The Glossary - The Creatives issue 2025

THE LO NDON STYL E GUID E

London’s don’t-miss

The galleries & museums paying tribute to the amboyance of the decade

Style updates and the latest feel-good buys

HAYLEY ATWELL

The Glossary goes behind the scenes with stage and screen’s brightest star 36 ON THE PAGE

The chicest fashion books to add to your co ee table right now

40 PRIYA AHLUWALIA

The designer on sustainability, style and storytelling through fashion

Watches & Jewellery

48 WATCH & JEWELLERY NOTES

Glittering launches and covetable pieces to have on your radar

50 IN FINE FEATHER

Plumes bring the lightest of touches to Chanel’s haute joaillerie

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

The vanguard of contemporary designers dazzling the jewellery world right now

58 PERFECT TIMING

The season’s intricate Métiers d’Art watches that are more than a pretty face

Beauty & Wellness

The

Beauty Director Alessandra Steinherr gets to the root of diminishing hair density

CONTENTS

THE CREATIVES ISSUE 2025

68 ON THE SCENT

The latest fragrances to spritz this season

70 FUTURE PROOF

The cutting-edge London clinics o ering preventative healthcare

Food & Drink

76 TASTING NOTES

The latest from the capital’s dining scene

78 WHERE THE CHEFS EAT

Thomas Straker shares his best-loved restaurants in town

80 TABLE TALK

Hilary Armstrong reviews the capital’s buzziest new openings

Travel

86 TRAVEL NOTES

All the latest news from around the globe

88 HIGH TIMES

Inside Palm Heights, the A-lister Caribbean hotel

Home & Interiors

96 DESIGN NOTES

Meet the creative husband-and-wife team behind Buchanan Studio 104 GEORGIA MAY JAGGER

The model and skincare founder on what’s inspiring her now

Editor’s Letter

Actor Hayley Atwell is that rare thing – as bright a star on stage as she is on screen, and this February she treads the boards again in Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre

Royal Drury Lane. Theatre has always been close to her heart, from when she was a young girl growing up in London. Indeed, it was whilst appearing in The Pride, a critically-acclaimed West End production, back in 2013, that Hollywood first came calling, when she was spotted by Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie. And now Hayley is back, appearing as Beatrice in Shakespeare’s romantic comedy opposite her good friend Tom Hiddleston’s Benedick, in what promises to be another huge hit for director Jamie Lloyd. Hayley took a break from rehearsals for our exclusive cover interview and fashion shoot. And, as writer Rosamund Dean discovers, though her work ethic is faultless and her repertoire extraordinary, she is self-deprecating and funny as she discusses everything from her childhood in Notting Hill to the importance of connecting to a modern audience.

Another creative not afraid to push the envelope is Priya Ahluwalia. The London-based fashion designer, who has won multiple awards since launching her eponymous label in 2018, discusses sustainability, her style sensibilities and how she sees the future of her brand. Also making the city’s design scene shine ever brighter are Angus and Charlotte Buchanan; the husband and wife behind Buchanan Studio, whose striped Studio Chair became a viral sensation, reveal the secrets behind the phenomenal success of their multi-disciplinary practice.

We also visit A-lister getaway Palm Heights in Grand Cayman; Hilary Armstrong samples London’s new dining spots; and we curate the stand-out exhibitions for a hit of culture this season.

Enjoy the issue.

Charlotte Adsett, Editorial Director

THE GLOSSARY TEAM

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Charlotte Adsett charlotte@theglossarymagazine.com

EDITOR: Harriet Cooper harriet@theglossarymagazine.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Luciana Bellini luciana@theglossarymagazine.com

BEAUTY DIRECTOR: Alessandra Steinherr

WATCH & JEWELLERY EDITOR: Kim Parker

CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITOR: Flora Macdonald Johnston

RESTAURANT EDITOR: Hilary Armstrong

INTERIORS EDITOR: Amy Moorea Wong

SUB EDITOR: Susie Wong

CONTRIBUTORS: Grace Cook, Rosamund Dean, Lily Pichon Flannery, Olivia Lidbury, Emma Sells

ART DIRECTOR & MANAGING DIRECTOR: Ray Searle ray@theglossarymagazine.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER: George Willis production@theglossarymagazine.com

FINANCE MANAGER: Amanda Clayton accounts@theglossarymagazine.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS: subscriptions@theglossarymagazine.com

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: editorial@theglossarymagazine.com

Published by Neighbourhood Media Limited, 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE

Retro Fit

Louis Vuitton x Murakami

The Noughties collaboration returns once again as the fashion house teams up with maverick Japanese artist Takashi Murakami for a re-edition collection of their classic bag designs. louisvuitton.com

Edit

Feel uplifted with this season’s most joyful nds

Pick of the Bunch Sage Flowers

Artistry meets oristry meets sustainability at fashion’s favourite oral studio, Sage in Peckham. sage owers.co.uk

Glass Act

Carlo Moretti Tumblers, £695 for six

Elevate aperitivo hour with these Murano glass tumblers from the brilliantly-curated interiors site Abask. abask.com

On Re ection

Merit x Completedworks compact mirror, £33

This limited-edition everyday compact turned objet d'art is surely the chicest on-the-go accessory. completedworks.com

A Cut Above

David M Robinson Alina Diamond Rings, from £3,700

The British jewellery brand, which has London boutiques in Canary Wharf and The Peninsula hotel, leans into re ned simplicity with its new engagement rings. The sculptural Alina collection features exquisite diamond cuts including Marquise, Pear and Oval in a seamless full mount. davidmrobinson.co.uk

Light Fantastic

Isa 95 Mesh Paillette Pumps, £925

Let your feet do the talking with these super-size disc heels. jimmychoo.com

Back to the Future

Chet Lo x Rankin Editions

The designer brings his cyber-punky signature into the home with a new capsule of futuristic furniture. chetlo.com

Culture

PLATFORM: BETHAN LAURA WOOD DESIGN MUSEUM

Until January 2026

The vibrant world of Bethan Laura Wood is showcased in all its technicolour glory in this free exhibition, which marks the launch of the museum’s new annual display series PLATFORM. More than 70 of the British artist and designer’s boldly brilliant works, spanning furniture, lighting, jewellery and installations, have been collated. Some you’ll recognise, others are brand new but all demonstrate why Wood is one of the most exciting creatives of the modern day. designmuseum.org

WHAT ’ S ON & WHERE

By HARRIET COOPE R

GOYA TO IMPRESSIONISM: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection

THE

COURTAULD

Until 26 May

For the first time in its history, key masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection in Winterthur, which spans many centuries, will be displayed outside Switzerland. The focus of the show is Reinhart’s extraordinary Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection, with major paintings by Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne and Van Gogh for all to see. Works by the artistic generation preceding the Impressionists, including Goya, Géricault and Courbet, will also be on show. courtauld.ac.uk

GRAYSON PERRY: DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

28 March - 26 October Don’t Miss

Sir Grayson Perry has overseen the largest contemporary exhibition ever held at The Wallace Collection, which - incidentally - marks his 65th birthday in March. The Turner Prize-winning artist has created more than 40 new works as a direct response to the museum’s masterpieces, drawing on different techniques, genres and forms to address themes including the gendering of decoration, the creation of domestic space and perceived perfection versus authenticity. wallacecollection.org THE WALLACE COLLECTION

ELECTRIC DREAMS

TATE MODERN

Until 1 June

Spanning from the birth of op art to the dawn of the internet age, this exhibition is billed as one of Tate Modern’s most ambitious to date, examining the pioneers of mind-bending optical, kinetic, programmed and digital art. Visitors can both immerse themselves in the psychedelic environments of the 1950s and 60s, as well as learn how radical artists went on to embrace the dawn of digital technology in the 1970s and 80s. tate.org.uk

WOMEN & FREUD: PATIENTS, PIONEERS, ARTISTS

FREUD MUSEUM

Until 5 May

A study into the women who played an integral role in helping Sigmund Freud invent psychoanalysis and their legacy not just in its practice, but also in arts and literature. From patients who later became analysts to artists such as Paula Rego and Tracey Emin, this exhibition brings to life the females in Freud’s history, as well as those who have drawn inspiration from his body of thinking to this day. freud.org.uk

TIRZAH GARWOOD: BEYOND RAVILIOUS

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY

Until 26 May

A decade after the Gallery’s landmark Ravilious exhibition, curator James Russell returns, this time with the first major exhibition devoted to Eric Ravilious’s wife, Tirzah Garwood. The retrospective offers a rare opportunity to view more than 80 works by the fine artist, printmaker and designer, almost entirely sourced from private collections, including nearly all her oil paintings, alongside wood engravings, pencil sketches and collages. Watercolours by Ravilious are also displayed, inviting the viewer to recognise the thematic similarities between the couple, as well as their individual practices. dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

DONALD RODNEY: VISCERAL CANKER

WHITECHAPEL

Until 4 May

Whitechapel Gallery presents a major survey exhibition of the late multi-media artist Donald Rodney, who was a leading figure in Britain’s BLK Art Group of the 1980s before he passed away at the age of 37 from complications around sickle cell anaemia. It was a condition Rodney lived with for many years, one which he harnessed to challenge the prejudices and injustices around racial identity, Black masculinity, chronic illness and Britain’s colonial past. Visceral Canker comprises most of Rodney’s surviving works from 1982 to 1997, including his large-scale oil pastels on X-rays, kinetic and animatronic sculptures as well as his sketch books and archival material. As well as demonstrating the breadth and depth of Rodney’s work, this exhibition also introduces him to a new generation. whitechapelgallery.org

SPLASH! A CENTURY OF SWIMMING AND STYLE

DESIGN MUSEUM

28 March - 17 August

Pamela Anderson’s red bathing suit from Baywatch, the first Olympic solo swimming gold medal won by a British woman, the earliest ever bikinis, the controversial LZR Racer swimsuit, and a colourful array of men’s Speedos… just a few of the exhibits in this deep dive into our enduring love of swimming over the past 100 years. Divided into three sections (the pool, the lido and nature), it traces swimming from the 1920s - when swimwear first became popular - right through to our continued fascination with mermaids including the Mermaidcore trend of the 2020s. designmuseum.org

Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS

Until 21 April

From the early 20th century right through until the 1970s, Brazilian artists were creating a new type of modern art as a response to contemporary trends and emerging influences from abroad, informed with the artistic traditions of their home country. This collective looked inward at their rich cultural resources, to the Indigenous community and the Afro-Brazilian experience, setting a new course for Modernism across South America. Artists on display include Tarsila do Amaral and Anita Malfatti, Alfredo Volpi and Djanira, as well as Afro-Brazilian artist Rubem Valentim and performance artist Flávio de Carvalho. royalacademy.org.uk

PICASSO: PRINTMAKER

THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Until 30 March

Picasso may have been famous for his paintings, but he was also a prolific printmaker. He created his first print aged 17, subsequently producing around 2,400 during his lifetime. The British Museum holds the largest collection of these in the UK, with around 100 in this exhibition, including his first formal print The Frugal Meal (1904). The exhibition closes with several prints from 347 Suite, which Picasso produced in 1968, aged 86, while contemplating his life and legacy. britishmuseum.org

LEFT: Subversive Sirens. Photo: Ackerman + Gruber. BELOW: A Facekini. © Alexandra Utzmann.

Photo: Alexandra Utzmann, art direction and styling: Mélanie Huynh, for CR Fashion Book

Djanira da Motta e Silva, Three Orishas , 1966. Collection of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, purchased by the Governo do Estado de São Paulo, 1969. © Instituto Pintora Djanira

MICKALENE THOMAS: ALL ABOUT LOVE

HAYWARD GALLERY

Until 5 May 2025

New York-based artist Mickalene Thomas is known for her vibrant, dynamic paintings composed of rhinestones, acrylic and enamel, created as a counter-narrative to mainstream depictions of beauty and identity. Her large-scale works of portraiture and collage, which mostly depict Black women against boldly patterned backgrounds, have gained a loyal following, adorning album covers, including for Solange Knowles, as well as emblazoning fashion runways, most notably at Dior. southbankcentre.co.uk

LINDER: Danger Came Smiling

HAYWARD GALLERY

Until 5 May 2025

Hayward Gallery invites you to trace the arc of Linder’s extraordinary five-decade career. The retrospective begins with the punk scene in 1970s Manchester, where the British artist first achieved prominence with not just her band Ludus but also her groundbreaking album covers and unique photomontage style. Since then she has explored the realms of fashion, music, performance, perfume, textiles and film, taking inspiration in everything from Surrealism to social media, revealing not just her experimental and feminist leanings, but also a deep sense of humour. “I’m thrilled to share a lifetime’s work at the Hayward Gallery. Its Brutalist architecture is the perfect foil for the delicacy of the print ephemera I’ve worked with for over half a century,” says the artist. southbankcentre.co.uk

EDVARD MUNCH PORTRAITS

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

13 March - 15 June

Often perceived as complex and troubled, this exhibition portrays Edvard Munch in a different light, as a sociable man who had a close circle around him. It focuses on his portraiture, bringing together works from the 1880s to 1920s of his family, his fellow bohemians, his patrons and his friends. We get glimpses of his sister Laura on a family holiday; his creative contemporaries; as well as the wealthy, influential collectors who bought his pieces, including his dynamic portrait of German physicist Felix Auerbach (hitherto never seen before in the UK). npg.org.uk

Linder, SheShe , 1981. Courtesy of the artist. Modern Art, London. Blum, Los Angeles, Tokyo, New York. Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm, Paris and dépendance, Brussels. Photo: Birrer

SIENA: THE RISE OF PAINTING 1300-1350

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

8 March - 22 June

This spring, the gallery takes visitors to 14th-century Siena. More than 100 exhibits have been curated to reflect this golden era of art, when artists were pursuing a new method of painting, showing drama and emotion in their work. Indeed, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see parts of Duccio’s monumental ‘Maestà’ altarpiece reunited, as well as panels from Simone Martini’s Orsini polyptych brought together for the first time in living memory. We also learn how their work caused ripples across the rest of Europe among painters, metalworkers, weavers and carpenters. nationalgallery.org.uk

green glossary

SOI L : THE WORLD AT OUR FEET

NOAH DAVIS

BARBICAN ART GALLERY

Until 11 May

SOMERSET HOUSE

Until 13 April

2025 marks the 25th anniversary since Somerset House first welcomed visitors as a home for arts and culture. To mark this milestone, expect 12 months of artistic innovation with ‘Somerset House at 25’ featuring exhibitions, new commissions and events. Kicking off proceedings is SOIL: The World at our Feet. With sensory artworks, historical objects, scientific artefacts and documentary evidence on display, the idea is to highlight not just the power and fragility of soil, but also the part it plays in human civilisation and its extraordinary potential to heal our planet. somersethouse.org.uk

Though he passed away from a rare cancer at the age of just 32, Noah Davis created an impressive body of work between the years of 2007 and his death in 2015. It largely comprises figurative paintings of the men, women and children he came across day-to-day, capturing them at work, play or in repose; based primarily in Los Angeles, he felt he had a “responsibility to represent the people around me”. These canvases, alongside his sculpture and works on paper, have been collated for the first time to celebrate Davis’s rich legacy and inspire dialogues around representation and identity. barbican.org.uk

FLOWERS

FLO IN CONTEMPO RY ART & CUL RE

SAATCHI GALLERY

Until 5 May

Spring has sprung in SW3 as the Saatchi Gallery welcomes visitors to its latest exhibition, celebrating all things floral. Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture, which is sponsored by the Italian high jeweller Buccellati, sees the gallery in full bloom with more than 500 unique artworks and objects showcasing the influence of flowers on creativity over the centuries, as well as in contemporary culture.

Divided into thematic sections, the show explores the symbolic power and beauty of flora in painting, sculpture and photography, from the Renaissance right through to the present day. We also learn about the role of flowers within music, film, literature, fashion and jewellery. Indeed, Buccellati has loaned a number of one-of-a-kind floral-inspired brooches from the archive of each generation of the house’s family designer. Other highlights include works by established names such as Gillian Ayres, Gary Hume and Marc Quinn, as well as emerging artists. An installation by Rebecca Louise Law fills a 2,000 sq ft gallery space with 100,000 dried flowers, while a display in collaboration with Chelsea Physic Garden reflects on the properties of flowers as medicinal plants. The exhibition marks the start of Saatchi Gallery’s 40th anniversary celebrations, with plenty more planned for 2025. saatchigallery.com

A Snapshot of the 1980s

The decade’s dash and panache is celebrated across a series of new exhibitions in the capital

Words HARRIET COOPER

The spirit of the 1980s - a time of exuberance and eclecticism - is encapsulated in a number of exhibitions across London. Though the decade saw social, political and economic upheaval, it also witnessed an outpouring of experimental creativity and energy that pushed cultural boundaries further than ever before.

To understand this better, we need context: Britain in the 1980s was an unsettled time of race uprisings, miner strikes, Section 28 (which prevented local authorities from promoting homosexuality), the HIV/AIDS epidemic and gentrificationnot to mention the speed of technological advancement. The knock-on effect was that a subculture emerged in London and beyond, with a creative community putting two fingers up to the establishment and their reactionary conservatism. The way to rebel was via art, music, design, fashion and photography.

Tate Britain’s exhibition The 80s: Photographing Britain - which runs until 5 May - shines a light on the medium of photography during this era, showcasing how photographers used their cameras as a tool to respond to the seismic shifts around them. Works from more than 70 lens-based artists and collectives reflect the power of the image to highlight the country’s widening disparities.

Until 9 March

“The 1980s in Britain was a time of mass unemployment, increasingly conservative values and rising homophobia. As a result, the art scene burst with creativity to counter those grey cityscapes”

Jessica Baxter Co-curator, Leigh Bowery! exhibition

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Trojan and Mark at Taboo, 1986. © Derek Ridgers, c/o UnravelProductions; Dancefloor Gallery Area. © Fashion & Textile Museum; Boy George and Leigh Bowery, 13 March 1987. Cynthia Payne Party, Limelight Nightclub, London. © Brendan Beirne/Shutterstock

BLITZ: THE CLUB THAT SHAPED THE 80s at The Design Museum

From 20 September

Tate Modern also looks to the 1980s, with the opening of Leigh Bowery! on 27 February, a flamboyant celebration of the multi-hyphenate’s extraordinary life and career. Though he was born in Australia, the artist-performer-club promoter-musician-fashion designer moved to London in 1980, becoming an influential figure within the city’s underground club culture, as well as in art, fashion and music circles.

Bowery reinterpreted clothing and makeup as forms of painting and sculpture, emerging in evermore outrageous outfits as the decade went on - most notably at his fantastical club night Taboo. But this wasn’t just a case of dressing up for the sake of it - Bowery was fearlessly challenging the norms, collaborating with artists such as Michael Clark, Nick Knight, Mr Pearl and Lucian Freud to push the boundaries of individuality, sexuality and creativity. This is a chance to step into Bowery’s brilliant world to experience his “looks” and appreciate how they continued to resonate long after his death in 1994.

“Leigh Bowery was a truly trailblazing artist,” the exhibition’s

THE FACE MAGAZINE: CULTURE SHIFT at National Portrait Gallery

Until 18 May

ARTS & CULTURE

co-curator Jessica Baxter tells The Glossary . “This exhibition weaves together the rich tapestry of his performances, club life, textile creations, TV personas, incredibly witty writing, music and ultimately how he blended life and art.”

“The 1980s in Britain was a time of mass unemployment, increasingly conservative values and rising homophobia. As a result, the art scene burst with creativity to counter those grey cityscapes,” she continues.

“Everyone was trying to out-do each other, Bowery included. The collaborations with his friends (and enemies) pushed him to create more and more outlandish and provocative work, which we will see in the show.”

In addition to both Tates, the 1980s are celebrated elsewhere in the capital. In The Face Magazine: Culture Shift, opening on 20 February, the National Portrait Gallery explores the impact of the cult style magazine, which first launched in 1980 sending ripples across Britain’s youth culture. With work by everyone from Corinne

Day to David Sims on display, it’s a chance to see how the publication’s iconic portraiture and photography impacted the worlds of fashion and music in the 1980s and beyond.

Later in the year, the Design Museum is set to welcome visitors to Blitz: the club that shaped the 80s (from 20 September). In its hey day, the niche nightspot in Covent Garden was a melting pot of innovation, inspired by everything from cabaret culture to the soul scene. Now, more than 40 years since its closure, the club’s lively history is on show for all to see, developed in collaboration with some of the original Blitz Kids. Across town, the Fashion & Textile Museum’s show Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London - an ode to Bowery again and the vibrant, outlandish crowd he hung out with - continues until 9 March.

Bigger, brighter and bolder than anything that had come before, the 1980s was a decade that changed cultural Britain forever - and London invites us all to celebrate.

Until 5 May

tate.org.uk npg.org.uk designmuseum.org fashiontextilemuseum.org

STYLE

MANNISH JOY

Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, has garnered widespread praise for his SS25 womenswear collection, not least for the mannish tailoring, which is a tour de force. Oversized double-breasted suits, belted leather jackets and wide-legged trousers are sharp and brimming with confidence; the muted palette of anthracite, black and deep plum add to the 80s Wall Street vibe. A lesson in immaculate power dressing. ysl.com

Fashion Notes

A power dressing revival, silk gets a 70s spin and Jacquemus comes to London

Compiled by CHARLOTTE ADSETT

New Collaboration

COMEBACK KING

Two years since Christopher Kane closed his eponymous label, he’s back. The fashion designer has teamed up with Londonbased brand Self-Portrait on its rst-ever residency, creating a collection of 30 new looks that reinterpret Kane’s debut SS07 collection, incorporating crystal chainmail, delicate lace ru es and bias-cut satin dresses with intricate lace panels. self-portrait.com

ON POINTE

The Alaïa mesh ballet flat may have been the shoe of last year, but there’s a new pump in town. Step forward the Gucci Horsebit Ballet Flat. Featuring a squared-toe cap, delicate bow detailing and the signature gold-toned horsebit, it comes in multiple colourways and materials and already counts Alexa Chung as a fan. gucci.com

Move over leopard print - right now, fashion’s going wild for snakeskin. Khaite’s Cate leather handbag - named after the New York brand’s founder Catherine ‘Cate’ Holstein - ticks all the new-season boxes with its monochrome snakeeffect leather, understated boxy silhouette and polished gold-tone hardware. You’ll be charmed. £4,270; net-a-porter.com

Undoubtedly the accessory of the season, a studded belt can instantly elevate a simple top and trousers combination. Buckle up with this smooth black leather belt adorned with supersized silver studs from Village Leathers, a London-based brand that handmakes all of its belts and accessories in the capital. £92; villageleathers.com

HERE COMES THE SUN

Simon Porte Jacquemus brings the Mediterranean to New Bond Street with his new London flagship. The cult French designer - who was born and raised in Provence - worked with creative studio OMA on the store’s aesthetic. Behind the neo-classical Portland stone facade, they’ve created a space that’s warm and inviting with textural walls in a neutral colour palette displaying Jacquemus’s evergrowing art collection and accents of sunshine yellow, a colour close to his heart, across the menswear and womenswear oors.

33 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 jacquemus.com

TALKING HEADS

Synonymous with classic Golden Hollywood-era glamour, think Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, the 1950s-style headscarf continues to turn heads. Functional yet timelessly chic, the retro styling trick is the fashion girl’s most elegant update of the season - as seen in Polish designer Magda Butrym’s new collection. magdabutrym.com

SHEER TALENT

New London brand-to-know Vespertine is the brainchild of designer Katy Close, who was at Raey, Matches’ much-loved in-house brand, and model Lili Sumner. The vintage-inspired label specialises in silk and chiffon, its name inspired by the word to describe plants and animals which come alive in the evening. The latest collection looks to the romance of the 70s rock scene, featuring slip dresses, ruffled blouses and delicate camis, with any leftover material used to create matching underwear. vespertinelondon.com

Interview

POWER PLAYER

One of the most exciting and versatile actors of our generation, Hayley Atwell talks to Rosamund Dean about growing up in London, working with Hollywood’s true greats and the transportive magic of theatre

Photography NICK THOMPSON Stylist JENNY KENNEDY

You can tell I was head girl,” laughs Hayley Atwell, collecting her belongings and moving us to a different table in White City House. “I’m a natural bossy organiser.”

She’s here at the west London outpost of Soho House, tapping away on her laptop and drinking green tea when I arrive. She jokes about being perennially early (never, ever late) as she pops her laptop back inside a massive black Givenchy Voyou bag and signals over to a nearby, quieter table. She’s right; Atwell is giving head girl energy.

But this warm self-deprecation belies the fact that she has quietly become one of the most successful actors of her generation. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2005, she established herself as a serious actor with period dramas Brideshead Revisited and The Duchess, as well as working with Nicholas Hytner at the Royal National Theatre before making her West End debut in A View from the Bridge. She proved herself to be a breathtaking stage presence and has thrice been nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award, so it was little surprise when Hollywood came knocking. In 2010, everything changed. She was cast as Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger , catapulting her into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and becoming recognisable to legions of fans globally. Initially the film’s love interest, Atwell’s Peggy was so popular that she also starred in a spin-off series, Agent Carter . But we’re here to talk about her latest role: a Jamie Lloyd production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, in which she stars with Tom Hiddleston. Opening on 10 February, it’s the hottest ticket of 2025 so far, a show which she describes as “pure, joyful escapism… This production is a bold take on Shakespeare’s comedy, a savagely funny and beautifully tender battle of wits.”

“My mum would say, ‘London is your city. Anything is possible here’"

The London-born star orders a black Americano, and I can’t help noticing that she is glowing. “I had a facial at Keren Bartov,” she grins, adding that she leafed through The Glossary in the waiting room at the skincare clinic just off Portobello Road. She’s wearing a cream top by The Frankie Shop and Ganni jeans with white, tapered heel boots by Gia Borghini. “My coat is from The Frankie Shop, too,” she says. “I have this coat and top in every colour because I love the structure.” Surprisingly, she explains that her awareness of her signature style is down to Mission: Impossible. Because, as if one blockbuster franchise wasn’t enough, she’s also in Tom Cruise’s action juggernaut. As part of the preparation, which involved five months of mixed martial arts and learning to “drift” (ie. drive in a terrifying way), she went to a London company called Red Leopard to do her colours.

“That was such a thing in the 1980s,” she laughs, “but we wanted to discover who my character could be, not just in terms of behaviour, but also aesthetic. I went into it with an open mind, as a perk of the job, but it was so fascinating. I’m a ‘bright winter’, so my skin tone works well with white, black, navy, true reds, bottle greens… not slushy colours. And asymmetry works with my face shape, so that might mean two earrings in one ear, or clothes at an angle. I love JW Anderson and A.W.A.K.E. Mode, both have an edge, a very London style. The silhouettes are strong and distinctive, they suit my personality.”

Atwell grew up with her mother in Notting Hill. Her parents split when she was two, but she is still close to her American father, Grant, who now lives in the Bay Area, northern California. Hers was a relaxed, free-spirited household. She loves listening to the Miss Me? podcast by Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver. “They’re a couple of years younger than me, but that was my world. I went to the same school as Lily, both Fox Primary School and Hill House, and they were very cool and crazy girls. I was not that,” she laughs. “But I get all their cultural references. Every Thursday my mum would have an open house and so many interesting people would come over for a potluck supper.” The house would be filled with poets, singers

and random famous people, such as Anneka Rice. “It was so eclectic,” she remembers. “There were real characters around Portobello at that time. I felt lucky to be exposed to the melting pot of London.”

Atwell’s mum, Alison, came to London from Manchester aged 17, where she started working with motivational speakers after discovering Dale Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, in the 1970s. “This was back when there was no self-help section in the bookshop. She was a pioneer of that emotionally articulate language that’s very mainstream now,” says Atwell. “She became really good at it and would create environments where people could go to learn those skills and techniques to connect with people. These days, businesses hire people like her for team building or self-care days, but that didn’t exist back then.”

One might jump to the conclusion that Atwell’s head girl bookishness was a response to the laid-back vibe at home, but that environment was the making of her, nurturing her creativity from a young age. “Mum was, I suppose, bohemian or liberal in her ideas, but I always felt very safe,” says Atwell. “And she valued the arts, taking me to see Juliet Stevenson, Fiona Shaw, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes on stage.” Indeed, it was seeing Fiennes on stage in Hamlet in 1995, at the age of 13, that partly inspired her to become an actor. She puts her enthusiasm for this city down to her mum’s wide-eyed appreciation of London: “She would say, ‘This is your city. Anything is possible here.’”

Atwell currently resides in a leafy neighbourhood in southwest London, but has sporadically lived in Los Angeles for six-month periods while filming Agent Carter , renting in different parts of the city. When she’s in LA, she says she misses British humour; the irreverence and sarcasm. She recently rewatched the whole of Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain’s sitcom Peep Show . And, of course, she misses London’s parks. She runs 7k three days a week in Richmond Park - and credits exercise for calming her mind. Healthy living has become a bigger part of her life in recent years. Now 42, she has tired of the “cool girl” image to which so many women feel they must conform.

“It’s become a norm: ‘Binge drinking’s fine! Overconsumption of everything and then hating myself is what we do! Isn’t it funny and charming and I’m such a mess!’ The hot mess narrative has become normalised,” she sighs, “but it doesn’t mean it’s honest, or that there is happiness or joy. It’s often masking social anxiety or insecurity.”

She runs with her trainer, Sam Eastwood, who she’s been working with for five years. Her two French bulldogs, Wolfie and Iris, used to come along, too, until an incident a few years ago in Richmond Park where they were off the lead and ran after some deer. “Do you remember that ‘Fenton’ YouTube video?” She’s referring to the notorious 2011 viral video of a man screaming “Jesus Christ, Fenton!” while his dog chases some deer through the same park. “Well, it was like that,” she says, laughing ruefully. “Nothing I did could make them come back to me, calling them, throwing treats… I tried everything. People were filming them. It scared the hell out of me. They exhausted themselves and came back eventually, and they were so pleased with themselves, oblivious to the chaos they’d caused.”

Atwell has admirably strict boundaries around her personal life. I know only that she is in a relationship with music producer Ned Wolfgang Kelly. A naturally open person, she says it’s not about being secretive, but simply to maintain the privacy of people who haven’t chosen to be public facing. “I’ve learned to be discerning about what I share because, once it’s out there, it’s not just for The Glossary demographic,” she says. “It spreads into different territories and can create a narrative that feels invasive or reductive. Anyway,” she adds, “I love the Golden Age of Hollywood, when there was an enigma around actors. It enabled us to get lost in the story that they were telling.”

Well, getting lost in a fun comedy like Much Ado is exactly what we all need right now. It tells the story of resolutely single Beatrice (Atwell) and eternal bachelor Benedick (Hiddleston), both sworn off love forever. That is until their friends decide to get involved to help move their ‘will they, won’t they’ romance along.

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“Shakespeare wrote for ordinary people, not posh people. Theatre should always be talking to the present moment and connecting to a modern audience"

She was delighted to get the call from Jamie Lloyd, with whom she last worked on 2013’s The Pride, the award-winning revival of Alexi Kaye Campbell’s landmark drama at Trafalgar Studios. It was during her stint in that show that she was spotted by Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie. “He said, ‘What you do on that stage, I want to bottle it,’” she remembers. She jumped at the chance to work with Lloyd again, who is a global force in the world of theatre thanks to his impactful modern takes on classics such as Sunset Boulevard and Cyrano de Bergerac, both of which won him Olivier Awards for directing.

“I think it’s the first Jamie Lloyd production where every cast member has worked with Jamie or each other before, so from day one there was a sense of familiarity, comfort, trust, ice broken - we just launched into it,” she says. “This is my third time working with Jamie and our friendship spans 15 years. The biggest compliment I can get is to be re-employed by the same person.”

“I love how Jamie strips back the script and his set design is so clever; but it’s never style over content. He’s an extraordinary human being, with an extraordinary brain. He makes Shakespeare very accessible, as it was always meant to be. Shakespeare wrote for ordinary people, not posh people,” she continues. “Jamie and I are both passionate about delivering plays to a wider demographic - things that might be considered old-fashioned and archaic, we like saying, ‘No, let’s blow that apart.’ Theatre should always be talking to the present moment and connecting to a modern audience.”

“The other thing with Jamie is that he really respects actors’ lives. The rehearsal room is a civilised space. We start at 11am, so people can actually have a morning; we come in and it’s focused. At 4pm we leave, so we can work on our own private research or preparation. There’s no sense of hierarchy, it’s very democratic and inclusive. The only thing that is asked of us is that we’re open-minded and open-hearted.”

She’s excited to be working with Tom Hiddleston, too, with whom she has been good friends for more than two decades, though they’ve never actually shared a stage or screen. “We first met before either of us had gone to drama school; we’ve since done play readings and auditions together. So a Jamie production with Tom as my Benedick, I was like, ‘Yes, I can absolutely see that.’ Even though we’re taking a modern approach to this 400-year-old play, Tom and I are rigorous in our understanding of the poetry, rhythm and delivery of the language. But also, we are quite playful and childlike together. We’re not worried about looking cool in front of each other.”

The two have, by all accounts, been having great fun in the Much Ado rehearsals, not least because the production involves a strong element of dance. “There’s a huge masked ball in the play, there are weddings; it has a real sense of occasion, celebration and music, and Jamie wanted to incorporate these into the production,” she explains. “Without spoiling it too much, it’s a three-day party where lots of drama happens. People stay too long; they get to know each other a bit too well. Things get confused, and deception and trickery happen.”

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As for the dancing, “we start the rehearsal day with an hour of movement, devising joyful pieces of choreography that set the tone and atmosphere for the world of the play”. However, it isn’t, she’s quick to point out, like coming to see Swan Lake or Anything Goes. “Rather, what you’ve got is a company of actors who have their own style based on the characters they’re playing. There isn’t a sense that it must be slick, it just has to have exuberance and that’s what we’re bringing. Everyone is playful and inventive, there’s lots of laughter.” Theatre, she feels, is as important as ever in the smartphone era. “We live in an addictive society,” she sighs. “Phones, advertising, everything is designed for us to get sucked into a rabbit hole. It’s virtually impossible to function today without being pulled into this insidious, relentless stealing of one’s time. But in the theatre, phones go down and we’re engaged in something that should, if it’s good, hold everyone’s attention and be transportive.”

“In the theatre, phones go down and we’re engaged in something that should, if it’s good, hold everyone’s attention and be transportive"

While on the surface, Atwell’s career seems like an unbroken run of successes, she says there have been disappointments, notably when Agent Carter was cancelled after the second series. “After that happened, at first I thought, well, that’s the nature of the job; you get rejected or something gets cancelled,” she says. “But then I’d meet fans at conventions, who’d ask if she’s coming back, I realised how much it meant to people and I had a very delayed reaction to how sad I was about it. I would love to see her back with a proper arc that creates impact,” she pauses, then adds with a laugh: “Justice for Peggy!”

Peggy Carter is indeed rumoured to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday, which is slated for 2026. And, before then, there’s the small matter of the next Mission: Impossible film, due for release this May. She can’t reveal much about it, other than the fact that they filmed in the Arctic, “which turns out to be my favourite climate. I love bright skies, biting cold and white snow. I feel very awake.”

From working with Tom Cruise, she says she’s learned the power of being a perpetual student. “He still watches a film a day, and is constantly growing and evolving, learning about every aspect of filmmaking,” she says. “But also, he’s one of the last great movie stars. They don’t make them like that anymore. Working with him was like breathing rarefied air.”

Then brilliantly, she impersonates him, providing a glimpse into working with the legendary adrenaline junkie: “Hey, you wanna ride to the studio in the helicopter?”

When she’s not working, she likes to read. “I am loving Miranda July’s All Fours at the moment. And I just read a proof copy of Jesse Burton’s Hidden Treasure . She’s a friend of mine, and it’s her first young adult book. It’s about mudlarking on the Thames. And it has that poetic prose that she’s so good at. It may be for a younger audience, but it connects you to history and contains secrets. It’s a beautiful book. And the other one, which is very subversive, is a book of poetry called Meat Lovers by Rebecca Hawkes. It’s visceral and bloodlusty. She is such a bold voice, a new poet that I’ve only just discovered.”

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PHOTOGRAPHER Nick Thompson

STYLIST Jenny Kennedy at C/O Management

MAKE-UP Kenneth Soh at The Wall Group

HAIR Bjorn Krischker at The Wall Group

NAILS Maya Eddison for Bio Sculpture

FASHION ASSISTANT Nadia Dahan

TAILOR Kim Lareau at Karen Avenell

“London is such an exciting place to be. I don’t think I could ever be anywhere else in the long-term - it’s in my bones and in my blood. I feel very much at home here"

She also likes to go to the theatre. “When it is done well, it fills me with a childlike wonder. There’s a lot of dry theatre, which is particularly insulting because it is that much more expensive and you’ve left your home to see it,” she says. “I love Ian Rickson’s work and Rob Icke’s work. I had dinner last night with Duncan Macmillan - who has just adapted The Seagull that Cate Blanchett is in with Tom Burke, who is a good friend of mine. They’re rehearsing next door. It’s a very different production, so we were comparing notes. I am hoping to see that if I can. Also, I understand there’s going to be a West End transfer of The Years , based on Annie Ernaux’s book, which was at the Almeida last year with Romola Garai and Gina McKee. I was always really interested to see how they would adapt a book by Annie for the stage.”

She is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, where she enjoys “being on the jury for their Summer Exhibition, it’s always creatively exciting”. And she likes to eat out, citing Facing Heaven in London Fields as one of her go-tos. “It’s Haitian-Sichuan fusion and absolutely delicious. You’d never believe it’s vegan. It is incredible.” At home, she loves hosting dinner parties, describing her cooking style as “throwing things together and making up dishes as I go… I was recently given some vouchers for Borough Kitchen,

where you can do classes in knife skills and different kinds of cuisine. I love buying food at Borough Market. There’s always a buzz. Indeed, the whole area near the Globe is very inspiring. London is such an exciting place to be. I don’t think I could ever be anywhere else in the long-term - it’s in my bones and in my blood. I feel very much at home here.”

I imagine life in the Atwell-Kelly household to be a buzzing creative hub, like the environment that her mother nurtured when she was growing up. She is close with Emma Thompson, who has been a mentor, and casually mentions other famous friends, such as Stanley Tucci. In 20 years’ time, she sees herself: “Hosting fabulous dinner parties, wearing asymmetrical, bizarre creations and being very eccentric, not giving a f**k anymore. Being completely unfiltered and surrounded by friends.”

Will there be an open-door policy, as at her mother’s potluck Thursdays? “Yeah! I’ll have been creating and sustaining and nurturing for two or three decades,” she says. “By then I’ll be living in an artistic, communal environment where people are welcome, the door is open, bread is broken, and conversation is stimulated. That would be heaven.”

Much Ado About Nothing is on at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane until 5 April. lwtheatres.co.uk

GUY BOURDIN FOR CHARLES JOURDAN

Rizzoli, £58

Paris-born Guy Bourdin is one of the all-time fashion photography greats, renowned for his conceptualised, often provocative, oeuvre. This book by Patrick Remy captures the partnership between Bourdin and shoe designer Charles Jourdan from 1967 to 1976, its pages filled with photographs that reflect both the duo’s individual creativity and their unique partnership. You see the modernity and fetishism that made Jourdan’s designs so sought-after, all captured by Bourdin in a series of pictures described as ‘fabulist and dramatic’.

In The Frame

The latest coffee table books that are a glittering tribute to high fashion’s designers and image makers

SIMONE ROCHA

Rizzoli, £65

Ever since her first collection in 2010, Simone Rocha’s distinctly feminine-fierce designs have taken the fashion industry by storm, with A-list fans including Rihanna, FKA Twigs and Chloë Sevigny. This is the first in-depth insight into the work of the Irish designer, taking the reader beyond the dreamy creations into her world, one that’s been heavily influenced by the work of Louise Bourgeois and Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garçons. Thanks to Rocha’s own fascination with books, this is both beautifully edited and designed, with editorial contributions from Cindy Sherman, Petra Collins and Tim Blanks also helping to paint a picture of the sartorial poet.

Backstage at Lancaster House, Adwoa Aboah in Autumn/Winter 2017. Photo: Colin Dodgson

Backstage Autumn/Winter 2021. Photo: Jacob Lillis

PAOLO ROVERSI

Thames & Hudson, £50, published in May Arriving in Paris in 1973, the Italian-born fashion photographer Paolo Roversi soon distinguished himself with his ethereal, often dreamlike aesthetic. Spanning more than 50 years of his work, this definitive monograph by Sylvie Lécallier delves into his signature techniques, including his masterful use of Polaroid film, sepia-toned prints and his innovative studio lighting, which creates a soft, almost painterly quality. It also highlights his long-standing collaborations with the house of Dior and designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, whose avant-garde designs perfectly complemented Roversi's artistic vision. Featuring a mix of celebrated and previously unseen images, the book offers a comprehensive overview of Roversi's enduring impact on fashion photography and his timeless, evocative style, as well as how he continues to challenge and refresh his practice to this day.

THE BATTLE OF VERSAILLES

THE FASHION SHOWDOWN OF 1973

Rizzoli, £65

In 1973, a fashion show took place at the Palace of Versailles pitting designers from France (Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Hubert de Givenchy et al) against those from America, including Oscar de la Renta, Halston and Anne Klein. The 700 guests were dazzled by the presentations, with the French sending models down elaborate runways to classical music, while the Americans went for pared-back sets and a contemporary soundtrack - a decision which arguably stole the show. Documenting it all were photojournalists Bill Cunningham and Jean-Luce Huré, whose photographs fill the pages of Mark Bozek’s book.

YVES SAINT LAURENT: INSIDE OUT

Thames & Hudson, £60

The latter phase of Yves Saint Laurent’s career, between 1989 and his final collection in 2002, is spotlighted in this glossy tome. The images were taken by photographer and filmmaker Carlos Muñoz-Yagüe as he shadowed the French couturier in his studio, ateliers, dressing rooms and backstage at his runway shows. An introductory essay by Muñoz-Yagüe describes how he is the son of Anne-Marie Muñoz, who was both Saint Laurent’s right-hand woman and a lifelong friend of Karl Lagerfeld (who was also Muñoz-Yagüe’s godfather), which enabled him this fly-on-the-wall access to YSL.

BALENCIAGA-KUBLIN: A FASHION RECORD

Thames & Hudson, £50

More than 100 images by fashion photographer Tom Kublin chart the extraordinary work of haute couture designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. The pair were great allies and the photographs capture the golden age of the French maison in the 1950s and 60s, covering the elegant collection shoots - including exclusive footage of the designer at work - to covers and editorials for magazines. The text is equally enriching with a foreword by Kublin’s daughter María, a biography by Dr Ana Balda charting Kublin’s career and an interview with his partner and muse, the model Katinka Bleeker.

ALAÏA/GRÈS: BEYOND FASHION

Damiani, £40

Though there is no evidence that couturiers Madame Grès and Azzedine Alaïa ever crossed paths, Alaïa was an avid collector of fashion, including 700 dresses by Grès, which are now in the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa in Paris. Both designers have been lauded as “sculptors of dresses” and amongst the pages you’ll see more than 60 designs from the duo. These invite us to draw comparisons and connections between their deceptively simple style, cutting techniques and the way they melded fabrics and colours together so ingeniously throughout their collections.

the LonDon Look

Priya Ahluwalia, founder and creative director of the eponymous London-based label, on storytelling through fashion, sustainability and the strength of her community

Words EMMA SELLS

Portrait ALESSANDRA FINELLI

Priya Ahluwalia is in serious need of a holiday, so it’s a good job she’s heading off on her first ever ski trip the day after we speak. The past 12 months have been eventful, capped off with the 32-year-old receiving the New Establishment Menswear prize at the British Fashion Awards (BFA), the glitziest event in London’s fashion calendar. “Oh, it was really nice, I had a fabulous night,” she says of her eponymous men’s and women’s brand winning the prize. “I think that if people are being honest, fashion in general has been quite hard this past year. There have been so many things going on - multiple elections, wars, the economy is just terrible; it’s been challenging and the pressure of being a business owner has been quite acute. So it was nice to know that people still appreciate what we’re doing in that way, and it was brilliant for my team because we all won it together.”

Launched in 2018, just as Ahluwalia graduated from her Menswear MA at the University of Westminster, her namesake brand has, over the past seven years, not only become one of London’s most exciting and energising labels (in addition to her BFA, she was also a joint winner for the LVMH Prize in 2020 and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design a year later), but one whose clothes and ethos have genuine meaning and connection to the people who wear them. Loved by everyone from AJ Tracey and Wretch 32 to Mahalia, Leomie Anderson and Bethany Antonia, the super cool menswear and unashamedly sexy womenswear - easy to identify thanks to the bold approach to colour and texture, and laid-back, sports-inspired vibe - seem to be right at the epicentre of the buzziest bits of London’s music, film and fashion scenes. Ahluwalia may have won her Fashion Award for menswear but the women’s line, added in 2021, is an equal part of the business and the brand considers itself gender-neutral at heart, believing firmly that people are able to style themselves in whatever they want.

“All the London designers are fab, the energy around everyone is lovely. I think what’s wonderful is that everyone’s got a unique point of view and style in London”

to look fashion when you have to walk into a corporate boardroom. They think practically about dressing people in a way that makes them feel confident in their clothes, which is why, for example, you’ll see few pieces in the women’s collections that you can’t wear a bra with. “We’re always thinking about an actual person’s body,” says Ahluwalia. “And how can we be sexy but make sure that someone feels supported. It’s not easy, but we try. The world is a big place and people are very different, and they all deserve to wear things that make them feel happy.”

Ahluwalia rarely wears anything else herself – you’ll find her in the oversized men’s pieces by day, the tight dresses after dark – but she doesn’t design with just herself in mind “because if I did, I would design a collection that would cover all my insecurities, right?” Instead, she and her all-female team use the close-knit community of friends that surrounds the brand as their touchstone, thinking both about how they want to look and the situations they need to dress for: what to wear on a date (or how they’d like their date to be dressed when he turns up) or how

The label is rooted firmly in London but draws heavily on Ahluwalia’s mixed heritage; born and raised in Tooting, her mother is Indian, her father of Nigerian descent. “My mood boards are huge and filled with creative research that always comes from different elements of thinking about the Black and Brown diasporas,” she says. “The London influence is more instinctive: when I’m designing, because I’m thinking about the people that I know, there’s a sensibility that comes through naturally. There are things about my taste that I’m sure would be different if I was born in New York.”

The other designers currently blazing a trail in the city fill her with enthusiasm, too. “I love everything that Marco [Capaldo] is doing at 16Arlington, it’s so chic,” Ahluwalia says. “Who else? The energy around everyone is lovely. I always like everything that Nicholas Daley does, Dilara Findikoglu and Chopova Lowena

are great, and Martine Rose is so good. I think what’s wonderful is that everyone’s got a unique point of view and style in London.”

days she worked a lot with vintage pieces, driving around the country to rummage for them in warehouses before reworking them herself. That kind of practice is hard to scale up as a brand grows, though, so these days it’s reserved for special projects and the occasional piece in a collection. “What I would love is if there was some sort of partnership where a big brand could say, ‘Look, we’ve got x, you can have it, you can rework it, and we’ll work with it,’” she says. “But it’s difficult because I guess people don’t want to admit how much stuff they have left over.” , producer just upstairs from her day

Her studio is in the heart of the capital. Ahluwalia’s talents extend beyond the world of fashion: her side hustle as a film director has landed her on the roster of Black Dog Films, the Ridley Scott-owned production company, and her label’s home is on the ground floor of its headquarters in Soho. She recently directed a short film shot in Jamaica, Blessings , and a music video for G-Folk singer Hak Baker, and it makes her life easier to have her producer just upstairs from her day job. Her ambitions for her brand lie outside of clothes, too; the depth of Ahluwalia’s sense of and vision for the label means that she can see exactly how its signature aesthetic would translate into myriad other categories. “The only reason I haven’t designed more things outside of menswear and womenswear is because I don’t have the funds, but I want to design everything - chairs, furniture, interiors, a restaurant. If I’m interested in something, I’m going to design it. I don’t think that there’s a limit.”

In the past year she has launched a collection of sunglasses with Ace & Tate, designed a rug with Studio Ashby and continued her partnership with Levi’s – the brand supplying denim for Ahluwalia to rework into her collections. And, of course, there have been two incredible shows to work on along the way. “Shows fill me with joy,” she says. “I enjoy creating a physical experience for people to be immersed in. I love the drama, everything’s fast and hectic and the adrenaline’s pumping.” Stress doesn’t seem to feature - not even when, as happened one season, a producer booked the venue for the wrong day and on the morning of the show Ahluwalia and her team had to scramble to find a fix. “We figured out a plan, and I just said, ‘It’s funny, we’re going to laugh

about it,’” she says. “Things can go wrong, so you’ve just got to take it in your stride.” All that said, the brand sat out Fashion Week in February so that the team could give all their time and energy to a big top-secret collaboration launching soon. Alongside the importance of community, producing responsibly has always been an integral part of the brand’s DNA, but Ahluwalia has consistently avoided characterising it as a sustainable label, wary of the pressures and expectations that go along with that identity. In the early

Instead she and her team continue to use repurposed materials, carefully sourcing the best possible fabrics. “In the new collection we have looked at reducing the amount of recycled polyester as we learn more about the pros and cons of different fabrications. Instead, we’re increasing the amount of natural fibres, such as cotton, silk and wool.” They will also focus on finessing the way they approach the less sexy but arguably more impactful areas of the business such as logistics. “We endeavour to do the best we can. I feel like nothing is really sustainable, so all we can do in a world like this, because we’re human beings and we’ve got complex needs and wants and desires, is to try and make sure that these are executed in a way that is the least damaging to the planet. The first thing is to create pieces that people like and want to cherish, things that are going to last. We just try to do something that gives people meaning, to make things that are better and hopefully inspire others to do the same.”

She’s very conscious of the real impact that fashion has outside of the London bubble; in 2018 she released a photography book , Sweet Lassi , that captured her trips to Lagos in Nigeria and Panipat in India, both cities that are inundated with second-hand clothing sent to be recycled from the West. “Sustainability, really, is an issue that the West has caused, and that then persecutes people from the Global South. So, in my brand, we’re all about supporting the Global South in any way we can, whether that’s who we choose to work with or any social enterprises we partner with. So much of sustainability is about people, because people are the ecosystem.”

Ahluwalia has been determined to be a fashion designer for as long as she can remember. “As a child, I was always super creative and I knew that was what I wanted to do,” she always super creative and I knew

“The world is a big place and people are very different , and they all deserve to wear things that make them feel happy”

says. “I also danced for most of my childhood, I loved performing arts. But I was academic at school, so my family couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t be a lawyer or a doctor. But they took a risk. My mum said, ‘OK, do a fashion degree. But you’d better be good at it’.”

In her BFA acceptance speech, Ahluwalia spoke directly to the students in the room, telling them that she’d been sitting where they were just a few years ago and how excited she is for their futures. So, what would be her advice to the fledgling crop of designers and creatives? “I would say stay curious, ask questions and keep learning, never feel like you know everything,” she says. “As you develop, figure out what your unique point

of view is and why people would be inspired by it. And build a community of people around you that you can work with, especially in the early days. Then it’s nice because you all come up together.”

As for the future of her brand, Ahluwalia’s looking forward to seeing where the next seven years takes it. “I would love to see it grow,” she says. “I’d love to see it within different categories, like home. It makes so much sense to me. I’d like to have a store. And I would love to see us being able to meaningfully activate in more places; more of Ahluwalia in India and Nigeria, that’s important to me.”

And, despite the ups and downs that go with running a small business in a

tough economy, she still loves her job as much as when she started. “There are some days where I’m like, ‘Why don’t I just do something else?’” she says. “But that’s just life and not everything is plain sailing. Sometimes you’re not in the mood to problem-solve. But overall, what this job has done for me and my life is unbelievable. Even though I knew I wanted to do something creative, I didn’t think it’d be like this: I’ve been able to travel the world, I’ve been able to work with some of the biggest companies in the world, I’ve been afforded the most incredible opportunities. It’s hard work, but I’m in charge of my own world so it feels like I’ve got a ball and chain and freedom at the same time. I love it.”

ahluwalia.world

THE PENINSULA HOTEL, BELGRAVIA

ALTRINCHAM • LIVERPOOL • MANCHESTER • CANARY WHARF, LONDON

ETERNAL FLAME

London-based jeweller and multi-disciplinary artist Sabine Roemer, who celebrates three decades in the industry this year, takes the emotional pull of nature as a starting point for her latest collection Eternal Spectrum. It comprises five pairs of earrings, each one made from varying materials to represent a different aspect of the natural world and the feelings it incites. The quintet includes these rubellite earrings designed to resemble cherries that kiss the ear, the deep shades of pink radiating strength and power. sabineroemer.com

The latest launches & most covetable new pieces to have on your radar

Compiled by KIM PARKER

The Lotus Collection

IN FLOWER Watch & Jewellery Notes

Emerging from the water to bloom in splendour, the lotus has been revered for centuries as a symbol of creation, enlightenment and growth. Now, the sacred ower has been reinterpreted as a bold new collection by Garrard, featuring marquise-shaped motifs and ombré arrangements of diamonds, aquamarines, coloured sapphires and tsavorite garnets. From £7,200; 24 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, W1 garrard.com

STACKED UP

Carved ornamental stones (such as agate, onyx and chalcedony), sculptural forms and shimmering arrangements of diamonds characterise By Pariah’s covetable Pre-Spring ’25 collection. Versatile, easy-to-wear and eminently stackable, these are pieces engineered to slot seamlessly into your lifestyle and work with any look.

Kalahari Ring Stack in 14k Gold, Moss Agate & Champagne Diamonds, £4,420 bypariah.com

TAKING FLIGHT

Initially developed with a specialist unit from the French Navy, Tudor’s Pelagos FXD watch family has expanded to include a timepiece designed for the country’s Naval Aviation team. Crafted in robust titanium, the new 42mm watch tracks time across three di erent zones, including ‘Zulu’ time - the standard reference for aviators. Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT, £4,000 watches-of-switzerland.co.uk

ON A HIGH

For Hannah Martin, inspiration can strike anywhere. The maverick jeweller’s latest collection, The Perfect Drug, features sensual 18k gold and silver pieces “as a reminder to reject the numbness of modern culture and embrace feeling truly alive,” she says, an idea which came to her whilst dancing at a rave.

The Perfect Drug Choker in 18k Yellow & White Gold, £24,400 hannahmartinlondon.com

GOTHIC ROMANCE

“I want my jewellery to feel so comfortable it becomes a part of your skin. Like a tattoo,” claims the French-born, London-based designer Elise Dray. Indeed, having shuttered one eponymous brand in 2011 to focus on her growing family, she was inspired to relaunch after meeting the renowned tattoo artist Dr Woo in 2022, and recruited him to illustrate her new logo and branding. Today, her talismanic designs for The Drays are heavily influenced by rock music and Art Deco sculpture, with animal motifs, stars and feathers all featuring prominently. the-drays.com

IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR

Four decades ago, Gianmaria Buccellati created Buccellati’s Macri collection as a tribute to his daughter, Maria Christina. Engraved with the ‘rigato’ technique that imbues gold with the texture of silk, these elegant jewels became iconic bestsellers for the maison. Developed by Gianmaria’s son, Andrea Buccellati, the new Macri Giglio collection is an elegant evolution of the original, with the addition of openwork lily motifs (a symbol of divine love that dates to the Romans) and diamond clusters bringing a contemporary sparkle to each yellow, rose or white gold piece.

35 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, W1 buccellati.com

ON DISPLAY

The V&A South Kensington is set to shine in April, with the opening of a major exhibition dedicated to Cartier. 350 objets, from precious stones to storied designs, will explore the haute French jeweller’s glittering legacy since the turn of the 20th century. Be dazzled by rare royal pieces including tiaras, the 23.6 carat Williamson Diamond brooch belonging to Queen Elizabeth II and Grace Kelly’s engagement ring, as well as the brilliantlybright ‘Tutti Frutti’ collection and panther jewels the likes of which you’ve never seen before. vam.ac.uk dazzled to

ABOVE: Tiara, Cartier London, 1937. Cartier Collection

Brooch, Cartier London, about 1933. Formerly in the collection of the Jacques Cartier family, Cartier Collection

In Full Plume

The feather, one of Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite motifs, takes ight once more in a sparkling new high jewellery collection

Ilater described them to her friend, in

n 1910 Gabrielle Chanel opened her first shop, a hat boutique at 21 Rue Cambon in Paris, under the name ‘Chanel Modes’. Her elegant creations marked a radical shift from the “enormous loaves” that were de rigueur at the time (as she later described them to her friend, the French author Paul Morand) and caught the eye of fashionable Parisians, such as actors Gabrielle Dorziat and Lucienne Roger. Indeed, the latter appeared on a 1910 cover of Comoedia Illustré magazine wearing a velvety-looking Chanel hat adorned with a fantastic feather, while Chanel herself modelled one of her own feathery creations in the same magazine.

A metaphor for freedom, elegance and levity, plumes have been an important emblem at the house of Chanel ever since, even featuring as a diamond-dusted white gold brooch in the 1932 ‘Bijoux de Diamants’ collection – the first and only high jewellery collection designed by Chanel herself.

Inspired by this, the late director of Chanel’s Fine Jewellery Creation Studio, Patrice Leguéreau, notably dedicated his debut high jewellery collection to the feather in 2010. It is beautifully fitting, then, that one of his final collections for the house - ‘Plume de Chanel’ - returns to this airy motif, reimagining it for 15 entirely new pieces. As an ode to Chanel’s first bejewelled feather from 1932, the latest iteration appears similarly tactile, its gradually widening barbs

gently undulating, as if caught by a breeze – though with more flexibility than the midcentury original, thanks to subtle articulations between each barb.

A soft flush of feminine colour also makes an appearance, thanks to the addition of pink gold and rose-tinted sapphires and tourmalines. One standout piece is the transformable Plume Couture de Chanel necklace, which features two removable strands of round white diamonds. These frame an intricate rose-gold lattice of pastel-hued sapphires and a central feather motif, the tip of which points to a cushion-cut pink sapphire of over five carats (five being Gabrielle Chanel’s lucky number, of course). In the Plume Mademoiselle de Chanel ring, a white-gold feather set with fancy-cut white diamonds becomes the downy-looking counterpoint for an impressive pearshaped pink diamond, arranged parallel to it in the ‘toi-et-moi’ style.

Elsewhere, feather motifs have been designed to trace the natural curves of the body, as seen in the Plume Libre de Chanel earrings, whose arched white gold vanes each follow the earlobe and end in a calamus supporting a vivid, cushioncut pink sapphire of over three carats. Another piece, the Plume de Chanel 2024 ring, boasts a pear-cut white diamond that sits between two fingers and a delicate quill that gracefully drapes over a third, as if it has settled there, blown by the wind. Reinterpreted in this manner for a contemporary audience of jewellery lovers, it’s clear that Chanel’s beloved motif remains in resolutely fine feather. chanel.com thanks standout piece is the transformable Chanel which features two removable

PLUME LIBRE DE CHANEL Earrings in White Gold, Pink Gold, Diamonds and Pink Sapphires

KIM PARKER

PLUME ROSE DE CHANEL

Brooch in Pink Gold, Diamonds, Pink Sapphires & Pink Tourmaline PLUME COUTURE DE CHANEL Bracelet in Pink Gold, Platinum, Diamonds & Pink Sapphires

SPARKS Creative

BDYNE

dedyne.com

Words KIM PARKER

The new guard of bold brilliant contemporary worth investing in today

and jewellers

ased in New York, British-Italian designer Sarah Ysabel Narici got her start in the jewellery industry at Central Saint Martins in London. She went on to work for high-profile brands such as Marina Bulgari, Stephen Webster and red-carpet favourite Lorraine Schwartz, which ignited her passion for interesting and colourful gemstones. Dyne was established in 2022, fusing Narici’s fascination for ancient rituals (Egyptian hieroglyphics, Greek mythology and Qing Dynasty legends all feature on her inspiration boards) with a curiosity for digital tech and how it influences our world today. Her latest collection, Immortality, debuted at London’s PAD fair last autumn. Consisting of 15 pieces including statement rings, earrings, ear cuffs and necklaces, it explores the uniquely human quest for eternal life, using juicy-looking gemstones - such as Colombian emeralds, Paraiba tourmalines, mandarin garnets and amethysts - set in curvaceous, space-age silhouettes to evoke the appearance of elixirs and potions.

ignited her passion for interesting and colourful

Amethyst Flow Earrings, POA

Peach of Immortality Ring, POA

JADE TRAU

jadetrau.com

Drawing on her knowledge as a fifth-generation diamantaire, Jade Trau established her eponymous brand in 2012. The native New Yorker’s sophisticated and stackable jewels in yellow gold and responsibly sourced diamonds are designed to be comfortable enough to be worn every day, then passed on as portable heirlooms. Delicate necklaces and bangles adorned with several different cuts of diamond are a signature silhouette. Trau herself wears multiple pieces lavishly layered up as befits a former stone buyer with over 20 years in the business (and a great-great-grandfather rumoured to have been responsible for the invention of the rose cut, according to one family legend), who still describes selecting diamonds as her “happy place”. This season, tantalisingly thick chains with diamonds of graduating weight, flexible ‘Plié’ hoop earrings and chic new takes on eternity bands all cement Trau’s status as the queen of New York’s contemporary diamond scene.

Fharwellgodfrey.com

HARWELL GODFREY

tack and become a jewellery designer. The impetus for Tucson, inspired African protection as shaped digital feel-good particularly pertinent in her bestselling Charity Heart Central Kitchen and Every Mother Counts.

ollowing a career in advertising, during which she worked on award-winning campaigns for the likes of Adidas and Levi’s, Lauren Harwell Godfrey decided to change tack and become a jewellery designer. The impetus for her ‘a-ha’ moment? A trip to the annual Gem Fair in Tucson, Arizona, where she encountered extraordinary gemstones and minerals. Crafting her own accessories from crystals and feathers led the Californian creative to launch her own fine jewellery brand in 2017 at Paris Fashion Week. Today, Harwell Godfrey’s talismanic designs boast geometric patterns of inlay inspired by the textiles of the African Diaspora, historic symbols of wellbeing and protection such as the scarab and the eye, plus more than a dash of whimsy (bracelets shaped like digital watches? Charms like caviar tins? Why not?). Gems, such as opals, druzy quartz and turquoise, are selected for their feel-good propertiesparticularly pertinent in her bestselling Charity Heart pendants, which raise vital funds for causes such as World Central Kitchen and Every Mother Counts.

Tdriescriel.com

DRIES CRIEL

of Dries Criel’s jewellery owe much to his

statement.paris

he strong lines and angular silhouettes of Dries Criel’s jewellery owe much to his background in dance. Until the age of 17, the Belgian native studied ballet and contemporary dance in Antwerp, until a summer job with one of the city’s many diamond dealers inspired him to pursue his passion for jewellery instead. Having established his own brand in 2017, Criel now channels his love for movement into the fluid shapes of his 18k gold pieces, which are embellished with pops of colourful enamel and glowing gemstones. His inherently genderless designs are also largely influenced by the iconography of ancient Egypt, particularly lotus flowers, the pyramids and important deities, lending them a timeless quality that appeals to art lovers as well as seasoned jewellery collectors. Criel’s latest pieces are an homage to the Egyptian worship of Ra, the sun god, with undulating waves of polished yellow gold set with cognac-coloured tourmalines and diamonds.

STATEMENT PARIS

Alife-long fan of voluminous and characterful jewellery designs, Amélie Huynh established Statement Paris in 2018 after years of working at historic jewellers based in Paris’ storied Place Vendôme. Initially, she set about elevating the perception of sterling silver as a noble and truly modern material, offering irreverent and architecturally inspired pieces sprinkled with diamonds and accented with dark enamel. More recently though, Huynh has bowed to demand and expanded into handcrafted 18k gold as well, lending her statement Art Deco and Brutalist-inflected designs a warmer cast. According to Huynh, her signature chunky chains, spikestudded pinky rings, arrow-like pendants and shield-shaped knuckle rings are destined to empower their wearer “to follow your own path, embody the strength of your convictions and celebrate the value of your achievements to inspire others. This is what I want to convey through my creations.”

Diamond & Black Agate

Spike Bracelet £2,450

TABAYER

tabayer.com

Founded by Miami-based Uzbekistani designer Nigora Tokhtabayeva in 2021, this line of chunky statement jewellery is rooted in the ancient custom of wearing jewellery to ward off evil. A sensual, tubular form based on Innana’s knot, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of protection and fertility, provides the central motif of each piece, but given a modernist twist with sleek lines and narrow, knife-like edging. Last year, Tabayer introduced coloured stones for the first time to its 18k Fairmined gold and ethically sourced diamond repertoire, with polished curves of ornamental blue chalcedony, red jasper, carnelian and yellow agate providing vivid highlights, complemented by pavé-set topaz, citrines and sapphires. The eye-catching result was enough to garner the brand a coveted prize at the 2024 Couture Design Awards in Las Vegas, a prominent industry accolade and a testimony to Tokhtabayeva’s vision of creating a protective amulet for the modern age.

CHRISTOPHER THOMPSON ROYDS

christopherthompsonroyds.com

between floral art and bodily adornment. Eschewing dramatic exquisite devoted

rowing up in the English countryside had a profound effect on Christopher Thompson Royds. So much so that the exquisite 18k blooms he now crafts and hand-paints in his studio blur the lines between floral art and bodily adornment. Eschewing dramatic hothouse blooms, Royds’ pieces exude a quieter kind of romance, highlighting the exquisite beauty of humble meadow flowers such as forget-me-nots, poppies, cherry blossom and cornflowers, which can be ‘plucked’ from sculptural dressing table stands as if they were alive. His golden ‘daisy chains’ delicately skim wrists and collarbones like their natural counterparts, while his latest ‘catkin’ drop earrings feature clever articulations that allow them to hang from earlobes in a realistic way, tipped with gleaming yellow diamonds which catch the light like raindrops. Unsurprisingly, Royds’ poetic style has earned him a legion of devoted followers, as well as exhibitions of his work within institutions like the Victoria & Albert Museum and Sotheby’s in London.

Oera Diamond Ring, £14,850

Catkin Drop Earrings, POA

LIA LAM

lialam.com

LKAVANT & SHARART

kavantandsharart.com

Partners in business and in life, Nuttapon (Kenny) Yongkiettakul and Shar-linn Liew create kaleidoscopic jewels inspired by the geometric motifs of the Art Deco period, as well as their Asian heritage. Initially an engineer, Yongkiettakul decided to follow in his family’s footsteps (his grandparents were goldsmiths and his parents ran a fine jewellery boutique in Bangkok) and studied at the Gemological Institute of America, while Liew initially worked in finance before joining her husband to form their company in 2011. Functionality is vital to the couple’s striking designs, with many pieces being transformable so they can be worn in different ways – a clever feature which has made the brand a favourite with red carpet regulars such as Reese Witherspoon, Lupita Nyong’o and Jennifer Lopez. The latest collection, Twist, takes its cues from the abstract works of Kandinsky and Hilma Af Klint, with concentric rings of yellow gold and shimmering white diamonds - at once mesmerising and thoroughly modern.

ia Lam’s path into the jewellery industry was far from standard. She originally studied innovation management at Imperial College London and had a long career in legal tech before retraining as a goldsmith in Rome and Paris during the pandemic. Yet just months after debuting her brand in 2023, Lam was handed the gong for emerging jewellery brand of the year at the UK Professional Jewellery Awards. It’s not hard to see why. Lam’s refined and innovative creations, such as the geometric ‘100% Ring’, are designed to be admired from every angle and take inspiration from her many passions, such as architecture, photography and, most importantly, dance. “The execution of the cleanest, most ‘minimalistic’ dance moves often require maximal efforts behind the scenes,” she explains of the effort required to distil her beautifully executed gold and platinum pieces to their purest and most streamlined form.

Talay Trio Droplet Diamond Earrings, $26,990

Bespoke Ruby & Yellow Diamond Ring, POA

ANANYA

ananya.com

Chomage to the spiritual beliefs of her grandparents

gold bolt, have become bestsellers (and have adorned

chapter, Volume 3, celebrates the divine beauty

entral Saint Martins alumna Ananya Malhotra crafts gleaming, pastel-hued jewels as an affectionate homage to the spiritual beliefs of her grandparents who were, she says, “hugely into the emotional effects of gemstones and how each specific one could make you feel”. Her beaded Chakra bracelets, which showcase precious and semi-precious stones secured by an 18k gold bolt, have become bestsellers (and have adorned the wrists of Gigi Hadid, Jenna Ortega and Kate Moss). Meanwhile her ever-evolving high jewellery collection, Magnificent Jewels, takes inspiration from a diverse range of sources, including spirituality, mythology, the soft palette and feminine forms of Art Nouveau jewellery, as well as Malhotra’s own Indian heritage. Launched last winter, the latest chapter, Volume 3, celebrates the divine beauty of the Mogra (Arabian Jasmine) blossom with eight dramatic, one-off pieces featuring sweeping corolla-like motifs dotted with petal-coloured sapphires or verdant emeralds, plus diamonds and slivers of iridescent mother of pearl.

eight dramatic, one-off pieces featuring sweeping corolla-like motifs dotted with petal-coloured

CASTRO SMITH

castrosmith.com

his claim certainly can’t be proven. Indeed, the award-winning for

’m not very good at following instructions, or paying attention to details,” claims London-based Castro Smith. While the first half of this statement may be true - Smith initially studied printmaking but left his course to pursue another creative path - the latter half of his claim certainly can’t be proven. Indeed, the award-winning goldsmith and hand-engraver is renowned for his distinctive style, which blends a painterly approach with ultra-fine illustrations painstakingly etched onto precious metal, using tools that he makes for himself. After studying under master craftsmen like Hiroshi Suzuki and Kenji Io in Japan, Smith honed his skills in Hatton Garden and spent the first three years of his own business working at the Sarabande Foundation - an organisation founded by Alexander McQueen to provide scholarships and studio spaces for talented young artists. Today, Smith’s traditional, ‘seal engraved’ signet rings and pendants take inspiration from both Eastern and Western mythologies, organic biology (Smith is an admirer of the naturalist E.O. Wilson) and medieval heraldry, and consistently rank amongst Dover Street Market’s bestselling jewels.

from both Eastern and Western mythologies, organic and medieval heraldry, and consistently rank amongst

With time now a ubiquitous feature of mundane objects from microwave ovens to fitness trackers, precision and reliability are no longer the focus of watchmaking, with the most illustrious names in the field pursuing beauty and artistry instead. Watch dials, in particular, have been elevated from backgrounds to display the time to canvases of creativity. Harnessing the masters’ expertise in rare techniques known as métiers d’art, such as enamelling, micro-mosaic and marquetry, watches now incorporate a diverse array of materials including leather and precious stones. The results vie with jewellery and museum-worthy art, replete with cultural references that are not merely meant to be worn but admired for contemplation and conversation.

“Designs du jour draw inspiration from flora and fauna, brought to life in kaleidoscopic variations with a touch of fantasy”

Designs du jour for dazzling watch dials draw inspiration from flora and fauna, brought to life in kaleidoscopic variations with a touch of fantasy. Dior takes us on a stroll through the enchanted childhood garden of Monsieur Christian Dior’s home in Granville, Normandy, with the Dior Grand Soir Automate Miroir d’Eau. A riot of pastelhued, gem-set blooms surround a serene pond where water lilies crafted from mother-of-pearl float gracefully. The water, rendered in enamel, mirrors and blurs the colours of the sky and the surrounding flowers. At the touch of a button, the scene comes alive as gold and diamond dragonflies and bees flirt playfully with nature.

Within the cocooning comfort of the Chopard Happy Sport Métiers d’Art watch, framed by a bezel paved with chaton-set diamonds, a blacklacquered onyx and diamond panda waves its paw while roaming its idyllic habitat of flamboyant flowers and

reassuring bamboo stalks, adorned with glistening gems and mother-ofpearl marquetry. Paying homage to the endangered panda species, Chopard crafts a poignant message where ethics and aesthetics merge, reminding us of life’s fragility and inviting us to cherish every minute.

It is the same carpe diem message joyfully embodied by a spirited steed, springing out of a colourful floral collage against a candy-pink background, in Hermès’ Arceau Costume de Fête. Through miniature painting, leather marquetry and sequins, the timepiece reinterprets the Costume de Fête silk scarf designed by Warsawborn artist Jan Bajtlik, who draws inspiration from traditional costumes and ornaments of the Polish city of Krakow as well as in Poland’s popular art of paper cut-outs (wycinanki).

Teaming up with renowned enamel artist Anita Porchet, Piaget invites us to explore the full spectrum of blue, green and purple hues as light seemingly dances across a canvas of vegetation, sky and sea. The lines between abstract and reality blur, just as jewellery and watchmaking intertwine. “A watch is,

first and foremost, a piece of jewellery,” said Yves G. Piaget. This sentiment is masterfully summed up in the Altiplano High Jewellery watch in which the enamel work envelops the dial - on the front and, for the first time, the back - its vibrant colours extending to the very edge of the bezel, while diamonds adorn the skeletonised movement which is fully in view.

The same fusion of jewellery and watchmaking also takes centre stage in Chaumet’s latest opus, where diamond-encrusted foliage is crossed by a ribbon of Mozambican rubies and encircles a tourbillon.

The mystique of underwater worlds resurfaces on the dials of Louis Vuitton, Vacheron Constantin and Bulgari. In the latter, the Romeheadquartered house dazzles with a gem-set reinterpretation of its iconic Bulgari Octo Roma Mediterranea, featuring a diamond-studded octopus juggling emeralds and sapphires. Louis Vuitton, with its latest Escale Cabinet of Wonders Koï’s Garden, reproduces the serene scene of a pond. In it, two hand-sculpted and hand-painted midnight-blue carps swiftly swirl around eddies framing the initials of Gaston-Louis Vuitton (the thirdgeneration member of the founding family), whose collection of antique Japanese swords named “tsubas” inspired the collection. Meanwhile, Vacheron Constantin pays a tribute to the rich culture at the imperial court of the Ming and Qing dynasties with dials featuring the so-called “Seawater Cliff” motif, which merges mountains and waters - an artistic voyage across history and geography all within a little wrist candy.

Overnight sensation.

Overnight sensation.

Take your beauty sleep to the next level, with Dr Sebagh’s powerful and iconic serum duo.

Don’t sleep on the opportunity to transform your skin overnight, using two of world-renowned cosmetic doctor and treatment pioneer Dr Sebagh’s powerful and award-winning super-serums.

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The breakthrough Retinol Night Repair delivers all the power of retinol (Vitamin A) in a formula suitable for all skin types—even the more sensitive. Containing the highest recommended percentage of retinol—to eliminate dead skin cells, help to boost cell renewal, fade pigmentation and stimulate collagen production—the luxurious serum is also intensively moisturising, working to restore and protect the integrity of the skin barrier, while you sleep.

The breakthrough Retinol Night Repair delivers all the power of retinol (Vitamin A) in a formula suitable for all skin types—even the more sensitive. Containing the highest recommended percentage of retinol—to eliminate dead skin cells, help to boost cell renewal, fade pigmentation and stimulate collagen production—the luxurious serum is also intensively moisturising, working to restore and protect the integrity of the skin barrier, while you sleep.

Take your beauty sleep to the next level, with Dr Sebagh’s powerful and iconic serum duo.

To instantly hydrate, repair, plump and tighten skin at any time, day or night, reach for the original, hyaluronic acid-based Serum Repair

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Use this legendary serum on its own, or together with Retinol Night Repair, for an extra hydration boost, overnight. Apply a drop of Serum Repair to perfectly cleansed skin, followed by a layer of Retinol Night Repair. Complete the ritual with an application of your usual moisturiser or night cream.

Available in-store and online at drsebagh.com

Use this legendary serum on its own, or together with Retinol Night Repair, for an extra hydration boost, overnight. Apply a drop of Serum Repair to perfectly cleansed skin, followed by a layer of Retinol Night Repair. Complete the ritual with an application of your usual moisturiser or night cream.

Available in-store and online at drsebagh.com

BEAUTY

Wellness

BARE NECESSITIES

Dior brings a freshness to its Forever Natural Nude foundation with Forever Hydra Nude. Composed of 55% water and enriched with hyaluronic acid, the new ultra-lightweight formulation - which comes in 18 shades - acts like a serum, delivering an intense hydration hit alongside a long-wear, skin-plumping finish (£50). And this March sees the launch of Forever Nude Bronze, a bronzing powder designed to enhance the flawless all-over nude look with a matte or luminous natural tan effect (£48) dior.com

Beauty Notes

Botanical skincare, a versatile eye pencil and the future of face cleansing

Compiled by CHARLOTTE ADSETT

WORKS OF ART

New Opening

FULL BEAM

Beam, the female-founded beauty destination, has opened a agship in Belgravia. Described as a blow-dry bar but for makeup, you can book in for an express touch-up or a full-glam session with one of the expert team, as well as shop a curated selection of inclusive, clean products. From £54 for 30 minutes. 20 Eccleston Street, Belgravia SW1 bemorebeam.com

Simihaze Beauty, the cult skincare-infused makeup brand founded by Palestinian twin sisters Simi and Haze Khadra, is the latest beauty editor must-have. From super slick lip balms to a moisture-locking setting powder, the products are as in demand for their distinctively artful packaging as they are for their skin-nourishing formulas. From £24; simihazebeauty.com

ALL IS CALM

Aromatherapy lovers, rejoice. Neom’s innovative and oh-so-chic limited-edition Matcha and Mocha Wellbeing Pods are back due to popular demand. The hand-blown glass diffuser allows you to experience all the benefits of essential oils, with a guided breathing mode and dimmable light to further deliver a sense of calmness. neom.com

GOOD JEANS

It seems only fitting that the 20th shade of the Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner is called Jeans. e new mid-tone matte indigo eye pencil is designed to be as versatile as your favourite denim, its silky-smooth, highly-pigmented colour perfect for every day or dialled up for evening drama. £32, victoriabeckhambeauty.com

BALANCE OF NATURE

Born in the bucolic county of Somerset, Commune is a botanical skincare collection rooted in nature. The brand focuses on simplifying everyday routines, with thoughtful products made using plant-based, chemical-free formulations for a community that believes in self-care without any cost to the environment. The collection comprises hair and bodycarewith refills available for all - as well as a capsule of deeply grounding candles and a solid perfume. commune.cc

KEEP IT CLEAN

CHERRY BOMB

Pinterest predicts 2025 will be a Cherry-Coded year, so it makes sense that black cherry is the lip look of the moment. The deep, wine-like berry hue feels ultra-modern as a blotted stain or go full vamp and paint on a bold, matte colour. Glossier Black Cherry Balm Dotcom, £16 and Lip Line, £18 glossier.com

She’s one of the most progressive creatives in the beauty world right now, so it’s no surprise Isamaya Ffrench is pioneering when it comes to sustainability too. To counter the environmental damage caused by disposable face wipes, the entrepreneurial makeup artist has teamed up with Natassia Grace, biochemist and founder of Conserving Beauty, on her new Hyaluronic Cleansing + Conditioning Cloths. In what is an industry first, the wipes have been created using InstaMelt dissolving technology, so when you run them under the tap after use, they disappear. Presented in a chic silver tin, they’re formulated with skin-loving ingredients including hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and panthenol, so they’ll be as kind to your complexion as to the planet. From £85; isamaya.co.uk

GREEN GLOSSARY

Healthy

The HAIRGUIDE

Beauty director Alessandra Steinherr gets to the root of thinning locks and shares the professional treatments and latest products to achieve thicker, healthier and shinier hair

As we mature, we can start to notice a change in our hair density, with strands becoming progressively finer and increasing thinning at the crown and along the hairline. Indeed, 40% of women over the age of 50 experience androgenetic alopecia, aka female pattern hair loss (FPHL), where follicles become smaller, meaning hair is unable to grow long, instead becoming increasingly fine and prone to breakage. Now that I’m in my 40s, I have noticed a loss in hair density; I don’t have the volume that I used to. It is finer around my hairline and that’s normal, it’s all part of the ageing process.

Every hair on our head follows a natural life cycle and, as part of this cycle, we can expect to lose anywhere between 50 to 100 hairs a day. However, if one of these phases becomes compromised, we start to see more strands than normal in our hair brush or clumps clogging up our plug hole. “Hair shedding is part of the natural hair growth cycle, where hair in the telogen [resting] phase falls out,” explains world-leading aesthetic doctor and anti-ageing expert Dr Sebagh, who offers hair regeneration treatments at his clinics. “Hair loss, however, is when this shedding becomes excessive or when new hair fails to grow back, leading to noticeable thinning or bald spots.”

But what causes the cycle to change? Aside from FPHL, the other main reason is telogen effluvium, which is when the hair enters the telogen phase prematurely, resulting in excessive daily hair fall. Both can occur due to an internal disturbance or imbalance in the body; this could be caused by genetic predisposition, hormonal fluctuations, nutritional deficiencies or stress, not to mention external environmental aggressors, such as overexposure to certain minerals in the water or chemicals in our hair products or treatments.

All this said, if you are experiencing thinning or loss of hair density, it’s not a lost cause - thicker, healthier and shinier hair is within reach. “Firstly, do not feel ashamed and try not to panic. Hair loss in women is so common and there is almost always something that can be done to help,” says Anabel Kingsley, consultant trichologist and brand president at Philip Kingsley. It isn’t an overnight transformation and requires a holistic approach. As I always say, self-diagnosis and treatment can sometimes worsen the condition, so it is always wise to seek professional guidance by booking a trichology consultation to get to the root of your hair loss. Then, with the right care and targeted solutions, alongside consistent effort, you’ll start to see tangible results. Here are some of the reasons why you might be experiencing more-than-normal shedding and what to do about it.

GENETICS

Genetics play their part in many types of hair loss - most notably androgenetic alopecia or FPHL. If you have a family history of premature hair thinningwhich can be inherited from either the mother’s or the father’s side - then chances are you’re likely to experience it yourself. Genes can influence the hair follicle’s sensitivity to the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which attaches itself to the follicle and blocks it from receiving oxygen and nutrients, gradually shrinking it - every time the follicle grows back during the hair’s natural life cycle, it is smaller and finer than before and eventually hair growth can be stunted altogether. Incidentally, the texture, thickness and growth rate of hair is also genetic. It’s true that you can’t change the fact that you’re predisposed to hair loss, but if you are aware of your family history, it can help you take steps to prepare for what might come and to manage it effectively.

STRESS

After genetics, physical or emotional stress is the biggest cause of hair loss and addressing the underlying stressor is crucial for long-term improvement. When we’re stressed, the increase in cortisol levels can trigger daily hair fall and because of the life cycle of hair, stressful events that happened months ago can impact hair growth up to six months later. Likewise, when we’re stressed, we see heightened androgen (male hormone) levels, which can trigger FPHL if you’re predisposed to it. Similarly, stress hormones and signalling substances can impact blood flow to the head; with less nutrients reaching the skin and hair, our scalp becomes dry and flaky and our hair dry and brittle. Massaging your scalp with a scalp massager, using gentle circular movements, helps to boost the microcirculation. In extreme cases, stress can trigger alopecia areata - an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss when the immune system attacks hair follicles. Identifying the cause of our stress and managing it through techniques such as yoga, meditation or therapy can be beneficial in minimising stress-related hair loss.

HORMONAL IMPACT

Women are more likely to experience hair loss during postpartum and menopause (though it often starts during perimenopause). When oestrogen and progesterone levels dip, this forces hair to go into the resting (telogen) phase, which means strands enter the shedding phase at the same time - hence we experience more hair loss than normal. Also, as the ratio of testosterone to oestrogen increases, it can lead to more DHT being produced, which as we know is a common culprit of hair loss. Hair thinning and shedding can also be triggered by several other factors, including polycystic ovary syndrome, where excess testosterone is converted to DHT; progesteroneonly oral contraceptives; and thyroid imbalances (both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism). Because these conditions can disrupt hormone levels, addressing them is pivotal for supporting healthy hair growth.

DIET

What you eat is key for shiny, dense hair and a healthy scalp. Nutritional deficiencies - especially low iron levels - can lead to increased shedding. Vegans and vegetarians especially need to look at their diet and make sure it’s as iron-and protein-rich as possible. Hair is, after all, made of keratin, a protein, so a diet rich in lean proteins (think eggs, salmon and tofu) is essential. Add biotin-packed foods such as nuts, seeds and avocados to promote stronger, thicker strands, as well as foods rich in iron, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, selenium and vitamin B5 to nourish the scalp and the hair follicles, while antioxidant-packed berries can help protect follicles from harmful free radicals. This might explain why ‘Ozempic hair’ has become an increasing issue, with people taking the GLP-I medication reporting excessive shedding as they are not getting the vitamins and minerals their hair needs.

“Do not feel ashamed and try not to panic. Hair loss in women is so common and there is almost always something that can be done to help”

Anabel Kingsley

Consultant trichologist and brand president at Philip Kingsley

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

London’s water is very hard, meaning it has higher than normal levels of calcium and magnesium. Much like the limescale that you might notice on your taps or on your shower door, these minerals can build up on your scalp and hair. Not only does this mineral residue strip the hair of its natural oils, it also locks moisture out of the hair, so it then becomes parched, brittle and prone to snapping; it can also affect the efficacy of hair products, preventing them from penetrating the hair shaft. Hard water can also play havoc with your scalp, leaving it super dry, which means it doesn’t nourish the hair sufficiently, causing a flat, lacklustre appearance and loss of density. A shower filter that removes chlorine, copper, iron and lead from tap water is a game changer, ensuring hair stays soft and shiny and your scalp more hydrated after every wash. Also, using a scalp scrub or an apple cider vinegar rinse can remove any build-up of hard water or product residue. Damage to the hair can also be caused by overuse of heat-styling tools, so always invest in a high-quality flat iron or curling wand with adjustable temperature settings and keep usage to a minimum.

THE SCALP STEAM

Visiting a trichologist ensures a tailored approach. At Philip Kingsley, for example, its team will carry out in-clinic blood tests to assess deficiencies, as well as prescribe medications and scalp topicals; it also offers treatments that target follicular and scalp health. The 60-minute Hair Spa Treatment includes an assessment with a trichotherapist followed by the application of a scalp mask and the Elasticizer to boost hydration. You’re then placed under steam, which opens up the follicles and maximises absorption of the products, followed by a deep scalp massage. From £100. 54 Green Street, Mayfair, W1 philipkingsley.co.uk

THE EXOSOME-BASED TREATMENT

Exosomes are nanoparticles that are released by our cells, containing a mixture of lipids, proteins, amino acids and peptides. “They are particularly exciting for their regenerative properties, delivering growth factors and signalling molecules directly to hair follicles, enhancing growth and density and improving scalp health,” explains Dr Sebagh. In his clinic, he offers a cutting-edge exosome-based treatment to address hair loss and thinning, which he can combine with platelet-rich plasma therapy. “It’s a safe, minimally invasive treatment designed to provide long-lasting, natural results.” Chandos House, 2 Queen Anne Street, Marylebone, W1 drsebagh.com

ASK THE PROFESSIONALS

The in-clinic treatments that will support follicular health and optimise your hair growth cycle

THE RED-LIGHT SUPERCHARGER

THE PLATELET-RICH PLASMA PROCEDURE

Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a non-surgical treatment designed to stimulate hair growth and improve density. A small amount of blood is drawn from the patient and then spun to concentrate the platelets; this platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which is packed with nutrients and antioxidants, is then injected into the scalp using ultra-fine needles in the areas where the hair is thinning to stimulate hair growth.

20 St. James's Street, Westminster, SW1 ouronyx.com

Just as The Light Salon has for many years been a pioneer of red-light therapy for firmer, smoother skin, it is now also harnessing the cell-renewing effects of LED on hair and scalp health, too. The Hair Supercharger treatment combines microneedling using Calecim growth factors and regenerating nano-dermabrasion massage with red and infrared light therapy. This works to suppress any inflammation in the follicle, which can cause thinning, while also stimulating cell renewal, thereby rejuvenating hair and activating a healthy growth cycle. From £180. Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, Marylebone, W1 thelight-salon.com

AT-HOME CARE

The tried-and-tested hair products that will help your journey to density and shine

SHOWER FILTER

Hello Klean Shower Head 2.0 (£65) utilises mineral removal technology to reduce 90% of chlorine in tap water and filters out heavy metals such as copper, iron and lead.

Rahua Hydration Shampoo (£34) and Conditioner (£36) gently cleanse and strengthen the hair, while also delivering maximum hydration and shine.

If you’re struggling with the effects of hard water, leave Hello Klean Break Down AntiFlake Scalp Soak (£25) on for five minutes and it’ll soak all the mineral build-up away.

LED DEVICE

The CurrentBody LED Hair Growth Helmet (£650) emits red light wavelengths to boost cellular regeneration and invigorate scalp blood flow to encourage regrowth.

SCRUB

Using a multitasking scrub like Oribe Serene Scalp Exfoliating Scrub (£47) once a week helps cleanse away dead skin, oil and dirt from the scalp.

STYLING

The right styling products can make hair look thicker and shinier. Use a texturising spray like Hair by Sam McKnight Modern Hairspray (£26) for an undone yet voluminous look.

SERUMS

A serum can support follicular growth. I like

TypeBea Overnight Boosting Peptide

Hair Serum (£43), which is packed with fortifying peptides to increase thickness, or Royal Fern Hair Serum (£60) to strengthen the hair root.

SUPPLEMENTATION

Supplement a balanced diet with Vida Glow Hairology Capsules (£45), which are powered by pea sprout extract AnaGain and other micronutrients to nourish follicles from the inside out.

HAIR DETOX

SEASON

The freshest new fragrances to spritz

Compiled by CHARLOTTE ADSETT

D.S. & DURGA

Cowgirl Grass

Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £155

With the mood for Western style continuing to gallop apace, the cult New York-based perfumer brings a new flowery-fruity spin to Cowgirl Grass, originally released in 2008. Opening with the juiciness of bergamot and lychee, the fragrance heart is peony and geranium, rounded out by the dry sweetness of musk and amber, resulting in a scent that transports you straight to the prairies. dsanddurga.com

FFERN

Spring 25

Eau de Parfum, 32ml, £89

Each season, on a solstice or equinox, Ffern releases a madeto-order, small-batch organic fragrance inspired by the Somerset countryside. In this iteration the British indie perfume brand captures the charm of a sun-dappled woodland glade, with sweet violets, Jonquil daffodil and Rose de Mai underpinned by a woody base of red cedar, jasmine and vetiver, while lemon rind and peppermint bring the zing of springtime. ffern.co

EDENISTE

Oud Ghazal

Eau de Parfum Absolue Active, 100ml, £240

The latest release from Edeniste, the future-forward fragrance brand driven by neuroscience, is Oud Ghazal. A smouldering blend of black cherry, oud, leather and musks, the silky-smoky-sweet scent evokes the enchantment and exoticism of the Arabic world (ghazal refers to a form of Arabian love poetry). It is also infused with a proprietary De-Stress accord, scientifically proven to create a sense of harmony and relaxation. harrods.com

VYRAO

Mamajuju

Eau de Parfum, 50ml, £165

NISHANE

Tuberóza X

Extrait de Parfum, 100ml, £305 Tuberóza X is the sixth creation in the niche brand’s X Collection, which sees master perfumer Dominique Ropian reinterpret the white floral-ambery 2014 original by introducing extra depth. Indian tuberose has the starring role, the rich greenness of the blossom met with a bright violet accord, while a velvety base of musk and sandalwood and fruity-fresh top notes of mandarin and ylang ylang dial up the vivacity and vibrancy. selfridges.com

WIDIAN

Yasat

The latest fragrance from London wellbeing brand Vyrao, which connects master perfumery with energetic healing, is all about grounding and awareness. A base of soothing sandalwood has been layered with effervescent saff ron, nutmeg, cardamom and pink pepper, warming rum absolute and calming olibanum for emotional balance and equilibrium. Each bottle also contains a supercharged, ethicallysourced diamond crystal for boosting vitality. vyrao.com

Extrait de Parfum, 50ml, £242

Abu Dhabi-based fragrance house Widian adds to its Velvet Collection with Yasat, a sweet-spicy-sensual ode to the paradisical island and the Arabian Gulf waters that surround it. While fresh accents of bergamot and cardamom evoke a sea breeze and ambery base notes of sweet vanilla and musk bring the sunshine, a heart of sandalwood, caramel and cedarwood captures the allure of its bewitching natural landscape. harrods.com

ACQUA DI PARMA

Colonia Il Profumo

Eau de Parfum, 100ml, £217

The maison looks to its archives, with a modern-day reinterpretation of its first-ever fragrance, the iconic Colonia, which was originally launched in 1916. The 21st-century version has all the vibrancy of its predecessor, with notes of Italian bergamot, grapefruit, petitgrain and orange leaves creating a sense of joy, but with a heightened concentration, as well as the addition of ylangylang, for intensity and richness. acquadiparma.com

WELLNESSThe New Frontier of

With a shift in healthcare from treatment to prevention, London’s cutting-edge clinics are offering the latest technology so you can stay ahead of your health

The wellness landscape is changing, thanks to a wave of pioneers who are ripping up the rule book. They believe that rather than taking a reactive approach to our health and visiting the doctor when we’re already sick, we need to be ahead of the curve, pre-empting disease before it becomes symptomatic. Welcome to the world of preventative healthcare.

With technology and AI advancing at breakneck speed, scanners, lasers and cameras can now offer a comprehensive examination of your health in a matter of minutes. They’ll map every inch of your body, from heart to lungs, liver to skin, before crunching the data to detect the possibility of disease, whether it be diabetes or dementia, cancer or cardiovascular issues. There are now a growing number of private clinics in London fully embracing this tech; make an appointment and they can tell you where your body is at and how to futureproof it, all at the touch of a button. Indeed, it was after one of these cutting-edge health checks that TV presenter Davina McCall was informed she had a colloid cyst, a rare type of benign brain tumour, that required surgery, information she previously hadn’t known and that she says saved her life.

Another advantage of these state-of-the-art full body MOTs is that, in some cases, you’ll know your results within minutes of the assessment - others may take a little longer, but when the data is available you’re invited in for a detailed appointment with a doctor to go over the results. Either way, it is an opportunity to ask questions and devise a tailored plan to act on the information you receive, whether that’s lifestyle changes or seeing a specialist. Assessments are thorough, some more so than others - and the price points reflect this accordingly. We’ve tested two clinics at different ends of the spectrum but whichever you choose, it’s surely a proactive investment into your long-term health.

Behind the frosted glass windows of 9 St Vincent Street in Marylebone, it’s a hive of activity. For this is the home of Neko Health, the buzzy new clinic in London that everyone is talking about. Here, in one of its minimalist pastel-hued rooms, you can have a non-invasive full-body scan at a very reasonable £299. Little wonder there is a wait list in the thousands.

Neko Health first appeared on the preventative healthcare scene in Stockholm in 2018 - its founders Hjalmar Nilsonne and Daniel Ek, the billionaire behind Spotify, are Swedish. Both men not only had tech backgrounds, they were passionate about working towards a healthcare system that could help people stay healthy through preventative measures and early detection.

STATE OF THE ART

NEKO HEALTh

9 St Vincent Street, Marylebone, W1

“In the UK, you are required to do an MOT on your car. However, when it comes to your body, you often need to break down before seeing a doctor,” explains Nilsonne. “To bend the cost curve of healthcare, we need to shift towards proactive, preventive care.” Their USP was simple: to use the latest sensors and AI to offer a full-body scan that could help doctors find and prevent disease - at a cost that was accessible. Within two hours of their first Stockholm clinic’s 2023 launch, all available appointments were booked.

Back in Marylebone, forget any preconceived ideas of how a preventative healthcare clinic might look - the walls are painted duck-egg blue and pale yellow, lighting is soft and the curvy retro-esque furniture gives a distinct 60s sci-fi film feel. Head of design and brand Alfredo Aponte and designer Franquibel Lima, former lead architect at Foster + Partners, have deliberately created a clean-lined, pared-back environment that exudes calm.

Staff are welcoming. On arrival, you’re shown to a private changing area where you are given a robe before stepping into the scanning room with your nurse. The Body Scan begins in

a pod where, once the doors swoosh shut, you stand for a matter of seconds while a hi-tech scanner takes over 2,000 high-res pictures to create a 3D image of your body, as well as checking your body temperature and scanning every mole. So far, so revolutionary. Next, you lie down on a bed in the same room for laser thermal imaging, measuring everything from heart and artery health to blood cholesterol and sugar levels. The nurse also carries out tests including grip strength, eye pressure (for glaucoma detection), blood pressure and an ECG scan. A blood sample is taken (the only invasive procedure) and whizzed to the laboratory upstairs via a vacuum suction tube. The whole process may use over 70 sensors to map 50 million health data, but it takes no more than 10 minutes from start to finish, and, remarkably, even your blood test results are back within this time.

Once dressed, you meet with a doctor in the “debrief pod” for a half-hour consultation. Your results are already computed, calculated and analysed, displayed on a large screen showcasing your avatar and health data. Any detected abnormalities trigger additional tests at no extra cost, and if urgently needed, you may be referred to your GP or prescribed medication. The whole experience is so sleek, it feels like stepping into the future.

The stats speak for themselves: of the 2,707 people Neko Health scanned during its first year of operation, 14.1% required medical treatment and 1% received potentially life-saving treatment - none of whom were aware of their condition prior to their visit. The goal is for patients to return annually for follow-up scans to monitor any changes and build upon the collected data, with subsequent scans offered at a reduced cost. It seems prevention really is the best medicine. Reviewed by Charlotte Adsett

The Neko Body Scan, £299; nekohealth.com

Neko Health founders Hjalmar Nilsonne & Daniel Ek

PLATINUM SERVICE

ECHELON HEALTh

68 Harley Street, Mayfair, W1

The vanguard of private health testing has to be the Platinum Assessment at Echelon Health, arguably the UK’s leading provider of technology-led preventative healthcare.

Dr Paul Jenkins, a Cambridge-trained medical expert, founded the Harley Street clinic nearly 20 years ago.

“There were no other high-end preventive health-screening companies at the time,” Jenkins tells The Glossary . “In my work as a consultant physician in the NHS, I have seen the devastation that disease can cause; it was always so frustrating to see this happen due to diseases that are entirely preventable if they were detected at an early stage. There was also the development of high-end imaging scanners like CT and MRI, which can visualise the insides of a human body with such detail to allow the detection of the earliest signs of disease.”

And so, in 2006, he established his clinic - one that he has equipped with the very latest imaging technology allowing for ultra-precise detection of potential life-changing and lifethreatening health issues, as well as a top-tier team of specialist radiologists and doctors. What it is not offering, Jenkins is quick to point out, is diagnostics. “Diagnosis is usually based on following a symptom and trying to identify the underlying illness,” he says.

“We try to identify disease before it becomes symptomatic, so in essence we are a number of steps before simple diagnostics. We provide an unparalleled amount of data on the individual’s health and that can mean the difference between life and death.”

Though it offer different assessmentsincluding a newly-launched dementia health assessment, which detects early cognitive impairment - it’s the Platinum which is the most comprehensive. It may take less than a day (five and a half hours, with zero downtime) but no stone is left unturned with clients paying £14,000 to undergo a series of blood tests, ultrasound, colonoscopy, MRI and CT scans, an ECG, as well as a full-body mole screen.

The heart, chest, pelvis, abdomen, brain, bones, thyroid, testes/ovaries, colon… all come under the intense scrutiny of the machines in the elegant surroundings of the Mayfair clinic. It may sound intense, but it’s incredibly civilised. You are appointed your own client liaison manager, which makes the entire process very smooth. The Assessment actually begins a week prior, with a phone call to run through your medical history and what to expect during your visit, which means that on the day, there are no surprises. Instead, the experience is seamless and unrushed.

So meticulous is the testing, the clinic can identify a staggering 92% of preventable causes of death in men and 95% in women. The most common is

LEFT: Dr Paul Jenkins

BELOW: One of the suites at Echelon Health in Harley Street

“We try to identify disease before it becomes symptomatic, so in essence we are a number of steps before simple diagnostics. We provide an unparalleled amount of data on the individual’s health and that can mean the difference between life and death”

coronary heart disease, swiftly followed by cancer. “By scanning the body from top to toe, we can detect almost all cancers,” explains Jenkins, who uses MRI scanners that are twice as powerful as those generally utilised by the NHS. “Cancers grow from a small collection of abnormal cells, detecting them at an early stage is very beneficial. For example, the CT can visualise lung cancer as small as 2 to 3mm. If you intercept it at this stage you have 90 to 95% chance of survival. If you wait for it to cause symptoms and/or be detected on an x-ray, the chance of survival is 10%.”

It’s all very well running these advanced tests, but what do you do with the results? A week later, you’re invited in for a follow-up appointment with a senior doctor - or in the case of the Platinum Assessment, Dr Jenkins - who will go through the findings in detail, answer any questions, put your mind at ease and help formulate a personal plan going forwards. This could range from in-depth lifestyle advice to private prescriptions for required medications and referrals to specialists or your own GP/consultant if preferred. In the worst case scenario, it offers on-the-day referrals for urgent treatment (its database is the best in town and includes some of the leading specialists in the country).

Though the clinic is world-leading, Dr Jenkins is not resting on his laurels. An in-house medical advisory board constantly advises him and his team on the latest advances in healthcare. “Hundreds of years ago we didn’t have a cure for many diseases,” concludes Jenkins. “Now most diseases can be diagnosed and treated, the logical progression is for us to try and prevent those diseases from happening.”

Following the Platinum Assessment, not only do you have an unparalleled amount of medical data at your disposal - collated by the most advanced technology around - but it’s all broken down into meticulous detail by Jenkins and his expert team, so you can be safe in the knowledge that you’re taking all the right steps to optimise your wellbeing. After all, as the saying goes, health is wealth. Reviewed by Ray Searle

The Platinum Assessment, £14,000; echelon.health

TAKE FIVE

Jason and Irha Atherton are on a roll, opening five new London restaurants in as many months, including Sael (read our review on page 82), Mary’s and Three Darlings. The most ambitious of them all, however, is Row on 5 in Mayfair. There, guests enjoy the last word in luxury, choosing a bottle of Romanée-Conti from the chef’s private collection to go with their £250 tasting menu, and even having their coats dry-cleaned while they dine. The original Row on 45 in Dubai holds two Michelin stars. There’s every reason to believe Row on 5 will achieve the same.

5 Savile Row, Mayfair, W1 rowon5london.com

Tasting Notes

The new openings & places to know across the capital this season

Compiled by HILARY ARMSTRONG

Art of Eating

TASTE OF SUNSHINE

Delamina Townhouse sees the light- lled interiors and sun-warmed Eastern Mediterranean avours of Delamina in Marylebone and Shoreditch reimagined in a listed Georgian home in Covent Garden. Site-speci c art by chef and co-patron Limor Chen makes for a beautiful backdrop to brunch. Don’t miss the arak-cured sea trout with fresh herbs and labneh.

13-15 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, WC2 delaminakitchen.co.uk

PICTURE PERFECT

Gallery, the new space at the heart of the storied Savoy hotel, is so cosseting you won’t ever want to leave. There’s not a whim the menu does not indulge, from kale juice and chia pudding at breakfast to omelette Arnold Bennettinvented at this very hotel - at brunch, moving onto lobster rolls, Club sandwiches, fettuccine with prawn butter and stone-baked pizzas topped with tru�le and Baron Bigod. The afternoon tea, whether traditional, vegetarian or plantbased, is as re�ined as it comes.

The Savoy, The Strand, WC2 thesavoylondon.com

EASTERN PROMISE

David Thompson won a Michelin star at Nahm back in the day. Now the socalled ‘godfather of Thai food’ is back in London, bringing with him dishes from the streets and stalls of modern Bangkok. Long Chim is a long-term residency so catch it while you can. The five-spice pork is the dish to have. 36-40 Rupert Street, Soho, W1 longchim.london

ALL THAT JAZZ

Oriole returns. Three years after leaving Clerkenwell, the beloved bar from the creators of Nightjar and Bar Swift has found its forever home in Covent Garden. Split across two floors, the Bamboo bar at street level serves aperitivi and small plates, while a jazz-soundtracked Latin American restaurant is in the plush speakeasy below. The illustrated cocktail list is your map to a world of creative cocktails inspired by global flavours. 7-9 Slingsby Place, Covent Garden, WC2 oriolebar.com

RIVIERA CHIC

La Môme, Cannes’ most fabulous restaurant, est arrivé at The Berkeley. La Môme London, which opened its doors in February, has all the verve and vitality of the Riviera original, right down to the live music and never-before-seen tableside theatrics. The Mediterranean menu features many of the original’s signatures, including truffle pasta dishes, tender beef tagliata and an indulgent fondant au chocolat. The Berkeley, Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, SW1 the-berkeley.co.uk

MY FAVOURITE LONDON RESTAU NTS

THOMAS STRAKER

The chef and restaurateur reveals his must-visit foodie spots in the capital, from a high-energy Thai in Soho to an Italian stalwart in Hammersmith

BRAT

I love eating here because it is super original; plus, a huge part of going to a restaurant is about comfort and atmosphere - and you get both here. I’m a west Londoner, so Shoreditch is a bit of a schlep across town for me. I might run my own restaurant, but I get out a lot - you’ve got to stay agile in terms of the industry. Tomos Parry is a great chef, and the food is always bang on. I don’t often order the signature whole turbot, mostly because I’ll only be there with a couple of people; instead, we’ll opt for smaller dishes like the oven-baked crab rice. I like how some of the dishes are Japanese-inspired. I’ll always have a convivial time, plus it’s nice to be cooked for.

LARA KILNER

ENDO ROTUNDA

This place is unreal, probably one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. You step out of the lift at the 8th floor and they welcome you to this amazing, intimate, effortless omakase experience of 18 different courses. I went with a friend after cocktails at The Connaught. The chef Endo Kazutoshi was super charming. This is his craft, and everything was done to a tee. The dishes were exceptional; we had amazing scallops, which they tell you all about. Apparently, Endo returns something like 70% of the scallops because he only wants the very best. We also ate amazing wagyu beef and a crisp nori taco with diced raw tuna, which Endo calls his business card because it’s his signature. We opted for the sake pairing - not for every course I must add, but there were at least five or six glasses. Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd’s Bush, W12 endoatrotunda.com

4 Redchurch Street, Shoreditch, E1 bratrestaurant.co.uk

THE RIVER CAFE

The River Cafe is somewhere we always go for anniversaries or birthdays; it has a sense of occasion. After Straker’s had been open for six months, I took the team there - we probably went a bit overboard and I had a lot of explaining to do to the accountants the next day. The River Cafe taught me not to be afraid to be simple. The simplicity of the food, the quality of the produce and the aesthetic are important. It feels calm and collected - the service is amazing. They have daily changing menus, and I like to see what’s nice seasonally. In warmer months, I’ll order the crab and often the tranche of turbot with Amalfi lemon and zucchini. If I’m feeling meaty, I go for the beef with roasted tomatoes and horseradish.

KILN

It may be influenced by the flavours of northern Thailand, but Kiln isn’t run by Thai people and doesn’t assume to be super authentic - it’s not about that. They’ve just captured a really good energy; the food is banging and the staff are really friendly. It is always busy and very fast-paced. They cook over charcoal in an open kitchen and do counter dining. The cull yaw skewers and slow-cooked soy chicken thighs with a cold beer are perfection. For mains, I love their classic dishes, like the cumin-spiced pork belly and brown crab noodles cooked in a clay pot. This place is perfect for a quick lunch when you’re hungover. I’ll wake up at midday and head over there to sit at the bar and slurp noodles, then I’m back on it. It’s walk-ins only, so if you’re hoping to go in the evening, be there at 7pm to put your name down and you’ll probably be eating at 10pm.

Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, Hammersmith, W6 rivercafe.co.uk

58 Brewer Street, Soho, W1 kilnsoho.com

MAISON FRANCOIS

I used to work with François O’Neill, the owner of Maison François, and Matthew Ryle, the chef. They’ve created something special here. It’s a beautiful place, all high ceilings and grand design; smart and very business-like during the week, but also ideal for an occasion. Matthew is an exceptional cook. The salads, the roast chicken, the beef tartare… I’m getting hungry now. And then there’s the pudding trolley, which my daughter loves. They do this eclair with chocolate crema inside, and they have pistachio macarons, chocolate madeleines and a delicious Paris-Brest. They also put a lot of time into the wine. They have one of the best wine cellars and have won awards for it. I tend to go somewhere in the middle of the list - around £100 - and choose a crisp white, like a Chablis 1er Cru.

34 Duke Street, St James’s, SW1 maisonfrancois.london

Restaurant editor Hilary Armstrong samples London’s most thrilling culinary openings, from a Mexican fiesta in Mayfair to Jason Atherton’s ode to cool Britannia in St James’s Market

Nipotina TableTal k

South Audley Street, Mayfair, W1

You have to admire restaurateur Samyukta Nair. Not content with having a Japanese restaurant, a Thai restaurant, several Indian restaurants and a Chinese restaurant – isn’t it hotels you’re meant to build in Mayfair not restaurants? – she’s now turned her attention to Italian. What took her so long?

Italian is the de facto local cuisine in Mayfair, or so you’d think, going by the glut of glossy ristoranti that line its leafy streets. Cecconi’s, C London, Bocconcino, Harry’s Bar, Novikov… to name but a few. Nipotina on South Audley Street is Nair’s contribution to the collective. So what can Nipotina offer that the others don’t?

The answer becomes apparent over Sunday lunch at Nipotina on a crisp winter’s day. In one corner, there’s an elderly couple, both dressed to the nines; in another, a gaggle of glamorous girlfriends, aglow from the gym by the looks of it; next to us, two finance bros in gilets, who split a pizza; while, coming in through the door, is a

family of five, toddlers and teenagers in tow. In Nipotina, Nair, a Mayfair resident herself, has created the Italian restaurant she wants on her doorstep. Somewhere for locals, not just for visitors. Somewhere you can share a Margherita alla Bufala one day, yes, but be back the next to polish off a T-bone. It doesn’t sound like radical restaurateuring to put pizza and pasta on the menu but on South Audley Street? Maybe it is. Where else in Mayfair can you get a plate of Pici Cacio e Pepe for £15, a Marinara pizza for £12 and tiramisu for two for £12? This is the food real people want to eat, real people who exist in Mayfair, too. I order toothsome hand-formed orecchiette at £14, with garlicky cime di rapa and crisp olive oil breadcrumbs. The recipe belongs to head chef Somaia Hammad, whose grandmother hailed from Puglia. “Nipotina”, in fact, means granddaughter.

Another reason to rock up is the wine list, produced in collaboration with Luca Dusi of Shoreditch’s Passione Vino. The list is all-Italian and boasts any number of bottles from the length and breadth of the country beyond the big names. You don’t need a Barolo budget to drink well. It opens at £34 and has a welcome concentration of bottles in the £40 to £60 bracket (think pigato from Liguria – my favourite Riviera holiday tipple; skin-contact verdicchio from Le Marche; frappato from Sicily). Should you wish to splurge, Dusi’s fine wine list has your Barolo and Sassicaia needs covered.

Hammad has created a menu to suit every mood and every wallet, with an emphasis on authentic Italian ingredients over ostentatious luxury. While there is an entire black truffle menu on my visit, it being the season, the true Italophile will be just as excited by linguine with clams and bottarga, Livornese-style red mullet or even humble borlotti beans with chilli. I can’t resist octopus, a perfectly charred tentacle coiled on the plate, just with salsa verde and baked olives. My guest’s rib-eye steak comes rare as requested, with a lemon caper butter. Our olive oil puré di patate didn’t make it to the table – service is not yet as slick as it needs to be – but at least it left us room for dessert: moussey, dark chocolate bonet, from Hammad’s hometown of Turin, and a little pastry puff filled with Bronte pistachio cream. If we wanted for anything at Nipotina, it was gelato. What’s an Italian restaurant without ice cream? If you can get the children of Mayfair on side with fragola, stracciatella, cioccolato and limone, they’ll bring their parents and grandparents in every weekend. That’s the mark of a neighbourhood restaurant and Nipotina is well on its way.

MEAL FOR TWO (with wine): £120 SIGNATURE DISH: Lobster triangoli with spicy vodka tomato WHAT TO DRINK: Nipotina Negroni

LEYDI

� Holborn Viaduct, London City, EC1 leydilondon.com

For a scary moment there, it looked as if it might be London’s loss and Amsterdam’s gain when chef Selin Kiazim decided to set up permanent home in the perennially cool Dutch city. But those clever folk at hotel and restaurant collective Ennismore had other ideas.

The result is Leydi, a modern Turkish restaurant in collaboration with Kiazim on the ground floor of the historic Spiers and Pond hotel, now the Hyde London City, opposite the Old Bailey. Kiazim’s presence is keenly felt, regardless of whether she’s in Amsterdam, cooking at Esra, her new restaurant there, or here in London, keeping an eye on the wood-fired mangal grill at Leydi.

Kiazim was born in London to TurkishCypriot parents. Her culinary training, however, is classically French and she got her big break at Providores with her mentor, New Zealand fusion pioneer Peter Gordon. It was only really with Oklava, her first restaurant which opened in Shoreditch in 2015, that Kiazim was finally able to lean into her culinary heritage and fill our bellies with seftali kebabs and our Instagram feeds with her egg-topped Black Sea cheese pide.

Leydi takes Kiazim – and the diner – to Istanbul in spirit. It’s an all-day operation, opening at 7am daily, for generous breakfasts of Turkish eggs with whipped

mode, lokantas in Istanbul being neighbourhood spots frequented by for two courses (such as chicken shish or imam bayildi), £29 for three courses.

garlic yoghurt and chilli pepper, menemen scrambled eggs and the traditional Turkish spread of simit with feta, olives, boiled egg and kaymak. Kiazim was always an excellent baker, too. Try the caramelised tahini bun, bacon lavash or crispy filo börek. By lunchtime, Leydi shifts into ‘lokanta’ mode, lokantas in Istanbul being neighbourhood spots frequented by locals seeking simple, affordable cooking. Leydi’s set menu offers exactly that, at £24 for two courses (such as chicken shish or imam bayildi), £29 for three courses. Kiazim’s style shines brighter, however, across the full menu and an array of meze, grills, salads, sides and dip after dip after dip. A cocktail might well be called for – mixologist Kevin Patnode has come up with a genius Sumac Cosmo for Leydi –but with the aircon cranked up to summerin-Istanbul levels, even in the London winter, I sip hot tea; Leydi’s own blend is fragrant with bergamot and served black in dainty, slim-waisted glasses. Dark Turkish coffee is available, too, as is raki, Turkey’s national drink, by the bottle, with ice and water on the side. The attention to detail transports one to Istanbul or the pages of an Orhan Pamuk novel. The atmosphere, even midweek, is upbeat with a fair few Turkish diners there

to size it up.

them I’d say the move is to gather friends and family and order until you can no longer see the table for food.

jammy, smoky tomato ezme, rip into spicy lamb lahmacun and scoop up cool, crisps. The highlight, however, is the grilled scrambled eggs and the egg and kaymak. Kiazim was always an excellent baker, too.

friends and family for laughing

This is food for talking and laughing over, as you swipe fresh bread through jammy, smoky tomato ezme, rip into spicy lamb lahmacun and scoop up cool, yoghurt cacik with housemade baharat crisps. The highlight, however, is the grilled meats from the mangal, served on ornate silver plates. Lamb adana is my go-to order on Green Lanes where it’s always excellent, but here Kiazim makes it dainty, too, in a scaled-down size, prettily and precisely garnished with slivers of sumac onions, a dinky bowl of grilled tomato and pepper ezme, heaps of fresh parsley and glistening dripping pide. You can’t go wrong with the all-in Leydi Deluxe at £50pp.

The mood set thus, you won’t be ready to go home. Linger a little longer over Turkish biscuits, crispy kadayif pastry künefe, coffee and Turkish delight or a cold glass of raki. At Leydi, Kiazim brings Istanbul a little closer.

MEAL FOR TWO (with wine): £160 SIGNATURE DISH: Mixed grill for two WHAT TO DRINK: Raki

SAEL

1 St James’s Market, Westminster, SW1 saellondon.com

How fitting that Jason Atherton should choose the year of the Oasis reunion announcement to launch Sael, his modern British brasserie with “the energy and swagger of the Cool Britannia era”. Atherton knows a thing or two about Cool Britannia. At the height of it, let’s say 1997, when Liam and Patsy graced the cover of Vanity Fair on their Union Jack bed, the then twentysomething Atherton was Manchester’s hottest property, serving salmon with mango and tarragon mash, and sweet potato and goats cheese terrine with cherry balsamic to the Maharashiclad masses at Oliver Peyton’s ahead-of-its-time Mash & Air. Coming up to three decades later, the now fiftysomething Atherton has still got it, just

three decades in professional

like his Britpop counterparts. Atherton has seen (and cooked) it all over more than three decades in professional kitchens. He’s witnessed culinary trend after culinary trend come and go, from stack ‘n’ drizzle modern European to molecular gastronomy,

and prime cuts of meat ‘from the embers’. It’s not new for London as such but it is new for Atherton. The obvious comparison is with Fallow, that other modern British brasserie not 100 metres away on Haymarket. There are similarities in the use of pickling, fermenting and smoking, the celebration of British ingredients and even the structure of the menu, but Atherton has his own story to tell.

tasting menus, small plates, steak houses, the lot. It’s not a lack of conviction that’s persuaded him to move from one genre to another –he’s done Japanese, Italian, French, British, in restaurants from London to New York, Dubai to Hong Kong – it’s just that he doesn’t stay still for long. When the market tells him to adapt, he adapts. Which brings us to Sael (from an old English word for season) on the former Aquavit site on St James’s Market, where Atherton wants to cast off “the shackles of fine-dining” for a menu of British Isles ingredients (Cumbrian lamb, Wiltshire truffle, Orkney scallops, Highland wagyu, etc) harnessed to global techniques. References to Cool Britannia abound with works by Young British Artists in the upstairs bar Apples & Pears (excellent – worth a visit in itself), black and white photographs of Bryan Ferry and David Bowie on the walls and Oasis on the soundtrack. Permission, perhaps, to rip up the rulebook? Sael breaks with the old threecourse tradition, proposing a mix and match menu of small plates, large plates, medium plates, as well as snacks, skewers, flatbreads,

Not to damn the rest of the meal but the best dish comes first: a perfect triangle of Marmite custard tart crowned with Umai caviar. Salty, sweet, savoury, silky, it’s quite possibly London’s dish of the year. Unlike Marmite, you’ll either love it or adore it. Atherton’s come a long way from Skegness, but he doesn’t forget his northern roots, pairing tempura oysters with Sarson’s ‘scraps’ (a play on the leftover batter you get at northern chippies). His lamb doner kebab flatbread is another must-order, somewhere between a trendy flatbread (as seen at Fallow, Maison François, Mountain…) and a chef’s post-shift scran. At the end of the meal, we’re back to old-fashioned British regional cookery and a sticky strawberry jam roly poly with Jersey custard and smoked butter. (I know of one food writer who went to Sael after eating elsewhere just to have this for pudding; it’s really that special). These are the bookends to a fantastic feast: witty, playful and lipsmackingly good.

Jersey custard and smoked butter. (I know of one food

pudding; it’s really that special). These

witty, playful and lipsmackingly need to borrow

interesting. Let’s see if we

Sael doesn’t need to borrow from an earlier era. What it’s doing in the here and now is far more interesting. Let’s see if we can say the same for Liam and Noel.

MEAL FOR TWO (with wine): £135

SIGNATURE DISHES: Marmite English custard tart; 100-layer snail and ox cheek lasagne WHAT TO DRINK: The Apples & Pears cocktail

Sael is the brainchild of Jason Atherton and his wife Irha

Fonda

Mexican chef Santiago Lastra’s latest London restaurant takes its name from the traditional familyrun eateries that Lastra grew up eating in. Never having been to Mexico myself (I must correct that!) I can’t pretend I know precisely what a fonda looks like. I turn to Google Images for reference. There I see old ladies in pinnies, ladling soups and stews out of vast clay pots; I see bustling dining rooms strung with colourful papel picados and I see roadside food stalls surrounded by plastic chairs. What I don’t see, however, is a giant pink sloth, fashioned out of fluffy agave fibres, dyed baby pink with cochineal.

Pancho, the giant pink sloth in question, hangs proudly above the stairwell at Fonda, Lastra’s contemporary Mexican restaurant on Heddon Street in Mayfair. He is the work of Fernando Laposse, a contemporary artist from Mexico, who works with natural materials including sisal, loofah, corn husks and avocado. Pancho is, I’m told, one of two. Though where Pancho’s identical twin now resides, the waiter can’t tell me for sure. My guess? Not in a fonda. But Fonda is no ordinary fonda. This is a fonda seen through the eyes of Lastra, in partnership with MJMK, the upwardly

mobile restaurant group behind Casa do Frango, Nuno Mendes’ Lisboeta and John Chantarasak’s AngloThai. This is the chef chosen by René Redzepi to head up his Noma Mexico pop-up back in 2017; the chef whose other restaurant is the Michelinstar-winning, World’s 50 Best-bothering, £185-a-head Kol in Marylebone. He was never going to sling tacos on the street!

The diner should prepare for a luxury experience, where tostadas are finished with seaweed oil and elderflower vinegar; quesadillas come with Wiltshire black truffle; and it is lobster, not pork, that’s given the al pastor treatment. Waiting staff describe every dish lovingly and reverentially, from pumpkin seed sikil pak anointed with pine oil to the lacto-fermented peppers in the Michelada. If we didn’t already know what a London take on Mexican fine dining looked like (Kol), we might think this was it.

It’s with its brilliantly original drinks list (and lively soundtrack) that Fonda conveys its alternative message: that we don’t have to be on our best behaviour here. There’s a whole section dedicated to Palomas (including a smoky pasilla one and a Champagne one, available by the bottle) another to Micheladas (the Tropical one is particularly delicious). There are magnums of natural wine, Margaritas by the bottle, a house lager, a range of agave spirits, all deep cuts. You could exhaust the food menu, while barely scratching the surface of the drinks one. Note, the no- and lowalcohol options are every bit as appealing.

While it’s fun to be a Fonda first-timer to be shown the comal, the griddle, where the corn masa is cooked, to be talked through all the salsas, and to hear about Lastra’s matching of British ingredients to Mexican traditions – he truly is some kind of genius – it’s far more fun on visit number two, when all that is out of the way and you can just place your regular order. Probably the sikil pak, a vivid green dip made of pumpkin seeds, scooped up with salty totopos corn chips. Then your tacos, one each as a minimum, with battered cod or maybe rib-eye. Split a main course – the pork shoulder with crisp puffs of chicharron is excellent – and load those tortillas with as much soft pork and spicy salsa as you can handle (the salsa macha with Cascabel chillies, sunflower seeds and honey gets my vote). How many Palomas, Margaritas or Micheladas you order is up to you. Pancho doesn’t judge.

MEAL FOR TWO (with wine): £160 SIGNATURE DISH: Lobster al Pastor WHAT TO DRINK: Champagne Paloma

lunetteriegenerale.com

RIVIERA RENAISSANCE

All eyes will be on the Italian Riviera this summer, when Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino unveils the next major phase in its multiyear restoration. Overseen by the inimitable Martin Brudnizki, the hotel’s latest reveal includes new rooms and communal spaces, with a restyled cocktail bar and Dior Spa. Just down the hillside and also commanding glittering sea views, is Villa Beatrice, once a family palazzo and now a first-of-its-kind private villa for the Belmond portfolio, which welcomes guests from July. belmond.com

Travel Notes

Compiled by HARRIET COOPER

ROCK THE KASBAH

Kasbah Tamadot, Sir Richard Branson’s atmospheric Moroccan retreat in the majestic Atlas Mountains, has reopened following a 12-month restoration. The sprawling hotel now has a second restaurant, Asayss, and half a dozen new individually-decorated riads, complete with their own private pool area, taking the total number of bedrooms to 42. What hasn’t changed is the warm Berber hospitality for which the hotel is famed, with 100% of the staff Moroccan. virginlimitededition.com

CALL OF THE WILD

Secluded mountainside hideaway eriro is just the place to channel your inner (sustainable) Heidi. The nine-bedroom hotel in Ehrwald, Austria, centres around centuries-old Tyrolean tradition and the majestic beauty of the Alps. Built from organic materials and only accessible by cable car, it invites guests to fully embrace nature, whether in the spruce needle sauna, on a guided barefoot hike through the forest or dining in the zero-waste restaurant. eriro.at

HOT PROPERTY

Il Salviatino, a 15th-century villa now a family-owned boutique hotel in the foothills of Florence, has undergone a magnifico transformation. The photogenic property has 39 meticulously restored rooms and suites, some overlooking the Duomo. Plus there’s a new spa and wellness area, set within the original greenhouse, with a sauna, hammam and Augustinus Bader treatments; while the ever-popular restaurant continues to excite with its authentic, seasonal menu. The hotel is set within five hectares of Italianate gardens, inviting guests to sit among the cypresses and herb-scented borders, just as previous guests Salvador Dalí and poet Gabriele D’Annunzio would have done all those years ago. salviatino.com

WARM REGARDS

Dubai isn’t short of impressive hotels, but the Delano is a scene-stealer. The brand, famous for its cool spin on luxury hospitality in Miami, makes its Middle Eastern debut with a 251-key property on a sun-drenched private beach on Bluewaters Island. Expect a quietly stylish aesthetic, elegant dining and attention-to-detail service. delanodubai.com

ALL CHANGE

As transformations go, Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor is five-star. Once a Balearic hotspot for globetrotters and the glitterati, the resort has re-emerged as a soulful seaside sanctuary. Guests spend their days exploring the pine-scented gardens, swimming in the crystal clear sea, at the spa or feasting on farm-and-sea-fresh menus. fourseasons.com

IN PLAIN SIGHT

Safari brand Singita adds to its private villa portfolio with Singita Kilima in Tanzania. The five-suite property perches on a hillside overlooking the Serengeti plains, with plenty of outdoor space from which to marvel at the Great Migration below. An infinity pool and fitness centre, plus a dedicated team of staff, further up the luxe. singita.com

Wanderlust

HITTING THE

HE IGHTS

With its retro-playful aesthetic and if-you-know-you-know vibe, Palm Heights in the Cayman Islands is the Caribbean’s best-kept secret

Words GRACE COOK

As I lie on my lounger next to a thirtysomething sunbather, both of us atop yellow striped towels with coconut waters in hand, we collectively admire the scene before us. The aquamarine waters, the curvy 1960s design chairs and canarycoloured parasols in the sand, and the Slim Aarons-style symmetry of the architecture. We are at Palm Heights, a 52-suite hotel tucked into a seven-mile beach on Grand Cayman Island, a Caribbean secret that’s fast become the fashionable resort among in-the-know holidaymakers.

Palm Heights is the brainchild of Gabriella Khalil, a 42-year-old art curator and interior designer based between London and New York, who has self-funded the project. It opened in late 2019 and was shut for most of

the pandemic. But since the island fully reopened to tourism, Palm Heights has earned a reputation as a winter escape for A-listers and aesthetes alike — types currently checking into Nine Orchard in New York, who stayed at Le Sirenuse in Positano and London’s Chiltern Firehouse before word got out. Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid have both vacationed at Palm Heights; Chloë Sevigny held her hen party here.

Despite its picturesque beaches and year-round climate, the Cayman Islands generally aren’t known for being trendy. Mention them to anyone and it’s likely they think of its taxhaven status and permatanned expat retirees wearing sun-faded “Cayman” caps or the tasselled T-shirts sold in its tiny airport. The islands are quiet and there’s not much to do: wild chickens roam everywhere, there’s very little in the way of shops or restaurants and luxury brands have almost no retail presence. Capri, this is not.

Khalil is giving millennials a reason to go: the hotel is “the only cool thing” on the island, according to Francisco Costa, the former creative director of Calvin Klein, whose beauty brand Costa Brazil you’ll find in the bathrooms and in the spa. Sarah Harris, editor-atlarge of British Vogue, is also a Palm Heights regular. With its restaurants, weekly karaoke parties and rooftop film nights, two palm-fringed pools and beachfront location, in Cayman terms, it’s practically its own village — no surprise guests rarely feel the need to leave.

One American expat I met told me she holidayed in Italy and skied in France, but Palm Heights was her “favourite vacation.” She lived down the road.

Khalil’s knack as a hotelier is assembling up-and-coming names, like she would for an exhibition. As the hotel’s creative director, she’s tapped into her connections from food and fashion to fitness and interior design. Star New York designer Emily Bode designed the boxy jackets worn by staff at the beach bar, which are crafted from repurposed lounger towels. The on-site concept store sells matching Bode bags, as well as exclusive pyjamas from Tekla, sarongs by Christopher John Rogers, and Los Angeles knitwear brand Calle Del Mar — when we meet at the hotel, Khalil is wearing a head-to-toe crochet look from the latter. It’ll no doubt appeal to the beach-to-bar-type traveller. You can pick up handmade sunhats from Moroccan brand Marrakshi Life: whose robes hang in guest bedrooms

(Marrakshi’s founders Randall Bachner and Nicholas Minucciani even got married at Palm Heights). You’ll also find clean beauty products, an edit of designer vintage and artisanal home pieces, with collaborations including Gohar World x Palm Heights tableware.

Elsewhere, lounges are filled with one-off design objects including Mario Botta chairs, custom marble tables and antique Afghan rugs - sourced by Khalil and interior designers Courtney Applebaum and Sarita Posada at flea markets and vintage haunts in Paris, Los Angeles and Mexico City. It’s all

very “if you know, you know”. The retro Caribbean mansion aesthetic extends to the 52 suites, which range from one- to three-bedroom, all offering an ocean view from their juliette balconies. The colour palette - sandy yellows, deep blues and taupes - reflect the vistas. Furniture is a blend of collectible 1960s and 70s design pieces - you’ll likely spot pieces by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Pierre Paulin and Gae Aulenti, to name but a few. Bathrooms are clad in specially quarried white and rosé Carrera marble and hand-fired tiles and feature double vanities and separate shower stalls.

But while Palm Heights could feel like a namedropper’s paradise, it’s the opposite. The vibe is intimate and familiar, not least across the four restaurants. There’s classic seaside dining at Tillies, where amongst the easy, breezy interiors, guests feast on fresh fish, grills and salads. Yashinoki is a multi-course Japanese culinary experience serving exquisitely crafted sushi and sake. Paradise Pizza is a laidback pizza parlour; while at beachside bar Coconut Club, the sunshine yellow furnishings match the casual vibe.

Collaborations with fashion designers, galleries, chefs and fitness trainers have become a blueprint for successful boutique hotels around the world wanting to offer guests a distinct experience. It arguably began with the Ace Hotels, which made the arty boutique trendy, but the fashion formula was perfected at Le Sirenuse in Positano and Hotel Il Pellicano in Tuscany. But Palm Heights differs in the fact it ticks all of the boxes. “We’re not a design hotel, or a food hotel, or just a place for a yoga retreat,” says Khalil. “People’s passions overlap. There’s something here for everyone.” Khalil says she does no influencer partnerships or paid advertising: the hotel has so far been an exercise in

organic, word-of-mouth marketing (Khalil doesn’t post pictures of any famous guests as a rule.) One habitué heard about it through some “gallerist friends”; others have learned about it through kitchen pop-ups with Ghetto Gastro, the Queens, NY-based cooking collective; or via Pilates instructors hosting a retreat (creatives generally do a two-week residency in exchange for a stay.) Each spreads the word and adds to the buzz. And while it might sound financially counterintuitive, it helps feed the allure. It seems more authentic in this peak influencer era of constant sponsored content: no one wants to book a vacation off the back of a #ad. Discreet is much more chic.

Khalil is hoping the Garden Club and Palm Heights Athletics will draw a new crowd. Opened in 2023, it’s a 60,000 sq ft state-of-the-art spa and fitness complex by renowned New York architect Dong Ping Wong. The Garden Club looks and feels like a marble-clad Buddhist temple in a brutalist haven, purpose-built on a former car park. Upon entering, it’s an elemental, canopied jungle of foliage. Tiny passageways lead to secret plunge pools; sound baths are conducted in an open-air, marbled enclave. Saunas, steam rooms and ice baths face each other in a courtyard, built around a tree of life, like something from Avatar - and in the depths of the Wellness Garden is the hammam, its walls made of golden-hued travertine.

Therapists glide around wearing palm-print jumpsuits by Aussie brand Matteau, offering rituals, therapies and treatments to guests, whether the signature Garden Club Classics or specifically by cult beauty and wellbeing brands. You could book in for an In Fiore, Biologique Recherche or iS Clinical facial, for example, while US clinic Ricari Studios offers lymphatic massages, ideal for ridding Europeans of flight fatigue. Also popular is the holistic wellness menu by Janine (who has been at the hotel since its opening), with the likes of its Energy Balancing Ritual and psychic readings. Guests can use the Garden Club for free, but

monthly memberships are also available to local residents who undergo a Soho House-style vetting.

“It’s about creating experiences guests can’t have elsewhere on vacation,” says Khalil, who hired a former professional cyclist from Ireland, who later worked at Nike, to oversee the fitness side at Palm Heights Athletics. Access to these experiences is a Palm Heights USP. Professional boxer Ramla Ali has done a residency, leading sparring sessions in the jewel-toned sea. Gabe Stone Shayer, a soloist with the American Ballet, has led classes, while Joe Holder — Naomi Campbell’s personal trainer — holds training sessions here during off-season.

“Palm Heights has earned a reputation as a winter escape for A-listers and aesthetes alike. Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid have both vacationed at Palm Heights; Chloë Sevigny held her hen party here”

These partnerships with actual athletes, as well as buzzy names like Holder, gives Palm Heights a real advantage over other destination hotels. “People don’t want to give up all their healthy habits when they travel,” explains Khalil. The site has a reformer Pilates studio, a ballet barre, a boxing ring and a plethora of trainers offering everything from paddleboard yoga at sea (a total treat at sunset) to racquet sport padel. I, meanwhile, enjoyed a track session with a team of Olympic sprinters during my stay, after staff discovered I was a sub-3:20 marathoner. Compared to them, I run like a tortoise.

“Tropical Fitness” has become something of a manifesto here: it’s

emblazoned on the walls of the outdoor gym and across caps. Khalil has also launched a fitness label, Palm Heights Athletics, available in the hotel’s store. With a 90s aesthetic, it offers sweatshirts and sweatpants, sports bras, bike shorts and boxing gloves. The brand follows the likes of Le Sirenuse, which, under the creative direction of Carla Cersale, has a women’s resortwear label called Emporio Sirenuse, now sold on Net-aPorter. Hotel Il Pellicano, under MarieLouise Sciò, has done partnerships with Birkenstock and Aquazzura. And just like Cersale and Sciò, Khalil is building her hotel’s dynasty on good taste - and it’s working. palmheights.com

T HE FIRST N A TURE IMMERSIVE WE L L BEING ISLAND RETRE A T I N T HE MALDIVES

Designed as a nature immersive wellbeing retreat with 68 private pool villas, the island’s wild forest remaining untouched, JOALI BEING offers personalised transformative programmes and unique transformational spaces, including hydrotherapy, movement, and sound healing experiences.

HOME &

FLOOR FILLER

A treasure trove of handwoven wonders, the Hidden Gems rug collection by Holmes Bespoke takes its influence from the calming qualities of precious stones. The nine made-to-order designsincluding Onyx, Jasper, Fire Opal and Blue Diamond - are adorned with organic lines, colours and shapes in gentle, tonal hues and crafted from sumptuous New Zealand wool and silk. POA holmesbespoke.com

Design Notes

The statement table, a multifaceted mirror and lights go theatrical

Compiled by AMY MOOREA WONG

GLASS ACT

Scene Setter

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Inspired by stage sets and costume design, Naomi Paul’s Celeste collection is made up of ten light designs, all expertly hand-crocheted in the brand’s East London workshop from sustainable Egyptian cotton. Each one has a distinct inner and outer hue - from Violette and Russet to Chalk and Pistache - and can also be decorated with pared back graphic block patterns.

From £4,100; naomipaul.co.uk

The only female-led hot glass-blowing studio in London, Gather is known for fusing contemporary colours with traditional making methods. Its collection is filled with extravagant forms and idiosyncratic patterns, each piece serving as both art object and functional drinkware. While the shapely Martini glasses have the alluring look of wrapped sweets about them, the Dalmatian pattern of the wine cooler brings a touch of drama to the table. From £40 for a tumbler gather.glass

TAKING SHAPE

Nestle into a cosy, curvy cocoon with the Garagh armchair by Pinch, which wraps itself around the sitter in the most stylish of embraces. The tucked-in detailing along the front of the arms creates a tailored feel - have it upholstered in a fabric of your own or in something curated by the brand.

£4,350 pinchdesign.com

STEELY GAZE

Designed by Archive for Space, Béton Brut’s Mirror 002 is a story of opposites, its soft, organic form juxtaposing the utilitarian, industrial feel of stainless steel, while the frame has a brushed finish to contrast the polished steel mirrored inner surface. Each piece is handmade in Stoke-onTrent, with custom sizes upon request.

From £1,900 betonbrut.co.uk

Photography: Nick Rochowski

NATURAL WONDER

Held aloft on monolithic bases, the Bay dining table by Niccolò Devetag for Porada is a celebration of refined natural materials, the legs crafted from the brand’s signature Canaletta walnut, the top available in wood, marbles of various colours, glass or porcelain, to seat up to eight. Bay Dining Table £8,346 chaplins.co.uk

POP-UP STARS

Selfridges has not one, but two concept stores popping up on the lower ground floor this season, both showcasing limited-edition products for the home. House of Bandits, the gallery-shop by Lee Alexander McQueen’s Sarabande Foundation, is selling work by creatives supported by the charitable organisation, including art, sculpture, photography and craft pieces. Also resident until 23 March is gallery and design store 8 Holland Street with a display of 100 iconic chairs, stools and seating designs from the 20th century, all of them available for purchase alongside a curated collection of books, cushions, textiles and ceramics. selfridges.com

Team

WORK

Charlotte and Angus Buchanan are the tour-de-force tastemakers behind London’s Buchanan Studio. Here the husband-andwife duo share how they’ve earned their stripes in the world of creative design

Words OLIVIA LIDBURY

Portrait ALICIA WAITE

That saying about finding a job you love and never working a day in your life could have been coined for Angus and Charlotte Buchanan. Through their design practice Buchanan Studio, the husband-and-wife team bring to life what they call “mini worlds”. Whether that’s a fantastical, hotel-inspired residence in London’s east end (the quirky Maison Colbert, more on which later); installing a ceiling of “breast lights” at the Venice Biennale; or concepting the identity of the Delevingne sisters’ prosecco brand, Della Vite, the breadth and originality of Buchanan Studio has made it one of the most exciting practices on the capital’s design scene.

“I relish having all these different projects going on,” says Angus, the creative mastermind. One week he might be installing a project in the Mediterranean, the next he’ll be prototyping a piece for the in-house furniture line (its first-ever design, the Studio Chair, went viral). The yin to his yang is Charlotte, who steers all things operational and strategic behind the scenes from their base off Ladbroke Grove. “We’re often confused for a design duo. But we’re a business with a team of eight, and Charlotte is entirely in charge of that,” explains Angus.

Charlotte Buchanan on a Studio Sofa in Studio Stripe and Angus Buchanan on a Studio Sofa in Shearling

ABOVE: Daydream Shape Tables. OPPOSITE: Buchanan Studio’s signature piece, the Studio Chair, is available in all of the studio’s textiles, plus limited-edition options

The couple first met at school aged 13, but didn’t get together romantically until almost a decade later. Angus’s family, who Charlotte describes as “bohemian, in a brilliant way” - made an impression on her as a teen when she’d attend parties at their house. Angus’s mother, Brigette, was a Vogue fashion stylist who co-founded the lifestyle brand Cabbages & Roses.

“Most of our products start as a passion project before we know if they’re going to be commercially viable. Designing from the heart is what is working for us at the moment”

Charlotte Buchanan

His father, Robin, set up the tile company Fired Earth, and together the couple launched ODD, which specialises in luxury garden swing seats. The family home in Oxfordshire was filled with unusual finds, fabrics and personalities. “Mum surrounds herself with interesting, creative people, so I wasn’t only exposed to doctors and bankers but lots of other walks of life. They don’t really tell you about that at school,” says Angus.

It was during his time at school that Angus raided his mother’s Rolodex, sent her frequent collaborator Mario Testino an email and landed work experience with the legendary fashion photographer. While Charlotte and his peers went off to university, Angus rolled up his sleeves under Testino, which led to an encounter with the late and great production and set designer Michael Howells. “I remember stepping on to a huge, expensive set starring Madonna for Versace. We did the shoot and I was mesmerized. I sat next to Michael that evening as we flew to

another shoot and I talked to him the whole way. By the end of the flight, I had decided I needed to go and work for him,” he recalls. Starting at the sharp end, Angus’s training involved creating catwalk shows for Dior Haute Couture and John Galliano. He graduated to art director and eventually branched out on his own. Alongside requests for sets came an organic flow of commissions for interiors. With their second child on the way, Charlotte, whose work involved brokering contracts between brands and celebrities, realised she could transfer her skills to harness Angus’s creativity into a more formalised business. “Pretty quickly, we started to have a shared vision of what Buchanan Studio could be, and where we thought there was a gap,” says Charlotte. That was in 2018. In the years since, they have barely had time to

come up for air. Angus’s whimsicalmeets-utilitarian vision takes in references from legendary designers Oliver Messel and David Hicks, who were known for their exceptional use of colour and pattern, as well as artist and stage specialist Es Devlin. Other influences include interior designer Axel Vervoodt, filmmaker Wes Anderson and photographer Tim Walker. Business has spread through word of mouth, attracting mostly kindred spirits. “We have brave clients, and we like that. They are entrepreneurial or creative themselves, but they’re looking for a partner to build on their ideas,” says Angus.

This symbiosis is best exemplified by Maison Colbert, the vast Spitalfields property owned by artists Charlotte and Philip Colbert. There, surrealist touches (look up the “boob bath”) mingle with a playful hotel narrative thanks to a bespoke check-in desk, bar and elevator. It might sound wacky, but the storytelling approach is one Angus applies to all interiors projects: “We love the initial research phase of building up a picture of how a space is going to be used and what’s going to happen in there,” he says. Current projects include a palazzo in Venice, and the team has just completed a residential project in Belgravia. Public spaces where you might recognise the studio’s work include the restaurant and store Wild by Tart, also in SW1, and the Battersea outpost of the modern kebab restaurant Le Bab.

Naturally, Angus’s creative cup flows in his and Charlotte’s Edwardian home in Harlesden, north-west London, which they share with their two young children, Riva and Wylder. It’s a laboratory of ideas, snapshots of which are frequently liked, shared and admired wistfully on Instagram. They put in the restaurant-grade, stainless-steel kitchen long before the material was trending; the couple’s en-suite, where the freestanding bathtub is perfectly plonked by a fireplace with the loo and shower cleverly siphoned off in cubicles, is the sort of place you’d relish soaking your troubles away.

TOP: Studio Chair in zebra print ABOVE LEFT: The Daydream Shape Table in Marble. ABOVE RIGHT: Ticking Rose fabric, all by Buchanan Studio.

OPPOSITE: Studio Chair in Cloud Shearling

“We have brave clients, and we like that. They are entrepreneurial or creative themselves, but they’re looking for a partner to build on their ideas” Angus Buchanan

What the house shares with their projects is a sense of theatricality coupled with imaginative problemsolving (a USP owing to Angus’s set-designing roots). “We strive for timelessness with a bite or edge of something unexpected. I think there’s a levity that underpins a lot of what we do. That relaxed, romantic sensibility, which comes from Angus’s upbringing, is balanced with a utilitarian side,” says Charlotte. This delicate dichotomy also manifests in Buchanan Studio’s line of fabrics and furniture. It all began in 2021 with the Studio Chair, an irresistibly squishy and unapologetically cumbersome (it commands a square metre) investment piece inspired by 1970s Italian design. It has already garnered cult status, which is all the more remarkable when Charlotte

admits: “Most of our products start as a passion project before we know if they’re going to be commercially viable. Designing from the heart is what is working for us at the moment.”

The Studio Chair has been shipped as far as Miami and Australia, and there are half a dozen dotted around the family home. Originally offered in a custom stripe in slub linen, requests for said material led to the subsequent launch of a fabrics line. The nostalgic Ticking Rose is perhaps the most distinctive print to date; designed in collaboration with Angus’s creative consultant sister, Violet Dent, it’s a distillation of the many floral prints collected by their mother. The product family expanded further in 2024 with the stainless steel-centric Daydream Collection. A counter to the softness of upholstered pieces, the showstopper is the

Daydream Studio Ottoman, a pleasingly curved sculpture in both honed and polished metals. 2025 is looking even busier, with details under wraps but whispers of new categories launching and a first business-to-business collaboration. With so many plates spinning, switching off isn’t easy - but nor is it something Angus or Charlotte feel they need. There are weekends back to their parents in the country to plug in with nature, or holidays to clients’ properties, which enables Angus to show the children why he has to travel for work. But ultimately: “The studio is part and parcel with our life. It’s our everything and the team is our extended family. We’ve created this world where work and home are blurred, and that’s rather nice,” says Angus.

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I’m looking forward to the Style exhibition at the V&A.

I adore this beautiful opal ring by my sister Jade Jagger. Her new Chest collection comprises psychedelic plants and animals

My mother wears Fracas Eau de Parfum by Robert Piguet, so it always reminds me of her. £175, harrods.com

I’ve had Pretty Sick’s EP Streetwise on repeat. I am friends with the lead singer Sabrina; she is very cool, and I enjoy her lyrics.

My friend Alex Brownsell gave me this cheeky vase by Annisa Kermiche. anissakermiche.com

My day-to-day bag is the Prada Re-Edition 2005 Re-Nylon, because though it’s small, it still fits my phone and camera. £1,470, prada.com

I just launched my MAY Botanicals Golden Hour Face Oil which is fantastic for hydrating the skin. £70 maybotanicals.com

I’m obsessed with eyebrows, so a good brow gel is a must. I like Glossier Boy Brow in clear. £22, glossier.com

I wear NARS Powermatte High-Intensity Lip Pencil in Kiss Me Deadly for a pop of colour £25, nars.com

I’ve been a huge fan of Nadia Lee Cohen’s photography for years. Her portraits of women are surreal but strong. nadialeecohen.com

Though I tend to buy more vintage, I’m a huge ACNE fan and am currently coveting this printed dress. £800, acnestudios.com

I’ve got my eye on these green suede Siemu mules by Manolo Blahnik, they’ll go with everything. £675, manoloblahnik.com

Collage by LILY PICHON FLANNERY

My favourite place to stay in the capital is the Treehouse Hotel London who now offer MAY Botanical facials with the skincare clinic Pfeffer Sal. treehousehotels.com