Who Do We Think We Are?

The monarchy is often pointed to as our country’s ultimate soft power – a force that epitomises (and sells) the values that exemplify what makes Britain great on the world stage. While far more subtle, our head of state holds similar sway on home soil. Unlike many other countries around the world, our nation defines its historical epochs in the name of the ruling monarch: the Edwardian age, the Victorian era, the Regency period. So, when a monarch passes and a new one ascends the throne, it’s only natural to feel like a new chapter is beginning in our nation’s story. But what will it mean to be British as we venture together into our new Carolean era? What are the values, hopes and desires that will come to define our country – and how will these shape our luxury sector as we move forward?

One of the small ways Brits interact with the royals on a daily basis is through royal warrants – little monarchical stamps of approval we see on everything from shops to cars to packets of cereal in our kitchens. Formerly issued by the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales, over the coming year these will all be reimagined and reissued due to the ascent of King Charles III. While we don’t know which brands he’ll choose to endorse, we do know that, as a man who has always been passionate about sustainability, the royal warrants he issues will underscore his values, and the values our country aspires to. That’s why, on p.43, writer Shane C Kurup takes a closer look at how a company achieves this high honour – and the sway a royal warrant still has for British brands on the global stage.

In fact, throughout the issue, we bring you a closer look at how our country is being perceived around the world circa now, and the factors that continue to get Britain noticed internationally. In Tokyo, writer Ashley Ogawa Clarke – who recently moved from the UK to Japan – pens a missive about the story behind British luxury’s enduring appeal in Asia (p.70). In London, ELLE UK Editor-in-Chief Kenya Hunt – an American who moved to the UK – has composed a heartfelt article about the importance of diversity as an intrinsic part of our national identity and key to what makes our fashion scene so special (p.29). You’ll also find gallerist Robert Diament – who you might know as one half of the Talk Art podcast alongside actor Russell Tovey – speaking about the next wave of British artists flying the flag for British creativity abroad and helping to create new communities here on home turf in the process (p.82).

Speaking of home turf, we’ve also embraced the opportunity in this issue to take a closer look at how luxury consumers are changing here in the UK. On p.94, Ben Spriggs, Editor of ELLE Decoration, takes us behind the curtain into the burgeoning demand for bespoke interior design among next-generation HNWIs. Meanwhile, Evening Standard’s restaurant critic Jimi Famurewa explains how terroir and providence are the two buzzwords getting people talking about Britain’s cuisine scene around the world (p.88).

Embracing new ideas while staying true to our innate Britishness has always been one of our country’s most attractive draws for tourists – that unique ability we have to combine pageantry and pomp with the present day. As Millennials and Gen Z start to catch up with Baby Boomers as luxury’s biggest spenders, it’s important to see this changing of the guard as an advantageous moment for British luxury brands. What’s trending with them?

Take golf, one of our country’s oldest sports, which is currently seeing a resurgence in popularity with a younger, more diverse audience. On p.34, golf expert Dan Davies investigates what’s behind this boom, and why embracing it is a golden opportunity for our historic hospitality venues.

Sustainability is another key trend for younger “luxurians”, as trend forecaster Jenny Southan puts it in her article assessing their changing travel priorities on p.74. In this, she looks not only at how environmental concerns are fuelling (pun intended) the decisions Gen Z and Millennials are making with their holidays, but also looks at other interesting new factors such as a focus on trips powered by silver-screen storytelling.

This step change in generational thinking isn’t just limited to downtime, it’s also having an impact on our country’s office culture. That’s why we asked life coach Roxie Nafousi, an expert in the practice of manifestation, to give us her guide to incorporating visualisation and goal setting into your work life to achieve career success (p.72).

Of course, as a country, we wouldn’t enjoy the success we have on the international stage if it weren’t for creative ambassadors. With that in mind, we asked world-renowned homegrown photographer Rankin to pull together a retrospective of the high-profile faces he’s shot who represent the very best examples of modern Britons (p.52) – and the ones who he thinks are setting the agenda for Britain globally.

All this begs the question: as we venture into this new era with many changes on the horizon, what are the British qualities we carry forward?

Humour has to be one – our selfdeprecation is not only world-renowned in pop culture, but also one of the ties that bind us as a nation. It’s something bestselling author Raven Smith knows all too well, which is why you’ll find him taking a hilarious look at the ten things that make him feel all-too-British on p.105.

However, perhaps our most enduring national characteristic is entrepreneurship, a quality that means our relatively small island continues to punch above its weight globally in many fields. Few characters from history embody this better than Josiah Wedgwood, one of the brightest business minds this country has ever produced, whose work is the inspiration for our cover (turn to p.14 to read more about this by our cover’s designer, Wedgwood Creative Director Alice Bastin). Who better to pay tribute to this British icon than Tristram Hunt? As Wedgwood’s most recent biographer and as Director of the V&A, Hunt is acutely aware of the continuing influence of British design worldwide. In his essay for us on p.20, he takes a look at why craftsmanship and ingenuity will always be at the heart of what makes Britain and its people truly great – and what makes our luxury industry so inspirational.

We hope that the Walpole Book of British Luxury 2023/2024 leaves you feeling just as inspired for this new chapter in the UK’s history.

Cover Inspiration

Alice Bastin on the inspiration behind her cover design

British designer Alice Bastin was appointed as Creative Director of Wedgwood in March 2022. Formerly Head of Women’s Leather Ready-To-Wear at Alexander McQueen, her career has focused on pushing the boundaries of materials, which led to her next step of exploring the possibilities of ceramics at Wedgwood.

“Josiah Wedgwood was a trailblazer. One of his most incredible inventions was Jasperware, and his most iconic piece was the Portland vase. We took this as the inspiration for our cover of the Walpole Book of British Luxury 2023/2024. For this, we took a three-dimensional scan of the original scene and merged Walpole’s key messaging of ‘promote’, ‘protect’ and ‘develop’ through additional characters to complete the narrative. We have used pop colourways, which would be impossible to produce in jasper, to bring our heritage from the 18th century into the 21st.

“Since becoming Creative Director, my team and I have created a new ‘North Star’ vision for Wedgwood –and this cover marks the start of this new era, inspired by the spirit of our forward-thinking founder. The future of Wedgwood will see us put innovation back at the forefront as we enter Web 3.0 to create modern ways to share and collect Wedgwood.”

wOur Team

Helen Brocklebank

CEO

Nick Carvell

Head of Content & Editor-at-Large

Jessica Day

Senior Membership Manager

Charlotte Keesing

Director, Corporate Affairs & International

Olivia Lowdell

Head of Events

Jon Marlow

Senior Policy Manager

Rebecca Mars

Membership Manager

Anna Maude

Executive Assistant to CEO & Programme Manager

Rowena Ratnam

Marketing Director

Olivia Sim

Corporate Affairs & Communications Assistant

Carly von Speyr

Head of Communications

Isabel Stewart

Head of Events (Maternity Cover)

Bethanie Summerfield

Events & Marketing Manager

Julia Woolley

Head of Business Development

With thanks to Karen Yates, Copy Editor

Our Contributors

Jimi Famurewa

Robert Diament

Dan Davies

Dan Davies is an awardwinning writer, editor and online content specialist who has worked at publications including Esquire UK, Mail on Sunday and MR PORTER. He works as Head of Community & Content for Clippd, a new data-driven golf performance technology – and has also designed and built his own backyard golf course.

Robert Diament is Director of the Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate and Counter Editions, which produces prints and multiples by contemporary artists including Tracey Emin, David Shrigley and Martin Creed. He also co-hosts the wildly popular Talk Art podcast alongside actor Russell Tovey. Their book Talk Art: The Interviews is available now.

Jimi Famurewa is a BritishNigerian author, broadcaster and freelance journalist. He is the restaurant critic for Evening Standard and a regular guest judge on the BBC One series MasterChef His first book, Settlers: Journeys through the Food, Faith and Culture of Black African London, was published by Bloomsbury in 2022.

Kenya Hunt

Kenya Hunt is the Editor-inChief of ELLE UK. As the founder of R.O.O.M. Mentoring, she advocates for greater diversity within the fashion industry by providing a supportive network for designers, journalists and image-makers of colour in London. Her critically acclaimed book, Girl: Essays on Black Womanhood (Harper Collins/ HQ), is out now.

Tristram Hunt

As Director of the V&A since 2017, Tristram Hunt has championed design education in UK schools, encouraged debate around the history of the museum’s global collections and overseen the transition to a multisite museum. He is the author of The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgwood and The Transformation of Britain, published by Penguin in 2021.

Shane C Kurup

Shane C Kurup is a style editor specialising in men’s fashion, watches, jewellery and grooming. He has worked for a range of leading global titles including MR PORTER, Men’s Health, Esquire US, Times LUXX, Monocle, The Telegraph. His wardrobe weaknesses include jazzy silk shirts, alpaca knits and artisanal sandals.

Roxie Nafousi

Roxie Nafousi is a selfdevelopment coach, manifesting expert, author, and ambassador for the Mental Health Foundation. She has written for publications including Marie Claire UK and Evening Standard Her books Manifest: 7 Steps

To Living Your Best Life (2022) and its sequel Manifest: Dive Deeper (2023), both published by Penguin, are out now.

Ashley Ogawa Clarke

Ashley Ogawa Clarke is a British journalist and creative consultant who lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. His particular areas of interest are fashion, skincare and travel, and during his decade-long career he’s written for publications around the world including The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveller, MR PORTER and Highsnobiety

Rankin Rankin is a British photographer, film director and publisher of Hunger magazine.

In 2019, he founded RANKIN CREATIVE, bringing together a diverse team who specialise in building brands. The studio is best known for work that is on the cultural cusp, producing campaigns for luxury brands including Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-AMG and De Beers.

Raven Smith

London-based columnist and bestselling author Raven Smith has been described as one of the funniest men on social media. Through irreverent essays and posts, he examines the minutiae of modern living. After the success of his recent book, Raven Smith’s Men, published by Fourth Estate in 2022, he is now devoting time to writing its follow-up.

Jenny Southan

Jenny Southan is the Editor, Founder and CEO of Globetrender, a trendforecasting agency and online magazine dedicated to the future of travel. An awardwinning travel journalist, she also writes for publications such as Condé Nast Traveller and The Telegraph, and was formerly Features Editor of Business Traveller magazine.

Ben Spriggs

Having held senior roles at The Sunday Times Style, The Guardian and The Telegraph, Ben Spriggs took over the editorship of ELLE Decoration in July 2017. With an avid interest in contemporary design and an unrivalled reputation, Spriggs also gives talks, chairs discussions and acts as a spokesperson for the interiors industry.