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Editor’s Letter | The mayfair Magazine

From the

Editor T

o the residents of Mayfair, October signifies a most artistic month: new exhibitions beckon from the galleries of Cork Street and the surrounding mews, Berkeley Square once again plays host to PAD London art fair and just a stone’s throw away, in the leafy Regent’s Park, begins the now world-famous Frieze London, which this year celebrates a decade of bringing contemporary art to London, in a park. In such a fast-paced industry it can be hard to keep track of the names to know – God forbid you confuse your Wirth with your Wyndham – so to help, we have asked Mike Peake to construct a cheat sheet ‘Who’s Who’ of the art world – neatly summing up everything you need for October dinner conversation (page 15). Now for some, art means a beautifully framed painting, lit to perfection and hung reverently on a south-facing wall away from the children; to others it means something altogether different, something that resides in your wardrobe until the day you decide to step inside it, lighting up your world with colours and fabrics so beautiful you feel like a work of art yourself. I am firmly in the latter camp. This month, I met fashion’s answer to Michelangelo – Manolo Blahnik – as he launches his new dedicated space in Harrods, and found him to be as full of wit, fun and inspiration as you would imagine (page 32). And aesthetics aside (for the philistines among us), October is also a great month for shooting, the weather is crisp but not yet really cold – and days are still long enough to keep a great party going for as long as the conversation and red wine lasts. On the likely assumption that the subject has not crossed your mind for several months since you last locked up your gun and pulled out your sunglasses, Nick Hammond brings you the top tips for the new season ahead, encompassing everything from buying new cartridges to proper shooting etiquette (page 84). And for those who would rather spend time by the fire with a book and a fabulous bottle of something, make sure you check out Mayfair’s newly opened Hedonism Wines for the most prestigious cellar you will ever see (page 118). If anyone needs me…

Elle Blakeman Acting Editor

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Contents

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October 2012

090 079

093

Features

Art

Beauty

015 | Who’s who in the art world Mike Peake names some of the most iconic people in the art industry today 020 | Art phenomenon: four days of Frieze in London Celebrate 10 years of the famous Frieze London art fair 026 | Off the wall Tamsin Pickeral explores the surprising rise of urban art in well-heeled Mayfair circles 032 | Head over heels Elle Blakeman meets the man who made art out of shoes, Manolo Blahnik 038 | Paper chase The latest art books to inspire your creative side, from Salvador Dalí to Elliott Erwitt 082 | The hunt is on Nick Hammond helps us prepare for a new shooting season with all his top tips and etiquette guide 086 | Outside the lines Do art and cars make good bedfellows? Apparently so according to motoring expert Richard Yarrow 090 | Marine engineering We take a look at Zaha Hadid’s latest project – the futuristic Z-boat

045 | Art news 046 | Exhibition focus Carol Cordrey explores a century of Hollywood costumes at the V&A 051 | Prize lots

105 | Beauty news 106 | Brains & beauty Elle Blakeman steps into the glamorous world of Terry de Gunzburg, to discuss her new collection and life after YSL 111 | Spa review: The Berkeley

Regulars

Interiors

093 | Interiors news 094 | Hix appeal We meet celebrity chef and art curator Mark Hix 098 | Great expectations Kari Rosenberg meets the elusive designer of The Arts Club, David d’Almada

Collection 057 | Watch news 058 | From the office to the open sea Richard Brown speaks to Angelo Bonati, CEO of Panerai, at the annual Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 062 | Not stirred This month our accessory drawer is inspired by Bond 065 | Jewellery news 067 | Time to shine Red-Carpet glamour from Chopard at Cannes

Fashion 068 | The bold and the beautiful It’s a colourful A/W 12 in this month’s fashion shoot 074 | Long live McQueen Commemorating the career of Lee Alexander McQueen, Stephen Doig revisits his life and legacy 079 | Style update/Style spy

Food and Drink 115 | Food & drink news 116 | A heady brew Neil Ridley raises a glass at Hedonism Wines – a connoisseur’s paradise right in the heart of Mayfair 120 | Game on As the hunting season arrives, we search London for the best grouse in town. 124 | Restaurant review: Banca

Travel 131 | Travel news 132 | The art of travel We journey to Zurich to the exquisite and masterpiecefilled Dolder Grand hotel 136 | City guide: Amsterdam We pay a visit the Netherlands capital and find that autumn is the ideal time to spend time among the picturesque canals and vibrant art scene

Contributors | The mayfair Magazine

The contributors OCTOBER 2012 s issue 013

Editor Kate Harrison Acting Editor Elle Blakeman Acting Deputy Editor Kari Rosenberg Art Editor Carol Cordrey Food & Drink Editor Neil Ridley Collection Editor Annabel Harrison Editorial Assistant Kate Racovolis Head of Design Hiren Chandarana Senior Designer Lisa Wade Production Manager Fiona Fenwick Production Hugo Wheatley, Alex Powell Editor-at-Large Lesley Ellwood Client Relationship Director Kate Oxbrow

mike peake Mike has written extensively The Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph. This month, he researches the top names to know in the Mayfair art world.

Carol Cordrey Carol is an art critic and editor. She organises the annual London Ice Sculpting Festival and is permanently on the art scene bringing us the latest happenings.

Stephen Doig Stephen is an award-winning fashion writer having worked for Harper’s Bazaar and Mr Porter. This month, he commemorates the life and legacy of Lee Alexander McQueen.

richard yarrow Richard is a freelance motoring journalist and a former associate editor of Auto Express. He writes for national newspapers, consumer publications and the automotive business press.

simon barnes Simon is a property consultant with over 20 years of experience, focusing on the prime residential market in Mayfair and Belgravia. This month, he talks to us about the latest news in Mayfair.

nEIL RIDLEY London-based food and drink expert Neil has written for The Evening Standard, Whisky Magazine and The Chap, and this month, looks all over Mayfair for the perfect grouse.

Tamsin Pickeral Tamsin is a published author, art historian and critic. One of her recent books was voted within the top 50 Art Books of the Year by the Financial Times. This month, she celebrates a decade of Frieze London. kate racovolis An alum of Columbia University’s Journalism School, Kate has lived in Melbourne and New York writing about fashion and culture. This month, she reports on Zaha Hadid’s latest project.

Head of Finance Elton Hopkins Associate Publisher Sophie Roberts Managing Director Eren Ellwood

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The mayfair Magazine | Feature

From gallery owners to auctioneers, buyers, directors and of course, the artists: these are the names you need to know words: mike peake

Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who

art world in the

Ai Weiwei Artist Named Number One on ArtReview’s most recent Power 100 list, Chinese artist Weiwei is as well known for his provocative political stance as his contemporary art. Fiercely critical of his country’s government – who imprisoned him for 81 days in 2011 – it is his take on global events which have inspired some of his most arresting work, such as Remembering, a wall of Chinese text made up of children’s backpacks following the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Ai Weiwei, Never Sorry Film Still by Ted Alcorn

Buyer Qatar is the world’s biggest buyer of contemporary art, and the woman charged with making sure they get the best is the 28-year-old daughter of the Emir of Qatar. Among the purchases Al Mayassa is thought to have helped orchestrate are Paul Cezanne’s The Card Players for a record £154m, approximately, and Andy Warhol’s Men In Her Life, which sold for around £39m. Following rumours of a bid to buy Christie’s in 2011, Qatar poached its chairman Edward Dolman, who now works alongside Al Mayassa as the executive director of the Qatar Museums Authority.

Julia Peyton-Jones Co-director of the Serpentine Gallery A former artist herself and a walking encyclopaedia of contemporary art, Peyton-Jones is widely credited with helping to bring more than 800,000 people a year into the free-to-enter Serpentine Gallery on the other side of Hyde Park. Pleasingly, she has no plans to move on: ‘It’s like making a painting,’ she said last year. ‘You stand back from it and realise it needs a little more red in the top right corner. I don’t have a path carved out.’ Her fellow co-director, Hans Ulrich Obrist, is another big name on virtually every ‘who’s who in art’ list.

left: PHOTO by John Swannell right: Photo by Linda Nylind, Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze

Sheikha Al Mayassa

‘Hockney was named as the most influential 16

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

Henry Wyndham Auctioneer The chairman of Sotheby’s UK joined the company in 1994 and, by keeping a firm grip on his auctioneer’s hammer, has made sure that his day job retains a sense of pleasure for him. In 2010, he oversaw the sale of Giacometti’s Walking Man (below) which went for a then-record £65m. In June of this year, he led an Impressionist and Modern Art Sale which realised more than £75m in one evening – and brought the company’s 2012 total in that field to £435m worldwide. HENRY WYNDHAM AT THE Turner auction shot IN JulY 2010

DAVID HOCKNEY BRIDLINGTON STUDIO FEBRUARY 2009 © DAVID HOCKNEY PHOTO: GREGORY EVANS

David Hockney

Tim Jefferies

Painter A recent poll of 1,000 British painters and sculptors saw Hockney named the most influential British artist of all time. He embraced the iPad as an artistic tool; he was awarded an Order Of Merit by the Queen earlier this year – and he continues to hold sway over the art world. One of his most famous works – A Bigger Splash – is one of the Tate’s most prized possessions; its brother The Splash was sold for £2.6m by Sotheby’s in 2006.

Gallery owner Owner of Hamiltons, the UK’s leading photography gallery, Tim Jefferies has brought some of the best names in photography to Mayfair from his imposing Carlos Place location, with shows including Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon. Not content with dominating the London photography scene, Jefferies is on the select committee of Paris Photo, meanwhile back in Mayfair he caused a stir by introducing Hamiltons to the Pavilion of Art & Design and Masterpiece. He has been the Chairman of The Serpentine Gallery Summer Party for the past decade and is the go-to advisor for several high-profile companies and private clients looking to adorn their walls with contemporary masters – counting Sir Elton John, Tom Ford and the Le Bons as clients.

Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp Organisers of The Frieze Art Fair These two are the publishing directors of art magazine Frieze, and since 2003 have been bringing contemporary art to Regent’s Park for what has become a globally significant event. ‘Bewilderingly big,’ said Guardian writer Miranda Sawyer of last year’s Frieze Art Fair: this year’s, which runs from 11-14 October, will feature 174 galleries – and Slotover and Sharp will be right in the thick of it.

Giacometti’s Walking Man

British artist of all time’ 17

JR Artist You could call him the French Banksy due to his enigmatic persona and the fact that JR likes to leave his mark on public spaces, but his forte is giant photographs – not stencils – pasted onto buildings. These visually-stunning pieces won the muchadmired street art maestro a $100,000 TED prize last year. Two of his greatest ever projects involved bringing street art to shanty towns in Kenya and Brazil, where the slums became his canvas.

‘Two of his greatest ever projects involved bringing ’ il z a r B d n a a y n e K in s n street art to shanty tow portrait OF JR © Christopher Shay

Gallery owner If there is such a thing as a chain store in the art world, Larry Gagosian’s 11-strong Gagosian Galleries (including a small but perfectly-formed space in Davies Street, Mayfair) are it. One of the industry’s most powerful players, Gagosian was described this year by Forbes as leading the ‘rise of the superdealer’. The Financial Times simply call him the world’s most successful art dealer, and he certainly enjoys his job: collecting for himself, he says, is a perk.

Charles Saumarez Smith Chief Executive of the Royal Academy Of Arts Formerly the director of The National Portrait Gallery and also the National Gallery, this vastly knowledgeable art guru currently sits in the big chair at one of the world’s most revered art institutions, right here in Piccadilly. The London Evening Standard described Saumarez Smith as ‘mild mannered but quietly steely’ and named him one of the most important people on London’s vibrant art scene.

PHOTOGRAPH by Mariana Cook

right: Image courtesy of Gagosian Gallery

Larry Gagosian

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, damien hirst 1991

Francois Pinault

Jeff Koons

Collector Billionaire French businessman whose passion for owning major international retail brands is only matched by his love of collecting art. In Venice, he has one of Europe’s largest private displays of contemporary works. His first painting was by Paul Sérusier in 1980; ten years later he had bought a Mondrian for approximately £5.5m and today he has a reputed 2,000-plus pieces in his portfolio – including art by Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons.

Artist Arguably America’s most talkedabout living artist whose most striking work has been based around giant balloon creations – such as Balloon Flower (Magenta) which sold for more than £15.5m at Christie’s London in 2008. Other famous pieces include three gold statues of Michael Jackson and his chimpanzee, Bubbles, one of which sold for around £3.5m in 1991. German artist Gerhard Richter is one of the few living artists that regularly rivals his success at the auction house.

Iwan Wirth Gallery owner Named one of the most powerful players in contemporary art by The New York Times, this Swiss high-flier and co-owner of the Hauser & Wirth art empire has galleries in Zurich, Piccadilly, Manhattan and Savile Row. The Daily Telegraph describe him as ‘charming’ and say that his relationship with his artists is part of the secret of his success. He’s sold everything from Picasso to Martin Creed – winner of the 2001 Turner Prize for a piece called Work No: 227, which was based around a set of lights being turned on and off.

n e h P Arr dtays of Frieze Fou

Still Life BY Giorgio Morandi, Courtesy of Galleria dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Arte Maggiore G.A.M

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

: n o n e m o in London As Frieze London celebrates its tenth anniversary, Tamsin Pickeral takes a tour to see why the art fair is one of the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hottest calendar dates

ctober has rolled around again with alarming speed, bringing with it the delights of Frieze London, and a particularly special one this year as the arts and culture phenomenon celebrates its tenth birthday. For four days, October 11-14, London is home to one of the most prestigious contemporary art events in the world, bringing together 175 leading international art galleries from 35 different countries under one specially designed temporary structure in Regent’s Park. Architects such as Carmody Groarke, who designed last year’s extraordinary wooden structure, will again be wowing visitors this year with their work, while galleries from across the world will be showcasing their most interesting artists – more than 1,000 of them – each with works for sale. The international nature of Frieze London allows visitors a unique opportunity to enjoy an unprecedented range of artistic talent, all beneath one roof and set within the grounds of one of London’s most beautiful parks.

‘Frieze London has continually expanded since its inception ten years ago to become a cultural hub’

ABOVE:Improved Rack BY Michael Joo, Courtesy of Kukje Gallery RIGHT: Venus ordering armour for Aeneas at Vulcan’s forge BY Gaetano Gandolfi, Courtesy of Colnaghi

The event is much more than an art show however and has continually expanded since its inception a decade ago to become a cultural hub, albeit for a rare few days a year. Running in conjunction with the art show are a number of inspired programmes including a series of keynote lectures held daily by leading art critics, philosophers and intellectuals constituting Frieze

Talk. There is also Frieze Film, which brings together five specifically commissioned artist films to be shown in a specially constructed temporary cinema, Frieze Projects and the coveted Emdash Award. The former consists of a series of site-specific special commissions from five chosen artists, curated by Sarah McCrory. McCrory was appointed curator of the Frieze Projects in 2009 and alongside working with well-known artists has also long been a champion of emerging and underrepresented artists. She brings particular flair to the Frieze Projects, which have this year been undertaken by the artists Thomas Bayrle, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Joanna Rajkowska, DIS Magazine and the Grizedale Arts / Yangjiang Group. This eclectic group will be presenting an extraordinarily diverse range of artistic experiences to challenge preconceived ideas and stimulate discussion. Two stunning pieces by internationally acclaimed German artist Thomas Bayrle, regarded as a key figure in the European Pop Art movement, greet visitors at the entrance to the fair and in the public squares. These dazzling works are taken from designs he originally produced in 1967 (derived from a pair of loafers) and the Laughing Cow motif from the French cheese brand. Bayrle’s work is typically ironic, touched with wry humour and invariably presents deep social commentary. At Frieze London he will bring his long engagement with advertising campaigns and mass iconography to the fore. Looking at the representation of art on television and particularly in crime series, is the nexus for Turkish artist Aslı Çavuşoğlu’s thoughtprovoking piece, Murder in Three Acts. Çavuşoğlu examines how artworks become 

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

integral to the script of crime drama, even to the extent of their use as potential murder weapons. Murder in Three Acts is presented as a real-time performance with actors but also extends to involve visitors to the fair with an emphasis on discussion and debate surrounding the role of artworks in televised crime scenes. Performance of another kind runs at the foundation of Polish artist Joanna Rajkowska’s project, Forcing a Miracle. This moving and contemplative piece takes place close to the fair in Regent’s Park, transforming a small patch of grass into a mystical smoking corner of metaphysical reflections. Rajkowska’s smoke represents the emanation of thoughts, those of the artist and the visitors and deep wishes and heartfelt emotions entwined within ancient religious and secular traditions. 24

Entirely different in nature is the project by DIS Magazine, a fashion, art and commerce publication produced by the dynamic team of Lauren Boyle, Solomon Chase, Marco Roso, Nick Scholl and David Toro with a number of collaborators. DIS explores new ways of documenting art and issues to challenge the way people look at and comprehend different subjects. At Frieze London this year they will do a photo shoot on site using the fair, its architecture, visitors and art as both subject matter and backdrop. The final project is by the Grizedale Arts / Yangjiang Group and examines the use-value of art in the form of a specially constructed structure that will house a number of artists who work with food, along with performances, talks and dining experiences. An exciting addition to the fair this year is

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

‘Frieze Masters, a second art fair, presents key pieces of ancient and modern art alongside each other’

Cécile B Evans, the winner of the Emdash Award for emerging artists living outside the UK. This award, which is run by the Frieze Foundation in collaboration with Gasworks and the Emdash Foundation, has now been going for a number of years and encourages site specific installations in the form of performance, film, video or print work. Evans, the winner of the award, is given a three-month residency at Gasworks studios, £10,000 towards production costs and a fee. The Berlin-based artist has produced an inspired audio guide to

the fair that features non-art experts discussing the pieces in subjective terms and is accompanied by a holographic guide. Evans’ use of non-art experts allows the pieces to be discussed in very real and identifiable terms and offers a different perspective from the normal art critique. It also underlines how art is, and should be accessible to everyone. In addition to marking the tenth anniversary, 2012 has also been a year of several firsts for Frieze. In May of this year Frieze New York, a sister fair to London, was launched with great success in Randall’s Island Park, Manhattan. Overlooking the East River, it is set to be a new annual ‘must visit’ diary date, meanwhile Frieze London this year welcomes the inaugural Frieze Masters. Housed in a bespoke temporary building by Annabelle Selldorf in Regent’s Park near to Frieze London, Frieze Masters, a second art fair, presents key pieces of ancient and modern art alongside each other. The relationship between contemporary and historical art will be addressed through this juxtaposition with a programme of lectures by leading artists, critics and curators. Within Frieze London itself will be several new areas including ‘Focus’, a section for galleries established since 2001 and showing up to three artists, and ‘Frame’, a section for galleries established less than six years ago and selected on the basis of a proposed solo stand. All in all, both Frieze London and Frieze Masters look set to be an artistic and cultural treat with something for everyone and perhaps a few unexpected surprises in store.

from left: Empire’s Borders by Chen Chieh-Jen, Courtesy of Long March Space; Untitled by Franz West, Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery; Bez tytulu by Wilhelm Sasnal, Courtesy of the artist and Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw

Off the

wall

Ever since Bonhams became the first auction house to hold an Urban Art Sale, street art has entered the consciousness of the elite in a way like never before. As the star of these artists continues to rise within well-heeled Mayfair circles, Tamsin Pickeral takes a look at the super-cool genre that just keeps selling

treet Art; you can love it or hate it, although the former is now the governing view among ever-widening audiences. Street art has its share of enemies though; it is, after all, undertaken illegally in many cases. But putting that to one side for a moment, it is also an art form that traditionalists simply do not understand and subsequently vilify as having no substance. The bottom line is that a large number of street artists are extraordinarily talented and bring together some of the most exciting creative and inspired works currently making waves on the art scene, all wrought with technical virtuosity. These artists are fronting what has been described as ‘one of the leading art movements of the century’, pioneering with a raw boldness that makes no apologies. They have redefined the word ‘cool’ and brought a much-needed edginess to the art world. It is unsurprising that works of this genre are among the most collectible of the moment, commanding significant prices even in the current economic climate. Street art is a curious phenomenon at the moment and is a movement that is evolving rapidly, causing consternation even within its ranks. Ironically perhaps, this is based on the success of the movement itself. Street art has become commercial; artists are now making money from their talent – and rightly so – and many now work to commissions or gain permission to use the backdrops they do, so it is not always an illegal venture. They are profiting, some very much so, even to the extent of spin-off merchandise and prints. Yet there are artists who perceive this 

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

right: a piece by blek le rat

as a massive sell-out; destroying the soul of a movement born from subversive roots. Street art has evolved in other ways too; first from graffiti and now a new and closely related genre is emerging, that of urban art. There is much crossover between street and urban art, but in broadly general terms, urban artists work in a studio and take the creativity of street art as their inspiration, sometimes working with media gathered from the street or reflective of street culture; they are, like street artists, impactful in their delivery, seen for example in the work of Joe Black and his evocative piece Made in China – composed of 5,550 plastic toy soldiers. The tradition of graffiti, or more simply, making one’s mark in public, is one that stretches back historically for centuries. The cave paintings and petroglyphs of prehistoric man dating to approximately 40,000 years before the present were in a manner of speaking graffiti, albeit without the edginess. The ancient Egyptians were at it; so too were the Vikings. Mostly though, given the secretive nature of this art form, there is little historic reference to its earliest artists. Some cite the Austrian Joseph Kyselak (1799-1831) as the first graffiti artist – he wrote his name throughout the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in the 19th Century on public buildings, though his impetus was born from a bet with his friend. During the Great Depression that took hold of the US in the 1920s and 30s, a whole generation of people took to riding the railroads – or the boxcars, as they were known and where they settled in their makeshift communities, they left their mark. These painted signs were a form of symbol-based communication amongst the travelling homeless community. Trains have long been a canvas for graffiti and street artists, with Los Angeles-based artist RISK being one of the first to paint freight trains in the 1980s as well as freeway overpasses. Now he also shows in galleries, works on canvas, designs clothing and has worked on a number of music videos and film sets as well as supporting graffiti artists. Today, there is still tremendous importance attached to the individual signature of graffiti and street artists, still used as a form of communication, denoting presence or territory, or more blatantly expressive of ideals, views and even humour. Originality is at the core of any true artist’s work and for graffiti and street artists, their own unique identity is fundamental. This is typified in the work of Invader, whose art can be seen in Wardour Street as well as all across London (and much of the world); the magnificent ROA, who paints almighty animals in black and white – usually with permission given their size and complexity, as in Hedgehog on Chance Street, Shoreditch and El Mac and his portraits that cover whole walls and are so real they appear to breathe (most recently in Hewett Street, 2011). 

‘They have redefined the word ‘cool’ and brought a much needed edginess to the art world’

below: ‘made in china’ by joe black

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

Feature | The mayfair Magazine

 Banksy, one of the biggest names in the graffiti art industry, can be seen around London, including Bruton Lane and the iconic Blek Le Rat, whose most recent image is in New Burlington Street. As well as his artwork, Banksy has also built up a mystery persona which has helped bolster his edgy ‘anti publicity’ stance, which is well documented in Seven Years With Banksy by Robert Clarke (Michael O’Mara Books) who knew the infamous artist before his work started selling for six-figure sums. As art forms, graffiti and street art have long been aligned as an expression of an angry culture and have often visually voiced political dissent, seen particularly in the stencilled images of Mussolini that appeared all over Italy in an underground show of propaganda during WWII – these same images would decades later influence the man now considered the Godfather of t modern street art, Blek Le Rat. Despite a long history, the street art movement truly took hold in New York from the late 1970s before spreading through Europe and remains entirely international with today’s street artists travelling between international cities leaving their mark. This is an art movement that was born largely in anger and frustration many decades ago, but has undergone a fundamental change in recent times. Street art was created by the artist for the people; undercover, anonymous, often illegally and without monetary impetus – many street artists still operate this way. But, for others street art and urban art have become a profession, with artists such as Mr Brainwash, Joe Black and Rich Simmons to name just a few. There is less angst on display and more irony; humour runs deep through many current artists’ work, a tongue in cheek humour that pokes fun at everyone, including the art itself. Which is not to say that the message is necessarily lost. A particularly subtle artist is Stik Person, whose characteristic stick people, despite a sparing use of line, conjure enormous empathy and in particular address homelessness, a situation in which the artist lived himself for some time. Whilst Mayfair might seem an unlikely home for street art and urban art, there are some notable pieces dotted about, but more pertinently, at the heart of Mayfair is a great supporter of this über fashionable movement in the form of the Opera Gallery under the keen eye of expert Jean-David Malat. Next month the gallery will be hosting an exciting new exhibition that brings together a number of street and urban artists, some well-known and some recently discovered talents. Due to the nature of street art images mentioned in the article may have been removed by the time of publishing

‘ The street art movement truly took hold in New York in the late 1970s’

top: A piece by EL MAC; right: ‘Line Man’ by banksy in Pollard Street Sam Cornwell / Shutterstock.com

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Head

over

heels With almost four decades in fashion, working with everyone from Ossie Clark to David Bailey, Manolo Blahnik is a living legend. As he launches his new dedicated space in London’s Harrods and a ‘shop-in-shop’ at Paris’ Printemps de la mode, we meet the world’s most celebrated shoe designer WORDS: ELLE BLAKEMAN

left: the ‘Ossie’ heel sketch by Manolo Blahnik, which is being re-released exclusively for Printemps Haussmann in paris. Right: heel sketch by Manolo Blahnik

here are a handful of people in this world who have no need for last names. Madonna, Bono, Prince (before he was ‘The artist formerly known as Prince’); Manolo is in this category. He is also ‘one of the very few brand names that have become a synonym for the product – Hoover, Kleenex, Band-Aid, Post-it, Manolo, says Alice Rawsthorn, the International Herald Tribune’s design critic. ‘He’s also adorable,’ she added. His creations, like the man himself, are legendary; both are instantly recognisable, with the power to transform the mundane to the fabulous in the time it takes to tie a jewel-coloured strap. Bold, elegant and always seductive, Manolos are the exclamation point to a woman’s outfit; indeed they were mentioned so often in the Sex and the City series that he is – or they are – considered to be the show’s ‘fifth star’ (tied with New York City itself). As fellow first-name-only legend Madonna once said, ‘Manolo Blahnik’s shoes are as good as sex – and they last longer.’ And if anyone should know... So what is it about his footwear that is so damn sexy? ‘Shoes are paramount to the way you  33

look,’ says Blahnik. ‘They add something special and often fun. ‘One of the best compliments I ever heard was from one of my customers, who said that when she is bored at a party all she needs to do is look down at her shoes and she is entertained,’ he says. Despite being top of every fashion editor’s must-wear list, Blahnik received no formal training, and was originally planning to go into set design. Born in the Canary Islands, to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and raised on a banana plantation, he studied literature at the University of Geneva, leaving with a degree and plan to study art in Paris. He studied in the French capital for two years, but the city of lights failed to capture his attention like other places would and Blahnik left to come to London, which he tells me is his ‘favourite place in the world’.

‘Shoes are paramount to the way you look. They add something special and often fun’ – Manolo Blahnik ‘London is a very creative place,’ he says. ‘When I came to London in the Seventies, I met such wonderful creative people who I am still friends with today. They really influenced me and my life.’ After moving to London, he became friends with Paloma Picasso and [photographer] Eric Boman, who encouraged the young Blahnik to go to New York and meet the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland

RIGHT: hangisi heel, £640, manolo blahnik. OPPOSITE: MANOLO BLAHNIK (PHOTOgraphy COURTESY OF BATH IN FASHION)

and show her his drawings for theatre sets. ‘I was beyond terrified. I was almost fainting. I was young, like 17 or something — and mentally even younger because that’s how we were back then. For two days, I couldn’t sleep,’ he says. What Vreeland told him has gone down in fashion history, destined to be quoted and misquoted for as long as magazines exist. ‘How amusing,’ she exclamed. ‘You can do accessories very well. Why don’t you do that? Young man, concentrate and do shoes!’. ‘She advised me very well,’ he says, with impressive understatement. And so he returned to London and in 1972 Ossie Clark asked him to design the shoes for his next collection. They were extraordinary, but perilous. ‘I forgot to put in heels that would support the shoe, when it got hot the heels started to wobble – it was like walking on quicksand,’ he says. It lead British Vogue to declare ‘If you’re buying (his) shoes, employ a sense of humour,’ and put Blahnik firmly on the style map. By then, Blahnik had a list of editors and young starlets of the moment beating down his door. Grace Coddington, Marisa Berenson, Jane Birkin, Charlotte Rampling, Lauren Bacall… all popped into Zapata, the Old Church Street boutique based in Chelsea. In 1973 he brought the boutique and started his own shop and by 1974 he became the first man to appear on the cover of British Vogue – photographed by David Bailey, locked in a passionate embrace with Anjelica Huston. Although he wasn’t planning to go into shoe design, he was inspired from an early age by his ‘very elegant’ mother. ‘I always used to read her magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue which were shipped to us from Argentina to the Canary Islands and always arrived many months later.’ ‘She was always immaculately dressed and passed on the importance of dressing well to me and my sister. At the time there was a real lack 

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

Feature | The mayfair Magazine

 of beautiful shoes and my mother bought materials and fabrics and customised her own shoes and even learned from the local cobbler how to make them. I think this must have affected me when I was a child and later demonstrated itself in my life, but I never consciously thought about it,’ he says. Finding inspiration in ‘absolutely everything my senses experience’, Blahnik’s whimsical sketches are full of intrigue and fun. ‘What I see, what I smell and what I feel; books I read, art I see, people I pass by on a street and everything around me inspires me. Having spent such a lot of time with famous artists makes me wonder if Blahnik considers his own work as ‘wearable art’ as the rest of the fashion world does? ‘At most I consider my shoes applied art,’ he says modestly downplaying pieces that are undoubtably more coveted than many of the world’s most famous artworks. ‘Shoes are to be worn and they are meant to have a life, a life of the person who wears them. I do love art though and often think of Matisse or Zurbaran,’ he says. Another art that may influence the designer is that of vintage movies, a passion of his that can be traced back to his first years in London when Manolo Blahnik he reportedly spent most of his afternoons in Leicester Square devouring film after film on the big screen. ‘Absolutely, there is no doubt about it – I am hugely inspired by films. I especially love Visconti and Vittorio de Sica. Every night I watch at least one film from my collection. Indeed his passion was so great that it lead him to pen a column for Harper’s Bazaar UK on the subject, inspiring readers with a desire to see classic pictures such as The Red Shoes and The Big Sleep because of his infectious enthusiasm for them. This love of old movies is fitting for a man who believes that the Fifties was ‘the most stylish era’ of all time. ‘I really loved the Fifties when I was a child. Everything was so beautiful and properly made; wonderful fabrics and dresses made by hand – there is nothing that can replace this sort of artisanry,’ he says. Looking at his flawless, sapphire Hangisi heel, I think it’s the first time I’ve ever disagreed with Manolo.

‘Shoes are to be worn and they are meant to have a life, a life of the person who wears them’

–

To celebrate Manolo Blahnik’s upcoming shop-in-shop at Printemps de la mode in France, the store is hosting a unique exhibition, Manolo Blahnik, 40 years of glamour, until 20 October. Blahnik is also re-releasing one of its most iconic models: the ‘Ossie’ exclusively for Printemps Haussmann, signed ‘Manolo Blahnik for Printemps’. (departmentstoreparis.printemps.com)

images: heel sketches, all by manolo blahnik

Paper From Elliott Erwitt’s iconic photography to a new book chartering the career and influence of Salvador Dalí, we bring you the latest art books for your coffee-table collection w o r ds : k a t e r a c o v o l i s

#1 Salvador Dalí, The Making of an Artist

Left: SALVADOR DALÍ, © Estate of George Platt Lynes; BELOW: © Richard Estes, Allan Stone Gallery, New York FAR RIGHT: #4: Gustav klimt, TASCHEN / © société Compagnie Immobilière SAS et consorts STOCLET #5: Elliott Erwitt XXL, Photo: © 2012 Elliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos

Few would argue the influence of Salvador Dalí on 20th century art. This new book traces the manifold factors that made Dalí the artist he was, drawing on the literature, photography, film and sculpture that influenced him, as well as the master pieces he created throughout his career. His most recognisable paintings, such as The Persistence of Memory and icons of the surrealist movement including the Mae West Lips Sofa and the Lobster Telephone all have their rightful place in the anthology. The book also nods to his influence on contemporary artists from Andy Warhol to Jeff Koons; a testament to the enduring longevity and relevance of his work. £50, Published by Flammarion (01903 828503)

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

chase #2 The Art Book

Phaidon’s iconic title, The Art Book, is the art-equivalent of the dictionary, documenting all the works of art that you should know. You don’t need to be an art fanatic or even particularly well-read on your art literature; all that’s required is an appreciation for creativity in order to enjoy this collection of the most iconic works of art both of today and eras bygone. Updated to include an extra 100 works, The Art Book is brought well and truly into the present with paintings, photographs, sculptures, video, installations and performance art. New Edition, £39.95, Phaidon 2012 (www.phaidon.com)

#3 Architecture Now! Eat Shop Drink The latest compilation of the best in design, Architecture Now! Eat Shop Drink draws together the work of the heavyweights of architecture today, including David Chipperfield, Peter Marino, Jean Nouvel and Bjarke Ingels, all in one. The biggest names in the game are also

recognised alongside the new and emerging talents of today including Gary Card, designer of London’s concept store, the Late Night Chameleon Café and David Lynch who designed the chic and deviant Parisian nightclub, Silencio. The book gives an inside look at how architects embark on their creative process, focusing on design hotspots of the past as well as those tipped for future success; from Kobe to Turku through to São Paulo. £24.99 (www.taschen.com)

#4 Gustav Klimt: The Complete Paintings Gustav Klimt is perhaps best known for his use of gold leaf in intricate paintings. His life’s work is still celebrated today for the beauty, sense of sorrow and passion that he was able to capture in a single portrait. It has been 150 years since Klimt’s birth and the launch of his complete works reveals his ideas and creative genius in one impressive volume. His contemporaries comment in a series of essays on his portrayal of women and adopting landscapes into his paintings, which became more prevalent towards the second half of his life. And although he is thought of as a man of few words, there are actually more than 200 letters, cards and pieces of his writing are included in this collectable monograph. £135 (www.taschen.com)

#5 Elliott Erwitt XXL Elliott Erwitt’s photographs are some of the most widely recognised in the world. He captured Marilyn Monroe’s white dress at just the right moment, immortalising the iconic image in popular culture. The photography master also belonged to Magnum, the artist’s group founded by some of the most iconic forerunners to his career, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa among other legendary names. This limited-edition book collects many of his most memorable pieces, with each representing a different slice of modern life; how we live today as a treasure to pass on to the future generations. Limited edition, £1,500 (www.teneues.com)

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Couture

culture Celebrate British flair this month with fashion photography at Somerset House, a vast new accessories hall at Selfridges and the return of 007 W O R D S : K AT E R A C O V O L I S

Tim Walker’s Storyteller exhibition at Somerset House this month is probably the only place you will see Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz wearing a pair of rabbit ears – all in the name of art, of course. Walker’s inspirational collection of images, collages and snapshots from his personal archives at the exhibit have also been turned into a book, published to coincide with the exhibition, which will make a beautifully quirky addition to your coffee-table collection (£45, Thames & Hudson). For your October retail therapy fix, Selfridges unveils its new look accessories department featuring a stunning edit of handbags. And since style is on our agenda, the two fashion icons who authored

Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de La Fressange and Sophie Gachet, have joined forces again, writing a planner for 2013 with style tips for each week, accompanied by the playful fashion illustrations by Ines de la Fressange (£12.95, Flammarion). Continue to feed your creative curiosity at Digital Crystal: Swarovski at the Design Museum, the rather glamorous exhibition which explores the future of memory in our fast-developing digital age, using Swarovski crystal as its medium. And after a year of celebrating everything British, we can finally mix our vodka martinis (with a twist of orange at the ready) and watch as Daniel Craig brings James Bond back to the silver screen in Skyfall. In a tribute to the original 007, preHollywood, pick up a copy of the beautiful cloth-bound Ian Fleming: The Bibliography, a comprehensive guide to Fleming’s works by John Gilbert (£175, Queen Anne Press). If you’re inspired by another parade of Bond girls, as glamorous and elegant as their predecessors, the new long-lasting red lip colour from Sensai by Kanebo (£40, Sensai by Kanebo, available at Harrods) is a must-have. Rich in pigment and full of seductive allure, it was used on the femme fatale stars of SkyFall – a decadent tribute to 007.

FROM TOP: chandelier by Yves Behar; Olga Shearer on blue horse Sennowe Park, Norfolk, 2007 © Tim Walker; lip colour, £40, sensai by kanebo (available at harrods); bag, £735, 3.1 Phillip Lim, (available at selfridges); IAN FLEMING: THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, queen anne press; Parisian chic weekly planner 2013, £12.95, flammarion; film still from ‘skyfall’; LEFT: Karlie Kloss in gold feathers Shoreditch, London, 2010 © Tim Walker

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The mayfair Magazine | Regulars

My life in

MAYFAIR

Andrew Renton director of Marlborough Fine Art Gallery

ndrew Renton is very excited. The director of Albemarle Street’s Marlborough Fine Art Gallery has every reason to be, as this month, he will oversee the launch of a brand new space and a whole new program and direction for the 65-year-old Mayfair gallery. On 11 October, during Frieze week, Renton will open the doors to Marlborough Contemporary, a sister gallery to his Fine Art location, where Mayfair collectors will be able to peruse more cutting-edge artists that have, to date, been slightly off Marlborough’s radar. ‘It’s going to be dramatically different from the original gallery,’ says Renton. ‘We are going to work with very different types of artists, drawing them from different parts of the world, which makes the space more conceptually driven, with different kinds of identities.’ As the Fine Art gallery is known for its modern masters, the new space will side-step into something altogether different. ‘It’s fascinating, particularly because we’re talking about Mayfair, which has always been the home of modern art in Britain. The market exposure to contemporary art has opened up and galleries are responding to that. Mayfair is now the one-stop shop for contemporary art. ‘There’s an atmosphere here that’s incredibly exciting,’ he says, explaining why the gallery was built in Albemarle Street, despite the great expense in doing so: ‘We considered going somewhere else for all of a minute before dismissing it! ‘There’s a conversation that’s going on between the collectors and the galleries here. You just bump in to people all the time, for me it feels almost like a village – a very sophisticated one.’ Renton’s ties to the streets of Mayfair go back to childhood, when his father lived on Park Lane. ‘It’s funny because I now end up using the same places as my father did. I see what he did and do the same. ‘The only place my brother and I were allowed to walk was to Richoux; I still have an affectionate feeling towards it now.’ Mayfair can also be credited with gifting Renton his love of art, or at least encouraging it. ‘I remember one day seeing two guys carrying a Francis Bacon painting. I loved that – I knew how big Bacon was and I’ve never in my whole life seen a major painting being carried around before. It was an incredibly formative moment.’ And how has Mayfair changed over his years here? ‘Mayfair is about both the new and old. There’s been a transformation of Mount Street and South Audley street, which has been really thrilling to see, because it’s been done really well. But it’s also been controlled by the building blocks that are immovable – you don’t mess with the Connaught – so the important things last. I used to have breakfast there with my dad once a week and it was very special. For me, porridge at the Connaught – that’s the definition of Mayfair living.’

‘Mayfair, has always been the home of modern art in this country’ – Andrew Renton

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The mayfair Magazine | Art

Mayfair is the place to be this October; Nick Botting is inspired by the capital’s streets while PAD London will be coming to town w o r d s : c a r ol c o r d r e y

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner… Nick Botting has enjoyed being in London for most of his life and the pleasure he derives from it is crystal clear in his uplifting, light-filled, figurative paintings of daily life in the capital. Angst-ridden social critiques do not feature in his oeuvre; instead Botting presents us with appealing scenes of adults and children enjoying urban activities. His paintings span the simple and the sophisticated aspects of life; relaxing in parks, shopping and enjoying sport. All are well observed and deftly painted with a softness that seems to instantly absorb his viewers into each unfolding scene. London life has always provided Botting with a wealth of inspiration but this summer has presented him with a particularly rich source. The result is a massive body of work comprising 80 paintings. ‘An English Summer’ by Nick Botting runs from 11 October – 2 November at The Portland Gallery, 8 Bennet Street, SW1A (www.portlandgallery.com)

A PAD bursting with global art and design For generations, Berkeley Square has been synonymous with quality and style. This has been accentuated over the past six years by its annual art fair, PAD London, that takes up temporary residence in October. This time, the fair boasts 18 additional, distinguished dealers who specialise in the finest modern art, design and decorative arts from around the world. Amongst them will be 20th-century art specialists Gana Art Gallery from Seoul, Castelli Gallery from New York and Galerie Gmurzynska from Zurich. PAD London runs from 10 - 14 October at Berkeley Square, London, W1 (www.pad-fairs.com)

Q&A with… Victoria Siddal, director of the newly launched Frieze Masters

Q: What exactly is Frieze Masters and which forms of art will it encompass? A: Frieze Masters will show art throughout the ages, made before the year 2000, with medieval sculpture sitting side by side with early Warhol drawings. We want to show as broad as possible a spectrum of art history before the contemporary period. Q: In its 10 year life, Frieze has been identified with the avant-garde, so what is the rationale for introducing more traditional art? A: We know that there is an active dialogue between the past and present, and we hope that by bringing a contemporary approach to historical material we can make it a more active conversation. Although Frieze has been associated with the new, contemporary art is always informed by what has gone before. We aim to put artists at the centre of what we do, and in our conversations we have found that many artists engage with these ideas when they go into a studio. As we spoke to galleries and collectors about Frieze Masters we found that there was a real appetite for exploring the connections between past and present. Q: What will be the image of this new facet of Frieze and will it be within the main marquee? A: Frieze Masters is a separate fair from Frieze London with a unique identity but the two will run at the same time. New York based architect Annabelle Selldorf is designing an elegant, light, minimal space for Frieze Masters on Gloucester Green, Regents Park. Frieze Masters will be a short walk from the contemporary fair, allowing an easy crossover between audiences wanting the old and the new.

top left: Breakfast at the Wolseley by nick botting; LEFT: Two Seated Figures, 1944. by Henry Moore, Courtesy of Hazlitt Holland Hibbert; above: the nominal three (to William of Ockham) 1963 BY DAN FLAVIN

Art news

Exhibition Focus:

This spectacular exhibition, sponsored by Harry Winston, brings Hollywood to London – presenting more than 100 famous costumes from the past century’s most iconic films w o r d s : C A RO L C ORDR E Y

ost of us have Dorothy’s crisp, blue and white gingham dress from the Wizard of Oz (1939) and Scarlett O’Hara’s gorgeous green dress from Gone with the Wind (1939) etched in our memories. Holly Golightly’s elegant ‘little black dress’ designed by Givenchy for Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) redefined the cocktail dress for that era and subsequent ones, while the costumes for the recent Avatar (2010) were crucial to the success of the entire film. Hollywood Costume sponsored by Harry Winston will bring all these and numerous other costumes together, filling three galleries at the V&A. However, sourcing, negotiating and securing them from public and private collections around the world has required strenuous effort and tenacity spanning five years – a story in itself that is almost worthy of a film. Hollywood Costume will not just put the clothes in our sights; it will give us a fascinating, once-in-a-lifetime insight into the creative process and collaboration between director, designer and actor that brings the script to the screen and enables the imagined to become a convincing reality. The group of costumes worn by Meryl Streep for her award-winning role as The Iron Lady was fundamental to changing our perception of her from famous American star to our own Margaret Thatcher – a transformation which was as crucial to the actress as it was to the viewers, ‘On 

left: breakfast at tiffany’s; right: elizabeth: the golden age

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‘Hollywood heroes and femme fatales are brought into sharp focus’

above from left: The Bride Wore Red 1937. MGM, THE KOBAL COLLECTION, GEORGE HURRELL; Some Like it Hot, 1959. ©United Artists. The Kobal Collection; angel

every film, the clothes are half the battle in creating the character’, claims Streep. Her views on the subject are so strong that she admits to giving designers, ‘a great deal of opinion about how my people are presented’. Throughout the past century or so, costume designing processes have changed from artists committing hours, days and often weeks to sitting in libraries and producing hand-sketched designs, to the current use of new technology, which provides inspiration from global archives at the click of a mouse. It also provides equally speedy facilities for submitting designs to film-makers anywhere in the world. The story of costume design from the Charlie Chaplin silent-picture era through to the present day will be told in suitably dramatic fashion with Act One: Deconstruction, explaining the role of costume designers in cinema and how they link clothing with characters once the scripts arrive on their desks. For anybody interested in working in this field, this part of the exhibition will prove particularly fascinating as it will shine the spotlight on how realistic and fantastical costumes are researched, created, fitted, related to scripts and produced within budgets. It will illustrate all of this with an array of fabulous outfits from films such as Empire of the Sun, Addams Family Values and Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, concluding with Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Act Two: Dialogue will employ archival film footage and specially commissioned interviews to focus on four landmark director/designer pairings: Alfred Hitchcock and Edith Head (The Birds); Tim Burton and Colleen Atwood (Edward Scissorhands); Martin Scorsese and Sandy Powell (Gangs of New York); and Mike Nichols and Ann Roth(Closer). The importance of historical and social context will also be discussed through the varying interpretations of Cleopatra, whilst different genres will be explored through the prime examples of Ben Hur, True Grit, Star Wars and A Room with a View. This section will end with case studies and interviews with Robert de Niro and Meryl Streep on the importance of costume in developing their most famous characters. The closing section of this superb exhibition will be Act Three: Finale, in which Hollywood heroes and femme fatales are brought into sharp focus. Amongst the iconic costumes and designs will be Errol Flynn’s doublet from The Adventures of Don Juan, Marilyn Monroe’s white cocktail dress from Some Like it Hot, the hightech Batman suit from The Dark Knight Rises, Gryffindor’s school house uniform from Harry Potter and Keira Knightly’s sensuous silk gown from Atonement. These pieces and more will reveal how costumes don’t just create characters, but make iconic pieces of cinematic history, while Londoners will be treated to a sprinkling of true Hollywood stardust. ‘Hollywood Costume sponsored by Harry Winston’ runs from 20 October at the V&A musuem (www.vam.ac.uk)

                                    .         

arrive and revive

The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Almâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; we hiked to today was an insider tip from our host. The view from here of sun-kissed mountain peaks reaching for the sky is simply spellbinding. We feel totally free, nearly giddy with joy. We might even spend the night up here. Just like the dairy maid. For information about holidays in Austria, visit www.austria.info/treasures or call 0845 101 1818

The mayfair Magazine | Art

BONHAMS | PRIZE LOT Irma Stern’s ‘Mangbetu woman carrying fruit’

outh African painter, Irma Stern’s 1942 visit to the Congo, (the first of three visits to the country), proved to be immensely satisfying in the rich array of sensory experience it provided for her. Mangbetu woman carrying fruit exemplifies the bright colours as well as the more sensuous figures that characterised her work from the period. A sketch in Stern’s Congo diary, published in 1943, provides an evocative promissory note for the current lot: fluid lines denote the curvature of neck, cheeks and a single arm which reaches up to steady the arrangement of bananas balanced effortlessly on the sitter’s head (belying the verbal description of the bananas being carried in such enormous clusters that they had to be secured with a band around the forehead). This fluidity and languor of movement is translated into oils in Mangbetu woman carrying fruit, an image that captures Stern’s romantic vision of a society in harmony with nature. Most notably, the downcast eyes of the sitter in the sketch now rise, in the painting, to meet the viewer. Mangbetu woman carrying fruit reflects Stern at the height of her powers, demonstrating her mastery of vivid colour and lively brushwork. Stern has boldly contrasted the green and blue hues of the bananas with red flowers and yellow costume, all set against a pale background which lushly complements the dark skin of the sitter. The sitter in the present work Particulars: bears similarities to Mangbetu girl and Expected Value (item): Mangbetu Chief’s daughter, painted by Stern £300,000 - £500,000 in the same year. The exquisite painting is signed and Expected Value (auction): £5,000,000 dated ‘Irma Stern / 1942’ at the upper right of the oil on canvas piece, measuring Estimated Range: 69 by 69cm. £3,000 – £5,000 to £350,000 – £550,000 No. of Lots: 130 Place: Bonhams, New Bond Street Image: Courtesy of Bonhams

Date: 17 October 2012 51

Art | The mayfair Magazine

CHRISTIE’S | PRIZE LOT The 2008 Aston Martin from ‘Quantum of Solace’

ans of James Bond should get in to gear. Not only will we get the next thrilling dose of Bond action in cinemas this month, but we’ll also get a taste of some of the high-tech seductive gadgets synonymous with the spy’s seductive style. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of James Bond on film, Christie’s announce 50 Years of James Bond, where there will be an opportunity to acquire a piece of Bond memorabilia directly from the archives of EON Productions, as well as donations from the Bond cast members. The auction is led by a 2008 Aston Martin Six Litre V12 DBS two door Coupe which was used by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace. The Aston Martin DBS plays a dramatic role in the opening sequence of the film

in which Bond skilfully navigates winding roads in a high speed car chase. All proceeds from the sale of this car are to benefit children’s charity, Barnardo’s. Aston Martin has long been a favourite

with Bond, first appearing in Goldfinger in 1964 and over the years featuring in a total of nine Bond films. James Bond drives an Aston Martin DBS, the successor of the Vanquish, in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The original DBS was first produced from 1967-1972 and featured in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969. Marking the exact date of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Bond film, Dr. No, the auction will take place on the evening of Friday, 5 October, with all proceeds from the 50 Years of James Bond auction to benefit UNICEF and other selected charities.

Image: Christie’s Images Ltd

Particulars: Expected Value (item): £100,000-£150,000 Expected Value (auction): TBC Estimated Range: £800-£150,000 No. of Lots: 10 Place: Christie’s, South Kensington Old Brompton Road Date: 5 October, 8.30pm (by invitation only)

ENJOY YOUR VERY OWN WALL OF SOUND The new BeoLab 12 is a fully digital on-wall loudspeaker that produces sensational surround sound in a graceful, minimalist fashion. It is the perfect compliment to any flat-screen or home stereo system. This revolutionary loudspeaker co-operates with the wall it is placed on, transmitting treble and bass sounds with outstanding precision and depth. BeoLab 12 features a sculptural design that forms a reassuring wave pattern that beholds powerful capabilities, maximizing every inch of the slim space. Call it the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most high-performing optical illusion, because when viewed from the side, this commanding loudspeaker appears even slimmer.

Visit our showroom to experience the spectacular sound of BeoLab12 Bang & Olufsen of Chelsea 147 Kings Road, London SW3 5TX Tel: 020 7376 5222 Email: chelsea@bang-olufsen.co.uk www.bang-olufsen.com/chelsea

bang-olufsen.com

Bang & Olufsen of Chelsea - BeoLab 12 Advert - Place at 100% (297 x 210mm + 3mm Bleed)

Our boutique is located 20 Motcomb Street London SWIX 8LB tel. 020 7823 2176

www.annickgoutal.com

The mayfair Magazine | Art

SOTHEBY’S | PRIZE LOT A Fatimid white-ground lustre pottery jar from Egypt, 10th/11th century

his superb jar, as part of the Art of the Islamic World auction, belongs to a small group of surviving Fatimid lustre jars, of which the few that exist are presently published in the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, the Benaki Museum, Athens, the Aga Khan Collection, Toronto, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, inter alia. The majority of the extant Fatimid lustre pottery is fragmentary, and intact pieces such as this are exceptionally rare. The jar takes an ovoidal shape on a flat base, with a raised band at the shoulder. The short inward-sloping neck with everted rim sits on the body of the jar, which is painted in a golden lustre over an opaque white glaze. With a band of foliated Kufic script around the neck, and in vertical bands on the body alternating with foliate decoration, the jar’s design is beautifully preserved. The interior is also glazed. This lustre jar, along with the previously published works around the world, needs to be seen in the context of the earlier phase of lustre production under the Abbasids and the new phase which flowed from the expansion and enrichment of the Fatimid dynasty. Presented as regional challengers to the Abbasid empire, the Fatimids’ conquest of Egypt and subsequent creation of Cairo, or al-Qahira, ‘the triumphant’, as their new capital in 973 AD, brought this new imperial power into direct competition with the Abbasid court at Baghdad. The period of prosperity which followed saw the rise of Cairo as a centre for trade, attracting craftsmen from around the region, and, notably, lustre potters from Iraq. A lustre jar now in the David Collection, Copenhagen (inv.no.28/1971) dated to Iraq in the tenth century, displays a number of similarities with Fatimid lustreware from Egypt which further reveals the connection and competition between both courts.

Particulars: Expected Value (item): £300,000-£500,000 Expected Value (auction): £5.5m – £8.2m Estimated Range: £300 - £500 to £300,000 - £500,000 No. of Lots: 268 Place: Sotheby’s New Bond Street Date: 3 October 2012

Image: © Sotheby’s

We prefer not to be measured by dimensions. Unless it’s a new dimension of accuracy.

No fewer than four exceptional mechanisms enhance the precision of the RICHARD LANGE TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite”: the tiny fusée-and-chain transmission, the delicate tourbillon, the ultra-thin Lange balance spring, and – not least – the patented stop-seconds device for the tourbillon which makes it possible to

set the watch with one-second accuracy in the first place. Never before has an A. Lange & Söhne watch been endowed with so many complications that simultaneously enhance its rate accuracy, settability, and readability. And so, this remarkable timepiece truly deserves the honorary attribute “Pour le Mérite”.

Arije 165, Sloane Street London • George Pragnell 5 and 6, Wood Street, Stratford-upon-Avon Hamilton & Inches 87, George Street, Edinburgh • Harrods 87–135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London Watches of Switzerland 16, New Bond Street, London • Wempe 43-44, New Bond Street, London Lange Uhren GmbH • Tel. +34 91 454 89 82 • www.lange-soehne.com

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The mayfair Magazine | Collection

Watch news For treasured timepieces, horological heirlooms and modern masterpieces, watch this space...

IMAGE: Photo BY Brijesh Patel The Kalory Agency

W O RD S : R I C HARD b r own

SalonQP Returns Following record numbers of visitors and exhibitors at last year’s event, SalonQP will be returning to the Saatchi Gallery between 8 and 10 November of 2012. Now in its fourth year, the UK’s only fine watch exhibition will present an impressive array of horological delights, including presentations, debates and static exhibitions from the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. With a list of exhibitors stretching from Arnold & Son to Zenith – via the likes of Chopard, Jaeger-LeCoultre, TAG Heuer and Vacheron Constantin, among many others – the event will showcase the watch industry’s finest craftsmanship. SalonQP opens with a VIP reception on Thursday 8 November, with the exhibition open to ticket holders on 9 and 10 November, including a cocktail reception on the Friday evening. For tickets, visit www.salonqp.com.

ONE TO WATCH Each month we select our timepiece of the moment from the watch world’s latest releases

‘Like all Patek timepieces, the 5396/1R-001 has a timeless appeal and elegance that will never fade. The watch features a mechanical automatic movement, brown sunburst dial and annual calendar complication with day, date and month indications’

Precision Style After the news that Burberry will be making a move into the world of fine watches next month – a story the company insists we can’t print with pictures until then – Ermenegildo Zegna has announced it is doing the same thing. Taking the High Performance concept it pioneered with fabrics as inspiration, the brand has unveiled two High Performance Chronographs (£4,000) and a High Performance Sea Diver (£2,200). The former is black ceramic with ergonomic rubber-coated push pieces and the steel-cased Sea Diver, with an operating depth of 300m, features a blackened aluminium insert. (www.zegna.com) It’s Complicated It has been providing its clients with the “most affordable, expensive” watches in the world since 2005 but nothing Christopher Ward has produced before offers quite as much value for money as its new C900 Single Pusher Chronograph. An extremely rare example of a luxury watch being put together by just one man (in this case, either legendary watch maker Johannes Jahnke or his assistant Frank Stelzer), each C900 Single Pusher costs £2,450, despite being one of only 250 made. The automatic chronograph can be started, stopped and reset with a single ‘pusher’, or button. (www. christopher ward.co.uk)

5396/1R-001, £51,680 (RRP), Patek Philippe Available at Harrods and Selfridges 57

From the office to the

open sea

The mayfair Magazine | Collection

In less than two decades, Panerai has gone from purveyor of military wristwatches to producer of some of the industry’s most popular timepieces. Richard Brown sets sail with the brand’s CEO Angelo Bonati at the annual Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge

hey’re the archetypal City boy watches. Bold-faced and portly-proportioned, Panerai’s Luminor and Radiomir timepieces have ridden the oversized wristwatch wave to become the number one choice for any banker looking to make a statement. It’s one reason, among others, that Panerai’s products provoke the ‘Marmite’ effect. ‘You hate it or you love it,’ admits CEO Angelo Bonati. ‘There is nothing in between. My opinion doesn’t really make any difference.’ We are talking at the Cowes leg of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge – an annual series of ten races that commence in Antigua and conclude in the waters of Cannes. Despite the difference in opinion that Panerai elicits, Mr Bonati is adamant the company won’t be changing its design direction any time soon. ‘Panerai is a very particular brand with very particular clients. We have a different soul to others, different CEO, Panerai passions and a very different history.’ That they do. Founded in Florence in 1860, Officine Panerai’s rise to the top of the timepiece industry owes much to the Italian Navy. Having been supplied with precision instruments by the company from before the 20th century, in 1936 the Command of the First Submarine Group turned to Panerai for a watch that would be able to withstand the extreme conditions to which the sea would subject it. The result was the Radiomir, a watch featuring a cushion-shaped case, 47mm diameter and a hand-wound mechanical movement supplied by Rolex. 13 years later – after a World War in which Panerai provided the frogmen of the Decima Flottiglia MAS with timing instruments – came the Luminor. Like the Radiomir, the Luminor took its name from the luminescent material Panerai developed to make its watches legible in the dark and underwater. For the next four decades the brand continued making watches exclusively for the 

‘You hate it or you love it. There is nothing in between’ – Angelo Bonati,

ABOVE, from left: PAM00438 Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic Ceramica – 44mm; PAM00424 Radiomir California 3 Days 47mm; PAM00388 Radiomir Black Seal 3 Days Automatic – 45mm

 Italian Navy; not until 1993 did Panerai produce a series of models aimed at the civilian market. Despite the change in clientele, little about the company’s creations changed. The characteristic large dial remained, as did the iconic crown-protecting lever-clamp device. ‘The history and character of our watches has stayed very strong,’ says Bonati. ‘We are an Italian brand born out of Florence, the city of art, culture and beauty. Our authenticity is one of the things that keep our clients satisfied.’ With its longstanding links to the sea, it is perhaps no surprise that the company is keen to keep its image associated with sailing, and with classic yachts in particular. For the last eight years the Classic Yachts Challenge has run under Panerai’s sponsorship, an event the brand has used to champion the sport, and its own heritage-led persona, across the globe. ‘The region of the brand is the waters, the sea,’ confirms Bonati. ‘Panerai needs to be always linked to its origin otherwise it runs the risk of losing its path, or losing its clients because they don’t understand you anymore. We consider the classic yacht, not the modern ones, very linked to our place within the watch industry.’ More than simply paying to have the event prefixed by its own name, Panerai’s commitment to the Classic Yachts Challenge extends to them fielding their own Bermudan ketch in this year’s series. Discovered languishing in an advanced state of disrepair in Antigua, Eilean was purchased and brought to Italy in 2006. Following exhaustive restoration, the boat made her UK regatta debut in Cowes this year, one of more than 70 vintage boats that made their way to the turbulent tides of the

Solent. ‘When we found the boat it was sinking,’ explains Bonati. ‘But as soon as I saw it, I fell in love. We spent four years of our time restoring her and now she is an ambassador for the brand and its future. There is something very special about Eilean: the first Panerai wristwatch was made in 1936; Eileen was made in 1936.’ Despite being one of the worst summers on record, 2012’s Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge attracted enough boats to make it the largest and most historically significant collection of vintage vessels to gather in UK waters for more than a decade. Off the back of such events awareness of the Panerai brand is growing year by year, their products appearing in increasing frequency in bars and boardrooms across the country. Bonati has already discussed the flourishing success of his brand within the UK, but what about elsewhere? ‘The watch industry is growing around the world. The biggest markets for us depend on if you are talking about regions or countries. If you consider regions, then Europe; if you consider countries, then sales in Italy and Hong Kong are more or less the same. China is of course a big potential market. But for now we are selling more to the Chinese in Europe than to the Chinese in China.’ Back in Britain, there’s no denying that City-types make up an important contingent of Panerai’s fan-base. How, then, did Panerai suffer when the recession started pinching at the pockets of those in the Square Mile? According to Bonati, it didn’t. ‘The recession was easy. I think if you have a good business model, a good product and good communication, you can fly over a recession.

‘If you have a good business model, a good product and 60

The mayfair Magazine | Collection

Maybe you grow less fast than before, maybe you have to work a little harder, but you can continue. That’s what happened for Panerai. Over last few years, we have grown very well.’ Indeed, within Panerai’s 150-year history the period between 2006 and 2010 represents one of the brand’s most successful spells. In 2007 Panerai announced the launch of three calibres completely designed, engineered and produced in-house while 2008 saw the opening of numerous boutiques across Asia, Europe and the United States. Recession? What recession? And of the future? Bonati is excited. ‘We are having a revolution. But one that will see us keep the same soul, the same design and the same positive element that brings Panerai to life. Sometimes I mention Mercedes. If you compare the latest Mercedes with one made ten years ago you see a huge difference but you continue to feel the same car.That’s what has to happen with Panerai; a continual evolution where the history of the brand is never forgotten.’ It’s a formula that’s served the company well over the last decade and one that will no doubt see it sails smoothly into the future. www.panerai.com

‘Panerai needs to be always linked to its origin otherwise it runs the risk of losing its path’ – Angelo Bonati, CEO, Panerai

RIGHT: PAM00422 Luminor Marina 1950 3 Days – 47mm; All images from Panerai’s British Classic Week © Panerai by Guido Cantini

good communication, you can fly over a recession’ 61

Collection | The mayfair Magazine

#10 #6

Not

stirred Aiming to achieve the debonair gentleman look? Take inspiration from James Bond’s accessory drawer

#1 Silk polka-dot square, £50, Drake’s London #2 Round optical cufflinks, £59, Thomas Pink #3 Silver-plated bulldog handle umbrella, £185, Archer Adams #4 Pocket square and bow-tie set, £115, Drake’s London, #5 Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M SKYFALL Limited Edition watch, £4,420, Omega #6 18-carat white gold circular cufflinks with onyx inlay, £2,050, William and Son #7 Ligne 2 Lighter Windsor, £665, S.T. Dupont (available at www.harrods.com) #8 1/18 DB5 scale model, £125, Aston Martin #9 Silverstone Tourbillion Full Black watch, from a selection, Graham (available at www.harrods.com) #10 Cross-grain leather briefcase, £1,050, Smythson 62

Swiss movement, English heart

Bespoke Unitas 6497 hand-wound movement (Calibre JJ02) from master watchmaker, Johannes Jahnke / Each piece, of only 250, personally assembled by Johannes in our Swiss atelier / Supremely engineered, 43mm, 316L stainless steel case with full diameter transparent case-back / Unique serial number engraved on case and movement Premium Louisiana alligator deployment strap / 5 year movement guarantee

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RUN WILDbracelet london_UK 13/04/12 09.37 Pagina 1

Buccellati White Gold Bracelet with Violet Jade Centre Stone From the Buccellati Unique Cuff Bracelet Collection

33 Albemarle Street - Mayfair, London WIS 4BP - Tel. 020 7629 5616 MILANO, VENEZIA, FIRENZE, CALA DI VOLPE, CAPRI, PARIS, MONTE CARLO, LONDON, MOSCOW, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, ASPEN, BEVERLY HILLS, TOKYO, OSAKA, HONG KONG, SIDNEY WWW.BUCCELLATI.COM

The mayfair Magazine | Collection

Jewellery news Jewels, gems, pearls and diamonds; the essential components of any lady’s jewellery collection W O RD S : O L I V I A S HAR P E

Wildflowers Haute and ready-to-wear jewellery designer Alidra Alic’s imagination must be an extremely pleasant place; a world filled with beautiful flowers, sumptuous colours and delicate, fluttering shapes. We’ve been fortunate to have access to this fairytale floral universe through Alic’s rare pieces of jewellery, as much statements of art and culture as they are aesthetic adornments. The uniqueness of her designs is ensured by Alic’s self-invented techniques, as all the pieces are handcrafted using textures and colours free from manufacturing methods. The result is an entirely organic form whereby the flowers are given a lifelike quality. Alic continues her floral theme with her haute jewellery collection, aptly entitled Flora. (www.alidraalic.com)

CUTTING EDGE Since the successful launch of her first collection for the house, Metamorphosis, Eliane Fattal has continued to work with S.J. Phillips to create one-off jewellery pieces. Her latest collection, Pensée, consists of unique jewels based on 19th century American enamelled flowers

OUT OF THE WOODS Contemporary British jewellery designer Shaun Leane has teamed up with luxury house Asprey for his latest collection. Leane was greatly influenced by the brand’s British roots and heritage and so created a jewellery line inspired by English woodland flora. The Woodland Collection comprises charm bracelets, earrings and bracelets featuring whimsical symbols of nature including mushrooms, blackberries and acorns. (www.asprey.com)

Transposed As much a title as a definition, Jessica McCormack’s latest collection seeks to change our perception of diamonds. McCormack juxtaposes different styles, cuts and settings of the precious jewel in order to create individual pieces which still remain within the confines of established style codes. A pair of romantic bow-shaped earrings is contrasted with edgy Torpedo earrings while a minimalist gold Pipe ring is sat next to eternity bands in a classic Georgian cut-down setting. With such unusual but stunning combinations, McCormack plays with our preconceptions of how a diamond can be worn and reveals the endless possibilities it can hold. (www.jessicamccormack.com)

‘The collection signifies a move away from the old that was innovative in its time, towards the new in a way that serves the new woman’ A Bouquet of Thought Pansy and bleeding heart ring with American enamel and gold flowers, £9,750; Eliane Fattal for S.J. Phillips 65

www.bachet.fr

The mayfair Magazine | Collection

ach year since 2007, Caroline Scheufele, Co-President and Artistic Director of Chopard, has designed a Haute Joaillerie collection; with inspiration drawn from awards ceremonies attended by top actors and actresses, it has been appropriately named the Red Carpet Collection. This year, Scheufele has played with the theme of colours: exquisite rubies, emeralds, padparadscha sapphires, amethysts and tourmalines pervaded the 60-piece collection. In honour of the 50th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, Chopard created a special Marilyn Monroe Tribute Set. A bib style necklace (as worn by supermodel Eva Herzigova at this year’s Cannes Film Festival), it is made up of more than 151 carats of diamond beads, 30 carats of heartshaped diamonds and almost 19 carats of assorted diamonds. The design echoes Scheufele’s philosophy of the precious stones being “an indispensable ally for women on the red carpet”, not to mention Monroe’s mantra of diamonds being a girl’s best friend. Knockout Chopard pieces shone on the likes of Lana Del Rey, Jane Fonda and Dolores Chaplin at the 2012 Festival and, remaining true to its cinema ties, Chopard was also recently announced as the exclusive jewellery and watch partner for Diana, the upcoming film based on the life of the Princess of Wales. (www.chopard.com)

Time to Shine:

On the Red Carpet As the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival for the 15th consecutive year, Chopard is one of the most sported jewellery companies on the film world’s red carpets W O RD S : a nn a b e l h a r r ison 67

Skirt, £325; jacket, £345 both Bora Aksu; polo neck top, £450, Roland Mouret. Bag, £8,600, Analeena at Harrods. Heels, £550, Manolo Blahnik 68

The mayfair Magazine | Fashion

bold

The

beautiful and the

Leave your dark winter pieces at the back of your wardrobe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this season is all about colour. Rich plums, burnt oranges and soft creamy whites combine with voluminous cuts and striking shapes for a bright A/W 12 s t y l i s t: b o o a t t w o o d P h o t o g rap h s : j o n c o t t a m

Polo neck, £450; wool crepe jacket, £1,595; wool crepe skirt, £650; leather boots, £695, all Roland Mouret. Ring, £180, Alexander McQueen

RIGHT Coat, £1,095, Burberry. Clutch, £1,795, Jimmy Choo. Heels, £209, Ursula Mascaró. Ring, £200, Tomassa 70

The mayfair Magazine | Fashion

Heels, £590, Manolo Blahnik. Bag, £11,480, Analeena at Harrods. Top £495; skirt £595, both Roland Mouret. Ring, £150, Tomassa

RIGHT Coat, £3,063; belt, from a selection; heels, £1,400, all Calvin Klein Collection at Harvey Nichols 72

The mayfair Magazine | Fashion

Model: Wei Chiung Lin at Union Models Make up: Maria Papadopoulou using Yves Saint Laurent Autumn Look 2012 Collection Hair: Chrysostomos Chamalidis using KMS Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant: Amy Clements 73

Long live Queen MC

As Mayfair sees the launch of two new stores from the McQueen label, we remember the man who started it all, the sometimes controversial, always legendary, Lee Alexander McQueen W O R D S : s t e p h e n do i g

RIGHT: MCQ 2012; FAR RIGHT: ISABELLA BLOW

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

he stories about Alexander McQueen have become mythologised into part of fashion folklore; did he really scrawl the world’s most controversial expletive into the concealed lining of an Anderson & Sheppard jacket destined for Prince Charles? Were those really tampon strings visible on the catwalk of his shocking ‘Highland Rape’ collection in 1993? Did he honestly refuse to pick up the phone to Tom Ford when the designer was courting him to join the Gucci Group? Legends of his controversy, his jaw-dropping knack for punching the fashion establishment in the guts and then chuckling has contributed to an aura of mystery surrounding one of the 20th and 21st century’s most important designers. With the launch of a new McQ store alongside a stand-alone men’s emporium this autumn, his rebellious spirit is living on in the wardrobes of the style conscious. The London fashion terrain was a very different place in the mid Ninties. Polite, some would say sleepy, London Fashion Week teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Fashion presentations were reduced, at one point, to a series of clothes on hangers in the Ritz Hotel. Into this unhappy milieu swaggered an overweight, defiantly working class, beer swilling, chain-swearing, tomb-stoned toothed East End boy named Lee McQueen. He looked as if he’d be more at home hurling abuse on the terraces than fretting over tulle samples. The son of a cab driver, he was a rising star at the prestigious Central St Martins College, where he once famously lunged in fury at Course Director Louise Wilson and grabbed her by the throat. ‘Everyone talked about the blood and guts, they didn’t see how brilliant the cut was,’ said fashion muse and creative dynamo Isabella Blow of his 1994 graduate collection, which drew inspiration from the dark world of Jack the Ripper. He sewed human hair into the garments and decorated them with vials of blood, raising a ripple of revulsion and fascination amongst the intrigued audience. ‘Give me time, and I’ll give you a revolution’, he said around this time. He followed on his promise, rising like a tidal wave and crashing through London’s fashion world. ‘Highland Rape’ closely followed, immediately raising eyebrows and headlines with its depiction of the models disheveled and marked, with ripped clothes. Fashion press and buyers suddenly found themselves relentlessly dragged to disused warehouses in Hackney Wick, McQueen sending a message that if they wanted to enter his world, they’d do it full tilt. London’s cultural landscape, and the very nature of catwalk shows in general, was cataclysmically altered by the designer. He turned the act of parading clothes into an art presentation, a moment of visceral intensity, emotion and shock. He employed an obese model to sit naked in a box in the middle of the stage, the walls of it collapsing to 

‘Give me time, and I’ll give you a revolution’ – Alexander McQueen

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

 reveal her naked on a chaise longue, a gass mask on her face, covered in live moths. He sent models drifting through a lake of blue ink, so that the clothes changed colour by the time they’d reached the end of the catwalk. Staging one show in a former Victorian jail, he indulged his black sense of humour by seating skeletons amongst the front row. His fascination with Jack the Ripper returned once more when he staged a collection at Spitalfield’s Church, the streets around which where the victims were found and filled it with live wolves that howled hauntingly into the night. Then there was the moment he

‘Staging one show in a former Victorian jail, he indulged his black sense of humour by seating skeletons amongst the front row’ employed two mechanical arms used for painting cars to spray paint over the model Shalom Harlow. He pushed the boundaries of what clothing was capable of; women as exotic sea life, Renaissance goddesses, chilling covens of witches; the term ‘banal’ could never have been applied to any of his pieces. Of course, it’s impossible to relive the McQueen story without paying tribute to the woman that discovered him and navigated his early career through the lofty ateliers of Paris and the pristine offices of fashion magazines. When Isabella Blow caught a glimpse of that debut collection, a lifelong kinship was forged. The aristocratic fashion editor and muse, at that time working at Vogue, spent three weeks tracking down the style renegade, eventually locating him at his aunt’s flat in East London. She had to have the entire collection, she told him. She paid £5,000 in installments and McQueen would deliver it in bin bags. Blow opened her contacts book and soon McQueen was meeting the world’s most influential power players. She also fed his creative imagination, encouraging him to explore the aesthetics of Elizabethan England that would go on to act as a template to many of

left: IMAGES FROM A/W 2011/2012 show during Paris Fashion Week Anton Oparin / Shutterstock.com, RUNWAY COLLECTION A/W 2012 AND MCQ 2012; RIGHT: SARAH BURTON

his silhouettes, along with prompting his love of all things avian (birds and feathers became a poignant theme in his collections, as if the desire to soar away permanently bubbled within him) by enlisting a falconry trainer at her Gloucester estate. ‘It’s my job to pass on intellectual information to the designer’, she once said. ‘Be that a book, the way a coat is stitched, an artist I discover’. Although credited as a muse to McQueen by many, the relationship was a fractured one. Despite introducing him to the people that appointment him creative director at Givenchy (a brief tenure) and paving the way for a deal with Tom Ford that saw Gucci Group buy the McQueen label and provide the designer with long sought-after financial security, Blow was never given a formal place within the McQueen framework, nor paid for her endeavours. ‘She was upset that Alexander McQueen didn’t take her along when he sold his brand to Gucci’, says Daphne Guinness. ‘Once the deals started happening, she fell by the wayside. Everybody else got contracts, she got a free dress’. Tragically, their histories are intertwined in another way; Blow committed suicide in 2007. McQueen would follow her three years later. Despite the devastation amongst his team, those in the McQueen firmament galvanised in his memory and later that year, McQueen’s long-time right-hand woman Sarah Burton took the reigns. Since then, Burton has stayed true to the extraordinary DNA of the McQueen aesthetic, the severity, the silhouettes and unparalleled technical understanding, while adding her own sense of femininity and lightness to the clothes. Her place alongside her mentor was anointed in 2011 when she created the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress. Almost 20 years previously, the rebel spirit from East London had apparently graffitied swear words on her father-in-law’s suits; somewhere, one likes to think he’d be watching the pageantry and chuckling.

The Themayfair mayfairMagazine Magazine| Fashion | Beauty

Channelling Lagerfeld Few pieces in our wardrobes enjoy lifespans as long as Chanel’s iconic tweed suits. In an ode to their classic black jacket, The Saatchi Gallery will host a photographic exhibition dedicated to Karl Lagerfeld’s latest book, The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld. At the exhibition you will see the jacket worn by many of the A-list friends of the fashion house photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, with Lily Allen wearing hers as a cape and model Stella Tennant’s draped around her shoulders. Dakota Fanning pairs it with a sophisticated, long white dress. Meanwhile, the windows of Chanel’s Bond Street and Brompton Cross boutiques will have their mannequins dressed in the latest selections of jackets so you can get the look of the stars. 12 to 28 October, Saatchi Gallery, King’s Road, SW3 ‘The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld’, available worldwide in bookshops, £65 (www.thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com)

e t a d p u e l sty WORDS:

is k a t e raco v ol

Temperley’s agenda

Heavenly handbags Luxury Chelsea boutique Claudia Sebire, is celebrating 25 years in the fashion world this month with the launch of a new super-limited-edition handbag. Named ‘The Claudia’, the beautifully structured patent leather bag has been designed by contemporary label Strenesse (who has partnered with Sebire for 25 years) and is ideally sized for carrying your life around with you. ‘The Claudia’ handbag, £695 (www.claudiasebire.com)

TOP: The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL’s classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld, Steidl, Göttingen, 2012; ABOVE: DONNA KARAN A/W 12

Fashion is not just about hemlines and heels for Alice Temperley; the iconic designer now ventures into the world of stationery in her new collaboration with Filofax. Matching her signature style, The Violet personal organiser has a slightly vintage feel, crafted in Italian leather and finished with a crocodile print in this season’s key plum shade. ‘For me the ideal accessory should serve a purpose and do this well whilst looking beautiful,’ says Temperley. ‘I love that the range is so versatile and is designed with people’s true lifestyles in mind.’ The Violet, £135 - £165, Filofax (www.filofax.co.uk)

Donna Karan takes flight New York-based Donna Karan’s A/W12 collection ventured in to new territory, as she did away with her signature draped jersey dresses and introduced immaculately tailored, feminine pieces. The new Donna Karan look is available at Harrods this month – we love her modern take on women’s suiting with fitted blazers and high lapels. For ladies who power lunch. Available in International Designers at Harrods, First Floor (www.harrods.com) 79

Fashion | The mayfair Magazine

Fantastic Mr Ford Tom Ford said it’s his most personal fragrance yet. Noir is the first men’s only fragrance to be released by Ford since 2009; a sensual scent that has been designed to ‘capture a man’s outer persona and his inner nature’ in just one chic spray. The fragrance achieves an intriguing note in an Eau de Parfum, one that brings together the smooth, luminous spice bouquet of black pepper oil Orpur® and nutmeg with exquisite, masculine florals, then enveloped in warm and creamy leather, resins, amber and vanilla that combine to impart an animalistic pull. ‘Noir is enigmatic, complex – and surprising,’ says Ford. ‘Its spice notes are soft and extraordinarily sophisticated; it juxtaposes a grand and feminine rose with cool and extremely precious orris. Then the oriental warmth pulls you closer in an almost addicting way.’ Tom Ford Noir Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £60, 100ml, £75

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is & k a t e raco v ol s t e p h e n do i g

Fly guy Those with long-harboured Top Gun aspirations, take note. Timepiece titans Breitling are celebrating their 60th anniversary by re-releasing their iconic ‘Navitimer’ watch in a limited edition of 500 pieces in sapphire blue. This watch was specifically created by the German watchmakers for pilots and aeronautical professionals. It serves to cater to all facets of air travel; it can estimate fuel consumption, speed, distance and rate of climb. Those knacks might seem superfluous on your next Red Eye trip, but they’ll make the journey oh-so-much more exciting. Breitling Navitimer Blue Sky, £6,600 (www.breitling.com)

Shoe in The Duke of Windsor, Andy Warhol, Jean Cocteau, Frank Sinatra; they have one thing in common, Berluti. The esteemed shoe-makers have been making impeccable Oxfords, brogues and loafers for the world’s elite since 1895. A bespoke service, the finest craftsmanship and the most supple leathers (not to mention the most seductive of colour palettes) are now making their way to London’s fair shores, thanks to a new store inside Harrods. Our tip? The ‘Andy’ loafers, named after the artist’s favourite style, which come in a veritable fruit bowl of colours from raspberry to papaya. Berluti, from a selection at Harrods. (www.harrods.com) 80

Tailoring fit for McQueen Alexander McQueen was 16 when he was offered an apprenticeship at tailors Anderson and Sheppard. Now, following a career that began on the immaculate streets of Savile Row, his eponymous fashion house, now headed up by Sarah Burton, has returned to the famous row, with a bespoke tailoring store, working with the iconic tailor, Huntsman. The new address marks the label’s third store in London (all of which are within Mayfair – naturally) having recently opened a flagship for the diffusion line McQ on Dover Street, in addition to the Bond Street store. Housing all the men’s ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as bespoke suits, we will no doubt continue to see beautifully crafted suits fused with that edgy design that the late, great designer was known for. Alexander McQueen Jacket, £995 (www.mrporter.com)

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The hunt

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

is on With the start of the new shooting season upon us, Nick Hammond brings you everything you need to get back in the swing, from cleaning your gun to shoot-day ettiquette

eaves wither on the branch and the temperature drops. A man’s thoughts turn to darkling days lurking in windswept woods or rime-frosted mornings on freshly tilled fields. The shooting season is upon us. No doubt you are one of those souls who has had the gun serviced and been assiduously practicing for weeks, getting kinks ironed out of your gun mount and swing. No doubt too, you have spent the summer keeping your peg dog in good working order with dummy work and perhaps retrieving some pigeons shot over the harvest stubble? What’s more, we further presume you’ve had that rip on the underside of your favourite shooting jacket sewn up and you’ve already bought a healthy stock of top quality cartridges ready for this season’s sport. Not so? Then perhaps you are only human, like the rest of us. A quick run through some seasonal essentials may just help ease you back into the autumn sporting calendar…

 Gun Odds are you haven’t touched your shotgun or shotguns since the last drive of last year when you (hopefully) gave it a good clean to be stored away in the gun cupboard. Give them a once over to make sure all is still well. Does the action still close tightly? No rattles and movements that shouldn’t be there? Consider getting your guns serviced if they were used heavily during the previous season; you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be having a red letter day with wave after wave of pheasants droning overhead when your gun decides to pack up on you, so reduce the chances now. If you’re thinking of buying a new gun or guns, make sure you take the time to choose carefully. A gun fitted especially for you will make all the difference in the field, although if you want a custom made one, best plan a few seasons ahead. It will take this long to painstakingly craft the gun to your specifications.

 Cartridges Have you got any of last year’s shotgun shells left? If so, what sort of state are they in? If they’ve been lying in your mildewy cartridge bag, discard them. There is nothing more disconcerting than that dry click when a shell fails to detonate. Have a chat with your local gunsmith about your requirements for the season and choose a cartridge based on what you’ll be shooting, where, and how frequently. Remember that buying in bulk has its advantages when it comes to price.  83

Feature | The mayfair Magazine

  Clothing You may not like to admit it, but that old wax jacket has seen better days. And you must admit, when it gets cold and damp, it’s not the most comfortable thing to shoot in. It’s time to invest in a new shooting jacket – you’ll be amazed at how much difference it’ll make to your shooting just by wearing warm, comfortable, correctlyfitting clothing. Modern-day fabrics and high-tech breathable, waterproof materials mean we no longer have to trudge around in great oilskins weighing more than our guns and ammunition combined. These days, you can find some incredibly thin, comfortable shooting jackets that also allow ease of movement to aid your swing. You may have to pay for the best, but a new shooting jacket – which, realistically should last you several seasons – should include the following: • Warm hand pockets, preferably fleece-lined; there is little worse than standing shotless in a north wind with nowhere to put your hands other than on the bitingly cold steel of your gun barrels • Large front pockets that will hold a couple of handfuls of cartridges – and preferably feature a lift up flap that can be pinned open by a fastener for easy access during those hectic drives • A realistically-sized poacher’s pocket. If you’re on a distant peg and bag a bird or two, you’ll struggle to bring them back to the group as well as your gunslip, cartridge case and dog – unless you have a generous poacher’s pocket. This should ideally have a detachable lining for easy cleaning • Enough length to cover at least part of your backside! This acts as a suitable windbreak and also means you may have a bit of extra padding to sit on while taking your elevenses • Cover at the neck. A large amount of heat is lost around the neck, and if you forget your scarf or snood on those freezing shoot days, you’ll praise the manufacturer that includes either a subtle drawstring or a fastenable collar.

While the trouser department is relatively easily solved by the judicious purchase of breeks or moleskins, boots are a different matter. Wellington-style are hard to beat when you are wading streams and knee-deep in mud, but at times they are cumbersome and do not look the smartest. High quality – and equally high-priced - leather boots look very special. Buy the best in your budget range; boots are not something to scrimp on. If you start your shoot day with cold feet, it’s likely to be one of your most miserable days ever – and I guarantee you won’t shoot straight, either.

 Etiquette Finally, a reminder of etiquette this season, if only so that the experienced shots among you can copy it and hand it to newcomers or friends in need of a memory jog. • Always reply to a shoot invitation promptly – the likelihood is, your host will have a waiting list available should you be unable to attend. If you cannot make it, do someone else a favour and give them plenty of notice • Never, ever, cancel a shoot day you’ve accepted because a ‘better offer’ has come along. This is the height of indiscretion – and even if your host doesn’t know your reason for cancelling, he may suspect. The shooting world is a surprisingly small one. Trust me, this one will come back to haunt you • Be prompt. It is exceedingly ill-mannered to keep the rest of the shoot party waiting just because you didn’t get out of bed in time. Give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, even if it means preparing the night before. • Turn off the darned mobile. You are in the countryside as someone’s guest. Give them both the attention they deserve • Finally, shoot like a gentleman. Whether you fill your bag or have nary a shot is neither here nor there, but shoot within your abilities and never poach from your neighbour. It’s a truly repugnant habit Most of all, have a safe and fun-filled season. We are blessed to have such riches on our doorstep.

578 KINGS ROAD LONDON SW6 2DY WWW.GUINEVERE.CO.UK

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The mayfair Magazine | Motoring

From flame-licked US hot-rods, to artist David Vaughan’s psychedelic yellow Rolls-Royce created for John Lennon, art and cars have always driven hand in hand W O R D S : R i c h a rd Y a rrow

LEFT: a ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano called ‘the China Edition’, created by artist Lu Hao

he art you might expect to find in a high-rise car park in the east end of London would probably be uncommissioned and involve spraycanned graffiti. But for two weeks in the run-up to the Olympics, one multi-storey in Shoreditch was transformed into the most valuable of its kind in the city, if not the world. Thousands of art lovers turned up to see the displays, but they didn’t witness sculpture in the stairwells or canvasses on the concrete. They were there to stare at a handful of cars, parked in the traditional way between white lines. Presented by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in association with BMW as part of the London 2012 Festival, the Great Eastern Street car park was home to the Art Drive! exhibition. It marked the first time vehicles created as part of the BMW Art Car Project had ever been displayed publicly and for free in the UK. Now 38 years in existence, the initiative’s list of contributors – each of whom has painted a contemporary BMW in their own style – reads like a Who’s Who of the world’s leading creative talents; Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Ernst Fuchs, Jeff Koons, Alexander Calder, Sandro Chia, Ken Done… the list goes on and on. The link between the worlds of automotive and art stretches back to the birth of the powered four-wheeler. Early manufacturers simply produced a rolling chassis then sent it to a bespoke coach-builder who would create a unique bodyshell to the customer’s requirements. Some were spectacularly flamboyant but soon mass production techniques became established and  87

decorating your vehicle with personalised imagery helped individual cars stand out from the crowd and gradually became a separate industry. From flame-licked US hot-rods, to artist David Vaughan’s psychedelic yellow Rolls-Royce created for John Lennon, to the modern fad for adding transfers to vehicle exteriors – witness the success of MINI – art and cars have always driven hand in hand. BMW’s Art Car Project started in 1975 by accident when a racing driver got his famous artist friend to repaint his vehicle. Seventeen have now been created, though they have become more about promoting the company than its prowess on the circuit. (That said, the last one, commissioned from Jeff Koons in 2010, was a vibrantly striped M3 GT2 racer which competed in that year’s Le Mans 24 Hour event.) Today, most luxury and performance car companies are involved with artistic endeavours, though they are generally part of a larger public relations and brand awareness exercise. Rolls-Royce recently worked with renowned photographer Rankin on a series of 100 original images inspired by the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, the company’s official name for the small figurine

of a woman – better known as ‘the flying lady’ – which graces every bonnet. The project was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the brand’s iconic mascot, said to be modelled on Eleanor Velasco Thornton, an English actress of the era. The pictures explored a variety of themes including power, intrigue and speed, and featured women of a range of ages and cultures, each chosen for their symbolic representation of femininity, grace and mystery. Car companies are selective about what they will support. Throughout its 65-year history of producing some of the most recognised cars in the world, Ferrari has only been officially involved in one art project. In 2009 a special version of a 599 GTB Fiorano called the China Edition was created by artist Lu Hao. A complete one-off, it featured a unique exterior paint finish which drew inspiration from the priceless Ge Kiln porcelain of the Song Dynasty. The result was a truly stunning ‘cracked glaze’ effect which took five months to perfect. The car was eventually bought by a private collector at a Beijing auction, and part of the money

The mayfair Magazine | Motoring

left: ‘citihenge’, skoda’s version of ‘carhenge’; below: 26th May 1967: john lennon’s custompainted rolls royce PhotoGRAPHY by Ted West/Central Press/ Getty Images

raised was used to fund a sponsorship programme for young Chinese automotive engineering students. Educational and charitable ventures such as this are as good a reason as any for car companies to support art – or actually create some of its own. Automotive design studios of today are full of exceptionally talented individuals, many of whom have qualifications from the world’s top schools such as London’s Royal College of Art. Bentley is no exception and recently commissioned its own styling team to produce some new art based around the brand’s iconic sporting and luxury cars. The collection included sculpture, painting, digital works and photography, created in and on everything from bronze, wood, metal, leather, perspex and traditional canvas. It was auctioned before 300 specially invited guests at Bonhams in London, raising £70,000 for The Christie, a specialist cancer treatment centre in Manchester. A total of 22 Bentley designers submitted 40 pieces of work. One of them was Richard Gilmartin, whose mother had died of cancer and who had spent a decade fundraising for The Christie.

Of course, it’s not just car companies who are involved in the artistic exploitation of their products. They can carefully control how and where vehicles appear so as not to risk damage to their hard-earned image, but the car-owning general public have no such scruples. Perhaps the world’s most famous piece of auto art is Carhenge, a sculpture of 38 old bangers arranged in a circle to replicate Stonehenge.

‘Carhenge is now so well-known it’s been copied by the actual car companies’ The installation, in the Nebraska desert, was created in 1987 and has appeared in numerous films and music videos. It even has its own TV documentary. The irony is that Carhenge is now so well-known it’s been copied by the actual car companies. Earlier this year, Skoda created ‘Citihenge’ on the banks of London’s River Thames to launch its new Citigo small car. It just goes to show, there’s no such thing as a new idea in the art world.

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Marine I

t’s a meeting of the minds this month, as famed art dealer Kenny Schachter, known for his many and varied collaborations, has commissioned internationally acclaimed architect and winner of the Pritzker Prize Zaha Hadid for his latest project. Following the success of the ‘Z car’ and other large-scale projects ranging from sculptures to a property development at Hoxton Square, the pair have regrouped for a nautical innovation. With its sharp geometric lines, the aptly named ‘Z boat’ would not be out of place in a Bond film. The boat is currently being manufactured by specialist naval architecture and design company Shoreteam, based in France. The fibreglass boat is seven and a half metres long, with a sleek black aesthetic from bow to stern and is, according to Schachter, where art meets utility. ‘The asymmetrical design is sculptural in appearance while practically affording more seating accommodations,’ says Schachter. ‘In a sense, the bespoke boat is as much a work of art as a Cisitalia sports car in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The idea is to think of vessels and vehicles as highly individualistic expressions of art, architecture and design reflecting the edge of what is possible using the most advanced means, including materials, software systems and methods of fabrication.’ A limited edition of 12 boats plus four prototypes are to be released in 2013. 90

The mayfair Magazine | Feature

engineering Architect Zaha Hadid ventures off dry land with her powerful, contemporary new design: the Z-boat W o r d s : K a t e Ra c o v o l i s

Image Courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects/Kenny Schachter-ROVE

New Zinc showroom now open 1 Chelsea Wharf, 15 Lots Road, London SW10 0QJ

0679_Zinc Kensington & Chelsea Ad_Apr12_AW.indd 1

09/03/2012 16:51

The mayfair Magazine | Interiors

Interiors news Wall to wall Osborne & Little’s latest wallpaper collection is all about geometric and floral feature walls. We love this diffused blue version, with an intricate flower pattern in white for a standout work of art in itself. From £96 per roll, Osborne & Little, (www.osborneandlittle.com)

Light up the night

As lauded furniture designer Guillaume Alan lands in Mayfair, along with Ralph Lauren Home’s new lighting collection, we see no reason to leave our living rooms this month

For the home décor style-conscious, Ralph Lauren Home has just added more than 100 new designs to its lighting collection after making its debut at design fair Brompton Design District 2012 in September. The new luxury lighting pieces include wall lamps, pendants, sconces and ceiling fixtures finished in butler silver, distressed oak, vintage steel, bronze and black rust; a glamorous talking piece for any Mayfair home. Chandelier, £7,500 Ralph Lauren Home (www.ralphlaurenhome.com)

W O R D S : KA T E R ACO V O L I S

All things bright and beautiful This year design has given many a celebratory nod to Britain and our fair capital. Now, Waterford Crystal is launching ‘The London Collection’, a series of modern furniture, mirrors and innovative lighting, designed by London-based Jo Sampson who worked with fashion’s John Rocha and light-guru Billy Canning. The bevelled-cut crystal facets allows light to filter through, creating a stunning illuminating finish for the ultimate in ambiance-perfect living spaces. ‘The London Collection’ from Waterford Crystal is available from Harrods (www.harrods.com)

FINISHING TOUCH David Linley’s geographical and topographical globe in a rich, honey-like walnut hue is a timeless addition to homes both contemporary and classic. As lovers of literature treasure books, this ornamental globe is sure to be a coveted piece to excite globetrotters worldwide. Globe, £3,000 from David Linley (www.davidlinley.co.uk)

The master of minimalism French designer Guillaume Alan’s beautiful monochrome and distinctly minimalist collections have made the journey from Paris to Mayfair with the opening of his first store in the UK. Alan’s signature style marries 18th century collections with a 21st century look, expressing the modernity of Paris as we know it today. The ultra-fashionable Alan has had many pieces from his prestigious collections immortalised in photo shoots for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, Balenciaga and Dior, including The Valmont couch, The Angelique, The Spa Bed daybed and his Stella chairs. Guillaume Alan, 1 Hay Hill, W1J (www.guillaume-alan.com) LDSON

DONA PHOTO BY MATTHEW

Hix HIX BELGRAVIA PHOTOGRAPH BY Steven Joyce

The mayfair The mayfair Magazine Magazine | Food|& Interiors Drink

Chef, restaurateur, designer, curator: thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far more to Mark Hix than meets the palate. He tells Kari Rosenberg about his appetite for design and how his art world connections have enabled his eateries to house some of the finest commissions in the capital

l a e app 95

racey Emin said of her close friend Mark Hix; ‘Mark taught me how to really enjoy food.’ While to most, the chef and restaurateur is known far more for his cooking than his design skills, Hix is as much a master of art as he is of the kitchen. His close friends Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst regularly create bespoke pieces for his eateries which span Mayfair, Soho and the City – Hirst’s Cock and Bull was designed specifically for Tramshed, Shoreditch after Hix texted the artist during an architectural brainstorm – while his personal collection is equally impressive. ‘I always do swapsies [between my home and my restaurants]’ he says. ‘I’ve got quite a few Michael Landy pieces that I’ve collected over the years, and quite a few different Emins.’ While Hix taught Emin about the culinary pleasures of life, she has informed his art education – a passion that started while he was Chief Executive of Caprice Holdings. As well as fine food, HIX at the Albemarle within Brown’s Hotel boasts one of Emin’s neons, as well as photography by Rankin; paintings by Fiona Rae, Toby Zeigler, Peter Peri and Mat Collishaw and line drawings by Tim Noble and Sue Webster. These modern pieces are juxtaposed with classic wood panelling, vaulted ceilings and elegant green leather booths designed by the leading French designer Philippe Hurel. Mark Involved every step of the way, from the food and art to the entire look and feel of his restaurants – ‘the whole shabang really’ – Hix is careful not to over construct his establishments, knowing when to leave well alone. ‘I think some restaurants are slightly over designed. I try to be as minimal as possible, but it very much depends on the building. Brown’s Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in London, so we kept the traditional feel while adding some modern touches.’ For Hix, food and art go hand-in-hand and across his other venues you will find pieces from Angus Fairhurst, Miranda Donovan, Sarah Lucas, Abigail Fallis, Gary Webb, Jason Shulman, Stephen Webster, Steve Claydon and Shezad Dawood, to name but a few. Now catering Frieze London for the fourth year running, the great British chef is also privy to a sneak preview of the exhibitions, though is still looking forward to the annual art fair which he loves to ‘wander around’. And when not cooking, designing or dining in his own establishments, you’ll likely find him at The Wolseley – for the décor as much as the food – as well as Scotts: ‘I’ve got an affiliation with Scotts, although I’ve not been for a while, I commissioned all the art there as well.’ Of course he did.

‘I think some restaurants are slightly over designed. I try to be as minimal as possible’ – Hix

from left: HIX Albemarle at Brown’s Hotel photoGRAPH by Toby Ziegler; Tramshed PHOTOGRAPH BY JASON LOWE

The mayfair The mayfair Magazine Magazine | Food|& Interiors Drink

Greatexpectations Founded in 1863, The Arts Club has stood at 40 Dover Street since 1896. The Club has gone on to survive two world wars, a number of recessions and in 2011, a thorough and dramatic overhaul. While its fine reputation has remained intact, few original features remain. Kari Rosenberg meets the designer entrusted with the Arts Club brief, David dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Almada

The mayfair Magazine | Interiors

f the name David d’Almada doesn’t ring a bell, then it’s because this man, born on a plantation in Guyana and now one of Mayfair’s most prolific interior designers, prefers it that way. As well as the complete renovation of The Arts Club, completed in just one year, d’Almada has been working his magic across the borough for some time, from North Audley Street to Cork Street, Dover Street to Brooks Mews. Yet despite being one of the biggest names in the business, he doesn’t do interviews, having been misquoted years ago in a top industry magazine, so it’s with very great pleasure that I meet the man – after a little cajoling – over eggs and soldiers, at the location of his proudest achievement to date. Sitting outside in the Arts Club’s beautiful garden terrace, d’Almada talks with obvious pride – and in meticulous detail – about how he set about revamping the longstanding landmark, keeping the old members happy while attracting a new, slightly younger and edgier crowd. D’Almada decided at the age of nine that interior design was the path for him after taking a cruise from Venezuela to Southampton as part

of a long family holiday and was inspired by the country he now calls home. He studied his trade at Leeds University before going into retail, working under Mary Portas at Harvey Nichols’ menswear: ‘I was interested in the technical aspect of retail design; its nuts and bolts.’ However, his taste for designing restaurants took a while to acquire. The first eatery d’Almada designed was Zafferano on Lowndes Street in the mid-nineties, where Giorgio Locatelli was beginning to carve out a career. ‘Perhaps it was that particular job, but I wasn’t completely convinced that I wanted to go from retail to restaurants. ‘To my mind, the ambience of the interior in a retail environment is fundamentally different to the experience of sitting and dining in somewhere like The Arts Club. You have to consider the experience of dining – for example, you have to take the ergonomics of the chair and table heights and what you see at that level. It’s completely different to retail which is meant to excite and encourage you to spend money and there’s a very different expectation from the end user. The challenge excited 

left: Main dining room; above: The Blitzed Arts Club, Walcot William (1874-1943) / © The Arts Club, London, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library

me and I began to realise how much more interesting [designing restaurants] was than I first thought.’ Having worked previously with Arts Club director Arjun Waney on La Petite Maison, d’Almada was presented with the task. ‘When I was invited to come on board, the brief was to try and meet the needs and expectations of new members without alienating

‘We pieced the puzzle together and ended up with a mid-century modern aesthetic’ – David d’Almada

below: Library bar, first floor right: Main dining room; bar and oyster bar

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the original members, which is a difficult thing in itself, because you’re talking about a range of very different age groups and often people with different interests. But the Arts Club was going to move forward and embrace an even wider audience within the arts world.’ He was faced with a blank canvas, comprising a series of cavernous, unremarkable rooms: ‘there was absolutely nothing worth saving’ he says. The original building was bombed in 1940 during the Blitz – sketches hang on the back staircase (along with a cheque written by Charles Dickens) – so a vast amount of what stands today was rebuilt. The staircase and the front entrance portico remained intact, but for the most part, everything else was destroyed, ‘except the tree in the garden’ he says. ‘We love the tree.’

As we take a tour, d’Almada talks with expertise and charm about each room, each mirror, each door handle – each carefully chosen by him. ‘We pieced the puzzle together and ended up with a mid-century modern aesthetic. ‘The main dining area was a large echoing space. There was no atmosphere at all. There were a series of three rooms on the ground floor; the back section was carpeted and quite awful, sliding glass doors acted as partitions. It wasn’t easy to get out onto the terrace, and the middle section where the bar currently is was closed off. ‘We repositioned the bar and the entrance to the space, knocked all the walls down and created a focus point. So now, as you enter the main dining room, you see the bar straight away. It is placed specifically for high impact, so when you turn the corner from the lobby into the main dining room, that’s the first thing you will see. It’s a strong classic bar where you know it doesn’t matter what drink you ask for, you’re going to get it, and it’s going to be made well. The placement of the mirrored doors at the back of the bar was also strategic so that you can see the activity and enjoy the atmosphere from all angles. ‘With the salon (on your right hand side as you walk in from the lobby), we wanted to create a slightly different vibe; I guess it has more of a wintery feel. I tried to make the level of the salon slightly different in terms of atmosphere; it’s darker, more moody, a balanced contrast to the French doors backing on to the garden. ‘The placement of the oyster bar in the main restaurant was intentional because it shields the kitchen, but also provides a fantastic work space and waiter station, servicing the restaurant and the salon. An oyster bar is all about theatre, and its design is so important because it is very intrusive into the restaurant, so it needs to go part and parcel with the room. Sometimes you work out the operational side of things before you touch the aesthetic side; you look at how the place will operate and how best to give the people that will use the space – the staff – the easiest routes and the best environment possible to service the customer.’ As we move upstairs, d’Almada explains the concept behind the members’ bar on the first floor. ‘What I tried to do was create something for both the new and existing members; bring it back to its former glory and put back all the elements that were missing. The two rooms at

The mayfair Magazine | Interiors

the front of the building on the first floor are completely refurbished. Everything is new; the beautifully crafted ceilings and skirting boards; the large French windows; the embroidered curtains from Scotland; the shutters that I had recreated from my Regency home in Brighton; the herringbone wood floor. ‘The blade shaped bar is quite modern, appealing to a younger clientele, while the base is black lacquer with gold – much more traditional and thus more appealing, we hope, to our original members. The 1920’s lamps were sourced from Paris, as were many of the light fittings. The floorboards become much wider as you move from the back room to the bar area, towards the large windows. I particularly love the cashmere walls. I chose each piece of furniture, but the walls are quite blank up here to best show off the rotating exhibitions.’ D’Almada’s attention to detail is so fine that despite being a regular visitor to the club, I always spot something new – a door handle I’d never noticed, an intricate light fitting I’d never appreciated, or even the shade of paint leading

up the stairs that at a glance looks grey, but is actually blue (a decision d’Almada had to fight for, though, thankfully, everyone agreed with his vision once the paint had dried). And while the refurbishment could more accurately be described as an overhaul, most wouldn’t know that so few features were originals. ‘The best reward is that nobody knows how much work actually happened because it feels completely right. And it is right, because we did a lot of studying, using old editorials and any printed matter about the original Club that we could get hold of. There are a couple of oil paintings of members from the last century so we were able to do a little bit of detective work and find out proportions and so on. Certain spaces attract certain people, so everyone finds their own favourite spot.’ D’Almada’s much-loved setting is the members’ bar on the first floor – he likes the intimacy, the cashmere walls and low ceilings which were restructured in the 1950s. D’Almada worked closely with the Club curator Amelie Von Wedel of Wedel Fine Art, as well as Directors Gary Landesberg and Elliot  101

Interiors | The mayfair Magazine

‘Amelie and I created certain spaces where she could hang large pieces of art on the wall. In some areas, such as the main restaurant, we didn’t want the walls to dominate’ – David d’Almada

ABOVE: First floor members’ bar

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 Rosenberg, former Managing Director Brian Clivaz, and of course, Gwyneth Paltrow. ‘Gwyneth had a large say in the design process. When I visited her home she had this special wallpaper made from hand-embroidered silk. It is particularly light, so we needed to find somewhere for that. It’s quite expensive, but very beautiful, so we thought it would be a good idea to change the pace of the first floor by introducing that into the ladies and gents. The main areas on the first floor are quite monochrome and the introduction of this unusual and surprising wall finish was specifically Gwyneth’s idea. She knew she wanted to use the paper but didn’t specify where.’ ‘Amelie and I created certain areas where she could hang large pieces of art on the wall. In some areas, such as the main restaurant, we didn’t want the walls to dominate the area. ‘In the salon, at the front of the restaurant – or ‘the Condo room’ as we call it – the walls are covered with faux leather, to complement George Condo’s pieces. The first floor rooms are all blank canvases for the changing artwork. A lot of thought was put into the small elements and details, without it being overly designed, as these spaces are meant to act as a backdrop for the art more than anything else.’ The nightclub was inspired by a small club in

Paris – the decadent yet intimate plush red velvet setting is reminiscent of a cross between the Moulin Rouge and a 1920’s speakeasy. While the intention, deliberately, was not to build a dance floor, the space has managed to create itself at the front of the stage where everyone from Ronnie Wood, Paloma Faith and Gwyneth herself has performed an impromptu routine. ‘There’s a club called The Carlyle Club in New York, and Gwyneth particularly liked the atmosphere there,’ says d’Almada. ‘While we didn’t want to try and recreate that club, we did want to achieve that kind of intimacy.’ Used to working predominantly in Mayfair – Alloro, Banca, and now a redesign of the relatively new Aurelia – d’Almada knows what works and what the local clientele expect: ‘The expectation here [in Mayfair] is different to other places. The customers are of a certain calibre; they all want somewhere to go, somewhere that’s in line with where they just came from. So you can’t treat it in the same way as you would somewhere in Notting Hill or Shoreditch, for example. It’s about getting a balance. You have to consider the building, the end user and the budgets. But ultimately, the location will always set you in the right direction.’ The Arts Club, 40 Dover Street , W1S (www.theartsclub.co.uk; 020 7499 8581)

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THE SIENNA COLLECTION Inspired by the Renaissance Masters, The Sienna Collection reincarnates the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love of colour and creativity. The Sienna Cuff and The Sienna Chandelier drop earrings both feature a superb array of mandarin garnets, pink spinels and diamonds set in yellow gold. The Sienna Collection is truly inspired by a timeless period in European history which celebrated beauty through the adornment of majestic gems.

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The mayfair Magazine | Beauty

Beauty news Prepare for the winter ahead as nurturing body treatments and intensive face products provide a welcome beauty boost WORDS: elle blakemaN

Treatment of the month If you’re looking for a boost in these darkening winter months, then pop into the cocooning, ginger-scented luxury of the spectacular Ushvani spa. With an overall emphasis on nurturing and wellbeing, the new Kaffir Lime Reinvigorating Ritual is a treatment that will leave you feeling and looking incongruously healthy. Starting with a serious and indulgent salt-scrub, your therapist will then perform a back, neck and shoulder massage to relieve tension, followed by a stomach massage to aid digestion and stimulate the metabolism. Relaxing and streamlining, thanks to the de-bloating effects, this is an ideal pre-anything treatment. And rumour has it that its products are about to launch in Liberty – watch this print-lined space. Kaffir Lime Reinvigorating Ritual £180 for 90 mins, Ushvani, 1 Cadogan Gardens, Knightsbridge (www.ushvani.com)

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New Launch: Bioeffect Icelandic superbrand Bioeffect is about to cause yet another sensation with its new launch, the 30-Day Treatment. Using some seriously results-driven active ingredients (the main cellular activator – EGF – won a Nobel Prize), the set gives an intensive anti-ageing boost that will make your skin smooth and radiant. 30 Day Treatment, £210, Bioeffect (www.bioeffect.co.uk)

The word on the (Mayfair) street… Pop into Daniel Galvin on 4 October for Champagne and canapés at its ‘Second Nature’ event, where the team will showcase its many hair and beauty services, designed for a naturallooking boost. With barely-there hair and skin treatments no one will ever know your secret – we won’t tell if you don’t. RSVP to events@danielgalvin.com

Houbigant’s new fragrance Mixing pure, floral top notes with a deep woody base, the result is refined, elegant and ideal for autumn days. Orangers en Fleurs, from

£99, Houbigant (available at Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie Harrods) 105

Brains beauty Known as the ‘genius of colour’, with 15 years at the helm of YSL and a ‘cosmetic Nobel Prize’ to her name, Terry de Gunzburg had long ago conquered the beauty world. As she launches her first ever fragrance collection, we meet the woman to discuss what inspires her, what she learned from Yves and why no one will be skiing in her advertising campaign W O R D S E lle B lake m an

FRAGRANCES BY TERRY DE GUNZBURG

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The mayfair The mayfair Magazine Magazine | Food & | Beauty Drink

erry de Gunzburg invented the Touche Éclat. There – I’ve said it. There’s only so long you can talk to the woman who invented the world’s most iconic beauty product without bringing this up. In my case, no time at all actually – we essentially just got past ‘Hello’. ‘It’s like my cosmetic Nobel Prize,’ she says graciously, with no hint of annoyance at what must be a sisyphean conversation for her. ‘I am very proud of what I created at YSL. But I am more proud of what I have achieved since then at my own brand,’ she says, gently steering the conversation back to the point. The point, of course, being that since leaving YSL in 2001 – when Yves himself retired – she has built a phenomenally successful global beauty brand that has overshadowed some of the huge players in the industry. ‘It was very difficult for me to switch from the identity at YSL,’ she says. ‘Working with Yves was the gift of my life; I worked with this genius for 15 years and it’s only right now that I really know how lucky I was,’ she says. ‘He really taught me everything – the secrets of colour, the key ways to promote elegance and how to personalise a style. He was beyond a perfectionist and I definitely learned how less is more from him,’ she says, neatly summing up the theory behind her ‘nobel prize’. Having once again introduced products that have gone on to achieve a cult ‘must-have’ status in the cosmetic world (although it is hard to imagine anything overshadowing the one-soldevery-ten-seconds Touche Éclat) she has now moved on to fragrance, something that has taken her 12 years to do. ‘I had a first experience doing fragrance for YSL to celebrate 30 years of creation by the master Yves Saint

‘It was amazing to discover in those thousand little bottles all these different feelings and stories and possibilities’ – Terry de Gunzburg Laurent himself. The process was love at first sight and I said to myself ,one day I should come back to this creation. But during all those years, I didn’t feel like I was ready enough to give something that is really luxurious to the market, to put on the shelf something that can really express my label,’ she says. So after 12 years gaining the confidence to launch something akin to olfactory couture, she found herself unable to choose just one scent, preferring in true fashion style to launch a collection, although interestingly, not trading on the now very successful By Terry name. ‘I didn’t want a fragrance that is a marketing launch – an “Oh it’s a fragrance of a make-up artist” – I really wanted something that I achieved,’ she says. ‘That’s why the fragrances are called Terry de Gunzburg because it’s signature.’ Spurning the typical advert-before-product process (‘I didn’t want to give them a brief of some blond woman driving in her Ferrari to meet her lover at the Taj Mahal before they go skiing somewhere – ridiculous!’), de Gunzburg refused to meet ‘the nose’ as she calls the perfumer, worried that she would sway the creative process, and instead gave them complete freedom to create with no limit on cost. This explains why the list of ingrediants that make up the scents reads like a Latin lullaby – smoked vetiver, rockrose and labdanum. ‘It was a huge brainstorming,’ she says, ‘each ‘nose’ came in 

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Property Beauty | The | The mayfair mayfair Magazine Magazine

 with his own art of fragrance and it was amazing to discover in those thousand little bottles all these different feelings and stories and possibilities,’ she says. The whole process took around two years, with those thousand samples and stories edited down to just five expressive scents – a wardrobe of fragrance. Although it is easy to tag de Gunzburg with the ‘fashion’ background – YSL aside, she has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry from Guy Bourdin and David Bailey, to collaborating on Sir Cecil Beaton’s final session for Vogue, there is something that runs a little deeper; a love of all things beautiful, to which she credits an inherited desire for elegance. ‘My grandmother was part English, part Syrian and part Turkish, so she had this Oriental meets Mediterranean approach to beauty,’ she says. ‘I was educated like that, in my family using cosmetics; beautiful soap; quality creams; the best skincare, it was like a statement – and that is definitely in my emotional DNA. When I was a newborn, my mother would put drops of rose, jasmine and orange blossom in my bath to wash my skin and I will always have that in my memory.’ This almost innate love of beauty and luxury also extends to a serious artcollecting habit. It’s a passion that clearly feeds into her work, for example, the By Terry packaging was inspired by a beaded turn-of-the-century necklace that she claims hit her instantly as the obvious choice to showcase her range. She also did an entire collection based on a sculpture by French artist Jean Michel Othoniel – a huge purple and amber piece made from Murano glass. ‘It’s amazing, it reflects the whole vibration of deep purple so I

‘Beautiful soap; quality creams; the best skincare; it was like a statement’ – Terry de Gunzburg decided to make an eye shadow like that,’ she says. The link is so obvious it presents a slight chicken and egg dilemma – which came first de Gunzburg’s love of art or her vocation for creating beauty? ‘It is interesting,’ she muses thoughtfully, ‘I don’t know for sure. ‘I have always loved art though. With my first salary I bought a small Picasso ceramic – it took me one year to pay for it. I also used to collect pictures from magazines and matchboxes that I liked – I always liked to keep things that I thought were beautiful – they can enchant your environment.’

BEAUTY PRODUCTS FROM THE BY TERRY RANGE

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The mayfair Magazine | Beauty

Spa review The Berkeley, Wilton Place WORDS: ELLE BLAKEMAN

aving a treatment at the Berkeley is first and foremost about escaping. The treatment list is extensive and fabulous – we’ll get to that – but to start with, it’s all about the time out. Not that vague ‘me’ time that yoghurt companies suggest you use to justify a 20-minute bath with, but a decadent indulgent chunk of time that says ‘Stop the world please, I’d like to get off now’. Upon arrival, you’ll be shown to a beautiful changing room – all latte colours with fluffy robes and slippers with The Berkeley embroidered in magical silvery stitching. Have a steam or sauna - both of which are helpfully located in the changing rooms - to begin your ‘time off’. To really spoil yourself, book in for one of the hotel’s packages where they have put together the ideal combination of necessary luxury. The Perfect Retreat would be my recommended one – being a healthy two hours of relaxing treatments guaranteed to restore even the most frazzled of clients. The package starts with ‘Body Skin Preparation’ in which you are buffed and dusted down like an antique being polished for auction. The products are [Comfort Zone] and smell divine; the slightly surgical sounding ‘preparation’ merely involves a ‘fruity peel’ – where a mix of acids work together to rid skin of rough and dry areas and leave them silky soft. Once you are polished to perfection, the ‘Comfort Touch Massage’ will work on taking your cares and stresses away using the richly fragrant ‘tranquillity body lotion’. This will lull you into a sense of such repose you would worry about getting up again – if you could bring yourself to care. Thankfully you won’t need to for a while, as the final stage is the ‘Rebalancing Facial’ – a 55-minute treatment where the stresses outside the walls of the spa are melted away with soft, aromatherapy-tinged products that will leave you with plump, smooth skin that glows. Complete your time here with a visit to the famous roof-top pool – ‘me time’ indeed. The Perfect Retreat Package £210 for two hours. The Berkeley, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge SW1X (020 7201 1699; www.the-berkeley.co.uk) 111

Discovering a brighter future... Join the rest of the UK as we mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and celebrate increased survival rates spelling signs of hope for the future

n the last ten years, the number of people beating breast cancer has soared, thanks to better treatments, early detection through breast screening and greater awareness of the disease. Figures for survival are now better than ever. In the 70s, women’s ten year survival rate was just more than 40 per cent, now latest figures stand at almost 80 per cent, and these figures keep rising every year. Breast cancers can be detected through changes in the breast, such as a new lump or swelling, but around a third of breast cancers are now diagnosed through screening. Breast screening is offered to all women between 47 and 73, as 81 per cent of all breast cancer is prevalent in post-menopausal women. Mammography (X-ray specially used for breast imaging) is now so advanced that it can detect even the smallest abnormalities, which are too small to be felt by either yourself or a doctor. Although breast cancer can be genetic, this only occurs in just under 5 per cent of all breast cancers; increasing age and lifestyle choices are by far the greatest risks. Other risks include: 1. Not having children, or having your first child later in life 2. Starting your periods early or going through the menopause late 3. Using certain types of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) over a prolonged period 4. Being overweight 5. Drinking excess alcohol A good diet which is supplemented by a regular exercise regime, not only keeps you strong and healthy, but lessens your chances of developing the disease. Treatments for breast cancer are constantly evolving; the latest breakthrough shows evidence that breast cancer should be thought of as ten different diseases, which means treatment can now be much more targeted and precise. Developments like this are hugely important, but the biggest breakthrough is to educate women to urge them to be breast aware – and this starts with you.

Show your support Specialist Breast Care Nurses across the country provide much needed support and information to women about breast cancer. Bernie Phelan, Breast Care Nurse at The Wellington Hospital, offers her advice for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Educating patients is a big part of a breast care nurse’s role, so I spend a lot time with my patients explaining the importance of breast awareness, early detection, attending breast screening and how vital a healthy lifestyle and diet is. For many women who visit the Breast Care Unit the outcome of assessment will be benign (non cancerous), such as a cyst, but it is equally important to explain to patients how these cysts develop and why, and how to properly check your breasts for further lumps or other changes. Statistics suggest that one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, so it is important to be breast aware and know what symptoms to look out for: • Changes in the shape or size • Changes in skin textures, such as puckering or dimpling • A newly inverted nipple • A lump or thickening of breast tissue • Redness or a rash on the skin or around the nipple • Discharge from one or both nipples • Constant pain in the breast or armpit • Swelling in the armpit and around the collarbone For advice on how to self examine and other essential information, please visit www.wellingtonbreastcareunit.co.uk or www.breastcancercare.org.uk.

The Breast Care Unit at The Wellington Hospital offers first-class treatment covering the full spectrum of breast care, and provides an easy-to-access breast screening service; for more information visit www.wellingtonbreastcareunit.co.uk or contact Bernie Phelan via the Enquiry Helpline on 020 7483 5004 112

The mayfair Magazine | Health Promotion

‘Mammography is now so advanced that it can detect even the smallest abnormalities’

think breast! 1. Be breast aware and check your breasts regularly 2. When you are invited, attend your routine screening 3. If you find a problem with your breast, visit your GP, although many symptoms may be benign – breast cancer caught early has a much better chance of being cured

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LET THE SUN SHINE

The new terrace at The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant in Knightsbridge is the ideal destination for summer. A secluded and sophisticated venue for morning coffee or light meals, the terrace becomes a cigaristâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise in the evening with an extensive choice of whisky, cocktails and wine complementing a new cigar menu. For more information visit theribroom.co.uk or call 020 7858 7250 Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Cadogan Place, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 9PY

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The mayfair Magazine | Food & Drink

Lunch with a side of art

Food & drink news

Sketch has always been hot on the heels of what’s new on the art scene, but this month, the Michelinstarred restaurant is going one step further, collaborating with The Tate Modern in their exhibition of Norwegian painter, Edvard Munch. A three-course Champagne lunch has been created by master chef Pierre Gagnaire in the restaurant’s Lecture Room and Library with tickets to the exhibition included. The menu for lunch is artful in design and taste; start with an olive oil sorbet, followed by a slowcooked duck leg and finish with coffees and petits fours. £49 per person, until 14 October. Sketch, 9 Conduit Street, W1S

As Sir Peter Blake designs for Macallan whisky and Sketch collaborates with the Tate, we show you how food and drink can be works of art W O R D S : K AT E R A C O V O L I S

Home is where the heart is Have Agne Krasauskaite, bartender at the newly launched Bison Bar at Home House, make up a delightful concoction of liqueur at the illuminated island bar with views onto Home House’s lush garden sculptures. The bar is a beautiful retreat for relaxing with after-work cocktails, late-night revelry or pre-dinner drinks. Whatever your taste from the smooth flavours of the ‘Charlie Chaplin’ to the ‘Green Jacket’ or a hearty glass of red, Bison Bar is where we’ll be stopping by to warm up as we head into the cooler climes. (www.homehouse.co.uk)

Nobu unplugged Berkeley Street is bringing Nobu Unplugged back with two new acts. The venue will be hosting two live performances – the soulful lyrics of Irish duo Hudson Taylor on one night, and the lively Dublin singer/songwriter Kal Lavelle on another. And just to set your appetite soaring, the ticket also includes a delicious Bento Box filled with salmon sashimi salad with matsuhisa dressing and shrimp tempura with ponzu. £45 per person, Nobu, 15 Berkeley Street, W1J (020 7290 9222)

The art of whisky Raise your glasses to Sir Peter Blake, the iconic pop art designer, as he celebrates his 80th birthday this year. To mark this milestone, he has collaborated with Macallan whisky to create a limited-edition box, tracing the history of The Macallan from the 1930s through to the 2000s. Eight whiskies are artfully displayed in 5cl miniature bottles in the shadow box, filled with specially selected items that are nostalgic of The Macallan for each decade. An enviable collectable to keep, display or simply just to enjoy – we’ll drink to that. One box per store is available from Harrods, Selfridges, Vintage House, Hedonism and the Whisky Shop (www.themacallan.com) 115

Mayfair is now home to undoubtedly the most luxurious wine and spirits shop in London. But as Neil Ridley finds out, Hedonism Wines is so much more than just a swanky off-licence to pick up a bottle of your favourite vintage Claret

y d a e h brew

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The mayfair Magazine | Food & Drink

ying at the heart of Mayfair, Davies Street is no stranger to luxury. Vivian Westwood, Alfred Dunhill and Sunseeker all have smartly appointed shop fronts here and the gleam of a Porsche dealership dazzles passers by as the road meets the north of Berkeley Square, rounding out the list of extravagances like a wonderfully lavish roll call of top brands. But, the news is that there’s another addition to this list of refined vices, and for those who are particularly partial to fine wine, Hedonism Wines is likely to become your new home-from-home. Recently opened and generously laid out over two floors, Hedonism is perhaps best described as more of a Mecca for the wine and spirits enthusiast than simply an off-licence. In fact, Hedonism’s burgeoning shelves boast over 3,500 different wines, as well as more than 1,000 spirits, ranging from everyday tipples to serious collectors’ bottlings. ‘The name Hedonism was a really important word for us,’ explains Tatiana Fokina, executive manager for the shop. ‘It’s a word that is associated with good food and drink and we’ve hopefully re-branded it into something so much more.’ Taking over two vacant adjacent properties, Fokina and her team have spent over two years completely redesigning the shop’s interior, stripping it back to bare brick and creating an oenophile’s dream in the process. ‘Our plan was always to create an outlet which makes wine more accessible to everyone, taking away its stuffiness and creating an inviting, open environment,’ she says. The idea came when the shop’s founder, Yevgeny Chichvarkin, founder of Russia’s  117

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largest mobile phone retailer, tried (in vain, I may add) to get a bottle of his favourite wine from any of London’s other premier wine dealers. ‘He was amazed that no one would offer to help source it for him, so as a result, he decided to create Hedonism, thinking there’s actually a gap in the market,’ says Fokina. The results have clearly been time consuming, but the small team behind Hedonism, headed up by ex-Harrods wine buyer, Alistair Viner, is overjoyed with the results. ‘80 per cent of our staff are actually ex-sommeliers so they have a really high level of knowledge about wine and spirits,’ notes Fokina, ‘but they also have the mentality and approach of a concierge – nothing is too difficult for us and no matter what you’re looking for, we can usually find it.’ And just by taking a quick scan of the bespoke wooden shelving upstairs, there’s absolutely no reason to doubt her. From the incredible selection of single-malt whiskies (the shop’s centrepiece is the exceptionally rare bottle ‘No.1’ of 55 year-old Glenfiddich, priced at £123,734) to the 16 different vintages of Montrachet white wine, Champagnes, dessert wines and other rare spirits, the ground floor of Hedonism is a treasure trove all on its own. But descend the staircase to the basement (more bespoke design on show, this time wrought iron and cast in Wales, taking five months to build) and things start to get a little bit ridiculous. ‘We work with more than 180 suppliers, including auctioneers Bonhams and Christie’s to source our stock of fine wines and provenance is really important to us,’ says Fokina, which should give you an idea of what’s in store. Walls of first-growth Bordeaux and Burgundy from seemingly impossible vintages are immaculately presented, the environment of the room all temperature and humidity controlled, to emulate the perfect conditions of a wine cellar. ‘If customers get a little cold down here we have Cashmere throws to warm them up,’ laughs Fokina as I gaze enviously at an entire wall of Chateau d’Yquem, the varying colours of the different vintages all beautifully highlighted by backlighting. Head past several large format bottles (the largest being 27 litres), vertical flights of Sassicaia and Ornellaia Super Tuscans and a

complete collection of Californian Sine Qua Non vintages (the owner’s favourite winery, with something of a cult following from enthusiasts) and the lower-ground floor suddenly becomes a laidback tasting area, complete with a record player and racks of vinyl for customers to select a suitably hedonistic playlist. There’s even a children’s play space with iPads and games. ‘Ironically, it seems that it’s the parents who struggle to get their kids to leave,’ says Fokina as we head over to the brand new Enomatic tasting machines that allow customers to try 32 different vintage wines and Champagnes, which

‘Nothing is too difficult for us and no matter what you’re looking for, we can usually find it’ – Tatiana Fokina, Hedonism Wines are updated regularly – think of them as a brilliant way to ‘try-before-you-buy’ on a range of wines that you would struggle to find in most Michelin-starred restaurants. The final room is kept behind a sturdily barred door with a huge padlock and contains Hedonism’s rarest wines. ‘Where do I start,’ says Fokina as she hands me a priceless bottle of d’Yquem from 1811. My heart almost skips a beat as I realise that in this small space alone is perhaps London’s most highly prized – and valuable wine cellar: a magnum of 1937 Krug, signed by the winemakers sits next to a bottle of Hungarian Tokaji from 1860, a case of 1947 Cheval Blanc and the shop’s oldest bottle of wine, dating back to 1774. ‘Yes, we have a lot of exceptional and highly prized products, but we also have more than 500 wines and spirits that are priced under £30,’ she says, which really sums up the Hedonism ethos. At no point does one feel remotely intimidated by what’s on offer here and there’s no doubt that whether you’re a connoisseur, collector or simply a wine-loving hedonist on the way to a dinner party, you’ll find a visit to Hedonism a truly enriching experience. Hedonism Wines, 3-7 Davies Street, W1K (020 7290 7870; www.hedonism.co.uk). One-hour delivery service within London on selected products 119

Game ‘The Glorious Twelfth’ marked the start of grouse season. As London’s best restaurants eagerly awaited the fresh arrivals, the game is now well a nd truly on. Neil Ridley dons his tweeds in search of the very finest grouse in town

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The mayfair Magazine | Food & Drink

or those not familiar with the significance of 12 August, one could describe it as the unfortunate end to the peace and tranquility of a large number of country estates across the north of England and Scotland – and certainly the end of the holiday season for the native red grouse. Indeed, the Glorious Twelfth has become synonymous with the first day of the shooting season across the UK’s 459 grouse moors and the race to be one of the first restaurants to serve up this iconic bird for connoisseurs and game fans alike has become a hotly contested challenge. The phrase itself was coined back in 1831, to coincide with new legislation brought in to protect the relatively fragile stocks of game reared across the moorlands of the UK. From 10 December until 12 August it is illegal to shoot red grouse, giving the birds time to develop, feeding predominantly on young heather, which helps gives the bird its distinctive flavour. Edwardian shooting parties were notorious for their impact on stocks of game birds and according to some reports, King Edward VII and his guests at Sandringham once managed to take out an impressive 1,300 birds in a single day’s shooting at the estate. Quite a remarkable tally and certainly a bumper day for the chefs, whose traditional recipes of roasting the birds, flavouring them with Fyldes, chef at The Lyttelton red currant and occasionally juniper berries have stood the test of time and are still firm favourites with many of today’s best chefs. Traditionally, Harrods have managed to stake their claim as the first London establishment to receive the freshly felled grouse as near to the Glorious Twelfth as possible, often sourced from their very own Scottish grouse moorland. However, as this year 12 August fell on a Sunday, shoots started a day late and many of London’s best restaurants were able to get in on the act far earlier. The Lyttelton, based at the Stafford Hotel in St James, has been serving grouse as close to the Glorious Twelfth as possible, with the birds receiving a very traditional treatment from head chef, Brendan Fyldes. Fyldes prefers to remain true to the traditions of serving grouse as a simple roasted bird, served with livers on toast, a wonderfully flavoursome game reduction and classic game chips. ‘Keep it simple and use lots of butter,’ is Fyldes’ advice to approaching the rich flavour of the red grouse, which the Lyttelton source from an estate in North Yorkshire. ‘There is of course a huge premium on the price of grouse at the very start of the season,’ explains the chef, ‘so it’s best to use them quickly and not to let them sweat too much. I always serve grouse medium rare, to avoid making the bird too tough.’ The Lyttelton’s game menu will run throughout the year, with Fyldes experimenting with the many rich flavours on offer, as more mature birds and other game starts to arrive at the restaurant through Autumn. ‘We’ve got plenty planned for this season,’ he explains, ‘including 

‘There is, of course, a huge premium on the price of grouse at the very start of the season’ – Brendan

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‘The less you muck about with the bird, the better, and try to roast it on the bone’ – Francois O’Neill, owner and head chef, The Brompton Bar & Grill

Chip off the old block

ABOVE: THE BROMPTON BAR & GRILL

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A traditional counterpart to the grouse is the game chip, which in reality, shares a very close resemblance to the humble potato crisp. Many chefs use a lattice cutter to prepare very finely sliced chips, before deep frying them in vegetable oil and lightly seasoning. Brompton Bar & Grill’s Francois O’Neill recommends keeping it simple, but suggests frying them in duck fat or beef lard for a richer flavour.

 a traditional game terrine, alongside a soup and what’s known as a ‘Buckingham Pie’ – a fabulously rich recipe of venison, beef, port, wine and plums, served with a leek mash. Over in Knightsbridge, The Brompton Bar & Grill are also serving the season’s first grouse in a thoroughly traditional fashion. Owner and head chef Francois O’Neill presents his grouse proudly on a bed of deep fried citrus toast, with spicy bread sauce, game jus and the obligatory game chips. ‘The less you muck about with the bird, the better,’ he explains ‘and try to roast it on the bone, as this will really enhance the flavour. Give it some colour in a pan, before roasting it. Be careful not to overcook it – you can always give it a few more minutes if it’s a little too rare. Also, try not to swamp it with other strong flavours – you really want the bird to be the centre of attention.’ The Brompton’s game is also sourced early from estates in North Yorkshire as Francois feels that this season the weather has been tough for grouse estates further north. ‘A lot of Scottish shoots have been hampered by the weather,’ he explains, but Scottish grouse will start appearing on menus further on into the season.’ Mayfair’s Corrigan’s restaurant, owned by the

The mayfair Magazine | Food & Drink

highly regarded and charismatic Irish chef, Richard Corrigan is no stranger to the traditional approach of serving grouse, but is also unafraid to experiment with the bold flavours on offer. Head chef Chris McGowan runs grouse workshops early in the season, enlightening guests with a touch of creativity when it comes to his recipes for the bird. ‘Grouse are packed with flavour,’ points out McGowan, ‘especially the gizzards, which can be trimmed off, seasoned and fried, tasting great in a salad.’ The chef recommends protecting the tender breast of the bird from over cooking by using a layer of lardo (fat, pressed into small flexible sheets) before browning quickly in a pan, then cooking for six to seven minutes in an oven set to 180 degrees. ‘Northern reared grouse tends to be better as it is fattened up more, giving it more flavour,’ he explains. As well as this more traditional serve, Corrigan’s serves up a spectacular grouse pie, which is perhaps best described as the ultimate in gamey gourmet delights. Constructed like a Beef Wellington, McGowan fills a cabbage leaf with grouse forcemeat (mince) then liberally layers up rare cooked grouse breast, foie gras and more seasoned forcemeat, before finally wrapping it in pastry. ‘It’s become something of a renowned dish,’ notes the chef ‘and we’ll be keeping it on the menu for the whole season, due to its popularity.’ For a taste out of the ordinary, Marylebone’s Trishna, which specialises in the costal cuisine of southwest India, has designed a special menu dedicated to adding a bit of spice to traditional game, paired with suitably flavoursome wines. Dishes such as quail in chatpatta spices, mango coriander chutney and dry furmint, are paired with a 2009 Patricius, Tokaji from Hungary, alongside tandoori partridge, with an Indian five spice marinade and smoked aubergine chutney, served with a rich peppery 2011 Pinot Noir Ma Maison from the Leung Estate in Martinborough, New Zealand. The Lyttelton at The Stafford Hotel: St James’s Place, London SW1A (020 7493 0111). Brompton Bar & Grill: 243 Brompton Road, London, Greater London SW3 (020 7589 8005). Corrigan’s Mayfair: 28 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1K (020 7499 9943).Trishna: 15 -17 Blandford Street, Marylebone Village, London, W1U (020 7935 5624)

Where to buy the best grouse for cooking at home:

ABOVE: BRENDAN FYLDES, CHEF AT THE LYTTELTON; BELOW: ALLENS OF MAYFAIR

#1 Allens Of Mayfair 117 Mount Street, W1K (020 7499 5831; www.allensofmayfair.co.uk) #2 The Blackface Meat Company Specialising in boxes of the finest mail order game (01387 730 326; www.blackface.co.uk) #3 Lidgates 110 Holland Park Avenue, W11 (020 7727 8243; www.lidgates.com) 123

Collection Food & Drink | The|mayfair The mayfair Magazine Magazine

DINING OUT I Banca, North Audley Street W O R D S : E lle blakeman

‘Fresh lobster with sweet cherry tomatoes, rich gnocchi with taleggio sprinkled with delicate summer truffles’

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL WINCH

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n a world where banks are increasingly seen as the enemy, it’s nice to go to one (well, technically a former bank) and know you are in for something rather pleasant. Banca is Mayfair’s latest – and frankly one of the better – answers to that eternal ‘Where should we go tonight’ question; a highly elegant Italian restaurant housed in the marbled-floor ground of a former NatWest. The people behind this former counting house offspring need no introduction: Arjun and Peter Waney (Zuma, Roka, La Petite Maison) Giuliano Lotto (Aurelia, II Baretto) – all already so entrenched in Mayfair life it’s hard to imagine what these park-lined streets would look like without their culinary input. When you arrive, you must have a drink at the bar. This is non-negotiable. Ideally this drink should be a Bellini; courtesy of Francesco Della Corte. These rich, glamorous concoctions are a million miles away from any other in town and have rapidly and rightly been awarded by the highly attended annual Barfestival held in Italy. He also makes a mean Negroni, if you prefer something with a bit more of a bite. Having a drink at this bar is like taking a deep breath and letting the day melt away from you. It also gives you time to soak in the atmosphere; the huge circular chandeliers bouncing light off the high, golden ceiling; the chefs using the traditional bread oven in the open kitchen and the chic, cream quilted booths – the Chanel 2.55 of seats. The food at Banca is stunning – executive chef Marzio Zacchi and head chef Gabriele Milani have produced a sophisticated menu full of traditional Northern Italian flavours: fresh lobster with sweet cherry tomatoes, rich gnocchi with taleggio sprinkled with delicate summer truffles and spicy baked scallops and saffron risotto to name a few, all prepared in what was once the bank vault, adding to the glamour of the place. The wine list is extensive, though could easily turn your night into the kind that your actual bank would disapprove of. For a more informal evening, try dining ‘Milan Style’ – at the bar – where you can feast on terrine of rabbit, foie gras and ham and brandade of cod with pate, Taggiasca olives and toast. Essentially this could be a great solution to the banking crisis – simply turn them into fabulous restaurants. Banca, 30 North Audley Street, W1 (020 7647 252; www.bancarestaurant.com)

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The The mayfair mayfair Magazine Magazine | Regulars | Beauty

Suite dreams … at Brown’s Hotel Words: Kari Rosenberg

ou know your weekend is off to a good start when greeted, mid afternoon, with a bottle of crisp white wine and an assortment of handmade truffles. This month, the prestigious Brown’s Hotel has joined forces with the oldest Champagne House, Ruinart, to create an incredibly indulgent breakfast-in-bed experience, celebrating Ruinart Rosé champagne – this is clearly not the place for a post-summer detox. Looking out onto Dover Street, the glinting allure of the Tiffany & Co windows were just about visible from our bedroom, though my partner, unsurprisingly, was less attentive to my subtle observations as he was to the Bang & Olufsen television. Impressive in its simplicity, the suite is designed in a contemporary yet cosy style; decorated in soft muted tones and light fabrics, blending perfectly with the specially selected artwork and antiques. Despite the high-end technology housed here, the hotel somehow manages to maintain that refined English charm for which it is famous. Most impressive was the special attention given to the small details; including a selection of relevant books within each room: Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book – which he wrote while staying in the hotel – and The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill, a regular former visitor. The walk in wardrobe – for those who refuse to travel light – is so vast, it deserves its own room number. With the whole evening in front of us and a fair few hours to kill before breakfast, we took a slow stroll through Mayfair to Brooks Mews, making our way to the charming courtyard of Hush brasserie, enjoying the warm evening,

surrounded by the twinkling lights and meandering pedestrians on the cobbled street. Following a wonderful night’s sleep and a hot bubble bath I was ready and waiting, cosy in my bathrobe for the main event. Reclined in the feathered heaven of our king-size bed, a faint knock on the door indicated breakfast was served, and with it, a berry-centred feast. As we sipped on the Ruinart Rosé, we matched the Champagne’s key flavours with the aromas of the miniature scent vials, beautifully set up in the centre of the table. Each of the Champagne’s aromas, represented in the bottles – from Damascena rose to pomegranate – was complemented by one element of the meal; warm golden waffles with sweet cherry compote; fresh melon and dragon fruit; razor thin and syrupy sweet pineapple, carpaccio scattered with fresh mint; sugared grapefruit segments; pomegranate granola and flaky custard filled pastries. We set about testing the accuracy of our palettes, vial in one hand, flute in the other, a fun spin on your standard breakfast-in-bed experience. There was even a scented candle to take as a souvenir. Leaving through the grand foyer, slightly tipsy for a Sunday morning, I thought I’d try my luck and suggest a Tiffany’s detour. With a loving smile and a hand on my shoulder, my partner leaned in and whispered: ‘no more Champagne for you’. The Ruinart Rosé Interpretation Breakfast in Bed package from £495 (www.brownshotel.com) 127

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Canary Wharf

bars & restaurants â&#x20AC;˘ fashion & style â&#x20AC;˘ arts & events canarywharf.com

SHOPPING

savour the flavour

of spain The quickesT way To spain isn’T on a flighT; iT’s Through The doors of iberica canary wharf during The spain now! fesTival. Take a Trip To The MediTerranean wiThouT venTuring Too far froM hoMe

berica canary wharf has taken the tradition of tapas to a whole new culinary level. its contemporary take on spanish dishes, and menu created by a two Michelin-star chef nacho Manzano, can transform an evening in london into a warm Mediterranean night.

The restaurant has been designed by barcelona-based lazaro rosa violan with an integrated open kitchen so diners can share the cooking experience. The décor follows the tone set by the food creating a modern space and combining elements of spanish culture.

Nacho MaNzaNo, IberIca’s two MIchelINstarred executIve chef, talks about hIs culINary INflueNces what inspired you to start cooking? from a very early age i was used to life around cooking. i remember being very interested in learning more about cooking and managing a restaurant, so at the age of fifteen my father sent me to work in the restaurant of a friend of his. after seven years, i came back to casa Marcial to help my parents. i realized i didn’t want to copy the recipes of others. i had my own style and way of cooking and wanted to introduce a more gastronomic feel to the menus. what distinguishes iberica canary wharf from the other restaurants? ibérica has the spirit of a traditional restaurant, a fine tavern or “casa de comidas” in spanish. all our stews are made daily. The idea is that the iberica client will eat the same food, prepared in the same way, as in spain’s traditional taverns. This cooking, combined with the variety of Tapas - lighter, newer and more creative - is the key.

spain now! as a partner of spain now! iberica canary wharf has laid on a series of events to celebrate the spanish culture of food. The festival, held from october to december, promotes the latest creative talents from spain through a number of exhibitions, performances and events across london. This year, iberica canary wharf is hosting a number of live cooking shows and wine tastings, held inside the restaurant and across canary wharf. Tantalise your taste buds, learn a few spanish specialities and witness the creation of classic dishes with a modern twist. iberica canary wharf event guide - highlights wednesday 3 october cooking masterclass, by david Muñoz wine tasting class, bruno Murciano monday 15 october live cooking show by Jose pizarro and césar garcia tuesday 16 october live cooking show by nacho Manzano and diego bello thursday 18 october galician wine tasting class by bruno Murciano cooking masterclass by diego bello iberica canary wharf, cabot square, 020 7636 8650. for more information on the forthcoming events please visit www.ibericalondon.co.uk

www.canarywharf.com

@yourcanarywharf

mayfair

Resident’s Journal

From the Chairman of The Residents’ Society

Dear Neighbours and Members of the Residents’ Society of Mayfair and St James’s, As your local public amenity society, we are delighted to have teamed up with Runwild Media Group to participate in this, their Mayfair Residents’ Journal; a new addition to The Mayfair Magazine. We aim to continue to provide news of interest for our local resident and business member regarding what is going on in our domain of Mayfair and St James’s. As ever, the efforts of The Residents’ Society of Mayfair & St James’s are directed towards making the area a more agreeable and safer place in which to live and work, whilst also liaising between the various regulatory bodies and our community. You may still remain in touch with us via info@rsmsj.com and keep abreast of events and information at www.rsmsj.com. The Mayfair Residents’ Journal will incorporate regular updates on our activities and we hope that if you are not already a member of the Society, you will complete our application form online. We do hope you will enjoy the publication. All best wishes Anthony M Lorenz, The Chairman Residents’ Society of Mayfair and St James’s

The Residents’ Society of Mayfair & St James’s Committee Members Chairman Anthony Lorenz (Events & Traffic)

Secretary Richard Cutt (Crossrail & Finance)

Planning Applications Ronald Cottee (Planning)

Membership Pol Ferguson-Thompson (Membership & Website)

Traffic Lois Peltz

Police Mary-Louise Burrows

Licensing Derek Stratton

The Mayfair & St James’s Notebook The most local of news and events happening in the heart of the area this month

A tribute to Richard Hamilton When one of Britain’s most influential artists, Richard Hamilton, died in September 2011, he was planning a major exhibition to show his recent works at The National Gallery. Now, a year later, the gallery will house a highly personal exhibition of his late works, some of which have never been seen by the public. The exhibition includes thirty paintings in a labyrinth-like space which was also designed by Hamilton and captures many of the notable directions his art had taken over recent decades. Free admission, 10 October 2012 to 13 January 2013, Sunley Room, the National Gallery (www.nationalgallery.org.uk). X7888, Richard Hamilton, Portrait of a woman as an artist, 2007, Oil on inkjet on canvas (100 x 123 cm) © Courtesy of the Estate of Richard Hamilton

The real Downton The arrival of the third season of the award-winning series of Downton Abbey had us on the edge of our seats. In celebration of the next dose of pomp (and indeed scandal) of Downton, Grosvenor House’s Lierati book club will host Lady Fiona Carnarvon, who is the current resident at Highclere Castle – the exquisite location where the television series is filmed. Lady Fiona Carnarvon will speak about her book, Lady Almina and The Real Downton Abbey, which vividly brings the history of Highclere Castle to life. 27 November, Grosvenor House, Park Lane the countess of caRNARVON © TOBI CORNEY PHOTOGRAPHY

The Residents’ Society’s new rag The Residents’ Society is delighted to welcome The Army and Navy Club as one of its new business members. In tandem, the club is offering a social evening open to both business and resident members of the Society. The Army and Navy Club is one of London’s most exclusive yet inviting older institutions. Situated in the heart of St James’s, the club (often known by its nickname, ‘The Rag’) combines the tradition of an officers’ mess and the comfort and facilities of a smart hotel. It has approximately 5,000 members – both ladies and gentlemen – and is offering a limited number of membership places to nonserving individuals. As well as being an exceptionally magnificent building, the club has excellent bars and fine dining restaurants. The Residents’ Society of Mayfair and St James’s hopes that its members will take up an invitation from the club to eat canapés and mix with other members on Wednesday 17 October or 24 October. The Club’s Chief Executive and Secretary, Rod Craig, says: ‘We hope that this will also be an opportunity to showcase what the club has to offer the business community in terms of individual and corporate membership... It may be that you have perceived clubs such as this as being rather insular and old-fashioned environments; although the club is based on the traditions and ethos of the military, we are surprisingly modern in outlook.’ RSMSJ members should RSVP to lisa@therag.co.uk as soon as possible,

mayfair RESIDENTS’ JOURNAL | The Mayfair & St James’s Notebook

Neighbourhood forum in the making Dubbed ‘parish councils with clout’, neighbourhood forums are the consultative result of the government’s intention to create a Big Society (where individuals have more power) and to reduce public service costs. The recent Localism Bill included the transfer of responsibilities (both insubstantial and some quite major) from local authorities to neighbourhood forums, such as our Residents’ Society of Mayfair & St James’s, which is notably close to the needs and concerns of local businesses and residents. The intention is for neighbourhood forums to become prime movers; investigating local planning issues, licensing, leasing and the like. Our Residents’ Society’s Chairman, Anthony Lorenz, is heavily involved in discussions with Grosvenor, The Crown, the North Mayfair Residents’ Organisation and other interested parties regarding being on the steering committee of the Mayfair Neighbourhood Forum. The Residents’ Society believes that this proposal is a real step in the right direction but also acknowledges that there is much to do to ensure that a sensible and inclusive arrangement is reached.

Tickled pink Between the pair of them, The Ritz and Thomas Pink know both how to travel and shop in style, and have created a weekend shopping experience that brings you to the eclectic shopping of London, where you can dash from shop to shop in Thomas Pink’s classic, custom-made Morgan. The fleet of knowledgeable chauffeurs and The Ritz’s concierge are at the ready to help you plan your ultimate shopping trip in Mayfair and beyond. The sumptuous package includes a stay in one of The Ritz’s Louis XVI-inspired guestrooms and a two-hour shopping outing in the Morgan, beginning with a glass of champagne at Thomas Pink’s flagship boutique. From £640 per night (www.theritzlondon.com).

Library to up sticks Many residents have been aware that the lease of Mayfair Library is due to expire at the end of September and have hoped that its existence is not under threat. We are now assured this is not the case but that a relocation of the library, which was purpose built in 1894, is probable. Near to Mount Street Gardens at 25 South Audley Street and owned by Grosvenor Estate, the building’s architectural splendour is striking but it has some drawbacks, notably difficult access for the disabled and its layout. Rumour has it that a new location near Berkeley Square is under discussion which will address the access issues and provide a more user-friendly spacious environment. Meanwhile, there is a talk to enjoy at 6.30pm on 16 October; ‘Pre-Raphelites and their Muses’ by art historian Lucinda Hawksley, intended to complement the Tate Britain exhibition. Refreshments served, and free, but please book: 020 7641 4916.

The Library in 1947 © westminster city archives

Anthony Lorenz at the Society’s Summer Garden Party in June

Planning & Society Ground-level developments and societal structural changes in the Mayfair area

Planning applications in the local area Application received: 6 September Address: 14 Chesterfield Street Proposal: Demolition of part of a roof structure and part of a rear facade; excavation to existing basement; new mansard roof extension including terrace; erections of a rear extension from ground to fourth-floor level and internal alterations including installation of a lift. Application received: 5 September Address: 38 Bruton Place Proposal: Display for temporary period of six months of a non-illuminated ‘to let’ board attached onto the building at a height of between 3m and 4.6m above street level and measuring 0.45m by 0.6m. Application received: 5 September Address: 16B Curzon Street Proposal: Detailed drawings (scaled at 1:20 and 1:5) of the new window pursuant to condition 2 of planning permission dated 16 February 2012. Application received: 5 September Address: 22 Hill Street Proposal: Retention of four replacement rooflights and access hatch on first-floor rear flat roof. Application received: 4 September Address: 8 Balderton Street Proposal: Details of all facing materials including glazing; glazed façade at ground-floor level; all new windows; new entrance doors; plant screen and alterations to forecourt including new lamps and details of Public Art pursuant to Conditions 1, 2 and 4 of planning permission dated 26 January 2012. Application received: 4 September Address: 28 Upper Grosvenor Street Proposal: Erection of one entrance canopy and nine window canopies. Application: 31 August Address: 51 Berkeley Street Proposal: Installation of two-trough lighting illuminated fascia sign, one trough-lighting illuminated projecting sign and one non-illuminated vinyl ATM graphic. Application received: 16 August Address: Collette House, 52-55 Piccadilly Proposal: Display of four traditional black, canvas shop front blinds bearing the company name in gold letters.

Councillor Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster city council

LOCAL Broadband COULD DO WITH ‘BIG BANG’ Councillor Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster city council has spoken with pride about the local area’s commitment to high-speed broadband. In a critical response to Owen Paterson’s announcement of governmental plans to introduce faster, more efficient broadband to the countryside as a means of rejuvenating the rural economy, Roe said: ‘We are concerned that the ability of local people to oppose commercial broadband boxes, of which some can be large eyesores, will be diluted by these proposals. It is more important that councils work in partnership with broadband companies to locate infrastructure sensibly. ‘I would question why the government’s approach is needed at all – it will only result in a gradual and prolonged development across the UK rather than the big bang in broadband that the UK needs. Under existing rules, councils such as Westminster are already leading a revolution in high-speed broadband, helping businesses to connect through projects such as Hub Westminster and Sohonet. Earlier this year, Westminster and partners rolled out Europe’s largest free wifi zone in some of the West End’s most popular destinations, at no expense to the taxpayer.’

‘Westminster are already leading a revolution in high-speed broadband’ The two projects to which Roe refers have greatly improved internet accessibility for local business. Sohonet was created in 1995 specifically for the film and television industry in Westminster, to allow for quick and easy communication between offices in the area and various studios across the world, including Pinewood, Los Angeles and Sydney. Hub Westminster is a more recent initiative to aid social enterprises, providing members with 100mbit broadband and international conference facilities. It has already achieved considerable success with nearly five-hundred members. On a more everyday level, Westminster has collaborated with mobile operator O2 so that some of its main streets can offer the public free wifi.

mayfair RESIDENTS’ JOURNAL | Planning & Society

THE AREA’S elderly to receive modernisation of care The state of care for the elderly in the area will be under scrutiny this autumn when Westminster City Council launches a consultation into the topic, in conjunction with the NHS. The consultation will be conducted amongst over 1,500 Westminster residents, as well as their families and carers. It is hoped that the findings of the research will allow the council to develop a more modern system of care over the next five years, particularly with regards to homes for the elderly. Those behind the proposals are hoping to introduce a new breed of care, fostering more independence among the elderly through en-suite flats with a provision of twenty-four-hour aid, rather than the set-up of traditional care homes, where residents stay in single rooms with shared facilities. Westminster has announced plans for several new developments, including new care homes that meet the modernised

guidelines, a new rehabilitation unit, the establishment of more services in individual care homes in order to avoid constant moving between different ones, and additional residential flats. Local councillor Rachael Robathan, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health at Westminster City Council, responded very positively to the project, praising in particular its recognition of the fact that the traditional model of care for older people today is often out-dated and inappropriate. She said: ‘The care needs of older people have changed significantly, and it is up to local authorities and the NHS to make sure that they are successfully meeting the needs of their residents and providing appropriate care. Westminster is no exception.’ Roe stressed how she wanted older people to shape the plans and how the consultation would give residents a voice to express their views on the matter.

Planned road works and closures in and around October STREET

PLANNED WORK

DATES

WORKS OWNER

30 Shepherd Street, West End

OSV install in the carriageway. Permanent reinstatement to be completed in same phase.

1 Oct – 3 Oct

Thames Water

Stratton Street, West End (opposite no. 6)

Installation of telecoms chambers and ducts in carriageway and footway.

21 Sep – 4 Oct

City of London Telecoms

1 to 4 Yarmouth Place, West End

Interim to permanent re-instatement.

21 Sep – 5 Oct

Thames Water

50-66 Brook Street, West End

Installation of telecoms chambers and ducts in carriageway and footway.

26 Sep – 29 Oct

City of London Telecoms

Brown Hart Gardens, West End (junction of Duke Street to junction of Balderton Street)

Installation of duct and cable on behalf of UKPN in carriageway.

12 Sep – 2 Oct

UKPN East & Lon LTD

Outside 24 Culross Street, West End

Connections Small Service. New service: (approx. depth 450mm-600mm), 19 Oct – 25 Oct install 100AMP three phase supply.

UKPN East & Lon LTD

55-73 Duke Street, West End

New build: 1X50MM MDPE bulk supply with 17 internal fit meters to serve 16 flats and landlords.

5 Oct – 11 Oct

Thames Water

55 Green Street, West End

OSV install in the carriageway. Permanent reinstatement to be completed in same phase.

3 Oct – 5 Oct

Thames Water

Outside 29 Green Street, West End

Connections small service: service upgrade (approx. depth 450mm) to install 200AMP three-phase supply.

28 Sep – 4 Oct

UKPN East & Lon LTD

The Mayfair Concierge Some of the most interesting requests made to Mayfair’s most experienced concierges

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FIX IT QUICK

Dry cleaners/repairs Buckingham Dry Cleaners 83 Duke Street, W1K 5PF 020 7499 1253

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Electric cars The Electric Car Corporation 1st Floor, 5 Aldford Street, W1K 2AF 020 7495 5270

Luxury car rental Mayfair Prestige 0845 862 2142 Luxury yachts Princess Yachts 64 Grosvenor Street W1K 3JH 020 7499 5050

Rent a Rolls Royce Hanwells 86-91 Uxbridge Road W7 3ST 020 7436 2070 Thames cruise City Cruises 020 7740 0400

LAST MINUTE BUSINESS

Audio Visual hire AV2hire.com 020 3130 0401

Local courier City Sprint 0844 888 4111

Buy / Sell shares Artemis 57 St James Street SW1A 1LD 020 7399 6000

Prestige Taxi Crown Security Chauffeurs 0800 731 5675

International Courier DHL 0844 248 0844

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Watch repair Marcus Watches 170 New Bond Street, W1S 4RB 020 7290 6500

LAND, SEA AND AIR

Charter a helicopter Emjets 23 Berkeley Square, W1J 6HE 0845 3888 248

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IT/Tech support Mike Will Fix It 020 7564 7171 07762 647547

Sartoria This undeniably chic restaurant brings authentic Italian flavours, Milanese-inspired interiors and a touch of London style to its equally stylish clientele. 20 Savile Row, W1S 3PR 020 7534 7000

Private Dining Room Corrigans 28 Upper Grosvenor Street W1K 7EH 020 7499 9943

Translator Central Translations 21 Woodstock Grove, W12 8TX 020 7493 5511

DENTIST Aqua Dental Spa 25 Manchester Square, W1U 3PY 020 7935 5332

Doctor Lees Place Medical Centre 11 Lees Place, W1K 6LN 020 7036 6060

The Mayfair Dental Practice 71 Park Street, W1K 7HN 020 7499 2168

The Mayfair Medical Centre 3 - 5 Weighhouse Street, W1K 5LS 020 7493 1647

LIFE SAVERS

Baby sitter Rockabye Babysitters 9 Wimpole Street W1G 9SR 020 7624 0060 Findababysitter.com 020 7580 6403

mayfair RESIDENTS’ JOURNAL | Concierge

Florist Wild Things of Mayfair 47 Davies Street, W1K 4LY 020 7495 3030

LAST MINUTE GIFTS Linley Accessories 46 Albemarle Street, W1K 5QW 020 7290 1410

Personal shopper Gabrielle Teare 07985 319300 info@gabrielleteare.com

Casino The Palm Beach Casino 30 Berkeley Street, W1J 8EH 020 7493 6585

Late night food Hakkasan 17 Bruton Street, W1J 6QB 020 7907 1888

Members’ clubs

Party planner Concorde Media 020 7297 3344

Fancy dress Pantaloons 020 7630 8330 www.pantaloons.co.uk

Freggo Ice-cream Bar 27-29 Swallow Street W1B 4QR 020 7287 9506

DOG WALKER Pawsh Dogs 54 Harwood Road, sw6 4py 07503 448489

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PARTY TIME

Massages Mayfair Spa - The Mayfair Hotel Stratton Street, W1J 8LT 020 7915 2826

Henry Bonas 020 3214 2099

Michael John Boutique 25 Albemarle Street W1S 4HU 020 7629 6969

Spa & beauty Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa 29 Davies Street, W1K 4LW 0870 787 6626

Men’s hair Atherton Cox 18 New Cavendish Street, W1G 8UR 020 7487 4048

Women’s hair Janet Ginnings Hair and Beauty Salon 45 Curzon Street W1J 7UQ 020 7499 1904

Sassoon Salon Sassoon believe great hair design begins with the client, and create sophisticated looks that are technically precise and effortlessly chic and that are easy to recreate day after day. 60 South Molton Street, W1K 5SW 020 7491 8848

SAMPLE THE FINEST

Backgammon board Aspinal of London 0845 052 6900 Caviar Caviar House & Prunier 161 Piccadilly, W1J 9EA 0871 961 9577 Cheese La Fromagerie 2-6 Moxon Street W1U 4EW 020 7935 0341

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G&D Events 020 7682 2682

RECHARGE AND RECUPERATE

Dog grooming Mayfair Mutts Upper Brook Street, W1 020 7409 7739 mayfairmutts@hotmail.co.uk

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Maddox Club A boutique sanctuary in which to party, with a DJ booth within a restaurant, successfully creating a venue, where partying and dining co-exist under one roof. 3-5 Mill Street, W1S 2AU 020 7629 8877

Chocolates Rococo Chocolates 45 Marylebone High St, W1U 5HG 020 7935 7780

Humidors Linley 46 Albemarle Street, W1S 4JN 020 7290 1410

Luxury liquor Gerry’s Wines & Spirits 74 Old Compton Street, W1D 4UW 020 7734 2053

Cigars Sautter of Mount Street 106 Mount Street, W1K 2TW 020 7499 4866

hot chocolate Ladurée 71-72 Burlington Arcade, W1J 0QX 020 7491 9155

Fine wine Jeroboams 20 Davies Street, W1K 3DT 020 7499 1015

Luxury hamper Fortnum & Mason 181 Piccadilly, W1A 1ER 020 7734 8040

The Vintage Watch Co. 24 Burlington Arcade, W1J 0PS 020 7499 2032

Rent a double decker bus London Heritage Travel 01353 863273 This Bus.com 0845 4652 394

Shotgun repairs James Purdey & Sons Ltd 57-58 South Audley Street W1K 2ED 020 7499 1801

Vintage watches David Duggan 63 Burlington Arcade, WIJ 0QS 020 7491 1675

WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

Bespoke perfumes Miller Harris 21 Bruton Street, W1J 6QD 020 7629 7750

Diamonds valued Armour Winston 43 Burlington Arcade, W1J 0QQ 020 7493 8937

mayfair Residentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journal editor@residentsjournal.co.uk 020 7987 4320

If you have a view that you would like to share with the Residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Journal team, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact the Editor, Alice Tozer, above or one of the following teams: for matters of culture: culture@residentsjournal.co.uk for news-related items: notebook@residentsjournal.co.uk for planning stories: planning@residentsjournal.co.uk for schooling news: education@residentsjournal.co.uk for local events: calendar@residentsjournal.co.uk

The mayfair Magazine | Travel

Travel news With strong ties to the art and design worlds, these two hotels are not unlike galleries in themselves. Be sure to follow our top tips for a stylish journey to remember W O R D S : K AT E R A C O V O L I S

TRAVEL TIPS Don’t leave home without… This Hermès travel backgammon set. When you’re not relaxing, or wining and dining, this is a perfectly travel sized game for a very stylish time-filler. Backgammon, £1,860, Hermès (www.hermes.com)

There’s an app for that… Flight+ Flight+ is an all-in-one app so you can track all available flights across the world, check the weather, boarding times and airline updates. It’s the ultimate app for keeping your journey organised anywhere in the world. £2.49 from the iTunes App Store

Short haul

Le Meurice, Paris Staying at Le Meurice in Paris is like travelling back in time, but in a style fit for a king. The 18th century architecture of the hotel is filled with Salvador Dalí inspired interiors and murals, designed by the iconic Philippe Starck and his daughter Ara. The rooms have been styled to reflect the royal glamour of Louis XVI and have recently been redesigned by Charles Jouffre, the designer who created the sumptuous drapes and hangings of the Grand Foyer at the Opera Garnier. Drop in to the newly refurbished Spa Valmont for a facial with the Swiss brand Valmont, and an added boost of radiance to your skin. And be sure to spend an evening at the three Michelin-starred restaurant, which serves Haute French cuisine amongst the magnificent décor inspired by the Salon de la Paix at the Château de Versailles, which was reinterpreted for the hotel by Starck. (www.lemaurice.com)

Long haul

Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado, Santa Fe Just outside the city of Santa Fe’s hub of creativity is the remote Four Seasons, and the perfect excuse to treat yourself to a getaway and immerse yourself in the culture of the city. On the Sangre de Cristo foothills, the luxury resort is a truly serene place amongst the unspoiled wilderness, where you can completely slow your pace without venturing too far off the beaten track. Its acclaimed restaurant, Terra, is an authentic experience serving delicious New Mexican cuisine cooked with fresh local produce. A visit to the spa is also a must, where you can relax with modern therapies or treatments indigenous to the region, or take the complimentary Mercedes Benz vehicles to the galleries downtown, including the famed Canyon Road, if you’re up for the total Santa Fe art experience. (www.fourseasons.com)

‘Travel light. You rarely miss things you have forgotten but you always regret being overloaded.’ - Laura Bailey

131

of arttravel

The

The owner of The Dolder Grand in Zurich, Urs Schwarzenbach, invites us not only to stay at his beautiful hotel, but to view his enviable personal collection of fine art within. Experience the creative side of Switzerlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital w o r ds : Re b e c c a W a l l e r ste i n e r

132

The mayfair Magazine | Travel

‘S

ome of our long-stay guests choose to bring their own chef and servants – as all our suites have a kitchen. However you might prefer dining in our two-Michelin star restaurant tonight’, says my driver. As he turns the corner, a fairy-tale castle perched romantically on a hill-top overlooking Zurich materialises, with lights twinkling in all its turrets – this is the Dolder Grand hotel. My bag is whisked away from me and magically appears in my room within a few minutes. You could easily get lost in the spacious bedrooms; the bathroom alone is comprised of three marbled rooms. Drawing back the curtains I am greeted by a large Henry Moore bronze sculpture of three reclining nude figures, while outside in the garden, the white of the marble contrasts a backdrop of green forests, endless lake and snowcapped Alps in the distance. ‘We are able to offer a paradise to modern art lovers, as our owner, Urs Schwarzenbach has installed his personal collection of one hundred world class artworks throughout this hotel’, says the literature about Dolder Grand. These include priceless masterpieces by Salvador Dalí, Miro, Anthony Caro, Rene Magritte, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol – impressive for a gallery, let alone a hotel. ‘International collectors and dealers, visiting the annual Basel art fair, often travel by train in order to stay with us,’ says Mark Jacob, the hotel’s manager. ‘The short journey only takes an hour. ‘Some people mistake this bronze wheelbarrow by Salvador Dalí for a tool forgotten by one of our gardeners,’ he says. It is always fascinating to see a personal art collection, fuelled by passion and eccentricity, it has the collector’s character stamped all over it. This is infinitely more interesting than 

a piece by henry moore

133

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The dining room is full of well-heeled couples, lit by sparkly Swarovski crystal chandeliers and surrounded by four French Impressionist paintingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

134

The mayfair Magazine | Travel

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Restaurant Lempicka; Limmat River; SPA RECEPTION AREA; A DALí PIECE IN THE RESTAURANT

looking at institutionalised art in a museum. The hotel re-opened in 2008, after four years of imaginative renovation by Lord Norman Foster, who has successfully combined its traditional Belle-Époque style, with state-of-theart design and luxury. Originally built as a Kur Spa, in 1899, to offer health cures to the ailing rich, it has long welcomed guests as diverse as the Rolling Stones, Winston Churchill, Sophia Loren and Albert Einstein – seeking to unwind. More recently Madonna, Nelson Mandela and Woody Allen have all stayed and wrote appreciative comments in the guest book. When I breakfast in the Garden Room, I idly sip coffee watching white butterflies fluttering against bougainvillea. I take a brisk walk past the hotel’s immaculate nine-hole golf course and along trails in the forest – which used to be the Game Park. The air is so fresh and bracing that I feel elated breathing an unaccustomed level of oxygen. The spa is a work of art in itself: chiffon curtains separate ceramic baths, a huge indoor pool and a stunning outdoor jacuzzi overlooking the forest, mountains and lake below. A waiter brings fruit cocktails to sip on the terrace when I emerge and it is blissful to lounge in the sunshine. I worry about my expanding waist-line having devoured three croissants at breakfast – reminded of this greediness by a bronze sculpture of a cheerfully, plump woman on the terrace. This is Fernando Botero’s wonderful Woman with Fruit, sculpted in 1932 and one of his best works. During the afternoon, the hotel’s shuttle service drops me in front of the Fraumunster, in the historic old town – fifteen minutes away by car, or tram. Entering the Cathedral I marvel at the colourful stained glass windows by Chagall, a Russian artist. Zurich is compact compared to London and you can see many of the main sights walking around. I walk across the river, buy a print from a bookshop, drop into some art galleries and upmarket clothes shops. As Switzerland didn’t suffer heavy bomb damage during the war many of its old buildings have been preserved intact in the historic centre. Do spend an hour or two in the Kunsthaus – if you like art. If you still have time, an hour’s boat trip around Lake Zurich provides excellent views of the city. Come evening, be sure to take the driver’s advice and dine at the hotel’s two-Michelin star

restaurant, run by Head Chef Heiko Nieder. The dining room is full of well-heeled couples, lit by sparkling Swarovski crystal chandeliers and surrounded by four French Impressionist paintings. The handmade silver-foil wallpaper glitters, as the waiter appears, bearing a glass of Champagne. Delicious aromas waft enticingly from the kitchen and a procession of little plates begins to appear – each bearing a different tasty course. The ingredients include venison, red mullet, langoustine and caviar, each washed down by a different, carefully chosen wine. After pudding accompanied by a delicious sweet wine from Banyul, Heiko introduces himself and invites me to visit his spotless kitchen and meet his friendly team. ‘I try to source my produce locally and vary the menu seasonally,’ he tells me. His staff look content. It’s rumoured that even Woody Allen felt more cheerful whilst staying at this luxurious, friendly place – to me it’s no wonder. Rates at The Dolder Grand start from around £396 per room per night, including VAT service and taxes. For reservations www.thedoldergrand.com or call +41 44 456 60 00.

135

msterdam is the biggest village you’ll ever see. It may be the largest city in Netherlands, and the capital city at that, but at its heart Amsterdam is a beautiful, quaint little village, full of people riding bikes over canals, quirky architecture decorated with exquisite flowers and outdoor cafes with pretty garden furniture inviting you to while away the afternoon. As the ancient, cobbled streets are simply not built for cars – and the parking worse than London – Amsterdam is deliciously devoid of the traffic, noise and pollution that plague every other major city in the world. For visitors, you will find that most things are easily within walking or cycling distance, both of which are a great way to get around. The city houses some of the world’s most impressive art, mixing the Old Masters with the great modern painters; street art with renowned antique galleries. See Rembrant’s Night Watch and Vermeer’s striking Kitchen Maid before moving on to the pre-war 20th-Century artists: Cézanne, Picasso, Matisse and Chagall. The Van Gogh museum demands at least an afternoon – and advance tickets to avoid the understandably large queues – with 200 paintings and 500 drawings by the postImpressionist Dutch painter. For those inspired to bring some art home, the Jordaan area should be next on your list, with around 40 specialist galleries. You can also visit studios at Open Ateliers Jordaan, to see art being made. And for anyone who prefers to wear their art on their sleeve, head for the chic streets of PC Hooftstraat, Amsterdam’s answer to Bond Street and Mount Street combined, where you will find all the usual suspects: Vuitton, Mulberry, Chanel and their peers. Another place that should be high on the agenda of every stylish traveller are De Negen Straatjes (the Nine Streets) – a three-block by three-block set of quirky little streets over the canal, filled with trendy little boutiques, cafes, bars and restaurants, all ideal for exploring. At night, avoid the seedy side of the city, and head to the Muziektheater, the home of The Dutch Opera, The National Ballet and the Holland Symphonia. Situated at the borders of the river Amstel in one of the oldest parts of the city it is a beautiful place to see the lights reflecting over the canal and absorb the magic of this Dutch village. 136

[city break]

AMSTERDAM

With one of the world’s most important art collections, alongside a wealth of stunning boutiques, cafés and restaurants, Elle Blakeman explores the picturesque canal-side city of Amsterdam

TRADITIONAL WOODEN CLOGS

BEDROOM AT THE CANAL HOuse

THE GREAT ROOM AT THE CANAL HOuse

the red light district

‘night watch’ by rembrandt

Medieval houses in the court of the Begijnhof

The mayfair Magazine | Travel

Where to stay

TYPICAL STREET IN AMSTERDAM

A CAFE IN JORDAAN

For a cultural trip, the Canal House, located in the heart of the Jordaan is the ideal place to be. This seriously luxurious boutique hotel houses high ceilings, a vast art collection and impressively large and opulent rooms, rich with colour and art and suitably quirky décor. Though the front looks over the stunning Keizersgracht canal – the perfect place to watch the world float by – you will struggle to drag yourself away from the back, where you will find one of the largest private gardens in Amsterdam, complete with a private Summer house, with just enough space for two. The Canal House, Keizersgracht 148, Amsterdam ( +31 020 622 5182; www.canalhouse.nl)

SUITCASE E S S E N T IA L S

#1 Backpack, from a selection, The Row (www.harrods.co.uk)

#2 Silk scarf, £185, Daisy Darche (www.liberty.co.uk)

Eating and drinking

AMSTERDAM CITY CENTRE

For a real Dutch treat and a unique dining experience, head to De Kas (the greenhouse), which unsurprisingly is an enormous – but luxurious – greenhouse, where one half is reserved for growing the food, and the other half for eating it. Founded by Gert Jan Hageman in 2001, after earning a Michelin star for his Dutch haute cuisine, the food here is healthy and delicious – it will change the way you feel about vegetables: Oyster plant, anyone? (www.restaurantdekas.nl)

#3 Necklace, £150, Alex Monroe (www.alexmonroe.com)

#4 Jacket, £455, Isabel Marant (www.net-a-porter.com)

Mayfair recommends CANAL HOUSE HOTEL

Step into a 14th-Century secret at the Begijnhof. Once a religious house, when the Roman Catholic church was forbidden in Amsterdam, it offers a hidden sanctuary away from the city, with its ancient chapel, exquisite stained glass windows and beautiful courtyard and gardens. (www.begijnhofamsterdam.nl)

#5 Heels, £345, Jimmy Choo (www.jimmychoo.com)

137

Your Health

in Your Hands When you lead a busy life, health matters can be pushed to the bottom of your priority list. In support of Blue September, we are urging busy men with unresolved health issues to visit their GP. The Wellington Hospital has an international reputation for excellence across the medical spectrum, including a private GP service.

020 7483 5004 www.thewellingtonhospital.com

The The mayfair mayfair Magazine Magazine | Regulars | Beauty

Remembering

MAYFAIR H A R D R O C K C A F E , OLD PARK LANE

hen most guests want to reserve a spot at a restaurant they phone ahead: Eric Clapton went one better. An early regular at the cool new Hard Rock Café after it opened in Old Park Lane in June, 1971, ‘Slowhand’ asked staff if he could hang his guitar on the wall to mark his favourite bar stool as ‘his spot’. A week later, The Who’s Pete Townshend sent one of his guitars and a message that said, ‘Mine’s as good as his.’ It was the start of a trend that continues to this day and customers from all over the world know that their local Hard Rock – there are now 134 cafés and 15 hotels/casinos – will be a shrine to their musical heroes. But the story all started here in London, when two Americans decided to turn a former Rolls Royce showroom near Hyde Park Corner into a little slice of the USA. Burgers were a major attraction, but so was the upbeat vibe of the place. ‘The place was buzzing!’ says Katrina Clark, one of Hard Rock London’s longest-serving waitresses, who joined as a wide-eyed 24-year-old in 1985. ‘It seemed like the only place in London where something was happening.’ A Mecca for touring bands, Hard Rock became a particular favourite for any American musicians passing through, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd of Sweet Home Alabama fame and

‘The Boss’ himself: Bruce Springsteen. ‘There was Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton of course and many more,’ says Clark. ‘Brian May comes in to this day. And the thing about Hard Rock is that you have the celebrities sat right next to everyone else – everyone’s treated the same.’ While the spirit of Hard Rock has changed little over the decades, there is now much less wall space available. A staggering 73,000 pieces of memorabilia now make up the global Hard Rock collection, meaning there’s rock ’n’ roll history at every turn. Some of Hard Rock London’s most jaw-dropping items are to be found in The Vault, the old Coutts bank vault opposite the Mayfair restaurant, where visitors will find a pair of John Lennon’s wire-rimmed spectacles and his army jacket, Kurt Cobain’s Fender Jazzmaster guitar, The Beatles’ harpsichord used on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Madonna’s pink conical corset from her Blonde Ambition tour. ‘Jimi Hendrix is someone that people often seem to come for,’ says Clark. ‘We have his jacket, and also his Flying V guitar, which is currently on tour. Some of the youngsters will ask about Rihanna or Britney Spears, but Hendrix never seems to lose his popularity.’ If the vibe hasn’t changed, the menu has – burgers will never lose their appeal, but with healthier lifestyles a new range of 11 lighter items have recently been added – a far cry from the days when Clark could offer just two salads. Incredibly, she’s not Hard Rock London’s longest-serving waitress, but she does have her eye on that title. ‘I’ve loved every day of it,’ she says, ‘and I’ll be here until I retire, if they’ll have me!’ 139

Property | The mayfair Magazine

Mayfair estate agents Paddington & Bayswater Sales & Lettings Beauchamp Estates 24 Curzon Street, W1J 7TF 020 7499 7722 www.beauchamp.co.uk

4C Praed Street, W2 1JX 020 7717 5473 (sales) 020 7717 5343 (lettings)

Pimlico & Westminster Sales

John D Wood

Proprium

48 Elizabeth Street, SW1W 9PA 020 7824 7900 www.johndwood.co.uk

149 Sloane Street, SW1X 9BZ 020 7589 6298 www.proprium.co.uk

Belgravia

Sloane Street

50 Belgrave Road, SW1V 1RQ 020 7834 4771 www.hamptons-int.com

Kaye & Carey

Chesterton Humberts

Mayfair

47 South Audley Street, W1K 2QA 020 7629 4513 (sales) 020 7288 8301 (lettings)

Harrods Estates

Knightsbridge

Westminster & Pimlico

82 Brompton Road, SW3 1ER 020 7225 6506

10 Gillingham Street, SW1V 1HJ 020 3040 8201 (SALES) www.chestertonhumberts.com

61 Park Lane, W1K 1QF 020 7409 9001 www.harrodsestates.com

Knightsbridge

Savills

4 Yeoman’s Row, SW3 2AH 020 7590 0066 www.kayeandcarey.co.uk

188 Brompton Road, SW3 1HQ 020 7581 5234

Knightsbridge Sales Mayfair Sales & Lettings 36 North Audley St., W1K 6ZJ 020 7578 5100

Mayfair

Sloane Street Sales & Lettings Knight Frank

Hyde Park Sales

139 Sloane Street, SW1X 9AY 020 7730 0822 www.savills.co.uk

55 Baker Street, W1U 8AN 020 7871 5060

Marylebone Sales Fine & Country

Mayfair

119 Park Lane, W1K 7AG 020 7079 1523 www.fineandcountry.com

Hamptons International

Chelsea Lettings 134 Fulham Road, SW10 9PY 020 7717 5433

Home House Estates 21 Woodstock Street, W1C 2AP 020 7493 1911 www.homehouseestates.co.uk

Horne & Harvey 23A St James’s Street, SW1A 1HA 020 7839 6006 www.horneandharvey.co.uk

55 Baker Street, W1U 8EW 020 3435 6440

Mayfair Sales & Lettings 120a Mount Street, W1K 3NN 020 7499 1012 www.knightfrank.co.uk

Pastor Real Estate Ltd 48 Curzon Street, W1J 7UL 020 3195 9595 www.pastor-realestate.com

London Sotheby’s International Realty 26A Conduit Street,W1S 2XY 020 7495 9580 www.sothebysrealty.com

Strutt & Parker

London Head Office 13 Hill Street, W1J 5LQ 020 7629 7282

Knightsbridge

66 Sloane Street, SW1X 9SH 020 7235 9959 www.struttandparker.com

Knightsbridge Lettings 168 Brompton Road, SW3 1HW 020 7717 5463

140

Mayfair Sales & Lettings

Jackson Stops

Plaza Estates

32 Grosvenor Square, W1K 2HJ 020 7717 5465 (sales) 020 7717 5467 (lettings)

17C Curzon Street, W1J 5HU 020 7664 6644 www.jackson-stops.co.uk

29-31 Edgware Road, W2 2JE 020 7724 3100 www.plazaestates.co.uk

Mayfair Sales

Marble Arch

For Estate Agent Listings please contact Fiona Fenwick at: f.fenwick@runwildgroup.co.uk

W.A. Ellis 174 Brompton Road, SW3 1HP 020 7306 1600 www.waellis.co.uk

showcasing the

finest HOMES & PROPERTY from the best estate agents

Exclusive PROPERTIES Home and abroad

SOTHEBYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INTERNATIONAL REALTY www.sothebysrealty.com

HOT PROPERTY Park Lane, Mayfair W1

Harrods Estates: 020 7409 9001 (www.harrodsestates.com) 142

The mayfair Magazine | Property

urrounded by Michelin-starred restaurants and next door to The Dorchester and the beautiful greenery of Hyde Park, 55 Park Lane is a decadently appointed home, featuring a happy combination of the latest technology and contemporary design. From the carpet to the detail in the ceiling, no feature is too small. At the touch of a button (on the dedicated iPads) the fully integrated Creston Smart Home System brings the place to life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; controlling light, curtains, the air conditioning and AV systems. The three bedrooms each feature an integrated entertainment system and an en-suite bathroom. Each one is also fitted with bespoke European-designed furniture of the highest quality. The kitchen is made from Italian bespoke Ebony Macassar in black glass, with stunning pure black granite worktops, complete with Miele appliances. There is also a luxurious study, reception and dining room, an entrance hallway fitted with renowned Ipe Cavalli wall lights (complete with Swarovski crystals) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a glamorous welcoming feature at the entrance. 55 Park Lane, Mayfair, W1, Leasehold approximately 122 years remaining 143

The whole T

his Grade II listed property, located on one of Belgravia’s finest 19th century crescents on Grosvenor’s 300-acre estate has recently undergone an impressive refurbishment; with its imposing exterior, exquisite detailing and beautiful courtyard, 9 Grosvenor Crescent is an idyllic place for those looking for a heritage property in the very heart of London. Immaculately restored to its original 19th Century glory (along with the 14 additional apartments from 3-10 Grosvenor Crescent as part of the same development) the apartment also incorporates the finest elements of contemporary detailing. In addition to the elegant street, and stone’s throw distance from Hyde Park, occupants will benefit from the discreet 24-hour concierge team. British interior architecture and design firm, Helen Green Design, has furnished the apartment wonderfully, creating a truly elegant and graceful space. No detail is too small, from the chrome bar stools upholstered in Dior-inspired houndstooth to the bespoke bed linens sourced from L&B on Belgravia’s Motcomb Street. The apartment brings together stylish colour ways including citrine, sapphire and cobalt blue and gold to create a fresh, modern character. Carefully restored by architects Paul Davis + Partners, there is a sense of new life in the finer features of the series of period buildings. All the original stone and marble fireplaces, cornicing, ceiling moulds and stone and wooden flooring have been kept, maintaining the historical importance of the building. Keeping the traditional aesthetic and heritage at the forefront of its design, the concealed technology is sympathetic to the history of the property, but also ensures comfortable and luxurious modern living are not compromised. The garage, an unassuming mews from the outside, is completely hidden from the street. Here you can drive your car, drop your keys to the concierge and have your car securely taken down from street level to a 22-space underground garage on a turn table. Residence here also grants you access to your own private terrace and courtyard garden, as well as membership and key access to one of London’s most outstanding 19th century gardens on Belgrave Square and its tennis courts. (www.grosvenorcrescent.com) Joint Sole Agents: Knight Frank (020 7861 5487) Savills (020 3320 8222)

144

The mayfair Magazine | Property

Balancing the heritage of Belgravia, and the tranquillity of Hyde Park with chic, modern living, this newly refurbished apartment on Grosvenor Crescent is the ideal place to enjoy London life

145

Property | The mayfair Magazine

‘No detail is too small, from the bar stools

upholstered in Dior-inspired houndstooth to the bespoke bed linens sourced from Belgravia’s L&B’

146

Vibrant, sophisticated and diverse, London is one of the world’s most exciting cities. Located at its heart, The Residences at W London offer a world-class lifestyle complete with all the perks of being a guest of W Hotels.® The Residences at W London are comprised of eleven exclusive two and three bedroom duplex penthouses situated on the top two floors of W London offering stunning views in a world –class location. wlondonresidences.com

Contact Kate Townrow 020 7499 1012 Gary Hall 020 7480 6848 coventgardenlettings@KnightFrank.com www.knightfrank.co.uk/lettings

SOLD

Montagu Square, Marylebone W1

Gloucester Square, Hyde Park W2

Park Crescent, Marylebone W1

SOLD

“ It was not an easy choice to place my property with Knight Frank as other Estate Agents had actually recommended a higher sale price, but I am happy that I chose Knight Frank as I could not have wished for better support and guidance. Working with the Hyde Park team was a great pleasure.” SH

SOLD

Guide price: £2,895,000*

Guide price: £3,100,000

Frederick Close, Hyde Park W2

The Lancasters, Hyde Park W2

Guide price: £1,400,000*

Guide price: £900,000

SOLD Bickenhall Street, Marylebone W1 Guide price: £2,600,000*

LET Montagu Square, Marylebone W1 Guide price: £1,250 per week

Guide price: £815,000

“ I would like to thank you and your colleagues for a very professional job in selling my property in Bryanston Square. You made it look so easy. Selling a property is always difficult but selling it in less than 24 hours for a record price for this area is quite something. If in the future I decide to buy a property in London, your company will be first on my list.” JD

LET Radnor Mews, Hyde Park W2 Guide price: £1,000 per week

SOLD Portland Place, Marylebone W1 Guide price: £3,100,000

LET Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park W2 Guide price: £595 per week

* sold above asking price

KnightFrank.co.uk/HydePark

KnightFrank.co.uk/Marylebone

Hyde Park Sales 020 3544 6140 Hyde Park Lettings 020 3641 7941 55 Baker Street, London W1U 8AN

Marylebone & Fitzrovia Sales and Lettings 020 3435 6440 Unit 49, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 8EW

LHP_279048_Mayfair Mag_KF_OCT12.indd 1

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FOR SALE

George Street, Marylebone W1

Cleveland Square, Bayswater W2

Somers Crescent, Hyde Park W2

Guide price: £1,395,000

Guide price: £2,300,000

Guide price: £5,600,000

FOR SALE

Porchester Terrace, Bayswater W2

Montagu Square, Marylebone W1 Guide price: £3,300,000

Guide price: £3,750,000

FOR SALE

Location matters. We understand.

FOR SALE

Hallam Street, Marylebone W1W

Find out why our clients chose Knight Frank KnightFrank.co.uk/FranklySpeaking

TO LET

Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia W1T

Harley Street, Marylebone W1

Peninsula Apartments, Paddington W2

Guide price: £7,500,000

Guide price: £800 per week

Guide price: £1,250 per week

Porchester Gate, Hyde Park W2 Guide price: £2,200,000

Guide price: £1,000 per week

KnightFrank.co.uk/Marylebone

KnightFrank.co.uk/HydePark

Marylebone & Fitzrovia Sales and Lettings 020 3435 6440 Unit 49, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 8EW

Hyde Park Sales 020 3544 6140 Hyde Park Lettings 020 3641 7941 55 Baker Street, London W1U 8AN

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14/09/2012 10:00

MAYFAIR

VERGE

Ultimate luxury in the heart of The West End

Verge Mayfair is an exclusive scheme of 10 brand new luxury apartments and two outstanding penthouses, both with outside terrace space by developer Oakmayne Bespoke. Comfort cooling, Crestron control installation for lighting and audio/visual equipment, secondary glazing, porter. > Approximately 51-174 sq m (549-1,873 sq ft) > 125 years leasehold > Remaining apartments start from ÂŁ950,000 > Opportunity to combine both penthouses, creating a unique lateral 3,380 ft2 residence

Development: Verge Mayfair Dering Street Mayfair W1S 1BL verge-mayfair.com

020 7499 1012 mayfair@knightfrank.com KnightFrank.co.uk/Mayfair KF CODE: KRD120026

Disclaimer: Internal photographs are of show apartments.

Knight Frank Shepherd Street, Mayfair W1J

Townhouse with parking An extensively refurbished house in fashionable Shepherd Market. 3 bedrooms, 3 en suite bathrooms, double reception room with wooden flooring, eat in kitchen, study, playroom/gym, cinema room, utility room, guest WC, double garage, lift. Approximately 271 sq m (2,921 sq.ft) Available unfurnished

Guide price: ÂŁ2,950 per week

Mayfair Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings mayfairlettings@knightfrank.com 020 7499 1012

(125437)

Adams Row, Mayfair W1K

Stylish mews maisonette Spacious and bright throughout, a contemporary upper maisonette for short term rental. 3 bedrooms, 3 en suite bathrooms, open plan reception room/kitchen, dining room, study, guest WC, plentiful storage. Approximately 188 sq m (2,027 sq ft) Available furnished

Guide price: ÂŁ2,700 per week

Mayfair Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings mayfairlettings@knightfrank.com 020 7499 1012

(168104)

Knight Frank Park Lane, Mayfair W1K

Lateral prestige An exceptionally light apartment in one of London’s most renowned addresses, beside Hyde Park. 2 double bedrooms, 2 en suite bathrooms, large reception room with newly laid wooden flooring, kitchen, guest WC, porter and lift. Approximately 146 sq m (1,585 sq ft) Available furnished

Guide price: £2,000 per week

Mayfair Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings mayfairlettings@knightfrank.com 020 7499 1012

(96135)

Green Street, Mayfair W1K

Contemporary chic Occupying the corner of an imposing period building, a modern lateral apartment with direct lift access and private south facing balcony. Master bedroom suite, second bedroom, further bathroom, open plan reception room/kitchen, guest WC. Approximately 140 sq m (1,511 sq ft) Available furnished

Guide price: £1,600 per week

Mayfair Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings mayfairlettings@knightfrank.com 020 7499 1012 (150301)

Green Street, Mayfair W1 A magnificent three bedroom flat with high ceilings and plenty of natural light. Entrance hall • Reception room • Dining room • Kitchen • Master bedroom with en-suite bathroom • Two further bedrooms • One further bathroom Guest cloakroom

020 7495 9580

svetlana.shcholokova@sothebysrealty.co.uk

Guide Price: £4,500,000 Leasehold: Approximately 115 years remaining

Over 600 Offices in 46 Countries

LHP_278702_Sothebys_MayfairMag_OCT12.indd 1

sothebysrealty.co.uk

04/09/2012 17:54

RHP_

King Street, St James’s SW1 Bespoke residence. Reception room • Dining room • Kitchen • Study • Cloakroom • Two bedrooms, each with dressing rooms and en-suite bathrooms • Further bedroom with en-suite bathroom • 24 hour concierge/security Use of St James’s Square Gardens

17:54

020 7495 9580

pete.bevan@sothebysrealty.co.uk

Guide Price: £7,250,000 Share of Freehold

mayfair@hamptons-int.com

Over 600 Offices in 46 Countries

sothebysrealty.co.uk

RHP_278702_Sothebys_MayfairMag_OCT12.indd 2

020 7758 8440

04/09/2012 17:54

Clarges Street, Mayfair W1 A fifth floor penthouse apartment with roof terrace and conservatory. Double reception/dining room • Kitchen • Cloakroom • Master bedroom with en-suite • Two/three further bedrooms • Lift • Conservatory • Roof terrace • Porter • Parking

020 7495 9580

svetlana.shcholokova@sothebysrealty.co.uk

Guide Price £5,400,000 Leasehold with approximately 95 years remaining

Over 600 Offices in 46 Countries

LHP_278786_Sothebys_Mayfair Mag_Oct12.indd 1

sothebysrealty.co.uk

04/09/2012 17:51

RHP_

Chesterfield Street, Mayfair W1 Historical house in Mayfair. Reception room • Dining room with conservatory • Patio • Kitchen • Three bedroom suites, each with dressing room and bathroom • Two further bedrooms • One further bathroom • Study • Roof terrace Approximately 3,802 sq ft / 353 sq m

020 7495 9580

svetlana.shcholokova@sothebysrealty.co.uk

Guide Price: £8,950,000 Freehold

Over 600 Offices in 46 Countries

17:51

RHP_278786_Sothebys_Mayfair Mag_Oct12.indd 2

sothebysrealty.co.uk

04/09/2012 17:53

this month’s

Mayfair home to buy

r at i n g c e l e b2012

Chesterfield Gardens w1k

£3,950,000 share of freehold

An impressive & newly refurbished Mayfair apartment situated within a highly regarded building. Featuring a spacious reception room/dining area, luxury kitchen, 3 double bedrooms, 2 en-suites with flat screen televisions, a cloakroom, store room, lift & porterage.

Mayfair & St James’s Sales 020 7629 4513 v sales.mayfair@chestertonhumberts.com

chestertonhumberts.com

north row w1k

£6,500,000 long lease

A stunning triple aspect 3 bedroom penthouse apartment with views over Hyde Park. Benefiting from underground parking & access to the facilities of Park Lane’s Marriott Hotel.

Park street w1k

£2,750,000 leasehold

A rare opportunity to acquire & refurbish a prestigious 6th floor, 2 double bedroom Mayfair apartment with views over Mount Street, lift & a porter.

Mayfair & St James’s Sales 020 7629 4513 v sales.mayfair@chestertonhumberts.com

Mount street w1k

£2,075,000 leasehold

A well appointed apartment with a reception room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom with en-suite bathroom & dressing room, 2nd bedroom with en suite shower room & dressing area & a lift.

Berkeley square w1j

£1,650,000 leasehold

A beautiful lateral apartment featuring splendid views over Berkeley Square & comprising a generous entrance hall, reception room, 2 double bedrooms (1 en-suite), shower room, fitted kitchen, storage & a lift.

Mayfair & St James’s Sales 020 7629 4513 v sales.mayfair@chestertonhumberts.com

chestertonhumberts.com

this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Mayfair home to rent

r a b t i ng e l e c 2012

Shepherd Street w1j

ÂŁ3,250 per week

Situated in the heart of Mayfair & finished to the absolute highest of standards, this deceptively large mews house is arranged over 5 floors & benefits from a large private garage, cinema room, gymnasium with a steam room & a lift serving 4 of the 5 floors.

Mayfair & St Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lettings 020 7288 8301 v lettings.mayfair@chestertonhumberts.com

chestertonhumberts.com

dunraven Street w1k

£2,500 per week

A ground & lower ground floor duplex apartment of approx. 1,797 sq ft in the heart of Mayfair. The apartment boasts direct access to Green Street Gardens & has been finished to an exceptionally high standard.

CulroSS Street w1k

£2,250 per week

A stylish 3 storey mews house of approx. 2,415 sq ft (including the garage). The property has been refurbished to an excellent standard & benefits from a south west facing roof terrace accessed via the open plan reception room.

Mayfair & St James’s Lettings 020 7288 8301 v lettings.mayfair@chestertonhumberts.com

park Street w1k

£1,900 per week

A spacious & well presented 2 bedroom apartment presented in good decorative order & superbly located on Park Street. The apartment consists of a spacious reception /dining room, a large eat in kitchen, 2 double bedrooms & 2 bathrooms.

park Street w1k

£875 per week

A recently refurbished 2 bedroom apartment on Park Street. The apartment has been finished to a high standard & benefits from a spacious reception room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully fitted kitchen, wood flooring & lift access.

Mayfair & St James’s Lettings 020 7288 8301 v lettings.mayfair@chestertonhumberts.com

chestertonhumberts.com

Hamptons Mayfair

020 7717 5465 mayfair@hamptons-int.com

King Street, SW1 Located in the very heart of St James’s, this stunning residence comprising some 3,500 sq ft, with it’s own street entrance, has recently been meticulously reconfigured and refurbished by Manhattan Properties, and combines a period elegance in a calm and contemporary style.

Hamptons Mayfair 020 7717 5465 mayfair@hamptons-int.com

£6,650,000 Share of Freehold Two reception rooms Kitchen Three bedrooms (two with dressing rooms) Media room/study Three bathrooms (two en suite) Terrace & patio

The right buyers and tenants delivered fast since 1869. For more information go to www.hamptons.co.uk

Hamptons Pimlico & Westminster

0203 281 7214 pimwest@hamptons-int.com

Foyer

Peninsula Heights, SE1 A stylish 2 bedroom riverside apartment with stunning views of the river Thames. Refurbished and maintained to an exceptionally high specification. Peninsula Heights is one of the most sought after buildings on the South side of the river Thames and benefits from 24 hour concierge, secure underground parking and gym. Hamptons Pimlico & Westminster 0203 281 7214 pimwest@hamptons-int.com

ÂŁ2,795,000 Share of Freehold Two bedrooms One bathroom, one en suite shower room Two balconies Gymnasium Spa room 24 Hour concierge

The right buyers and tenants delivered fast since 1869. For more information go to www.hamptons.co.uk

Hamptons Mayfair

020 7717 5467 mayfairlettings@hamptons-int.com

Berkeley House, W1 A stunning and extremely spacious four bedroom lateral apartment with porter. The property boasts impressive ceiling height with fantastic entertaining space and has excellent quality fixtures and fittings throughout. Located just off Berkeley Square this apartment is ideally placed in the heart of Mayfair. Hamptons Mayfair Lettings 020 7717 5467 mayfairlettings@hamptons-int.com

ÂŁ2,950 pw Unfurnished/Part Furnished Reception room Kitchen Four bedrooms Three bathrooms Dressing room Porter

The right buyers and tenants delivered fast since 1869. For more information go to www.hamptons.co.uk

The mayfair Magazine | Property

88 St James’s Street Following the recent sale of 88 St James’s Street to global alternative investment manager, The Carlyle Group, there are new plans for a residential development of the Grade II listed period property. Adjacent to St James’s Palace, the iconic building currently comprises 40,000 square feet of gross area including 11 residential apartments and 14,000 square feet of commercial space. The site is ideally located for a proposed new prime residential development and Carlyle will soon start work on a planning application to create a scheme to reconfigure the internal layout of the building and convert the property to high-end residential use. (www.carlyle.com)

Property news We bring you the latest in property development this month while Simon Barnes takes us through his top property tips

Cowley Street The Church Commissioners have instructed Hathaways as its sole agents to sell the Freehold of the iconic Liberal Democrats old premises in Cowley Street, SW1 in the heart of Old Westminster. Built in the style of Sir Christopher Wren and located within the historic Smith Square Conservation Area, these offices now have planning permission to convert to a single house of just over 11,000 square feet. The beautiful building, rich in fine architectural details, is Grade II listed and is ideal for development or refurbishment, with the potential for office use, at a guide price of £11 million. For enquiries contact Barrie Warrener, bw@hathaways.co.uk (www.hathawaysperiodhouses.co.uk)

The MAYFAIR INSIDER simon barnes

ummers out, the children are back in school, and it’s time to think about moving house. So what’s the best course of action? In the first of a series of checklists, property consultant Simon Barnes guides you through the selling and buying process, in a bid to ensure you achieve a quick sale and are settled into your new home by Christmas.

 Your property at its best. Complete all decorating and gardening before inviting the agents round. Impress your estate agent and they will value your property at its very best, and pass on their enthusiasm to potential buyers. Put yourself in the buyers’ shoes, and ask what would make you buy a home like this? Every pound spent on quality improvements can be multiplied by ten in value terms – so it’s worth the investment at this stage.  Choose the right agent. Get three valuations from three different agents. Remember, it’s not always about the highest figure - taking a risk on an inflated price can waste valuable selling time. Look for evidence of past sales at a similar level of the market, ask how many buyers they

have registered, find out what they can offer in terms of marketing, and most importantly, ensure they work well with other agents from the outset.  Be realistic. Create a checklist of requirements and be brutal. What is a must, and what can you compromise on? Be realistic about what you can find for your budget in your preferred location.  Doing the groundwork. Evaluate how much time you will have to carry out your property search. Weigh up whether it would be worth employing a buying agent to do the groundwork and speed up the search process. Remember, they will have access to the best properties before they hit the open market, and make sure you are the first on the list when such properties become available – there’s nothing worse than continuously hearing ‘yes we’ve just sold one like that’. (www.simonbarnes.com) 169

020 7402 9494 16 Park Road, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4SH Facsimile: 020 7724 7055 Email: enquiries@bargets.co.uk

Double fronted detached house Ranulf Road, NW2 A handsome double fronted detached house with stunning views. Set back behind a 25 ft carriage driveway this impressive family house offers spacious accommodation, extending to over 4,700 sq.ft. Occupying what is arguably one of the better positions in this premier road on the Hocroft Estate, this beautiful property has incredibly bright rooms which overlook a 124 ft mature south facing garden and private playing fields. Reception Hall • 4 Reception Rooms • Kitchen/Breakfast Room • Conservatory • Master Bedroom Suite • 4 Further Bedrooms • 2 Family Bathrooms Terrace • 124Ft South Facing Garden • Carriage Driveway and Garage.

Freehold

www.bargets.co.uk

Price on Application

Elegant Grade II listed double fronted stucco house Cavendish Avenue NW8 The house expands to approximately 3,872 sq ft (359 sq m) of well planned accommodation, including 3 elegant reception rooms, a spacious multipurpose media room, a gym with state-of-the-art steam room, 6 bedrooms (including a staff suite), a Balthaup kitchen, a utility room, and a separate WC. Cavendish Avenue is located moments from St. John’s Wood High Street and the open spaces of Regent’s Park. Reception Room • Dining Room • Drawing Room • Kitchen/Breakfast Room • Utility Room • Guest W/C • Multipurpose Media Room With Gym And Steam Room • Master Bedroom With En-Suite Bathroom • 4 Further Bedrooms • Staff Suite • Landscaped Rear Garden.

Freehold

020 7402 9494

Joint Agent

Price on Application

Chelsea Fulham & Parsons Green Kensington & Holland Park Knightsbridge, Belgravia & Mayfair Notting Hill & Bayswater West Chelsea & South Kensington

struttandparker.com

Sales 020 7225 3866 Sales 020 7731 7100 Sales 020 7938 3666 Sales 020 7235 9959 Sales 020 7221 1111 Sales 020 7373 1010

Lettings 020 7589 9966 Lettings 020 7731 7100 Lettings 020 7938 3866 Lettings 020 7235 9959 Lettings 020 7221 1111 Lettings 020 7373 1010

City Office Professional Valuations UK Commercial & Residential Residential Investment Property Management

020 7600 3456 020 7318 5039 020 7629 7282 020 7318 5196 020 7052 9417

Bourne Street | Belgravia | SW1 5,860 sq ft (544 sq m)

Knightsbridge 020 7235 9959

Scan this QR code with your camera phone to read more about this property. Free QR code readers are available for download from our website at struttandparker.com/qrcode

Park Lane PLACE, Mayfair, W1 A wonderful three bedroom duplex apartment benefiting from two private terraces both of which boast views over one of Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest land marks Hyde Park.The apartment offers approximately 2,000 sq ft of accommodation which comprises a 24 ft long reception room, fully integrated kitchen/ breakfast room, master bedroom suite, two further double bedrooms, separate shower room, guest cloak room and storage room. Other benefits to this apartment include 24 hour porterage, one secure underground parking space, air conditioning, direct access into the London Marriott Hotel Park Lane therefore benefiting from room service and access into the hotels gym and swimming pool. Available, furnished. ÂŁ3,890 pw 020 7409 9158 robin.boghhenrikssen@harrodsestates.com

KNIGHTSBRIDGE OFFICE: 82 BROMPTON ROAD LONDON SW3 1ER T: +44 020 7225 6506 MAYFAIR OFFICE: 61 PARK LANE LONDON W1K 1QF T: +44 020 7409 9001

HARRODSESTATES.COM

THE LANCASTERS, Hyde Park, W2 A selection of ultra-modern apartments are available in this magnificent new development. The Lancasters has a grand portico entrance and its own swimming pool and spa, as well as secure valet parking. Leasehold: Approximately 998 years Available for sale or rental: Price On Application 020 7409 9346 Jennifer.marwick@harrodsestates.com

KNIGHTSBRIDGE OFFICE: 82 BROMPTON ROAD LONDON SW3 1ER T: +44 020 7225 6506 MAYFAIR OFFICE: 61 PARK LANE LONDON W1K 1QF T: +44 020 7409 9001

HARRODSESTATES.COM

WHITEHALL COURT A beautifully presented three bedroom apartment of over 3500 sq ft in this sought after portered mansion block. This elegant apartment has been tastefully decorated boasting many period features, high ceilings and lots of natural light.

£7.5 million

Leasehold

ESSEX COURT

WHITEHALL COURT

A beautiful fourth and fifth floor penthouse apartment with undemised south facing terrace, a large reception room and three bedrooms in an exclusive secure location in the heart of St James’s and close to the park.

A spacious one bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of this impressive Victorian mansion block. This property has been recently refurbished to a high standard with modern kitchen, wooden floors throughout, high ceilings and an abundance of natural light.

Leasehold

020 7839 6006

£1.95 million

23a St James’s Street, London, SW1A 1HA

£1.5 million

Horne & Harvey Est. 1803

WHITEHALL COURT Stunning three-bedroom apartment over looking the river Thames. This property has recently been refurbished to a high standard boasting high ceilings, wooden floors and stone balconies. The apartment is on the second floor in the main block of Whitehall Court.

£2,500 per week

Furnished

CATHERINE WHEEL YARD

CAVENDISH BUILDINGS

A lovely two bedroom house located in a quiet secluded area in the heart of St James’s. Finished to a high standard offering a bright and spacious reception room, separate dining room, modern kitchen, two double bedrooms, two bathrooms and a beautiful private terrace and conservatory.

A charming and spacious one bedroom apartment, newly refurbished to a high standard. Boasting wooden floors an abundance of natural light and fully fitted modern kitchen this apartment is located just minutes from Oxford Street, Bond Street Tube station and the attractions of the west end.

Furnished

£1,200 per week

£575 per week

www.horneandharvey.co.uk

For Sale Rose Square, Fulham Road, SW3 A magnificent raised ground floor, lateral apartment in the sought-after gated Bromptons development , measuring 7,763 Sq. ft. there are both superb entertaining areas and spacious bedroom suites together with private staff accommodation. In all 9 bedrooms, 4 receptions , 9 bathrooms, kitchen breakfast room and 4 secure underground car park spaces. P.O.A. To Let Whitehall Court, Westminster, SW1

For Sale Hortensia Road, London SW10

£1,600,000 For Sale Lowndes Street, Belgravia, SW1

Home House Estates of Mayfair are proud to offer this incredible and extremely unique property in one of London’s most exclusive areas. This stunning penthouse boasts some of the best views over London’s world famous landmarks, including Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and the recently opened Shard building beside the Thames. £7,500pw

£775,000 For Sale Praed Street, Paddington, W2

£875,000

To Let Montrose Place, Belgravia, SW1

£4,000pw To Let Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1

£2,250pw To Let Stanhope Mews West, South Ken, SW7

£495pw

SOUTHWICK STREET, HYDE PARK, W2 Brand newly refurbished two bedroom apartment, decorated and furnished to an excellent standard, on the first floor of this prestigious purpose built block with elegant common parts and lovely communal gardens. The property is centrally located on the Hyde Park Estate within easy walking distance of Marble Arch and Paddington Station. 2 Bedrooms, Bathroom, Reception Room, Kitchen, Lift, Porter, Communal Gardens. £ 700.00 PER WEEK

SOUTH WHARF ROAD, PADDINGTON, W2

CLEVELAND SQUARE, BAYSWATER, W2

Attractive and spacious three bedroom apartment with a lovely kitchen and bathrooms and wooden floor, on the second floor of this recently built modern development.

Charming, recently refurbished two bedroom apartment with a lovely bright reception room and a balcony overlooking the wonderful square gardens, on the fifth floor of this attractive conversion.

3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Reception Room, Kitchen, Lift.

2 Bedrooms, Bathroom, Reception Room, Kitchen, Balcony, Lift.

£900 PER WEEK

Marble Arch: 29-31 Edgware Road London W2 2JE 020 7724 3100

£675 PER WEEK

quality

not quantity

Operating independently from his Mayfair base â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and never actively acting for more than four or five clients at one time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Simon Barnes is able to provide a personal level of service far beyond the average buying agent or property consultant. His service will be committed, impartial and utterly discreet

work smarter, not harder. T: 020 7499 3434 M: 078 3146 5414 E: simon@simonbarnes.com

www.simonbarnes.com

Property | The mayfair Magazine

a voice from the country

Property valuation: art or app? With the inevitable advent of house-hunting ‘apps’ and websites, it’s a question that many in the property industry are pondering. Is it possible for the automated reasoning of an algorithm to establish a valuation for a home?

here are certain sections of the market where the reduction of a property to a series of data could give a fairly accurate guide price, but others where the art of the experienced advisor is undiminished. In simple terms, it’s city versus rural. Think of city properties as commodities and country properties as works of art. To value a work of art, any database-driven app would have to quantify the idiosyncrasies of personal taste, whether a particular artist is ‘in vogue’, rarity, and of course the competition between buyers which can drive prices sky-high. City property is always easier to price, because in the majority of cases there will be virtually identical products to compare and trade-off against. That is just not the case in the country house market where no two properties are the same. Two similar-sized houses north of the M4, for example, have the same amount of land and would both be seen as having good addresses. One has recently sold for £2.5m and the other can be bought for closer to £1.15m. That came

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down to a series of factors that you would be very hard pushed to quantify, but would be self-evident to any experienced advisor. Generally, house-hunting apps are still in the gimmick phase. But however sophisticated they become, it’s hard to see them being able to factor in anomalies such as flight paths, rights of way, pylon lines, localised smells and noises, traffic density, school runs, and so on. It may be possible for an app or a website to provide some useful, basic step-by-step information for inexperienced buyers; however, it’s doubtful whether this could replicate or replace the more sophisticated negotiation process involved in identifying and purchasing a large country property. Rob Jones-Davies ‘A voice from the country’ is a series of articles by Middleton Advisors, who act on behalf of private clients looking to purchase country houses and estates in the UK (01235 436271; www.middletonadvisors.com).

Combining the services of a five-star hotel with the discretion, comfort and security of a private Mayfair residence, Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living offer unparalleled luxury and a highly personalised service to make residents feel instantly at home.

Arranged over seven floors and available for long or short let, the apartments range in size from state of the art studios to four breathtaking penthouses over looking Hyde Park. Price on Application

The “Jumeirah Living” logo, trademark and trade name and the Beacon device (“Jumeirah Marks”) are owned by or licensed to Jumeirah International LLC or its affiliates (collectively referred to as “Jumeirah”). The use of the Jumeirah Marks by Grosvenor House Apartments Limited has been authorised by Jumeirah under licence, solely in relation to Jumeirah’s management and operation of the Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living development.

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Villa Les Rochers With panoramic sea views perched on a cliff-top at Cap Martin, Villa Les Rochers is luxury distilled in French Riviera style

n the private estate of Cap Martin on the French Riviera, Villa Les Rochers is a truly breathtaking, historic and escapist property for sale. The Cap Martin estate has been home to many celebrity residents, including the Empress Eugénie, and Coco Chanel also once took up residence in a villa close by. Exclusively for sale with Burger Sotheby’s International Realty, Villa Les Rochers is one of the original, luxury residences of Cap Martin and was constructed for a friend of the original landowners in 1908. The history of the property affirms its timelessness. The land was first owned by a consortium, headed by the celebrated business man of the era, Mr White of ‘Black and White’ whisky. In conjunction with the famed Danish architect, Hans-Georg Tersling, he constructed the Grand Hotel du Cap Martin. The venture was an immediate international success, with the Emperor Joseph of Austria staying at the hotel four times between 1896 and 1897. Following on from the success of the hotel, Mr White engaged Tersling to build three stunning villas. The first for Empress Eugénie, constructed in 1892, and the second for himself. The third, Les Rochers, was constructed for a close friend in 1908. Spacious, luxurious and completely private, Les Rochers has more than 850 m² of living space, including eight bedrooms, staff accommodation and extensive terraces, so as not to miss an inch of the beautiful views from the waterfront location. The villa was originally designed drawing on Egyptian inspiration for its décor, and the details of which are still visible from the interior cornices and the exterior. Les Rochers has been lovingly restored over a 10 year period by the current owners, retaining all of the original style and charm of this rather unique residence. The lush, original botanical gardens have also been retained, dotted with rare cactus plants and flora and fauna. Price on request. For further enquiries +33 (0)4 93 38 50 33, info@burger-sothebysrealty.fr (www.burger-sothebysrealty.com)

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The mayfair Magazine | Property

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Property | The mayfair Magazine

Images courtesy of Burger Sotheby’s International Realty

‘Les Rochers has over 850 m² of living space, including eight bedrooms, staff accommodation and extensive terraces’

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A on

new

Monaco

perspeCtive R e a l e s tat e i n

The Pastor Group is offering our discerning clientele a rare opportunity to reside within the new “Le Simona” building, overlooking Monaco and situated on the edge of an exceptional park. The development comprises of twenty one luxurious four bedroom duplex apartments each offering large terraces and private swimming pool. A further magnificent triplex is available on the top floors of this iconic building, boasting three bedroom suites, private swimming pool and a large roof terrace. This visionary building provides uninterrupted views of the Mediterranean Sea, each apartment benefitting from stylish living space through highspecification design and finishes, all with communal access to the exclusive in-house spa and leisure facilities, such as a contemporary indoor swimming pool, sauna and hammam, gymnasium and massage rooms as well as a concierge service and relaxation garden. The apartments will be completed in the final quarter of 2012 and available to rent for the first time with a minimum 3 year lease.

London

Monte-CarLo

48 curzon street

13 av. des spélugues

london, w1J 7Ul

mc 98000 moNaco

t: +44 (0)20 3195 9595

t. + 377 97 70 20 70

F: +44 (0)20 3195 9596

F. + 377 97 70 20 71

w w w. pa s t o r - r e a l e s tat e . c o m