T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

Women’s Fashion March - April, 2014

T Emirates : The New York Times Style Magazine

THE WOMAN ZUHAIR MURAD FROM RUBBLE TO RICHES Phoebe Philo’s Prophetic Fashion

Women’s Fashion March - April 2014

on Designing Glamorous Gowns

The Story of A. Lange Söhne

AED 20

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PAOLO ROVERSI

Women’s Fashion March - April, 2014

Comme des Garçons dress, AED 7,915, shoes, AED 2,479, and shoe cover, AED 1,634.

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Features 76

Phoebe Philo’s Prophetic Fashion

The designer’s quiet, understated clothes for Céline are redefining the notion of power dressing.

Here, what her designs mean to the women who wear them.

Photographs by Karim Sadli.

Styled by Joe McKenna.

By Whitney Vargas.

84 Fashion's Purest Visionary

Rei Kawakubo brings Dover Street Market to New York, and with it, her blood, original retail strategy, in which her Comme des Garçons lines are sold alongside the work of other designers and artists.

By Suzy Menkes.

Photographs by Paolo Roversi.

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

ON THE COVER: Phoebe Philo in a Céline top and her own earrings.

Photographed by Karim Sadli. Styled

by Joe McKenna. Hair by Paul Hanlon. Makeup by Hannah Murray.

Copyright © 2014 The New York Times

In Praise of Hands Exhibition

Design Days Dubai / March 17 - 21 Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard Downtown Dubai

Haute Joaillerie, place Vend么me since 1906

DUBAI: Dubai Mall +971 4 339 8001 - Mall of the Emirates +971 4 347 2487 ABU DHABI: Marina Mall +971 2 681 1121 - Etihad Towers + 971 2 681 1919 The Galleria, Al Maryah Island +971 2 643 2088 www.vancleefarpels.com

Table of Contents

19 Sign of the Times

Instagram has created a new kind of voyeurism — in which you can look into the carefully curated windows of the rich, famous and stylish — and a new kind of lifestyle envy.

22 The Moment

This season there’s a homespun hippie vibe to urban dressing.

28 This and That

Eyelids get the gold treatment; the lowly Teva is ready for its close-up; and more.

32 By the Numbers

The flash and folly of New York Fashion Week.

33 Take Two

Elaine Stritch and Chloë Sevigny consider perfumed oils and rap music while snacking on smoked fish.

Lookout Emirates 42 Le Carré Hermès

For decades the Hermès scarf has been one of the fashion world’s most iconic accessories. Rebecca Anne Proctor meets with Bali Barret, the brand’s creative director of silks, to discuss this highly versatile item, its history and the increasing collaboration with contemporary artists.

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45 Reviving Heritage

No jewelry had been produced by Fabergé since the Russian Revolution, until Katharina Flohr came on board in 2009 as the brand’s creative and managing director.

Rebecca Anne Proctor speaks with Flohr about reinventing Fabergé, and the importance of color.

52 In Pursuit of Perfection

A passion for gemstones and a dedication to craftsmanship and creativity has made Graff Diamonds what it is today. T Emirates speaks with founder Laurence Graff about the brand’s heritage and the recreation of its acclaimed 1970 “Hair & Jewel” piece.

Quality 55 In Fashion

Pleats go street when paired with boxy tops and sporty accessories.

62 Profile in Style

Snapshots from the private life of the artful designer Maria Cornejo.

66 Off the Runway

Metallics, normally reserved for evening, step into the daylight in unexpectedly easy ways.

Quality Emirates 59 On The Red Carpet

He’s one of only a few Middle Eastern fashion designers to form part of the elite circle that shows biannually at Haute Couture Week in Paris, yet Zuhair Murad’s glamorous eveningwear has become popular worldwide for its craftsmanship and mesmerizing elegance. Polly Sweet meets with the designer to discuss his creative impulse, dressing celebrities and his constant quest for satisfaction.

Left: Valentino cape, AED 42,570; (212) 7726969. Christian Wijnants dress, AED 3,342; barneys.com.

Proenza Schouler shoes, AED 4,389; (212) 420-7300. Top: "Brides de Gala Arashi" 90 scarf in silks twill

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ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

Copyright © 2014 The New York Times

FROM TOP: IMAGE COURTESY OF HERMÈS, © STUDIO DES FLEURS, ©ALFREDO PIOLA; ANNEMARIEKE VAN DRIMMELEN.

Lookout

Table of Contents

Arena 69 Listen Up

The soulful songstress Kelela is bridging the gap between cool-kid dance music and old-school R&B.

Arena Emirates

Page 69

71 A Universalist Approach

Top: the singer Kelela in a Louise Goldin dress, AED 5,693; louisegoldin.com. Below: Image of the exterior of Jean Nouvel's design for the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

Page 71

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

FROM TOP: TIERNEY GEARON; ABU DHABI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

For several years Abu Dhabi has been striving to position itself as a world hub for art and culture.

Rebecca Anne Proctor reports on the UAE capital’s artistic expansion and its desire to promote a universalist approach to art appreciation.

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On Liya: Céline coat, AED 11,753, and top, price on request; (212) 535-3703.

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Chief Executive Sandeep Sehgal Associate Publisher Ravi Raman

EDITORIAL Consulting Editor Rebecca Anne Proctor Correspondents Mia Fothergill Fox Cordelia Ditton Gwenda Hughes-Art Richard Thompson-Travel

ART

MARKETING AND SALES

PUBLISHED BY

T, THE STYLE MAGAZINE

Art Director Steven Castelluccia

Assistant General Manager Poonam Chawla

OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

Copyright © 2014 The New York Times

KARIM SADLI

Editor, T International Editions George Gustines

www.fashionforward.ae PHOTOGRAPHY BY TEJAL PATNI

GAIL ALBERT HALABAN, ‘‘OUT MY WINDOW, FLATIRON, CAKES AND BALLOONS,’’ 2009, COURTESY OF EDWYNN HOUK GALLERY.

VIEW FINDER Pre-Instagram, this was the main way New Yorkers spied on the lives of their neighbors. The artist Gail Albert Halaban shot this from a nearby apartment window.

Sign of the Times

Where the Grass Looks Greener Instagram has created a new kind of voyeurism — in which you can look into the carefully curated windows of the rich, famous and stylish — and a new kind of lifestyle envy.

BY SARAH NICOLE PRICKETT

‘‘THE DEPARTMENT STORE is the last promenade for the flâneur,’’

wrote Walter Benjamin, the German critic, whose impossible project — ‘‘The Arcades Project,’’ more precisely — documented street life in Paris after the Industrial Revolution. He wrote of gleaming wants, windows gazing back at him, shoppers and wanderers alike becoming reflections of their desires. ‘‘The crowd,’’ he wrote, ‘‘is the veil through which the familiar city beckons to the flâneur as phantasmagoria — as a landscape, now as a room.

Both become elements of the department store, which makes use of flâneurie itself to sell goods.’’

This flâneuring took place when Paris was the capital of the 19th century. Its arcades — high iron-and-glass arches sheltering

individual blocks lined with shops — numbered over 300 (under 30, now). Manhattan, capital of the 20th, replaced arcades with department stores and made spectator art of window displays.

What is the new Paris, the new Manhattan, the arcade in the age of digital reproduction? It is Instagram: the app built to make you covet your neighbor’s life.

Only now your own personal Joneses are hundreds of miles away in L.A., or on the Greek island of Patmos, or in Milan. Doesn’t matter — all it takes is two clicks for today’s flâneurs, renamed ‘‘followers,’’ to float onto Margherita Missoni’s balcony. That is, a small and square and semipermanent display of Margherita Missoni’s balcony that makes you wonder if an antique rocking

March–April, 2014

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Lookout

Sign of the Times

Belongings being so easily conflated with belonging, Instagram induces a longing to be on a scene, the scene, the next one, a better one.

WISH YOU WERE HERE Clockwise from top left: Instagram images of Claridge’s, London, by Jessica Diehl; a private home in Gloustershire by Amanda Brooks; a Parisian composition

by Laura Bailey; a Manhattan selfportrait by Stephanie LaCava; spectators’ shoes at the Giambattista Valli show in Paris by Lisa Marie Fernandez; and a pool in Puglia, Italy, by Rafael de Cárdenas.

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horse isn’t the outdoor seating solution you’ve been waiting for, although you do not have a balcony, or even a patio, and cannot in fact remember the last time you were outdoors.

If Twitter is the street, Facebook the suburban-sprawl mall, and Pinterest some kind of mail-order catalog, Instagram is the manywindowed splendor of a younger Bergdorf’s, showing all we possess or wish for, under squares of filtered glass, each photographic pane backlit 24/7. Each pane is, or intimates, an entire landscape or room.

Follow enough of the international lifestyle-setters, and you’ll see: women’s fashion, men’s fashion, home or apartment décor, beautiful food, art, color-coordinated books and magazines. Of course, the tags for these old categories are updated: #birthdaylove for a manybraceleted hand holding a pink Nat Sherman; #nodiets for an aerial view of Ibérico ham on a plate.

All elements must be carefully staged to look happenstance. Only the crassest Instagrammer snaps a new pair of shoes in a box, or plainly on a floor. The cannier, cinematic one will instead make a display of the shoes, arranging her feet on a shabby-chic desk next to a Grolsch bottle of daisies atop a stack of French translations.

The writer Stephanie LaCava snaps her snakeskin Pradas opposite Audrey Gelman’s funny bunny slippers at Paris Fashion Week. A few cobblestoned streets away, the swimwear designer Lisa Marie Fernandez shows off her white Manolo Blahniks next to her friend’s yellow pair of Gianvito Rossis. Such Instagrams are mimetic: the contents, the casually rarefied setting, the off-kilter composition.

What each says is not ‘‘this is a good shoe’’ or ‘‘these shoes look good on me,’’ but ‘‘these shoes look good in my life,’’ which is what Benjamin meant when he said goods are sold by flâneurie.

T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

What feels new with Instagram is the mode of photography that feels most akin to the window display. Rafael de Cárdenas, the architect, shows off Biarritz by way of melons and Marlboros on a snowy white cloth. Jessica Diehl, Vanity Fair’s style and fashion director, snaps her stay in Claridge’s, the five-star hotel in London.

The model-slash-writer Laura Bailey comes home from a trip with — she writes — ‘‘Paris in my bag’’: a strand of Chanel pearls, a Chanel stylo eyeliner, a black diamanté hairpin and a handwritten note, all displayed too well and too brightly to make anyone believe these items have ever seen the inside of a clutch.

These are technically still lifes, but in spirit they are actually the new self-portraiture. It isn’t strange to say, or to hear, from an acquaintance run into on the street, ‘‘I recognized you’’ — not by your face or your body, but by your ‘‘style.’’ Meaning: a hand with carmine nails holding a copy of Anne Carson’s ‘‘Red Doc.’’ A pair of Illestevas resting on the edge of a Café Gitane plate, beneath it a new issue of The Journal. ‘‘The arrangement was the meaning,’’ Joan Didion writes in ‘‘Blue Nights.’’ The same is as true of objects as of words, and the small compositions of personal belongings so recognizable as ‘‘Instagram’’ are, simply, selfies without a face.

Similar compositions can also represent others. One of my favorite recent Instagrams, by the Los Angeles artist David Kitz, is of bandages, Motrin and other supplies for an injury from CVS, all heaped together on a plain white bedspread; the tag is #anklesprain, the caption is ‘‘Got the best girl in the world,’’ and the heart melts. This is my kind of lifestyle envy. For the more aspirational, there is Amanda Brooks, the American socialite who now lives in Oxfordshire, England, with two kids and a million horses. In lieu of a family portrait, Brooks will Instagram four pairs of kayaking sandals on a dock. Instead of photographing her scads of friends, she ’grams a plate heaped high with packets of quince paste, which she has made to give as gifts. In the comments, a stranger asks her for the recipe.

Belongings being so easily conflated with belonging, Instagram induces a longing to be on a scene, the scene, the next one, a better one. Some hours you can scroll without end as a long block of squares lights up in unison, every frame swinging open to a new angle on the same scene: the same Jay Z performance at Pace Gallery in Chelsea, the same Delfina Delettrez presentation in Paris, the same Ken Okiishi paint-balling robots at the Frieze Art Fair in London. ‘‘There it was,’’ says the kid in the Willa Cather story ‘‘Paul’s Case,’’ looking up at a wonderland of glowing panes, ‘‘what he wanted — tangibly before him, like the fairy world of a Christmas pantomime.’’ Close observers of Instagram may have noticed the recent rise of a conscious-or-not homage to Walter Benjamin, a snap of the modern flâneur: taken alone on the street, while looking through a store window — the most reflexive of surfaces — at oneself.

Lookout The Moment

Back to the Land There’s a handcrafted earthiness to urban dressing this season.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNEMARIEKE VAN DRIMMELEN STYLED BY JASON RIDER

An exotic scarf Denis Colomb scarf, AED 2,369; Santa Fe Dry Goods, (505) 983-8142.

Derek Lam scarf (worn underneath), AED 1,799; (212) 493-4454.

Dries Van Noten vest, AED 4,279; barneys.com. Chloé top, AED 4,022; (212) 717-8220.

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

An organic neckline Altuzarra in collaboration with Giles & Brother necklace, price on request; altuzarra.com. Donna Karan New York top, AED 4,757; donnakaran.com. Organic

by John Patrick slip, AED 441; organicbyjohnpatrick.com.

The Row skirt, AED 60,607; D’NA, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 011-966-11-419-9966.

March–April, 2014

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Lookout

The Moment

A makeshift belt Etro coat, AED 5,969; (212) 317-9096. Orciani belt, AED 642; saksfifthavenue.com.

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

A stacked wrist From top: Alexander McQueen bracelets, from AED 1,084; (212) 645-1797.

Proenza Schouler bracelet, AED 1,818; (212) 585-3200. Chloé bracelet, AED 1,837. Michael Kors dress, AED 5,491 and sweater (tied around torso), AED 4,389; michaelkors.com. Dries Van Noten top (worn underneath), AED 1,396; A’maree’s, (949) 642-4423.

March–April, 2014

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The Moment

MODEL: MAJA SALAMON/NEXT. HAIR BY SHIN ARIMA USING REDKEN FOR FRANK REPS. MAKEUP BY ASAMI TAGUCHI USING CHANEL BEAUTÉ FOR FRANK REPS. MANICURE BY RIEKO OKUSA FOR CHANEL. STYLIST’S ASSISTANT: ALEX TUDELA.

Lookout

A tapestry carryall Dries Van Noten bag, AED 10,726; A’maree’s. Hermès jacket, AED 15,887, and pants, AED 8,448; hermes.com. Trademark shoes, AED 826; trade-mark.com.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

@designdaysdubai

@designdaysdubai

GALLERIES AARC (Algiers), Art Factum Gallery (Beirut), Authentique Art & Design (Dubai), Carpenters Workshop Gallery (London/Paris), Carwan Gallery (Beirut), Clear Edition & Gallery (Tokyo), Coalesce Design Studio (Karachi), +Coletivo Amor de Madre (Sao Paulo), Crafts Council (London), _Croft (Seoul), Erastudio Apartment Design Gallery (Milan), The Fabrick Lab (Hong Kong/ China), FN Designs (Dubai), Galerie Judy Straten (Horst), Galerie Yves Gastou (Paris), Hybrid Art Management (Budapest), Industry Gallery (Washington DC/Los Angeles), J+A Gallery (Dubai), La Galerie Nationale (Dubai), Nakkash Gallery (Dubai), Naqsh Design House (Amman), Sabrina Landini Creations (Pietrasanta), ShowMe Design & Art Gallery (Braga), Southern Guild (Wilderness), Stilwerk Limited Edition Design Gallery (Hamburg), Tashkeel (Dubai), VCUQatar (Doha), Victor Hunt Designart Dealer (Brussels), Wiener Silber Manufactur (Vienna) DISCOVER Gallery S. Bensimon (Paris), Galerie Gosserez (Paris), NextLevel Galerie (Paris), Ymer&Malta (Paris) BESPOKE DESIGN Bin么me (Saint Pierre le Mo没tier), Iwan Maktabi (Lebanon), Shamsa Alabbar (UAE), Squad Design (Lebanon) SPECIAL INSTALLATIONS Tom Price, Michael Anastassiades, Elaine Ng Yan Ling, ECAL, Giles Miller, Fatema bint Mohammed bin Zayed Initiative, Guillaume Cr茅doz and Nareg Karaoghlanian

Lookout

This and That A Cultural Compendium

FACE TIME

Golden Eyes

From a faint sheen to a strong metallic, fashion’s top makeup artists got glowing this season. Here’s how to lay on the shine.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY KONSTANTIN KAKANIAS

Diane Kendal lined the eye socket with a black liner, filling in the lid with a camel shadow and finishing with a thin layer of glitter.

Lancôme Color Design Eye Brightening All–in– One 5 Shadow & Liner Palette in Bronze Amour, AED 184; lancome–usa.com.

Clockwise from right: Brick Pastel dhurrie, starting from about AED 2,571; Oyyo’s founders, Lina Zedig and Marcus Ahren; vegetable–dyed Bastian dhurrie, starting from AED 6,502.

Pat McGrath applied a copper shadow to the perimeter of the eye, flaring it out at the corners. Estée Lauder Pure Color Stay–on Shadow Paint in Cosmic, AED 88; esteelauder.com.

Peter Philips dusted the lid with a shimmery shadow, adding sparkle by gluing short threads of fine metallic cord to lashes. For a more practical look, Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Shocking in Bronze Black (#3), AED 110; yslbeautyus.com.

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To create a futuristic effect, McGrath coated the upper and lower lids — as well as the brow — with a strong application of gold shadow. Diorshow Fusion Mono in Météore (#661), AED 110; dior.com.

T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

Lina Zedig and Marcus Ahren, the founders of the Stockholm– based design studio Oyyo, have introduced a line of cotton dhurries that stands apart from the ubiquitous stripes and chevrons of flat–weave designs. With their soft pastels and spare patterns, these rugs have a definite Nordic accent, recalling the textiles of the Swedish designer Marta Maas–Fjetterstrom, but a closer look reveals more diverse influences — everything from the Bauhaus textiles of Gunta Stölzl to the tree markings of itinerant laborers in the 1940s. oyyo.se — TOM DELAVAN

DAVID MAGNUSSON (3)

Magic Carpets

ON THE VERGE

A Star Is Born

JACQUEMUS: BERTRAND LE PLUARD (3). SANDALS, FROM LEFT: MARKO METZINGER (2); MARNI; BALENCIAGA; MARKO METZINGER (2).

The French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus is storming Paris with his superclean designs and rowdy runway shows.

IT’S UNCOMPLICATED Clockwise from top center: Simon Porte Jacquemus; two looks from the minimalist designer’s spring collection.

Simon Porte Jacquemus freely admits that he’s no couturier — the French women’s wear designer lasted just two months at fashion school. In 2010, after quitting a creative director’s assistant job in similar haste, he launched his own line out of his apartment, often sketching ideas while riding the Métro. Yet since debuting his first collection in the spring of 2013, the clothes have stood out.

Now, some of Paris’s coolest girls are wearing the 25–year–old’s clothes, including the model Caroline de Maigret, the stylist Ursina Gysi and the fashion blogger Jeanne Damas, and he’s

selling at many of the world’s most sought–after stores, such as Dover Street Market and Opening Ceremony.

His subversive fashion–week happenings have also been reinvigorating the Paris scene. Last fall’s presentation was staged at a public swimming pool, where plastic foot– bags were dispensed so that editors wouldn’t sully their shoes. His rave– like spring 2014 show drew what felt like a flash mob to a basement video arcade on the Boulevard des Italiens.

Spring’s curvilinear shapes were inspired by the space–age architecture

of La Grande–Motte, the midcentury beach resort near Jacquemus’s childhood home in the South of France.

His crisp, age–old fabrics — unwashed twill, mosquito netting — feel new amid the current vogue for digital prints and high–tech textures. ‘‘In the craziness of fashion, a strong look is something that’s not just simple, but ultrasimple,’’ he says. ‘‘Simple is a white T–shirt and blue jeans. Ultrasimple is something without details, a girl in an all–white cotton look. To me, that’s powerful.’’ jacquemus.com — EVIANA HARTMAN

FASHION MEMO

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2 4

3 1

From Runyon to the Runway

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Fashion has already appropriated the Birkenstock and the Bermuda short. Now the maligned Teva feels the love.

1. Teva sandals, AED 147; teva.com. 2. Prada sandals, price on request; prada.com. 3. Marni sandals, AED 3,049; (212) 343-3912. 4. Balenciaga sandals, AED 2,847; neimanmarcus.com. 5. Agyness Deyn for Dr. Martens sandals, AED 588; drmartens.com. 6. Marc Jacobs sandals, AED 11,398; (212) 343-1490.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

March–April, 2014

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Lookout

This and That 4 THE FIND 6

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3

Studio Services After achieving success on the West Coast as one half of the furniture design duo Meier/Ferrer, Charlie Ferrer has branched out on his own and opened a meticulously curated Manhattan showroom that also doubles as his one–bedroom apartment. The 32–year–old has pooled pieces by a number of behind–the– scenes talents, like the sought–after industrial designer Billy Cotton and the lighting expert Kacper Dolatowski, both of whose work had only been available to decorators seeking custom commissions. The handmade designs Ferrer displays, in a range of materials from brass to oak to plaster, feel classic yet current. ‘‘I don’t like to call it a showroom, which feels static,’’ Ferrer says. ‘‘It’s really more of a studio, an active place where artists refine, resolve and share their ideas.’’ ferrer.co

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2

A CLEAN, WELL–LIGHTED PLACE (1) Kacper Dolatowski’s plaster torchiere lamp, AED 20,203.

(2) Billy Cotton’s parchment console, AED 69,056. (3) Matthias Merkel Hess’s glazed ceramic ‘‘White Bucket, Small,’’ AED 2,204. (4) Jed Ochmanek’s concrete artwork, AED 7,713. (5) Maren Kloppmann’s black–and–white porcelain vessel, AED 15,427. (6) Robert Stilin’s brass sconce, AED 11,019. (7) Cotton’s Elements table, AED 142,520, and (8) Cotton’s Antwerp cabinet, AED 102,849, exclusively through Ferrer.

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— SARA RUFFIN COSTELLO

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FERRER: JOSHUA M C HUGH (3). ILLUSTRATIONS BY KONSTANTIN KAKANIAS.

SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Tying the Knot Spring’s runway proved — surprise, surprise — that there’s more than one way to wear a sweater.

Knotted loose and low around the hips, a graphic knit becomes a butt–flattering train.

Worn backwards around the waist, this nonchalant bad–girl look is the sartorial equivalent of smoking in the bathroom.

Preppy or Maasai? Either way, an asymmetrically tied knit serves up a fresh twist on the tennis ensemble.

The Houdini of fashion, a sweater cinched high on the waist creates the illusion of a slimmer figure and longer legs.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

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Men's Fashion November - December, 2013

T Emirates : The New York Times Style Magazine

SHEER FORCE LADY BIKERS DUBAI FANTASY JOURNEY

THE

OF JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

ON THE ROAD WITH THE UAE’S

Men’s Fashion Fall 2013

NICHOLAS KIRKWOOD’S A

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Women’s Fashion September - October, 2013

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Women’s Fashion September - October, 2013

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MODERN GIRLS

The Contradictory Rooney Mara Victoria Beckham’s Extreme Ambition & Meet The UAE’s Fashion Royalty Dubai’s Most Stylish Women Talk Fashion

Travel May - June, 2013

The New York Times Style Magazine

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Tod’s Diego Della Valle on All Things Italian Camel Leather Races to Luxury Do Some Seoul Searching This Summer Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi Talks Passion

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Lookout By the Numbers

Temporary Insanity

Approximate number of runway shows and presentations

For eight days in February and then again in September, more than 100,000 characters descend on New York City for the women’s fashion shows. Traffic grinds to a halt. Requests on Uber, the luxury car–service app, spike 40 percent. It’s harder to get a seat at certain restaurants, like Carbone or NoMad, than it is a front–row perch at Marc Jacobs. And there are enough crazed street–style peacocks clomping around and #NYFW selfies getting snapped to make the whole scene feel like some endless Kardashian nightmare. But it’s also serious business. The shows bring in an estimated $860 million for the city, more than the projected earnings of the U.S. Open, the New York City Marathon or the Super Bowl. Not bad for an event that began in 1941, when the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union invited 30 journalists to attend a few designers’ showrooms.

Here, a brief look into the harrowing and often hysterical week that kicks off every new fashion season. — ALEX HAWGOOD

ONE square foot

25 years

The breakdown of models present on the fall 2013 runway (according to research conducted by jezebel.com)

AVERAGE LENGTH OF A SHOW

Amount of time people spent watching the spring 2014 shows on the Internet

$1 million

Amount of space per photographer in the pit during a show

83% White 9% Asian 6% Black 2% Latina

10

minutes

$100,000 — Beyoncé $60,000 ­— Julianne Moore $2,000 — Iggy Azalea Approximate celebrity front-row payment

Cost of renting a tent at Lincoln Center

$60,000 (seats 1,100)

NUMBER OF SPRING 2014 SHOWS WALKED BY JOSEPHINE LE TUTOUR, NYFW’S BUSIEST MODEL

2,100

Number of registered journalists

International Fashion Week hashtag impacts on Instagram:

641,935 – #nyfw 292,658 – #pfw 187,296 – #mfw 32

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Zelda Kaplan

NEW YORK SOCIALITE AND NIGHTLIFE HABITUÉ WHO DIED AT NYFW IN 2012 AT THE AGE OF 95, AFTER COLLAPSING IN HER FRONT–ROW SEAT

‘‘When I’m sitting with Anna, I’m really sitting with Anna / Ain’t a metaphor punchline, I’m really sitting with Anna / Front row at Oscar de la Renta, posture.’’

Nicki Minaj, from her song ‘‘Come on a Cone.’’

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NICHOLAS ROBERTS/AFP IMAGEFORUM; MARK RALSTON/AFP IMAGEFORUM; MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP IMAGEFORUM; ANDREW COWIE/AFP IMAGEFORUM; JOE KLAMAR/AFP IMAGEFORUM; ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP IMAGEFORUM.

Amount Marc Jacobs has spent on a runway show

Take Two

A dual review of what’s new.

Chloë Sevigny

Elaine Stritch

Oscar–nominated actress and perennial downtown It Girl who will next be seen in March playing a detective on the A&E crime drama ‘‘Those Who Kill.’’

Emmy– and Tony award–winning performer whose cabaret at the Carlyle Hotel, where she once lived, is a New York legend.

The documentary ‘‘Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me’’ will be released by Sundance Selects this month.

FROM TOP: SEVIGNY: AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY; STRITCH: AFP PHOTO/SAUL LOEB; COURTESY OF MAD DECENT; COURTESY PHAIDON PRESS; COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN DIOR PARFUMS; COURTESY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN; JUAN C. LOPEZ ESPANTALEON/ZABAR’S AND COMPANY INC.

I’d never heard his music. I was actually kind of surprised that it had this old–school feel to it. I haven’t bought a hip–hop record since the first Wu–Tang. I’m not so into the ‘‘bitches and hos’’ of modern party rap.

Music The rapper Riff Raff’s forthcoming album, ‘‘Neon Icon‘‘ (maddecent.com).

Cindy is one of my favorite artists, and most of her greatest hits are in here.

I’ve always found it fascinating how styled her photos are, but you see her in person and she doesn’t seem like a Marina Abramovic, who’s always in head–to–toe Givenchy.

The oils remind me of the ones I buy from the guys selling patchouli on St. Mark’s. I couldn’t see how these were so much nicer. Still, I’ve found myself wearing them every day.

Book ’’Cindy Sherman,‘‘ a primer on the New York photographer (AED 84; phaidon.com).

Fragrance Christian Dior’s Les Élixirs Précieux oils, meant to be paired with a perfume from the house’s La Collection Privée (AED 1,102; Bergdorf Goodman, 800-558-1855).

It’s definitely exotic. Right now, I’m really into bows. I saw a girl the other night with a big one on, and she told me she got it at Forever 21. I’ve tried to never step foot in that store, but this might be my breaking point.

Helmet Alexander McQueen’s gold cloche (AED 26,354; 212-645-1797).

Breakfast Being an actress, a dozen bagels doesn’t really work for me. But I tried all of the fish, and I’ve got to say, it was comparable to the smoked salmon I’d get at the Ritz in Paris.

Zabar’s Smoked Fish Kit, which includes three types of salmon, 12 bagels and cream cheese (AED 642; zabars.com).

I just caught up with Elton John’s music, so I’m not ready for this. Elton is not just my favorite artist, but also my favorite human being of all time. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he adores me, honestly.

It’s a marvelous book, don’t you think?

Cindy Sherman is terrific. She’s a really spooky woman. I personally love Picasso, but it’s impossible to have the real thing, and not the 189th reproduction.

I love this because it’s fresh and light, and it doesn’t smack you. I went to this dinner party once, and a woman’s fragrance was so heavy that three guys went home, and we hadn’t even gotten to the main course.

I’ve got enough problems in my head without that helmet hanging on me. Hair is a woman’s crowning glory, and I’m not covering mine up with anything unless it’s a beautiful hat with a few curls coming out the side.

The fish, the bagels and the gorgeous cream cheese with onion chopped through it — oh, it was divine!

You know, when you’re not looking I’m Jewish. I’d just call up Zabar’s and tell them to charge it to the Carlyle.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

March–April, 2014

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The Luxe List

From Oud perfume to exclusive crocodile bags, here is our selection of this season’s luxury items.

Cartier’s Odyssey Serving once again as one of the main sponsors of Art Dubai, this year Cartier and the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain will put on an exhibition consisting of an imaginative display of the Maison’s renowned L’Odyssée de Cartier collection. This is inspired by cultural elements from around the world with a special focus on traditional designs from the Far East, Africa and China. In addition, the exhibition will feature “Maman Isek Mabo Bendele”, a work by African artist Bodys Isek Kingelez, created in 2000 after his first exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in 1995. The piece takes the form of a colorful installation made from cardboard and fragile materials featuring various skyscrapers in an imaginary urban space. The exhibition is unique for the Maison in that it juxtaposes stunning pieces of jewelry from the L’Odysée de Cartier collection alongside a work of contemporary art that exudes the geometric lines and movement of the modern world.

Art Dubai takes place from March 19 to 22 in Madinat Jumeirah. For more information visit www.artdubai.ae

Slim Teller of Time During the recent Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), Piaget launched the Altiplano 38–mm 900P, the world’s thinnest mechanical watch. The timepiece merges the hand–wound caliber with the case elements and is designed as a single entity in order to obtain its record–breaking slenderness at 3.65 millimeters. This sophisticated watch combines the Maison’s technological prowess with its cutting–edge artistry — elements that have made it one of the most popular names in watchmaking over the past century.

Available at the Piaget Boutique in The Dubai Mall. Price available upon request.

Driving Shoes One of the highlights of Lacoste’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection are the stunning Riviera-inspired soft leather Concours driving shoes. Exuding comfort and flexibility, these women’s shoes are made with soft suede upper leather and the classic driving shoe sole.

Available at the Lacoste boutique in The Dubai Mall. Price available upon request.

Loewe Anagram Belt Elegant and chic, Loewe’s anagram belt comes in chocolate brown colored ostrich leather. The belt is three centimeters wide and is fastened by a golden buckle in the shape of Loewe’s iconic logo. Perfect for daytime errands or a casual evening out, this staple accessory item makes for a fine centerpiece to circle around trousers.

Available at the Loewe boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Price available upon request.

Cruciani’s Crocodile Bag Italian brand Cruciani has launched a set of crocodile–skin shoulder bags created exclusively for the Middle East. They incorporate ostrich, Saffiano leather and crocodile skin that are beautifully crafted into elegant bags in three sizes as well as small clutches and wallets. The shoulder bag features gold–plated brass, a detail that gives the accessories an extra touch of elegance. The bags are available in brown, forest green, orange, red, china blue, baby pink, fuchsia, purple, anthracite, beige, cream and black.

Available at the Cruciani boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Prices available upon request.

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Oud Assoluto

Lost Walls by eL Seed This month will see the launch of French/Tunisian calligraffiti artist eL Seed’s first book. The hardcover volume documents his four–week road trip around Tunisia last summer during which he painted 24 walls in total. eL Seed hopes that the book will show the world another side of Tunisia at a time when negative reactions to the revolution have drawn the public away from Tunisia’s rich heritage. His elegant tome has been produced with the support of renowned art collector and philanthropist Jeffrey Deitch, who will be present in Dubai for the book’s pre–launch during an art talk discussing the future of calligraffiti as an art form.

The book will pre–launch exclusively in Dubai on March 21 during Art Dubai before its international launch in April.

The Couture Bag

Captivating mystery is conveyed through the dark, brooding Oud Assoluto fragrance recently launched by Valentino.

Notes of orange blossom meet cardamom, Bulgarian rose and leather blended with saffron, vanilla and dried oud wood to merge into an enchanting spiced Italian–influenced Arabian oud fragrance. The black– and–gold bottle denotes the richness and glamour of the fragrance within.

The fragrance is available at Sephora and Faces, AED 550.

Pucci Kaftans Presenting the brand’s timeless kaleidoscope of colorful prints and cutting–edge designs, for Emilio Pucci’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection Creative Director Peter Dundas has concocted a range of vibrantly–patterned kaftans perfect for a day at the beach.

These elgenat ankle–length accoutrements combine exotic Masai–style prints with sheer silk and cotton to give an oriental feel to traditional beachwear.

Available at the Emilio Pucci boutique ins The Dubai Mall and The Galleria on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. Prices available upon request.

This highly–embellished and ornate bag offers an imaginative variation on the iconic Tod’s Sella Bag. Taking its inspiration from a dressage saddle, it is fashioned from a strip of fine leather and elegantly curved, like a saddle, as well as reflecting the beautiful line of the back of a thoroughbred. Other elements that take their inspiration from horse riding are found in the bag’s metal details, which reference bridles with their joints and brass rings. The highly intricate detailing of this tote makes it a work of superb couture creation.

Available at the Tod’s Boutique at Mall of the Emirates and BurJuman, AED 51,190.

Spring Sandals Ideal for the sophisticated and culturally–vibrant woman who is constantly on the run from one destination to the next, Santoni’s double buckle sandal in crocodile is hand–colored and polished in tones of jeans blue.

Part of the brand’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection, these high–heeled sandals reflect a timeless style ideal for a refined getaway.

Available at Rodeo Drive Boutiques, AED 5,845.

March–April, 2014

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In Praise of Hands INTELLIGENT AND SENSITIVE, the human hand is a limb of action. It is used to express emotions and perform practical everyday functions, and it is a creator of beauty. In his 1934 essay In Praise of Hands French art historian Henri Focillon wrote: “Art is made with hands — they are a means of action, but first and foremost an organ of knowledge.” As the luxury sponsor and partner of Design Days Dubai for the third consecutive year, Van Cleef & Arpels will present an exhibition on the art of high jewelry that pays homage to the expert hands of the Maison’s master craftsmen: les Mains d’Or™ (“the Golden Hands”).

In tandem with a book of the same name by Franco Cologni, the In Praise of Hands exhibition will pay tribute to the artistry that goes into creating a piece of high jewelry by explaining each of the distinct skills needed through evocative black-and-white photographs by Francesco Cito. Celebrated will be the skilled hands that have dedicated countless hours of their ancestral expertise to transforming ordinary objects into the Maison’s precious high jewelry creations.

The craftsmanship of the Maison will also be highlighted during the exhibition by a display of spectacular high jewelry creations reflecting Van Cleef & Arpels’ creativity and excellence in

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jewelry design. It will also unveil the finer points of the “Mystery Setting,” one of the Maison’s emblematic techniques. During the opening hours of the exhibition the Maison will hold Experience the Art of Mock-up Making, a series of 30 minute sessions on the art of mockup making, the first three-dimensional interpretation of a jewel. As Focillon so clearly noted, hands are creators of beauty. With a few gestures the magnificence of a high jewelry creation is established, and all through the skill of the human hand. The exhibition in Dubai cites one of the meditations of philosopher François Cheng: “Beauty exists without its necessity appearing, at first glance, in any obvious way. It is here, ubiquitous, persistent and pervasive, while giving the impression of being superfluous — that is its mystery. And this, to our eyes, is the greatest mystery.”

And so In Praise of Hands will endeavor to celebrate not only the superb art of craftsmanship involved in Van Cleef & Arpels’ magnificent creations, but also the gift of humanity that allows us, as Cheng implies, to appreciate the mystery of beauty in our everyday lives.

In Praise of Hands will take place from March 17-21 at The Venue on Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashed Boulevard in Downtown Dubai.

Diamond bracelet, 1925, P.Gries.

IMAGES COURTESY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANCESCO CITO.

“Art is made with hands — they are a means of action, but first and foremost an organ of knowledge.”

Van Cleef & Arpels’ master craftsmen at work.

March–April, 2014

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Event Promotion

AFTER TWO SUCCESSFUL RUNS in previous years,

Design Days Dubai This month sees the third edition of Design Days Dubai, the Middle East’s first contemporary design fair.

Preview the impressive line–up of international and regional participants and finds out what’s in store for lovers of art and design.

BY REBECCA ANNE PROCTOR

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Design Days Dubai (DDD) returns for its third showing.

The fair, which was inaugurated in 2012, was founded upon the vision of supporting the UAE’s burgeoning art scene with a special platform for limited–edition furniture and objects created by Middle Eastern and international designers. It has since set the course for a more mature design scene in the Middle East, a vision that Director Cyril Zammit has been working towards since the fair’s inception. “The public is increasingly receptive to contemporary art,” he says. In evidence he cites the success of Art Dubai over the past several years, with the annual art fair bringing in around 20,000 visitors each year. There is also the growing presence of art galleries within Dubai as well as Christie’s biannual sales, both of which have encouraged the collecting and appreciation of works of art among the UAE’s cosmopolitan community.

“All of these facts point to a demand for cutting–edge designs. The Middle East is now ready,” Zammit asserts.

“What’s more is that a design object has a functional purpose that an artwork doesn’t always have.” Thus the commercial and aesthetic properties of design make the sector all the more appealing a contributor to the UAE’s growth as a leading hub for creativity.

Organized with the support of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and d3, Dubai Design District, this year’s fair boasts DDD’s biggest program yet. This includes a

Event Promotion

IMAGES COURTESY DESIGN DAYS DUBAI

SPECTATOR AMUSEMENT Above, clockwise from left: "A Million Times" by Humans Since 1982 at Victor Hunt Designart Dealer; Galerie Diane de Polignac; Galerie Sofie Lachaert; Rick Owens, Michele Lamy and Mohammed Sultan Al Habtoor.

varied selection of talks, panels and workshops with design experts and industry leaders as well as an impressive line–up of 34 galleries from 20 countries. “On hand will be one of the most diverse selections of designers ever, with participants from across the world, including from Algeria, Pakistan and Jordan,” says Zammit. “We are pushing the boundaries to ensure that we get more and more countries involved.” The fair will take place during Dubai’s Art Week, from March 17—21 in Downtown Dubai at The Venue.

Design Display. This year the emphasis will be on collectible contemporary design as well as a selection of 20th–century modern works. Some of the world’s most respected names will be there, including Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Southern Guild, Croft, Victor Hunt and Industry Gallery, alongside regional names such as FN Designs, Nakkash Gallery and La Galerie Nationale. “My desire was to reflect the city’s diversity,” says Zammit.

Galleries from seven countries not previously represented — China, Pakistan, Portugal, Jordan, Japan, Austria and Hungary — will also be taking part, as will 10 galleries from elsewhere in the Middle East, in keeping with the fair’s mission to nurture contemporary design in the region.

One of this year’s highlights is the presence of renowned Parisian gallery Yves Gastou, which rarely participates in art fairs. The gallery is making its Middle Eastern debut as part of Discover, a new section of the fair that will focus on a specific country each year. This year’s focus is on France, through a collaboration between DDD and the Institut Français that also showcases four emerging galleries: Galery S. Bensimon, NextLevel Galerie, Galerie Gosserez and Ymer&Malta.

The section highlights the UAE’s desire to foster a creative exchange with countries around the globe.

Of particular note is a series of pioneering installations made by five hand–picked established designers. The ideology and methodological make–up of these works goes beyond the conventional canon of design to enter into the realm of contemporary art. This includes “Climatology: Respired Wooden Skin” by Chinese designer Elaine Ng Yan Ling, an installation that gives viewers the chance to witness a “natural” installation reacting to its surroundings. “Dubai will serve as a symbolic place for my installation,” says Yan Ling. “The work is originally inspired by a plant called the resurrection plant that can only be found in the desert. The natural energy in Dubai will narrate its movement until it flourishes into a live dream garden in the desert.” Another stimulating installation is “Light Sculptures Castor and Pollux” by Giles Miller Studio, which utilizes texture and light to

create images of shadow and reflection.

On entering the fair, visitors will encounter “The Obsessive Drafter,” a tech–art robotic arm installation manufactured by Guillaume Crédoz and Nareg Karaoghlanian. Made of 3D printed parts, the robot will be in full–on action drawing designs onto the entrance wall (and can also sketch a personal portrait of guests) in a creative salute to all that lies ahead.

The sensory experience will be further heightened this year with the addition of three live performances that allow the audience to see design in motion, emphasizing the idea of the physical and ideological process of a design object.

Paving the Way. Design Days Dubai is once again sponsored by a parade of eminent patrons including Van Cleef & Arpels, Emaar and Audi, all of which have been supporters since the event’s inception. This year’s exciting roster of events speaks volumes about Dubai’s vibrant energy. “Designers are taken by the entrepreneurship of the city,” says Zammit. “With over 200 nationalities living in Dubai, designers see Dubai as an opportunity whereby they can exhibit something completely fresh and new. There is a fantastic community spirit here and we can all benefit from the success.”

Events such as Design Days Dubai emphasize the way design can be a powerful intellectual and aesthetic tool for this fast–developing region. But with the burgeoning creative sector expanding so rapidly, we wonder how long it can sustain this pace. Right now, though, we have no qualms, and couldn’t be more eager to see the outcome of this burst of creativity.

For more information, visit www.designdaysdubai.ae

DESIGN OBJECTS Below, from top: "Droplet" by Ado Chale. Top in aluminium.

Courtesy Galerie Yves Gastou; "Night Sky" by Wendell Castle; Stained ash with oil finish and light fittings. Courtesy Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

March–April, 2014

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Basel Preview In the run–up to this year’s edition of Baselworld, a major international watch and jewelry event since 1917, we preview a few highlights for both men and women representing some of the industry’s most pivotal launches. They take the form of limited-edition timepieces, flying tourbillons and highly-embellished creations.

BY REBECCA ANNE PROCTOR

The Faubourg Watch

by Hèrmes

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde SW

Available at Damas Les Exclusives in the Burj Al Arab and in

Super slim and elegant, the new Faubourg Watch by Hèrmes offers a sophisticated take on everyday femininity. This miniature timepiece, the smallest offered by La Montre Hèrmes, is just 15.5 millimeters in diameter and has a quartz movement. Parisian in style, it nonchalantly embraces the wearer’s wrist and is available in rose, white or yellow gold, either set or not set with diamonds. The Faubourg also boasts a white lacquered dial set with a diamond at 12 o’clock, and comes in a gold bracelet or leather or satin strap, depending on which model is chosen. At once intricate and charming, the Faubourg can be worn for all occasions.

This sporty interpretation of Jaquet Droz’s iconic Grande Seconde is identifiable by its two off-center dials that clearly describe a figure eight. In the 2014 version, the traditional rubber and metal strap of the Grande Seconde SW has been replaced by an alligator strap in a color that matches the watch’s slate-gray dial.

Enhanced by a Côtes de Genève decoration, the hours and minutes dial is distinguished by its smaller size and Roman numeral hour markers, except for the 5, 6 and 7 which are displayed as Arabic numerals. In the new edition the hands of the dial are skeletonized in order to highlight the beauty of the dial’s design.

The Dubai Mall.

Available at the Hèrmes boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Available at the Rivoli boutique in The Dubai Mall.

The Butterfly Watch

The latest addition to Graff’s Butterfly Collection features a stunning arrangement of four pearshaped diamonds tracing the outline of an exquisite butterfly that rests on the piece’s 26-millimeter face. Set on a simple yet elegant black satin strap, the timepiece is available in two striking designs, with the butterfly motif positioned at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock respectively.

The dial is either made of black onyx with one triangle or fully set with diamonds, and the case is white gold set with 41 diamonds. Limited to just 300 pieces, it is available in stunning gemstone versions using sapphires, rubies and emeralds.

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CHANEL J12 Flying Tourbillon

2014 Villeret Model by Blancpain

Breguet Classique “Grande Complication” Tourbillon Extra-Thin Automatic 5377

Since the first J12 Tourbillon was created in 2005, the J12 Collection has continued to explore the universe of grand complications in watchmaking with a new Flying Tourbillon caliber. The watch features a tourbillon carriage rendered in the form of a stunning star and gem-set. At once a magnificent high jewelry creation and a timepiece of exceptional technicality, this edition is presented in 18-carat white gold with brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds. It is made in a limited edition of five pieces.

Named after the birthplace of the manufacture, the Villeret Collection by Blancpain has unveiled a new 44-millimeter self-winding three-hand watch with date display, featuring a remarkably understated Grand Feu enamel dial. It boasts a red gold round double-stepped case with slightly hollowed sage leaf-shaped hands. The dial is enlivened by a date display at 3 o’clock as well as a central second hand. The piece has a sapphire crystal case-back featuring Côtes de Genève on the movement bridges and a honeycomb pattern on the oscillating weight.

This super thin 44-millimeter automatic timepiece reveals a new model with a regal platinum façade. It is distinguished by an off-center tourbillon with a carriage in titanium. The movement of this 5377 boasts a balance spring in silicon as well as an escapement made of silicon and anti-magnetic steel.

Such characteristics enable the new caliber 581DR to beat at a high frequency of 4Hz. The dial is decorated with four engine-turned patterns that reflect the heritage and values of centuries of watchmaking.

Available at the Chanel boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Available at the Blancpain boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Available at the Breguet boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Bulgari Octo White Dial

The Ferragamo Buckle

Dior VIII Grand Bal “Résille”

Launched in 2012, the Bulgari Octo reflects the ideal of elegance and power through an exceptional eight-sided case and complex round bezel. The brand has now introduced a new model in steel and rose gold with a white lacquered face. One of its main features is the shape of the case, which presents 110 handpolished and brushed facets. It also has an 18-carat pink gold crown with black ceramic plate and an off-white lacquered polished dial with hand-applied pink gold-plated indexes. It comes in a brown alligator strap with a stainless steel folding buckle.

The Ferragamo Buckle Collection is a new project that offers a modern reinterpretation of the concept of the buckle, highlighting its practical relevance as well as the aesthetic role it has played in Ferragamo’s footwear and accessories. Used heresed as a timepiece, it boasts a 37-millimeterdiameter case that comes in steel or gold IP and has a distinctive cloche shape. The dial comes in champagne, silver, dark brown or black and is enhanced by intricate guilloché finishing and diamond-embedded numbers on the flange. It is equipped with a Swiss-made quartz movement, and the case features the winding crown at 12 o'clock.

This steel and white ceramic model with pink sapphires is part of the Dior Grand Bal collection which continues the “bal” metaphor that was cherished by Monsieur Dior. The watch’s 33-millimeter case is made of white high-tech ceramic and stainless steel and a bears a bezel set with diamonds and decorated with a white mother-of-pearl ring, while the crown is set with a white ceramic insert. The case-back is an opalescent sapphire crystal. It has a bracelet in white high-tech ceramic that unfolds pyramidshaped links and is made in a limited edition of 88 pieces.

Available at the Bulgari boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Available at Salvatore Ferragamo in The Dubai Mall.

Available at the Dior boutique in The Dubai Mall.

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“Folklore d’Henri D’Origny” 140 giant scarf in plume twill.

LE

CARRÉ HERMÈS

FOR DECADES THE HERMÈS SCARF HAS BEEN ONE OF THE FASHION WORLD’S MOST ICONIC ACCESSORIES. REBECCA ANNE PROCTOR MEETS WITH BALI BARRET, THE BRAND’S CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF SILKS, TO DISCUSS THIS HIGHLY VERSATILE ITEM, ITS HISTORY AND THE INCREASING COLLABORATION WITH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS.

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IT WAS WORN BY THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND on a 1956 postage

IMAGES COURTESY OF HERMÈS, © STUDIO DES FLEURS, ©ALFREDO PIOLA.

stamp, famously used by Grace Kelly as an elegant sling to nurse her broken arm, employed by Sharon Stone in a light bondage scene in Basic Instinct and sported as a sophisticated headscarf by Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O. Over the past three-quarters of century the Hermès scarf has been put to multitudinous uses. For some it has become a fashion obsession, establishing itself over the years as something of a cult object — never going out of style, and now seemingly popular among a younger generation of women.

But what is it about this simple accessory that has earned it such a devoted following? “Women of today wear Hermès scarves in various and eclectic ways depending on their style, age and culture, from classic and elegant to edgy and trendy,” says Bali Barret, who has been at the helm of Hermès Silk for nearly 10 years. Perhaps it is the scarf’s versatility, coupled with the craftsmanship of the Hermès brand, that has enabled it to stand the test of time.

In the years following its founding in 1837, Hermès was known for its luxury saddles and harnesses. The maison began to introduce items for women in the early 20th century, first leather handbags in 1922, and then in 1929 its first women’s couture collection in Paris. In 1937 the company marked its centenary with the launch of the 36inch Hermès “carrés” or silk squares, named for their square shape (“carré” means “square” in French). The first scarf was based on a woodblock drawing by Robert Dumas, a member of the Hermès family. The early patterns thereafter took their inspiration from the world of horseback riding that the brand knew so well, and also from sources such as maps, nature and museum collections.

An Artistic Passion. Now, nearly eighty years after the first carré was created, Barret reigns over its artistic production. In recent years the scarf has taken on a new aesthetic dimension, with some of the biggest personalities from the worlds of fashion and art

collaborating on designs for it, including acclaimed Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, conceptual artist Daniel Buren and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons.

It all began with Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the brand’s artistic director and great-grandson of the brand’s founder Emile Hermès.

Dumas had the genius idea of marrying design and art in a fashion accessory. “It was Dumas’ intention and desire to create iconic collaborations,” explains Barret. “He has always had a passion for design and art. The purpose was to strike an encounter between an artist and the expertise of Hermès and transform it, while pushing the limits to innovate it in a way that makes what is seemingly impossible and beautiful, possible.”

Examples of going beyond the boundaries of normal scarf design are found in the brand’s collaboration with Sugimoto. As part of the brand’s third edition of “Carré d’artiste”, where the French luxury house invites a visual artist to collaborate with it, the partnership utilized Sugimoto’s snapshots documenting the juxtaposition of colors that emerges when dawn’s light passes through an obelisk prism, by superimposing them onto Hermès scarves. The results were startling gradations of color akin to the meditative quality of a Rothko painting, captured within the beautiful silk of the house’s most renowned fashion accessory like wearable artworks. “Printing photography had never been done on an Hermès scarf,” says Barret.

“We made it possible by working with our craftsmen in a new way, with a new technique and a new craft such as inkjet printing.

Reinventing the Hermès scarf is the key to these collaborations.”

The scarf designs are fundamental to Hermès. Each season the patterns and colors of the scarves are found throughout the brand’s accessories, housewares and ready-to-wear, creating what might appear to be an unconscious theme throughout Hermès’ universe of specialty merchandise. While a typical scarf will set you back around $410, large sizes can reach up to double that price, with special-edition scarves costing much more. But whatever the price, there is something magical about receiving an Hermès scarf. It comes accompanied by the brand’s dainty instruction booklet, found tucked inside the house’s signature orange package wrapped in a grosgrain ribbon — the booklet and box themselves rightfully collector’s items, and souvenirs of the initial encounter with this special fashion item.

A Selective Process. A reported 2,000 Hermès scarf designs have now been made by around 150 artists from all over the world.

However, not all of them have been produced. Those that have yet

March–April, 2014

Clockwise from top left: “Camails Kantha” 90 scarf in silk twill; Alex Dumas and Bali Barret at the Mouvement Feminin event on November 7, 2013 at the Ecole Militaire in Paris; “Kachinas” MaxiTwilly in silk twill; “Chefs Indians” 90 scarf in silk twill.

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to be manufactured rest within the confines of the office of Christine Duvigneau, Head of Hermès’ graphic design studio on Rue Saint Honorè, awaiting their final judgment.

The process by which a scarf enters Duvigneau’s lair is one of much research and investigation. Barret is constantly out searching for new artistic talent with which she can fill the scarf’s four corners.

She meets as many as 100 potential designers each year. The resulting work is a long-thought-out process between the artist, Barret, Duvigneau and Dumas. In total, the company has around 50 freelance artists designing scarves at any given time, and aims to produce 20 new designs each year. “It all begins with the artwork; without it, there is no Hermès scarf!” says Barret. “An Hermès scarf is an artwork printed onto the silk (versus a pattern). The tradition and the passion for drawing defines the scarf from the very beginning of its inception. It then takes more than two years to give birth to a scarf, from design to hand rolling.” The entire process seems mysterious; the decision on which designs will be picked and which will not is kept under lock and key. More collaborations are in the pipeline, but in Barret’s words “they are secret for now.”

An Eternal Heirloom. What is so pivotal to the brand is the symbolism of Hermès scarves. They are long-lived and may be passed down from generation to generation as keepsakes and special heirlooms. They are also reprinted for many years in a variety of new colors and collaborations, ensuring their material longevity as timeless fashion items that remain popular regardless of age and culture. “What is exciting,” says Barret, “is that the younger generation has fallen madly in love again with Hermès scarves, wearing it very freely.”

The timelessness of the Hermès scarf rests on the intricate balance between remembering the maison’s heritage and being bold enough to constantly reinvent it in the present. This is part of PierreAlexis Dumas’ dream: to renew the dialogue between art and craftsmanship. And since each scarf is unique it is difficult to find a favorite. As with any art object, it is ultimately what best reflects the wearer’s taste that becomes the prized possession. When asked which scarf she prefers, Barret replies, not surprisingly: “That is a hard question. Never ask a mother who is her favorite child.”

And so it goes for each one of us who has grown to love the multitude of patterns and artists that have left their mark in this way on the history of 20th-century fashion. We look forward to seeing how its story will further unfold.

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ALL SCARVES ARE FROM HÉRMES SPRING/SUMMER 2014 COLLECTION.

EFFERVESCENT PATTERNS Hérmes scarves from the Spring/Summer 2014 collection.

“Recontre Heureuse — Cheval Phoenix” 90 scarf in silk twill; “Brides de Gala Arashi” 90 scarf in silk twill; “Quadrige au Fil” 90 scarf in tussah natural silk; Quadri 90 scarf in silk twill; “Eperon d’Or” 140 giant scarf in cashmere in silk.

Katharina Flohr, Fabergé Creative and Managing Director.

WHEN VISITORS WALK through St. Petersburg’s

IMAGE COURTESY OF FABERGÉ.

Reviving Heritage

No jewelry had been produced by Fabergé since the Russian Revolution, until Katharina Flohr came on board in 2009 as the brand’s creative and managing director.

Rebecca Anne Proctor speaks with Flohr about reinventing Fabergé, and the importance of color.

Hermitage Museum they become dazzled. The myriad artworks presented within the museum showcase some of art history’s greatest figures. Mesmerizing pieces by such masters as Rembrandt, Picasso, Matisse and Titian grace the museum’s vast rooms and corridors. Here it is easy to enter into a time and place that no longer exist but are made up of remnants of past creations. This is what happens when one is confronted with the work of Peter Carl Fabergé, Russia’s late 19th/early 20th–century imperial jeweler. Fabergé’s creations are particularly poignant for their reference to a period that so greatly honored the marriage of an art object with a piece of jewelry. Aptly called “the artist jeweler,” he is best known for his ornate eggs that combine precious metals and gemstones. Sadly, Fabergé’s creations ceased to be made when his workshops were closed in the wake of the 1917 Russian Revolution and he was forced to flee to Switzerland. Now, nearly one hundred years later, Katharina Flohr, Fabergé’s new creative director, is resurrecting the brand’s heritage and Fabergé is making jewelry again.

An Imperial Calling. The luxury industry is watching Flohr, who was one of the founding editors of Russian Vogue, as she goes back to Fabergé’s origins to resurrect what until recently was largely considered a stagnant brand. “It was crucial for me to look at the story of Peter Carl Fabergé,” she says. “I explored what was produced over the brand’s vast and extensive legacy and found inspiration for the brand’s current collections. I want to create pieces that Fabergé himself would be creating today.”

It all began in 1846 in St. Petersburg, Russia, when Peter Carl Fabergé was born into an originally French family of jewelers. His father, Gustav Fabergé, opened a jewelry store in 1842 in a basement on the imperial capital’s fashionable Bolshaia Morskaia Street. He had been inspired by the dazzling collections of art he had seen housed in the Hermitage and, together with his brother, set out to create extraordinary collections of jewelry.

Gustav’s son Carl grew up within this world of opulent jewelry and creative experimentation before delving into the craft himself. In 1882 he took over running his father’s store, and that same year received the prestigious title of Master Goldsmith. The creative momentum of the House of Fabergé was enhanced when in 1885 Tsar Alexander III commissioned it to create an Easter egg as a gift for his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna. The tsar

March–April, 2014

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Clockwise from top left:The Romanov Necklace featuring Gemfields’ Zambian round, square-cut and pear-shaped emeralds and round and rose-cut white diamonds set in 18-carat white gold; Devotion Earrings featuring round white diamonds and Gemfields’ Zambian emeralds set in 18-carat white gold; spiral diamond and amethyst tassel pendant.

“There is always a surprise with Faberge,” says Flohr. “The jeweler had a very witty character, and this comes out in his creations.”

The first Fabergé boutique on 173 Bond Street in London.

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

continued to commission Carl Fabergé to make a surprise Easter egg to give to the empress each year. “There is always a surprise with Fabergé,” says Flohr. “The jeweler had a very witty character, and this comes out in his creations.” By 1887, he was apparently given complete artistic freedom — the only stipulation was that they needed to contain an element of surprise. In total, Fabergé produced 54 eggs for the imperial court. Of these, only 42 have survived.

These years also saw some of Fabergé’s most popular creations. They included miniature hardstone carvings of animals, people and flowers embellished with a variety of precious metals and gemstones. It is estimated that during the period that Carl Fabergé ran the business some 150,000 to 200,000 pieces were produced. The House of Fabergé also made a range of jewelry and other ornamental objects including gold and silver boxes, timepieces and photograph frames. The high point of this period was when Fabergé participated in the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. Fabergé came to have the most illustrious clients in the world and became what Flohr calls “the jeweler du jour and the jeweler–gift maker du jour.” The aristocracy loved giving and receiving Fabergé creations. “There was a secret bond between the giver and the receiver of these special objects,” she says. “They became symbols of understanding between them.”

Sadly, all this came to an awful and grinding halt in 1918 when the Bolsheviks nationalized the House of Fabergé and Carl’s magnificent creations were made no more. Even his last set of eggs, created in 1917 to give to the tsar, were never completed. Two of his sons, Agathon and Alexander, were imprisoned by the Bolsheviks, while Fabergé himself escaped to Lausanne, Switzerland. Upon fleeing he became seriously ill and he died soon after, in 1920. “Everything was taken over and confiscated — it was the end of a world,” explains Flohr.

The Art of Revival. The years that followed were bleak for Fabergé. The brand went through a succession of ownerships and the family lost even the right to the name. American investors saw the opportunity to build on the brand and in 1989 it was acquired by Unilever, where it was associated with perfumes and cosmetics for a generation. This period saw a shampoo commercial starring Heather Locklear and even a Fabergé Brut cologne that was promoted by footballers — not at all in line with the brand’s traditional association with

IMAGES COURTESY (ABOVE) FABERGÉ; IMAGE COURTESY (BELOW) THE FERSMAN MUSEUM.

Lookout Emirates

(FAR RIGHT) FABERGÉ’S THE ART OF COLOR CAMPAIGN: CAMILLA AKRANS; IMAGES COURTESY FABERGÉ.

exceptional art objects. But even during this dark time Fabergé antiques continued to do well at auction, a telling sign that the brand was still valued for the artistic feats it had achieved in imperial Russia.

Light dawned again in 2007, when Pallinghurst Resources, an investment advisory firm based in London, bought the Fabergé brand along with its portfolio of trademarks with the aim of taking it back to its Russian roots. Flohr was recruited for the top post. “I was introduced to two members of the Fabergé family, Tatiana and Sarah,” says Flohr. “The objective was to see how the brand could move forward. I took a look at what was produced over its extensive legacy and found inspiration for Fabergé’s new collections.”

The new director’s experience in Russia and in fashion has helped her with the post. “I always collected jewelry for my personal pleasure,” says Flohr, who has also completed a GIA (Gemological Institute of America) course. “Russian Vogue was a start–up project. It was about bringing Vogue to a new market, and Fabergé has in a way been a similar endeavor — a way to make the brand shine in the present without going too far off the market. We all love Fabergé and we are very passionate about its history and what it is now.”

Flohr’s knowledge of fashion has certainly helped the brand reach new heights. In March 2012, she had Mario Testino shoot the brand’s ad campaign featuring Sarah Fabergé’s son Joshua, his cousin Melanie de Pouqueville and Flohr’s daughters Nina and Sophia. “It was the first time that the company decided to introduce Fabergé eggs and pendants, and I am happy to say that we sold almost all of the high jewelry eggs within the first 18 months,” she says. Other ways in which Flohr has invoked her sense of fashion to revive the brand include a brilliant Romanov necklace in the shape of a collar embedded with emeralds and diamonds. Flohr was inspired by the previous season’s obsession with collars, particularly those done by Marc Jacobs. “I thought, ‘everyone is doing collars, let’s do collars, too!’” she exclaims in wonderment.

New collections that revive the brand’s past take the form of the much–loved Imperial Collection. These jewels revisit the splendor of the imperial Romanov court with the incorporation of vibrant colored gemstones, and have been handcrafted using emeralds, sapphires and

amethysts. The series comprises earrings, rings, cuffs, sautoirs and a necklace from which is suspended a delicate egg. “The rarer the jewelry piece, the more beautiful it is,” says Flohr. Such tastes reflect current trends in the market. “The customers are very savvy; they want to know the origin and provenance of a gemstone before they buy their jewelry,” she adds.

Fabergé’s ability to offer the best colored gemstones was further enhanced when Gemfields, the world’s largest colored–gemstone producer, bought the brand in November 2012. The brand’s recent ‘The Art of Color’ advertising campaign reveals the jeweler’s latest artistic creations, all of which feature myriad colored gemstones.

“We’ve made sure that each gemstone’s unique characteristics and beautiful color nuances remain central to Fabergé’s philosophy today,” Flohr assures us.

Flohr’s revival efforts are paying off and the brand is once again popular on the market. Now there are even wait lists for certain egg pendants. But instead of limiting the brand’s outreach to Russia and the metropolises of the West such as New York, London and Paris, she’s expanding the brand in the East to places such as Hong Kong, Doha and the UAE. This past November the brand made a special Fabergé egg pendant in conjunction with the Coutts Polo at the Palace in Abu Dhabi, of which Fabergé was a sponsor. “What I love about the clients in the Middle East is that they have the most exceptional items and they have the buying power to commission special one–off pieces from us,” says Flohr enthusiastically.

With stores on New York City’s Madison Avenue and in Geneva and London, as well as a special project with Harrods this Easter that will see a Fabergé salon and exhibition space set up in the London department store, there’s no denying the brand’s rapid expansion.

Fabergé owes much of its current success to the well– judged move to restore it to its origins as a luxury jeweler. This decision has an important lesson for luxury brands today: one cannot go forward in the present without a sound remembrance of the past. The current challenge seems only to be finding a way to make Fabergé creations more quickly without sacrificing their level of craftsmanship.

Fabergé is available in Dubai at Damas Les Exclusives in the Burj Al Arab and at The Dubai Mall. For more information, visit www.faberge.com

Clockwise from top: The Coutts Polo at the Palace at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi; Fabergé’s The Art of Color campaign; Fabergé Devotion Rings in spinal, emerald and sapphire.

March–April, 2014

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Lookout Emirates

Time Quotient

From Rubble to Riches

A look at A. Lange & Söhne's difficult past and its present triumph.

BY ARR REEM

regular patrons of the glittering annual Doha Jewelry and Watches Exhibition. But less familiar will be the story of a venerable firm founded in 1845, bombed to destruction in the Second World War, taken over by the communist authorities in 1948 and finally revived in 1990 — by the founder’s great-grandson.

In 1945 A. Lange & Söhne was a century-old manufacturing firm in Saxony, east Germany, specializing in quality pocket watches with signature German silver three-quarter plates and intricate details such as minute repeaters and perpetual calendars. (Qatar, by comparison, had a population of just 25,000 and as yet no official schools — the oil production that brought wealth and modernity did not take off until after World War II.) On May 8, 1945, as the final hours of the war approached, the payloads from Russian fighter-bombers dropped on Glashütte, Lange’s hometown, destroying most of the hamlet, including the brand’s watchmaking facilities. “We had to dig the machines out of the rubble,” remembers 89-year-old Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who established the Glashütte watch industry in 1845.

The firm’s operations restarted shortly afterwards, only to suffer another blow at the hands of the Soviet occupiers, who expropriated the firm in 1948. “The little that was left after the war was taken away. I myself helped pack machines into boxes to be shipped to Russia,” Lange recalls. The new regional authority seized the factory and all its assets, meaning the business that had been founded and operated by the Lange family since 1845 was now in the hands of the East German government. The Lange brand ceased to exist.

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

IMAGES COURTESY A. LANGE & SÖHNE.

THE ATTRACTIONS OF HIGH-END MANUFACTURER A. Lange & Söhne’s classic timepieces will be familiar to

HIGH COMPLICATIONS Clockwise from left: Walter Lange revived the family's watchmaking legacy; the encasing; the perpetual movements of the watch; the precision of the watch-making trade; the Lange's building in Glashütte; the historic headquarters of A. Lange & Söhne in 1920.

The firm’s operations restarted shortly after a 1945 Russian bombing that destroyed its watchmaking facilities, only to suffer another blow at the hands of the Soviet occupiers, who expropriated the firm in 1948.

The company was merged in 1951 with several other institutions in the area to form a conglomerate that continued to make high-quality mechanical watches until the quartz revolution hit East Germany in the early 1980s. But “by then the family name was no longer used, and fortunately it had never been misused, for which I shall remain eternally grateful,” says Lange.

The rebirth of A. Lange & Söhne is a story of bold opportunism. When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 and the communist East German government collapsed, Lange saw some hope of reviving his family’s watchmaking legacy. He secured financial backing with the help of watch industry veteran Günther Blümlein, then returned to Glashütte, brought together a core group of watchmakers, some of whom still had boxes of vintage Lange movements and parts, and set about reestablishing the company.

On December 7, 1990, 145 years to the day after his great-grandfather Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded the original A. Lange & Söhne, Walter Lange registered the

resurrected brand. Not long after, he bought back his family’s buildings, including the original A. Lange & Söhne headquarters, where the company is once again based. “We were starting from nothing, and it was a real risk,” says Lange. “I didn’t know at all how it would turn out. In any case, I started something new, and Glashütte again became a center of fine watchmaking.

“In 1994, when the first watches were ready, we invited 12 of the largest retailers from Germanspeaking markets, to present Lange watches of the new age. I was really tense about their reaction and wondering how they would react,” he shares. “When they started to applaud, it seemed as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.”

Lange and the rest of the team around the world are committed to keeping the tradition alive and well.

“Lange stands for something and people buy them because they are Lange watches,” he believes. Collectors are said to value the brand’s characteristic old-style movements — mechanical rather than quartz — including a plate in the shape of a three-quarters full moon invented by Ferdinand Lange in 1864 to add stability, and screwed gold sockets known as “chatons” that today serve only decorative purposes.

A. Lange & Söhne watches are sold in Qatar through Al Majed Jewelry March–April, 2014

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Lookout Emirates

Trend Report

Springtime Blues T Emirates had a Middle Eastexclusive preview of the Gap Spring/Summer 2014 Collection, straight from a special presentation in New York City. With a new creative director at the helm, and a bold direction, the collection throws up quite a few novel touches.

BY PRIYANKA PRADHAN

BLUE BLOCKS: Gap Spring/ Summer 2014 collection takes on a sophisticated color palette, with emphasis on monochromes.

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T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

NEW YORK City’s busiest, most glamorous borough is surprisingly quiet in the mornings. The city’s wailing sirens disrupt the quiet every once in a while, while the crisp, cool air comes laden with the aroma of espresso and cream cheese bagels.

On one such morning, I hurry along to the preview of Gap’s Spring/Summer 2014 Collection, heading towards Spring Studios on Varick Street in Manhattan’s artsy downtown district. As I step inside the gallery, I find it reflects a minimalist aesthetic, with warm, wooden interiors set against the backdrop of stark white walls and a high ceiling with wooden beams — an unusual setting for the young and vibrant all-American casualwear brand.

But that was before I met Rebekka Bay. Expertly working the crowd and mingling with journalists, the new Global Head of Design and Creative Director of Gap was making her way across the studio towards me. I observed her as she took each guest through the collection personally, animated and passionate about the first Gap collection under her direction.

Before being snapped up by Gap Inc. to fill the position left vacant by former Creative Director Patrick Robinson in 2011, Bay already had 17 years of experience in fashion retail under her belt. After founding in 2006 and leading the upscale casualwear brand COS owned by Swedish high-street retailer H&M, she moved on to Danish fashion house Bruuns Bazaar, where she served as Creative Director. Now back in Manhattan at the Gap Inc. headquarters, she aims to lead the brand’s portfolio with crystal-clear vision.

“Part of my mission is to make sure that all the branches of Gap, baby, men’s and women’s, speak with one voice as a brand, and to make sure the brand is relevant in the era we live in.

“Today, Gap is much more about a certain lifestyle; it is about how we evoke the connection and how we work that into iconic pieces; how much newness is added every season and how to speak one language across the brand with small tweaks and succours,” Bay says.

The changes in the core aesthetic of the brand’s new collection are evident. Her Nordic sartorial sensibilities

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTSEY: GAP

have made their way into the collection with minimalist lines, a sophisticated color palette, emphasis on monochromes and trendy updates to classic Gap pieces.

She adds: “There is this idea of working around that perfect little uniform with a shirt, shorts, or a little skirt or denims. In the Spring/Summer 2014 Collection we focus a lot on length, proportions and volumes.”

For instance, the collection sees dip collars and turn-up cuffs in a playful tweak to denim jackets and casual shirts. Even the classic Gap indigos are getting made over, with new types of washes and experiments in dyeing with different colors.

The statement Gap denim dress comes in a demure, classic version as well as a bolder, ‘90s-inspired wash in the new collection. Hemlines remain a bit conservative but one sees a lot of experiment in fabrics, shapes and even prints.

This sleek new aesthetic also extends to menswear.

Sweatshirts make a big statement in the collection, as do foliage and camouflage print. As models strut onto the ground-level ramp at the studio, the keen attention to detail is seen spilling over from womenswear to the men’s collection.

Tony Kretten, Gap’s VP of men’s global design, says: “One of the influences at the conceptual stage was owning blue as a color. Ranging from the blue canvases of Yves Klein, the great French painter, to iterations of inks and slates — just a beautiful array of blues. The menswear collection is also about how do we take khaki and reinterpret it in a very modern way, to offer this beautiful blue with tons of whites and naturals.”

Gap menswear is also focusing on collaborations with men’s lifestyle magazines, having just launched its second limited edition in association with GQ. Kretten indicates there are more such third-party collaborations lined up this year for Gap’s consumers — a move to assert the brand’s positioning and fresh creative stand.

Kretten says, “Rebekka has brought it all together to bring together a common conceptual point for Gap. In the past the brand seemed schizophrenic — Gap baby would look like one brand, while menswear would look like another and womenswear yet another. Now, the color palettes and the vocabulary we use to speak to the customer have all started to come together.”

Using this language, Gap is hoping to influence the “millennial generation,” the style-conscious and constantly “connected” consumers. With a modern take on the brand’s heritage, the creative direction aims to nudge Gap towards a more style-conscious, refined and globally relevant status.

Little wonder, then, this elegant, upscale venue was chosen to complement the new collection. Even though the typical art studio champagne-and-caviar fare is replaced by hot coffee and spinach juice for the morning, the theme of Gap’s Spring/Summer 2014 remains unequivocally “sophisticated casual-chic”.

The Gap Spring/Summer 2014 Collection will be available in February in stores throughout the Middle East.

March–April, 2014

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Lookout Emirates

On Beauty

In Pursuit of Perfection A passion for gemstones and a dedication to craftsmanship and creativity has made Graff Diamonds what it is today. T Emirates speaks with founder Laurence Graff about the brand’s heritage and the recreation of its acclaimed 1970 “Hair & Jewel” piece.

BY REBECCA ANNE PROCTOR

A LOVE FOR DIAMONDS has been the constant driving

Laurence Graff holds a selection of the world's most valuable gemstones.

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force behind Laurence Graff’s magnificent creations.

His jewelry brand, now over 50 years old, has produced some of the most startling fine jewelry in the world, catering to a host of eminent clients. Graff’s ever–growing empire now includes more than 40 boutiques around the world, with newly–launched stores in Seoul, Osaka, Fukuoka, Stellenbosch, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Zurich and a new store at Harrods in London, a pioneering manufacturing facility, and one of the world’s great art collections. The brand has made its reputation through the design and crafting of exceptional jewelry creations that have often pushed the boundaries of traditional jewelry for the sake of

T Emirates: The New York Times Style Magazine

realizing a beautiful object.

While Laurence Graff is today one of the world’s leading diamantaires, his beginnings as a jeweler were not at all grand.

At the age of 15 he began work as an apprentice in Schindler’s workshop in Hatton Garden, then London’s jewelry quarter and the heart of the UK diamond trade. The young Graff was in awe of diamonds. “I remember looking at them, studying them closely, to understand their purity and the way they had been cut,” he says. “It was an inherent feeling that has turned into a lifelong passion. I truly believe that working with diamonds was what I was born to do.” He was told in 1953 that he had no future in jewelry, but that didn’t stop him. “I come from a family of hard–working people and I was born with a will to succeed,” he says. His great ambition led him to found his first company at the tender age of 18. He began work alongside an experienced jeweler and, after they had worked together for some time, they founded a workshop and began to repair jewelry for big retail chains, offering a 24–hour service for rings, soldering half shanks and putting on new claws.

During this time, Victorian jewelry was the rage, and Graff and his partner set about creating copies of popular jewelry items. The business grew. But Graff’s ambition to grow the company quickly led to temporary collapse. His business partner made the jewelry while Graff sold it, and in the beginning this formula worked well, until they ended up owing £3,000 to suppliers.

Faced with bankruptcy, Graff assumed the debts and convinced the suppliers to grant him more credit. “I paid back every penny within six months,” he says. “These were my first steps in establishing Graff Diamonds.”

Laurence Graff established Graff Diamonds in 1960, and two years later he opened his first two retail stores in London. It was a period when the jewelry business was workshop–based and traditionally wholesale, as well as highly conventional. Graff became known as a maverick in the field for his more daring approach to creating high jewelry pieces. He was keen to tap into an international clientele and hence began thinking of other avenues through which he could expand the business. In 1967 these ideas became a reality when he embarked on a series of journeys around the world, starting in Singapore, which not only catalyzed the brand’s international expansion, but also vividly illustrated his sense of creativity. “Hard work and passion are

incredibly important factors for success,” he says. Both of them have proven steadfast throughout his life.

This period of exploration, coupled with Laurence Graff’s entrepreneurial prowess and dedication to beauty, resulted in one of the brand’s most celebrated creations: “Hair & Jewel.” Created in 1970, the piece consists of an arrangement of Graff jewels set within an impressive hairstyle, which was a risqué creation for its time. Graff teamed up with the renowned hairdresser Harold Leighton to create the magnificent “Hair & Jewel” coiffure. The style referenced the royal hair fashions of 18th–century Versailles, which were characterized by highly ornate decoration — a look that was very much at odds with the conventional hairstyles of the 1960s. The aim was to attract younger women to Graff Diamonds. “Until this time, images showing fine jewelry were typically modeled in a more conservative style,” says Graff. “This image broke the mold by using a younger model, and created the idea of diamonds as inspirational to a younger generation of women.”

Now, more than 40 years since the piece was first made, the jewelry house has recreated it, incorporating a number of record–breaking jewels in celebration of Mr. Graff’s 60th anniversary of working in the jewelry industry. Valued at half a billion dollars, the recreation takes the original concept and features 22 individual jewelry pieces that have been cut and polished by Graff, including the Graff Sweethearts, a magnificent pair of earrings featuring 51.53–carat and 50.76–carat D color Flawless type IIA heart–shaped diamonds, as well as a selection of jewelry crafted from the 550–carat Letseng Star, the 14th–largest white rough diamond ever discovered. Among the other pieces showcased are an exceptionally rare 10.47–carat Fancy Vivid Blue internally flawless briolette diamond pendant, a stunning 52.73– carat Fancy Vivid Yellow emerald–cut diamond ring, a 6.51–carat Fancy Intense Pink internally flawless oval–cut diamond ring and other one–of–a– kind jewels designed and created at Graff’s headquarters in London.

The recreation of “Hair & Jewel” was a team effort. The piece was shot by international photographer David Slijper and styled by renowned hairstylist Eamonn Hughes, who remodeled the original in its contemporary version. In addition, Anne–Eva Geffroy, Graff’s Design Director, created the design for the placement of the jewelry. While she envisioned a potential “mapping out” of the jewelry items beforehand, it wasn’t until the actual hairstyle was created that she could determine where each piece of jewelry was best placed.

The result balanced the ˆ

IMAGES COURTESY GRAFF DIAMONS; FRANCOIS GRAFF: SHU TOMIOKA

Clockwise from top: Francois Graff, CEO Graff Diamonds; Laurence Graff holds the Graff constellation; the recreation of the ‘Hair & Jewel’ piece featuring 22 extremely rare and unique jewels with a value of half a billion dollars.

architectural shape of the hairstyle with the art of placing the jewelry items in the most suitable positions, in order to emphasize their aesthetic beauty while not taking away from the prominence of the magnificent hairstyle.

A pivotal milestone in Graff Diamonds’ history, the recreation of “Hair & Jewel” is a statement of the brand’s very essence. “‘Hair & Jewel’ is a celebration of our expertise and success, as we continue to operate at the very pinnacle of the industry,” says Graff. The piece harkens back to Laurence Graff’s humble beginnings as a determined jeweler, his dedication to craftsmanship, gemstones and taking risks to achieve the result of a beautiful jewelry piece. It also restates Laurence Graff’s innate love for and loyalty to diamonds. “There has to be mystique in a jewel,” he says. “There needs to be something enthralling and beautiful about it to capture the imagination. At Graff we don’t follow trends; we do what we do, and that’s what makes a Graff piece so very special and sets us apart from our competition.”

It would be hard to think of any competition for “Hair & Jewel” — it is a work of art entirely on its own, and serves as a resplendent image of Graff’s enduring legacy.

Graff Diamonds is located in the Burj Al Arab and in The Dubai Mall. For more information, visit www. graffdiamonds.com

March–April, 2014

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Egypt……............…......EGP 18 Iraq……...…..…...... IQD 3200

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How an Indian family beat the odds to create one of the world’s most respected luxury hotel brands p40

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on Dubai, Emirates and reinventing the world’s second-oldest airline

The Enduring

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Lebanon..............LBP 4000 Libya…........................LYD 3.5

Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

1 January — 15 January, 2014 www.businessweekme.com

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

Cover Version: 1

Document Name: cover06_newsstand

Mr Oberoi

Story Editor ——————————————

Tyrangiel ———————— Turley —————————— Powers ————————— Copy Desk ——————— Red Dot ————————— Makeup —————————

1 March — 15 March, 2014 | businessweekme.com

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Lebanon..............LBP 4000 Libya…........................LYD 3.5

Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

16 November — 30 November, 2013 www.businessweekme.com

Blackwater founder Erik Prince on Iraq and the price of US national security

The economic reality of Saudi Arabia’s labour crackdown p36

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Algeria…..…..…........DZD 215 Bahrain….......................BHD 1

Egypt……............…......EGP 18 Iraq……...…..…...... IQD 3200

Jordan....….........….......JOD 2 Kuwait….......…......KWD 0.75

Lebanon..............LBP 4000 Libya…........................LYD 3.5

Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

Egypt……............…......EGP 18 Iraq……...…..…...... IQD 3200

Jordan....….........….......JOD 2 Kuwait….......…......KWD 0.75

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Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

Why the prospect of further Iranian sanctions relief is being welcomed by Gulf businesses

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1 February— 15 February, 2014 www.businessweekme.com

How clean energy is coming to the rescue of the region’s oilbased economies p36

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Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

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The obesity epidemic sweeping the Middle East p42

2/27/14 12:18 PM

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Egypt……............…......EGP 18 Iraq……...…..…...... IQD 3200

Jordan....….........….......JOD 2 Kuwait….......…......KWD 0.75

Lebanon..............LBP 4000 Libya…........................LYD 3.5

Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

1 November — 15 November, 2013 www.businessweekme.com

Islamic finance and the reshaping of corporate Arabia p40

Algeria…..…..…........DZD 215 Bahrain….......................BHD 1

Egypt……............…......EGP 18 Iraq……...…..…...... IQD 3200

Jordan....….........….......JOD 2 Kuwait….......…......KWD 0.75

Lebanon..............LBP 4000 Libya…........................LYD 3.5

Oman…….................…..OMR 1 Qatar……….................…QR 10

Saudi Arabia.........…SAR 10 Syria............................SYP 200

UAE...…....…..…........…AED 10 Yemen…..................YER 600

In Fashion

Parochial Modern Below-the-knee pleated skirts — when contrasted with boxy shirts and sporty accessories — are the breakout stars of the new fashion season.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREA SPOTORNO STYLED BY JASON RIDER

GRAPHIC CLASH Ralph Lauren Collection dress, AED 6,960; ralphlauren.com.

Ralph Lauren Blue Label skirt, AED 2,196. Prada shoes (worn throughout). Efva Attling necklace, AED 2,020; efvaattling.com.

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Quality

In Fashion

LEAN LAYERS Carolina Herrera dress, AED 13,554; (212) 2496552. Prada top (worn underneath), AED 3,600.

Damir Doma skirt, about AED 4,000; shop.damirdoma.com.

J. W. Anderson bag, AED 2,645; shopbop.com.

On right arm: Georg Jensen bracelet, AED 4,040; (212) 759-6457.

On left arm: Céline bracelet, AED 2,094; bergdorfgoodman.com.

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AGGRESSIVE LINES Salvatore Ferragamo jacket, AED 8,999, and pants, AED 3,122; (866) 337-7242. J. W. Anderson skirt, AED 1,825; saksfifthavenue.com.

Efva Attling rings, AED 2,773 and AED 3,232.

March–April, 2014

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Quality

In Fashion

MODEL: ZLATA MANGAFIC/IMG. HAIR BY MARC LOPEZ AT ARTLIST. MAKEUP BY FRED FARRUGIA AT CALLISTE. MANICURE BY SOPHIE A. AT CALLISTE. SET DESIGN BY CAROLE GREGORIS AT QUADRIGA. PRODUCTION BY BIRD PRODUCTION. FASHION ASSISTANTS: ALEX TUDELA, LAËTITIA LEPORCQ.

GEOMETRIC PRINTS Missoni top, AED 11,699, and skirt, AED 4,959; missoni.com.

Alexander Wang skirt (worn underneath), AED 6,960; alexanderwang. com. Georg Jensen bracelet (on right arm), AED 4,040. Céline bracelet, AED 3,122.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

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He’s one of only a few Middle Eastern fashion designers to form part of the elite circle that shows biannually at Haute Couture Week in Paris, yet Zuhair Murad’s glamorous eveningwear has become popular worldwide for its craftsmanship and mesmerizing elegance.

T Emirates meets with the designer to discuss his creative impulse, dressing celebrities and his constant quest for satisfaction.

BY POLLY SWEET

FOR ZUHAIR MURAD, dressing celebrities is essential to his eponymous brand and to his self–conviction as a designer. “Dressing a celebrity is a kind of testimony and a self–assurance that I have succeeded one more time in creating a design that is going to be seen and hopefully appreciated worldwide,” he says. With hundreds of options to select from for every event that they attend, the A–list can afford to be fickle, and pinning a design onto their backs is a veritable feat. Those whose star is in the ascendant are particularly hard to secure, as demonstrated

by Anne Hathaway who, despite having publicly declared her loyalty towards, and personal affection for, designer Valentino Garavani, did a last–minute about–face at this year’s Oscars ceremony, ditching her selected Valentino gown in favor of Prada. Despite her “deep and meaningful relationship” with the master dressmaker and the fact that he once described her as “like a daughter to me,” the Les Misérables actress was more than prepared to seek out sartorial satisfaction elsewhere when, or so it was rumored, she felt that her Valentino was too similar to co– star Amanda Seyfried’s Alexander McQueen.

So Zuhair Murad is more than grateful when his designs do make it onto the red carpet. “When the car door opens and the celebrity emerges (dressed in one of my designs), it’s a feeling like no other, a glorious one. Every designer can attest to this surge of happiness,” he says. Luckily, Murad’s garments make regular red carpet appearances, thanks to a coterie of leading ladies that includes Jennifer Lopez (who chose not one but two Zuhair Murad creations for this year’s American Music Awards) and the lithe– limbed Taylor Swift, who more than held her own against the Angels at the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in a bloom–print sequin mini dress. Blake Lively is another admirer, and her choice of a black–and–nude strapless Zuhair Murad gown at the 2012 Savages premiere in Los Angeles was hailed as proof that the starlet could move beyond her “American sweetheart” image. Kristen Stewart meanwhile joined the fan club and at last shook off her sulky teenage style at the 2012 premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 dressed in a sheer bustier

March–April, 2014

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Quality Emirates

GRACEFUL GOWNS Zuhair Murad’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection was shown during an exclusive preview at Saks Fifth Avenue BurJuman in Dubai.

showstopper that rendered critics and fans speechless. The young actress was, in fact, so enamored of her dress that she went on to sport another Zuhair Murad creation the following day, this time selecting a racy lace–paneled jumpsuit for her night in the limelight.

Murad’s latest conquest is somewhat smaller and more rigid than his regular clientele: 54–year–old fashion icon Barbie has been given a glamorous makeover and is now available in “Red Carpet” and “World Tour” versions for a limited time, both dolls featuring miniature Zuhair Murad designs. Paying tribute to Jennifer Lopez, who wore the original versions during her 2012 global tour, the dolls retail at $36 each, and may be the only way that most of us will ever come close to owning something by Murad.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Murad began to experiment with design at the age of five, and although nobody in his family is linked

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to the industry (as he says, “fashion was MY hobby”), they were extremely supportive of his latent talent. Twenty–five years after initially putting pencil to paper, Murad showed his first collection in Rome, and it was so well received that two years later he was invited by the prestigious L’Agenzia per la Moda to showcase his fashion designs during the opening of the Rome Festival. His atelier, founded in Beirut in 1995, was soon joined by a small boutique on Charles Helou Avenue and then later another showroom on Rue François 1er in Paris.

Since then, Murad has adopted a measured approach to design and subsequently business, eschewing a meteoric rise courtesy of perfume and sunglass deals in favor of a more old–school approach that involves eight collections a year and his handful of loyal celebrity clients. “I live, plan and focus on the present,” Murad explains. “My development plan is to grow the business in a secure way, slowly but surely. We started with two couture collections per year, and then increased to include two ready–to–wear collections, then two pre–collections (resort and pre–fall), before finally adding two annual bridal collections.” Today, the brand counts six ready– to–wear collections, two couture ones and two accessory lines per year. “I believe this expansion is more than efficient to stay in business for now; the rest will follow in due course,” he says. Today Zuhair Murad is available across Africa, Asia, America, Europe and Australia, and — although he is hesitant to contemplate the future — with his name increasingly whispered among the cognoscenti, world domination surely beckons. When asked what the future entails, he says: “Let’s just wait and see.”

The same deliberate attitude that Murad has applied to his business strategy can be found in each one of his designs, some of which take up to 1,000 hours to create. He confesses to only liking unique pieces, and thus treating each dress with a reverence that is often lacking among fashion brands driven solely by commercialism.

It is little wonder therefore that he forms part of the elite world of Haute Couture, showing in Paris biannually alongside design houses including Alexis Mabille, Giambattista Valli, Vionnet and

Christian Dior. “Haute couture occupies a world of its own,” he beams.

“It is a place where experimentation happens, almost like a playground for creativity, to create collections and produce custom–made pieces with meticulous know–how and methods.

This exclusive world is also an opportunity for designers to show off what they can do and invent a true fashion fantasy.”

With so many designers, particularly emerging ones, laying claim to being couturiers, it is both refreshing and inspiring to see a real one at work.

Recognizing his eminent position within Middle Eastern fashion, the first Kuwait Arab Woman Awards invited Murad to present the Designer of the Year Award at this year’s event. For many budding creators in the region, his story is a source of great inspiration. Alongside designers such as Elie Saab and Reem Acra, Murad has successfully established a credible worldwide brand that lends a little Middle Eastern flavor to traditionally Western designs, paving the way for generations to come.

When asked to describe his signature aesthetic, Murad explains that it is “all about glamour and femininity, along with sensuality and elegance.”

There is undeniably a certain “Hollywood appeal” to his work, which goes a long way towards explaining his ongoing popularity with today’s leading ladies. One of his greatest sources of inspiration is the 1950s, particularly the starlets of the day, whom he wishes he could have dressed. “The Fifties have had a big influence on my development and influenced my fashion signature,” he says. “I always try to imagine how life was during that decade, and would have loved experiencing the elegance and beauty of the icons of the era. Designing fitted, very draped–on–the–body, very decorative, sometimes satin or chiffon, sometimes fully sparkling, always shining dresses for them would have been incredible.”

Part of Murad’s allure is his ability to bridge the gap between sophisticated and sexy. The brash slashed mini or the loud print is not for him. He is also never bland. Instead he lends touches of spice to an otherwise simple silhouette, resulting in a form–flattering style that transcends age, color, creed and shape. From waif–like Selena Gomez to curvaceous Catherine Zeta–Jones, provocative Christina Aguilera to reticent Elsa Zylberstein, Murad’s ladies always look flawless, and their admiration for the designer is transparent.

Murad is also careful to remain true to his style and not reinvent his brand season after season. He likes dresses; he loves “shiny things, draped things and small details”; he favors a clean palette, keeps print to a minimum and works with the same fabrics again and again. “All my pieces are centrally focused around highlighting the natural shape and curves of a woman’s body,” he underlines.

“The lines and cuts are pure, and the fabrics, embroideries and accessories have to be singular.” The designer is very clear about who he is and what he makes, and this unwavering, reliable formula is clearly working for him and his clients.

For the time being, Murad is very content with where he finds himself and his brand. He travels an enormous amount (as we discovered during our numerous attempts to speak with him), dividing much of his time between Beirut and Paris, but he very much takes it all in stride. With the cycle of ready–to–wear shows beginning again, he is no doubt feeling the pressure once more to deliver a collection that will seduce the celebrities.

Perhaps more challenging is creating one that he himself feels proud of, as he does tend to struggle to feel satisfied with his work.

In the past he has described the moment when the girls head down the runway as “the most difficult moment of my life. I always think I need to fix something. But I know she can’t wait, so there she goes. I don’t know how to describe that moment.”

We can’t help but feel certain that Lopez, Lively et al. will be more than delighted with the results.

Zuhair Murad is available in Dubai at Saks Fifth Avenue in BurJuman Shopping Center.

March–April, 2014

SPRING FEVER Zuhair Murad’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection features abstract and geometric cuts on dresses with layers of tulle, lace and macramé.

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Profile in Style

The Independent For nearly 25 years, fashion designer Maria Cornejo has remained true to herself and her artful vision.

BY MAURA EGAN

GETTING STARTED In 1980, Cornejo followed her boyfriend John

DESIGNING WOMEN From far left: Cornejo on the cutting–room table at her original NoLIta store and studio in 1999; an early sketch for Zero + Maria Cornejo; Stella Tennant modeling the label’s first triangle top in 1998; a dress from the spring 2014 collection.

THE ETHOS BEHIND ZERO + MARIA CORNEJO After marrying the photographer

Mark Borthwick and living with him in Paris for several years, the pair moved to New York in 1996. Cornejo wanted to create a couture T–shirt line because ‘‘every woman in the city wore jeans.’’ She was bored by the formulaic ways of corporate fashion so she only worked with easy shapes like triangles, squares and circles. She scissored out asymmetrical blouses, sculptural dresses and drapey trousers. The result was clothes that could appear tricky on the hanger but, once on, looked elegant and fluid. When she opened her first Zero + Maria Cornejo store in NoLIta in 1998, she displayed a few pieces in the window. ‘‘Our first day, we made $2,500 dollars. We thought it was a good sign,’’ she says. Her first fashion show wasn’t so auspicious. Instead of models she used friends. As Cornejo explains, ‘‘It went down like a ton of bricks.’’

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF MARIA CORNEJO (2); MARK BORTHWICK; COURTESY OF MARIA CORNEJO; COURTESY OF WANGECHI MUTU; RODRIGO CORNEJO; BIBI CORNEJO BORTHWICK; MARK BORTHWICK (2); COURTESY OF MARIA CORNEJO; MARK BORTHWICK; COURTESY OF MARIA CORNEJO; VANINA SORRENTI.

EMERGING TALENT From left: a sketch from the first Maria Cornejo collection in 1989; John Richmond and Cornejo in the British magazine Harpers & Queen in 1985; the designer in Paris in 1989, where she and Mark Borthwick lived.

Richmond from Manchester, England, to London to study fashion.

After selling her senior thesis collection to a local boutique — Chrissie Hynde and Iggy Pop bought pieces — she and Richmond launched the Richmond Cornejo label. ‘‘The clothes were very urban–cowboy– punk,’’ the 51–year–old designer recalls. Soon, they had a fervent following in Japan, their designs were making the pages of i–D and The Face and they were regulars at buzzy spots like Taboo and the Wag. ‘‘I was very hip,’’ she says with a slight wince. In 1987, she and Richmond ended their relationship as well as their business partnership.

INSPIRATION Cornejo credits

CREATION THEORY Clockwise from above: Wangechi Mutu’s ‘‘Once upon a time she said, I’m not afraid and her enemies began to fear her The End,’’ 2013; ‘‘Love Lasts Longer Than Death,’’ 2009, a work by the ceramicist John Pagliaro, whom she met on Shelter Island.

her husband, who is known for his ethereal, sun–drenched photographs, with teaching her to ‘‘find beauty in the unexpected.’’ ‘‘I’m a nervous nelly but Mark is very sky–is–the–limit, so I get a lot of joy from him,’’ she says. The designer frequently finds herself snapping iPhone photos and then manipulating the images onto her designs. (A candid shot of her son’s reflection in a pool evolved into an evil–eye print for a recent collection.) It’s no surprise that she also looks to artists for ideas, like the ceramicist John Pagliaro’s pottery and the paintings of Wengechi Mutu, which are ‘‘a clashing of colors and tribalism and women. All my favorite things.’’

FAMILY LIFE While her 22–year–old daughter, Bibi, has turned into a talented photographer like her father, Cornejo’s 16–year–old son, Joey, is interested in following in his mother’s footsteps. ‘‘He likes the business side and the super–high–fashion brands, Balenciaga, Givenchy . . . ’’ she says. Borthwick uses their house as a location for many of his shoots for magazines like Purple Fashion and Self Service, while Cornejo likes to disconnect after office hours. ‘‘I come home and don’t want to think about fashion and then there’s a stylist and a rack of clothes in the corner,’’ she says. Borthwick, however, manages to prepare dinner for them most evenings. ‘‘He likes to cook and entertain and I like to clean, so it balances itself out.’’

HOUSE PROUD Clockwise from left: Cornejo’s son, Joey, and daughter, Bibi, in their Brooklyn backyard in 2007; the living room of the family’s townhouse has a laid–back feel, which makes it ideal for casual dinner parties; Borthwick and Cornejo, photographed by Bibi in 2006; a photo from Zero + Maria Cornejo’s spring 2007 campaign, shot by Borthwick.

March–April, 2014

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Off the Runway

Shine On

Metallic, once the sheen of choice for louche after hours, is stepping out into the daylight in casual new ways.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATTHEW KRISTALL STYLED BY JASON RIDER

BRONZE OVERLAY Above: Lanvin coat, AED 14,086, and scarf, AED 973; (646) 439-0380. Levi’s jeans, AED 287; levi.com. Nik Stone earrings, AED 1,414; nikstone.com. Left: Trademark top, AED 1,058; trade-mark.com. Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane top (worn underneath), AED 937; (212) 980-2970. Etro pants, AED 2,986; (212) 317-9096. Rochas sunglasses, price on request; rochas.com.

Chanel bag, AED 5,326; (800) 550-0005. Nik Stone earrings, AED 1,414. Ralph Lauren bracelet, AED 1,450; ralphlauren.com.

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SUBTLE SPARKLE Above: Versace jacket, AED 8,246; (888) 7217219. Michael Kors top, AED 2,755; michaelkors .com. Lanvin scarf, AED 973. Nik Stone earrings, AED 1,414. Sydney Evan necklace, AED 1,708.

Left: Gucci dress, AED 10,285; gucci.com. Y-3 top, AED 606; store.y-3. com. Falke socks, AED 88; sockhopny .com. T.U.K. shoes (worn throughout), AED 275; tukshoes.com.

Sydney Evan necklace, AED 1,708. Efva Attling ring, AED 698. Nik Stone earrings, AED 1,414.

AFTERNOON GLAMOUR Above: Max Mara top, AED 1,965, and dress, AED 3,122; (212) 879-6100. The Elder Statesman tank (worn under dress), AED 1,987; elder-statesman.com. Anya Hindmarch clutch, AED 6,226; anyahindmarch.com. Sydney Evan necklace, AED 1,708; bergdorfgoodman.com. Efva Attling ring (on right hand), AED 698; efvaattling.com. Sophie Bille Brahe rings, AED 9,917 and AED 17,998; newyork.doverstreetmarket.com.

March–April, 2014

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Off the Runway

SILVER ACCENTS Left: Julien David top, AED 5,510; juliendavid.com.

Nomia skirt, AED 1,139; my-wardrobe.com. Tod’s bag, AED 11,111; (800) 4578637. Sophie Bille Brahe rings (on right hand), AED 26,446 and AED 9,917 (on left hand).

Above: Paco Rabanne coat, AED 14,435, and dress, AED 6,905; jeffreynewyork.com.

Rochas sunglasses, price on request. Jil Sander bag, AED 1,212; (212) 8386100. Sydney Evan necklace, AED 1,707.

On right hand: Efva Attling ring, AED 698.

Sophie Bille Brahe ring, AED 17,998. On left hand: Sophie Bille Brahe ring, AED 26,446.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

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MODEL: ANMARI BOTHA/IMG. HAIR BY CHARLIE TAYLOR AT BRIDGE FOR LIVING PROOF. MAKEUP BY PAMELA COCHRANE AT BRIDGE FOR CHANEL. MANICURE BY RIEKO OKUSA USING CHANEL LE VERNIS. FASHION ASSISTANT: ALEX TUDELA.

Quality

Listen Up

Melody Maker

STANDOUT The Los Angelesbased singer Kelela wears a Louise Goldin dress, AED 5,693; louisegoldin.com. Anndra Neen for Chadwick Bell rings, AED 312 (index finger), AED 349 (ring finger), and AED 404; (212) 388-0450.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

Mixing soulful R&B with thumping club beats, the singer Kelela is bringing her underground dance mash-ups to the mainstream.

BY KEVIN M C GARRY PHOTOGRAPHS BY TIERNEY GEARON STYLED BY JASON RIDER

March–April, 2014

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Listen Up

TALENT SHOW The D.J. and producer Total Freedom, a frequent collaborator.

‘‘ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO I went to a potluck at an apartment in Bushwick. Everyone and their mother was there,’’ recalls the singer Kelela, 30 — a critical darling poised to soon cross over from the realm of cool-kid dance music into that of popular R&B, or perhaps to bring those two worlds together. She was referring to the indie musicians and artists at the party, most were strangers but many were to become trusted collaborators of the then-fledgling singer. Fatima Al Qadiri, a Kuwaiti-bred composer and D.J., was reading palms and took Kelela’s hand. ‘‘She told me I was going to make the most money and be the most visible of anyone there, and that it was going to happen in my 30s.’’

At the time, Kelela, who was born Kelela Mizanekristos to Ethiopian parents, was feeling doomed by the hourglass running out on her singing aspirations. ‘‘I’d been dealing with it for a while. Especially for a singer, especially for a girl, especially for a black girl — you’re not allowed to just be 30 and starting out, like, ‘Hi guys! It’s me.’ ’’ Growing up in Maryland, she never formally studied music, though she auditioned and was accepted to a performing-arts high school that was ruled out as too expensive. She went on to study international relations and sociology at American University, but dropped out and headed to Los Angeles to stake her claim as a singer.

Weeks before her clairvoyant encounter, she had landed a gig that required her voice — as a telemarketer — but she spent her evenings collaborating with underground musicians and producers like the Oberlin grads and electronic duo Teengirl Fantasy and the cult D.J. Total Freedom. Meanwhile, as some of her projects gained traction, she used an insurance payout from a minor car accident to finance some recordings. One night at a warehouse in East Williamsburg, Solange Knowles’s

‘Especially for a singer, especially for a girl, especially for a black girl — you’re not allowed to just be 30 and starting out, like, ‘‘Hi guys! It’s me.’’ ’

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manager showed up by chance to Kelela’s late-night set and was impressed by her unique blend of wistful vocals riding over computer-wrought beats, enough to request a demo. Within a few weeks, Knowles asked Kelela to open a few shows for her. As it turns out, her former telemarketer employer called up, begging her to return (analytics revealed she was very persuasive on the phone). ‘‘But I had just booked my first Solange show, so I was like — bye!’’ she recalls. She spent the next six months on tour with Knowles. ‘‘In the world of electronic and more experimental music, the actual voice is often almost used as an ambient afterthought,’’ Knowles explains. ‘‘I think one of the reasons Kelela and I have really connected is we both really value the art and the skill of an R&B vocal.’’ As Kelela sees it, ‘‘I think I have these soft and pretty, Mariahish tones, and it sounds balanced to pair that with something hard-hitting instead of pretty on top of pretty on top of pretty.’’

Kelela’s influences run the gamut of contemporary R&B, from the titans of her childhood like Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to the soulful singers of her adolescence — ‘‘Lauryn Hill’s and Erykah Badu’s slowed vibrato, Faith Evans’s and D’Angelo’s falsetto, Toni Braxton’s belt, Brandy’s runs. . . . ’’ As she matured as a singer, jazz and gospel became increasingly important, particularly Kim Burrell. ‘‘I remember my friend Janelle putting me on to her. I would shred to that in her garage nonstop.’’

As for what an adult Kelela sounds like today, the first taste came from her acclaimed late-2013 mixtape, ‘‘Cut 4 Me,’’ released by the D.J. collective and label Fade to Mind. She’s sprung onto this new electronica scene as its literal and figurative voice, breathing melodies and emotion into the typically cold, robotic soundscape. This disparate harmony has galvanized a sound that is boiling over into the mainstream. ‘‘I have zero desire to be underground,’’ she proclaims, ‘‘I want to be pervasive.’’

With any luck she may succeed in bringing the underground with her to center stage.

Kelela in a T by Alexander Wang romper, price on request; similar styles at alexanderwang.com.

MAKEUP BY SARAH USLAN AT JED ROOT FOR MAKE UP FOR EVER. HAIR BY MARCIA HAMILTON AT CELESTINE AGENCY FOR ENJOY. FASHION ASSISTANT: ALEX TUDELA. TOP LEFT: JAKE MICHAELS.

Arena

A Universalist Approach

IMAGES COURTESY ABU DHABI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

For several years Abu Dhabi has been striving to position itself as a world hub for art and culture.

Rebecca Anne Proctor reports on the UAE capital’s artistic expansion and its desire to promote a universalist approach to art appreciation.

A 1960 CANVAS PAINTING entitled “Anthropometry” by 20th-century French artist Yves Klein, depicting the bright blue splattered imprint of a human body, was displayed alongside the finely-detailed statuette of a “Bactrian Princess” made by the Oxus civilization in Central Asia between 2300 and 1700 BCE and a Cypriot plaque, “Idol,” from 2300—1900 BCE. This startling meeting of ancient and modern art took place in May 2013 at “Birth of a Museum”, the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s first large-scale presentation of the museum’s permanent collection at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The juxtaposition of artworks from such differing periods across time challenged our normal reading of a traditional museum exhibition. It prompted us instead to explore human representation as universal subject matter and a source of inspiration across time and cultures — a vision shared by the many art institutions that are quickly popping up across Abu Dhabi’s developing cultural landscape.

As Abu Dhabi works towards its dream of becoming a major cultural hub, one of the challenges for the young city has been to find a way of nurturing local artists as well as engaging with international art institutions. The goal is not only to enhance Abu Dhabi’s presence within

Clockwise from top: The interior and exterior of Jean Nouvel's design for the Louvre Abu Dhabi; HH Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nayhan (left) and Richard Armstrong (right) on Opening Night; Abu Dhabi Art 2013 VIP Opening Night.

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Left: The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; a view of the museum from the front north.

for major art and culture exhibitions, welcoming thousands of visitors each year to get a taste of what the purported cultural district has to offer.

One of Saadiyat Island’s most important projects is the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The museum, which will be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, plans to offer a platform where East and West can meet, thus emphasizing the idea of cross-cultural dialogue through art. The structure of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is one that will provide an experiential viewing for the visitor, allowing a great sense of connectivity between the spectator and the artwork. “The museum itself is organized in a way that permits flexibility for the curatorial perspective as well an ever-mutable experience for the visitor,” says Gehry.

“There are several main cues from which the design has evolved. The galleries are organized into several clusters connected by catwalks and surrounded by a covered courtyard. Aside from the central vertical circulation from the lobby, each cluster has its own vertical cluster. The connectivity allows the organization of the art to be vertical, horizontal or a combination thereof.” Featured will be 13,000 square meters of gallery space divided into various gallery boxes as well as a further 18,000 square meters of exhibition space set inside a number of spectacular cones.

What the museum intends to exhibit tells us a lot about its curatorial and cultural aims. With plans to display Western art made since the 1960s juxtaposed with examples of Middle Eastern art, the way in which the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will curate such a crosscultural mix of contemporary art is ambitious and visionary. Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, says the museum will showcase “education and public programs that will integrate both local and global perspectives.” This is a crucial point to note in the context of establishing a new base in the Middle East — a region that for centuries has had a great yet conflicted exchange with the West.

Perhaps an art institution that offers visitors a visual

Visitors at the preview of Abu Dhabi Art.

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the worldwide art community, but also to build a sustainable creative community at home. “Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape has evolved over the last five years, due in consideration to the constructive progression and driving force of Emirati talent,” said HE Mubarak Hamad Al-Muhairi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) during last year’s edition of Abu Dhabi Art. “This has contributed significantly to the development of our society we live in today through substantial research efforts and hard work,” he added. This goal of strengthening the community through art is being pursued through a variety of initiatives: international art institutions, art fairs and local art centers, all revolving around the idea of universalism through art.

A Beacon of Culture. Saadiyat Island has undergone a staggering transformation over the past several years.

The $27 billion development is destined to become a complex of residential, retail, educational, culture and leisure venues across seven districts. Monumental in scope, the centerpiece of the island will be Saadiyat Cultural District, a stupendous gathering of some of the world’s most important large-scale museums, designed by prize-winning architects. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open in 2015 and will be followed by the Zayed National Museum in 2016 and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017. Manarat Al Saadiyat (“manara” meaning “lighthouse” in Arabic) is a 15,400-squaremeter visitor center that opened in 2009, designed to bring the vision of the island to life through exhibition spaces and auditoriums that can accommodate major exhibitions as well as the annual Abu Dhabi Art fair. The UAE Pavilion is also now open. Inaugurated in 2011, it was designed to replicate the desert dunes of the UAE and provide additional exhibition space. Both venues have already served to place the city on the global map

IMAGE COURTESY THE GUGGENHEIM ABU DHABI; ABU DHABI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

“The Louvre Abu Dhabi is about bringing people together and seeing our similarities through the arts- seeing what we have taken from one civilization to another through artistic creation.” — Hissa Al-Dhaheri

IMAGES COURTESY ABU DHABI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

Clockwise from top: ‘Speedbattles’ performance during Abu Dhabi Art 2013; Fabrice Bousteau guides visitors through Art, Talks and Sensations; HH Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nayhan (left) and HE Mohammed Al Murr, speaker and member of the UAE Federal National Council (right); the opening of Abu Dhabi Art 2013.

dialogue of cultures that have recently been more in conflict than at peace could help to change this.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is taking a similar approach.

The museum intends to become the “the first universal museum in the Arab world.” Its mission is to exhibit objects from across cultures, geographies and time periods and to explore universal themes in the name of discovery and education. Designed by another Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Jean Nouvel, the museum will comprise an area of approximately 87,000 square meters. The design has been devised with the museum’s context in mind, and will take the form of a geometric lace dome inspired by the interlaced palm leaves traditionally used as roofing material, allowing for light to diffuse within. The structure will also include a falajlike water system running through it, inspired by ancient Arabian engineering. “I wanted this building to mirror a protected territory that belongs to the Arab world and this geography,” said Nouvel.

The museum was born of an intergovernmental agreement between the UAE and France in 2007, a relationship that, beyond its monetary aspect, emphasizes the importance of artistic exchange across cultures. The museum’s senior project manager Celine Pouyat speaks favorably of the UAE-French relationship through the museum, saying it enables a “new way to look at the collections and start a narrative from scratch.” The Louvre Abu Dhabi will develop its own permanent collection that will be enriched by loans from French museums including the Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée du quai Branly and the Centre Pompidou. In addition, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will re-stage its “Birth of a Museum” exhibition at the Louvre in Paris this April 2014. While the curator and the selection of artworks will differ slightly from the show held in Abu Dhabi last year, what the Paris exhibition will do is promote the Louvre Abu Dhabi to an international audience, as well as emphasize the museum’s relationship with France at government level.

Contested Universalism. Yet despite the advances of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, both their development and their “universalist” aims have been contested. With its roots in 18th-

century Western Enlightenment thinking, the idea of a “universalist museum” supports the housing of diverse collections of artworks for the purposes of public display and scientific investigation. The term’s critics have argued that the traditional universal museum disguises the inherent conflicted histories and political realities of the acquisition of objects to create a largely Eurocentric narrative. In defense of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection, Pouyat claims to have ascertained that only objects of unimpeachable provenance are acquired by the museum. Despite what the critics say, the universal museum is indeed an important model. It underlines the importance of education through access to different objects and cultures from around the world.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s exhibition “Birth of a Museum” is a case in point. It sought to interpret universalism as a framework within which to explore contact and exchange. This is very much in accordance with the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s mission statement, as it is with the vision of developing Abu Dhabi as a world cultural hub. “Like the mission of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the ‘Birth of a Museum’ exhibition showcases a universal understanding of the world,” says Hissa AlDhaheri, Project Manager at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

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Clockwise from above left: Fat Car

by Erwin Wurm at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac; Abu Dhabi Art’s Art and Architecture Talk presenting Jenny Holzer, Jean Nouvel, Alain Seban and Thaddeau Ropac and moderated by Nick Leech; the Taschen bookstore during Abu Dhabi Art.

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“The Louvre Abu Dhabi is about bringing people together and seeing our similarities through the arts — seeing what we have taken from one civilization to the other through artistic creation.”

This visionary statement comes at a time when the museum, as well as Abu Dhabi’s striving to become a worldrenowned cultural hub, has come under scrutiny. One of the pivotal concerns is the French government’s “selling” of its museums as a package for a reported $1.3 billion. That’s the price of a good name. But as “Birth of the Museum” shows, the monetary value of the Louvre goes beyond its name.

No money in the world can buy culture and education through art. As Al-Dhaheri says, “the museum focuses on universal art and how Abu Dhabi has always been a major crossroad for trade between cultures.” The aims are all there, but the challenge will be how to execute them in a culturally sensitive way.

Finding Local Ground. Abu Dhabi has also garnered international attention through Abu Dhabi Art, an art fair that concluded its fifth edition in November 2013.

Since its inception in 2009, the fair has boasted the participation of the world’s foremost galleries for modern and contemporary art. Originally situated in the Emirates Palace, the last two editions of the fair have taken place in the UAE Pavilion and Manarat AlSaadiyat. The fair returned with a total of 51 galleries from the Middle East region and internationally, and boasted a record return rate of 91 percent of galleries from the previous year’s fair — a sure sign of success.

Moreover, the fair has become a catalyst in the development of the UAE’s art market. “Cultivating an art market is an important step in the maturity of any cultural hub, and Abu Dhabi Art is one of the many driving forces behind this progress, supporting UAE and regional artists, bringing museum-quality art work to Abu Dhabi and creating a wide array of public programs,” says Rita Aoun-Abdo, Executive Director of Culture at TCA Abu Dhabi. Important to note are the steps the fair has been taking to involve the local community. This was seen in the “Wings Project,” which

returned this year showcasing commissioned pieces by a selection of the country’s emerging artists. “The Wings Project continues to not only encourage young artists and designers, but also, and more specifically, support the local art community and encourage UAE nationals within the creative fields,” says Hind Khouri, TCA Abu Dhabi’s marketing officer. “This project brings together talented Emiratis and offers them a chance to have their work displayed through a prestigious and international art event. In turn, through the various support channels, we aim to promote Abu Dhabi, its artists, designers and creative hubs as the cultural destination it is.”

While Abu Dhabi Art has built upon the UAE’s emerging art scene, the facilities for artists to produce their work are still on the whole lacking. The Abu Dhabi Art Hub, the first artist community in the UAE, has pushed for greater engagement with the arts at a grassroots level. Through exhibitions and events that bring together the local and international communities, the Abu Dhabi Art Hub similarly emphasizes the “universalist” vision that has been so crucial for the development of art institutions in Abu Dhabi.

Established in 2012 by Emirati Ahmed Al-Yafei, the Abu Dhabi Art Hub is located within the dusty area of Musaffah — not a place where many people would expect to find an art center. But as soon as they enter the 2,500-square-meter space they will be impressed by its large size, residential facilities and art galleries. “The timing was right to create such a space,” says Al-Yafei, who comes from a background in finance and engineering but has always had a passion for art. “The Abu Dhabi Art Hub is a very necessary component to the Abu Dhabi community and the UAE community at large,” he says.

“Our long-term goals are to nurture and promote Arab artists as well as be a catalyst for international dialogue and cross-cultural artistic exchange.”

While the development of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi, as well as the continued yearly presence of Abu Dhabi Art, are certainly benchmarks for the growth of the city’s art scene, what is still lacking is a thriving local community of artists. The Abu Dhabi Art Hub is working to fill this gap. “What I am trying to do is benefit my society; I want to give something back to my community and my culture,” comments Al-Yafei. There’s a lot of imagination here, and much cultural exchange in the works, and with the fostering of the city’s emerging community of artists the foundations of a universal art scene in Abu Dhabi will be stronger and more enduring.

IMAGE COURTESY (ABOVE LEFT): FAT CAR, HESMERG PHOTOGRAPHY; IMAGES COURTESY ABU DHABI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT COMPANY.

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FROM LEFT: PAOLO ROVERSI; KARIM SADL; PAOLO ROVERSI.

Phoebe Philo’s Prophetic Fashion Page 76 Fashion's Purest Visionary Page 84

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HUPPERT: STYLING BY SUZANNE KOLLER. HAIR BY MARTYN FOSS CALDER AT AIRPORT AGENCY USING BUMBLE AND BUMBLE. MAKEUP BY BRIGITTE HYMANS AT MARIE–FRANCE THAVONEKHAM. MANICURE BY ELSA DURRENS USING CHANEL. PROP STYLING BY ALEXANDER BOCK. STYLIST’S ASSISTANT: RAY TETAUIRA. TAILOR: MICHAEL GUNTHER. PRODUCTION: BRACHFELD, PARIS.

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Sub Section

‘How can I look my best? Do I want to be visible or not too much visible? You are not visible with Phoebe’s clothes. It’s not too obvious. It’s a way of not being seen.’ ISABELLE HUPPERT, ACTRESS

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A b i b

At Phoebe Philo’s Céline, boundary–breaking fashion is secondary to the meaning behind the clothes.

Sub Section

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARIM SADLI STYLED BY JOE M C KENNA

BY WHITNEY VARGAS

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On Sophie Hicks: Céline jacket, AED 8,448, top, AED 2,681, and pants, AED 4,040; (212) 5353703. Previous page, on Isabelle Huppert: Céline top, AED 4,591; bergdorfgoodman .com. On Phoebe Philo: Céline top.

Her own earrings.

‘The clothes are not tricky and they’re never vulgar. If you want to feel right in your clothes and you don’t want to show off, or show your wealth, then you wear Céline.

There are no connotations to do with class or background.’ SOPHIE HICKS, ARCHITECT 78

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Invisible.

That is what Phoebe Philo’s clothes for Céline make you feel. Not romantic, like Valentino. Or dark and edgy, like Saint Laurent. Simply invisible. A woman in a perfectly cut shirt and a pair of pants. And, oh, what a relief!

Because we are busy. We work. We wipe our children’s mouths with the backs of our hands as we rush out the door. We don’t have time to consider whether our prints match or our buttons align. To try on different outfits each morning, like so many different personalities. To fuss and preen. That seems silly, somehow weak. Despite Philo’s many best efforts, there is a Céline uniform: large, slouchy trousers; a collarless shirt; flats; a tuxedo jacket — preferably in navy, black or cream. The clothes are quiet and not meant to make a statement. And so you look invisible. Able to be viewed for more than your surface appearance. This is power dressing.

The idea that quiet fashion now conveys power is ironic, given that for years that spot has been defined by bright colors, broad shoulders, wide lapels, cinched waistlines — caricatures of exaggerated severity. Since Philo took over as creative director of Céline six years ago, she has consistently designed collections that have changed the course of fashion, steering women toward a more classic and practical way of dressing. There are many designers who make beautifully constructed clothes of the highest quality, Philo among them. But her specialness lies in synthesizing how women want to dress with how they actually live their lives. And how we want to see ourselves: sophisticated, knowledgeable, not victimized by fashion. Increasingly, comfort is the ultimate commodification of luxury. At Céline, this has translated into silk pants that puddle at the ankles, roomy coats that borrow from men's wear, even fur–lined Birkenstocks.

More concerned with the subtraction of details than with their addition, Philo is often labeled a minimalist. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Open a wool coat, and the seams are lined in rubber. Notice how a cashmere sweater is knit so densely that it hangs away from the body. (The main criticism against Céline is that the clothes are too expensive. For that, we now have Zara.) Yet as subtle as the Céline code is, each season there are giveaways that are recognizable to those in the know, such as a longer sleeve or a topcoat without a closure. Things look accidental but are actually entirely purposeful.

Adding to the Céline mystique is the designer herself. For anyone who follows fashion, it’s impossible to think of the French house without first thinking of Philo. She’s the best advertisement for the brand. A mother of three who quit the top position at Chloé, in part to spend time with her new daughter, then famously refused to relocate her family from London to Paris when she got the Céline job, she has firmly prioritized what matters most. Her intentionally mousy hair and no makeup are the mark of a woman who relies on more than looks to get her way. And she rarely talks to the press, preferring that her collections speak for themselves — which, of course, is its own brilliant marketing tool. But, really, what would she say? That she’s a woman who thinks about women? That she was inspired by these modern times we live in? That’s already abundantly clear.

Ultimately, for Philo, it’s about the work. And isn’t that what all of us ever hope to say?

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‘I love the simple, effortless, chic look that Phoebe brings to Céline.

For me, it is the modern woman, a woman who is engaged and busy but also takes the time to dress chic.’ LIYA KEBEDE, MODEL AND ENTREPRENEUR 80

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‘I’m particularly fond of anything that apes men’s wear and Céline comes the closest with its craftsmanship. They have a deep affinity with that feeling of luxury within structure and materials. Wearing Céline is like driving a very, very expensive car.’ SADIE COLES, GALLERIST

On Sadie Coles: Céline coat, AED 11,754, and top, price on request; (212) 535-3703.

Opposite, on Liya Kebede: Céline jacket, AED 10,101; (212) 535-3703.

Céline tops, AED 6,428, AED 8,632 (worn underneath), and skirt, AED 7,530; barneys.com.

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Second row: Spring 2011 Philo loosened up and kick–started the craze for a roomier, luxe silhouette, featuring silk pajama dressing, woven Baja sweaters and racer–back jumpsuits.

Fall 2011 Suddenly, a simple color–block sweater became high fashion.

Resort 2012 In one of Philo’s best collections to date, she moved toward bolder statement pieces: leather patchwork, floral leather biker jackets, super–wide pilgrim belts.

Third row: Prefall 2012 Defined the slouchy Céline silhouette, with oversize suiting and coats influenced by men's wear.

Fall 2012 A continuation of oversize volume and color–blocking, this time with fur, in primary colors and shots of hot pink.

Spring 2013 Philo’s nod to the ’90s, done with a deconstructed ease: ankle–grazing dresses with raw edges, pants that pooled on the floor and the now–ubiquitous fur Birkenstocks.

Bottom row: Fall 2013 Céline’s season of cozy. Philo created the idea of comfort as the ultimate luxury: Dresses were knotted in the front for a bundled effect; fabrics were nubby; bags were cuddled like water bottles.

Resort 2014 Philo continued to challenge the fashion calendar and designed seasonless clothes, showcasing Céline’s trademark fur coats alongside linen canvas cargo pants.

Spring 2014 Surprised the industry once again with a colorful collection of artful tribal prints and exuberant accessories.

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MANICURIST: TRISH LOMAX AT PREMIERHAIRANDMAKEUP.COM. SET DESIGNER: MAX BELLHOUSE. DIGITAL OPERATOR: EDOUARD MALFETTES. PHOTO ASSISTANTS: ANTONI CIUFO, JP WOODLAND, SIMON M C GUIGAN. STYLIST’S ASSISTANTS: JOHN PASHALIDIS, MATT KING. HAIR ASSISTANT: PIERPAOLO LAI. MAKEUP ASSISTANT: LINDSAY LILLY KEYS. SET ASSISTANTS: ALEXANDRA LEAVEY, TILLY POWER. PRODUCTION: RAGI DHOLAKIA PRODUCTIONS. PRINTS, THIS PAGE: MARKO METZINGER.

THE MAKING OF THE MYTHOLOGY Top row, from left: Resort 2010 Philo’s first collection for Céline, which marked the new dawn of minimalism and the importance of perfect separates.

Spring 2010 Confirmed some of Céline’s signatures, including utilitarian fabrics such as jute, pique and leather trim.

Fall 2010 Showcased Philo’s restraint when it comes to color, focusing on black, navy and cream. Winter staples, like shearlings and knits, were subtly updated to feel modern.

On Camilla Nickerson: Céline top, AED 5,877, and pants, price on request; (212) 535-3703.

Hair by Paul Hanlon at Julian Watson. Makeup

by Hannah Murray for Art and Commerce.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

‘She understands how a working mom and a woman in today’s world needs to move and get through her day. She also can easily absorb and translate the culture. So her clothes make you feel connected to what it is to be in today’s world.’ CAMILLA NICKERSON, VOGUE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR March–April, 2014

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Comme des Garçons dress, AED 15,831; (212) 604-9200.

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F ASHION’S PUREST

V ISIONARY, REI KAWAKUBO, I S ABOUT TO REDEFINE SHOPPING I N NEW YORK CITY. HER LATEST COLLECTION

F OR COMME DES GARÇONS IS STRANGE, BEAUTIFUL, SINGULAR AND, FOR MOST OF US, UNWEARABLE. YET FASHION’S MOST POWERFUL

PROVOCATEUR IS ALSO ONE OF ITS SAVVIEST COMMERCIAL MINDS. WHILE SHE IS SILENT ABOUT HER OWN CREATIVE PROCESS, KAWAKUBO IS A KEEN NURTURER OF YOUNG TALENT, BRINGING UNKNOWN

ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS INTO HER FOLD. WITH THE OPENING IN DECEMBER

D OVER STREET MARKET NEW YORK, THE SLEEPY

N EIGHBORHOOD OF KIPS BAY

I S POISED TO BECOME THE

E PICENTER OF THE CITY’S

F ASHION MAP.

BY SUZY MENKES PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAOLO ROVERSI HAIR AND FACE PAINTING BY JULIEN D’YS March–April, 2014

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Comme des Garรงons dress, AED 11,864.

Opposite: Comme des Garรงons dress, AED 7,915, harness, AED 2,645, boots, AED 2,773, and shoe cover, AED 1,249.

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THREE PILLARS — FANTASTICALLY DECORATED BY THREE DIFFERENT

ARTISTS — RUN VERTICALLY THROUGH SIX floors of a vast former school building in Manhattan’s Kips Bay neighborhood. Surrounded by curry and sari shops, it is the unlikely new home of New York’s first Dover Street Market, the multibrand store from Comme des Garçons.

But this noble old building on Lexington Avenue has two other metaphoric pillars, and these are names that lie at the heart of the current fashion establishment. Miuccia Prada built a permanent space on the top floor, while Louis Vuitton created a three–month pop–up store in the main entrance area. ‘‘Prada have been amazing, and have created a special collection just for us, with their iconic shapes in new materials and classic prints from 20 years ago,’’ says Adrian Joffe, chief executive officer of Comme des Garçons International and the husband of Rei Kawakubo, who, for once, has broken her inscrutable silence.

The lauded Japanese designer, who recently turned 71, has a great deal to say about this Manhattan project as well as about the design transformation of her existing flagship Comme des Garçons store in Chelsea. ‘‘For Dover Street Market New York, I wanted to keep the no–rule, beautiful chaos feeling of the first two Dover Street Markets,’’ the designer says in Japanese as Joffe translates. She is referring to the existing stores, one in London’s Mayfair section, which opened in 2004 on its namesake Dover Street, and another that opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 2012. (They also have a franchise in Beijing.) ‘‘But in contrast to New York itself, I wanted to design it with extreme simplicity, unsophisticated, almost primitive and with naïve artlessness,’’ Kawakubo says.

The designer, who came onto the international fashion scene in the 1980s with distressed black clothes that served as a counterpoint to the era’s thrusting, androgynous outfits, has always led her own counterculture movement. It hasn’t been so much a political as a visual challenge to clothes based on cut, stitch and shape and definitions of current society.

Kawakubo still thinks along those lines and avoids pigeonholing or developing one particular style in her stores as much as on the runway.

‘‘In conceiving seven floors and the interior design of each space, I took no notice of the traditional need to separate by category, by sex, by lifestyle or by age,’’ the designer explains. ‘‘And by designing a transparent elevator that pierces all seven floors through the middle of the store, I have tried to make the whole shop as if it is one shop — one total experience.’’

The sheer bravado of taking on this massive 18,000– square–foot building is breathtaking. It once housed the New York School of Applied Design for Women, which was for a time associated with Columbia University and helped young women to pursue careers in arts and crafts. On the worn boards and plain walls you can imagine the spirit of female endeavor. The pillared structure dates back to 1909 and is classified as a New York City landmark building. But none of that was likely to put off a designer who never compromises her aesthetic vision and continues to push the boundaries of what ‘‘fashion’’ is and whether that word even has to translate into wearable clothing.

Her spring 2014 collection used elaborate workmanship to created curvilinear designs that seemed more like body architecture than clothing. Like her poetic 2012 ‘‘White Drama’’ collection and her 2005 ‘‘Broken Bride’’ collection, these designs appear to be outside commercial conventions. Yet the ‘‘hyper–imaginative’’ collection clothes are always on sale right alongside the more commercial Comme des Garçons lines, like Play and Black, that provide a sturdy base for the sales pyramid.

The clothing that seems most unlikely to end up in customer closets — like the now infamous ‘‘lumps and bumps’’ collection of 1997 — is similar to any other modern art form designed to stir the mind and surprise the eye.

Kawakubo’s conception of the Dover Street Market store as ‘‘beautiful chaos’’ thus has a method to its apparent madness. The idea is of a magical coalition of fashion, art and commerce. While the store features all 15 Comme des Garçons brands (Homme Plus, Shirt, Junya Watanabe, to name a few), the list of other designers showcased in their own individual spaces reads like a who’s who of inventive fashion today,

Opposite: Comme des Garçons dress, AED 7,915, shoes, AED 2,479, and shoe cover, AED 1,634.

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

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THE MAKING OF DOVER STREET MARKET NEW YORK REI’S FAMOUS The Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo is bringing her Wonkaesque approach to retail to New York.

A sample of installations from existing Dover Street Markets in London and Ginza offer a hint of what’s planned for her new outpost on Lexington Avenue (center).

DESIGNING CHAOS ‘‘The only thing I was hoping she wouldn’t do is move the elevator, because it’s so expensive,’’ says Adrian Joffe, husband of the runway renegade Rei Kawakubo and chief executive of her $230 million fashion brand Comme des Garçons. A compact man who resembles Pablo Picasso, Joffe is dressed head–to–toe in Comme (save the hard hat), leading a walk-through before the lateDecember opening of Dover Street Market, a carnivalesque fashion wonderland. ‘‘Of course, moving the lift is all she wanted to do,’’ he continues with a sigh.

It’s worth the effort: 64 square feet of glass and polished steel, the elevator is the focal point of the seven–story space, which occupies a stately Beaux–Arts building on Lexington Avenue and 30th Street. Not only will the shop carry Comme and its many offshoots, including Play, Black and Shirt, it will feature a smartly edited if riotous mix of other brands, from Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton to Simone

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Rocha, Rick Owens and an exclusive collection by the cult designer Andre Walker. ‘‘It’s the beautiful chaos,’’ Joffe says, ‘‘the synergy that comes out of the clashing together of creative minds in a haphazard, accidental way.’’ Though Kawakubo allows Joffe and his team to select the merchandise available at DSM — and then ‘‘complains, terribly, bitterly,’’ he says with a laugh — she designed the interior herself and set the overall tone, an emphasis on designers and artists with an uncompromising vision and ‘‘something to say,’’ Joffe notes.

Though DSM plays an important role in introducing the Comme philosophy to new consumers, it’s really ‘‘a labor of love,’’ says James Jebbia of the cult skate wear label Supreme, which has been granted a prized berth on the seventh floor, just opposite Prada. ‘‘They want to open peoples’ eyes to great

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things. I’m very proud to be in there.’’

After the basic construction is complete, the plan is for the designers and artists to arrive with their furniture (many of them have designed their own spaces), and the chaos will begin in earnest. ‘‘Then the real fun starts,’’ Joffe says. ‘‘There’s egos to deal with, politics

‘The synergy that comes out of the clashing together of creative minds in a haphazard, accidental way.’ to deal with.’’ Finally, the hermetic and mysterious Kawakubo herself will materialize, shortly before the doors open, at which point, ‘‘There might be some major changes,’’ he predicts warily, ‘‘like, ‘Move the elevator back to where it was.’ ’’

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: EXTERIOR: NICHOLAS CALCOTT; INTERIORS: COURTESY OF DOVER STREET MARKET (6); GERBASE: RORY VAN MILLINGEN; CATWALKING; CHRISTOPHER DADEY; YANNIS VLAMOS; COURTESY OF PHOEBE ENGLISH; CHRISTOPHER DADEY (3); PIERRE ANGE CARLOTTI; ENGLISH: RORY VAN MILLINGEN; PROPER GANG: NICHOLAS CALCOTT; SKETCH: COURTESY OF COMME DES GARÇONS.

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS Called the ‘‘Energy Showroom,’’ DSMNY’s fourth–floor mezzanine will be given over to a cast of emerging brands, including Paula Gerbase’s wonderfully austere 1205 line; the dance–music–influenced KTZ; Sibling, the innovative knitwear label; and the men’s wear designer Craig Green. Each has been granted a small piece of real estate (approximately five feet by seven feet) all their own. ‘‘They can hang up posters, whatever they like — treat it like their own space,’’ Joffe says.

Kawakubo’s influence on up–and–coming young designers is immeasurable. ‘‘Everything she approaches comes from a very pure creative strain,’’ notes Phoebe English, whose astonishing graduate collection was made largely out of black hair. Comme’s commercial support is also critical to those who make the cut. Inclusion in DSMNY ‘‘confirms that I am doing something right,’’ says Max Vanderwoude Gross of Proper Gang, ‘‘and that validation strengthens my resolve to stay true to the brand I am building.’’

So how will New Yorkers receive the DSM invasion? Simon Porte Jacquemus, designer of Jacquemus, emails his prediction: ‘‘Like a creativity BOMB.’’

ALL PRICES ARE INDICATIVE

WORK IN PROGRESS Rei Kawakubo’s sketch for Dover Street Market New York, seen at left, which offers a prominent showcase to emerging design talents, including 1205’s Paula Gerbase (top), Phoebe English (above) and Proper Gang’s Max Vanderwoude Gross (left). From top: runway looks by Craig Green, Lee Roach, Shaun Samson, Phoebe English, KTZ Men's, KTZ, Sibling and Jacquemus.

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Being carried by DSM ‘confirms that I am doing something right,’ Max Vanderwoude Gross says, ‘and that validation strengthens my resolve to stay true to the brand I am building.’

WHAT’S IN STORE The variety of collections carried

by DSMNY will include pieces by (from top) Thom Browne, Undercover, Simone Rocha, J. W. Anderson, Sacai, Saint Laurent, Saint Laurent Men’s, Prada Men’s and Prada.

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EATING AND SHOPPING Providing sustenance to DSMNY’s shoppers and likely to become a destination itself is Rose Bakery, the beloved Paris cafe, set to colonize the first floor and mezzanine. Outposts of the brunch mecca have flourished in the London and Ginza Dover Street Markets, each with a distinct personality. The menu of salads, soups, quiches, savory tarts and pastries changes daily based on the recommendations of local purveyors, and regional tastes also play a role. ‘‘In Tokyo, they’re crazy about carrot cake,’’ explains Jean–Charles Carrarini, who oversees the

operation with his wife, Rose (Adrian Joffe’s sister). ‘‘In Europe, they love cheesecake.’’

In New York, of course, pizza is king, though it may not be available at Rose Bakery right away. ‘‘Rose is very nervous to make pizza in New York,’’ Jean–Charles admits. ‘‘I don’t think she will touch bagels either.’’

The couple is considering one big concession to local custom: accepting reservations. Takeout will also be available, but that’s as far as it goes. ‘‘I love New York, but I’m not going to deliver,’’ he insists. ‘‘We want people to come in. No delivery — at all, at all, at all.’’

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: KELLY: RORY VAN MILLINGEN; GINS: NICHOLAS CALCOTT; LONDONFIELD WORKS: RORY VAN MILLINGEN; WALKER: NICHOLAS CALCOTT; TOBY GLANVILLE/COURTESY OF PHAIDON PRESS; COURTESY OF ROSE BAKERY; BRIAN W. FERRY; COURTESY OF PRADA (2); SAINT LAURENT (2); MELODIE JENG; MARIA VALENTINO/MCV PHOTO; COURTESY OF SIMONE ROCHA; COURTESY OF UNDERCOVER; DAN AND CORINA LECCA.

PARIS MATCH The artist Lauren Kelly (right) is among those creating new work for the space.

The first floor will be home to Rose Bakery, a much admired cafe run by Rose and Jean– Charles Carrarini (below). Rose Bakery in the Dover Street Market Tokyo (left).

ART IN COMMERCE ‘‘We’re not fashion people, so this is a completely different realm,’’ admits Bruce Gilchrist, one half of the ‘‘performative architecture’’ duo London Fieldworks. But when DSMNY invited Gilchrist and his partner, Jo Joelson, to create a site– specific work for one of the three columns that cut through the space, they happily accepted the challenge. The final product touches on everything from outsider art and the Japanese Metabolism movement to ‘‘animal building — particularly the way small–brained creatures put structures together.’’

Looking to make the store a showplace for the work of artists with strong, often idiosyncratic personal visions, Kawakubo and her team have commissioned pieces that are conceptual, challenging and about as far from Santa’s Village as you can get. Madeline Gins of the procedural architecture practice Arakawa and Gins is installing what she calls a ‘‘reversible destiny space’’ around a staircase.

She won’t disclose much — ‘‘I think they want me to be hush–hush about it’’ — except to say that Joffe took a particular liking to an approach she terms the ‘‘biotopological scale– juggling procedure.’’

The sound artist Calx Vive (an alias borrowed from the esoteric practice of alchemy) is creating a variety of sonic experiences designed, as she wrote in her proposal, to leave customers feeling not ‘‘bombarded but rather curious, amused, periodically transfixed.’’ In

Dover Street’s art installations are conceptual, challenging and about as far from Santa’s Village as you can get.

addition to audio compositions — and silences — that will rotate throughout the space, she has created a number of ‘‘dilapidated sculptural objects that will be emitting sound.’’

Meanwhile, the street–knitting pioneer Magda Sayeg, known for ‘‘yarn bombing’’ random objects on city streets — she once covered a bus in Mexico City — has been working around the clock with a team of eight craftswomen in Austin, Tex., painstakingly creating a 60–foot sleeve of yarn by hand for another of the store’s columns. The idea

evolved gradually. Sayeg’s initial proposal was meant to be ‘‘as conceptual and out–of–this– world as Comme des Garçons,’’ she recalls.

Kawakubo was unimpressed, and Sayeg finally realized the designer really just wanted her to be herself.

It’s a common experience for Kawakubo’s collaborators. ‘‘People shiver and shake when they meet her, and they come with new things they think Rei wants,’’ Joffe says. ‘‘They always fail. All she wants is their core and what they stand for.’’ — AARON GELL

CREATIVE CONSTRUCTION Among the artists and architects whose original installations will occupy the store are Madeline Gins (above) of Arakawa and Gins, and Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson (right) of London Fieldworks.

COMEBACK KID DSMNY will carry an exclusive new collection from Andre Walker (left), who has worked with Willi Smith, Kim Jones and Marc Jacobs. ‘‘I’m so nervous,’’ he says. ‘‘I have not designed a collection in 12 years!’’

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and includes Prada, Saint Laurent, Azzedine Alaïa, Thom Browne, Rick Owens, Sacai and Undercover.

The main floor is where Louis Vuitton is set up its pop– up shop; and Rose Bakery, the cult French bakery that is also in the London and Tokyo stores, is on the first floor and mezzanine. But just in case that might seem too ‘‘establishment,’’ Joffe has installed an ‘‘experimental’’ sound system from the Brooklyn–based musical artist Calx Vive, which will play from various sculptures throughout the building.

Always ready to support new talent, Joffe and Kawakubo have made space for burgeoning British talent like Simone Rocha and J. W. Anderson, and a fourth floor ‘‘incubation’’ area with small customized spaces for young designers like the Russian Gosha Rubchinskiy, known for his skate–inspired fashion, and Max Vanderwoude Gross, the 27–year–old behind the up–and–coming New York label Proper Gang. Other designers on the floor, which will be called the ‘‘Energy Showroom,’’ include Lou Dalton, Phoebe English, Craig Green, Lee Roach and Sibling. ‘‘Dover Street Market’s core value is to share a space with people with vision, people who have something to say,’’ Joffe says.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS

UNCONVENTIONAL, OUT–OF–LEFT–FIELD LOCATION,

SO UNCOOL AND FAR FROM ANY STYLISH SHOPPING ZONE? Kawakubo has an exceptional sense of place. When Comme des Garçons opened in Tokyo’s Aoyama district in 1975, the neighborhood was far from bustling, but it eventually evolved into a fashion hot spot. Similarly, when she opened her first Comme des Garçons store in New York in 1983, she chose SoHo, which was mostly a place for artists, not the downtown epicenter of fashion.

And since she moved the shop to Chelsea in 1999, that area has evolved into a district of high–end galleries.

Now it’s all changing in Chelsea, as the famous aluminum tunnel weaving through a former automobile repair building is spun with gold. Make that GOLD! For in order to emphasize the spirit of Comme des Garçons

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and redefine it for the arrival of Dover Street Market, Kawakubo has gone on a gilt trip that starts with golden tree sculptures designed by the Japanese artist Kohei Nawa inside the store. ‘‘For the renovation of Chelsea, I wanted to create an even stronger, even more forward–looking, even more stimulating shop — to try to fulfill the hopes of our core Comme des Garçons customers,’’ explains the designer, who sees the actual Comme des Garçons stores as havens for ‘‘the fundamentalists,’’ as Joffe calls the hard–core fans, the people who might have started buying the label during the years when the Comme message was almost entirely black. But black is now, apparently, no longer the signature color. ‘‘I imagined this time a magical world using my third color after black and red: gold,’’ the designer explains. ‘‘I know that when babies are given the choice of colors, they often choose gold.’’ ‘‘So in this spirit of gold being the most enjoyable color,’’ she continues, ‘‘I have transformed the existing space and architecture to create a new intimate and concentrated shop. And as well as Comme des Garçons, I have also chosen to add personally, for the first time, some other brands and accessories that I like. Everything here is 100 percent my eye.’’ The store will carry brands like the Pop Art–inspired British designers Meadham Kirchhoff and the New York–based leather designer Zana Bayne. The notion that a designer’s store expresses the creative personality behind it is a given. But constant change is not. At Comme des Garçons, the search for the new and the need to evolve is part of the brand’s DNA. Joffe says creative retail strategies embody the main pillar of Comme des Garçons’ sense of values: the never– ending search for something new. ‘‘We are always forward–looking, always evolving,’’ he says of the company’s pioneering spirit and its essential beliefs.

Kawakubo expressed the same idea but put it more profoundly. ‘‘Without creation,’’ she says, ‘‘there can be no progress and man cannot evolve.’’

Opposite: Comme des Garçons dress, AED 16,106, boots, AED 2,773, and shoe cover, AED 1,194. Models: Maja Salamon/ Next Models; Ine Neefs/Elite Models; Elodia Prieto/ Silent Models.

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ON–SET PRODUCER: MARION NOBLEAUX. PHOTO ASSISTANTS: MÉLANIE REY, BARBARA MARANGON, FELIX SEILER–FEDI. DIGITAL TECH: MATTEO MIANI.

Wild Kingdom In ‘‘India Song,’’ the latest series by the London-based photographer Karen Knorr, a sarus crane strikes a statuesque one-legged pose — a proud avian sentinel watching over a spunsugar white marble chamber in Udaipur’s City Palace. A cheetah gazes contemplatively out the arched windows at the afternoon light like a Vermeer housemaid. A Bengal tiger luxuriates on a bed in the ornately decorated Mehrangarh Fort, the very model of feline hauteur.

Redolent of fairy tales and ancient myths yet grounded in contemporary politics, Knorr’s mysterious, stately images prompt a host of questions: Could this albino blackbuck be a spellbound

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prince from a Sanskrit fable? Who will dare displace this zebu bull from the magnificent china shop that is Rajasthan’s Samode Palace?

In what Knorr calls ‘‘a memento mori for our species,’’ the sight of this resplendent menagerie — a lion-tailed macaque, a snowy egret, a hoopoe — inhabiting such grand interiors evokes a curious sense of dislocation, a realization that for all their affluence, power, taste and vanity, the well-born nobles of the Mughal Empire are long extinct. Amid India’s rapid modernization and population boom, these particular nonhuman species may well soon join them. As Knorr notes, the series ‘‘uses animal characters to playfully evoke the foibles of power and the melancholy of its abuses.’’ — AARON GELL

© KAREN KNORR INDIAN SONG COURTESY OF TASVEER, EXHIBITION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH VACHERON CONSTANTIN.

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