Outlook SPLURGE - August 2015

August 2015 | Vol 3

OUTLOOK SPLURGE

What’s worth it

Art . Jewellery Real Estate

AUGUST 2015

Spirits

VOL 3

Feroze Gujral Doyenne of the Arts Wanderlust

A Scottish Fling

The Fanciest Tipples in Town

Menswear

Made to

Measure

A Day at the Races with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

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A Time for Indulgence

What makes for a great inpassion for art goes beyond vestment? Certainly, it’s the digits, to nurture their own love value derived from the object of the aesthetic as well as their of affection, whether it’s an art- family’s legacy. So whether work, a collectible, a bijoux, or a it’s a pair of rare Montepuez standout property. But beyond rubies, a Fabergé egg, a mademonetary returns, lies the joy of to-measure suit, or even a ownership, the sheer enjoyment chandelier made with love by of what the said object brings the craftsmen of this country, to its owners. For our cover it’s all about immersing oneself story, we speak to one of India’s in the highest forms of luxury, emerging art patrons, for and living the life raffiné. whom, besides owning a We also get a whiff of la cache of her celebratdolce vita, as we traved artist father-inel to France to get a law Satish Gujral’s ringside view of one paintings and of the world’s most sculptures, it’s about glamorous races, with the joy of giving none other than Aishback to society, as the warya Rai Bachchan. head of a foundation And finally, to celebrate that is involved in supyour lavish spend, raise a porting upcoming heavenly toast of a reartists. We meet ally rare spirit, to the Fabergé Pearl Egg collectors, whose gods of indulgence. n

contributors

Ajit Rana

His love for the outdoors and off-road driving saw him start India’s first real 4x4 adventure-driving company, Overlander India. A foodie who loves cooking laal maas, he’s also a photographer, taught by his father at age 12.

Hari Govind Nair

He’s been writing on automobiles for a decade, and is constantly cornered at parties to resolve whichcar-shall-I-buy dilemmas.

For fun, he loves ploughing off-roaders in Kerala jungles and on Himalayan terrain.

Magandeep Singh

He’s India’s first sommelier, a TV-show host, award-winning writer, and columnist who heads India’s largest team of wine professionals. He divides his time between travel, alto saxophone, and cooking.

Editor-in-Chief Krishna Prasad President Indranil Roy Associate Publisher Vidya Menon Executive Editor Priya Kumari Rana Business Office Vice Presidents Johnson D Silva, Shishir Saxena National Head Kabir Khattar Business Head (Digital) Avneendra Mani Tripathi Brand Head Jyoti Ahuja Circulation National Head Anindya Banerjee Assistant General Manager G Ramesh (South) Vinod Kumar (North) Production Assistant General Manager Shashank Dixit Senior Manager Shekhar Pandey Accounts General Manager A G Subramaniam Senior Manager Diwan Singh Bisht Head Office AB-10 Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029, India Tel: 011-33505500 Fax: 011-26191420 Email: outlook@outlookindia.com Other Offices Mumbai Tel: 022-33545000 Fax: 022-33545100 Kolkata Tel: 033-33545400 Fax: 033-24650145 Chennai Tel: 044-33506300 Fax: 044-33506327 Bengaluru Tel: 080-45236100; 45236105 Hyderabad Tel: 040-23371144 Printed and published by Indrani Roy on behalf of Outlook Publishing (India) Pvt Ltd. Printed at IPP Limited. C4-C11, Phase II, Noida and published from AB-10 Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029

Cover & Layout design @alarinks

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August 2015

Contents

44 Covetables

18 | Objects of Desire Here’s a round-up of sumptuous products from around the world: a Gothic coffee-machine, a safe that even James Bond can trust, an electronic grand piano, the latest tourbillons, and precious pens.

Splurge Watch

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26 | What to Watch out For A rare vintage champagne, a roaring Maserati with the Zegna touch, fine dining at this year’s US Open, the much-awaited Rolls-Royce Dawn, and more.

FEMME DU MOIS

32 | Selena Gomez

The queen of social media, former Disney ingenue, and now songstress-turned actor, has back-to-back releases and a brand-new album.

Heritage

34

34 | Curator of Luxe House of Heirloom integrates bespoke interior pieces by karigars with modern accoutrements.

Lifestyle

40 | A Day at the Races We travel to Chantilly, France, at the fashionable Prix de Diane Longines with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

fashion

44 | Made to Pleasure

32

40

No sartorial joy surpasses getting a suit zu misura, or ‘made to measure’ by the finest luxury houses.

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August 2015

Contents

fashion

48 | The Italian touch We look at luxury menswear maison Corneliani’s 150step jacket, and a special version for India inspired by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

50 | Denim Impressions IML Jeans allows you create the jeans of your dreams, with a bespoke service, and an exclusive line for those who want a pair like no other.

Cover Story

48

50

52 | The Patron: Feroze Gujral This art aficionado is giving back to the community, via public art projects from the Gujral Foundation, which she spearheads. She tells us about picking the right art, showcasing young talent, and being an ‘accidental’ collector of her father-in-law’s works.

54 | Collectors & Gallerists We speak to two young collectors on their favourite pieces, a young artist who’s a rising star, and two gallerists on art market trends.

58 | A Jewel by the Bay The Four Seasons Private Residences beckons for the ultimate in private, luxury lifestyle, with customized interiors, and unique architecture.

60 | All that Sparkles Whether it’s coloured gemstones, rare diamonds, or reliable gold, each makes for a great investment. We speak to the experts and assess the worth of each.

52

Gastronomy

62 | Tamarind Nation Celebrity Chef Roger Mooking dishes on fusion food; Chef Muhammad Lisarani blends Malaysian flavours.

High Spirits

64 | Tipples of Fancy We find six rarefied bottles from Europe that are bound to tickle taste buds and the porte-monnaie.

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64

68

72

Wanderlust

68 | Highland Fling

Wandering through Scotland in a Jaguar XF, Ajit Rana discovers quaint B&Bs, and rugged scapes.

Parting Shot

72 | Sienna Miller The drop-dead gorgeous star emerges this year as an actor to watch out for, with brand new releases.

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Covetables

Desire

Objects of

From a Gothic coffee-machine, a space-age safe befitting James Bond; wearable technology (not a watch) on the wrist, and a mammoth bar designed by Princess Margaret’s son, to the most exquisite pens and the world’s mightiest tourbillons, here’s an array of droolworthy must-haves. text by HARI GOVIND NAIR

A Whale of an

Instrument

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he Whaletone Grand Hybrid is a professional musical instrument by Polish designer Robert Majkut, with the soul of a piano. With its 500 built-in high-quality sounds, the sound processor generates an authentic grand-piano sound. The mechanical components of the special keys come from the best German manufacturers, Kluge and Louis Renner, with keys covered in high-quality Ivoplast plastic and ebony. Under the electrically lifted cover sit high-end speakers by Danish company Scan Speak. Each piano is configured to its space and audience, and is not limited to chamber use. By connecting it to an amplifier, it turns into a concert instrument. The Whaletone is customizable in terms of colour and finish, and beautifully marries classical mechanics with digital technology.

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Enigmatic

Secret Ivy Armed to the Hilt

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xclusive jewellery-maker Christophe & Co., along with Pininfarina, has released a limited-edition line of men’s jewellery bracelets that combine high jewellery with wearable technology. Known as ‘Armills’, the pieces are a modern interpretation of an ancient symbol of royalty and valour in battle.

In order to strike a balance between the old world and the new, they combine fine diamonds and precious metals with advanced engineered material and cutting-edge embedded hardware.

With an aim to create one of the world’s most exclusive pieces of jewellery, and because of the complexity of its design, entirely novel techniques were used in the crafting of each component.

These include a highly complex ceramic shield, over 1,500 micropavé diamonds set one at a time by end under a microscope, and a high-precision carbon-fibre frame created by a specialized British builder of Formula 1 components. On the technology side, the optional hardware module is fully upgradable as new technology arises and employs advanced communication technologies for secure transactions, automated venue access, and one-touch valet, among other functions.

The proprietary kinetic energy generation system is powered by the natural motion of the user’s arm and allows for extended periods between charges.

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his exceptional piece by JaegerLeCoultre was first crafted in the 1960s.

Today, it returns as part of the RendezVous collection, with a new twist to its jewelled heritage. The slightly domed cover, with brilliant, baguette, and marquise-cut diamonds set in the shape of a flower, opens to reveal an iridescent dial, an ode to the grace of the Métiers Rares.

Ivy leaves are hand-engraved and painted, frozen beneath the watch crystal. The white-gold bracelet has a double row of chatons, while the total number of diamonds in the Ivy Secret is 304.

Price: `1,57,26,000 (approx.)

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Covetables

Espresso Expressions

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hese stunning coffee machines by South Korean design company Dutch Lab have been designed as much to make jaws drop as to make your morning cup of java – perhaps that’s expected when a number of industrial designers with a common love of the beverage team up with a professional barista to develop them. Inspired by architectural structures (especially by Philippe Starck) and steam engines, Gothicism is an intricate creation specially designed to produce the best quality cold-drip coffee. Its perpendicularity to the ground lets the warm brew naturally drop into canisters placed below. Gothicism follows the steampunk theme seen throughout the Seoul-based studio’s previous coffee-makers such as the Steampunk and the Eiffel. Each piece is built from anodized aluminium parts that have been laser-cut to fit in brass needle valves, glass tubes, and 150gm tanks. `4,47,000 (Gothicism)

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Stowed Away

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hose who tend to be a tad finicky about the security of their unique collectibles will surely appreciate the masterpieces that Buben & Zorweg unveiled at this year’s Baselworld fair. Out of their entire lineup, the one product that caught our eye was the X-Treme 007 luxury safe.

With the touch of a button, the safe elevates in the kind of slick movement seen by aficionados of James Bond movies, where the irrepressible Q shows 007 his repertoire of gadgets. The next generation X-Treme 007 has been redesigned with a new outside shape and decoration where an ‘X’-shaped cover highlights its masculine, stylish expression. And, to fit into the world of 007, this is the only safe in the world that opens vertically and remains invisible to the eyes of the uninformed onlooker.

Price on request

The Tectonic Bar

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xquisitely crafted in ebonized walnut with white gold leaf and nickel accents, the Tectonic Bar embodies superlative quality and innovative design, whilst epitomizing the intricacy and precision of fine craftsmanship at its best. Handcrafted in Great Britain by Princess Margaret’s son, David Linley, this piece moves away from the use of tropical hardwoods, as the timbres employed are all indigenous to the UK. The walnut skin of the bar appears to split as if tectonic plates beneath the earth have broken in two, to reveal the glowing metallic core within. Cracks in the surface that reveal metallic rivets, form the outlines of the continents of the world in a conceptual and abstract manner. A secret button is employed to unlock the bar cabinet, enabling the doors to open, setting a mechanism in motion to rotate the bar columns, revealing special Linley cocktail accessories; everything you need to create a bespoke cocktail of your choice. Lined with gold leaf, the interior shimmers with an exquisite glow that seems to burst from

within. In true Linley style, there are other secrets hidden inside, including a fridge and, buried in the depths of the bar, a cigar humidor which rises up as if from the centre of the molten earth. Bursting with secret compartments, defined by precision engineering, and standing out from the crowd with an intriguingly striking aesthetic, the bar is ideal for storing precious spirits, luxurious liqueurs, and vintage champagne. `98,50,000 onwards

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Covetables Montegrappa Pele Heritage Fountain Pen in gold

S.T. Dupont

Orient Express Limited Edition fountain pen

Price `48,91,995

Price `1,76,000

Montegrappa

My Guardian Angel Fountain Pen in silver Price `5,43,995

Jack Row

Architect Pen White Gold with Diamonds Price `26,714,00 (approx.)

Extravagant Flourishes

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Ulysse Nardin Visconti White Resin Rollerball pen

Price `34,560

hen a writing instrument becomes a work of art, it’s time to take notice. From an enamelled wonder by a legendary manufacturer that celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Swiss canton of Geneva, to a pen that pays tribute to the mythical train, the Orient Express, to one that depicts an angel for positive energy, or a gold jaali-work creation by a young maestro in London inspired by Indian architecture, these superb fountain pens are perfect heirlooms to be handed from one generation to another.

Caran d’Ache

Collection Privée Geneve 1815 Fountain pen Special Piece Commemorating 100 years of Caran d’ Ache

S.T. Dupont

White Knight Limited Edition fountain pen Price `2,16,000

Jack Row

Jaali Pen in yellow and white gold with blue diamonds Price `28,700,00 (approx.)

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Covetables

Vacheron Constantin Malte Tourbillon High Jewellery

Price on request

Ulysse Nardin

Genghis Khan Haute Joaellerie Westminster Carillon Tourbillon Jaquemarts Minute Repeater Price `5,65,20,000

Marvels in

Motion

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s the intricate craft of watchmaking developed over the years, the ‘tourbillon’ (or ‘whirlwind’ in French) has remained by far one of the finest innovations.

Developed to give accuracy to the timepiece and to counter the effect of gravity, today it demonstrates the sheer technical virtuosity of the world’s greatest watchmakers. Here are our picks of the year.

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Rendez-Vous Ivy Tourbillon Price `82,50,000

Piaget

Emperador Coussin Tourbillon in pink gold

Breguet

Price on request

Classique Tourbillon Quantieme Perpétuelle 3797 Price on request

Omega

De Ville Central Tourbillon Price on request

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Splurge Watch

An Auricular

A Rare Vintage

Champagne

Love Affair

The BeoPlay H6

The BeoLab 18

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enowned French winemaker Dom Pérignon’s chef de cave Richard Geoffrey is no stranger to exceptional vintages. As the sole person who decides whether a Dom Pérignon is declared a vintage or not, he has discovered the Vintage 2005, harvested in limited volumes in September 2015, with an exceptional maturity. The wine’s intense fruit bouquet is followed by a silvery minerality. It’s spicy and flowery at once. The Vintage 2005 is priced at `21,287 in Mumbai and `19,990 in Delhi.

This find comes at the heels of Champagne slopes, houses, and cellars, being added to UNESCO’s world heritage list. n

The Dom Perignon Vintage 2005

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The BeoPlay A9 o celebrate its 90th anniversary, iconic Danish audio and video solutions Bang & Olufsen have launched six of its popular current products in a special rose-gold finish.

These include the BeoVision Avant 85, the all-in-one entertainment solution BeoVision 11-46, BeoRemote One, and the popular magic-touch BeoPlay A9 music system, the chic, lightweight BeoPlay H6 headphones, and the slender BeoLab 18 with its new walnut lamella front.

Prices range from `30,000 to `60 lakh. n

A Stallion is UNLEASHED The interior cabin is in a warm Moka colour, with leather and silk inspired by Zegna fabrics

The Maserati Zegna Quattroporte Limited Edition with its platinum silk finish

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t’s a match made in luxury heaven, one that celebrates the sheer craftsmanship and virtuosity of two of Italy’s biggest luxury brands, luxury carmaker Maserati and fashion maison Zegna. The Maserati Quattroporte Zegna Limited Edition, produced in a limited series of 100 and

launched last year at the Geneva Motor show, was just showcased in Milan, after touring Shanghai, New York, Dubai. Also presented was One of 100, a special book by Italian photographer Fabrizio Ferri, with images of hands of athletes, musicians and designes, as key

instruments of their trade. Beneath the quattroporte’s bonnet roars a mighty V8 twin-turbo, at 530hp and 710nm torque.

Top speed is 307km/h, and it accelerates from 0 to 100 in just 4,7 seconds. A trueblue Italian thoroughbred. n

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Splurge Watch

Time to stop

Hunger The stunning quietude within the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, the aqua pool at the Fairmont Jakarta. Inset: The large ballroom.

Sophisticated

Beginnings C

all it a coup of sorts. The Fairmont Hotels & Resorts collection has opened its doors in two exciting capitals, one in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the other in one of the world’s most iconic cities, London. The Fairmont Jakarta in the heart of Senayan Square, in the busy business district, offers 380 spacious guestrooms, 100 Sky Suites, and five restaurants, with the elegant Peacock Lounge serving the Fairmont Afternoon Tea experience.

There’s an upcoming trendy K22 Bar, the stylish View restaurant, and the Mont Bar with rare spirits, malts, and fine champagnes.

And now for the news we’ve all been waiting for: the historical Savoy, one of the world’s most glamorous hotels, becomes The Savoy Fairmont. Sitting on the north bank of the River Thames, and a stone’s throw away from Covent Garden, 268 lavish rooms in Edwardian or Art Deco style offer breathtaking views. Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill presents a British menu with French flair, while you may run into a celebrity or two at the legendary American Bar or the Beaufort Bar. n

Be a part of the charmed life in London, with your very own Suite at The Savoy Fairmont, and enjoy dedicated Butler Service. Inset: The Royal Suite sitting room

Kate Hudson and Michael Kors

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ollywood star Kate Hudson has joined designer Michael Kors in supporting his Watch Hunger Stop campaign, which has helped deliver over 10 million meals to children in need. Michael Kors has also been named Global Ambassador Against Hunger. Come October, Hudson and Kors will launch two limited-edition styles of the Bradshaw watch as part of the Watch Hunger Stop campaign. With each watch sold, 100 children will receive a nutritious meal through the campaign’s School Meals programme. The watches will be available at all Michael Kors stores from October onwards. n

The Bradshaw 100 in grey and gold

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Fine Dining at

Karlito capsule collection iPhone cover

3Baguette Chain

Fendi Pre-Fall 2015

The US Open

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his US Open, if you're heading out to the New York area, dine in style at any one of Queens’ famous Michelin-star restaurants.

The lucky eateries to be nominated in the 2015 New York Michelin Guide are Casa Enrique and M. Wells Steakhouse in Long Island

City, Danny Brown Wine Bar and Kitchen in Forest Hills, and Zabb Elee in Jackson Heights. Danny Brown mixes French and Italian wine bars with Spanish tapas, Zabb Elee is Thai, while Casa Enrique offers Mexican fare. M. Wells Steakhouse, is all about steak. n

Backpack and Karlito capsule collection sneakers

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. Inset: Casa Enrique and Zabb Elee

The return of

King Karlito

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long with Fendi’s Fall/Winter 20152016 collection, is a fun new capsule collection, an homage to one of fashion’s biggest icons Karl Lagerfeld, also the creative director of the Italian luxury maison. It’s all about irony and sophistication, where fur meets denim and sportswear to make a quirky statement. Products that have undergone the Karlito transformation are sweatshirts, sneakers, backpacks, jeans, and even an iPhone cover. The charms are dressed up in Karl Lagerfeld’s black sunglasses, black tie and silver fox fur body. Also presented are classics like the 3Baguette Chain, with its boxy shape and chain handle that comes in pop colours like Fuchsia and orange, and the newly launched Peekaboo bag in a micro version. n

Artistic Fusion A

s part of the Only Watch charity event organized by the Monaco Association Against Muscular Dystrophy, Swiss watch manufacturer Hublot unveils the Classic Fusion Only Watch Britto created in partnership with Brazilian artist Romero Britto.

This one-of-its-kind watch features the vibrant, colourful work of Britto on its enamelled dial, reproduced by the master dialmakers at the correct scale, applying six opaque colours from the 250 shades in his palette, one by one. From September 23 onwards, the Only Watch 2015 travelling exhibition of watches will complete a world tour before the final auction in Geneva on November 7.

Money raised will fund medical research for muscular dystrophy. n

Hublot Classic Fusion Only Watch Britto

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Splurge Watch

The 1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, one of the rarest and most exclusive cars in the world

A new Dawn...

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olls-Royce Motor Cars has announced the name of its much-awaited new convertible, the Dawn. The sensuous drophead was shown this summer at the 2015 RollsRoyce World Dealer Conference in Los Angeles, California, to a select group of a 130 dealers. While its looks remain a mystery (it will only be officially launched in 2016), one can

get a sense of its beauty and mystery from the original Silver Dawn of the 1950s, from which it inherits its name. “RollsRoyce Dawn is a four-seat open-top super luxury motor car for customers who wish to bathe in the sunlight of the world’s most exclusive social hotspots. Rolls-Royce Dawn will also be the quietest soft-top ever made, and equally as quiet as a Wraith,” said Paul Harris, regional director, Rolls Royce Motor Cars, Asia Pacific. Customers can start placing their orders at the nearest dealership. n

Swiss hospitality

Soars skywards S wiss ushers a new era in the history of its long-haul aircraft fleet, from next January, with the first of its nine new Boeing 777-300ERs. The new twinjets will seat 340 passengers, and offer state-of-the-art cabins in all three seating classes, including wireless internet connectivity. The new Triple Sevens will ply routes from Asia, South America, and the US West Coast. The eight seats in First Class transform into the passenger’s private suite, and have 32-inch screens for videos, a first in the industry. Swiss First guests will also enjoy electrically adjustable window blinds and their own personal wardrobe. Business travellers will sit in seats that offer optimum privacy and lots of legroom, with the ability to control the firmness of the seat cushion. All seats in Business Class can be easily converted into a lie-flat bed, that is over two metres long. Typical Swiss Lebensart in the skies! n

With wireless connectivity for all classes, First Class passengers enjoy a private cocoon with the widest screen in the industry

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FEMME DU MOIS

Selena Gomez Claim to Fame Born

July 22, 1992 Profession

Singer, actor

This chart-topping, American pop star began her career on the Disney Channel and is about to release her second solo album in October, Revival. She also has one of the largest Twitter and Instagram followers of any celebrity today, 30,9 million and 37,9 million.

She’s the new face of Pantene, and is set to star in three releases for 2015-2016, plus a voiceover for the animated Hotel Transylvania 2. At 23, with a brand-new album due for release, Selena Gomez has got the world at her feet.

Selena Gomez wears Louis Vuitton at the Hotel Transylvania 2 photocall in Cancun, Mexico

photograph copyright Magnus Sundholm / action press

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hen the Texas-born singer-actor celebrates her 23rd birthday at the historical Savoy in London, and posts a photo of her enjoying the hotel’s famous afternoon tea to her Instagram account, 1,378,830 likes and counting in two days are…normal. For the baby-faced, honey-voiced actor, whom we all loved in the 2011 case-of-mistaken identity rom-com Monte Carlo, is set to launch her brand-new album, Revival (she recently revealed the album name in a mini-video, posted on…you guessed it, Instagram) in October, with her first track, the dulcet sweet Good for You already clocking 44 million views on YouTube alone.

Rumours abound that the song is a grown-up reflection on her complicated – and now past – relationship with Canadian heartthrob and pop sensation Justin Bieber, but, as she admits in a recent US radio interview, it’s now a “different Selena, with a sexy song in a romantic video”. She says that the video (with her in a sensual shower scene) aims to capture those “moments when a woman looks her most beautiful”. For the newly single star, it’s an exciting time: she’s got four movies coming out this year, a positive, healthy respect for fellow celebrities – she’s been quoted as saying she respects Taylor Swift’s music, and would love to work with talented comedienne Amy Schumer of Trainwreck fame. Then, she’s also got her poverty-eradication work with UNICEF. “I love having a voice, whether in a movie, or what I can do for my sister or my fans; I wake up every day with a purpose,” says Selena in the radio interview. Good for you, Selena, we cheer you on. n

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Heritage

Curator of

LUXE House of Heirloom in New Delhi integrates bespoke, customized pieces made by local karigars with modern accoutrements, to create a living, breathing legacy. text by Priya Kumari Rana photographs by Yatinder kumar

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s you enter a nondescript door, go down a painting-laden flight of stairs, and walk through giant velvet drapes, you’re greeted by a cavernous hall stocked with the most opulent bric-a-brac – from colourful artworks and crystal chandeliers, to silver furniture and four-poster beds, teakwood tables replete with ornate crockery, and silverware. This isn’t a movie set, nor the attic of some fabled prince, but an interior design boutique in upmarket Friends Colony, New Delhi that also doubles as a gallery. Brainchild of 29-year-old equity lawyer-turned design entrepreneur Rahul Singh (whose great-grandfather Bakshi Shivcharan Singh was one of the five friends who set up Friends Colony), House of Heirloom today caters to the top brass of Delhi and Mumbai – from private residences on Aurangzeb Road to one of India’s biggest law firms. It is quietly transforming the way individuals are adapting local, Indian crafts and art with the best of European flair.

“Design has to be understood and contextualized. There’s a reason you have colour,” says Rahul Singh.” There is little emphasis on what’s relevant to this part of the world. We’re following Western fads, which don’t accommodate our realities. The

Vintage-feel boxes and sculptures are juxtaposed against handmade cushions and modern art

market is flooded with furniture from the Milan fair, but it’s not adapted to our culture, or the way we live. The rich in India still have very large homes, not modular ones as in Europe.” Singh was guided by his love of beautiful artefacts and craftsmanship that he was privy to, growing up in his grandparents’ spawling house in Friends Colony, where they were great patrons of art. Rahul spent his childhood in Malaysia and the Middle East, while his grandfather served as a military attaché in London. “There was a respect given to where we came from,” says Singh.

“When we returned to India, we realized there were few design houses that kept this in

Seemita Roy’s painting of Mother Teresa

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Creative director, House of Handloom, Rahul Singh

Carved teakwood tables with Versace crockery

Zari-embroidered bedspreads

A Versace tea set

mind.” He saw few places one could go to for customized, handcarved, handmade furniture and furnishings. “Bespoke is what makes us special. We have such a beautiful heritage. We are trying to celebrate restrained luxury. What we want to give our client is the ability to find their design voice. A silver piece can go into a modern home, but you can also have a client who wants a chandelier, a carpet, a silver bed, the panels, the Versace, and make it grand.”

Choosing the bespoke The most striking pieces in Singh’s gallery space are the half a dozen Venetian-inspired chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, that sparkle with their own incandescence. Made in Delhi, with crystal components from Egyptian crystal-maker Asfour and bespoke Czech companies, and using Italian wiring, they are hand-etched, with in-house gold leafing. “You can choose the pattern, and

“The Versace and Rosenthal crockery is instantly recognizable.

For me, fine crockery was associated with ceremony, and I just felt that every day should be special.

Why are we celebrating only on some days? Don’t buy a set of glasses just because they look beautiful.

If it doesn’t feel right, don’t buy it.”

choose the colour of the crystals, and put the etching of your choice – we will do it for you,” says Singh. “That’s another level of customization.” It’s no surprise that these chandeliers as well as handcrafted teakwood furniture (and we see dining tables, chairs, chaise longues, and beds, to name a few) are destined to become heirloom pieces. More heritage pieces include sets of intricate, Medusa-covered crockery by Versace and delicate, flowery porcelain by Rosenthal.

Singh is the exclusive distributor for these two brands, and explains his decision to stock them: “One brings in brands from the West, where there’s nothing comparable in India – so Rosenthal and Versace match, because they are a family business, like us. We also don’t have a great maker of crockery in India yet.” He adds that Versace and Rosenthal pieces are vibrant, yet with patterns that are tradition-inspired. “They are instantly recognizable,” he says pointing to a gold-plated tea set by Versace for `1 lakh. Singh, whose grandparents would “bring out the Rosenthal” every time guests appeared, was given a heavy Riedel glass by his grandmother, to drink his milk out of.

“For me, it was associated with ceremony, and I just felt that every day should be special.

Why are we celebrating only on some days?”

Touch and feel are important for Singh, whose grandmother allowed him free rein of embroidered fabrics when he was a boy.

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Heritage says. “If you can’t touch it, you can’t feel it…

Don’t buy a set of glasses just because they look beautiful, If it doesn’t feel right, don’t buy it.” Which is why he allows his clients to divide a set of Rosenthal crockery, where they can choose six pieces of one pattern, and four of another. “How do we best integrate what they love? There is no right and wrong in design. It’s aesthetic and it’s personal,” he says. “I’m open to my clients’ sense of style influencing me. Your home must feel like your home. I see myself as a facilitator who is giving you the right equipment and product, to be able to create that home of your dream.

Some clients have a very strong idea when they walk in. Some don’t, so you guide them and nudge them along.”

Move over to the corners of the gallery, and Sleeping Beauty’s bed awaits. This four-poster masterpiece has headboards laden with pearls, rubies, and other precious stones, and retail for around `7,5-8 lakh. On another corner, to go with a black and white Mughal-inspired marble hanging installation, aptly entitled the ‘Black Taj’, is a silver fourposter bed, with zari-worked linen. Even the headboard, clad in black Chantilly lace has zari woven into it. But the prices are not excessive, given the handiwork that goes in. “We don’t want to charge the designer premium, and top it up to an excessive value,” says Singh. “We want it where the patron of art is buying these things.”The silver cladding on the carved, European-style furniture takes place in Udaipur, while his main units are in Noida, Okhla, and Kalindi.

The silver of the four-poster bed is clad in Udaipur, seen here next to the ‘Black Taj’ marble sculpture

Art to the rescue “The idea is to create turnkey interior design,” says Singh. “So we integrate the art into the design.” Many people buy art and don’t know how to integrate their pieces in their interiors. “It needs to be a balance of the two,” says Singh. “A lot of the artists we work with are exclusively signed on by the gallery.”

He points to a black and white painting by Dubai-based artist Seemita Roy, of a gondola on a waterway in Venice, that sits behind a dining table laden with white Versace crockery. “I work with young talent, and stock senior masters like Souza, so you get a whole

Exquisite in-house chandeliers made with Egyptian and Czech crystal float in front of a Seema Kohli work

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mix,” says Singh. You can also purchase a rare family-owned print, such as an 18th-century hand-coloured acqua tint of the accession of Tipu Sultan. He’s also got intallations (like a fan-shaped sculpture made out of the pages of a book) by young artists who’ve showed at the Venice Biennale, three-dimensional acrylic works by Jyoti Ranjan Panigrahi, a play on animal fossils with gold leafing, and panoramic palace photographs by Amit Pasricha.

Singh’s six Souza sketches retail for `2,30-2,40 lakh, and are interspersed with works by Pakistani artist Jamil Naqsh, with his very obvious Picasso references. Then there are large oil paintings by Kamar Alam and detailed, almost Persian-looking works

by Seema Kohli, who has also participated in the Venice Biennale. Singh recently held a

The entrance to the gallery

“When you buy something handmade, there’s the heart and soul of the karigar that you bring into your world; it brings an object to life.”

Pure gold zari work on Egyptian cotton bedcovers, on a bed decorated with pearls

The ubiquitous ambassador as an entrance foyer piece

Crystal chandeliers and glassware with a handmade dining table

packed debut show in his gallery for Delhibased Bahaar Dhawan Rohatgi, attended by art patrons like Feroze Gujral and FDCI president Sunil Sethi, where 80 percent of her works were sold. Presently, Singh’s younger artists find pride of place in the homes of serious art lovers like Shobhana Bhartia and the family of DLF’s KP Singh. “Art prices keep rising,” says Singh. “A Raza back in the day was available for peanuts, and look at it today. It’s important that today’s art gets picked up by the right set of collectors, that’s when your brand value rises, and you’re part of collection, and that is an investment.”

At the end of the day, for Rahul Singh, what makes a home are “the things you put into it”. “When you buy something handmade, there’s so much heart and soul by the karigar, that you bring into your world, and that energy brings an object alive,” he says. That is why he attributes his design success, not only to his young team, that includes Parsons- and Istituto Marangonieducated young designers, but also to his karigars. “The heroes are our karigars who are easily double our age, and our younger designers who still have a lot to say, in a new and original voice.“For a lot of these karigars, we don’t have the next generation. That is the sad part. If they get enough work that they can survive with what they are doing, the tradition will survive,” says Singh. “We need to get more patronage, and this means more work for my karigars, more work for my team.” Although to be fair, he has to limit himself to 2-3 projects a year that take around 4-5 months apiece.

The next step for Singh is bigger, more prestigious work, more residences and even a boutique hotel if he gets the chance, but everything at its own pace. He is tying up with designer Puneet Gupta to create oneof-a kind wedding boxes and packaging. For the future, he says: “I am happy with how true we are as a brand, and I don’t want to lose that. Expansion makes you dilute why you did what you did, so I want to keep it private. I want it to be a family business, but definitely a multi-generational one. Our tagline is ‘Creating Legacy’. And that is what we’re trying to do.” n August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 37

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History meets

harmony

Swiss watchmaker extraordinaire Vacheron Constantin unveils seven masterpieces from its new Harmony collection, that include three world-class super chronographs and a beautiful dual time, and feature brand-new, in-house calibers, the maison’s pride and joy.

Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph Caliber 3500

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t’s been nothing short of an epic journey, for the oldest continuously produced watch manufacturer in the world. To celebrate its 260th anniversary, Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin revealed the first seven models of its latest collection, Harmony, at this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva.

Inspired by the brand’s very first wristwatch chronographs that appeared in 1928, and issued in limited editions, they come in elegant, cushion-shaped cases that is Harmony’s signature look. These seven pieces fête a complication that has enjoyed a place among the manufacture’s creations since 1917, the chronograph. In the first four models, you have three monopusher chronographs with brand-new calibers developed in-house since 2008: the world’s thinnest monopusher split-second chronograph, with a self-winding Caliber 3500; the monopusher tourbillon chronograph with its manual-winding Caliber 3200; the monopusher pulsimeter chronograph, with its manual-winding Caliber 3300; and the last, a double-pusher ladies’ chronograph that features the Caliber 1142, an enhanced version of a previous caliber. Also new is the self-winding Caliber 2640DT, also begun in 2008, that provides a dual-time display, one for women, and two for men. All of the new calibers, come with the finest finishes, and the seal of the Côtes de Genève.

Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph Caliber 3500 The first in our collection is also its leading hero. Made completely in platinum and a large size of 42mm, there are only 10 pieces available in the world. It’s set a world record with its self-winding movement that is only 5.2mm thick and sits in a 8.4mm cushion-shaped case. The most skilled watchmakers assembled the 459 parts of the Caliber 3500.

This one is a classic monopusher, with a splits-second function at 2 o’clock. The painted blue Arabic numberals with a red tachometric scale, and leaf-ended hands give it a vintage look. Moreover, there is a 51hour power reserve at 6 o’clock.

Harmony Tourbillon Chronograph Caliber 3200 This watch impresses on so many levels. Not only is it a chronograph monopusher, it’s also got the added prestige of a stunning tourbillon shaped like the Maltese Cross, and comes in a series of only 26 numbered timepieces.

Housed in a 42mm, precious 950 platinum case, and with its Caliber 3200 bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, flip it over and you can see a hand-engraved, golden bridge with delicate scrolling pattern in a ‘fleurisanne engraving’ similar to the oldest pocket watch made by the maison in 1755. A major evolution is the dragging 45-minute counter, rather than a 30-minute register set within a dynamic chronograph-activation system, that will not start if you haven’t pushed it firmly enough, unlike traditional

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constructions, which can sometimes cause gears to move if not pushed firmly enough, but not the mechanism, thus damaging it. It comes in a bold blue alligator leather strap, that is handstitched and saddle-finished.

Harmony Tourbillon Chronograph Caliber 3200

Harmony Chronograph Caliber 3300

Harmony Chronograph Caliber 3300 This is a chronograph in the classic sense of the word, hand-wound with a display of hours, minutes and small seconds at 9 o’clock, along with a monopusher chronograph function, pulsometric scale, and a power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock. With its 18k pink gold 42mm case, blue painted numerals, and red painted pulsimeter scale, it sports a retro look and comes in 260 numbered pieces. For greater precision, this model uses two hammers instead of one for the start, stop, and reset function, and a cone-shaped gear between the winding pinion and the crown wheel for smoother winding.

Harmony Chronograph Small Model Caliber 1142 This is the feminine, elegant version of the double-pusher chronograph. At 260 pieces, this model comes in a 18k pink gold cushion-shaped case, with diamonds set on its bezel totalling 1.2 carats. The hand-wound Caliber 1142, an enhanced version of an existing caliber, now meets the demands of the Hallmark of Geneva, and beats at a slightly greater frequency (3Hz instead of 2.5Hz). It’s endowed with a 48-power reserve, and 164 hand-decorated parts make up its movement. The small seconds sit at 9 o’clock while the chronograph is a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock. The strap is in hand-stitched grey alligator leather.

Vacheron Constantin DLF Emporio Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

Harmony Dual Time Caliber 2460DT The dual time function is one of the most sought-after in modern times. The new self-winding Caliber 2460DT sits at the heart of these three models, one for women, the Small Model, and two for men.

What’s unusual is the 4 o’clock position of the 12-hour subdial, and another smaller day/night indication at 7 o’clock, which lends it beauty.

All settings may be done by the crown in both directions, without risk of damage to the mechanism. The caliber comes with a generous 40hour power reserve and is made up of 233 parts, all hand decorated.

The masculine model is in 18k white gold or pink gold, while the daintier women’s model is in 18k white gold with a bezel boasting of 88 diamonds. n

Harmony Chronograph Small Model Caliber 1142

Harmony Dual Time Caliber 2460DT

Harmony Dual Time Small Model Caliber 2460DT

A 1928 pulsometer singlebutton chronograph with minutes counter

The all-new Caliber 2460DT of the Harmony Dual Time

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Lifestyle

A Day at the

RaceS

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the 166th edition of the Prix de Diane Longines

We spend a summer Sunday at Chantilly, home to one of the world’s most fashionable races, the Prix de Diane Longines, discover the nuances of horse racing, and catch up with Longines’ Ambassador of Elegance, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. text by Priya Kumari Rana

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have been dancing for the rain for two days, but it hasn’t come,” says Italian-born Umberto Rispoli, one of the world’s best jockeys, one day before he competes at the 166th edition of the Prix de Diane Longines, one of Europe’s most glamorous horse racing events, held in picturesque, rural Chantilly, an hour’s drive from Paris.

“Maybe if I stop dancing, the rain will come, as my filly likes softer ground.” But, rain’s the last thing seen on race day, a resplendent and balmy June Sunday, that portends yet another historic win at the Chantilly racecourse that has almost 45,000 spectators attending, amongst them Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Swiss watchmaker Longines’ ‘Ambassador of Elegance’.

This unique derby, which rivals Britain’s Ascot in terms

of prestige, established in May 1843, is uniquely for threeyear-old fillies that compete neck to neck over a distance of 10 ½ furlongs (2,100m). The nine-race event is capped by the celebrated Prix de Diane Longines, with its million Euros in prize money (the winning horse receives €571,400).

And Longines has been title partner of the Prix de Diane as official timekeeper and watch since 2011. “In 1878, we were the timers of the first Olympic Games. We built a special chronograph, so sports timing is part of our life,” says Longines president Walter von Känel, of his St Imier, Switzerland-based company, that clocked the last Commonwealth Games, as well as the yearly French Open at Roland Garros. “With an impressive horse racing events’ calendar this year, with roughly 60-70 races all over the world, the Prix de Diane, with Ascot,

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is probably among the biggest in Europe.

Our partnership with the Prix de Diane is great, not only because of its history, but also its location.” He adds that the best part of the races is the large numbers who turn up simply to enjoy a picnic under the sun. “It’s a superstar among races,” he says.

Hats and horses Today, the atmosphere is carnivalesque. Driven in style up to the entrance of the Chantilly course by a six-horse carriage, we descend into a world of extravagant hats, children (and adults) indulging in ice-cream and waffles, with a giant ferris wheel, a small pool, a champagne bar, gift shops, a catwalk, and a carousel in the circular garden enclosed by the track. Visitors can even customize a picnic basket with salmon sandwiches, cheese, bread, and wine. French pop band Lilly Wood and the Prick take to the stage, and thousands gyrate to the music. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, dressed head to toe in black in Armani Ensemble, with a hat by Paris hatmaker Laurence Bossion, is watching the proceedings from a special enclosure at a lavish lunch hosted by Longines.

In attendance are the colourfully hatted present and former Miss France, Camille Cerf and Flora Coquerel, respectively. “Look at this palace,” says Aishwarya, pointing to the 18th-century royal stables that hug the track on one side. “We have here a great summer day, with people having fun, not just at the races, but as an inclusive family experience. For me, it’s a charming experience, added to the awareness of the kind of history that is associated with this place.” She says that

Colourful and outré hats worn by guests

“It’s a great summer day, with people having fun, not just at the races, but as an inclusive family experience.

What adds to the charm is the place’s history.”

having her little daughter Aaradhya for company this year has made the experience even sweeter.

“Personally, I only discovered this entire horse racing aspect with Longines, as it was alien to me. So it’s been an interesting dekko, and something to take back,” she says. Associated with the brand for 15 and a half years, Aishwarya is considered to be a “part of the family” by Walter von Känel. “She’s one of the leaders of your country,” he says. “She’s got brains, beauty, respects her contract, and is available.” She’s not only giving away the top prize of the day, the Prix de Diane Longines, and the best prize for ‘Miss Diane’, the most elegant lady at the races, she’s also just launched the all-new Longines Dolce Vita at an elegant soirée the night before.

History to the gallop And what is so unique about the race that takes its name from Diana, the Greek goddess of

photographs (top and below left) by IRK99

The horse-drawn carriages that bring special guests to the venue

The carousel is a fun addition this year.

Seen here are ladies of the International Federation of Gentlemen and Lady Riders

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Lifestyle hunting? The story goes that members of the Jockey Club of France were inspired to create the race in the 1800s after a hunting session at Chantilly, which is also home to the famous 16th-century Chateau de Chantilly. Part of the estate, just beyond the immaculate garden, sits the Grandes Écuries or royal stables, built a couple of centuries later by the architect Jean Aubert by a prince who thought he would return to his kingdom reincarnated as a horse, and thus wanted extra-posh quarters. This opulent stable, which seems to be more like a “seven-star luxury hotel”, we’re told, forms the riveting backdrop to the Prix de Diane Longines races, and in the last 30 years has been reconstructed as the Museum of the Living Horse. It also featured in the James Bond classic A View to a Kill starring Roger Moore, as the home of villain Max Zorin, played by Christopher Walken. The stables are right opposite where the course takes a slight dip – this is the point where, during the race, the horses that have picked up speed and are cruising faster than 50km an hour, need to make a dash for the goalpost in the last 300m or so, without losing power. “The best point in this race, when you arrive here, is to be on the outside, getting covered by another horse,” says jockey Umberto Rispoli. “You can catch the sixth or seventh position, without letting your horse expend too much energy.” At the jockey’s urging, the horse then sprints to the finish line, after rounding the last curve. “We reach speeds of 70-72km per hour, sometimes even 80km per hour.”

Waiting for the horses at the finish line, to

Longines is the race's official timekeeper

The Longines Positioning System gives instant readings on the exact position of the horses, their placement in the race, the distance between them, and the speed at which they cross the line.

catch the final, crucial milliseconds, stands the innovative Longines Positioning System, which gives instant readings on the exact position of the horses, their placement in the race, the distance between them, and the speed at which they cross the line. It is precise up to 5cm, and is accurate up to a thousandth of a second. “At Longines, investing in these kind of technological advances is our latest goal vis-à-vis building a long-term relationship with the sport of horse racing,” says Juan-Carlos Capelli, vice-president and international marketing director, Longines, in an official statement.

This year, a clear winner gallops ahead: the Prix de Diane Longines goes to the Star of Seville, ridden by Lanfranco Dettori. Our jockey Umberto Rispoli, who’s run here before, places an honourable third on his filly Sweet Nightingale. On the dias after the race, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan hands out Longines watches to all the winners – the winning jockey, the horse’s owner Lady Bamford rep-

Lanfranco Dettori wins the Prix de Diane Longines 2015 on Star of Seville

Catherine Rieb-Menard on Geonpi, winning the Prix de la Reine Marie-Amelie Longines 2015, another race on that day

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Walter von Känel, president, Longines, awards the winners of the Prix de Diane Longines elegant Longines watches

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Left to right: Florence Ollivier-Lamarque, president of Swatch Group France, Juan-Carlos Capelli, vice-president of Longines and head of International Marketing, Longines Ambassador of Elegance Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Walter von Känel, president of Longines.

Aishwarya in her new ad campaign for Longines

“At DolceVita, we talk of precision and elegance, yet, we bring in fun and humour, so as to not lose out on cherished experiences.”

The Longines DolceVita in steel, with a mother-of pearl dial set with diamonds.

Longines Ambassador of Elegance Aishwarya Rai Bachchan arrives at the Garden Party at the garden of the Chantilly Castle to launch the new Longines DolceVita

resented by her daughter, and the trainer John Gosden. She also awards the prize for ‘Mademoiselle Diane by Longines’ with former Miss France, Sophie Thalmann, a new DolceVita, to the pretty Sandra Challal.

An evening of elegance And to think that just the night before, we toasted the launch of the new DolceVita at a special garden party held at the Chateau de Chantilly, with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan alighting dramatically from a vintage Aston Martin, dressed in a white lace gown, and sapphire-blue fascinator.

“I’ve been with the Longines family for 15 and a half years and the time has just flown by,” said Aishwarya. “As we’re here for the launch of the new Dolce Vita collection, I can’t help but look at my dear ‘papa’ Walter von Känel.

He embodies the spirit of Longines, and the DolceVita collection. We talk of precision and elegance, yet we bring in fun and humour. It’s about sophistication, yet enjoying the sweet charm of life, so as to not lose out on cherished experiences.” And what a charmed life we’ve seen at our day at the races. n The Longines DolceVita in steel, set with diamonds, with a silver coloured 'flinqué' dial with Roman numerals

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Fashion

Made to

Pleasure Clothes maketh the man, as the saying goes, and no sartorial joy is more rarefied than getting one’s own suits, zu misura, as the Italians say it, or ‘made to measure’. We look at the options at hand for the Indian cognoscenti. text by Manish Mishra

Hand-cut fabric at Zegna, probably the most luxurious in the world

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oday’s well-travelled and style-savvy man is on a quest for closet essentials, that are at once one-of-a-kind and personalized. He wants his wardrobe to be stacked with made-to-measure suits and jackets. He wants to feel the fabric, pick it after surveying the range of options in front of him, and take active part in the entire measuring and fitting process. From finalizing the suit lining to the pleats of his trousers to deciding the style of the buttons – he wants to own the suit, and it has to reflect his own personal style. It’s not just a suit, mind you! This customized item of clothing speaks volumes about the direction his sartorial

journey is taking. Here’s the lowdown on some of the made-to-measure services offered in the Indian luxury market for the evolved Indian man.

Zegna’s Su Misura service Zegna Su Misura takes tailoring to a new level, and is characterized by precious details. When young Ermenegildo Zegna first launched his dream of becoming the most important Italian manufacturer of precious fabrics, and founded Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna (Zegna Wool Mill) in 1910 in his home town of Trivero, his quest to procure the finest available wool, cashmere, and mohair pushed him toward distant lands such as

The finished look, a Zegna masterpiece

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Australia, Mongolia, and South Africa to find it.

Even today, the most valuable lots of wool and other noble fibres travel from far-off countries all the way to Italy’s Lanificio Zegna located 700m above sea level in the mountainous region surrounding the city of Biella. Here Zegna transforms these precious natural fibres into superfine yarns and fabrics that are unsurpassed in terms of quality, fineness, and wearability.

Zegna wool yarn varies from 17 microns (for extra-fine fabrics) to 13 microns (for ultrafine fabrics), while a single human hair is 50-60 microns and the most flexible Scottish tweeds measure 35 microns. The most exclusive of these premium fabrics is the ‘Vellus Aureum Selection’. Averaging a mere 11.5 microns, all ‘Vellus Aureum’ wool fleeces entered in the annual Vellus Aureum Trophy competition are transformed by Lanificio Zegna into some of the most beautiful fabrics ever known. Only enough for 60 ‘Vellus Aureum Trophy Selection’ cut lengths are produced annually, as nature limits the supply. These exclusive fabrics are then artfully crafted into Ermenegildo Zegna Su Misura suits, customized for connoisseurs around the world and characterized by precious personalized details. From hand-carved buttons to the engraving of the client’s name or initials on the garment bag and hanger, every step is executed with extreme care by expert craftsmen.

As a finishing touch, the customer’s own name is woven onto the selvedge of each cut length.

Each Su Misura garment is individually fitted, cut and sewn from a collection of over 700 fabrics made by Lanificio Zegna, including 200 fabrics created each season. Once the material is selected, the right model is chosen, that best suits the physique and needs of the customer.

There’s a range of 82 textiles at Gucci, and made-to-order shoes

Gucci for the globetrotter

Choose from an array of 178 combinations of colours and fabrics at Gucci: wool, cashmere, and mohair, plus silk satin and velvet, with embroidery and jacquards featuring the house’s signature horsebit.

Swatches of exclusive fabric

Suits in process

Hand-stitched perfection

The brand has shaped up an unique concept dedicated to the global gentleman who reflects his individual taste through sartorial flair. The label’s made-to-measure service further accentuates the house’s philosophy of personalization and signature attention to detail. In addition to offering fabrics from an exclusive selection, the service provides for customizable options with finishes and details, and allows for personal tailoring according to the client’s individual measurements.

The range of materials includes nearly 82 textiles which allow for 178 possible combinations of colours and fabrics – wool, cashmere, and mohair in classic shades of grey, navy blue, and brown, alongside silk satin, velvet, and baby lama for evening, with diamanté embroidery and jacquards featuring the house’s signature horsebit in toneon-tone combinations.

The made-to-measure service is completed by a customized selection of shirts from which the client may choose a fit from a complete existing proposal of recognizable brand silhouettes in a wide range of fabrics and colours – 26 textiles allowing for 66 possible combinations of colours and fabrics. A piece of heartwarming news for all of you with a shoe fetish. The brand also offers a made-to-order service for signature men’s shoes – to select material, colour, width, and embossing one’s initials. You will be ably assisted throughout the fabric selection, fittings, finalization, and the delivery of the garment, which can require from four to six weeks to produce.

Gucci’s embossing service at the Mumbai Galleria or New Delhi Emporio stores in India is a first-hand, personalized,luxe experience. Be it a treasured bag or special gift for your significant other, it can be hand-embossed with the initials of your choice.

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Fashion Go luxe with Giorgio Armani

A Canali suit is all about attention to details

Canali’s array of choices A Canali made-to-measure suit offers an individual a chance to express himself by crafting his own look and to communicate his personality through the choice of cut, fabric, and colour.

Every stage in the process is the result of meticulous attention to detail and professional skills of the label’s tailors. The creation of a made-to-measure suit begins with the choice of the model and cut that best suits the customer’s physique. During this stage, the house’s tailors and customer work together as a team in order to find the most appropriate style for the customer’s personality, based entirely on dialogue. Every measurement and detail are decided upon mutually by common accord, based on the tastes and needs of the customer, with the support and professionalism of their master tailors. Customers can choose from an evergreen selection, but what makes the Canali made-to-measure service special is the opportunity to choose from 200 new fabrics, that change every season. On top of the huge range, for real connoisseurs, Canali often proposes super-fine fabrics such as 220s, 230s, and vicuna, all of them really precious, comfortable, and characterized by light wearability. Once every aspect has been defined, all the information is sent to Italy so that skilled pattern-makers can design the chosen model based on the measurements taken of each customer, tweaking it perfectly to their physique. After about 45-60 days, customers can finally wear the new creation, a little treat due to its choice of fabrics, quality, care for every single detail, and uniqueness.

Giorgio Armani believes in using only the finest of materials, with the company even sending swatches of fabrics to a customer’s home or office, or letting them order over the phone.

The brand’s new made-to-measure campaign features Matt Bomer, Chen Kun, and Dan Stevens. As you walk in for a fitting for a madeto-measure suit in one of Giorgio Armani’s recently opened boutiques in India, you’re guided by highly trained staff to feel and select fabrics, choose the lining and style of button, and pick a silhouette, specifying the details: the type of lapel, pocket positions, single or double-breasted fastening, pleated or non-pleated trouser.

Customers are measured in store and can either return for a fitting before delivery, or just take away the final suit. Armani even sends customers swatches of fabrics to their home or office, and they can order a new Made to Measure garment over the phone. Some of the visible details include hand-stitching on lapels and working sleeve buttonholes. Invisible benefits include, inside the jacket, a canvas made of a complex combination of natural materials like horsehair and goat’s hair that makes up the structure of the garment.

Getting measured up at Brooks Brothers

Brooks Brothers’ historical service

At Brooks Brothers, you get a truly custom fit, followed by a fine-tuning session for an unique suit.

Brooks Brothers offers a collection of the finest fabrics, individually tailored suits, and jackets. A conversation with the brand’s specialist guides you through the fabrics, details, and construction followed by 35 measurements, which provide a truly custom fit, which is followed by a fitting fine-tuning session resulting in a one-of-a-kind suit. The label’s sports coats, suits, and trousers are made from a panoply of fine fabrics like Super 180s, cashmere, and ceremonial silk blends. The Nehru jacket can be customized in ceremonial fabrics, including velvet and jacquard. n

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Fashion

The Italian

touch

Luxury menswear maison Corneliani focuses on a traditional canvas 150-step jacket, and has even created a special version for India inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru. text by Priya Kumari Rana

The jacket is the brand’s forte

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ts style is favoured by popular tenor Andrea Bocelli, writers Ken Follet and Michael Connelly, Formula 1 legends Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost, Nobel Prize-winners Arno Penzias and Kary B. Mullis, not to mention crowned heads of state. Italian luxury menswear brand Corneliani prides itself on making made-tomeasure suits using state-of-the-art technology and sophisticated hand-sewn and hand-finished details. “A Corneliani jacket is crafted with traditional Italian canvas construction, and it takes 150 steps to make this jacket,

A Made to Measure team member at work in Mantua, Italy

while a suit entails 548 hand-made stitches,” says Salesh Grover, business head, OSL Luxury Collections Pvt Ltd, Corneliani’s India partner. “The result is an impeccable, light conSwathes of fabric struction with an excellent fit, with to choose from 120 precious, exclusive fabrics – from 210s to cashmere to silk/cashmere mixes and very fine linens – available in almost 500 different patterns and colours.” In the India boutiques, one can get tuxedos, coats, trousers, and even overcoats made to measure, besides the ubiquitous suit.

All measurements, volumes, and proportions are calculated, along with other customizable details, and sent to the company’s headquarters in Mantua, Italy, where a special Made to Measure team, with a pan-India specialist to look into the specific needs of the Indian customer, cuts, sews, and readies the garment for delivery in three weeks. Only the most adept expert suit-makers are chosen to be part of the Made to Measure team, after years of training. This team then trains specialists for Corneliani boutiques the world over.

“A bespoke suit brings out a man’s personality, difficult to do in ready-to-wear designs.

Made to measure offers an array of patterns, coloured threads, and unusual details which reflect a man’s individual style. Corneliani Made to Measure is the ultimate expression of all of this,” says Grover. Even though the customer decides his custom fit, the luxury brand finds that the trend du jour is a much slimmer and shorter fitted suit.

Realizing that it’s impossible to design a collection without considering the influence of various cultures, Corneliani has created the Court Project specifically for the Indian market. This jacket, with its Nehru collar and visible stitching, symbolizes a meeting of Western design and Indian style, inspired by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s sartorial style. n

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Fashion

Choose the thread and finish on the denim

Customizable buttons and rivets A parade of finishes and treatments at IML Jeans

Denim

Impressions Gurgaon-based IML Jeans offers bespoke services to create the jeans of your dreams, with an exclusive line for those who want a pair like no other. text by Priya Kumari Rana

Aditya Singhal

“The price depends on the finish, such as chemical treatments from Italy, and special denims from Japan.”

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nd now it’s the turn of the ubiquitous denim to acquire the ‘bespoke’ label.

Three-year old IML (an abbreviation of ‘It’s My Life’) Jeans, started by 28-year-old Georgia Tech grad and entrepreneur Aditya Singhal, is a brand that does exactly that, addressing a niche clientele that wants a pair of jeans that is truly one of a kind. “The idea was to create a brand for fitting and personalization of denims, which are worn by everyone,” says Singhal. With his experience in textile finishing and garment manufacturing, Singhal says that it’s all about the details: from the kind of fabrics used, to dyes and treatments, rivets, stitching, and add-ons.

With denim fabric sourced from mills in Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and India, everything is done in-house by 25 workers in the company

factory at Hero Honda Chowk in Gurgaon. So whether it’s a panel with zari embellishment, or patches with ikat fabric, weavers will be called in to sit at the factory, and do the work. “We don’t outsource anything,” says Singhal.

Even damaging and grinding of the denim is done in-house. “Our workers damage or destroy hundreds of denims,” says Singhal. “They use pens and nibs to create special rips, shreds, and tears.”

Prices start at around `5,900 for women and `7,000 for men, but move on to `11,000-25,000.

“The price depends on the finish, because all the fabrics we choose are of equal quality, except for Japanese denim, which is the best,” says Singhal.

Specialized, skin-safe Italian treatments like the ‘blackboard’, a chalk-like chemical compound, is used on denim, or it may be stonewashed.

To order, log on to imljeans.com or book a stylist via the phone, who’ll comes home with a box of button and denim samples, threads, rivets, and measuring tape. The jeans are delivered in two weeks. One Of A Kind is the ultra-bespoke line within the brand, where only 25-30, unique, one-off pieces are created in a year; prices start at `25,000. “We had a customer who wanted pearls all over her jeans; a man who wanted bullet-holes in his pair, and a woman from Colombia who wanted an heirloom emerald affixed as the button.” With CEOs and billionaires as customers for the exclusive One OAK, Singhal says he’s even created cashmere denims at `60,000 a pop, so delicate, that they can’t be washed. n

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Cover Story art

Feroze Gujral in front of two paintings by her father-in-law, iconic artist Satish Gujral

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ormer fashion muse-turned-philanthropist Feroze Gujral, daughter-in-law of one of India’s most celebrated artists, Satish Gujral, greets us at her chic, New Delhi apartment. “All my books are on the floor, and we’ve got no shelf space, because every wall space that we have is for something to put on the wall,” she says as she guides us into the study adorned with Jitish Kallats, Satish Gujral sketches, and large photographs by Nemai Ghosh of Satyajit Ray movies. During our conversation, Feroze makes a thought-provoking point: traditionally, the Indian household never had anything on its walls besides craft, unlike European households, that were literally bursting with art and mirrors.

“With the advent of the British, we started putting mirrors on the walls, but art was not commonplace,” says Feroze. “The same person who will buy a piece of Italian furniture for `10 lakh, will think twice about acquiring a painting for `40,000.” And these are exactly the kinds of

The Patron

FEROZE GUJRAL

This art aficionado is giving back to the community, via public art projects from the Gujral Foundation, which she spearheads. She tells us about picking the right art, showcasing young talent, and being an ‘accidental’ collector of her father-in-law’s works. text by Priya Kumari Rana photographs by Pushpesh Dhingra 52 | Outlook Splurge | August 2015

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perceptions she is hoping, will change. At the helm of the Gujral Foundation since 2008, that funds public projects in art, architecture, design, and fashion, Feroze has supported big-ticket art events such as the 2014 Kochi Muziris Biennale, by arranging for the loan of main venue Aspinwall House, and the 55th Venice Biennale, where she brought together Mumbai-born artist Shilpa Gupta and Pakistani artist Rashid Rana, in an unique collaboration between the two countries, entitled My East is Your West.

On the Gujral Foundation, Feroze elaborates: “We do art scholarships; we’re also involved in football prizes, WWF, Save the Children, combating malnutrition, a fora for street children.

We fund video art, installation art, documentation, activist filmmaking – all that is called cutting-edge art anywhere in the world, but here it is all the stuff that is not saleable.” So at what point does this new, non-saleable art become saleable?

“You have to look at what museums are acquiring,” says Feroze. “What the great curators are choosing for great platforms like the Venice Biennale, Documenta, or Manifesta. What are they focusing on, and what is the trend?” She gives the example of collectors buying performance artist Tino Sehgal’s work: it’s a 300-page document that is bought as a performance. People must be trained how to dance it, and one can only perform it once every few years. But presently, India lags behind the West, or even China, in

A Satish Gujral sculpture

“You have to look at what museums are acquiring, what the great curators are choosing for platforms like the Venice Biennale, Documenta, or Manifesta.

What are they focusing on?

What is the trend? For me, it’s never been an intent to collect or buy.

We’re lucky to have all this art.”

Feroze with one of her many artworks

putting cutting-edge art in the hands of collectors.

With Chinese art growing faster than any other in the world, in the last decade, it comes down to sales. “The Chinese buy their own art,” says Feroze. “Even a great artist like Subodh Gupta, his work doesn’t exist in public space.” And as a patron of Outset UK, she’s been involved in a public installation with artist Francis Alys who instructed 64 Coldstream Guards in red and black to march along a pre-planned route. Feroze didn’t miss the chance of showcasing young Indian talent abroad, like she did with Shilpa Gupta at the Venice Biennale: “At the very highest of platforms, you send your best person,” she says.

Feroze is also a patron at the Louvre and at the Smithsonian, but doesn’t see herself as any kind of a ‘champion’ of art. “I like giving,” she says. “We’re also lucky to have all this art from my father-in-law.” As she builds her new house, she says she’s still ploughing through a lot of Satish Gujrals in storage, plus there are those pieces she’s received as gifts. “My smaller pieces are wedding presents, whether it’s a Manjit Bawa, or an Anjolie Ela Menon, a Rameshwar Broota, or Husain saab,” she says. “It’s not an intent to collect or an intent to buy.” And what would she like to add to her collection? “Everything,” she smiles. “I still don’t have the big boys like Atul Dodiya or Subodh Gupta or a Raqs, that is a manifesto.” She admits she’s been to auctions to pick up the Nemai Ghosh tableaux for her daughter as she turned 18, and says she’s “very excited” about new talent like Asim Waqif, Vishal K Dar (“completely underrated”), photographer Tejal Shah, and Neha Choksi.

In the future, Feroze would love to have a small museum for her father-in-law’s 150odd works. “I would love for people to see his trajectory – whether it’s that bull sculpture on the table, or his drawings, there are so many avatars of him over time, and he turns 90 this year.” In terms of the value of a Satish Gujral, she points out: “It always escalates over time. I have a 1956 self-portrait of his, and that is the most valuable. I don’t have a price for that.” Today, there are Satish Gujral collectors from places like Japan, USA, and Switzerland. But they’re always looking for that special something, so they look a certain year, or a theme, like his architectural phase, and whether there is an abundance of it or not. “For example, something from his Partition series is extremely valuable today,” she says. n August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 53

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Cover Story art saab’s works from the Draupadi series, Draupadi in the Dice,” he says, pointing to the artwork in his new Gurgaon home. “Husain was never cheap; he was always a bit higher priced than his contemporaries,” says Vikram.

Four of the 30-40 series painted by the artist are a part of his mother’s collection. “I have eight Husains from the Hanuman Series, all signed to mom by Husain,” he says. His favourite is a large work by the maestro, Pintoo Raag, for which he’s looking for a suitable place to display. Along with Husains, she’s also bequeathed a rare Raja Ravi Varma to her son, Ram, Sita, and Laxman in the Forest, which is yet to be brought over from Patna. “One of the latest ones I’ve purchased is this Satish Chauhan for `5 lakh,” he says. “I pick up a lot of art from Palette Art Gallery, owned by my friends Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna.

“I’ve recently bought an Anupam Sud, a Pradeep Mishra (who’s famous for his flamingoes), and Sandeep Jigdung (a canvas of pink lotuses) for my puja room,” he says of some of the younger artists.

For his office spaces, he prefers oleographs, lithographs, and serigraphs, some of which he’s got from Ashish Anand from Delhi Art Gallery.

For example, he shows us lithographs by Nicolas Poussin, entitled The Holy Family, and Peter Mignard’s Saint Cecilia. “I take advice from my gallerist friends Ashish Anand and RohitRahul when it comes to art,” says Vikram. “I like pieces that go with my style, and each work must be able to talk to me.” He shows us pieces by Naina Kanodia, Tirthankar Biswas, Dharmendra Rathore, and Anu Naik and a Vaikunthan (gifts from his mother), as well as an M Shyamal and a seldom-seen Laila Khan Furniturewala.

The Baidyanath family has close to a 100 big-name artworks spread in homes and havelis in Patna, Kolkata, Jhansi, Nagpur, and Allahabad.

What are the artists that he’d like to add to his growing collection? “A Manjit Bawa, and a Satish Gujral, as I am dear friends with his daughters Alpana and Raseel,” he says. “For me, art is a passion rather than an investment.

Around 70 percent of my friends buy art, and sales are on the rise, but more needs to be done to attract buyers. The India Art Fair is a beautiful platform.” For Vikram, it’s all about living among these beautiful works of art. And rather than go to auction houses, it’s conversations with his art-loving friends that lead to new discoveries. n

The Collectors Vikram Baidyanath

Vikram Baidyanath in front of his favourite MF Husain, Pintoo Raag.

Inset: some of his other artworks

The young collector tells us about his favourite pieces, and how he likes to take advice from his gallerist friends. text by Priya Kumari Rana photographs by Pushpesh Dhingra

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he dapper Gurgaon-based CEO of Ayurvedic giant, the Baidyanath group, Vikram Baidyanath, grew up in a world surrounded by paintings.

His mother, Dr Madhu Sharma, an Ayurvedic doctor who heads research and development at Baidyanath’s headquarters in Patna, has been a passionate art collector – from Tanjores to Rabindranath Tagores, and Jaya Wheatons – and was one of those lucky few who recognized Maqbool Fida Husain’s emerging talent in the ’80s. In fact, her patronage of Husain in the early days led to a friendship between the two, explains Vikram. “My mother was gifted one of Husain

A Raja Ravi Varma print

Vikram’s mother patronized MF Husain in the ‘80s, and has also collected a few rare Raja Ravi Varmas.

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Keshav Suri

Keshav Suri

Aprajita by Satish Gujral, at The Lalit Jaipur

Ashwamedha by Satish Gujral, at The Lalit Mumbai

Kitty Su, at The Lalit New Delhi

The Raj by MF Husain at The Lalit New Delhi

he 30-year-old heir to the Lalit hotels empire, Keshav Suri, grew up “inspired” by art. “My parents (the late Lalit Suri, and Jyotsna Suri, managing director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group) were ardent patrons, and my role models,” he says.

In fact, his brainchild – nightclub Kitty Su, in The Lalit in Delhi, Chandigarh, and Mumbai – is full of art and sculptures. The Suris have one of the country’s largest collections, with artworks across the Group numbering more than 5,000.

Keshav acquired no less than a huge MF Husain mural for the lobby of his flagship hotel The Lalit New Delhi, as his first purchase. He says that prices have gone up 10-15 percent over the last decade, depending of course, on the artist.

Personally, Keshav looks at his collection as his own brand of “fervour”, because art inspires him “soulfully rather than materialistically. Considering this, art has always been and will always be a great investment. I don’t believe in the fiscal value of art. However, if you ask me about the soul of an artwork, then I believe Satish Gupta, Paresh Maity, Satish Gujral, MF Husain, Raza, Niren Sengupta and Sanjay Bhattacharya are amongst the best contemporary Indian artists in the country today.” The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group has showcased more than 10,000 previously unknown artists across all The Lalit hotels. n

The Artist

Shilpa Gupta

Slated to be one of India’s hottest young installation artists, Shilpa tells us about the ‘saleability’ of her art. text by Priya Kumari Rana

M Shilpa Gupta (left) with Feroze Gujral and Rashid Rana

umbai-based, JJ School of Arts-trained installation artist Shilpa Gupta began to show internationally in the ’90s, reinforced by a showing at Tate Modern, curated by Rita Kapur. For the artist, it’s all about language (“it opens up the possibility of communication”), and whose favourite work till date is a large acrylic text banner with LED that read I Live Under Your Sky Too suspended around 15 feet above Carter Road in Mumbai a few years ago. Today, her works have been acquired and shown in museums like the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Mori Museum in Tokyo, and sit with private collectors in India, Italy, and overseas. She works with three August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 55

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Cover Story art galleries – Gallery Chemould Prescott Road in Mumbai, Vadehra Gallery in Delhi, and Galleria Continua in Italy, where she’s had three solo shows, with 20,000 people attending an event in Castle Blandy in France. For this artist who creates videos, works with photos, cloth, and string, the big art boom happened in India sometime between 2007 and 2007. “That big moment

My East is Your West, installation shots

The Gallerists Roshini Vadehra text by Priya Kumari Rana

Roshini Vadehra

Untitled, Sujith SN

Different Job II, Paribartana Mohanty

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oshini Vadehra helms one of the country’s biggest art galleries, Vadehra Art Gallery, with a presence in London, Grosvenor Vadehra, since 2006, and is gung-ho about the domestic art market, with new collectors, and initiatives like the Kochi Muziris Biennale, and exhibitions such as the VS Gaitonde showing at the Guggenheim. “Gaitonde, sold for $3million after that,” she says. She says that compared to five years ago, there are a lot more collectors in India and abroad. “Now, the European collectors are back, and are again looking at including Indian art in their art portfolio, with institutional acquisitions happening as well,” says Roshini. Art sales, according to her, have grown by 50 percent in the last five years. The masters and big-name contemporary artists continue to do well, with prices rising 30-50 percent since then. Roshini calls the masters – Husain, Raza, Souza, Tyeb Mehta, Gaitonde – “sure-shot bets”. Plus, there are top contemporary artists like Atul Dodiya,

has happened. Now it is more restrained,” she says. Her work with the Gujral Foundation for the past Venice Biennale was a “unique proposition representing the joint cartography of India and Pakistan”, and featured a 3,000m cloth installation with a performance artist drawing map lines, rivers, and mountains, between India and Bangladesh. Her works can fetch anything from a few lakh to `50-60 lakh, depending on the size of the work. “It could even be more than `1 crore,” she says. From the collector’s point of view, Shilpa says that one needs to look at the artist, the work itself, and the history of the artist. “Installation art always challenges what you mean by investment.

One is about loving, the other one is about leaving,” she says. “Plus, you don’t see installations in auctions. Her favourite artists are Amar Kanwar, Bharti Kher, and Anita Dube. She’s now off for a triennale in Japan, to do a public art project. n Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, and emerging artists like Sujith SN, Gipin Varghese, and Paribartna Mohanty, who recently got her gallery’s emerging artist award. “Short term, art is illiquid, with a high transaction cost,” she says of the 10 percent commission to the gallery. “You need to make a profit of 50-70 percent. Art has outperformed stocks and real estate and everything, if you buy the right artist.” Echoes Tahmina Gaffar of British auction house Bonhams: “Collectors are making greater returns in 10 years than had they invested in property.” n

Prateek and Priyanka Raja

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he Rajas run contemporary, edgy gallery Experimenter out of a 1930s house in Kolkata. “A majority of our collectors are based abroad, in the USA, South America, China, and Europe,” they say. They’ve just participated at Art Dubai and Art Basel Hong Kong, in March. An art investor should enjoy the work first, they say, and not wonder how much it has grown in value. “Even if it becomes a dud as an investment, the intrinsic value of the work becomes important,” they say.

“The buyer learns from a well-curated show.

The biggest asset of a buyer in the art world is understanding the artist’s work. It’s a fine balance before a collector takes the leap.” n

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Cover Story Real Estate

A Jewel

BY THE BAY

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The Four Seasons Private Residences beckon for the ultimate in private, luxury lifestyle.

With their serviced apartments, customized interiors, and unique architecture, they are an investment in high living.

text by Priya Kumari Rana

all it a jewel reaching out for the clouds. On the four and a half acres of land where The Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai sits, is a purely residential arm, The Four Seasons Private Residences, Mumbai developed by Provenance Land. “We want to focus on luxury mixed-use development, something that is not common in India,” says Adarsh Jatia, CEO and managing director of Provenance Land. Located at Worli, just off the Sea Link, the 26-apartment residential tower stretches 55 storeys into the sky.

“We wanted to cater to the ultra-high-networth individual, with different needs, from multi-generational families, to a compact nuclear

The lobby has 7,2m high glass and Botero lions, while orange trees line the walkway. Inset: Adarsh Jatia

The Four Seasons Private Residences

“There is a pent-up demand in this city for ultraHNIs, and the ultimate luxury for them is privacy.”

family,” says Jatia. The largest apartment sits on two floors, and is 11,000 sq ft, with 7,000 sq ft of carpet area, with six bedrooms, going to a duplex that occupies one and a half floors with 7,500 sq ft, right down to a single-floor three-bedroom unit of 5,300 sq ft. And nobody has any neighbours on the same floor – the ultimate in privacy.

Designed by architect firm Gensler from San Francisco, the interiors are done by New York-based Yabu Pushelberg, which has customized the interiors for everything except for loose furniture and upholstery. Most of the marble is from Italy, and the floor’s wooden pattern is completely customized for the apartment. “The design inspiration was a gemstone,” says Jatia. There are floor-to-ceiling heat-resistant imported glass panels that measure 3,2m in height, a handcrafted marble island by German luxury firm Eggersmann, a lighting consultant from Singapore, a façade consultant from Berlin, and the list goes on. There’s also a rooftop lounge that residents can book privately, a gym that can be booked by the hour, a 25m lap pool, and an open-air cinema.

“It’s like living in the presidential suite of a hotel,” says Jatia, “But you’re at home, so you have the best of both worlds.” Members of staff that look after the tower are Four Seasons employees, and residents can get à la carte services, from laundry or housekeeping, all the while keeping their own private staff in their apartment’s staff quarters.

The smallest apartment costs `30 crore, and prices move upwards. “There is a pent-up demand in this city, as buying and building on a piece of land, is near impossible, with the delays,” says Jatia. In terms of value for money, it’s a great bargain for HNIs. Already, entrepreneurs like Avnish Bajaj of Ola and Quikr have picked up an apartment, and Bollywood star Deepika Padukone has shown interest. “Some people want to buy 4-5 floors, since they could build a bungalow for that price,” says Jatia. “And then, it becomes even more exclusive.” n

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Cover Story Gems & Jewellery

A Forevermark diamond, with its special cornerstone craftsmanship

All that

sparkles Whether it’s the enchantment of coloured gemstones, the dazzle of diamonds, or the lure of gold, each holds the key to a great investment. We speak to the experts and assess the worth of each. text by Priya Kumari Rana

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The Fabergé Pearl Egg, 2015

ny product that is natural and has a limited resource base, over a period of time, should appreciate. There are only so many mines across the world, which produce metals or stones, and each of these mines has a limited lifespan,” says Rupak Sen, regional marketing director, Asia, Gemfields. The world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced gemstones, the London-based multinational that clocked a revenue or $160million last year, accounts for 25 percent of the world’s emeralds, and with a new ruby mine in Mozambique in the pipeline, 35 percent of rubies worldwide.

With impressive stats like these, consider this: if a Zambian emerald mine, with a lifespan of 25 years produces 13 million carats a year for the next

25 years, the average yield for a polished emerald is only 12-15 percent of this. Once the resource is extinct, the chances of owning the gem as the first-hand owner decreases, and its value greatly increases. Also, unlike the majority of commercial diamonds (the top one percent are discussed further below), that are more like commodities and whose price is determined on the Rapaport Melee Index, Gemfields has developed a grading system for gemstones not linked to prices. “The grading is done on the size and the clarity inside. Colour does play a role but it’s very individual, as some cultures would say, prefer a lighter shade of red in the ruby, and others, a darker shade,” says Sen. “We do 3-4 annual ruby auctions a year, and between 2009-15, our prices have gone up 12 times, so what was selling for $100 then sells now for $1,200,” says Sen. Recently a ruby from Myanmar was sold for $2 million a carat, and the Montepuez mines threw up a matching pair of rubies that totalled 45carats. He says that as sapphires, yellow, and pink diamonds, are mined in the smallest numbers, their value should also go up. Today, Gemfields also owns French heritage brand Fabergé, that sells miniature versions of its famed Russian eggs online (www.faberge.com), for those looking at owning a piece of history.

Prices for pendants start around $6,500.

Gold is always in fashion, as it’s traditionally been a currency, and is still used as an instrument for hedging, for people who want to diversify their

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Fabergé Egg Charm cluster, 2014

Fabergé Egg Charm bracelet

45ct pair of rubies

“The Montepuez mines have recently thrown up an unprecedented pair of matching rubies that total 45 carats.

There are only so many mines in the world, and each of these mines has a limited lifespan.”

Forevermark diamonds

Encordia ring by Forevermark

Mila Kunis, brand ambassador, Gemfields

A bracelet by Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri

A cuff by Heeramaneck

A Gehna cuff

Bricks or coins, go for gold

portfolios. “Portfolios with gold certainly perform better over the long term,” says Somasundaram PF, managing director,World Gold Council, India.“Once you decide your goals, in the long term gold should form 15-20 percent of your portfolio.”

He adds that two things go in gold’s favour: its international price (it’s always quoted in dollars), and its liquidity. India bought 811 tonnes of gold last year, out of which 180 tonnes were bars and coins. And for the über-wealthy, there’s always the option of holding bullion in private vaults.

If you’re looking for a diamond that has beauty, rarity, and is responsibily sourced, look no further than Forevermark. “Every Forevermark diamond is carefully picked up from selected mines whether in Botswana or Namibia – the majority of them are mines by DeBeers – around the world, where there is no child labour and no conflict diamonds,” says Sachin Jain, managing director, Forevermark India. “And only one percent of the world’s diamonds are eligible to be Forevermark.” The company chooses the most beautiful diamond, along with the cut, clarity, and colour grades, and puts an unique inscription number on the ‘table’ or top of the diamond, using special patented technology. “It is our promise on each Forevermark diamond with 127 years of experience,” says Jain. There is also a way of tracking back the diamond to its very source, and mine. The company sells to around 80 companies around the world (in India, retailers include Rose, Hazoorilal, Anmol, Mahesh Notandass, among others). “Our diamonds are exceptional gifts of mother Nature that are finite,” says Jain. “Our 100- and 50-caraters have been traded across the globe, and the returns are phenomenal. The rarer the goods, the better the chance of it appreciating.” He says that as a consumer, buying a diamond with ‘lineage’ like a Forevermark, instills more confidence in the buyer and the seller, and that the best time to buy such a diamond is ‘the day you fall in love’. n August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 61

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Gastronomy

Chef Roger Mooking

Tamarind

Nation

Canadian celebrity Chef Roger Mooking, of TV cookery series Everyday Exotic fame, launches a fusion cookbook and tells us what it’s like, as a musician, to jam with the godfather of soul James Brown, while Chef Muhammad Lisarani shows us the flavours of contemporary Malaysian cusine, both at Tamra at Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, New Delhi. text by Priya Kumari Rana

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he Trinidad-born, part Creole, part African, and part Chinese chef is a recognized face in India, thanks to his successful international cookery show, Everyday Exotic (one of the most top-rated shows on TLC in India). The host of Man, Fire, Food, and Heat Seekers who’s also appeared in Iron Chef and Top Chef Canada, is in India for the launch of Appetite for Fusion, a cookbook (with five other chefs), brought out by the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi.

Is your cuisine a mix of all your wonderful cultural influences?

Trinidad is very diverse, with West Indian food derived from Indian food. The influences are Chinese, native Indian/Carib-Indian, and British from the colonial period.

What made you contribute to Appetite for Fusion: Canada Indian Cookbook?

The High Commission asked me to participate, so it’s myself and

So here, you’re mixing from all over the world?

Look at this dish today – lamb kebabs with a tangy tamarind sauce.

The sauce is tamarind, which is used in India, the Caribbean, and SouthEast Asia. The grapefruit juice is very French. The coconut milk is a Thai influence. The spices are Indian.

I’m perpetually curious; as I learn, those things seep into my cooking. I like to bring people together.

Melée

What’s your favourite dish?

I love Vietnamese pho (noodle soup), and dal puri fromTrinidad.

What was the best part of playing with the late James Brown?

James Brown was amazing – as a percussionist and singer, I did a few shows with him, opening for him.

Incredibly, every night, he would rehearse his band, which has played with him for 40 years. He would go through all the sections – guitar, singers, organ, keyboard, and drums.

There was no set list; everything was cues, and he changed the set list every

Lamb Kebabs with a Tangy Tamarind Sauce

five other chefs. We take Canadian ingredients available in India, and adapt them, but also introduce a bit of India there. Canada is much more than maple syrup: Toronto is the most culturally diverse place on earth. What’s Canadian: is it First Nation’s native Canadians who smoke salmon and make bannock, or is it Indian fusion cuisine?

Malaysian

night in his head. If you missed it, you missed it. You never knew what he was going to do next. A cue could be a twitch in his foot, the way he turned around, the way he pointed his finger.

What’s next, musically?

I would love to make another album.

I sing, I rap, I play a little bit, but mostly I sing, write, and produce. n

Chef Muhammad Lisarini

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hef Muhammad Lisarini has flown in from Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, for a special Malaysian food fest at Tamra. He prepares a chicken satay and a chicken in spicy coconut gravy, Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi, accompanied by a raw mango salad. “My grandfather, who owns two restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, is my biggest inspiration,” says Chef Muhammad. “His signature dish is Beef Rendang, which is eaten during our festivals.” Chef Muhammad tells us that lemon grass and shrimp sambal are two of his most important ingredients. “We eat the sambal straight with steamed rice at home,” he says. Asked why he shies away from peanut butter in his satays, he replies: “In our Malaysian satay recipe, we never use peanut butter. Every chef has his or her own specialty; I like to play with fresh aromatic ingredients like lemon grass, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and ajwain powder. I also use durian paste in my fish dishes, and dried durian.” No meal is complete without dessert: today, he’s prepared Onde Onde glutinous rice flour cakes, and green Pandan cakes, as part of the lavish, colourful spread. n

Malaysian satay, curry, and desserts

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HIGH SPIRITS

Fancy Tipples of

We find six rarefied, extraordinary beverages from Europe that are sure to tickle your taste buds, not to mention the porte-monnaie. text by MAGANDEEP SINGH

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Krug Clos d’ Ambonnay 1998 champagne

hat is the value of joy? How does one measure true happiness? Can we put a price on satisfaction? The answers to all such questions would be but mired in debate, and even then the most positive of people would admit that frankly, it is all relative. And it really comes down to what it is that happens to be your object of fancy, for while needs may still have some fiscal rationale to contain them, wants, they don’t know any such bounds; they run reckless where sanity fears to tread.

Good thing then that even the rarest of pursuits come with a price tag, one that somewhat measures their attainability. Without further ado then, here are six drinks that make it worth one’s while getting through the day in anticipation of the joy of sipping these in the day’s second twilight.

Just one caveat before we start, often what decides the price of a beverage is a combination of two factors: the acceptance of its taste in influential circles, and its rarity. When the right people, from consumers to critics, nod their approval, prices start going up. Combine this with a genuine scarcity, and you have the ultimate economic combo to ensure you have an extremely expensive product. But it still doesn’t mean that this makes it the best-tasting product, or the best in any manner, for taste, as we already know, is subjective, a matter of personal

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‘The End of History’ beer

by Brewdog

preferences and no price tag can (or should) ever change that. That clarified, here are six ways to shed a fortune.

Wine

The Macallan whisky for Lalique

Any good vintage over two decades old can start at $4,000, and go up as much as $50,000.

They’re still a far cry from a 1787 Château Margaux, worth half a million dollars.

No talk of precious bottles can not begin with wine. Given how spirits can last for centuries, whereas even the best of dry wines will start spoiling much before that, wine is definitely rarer and hence dearer. But few can match the rarity of a particular Burgundian red wine, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. A 100 percent Pinot Noir-based wine from a tiny Grand Cru vineyard in Burgundy, it is not coveted without reason. The wine is known to age for decades without showing any sign of tiring, and each vintage is a unique expression unto itself. So even if you have had it once, you only wish to have it again. But given how few are produced and how many clamour for it, supplies are rarer than scarce. Prices for any good vintage over two decades old could start at $4,000 and move upwards, going as much as $50,000. Mind you, these are still a far cry from a 1787 Château Margaux, allegedly worth half a million dollars, which unfortunately broke in the hands of the owner just as he was about to open it, so one never really knows what the bottle could have really been worth. Thankfully, there’s more Romanée-Conti to go around.

Champagne The Krug Clos d’Ambonnay (single-vineyard Grand Cru) Blanc de Noirs is a champagne that is only made in the most exceptional of vintages. Everything about this bubbly, from the 0.68Ha vineyard where the grapes come from, to the rarity of the wine style (a white sparkling made exclusively from red grapes), is precious. Needless to explain then why any vintage over a decade old can expect to fetch a price that’s north of $2,000 a bottle. Sure, there will be bottles (diamond-encrusted, with white gold casings, and then some) but those are mere gimmicks compared to this, for here, the real gems are on the inside. A few shipwrecked bottles keep getting found and turn up at auctions from time to time; they command six-digit dollar prices, but the brands keep changing as do the vintages, so prices in the market fluctuate. As such, these wines are August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 65

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HIGH SPIRITS less considered rare and more likely sporadic fancies for the compulsive collector.

Rum Trouble is, nobody wants to pay for rum. It was the stuff of outlaws, what pirates out at sea drank to keep them from going mad and jumping overboard. As such, rum never really acquired an elite following, and even today, a lot of good stuff can be found floating about for paltry figures purely because to drink rum, even today surprisingly, is considered

Louis XIII Rare Cask 42,6 cognac

There is a blend of 1,200 eauxde-vie, some of which are a 100 years old. The Rémy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask 42,6 cognac sells for $30,000.

unfit for a gentleman. Which is lamentable because just setting eyes on the crystal casing of the Angostura Legacy confirms its lineage. An exquisite decanter crafted by Asprey of London, was used to house this blend of minimum 17-year-old rums. Only 20 decanters were produced with each selling for $25,000, and last I read, most were sold out (but Harrods might still have a couple).

Pirates plying today could do well by simply pillaging for such rums.

Whisky Single malt took off when cognac production suffered a serious setback in the later half of the 19th century. Since then, there’s been no looking back. Recently, to commemorate the birthday of René Lalique, a joint project was conceptualized, where a beautiful casing was creating by Lalique to hold a precious 64-year old elixir from The Macallan. It sold at a charity auction for $460,000! There was only one ever made. But don’t despair, because The Macallan Lalique collection still does other variants (ranging from 50-62 years aged), and each comes in a different quirky-yet-classic Lalique crystal receptacle. At $20,000 for the 60-year-old, it is one of the best whiskies that you can buy, to partake with friends, as also to admire on a shelf.

Cognac Cognac was all the rage long before any other spirit acquired similar cult status, so when it comes to old stocks, few nay, none, can challenge the exhaustive extent of cognac.

If you wish to sip something from the times when Churchill was still a baby, chances are it will be cognac. And there is, in fact, such a cognac – a blend of 1,200 eaux-de-vie, some of which are over a 100 years old. The Rémy Martin Louis XIII Rare Cask 42,6 sells for around $30,000. This may not sound like a lot of money to pay for a bottle so old (paintings, furniture, just about anything from a century ago that has survived the onslaught of time would be exponentially dearer) but considering only one barrel’s worth of it was made (Rémy Martin has done single-barrel cognacs on just two occasions, and this is one of them), there would be no more than 66 | Outlook Splurge | August 2015

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Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Grand Cru, Cotes de Nuits, red wine

Angostura Legacy rum

600-700 bottles of it. Of which, at the time of writing this, most appear to be already sold.

So the only way to find some would be to (a) cosy up to someone who has one or (b) wait for one to show up on an auction. And say you do get a bottle and don’t waste much time getting it down the hatch, the Baccarat crystal decanter will still be worth five digits once all the good stuff has been imbibed.

Beer If rum felt out of place, then beer would perhaps be ostracized even more. But the Scottish brewery Brewdog, known for always rocking the boat, has somehow ensured that there is a beer that qualifies for a list as gilded as this.

But unlike the crystal cases of other beverages mentioned above, its prized beer, ‘The End of History’, comes stuffed in an animal. Yes, you read that right; taking taxidermy into a whole new dimension, the beers (all 11 bottles of them, for that is all they brewed) will come in either a grey squirrel or a stoat casing. The beer is equally, well, special, being a chart-topping 55 percent alcohol! Yes, once again, you read that right. And, while you are still having difficulty believing your eyes, do note that the price is about £700 for the squirrel and a more modest £500 for the stoat. Don’t ask why the squirrels get to be premium.

As I said above, the value of happiness can never be known, even if I have listed six

An exquisite decanter crafted by Asprey of London, was used to house the Angostura Legacy, a blend of minimum 17-year-old rums. Only 20 decanters were produced, with each selling for $25,000, and most were sold out (but Harrods might still have a couple).

Pirates plying today could do well by simply pillaging for such rums.

beverages which try and put a price on it.

Should one ever aspire to such? Is there any guarantee that by spending an inheritance’s worth on a bottle one shall feel sensations of joy and mirth unparalleled? Well, there is no telling. Just like the solitary golfer who got a hole in one but had nobody there to share the joy with, the pleasures of a good beverage are in sharing it. Given the right mix, value and price fade in comparison to the bonhomie that emerges. And then, no matter what one paid, and no matter how the drink delivered, you know it was worth it. n August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 67

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Wanderlust

Highland Fling

The waterfront in Oban, a resort town within Scotland’s Argylle and Bute area

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As he wanders through Scotland in a Jaguar XF, Ajit Rana discovers a historic capital, quaint B&Bs, hearty food, a mysterious Loch Lomond, and the rugged beauty of the land of Braveheart.

The Jaguar XF that took us around Scotland

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Wanderlust

The Loch Lomond lies between Central Scotland and the Highlands

A cozy room at Raasay House

In Lake District, the countryside turns into what one has read about in Enid Blyton books growing up. Narrow roads with emerals fields, dotted with fluffy sheep, connect cottages with bright doors.

travel to the famous ‘stones’ by electric Land Rover ‘road trains’, a mile away. After braving the cold winds, we head to Stratford-uponAvon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, to spend the night, reaching by afternoon, just in time to witness the end of the day’s celebrations for the Bard’s 450th birth anniversary. In the town, his magic lives on: at Iago Jewellers, Much ado About Nothing Toys, even the password for the wifi at the restaurant we eat in – ‘Shakespeare’. Our hotel sits at a formidable location, right opposite the Shakespearean Theatre.

The following morning, after my first

The mysterioius rocks of Stonehenge

photographs by Ajit Rana

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ondon’s cold, crisp air braces us as we land at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. This simple pleasure is doubly enhanced as we find ourselves hurtling down the M3 towards Stonehenge, behind the steering wheel of a Jaguar XF, courtesy a rental service, that has kept our vehicle ready and waiting. We’re soon familiarizing ourselves with the Jaguar’s GPS navigation ‘Voice’ that is to become our friend and guide over the next week.

One of the few places that I’ve missed over my countless visits to the UK is Stonehenge. From the visitors’ centre, we

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(of several) gastronomical indulgence, a full English breakfast, we depart for Edinburgh. with the Voice of the Jaguar XF, keeping us on the correct route. Shopping for cutlery in Sheffield, on the way, proves disappointing as most of the companies now outsource manufacturing to China. By evening, we enter Scotland with the indigo sea visible in the near distance. The Voice guides us perfectly to our hotel, The Caledonian Waldorf Astoria.

Edinburgh is a magnificent city with history etched in every stone. But what defines a place is its people, and the Scots are a cheerful, friendly, and cultured lot. We head for our hotel ,The Waldorf Astoria, a former railway station, with a magnificent central lounge and a high skylight. Our bedroom window opens to a view of Edinburgh Castle and the gothic St Mary’s Cathedral. We dine on French cuisine with a Scottish flavour, at the hotel’s Galvin Brasserie. The chicken is succulent to a fault, poached in a vacuum seal, reveales our maître’d.

Our first morning in Edinburgh is dull and overcast, so we opt for a bus to the port where the Royal Yacht Britannia is docked (it was decommissioned a few years ago).

A tour of this ship lets us see for ourselves the luxury in which the British royal family has voyaged by ocean for 40 years. The royal cabins, entertainment halls, and other details have been preserved as during their days of glory. A high tea on board with scones, clotted cream, and strawberry jam, completes the ‘British’ experience. That evening, we stroll into the heart of Edinburgh city where, in a pub, local musicians play folk songs and music, on violins and harmonicas.

The next day, we drive to Oban through sinous country roads and the Trossachs National Park. As the road meanders along the Loch Lomond, we’re mesmerized by its haunting beauty, and halt for a quick lunch at Luss village. Once in Oban, we check into Mackay’s, a fine B&B overlooking the sea. Since this town is home to the world-famous Oban distillery, we purchase a couple of cask-strength malts at a specialty single-malt scotch shop.

The following morning at breakfast, we get our first taste of haggis and black pudding (made of sheep’s blood), served by the family that runs this B&B, before embarking for the

The Caledonian Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh

A pub inBowness-onWindermere, next to Storrs Hall

Bagpiper, made famous by the Scots

The drive takes us through barren hills, and strong, cold winds.

This is the land of Braveheart.

remotest point in Scotland on this trip, the island of Raasay, off the Isle of Skye. The drive takes us through the famous ‘highlands’ with barren hills, and strong, cold winds. This is the land of Braveheart, where William Wallace’s braves battled King Edward’s forces. After a short ferry ride, we arrive at Raasay House.

This large manor-turned-hotel sits facing the bay in a commanding position. Our next stop, Storrs Hall on Windermere Lake in Cumbria is an eight-hour drive away, and as we enter the Lake District, the countryside turns into what one has read about in Enid Blyton books growing up. Narrow roads with emerald fields dotted with fluffy sheep, stone fences, and flowing streams – sprinkled with oak, birch and willow – connect stone cottages with bright doors and a riot of blooms. Our highland fling is now complete. n August 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 71

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Parting Shot

SIENNA MILLER

The Sultry Siren

The British actor has morphed from boho goddess to chic siren, and is set to light up screens with her new releases.

photograph courtesy Getty Images

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his US-born, British modelturned-actor, once known for her bohemian goddess chic, and as the better half of actor Jude ‘nannygate’ Law, is making a resurgence of sorts with a half a dozen new releases lined up for 20152016. The 33-year-old BAFTA- and Golden Globe Award-nominated actor made critics sit up and take notice of her crisp, pivotal role opposite Bradley Cooper in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated biopic, American Sniper. In a magazine interview, it is said that the 84-yearold Eastwood saw her audition tape, and admitted, “That is my first choice. She’s terrific.”

Miller recently made heads turn at Wimbledon for her sharp white Galvan jumpsuit and Alexander McQueen tote. And this summer, she turned up in Gucci to sit on the jury of the Cannes Festival, a rewarding moment for the mother of three-year-old Marlowe. Lately, she’s been in the news for her on-again-offagain relationship with actor Tom Sturridge, but it’s her clutch of upcoming movies that are really print-worthy: Black Mass, a gangster flick with Miller in moll mode opposite Johnny Depp; High Rise, a thriller with the legendary Jeremy Irons, The Lost City of Z opposite ‘it’ guy Benedict Cumberbatch, and Live by Night, Ben Affleck’s second directorial venture. n

Sienna Miller in a rose silk georgette Gucci gown arrives at the screening of Macbeth at the 68th Cannes Film Festival

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