Louis Vuitton Spring 2024 Men’s Capsule Collection
The collection stages an instinctive union between the visual universes of rapper and music producer Tyler, The Creator and Louis Vuitton: a fusion of the signature preppy sophistication popularised by the artist with the elegant dandy dressing established at the maison by Pharrell Williams, the LV men’s creative director, expressed in trans-seasonal silhouettes founded in the colours and functions of spring.
4 / Yellow-gold earrings, R21 800, Charles Greig; checked cotton-gabardine trench coat, R77 995; checked wool coat, R74 995; checked cotton shirt, R25 695; checked wool wide-leg trousers, R30 995, all Burberry
3 / Tudor Black Bay 54 watch, R70 100, Charles Greig; Cape-tweed loomed trapeze tailored jacket, R48 000, Viviers Studio; cream polka-dot shirt, R8 795, Paul Smith; Cape-tweed loomed cigarette trousers, R35 000, Viviers Studio
Take your cue from the runways as facial embellishments and jewelleryskingive a fresh spin
Trend: Bionic art
Iam an adherent, and interrogator, of the notion that great art is infused with the essence of its creator. I’m not talking style, form or genre, but rather the intrinsic link between what the artwork says and what the artist believes. The question being: how evident is this signature?
Is it, for instance, possible to ascertain from Matthew Herbert’s catalogue of experimental electronica that he’s a human-rights advocate and social critic?
Unhinged house music veering from danceable to discordant might not be the obvious template for revolutionary polemic, but Herbert samples his discourse, using the sounds made by malevolent multinationals and factory-farmed animals to construct beats and basslines. Ideology doesn’t inform the music. It is the music.
Of course, if you fail to hear all this, you can always access statements of intent that invariably accompany such works. And therein lies the flaw in this exercise. An artwork is hardly ever digested in a vacuum; there are very few blind tastings. Which is my segue into the follow-up question: how much of a whisky maker’s worldview makes it into the liquid? Impossible to say, but worth the wonder, which is where I’m going with this subjective take on a few great whisky personalities.
nject your grooming routine with a bit of youthful rebellion and futuristic cool by taking your cue from the runways that saw a playful, additiontech-inspired to facial contours. At Dior Homme and Balmain Homme, models sported pieces of face jewellery that looked like something out of Wakanda and was done in a way that felt masculine and super cool — proving that sparkly facial embellishments aren’t “girls only” territory. At Balmain Homme, the take on face jewellery leaned on Afro- futuristic references as models were sent out with gold metal running down the centre of the face, from the crown of the head to the chin. At Dior Homme, two takes on the trend catered to both the bold and the conservative man. Models were spotted sporting dainty silver stud stick-ons in the inner corners of the eye for a subtle glint. The Dior runways also took inspiration from cyborgs, as models had facial contours — cheekbones, chins and temples were partially clad in abstract chrome shapes with a futuristic bionic-man feel. Complement this trend with fresh, healthy skin and pared-back coverage that lets the face art take centre stage.
MARK REYNIER
The person: When the iconic founder of Compass Box recently announced that he was moving on, whisky WhatsApp groups shed a collective tear. An indisputable trailblazer, Glaser’s legacy is a mixed bag of righteous rebellion, adamant advocacy and media mind games. Not one to go unnoticed, this audacious feather-ruffler made it his mission to push both boundaries and buttons. And his bottles stand out too. Designed by packaging experts Stranger & Stranger, their exquisite labels are emblazoned with fantastical names like Art & Decadence, Phenomenology and Flaming Heart, oh-so-tastefully appealing to more than mere taste. The product: Compass Box has released a number of extraordinary whiskies, from the silken peat of No Name No. 1 to the fruity fullness of Myths & Legends II and the textured complexity of Three Year Old Deluxe. Core range releases like Orchard House and the Glasgow and Artist Blends are excellent dailies. It does feel that, of late, the brand’s hyperbolic hype has upstaged the liquid. Who knows, maybe with less fanfare, forthcoming drams will make more of a statement.
produce one-track whiskies. He switches easily between grain and malt with the core range Three Ships expressions, and the multi-award-winning, truly delicious Bain’s Single Grain. When given the freedom to experiment, he uses all kinds of casks, most notably with the annual Master’s Collection, the Bain’s Founder’s Collection and releases for Private Barrel Co., of which the James Sedgwick Distillery 6 Year Old is an all-time favourite.
motoring
text Thomas Falkiner
When was a teenager, the internet used dial-up modems, smartphones didn’t exist and the Ford Puma was a sleek coupé. knew this because used to squander my pocket money on month-old copies of the UK’s Car magazine bought from a place called Magz: a once-popular newsagent that sold imported publications by the kilo. In 1997, said magazine was a good read with lots of edgy photographs and equally spiky copy; the antithesis of our local rags. It also showcased numerous vehicles exclusive to the UK and European market: machines of whim and mystery capable of stirring hearty breaktime debate among my group of equally car-obsessed mates. While some of them thought the Puma a bit girly, I was — and remain — a fan of its very swoopy 1990s styling. It was a great piece of marketing, too. Take the underpinnings of the Ford Fiesta (then in its fourth generation), slap on a sporty three-door body shell and, wham, you have an affordable coupé that makes discerning continentals feel like they’re at the helm of something more special than an old humdrum hatchback.
The year after graduated from college, 2005, grew to like the Puma even more after had stumbled upon the original UK TV commercial uploaded to something called YouTube. Set in modern-day San
Francisco, it was a 60-second masterpiece that used footage from the unfathomable 1968 crime caper Bullitt — including actor Steve McQueen, who was digitally cut and pasted behind the Puma’s steering wheel. This made me want to drive one even more but, unfortunately, I never got the chance. Although, on a trip to London in 2009 did spot a few parked on the street near my B&B in South Kensington.
Closer to home in Melville, Joburg, recently had a crack at the new secondgeneration Ford Puma. Well, new to South Africa, anyway, as it has been available in overseas markets since 2019 and was only launched to us scribes in November 2023. Small coupés might have been all the rage when the Spice Girls were blowing up the charts, but in this terrible era of social media and narcissism they’ve been cancelled in favour of compact crossovers — questionable creations straddling a rather useless line between regular hatchbacks and small SUVs. This is why, in a rather incongruous twist of fate, Puma Version 2.0 gets five doors instead of three and 164mm of ride height to better negotiate urban obstacles such as speed bumps. Other than the oval-ish shape of the headlamps, there’s absolutely nothing linking this cat to its svelte forebear. Or is there? Scratch the surface and you will discover
that the new Puma, just like the old one, is nothing more than a repurposed Fiesta once again pandering to fickle consumer tastes. This means it is genuinely good to drive with direct steering, decent feedback and an ability to sniff out apexes with a keenness akin to a junior hot hatchback. The trade-off is a slightly choppy ride on Joburg roads (especially in STLine Vignale trim, where 18-inch
behind the fantastically named Papegaaiberg (Parrot Mountain), Devon Valley is lush and scenic and yet not a place you’re likely to pass through en route elsewhere, a singular fate that keeps its off-the-beaten-track status intact. When Sue and Bernard
foolish’ that has become my mantra,” says Sue. “I don’t think being childlike is foolish at all but rather a way in which to stay alive and in love with life.” This from someone who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, rowed across Scotland’s Loch Ness, and sailed from Rio to Cape Town. Bernard has done the Patrouille des Glaciers, a legendary ski event organised by the Swiss Army that is considered the toughest of its kind in the world. Next year, the couple plan to drive from Cairo to Cape Town in a Land Rover.
W hen the family emigrated to the UK 10 years ago, their decision to keep the house as a base meant they could share its wonders with other families looking for a villa experience in the winelands. And it’s only one of several experiences they offer through their hospitality company Wonderland Escapes. In addition to Le Grand Domaine and Bungalow 52 (a beach house on the famous Clifton 4th Beach), they’ve added Finca La Anita in the Mendoza region of Argentina and Refuge du Lac de Derborence, a hiking shelter in Switzerland, to their property portfolio. Their latest addition, Lince Lodge in the UK, is set in Blenheim Palace Park in the Cotswolds.
B ut Le Grand Jardin remains their flagship property and the place to which they return as often as possible. “For us it’s still very much our home and a reminder of some of our happiest times as a family,” says Sue. H ere, all six en-suite bedrooms (three in the main house and three in the pool pavilion) embrace their themes in a riot of colour and pattern. In the main bedroom, jungle
safety and security in the long term. Multiple lockdowns and two, perhaps even three or four, wars later and it’s a different state of being. And just as the hemlines and trouser legs of the fashion world rise and fall, billow or cleave to
