Walpole Book of British Luxury 2019

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“Britain’s luxury brands are our calling card to the world.

We should be enormously proud of these brands: their heritage, creativity, craftsmanship, quality, innovation - and the contribution they make economically, culturally and to soft power diplomacy.”

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Michael Ward Chairman of Walpole & Managing Director of Harrods

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Brands of Tomorrow 2019

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Walpole British Luxury

Brands of Tomorrow 2019

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Welcome Helen Brocklebank

Creativity is the life-blood of luxury. Each object or experience is, in itself, a work of art brought to life in an exciting act of collaboration between brand and customer. Think of the golden proportions of the new Bentley Continental – even its headlights, usually the most boring, functional thing on any car, are bevelled and faceted like a cut-glass tumbler, reminding its owner of the pleasures of other exquisitely crafted things, a glass of a fine single malt enjoyed at the end of a long journey, perhaps. Consider the bravura imagination of Riccardo Tisci’s Burberry, unafraid to deconstruct the iconic house codes to write an intriguing new chapter for Britain’s most successful luxury fashion brand. Look at the way Selfridges’ sybaritic retail playground makes people see high-end favourites with entirely fresh eyes. A journey on the Belmond Royal Scotsman transforms passengers into characters in their own John Buchan-style adventure. These are the things that are the soul of British luxury – brands full of people at the very height of their creative powers, their skill, imagination and artistry highly attuned to the essence of what makes us human.

Central to this year’s Walpole Book of British Luxury is the relationship between luxury and art, culture and society. In his piece Zeitgeist or Bust on page 72, Guy Salter believes that luxury should remember “brands are often culture-generators in their own right” and that craft – central to the British luxury experience – is possibly the most authentic source of luxury engagement of them all. Certainly, creativity in luxury flourishes in a specific cultural context – luxury businesses are woven into the landscape and imagination of the country and a symbiotic relationship exists between culture, art, nature and society.

Timorous Beasties’ bewitching design for the cover of this book perfectly captures those rich complexities and casts a beguiling spell. Their garden of delights is host to royal swans, a rare (and much treasured) red squirrel, a noble stag, the ordinary beauty of the common garden snail, a peacock butterfly, the red rose mingling peaceably with the white, the Scottish thistle and the Irish shamrock nestle alongside heraldic lions, and a shy unicorn hides in a tangle of nature – growing, entwined, organic – from which all ideas take root. Allow yourself to be drawn into its enchanted world – bring yourself and the sum of your own experiences to it – for, as Justine Picardie writes in The C Word on page 20, “every writer needs a reader, and in the act of reading a story may take on a life of its own”.

Context is a mutable thing particularly when disruption and uncertainty are the new normal. Picardie argues that “uncertainty is integral to continuing a creative journey”, and it’s a reassuring thought that out of all of the political turbulence of the past few years and the exciting, disruptive force of the digital

Walpole British Luxury

Helen Brocklebank Helen Brocklebank is the Chief Executive of Walpole. Immediately before joining Walpole, she ran a content agency for luxury brands, but built her career - as well as her passion for British luxury - in publishing, working on Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE and other iconic media brands. In October 2017, she was named one of Harper’s Bazaar’s 150 Visionary Women.

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Next to Nature, Art

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by Helen Brocklebank

Welcome Helen Brocklebank

“For the British, luxury is expressed as an emotion – unique, creative, non-conformist, brimming with a sense of turbulent energy, freedom and, often, wit.”

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British Bohemiams Page 24

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disruptive mindset” and Nick typifies a new breed of millennial aristocrat with the imagination and business savvy to combine “tradition with innovation to not only save historical buildings from demolition but propel them into their next chapter”. It may be unfashionable to admit it, but historic houses and the aristocracy are an enduringly popular part of Britain’s appeal abroad, in China and the Middle East as well as in the US. There, according to a study conducted for Walpole by Brand Finance, people are 73 per cent more likely to buy British than they were two or three years ago, and while I’d like Walpole’s annual trade and media mission to the US to claim the credit, it should more properly go to the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex, whose influence Catriona Gray explores in Royal Influence on page 60.

I’m often asked to define what makes British luxury special.

It’s all too easy to fall back on those old saws, heritage and craftsmanship, but the truth is harder to pin down than that. In British Bohemians on page 24, Lydia Slater gently teases apart the multi-layered set of meanings by which we understand luxury and notes that “for the British, [luxury] is expressed as an emotion: unique, creative, non-conformist, brimming with a sense of turbulent energy, freedom and, often, wit”. Yet for all the quirky individuality of the British bohemian, we have a pragmatic sensibility – luxury that’s lavish, opulent or too indulgent never sits well with our northern European, protestant souls. While the 19th century proponents of the French aesthetic movement were languidly crying “L’art pour l’art” (art for art’s sake), William Morris, progenitor of the Arts and Crafts movement and a dominant gene in British luxury’s DNA, declared: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or consider to be beautiful.” We like luxury best when it’s as practical as it is lovely and build it along those lines.

“It was Morris,” writes Alex Bilmes in Form and Function, page 14, “the polymathic Victorian architect, textile designer, poet, socialist agitator, beard wearer and Arts and Crafts mover and shaker, who first posited the notion that art should meet the needs of society, and that its function should dictate its form.” Look through these pages at what’s happening in British luxury, at its products and experiences, its brands and its references, and you’ll see the British creative imagination at its very best: everything is beautiful, and everything is useful.

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revolution may come an outpouring of creative energy. After all, Alex Preston notes in Literature and Luxury on page 40 that the “novel was the dominant cultural artefact to arise from the Industrial Revolution”. Is it too much of a stretch that the ‘creative journey’ may lead to a new ‘cultural artefact’ altogether?

As I write, my office view of the Palace of Westminster keeps Brexit and other geopolitical challenges front of mind, and I’m anxious that nothing should derail the tremendous growth of the British luxury sector, up 49 per cent in the past four years, from a value of £32.2 billion to £48 billion (page 77). The world changes, and with it changes the expectations of the luxury customer; as The Economist’s Daniel Franklin writes in 2019 Deliveries that “leaders of luxury brands will, more than ever, need astute political and social antennae… social media will swiftly amplify any false steps in an age of ‘woke capitalism’”. Woke capitalism is here to stay and tripwires abound if there’s a whiff of inauthenticity, but for most luxury brands, for which purpose has long been at the heart of promise, it presents an opportunity to connect meaningfully with a new generation of customers. As Lucia van der Post says on page 68 in Staying Power, about the enduring allure of the grand hotel, “notions of what grand hotels should offer have evolved… to meet millennials’ wider concern with ethical and social matters… it is a new kind of luxury they are looking for, one that doesn’t destroy…”

If the millennialisation of luxury means brands have a responsibility to make their world a better place, then alongside culture generator, the role of custodian becomes essential, too. Forgive me paraphrasing a famous luxury ad, but luxury’s new mantra might be to remember one never owns it, simply looks after it for the next generation.

Luxury is a curious, Janus-faced thing – simultaneously looking over its shoulder to its rich, storied past yet also looking forward to the future, constantly mining the legacy of what’s gone before to create new, captivating stories. Britain, too, needs to have the same mindset – a sense of one’s heritage gives important, stable roots from which new shoots can grow, yet standing still, mired in nostalgia, will lead only to stagnation and decay. This is something Nick Ashley-Cooper understands all too well – as Lysanne Currie writes in Rejuvenation & Regeneration on page 30, inheriting a title and a historic house requires “an optimistic,

Inside

The 2019 Yearbook Contents

The Luxury Landscape ►

12 14 21 24 30 40 44 53 57 60 68 73

Luxury in 2019 by Daniel Franklin Man & Machine by Alex Bilmes Creativity & Commerce by Justine Picardie British Bohemians by Lydia Slater Rejuvenation & Regeneration by Lysanne Currie Literature & Luxury by Alex Preston Street Life by Anthony Quinn On Brand by Alexandra Shulman CBE Informal Formal by Stephen Doig Royal Influence by Catriona Grey Staying Power by Lucia van der Post Zeitgeist or Bust by Guy Salter

The Numbers ►

77

The Value of British Luxury

The Luxury Index ►

87 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108 110 113 114 116 118 122 124 126 128 130 132 134 136 139 140 143 144 146 148 150 153 154 156 159 160 162 164 166 168 170 172 174 176 178

Ardbeg Atelier Swarovski Belmond Bentley Boadicea the Victorious Boodles Cadogan Church’s The Conran Shop Cookson Adventures de Le Cuona Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour Ettinger Exmoor Caviar Fortnum & Mason Gieves & Hawkes Glenmorangie Gordon & MacPhail Hamptons Wealth Partnership The Hari Harrods Heathrow VIP Hildon John Bell of Croydon Johnstons of Elgin Kathryn Sargent The Lakes Distillery Laurent-Perrier Leica Maison de Fleurs Malle London Molton Brown Noble Island Northacre Penhaligon’s Rachel Vosper Rolls-Royce Motor Cars The Royal Mint Savoir Beds St Edward The Thinking Traveller Timorous Beasties Tom Howley Wedgwood Whitehouse Cox William & Son

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Walpole ►

181 186 188 194 200

Guide Events Calendar Brands of Tomorrow British Luxury Awards Member List

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2019 Deliveries Daniel Franklin Walpole British Luxury

Illustration ► Jo Bird

2019 Deliveries

by Daniel Franklin

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Daniel Franklin Daniel Franklin has been executive editor of the Economist since 2006 and editor since 2003 of its annual publication The World In…, which focuses on the year ahead. His book on long-term trends, Megachange: The World in 2050, was published in 2012.

One thing you can safely predict for 2019 is that it will be noisy. America will start season two of The Trump Show, in which the volume will rise as a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives squares up against the tweeter-in-chief. In Britain, we will hear the roar of recriminations as Brexit turns out not to deliver its fanciful promises.

Around the world there will be a hubbub of politics as countries with more than a third of the global population vote in nationwide elections. Places holding such elections include the whole of the European Union (minus Britain, of course); the world’s biggest Muslim-majority democracy, Indonesia; and the most populous democracy of all, India. Vote after vote will be loud contests between nationalists and globalists. Beyond the cacophony, however, trends shaping the future will carry quietly on. If you block your ears, what do you notice?

Economists might focus on the rise of protectionism or on worrying levels of debt, whether in the corporate world, or in big economies such as China or Italy. Culture-watchers might spot a trend towards jumbo arts spaces, best exemplified by The Shed, a giant arts space opening at Hudson Yards in New York, and by the Humboldt Forum, a controversy-courting museum complex in Berlin, which will have a grand launch in September. And those in the luxury industry might see tell-tale signs of the times. Here are six of the best.

First, leaders of luxury brands will, more than ever, need astute political and social antennae. This is because their customers will be watching to see how they stand on anything from environmental sustainability to cultural sensitivity – and social media will swiftly amplify any false steps in an age of ‘woke capitalism’. Dolce & Gabbana recently had to apologise in Mandarin after a backlash against an advertisement that many Chinese found offensive, an example of how mindful brands must be.

Second, the Chinese are making themselves seen as well as heard.

That the Chinese are coming is a well-known trend, but 2019 will bring striking developments. One, towards the end of the year, will be the opening of a giant new airport in Beijing, helping to satisfy a soaring Chinese demand for travel that will see China overtake America by 2022 as the world’s biggest aviation market.

Another is the corresponding spread around the globe of Chinese smartphonebased payments methods, especially Aliped and WeChat Pay, based on QR (Quick Response) codes. Luxury brands wooing Chinese customers and wanting to make transactions as friction-free as possible will need to adopt them.

If you like numbers, a third trend to concentrate the mind is that 2019 will be when millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996 at last overtake baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) to become the largest generational cohort in America. The rise of the millennials has long been seen as a big shift, for example driving demand for brands with ‘purpose’. This will bring the trend into sharper focus.

Fourth, artificial intelligence will increasingly penetrate everything, including luxury. Take fashion. Firms will be using the technology in everything from stock control to virtual fittings – so that beauty will truly be in the AI of the beholder.

Fifth, disruption will be the new normal in sector after sector. Cars provide a good illustration of how this plays out. Tesla has already disrupted the luxury end of the car industry with its electric vehicles. In 2019 that space will become more crowded. Competition will come in the sleek shape of the Jaguar I-Pace, Audi’s e-tron, the Mercedes-Benz EQ and Porsche Taycan.

Last, and most mind-bending, watch out for early steps towards the ultimate in luxury personalisation: designer babies. Biotechnology firms will soon begin to offer couples undertaking in vitro fertilisation a screening of embryos involving a test not just for a specific genetic disorder (something that has long been possible) but a risk assessment of the embryo’s whole genome. Couples who can afford such services will be able to give their kids a better chance of a long life. An example of how businesses will find themselves grappling complex ethical issues.

The range of these trends and the speed of change that brands must adapt to might appear daunting. But luxury businesses also have a special opportunity in 2019. In a noisy year, harmony will be at a premium. Offerings that manage to be cutting edge in their use of technology but convey a sense of calm for the customer will seem the height of luxury.

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What to expect in 2019

Walpole British Luxury Alex Bilmes

Functional Luxury

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Functional Luxury

Opposite ► Larkspur by William Morris.

Below ► The Barcelona chair, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929.

by Alex Bilmes

Alex Bilmes Alex Bilmes is editor-in-chief of Esquire and Esquire’s Big Black Book. He also writes for the Financial Times and The Telegraph among others. He lives in West London with his family and a very badly behaved dog.

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In the best design, from Bauhaus to desert boots, form always follows function, and it all started with William Morris.

Walpole British Luxury Photo © Jaguar Land Rover

Alex Bilmes

Functional Luxury

016 / 017 Above ► The original Bauhaus HQ in Dessau, Germany.

Opposite, top ► Design prophets, Walter Gropius & William Blake.

Opposite ► Land Rover Series 1.

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Below ► Burberry's 2019 take on the trenchcoat, as pioneered in the First World War trenches.

Photo © burberry.com

This year marks the centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus, the German art school that did more, perhaps, than any other organisation to influence – and even invent – 20th century architecture and design: buildings, interiors, graphics, industrial design, typography, all were profoundly changed by the philosophy and aesthetics of the Bauhaus. Founded in Weimar by the visionary, and unfailingly dapper Walter Gropius – subject, this spring, of a major new biography by Fiona MacCarthy – the list of Bauhausassociated artists, designers and architects includes, but is by no means limited to, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, László MoholyNagy, Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Throughout 2019 you will read and hear an awful lot, in the smart papers and on the arts channels, about these men, culminating on 8th September with the opening of a new building, the Bauhaus Museum Dessau, which will house the collection of the Bauhaus Foundation. Designed by addenda architects of Barcelona, this will, indisputably, become the world’s leading site of pilgrimage for modernist style snobs, modern architecture nuts and contemporary design geeks.

But why am I telling you this, in a publication devoted to celebrating the rather less austere pleasures and traditions of British luxury? What has the Bauhaus, that most Mitteleuropean, strudel-flavoured of movements, to do with us Britishers? Isn’t, or at least wasn’t, Britain – to where Gropius was effectively exiled in 1934, forced out of Berlin by the Nazis – the great home of antimodernism? “We do not understand the modern movement and we do not like it,” Fiona MacCarthy quotes a British journalist of the time saying, in her new book. “An a-cultural country,” Gropius called Britain, in a letter home to a friend. “Bauhaus balls,” huffed Osbert Lancaster, in stiff retort. (Things improved after the war, of course, when groovier Brits began to get with the modernist programme.)

If non-aficionados know anything at all about the Bauhaus, it might be the simple phrase “form follows function”. (Actually coined as “form ever follows function”, by the American architect Louis Sullivan, but no matter.) Gropius and the gang avoided unnecessary ornamentation and strove for a clean and harmonious – one might say efficient – relationship between the design of an object, whether a building or a chair or a desk lamp, and its purpose.

If that sounds typically Teutonic and not at all British, then think again, because one of the most important influences on the Bauhaus was an Englishman: William Morris. It was Morris, the polymathic Victorian architect, textile designer, poet, socialist agitator, beard wearer and Arts and Crafts mover and shaker, who first posited the notion that art should meet the needs of society, and that its function should dictate its form. A notion enthusiastically taken up at the beginning of the 20th century by the modernists of the Neues Bauen, precursors to the Bauhaus. Their idea was that art and mass production could be reconciled, that beauty in design could be achieved through radical simplicity, and that it could be made available to all. This is very William Morris-y.

I would argue that when it comes to British men’s style – one of my own areas of interest, as editor of Britain’s most stylish men’s magazine – form very much follows function, and it always has done. And that while, in other areas of design, such as womenswear, the idea of ‘function’ is not always but very often seen as drab and unsexy, in British men’s style an item – jacket, shoe, watch, car – can only really be judged successful if it is also useful.

Alex Bilmes

Functional Luxury

Top, right ► The original Apple iPod. Jonathan Ive, Apple's design chief has an acknowledged debt to Braun's Dieter Rams.

In turn Rams acknowledges the Bauhaus.

Above ► Olivetti Type 44.

Below ► Paul Smith merino wool cardigan.

Photo © paulsmith.com

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Photo © Joe Windsor Williams

Top, left ► Clarks desert boots.

There is precedent for this and the precedent is military: almost all British men’s formal style – which is to say all men’s formal style, since we Brits invented it – is military derived, and much casual style – American, British, Italian, and so on – is either military derived or at least military influenced. Consider outerwear alone: the great coat, the pea coat, the bomber jacket, the flying jacket, the field jacket… each was originally developed for use in combat.

At the risk of boring the jock straps off the less style snobby, and because there are so many to choose from and we have limited space, I will take just a few examples.

The Burberry trench coat, perhaps the most instantly recognisable item in British fashion, was originally supplied to British officers during the Boer Wars of the late-19th century. Made of cotton gabardine, which kept the wearer dry while still allowing air to circulate, it was redesigned and earned its name in World War I, and that was the last time it had a substantial makeover. There have been tweaks, of course – the famous checked lining was added in the 1920s – and more recently Burberry designers Christopher Bailey and Riccardo Tisci have put their respectful stamps on it, but the trench coat is now as it was then: eminently fit for purpose, the purpose being to look smart, and keep the rain off. (And there can surely be no more British concerns than those two.)

The cardigan. Invented by James Brudenell, seventh earl of Cardigan, who commissioned them for his soldiers at the Battle of Balaclava (knitwear alert!) during the Crimean War. The natty buttoned sweater turned out to have much longer life than Cardigan’s soldiers. He commanded the famous Light Brigade, who made their infamous charge into the valley of death, as immortalised by Tennyson. Comfortable and attractive versions can be found at many of our leading British men’s outfitters. Paul Smith does a nice line in soft merino wool.

The Clarks desert boot. Nathan Clark, scion of the shoe empire, served in Burma during World War II. It was here that he first encountered British soldiers of the Eighth Army – the famous Desert Rats – wearing soft suede boots, with crepe soles, that they’d picked up while on leave in the bazaars and souks of Cairo. These soft boots, they found, were far better suited to the hot, arid conditions in which they were fighting. Back in Blighty, Clark launched the Desert Boot in 1950. It’s hardly changed since: suede or leather ankle-high uppers, soft soles, open lacing with two or three pairs of eyelets, quarters sewn in top of the vamp, a rounded toe. Extraordinarily comfortable timelessly stylish and close to indestructible.

The Land Rover. We Brits have produced a number of iconic car designs – the Mini Cooper, the E-Type Jag, the DB5, I could go on for as long as it takes you to navigate the circumference of the M25 on a bank holiday – but none so perfect, so functional and, as a result, so stylish, as the classic Land Rover now known as the Defender, the basic design of which is unchanged in 65 years. Designed in 1948, on Anglesey, by Maurice Wilks, who was inspired by a Willys jeep he’d driven on holiday, the Series I was a basic, centre-steering affair with a box section ladder frame chassis, and while, as a friend of mine who owns a handsome Series III puts it, the thing “takes turns like an oil tanker, vibrates like a tractor and smokes like Dot Cotton,” there’s a reason why it has been driven by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ralph Lauren, Sir Winston Churchill and the Queen. It’s not just because it looks cool – although it does look cool – it’s because it works.

Even Walter Gropius would agree.

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Left ► The McLaren P1.

The company's ethos is 'nothing without reason' – an iteration of the classic idiom – 'form follows function'.

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The ‘C’ Word e i d r a c i P e n i st u

by J

Justine Picardie Justine Picardie is editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country. She was formerly a journalist for the Sunday Times, features director of Vogue, editor of The Observer magazine and a columnist for The Telegraph. She is the author of six books, including her critically acclaimed memoir If the Spirit Moves You, and her Sunday Times bestselling biography Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life.

If you are taking the time to read this, and continue to do so – which I very much hope is the case – then we are already creating something together. For every writer needs a reader, and in the act of reading a story may take on a life of its own.

There’s a lot of talk in the luxury sector nowadays about the power of storytelling to build a brand; and naturally, that’s something I’m pleased to hear. But as I’m sure you already know, storytelling is an integral part of what makes us human, and has been for thousands of years; the sharing of experiences, in order to shape the narrative of our lives, whether through prehistoric cave paintings, or the epic poems of ancient Mesopotamia, carved onto clay tablets.

This might seem embarrassingly obvious, but it sometimes surprises me when bureaucrats ignore our innate creativity, and seek answers in algorithms instead. It’s not that I’m a technophobe about the digital revolution – I am aware of its myriad possibilities and benefits – yet the extraordinary power of the imagination continues to inspire and delight me. I am privileged to work with a brilliant editorial team whose originality shapes Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country in ever-evolving ways; and it is our conversations with each other, and with our contributors and readers, that are at the heart of what makes these magazines so distinctive. Both titles are possessed of magnificent literary and artistic legacies – Bazaar has published stories by a dazzling array of writers including Virginia Woolf and Nancy Mitford, and commissioned Man Ray, Marc Chagall and Andy Warhol, among others; while Town & Country has an equally distinguished heritage, introducing Evelyn Waugh’s first version of Brideshead Revisited, alongside trailblazing illustrators. We continue in this great tradition today, with new work by brilliant contemporary authors (Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson, Sarah Waters) and covers by world-class artists (from Tracey Emin to Yayoi Kusama).

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Creativity & Commerce

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Illustration ► Rory Dobner

Creativity & Commerce Justine Picardie

022 / 023 Could an algorithm unearth an exceptional artist or writer? Possibly, but it was the judges of Bazaar’s short story competition who discovered Daisy Johnson, who then went on to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and our commissioning editors give endless encouragement and support to emerging poets and painters.

In these ways, we have much in common with the most successful luxury brands of today, who understand that creativity has to be at the heart of what they produce. It’s not computer science that has delivered Gucci’s recordbreaking growth, but the beguiling, unbridled imagination of Alessandro Michele; while Karl Lagerfeld’s longstanding reign at Chanel has been sustained by his visionary genius, and a refusal to become slowed down by corporate conventions (indeed, he condemns any form of management meeting as a horrendous waste of his time). In turn, an effective CEO will put in place the best structure to support a creative virtuoso, rather than smothering inventiveness with mind-numbing procedural demands. Naturally, it works both ways: every flourishing artist needs a patron, a gallery, a champion; just as a thriving designer requires an efficient supply chain and smooth-running route to market. And as a writer myself, I am forever grateful to my literary agent, and to the publishers that ensure my books reach an international audience. Needless to say, there is nothing more dispiriting than feeling let down when IT systems fail, or creative endeavour is crushed by business mismanagement.

So perhaps this is the eternal question for artists and entrepreneurs alike: how can creativity and commerce combine in the most fruitful way? Or to put it another way, how can a writer reach a reader? We can now choose to self-publish online, just as artists and craftspeople have found a direct path to buyers via Instagram. Herein lie the wonderful possibilities of new technology and digital platforms. Even so, the disruptive power of the tech titans – to move fast and break things, in pursuit of amassing even more profit and global control – is not necessarily conducive to the nurturing of creative talent. And isn’t the fact that the billionaires of Silicon Valley keep their own children well away from smartphones and addictive social media indicative of the dangers of becoming dependent on a virtual world, viewed through the confines of a small screen, rather than embracing the boundless possibilities of real life?

Questions, questions, but still no answers… Fortunately, for me at least, I have come to realise that this uncertainty is integral to continuing a creative journey. If I understood everything, I’d stand still; by remaining intrigued by an unknown outcome, the odyssey continues. Thus the oldest story of all is renewed again, even as a different path emerges; and we move onwards, ever onwards…

Lydia Slater

British Bohemians

Right ► Bespoke black ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ skean dhu, decorated with black diamonds, by Stephen Webster.

Opposite ► The late, great Isabella Blow wearing Philip Treacy's Castle Hat, 1999.

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Lydia Slater Lydia Slater is the deputy editor of Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, and writes for both magazines, as well as running Bazaar At Work’s editorial and events programme.

Her roles have included assistant features editor at the Daily Telegraph, features editor at Harper’s Bazaar, deputy editor of the Sunday Times’ Style magazine, acting editor of ES Magazine, and editor of The Week: Fashion. She lives in London with her husband, three children and a rescue greyhound.

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British Bohemians Lydia Slater

It was always an event when Isabella Blow came into the office. At the time, I was deputy editor on the Sunday Times Style magazine, working in the very unstylish environs of a Wapping former warehouse, surrounded by whey-faced men in crumpled grey suits.

(I remember the wild excitement when a supermarket opened nearby with a deli counter, freeing us from the greasy slop on offer in the office canteen).

But then Blow would blow in. You knew of her impending arrival before you saw her; there would be the odd giggle from the news desk, and (or perhaps this was my imagination) a waft of Fracas. Then, her headdress would appear over the partition, followed by Issie herself, perhaps in a metal corset, or a lampshade skirt, wearing odd shoes, with a lobster or a ship on her head, or a lace

mask over her eyes, and always, always with scarlet lipstick which occasionally had smudged on her teeth or down her chin.

To the rest of us jeans-wearing desk slaves, Blow was a joke and a liability – she was erratic, and though her fashion shoots were exquisite, they could be eyewateringly expensive. Working with an eccentric is rarely easy. But a decade after her death, Blow’s bohemian vision has proved far-reaching. Her influence on British fashion has endured – and not just because of her discovery and promotion of other creative geniuses such as Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy. Today, her iconoclastic aesthetic has found a fresh flowering in the creations of a new generation of British luxury designers, such as Molly Goddard, with her frothy

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We may be known as a nation of shopkeepers, but underneath we’re all eccentrics – and this is what gives our luxury its anarchic spirit.

Opposite ► House of Hackney.

Lydia Slater

British Bohemians

Right & below ► Mulberry's Creative Director Johnny Coca & the AW18’s Eccentric Sensibility collection.

Above ► Poet, critic and society wit, Edith Sitwell.

Walpole British Luxury

Right ► Bremont Kingsman gold chronograph.

tulle confections that are a favourite with Rihanna, and Richard Quinn, with his oversized printed foils and marabou feather trousers.

For other nations, luxury may be epitomised by three-ply cashmere, butter-soft leather, knitted silk and neat tailoring. For the British, it is expressed as an emotion: unique, creative, nonconformist, brimming with a sense of turbulent energy, freedom and, often, wit.

The question is, why should this be? Ours, after all, is an island replete with internal contradictions. It remains, on many levels, hide-bound, rule-bound and class-conscious to a degree that makes it all but impenetrable to others. Betjeman’s fabulously snobbish poem How to Get on in Society was written in 1958 and remains brutally accurate today in its skewering of the pretensions of the nouveaux riches: “You kiddies have crumpled the serviettes, and I must have things daintily served…” But how to explain its nuances to a denizen of anywhere else?

We are still known for apologising all the time, for being decent, industrious, self-deprecating and reserved. We are a nation, as Napoleon declared dismissively, of shopkeepers. But at the same time, this retiring national character is strangely allied to an admiration for those who dare to ignore the rules and to wear and do exactly as they like, regardless of the world’s opinion.

These are our true elite. And unsurprisingly, such insouciant, innate self-belief is more frequently seen in those who have been brought up from birth to think themselves above the judgment of others, and to have the money to insist on getting exactly what they want.

“The man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics by the ordinary, because both genius and aristocrat are entirely uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd,” declared Edith Sitwell in her introduction to her 1933 book English Eccentrics, and as she herself was an aristocrat, genius and eccentric all in one, she knew what she was talking about.

Hence the association between free-spirited bohemianism on the one hand, and high-end luxury on the other, which in other nations tend to run on vastly diverging tracks. “We’ve looked at the aristocrat, and the rebel – this woman is both,” declared Mulberry’s creative director Johnny Coca, describing the concept behind the launch of autumn/winter 2018’s Eccentric Sensibility collection in Seoul. “Impulsive, playful. It’s an unexpected and distinctly British breed of beauty.”

And it’s a look that makes no demands of the wearer, other than that they are brave enough to carry it off. It does not

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Walpole British Luxury Lydia Slater

British Bohemians

028 / 029 Right ► Paul Smith tailored-fit teal wool evening suit.

Opposite ► House of Hackney.

Opposite, far left ► Stephen Webster’s Beasts of London knife.

Walpole British Luxury

Above, from the top ► Richard Quinn marabou feather trousers.

Chatsworth House.

Temperley London.

Irreverent genius Alexander McQueen & the infamous 'bumster'.

Photo © paulsmith.com

require you to be a size zero, to have a perfect tan, to be youthful, beautiful, or even to have brushed your hair; and yet it commands immediate attention. So it is not surprising that such an aesthetic should be preferred to body-con on our cold, grey shores.

It is epitomised in the bright, bohemian fun of a Temperley jumpsuit; in House of Hackney’s gloriously OTT wallpapers and playful lampstands adorned with rearing cobras or elegant flamingos; in Theo Fennell’s silver Marmite lid which remains one of the most popular items in his collection; in McQueen’s infamous ‘bumster’ trousers, and the (possibly apocryphal) story of his embroidering a rude message inside the lining of one of the Prince of Wales’s suits – a story that appears in no way to have lessened the royal family’s allegiance to his label. The famously elegant Duchess of Devonshire (née Debo Mitford) adored her Elvis slippers and carried a handbag in the shape of a rubber chicken, while her husband, the 11th Duke, had a large cache of bespoke jumpers, bearing legends such as ‘Never Marry a Mitford’, which went on display at Chatsworth’s fashion exhibition in 2017. This self-confident bohemianism has been harnessed by Paul Smith, who has created a label with global appeal by gently subverting the formal codes of British tailoring, adding vivid linings to sober suits, and turning the humble sock into a means of dazzling self-expression.

Another luxury export trading on a certain eccentricity is the watch company Bremont, which, despite sounding like a heritage Swiss brand, was founded in the UK in 2002. Nick and Giles English named it after a French farmer who assisted them when bad weather forced them to land their 1930s biplane in his field. Among their creations are a limited-edition watch reserved for purchase by pilots who have ejected from an aircraft using a Martin-Baker seat; another (the Codebreaker) incorporating historical artefacts from Bletchley Park; and three models of Kingsman watch that were created for the 2015 film (in which the company’s co-founder Nick English made a cameo appearance).

“I suppose Britishness is perceived as quirky around the world,” agrees my friend, the fine jeweller Stephen Webster (who, incidentally, has a sizeable domestic collection of blown-glass fish and taxidermy). He was recently commissioned by a Scottish laird to create a bespoke ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ skean dhu. “He’d bought a castle in Fife, and needed a bit of regalia to go with it. On the butt where you’d normally have a cairngorm, I put a ram’s skull in silver, and I decorated the handle with black diamonds and stingray skin. From that, I had the idea of making knife sets referencing the animals we eat.” Webster’s new Beasts collection is made with Damascus steel blades and bronze handles featuring a bull, a salmon, and a courgette-topped paring knife. It costs £25,000, but the sky’s the limit for bespoke pieces. A client in New York recently commissioned a knife set costing £140,000, modelled on Henry VIII’s animal statuary in Hampton Court Palace, including a griffin, a greyhound, a dragon and some big cats; a very different and rather more interesting stylistic proposition than a sleek Wüsthof set.

As I write, I have started to wonder whether Brexit, seen by most of the globe as an incomprehensibly quixotic decision to turn our backs on our major trading partner, may be simply another manifestation of this deep-rooted instinct to do things our own way.

Perhaps, in spite of everything, we will make it work. After all, according to Sitwell, the nation’s eccentricity sprung from “the peculiar and satisfactory knowledge of infallibility that is the hallmark and birthright of the British nation”. Let us hope she will be proved correct.

Lysanne Currie

Rejuvenation & Regeneration

Walpole British Luxury

Nick Ashley-Cooper was happily building a successful career as a trance DJ in New York when his life was rocked by two tragedies in swift succession: his father, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, was murdered, and a year later his older brother, the 11th Earl of Shaftesbury, died suddenly of a heart attack. Nick automatically inherited both the title and the decaying grade-I-listed country pile, St Giles House in the Dorset countryside.

“Sometimes you just get pushed in a new direction and you have to go with it a bit and then it starts to kind of all make sense,” he says with a wry smile. Ashley-Cooper wasn’t the only one to find his world turned upside-down (or his heating

bills suddenly increased). He’s among a unique set of Generation X and Y stately home owners with an optimistic, disruptive mindset, taking measures to rescue Britain’s crumbling cultural heritage.

James Reginato writes in his introduction to Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats, “I came to see how modern they were… as they came to adapt themselves to changing times and changing concepts of country-house ownership.” And from co-working spaces to hotels, covered farmers' markets to event spaces and boutique festival sites, these relatively younger aristocrats are combining tradition with innovation to not only save historical buildings from demolition but propel them into their next chapter.

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Pictured ► St Giles House, Dorset.

by Lysanne Currie

Walpole British Luxury

What links a trance DJ, a film director and a 12-year-old schoolboy? They are part of a younger, greener generation combining tradition with innovation to breathe life back into some of Britain’s most beautiful stately homes.

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Pictured ► Restoration of St Giles House.

Lysanne Currie

Rejuvenation & Regeneration

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Ashley-Cooper is doing sterling work at St Giles, managing costs by using sustainable materials, and integrating with the community by using local artisans for the ongoing restoration.

Lysanne Currie

Rejuvenation & Regeneration

Innovation & Creativity “I used to find gardens boring,” David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, told The Telegraph in 2012, photographed sitting on a manicured hedgerow in his jeans. “But when I had this one thrust on me, things changed.” The garden he refers to is the one at England's finest Palladian house, Houghton Hall near King's Lynn in Norfolk, which came into his possession in 1989 after the death of his grandmother Sybil (née Sassoon), “a prominent society figure”. Lord Cholmondeley is perhaps better known to film aficionados as David Rocksavage, a director and actor, whose Norfolk-shot Shadows in the Sun from 2009 stars James Wilby and Jamie Dornan. Back in 2012, at least, he was tackling the restoration of the Houghton gardens, as The Telegraph noted, “with great imagination and gusto…” The theatrical garden designers and folly builders Julian and Isabel Bannerman were commissioned, and the results are breathtaking: an immense rose garden, an apple orchard, patterned herb, vegetable and fruit gardens, a croquet lawn, and a mesmeric fountain sporting a plume of fire, fuelled by gas.

Elsewhere, Simon Cunliffe-Lister tends to 400-year-old Burton Agnes Hall, a 3,000-acre East Yorkshire estate. Years previously, the press had a (literal) field day when the Elizabethan stately home was left to him when he was just 12 years old, by his father’s cousin, the art collector and racehorse stud owner Marcus Wickham-Boynton, in order to skip death duties. Simon’s mother Susan (daughter of the late Viscount Willie Whitelaw) took it on until he was ready, transforming it into a visitor attraction and botanic wonder, with 4,000 species of plants. However, while he has the right to live there, the house itself is owned by a charitable trust.

These days, Simon’s curated annual Burton Agnes Jazz Festival is still going strong in his vast back garden.

Meanwhile, over at Holkham Hall, in Norfolk, the 8th Earl of Leicester, aka Thomas Edward Coke “is passionate about conservation and renewable energy”, reported the Financial Times in 2017, “and has installed three bio-mass boilers at Holkham which use woodchip from the estate’s woods”. While at Goodwood's 12,000-acre estate near Chichester, Lord March has refurbished the luxury 10-bedroom Hound Lodge, and is marketing it through Oetker Collection’s recently launched Masterpiece Estates, a collection of “historical houses and unique estates in outstanding locations in the UK and around the world, available for completely private use.”

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Opposite & above, top ► Before and after. One of the many marvellously rehabilitated rooms at St Giles, refurbished with a nod to contemporary style.

Above ► The restoration process is recorded for posterity in this beautiful picture book, Rebirth of an English Country House – St Giles House.

Left ► The 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, Nick Ashley-Cooper reflects on a job well done.

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Left ► The Riding House at St Giles Park.

Lysanne Currie Lysanne Currie is an editor, writer and digital content creator. After starting her career on the news desk at music weekly Melody Maker, she spent a decade in teen magazine land, before becoming editorial director of Hachette Filipacchi. After a stint in women’s magazines, she landed the role of editorial director at BskyB before taking up the role of head of content at the Institute of Directors and editor-inchief of their glossy business magazine Director. She now divides her time between creating content through her company, Meet The Leader, and writing on business and luxury travel for publications including Luxury Plus, Robb Report, I-M Magazine, The Guardian and Yacht Investor.

Walpole British Luxury Lysanne Currie

Rejuvenation & Regeneration

036 / 037 Top The Burton Agnes Jazz Festival held at the 400year-old Burton Agnes Hall.

Opposite Houghton Hall near King's Lynn in Norfolk.

Above Goodwood House and its proprietor, Lord March.

Walpole British Luxury

Heritage & History Back in Dorset, Nick Ashley-Cooper is doing sterling work at St Giles, managing costs by using sustainable materials, and integrating with the community by using local artisans for the ongoing restoration. He had returned to the UK in 2006 but was living between Dorset and Earls Court and feeling a little overwhelmed as to how to begin the immense task in front of him.

It took until 2010 for St Giles to capture his heart and “seriously consider the business side of things”, but once his vision was clear, he and veterinary surgeon wife Dinah made the move out of London.

“I’d done a lot of music promotions, but we decided St Giles wasn’t going to be just about music. It would be a venue for all sorts of events" (such as festivals, weddings, and corporates).

Having spent years getting to know the house and its history, he began renovating the property in “bite-sized chunks”, using sustainability measures. “One of the reasons these houses fell into disrepair after World War II was the expense of running them,” he says. “Technology has made it much easier and you don’t need 40 staff anymore.” While respecting and celebrating its history, he still considers it very much a family home, with its own style and personality.

He has just finished turning the former stable block, the 17th century Riding House in St Giles Park into eight-bedroomed accommodation. “It has been a true labour of love but it has been fun,” Nick smiles. “It’s a very different period of building [to St Giles], but with almost more character because it was only really built for horses. We had to be sensitive in our approach and in dealing with the historic fabric to allow the building’s roots as a stables to be celebrated. We took everything we’ve learned through renovating St Giles and then learnt some more.”

Bedrooms have the luxuries you would expect from a fivestar hotel – high thread linens, roll top baths and cocooning gowns – but the décor has an international, beautifully eccentric twist. Jewel colours swathe the walls, Missoni-esque patterns line the staircase and oils of the great and the good, both equine and human, peer down at you.

One feels Nick’s ancestors (including the founder of the Whig Party, and the man thought to have introduced the first cabbage into the UK from Holland) would have very much approved of their descendant’s own legacy – bravely stepping up to the plate amid family tragedy to restore an estate that at one time was included on English Heritage’s ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. Under Nick’s loving care, it’s won a string of restoration awards since. “We’ve borrowed a lot of money so we have to manage that quite carefully,” he says.

“But so far everything’s been going really well!”

Alex Preston

Literature & Luxury

Literature & Luxury Walpole British Luxury

by Alex Preston

The relationship between writers & wealth.

Pictured ► Director Baz Luhrmann's vision of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. © Warner Bros. Photo © AF Archive

The image of the starving writer in her garret always had its opulent counterpoint. We want our authors to suffer for their art, to write with bony fingers to the sound of rats scuttering on bare floorboards. But we also want them to send us missives from bright places, to be spectators who are granted access to palaces and grand parties, private yachts and polo clubs. It feels like there’s something more than coincidental in the fact that luxury has attracted so little of the attention of literary critics. There is a shame here, a sense that enjoying such comfort and extravagance is somehow beneath us. It feels like it’s time to overthrow this false snobbery and recognise that from Virginia Woolf to F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Thackeray to Edith Wharton, one of the things great literature gives us is a deeper, richer appreciation of the finer things in life.

There’s a profound and complex relationship between literature and luxury, a close reading of which tells us something about our culture’s hang-ups around guilt and aspiration, envy and avarice. We want our authors to be judges as well as commentators, to remain aloof and ascetic as the champagne flows and the dance cards are marked. There’s a telling subplot in that great meta-morality tale of our age, House of Cards. Tom Yates, the gifted novelist and cynical outsider, is drawn deeper and deeper into the Underwoods’ life of rampant power and fine furnishings. After making love to Claire, he sips a (poisoned) whisky worth more than most authors earn in a year, and dies. We want our writers to be on the outside looking in, but if they get too cosy, they deserve everything that’s coming to them.

A similar, if slower and sadder, fate befell F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s as if, in Gatsby, he was foretelling his own end – washed up in Hollywood, unable to write and sozzled with booze. The story of a midwestern middle-class boy attaining untold fame and wealth and then being undone by it said something important to the readers of the Great Depression – remember that The Great Gatsby wasn’t a success on publication, but gained its following in the 1940s and 1950s. There’s a puritanical streak in readers that revels in seeing the mighty brought low; we want to dwell amongst the super-rich, we want to see the glimmer of their jewels and hear the clink of silver on fine china, but then we want to see them impaled on their fish knives, drowned in vintage Dom Perignon.

The success of Gatsby wasn’t only a morality tale, though. Imagine reading of the “blue gardens” in which “men and women came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” if you lived in the greybrown days of the 1930s. Novels are dreaming machines. And when everything is tawdry and ghastly, we want to read of the gilded and shimmering, of the high life, of what it might be to escape the dreary now. Remember that the novel was the dominant cultural artefact to arise from the Industrial Revolution and the sudden appearance of a confident, literate middle class with time and money on their hands. This was a form that sprang out of the sudden and semi-miraculous explosion of wealth and it necessarily took as its subject the new baubles and perquisites that wealth afforded.

Nicole in Tender is the Night shops with a kind of mania, surrounding herself with objects as a way of buttressing herself against her demons. Umberto Eco has written brilliantly about lists and selects Nicole’s shopping list as the quintessential expression of conspicuous consumption in literature: “Nicole bought from a great list that ran two pages, and bought the things in the windows besides. Everything she liked that she couldn’t possibly use herself, she bought as a present for a friend. She bought colored beads, folding beach cushions, artificial flowers, honey, a guest bed, bags, scarfs, love birds, miniatures for a doll’s house and three yards of some new cloth the color of prawns. She bought a dozen bathing suits, a rubber alligator, a travelling chess set of gold and ivory, big linen handkerchiefs for Abe, two chamois leather jackets of kingfisher blue and burning bush from Hermès – bought all these things not a bit like a high-class courtesan buying underwear and jewels, which were after all professional equipment and insurance – but with an entirely different point of view.”

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"

Alex Preston

Literature & Luxury

From the top ► Julia Flyte (Hayley Atwell) & Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw) in the film adaptation of Evelyn Waughs' Brideshead Revisited.

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© BBC Films

Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan (Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan) party in The Great Gatsby 2013. © Warner Bros. Photo © AF Archive

Less sumptuous opulence and more hard currency – 50 Shades of Grey.

Photo © Collection Christophel

While Fitzgerald’s view of wealth was essentially satirical – as was that of Dickens and Thackeray – things began to change with Edith Wharton and Henry James, with Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford.

Mitford was upper class and looked upon the brash spendthrifts of the Bright Young Things with a fascinated horror that was everything to do with taste. Her depiction of Gerald Berners as Lord Merlin in The Pursuit of Love was not wholly pejorative. Berners was her friend and, like the character he inspired, he dyed his pigeons pink, adorned his dogs with diamond collars, and celebrated the hour of his birth each night. You can feel Mitford swooning a little when she writes of Merlin: “He was a great collector, and not only Merlinford, but also his houses in London and Rome flowed over with treasures ... Lord Merlin loved jewels; his two black whippets wore diamond necklaces designer for whiter, but not slimmer or more graceful necks that theirs....”

Waugh was more solidly middle class, and came at the Bright Young Things from below, both mocking them and wishing desperately to be part of their refulgent world. His Charles Ryder and Fitzgerald’s Nick Carraway are cut from the same cloth, reflecting their creators’ wishes to be both outside and inside the luxurious rooms of the very wealthy. For Waugh, though, there’s also the problem of class. In Brideshead Revisited, it’s referred to as “charm” – the thing that causes Charles to fall in love with the world of Brideshead and its unbroken generations of tradition. “I loved buildings that had grown silently with the centuries, catching the best of each generation while time curbed the artist’s pride and the philistine’s vulgarity and repaired the clumsiness of the dull workman.” For all Charles’s veneration of the aristocracy (based upon Waugh’s admiration of the Lygon family and their seat at Madresfield), there’s an acid undercurrent to Brideshead Revisited, a sense that Waugh loathes them as much as loving them.

Novels are always a product of their times and Brideshead was written amid the depredations of World War II, when it must have felt that such beauty and luxury were the things of a kinder, softer age.

Now, for writers in late-stage capitalist society, wealth is an object of reverence, with no indication of satirical bent or cynicism required. The real pornography in EL James’s Fifty Shades trilogy is not in the saucy bedroom antics of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, but rather the books’ fetishisation of the objects of Grey’s astonishing wealth. Whether it’s helicopters or watches or sleek Apple-branded computers, you get the feeling that Steele is seduced as much by the consumables with which Grey is surrounded as by the man himself. Similarly, the thrills of a Jilly Cooper novel are only partly the bonking and naked tennis – they are also an exercise in wealth tourism, giving us a privileged and unashamed glimpse into the lives of the 0.1 per cent.

For a final message about the relationship between writers and the very rich, you should look at the career of Jay McInerney, whose skewering of the wealthy in books like Brightness Falls was first blunted then disappeared altogether. His latest novel, Bright, Precious Days is populated by bankers and socialites stumbling champagnedrunk from one fundraiser to the next. McInerney, like Fitzgerald before him (and the fictional Tom Yates) has committed the cardinal writerly sin of being accepted by the rich. Now married to an heiress and famously having once drunk £20,000 worth of wine in a single night, McInerney is unable to summon the kind of distance required to write well about the wealthy. We are fascinated by luxury, obsessed with the lives of the super-rich, but as readers we need the writer to be in two places at once: yes, on the inside, but also, like them, pressed against the window, looking in on the gaudy excesses of wealth.

Below ► "It was a tortoise with Julia’s initial set in diamonds in the living shell, and this slightly obscene object, now slipping impotently on the polished boards...”

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Brideshead Revisited

By Evelyn Waugh

Walpole British Luxury

Illustration ► Jo Bird

Walpole British Luxury Anthony Quinn

Street Life

Pictured Soho Carnival, 1955.

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Street Life

by Anthony Quinn

Walpole British Luxury

If Mayfair were your dowager aunt, Soho would be your disreputable uncle. Anthony Quinn takes a tour through these characterful neighbourhoods and their habitués, past and present.

Anthony Quinn

Street Life

Walpole British Luxury

Above The brick buildings of Mount Street, Mayfair, 2012.

046 / 047 Anthony Quinn Anthony Quinn’s was for fifteen years the film critic of The Independent (19982013). Having been a judge on the 2006 Man Booker Prize he began writing his first novel the following year: the two events may have been related. The Rescue Man (2009) won the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award. Since then he has written six others, Half of the Human Race (2011), The Streets (2012), Curtain Call (2015), Freya (2016) and Eureka (2017).

His latest, Our Friends in Berlin, was published by Jonathan Cape in July 2018. He lives in Islington.

Clockwise, from top Old Bond Street, Mayfair, 2009.

Shepherd Market, Mayfair, 1953.

Fashion designer Sir Norman Hartnell in his salon at 26 Bruton Street, Mayfair, 1963.

Doorman outside the prestigious Connaught Hotel, Mayfair.

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Everybody needs good neighbours, so they say, and despite notable differences in their character and habitués, Mayfair and Soho have rubbed along together for centuries. Until quite recently the two districts conformed to a legend already being shaped in the Georgian era: luxury and lechery squeezed together, cheek by jowl. To put it another way, Mayfair was your dowager aunt, Soho was your disreputable uncle.

To a neophyte arriving in the capital 30 years ago (such as myself) both of these grand names were possessed of a mysterious glamour – and still are. One was home to the beau monde, the other to the boho monde. Not that I knew anything about either as a 21-year-old, renting a room in Islington so small I could stand in the middle and touch both walls. But I quickly took to pounding the West End pavements – the best way to discover London – and began to acquaint myself with the separate but linked identities of these notorious neighbours.

To my younger eyes Mayfair was for shops and hotels, Soho was for pubs and restaurants. The division still holds, roughly, today. Nowhere else in London could rival the Burlington Arcade, with its faint hint of fin-de-siecle naughtiness – there was even a posh tobacconist when I first visited – or the jewellers of Old Bond Street that were once prey to Raffles and his artful cracksmanship.

(Now they have ramraiders on mopeds.) On Savile Row you can still find remnants of that sacred tradition ‘bespoke’ and commune with the ghosts of well-shod gents whose accounts in old tailors’ ledgers actually read not closed but dead. If you wanted clobber the same standard as The Row but a bit different you hied yourself to Doug Hayward up on Mount Street, where the changing room was as tatty as a charity shop’s but the cloth and the cut were unimpeachable.

Then, as now, you could calm your shaking hand from the cheque you’d just written with a drink at the bar of The Connaught, or around the corner at Claridge’s, both vital co-ordinates on Mayfair’s map of luxe.

Soho, once ‘the square mile of vice’, has changed its spots in recent decades – less of the vice, more of the square – but it still hides pockets of the lush life, or even the louche life. In one of my novels, Curtain Call, set in 1930s theatreland, an ageing bon viveur named Jimmy Erskine emerges from a respectable dinner at the Criterion in search of fun and frolics: “Rolling out into the crowds around Piccadilly, he caught an autumnal whiff of petrol and roasting chestnuts in the air, with a layer of something beneath: possibility.” He calls in at the Long Bar in the Trocadero, a notorious gay hangout of the era, before he directs his eager steps into the bear pit of Soho. I wonder whatever happened to him?

Wardour Street, the spine of Soho, was once home of second-hand furniture stores, later of film companies and screening rooms.

Here I too spent years as a film critic at basement previews, like

Walpole British Luxury Anthony Quinn

Street Life

Opposite The honourable Julian Plowden Esq. in the Entrance of the Albany, 1957.

Photo © Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos

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Rolling out into the crowds around Piccadilly, he caught an autumnal whiff of petrol and roasting chestnuts in the air, with a layer of something beneath: possibility

Walpole British Luxury

Mayfair

Anthony Quinn

Street Life Photo © Jack Ludlam

Top The salacious side of 1970s Sohos.

Opposite Dexter Gordon, 1977.

Ronnie Scott's, Soho.

Left, from the top Poker face, Soho, 1997.

Chinese New Year Parade London 2017.

Berwick Street Market, Soho, 1950s.

Walpole British Luxury

Below Soho raconteur and artist, Francis Bacon, 1984.

a mole blinking in the dark – best place for us, some would say.

But its heart is the grid of streets, Dean, Frith and Greek, “a chequerboard”, as the architectural writer Ian Nairn once described them, “as formal as a minuet though far less innocent”.

Perhaps its glory years were its shabbiest, in the 1950s and 1960s, ambered forever in John Deakin’s haunting street photographs and portraits of his fellow artists and boozers – Freud and Bacon, the Bernard brothers, George Dyer. You can catch the last gasp of that old Soho in Lina Stores on Brewer Street, in the Coach & Horses and The French House, in the sainted facade of L’Escargot. And look out for the tessellated doorstep on Romilly Street, La Terrazza, all that remains of the favourite trattoria of the 1960s jet set.

Mayfair’s Georgian romance is still discoverable here and there. Its early denizens were aristocrats and landowners whose large houses were serviced by grooms and coachmen – ergo the provision of those lovely old mews that lie hidden between the wide streets. Chesterfield Hill and Hill Street still retain a patrician calm, South Audley Street looks back to Victorian redbrick civility, while Curzon Street remains home to the Heywood Hill bookshop (Nancy Mitford is the patron saint of this neighbourhood) and Geo F Trumper, for all your hair-oil needs. Its most desirable address to me, however, is Albany, that near-mythic set of chambers tucked away behind Piccadilly. Just imagine having the Royal Academy right next door, with Soho’s venereal embrace awaiting you at the other end of Vigo Street. Lord Byron, Terence Stamp and Raffles (again)– a proper Mayfair trio – have all graced its quiet ropewalks.

Eyeing one another across the garden wall of Regent Street, the two neighbours have pinched the other’s clothes from time to time. ‘Trade’, commercial and sexual, has always bonded them tight. Shepherd Market, Mayfair’s quaint tangle of lanes and alleys, was once a hunting ground for prostitutes. (The only tarts you’re likely to find there now come from the local patisserie). Likewise, you’ll find on Bruton Place a pub (The Guinea Grill) and a restaurant (Bellamy’s) to rival anywhere to the east. Conversely, you note in Soho a certain elegance that wouldn’t be out of place in Mayfair – the flagstoned alleyway of Meard Street, a run of Georgian terraces on Broadwick Street, the scented Arts and Crafts cosiness of Liberty.

But tempora mutantur, of course, and these days commerce is winning the battle over character. Mayfair is no longer a dowager but the wife of an Emirates sheikh, and Soho is the mistress who’s becoming more spoilt by the month. London’s only constant is change, and the West End’s rackety, mixed-up neighbourliness will be one more thing to go. It will be missed. A friend of mine who lived in an unheated attic on Mount Street as an art student – it was the 1960s – recalled once seeing the actor Laurence Harvey doing up his tie in a bedroom window at the Connaught opposite.

He spotted her gawping at him, and waved. Anyone might be your neighbour back then.

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Perhaps its glory years were its shabbiest, in the 1950s & 1960s, ambered forever in John Deakin’s haunting street photographs and portraits of his fellow artists and boozers.

Walpole British Luxury

Soho

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On Brand n a m l u h S a r d n a x

by Ale

Individual Aesthetic and Brand Pedigree A very long time ago, roughly 40 years back, I was employed to compile a list of companies selling luxury product in London. I have no memory of what it was for – I don’t think I was even sure of the purpose at the time – but I do know that I was paid enough to buy a very nice skirt from the Kenzo store on Brook Street. I also know that nobody mentioned the word ‘brand’. But my list was of brands, of course: Floris, Rolls-Royce, Wedgwood, Waterford, Peter Reed, N Peal – a few off the top of my head that I remember. It’s just that back then nobody considered brands in the same way. The retail world was so much smaller in terms of markets and competition and the demands of growth, reinvention and narrative so much less pressing. Branding as a driver of business was still in its infancy – if not embryonic.

Over the past 30 years, though, branding has in some ways become the story. Even the smallest companies think in terms of their brand identity.

I brand, therefore I am. The need to create a brand core from which you can evolve is one of the first stages in the invention of any business. And with the shift to e-commerce and digital operations, strong branding is essential. As customers surf the vast oceans of merchandise it is the brands they know, trust and are interested in that they will spot first. But for brands, as with anything, the quandary is how to stay alive. How to remain relevant as your customer base ages? How to keep being the story and not relegated to the dull, safe haven of predictability or, worse, become old news?

In fashion, the arena where I have worked for the past 30 years, this is managed with hugely varying degrees of success, but one thing remains constant. The key is in the connection between the creative and business teams.

Success relies on a real understanding between the two parts, encompassing genuine trust and shared objectives. Failure tends to follow when companies dive into a copycat response to what may have worked wonders in one business, but is not necessarily the right template for another.

Walpole British Luxury

Alexandra Shulman Alexandra Shulman was brought up in London.

She became the first female editor of a monthly men’s magazine when GQ launched in the UK in 1990 and in 1992 she became Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue where she stayed for 25 years, leaving after orchestrating the centenary year of that magazine in 2016. She is now working as a columnist on The Mail on Sunday, a fashion and retail consultant and speaker, and writing a new non-fiction book.

She is also Vice President of The London Library.

On Brand Alexandra Shulman Courtesy of Ronan Gallagher

Top ► Belmond.

Above ► Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele and his SS19 collection.

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Right ► Who was more famous in 1995? Gucci or its then Creative Director, Tom Ford?

054 / 055 Top ► Calvin Klein 205W39NYC Collection.

Above ► Calvin Klein Creative Director Raf Simons.

Fashion Designer Phoebe Philo.

Céline.

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Currently, everybody is looking at the huge success that Gucci has had with the appointment of Alessandro Michele as creative director.

Gucci, a floundering family business by the late 1980s, was one of the great brand success stories of the 1990s under Tom Ford and Domenico de Sole, who brought a slick, sexy, souped-up glamour to the old dame. After their acrimonious parting from the owners, the Kering group, the decision seemed to be made that no longer was it advisable to associate a brand so strongly with individuals. The brand must be the thing. Not the talent, or ego, of specific people.

After a series of uninspiring creative hired guns in 2015, the current CEO Marco Bizzarri appointed Alessandro Michele, an unknown but long-term member of the design team, as creative director. He was bravely given total control over a massive revamp of every aspect of the house. Michele turned the whole aesthetic on its head producing an unpredictable mash-up of gender bending, attic-raiding whimsy in place of the previous classic Euro style. This combined with a lively and much-followed digital narrative has led to a massive increase in sales.

But only recently an attempt to do a similar turn-around at Calvin Klein by giving Raf Simons the keys to the castle floundered after a year. The difference?

Michele was embedded in Gucci and had a nuts-and-bolts understanding of what the brand meant and might mean in the canon of Italian luxury. Raf Simons has the polar opposite style to Calvin Klein. Although he had spent some time with Dior he is ultimately driven by his own creative aesthetic. A leader in androgyne Antwerp cool, put in charge of a house that sells underwear via sexy Americana? It was pretty obvious this might not work out.

These two stories illustrate the current dilemma in the world of branding.

What should the relationship between the individual creative and the brand be?

How do you prevent becoming dependent on one person’s vision and, in some cases, personality? And how much do you need a human identity to market and promote that brand?

In fashion, there does seem to be a need for a human figurehead. Fashion consumers like to identify with a person. But it’s important that any new creative figure has a connection with what is in place if the brand already has a strong identity. They need to be part of a continuum rather than a complete reconstruction. It will, for example, be interesting to see what happens as the luxurious but practical and womanly vision of Phoebe Philo at Celine (a house incidentally originally founded by a professional woman) is replace by the raunchy rock-chic style of Hedi Slimane.

In other areas of luxury, identification with an individual does not seem to be so necessary, which is hugely helpful when it comes to long-term brand management. Homeware, travel, cars, food and drink brands – many of which are particularly British strengths – are able to refocus incrementally to keep in step with the times in a way that fashion finds hard. For these businesses short-term collaborations, where you can scatter a little gold dust of a currently fashionable name, can add a useful PR fillip but doesn’t need to alter the whole direction of travel.

One of the most interesting developments of the past year is LVMH’s acquisition of the Belmond hotel group for a massive $3.2 billion. LVMH has been responsible for some of the most extravagant and global fashion branding in recent memory – Dior and Louis Vuitton are two examples. We should expect that they will approach new business in a similar light.

I predict that their desire to build up this acquisition will undoubtedly shake up the whole sector as they bring extravagant marketing strategies to bear on the experiential market that is the new buzz as we turn our backs on collecting more and more stuff. It will undoubtedly raise the bar for luggage, travel, food and drink brands. Next year there’s a good chance we could be talking more about Cipriani than Celine.

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Informal Formal

by Stephen Doig

Confused over what a man about town should wear?

Relax says Stephen Doig.

Pictured ► Subversive Savile Row brand E. Tautz.

Walpole British Luxury

Stephen Doig Stephen Doig is the men’s style editor and assistant luxury editor at The Telegraph.

Stephen Doig

Informal Formal

Opposite & above right ► Favourbrook.

Above, left ► E. Tautz and Norton & Son Creative Director Mr Patrick Grant.

Left ► E. Tautz.

Below ► Richard James.

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Photo © richard-james.com

An entirely unscientific poll among friends, colleagues and cohorts in the men’s style industry reveals a collective groan at the modern murky waters that are ‘dress codes’. Utter the phrase in any environment where men have had to negotiate formal tailoring in tropical heat for a Costa Rican wedding or decipher a gentlemen’s club’s many ‘rules’ in an era where stiff collars and pinstripes are on the wane, and it’s clear dress codes become as contested as the Brexit debate. Granted, the former have slightly less impact but nevertheless will find a man curiously adrift in unchartered sartorial territory.

“For me, it’s not about suiting per se anymore”, says Patrick Grant, creative director of E Tautz and Savile Row institution Norton & Son. This is quite a statement from the custodian of Churchill’s favourite tailoring (“send Tautz’s braces” was the curt demand to his mother in a letter from his formative years at Eton), but Grant is perhaps the best example of suiting’s louche new mood.

What constitutes formal and appropriate today has shifted dramatically; the upright, starched suiting of Savile Row has always been subverted – from Tommy Nutter to Richard James, tailors have always subjected proper tailoring to innovations – but the shift towards casualwear has had a monumental effect on traditional suiting. “We need function in our clothes in how we live now”, says Alessandro Sartori, the creative director of Ermenegildo Zegna.

“Lighter, fresher… tailoring can have a new life if we keep bringing new ideas.”

These days, you’re as likely to don a sleek polo neck with your tuxedo as you are a Turnbull & Asser evening shirt, or a glossy Lanvin evening trainer (for these days, there is such a thing) as you are a formal Oxford. The 2008 crash led to a rise in men opting for cosmetic procedures as they clamoured to compete in youthful vigour against their younger counterparts in the workplace; the general athleticism of men’s sartorial traditions – sportswear with suits, dynamic rucksacks instead of briefcases – is a natural followon from that in these uncertain times.

All of which parlays into dress codes, a notion that perhaps has more credence with men than with women to a certain degree; the style rules laid down by boarding schools, banking institutions and gentlemen’s clubs. Even the stripe of your tie would have to be finely tuned to denote your particular social or sporting allegiance.

So how should a modern-day dress code be finessed in these uncertain times? Let’s start with that mainstay, the tie. The likes of Mark’s Club or George on Mount Street might decree a tie essential, but that doesn’t have to mean a stately Windsor knot; a knitted tie fits requirements and hits a more easy note. Likewise, a silk scarf neatly tucked in a collar, checking off the neck adornment quota but doing so with slightly more sprezzatura.

And while we’re discussing shirting, the ‘done-up’ effect is something that’s been subject to tweaking in recent years, so much so that Oliver Spencer, who runs Pall Mall formalwear specialist Favourbrook, recommends opting for a collarless or grandad collar shirt to reinvigorate a velvet tuxedo. And while we’re on the subject of eveningwear, men’s footwear has shifted considerably; the rise of the after-dark trainer in glossy patent leather or decorated in embroidery has turned them into items worthy of cocktail attire.

Yes, dress codes are important in ensuring a certain level of appropriateness, but rules are made to be – if not broken – certainly segued into how 21st century men dress now.

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Catriona Gray

Royal Influencers

Royal Influence y

by Catriona Gra

Walpole British Luxury

The royal family have long expressed themselves through their choice of luxury clothing. Their media exposure ensures we are keen to emulate their style.

When Meghan Markle stepped out at the Invictus Games, on her first official appearance with Prince Harry, it not only marked the beginning of her integration into the royal family, it also propelled a handful of independent designers into the spotlight. From her white ‘husband shirt’ by her friend Misha Nonoo to her brown leather flats by Sarah Flint, every item she wore enjoyed an instant surge in sales. Among them was the British luxury eyewear designer brand Finlay & Co – the sheer volume of interest generated by Markle wearing its tortoiseshell frames saw its website crash and purchases rise by 2,200 per cent in the US alone. The Scottish accessories label Strathberry had a similar experience after Markle was first pictured with one of its tote bags in December 2017, which caused its stock to sell out in a mere 11 minutes.

Since her marriage, the public’s fascination with the Duchess of Sussex has become even stronger, putting her almost on par with her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, who has been the leading royal influencer for years, her every outfit carefully scrutinised. From her support of luxury brands such as Alexander McQueen and Burberry, to independents like Penelope Chilvers and Goat, the tangible commercial benefits of the ‘Kate effect’ are a blessing to British industry, boosting revenue by roughly £152 million annually (2015 estimate).

Catriona Gray Catriona is a freelance journalist, based between London and Ireland. Previously the commissioning editor at Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, she has worked at various luxury publications, including GQ and House & Garden. She is the author of two nonfiction books on the history of design.

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Illustration ► Jo Bird

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Opposite ► Movie stars Anita Ekberg and Joan Crawford meet Queen Elizabeth II at the 1956 Royal Command Performance.

Below ► Prince Harry and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attending The Epsom Derby, 2011.

Catriona Gray

Walpole British Luxury

Royal Influencers

Bottom ► Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrives for a visit to the Bristol Old Vic in 2019.

More than any celebrity or model, the Duchesses of Sussex and Cambridge have global influence in their ability to make others want to emulate their style. “The royal impact on the desirability of British luxury brands cannot be overstated,” says Alex Haigh, director of Brand Finance. “Interaction between a brand and any royal, but particularly the duchesses, is like the mythical golden touch and can transform a brand’s performance overnight.”

With endless news stories chronicling their style, and countless images circulating on Instagram, it might seem as if this regal obsession is a peculiarly modern phenomenon. But if you trace the history of the British royal family, you can see that it has always been the case, from Queen Elizabeth I, who started the Tudor trend for pale skin and red hair, to Queen Victoria, who single-handedly introduced the white wedding dress.

Every generation looks to the royal family for sartorial inspiration – while the fortunes of celebrities rise and fall over time, the royals are a beacon of longevity in a rapidly changing world. Although they are among the most scrutinised people on the planet, they are perennially on-duty and always retain an element of mystery, rarely voicing their individual opinions. Even the Duchess of Sussex, who as an actress was well-known in her own right before meeting Prince Harry, deleted her blog and her social media accounts before her marriage. Members of the royal family are compelling precisely because they are so enigmatic, hence the enduring fascination with their clothes. This is the only window we have into their true personalities, and they choose their garments with care, often selecting pieces with a symbolic value.

While the men are mostly confined to a uniform of suits or military regalia, it is the women who have truly honed the art of dressing for the public stage. It is no coincidence that two months after her wedding the Duchess of Sussex wore a green Givenchy blouse and skirt when she first set foot in Dublin on an official visit, in a subtle nod to the country’s national colour, or that the Duchess of Cambridge sported a diamond brooch in the shape of a maple leaf upon her arrival in Canada for a state visit. They are able to convey goodwill and diplomacy without having to say a word.

The Queen, of course, is well-versed in this, and over the many decades of her reign she has mastered the intricacies of royal dressing better than anyone. As a young princess in 1940s Britain, she so captured the nation’s hearts that they sent in their own clothing coupons to enable her to have a sumptuous wedding dress in spite of post-war rationing. Taking inspiration from Botticelli’s Primavera, the Norman Hartnell gown was almost entirely covered with floral motifs to symbolise the regeneration and growth that was tentatively emerging in the wake of two devastating world wars. As the heir to the throne, this royal bride was particularly significant – she heralded a new Elizabethan age of modernity and promise, a sign of spring flowering after a long winter. “I marked in circles the rich white roses of York to be carried out in padded satin, and centred by raised strands of pearls threaded on silver wire and raised up in relief,” wrote Hartnell in his memoirs. “Wherever there was space or weakness of design I drew more wheat, more leaves, more blossom of orange, syringa or jasmine.”

Viewers of The Crown will be familiar with how the Queen’s wardrobe evolved in the first ten years of her reign, moving from spectacular dresses of taffeta and chiffon to the seeds of the style that she still favours today. In her youth, she possessed the same star allure that the two duchesses have today. The diarist Chips Channon described seeing the young princess and her husband at a ball at Windsor Castle in 1949: “The Edinburghs looked divine... She wore a very high tiara

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Catriona Gray

Royal Influencers

Walpole British Luxury

Her style became so iconic during the 1950s that it was referred to as ‘The Margaret Look’, and she was celebrated for her rebellious vivacity, conveyed perfectly by her choice of clothes.

Pictured ► Princess Margaret celebrates her 21st birthday in a stunning Christian Dior gown in 1947.

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Photo © Cecil Beaton

Catriona Gray

Royal Influencers

Walpole British Luxury

and the Garter – he was in the dark blue Windsor uniform… they looked like characters out of a fairy tale…” From early on, the Queen favoured bright colours, knowing that they helped her to stand out in a crowd. She also learnt how to dress in a way that enabled her to stay composed and put-together under pressure – her skirts often had weighted hems, so they would not blow up on windy days, and she favoured garments with zips, which enabled her to change between outfits quickly and without ruffling her hairstyle.

While the Queen was admired for her elegance, her sister, Princess Margaret, was equally well regarded, and her lesser status afforded her greater sartorial freedom. Christian Dior dressed her in the New Look, and she habitually favoured bold accessories, from bright headscarves to statement sunglasses. Her style became so iconic during the 1950s that it was referred to as ‘The Margaret Look’, and she was celebrated for her rebellious vivacity, conveyed perfectly by her choice of clothes.

However, it was Princess Diana who was the greatest royal influencer of all. From the start, women everywhere sought to emulate her style. Copies of her voluminous wedding dress were selling within days of her nuptials at St Paul’s and led to a long-running trend for puffy white gowns, while her early uniform of pie-crust collars and leg-of-mutton sleeves made her an inspiration to every aspiring Sloane Ranger. A 1981 photograph of her in Vogue, in a pale pink Emanuel shirt, sparked a nationwide run on pussy-bow ‘Lady Di’ blouses. As the years passed, her style evolved from the New Romantic frills of the 1980s to the bodycon silhouette of the 1990s, and she became adept at perfectly tailoring her attire to suit the occasion. A memorable Catherine Walker cream silk dress from 1986, designed for an overseas visit to Saudi Arabia, revealed her skill at diplomatic dressing, showing a delicate mark of respect with its high neckline, long sleeves and a flock of shimmering falcons – the country’s national symbol – cascading down the bodice. Several months before her death in 1997, she auctioned off a portion of her wardrobe at Christie’s in New York to raise funds for charity. It raised a staggering $3.25 million in total, with the highest bid for a midnight-blue velvet gown that she wore when she danced at the White House with John Travolta in 1985. A number of these dresses were brought together for the highly popular Kensington Palace exhibition Diana: Her Fashion Story, which chronicled the extraordinary scope and enduring power of her style.

After Diana, the royal family spent many years without a young female figurehead, until the Palace’s announcement in 2010 that Kate Middleton was engaged to Prince William. Their official engagement photograph mirrored the one of his parents almost 30 years before – with Middleton wearing a blue Issa dress that matched the sapphire and diamond Garrard ring that had belonged to Diana. That moment represented the start of Kate Middleton’s transformation into the Duchess of Cambridge and a global ambassador of British style, like so many generations of royal women before her. The addition of the Duchess of Sussex has increased the demand for British brands still further, particularly in the US. In a world where stealth advertising and celebrity endorsements are rife, the commercially independent status of the royal family is refreshing. They champion small designers, prioritise quality and longevity, and wear clothes that are perfectly suited to whatever occasion they attend. In 20 years, it may well be Princess Charlotte who shapes future fashions, but for now, the two duchesses have the ability to bless any brand they choose with their golden touch. There could be no better champions for British luxury – long may they flourish.

Opposite ► The Princess of Wales dances with actor John Travolta during a 1985 White House Gala Dinner in Washington, DC.

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Below ► Standing out from the crowd.

Princess Diana at the Epsom Derby, 1986. Along with Princess Anne and Prince Charles.

Left ► Claridge's opulent lobby.

Lucia van der Post

Walpole British Luxury

Staying Power

Right ► Built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress, Cliveden House has remained a pinnacle of intrigue and glamour for the elite.

Just as visiting Tiffany’s was Holly Golightly’s answer to dealing with what she called the mean reds (so much worse, she said, than the mean blues), so there’s nothing like a grand hotel for lifting the spirits. One has only to go through the swing doors of London’s Claridge’s to feel that nothing very bad could happen here. The black and white tiles, the Art Deco interiors, the sweeping staircase, the cool flowers, the unmistakable hum of a buzzy restaurant all contrive to give it an air of incontrovertible glamour. And Claridge’s is not alone. Most of the world’s capital cities have at least one fabled hotel to boast about, one that is rooted in the history of the city, like the Plaza Hotel New York where Eloise ran riot, the Hotel Ritz in Paris where César Ritz could be said to have defined the genre, Stockholm’s Grand where all the Nobel laureates stay, Copenhagen’s Hotel D’Angleterre, the Gritti Palace in Venice… all these have about them a glamour that is compounded of many things.

Partly it is their history. All have stories to tell, stories that are intimately linked to the city they’re in. All have a profound sense of place so that a stranger arriving from afar would be in no doubt as to which city he had arrived in.

Nobody could mistake the Gritti with its sublime views of Santa Maria della Salute, its Venetian antiques and its frescoes for, say, Stockholm’s Grand Hotel, all Gustavian splendour, or for London’s Claridge’s with its own particularly English take on glamour. At The Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai you could never for one minute think you were anywhere other than the beating heart of India. The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc close to Nice oozes a summer-in-theSouth-of-France chic, one that resonates clearly even to those who have never [read?] Tender is the Night.

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Staying Power

by Lucia van der Post

Walpole British Luxury

Grand hotels ooze glamour and individuality, and those that will last another century have evolved into a newer, more responsible style of luxury, says Lucia van der Post.

Lucia van der Post

Staying Power

Above ► The Chewton Glen exterior viewed from the Croquet Lawn.

Right ► Claridge's.

Walpole British Luxury

Right, below ► The Treehouses at Chewton Glen.

070 / 071 Lucia van de Post Lucia van der Post was born and educated in South Africa, where she spent the first 20 years of her life. She started her career in journalism writing on interior design matters for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper before joining The Sunday Times and becoming one of the feature writers on the newly-launched Look pages. In 1973 she became the editor and main feature writer on the How To Spend It pages of the weekend section of the Financial Times which she turned into cult Saturday reading. She was the launch editor of its award-winning monthly colour supplement also called How To Spend It which is now a hugely successful part of the weekend FT. She still writes regularly for How To Spend It where she is an associate editor.

What these hotels share is that they are rooted in the culture and history of their surroundings. They all have a touch of the theatre. Not for them the dull universality of bland global good taste. Each is utterly, gloriously individual. It was his ability to tap into a romantic notion of the country each hotel is in, their profound connection to the indigenous geography and culture that made Adrian Zecha’s hotels so justly admired and copied. He clearly understood that to make a great hotel takes more than fantastic service, lovely food, comfortable beds, superb showers, beautifully chosen amenities and charming staff – today all those are a given – to create the sort of hotel that people fall in love with, takes something more. It takes a sense of theatre and of drama. A hotel, after all, is not a home, it doesn’t have to cater for us in our more humdrum quotidian lives. It should make life seem more exciting, more thrilling, more dramatic than anything we have at home. We want our eye to be ravished, our souls to be touched.

Which is why today design is ever more important. It’s why interior designers are being paid small fortunes to sprinkle their magic over what might otherwise be bland and boring spaces. It’s one of the reasons that in Southeast Asia Bill Bensley has become so famous – in each and every hotel he’s ever had anything to do with he conjures up something fantastical, something so far removed from the average offering that guests are quite literally left lost for words. He brings truckloads of antiques that he’s collected from around the world and uses them to build a narrative, to create something quite unlike anything else at all. Bensley believes, like Zecha, like our own Kit Kemp, that hotels should tell a story. For his latest tented camp, deep in the Cambodian forests, he has imagined the sort of place that King Sihanouk and Jackie Kennedy might have loved – glamorous in a 1960s way, with old-fashioned service, huge tents with verandas and great luxury.

This is what our best hotels have understood. Go into The Connaught and you sense immediately that you will be wrapped in a very English kind of comfort. Nothing to frighten the horses, there is a respect for tradition, for a certain level of formality and it’s what brings its loyal punters back and back. At Belmond’s Cadogan, due to open this year, they are building on the self-same sense of Englishness but basing it round the notion of the writers and artists that Chelsea, where it’s based, is so famous for. At Cliveden, one of our great country house hotels, there is the back story of aristocratic romps and fun-filled weekend house parties all of which give it a certain allure that today is backed up with excellent service and with a rigorously English sense of what country house chic is all about. At Chewton Glen, another famous country house hotel, down in Hampshire, the aura of English rural style is expansively deployed, making it a special and unique hotel to stay in.

But it is interesting to note that notions of what grand hotels should offer have evolved during the 21st century to meet millennials’ wider concern with ethical and social matters. Millennials mind about their food. They want it organic, grown as close to the kitchen as possible. They want to know that it hasn’t travelled thousands of air miles and that it is in season. Furthermore, they feel a hotel should do more than simply attend to the needs of pampered guests. They want to know that the staff are properly treated, that the local culture is respected and honoured, that the indigenous people are being trained, educated and employed. They want to feel that the hotels where they stay are concerned about preserving the environment around them. They want their soaps and lotions made from pure ingredients, they don’t need their linen or towels changed every day (protect the planet, save water and energy is their motto) – it is a new kind of luxury they are looking for, one that doesn’t destroy, that doesn’t require acres of trees to be chopped down for their delectation, what Bill Bensley calls “minimal intervention”. Grand hotels have a big role to play but as notions of luxury change so too must they evolve. Not only can they give their lucky punters experiences to remember, they can change the lives of those around them.

Walpole British Luxury

Top ► Residing in the heart of Chelsea, London, the exclusive Belmond Cadogan Hotel.

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Zeitgeist or Bust

by Guy Salter

To remain engaging, brands must be culturally anchored.

Art, culture, luxury, fashion. How natural nowadays to see these bracketed together. At least for those of us who work in luxury. Even arts luminaries wouldn’t look twice, albeit some of the more fastidious with residual distaste at the inclusion of the last two. Just as leading museums home in on fashion, literature, music or gaming to drive visitors, raise profile and stay relevant, especially to new audiences, so brands borrow from contemporary culture (high and, increasingly, low). With an eye on elevating beyond the commercial into something more weighty, worthy and, so the theory goes, impactful. Or, in the case of streetwear, more youthful and edgy. Shopping plus.

If this is no longer the new normal but normal, why too often does it come across as a tad forced, off-key? Just as with ‘experience as the new luxury’, ‘microplastics and the supply chain’ or ‘AI and big data’, it sometimes smacks of a CEO recently back from a conference, whose team has been hastily assembled to fast track some connect-us-with-the-zeitgeist initiative. Tricky to pull off even for the most sure-footed.

So how to play the culture card? Especially when something can go from cool to cold in a season. I’m certainly no expert but here are a few observations from the road.

Although maybe the first question to pose is whether this interest in things cultural is a passing fad we can and, given how hard it is to do well, should safely ignore? My view is this is no luxury but core to keeping a brand fighting fit and has always been so. When a brand is born, it is naturally of its time and place. Much of which is often bound up in the personability and passions of the founder, often a natural storyteller. Indeed, as an investor, I look for this energy and point of view, as it reflects and resonates, creating traction and cut-through. Dare I say, soul. Critical to creating value.

Walpole British Luxury

Guy Salter Dubbed ‘Mr Luxury’ by the press, Guy Salter OBE MVO is a long-standing specialist retailer and investor. His pro-bono work includes founding London Craft Week, the GREAT Britain Campaign, and 19 years with Walpole, including establishing the Crafted programme in 2007.

Walpole British Luxury

Illustration ► Rory Dobner

Zeitgeist or Bust Guy Salter

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The challenge is how to preserve that, especially given how quickly moods shift and consumers grow ever more picky and prone to boredom. At its best, associating ourselves with contemporary culture anchors us in things that are engaging to our customers. In other words, matter to them. But picking the newest or shiniest toy in the arts and culture box isn’t an approach that is likely to work. Indeed, too often it’s a shortcut to ersatzdom.

Rather, my advice is to start at the other end. With the realisation that our brands are often culture-generators in their own right – and may have been for a long time. Plus, as an industry that is essentially selling things that allow people to say something about themselves, we have a more complex two-way relationship with not only our own culture and place of origin but also how that plays across other geographies, resonating (or not).

My advice, therefore, is never to stray too far from our centre of gravity, especially in terms of where our expertise, personality and so ultimate authority lies. This includes, where relevant, not forgetting a word missing from the four I started this piece with: craft. Traditionally considered less exalted but in cultural terms often more powerful, as not only is how something made, literally material to its promise of quality, but it’s likely to be rooted in local disciplines, stories and people, including our own. More accessible and human for many consumers – talking with, rather than talking down.

Knowing and sticking to our base doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for the most imaginative and freshest way to tell (or retell) our stories. And sometimes this means reaching half way across the world to collaborate with artists, campaigners or others who share our point of view. And reach new audiences or get existing ones to look again. Ideally avoiding worthiness at all costs, keeping a lightness of touch and preferably a sense of humour stops us coming across as bores, or worse – outsiders looking in.

Finally, along with the responsibility to our own brand to get this right we should remain mindful of its influence, both as a representative of a set of wider cultural values and a vehicle for our customers. For actually this is quite a high stakes game, especially when tempers run high and instant sharing, or even more instant judgements, are the norm and when anything less than perceived total transparency raises suspicion.

Done well we can enhance our brand’s standing, reinforce our competitive advantage and do some good at the same time. Worst case, we can destroy brand value. Sometimes imperceptibly, sometimes almost overnight. Although overused, maybe it comes back to that lodestar of our industry at its best: authenticity. Being and staying real. And looking for ways old and new to reinforce and emphasise it.

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THE NUMBERS

The Value of British Luxury

Walpole British Luxury

Walpole has commissioned a new study from Frontier Economics to look at the economic impact of the UK’s luxury sector.

We present some of our findings here...

The Numbers The Value of British Luxury

The Value of British Luxury

British Luxury is one of the UK’s greatest success stories ►

9.6

%

The luxury sector is growing at 9.6% per year on average, outpacing the UK’s average annual economic growth of 4%.

How are Walpole members celebrating this success? ►

£2,100,000,000 Harrods Last year Harrods, the luxury department store, revealed a total revenue rise of 6.8% to just over £2.1 billion, the second year the brand has topped £2 billion sales.

88

%

Johnstons of Elgin Five years ago Johnstons of Elgin, the Scottish cashmere and fine knitware brand, were losing money. Today, profits, sales and staffing have all increased significantly, with a 58% growth in total sales, and 88% growth in export sales since 2012.

90

Walpole British Luxury

%

House of Hackney Former Walpole and purveyors of ‘maximalist’ homewares, House of Hackney’s total business revenue has grown by 90% over the past two years.

£48,000,000,000

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The value of British luxury

2018

£32,200,000,000 2015

49

% Walpole British Luxury

This is an increase of 49% in just four years.

The Numbers The Value of British Luxury

Exporting British Luxury

British luxury is exported around the world ►

80

%

Around 80% of what the British luxury sector now produces is destined for export.

Where are Walpole members exporting their goods? ►

30

%

Molton Brown Luxury fragrance and beauty brand Molton Brown has seen great success in exporting their distinct take on British luxury internationally – particularly in India, the Middle East and Scandinavia – growing their UK export business by 30% over the last three years.

6 Walpole British Luxury

Dunhill In 2018, luxury menswear and accessories brand Dunhill opened six new stores: three in China; a new Middle Eastern flagship; a new flagship in Tokyo; and a new HQ in London.

22 DAKS China is a key export growth market for DAKS, with the British luxury fashion house increasing their total number of stores in the country to 22 in 2018.

42%

23%

11%

European Union

North America

China

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The key export markets for British luxury goods ►

The extraordinary growth in export of British luxury goods ►

£38,400,000,000 2018

£25,000,000,000 2013

54

%

Walpole British Luxury

This is an increase of 54% over five years.

The Numbers The Value of British Luxury

The Power of Brand Britain

How are Walpole members benefiting from tourist spend? ►

312 Fortnum & Mason Christmas 2018 saw the best international sales renowned department store Fortnum & Mason have had in the company’s 312-year history, with Fortnum’s international customers spending more on gifting than ever before.

Gleneagles “Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world – its fascinating history, rich culture, spectacular scenery, and warm hospitality making it an appealing destination for overseas guests. We’ve always enjoyed welcoming guests from around the world, and guests from Europe and North America in particular represent a key growing market for us.”

“In the last 12 months we’ve nearly doubled our US business and seen significant growth in guests coming from continental Europe, which reflects our ambitions to strengthen our presence in those markets. With international guests having to travel from further afield to enjoy the Gleneagles experience, inevitably they come for longer trips than our domestic guests, benefiting not only Gleneagles, but other local businesses and Scotland and the UK as a whole.”

Walpole British Luxury

Conor O’Leary Gleneagles General Manager

082 / 083 British luxury’s reputation for innovation, creativity, heritage, culture & quality resonates with global markets and audiences ►

£24,500,000,000 In 2017, 39.2 million overseas visitors came to the UK, and spent £24.5 billion.

£4,500,000,000 A fifth of visitors’ total spend – £4.5 billion – was on luxury, with fashion, watches and jewellery, accessories, cosmetics and fragrance the most popular items.

22%

13%

12%

10%

China

USA

Middle East

European Union

Walpole British Luxury

Overseas tourists, by percentage, that buy luxury in the UK ►

The Numbers The Value of British Luxury

“Rolls-Royce is recognised around the world as the standard bearer for Great Britain’s preeminence in both Luxury and Automotive manufacture.

Whenever and wherever our Spirit of Ecstasy is seen, one is reminded that Great Britain is the true home of luxury.”

Walpole British Luxury

Richard Carter Director of Corporate Communications, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

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LUXURY INDEX

From motorcars to menswear, fine wines to fragrance, the Walpole Luxury Index offers an enticing look behind the scenes of some of Britain’s best brands…

“The settings are stylish, but expertise is paramount. Beyond all of the wonderful products, there are wild sensations to experience and unparalleled services on offer – from commissioning a full redesign of your seven-bedroom Caribbean villa to tailoring a bespoke Dior haute-couture gown.”

Walpole Luxury Index

Harrods (page 128)

Established 1815 086 / 087

/ 15 Below, left ► Distillery manager Mickey Heads shares his passion for the latest release in Ardbeg’s Twenty Something series.

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Above ► Aged for 22 years, Ardbeg Twenty Something’s latest release is temptingly sweet, fruity and smoky.

Sector Food & Drink

Twenty-something years ago, Ardbeg was at a low point. The mists rolled over the hills of the distillery’s remote Scottish island home, and the Atlantic waves crashed on its rocky shores, just as they always have. But the smell of sea spray no longer mingled with malt above the distillery’s pagoda roofs. Inside its whitewashed walls, the stills were often empty. The filling store was silent. For the first time since Ardbeg was founded in 1815, the future of the world’s smokiest, peatiest Islay malt whisky hung in the balance.

At that time, the odds were stacked against Ardbeg. But even then, a handful of craftsmen believed that its untamed spirit had a future. And those impassioned few – a young Mickey Heads, now Distillery Manager, among them – set aside stocks of whisky in a quiet corner of a warehouse. It was their vision that one day the whisky within these precious casks might be shared with the world.

More than two decades on, Ardbeg has risen like a phoenix. In the third release in the Distillery’s Ardbeg Twenty Something series, the hopes of those die-hard Ardbeggians are wonderfully borne out. Its casks of sweetly fruity, smoky whisky saved from oblivion by their foresight, this highly limited 22-yearold bottling is the ultimate embodiment of Ardbeg’s enduring spirit.

Ardbeg’s future is now assured, thanks in no small part to its loyal fan base, the Ardbeg Committee, founded in 2000 to ensure the distillery’s doors never close again. In recognition of its members’ ongoing support, Mickey’s team have made this release available exclusively to the Committee, free to join at ardbeg.com.

Those lucky enough to visit Ardbeg today are greeted by the very still that created this whisky’s spirit. Now retired, it stands proud at the front of the Distillery for all to see. With a nose of tropical fruit notes, sweet smoke and soot, and tastes of fresh apples, peppermint tea and vanilla, it is a monument to the determination and vision which kept Ardbeg alive.

+44 149 630 2244 ► ardbeg.com Port Ellen, Islay, Argyll PA42 7EA

The Enduring Spirit of Islay

Ardbeg

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Walpole British Luxury

Atelier Swarovski Conscious Luxury

Below, left ► Penélope Cruz wearing her Atelier Swarovski Fine Jewellery Collection.

Below ► Atelier Swarovski by Penélope Cruz Lola necklace made with created rubies & Swarovski Created Diamonds set in 18k Fairtrade Gold.

Established 1895

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Above ► Atelier Swarovski by Penélope Cruz collection made with created sapphires and Swarovski Created Diamonds set in 18k Fairtrade Gold.

Sector Jewellery, Watches & Precious Metals

Atelier Swarovski is the embodiment of conscious luxury, the ethos that drives Swarovski in its pursuit of the twin goals of excellence and sustainability. The ultimate expression of the brand, Atelier Swarovski was founded by Nadja Swarovski in 2007 as a showcase for innovation, craftsmanship and the art of crystal and gemstone cutting, the qualities on which her great-great-grandfather Daniel Swarovski founded his company in 1895.

Atelier Swarovski collaborates with the world’s leading talents in fashion, jewellery, architecture and design to craft contemporary jewellery, accessories and home décor pieces using Swarovski’s rich palatte of creative materials, and its proprietary technologies and techniques. Past and current collaborators include Karl Lagerfeld, Penélope Cruz, Jean Paul Gaultier, Viktor & Rolf, Mary Katrantzou and Maison Margiela for jewellery, and Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Ron Arad for home décor.

Launched in 2017, Atelier Swarovski’s Fine Jewellery collections embrace innovative, sustainable materials and positive production practices. Swarovski Advanced Crystal is the most responsible crystal on the market, while Swarovski Created Diamonds – 20 years in the making – have the hardness and brilliance of mined diamonds, but a lower environmental impact. Atelier Swarovski has also committed to using both recycled gold and gold produced under the global Fairtrade certification, which empowers farmers, workers and miners to improve their quality of life.

In 2018, Penélope Cruz debuted her first Atelier Swarovski fine jewelry collection on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival. Inspired by old Hollywood glamour, the pieces are made with Swarovski Created Diamonds, Swarovski Genuine Topaz, created gemstones and 18k Fairtrade Gold.

Driving positive change and attitudes across the luxury industry, Atelier Swarovski aims to build on Daniel Swarovski’s founding vision: to create exceptional objects in ways that respect the wellbeing of people and the planet.

In the future-facing designs of Atelier Swarovski, beauty and humanity go hand in hand.

atelierswarovski.com

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/ 95 Conscious Luxury

Atelier Swarovski

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Belmond Places with a Soul Walpole British Luxury

Belmond has continued to push the boundaries of luxury travel, giving guests unique experiences in unforgettable locations.

Established 1976

/ 76 ►

Places with a Soul

Below, centre ► Heritage meets Modernist style at Belmond Grand Hotel Europe, St Petersburg.

Below, right ► La dolce vita lives on at Belmond Hotel Splendido, Portofino.

+44 203 117 1300 ► belmond.com Shackleton House, 4 Battle Bridge Lane, London SE1 2HP

British Luxury Brand of the Year In 2018, Belmond became the first hospitality brand to be crowned Walpole British Luxury Brand of the Year. Belmond will keep championing British Luxury, creating extraordinary, authentic luxury travel experiences for guests the world over.

Below, left ► All aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express for the journey of a lifetime.

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Unrivalled Experiences Belmond’s global portfolio is diverse, spanning land, water, adventure and relaxation, with international acclaim. Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas is the only hotel inside Brazil’s Iguassu Falls National Park or at the entrance to the citadel of Machu Picchu, and the company has continued to push the boundaries of luxury travel, giving guests unique experiences in unforgettable locations.

From breakfast with elephants in Botswana to multi-sensory travel across Asia or Peru, Belmond has developed a creative menu of gastronomic journeys to cater for all tastes. Meanwhile, the company continues to foster exclusive brand partnerships to bring guests unforgettable moments: ‘First Light’ with Leica Sport Optics and ‘Exceptional Music in Exceptional Locations’ with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Above ► Nature surrounds you at Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, Iguassu Falls, Brazil.

Sector Luxury Travel

Craftsmanship Design and craftsmanship is in the DNA of the Belmond brand. The historic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, for instance, features delicate light fixtures made by a traditional glassblower and striking marquetry, an ancient decorative craft. All of the unique properties within Belmond’s global portfolio – from Belmond Eagle Island Lodge in Botswana to Belmond Cap Juluca in Anguilla – encapsulate the essence, culture and local materials of their magnificent locations. Belmond also supports emerging creative talent through its partnership with New Designers, the UK’s most influential source of design talent, to continue inspiring the imagination of tomorrow’s discerning travellers.

Opposite ► Enjoy breakfast with elephants at Botswana’s Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge.

Belmond

Heritage Belmond’s long history in the world’s most inspiring destinations has given rise to rich storytelling: Rasputin regularly dined at L’Europe restaurant in Belmond Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg, Casanova held clandestine meetings in the gardens of Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice, and Lillie Langtry courted the future King of England at the historic Belmond Cadogan Hotel in London. Today, the soul of the Belmond brand is brought to life through carefully preserved design details, a strong local presence, and The Art of Belmond, a celebration of the wonderful world of Belmond experiences and the joy of good living.

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Established in 1976, Belmond has been a pioneer in luxury travel for more than 40 years, building a passion for authentic escapes into a carefully curated collection of 46 iconic hotels, trains and river cruises in 24 countries.

Every property has its own timeless story to tell. Yet, the hallmarks of British luxury – heritage, craftsmanship and a reputation for excellence in unrivalled experiences – thread through them all.

Walpole British Luxury

Bentley Motors 100 Extraordinary Years

Established 1919

19 Below, left ► Bentayga Hybrid features connected technology designed for today’s modern lifestyles.* Below ► The new Continental GT is the ultimate modern grand tourer. * Bentayga Hybrid is available to order in selected markets in 2019.

Please contact Bentley retailers for further information.

+44 1270 653 653 ► bentleymotors.com Pyms Lane, Crewe, England CW1 3PL

Above ► Brand marque to celebrate the centenary.

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Opposite ► The new Continental GT Convertible brings together the best of interior and exterior car design.

Sector Automotive, Aviation & Yachting

In 1919, W.O. Bentley applied the expertise he had gained from building powerful aircraft engines into the world of motoring. “The policy was simple,” he later recalled, “we were going to make a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.”

His unique combination of performance and luxury, still found in every Bentley a century later, soon attracted the attention of a group of wealthy, adventurous customers who became known as the Bentley Boys and Girls.

Their love of racing encouraged W.O. to push the boundaries of engineering ever further, resulting in a string of thrilling victories at Le Mans in the 1920s.

That belief in collaborating with remarkable customers to create remarkable cars still guides Bentley Motors to this day, helping to ensure a relentless drive for innovation that makes every vehicle more astonishing than the last. It has seen Bentley reinvent the grand tourer again and again, the adventurous spirit of the 1921 3 Litre inspiring the innovative R-Type Continental of 1952, whose sleek lines in turn influenced the first Continental GT in 2003. Now, the new Continental GT (below right, WLTP drive cycle: fuel consumption, mpg (l/100km) – Combined 20.2 (14.0). Combined CO2 – 317 g/ km) and the new Continental GT Convertible (opposite, WLTP drive cycle: fuel consumption, mpg (l/100km) – Combined 20.8 (13.6.). Combined CO2 – 308 g/km) raise the bar once more, adding cutting-edge automotive technology, a new Bentley design language and levels of handcrafted detail never seen before, with its 6.0 litre, twin-turbocharged W12 engine and eight-speed dualclutch transmission system delivering a drive unlike any other car.

Bentley has also reshaped the SUV sector with the introduction of Bentayga, the world’s first luxury SUV. Created to enable customers to explore new landscapes in absolute comfort. It is a vehicle in which technology, speed and power are combined with the last word in handcrafted refinement to offer an unrivalled driving experience. Available as an exceptionally powerful W12, an exhilarating V8, and its latest incarnation, Bentayga Hybrid*, whose effortless and intelligent performance, and exquisite craftsmanship redefine what a hybrid can be. This is Bentley’s first step on a journey towards an electric future, one which promises to redefine the luxury motoring world once again.

Bentley also offers cutting-edge in-car connectivity, seamlessly connecting the car and the driver to the internet to make travelling safer, smarter and more convenient. This includes Real Time Traffic Information, Wi-Fi Hotspot and Roadside Assistance.

With many more exciting new releases planned over the next few years, as well as continued success on the racetrack, Bentley’s second century promises to be just as extraordinary as the first.

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100 Extraordinary Years

Bentley Motors

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Walpole British Luxury

Boadicea the Victorious British luxury perfume collection

Below, left ► Handcrafted shields

by British artisans.

Below ► Almas: a fearless pure perfume of great intensity.

094 / 095 boadiceaperfume.com Lynton House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT

Above, right ► Complex 2020: rich and oozing with euphoric sensuality.

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Above, left ► Luxury fragrance collection inspired by a British warrior Queen.

Sector Beauty & Grooming

Taking inspiration from the legend of the British warrior queen who led the Iceni tribe against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in AD60, Boadicea the Victorious is a gender-neutral fragrance brand that launched as a worldwide exclusive in Harrods. The response was immediate with customers connecting, not just to the scent itself, but to the idea of buying into a small moment in history. Boadicea the Victorious quickly became one of the bestselling brands in Harrods’ renowned Black Hall Perfumery, and a year later saw similar success in Henri Bendel of New York and in Selfridges, where it continues to be one of the top performing niche ranges.

Owner David Crisp’s vision is to bring outstanding, original fragrances to the discerning market on a global scale. Ingredients, whether sambac sourced from Bhutan or oud from the forests of Southeast Asia, are of impeccable quality and feature in the highest possible concentrations. All the components of Boadicea the Victorious fragrances are then made in Britain by experienced manufacturers. It’s this combination of the exotic and the irrefutably British that ensures the brand stands out as a leader of independent perfumes in a relatively crowded field.

As distinctive as the scents themselves are the instantly recognisable fragrance bottles. Each one is crafted by a British artisan: the pewter used for the front and back shields is pressed and moulded by hand in one of the country’s oldest pewtersmiths. Some of the shields are dipped in 24-karat gold; others contain diamonds or precious stones. Many are designed especially for a particular event or launch to ensure that not only the perfume is a surprise but also the beautiful bottle.

Along with an elite group of investors, David Crisp bought Boadicea the Victorious in 2010 on what would have been his late father’s birthday but his relationship with the brand runs far deeper than a commercial enterprise and he is committed to ensuring that Boadicea the Victorious continues to flourish.

The Global Collections concept ensures that the brand offers something to suit all scent palettes within various perfume territories around the world. In recent years, this has aided the evolution of a client base that encompasses Arab, Russian, Chinese and English consumers, both male and female.

Alongside the launch of other new and exciting fragrances to add to the retail range Boadicea the Victorious has pioneered a bespoke service to allow clients to create their own individual scent. The brand’s access to the best of the best allows clients to aspire to their ultimate desire; the bottle shield, colour and the perfume itself all comprise a one-of-a-kind experience. This latest chapter in the evolution of the brand is characteristic of a company that has built its excellent reputation on working with the finest ingredients, experienced perfumers and skilled craftsmen in Britain. Boadicea the Victorious is a celebration of beauty, strength and nobility, brought to life through sublime scents. The warrior queen herself would have been justly proud.

Opposite ► Created in honour of the 65th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Blue Sapphire is a regal fusion of citrus highs and green accords melded with harmonious hints of rose, cardamom, Indian jasmine, oud, patchouli and amber.

Established 2010

/ 10 British luxury perfume collection

Boadicea the Victorious

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Walpole British Luxury

Boodles Always a story

Established 1798

/ 98 Below, left ► Marquise-cut, pink diamond ring and Sophie diamond heart platinum earrings.

Below ► The iconic self-winding Patek Philippe World Time model. The word ‘Liverpool’ is included in pink, in tribute to Boodles birth place & brand’s colour, and the 220th anniversary.

+44 20 7437 5050 ► boodles.com 178 New Bond Street, London, W1S 4RH

Above ► Raindrop necklace with cabochon-cut moonstones, pink opals and diamonds.

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Above left ► Rose gold, diamond bracelet.

Sector Jewellery, Watches & Precious Metals

Boodles is that rarest of creatures: a brand with centuries of brilliant craft heritage, while at the same time always as fresh as spring blossom.

Quintessentially British, it is one of the only remaining family-owned jewellers on London’s Bond Street. Timeless, and yet utterly modern.

Founded in 1798, Boodles is known for the quality of its precious gemstones and the skill of its creations. Thanks to an inspirational team of in-house designers, the company’s visionary philosophy continues to champion exemplary British craftsmanship. Boodles’ signature style is so iconic, in fact, that their Raindance ring resides in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London to represent the very best of British jewellery.

The Boodles secret is simple. As a sixth-generation family enterprise, it cares passionately about all that it does. And despite receiving many outside offers to buy up the business, Boodles remains resolutely committed to doing things independently, in its inimitable way.

Brothers Nicholas and Michael Wainwright now lead the company from the head office in Liverpool and flagship showroom in Bond Street. They are ably assisted by the next generation: Nicholas’s son Jody is director of precious gemstones, while his nephew, James Amos, is responsible for the brand’s public image. On 9 June 2018, it was announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List that Boodles chairman Nicholas Wainwright would be awarded an MBE for ‘services to UK jewellery exports and charitable fundraising’.

The team at Boodles goes out of its way to exceed expectations.

Customers often become friends, and Boodles is known for going to extreme lengths to meet their precise needs, often acting as a concierge service for clients. Stories abound of Boodles’ gems being driven through the night to reach all-important celebrations – and of Boodles’ employees hopping onto planes to help customers ‘pop the question’ in style. Boodles’ customers reward this commitment, with many travelling to London from far-flung reaches specifically to see new collections.

Boodles was proud to celebrate its 220th anniversary in 2018, presenting various new designs to commemorate this special milestone. New launches included a spectacular one-off necklace featuring 93 D-colour Ashoka cut diamonds, and hundreds of tiny Argyle pink diamonds: the result was a covetable accumulation of rare diamonds and an unparalleled achievement in outstanding jewellery design. Boodles was delighted to collaborate with longstanding partner, Patek Philippe, to create a limited edition Patek Philippe World Time watch with a reference to Liverpool, the birthplace of Boodles, replacing London for this special series. The icing on Boodles’ 220th anniversary cake.

In addition, 2019 sees the unveiling of an exceptional new High Jewellery collection, a selection of exceptional design-orientated pieces, inspired by the art of storytelling. Each individual piece has a unique tale to tell, with themes and inspirations ranging from the magic of nature to the mythology of the supernatural, from calligraphy symbols to architectural motifs, and all things in between.

There’s an effortless sense of grace, discretion and fun about Boodles.

Fans of Boodles say you simply won’t find it elsewhere. Perhaps that’s because Boodles recognises – and expresses in its byword – that behind each stone there’s ‘always a story’.

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Always a story

Boodles

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Walpole British Luxury

Cadogan The historic estate shapinga 21st century Chelsea

098 / 099 Above ► Giant floral sculpture for Chelsea in Bloom.

Below ► Duke of York Restaurant, 11 Cadogan Gardens Hotel.

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Opposite, below ► Exquisitely crafted fashion and international luxury brands on Sloane Street; inset: local shops on Pavilion Road.

+44 207 730 4567 ► cadogan.co.uk 10 Duke of York Square, London SW3 4LY

Opposite ► Duke of York Headquarters, home to the Saatchi Gallery, with the space outside used for community events and by local schools.

Sector Property & Estate

Cadogan is a property manager, investor and developer with a 300year history that informs its dynamic approach to estate management. The foundations of the estate were established in 1717, when Charles, Baron Cadogan married Elizabeth Sloane, daughter of Sir Hans Sloane, who had purchased the Manor of Chelsea in 1712.

Today, it spans a 93-acre area of Chelsea and Knightsbridge, and the family’s stewardship continues in the hands of the present Viscount Chelsea.

London’s most stylish neighbourhood, it is renowned for its mix of world-class flagships, characterful independent shops, thriving arts scene, restaurants, great pubs, iconic hotels and stunning homes – against a backdrop of rich history, elegant architecture and beautiful green spaces.

Chelsea is the epicentre of high-end London shopping. Commissioned

by Charles, 1st Earl Cadogan in the 18th century, Sloane Street has evolved into one of the most exclusive retail destinations. Impressive flagship stores – including designers Tom Ford, Giorgio Armani, Emilia Wickstead, Giambattista Valli, Balenciaga and Hermès – line a catwalk stretching from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square. In partnership with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, an enhancement of Sloane Street’s public realm is proposed, creating a greener, even more elegant streetscape. The Belmond Cadogan Hotel also opens at 75 Sloane Street in 2019, with a restaurant by award-winning British chef Adam Handling.

From the dazzling international flagship stores lining Sloane Street, to buzzing Sloane Square, Duke of York Square and along the iconic King’s Road, Cadogan manages its retail and leisure portfolio in the context of the wider community, continually evolving the area’s vibrancy and charm for those who live, work and shop here.

One of the most recent developments was the creation of the gourmet food haven on Pavilion Road, tucked away behind Sloane Square. Following a local consultation, a ‘village heart’ featuring independent artisans has been established. Among the highlights are a cheesemonger, butcher, baker, greengrocer, fishmonger, ice-cream shop, wine merchant, general store, barber, stationer and three new restaurants.

Plans are also afoot to energise the world-famous King’s Road even further, including a major new development opposite Chelsea Town Hall, which will complete in 2022 and include an independent cinema, large pub, rooftop bar and retail space for both flagship brands and community use.

Chelsea has a rich cultural heritage as a haven for artists, authors, musicians and designers, from Dante Gabriel Rossetti to The Rolling Stones.

Thanks in large part to Cadogan’s long-term commitment to protecting the area’s heritage and character, Chelsea remains a hive of world-class artistic endeavour, home to major institutions of contemporary theatre, art and music, among them the Saatchi Gallery, a world-leading gallery housing one of the largest private collections of contemporary art in a beautiful listed building.

The Royal Court Theatre pioneers new work by innovative writers, and Cadogan Hall, a converted Byzantine-style church, is now one of London’s leading concert venues and home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. An active community events programme includes Chelsea in Bloom, which extends the famous Chelsea Flower Show out into the local neighbourhood; Strawberries and Screen, Wimbledon screenings at Duke of York Square; and a colourful annual Summer Fete.

Stewardship and community are the watchwords of the estate. Over the years, the Cadogan family has donated millions to local and national charitable concerns, along with land and buildings around Chelsea for schools, social housing, churches, the Town Hall, fire station and a hospital.

For 300 years, Cadogan has been at the heart of Chelsea, contributing to a vibrant and inspiring area through active stewardship. Over the next 300, Cadogan aims to encourage its evolution, while preserving the rich heritage and identity that makes Chelsea unique.

Established 1717

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The historic estate shaping a 21st century Chelsea

Cadogan

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Church’s Handcrafted shoes and accessories with modern detailing Walpole British Luxury

Church’s has gently evolved key designs and styles to appeal to new and more discerning customer in different global markets.

Established 1873

/ 73 Opposite ► Church’s Spring/Summer 2019 campaign.

Bottom, left ► Church’s Jermyn Street Store, London SW1.

Bottom, right ► Craftsmanship images taken in the company’s Northampton factory.

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Below ► Church’s Shannon Shoes in Black Polished Binder Leather.

+44 1604 751251 ► church-footwear.com St. James, Northampton NN5 5JB

Above ► The Crawford Document Case, in black St. James Leather, The Craven Slim Briefcase, in white St. James Leather.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

Church’s strong connection to the craftsmanship of handmade shoes can be traced back to 1675 and the industry’s heartland of Northamptonshire.

This county has been at the centre of a flourishing leather and footwear industry since the Middle Ages, a legacy which still continues to this day.

In 1873, Thomas Church and his three sons - Alfred, William and Thomas Jr. – founded the Church’s company and united the production processes, under one modern factory, in Northampton. Prior to this, each individual process was carried out in the workers own homes. Northampton plays a vital role in the brand’s DNA and is still the home of the company’s worldwide headquarters.

In the space of a few years, Church’s was transformed from a cottage industry into a benchmark firm for high-quality footwear. It is interesting to note that Church’s was the first footwear manufacturer to introduce the concept of left and right shoes since most of others companies at that time still sold ‘straights’. With the dawn of the 20th century, Church’s began exporting to new markets such as the United States, Canada, China, and South America, and appointed distributors in many mainland European countries.

The company opened its first UK retail store in 1921, New York in 1929 and mainland Europe and Asia over the next 30 years. Each store dedicated to showcasing the very best of English shoemaking and unparalleled levels of customer service. The company now operates from three factories in the county and has, over the intervening years, continued to receive numerous plaudits for its commitment to craftsmanship and manufactory in England.

This continued dedication was recognised when the company was presented with the prestigious ‘Queen’s Award for Exports’ cementing Church’s status as a leading International brand.

In 1999 Church’s joined the PRADA Group, world leaders in the luxury retail industry. The group’s objectives were to expand the brand internationally and grow Church’s appeal; speaking to a wider consumer range, while fully respecting its English heritage. As a result, over the last 10 years, Church’s has expanded its retail footprint to 55 stores globally situated in key cities around the world. These include three stand-alone stores that exclusively sell Church’s women’s collection.

The manufacturing of Church’s shoes today is still inspired by its rich heritage and dedication handcrafted techniques: the welted shoes are handmade by dedicated artisans, using a process that can take up to eight weeks and involve over 250 detailed manual operations.

This method also means that Church’s can offer exemplary aftercare to its clients, with full refurbishment facilities being available in the Northampton factory. This enables the company to use the same high-quality materials and craftsmanship as seen in the original manufacturing process. With proper care and attention, a pair of Church’s shoes can, and do, last a lifetime.

Church’s shoes transcend fashion. The iconic men’s styles such as Oxfords and Brogues never date, although colours and details may be developed from season-to-season. However, next to the brands traditional offering, Church’s has gently evolved key designs and styles to appeal to a new and more discerning customer in different global markets. This continued innovation allows the brand to develop and grow its position as the world’s leader of top quality Goodyear Welted Footwear.

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Handcrafted shoes and accessories with modern detailing

Church’s

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The Conran Shop The home of iconic designs and future classics

I wanted it to be a shop that sold more classic, modern furniture for a more informed generation.

Walpole British Luxury

Sir Terence Conran

Above, right ► Unique gifts and accessories within a rose-tinted setting in the Chelsea store windows.

Below, left ► The flagship Chelsea store stands proud on Fulham Road, within the iconic Michelin House.

Below ► Globally exclusive Saarinen Pedestal Table. Exclusive Calacatta Cielo Marble edition

by Knoll for The Conran Shop.

Established 1974

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Above, left ► A colourful collection on display in the kitchen and dining department of the Chelsea store.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

Founded by Sir Terence Conran, The Conran Shop has established itself as one of the world’s leading lifestyle retailers, offering an eclectic and exciting curation of furniture, lighting, gifts and personal accessories from the most respected designers and emerging talents across the globe.

The story starts in 1974, when the former Habitat store on London’s Fulham Road reopened as The Conran Shop. “I always thought that The Conran Shop should be filled with the very best and most interesting products and furniture from the four corners of the world, all chosen with the same pair of eyes,” explains Sir Terence. “I wanted it to be a shop that sold more classic, modern furniture for a more informed generation, such as Eames, Bauhaus originals and Mies van der Rohe, alongside fine glassware and china, beautiful handmade rugs and the very best French cookware. It was my dream store – modern, exciting and sophisticated.”

Sir Terence relocated the store to Michelin House in 1987, an event he described as “the happiest day” of his life, rehabilitating the classic building and initiating the regeneration of Brompton Cross. The opening of the second London store in Marylebone instigated the revival of Marylebone High Street, increasing footfall and enticing other retailers to the district now famed for its chic and varied boutiques. True to form, when the Paris store opened in the famous Bon Marché building, it quickly became the cornerstone of interiors and design on Rue du Bac, starting a Parisian love affair with the brand.

In recent years, The Conran Shop has collaborated with the world’s most renowned manufacturers including Knoll, Vitra and Carl Hansen & Søn to release exclusive and limited editions of world-famous design icons. By bringing fresh elements to enduring pieces, Sir Terence’s initial vision for The Conran Shop to contain only the best design is carried into the future.

Few brands have the power to reinvent not just buildings but whole neighbourhoods. The Conran Shop now has ten stores across the world, six of them in Japan, while the most recent is The Conran Shop on the lower ground floor in Selfridges in Oxford Street. With its dedication to providing an unbeatable shopping experience and its carefully curated products, including vintage and modern designs, expert interior advice and personal services, The Conran Shop is the go-to place for any type of gift or interiors inspiration.

By continually evolving its in-store and online environments and presenting exclusive collaborations and future collectables, it aims to inspire and excite visitors through objects that reflect the way we live now.

Opposite ► Hans J Wegner CH07 Shell Chair. Exclusive wenge finish.

1 of 25. By Carl Hansen & Søn for The Conran Shop.

+44 0344 848 4000 ► conranshop.com Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, London SW3 6RD

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/ 74 The home of iconic designs & future classics

The Conran Shop

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Walpole British Luxury

Cookson Adventures Inspirational luxury adventures that push the boundaries

Below, left ► Flying via helicopter to a jungle-hemmed nature reserve in Colombia.

Below, right ► Visiting Bhutan’s growing tiger population before a hike into the Himalayan mountains.

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Above ► Exploring the Antarctic in Cookson style, with a private yacht, two helicopters and a submersible in tow.

Conservation is at the core – a Cookson client has funded groundbreaking orca research in Antarctica.

+44 20 7736 0452 ► cooksonadventures.com 2 Clearwater Terrace, Holland Park Avenue London W11 4XL

Opposite ► Known for their special touches, Cookson Adventures organised a surprise lunch for a client on Svalbard’s fast ice.

Sector Hospitality & Services

Cookson Adventures is an ultra-luxury adventure company; their approach to travel is derived from the passions of their founder, Henry Cookson, a record-holding polar explorer. His authentic vision is for clients to feel like adventurers, not travellers; never comprising on comfort and knowing that the height of luxury lies in creating unique and irreplaceable memories For 10 years, Cookson Adventures has been taking clients to explore some of the most remote and remarkable corners of the planet, but always in the height of elegance and style.

And they innovate. Since its beginning, Cookson Adventures has pioneered the concept of world firsts in luxury adventure travel. This attitude has led the company to take a superyacht further north than ever before, during a luxury polar bear safari deep within the Arctic Circle. It has seen clients experience a private trek through the world’s largest cave system and an adrenaline-fuelled adventure in Utah’s wilds.

They believe in luxury with purpose, so conservation is also an integral part of any trip. Cookson works tirelessly to protect the pristine nature of the untouched places they visit and will often arrange for clients to personally contribute to curated local charities as part of their trips. As a result, they have completed important work rehoming giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, tagging sharks deep in the Pacific and, this year, Cookson will embark on a ground-breaking scientific research project to confirm the existence of a new species of killer whale.

The company’s highly successful clientele require not just exceptional quality but a completely personalised product every time, reflecting passions, preferences and proclivities. Whether it is a year-long sabbatical experience, deep-sea diving or conservation projects deep within the Colombian jungle, Cookson refines every detail to match the character of their client. To that end, Cookson’s knowledge spans all corners of the globe, through an incredible network of worldwide experts. Scientists, archaeologists, marine biologists, conservationists, award-winning photographers and many more, contribute to the innovative approach the company takes to developing fresh ideas.

Whether exploring a rarely visited realm or embarking on a journey of self-discovery, Cookson Adventures creates unique experiences that forge unforgettable memories. Through innovation, unrivalled expertise, and an unprecedented level of personalisation and service, Cookson continues to carve its own niche at the very pinnacle of the luxury travel industry.

Established 2009 104 / 105

/ 09 Inspirational luxury adventures that push the boundaries

Cookson Adventures

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Walpole British Luxury

Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour The most luxurious names in interior design

Established 2003

/ 03

+44 207 225 9166 ► dcch.co.uk Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 0XE

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Images Courtesy of Design Centre,Chelsea Harbour

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

With its undeniable momentum, Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour continues to evolve and develop, championing the design world with its confident vision. With strategic expansion on the horizon, some highly influential names moving in and the spectacular Design Avenue on the way, it is considered the compass point for international design.

The largest of its kind in Europe, the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour is renowned as the place for creative excellence. Expect plenty of inspiration, expertise and immersive events from leading influencers, established makers, emerging innovators and luxury brands at this global design hub. Home to 120 showrooms and more than 600 international brands, no wonder it is the destination of choice for A-list designers, architects and design-lovers seeking the brightest and the best of world-class talent, all at one address.

All have been carefully selected for their impeccable credentials, quality and style. Classic contemporary to cutting-edge, minimalism to opulence, urbane sophistication to rural retreat – this is where design schemes come to life. It is simply a treasure trove for those working on five-star hotels, bars, restaurants, superyachts, private jets, beachside villas or chic city apartments. At the heart of a highly globalised design community, people fly in from all over the world to see what is on the style radar, seek out expertise in person and see finishes and materials up close. Many design houses also create bespoke pieces. With access to the latest design directions and authoritative social media channels, design enthusiasts can get the inside track. There are also cafés, a specialist bookshop, a personal shopping service and the private members’ Design Club to complete the visitor experience.

Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour is a thriving platform, both creatively and commercially, for an exceptionally dynamic industry. Every year it hosts Focus and London Design Week, two fixtures on the international design calendar, and new initiatives are introduced constantly to offer specialist interest and inspiration. These include the Superyacht Design Forum and recent dedicated exhibitions British furniture making and Asia Week at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, which celebrated Asian art, culture and creativity.

An exciting new chapter is unfolding; additional spaces are being created for more international brands to thrive and flourish and the sense of community – already one of the Design Centre’s strengths – is set to get stronger. A world of new possibilities is opening up to visitors, too, with even more opportunities to connect with design connoisseurs, attend events and engage with experts.

Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour is bricks, mortar and beyond.

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The most luxurious names in interior design

Design Centre Chelsea Harbour

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de Le Cuona A noble, natural luxury Walpole British Luxury

The craftsmanship behind de Le Cuona’s fabrics is a complete and utter art.

Established 1992

/ 92 Below, left ► The new de Le Cuona flagship store located at 44 Pimlico Road.

Below ► Bronze bowl by Charles Haupt with dragon-embossed leather cushions.

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Above ► A beautiful dining room decorated with de Le Cuona cashmere, linen, paisley and velvet fabrics and accessories.

+44 1753 830 301 ► delecuona.com 44 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8LP

Opposite ► de Le Cuona fabrics.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftmanship

de Le Cuona is a purveyor of luxury textiles for interiors with a 25-year history. It is known for exquisite understated linen and fabrics united by their beauty, quality and mastery of execution.

Founder Bernie de Le Cuona is a linen connoisseur and the one who interior designers, fashion houses and historical bodies all turn to when a textile specialist is called for. She is also unique, leading the design and business operations of this international brand, whilst being a trailblazer for practising natural sustainability.

Her quest for outstanding quality in the field of noble, natural fibres takes her all around the world. Beautifully soft yet durable alpaca is sourced from Peru, the best linen from Belgium and France, fine silk from China and high quality wool from Australia. These are woven using both traditional and innovative techniques by specialist artisans into some of the most luxurious fabrics imaginable.

Culture and travel are bedrocks of inspiration. An antique shawl discovered in Kashmir inspirited an intricate wool paisley. These are so detailed that only three metres can be woven per loom per day. One of de Le Cuona’s signature paisleys is archived in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Visits to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and the Royal Gardens of Versailles have imbued the Wanderlust collection with an air of elegant extravagance. A fur-like fabric expertly made in Italy combines linen and wool with the best alpaca fibre from Peru.

Other fabrics are the result of discovering age-old techniques and using them in new ways, working with specialist mills that are prepared to experiment. An adventurous linen called Buffalo is washed with large pumice stones to resemble beaten-up buffalo skin. One couture linen is a cross between a wall tapestry and a Chanel jacket, using ribbons instead of yarns. Another called Kasbah is hand dyed reusing ancient techniques. It is this confidence to do the unexpected that comes from a mastery of the craft.

“The craftsmanship behind de Le Cuona’s fabrics is a complete and utter art. That’s why I like working with small mills who want to keep this artistry alive. No-one can make it better. We take that much care” Bernie de Le Cuona.

Each design experiences a number of original processes with the focus always upon finessing the way a fabric feels and flows. The natural colour palette lets fabrics move seamlessly between collections. All the textiles fall smoothly into the worlds of heritage, classic and contemporary interiors.

The bespoke service works with the same dedication to quality and detail.

Projects are unique and appropriate to individual requirements, from residential and commercial interiors to exclusive commissions for prestigious hotels, yachts and palaces.

The same valuing of care is true for the hand-worked accessories where the ethos of the brand is stamped with subtle touches of quality. These may include alpaca bedding, embroidered bedlinen, cashmere throws and cushions in silk, linen, velvet and wool. Select accessories and unique pieces of furniture are exclusive to the new de Le Cuona flagship store located at 44 Pimlico Road, in one of London’s most exciting and established design districts. de Le Cuona is not just a fabric house but a luxury brand with a vision for the future. It is serious about time-honoured techniques and innovation, natural materials and sustainability. This company now has thriving showrooms in London and New York, and a network of elite distributors and agents worldwide. The headquarters are in Royal Windsor.

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A noble, natural luxury

de Le Cuona

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Walpole British Luxury

Ettinger Timeless appeal

Combining traditional craftsmanship skills honed over many generations with clever design and cutting-edge technology where required.

Established 1934

/ 34 Opposite ► Capra white long wallet with zipped pocket, flat credit card case, large zip-around purse.

Below ► Capra white large zip-around purse.

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Below, left ► Capra white large ziparound purse, tray purse, visiting card case.

+44 208 877 1616 ► ettinger.co.uk 215 Putney Bridge Road, London SW15 2NY

Above ► Capra white medium zip pouch, billfold wallet.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

It was 1934 when Gerry Ettinger came to Britain and established G. Ettinger Ltd. Thanks to Gerry’s talent for languages, his love of travel and his excellent business brain (honed at the family tailoring company), Ettinger has since grown into the reputable British brand it is today.

Gerry set up Ettinger’s first showroom on Vigo Street, just off London’s Regent Street, where he displayed and sold a range of leather goods to Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Asprey. Ettinger today is still family-owned and run by Gerry’s elder son Robert. The head office and luxury showroom is now situated in Putney, South West London, overlooking the River Thames. The Ettinger factory is based in Walsall just outside Birmingham: the historic centre of British saddle-making and leather goods industry.

Ettinger is today one of the most respected manufacturers of British luxury leather accessories and was granted the Royal Warrant to HRH The Prince of Wales for leather goods in 1996. This very special honour allows the company to carry the Prince of Wales cipher of three feathers on all its products. Holding a Royal Warrant is a great privilege and has certainly contributed to establishing Ettinger’s reputation as a quality leather accessories brand around the world. Ettinger accessories can be found in leading luxury stores in over 30 countries including Japan, Dubai, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, the USA and Europe.

Ettinger’s leather accessories play on contrasts and a confident use of colour, thereby mixing a reassuring dose of timelessness and fine detailing with a subtle display of character. Combining traditional craftsmanship skills honed over many generations with clever design and cutting-edge technology where required, has ensured Ettinger’s longevity and continuing reputation.

The perfect example of this is the iconic Bridle Hide collection of wallets and purses, inspired by traditional equestrian leathers it has been hand-crafted since the 1930s and refined over the years so it now embodies the perfect example of this English style.

As Ettinger celebrates its 85th anniversary it looks back to its founding years for inspiration and has introduced its newest collection – CAPRA. The 1930s were a golden era for travel and the leather luggage and accessories that went with it. Often these accessories were made from goat leather – a popular choice at this time due to its wonderful properties: soft, lightweight and, at the same time, incredibly strong.

This collection combines the best of Ettinger’s heritage and tradition with modern design and colour, creating a harmony of old and new. As well as classic black and chocolate, this latest range is presented in a cool palette including pure white and marine blue. These bright hues bring a new dimension, refreshing the leather for the modern age.

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Timeless appeal

Ettinger

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Below, left ► Exmoor Caviar, Smoked Sturgeon.

Below, right ► Exmoor Caviar, Pure Caviar Oil

Established 2012

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Above ► Open Caviar Tin 50g Exmoor Caviar, Cornish Salted Caviar

Sector Food & Drink

Exmoor Caviar, the UK’s first sturgeon caviar farm, has been operating in Devon since 2012 and now supplies products to the kitchens of 67 Michelinstarred restaurants including The Fat Duck, The Ledbury and The Araki.

Before launching, CEO Ken Benning sought permission from Queen Elizabeth II to be able to farm sturgeon in the UK. He received a letter from Buckingham Palace stating that Her Majesty would not extend her royal prerogative relating to the ownership of all sturgeon in the realm and further confirmed that the sturgeon on the farm would indeed remain his property.

Exmoor Caviar has previously been supplied to Buckingham Palace as well as Chequers.

The picturesque farm, located in the foothills of the Exmoor National Park, has an ancient water right allowing 45 million litres of fresh water to flow through the raceways every day. This unique access allows the sturgeon to swim in an abundance of fresh, cool water 24 hours a day, enabling them to grow at the pace that nature intended. This has a definite impact on the quality, flavour and freshness of the product, separating it from caviar produced from sturgeon reared in recirculated farms.

Exmoor Caviar is made with Cornish Sea Salt, the preferred choice of many chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants. The addition of this naturally produced sea salt rather than standard food grade salt lends itself perfectly to the caviar, helping to bring out the renowned clean and creamy taste of Exmoor Caviar, which is now also available as a limited-edition Smoked Caviar.

Sustainability is a key pillar to the success of the Exmoor Caviar brand; to ensure minimal wastage from production the sturgeon meat is sold fresh and is also offered as both hot and cold smoked sturgeon.

Using any broken caviar eggs, Exmoor Caviar has created a Caviar Infused Sea Salt. This product was used in a recent collaboration with Chantal Coady at Rococo Chocolates to create Exmoor Caviar Salt Infused Chocolate Pearls.

A further very exciting new product that Exmoor Caviar has developed with its sister company Caviar Biotec is the world’s first Pure Caviar Oil, which is produced alongside the main caviar production. This is an edible oil that pairs beautifully with light fish dishes and salads, lacing them with a rich buttery caviar taste. It also has uses as a nutraceutical and the base of caviar skincare.

+44 207 223 3640 ► exmoorcaviar.com 563-565 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BL

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/ 12 Made in England for the British palate

Exmoor Caviar

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Fortnum & Mason Making the everyday special since 1707 Walpole British Luxury

Fortnum’s most iconic product soon emerged as the picnic hamper.

Portable parcels of joy, filled to bursting with dazzling and delicious delights.

114 / 115 Below, left ► The historic flagship store stands at 181 Piccadilly.

Below, right ► What’s tea without biscuits?

Fortnum’s famed ‘lossus range makes for quite the accompaniment.

+44 207 734 8040 ► fortnumandmason.com 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER

Above, right ► Exceptional teas have been Fortnum’s speciality for centuries.

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Above, left ► Afternoon tea is served in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon.

Sector Retailers & Etailers

Opposite ► Packed with glorious things to eat, drink, and enjoy, Fortnum’s wickers often become treasured keepsakes.

Fortnum & Mason

First founded in London’s Piccadilly in 1707, Fortnum & Mason has remained an essential destination for anyone in search of extraordinary food, unforgettable experiences, and joy-giving things. Over its centuries of history, the brand has been committed to making the everyday special for its customers, whether they are shopping in-store or from around the globe at the award-winning fortnumandmason.com.

The legacy began in 1705, when William Fortnum, quite the entrepreneur, took a post as Footman in Queen Anne’s household. Mr Fortnum had the ingenious idea of selling Queen Anne’s half-used candle wax, for profit, paving the way for the beginning of a respectable business. In 1707, he joined forces with a Mr Hugh Mason, and in the years that followed the pair established themselves as purveyors of the finest food in London – eventually hatching the world’s first Scotch Egg in 1738.

Such early innovations set the tone for more than 300 years of playfulness and creativity, and Fortnum’s most iconic product soon emerged as the picnic hamper. The portable parcels of joy, filled to bursting with dazzling and delicious delights, began as travellers’ baskets and picnics for hunters – and have since scaled the heights of Everest, supplied provisions at the excavation of Tutankhamen, been praised by Charles Dickens, and more recently set sail across the Arctic Ocean.

Tea, too, is pivotal to the brand’s storied past. In 1902, Fortnum’s brews came to boast a royal pedigree thanks to a bespoke blend specially created for King Edward VII. From contemporary infusions to home-grown blends, the tea is still reigning and pouring today, particularly within the elegant surroundings of the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, named in honour of Her Majesty’s visit in 2012.

Here, Afternoon Tea and High Tea is served in all its splendour, including famed preserves and honeys, cakes, and 4,000 scones freshly baked daily, along with countless cups of tea.

Today, millions from around the world visit Fortnum’s flagship store at 181 Piccadilly to take Afternoon Tea, explore its famous Food Halls, and wend their way up and down the velvet-carpeted stairs. Resplendent in the brand’s signature Eau de Nil, and presided over by its famous rooftop beehives, Fortnum & Mason is a corner shop that has seen it all – and is steadfast in its commitment to delivering a sense of pleasure to every customer, wherever they happen to be in the world.

Established 1707

/ 07 ► Making the everyday special since 1707

Walpole British Luxury No.1 Savile Row

Gieves & Hawkes

Established 1784

/ 84 Below ► No.1 Savile Row.

+44 207 432 6403 ► gievesandhawkes.com 1 Savile Row, Mayfair, London W1S 3JR

Opposite, below ► Gieves & Hawkes Ready-to-wear.

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Opposite ► Bespoke jacket made for Michael Jackson.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

Headquartered at No.1 Savile Row, Gieves & Hawkes is the ultimate mens’ style destination and an internationally renowned bespoke tailor and menswear brand with stores around the UK and international distribution in China, Europe and the United States.

No.1 Savile Row itself has a legendary history: originally an aristocratic private home in the 18th century, The Royal Geographical Society moved in during the 19th century and it became the epicentre of Victorian exploration and adventure. Hawkes moved in to the famous address in 1913 and the building has been well known to the most stylish and influential of men ever since.

The history of Gieves & Hawkes is in reality the story of two separate houses, which merged just 40 years ago.

Established in 1784, Gieves became a celebrated supplier of the British Royal Navy, and Hawkes, founded in 1771, of the British Army. Their most famous customers, Admiral Lord Nelson and Field Marshal The Duke of Wellington, were the two most important commanders in British history, whose great victories at Trafalgar in 1805 and Waterloo in 1815 against the French emperor Napoleon established Great Britain as a major maritime and land power and precipitated the growth of the British Empire during the rest of the 19th century.

Both Gieves and Hawkes played their part in this enterprise through their service to the Royal Navy and the British Army. Furthermore both companies have supplied no less than 10 generations of British Royalty, from King George III in 1809 up to the present day Queen Elizabeth II, her son the Prince of Wales and her grandsons, the Princes William and Harry.

The ultimate expression of mens’ style, bespoke tailoring is still handmade on the premises at No.1. Clients come from all over the world to be fitted for their orders, or come to see Gieves & Hawkes Head Cutter at our Bespoke Trunk Shows at The Mark Hotel in New York.

Famous clients include David Beckham, Colin Firth, Daniel Craig, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Robbie Williams, Jonah Hill, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Andy Murray, Luke Evans, David Cameron and Gordon Brown.

Historic clients include FM The Duke of Wellington, Admiral Lord Nelson, Sir Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Ian Fleming and Michael Jackson.

The Gieves & Hawkes brand is infused with aristocratic, royal and political heritage and timeless style which resonates internationally. The beating heart of this rich provenance is a commitment to handmade, bespoke tailoring and the associated craft and an unyielding commitment to quality.

With many generations of venerable clients, Gieves & Hawkes is uniquely positioned to meet the strictest codes and rules of dressing from black tie, white tie, morning dress or creating unique garments for Coronations and State Occasions. Just as important, a gentleman’s every day wardrobe is taken care of with military precision and customary style.

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No.1 Savile Row

Gieves & Hawkes

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Walpole British Luxury

Glenmorangie Creators of pioneering whisky since 1843

Established 1843

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Opposite ► Glenmorangie Signet’s mocha depths earned it the title of World Whisky of the Year.

Sector Food & Drink

For just one week each year, Glenmorangie dedicates its stills to a ground-breaking single malt whisky. Harnessing high-roast ‘chocolate malt’ barley in a pioneering distillation, the Highland Distillery creates a spirit of espresso intensity – destined for Glenmorangie Signet. As the spirit rises through those stills, the tallest in Scotland, a beguiling aroma of Aruba-rich coffee fills the air...

Inspired by the simple pleasure found in a cup of coffee, Glenmorangie Signet’s rich depths embody the pioneering spirit for which the distillery has been renowned since it was founded in 1843. Named World Whisky of the Year at the International Whisky Competition in 2016, this expression is the first single malt ever created with ‘chocolate malt’. United with Glenmorangie’s signature house malt, it brings forth distinctive mocha flavours, remarkable in the world of whisky.

And this is just the beginning of Glenmorangie Signet’s story. Over many years, its spirit’s intensity is tempered by a judicious marriage of some of the Distillery’s rarest whiskies and most exceptional casks. From especially crafted bourbon barrels comes creaminess. From sherry butts comes sweetness, and from virgin charred oak casks, a spicy backbone. Then some of Glenmorangie’s oldest stocks bring balance. Married together with extraordinary skill, they culminate in the single malt’s spiralling explosion of flavours.

For the whisky’s creator, Glenmorangie Signet’s indulgent tastes are the realisation of a singular vision. “Many years ago, after drinking a cup of my favourite Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, I began to imagine how I might evoke its distinctive taste in a whisky,” explains Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s acclaimed Director of Distilling & Whisky Creation. “It would take years of hard work and painstaking attention to detail – but I was determined to bring the idea to life.”

“It is now more than a decade since we first shared Glenmorangie Signet with the world. To this day, it remains one of my proudest creations.

With its sizzling spices, tastes of bitter mocha and mellow butterscotch notes, Glenmorangie Signet is enjoyed worldwide by whisky newcomers and single malt connoisseurs alike.”

It is only right that such an innovative whisky should take its name from Glenmorangie’s icon – the signet. Emblazoned on each bottle, the signet’s intricate patterns echo the beauty of the ancient Cadboll Stone – carved on land close to the Distillery, 1,300 years ago. Like that enigmatic emblem, each dram of Glenmorangie Signet is a glorious celebration of Highland skill and inspiration.

+44 186 289 2477 ► glenmorangie.com Glenmorangie Distillery, Tain, Ross-shire IV19 1PZ

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/ 43 Creators of pioneering whisky since 1843

Glenmorangie

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Walpole British Luxury

Gordon & MacPhail Single malt scotch whisky creators for four generations

Established 1895

/ 95 Below ► The rare and exclusive Private Collection 1968 from Caol Ila Distillery.

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Opposite, below ► Casks of single malts showcasing the depth of the Gordon & MacPhail portfolio.

+44 134 354 5111 ► gordonandmacphail.com 1 George House, Boroughbriggs Road, Elgin, Moray IV30 1JY

Opposite, top ► Stephen Rankin, director of prestige and one of the fourth generation of the Urquhart family, inspecting one of the rare and historic casks in the company’s inventory.

Sector Food & Drink

In 1895, a humble grocery shop opened in the Speyside town of Elgin.

A young John Urquhart joined founders James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail and together they curated groceries from around the world. Their appreciation of the rich tapestry of flavours they encountered led them to seek out and complement their varied stock with spirits from Speyside’s many distilleries, which they matured and blended to create their whisky portfolio.

John Urquhart quickly established himself as a valuable associate in the selection, purchase and maturation of whiskies and, by 1915, he was the sole owner. Over a long career, he developed his skills as a master of malt whisky maturation, which he passed on to his son, George, who also dedicated his life to progressing his knowledge and, in turn, shared his deep passion with subsequent generations of the family.

George Urquhart was described by many as a pioneer. It was George’s vision to mature Scotch whisky for long periods of time and bottle it as single malt during an era when the industry was focused on producing blended whiskies. As a result, Gordon & MacPhail bottles the greatest selection of aged single malts Scotch whiskies in the world today.

Since the business was founded, the Urquharts have continued to build relationships with Scottish distilleries, purchasing new-make spirit and growing their understanding of how the varied styles of spirit mature in different casks.

It is the understanding of this interaction, where oak gently cradles spirit until it is ready to be released, that makes Gordon & MacPhail one of the world’s most respected maturation experts.

Managing a portfolio of casks is complex. The company has honed its expertise over four generations to fully understand how the different styles of spirit mature in each type of oak. Today, Gordon & MacPhail matures and bottles award-winning single malt Scotch whiskies from many of Scotland’s distilleries, including several that would otherwise have been resigned to the history books following closure.

The foresight of previous generations and the patience and skills of the current generation mean Gordon & MacPhail has an unrivalled inventory of aged casks and expressions from which to innovate.

The company is renowned for releasing ultra-rare and ultra-aged single malt Scotch whiskies, unveiling the oldest whisky ever bottled, not once, but twice. 2018 was marked by several exceptionally intriguing releases. The oldest Longmorn single malts, ‘twin’ whiskies from 1961, were selected for bottling by identical twin brothers from the owning family. The company continues to push the boundaries of maturation – under the rebranded ‘Private Collection’ range, it has released the oldest bottlings from both the Caol Ila and Glen Grant distilleries. The 50-year-old and 70-year-old single malts were made available worldwide in December 2018 and January 2019 respectively.

Stephen Rankin, Director of Prestige and fourth generation member of the Urquhart family, said: “Our ’Private Collection’ range allows connoisseurs, enthusiasts, and collectors the opportunity to enjoy some of the oldest and rarest single malts in the world. These extraordinary bottlings epitomise the expertise and commitment four generations of my family have gained over 123 years pairing spirit to cask. Thanks to the foresight of my forefathers, we have one of the most extensive single malt Scotch whisky libraries in the world, one that includes expressions from over 100 Scottish distilleries.”

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Single malt scotch whisky creators for four generations

Gordon & MacPhail

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Walpole British Luxury

Hamptons Wealth Partnership A bespoke property service

Above ► Dimora dei Principi villa, San Gimignano, Toscana, Italy.

Below ► Stanley House, Chelsea.

Established 1890

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Opposite, below ► Abbey House, Gloucestershire.

Sector Property & Estate

The Wealth Partnership from Hamptons International provides a benchmark in property wealth management and international estate agency.

Operating as a specialist private office, it advises, manages and represents the property requirements of ultra-high-net-worth clients in the UK and across the globe.

Combining the highest standards of service, discretion and professionalism, the department is headed by global director Andrew Phillips, whose 30 years’ experience of the prime property market has enabled him to build a team of the most experienced and talented agents. Andrew’s vision for the Hamptons Wealth Partnership is to bring a private and bespoke approach to property-related wealth management.

Acting as a single point of contact for clients’ property needs, Hamptons Wealth Partnership is all-encompassing in its capabilities. As part of Hamptons International – whose pedigree stretches more than 150 years and includes auctioning RMS Lusitania (the Cunard liner launched in 1906) – it provides access to the finest prime central London homes and UK country estates through a network of over 90 branches across the south of the UK. Related services include new homes investment, corporate relocation, property management and finance, as well as access to carefully selected associates and partners.

Additionally, Hamptons International’s network of 7,000 overseas affiliate partner offices provides visibility of over 150,000 international properties; the largest selection of any UK agent. The Wealth Partnership’s global audience is extended further by its association with the International Luxury Alliance in the United States. This global luxury brokerage from Coldwell Banker has a network of over 3,000 independent brands in 43 countries and territories across the world, and the Wealth Partnership is the sole representative in the UK. Taking a long-term approach to property matters: private residence, investment or commercially focused, The Wealth Partnership delivers trusted and sustainable growth strategies to safeguard and enhance clients’ property wealth assets and acquisitions. The department works with only a handful of clients to develop strong relationships that are built to last. It is the personal insights of these relationships that enable the team to create tailored strategies for their clients. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the Wealth Partnership’s trusted advice is as valuable today as it is tomorrow.

Opposite ► Vicarage Gate, Kensington.

+44 207 288 6900 ► wealthpartnership.hamptons.co.uk 180 Oxford Street, London W1D 1NN

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/ 90 A bespoke property service from Hamptons Wealth Partnership

Hamptons Wealth Partnership

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Harrods Redefining luxury Walpole British Luxury

Today, Harrods is a theatrical, magical cornucopia of contemporary ideas, design and production.

Established 1849

/ 49 Opposite ► The iconic view of Harrods from Brompton Road.

Above ► Salon de Parfums.

Below ► The newly opened Fresh Market Hall.

+44 20 3626 7020 ► harrods.com 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL

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Sector Retailers & Etailers

It all started in 1834 with tea and a small grocery shop in Stepney opened by an ambitious young miller from Clacton by the name of Charles Henry Harrod. Britain was already a nation of tea drinkers and it was a time of progress and optimism, with British traders venturing further and further afield. In 1849, two years before The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, Harrod realised that if his store moved from down-at-heel Stepney to up-and-coming Knightsbridge, it could attract adventurous, curious customers – those eager to sample the new and exotic.

Today, Harrods is still there, serving around 200 varieties of tea to thousands of customers. In the Harrods Food Halls, 150 chefs cook and fine-tune their recipes daily having sourced the finest products from across the globe. And last November, in the latest chapter of The Taste Revolution, the new Fresh Market Hall took food shopping to its zenith.

Harrods reflects how retail is changing. It’s no longer about stores where people go to buy something. Today, Harrods is a theatrical, magical cornucopia of contemporary ideas, design and production. There’s a cigar room designed to prevent the smoke from lingering on clothes. There are bespoke perfume laboratories, a hammam and a wellness centre. There are the finest of fine watches and jewellery. There is cutting-edge technology offering a glimpse of the future.

The settings are stylish, but expertise is paramount. Beyond all of the wonderful products, there are wild sensations to experience and unparalleled services on offer – from commissioning a full redesign of your seven-bedroom Caribbean villa to tailoring a bespoke Dior haute-couture gown.

Britain has always been outward looking and, just as Harrod made his fledgling store the focus for people travelling to The Great Exhibition in 1851, Harrods is re-engineering more than half of its space to take centre stage as Britain becomes a platform for the globe’s finest ideas.

Beauty will double in size, sitting across two floors, and will house a broadcast area to reach customers all over the world. The rapidly expanding world of menswear has been aligned in a Superbrands experience, showcasing the most spectacular versions of the world’s most in-demand brands. And to keep pace with the dazzlingly fast, often bamboozling march of technology, there will be a new showroom where enthusiastic staff will demonstrate how the latest innovations can add to our lives.

Harrods will be the barometer that predicts what lies ahead. After all, it was Harrods that installed Britain’s first-ever revolving staircase in 1898 (with Cognac and smelling salts at the ready to calm customers’ nerves).

From air conditioning and electric lighting to progressive architecture and service culture, Harrods has always pioneered the art of the possible. It’s now as much of a stimulating cultural hub as a commercial emporium, and its masters of luxury, experts in the exceptional and creators of magic will continue to be on hand to guide and inspire anyone who enters its doors – both physically and digitally.

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Redefining luxury

Harrods

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Walpole British Luxury

Heathrow VIP Airport luxury redefined

130 / 131 +44 208757 2227 ► heathrowvip.com The Compass Centre, Nelson Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW6 2GW

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Heathrow VIP’s ambition is to provide customers something money truly cannot buy: peace and tranquility among the stress of travel. Our ambition is to provide the perfect journey, changing the perception of Heathrow from one of the busiest airports in the world into a sea of calm.

Customers arrive – in style, of course – in one of its fleet of bespoke BMW 7 series at Heathrow VIP’s own private terminal, totally separate from the main terminals of the airport, minimising travel and check-in time and offering a completely new level of privacy. Heathrow VIP private lounges are for its guests and travelling companions only; no sharing with other travellers.

A dedicated private security area and in-suite immigration and passport control ensures there are no queues at Heathrow VIP. While guests relax in their own private suite, the Heathrow VIP team takes care of everything: unlimited food created just for Heathrow VIP by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, and drinks made to order, all designed for every dietary need. When it is time to depart the private lounge, a chauffeur service is ready to take Heathrow VIP guests to the steps of the plane. For guests arriving at Heathrow, rather than departing, a BMW will collect them from the steps of the plane and take them to the lounge. This private chauffeur is also available for any onward journey in the UK. Additional services include personal shopping and VAT reclaims carried out in-suite at a time to suit guests. Heathrow VIP’s philosophy ensures a private and personal service like no other, offering a truly special transition through Heathrow. Understanding every journey is unique; Heathrow VIP is committed to ensuring that every guest’s journey is truly perfect.

Sector Hospitality & Services

Airport luxury redefined

Heathrow VIP

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Established 1998

/ 98 Guests relax in their own private suite, the Heathrow VIP team takes care of everything.

Hildon Natural mineral water with pure class Walpole British Luxury

Like a fine wine, Hildon’s pure water is heavily influenced by its terroir or the land from which it flows.

Established 1989

/ 89 Above ► A beautiful frosty sunrise on the Hildon Estate. The Hildon offices are respectfully nestled in their green surroundings.

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+44 1794 301 747 ► hildon.com Broughton, Hampshire SO20 8DQ

Below, left ► The beautiful Hildon House basking in its reflected glory.

Sector Food & Drink

A world-famous star in some of the most prestigious gastronomic experiences, Hildon Natural Mineral Water is enjoyed in over forty countries by those who value its healthy qualities and purity of flavour.

Hildon Water is synonymous with chic dining and highest quality entertaining. All those who have heard of Hildon imagine that its worldwide reach is achieved through an extensive multi-million pound network or that it is part of a global corporate collection like so many of its peers. But this could not be further from the truth. The small team that look after every aspect of this quintessentially English brand, operates from a modest building that has been designed to blend in with the Hampshire countryside within which it sits, just metres from the source of the eponymous water.

In fact, visitors would be hard pushed to notice evidence of any commercial activity, despite the state of the art facility. The landscape appears virtually untouched, as deer roam freely, red kite wheel overhead and hares and other wildlife darts around.

After all, a large team is not needed when the most important key to Hildon’s success is to respect and harness Mother Nature’s finest gift; created over decades as rainwater filters through unique soil strata into a hidden aquifer from where the water is drawn, tested and bottled. No additives and no extensive processing.

Hildon likens itself to the Montrachet of bottled waters. Like a fine wine, Hildon’s pure water is heavily influenced by its terroir or the land from which it flows. The chalk hills of the Test Valley provide its fresh clean taste, which is why it is so vital the land is preserved as it always has been.

Conservation is something which is firmly enshrined in the company’s ethos. Whether planting new trees to enhance the natural habitat or investing in low emission vehicles or trying to improve on their 95% recyclable record, everything the company does is with one eye on the environment.

The teams’ almost obsessive guardianship of the land around the source certainly pays dividends. Hildon has the highest classification of Natural Mineral Water. It is consistent and pure; and with a unique mineral and sodium composition, making it the perfectly balanced water to accompany any fine meal or simply to rehydrate.

It is no wonder that Hildon is the water of choice for some of our best British Athletes, top chefs (winning Readers Choice Award for seven consecutive years in a row), fine wine experts and bears the Royal Warrant of Her Majesty The Queen.

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Natural mineral water with pure class

Hildon

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Walpole British Luxury

John Bell & Croyden London’s ultimate health and wellness destination

Established 1798

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+44 20 7935 5555 ► johnbellcroyden.co.uk 50-54 Wigmore St, Marylebone, London W1U 2AU

Pictured ► The Wigmore Street emporium interior, with its impressive pharmacy as well as products and services for health and beauty.

Sector Beauty & Grooming

When it comes to health and wellbeing, John Bell & Croyden is the go-to destination. For more than 220 years, the store has been redefining the modern pharmacy with its first-class services, bringing together unrivalled products and treatments from around the globe under one roof. Its pioneering history transcends the centuries and generations of clients, and today the Marylebone store is treasured by many as one of London’s true retail gems and the destination to discover and rediscover time and time again.

Since opening its doors in 1798, the unique British institution has paved a long-standing, proud heritage at the heart of the health sector, and is a model of pharmacy excellence following a refresh of the store in 2015. Its expertly curated retail offering across health, skincare, beauty and nutrition was brought to the forefront of the store, complete with exquisite marble flooring and rosegold fixtures.

Drawing visitors from across the globe, the store is renowned for its holistic and expert approach to wellbeing, playing home to a never-ending wealth of new and exclusive products and services, available on the doorstep for Londoners and to the nation at the click of a button. An in-depth understanding of its customers’ wants and needs allows the store to constantly edit and curate its ranges to provide a wellness destination like no other.

Last year welcomed the launch of the store’s very own ‘InResidence’ treatment rooms: the first offering bespoke, luxury facials from the most sought-after brands including Dermalogica, SkinCeuticals and Natura Bissé; and the second providing expert nutrition advice for health-conscious clients across medical and non-medical treatments.

More recently, the store has partnered with the Bodydoctor, Belgravia’s esteemed gym known for providing the finest health and fitness programmes, by offering its members access to the InResidence Nutrition clinic and wellbeing services. John Bell & Croyden’s in-store nutritionist is also on hand every Monday to provide members with nutritional advice tailored to their needs.

Using DocTap, clients can also access a convenient and private GP service with appointments available seven days a week.

The growing number of in-store services also includes a variety of clinics offering comprehensive travel health, osteopathy, trichology, chiropody and podiatry, and dental hygiene. Appointments with one of the trusted team of independent living consultants are also readily available.

Whether stocking up on essentials, in search of the must-have beauty buys or seeking advice from a healthcare practitioner, the expert team at John Bell & Croyden is dedicated to providing the very best for its customers.

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London’s ultimate health and wellness destination

John Bell & Croyden

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Walpole British Luxury

Johnstons of Elgin Luxuriously effortless

Above, from the top ► Scallop detail embroidered cashmere stole.

Black and white tweed check merino scarf with all round fringes.

Bee logo merino/cashmere blanket stitched stole.

Below, from left to right ► Wool blue check opera coat and navy cashmere joggers.

Lambswool check sartorial chesterfield top coat. Aran cable and rib roll neck cashmere sweater in rust.

Olive cashmere column coat with belt. Buttermilk tie neck cashmere/silk blouse.

Mid grey jogger trousers.

Cruise tissue cashmere print scarf.

Charcoal handmade double face cashmere coat cashmere sports sweater and sports jogger with strapping detail. tri-colour vertical stripe scarf.

Established 1797

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Opposite ► Merino wool jumpsuit in slate. Green horizontal cashmere stripe stole.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

The Johnstons of Elgin story, spanning seven continents and three centuries, knits together authenticity, expertise and quality. Originating in the heart of Scotland at the height of the industrial revolution, this is a story of industrial luxe.

Defining higher levels of comfort and style through craft and technology, the mills in Elgin and Hawick employ over 1,000 people, including highly skilled textile craftsmen and women, who create the finest woollens and cashmere knitwear, from raw fibre to finished product.

Following on from the well-received Spring Summer 2019 collection global launch at London Fashion Week 2018, Johnstons of Elgin opened a flagship store on Edinburgh’s prestige shopping street, Multrees Walk, in 2019. The new space, over two floors, houses womenswear, menswear and homeware.

The store is the brand’s flagship in Scotland, joining a family of Johnstons of Elgin stores in Elgin, Hawick, St. Andrew’s and London’s flagship on New Bond Street. The brand continues to expand across the UK, with a presence in Harrods and, internationally, in KaDeWe, Berlin and Joyce, Hong Kong.

The Autumn Winter 2019 collection is inspired by the golden age of Empire and travel – the 1920s and 30s – when one of the company’s founding owners, Edward “Eddie” Harrison, made the travel rug the must-have accessory for the everyday adventurer. The Johnstons of Elgin story is woven into this collection, exploring postcards and textiles from distant destinations; sources of rare fibre and inspiration from the edge of the old Empire.

It’s a timelessly modern collection referencing artisan techniques to showcase style, decadence and sophistication. Where classicism and modernism live together, giving a new life to historic concepts and designs.

+44 134 355 4000 ► johnstonsofelgin.com Newmill, Elgin, Moray IV30 4AF Scotland

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/ 97 Luxuriously effortless

Johnstons of Elgin

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Below, left ► An advanced fitting of a man’s bespoke jacket.

Below, centre ► Cutting the cloth.

Below, right ► Kathryn at her cutting board.

Established 2012

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Above ► The atelier located at 6 Brook Street.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

Kathryn was a rising star during her 15-year career at Gieves & Hawkes of No. 1 Savile Row, where she rose to the position of Head Cutter, the first woman to do so in the entire history of Savile Row. Kathryn founded her own tailoring house in 2012; the atelier is located at 6 Brook Street in London’s prestigious Mayfair. To worldwide acclaim, in 2016, Kathryn achieved another first by becoming the first female master tailor on Savile Row with a year-long seasonal store.

At Kathryn Sargent Bespoke Tailoring, the focus is on traditional Savile Row craftsmanship and luxury customer service for both men and women.

Each garment created is a collaboration between the client and Kathryn, ensuring a unique, beautifully tailored result that expresses the individual’s style.

Time-honoured Savile Row technical and creative skills are practised at the atelier. A paper pattern is drafted for each client’s bespoke order and every garment is created by hand to the highest quality, by coat-makers, trouser-makers and finishers with more than 50 hours of hand work in each commission. As master tailor, Kathryn oversees the cutting and production process to ensure quality and perfection in every piece.

The bespoke journey starts, naturally, with the client. Individual tastes and requirements are discussed and elaborated on during the initial consultation. Experts in creating tailor-made garments for all occasions, professions and lifestyles, Kathryn and her team offer an extensive array of fabric choices, from unique Scottish tweeds to wonderful woollen suitings.

A series of three to four fittings are carried out during the creative process.

The outcome of bespoke is that every garment enhances the client’s best features, captures their personality and fits perfectly.

In 2016 Kathryn Sargent introduced Crafted, a high-quality tailoring service at a relatively faster pace. A contemporary synthesis of style and efficiency, Crafted delivers exemplary made-to-measure tailoring enhanced with the usual high-quality craftsmanship paired with a rigorous attention to every detail.

+44 207 4932450 ► kathrynsargent.com 1st Floor, 6 Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1S 1BB

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/ 12 A modern tailoring house with traditional Savile Row values at its core

Kathryn Sargent

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Walpole British Luxury

The Lakes Distillery The Lakes Distillery is a luxury whiskymaker with an artistic ethos

Established 2011

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“The nature of our art is whisky, the inspiration of our art is nature.”

Below ► The Lakes Quatrefoil Collection, a series of four yearly releases inspired by the iconic landscape which surrounds the distillery

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Opposite ► Dhwall Gandhi, Whiskeymaker

Sector Food & Drink

The Lake District has long been a crucible for creativity, a place in which the imagination can flourish, and it’s no different for Dhavall Gandhi. The Lakes Distillery’s whiskymaker takes his inspiration from the UNESCO World Heritage Site where a state-of-the-art distillery has been built meticulously within a 160-year-old farmstead on the banks of the River Derwent.

Whiskymaking in its highest form is a dance between science and art, control and creativity. It necessitates being sensitive to how the climate affects the conversation between oak and air and spirit, and flowing new ideas around this frame. Dhavall works across what seem to be two very different disciplines, that of the artist, and the man of science.

The Lakes practices holistic whiskymaking, with the whiskymaker at the helm throughout the journey through the distillery. His single-minded focus at every stage provides continuity of character; our assurance that every flavour possibility is achieved.

Under Dhavall’s guidance, the Lake’s fermentation process is pushed up to 96 hours, twice the industry average, to create the desired complexity and depth of flavour. Distillation is also slow and long; the more contact the alcohol vapour has with the copper still, the more fruity and vibrant the resulting spirit will be.

As with his unique spirit creation, Dhavall’s expertise in sherry casks has shaped whiskymaking at the Lakes, where, contrary to most contemporary distilleries’ use of ex-bourbon casks, 80-90% of the spirit is filled into different types of ex-sherry cask. Made from American, Spanish or French oak, in different sizes, the casks are seasoned with Oloroso as well as Pedro Ximenez, Cream and Fino. This sets the Lakes apart.

Dhavall knows each cask intimately; how the flavours are evolving and then how they can be blended with others to complement, enhance, deepen, broaden or contrast. They nudge against each other, some excited, some sulky, some diffident, the heavy and the light. It takes time, so the final hand-selected casks are allowed to marry together for up to a year before bottling, significantly longer than any other whisky. This creates depth, roundness and harmony, the final touch which makes it The Lakes whisky.

+44 1768 788 850 ► lakesdistillery.com Setmurthy, Cockermouth CA13 9SJ

The Lakes Distillery is a luxury whiskymaker with an artistic ethos

The Lakes Distillery

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Below, right ► La Cuvée Rosé, created in 1968

Established 1812

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Above ► The Laurent-Perrier estate in the heart of Champagne in Tours-sur-Marne

Sector Food & Drink

Founded in 1812, the House of Champagne Laurent-Perrier is the largest family-owned, independent Champagne House. Based in the heart of Champagne, in Tours-sur-Marne, it has achieved lasting success from a deliberate policy of blending innovation with traditional values: a passion for quality and constantly evolving excellence, a respect for nature and wines, as well as strong, lasting relationships among the people who drive the company – both inside and outside the House.

Laurent-Perrier’s wines are unique not only because of the philosophy that has inspired them, but also for their style, flavour and consistent quality, from one cuvée to the next. Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé, launched in 1968, has become the benchmark in the non-vintage rosé category, while its Ultra Brut makes the most of all the house’s expertise as the first to create a grand vin with no added sugar. Laurent-Perrier has also been a pioneer in the use of stainless steel for a truly unadulterated flavour, and one of the leading advocates of a blending approach over pure vintages. The result is a range of vins de plaisir, diversified wines to be enjoyed at every occasion, each connected by the lightness, freshness and elegance that distinguishes Laurent-Perrier.

The success of the House must also be attributed to the energy of the Nonancourt family, headed by Bernard de Nonancourt. Working in a very demanding business environment, Bernard successfully avoided many pitfalls and managed to preserve the independence of his champagne house and its related values, while constantly seeking out new improvements and innovations. These same principles guide the current management team headed by his two daughters, Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt and Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt.

+33 326 589 122 ► laurent-perrier.com Domaine Laurent-Perrier, 51150 Tours-Sur-Marne, France

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/ 12 The House of Champagne

Laurent-Perrier

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Walpole British Luxury

Leica lets you experience photography in its purest form.

Leica Passion and perfection for creating unique images

Established 1914

/14 Passion and perfection for creating unique images

Leica Gallery London The tradition of the Leica Galleries goes back to the 1970s, and today, they are found in many parts of the world, from São Paulo to Tokyo. In aim to instigate a diverse and powerful programme to support London’s vast interest in photography, Leica’s latest gallery opens on Duke Street, Mayfair in February 2019. The gallery will be a destination space for photography connoisseurs, enthusiasts and collectors providing both visual and educational stimulation. The gallery will exhibit known photographic greats alongside fresh contemporary talents who are still developing in the art world.

Above ► Care, precision and attention to detail form elements of the Leica ethos.

Below ► The Leica M10 black compact digital view and range finder system camera.

+44 207 629 1351 ► leicastore-uk.co.uk 64-66 Duke Street, London W1K 6JD

Leica Akademie Be a part of the Leica culture – the mission of the Leica Akademie is to increase the joys of photography, share knowledge and bring a complete Leica experience to a new generation of photographers. Akademie helps improve photo skills and expertise. Leica offers bespoke tuition, workshops on several genres of photography as well as masterclasses with some of the world’s most renowned photographers. Leica Akademie is just one of the many ways Leica engages with its community.

©Greg Williams

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The Cameras From the renowned Leica M-System to the moment capturing instant Leica Sofort camera, Leica lets you experience photography in its purest form. Professional photographers covet the Leica Q camera, the brand’s first compact camera with a full-frame sensor and extremely fast lens. Thanks to unparalleled aperture, shutter-speed, and focus, Leica cameras are incredible for all genres of photography, capturing the world in motion like no other device.

Opposite ► Leica Ambassador, Greg Williams shooting Margot Robbie on the Leica SL.

Leica

The Heritage Leica made photography a part of everyday life when they introduced the first 35mm camera, engineered by Oskar Barnack. Barnack revolutionised the way cameras are today. The inventor and photographer intended to create a compact camera and move away from the large box camera on a tripod which required photographers to put a dark cloth over their head. The Leica was the first practical 35mm camera that used standard 35mm film, with the first consumer version being released at the Leipzig Fair in 1925. In the mid-to-late 20th century, the Leica was used by photography greats such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, and Sebastião Salgado, as well as wartime photojournalists such as Larry Burrows and Alfred Eisenstaedt.

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History can be written – or photographed. For more than 100 years now, famous photographers from around the world have been capturing once-in-a-lifetime moments with their Leica camera. Moments that remain unforgettable.

Leica is German engineering at its best, and the Leica ideal is an integral part of the culture of seeing. Leica has a long history of focusing on perception and has developed innovative instruments that offer a unique experience. The result is a renowned series of cameras and lenses, and a superb range of sport optics. These products expand the natural limits of perception and open up new dimensions for human vision and insight. Leica quality is in a class by itself – both in analogue and digital modes. Top-quality systems with intuitive controls provide the best picture results and offer unparalleled creative freedom. In this way, Leica helps transform vision into personal creative fulfilment.

Sector Technology

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Walpole British Luxury

Maison de Fleurs Leading international florist

Established 2011

/ 11 Flowers for brands Flowers can represent and enhance your brand in any setting whether that’s inside a store or office, at external events or in the form of personal gifts.

The team can create bold and beautiful designs to grab people’s attention, or subtle installations to frame a product. Having worked alongside some of the best-known companies and inside many of the world’s most sought-after venues, Maison de Fleurs understands that the right corporate flowers help your brand to stand out from the crowd.

Bouquets Maison de Fleurs always has its eyes on the latest trends. So, it’s no surprise that the latest Couture Collection takes its inspiration from some of the grandest fashion houses. Picked by our style-savvy florists who know floral trends like no-one else, our luxury flower bouquets feature fine flowers from all around the world.

Below, left ► Private party at Spring restaurant, Somerset House, 2018.

Below, right ► Il Bottaccio’s pink and blue party, 2013.

+44 207 720 3777 ► maisondefleurs.co.uk 80-81 Queenstown Road, London SW11 8NE

Party designs Private parties are important to you so they’re important to Maison de Fleurs. From baby showers to birthday parties and anniversaries, it’s a privilege to be asked to help mark such special occasions. The team knows that stunning flowers can transform your event into a spectacular celebration, and they love a challenge. Whatever ideas you are dreaming of, they can create mesmerising designs to bring them to life.

Above, right ► Maison de Fleurs at Chelsea in Bloom, 2018.

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Weddings There’s no better feeling than helping a bride and groom enjoy their perfect day. Maison de Fleurs mission is to enhance the joy and happiness of every wedding it helps to design. The company provides flowers for a range of wedding-day needs, from bridal bouquets to buttonholes, table decorations to installations in the church, and prides itself on making sure every last detail is perfect.

Opposite & above, left ► Lydia Millen’s wedding in December 2017 at Aynhoe Park.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

Maison de Fleurs is excited to bring something new and inspiring to every design. The company relishes a challenge, never compromises and always offers solutions that fit the brief. It is able to tailor its creative processes to meet any requirement. Each member of its team of design specialists has their own unique skills, characteristic style and personality.

It’s the combination of these individuals and their unwavering love of flowers that makes the Maison de Fleurs team so special.

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Leading international florist

Maison de Fleurs

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Malle London Makers of luggage, apparel and adventure accessories Walpole British Luxury

British waxed canvas and leather have been used in travel pieces for centuries.

Malle strives to find new applications for these noble materials.

Established 2012 148 / 149

/ 12 Below, left ► The John hybrid backpack, handcrafted in full leather, converts into a shoulder bag.

Below, right ► The Bonnie backpack, Malle’s first backpack designed for women.

+44 7729 107 691 ► mallelondon.com Netil House, 1 Westgate Street, London E8 3RL

Above ► During stage two of The Great Malle Rally, teams rode the Applecross Pass in Scotland with the Isle of Skye in the distance

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On the edge of known territory and getting lost – that’s where the fun is, that’s the adventure. Whether you’re crossing a city or a continent, being prepared to get lost is the guiding principle of Malle, established in London in 2012 by British designers Robert Nightingale and Jonathan Cazzola.

Fusing considered, thoughtful design with British utilitarian style, Malle raises the bar in luggage, outerwear and adventure accessories. All Malle pieces are guaranteed for life, designed to age well and built to last.

Travel needs are always evolving. The physical and digital tools we carry often change. Transport methods and the requirements of the adventures we embark on continuously create new demands. Malle continues to evolve the key designs in its permanent collection while carefully developing new designs.

Each Malle product is a result of the removal of unnecessary detail, creating a pure, refined and utilitarian piece. Every design is extensively field tested in some of the most extreme landscapes and weather conditions. Each piece is handcrafted in the Malle workshop from the finest British materials, including British waxed canvas, organic cotton, bridle leather and solid welded brass hardware.

British waxed canvas and leather have been used in travel pieces for centuries. Malle strives to find new applications for these noble materials, to be used in smart and intuitive ways, combining them with new and advanced materials such as shock-absorbent armour, waterproof membranes and reinforced padding for comfort and support.

Since each piece is made for life, and as part of its sustainability mission, Malle proudly offers care advice and repair support, if needed, to ensure each product continues to go the distance – and back again.

Malle’s signature waxed canvas is made in Scotland, by the oldest waxed canvas producer in the world. It was established in 1864 and produces the highest-quality waxed canvas that was originally developed for the sails of tall ships in the 15th century. The company is very proud of this provenance in travel and transport, built into the very heart of their fabrics and the subsequent Malle DNA. Each year Malle hosts The Malle Mile, the most inappropriate motorcycle race in London, as well as The Great Malle Rally, the longest motorcycle rally in the UK. The latter takes riders through 1,250 miles of the wildest and most beautiful landscapes in mainland Britain, from the southern tip of England to the northern tip of Scotland.

Above, left ► The Lost Collection, with the guiding design principle of being ‘Prepared To Get Lost’.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

Makers of luggage, apparel and adventure accessories

Malle London

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Molton Brown Creators of sensorial self-expression Walpole British Luxury

We create fragrances by enabling our visionary perfumers to express their own creative impulses to compose the vibrant, imaginative and unexpected.

Mark Johnson President, Molton Brown

Established 1971

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Sector Beauty & Grooming

In 1971, Caroline Burstein and Michael Collis founded Molton Brown on London’s fashionable South Molton Street and immediately attracted a diverse following of international glitterati, city tycoons and colourful characters from the New Romantic underground music scene. Ever since, London’s daring attitude has rubbed off on the brand to give it a distinctive edge.

Over the decades, Molton Brown has built up a reputation as London’s fragrance experts, known for the products’ bright colours and bold scents.

Its eaux de toilette, bath and body, hair and home collections blend the finest ingredients sourced from around the world with a dash of London eccentricity.

Proud of its Mayfair roots, it is also honoured to hold a Royal Warrant for the supply of toiletries to HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Molton Brown has always been about the sensorial rather than the functional, from composing fragrances to its beautiful, tactile packaging.

From the start, the founding family rejected chemical-based formulas in favour of natural organic bases with botanicals. Way ahead of their time, Caroline and Michael made the first Molton Brown products by hand, using the best ingredients and developing them with an in-house trichologist in the basement of their exclusive South Molton Street salon.

“We have the Made in England stamp, an undeniable indicator of quality that we never compromise on,” says president, Mark Johnson. “From our first countryside workshop at Motts Hall to our present factory in Essex, we have grown by using the best makers, ingredients and materials. For us, being British is about being bold, with an individual attitude that beats from our brand’s heart.

We create fragrances by enabling our visionary perfumers to express their own creative impulses to compose the vibrant, imaginative and unexpected.”

Molton Brown has forged longstanding relationships with some of its master perfumers, most notably Jacques Chabert, who has worked with the brand for 24 years and created more fragrances for it than any other. The award-winning Re-charge Black Pepper is his most popular example and one of the brand’s most iconic collections. Now Jacques’ daughters, Carla and Elsa, also work in partnership with Molton Brown.

True to its progressive beginnings, the brand continues to challenge the norm, creating extraordinary sensorial experiences for independent individuals who wish to express themselves and make a statement. Its customers are, unconventional, open-minded, forward-thinking early adopters, and Molton Brown continues to explore new ways to delight and surprise them. This mindset extends beyond the products to in-store services such as bespoke gifting, personalised fragrance consultations and inspirational events.

+44 8081 781188 ► moltonbrown.co.uk 227 Regent Street London W1B 2EF

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/ 71 Creators of sensorial self-expression

Molton Brown

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Below, left ► Noble Isle’s Britain in a Bottle logo, representative of our British extracts and fine fragrance combining to create the ultimate scents of the isle.

Below, right ► Noble Isle’s Tea Rose Hand Lotion among roses.

Established 2012

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Above ► A Noble collection: Willow Song Bath & Shower Gel, Rhubarb Rhubarb! Hand Wash, Tea Rose Hand Wash, Golden Harvest Hand Wash and Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel.

Sector Beauty & Grooming

Noble Isle was the first recorded term used for Great Britain in the fifteenth century. “This Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee”, declared James III of Scots while negotiating the marriage of his son to Cecily of England in 1474.

The creators of Noble Isle have travelled the length and breadth of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to source authentic, quintessentially British ingredients that celebrate the rich cultural history and deliver products worthy of the Noble Isle crest: The Coat of Balms. Noble Isle’s sumptuous lotions and washes feature extracts sourced from some of the most celebrated producers, including rhubarb from England, sea oak from Ireland, beetroot from Wales and barley from Scotland.

Noble Isle has 10 fine fragrance collections which span a range of bath and body and home fragrance products. As specialists in luxury packaging, they pride themselves on their unique range of fragrant gift sets which are available all year round with bespoke gifts available upon request.

The latest fragrance to join the Noble Isle collection is Tea Rose from Chelsea Green, London. The range is inspired by the long-standing English ritual of afternoon tea in the grand London Art Deco hotels. Tea Rose is created with soothing black tea leaves and delicately blended with sustainably grown Pure Poetry English roses grown by Rosebie Morton from The Real Flower Company.

The Real Flower Company, a fellow Walpole member, is based on a family farm nestled within the rolling green hills of Hampshire with their floral boutique on Chelsea Green, London.

Noble Isle launched in 2012 and can be found in exceptional retailers and hotels across the British Isles. Each Noble Isle product is ethically sourced, cruelty free, free from parabens and environmentally friendly.

+44 800 157 7838 ► nobleisle.com Liberty, Regent Srteet, London W1B 5AH

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/ 12 Britain in a bottle

Noble Isle

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Northacre Experience the exceptional Walpole British Luxury

A champion of craftsmanship, Northacre properties are synonymous with visionary design, an uncompromising commitment to generous living space and a meticulous attention to detail.

Established 1991

91

+44 207 349 8000 ► northacre.com 8 Albion Riverside, 8 Hester Road, London SW11 4AX

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Sector Property & Estate

Northacre

Northacre has always done things differently. Undoubtedly London’s premier property developer and development manager, Northacre is a thought-leader in the industry, forging the way on topics such as the future of urban development and revival contemporary living. With its original vision underpinned by three decades of tried and tested capability, Northacre is the name behind some of London’s most significant residential addresses including The Lancasters, The Bromptons, The Phillimores and King’s Chelsea.

Founded by an architect, Northacre properties are design-led with a sense of community and lifestyle at their heart. The choice of locations, combined with a unique understanding of how clients want to live, ensure timelessly elegant homes that cater to a variety of lifestyles. As such, its developments have breathed new life into overlooked corners of Prime Central London, over time becoming legacy properties that serve generations to come. Every Northacre property tells a story, a uniqueness that is woven into the fabric of the building, inspired by its special location, past and vision for the future.

A champion of craftsmanship, Northacre properties are synonymous with visionary design, an uncompromising commitment to generous living space and a meticulous attention to detail. Northacre properties are akin with a lifestyle that offers the best of all worlds: a strong sense of heritage alongside state-of-the art contemporary living; rich cultural associations; and next-generation innovation.

Northacre is currently developing two of Prime Central London’s most prestigious schemes. The Broadway, in the heart of SW1 will see nearly two acres of prime Westminster reinvigorated to deliver exceptional homes with panoramic views of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and St James’s Park. Comprising six architecturally striking towers, along with next-generation commercial and retail space, plus a new landscaped public piazza, The Broadway is set to become a destination for Londoners and visitors alike.

Grade-II listed, No.1 Palace Street is neighbour to HM Queen Elizabeth II and on completion in 2020, will be the only private residence to offer direct views across the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Formerly a landmark Victorian hotel,‘The Palace Hotel’ hosted distinguished guests of Queen Victoria. Encompassing five architectural styles, from French Renaissance to Contemporary, No.1 Palace Street will house 72 elegant apartments, 10,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art facilities and entertaining space, set around a secluded, private courtyard. The substantial island site will set a new standard in luxury living, located in St. James’s Park, near London’s most famous parks and attractions.

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► Northacre: Experience the exceptional

Walpole British Luxury

Penthaligon’s Entertaining English nostrils since 1870

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Established 1870

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Heritage is at the very heart of everything Penhaligon’s does, creating ingenious fragrances that tell a story

+44 800 716 108 ► penhaligons.com 125 Regent Street, London W1B 4HT

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This is the story of a Cornish Barber who travelled to London and opened up shop next to London’s finest tailors, on 33 Jermyn Street to be precise.

William Penhaligon arrived in the vibrant capital city in the 1860s to seek his fortune and so began what would become an illustrious career, establishing iconic British fragrance house Penhaligon’s London in 1870. Wildly creative and ambitious, William was inspired by the scent of the neighbouring Turkish Baths on Jermyn Street, creating his first fragrance, Hammam Bouquet, in 1872.

Adored and adorned by many during the time, this fragrance still lives on today.

William Penhaligon built a reputation for his unique approach to fine perfumery, combining imagination with inspiration taken from the world around him and using quality ingredients and innovative formulations. Recognition from the most discerning clientele followed. William became the perfumer to royalty throughout Europe, including Queen Alexandra who issued Penhaligon’s first Royal Warrant in 1903.

Penhaligon’s passion for quality, avant-garde preparations and elegance was recognised further in 1958 by the award of another Royal Warrant from HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and a third in 1988 from HRH the Prince of Wales. These treasured accolades are still proudly held by the business today.

Heritage is at the very heart of everything Penhaligon’s do, creating ingenious fragrances that tell a story, taking inspiration from the unexpected, as well as their precious archives.

From the original Hammam Bouquet, to the latest creations, such as the esteemed Portraits collection, eccentricity with a twist is at the core of the history of the house. Each and every fragrance explores facets of high perfumery, challenging the traditions of the art and seeking new ways to interpret elegance.

For something a little more traditional, one might enjoy perusing Penhaligon’s Signature or Heritage collections. If, for example, one wishes to be transported to distant lands, then it may be the Trade Routes collection that takes your fancy – with its opulent and voluptuous essences inspired by the array of exotic curiosities that arrived into the London docks at the end of the 19th century. Truly English, Penhaligon’s is passionate about ingredients and still manufactures its scents in England using the finest rare ingredients.

True to William’s founding principles, Penhaligon’s continue to create stories and products to the highest quality, imbued with the elegance of their heritage.

Sector Beauty & Grooming

Entertaining English nostrils since 1870

Penhaligon’s

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Opposite ► Elisabethan Rose Eau de Parfum.

Established 2011

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Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftmanship

After a chance encounter with a candle maker on a Barbados beach in 1994, Rachel Vosper was soon working with them in their studio. She fell in love with the whole process at first pour, eventually buying the company, and in 2011, opened her flagship store in Belgravia, selling beautifully scented candles to a mix of clients.

Now with 25 years’ experience in the industry, Rachel Vosper is one of the leading British candle chandlers and home fragrance experts. Using only the finest European sourced ingredients, Rachel employs traditional methods in her boutique to ensure the longevity of fragrances and an optimum burn.

On sale at the boutique is a unique collection of candles and reed diffusers, exquisitely contained in coloured glass vessels, ceramics or 19th century cut crystal. The fragrance library is updated seasonally, and includes limited editions and new signatures, the latest of which is ‘Scent 77’, which is inspired by crackling winter fires and blends spicy orange and rosewood with smoky musk and warming ginger, lifted with a hint of eucalyptus. One of Rachel’s most unique features is her refill service, which allows customers to bring back used votives or provide their own vessels to be made into candles.

Her highly tailored approach has also been championed by leading British brands, including Virgin Atlantic, who asked Rachel to design a scent to enhance the passenger experience, from check-in through to boarding. Another innovative collaboration is with The Royal Opera House, with the creation of a limited-edition collection of candles to coincide with their new production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

As demand for bespoke scents increases, Rachel creates personalised gifts and fragrances for clients including Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, The Berkeley Hotel and Echlin. This year, Rachel is collaborating with a leading international hotel group to create an exclusive range of candles for their private members clubs and hotels worldwide.

+44 207 235 9666 ► rachelvosper.com 69 Kinnerton Street, London SW1X8ED

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/ 11 Handmade, individual and with a personal touch

Rachel Vosper

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Walpole British Luxury

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Cullinan, a diamond in the rough

Established 1904

/ 04 Below ► Cullinan – Effortless, Everywhere.

+44 1234 525700 ► rolls-roycemotorcars.com The Drive, Westhampnett, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0SH

Below, left ► Cullinan’s Viewing Suite – The best seat in the house.

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Opposite ► Rolls-Royce luxury, off-road.

Sector Automotive, Aviation & Yachting

As one of the world’s most celebrated houses of luxury, Rolls-Royce is a pentagon of boundless possibilities and endless creativity. Each commission involves a process akin to creating a work of art whereby an idea can be materialised into a masterful reality. At the centre of fulfilling a patron’s vision resides a collective of highly talented designers, engineers and artisans who combine the finest materials with the latest technology in an infusion that confers Rolls-Royce its overwhelming aesthetic power.

The boundless imagination enjoyed at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, has secured the position of the marque at the pinnacle of the luxury world. Patrons’ exclusive and multifaceted lifestyles continuously demand a motor car that adapts perfectly without compromising the comfort and luxury characteristic of the brand. Tried and tested on the sand dunes of a Middle Eastern desert as well as on frozen glaciers, Cullinan is truly the Rolls-Royce of SUVs. “Rolls-Royce customers expect to go everywhere in luxury, effortlessly and without compromise, conquering the most challenging terrain to enjoy life’s most enriching experiences, wherever they may be. For this reason, they require a Rolls-Royce that offers uncompromised luxury wherever they dare to venture. Cullinan is that car. It is effortless, everywhere,” says Torsten Müller Ötvös, chief executive of Rolls-Royce.

Named after the largest rough diamond ever discovered, which now resides in the British crown jewels, Cullinan gains an iconic status as true luxury, performance and usability blend together in a formula previously not found in the SUV sector. The Rolls-Royce collective has configured the architecture of luxury for this high-bodied car, shaping an all-new aluminium platform that ensures Rolls-Royce ride comfort and impeccable execution both on and off road. The three-box design finishes in a tailgate, known as ‘the clasp’, which separates one’s luggage from the passenger area. Behind it, the rear compartment can host a recreation module, a motorised chamber specifically designed to accommodate patrons’ passions and interests.

Alternatively, one may opt for the viewing suite, which opens to reveal two leather, rear-facing seats with a cocktail table, where Cullinan’s occupants can enjoy the breathtaking surroundings of their endeavours, arguably the best seat in the house.

The symbiosis between new technologies and the finest materials is what offers each Rolls-Royce its unique edge and ultimate quality. For instance, the improved drivetrain and the latest generation of self-levelling air suspension take Cullinan passengers on the celebrated Rolls-Royce ‘magic carpet ride’. Indeed, driving hard on rapidly changing terrain has never been this smooth and silent. The car’s striking feature is operated by a single off-road button, known as the ‘everywhere’ button. One push is all it takes to harness the aforementioned peerless Rolls-Royce engineering and unleash Cullinan’s off-road capability.

The decision of Rolls-Royce to venture into the SUV market reflects the marque’s malleability when it comes to fulfilling customers’ wishes. As such, Cullinan is an enabler, opening pathways beyond the confines of any road and thus it allows patrons to enjoy uncompromised Rolls-Royce luxury and style, anywhere in the world. Luxury travel is now effortless, everywhere.

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Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a diamond in the rough

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

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The Royal Mint Treasure for Life® Walpole British Luxury

The Royal Mint has an unbroken history of minting British coinage dating back more than 1,100 years

Established 886

/ 86 Above, right ► The Royal Mint’s exclusive Tower hallmark is a unique guarantee of quality and fineness.

Below, left ► The Royal Mint’s silver gift range is made in Britain and handcrafted in highly polished sterling silver.

Below ► The sterling silver bookmark bears the symbol of fine quality with its large designfeature hallmark.

+44 144 322 2111 ► royalmint.com Llantrisant, Pontyclun CF72 8YT

Above, left ► Sterling silver cufflinks bearing a prominent feature hallmark.

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Opposite ► The Sovereign, a constant through change, featured in a sterling silver money clip.

Sector Jewellery, Watches & Precious Metals

The Royal Mint has been crafting precious metals since Alfred the Great ruled Wessex in the ninth century. It has drawn on its rich heritage to create unique, high-quality gifts that mark the precious moments in life. Its prestigious collection of gifts is crafted with care and centuries of expertise that underpins The Royal Mint. Inspired by precious metals, coin design and more than 1,100 years of British craftsmanship and heritage, the gift collection is the height of opulence.

Within the gifting range, silver items feature The Royal Mint’s exclusive Tower hallmark, a unique guarantee of quality and fineness that ensures each gift meets The Royal Mint’s standard of craftsmanship. From sterling silver cufflinks to bookmarks and pens, our collection of silver gifts are a lasting expression of affection and friendship that can be treasured for life.

Inspired by some of The Royal Mint’s most iconic coin designs, Jody Clark’s Britannia design and the monogram penny of Alfred the Great, our range of finest 100 per cent silk scarves are designed, printed and hand rolled in Britain. Leather goods with lining fabrics featuring Britannia and Saint George and the dragon designs are also beautifully crafted. These include purses, wallets, card holders and passport covers, with seasonal changes in designs and colours.

The Royal Mint has an unbroken history of minting British coinage dating back more than 1,100 years. Based in the Tower of London for over 500 years, by 1812 The Royal Mint had moved out of the Tower to premises on London’s Tower Hill. In 1967 the building of a new Royal Mint began on its current site in South Wales to accommodate the minting of UK decimal coinage. Today, The Royal Mint is the world’s leading export mint, supplying the national banks of more than 40 countries. While tradition remains at the heart of the production process, innovation is relentless. New technology and diversification helps to position the business to meet future challenges.

The Royal Mint brand has diversified into a number of complementary businesses, building on the values that have been at the heart of the organisation throughout its history: authenticity, security, precious metals, craftsmanship and design. Launched in 2018, The Royal Mint Gifts is just one of the ways The Royal Mint is modernising and adapting to suit its customers, without compromising on the quality.

Each year The Royal Mint produces new commemorative and bullion collections. These include its annual flagship releases, The Sovereign and Britannia, icons of British minting excellence. Tangible investments or luxury collectables, the commemorative and bullion coins recount the stories and themes of British history in a unique and fascinating way, exquisitely etched on a backdrop of gold or silver.

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Treasure for Life®

The Royal Mint

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Walpole British Luxury

Savoir Extraordinary Beds

Established 1905 164 / 165

/ 05 Below, left ► Savoir No.1 Sate Bed. Below ► Kiku, a collaborative design with Fromental.

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Above, right ► Time-honoured technique of slipping

+44 207 493 4444 ► savoirbeds.com 7 Wigmore St, Marylebone, London W1U 1AD

Above, left ► No machines, only skilled craftsmen.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

Good sleep is fundamental to our health and wellbeing. The foundation of a good night’s sleep is a comfortable bed. Savoir resists the myriad of challenges to quality sleep with beds made to an extraordinary standard of luxury. Using traditional handcrafted techniques and completely natural materials, these are beds that stand the test of time. Savoir make less than 1,000 beds a year because it’s focused on making the best, not the most.

The Savoir Bedworks in West London and Wales are the antithesis of a production line. No hulking machines, just craftsmen hand-making a bespoke bed from inception to completion. It takes three years for Savoir apprentices to learn their craft and a lifetime to perfect it. Skilled craftsmen work intently at individual oak trestles with the sound of tapping of tacks, material in motion and calm conversation between colleagues.

In 1905, impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte unveiled the Savoy Hotel, introducing anew standard of luxury and innovation. Guests marvelled at en suite bathrooms with hot and cold running water, electric lighting and ‘ascending rooms’ (we now call them lifts). With no existing bed meeting these standards of pioneering luxury, D’Oyly Carte set about creating one. The result is still made today, the Savoir No.2 and the spirit of its creation governs Savoir’s approach to every bed they create.

Savoir’s mission is to provide every customer with the most comfortable and stylish bed imaginable. The solution will be unique as they are – from optimised support through to the placement of the pocket springs with a virtually unlimited choice of contemporary fabrics.

Dimensions, materials and fabrics can all be personalised to create a unique piece of furniture. Through the nature of bespoke craft, anything is imaginable. Beds for superyachts; fantastic headboards inspired by architecture; bespoke prints – the possibilities are endless.

Savoir’s 14 global showrooms, from London to New York and Paris to Shanghai,welcome you step out of time, slow down and explore a range of luxury which begins with extraordinary and extends to the best bed in the world.

© The National Gallery, London

Savoir

► Extraordinary beds

Opposite ► Savoir Felix Bed with ‘A Shipping Scene with a Dutch Yacht firing a Salute’ (detail), 1650.

Jan van de Cappelle, 1626–1679.

Walpole British Luxury

St Edward Creating communities for everyone

Established 2008 166 / 167

/ 08 Above ► Royal Warwick Square and the swimming pool there.

Below, left ► Hartland Village, Hampshire.

Below, right ► The Mowbray House Penthouse, Kensington Row. Images are indicative only

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Opposite ► Flagship Development, 9 Millbank.

Sector Property & Estate

Celebrating over a decade of delivering first-class service, St Edward is renowned for transforming unused sites into landmark developments that not only provide homes but also benefit the local community. St Edward’s sites vary hugely, from apartments in prime central London, to a village of 1,500 homes in Hampshire.

Creating a home and a community is at the heart of everything St Edward does. Every development, whether a luxury refurbishment or a brownfield regeneration site, has its own identity inspired by the site’s heritage and surrounding environment.

St Edward has five developments in London and the South of England.

Kensington Row and Royal Warwick Square, located moments away from High Street Kensington are transforming the local area with a 1,000 homes including affordable housing, a new primary school for hundreds of pupils, landscaped open space and retail opportunities.

Most telling of St Edward’s commitment to heritage, design and iconic location is 9 Millbank. Standing proudly on the banks of the River Thames, 9 Millbank is a refurbishment of a Grade II listed building with panoramic views over the London skyline, located just a short stroll from the Houses of Parliament. The second phase of the development, Millbank Residences, will be launched in spring 2019.

Whilst predominantly known for its impressive portfolio within central London, St Edward is also making a significant impact on the landscape outside of London, creating communities for the future across the country.

In Reading, St Edward is developing Green Park Village, a stunning collection of New England inspired houses and apartments in a lakeside setting.

Meanwhile, work has started on Hartland Village in Hampshire, an ambitious 15 year regeneration project, transforming a brown-field site into a new village of 1,500 homes alongside shops, a primary school, community facilities and country park for the residents and wider community.

Beyond the bricks and mortar, St Edward is a developer that is always innovative to change and delivering stunning homes within fantastic communities, turning them into places where people love to live and work for many years to come. St Edward is a joint venture company owned by the Prudential Assurance Company and The Berkeley Group.

+44 207 720 2600 ► stedward.co.uk Chelsea Bridge Wharf, 380 Queenstown Road, London SW11 8PE

Creating communities for everyone

St Edward

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Walpole British Luxury

The Hari A Luxury five-star hotel in the heart of Belgravia

Established 2016 126 / 127

/ 16 Above ► The Hari’s Italian restaurant, il Pampero. Designed by British designer Tara Bernerd, the restaurant embodies Italian chic and vintage glamour, and serves exceptional homemade Italian cuisine under the direction of Executive Chef, Claudio Covino.

Below, left ► The stylish yet intimate Hari Bar is adorned with eclectic furnishings, and an evolving collection of contemporary art.

Below, right ► The Hari’s beautiful al fresco terrace is an elegant suntrap on warm days and a cosy retreat in winter. A retractable roof means guests can use the space year-round.

+44 20 7858 0100 ► thehari.com 20 Chesham Place, London SW1X 8HQ

Opposite, below ► The Penthouse at The Hari offers a new level of luxury and comfort, and is the ultimate home away from home for guests.

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Welcome to The Hari, a luxury five-star hotel in the heart of the quintessentially British neighbourhood of Belgravia, London. Moments from Harrods and the high-end shops of Knightsbridge, The Hari is also within walking distance of the world-famous Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and The Royal Albert Hall, as well as the city’s most famous museums.

The first hotel of The Hari brand, The Hari brings together a long heritage of hospitality and service bestowed by owners, the Harilela family. The brand itself stands for the people and the history behind it, while respecting the family’s values. As a result, the hotel is now renowned for impeccable and personalised service and always strives to create exceptional guest experiences by paying meticulous attention to every detail, no matter how small.

Designed by the acclaimed British designer Tara Bernerd, The Hari is a mix of plush velvet upholstery, marble bathrooms, contemporary art and cosy furnishings. All 85 designer bedrooms, of which 14 are luxury suites, are designed to make every stay as relaxing as possible. Social spaces within the hotel include the stylish yet intimate Hari Bar and the beautiful Garden Terrace, which, complete with retractable roof, transforms from an elegant suntrap on warm days to a cosy retreat in winter.

The Hari is also home to Italian restaurant, il Pampero, which prides itself on serving exceptional homemade cuisine under the expert eye of Executive Chef, Claudio Covino. Born in Rome, Claudio has lived in London for many years, mastering the art of combining traditional Italian recipes with creative and contemporary techniques. As well as serving the great classics, he loves to experiment and find new combinations to amaze his guests, working with the best Italian suppliers to source everything directly from its place of origin.

Signature dishes include fresh spaghetti-like pasta prepared in a parmesan wheel, sea bream cooked in sea salt, and tiramisu served chef style.

And this is just the beginning for The Hari and the brand. Bringing together unique concepts and creative collaborations that illuminate the Harilela’s passion for service, The Hari London is the first step of a globetrotting journey that will explore the world. The next stop will be the launch of a sister hotel in Hong Kong in 2020.

Opposite, top ► The Hari’s Studio King Suite with bespoke wooden tables, velvet upholstery and an opulent Arabescato marble bathroom with walk-in rainforest shower and bay window bathtub overlooking London.

Sector Hospitality & Services

A luxury five-star hotel in the heart of Belgravia

The Hari

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Walpole British Luxury

The Thinking Traveller Exceptional villas, local knowledge and personal service

Established 2002

/ 02 Below, left ► Mount Etna rising majestically behind Rocca delle Tre Contrade, Sicily.

Below, right ► Trulli Andrea, Puglia.

+44 207 377 8518 ► thethinkingtraveller.com The Old Truman Brewery, 91-95 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Opposite, below ► Cala d’Istria, Corsica.

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Opposite ► The stunning pool area at Don Arcangelo all’Olmo, Sicily.

Sector Hospitality & Services

The Thinking Traveller was conceived one night in 2000 atop the incandescent volcanic island of Stromboli, in Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago.

The following morning, as dawn blushed the skies a Homeric pink, Huw Beaugié, an engineer from the UK, and Rossella d’Anna, a cell biologist from Sicily, descended to the translucent ultramarine waters below, a new life mapped out. They quit their jobs in Paris, founded The Thinking Traveller in 2002, and set about providing discerning travellers with high-end villas and insightful access to Sicily’s myriad but little-known riches.

The Thinking Traveller quickly became the first port of call for luxury villa experiences in Sicily. Its winning formula of exceptional villas, unrivalled local knowledge, expert personal service and quality through exclusivity has been carefully extended to other destinations, and today, The Thinking Traveller’s collection numbers over 200 of the most desirable properties in the heart of the Mediterranean, more precisely in the south of Italy (Sicily and Puglia), Greece (the Ionian and the Sporades Islands) and Corsica.

All The Thinking Traveller’s villas are exclusively available through the company, a unique feature that enables it to create enduring partnerships with its like-minded property owners and to have a direct, hands-on role in quality assurance, something that is impossible when villas are rented through multiple channels. The Thinking Traveller’s on-the-ground concierges work closely with the owners and staff of its villas to ensure that everything is perfect when guests arrive.

Exclusivity also makes it possible for The Thinking Traveller’s London and New York-based teams of Villa and Experience Specialists to visit and stay at its properties several times a year. Their first-hand experience and in-depth knowledge are at the complete disposal of the company’s clientele.

The Thinking Traveller’s exceptional range of villas includes five-star oases of fully serviced luxury (the Think Exquisite collection), beachfront summer houses with pools, gems of contemporary architecture, sumptuous masserie, chic trulli, romantic retreats and much more besides. No property enters the collection until Huw and Rossella have seen it for themselves, and each villa undergoes stringent quality audits several times a year.

Once arrived at their villa, guests of The Thinking Traveller may call upon the infinite resourcefulness and unparalleled knowledge of the company’s locally based concierges. Available 24/7, they are always on hand to ensure that guests’ expectations are exceeded at every turn.

The Thinking Traveller also offers its clients a bespoke range of lifeenhancing experiences, including luxury boat charters, helicopter trips, in-villa wine deliveries and cooks, PhD-qualified tour guides, chauffeured transfers, vineyard visits, and cooking lessons with Michelin-starred chefs.

The Thinking Traveller’s mission is a simple one: to hear its clients say, “That was the best holiday we’ve ever had… we’ll be back.” That the company consistently manages to exceed its clients’ expectations, there can be no doubt: on four occasions, including a hat-trick of consecutive successes in 2016, 2017 and 2018, it has been voted “Favourite Villa Rental Company” at the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards.

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Exceptional Villas, local knowledge and personal service

The Thinking Traveller

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Walpole British Luxury

Timorous Beasties Irreverent chic

170 / 171 Below, left ► Jet tail fin designed for NetJets (2015).

Below, centre ► Craigend Collection, designed for Brintons Carpets (2018).

Below, right ► Devil Damask flock wallpaper

by Timorous Beasties.

+44 207 833 5010 ► timorousbeasties.com 46 Amwell Street, London EC1R 1XS

Above ► Upholstery in Timorous Beasties’ Omni Drips fabric; background, Iguana superwide wallpaper.

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Opposite ► Timorous Beasties’ Marble Gum fabric; Thistle cushion.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

Encompassing a commercial triad between Glasgow, London and Berlin, Timorous Beasties has emerged as a multi-award-winning, internationally acclaimed icon.

The Timorous Beasties style for luxury, residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors embodies a unique and unrivalled diversity of pattern, ranging from work that echoes the golden age of copperplate engraving to the boundless potential of the digital age, from the figurative to the abstract.

Indeed, its successive textile and wallpaper collections have vividly redefined the identity of public and private spaces.

But how, and in what way, did this cultural and commercial success story come to embody such distinctive vision? “The studio,” says partner Paul Simmons, “engages a design discourse with surface pattern history by lending an aesthetic evolution to time-honoured motifs – to give them an edgy elegance, an irreverent chic. And this playful visual discourse and development has had its own ‘studio history’, too, of nearly 30 years.”

Consider the company’s critically acclaimed Glasgow or London toiles: by reversing the rusticity of Napoleonic toiles de Jouy, Timorous Beasties transformed the traditional toile device to create a subversive modern urban genre. Its other toile wallpapers mark a synthesis of 18th century chinoiserie groupings, Rococo swirls, and Victorian silhouette paper cuts to create a uniquely contemporary ornamental pattern repeat. Their Blotch and Kaleido Splatt fabric series challenges a 1,000-year old aesthetic mode by placing disorder within the structure of damask pattern to reveal the inherent beauty of splatters, drips, and stains.

While craft production at its studio factory in Glasgow remains driven by the hand-printing process, Timorous Beasties also works in close production partnership with the best manufacturers in the UK and Europe.

Beyond its popular ranges of surface design, Timorous Beasties develops projects to achieve the highest contextual aesthetic and manufacturing standard. Ranking among a heady list of commercial clients, the studio’s strong record for bespoke furnishing and installation commissions include the V&A boardroom, the Supreme Court of the UK, Wellcome Trust, the Art Institute of Chicago, Fairmont Hotel Group, Hilton International, Claridge’s, and Browns Restaurant.

The Timorous Beasties studio’s commission gallery for brand and culture clients include NetJets, Brintons carpets, Fortnum & Mason, Nike, Famous Grouse, the Duke of Buccleuch, Kate Bush, Philip Treacy, the Royal Opera House, the Edinburgh International Festival 2009, and book covers for Penguin, Canongate, and Granta. Collaborations with furniture elites include Ercol, SCP, and the design cult classic duo nobody&co. Home accessory ranges have included exclusive lines for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, John Lewis & Partners, and Liberty London.

Beyond the arena of commercial enterprise, Timorous Beasties design collections have been archived and curated by the V&A in London and Dundee, Cooper Hewitt in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

The art critic John Ruskin related a universal connection between nature, art and society. Timorous Beasties shares a similar world view, where plants, animals and society are visually inextricable. The company is devoted to how this impacts as pattern design in our daily experience of objects and furnished spaces.

From one-bedroom flats to country villas, to the halls of civic and government buildings, departure lounge backdrops, boutique enclaves, restaurants and hotels, and from biscuit tins to airplane fins, Timorous Beasties’ elegant transgression has firmly established a new cult of irreverent chic.

Established 1990

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Irreverent chic

Timorous Beasties

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Walpole British Luxury

Tom Howley Exquisite British craftsmanship

Established 2004 172 / 173

/ 04 Below, left ► Tom Howley Kavanagh collection painted in bespoke paint colour Nightshade with a new metallic wire scroll handle.

Below, right ► Tom Howley Kavanagh collection painted in bespoke paint colour Nightshadewith Wolf appliances and Lapitec worksurfaces.

+44 161 848 1200 ► tomhowley.co.uk 3 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1PB

Above, right ► Tom Howley Kavanagh collection painted in bespoke paint colour Nightshade with Wolf appliances and open pantry design.

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Attention to detail and superb craftsmanship are the hallmarks of a Tom Howley bespoke kitchen. Time-honoured British craftsmanship and uncompromising design paired with the highest specification appliances have established it as an award-winning brand, realising the lifestyle needs of its discerning clientele.

As part of the long-established luxury British furniture group, BHID (Bespoke Home Interior Design), Tom Howley has many years’ experience specialising in millimetre-perfect kitchen design. Having invested in a large network of showrooms in prestigious areas across the UK, including Edinburgh, Tunbridge Wells and prime central London locations, the company has established itself as the go-to brand for bespoke kitchen design across the country.

The quality of service, design and craftsmanship has positioned Tom Howley as a first choice for design-conscious homeowners. From the first showroom visit, clients can expect a tailored and individual service from inhouse experts who will guide them on the journey to their perfect kitchen.

Tom Howley’s signature style is elegant, simple and refined. The development team has created a collection of kitchen furniture that blends seamlessly into both modern and period homes. With unrivalled design accuracy and execution, the company offers clients a leisurely and enjoyable experience from design conception to completion.

With a host of luxury brand partnerships such as Miele, Sub-Zero and Wolf to its name, Tom Howley prides itself on the level of quality specified in each individual kitchen. All appliances feature the latest technology in cooking and refrigeration to achieve the best culinary results, sitting perfectly alongside bespoke cabinetry.

Manufactured at the Tom Howley hub in the Derbyshire hills, each kitchen is crafted to exacting standards by skilled craftspeople, many of whom have been with the company since its earliest days. Each bespoke piece of furniture is measured against strict quality control standards before being carefully installed in exquisite British homes across the UK. Timeless, elegant kitchen design with unparalleled attention to detail is what makes Tom Howley special.

Opposite & above left ► Tom Howley Kavanagh collection painted in bespoke paint colour Nightshade with a new metallic wire scroll handle.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

Exquisite British craftsmanship

Tom Howley

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Walpole British Luxury

Wedgwood Innovation and craftsmanship

Established 1759

59 Opposite ► Master Craftsman engine turning the Panther Vase.

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Below, right ► Magnolia Blossom Jasperware removed from the kiln following final firing.

+44 1782 204 141 ► wedgwood.co.uk Wedgwood, Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST12 9ER

Below, left ► Wild Strawberry Gold – 260th edition.

Sector Interior Design, Home & Craftsmanship

Wedgwood celebrates its 260th anniversary in 2019. Founded by Josiah Wedgwood, an entrepreneurial twenty-nine year old Staffordshire potter in 1759, it was his vision, creativity and passion that was to transform English pottery from a cottage craft into an art form and international industry.

Throughout its history Wedgwood has provided fine bone china tableware for entertaining and bringing people together. Today a dynamic in-house creative team, partnerships with high-profile designers including Jasper Conran and Vera Wang, and the much-loved Beatrix Potter collections has helped Wedgwood to continuously evolve and lead modern dining and homeware trends.

Precious skills are preserved through an apprenticeship programme, while Wedgwood’s Artist in Residence, celebrates Wedgwood’s renowned heritage of innovative and craftsmanship, with Japanese ceramicist, Hitomi Hosono, the latest artist to join the residency.

Craftsmanship is accessible to the public at the inspirational World of Wedgwood – Wedgwood’s global brand experience centre in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent. Attractions include the award-winning Wedgwood Museum; seeing the artisans at work during the factory tour; enjoying a pottery workshop and exploring Wedgwood at the Wedgwood Tea Conservatory – the heart of Wedgwood’s flagship store.

Fiskars bought Wedgwood in 2015, kicking off a brand journey to bring the spirit of its founder back in a new way and to make Wedgwood relevant again; evolving it from offering great products to consumer-centric experiences.

Wedgwood has partnered with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which was founded by John Wedgwood (Josiah’s eldest son) in 1804. The RHS Flower Shows in 2019 – Chelsea and Chatsworth – form the perfect platform to show Wedgwood’s evolution and newness in a surprising and relevant context.

At the Wedgwood Tea Conservatory – visitors will be able to enjoy the Wedgwood Tea Experience served in fine bone china from the Wonderlust Collection.

The exceptional beauty of exotic florals and plants from different continents inspired these colourful, eclectic designs. Bernadine Tay, a global tea curator, has developed an original tea offering, the Wonderlust Tea collection, which has taken cues from culture and art in the spirit of the historic Grand Tour, to create innovative tea blends with extraordinary flavours.

The Wild Strawberry Gold collection, new for 2019, will also be on display within the Wedgwood Tea Conservatory. The collection features crisp, clean white porcelain decorated with finely drawn leaves, flowers and succulent red strawberries, and complimented with the addition of gold foliage and delicate butterflies. The classic design sits at the heart of Wedgwood’s celebrated tableware collection, and remains one of its best selling patterns of all time.

Discover Wedgwood at the RHS Flower Shows in 2019 or visit the World of Wedgwood in Barlaston. Follow the brand #wedgwood, and be the first to explore how Wedgwood continues to be an innovator of British lifestyle, making the everyday extraordinary.

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Innovation and craftsmanship

Wedgwood

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Walpole British Luxury

Whitehouse Cox Unique leather goods and accessories

Above ► The Whitehouse Cox Full Size Wallet, a classical design that has been expertly handcrafted from English Saddle Leather.

Below, left ► Handmade using English Bridle leather, the Clutch Purse is sleek and refined, a wonderfully practical yet sophisticated design.

Below, right ► The beautifully elegant and sophisticated Large Zip Round Purse, featured in Whitehouse Cox’s signature Cognac and Navy colour palette.

Established 1875

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Opposite ► A refined selection of Whitehouse Cox’s luxurious leather goods, all handcrafted from the highest quality English leather.

Sector Fashion & Accessories

Whitehouse Cox has taken the skills and knowledge of more than 145 years in business and created a truly British brand. Its canvas holdalls, for example, offer a chic but casual take on weekend luggage and are ideal for a country or city break. All are trimmed with luxurious bridle leather, so the handles are comfortable to use.

The Whitehouse Cox canvas briefcase is a great accompaniment to brighten up any working day in the city. With ample space for a laptop and phone and containing a document folder and pen holders, the briefcase is sure to become a truly special piece as it wears in. The barrister briefcase is also a beautiful accessory; very few people have the skills to produce these cases and this should certainly last a lifetime.

The Whitehouse Cox bridle leather belt is a must-have for any wardrobe.

It is made using only pure vegetable tanned English bridle leather, with no pigmentation or coated finishes, to give a natural surface that will burnish and age beautifully over time. All the belts are hand plaited, which takes any stretch out of the leather and the belt keeps its shape.

The wide range of men’s wallets and purses gives a huge choice for personal preferences of how one likes to carry credit cards and phones. In the age of fast-paced electronics, there is still a desire from people who appreciate fine leather goods to carry a beautiful wallet or purse. It is a tactile accessory, a work of art, handmade and worked on by more than seven specialist leather goods makers during the process from cutting to slowly building up each piece.

To understand the processes involved in these works of art, why not look at The Making of a Wallet video on YouTube, which gives an insight into these special items that are so seldom found in a world of mass production.

Anyone who owns a Whitehouse Cox accessory will want not just one piece but will start to work their way through the collection. Whitehouse Cox has many loyal customers who are delighted to be able to purchase a truly British product. Indeed, take a closer look at the emblem and you will see that Whitehouse Cox is not only Made in England but Hand Made in England.

+44 01922 458881 ► whitehouse-cox.co.uk F1 Anchor Brook Business Park, Lockside, Aldridge, Walsall WS9 8BZ

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/ 75 Unique leather goods and accessories

Whitehouse Cox

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Walpole British Luxury

William & Son The perfect destination for town and country living

Established 1999 178 / 179

/ 99 The perfect destination for town and country living

William & Son have a particular and definitively British take on the finest things in life. Founded in 1999 by William Asprey, a seventh generation member of the Asprey family, the company has grown to become Mayfair’s go-to luxury destination for town and country living. From the finest jewellery and timepieces, leather goods and homeware William & Son also produce impeccable attire and accessories for the field.

William & Son is dedicated to employing the highest quality craftsmanship and the most exemplary of materials, to tradition but also innovation, and most definitely to the charms of the unexpected. The majority of William & Son’s own collections are produced by British craftsmen, working across the company’s various manufactures, all based in the United Kingdom.

Throughout different departments, we partner with a new generation of artists, artisans and designer-makers, ensuring that traditional crafts not only survive but are re-invigorated. Connoisseur brands are expertly mixed and matched along William & Son’s own range of products to ensure that all whims and fancies are catered for.

Part of William & Son core values is the bespoke service they offer across all departments from unique commissions to elegant engraving to customisation. It is this unique level of service and commitment to excellence that has earned William & Son an international reputation, a Royal Warrant and a loyal clientele.

+44 20 7493 8385 ► williamandson.com 34-36 Bruton Street, London W1J 6QX

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Below, right ► William & Son embellished evening clutches.

Sector Retailers & etailers

Photo © Bruce Anderson

William & Son

Below, left ► William & Son handcrafted leather games.

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WA L P OL E The Official Sector Body of British Luxury

Walpole curates an extensive programme of private members’ club events, thought leadership, business development and learning opportunities, as well as the prestigious annual Walpole British Luxury Awards the highlight of the luxury calendar. Walpole is also dedicated to nurturing the next generation of Britain’s luxury brands through its mentoring programmes: Brands of Tomorrow, Women in Luxury, Luxury in the Making and Programme in Luxury Management at LBS.

Walpole promotes the sector through activations with luxury media, and through its powerful digital content programme, which tells the story of British luxury every day to an audience of over 23,000.

Walpole commissions industry-leading research, works with government on policy issues affecting the sector, and actively seeks out UK and international business opportunities. It promotes growth through a programme of initiatives, and as founders of the UK China Visa Alliance, and the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance: an organisation that champions relationships with Europe’s luxury and creative sectors. Finally, the annual Walpole US Trade Delegation and Media Showcase promotes British-American luxury trade in the world’s most important market for the sector.

" Walpole is to luxury what Belmond

is to travel... simply the best! More seriously, the support of Walpole over the years to make luxury British brands shine around the world has been absolutely tremendous. There is a great momentum around British luxury and the platform Walpole has created to support those brands is one of the reasons why."

Arnaud Champenois Senior VP Brand & Marketing, Belmond

Walpole British Luxury

As the voice of British luxury, Walpole’s purpose is to promote, protect and develop a sector worth £48 billion to the UK economy. Founded in 1992 as a not-for-profit organisation, Walpole is recognised in both Westminster and Brussels and brings together 250 member brands across the breadth of the UK high-end creative and cultural industries.

Members Guide

Walpole

Above ► Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo from Ralph & Russo discuss couture with The Times' Fashion Director Anna Murphy at Walpole's Future of British Luxury Summit.

Walpole British Luxury

Right ► Walpole Chairman & Harrods MD Michael Ward and Walpole CEO Helen Brocklebank with US Ambassador Robert Wood 'Woody' Johnson and guests at his London residence, Winfield House.

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Left ► The Haves and the Have-Yachts’ at Maison Assouline with Sunseeker, Winch Design and Boat International.

Moderated by Walpole's Charlotte Keesing.

► Events A Private Members Club for Luxury

Walpole hosts over 40 events each year, bringing 1,750 individuals from 250 member brands together to create luxury’s most powerful offline social network.

Walpole events are a unique opportunity to connect with likeminded luxury leaders, united by a common customer, to share knowledge, expertise, successes and challenges, to create partnerships, and to build community. Through this, Walpole has established an active and engaged luxury community who work collaboratively to further the sector in the UK and overseas.

Members Club activities include four marquee events – the Chairmen & CEO Dinner, the British Luxury Summit, Culture & Creativity Dinner and the Walpole British Luxury Awards. Other opportunities Masterclasses and Insight Workshops; Brexit and other geo-political issues, Export Strategy group, Luxury in the Making; and building peerto-peer relationships with monthly Walpole Member Socials, Luxury Supper Club, The Savoy Leaders Lunch and UHNWI Dinner Club.

► Public Affairs A Collective Voice for Luxury

Walpole represents the luxury sector’s interests in Westminster and Brussels, ensuring it is recognised, valued and protected. Walpole acts as a collective voice on the following business-critical areas for its members: Economic Value & Impact Walpole’s industry benchmark studies and research provides statistics on the worldwide luxury sectors. Our last Economic Report with Frontier Economics revealed Britain’s luxury industry is worth £48 billion, valuing it at 2.4% of GDP. Brexit Following the historic EU referendum, Walpole identified five areas of concern for the UK luxury goods sector which formed the basis of the luxury sector’s manifesto, ‘Thriving after Brexit: The impact of leaving the EU on the UK’s luxury goods sector and policy recommendations’.

Walpole regularly consults with members and works with government departments and bodies to understand the impact of Brexit on the sector.

Walpole's CEO chairs the Consumer Goods Committee for the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Trade and Export.

► International Cultivating Overseas Growth Opportunities

Above, top ► Walpole members ‘Meet the Media’ at an event with former NET-A-PORTER editor-in-chief Lucy Yeomans.

Above, middle ► The Medium is the Message: Cinematic Storytelling’ with Digital Cinema Media and Belmond at Picturehouse Central.

Above, bottom ► The launch of Walpole’s Tomorrow’s Talent schools programme with The Chelsea Academy in South West London.

Walpole British Luxury

Walpole develops international activities to promote Britain’s luxury sector overseas, and support members in developing their networks across the world.

Walpole has relationships with the FCO, DIT, GREAT and embassies in key markets, and has strong ties with sister organisations in Italy, France, Spain and Germany as a founding member of the ECCIA. Walpole also partners with international events and conferences including the FT Business of Luxury Summit and European Excellence Summit.

Walpole’s annual US Trade Delegation and Media Showcase brings 20 Walpole members to New York City – the world’s largest market for luxury worldwide. Valued at $85 billion, the United States is a key export market for Britain’s luxury brands. Walpole curates a packed programme of events during the three-day mission, including an Insight Briefing, Cocktail Reception, commercial meetings, and Dinner, culminating in a Media Showcase in a centrally located studio space, in a celebration of British luxury in New York City.

Members Guide

Walpole

Above ► Glenda Bailey OBE, editor in chief of US Harper’s Bazaar was recognised for her support of British Luxury Overseas during Walpole’s Trade Mission to New York. L-R: Frank A. Bennack Jr, Executive Vice Chairman and former CEO of Hearst; Glenda Bailey; Dr Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade and Investment; Helen Brocklebank; and Antony Phillipson, the British Consul-General in New York.

Right ► Rolls-Royce Motor Car’s Director of Global Communications (and Walpole Board Member) Richard Carter in conversation with Simon de Burton, Contributing Editor, FT How To Spend It during the Walpole Summit.

Walpole British Luxury

Right, below ► The Cultural and Creative Dinner at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

From left to right ► Sarah Sands, Editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, in conversation with Helen Brocklebank during the annual Women in Luxury Lunch at Home House.

Helen Brocklebank with Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House.

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Instagram Stories clinic during the Walpole Summit, in association with Global Blue and Facebook.

To find our more and enquire about Walpole membership please contact Stephanie Robinson, Head of Membership at stephanie.robinson@thewalpole.co.uk The below membership criteria applies.

All applications for membership will go to the Walpole membership committee for approval.

Membership critera ► • The Company is primarily based in the UK and must have or be a brand with a British product or service to offer.

• The Company’s origins should be British, but need not, however, be British owned.

• The Company is outstanding in its own particular field, and has a luxury brand or brands that exemplify the highest standards in terms of quality, style, design, craftsmanship, creativity, service and innovation.

• The Company should have a brand or brands with an international reputation or aspire to promote them through international channels.

• The Company is well established, has been trading for no fewer than three years and has a minimum turnover of £5 million.* • The Company endorses Walpole’s purpose, shares the same objectives and will actively participate in pursuing Walpole’s aims on behalf of the luxury sector.

* Exceptions apply for certain categories of

businesses, eg, crafts-led or eligible early stage businesses – please enquire for details.

Programmes Brands of Tomorrow Walpole’s flagship mentoring programme helps aspiring British luxury companies of the future to fulfil their potential. These are brands that will pioneer growth, export goods and services, create employment and drive innovation in luxury in the coming decades. Founded in 2007, and held in association with Mishcon de Reya and Coutts, Walpole’s Brands of Tomorrow has helped develop and nurture over 95 emerging luxury brands through a 12-month programme of networking and mentorship, and proudly seen them become leaders in their respective fields.

Programme in Luxury Management at London Business School The Walpole Programme in Luxury Management at LBS was established in 2013 to identify and nurture carefully selected MBA students who aspire to become the next generation of luxury leaders. The students attend a series of Walpole-organised workshops, designed to build their commercial acumen, and are assigned a mentor – a senior executive from within the Walpole membership – who will provide guidance throughout the year.

Women in Luxury The Women in Luxury programme curates intimate, invitation-only salons designed to create a space for stimulating conversation with likeminded women. The programme shines a light on a desire to increase the pace of change for women in luxury, encouraging mentoring, creating community, and highlighting female talent.

Tomorrow's Talent Programme In 2018, Walpole launched its first education and schools programme, Tomorrow’s Talent, in partnership with The Careers & Enterprise Company. Tomorrow’s Talent connects schools with their local luxury businesses to provide students aged 11-16 with direct knowledge and the roles available within the sector as they make decisions about subjects and courses before entering further training or employment.

Walpole British Luxury

Become a Walpole member ►

Content & Communications Walpole delivers a strategic communications and PR programme designed to promote the British luxury sector, providing all members with the opportunity to amplify their people, business projects and initiatives, shared digitally in Walpole’s Daily Luxury Digest, on thewalpole.co.uk, and across social media platforms.

The annual Walpole Luxury Awards, a key event in the luxury calendar, attracts editors, journalists, influencers and VIPs, generating media coverage for the winners and the sector; in 2018 the awards generated 44 pieces of press, reaching over 650 million people worldwide.

Walpole also provides opportunities for members to participate in media briefings, round-tables and events with Walpole’s media partners, and comments on key issues on behalf of the sector in the business press.

Walpole British Luxury Walpole Events

2019 Calendar

January Walpole Chairmen & CEOs' Dinner 2019 The Savoy Luxury Supper Club Chef’s Table at The Gilbert Scott Walpole Member Social (last Tuesday of every month) The Hari Luxury Insider with the British Library The British Library LetsBab Masterclass Claridge’s

Walpole Summit: Building the Future of British Luxury BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly Brands of Tomorrow Launch Party Coutts

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February

The Retail Summit in Dubai Atlantis, Dubai March Walpole Book of British Luxury Launch Party Fortnum & Mason The Walpole Power List: The 50 Most Influential People in British Luxury Ennismore House April Luxury Insider with the London Philharmonic Orchestra The Belmond Cadogan Hotel Marketing & Communications Drinks Reception The Rosewood Luxury Supper Club with Hamptons Wealth Partnership The Penthouse & Pavilion, The Dorchester May Walpole & Spring Studios: Social Media Workshop Spring Studios Women & Power Network Dinner Home House FT Business of Luxury Summit Madrid June Meet the Media with Digital Cinema Media Meet the Media: An In conversation with Lucia van der Post David Collins Studio July The Walpole Summer Party Women’s Breakfast Salon August ECCIA European Excellence Summit October The Luxury Supper Club The Penthouse & Pavilion, The Dorchester Culture & Creativity Dinner Design Centre, London US Trade Delegation and Media Showcase in New York

Walpole British Luxury Awards The Dorchester December Walpole & RWHA Carol Service

Walpole British Luxury

November

Walpole British Luxury

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the established stars of the British luxury sector. I’d also like to thank Mishcon de Reya for their continued support of Brands of Tomorrow and to welcome Coutts as a new partner: Mishcon and Coutts are exceptional leaders in their respective fields, and adding their particular expertise to that of the Walpole members who give their time to help develop the next generation of British luxury brands makes the 2019 programme stronger than ever before.

Helen Brocklebank Walpole CEO

01 Anna Mason London 02 Conker Spirit 03 Desmond & Dempsey 04 Farer 05 Jennifer Chamandi 06 The London Sock Company 07 Luna Mae London 08 Sabina Savage 09 Savernake 10 STOW 11 The Restory 12 WYSE London

Walpole British Luxury

Walpole launched its flagship Brands of Tomorrow programme in 2007 with the vision to secure the long-term growth of the UK’s luxury sector by building a pipeline of next-generation brands. Many of the brands that have participated in the programme over the last 12 years have not only grown significantly but also found international success – Orlebar Brown, Bremont, Nyetimber, Emilia Wickstead, Miller Harris, Astley Clarke, amongst others – and as we begin a new journey with this year’s brands, it’s exciting to think of them taking their place amongst

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BRANDS T O M O R R OW

1 Brands of Tomorrow 2019

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Anna Mason London

Anna Mason London sells luxury British womenswear. Its distinct, stylish pieces complement every woman and meet the needs of her life, for both every day and special occasions. Her Made to Order range offers personalisation, fit and a true luxury customer experience through events and appointments, while the Ready to Wear range is sold globally via NET-A-PORTER, selected boutiques and AnnaMasonLondon. com. Anna’s talent and experience lets her create clothes that inspire huge loyalty by her customers. So many delight in ‘the Anna Mason moment’, when they are stopped, told they ‘look amazing’ and asked what they are wearing.

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Walpole British Luxury

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Desmond & Dempsey

Born from a love of slow mornings, Desmond & Dempsey creates pyjamas that will change your Sundays forever. Founded in 2014

by Joel Jeffery and Molly Goddard, D&D was inspired by the boyfriend shirt and the subtle seductiveness of its oversized fit. Renowned for its unique, bold hand-painted prints and luxury cotton, Desmond & Dempsey offer an accessibility that has been lacking at the premium end of the market.

Since launching the brand has grown rapidly through their online store and premium wholesale partners including Selfridges, MR PORTER, NET-A-PORTER and Bergdorf Goodman.

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Conker Spirit

Conker Spirit is the poster-boy for the ‘ditch the day job’ start-up story – with founder Rupert Holloway at 29 leaping from a career in construction to launch Dorset’s first gin distillery. Conker’s signature Dorset Dry gin has quickly donned back-bars across the country, establishing itself as a mainstay of the craft gin renaissance.

Committed to exciting, innovative spirits, Conker are not ones to follow the crowd; creating the UK’s first Cold Brew Coffee liqueur that is free from the usual flavourings and additives, relying solely on some of the world’s finest forest-grown Grade 1 Speciality coffees. That’s the Spirit.

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Farer

Jennifer Chamandi

From the finest stitching to the immaculate craftsmanship, the Jennifer Chamandi footwear collection pulls from the skills of a family-run master artisan atelier based in Italy.

In each stich, there is care and passion. Inspired by “Le talon aiguille” (the ‘needle’ stiletto), the distinctive gold-plated ‘eye’ is carved and inlaid into every heel. The technical prowess required to create this unique punctured heel was recognised with a UK Patent granted on 1 August 2018.

Fastened with a removable strap which embraces the foot, Jennifer’s shoes combine absolute comfort with immediately recognisable and distinctive elegance. With unexpected colour palettes inspired by the purity of abstract geometry combined with painstakingly handcrafted quality, Jennifer’s stilettos are truly more than just staples.

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Launched in 2015, Farer watches are inspired by the halcyon era of watchmaking, when bold colours and contrasting textures were combined with the best craftsmanship. A British designed, direct to consumer luxury watch brand, Farer is manufactured in Tavannes Switzerland. Their collection of watches are named after iconic British explorers and vessels that perfectly define the true spirit of Farer: ambition beyond the ordinary. Attention to detail is shown at every level from cases to dials, using all bespoke parts, hand crafted in an array of decorations, colours, finishes and textures, all technically being a huge challenge to achieve.

6 The London Sock Company

The London Sock Company is a proudly British sock brand for the modern gentleman.

Founded on the belief that socks are the first step towards effortless style, its collections are sophisticated and timeless, using only the finest materials and craftsmanship. It values quality – from its yarns to its packaging; convenience – Sock Club members receive socks delivered through its letterbox monthly; and generosity – its Pull Your Socks Up campaign supports worthwhile causes all year.

Whether bold colours, stylish patterns or understated essentials, you can find London Sock Company socks on the ankles of CEOs, celebrities and gentlemen all around the world.

Walpole British Luxury

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Luna Mae London

Brands of Tomorrow 2019

Luna Mae London is a bespoke lingerie specialist celebrating British craftsmanship and the female form.

Clients are taken on a highly personalised journey where they are invited for a private consultation and fitting, and work with Luna Mae tailors and designers to create their completely unique bespoke garments. With a focus on showcasing the uniqueness of every woman, measurements are taken and drafted into a client’s very own pattern which is exclusively based on their shape and size. All creations are handcrafted by exceptionally skilled seamstresses in the atelier located beneath the Belgravia flagship store.

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Walpole British Luxury

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Savernake

From a sawmill nestled at the edge of the eponymous forest, Savernake are singularly focused on making the best chef’s knives possible.

Fusing a very English heritage of artisanal craft and aerospace-level manufacturing, every blade is designed and created entirely in-house by a team of six. Determined to meld the finest balance of geometry, materials, comfort and aesthetics, Savernake make exquisite knives for discerning professional clients and private individuals alike. From fully bespoke to lightly customised, each knife is tailored to the purchaser’s taste, allowing the wielder to feel poetry in their hand.

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Sabina Savage

Sabina Savage’s eponymous luxury scarf brand offers heritage inspired elaborate prints on exquisite fabrics.

Each illustration is intricately hand drawn by Sabina, sometimes taking up to six weeks for a single design, before being printed onto the finest silk, wool and cashmere. Each collection is based around an imagined story, always featuring Sabina’s wild and exotic fauna.

The detailed and multifaceted designs are carefully engineered around the fabric to create a unique print with a signature aesthetic. Each scarf is expertly designed in London then produced to the highest quality and skillfully hand-edged by the renowned artisans of Como, Italy.

STOW

Inspired by intrepid adventurers of yester-year, STOW was founded in 2013 by Carol Lovell with a mission to become the spirited brand of choice for travel goods.

STOW coined the term ‘Wander-Luxe’ meaning beautiful, luxurious and practical, in the form of jewellery cases, watch rolls and tech holdalls for travel.

STOW offers a wide range of vibrant products in heritage shapes from ladies and men’s jewellery and watch storage to tech sleeves and cases, travel bags and hand luggage. The collections are designed in England and made in Spain, using the best European leather and hardware. STOW has a worldwide base of admirers including Meghan, HRH The Duchess of Sussex. Stockists include Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and, more recently, Goop.

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The Restory

Born in response to low-quality mass-market options, brands and retailers who struggle to offer a seamless, comprehensive solution and an over experience that is the very antithesis of luxury, The Restory is transforming the aftercare offering into a lifestyle service.

Consumers can either access services directly or through Harvey Nichols in the UK. All items are brought to their atelier where a small army of nextgeneration artisans set to work restoring items to their former glory. When complete, items are returned beautifully and sustainably packaged and to a place convenient to the consumer. They are rapidly expanding through Europe and have ambitions on a global scale.

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WYSE London

Marielle Wyse created Wyse London in 2015 after searching for the perfect cashmere sweater.

Her aim was to design an affordable, go-to classic jumper with a signature twist. What started with a few statement pieces has today blossomed into a thriving fashion brand selling over 15,000 units a year and stocked in 16 countries worldwide. For the past two seasons Wyse London has produced exclusive lines for John Lewis and, more recently, for the Soho House Group. The ultimate in stylish comfort dressing, Wyse London offers a range of colourful cashmere and mohair knits, cardigans, lounge suits and socks, and soft linen t-shirts, all with bright and quirky details that satisfy the fashion crowd, celebrities and style-conscious women.

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01 Awards host Jason Isaacs 02 BitterSweet DJs 03 Helen Brocklebank on-stage 04 Jodie Kidd and Joseph Bates 05 Helen Brocklebank with Mulberry’s Johnny Coca 06 London Philharmonic Orchestra 07 The Laurent-Perrier is served 08 Erdem poses next to a Rolls-Royce Ghost 09 Yasmin Le Bon and Manolo Blahnik 10 Lady Kitty Spencer and Alice Temperley MBE 11 The Dorchester Ballroom 12 Harrods’ Michael Ward with Alexander McQueen CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger.

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BRITISH LU X U RY AWA R D S

2018

The Dorchester, London ► The Dorchester, on London’s famed Park Lane, was once again the setting for the British Luxury Awards, Walpole’s annual celebration of the considerable achievements of the sector.

Presented by actor Jason Isaacs, a host of famous faces gave gongs to the illustrious brands and individuals who help make Great Britain famous the world over, including Manolo Blahnik, Erdem, NET-A-PORTER, Belmond, Mulberry and Fortnum & Mason.

The Winners British Luxury Brand of the Year In association with Laurent-Perrier Belmond Luxury Legend In association with The Times Luxx & Style Manolo Blahnik Luxury Leader In association with G . F Smith Alison Loehnis, President NET-A-PORTER & MR PORTER Luxury Maker of the Year In association with Elite Associates Mulberry British Luxury Overseas In association with Forter Fortnum & Mason Creative Collaboration In association with LetsBab The Royal Ballet x Erdem

Cultural Contribution In association with Wearisma Cliveden Literary Festival The Brands of Tomorrow Award for Emerging Talent In association with Mishcon de Reya DeMellier, Luke Edward Hall, Rory Dobner, The Vampire’s Wife

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Luxury with a Heart In association with MyLoveAffair V&A: Fashioned From Nature

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01 Walpole Chairman and Harrods MD Michael Ward 02 Yasmin Le Bon, Manolo Blahnik and The Times’ Anna Murphy 03 Roja Dove 04 Fiona Barratt-Campbell, News UK’s Meribeth Parker, Miral Yousef from Chalhoub 05 Helen Brocklebank, Jodie Kidd, Belmond CEO Roeland Vos, Danny Brennan from Laurent-Perrier 06 YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s Alison Loehnis with husband Alexander 07 Jonathan Cazzola from Malle, Kathryn Sargent 08 Fortnum & Mason’s Ewan Venters and Zia Zareem-Slade 09 Corinthia London’s Alice Jónsdóttir Ferrier and Thomas Kochs.

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01 DeMellier’s Mireia Llusia-Lindh 02 The Royal Ballet Principal Dancer Lauren Cuthbertson with Harper’s Bazaar’s Justine Picardie 03 Influencer Melody Gu 04 The Royal Ballet’s Christopher Wheeldon, LetsBab’s Bonnie Takhar, Lauren Cuthbertson and Erdem Moralioglu 05 Actors Finn Cole and Henry Lloyd-Hughes 06 Helen Brocklebank, Alison Loehnis, G . F Smith’s Margaret Sweeney and Emilia Wickstead 07 Erdem and Johnny Coca 08 Chapel Down’s Mark Harvey and Gillian de Bono from FT How To Spend It 09 Henry Lloyd Hughes, the V&A’s Edwina Ehrman, Raphael Aflalo from MyLoveAffair.

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07 01 Jodie Kidd and Alice Temperley 02 Rachel Vosper and Aline Conus from E-NOTAM 03 Ewan Venters, Lady Kitty Spencer and Rosewood London’s Michael Bonsor 04 June Sarpong MBE 05 June Sarpong, Cliveden Literary Festival’s Natalie Livingstone and Catherine Ostler, and Jenny Tsai from Wearisma 06 Cressida Bonas 07 Justine Picardie, Helen Brocklebank and The Lake’s Distillery’s Nigel Mills CBE 08 Emilia Wickstead 09 Claire Dobner from Rory Dobner 10 Sian Haley from Taylor Howes, Alexandra Llewellyn and Helen Amy Murray 11 Kristina Blahnik and Manolo Blahnik 12 Guests at the ceremony.

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05 01 House of Hackney’s Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle 02 Lucy Duffing and Stephen Cox from Whitehouse Cox 03 Walpole’s Charlotte Keesing and the Belmond team 04 Jodie Kidd with Belmond’s Roeland Vos and Raymond Blanc OBE 05 Helen Brocklebank and Jason Isaacs 06 Henry Poole’s Anthony Rowland and Angus Cundey 07 Jason Isaacs and the V&A’s Edwina Ehrman 08 Eileen Redmond from Investec and Echlin’s Mark O’Callaghan 09 Walpole team 10 Walpole’s Jonathan Heilbron and Helen Brocklebank.

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Walpole Members List Partners, Members & Friends

Walpole Members ►

Automotive, Aviation & Yachting ► Bentley Rolls-Royce Motor Cars RWD Sunseeker Victor

Beauty & Grooming ► Aurelia Probiotic Skincare Bamford Boadicea the Victorious Charlotte Tilbury Clive Christian Elegantes Floris Geo.F. Trumper Jo Malone London Molton Brown Noble Isle Ormonde Jayne Penhaligon’s Roja Parfums

Culture ► BAFTA The British Library Glyndebourne Historic Royal Palaces London Philharmonic Orchestra RADA Royal Academy of Dance Royal Opera House Saatchi Gallery Sainsbury Centre The V&A

Walpole British Luxury

Fashion & Accessories ► Alexander McQueen Burberry Caroline Groves Charlotte Olympia Church’s DAKS dunhill Edward Green Ettinger Gieves & Hawkes Gyunel Couture Hackett London Halfpenny Henry Poole & Co. Holland & Holland Johnstons of Elgin Lisa Redman Manolo Blahnik Mulberry Mulo Suzie Turner Temperley London Trunk Clothiers Turnbull & Asser Vivien Sheriff Whitehouse Cox William & Son

Food & Drink ► Ardbeg Beefeater Chapel Down Charbonnel et Walker Chivas Regal Curious Brew

Exmoor Caviar Glenmorangie Gordon & MacPhail Haig Club Hildon Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier Jing Tea Johnnie Walker The Lakes Distillery The Last Drop Distillers Laurent-Perrier Plymouth Gin Rococo Chocolates Royal Salute Sloane Home Sumaridge Wine Estates Tanqueray The Singleton

Hospitality & Services ► 11 Cadogan Gardens 45 Park Lane Belmond The Berkeley Brown’s Hotel Chewton Glen Claridge’s Cliveden COMO Hotels The Connaught Cookson Adventures Corinthia Hotel London Cowdray Coworth Park Culture Whisper Debrett’s The Dorchester Fitzdares Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square Gleneagles The Hari Heathrow VIP Home Grown Home House The Lygon Arms Maison de Fleurs Marcus Wareing Restaurants Marriott Hotel County Hall The Ned Orient-Express Hotels Rosewood London The Real Flower Company The Savoy The Thinking Traveller Traveller Made Velocity Black

Jewellery, Watches & Precious Metals ► Asprey Astley Clarke Atelier Swarovski Augustine Jewels Backes & Strauss Boodles Bremont Catherine Best Garrard Hamilton & Inches Jewellery London International Jessica McCormack Rapport London Rebus Shaun Leane Stephen Einhorn Tessa Packard London The Royal Mint Tiffany & Co W Nagel

Interior Design, Home & Craftmanship ► Aiveen Daly Alexandra Llewellyn Catchpole & Rye Cole & Son CTO Lighting David Collins Studio de Le Cuona Echlin Farrow & Ball Fiona Barratt Interiors Gaze Burvill Halstock Cabinet Makers Helen Amy Murray House of Hackney James Cropper John Galvin Design Kitesgrove Leica Linley Oliver Burns Peter Reed Rachel Vosper Richard Brendon Royal Doulton Savoir Beds Shawstephens Studiofibre Taylor Howes The New Craftsmen Thomas Goode Tom Howley Waterford Wedgwood Winch Design

Media ► BBC World News & bbc.com BOAT International Bridelux Digital Cinema Media ELLE ELLE Decoration Esquire Euronews Financial Times & How To Spend It Harper’s Bazaar IN London PORTER STYLE The Economist & 1843 The Sunday Times The Times Times LUXX Town & Country

Property & Estate ► Cadogan Hamptons Wealth Partnership Northacre St Edward The Pollen Estate

Retailers & Etailers Conran Retail & Brand Holdings Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour Farfetch Fortnum & Mason Harrods John Bell & Croyden Maison Assouline MR PORTER NET-A-PORTER Selfridges THE OUTNET

Patrons ► Coutts & Co G. F Smith

Strategic Partners ► Buffalo CBRE Charles Russell Speechlys Forter Freight Brokers GGMR Global Blue McKinsey & Co New West End Company Pureprint Salesforce Commerce Cloud Spring Studios The Chalhoub Group

Programme Partners

Brands of Tomorrow ► In association with Mishcon de Reya Anna Mason Conker Spirit Desmond & Dempsey Farer Jennifer Chamandi London Sock Company Luna Mae London Sabina Savage Savernake Knives Stow The Restory Wyse London

Sponsors ► Castleacre Elite Associates Haysmacintyre Inzito LetsBab LONDON Advertising MyLoveAffair Premier Tax Free The Dovetail Agency Wearisma

Friends ► Brand Finance CBI Crafts Council Creative Industries Federation DofE French Chamber of Commerce LAPADA London Business School London Craft Week QEST RWHA VisitBritain Women in Business

Walpole is the official sector body for UK luxury. Founded in 1992 as a not-for-profit organisation, it counts more than 250 British brands in its membership and is recognised in both Westminster and Brussels. As the voice of British luxury, Walpole’s purpose is to promote, protect and develop a sector worth £48 billion to the UK economy.

Contact 2nd Floor, Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JA ► +44 20 7803 1389 ► info@thewalpole.co.uk ► thewalpole.co.uk

Cover illustration by Timorous Beasties ► timorousbeasties.com Design & art direction by Buffalo ► studiobuffalo.com Cover & paper stocks courtesy of G.F Smith ► gfsmith.com Printed by Pureprint ► pureprint.com