Featuring ISSA PERICA, Actor, and DELFIN FINLEY, Painter
In their latest profile for us (p. 18), artist and writer Sandiso Ngubane speaks to Frederica Brooksworth of the Council for International African Fashion Education — a non-profit organisation advancing “the development and innovation of fashion education and research on the continent and in the diaspora” — on the ongoing documentation of and education about the African fashion canon.
It is late September and my early-evening flight from East London to Joburg takes off through a turbulent, chilly shower and lands in what is a 28-degree night in a Joburg teeming with after-hours events and willing guestlists. The summer events season, preceded by an arts blitz in September, starts like this, and doesn’t relent till well into May. Many of these gatherings have, at the very least, a fashion subtext, the music is louder — and that has only a little bit to do with volume — necklines surrender to gravity, and hemlines move in an opposite direction to the predominant moral compass.
As we introduce summer 2022/23 and explore some paradoxical places, we clash our polka dots with stripes, if you will. You may recall from sometime last year that I balance my love for fashion with a healthy sense of humour — and cynicism. You’ll see (on p. 16) that Rob Rose — editor of the Financial Mail and an admitted fashion “piss taker” — has plenty of the latter, as he meticulously breaks down how, 21 years later, the film Zoolander has proven an uncanny predictor of contemporary fashion farce.
In contrast, fashion-industry consultant Errica Iacopini’s analysis (p. 14), straight from the shows and a European summer, unfurls the great adjustment in a post-isolation fashion world wrestling with conflict, identity, heritage, and sustainability.
Model Max PennyIn stylish conclusion, our fashion spread (p. 20) is not only a feat of beauty but also a miracle of logistics.
A big thank you to fashion director
Sharon Armstrong, photographer Aart Verrips, and the rest of the team for the extra push on this one. We love it in all its light, romantic, understated, sultry, summery charm. That’s what we hope this season will be for you — easy, unrushed, and dreamy.
“The music is louder — and that has only a little bit to do with volume — necklines surrender to gravity, and hemlines move in an opposite direction to the predominant moral compass”
text Gary Cotterell
Introduced in 1969, the Zenith A386 tri-colour chronograph featured the El Primero Calibre 400, the world’s first automatic high-frequency integrated chronograph movement, which has proven its reliability and precision for 53 years. The story of that movement continues in the El Primero Calibre 3600, which was first featured in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie
H Moser & Cie launched its groundbreaking curvaceous all-steel Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Automatic in early 2020. The minimalist sports-luxe timepiece with its cushion shape and integrated bracelet is inspired by stopwatches of the 1960s and 1970s, and the aerodynamic high-speed trains of the 1920s and 1930s. The new 40mm Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack featuring the HMC 804 automatic calibre with flying tourbillon is its first all-gold novelty in the collection. For added impact, it has a Vantablack dial — a super-black carbon nano-coating claimed to be the “world’s darkest material” that absorbs up to 99.965% of light. POR, h-moser.com or Boutique Haute Horlogerie 011 325 4119
de Genève award-winning Zenith Chronomaster Sport last year and now beats at 36 000 vibrations per hour (VpH) — or 5Hz — inside the 2022 Zenith Chronomaster Open.
In 2003, the launch of the first Chronomaster Open brought the regulating heart and escapement of the legendary El Primero movement into view. With its “daring design”, this was the first time that a chronograph featured a partially open dial. Almost 20 years on, the new Chronomaster Open joins the latest-generation Chronomaster collection. Responding to the growing interest from female consumers in mechanical watches and a shift to unisex sizing, the case size now measures 39.5mm rather than the 42mm of the previous model, and takes its cue from the Chronomaster Original. Our featured novelty has an 18kt rose-gold case and matte silver dial, and comes with a blue calfskin-leather strap. Reflecting our new lifestyles and the growth of the luxury sports segment, the Chronometer Open is also available in steel-on-steel with matte-black or silver dials. The case is water resistant to 100m.
Revisiting the distinctive tri-colour dial layout, the facelift refinements include the use of more contemporary grey tones and chamfered edges to the circular openings. A readable small seconds counter at 9 o’clock — no longer entirely cut out — is reintroduced through a hesalite crystal that still allows us to view the escape wheel.
A sapphire case back and the open base plate and bridge design offer a clearer view of the El Primero 3604 1/10th-of-a-second automatic chronograph movement — a modified version of the Calibre 3600. The movement features material and technical upgrades, reduced parts, and improved functionality for the new age. Its automatic winder with an open star-shaped oscillator produces a power reserve of 60 hours.
Resonating with its Horizon initiative to develop ecologically conscious products and services, Zenith also supports entrepreneurship in its collaboration with Nona Source, an online resale platform, producing capsule collections of watch straps made from excess high-fashion textiles as seasonal updates compatible with its Chronomaster collection. Zenith Chronomaster Open gold, R375 000, Zenith Chronomaster Open steel-on-steel, white dial, R185 000, www.zenith-watches.com or Picot & Moss 011 669 0500
IMAGES SUPPLIED
The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF collection represents highend watchmaking at its purest. An elegant 40mm stainless-steel GMT Rattrapante joins the minimalist lineup for 2022, featuring a “Milano Blue” fine barleycorn-guilloché patterned dial with two superimposed hour hands. Through the easy-to-use mechanism of its Calibre PF051 split GMT complication — a world first — a pusher at 8 o’clock shifts the upper hand (local time) by one hour, revealing the hand below (home time). Back on home turf, the pusher on the crown returns the upper hand to its position above the lower hand, just like a split-seconds chronograph. R507 000, parmigiani.com or Picot & Moss 011 669 0500
The design of the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 is informed by the brand’s aviation heritage and “the joy of mechanics”. Beating inside its 39mm titanium case and on display through its sapphire case back is the highly antimagnetic, five-day, in-house Calibre 400 automatic. Its technical styling created through satin and sand-blasted finishes is complemented by the signature serrated bezel, a muscular bracelet, and an oversized crown with guards. You have a choice of three dial colours: grey, blue, or salmon. This fine timing device features stop-seconds, a date window at 6 o’clock, and a remarkable five-day power reserve. Water resistant to 100m. R74 000, oris.ch or bellagiojewellers.co.za
Stephanie Gilmore –Sally Fitzgibbons –Kelly Slater
This refined and feminine fan-shaped design can be seen in each piece in Bulgari’s Divas’ Dream collection. The stunningly beautiful Contraire ring, R69 500, is available in two variations. Seen here is the malachite version featuring 18kt rose gold with pavé diamonds. picotandmoss.co.za
The Cactus de Cartier necklace is a showstopper of a piece in 18kt yellow gold and emeralds, set with 204 brilliant-cut diamonds. Add to a simple monochrome look for some instant jaw-dropping glamour. Available to order and subject to availability. POR. cartier.com
text Suzy Josephson
These Happy Hearts ear clips, R98 500, feature a corolla of five hearts that are arranged around a 0.10ct round-cut diamond to form a graphic white flower. They’re as playful as they are pretty and will add a bit of sixties cool to any evening look. Available to order. bhhboutique.co.za
The LV Volt Down bracelet, R141 000, is a little pink-gold number that’s the perfect addition to one’s warm-weather wardrobe. Pair with a suit, kaftan, or evening dress and ensure that your wrist is always gorgeously accentuated. eu.louisvuitton.com
know what you’re thinking — does one really need another Louis Vuitton bag? We’re making a strong argument for “absolutely”, especially if it’s a Capucines bag from the maison’s latest collection. Named after the location of Louis Vuitton’s first store in Paris, on rue Neuve-desCapucines, this bag is an iconic staple, and its latest iterations shine a light on its timelessness and architectural lines. Fronted by young royal and friend of the house Princess Olympia of Greece, the campaign features new colourways such as the colourblocked Capucines MM, the
for craft and the Italian landscape, fashion brand forte_forte lends its design aesthetic to fragrance house Acqua di Parma to celebrate one of its most iconic scents, Mirto di Panarea. Inspired by Panarea Island and the spring breeze, forte_forte loves Acqua di Parma is truly transportive with its butterflypatterned packaging and fresh-floral profile with notes of Mirto di Panarea, basil, lemon, Calabrian bergamot, jasmine, juniper, amber, and cedar. forte_forte loves Acqua di Parma Mirto di Panarea 100ml, R2 699
Capucines mini, the Capucines BB, and the Capucines Stardust with iridescent, seashelleffect leather. louisvuitton.com
Acclaimed Dutch couturier Iris van Herpen and French lingerie label Aubade have collaborated on a collection that is a dream come true for many fashion lovers. Aptly named Sensory Illusion, the Fall 2022 capsule collection comes in two colour stories, Silk Rose and Golden Leaves. Come December, you will be able to shop the 10-piece collection comprising four brassiere styles, three bottoms, a bodysuit, nightie, and waist cincher, all featuring inclusive sizing that combines Aubade’s unmatched lingerie craftsmanship with Van Herpen’s signature transparency, layered embroidery, and structured lines. Available exclusively from Inner Secrets Lingerie in South Africa. innersecrets.co.za
Hermès’s latest addition to its Terre d’Hermès pillar upends the way you think about fresh scents. Inspired by an icy landscape, Terre d’Hermès Eau Givrée, housed in a frosted, refillable bottle, is energetic and nuanced, so don’t expect the average zesty profile. With notes of citron, juniper berry, and Timut pepper, it jolts the senses. Terre d’Hermès Eau Givrée Refillable 100ml EDP, R2 485; Refill bottle 125ml EDP, R2 380
In collaboration with: TERRE D’HERMÈS EAU GIVRÉE
Errica Iacopini is the founder of Some Other Label, a digital platform featuring creative talent from around the world
GUEST COLUMN.
as TikTok and the launch of endless NFT projects.
Advances in technology have transformed manufacturing, ensuring that sustainability is at the forefront.
The future post-Covid is filled with many “what ifs” and, more importantly, “hows” — how to move forward and how to remain relevant. Brands are having to merge their DNA and heritage with a future asking for more collaboration, gender fluidity, inclusivity, and the pushing of boundaries of what has been socially acceptable until now.
Take, for example, Chloé creative director Gabriela Hearst, who has put sustainability at the heart of her collections, using upcycled fabrics such as tweed, cashmere, and corduroy, or Balenciaga creative director Demna, who opened his FW22/23 with a poem he had written offering social commentary on the Ukrainian plight.
The fashion scene is seeing not one but a gamut of revolutionary changes.
As the European summer came to a bitter-sweet end, September hailed the start of the fashion season — one that saw the catwalk calendar full after two years of Covid restrictions. The fashion world is back to business as usual.
Fashion is a reflection of the reality in which it operates. With the constant state of flux globally amid rising oil prices, inflation, war, and political turmoil, it is no surprise that the fashion world is asking itself what the future will look like.
Past, present, and future have always been important subject matters, and are becoming even more so today as brands deal with an everevolving fashion industry, as well as increasingly sophisticated consumers who are not afraid to make demands of their most beloved brands.
Traditional business strategies have had to change, making way for marketing strategies on apps such
The future has also become more personal for many creative directors of luxury brands post-Covid as they grapple with shifting those brands’ heritage to the present in order to express a new future.
Heritage, however, remains a comforting element for luxury brands, as seen with Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, who paid homage to the roots of the maison with his haute couture collection for Altaroma in July, “The Beginning”, while also launching Valentino Archive, a collection of re-interpreted iconic Valentino looks, true to their past and yet directed towards the future.
Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, continues to play with the past while presenting it in a new light, thereby continuing his evolution of the Gucci brand. His fashion show “Cosmogonie”, which took place in Castel del Monte in Puglia, Italy, testified to Michele’s vision of the world, one prompted by a quote from German philosopher
Walter Benjamin: “It’s not that what is past casts its light on what is present, or what is present its light on what is past; rather, image is that wherein what has been comes together in a flash with the now to form a constellation.” The show brought together aesthetics from distant eras and various geographies while keeping Gucci’s heritage alive.
Emerging designers, whose studies and work experiences have been uprooted by the pandemic, are also asking themselves what the future looks like. After all, it is these young designers who represent the future creative directors, courtiers, and trailblazers of the fashion industry.
Altaroma’s Who Is On Next? contest, in collaboration with Vogue Italia, showcased not only menswear and womenswear but also a series of genderless and sustainable proposals — a staple in today’s fashion platform.
The future of fashion is bridging the distance between cultures — one has only to think of the design conversation between local wunderkind Thebe Magugu and Piccioli for Vogue’s second dress-swop initiative (the first featured Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi and John Galliano for Maison Margiela). Both designers had to re-imagine a garment of the other: Piccioli created a beautiful mantle inspired by Renaissance culture and the figure of the Madonna, while Magugu transformed a ballgown worn by Tracee Ellis Ross for the 2018 Emmy Awards into a piece inspired by a purely African context. The result was two magnificent pieces born from each designer’s personal creative vision. More importantly, the initiative showcased the power of fashion as a form of self-expression and cultural dialogue.
While the future may be scary and jarring at times, fashion has come a long way. Not only does it reflect our present but it also offers a welcome glimpse into a world we may not see yet.
“Gucci’s creative director... continues to play with the past while presenting it in a new light, thereby continuing his evolution of the Gucci brand”
I’m a business journalist, so it probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that there are things I know about fashion, and things I really don’t.
First up, what I don’t know is pretty much all of it: you know, the vogue hemlines of the day, the haute couture, the smarmy commentators’ habit of describing every outfit as “triumphant” even when it appears to have been pulled together after a bitter skirmish with Jose Cuervo.
I had, for years, assumed that an inseam was a term you’d drop at the Wanderers as a sage assessment of Kagiso Rabada’s fast-bowling prowess, and I wasn’t even sure you were allowed to use the word “chic” anymore without qualifying it as “problematic”. In short, I’d assumed fashion was a synonym for what itched
But, as someone who, as a student, was also often the passive recipient of Fashion TV, largely owing to a routine comedy of errors involving a remote control that spent much of the time freeassociating with my neighbours’ set, it is also true that I have witnessed my fair share of ghastly ensembles.
Mercifully, salvation came for me in 2001 thanks to Ben Stiller, who is to fashion what David Attenborough is to nature documentaries. Today, I’m proud to say that much of what I do know of fashion comes from that fantastic documentary Zoolander, which was remarkably prescient in its foreshadowing of tastes to come.
Often derided as nothing more than a vehicle for Stiller’s penetrating “Blue Steel” facial expression (the evolution of his earlier trademark “Ferrari” and “La Tigre”), it made an invaluable contribution to the genre, delving deeply
Zoolander’s take on the world of haute couture was positively prescient
into the unheralded contribution that fashion made to the construction of the modern aesthete.
This philosophical undertaking becomes clear early on in the documentary, when a contemplative Derek Zoolander muses, “Maybe we should be doing something more meaningful with our lives — like helping people.” One of his fellow male models is momentarily perplexed. “Uh... what people?”, he asks, to which Derek replies hotly, “I don’t know — people who need help.”
Then, in one of the more emotionally resonant scenes, hinting at the subtle interplay between male bonding and narcissistic personality disorder, his fellow models set him right: “But, Derek, models do help people — they make them feel good about themselves,” before adding, “We show them how to dress cool, and wear their hair in interesting ways.”
Derek, suitably chastened, shrugs, “I guess so.” Which leads, inseamlessly, to the fateful orange mocha frappuccino petrol fight.
The point is, Zoolander, now 21 years old, was on the money about so much more than just the philosophy of fashion. For a start, impossibly stylish scooters (as driven by Hansel) are now de rigueur in the more fashionable cities, while the onesies so frequently worn by Derek became all the rage in the more shiftless bedrooms of Pietermaritzburg during Covid.
It’s something The Guardian also noticed. In the film, the designer Mugatu
(Will Ferrell) has a clothing collection inspired by homeless people called, fantastically, “Derelicte”. Yet, as The Guardian points out, this innovation was actually gazumped by real-life designer John Galliano who, in 2000, had released a fashion collection for Dior inspired by the homeless.
“Since Zoolander, this trend has only gathered pace. Vivienne Westwood, the moral voice of the people, held a menswear show in January 2010 in which male models dressed like homeless people and pushed shopping trolleys down the Milan runway. Towards the end of his reign at Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs brought out a range of hugely expensive bags explicitly modelled on the cheap plastic shopping bags used most commonly by African immigrants in Paris,” the paper said.
In April, fashion brand Balenciaga attracted vitriol after it released a $1 850 pair of trainers that had been designed to appear as though they’d been fished out of a rubbish tip, to “draw attention to fashion’s role in environmental degradation”, according to the South China Morning Post.
There are other elements of Zoolander that have become commonplace too. Mugato’s hopelessly overbranded and absurdist outfits hinted at what we’re seeing all over the place today (“Logos are so hot right now”) in the vacuous, overtraded world of TikTok, BeReal, and Instagram.
Even our vocabulary has taken a turn for the catwalk.
A decade ago, even the ditsier LinkedIn social climbers would have looked askance at anyone with any aspiration of intellectual credibility suggesting a gettogether to “ideate”, or that a meeting should “circle back” to some braincurdlingly obvious platitude.
It is entirely conceivable to imagine that today, substance-lite marketers would feel no compunction about daring to emulate one of the more majestic advertising payoff lines from Zoolander: “Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.”
Breathlessly audacious in its unselfconscious inanity, this is not an altogether distinct province from 2022’s culture of LinkedIn self-bleating.
Still, there are other Zoolander predictions that are clearly ahead of their time, but still worth keeping an eye on. For example, every half-baked celebrity to have prematurely been platformed on eNCA today has their own “foundation”, “social-justice hangout”, or “centre for kids who can’t read good”.
But, with real estate at such a premium in the most fashionable cities, it is surely only a matter of time before we embrace the space efficiency implied in Zoolander’s futuristic “School for Ants”. Absurd? Sure — but then that’s fashion. If you want something permanent, go for style instead. And don’t get me started on how little I know about that subject.
“Vivienne Westwood, the moral voice of the people, held a menswear show... in which male models dressed like homeless people and pushed shopping trolleys down the Milan runway”
y mom can sew very well, so she used to make my clothes, growing up. She actually still has her Toyota sewing machine, which is older than me,” says Frederica Brooksworth as we start our interview. Toyota? Sewing machines? “Yes! A lot of people don’t know this, but they didn’t start off making cars.”
She’s right. Toyota, the automaker, is an offshoot of a business started by Sakichi Toyoda making automated looms for the textile business. His son Kiichiro would later pivot to automobile manufacturing, creating what would become the Toyota Motor Corporation. It’s an interesting fact to learn from the self-proclaimed fashion “edu-preneur”, whose journey into, and career in, fashion is just as fascinating.
Brooksworth, born to Ghanaian immigrant parents and raised in London, is the founder of the Council for International African Fashion Education (CIAFE). The non-profit organisation is committed to advancing the development and innovation of fashion education and research on the continent and in the diaspora. Its activities include closing the skills gap by offering free short courses, and it is in a partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing to spotlight research by African and diasporic writers in order to stimulate scholarly activity. This is a pivotal step in the pursuit of one of its goals — helping to decolonialise fashion education.
While many still think of a job in fashion as becoming a designer or working in retail, Brooksworth’s journey stands out because of her determination to build a career that addresses the need for empowerment in a sector that has, for a long time, ignored and overlooked the continent and diaspora. The likes of okayafrica.com have listed her as among a “new wave of professionals shaping fashion’s future in Africa”, but this wasn’t something Brooksworth set out to do.
“I thought I would become a hairstylist,” she says. “For starters, I really don’t like sewing. It’s weird that my mommy used to make my clothes, but she did teach me how to do hair, so throughout secondary school I used to do people’s hair.”
It’s not that she wasn’t interested in fashion. She took textiles as a subject at school, but hairdressing was far more interesting to a 12-year-old making £30 a week having turned part of her room in her parents’ home into a salon. She would go on to study hairdressing after graduating from high school, but this was when
Frederica Brooksworth’s foray into fashion educationon the continent and in the diaspora
her latent interest in fashion took hold. “I know this sounds clichéd, but I was reading magazines. I was loving the aspect of it that was about reading rather than [thinking], ‘Oh, my gosh, this person is great, I want to be like them.’ I was curious about how they put these magazines together.”
It was around this time that Brooksworth had a talk with a family friend who was studying fashion marketing and promotion. “When she told me more about it, it was like, ‘Okay, so you’re learning how to take pictures, how to write and promote stuff?’”
The young Brooksworth had not heard of anything of the sort before. She was intrigued. As for most people, fashion to her meant designing and making clothes. With this new information in hand, she thought it might be a good idea to leave hairstyling behind and pursue a career in fashion — one that was not about making clothes but more about “putting things together”, as she puts it.
Soon, a BTech in fashion promotion and marketing followed at what was then the Greenwich Community College (now London South East Colleges). An internship as an assistant at a fashion magazine cemented her interest before she eventually enrolled at the London College of Fashion (LCF). “LCF was an incredible experience,” she says. “What was so pivotal about it is that my course leader was a Black Zambian man.”
It’s because of this that Brooksworth came to realise the importance of representation in education — something that would inform her founding of CIAFE. At LCF she became involved with a department called “Widening Participation”.
“They were focused on getting students whose parents hadn’t gone to university and giving them an opportunity to actually have a fair chance at getting admission.”
It was an important task for someone
who had been the first in her family to get a higher education. “It just opened my eyes to the importance of education, and how people’s lives can be changed through having the right support. Having those amazing experiences early on is what led me to want to pursue a career in fashion education,” she adds.
This desire to contribute through fashion education led Brooksworth back to Ghana. She took a break from her duties lecturing at LCF and other institutions such as the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design to learn about fashion education systems on the continent. Thus began the work to build CIAFE, which now has an office in Accra
in addition to its headquarters in London.
One major outcome of all of this passion and experience is the two-volume Fashion Marketing in Emerging Economies (Palgrave Macmillan) due out later this month, edited by Brooksworth alongside Emmanuel Mogaji and Genevieve Bosah (lecturers at the universities of Greenwich and Hertfordshire, respectively). Her work at CIAFE focuses on education, training, and curriculum development, and these books are an important extension of that, covering a wide range of emerging markets and promoting their recognition as key growth markets for the global fashion industry.
text Sandiso Ngubane
With heated car seats and warmed steering wheels put on ice until next winter, what better way to experience the sunny weather than driving with the top down?
An open-air drive is both an adventure and a mood enhancer. Not only do you experience your surroundings more closely than when you’re stuck inside a cocoon, but the vitamin D boost of sunlight gets all the “feel-good” endorphins flowing and increases production of serotonin and dopamine, which can help put you into a happier frame of mind.
Going topless needn’t break the bank — the BMW 420i Convertible provides sporty elegance and open-air joy for under R1-million. For that you get a perky 135kW of cruising pace and low petrol bills, as this BMW runs on the whiff of a fuel rag at less than 7l/100km.
Best of all, you can share the experience with other people, as the 420i Convertible has room for four.
The electric folding soft top can be opened and closed at driving speeds of up to 50km/h.
Cars don’t come more beautiful than this stunning Japanese four-seater. The glamorous grand tourer goes al fresco in just 15 seconds at the press of a button, and the fabric roof folds down at driving speeds of up to 50km/h.
Soaking up the sun is an opulent experience heightened by beautifully textured cabin materials and high-quality leather. Neck heaters and a transparent wind deflector enhance the driving experience.
A 5l V8 supplies a muscular 351kW with hearty acoustics, as only a normally aspirated engine can. For those who prefer a more muted drive, the top has four layers of fabric to reduce noise.
For old-school elegance with a sporting twist, look no further than the Bentley Continental. The pinnacle model is the Mulliner, from the brand’s personal-commissioning division.
Opulence is laid on thick in the handcrafted interior, with touches such as a brushed-silver Breitling timepiece. If you get tired of listening to the 467kW, 6.0l 12-cylinder engine, you can crank up the 2 200W Naim audio system — either way, you’ll be able to scorch to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and reach a 333km/h top speed.
The Z-fold convertible roof can be deployed or stowed in 19 seconds, while a neck warmer is integrated into the heated and vented seats.
The 296 GTB coupé made history by becoming the first Ferrari-badged road car with a V6 engine instead of an eight- or 12-cylinder power unit.
Paired with an electric motor for a combined output of 610kW, this Italian hybrid hustles the 0-100km/h sprint in just 2.9 seconds, and has a range of 25km of silent, electric-only power.
Now it’s been unveiled as the GTS open-top version, with a lightweight retractable hard top that folds down in a mere 14 seconds at speeds of up to 45km/h. But even more compelling is this convertible Ferrari’s hair-ruffling 330km/h top speed.
Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who is currently the country’s tax ombud, has been a judge for 18 years, 14 of which he spent as judge president. In addition, he chaired the Magistrates Commission and held various other esteemed positions, including that of Vice President of the African Union’s African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
1. What fundamental shifts did you have to make coming in as the tax ombud as a former judge?
The role of a judge is about fairness; that is, justice for all and equality before the law. In that sense, no fundamental shift was needed on my part; indeed, the policy of the Office of the Tax Ombud is “Fairness to All”.
The protection of taxpayers’ rights is the tax ombud’s core role. My job as tax ombud is, however, distinct from that as a judge. For one thing, as tax ombud, I can only make recommendations to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and, unlike court judgments, recommendations are not binding.
Secondly, the procedure in dealing with taxpayers’ complaints against SARS is not as formal as a court process. This makes the resolution of disputes more expeditious.
2. Do South Africans understand their constitutional rights as taxpayers?
Generally speaking, South Africans do not. In fact, taxpayers do not know of their rights, let alone understand them.
The Office of the Tax Ombud has produced the Tax Ombud’s Compilation of Taxpayers’ Rights, Entitlements and Obligations 2022 in order to make people aware of their rights. We have also embarked on several roadshows during which we engage taxpayers or their representatives. We have gone to great lengths to make people aware of the existence of the office and its mandate, including advertisements in the media and on billboards.
This compilation is a convenient collection of taxpayer rights, it is user-friendly, and it is a simplified document that allows quick and easy reference.
Out of the Past — how does it reflect on the current situation in South Africa?
If you look at the country right now, we have serious problems: corruption, rampant crime, lawlessness, unprecedented unemployment, poverty, etc. This is a far cry from the vision we had in 1994. The book argues that this is because we failed to learn valuable lessons (“rich pickings”) from the past... We have abandoned some of our values. It challenges us to revisit those values as the only way to steer the country back to the big vision we had. The sorry state in which the country finds itself is the result of the misuse and theft of taxpayers’ money. While they have an obligation to pay tax, taxpayers also have the right to expect that their money be used prudently.
By ensuring that the taxpayers’ complaints against SARS are taken seriously and resolved, it has made them feel that they are being fairly treated. This helps build a culture of tax compliance.
Our long-term goals revolve around attaining the office’s structural independence from SARS — it is financially dependent on SARS and yet it is supposed to be exercising oversight over SARS. It needs to be established as a legal entity on its own. We all know what the benefits will be in the long run, including enhancing taxpayers’ confidence in the office’s independence and credibility. taxombud.gov.za
Dispatches on all things cool, covetable, and conversation-worthy
Champagne is much more than just lovely bubbles
Some of the best art, films, theatre, and fashion this month
The sun is setting and I’m walking up to the unassuming entrance of the new Plein Street restaurant. There’s little that hints at the experience that lies ahead. The speakeasyesque alleyway leads into a dark, blackmarble-clad dining room where time seems to stand still and a multi-sensorial dining experience comes to life.
This is Dusk restaurant, the latest project by Darren Badenhorst and Callan Austin — two chefs, mentor and mentee, who have worked together for the better part of a decade.
Their new venture offers patrons a dining experience that pays homage to local, sustainable, and consciously sourced produce, showcased through fine technique and a host of well-executed culinary theatrics. The experience begins with a pre-sentation of black and white pill-shaped jellies. We’re told that the
choice we make will influence an aspect of the 11-course tasting menu that lies ahead. While I won’t give away the secret, the Matrix-ish ploy does build up intrigue as each dish arrives and one tries to guess which was inspired by the chosen “pill”. Next, a trio of canapés arrives. The first, a “little corn bite”, is a playful twist on a childhood favourite, here in the shape of a floret and served with an umamirich, creamy boerenkaas catalan and topped with pickled jalapeños and popcorn dust.
It is followed by what surely is one of the most polarising dishes on the menu. It’s called “snails and roe”, and features a black-crusted tartlet filled with delicate snail meat covered with asparagus espuma and topped with pearls of nutty snail roe. It’s a dish of interesting ingredients, textures, and flavour combinations and, while it may not appeal to all palates, it certainly highlights the restaurant’s determination to push boundaries. The last is a brilliant ostrich and mushroom dish that does a fantastic job of showcasing the two main ingredients.
A bread course follows that includes a Japanese milk bun with a garlic-bread twist meant to be slathered with Diablo-coal butter. On its own, the latter is a gloriously smoky virgin butter, but it is overpowered by the equally delicious garlic bread.
Appetites suitably whet, the seafood courses arrive. The first, an oyster dish, is gorgeous in its simplicity, the mollusc gently steamed and served with an amasi dressing and topped with lump-fish roe, chervil, and chives. A vibrant-green spinach agnolotti arrives next, the pasta pocket filled with a deeply flavourful preserved-truffle filling and served with chestnut mushroom, a bisque sabayon, and spring peas, finished with generous shavings of black truffle.
Equally delectable, the sustainably sourced abalone arrives poached in a Japanese master stock with a bold and punchy abalone XO sauce. The tender morsel, accompanied by
the sauce, daikon ribbons, guanciale, bacon sabayon, and white-grapefruit curd, is an excellent study in taste and texture.
A playful palate cleanser — reminiscent of half-time orange slices at a football match — consists of a simple slice of sweet mandarin and a mandarin sorbet, lemongrass curd, and textures of basil.
Mains feature a 14-day dry-aged duck. The protein is beautifully cooked sous vide for two hours before the skin is rendered to a perfect crisp and glazed with a fermented-honey garlic. This is served with a house-made gizzard sausage and a “celebration of carrots”. A sourdough tuile and citrus jus complete this stellar dish. It is perhaps the one that best encapsulates Dusk’s desire to champion local produce, with clever cooking, topnotch ingredients, interesting techniques, and a less-is-more approach to plating coming together in remarkable form. It would be the dish of the evening if it were not for the pre-dessert.
A smoked-filled dome is lifted to reveal a simple-looking dessert that is anything but. The base is an heirloom-squash dauphinoise layered with speculoos spice and treacle sugar, topped with tamarind caramel, toasted-nut praline, mascarpone sorbet, lacto-fermented
plum jam, and paper-thin plum slices. It’s Austin at his best. Dessert is a tonka-bean genoise sur-rounded by a whipped-coconut ganache and filled with a passion-fruit gel. Elegant and clean, it’s perfectly suited to the end of a tasting menu of such magnitude.
The meal closes with a visit to the cellar, where a cognac nightcap is served along with chocolate bonbons. While the sentiment is lovely, perhaps a local equivalent would be more suitable.
While each dish was delicious in its own right, I look forward to seeing Dusk start tying the experience together, finding the golden thread, and telling its story to its full potential, for it is an exceptional addition to Stellenbosch’s dining scene. I have no doubt it’ll only continue going from strength to strength. duskrestaurant.co.za
TRAVEL / text Mark Smyth
monk, introduced wine blending, but it was only in the 18th century that many of the champagne houses we know today really started to appear. Among them were Moët (1743), Clicquot (1772), and Piper-Heidsieck (1785). Now, over 360 million bottles of champagne are made in the region each year. It has also become a popular tourist attraction, which is not surprising given that much of the culture and tradition surrounding champagne can be experienced in one area, even one street.
The Avenue de Champagne was once part of the main route between Paris and Strasbourg. Today, it is home not just
to cellars and famous labels but also to numerous cafes and restaurants — and beautiful architecture. If you like chocolate with your champagne, you can indulge your tastebuds at Le Chocolat d’Emmanuel Briet, which sits at one end of the avenue. The main attraction, though, is the champagne houses dotted along the 1km main road, including Perrier-Jouët, Collard-Picard, Pol Roger, Dom Pérignon, Mercier, Veuve Clicquot, and Moët & Chandon.
At the Museum of Champagne Wine and Regional Archaeology, you can explore the tradition of creating champagne, and just what makes the terroir so special. You can also book a cellar tour to venture below the avenue into the 110km of tunnels that house over 200 million bottles of champagne.
It is rare that one gets the opportunity to stay atthe Château de Saran , and we were very privilegedto do so. The château is the former home of the famous Moët family, who bought the property in 1801 and invited only their most distinguished guests to stay — a tradition thathas continued under the stewardship of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy.
Épernay, in northern France, is one of the most famous places in the world that you’ve probably never heard of. Nestling amid rolling hills, it’s a place of beautiful Renaissance architecture, incredible history, and vineyards that stretch for miles. Situated right in the middle of the Champagne region, Épernay is its heart.
This part of France has been legally protected since 1936 by legislation that sets out the boundaries of the Champagne terroir. There are about 370 champagne houses and 16 000 vineyards within it and the region produces about 9% of the world’s sparkling wines. Épernay is effectively its capital, with many of the famous names in the industry lining the Avenue de Champagne — regarded by some as the most expensive piece of real estate in the world, owing to the vast cellars full of champagne beneath the road itself.
The first wines in the area were grown early in the fifth century, with bubbles being added in the 14th century during the second fermentation, with the term “wine of Champagne” coined over 100 years later, in 1493. In 1668, Dom Pierre Pérignon, a Benedictine
It’s hard to know which time of the year is best to visit Épernay — after all, any time is champagne time. It is beautiful and warm in summer, with the chance to saunter along the Avenue de Champagne or take it all in from a tethered hot-air balloon. There are plenty of summer events, but go later in the year and you can experience the Fascinating Vineyards & Discoveries Weekend in October, or the spectacular Habits de Lumière (“Clothes of Light”), a festival of food, champagne, and parades the first weekend in December. Most of the year the pace of life in Épernay is relaxed — until the grapes ripen in late summer/early autumn. Then, for around two weeks, the roads are filled with tractors and trailers full to the brim with grapes as winemakers rush to get the harvest in.
All of this happens within just a couple of hours’ drive or a train ride from Paris. Fortunately, there are plenty of tours available, so you don’t have to drive too much and can enjoy the thing the region is most famous for — its champagne.
It has recently been refurbished by interior designer Yves deMarseille and landscape architect Peter Wirtz. Situated at the top of a hill and accessed along a winding driveway past manicured lawns and majestic trees, the château takes your breath away. Equally spectacular is theview from the terraces and the balcony of the vendangeoir, a building that houses an elegant dining area, tasting room,and bar where the fabulous voice of South African singer Natalie Nova entertained us.
Inside the château the décor is ornate and sophisticated, with perfectly polished silverware and original artworksAnd the same is true of the rooms themselves, with each suite themed.
Yet, despite the opulence,the château has an air of tranquillity about it, whether you’re sitting in the drawing room or just taking in the view. It’s easy to understand why it has been a subjectof wonderment for those in the town for so long.
The best-selling champagne in France is serving a bottled celebration of spring and summer that tastes as good as it looks. Beautifully packaged in a bottle adorned with the famous cherry blossom, the contents of this Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut Rosé more than follow through, leading to an explosion of red summer fruit on the palate.
Cherry-blossom pink in colour too, this creamy champagne is fresh and vibrant with a touch of floral enchantment — perfect for lunches, picnics, or Japanese cuisine. It retails nationally for about R930 per bottle.
Atlas Swift is the brainchild of a group of passionate, self-confessed wine nerds. The range consists of four chardonnays, each exploring a different origin in the Western Cape. The female warriors on the labels represent these territories, portraying the unique characteristics of the respective terroir and the resulting wine.
If the recently released Atlas Swift Wellington Chardonnay 2020 is anything to go by, this lineup of striking ladies is set to get many tongues wagging and lips smacking. Expect an abundance of tropical-fruit aromas followed by a mediumbodied palate of ripe orange and grapefruit flavours. The balance between fruit, acidity, and oak components is stellar. Price per bottle is R399.
I nspired by the French heritage and travels of Charles Tanqueray, this gin commands attention. Combining juicy blackcurrant with delicate vanilla and hints of black orchid, Tanqueray Blackcurrant Royale Distilled Gin is as fearless as it is flavourful. Available at most major retailers from R299 per bottle.
Pour 50ml
Tanqueray
Blackcurrant
Royale Distilled Gin into a copa glass, add plenty of ice, and mix with 150ml of lemonade. Add a wedge of lemon and a handful of dark berries to garnish.
Y ears in the making, Steenberg’s Lady R Cap Classique 2017 has proven well worth the wait, with a pale copper hue and bold citrus-biscuit nose. The creaminess on the palate is complemented by a refreshing acidity and salinity. Comprising 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay, it’s made in the traditional French method and boasts elegantly fine bubbles that contribute to the overall texture and mouthfeel of the wine.
Available at Steenberg Vineyards and select liquor stores for approximately R432 per bottle.
This limited-release cabernet/merlot blend is as smooth and welcome as a summer breeze. Blackberry, eucalyptus, and cinnamon aromas lead to flavours of cherry, plum, and dark chocolate on the palate, coupled with silky soft tannins. Ideal beside the braai or with slow-cooked beef short ribs. The Winemakers Selection Arco Laarman Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2020 is available online for R100 per bottle at wadebales.co.za.
Roku, meaning “six” in Japanese, incorporates six traditional Japanese botanicals into one expertly crafted gin. Distilled and blended by the artisans of Suntory Spirits in Osaka, each botanical is a celebration of the season it thrives in — from summery sencha and gyokuro teas to the springtime sakura flower and leaf. Sansho pepper adds a unique autumnal flavour, while the peel of the yuzu fruit represents winter.
The result is a complex yet harmonious gin with a silky texture. Roku can be enjoyed on the rocks or in a Japanese G&T (served with ice and slices of fresh ginger). If you’re feeling adventurous, why not try a Roku negroni? Available at most major retailers and select liquor stores for about R299 per bottle.
In winter, oat, mustard, and clover seeds are planted for cover crops to germinate and add nutrition to the soil. Bees, bugs, and birds act as welcome pest control.
021 809 1984
Everything about this range, consisting of four organic wines, is good — from the beautifully illustrated labels that celebrate nature to the quality of the wine inside to the thinking that inspired it.
Sustainability and conservation have long been hallmarks of Spier’s way of doing things. This range celebrates that lengthy journey in the same direction.
Seven years in the making, Spier’s Good Natured wines are grown in certified organic vineyards where the soil has been patiently cultivated to ensure it can produce the very best fruit — free of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers.
Holistically farmed, the grapes that go into each of these wines are grown in a diverse ecosystem of plants, insects, and microorganisms.
Made of grapes sourced from 15- and 25-year-old vines, the chenin blanc has enticing notes of quince, citrus, and peach thanks to high clay concentrations in the decomposed granite soils of the vineyards. The sauvignon blanc has the typical yet refined aromas of this grape variety, including grapefruit, litchi, and elderflower flavours that make for a vibrantly fresh finish.
Both the shiraz and the cabernet sauvignon vineyards grow in the lime-rich Karoo soil of the Olifantsrivier region. The characterful shiraz has a warm depth with notes of mulberry, plum, and sweet spice, ending with a soft finish, while the shiraz/ cabernet sauvignon blend brims with intense dark blackcurrant and mulberry flavours. The velvety tannins lead to a smooth finish.
“I believe the winemaking process should involve as little interference as possible,” says Spier’s organic winemaker Tania Kleintjes. “The less we fiddle with nature, the better the results. When nature is in a good place, so is everything else. Wine included.”
The result of this handsoff approach is a vegan wine range that embodies Spier’s multifaceted regenerative philosophy. And if you thought that was a mouthful, just wait until you taste the wine itself — vibrant and flavourful, each of these wines is a beautiful and honest tribute to its terroir and healthy origins.
While the sauvignon blanc and the shiraz/ cabernet sauvignon blend are available in South Africa, the chenin and shiraz are only available in other markets at present.
To celebrate the arrival of the Good Natured range, the Spier Wine Tasting Room has launched an organic wine tasting.
From 1 September31 October visitors to the farm can enjoy four delicious vegetarian bites paired with four exceptional organic wines.
Spier’s justlaunched range of wines is as good asit is naturedgood-
When the soil is treated exactly the way nature would - adding nothing artificial or unnatural - that’s when vines thrive and y ou can taste the goodness in your glass. Hello, Good Natured. Exceptional new wine by Spier, and it’s organic.
NATURE MADE IT GOOD. We just offered our glass.
Stanislaw Trzebinski’s SOLASTALGIA, Southern Guild Cape Town
Multidisciplinary artist Stanislaw Trzebinski’s fantastical sculptural works often explore our relationship with the natural world. In his current — and second — exhibition at Southern Guild, “Solastalgia”, he ponders the impending ecological collapse and imagines what objects and creations might emerge from this decimated world.
It almost serves as a reminder — and perhaps even a call to action — about climate change, its effects, and the need for society to respond in appropriate ways. Describing the term “Solastalgia”, Trzebinski says: “[It is] a nostalgia for the loss of places that used to give me solace — that made me feel fully human.”
The exhibition features functional sculptures and artworks, including a series of patinated-copper panels with trails of Turing patterns (Trzebinski’s largest single artwork to date).
8 September – 10 November
MONDAY - Friday: 9am-5:30pm
SATURDAY: 10am-2pm
ADDRESS: Southern Guild, Silo 5, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
This season’s SA Fashion Week will, as usual, give celebrated designers a platform to showcase their latest collections and offer buyers and consumers the opportunity to experience these designs. Known for being in the “business of sustainable fashion”, SA Fashion Week has made it its mandate to respond to the urgent global move towards a sustainable fashion ethos and is motivating local brands, retailers, and designers to do the same. YM
The ninth edition of the annual European Film Festival takes place in a hybrid form this year, with both physical screenings and online streaming options available. Here are three of the best picks from this year’s 16-film selection.
Archeoflavus Tripartitus (Turing Coffee Table — Large) & Archeoflavus Pulchellus (Turing Nesting Coffee Table — Small)
Javier Bardem returns to his Spanish roots for this sharply satirical workplace comedy. He plays the charismatic if ruthless owner of an industrial-scale production company in a provincial Spanish town who will do whatever it takes in his pursuit of a much-needed business-excellence award. The result is absurdly laughable chaos. TS
Céline Sciamma follows her award-winning 2019 film Portrait of a Lady on Fire with this seemingly more gentle but equally emotionally effective and deceptively simple tale of two young girls who are drawn together through their shared experiences of grief. It is one of the most touching and true cinematic portrayals of the highs and lows of childhood friendship that you’re likely to see.
Africa,
Waterval City,
Creek
The Market Theatre presents: THE LESSON
The Lesson, first staged in 1951, is a oneact play by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. A new version of the darkly entertaining production by award-winning director Greg Homann will be presented at the Market Theatre, starring Graham Hopkins, Fiona Ramsay, and Lihle Ngubo. The production has been adapted to have a stronger connection with a South African audience, shifting the focus towards unpacking the contemporary complexity of post-colonial education.
9-30 October
TICKETS: R90-R150
ADDRESS: M56 Margaret Mcingana St, Newtown, Johannesburg, BOOKINGS: markettheatre.co.za
Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated, blackly comedic drama completes his Oslo trilogy with wit, empathy, and a healthy dose of cynicism about social conventions. It tells the story of four years in the life of Julie (an exceptional Renate Reinsve) as she navigates life in search of love, career, and meaning on a journey that will ultimately force her to face who she is, warts and all.
VENUES: The Zone, Rosebank The Labia, Cape Town BOOKINGS: eurofilmfest.co.za
Patrick Radden Keefe is riding high following the success of Empire of Pain, his award-win ning investigation into the Sackler family’s opioid villainy. It’s no wonder that his publishers got this book out fast to ride the wave. It’s a riveting collection of portraits he’s written for The New Yorker. Long-form journalism is shrinking rapidly, but the magazine proudly carries on the tradition of lengthy, in-depth, and authorita tive pieces. Here, in these pages, are a German finewine fraudster who replicated centuries-old bottles of wine in his basement and fooled the world’s most sophisticated “noses”; the Mexican drug kingpin El Chapo, a master of escape with seemingly nine lives; and a former croupier who lifted data from a venerable Swiss bank and blew the whistle on cli ents who used the secretive banking laws to evade taxes and launder money. The author trails after a troubled and brilliant Anthony Bourdain before he takes his life, and meets famed defence lawyer Judy Clarke, who takes on the cases of the most mon strous killers — until she meets her match in the Boston Marathon murderer, still on death row. The stories are meticulously reported and penetrating in their insight. (Picador)
READ ALERT.
The Artist’s Way is one of the most consistent bestsellers of all time — rather like the books of Paulo Coelho or Kahlil Gibran. These are books that keep getting dis covered by new generations, and stack on the sales in millions. Julia Cameron wrote The Artist’s Way as a set of notes for her writing stu dents. In it she sets out the path of “discovering and recovering” the creative self. It was she who pioneered the notion of “daily pages — the discipline of writing something, anything, first thing in the morning” and the mantra, “Show up to the page.” The book has influenced countless writers.
It’s fascinating, then, to learn that Cameron was a hip Rolling Stone writer in New York in the 1970s who fell in love with a young Martin Scorsese when she inter viewed him. They married just as his directing career was taking off and had a daughter. The marriage was doomed, though, as Cam eron was, by her own account, a hopeless, fall-down drunk. When Hunter S Thompson and Andy
Warhol tell you that you drink too much, you’ve got a problem. In this autobiography we follow her as she embraces sobriety, writes success fully, and begins to teach. Hers has been a restless, chaotic life with influences of what can be termed California kook. But what a remarkable gift she has left the creative world. (Souvenir Press)
Subtitled A Guide to Stepping Up Your Xhosa Game, this lively book grew out of the author’s socialmedia posts. Drawn to explore her Xhosa heritage after studying over seas, every day Nqandeka would share photos of her mother’s village in the Eastern Cape, of traditional food and its preparation, of people going about their chores, and of the customs they followed. She was surprised at the overwhelmingly positive response to the posts, par
I took out an Apple TV+ sub scription for one show only — Slow Horses. I couldn’t resist seeing Mick Herron’s delirious spy stories brought to life. The “slow horses” of the title refer to a motley band of disgraced MI5 operatives who have messed up in some way. Banished from real spying work, they spend their days in a manky building do ing menial checking and tracking jobs. Their boss is an ex-spy him self, the foul-mouthed and flatulent Jackson Lamb. Of course, the slow horses get caught up in events de spite themselves and the result is a series of wickedly good thrill ers. Bad Actors is the latest: a senior Russian spy has slipped into town, MI5 is scrambling to contain him, and the slow horses are ready to cause their own particular brand of chaos. (John Murray)
ticularly from urban people who felt they had lost touch with their iden tity and heritage. Come December, they’d find themselves visiting the family homestead and displeasing the uncles (ooMalume) with their lack of traditional knowledge and manners. The resulting book sets out to help them up their Xhosa game and impress the elders. Writ ten in Xhosa and English, it is crammed with such lore as bury ing a newborn’s umbilical cord in a certain place in the homestead; the significance of different costumes; the ceremonies that mark life stages; and the traditional foods served in daily life. The book ends with an exhaustive section on clan names and kingdoms. It’s a fascinating his tory and a valuable resource. She is also careful to add a strong feminist element to it, calling for more inclu sion and respect for women in the culture. (Jonathan Ball Publishers)
Hanging out with the good, the troubled, and thecrooked (plus uncles)
The new Fitbit Sense 2 is the company’s most advanced healthfocused smartwatch, with multiple days of battery life. It can help you manage stress and track your heart health with a range of sensors that detect signs of atrial fibrillation through the ECG app. It can also measure heart rate variability, skin
The Sense 2 packs a world first for a commercially available, mass-con sumer device in the form of the new Body Response sensor — the first on-wrist continuous EDA (cEDA) sensor for all-day stress management.
Portable gaming has come a long way since the days of the PSP and Nintendo Wii. There are now far fewer compromises when it comes to gaming on the go, thanks to the Nintendo Switch. But there hasn’t been another hybrid device that’s as versatile — until now. A Valve product, the Steam Deck is closer to a mini portable PC, and offers the unique capability of accessing games from the Steam online store.
To ensure optimum portability and a familiar interface, it has a D-Pad, A B X Y buttons, four as signable grip buttons, two full-size analogue sticks, and left and right analogue triggers and bumpers.
Powering this uniquely pow erful device is an AMD Zen 2 CPU, 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512 GB storage (expandable via SD, SDXC, and SDHC). For a first-generation product, the Steam Deck packs a morethan-adequate 60Hz, 7-inch dis play with 1280 x 800px resolu tion and 16:10 aspect ratio. But its biggest drawcard is the ease with which you can slot it into the dock and play on a larger display — or grab it and head out. From $399, store.steam powered.com
SMARTPHONE
Apple’s new pro-grade iPhone is both everything you know and love about iPhone and a mini rev olution, turning one of the most iconic features of the beloved de vice on its head — on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, the notch has been replaced by
02.
what Apple calls the “Dynamic Island”. The new pill-shaped cut out takes up less space than the notch and has been cleverly inte grated into the phone’s user in terface by allowing notifications to expand from it and disappear into it.
The notch isn’t the only thing that’s received an upgrade, with both the 14 Pro and Pro Max get ting a new 48MP main camera sensor, a new Photonic Engine, Action Mode (for the camera), Emergency SOS via satellite, Crash Detection and an AlwaysOn Display.
In an unexpected move, Apple has announced that all iPhones sold in the US, in the 14 series and above, will be eSIM only, thereby removing the physical SIM card tray from the device. Available in Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple.
iPhone 14 Pro from US$999, iPhone 14 Pro Max from US1099, apple.com
01. The one indulgence you would never forgo? Sleep. A nap is the best energiser, and sleep is a great mental detox. 02. What are your essential potions and lotions? My cabinets are bursting with products that promise to help you hold on longer to youthfulness. Serums and oils are my favourite. I have just fallen in love with saffron-infused everything. 03. What tech gadget couldn’t you live without? My iPhone! It’s my entire life. It represents access and connection. I can run my life and my business on it. 04. What is your drink of choice? Gin and tonic. I love the botanicals, the layered story in its creation, and the many beautiful ways it can be presented. 05. When you eat out, where do you go? I like chef-led restaurants. I am drawn to the love and passion they have for their craft. And I love cultureinspired dishes. Your palate gets to travel the world in your mouth. 06. What elements in your wardrobe signify your individual sense of style? Accessories and great fabric. My sense of style is eclectic with some classics, and I’m not afraid of vibrant colours. 07. What was the last object that you picked up on a shopping expedition that you instantly fell in love with? Fine fabrics and design always get my attention. 08. The last conversation you had that left you gob-
smacked/inspired/enlightened? It was at a dinner party, and someone I hadn’t seen in years left me with a perspective that says, “If you can control the temperature inside your head, you control the weather outside!” A reminder to check the stories in my head… 09. The last place you travelled to that captured your heart? Turkey. It has the rhythm and soul of Africa, European sophistication, and the opulence of the East. 10. What are you reading at the moment?
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak and Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. 11. The last meal that really blew you away? A prawn and calamari risotto at Leeto Restaurant in Paternoster, a year ago. 12. What’s next on your list of must-have items? I collect art locally and on my travels. 13. What is the first thing you add to your grocery cart and the one thing you’ll always find in your fridge? Strawberries and blueberries… 14. Finish the sentence: If it is not art, it can’t move me. 15. The best gift you’ve been given recently? A work by Nelson Makamo, gifted by me, to me. For me, it represents aspiration in creation and the worthiness of our African artists. 16. The most obscure (for you) and delightful piece of music you have heard recently? I love classical music; I try not to miss a live performance. However, “Talk Memory” by BADBADNOTGOOD is up there. 17. A gift that you’ve recently bought for someone? I love to buy gifts for my loved ones when I travel. This lets them know I carry them in my heart. I found the most exquisite kimonos on my last trip. 18. What place inspires and rejuvenates you? Most recently, India. I have had a tumultuous two years, like everyone. I found an ayurvedic retreat a two-hour drive outside Delhi. Their therapies and delicate care and service healed me. 19. The most significant breakthrough in your career this year? The opportunity to travel again. 20. How do you plan your Soul Traveller trips? What are the most important elements? When I plan trips for groups, energy is a key factor in how I curate experiences. Context is key to every experience and storytelling is still the best way to do this. I always first experience what I have curated, so that by the time the group come, they feel like they are visiting an old friend in an unfamiliar place who has local insights, and they can relax. 21. What are your top packing tips? Travel light. I know it’s not easy. I usually travel with a carryon only. And ever-important, make room for shopping! For my guests, I always provide a packing-list guideline for comfort and for any special events that are part of the trip.
The founder of Soul Traveller on a good G&T, naps, (always)and art
them with the perpetual, frosty side-ways And then, I went to the opening of IMAGES MICHELINE BERNARDINI, KEYSTONE/GETTY AND SUPPLIED
scopic metallic mini dresses (oh, to be mindsets some good.
The number of silkworms needed to produce 1kg of mulberry silk, one of the most sought-after luxury fabrics.
The number of Marc Jacobs’s tattoos, including a couch, SpongeBob SquarePants, two South Park characters, and a red M&M.
The year that Comme des Garçons held its first fashion show in Paris, making it the first Japanese brand to show in the French capital.
The maximum length in centimetres of the mini-skirt, as it was defined as a child’s garmentand so avoided a high sales tax.
The mini-skirt was invented by iconic British designer Mary Quant in 1964 — she named it after the Mini car.
The year the bikini was invented. It was subsequently banned in several countries after being declared a sin by the Vatican.
The year the first designer logo — the iconic Lacoste crocodile — appeared on clothing.
The number of T-shirts sold yearly, with 18c of a €29 shirt (0.6%) going to the factory worker.
The percentage drop in the price of clothing since 1992. In the middle of the 20th century, families spent 11.5% of their income on clothing, as compared to the current 3.5%.
The year of the first official Fashion Week, held in New York. Its main purpose was to lure attention away from French fashion houses during World War 2.
The cubic metres of water consumed by the fashion industry each year. It takes about 7.6m3 of water to make a pair of jeans, and 20% of global wastewater comes from textile dying.
The percentage of clothing made by women between the ages of 18 and 24.
The estimated number of trees cut down each year to make fabrics.
