Cercle n10

A NEW EXPERIENCE BEYOND LUXURY

ISSUE N.10

Arts Travel Fashion Culture Inter iors Sports Leisure Economics

Mahsa Nejati

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shades of beauty

EDITOR’S LE T TER Mr. Rupert is not the first billionaire to warn of the consequences of the growing wealth gap. Billionaires Paul Tudor Jones,Warren Buffett, Jeff Greene and Stan Druckenmiller have all warned of a top-heavy economy where a small elite is reaping most of the income and wealth gains. I personally would like to see our magazine give you the best not only in product innovation and DNA of timeless beauty, but also to be a platform to think about the world we are now living in, including reasoned debate about how luxury for all its exclusivity can be a force for good.

We are in a New Age and we are moving with it to give you not only an insight to the best quality of design uniqueness, style and creativity, but with real awareness of the issues we are all facing. Cercle’s purpose is to arouse you not just to inform and provide an escape into self–­indulgence and investment.

It is with great pleasure we reach out to you with our highest integrity and purpose to provide you with a brand equity that few can afford and ask you to be the conscience of the world at hand in the area where robots are replacing workers, to realize the dangers and welcome instead the artisans and workers we choose to support.

Dear Cercle friends, Another year, another book, another party... Wait a minute. There is a world out there too. Recently there have been horrid, heart­breaking atrocities going on around the world – from the Russian plane crash above the Sinai Desert, to the hotel attack in Mali and then the Paris killings.

All of us have had our own private moments of complete shock and disbelief at the awful atrocities that took place in Paris. These frightening occurrences have truly shocked Europe forcing us to step outside our comfortable bubbles and look at the political unrest which is taking place around world.The Paris attacks were very close to home as, at Cercle, we have our close friends in Paris but also a wider net of acquaintances throughout the city.

From the guy who makes our crêpe and the waiter at our favourite bistro, to the person standing in front of us at our local bakery. All of these people we encounter as we go about our hectic lives, are essentially part of our extended family and therefore we care about them. Now after the atrocities that wounded the Parisian esprit, I feel the urge to go to my regular places, sit down and take stock.Who is where? Who won’t be coming in? Existential questions that matter.

These are the kinds of safety checks that can’t happen on social media or by simple message. They can only be witnessed in person. Paris is a city that is proud of its philosophical tradition. Now it is time to think and act. Now maybe the time is ripe to acknowledge our common humanity.

When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force as Einstein himself once remarked in his own campaign to halt bloodshed: LOVE. Or, more broadly, compassion, empathy and the recognition of others who are not us.

We at Cercle care that our choices and your choices rally to this socio– political re­align to the reality of our times. We cannot ignore that something so big is changing our world and is upon us. The need to evolve through this impact will be how do we encompass how we live, buy, vacation and enjoy our Lifestyle in light of this inequity. At the FT Summit Luxury conference in Monaco in June this year the message from Johan Rupert Richemont group chairman was clear “We can’t have the point 1 percent of the point 1 percent taking all the spoils it is unfair and it is not sustainable”.

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In this issue we are virtually taking you around the globe from the comfort of your home, allowing you to travel without going down to your nearest airport.We present an interview with President and CEO of jewellery and watchmaker Van Cleef & Arpels, Nicolas Bos, who talks with us about the importance of the Main’ D’Or. French speakers will notice the aptness of the term. In French the term for labour force is mains d’oeuvre. In a mark of respect to the skills required,Van Cleef & and Arpels have adjusted the term.

Their work is all about working in precious metals such as gold: D’Or There is another interview with the ravishing Lebanese designer, Nadine Beydoun, who talks about her work and life, opening the covered secrets of the jewellery industry. Equally, you can get a glimpse of the modelling life of the South African beauty, Caron Bernstein. Or maybe learn about padel tennis with Nalle Grinda.

On a lighter note we are reviewing the Watches and Wonders that took place in Hong Kong and previewing the legendary SIHH that returns to Geneva in January. Moreover, you can have another look at the highlights of London Frieze and get a greater understanding of art by reading the article written by the talented Andreea Belba.

In tune with the season of good will, we have also written about the Laureus Sport for Good Awards and covered the 2015 World Cup.We haven’t forgotten yacht lovers either; Irina Kazaradi has supplied us with evocative pictures of this year’s St Tropez Regetta and we asked Simon Piggott to give us his impressions of the Monaco Yacht Show.

Sending you all Love and Light. And I hope to share more amazing memories around the world with you. Happy New Year and a magical Christmas to all.

Gabriele Salvadori Founder & Editor-in-Chief

contents 12

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M Y V I SION OF L I F E | NICOL AS BOS

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M Y FAV O U R I T E S | M A H SA N E J AT I

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A R T E V E N T | LO U I S V U I T TO N F O N DAT I O N

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I N T E R I O R S | SNOW & SURF

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E C O N O M I C S | YA R O N H U B I N - P L I M M E R

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E S S A Y | LET TER TO A SAPI ENT N EI GH BO U R

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A R T F O C U S | B EL S TA A RTS & E V EN TS

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L E I S U R E | PA D E L T E N N I S

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T R E N D S P O T T E R | A N D R E I N AV R OZOV

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Y A C H T S | BOYS A N D T H EI R TOYS

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C A R S | I VA N C I N Q U E

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R E A L E S T A T E | CH RISTO PH E CH O O

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B E AU T Y | DR. LUIZA PETRE

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A R O U N D T H E W O R L D | WEIRD MEETS WONDERFUL

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W A T C H E S | G A B R I E L E S A LVA D O R I

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FA S H I O N | ANGELIKA BOLLIGER

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I N C O N V E R S A T I O N W I T H | CARON BERNSTEIN

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A R T | FRIEZE

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J E W E L L E RY | NADINE BEYDOUN – BARBEY

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S P O R T S | RU G BY

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T R AV E L | K S E N I A M E Z E N T S E VA

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PH I L A N T H ROP Y | IAIN CLARK

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The publisher declines any responsibility for manuscripts and photos sent directly.

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MY VISION OF LIFE

Nicolas Bos

– The Door to Imagination – “You know when you’re in a particular place and culture because of certain iconic landmarks.

Take France, for example, the love of fine wine, the splendour of Versailles, Chanel’s little black dress, the Belle Époque, the paintings of Auguste Renoir, the music of Debussy, Edith Piaf’s “je ne regrette rien” and so on.”

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here are three concepts that sum up the mood and spirit of our jewellery: ENCHANTMENT, ROMANCE AND THE CELEBRATION OF NATURE.

Of these, perhaps celebration of nature is the most important. If you think about it, jewels are the ultimate reduction of nature to its essence, that is why they are so beautiful and so rare. As the French art critic, Charles Blanc, wrote in his treatise Art in Ornament and Dress: “All the luminous, the coloured spectacles the world in all its immensity can offer us, nature has produced in miniature in precious stones.”

There are some jewellers who have quite an aggressive aesthetic brooches and necklaces that are crafted in the shape of reptiles and predators in the animal kingdom. I find these works magnificent, brilliant, but we prefer to concentrate on the pastoral and beautiful side of nature: babbling brooks and cascading waterfalls.

We create visions of paradise, images of butterflies and dragonflies (which in Asian cultures are symbols of good luck), carpets of flowers, clover leaves to bring luck, health and wealth.

The beauty of nature and its extraordinary distillation in precious stones is why I believe so much in another of our guiding principles, enchantment.

Great jewellery allows the imagination to wander in the realms of fantasy: the world needs to dream. It is this that inspires the sorcery of designers who create the magic of their art. For example, at the recent Tribeca Ball we went to huge lengths to create an enchanted forest. We had several models decked out in jewels lounging on the ground amongst royal blue cut-outs of unicorns and exotic ferns. It was both whimsical and fun.

I think the art that best conjures up enchantment is Ballet - something we have had a long standing connection with.The linkage between ballet and jewels is a wonderful one. Both take the viewer on a flight of imagination involving shape pattern and storytelling. For example, the way a dancer breaks out of the circle also resonates with asymmetrical or broken shapes when crafting chokers and bracelets.

Again, circles and lines of formation have a similar symmetry to those of scooped necklaces and tiaras.We’ve all seen drop earrings that recall the grace of human movement: classical poses are frequently inspirations for our love jewellery as well.

THE DOOR TO IMAGINATION I love to tell the story of how this association started. Staff in our NewYork Maison worried about a man who kept staring at their shop window display.

He stood for minutes at a time, only to return and stare into the window again. His clothes added to their concern, which appeared to be some kind of belted morning robe over striped pyjamas. Somewhat agitated, Claude Arpels decided to question the stranger. Proffering his hand, he declared, ‘I am Mr Arpel, the owner of the shop.’ The supposed tramp was none other than Georges Balanchine, director of the New York Ballet! He then told Claude that he was trying to sketch out in his mind a new abstract ballet called Jewels.

He hoped the brilliance of the intricate workmanship of the collection would inspire him for the visual spectacle of the dance sequences he was planning. He then added, wistfully, how the sparkle of the glittering white diamonds made him homesick for his native Russia. That was the start. He ended up creating three marvellous tableaux - all now part of the ballet canon- and each with a different score by either Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky featuring three stones – emeralds (Faure), rubies (Stravinsky) and diamonds (Tchaikovsky).

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“Psychologically and creatively, it’s very enriching in that you can draw many more people into the artistic process.”

This obviously set a precedent for our Maison. So we tend to time new collections with the launch of a new ballet - whether it be Jewels or another production from the traditional repertoire.

One of our more recent collaborations typifies this. I commissioned Benjamin Millepied to create a new abstract ballet along the lines of Jewels. As a polymath and someone who is culturally ambidextrous, Benjamin embodies the cultural stance and outlook we most admire.We wanted him to follow the same format as before, creating an abstract ballet that serenades three different stones through the combined efforts of dancers musicians and artists. The name says it all: Gems instead of Jewels.

The first movement is about the sensuality of rubies. Barber Kruger was co-opted. For the scenery she created a fantastic stage with red panels and large graphics stating STOP and GO. For the second part, showcasing diamonds, we chose the English conceptual artist, Liam Gillick. He has done something extremely interesting by playing with different systems of light. The name of the movement is called Hearts and Arrows; this refers to the methods used by gemmologists to assess the reflecting qualities of a diamond, and takes its name from the shapes that light creates within the stone. We premiered this at Art Basel in Miami last year.

The third part is being worked on as we speak and will debut in London. The stone in question is emeralds.

Above all of course, there is love and romance and jewels are their signifiers. Throughout time, precious stones have marked the passage of love and romance: diamonds for a wedding ring and various other gems to celebrate the anniversaries of a marriage or relationship.

So, as a jeweller you help seal relationships.

On June 24, 1953 John F. Kennedy proposed with one of our engagement rings to Jackie Bouvier. She accepted him but later asked us to redesign some of the ring to her requirements! We also designed the tiara for the wedding between Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

As a matter of fact, our very beginnings are based on a love story: the coming together of our two founders, Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef and we never forget this. We recently developed a social ‘app’ which begins with two birds holding an engagement ring. The fluttering butterfly guides you from one category to another.

So far I have talked about initiatives that in one way or another have a

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creative connection with what we do. I believe this form of engagement is immensely important for the reputation of luxury in general. It is obvious that not everyone can afford our bespoke creations or even our wedding jewellery. If luxury is to be accepted by the rest of society, we have to create or stand behind other initiatives too.

The history of couture jewellery is in a way the history of that particular culture; it should not be confined to a select few. One way to bridge this gap is to be a patron of the arts; another is to promote touring exhibitions.

Following the lead of Cartier, we have mounted several - most recently The High Art Of Jewellery and The Quest For Beauty. It’s also why I set so much store on our Savoir Faire school where anyone can learn about creating jewellery. This is immensely popular and believe this is a good way to communicate with future clients too.

You have to find new ways of promoting the hedonistic appeal of your

creative vision. In this way the internet has been revolutionary. It is a much more exuberant and madcap world: everyone piles in with their own opinions and we have to be prepared for that. Rather than creating a dictatorship of taste, we need a more meaningful dialogue.

Knowing that all eyes are upon you, don’t make statements that don’t stand up - everyone with a mobile or internet connection is a potential detective. In this way new media has radically democratised the space. Internet security guards cannot throw people out. Being po-faced or straight-laced is death; authenticity is 100 percent essential. So, don’t hint at having a patent if this would never be granted. Nor say it’s hand made if its mostly machined .

We now live in an era of dialogue, not soliloquy. Psychologically and creatively it is very enriching that we can draw more people into the artistic process. For example, we did a short film that we loaded up onto Facebook to complement the idea behind one of our watches. It was named after the planetary system, and on it you could see Mercury,Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It was an expensive watch, so we didn’t expect a large following.

To our amazement it went viral. This is a new journey - you have to go with it.

seventies we were already in Tokyo.Today we’re in all the great cities - Beijing, Shanghai, London, Dubai, Milan, Abu Dhabi. So we are truly international.

A final thought: I’ve always held the view that luxury is mainly about art not industry. Our whole appeal rests on the fact that we never lose sight of the importance of the decorative arts. This naturally brings me to the role of the artisan. In the final analysis, these are the people who determine our success - or not.All luxury companies stand or fall on the basis of the technicians; without them not a single piece of jewellery would see the light of day. What they do is quite phenomenal; it is no exaggeration to refer to their work as art. Jewellery is wearable sculpture and requires incredible skill and artisan vision to create abstract and figurative art in miniature. Our 250 piece design of The Seven Seas took three years to complete.To quote Charles Blanc once again: “How much art and science and what attention, what care is necessary to render the sunbeams which are imprisoned in a tiny polyhedron of pure carbon, brilliant and sparkling”.

As a creative director and CEO in the world of luxury, you are not proceeding along set paths. Innovation is what you are seeking to create, not standardisation. As a child I was fascinated when I first realised how the different métiers and arts influence each other.

That journey however is always guided by our heritage. When you’re an international house with a specific house a specific ethos and style, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you’re communicating and wherever you’re communicating it.

We have to be global for sure; but we also have to respect cultural traditions which vary from one place to another: luxury is perceived in very different ways according to the country’ traditions and outlook. So, with a few honourable exceptions, the best people to explain and take charge of the development of a boutique in any region are those who, from an early age have been brought up there; This has been a fairly natural evolution for us. Our founders were Dutch. They came to Paris in 1906. By 1929 they were in New York. In the

You are not creating a system, but an environment from which people can draw and be inspired. That is what I myself learnt while at the Cartier Fondation. The more interchange the better. Luxury is no exception to the rule that the more you cross reference, the more you are likely to turn up something new and interesting.

Think of the swirling decorative motifs you find in say architecture, garden design and Miessen chinoiserie. Jewellery can borrow from architecture and architecture from jewellery.

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MY FAVOURITES

Mahsa Nejati A glimpse into Mahsa Nejati’s world

My work keeps me extremely busy but it doesn’t cut across the type of person I am.

Creative director of photography: Anna Nicholas Hair & Make up: Heather Manson

Lighting director: Chris Browne

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“My life-history therefore means that I’m influenced by a number of different cultures and values.”

I

was born in the Azerbaijan region of Iran. I come from an academic family as my father was the director and rector of regional universities in the province and my mother was a lecturer. Because of this my parents placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of education.

WHY AND HOW DID YOU END UP IN THE MEDICAL FIELD?

After the Revolution of 1979 both my parents were laid off from their positions by the new government. Things got harder as the previous governments elite turned powerless overnight. This coincided with my sister starting university in Sweden and my father decided it was time for us all to go and the family moved to Sweden. A new era started

From a relatively young age, I was always interested in medical science.

I think the fact that my sister had just finished her studies to become a dental surgeon also influenced my thinking. I decided to pursue the same course of study. I started my studies at the Gothenburg university which is renowned for its dental and medical school in the very beautiful coastal town of Gothenburg.This turned out to be one of the life changing experiences as it was in the campus of this university I met the man who is now my husband.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF PERSIAN OR SWEDISH?

SO YOU WERE ALMOST HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS

When the family arrived in Sweden I was still just a baby. It’s the country where I grew up. I moved to England at the age of 23 and have now been living here in London for more than a decade. My life-history therefore means that I’m influenced by a number of different cultures and values.

I don’t think you could quite say that. We did start to date shortly after we met. But we had a pretty tempestuous time and after our studies went our separate ways. Ironically, we both moved to London without knowing anything of the other’s plans. However, there was always a part of me that had the feeling we could end up together and we have.

However Sweden always feels like home. I feel that I have grown with Swedish values. They are values I’m very proud of and it has shaped me to the person I am today. Having said that, I am conscious and proud of my Persian heritage. One day I would like to internationally promote the ever so fascinating art scene in Iran. There are so many interesting creations despite the restrictions.

I find it intriguing to experience life in different countries and see new things. However, sometimes I feel like I am living the life of a nomad, never able to completely lay down roots anywhere. It’s an issue that I quite often think about.

HOW DOES YOUR WORK EFFECT YOU IN YOUR DAILY LIFE? My work keeps me extremely busy but it doesn’t cut across the type of person I am. I still practice clinically part-time but my main role is now to run the business side of our clinics. We offer all aspects of oral care. I also have taken the plunge into property development – which is quite a departure from what I’ve done up to now. I’m still quite small time and I only concentrate on very central London properties. Almost unexpectedly I’m becoming a serial entrepreneur. In the New Year, my husband and I are also intending to launch a company dedicated to fashion.We’re in beta testing and research mode at the moment. So I’ve got plenty to do.

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HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR SOCIAL LIFE WITH SUCH A BUSY WORK SCHEDULE? I don’t think I always manage it. There are times when I realize that I need to work flat out on the business side of things. Yet at the same time, I am someone who loves to go out – whether it’s to restaurants or parties or whatever. One of the reasons, I like to get out and about is that I think it’s essential not to become hermetically sealed in your own small world. I get influenced and inspired every day by the places I visit and people I meet.

The Cinderella myth still holds sway in my imagination. It seems a piece of magic to be performing surgery one moment and then later that evening attending a charity gala. Although with me, fortunately, there’s not a process of reversal at midnight. Rather, I feel I could dance the whole night away!

“Goals are what gives us drive and momentum in life and I think they are one of the factors of happiness.”

Every woman I know struggles with this phenomenon of being several different people. And maybe men too. Like anyone I want to achieve a number of professional goals without neglecting the people who matter most to me. Sometimes life becomes too hectic and I realize it’s time to take a step back and recharge my batteries. You have to know when to shut the doors and recover your equilibrium.

Not everyone likes having the pressures that come from running your own business. But I do. It definitely has its stressful moments but at the same time it means you have the opportunity to set things up the way you like and to do things that you’re particularly passionate about.

The old adage that hard work pays off has been true in our case; and I hope that will continue. One thing I have learnt is that it is probably better to do one thing at the time rather than multi-task. I know some people disagree about this, but for me that has been important. I like to focus on one task at a time, get things finished and then move on.

I have also learnt that the people who work with you are very important indeed. They can make or lose you business. My husband apart from being my best friend is my business companion. That speaks volumes.

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“That process feels more individual, more personal. I don’t want to dress myself up head to toe in just one designer.”

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PAST TIMES?

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE LOCATIONS?

I think immaterial things should count more. Husband, family and friends come first. And you can’t easily enjoy these without health, so that’s ultra important as well. Having been to medical and dental school, I’m fairly well primed about diet and exercise. So I try to follow a reasonable regime and stay fit. But I’m not fanatical about this. That would be boring.You have to know when to let your hair down.

On the sporting side when I was a teenager I played football for many years at a regional level. It was very strenuous as we travelled all around Sweden to play different cities. It was pretty hard core at the time. On the other hand, it probably helped my physique a lot.

During summer we stay in Europe - dividing our time between the south of France, Amalfi coast and the isle of Capri. Capri is also where my husband proposed to me so it has very special memories for me.

I’m also involved in several charities. There are two in particular where I’m on the committee – a process that by default deepens my commitment.

For different reasons, each is very close to my heart. The first is Caudwell Children which supports ill and disabled children and their families. The second is After Breast Cancer. Its objective is to fund pioneering research into breast reconstruction post-mastectomy. It launched in September of this year.

There’s a lot of truth in the notion that people who work for charity get a lot out of doing so. I sit in a committee that is composed of passionate positive and energetic women who share the desire to make things happen.

To be around that type of positive energy is very inspiring.

More self-indulgently both my husband and I are inveterate travellers.

When you stay in one place it’s easy to become bogged down in trivia and the commonplace. Alternatively, monotony starts to take hold. I think travel helps you reconnect. It also gives you new perspectives and insights. Some of my most interesting conversations have been with complete or virtual strangers. I love that.

During winter we really enjoy skiing. Again we’re happiest in the European resorts dividing our time between the Swiss and the French Alps.

Courchevel is one of the resorts we like most. Also to break up the long dark winters, we try and travel to some warmer destinations half way through.

This might be somewhere such as the Maldives in Asia or St Barts in the Caribbean. One thing about travel is that it really seems to spark off new ideas. If I wanted to ensure that people were creative, I’d advise them to take a holiday. Or maybe I should pass the advice on to their bosses!

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FASHIONISTA? I love beauty and love being surrounded by beautiful things. I don’t consider myself a strict follower of fashion but wear what I personally consider beautiful. I like the fact that one can express oneself with clothing and create mood and atmosphere.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVOURITE BRAND? Well, in one way everything I have could be said to come under the category my favourite things. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen them.

However, more seriously, my sense of style has developed through mixing and matching. I like to play around with different ideas and items from different brands. That process feels more individual, more personal. I don’t want to dress myself up head to toe in just one designer.

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I’m also involved in several charities. There are two in particular where I’m on the committee – a process that by default deepens my commitment.

I’m also fascinated about how a collection is made. I think wearing couture is more special when you understand the designer, the history behind a piece and the source of inspiration. A good example of my taste for design is the work of Alexander McQueen. I love his imaginative approach. Every collection of his comes with a story. As soon as I step in to McQueen dresses I feel complete.

Another favourite is Chanel. It is quintessentially French and has such a rich history behind it. When I’m wearing something from the maison, it feels you are becoming part of this history. One of the best invitations I ever received was to be invited to see her apartment in Rue Cambon. The apartment is being kept just as she left it; full of items and articles that to this day provide inspiration to all the beautiful pieces and designs created by the company. It was an incredible experience and it really deepened my appreciation of what she was trying to do. Wearing Chanel brings out my feminine side.

I’m also a big fan of Dior – most especially during the era when the designs were more extravagant and maximalist. The Dior jacket and pencil skirts are perennial favourites. I’m also someone who loves applications and services that allow you to play around and shop comfortably, In this respect, I have found the personal shopping service at Selfridges a godsend.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FUTURE? I feel lucky to have the life I currently have. Goals are what gives us drive and momentum in life and I think they are one of the factors of happiness.

I set out short-term and long-term goals and make sure that the short term goals are achievable. Achieving is rewarding and brings a moment of happiness.

I think it’s important that each individual on this planet feels that they are leaving some good behind them. I would like to be remembered as a person who has been kind and willing to help others. I’d describe myself as spiritual rather than religious I believe that we are magnets. When we emit positive energy we attract more positives to us.

I have a saying which I hope is true. Everything that happens to you is the best thing that could happen to you and - sometimes - the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.

Of course I would like to see my business grow further. But more importantly than that: I want so remain surrounded by the people I love.

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ART E VENT

Bernard A rnault – Beyond Price –

By Annette Muller

Louis Vuitton Fondation

“This year we have seen the opening of the

Fondation Louis Vuitton, a magnificent space devoted to

Art and Performance in the Jardin d’Acclimation”

O

ne hesitates when attempting to describe the genius that is Bernard Arnault, one of France and the world’s ultimate taste-makers. His colossal empire is still a thriving, familyrun business; a fact that testifies to his loyalty, ambition and unfathomable business acumen as France’s leading authority in luxury. Few have piloted the global market more skilfully, something Arnault does with grace and ease.

Arnault’s ability to combine and appreciate the best of the old world and the new is something of great uniqueness. An accomplished classical pianist and serious collector of Contemporary Art, particularly work by Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, Bernard Arnault is a certainly a man of mystery, but a man who can navigate through both worlds nonetheless.

He is the son of a renowned construction entrepreneur, a man passionate about architecture and a graduate of one France’s ‘Grande Ecoles’: the Ecole Poly–technique. His wife, Helene Mercier, is a successful concert pianist.

What makes Arnault all the more mysterious is his lack of interest in the cult of celebrity and we see very rare media coverage on him. Despite his wealth, Arnault is also remarkably modest about his success, another endearing trait of his.

Apart from constantly refining his business interests, he sees his role as being an ambassador for French heritage and French culture’. True to this ambition and vision, he has thrown his weight and energy in the construction of a foundation and museum to rival the great institutions like the Guggenheim, the Frick and the Tate.

The result, The Louis Vuitton Fondation situated in the Jardin d’Acclimation, France’s oldest amusement park that hails back to the time of Napoleon lll and his wife Empress Eugenie, is an astonishing ode to architectural audacity.

Designed by the world famous architect, Frank Gehry, The Fondation’s foundation is a perfect reflection of the bold art that lies inside. It takes someone like Arnault, with his unusual combination of tenacity, taste and talent, for something as ambitious and original to be realized.

Gehry has stripped away any conventional façade. Instead, the interior space is revealed through a diaphanous sheath of huge glass panels, stacked one above the other, torqued and twisted as though they were the sails of a China Tea Clipper riding a north easterly trade wind. Speaking about it on its completion, Gehry said: “Our wish was to conceive a building that would evolve with the passing of the hours and with the changing light so as to create an impression of the ephemeral, and of continual change.”

The museum opened in 2014 with a series of music, dance, and poetry performances. Mr Hollande and many other key French and European authorities were invited. In the short time that The Fondation has been open, the exhibitions have created a stir not just in Paris but around the world. As a purpose-built space, it offers unparalleled opportunities to showcase art and performance in new and exciting ways.

The decision to commission Gehry as architect, and a fitting one at that, was also an opportunity to showcase Frank’s architectural oeuvre underlining his technical solutions with expressive imagination, that which has become the hallmark of his career. This runs until 2016.

Running concurrent with this was the first exhibition Hung 1. As Jean-Paul Claverie, Arnault’s advisor, once said in an interview: “The Sleeping Beauty has awakened. “One can only imagine the behind-the

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scenes-agonising that must have gone on in the run-up to the final short– list. The result was an eclectic selection that was both cosmopolitan and culturally refined. It included creations by Ellsworth Kelly, Olafur Eliasson, Sarah Morris, Adrián Villar Rojas, Bertrand Lavier, Taryn Simon, and many more.

A particularly popular choice was the dramatic ‘light’ pictures by Olafur Eliasson. Through the use of light columns, in which surfaces of yellow mosaics were seen alternating with panelled mirrors, the visitor was led into a shimmering, otherworldly dimension.

Within the Fondation’s luminous architecture, Jean-Louis Nomicos offers a natural cuisine, juicy, full of flavour, inspired by French tradition, but still including one or two dishes from other cuisines to ensure visitors are truly satisfied. The surrounding landscape will provide colours echoed in the dishes, which Nomicos creates. Beneath Frank Gehry’s fish swimming across the restaurant ceiling, Jean-Louis Nomicos invents cuisine, which changes according to local sourcing throughout the course of the day.

Attention this year has been devoted to an exhibition entitled The Keys to Passion, designed by Suzanne Pagé. The exhibition was arranged around a cluster of themes or rather ‘Sequences.’ The named concepts ranged from Expressionism: Life and Death; Nature which in turn took in abstraction and hedonism and finally, Modern Life.

The combination of public and private interest and investment which have allowed for the dream of the Louis Vuitton Fondation to become a reality, would be unusual anywhere. In France, which traditionally has a ‘top down’ policy with regard to cultural initiatives, the Fondation’s creation has been quite exceptional. The French National Assembly overrode all the usual planning restrictions and passed a special law allowing it’s construction describing it as ‘ a major work of art for the whole world’ and as such, allowing it to fall under ‘national interest’.

Wandering through the galleries gave you a sense of recent art history.

Masterpieces by all the greats: Matisse and Picasso, Monet and Malevich, Bacon, Rothko and Mondrian have all, this week, been displayed together for the very first time.

The result is a building that is undeniably just as remarkable as the works of art it contains, striking a balance between the two, which has previously never been so impressively achieved. ‘A world which sees art and engineering as divided is not seeing the world as a whole.’ – Professor Sir Edmund Happold.

The Fondation Louis Vuitton has invited Jean-Louis Nomicos to be responsible for its restaurant “Le Frank”. Jean-Louis Nomicos, a Michelin starred chef and proprietor of the restaurant “Les Tablettes” in Avenue Bugeaud, will undoubtedly tickle your taste buds.

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INTERIORS

Snow & Surf

By John Bevin When you hear the name Richard Wilkinson, a small bell may go off in some of your minds. You may be thinking The Spirit Level - a book about the need for economics to be more compassionate in its vision, in which he suggests that the mania for growth should not be at all costs. The author in question stems from the Midlands and has a huge following on TED. Richard Wilkinson of Wilkinson Bevin has some things in common with the travelling author - whose own fortunes have improved significantly on account of the promulgation of his ideas at learned conferences. They are both from the Midlands and yes, he is also keen on talking about spirit levels.

They have been involved in high-end residential projects in France, the Caribbean and the UK, and recently complicated the Le Coquelicot in Courchevel 1850. This particular building had to be fitted in five months.

This is a quarter of the time that they would normally expect. That’s a lot of banging, clanging and jackhammering.

As anyone involved on either the purchasing side, commissioning side or building side is aware – conversations of older chalets can at times be a hairraising business.

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The French planning laws are complicated in terms of the size and scope of the new-build, so there is quite a long planning process to establish the new ‘footprint’.

Once all the relevant permits and planning applications are obtained the most amazing period is probably when the project moves into the excavation phrase.

Even in a few years the technical aspects have changed beyond all imagining. Now the holes are often massive both in terms of depth and breadth. Digging down, they report, is becoming more and more adventurous – so that chalets and villas now have as a matter of course cinema rooms, gyms, spas, underground garages and, quote likely staff quarters as well Once two levels underneath the ground would have been seen as extraordinary. Now some projects envisage 4 levels below the earth into the hill. As Oliver Wainwright, said of the similar phenomenon taking place in London: “It is leading to a kind of iceberg architecture, a humble mansion on the surface just

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the visible peak of a gargantuan underworld, with subterranean possibilities only limited by the client’s imagination.”

Certainly, Courchevel 1850 has seen an explosion in these type of properties, he tells us. In fact according to both Knight Frank’s Prime Ski Property Index and Savills’ Alpine Property Market, France’s resort of Courchevel 1850 has become the most expensive resort for luxury property in all the Alps. Most credit the Russians for the initial hike who particularly love landing there by helicopter. And once they came the Michelin restaurants followed.

Not everyone however wishes to spend their winters on a ski-slope. As people try and divide their time between winter resorts and the Caribbean more evenly, firms such as Richard are finding that more and more previous clients are asking him to refurbish or do new build in the Caribbean as well.

This would seem to be the best of all possible worlds except for the fact that inevitably the development and work is likely to be done in the rainier season!

The aquamarine colours that these islands are famous for is often carried across into the design brief, as the accompanying pictures of a recent project on the “platinium” coast side of the Barbados show.

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ECONOMICS

Europe Needs Rehabilitation

By Yaron Hubin-Plimmer

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“Policies of free movement were integral to the development of economies...”

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n a move aimed at comforting the European population that there will never be conflict as devastating as the Second World War, government leaders, led by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman, aggressively favoured establishing a “community” where Europe’s coal and steel industries would be integrated, so making war between states “not only unthinkable but materially impossible”. With growing calls for a “United States of Europe” by politicians such as the conservative Winston Churchill, the idea of a United Europe mutated even further with the formation of organizations charged with the integration of the regions economy and the dissolving of state erected tariffs. In a move aimed at destroying national economic protectionism, the Treaty of Maastricht was signed in 1992 and the Euro was formally created: henceforth countries would have to adhere to strict conditions if they wanted to remain in Europe’s baby project.

Ironically, these conditions demanded that countries maintain “sound fiscal policies”, a debt limited to 60% of national GDP and an annual deficit no bigger than 3% of national GDP.The treaty paved the way for the creation of a supra-national organization, tasked with the development of Europe and the individual. In what can only be described as one of the great social experiments, supporters of the organizations, and those working to ensure its continuance, are oblivious to the fact that Europe has forced its population into an identity crisis in every aspect of our lives. The fact is that it is time

for Europe to admit defeat and surrender to rehabilitation, or face the very disasters it has aimed at avoiding since day one.

Although I argue Europe’s future looks bleak, it’s past does have its share of success stories. Post war, Europe urgently needed infrastructure reconstruction and faith in the future for a shellshocked populous in need of rejuvenation. Its policies have had a profound affect on the development of labor, business and the consumer market. European investment and cooperation established a single market ripe for international trading without having to worry about protectionist tariffs, so providing a framework for economic integration and development. The creation of the European Monetary System (EMS) allowed Europe to enjoy the luxury of price stability between the currencies of different member states.The central bank provided the newly founded union with a body responsible for the strict oversight of policy, policy that was seeing a surge of national economic development as cooperation boosted opportunity. Furthermore, prices went down and allowed and increased employment, so improving prospects for the average individual. Price and currency stability provided a sense of confidence for much needed investment within the community, and the breaking down of European monopolizes encouraged more competitive markets. Policies of free movement were integral to the development of economies, as immigration filled the urgent gaps in the labour force - a concept today seen as a problem.

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In 30 years, Europe’s simple founding principles brought Europe from a war devastated region to a level of economic sophistication and opportunity never seen before.

The problems the European Union face today are a result of relying on the policies of 30 years ago that are no longer fit for purpose given the fundamentally different problems of today. Rather than fixing the problem, the EU has applied bandages to the wounds in a hope that temporary solutions will last long enough; unfortunately this has just accelerated the need for reform. Despite the preconditions established in the Treaty of Maastricht, the EU has embarked on social programmes that have strained national budgets and left little room for national economies to deal with rising debt.

Ironically, Europe’s leftist approach to social and economic development has seen the need today to adopt strict austerity, something that has worked in favour of rising “extremist” political factions drawing on peoples’ frustration.

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This certainly has not helped contain the gradual continental discontent with Brussels’ democratic deficit, elitist governing and erosion of national identity.

Attitudes to immigration and political correctness have exacerbated Europe’s identity crisis. This is especially true given the migrant crisis currently unfolding in Europe.

There has been rising frustration and protest across Europe aimed at governments for accepting responsibility for large numbers of refugees, subsequently confined in makeshift accommodation pending a decision on their future. In addition to social and economic problems lying at the core of citizens’ dissatisfaction with the Euro, the erosion of national sovereignty in matters governing immigration and economic policy has inspired fury across the political spectrum and across generations. Lavish European budgets and benefits have not served well the interests of those bearing the brunt

The world we live in today requires that nations co-operate with each other but it does not require that we erode what makes

Europe so special, diversity.

of austerity. With leaders like David Cameron seeking reform, his efforts have proved that the EU is no longer just an institution, but has become a vital organ in today’s political anatomy. Decades of socialist agendas have developed an ‘entitled’ European society, afraid to distance itself from political correctness, too much in awe of its history to do what needs to be done. Europe’s survival depends on a dedication to its original mission statement: the integration of the region’s economy through fiscal responsibility and the elimination of national protectionism.

Power must be decentralized and handed back to national governments so that democracy can once again dictate policy and rejuvenate national identity rather than being jeopardized by European ‘mobbing’. Economic policy must be developed to meet the requirements for creating vibrant national economies, and not be based on regional objectives. Europe’s welfare policies must be replaced with a realistic attitude - one that enhances individual productivity and significantly reduces long term unemployment.

Most importantly, Europe’s reform must focus on empowering the individual, rather than trying to provide for everyone, and so contributing to the lowering of the average standard of living and the destruction of a proper

work ethic. Europe should continue to ensure that national economies are fiscally responsible, and it should operate an investment fund directed towards national development. Policies that affect the ordinary person must be returned to the jurisdiction of national governments. Wherever countries exit the European Union, currency depreciation would ensure that the value of their economies would be halved. To advance, Europe needs to reform: Europe needs a modern Renaissance.

The world we live in today requires that nations co-operate with each other but it does not require that we erode what makes Europe so special, diversity. In the words of Nick Clegg, former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the UK “If the Euro zone doesn’t come up with a comprehensive vision of its own future, you’ll have a whole range of nationalist, xenophobic and extreme movements increasing across the European Union. And, frankly, questions about the British debate on EU membership will just be a small sideshow compared to the rise of political populism.” Its time we return to empowering democracy, modernizing our countries and working together in reforming an out dated institution still controlling our national policies, otherwise extremism will flourish and Europe will have failed to learn from its past.

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ESSAY

Letter to a Sapient Neighbour Anton Chekhov (1880)

Translated by Nikolai Navrozov

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Allcakes, nr. Eaten Egregious Neighbour, Max… muchas regretas, but your full name escapes me just now. Forgive and forswear this unrequited old goat and fastidious soul for troubling you with my pathetic epistolary prattle, but a twelve month has lapsed since you condescended to settle yourself in these selfsame parts, approximately to my own humble residence, and still I have not met you, nor have you met the pitiful insect that is myself. So allow me, my vaunted neighbour, to make your acquaintance by the faculty of these geriatric hieroglyphs, to shake mentally your sapient hand, and to congratulate you upon your arrival from our nation’s capital to this unworthy mainland, broadly populated by peasants and village folk, that is to say, by the plebeian element.

I have long sought acquaintance with you, nay, I craved it, for science is in some sense our mutual alma mater, same as civilisation, and therefore I heartily respect those gents whose famous name and rank – toppled as these are by haloes of popular acclaim, along with laurels, decorations, ribbons, certificates, and other cymbals –veritably fulminate through the terrestrial and ethereal universe of our sublunary world. I fervently love astronomers, poets, meta-physicians, academics, chemists, and other vicars of science, amongst whom you number yourself through your clever facts and branches of learning, which is to say their fruit and produce. I have heard it mentioned, mudatis mutantis, that you have published many books during your cerebral sitting around with trumpets, thermometers, and imported incunabula containing salacious drawings. Not long ago my humble latifundium, my lares and penants, were visited by a neighbour who, with a fanaticism indigenous to him, denounced and persevered your thoughts and ideas concerning the origin of human man and other such phenomenons of the visible. He rebelled and spluttered against your intellectual sphere and ratiocinational horizon,

studded though it may be with luminaries and aerolites.

I disagree with him regarding your mental ideas, seeing that I live and breathe the science that Providence bestowed upon mankind with the aim of retracting from the depths of the visible and invisible world the precious metals, metalloids and brilliants, and yet forgive me, a barely microscopal midge, if, with an old man’s forthrightness, I peradventure to refute some of your conceptions on the origin of nature. My neighbour informs me that you have composed a composition in which it pleases you to insinuate some very insubstantial notions about people, their aboriginal state and antediluvian existence. Thus it pleases you to insinuate that human man has come from the monkey tribes of orange and other utans. Again, forgive me, but I cannot agree with this important point and can even stick some commas into it. For if human man, master of the universe and the most intelligent of known respiratory beings, had come from a stupid and ignorant ape, he would have a tail and a piercing voice. If we had come from apes, we would now be led around on a leash by gypsies, so that we would be paying money to see one another, dancing on a gypsy’s orders or else sitting behind bars in the zoo. Are we covered in gristle? Do we not wear vestments of which apes are priven? Could we ever love, instead of despise, the woman we see every Tuesday at the Noble Assembly in the event she even slightly smelled like an ape? If our forefathers had come from apes, they would not get buried in a Christian cemetery; my great-grandfather Ambrose, for instance, who lived in them glory days in the Kingdom of Poland, was buried not as an ape, but next to the Catholic abut Joachim, whose notes on the effects of a temperate climate and the immoderate consumption of alcoholic beverages are to this day preserved in my brother’s archives. “Abut” means “priest” in Catholic. Forgive me, an ignoramus, for sticking my nose into your learned affairs and for reckoning this in an old man’s way, imposing on you my fanciful and somewhat preposterous notions, which

cultured and civilised persons are far more likely to keep in their stomachs than in their heads. But I cannot keep quiet as I do not tolerate men of science reasoning erroneously in their brains, and so perchance I must contradict you.

My neighbour informs me that you reason incorrectly about the moon, that is, about the crescent that substitutes for the Sun in times of darkness and gloom, when people are sleeping while you conduct electricity and fantasize. Don’t laugh at an old man for writing so foolishly. You argue that on the moon, which is to say on the crescent, there live and dwell people and tribes.

This, however, can never be the case, since people living on the moon would be blocking its magical and fairy glow from us with their houses and verdant pastures.

Moreover, people cannot live without rain, and this comes down earthward instead of flying up moonward. People living on the moon would keep falling down, which is not known to happen, and all kinds of rubbish and swill would be pouring down on us from a populated moon.

How can anybody live on the moon if it’s only there at night, disappearing during the day?

Besides, no government would allow anyone to have a residence there, on account of the long distance which would make it all too easy to evade taxes and other duties. Looks like you’ve got it a bit wrong, doesn’t it? My neighbour tells me you have composed and printed in your clever book that our greatest plenary, which is the Sun, has some black spots upon it. Now, that cannot be so because it can never be so. How can you have

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spied spots upon the Sun if it cannot be looked at with ordinary human eyes, and why should they be there if we can just as easily do without them? Of which wet substance can they be made, so they don’t burn to a crisp? Maybe you think fish live there too? But forgive this lame jokester his moratory, it’s just that I’m beholden to science. Lucre, this billowing sail of the age, holds no value for me, as science has obscured it in my eyes with her furthermost wingspan. Any new discovery, in point of fact, goads me like a nail in the backside. Though I be an ignoramus and an olde worlde figurehead, still, I occupy me with science and discovery, filling my pusillanimous brain with bespoke and brilliant notions. For Mother Nature is naught but a book that must be seen to be heard. I have made many discoveries, such as no reformer ever invented, with my own hands. I need not give myself airs when I tell you that I’m a man of no mean education, which I’ve earned with blisters on those them hands, not with the wealth of fathers, mothers, or guardians who spoil their charges with riches, luxuries and six-storey abodes equipped with willing domestics and electric joints. Here’s what my pennywise brain discovered. It has discovered, for instance, that early one morning out of every year our great radiant solipse lights up with a twinkly brilliance and produces most entertaining colours. Or here’s another discovery. Why is it that days are short in the winter months and long in summertime? The answer is that, like all other visible and indivisible objects, they must need shrink from the cold when the sun goes down, even as the nights are duly expanded by the warmth of street lamps and other illuminators that heat them. I’ve also discovered that, come summer, a dog will start eating grass just like a sheep, and that coffee is bad for fully blooded individuals, causing vertigo in the head, dizziness in the eyes and associated suchlike. I’ve made quite a number

of discoveries, with no thought to attestates and patents of any kind. In fact, why don’t you visit me? We’ll discover something together, you and I, maybe dedicate ourselves to literature, and you can teach the lowly exemplar that I am about scientific calculation and method.

I recently read in a French book that a lion’s face is not at all like a human visage, as men of science would lead us to believe. We can speak about that too. Do come and visit. Call on me tomorrow, if you like. We are now in Lent, but for you we can prepare something other than Lenten food, and also my daughter Natasha has asked that you bring along some clever books. She is the liberated one in the house, you know, everybody’s a fool except her, that sort of thing.Young people are all getting this way nowadays, God help them. Also, next week my brother will be here. He’s a good man, really, but strictly speaking between us, something of a renegade that doesn’t appreciate science.

This letter should be brought to you by my pantry man Trofim precisely at eight o’clock this evening. If you don’t receive it at eight sharp, do me a favour, give him a good smack on the cheek the academic way. No sense pussyfooting about with these kinds. If he’s late it means the villain’s been to the pub. The custom of calling on neighbours wasn’t invented by us and won’t end with us, so please come, and do bring along all your books and devices. I would gladly pay a call on you myself, but I feel a bit timid and lacking in courage. Again, excuse me for fastidious writing.

I remain, respectfully, a nobleman and a sergeant in retirement, your neighbour, Basil Semi-particular, Esq.

“For Mother Nature is naught but a book that must be seen to be heard. I have made many discoveries, such as no reformer ever invented, with my own hands.”

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PERSONALIT Y

Four Seasons Hotel Milano

“Milano has changed tremendously since I grew up here. Now it’s the pulse of Italy. Everyday I see a new side of the city”

Mauro Governato

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oubtless, he is not the first hotel professional at the top of the management ladder to say something like that. But in Governato’s case it had been a long-held dream. Few people realize their dreams. He has. Born and raised in Italy’s “Design Capital,” Governato was always captivated by the attractions posed by the Four Seasons in his hometown. He served his apprenticeship with the group spending seven years with them before switching to another international hotel group in early 2014.

When the plum position in Milano opened up later in the year, it was important to find someone with Four Seasons experience, who had an understanding and appreciation of the company’s values. Equally important, was that they had the same extensive experience in the hotel business and travel as the guests themselves.. “I was an outsider at the time, managing a five-star hotel in Rome,” recalls Governato. “Suddenly I found myself in the running.” What was it about his talent that appealed to the hotel owners in Milano? Governato is naturally modest. But he’s willing to venture one suggestion: “I have always had a concept of running a hotel as if it was my own. I always ask myself: If this were my hotel, would I spend money to do certain things? Would I behave this way to staff?

Would I hire someone new, or could I develop someone from the inside whose heart in the right place into a fantastic leader?”

Governato’s mission in Milano is to assure that the hotel stays at the top of its field in an increasingly crowded field. Crucial to that, he says, is differentiating the hotel from the competition through elements of service, always improving the physical layout and amenities so as to keep the guest experience as upto-date and fresh as possible.

One recent example has been to use the hotel’s scented and very beautiful garden as an event venue. He’s also found new ways to enhance the banquet service and catering. One unusual manifestation of this was to create a richer brunch experience by hiring musicians or sometimes even, magicians; and on and on.

Governato’s Four Seasons career began as Resort Manager in the south of France. After promotion to GM, he led the George V in Paris and then was offered the opportunity to head the company’s Lisbon address. He looks back

on his time in Portugal fondly – “the potential of the city was tremendous, and I’m very proud of the energy we were able to infuse around the hotel” – but he only stayed a year in the capital city, as personal issues required his return to Italy and employment in Rome. “I enjoyed Rome and the hotel I was managing as well, but in the end the attraction to Milan and my dream was too strong,” he says, wistfully. “At this point in my career, there is no other property I would lead in the world except this one.” Italian, multilingual, and by his own admission a bit of a dreamer, Governato was a good fit for the hotel industry. Growing up in Milan, he always wanted to be a world traveller, though he had no idea how he was going to do it and survive. Then a friend encouraged him to try his hand at a restaurant, and it clicked that hospitality

“This is one of my dreams come true...” held the possibility of meeting people who might change his life. “I’ve always seen work that way,” he says.

Governato is particularly keen on guest experience. He says he can tell by body language the state that guests are in when they arrive, and he feels strongly about anticipating their needs – even if it means asking them point black what might work to ameliorate whatever issues they have. “Being Italian, I believe in direct action and candour.”

He also believes in boosting the talent of the next generation of hoteliers.

While in Lisbon and again in Rome, Governato was asked to share his experiences and expertise with students at local universities “to give them insider knowledge of hotels and leave them with some examples of the business that can change their lives.”

He notes, in particular, the lessons he has passed along to architecture students. “Most of the time, architects consider aesthetics and how hotels look to guests. But luxury service should happen without guests knowing where it comes from,” he says. That’s a lesson that’ll work well anywhere in the world.

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ART FOCUS

By Cosmina Stan & Andreea Belba How did you come up with the idea of setting up this company?

The art world is a very exciting place to be right now. There is a proliferation of new galleries, cultures and artists not just in London but right the way around the world. One of the new trends that I particularly like, for instance, is what could be called pop up galleries and museums.

The exciting aspect is that whereas these often would be in designated buildings they are now popping up in unconventional spaces such as restaurants, cafes, hotels and night clubs. These type of places attract new audiences and generate a very different buzz.

That’s how we came up with our first art show hosted by a high end Japanese restaurant in Belgravia.

We showcased the work of one emerging artist from East Europe who was exhibiting here

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for the first time. The show was an enormous success in its own right and as a result we were approached by other artists.

What does your company do? How would you describe your brand?

Belsta Art and Events focuses on Art Consultancy, Events Management and PR. We look at everybody on a case-by-case basis – because art is very personalized. So we determine where they are in their career and what their current interests and objectives are. As a result of this approach, our network of clients is growing around the world. Art after all is both global and local. Our inventory and directory of locations, alongside our desire to turn an event into a party is what gives us a very distinctive identity.

Who do target at? Who is your clientele?

Belsta has a portfolio of over 2,000 clients and collectors and we have a large black address book to fall back upon when it comes to arranging private art views, organizing exhibitions and performances, creating custom made events and management, and branding. Effectively we cover all aspects of art consultancy.

Which locations do you use for your art shows?

Belsta carefully chooses glamorous and breath-taking locations around the world such as high-end hotels, art galleries, private member clubs, restaurants, maisons, loft apartments and penthouses. We look for the unusual and unique and, of course, places that have a very refined and upmarket feel. We’d say we are trying to stage and build an atmosphere of drama and theatrics that excites people.

What challenges have you had to overcome?

We are effectively at the intersection between the artist and potential buyers. There’s always a journey from the time when we first agree to work with the artist and the mounting of a show. We often have heart-stopping moments in the leadup to a show. The most likely are problems with logistics, something maybe not arriving when you think it will and even an artist working towards a deadline. Most businesses are a mixture of dealing with personalities, logistics and suppliers. Event management is no exception. We think the more you do something, the less temporary problems throw you. We simply get on and sort them out.

Also, if you are showcasing art, you have to make sure that the surroundings do justice to that particular artist.

Don’t you need a gallery to show art?

Not always. Galleries are great venues for art to be experienced – whether by the public, buyer or collector. Spaces and lighting are often optimized for such viewing experience.

However, that is how most art is “now consumed” and for some it is starting to seem rather déjà vu. Our locations and experiencebased events are in unique places – exclusive restaurants, bars, private entertainment spaces, or third party galleries. We create events that showcase how art and audience will interact. It’s very different from what can be often a sterile and artificial experience in galleries…

Does it work?

Yes, events often trigger emotions and this encourages impulsive buying. One has to fall in

How important at the start of a career or to you is the public reception of someone’s work?

Are you reactive or proactive in building up the image of an artist?

The public is indispensable to anyone, no matter if people relate or not to particular works of art. The public filters through their own emotions and experiences whenever an event or artist is showcased. I know that we have a responsibility in shaping this perception – depending on how we style the event. So it’s an aspect that I take very seriously indeed.

What is Belsta planning to focus on in the next decade or so?

On the artistic side, we are planning to expand our art-related activity in Asia. We also are setting up an artist incubator to help launch new artists by

“The art world is a very exciting place to be right now. There is a proliferation of new galleries, cultures and artists not just in London but right the way around the world.”

Well, most of us have lately noticed that art and charity go hand in hand. Has this been your experience?

love with art. Of course, pedigree and quality matter, but our buyers and collectors take that for granted from our actions and events.

Belsta gives a percentage of our profits to charities for HIV/ AIDS orphans and cancer support organizations. Also, some of our collectors donate part of their proceeds to a good cause.

Such sales are often conducted by auctions.We are hosting such an auction in December at 12 Hay Hill, a new member’s club in Mayfair.

Have you got a formula to keep in touch with art at any moment?

London has arguably become the most important market for contemporary art. How does Belsta add value for non-UK artists who want to access buyers and London based collectors?

Belsta is ideally placed to introduce artists to the London market. Our expertise is basically to make collectors and buyers aware of emerging or unknown artists. An artist who is unknown today can be a great investment - especially if you love their work. We create bespoke and highly tailored events designed to match collector to artist.

providing them with a studio. This is important. It means they can concentrate on their work rather than worrying about economics and money.. On the managerial event side, we intend to target more corporate events. We’re now working with people in the oil & gas industry as well as in the tech and banking fields.

Well, even though Belsta is a London-based company, we do not confine ourselves to the UK. Not at all… We also make sure that we attend the most important art fairs and any other artrelated events around the world. It’s a great way to discover new and vibrant collaborations.

Which places are your favourite and which ones would you choose for successful events?

We think that any place can be a success provided you have the right organization and PR. This upcoming year, we are planning to organize a few international auctions and charity events in known and unknown locations like Monaco, Geneva, Rome, New York, Miami, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Baku and Lagos.

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LEISURE

PADEL TENNIS THE GAME OF THE JETSET

By Nalle Grinda “A very influential and wealthy set of people living in South America are credited with its creation.”

A

very influential and wealthy set of people living in Mexico are credited with its creation.

These people tended to winter in Acapulco and then return to Spain in the summer months. My own association begun early because my parents belonged to the set who holidayed there including Tony Murray.

Tony had (indeed still has) a house in Acapulco.

It’s one of the places rather like St Barts where jetsetters go to celebrate New Year. A whole bunch of families, who knew each other really well, had their house on the same hill of Las Brisas and we used to move from one house to another at will. I was 6 , my sister was 4. All these houses had good tennis courts.

Padel started off almost accidentally. What my father and his children stumbled into was the end phase of the home-grown version in which friends playing with friends, were flinging themselves around the court ( sometimes injuring themselves) and over time agreeing amongst themselves what worked and did not. It was built around friendly rivalry with different families egging each other on.

With regard to the codification of the game,

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people normally single out Enrique Corcuera, from Mexico for the honour. The reason for this is that it’s he who first modified a court, 20 by 10 meters in size, by adding walls and a chicken wire of up to 4 meters in height on all four sides.

So picture the scene. The people lolling about and having fun were all fiercely competitive and liked to play sport, including tennis and other racquet sports. My father, for instance, Jean-Noël Grinda represented France internationally, at both the Davis Cup and Wimbledon. He had a booming serve and a killer backhand.

However, some of their number, were beginning to feel their age. In particular there was a larger-than-life industrialist who was moving out of his 60s into his 70s. He was charismatic and had an eye not just for balls and tennis but women too. At the time, we’re talking about he was probably on his third wife, maybe his fourth!!

His dilemma was simple: despite his tennis skills, he was beginning to find playing tennis with his younger wife and friends something of an ordeal. His energy was flagging and his frustration was growing.

What to do?

Being a practical man he began to break down the problem into manageable proportions. First he decided that maybe it was all right to hit the ball on a second bounce. Next, when the two of them were hitting the ball about he suggested that they could incorporate the wall as one of the surfaces of play. Then, there was the question of the court size. Clearly, if the court was just that little shorter, then the area around which he needed to hurtle would be reduced.

Naturally the neighbours got to hear about this ‘new game’. They came down to watch, had a go themselves. Suddenly, they were no longer quite so dismissive. They went home to experiment themselves; adding one element, subtracting another.

And that’s more or less how so the game took shape. Initially, it was all a bit anarchic and fun.

But there was always a common core: namely the wooden padel raquet, walls of some description that allowed for a new form of quasi-tennis to develop and a smaller court.

the game than anything so far. In my own way, I’ve probably helped to perpetuate the image of it being “ a royal” game because of my friendship with Prince Albert of Monaco. It’s quite a nice story so I’ll tell you. What you see is that because of security, life isn’t always as simple as it might appear.

A few years back, he invited me to his private house in Rocagel, on top of Monaco. It’s a lovely place but somewhat to my dismay I saw a rather forlorn and abandoned tennis court. I’d say in this regard he’s no exception to most of us. When families grow up and disband, tennis courts often fall into disuse.

Anyway, I started teasing him, saying something along the lines: “How often do you play tennis?

His reply was exactly what you’d expect, after all the evidence was staring me in the face: “You can see not that often!”

THE NASCENT GAME It might have stayed like that but for one vital ingredient. All of the people concerned were international jet-setters. Because of this, several of the wealthy Spanish-speaking elite exported some form of it back into their own countries. In this way the nascent game attracted a strong following in countries such as Argentine and Spain.

The most significant friendship in this regard was that between Enrique Corcuera and Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe.The two men knew each other well because Alfonso had the Volkswagen connection in Mexico.

Key to understanding what happened next are two things. For all his German name, Alfonso was half-Spanish. His mother was the Marquesa de Belvis de las Navas, and his godfather was King Alfonso XIII of Spain. But, most important of all, he was the man who had transformed Marbella into Spain’s St Tropez.

Prince Hohenlohe liked what he saw so much that he built courts in Marbella, on the Costa del Sol, when he returned to Spain. This, in turn, attracted interest from Manuel Santana, one of Spain’s most successful sportsmen. Now the hybrid game had a winner of Four Grand Slam titles championing it as well.

Around the same time, another friend of Alfonso de Hohenlohe, the millionaire Argentinian Julio Menditegui, a regular visitor to Marbella,

decided to take the game to Argentina, where within a few years it enjoyed an unprecedented surge of popularity. It actually became the second most practiced sport in the country-after soccer ROYAL ASSENT But in terms of social cachet, it was the involvement of King Juan Carlos who put the game on the map. For, just as he and the family always turned up to ski in Baqueira, so in summer they always visited Marbella.

Anyway, the story goes like this Juan Carlos said he was tired of only being able to play this game in the summer for two weeks. And then the obvious thought came to him - “I’m King so I can alter the situation – can’t I?” And, of course, he could. In Spanish the world ‘real’ means ‘royal’. So all the tennis and sports club across Spain that had royal patronage were instructed to build padel tennis courts. The status of the game virtually changed overnight.

But he didn’t stop there. As many Spaniards know, despite the recent scandals, King Juan Carlos had an inbuilt understanding of the power of dramatic gestures. His approach to paddle was no different. He agreed to play an exhibition match with the then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar which was aired in peak time.

You can imagine this did more for publicizing

So being the evangelist that I am, my enthusiasm starts running ahead of both of us. I say if you don’t mind come and play at my place in Gairaut, North of Nice not being royal, I haven’t really realized what this means. Wherever he goes, the location and the people who will be mingling around have to be vetted. Basically, we’re talking around 10 security men and lots of telephoning ahead of time with people giving me estimated time of arrival and all the paraphernalia that is part of being Prince Albert in this day and age. So I’m left wondering what I let myself in for. What if he didn’t even like the game after all this effort.

Fortunately, I needed have worried. He comes he loves it. Absolutely loves it. He loves it so much that in a short number of months he comes between 10 and 15 times. Each time it’s the same massive security alert. Until finally, he the light dawns. He says to me. “You’re my friend. Do it whatever it costs. Build me a padel court.” And that’s exactly what I did.

In fact that was the start really for me of my new career as a project manager in premium estate.

He liked what we did for him so he expanded the commission. Before I knew what was happening, we were developing the whole ching-bang. By the end, we had created a spa, a small house and a Jacuzzi. And because he’s so keen on sport we also put in a small soccer field and a basket ball pitch.

And it didn’t stop there. Because of Prince Albert’s set of friends, suddenly everyone’s heard of padel and many of the famous people whom he socializes are as excited as him. To me that’s when the phenomenon of padel really started to have traction. Tony Murray has a terrific court in St Tropez. Bono is now playing in Los Angeles and Lionel Ritchie also has a court.

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MY ROMANCE WITH THE GAME. In 2001, I left UCLA where I graduated after playing 4 years as number 1 on the Tennis team. I returned to France. By this stage, I was becoming bored of tennis - a situation partially fueled by having suffered a bad shoulder injury that refused to heal.

Quite by chance, I saw an advertisement in Nice where our family originates from. It was promoting an exhibition of padel with all the world champions.

The match was to be played in Nice. I decided to go and see it with my father not expecting that much, but curious all the same to see the evolution of the sport I discovered 20 years earlier.

So if you’re smart you start formulating tactics that takes all this into account. I say to anyone just beginning “The walls are your friends”. Ones that are smart listen to me. Other ones who don’t want to listen, they just plateau and are left playing tennis on a padel court!

tend to peak at 35. The best guys have been playing since they were 5 and train 4 hours a dayeveryday.

I believe I reached my potential given my late discovery of the game.

To be professional, you have to lose your preconceptions. And for me, the decoupling worked brilliantly Just a few months later, I was selected to play for France in the World Championships which, rather fittingly, were being held in Mexico.

The trickle down effect may not always work in economics but it definitely has worked with padel -especially in the Spanish world. The wider public are taking their cue from the people who first start to play it – namely the jetsetters.

In Argentina, for example it boomed in the 1980s - becoming the second most played sport in the country after soccer, attracting more than a million recreational players. It fell off a little but is now back in vogue.

In Spain, around 2.5 million people play it. There are around 13,000 courts and last year 900,000 padel racquets were sold. The figures speak for themselves.

I realized as soon as immediately the play started how much the game had evolved since the days of my childhood. It had grown up.

Now the walls were no longer concrete; instead they were made of glass. The court had structure, a specific size and walls.The rules were set. I was excited. I borrowed a racquet and was instantly hooked.

I then began to investigate more seriously what the possibilities and opportunities in this burgeoning sport – were. Someone said there was a French National Team and I more or less threw myself at them. Initially, I got by with my tennis skills but after a while I reached a plateau.Then I really had to knuckle under and start to train.

Strategically there’s quite a psychology to it. In tennis players are programmed to play the ball in front of them. If the ball passes you at this stage you’ve lost the point. Simple physics. So to become a good padel player you actually have to deconstruct your tennis persona and start all over again. Conversely, in padel, the wall behind you becomes your friend.

The ball can whizz past you and then hit as many as two walls before coming back to you.

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THE PROFESSIONALISATION OF THE GAME Padel is changing and getting better almost every month. It remains a game in the making. Today, the most important circuit in the sport of padel tennis is the World Padel Tour. The tournaments began in Spain but has quickly spread all over the globe.

In 2014, the World Padel Tour visited Argentina, Monaco and Dubai.

Personally I retired from the pro tour in 2010, and now concentrate on real estate here in Miami; but I carry on playing as many invitational matches as possible to evangelize the potential of the game.

I was number one in France for six years and in the top 50 of the International ranking. But I was already 28 years old when I started playing and you

THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT

I also believe that tennis has been given a make-over for the twenty first century. This doesn’t make tennis redundant in any way, but there is a sound rationale behind many of the changes adopted.. It was a shake-up conducted by athletes who didn’t want to give up sport, and business men who are trained to strip out complications if figures start falling off the cliff. People want a new game that is more inclusive.

The removal of the over-shoulder server helps in this regard. People of all ages can play together without being wiped out by their opponent’s serve.

Another thing that is brilliant is that men and women like and can play the game together. In tennis power strokes means the game is pretty well a foregone conclusion, even if the man and women are otherwise well matched. This is annoying for both parties and may well cause civil war in the house.

I saw this with my own parents. My mum was a Swedish model, she married a professionaltennis play. Neither of them liked to play tennis with each other. But when I got back into padel we transformed their home tennis court. They played every single day with each other, I actually think my father would be dead by now, if he hadn’t taken padel up. It is actually the only sport he can still play at his age. He had to stop tennis over 25 years ago because of the size of the court and can rather play padel than Golf as it doesn’t hurt his joints as much!

In September, one of them - I think it was Wayne Boich - called me up and said: “Where are these courts you we telling me about?”

EVANGELIST AND AMBASSADOR

Then there was the whole issue of seeing the sport played at a professional level. To get better at the game, Wayne, who was a comparable college tennis player, wanted to watch and play with the pros. And that meant flying back and forth across the Atlantic. The novelty of doing this was starting to pale. We wanted to have our own tournaments here in America.

I sometimes feel I’m on a one-man mission to evangelize padel. Now that I’m living in Miami, I’ve been working on my friends here.They call me,“Mr Padel” in Miami. It’s been quite fun to witness their gradual conversion.

At first it was an uphill struggle. I’m in real estate and I’d see one of my colleagues or business partners limping about after a day of tennis. I’d say as sympathetically as I could: “Guy we’re too old for this **** It’s wrecking your knees and your shoulders.You should play this paddle game.

They don’t even know what it is. They think it is for babies or on the beach. It’s indoors why should I go indoors it’s so beautiful outside.

But then one of my regular friends decided to get married in St Tropez. The whole Miami crew came across and suddenly instead of me being the foreigner I was in charge. So you can guess what happened next. I told them that as my guest they were going to have to play padel. No argument.

Just like with everyone they were smitten with the bug. They played well into the night. The really amazing aspect of it all however was the response after we all flew back to Miami.

It snowballed from that moment. Wayne Boich who is heir to a coal mining dynasty asked me to train him. He and his friends, including Sean Posner would drive across the bay to about the only place that had a court. The only problem being that it was quite a labyrinthine process and over there nobody spoke either French or English.

of putting up this huge property, 18.000 feet with a swimming pool. It sits on 53,000 square feet of land and has 300 linear feet of bay-front. He looks at me:“If anyone can erect a state-of-the art padel court it’s you. “ So I build the court and now we’re inviting the top players around the world to come and play on it. Really history repeats itself. What’s amusing is that the game seems to me to be relooping around the world in much the way in once did when the centre of its activities were in Acapulco.

The whole spirit that made it so attractive back then is re-emerging with its own twist in Miami.

It’s still popular amongst the jet set.Tonight, we’ll sit down with a cocktail and then play out.

Come and join us.

The solution was staring us in the face. Rather like Alfonso in his time, the two of us decided to entice the professional players over to us. He was in the midst

PL ACE

Intercontinental Genève – MAKING HISTORY, ONE GUEST AT A TIME – “Making history, one guest at a time, Intercontinental Genève makes a strong come back into the hospitality scene with the unveiling of its one-of-a-kind The Residence. Refurbished by world-renowned New York interior designer Tony Chi and his associate William Paley, these stately space is a library of anecdotes, with history woven into each wall.”

O

riginally built in 1963, Intercontinental Genève is located in the heart of Geneva’s diplomatic district and nestled in an area of lush parkland and nearby the lake. A mere 3-minute walk from the United Nations and International Centre of Congress CICG, and within a 5-minute drive from Palexpo Exhibtion Centre and Luxury Shopping area, this imposing 18 story icon has become a firm favourite amongst dignitaries and leisure travellers alike.

Fidel Castro, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who was the principal driving force behind the formation of the United Arab Emirates, the emir of Abu Dhabi and first President of the UAE. The refurbished landmark of luxury, designed by Tony Chi, stands testament to the hotel’s continued commitment to offer the highest levels of service to their guests.The Residence set itself apart from anything currently in the market.

Behind the sophisticated bamboo framed exterior and stately public spaces, are 16 meeting and event spaces, two dining venues, a bar, The Clarins Institute & Day Spa, a 24-hour fitness facility, and 333 intimate guest rooms, including 56 elegantly furnished suites and an handsomely appointed residence.

“The objective was to provide the hotel with a completely new look modern, but classical - and at one with the natural beauty and sophisticated international presence of the city on the Rhone,” Chi adds.

This 5-star property has hosted an elite clientele ranging from 400 heads of state to over 4,000 government ministers, in addition to a handful of ambassadors, political figures, performing artists and sports personalities.

Guests have included Sophia Loren, Ray Charles, Roger Federer, Kofi Annan, Che Guevara and world leaders like Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan,

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The Residence is a stately accommodation inspired by the opulent palaces of the past and dedicated to the leaders of tomorrow. The Residence couples the privacy and innovation of a home, with the exclusive and friendly services expected at a worldwide luxury hotel. Chi gifts the Residence with generous living spaces, lavishly decorated marble bathrooms and panoramic views of Lake Geneva, the Jura Mountains and the Mont Blanc.

“The overall design, the colours, the materials, the furniture were all chosen to give the Intercontinental Genève a grand presence that is both welcoming to guests and symbolic of the city’s important role in Swiss life and global affairs,” explains Chi.

encompasses a living and dining room, master bedroom, tub room, guest powder room, massage room, hamman, dressing chamber, vestibule chamber and pantry. While The West Wing, includes an additional fitness room and sauna.

The Residence sits on the top floor of the existing hotel boasting 360 degree views of Geneva City and the surrounding dramatic landscape. Back in the day, The Residences would be booked out for long periods of the year by the Saudi Royal family and the ruling family of the UAE, including other scions of Middle Eastern royalties. Today it continues to host an institution of guests that shape the future of the world while immersed in the tradition of service excellence perfected by the Intercontinental Geneve.

The Residence’s furnishings of tactile textiles in warm colours, soft bed linens by Frette, and subtly lighting create an atmosphere of comfort and indulgence. Its sumptuous bathrooms with custom-cast integral white marble bathtubs and sinks are extravagance at its very finest. The rooms have been furnished with works of art from Georges Smith’s Ottoman collection, which sit at harmony with creations by Meridiani, Minotti, Baxter, Philippe Hurel, Moissonnier. The dining table sparkles with Christofle silver flatware.

Greeted by grand doors one would expect to find at the Palace of Versailles, The Residence composes of an East & West Wing, two master bedrooms, and nine additional light filled rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, including a grand salon, library, gallery, private lift, a kitchen fully equipped with John Pawson Demeyere cookware, a bar adorned with accessories by Ralph Lauren, and a personal butler at your beck and call. The menu comes as a blank page; it all comes down to whatever your heart desires. The East Wing

For people who enjoy being in the know, Intercontinental Genève is the brand that goes out of its way to deliver authentic and enriching experiences to its guests. It is a place to discover where history meets its future.

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ABOUT INTERCONTINENTAL GENÈVE The Intercontinental Genève hotel in Geneva was built in 1963 and opened on the 31st January 1964. Classified among the 5 stars and luxury hotels of the world, the hotel is a franchise of the Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts chain.

Located in lush parkland, Intercontinental Genève lies at the heart of Geneva’s diplomatic district. The hotel is a 3 minute walk from the United Nations and International Centre of Congress CICG, and within a 5-minute drive from the lake, Palexpo Exhibtion Centre and Luxury Shopping area.The hotel boasts unrivalled views of Lake Geneva, the Mont Blanc and the Jura Mountains. The 18 story tower holds 16 meeting and event spaces, two dining venues, a bar, The Clarins Institute & Day Spa, a 24-hour fitness facility, and 333 intimate guest rooms, including 49 elegantly furnished suites and seven residences.

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TREND SPOT TER

Triumph of an Outsider The Irina Stolyarova Collection of Modern Russian Art

I

By Andrei Navrozov

n the land that seems to many in the West nowadays as remote and mythical as Atlantis – USSR, Ronald Reagan’s bugaboo and the Russia of my childhood idyll – painting was for outsiders. Some outsiders painted pictures; others admired or criticised them; still others, God bless them, accepted invitations to dinner and even the occasional marriage proposal from the authors of these works. Cosy, in short, was the life of artists and their fans in Soviet Russia, resembling in nearly every particular the daily routine of inmates in a psychiatric hospital.

Unlike literature or music, painting ranks low on a dictator’s roster of pastimes suitable for the propaganda of his regime abroad: it’s too arbitrary and, if you’re of a mind to do it, too easy to ridicule.Thus, Socialist Realism or no Socialist Realism, nobody in the West dared to laugh at Sholokhov or to belittle Shostakovich, while the endless and interchangeable workers and peasants on approved Soviet canvases earned the regime nothing but derision and scorn.

While at home, apart from ceremonial likenesses of the dictator and his retinue, what use was there for oil and canvas? Stone mosaics were used in the Moscow Metro; marble and bronze yielded monumental sculpture, unless the dictator wished to show the world that he had a surfeit of stainless steel, such as was used for Mukhina’s 78-foot version of the Winged Victory of Samothrace exhibited at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair; and it was granite, as the days of the pharaohs, that signposted the way to imperial glory. And so the artists – whose skill, alas, lay in creating subtle shades upon insubstantial surfaces – were doomed to living as outsiders, hapless lunatics inhabiting a radiant world apart.

The paradox, of course, is that under conditions of political and cultural freedom such sequestration has been the artist’s lot since times immemorial, or at least since Somerset Maugham described his lunatic existence in The Moon and Sixpence, based on the life of Gauguin. In 1942, Camus made the psychotic worldview of his L’Etranger something a modern artist could embrace and endorse. All of a sudden, madness was all the rage. In 1948, Jean Dubuffet and André Breton set up their Compagnie de l’Art Brut – “Outsider Art” is the English term – to highlight the factors of mental illness, delusive behaviour, and existential isolation in the artist’s creative process, thereby launching the fashion for art psychopatologique that would prove immensely influential in straitlaced 1950’s America, where Abstract Impressionism was just coming into its own. The difference, in Russia, was that emotional and indeed physical apartheid was not a matter of intellectual fashion or individual inclination, but of external strictures imposed upon the artist by the totalitarian system on pain of deportation or torture.

The torture, appropriately enough, most often took the form of committal to the psychiatric ward, with “decelerated schizophrenia,” “reformist delusions” and “litigious paranoia” among the more common diagnoses. In Nazi Germany, where the psychiatrist’s term of choice had been “masked dementia,” the regime’s opponents suffered a similar fate. As one Russian writer has put it, “a totalitarian regime wants to pronounce insane all those who disagree with the madmen who have seized power,” and yet the plight of the artist in Soviet Russia was starker than that of the others who dissented.An outsider already in his own eyes, he was a natural for the role of madman in the eyes of the secret police.

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To speak of “art collectors” of this epoch, in any sense that would chime in with our recognition of figures like Henry Frick, or indeed of “art dealers” in any sense that might recall Lord Duveen, is of course all but impossible.

Serious painters in Soviet Russia eked out a living by working as book and magazine illustrators, film animators and storyboard artists, graphic designers and, on occasion, janitors or plumbers, for the simple reason that the outsiders who admired these outsiders’ canvases were invariably as penniless as themselves. Apart from gifts to friends, or barter for such insanely exotic Western commodities as Winsor & Newton’s Siberian sable-tipped paint brushes, in a Russian artist’s lifetime his pictures rarely changed hands.

It is only in the last few decades, with a Russia that had swapped the old ruling junta for a new one – dramatically changing the regime’s latitudes and strictures as it did so – that the attics of Moscow and St Petersburg began to yield up their hoard to collectors and dealers at home and abroad. And both at home and abroad, it is almost needless to add, the sudden opening of this new art market – as unexpected as it was precipitous – produced a veritable flood of false values, false hierarchies, false history, false scholarship and false authentications. Probity and taste, more than great wealth or even formal connoisseurship, had become key qualifications for a collector of outsider art of the Soviet epoch.

Among the indubitable successes of the new generation of art collectors is a Moscow born, London resident blonde by the name of Irina Stolyarova.

Now, as my enlightened and urbane reader will appreciate, Moscow born, London resident blondes are a dime a dozen these days, yet Mme. Stolyarova is a very different creature altogether. Suffice it to say that the splendidly

A third aspect is about the institutional future of these seemingly accidental collections, which are becoming an increasingly significant element of contemporary art life and an increasingly significant counter-balance to major museums, galleries and festivals. In other words, I see them as sprouts of a new, relatively independent and elitist art milieu.

illustrated monograph devoted to her collection, published this year in Italy, is entitled Flying in the Wake of Light, which is a line from an Osip Mandelstam poem I did not know. She is, in short, one of those scions of the Russian intelligentsia that, in every political climate, did their utmost to save, inspire and propel literary and artistic talent. And so, having been raised in a milieu sympathetic to the outsider, now that outsiders are in, Stolyarova is the consummate insider.

Stolyarova’s collection is not very large, some 40 works or so, collected during the last decade, and not all the Russian artists included are products of Soviet soil; many are émigrés or children of émigrés, like the formidable Pierre Dmitrienko (1925-1974), with a biographical background that is more Montparnasse than Arbat; yet the animating genius of the whole is none the less a distinctly Russian spirit that, as the Evangelist said, “bloweth where it listeth,” evidently, even in the desolation of the Soviet epoch. That cogency of purpose is what makes this small private collection remarkable; indeed, this is what makes it a private art collection – in the same qualitative, if not quantitative, sense as those built by the Fricks and the Mellons of yesteryear – rather than a selection of pictures decorating the walls of a private house.

The distinguished Russian art critic Alexander Rappaport, who has contributed one of the essays to Flying in the Wake of Light, has this to say of the new role of collections such as Stolyarova’s: I see at least three aspects that put a small private collection in an advantageous position vis-à-vis large scale projects and institutions. The first one concerns the new critical numbness in front of a work of art. In different instances the reasons for this silence could be different, but the silence itself seems very symptomatic. In the case of private collections such silence is incongruous, and here we have none of the deafening silence that accompanies portentous suggestiveness of major events.

What we have instead are individual voices that we want to hear.

The second aspect is the convivial atmosphere that brings together people without any conceptual programme or ritual. Every painting is surrounded by others, they all seem to be close to each other in spirit, and the feeling is that people attracted to these paintings should also form a union of the likeminded, rather than remain an accidental crowd.

Browsing through these paintings I recalled a chance encounter I had with the artist Leon Zak in the house of the famous St. Petersburg organist Isiah Braudo, and endless conversations with the artist Eduard Steinberg, and friendly meetings with Francisco Infante... All these people suddenly surfaced in my memory as if they were all sitting around the table. A wonderful phenomenon, not unlike déjà vu.

Note that to Rappaport, unbound by the Western ideology of political correctness, “elitism” is more than simply a social tendency; it is a resurgent cultural trend that augurs manumission from the bondage of institutionalized art appreciation with its implied message of “culture for the people.” Who but a Russian of the Soviet epoch, forced since childhood to accept that slogan at face value, is free enough nowadays to draw such controversial conclusions from the mere existence of a private art collection like Stolyarova’s? Spiritual salvation, Rappaport argues, invariably lies outside the social mainstream; whether artists in totalitarian Russia or art collectors in the free West, it is invariably the outsiders who form cultural elites and make cultural discoveries that eventually benefit all society.

Stolyarova’s collection, writes Rappaport, is a painting community that demonstrates a new way of life for works of art. If the twentieth century was a time for imperial and state museum collections, this century may be the time for private collections.That is not to say that large collections will lose their significance and their value. No, they have nothing to fear. But having acquired a dominant monopoly role in the art world and the art market, they necessarily enter the domain of mass culture and inevitably become trivialized.Their fate is akin to the fate of other large institutions – huge supermarkets, famous hotels, fashionable resorts and the like. Universal fame and accessibility of major museums make them by definition commonplace and banal in spite of all the unrivalled masterpieces within their walls.

And, on the contrary, small provincial museums, private collections, little known artists become the new heroes, a new environment for sudden discoveries at a remove from media and advertising.

It may be enough for the reader to take a close look at Pierre Dmitrienko’s Garden of Gethsemane, reproduced in these pages – emblematic, to my mind, of the outsider’s existential isolation which I have made my central theme here – to imagine the impact of Stolyarova’s whole collection, composed of works consonant with his. London is fortunate to be home to this and a host of other strictly private collections – not despite the fact they are not open to the public, but, if Rappaport is right, for that very reason.

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YACHTS

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The 2015 Monaco Yacht Show - boys and their toys

By Simon Piggott What better place to go for sun and fun towards the end of September than the second most important event in the Principality of Monaco, after its world famous Grand Prix held in May, this being the one and only occasion in the year - and in the world - to view the greatest superyachts in this unparalleled glamorous setting.Indeed, September 23-26 also marked very important dates in the social calendar for members of Cercle and yachtsmen at large, as this event is held under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Set in the iconic Port Hercules at the Principality of Monaco the yacht show was founded in 1991 by Luc Pettavino and now ably managed by Gaëlle Tallarida and her team, the MYS, as it is known to insiders, has become a unique opportunity to visit, admire and maybe ultimately purchase the yacht of one’s dreams.The 25th edition of the MYS once again surpassed discerning yachtsmens’ expectations with 121 exceptional superyachts from the world’s most renowned shipyards, with some forty new vessels unveiled in world premieres.Nearly 600 exhibitors and partners attended the show, with the leading luxury yacht companies, including cutting edge superyacht builders, designers, manufacturers and top brokerage houses.This year the MYS started off with an inaugural Gala held in the Salle des Etoiles, which was attended by some 700 VIP guests, marking its 25th anniversary and staging the second edition of the MYS Superyacht Awards for outstanding achievements in this specialist field.

A who’s who of the luxury yacht industry gathered to applaud winners

across five categories: the Monaco Award, the Interior Design Award, the Exterior Design Award, the Finest NewYacht of the 2015 MYS and the MYS/ RINA Award (for implementation of eco-friendly technology).The judging panel, comprising experts from all sectors of the industry, selected winners from a short list of 20 applicants (4 in each category). The award ceremony was hosted by Superyachts.com presenter Shari Liu. The first prizewinner was the 39m/126ft modern classic motor yacht Taransay, with the Rossinavi team been given the Monaco Award for attention to detail in their replica of a classic 1930s yacht. The 61m/199ft Amels motor yacht ‘Madame Kate’ received both the the MYS/RINA Award (for being up to 15 per cent more fuel efficient than an equivalent clipper-bowed vessel thanks to her innovative bow design) and Interior Design Award, (with an interior styled by Laura Sessa Romboli).The Espen Oeino-designed 66m/217ft Lürssen motor yacht ‘Ester III,’ a finalist at the 2015 World Superyacht Awards, was then given the Exterior Design Award which was collected by Espen on behalf of her owner.Espen also contributed to the well-appointed 77m/253ft motor yacht ‘Silver Fast’ which was awarded the prize for the Finest New Yacht at the 2015 MYS. In Victorian times large yachts were always the preserve of emperors, kings, tzars and other aristocrats who had them built to race each other at the Cowes Regatta in the Solent and later in the warm mediterranean summers.

They also built steam powered yachts to cruise with their families. As time went on yachts were also built for great figures from the industrial revolution and trade, an example being Sir Thomas Lipton, of grocery and Lipton Tea

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fame, who was a tireless challenger in the America’s Cup. Not much has changed since then except the difference between boys and adults - the size of their toys!

When I first became involved in the industry at the beginning of the 1990s a 50m yacht was considered a superyacht. Now there are more than 135 yachts over 65 m. and there is a new category called gigayachts! With the rapid increase in wealth over the past thirty years, generated by economic development in emerging countries, as well as the new technologies, a new breed of yacht owners has emerged from the Far East, Middle East and the traditional American market.The MYS is the best place in the world for anyone looking to buy a large yacht: during the show I accompanied a Russian-American buyer, Dr. Alexander Titomirov, who is world famously renowned for having developed the DNA vaccination process which lacks the side effects of traditional protein vaccination invented by Louis Pasteur.

Dr. Titomirov arrived in 1989 in the USA with 300 dollars in his pocket on the invitation of James Watson, the Nobel Prize winner. In the 1990s he set up the first bioinformatics company, which by 2001 was worth over a billion dollars on the stock market. Following on that success he is now launching the first alkaline beverage group, with Titomirov Vodka as its first-to-market product with its unique rehydrating characteristics due to the pH of the water and 7 times distilled alcohol, lacking some of the side effects of other alcoholic drinks! Alexander’s mission at the MYS was to find his first motor yacht: he was very impressed by Feadship’s “KISS” a 46m custom built to the highest standards, which can set back a new owner in the region of €30 million and a delivery time of two or more years, a worthwhile wait for a masterpiece

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from the world leader in the field of pure custom superyachts, having just launched two of the largest superyachts, a 101.5m and a 83.5m. The sleekest yacht at the show was the super fast all aluminum “SILVERFAST” a 77m , a new build by Australia’s Silver Yachts for sale at just under €80 million by brokers Burgess. Burgess also represented a number of other yachts including the 2013 built 83.5 m “SOLANDGE” by Lürssen Yachts, and then there was 70m “MARTHA ANN”, being currently sold by IYC. The latter two were the most expensive yachts at the show, again with external design by Espen Oeino, with price tags north of $100 million.

The show ended on a high note with the best party thrown at the MYS

by Peter Lürssen and his team, on the Friday evening at the YCM with star performer Gloria Gaynor and a few hundred selected guests.

But the MYS is also about charity. It contributes to the Albert II Foundation for the environment and is also actively supporting Only Watch, an auction created by Luc Pettavino in 2001 to raise funds for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This event has been held every two years since 2005, and in 2015 it raised € 10,450,000 from the sale of 44 unique watches, making it the most successful edition to date. Well done!

At 18.30 on Saturday 26th September 2015 the sirens from the 121 superyachts that had berthed in Port Hercules for four days voiced their appreciation, marking the end of another successful MYS, with over 34,500 visitors. See you next year!

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CARS

FRANKFURT

IAA MOTOR SHOW 2015

By Ivan Cinque

R ACING AHE AD

S

oon we won’t have to grab our play stations in order to drive Bugatti’s Vision Gran Turismo Concept. It now exists in reality too.

But all the indications are that despite its rapturous reception, the elusive hyper racer’s days on earth are already numbered.

Bugatti have their sights on the next generation that they have named the Bugatti Chiron. The designers therefore describe the Vision GT as a glimpse into a future that has already sealed moving Bugatti into the vintage and novelty section of super-racer history.

The colour blue is a reference to the Type 57 Bugatti that took Le Mans victories in 1937 and 1939. Bugatti engineers are said to have worked for six months modelling driving dynamics and aerodynamics, to make sure the Vision GT could work.

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C

ar lovers were able to feast their eyes on a number of concept cars as well as see the top car marques battle the orders. While very shortly afterwards the Volkswagen scandal broke, none of this can dim the immense innovation that is currently taking place right across the car industry.

THE PRE TENDER The new Jaguar F-Pace, due to launch in 2017 was also given its first outing at Frankfurt.The company went to a huge amount of trouble to rise above the cacophony of noise that is now as much of the scene as the cars themselves.

To be noticed in these circumstances requires almost as much imagination as the design touches that lie underneath the bonnet.

In this they succeeded. They broke with apparent spectacular ease, the record for looping. Driven by British stunt driver Terry Grant, Jaguar and the driver survived a 63 foot tall loop, setting a Guinness World Record in the process.

Driven by British stunt driver Terry Grant, Jaguar the F-Pace had to wrestle with 6.5 Gs of gravity. The aim is clearly to plant in our minds the possibility that while it is a SUV it almost passes for a sports car.

BAT TLE OF THE ELECTRICS The interesting question is when the fog clears from the scandal of partial truths, what will the landscape end up looking like. When it comes to the issue of a greener motor industry, the current wisdom of the industry is that electric- will only succeed if they either imitate the sleekness and desirability of super cars. In 2015, most people felt the battle for supremacy was being fought between Audi’s E-Tron Quattro concept ( the M6) and Porsche’s Mission E. Both cars are scheduled to go on sale in 2018.

The concentration on design touches is immediately visible when you scan the body and external parts of the M6. Its profile with a small front surface area recalls a coupe. To fool us, there are a number of design motifs such as an E-tron grille; the horizontal chrome bars; bright work below the headlamps and eye-catching tail-lights. Other specifications that are clearly designed around luxury aesthetics include cameras instead of door mirrors

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and refinements such as a controlled air-flow through wheel houses.

Aerodynamically, the car has also impeccable credentials – boasting three active aerodynamic elements. It’s co-efficient drag is an enviable 0.25.

It also feels spacious’ this effect has been effect achieved by placing the battery snug into the floor. Perhaps most important of all – after 50 minutes of charging, the car will be primed for 300 miles of driving. Speed addicts also take note. You’re not going to be winning Formula One , but Audi boasts a 0-62 mph time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 131ph.

Porsche’s Mission E is the Audi’s natural competitor. Indeed some are even more enthusiastic, claiming that Tesla should be getting distinctly worried.

The Porsche is capable of travelling a very respectable 500 km on a single charge. Better still it ‘refuels ’ to full in a bare 15 minutes. Just time then for a quick coffee then.

Overall, neither model has a clear advantage – meaning that most prospective buyers are likely to act on their underlying emotional preferences: something that every research and development department seeks to exploit.

The American really loves nothing but his automobile: not his wife his child nor his country nor even his bank-account first (in fact he doesn’t really love that bank-account nearly as much as foreigners like to think because he will spend almost any or all of it for almost anything provided it is valueless enough) but his motor-car.

Because the automobile has become our national sex symbol. We cannot really enjoy anything unless we can go up an alley for it. Yet our whole background and raising and training forbids the sub rosa and surreptitious. So we have to divorce our wife today in order to remove from our mistress the odium of mistress in order to divorce our wife tomorrow in order to remove from our mistress and so on.

As a result of which the American woman has become cold and undersexed; she has projected her libido on to the automobile not only because its glitter and gadgets and mobility pander to her vanity and incapacity (because of the dress decreed upon her by the national retailers association) to walk but because it will not maul her and tousle her, get her all sweaty and disarranged.

So in order to capture and master anything at all of her anymore the American man has got to make that car his own.

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RE AL ESTATE

Real estate L A in

os

ngeles

By Christophe Choo

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F

rom humble beginnings to becoming one of the top Luxury Real Estate brokers in Beverly Hills & Los Angeles.

LA has always been known as the city of dreams, a land with beaches, mansions, sunshine, palm trees, swimming pools and movie stars. In my travels around the world I can’t think of single person that hasn’t said to me, my dream is to someday go and visit LA. I was born in Los Angeles from immigrant parents who moved from South Korea in the early 1960’s to start a new life with new opportunities.

My father in effectively one of the founding members of what we now call Korea town in Los Angeles.

From an early age I always wanted to live the luxury lifestyle. My parents split when I was just three – meaning that I had an additional influence in my life. My stepfather was of Chinese origin but born and raised in Japan. Having a strong desire to live a life of my dreams from early on I worked many jobs to get closer and closer to achieving my on goals of success.

I most definitely did not start rich – so I conform to the American Dream. But from early on I was driven. I always wanted a luxury life style and I started trying to find ways to obtain it.. As a teenager, I cleaned the apartments of the customers who were customers of my mother who ran a hair salon.Then once I was able to work legally, I worked at a variety of parttime jobs. I remember one night when I was around 16 years old, working as a valet at a party in Beverly Hills and parking 8 new Rolls Royce’s one of

which was all white on the inside and outside and even had white mink seat covers! The other cars too were mind-blowing. That night, the international celebrity crowd were out in force. I vowed to live like them someday.

But small time jobs doesn’t give you a whole lot of money On a fateful day at breakfast, shortly after I turned 16. I was discovered by a modelling agent when I was out the world famous Sunset Strip with friends.. I was quickly hired and started my career as a model. I did this for the next 4 years, traveling around the world and working with many international brands doing runway and print modelling. It was lots of fun and a very exciting time.

Shortly after my 18th birthday, my girlfriend Gabrielle, now my wife of 23+ years said to me after a long 3 month trip abroad modelling, “why don’t you get a more stable job” I laughed and said what did you have in mind?

She said how about Real Estate. Well I was still quite young and I thought – why not.You get to drive a fancy car, be your own boss, show pretty homes and, hopefully make money. Little did I know or understand what was truly involved in selling real estate and succeeding in that field at a high level I took a home study courses to get a foot in the door. My first interview with a manager from one of the top estate agencies did not go according to plan. I think I was too outspoken about what I wanted.

Much to my dismay, she did not hire me, so I went to the next closest Jon Douglas Office in the area, which was in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles, one of the oldest, and most established old money areas in the city. I interviewed with the manager and was immediately hired.

My first year did not go so well; I went to work everyday, held two open houses every week and worked so hard yet I had no results. My only sale the first year was a small condo that I sold for around $45,000. This did not make me popular. After about a year, I was taken aside by the manager. She said, you have 90 days to improve or we will have to ask you to leave.

I was devastated. I felt I had done all the things that traditional agents are supposed to do. But then I went to a conference where a trainer gave me two valuable insights.

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One was that I should go after listings that were proving hard to shift; and, two, that I should approach owners who were currently selling their properties without an agent.

started moving in the right milieu to shopping and buying luxury products put me in a world of the affluent where I could be around the types of clients I wanted to work with.

Finally I had discovered a formula that made sense to me. Being just 19 years old, none of my contemporaries were buying or selling homes so I had to go out and ask the right questions to show potential clients tat I would work harder to sell their home than my rivals. Gradually matters improved. I started getting the commissions and suddenly my business was doubling and doubling. It was a very exciting time. I worked in that office for about 8 or 9 years and quickly rose to one of the top agents in the office as well as the entire Hancock Park area.

One of my mentors once said for clients to work with you they need to know you, like you and trust you before they will do business with you.

Nothing is really more important than this. You have to present and part of their lives…

However I was not satisfied. The homes I was selling were mostly regular homes and not luxury homes. I felt like I was the big fish in the little sea and had nowhere to expand or grow. In late 1990’s I got the opportunity to move to our Beverly Hills office, and I immediately jumped at the chance for several reasons.

One I knew I could now be the little fish in the big sea and grow to be one of the top agent in Beverly Hills and secondly, we had built our entire social life and sphere of friends that were mostly in the Beverly Hills area and West-side of LA so it was a very natural transition for me to move to our flagship Beverly Hills Office.

Today many years later I am still here in the same office, I came here because it was the best office, in the best company and with the best agents in the entire Los Angeles area. It still is to this day all of those things and today I am truly in a place I love, working in beautiful Beverly Hills selling some of the most luxurious and most expensive homes in the city.

BEVERLY HILLS WAS THE PERFECT SPOT FOR ME My move to Beverly Hills was the best thing I could have ever done. Most of high-end luxury real estate buyers and sellers I work with come from my personal sphere of influence of many years. By doing what I love best traveling to the best places in the world, involving myself with charitable organization and donating my money and time to help particular causes, I

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Every day I wake up and think about all of the exciting opportunities and whom I can help today in achieving their goals in buying or selling real estate. Fortunately now having been in the business for close to 26 years and consistently being in the top 1% of agents internationally and in the Coldwell Banker Top 100 I am living and enjoying my dreams as a child.

MY CLIENTS My clients today are truly international and my many years of traveling, ability to speak several languages and understanding of different cultures have helped me tremendously in working with so many foreign clients.

Any client domestic or foreign can truly appreciate it when you understand their culture, are knowledgeable about art, architecture, travel, interior and landscape design.The luxury buyers and seller want an agent that understands the whole lifestyle and not just how to sell their home. Selling luxury homes is a true art especially in today’s quickly changing modern world.

Several years ago when Social Media was in it’s infancy I saw the huge potential and application for real estate and have become on of the forerunners in our industry on the use of social media for marketing real estate. Daily I post videos and photos about Beverly Hills and the LA Luxury Lifestyle.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE LA LUXURY MARKET TODAY? The luxury market in Beverly Hills & Los Angeles has been reaching new heights over the last few years and is reaching stellar levels. $100 million dollar plus homes are the new norm in the best neighbourhoods in Los Angeles and $20-30 million dollar properties are becoming more and more commonplace. The speed of change is very rapid indeed.

I remember selling my first home listed at $30 million in Holmby Hills which at the time was a new record; today there are homes that have sold in excess of $80-$100 million.

Incredibly 13 homes over $30 million have sold this year and we expect this number to reach close to 20 by the end of the year . So it appears that this is the fastest moving segment of the market.

For those of you outside the area, I thought it might be instructive to inform to know where the $20 million dollar homes are selling. Rapidly: 1 in Holmby Hills 6 in Malibu 10 in the city of Beverly Hills 6 in Bel Air 5 in the Beverly Hills Post Office area 2 in the Sunset Strip area of the Hollywood Hills West 1 in Brentwood 1 in Pacific Palisades 1 in Santa Monica Lifestyle is key to everything.

Most of the wealthy clients I work with are buying a “lifestyle” and not a home. I have learned over the years that I am not just a real estate broker but truly a luxury lifestyle concierge as when a client buys or sells a home, they typically come to me first to find as their resource for everything. Decorators, architects, caterers, security teams, landscape designers etc.… Anything a client made need as a resource to help them live or create the lifestyle of their dreams is at my fingertips and I am here to help them achieve those dreams.

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BE AUT Y

Stay Fit and Glow Through the

Winter Grey

By Dr. Luiza Petre

T

he holidays are here, bringing with them a string of celebrations, chaotic schedules, travel and lots of epicurean indulgences. Our spirits are lifted by the warm feelings that we recall from our childhood: the euphoria, the gifts, the cookies, the travel, and the special family times.The invitations and cards are pouring in from all corners of the world, and we just want to abandon ourselves to this jubilant romance of year-end. Everything swirls into a relentless eating and partying contest straight through the end of the year! Are you in the mood for the holidays or are you beginning to feel the stress?

As the New Year’s Celebration passes, the musical chairs stop. We feel exhausted, happy that the holidays are over and are ready to ponder our New Year’s resolutions. Suddenly we notice the short and grey gloomy days, also known as January. Then a guilty feeling engulfs us, we are tired, and we just skipped our healthy routines and packed on a few pounds. With the hustle and bustle of all the festivities, eating healthy and exercising are the good habits we gave up. Studies show that during the holiday season we tend to gain 7- 8 pounds. And those extra pounds are the ones that tend to become permanent baggage. No, no, no, we shake our heads; we are absolutely not entering a contest with Santa.

The cold weather can simply discourage us from walking or a regular workout, while the taste of high-fat delicacies and the smell of fresh baked goods makes it a bit too easy to overindulge in all the palatable delights. Days are shorter and chillier and we spend more time indoors bundled up on the sofa. Experts suggest that eating healthy and just one hour of exercise a day can help you stay in good shape even while you have fun and celebrate.

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Stay Active During the holidays we often give up our normal routine. It’s necessary to remain active during these times, even if you cannot commit as much time.

Exercise can boost your energy; keep you focused and you’ll be less likely to allow yourself to fall into decadent eating. You may feel you have too many engagements and not have enough time to exercise.To stay motivated, choose one thing that needs an appointment like a group fitness class, and treat it the same way as you would other commitments. Review your calendar and find those gaps where you can make an “appointment” with yourself. Recruit someone in your family or one of your friends to exercise with. Always keep extra gym clothes handy: in the car, in your suitcase while traveling or in your office so you have no excuses not to make your workout.

Do you have a fitness tracker? Are you counting your steps? It takes 10 minutes of fast walking for 1000 steps. And we need a minimum 10,000 steps to burn an extra 500 calories.

Moreover, some of your holiday obligations can be solved even while you burn calories. While buying gifts for your loved ones, or clothes for the New Year’s Eve Gala, turn a simple walk into training. Just twenty minutes of brisk walking can burn over 100-150 calories.

Tired of walking? Turn on your favourite tunes and dance as nobody is watching, as the saying goes, well since everybody is on their Iphones anyway.

Salsa or swing dancing can burn as much as 400 calories in one hour. Be creative, have fun!

Don’t forget that extra exercise does not mean you can eat whatever you want.

What happens in the kitchen is more important than what happens in the gym. We eat for weight and health but we exercise mostly for health. By increasing physical activity, we increase the number of calories we burn, so shouldn’t we be able to lose weight without changing our diets? That’s true only in theory.

Theoretically, we should be able to lose one pound by creating a 3,500-calorie deficit, either by exercising more or by eating less. But in fact, it is almost impossible to lose weight simply by increasing exercise. For example, you could burn 300-350 calories by jogging at a pace of 9 miles per hour for thirty minutes, at which rate it would take 5-6 hours to achieve a 3,500-calorie deficit and lose one pound. Or you could achieve the same 350-calorie deficit by eliminating two 16-ounce soft drinks a day.

We’ve known for some time that it’s easier to lose weight by modifying diet than by increasing activity, and that many who start an exercise program lose little or no weight. One reason is that as hard as it is to stick to a reduced calorie diet, it is even harder to maintain a regimen of regular exercise.

Another reason is that human metabolism slows as we lose weight.

“Sometimes the tiny word NO is the most difficult one to say. Be persistent. ” However, don’t use that as an excuse to not exercise at all. Bottom line, you cannot exercise the pounds off, it all starts with what is on our plates.

Tips to Control Your Eating Holidays bring family and friends together to celebrate traditions and happy times. As much as we look forward to holiday parties, dinners and all other events, many of us fear enjoying it too much – and gaining weight. Endless temptations are everywhere, but holiday meals don’t have to disrupt your healthy journey. With a little preparation, you’ll be able to face any holiday head-on and still enjoy it. Shedding the extra pounds is much harder than preventing them.

Graciously say no. We all can recall at least one occasion when “please take one more” or “I cooked this for you” seemed like a well-intended act of love. Food pushers come lurking from everywhere. How can we turn down the diet saboteurs wrapped in big-heartedness? Sometimes the tiny word NO is the most difficult one to say. Be persistent. At the insistence of friends to try one of their favourite delicacies simply answer: “I had some already—so delicious!”

Focus on people and less on food. Feed your mind with conversations and catch up with friends and family versus feeding your stomach. Make sure that you chose a location further away from the food table so that mindless nibbling is not an option.

Eat a protein meal before the party. Do not skip meals just because you have a party that night and want to ‘save up’ your calorie and absolutely do not show up totally famished. Studies have shown that those who skip breakfast have a greater chance of being overweight. Never hit a holiday party on an empty stomach. In contrast, eat a nutritious breakfast, or a light meal before the party and you will be less likely to overeat later.

Cocktail time. We all enjoy sipping on that well aged wine. But alcohol can wreck havoc on your weight. Not only does alcohol add calories, but it also lowers your inhibitions and you wind up eating over 30% more than you would. Always start with an unsweetened non-alcoholic beverage to satisfy your thirst. Drink one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage and limit yourself to two drinks per evening.

Eat only half. If you do not want to give up those harmful bites during holidays, you have to pay attention to portions. Most restaurants give you a significantly larger portion than is necessary. Some helpful tips are to order off the kid’s menu, split an entrée with a friend, or put half of the dish in a to-go box so that you are not tempted to overeat.

During holidays food temptations are everywhere. The biggest problem is deserts, sugary drinks, and anything lacking significant nutritional value that people shove towards you when you’re trying to eat right.

Stay Hydrated There are a number of reasons why our body is 60% water.Water is necessary as transportation of nutrients throughout the body, circulation, regulation of adequate body temperature, digestion. Water is going to naturally help you avoid eating as much if you drink a large glass half an hour before dinner.

Sipping before meals helped dieters consume 90 calories less at each meal, according to a recent study. Moreover, holiday parties tend to include alcohol, which is dehydrating. Take your weight in pounds, divide by two, and that’s how many ounces of water you should drink each day.The additional benefit is that water is good for your skin. The hyaluronic acid in your skin absorbs the water you drink which gives the skin some of its elasticity and vibrancy.

Thus, staying hydrated also makes you look and feel younger.

Enjoy Without Guilt While the holiday season can be a very challenging time of the year, there are smart ways to indulge and not pay the price of weight gain.The good news is that you can still stay on track. Moderation and planning are key so all those seasonal delicacies can be as enjoyable as ever.

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AROUND THE WORLD

Weird meets Wonderful

By Margharita Wailes-Farbairn

N

Spain

o round up of great design could exclude Frank Gehry. Philip Johnson long regarded as the founder of modern architecture called him “the greatest architect we have today”.

Alongside the Guggenheim, some other outstanding buildings include: the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in Los Angeles; Millennium Park, in Chicago; and his house in Santa Monica.

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Germany

T

he Austrian artist Friedensreicht Hundertwasser has taken the opposite approach: reveling in splashes of colour. It conjures up the land of Grimm’s fairytales perfectly.

Azerbaijan

S

ome of the most amazing buildings are taking place in countries and cities that are like China leapfrogging several centuries. Some think that Baku is trying to steal the architectural crown from Dubai. The crescent shaped building below is a hotel. The architectural studio behind the project are Heerim Architects and Planners.

Korea

B

y their nature, museums are typically used as a way for nations to project a sense of identity and aesthetics to the rest of the world. This ambition is evident in the layout and scale of the Seolmundaehalmang Museum. It was specifically designed to embrace the history, culture and myth of Jeju island.

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T

Dubai

he emirate has for over a decade being encouraging some of the most original architecture in the world. One of the most extraordinary concepts is that of the Crescent Moon Tower.

Shaped as a crescent moon, the Crescent Moon Tower is a nod not just to futurism but also the emirate’s Islamic character. Planned to be built in a national park, the tower is intended will offer conference facilities, cafes and restaurants.The Crescent Moon Tower is the architectural design project submitted to the 11th Thyssen Krup Elevator Architecture Award by the California-based firm Transparence House.

Another extraordinary hotel indicating the scale of ambition in Dubai is the Underwater Hotel.

It is also rumoured that the Emirate is considering a building dedicated to the extraordinary shapes and forms found in the work of the Dutch illusionist M.C Escher.

B

Switzerland

est known for designing the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Mario Botta also designed the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa, in his native Switzerland. The building is meant to blend into its surroundings!

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Israel

Y

et to be built, but a landmark in it’s own right, is the 105-metrehigh pointed skyscraper in the centre of Jerusalem by PolishAmerican architect Daniel Libeskind. When constructed it will become the city’s second-tallest building.

Called the Pyramid Tower, the 26-storey, mixed-use building will be constructed next to the Mahane Yehuda market in the centre of the city. Pyramids including inverted ones have become a hallmark of Libeskind’s work.

Japan

B

ritish Architect Azha Hadid, fought off 45 other companies to win the bid for Tokyo’s 2020Olympic Games Stadium. It’s an extraordinary piece of design – looking like an earth-bound space satellite.

From the futuristic to the harmonious world of harp string music. The Japanese Architect, Ryuichi Ashizawa has created one of the most beautiful vaulted ceilings in the world that which takes its inspiration from the shape of a harp.

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Italy

A

nother building design which has a fascinating twist on the skyscraper them are three glass-clad skyscrapers to be erected near the football stadium in Rom. Seen from a certain angle they resemble the Trimphone - a fixed-line telephone introduced in the UK. Each sit on a three-storey podium with a planted green roof.

One can get a feel for the emotion he hopes to evoke by his recent guest edition done for CNN and a recent talk he did for TED. The public rejected modernism because of its dreary regularity and preference for concrete. Libeskind is one contemporary architect who has taken this message to heart.

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India Baha’i House of Worship

T

he Canadian architect Arthur Erickson described this as “one of the most remarkable achievements of our time, proving that the drive and vision of spirit can achieve miracles.” It was designed

by Fariboz Sahba.

Nine pools around the building form the principal landscape of the building.

They also represent the green leaves of the lotus afloat on water. Moreover, the pools and fountains help to cool the air that passes over them into the hall.

The superstructure, the podium and the pools are designed as an integrated whole.

Technically a lot of thought also went into how to keep the temperature even during the extreme heat of Delhi. Using the principle of the Wind Towers in the deserts of Iran, his company experimented with the movement of air through natural means. In fact the whole building acts like a chimney with drawing up warm air from within the hall and expelling it through the top of the dome. Thus, constant draughts of cool air passing over the pools and through the basement flow into the hall and out through the opening at the top.

With over 5 million visitors a year, this building, commonly known as the “Lotus of Bahapur,” is one of the most visited sites in the world.

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WATCHES

Watches,

Wonderland and Love

By Gabriele Salvadori

You can always rely on Richard Mille to enliven proceedings. Certainly he did so this year at Watches and Wonders by releasing two imaginative timepieces called respectively the Erotic Tourbillon and the the Tourbillon RM 26-03.

WHISPERING LOVE INCANTATIONS.

L

ove and time have always been closely allied together, but we’ve gone from a time of eloquence to SMS and messaging. The racy RM Erotic Tourbillon captures this mood. Out with the troubadours and heart-stricken poets. Long live texting.

Not so long ago, most adults could have quoted from their national poets.

With the English it was stanzas from Shakespeare, Keats and Byron. Old favourites such as these lines from She Walks in Beauty: She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

For their part, the French could observe with Pierre de Ronsard, Cueillez cueillez votre jeunesse Comme a cette fleur la vieillesse

Fera ternir votre beauté.

Gather, gather your youth.

Since age will tarnish your beauty. As it has faded this flower.

While the Germans and Swiss sunk into their seats to listen to strains of Schubert’s leider or to inward weep at the Suffering of Young Werther.

ABBRE VIATED LOVE MESSAGING.

But, these poetic cornerstones of our language are drifting beyond the reach of many. Instead, today, the young and not so young are resorting to the throwaway text, or flirting with emoticons.Yup, I’m not immune. Are you?

Analysing these changes, a newspaper article in the UK recently provided a quick handbook for those wishing to master the new techniques of dating in

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the age of Twitter and Tinder. In the place of carefully crafted sentences, the language of love has become reductionist.

Forget furtive glances, agonized blushes and stutters just create a collection of emojis, fresh for the picking. Instead of sonnets about love, it’s hieroglyphics and symbolic representations like aubergines and peaches or, alternatively, swiping when you like someone. Throw them all together and ‘eh voila’ you’ve done an updated version of Edith Piaf and French crooning.

Or if you’re one of the people who are fortunate enough to have the money for a Richard Mille, then of course, you don’t even have to stretch to texting.

Just show the woman you are hoping to work up the aisle one day, the message you think she wants to hear. Those working at Richard Mille have in this respect had fun.

THE TOURBILLON RM 26-03 The other offer by Richard Mille looks at different emotional territory.

Instead of recalling the world of troubadours and lovers, his Tourbillon RM 26-O3 resurrects the talisman tradition of jewellery and timepieces.

As the accompanying literature says: “Nonconformist by nature, Richard Mille seized on this imagery as inspiration for the new RM 26-02 Tourbillon Evil Eye in much the same way as he did when creating the earlier RM 052 skull timepiece, recalling the spirit of Memento Mori with its remembrance of our personal mortality.

Seen in this light, the timepiece is the metaphorical equivalent of driving around in with a bulle proof windscreen, a buffer against the Evil Eye in English, the ’Mauvais Oeil” in French, “Ayin Harsh” in Arabic, ‘Dhirsti” in Hindu and “Ayin Ha’ra” in Hebrew.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS. In the end, however, it is the craftsmanship and luxury nature of the Richard Mille watch which aficionados are likely to focus upon.

The Evil Eye RM 26-02 Tourbillon was designed by Olivier Vaucher, a renowned craftsman from Geneva. Fashioned from 3N red gold, the flames and eye have been hand-carved using chisels made specifically to perfect the tiniest details.The art of grand feu enameling is what gives the eye its striking depth and realism.

THE ART OF GR AND FEU. The motif of the flames and the eye has been fashioned from 3 N red gold. The motif using a technique called ‘grand feu’. This involves painting onto the gold dial using various rare oxides and then firing the artwork at a high temperature of between 800°C and 900°C several times over. It is then finished with several more layers of transparent lacquer which are also fired in the identical manner.To further enhance the realism of this piece, painstaking micro-lacquer work is carried out by hand on the flames.

The Evil Eye is nestled at the heart of the tourbillon RM26-02 caliber, a manual winding movement with a power reserve of approximately 50 hours indicated by a red line on a differential-driven, rotating disk located between 10 and 11 o’clock.

Another very flamboyant offering was Roger Dubuis - new Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument. Potential purchaser will have to have big pockets in both senses of the word.

The case is 60mm across and nearly 20mm thick. However because it is made of titanium, it won’t rip a hole through your pocket.

For women, the watch that produced the most interest was probably the mystically named: The Excalibur Star of Infinity. The star shaped bridge, is encrusted with magnificent diamonds (34 diamonds on the star), and the other bridges are made rhodium black to allow the star to shine even brighter.

The way the diamonds are worked into the design is extraordinary A total of 312 diamonds weighing a total of 15 carats are added.

Assembled using a plate and bridges in PVD-coated grade 5 titanium, which is highly resistant to corrosion and remarkably strong, the tourbillon caliber movement beating at 3 Hz is insured a perfectly functioning environment. The extensive skeletonization carried out on the baseplate reveals the other side of the Evil Eye through the back of the watch, hidden at the heart of the movement..

The RM 26-02 is produced in a limited edition of 25 timepieces in black TZP ceramic, which are available exclusively in the 25 Richard Mille boutiques located around the world.

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THE WATCH OSCARS The Watch World loves to be associated with red-carpet, star-studded events. But, less well known, except of course amongst the cognoscenti themselves is that Haute Horlogerie has its own bespoke event, where mutual congratulations is the order of the night.

Fifteen years of age and The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie (GPHG) is coming into its own. Forbes, famously, dubbed it the Oscars of the watch-making world. More recently, the co-founder of Phillips auction house claimed that the event had transcended its Swissness and was now an event for the entire world.

“Horological Revelation” Prize

Striking Watch Prize

One of the biggest wins of the night was Hublot.They took the equivalent of the best actress award; or in the terms of this particular event, the Ladies Watch Prize.

The particular watch singled out for this honour was the “Big Bang Broderie”.The name is suggestive of the effect the designers were aiming for: namely to trigger off associations with intricate embroidery work.

A notable coup this year was a Tourbillon created by Antoine Preziuso.

Notable in part because this watch scooped up two prizes. No other watch has so far achieved that distinction.

Antoine Preziuso won the Tourbillon category and the technological innovation prize. In his acceptance speech, the watch maker sought to highlight how much investment of time may precede a watch of this stature emerging onto the market.

“Three things are needed in making a watch of this complexity: Patience, Passion and Perseverance.” This watch was over 10 years in the making.”

Another decision reached by the jury threw Laurent Ferrier into the limelight.The company won the Horological Revelation prize which is given to watches that are in effect a re-interpretation of earlier models. Amazingly, Laurent Ferrier only came into existence five years ago, so has gained vintage status rather rapidly.

Finally, the prestigious “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix was awarded this year to Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes.

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Innovation Watch Prize and Public Prize

“Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix

TANTALISING GLIMP SES: SIHH 2016 So far there’s not been many news releases. It seems more and more watchmakers are keen to play up the game of mystery. Vacheron Constantin is the exception to the rule.. The collection in question consists of beautiful additions to the Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Fabuleux Ornements.

This range has made its reputation around its dynamic interpretation/ integration and use of decorative art traditions around the world. The new models are as distinctive and beautiful as ever. Ten different master artisans have collaborated to produce reinterpretations of Ottoman architecture, Chinese embroidery, Indian manuscripts and French lacework.

It’s one of those occasions where it makes more sense to give space to the watches rather than to write reams. The only observation I’d make in light of this is that, like the exhibition mounted by the Rikjs museum: ‘Asia > Amsterdam. Luxury in the Golden Age’, it is a timely reminder of luxury’s debt to craftsmanship from around the world.

The Richard Mille name for most people means generally three things.

The first – the tonneau shape case – could be said to be almost the signature of his work. Next up, there’s the huge range of complications to the n’th degree of sophistication with unique twists of humour or brilliance. And then, finally, the extravagant cocktail of hi-tech materials from the racing car or aviation industry.

In light of this, there were slight murmurs of dismay in the collector community when the maison released a dress watch that did not have a tonneau case. Now seemingly their mutterings and prayers have been answered. In the pre-SIHH release season, they have announced the launch of a skeleton watch, the RM 67-01 Automatic Extra Flat that is paired with its own tonneau shape case; allowing it to sit flat when a tuxedo is the demanded dress code.

According to the accompanying press literature, the complexity of the 3 part case bezel, case band and case back, involves than 215 separate machining operations and days of preparation of the machines. The materials are as high-tech as any other design issuing forth from the collection: The baseplate is made of sandblasted grade 5 titanium finished by hand with grey electro plasma treated coat. The central rotor of solid platinum, while the wheel the free sprung wheel with its variable inertia and specific teeth profile is assembled with spline titanium screws.

Now where is Richard’s Erotic Tourbillion? Can I spell out Not I Love You, but I Love this watch?

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PL ACES TO STAY

THE PENINSULA HOTEL

HOTEL DE VENDOME

HOT EL H YAT T PA R IS

PRINCE DE GALLES HOTEL

Paris

Paris

MADELEINE | Paris

Paris

LE ROYA L MONCE AU

HOTEL MEURICE

HOTEL ANNAPURNA

HOTEL MANALI

R AFFLES HOTEL | Paris

Paris

Courchevel

Courchevel

LE LANA

LE KILIMANJARO

LE SAINT ROCH

L E PA L ACE DE S NEIGE S

Courchevel

Courchevel

Courchevel

Courchevel

L E C H E VA L BL A NC

ALPES DU PR ALONG

THE ROSEWOOD HOTEL

THE BE AUMONT HOTEL

Courchevel

Courchevel

London

London

DR AYCOTT HOTEL

DUKES HOTEL

HOTEL CA FE ROYA L

BAGLIONI HOTEL

London

London

London

London

HOTEL SOFITEL ST JAMES

THE M AY FA IR HOTEL

BULGARI HOTEL

EXCELSIOR HOTEL GALLIA

London

London

London

Milan

FOUR SEASONS

BULGARI HOTEL

Milan

Milan

PA R K H YAT T

HO T E L S AVOY

Milan

Florence

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FOUR SEASONS

H E LV E T I A & BR I S TOL

THE WESTIN EXCELSIOR

A L DROVA N DI V I L L A

Florence

HOTEL | Florence

Florence

BORGHESE | Rome

PA RCO DEI PR I NCIPI

G R A N D HO T E L S AVO I A

CR ISTA LLO

GR A ND HOT EL&SPA | R o m e

C o r t i n a d ’A m p ez zo

GOLF | C o r t i n a d ’A m p ez zo

KULM

GR A ND HOTEL K RONENHOF |

KEMPINSKI GR AND HOTEL

PA L ACE

St. Moritz

St. Moritz

DES BAINS | St. Moritz

Gstaad

HOTEL

SPA

&

C A R LTON HOT EL

St. Moritz

GR A ND HOT EL PA R K

THE ALPINA

LE GR AND BELLEVUE

HOTEL DE ROUGEMONT

Gstaad

Gstaad

Gstaad

Rougemont

THE CHEDI

W HOTEL

C H A L E T D ’A N D R I E N

MON CERV I N PA L ACE

Andermatt

Verbier

Verbier

Zermatt

G R A N D H O T E L Z E R M AT T E R H O F

CR ANS AMBASSADOR

L E CR A NS HOT EL & SPA

L A R ÉSERV E GENÈV E -

Zermatt

Crans Montana

Crans Montana

HOT EL A ND SPA | G e n e v a

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL

M ANDAR IN OR IENTA L

INTERCONTINENTA L

LE RICHEMOND

DES BERGUES Geneva

Geneva

Geneva

Geneva

Issue N10 | 75

FA SHION

London Fashion Week SS 16

By Angelika Bolliger

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W

inter hasn’t finished yet and we can already indulge in the splendid fake sunshine that the SS 2016 fashion collections are bringing upon us faithful fashionistas. London is a very special place, it is different from NY and Paris. It holds it’s own. It is more raw and more street. It takes its direct roots from pop culture, music, art and its heritage. We see pop, goth and rock intertwined creating a new melody. It is a paradox as London is the capital of England a great empire led by tradition and conservatism.

This is probably why the fashion here is unique. It’s a true mix of absolutely everything.

Let’s see what this year’s SS shows are telling us to wear next season.

PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND. An anticipated show as it always offers something special. This year was not different. The looks were clean, eternal and edgy in an elegant way. Gorgeous knits, crochet, silk and lace loosely hugging the body sometimes worn over heavy leather for contrast.

A lot of nude shades, pastels, metallics and some light reds. Long skirts were dominant some transparent and some in solid fabrics.

The models looked chic and relaxed. There was no trying too hard. It was light, easy and beautiful. I found the collection sporty and easy to wear.

TOPSHOP Unique Topshop is the absolute king of the high street.

It is a darling of all the young IT girls, models and an inspiration for all the young women all over the world. Not many brands have achieved what Sir Philip Green has. He made affordable fashion something cool. No one is ashamed of wearing Topshop as they may be with other inexpensive brands. It is remarkable.

The guest list was long and filled with fashion heavyweights such as Anna Wintour alongside Ciara, Alexa Chung, Suki Waterhouse and inevitably, chairman of the Arcadia group Sir Philip Green. The show opened with a sweet floral dress transporting us from the city to the Riviera.

There was a lot of light flow, flowery dresses worn with fake fur shawls or jackets in vibrant colours.

Twisted, knotted leathers were worn over light dresses. The leathers looked more high-end as though a considerable amount of elaborate work had gone into making them.

There were sweaters worn off the shoulder, big earrings and furry sandals. The collection was a bit retro and very streetwise.

This, of course, is trademark.

It offered a smooth transition from winter to Spring/Summer.

The topshop girl can step in style into the new season wearing a Riviera inspired floral dress with a faux fair dropping off her shoulder.

Tres cool, fresh, young and seductive.

BURBERRY It was a stunning show more grown up portraying a mature girl who wore a sophisticated high waisted knee length flow dress made out of crochet fabric or silk and Pants were long with a wide leg made out of light flow fabrics. Of course there had to be a Burberry signature biker leather jacket and a nude colour trench coat - a wardrobe must-have.

Fishnet, lace, crochet tank tops and dresses stayed true to the current trend of sheerness and transparency.

The light fabric dresses and trousers were often worn with heavier coats finishing at the knee mostly in black.

The whole collection was very chic, classic yet fresh in its approach.

Amazingly fitted, elaborately decorated dresses, tops and trousers came down this SS catwalk. It was something out of this world. A mix of ancient Roman gladiator with a modern even futuristic twist.

The pieces looked sharp on an army of heavily made-up models sporting a slight gleam of sweat that somehow added to the drama.

This year Julien introduced his first men’s collection. This consisted of tight heavily embroidered tank tops and shorts, long sleeve spider web jumpers and gladiator sandals. A little extravagant for everyday life, but gorgeous never the less.

The female models sported a variety of looks from short, tight armour like mini dresses to long evening gowns perfect for a dramatic entrance at any party.

The dresses were partially sheer and sported deep necklines or open backs. It excluded power, lust and sex. A signature MacDonald collection.

London fashion week did not disappoint. It stayed true to the original idea of cultivating an independent mind, not to follow others, but to be yourself.

ROKSANDA ILINICH Roksanda offered us a dreamy, fairytale-like fashion. She used bold colours and prints and a bell or tulip like shape in her designs.

There were some beautiful yellows and blues which make you think of the sun and the sky.

The dresses were gorgeous.You could detect retro and 60’s influence.

My favourite was a yellow dress with a cape like chiffon transparent top worn over the dress with yellow, white and black stripes and a high neck collar in black. To me it was fairytale-like with a touch of boldness.

I also loved a black wool cape with tulip like sleeves worn over a baby blue blouse. My favourite new colour now. So 60’s and 70’s. Jumpsuits were also present this time looser on the body in beautiful colour combos of orange, blue, silver and black wide stripes in a semi-shiny material. I can’t help but wonder if the Roksanda collection was in part inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange movie. At least in my mind it was.

The spring line wasn’t street style, everyday fashion, but it was still wearable for those amongst us who likes to dream and be truly unique.

JULIEN MACDONALD A true artist and craftsmen. Whether or not you are his fan you have to admit that his clothes are a wonder.

The detailed delicate work that goes into making one of his dresses is equivalent to a couture one. This show was an homage to that.

Issue N10 | 77

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Caron Bernstein Flashback on a modelling Career

M

By Caron Bernstein

y journey started on August 16th, 1970; however, I am going to jump ahead fourteen years from then – by which time I was showing all the signs of a very precocious teen.

I thought of myself as a punk-rocker, only wore black rags, black smudged, kohl-rimmed eyes and of-course lipstick to match. Then much to my father’s dismay, I arrived home one day with part of my head shaved in a version of a Mohawk. My mom, psychologically more astute at the art of managing teenagers, realized quickly that “admiring” my new hair cut would be a much more effective way of getting me to change my mind.

I hung out with a group of punk rockers in the darker parts of Hillbrow, Johannesburg. As a nice upper- middle-class Jewish girl from South Africa, it’s just as well my parents didn’t altogether know whom I was associating with – nor that I frequented a good many underground clubs.

It was just before turning fourteen, that a young documentary photographer took an interest in my punk-rocker crew. We stood out because in that part of the world at a time when apartheid ran strong, punk bands were a rarity.

Even music like The Pink Floyd was banned, so finding music that appealed to us was a treasure hunt unto itself. The photographer’s name was Patsy Dunn and once she achieved what she wanted from my “gang,” she proposed a solo photo shoot with me alone. I was mortified that my mates would find out, but somewhere in my thirteen-year-old self there was curiosity too. So I quickly agreed and she was the first person to take photos that were more posed and stylized.

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Without my knowledge Patsy had sent the photos to Ford Models in New York. They in turn were in the throes of planning their annual contest, Super Model of the World. This included thirty-one countries but did not include South Africa because of sanctions against the evil of apartheid. That meant: no international sports, contests, the Olympics, Miss Universe, nor anything However, when did the fashion world give a damn about politics?

To my astonishment, after Ford received Patsy’s photographs of me, the judges of the context believed they had found their winner. The only problem was, each contestant from each country had to first win a national contest from wherever she hailed. As South Africa was not even a blip on any ones radar, Ford Models had to rally up a contest through Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Thousands of young women and teenagers entered the contest until they were down to ten finalists.

At this point, they called me up informing me that I had got down to the last ten! I think they must have been surprised at my reaction. I wasn’t really shocked, as it never crossed my mind that the person calling was right about it being me. I just assumed it was a mistake as ( this was true) I had never entered the contest… However, once I had established that Patsy had sent the photos to New York and that indeed it was me, I had to find a way of breaking the news to the people close to me. How to tell, for instance, my punk rocker friends about it – given my cool persona?

So out came my inner actress. I went to the gala for the ten finalists in order to discover who the winner would be. When they called the third finalist’s name, I was chatting to a jittery contestant and continued in similar vein when they called the second finalist’s name until finally it was time to announce the winner.

Eileen Ford, flanked by her husband Jerry announced loudly, “…and the winner is, Caron Bernstein!” I truly don’t remember hearing my name. The packed room grew quiet and people started turning their heads towards me, yet still I smiled dumbly toward the stage, waiting for the winner to walk up the two stairs to join the other two chosen contestants, Eileen and Jerry Ford.There was a quiet shuffling and whispering, but it wasn’t until someone poked me in the back to say that my name was being called.

It was one of the very few times in my life where I was lost for words. I don’t remember much more of the evening, but I do recall Eileen and Jerry talking to my parents at length. After all, I was barely a teen and having their daughter travel alone to New York City would have daunted any parent, even parents who had spawned a kid, who was five foot nine, and who behaved more like a worldly twenty- something-year-old despite the age on my passport. For my part, of course, I had been dying to live in NewYork, ever since I saw the Blade Runner, which I mistook for New York instead of LA in some unspecified futurist time.

The saying, ‘over-night success’ is almost never quite that simple. People train for years before getting acknowledged for what ever it is they end up being successful in. However, as South Africa was starved of any home -grown international celebrities, the interest in me was intense. Others who somehow or other had broken through from South Africa were few and far between. One was Anneliene Kriel (later Kersner) who happened to be the latest in a long list of South African Miss Worlds and then, there was Dr. Christian Barnard. She certainly merited world acclaim as she was the first person to do open heart surgery. And then there was little ol’ me, who had been a student at the Johannesburg School of the Arts and painting. And, let’s face it - it was not my major, getting me all this attention.

I often would arrive late to school and miss part of assembly and the daily speech of our principal. The front gates of my school were heavily guarded by school monitors, who relished giving out detentions for any late-comers.

Given this, I had what I reckoned to be a fool-proof routine. I had found a hole in the fence that surrounded the school, through which I would sneak through and quick as I could, catch up with my classmates. I thought nobody but me knew about this ruse of mine. But on the day after the contest had been broadcast, as I drew near the hole, I was mortified to see the entire

school all lined up for assembly right inside the fence, complete with a banner reading “Congratulations Caron!” and teachers holding aloft front pages of all the local newspapers splattered with my photograph! More embarrassing than this, there were hordes of paparazzi photographers documenting the ‘event’. The Big Apple.

I remember landing at JFK a few months later and it was havoc. People pushing and shoving, trying to get their bags and race out into the freezing January snow. Ford had said there would be a limo driver in a black suit and cap with my name on a sign and just to look for him and he would help me with my bags and take me to the hotel in midtown where all the other contestants were congregating at.

Alas, no such gentleman appeared, so I grabbed my suitcase and above all the noise, spotted a large black policeman. “People” he yelled, “be aware of pick-pockets, hold onto your bags at all times and remember, do not get into a cab that isn’t yellow! Your life and belongings could be at stake!” I smiled inwardly and thought to myself, “…I am home” As I had seen in the movies, I put my arm out, movie-style hailed my first cab.

When I arrived at the hotel, there was quite a commotion. Phone calls were being made about me. So I tapped someone on the shoulder and said, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but my name is Caron Bernstein.” This announcement brought palpable relief. All sorts of people rushed forward to introduce themselves. I wasn’t lost after all. Katy Ford was one of my favorite people I met when I first arrived and then I met Andy Warhol. At if you wanted to have the keys into the city, Andy was the person to know.

Issue N10 | 79

At one of the Ford luncheons, at the famed Twenty-One Club, I also met Brooke Shields, who told me about the Professional Children’s School and how it catered to working kids, mostly young film stars, musicians, dancers, an assortment of eclectic talent. I wanted to see it immediately.

On an impulse, before the luncheon ended, I found a cab to take me there and bounded into the principal’s office, asking what I needed to become a student there. She told me she would need to speak with my parents first and then take a test to see if I was a fit for the school. I told her not to worry about my parents and that I needed to sit the test before my “handlers” caught up with me. I think she may have been amused by me, so she let me take it in her office.

At first I thought the test was a trick, as the answer sheet seemed to supply five alternatives with one correct answer hidden inside. You see in South Africa, there was no such thing as multiple -choice, so it seemed far too easy to just have to recognize the answer rather than remember it. So I sailed pass that first hurdle. My parents, however, were somewhat trickier.

In a real sense, it was the parting of ways. I knew only one thing that I had no intention whatsoever of waiting in Africa for four more years - when I could live in New York among artists of every kind – many of whom were living.

Johannesburg’s School for the Arts would simply no longer suffice.

Despite, having caught the attention of one of the world’s best model scouts, I had no particular yearning to be a model. On the other hand acting up to a camera did come naturally to me. It was as though I just knew what the

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clothes were saying and the vision that the photograph wished to project. So I looked upon it and still do as the first steps on the way to being an actress.

Skipping forward a bit, I lived with Eileen and Jerry Ford and a slew of young teens in their family brownstone home on the upper -East side. I was surrounded by girls that could make you weep at their sheer perfection.

One of them was Christy Turlington, who was a few years older and helped show me the ropes. She was astonishing kind and strangely oblivious to her astonishing beauty.

Eileen’s house consisted of Treeny, the cook, Shelton the butler and a variety of girls who were scattered across the fourth and fifth floors, Christy and I being the only ‘permanent’ lodgers. As we were under–age, we were only allowed out with Ford bookers as chaperones; so when that wasn’t possible Christy and I would sneak downstairs and hide our pyjamas in the oven after dinner, then we would wait for Eileen to leave or go to sleep and get all dressed up and hit the town. At about four am, when we would return, we would slip out of our dresses and put our pyjamas back on and grab glasses of milk or water, so that if Eileen woke up - we could innocently tell her that we’d come down for a glass how we couldn’t sleep and needed a glass of milk because we could not sleep. The only problem was that sometimes Shelton would call us through the intercom to tell us to rush downstairs to retrieve our club gear. Not that he ever ratted on us - unlike Treeny who seemed to despise everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Ford.

Dinners at the Ford home could be very daunting for many of the young girls, Heaven forbid if you didn’t know which spoon or fork to use with each dish or worse, not know what a fish knife was. Many a private, mortified

tear was shed by terrified teens, but the ultimate of ultimate rules was when Shelton would go from Eileen to Jerry, and then clockwise around the table with whichever dish it was, covered by a giant silver dome – then if Eileen didn’t accept seconds, nor did we. Heaven help the poor leggy teen that did.

As we were all still growing, our tummies often growled for more dinner and, alas, the fridge was usually stored with stuff like Beluga Caviar, so we would sometimes sneak downstairs and smear it on Wonder Bread, to disguise the taste! Frankly we’d have much preferred peanut butter. The same on the drinks front.We’d be ‘forced’ to go down to the wine cellar and drink bottles of wine whose cost we were completely ignorant of. Coca -Cola would never have residence in Casa Ford, even though it would certainly have been my choice over burgundy.

Luckily, Eileen never found out about these particular crimes; although most of us endured a slap or yell if we ever dared put our hands on the doorjambs or on the walls of her home. I remember her having a cocktail party on the forbidden second floor, which was filled with Faberge Eggs, Louis IX furniture, hand-made silk Turkish rugs, and a priceless array of fine art. At the time, their origins were unknown to me, though I had just about connected that they were all of museum quality. Even President Nixon, the former leader of the free world, got his knuckles rapped for standing on the secondfloor landing with his hands on the door jambs. I remember registering the shock on his face when I asked someone whom the old dude was, getting smacked like an errant teen.

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ART

By Andreea Belba

A

rt fairs are obviously events to sell art, but they are also venues for contemplating art, valuing artworks and getting inspired.

After a few preliminary previews and glamorous soirees, Frieze London, one of the most buoyant and impressive fairs on the contemporary art circuit today, opened its doors. Over 160 leading galleries from all around the world participated.

Of course, the best people to talk about Frieze are its artists. It’s they, above all, who can explain to the rest of us the rationale that inspired them to produce such vivid new pieces of work. We in turn, through their ability to express in canvas and other media are then able to see the latest and best of contemporary art. Each year, Frieze Art shows us new dimensions of what is possible.

Frieze London has capitalized on a London vibe effectively doing for art what London Fashion Week does for British fashion. It’s conceived under a Big Tent - quite literally – enabling people to stroll from gallery to gallery under the same canvas.

This year’s edition was agreed by many to be the most enthralling so far – surpassing its successors in terms of quality, profundity and novelty. No visitor could emerge from viewing the different collections without feeling that they had witnessed some of the

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most vibrant and cutting edge art on the planet.

The decision by the still young co-founders to locate both Frieze London and Frieze Masters together also allows everyone to reflect on the historical canon that preceded our own era. For the duration of Frieze the Park, it is conceptually and theoretically possible to to take in the span of 7,000 years of art history.

Likewise Regent’s Part adds a dramatic backdrop to the event. Where they could, the design studio made every effort to bring elements of the park into the venue: commissioning Hattie Fox from That Flower Shop to bring the outdoors in. Her planting planting deliberately echoed the shrubberies and arboretum gardens scattered around the park.

Even more effective is the decision to run Frieze Sculpture 2015 concurrently. It means that as you walk to the venue you become aware of art installations around you. My favourite, I think was Seung-taek Lee, Earth Play, 1979-89. PICTURE AN OVERVIEW Frieze London is split in three sections: the main section, Focus and Live. Frieze London also highlights Sculpture Park, Frieze Talks and Frieze Projects.

The main section includes current exhibitors like Cheim & Read (New York), Galerie Kamel Mennour (Paris) and Simon Lee Gallery (London) or galleries that have previously exhibited in Focus, including Dépendance (Brussels) and Supportico Lopez (Berlin). Focus offers visitors a valuable insight into the emerging galleries landscape and the artists inhabiting it.

In all there were 36 stands consisting of solo and group presentations.

Live is an innovative section with a focus on vivid, dynamic or show-based works, where galleries promote enthusiastic projects in the context of an art fair and stimulate interaction by innovative programs and pieces.

Frieze Sculpture Park laid on a display of 6 contemporary and historical sculptures – embracing both established and emerging international artists. Located in the English Gardens, the park is a wonderful stage for the sculptures and installations of artists such as Richard Serra, Peter Freeman, Anri Sala and Carol Bove. (Incidentally, this is the only part of the show that outlives Frieze week. It’s open until the 17th of January 2016.)

On the other hand, the 2015 Frieze Talks section presents a resourceful amalgam of conversations, lectures, discussions and debates. It features important art-world figures, philosophers, and critics being done in collaboration with Frieze magazine.

Frieze Projects is a non-profit programme of talks, artists’ commissions and films with the support of LUMA foundation. The artists are invited to explore alternative realities and the narrations of mobile architecture. “What we eventually want to offer is an organic programme, and a place to explore ideas” states Ms Hoffmann, Luma’s patron.

The Reading Room is a newly created space where visitors can browse and buy the world’s best arts publications.

Finally, Frieze Masters also offers a unique contemporary overview on historical art from ancient times to the late 20th century through its three sections: the main gallery, Collections and Spotlight.

Collections, a section of eight presentations, reveals creativity in various historical stages, whereas Spotlight is devoted to solo presentations of artists throughout the world.

Here is below a selection of the most representative artists present to this edition.

Rachel Rose, the winner of Frieze Artist Award

2015, conceived a scale-model of the fair tent resorting to light and sound design to reproduce the fauna of Regent’s Park. Analysing the sensory attributes of the wild animals populating the park, the artist imitates them inside the tent by drawing attention to the diverse layers of communication and perception, and creating a chromatic palette for the visitors to experience.

Rachel Rose’s sensational installation has been the attraction of the fair. Her creation is an invitation for the visitors to crawl inside on their hands and knees, sit on a carpet and listen to ravishing melodious twists.These intimate effects bring back a pool of memories from the past and encourages day-dreaming.

Park design has been Rose’s passion for some time: “A park is like a mini-narrative. It’s like a physicalized film” she says. Rachel Rose studied painting, history of art and finally took up video, her present work connecting the two media of painting and film. The New-York-based Rachel Rose (1986) who is currently exhibiting at Serpentine Galleries, is going to have forthcoming solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, CAstello di Rivoli, Turin and the Aspen Museum.

Jesse Wine exhibited his ceramics-based works in three sections of Frieze 2015. They reference art masters, autobiographical events and semiotics.

Camille Henrot presents new drawings in this year’s edition. Her ridiculous and precise portraits praise human daily actions and force us to face defeat. Her sculpture explores the limits of sexuality and gender.

Peter McDonald, exhibited in the main gallery section of Frieze 2015. Despite his English sounding name he is an English-Japanese artist who conceives equidistant universes in vibrant and fresh drawings. His bubble-faced characters depict everyday actions in a way that sheds light on the experiences and emotions we share.

Mira Dancy presented a solo show within the Focus section. Her feminist paintings with evident influences of the German expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Matisse are emblematic of her larger paintings – all of which represent female figures. The initial drawings are transferred within the computer and treated by layering techniques in hues of magenta and blue or black and white.

Lutz Bacher, whose work explores the politics of personal identity, draws the public’s attention with phrases of foreboding such as “Welcome to purgatory” or “Don’t stop now, the end is near” as part of her participation in Frieze Projects.

Tunga, a Brazilian artist includes his rare piece Xifópagas Capilares (Siamese Hair Twins, 1987) in Frieze Live programme. The work presents twin girls walking around connected by a long braid of hair hanging between them.You feel as though you have wandered into a room displaying the an anthropological exhibit from centuries ago when mythical creatures stalked the land.

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REGAT TA

Les Voiles de St Tropez

By Irina Kazaridi

“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea.” John Kennedy

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S

oon the yachting fraternity will leave the Mediterranean and head off elsewhere, to beat the winter gales about to sweep the Mediterranean.

Les Voiles de St Tropez represents the most photogenic fleet to be seen anywhere. It’s as though the history of yachting is sailing past your eyes - an impression that is reinforced by the fact that it is one of the least commercialized events in the international jet–setter’s diary.

Following this era as a Bermudian Ketch, she suffered a period of neglect until rescued by her then owners in Greece, and later taken to Asia to be given a new lease of life.

She was also, as sailors, like to put it a terrific mover. The famous French sailor, Eric Tabarly, was as fulsome in his praise of her as the reporter in the field.. Certainly whenever she enters a race she is likely to be one of the dominant participants. She won the King’s Cup in both 1920 and in 1923.

And precisely because it recreates and evokes the more tranquil waters of past yachting history, it is interesting to recall the history of these nautical sea birds that glide and duck to the rhythm of the wind.

In 2001 this exceptional boat was given a refit, ushering in a new period in her history and can now be charted by the week.

THE SPIRIT OF MOONBEAM

THE SPIRIT OF MANITOU

Moonbeam first set to sea from Fife in Scotland in 1920. At the time, the venerable Field magazine was lyrical in its praise. It was the writer stated: the most beautiful yacht in the world. Today, it still cuts a very dashing image through the sea, a full 29m and very graceful to boot.

John Kennedy’s previous yacht is still happily weaving her way through the coves of Elbe and other Mediterranean coves. In her heyday she and Moonbeam could definitely have exchanged an indiscretion or two.

The Moonbeam partially became legendary because of its ledger of owners.

Owned for many years by Prince Rainier of Monaco, she was a familiar sight all around the Mediterranean, playing host to many famous names.

The boat was delivered to him at Chesaspeak Bay and was equipped with the most modern communications equipment so that Kennedy could teach in touch with the Pentagon and even the Kremlin.

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YACHT The boat first came into being in 1931. It was designed by one of the most famous shipbuilders of the day, Olin Stevens, for James Lowe. His great ambition was to win the Chicago Mac Race ( from Chicago to Mac Race ) (from Chicago to Mackinac Island, across Lake Michigan. This ambition was fulfilled in 1938.

Mr Lowe ultimately sold his prize vessel onto the coastline and for a short time the boat had a slightly infra dig existence as a Coast Guard training vessel. She was rescued from this role when Kennedy’s naval aide, Captain Tazewell Shepard Jr, spotted her. Assured of a place in yachting history, staff nicknamed ‘Manitou’, the “Floating Whitehouse”.

After Kennedy died, Aristotle Onassis, who was about to marry Jackie Kennedy in October 1968, sought to buy MANITOU at any price.The then owners however refused.

THE SPIRIT OF TUIGA Tuiga is another superlative boat that has stood the test of time, wooing the heart of the classic sailing community.

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She was commissioned by the Duc de Medinacelli, a close friend of the King of Spain, Alphonse XIII. William Fife designed Tuiga as a twin to the Fifebuilt Hispania, so that the two 15-meter JI vessels were equally matched for racing purposes. From a distance, the two sisters were indeed difficult to distinguish.

Astonishing, the boatyard managed to complete the commission in just six months. It was whispered that the Duc de Medinacelli preferred to rein in Tuiga for fear of creating the embarrassing situation of beating King Alphonse XIII. Tuiga too has been restored very sensitively – by none other than the predecessors of William Fife so that they were able to work off the old drawings.The Yacht Club de Monaco promptly purchased her and, as a result, Tuiga is often raced by H.S.H. Prince Albert II himself.

In fact, in this year’s Regatta , Prince Albert accepted a challenge from Prince Charles de Bourbon-Siciles and won.

“In 2001 this exceptional boat was given a refit, ushering in a new period in her history and can now be charted by the week.�

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JE WELLERY

The Sparkle of Jewels

By Nadine Beydoun – Barbey My first introduction to the gem industry was through my family connections. My paternal uncles have mining interests in Sierra Lionne, Congo-Kinshasa, Angola and Liberia. Between the ages of ten and sixteen, I spent four whole summers visiting my cousins and extended family.

I

think that’s when I first started to become aware of the beauty and power of precious stones and found life in Africa equally exciting.There are probably only about 10 women on the dealing side of business. It’s a tough world when you’re working with miners, dealers and high-net worth individuals.

Thematically, I’m also very drawn to the beauty of nature and it’s delicate and yet powerful gestures. In the atelier, we’re a team of artists and artisans who complement each other skills to create perfect harmony and perfection.

I love the moment when somebody first sees what we’ve done for them.

Everyone deserves something that is made just for them without having to put down half a million dollars down as a starting point.

Multi-faceted existence A jeweller has a behind-the-scenes existence and a public face. Behind the scene, you are both a gem hunter and a curator. However, as soon as you make the jewels to sell you become a creator, designer and storyteller.

Bespoke is not necessarily about higher pricing. Nor is it about pushing the sale of the biggest and most expensive gem - as sometimes is the case in in Bond Street or Place Vendome. It’s about people.

Finding the best stones

To connect with the customer you also have to be something of a psychologist and empathize with emotional needs so that you can interpret and illuminate people’s stories into jewels. Jewellery is particularly emotional for women. We ornate ourselves to symbolize what we stand for.

When designing a bespoke piece, I am trying to reflect the best of each women’s character traits; I like to empower her internally and socially. I’m translating each person’s story through my work: using an archive of literature, history, mythology music, architecture and art.

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I’m both a gem trader and a jeweller. This means I’m dealing with both miners and dealers. They are the ones who learn of new discoveries and special stones. I also work privately with collectors around the word.

My efforts are put into making sure that my partnerships with all three parties are conducted in confidence and complete trust. By doing this, I can guarantee that the top stones are arriving directly to my company for trade.

A corollary to this is having a good eye. You can’t let emotions cloud your judgement. Before considering any stone, I always check its performance

in darkened spaces and shadows. If they don’t pass this vital test, I will have nothing more to do with them.

People with the best stones now come to me. In exchange I’ll price the best goods on the market for other wholesalers in the industry working with gem material. Understanding the value for buy and sell is a business in itself. I also advise luxury brands in the purchase of gems.

the dark.This is why ‘the light’ test is so important. After the first spontaneous emotion I get in the presence of a remarkable stone, I ask myself: how does this beauty perform in the evening.

Everyone will hold a stone up to the light to decide. That’s not enough.

My decision will come from holding it the shadow of the later afternoon. If they don’t pass this test, then it won’t be capable of keeping it’s colour in the evening when jewels are mostly worn.

Exotic Landscapes The rarest gems are located in some of the most extreme natural environments in the world. A quick tour of key countries to visit, include many destinations off the beaten track: Ruby mines in Burma Myanmar..

Sapphires from Madagascar and Sri Lanka… Emeralds from Colombia and Zambia … Topaz in Brazil… Opal in Australia and so on.

Very shortly I’m going to the north of Myanmar that forms the Eastern Himalayan syntaxis in Southeast Tibet. Mogok has an astonishing variety of gemstones – including the world’s finest blood red rubies. Blue sapphires have also been mined here for over 200 years.

The Allure of Jewels I see precious stones as linking the wearer and owner to the three dimensions of time: past, present and future. They stand as an evocation and testimony of the past; are worn in the present and are an investment for the future.

You are connected to the past because all stones are born out of geological time. They bear witness to the elemental forces that produce the geography of our world, the division of our continents, the extremes of temperature and extraordinary landscapes.

Whether you are looking at precious stones such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emerald, or the whole array of semi-precious stones they are the product of the earth’s history: stretching back as much as 15 million years.

That’s sensational.

In the present jewels are for wearing, they make a statement about you. In my view, a jewel should make you sparkle and stand out even when you’re in

The Future, is about investment, transmission and patrimony. It’s a very unique asset – an asset that increases in value but has enormous mobility and liquidity.

The Art of Design Ultimately the fun part of Haute Joaillerie is creating something completely original and personal. I go to the theatre a lot, I listen to music, I read a lot and connect with everything around me. Obviously all these inspirations go into my work.

But crucially.. It’s about identifying who you are and what matters. It’s about hinting and alluding to something that is deeply personal. It’s painting with the colours and shapes that come together to make a story that will enhance the colouring and shape of a women’s best features Haute Joaillerie It’s a lot like haute couture. When I look at anyone, I’m observing everything about them down to the way they move and gesticulate. Obviously, necklaces that glamourize one young princess may not work for another, All of their proportions are taken into consideration, from the shape of their face, the fall of their eyes, the shape of their ear lobes, whether and how their ears are pierced, the length of their neck, bone structure, the size of their shoulders and of course the décolletage and bust line. Complexion counts too. That’s the reason for bespoke work.

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Beyond that I have to bear in mind the cultural connotations of certain stones. Because my cosmopolitan background, I can appreciate what stones mean to different cultures. My parents were a great example of people who were able to adapt to different languages and cultures and had a real taste for adventure.

Discretion: The Name of the Game I work with several royal families and a lot of film stars. I see my business life as a series of interlocking relationships. They are very important to me.

Some are very straightforward and feel natural from the beginning while others, for very good reasons, take longer to mature. In our business, you don’t name “names”. When I was at Van Cleef and Arpels, the ledger often read Mr Smith!

Favourite Stone My favourite stone of all, is an important black opal of 18.88 carats (mystical numbers for me), both sides are incredible, one side being the rarest Harlequin pattern and the other completely different yet spectacular. It’s one of the rarest in the world and the national gemstone of Australia. I went to a lot of trouble to procure it and it’s been the only stone I’ve kept for myself.

I have always been seduced by the amazing fire within these stones.

Unlike other gemstones, no one opal is the same. The pattern varies and the hues change as they move. To those who haven’t seen them, I’d say think of the most beautiful church window you’ve ever seen, or a painting of Monet’s, and other time’s your looking through a kaleidoscope.

The best of them are known to come from the Lightning Ridge mines in New South Wales. People still have difficulty in understanding the way opals are valued. Examples of brands who have historically worked with these unique gems in high jewelley include Cartier and Renne Lalique during the Art Nouveau era..

More recently Richemont group and LVMH are using Australian Opals in their rarest collections. Among the Queen’s private collection, there’s one beautiful opal necklace given to her by the Australian Government.

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The wholesale prices can range from five hundred to a couple of hundred thousand dollars per stone.

Like anything rare, the most precious stones will fetch exceptional prices. Recently a blue diamond sold for 45 million a record price for any gem because of its rarity, the difference is that there’s a broader market that understands diamonds in comparison with other rare gems

This is not always quite as easy to determine as outsiders imagine. A historical example from the nineteenth century would be that amethysts were downgraded precious to semi-precious stones; the reason being that large deposits were discovered in Brazil and Uruguay.

Bad cutting can also impact the value, however sometimes re cutting is worth the trouble and this is a big business in the dealer trade. Buying stones that are badly cut and improving the cut to improve clarity to increase value is quite a common business between traders in the industry.

Spotting Opportunities I’d had my eyes and heart on this one stone for several years. But previously every time I had approached the then owner, he had always turned whatever offer I made down. He shifted his position when the 2008 hit Australia. The negotiation was immensely tough.

The seller insisted that he would only sell if I bought a variety of other lots too. This required some sacrifices on my side. But I don’t regret it. I always knew it would be a superb investment.

I also bought into Paraiba before the big prices rises.

I’ve always loved them as a stone for their colour. The tourmalines make fantastic jewels. Back then, no one really knew what this unusual Tourmaline was: except for the fact that the colour was a mesmerising blue/ green turquoise crystal that you just wanted to swim into.

A few years later I couldn’t believe the demand on this gem. The resources were scarce and the interest from the jewellery industry was strong. The price just soared in very little time. At the time I spent 400,000 US dollars. Now they are many times more. These are the kind of deals I like to do for my clients.

Investment Strategies The most important thing to say is that like with any other investment collector-grade stones operate at many different price points. If you are interested in appreciation just as with art it’s important to take professional advice. In this field it is easy to be conned.

There are far too many stories about top gemmologists and gem-hunters over-evaluating their own acquisitions and, later, being disappointed.

Take the opal, where colour is a major issue. The rarity of colours within a black opal follows the order of the light spectrum - with red being the rarest and most valuable colour with orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet following in value. But that’s not the whole story. A strong and intense blue-green which has a play of colour due to the weight of the stone may be more valuable than a less brilliant red.

Rarity is another obvious filter. That means being aware of supply and demand, having a grasp of the geopolitical situation and a sense for future trends. Right now for example, there’s a noted interest in gemstones like Paraibas, Spinels, Imperial topaz, Aigue Marines and Opals.

Naturally these trends are usually launched by the top jewellery maisons.

But to profit from a situations you need to have spotted it before it goes mainstream. As happened with me in the case of Paraiba.

Then there’s geopolitical and ethical issues. An example would be the drug cartels in Columbia, Burma until recently, and even the politics between different mining companies.

I sincerely believe that investing in gems stones is tangible and logical, History has proven this in so many ways. Crown jewels were pawned to recruit armies across Europe during great wars and allowed families to leave with their liquid assets in hand.

It’s really not comparable to investing in contemporary art or other long term investments despite what many think. Unfortunately knowledge about how to understand this asset hasn’t been easily accessible to the general public.

I want to give people the facts. Gem assets are a great way of preserving wealth to hedge against other more volatile investments and currencies.

There’s an effort today from the gem industry to educate family offices and investors around the world as it still remains the easiest moving liquid asset during difficult times.

Towards the Future I’ve spent already 21 years in the business - first of all in diamond commodities in Africa and then in Europe for Bulgari and Van Cleef and Arpels.With this experience behind me, I’m setting up a trading platform for precious stones and giving investment advice to family offices and individuals.

In all other ways, I’m going to continue as before, bringing life to high jewellery from Place Vendome-Paris and Monte Carlo-Monaco with my exceptional team of artisans.

There are a variety of factors that need to be thought about. Some obvious, some less so: I’ll be thinking about the percentage of stones left; where they’re being mined; how they’re being mined and how they’re being treated.

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SPORTS

RUGBY “Sport has the power to change the world… It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does…” Nelson Mandela 1995.

By Christopher Goddard

O

n June 24th 1995, the South Africa Rugby team defeated New Zealand in the World Cup by 15 points to 12. It was an event that shook the world.At that moment SouthAfrica was still struggling to shake free of the dark past of apartheid and still stood blinking in the harsh glare of hostile scrutiny.This was the first time the country had been allowed out of its political isolation and accepted as a competitor in international sporting events.

With the inspiration that is only given to true leaders, Mandela seized the moment. He donned the ‘strip’ of the national team and publicly embraced the sport as something central to South Africa’s identity. A black president, wholeheartedly identifying with a sport overwhelmingly dominated by whites in a country with a 90% black majority, was a stroke of political genius that created a nation.

In this case at least, sport had indeed ‘changed the world’. The fact that South Africa had won The World Cup seemed to confirm that the gods were smiling on his efforts.

Mandela’s vision was that sport heals differences - particularly racial ones – and acts to promote

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some sort of brotherhood of man. Recent events still seem to prove him right.The 2015 World Cup was a remarkable success. The standard of play was possibly higher than it has ever been. The grit and determination several teams showed in grimly persisting in the face of superior opposition, and – best of all – the way supporters of defeated national teams have rooted for one or other of those still in the competition was inspiring.

At the same time, something in his appeal to the nobler aspects of sport seems to come from another world. Mandela was seventy seven years old when he became President; he grew up at a time with a very different attitude to sport from today. A hundred years ago what can fairly be described as British values predominated, namely that, above all, sport should be ‘sporting’, a word that has come to be synonymous with ‘fair play’. If winning was the name of the game, being a ‘good loser’ was even more important.

It would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of Mandela’s wisdom in supporting South African rugby: his gesture had indeed proved that sport can heal. But by the same token, there is perhaps the implication that it has the potential

to divide also. The fact is that countries that no longer fight wars with each other, increasingly define themselves by sporting success. So long as the elevated ideals implied by Mandela’s speech prevail, this is obviously ‘a consummation devoutly to be wished’ and all will be well.

But times have changed beyond recognition since Mandela was growing up. For those with the means to exploit them, our Brave New Global World has created markets of a potential that exceed the dreams of avarice. Sport, which attracts millions of fans worldwide, is just such an opportunity. This rests on the fact that sport is probably the last remaining activity where nationalism is still sufficiently respectable to escape the suffocating clutches of political correctness.

To this has been added an element of monumental proportions – money, zillions of it. Unlike football, which has long since sunk into a welter of corruption, gratuitous violence and ostentatious vulgarity, Rugby resisted the temptations of professionalism longer than most other sports.

Ironically, it succumbed just a few weeks after South Africa’s unexpected win over New Zealand: this was to be the last major contest of Rugby’s

sporting era. Since then, despite Mandela’s noble vision, the ideals he expressed, seem to be becoming ones of historical interest rather than practical application.

How has this worked out in practice? The point is that rugby is perfectly constituted – as far as any sport can be – as a substitute for the horrifically violent international disputes of the past. It is a contact sport. There are carefully coded rules and a referee. But these still permit a level of physical impact that is beginning to cause serious concern.

Representatives of the National Football League in the United States, the body that controls American Football, have expressed amazement at Rugby’s level of violence given the relative lack of protective gear worn by the players.

But the chance of international prestige, plus the increasingly invasive presence of global business,

has wrought changes in the way the game is played and who gets to play in it. In contrast to the Corinthian values prevailing in the sport in the past, there is now enormous pressure to win at all costs – the advertising, merchandising, sponsorship and all ‘hoohah’ of publicity demands it. This has had a direct effect, not just on players’ attitudes, but also on the kind of players who get picked. Rugby players are progressively getting bigger, heavier, stronger and faster. On average, players are now an inch taller and a stone heavier than they were when South Africa defeated New Zealand in 1995.

(Six foot four inches tall and seventeen stone are not uncommon). The impact of two such people colliding with each other at speed can easily be imagined. Given the size and weight of the average Rugby forward, the bottom of a collapsing scrum is a place no one with any sense of self-preservation

would wish to be. For the same reasons, the way the game is played is also changing. Previously the rule that tackles should be low was fairly well observed.

There is now a greater prevalence of high tackles that do much more damage. Hip and knee replacements are now regularly required at age 40 rather than 60. Rory Lamont, a Scottish international, has had no less than eighteen operations for a variety of injuries. In this recent World Cup alone, England, Wales, Australia, France, Scotland, South Africa and Argentina all lost players to injury.

Previously, injuries tended to be mainly hamstrings, torn ligaments, fractured knees etc. Partly due to an apparent relaxation of the rules governing tackling, there is a worrying increase in much more serious injuries – particularly concussion.

For example, 2013/14 was the third successive year in which concussion was the most common injury. In 2014 alone, incidence of concussions in Rugby rose by a startling 59 percent. Simon Kemp, Rugby Union’s Chief Medical Officer admits that concussions have been insufficiently reported and predicts their incidence is likely to increase.

Barry O’Driscoll, a doctor and an ex rugby player whose nephew, Brian O’Driscoll, an Irish international, suffered an obvious concussion during a match, but was allowed back in the game after only five minutes examination, goes further. “Rugby is trivialising concussion”, he says, pointing out that the official ‘pitch side concussion assessment’ only insists on a few minutes rest on the touch line and the ability to answer half a dozen simple questions before being allowed to continue playing. In the past, the stipulated recovery time was seven days.

There is now mounting evidence that concussion can lead to something called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Symptoms include severe depressions and dangerous mood swings, sometimes leading to epilepsy - occasionally even to suicide. American football, that other sport in which direct physical contact is built into the play, is better protected with body armour and helmets. Even so, The National Football League, which controls the game, is currently committing 130 million dollars over the next ten years to an investigation of the problems caused to players by concussion. They are also processing compensation claims running into hundreds of millions of dollars.

All this is a far cry from Rugby’s probably mythical origins. The story is that some time about 1840, William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby school, picked up the ball during a game of football and ran with it, an action which, given the unforgiving attitude prevailing in English Public Schools to nonconformity, probably earned him a severe squashing.

Even so, from such supposedly gentlemanly origins the eponymous named game of Rugby developed into Rugby Union, complete with rules and referee.

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William Ellis may indeed have picked up the ball and run with it, but he was certainly not the first to do so. In fact Rugby today appears to be turning full circle, and reverting – at least in spirit - to infinitely older and more violent origins that in some ways were a foretaste of what we are seeing now. Athenaeus, a critic and playright in Athens the 3rd century AD refers to a Roman game called Harpastrum curiously similar to Rugby. Harpastrum was apparently descended from a Greek game called Phaininda. Antiphanes writing some five hundred years before Athenaeus has left a description of this sometimes violent sport. “He seized the ball and passed it to a team mate, while dodging another and laughing… He pushed it out of the way of another… All the while the crowd responded with shouts of ‘Out of bounds; too far; right beside him; over his head; pass it back to the scrum!’ The nature of the game is confirmed by another report by Claudius Galen in the second century AD. “ When people face each other, vigorously attempting to prevent each other from taking the space in between, their exertions are very heavy, involving much use of the hold by the neck and wrestling holds”. This is likely to be an authentic account, because Galen, as a physician, would certainly have been required to treat the injured players.

A sport so obviously confrontational appeals

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naturally to man’s aggressive, competitive spirit.

From earliest times, rivalries have been tested and scores settled by contests that seem to foreshadow modern Rugby. Rival mobs from different parts of a town would take each other on in a contest that consisted of grabbing possession of an inflated pigs bladder and running with it, hoping to cross some sort of goal line or reach a designated marker. This would be resisted by any – sometimes literally any – force necessary.

The disorder this provoked led to its official outlaw in 1314. In that year, Nicolas de Farndone, Lord Mayor of London proscribed as follows. “…

Foreasmuch as there is great noise in the City caused by hustling over large footballs in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise – which God forbid – we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in this city in the future”.

At one time or another, almost every subsequent King or Queen of England from then until 1607 also banned it – Edward III, Henry IV, Richard II, Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. Rugby, when played well, is like no other sport.

Because of the physical demands on the players, it has exceptional excitement, drama and variety. It combines the fierce, head-locked confrontation of all-in wrestling with the graceful, free flowing manoeuvres of a three quarter line slicing through

the opposition and sprinting for the touchdown.

But its violent capacity for causing physical injury is easily abused – and has been. As a result of commercial pressures ‘the season’ is being increasingly stretched, becoming an almost an all year round festival of international events, leaving less and less recuperation time for the players.

At the same time, under constant pressure to win, players are increasingly picked for their size, weight and strength as well as their ability. Sport is certainly an expression of national identity.

But what keeps it civilised is the concept of ‘fair play’ - particularly that bizarre British notion of being a ‘good loser’. It remains to be seen to what extent Mandela’s hopes and ideals can survive the increasingly commercial pressures of a global world. Anyone who doubts the potential dangers of globalisation in sport, need only refer to the scandals at FIFA, football’s governing body, the incidence of match fixing in Indian and Pakistani Test cricket and the accusations and counter accusations that have cast a long shadow over Formula One.

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Crown Royal headgear or watch winder?

Discover the world of Fine Watchmaking at www.hautehorlogerie.org Crown | The winding crown is a knurled or fluted button of various shapes, held between the thumb and forefinger and used to wind the watch. Some crowns incorporate a mobile pushbutton for operating a chronograph mechanism or to release the cover of a hunter case.

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TR AVEL

Dubai

By Ksenia Mezentseva

I

f you don’t fancy skiing vacations and Caribbean in the winter season is too far to fly from Europe, consider Dubai as a family friendly, luxurious, hot and sophisticated winter vacation spot!

The longest European flight is 6 hours, that is, if you are coming from London. Most airlines will have multiple flights per day, I particularly love the service that Emirates offers on and off board.

Dubai has many amazing hotels, last time I was there we decided to try the newly opened Four Seasons which was named the Best New Hotel in the Middle East in 2015 by Middle East Hotel awards. It is rather small by Dubai standards, just over 200 rooms, which I love as I prefer less people while at the beach. Beware of the construction that is happening across the bay – but then again, Dubai seems to always be under construction!

THINGS TO DO There isn’t much sightseeing in the desert, but you can find various activities to keep yourself busy in Dubai!

THE DESERT As I said before – the desert does not have any sightseeing but it surely presents a lot of fun entertaining experiences that are offered to the tourists!

From 4x4 safari tides, to sand snowboarding, to camel rides, to beautiful oasis resorts with beautiful belly dancers, great dinners and magnificent local entertainers.

DUBAI AUTODROME The 5.4 km circuit allows beginners as well as professional drivers to test their driving skills, race exotic super cars and have a great time! The goal of the centre is to promote racing on the national level. Thus for the ones who really want to learn it offers a full in-class as well as behind the wheel experience.

Otherwise choose the brand you like from the world’s best and have a fun time!

FOR DOLPHIN LOVERS… The Dolphin Bay at the Atlantis Hotel lets you swim and play with dolphins. Alternatively the Dubai Dolphinarium has several daily interactive dolphin and seals shows for the ones who want to enjoy the beautiful mammals and stay dry!

WATER AQUARIUM AND UNDERWATER ZOO The Aquarium is located at the Dubai Mall and presents a several storyhigh 10 million liter aquarium. In reality the whole experience is a 100 meter tunnel where you are surrounded by the fish – from colorful exotic ones to the scary big sharks. The main walk takes about 10 minutes but if you are already at the mall it’s a fun thing to do. The zoo part it targeted more at children – so go if you have some with you!

SKYDIVE DUBAI Skydive center located in Dubai Marina. It offers tandem dives for beginners as well as professional training program – a combination

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of ground school and training jumps. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (The White Mosque).

Considered the main worship place in United Emirates the mosque is located in Abu Dhabi – just an hour and a half drive from Dubai. During the main prayers up to 40,000 visit the mosque. It is a beautiful site to visit – by design it includes materials from many different countries and says to “unite the world” Ferrari World Abi Dhabi The world’s first Ferrari themed amusement park is also located in Abu Dhabi. If you are the fan of the brand and like the adrenalin rush it is definitely worth a visit!

SHOPPING: DUBAI MALL The luxury mall is biggest in the world by total area – it has about 1200 stores! Here you will find any brand you want from Hermes, Piaget and Louis Vuitton to Zara and H&M. Apart from shopping the mall has many restaurants, the gold market as well as some indoor activities such as the Acquarium, the Ice skating rink.You can easily spend hours there.

MALL OF THE EMIRATES The second huge shopping attraction hosts 100 restaurants, Ski Dubai – Dubai’s indoor ski park, a movie theatre and a large family entertainment center.

said that 10 tons of gold is present at the souk at all times. Exciting place to just see or to shop if you are interested in local designs.

PLACES TO EAT: The restaurant scene in Dubai is breathtaking and will cater to any foodie. From Hakkasan to La Petit Maison, from Zuma and Nobu to the Jean George and Ivy, you name it - all the top world’s restaurants have a location here. Here some of my favorites: IVY The classy location of the famous London club is located in DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) at Jumeira Emirates Towers. The menu is great so is the atmosphere. More business people than tourists.

Try the truffle risotto, it’s mouthwatering!

HAKKASAN Also based in Jumeirah Emirates Tower Hakkasan is open for lunch and dinner starting at 5pm. The typical decor of dark wooden and stone panels replicates the so loved feel of modern happening Asian joint we know from New York and London. The restaurant is a bit of a party place.

COYA

GOLD SOUK (MARKET) A traditional gold market is almost solely focused on jewelry. It features famous stores and brands as well as smaller stores that only operate there. It is

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Another posh popular London restaurant has made it to Dubai. Coya

has opened in at the end of last year at the Four Seasons Jumeirah beach and quickly became a local hotspot. The concept is Peruvian fusion with big creative sections of ceviche and teradito, followed by great main course choices. The crowd is trendy and the place is buzzing. If you are a smoker you’ll be glad to find a busy smoking friendly bar at the entrance.

QBARA A contemporary Arabic restaurant with Arabic-fusion cuisine. It looks like a night club with modern dark walls and dimmed lights.The atmosphere is great – it is happening but yet not too loud, there is a life musician accompanied by the modern beats, the crowd is beautiful.The menu is superb – in fact it is so good that it’s hard to choose – you want to have it all. So I say, go for the 12-course pre-fix. It’s a lot of food but it is so worth it!

PAI THAI A nice Thai restaurant located on one of the channels at Al Qasr Hotel.

Get a table at the outside terrace (given its not too hot) and enjoy the serenity of the water, the Venice-like view with boats passing by and the delicious authentic food!

BRUNCH I think brunch is a big part of any vacation - you wake up late, have a coffee, maybe go to the gym in the morning, and then casually lead yourself to a delightful 2-3 hour feast.

The most famous brunch in Dubai is at Al Qasr hotel. It is full of variety as well as people. There is live entertainment. Not only the hotel is big and has many guests who want to visit, the venue is pretty popular with locals and other tourists. You need to book way in advance and by that I mean a few weeks ahead.

The newly opened Four Seasons has a nice brunch at The Suk restaurant.

The stations are broken in themes - the seafood, pasta, Asian, Indian, salads, Italian deli, fruit, dessert - you name it! The brunch is accompanied by life music.

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PHIL ANTHROPY

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

By Iain Clark

“We cannot change the world overnight, but we believe we can make a difference.”

T

he 2015 Rugby World Cup has passed, and with it packed stadiums have been treated to what’s widely been considered as the best Rugby World Cup ever; shock victories, second tier nations stepping up to the mark and the true values of the sport coming to the fore: respect, sportsmanship, integrity; the power of sport in action.

Rewind twenty years, and we arrive at the defining moment of the sport, and one which had a profound impact around the world as President Nelson Mandela, wearing the Springbok jersey, handed the William Webb Ellis trophy to South African captain Francois Pienaar, a moment which united a nation and highlighted power sport holds as a force for good.

The impact of the 1995 Rugby World Cup also influenced luxury goods manufacturer Richemont and German automotive giant Daimler, two blue chip companies with a long commitment to sport who decided to team up to get an organisation focused on using sport as a tool for social change off the ground.

The Laureus World Sports Academy was created, with 30 of the greatest living sports legends named as founder members, a number which has now risen to over 50. On May 25, 2000, the majority of the Academy Members gathered in Monaco for the very first Laureus World Sports Awards. It was an impressive collection of sporting legends, but it is fair to say that the biggest name was a huge surprise all round, as the door to the Academy meeting room opened and in walked President Nelson Mandela.

It was in Monaco that President Mandela, who was to become the

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Patron of Laureus, made the visionary speech which has become the philosophy of Laureus and the driving force which has shaped its work for ten years. His speech has become the dictum not only for Laureus, but for the whole Sport for Good movement. He said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair”.

Sebastian Coe, British athletics legend, was one of the Academy members present in Monaco in 2000. Reflecting some years later, Coe said: “All of us were accustomed to meeting fairly important people, but seeing Nelson Mandela arrive unexpectedly to tell us how much he supported what we were trying to achieve was impressive to say the least. I am not sure how we had been kept unaware that he was coming to Monaco, but it had the desired effect.

We all believed in the concept of Sport for Good but having perhaps the most admired man in the world at that time there to urge us on was exhilarating.”

Also present in Monaco that first year was Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, who received the very first Laureus Sport for Good Award. The success of the Special Olympics provided an early inspirational model for the work of the Laureus Foundation, which over ten years has actively collaborated with many organisations in the sport development community to help it succeed in its mission.

President Mandela’s message has lived on, and still rings true 15 years later, with the sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy being

© Getty Images for Laureaus

© Getty Images for Laureaus

© Getty Images for Laureaus

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair” supported by over 150 Ambassadors, who all believe that one thing is true, sport has no boundaries, and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation has the power to help young people around the world who need it most.

Since 2000 the Laureus Awards Ceremony, taking place in major cities around the world, have played host to some of the biggest names in world sport, from world record holders and grand slam champions to Ballon D’or winners; David Beckham, Usain Bolt, Roger Federer, Ronaldo, Michael Schumacher, Serena Williams and Tiger Woods to name a few.

Benefitting from this event, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, with the encouragement of its Patrons, Daimler and Richemont, and its Global Partners, Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen, has quietly, but indelibly impacted on the lives of millions of children around the world.

Who do Laureus help?

Laureus supports over 150 projects in 35 countries, who all have one goal in common; using sport to influence social change. From surfing on the beaches of Cape Town, football in the poorest slums of Mathare, Kenya and skiing on in the Alps of Austria. With the support of its network of Academy Members and Ambassadors, Laureus projects tackle a host of social issues including juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems such as obesity Bethwell Mysanga Mjiru is a project leader at the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA). At MYSA, which is based in one of the poorest slums of Kenya, football is used as a

beacon of hope. In fact, the sport ‘saved’.

Bethwell. While his friends were becoming involved with drugs and crime, Bethwell was at the makeshift football pitch, in bare feet, kicking a ball around.

Having been involved in the project as a participant, then a coach, and now a leader, Bethwell represents everything that the Laureus Academy aim to achieve through the Sport for Good Foundation.

At MYSA, the ball kicks off the conversation and engages local youngsters to attend, but the real goal is to help provide a pathway to a better future.

Libraries give young people access to books and a space to learn and chance to further their education. Bethwell is also in charge of a ‘football for hope’ centre, which focuses on health and education. For the project’s efforts in the community, MYSA has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Meanwhile, in India, IMAGE project, uses sport to engage with disabled youngsters, often overlooked by society and the communities in which they live. Created in partnership with Laureus in 2005, IMAGE gives youngsters with a disability the opportunity play sport. From ‘Malkhamb’, a sport that requires incredible strength and agility to scale a pole and perform yoga asanas on the tip of the pole to throwing a cricket ball, or a 100m-handstand race, the young people thrived. Indeed, when they interacted with their ablebodied counterparts, perceptions changed.

Reflecting on the success of IMAGE, project co-founder Sneh Gupta says:

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© Getty Images for Laureaus

“I won’t forget the smiling faces of the young children here.”

“Sport really worked, and after a period of time, the non-disabled kids, they began to respect.They began to notice the abilities of the disabled.They began to see that just because somebody’s leg might not be working, somebody’s hand might not be working, arm might not be working; you can’t just write them off or say that they have any lesser ability than people who have got all four limbs working perfectly well.”

As well as the Laureus Academy,The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation is supported by over 150 Ambassadors who all spread the Laureus message around the world.

For example, Missy Franklin, American swimming sensation, recently took time out of her hectic training and competition schedule to spend time with youngsters from the Foundation of Goodness programme in Seenigama, Sri Lanka. Foundation of Goodness was founded in 1999, to provide essential services to the southern Sri Lankan village of Seenigama and aid the development the local community. The objectives of the organisation changed dramatically following the Tsunami when, with the support of Laureus, the Foundation of Goodness developed the Seenigama Sport for Life Project to help rebuild the community.

Following her visit, Franklin said: “I come here and see what these people have overcome and they tell me that they’re inspired by me but for me it’s the complete opposite. I won’t forget the smiling faces of the young children here.”

Meanwhile, in South Africa, as the Springboks were preparing for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Laureus Ambassador Bryan Habana met with young aspiring rugby players from the Vuka Rugby programme, in one of the most poverty stricken areas of Cape Town.

The rugby legend gave up his time to pass on the sport for good message and instil hope in the young players.

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Surrounded by the young players, many who had just completed their training session barefoot, Habana reflected: “These young people are the real heroes of our sport. Speaking with the youngsters, hearing how they have used rugby as a tool for change in their life, it’s inspirational and it’s what Laureus is all about.”

Since 2000, Laureus has celebrated the universal power of sport to bring people together as a force for good, whether through the Laureus World Sports Awards or in hundreds of cities and villages around the world that have benefited from the philanthropic work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The Awards Ceremony has become a publicity engine for the Foundation which in turn has become a magnet for current athletes seeking to devote their time to Sport for Good because they want to give something back to society.

Double Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion Edwin Moses, who has been Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy since it began, says: “We have been growing fast, but as long as there are people on the ground who are prepared to give up their time to set up these projects, you’ll find us there to support them.

“The future is incredibly exciting. Wherever you look you see Laureus Academy Members striving to establish new ventures. These are men and women who achieved what they did in sport because they never gave up.

That energy and drive is now going into Laureus, and the beneficiaries are young people who are facing social challenges we all wish they didn’t have to face. Anything we can do to help, we will. “We cannot change the world overnight, but we believe we can make a difference. One playing field at a time is progress, if you can change just one child’s life for the better, you know it’s worthwhile.”

© Getty Images for Laureaus

“Sport really worked, and after a period of time, the non-disabled kids, they began to respect. They began to notice the abilities of the disabled. ”

© Getty Images for Laureaus

© Getty Images for Laureaus

© Getty Images for Laureaus

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Sundip Birthday Party London

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Makram Azar – Frieze Party London

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Makram Azar – Frieze Party London

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Tapisserie & Masterpiece Cocktail London

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Stephen Webster Party Los Angeles

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Nicolas Brochet Birthday Party Paris

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SOCIAL SE A SON

Angel Ball 2015 new york

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BAR REFAELI

by Chen Man

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A ladies’ chronograph watch in satin finished steel with a bezel adorned with 36 diamonds totaling 1.8 carats. Genuine jeans dial set with 8 diamonds, realized exclusively by Hublot. Strap made of faded jeans stitched to black rubber. Limited edition of 250 pieces.

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