Maybourne Magazine Autumn/Winter 2022

Claridge’s | The Connaught | The Berkeley | The Maybourne Beverly Hills | The Maybourne Riviera

Her Majesty

The Queen Remembering a remarkable monarch

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F A M I L Y

S T O R Y

Yasmin and Amber Le Bon wear ASHOKA

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etter L ’s

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ccording to legend, in 1947 a diplomat telephoned Claridge’s and asked to speak to the King.

The response was ‘Certainly, sir. Which one?’ This scenario may very well have repeated itself again in 2012, during that glorious summer celebrating the Olympics, and then in the most sorrowful of circumstances this autumn, when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest in Westminster. Maybourne Hotel Group’s three London properties were filled with world leaders and distinguished guests alike, all of who circumnavigated the globe to pay their respects to one of Britain’s foremost ambassadors in any field. We will not see her like again.

This issue is a mixture of delights, of which I hope Her Majesty would have approved. David Downton is behind the striking cover illustration. Tom Parker Bowles enjoys a light lunch at Claridge’s staff restaurant. Royal confidant and regal penpal Nicky Haslam tells all on his latest project (at 83, he is as formidable as ever - right down to the precise composition of his cobb salad). Yomi Adegoke, fresh from London Fashion Week, reveals why Belgravia has a style all of its own − I suspect Her Majesty would have loved the bold colours of her orange Taller Marmo dress. Plus, for those of us who, like the Queen Mother once did, look forward to ‘the magic hour’ we have Hollywood director Paul Feig discussing cocktails with the Connaught Bar’s Ago Perrone. All this, as well as comprehensive guides to the extraordinary hotels on the Côte d’Azur and in Beverly Hills. Enjoy the issue − and God save the King!

CLARIDGE’S

Brook Street London W1K 4HR +44 (0)20 7629 8860 claridges.co.uk

THE CONNAUGHT

Carlos Place London W1K 2AL +44 (0)20 7499 7070 the-connaught.co.uk

THE MAYBOURNE BEVERLY HILLS

ILLUSTRATION: CLYM EVERNDEN

225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 +1 310-860-7800 maybournebeverlyhills.com

THE BERKELEY

Wilton Place London SW1X 7RL +44 (0)20 7235 6000 the-berkeley.co.uk

THE MAYBOURNE RIVIERA

1551 Rte de la Turbie, 06190 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin +33 4 93 37 50 00 maybourneriviera.com

Follow @maybournehotelgroup on Instagram: @claridgeshotel, @theconnaught, @the_berkeley, @themaybournebh, @themaybourneriviera.

For reservations please call +44 (0) 20 7107 8830, email reservations@maybourne.com or visit maybourne.com Acting Editor Andy Morris (Editor: Elle Blakeman) Cover David Downton Art Directors Vanessa Grzywacz, Craig Baxter Picture Editors Geneva Starr, Matt Richardson Sub Editors Chris Bryans, Serena Kutchinsky Advertising Director Chris Wilson Advertising Executive James Fisher Maybourne Director Of Communications Paula Fitzherbert To Advertise: hello@luux-media.com The Maybourne Magazine is published biannually by Brook Street Publishing 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ

A S P R E Y. C O M

THE 167 MINI HANDBAG AND CHAOS COLLECTION

3 6 B R U T O N S T R E E T, M A Y F A I R , W 1 J 6 Q X

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Contributors Claridge’s . The Connaught . The Berkeley . The Maybourne Beverly Hills . The Maybourne R iviera

Ben Cobb

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17 Yomi Adegoke

The editor of ES Magazine writes a postcard from London. He recently designed a collection for Tiger of Sweden, orders a French 75, loves art by Patrick Procktor and the horror films of Dario Argento.

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TOM PARKER BOWLES BY SAM BARKER. BEN COBB BY JAMES ANASTASI FOR ES MAGAZINE. YOMI ADEGOKE BY MOLLANA BURKE.

Tom Parker Bowles The award-winning food critic and author of seven cookbooks, visits Claridge’s staff restaurant.

He loves David Shrigley, dreads turning 50 and prefers his Martini ‘dry as hell’.

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The founder of MCH Studio and society editor for ES Magazine interviews interior design legend Nicky Haslam. He is a fan of Brunello Cucinelli’s cashmere coats, Vodka Martinis (Grey Goose, please) and the work of the abstract artist Bob Baxter.

The head film critic at the iPaper interviews Paul Feig.

She adores her Gucci loafers, vintage Omega watches and the work of Egon Schiele.

She takes her Whisky Sour with two cherries.

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Jane McFarland

98 David Downton

The cover photographer for British GQ, The Rake and M Magazine shares his Nineties’ behind the scenes portfolio.

He also enjoys Brunello Cucinelli cashmere, Wes Lang and the occasional Old Fashioned.

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Michael Hennegan

Christina Newland

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Gavin Bond

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Columnist for British Vogue and co-author of the book Slay In Your Lane (Harper Collins), writes about the style of Belgravia. She loves her Fendi boots, Pornstar Martinis and the paintings of fellow south Londoner Esiri Erheriene-Essi.

Grazia’s associate editor compiled our womenswear page. She loves Bottega Veneta coats, the photography of the banal by Gab Bois and the cheese subscription service from Neal’s Yard.

Claridge’s Artist in Residence pays tribute to The Queen. He loves the art of Jean-Gabriel Domergue and Fleur Cowles’ pioneering Flair magazine.

Delilah Khomo

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Tatler’s travel editor investigates Le 300 bar, at The Maybourne Riviera.

She adores Caravaggio, her Garrard crucifix, Flaubert’s classic Madame Bovary and is a fan of British Airways’ pyjamas.

Over 18s only. Please drink responsibly. - www.moet.com

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Contributors Claridge’s . The Connaught . The Berkeley . The Maybourne Beverly Hills . The Maybourne R iviera

Adam Hyman

Sam Barker P.

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The acclaimed photographer shoots Paul Feig at The Connaught. He loves his Norwegian fisherman’s jumper and British painter Frank Auerbach. A well-made Cosmopolitan is his drink of choice.

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58 Lanie Goodman The author of Romantic French Homes (CICO) writes about the allure of the off-season Riviera.

She adores Italian lightweight cashmere, British painter Trevor Winkfield, and her cocktail is a Vodka Basil Cucumber Smash.

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MARISSA MONTGOMERY BY VICTORIA WALL HARRIS

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Marissa Montgomery The LA creative consultant spends 24 hours at The Maybourne Beverly Hills.

She loves cosying up in her Canessa cashmere cardigan, David Hockney and the light sculptures of Scottish artist and poet Robert Montgomery.

Pip Rich The editor of Livingetc. speaks to interior designer Bryan O’Sullivan. He is currently devoted to his wool-lined slippers from Celtic and Co., John Pawson interiors and the cookbooks of Anna Jones.

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The founder of Code Hospitality and the publisher of The Good Food Guide, writes about London’s restaurant fightback. He enjoys outerwear from Officine Générale, Cubism-era Picasso and wears a 1985 Rolex.

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Billie Bhatia

David Ellis

Stylist’s fashion and beauty features director is responsible for this season’s beauty page. She likes country music, Luke P. Edward Hall and a spicy Margarita on the rocks, no salt.

The Evening Standard critic and editor of The Reveller celebrates the pubs of Belgravia. He remains a devotee of his battered Barbour, the art of Paul Klee and a first edition of Peter Pan. He orders a Red Hook with rye wherever possible.

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Mark C. O’Flaherty A regular contributor to the Financial Times and photographer for Elle Decor, O’Flaherty explores Joan Didion’s legacy. He wears tailoring by John Alexander Skelton, enjoys Mezcal Negronis and loves the art of witch Deborah Westmancoat.

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Marion Hume The screenwriter and producer remembers 1990s’ couture. She lives in her Martin Grant Paris peacoat, loves train travel and admires climate activist artist Peter Hunt, who happens to be her husband.

RM 65-01 Skeletonised automatic winding calibre 60-hour power reserve (±10%) Baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium Split-seconds chronograph Function selector and rapid winding mechanism Variable-geometry rotor Case in Carbon TPT®

A Racing Machine On The Wrist

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Contents

Claridge’s . The Connaught . The Berkeley . The Maybourne Beverly Hills . The Maybourne R iviera

Winter 22 / Spring 23 P.

12 ROYAL APPOINTMENT

A tribute to Her Majesty, looking ahead to His Majesty’s coronation 16 POSTCARDS FROM

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EXT-LEVEL LUXURY N The future is electric for Mercedes and Rolls-Royce

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BRYAN O’SULLIVAN

The inside track from our experts

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18 WHAT TO WEAR

Dress to impress this season 22

NICKY HASLAM The veteran arbiter of taste talks to Michael Hennegan

The interior designer on his most ambitious project yet 58 SECRET RIVIERA

Lanie Goodman on the Côte d’Azur’s off-season appeal

28 TALKING HEADS

A few of our favourite people share predictions for 2023 34

JOAN DIDION IN LA Mark C. O’Flaherty follows in the footsteps of a literary icon

62 ACCESS ALL AREAS

Marion Hume reveals how Gavin Bond got his shot 68 24 HOURS WITH...

Marissa Montgomery’s perfect day in Beverly Hills

38 BOWIE AT CLARIDGE’S

Forty years on - tales from the Let’s Dance launch

Happenings great and small YOMI ADEGOKE SHOT BY OGAGA BLESSING AT THE BERKELEY. PAUL FEIG SHOT BY SAM BARKER AT THE CONNAUGHT BAR.

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HIGH FASHION Yomi Adegoke on how London stays on the cutting edge

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BEST BAR NONE Le 300 brings world-class cocktails to the Riviera

73 PARTY PAGES

44 RISE OF THE WEST SIDE

Frieze is just the latest reason to visit LA’s new creative hub

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78 LONDON’S BEST DINING

Adam Hyman on the resilience of the capital’s food scene

98 HIGH SPIRITS

Hollywood director Paul Feig visits the Connaught Bar 104 STYLE NEWS

This season’s most notable looks 80

SECRET INGREDIENTS Tom Parker Bowles samples Claridge’s staff restaurant

84 THE CONNAUGHT GRILL

Bridget Arsenault enjoys a feast with a theatrical flourish

108 SPA NOTES

Claridge’s sublime new sanctuary 112 BEAUTY NEWS

The best new skincare and scents 114 CHECK OUT

88 BELGRAVIA PUBS

Our guide to the best drinking dens near The Berkeley

News and views from five hotels 119 CLARIDGE’S SHOP

Treasures from the Mayfair icon 92

RED ALERT Victoria Moore spills the secrets of Claridge’s Wine Cellar

120 DAVID DOWNTON DRAWS

Burlesque star Dita Von Teese

REGINALD DAVIS / SHUTTERSTOCK

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip visited Claridge’s in 1964 for a banquet in her honour given by the King of Greece

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Looking Back

David Downton remembers the grace and beauty of Queen Elizabeth II

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had never seen her in ‘real’ life. Not even in the distance, waving from a carriage. Then, in 2016, she appeared, seemingly from nowhere, in the lobby of Claridge’s. She was there to sign a book; I’m not sure of its significance. A crowd quickly gathered. We were rooted to the spot. Starstruck. Matt Damon passed through the lobby and did a double take worthy of Cary Grant. ‘Are you here for me?’ He looked confused. ‘No!’ we cried. Then the Queen reappeared. He understood and broke into smiles.

So, how to depict Her Majesty for her portrait in Claridge’s, that you can also see on the cover of this magazine? It’s a conundrum that has exercised artists from Annigoni (who painted her twice) to Warhol, from Freud to Jamie Reid (who designed the Sex Pistols’ iconic God Save the Queen graphics) and photographers from Cecil Beaton to Mary McCartney. There were almost 1,000 official portraits during her 70-year reign, and her image currently appears on over 4 billion banknotes, worth £82 billion, and approximately 27 billion coins (let’s set aside the mugs, jugs, commemorative plates, silk scarves and attendant memorabilia).

For the finished artwork, I opted for nostalgia, for heightened colour and, yes, for romance. The drawing hangs in the gallery at the hotel over which it presides with serenity and, I hope, amusement. Following her passing on 8 September and realising that we have lost a thread that stretches back through decades, there’s an added poignancy. The scenes in London leading up to her funeral left no doubt as to the love and esteem in which she was held. We thank her for everything. M David Downton is Claridge’s Artist in Residence

HUGO BURNAND-POOL / GETTY IMAGES

This portrait of King Charles III, formerly Prince of Wales, marked his 60th birthday

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Looking Forward Tom Chamberlin relishes the prospect of the reign of King Charles III

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he third verse of the national anthem has my favourite sentence, ‘May he defend our laws / and ever give us cause / to sing with heart and voice, God save the King.’ Simple but effective, grappling with the role of constitutional monarchy and setting the task to our new Sovereign as to how he may ever give us cause. It speaks to the idea of service, and, if his mother was the exemplar of this ideal, then Charles III is not an unworthy apprentice.

In 1958, he was designated Prince of Wales by Queen Elizabeth. He was just nine years old. The title’s motto, which he would hold onto for the next 64 years, is Ich Dien, meaning ‘I serve’, and service is what he is now called to in the highest office of the land. Officer Cadets at Sandhurst all wear the cap badge of the monarch’s cypher and the motto ‘Serve to Lead’, and their Commander-in-Chief must show the way. Politicians claim to serve, but it is in the symbolism of the King’s role that he can distinguish himself – and, by extension, the role and purpose of monarchy – from the current climate of division and uncertainty.

Leadership is not all about making decisions. It is about inspiring others, giving comfort and taking people with you. The subject of environmentalism is a passion that Charles inherited from his conscientious father. Perhaps my favourite moment of his time as Prince of Wales was when the so-called ‘black spider memos’ (letters he sent to ministers on various issues) were released. Muscular republicans thought this was their smoking gun, but were left forlorn when it was largely requests to help endangered species of fish and historical sites such as Smithfield Market.

Day to day, the Royal Family’s job is to represent charities and foundations with their patronage, and use their unique positions to make sure these bodies are not voiceless. The Queen had no opportunity to speak publicly on matters in the way her son and heir has. This is to his advantage, as we know how he feels on various matters. Most of all, we know he cares about and loves this country, from the most august architecture to the tiniest animals. He will and can be the voice for it, and perhaps remind us all of how to be in love with it, too.

God save the King! M Tom Chamberlin is Editor-in-Chief of The Rake. King Charles III’s coronation will take place on 6 May 2023.

WITH LOVE L ANIE GOODMAN T HE FR ENCH R I V IER A

The culture writer on the Masters, Monaco jazz and the new chefs to know Call it the full ‘Technicolor effect’ – when northern climes are shivering under autumn winds and mounds of snow, the French Riviera is still ablaze with exotic succulents, bright yellow mimosa and blossoming white almond trees. Those who prefer their diversions fast and noisy can flock to Casino Square for the Monte Carlo Rally (19–22 January 2023), which is over a century old. It’s the start of an event that takes competitors – at high speed – through the winding Alpine routes in the Riviera hinterland.

Speaking of excitement, little compares with the annual Rolex Monte Carlo Masters tennis (8–16 April 2023), kicking off the spring season on the clay courts. Set back on a pine-shaded hilltop in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, there’s La

Fondation Maeght (fondation-maeght.com). Take time to wander through the sculpture gardens, past giant bobbing Calder mobiles, colourful mosaics by Chagall and Tal-Coat and a tiled pool by Braque, who also designed the violet stained glass in the tiny stone chapel. For fashionistas and photo buffs alike, head to Villa Sauber at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (nmnm.mc) and gape at four decades of black-and-white prints by former Riviera resident and iconic photographer Helmut Newton (until 13 November).

No one should leave Monte Carlo without a visit to the Garnier Opera House. The heavily gilded décor – expect Second Empire-style lyre-toting angels, mythological frescoes and bronzes, plus the Grand Lustre, a five-tonne chandelier featuring Bohemian crystal – is also the glittery backdrop to the 16th staging of the Monte Carlo Jazz Festival (9 November–4 December), when an international line-up, from Jethro Tull to Magma with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, heats up the historic walls

with rock, blues and, naturally, jazz.

If you’re looking for wildly creative local cuisine with the finest organic ingredients, explore the Italianate-style neighbourhoods of Nice. There you’ll find several Michelin-starred offerings by rising-star chefs, from Restaurant Jan (janonline.com) and Flaveur (restaurant-flaveur.com) to newcomers Les Agitateurs (lesagitateurs.com).

Grab an outdoor table at dusk and watch the Mediterranean turn mauve and pink in the light of the Côte d’Azur’s winter sunsets.

GETTY IMAGES, ISTOCK, NMNM/MAURO-MAGLIANI AND BARBARA-PIOVAN, JASMINE PARK, JOSEPH WEAVER, © THE WALLACE COLLECTION

Postcards from a few of our favourite locals

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ANDREW BARKER BEV ER LY HILL S

Our LA Editor on the real-life Mad Men, Nordic design in California and the best ice cream in town Here’s a little secret: for many of us Angelenos, autumn is our favourite season in the city. What southern California lacks in cosy nights by the fire, it makes up for with the perfect climate for getting out and about, whether it’s mountain hikes or beach walks, museum visits or new restaurants.

Objects Of Desire: Photography and the Language of Advertising (until 18 December) brings the Mad Men-era

to life at LACMA (lacma.org) in a multimedia show looking at how commercial photography has influenced fine art.

Further afield, the Orange County Museum of Art (ocma.art) opens its new Costa Mesa home with an undulating design by Pritzker winner Thom Mayne’s Morphosis Studio.

It’s a twofer for LACMA this season, which pays tribute to Nordic creativity with Scandinavian Design

and the United States, 1890–1980 (until 5 February 2023), examining the exchange of ideas between American designers and those of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland. Many Nordic designers studied, worked and immigrated to the US. The results of this cross-pollination set an enduring aesthetic in homewares synonymous with good taste.

The food scene is also hotting up. Once guests of The Maybourne Beverly Hills have tried The Terrace’s signature dishes, they should head to Melrose Avenue for caviar-laden baked potatoes at Caviar Kaspia (caviarkaspia.com). Nearby, the brains behind two of DTLA’s biggest success stories of the last decade, Bestia and Bavel, now have Saffy’s (saffysla.com), serving Middle Eastern fare and soft serve ice cream.

The Mad Men-era comes to life in a new show at L ACM A this autumn BEN COBB LONDON

The Editor of ES Magazine on the unexpected joy of exploring London on foot Once upon a time, in the mists of pre-iPhone days - otherwise known as the 1990s - one of my favourite things to do was wander around London. No route, no destination and no emails buzzing in my pocket.

The official word for this idle activity is flaneuring (‘a leisurely ramble whose only point is to soak up the beauty in the details we otherwise overlook’, according to Baudelaire) but to me it will always be called pottering. My schedule nowadays doesn’t allow for much of it but, occasionally, I steal a moment.

Here are a few favourite finds, all in a stone’s throw of Claridge’s and The Connaught - where better to bookend a day of casual adventure? First, to Mount Street Gardens. A hidden paradise tucked behind Mayfair’s main shopping street, this oasis is a perfect place to stop and do some serious people-watching.

Next, head north over Oxford Street to The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square.

There are many wonders to enjoy here from imposing Japanese armoury to Frans Hals’ famous Laughing Cavalier painting but, for me, the jewel will always be Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s 18th-century Rococo masterwork The Swing.

Get lost in the maze of mews that pepper the back streets of Park Lane.

Marvel at the Curzon Mayfair (the

interior is worth the price of a ticket alone).

Look up at The Time & Life Building on New Bond Street to admire Henry Moore’s handiwork. Cross Piccadilly and down to St James’s to see Pickering Place, London’s smallest square and an old spot for 18th-century duelling.

Of course, feel free to ignore any or all of the above. Pottering is profoundly personal, so go your own way. Remember: free your mind and your feet will follow.

Dua Lipa

Dress, Nensi Dojaka at Browns

Necklace, Roberto Coin at Goldsmiths

Bracelet and Earrings, Nour

By Jahan

Earrings, Shrimps

Corset, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy at Browns

Choker, Emily P Wheeler

Shoes, Bottega Veneta at Matchesfashion

Dress, Molly Goddard at Browns

Bag, Staud at Net-A-Porter

Bi l l y Porte r

WHAT TO PA C K F O R

The Oscars of the British style scene takes place this year at the Royal Albert Hall. Designers, both established and new, are celebrated for their creativity and innovation on a star-studded night that toasts the very best of British fashion design. Which means the stakes are especially high when it comes to walking the red carpet. Suggestion: mix wow-factor jewels with the buzziest names in town. That should do it nicely.

Ring, Jemma Wynne

Bag, Lanvin

Ring, Swarovski Earrings, Lily Gabriella

Tiara, Solange

WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY JESSICA BUMPUS. PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES

Ankle Boots, René Caovilla

THE FASHION AWARDS

Dress, Dodo Bar Or at Browns

Jourdan Dunn

Pochette, Asprey

Shoes, Christian Louboutin

Necklace, Ouroboros

Hat, Erdem

Necklace, Goossens

Collar, Ganni

Bag, Shrimps

Ring, Melissa Kaye

Hairclip, Gucci at Mytheresa Pendant, Cece Jewellery

Vanessa Hudgens

Bag, Rosantica at Matchesfashion

Shirt, Wales Bonner x Browns Focus Trousers, Missoni at Browns

esan dra Ambrosio

Bow, Maison Michel

Shoes, Christian Louboutin

Dress, Chloé at Mytheresa

Blouse, Halpern at Net-A-Porter

Blazer, Nadine Merabi

Lu di De lfin o & All

WHAT TO PA C K F O R

HARRY’S HOUSE The most fashion forward former member of One Direction has fast become something of a style maverick, known for an eclectic and bohemian wardrobe that channels icons of the past, while cementing him as one of the future. Not afraid to mix things up, he is also a champion of London’s brightest fashion names. Attending his Harry’s House residency at the Kia Forum in California, invites a strong 1970s vibe, with bright colours, textures and fun.

Watch, Chaumet

Charm, Loquet London

Li zzo

Bracelet, Kirstie Le Marque

Sunglasses, Celine at Matchesfashion

Scarf, Skirt, Re/Done at Asprey Matchesfashion

Boots, Ganni

Top, Balmain

Bag,Tissa Fontaneda

Jacket, Ganni

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Brooch, Lily Gabriella

Ring, Emily P Wheeler

Ree se With ersp oon

Skirt, Christopher Kane

An di e Mac Do wel l

Shoes, Christian Loubouton

Dress, Reformation at Browns

Earrings, Chaumet

Jacket, Anine Bing

WHAT TO PA C K F O R

Clutch bag, Dries Van Noten at Browns

Located in the heart of Monaco, a 12-minute drive from The Maybourne Riviera, Hauser & Wirth’s gallery invites a nuanced, artistic dress code.

Traditional and glamorous on the one hand; yet cool and directional on the other. As always, accessories provide a helping hand. If the basis of your outfit is bold, keep them simple; if the basis of your outfit is simple, keep them bold.

Belt, Alaïa at Net-A-Porter Trainers, Temperley London x LØCI

Trousers, Anine Bing

Ring, Tabayer

Natal ie Portma n

Sandals, Salvatore Ferragamo at Matchesfashion

Ring, Bucherer

Watch, Big Bang Integral Ceramic Hublot

Necklace, Dior Joaillerie

WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY JESSICA BUMPUS. PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES; © THE EASTON FOUNDATION / DACS, 2021 / FRANÇOIS FERNANDEZ

HAUSER & WIRTH

Top, Balmain

A RAKE’S PROGRESS Aged 83, Nicky Haslam is still the best-connected man in Britain.

A royal confidant, interior designer and perennial party-starter, he shares his thoughts on the royals, class and his new suite at Claridge’s Words:

MICH A EL HENNEGA N Photography:

R ACHEL LOUISE BROW N

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‘ The tragedy for the younger royals is that the Queen was so incredible that she eclipsed all the others’

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DIGI TECH / LIGHTING ASSISTANT: GEORGIA SHANE, HAIR/MAKEUP: CAROL MORLEY C/O CAROL HAYES MANAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD YOUNG/SHUTTERSTOCK; DAVID M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES

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icky Haslam might easily be one of the last, great national treasures the British social scene has. For the uninitiated, Haslam was born in Buckinghamshire in 1939, schooled at Eton and first made his name as a writer and interior designer, has five books to his name and along the way has known pretty much every late, great or living name you might care to mention. In fact, most of those who only need a first name from the last 50 years. Hollywood? ‘Cary, Rock, Marlon, Jack, Marlene, Greta, Marilyn.’ New York? ‘When I worked at Vogue, Diana Vreeland became a huge personality in my life. The great painters - Andy [Warhol]. There are so many that I’ve been lucky enough to be friends with.’ On this side of the pond there was David Bailey, Jean Shrimpton, The Stones, The Beatles, the list goes on. Are they all still all in touch? ‘Yes, but not so frequently.

We’re all very fond of each other though. Bryan Ferry and Rupert Everett are still two of my closest friends. Ringo Starr is great.’

We’re meeting to talk about the Claridge’s corner suite he’s just designed (number 418). As I walk in, the photographer is trying to find a prop to shoot Haslam with on the balcony. A whisky is proffered and swiftly waved away by Haslam, a Vogue cigarette in hand, ‘No, no, something clear... make it look like a gin and tonic.’ Three different receptacles of different sizes are considered and turned away. A flower is rejected. He is very specific and precise about every element - which is unsurprising given this is his first interiors project for several years, in collaboration with Studio QD (Jena Quinn and Lucy Derbyshire). Rebecca Marks suggested using some Colefax & Fowler fabrics, a tribute to their original premises next door on Brook Street.

As an interior designer he’s created homes for Mick Jagger, Charles Saatchi and of course friends such as Starr and Everett. ‘I did my first apartment in New York when I lived there, then a friend’s apartment and it went from there.’ He points out that his second interiors job made the New York Herald Tribune. In the late 1960s, he bought a ranch in Arizona and decorated the ranch house; then spent time in Hollywood during the Golden Age and then back to London where he became the go-to for interiors.

‘One of my first apartments in London was Mark Shand [brother of Her Majesty The Queen Consort] and Nicholas Soames [Churchill’s grandson]. All of those butch boys who were off all night with girls and had big jobs in the city just left me to it.’

Haslam with Kate Moss, Her Majesty The Queen Consort, Bryan Ferry, Hilary Swank, Joan Collins, Vivienne Westwood, Scarlett Johansson and Mick Jagger

Have his design sensibilities changed over the years? ‘They don’t really change, they just evolve. I still like the same things I did 100 years ago and I’ve always prided myself on being quite modern as well as being very traditional. I like all the latest things, I love new fabric, new materials and new ways to make things work. I mean, Marie-Antoinette would have absolutely died for plastic.’ The suite took 18 months from start to finish (‘Longer than usual due to lockdown,’ he explains) and the collaboration with Studio QD was a particularly harmonious one. ‘Both Jena and Lucy have been with me for 20 years so they know exactly what I mean when I say make it like this or that. And they’re brilliantly clever at putting what I want into reality and finding very interesting things of their own. It really is a wonderful combination.’ For the suite he thought of old Hollywood films. ‘Those sets by Tony Duquette and people like that − playfulness, not obvious luxury. There’s also a very sort of almost 1940s’ yet contemporary look to the white plaster of the wall lights. I love white plaster. It’s my favourite thing in the world. I don’t really like luxury, it’s such a bore.’

He’s been a long-standing member of the Claridge’s family for years, his first memory of the hotel of coming for weddings and parties with his parents as a child. The first piece he ever wrote on the hotel appeared back in 1981. I start reading to Haslam his own words. ‘Beside the Queen herself, there was every monarch in Europe, reigning or exiled, there was Nancy Reagan, Princess Grace of Monaco, the Empress of Iran.’ He remembers instantly.

‘Oh yes, that was the Prince of Wales’ wedding night. It was the party the Queen gave, an astonishing evening. Artists, opera stars, ballet dancers, politicians. It was amazing. The Queen started the dancing with Prince Philip. It was so touching. And at the one for Prince Andrew’s wedding, a few years later, someone forgot to place Prince Charles and Diana, so they sat at our table.’

What does he think of the future of the royals, I ask? ‘Well I worshipped the Queen, and she made one feel we were friends.

The tragic thing for the younger royals is that the whole thing is a bit of a mess. The Queen was so perfect that she eclipsed all the others − from the length of her reign, her incredible personality which came out in every photo, every utterance. It’s a hard act to follow, but the King is blessed with Camilla, who is so easy, unspoilt and brilliant. I love Princess Anne, I love her clothes and her understated poise. She’s so sexy, you know? I danced with her once at a dance in Belgium, I mean, she’s got it in spades.

Woooooph! It’s unreal.’

Some younger royals are all cousins of sorts (Princess Diana was a distant cousin, too) ‘but I don’t know them very well’.

What does he think of the current situation with the Sussexes?

‘Harry’s in such a mess, but it’s very understandable, him and William not getting along. It happens often in royal families, did Louis XIV like his brothers? No! I quite liked my brothers − I loved them but we weren’t close.’ He thinks the modern way of everyone loving each other and mothers being best friends is quite self-defeating. ‘Those people who say “My mother is my best friend.” Oh! Isn’t that awful? In fact, liking your family, that’s common.’

Ahh, common. Over the last few years, Haslam has become known for his acerbic and witty tea towels. Released at Christmastime, the list has included baby showers, award ceremonies, art, Savile Row suits... the list goes on. How did they come about? ‘They’re all done with Flora [Lender, Nicky’s right-hand woman]. I used to do a thing called How Common in the Evening Standard and we collected hundreds. People used to say you must do a book with them or something but it’s not so funny as a book − it has to be ephemeral − so that’s how the tea towels came about.’ So, what does he find common about modern hotels? ‘I think for a hotel to shout that it’s luxurious rather than just feel it, is common. Too many soaps for example − that’s common!’

He splits his time now between London and the Bamford estate in the Cotswolds, having been given a house there just before lockdown: ‘I love living in the country so much that I’ve switched things around and my weekends now are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in London where I go out to dinner. Not to lunch, as I sleep during the day but my working week is sort of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the country where I write or paint or do whatever.’ To be clear, his social schedule shows no sign of slowing down. Last night he’d been at a party given by David Dawson, muse of Lucien Freud, and was visiting columnist AN Wilson’s tonight. ‘I’ve got one on Thursday and then I’ll go back to the country.’ He’s also fallen in love with the country pub.

‘I’ve never been to a pub in London apart from the gay ones, but I have discovered non-alcoholic beer in the country. It’s really quite wonderful. Carol [Bamford] has it at her new pub, The Fox, nearby so I toddle off there and sink a pint.’

Where does he like to go in London? ‘Well, ideally straight home to bed. I liked The Wolseley when it was run by those two adorable boys, but I haven’t been there for a while. I go to Essenza in Notting Hill Gate, I go to Bellamy’s, so elegant. I don’t try many new places.’ From there we ricochet through a variety of subjects. He thinks galleries are boring. ‘So overdone. I used to love it but I hate most of the rubbish in galleries and I despise those places where you get some foreign second wife going to buy a piece of art over the weekend.’ On fame: ‘I think there are more people who assume they can be famous for very little.’ Influencers, for example? ‘That’s not fame, it’s self-delusion.’ On dogs: ‘I’ve had dogs all my life - I can’t work up much enthusiasm for Labradors, or whippets, I like dogs that make you laugh.

Frequently, these days people say “Oh I can’t find a dogsitter, so we can’t go to Ibiza” - it’s very boring.’ On pet peeves: ‘I can’t stand bad pronunciation − research!

Or people whining all the time − especially on the radio − they’ve always been ill or complaining about someone if you’re ill then just keep your mouth shut and get over it in my book. Man up is what I want to say.’ And on travel: ‘I don’t miss it − I never want to go abroad again.’ Has society changed, I wonder, in his 50 years of observing it? ‘Well at the top it’s almost the same as it ever was − there’s a certain group of people who still think the same old way.’

We step away from our table. What’s his next project, I ask. ‘Well it’s to get on with my new book, paint and write more reviews.’ Does he have plans for Christmas? ‘None, I never think about it until the last minute. I think making plans is common.’ With that it’s aviators on and he’s off − they certainly don’t make them like that anymore. M The Impatient Pen: Printed Matter by Nicky Haslam (Zuleika) is available now. Haslam’s ‘How Common’ Tea Towel 2022 can be ordered via flora@nickyhaslamstudio.com.

‘I think for a hotel to shout that it’s luxurious, rather than just feel it, is common.’

Right: Haslam pictured on the balcony of his suite at Claridge’s

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EMMA THYNN T he Marchioness ‘Emma’s Kitchen has reopened at Longleat and the Champagne rose petal jam is so delicious. I’ve been trialling the recipes in the kitchen with my two young boys, making apple crumble every day and lots of cakes. I can’t wait to share all our exciting events coming up - we’ve just had two red panda babies in the Safari Park!’

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STEPHEN JONES T he M illiner

‘I’m mostly looking forward to living life to the full. It is not a rehearsal! In terms of events, I can’t wait to get a new morning suit so I can attend Royal Ascot. I’ll be keeping an eye out for anyone wearing a piece from my summer 2023 collection, which is called El Morocco and is a collage between Marrakesh and the El Morocco nightclub in New York.’

LILI BOSSE T he M ayor of B everly H ills

COMPILED BY LUCIANA BELLINI, ANDY MORRIS & MICHAEL HENNEGAN EMMA THYNN PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROWBEN LANTION AT CLARIDGE’S. LILI BOSSE BY PHILIP MACIAS. ALICE TEMPERLEY BY TOMO BREJC

‘It excites me to see our community out and about, our streets alive, our businesses bustling and our hotels full. My recommendations?

Matsuhisa Sushi, Aharon coffee and Alfred Coffee, Erewhon Market, Beverly Hills Lily Pond and a stroll around the Beverly Gardens walking path and sculpture garden.’

Our friends and family on what they’ve got planned for the year ahead ALICE TEMPERLEY MBE T he D esigner ‘More time in the moment and more time laughing, rather than worrying about what’s coming next. There are things I have wanted to do for the last 20 years creatively that do not involve boobs and bottoms! I can’t wait to share our home collection that launches in 2023. A full lifestyle offering is on the way with new ideas and new inspirations.’

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

SANDRA CHOI T he C reative D irector

‘My hope for 2023 is unity – a greater sense of togetherness, to collaborate, be kinder to each other and ourselves. Whether that’s at work, at home or beyond leading by example for my children and the next generation.’

GILES DEACON T he C outurier

GEOFFREY KENT

‘I am excited to try experimenting with new ways of working and travelling, whether that’s with private couture clients or creating ballet costumes and specialist pieces for films. Los Angeles is one place in particular I always love going to from the chic, manicured lawns of Beverly Hills to Rustic Canyon. I find it a very inspiring landscape.’

T he E xplorer ‘I just turned 80 and have no plans to slow down, but believe in doing less, better. I am looking forward to my Inspiring Expeditions trip to the UK Royal & Ducal Castles, which grants a peek into a life of grand estates, motorsports, polo and, of course, five-star hospitality.’

DANIEL LISMORE T he L iving Sculpture

‘For me, the best plan is no plan, and then things just happen. Hopefully I’ll be touring my exhibition, Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken, around Europe. It’s been at the V&A this year and it was the headline show for the UK Capital of Culture in Coventry, so I’m looking forward to taking it on the road.’

EMMA VICTORIA REEVE T he C onsultant

SOPHIE DAHL T he A uthor

‘My new book, a sequel to Madame Badobedah, is coming out in autumn 2023, which I’m excited about. It takes such a long time between writing and publication that it feels a bit like an elephant’s pregnancy. Called Madame Badobedah and the Old Bones, the book is illustrated by the artist Lauren O’Hara and published by Walker Books. It features a geriatric jewel thief, intrepid explorers and some old bones.’

‘We spend a lot of the winter months in Switzerland, but by the time April comes around, the summer season has already started in the south of France. I’m especially looking forward to amfAR 2023 – my first since living in Monaco. On my travel bucket list is Lake Como and Forte dei Marmi, both easy drives from home, as well as Corsica.

I’ve recently returned to work, after having a baby, and have been fortunate to work on exciting projects with The Maybourne Riviera, Net-A-Porter and Dr Barbara Sturm.

I can’t wait to build on that next year.’

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JACK GUINNESS JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN T he C hef

SOPHIE DAHL PHOTOGRAPHED AT CLARIDGE’S BY MATT EASTON. DANIEL LISMORE IMAGE FROM DANIEL LISMORE: BE YOURSELF, EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN BY COLIN DOUGLAS GRAY (RIZZOLI).

JACK GUINNESS PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE CONNAUGHT BY JAKE WALTERS. NAASHON ZALK/REDUX; BAUD POSTMA; HAROL BAEZ; HAMISH BROWN/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES

‘2022 was a big year for us with the opening of Tin Building in Manhattan’s Seaport. It houses 12 restaurants (six full service and six quick service), as well as two gourmet grocery stores and a candy store, the Spoiled Parrot. The opening of Tin Building has been a monumental milestone in my career for many reasons. 2023 sees the opening of Jean-Georges at The Maybourne Riviera and I’m excited to continue to learn, grow and travel.’

T he M an A bout Town

‘Theatre and art will have to speak truth to power like never before. I’m looking forward to Complicité’s new production at the Barbican - their shows are almost life-altering cultural events. At Tate Britain, Women in Revolt! will centre a generation of artists who worked outside the mainstream. The exhibition explores events such as Greenham Common, Rock Against Racism, Section 28 and the AIDS crisis. Marina Abramović’s career-spanning retrospective at The Royal Academy will be a brilliant end to the year. Experiencing her work, or her in person, is pure Shaman vibes!’

TERESA TARMEY T he Facialist

ALICE BAMFORD T he C ultivator ‘At One Gun Ranch, we will be a hub farm for the Biodynamic Demeter Alliance focusing on climate-resilient agriculture. We’ve got an exciting photographic show with Michael Muller at The Surfrider Gallery. As a family, I’m excited to return to Rajasthan and ride Marwaris in the Himalayas.’

ISAAC BOOTS

T he Personal Trainer

‘I am most looking forward to connecting with my “Boots Babies” at my second annual Torch’d Retreat in Tuscany. Last year, we hosted a group of over 20 people on a 100-acre estate in the heart of the Tuscan countryside – it was an incredible week and I cannot wait to get Torch’d twice a day!’

‘I’ll be travelling more with work, including with Dior, which is super exciting. I also plan to buy a house in the Cotswolds as it’s close enough to London. My wish is to learn French – because my boyfriend is French, but also because of my work in Paris. Stay tuned.’

FAT TONY T he DJ

‘An end to the war in the Ukraine. More acceptance around the world for my community.

And I’m looking forward to the release of my book I Don’t Take Requests in paperback.’

-

ART& CULTURE London /Cote d’Azur/ Beverly Hills ^

PHOTOGRAPH: SIMON UPTON/THE INTERIOR ARCHIVE

WHERE I WAS FROM How Joan Didion became California’s bard

p.34 LET’S DANCE

The day that David Bowie surprised the world at Claridge’s

p.38

Designer of The Connaught Christmas Tree 2022, London artist Suzy Murphy’s work offers a portal into her personal memories

WHERE I WAS FROM As a new exhibition celebrates Californian writer Joan Didion’s lasting legacy, Mark C. O’Flaherty follows in the footsteps of a literary titan

PHOTOGRAPH: HENRY CLARKE/CONDÉ NAST/SHUTTERSTOCK

C

ertain women will be forever aligned with the cities they defined through achievement and persona: Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s pearlheavy embellishment of Paris and Fran Lebowitz’s louche diarising of downtown Manhattan among them. Joan Didion, who passed away in December 2021 at the age of 87, is one such figure. Her cultural significance is being marked by an exhibition at the Hammer Museum, around the corner from The Maybourne Beverly Hills.

She did more to capture the subtleties of California’s biggest city than any Hollywood starlet. As a cult writer of fiction, essays and screenplays, she created a canon containing works of genius. But it is Joan Didion as a concept and the embodiment of a unique Californian style that makes her immortal.

‘When I think of Didion’s prose and its elegant spareness, the first thing that comes to mind is a certain LA cool,’ says Carolina A. Miranda, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times who has written extensively about the author. ‘It’s the same LA cool I associate with Ed Ruscha, a coolness that isn’t trying to be hip.

Rather, it’s a cool that comes from a gaze that is direct and unflappable.’

Didion’s rise to fame began as a journalist at Vogue in the 1960s, before moving into essay writing and fiction. Her 1970 novel Play It as It Lays captured the ambience of Hollywood exquisitely, telling the story of an actor’s personal and professional demise in a way that read as cinematic and sun-drenched. The book is routinely cited as one of the 100 best works of English language fiction of the last century. With The White Album, her 1979 collection of magazine features, Didion showcased how influential a figure she was in the New Journalism movement, bringing literary fiction prose and structure to hard factual reportage. In the title essay, she flags up the Manson Family murders as the event that brought the freewheeling culture of the 1960s to a screeching halt. Didion was never just an observer.

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From top Joan Didion photographed by Brigitte Lacombe; a selection of her works which document her complicated relationship with LA

Her work was personal, and she inserted herself in the narrative.

While interviewing Linda Kasabian – one of the Manson Family defendants – Didion was asked by Kasabian to help pick out an outfit for the trial. Didion obliged and bought her a peasant dress at the fashionable boutique I. Magnin in Beverly Hills.

Didion shaped events around her as much as she crafted her prose.

Her catalogue is full of profound wonders – The Year of Magical Thinking, written following the sudden death of her husband and writing partner John Gregory Dunne in 2003, is a revelatory crash course in grief counselling. Its publication in

‘No one documented the LA landscape of Johnson and Nixon quite the way Didion did’ 2005 would become unbearably poignant – it came out the same year that their daughter passed away. The films she worked on with Dunne have gone on to become part of Hollywood history – most notably A Star Is Born.

No one documented the LA landscape of the Lyndon B. Johnson and Nixon era quite the way Didion did. ‘Her swift, cool and carefully fragmented prose perfectly captured the rhythm of Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s and conveyed a sense of urban nervousness to her readers,’ says her biographer, Tracy Daugherty. ‘At the same time, her self-curated image – the cigarette-smoking woman in the long kaftan perched against a sleek Corvette – suggested a sly hipness, the city’s own sense of its style. Didion became California’s bard.’

Didion’s eye travelled through LA recording forensic detail as well as channelling the poetry of its architecture and streets. Her

STAFF./MIRRORPIX/GETTY IMAGES/RICHARD WAITE, JAMES REEVE, IN PICTURES LTD/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES, JEAN PIERRE COUDERC/ROGER VIOLLET VIA GETTY IMAGES

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From top: The 1956 copy of Vogue that included the Prix de Paris essay contest won by 21-year-old Didion; Hilton Als, New Yorker critic and curator of What She Means; the Hearst Castle in LA, as featured in A Trip to Xanadu

last published collection of works, Let Me Tell You What I Mean, includes the essay A Trip to Xanadu, about her fascination with the Hearst Castle. She goes into detail about its history, and rooms, and the fact that, as well as admitting tourists, the Hearst family still occupied part of it. As she considers its place in the lore of Los Angeles, she remembers taking a child to visit and realising that actually the idea of the castle was more exciting than the reality. Which is very LA. Her closing line: ‘Make a place available to the eyes, and in certain ways it is no longer available to the imagination.’

Just as Didion conjured up an idea of LA with her work, so many artists and designers have their own vision of Didion, and the self-curated image that Daugherty mentions pervades in the most interesting contemporary womenswear. In 2015, she was photographed by Juergen Teller after long-term Didion-obsessive Phoebe Philo invited her to be the face of Céline. Gabriella Hearst, who lives in New York with furniture from the Hearst Castle left to her husband John Augustine Hearst, creates womenswear for her own label, and for Chloé in Paris, that captures the spirit of the author perfectly – smart, chic, intellectual. ‘Joan Didion was not only a great writer, she was also a great forward-thinker,’ Hearst tells me. ‘She influenced not only literary culture in America, and in fact around the world, she also inspired many, many women specifically. There was no bullshit with Joan Didion.’

Didion was fascinated with the power of clothes and wrote about them repeatedly (hence the bizarre shopping trip for Kasabian). In The White Album, she documents what she always travels with: ‘To Pack and Wear: two skirts, two jerseys or leotards, one pullover sweater, two pair shoes, stockings, bra, nightgown, robe, slippers, cigarettes, bourbon.’ Add-ons to the list, ‘To Carry’, include a mohair throw, two legal pads and, of course, a typewriter. Her packing list has become as famous as any of her books or films – it’s an evocative mini-memoir.

Didion modelled for Gap, wearing what would become a trademark turtleneck, in 1989, and images of her at home in the city have become a part of the lexicon of LA style. It would be absurdly reductive to distil Didion’s appeal to the fact that she still looked elegant in cashmere and shades in her 80s, but the ‘Joan Didion look’ is as potent as Tilda Swinton or Diane Keaton.

In 2020, Michael Kors reissued a cape from 1999 that he had seen worn by Didion in a photograph by Tina Barney. ‘I was knocked out when I saw that image,’ he says. ‘Her sense of style has always been a huge inspiration to me.’

Didion was immersed for decades in the business of film and the surface gloss of LA, but she embraced and generated a rare kind of glamour. Whether in her 20s or late 80s, she radiated confidence. In an industry still haunted by the angst of Norma Desmond and Sunset Blvd., Didion was as fresh, vibrant and relevant just before she died as she was in the 1960s.

The exhibition that runs till January is intended to be a portrait of the author, pulling together the work of around 50 artists, as well as films that she was involved in writing. The show’s organiser, Hilton Als, wrote an essay exploring numerous aspects of her work over the decades. ‘The upside of knowing how to make dreams come true,’ he writes, ‘is understanding the fakery involved. From the first, Didion saw not only the false or borrowed diamonds on the star’s lapel but also the paste holding them together. You have to know how to look in order to have vision – to see the thing for what it is.’ Didion was a woman with laser-sharp vision, and her vision of LA is a magnificent legacy. M Joan Didion: What She Means runs until 22 January 2023. hammer.ucla.edu

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AN AUDIENCE WITH DAVID BOWIE

PHOTOGRAPHS: MALCOLM GOY/SHUTTERSTOCK; DENIS O’REGAN/GETTY IMAGES

At midday on 17th March 1983, in the spectacular surroundings of Claridge’s Ballroom, David Bowie began the press conference that changed everything: a new label, a new sound, a new tour, a new outlook. It was his first encounter with the UK press for four years, yet he carried it off in his unique style. To mark the approaching 40th anniversary, those present recall the event and share Bowie’s thoughts from the day itself

‘Claridge’s was about as swish as it got in those days. It had history, of course – Churchill stayed there after the war – but it was still cool and contemporary somehow. It was very classy, perfect for David. This was in the days when press conferences were no-expense-spared affairs and journalists expected lavish treatment. There was mounds of food – piles of smoked salmon.

The waiters were omnipresent in black tie, hovering around. The print and radio media were still king in those pre-social-media days. About 75 assembled journalists of one sort or another had been invited and they came from Europe as well as the UK. It was really very much like a film star’s press conference – you wouldn’t have been surprised to see Elizabeth Taylor or David Niven walk out.

David was absolutely brimming with confidence and good vibes, looking every inch the star in a beautifully cut beige/grey suit, an open-neck shirt and a suntan to die for. His hair was blond and he looked like a matinée idol. He was obviously thrilled to be there, although coy when asked about the many millions he’d been paid by EMI for his new record deal. Prior to that, he’d been at RCA Records, recording the seminal albums Low and Heroes. But the relationship had run out of steam at the end. Anyway, David was thrilled to be with his new EMI family.

For his arrival, I seem to remember David coming downstairs. I had all the photographers lined up – there was quite a mob of them – and we did a photo call just before he entered the main room. In the room itself, the questions were fairly straightforward.

There were piles of microphones and cassette recorders on the table in front of him. In those days, most journalists had a cassette recorder, but they weren’t infallible and the batteries had a tendency to run out. The older writers were still using pen and notepads. This conference wasn’t just an announcement about his brilliant new album, Let’s Dance. On top of that, David was also revealing he’d just completed the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. After the conference, he did some one-on-one interviews in a room with white lattice frames and nice potted plants in the background. Robin Denselow of the BBC and Newsnight did quite a lengthy interview with David. Security and hotel staff flitted in and out, ready to assist Bowie at any point. He didn’t need that, though – he wasn’t a guy that needed a lot of ceremony and he enjoyed talking with the media. With a conference of this size and importance, you spend weeks, even months, planning it: working out where TV people plug their leads in, where journalists stand, what kind of press pack they will get. On the day, you lose all sense of time and everything passes by in a blur. The key is in the preparation and planning.

As long as you’ve thought it out in advance, you’re just playing your role on the day and generally there to keep the star happy.

When you’ve got an artist at the top of their game and enjoying it, then it’s going to be a great day – and it was. It seemed to go by so fast. By the time David left Claridge’s, we’d been there a few hours. Like all great stars, he knew when to leave the stage and didn’t hang around.’

As the founder of Outside Organisation, Edwards worked with Bowie until his death in 2016, including suggesting the idea of a career-spanning set playing Glastonbury. Bowie’s Pyramid Stage performance in 2000 was later described as ‘the best headline slot at any festival ever’ by NME.

At the conference, Bowie described ‘Let’s Dance’ as a ‘desperate love song’. For clarification, he added: ‘It has an intention of being danceable’

PHOTOGRAPHS: ALAMY

Claridge’s . The Connaught . The Berkeley . The Maybourne Beverly Hills . The Maybourne R iviera

ALAN EDWARDS

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In 1983, David Bowie signed to EMI Records and the label celebrated with a grand press conference at Claridge’s

DYLAN JONES ‘For a man who had spent his entire career knowing who he was – even if it was only fleetingly – by 1983 David Bowie didn’t really know who he was at all. More importantly, neither did we.

His last proper album was Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) at the tail end of 1980; a good record for sure, but a bookend to a decade of fervent activity. He was also veering into the mainstream, which we thought rather odd. We enjoyed Under Pressure and Cat People, but both were fairly orthodox rock records, and who needed those in the most pumped-up, meta decade of them all? The 1980s were becoming the decade of the smirk, of the inverted commas, and the deliberately coincidental.

Who on earth wanted rawk?

He was also trying to be a film star, which concerned us even more. I mean, we loved the man, but even our pets knew Bowie wasn’t the greatest actor in the world. He wasn’t even the best actor in his street. Then I read somewhere that he was making a Philly album, and we breathed a sigh of relief. The only records

our little north London gang played at the time were the works of Gamble and Huff, the pioneers behind the Philadelphia International records made by the O’Jays, Billy Paul, MFSB and Lou Rawls; so Bowie wasn’t so stupid at all! This was obviously an incredibly conceited response, but it was the 1980s.

But then it transpired that Bowie was actually making a discorock record with Nile Rodgers. I couldn’t stop playing Let’s Dance - it was the most infectious record Bowie had ever made.

Having snuck into the press conference, I couldn’t believe that my hero was a) wearing a suit, b) smiling, and c) cracking jokes. I didn’t expect him to look quite so… well, so… 1980s.

He looked like the new record sounded – more polished, less fraught and slightly warmer. In short, he looked adorable. And – perhaps predictably – as confounding as ever.’

Dylan Jones, the former editor-in-chief of British GQ, is the author of ‘David Bowie: A Life’. He recently released ‘Faster Than A Cannonball: 1995 And All That (White Rabbit)

From an audience of 75 in the ballroom at Claridge’s Bowie took the tour around the world to be seen by 2.6 million people

ROBIN DENSELOW ‘There are good and bad days at the office, and occasionally a really memorable day - Thursday March 17 1983 was one of those. I was working as a reporter on BBC Newsnight. David Bowie was in town, launching his new album, Let’s Dance, at Claridge’s, and the editor agreed that this should be included in that night’s programme – especially as Bowie had agreed to a rare interview.

Times were getting hard for the music industry in the ’80s but EMI Records had splashed out on an expensive press conference and reception. Bowie looked impeccably cool in his light suit and tie, as he sprawled across a desk after deciding that the chair provided for him was too low. Ziggy had gone and the new Bowie was the epitome of ’80s style.

He gave a great interview. He declined to confirm the stories that EMI had paid between £10 and £17 million for a five-year contract – a vast sum in those days – but he did explain that he had left his previous company RCA, because they hadn’t liked his recent albums, with “one executive suggesting getting me an apartment in Philadelphia” in the hope he would write songs similar to those on Young Americans. But weren’t the new songs on Let’s Dance also influenced by black American styles, I asked.

“It’s better when nobody’s actually telling me what to do.”

He explained the changes in his songwriting and subject matter. His outlook had changed, he said, “because there’s a gradual shift when you reach the mid-30s… you try not to grasp frantically at the feeling of desperation and anger that you have in your mid-20s.”

That wasn’t the last I saw of him. On September 15 1992, I had just returned from covering the civil war in Somalia when I had a call from Bowie’s PR, Alan Edwards. Bowie’s wife, the Somali model Iman, wanted to make a film there for Newsnight, and she and David Bowie were on their way to Television Centre to discuss the project. And that proved to be an even more memorable day in the office.’

A music journalist for decades, Denselow has also worked as a producer and reporter for the BBC’s Panorama and Newsnight. He is the author of ‘When the Music’s Over: The Story of Political Pop’.

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AS TOLD TO TOM DOYLE PHOTOGRAPHS: ALAMY; DENIS O’REGAN

DENIS O’REGAN ‘Claridge’s is upmarket and this was David being the English gentleman. That was a bit of a surprise. He was noticeably tanned, which contrasted with the blond hair that he had at that point. He looked more like a movie star than a rock star.’

As he was walking in, he patted his jacket and started looking around. I think he expected his cigarettes to be there [on the desk] and they weren’t. That made me smile because he relied on having those around the entire time. He was very relaxed and went with the flow of the questions.’

He was sitting there on the table, surrounded by photographers.

I decided to take a picture from behind him, just showing the atmosphere with all the photographers lined up. And then David turned around. So I got a very special picture of him.

People had heard the Let’s Dance album and they thought this was going to be really big. This was the commercial David Bowie, and it was going to be his biggest album ever. I was the official photographer for the Serious Moonlight tour after I’d suggested

doing a book. I found that he wasn’t what I expected. I thought he’d keep me at arm’s length, and he wouldn’t want to be harassed on the tour. But actually, it was the other way around.

He wanted me photographing him all the time. So it was offstage, backstage. If he was going out to dinner, he wanted me to come along. It was the opposite of what I expected and so was he.

It was a huge tour and so popular. He’d had so many ticket applications for Wembley Arena that they had to do three extra shows at Milton Keynes Bowl. It’s a natural bowl, so from my point of view the audience rose up at the sides. I climbed up on the scaffolding next to David and shot down so that you had this audience stretching out beyond him. He knew he’d become a superstar. He’d proved he could do it.’ M Denis O’Regan has worked as an official rock photographer for the likes of The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Queen and Duran Duran.

His book, Ricochet: David Bowie 1983 – An Intimate Portrait, was published in 2018. Buy prints of his work at denis.uk

The Wonder of LA’s

WEST

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SIDE

One of 2023’s most extraordinary art fairs is taking place a short drive from The Maybourne Beverly Hills. For Andrew Barker, it confirms that the Pacific Coast Highway is now your best route to some of LA’s most innovative attractions

The art world will flock to Santa Monica Airport for Frieze 2023. The airport is famed for its runway-turnedcatwalk and its fashion clientele

‘ The West Side is a hub of creative thinkers and tech wizards’ LA’s art market is booming like never before as venture capitalists flood into Santa Monica

ALL IMAGES CARE OF GETTY IMAGES, FRIEZE LOS ANGELES

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nce you’ve polished off a lunch of roast duck leg and spiced carrots at Venice Beach’s top table, Gjelina on Abbot Kinney, and you want to get back to Beverly Hills as soon as possible, your driver is highly likely to shortcut through Santa Monica Airport, as the best way of getting on the 10 Freeway, the West Side’s main artery. Its propeller planes and private jets are the stuff of wonder to both aviators and drivers-by, who gaze in awe as the planes take off towards the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains. There is even an on-site museum housing a replica of the Wright Brothers’ first airplane, which is well worth a visit.

Dating back nearly 100 years, the airport has a history as illustrious as it is star-studded. During World War II, and with the help of Hollywood’s canniest set-builders, it was disguised as a small town so that the military aircraft could have a safe base in Southern California and not be seen from overhead. More recently, the likes of Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Cruise have soared skywards from its runway which was reduced from 5,000ft to 3,500ft in 2017. Its most glamorous claim to fame was in 2007, when Karl Lagerfeld chose to kick off his Chanel Resort collection show by taxiing a private jet full of supermodels from the runway to his runway. The front row – including Demi Moore, Victoria Beckham and the Olsen sisters – was on its feet in giddy applause before look one, a jumpsuit worn by Brazilian bombshell Raquel Zimmermann, had even stepped off said PJ. The collection was jet-set utilitarian with blazers and baseball caps, and plenty of trademark tweed.

So the stage is set for the Frieze art fair in February 2023 when Thai artist Kulapat Yantrasast’s tent will house over 100 exhibitors for Frieze’s fourth LA iteration, the airport being its third location since a 2019 debut at Paramount Studios. Once again, the fair will see the art world’s great and good descend on LA, this time taking them to the West Side, with blue-chip galleries from New York, London, Geneva and Paris showing up to show off their contemporary paintings and sculpture to Hollywood’s finest fine-art fans, including Brad Pitt, who hasn’t missed a fair yet.

LA’s West Side, which begins in Beverly Hills and ends at the lapping shores of the Pacific, is a surprise choice but a highly suitable one considering its nascent status as a hub of creative thinkers and technology wizards. Since Snapchat set up shop in Venice 10 years ago, this strip of coast – from the Pacific Palisades to LAX Airport – started to be known as Silicon Beach, with Santa Monica, boasting Nike, Apple and Tesla stores, its de-facto capital. Joining longterm resident Ridley Scott’s production company, and the many post-production houses that make today’s long- and short-form content possible, came Hulu, Oracle, Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle site Goop and Ashton Kutcher’s Community company, which allows you to interact with celebs via text.

Follow the coast south and you hit Playa Vista, where YouTube and Facebook have opened their Southern California hubs.

North-east to Culver City and you’ll find those of HBO, Apple and Amazon. The venture capitalists are in hot pursuit.

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Andreessen Horowitz has taken up 30,000 square feet of office space this year in downtown Santa Monica as remote working winds up. Indeed, this agglomeration of talent means that the technology and creative industries remain one of the city of Santa Monica’s leading economic sectors, currently comprising 37% of its total employment and an average quarterly payroll of $1.95 billion.

For the art world, the influx of wealth means LA’s appetite for buying art has never been bigger. One beneficiary is local gallerist Ray Azoulay, who moved to LA from New York 21 years ago to open Obsolete, his fine-art and furniture gallery, which deftly combines one-of-a-kind contemporary furniture and sculpture with 17th- and 18th-century pieces sourced from Europe and 180-year-old bonsai trees. ‘Venice Beach felt like the East Village with an ocean. What I discovered about Venice was the diversity of creativity, from music to art to street fashion – an effortlessness of cool.’

Ever the pioneer, as Venice took off, Azoulay decided to move on to Culver City, where he bought a building across from a 7-Eleven. ‘We are this destination without being associated with anyone around us. It’s just the way we roll, a form of subliminal chic.’ His next bet is the gentrifying Inglewood, where his newest venture is 9,500 square feet of creative space with a photo studio and warehouse.

Back in Venice, Franco-American hat designer Nick Fouquet is celebrating an expansion from felt and canvas hats into readyto-wear. Having collaborated with Givenchy and Rochas in

recent years, he now designs full collections stocked on Mr Porter and MatchesFashion from his store-cum-studio on Abbot Kinney. Next to a vintage store, a design firm and his friend Jacques Marie Mage’s store of Japanese-made sunglasses, his end of the street attracts visitors from all four corners of LA and beyond, every day of the week. ‘We still have mom-and-pop stores, the sailmaker, the woodworker, a local coffee house that just opened up. It still has a lot of the original soul of what I loved about Abbot Kinney and Venice when I moved here in 2009.’

Fouquet, like Azoulay, was attracted by the creativity and innovation that pervades the West Side. ‘The film industry had always been here, but the art, photography and fashion scene was pumping. I felt from a creative point of view the topography and weather was conducive to my creativity. LA is very inclusive and I think there’s so much more space to grow as an artist and a person.’

And you can’t get a bigger endorsement than a French fashion house. Fifteen years on from the Chanel show, Dior hosted a menswear fashion show under the iconic Venice sign, a collaboration with local designer ERL, cementing the West Side’s position on the fashion map. Now, with Frieze on the horizon, a booming tech sector and movie production experiencing a post-pandemic boom, it’s no wonder Angelenos are once again calling it ‘the best side’. M Frieze runs 16-19 February 2023. The Maybourne Beverly Hills is only a 14-minute drive from the new Frieze site. For advice on the latest cultural happenings visit maybournebeverlyhills.com.

HARMONY KORINE The filmmaker is also an artist who makes colourful, hypnotic paintings.

TONY BERLANT The West Coast Pop Art stalwart is known for abstract, jigsawlike masterpieces.

The Artist Is Present The Maybourne Beverly Hills is an artistic haven with work displayed throughout.

KORT HAVENS His lo-fi documentary style helps capture the people and places that make up LA.

ED RUSCHA The Pop Artist found inspiration in LA - including in the iconic Hollywood sign.

MARY WEATHERFORD This painter uses the Californian landscape as the inspiration for her bright, moody largescale canvases.

Eat, Suite, Boutique, Repeat!

Nowhere in London beats Belgravia for sublime retail therapy, discovers Yomi Adegoke Photography by

OGAGA BLESSING

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elgravia is an area that manages to be the best of both worlds; renowned for its rich, storied history, whilst continually attracting bold new ideas and stylish individuals. It is no surprise then that the cult brand ‘behind Meghan [Markle’s] favourite shirt’, With Nothing Underneath (WNU), opened the doors of their first store in the area this year. Founder Pip Durell explains, ‘Belgravia was the perfect place not only because of its wonderful architecture and fabulous locals, but also because it attracts people from all over the world who come to London and specifically know that Elizabeth Street is a must-see destination.’ WNU are in good company, alongside luxury fashion brands such as ME+EM, Beulah and NRBY, all found within Eccleston Yards. Shopping in Belgravia is an experience; taking a turn along the charming lanes and hidden mews are worth it for the views of the

Co-author of Slay In Your Lane, Yomi Adegoke, pictured on the balcony of the Hyde Park Penthouse suite at The Berkeley.

Adegoke wears Taller Marmo and enjoys ‘Green Apple’ and ‘Vanilla Flower’ from Cédric Grolet

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Adegoke, wearing Nadine Merabi and Nubian Skin, relaxes in the suite, designed

by André Fu, surrounded by a selection from the area’s finest stores: including Anya Hindmarch, Carolina Bucci, Louise Kennedy, Pantechnicon, Rachel Vosper and Smythson

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MAKEUP BY HARRIOT BABIN. PHOTO ASSISTANT FARIHAH CHOWDHURY. FLOWERS BY LARRY WALSHE.

‘As one of London’s most elegant districts, it attracts a coveted cohort of small, independent luxury brands’

courtyards alone. As one of London’s most elegant districts, it attracts a coveted cohort of small, independent luxury brands such asn Papouelli, Tailor Made London and Carolina Bucci, as well as staples of the area such as Louise Kennedy and Smythson.

Luxury designer Anna Mason, who regularly organises catwalk shows in her atelier behind The Berkeley, says: ‘It is in the heart of London, full of the majestic buildings and spaces of Sir Robert Grosvenor, First Marquis of Westminster, who rightly said, ‘When we build, let us think we build forever’. Now, it’s home to embassies, luxury hotels and a wonderfully international mix of visitors. But it’s also full of secret wonders like my atelier, tucked away in the Mews and side streets, and ready to welcome those in the know!’

Belgravia attracts exciting, creative concepts: whether it’s Anya Hindmarch’s five-store retail concept on Pont Street called The Village or Pantechnicon with its with its kintsugi workshop. Haynes Fine Art is one of the largest fine art dealers in the UK but if you’re more interested in creating than collecting, then Masterpeace might be more your speed, a drop-in creative retreat encouraging attendees to paint mindfully. If you’re only in the capital for a little while, Belgravia is a must. A visit will have you feeling as though you’ve seen many sides of London. From beauty to bars, hotel to spas, fashion, art and antiques, it truly has it all. M For advice on shopping for any occasion, guests of The Berkeley can email concierge@the-berkeley.co.uk. The List by Yomi Adegoke (Fourth Estate) will be published in summer 2023.

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Electric Dreams

Mercedes and Rolls-Royce, both recent guests at The Maybourne Riviera, are taking sustainable automotive luxury up a gear, says Jason Barlow

Mercedes is investing €10 billion into electrification including developing leading luxury electric cars like the four-door coupe, Vision AMG which has won plaudits for its elegant, ultraslippery form

lthough electrification promises zero emissions, greater efficiency and high performance, for some the thrill of driving will always be inextricably linked with the explosive nature of internal combustion: suck, squeeze, bang, blow.

It’s kinetic, noisy and emotional in a way that the flow of electrons in a battery simply isn’t.

On the debit side, combustion relies on fossil fuels and the emissions it generates are at odds with the stark reality of climate change. But, if this is the end of an era, it’s not the end of the car.

Especially when it comes to luxury automobiles, a category that is ripe for reimagining with electric propulsion.

Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce are two of the greatest automotive pioneers. A century later, both find themselves leading the charge once again, only this time those same attributes will come primarily via electrification.

For Mercedes, it represents a €10 billion investment, albeit one that will happen in stages, as Daimler-Benz CEO Ola Källenius explains. ‘On the road to emission-free driving, we are continuing to pursue a three-lane drive system strategy. We are focusing on highly efficient high-tech combustion engines, systematic hybridisation and battery-electric or fuel-cell technology.’

The challenge is particularly acute for the company’s AMG performance brand, whose growth has been predicated on the thunderous V8 and V12 engines. But the transition is underway.

Indeed, the GT 73 4Matic four-door, whose twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine has gained an electric motor on the front axle, now delivers an overall power output close to 800bhp. And, more importantly, a range of 31 miles in pure electric mode, with a corresponding reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Says Källenius: ‘When we went to turbocharged engines, everyone thought that would be the end of the AMG character, but we don’t get many complaints about that any more. We all love the sound of the V8 and an electric car can still be thrilling, so we are going to have to develop a second love for that.

‘We have to get to the point where the means of propulsion is not considered important, because AMG is all about the experience of

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Rolls-Royce is uniquely suited to electrification, given that the current range strives for near silence on the move.

Its new electric car, The Spectre, is currently in testing and is due to go on sale at the end of 2023

the customers. That is why we are working not just on electrified AMGs but also our first fully electric AMGs.’ Two concept cars have arrived to underscore Mercedes’ commitment here. The Vision AMG teases a future four-door coupe, whose aesthetic is based on the company’s AMG.EA platform, one of a handful of all-new electric architectures that will underpin the next generation of pure-electric Mercedes models.

Reflecting the intense innovation that’s going on, the German giant acquired the British electric motor start-up Yasa in 2021, keen to secure its clever axial-flux motors: these have a greater power density and enhanced thermal properties compared to conventional radial electric motors.

The Vision AMG also illuminates Mercedes’ design thinking in the BEV space. Just as the 1920s and ’30s saw an obsession with streamlining, so the latest Mercedes has an ultra-slippery form.

‘The study’s proportions create a passion for performance – that’s what AMG is all about,’ says chief design officer Gorden Wagener.

‘It’s an embodiment of the brand’s dual polarity: the interplay of beauty and the extraordinary.’ Elegantly but extravagantly proportioned, the Vision AMG’s rear is more interesting than its front, with the aero tail highlighted by a slimline light bar and six additional lights. Closer to reality is the other Mercedes show car, the EQXX, which completed a 1,200km run from Germany to Silverstone on a single charge. Its rear end features a diffuser that extends to enhance the car’s ultra-slippery form, although it’s actually the EQXX’s minimal frontal area that is key to its efficiency. ‘In typical motorway running, up to two-thirds of the energy provided by the battery is used to overcome aerodynamic drag,’ explains Mercedes’ Teddy Woll. Range, as well as refinement and on-board connectivity, are hallmarks of electric luxury.

Rolls-Royce’s first electric vehicle, the Spectre, is due on sale at the end of 2023. Company co-founder Charles Rolls understood the benefits back in 1900. ‘[It is] noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.’ Quite the prophecy.

Given that the current Rolls range strives for near-silence on the move, a pure-electric Rolls-Royce is a much easier sell than, say, an electric Ferrari or Lamborghini (though both of those Italian greats are working on BEVs of their own). The company’s CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, agrees. ‘Electric drive is perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce. It is silent, refined and creates torque almost instantly, going on to generate tremendous power.’

Nor is the company shy about pushing the aesthetic boundaries.

In 2016, it created the concept car, the all-electric 103EX. The Spectre is currently in the midst of a 2.5 million-km testing programme. Its engineers are also grappling with a unique problem – an electric Rolls-Royce is probably the closest any carmaker has ever come to delivering absolute silence. If only human beings didn’t find that concept a little disorienting. M Jason Barlow is editor-at-large for BBC Top Gear, a contributor to British GQ, an author and a broadcaster.

Bryan O’Sullivan describes The Maybourne Beverly Hills as a sophisticated and soothing playground

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LIFE OF BRYAN

With a masterful command of colour and texture, designer Bryan O’Sullivan is responsible for the guest rooms at The Maybourne Beverly Hills and the signature suites. He speaks to Pip Rich about his love of LA and his next exciting project Photographs by

MARK READ

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From top: The Hollywood Suite; O’Sullivan in The Presidential Suite, which he designed

t’s incredible,’ the interior designer Bryan O’Sullivan says, the little hint of a gasp in his voice. ‘You just have to jump right in.’ He’s talking about the rooftop pool at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, peacock blue and open until sundown, dappled by potted palms and the shade of sparklingly white cotton parasols. But he could equally be talking about the hotel itself, a honey-coloured haven of contemporary luxury, as elegant and opulent as the neighbourhood in its name suggests. O’Sullivan and his team at his studio have been redesigning, redeveloping and redecorating many of the hotel’s bedrooms and suites, with work now including the whole of the ground floor. His goal has been to ensure the hotel becomes its own enticing world, which you can’t help but want to treat as a wonderful, glamorous and surprisingly soothing playground. ‘LA is an amazing city - I love it for the weather and for the fact that everything here feels like it has been through an Instagram filter,’ O’Sullivan says. ‘But it’s a city in which you need somewhere to come back to in order to relax. You want somewhere to be calm. To that end, we wanted to make the hotel as comfortable as possible.’ Having worked on several Maybourne properties, he has honed a signature style that fulfils these needs perfectly, blending antiques with modern curves for an aesthetic that invites you to curl up, shoes off. For the bedrooms at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, his palette is mostly neutral - softcream sofas arc gently through the centre of the suites, while scalloped edges sit like the crests of waves atop chairs and bed headboards that have mid-century arms and legs - with oak and plaster finishes creating a sophisticated sensibility. It feels exactly right for now, and for its legendary location.

GROOMING BY TARA MASCARA / RAY MAIN / GETTY IMAGES

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*IMAGE FROM THE STAHL HOUSE #22: THE MAKING OF A MODERNIST ICON BY BRUCE STAHL AND SHARI STAHL GRONWALD, WITH KIM CROSS (CHRONICLE CHROMA, £18.99) STAHL HOUSE © IMAGES COURTESY OF DESIGN WITHIN REACH AND MARK SEELEN

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There is an interior-design boom happening in Los Angeles at the moment. Brigette Romanek has set décor trends from her home in Laurel Canyon − and doubled down on them at the house she just completed for Gwyneth Paltrow − where indoor trees tower delicately above marble and gilt-edged furniture. Lia McNairy and Azar Fattahi, founders of the studio LALA Reimagined, have added a decorative twist to this alluring vibe, a family-friendly dash of pattern and a clever use of colour between all the curves. O’Sullivan’s work envelops this modern approach, folds in some of the city’s history and gives the style his own little twist. ‘LA is such a mishmash of eras,’ O’Sullivan says. ‘From Hollywood regency to mid-century modern, we wanted a concept that spoke to all of these.’ The result is a curation of pieces from the 1930s and ‘40s, some Italian Murano glass found at auction and new furniture designed by O’Sullivan himself. ‘We added the squiggles and curves to make anyone who visits feel relaxed.’

His bedroom overhauls are just the start of a wider project; O’Sullivan is working on the whole of the ground floor, which will be completed in 2023. ‘From the entry lobby, there is an adjoining afternoon tea lounge which leads on to a new bar, a new restaurant and a new terrace,’ he says of the scale of his renovation. ‘It’s going to be a similar vibe to the bedrooms − fresh and uplifting − but pushes the concept even further. Quite curvy, quite fun. I want

‘L A is such a mishmash from Hollywood regency to mid-century modern - we speak to all of those eras’ people to walk in and know immediately that they are somewhere special.’ Polished walnut, more textured plaster on the walls and in the form of reliefs, Murano glass lights hanging from the ceiling and an air of bright simplicity will provide a sense of beguiling splendour. ‘I want guests to feel like they can dress up or down, or somewhere in between,’ O’Sullivan says.

Of course, wrapped around all of this − with the same gleam as the polished floors − will be the service Maybourne Hotel Group is known for. ‘Oh, the team here is unbelievable,’ says O’Sullivan.

‘And you’ve got to try the food in The Terrace restaurant − it’s my favourite place to eat in LA. The quality of the food is top-notch and, being on the side of the hotel, it overlooks the gardens, making it the perfect people watching spot.’ He’s referring to that Californian Insta filter again, which transforms everything so that it all looks like it belongs on a movie set. ‘Being here definitely feels like a glimpse into another world,’ he says, that hint of an awefilled gasp back in his voice. ‘There’s an elegance here that can only come from really good design.’ M Pip Rich is the editor of Livingetc. To see Bryan O’Sullivan’s new suites, visit maybournebeverlyhills.com

LA story

Bryan O’Sullivan’s favourite places to visit SEVENTH HOUSE ‘This furniture gallery used to be the architect Frank Gehry’s live/work unit. It’s now a trove of amazing pieces made by young designers.’

Seventh House, 7001 Melrose Avenue, seventhhouse.la

BODE

‘I first knew them as a T-shirt brand. It has such a cool vibe.

They do amazing clothes and I really love the store on Melrose Avenue.’

Bode, 7007 Melrose Avenue, bodenewyork.com

S TA H L H O U S E

‘It’s a modernist gem in the Hollywood Hills that is available to tour.

Reading The Making of a Modernist Icon by Bruce Stahl and Shari Stahl Gronwald* made me first want to study design. I was obsessed then − and I love it just as much now.’

Stahl House, 1635 Woods Drive, stahlhouse.com

365 DAYS IN THE RIVIERA

The perennial allure of the Côte d’Azur is all the more evident once the summer crowds have disappeared. In fact, the most cosmopolitan travellers have sought out the temperate climate for centuries, explains Lanie Goodman

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From top: Le Corbusier Promenade is a year-round thrill; Winston Churchill painting Chateau de Lourmarin; a vintage map of Monaco from 1926; a spectacular chateau at Le Fête du Citron

affords the perfect way of exploring the old cities by foot. Add to that a swathe of azure. ‘Blue sky, blue mountains, all is heavenly blueness,’ wrote author Katherine Mansfield, who settled atop a lush sun-drenched hillside in Garavan, Menton’s easternmost neighbourhood. Today her former home, Isola Bella, is municipally owned and is still active as a writer’s guest residence in collaboration with the Katherine Mansfield Society.

Snugly sheltered by the South Alps, Menton’s microclimate is reputedly even a toasty three degrees warmer than anywhere else in southern France, which may be why, in the late 19th century, the city started to attract a steady stream of royals including Empress Eugénie, Queen Victoria and Edward VII, and is still home to a half-dozen exceptional landmark gardens, open to the public. In the 1800s, numerous royal figures saw the potential. King Leopold II of Belgium bought up a property on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and created a botanical garden on his estate, Villa Les Cèdres. Other great statesmen followed suit, such as Lord Salisbury, Prime Minister to Queen Victoria, who built a castle on a neighbouring plot facing the sea. Then along came the eccentric Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, who acquired land on the sub-peninsula of St Hospice and constructed a rose Venetian-inspired palazzino with 17 acres of exotic gardens.

Today the Ephrussi Gardens, one of the Remarkable Gardens of France, are considered one of the country’s top cultural treasures. Enraptured by the light and wild landscapes, the tormented German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche also spent several winters on the Riviera – in Nice, where he wrote Thus Spake Zarathustra – and in Èze, a medieval perched

SCHÜTZE/RODEMANN / ALAMY, FRANK SCHERSCHEL /THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION / SHUTTERSTOCK, ANTIQUA PRINT GALLERY / ALAMY, VILLE DE MENTON

ake her away, into the sun’ – the opening line of a 1925 short story

by British novelist DH Lawrence – immediately conjures an idyllic change of scene: cloudless skies, the shimmering turquoise sea, and a languorous midday meal inside a lemon-scented garden. In other words, the perfect escape when your spirit is darkened by winter doldrums. Sound like a sunworshipping fantasy? Not according to the national weather service. Just last year, the Maritime Alps hit an all-time record: from 1 January to 1 February, the Riviera had 222 hours of sun.

The yearly statistics are equally striking – almost 3,000 hours of sunshine, nearly twice the amount as compared to Paris. Winter temperatures rarely fall below 10C and sometimes soar to 20C at high noon. Throughout the year, the sea is just about warm enough to bathe in at Menton Beach.

As The Maybourne Riviera manager Boris Messmer will tell you, with the exodus of the crush of tourists and traffic snarls comes the off-season freedom to come and go as you please.

Whatever your get-away motives might be – inspirational, wellness-oriented or unabashedly hedonistic – the local go-forthe-glow attitude inevitably draws you outdoors. You want to spend the morning on the coast and the afternoon skiing? The mountain resort Auron is about a two-hour drive away. What I enjoy most is hiking around the rocky coastal paths: take Le Corbusier Promenade, from Roquebrune to Monaco, when walking you can discern historic villas with their Mediterranean gardens, crystal water beaches, miradors facing the sea, and both Eileen Gray’s villa and Le Corbusier cabanon. Spontaneity rules: reserving a table at the finest restaurants on sudden whim or booking a spa treatment for some last-minute pampering turns out to be, well, a breeze. The winter nightlife and cultural venues also come alive with a staggering choice of top-notch performances in opera, concerts, and ballet. With museums devoted to Matisse (Nice), Bonnard (Cannes), Léger (Biot), and Picasso (Antibes), one could spend a week gallery hopping around the region. If you’re keen to make the most of your trip take concierge Andréa Layer’s advice and visit Cap Moderne in Roquebrune, Marc Chagall and MAMAC in Nice. The haunting beauty of the Riviera landscape continues to take on different styles. Take off your shades – those natural colours haven’t faded.

Come February, you’ll find disarming splashes of yellow everywhere you look – mimosa trees in full bloom and the citruspacked colossal towering floats of the Fête du Citron, held annually in the lemon-producing town of Menton. All the markets are still thriving during the winter months, which

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FOR BODY & SOUL The Maybourne Riviera has unveiled a series of special experiences to sustain you during the winter months and beyond

*24 HOURS NOTICE REQUIRED

ASPIRING ARTISTS As well as an illustrated map of the best painting spots in the area, art lovers will receive a unique watercolour palette upon arrival. A local artist will give guests a class overlooking the hotel’s spectacular views and their work will be displayed at the hotel. The hotel will arrange visits to some of the world-class galleries that reside nearby including Musée Matisse, Musée Picasso and MAMAC (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art).

village with jaw-dropping vistas. Tramping up the steep rocky hillside to Èze (now officially known as the Nietzsche Trail), is an arduous climb but a good way to gear up for your next meal. The choices are as dizzying as the views, whether it’s a Michelin star restaurant or street food snacks, like the pizza-esque socca, pissaladière and pichade.

Fast forward to the postwar years when a convergence of writers, artists, filmmakers, photographers and actors lived and worked on the Côte d’Azur during the winter months. Take, for example, Winston Churchill, who had already spent time on the Côte d’Azur in the guest house of Coco Chanel’s clifftop Villa La Pausa in Roquebrune, painting and writing portions of his book A History of the English Speaking Peoples.

Churchill was often a guest at the Villa Mauresque on the Cap Ferrat, owned by British writer Somerset Maugham. Maugham, who held lavish dinner parties for the likes of Marc Chagall, Noël Coward and Harpo Marx, always wrote with his back to the sea, dressed in white ducks and a blazer with a folded scarf.

Over in Monaco, British artist Francis Bacon, who left London in 1946, set up his main residence until the early 1950s in Monte Carlo. The seasoned gambler was a regular at the Opera Garnier.

Fashion photographer Helmut Newton, another celebrated Monte Carlo resident, was unequivocal. ‘I love the sun, but there’s none left in Paris,’ Newton once told a reporter.

The dazzle of the south still lives up to its charms when it comes to renewing the joie-de-vivre factor: a depressed Newton moved here for tax reasons convinced he would never take another picture. He ended up shooting for another two sunkissed decades. ‘The climate is great, and the light is extraordinary even when the sky is grey,’ he said. However, a word of caution: we can’t unreservedly recommend everything Newton indulged in during his time on the Côte d’Azur. ‘I have binoculars to look out at the sea,’ he recalled. ‘I like to watch the sea, and I like to look into the windows of my neighbours. I did that for a long time until I discovered that they are too boring, so I stopped.’ M

ROAMING GOURMANDS The hotel is home to one of the finest chefs in the world – three-Michelin star chef Mauro Colagreco. Guests can visit Colagreco’s gardens and take part in a boat and market trip. A food tour of the neighbouring town of Menton will include marmalade-making and tasting at Maison Herbin, olive oil tasting at Huilerie Saint Michel and lemon picking in its lemon tree garden. In January, guests can master how to make a galette des rois* and in February, visitors will be whisked to the town’s annual lemon festival.

Finally, afternoon tea (a rarity in France) is at the hotel’s Riviera Restaurant.

KINDRED SPIRITS The hotel has created a health and holistic relaxation retreat for those looking for a virtuous winter escape.

Different treatments will be offered depending on whether guests opt for ‘saintly’ or ‘sort of’. In-room fridges will be curated with skincare from Augustinus Bader and FaceGym, various juices (and champagne, if desired). A morning workout courtesy of FaceGym will be followed by a treatment in the hotel’s spa. Tennis can be organised in nearby Menton, a map of best walks and swimming will be available (including the Promenade Le Corbusier for the ultimate hike) and a special breakfast in bed menu will be designed for guests of this retreat.

To book visit maybourneriviera.com

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KATE MOSS BACKSTAGE AT DOLCE & GABBANA. ALL IMAGES © GAVIN BOND

BEHIND THE SCENES Backstage at the greatest fashion shows of the 1990s was someone with a camera who was as young as the supermodels – Central Saint Martins student Gavin Bond. Following Bond’s photographs being displayed at Claridge’s ArtSpace, fashion writer Marion Hume reminisces about the glory days the pair spent breaking the rules

‘Gavin persuaded Yves Saint L aurent to sit on a gilt throne, with his beloved French bulldog sat at his feet’

Bond’s close friendships with everyone from security guards to supermodels like Kristen McMenamy (top left) and Claudia Schiffer (right), and fashion impresarios including Karl Lagerfeld (bottom left) and Yves Saint Laurent (far right) allowed him to capture shots that eluded other photographers

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ALL IMAGES © GAVIN BOND

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ou had to be there. No, I mean it, you had to be there. We were so determined. We’d hold battle-plan meetings in a dingy Paris café, strategising about how many invitations we had (one, mine), how many of us there were (many more than one) and how we were all going to get into the shows that mattered. We’d fine-tune the forgery plan (the night watchman, the hotel staff kitchen, a toaster). The joy of John Galliano’s handmade invitations was we could make them too.

But there was always an extra challenge. Gavin.

It was one thing to manage to get in to front of house. But how to get our photographer backstage? ‘Get me in the door and I’ll do the rest,’ he’d say with that big cheeky smile on his face. I know now, in an era of greater risk (and public liability), people are horrified to learn the risks we took and what we were up to.

But the pictures are amazing.

Gavin and I met when he was a student and my assistant was a student. I was a respectable newspaper fashion editor. Then I became the editor of Vogue in Australia. Yet our little gang kept up the can-do attitude of those who just love it all. I suppose I

Bond’s candid, revealing backstage photographs capture a defining moment in fashion history

ALL IMAGES © GAVIN BOND. ARTSPACE LAUNCH PHOTOS BY DAVE BENETT / GETTY.

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probably shouldn’t tell you which of Gavin’s amazing photographs were achieved through access that wasn’t entirely official. But look at them. Don’t they look like they were taken by someone who was meant to be there?

In contrast, some of the images you see were the result of protracted negotiation behind the scenes. If you’ve ever tried to move a Parisienne publicist from ‘Mais non, ce n’est pas possible’ to ‘Oui’, you will know what I mean. We were beyond excited when we finally got word Gavin could step – officially – into the hallowed halls of Yves Saint Laurent, 5 Avenue Marceau. Only to get the sting in the tail. ‘Your photographer may take a picture of the showroom. However, we cannot guarantee that Monsieur Saint Laurent will be present.’ I still do not know how Gavin charmed Monsieur out of his studio. But not only did Yves sit on a gilt chair, his beloved French bulldog Moujik sat at his feet.

I look at these pictures now and I’m back at Chanel in the ’90s (Karl loved Gavin because those who are forever young see the spark in one another). Or I’m at Valentino and Carlos Souza (Brazilian, glorious, always said yes to us when everyone else said ‘non’) is actually helping, getting the girls to gather around the Roman Emperor for Gavin’s shot.

I remember how Carla Bruni had such grace and elegance even when naked but for a thong. Of course, we’d never have guessed she’d become the First Lady of France, but, when she did, it made sense. Gianni Versace utterly loved fashion and, because Gavin did too, well, you can see how well they got along from the images. And then there’s Kate, grinning naturally, because it all lay ahead of her.

Did we know, back then in the ’90s, that we were in the golden hour? Did we sense, as Gavin’s shutter clicked, that he was capturing that split second before fashion became Big Business, when it was still about unbridled joy? Did we suspect that it was about to change and our games would be over? I don’t think we ever thought about what lay ahead. We just lived it, loved it, relished it. We were part of something – the fashion term for it is ‘a moment’ – and I knew we had to capture the magic and that Gavin would always get the shot. M Featuring work shown at Claridge’s ArtSpace and Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair, Being There by Gavin Bond (Idea Books) is out now as a limited edition of 1,500. gavinbond.com

From top left: Kristen McMenamy and Donatella Versace sharing a joke at a party; Kate Moss backstage in Paris in 1993; Hugh Bonneville, Gavin Bond and Taron Egerton at Being There’s private view at Claridge’s ArtSpace; DJ Fat Tony keeping the crowd entertained at the exhibition’s glittering launch sponsored by Moët & Chandon.

10.22am

A leisurely breakfast in the Hollywoodd Suite.

Enjoying my private terrace, a screen break with a copy of the LA Times and a cup of tea. I always order the Buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup.

Nothing feels more decadent.

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

Twenty four hours at The Maybourne Beverly Hills with Marissa Montgomery Photographs by

VICTORIA WALL HARRIS

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1.06 pm

A light lunch in Th Maybourne Cafe. e M favourite table is y the Damien Hirs under t Blossoms - and Cherry th Maybourne Elixir e if you have jet la is so good g coconut chia pud . From d chop salad, I love ing to the with whoever I’m to share wi can taste everyth th so we ing!

ARTWORK © DAMIEN HIRST AND SCIENCE LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS 2022.

2.33pm

Rodeo Drive is just round the corner from the hotel. I love being able to just pop round - it ’s one of the few places in LA you can step outside and explore without a car. There is something very special about the iconic palm tree-lined streets.

3.15pm

5.22pm

The Maybourne Spa is vast - one of the largest in LA - and the treatments are heaven. Took a dip in the magnesium-infused pool – perfect for detoxifying.

HAIR AND MAKEUP: CASEY GORE. PHOTO ASSISTANT: BRYANT WOODCOCK

The rooftop pool has spectacular views over the Hollywoodd Hills. Take my tiny sketchbook and watercolours up there to jito paint. The Icy blended Fro a tastes like a vacation in glass - there is also green juice if you want to stay healthy.

7.03pm

Dinner is on The Terrace.

With the fountain in the background, it felt like a real moment. I particularly love the pasta, especially the homemade corn agnolotti and burrata salad. The Annie Morris art and flowers in the lobby always brings a smile to my face.

9.34 pm

e Last stop of the day is Th Maybourne Bar: beautiful. g min Chris Amirault, the char p: ti mixologist, gave me a top soro Te try a ‘Mirror Mirror’ (El Danish Blanco and ‘Soka’, a new rong spirit ). The drinks are st en and the lights are low. Th a long its back to my room for ths, soak in one of the deep ba team e complete with bath salts th ect perf leave out for you. Then a t bed... night ’s sleep in the cosies

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CHOSEN BY THE BEST

champagnelaurentperrier www.laurent-perrier.com

Photographer: Iris Velghe / Conception: Luma

GUEST LIST

From the star-studded launch of this year’s must-read memoir to Academy Awards winners arriving in Belgravia, via late-night patisserie and transatlantic afternoon tea, the time to party is once again upon us.

From left to right: Becky Fatemi, Ozwald Boateng, Jourdan Dunn, Maya Jama, Vanessa Kingori, Edward Enninful, Damson Idris, Paula Fitzherbert, Emma Thynn, Darnell Strom

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Laura Bailey

François-Henri Pinault, Vanessa Kingori, Salma Hayek, Michaela Coel, Edward Enninful, Darnell Strom

Jourdan Dunn

EDWARD ENNINFUL at Claridge’s

Edward Enninful, Idris Elba and Sabrina Elba

The most eagerly-anticipated fashion title of the year was celebrated at Claridge’s. British Vogue’s Editor-In-Chief Edward Enninful’s masterful memoir A Visible Man saw A-listers and activists alike head to the ballroom including Kate Moss, Malala Yousafzai, Idris Elba, Sabrina Elba, Adwoa Aboah, Sadiq Khan, Salma Hayek and Michaela Coel. After Enninful’s rousing talk at the Southbank Centre, invited guests relaxed with Champagne, Johnnie Walker cocktails, flowers by McQueens, a spectacular cake and a DJ set by Hale Zero. Masterminded by chief business officer of Condé Nast Britain, Vanessa Kingori, it marked the start of fashion month in style.

Laura Ingham, Jessica Diner, Sarah Harris

Ruth Wilson

Emma Thynn

Anya Hindmarch

HARPER’S BAZAAR at The Connaught Sinéad Burke

Omari Douglas, Edward Enninful, Damson Idris

The magazine’s fourth annual celebration of International Women’s Day saw an evening of champagne, discussion, innovation and inspiration.

Dr AnneMarie Imafidon

Nicolas Rouzaud, Zoë de Givenchy Emerald Fennell

ZOE DE GIVENCHY at The Connaught Jennifer Fisher, Maeve Reilly

Kodi Smit-McPhee The Academy Museum

WORDS: LUCIANA BELLINI. VOGUE IMAGES BY ROWBEN LANTION. HARPER’S AND OSCARS IMAGES BY DAVID M BENNETT / GETTY IMAGES. JENNIFER FISHER IMAGES COURTESY OF BFA

THE OSCARS at The Berkeley Hollywood descended on Knightsbridge to celebrate the 94th Academy Awards at a reception. British and international cinema’s top talents were in attendance with Rebecca Hall catching up with filmmaker Emerald Fennell, and actor Kodi Smit-McPhee chatting to costume designer Sandy Powell.

Ever dreamt of sneaking into The Connaught Patisserie after hours?

That dream became a reality for Zoë de Givenchy’s guests when the designer launched her tableware pop-up with MatchesFashion.

Rebecca Hall

JENNIFER FISHER at The Maybourne Beverly Hills LA’s best-dressed, including stylist Maeve Reilly, Harper’s Bazaar’s Amanda Alagem and singer Claire Khodara, flocked to The Maybourne’s Cigar & Whiskey Bar to toast the launch of top jeweller Jennifer Fisher’s debut fragrance, My Scent.

She describes it as ‘scented armour that you will crave. ’

CLARIDGE’S at The Maybourne Beverly Hills

Emma Victoria Reeve

THE CONNAUGHT at The Maybourne Riviera The French Riviera got a dose of Mayfair magic with the arrival of The Connaught Bar maestros Agostino Perrone, Giorgio Bargiani and Maura Milia. A ‘cocktail-off’ at Le 300 showcased their mixology skills.

Aureta Thomollari

Giorgio Bargiani, Agostino Perrone, Boris Messmer, Maura Milia and Paulo Scialpi

For the first time in history, Claridge’s took their afternoon tea 5,437 miles to the terrace at The Maybourne Beverly Hills. Guests - including enigmatic influencer Aureta Thomollari, designer Harley Viera-Newton and restaurateur Marissa Hermer - enjoyed a playful take on high tea. The menu combined the best of London and LA, with British smoked salmon served with Maine lobster, and Claridge’s famed scones.

This residency only lasted a week but the hotel’s own afternoon tea will be unveiled in 2023.

BORN FROM NATURE, ELEVATED OVER TIME

DOM RUINART, THE QUINTESSENTIAL BLANC DE BLANCS

Drink responsibly.

FOOD & DRINK London /Cote d’Azur/ Beverly Hills ^

LIGHT MY FIRE

Behind the scenes at The Connaught Grill

p.84 A SIMPLE FAVOUR

Hollywood director Paul Feig meets Ago Perrone

PHOTOGRAPH: LATEEF OKUNNU

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Marcello Cauda, the new Blue Bar Manager at The Berkeley, is currently developing a bold new Negroni for 2023

Adam Hyman’s Favourite Openings Of 2022 MIZNON, SOHO Embrace the culinary chaos and order pittas filled with cottage pie.

Try hand-rolled sushi in Brixton, duck ravioli at Da Terra, an African cocktail in Southwark and sesame prawn toast on a barge in Islington

THE PELICAN, NOTTING HILL To call this a ‘pub’ is like calling a Gucci loafer just a ‘shoe’.

LISBOETA, FITZROVIA Sit at the counter, order vindalho empada, then arroz de marisco.

Food For Thought London’s dining scene has proven its resilience - there’s never been a better time to explore the city’s culinary side, says Adam Hyman

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wo years ago, our industry was having a torrid time, thanks to Covid restrictions and a cautious sentiment towards being overly social. Well, luckily that’s all a thing of the past. Reservations are still notoriously tricky at the hottest spots in London (try Friday lunchtimes, which are quieter than pre-pandemic thanks to people working from home). And it seems that, despite the current economic conditions, the central London restaurant scene is buzzing with caviar bumps, oysters, langoustines and winter truffles on menus across W1.

Like many global cities, it’s the neighbourhoods that are cultivating some of the most interesting dining in London. Up-and-coming chefs relocate to Zone 2 sites that are more affordable. At the same time, these suburbs are now home to young professionals who like to dine out. Whether it’s West African food in Southwark at Tatale, handrolled sushi at Temaki in Brixton, exceptional pan-Brazilian/Italian dining at Da Terra in Hackney, or one of the most romantic settings for dinner: on a barge at Caravel in Islington, for example, there’s a lot happening in our capital city at the moment for both Londoners and tourists alike.

With so much evolving at such a fast pace it’s important to have an independent and authoritative voice on the British dining scene. This is why, when we acquired The Good Food Guide last year, we knew the 70-year-old publication needed a few tweaks to make sure it remained Britain’s bestselling restaurant guide. Earlier this summer, we relaunched the Guide as a digital app that is continuously updated, while preserving its heritage and upholding the ethos of conducting inspections anonymously and paying for all our meals. No longer do you need to scour the internet for where to eat when you need a nifty recommendation – it’s all at your fingertips with The Good Food Guide.

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Table Talk

We all have our favourite spots around the capital: here are just a few of ours...

For those in the know: CAFE CECILIA

For the art: SESSIONS ARTS CLUB

For foodies: FALLOW

This much-hyped Hackney project from Max Rocha is openly inspired by the kitchen of St. John. Expect piggy paté and save room for the Guinness bread ice cream. cafececilia.com

The combined talents of chef Florence Knight and artist Jonny Gent have made this one of London’s hottest tables. sessionsartsclub.com

Two former chefs from Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner serve up innovative farm-to-table/root-to-stem/ nose-to-tail cooking in St James’s. fallowrestaurant.com

TAMAKI BY MELISSA DELPORT, CARAVEL BY JASON BUCKNER, TATALE BY FELIX SPELLER, FALLOW/MAISON FRANCAIS BY STEVEN JOYCE, THE MAINE BY SIMON UPTON, KUDU BY CLAIRE MENARTHE, SESSIONS ART CLUB BY LOUISE LONG, BRAT BY BENJAMIN MCMAHON, A WONG BY MURRAY WILSON, COMPILED BY PAULA FITZHERBERT, CHARLOTTE ALEXANDER-STACE, CHRISTINA NORTON AND ERIN HAMILTON. WORDS: ANDY MORRIS

For fun: THE MAINE

Housed in a historic Georgian townhouse, The Maine offers New England extravagance with burlesque and jazz. Try lobster rolls and key lime pie. themainemayfair.com

For the pudding trolley: MAISON FRANCOIS

The comté gougères are calling. If you’re after old school bistro fare you’ve come to the right place. Finish with drinks at Frank’s bar. maisonfrancois.london

For the open fire: BRAT

Listed in the Top 100 Restaurants of the world, chef Tomos Parry is inspired by his Welsh heritage and Basque country cooking. Start with Velvet Crab Soup, then turbot. bratrestaurant.co.uk

For a neighbourhood favourite: KUDU

Peckham is home to some of Britain’s most exciting food, including South Africa-inspired Kudu. Order Parmesan churros with miso mayo and peri peri duck hearts. kuducollective.com

For Michelin Star Chinese: A WONG

The one with something for everyone: PANTECHNICON

Andrew Wong is one of the few double Michelin-starred chefs specialising in Chinese cuisine outside of Asia. Expect exquisite dim sum, crispy belly pork and char siu. awong.co.uk

Who knew that Japanese and Nordic cooking would be a perfect match? Try dishes from Japan (Sachi) and Norway (Eldr). pantechnicon.com

The classic

THE RIVER CAFE

Thirty five years after opening as an architect’s canteen, The River Cafe still surprises and delights in equal measure. rivercafe.co.uk

Secret Ingredients

Beneath Claridge’s, hidden from even the most frequent guests, lies Muse, the only staff restaurant one could imagine winning a Michelin star. Food critic Tom Parker Bowles gets a reservation at the most exclusive table in town Photography by

SA M BA R K ER

W

ith its bare brick walls, smart, buttery-soft leather banquettes and gleaming open kitchen, Muse is very much a modern Mayfair brasserie.

Staff are clad in pristine white t-shirts, a professional barista bar serves serious coffee and the lighting is elegantly expensive. There’s even a giant olive tree smack bang in the centre of the room. Then, of course, there’s the food. Being an all-day operation, freshly made croissants, French toast, shakshuka, açaí bowls and the customary ‘Full English’ turn gently, as the day goes on, into vibrant salads, homemade pasta, wood-oven-baked pizzas, grilled fish and Thai king prawns. For pudding, on offer throughout is the sort of patisserie that tastes as beautiful as it looks. The first customers arrive at 6am, the last tuck in at 3am. As becomes clear quickly, Muse is no ordinary restaurant, rather reserved only for Claridge’s staff and situated three floors below the lobby.

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Tom Parker Bowles, enjoys fish and chips in Muse, surrounded

by Claridge’s extraordinary staff

‘This really is the toughest crowd,’ says head chef Jorge Baumhauer da Silva with a smile. ‘They come here three times a day. All of them food critics. And they’ll let me know if they don’t like it!’ He runs a brigade of 15 chefs, who start cooking breakfast at 5.30am, then carry on throughout the day and night, feeding around 500 employees. His kitchen very much fits in with Claridge’s ethos of promoting from within. ‘It’s all very exciting, as the general manager wants chefs to train down here and eventually go upstairs to the main hotel restaurants. We have kitchen porters becoming commis chefs, and see this as very much a training ground, an incubator for talent.’

And it’s not just the chefs they share with the main hotel, but ingredients too. The Muse kitchen uses the same meat and fish suppliers as Claridge’s restaurants, as well as the patisserie. There’s a grab-and-go section for those in a hurry, with fresh sandwiches and juices, as well as the aforementioned barista, using a state-of-the-art

Faema coffee machine that produces espressos, lattes and flat whites by the dozen.

It’s about as far removed from the classic restaurant staff lunch as you can possibly imagine. Rather than a bowl of dreary mush, quickly knocked up from kitchen scraps by some harried sous chef and wolfed down in seconds on their feet, the Claridge’s family sit in relaxed comfort. Some of the tables are filled with big groups, chatting away merrily, while others have solo diners, replying to emails or just taking a quiet break. It’s a place to decompress and relax, a welcome respite from the hard work upstairs. Equally important, there’s no charge for any of the food or drink.

The room has a palpable buzz, the sort of well-fed bonhomie that characterises a decent restaurant. Claridge’s culinary director Dmitri Magi looks around the room with pride. ‘Staff food is so very important. If they’re happy, they go out and deliver,’ he says as I tuck into impeccable fish and chips. ‘The food has to be perfect to get the magic upstairs. For me, it’s the most important restaurant in the hotel.’ In short, Muse is the beating heart of Claridge’s, as happy workers mean happy guests. ‘Staff are gold,’ he goes on. ‘If you don’t care about them, then someone else will.

I’m so proud of how people can progress in this kitchen. You really get a feel for future stars.’

Muse is the most democratic of places too. You’ll find Paul Jackson, the general manager, eating alongside his staff. ‘It was very important to me that people could eat here as many times as they wanted,’ he says, ‘and I didn’t want any restrictions.’ Jackson, alongside hotel manager Jim Lyons, was one of the driving forces behind Muse and is palpably proud. ‘We just had to make sure the restaurant was amazing.’ It is now just after noon and things are getting busy. Pizzas fly off the counters, along with French onion soup, vegan calzone, lemon chicken escalopes, cauliflower cheese

‘ The food has to be perfect to get the magic upstairs.

It’s the most important restaurant in the hotel’

pasta, kimchi, antipasti and oozingly lactic burrata. Oh, and not forgetting raspberry pavlova and chocolate eclairs. Michael Lynch has been at the hotel for 45 years, working his way up to head butler. He’s charming and loquacious, but not a man to mince his words. ‘Muse is fantastic,’ he says, between bites. ‘They love us here at Claridge’s.’ He pats his tummy and laughs. ‘I’m a good advertisement for the food.’

Martin Ballard MBE, hotel ambassador and another Claridge’s legend, is equally impressed. ‘It’s made for us. It could be claustrophobic, but it really doesn’t feel underground.’ The light is cleverly designed to mimic sunshine pouring through the windows, and the room has a bright, airy feel. ‘Having fresh fish every day is incredible,’ he says, tucking in. ‘It’s very different from the old canteen.’ And, because the cooking is of such a high standard and the choice so vast, staff don’t feel the need to go out for their lunch. Glenn Piper, Foyer and Reading Room Restaurant Director, says Muse has made all the difference. ‘A few years ago, people would go out over the road. Now, all my team eat here.’

It’s not just the daytime staff who are looked after but the equally essential people who take care of the guests, and hotel, during the night. There’s fresh food available through the wee hours, and full roasts on Sundays too. As ever, everything goes back to the team who make Claridge’s one of the greatest and bestloved hotels on earth. ‘To be successful, you need good people,’ says Magi, gazing out over Muse. ‘Jorge does an amazing job and I don’t have to worry about it. But as long as the staff are happy, then I am happy.’ Wise words. Because Muse is not so much a staff canteen as a proper restaurant in true Claridge’s style. And, ironically, probably the only place in town where even those legendary concierges will be unable to bag you a table. M For your own chance to dine at Muse, join the team at Claridge’s by applying at maybourne.com/careers

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Muse is both a staff restaurant and a training ground for the hotel team. Staff are shaped into stars by head chef, Jorge Baumhauer da Silva (pictured, left).

PHOTOGRAPHS: LATEEF OKUNNU

The team, including restaurant manager Gabriele Sorrentino (pictured), are all expertly trained to deliver showstopping moments: from crêpes suzette to grilled artichoke hearts

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LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE The Connaught Grill offers one of the most theatrical - and thrilling - dining experiences in London, discovers Bridget Arsenault

‘When meat is prepared on a charcoal burning grill, it makes such a difference to the flavour’

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From top: Sauce Diane; the Clay Oven Company Robata Flame Grill, where chickens are brushed with thyme; the sea bass en croute – each fish takes two hours of preparation

here is an unforgettable moment in every meal at The Connaught Grill when one of the laden silver carts comes rolling out of the kitchen and stops tableside. There is fire and there is flamboyance - there is also a little nervous laughter when the flames rise to their highest. Overseen by superstar chef JeanGeorges Vongerichten, with Jude Rozario as the executive chef, the menu is designed for crowd-pleasing showmanship. Originally opened in 1955, a glowing New York Times review from 1972 described the fare as ‘the finest meal in the British Isles’. And when The Connaught Grill recently reopened following Covid delays and refurbishment, the goal was a modern tribute to the restaurant’s storied past. Vongerichten himself had visited the Grill in its original incarnation and sought to capture the essence of what he experienced: ‘I wanted to pay tribute to the original in so many ways,’ explains the chef. ‘One of which is the Pie Of The Day and the sea bass en croute, for two, every Friday. Most importantly, when meat and fish are prepared on a charcoal burning grill and rotisserie, it makes such a difference to the flavour.’ That difference Vongerichten speaks of is palpable, as a fragrant spit-roasted Racan organic chicken, skin deeply golden, is carved within reach. The scent is incredible as the meat falls off the bone with each brush with the knife. The menu is as hyperseasonal as possible, the provenance of the ingredients impeccable, as well as Vongerichten’s trademark flair for presentation. The team wanted to make the Grill more approachable than ever before, including opening at lunch four times a week with a terrific set menu. ‘The perception a lot of people who come in for the first time have, or who have read about it, is that The Connaught is going to be a stuffy British hotel,’ explains The Connaught’s general manager Sandeep Bhalla. ‘But once you come in and you experience the level of quality, the service, the finesse, the bespoke nature of the approach, guests instantly feel at home.’ It’s comfort food made with the finest ingredients (Think London’s fanciest scotch egg for a starter or Dover Sole from Devon delicately deboned at the table.) ‘For me, it’s about how you make the guest feel’ says Bhalla. ‘And as we always say within all our hotels, luxury does not have to be stuffy.’

At the Grill, it’s all about luxury without pretence. Think: ‘Can I wear jeans?’ (The answer is yes.) And likewise, if the question is ‘Can I enjoy a dozen Gillardeau oysters or A5 Ribeye Kobe beef?’

The answer is also yes. The interiors offers a fresh take on what a traditional English hotel could be. ‘If you look at the design, it

From left to right: Pastry chef Nicolas Rouzaud, executive chef Jude Rozario and sous chef Oliver Durnford. Many dishes are finished at the table, with sauces such as watercress and jalapeño vinaigrette

has been reimagined by John Heah with extraordinary woodwork

by Mira Nakashima, daughter of the legendary George Nakashima. The gilded ceiling was actually restored from the original building,’ says Vongerichten. The chef also sought out an open kitchen to make it even more welcoming. ‘I just love the feel of the warm hearth when you come in.’ What’s also clear is that this is the kind of clandestine environment where your meal can be enjoyed free of distractions. ‘Discretion is synonymous with the Grill’ says Bhalla. ‘There’s no signage as you make your way through a passageway, lined with some of the world’s greatest wine. It’s like an adventure.’ The sense of anticipation is particularly heightened for the Sunday lunch, where servers glide their way through each slice of perfectly pink beef in a single motion. ‘It creates that sense of theatre at the table’, says Vongerichten. The training is considerable. A new staff member would carve at least 14 to 16 chickens before they would go to do one for a guest. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that, in 18th-century France, it was a nobleman entrusted with slicing and serving the king’s meats, and it was a guarded and prestigious position. ‘The whole ceremony is both formal and whimsical,’ says Bhalla. ‘The Grill is dedicated to fine eating, not fine dining.’ On the plate, that translates to a dish like the steak tartare, a palmful of bright red beef, served with dijon mustard dressing, quails’ egg yoke and a tangle of crispy potatoes, spun like thread. It’s indisputably simple, but the flavours build with every mouthful. Similarly, the glossy butter, browning sugar and sweet-scented orange liqueur of the crêpes suzette being flipped and flambéed by a waiter as if on centre stage, cap off a perfect meal. While also offering a little wink to the boozy dinner parties of the 1970s. A meal at The Grill is about slowing down, enjoying long forgotten classics or exemplary takes on familiar flavours. Once you take a seat in one of the wood-panelled booths, adorned with butter soft leather Connolly seats and black walnut edges, there is plenty of time to linger over dessert. M Book your table at theconnaught.co.uk, Bridget Arsenault is the London editor of Air Mail

‘ The Connaught Grill is dedicated to fine eating, not fine dining’

Above: chefs’ knives are sourced from Argentina, France, Finland and Sweden, Left: steak tartare is prepared tableside with Hereford fillet of beef

Raise a glass to

Belgravia’s pub scene is one of the finest in the whole of the capital. Full-time reveller David Ellis knows exactly which ones to recommend

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he institutions that define this country − not just the governmental, but also the cultural − tend to be marked by their tendency to divide, to split opinion, to push apart. Pubs are different; pubs pull together. Our pubs are where high and low mix, where friendships likely and unlikely are forged, where love stories are both sparked and snuffed. They are there whatever the weather, or mood. In Belgravia, they hold particular value. Long one of London’s most fashionable districts, from time to time it is still taken as somewhere for little more than top-end shopping and cars that look like sharks and sound like bears. But, beneath this gilt veneer, there is still a community to be found. There are actors and politicians, those big in finance, those big in media.

Rumours swirl of the last remaining oldworld aristos. There are the art collectors, the antiques specialists. In truth, the area draws all sorts, from curious travellers and students to those who simply fancy wandering London’s prettiest streets. And all of these, at one time or another, end up in a pub. There is confluence. These are Belgravia’s best.

PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE GRENADIER BY CHARLIE DAILEY. TAKEN FROM GREAT PUBS OF LONDON BY GEORGE DAILEY (PRESTEL)

SW1

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THE GRENADIER

THE ALFRED TENNYSON

605 steps from T he B erkeley

580 steps from T he B erkeley

Some pubs are superstars; some feel like secrets. And some, like The Grenadier, defy logic by being both. Perhaps SW1’s most celebrated pub, it sits tucked away down a winding alley, a prize for the curious. Over three centuries old, it is resplendent in white and navy, the red sentry box nodding to its early days as an officers’ mess for bear-skinned Grenadiers, the regiment who have served 15 monarchs, including our present. It serves a finely-turned-out menu of upscale pub food on its little terraces and in the compact bar. They’re proudest of the beef wellington, probably because the duke the dish is named after used to eat here. But you’re more likely to find the well-heeled sharing bottles of rosé or drinking pints of the pub’s own bitter.

These might include Brad Pitt or Lady Gaga, but, as with a recent trip, they could just be smiling visitors pinning cash to the ceiling – it’s a tradition to pay the debt of Cedric, the guard killed here for cheating at cards. ‘We get all sorts in here,’ the girl behind the bar says, with one of those looks. Including, it turns out, a ghost.

18 Wilton Row, grenadierbelgravia.com

Sometimes pubs are not pubs at all, but landing decks, places to meet, second homes. The stylish Alfred Tennyson has some of this, sitting as it does on the cobbled corner of Kinnerton and Motcomb streets; it has, in recent times, become a landmark of sorts. One might meet at the Tennyson. But people linger too, drawn to its impeccable menu – try the monkfish, paddling in a pool of mussels, or the lamb rump, bundled up with fat and good things in a croquette. Linger is the right word. ‘I suppose we’d say the Tennyson is our grown-up pub,’ says affable co-owner Sam Pearman, who also runs The Thomas Cubitt nearby and others further afield.

‘You might come for a long, boozy lunch and stay for brandies.’ He laughs. You get the sense he may have done it a few times; you might, too.

10 Motcomb Street, cubitthouse.co.uk

THE WILTON ARMS 63 steps from T he B erkeley The Wilton was never a bad pub per se, but, by the time it closed in time for Christmas 2019, some 193 years after its 1826 opening, the old girl needed a rest.

Now that she is revived, refreshed, redone – she is a looker. Part wood panelling and an ornate carved bar, part a subtle shimmering gold wall and mid-century leather seats, the Wilton is both old and new. What you might call timeless chic. It draws a lazy Sunday crowd with their dogs, for the excellent roast beef, and a lively after-work Friday crowd who laugh a lot, drink a lot and flit between a straightforward but decent draught beer list (Meantime, Guinness, Grolsch, but try the Allsopp’s pale ale) and cocktails (the Negroni and Espresso Martini impress).

71 Kinnerton Street, thewiltonarmssw1.com

‘Beneath its gilt veneer, there is an eclectic community to be found here’

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Rachel

THE STAR TAVERN

THE ORANGE

920 steps from T he B erkeley

3,200 steps from T he B erkeley

This is not a boozer – boozers are not a Belgravian speciality – but it is, gloriously, a proper old-fashioned pub, the kind where afternoons are gently lost as pristine pints are passed over the wraparound bar to a bohemian local set sat on stools. It is, then, heaven. Its Victorian frontage is gloss black and brass and strewn with flowers, a dark blazer with a carnation through the pinhole. As per most Fuller’s pubs, the beer is kept very well – their London Pride is particularly fresh, and there is a ‘now pouring’ board listing the specialities and curiosities filling the pumps – while their selection of ales has won them Camra awards. The Star is a beacon of sorts; The Star is aptly named.

6 Belgrave Mews West, star-tavern-belgravia.co.uk

Though it’s named after an old brewery that sat on this site (itself named after a coffee house that came before it), The Orange seems a suitably playful moniker for this place, which is a little sister of sorts to The Alfred Tennyson. ‘We tend to think this is our more Mediterranean one,’ says co-owner Sam Pearman. Like the Tennyson, it is beautifully turned out – it is rustic but not really, painted posters of oranges and lemons, a blackboard with the day’s specials – and offers an excellent pizza menu alongside the likes of grilled red prawns simmering in their shells, hake tart with preserved lemon and a wine list where it’s hard to go wrong.

Little wonder the crowds here, often couples and young families, are all so cheery. M 37-39 Pimlico Road, cubitthouse.co.uk

PAXTONS HEAD 1,170 steps from T he B erkeley Many of the pubs on these streets are tucked-away places that feel like cottages which strayed into town. Paxtons Head offers something substantially different, and is particularly well suited to bigger groups and the breadth of age and interests that such groups customarily envelop. A hall of old oak and cut-glass, the enormous central bar serves an egalitarian range of drinks – easy-going lagers (Camden Hells, Estrella), pumped pints of bitter, both cheap and expensive wine, lots of spirits – while the menu is unfussy but unfussily priced, too (fish and chips are decent).

Downstairs is a pool table and screens for sport; upstairs is a pretty dining room.

There is, then, both room and a welcome for everyone. It is a commendable thing.

153 Knightsbridge, greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Father Alan

This winter sees The Bishop at The Berkeley bring feel-good fare to Wilton Place. With a name inspired by the mitre hat that originally graced The Berkeley logo, this is a pop-up infused with the hotel’s heritage. Think rich, winter warmers – from pies to puddings – accompanied by local wines, vintage ports, lavish Sunday roasts, plus specials such as ‘Wellington Wednesdays’. There’s even a draft beer, sourced from 360 Brewing Company in Sussex. The Bishop at The Berkeley is a pub pop-up deeply rooted in place – with charming, hand-drawn maps for each guest, recommending other must-try watering holes in Belgravia. the-berkeley.co.uk

RED ALERT Looking for the perfect bottle, either to enjoy in your suite or as a memento of your stay?

Victoria Moore explores the hand-picked selection at Claridge’s Wine Cellar

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ARTWORK BY CLYM EVERNDEN. TAKEN FROM THE CLARIDGE’S COCKTAIL BOOK. PHOTOGRAPH: JUSTIN DE SOUZA

T

he Art Deco glamour of Claridge’s Bar is rightly famous. Claridge’s Wine Cellar, which lies downstairs, could still be described as a secret. Its intimate, temperature controlled rooms contain hundreds of precious bottles of wine, stored on wooden shelves, in racks and in drawers.

Anyone can come in to buy a bottle to take home, open in one of Claridge’s restaurants or drink in their suite if they’re staying at the hotel. It is one of the first openings of the new era of Claridge’s, which has seen the footprint of the hotel double - and is now open to all.

Claridge’s Wine Cellar, which opened last summer, houses around 800 different wines, which can all be found on the lists of the hotel’s bars and restaurants. ‘Coming here is a very different experience - there’s an element of curiosity. People spend more time on it,’ says Claridge’s head of wine Sébastien Morice.

Many of those who head into the hushed surroundings of Claridge’s Wine Cellar leave with a bottle of Champagne. The grower Champagnes that Morice has introduced – which include Champagne Agrapart, Jacques Lassaigne and Bérêche et Fils – are popular in the restaurants, ‘where

‘ The Wine Cellar’s intimate shelves contain hundreds of precious bottles’ we can offer it by the glass’. In the cellar shop, the preference is for well-known names such as Bollinger La Grande Année and Louis Roederer Cristal. Still, the act of hunting through bottles is a joyous one, including a selection of sought-after ‘unicorn’ wines. Morice enjoys bringing different wines into the limelight: gamay from Beaujolais and Australian wines such as the Cullen Diana Madeline, a cabernet sauvignon-based blend from Margaret River. An unexpected hit has been the collection of wines from Domaine Tempier in Bandol, south-east France.

‘We have different cuvées, La Tourtine and Cabassaou, and vintages going back to ’93, ’95 - the reception of these has been very nice.’

Claridge’s Wine Cellar is at its busiest in the mid-afternoon, when those who work nearby drop in to pick up something to open that night. Among this crowd, red

Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits is a favourite – Domaine Armand Rousseau and Domaine Dujac are the go-to names.

For those choosing a bottle to drink in the restaurant, red Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune is more popular. Understandably, those ordering room service don’t tend to make their way down here: were I cocooned in a room at Claridge’s, I wouldn’t come out unless I had to either. But once you’re in here, looking at wines that range from a modest arneis from Piedmont (£20) to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti RomanéeConti Grand Cru 1996 (£21,500), it’s hard to extract yourself. M Victoria Moore is the Telegraph’s wine correspondent and author of How To Drink.

Claridge’s Wine Cellar is now open Tuesday – Saturday, 12pm–8pm. claridges.co.uk

Sébastien Morice’s current favourites include: Champagne Roger Coulon, Blanc de Noirs 2012, Riesling ‘Cuvee Frederic Emile’ Domaine Trimbach 2013 and Storm Ridge Pinot Noir 2018.

BEST BAR NONE

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Le 300, the cocktail bar at The Maybourne R iviera, offers drinks as stunning as the scenery, discovers Delilah Khomo

S

ometimes a view is more than enough. Looking out from the terrace of Le 300, it is obscenely perfect, a drop-dead view from an imposing eyrie of steel and glass, suspended in the sky – to be precise 300 metres above sea level (hence the name). It is possible to leave London in the afternoon and be sitting on The Maybourne Riviera’s enchanting terrace by aperitivo hour, raising an icy L’Orangerie cocktail to your Friday night. This is a bar where cocktails are undertaken with the utmost sincerity - but throughout our repeated visits, Le 300 is unapologetically, resolutely and undeniably fun.

Here, cocooned in an elegant modernist powerhouse of beautiful people, one glimpses le tout Monaco, especially chic young couples dripping in diamonds and Balenciaga, relishing one of the headiest panoramas on this fabled stretch of coast, as they feast on light-as-air tempura shrimp and plump little green olives. Of course, they all want table 62, with its perfect position, gazing out to Italy on the left and Monte Carlo to the right – all that glitters is here in spades. Unsurprisingly, it beckons a genuinely cool crowd. But how does one define a cool bar? For me, there will always be a love of a dusty, oakpanelled, velvet bolthole of a bar for a

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Martini (or two) that works so well in the city grandes dames. But Le 300 is an upto-the-minute temple of elemental elegance, where everything has been designed to draw the eye (and the palette) to this corner of the Mediterranean, which is unapologetically sexy.

Who doesn’t love expensive simplicity?

Particularly when the aesthetic values of Irish architect Eileen Gray, whose villa on the bay of Roquebrune you can glimpse from the terrace, are referenced all around you, including the shape of the bar and the snug. The bar is defined by sleek, clean lines, thanks to the eye of interior designer Bryan O’Sullivan who has sprinkled stardust over the space – chic minimalism enhanced by bold esoteric art, a smattering of smart bright blue chairs (that properly pop against those epic views), curved wood and a statement calacatta quartzite bar top, not to mention a stained-glass piece inspired by Le Corbusier. It’s this demonic attention to detail that sets Le 300 apart, where everything has been conceived for an easy going (yet high-octane) bar experience. A big part of the magic here is the atmosphere. It’s modern and relaxed, with no fake obsequiousness.

Ultimately, however, the real stars of the show are bar manager Frank Carcamo and mixologist Julien Lecharpentier, a young power duo. To call Julien a mere ‘mixologist’, though, is to miss the point.

He’s more of an energetic botanist and artist (who even has his own distillery in the back of the bar). The creativity and finesse is mind-blowing and the taste level so refined – look no further than

‘L e 300 is an up-tothe-minute temple of elemental elegance’

Lecharpentier’s fig-leaf liqueur, which contributes to a mean spritz cocktail. It’s even more enjoyable followed by the figleaf panna cotta at Mauro Colagreco’s Riviera restaurant next to the bar. You may very well see Lecharpentier snipping lavender and other herbs from the hotel garden, or seeking out ingredients synonymous with this stretch of coastline (silky almonds, lemons from Menton and sprigs of geranium – or whatever is thriving at that time of year), all of which he infuses his seasonal cocktails with (there are also six masterpieces that change every six to eight months). Take the taste sensation that is the signature Lemon Pie (a romantic mix of tequila infused with lemon leaves, a dash of bergamot and the most divine foam). The result is akin to The River Cafe’s lemon crostata exploding in your mouth.

Theatrical creations aside, the elegant manager’s artistic flair also extends to the classics. He truly understands the oldworld appeal of cocktails, such as daiquiris favoured by Hemingway and other masterpieces immortalised in literature. But he is equally interested in, say, the hipster bar Paradiso in Barcelona and its more ‘far out’ cocktail list.

Appealing both to the new guard and old is a rare feat to pull off, but, then, The Maybourne Riviera really is the place for blue-sky thinkers. M maybourneriviera.com

FOR DAYS L E S S E V E RY DAY NEW B OND S T R EET SLOANE ST R EET WEST B OURN E G ROV E H AR RODS SELF R IDGES

SMY T H SO N.CO M

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Giorgio Bargiani and Agostino Perrone bring an air of showmanship to Feig’s cocktail ritual

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HIGH SPIRITS To mark the release of his new book, Cocktail Time!, and his new Netflix blockbuster, The School For Good and Evil, Hollywood director Paul Feig visits the Connaught Bar Words:

CHR ISTINA NEW L A ND Photographs by:

SA M BA R K ER

O

n meeting Paul Feig in the plush surroundings of the Connaught Bar, it’s impossible not to notice that the multi-award-winning director of Bridesmaids, Spy and Ghostbusters is immaculately – almost lovingly – dressed. No detail goes unnoticed: his dark tailored suit with a pocket square, his signet ring engraved with a Martini glass.

Perhaps most striking is a gleaming brooch in the same shape on his lapel. (‘To me, the Martini glass is the most beautiful glass ever designed,’ he later says.) It makes him perfectly at home in The Connaught, which has the similarly sparkling distinction of being named The World’s Best Bar two years running and a shared eye for the finer details. Of drinking in the Connaught Bar, he points out: ‘It’s like being in your own cocktail-based movie.’ That should give you some idea of Feig’s two great loves: cinema and cocktails.

The filmmaker is so busy at the moment that it’s hard to imagine he has time to sip a Martini. He has several concurrently running TV series and films on release, with the anticipated YA fantasy adaptation The School For Good and Evil recently premiering on Netflix. He runs his own gin company, Artingsall’s, as well as

‘ Cocktails aren’t just

about drinks, they’re also about pageantry, glassware and the environment you’re in The Connaught is the complete package’

Of course, that’s precisely what Feig did when he founded Artingsall’s Gin, the base to his beloved martini. ‘A real Martini has gin. Over the years, I knew exactly what I wanted my gin to taste like, so you go to a distiller and talk for hours about what properties you like. I think the scariest day of my life was figuring out exactly which variation it was.’

That enthusiasm to tackle something new – even if it is scary – seems to be a vein throughout Feig’s work, regardless of whether it’s making a film, writing a book or achieving just the right balance to an Old Fashioned. If his passion for mixology tells us anything, it’s to learn from the best and not worry about stumbling on your path to perfection. M For more information on visiting the Connaught Bar head to the-connaught.co.uk. Cocktail Time! The Ultimate Guide to Grown-Up Fun by ​​Paul Feig (William Morrow Cookbooks) is out 15 November.

The School For Good and Evil is streaming on Netflix now.

GROOMING BY CARLOS FERRAZ. PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT: LEO WILLIAMS. THANKS TO: LEAH CHANG, KAYLEIGH SENGER AND ANNA CALLAN

Powderkeg, a talent incubator for marginalised filmmakers. And, on top of all of that, he’s also written a book. Since cocktail hour is a near-sacred ritual in Feig’s hectic life, he’s now set pen to paper in Cocktail Time! to explain why it should be for all of us.

It’s a fun read full of practical advice as well as bravado flourishes (a cocktail playlist, naturally) and cinephile references.

The genesis for Cocktail Time! began when Feig and his wife Laurie paused their busy schedules during the Covid-19 lockdown. Feig started an Instagram Live show where he dressed up and learnt to make a variety of cocktails, with varying results and degrees of hilarity. As Feig explains, ‘The book started as people saying, “You should write out all these drinks you’re making on the show.” I started writing it for fun. and it turned into an advice book of how to throw a cocktail party.’

His directorial instincts are well-suited to his dictates of what, precisely, makes a cocktail party perfect. ‘The drinks have been made properly, there’s music playing but it’s in the background.

People are from all backgrounds, so there’s a great mix. You do kind of want to art-direct your own life in that way.’

Feig has long been compelled by the elegance of Golden Age Hollywood bar culture. ‘My favourite drinker in the movies is William Powell in The Thin Man. He was so funny about it.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be an adult. Most people think you have to be serious when you’re an adult. But I looked at these adults and thought: “They’re cool, they’re dressed nicely, they’re having fun.” In a Myrna Loy movie called Penthouse, she goes into this speakeasy and orders ‘a Martini, light on the vermouth’, and I love to see what glassware they pull out.’

It makes sense that his two loves come together not only in this book, but also in this particular London location. There’s an oldschool movie-star pleasure in entering the Connaught Bar, with its Cubist swirls and chrome-laced archways. You can imagine Cary Grant or Liz Taylor sweeping dramatically down its central aisle. There to greet you might be director of mixology, Agostino Perrone, behind the imposing bar. Feig is a frequent visitor; his particular love for one drink always brings him back.

‘The Martini trolley at The Connaught is just catnip for me. I love the art of the Martini and they add the essences with different flavours. It raises the game of cocktailing because, to me, cocktails aren’t just about the cocktails: they’re about pageantry, the glassware, the look of everything and the environment you’re in. So, with The Connaught, it’s the complete package.’

You can frequently find bars as animated settings in Feig’s own films, from Blake Lively’s martini-making in A Simple Favour to the casino scene in Spy. ‘Blake Lively – who doesn’t drink, by the way – is such a perfectionist. She wanted to be taught exactly how to do it: how to squeeze the lemon, how to pour. In Spy, the casino bar got to have that look that I love – these uplit bottles in this beautiful setting, with this Kubrickian sort of lighting. It’s all about the bottles for me: how they’re lit, how they look on glass shelves with mirrors behind them.’

For an aesthete such as Feig, presentation matters when it comes to the people making your drink, too. ‘A great bartender is a show person. They need to have a command of what they’re doing. You can sit at the bar and watch them for hours. A great bartender is open to anything: willing to talk, but serious enough not to get pulled into endless conversation. They have a mastery of the minutiae of making a drink and can make it look so good you want to do it yourself. That’s what they have here.’

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Paul Feig enjoys a Coral inThe Connaught Bar

PAUL FEIG’S PICKS FROM THE CONNAUGHT BAR CONNAUGHT MARTINI Connaught Bar gin, dry vermouth mix, three drops tonka-bean bitters.

MEMENTO Hendrick’s gin, Old Duff genever, Del Duque, 1757 Extra Dry, crème de menthe, cypress oil.

CORAL Tapatio Reposado tequila, Ilegal mezcal, St-Germain liqueur, Giffard d’Espelette liqueur, bee balm and cassia cordial, sparkling strawberry wine.

MYSTERY OF SIMPLICIT Y Equiano rum, Discarded Banana Peel rum, Apostoles sherry, fermented apple, Oriental sherbet, San Pellegrino Oakwood tonic.

4 M O U N T S T R E E T • L O N D O N W 1 K 3 LW W W W. M O U N T S T R E E T P R I N T E R S . CO M

STYLE & BEAUTY London /Cote d’Azur/ Beverly Hills ^

MAYFAIR TREATMENT Claridge’s spa is setting a new standard in luxury wellness

p.108 NATURAL GLAMOUR

The treatments at The Maybourne Riveria are as sublime as the scenery that surrounds it

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The Maybourne Beverly Hills Spa, just off Rodeo Drive, is one of the finest in the whole city, offering a range of bespoke treatments

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Love

DESIGNER TO WATCH:

Steven Stokey-Daley For a designer who’s been in business for only two years, Liverpudlian wunderkind Steven Stokey-Daley has some gold-standard testimonials.

Harry Styles, for one, has worn the designer’s quirky knits and voluminous trousers. More recently, LVMH awarded Stokey-Daley its annual prize for emerging talent. Rightly so; the SS Daley label uses repurposed fabrics to great effect. His star’s most firmly in the ascent. ssdaley.com

TA K E N T O EXTREMES Mr Ford has reissued his signature Noir Extreme scent as a parfum. The result’s an intense olfactory experience housed within a gleaming gold bottle. tomford.co.uk

Style

NOTES

SMR loving

California dreaming Kim Jones, Britain’s biggest fashion export, who helms both Fendi womenswear and Dior menswear, loves to invite others to join his gang; he’s previously collaborated with Kim Kardashian and Travis Scott. For his latest Dior men’s collection, the designer employed the talents of Venice Beach-based designer Eli Russell Linnetz. The collection, inspired by the 1990s surfer scene of the beachside outpost, marries Dior’s tailored sophistication to laid-back ease. dior.com

Ahead by a mile

Shapiro, stylist Dan May and designer Gautam Rajani, SMR Days’ tie-dye motifs and loose-fit jackets are a staple among the Ibiza-Côte d’Azur elite. smrdays.com

PRESS PLAY Playful and childlike in its motifs, cult brand Harago is as far from the structure of traditional menswear as you can get. Founded by former economist Harsh Agarwal, it uses techniques from his native India including intricate embroidery from local artisans. From balloons wending across shirting to floral embroidery on trousers, it’s a nuanced approach that’s supporting a whole cottage industry. matchesfashion.com

Richard Mille’s collaboration with Ferrari debuts one of its most astonishing timepieces – the world’s thinnest watch.

A feat of engineering, it’s just 1.75mm thick. richardmille.com

PHOTOGRAPHS: CRIS FRAGKOU FOR SS DALEY, ERIC STAUDENMAIER FOR DIOR

From a feat of Italian engineering to Rivieraready outerwear, Stephen Doig reports The brainchild of PR guru Adam

Photography: Robbie Lawrence

The Her.o x Connolly Red Sculpture Lace Maxi Dress Connolly Red Cashmere Socks

WINTER COLLECTION

W W W. C O N N O L LY E N G L A N D. C O M 4 C L I F F O R D S T R E E T, L O N D O N , W 1 S 2 L G

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Store of the future In celebration of its 240th anniversary, Asprey has opened its new London flagship store, Asprey 240.

Not only will it house the brand’s collection of fine jewellery, homeware and leather goods, a gallery space will also open this autumn, showcasing a series of NFT artwork and artist collaborations.

36 Bruton Street, Mayfair, asprey.com

Love

Bag it now Our new hybrid lifestyle requires a do-it-all handbag. So, bookmark Métier, the brainchild of ex-Giorgio Armani designer Melissa Morris, and her luxurious line of hard-working handbags. Among the CEOs and fashion folk frequenting her Mayfair boutique, the Princess of Wales and Nicole Kidman are also fans. Savette should also be on your list: its chic tote will carry your essentials day to night. metier.com/savette.com

Style

NOTES

NEW BOY IN TOWN What do London’s rising design star and one of Italy’s heritage brands have in common? They might not seem like obvious bedfellows, yet the appointment of Maximilian Davis, 26, as creative director at Salvatore Ferragamo is shaking up the status quo. Zendaya has already worn his designs, with his debut show – a tribute to New Hollywood - garnering critical acclaim. ferragamo.com

KNITWEAR FOR NIGHT

The Power of Pink

Shockingly hot pink is the colour of the season, thanks in part to the Hollywood revival of Barbie and the colour-drenched autumn/winter runways: Valentino dedicated the first 48 looks of its show to the colour. Creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli named the shade Valentino Pink PP, which was developed with Pantone. Guests at The Maybourne Beverly Hills in October showed exactly how bold the look can be.

Long live the pinky ring

Statement signet rings have come into their own.

Cue Kelly Souied and Kelia Toledano’s fine jewellery brand, Rainbow K, with its heirloom-worthy pieces. rainbowkjewelry.com

The wardrobe staple that never goes out of style? A really great jumper. Take your cues from Chanel, whose tweed-inspired show reworked cardigans and dresses. Plus Molly Goddard, who styled her patterned argyle knits over tulle dresses for perfect party attire. chanel.com/ mollygoddard.com

LEE WHITTAKER / GETTY. EMILIA WICKSTEAD/PIXELFOR/SIPA/SHUTTERSTOCK. IMAGES COURTESY OF THE BFA

From Barbie pinks to handbags with royal approval, Jane McFarland reveals this season’s key trends

A Spa Is Born In a ground-breaking project, Claridge’s has opened the first spa in the lifetime of the hotel

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ood things come to those who wait. Well, a spectacular thing of beauty has come to Claridge’s more than 200 years since the hotel first opened its doors. Claridge’s Spa is a monumental feat of architecture. True, you might not expect anything less from the Mayfair hotel, but it’s doubtful your imagination would have stretched quite as far, or as deep, as this.

The 7,000-square-foot space has been excavated three floors below and then transformed by the vision of André Fu. Sculpted from limestone, marble and oak, this is London’s new feel-good underground scene. Opened in September, the spa shows that Claridge’s is now carving out a name for itself as the capital of luxury wellness – thereby complementing beautifully the bon vivant excellence five floors up. Inspired by Japanese temples, the

space is a tranquil treatment in itself: lighting, textures, sounds and scent all soothe (think a five-star sensory experience for your soul).

But, if the low-lit heated pool at the spa’s epicentre, energycleansing music, heated ‘cloud-like’ beds and aura-balancing candles don’t slow things down enough, then wrap yourself up in one of the handcrafted cotton Japanese kimonos and make your way to an oak-panelled treatment room for an hour or two.

The good life starts here with the ceremonial Koh-do footmassage using handmade enzyme-rich poultices to absorb negative emotions, which is where things start to get really, really interesting. Conceptulised by Inge Theron, the former ‘Spa Junkie’ for the Financial Times and the founder of FaceGym, the signature treatment menu is the coming together of all the best spa moments she

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enjoyed during her career. ‘I’m telling you now, you’ll never experience anything like it,’ says Theron. To book in is to believe, as I did with the Bamboo & Silk treatment followed by the FaceGym Signature Sculpt.

In the name of journalism, I stayed awake for most of the treatment, making mental notes of the rhythmic massage using warmed bamboo sticks to stretch and release tight, tense muscles, the hot-oil seasonal poultices (made at the hotel, daily by hand) and pressure point facial using silk thimbles to give my skin a head start this winter. And then I was gone, lost to that wonderful midway mark between wake and sleep which always feels so restorative.

It was the FaceGym Signature Sculpt, aka ‘face workout,’ that I needed at the end of the booking to bring me back into this life.

Though this time I returned with much tighter, tauter and brighter-looking skin thanks to painless electrical waves which contract facial muscles with quite miraculous effect. A perfect marriage of high- and low-tech beauty if ever there was one.

‘It has taken months to develop each treatment. I am fanatical – down to playlists that switch between different megahertz to match the rhythms of your treatment to the placement of the pillow. There is not one element that hasn’t been customised,’ she adds.

Claridge’s has also shared its secret little black book of beauty experts. After all, no London underground scene is complete without the in-crowd, is it? Theron thought the same, so invited celebrity colourist Josh Wood, acupuncturist Ross J Barr and the A-lister’s nail painter Harriet Westmoreland, to take up residence, with more to come.

Ultimately, as with every element of the Claridge’s experience, the idea behind the wellbeing offering is to feel like the best version of yourself, even if that just means great hair and a fabulous set of shiny red nails. In the words of Theron herself, ‘Now we can give you the best version of yourself in the spa too.

Nothing is too much for us.’ M Book treatments at claridges.co.uk. Katy Young is the Group Luxury Beauty Director of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Town & Country.

What to Book The Power of Three FaceGym sessions have been developed as 30-minute add-ons but feel like standalone treatments in their own right. Each uses the beauty house’s signature massage to lift and revive, but my vote goes to the Signature Sculpt for the way it noticeably restored my cheekbones and jawline.

La-Eva Body Treatments A good massage can bring a feeling of real weightlessness, both physically and emotionally. La Eva does that in spades with its mind-clearing menu of treatments created by former psychologist Louisa Canham, who blends touch, fragrance and music as top-to-toe therapy.

Body Detox & Sculpt Chosen for the way it showcases the spa’s ability to fuse high- and low-tech treatment. Essentially a results-based booking that firms up stubborn areas including the stomach and thighs, but also a reviving lymphatic body massage using ice globes. Expect to wake up feeling much, much lighter.

The French Dispatch

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Ancient ceremonies, restorative bodywork and the latest innovations: The Maybourne Riviera Spa is truly exquisite

WORDS: KATY YOUNG

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he French know a thing or two about beauty therapy. But imagine all that know-how combined with the style and glamour of the French Riviera. A spa par excellence, n’est ce pas? Absolument, for the new The Maybourne Riviera Spa is something really rather special, and no less spectacular than the hotel’s cliff-top setting atop the waters between Monte Carlo and Italy.

Architect André Fu has brought the drama of the outside in, building two floors of wellness from local limestone and organic oak to resemble the play between the sparkling sea and blue skies outside, while offering a nod to the area’s affinity with good health. You will even experience the colours of sunset on Fu’s rose-gold-and-peach terrazzo.

Treatments have been chosen to blend in. Among the restorative body work is The Flying Cloud treatment, where the movements emulate the ebb and flow of the Mediterranean, while the Sensory Immersion Massage feels as if you were bobbing along the seashore on a luxury lilo.

As you would expect from a French spa, once you have come back down to earth and attention turns to your skin, there are also the high-tech results-driven therapies. Menu choices from FaceGym, Augustinus Bader and Luca Bagnara are also offered.

Second only to good food, great skincare and even better body treatments are a rite of passage for our glamorous friends across the channel. ‘One is not born a woman, one becomes one,’ Simone de Beauvoir famously wrote. Was she referring to the kind of French beauty secrecy now available to book at The Maybourne Riviera Spa? Peut-être. M Book your treatments in advance at themaybourneriviera.com

What to Book The Post-Flight Treatment: Luca Bagnara Method A lymphatic drainage and remodelling session using wooden tools. The idea is to drain a weary body of any water retention that might slow things down.

It is also bespoke so that movement and pressure match your system.

The Super Facial: Augustinus Bader Superior Facial A facial with big ambition, this deeply hydrating treatment combines the cult cream (and all the classics in his range) with a fascia-releasing massage to revive tired-looking faces. You also receive the benefit of oxygen therapy for ‘glow’.

The DeStressor: The Flying Cloud As if the rhythmical arm and hand strokes weren’t enough, this treatment is performed on a warm water cushion. Deep breathing, pressure-point manipulation and essential oils will help you, and your muscles, let loose.

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Stella Skin

The pioneering fashion designer is turning her hand to beauty with a range of three essential and refillable clear-conscience beauty products. The cleaner, serum and cream have been developed to avoid over-stimulating the skin, instead prioritising longterm vitality over short-term results. stellamccartney.com

LIGHT WORK

Augustinus Bader skincare can be found on every beauty editor’s bathroom shelf (and in Claridge’s Spa). Stepping out this season is The Light Cream – a reworked formula of The Rich Cream that is ideal for oily skin types. augustinusbader.com

Beauty

NOTES From Ralph Lauren’s scent to Stella McCartney’s skincare, Billie Bhatia spotlights this season’s must-buys

L ov e

Pretty Palette For the first time ever, Chanel’s worlds of fashion and beauty collide by way of Les 4 Ombres Tweeds. The emblematic fabric, synonymous with Coco Chanel’s groundbreaking vision, is wrapped around the palette and embossed onto rust-, rose- and gold-themed eyeshadows. Très chic. chanel.com

Deep clean Pollutants and environmental aggressors can leave hair in need of a detox. Sisley’s Hair Rituel Gentle Purifying Shampoo is packed with active ingredients, restoring volume and buoyancy. sisley-paris.com

CLUB CLASS Ralph Lauren’s latest fragrance Ralph’s Club invites you to experience the greatest night of your life.

With top notes of mandarin oil, cardamom oil and base notes of vetiver and patchouli oil - the rich, woody scent heralds a decadent evening with adventure at every turn. ralphlauren.co.uk

City scent Maison Francis Kurkdjian (of Baccarat Rogue 540 fame) has a new

offering – 724. A concoction of washed sheets, rigid denim and something slightly metallic, this scent is New York at dawn – full of promise. franciskurkdjian.com

30 Years of Research Led to One Thing: Results Backed by three decades of research and innovation by a world-leading stem cell scientist and expert in regenerative medicine. Award-winning skincare to hydrate and soothe your skin while reducing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, redness and hyperpigmentation. Groundbreaking science for healthier skin.

@augustinusbader #augustinusbader augustinusbader.com

Afternoon Delight If you like afternoon tea with a side of magic, you’ll want to add this new offering from Cédric Grolet to your list. Grolet’s Goutea brings together the renowned pastry chef’s masterpieces with a cake stand piled high with his trompe-l’oeil creations. Served daily in The Berkeley Café, it boasts a menu that evolves according to the seasons. the-berkeley.co.uk

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The latest news and views from around Maybourne Group Hotels

Art and craftsmanship combine in this collaboration between Claridge’s and Japanese distillery Chichibu. Only 300 bottles of whisky have been made, with each one featuring a label created by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Available from Claridge’s Wine Cellar on 020 7409 6599

FOND FAREWELL Claridge’s famed doorman, Roman Probodziak, has retired. Probodziak has been greeting Claridge’s guests for over 40 years and will be sorely missed by all his friends and guests at the hotel.

Three cheers for Dmitri Magi, who has become Claridge’s first culinary director. Among other responsibilities, Magi will oversee The Foyer & Reading Room.

Also joining the hotel are Michelin-starred executive chef Richard Galli and executive pastry chef Thibault Hauchard – making up the ultimate dream team.

CAFE SOCIETY Breakfast in Mayfair has been a Claridge’s tradition for over 200 years. But sometimes outside events conspire so that you can’t afford to linger over a leisurely Full English. Now, Claridge’s ArtSpace has unveiled a new café, with its own entrance on Brooks Mews. There will be coffee, tea, sandwiches, cakes and signature crêpes. claridges.co.uk

WORDS: LUCIANA BELLINI & ANDY MORRIS. DANTE ARTWORK BY RILEY SHEEHEY.

Oui chef!

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NYC TO LA The Maybourne Beverly Hills is delighted to welcome ‘Dante Beverly Hills,’ the first permanent location outside of New York from the legendary Dante NYC, previous winner of The World’s Best Bar. This new restaurant and bar will take centre stage on the rooftop complete with stylish swimming pool and sun-dappled views of the Hollywood Hills.

Expect to see Dante’s greatest hits from their award-winning, aperitivo-focused cocktail menu alongside wood-fired Italian and bold Mediterranean menus, showcasing great local produce. We’re already California dreamin’ about their Negroni Bianco...

Opening spring 2023. Follow @themaybournebh for updates and further details

Sunshine on a Plate For the finest Californian fare nab a table at The Maybourne Café. The bright and airy space is home to some of the Golden State’s most popular dishes, from açai bowls and breakfast burritos to lunches of crab cobb salads and West Coast oysters. Wash it all down with a saintly green juice or a sinful Champagne cocktail as the great and the good filter past on their way to the lobby. maybournebeverlyhills.com

IN OUR ELEMENT Ancient civilisations were built on one belief: that everything in the universe comes from the five elements: earth, water, fire, air and space. This theory influenced the Greeks and provided the basis for Japanese philosophy. Those elements have inspired The Maybourne Bar’s new cocktail menu, where you can order light-as-air tipples, fiery concoctions or earthy draughts. maybournebeverlyhills.com

Instagram Stories Scroll through stunning sunsets, sumptuous breakfasts, arty afternoon teas, fantastic florals and cabaret queens

Follow @maybournehotelgroup on Instagram: @claridgeshotel, @theconnaught, @the_berkeley, @themaybournebh, @themaybourneriviera.

TRAVEL IN STYLE The coolest drive on the Riviera, two all-electric Menton-lemon buggies are now available all year round at The Maybourne Riviera. Perfect for short shuttle rides, they can be taken to beach clubs, golf clubs or local galleries. Our top tip is to use them to immerse yourself in nature: why not take a whisper-quiet journey to the Belle Epoque palaces - perhaps Le Jardin Maria Serena, Serre de la Madone or Fontana Rosa? maybourneriviera.com

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SAINT HÉLÈNE Fresh from her triumph at the AA Hospitality Awards, where her team took home ‘Best Service’, Hélène Darroze has unveiled her three-Michelin star Taste of Autumn menu. Start with ‘Kristal’ Kaviari and Amur River bluefin tuna, before sampling John Dory from Cornwall, A5 Wagyu beef from Japan, Corsican peaches and Mekonga chocolate from Vietnam. A spectacular showcase from one of the world’s best chefs. the-connaught.co.uk

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Huge congratulations to Agostino Perrone, Director of Mixology, mentor and mastermind behind the award-winning Connaught Bar, who received the Industry Icon Award 2022 at The World’s 50 Best Bars.

The committee praised Perrone’s commitment, work ethic and dedication to craft: ‘There are few who can match Perrone’s leadership skills: he is the personification of a man who leads from the front.’ the-connaught.co.uk

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL

AGOSTINO PERRONE BY FILIPE SERRALHEIRO

Culinary mastermind Jude Rozario recently joined The Connaught as the hotel’s new executive chef from The Berkeley. With over 15 years’ experience perfecting dishes in top hotels across the land, he’ll be a thoroughly welcome new addition. Welcome also to Oliver Durnford, sous-chef extraordinaire and the man most likely to be preparing your next rack of lamb or beef fillet at The Connaught Grill. the-connaught.co.uk

Art de la Table Following on from the runaway success of the Fife Arms in Braemar and Roth Bar & Grill in Somerset, Artfarm has just opened its first London project, The Audley, on the corner of Mount Street just a few steps from The Connaught.

Spearheaded by Iwan and Manuela Wirth – the husband-and-wife duo behind Hauser & Wirth – it’s a five-storey Victorian building that has been transformed into a lively ground floor pub. Upstairs is the elegant Mount St. Restaurant, where diners are surrounded by world-class contemporary art. theaudleypublichouse.com artfarm.com

THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL TABLECLOTHS

100 Portland Road, W11 4LQ

58 Elizabeth Street, SW1W 9PB

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Richard Brendon’s Star Cut Martini Glasses, Set of Two, £160

Claridge’s x Summerill & Bishop Linen Napkin, £25

Claridge’s Chevron Pencil Set, £12

Richard Brendon’s Star Cut Coupe Glasses, Set of Two, £150

Claridge’s Cocktail Shaker, £75

Claridge’sJade Pyjamas, £225

Claridge’s Gin, £85

Claridge’s Pear Chutney, £8

Claridge’s At Home

Claridge’s x CURIO Tumbler Sets, £190

From cocktails to tableware, bring Mayfair to you via shop.claridges.co.uk Claridge’s Champagne Truffles, £25

Claridge’s x Summerill & Bishop Linen Tablecloth, £355 Claridge’s x CURIO Blue Carafe, £240

Claridge’s Jade Deco Mugs, Set of Two, £50

Claridge’s Marmalade, £8

Claridge’s Savoury Drinks Biscuits, £6

Claridge’s Dark Chocolate Shortbread, £15 Claridge’s The Fumoir Negroni, £30

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David Downton draws

DITA VON TEESE

C

hanneling Hollywood’s mid-century goddesses and the leading ladies of burlesque, Dita Von Teese is the pin-up of our age. Over the years, we have had sittings in Beverly Hills, in Paris, in Monaco and in London (at Claridge’s, naturally, her favourite hotel) and I quickly learned that a successful portrait of her does not deviate from the meticulously crafted vision she has created of herself (Dita has never subscribed to the view that nature cannot be improved upon). So, as she celebrates her 50th birthday and embarks on a new US tour, let’s raise a glass to the hardest working glamour queen in the firmament. M

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