VOLUME V / ISSUE VI / JUNE 2021
G R A N D P R I X D E M O N AC O TEHRAN'S FERDOWSKI CUP
I N T E R C O L L E G I AT E / I N T E R S C H O L A S T I C SPRING POLO
ITALIAN NOBLES DUKE IT OUT
VOLUME V / ISSUE VI / JUNE 2021
Ambassador Claude-Alix Bertrand Publisher
Joshua Jakobitz Editor-in-Chief
Claire Barrett
Head of Photography
Eva Espresso
Contributing Photographer
Cezar Kusik
Wine Contributor
Raphael K. Dapaah Art Contributor
Jyoti Paintel
Spiritual Contributor
Stanley Pierre-Etienne Style Contributor
Anne-Isabelle Saint-Pierre Style Contributor
Philippe Lucas
Luxury Contributor Brand Representatives Anne-Isabelle Saint-Pierre - Dubai Michael J. Snell - The Hamptons Stanley Pierre-Etienne Caribbean Jessica Foret Wax - Santa Fe Charles Ward - Montecito K & Co. Media - Los Angeles Contributing Photographers Bahareh Asgari Global Polo Entertainment
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Gregory Bertrand Copy Editor
Katerina Morgan
Contributing Photographer
Michael J. Snell
Lifestyles Contributor
Charles Ward
Mansions of the Month Curator
Joey Velez
Wellness Columnist
Brett Chody
Trends Contributor
William Smith
Philanthropy Contributor
Panthil Dwivedi
Wellness Contributor Polo Lifestyles is a publication of HT Polo Publishing Co. 995 Detroit Avenue, Suite A Concord, CA 94518 Content Copyright © Polo Lifestyles 2020 All Rights Reserved. For information or to advertise Contact editor@htpolo.com Read online at www.pololifestyles.com Cover Photo of Amir Reza Behbudi by Bahareh Asgari
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ROYAL COUNTY OF BERKSHIRE POLO CLUB Prince of Wales Trophy GUARDS POLO CLUB The Phoenician Cup Cartier Queen's Cup Indian Empire Shield Cup COWDRAY PARK POLO CLUB The Gold Cup British Ladies Open Championships GHANTOOT RACING & POLO CLUB Al Amal Polo Day for Charity HH President of UAE Polo Cup MARRAKECH POLO CLUB International Women's Day Polo Cup GREENWICH POLO CLUB East Coast Open INANDA CLUB AON International Polo Cell C Africa Cup The Africa Polo Open SANTA BARBARA POLO & RACQUET CLUB USPA Silver Cup The Pacific Coast Open DOMAINE DE CHANTILLY POLO Rider Cup Coupe PGH Trophee de Bourbon The Polo Rider Cup Open de France
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SCOREBOARDS & COCKTAILS S O C I A L D I S T A N C I N G P O L O
FERDOWSKI CUP
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS FROM TEHRAN page 48 POLO LIFESTYLES EDITORS & CONTRIBUTORS
Ambassador Claude-Alix Bertrand Publisher Polo Lifestyles @haiti_polo_captain
Panthil Dwivedi
Wellness Contributor PanthilWrites.com @panthildwivedi
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Josh Jakobitz
Editor-in-Chief Polo Lifestyles @joshuajakobitz
Charles Ward
Mansions of the Month IdeaWorks Global @ideaworksglobal
Claire Barrett
Head of Photography
Claire Barrett Photography
@clairebarrettphoto
Eva Espresso Photographer
Eva Espresso Photography
@eva.espresso
Raphael K. Dapaah
Jyoti Paintel
Art Contributor Dapaah Gallery @dapaahgallery
Spiritual Contributor Polo Lifestyles @jyotipaintel
Michael J. Snell
Gregory Bertrand
Lifestyles Contributor MJS Groupe @agnello_1
Copy Editor Polo Lifestyles @bertrand7367
Cezar Kusik
Wine Contributor Polo Lifestyles @cezartastesearth
Joey Velez
Brett Chody
Trends Contributor Polo Lifestyles @brettchody
William Smith
Wellness Columnist
Philanthropy Contributor
@velezmentalhealth
@willismith_2000
Velez Mental Performance May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust
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The self-taught polo horse sculptor, page 114
The ultimate man cave accessories, page 120
The cool, cool-climate wines Tiffany new men's engageof the Finger Lakes, page 140 ment ring, page 108
YOUR PASSPORT TO TAKE OFF
Countries and governments are opening back up to travelers and tourists. What does the fine print mean for vaccinated travelers? Page 86
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FERDOWSKI CUP TEHRAN
W
E CHANGED THE JUNE COVER PHOTO 18 HOURS BEFORE PRESS DEADLINE. AT THE LAST MINUTE, WE RECEIVED PHOTOS FROM THE FERDOWSKI CUP IN TEHRAN FROM IRANIAN PHOTOGRAPHER BAHAREH ASGARI. THE PHOTOS ARE SIMPLY STUNNING: DEPICTING ACTION, INTENSITY AND MOVEMENT, DEPTH AND ENERGY. THESE ARE COVER OPTIONS, WE SAID. TRY THIS ONE. TRY THAT ONE. THAT’S IT. THAT ONE. And so, we changed the cover. We scrapped and swapped the cover story along with it. It reminded me of my daily newspaper days in the early 2000s when the next morning’s headlines could change as the day evolved. The last-minute change allowed us to finesse a few other aspects of this month’s curation. The June issue is better for it. Magazines are like people, I suppose. Our circumstances can make us better if we’re open to that. One particularly fun story this month, “Home (Office) Sweet Home,” is something that trends contributor Brett Chody pulled together in record time. She might have felt, in the moment, that I was making her pull a rabbit out of a hat, but I wouldn’t be much of an editor if I didn’t insist on a miracle fairly frequently. There’s a lesson to be learned in capacity and resilience when you can surprise yourself, find inspiration within your own context and run with an idea. I must also tell you that you need to read Cezar Kusik’s guide to the Finger Lakes wine region. Even if you’re more of a beer guy or gal. The Finger Lakes just sound like a slice of heaven – and every major American sparkling wine has been produced there at some point. Plus, it’s the American Dream come true for the Finger Lakes wine region founder, Dr. Konstantin Frank. As many parts of the world are slowly opening back up after a long year of the pandemic, the rules on travel vary significantly from country to country. This month, we’re bringing the latest-breaking information available to you – where we can travel, how we can travel and what to expect before and after arriving. The nuances are likely to be annoying and perhaps overwhelming at times. Oftentimes, the rules won’t make sense and it will feel unfair. But I think what we must keep in mind is that we’re all trying as hard as we can to get through this, whatever this is. The world has changed, just like the cover of this magazine. And we’re going to be better for it. Josh Jakobitz josh@pololifestyles.com
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VOLUME V / ISSUE VI / JUNE 2021
_54kibo The unique architecture of Portau-Prince's gingerbread houses in tapestries by @yaeletvalerie
burgenstockresort Breakfast with a view is on everyone's bucket list right now as countries and travel open back up
official_jat_kshatriya_culture
The Patiala and Viceroy Polo Teams back in the day in India page 22
uspoloassnpty Summer cotton and linen for men in fun pastel colors are great for the beach, at work or at home
byfthtzcn_horsephoto Smiles and cuddles with ponies in the barn before riding lessons and the day's training
olivier_rousteing Janet Jackson inspired this classic remake shot with Balmain's Olivier Rousteing and Cara Delevingne
art_full_services Behind the scenes shooting the feature for Vernissage this month @joseignaciodomecq
dapaahgallery Richard Mensah, Okomfo Anokye (2021) Happy Africa Day
rallypointeast The Hamptons' most exclusive, membership-only club featured last month in Polo Lifestyles
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Click and comment on our choices... Tag @pololifestyles. We will share noteworthy comments with you next month.
baharrrasgari Iranian photographer Bahare Asgari took this month's cover photo and the photos from Ferdowski Cup
irinakazaridi The perennial equestrian portrait photographer of St-Tropez is killing it with her work
taragrayjewelry The 14K White Gold Diamond Mallet Ring will put a smile on your favorite polo players face today
bernardaud Adding some sparkle to our lives, Bernardaud's porcelain is a welcome addition to our Art De La Table
naomi Supermodel Naomi Campbell became a mother... Congratulations from all of us!
valentinaquinnstudios The official launch of POLO, a film from Quinn Studio Entertainment and Nereides Productions
brownharrisstevens More Mansions of the Month listings for exclusive properties and highly qualified buyers
gillesmarini
Polo Lifestyles September 2020 cover model, Gilles Marini, has been digging into the archives
woolmay_mayden A equestrian celebration of Haitian Heritage in Brazil page 23
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GRAN D P R IX
D E M ON ACO 20 21
R E D B U L L' S V E R S T A P P E N
WINS HIS FIRST RACE IN MONACO
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GRAND PRIX DE MONACO HIGHLIGHTS HOMETOWN FAVORITE CHARLES LECLERC DROPS OUT MAX VERSTAPPEN CLINCHES FIRST WIN IN MONACO LEWIS HAMILTON FALLS IN DRIVERS' RANKING
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Red Bull's Max Verstappen is victorious in Monaco on Sunday, May 23, 2021.
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T
HE DRAMA IN MONACO BEGAN EVEN BEFORE THE RACE START AS POLESITTER CHARLES LECLERC – GIVEN A CLEAN BILL OF GEARBOX HEALTH BY FERRARI ON SUNDAY MORNING AFTER HIS CRASH IN Q3 YESTERDAY – SUFFERED AN ISSUE WITH HIS LEFT-HAND DRIVESHAFT ON HIS LAPS TO THE GRID. FERRARI’S SPORTING DIRECTOR LAURENT MEKIES DULY RADIOED TO FIA RACE DIRECTOR MICHAEL MASI HALF AN HOUR BEFORE THE GRAND PRIX WAS DUE TO GET UNDER WAY TO SAY THAT LECLERC WOULD NOT BE STARTING THE RACE – LECLERC’S HOMETOWN CURSE APPEARING TO STRIKE AGAIN.
That meant Max Verstappen lined up at the head of the field in front of a broken-hearted partisan crowd, with Valtteri Bottas bumped up to P2, while Ferrari’s sole hopes of a result rested on Carlos Sainz, now in third. As the lights went out, Verstappen’s rear wheels slewed off the line as he unleashed his Honda power unit’s torque – but the Dutchman got going enough to move aggressively over on Bottas, using the threat of Armco to arrest the Finn’s progress and maintain his advantage, the order staying the same as Bottas led Sainz, McLaren’s Lando Norris, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton through Sainte Devote. Verstappen breezed to his maiden Monaco Grand Prix win over Sainz and Norris and Verstappen also now claims the lead of the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career after Hamilton finished a disappointing P7. It was Verstappen's second win of the season and his first podium in Monaco.
“You always want to win this Grand Prix,” said Verstappen. “I remember when I was very little already watching this Grand Prix. Standing here I’m very proud but I’m also thinking ahead it’s still a very long season. Of course, it’s a great way to continue.” In an off-day for world champions Mercedes, a disgruntled Hamilton could do no better than seventh (the same position he started) to lose his lead of the championship to Verstappen – who now heads Hamilton 105 points to 101 – while Bottas had even worse luck, after a stuck right-front tire in his pit stop forced him into retirement. That left former McLaren teammates Sainz and Norris P2 and P3, Sainz now at Ferrari salvaging the day for the Scuderia to take his first podium in red, while some brilliant strategy from Red Bull allowed Sergio Perez to overcut his way from P8 to P4 in the pit stops. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel did similar to take P5, for by far his and his page 29
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G RA N D P R IX D E MON ACO 2 02 1
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team’s best finish of the year – Vettel maintaining his record of never being classified lower than P5 in a race he’s finished in Monaco – while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was able to hold off Hamilton’s Mercedes to claim P6, Hamilton salvaging a bonus point for fastest lap after a late second stop. Starting on hard tires from P13 paid dividends for Lance Stroll, who made a 58-lap stint work to claim P8 and add to Aston Martin’s joy in Monte Carlo. He finished ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, while Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi took Alfa Romeo’s first point of the season after claiming 10th. For Verstappen, though, Leclerc’s DNS in Monaco provided him with a golden opportunity – and the Dutchman didn’t falter, defiantly hitting back in the title fight against Hamilton, and adding a Monaco Grand Prix win to his CV for good measure. It’s from one city circuit to another, as F1 heads to Baku for the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took pole and the win back in 2019 when F1 last raced here – but who will triumph in 2021?
Red Bull's Max Verstappen is 2021's champion in Monaco
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G RA N D P R IX D E MON ACO 2 02 1
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Top left: Red Bull's Max Verstappen makes a turn in Monaco and top right: Verstappen's first time on Le Podium in Monaco
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Bottom left: Lewis Hamilton pre-race, bottom center: the pit crew works on Max Verstappen's car, bottom left: Charles LeClerc was forced to drop out of his hometown race just minutes before the start
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G RA N D P R IX D E MON ACO 2 02 1
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INTERCOL L E G I AT E IN TERS C H OL AST I C P OLO
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Legends Polo Club in Kaufman, Texas, was filled with passionate Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) alumni the weekend of April 24 and 25 as they competed for the 2021 Feldman Cup. This year’s Feldman Cup drew former players from Culver Academies, University of Oklahoma (OU), University of Texas (UT), Texas A&M (TAMU), page 40
Southern Methodist University (SMU), and Texas Tech for an amazing weekend of old-school rivalry and competitive arena polo. Horsemanship was also in top form with players bringing in their personal horses as well as horses from Legends Polo Club and the Texas A&M polo program. The 2021 Feldman Cup hosted six teams overall, four vying for the coveted spot on the Feldman Cup trophy, and two teams
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in the newly-added B-flight. After a strong performance in the A-flight semifinal, Texas Mustangs defeated Triple Threat to claim the Feldman Cup final 17-14. Meanwhile in the B-flight, the all-women team Long Horned Cowgirls came away with the narrow two-goal victory on net goals. The first semifinal of the A-flight pitted Texas Mustangs (Zain Saud, Jason Atkins, August Scherer) against Hufflepuff (Cuatro Tolson, Don English, Megan Rahlfs) with Hufflepuff receiving one goal on handicap. Scherer and Atkins each scored one goal for Texas Mustangs which was answered by Tolson and Rahlfs. Texas Mustangs ended the first chukker awarded a Penalty 1 as well as a pony goal from the other team to end the chukker with the narrow 4-3 lead. Three goals from Scherer and one from Tolson in the second took the teams to halftime with a score of 7-4 in favor of Texas Mustangs. A high-scoring third chukker saw Saud and Scherer both add to the tally to pick up four goals total. Rahlfs led the opposing team with three to bring the score to 11-10 in favor of Texas Mustangs. “The key success of our team dynamic was that each of us recognized our roles early on and stuck to them throughout and it got us the win!” Saud commented. The energy was high headed into the fourth and all six players upped their game, but Texas Mustangs earned their place in the final 16-13.
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The Texas Mustangs entered the Feldman Cup final on the second day of competition ready to face Triple Threat (Laura Straussfeld, Brady Williams, Mark Osburn) who was awarded three goals on handicap. In the first chukker Texas Mustangs came out strong with five goals, but two goals from Straussfeld leveled the playing field 5-all. Play heated up in the second with Straussfeld and Williams each scoring a goal for Triple Threat, but Scherer retaliated with six goals to take the game into half with a score of 11-7 in favor of Texas Mustangs. Triple Threat rallied in the third and upped their defensive game with four goals. Texas Mustangs hung onto the lead with one goal contributed from each teammate, bringing the third chukker to a close with a score of 14-11. The final chukker saw some strong play both offensively and defensively from all six players and incredible horsemanship. Scherer jumped out with the first goal of the fourth and was answered by two goals from Straussfeld and one from Osburn. A strong offensive force, Scherer sealed the win with three additional goals ending the game 17-14 with a Feldman Cup win for Texas Mustangs. Participating in the inaugural Feldman Cup in 2014, Atkins was excited for the opportunity to reunite with fellow alumni again. “It’s great to see people I haven’t seen in a while,” Atkins said. “Robin [Sanchez] always does such a great job putting these events together. If you ask who are the people that
keep I/I polo going, I guarantee her name will always come up.” August Scherer was named Most Valuable Player. “It was an awesome weekend and successful event at Legends Polo Club,” Scherer said. “Our strategy was focused around throw-in execution, creating picks to create space, and aligning our horse strings correctly. Also the Saturday barbecue was undoubtedly the highlight with great food, atmosphere, and karaoke!” “My strategy was basically riding people off and staying out of August’s [Scherer] way,” Atkins added. “He is a machine!” Best Playing Pony honors were presented to Platinum, owned and played by Brady Williams. Don English was awarded the Sportsmanship Award. The Horsemanship Award was given to Stephanie Massey Colburn. “The best part about the tournament was seeing familiar faces again and rekindling some old rivalries,” Saud said. “All the games in the tournament were very evenly-matched games and a high level of polo was played throughout.” “It was great seeing people from before, after, and during my time in I/I,” Triple Threat’s Straussfeld added. “We are all still quite competitive. Our team did well because we’d all been competing in TAL and even though we hadn’t played together before we knew each other’s playing styles.” page 45
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F ERDOWS KI C UP
NOW R OZ A BA D P OLO C LUB, TEHRA N
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY BAHAREH ASGARI
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F E R D O W S K I C U P, T E H R A N
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY BAHAREH ASGARI
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F E R D O W S K I C U P, T E H R A N
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY BAHAREH ASGARI
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F E R D O W S K I C U P, T E H R A N
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BAHAREH ASGARI page 55
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BAHAREH ASGARI
F E R D O W S K I C U P, T E H R A N
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MJS GROUPE
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HIGH SOCIETY
CAVALLINO 30
THREE DECADES OF HORSEPOWER AND DESIGN EXCELLENCE page 61
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CAVALLINO 30:
THREE DECADES OF EXCELLENCE IN PALM BEACH
MICHAEL J. SNELL Luxury Contributor
@agnello_1
T
HE BREAKERS PALM BEACH IS HOME TO ONE OF THE MOST EXHILARATING EVENTS OF THE AUTOMOTIVE YEAR, THE CAVALLINO CLASSIC, A CELEBRATION AND DISPLAY OF SOME OF THE WORLD’S FINEST FERRARIS. THIS EVENT HOLDS THE QUINTESSENTIAL ATTRACTION FOR THOSE WHO ENJOY THE NOSTALGIA OF FINELY MADE AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY ALONGSIDE AN ACTION-PACKED WEEKEND AT ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DESTINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MJS GROUPE
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HIGH SOCIETY
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After its initial postponement due to the pandemic, The Cavallino Classic came back with its illustrious three-day event schedule for enthusiasts and attendees to partake in several of the activities. The Cavallino Classic began in the early 1990s when Cavallino Magazine, the official Ferrari readership, originally planned and executed the event. Today, the event has a strong operation force produced by Canossa Events, an Italian company that hosts over 250 concours, rallies and shows in Europe and beyond. Usually held in January, the Cavallino Classic still brought in over 100 of the most coveted Ferraris that both collectors and spectators were itching to peek their heads in. The event’s sizable crowd
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of attendees wanted to get back into personal viewings of the cars as opposed to seeing them online after the past year. Many of the most important US-based Ferrari collectors were in attendance; however collectors from Europe, South America and Asia (as well as their cars) were absent, for obvious reasons. From a pair of Ferrari 250 GTOs worth between $45 and $60 million each to a fully bespoke powerboat that contains a true Ferrari F1 engine, there was nothing lacking for those who were in search for one-of-a-kind designs. The schedule also included two track days for owners to get behind the wheels of their own car and give them a little love where the rubber meets the pavement.
Another day was set aside to host forums examining, in depth, the history of Ferrari and included a tour of Palm Beach with unique dining experiences, meets and rallies. Palm Beach looked like it was taken over completely by Ferrari owners. The main event of The Cavallino Classic, the historic Concours d’Elegance, is the one every guest clammers to be a part of. Highlights attracting attention this year were the 2015 FXX-K - one of only 40 produced - the 2001 Formula 1 F2001b formerly driven by Michael Schumacher, a 1957 250 Testa Rossa and the 1952 Arno XI racing motorboat built by Cantieri Timossi and equipped with the 4.5-liter, 12-cylinder engine
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MJS GROUPE
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usually used on F1 375s. With Canossa Events estimating that it costs between $1 to $2 million on average to properly restore each car to a show-ready condition, there were still some of the more-loved vehicles that featured lovely cracked and racing-battered paintwork and more ‘enjoyed’ interiors. Sprawled over the luscious green lawns at the Breakers, judges passed through the crowds to make their final notes for determining this year’s honors and prestigious titles. The winners of the two most important awards, the “The Scuderia Ferrari Cup” (awarded to the most important competition Ferrari was given to a 1957 250 GT TdF) and the “The Gran Turismo Ferrari Cup” for
the best Ferrari GT was won by a 1952 212 Inter Cabriolet Pinin Farina. Both awards were presented by John Barnes, founder of The Cavallino Classic and Luigi Orlandini, Chairman and CEO of Canossa Events. “The Cavallino Classic,” Orlandini said, “is the world’s most important event dedicated to vintage Ferraris. Despite having to postpone it by two months this year due to the pandemic, the turnout of participants and public has been great – all the tickets to the event were sold out.” While creating a showcase of this size and scale might seem like a large exercise for owners, there is also a method
to the madness. With the valuations given to these cars, all which hold limited production numbers, they don’t exactly trade owners often. As a result, awards provide solid documentation of condition and help to ensure the long-term stability of the owner’s investment in restoring the vehicles. For the spectators, the excitement is really to be given a visual representation of Ferrari’s past through the present. Why else would there be over $150 million worth of cars on grass for you to look at? Because of the Cavallino passion. MICHAEL J. SNELL LUXURY CONTRIBUTOR POLO LIFESTYLES 2021
HIGH SOCIETY
Top left: The 2001 Formula 1 F2001b driven by Michael Schumacher alongside a replica piece of memorabilia by Maranello Design; other photos this page: Ferraris lined up on the grounds of The Breakers
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CAVALLINO 30:
THREE DECADES OF EXCELLENCE IN PALM BEACH
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HIGH SOCIETY
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MJS GROUPE
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TH E ITA LIA N CROWN TH AT NO O NE WA NTS
HEAVY IS THE HEAD
T
HE SON OF ITALY’S LAST KING HAS TAPPED HIS TEEN GRANDDAUGHTER TO EVENTUALLY LEAD THE HOUSE OF SAVOY, PRETENDERS TO ITALY’S DEFUNCT THRONE. “TOTALLY ILLEGITIMATE,” SAYS A RIVAL CLAN. Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the son of the last king of Italy, gave his granddaughter a big 16th birthday present. In a formal 2019 decree, the “Duke of Savoy, Prince of Naples and by the grace page 70
The di Savoia family in Paris: Emanuele Filiberto, Clotilde Courau, Vittoria and Luisa
TH AT W E A R S T H E C R OW N
of God direct heir to Head of the Royal House of Savoy,” amended a medieval law that for centuries had restricted succession in his royal line to male heirs. He bumped “our beloved granddaughter” Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Maria up the royal food chain, making her the first woman in 1,000 years to be invested with the authority to eventually lead the family and stake a claim to the defunct monarchy. “It was the best gift he could give me,” Vittoria, now 17 and a burgeoning Instagram influencer, said from her Paris home.
While Vittoria’s father in Monte Carlo and mother in Paris were as delighted as her grandparents in Gstaad about her ascension to the top of Italy’s would-be royal family, a rival branch of Savoias were not pleased. Not at all. “Totally illegitimate,” said Prince Aimone di Savoia Aosta, a cousin and rival claimant, who works as an executive for the Pirelli tire company in Moscow. And so began the latest chapter in an ongoing dynastic dispute between the pretenders to Italy’s pretend throne. There are bitter feelings, thrown punches, warring noble committees, dukedom
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LIFESTYLE politics and as of last month, Vittoria’s ascending social media status. What there is not is an actual crown to fight over. Italy is a republic, having abolished the monarchy 75 years ago for its disastrous support of Mussolini, and Italians have approximately zero interest in a royal restoration. “Never say never,” said Vittoria’s father, Emanuele Filiberto, an Italian television personality who claims the title Prince of Venice, which is also the name of his Los Angeles restaurant and former food truck. (“We do a lot of film premieres. We did Jumanji,” he said.) Obviously, he said, the monarchy wasn’t returning “tomorrow,” but he had no sons and the family needed a head of the royal household to run its historic orders. Plus, “we also have a lot of people who are seeing the family with a potential comeback.” Few Italians want that, even in Carignano, an ancestral home of Vittorio Emanuele’s branch of the family, which Vittoria became princess of on her 16th birthday. “Never heard of her,” said teenagers, middle-aged shoppers, and old men
with canes as they walked near the Piazza Savoia, once home to a castle, now a parking lot. It seemed that only Paolo Castagno, the local historian, knew anything about Vittoria or the family feud over her ascension. As he showed the tomb of one of Vittoria’s extremely distant ancestors in a church adorned with white stucco angels, he posited a source for the current spat. “Money,” said Castagno. Only heirs to the throne, he said, control the orders that distribute noble titles in exchange for lucrative payments to the family. By changing the inheritance law, Vittorio Emanuele ensured his branch a future revenue stream and prestige. “They are the ones getting invited to royal weddings,” he said. The Savoias, like newly enlightened non-despots, insist that money has nothing to do with it and that they have only high-minded motivations for changing the order of succession, like embracing European Union values and boosting women’s rights. Emanuele Filiberto is currently creating a Crownlike series about his grandmother, Queen Marie-José.
“A great anti-fascist,” echoed Vittoria, who called her a role model. Emanuele Filiberto notes that many of Europe’s remaining monarchs are women, starting with Queen Elizabeth in Britain. Their royal houses have a much better track record of female empowerment than Italy’s Parliament, where women are notoriously underrepresented, he said. “Monarchies,” he said, “at least we give the power to the women.” Emanuele Filiberto’s wife, the French actress Clotilde Courau, whom he met as they fenced at an event organized by his friend Prince Albert of Monaco, also cast her daughter as a gender equality trailblazer. “It’s a huge thing in history,” said Courau, who lives with Vittoria and her younger sister in Paris. She added that while she wished Vittoria had more time to prepare, “she now, is, how do you say, the future régnante,” or ruler. Vittoria, when asked whether she thought Italy was ready to have her as a queen, or head of the family, said she had heard “Italy is not really progressive.” “But” she added, “they will learn.” page 71
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She is already starting to assert herself. Last month, her father helped her draft the language and firm up her intonation for a straight-to-camera defense of the rights of French private school students in an Instagram address to France’s president, Emmanuel Macron. The speech, viewed nearly 300,000 times, amounted to the public debut of what her father calls a “rock ‘n’ roll princess.” Like her great-grandfather’s great-grandfather, Vittorio Emanuele II, who united Italy, Vittoria is much more comfortable in French than Italian. When asked if she wanted to be Italy’s queen, she called the concept “abstract” and said she is just trying to figure out what she wants to do in life. She spends her days studying for finals, modeling midriff shirts on Instagram, dancing with friends and gossiping about Prince Harry and Meghan at school. But mostly, she wants to design her own fashion brand. page 72
“I don’t want to seem different,” she said. “I’m Vittoria.” For decades, the disgruntled branch of the family, called the Aosta, has argued that the Carignano Savoia are sullying the good family name. Some of them took issue with the marriage of Vittoria’s grandfather, the exiled son of the last king, to a former competitive water skier who wasn’t a noble. Vittorio Emanuele IV, now 84, has a knack for insulting Italians. It didn’t help his reputation when he was accused of accidentally killing a German tourist with a rifle shot from his yacht off the coast of Corsica in 1978. A French court acquitted him of manslaughter. In 2006, after Italy let him and his son, Vittoria’s father, back in the country, the patriarch served time in a Potenza jail on charges of involvement in illegal gambling and prostitution, and accepting envelopes full of cash, which he said was a contribution to a noble order. He was eventually acquitted.
In the current fight over Vittoria, the Aosta have turned to an unsanctioned “Board of the Senators’ Council in the Kingdom,” also known as “The Consulta.” Referring to House of Savoy bylaws, the Aosta sympathizers deemed Vittoria’s ascension invalid. Among other things, they argue the law should only be changed when the monarchy is restored. Prince Aimone, Duke of Puglia, declined to meet for an interview in the Tuscan country estate of his father, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, who was reportedly punched twice in the face by his cousin, Vittorio Emanuele, at the 2004 wedding of the future King Felipe VI of Spain. Soon after that altercation, Amedeo claimed to be the legitimate Duke of Savoy. “To put it mildly, it is not a good relationship,” Aimone said in a phone interview. But he said he wanted to avoid a public shouting match with his cousins “over something that doesn’t exist. I try
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to be more dignified if possible given the great responsibility of such a name.”
“They got screwed,” he said. “And they got pissed.”
out normal professions. (“What was the worst? Perhaps it was the dog groomer.”)
Regal condescension runs in the family.
All of this responsibility is starting to weigh on young Vittoria, and, well, uneasy lies the head that wears an imaginary crown.
He has been the face of pickled olives and appeared in an ad for an electronic cigarette company. (“FumOk where you want, like a prince.”)
“It’s a lot,” she said.
And last year, he appeared in a short video on Italian television soberly announcing, “I have a duty to officially announce the return of the royal family.” It was an ad for the Netflix series “The Crown.”
“I don’t even pay any attention to it,” Vittoria said of her detractors. But her father, backed by a rival Consulta, definitely does. “They are seeing UFOs,” Emanuele Filiberto said in the Rome apartment of a noble family friend down the street from the hulking Vittoriano, or Altar to the Fatherland, honoring Vittorio Emanuele II. He scorns cousins who, he said, were never important enough to even exile, and who, having failed in their efforts to supplant his father and him, were now targeting his daughter. “They were thinking that me, not having any sons, they would finally have what they were waiting for, for 150 years,” but his father foiled their plans.
Her father is trying to get her to study more, to vacation less, and to understand the value of work. Emanuele Filiberto can himself seem like the hardest working non-royal in show business. In the last 20 years, he has sought to win over a skeptical Italian public through its most venerated of institutions, variety television. He is a star judge on a talent show he competed in during its celebrity season. He won Italy’s Dancing With the Stars, nearly won its Sanremo singing competition (“they screwed me”) with a song he wrote called “Italia Amore Mio,” and appeared in a show in which he tried
Emanuele Filiberto’s efforts to leverage his celebrity into a political career have gone nowhere and he knows he will not be the one to lead a royal restoration. He looks forward to leaving everything, he said, abdicating and sailing around the world. That is, he said, “once my daughter is prepared.” Jason Horowitz/Special to Polo Lifestyles page 73
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GETTING A TABLE AT NEW YORK'S & MIAMI'S HOTTEST RESTAURANT
T
SOCIAL EXCLUSION IS BACK IN RARE FORM
HE PANDEMIC DISRUPTED NEW YORK’S ECONOMY OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION. SO THE CITY’S HOTTEST RESTAURANT MOVED THE PARTY TO MIAMI. In New York City, no matter who you are, there is always a restaurant reservation that you’re never going to get. Rao’s, the venerable celebrity safe house in East Harlem, has remained so steadfast-
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ly impenetrable that it has spawned an entire genre of “I got in; maybe you can, too” stunt journalism.
will get me blacklisted forever; then again, I’ve never actually made it in, so what’s to lose?
Then there are the restaurants with unlisted phone numbers. The friends-and-family line for Pastis and Balthazar is an open secret. You’ll need to text the right person to get in at Emilio’s Ballato. The referral-only number for Bohemian, the secretive Japanese steakhouse, is a matter of extraordinary discretion, much like the restaurant itself. I worry that even writing its name
Carbone, an upscale homage to ItalianAmerican red-sauce joints, opened in Greenwich Village, in 2013, and became an impossible reservation almost instantly. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t figure out the way in, until a well-connected friend who understood my hunger for thirtysomething-dollar pastas and Caesar salad prepared table-side slipped me an e-mail address
Chef Mario Carbone in New York City
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LIFESTYLE and made me promise not to share it. I sent a request and, with remarkable quickness, received a cheerful reply confirming a two-top in a prime-time weekend time slot. A few weeks later, snugly seated in the restaurant’s art-filled back room, I downed Gibsons and ate rigatoni alla vodka while oldies poured out of the sound system. The other tables were packed with people who looked well-heeled, or interestingly and self-consciously artistic, or who had the half-familiar faces of the professionally beautiful. Had they e-mailed the same secret address to get their reservations? Was eating here a special event for them, or just another night on the good side of the velvet rope? Every single table seemed to have ordered the rigatoni, which was hardly the pink glop
of your average red-sauce place—these noodles were dense, curvaceous, bathed in cream laced with tomato and just a whisper of heat. “Status is a sensitive thing,” the sociologist Ashley Mears writes, in “Very Important People,” a fascinating book-length examination of the beautiful-people party circuit. “It exists only when an audience recognizes it, and it cannot be bought outright without, of course, a loss of status.” At impossible-reservation restaurants, the food is always ancillary to the potent validation of simply being allowed past the door. If I mention that the burger at the Polo Bar is marvelous, what I’m really telling you, darling, is that of course I go to the Polo Bar. Have I mentioned that Carbone’s food is actually
good? Maybe it’s wonderful. Last March, restaurants and clubby little bars that had built their reputations on saying no were suddenly closed, not just to most, but to everyone. A few weeks later, as some of them pivoted to takeout, the hot reservation was re-imagined in the form of the hot to-go order. The city’s moneyed gastronauts tore into delivery bags of chicken soup with truffles and foie gras from Brooklyn Fare, caviar service from L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, or an $800 D.I.Y. sushi box from Masa. When Carbone debuted its takeout option, the demand was so overwhelming that the nightly scene outside the restaurant descended into chaos. No longer walled behind an inscrutable heuristic of social rank, a Carbone page 77
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dinner—the food, at least—was a mere click away, for anyone with a Wi-Fi connection and money to spare. Carbone is the jewel in the crown of Major Food Group, which is run by the chef duo Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, and their business partner, Jeff Zalaznick. Torrisi and Carbone’s first restaurant was Torrisi Italian Specialties, a clever riff on an old-school Italian-American deli, which opened in a cramped space on Mulberry Street, in 2009. By day, it sold flawless sandwiches, and at night it offered a $45 tasting menu—walk-ins only—that set the hearts of the city’s gastronomes aflame. The duo eventually spun off the sandwich half of the operation into Parm, which is now a New York City mini-chain. With Zalaznick, they also run an empire encompassing a dozen or so restaurant brands across some 25 locations. The company is so relentlessly expansionist that it can be hard to keep track. Even Torrisi Italian Specialties, which closed in 2015, is reportedly making a comeback. Last June, when New York City allowed restaurants to open outdoor dining, the city’s celebrities and socialites came back to Carbone. Had Jennifer Lopez been among the hordes placing online orders for couriered veal Parmesan? Who can say, but there she was in the restaurant’s three-sided outdoor pavilion, her meal chronicled perforce on the Instagram gossip account DeuxMoi. From a distance, the celebrity-to-civilian ratio among Carbone’s clientele appeared staggering, which only increased the restaurant’s desirability to the non-famous. Call it the distributive property of hotness: if Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid go to Carbone, and Rihanna and A$AP Rocky go to Carbone, and then you and I manage to go to Carbone— we’re just like stars! In a summer of social austerity, fear, confusion and crippling unemployment, Carbone was not just staying afloat but performing an entire Esther Williams routine. The
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pandemic “made us smarter and better,” Zalaznick said, in a recent article. Status, for those who partake, is an essential good.
though, I had a stroke of luck: one open slot for a two-person table, at a somewhat normal dinner time, albeit on a weeknight.
In January of this year, Major Food Group debuted Carbone’s fourth location, in Miami Beach. Zalaznick had moved to Miami in the early days of the pandemic; “As soon as I got here I realized the potential,” he said.
My companion and I had planned to eat outside, but we were vaccinated and it was raining, so we ventured indoors. We sat in the back room, the same section of the restaurant where I’d been on my first visit, seven or eight years ago. The food was expensive and absolutely perfect: the gloriously briny Caesar salad (with two types of anchovies), velvet circles of fried calamari, garlic-bathed shrimp scampi the size of small bananas. We ordered the rigatoni alla vodka, of course; as always, a plate of it seemed to be on every table, though, in accordance with social-distancing guidelines, there were fewer tables than there used to be. The city was on the cusp of a full reopening, but for the moment we remained in limbo, and the mood in the room felt subdued. The sound system still poured out 1960s love songs. The staff still looked sharp in their maroon-jacketed uniforms. But there was little of the riotous opulence for which the restaurant is known. Maybe it was because of the reduced capacity, or maybe it was because Carbone New York had siphoned off some of its own hype to fuel new hype elsewhere.
So far, Carbone seems to have avoided the industry’s curse of expansion. The Miami restaurant opened its doors as Florida’s COVID19 outbreak was nearing its second peak, but the state had few safety regulations in place. For scene-seekers tired of social distancing, Miami seemed to have emerged as a place outside of the dreary reality of the pandemic, and the new Carbone the city’s hottest ticket, the prom queen of South Beach. LeBron James posted excitedly about the opening on his Instagram; Peter Thiel was invited to the friends-and-family pre-opening dinner. Per a DeuxMoi tipster, Jay-Z and Beyoncé were spotted slipping into the restaurant’s back room. A few weeks ago, almost as a joke, I tried to make an online reservation for dinner at Carbone Miami. I expected to fail, but nonetheless felt impressed by the breadth of the rejection: months and months of grayed-out calendar dates. When I tried Carbone New York,
Helen Rosner Special to Polo Lifestyles 2021
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Left: Take-out chaos in front of Carbone in New York; above: Chef Mario Carbone in the original location in New York City.
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P U T T I N G TO DAY ' S TO P LU X U R Y L I S T I N G S AT T H E F I N G E R T I P S O F H N W B U Y E R S
Polo Lifestyles proudly announces its strategic alliance with Idea Works Global’s luxury guru and famous polo sponsorship marketing powerhouse, Charles Ward. Change your listing from For Sale to Sold by telling the story of your uniquely valuable estate within each Mansions Of The Month feature, be it situated in the greater Miami, Malibu, Montecito, Monaco, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Wellington or Palm Beach - or any other magnificent destination. Reserve your space in forthcoming issues of Polo Lifestyles with Mansions of the Month Curator Charles Ward. Contact Charles: charles@pololifestyles.com Click here to read the Rancho San Carlos case study - After languishing on the real estate market for years, it was a featured property in Polo Lifestyles - and closed less than 60 days later for $63 million dollars. page 82
St. Regis, Rome
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VOLUME V / ISSUE VI / JUNE 2021 CROATIA
OPEN FOR TOURISM COUNTRIES WELCOMING VACCINATED TRAVELERS
VACATION FROM THE BAHAMAS TO THE SEYCHELLES The rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine is a game changer that will hopefully help resume canceled plans or even map out a whole new adventure soon. Although the rate of the vaccine availability has varied around the world, some countries are jumpstarting their tourism industries by inviting fully inoculated travelers to visit. page 86
Fortunately, some destinations previously closed to American tourists have opened their borders to those who are fully vaccinated. Please note, travelers returning home from an international trip are required to test negative for COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status.
Below are the countries currently welcoming vaccinated Americans.
BAHAMAS The Bahamas welcomes fully vaccinated travelers who received either the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca vaccines. Those
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BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS The British Virgin Islands is welcoming fully vaccinated tourists with shorter quarantine measures in place as of May 15. Travelers will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test from within five days of arriving, get tested upon arrival, and quarantine until that test comes back negative, according to the government. They will not be required to be tested again. Unvaccinated travelers are also welcomed, but must quarantine for four days and get tested again on the fourth day in addition to the pre-travel and arrival tests.
CROATIA who got the jab are exempt from any pre-arrival testing requirements as well as on-island testing protocols. The Bahamas also welcomes unvaccinated travelers, but requires them to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than five days before arriving, complete a daily health questionnaire, and take a rapid COVID-19 antigen test on the fifth day of their trip. Children 10 and younger are exempt from testing. All travelers to the Bahamas are required to apply for a Bahamas Travel Health Visa and opt-in to COVID-19 health insurance.
show proof they have been fully vaccinated, according to the Belize Tourism Board. International travelers must book their stay at a “Gold Standard Hotel” and download the country’s health app. Belize is also welcoming non-vaccinated travelers but requires them to have proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken within 96 hours of travel or a negative rapid test from within 48 hours of travel. Alternatively, travelers can get tested upon arrival at the airport for $50.
Croatia welcomes vaccinated travelers from countries, including the U.S., exempting them from pre-arrival testing or self-isolation requirements, according to Croatia’s Ministry of the Interior. Vaccinated travelers must arrive at least 14 days after receiving their final shot of either a twodose vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
TRAVEL
All U.S. tourists, regardless of their vaccination status, must also show proof of
BERMUDA Vaccinated travelers heading to Bermuda must apply for a Bermuda COVID-19 Travel Authorization — which includes a negative PCR test for COVID-19 — one to three days before departure, which must be submitted 24 hours before travel. Upon arrival they will be tested for COVID-19 and will be required to quarantine until they receive their results. Following a negative test result, vaccinated travelers will not have to quarantine but must test on days four, eight, and 14 of their trip.
BELIZE Belize will waive COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers who can
BAHAMAS
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a paid accommodation in a hotel, camp, private rental or rented vessel. A reservation is not sufficient, according to the U.S. Embassy in Croatia, and must be paid for in advance. Alternatively, Croatia also welcomes American tourists who have not been vaccinated but requires them to either show proof of a negative PCR or rapid antigen COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of arriving or show proof they have contracted COVID-19 and recovered within the last six months. Children under 7 years old with a parent or guardian are exempt. Those who arrive with a negative rapid test and stay longer than 10 days will have to get re-tested within those 10 days.
ECUADOR Tourists with the COVID-19 vaccine can enter Ecuador and travel to one of its most popular island destinations: the Galapagos Islands. Unvaccinated travelers are also allowed to visit Ecuador and its famous island archipelago with proof of a negative antigen test taken within 72 hours of departure, or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19.
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Visitors are required to comply with SEYCHELLES1
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social distancing regulations and wear face masks throughout their stay.
Greece or tested negative via PCR test no more than 72 hours before arrival.
GEORGIA
ICELAND
Georgia welcomes U.S. travelers arriving by air who have received both doses of a vaccine, according to the U.S. Embassy in Georgia. Those who are fully vaccinated do not need to get tested prior to arrival or quarantine when they get there.
Iceland has been welcoming fully vaccinated travelers from the U.S. since April 6 without the need to quarantine or undergo mandatory testing, according to the government of Iceland.
Unvaccinated travelers can also visit the country but must arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours, get a follow-up PCR test on the third day after arriving in the country, and complete an application with their contact details and travel history.
GREECE Greece plans to welcome fully vaccinated tourists and other foreign visitors with coronavirus antibodies or negative test results just in time for summer travel. The country rolled out the welcome mat on May 14. Travelers must bring their vaccination card, or negative PCR test, as well as the QR code provided by the Greek government once visitors fill out a Passenger Locator Form prior to arrival. Vaccinated travelers must have completed their vaccination course at least two weeks prior to their arrival in
Alternatively, the country will also welcome travelers who can show proof they were infected with COVID-19 and recovered.
SEYCHELLES The Seychelles is welcoming fully vaccinated travelers to its pristine shores coming from any country. Travelers must prove two weeks have passed since they received their second dose. They must also show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken at an accredited laboratory within 72 hours of traveling, according to the island’s tourism board. Travelers must fill out a health travel authorization showing their certificate of vaccination, test results, flight confirmation, and accommodation details. The country will reopen to all travelers — vaccinated or not — once the majority of its population is vaccinated. By Alison Fox Special to Polo Lifestyles
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GREEK ISLANDS
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ORGANIC OVER ORNATE SOLAGE'S $30 MILLION RENOVATION
THE NAPA VALLEY LUXURY RESORT JUST GOT EVEN BETTER
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OLAGE, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION, THE AWARD-WINNING RESORT IN NAPA VALLEY, UNVEILED THE RESULT OF ITS $30 MILLION REDESIGN THAT INCLUDES NEWLY BUILT SUITES AND THE RENOVATION OF ALL GUEST ROOMS AND PUBLIC
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SPACES, WHICH SOMEHOW MADE AN ALREADY BEAUTIFUL PLACE ALL THE MORE SPECTACULAR. But, the redesign’s crowning jewel may be the new renovations at Solbar, the hotel’s existing restaurant, along with the opening of Picobar, the resort’s second dining space.
“We are thrilled to unveil the re-imagined Solage, Auberge Resorts Collection,” Todd Cilano, general manager of Solage and regional vice president, Auberge Resorts Collection, said. “Solage has always been a home away from home for ardent foodies, vintners and wellness lovers seeking Napa Valley’s particularly enviable version of ‘the good life.’ The redesign delivers more open-air social space than ever
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before and a vibrant and modern resort experience that keeps true to Solage’s cool and comfortable wine country roots.” The entire renovation was conceived by a team of leading designers and architects, including Napa Valley architect Howard Backen and the Los Angeles-based design agency, Studio Collective. According to the resort, Studio Collective drew inspiration from “The rustic yet refined charm of the surrounding Napa Valley landscapes and vineyards,” to craft a palate of natural materials and neutral hues. “The design of Solage focuses on the organic over the ornate and comfort, not complex,” Adam Goldstein, principal
and design director at Studio Collective, said. “We have created a space that is true to both Calistoga’s and Auberge’s roots, and a property that is equal parts casual and cozy, while providing guests with an air of simple sophistication.” With the renovations, the hotel is also unveiling 11 new cottage-style suites, including two, two-bedroom Estate Suites and nine, one-bedroom Orchard Suites. Each suite comes with its own private outdoor patio, shower and soaking tub, so guests can relax while taking in the gorgeous views of the Palisades and Mayacamas Mountains. One of the Estate Suites even comes with a 100-year-old Valley Oak Tree sitting on the patio.
Each Estate Suite also comes with its own set of bikes and a designated Mercedes-Benz for the duration of the stay to get around with ease. And just in case that wasn’t luxurious enough for you, guests will also find an in-room oxygen bar experience and a Napa Pantry mini-bar filled with local items from Napa’s iconic Oakville Grocery just in case they need a snack or even fresher air than outside. And, of course, we can’t forget about the resort’s iconic pool, which got a little facelift to include private cabanas, lounge spaces, a new state-of-the-art jetted hot tub, and a new expansive pool deck where “detox, retox and repeat become second nature.” page 93
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HIGH TEA AT SELECT HOTELS
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THE MARLEYS
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FASHION & STYLE
SPARKLE RULES FALL RUNWAYS TIFFANY'S ENGAGEMENT RINGS FOR MEN page 99
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GUCCI
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P H OTOGRA PHS C O URT ESY T HE I M PR ES S I O N
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STEP IN THE LIGHT FALL FASHION KICKS IT UP A NOTCH FOLLOWING A YEAR-LONG PANDEMIC
GIVENCHY
A
MARTIN GRANT
LL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD, BUT ON THE RUNWAYS OF FALL 2021, THE WORK OF TODAY’S LEADING DESIGNERS COMES PRETTY CLOSE. At least as far as womenswear goes, the pendulum seems to be swinging back from the simple practicality of streetwear and toward the most luxurious heights of luxury.
ELISABETTA FRANCHI
But this isn’t about the rigid opulence of evening wear – instead, we’re seeing ready-to-wear staples drenched with opulence. Everyday pieces are elevated through maximally lavish creative approaches. Opulent and light-catching
TOM FORD
materials like silk, sequins, feathers, furs and lots of silver and gold abound. The timing makes sense as, after the subdued lockdown-era runway shows, we’re ready to take back the night, step into the light and start turning heads. Miuccia Prada’s and Raf Simons’ highly acclaimed Prada show was characterized by heavy use of glimmering sequins and lots of fur in a spectrum of colors. Balmain ruled the jetway with head-to-toe silver and gold looks. Gucci combined vintage flair with classic aristocratic opulence. Dolce & Gabbana imagined the affluent socialites of a futuristic space colony. Even Rick Owens, the modernist mastermind who tends to eschew ostentatious material symbols of past luxury, couldn’t stay away from sequins, silk and fur. page 101
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BALMAIN
BURBERRY
ELIE SAAB
ERDEM
CAROLINA HERRERA
KAYROUZ
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LANVIN
LOEWE
GUCCI
MICHAEL KORS
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TERMPERLEY
PACO RABANNE
PRADA
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P H OTOGRA PHS C O URT ESY T HE I M PR ES S I O N
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PHILIP PLEIN
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ARE MEN'S ENGAGEMENT RINGS THE NEXT BIG THING?
TIFFANY BETS ON IT
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HERE'S A NEW FAD ALL OVER MY NEWSFEED AND IT'S INCREASINGLY COMMON BY THE MONTH: MEN WEARING ENGAGEMENT JEWELRY: RINGS, TIMEPIECES OR BRACELETS.
posing to their loved one, too. Which has led us to the corner of the men's engagement ring market - and Tiffany & Co. has stepped in to lead the way.
As societal mores have changed and bent, women are proposing to men, men are proposing to men and certainly non-gender-specific persons are pro-
Tiffany set a new standard for women’s diamond engagement rings when it introduced its trademark setting in 1886. Today the company aims to start a new
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P H OTOGRA PHS C O URT ESY T HE I M PR ES S I O N
Future grooms, meet The Charles Tiffany Setting, a collection targeted at a groom’s left hand.
marital tradition with a line of engagement rings for men. The bands, in either titanium or platinum, are designed in the signet-ring style, but incorporate a large diamond instead of insignia or hardstone as the central feature. Tiffany is touting the collection as a modern, bold departure from the conventional band that most men only start wearing after their wedding ceremonies. The collection is called The Charles Tiffany Setting, not because it
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incorporates a new setting technique, but because it is a tribute to the iconic (and widely copied) six-prong Tiffany setting created by founder Charles Lewis Tiffany. Each ring is designed to hold either a round brilliant or emerald-cut diamond of up to five carats in a bezel-style setting. The round brilliant cuts are set in streamlined, knife-edge bands that the company says are inspired by the band on the ladies’ Tiffany Setting. The styles with
emerald-cut diamonds are designed with strong, architectural beveled edges, reflecting the tendency for men’s jewelry to have a masculine edge that sets it apart from ladies’ designs. Although, now that signet rings are growing in popularity among women, there is no reason why these men’s engagement rings couldn’t also be worn by a woman, possibly as a cocktail ring.
The company is also ahead of the curve on socially responsible sourcing and offers a full history for each diamond it sells. It includes the diamond’s region or country of origin, where it was cut, graded and quality assured, and where it was set. The information can be printed on the Tiffany Diamond Certificate, which extends a lifetime warranty. page 109
The Charles Men's Engagement Ring Signaling a bold new era of love, the Charles Tiffany Setting men’s engagement ring is a symbol of Tiffany's unrivaled craftsmanship. Expertly designed in platinum with a scintillating square emerald-cut diamond in the center, this ring’s strong contours and clean lines rethink the traditional forms of the signet style.
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{PRIVATE VIEWING}
JOSE IGNACIO DOMECQ page 113
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VERNISSAGE
A S E R I E S B Y R A P H A E L K . D A PA A H I N T R O D U C I N G T H E - N E X T- B I G A R T I S T S T O T H E W O R L D O F A R T C O L L E C T O R S A N D C U R AT O R S
A BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGE
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N 1870, JOSÉ IGNACIO DOMECQ’S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, PEDRO NOLASCO GONZALEZ, THE MARQUIS OF TERRESOTO, RETURNED TO JEREZ, SPAIN, AFTER 20 YEARS ABROAD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. page 114
He immediately founded the Jerez Polo Club, teaching both horsemen and novices the game of polo that he’d been playing during his two decades away. Over 150 years later, Domecq is part of a familial legacy of polo players in Spain at the family estate in Gredos, west of Madrid. “I was born in a stable,” he joked. His father was a four-goal player;
his grandfather a five-goal player. Today in Gredos, the family’s polo ponies live in a pasture called Majadas. It is a sandy area, where the land allows the horses to remain shoeless when out of the polo season. Large centennial oaks shelter both horses and humans from the summer sun and winter rains. The acorns that fall from the oak trees from October to January are a particular
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ARTFULL SERVICES
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ARTFULL SERVICES
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favorite treat of the horses at Majadas. Domecq starts his day with any one or more of his polo-playing children: Bosco, 7, Jaime, 11, Camila, 13, Yago, 16, or José, 17, gathered at the stable to feed the horses and select their favorites for a ride and training around the rustic polo field. At midday, they take an asado lunch and then Domecq repeats the morning training with Yago, who helps him in the afternoons. “I have always said I’m a better groom then a polo player. My kids are the polo players and I’m a happy polo-day,” he
said. As the sun sets over Gredos and the rest of the family retires for the evening, Domecq’s passion for sculpting his beloved horses comes to life and he heads to his studio to work with clay. He’s a self-taught sculptor who is creating the most marvelous interpretations of both equestrian power and peace. “With the onset of the pandemic, we left Madrid and have stayed almost exclusively in Gredos,” he said. His power sculptures demonstrate the movement of the playing, active polo pony; while his peaceful sculptures show ponies relaxed, enjoying quiet moments. “Working with
clay is very special,” Domecq said. “I focus on an image from my memory and with my wet hands, wire and the smooth clay, I start recreating the speed and beauty of the sport within a sculpture. It is a beautiful challenge.” He works on two or three difference sculptures simultaneously. “Clay needs time to dry well to allow the final touch with the Dremel. This allows me to get to work on a different piece,” Domecq said. “There is nothing better than working with a Dremel to carve shapes into clay.” JOSH JAKOBITZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF POLO LIFESTYLES 2021
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HOME (OFFICE) SWEET HOME
BRETT CHODY Trends contributor @brettchody
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MAN’S HOME OFFICE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE THE GOTO SPOT IN HIS HOUSE, BUT IT NEEDS THE COMBINATION OF THE RIGHT DECOR AND AMBIANCE TO FULFILL IT. page 120
Here are a few essentials to make your office a space you don’t just work in, but want to hang out in, too. First off, a bar cart with your favorite spirits is a must. After a long day of working from home (or the office), being able to pour yourself a glass of something and kick your feet up without leaving the room is a game-changer. A few bottles of whiskey, bourbon or scotch match the man-cave vibe, in my opinion. Well-aged bottles of wine and champagne also work if you prefer a lighter happy hour. And even if you don’t enjoy a drink every day, a stacked
bar cart is great decoration that always catches the eye. Stock up on some coffee table books that are both pleasant to look at and interesting to flip through. Coffee table books are a staple for any home, especially a man’s office. Choose some that align with your passions and interests, like “The Impossible Collection of Wine” and “The Impossible Collection of Cigars,” “A Man and His Watch,” or “Ultimate Collector Cars.” Luxury publishers Assouline and Taschen are great places to start to look for coffee table books that match your personality.
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TAKE YOUR MAN CAVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH THESE ESSENTIALS
Gucci and Tom Ford have published beautiful, hard-back volumes that add sartorial sophistication to your home office. On the topic of coffee table books, normal-sized books are also great to fill the shelves of the room. They can be antique books, books you’ve read or even photo albums. A great gift for any man is a first-edition version of his favorite book. My dad has an original copy of “The Sun Also Rises” in his office, gifted to him by mom because they both love the novel (I’m named after Lady Brett Ashley). An ashtray is also a nice touch for a man’s office. Whether you enjoy cigars or not, a designer ashtray adds a nice touch to any desk. You can use it solely for decorative purposes or utilize it as a place to keep Post-It notes, pens or anything else that fits. Another idea is to keep some matchboxes from different places you’ve traveled in the ashtray. This not only fits the theme but is a great conversation piece and reminds you of your past experiences. With these staples in an office, any man is sure to love his space and want to spend as much time there as possible. Hopefully you found a smidge of inspiration here and there and can transfer it to your man cave this month.
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MANSION OF THE MONTH
560 TORO CANYON PARK MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA
$26,500,000
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MANSION OF THE MONTH
AN EXCLUSIVE MONTECITO HILLTOP HAVEN
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MAIN HOUSE: 5 BD / 5 FULL BA / 1 HALF BA 5,598 SQ FT GUEST HOUSE: 1 BD / 1 FULL BA + OFFICE 1,194 SQ FT GYM: 1 HALF BA + OUTDOOR SHOWER 1,249 SQ FT LIBRARY: 1 FULL BA 1,704 SQ FT MEDITATION ROOM: 1 HALF BA 516 SQ FT 1999 YEAR BUILT | 58.35 ACRES SUMMERLAND ELEMENTARY
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OCATED ON A PRIVATE LANE IN MAJESTIC TORO CANYON PARK, THIS INCREDIBLE ESTATE SITS ABOVE MONTECITO AND HAS A FRONT ROW SEAT TO EXPERIENCE ALL HER BEAUTY. ASTOUNDING OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, HARBOR, CITY, AND CANYON VIEWS DEFINE THE HORIZON IN EVERY DIRECTION.
Panoramic views of Montecito’s defining picturesque elements take your breath away, starting with vast views of the ocean. Let your gaze travel north for miles taking in the curving coastline or look cross to the Channel Islands. In the foreground, enjoy views of the polo fields, Montecito Village and the harbor. Finally, the backdrop of the Santa Ynez mountains unfolds into the natural
terrain of the terraced landscape that surrounds you. Ancient coastal live oaks trees, ripe avocado trees, lush bougainvillea, wild grass, cacti, and succulents mingle to create a gorgeous organic playground.
4 en suite bedrooms look to the mountains. A detached guest-house, meditation room and freestanding gym are all impeccably appointed, each with its own extraordinary presence and exceptional view.
Originally designed as the personal residence for renowned architect Steve Berman, the estate’s clean lines and crisp architecture blend into the majestic and wild landscape to create a private, serene retreat. On site, five structures are placed for a natural flow among the grounds. Different spaces communicate easily yet offer a sense of privacy and separateness.
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the great room frame the sea and rolling canyons, seamlessly connecting you to the breathtaking raw beauty of your natural surroundings. A lofty ceiling crafted of warm Alderwood beams meets a row of clerestory windows that let the natural light spill in. Indoor spaces blend seamlessly with outdoor terraces and beautifully integrate the residence with the environment.
Set on approximately 58 acres of parklike grounds, this stunning compound is made up of five structures totaling approximately 12,000 square feet. The nearly single-level, five-bedroom main residence has stunning views from every room. The spacious primary suite overlooks the ocean while the additional
Just off the great room, the gracious outdoor patio wraps around the main residence for multiple seating, lounging and entertaining opportunities. Throughout the day and through every season, the beautiful Montecito light will fill you with a sense of tranquility and renewal. page 129
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MANSION OF THE MONTH The perfect complement to any meal, sweeping ocean views provide a stunning backdrop to the dining room. Whether you are entertaining a crowd or having an intimate night for two, this space easily accommodates all of life’s moments. Skylights are integrated throughout the main house, filling each room with natural light during the day and an incandescent, star-lit glow in the evenings.
dining room, as does the adjacent outdoor patio, which graces you with views of oak trees, wild grass and flowers.
Steps away from the main house, a range of experiences are all at your fingertips. Take a dip in the rock pool, dine al fresco, lounge in the sun, all with incredible views of the sea.
The serene primary bedroom offers panoramic views of the ocean, mountain and endless sky. Sliding glass doors open up to the generous patio and grounds, fostering a seamless feeling of indoor/ outdoor living. From morning yoga on the patio to evening drinks at sunset with the fire burning, begin and end each day restored by the natural beauty around you.
The heart of the main home, the kitchen is a sunny gathering place complete with the finest chef ’s appliances, granite countertops, a roomy butler’s pantry and three refrigerators. An eat-in nook offers a relaxed alternative to the formal
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Conveniently situated adjacent to the kitchen, a spacious family room is the perfect place to kick back and relax with spectacular views of the Santa Ynez mountains. Lofty ceilings and ample natural light make this an easy gathering place in the home.
The en-suite bathroom features dual sinks and a large dual walk-in shower.
Large windows with irresistible views keep you connected to nature, even during daily routines. Joined to the bathroom, dual walk-in closets provide plenty of storage. Radiant heat is integrated throughout the main residence, guest house and library for year-round comfort in any climate. Beautifully situated between the main house and detached gym, and near to the pool and hot tub, the private cabana makes an ideal meditation room. This enchanting space features a wood-burning fireplace, sliding doors with tinted glass and a bathroom. This space can easily transform into an artist’s studio, writer’s retreat, wellness destination, or a club house. The regulation-size tennis court looks to the sea and is a perfect place for games with friends. If tennis isn’t your game, the court can convert into a double
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pickleball courts and features a spectator section for players and fans to both enjoy the game. Steps away from the main house, the estate’s library can host an impressive collection of books and doubles as a beautiful, ocean view office space. Designed in the round, the library’s central reading room features floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves that graciously greet you upon entrance. The reading room offers inspiring possibilities for transformation, from a game room to an outstanding conference room to a creative studio. Flanking the central reading room is a large office on one side and a bedroom and en-suite bathroom on the other, which together offer an exceptional space for study, work or entertainment. Set on an extraordinary landscape with breathtaking views and enviable privacy, this estate is the ultimate compound and retreat. With five unique structures, firstclass amenities, and an array of outdoor destinations, this thoughtful layout is an idyllic setting for a life well lived.
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$13,650,000 NOW $10,850,000
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The
FINGER LAKES WINE REGION
BY CEZAR KUSIK
SOMMELIER & WINE WRITER
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In Search The GreatofSpirit Solaceof the Finger Lakes R K AT S I T E L I A N D T H E C O O L- C L I M AT E
FINGER LAKES REGION THE LEGEND & THE FUTURE
CEZAR KUSIK Wine Contributor @cezartastesearth
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OMETIMES INSPIRATION HAS A FUNNY WAY OF FINDING ME IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACES. ONE EVENING LATE AFTER WORK AS IT OFTEN HAPPENS, CHEF MATTHEW AND I STEPPED OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT’S BACK DOOR WITH A FEW CANS OF BEER TO TAKE A LOAD OFF. A MOTION-ACTIVATED LIGHT LIT page 142
UP OUR SURROUNDING OF SMELLY GARBAGE DUMPSTERS, A FEW WATER HOSES, A SQUEAKY LADDER AND EMPTY MILK CRATES THAT SOMETIMES SERVED AS OUR CHAIRS. We popped the beers and talked. Some may say that we even lit a cigarette, but these are just dirty rumors. We both have been around the block (yep, that block), so the topics of our conversations vary dramatically, but they all revolve around the subject of human condition. Take, for example, the past with its high tales of exaggerated conquests, youthful bravado and the sentimentality of slowly healing wounds; the present with its dis-
quieting and unforgiving urgency; and the future…. And of course, we talked wine. Chef knows wine. He knows of my writing and claims to enjoy reading it from time to time. That fervent evening, he mentioned specifically liking one of my articles. I thanked him and confided in him that after over two years of writing for Polo Lifestyles the magazine, I am sometimes struggling to find interesting topics for my pieces. Chef chugged the beer and thought for a moment, “What about Finger Lakes and Rkatsiteli?” he asked, while the beeping sound of a backing-up garbage truck sounded down the alley. “Rkatsi… what?” I fired back. Sometimes inspiration has a funny way
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Left: Dr. Konstantin Frank was a pioneer of wine making in the Finger Lakes; right: the author, Cezar Kusik, and Chef enjoying glasses of Rkatsiteli on the stoop at 25 Lusk in San Francisco.
of finding me in the most unexpected places. It all started with The Great Spirit. To Native Americans, it was a place of special beauty and mystery and to bless it, the Great Spirit placed his hands on its surface, thus leaving 11 indentations that eventually filled with water, adorning the area with 11 pristine, elongated lakes. He must have had 11 fingers; he was The Great Spirit after all. Another, less interesting version of their origins is that the lakes were formed during the Ice Age, carved out by the advancing and retreating glaciers. You pick your interpretation. The AVA (American Viticultural Area) of Finger Lakes was established in 1982, but the history of wine making in the region dates to the middle of 19th century when William Warner Bostwick, an Episcopal minister, planted Vitis labrusca vines in his rectory garden. In 1855, the first commercial winery was founded on Keuka Lake. Initially, German immigrants took lead in vine cultivation in the region. Later, the two major
Champagne houses of Louis Roederer and Moët & Chandon established their operations there. Their success resulted in an estimated 24,000 acres of vineyards and over 59 wineries. By the end of the 19th century, more than three-quarters of all American sparkling wine was made on Keuka Lake. The period of Prohibition had a devastating effect on the Finger Lakes’ wine industry – as it did on all American wine regions. The recovery was marked by the founding of two sizable wine companies. Taylor Wine Company, which specialized in sparkling wines, and the Canandaigua Wine Company. The latter’s Richards Wild Irish Rose was introduced in 1954; by 1980s, eight million cases of it had sold. These mega wine conglomerates, with their focus on high volume production of usually inferior quality wines, brought about a decline in the demand for Finger Lakes wines. Grape prices tanked and the vineyards began to disappear. Then in the second half of the 20th century, a new model of wine business
for the area emerged: estate wineries. Their focus was a full control of the whole process of wine making from farming to vinifying. Smaller operations, usually family-owned with a “quality-over-quantity” philosophy led the way. Two pioneers of this new trend stood out: Walter Taylor’s Bully Hill Vineyards and Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars. A group of ambitious vintner pioneers followed. It is impossible to talk about the Finger Lake AVA without paying tribute to Dr. Frank. After WWII, the Frank family emigrated from Ukraine and settled in New York state. It was on the banks of Keuka Lake that in 1958, Dr. Frank planted his first Vitis Vinifera vines starting what has been since known as the Vinifera Revolution. Vitis Vinifera, aka the common grape vine, is of Mediterranean origins and is associated with most grapes used in the production of quality wines. Before Dr. Frank, there had been many attempts at cultivating the specie in Central New York, but they all failed page 143
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The Great Spirit of the Finger Lakes
due to extreme temperatures. The large water reservoirs of Finger Lakes came to rescue. They serve as a mitigating factor in moderating the frigid temperatures in the winter and heat waves of summertime. In addition, the deeper and the larger the lake, the greater the positive effect on the vines. The proximity of the vineyards to a lake also helped. The diverse soil of the region is composed of clay, loam, shale with the domination of limestone, and is conducive to viticulture.
THE GRAPES OF FINGER LAKES AND STYLES OF WINE From the perspective of quality wine, the media mainly focuses on Vitis Vinifera grapes, but these represent less than a quarter of all planted vines in the AVA. Most grapes are Concord, Niagara and Catawba. Within the Vinifera catepage 144
gory, four grapes account for 90 percent of what is farmed: Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.
content. That, combined with freezing winters, creates perfect conditions for late harvest or ice wine.
Riesling is unquestionably the region’s favorite grape with 950 acres and 200,000 cases produced annually.
As mentioned earlier, sparkling wines played a big role in the beginning of the Finger Lakes’ wine making existence. Their importance may have diminished over the years, but their production has not ceased. The cool climate, somewhat similar to that of the Champagne region, is conducive to the growth of grapes with bright acidity.
Cabernet Franc, unexpectedly, made itself very comfortably at home here. It is now the most widely planted red vinifera grape in the Finger Lakes with its popularity growing. The wines are often highly reminiscent of Cabernet Francs from Loire Valley with lean aromas of red berry fruit, leafy, bark-like peppery earthiness and bright acidity. Considering the region’s climate, sweet and rich, botrytis-affected wines are a big part of Finger Lakes’ portfolio. Three grapes dominate this category: Riesling, Vignoles and Vidal Blanc. All three grapes are high in natural acid and sugar
And now onto Rkatsiteli (pronounced re-KATS-ih-TEHly). It was Dr. Frank who first planted Rkatsiteli in the Finger Lakes during his experiments in the 1950s. It is an ancient white grape with its origins in Georgia (the country), which is considered the oldest wine region on earth. Its name literally translates to “red stem” referring to the
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Kelby James Russell, wine maker for Red Newt Cellars and Kelby James Russell wines
reddish color of its stalk during the harvest time. To this day, Rkatsiteli remains Georgia’s most-planted white grape. There are a few reasons for the grape’s popularity in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and the Finger Lakes whose weather patterns share some commonalities. In these environs, the grape exhibits strong resistance to cold weather conditions. It retains acidity well, even during hot summers. Lastly, its balance between sugar and acid makes it versatile to produce still, sparkling, sweet and fortified wines as well as brandies. Typical Rkatsiteli offers crisp structure with flavors of green apple, quince, fennel and stone minerality. Today, the appellation stands at about 130 wineries with over 9,000 acres under vine. There has been a big influx of new, young and ambitious wine makers in the region drawn by the allure of the landscape and affordability of the land. Proximity to Cornell University, with its world-renown Viticulture Department, comes in handy in forms of scientific support and human resources. I did a
phone interview with a friend of mine, Rebecca Mahmoud, who is the brand ambassador for Red Newt Cellars. She spoke passionately about the region and its future prospects. “This is a beautiful part of the world, with waterfalls, freshwater lakes, historic architecture, Amish country and more,” she said enthusiastically. “And how were the last few years?” I asked, prematurely concerned. “Covid period was good for us,” she said. “Hmmm…” I wondered and waited for the explanation. And it came. Restricted from international travels, East Coasters had to turn to local, domestic excursions during their leisure time. The Finger Lakes, with their natural beauty, and the surrounding wineries have become one of the top destinations. People from New York state and beyond flocked to the area, discovering its bounties and participating in the wine experience to whatever extent the Covid regulations allowed. “The Finger Lakes experienced a record
number of visitors in 2020 and this trend is only growing. From the beginning of Covid until the end of 2020, the Finger Lakes wine distribution has grown from 13 states to 26 states,” Rebecca said. “Virtual interactions through online tastings, lectures and presentations gave the region international exposure. We are distributed in new markets abroad: UK, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, among others. We made cool climate wines before they became cool,” she concluded. While writing this article, I felt an increasing sense of encouragement and purpose. Through the words, I could see the landscapes of the region and feel its spiritual and natural majesty. It filled me with primal feelings of gratitude and respect for nature and for the people who have inhabited this area for centuries. I can only hope that the hands of the Great Spirit will protect this land for many years to come…and that its wines continue to thrive and impress. CEZAR KUSIK WINE CONTRIBUTOR POLO LIFESTYLES 2021
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MOLD YOUR MIND HOW TO GET THE SUPPORT YOU NEED NOW AND GIVE IT TO OTHERS, TOO JOEY VELEZ MA, MBA @velezmentalperformance Healthy Lifestyles Contributor
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AVE YOU EVER STOOD AND ADMIRED THE WONDER OF ARCHITECTURE? GROWING UP IN CALIFORNIA, I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I CROSSED THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE INTO SAN FRANCISCO. AS I GREW OLDER AND STARTED TO EXPERIENCE LIFE WALKING THROUGH THE STREETS OF THE CITY, OFTEN TIMES I FOUND MYSELF LOOKING UP AT THE SKYSCRAPERS, WONDERING, “HOW DO THEY STAND SO TALL!?” page 148
Well younger-self, all structures are supported by framework. Whether it be steel, concrete, or timber, all provide support for buildings. These buildings not only have a solid foundation, but stay solid because they are supported by something else. There have been times in my life when I swayed side to side and felt like I was beginning to crumble, but the support of others helped me stand tall. We as humans are a lot like building structures: we need others to help us battle adversities and stand tall in the face of life’s challenges.
UNDERSTANDING SUPPORT FROM THE INSIDE There are both benefits and downfalls to providing support, and it is based on how much support the individual is looking for. We view support three different ways: underprovision, adequate and overprovision. Underprovision refers to receiving less support than we want. This can lead to experiencing poor moods, negative relationship outcomes, more stress and worse cardiovascular health. In research con-
ducted by several psychologists at the University of Essex this year, they found, “Wanting but not receiving support may be viewed as a negative form of social interaction, which has been found to have generally stronger effects on well-being than positive interactions.” Therefore, the impact of not receiving desired support has a more-negative impact. Adequate support refers to receiving the same amount of support that we want, which has been shown to lead to an increase in overall well-being. Finally, there is overprovision, which refers to receiving more support than we want. While there are times when “the more the merrier” applies, this is not one of them, as overprovision can lead to distress, threats to self-esteem or competency, and feelings of now being indebted to that individual. The first step in providing proper support to another individual or receiving the support you desire starts with setting expectations and either asking or informing others about what is needed. The research shows that received support is particularly beneficial for those individuals who want high levels of sup-
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port and is less effective for individuals who do not want support. Therefore, do your homework, understand what it is that you need from others, but also what others may need from you so that the maximum benefits can be gained.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO SUPPORT There are three types of support you can provide somebody: emotional, informational and practical. Emotional support can come in the form of a sounding board, spending time with someone, or through affirmations. Oftentimes individuals may just need to vent and for you to listen, so being a sounding board may be what that individual needs to feel right. Emotional support can also involve spending time with someone. When experiencing stress or sadness, sometimes being in the presence of someone they care about is all they need to feel more at ease. Finally, emotional
support comes in the form of affirmations. Words can go along way and may just be what they needed to hear to get back on track. Informational support refers to providing advice or suggestions. This differs from affirmations because this tends to be more solution-based as opposed to motivational. An individual going through a difficult time may seek your advice on how to approach a particular situation. This can not only provide guidance, but also shows your willingness to help them through this challenge, which can help an individual feel like they are not alone. Finally, practical support refers to providing more task-based support. This could come in the form of providing car rides, completing household tasks or running various errands for an individual. Having too much on your plate
can be overwhelming and lead to higher amounts of stress, so providing practical support can relieve some of that burden by removing one less task from that individual’s to-do list.
FINAL THOUGHTS Everyone will be faced with adversities and challenges throughout life. These moments can be more stressful and overwhelming if you try to handle them solo. You have people and resources around you to lessen that burden, so take advantage of them. Reach out to individuals and inform them what type of support you need. Conversely, reach out to others and inquire what type of support they need. You never know, the support you provide someone – or the support you receive – may be what is needed to turn the corner and push through to the other side. page 149
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HEALTH IS WEALTH
MICRO-NUTRIENTS OVERLOOKED HEROES OF FITNESS PANTHIL DWIVEDI Wellness contributor @panthildwivedi
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IET, NUTRITION, AND FOOD HAVE BECOME THE CENTER STAGE OF OUR LIVES IN RECENT YEARS. IN THE PAST DECADE OR TWO, AFTER THE POPULARITY OF FITNESS WENT MAINSTREAM, THE DISCUSSION AROUND FOOD AND NUTRITION EXPLODED. page 152
Fitness trainers and nutrition experts joined the race and each started selling their ideal diet and food plans to the masses in hopes to gain popularity, credibility, and of course, money. But, if you follow the generic wisdom circulating on social media and various online platforms, you would notice that most of the discussion is focused around the three hot macromolecules; proteins (the over-hyped superhero), carbs (the confused underdog) and fats (the misunderstood villain). Together these three create an unformidable team, around which fitness experts love to ensnare and stem absolutely every discussion. Don’t get me wrong, these are, of course, pivotal macromolecules
crucial in the development and sustenance of life – after all, these are THE three key building blocks of life (organic life on this planet revolves around them). Without these three, none of us would be here. Yet, food and nutrition go much deeper than these three major biomolecules and their role in attaining the ideal aesthetics of a fitness regimen. It goes deeper by delving into micro-level in terms of crucial micro-nutrients and how micro-nutrients govern important cellular and molecular cascades, which are important for a healthy body, avoiding diseases, and cellular mismanagement.
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ward protein, fats and carbs – quickly manipulating our intake of these three macromolecules to help us reach our fitness goal; generally, to make us look aesthetically pleasing. But in our obsession with muscles and body weight, we forget to analyze if the diet plan or nutrition wisdom being sold by the fitness guru is actually healthy.
So, when every fitness expert is busy discussing the three macromolecules, we should also focus on micro-nutrients, which are important nutrition micro-molecules. Before diving deep into the world of micro-nutrients, let us first discuss what they are. Micro-nutrients are vitamins and minerals that our bodies require for the healthy maintenance of the body and disease prevention. They are essential for the human body as most of these vitamins and minerals cannot be self-synthesized by the body. Therefore, we depend on food to provide us with these micro-nutrients. Macromolecules are required in macro quantities by the body e.g., proteins in grams. Fluctuation in
their intake do not necessarily translate into life-threatening diseases. On the other hand, we require micro-nutrients in micro quantities, because avoiding these vitamins and minerals in our diet can guarantee an invitation to illness. There are several household micro-nutrients such as Vitamins A, B, C, D and E, and minerals such as Zinc, Iron and Magnesium that most of us use in our day-to-day life. We discuss the importance of these nutrients from the scientific point of view, but we somehow are forgetting to discuss them when we are talking about fitness, workouts and conventional diet plans. Think about it: when we see trendy diet plans and diet tips, we instantly are drawn to-
Many of us confuse healthy with weight loss or building muscle. We do not question the fitness of meal plans provided by the fitness experts if they promise us quick results, which are either to build fast muscle or to shred weight. As long as these criteria are met, many people tend to not actually care about how healthy the plan is. Now, that’s not to suggest that major biomolecules are not important, but when selecting a diet or nutrition plan one must pay attention to the micro-nutrient (vitamin and mineral) profile of the plan as well, otherwise the plan can impart quick aesthetic benefits, but can prove harmful in the long run. So why are these micro-nutrients so pivotal to the human body and why should we pay more attention to them? First, most of the micro-nutrients are essential - meaning they are not naturally produced in the body; because humans lack metabolic cascades that can produce the vitamins and minerals on our own, we therefore rely on external sources for these essential micro-nutrients. Although required in micro quantities, these biomolecules play important roles on a biomolecular level, and depriving the body of these micro-nutrients can cause malfunction page 153
VOLUME V / ISSUE VI / JUNE 2021
HEALTH IS WEALTH M I CRO- NU TRIENTS: THE OVER LOOK ED H ER OES OF FI TN ES S
of multiple cell-signaling cascades and hamper efficient cellular functions. Some of the early examples of not consuming micro-nutrients were seen in European sailors, when being on the sea for months, they managed to consume all the macromolecules, but due to the unavailability of fresh fruits and vegetables, they could not get essential vitamin C and they developed scurvy (a disease of the gums). Similarly, some people in Asia living inland away from the sea and had a diet devoid of seafood and its source of needed micro-nutrient iodine, developed goiters. These conditions and others gave rise to clinicians recognizing that there are some major micro-nutrients at play and these essential vitamins and minerals are important to health. These are some examples of ailments caused by micro-nutrient deficiencies, but not eating daily recommended quantities of essential micro-nutrients page 154
can also cause major chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, blood pressure, cancers and autoimmune diseases. Staying healthy means we must understand vitamins and minerals as critical micro-nutrients in keeping our bodies going. The moral of the story is if you are following modern-day diet plans and fitness meal plans, do not forget to do proper inventory management of the micro-nutrients that accompany them. Generally, these plans would only provide you with a rough calculation of total calories, fats, proteins and carbs with some other nutrients here and there, and not necessarily giving you a complete micro-nutrient profile. The Internet can be helpful to quickly note down the micro-nutrient profile of your foods, which will give you a rough idea of how many micro-nutrients you would get
from a certain meal plan. And of course, while there is nothing wrong with taking a multi-nutrient supplement, why not feed your body with natural sources of nutrients as much as possible? Scientists and doctors support the idea of not blindly following trendy, pre-packaged one-size-fits-all meal plans for quick health benefits, but to indulge in a more well-rounded, nutritionally balanced diet with different sources of food: from plants, fruits, legumes, dairy, poultry, whole grains and lentils along with sources of healthy fats such as nuts, to meet your daily recommended vitamins and mineral needs through your diet. This way you not only can achieve your long-term fitness goals but can also attain holistic health and avoid the development of multiple deficiencies and chronic diseases. PANTHIL DWIVEDI WELLNESS CONTRIBUTOR POLO LIFESTYLES 2021
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