wear the season’s all-important print without seeming ‘‘too theatrical.’’ It’s about QR7,350. 4. A collaboration with the English illustrator and designer Claire Barrow, these hand-embellished leather pants ‘‘are über-cool, highly collectible

and great fun to wear,’’ says the buyer. They are QR7,300. 5. This mammoth tusk and rose gold ring (QR10,750) is from Albion Trinketry, a collaboration between the English jeweler Hannah Martin and the bad-boy rocker Pete Doherty. 6. Forgive the pun, says Di Santolo, but Charlotte Olympia’s satin piano platforms (QR3,800) are an elegant way to jazz up an outfit. 7. The Joseph label is known for covetable wardrobe staples,

including sharply cut trousers, terrific knits and killer coats like this one, which is QR20,400 8. Di Santolo’s pick for best carry-all is Proenza Schouler’s woven-leather doctor bag (QR11,885): ‘‘I love the shape, texture and the combination of colors. It’s a nice departure from the ubiquitous tote.’’ 9. ’’Simply the most exquisite accessory’’ is how Di Santolo describes Bouchra Jarrar’s fur collar (QR13,290). ’’It sits fiercely on a coat, dress or sweater.’’

A perfect Saturday Di Santolo browses in the bookshop at the Photographers’ Gallery (thephotographersgallery.org.uk), eats brunch at Daylesford Organic Café (daylesfordorganic.com), shops for vintage at One of a Kind (1kind.co.uk) and has a martini at Dukes Hotel (dukeshotel.com).

portrait by jo metson scott

Hair and Makeup by John Christopher at Naked Artists; 3., 4., 6., 7., 8., 9.: brad bridgers.

in-store

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 102.

The New York Times Style Magazine

trad and true

artwork by mary howard 81

talk Qatar

Women

on canvas Kezban ARCA has an uncanny way of looking at things. WOMEN AND THEIR Idiosyncrasies ARE HER current craze. by sindhu nair

Painting by Kezban Arca, Pidgeon 81cm x 121cm x 5mm, 2012, QR 27,375

talk Qatar

he paintings are stark yet poignant; frivolous, yet with a hidden agenda – almost like the artist herself, Kezban Arca Batibeki. On the outside she appears to be just an ordinary woman, but scratch the surface, and there is more to her than her obvious talent. She currently has a solo exhibition at Anima Gallery in The Pearl in conjunction with Leila Heller Gallery, New York. T Qatar caught up with the artist and the gallery owner. Woman is the most important figure on the canvas, and her moods, her friendships and her affiliations seem to be the focus. “Being a woman in Turkey, it is inevitable that I portray women and their preoccupations,” says Kezban

as she tries to delve into the intensity of women. “Women in Turkey are not considered important, but they form an integral background to life and it is their life that is in focus. I am fascinated by their often trivial preoccupations, which to them are the crux of their existence, like the dieting, the waiting and the gossip sessions, and it is these activities that have found their way to my canvas,” she adds. The lone woman in most of Kezban’s paintings seems familiar. Is Kezban her own muse for these pieces? “No,” she stresses. “This is the life of the women I see around Turkey. In the towns, women are emerging out of the stereotypes. They make a living. It is the life in the villages that I have focused on.” She still has no favorites among her art installations: “They are all my children,” she maintains. Her work involves multimedia, videos, window installations and photographs, and each exhibition takes a certain

Gallery updates from Leila

12 artists from the region being represented at American museums Popular artists from the region

Kezban, Shiva Ahmadi, Ayad Alkadhi, Negar Ahkami, Rashid Al Khalifa Solo Exhibition OF Kezban Arca at Anima Gallery from November 5- January 2, 2012

GO AWAY, 90CM X100CM, Acrylic based mixed-media an embroidery with sequins on canvas, 2012, QR43,800

subject as its theme. However most of them have a woman-centric perspective – like the digital photographs she has on one side of Anima Gallery, all of which are of birds, but with a woman in the periphery. In one she has the image of a peacock preening for attention, and, not far away, a woman holding a fan made out of peacock feathers. “I feel they are similar in a number of ways; both are proud and craving for attention,” she explains. She also feels that behind every woman there is another woman who tries to bring other women down. Her painting, she says, “is first done in my brain” and then translated onto canvas. “I already know what I am going to do, though there are some surprises which come as a result of the process, but the initial theme and procedure is all planned. I first draw, then cover the canvas with a transparent paper, and then cut all the figures. These figures are all spray-painted with color and then the background is also sprayed with a special acrylic solution. I then sew it all together with the help of my assistants,” she says. The process is not simple, she concedes, and sometimes takes months to complete. “I even go back to the beginning when I find small flaws which wouldn’t be visible to anyone but me,” she says, adding: “I am incurably meticulous and finicky about details.” Kezban graduated from Istanbul’s Marmara University’s Graphic Arts Department and has worked as an illustrator for some of the best arts magazines in Turkey. She has been on the art scene for around 30 years, and according to Leila Heller, who represents her in the US through her eponymous gallery and was instrumental in bringing the exhibition to Doha, “she is quite the rage in Turkey and also in the US, as she has been involved with my gallery for some time”.

a burgeoning art scene Leila heller is quite taken in by the art scene in Doha. She says that with initiatives being taken to set up museums, cultural institutions like Katara and private galleries, all dimensions of the art scene are being taken care of. “Both HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s and Sheikha Al-Mayassa’s initiatives in education and even art appreciation are a wise decision. In the coming years we will see the opening of close to 20 museums in the country. I don’t think this kind of commitment both to building the cultural scenario and to giving it the solid backing of an educational platform to underpin the cultural awakening can be seen anywhere else in the world,” she maintains. Art, being a luxury item, is affected by the highs and lows of the economic climate. This time around, says Leila, the art market has been weathering the dips. “Art is a safe investment, and though it did get affected by the recession, it has bounced back and now is a very healthy market. The best artists have not suffered a lot. Contemporary Middle Eastern art went down a tiny bit, but it adjusted very fast.” Founded in 1982, Leila Heller Gallery has a worldwide reputation in both the primary and the secondary art markets. Known for an active and innovative exhibition schedule, the gallery shows paintings, works on paper, sculpture, installations and video from international contemporary artists to modern masters, with a specialization in artists from the Middle East. With an emphasis on discovering and cultivating new talent, the gallery presents imaginative thematic exhibitions and tightly focused solo exhibitions with work from both prominent figures on the international stage and emerging artists. “In New York I have a very international group of artists, but I have a niche in the Middle Eastern, Turkish, and Azerbaijani market, given my Iranian and Azeri background. I have a tremendous interest in the region and I think we are the only gallery in the US or the UK with such a niche. We also exhibit work from artists in the region alongside Western or international artists. I do not believe in marginalizing the artists from the region, so we also have extended curated shows where we juxtapose artists from the region with major international artists like Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock,” she says. Leila Heller Gallery, she says, doesn’t just focus on art but also takes the task of education quite seriously. “I also have famous curators curate my shows, which adds another dimension,” she notes proudly.

talk

the quiet american

armed only with his books, gene sharp has helped spread peace around the world for four decades. By janine di giovanni

Passive voice Gene Sharp, photographed in June 2012, in his office at the Albert Einstein Institution in Boston. 86

n a quiet street in an unfashionable East Boston neighborhood not far from Logan Airport lives an 84-year-old man whom dictators around the world fear and despise. On the morning I go to meet Gene Sharp, the taxi driver cannot even find his house, and there is no sign on the door to mark the building as headquarters of the Albert Einstein Institution, the nonprofit organization he founded in 1983. When I arrive, Jamila Raqib, the institution’s executive director, answers the door dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. ‘‘We want to be low-key,” she says. “And keep it that way.’’ Sharp, a former University of Massachusetts professor who has written 11 books, is widely regarded as the godfather of

P H O T O G R A P H B Y sebastian kim

nonviolent revolution. His 93-page book, ‘‘From Dictatorship to Democracy,’’ is available on the Internet in 24 languages and was as influential to would-be revolutionaries during last year’s Arab Spring as any other text. His work was reportedly taught in training workshops for Egyptian revolutionaries long before the events in Tahrir Square. And it has been used by activists in Zimbabwe, Estonia, Serbia, Vietnam, Burma and Lithuania. Officials in Damascus and Iran have accused him of being a C.I.A. agent. Sharp isn’t in direct contact with the activists who protested in Tahrir Square, or in Homs, or in Tunis. He watched the Egyptian revolution on TV like the rest of us. He is reluctant to take credit and insists that it is the people, not him, who influenced their own revolutions. Unlike Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr., whom Sharp admired (Coretta Scott King wrote an introduction to one of Sharp’s books), he is not a practitioner of nonviolent movements but rather a theorist of power. People assume positions of power, he asserts, not by some intrinsic

individual strength but solely by the populace who puts them there. When enough people withdraw their support of a repressive regime for long enough, it topples. His work is not based on religious belief or higher moral principles of peaceful human coexistence but rather is starkly pragmatic: his seminal 1973 trilogy, ‘‘The Politics of Nonviolent Action,’’ lays out 198 methods of resistance that do not kill or destroy, including ‘‘sick-ins,’’ mock elections and the refusal to use government currency. He writes that ‘‘exhortations in favor of love and nonviolence have made little or no contribution to ending war and major political violence. It seemed to me that only adoption of a substitute type of sanction and struggle . . . could possibly lead to a major reduction of political violence.’’ Violence, Sharp says, is ‘‘your enemy’s best weapon.’’ Dictators will only try to crush rebellions. Sharp is part of a tradition of academics whose work finds expression among political interventionists outside the academy — think of Noam Chomsky’s writing on United States foreign policy or Cornel West’s work on racial inequality. But Sharp himself will not presume to know which countries need reform. ‘‘I don’t talk about what needs changing or where,’’ he says quietly in his soft Midwestern voice. ‘‘It’s up to the people themselves to decide to change.’’ Sharp’s modesty can at times seem at odds with his stature. His office is tiny and cluttered and dusty, full of boxes left unpacked from the day he moved to it in 2004. ‘‘I’m sorry for the mess,’’ he says at one point, pointing to the boxes

harp is uncomfortable talking about himself, and he shifts in his chair when I ask him about his early years. He was raised by a Protestant clergyman who moved the family around a lot before settling in Columbus, Ohio, when Sharp was 15. ‘‘My childhood was not important,’’ he says, adding that he was aware of racial inequality and participated in a luncheonette sit-in. ‘‘I knew there was a war and a Nazi system,’’ he says. ‘‘That, and the atomic bomb influenced me, I suppose. And later, as an undergraduate, Gandhi.’’ He wrote a study of Gandhi in 1953 while working on his master’s thesis in New York, first in Harlem, then Brooklyn. He was employed as an elevator operator and a guide for a blind social worker for a while. ‘‘I wasn’t interested in having a real job,’’ he says. ‘‘I wanted subway fare and food and to research Gandhi.’’ He wrote to Albert Einstein, at Princeton, and asked if he would contribute an introduction to the book. To Sharp’s shock, he agreed. When the Korean War broke out, Sharp, then 25, took a stance of civil disobedience and conscientious objection

from top: Courtesy of the Albert Einstein INstitution; From ‘‘How to start a Revolution.’’

Peace train Sharp in 1978 with Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow, Coretta Scott King (far right), who wrote the introduction to Sharp’s book about Gandhi.

and piles of books. When he remarks that he still can’t find his Oxford English Dictionary, I tell him it’s available online and he looks bemused. Sharp’s office is not a tech-enabled zone. There is a sign hanging on the wall — written by Raqib, who has been with him for 10 years — instructing him how to send an e-mail. ‘‘To open a blank file. . . . ’’ He does not use Facebook or Twitter or even read his organization’s Web site. The Alfred Einstein Institution consists of him, Raqib and an assistant she found working at a coffee shop around the corner. Sharp’s only sanctuary away from his work is his orchid room, which visitors are not invited to visit. But to listen to those whom Sharp has inspired is to understand his place among the great teachers of peaceful resistance. ‘‘If there is one powerful message to send to the world — that nonviolent social change is the way to change it for the better — then there is nobody else who deserves the Nobel Peace Prize more than Gene,’’ says Srdja Popovic, a young Serb who first encountered Sharp’s work during the revolt against Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, and who now runs the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies in Belgrade. Popovic calls Sharp ‘‘the Master’’ and uses his theories while teaching activists around the world, including those in Syria, Iran and the Maldives. (In Sharp’s office hangs a poster that reads, ‘‘GOTOV JE!’’ — ‘‘He’s finished!’’ — the rallying cry that Popovic and his comrades sent to thousands of cellphones during their first attempt at overthrowing the Serbian dictator.) And according to Dr. Mary Elizabeth King, a professor of peace and conflict studies at the University for Peace, an affiliate of the United Nations, ‘‘Gene has, in my opinion, probably done more for building peace than any person alive. Because without broader knowledge of how to fight for social change and justice without violence, it is unlikely that more peaceable societies will evolve. Postconflict societies need Gene’s writings to help prevent a relapse into civil war.’’

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to the draft and was given a prison sentence of two years. He was transferred from the detention center on West Street in New York to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn. Sharp says he could have gotten 14 years but served only ‘‘9 months and 10 days.’’ ‘‘The first six months weren’t bad,’’ he recalls. ‘‘After that, the constant regimentation was hard. I could read books but I could not do any research.’’ After his release in 1954, Sharp worked for A. J. Muste, whom he calls ‘‘the most famous American pacifist.’’ Then he took off for Europe: in England he worked for Peace News, writing articles about the Suez crisis and the British invasion of Egypt. In Norway, he worked for Arne Naess, a professor at the University of Oslo and a Gandhi devotee. Sharp’s years in Norway had a profound influence on him. The Norwegian resistance movement against fascism and the pro-Nazi regime of Vidkun Quisling used civil disobedience, among other forms of nonviolent resistance, in their educational system. Teachers taught against the fascist system in schools and distributed illegal newspapers while maintaining social distance from German soldiers. ‘‘There were other methods, such as wearing a potato or a toothpick on their clothes, to protest the occupation,’’ Sharp says. (Much later, the Serbs would use street theater as a method of bringing down Milosevic — for instance, creating an effigy of the dictator’s head and allowing people to bash it with a bat as a game, then running away when the police arrived.) Sharp stayed in Norway for two and a half years and lived for a time with a family who had a history of resistance. ‘‘Everyone always talks about the boys in the mountains fighting against the Nazis,’’ he says, ‘‘but what interested me was the teachers, the clergy and the labor movement. Those were the real resisters.’’ From Norway, he went to Oxford, eventually making his way — living from one grant or teaching job to another — to a professorship at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. When Sharp gave a lecture at Harvard in 1988, Retired Colonel Robert Helvey was a senior Army fellow at the university’s Center for International Affairs. On his first day, Helvey saw a notice by the elevator announcing a nonviolent sanctions seminar. He had nothing else to do that afternoon, so he slipped into the classroom just as Sharp was beginning to lecture. ‘‘He did not seem to care about his clothing,’’ Helvey says of his first impression of Sharp. ‘‘I saw similar styles at the local Goodwill.’’ But what the professor did care about, Helvey recalls, was the truth. ‘‘He was obviously careful about his words, precise, and clearly a cut above the egocentric image of some Ivy League professors.’’ Helvey emerged from the lecture with an entirely new frame of reference as a soldier, something he has held tight ever since. ‘‘I think Gene’s work has changed how we think about conflict resolution,’’ Helvey says. ‘‘There are options other than massive bloodshed and destruction to bring political change.’’ He continues, ‘‘We now have an alternative to war as a means for people to liberate themselves from tyranny, to deter would-be tyrants and lesser authoritarian rulers.’’

i don’t talk about what needs changing or where. it’s up to the people themselves to decide to change.

”

Helvey, who helped the Serbian democracy movement overthrow Milosevic, adds, ‘‘Gene is a deep thinker. He has a quest to bring truth to our society.’’ Sharp lives mostly in the world of books, but he has not always stayed behind his desk. In 1989, he went to Tiananmen Square during the uprising and talked to protesters. In the 1990s he sneaked into rebel camps in Burma. Where, I ask him, do people find the courage to fight against dictators? He thinks hard. ‘‘I honestly don’t know,’’ he admits. ‘‘I never studied it.’’ They would not think of their actions as fearless, he says, ‘‘it becomes second nature to them. What matters is that they can. And they do it.’’ As Sharp talks, I think about all the activists in Syria today who work underground, communicating via Skype or encrypted e-mails to protest the regime. If they are caught, they will be tortured and sent to prison. (Even peaceful protesters are sent to jail, without their families being notified, for up to 45 days; there are currently 35,000 people in detention in Syria, according to recent human rights reports.) ‘‘But people continue,’’ he says, ‘‘because it works. When you start withdrawing your cooperation, the regime won’t like it. They will start beating, torturing, stopping you. They will instill fear. But if you are not afraid’’ — here he pauses and thinks — ‘‘then the reason for fear does not exist.’’ Sharp emphasizes in all his work the need for preparation and care, and he says that not all nonviolent movements work. Occupy Wall Street did not have a plan, he says, which was its downfall. ‘‘It’s well intentioned,’’ he says, ‘‘but occupying a small park in downtown New York is pure symbolism. It doesn’t change the distribution of wealth.’’ Above all, Sharp’s work preaches a stern methodology. One cannot enter into a revolution without thinking it out, without planning, without being strategic. The Egyptians, in many ways, were successful, he says, because they planned ahead of time how to get rid of Mubarak. The Tunisians used the Internet for years to circumvent Ben Ali. Sharp recently wrote a letter to Syrian activists saying, ‘‘Think carefully of what activities will harm your cause.’’ When I leave his office after several hours, I am touched by Sharp’s quiet heroism, his tireless research that earns him little financial reward or public attention. As Popovic says, ‘‘Persistent work, which Gene has committed his life to, was for decades underestimated by academia, misunderstood by decision makers and openly attacked by dictators. This is why I am so happy that nonviolent struggle and peoplepower are just getting their full affirmation.’’ Popovic calls 2011 ‘‘the worst year for bad guys ever’’. So what is the legacy of Sharp? Helvey says it is simple. ‘‘One no longer needs bombs, missiles and combat forces to neutralize a regime’s very sources of power,’’ he says. ‘‘Gene does not say it is an easy option, but there is a way and it can and has been done. I foresee the day that governments will examine nonviolent conflict options prior to making decisions to pursue or protect important and vital interests.’’ As I leave, I wonder aloud why Sharp is not working with a huge stipend in a sleek office a few miles away in Harvard Yard. He explains that financing is hard to come by — one reason he moved to East Boston a few years ago. ‘‘We had no money,’’ he says. ‘‘A staff of two, boxes in the basement, boxes on the second floor, no one to help’’ — he reaches down to pet his dog — ‘‘and Sally was no help at all.’’ n

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auction provocateur Ham: shutterstock.com. all other images: artcurial catalog.

The white gloves are off at Artcurial, where even a hunk of meat is deemed collectible. by lynn yaeger

All bidness The Artcurial catalog has included such man-centric lots as a Solex 3800 motorbike and a Keith Haring table setting.

en will bid as much for a Jabugo ham as a gold Rolex,’’ declares Fabien Naudan, the associate director of the Paris auction house Artcurial. ‘‘I want to have a 360-degree view of what our client might be interested in, from a bottle of wine to an office set by Hermès — the whole domestic landscape! Let’s try to open things up — let’s make it wide!’’ Naudan seems obsessed with the idea of turning the hidebound image of the traditional auction house on its head. In case you haven’t been inside one of these places lately, they remain remarkably frozen in time, with their hushed columns of vitrines containing priceless objects culminating

in the salesroom, a recess reminiscent of that creepy auction scene in ‘‘North by Northwest.’’ But at Artcurial, which was founded in 2001 (by comparison, Sotheby’s dates from 1744), the management is out to convince you that waving a paddle can be as much goofy fun as wolfing down an exotic meal or strolling around an interiors store with your wallet open. Instead of Ming vases and Monets, Artcurial organizes events like its Aéronautique auction, during which a Mirage 5 plane was parked in the house’s courtyard. (It sold for more than $130,000.) Naudan, a lifelong Parisian who grew up in a leftist family (he is three years younger than Mai 68), came to Artcurial to start the design division in 2002 after working for fashion brands like A.P.C. and Paul Smith. Though he has the serious demeanor of a man on a mission, he says that he is not particularly interested in the investment side of the business: ‘‘I am more concerned about the provocative aspects.’’ And indeed, his aesthetic insouciance is evident when you look around his cluttered but charming office, which is decorated with, among other trifles, a gaggle of pink plastic porkers he 89

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No reserve Fabien Naudan, the man behind Artcurial’s unorthodox auctions, in his Paris office.

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bought in Italy. ‘‘I call them my Berlusconi pigs; they oink,’’ Naudan says proudly. Motioning to a stack of catalogs printed on cheap paper, Naudan says, ‘‘We want it to be like reading a newspaper — if you’re looking for lamps, here they are!’’ The house distributes the tabloid version for free (in addition to its glossy subscription catalog), to further reassure potential bidders that an Artcurial folio is as casual and offhand as a supermarket circular. I pick one up and see that it is titled ‘‘Intérieurs du XXe Siècle’’ and that its enticements include not just a midcentury Line Vautrin Soleil mirror and a Gio Ponti suede and vinyl ‘‘Canapé’’ sofa from 1964, but also an exuberantly printed Villeroy & Boch service by Keith Haring from circa 1990 and a 2009 Damien Hirst ‘‘Dot’’ skateboard. ‘‘It’s not just about building a collection — we want people to have pieces to live with,’’ Naudan explains in his work space, which he shares with the pigs, along with a Le Corbusier stool; a sampling of his impressive sneaker collection, including his precious 1980s Vans; and a circa 1970 sofa by De Pas, D’Urbino, Lomazzi shaped like a baseball glove that Naudan says is not just a couch but ‘‘a fantastic Pop Art sculpture.’’

during one auction, a mirage 5 plane was parked in the house’s courtyard.

Most of Artcurial’s auctions take place on its glorious home turf, the 19th-century Hôtel Marcel Dassault on the Champs-Élysées, but there are a few off-site events, like this year’s ‘‘Reserves from H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco’s Private Collection of Cars’’ and the annual July Hermès sale, both of which took place in Monte Carlo. Asked to account for this seasonal change of venue, Naudan confesses that it’s where the euros are — residents, perhaps bored with yachts and inebriated skinny-dipping, are possessed by midsummer of itchy (if tanned) palms. ‘‘They’re on vacation, and they want to spend,’’ he says succinctly. Though Naudan is clearly not averse to cleaning up with consignments like the heliotrope-colored crocodile Birkin that sold for around QR178,000 this summer, his heart, one suspects, lies elsewhere. A gleam comes to his eye when he describes events that seem to have as much in common with performance art as they do with mere commerce. One of his first eccentric auctions was entitled ‘‘Black: Le Noir Dans 90

P H O T O G R A P H B Y alexis armanet

le Paysage Domestique.’’ ‘‘We only did it once,’’ he recalls, ‘‘and it was a real pleasure to organize. I covered the interior of the salesroom with black paper — everything was black when the auction took place.’’ The offerings that day included black diamond jewelry, a black Philippe Starck mirror-andbasin combo, and a 1988 black Solex motorized bicycle. ‘‘I’m glad I chose the color black. Purple would have been much harder to do, and I am very lazy,’’ he says with a laugh. Lazy? Surely not the guy who spends every waking moment dreaming up nutty ideas like the Set-Up auction, in which three seemingly unrelated home furnishing pieces are placed together 33 times for a total of 99 items. Why? ‘‘Because three is the symbol of equilibrium!’’ The idea, he says, was not to create perfect interiors but to juxtapose a trio of major pieces: in one case, a circa 2009 black cube by Stéphane Ducatteau shared space with a midcentury Noguchi table and a lacquered plastic bureau shaped like Mickey Mouse. And then there is that business with the ham: the house held its first Gastronomie auction last December, the forthcoming Christmas meal perhaps providing the rationale for bids on 48 oysters, six bottles of rare olive oil and a lot Naudan describes simply as ‘‘a large piece of meat.’’ (The best seller at this event was a one-meter-high plaque of pure salt from the Taoudenni mine in Mali, which went to a European collector for more than QR14,600 — see, someone is crazier than you.) ‘‘Some Champagne bottles didn’t go so high as we thought,’’ Naudan recounts, but on the other hand, ‘‘people really fought for meat and olive oil. It was not my expectation, but it was positive!’’ He is trying to figure out how to provide a postsale service, because, after all, ‘‘if you buy top quality meat, you have to know how to prepare it. A part of our strategy could be to say, ‘Here is the person — a butcher, a chef, a cheese maker — you can contact and they will come to your house to help you.’ ’’ A slab of meat is one thing, the delightfully politically incorrect Une Histoire d’Homme auction is quite another. This roundup of all things stereotypically masculine — in some cases almost cartoonishly so — has in the past offered a salacious Andy Warhol poster for Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s notorious ‘‘Querelle,’’ along with a far more benign Karl Lagerfeld Steiff teddy bear and a Chanel rugby ball. (The house is presently taking consignments for the next incarnation of this event, on Dec. 18, so if you have, say, a Victorian spittoon or an extra codpiece that you’d like to get rid of, give them a call.) Still, there is nothing to prevent the free-thinking woman, in need of a one-of-a kind gold and crocodile Hasselblad camera, from throwing in a bid as well. And, the title of the proceedings notwithstanding, what female could resist a massive vintage Vuitton trunk, its black and red stripes still extant, which was sold to someone of unspecified gender for a substantial QR53,000? Last year, Une Histoire d’Homme V was immediately followed by Gastronomie (a double bill that the auction house plans to reprise again this year), so the deep-pocketed monsieur could feed his desire to acquire a Bernard Rancillac 1966 ‘‘Éléphant’’ fauteuil in the afternoon and slake earthier appetites when night fell. And Naudan says he would like to take this synergy further: ‘‘Tomorrow, maybe we will put some food right into d’Homme!’’ he muses, and you can’t help but think that next time around you might see an octet of homards sequestered in a Vuitton valise or an Hermès iPhone case dangling from a lamb chop. n

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louis vuitton spring 2013

salvatore ferragamo fall 2012

Lanvin fall 2012

Lanvin fall 2012 bottega veneta spring 2013

also permitted to walk around with the tools of their trade without any sneering or jeering. For the rest, a man bag — like the small, handheld purse carried by Mediterranean men on vacation wearing minuscule shorts and heavy medallions — was a no-no. But that has changed. A bag that goes to work and out in the evening is as ubiquitous as a woman’s purse (although less of a must-have). Stores cater to every male taste, from Paul Smith, with his kooky Union Jack totes, to Louis Vuitton and its Damier-pattern travel organizers. And with David Beckham, Brad Pitt and all kinds of sports icons swinging a zippered bag over their shoulders, any stigma about looking effeminate has long since evaporated. Only the most aged comedian would make man-and-bag a butt of jokes. The iPad was the catalyst in making any kind of body carrier acceptable for men. Of course, backpacks have long been seen as useful for travel, from hiking in the Hindu Kush to carrying athletic clothes on the subway. But it is our digital tools that have demanded new and efficient methods of transportation. All those devices that once slipped into a pocket have been overtaken by a screen size that requires ultradeep pockets — to carry it, if not to pay for it. To surf the Internet today, looking at the bag offerings, is to find at least one-third focused on transporting electronics, often with interior pockets. In his latest collection for Louis

crosscurrents

handle with flair

L Carry the day From clutches to briefcases, men’s bags were a staple of the recent runways.

ast summer, when a friend was turning 40, Prada came up with the perfect joke gift at the Milan men’s shows: a golf bag patterned with stylized flowers. I still tease the birthday boy about it being time to take up golf. And although I did not invest in the ultimate man bag, it made me think about how those fancy accessories from the 1980s have become just another easily accepted branch of leather goods. Not that a man’s bag has to be made of leather. It might be a canvas satchel, a nylon backpack or recycled parachute cloth made into a messenger bag. Lanvin’s recent contribution was the revival of the briefcase, the 20th century’s most universally accepted male carryall. That elegant, masculine bag shape, reproduced in sumptuous patinaed leather by other companies like Goyard and Moynat in Paris and Valextra in Milan, matches the current revival of tailoring. It’s a suggestion of the bourgeois steadiness of the professional man, and in a time of financial woes, seems to strike a note of sartorial reassurance. It used to be that anything other than a business briefcase was acceptable only for genuine artists (preferably the virile Pablo Picasso) carrying paints or flat papers. Musicians were

Vuitton, the designer Kim Jones produced a roomy backpack with pieces that unzipped to allow a wallet, camera case or laptop holder to be removable. Maybe the peripatetic childhood that took Jones through Africa, as well as his immersion in designs for sports, has made him aware of the practical needs of the modern man. Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta has built the male part of his collection around his own aesthetic. Hence the development of the famous leather weave into the Cabat tote. His design sense is rooted in the concept that bells and whistles — not to mention clunky chains and bold logos — should not be part of the masculine equation. (Perhaps the exception to this rule are reptile skins, real or fake, that suggest a Russian oligarch on his private jet.) The big divide today is between bags that embrace the body — like messenger bags, in such manly colors as bottle green or burgundy — and those that swing from the hand, like formal attaché cases, or, for an in-between style, an envelope tucked under one arm. Men’s bags are not aligned with clothing the way women’s are. Their function, I suppose, is to express personality. I would love to know who actually bought those Prada golf cases. Chinese tourists? Papas from Palm Springs? Perhaps I should try scouring the golf courses to find out who that image fits to a tee. n 91

go runway

For every man, a man bag. By Suzy Menkes

The house that Hova built

Jay

has a piece of the nets, a glamorous wife and a baby girl who melts his heart. Brooklyn, meet your once and future king. by zadie smith photographs by cass bird Fashion editor: Sara moonves

Borough pride Jay-Z helped design the Brooklyn Nets’ new logos. Calvin Klein Collection suit, QR4,700, and shirt, QR710.

It’s difficult to know what to ask a rapper. It’s not unlike the difficulty (I imagine) of being a rapper. Whatever you say must be considered from at least three angles, and it’s an awkward triangulation. In one corner you have your hard-core hip-hop heads; the type for whom the true Jay-Z will forever be that gifted 25-year-old with rapidfire flow, trading verses with the visionary teenager Big L — ‘‘I’m so ahead of my time, my parents haven’t met yet!’’ — on a ‘‘rare’’ (easily dug up on YouTube) seven-minute freestyle from 1995. Meanwhile, over here stands the pop-rap fan. She loves the Jiggaman with his passion for the Empire State Building and bold claims to ‘‘Run This Town.’’ Finally, in 93

‘The 1 percent that’s robbing people, and deceiving people, that’s criminal, that’s bad. not being an entrepreneur. this is free enterprise. this is what America was built on.’ the crowded third corner, stand the many people who feel rap is not music at all but rather a form of social problem. They have only one question to ask a rapper, and it concerns his choice of vocabulary. (Years pass. The question never changes.) How to speak to these audiences simultaneously? Anyway: I’m at a little table in a homey Italian restaurant on Mulberry Street waiting for Mr. Shawn Carter, who has perfected the art of triangulation. It’s where he likes to eat his chicken parms. He’s not late. He’s dressed like a kid, in cap and jeans, if he said he was 30 you wouldn’t doubt him. (He’s 42.) He’s overwhelmingly familiar, which is of course a function of his fame — rap superstar, husband of Beyoncé, minority owner of the Nets, whose new home, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, will open this month — but also of the fact he’s been speaking into our ears for so long. No one stares. The self-proclaimed ‘‘greatest rapper alive’’ is treated like a piece of the furniture. Ah, but there’s always one: a preppy white guy discreetly operating his iPhone’s reverse-camera function. It’s an old hustle; it makes Jay chuckle: ‘‘They think they’re the first one who’s ever come up with that concept.’’ He likes to order for people. Apparently I look like the fish-sandwich type. Asked if he thinks this is a good time for hip-hop, he enthuses about how inclusive hip-hop is: ‘‘It provided a gateway to conversations that normally would not be had.’’ And now that rap’s reached this unprecedented level of cultural acceptance, maybe we’re finally free to celebrate the form without needing to continually defend it. Say that I’m foolish I only talk about jewels/Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it? He’s not so sure: ‘‘It’s funny how you can say things like that in plain English and then people still do it.’’ He is mildly disappointed that after publishing ‘‘Decoded,’’ his 2010 memoir, people still ask the same old questions. The flippancy annoys him, the ease with which some still dismiss rap as ‘‘something that’s just this bad language, or guys who degrade women, and they don’t realize 94

the poetry and the art.’’ This is perhaps one downside to having the ‘‘flow of the century.’’ With Tupac, you can hear the effort, the artistry. And Biggie’s words first had to struggle free of the sheer bulk of the man himself. When Jay raps, it pours right into your ear like water from a tap. The fish sandwich arrives. Conversation turns to the schoolboy who was shot to death, Trayvon Martin — ‘‘It’s really heartbreaking, that that still can happen in this day and age’’ — and, soon after, to Obama: ‘‘I’ve said the election of Obama has made the hustler less relevant.’’ When he first made this point, ‘‘People took it in a way that I was almost dismissing what I am. And I was like: no, it’s a good thing!’’ He didn’t have Obama growing up, only the local hustler. ‘‘No one came to our neighborhoods, with stand-up jobs, and showed us there’s a different way. Maybe had I seen different role models, maybe I’d’ve turned on to that.’’ Difficult to keep these two Americas in your mind. Imagine living it — within one lifetime! In ‘‘Decoded,’’ Jay-Z writes that ‘‘rap is built to handle contradictions,’’ and Hova, as he is nicknamed, is as contradictory as they come. Partly because he’s a generalist. Biggie had better boasts, Tupac dropped more knowledge, Eminem is — as ‘‘Renegade’’ demonstrated — more formally dexterous. But Hova’s the allrounder. His albums are showrooms of hip-hop, displaying the various possibilities of the form. The persona is cool, calm, almost frustratingly self-controlled: ‘‘Yeah, 50 Cent told me that one time. He said: ‘You got me looking like Barksdale’ ’’ — the hot-blooded drug kingpin from HBO’s ‘‘The Wire’’ — ‘‘and you get to be Stringer Bell!’’— Barksdale’s levelheaded partner. The rapper Memphis Bleek, who has known Jay-Z since Bleek himself was 14, confirms this impression: ‘‘He had a sense of calm way before music. This was Jay’s plan from day one: to take over. I guess that’s why he smiles and is so calm, ’cause he did exactly what he planned in the ’90s.’’ And now, by virtue of being 42 and not dead, he can claim his own unique selling proposition: he’s an artist as old as his art form. The two have grown up together. Jay-Z, like rap itself, started out pyrotechnical. Extremely fast, stacked, dense. But time passed and his flow got slower, opened up. Why? ‘‘I didn’t have enough life experience, so what I was doing was more technical. I was trying to impress technically. To do things that other people cannot do. Like, you can’t do this’’ — insert beat-box and simultaneous freestyle here — ‘‘you just can’t do that.’’ Nope. Can’t even think of a notation to demonstrate what he just did. Jay-Z in technician mode is human voice as pure syncopation. On a track like ‘‘I Can’t Get With That,’’ from 1994, the manifest content of the music is never really the words themselves; it’s the rhythm they create. And if you don’t care about beats, he says, ‘‘You’ve missed the whole point.’’ Plenty did, hearing only a young black man, boasting. I got watches I ain’t seen in months/Apartment at the Trump I only slept in once. But asking why rappers always talk about their stuff is like asking why Milton is forever listing the attributes of heavenly armies. Because boasting is a formal condition of the epic form. And those taught that they deserve nothing rightly enjoy it when they succeed in terms the culture understands. Then something changed: ‘‘As I started getting life experiences, I realized my power was in conveying emotions that people felt.’’ He compared himself to a comedian whose jokes trigger this reaction: ‘‘Yo, that’s so true.’’ He started storytelling — people were mesmerized. ‘‘Friend or Foe’’ (1996), which concerns a confrontation between two hustlers, is rap in its masterful, fullblown, narrative form. Not just a monologue, but a story, complete with dialogue, scene setting, characterization. Within its comic flow and light touch — free from the relentless sincerity of Tupac — you can hear the seeds of 50, Lil Wayne, Eminem, so many others. ‘‘That was the first one where it was so obvious,’’ Jay noted. He said the song represented an important turning point, the moment when he ‘‘realized I was doing it.’’ At times he restricts himself formally, like the Oulipo, that experimental French literary group of the 1960s. In the song ‘‘22 Two’s,’’ from 1996, we get 22 delicious plays on the words ‘‘too’’ and ‘‘two.’’ Ten years later, the sequel, ‘‘44 Fours,’’ has the same conceit, stepped up a gear. ‘‘Like, you know, close the walls in a bit smaller.’’ Can he explain why? ‘‘I think the reason I still make music is because of the challenge.’’ He doesn’t believe in relying solely on one’s natural gifts. And

Neighborhood man Jay-Z grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant and having Brooklyn as part of the Netsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; name was important to him, as is offering affordable tickets and supporting local charities. Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci sweatshirt, QR2040; bergdorfgoodman.com. BLK DNM jeans, 545; Nike shoes, QR320; nikestore.com. 95

when it comes to talent, ‘‘You just never know — there is no gauge. You don’t see when it’s empty.’’ In the years since his masterpiece ‘‘Reasonable Doubt,’’ the rapper has often been accused of running on empty, too distant now from what once made him real. In ‘‘Decoded,’’ he answers existentially: ‘‘How distant is the story of your own life ever going to be?’’ In the lyrics, practically: Life stories told through rap/Niggas actin’ like I sold you crack/Like I told you sell drugs, no, Hov’ did that/So hopefully you won’t have to go through that. But can’t a rapper insist, like other artists, on a fictional reality, in which he is somehow still on the corner, despite occupying the penthouse suite? Out hustlin’, same clothes for days/I’ll never change, I’m too stuck in my ways. Can’t he still rep his block? For Jay-Z, pride in the block has been essential and he recognized rap’s role in taking ‘‘that embarrassment off of you. The first time people were saying: I come from here — and it’s O.K.’’ He quotes Mobb Deep: ‘‘No matter how much money I get, I’m staying in the projects!’’ But here, too, he sees change: ‘‘Before, if you didn’t have that authenticity, your career could be over. Vanilla Ice said he got stabbed or something, they found out he was lying, 96

he was finished.’’ I suggested to him that many readers of this newspaper would find it bizarre that the reputation of the rapper Rick Ross was damaged when it was revealed a few years ago that he was, at one time, a prison guard. ‘‘But again,’’ Jay says, ‘‘I think hip-hop has moved away from that place of everything has to be authentic. Kids are growing up very differently now.’’ Sure are. Odd Future. Waka Flocka Flame. Chief Keef. Returning to what appear to be the basic building blocks of rap: shock tactics, obscenity, perversely simplistic language. After the sophistication of Rakim, Q-Tip, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Jay himself, are we back on the corner again? ‘‘Yeah, but Tupac was an angel compared to these artists!’’ He shakes his head, apparently amused at himself. And it’s true: listening to a Tupac record these days feels like listening to a pleasant slice of Sinatra. But Jay-Z does not suffer from nostalgia. He loves Odd Future and their punk rock vibe. He sees their anger as a general ‘‘aversion to corporate America,’’ particularly as far as it has despoiled the planet. ‘‘People have a real aversion to what people in power did to the country. So they’re just lashing out, like: ‘This is the son that you made. Look at your son. Look at what you’ve done.’ ’’ But surely another thing they’re reacting against, in the Harold Bloom ‘‘anxiety of influence’’ sense, is the gleaming $460 million monument of Hova himself. Years ago, Martin Amis wrote a funny story, ‘‘Career Move,’’ in which the screenwriters live like poets, starving in garrets, while the poets chillax poolside, fax their verses to agents in Los Angeles and earn millions off a sonnet. Last year’s ‘‘Watch the Throne,’’ a collaboration with Kanye, concerns the coming to pass of that alternative reality. Hundred stack/How you get it? Jay-Z asks Kanye on ‘‘Gotta Have It.’’ The answer seems totally improbable, and yet it’s the truth: Layin’ raps on tracks! Fortunes made from rhyming verse. Which is what makes ‘‘Watch the Throne’’ interesting: it fully expresses black America’s present contradictions. It’s a celebration of black excellence/Black tie, black Maybachs/Black excellence, opulence, decadence. But it’s also a bitter accounting of the losses in a long and unfinished war. Kanye raps: I feel the pain in my city wherever I go/314 soldiers died in Iraq/509 died in Chicago. Written by a couple of millionaire businessmen on the fly (‘‘Like ‘New Day,’ Kanye told me that — the actual rap — last year at the Met Ball, in my ear at dinner’’), it really shouldn’t be as good as it is. But somehow their brotherly rivalry creates real energy despite the mammoth production. And in one vital way the process of making it was unusually intimate: ‘‘Most people nowadays — because of technology — send music back and forth.’’ But this was just two men ‘‘sitting in a room, and really talking about this.’’ At its most sublime — the ridiculously enjoyable ‘‘Niggas in Paris’’ — you feel a strong pull in both men toward sheer abandon, pure celebration. Didn’t we earn this? Can’t we sit back and enjoy it? It’s a song that doesn’t want to be responsible, or to be asked the old, painful questions. Who cares if they’re keeping it real? Or even making sense? Check that beat! Then there’s that word. ‘‘It’s a lot of pain and a lot of hurt and a lot of things going on beyond, beneath that.’’ He offers an analogy: ‘‘If your kid was acting up, you’d be like, ‘What is wrong with you?’ If they have a bellyache — ‘Oh, you ate all the cotton candy.’ You’d make these comparisons, you’d see a link. You’d psychoanalyze the situation.’’ Rappers use language as a form of asymmetrical warfare. How else to explain George W. Bush’s extraordinary contention that a line spoken by a rapper — ‘‘George Bush doesn’t care about black people’’ — was ‘‘one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency’’? But there have always been these people for whom rap language is more scandalous than the urban deprivation rap describes. On ‘‘Who Gon Stop Me,’’ Jay-Z asks that we ‘‘please pardon all the curses’’ because ‘‘when you’re growing up worthless,’’ well, things come out that way. Black hurt, black self-esteem. It’s the contradictory pull of the ‘‘cipher,’’ rap terminology for the circle that forms around the kind of freestyling kid Jay-Z once was. What a word! Cipher (noun): 1. A secret or disguised way of writing; a code. 2. A key to such a code. 3. A person or thing of no importance. ‘‘Watch the Throne’’ celebrates two men’s escape from that circle of negation. It paints the world black: black bar mitzvahs, black cars, paintings of black girls in the MoMA, all black everything, as if it might be possible in a single album to peel back thousands of years of negative connotation. Black no longer the shadow or the reverse or the opposite of something but now the thing itself. But living this fantasy proves problematic: Only

spot a few blacks the higher I go/What’s up to Will? Shout-out to O/That ain’t enough, we gon’ need a million more/Kick in the door, Biggie flow/I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go. You’re 1 percent of the 1 percent. So what now? Power to the people, when you see me, see you! But that just won’t do. It’s Jay-Z who’s in Paris, after all, not the kids in the Marcy Houses, the housing project in Brooklyn where he grew up. Jay-Z knows this. He gets a little agitated when the subject of Zuccotti Park comes up: ‘‘What’s the thing on the wall, what are you fighting for?’’ He says he told Russell Simmons, the rap mogul, the same: ‘‘I’m not going to a park and picnic, I have no idea what to do, I don’t know what the fight is about. What do we want, do you know?’’ Jay-Z likes clarity: ‘‘I think all those things need to really declare themselves a bit more clearly. Because when you just say that ‘the 1 percent is that,’ that’s not true. Yeah, the 1 percent that’s robbing people, and deceiving people, these fixed mortgages and all these things, and then taking their home away from them, that’s criminal, that’s bad. Not being an entrepreneur. This is free enterprise. This is what America is built on.’’

It’s

so weird watching rappers becoming elder statesmen. I’m out for presidents to represent me. Well, now they do — and not only on dollar bills. Heavy responsibility lands on the shoulders of these unacknowledged legislators whose poetry is only, after all, four decades young. Jay-Z’s ready for it. He has his admirable Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, putting disadvantaged kids through college. He’s spoken in support of gay rights. He’s curating music festivals and investing in environmental technologies. This October, his beloved Nets take up residence in their new home — the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. And he has some canny, forward-looking political instincts: ‘‘I was speaking to my friend James, who’s from London, we were talking about something else, I just stopped and I was like, ‘What’s going to happen in London?’ This was maybe a month before the riots. He was like, ‘What?’ I said: ‘The culture of black people there, they’re not participating in changing the direction of the country. What’s gonna happen there?’ He actually called me when it blew up, he was like, ‘You know, I didn’t really understand your question, or the timing of it, until now.’ ’’ But still I think ‘‘conscious’’ rap fans hope for something more from him; to see, perhaps, a final severing of this link, in hip-hop, between material riches and true freedom. (Though why we should expect rappers to do this ahead of the rest of America isn’t clear.) It would take real forward thinking. Of his own ambitions for the future, he says: ‘‘I don’t want to do anything that isn’t true.’’ Maybe the next horizon will stretch beyond philanthropy and Maybach collections. Meanwhile, back in the rank and file, you still hear the old cry go up: Hip-hop is dead! Which really means that our version of it (the one we knew in our youth) has passed. But

nothing could be duller than a ’90s hip-hop bore. Lil Wayne? Give me Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Nicki Minaj? Please. Foxy Brown. Odd Future? WU TANG CLAN 4EVAH. Listening to Jay-Z — still so flexible and enthusiastic, ears wide open — you realize you’re like one of these people who believes jazz died with Dizzy. The check comes. You will be unsurprised to hear the Jiggaman paid. At the last minute, I remembered to ask after his family, ‘‘Oh, my family’s amazing.’’ And the baby? ‘‘She’s four months.’’ Marcy raised me, and whether right or wrong/Streets gave me all I write in the song. But what will TriBeCa give Blue? ‘‘I actually thought about that more before she was born. Once she got here I’ve been in shock until maybe last week?’’ Her childhood won’t be like his, and this fact he takes in his stride. ‘‘We would fight each other. My brother would beat me up,’’ he says, but it was all in preparation for the outside. ‘‘I was going to have to fight, I was going to have to go through some things, and they were preparing me.’’ He smiles: ‘‘She doesn’t have to be tough. She has to love herself, she has to know who she is, she has to be respectful, and be a moral person.’’ It’s a new day. n Watch the throne The arena’s 11 courtside luxury suites will be centered around a Champagne bar. Ralph Lauren Purple Label sweater, QR2530; ralphlauren.com. Ralph Lauren Black Label shirt, QR1075; ralphlauren.com. BLK DNM jeans, QR545. Tom Ford eyeglasses, QR1,275; Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, QR60,000. Opposite: Gucci jacket, QR17,800; mrporter.com. Jeans, shoes and shirt from previous photos. Fashion associate: Rae Boxer. Fashion assistants: Olivia Jade Horner and Elena Hale. Set design by Mary Howard. 97

at ease military details, boxy proportions and bold color blocking rule the school. left: belstaff coat, QR8,750; j. w. anderson sweater, QR2895; net-a-porter.com. tommy hilfiger pants, QR3270. robert clergerie shoes (on both), QR1960; right: belstaff coat, QR10,375. j. w. anderson sweater, QR2895. sacai skirt, price on request; noodle stories, los angeles. Opposite, left: céline coat, qr26,208, top, QR6,900, and pants, QR5,280; blake, chicago. maria tash earrings (worn throughout), QR395 each; mariatash. com. adidas footwear shoes (on both), QR240; adidas.com. right: bally coat, QR43,680; bally.com. creatures of the wind dress, QR9,500; net-aporter.com.

* All prices indicative. For availability & boutique details check Brand Directory on Page 102.

photographs by TYRONE LEBON FASHION EDITOR: SARA MOONVES

the incoats crowd and capes that stand out from the pack.

ahead of the class All grown up in silks and furs — curfew be damned. from left: nina ricci coat, QR20,750; barneys.com. Carine Gilson Lingerie Couture dress, QR4,900; net-aporter.com. balenciaga by nicolas ghesquière shoes, QR19,110. center: balenciaga by nicolas ghesquière top, QR10,375, skirt, QR41,840, and shoes, QR20,570. right: nina ricci coat, special order; barneys New York. rochas shirt, QR4,650; rochas.com. rochas pants, QR3,640; barneys. com. balenciaga by nicolas ghesquière shoes, QR7,116. opposite, left: alexander m cqueen coat, QR58,225. alexander m cqueen belt, QR6150; for similar styles, go to alexandermcqueen .com. adidas footwear shoes (on both), QR240. right: sportmax coat, QR11,100.

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hardly Uniform from hardware to hoods, nonconformity is in the details. left: chloé cape, QR21,460. comme des garçons shirt girl dress, QR1400; theory shirt, QR820; theory.com. j. w. anderson shoes (on both), by special order; j-w-anderson.co.uk. moncler gamme rouge coat, price on request; moncler.com. comme des garçons shirt girl dress, QR2075, and shirt, QR1780. opposite, left: longchamp coat, QR8660; longchamp .com. band of outsiders shirt, QR1020; bergdorfgoodman .com. valentino shorts, $3,600. j. w. anderson shoes (on all). center: michael kors coat, QR14,540. dolce & gabbana bustier, QR1,075; dolcegabbana.it. altuzarra skirt, QR6,170; Bergdorfgoodman.com. right: mulberry coat, QR4,900; mulberry.com. fendi top, QR7355, and skirt, QR31,260.

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skirts and skins little miss prim toughens up with chunky shearling and edgy leather. valentino cape, QR29,000, and blouse, QR4000; bergdorfgoodman.com. For perfectly messy hair, combine René Furterer NATURIA dry shampoo (1.6 ounces, QR45) and VEGETAL MOUSSE (QR85); beauty.com. Opposite, left: valentino cape, 29,050, and blouse, QR4,000. michael kors skirt, QR4,300. j. w. anderson shoes (on all). center: loewe cape, QR25,300; loewe.com. band of outsiders shirt, 1020; south willard, los angeles. creatures of the wind skirt, QR2165; net-aporter.com. right: rodarte coat, price on request, and dress, price on request; elyse walker, Los Angeles. fashion associate: Rae Boxer. Fashion assistant: olivia jade horner. makeup by francelle. hair by tamara mcnaughton using René Furterer. manicure by Megumi Yamamoto for essie. casting by the establishment. models: kate king, hannah holman, juliana schurig, Kremi Otashliyska, charlene almarvez.

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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

Adolfo Dominguez

Lagoon Mall - 44811317

A. Lange & Sohne

Al Majed Jewelry - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44478888

Agent Provocateur

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

Franck Muller

John Galliano

Calvin Klein Collection

Frette

Just Cavalli

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1831 10 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2561

Carolina Herrera

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134748

Cartier

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

Alexander McQueen

Celine

Amouage

Chloe

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2231 51 East -Al Maha Center - Salwa Road - 44257777

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134763 7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2181

Armani Exchange

Christian Dior

Balmain

Chopard

Balenciaga

Cugini

Villaggio Mall - 44161005

51 East - Al Maha Center - Salwa Road - 44257777 6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1861

Banana Republic

Villaggio Mall 44135222/44507961

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

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44135222/44134665 Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44519900 2 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1471

Damiani

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

David Morris

Ali Bin Ali Watches & Jewelry Royal Plaza - 44131391

Diesel

Salam Stores - 44485555 4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1701

Dolce & Gabbana

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44161007

Blumarine

Domenico Vacca

Boss Orange

Dunhill

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1811 Salam Plaza - 44485555 The Mall - 44551325 Porto Arabia,The Pearl Qatar 44953876 Extn 1521

Bottega Veneta

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44507354

Breitling

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

Brioni

51 East -Al Maha Center - Salwa Road - 44257777

Burberry

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134551

Bvlgari

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134568

Boucheron

Lagoona Mall 44361111/44335555

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Canali

1 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1061 Royal Plaza - 44131381 Villaggio Mall - 44134788

Diptyque

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2241

Elie Saab

Zai - Salwa Road - 44092600

Emporio Armani

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2161

Ermenegildo Zegna

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134765

Fendi

Al Majed Jewelry - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44478888 Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44600945

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44519900 Royal Plaza - 44360560 Landmark Shopping Mall 44874331

Galliano

4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1771

Georg Jensen

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2251

GF Ferre

4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1631/1641

Giorgio Armani

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

Giovanni Ferraris

Al Muftah Jewelry - Al Sadd 44441320 Al Muftah Jewelry - Royal Plaza 44131341 Al Muftah Jewelry - City Centre 44833000

Giuseppe Zanotti Design

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

Givenchy

The Mall - 44678888/44667406

Gucci

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134612

Harry Winston

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44519900

Harmont & Blaine

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

Hermes

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1911/2041

Hublot

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

Hugo Boss

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

Ice Iceberg

4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1651

Jaeger LeCoulture

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

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2301 4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1751

Kenzo

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

Lacoste

Villaggio Mall - 44507191 Landmark Shopping Mall 44887604

Lanvin Paris

Zai - Salwa Road - 44092600

LeoPizzo

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

4 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1691

Montblanc

Villaggio Mall - 44507009 The Mall - 44674920 The Four Seasons Hotel 44935288/44948448

Mulberry

1 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 - Extn 1111

Messika

Royal Plaza - 44131391

Nespresso

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

Omega

Rivoli Prestige - City Center 44833679 Rivoli Prestige - Villaggio Mall 44519750 Rivoli Prestige - Landmark Shopping Mall - 44873190 Rivoli Prestige - The Mall 44678866

PAMELLATO

Ali Bin Ali W&J - Royal Plaza 44131391

Pal Zileri

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

Panerai

Villaggio Mall 44135222/44519866

Patek Philippe

Al Majed Jewelry - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44478888

Prada

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44135222

Qatar Executive

Qatar Airways Office - Airport Road - 44453800

Ralph Lauren

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44135655

Rene Caovilla

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1851

Richard Mille

Ali Bin Ali W & J - Royal Plaza 44131391

Roberto Cavalli

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2151

Romain Jerome

Ali Bin Ali W & J - Royal Plaza 44131391

Rolex

51 East -Al Maha Center - Salwa Road - 44361111/44257777

Repossi

Ali Bin Ali W&J - Royal Plaza 44131391

Schreiner

Ali Bin Ali W & J - Royal Plaza 44131391

Sonia Rykiel

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1801

Sephora

Landmark Shopping Mall 44875222 Villaggio Mall - 44135222

Sergio Rossi

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876

Salvatore Ferragamo

1 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1941

Sormani Restaurant

S.T. Dupont

Royal Plaza - 44341765

Swarovski

Landmark Shopping Mall 44838158

Tanagra

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134780

Qatar

Tod's

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134937

Tiffany & Co.

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44134976

where style lives.

Tom Ford

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44831027

Valentino

Villaggio Mall- Via Domo 44135222/44161008

Van Cleef & Arpels

Villaggio Mall - 44169399

Vera Wang

1 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 5157

Vertu

Rivoli Prestige - City Center 44833679 Rivoli Prestige - Landmark Shopping Mall - 44873190 Rivoli Prestige - The Mall 44678866 Rivoli Prestige - Villaggio Mall 44519750

Versace Collection

Villaggio Mall - 44135437

Virgin Megastore

Villaggio Mall - 44135824 Landmark Shopping Mall 44182242

Weekend Max Mara

2 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1611

Zenith

Blue Salon - Suhaim Bin Hamad Street - 44466111

51 East

City Center Doha Salwa Road - 44257777

Blue Salon

Suhaim Bin Hamad Street 44466111/44678888

Emporium

Suhaim Bin Hamad Street 44375796/44375798

Lagoona Mall

West Bay - 44257766

Royal Plaza

6 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 1941

Stella McCartney

7 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 44953876 Extn 2281

139

Al Sadd Street - 44130000

Salam Studio & Stores

Salam Plaza - Near City Centre 44485555 Salam Stores - The Mall 44672200

The Mall

D-Ring Road - 44678888

The Gate

Maysaloun Street - West Bay 44932524/44077201

Villaggio

Al Waab Street - 44135222

1 La Croissette Porto Arabia -The Pearl Qatar - 77825300

Stefano Ricci

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

Write to us if you have a question, comment or need help finding a fashion brand retailer. For any additions, amendments or corrections please contact us at info@omsqatar.com.

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the Prophet Prepare to love a poet, to get poems stuck in your head like they were pop songs — like it was the age of Homer or Milton or Poe, when poets were pop stars. According to the 24-year-old M.F.A. dropout Steve Roggenbuck, ‘‘We are entering a golden age of literature’’ that is perfect for poetry. Chunks of verse should populate the ‘‘content streams’’ on phones and Facebook feeds. His do. Roggenbuck might be the first 21st-century poet. The Internet’s staccato vernacular comes alive in his work, as does the vernacular of everyday life. References to Justin Bieber — even repeatedly calling things ‘‘beautiful’’ or saying ‘‘I want you’’ — feel profound. He reaches an audience that dwarfs those of traditional journals. But he’s polarizing. He makes odd videos that, at first glance, resemble sloppy blogs. He reads poems from his printed book over music on YouTube. He creates Twitter- and Tumblr-friendly image macros by setting words in Helvetica on top of puppy or nebula photos. Some in the establishment say he’s not a poet. Others, like Don Share, senior editor of Poetry Magazine, consider Roggenbuck the kind of new voice that one rarely finds. Daily life ‘‘often filters through to poetry, but in a studied, literary way,’’ he explains. ‘‘The liveliness in Steve’s work is direct — deceptively so. You connect right away. But what he does is complicated. It’s disruptive. It bears rereading.’’ And retweeting. jacob brown 108

P H O T O G R A P H B Y Y elena yemchuk . fashion editor : R ae boxer .

Steve Roggenbuck wears his own ‘‘live my lief’’ t-shirt printed on alta gracia tee, $20; livemylief.com. ethletic fair trade, ethically produced shoes, $54; autonomieproject.com. fashion assistant: alex tudela. grooming by kristi matamoros at kate ryan inc. for ck one cosmetics.

timely