LUXURY MAGAZINE Spring 2017 by Luxury Card

LUXURY LUXURY MAGAZINE

SPRING 2017

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AKRIS

Spring 2017

U · K

KUI‘U

LA PRESEN

epiphany The sound of splashing reached you on the lanai. You found their devices in their rooms looking lonely, tossed aside in a careless heap... The story continues at kukuiula.com/theepiphany

WHAT WILL YOUR STORY BE? O N T H E S O U T H S H O R E O F K A U A‘ I , there’s a new kind of residential resort experience where stories unfold. Yours can be among them. Stay in one of the well-appointed, private vacation homes at Kukui‘ula and discover an exclusive base camp to explore the many facets of one of Hawaii’s most lush and astonishing islands. Kukui‘ula—where wonder, relaxation, adventure and island culture combine—is the perfect habitat for discerning enthusiasts of all ages.

Create your Kukui‘ula story by visiting kukuiula.com/luxury or call 1-808-427-0797.

The Club House | Golf | Spa | Pools

Farm | Dining | Homes | Shopping

DEPARTMENTS NATURE Outward Bound | 14

Landscape photography

ADVENTURE Adrenaline for the Aesthete | 28 Explore the rugged, rest in style

TRAVEL Take Away Value | 42

Eight destinations prime for design tourism

FASHION Curated Color | 54

Monochromatic moments make a creative statement

VEHICLES Design Talks | 76

Nine design directors talk car, aviation, and ship developments

AUTOS Superlative Storage | 88

Garages that are more than just a place to park

Curated Color

TRENDS Leather Report | 94

From artisan-crafted calfskin handbags to hand-punched wingtip shoes, excellent craftsmanship defines timeless goods

LUXURY MAGAZINE Produced exclusively for Luxury Card members.

Spring 2017

Issue 11

SPIRITS Settling a Classic Cocktail Controversy | 102 Vodka is the genuine martini

ONE PLACE, TWO WAYS Dubai; Las Vegas; Utah | 106 HEALTH Life Lessons from the Blue Zones | 112 Habits and habitats of the world’s longest-living people

FOOD Culinary Artistry | 127

Japanese food that is almost too beautiful to eat

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Creative License | 132

Spaces with a spirit of adventure and quirkiness

Build Up | 146

Dissecting the design of a $250M spec home

FURNISHINGS Spring Finds | 150 Home furnishings and accessories

Adrenaline for the Aesthete

TECH Style with Substance | 185 New products from CES prove tech needn’t be tacky

THE LUXURY LOOK Kick It Up a Notch | 188

The best-looking gear to work out

BEAUTY There’s the Rub | 204

How to receive the best quality massage

ARTIST PROFILE Painting’s Polymath | 214 Artist Gerhard Richter

WHAT’S WHAT International News & Notes | 236

Take Away Value

Spring 2017

FEATURES Otherworldly | 156

The power of the art side of design

Otherworldly

156

Glass Acts | 162

Meet the trailblazers who’ve redefined glass artistry

Design Dichotomy | 170

Inside the dual world of Milan’s furniture manufacturing

Ride with It | 192

A carbon fiber work of art exclusively for Luxury Card

The Most Amazing Race | 196 Bucket-list marathons

In Pods We Trust | 210

Float therapy, infrared saunas, and cryotherapy

In Pods We Trust

210

LUXURY MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY LUXURY CARD PUBLISHER Audrey Arnold audrey@luxurymagazine.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Samantha Brooks CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Fahey COPY EDITORS Kersten Deck Jocelyn Winn

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ruven Afanador Meghan Bob Jeff Tucker & Kevin Hossler Andrew Yee CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jorge S. Arango Natalie Bloomingdale Crai Bower Brent Butterworth Ning Chao Alexandra Cheney Dan Dunn Judith Fein

Brett Forrest Kim Fredericks Jason Edward Kaufman Lisa Niver Irene Rawlings Paul Rubio Kathryn Romeyn Cynthia Rosenfeld Jennifer Ashton Ryan Alison Clare Steingold Shaun Tolson

ADVERTISING SALES East Coast Fashion & Luxury James Navarrete Jamesmediany@gmail.com West Coast Sales Rima Dorsey Rima.dorsey@gmail.com Southeast Sales Katherine Matthews and Jana Robinson Katherine@robinsonmedia.net Jana@robinsonmedia.net Detroit, Dan Flavin Dflavin@flavinandassoc.net Italy, Silvermedia, Ferruccio and Filippo Silvera Info@silvera.it UAE/Dubai, Alexandra Young alex@konexinternational.com

All contents of LUXURY MAGAZINE are the intellectual property of Black Card Mag LLC and Black Card LLC d/b/a Luxury Card (“Publisher”) and/or the respective photographers, writers, artists, and advertising agencies; are protected by copyright and trademark laws; and may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express written permission of the copyright and trademark owners. (c) 2017 Black Card Mag LLC and Black Card LLC d/b/a Luxury Card. All rights reserved. Views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher, which makes reasonable efforts to verify its content. Publisher expressly disclaims and does not assume responsibility for the validity of any claims or statements made, including content errors, omissions, or infringing content. Advertisements and offers are the responsibility of the individual advertising entities, and do not constitute a legal offer by Publisher. Publisher is not responsible for price fluctuations. Prices are based on those accurate at press time. Please consult with a Luxury Card Concierge for current prices.

“JEWELS THIS SPECIAL COULD ONLY COME FROM

B E V E R L Y

H I L L S

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N E W

Y O R K

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B E R G D O R F

Martin Kat z .”

G O O D M A N

NATURE

OUTWARD BOUND PHOTOGRAPHERS EXPLORE LANDSCAPE AND WILDLIFE MOTIFS TO CREATE TRANSPORTING IMAGES THAT CONVEY BOTH ADMIRATION FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT’S INSPIRING BEAUTY AND CONCERNS FOR ITS PRESERVATION. by JASON EDWARD KAUFMAN

ature photographs tend to fall into two main genres: landscape and wildlife. In the United States, the landscape camp is inextricably linked to 20th-century master Ansel Adams. His breathtaking views of America’s national parks and natural splendor are among the most celebrated and familiar in all of photography. Adams imports into photography the tradition of Hudson River School painters Frederic Church, Albert Bierstadt, and later Winslow Homer, themselves indebted to European forebears. But not all landscape photographers tap this vein. Some prefer to tame the wilderness into picturesque scenes that express the ordering perspective of humans rather than the uncontrollable vastness of the cosmos. As humankind’s devastating impact on the planet becomes ever more evident, environmental sensitivity has emerged as a constant among today’s nature photographers. Adams himself was a conservationist, closely tied to the Sierra Club. He sought to draw attention to the endangered wilderness. How better than to create images imbued with nature’s beauty and majesty? In his spirit, we take a look at nature’s bounty framed through the lenses of some of today’s top nature photographers. w

Spring 2017

Courtesy Mark Burns

Spring 2017

Courtesy Mark Burns

Previous: Great Sand Dunes– Abstract #1, 2012 (Great Sand Dunes National Park). Opposite: Storm Clouds Over White Sands, 2010 (White Sands National Monument). Above: Stormy Tetons, 2014 (Grand Teton National Park).

MARK BURNS (b. 1958, Houston, Texas)

If you believe in reincarnation, you might suppose that Ansel Adams came back as Mark Burns. His National Parks Photography Project has produced images of North American landscape that already are iconic. Based in Houston, Burns honed his skills as a professional sports and commercial photographer before concentrating on landscape. He uses large- and medium-format film and digital cameras to create images that carry forward the classic blackand-white tradition. It is hard to imagine improving upon perfectly composed and masterfully printed works such as Storm Clouds Over White Sands (White Sands National Monument), Great Sand Dunes - Abstract #1 (Great Sand Dunes National Park), and Stormy Tetons (Grand Teton National Park). They are part of Burns’ campaign to portray all 59 parks for the centennial of the 1916 founding of the National Parks System. Burns plans to donate 25 complete sets of prints to museums around the country. The portfolio has toured museums in Texas and is available for exhibition at suitable venues. Over the next two years he will be photographing the Grand Canyon for the 2019 Centennial Anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park. Burns has photographs in The George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas; the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring, Texas; and many private collections. His Topeka Glacier image hangs in the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., and he also made a portrait of former President George and Barbara Bush that hangs in the captain’s quarters of the aircraft carrier the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). Burns recently mounted a commercial show at Off the Wall Gallery in Houston, and other cities are planned for 2017. Prices for new releases range from about $500 to $1,500 per print, unframed. thenationalparksphotographyproject.com w

Spring 2017

Clockwise from opposite bottom: Hyperborealis, 2010; Wilderness of Mirrors, Idaho, 2014; Deep Blue Sea Rising, Oregon, 2014; Spirit Infinity, Death Valley, California, 2014.

Courtesy David Benjamin Sherry

DAVID BENJAMIN SHERRY (b. 1981, Woodstock, NY)

There is a macho tinge to traditional photographs of the American West: Camera-wielding naturalists tend to be straight white men. Los Angeles–based Sherry’s response to “the male gaze” is to reinterpret classic landscapes by overlaying color filters on terrain conventionally depicted in austere black and white and adding people to typically unpopulated panoramas. His more personal vision finds El Capitán in Yosemite dotted with climbers, a flock of tourists tote selfie sticks in Yellowstone, and perhaps an erotic form lurking in a rainbow-colored cloud of smoke in Glacier National Park. Sherry’s vistas “inject a more queer and colorful vision of American Western photography,” he says, though he uses traditional large-format film cameras and old-fashioned printing techniques, preserving the craft rapidly fading in the age of digital photography. But he sometimes works in collage and sculpture as well. Sherry has exhibited at the Aspen Art Museum, the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, the International Center of Photography in New York, and the Garage Museum in Moscow, and some of his works are in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Saatchi Collection, London. The New Yorker and The New York Times have published his photographs, and he has three books. He plans to travel around the United States in 2017 to make work for a June exhibition at Salon 94 gallery in New York. Prices range from $10,000 to $30,000. salon94.com w

Spring 2017

CLIFFORD ROSS (b. 1952, New York, NY)

A photograph can never contain the fathomless detail of nature, but a strong enough lens can give that impression. Thatâ€™s what Ross achieved in 2002 when he invented and patented a superhigh-definition camera, dubbed the R1, and deployed it in landscapes of Mount Sopris in Colorado. The resulting large-scale images are like Hudson River School paintings, but with resolution so exquisitely fine that the viewer feels transported into the scene. His work in other media includes the video Harmonium Mountain that features an original score by Philip Glass. Ross, who maintains a studio in Greenwich Village, studied painting and sculpture before delving into photography in his 40s. For his breakout black-and-white Hurricane series, begun in 1996, he photographed waves while standing in the turbulent water tethered to an assistant on land. Other series include images of misty New England orchards and the Moroccan desert, and waves and trees printed on wood veneer. Recently he has been working on multimedia installations including a 28 x 28â€“foot stained-glass wall for the US Federal Courthouse in Austin, Texas. Ross photographs are in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others. Prices vary depending on size. cliffordross.com w

20 Spring 2017

Courtesy Clifford Ross

Clockwise from opposite: Hurricane LIV,Â 2009/2011; Mountain I, 2004/2006; The Austin Wall, 2013, installation in US Federal Courthouse, Austin, TX.

Spring 2017

SEBASTIÃO SALGADO (b. 1944, Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Genesis is the third long-term series on global issues by the world-renowned documentarian Salgado. Completed between 2004 and 2011, the self-assigned project’s more than 200 works are about the world in its original state, before the rush of modern life. Arctic and desert landscapes, tropical rainforests, wildlife, and remote human communities suggest Earth as it has existed for millennia. Trained as an economist, Salgado’s first major multiyear series, Workers (1993), depicts the working conditions of day laborers around the world, while his second, Migrations (2000), portrays populations displaced by war, natural disaster, or economic necessity. Genesis is the result of Salgado’s commitment to raise public awareness about the pressing issues of environment and climate change. “So many times I’ve photographed stories that show the degradation of the planet, I thought the only way to give us an incentive, to bring hope, is to show the pictures of the pristine [portion of our] planet—to see the innocence, perhaps how it was on the day of creation. And then we can understand what we must preserve.” A related project has been the restoration of a Salgado Family woodland in his native Brazil—which in 1998 became a nature reserve—and his establishment of Instituto Terra, dedicated to reforestation and environmental education. Based in Paris, Salgado has traveled to more than 100 countries for his projects. His works are often published in newspapers and magazines, collected in thematic books, and made the subject of traveling exhibitions. Genesis visited more than 30 museums on a recent three-year tour. Among the many museums that own his work are the Pompidou Center in Paris, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Prices range from $9,000 to $120,000. amazonasimages.com w

Spring 2017

Clockwise from top: Iceberg between Paulet Island and the Shetland Islands on the Antarctica Canal, Antarctica, 2005. Climbing from the bottom of the mine to the dumping ground at the top of the mine is a balancing act when carrying 30 kilos of soil on slick ladders, Serra Pelada gold mine, State of Para, Brazil, 1986. Thousands of Rwandan refugees, Zaire, 1997.

Spring 2017

ÂŠ Sebastiao Salgado/Amazonas - Contact Press Images at mail@contactpressimages.com.

DAVID YARROW (b. 1966, Glasgow, Scotland)

Hunting big game with a camera, Yarrow’s trophies are images that bring us face to face with massive elephants and predatory felines. Like any hunter, he relies on cunning, skill, and knowledge of his prey to get off the perfect shot. He prefers wide-angle lenses, sometimes on remote-controlled cameras— luring odor-sensitive cats with aftershave—and triggers the motor drive shutter, sometimes from a nearby cage. He has bagged polar bears, lions, rhinos, zebras, and gorillas, their muzzles no more than a foot or two from the lens, and epic scenes of elephant herds crossing a dry lake in Kenya. He also has created astonishing staged pictures—a wolf prowling a Wild West saloon, a nude model caressing a cheetah—and images of indigenous people in Africa, including a timeless stunner of South Sudanese herders silhouetted among the U-shaped horns of their cattle. “That changed me from a good photographer into someone that galleries couldn’t afford to ignore,” he says. From his base in London’s posh Sloane Square, Yarrow—who used to work in finance—roughs it all over the world, sharing his adventures with more than 11,000 Twitter followers. He plans to add wild Alaskan wolves to his portfolio this year, and may resume work with gorillas at a location to be determined. His iconic photographs are collected in the book Wild Encounters (Rizzoli, 2016), and selections have been on tour at museums in London, Antwerp, Stockholm, Paris, Zurich, Amsterdam, and Dallas. Recent commercial shows have been at Rotella Gallery in New York, Holden Luntz Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida, and Isabella Garrucho Gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut. Prices range from $10,000 to $60,000. He donates 10 percent to the conservation charity Tusk Trust, as well as donating all author royalties from his book. davidyarrow.photography

Spring 2017

Clockwise from above: Family, Amboseli, Kenya, 2012; Leshan, Buddha, Sichuan, 1986; Sea of Good Fortune (Fuhai), Yuanming Yuan, Beijing, 2004.

Lois Conner, Courtesy Gitterman Gallery. Opposite, courtesy David Yarrow.

LOIS CONNER (b. 1951, Rockville Center, Long Island, NY)

If ancient Chinese painter-poets had cameras, what sort of images might they have made? Conner has been answering that question ever since a Guggenheim fellowship led her to China in 1984. With a 19th-centurystyle, 7 x 17–inch camera designed to take group portraits at banquets, she creates black-and-white compositions whose elongated vertical and horizontal formats resemble Chinese scrolls from the Ming Dynasty. Her rendering of the giant Buddha in Leshan, Sichuan, and mountain scenes in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, echo the aesthetic refinement of the Chinese masters. Contemplative images of lotus ponds, the plant stems often resembling calligraphy, call to mind album leaves. Her large Lotus triptychs were included in the Chinese Gardens: Pavilions, Studios, Retreats exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2012. Conner earned an MFA at Yale in 1981 and has lived in New York City’s Gramercy Park district since 1976. She frequently returns to China, and has ventured to Vietnam and the American West (her mother was Cree). She plans this year to work in New Zealand, Italy, France, California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Her absorption of traditional forms has made her a favorite among curators, resulting in a major 1994 retrospective, Landscape as Culture, at the Smithsonian Institution’s Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.; and a 1994 solo exhibition, Beijing: Contemporary and Imperial, at the Cleveland Museum of Art. She currently is taking part in The Poetics of Place: Contemporary Photographs from the Met Collection (until June 25, 2017). Other museums that have acquired her works include the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia. Prices for her prints range from $3,500 to $15,000. gittermangallery.com w

Spring 2017

From top: Maui Keiki, 2010; Breathe, 2013.

Undersea photography was a sideline when the brothers began as scuba-diving instructors, but their colorful images of marine life found a market and wet shooting became their main vocation. Most popular are “over/unders” that show aquatic creatures partly underwater and partly above. Breathe features a turtle sailing just below the surface near a palm-lined shore, and Maui Keiki shows a baby humpback whale diving after a breath—which won first place at the 2015 International Photography Awards in the underwater category, beating out 17,842 submissions from over 230 countries. The brothers operate a gallery in Paia, Maui, and have worked the waters off Hawaii, as well as French Polynesia, Indonesia, and other locales, often organizing trips à la Jacques Cousteau that include friends, collectors, and novices seeking underwater photography lessons (available through the Cesere Brothers Gallery). They recently brought

Spring 2017

14 people on a three-week voyage to the Galápagos Islands on a chartered yacht, and just returned from one of their ongoing trips with Silversea cruise line’s Silver Spirit, making stops around the Caribbean. Future trips are planned to Fiji, Palau, and Raja Ampat. In addition to all of that traveling, exclusive to the Four Seasons Maui (fourseasons.com), the pair hosts whale watch photo expeditions and “Unforgettable Experiences” excursions as artists in residence at the resort. The brothers have exhibited at the World Festival of Underwater Pictures in Antibes, France, and last year presented an installation about climate change at the C40 Mayors Summit in Mexico City. Their work is owned by Apple, Bank of Hawaii, the BBC, Delta Airlines, Eddie Bauer, and many private collectors. Limited editions on dye-infused aluminum range from $150 to $8,000 and are highly customizable. ceserebrothers.com

Courtesy Cesere Brothers

THE CESERE BROTHERS (John, b. 1977, and Dan, b. 1981, both in Methuen, Massachusetts)

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ADVENTURE

ADRENALINE for the

AESTHETE HIKE YOUR HEART OUT, GET CARRIED AWAY KITEBOARDING, EXPLORE THE WORLD UNDERSEAâ€”THEN COME BACK TO THESE CHIC RETREATS FOR SOME TRUE BEAUTY REST.

Spring 2017

Far left (bike), Rob Penn/Getty Images; Right, mphotoi.com.

Kohanaiki

Spring 2017

WHAT Snorkeling, Outrigger Canoeing, SUP, Golf WHERE

Big Island, Hawaii

STAY Kohanaiki The Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island boasts some of America’s most pristine coral reefs. That alone makes it a prime destination for snorkeling and swimming, but when you add in the possibilities of spotting dolphins and sea turtles while underwater it becomes a true bucket-list item. The wide array of other adrenaline-inducing water adventures—think outings on the bright blue Pacific on Hawaiian outrigger canoes and sailing canoes, stand-up paddleboards, surfboards, and body boards, all available at the private 450-acre Kohanaiki Golf & Ocean Club—only adds to the instant appeal. Four years and $65 million in the making, the 67,000-square-foot

Kohanaiki Clubhouse and Spa— designed by Zak Architecture as a modern, elegant interpretation of Hawaii’s early huts—is worth the $150,000 membership initiation fee and $25,000 in annual dues associated with owning a home (from $3 million to $30 million; kohanaiki .com) in the private community. (The development does not have a hotel.) Eleven-plus miles of cedar decking promise unrestrained opportunity to enjoy the picture-perfect surroundings, but a chop house and sushi bar, cigar lounge, speakeasy Scotch bar, wine and cheese room, private brewery, four-lane bowling alley, movie theater, swimming pools, fitness center, and holistic spa entice guests inside, too.

Walls and flooring integrate natural stone, volcanic rock, and coral, all in line with the region’s natural landscape. The ultimate playground is also home to a library of rare Hawaiian literature, which is in good company with the museum-level gallery housing indigenous artifacts and art, including a collection of 11 signed navigation prints by great Hawaiian artist Herb Kane. The clubhouse also serves as the starting-off point for the club’s 18-hole, Rees Jones–designed golf course, where six holes border the ocean for spectacular views. —Kathryn Romeyn

30 Spring 2017

Left and middle Right, mphotoi.com; top right, Monica and Michael Sweet/Getty Images. Opposite: (Diver) Casper Douma.

Kohanaiki

Piet Boon Bonaire

WHAT Scuba Diving WHERE

Bonaire STAY Piet Boon Bonaire Fifty miles north of Venezuela, the 114-square-mile Caribbean island of Bonaire has been a sanctuary for divers ever since Captain Don Stewart, a pioneer of diving and reef conservation, arrived in 1962 and named most of the 86 easily accessible sites. One hundred percent of the waters and more than 20 percent of the island are a protected marine sanctuary and national park, which leads to a continued abundance of 350 recorded fish species and at least 57 species of coral in the pristine waters. While many Caribbean dive areas have been destroyed by overuse from fishing, recreation water sports, and high-rise development, Bonaire remains full of life, making every journey underwater remarkable. Book a weeklong stay and go straight from the plane to your first dive with VIP Diving (vipdiving.com). Allow its dive butler service to take you on private excursions with a maximum of four divers to Bonaire’s narrow fringing reef, which practically begins at the shoreline, making these the best 54 shore dives on the planet with easy access and entry. Head to Salt Pier and see the only Caribbean island that has salt mountains like snow. When there are no ships alongside, the area is some of the island’s best diving for spotting the chain moray eel. Take a few steps into the water, snorkel out in

the clear aquamarine sea, and descend near the pylons to visit large schools of fish as well as octopi, turtles, tarpon, barracuda, and Caribbean reef squid that gather there. The next day, visit the bright pink flamingos at Karpata or Gotomeer lagoon, and head to Tolo on the northern part of the island for leisurely dives with massive colorful sponges and corals including blade coral, purple finger sponge, star coral, and elephant ear sponges that make this dive site spectacular. The largest sponges are between 60 and 80 feet, but snorkelers will find coral in abundance as well as juvenile fish. Look for razor-sharp surgeonfish, scorpion fish, honeycomb cowfish, and flounders galore. The

water is warm (about 80 degrees all year), calm, and inviting. The Dutch island is home to Piet Boon Bonaire (from $3,500/week; pietboonbonaire.com), a collection of 10 freestanding villas named for its Amsterdam-based architect. Each is inspired by the traditional salt mine workers’ homes found on the island, but modernized with a cool gray-neutral palette, contemporary furnishings, high ceilings, and locally sourced materials including wood, coral, and partitions made of bonecolored pebbles and crisp white linens. Each has its own pool; half are located directly on the sea. w —Lisa Niver Spring 2017

WHAT Swimming with Whale Sharks and Manta Rays WHERE

The Maldives

St. Regis

STAY Milaidhoo Island, St. Regis, and the Jumeirah Vittaveli From June to November each year, the world’s largest groupings of manta rays gather in Hanifaru Bay, within the jewel-toned UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll. The peaceful aquatic giants—with wingspans that average 9 feet—don’t mind hosting visitors in the form of snorkelers and swimmers. (Elsewhere one can stand-up paddle above the rays as they swim.) Whale sharks are the other fantastical draw of this idyllic underwater sanctuary. The slow, gentle creatures are harmless to humans who can swim alongside them, and are staggering in size, reaching up to 40 feet. A trio of openings offers a variety of accommodations for design-lovers. Located over the warm turquoise waters of the Baa Atoll, couple-friendly boutique resort Milaidhoo Island (from $1,575; milaidhoo.com) offers an immersion in Maldivian everything, with 50 villas designed by local architect Mohamed Shafeeq that are outfitted

exclusively with indigenous materials, hand-selected and custom-made décor that represents breezy, barefoot Maldives style. Guests can also dine at the region’s only Maldivian-cuisine restaurant. The brand-new St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort (from $1,976; starwoodhotels.com)—where one can also snorkel with dolphins—is truly jaw-dropping, thanks to a natureinspired contemporary look by WOW Architects and Warner Wong Design that includes a bar shaped like a whale shark and honey-hued timber interiors that offset the azure of the atoll. Palatial luxury ensconces guests at Jumeirah’s The Royal Residence at Vittaveli (opening in March, from $25,800; jumeirah.com), an over-thetop three-villa, five-bedroom residence sleeping 10 adults and featuring meticulous butler service, sculptural bathtubs by Kelly Hoppen, two sandside pools, and a Nolte wine cellar holding vino valued at $100,000. —K.R.

Spring 2017

Jumeirah Vittaveli

Milaidhoo Island

Villa Naya

WHAT Kiteboarding, Kitesurfing WHERE

Paros, Greece

Middle right, Riccardo Chiades/iStock. Opposite: Left, Ullstein Bild/Getty Images; top right, have seen/iStock; bottom, Felix Hug.

Villa Athalia

STAY Bright Blue Villas On the sandy western shore of Paros, Pounda is famous for its strong meltemi winds, which blow sideonshore from mid-June to September in front of neighboring Antiparos, creating a Venturi effect as it squeezes between the two islands. These conditions are sought for kiteboarding and kitesurfing, and have made Paros one of the world’s premier destinations for the sports, not only for pros and advanced riders but beginners, too. The steady wind can result in up to one-mile rides on Aegean water that ranges from flat and clear to frothy and choppy. The concierge team for Bright Blue Villas (brightbluevillas .com)—a villa rental company that specializes in architectural gems not frequently found for rent through other companies—use their expertise to book guests with top local providers for lessons and access to ultimate kiteboarding experiences. Instead of a hotel room, opt for an authentic Greek trophy home like the award-winning Villa Naya (from $3,200/week). The minimalist sixbedroom villa carves into a sloping site on the western part of the island, using iconic white walls typical to the Cycladic landscape that marry natural outdoor vistas with contemporary spaces. Just steps from a stretch of famously fine golden sand is Villa Athalia (from $5,275/week), which combines Cycladic architecture with fresh all-white interiors by Malvina Sarantitis, and a vast pool dotted with clean-lined daybeds. Blue evil eyes, natural stone, and expansive outdoor dining and infinity pools are also featured at the new Villa Hailey (from $7,500/week) and Villa Primrose (from $5,275/week), which has great access to beaches including Pounda and includes a private chef. w —K.R. Spring 2017

WHAT Muay Thai Boxing, Water Biking WHERE

Koh Samui, Thailand

The Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui

STAY Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui As Thailand’s national sport, muay thai, also known as Thai kickboxing, is the main event on the country’s second-largest island, Koh Samui— when one isn’t lazing on a palm-fringed beach, that is. Surely the world’s most breathtaking place to practice the so-called “art of eight limbs” is at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui’s (from $813/night; fourseasons.com) new Bill Bensley–designed training ring, where instead of a sweaty gym enclosing boxers, participants are surrounded by sweeping vistas of the cerulean Gulf of Thailand and vibrant green jungle. Curious guests can dip a toe in with an intro session or mini boot

camp (there’s a kids’ class, too), while avid fans should opt for the immersive package that includes VIP tickets to a professional fight at Chaweng Boxing Stadium, where a pro will provide private commentary. Further training and matches are available all over the island, at countless specialized camps and rings. For the less combative, amphibious water bikes allow for leisurely pedals through the surf. Thanks to the ingenuity of worldfamous architect and landscape designer Bensley—whose new book, Escapism, explores some greatest hits— the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui has maximum aesthetic impact and

a minimal footprint. Guests can take a tour of his work—including the new CoCoRum 50-meter pool and beach bar, stilted villas decorated with local crafts and custom artwork, and the bromeliad-filled tamed jungle—guided by the head gardener, and admire one of his greatest accomplishments: retaining 856 original coconut trees, which penetrate pools, porches, and interiors for a “sublime” effect. —K.R.

Spring 2017

WHAT Heli-hiking, Snow Kitesurfing WHERE

Charlevoix, Québec Hotel Le Germain Charlevoix

Top left, Seven Had/iStock; top right, Jonathan Robert; inset, PeterShort/iStock. Opposite: Bottom right, Bill Beasley.

STAY Hotel Le Germain Charlevoix Charlevoix, a rugged and wild terrain, lies about 75 minutes from Québec City, where the Laurentian Mountains shadow the St. Lawrence River, a unique geography along the mighty river’s 744-mile corridor. A meteor is thought to have formed the narrow valley. Charlevoix was designated a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1988. The region is littered with discoveries such as stunted forests, rare sub-Arctic tundra ecosystems, and Le Germain Hôtel Charlevoix (from $152; legermainhotels.com). The 145-room property spreads across the footprint of what was once Canada’s largest wooden barn, which burned in 1997, scuttling Cirque du Soleil co-founder Daniel Gauthier’s vision to convert the barn into a hotel. Undaunted, Gauthier commissioned a five-building resort from LEMAYMICHAUD Architecture Design, a juxtaposed modern-bucolic ambience of barn doors, exposed steel, and accents shaped by Charlevoix artisans.

Héli Charlevoix (heli-charlevoix.com) whisks guests directly from the resort to Haute-Gorge-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park, where moose yearlings emerge from boreal forest marshlands, or to the mountain for a prepared picnic followed by a two-hour hike. World champion kitesurfer Catherine Dufour leads Suroît Aventures’ (suroitaventures.com) snow kitesurfing classes beside the hotel in spring and upon Baie-Saint-Paul come summer. Hôtel Charlevoix concierges will arrange river and sea kayaking and

guided hikes such as canyoning in Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive with premier local guides who depart directly from the resort. It’s best to plot one’s adventure while aboard the custom Train de Charlevoix, which conveys guests from Québec City along the sublime coastline directly to the hotel’s private station. w —Crai Bower Spring 2017

WHAT River Rafting, Rock Climbing

Hotel Jerome

WHERE

Aspen, Colorado

Longer days, fewer tourists, and low room rates make spring an ideal time to visit Aspen. Mid-April, when the lifts stop turning and the snow starts melting, adrenaline junkies can hit the Roaring Fork River. Ride the Slaughterhouse Falls section for Class IV rapids or take on gentler waters in the Upper Fork and Middle Fork. Half-day trips (aspenwhitewater.com) include all gear, hotel pickup, and snacks or lunch. At Independence Pass, Colorado’s highest paved highway that summits the Continental Divide at 12,095 feet, the gate opens to cars just before Memorial Day, revealing a high-alpine playground with rock faces for climbers, abandoned mining towns for history buffs, and miles of trails for hikers. Interpretive

guided excursions (aspennature.org) introduce hikers to flora, fauna, and history along key treks such as the Grottos Trail and the Lost Man trail, an 8.8-mile hike (one way) that delivers see-forever views from the top of the pass. For those willing to climb higher, many of Colorado’s 58 fourteeners, including the tallest (Mount Elbert), are within reach of Aspen. Head to the summit with an experienced guide (aspenalpineguides.com), necessary during the spring when parts of the trail are snow-covered. Before setting out, climbers partake in a pre-hike training day to assess fitness levels and mountaineering skills. Off the mountain, the historic (1889) Hotel Jerome (from $360; hoteljerome .com) makes a comfortable basecamp.

A renovation in 2012 added a new restaurant, a living room–style lounge, and a spa. The work of interior designer Todd-Avery Lenahan of TAL-Studio, Las Vegas, and Aspen-based architects Rowland + Broughton preserved the hotel’s original details, notably the Chippendale chinoiserie bar of the iconic J-Bar, a casual spot for a posthike burger and brew. The hotel’s 93 rooms are chic and airy with burnished leather bed frames, cashmere curtains, and mountain views. In December, the hotel plans to unveil eight units in the adjacent Aspen Times Building. w —Kim Fredericks

Spring 2017

Robert Cicchetti/iStock; bottom right, Ozgurdonmaz/iStock .

STAY Hotel Jerome

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The Ranch at Rock Creek

WHAT Snowga, Horseback Riding WHERE

Montana

The Ranch at Rock Creek (from $900; theranchatrockcreek.com), south of Glacier National Park, found a way to improve on both yoga and snowshoeing with snowga, which blends the active practices with meditation for a total mind-body experience. Think vigorous climbing to a snowy mountaintop for frontierthemed standing poses like Mountain, Eagle, and Warrior, then a guided nature trek back to “civilization” for an essential oils workshop and hot tea. Horseback riding is another way to soak up Montana’s big skies, sagebrush-dotted hills, and miles of picturesque trails, suited to all skill levels. Santa Fe–based designer Jet Zarkadas had the enviable job of transforming a 19th-century homestead and cattle ranch into a lavish resort worthy of five stars while retaining its authentic charm. The area’s culture and heritage influenced the design, seen in early snapshots of frontier life from the Montana Historical Society that dot walls, woven Navajo

rugs and throws, antler accents and cowhides, and local antiques like a vintage blue stove at the heart of the indoor/outdoor Blue Canteen dining space. Due to regular estatesale shopping, the spaces—from canvas cabins to a converted barn— are constantly evolving. The latest update features John Deere tractor parts repurposed in a kitchen façade, rare US Cavalry tack, tintypes of Western movie stars, and rodeo buckle collections. w —K.R.

Spring 2017

Middle, Gordon Gregory

STAY The Ranch at Rock Creek

Elevated perspective. From the heights of Camelback Mountain, you’ll see a different view of luxury. Let Sanctuary’s Asian spa, mountain casitas and sunset views from the elements dining deck inspire your new definition of what travel can be. 10% Off Best Sanctuary Rate plus full breakfast daily, through May 25, 2017*

866.232.7858 | SanctuaryAZ.com | Scottsdale, AZ “World’s Best ” – Travel + Leisure, 2008 –2 015 * For special of fer, mention “MasterCard Luxur y” and pay with MasterCard. Cannot be combined with any other of fer.

WHAT Mountain Trekking, Hiking, Biking WHERE

Sri Lanka

STAY Santani As an island, Sri Lanka is ringed in sandy beaches and surfable teal waves, but much of the real adventure is found in its interior. Around the last ancient capital of Kandy is a mountainous, bio-diverse rainforest ready to be explored by foot or mountain bike. Dozens of hikes and trails wind through the emerald-tinged region, providing beginner to advanced challenges that may weave through tea estates or pause for refreshingly icy waterfall showers or river bathing. Some of Sri Lanka’s 400-plus bird species also make appearances. Take a full day to summit Gombaniya, the Everest of the remote Knuckles Mountain Range. The range is part of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s impossible to miss the mountains when staying in one of Santani’s

(from $352; santani.lk) airy stilted villas, inspired by both 16th-century Tampita Vihara architecture and caves—they have just one open side (in this case, floor-to-ceiling glass revealing the dramatic landscape) to minimize peripheral stimulation during meditation and turn guests’ focus to 48 acres of nearly untouched nature. Sri Lankan architect Thisara Thanapathy created luxurious Amanstyle minimalism with an eco-friendly footprint at the Ayurvedic-based wellness retreat and spa —the main building’s floor is pine wood salvaged from a tea factory, and there is no air conditioning or need for it—with the purpose of creating a spacious indoor-outdoor environment (even the spa suites have only three walls) that breeds ultimate calm and relaxation. —K.R.

40 Spring 2017

Top right, Steven Greaves/Getty Images; far right, Geography Photographs/UIG/Getty Images; middle, Rob Penn/Getty Images.

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THESE EIGHT DESTINATIONS ARE PRIME FOR DESIGN TOURISM. BRING AN EXTRA SUITCASE—EACH IS A BOUNTY OF UNIQUE KEEPSAKES, ART, DÉCOR, AND LOCAL CRAFTS.

Spring 2017

Clockwise from top: Ett Hem; At Six; Lamino chair by Yngve Ekström; Design House Stockholm; Malmstenbutiken.

STOCKHOLM History

Developed during WWII, minimalist, engineerdriven Scandinavian design has been beloved since its emergence on the national stage, and for some 60 years, Sweden has been one of the driving forces. Ikea is far from the jewel on the country’s crown: Dozens of makers fashion functional, forward-thinking furniture, including innovator Monica Förster, Thomas Bernstrand (who created the prizewinning Gobble coat rack and People armchair), Yngve Ekström with his iconic Lamino chair (recently done in denim with Sweden’s Nudie jeans), Nisse Strinning’s String shelving system, and the brand Norrgavel, whose simple, eco-friendly designs meld Swedish, American Shaker, and Japanese wabisabi influences. When it comes to rugs, Kasthall is a world leader, and for surreal, vibrant textiles, search for those by late architect Josef Frank, an Austrian who adopted Swedish citizenship for the second half of his life and paved the way for Finland’s Marimekko.

Bottom left, Jonas Lindström

Shopping Find Frank’s cheerful fabrics, along with

his tables, candelabras, lighting, and vases (among other designers) at Svenskt Tenn (svenskttenn.se) in the city center, where you could spend all day not just shopping and outfitting your home but lingering over a drink in the Tea Room. It’s walking distance from Design House Stockholm’s flagship (designhousestockholm.com), which stocks furniture and home accessories by contemporary and classic homegrown designers, and Illums Bolighus (illumsbolighus .com), where a number of local names are represented via sleek and sculptural stunners and all the stylish Swedish accoutrements one could want. Find authentic craftsmen like Lies-Marie Hoffmann (l-mh.com) working with wood and their hands in the forested Småland region south of Stockholm, known as the Kingdom of Furniture and the Kingdom of Crystal.

Where to Stay In the heart of the best design

shopping, At Six (from $210; hotelatsix.com)—opening March 23—represents its neighborhood aesthetic well. Born out of a 19th-century socialite haven, the Brunkebergstorg hotel is all about elegant, contemporary art and design. Guests can enjoy the property’s extensive, high-level collection of international Swedish art (see well-known Stockholm photographer Dawid and commissioned mirror-based works by Malmö-based Kristina Matousch) within its walls—as well as follow its Sune Nordgren–curated Stockholm Art & Design self-guided tour around the city For a more boutique experience, Ett Hem (from $400; etthem.se) appeals to the design-minded with 12 perfectly curated Scandinavian-style rooms from Londonbased Ilse Crawford. The hotel is fashioned from a 1910 private home and is nestled in a residential neighborhood, only slightly removed from the city’s action. Guests have exclusive access to the private garden, restaurant, and common areas, some of the chicest spaces in the city. w —Kathryn Romeyn Spring 2017 43

Clockwise from top center: Kohchosai Kosuga; Hoshinoya Kyoto; Four Seasons Kyoto; The RitzCartlton Kyoto tempura mizuki chef; Kohchosai Pottery Collection; Kohchosai Copenhagen Collection; Kaikado objects collections.

KYOTO, JAPAN

History With some 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto Shrines—17 of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites—Kyoto remains Japan’s cultural capital. Nestled around three rivers in a valley surrounded by bambooshrouded mountains, the city radiates a Zen-like atmosphere of calm and beauty. But Kyoto has become ground zero for the country’s cuttingedge design spurred by an influx of international artisans and nascent but burgeoning high-tech industries, which have brought new panache to the city’s millennial-old traditions.

Shopping Kyoto Handmade (japan-handmade.com) is a collaboration with Danish Design Studio OeO and local craftsmen from six local companies to bring innovative international panache to ancient Kyoto craftsmanship. Check out the chrysanthemum shades blending traditional kyo-kanaami (metal knitting) with contemporary lighting design at Kanaami-Tsuji (kanaamitsuji.net) or the Scando-sleek silver or brass teapots using Edo-era techniques at the Kaikado teaware shop (kaikado .jp/english). Mix Japan’s 10,000-year-old bamboo working techniques with a modern eye and you get cutlery that looks like it was designed by Calder or funky Dr. Seuss–like baskets in Kyoto’s venerable Kohchosai Kosuga’s flagship boutique (kohchosai.co.jp). Set in a funkily redesigned 120-year-old home in the heart of the Gion District, Pass the Baton (passthe-baton.com) is a high-end consignment shop, recyclable design gallery, and hip café that blends Kyoto’s ancient and modernistic vibe.

Where to Stay

The Ritz-Carlton ($845/night; ritzcarlton.com) opened Kyoto’s first ultra-luxury hotel in 2014 on the Kamogawa River with a small stream that runs right through the lobby. The hotel offers imaginative classes on local craftsmanship including Zen garden design, and a resident hike and bike master to explore the surrounding temples and mountains. Opened in October, the Four Seasons (from $650/night; fourseasons .com ) incorporates renowned design firm HBA’s understated elegance such as cypress wood rooms and lobbies lined with enormous windows framing the hotel’s 800-year-old pond garden in the midst of the Higashiyama District. A Park Hyatt is slated for completion in 2019, but as the well-known international brands make their debuts, established Japanese luxury brands offer travelers a truly authentic experience. Hoshinoya Kyoto (from $713; hoshinoyakyoto.jp/en), previously a 100-year-old ryokan, was completed in 2009 and features furnishings from local artisans, traditional gardens with a pond and waterfall, and a spa with treatments based on Zen Buddhism. w —Finn Olaf-Jones 44 Spring 2017

Spring 2017 45

This page, clockwise from top left: Tai Modern; Heidi Loewen Porcelain Gallery & School; LewAllen Galleries; Rosewood Inn. Opposite page, counterclockwise from top right: The Strand; lacquerware; lotus weaving; Belmond Governor’s Residence.

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

History More than a thousand years ago, Ancestral Puebloans built

adobe houses and created elegant pottery that continues to influence the look and art of Santa Fe today. The Spanish colonial culture brought woodcarving, tinwork, and religious art, and luminaries like Georgia O’Keeffe focused worldwide attention on the natural beauty that inspired her art. Today, little Santa Fe is the third-largest art market in the United States, and the population is rich in artists and designers.

Shopping In the Railyard Arts District, LewAllen Galleries

(lewallengalleries.com) carries three top New Mexico landscape artists: John Fincher, Forrest Moses, and Woody Gwyn. At TAI Modern (taimodern.com), there’s a breathtaking collection by Fujinuma Noboru and Katsushiro Soho, who are living national treasures of bamboo art. Blue Rain Gallery (blueraingallery.com) specializes in regional contemporary artists such as Preston Singletary, Jim Vogel, and Doug West. And William Siegal Gallery (williamsiegal.com) carries high-end antiques from Latin America, some of which are 5,000 years old. Downtown, Heidi Loewen Porcelain Gallery & School (heidiloewen .com) sells one-of-a-kind smoked porcelain platters and sculptures, and all collectors are offered a free, private pottery-making class. Master goldsmith Marc Howard (marc-howard.com), a jeweler’s jeweler, specializes in custom and one-of-a-kind fine jewelry design, featuring high-karat metals, diamonds, and colored gems. And Patina Gallery (patina-gallery.com), a world-class boutique for one-of-a-kind jewelry, offers handcrafted pieces by the finest designers in Santa Fe and Europe. Head to Designs of Erika (designsoferika.com) for Swedish-designed totes and bags as elegant as they are affordable.

Where to Stay Downtown, where the action is. Rosewood Inn

(from $236; rosewoodhotels.com) of the Anasazi features traditional elements of adobe construction like kiva fireplaces, vigas, and latillas in each guest room. And Inn of the Five Graces (from $335; fivegraces.com), on a l7th-century street, celebrates the Old West and antiques from the Silk Road. —Judith Fein

46 Spring 2017

MYANMAR

History If any one craft is synonymous with Myanmar it’s lacquerware,

a centuries-old practice in which artisans painstakingly—over the course of months—apply layer upon layer of resin from the thitsi tree over handshaped bamboo pieces in family-owned workshops around the ancient city of Bagan. Tea sets, lunch boxes, urns, and furniture are all options, each of which has been carefully sanded and etched with exquisite scenes and stories. Antique shops even sell lacquerware wrapped in gold leaf. For 100 years, Inle Lake’s entrepreneurial residents have been expertly weaving not only with silk or cotton threads but with nearly invisible fibers hand-pulled from the stems of pink (only pink) lotus flowers. Colorful textiles—both woven and stitched—are another traditional craft. Mother-of-pearl, jade (which promises good health), and teak show up on silverware, abounding flowers are used to create handmade paper lanterns, and it’s impossible to avoid the hand-carved wooden figurines, representing Buddha, deities, animals, or nature.

Shopping For lacquerware it’s best to go to the source: a Bagan-

Middle, Sam Spicer/Shutterstock

area workshop. Only there—and in fine boutiques and antique shops— can you be sure of the quality. The same goes for lotus weaving. Hire a private local boat for next to nothing and shop the floating villages. At markets such as Bogyoke Aung San in Yangon one can find a plethora of woodcarving, textiles, and decorative handicrafts, but it’s best to go with a specific purpose as the sheer size can be overwhelming. In Yangon, fair-trade social enterprise Pomelo for Myanmar (pomeloformyanmar.org) boutique sells a rich array of contemporary-style, locally made textiles, décor, tableware, and accessories with explanations of the processes and stories of the disadvantaged groups who made them, and benefit from their sale.

Where to Stay Yangon’s recently reopened luxury property The

Strand (from $335; hotelthestrand.com) features a brand-new firstfloor boutique stocking lacquerware, textiles, and silverware made by local craftsmen and entrepreneurs. Belmond Governor’s Residence (from $290; belmond.com) is an elegant, colonial-style temporary home from which to explore Yangon, while Myanmar Treasure Resorts (from $75; myanmartreasureresorts.com) in Inle Lake and Bagan are perfectly charming jumping-off points for shopping on the water or amid thousands of pagodas. w —K.R. Spring 2017

Clockwise from top left: Everfresh Studio; QT Melbourne; Craft Victoria; Mondopiero; Tait rocker; Guild of Objects.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

History Considered the design capital of Australia, Melbourne is

an emerging hub for industrial innovations and also for contemporary architectural and interior creations. It’s not just in the painted laneways that creatives express themselves. Unique made-in-Australia goods range from minimalist and modern—like Henry Wilson’s cast-bronze light sconces—to Aboriginal-influenced, like the intricate, colorful, digitally printed fabrics and wallpaper designed by Willie Weston in conjunction with remote indigenous community art centers. These textiles are often applied to contemporary furniture or furnishings, adding color to an oftentimes neutral palette—take Tait’s mod white outdoor furnishings or the leather Longreach Sofa by Anibou, with Tasmanian sassafras legs. When it comes to décor, there are artists and ceramists abounding: Watch out for names like local Richard Stringer and Mornington Peninsula–based Kaz Morton.

Shopping The edgy up-and-coming Collingwood neighborhood is

gaining momentum as Melbourne’s design hub. It’s where a new Anibou (anibou.com.au) showroom features the label’s own furniture alongside Scandinavian labels and local makers like Tomahawk Studios, with their minimalist Campfire Coffee Table, and the urban graffiti gallery Everfresh Studio (everfreshstudio.com) behind an unmarked factory door. For splashy ceramics and other objets d’art, shop North Melbourne’s Guild of Objects (guildofobjects.com), promoting the new generation of Australian makers, and Craft Victoria (craft.org.au), a nonprofit organization representing and supporting local craftspeople with exhibitions and retail programs. Mondopiero (mondopiero.com.au) in Fitzroy—a hip, bohemian shopping district—stocks and showcases 4,000-plus square feet of impressive homewares, art, and furniture by artisans with a distinct voice and refined skill.

Where to Stay In the fashion district known as the Paris End, QT

Melbourne (from $350; qthotelsandresorts.com) is a brand-new designdriven boutique hotel by acclaimed architect Angelo Candalepas, along with QT’s longstanding collaborators Nic Graham, Shelley Indyk, and Amanda Love. It’s packed with bespoke details that play off an industrial minimalism theme (rooftop furniture by Tait), custom designs by locals James Beattie and Patsy Payne, and a curated collection of contemporary digital and video art. Speaking of, the QT offers street art tours, guided by an artist from Blender Studios, the heart of Melbourne’s early underground movement. w —K.R.

Spring 2017

Spring 2017 49

Middle left, Lindsey Rendelli; bottom left, Haydn Cattach.

History

There hasn’t been this much buzz about Mexico City since Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera shocked the art world with their radical work and tumultuous love affair. Today, Mexico City is again becoming one of the world’s most exciting art destinations. Designers and art collectors flock to Design Week Mexico (October 4–8, 2017; designweekmexico .com) to see work from the newest young talent. And Mexico City has been named World Design Capital 2018 by the World Design Organization (WDC). Swing through Museo Nacional de Arte to get an overview of Mexican art—gilded icons, lush textiles, ornate silverwork, and a large collection of Rivera’s paintings. Marvel at the play of color and geometry at Casa Luis Barragán, home of the celebrated architect. Skip over to the sawtooth-roofed, David Chipperfield–designed Museu Jumex (the fruit-juice tycoon’s amazing contemporary art) and Fernando Romero’s futuristic, aluminum-clad Museo Soumaya (houses billionaire Carlos Slim’s collection—from Rodin to Mexican surrealism).

Shopping For beautiful furniture, visit Pirwi (pirwi.com). See

midcentury (mostly wood) designs at LCMX (lc-mx.com), where the lighting really shines. The Dante armchair with hand-burned patina at Paul Roco (paulroco.com) is worth the trip. For art by some of Mexico’s best-knowns, up-and-comings, and the most hip openings in town, Kurimanzutto (kurimanzutto.com).

Where to Stay Overnight at trend-setting Habita’s Downtown

Mexico (from $375; downtownmexico.com), a grand 17th-century palace furnished in a minimal, midcentury look by Paul Roco. —Irene Rawlings

50 Spring 2017

Top left, Udine Pröhl; bottom, Simon Menges. Opposite: Top, Matthew Williams; middle and bottom, Explore Charleston.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Habita’s Downtown Mexico; Paul Roco’s Dante armchair; Pirwi; Museo Jumex. This page, from top: Dewberry Hotel; Charleston Battery Bench; sweetgrass basket from Charleston City Market.

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA History

Charleston’s charming neighborhood pockets and pristine architecture are enough to make any design enthusiast swoon. One of the best ways to discover its secret alleyways, formal gardens, and antebellum mansions is by foot, meandering along the cobblestone streets that offer galleries, antiques, and, of course, Southern hospitality.

Shopping A part of Charleston’s culture since the early 1800s, the

Charleston City Market (thecharlestoncitymarket.com) is the city’s most visited attraction, where tourists and locals alike shop for locally made goods. One of the most sought-after treasures of the Lowcountry are the hand-woven sweetgrass baskets, a handicraft that West African slaves brought to South Carolina in the 17th century. The sturdy, intricate baskets were coiled using indigenous grasses for agricultural purposes (mainly rice cultivation), and today, it is one of the oldest art forms of African origin in the United States. The historic City Market is an epicenter for this centuries-old tradition, with more than 50 resident basket weavers. Near the market in downtown, Charleston Crafts (charlestoncrafts .org) is the only exclusively local craft gallery, owned and operated by exhibiting members. The fine crafters that make up the juried cooperative must be residents of South Carolina and must have achieved a high level of artistic vision. Collections on view and available for purchase include works by glass artists, woodworkers, metal smiths, jewelry makers, and ceramic artists. King Street is the city’s retail and commerce hub. Check out Ro Sham Beaux (ro-sham-beaux.com) for its bohemian-meets-Southern eclectic finds. Ibu Movement (ibumovement.com) supports women becoming economically self-sufficient around the world; their Charleston flagship showcases 71 global artisan groups. Mitchell Hill (mitchellhillinc.com) is the go-to for more than 20 local and regional artists. Geo C. Birlant & Co (birlant.com) is one of the oldest antiques establishments in the Southeast. The famous Charleston Battery Bench is made here, with its cast-iron sides made from the original molds (circa 1880) that can be seen on Charleston’s Battery. Beyond King Street, look to Fritz Porter (fritzporter.com), whose interior design and antiques showroom is located in the historic cigar factory downtown, and Acquisitions (acquisitionsinteriors.com) on Bay Street for its decorative accessories.

Where to Stay The newly opened Dewberry Hotel (from

$369; thedewberrycharleston.com) features 155 rooms inside a former midcentury modern federal building. The property has teamed up with locally based Garden & Gun magazine to offer Fieldshop, a specialty boutique offering Southern wares with a focus on high-quality craftsmanship. w —Natalie Bloomingdale Spring 2017

Top left, Banyan Tree Lijiang; bottom right, Amandayan.

LIJIANG, CHINA History

Bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar at China’s southeastern extreme, Yunnan province is home to a veritable kaleidoscope of ethnic groups: Bai, Dai, Lisu, Lahu, and Wa among them. Each boasts unique artisanal traditions on display in and around Lijiang’s Old Town, a vital stop on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, the little-known trade route from Tibet that dates to the Tang Dynasty and once rivaled the Silk Road.

Shopping Ringed by the snow-capped Himalayas, the 800-plus-yearold UNESCO World Heritage Site is stealthily gaining a reputation among discerning textile and craft aficionados. Lijiang’s enchanting maze of cobblestone streets and meandering canals crisscrossed by 354 bridges boasts tiny storefronts filled with the impossibly intricate embroideries of native Naxi people and their rustic-chic black clay pottery. Look closely, too, for vibrant, tie-dyed tablecloths from the Bai minority and eminently wearable jackets embellished with highly stylized Miao embroidery. A 10-minute drive leads to Baisha village and its ornately carved copper pots, while neighboring Shuhe boasts a 1,000-year reputation for its sophisticated leather goods.

Where to Stay Some of the finest enchanting crafts can be

found in the curated boutiques at Banyan Tree Lijiang (from $212; banyantree.com), a 124-room compound meticulously rendered in Naxi style with upturned phoenix rooflines and high-walled courtyards, and at Amandayan (from $510; amanresorts.com), where the revered Indonesian designer Jaya Ibrahim endowed all 35 serene suites with Lijiang’s exceptional indigenous handiwork. —Cynthia Rosenfeld

Spring 2017

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Him: Shirt, James Perse, $60, jamesperse.com. Pants, Ralph Lauren, $495, ralphlauren.com. Shoes, Nike, $90, nike.com.

Spring 2017

Her: Jacket ($2,400) and pants ($575), Porsche Design, porschedesign.com. Shirt, James Perse, $95, jamesperse.com. Shoes, Christian Louboutin, $995, christianlouboutin.com.

Spring 2017

Petersen Automotive Museum (these pages and previous). Exterior by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. A 100-ton stainless-steel ribbon wraps the structure (part of a $90 million renovation that was completed in 2015), which houses 25 galleries and over 100 vehicles and automotive artifacts.

Her: Jacket ($795), dress ($975), and visor (price upon request), Max Mara, maxmara.com. Shoes, Christian Louboutin, $995, christianlouboutin.com. Watch, Dior, $4,250, dior.com. Bag, Bottega Veneta, $1,600, 800.845.6790. Him: Jacket ($325), shirt ($225), and shorts ($225), Vince, vince.com. Shoes, Nike, $90, nike.com. Watch, Zenith, $8,000, zenith-watches.com, available at Westime, westime.com.

Spring 2017

Her: Dress, TSE Cashmere, $1,150, tsecashmere.com. Earrings, H. Stern, $2,500, hstern.net. Him: Jacket, Porsche Design, $835, porsche-design.com.

Spring 2017

Miracle Mile, Robert Irwin, 2013, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). These 66 florescent tubes can be seen 24/7 from the city’s Miracle Mile through floor-to-ceiling windows that separate the piece from Irwin’s outdoor Primal Palm Garden installation. Colored gels wrap each bulb in the 36foot lightwork, gifted for the museum’s 50th anniversary. 58

Spring 2017

Cape, Vionnet, $2,395, vionnet.com. Watches, Dior, $4,250, each, dior.com.

Spring 2017

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Frank Gehry, 1991 (completed in 2003). If fundraising efforts had been more successful, this downtown icon would have been swathed in limestone like architect’s Gehry’s original design. Now an icon of contemporary architecture, the building features 6,500 stainlesssteel panels that subtly reflect the city’s dramatic sunrises and sunsets.

60 Spring 2017

Opposite: Jumpsuit, Ralph Lauren, $3,990, ralphlauren .com. Camera, Olympus, $1,100, getolympus.com. Watch, Dior $4,250, dior.com. This page: Jacket, Berluti, $6,150, berluti.com. Shirt, Calvin Klein, $14, calvinklein.com.

Spring 2017

These pages and next: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Frank Gehry, 1991 (completed in 2003). Just behind Grand Avenue, the Blue Ribbon Garden is a rare public green space downtown. The shady rooftop includes edible plantings used by the buildingâ€™s Patina restaurant chefs.

Her: Dress, CĂŠdric Charlier, $1,990, cedric-charlier.com. Shoes, Cloud Footwear, $120, cloud-footwear.com. Him: Jacket, Outerknown, $245, outerknown.com. Shirt, NSF, $98, nsfclothing.com. Pants, Katin, $69, katinusa.com. Shoes, Billy Reid, $395, billyreid.com. Watch, Carl F. Bucherer, $7,100, carl-f-bucherer.com, available at Westime, westime.com.

Spring 2017

Him: Suit, Hugo Boss, $2,295, hugoboss .com. Shirt, Onia, $85, onia.com. Shoes, Billy Reid, $395, billyreid.com. Her: Dress, Prabal Gurung, $1,195, prabalgurung.com. Sweater, Adeam, $595, adeam.com. Shoes, Nike, $100, nike.com.

Top ($1,095) and pants ($1,095), Narciso Rodriguez, narcisorodriguez.com. Shoes, Paul Andrew, price upon request, paulandrew.com. Bag, Goyard, $3,800, goyard.com. Bracelet ($8,100) and rings ($2,500), Roberto Coin, robertocoin.com.

Hammer Museum, Billy Wilder Theater, Michael Maltzan Architecture, 2006. Inside the theater, the architect designated a silver seat among a sea of raspberrycolored ones as “Billy’s Chair,” where Wilder would typically sit during screenings.

Spring 2017

Walt Disney Concert Hall, A Rose for Lilly, Frank Gehry, 2003. For the construction of this mosaic-tile fountain, Gehry and his team broke more than 200 vases and 8,000 tiles of Royal Delft porcelain, beloved by Lillian Disney who launched the concert hall project in 1987 with a $50 million donation.

Spring 2017

Jacket, ($6,595) skirt ($1,645), bag ($1,795), Brunello Cucinelli, brunellocucinelli.com. Shirt, Onia, $85, onia.com. Shoes, Nike, $100, nike.com. Sunglasses, Michael Kors, $275, michaelkors.com.

Spring 2017

Urban Light, Chris Burden, 2008, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The installationâ€™s 202 working cast-iron, antique street lamps were individually restored and shipped to the museum. The work appears over 2,500 times per month in photographs on Instagram.

Spring 2017

Smoke, Tony Smith, 1967, fabricated 2005, edition 1/3, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Created posthumously from the American sculptor’s designs, the 24-foot installation joins 45 octahedrons of painted aluminum. From February 26 to July 2, LACMA’s Tony Smith’s “Smoke” exhibition traces the work’s decades-long evolution.

Opposite: Top ($3,225) and pants ($3,675), Brunello Cucinelli, brunellocucinelli.com. Shoes, Bottega Veneta, price upon request, 800.845.6790. Bag, Goyard, $7,600, goyard.com. This page: Jacket ($435) and pants ($180), Theory, theory.com. Shirt, James Perse, $145, jamesperse.com. Shoes, Berluti, $1,610, berluti.com. Watch, Rolex, $8,100, rolex.com. Spring 2017 69

Mark Hagen, To Be Titled (Additive Sculpture, Los Angeles Screen), 2012, Hammer Museum. Near the base of the museumâ€™s grand marble staircase, the geometric steel and cement work remains from the 2012 biennial Made in L.A. exhibit.

Jacket ($2,300) and pants ($790), Bottega Veneta, 800.845.6790. Shirt, Katin, $39, katinusa.com. Shoes, Christian Louboutin, $795, christianlouboutin.com. Watch, Carl F. Bucherer, $7,100, carl-f-bucherer. com, available at Westime, westime.com.

Spring 2017

Pedro & Juana, 2016, Hammer Museum. This installation of fuzzy yellow lanterns came on the occasion of the museumâ€™s 2016 gala and remain as a colorful installation today.

Spring 2017

Dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim, $995, 31philliplim.com. Shoes, Pierre Hardy, $795, pierrehardy.com. Bag, Sophie Hulme, $975, sophiehulme.com. Cuff, Ippolita, $25,000, ippolita.com. Ring, Boucheron, $4,010, boucheron.com. Spring 2017

Heatherwick Studio chairs, 2015, Hammer Museum. Furnishing the museumâ€™s courtyard is a group of circular chairs from the 2015 exhibition Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio. Made of rotational molded polyethylene, they are available for sale ($766) in purple, gray, red, and white at the museumâ€™s store.

Spring 2017

Her: Dress, Cinq Ă Sept, $465, cinqasept.nyc. Sweater, TSE Cashmere, $850, tsecashmere .com. Shoes, Giuseppe Zanotti, $895, giuseppezanottidesign.com. Earrings, H. Stern, $9,900, hstern.net. Him: Shirt ($98) and pants ($198), Citizens of Humanity, citizensofhumanity.com. Shoes, Muji, $34, muji.com.

Hair RIAD AZAR Makeup PAUL BLANCH

Spring 2017

VEHICLES

DESIGN TALKS AS CHARISMATIC AS THEY ARE DIVERSE, THESE NINE DESIGN DIRECTORS FROM CAR, AVIATION, AND SHIP MANUFACTURERS AROUND THE WORLD SHARE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO CREATE TODAY’S MOST COMPELLING VEHICLES. by SHAUN TOLSON 76

Spring 2017

Bottom right, Gilles Martin-Raget

EMBRAER JAY BEEVER – Vice President of Interior Design Melbourne, Florida How would you describe your job? I’m working directly with customers, who are working with our team to trim their brand-new airplane. I’m also working with interior development teams to sculpt the canvases of future Embraer planes for the next 5 or 10 years. How did you get into aeronautical design? Aerospace was an accident for me, even though I always had a passion for airplanes. I started at Ford in 1993 as a CAD designer working on dashboards and interior instrument panels for the Mercury Villager. In 2007, Gulfstream was looking for someone to take charge of the new G650 interior designs, so I left my position at Ford as a production and concept vehicles designer and entered the aerospace industry. I came to Embraer in 2012. How do you work? To make an aircraft interior relevant for years down the road, we hide as much of the technology as we can—control panels are located under lids on the ledges, for example. That allows us to make the interior’s craftsmanship and design the focal point. We created a concept aircraft, the Kyoto Airship (shown below), which was designed for a hypothetical Japanese customer who wanted to sit on the floor while dining like he would at home. We also enlarged the windows, completely changing the viewpoint of what luxury is. It’s not just rearranging the interior, it’s penetrating the skin of the exterior to bring nature in. Where do you find inspiration? I deliberately try to find inspiration outside of the aerospace industry. Furniture and automobiles are a huge inspiration, and Instituto Inhotim is a special place. It’s an outdoor contemporary museum in Brazil that takes advantage of the landscape and features many contemporary buildings that showcase metaphoric abstract works of art inside. The Embraer design team visited the museum and it helped to influence our perspective. What does the future hold for Embraer? We’re going to see more emphasis on letting nature in. With the Kyoto Airship, I believe that we broke the paradigm that suggested that future aircraft will feature LCD screens without windows. I think the future will be defined more by injecting ourselves into our environment rather than protecting ourselves from it.

DUCATI ANDREA FERRANESI – Director of Design Studio Bologna, Italy How would you describe your job? We have some golden rules that we follow to design any new bike, and I have to make sure that any new motorcycle is following those rules. Basically, every motorcycle has to have a sporty design with adrenaline. It must be muscular, aggressive, ready to race, and ready to compete. How did you get into motorcycle design? In school, my dream was to become an architect, but then I fell in love with airplanes, so I became an aeronautical engineer. In 2000, I had the opportunity to come back to my first love, which was design, and I joined Ducati as a product manager in the mechanical design department and managed all the superbike projects. In 2005, there was a big reorganization in Ducati, and the current CEO asked me to lead the design studio. How do you work? Each morning, I love to arrive earlier than anyone else, enter the studio, switch on only a few lights, and check the motorcycle and design process almost in the dark. This is a good way to discover if I’m satisfied with a new motorcycle design. You have to be focused on the proportion, and in full light your eye tends to find every detail. It’s fundamental to start with good proportion and then create good shapes. Where do you find inspiration? We go to all motorcycle trade fairs in Europe and sometimes outside of Europe, and we look to the automotive field for inspiration in terms of finishing and electronics and lighting. But our main source of inspiration is Massimo Tamburini,

who died two years ago. He created the Ducati 916. All the current and past Ducati superbikes have derived from that masterpiece. What does the future hold for Ducati? We always intend to create a motorcycle that is lighter than the previous one, so we’re always finding new ways to build beautiful engine parts that won’t be covered up by plastic panels, because those add weight and are ugly. We’re also thinking about what an electric Ducati motorcycle will look like, and when the technology is available and at the right cost, we will begin experimenting with this type of motorcycle. w

Spring 2017

WALLY

LUCA BASSANI ANTIVARI – President and CEO Monaco How would you describe your job? I oversee all design activity, not only the style of the yachts but on the technical side, too. How did you get into yacht design? My family owned different boats when I was growing up, and I loved designing boats as a child. I was a boat fanatic. After we sold the family’s global electrical components company in 1989, I designed the first custom yacht for my young family, Wallygator, which was unlike any other yacht. Following the success of this yacht, five years later, I decided to start a business to promote this new generation of boat. How do you work? As soon as I’m free from the typical administrative tasks, I work on designs with the rest of the design team. Whenever I start a new design, I think that the boat will be mine and then I try to imagine how I would like to live all the different situations on board. As a captain, you always think about how to moor, how to cope with bad weather at sea, the problems of maintenance, as well as how the crew can circulate on board serving the guests without disturbing them. Designing a boat for a skipper or helmsman means I must consider the layout of the cockpit to improve maneuvres, the layout of the interiors to reduce the weight of the boat—everything possible to make the boat faster. Where do you find inspiration? I’ve always admired Nathanael Herreshoff as a naval architect and engineer. He was very innovative and followed the concept of form for function. I also grew up admiring many iconic boats like the sailing yacht Windward Passage and the motor yacht Tramontana. I was especially drawn to their expression of power and speed and the outlaw way of thinking that was needed to design them. What does the future hold for Wally? In the powerboats and motor yachts category, we are working on a revolutionary hull that will dramatically improve the comfort and the performances of boats ranging in size from 26 feet to 262 feet. w

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Spring 2017

Top left, Gilles Martin-Raget; bottom left, Guy Gurney; top right, Kurt Arrigo; bottom right, Fly Pictures.

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE CO. GREG BREW – Director of Industrial Design Medina, Minnesota How would you describe your job? As the director of industrial design for Polaris Industries, I may spend part of my day working on Indian motorcycles, but also reviewing CAD designs for a snowmobile or contributing to a bunch of military projects. It’s not a peaceful place, but it’s fascinating. How did you get into motorcycle design? My dad owned a couple of bikes when I was younger. I remember being about 5 years old, sitting on his Triumph Bonneville out in the backyard and making motorcycle noises. That’s a big part of where my motorcycle imagination came from. When I graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, designing a car was an itch that I had to scratch, so I started in Fiat Auto S.p.A. in Italy, worked for Lancia, then moved to BMW AG and spent eight years there. How do you work? When we decided to bring back the Scout, we had to distill down what it was that made that bike famous. We decided that what was important about the old Scouts was how simple they were. That raised the question, how do we make a modern bike that still feels that simple? As we redesigned the Scout, the whole time we were looking backward at old Scouts and also forward at concept bikes that we had designed. Where do you find inspiration? One source of inspiration is hot rods and other forms of Americana, and we also regularly check out custom bikes. There are guys out there using things in different ways, and there are always ideas that come from that that are really fun. What does the future hold for Indian? We have a lot of tricks up our sleeves, and we’ll be in categories that we haven’t been in before. We’re going to make a lot of stuff that people aren’t expecting and it’s going to be a lot of fun. For instance, in the electric bicycle category the design has really taken off and gone in many different ways, beyond the standard that people may expect when they think of an electric bike. The same energy of aggressive design will eventually spill over to motorcycles. I’m excited for the future and what’s to come for Indian Motorcycle—it’s going to be interesting.

Spring 2017

KARMA AUTOMOTIVE ALEXANDER KLATT – Vice President of Design Costa Mesa, California How would you describe your job? It’s to define the brand experience. It’s not about just the design or the artistic approach to the vehicle itself, it’s also defining the artistic direction or signature of all Karma products—the cars that we’ll build in the future, the lifestyle accessories, and also how we approach customization. How did you get into automotive design? Growing up, I was always tinkering with cars and motorcycles, so I attended Munich University of Applied Sciences to study automotive engineering, but I also discovered industrial design. In particular, I analyzed the timeless automobiles of the last century, the relationship between their designs and elements of the natural world, and the psychology of aesthetic perception. When I graduated, I was hired by BMW, where I spent nine years as a car designer and another nine years in the vehicle architecture and engineering department. How do you work? My dream is to create contemporary automotive art rather than trendy car designs. With a lot of technology and global competition in the automotive space, I believe that we have lost what it was that made us fall in love with automobiles a half-century ago. I want to bring those very expressive automobiles back. Where do you find inspiration? Nature. I encourage my team to find inspiration in our Southern California environment by going to natural parks and botanical gardens. One of the most inspirational sources

for exterior car design is wild cats—how elegant they are, as well as how dangerous they are and how their posture changes as they move. What does the future hold for Karma? We want to have very thoroughbred vehicles. There will be just a handful of models, but all of them will be very different. Karma automobiles in the immediate future will continue to focus on the driving pleasure that cars provided 50 years ago. The vehicles will include plenty of technology, but that technology will be in the background and won’t overwhelm the driver. w

Spring 2017

INFINITI ALFONSO ALBAISA – Executive Design Director Hong Kong How would you describe your job? My core activity is to set design direction for all Infiniti automobile designs and manage my global team of designers. That said, I still love to sketch and clay model, especially on full-size clays where you are moving big surfaces with nuanced artistry as intent. How did you get into automotive design? I always loved to draw as a child, and one day I saw a Jaguar E-Type drive up outside my father’s design office in Miami and it changed my whole view of life. I studied art and design at Pratt Institute in New York and then went to the Center of Creative Studies in Detroit to study car design, but I didn’t think working in a big company was going to be mutually enjoyable—okay, okay, not enjoyable for the company. So I went back to New York and finished a general art and design degree. Nissan saw my work in New York and hired me, but I wasn’t studying car design when that happened. How do you work? With four global studios, I work closely with a wide range of nationalities and cultural mindsets. At headquarters, my team is mostly Japanese, and more than half of them are not super comfortable conveying their artistic intent in English. Hands-on drawing and clay modeling has allowed us to bridge what our languages could not. We have become like a pack of wild mustangs working together, reacting as much to movements as to words. I feel the Q80 concept car is a perfect example of this. We wanted to show that we can make a car that has both Asian and Western seduction but also possesses a deep inner power. These kinds of combinations are not easy to execute from one point of view or one studio, so circulating this program and working across our borders resulted in a work of automotive art that is uniquely Infiniti. Where do you find inspiration? One of the beautiful things about being a westerner living in Asia is every time I walk through the city, everything looks new, even after 30 years of visiting and spending 7 of those years living here. I’m still seeing something new every day, and having these things in front of my eyes that I don’t find familiar energizes me to create something new. What does the future hold for Infiniti? The production cars that we’ll be launching in the next couple of years are all children of the Q80 concept. And every clay model that I’m working on now is going to be an autonomous vehicle. It is thrilling to see all of this come to life: a new level of technology, freedom for our customers, and the next step for the automobile made by my artists, artisans, and engineering teammates.

Spring 2017

The new Range Rover Velar

LAND ROVER

GERRY MCGOVERN – Chief Design Officer Gaydon, England How would you describe your job? I envision the future, in terms of the products and also the look and feel of the brand. I have six or seven design directors reporting to me, and my job is about far more than deciding how the vehicles look. It’s like being a film director, where you’re editing the aspects of creative work, seeing the big picture and how it comes together, and then going out there and selling it to the business. How did you get into automotive design? After getting my degrees in industrial design at Coventry University and automotive design at the Royal College of Art in London, I was hired by Ford to transform the Lincoln brand into what it was in its heyday. Then I returned to the U.K. as a senior designer for Peugeot and joined the Rover Group after that, in 1982. When I first came into car design, I just loved drawing cars. I’d have done it even if I didn’t get paid for it. How do you work? When I design or review the design of any new vehicle, I ask myself if it answers the following questions: When I look at it, do I desire it? Once I’ve acquired it, does it behave the way it’s supposed to? Does it fulfill the function that it was designed to fulfill? And finally, after owning it for a while, do I still desire it and am I creating a relationship with it that I find rewarding? That’s my acid test for great design. Where do you find inspiration? I collect Modernist art—paintings by Pierre Soulages, Picasso, Victor Pasmore, and Patrick Heron. I always find inspiration in the work of custom tailors on Savile Row. And I love luxury watches and the elements of precision that the Swiss watchmakers like Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Zenith can achieve. What does the future hold for Land Rover? Eventually, we’re going to be producing Land Rovers that are well over £250,000 because there are customers out there that want that look and level of exclusivity. w Infiniti Spring 2017

CADILLAC ANDREW SMITH – Executive Director of Global Design Warren, Michigan How would you describe your job? It’s a team sport; and I really see my role as chief storyteller and a communications advocate. My role has become more creative in that I feel I have moved from being a soloist to a conductor. How did you get into car design? I grew up in a very small town very far from any of the cities in Australia, and my father was a GM dealer, so cars were part of my life from the very beginning. I went to boarding school in Sydney, and I found architectural drafting and technical drawing really enjoyable. I ended up studying product design in Sydney and completed two internships in the automotive sector, the second with GM Holden in Australia. They said finish your degree and then come back and work for us. That was the beginning. How do you work? My design philosophy is that collaboration leads to greater creativity, and my creativity exponentially increases when I’m working with like-minded people on the same project. When we created the Cadillac Escala concept car this past year, I told my team to design a car that they would want to drive as well as want to be driven in. I also told them that I wanted it to be unlike any Cadillac that I’ve seen before. It needed to change the perception of Cadillac but still be clearly identifiable as American luxury. Where do you find inspiration? I love science-fiction movies. In fact, I think I decided to become a designer in 1977 when I was 8 years old and first saw the stormtroopers burst through the door in the opening scene of Star Wars. I was intrigued by the armor that they were wearing and how you can set up a design language and create an entire world around that. So stormtroopers got me thinking analytically about design. My appreciation of Star Wars continues to this day. I even have a stormtrooper action figure on my desk. What does the future hold for Cadillac? We’ve been talking about autonomous vehicles since the World’s Fair in 1954, and we were talking about many of the same issues then as we are now. Ultimately, I see the future of autonomous vehicles as a huge opportunity for designers to create a compelling experience for the customer. We spend a lot of time talking about technology from a customer-centric perspective.

Spring 2017

RIVA YACHTS

MAURO MICHELI – Chief of the Creative Department at Officina Italiana Design Bergamo, Italy How would you describe your job? Officina Italiana Design is responsible for the exterior lines and interior designs of all contemporary Riva yachts. I coordinate a team of nine designers, but we all play a role in the creative process. Some days I study new concepts and new shapes while the designers work on all the details of the boats. How did you get into yacht design? After attending an art-focused high school in Bergamo and then the Accademia di Brera in Milan, I entered a competition launched by Riva to find a new designer. I was neither a boat fan nor a designer, but I decided to have a go anyway. I won the competition, and in 1984 I was taken on as assistant designer in the technical office at the Riva yard.

Opposite bottom, Toshi Oku; top and middle, Guido Cantini/seasee.com; bottom, Alberto Merisio.

How do you work? Riva designs center around clean lines, balancing elegance and innovation. We don’t look for revolutionary forms but for an evolution of lines. Marketing may dictate tastes, but purity of form remains a vital ingredient. I’m particularly proud of the new Rivamare, which has incredible balance in terms of lines and form. Where do you find inspiration? Car design is an area that yacht design looks to a lot, but art is ever present in my life and influences everything that I do. I like the balance of classical art and use it as my main source of guidance, but I also like contemporary art for how it lets you reflect and inspires me to push aesthetic boundaries. Some of my favorite classical artists include Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca, and my favorite contemporary artists include Gilbert & George and Bruce Nauman. What does the future hold for Riva? The 100-foot Corsaro was launched in October 2016, and a 110-foot yacht that is a new flybridge concept featuring innovative new living-oriented design solutions will soon follow. A 56-foot open project, an elegant boat clothed in timeless lines, was presented to the press at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in January. We are also currently working on the Riva Superyachts Division with a fully customizable fleet comprising two lines that differ in terms of style and design. Those yachts will range from 164 feet to 295 feet in length.

Spring 2017

AUTOS

SUPERLATIVE STORAGE 88

Spring 2017

THESE LUXURIOUSLY APPOINTED UPSCALE SPACES PROVE A GARAGE CAN BE MUCH MORE THAN A PLACE TO PARK. by SHAUN TOLSON Spring 2017 89

Auto Theater in the Round

Craig Jackson, the chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson Auction Company and a passionate car collector, always wanted a rotunda to display the trophy vehicles within his collection. When he found his dream home in Paradise Valley—a small town just north of Scottsdale, Arizona—about a decade ago, Jackson was disappointed to discover that the estate did not include his “dream garage.” Undeterred, Jackson excavated a portion of the mountain on which the home was built and created one. The 7,000-square-foot space showcases a ceiling that resembles a 1967 Shelby 10-spoke wheel and walls that resemble the door panels of a 1932 Ford Hot Rod. It also features a rotunda equipped with a turntable in the center,

90 Spring 2017

which is controlled by a smartphone app and typically displays Jackson’s 2008 Bugatti Veyron. As Jackson explains, the turntable also allows for easy access to any of the 13 cars that can be displayed in the rotunda. “It’s like a modern-day wheelhouse that the railways use for locomotives,” he says. “It’s very modern and full of technology.” That technology includes exhaust and battery-charging systems hidden in the floor, as well as Creston-controlled flat-screen TVs behind each car that allow guests to scroll through digital photos, restoration records, and other documents that chronicle the history of each vehicle. “It’s a one-use room,” Jackson says. “It’s meant to be an auto gallery.”

Tim Heit

t wasn’t long ago that a garage was universally seen as nothing more than a utilitarian space, a gearhead’s sanctuary where even the most polished and pristine automobiles sat surrounded by oil-stained floors and countertops strewn with grease-covered rags. Over the last 15 years, however, a new ideology has taken root, one that fosters a vision of the garage as something more than a rudimentary space to store vehicles and tools. Today, not only are high-end, showroomstyle garages growing more popular but the garage, in its utilitarian form, has expanded its territory and can even be found on the open seas.

Viva Las Vegas (Shown on previous page)

For almost 10 years, Michael Rhodig made man caves— and, more specifically, luxury garages—his calling card. As the founder of GarageMahals, Rhodig would ascertain from clients their general visions for a spectacular garage and would then turn those ideas into reality, often delivering a finished product that exceeded the client’s expectations. Such is the case with this 8,000-square-foot garage in Chicago that he built for Francis Wisniewski, a client with a passion for Las Vegas and gaming. Built beneath a contemporary loft-style residence in a former machine factory in downtown Chicago, the sprawling showroom-style garage includes a re-creation of the Caesars Palace façade in gold leaf, which leads to Wisniewski’s private gambling room, the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, and a bar. “It’s definitely an entertaining space,” Wisniewski says of the garage. “It’s a very impressive place to have a party.” According to Rhodig, one of the garage’s most effective features is its color scheme. From deep metallic blue–painted walls to engraved Moz Metal columns painted candy apple red, the garage’s colors pop under showroom lights that hang from the vaulted ceilings. “Vegas is one thing during the day and it’s a whole other story at night,” he says, “so I wanted to create this feeling of nighttime or early evening and the city coming alive.” Rhodig shuttered GarageMahals in 2015, but he remains open-minded to taking on future garage design commissions if they’re the right projects with the right clients.

Freedom on the Seas

For decades, megayacht owners have been forced to sacrifice additional entertainment or living space onboard their vessels for dedicated areas where numerous tenders, Jet Skis, and other water toys can be stowed. Over the past few years, however, Damen Yachts has specialized in building support vessels that provide a much-needed alternative solution. Ranging in size from 141 to 295 feet— and with maximum speeds that range between 16 and 22 knots—these unique crew-operated yachts, which follow close behind their clients’ principal vessels, allow owners to enjoy a larger fleet of exploratory and pleasure craft than they could otherwise stow on their primary yachts. Most recently, Damen sold a 181-foot-long support vessel, Fast & Furious (shown here), which captured plenty of attention at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest show in the world. It was the latest example in Damen’s YS 5009 range, which can be configured to support deep-sea dives (including the stowage of multi-person submersibles) or hold numerous tenders (ideal for clients who own sailing yachts). It can also be configured to feature a main deck, all-weather helicopter hangar, which will appeal to clients who intend to be at sea for an extended period of time and plan to visit less-developed and remote areas of the world. Currently, Damen is building two more support yachts—a 227-foot example, which will be available this spring, and another 181-foot vessel, which will be available in the fall. w

Spring 2017

Library Drive-In

Spring 2017

Old World Charm

When architect Tim Wilson was commissioned to design a sprawling, 17,000-square-foot, Tuscan-style estate in the Southern California countryside, the owner’s wish list initially included a detached barn that could house a showroomchanneling garage. However, after consultation with the community’s homeowners association and consideration of local zoning limitations, it was decided to locate the 2,000-square-foot garage underneath the main residence. To compensate for the garage’s belowground location, Wilson outfitted it with a custom-designed glass and metal door, along with window wells that bring in natural light and glimpses of the estate’s vibrant landscaping. Because the homeowners had a smaller, everyday garage located on the ground level, this space was designed to feel more like an auto gallery and was built without the use of interior support columns, which allows for as many as eight cars to be parked inside. Wilson and the homeowners traveled to Tuscany to source the reclaimed Roman bricks, roof tiles, and antique elements used to build the home and the garage; and Wilson accented those materials with lowvoltage cable lighting that can be easily maneuvered to spotlight a specific car or the individual features of a car, based on how the vehicles are arranged inside. “The Old World buildings of Tuscany were not originally equipped with electricity—they used candles, lamps, and torches,” Wilson explains. “The use of contemporary lighting in this garage creates an interesting juxtaposition with Old World authenticity.”

Top, Greg Poland Photography

Before Chris Frederick bought his first collector car, he sought the advice of Stephen Brauer, a business acquaintance and esteemed collector of prewar American classics. “You need to create a library,” Frederick remembers being told. “You’re going to need a lot of books on the cars that you want to collect because you’re not going to be able to find that data everywhere.” More than a decade later, when Frederick was ready to design the interior of his newly built, 3,000-square-foot showroom garage outside of Baltimore, Maryland, that advice sprung to mind. “Initially, I’m going to invest in more books than cars,” he told his interior designer. “So I want it to look like a library that holds cars.” That request led to a finished garage that features cherry wood throughout (with the exception of the garage doors, which are solid cedar); Italian porcelain floors (chosen specifically because porcelain doesn’t absorb oil or water); and an extensive built-in bookcase with an old-fashioned sliding brass ladder. The garage can fit eight cars and includes an in-ground, 10,000-pound rotary lift that is powder-coated to match the color of the floor, which means it’s almost invisible when not in use. The garage also features a full bathroom; kitchenette; fitness room; a lofted study—complete with a fireplace—that serves as Frederick’s home office; and a retractable, 15-foot video projection screen. “My grandkids love coming to the garage because it’s like a big playroom,” Frederick says. “They love sitting in all the cars and watching movies.” Don Taylor, the architect who designed the garage, acknowledges that you can also watch movies while seated in the loft, much like you would in the balcony of a theater. “This is a place where you can actually sit and live, and that’s what he wanted,” Taylor says. “This is his space.”

THE WORLD IS YOUR CANVAS. Color it as you please.

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TRENDS FASHION

Him: Top, James Perse, $165, jamesperse.com. Pants, Ralph Lauren, $495, ralphlauren.com. Bag, Brunello Cucinelli, $3,995, brunellocucinelli.com. Watch, Omega, $6,500, omegawatches.com, available at Westime, westime.com. Her: Dress, Vionnet, $4,880, vionnet.com. Clutch, Barbara Bui, $960, barbarabui.com. Ring, Boucheron, $4,010, boucheron.com. Watch, Dior, $4,250, dior.com.

by KATHRYN ROMEYN

Leather is certainly not the world’s rarest material, and it’s not the most expensive, either. But there’s something undeniably luxurious and exciting about an impeccably crafted leather handbag or loafer—or even iPhone case. When it’s pristine, yet has a mark of the artisan who made it with

highly skilled hands, it’s a piece to be prized. This type of craftsmanship goes way back. Beginning as

early as 1300 B.C., leather goods were prevalent in primitive societies, which developed processes for turning animal hides into garments, footwear, decorative attire, and belts.

From the Greeks to the Chinese to the North American Indians, the craft was independently

fine-tuned and developed over centuries. Tanning leather, too, goes back centuries, but it wasn’t

until the 19th century that chrome tanning—a chemical process that is now the most popular—was

introduced as an alternative to vegetable tanning with natural ingredients. The way it’s treated affects the final product, as does the hide itself. Soft, supple calfskin is typically the most used in leather accessories, but there are many variables even within that one type. w

FROM ARTISAN-CRAFTED CALFSKIN HANDBAGS TO HAND-PUNCHED WINGTIP SHOES, EXCELLENT CRAFTSMANSHIP DEFINES THESE TIMELESS GOODS.

LEATHER REPORT Photography ANDREW YEE Styling ISABEL DUPRE

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Spring 2017

Dress, Alejandra, $2,895, alejandraalonsorojas.com. Shoes, Christian Louboutin, $995, christianlouboutin.com. Clutch ($830) and bag ($2,795), Elisabeth Weinstock, elisabethweinstock.com. Bracelets, Boucheron, $6,300 each, boucheron.com.

Spring 2017

Factors such as the environment in which a calf lives impact the product,

too. “My really beautiful hides come from certain parts of northern Europe

where there’s no barbed wire,” says LA shoe designer George Esquivel, who

with his team produce up to 4,500 pairs of shoes per year, completely by hand. “You can see the nicks of barbed wire or mosquito bites on a hide, just like scars on skin. That’s one way to tell [quality],” he says.

“It starts with ingredients, and our ingredients are beautiful,” says Esquivel,

whose process for each shoe includes hand-cutting and hand-stretching

every piece; hand-shading, hand-staining, and hand-distressing the leather;

and hand-making the laces. (For professional basketball players in particular, Esquivel does many custom adjustments, including special patterns and molds.) Italy, of course, hosts a cadre of top men’s leather shoe brands,

including Salvatore Ferragamo (which recently launched bespoke Tramezza footwear and has such rich heritage that a Florence museum is dedicated

to the shoe designer and his craft), Gucci, Santoni, and Bettanin & Venturi 1856, but there are brands outside the boot-shaped country like Esquivel, FEIT, and O’Keeffe that have won respect in the industry.

Esquivel points out that the thickness of leather for shoes, whether made

from cow, kangaroo, goat, or alligator, is much heftier than for a jacket.

Likewise for a gym bag, which might be made of bullhide, versus a woman’s purse. Lambskin makes the softest, finest-grain leather jackets and is much

pricier than other skins. For example, Saint Laurent sells a $5,250 lambskinstyle jacket, while Zara’s sheep leather jacket is $250 (hardware, too, drives prices up). w

Cuyana, a luxury brand selling made-in-Italy and made-in-Argentina

bags, electronics cases, and small accessories, works with pebbled, smooth, saffiano, and croc-embossed hides, depending on the piece. It’s easier to notice scratches on smooth box calf or calfskin leather—which NYC’s

Mansur Gavriel uses for its coveted bucket bags—so textured styles are

preferred by some because they hide wear-and-tear. Cuyana’s direct-to-

customer model disproves the theory that the price tag alone is indicative

of quality (classic leather totes start at $175). “The craftsmen we work with used to produce for many globally recognized luxury brands before those

brands moved production to China, which gave us the opportunity to work

with them and results in the luxury-level quality of our products,” says CEO and cofounder Karla Gallardo.

Her: Top ($375) and pants (price upon request), Alexander Wang, alexanderwang.com. Clutch, Mitchel Primrose, $1,995, mitchelprimrose.com. Watch, Jaeger LeCoultre, $5,300, jaeger-lecoultre.com. Ring, Boucheron, $4,010, boucheron.com. Him: Jacket, Brunello Cucinelli, $2,195, brunellocucinelli.com. Pants, Ralph Lauren, $495, ralphlauren.com. Bag, Louis Vuitton, $1,190, louisvuitton.com.

Above: Bag ($4,900) and keychain ($1,300), Fendi, fendi.com. Right: Shoes, Christian Louboutin, $895, christianlouboutin.com. Bag, Louis Vuitton, $4,800, louisvuitton.com. Ring, Boucheron, $4,010, boucheron.com. Below: Bags (purple and black), Bottega Veneta, $3,620 each, 800.845.6790. Clutch, Pierre Hardy, $395, pierrehardy.com. Wallet, Christian Louboutin, $1,450, christianlouboutin.com.

Our ancestors most likely weren’t concerned

with global environment issues, but nowadays many

companies are highlighting environmental awareness. Gucci uses certified zero-deforestation leather that is fully traceable, and several years ago partnered with

Livia Firth and the National Wildlife Federation to

design a full handbag line crafted only of sustainable Brazilian Amazon leather, complete with passports

detailing the precise chain of supply. In the 2014/15

season, Bottega Veneta, too, reached 100 percent traceability for the double-

faced leather woven by hand into its cultish Cabat bag, first designed by Thomas Maier in 2001. Their parent brand, Kering (which also owns Saint Laurent

and Gucci), has publicly stated its goal to eventually source 100 percent of its luxury brands’ leather from sustainable, verified sources that do not harm the

ecosystems. Bottletop, which began with Kenyan-produced bags and accessories made using recycled bottle tops lined with Mulberry leather, now uses the same ethically sourced hides as Gucci.

The skin itself is the focus for hot young brands such as Vianel, which makes

jewel-toned iPhone cases out of exotic skins including ostrich leg, lizard, and

alligator. And Hermès’ Birkin and Kelly bags, with their infamous wait lists and $10,000-plus price tags, begin with the most impeccable-quality skin—calf or

crocodile, ostrich or lizard leather. The rarer the leather, the longer the potential 98

Spring 2017

Clockwise from top left: 1. Dress, Versus Versace, price upon request, versusversace.com. Bag, Gucci, $2,980, gucci.com. 2. Skirt, Hellessy, $850, hellessy.com. Shoes, Christian Louboutin, $950, christianlouboutin.com. Bag, Shaffer LA, $399, shafferla.com. Watch, Dior, $4,250, dior.com. 3. Shoes ($450) and clutch ($895), Alexander Wang, alexanderwang.com. 4. Clutch ($1,380) and cardholders ($550), Goyard, goyard.com. Bag, Smythson, $675, smythson.com.

wait since Hermès must find the absolute perfect skin. It’s then lovingly hand-sewn with

waxed thread and saddle stitching, one by one, by artisans in the Paris suburb of Pantin. The

brand, founded in 1837, first crafted leather harnesses, belts, and trunks before creating what’s arguably the world’s most famous handbag. That vintage trunk aesthetic seems to be coming back into fashion, evidenced for one by Louis Vuitton’s new Petit Malle trunk bag iPhone

cases, available this spring in the iconic Damier print, as well as blue croc and metallic leather. Quality, says Esquivel, “is tough for the general consumer [to judge]. There’s a beautiful

brand out of Paris called Moynat, and they stitch everything by hand. You’re going to have inconsistencies—I don’t call them flaws—when you’re stitching by hand, because of the

human person. I’ve seen Hermès bags where the stitch isn’t exactly straight,” he says. But not

all agree on whether craftsmanship means inconsistencies become beauty. “The seams have to

match up, it has to be perfect, everything has to align—it’s important for a luxury brand to be just that,” says LA designer Elisabeth Weinstock, whose innovative work with leather centers around exotic snakeskins and vibrant hides that cover objects from 4-foot-tall jewelry w

Spring 2017 99

boxes (which takes eight different craftsmen to complete) to hand-painted totes and whipsnake backpacks to hand-inlaid diaper boxes, Daniel Marshall humidors, and

$1,450 snakeskin boxing gloves. Each piece is painstakingly handmade in California using wild-caught skins from Europe. Pushing the envelope of leather is what

Weinstock—and other leaders in the industry—does best. Her sporting goods (baseball bats and gloves, tennis racquets, even a surfboard) epitomize the expanding boundaries of what artisans can do, even if the techniques of fine craftsmanship are firm.

Ultimately, says Gallardo, a consumer should be looking for several things before

making a leather accessory purchase: “The grain of the leather, depending on type

and how smooth or durable it is. Also, the details are always important: the finishing, stitching, and hardware. Examine these closely. Higher-quality accessories will have even stitching, with no breaks in the stitch-line and no loose threads. The metal

Clockwise from top left: 1. Him: Shoes, Billy Reid, $395, billyreid.com. Watch, Omega Speedmaster, $6,500, omegawatches.com, available at Westime, westime.com. Her: Shoes, Giuseppe Zanotti, $595, giuseppezanottidesign.com. Game, Elisabeth Weinstock, $440, elisabethweinstock .com. Ring, Boucheron, $4,820, boucheron.com. Cuff, Mitchel Primrose, $495, mitchelprimrose.com. 2. Shoes, Volley x E.P.&L.P., $180, eplosangeles.com. Football, Elisabeth Weinstock, $710, elisabethweinstock.com. Gloves, Porsche Design, $156, porsche-design.com. Passport cover, Louis Vuitton, $365, louisvuitton.com. 3. Cardholder, Montblanc, $185, montblanc.com. 4. Jacket ($745) and pants ($345), Theory, theory.com. Watch, Rolex, $17,800, rolex.com. 5. Jacket, Brunello Cucinelli, $2,195, brunellocucinelli.com. Sunglasses, Calvin Klein, $156, calvinklein.com. Watch, Carl F. Bucherer, $7,100, carlf-bucherer.com, available at Westime, westime.com. Car, Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, from $115,700, porsche.com.

Hair/Makeup: Paul Blanch

finishing on the hardware should be smooth, without chipping or unevenness, and the

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weight should be substantial but not excessively heavy,” she says. Also worth noting is Esquivel’s definition of luxury: “If you can take the label

off and not know who made it, and it still looks beautiful, whether from the craftsmanship or design. Does it speak to you, is it special to

you? You can see if there are threads hanging off, it’s sloppy, or there’s glue everywhere, but

I don’t think consumers can know how many

Clockwise from top left: 1. Jacket, Polo Ralph Lauren, $895, ralphlauren .com. Pants, Levi’s, $69, levi.com. Bag, Bottega Veneta, price upon request, 800.845.6790. 2. Top, Onia, $110, onia.com. Pants, Citizens of Humanity, $198, citizensofhumanity.com. Backpack, Tumi, $945, tumi.com. 3. Shoes, Michael Kors, $178, michaelkors .com. Bag, Tumi, $695, tumi.com. Cigar case, Elisabeth Weinstock, $350, elisabethweinstock.com. Belt, Ralph Lauren, $295, ralphlauren.com. 4. Keychain, Katin, $28, katinusa.com.

stitches per inch there should be. It’s very hard, but the label versus nonlabel thing is a good benchmark.”

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SPIRITS

SETTLING A CLASSIC COCKTAIL CONTROVERSY LIKE IT OR NOT, PURISTS, THE VODKA MARTINI IS THE GENUINE ARTICLE.

here are a number of persnickety denizens of the drinking class who are of a mind that a martini prepared with anything but gin and vermouth is not, in fact, a martini at all. These fuss buckets need to get over themselves, for not only is the vodka martini legit but an argument can be made that it is indeed the true original martini. How’s that? Well, you see, gin’s secret shame is that it’s actually the world’s first flavored vodka—a neutral grain spirit that’s distilled a second time with juniper and other botanicals. Though it’s now heavily associated with the U.K., gin was actually invented by the Dutch, who called it “jenever,” a name that was promptly shortened by a besotted Englishman. The point is that if we accept gin as vodka’s berryflavored offspring, then by extension all gin martinis are, in essence, variations on the vodka martini. And when you look at it that way, the gin purists seem to be the ones who’ve got some ‘splainin to do.

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But we’re not here to quibble, are we? No. We’re here to celebrate a stately classic cocktail that has endured in spite of persistent anti-vodka bias, confusion over how it’s properly prepared (Shake? Stir? Twist? Oh, thanks a lot, James Bond!), an awful original name (Kangaroo), and an even more unflattering one after that (vodkatini). The word vodka derives from the Russian word for water, and like its namesake the stuff goes down easy. Its eminent drinkability accounts for the spirit’s enormous popularity. The numbers don’t lie. In 1976, vodka surpassed whiskey as the best-selling spirit in America, and it has remained on top ever since. This market dominance is impressive when you take into account gin’s centuries-long history in the United States, whereas vodka hardly existed here at all prior to the end of World War II. “The reason vodka surpassed gin in popularity is that it is more approachable and subtle flavor-wise,” says Julien Lafond, a world-renowned drinks expert and the North American ambassador for Grey Goose vodka. w

Tucker & Hossler

by DAN DUNN

Spring 2017 103

In a career spanning 15 years, Lafond has tended bar at some of Europe’s finest establishments, including Happiness Forgets and Little Red Door in Paris, and The Royal Exchange and the Bar at the Pacific Oriental in London. Of late he spends a great deal of time traversing the United States and Canada, spreading the gospel of one of France’s most delectable exports. He’s a man of strong convictions who holds certain truths about the vodka martini to be self-evident. Among them...

With all due respect to 007, a proper vodka martini should be stirred in a mixing glass rather than shaken in a tin. Shaking with ice tends to overdilute or “bruise” the vodka, yielding a watered-down drink. Lafond’s ideal martini is 5 measures of vodka, a measure of Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth, a dash of orange bitters, and a lemon twist to help bring out the citrus and pepper notes of the winter wheat vodka. When a martini tastes off, the problem almost always lies with the vermouth. Vermouth is a fortified wine, not a spirit. Once opened, it oxidizes after a short period of time. It must be refrigerated and, ideally, used within two weeks’ time. Three, at the absolute max.

Vodka can be made from darn near anything that’s fermentable. For centuries, potatoes and cereal grains have been the preferred base, but in recent years innovative producers have begun experimenting with a wider array of raw material. Here are five vodkas begat from uncommon sources:

BLACK COW VODKA Once upon a time—in 2012—a British dairy farmer looked out at his herd and saw something in the cows that no one had seen before: vodka. Made, secretly and cleverly, from the fermented milk of grass-grazed cattle on England’s southwest coast, Black Cow is impeccably smooth, with pleasing notes of dry cocoa beans and vanilla. $40; blackcow.co.uk.

If you prefer olives to a lemon twist, be sure the olives are refrigerated. Putting room temperature olives into a chilled vodka martini is an affront to decency. “Dirty” is permissible, but only if you promise to go easy on the olive brine—1/8 of an ounce, tops. A martini is to be served in a cocktail glass and a cocktail glass only. No substitutions allowed.

You can order a vodka martini prepared with just a splash of dry vermouth (“extra dry”), a higher percentage of dry vermouth (“wet”), or with equal parts dry and sweet vermouth (“perfect”). A martini sans vermouth is also okay, so long as you know you’re not fooling anyone. That isn’t really a martini—it’s a double shot of vodka, up, in a fancy glass. Or, in other words, two drinks’ worth of booze for the price of one. Smart. Finally, it’s important to note that under no circumstances is it ever okay for an adult human being to consume martini bastardizations made with apple schnapps or chocolate liqueur. Same goes for grenadine and blue Curaçao. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re over the age of 7, you shouldn’t be drinking anything the color of an Angry Bird.

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CORBIN VODKA Fourth-generation farmer David Souza was determined to create the world’s first vodka made from sweet potatoes, and spent nearly two years tinkering to get it just right. It takes more than 10 pounds of raw sweet potatoes to produce one bottle of this buttery, caramel-tinged vodka from California’s San Joaquin Valley. $36; corbincash.com. Black Cow, Si West

Five Uncommonly Made Vodkas

ST. AUGUSTINE FLORIDA CANE VODKA This earthy, floral vodka is handmade in the nation’s oldest city, distilled from pure Sunshine State sugar cane—a base heretofore used almost exclusively in rum production. Pleasant natural sweetness with hints of anise and green apple. $29; staugustinedistillery.com.

CALIFORNIA VODKA The world’s first and only vodka made from strawberries. The fruit is sourced from the lush growing region surrounding Ventura Spirits’ cozy Central Coast distillery. Tastes of fresh berries mingling with vanilla Creamsicle, with just a scooch of pepper on the finish. $28; venturaspirits.com. 1911 VODKA Made from apples picked at Beak & Skiff Orchards in LaFayette, NY, which has been around for over a century. There are all sorts of delicious flavors at play in 1911, from black pepper and coffee bean to caramel and banana. $35; 1911established.com.

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ONE PLACE, TWO WAYS

For Outdoor Art

PUBLIC SPACES AND OUTDOOR ATTRACTIONS DAZZLE IN THIS FORWARD-LOOKING YET FAMILY-FRIENDLY CITY.

1. Iris Bay This 32-floor, office-and-retail structure opened

4. Octo 3 A space-age, kinetic sculpture created by American artist Anthony Howe, Octo 3 is made of stainless steel and stands 25 feet high. The installation’s 16 steel wings spin in unison around a circular axis, creating captivating optical illusions. Mesmerizing. howeart.net

2. Dubai Miracle Garden There is enough hydration to

5. Museum of the Future Backed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, this museum is conceived as a place where inventors, designers, and entrepreneurs can both develop and market futuristic prototypes of many sorts. motf.ae

last year in Business Bay, in the heart of Dubai. U.K.-based WS Atkins designed the tower. This is the same architectural firm behind the Burj Al Arab, which opened in the city in 1999 and continues to be a Dubai icon. iris.ae make this the largest floral garden in the world. Completed last year, at a cost of $11 million, the garden spreads over roughly 2 million square feet, with more than 100 million flowers. The facility also includes the world’s largest indoor butterfly garden, which houses more than 15,000 butterflies. dubaimiraclegarden.com

3. The Green Planet Encased in a cylindrical glass tube,

the Green Planet is the Middle East’s first bio-dome. The 150-foot-tall structure opened in September, and it is home to an indoor tropical rainforest. The centerpiece—the world’s largest indoor man-made tree—sustains more than 3,000 plants and animals, including toucans, tarantula, sloths, tree frogs, and boas. thegreenplanetdubai.com

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6. STAY: Jumeirah Al Naseem Arabic for “sea breeze,” Al Naseem is located along more than a mile of private beach— Dubai’s longest such stretch. It is the final piece of the luxury Madinat Jumeirah development, bookended by the iconic, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab tower. Opened this past winter, the Jumeirah Al Naseem resort takes design cues from sand dunes and Bedouin traditions, arousing a sense of calm, with the sounds of the Gulf fanning through the guest rooms’ open terraces. From $300; jumeirah.com.

Photos: (1) Courtesy of Hay Architecture. Opposite: (1) Courtesy of the artist Diana Contreras; (2) Musthafa Aboobacker; (3) Adel Abidin/Lawrie Shabibi; (4) Raja Khalid/Grey Noise; (5) Musthafa Aboobacker

DUBAI

For Indoor Art

INSPIRED BY THE WESTERN GALLERY SCENE, DUBAI’S ART WORLD BRINGS REGIONAL TALENT TO THE FORE.

1. Street Art Gallery Following successful exhibitions

in Dubai in 2013, artist Stephane Valici opened Street Art Gallery, the first space in the city to exhibit graffiti and related works, including work in stencils, abstract, cubism, vandal, and Pop, and on canvas, wood, and even road signs. streetartdubai.ae

2. The Third Line Gallery Third Line represents roughly

30 artists, raising the profile of Middle Eastern art beyond the region, exhibiting regularly at Art Cologne and Art Basel. thethirdline.com

3. Lawrie Shabibi Gallery William Lawrie and Asmaa AlShabibi opened this gallery in the Al Quoz district in 2011, and it has leapt to the forefront of the contemporary art world here. It supports emerging artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. lawrieshabibi.com

4. Grey Noise Gallery In 2008, gallerist Umer Butt launched Grey Noise in Lahore, Pakistan. Butt relocated his operation in 2012 to Dubai, where he had lived as a child.

Grey Noise has since built a reputation as a go-to space for experimental and cutting-edge art from the region. greynoise.org

5. Green Art Gallery Opened in 1995, and originally dedicated to Arab modernism, Green Gallery relaunched a few years ago as a contemporary art space, dealing in painters, photographers, and sculptors from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Turkey, and beyond. gagallery.com 6. STAY: Palazzo Versace No surprises here: This is

Baroque Italian luxury. A Neoclassical palace designed in 16th-century style, this new property (opened late last year) is set to overwhelm you. All furniture and fabrics are designed by Versace exclusively for the 384-room resort hotel. The fine workmanship includes timber parquet flooring, stone mosaic tiling, silk furnishings, and handpainted boiseries. You’ll get a sense of things from the lobby, with its gilded columns, 3-ton chandelier, and a mosaic of 1.5 million pieces. From $365; palazzoversace.ae. w —Brett Forrest Spring 2017 107

ONE PLACE, TWO WAYS

For Art

WORLD-CLASS PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE, AND ART INSTALLATIONS SUIT EVERY TASTE.

1. Indoor Art Hike Bring your workout clothes for Aria spa’s one-hour indoor art hike. Lunge as you gaze at Nancy Rubins’ Big Edge, made from recycled canoes and kayaks; squat while watching Jenny Holzer’s kinetic electronic messages; and jog past Henry Moore’s Reclining Connections. $50; aria.com.

4. Seven Magic Mountains In the middle of the desert, 10

2. LOVE You’ll literally find it in four gigantic red metal letters that spell LOVE at the Waterfall Atrium of the Venetian. Visitors from every country pose on the L, climb inside the O, and straddle the V. It’s a magnet for international feel-goodism created by artist Laura Kimpton. venetian.com

5. Arts District Stroll through the eclectic and little-known (but rapidly growing) 18-block downtown mecca if you want for a little edge. Start at ReBar (rebarlv.com), a combo saloon and antiques store; discover high- and low-end treasures on Antique Alley; and wander through fine art and funk at the Art Square galleries (artssquarelcv.com) and the Arts Factory complex (theartsfactory.com).

3. Neon Museum Incandescent light bulbs that chase each

other and give the illusion of twinkling are a native Las Vegas art form on display as part of the museum’s outdoor Neon Boneyard collection. A guided tour of the vintage neon cemetery is nostalgia heaven with 200 original, historic signs from the Stardust, Caesars Palace, and the Sahara, as well as one that includes Liberace’s signature. neonmuseum.org

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miles from the Strip, Ugo Rondinone’s seven towers, created from pink, lime, tangerine, cobalt, and ebony-painted boulders, connect human nature, with all its creativity, to actual nature, with its seemingly endless expanse of sky. On view until May 2018. sevenmagicmountains.com

6. STAY: The WynnTower King Suites The concierge provides guests with a brochure that maps out a selfguiding tour of public art, much of which has been selected by Steve Wynn. Some of the notable works are Jeff Koons’ Popeye, a Gustav Eiffel chandelier, and Tim Bavington’s music on canvas. From $309; wynnlasvegas.com.

(2) Mario Mediana; (4) Gianfraco Gorgoni; (6) Robert Hill. Opposite: (2) Barbara Kraft; (3) Erik Kabik; (4) MargaretW/iStock; (6) Scott Frances

LAS VEGAS

For Soul

RIGHT UNDER THE SURFACE OF THE GLITZ, GLAMOUR, AND GAMBLING IS ANOTHER WORLD THAT IS SOOTHING, LIFE-ENHANCING, RELAXING, AND RESTORATIVE.

1. Yoga on the High Roller Where else can you swing in midair at 550 feet, on the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, and do sun salutations? The ride is surprisingly smooth and the yoga inspirational. Not for acrophobics. $75; available through the Linq Hotel; caesars.com. 2. Bodhi Massage and Visualization For 105 blissed-out minutes, a therapist combines massage and energy work to connect body and soul. As your chakras are balanced and you experience a guided meditation, lights change to correspond to chakra colors. $375; available at the spa at the Encore; wynnlasvegas.com.

3. Luck and Prosperity It’s unexpected fun, and few know about it. A free map, which you get at the concierge’s desk, leads you to five designated spots at Caesars Palace that are reputed to bring good luck and prosperity. You must touch Joe Louis’s boxing glove, then Caesar’s index finger, and stand in front of a replica Brahma shrine with a fourfaced Buddha who is revered in Thailand. caesars.com

4. Red Rock Canyon A mere 30 minutes from the bustle and busyness is a balm for the urban soul. Drive for 13 miles past flaming red bands of ferrous ironite in the sculptural sandstone cliffs, or park and hike on trails ranging from easy to moderate. The great expanse of Western sky is Wedgwood blue, and cacti rise out of the Mojave Desert floor. redrockcanyonlv.org 5. Private Meditation During your session at the Mandarin

Oriental spa, your instructor will surprise you with options like Tibetan crystal bowls and sound healing to still your mind and bring you home to yourself. $100; mandarinoriental.com.

6. STAY: Sky Suites at Aria. Want to de-stress from the moment you land in Las Vegas? Complimentary airport transportation, pre-arrival concierge service for your itinerary, and a spacious suite with marble tile floors, panoramic views, private plunge pools, and interior horticulture are designed for maximum relaxation and wellbeing. From $400; aria.com. w —Judith Fein Spring 2017 109

ONE PLACE, TWO WAYS

For the Shot

DIVERSE AND INCREDIBLE LANDSCAPES HAVE LONG LURED PHOTOGRAPHERS TO UTAH’S PARKS AND RESERVES. HERE’S WHERE TO CAPTURE SOME OF THE STATE’S MOST ICONIC SHOTS.

1. Sandstone Arch Over millions of years, wind and water have carved glowing red sandstone into some incredible formations. The most famous of the roughly 2,000 natural arches in Arches National Park is the 65-foot Delicate Arch, which adorns the state’s license plate. nps.gov/arch

4. River Bend Thanks to Instagram, Arizona’s Horseshoe Bend has exploded in popularity. The point towers 2,000 feet over the river with panoramic views. The best photos are captured with an interesting tree or rock in the foreground and a cloudy sky overhead. stateparks.utah.gov

2. Anasazi Artwork Throughout the Southwest, traces of the now-extinct Anasazi people inspire intrigue. Abandoned cliff dwellings peak out from stone ledges and shiny obsidian arrowheads wait to be discovered beneath the sand. One of the largest and best-preserved Anasazi murals is the 200-foot-by-15-foot Great Gallery in Canyonlands National Park. Drive for 30 miles on an unpaved road to the Horseshoe Canyon trailhead and hike 3.5 miles, including a 750-foot descent. nps.gov/cany

5. Slot Canyon Eons of water trickling over sandstone can

3. Hoodoos No hiking required. You can capture the otherworldly scene from various overlooks along the main road through the park. Find Rainbow Point at the end of that 18-mile drive and stop to look north at the entirety of the park stretched out before you. nps.gov/brca 110 Spring 2017

carve deep crevices that eventually become wide enough to walk and climb through. Southeastern Utah has over 1,000 options. Outside Escalante hike a 3.5-mile loop through two narrow, visually striking versions: Peek-A-Boo Gulch and Spooky Gulch. utah.com

6. STAY: Montage Deer Valley All 220 rooms and suites

are big, with balconies, fireplaces, and ski-in/ski-out access. During any season, charter a private flight aboard a Pilatus PC-12 through Montage Expeditions for a guided day trip through Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, or Bryce Canyon National Parks ($8,000 for up to seven people). From $300 (summer) to $650 (winter); montagehotels.com.

(1) 4FR/iStock; (2) SumikoPhoto/iStock; (3) LordRunar/iStock; (4) kjschoen/iStock; (5) Left Coast Photography/iStock; (6) Blake Marvin. Opposite: (1) Canbalci/iStock; (2) Mcelroyart/iStock; (3) Stephen Matera; (4) Camp Photo/iStock; (5) Ian Coble

UTAH

For the Thrill

SANDSTONE PLAYGROUNDS AND SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS TEMPT VISITORS WITH A RANGE OF UNUSUAL SITES AND EXCITING WAYS TO EXPERIENCE THEM.

1. Hot Air Balloon over Monument Valley If you know John Ford Westerns, Monument Valley will feel like familiar territory. The Navajo tribal park on the Utah-Arizona border is littered with distinctive mesas jutting up from the canyon floor. Monument Valley Hot Air Balloon Company lifts clients 7,000 feet to clear the nearly as tall formations. monumentvalleyballooncompany.com 2. Rainbow Bridge Boat Tour The best way to see

Rainbow Bridge National Monument, one of the biggest natural bridges in the world, is by boat. Lake Powell Resorts, the only operator to the attraction, runs a regular cruise to the isolated canyon. The six-hour trip departs from Page, Arizona, and covers 50 miles of Lake Powell. lakepowell.com

3. Yoga in Goblin Valley State Park Strike a pose among

the hoodoos in Goblin Valley with Get In the Wild. The company’s Red Rock Yoga and Hiking Retreat combines restorative yoga and canyoneering. The surroundings look so mythical that directors have used them as alien planets in movies. From $1,295 per person; getinthewild.com.

4. Rafting Desolation Canyon This 85-mile stretch of the Green River is especially scenic and littered with ancient rock art. Guides of Moab-based Sheri Griffith River Expeditions will point out images of snakes, bighorn sheep, and decorated warriors painted thousands of years ago on sheltered rock faces. griffithexp.com 5. Heli Ski Backcountry The 40-year-old heli ski outfitter

Powderbird flies four-passenger Astars that leave from both Snowbird and Park City to access backcountry terrain. Appropriate for moderate and expert skiers, the trips do not require jumping out of helicopters. powderbird.com

6. STAY: Amangiri If any of the above sounds too rugged, you don’t have to sacrifice any comforts at Amangiri. As crowds increase in the national parks, here you can spend a day hiking and climbing into a slot canyon and not run into anyone (34 rooms occupy 600 acres). Guides take guests safely up wind-sculpted sandstone on the property’s series of private via ferrata courses. From $1,400; aman.com. —Jennifer Ashton Ryan Spring 2017

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HEALTH

THE WORLD’S LONGEST-LIVED PEOPLE DON’T PUMP IRON OR RUN MARATHONS; THEY BIKE TO WORK, COOK HEALTHY FOODS, AND DRINK WINE WITH THEIR FRIENDS. INSIDE THE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE LIVE TO BE 100 YEARS OLD. by IRENE RAWLINGS

n the spring of 2000, Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow, was leading a series of educational projects called “Quests” in which a team of scientists was sent to investigate some of the world’s greatest puzzles. “I heard about Okinawans’ unusual longevity and thought it would be a great quest to learn their secrets to good health and a long life,” he says. The result was a National Geographic cover story about the “Secrets of a Long Life,” which profiled areas with concentrations of some of the world’s longest-lived people. Why are they called Blue Zones? Simple. “They got their name for the blue pen we used to draw circles on the map locating the areas we wanted to research,” says Buettner (his own website is named bluezones.com). People who live in the Blue Zones—five regions in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the United States—live longer but are also free of many diseases common in older adults—heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes. Obviously, they are doing something right. First, a healthy diet. The anthropologists, demographers, epidemiologists, and other researchers who accompanied Buettner found that the basis of every longevity diet in the world is the humble bean. Fava beans in Sardinia. Black beans in Costa Rica. Lentils in Ikaria. Soybeans in Okinawa. Loma Linda’s Seventh Day Adventists take their cue from God’s directive (in the Book of Genesis) to eat fruits of “seed-bearing plants.” But even the healthiest diet is not, by itself, enough to ensure a long life. Buettner’s research pointed to the fact that these super-seniors thrive in cultures that celebrate their age and keep them engaged with family and community. w

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From top to bottom, ZoraZhuang/iStock; Jonathan Austin Daniels/iStock; George and Eleni Karamali; Keznon/Shutterstock. Opposite, Tucker & Hossler.

Life Lessons from the Blue Zones

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Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica You rattle and shake over rugged roads (the locals call them monkey trails) and ford shallow rivers to get to littledeveloped beaches, sea turtle-nesting sites, and surf schools in Santa Teresa and Mal Pais. If you venture upcountry, you’ll find farming and ranching villages that have not been impacted by tourism. And that’s why you’re here. To meet octogenarians tending cattle, nonagenarians working in their gardens, and centenarians waving from their doorways. They are very social and might invite you in for a black coffee (brewed in a clean sock). But you’ll have to dust off your college Spanish. Very little English is spoken once you get inland. Buettner notes that Costa Ricans spend only 15 percent of what Americans do on healthcare and yet appear

to be living long, healthy lives. Pura vida is a phrase used for everything from a greeting to a good-bye and everything in between. Costa Rican centenarians are surrounded by friends and family, have a strong work ethic, and maintain strong religious beliefs.

Top longevity foods: corn, coffee, papayas, yams, mango,

bananas, and plantains from their own gardens. Gallo pinto— rice and black beans mixed together, served on corn tortillas and garnished with cheese and cilantro… sometimes with an egg on top. The water is minerally and naturally fortified with high levels of calcium (strong bones).

Experience: The Four Seasons Costa Rica, a place where

most everything takes place outdoors, is set on the slender tip of Papagayo Peninsula with beaches on both sides. Look out for the capuchin monkeys who scamper down from the palm trees to steal your lunch. Three swimming pools, one with private palapas that come with a drinks butler. Take a nap to the lapping and swishing of the waves. On starry nights, observe the southern sky through a powerful telescope while enjoying celestial cocktails and small bites infused with real meteorite dust. It is called, quite appropriately, Taste the Stars. A Wellness Concierge guides you through a Pura Vida for All program. Guided meditation. Yoga. Cycling along the beaches and in the jungle. Spa treatments designed to rebalance your chakras. Easy-to-do-at-home healthy cooking classes. And the resort arranges English-speaking drivers/guides to take guests to the Blue Zone Nicoya Peninsula where you will meet super-seniors in the coffee shops, the open-air markets, or just walking along the road. fourseasons.com

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Top, Don Riddle; bottom, Tucker & Hossler. Opposite: Top, middle and middle righ, Michael Turek; Middle Left, Nash Willie/Stock Food; bottom, 3quakes/iStock.

The Four Seasons Costa Rica

Ikaria, Greece

Ninety-nine square miles of scrub oak– covered mountains rising steeply out of the Aegean Sea, Ikaria is one of the undervisited Greek islands. It doesn’t have the white-sand beaches and throbbing nightlife that draw visitors to some of the Cyclades islands like Mykonos. The people here are farmers and goat herders who tend their vineyards and live to a ripe old age. Its reputation as a health destination dates back 25 centuries. Ancient Greeks traveled for days (all the way from Athens) for the island’s healing hot springs. Odysseus may have stopped here for a soak on his way back from the Trojan War. Now, you can get here in about 11 hours by ferry from Athens (Piraeus); less than an hour by air.

Top longevity foods: feta cheese,

yogurt, honey, wild greens, olive oil, lemons, beans, lentils, and herbs. Ikarians make a tea out of mint and rosemary. For dinner, long-simmered stew of blackeyed peas, fennel, onions, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, olive oil, and a handful of wild herbs.

Experience: Book a stay on an organic farm and vineyard in Pigi, a traditional mountain village. Stay in rebuilt 16thto 19th-century stone cottages. Yogurt and homemade bread for breakfast. A complimentary bottle of wine every day. Foraging walks. Ikarian cooking classes. It is the closest you’ll get to living like local centenarians. ikarianwine.gr w Spring 2017 115

Sardinia, Italy

Away from the coastal cities and the international glitz of Costa Smeralda, the mountains of Sardinia look as wild as they did to the Phoenicians who anchored here circa 1000 B.C. When he was researching the Blue Zones, Buettner traveled down myrtle-androsemary-scented dirt roads to a dozen isolated whitewashed mountain villages on the island’s spine. He found a population of extraordinarily healthy centenarians and concluded that it was not only the food but “natural” exercise and social connections that kept people is such great shape. In Villagrande, he spent an afternoon with a baking circle— five women who get together to bake traditional sourdough bread. But before they bake, they chop wood, stoke the oven, and knead the dough for nearly an hour. Probably more exercise than going to the gym.

Top longevity foods: sheep cheese (pecorino), sourdough bread, fava beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, thistle tea, wine from grenache grapes. When fava beans are in season, a typical meal starts with raw fava beans, dipped in olive oil and salt. For the main, favas stewed in a broth of sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and olive oil. Experience: Su Gologone is one of the most famous agriturismos on the island. High-mountain setting, naturalfood restaurant, proximity to the Su Gologone Spring (the mineral water comes out of a cave), yoga in the herb garden, and classes on how to cook authentic Sardinian food. The folk art– filled rooms have a bohemian look— whitewashed walls, heavy linen bed curtains, sunshine-colored rugs, and cushions. And you are not far (but on winding, sometimes single-track roads) from Villagrande and the other Blue Zone villages. sugologone.it/en

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Middle, Tsuyoshi Ikeda/EyeEm/Getty Images; bottom, Yarn/iStock. Opposite: Top, Katja Kräder/awl-images/Getty Images; middle, Cebas/iStock; bottom left, Vladimir Gerasimov/iStock; bottom right, SolStock/iStock.

Ritz-Carlton, Okinawa

Okinawa, Japan

A string of 160 islands surrounded by the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Okinawa is nearly 1,000 miles away from Tokyo. Its unique food tradition is more influenced by Southeast Asia than Japan. Ruins of 13th-century castles, reminders of its shogun past, still dominate the landscape. Buettner’s research found that Okinawans have one-fifth the cardiovascular disease, one-fourth the breast cancer, and one-third the rate of dementia of Americans. He attributes this, in part, to a culture of walking, year-round access to fresh medicinal herbs, homegrown vegetables, and a soy-based protein diet—and to a culture that honors the elderly: A 97th birthday triggers daylong celebrations, concluding with a parade through town in a convertible.

Top longevity foods: purple sweet potatoes, tofu, goya (a nubby, cucumber-like

gourd), bitter melon, rice, fish, green tea with turmeric, and a huge emphasis on seaweed, seafood, and home-grown vegetables. Pork is big—but cooked all day with the fat skimmed off hourly. You can eat traditional home cooking at Emi No Mise restaurant in Ogimi Village in the remote north of the main island. Chef Emiko Kinjo, a trained dietitian, teaches the old ways of cooking but is not averse to turning humble local ingredients into haute French cuisine—sans butter and heavy cream, of course.

Experience: Ritz-Carlton, in the rural north of Okinawa and overlooking the East China Sea, is a medieval castle-like hotel with massive walls and red tile roofs. A series of well-designed watercourses in the courtyards cool the tropical air. Gusuku restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offers local favorites like sea grapes, peanut tofu, seafood rice bowls, and the truly must-try goya champuru (stir-fried bitter melon and vegetables), the Okinawan national dish. The hotel can arrange a car to nearby Ogimi Village for lunch or a cooking class. When you’re leaving—for the day or forever—the doorman stands and waves good-bye until your car is out of sight. ritzcarlton.com w

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Big Bear Lake

Create your own Blue Zone. From all of his research, Dan Buettner found that there are basically nine lessons. He calls them the Power 9. Move Naturally. Walk a lot. Ride your bike.

As many as one-third of Loma Linda’s 22,000 residents are Seventh Day Adventists. Their faith inspires volunteerism and teaches them to treat their bodies like temples. Thus little or no meat, only small servings of fish, and no smoking, alcohol, coffee, tea, or any other caffeinated drinks. The one low-key McDonald’s has posters advertising veggie burgers. Saturday, a strictly observed Sabbath, creates a sanctuary from workday stress. Families go to church and then might gather with other families for a potluck picnic on the beach or up at Big Bear. Adventists have long been interested in longevity, health, and healthcare; Loma Linda University is one of the leading teaching hospitals in the country. Cooking classes and workshops in stress reduction are offered at the university’s Wholistic Medicine Clinic. publichealth.llu.edu

Top longevity foods: A “biblical” diet focused on grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Many only drink water. Pesco-vegetarians eat plant-based food and up to one serving of fish per day, usually salmon. Sugar is taboo—except from natural sources like fruits, figs, and dates. Experience: Loma Linda is only 60 miles from Los Angeles but a world away. There are dozens of vegetarian and vegan restaurants within the city limits. Ethiopian. Greek. Japanese. Indian. Vegan Fresh—just opened and already a local favorite— offers plant-based Blue Zone sandwiches and burgers.

Downshift. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. Slow down. Turn off your phone. Meditate. 80% Rule. Push away from the table when you’re still a little hungry. Plant Slant. Beans, legumes, and leafy greens are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Wine @ 5. Spend face time (not FaceTime) with family and friends. Moderate drinkers outlive nondrinkers (1–2 glasses of wine per day with friends and/or food). And no, you can’t save up all week and have 14 drinks on Saturday. Belong. Attend faith-based services regularly (no matter the denomination). This can add as many as 14 years to your life. Loved Ones First. Stay close to aging parents and grandparents. Commit to a life partner. Invest in your children. Right Tribe. The world’s longestlived people were born into (or chose) social circles that support healthy behaviors. Dan Buettner’s books are The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest and The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People. He is currently traveling the world, researching a book about happiness. bluezones.com

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Top: Ron and Patty Thomas/iStock; bottom, Schon & Probst/Picture Press/Getty Images.

Loma Linda, California

Purpose. Find your sense of purpose and live it.

Concrete. Domesticated. Fresh Concrete