Gordon Drive 2023-24

DRIVING FORCE Revolutionary joyrides

2023 -2024

BEAUTÉS DU MONDE Hypnotic jewels and watches

SIREN’S SONG

Underwater cellaring and vault-worthy pearls

EU PHOR IC LU X U RY

V O L. 3

W H E R E PA S S I O N M E E T S ELEGANCE

WATERSIDE SHOPS 5555 Tamiami Trail N #11, Naples FL 34108 239-592-7707 w w w . y a m r o n . co m

3 5 1 N EA PO L ITA N WA Y | $15 ,9 9 5 ,0 0 0

VENETI AN B AY

4100 GUL F S HORE BL VD N | $25 ,0 00 ,0 00

VEN ET I A N B A Y

AQ U AL ANE S HO R ES

2 2 3 1 F O RRE ST L A N E | $14 ,5 0 0 ,0 0 0

P O R T R O YAL

9 5 0 A D MIRA L TY PA RA D E | $2 4 ,9 5 0 ,0 0 0

GU L F S H O R E

REGEN T 14S | $15,500,000

SO U T H M OO R I N GS

320 SPRI NGL INE DR | $11,500,000

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A S P E N • T H E H A M P T O N S • P A L M S P R I N G S • M A L I B U • M A N H AT TA N • B E V E R LY H I L L S • L A G U N A B E A C H • A N D M O R E

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Picture-Perfect Living in Naples is About to become Legendary When everything you love to do and all that you enjoy are always right at your fingertips, life goes from comfortable to simply incomparable. It might be days basking in warm breezes on Vanderbilt Beach, or cooling off by an ocean-view pool.

Perhaps it’s an evening of dining and games with friends. It could be an energizing fitness class, a Spa treatment, practicing your golf drive, boating on the Gulf of Mexico... or it could be all of these plus the thoughtful service of The Ritz-Carlton.

That is what it means to make life legendary.

Sales Gallery 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road Suite 106 Naples, Florida 34109 Phone 239-249-6260 Pricing from $3.7 million. RCRNaples.com

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W I T H

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Trust in our renowned craftsmanship to curate a residence that embodies your refined way of life.

Build your dream home on your cherished homesite, or explore our select collection of exquisite custom homes currently being meticulously crafted across

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Southwest Florida.

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This project has been filed in the state of Florida and no other state. This is not an offer to sell or solicitation of offers to buy the condominium units in states where such offer or solicitation cannot be made. Equal Housing Opportunity. Rosewood Residences Naples is owned and being developed, offered and sold by WSR NB, LLC (“Developer”). The project is not owned, developed or sold

by Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, L.L.C. or any of its affiliates (“Rosewood”). Developer uses the Rosewood marks pursuant to a license agreement with Rosewood, which may be terminated under certain conditions. Rosewood does not assume any responsibility or liability in connection with the condominium. Copyright 2021 © All Rights Reserved

Every Great Design

BEGINS WITH AN EVEN BETTER STORY – YOURS

Discover how our acclaimed design team creates bespoke luxury interior design solutions driven by the chapters of your life that inspire you.

GORDON DRIVE CONTENTS

26 PR ESI DEN T ’S L ET T ER 28 C ON T R I BU T OR S 32 S E V E N WO N D E R S Luxury journalists wax poetic on discoveries that awe

F E AT U R E S 80 PH I L A N T H ROPY Barbie Hills, the woman behind the most stylish social event of the season

94 FA S H I O N

Courtesy Porsche; Omar Cruz, Gabor Jurina

Swimsuits for jet-setting and island-hopping

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ART | INTERIOR DESIGN | NEW CONSTRUCTION | RENOVATION

ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND ORIGINAL DESIGN AESTHETICS. (239)319-0944 | (239)676-1994 | www.LeiliDesignStudio.com

8800 Bernwood Pkwy Unit 1 Bonita Springs, FL 34135

GORDON DRIVE CONTENTS

FORM 50 FA S H I O N Viktor & Rolf flips the script on high fashion

54 WA T C H E S Bejeweled watches for evening affairs

58 J EW ELRY The master source of collectible, sustainable pearls and coral

68 M E N ’ S FA S H I O N Artful David Gotlib cufflinks for the dapper gent

72 B E AU T Y

Trunk Archive, Craig Hildenbrand; Courtesy David Gotlib

Powerful serums and creams customized with your DNA

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BUILDING CUSTOM HOMES OF THE FINEST QUALITY FOR OVER 20 YEARS PORT ROYAL - AQUALANE SHORES - OLD NAPLES COQUINA SANDS - MOORINGS - PARK SHORE - PINE RIDGE WATERSIDEBUILDERSINC.COM

GORDON DRIVE CONTENTS

P L AY 112 JETS Lufthansa Technik transforms private jet travel

118 YAC H T S The renaissance of megayacht sailing

126 B OA T S The sleekest boat for cruising the Gulf

132 AU T O Supercar adventures, from the race track to Iceland

144 SPORT I NG Hermès revisits and elevates the equestrian saddle

150 GA M E ROOMS

Courtesy Hermès/Nacho Alegre, Bentley/Kelly Serfoss, Lufthansa Technik

A plush home music studio for the modern virtuoso

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Award-winning design. Fine furniture.

Immediate delivery.

326 13th Avenue South, Downtown Naples ■ www.baydesignstore.com ■ 5510 Shirley Street, North Naples

GORDON DRIVE CONTENTS

LIFE 156 WINE Under-the-sea cellaring with Veuve Clicquot

160 SPI R I TS America’s most prized vintage bourbon collection

166 DESIGN Maximalist interiors bursting with joie de vivre

AGENDA 1 74 GALAS The season’s VIP fundraisers

1 76 POSTSCR IPT

Courtesy Veuve Clicquot, Getty, Courtesy Armani/Casa

A grand staircase for the new Gilded Age

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GORDON DRIVE

President/CEO Jim Schwartzel Editor in Chief Stephanie Granada Creative Director Scott Glick Editor at Large Kristen Shirley Photo Editor Elizabeth Bankmann Deputy Editor Melanie Warner Spencer Managing Editor Gina Valentino Senior Editors Andrew Atkins, Emma Witmer Associate Editor Addison Pezoldt Assistant Editor Emily Flournoy

ADVERTISING

Associate Publisher Mindy Roosa National Account Director Wendy Tooley Marketing Consultants Holly Baldwin, Natasha Gonzalez, Meredith Parsons

MARKETING

Director of Marketing and Events Rachel Galante Digital Media Marketing Manager Brittney Kleis

CIRCULATION

Director of Audience Development Kerri Nolan

PRODUCTION

Production Manager Martha Leavitt Production Services Manager Ankita Joshi

ADMINISTRATION

Advertising Services Manager/Reprint Sales & Distribution Kathleen Hill

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©2023 California Closet Company, Inc. Each California Closets® franchised location is independently owned and operated.

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GORDON DRIVE adheres to American Society of Magazine Editors guidelines, which require a clear distinction between editorial content and paid advertising or marketing messages. ©Gulfshore Life Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 26101 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL 34134 Gordon Drive and Gulfshore Life Media, LLC retain exclusive rights to all editorial and photographic materials used.

Materials cannot be reproduced in any manner without written consent.

© Copyright Gordon Drive is published by Gulfshore Life Media, LLC. The entire document of Gordon Drive is © 2023 by Gulfshore Life Media, LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems without the express written permission of the publisher.

Gulfshore Life, HOME, Gordon Drive, MINI, Healthy Life, Southwest Florida Guide to the Arts, Visitors’ Guide, Men and Women of the Year, Best of the Gulfshore, Taste of the Gulf, Weekend Insider and Shore Thing are copyrighted service marks and are the property of Gulfshore Life, Media, LLC., all rights reserved. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher of this magazine. Editorial or advertising does not constitute advice, but it is considered informative. Gordon Drive is locally operated. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers, please advise us at Gulfshore Life, 26101 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL, 34134. Please include your name and address as it appears on the mailing label of your most recent issue.

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Building dreams, Crafting lifestyles D WAY N E B E R G M A N N . C O M 12195 Metro Pkwy Ste 1 Fort Myers, FL 33966 | 1391 3rd Street South Naples, FL 34102 | 239.344.7455 | @dwaynebergmanninteriors

GORDON DRIVE PRESIDENT’S LETTER

From hyperactive to relaxed indulgences, the world of opulence is on full display in our third edition of Gordon Drive. Inside these sumptuous, oversized pages, we revel in the dreams and desires of euphoric luxuries discovered by world-renowned journalists and celebrated by revered photographers. Every page is crafted exclusively for you, the residents of Naples’ buccaneer enclave, Port Royal, and your treasured winter guests.

Luxuriate in Gordon Drive’s fantastical world as you soak in the warm rays from your waterfront retreat. If adventure is what you’re after, Gordon Drive takes you deep beneath the surface with the NEMO Submarine—a panoramic submersible you can launch straight from your yacht, dock or even the beach.

For the audacious, we pay tribute to the supercharged automobile culture that permeates Naples’ roads with a preview of the Porsche Mission X concept—an all-electric hypercar for the future, released just in time for the heritage brand’s 75th anniversary.

Then, we shift into slow gear and exalt the rise of exotic sailing yachts. Jeff Bezos’ new Koru proves why you don’t need a motor to live it up on international waters. But Mr. Amazon shouldn’t be the only one with added wind in his sails. A 400-foot, three-masted schooner would be a grand setting to sip Veuve Clicquot Champagne that’s been aged 131 feet beneath the Baltic Sea. Our wine writer details how the maison’s experimentations with underwater cellaring may bring about a new age in winemaking. We’re sure it won’t be long before we see deep-sea-aged bottles auctioned off at Naples Winter Wine Festival.

While you’re pondering marvels of the sea, follow us into the realm of collectible pearls and sustainably sourced coral with Assael, the undisputed master of pearls, which recently landed at Marissa Collections. You’ll be hard-pressed to find better specimens than these Assael gems—from symmetrical, lustrous South Sea pearls cleverly paired with colored gemstones to vault-worthy Angel skin coral beads valued at close to $1 million.

Finally, we tip a tricorn hat to Barbie Hills as she prepares to chair the most fashionable, prestigious event of the season, Naples Botanical Garden’s Hats in the Garden. Under her charge, the 20th anniversary of Hats is set to be an affair to remember.

J i m

S C H W A R T Z E L President/CEO

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Do all the good you can.

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as you ever can.

–John Wesley

The Michelle Thomas Team supports philanthropy throughout our community and donates a portion of each closing commission to charity.

239.860.7176

michelle.thomas@premiersir.com michelle.thomasteamflorida.com Sotheby’s International Realty® and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission.

Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

GORDON DRIVE CONTRIBUTORS

N i n g

C R U Z

T o d d

D A R A

J i l l i a n

P L U M M E R

Boston-based Todd Plummer writes with a focus on the world of style. He graduated from McGill University and St. John’s University School of Law, and has written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Vogue. For this issue, he turns his sartorial eye to the latest from David Gotlib and Hermès.

O m a r

A former beauty editor at ELLE, Marie Claire, InStyle, and Vogue, Ning Chao is based in Los Angeles, where she reports on luxury and wellness trends.

Here, she reveals the latest in cutting-edge skincare, crafted using your DNA.

Revered for his celebrity portrait photography, Omar Cruz has worked with President Barack Obama, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera. In this issue, he focuses his camera on the powerhouse Naples philanthropist Barbie Hills.

Courtesy Images

Emma Reynolds specializes in the finer things from her post in New York City. A former Elite Traveler editor, her work has been featured in Forbes, Robb Report and House Beautiful. In this issue, she explores Lufthansa Technik’s latest VIP interior concept for private jets.

Growing up in Bermuda, Jillian Dara learned to follow the finer things in life from a young age. She reports on travel, wine and spirits for Wine Enthusiast, Forbes and Travel + Leisure. Here, Dara dives into Wynn Las Vegas’ exclusive wine dinners and Veuve Clicquot’s underwater cellaring experiment.

C H A O

R E Y N O L D S

E m m a

K r i s t e n

S H I R L E Y

GORDON DRIVE editorat-large, Kristen Shirley, is the founder of online luxury resource La Patiala and a frequent contributor to Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes and Robb Report. In this issue, she writes about bejeweled watches, the master of pearls and a nextlevel recording studio.

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Created by earth, curated by

COMING SOON TO PALM BEACH 602 5th Avenue South, Naples, FL 34102

239.263.8889

CocoonGallery.com

GORDON DRIVE CONTRIBUTORS

With a portfolio spanning three decades, fashion photographer Gabor Jurina’s work has appeared in Esquire, Oprah, Cosmopolitan and Fashion Quarterly. For this issue, Jurina takes us on a jet-set journey for which a swimsuit is the only wardrobe essential.

L a u r i e

The editor-at-large of digital design publication COOL HUNTING and contributor of Vogue and Bloomberg, David Graver’s byline has appeared in T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Vanity Fair and VICE. For this issue, he taps into Louis Vuitton’s latest home furnishings and the return of maximalism.

Award-winning journalist Laurie Brookins covers fashion, watches, jewelry, and other luxury-focused subjects. Her work has appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Magazine, Robb Report and The Times of London.

Here, she covers Viktor & Rolf’s surreal and cheeky new collection.

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Courtesy Images

G R A V E R

B R O O K I N S

Kristen Ingersoll is a brand adviser, celebrity wrangler and producer of fashion, beauty and lifestyle journalism. She is former fashion and entertainment director at Hearst Corporation for the global editions of Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Esquire.

Ingersoll styled our jetset-ready swimsuit fashion feature.

K r i s t e n

D a v i d

G a b o r

K e v i n

J U R I N A

K O E N I G

A Greenwich, CT-based journalist, Kevin Koenig’s work regularly appears in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Esquire. Here, the former executive editor of Yachting magazine ventures into personal submarines and sailing yachts’ future.

I N G E R S O L L

J o n

G U Z I K

A l a i n

Entrepreneur and media personality Jon Alain Guzik has written about automobiles for Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter for years. In this issue, he shares glimpses of the future of Porsche and wild supercar adventures.

LUXURY JOUR NALISTS ON DISCOV ER IES

WA X THAT

POETIC AW E

7 WONDERS

Courtesy U-Boat Worx/Tom van Oossanen

7 WONDERS

BY KRISTEN SHIRLEY

1

Courtesy Audemars Piguet

AUDEM A R S PIGUE T ’S CODE 11.59 UNI V ER SELLE It takes a lot to make a seasoned watch expert audibly gasp when they see a new timepiece. But, when Audemars Piguet debuted the new Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4 watch at its headquarters in Le Brassus, Switzerland, that’s exactly what happened.

The piece is among the most complicated watches in the world, and it’s the most complicated wristwatch Audemars Piguet has ever created.

The superlative of ‘most complicated’ is typically reserved for larger pocket watches. In this case, the design team packed 23 complications—including a Grande Sonnerie, perpetual calendar, split-seconds flyback chronograph and flying tourbillon—into a relatively small case, measuring 42 millimeters by 15.6 millimeters.

I was amazed seeing the ease with which the executives handled the timepiece. Most ultra-complicated watches are kept behind glass because they are so delicate the slightest mishandling could break one of the many components. But this watch was designed to be worn, not kept in a vault. You can wear it in the rain or when washing your hands without a worry, making RD#4 a new take on collectible watches that raises the bar for the entire industry.

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7 WONDERS

BY JON ALAIN GUZIK

2

PORSCHE MISSION X

Courtesy Porsche

It’s been 10 long years since Porsche launched the 918 Spyder, a game-changing hybrid-powered supercar. When it first launched, I spent a lot of time driving the 918 on the tracks at the 20-turn, 3.41-mile Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas, the 11-turn WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California and on long highway drives. The experience was sublime in every way, and a decade on, I still wonder how Porsche can top itself. Yet somehow, the brand keeps improving as its hypercars become increasingly bonkers.

As Porsche celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the team does it again with Mission X. Porsche describes the car as, “a design study— not offered for sale—with production to be decided in due time, the Mission X is a glimpse into what the sports car of the future could look like.” What a future.

Porsche’s reinterpretation of the hypercar for the all-electric age, Mission X looks like a spaceship on wheels. With Le Mans-style doors, an exterior finished in a lusty brown Rocket Metallic, and an aircraft-cockpit-inspired interior in shades of Kalahari Grey and Andalusia Brown, the Mission X represents an evolutionary leap from the past. Porsche isn’t giving any information on the power plant, but if the past is prologue, expect Mission X to be the fastest road-legal car Porsche in history.

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7 WONDERS

BY DAVID GR AVER

3

Courtesy Louis Vuitton

LOUIS V UIT TON’S OBJETS NOMADES Throughout my years touring art and design events across the globe, few creations have captured my attention like those from Louis Vuitton.

The French luxury maison, best known for covetable leather goods, clothing from cutting-edge creative directors and fashion-forward accessories, first debuted collaborative furniture pieces in 2012 under the name Objets Nomades.

Two 2023 additions, the Binda Armchair and Sofa, were imagined in partnership with London-based design duo Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay, who go by the moniker Raw Edges. Crafted from supple, hand-selected calfskin leather, plush velvet and contrasting piping, the limited-edition pieces balance bold curves with unexpected angularity in various lustrous colorways. The deep geometries lend the chairs—which began as a paper sculpture the size of a tennis ball—a distinctly sculptural presence, thanks to rigorous engineering that allowed Raw Edges to scale up the Binda. Between the striking form, satisfying comfortability and LV’s commitment to meticulous craftsmanship in Italy, the Bindas represent the epitome of fashion houses bringing their distinct flair to interior furnishings.

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7 WONDERS

BY EMMA REYNOLDS

4

CARTIER’S LE VOYAGE RECOMMENCÉ

Courtesy Cartier

Cartier’s latest high-jewelry collection, Le Voyage Recommencé, celebrates traditional motifs from around the world with a twist only the historic French maison can master. Nature is a neverending source of inspiration for jewelers, and the collection’s Pineas necklace infuses architectural realism with ecological elements in one magnificent piece.

Two strands of pavé rose gold ‘scales’ are reminiscent of a pine cone’s structure, elegantly connected with an emerald bead. In addition to coral and emerald details on the scales, there are two yellow briolette-cut diamonds weighing 14.59 carats. The modular necklace has two hexagonal Colombian emerald pendants weighing 25.84 carats that can be detached and worn as earrings. As someone lucky enough to see some of the world’s most astonishing high jewelry, I am dazzled by Pineas’ brilliant interplay of colors and materials.

Cartier continues to push creative boundaries with daring volumes and shapes.

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7 WONDERS

BY KEVIN S. KOENIG

5

U -BOAT WOR X’S N E MO

Courtesy U-Boat Worx

Slipping beneath the ocean’s surface on a personal submarine is a transcendent experience. You gain a fuller understanding of the world you inhabit—and your place in it—when you look to your left and see a 500-pound goliath grouper stalking a shipwreck and then glance right into a deep blue abyss. Until now, this experience was available mainly to superyacht owners, who can launch a sub from their yacht in the middle of the sea.

U-Boat Worx changes all that with its NEMO sub, which at about $600,000 is a fraction of the cost of other submersibles while being fully safety certified. NEMO has a track vehicle that can launch the vessel from a beach—no yacht required. With a maximum dive depth of 330 feet, this sub can take you down to visit wrecks and reefs with a cocktail in hand. Think of it as glamping for the scuba-diving set.

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7 WONDERS

BY KRISTEN SHIRLEY

6

While Louis XIII’s cognac is always produced in small quantities, its Rare Cask editions take this principle to the next level. Rare Cask releases are crafted from a single tierçon (barrel) the cellar master deems so exquisite it can’t be blended. Louis XIII has unveiled three Rare Cask bottlings—ever—and the last one was a decade ago.

Collectors are desperate to get their hands on the limited-edition decanters and sublime cognac inside.

The new Rare Cask 42.1 comes in a black Baccarat crystal decanter made by 20 master artisans, with two crystal glasses and a serving pipette. Each of the 775 available decanters goes for $50,000—having one on your bar is the newest status symbol for spirits collectors.

I tasted the cognac during the launch in Venice, Italy. While sipping Louis XIII is always special, since it takes over 100 years to create a blend, the Rare Cask 42.1 program is out of this world. This expression has a balanced richness you won’t find in most cognacs, with a complex blend of baking spices, dried nuts and distinct floral notes that create a lightness that leaves you wanting more.

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Courtesy Remy Martin

L OU IS X I I I ’S R A R E C A SK 42.1

7 WONDERS

BY JILLIAN DARA

7

The most luxurious experiences are no longer only about five-star accommodations and indulgent hospitality—now, luxury equals access. When it comes to wine, few experiences offer better access than Wynn Las Vegas’ wine events. In fall 2022, the five-star hotel stalwart kicked off its oenophile bacchanals with Naples Winter Wine Festival trustee favorite Domaine Harlan. Packages go for about $10,000 a person, with a plethora of activities, ranging from master classes to intimate dinners with luminaries like Will Harlan. Still, the most coveted detail is the access money often can’t buy. At the Harlan dinner, for instance, guests bypassed a multi-year-long waitlist for the winery’s coveted buying list.

For the 2023 Opus One weekend, one dinner featured wines spanning four decades, all in a rare 3-liter format. “We pay particular attention to procuring unique vintages and formats that dive into the family’s or winery’s library cellar,” Brian Weitzman, the hotel’s executive director of wine, says. The next wine weekend takes place in spring 2024, and while the winery and experiences will vary, the top-tier right of entry remains.

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Courtesy Wynn Las Vegas

W YNN’S GOLDEN WINE TICKETS

O

R

M

C O U T U R E / H I G H J E W E L R Y / WA T C H E S / B E A U T Y

F

Courtesy Piaget

FORM

BY LAURIE BROOKINS

& ROLF THREE FASH ION DISRUPT TR ADITIONAL STYLE

E M B O D Y I N G A R T GOR DON DR I V E

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Kevin Tachman / Trunk Archive, Alexei Hay / Trunk Archive

VIKTOR CELEBR ATES DECADES OF THAT EVERY NOTION OF

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The duo’s collections deliver social commentary and push the limits on what’s possible with fashion—from the spring 2010 deconstructed gowns (previous page), made of patchwork fabrics from marred vintage evening wear, to the 30th anniversary fall 2023 swimsuits with more-is-more bows and cheeky messages.

Flippant yet impeccable. Irreverent yet masterly.

Since 1993, the acclaimed duo of Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren has excelled at embracing these dichotomies to produce haute couture and ready-to-wear collections that blend exquisite craftsmanship with a decidedly avant-garde approach to high style. As Viktor & Rolf celebrate their 30th anniversary, the pair has leaned into the idea with glee.

Both born in the Netherlands in 1969, Horsting and Snoeren met while attending the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design, a leading university southeast of Amsterdam. They recognized a kinship within each other and united upon their graduation in 1992, moving to Paris and launching their eponymous label the following year. From the start, Horsting says, the duo strove to place their work squarely within the framework of art, not commerce. “For the first five years, we were more presenting ourselves in an art-related context than in a fashion context,” he explains. “Fashion is a very strictly related environment, and we had no clue how to function in the fashion world—it took some time before we were prepared to work in fashion.”

Even the most cursory glimpse at Viktor & Rolf’s work in the ensuing years proves the Dutch designers didn’t adjust their aesthetic to accommodate a mainstream audience. Rather, the fashion industry and style aficionados adjusted their sensibilities to appreciate the duo’s vision. By the time they presented their first haute couture collection in 1998, the pair had established themselves as artful idealists who employed sculpture and whimsy in equal measure to create clothes that merited a ‘one-of-a-kind’ designation.

High-wattage collections produced since have only enhanced the idea. Fall 2005’s Bedtime

Stories showcased beautifully quilted pieces that, when paired with oversized pillows mounted behind the models’ heads, created the illusion of slumber in motion. Esteemed fashion critic Suzy Menkes’ review for The New York Times called the collection a “deeply respectful view of women and a heartwarming ode to female beauty.”

Subsequent inspirations have ranged from Vincent van Gogh to the memes that dominate a world obsessed with social media—but for many Viktor & Rolf fans, a pinnacle was surely in spring 2010, the collection dubbed Credit Crunch Couture, which included a series of exquisitely precise tulle gowns carved to include holes and other moments of negative space, resulting in stunning optical illusions.

Viktor & Rolf returned to immaculately cut tulle gowns for the spring 2023 haute couture, but once again, they upended traditional notions with clever offset placements of the pieces on models.

One gown was worn upside down with the tulle covering the model’s face; other dresses floated slightly askew or ahead of the body as if being carried away. The show inspired conversation not only about art’s intersection with fashion but also how we interact with the clothes we wear.

For the fall 2023 Embodiment haute couture collection, Horsting and Snoeren pared their provocative take on fashion down to its barest essentials, producing sculptural designs on bikinis and bathing suits with exaggerated silhouettes and baroque decorations. Fittingly, it’s the most pointed example yet of the pair’s love of combining fashion with the surreal. And like for all previous collections, Viktor & Rolf offered a simple answer for anyone attempting to interpret their latest work: “It’s open to imagination.”

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Giardino Marino Grande watch, Courtesy Bulgari

FORM

BY KRISTEN SHIRLEY

SHINE BRIGHT W i t h T H E

G A L A

T H E S E M O S T

a t t i r e

G E M - S E T t i m e p i e c e s , B R I L L I A N T P A R T O F Y O U R m a y y o u r WA T C H J U S T B E

The old rules about not wearing a watch to a black-tie affair are gone. Today, brands craft magnificent high-jewelry watches that are even more interesting than many pieces of their jewelry. From pendants to cuffs to rings, highjewelry watches take many forms, but these gem-encrusted beauties deliver the most flair for keeping time during gala nights.

Brands that make both watches and high jewelry remain at the forefront of the movement.

Bulgari, for one, is a master of mechanical watches, with eight world records marking the label’s rise to the top of the horological world. Bulgari’s pieces are more akin to wearable objets d’art with complex mechanical movements that go above and beyond most other brands. The Giardino Marino Grande, from the Mediterranea high-jewelry collection, harkens to the ‘secret watches’ that emerged in the Roaring ’20s when maisons began disguising timepieces as fabulous jewels. One of the finest examples came in the ’60s with Bulgari’s 75-year-old Serpenti, which hides a dial within a decorated hinged snake jaw.

In the Giardino Marino Grande watch, about 5,000 precious gems create an under water ecosystem with fish, seashells, coral, starfish and anemones. Like buried treasure under the sea, the watch contains a 3.96-carat rubellite starfish and Paraíba tourmaline shell that can be removed and worn as earrings. It took about 4,000 hours to complete the masterpiece, which is powered by Bulgari’s in-house Piccolissimo, a tiny mechanical

movement. The dial is hidden beneath a fish with a brilliant Paraíba tourmaline and emeralds.

For more blockbuster gemstones, look to Chopard. The brand’s newest high-jewelry watch is a masterful showcase of design and diamond setting, with rows of pear-shaped diamonds of different sizes forming the outline, and round, brilliant-cut diamonds filling the gaps between the asymmetrically cut stones. Every design choice highlights the beauty of the stones and enhances their sparkle. Along the center of the band, Chopard added a row of octagonal-cut emeralds totaling 21.65 carats. Four pear-shaped diamonds create a flower between each emerald, and a dozen pear-shaped diamonds stand in for traditional hour markers within the dial. Only the green hour- and minute-hands indicate this piece is a watch, not a diamond and emerald bracelet. Following the brand’s commitment to sustainability, the piece is crafted from Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat gold.

A watchmaking house first, Piaget, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2024, has crafted high-jewelry timepieces since 1957.

With the new Extraleganza collection, Piaget returns to the spirit of opulence, elegance and innovation the brand captured in the 1960s, when their watches became a status symbol for the jet-set intelligentsia. The collection features sautoirs with cabochon gemstones, watches with unexpected designs and Piaget’s signature highjewelry watch, the Aura.

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assortment. The piece demonstrates the brand’s aptitude for gem-setting with ultra-thin claws that deliver an invisible-like setting and optimal gleam; its penchant for precious metals, with its 18-karat white gold frame; and leadership in micro-horology, with the in-house 430P ultra-thin hand-wound movement—the same movement that powered the original. With these watches, time is certainly on your side.

Swathed in 21.65 carats of emeralds, Chopard’s latest Haute Joaillerie watch sets the standard for sustainably sourced gems. Previous spread: With its Giardino Marino Grande, Bulgari creates an underwater dream with about 5,000 precious gems (the rubellite starfish and Paraíba shell can be worn as earrings).

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Courtesy Chopard

Famed Piaget fan Andy Warhol would approve of the re-release of the 1989 Aura—this time, done with diamonds and ombré blue sapphires. It took eight months to find the perfect-colored stones for the Limelight Aura. Each watch is set with specially cut baguette diamonds and sapphires with gradiating color. There are two versions—one that concentrates the deepest sapphires around the diamond-set dial, and another with a paler

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Assael’s Lagniappe collar reinvents the classic pearl strand, with seven strands of Japanese Akoyas and a detachable aquamarine at the center. Previous page: The brand only deals in sustainably sourced Angel Skin coral, harvested pre-1980. The Angel Skin coral necklace, with 55 colossal gems, sized between 10.5 and 28.4 millimeter, proves why Assael remains the master of aquatic gems.

At a glance, only connoisseurs can tell the difference between exquisite pearls and those of lesser quality.

That wasn’t always the case. Natural pearls were exceptionally rare until Japanese impresario Kokichi Mikimoto started cultivating the gems in the early 1900s. Before then, they were found by chance in nature and highly coveted.

Queen Elizabeth I wore gowns covered in pearls to signify her status, and the finest examples of larger pearls were reserved solely for her. In 1916, Pierre Cartier created the most expensive necklace for the time, with two strands of perfect pearls.

The piece was a sensation. He traded the necklace, valued at $1 million ($24 million today), for a townhouse on Fifth Avenue in New York City, now known as the Cartier Mansion.

Cultured pearls gained acceptance as ‘real’ as natural pearls became scarcer. They were smaller and frequently less beautiful than perfectly round, lustrous cultured pearls. Today, collectors seek fine cultured pearls (even when grown, getting the hundreds of pearls needed for a strand with symmetrical size, shape, color and luster requires a years-long feat). Rare natural pearls and other undersea marvels, like sustainably sourced coral, remain top commodities, too.

In recent years, pearls have returned to the high fashion lexicon in a big way, remixed into edgy, bold silhouettes. Still, New York-based jeweler Assael remains the master. Founded by “Pearl King” Salvador Assael in the 1970s, the brand introduced Tahitian black pearls to the U.S. and was instrumental in popularizing South Sea pearls—particularly, the enormous white orbs the brand is known for, some reaching 20 millimeters in circumference. A perfectly matched South Sea strand maintains the world record for highest price paid for a cultured pearl necklace, when it went for $2.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction. Before his passing in 2011, Assael built up what many believe is the most significant pearl trove in the world. There’s plenty to draw from in the brand’s lustrous well.

While in the past, Assael was mainly known among industry circles for providing pristine gems for Cartier, Harry Winston and Tiffany & Co., over the past decade, it has grown into a bona fide jewelry house. The designers combine gemstones and rare pearls, elevating the jewelry beyond a single piece and reimagining pearls’ traditional reputation as fixtures in demure strands. Naples’ Marissa Collections boutique took notice and started carrying the brand’s full collection this

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Founder Salvador Assael introduced Tahitian black pearls and helped popularize South Sea pearls in the U.S. in the ‘70s. In recent years, the brand has reemerged as a bona fide fine jewelry house, mixing classic pearls with precious and semi-precious stones for novel designs. Above: Tahitian black pearl necklace with carved lavender jadeite clasp. Right: Tahitian pearl and bi-color tourmaline drop earrings.

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season. “Pearls are so relevant right now,” Marissa Collections jewelry buyer and GIA-certified gemologist Jennifer McCurry says. “We thought, ‘If we’re going to have pearls, why not invest in the best?’”

When it comes to treasures from the sea, few are more enthralling than Angel Skin coral—and Assael’s reserve is unmatched. The peachy gem is among the rarest of the sea treasures, with some pieces going for upward of $2 million. In the 1980s, regulations emerged to limit coral production and protect vital reef ecosystems, which are decimated by unchecked harvesting. While deep-sea-sourced Sardinian coral was merely limited, Angel Skin production was banned altogether. Assael only sells pre-1980s Angel Skin and maintains a vaulted reserve of uncut coral where they can draw closely matching gems from single trees. Every piece is guaranteed to be ethical, with the value only increasing over time.

Finding large beads is difficult, and matching the color and size is even more complex. It can take years to find the right specimens, so the Angel Skin Coral Necklace is a masterpiece, with 39 vintage coral beads that measure between 14-30 millimeter in diameter. The clasp is set with close to 3 carats of diamonds. The Angel Skin ring is exceptional,

too. The massive 26-by-16 millimeter coral has a pale-pink hue, a smooth, unblemished surface and is nestled among 4 carats of mixed-cut diamonds.

By pairing Tahitian pearls with colored gemstones, Assael adds a contemporary spin to the classic. A large piece of carved lavender jadeite connects two strands of lustrous Tahitian pearls and enhances the pink-purple undertones within.

Mismatched Tahitian pearl earrings are clever and glamorous when combined with distinctly hued bi-color tourmaline. The Tahitian pearls’ varying undertones draw out an unusual blend of pinks and greens from the captivating gem, known as a watermelon tourmaline.

The perennial classic Akoya pearl still dazzles as a must-have for distinguished ladies, thanks to its high luster that illuminates all skin tones.

A ssael’s Lagniappe necklace reinvents the category with an opulent design, featuring seven rows of 466 Akoya pearls measuring from 5 to 9 millimeters and strung between two platinum bars set with old European-cut diamonds. A 17-carat elongated aquamarine hanging from the center can be detached for a more traditional, though no less impactful look. As famed pearl lover Coco Chanel said, “Why wear one string, when you can wear two?” Or, even better—seven.

Most pearls are now cultivated, with natural pearls being exceedingly rare. A single conch pearl is found in about every 10,000 shells. Above: Natural conch pearl, South Sea pearl and diamond earrings; natural conch pearl and diamond earrings. Assael is available at Marissa Collections in Naples. marissacollections.com

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FORM

BY TODD PLUMMER

O F F Belg ia n d ia ma nt a i re Dav id G ot l ib ’s a r tf u l c uff l i n ks a re t he jewels ever y dapper ma n need s

THE CUFF Gotlib was already at the epicenter of quality jewels, and he’d grown up with an appreciation for craftsmanship and art. It was natural to combine his influences into a modern jewelry brand. Every cufflink is made by hand in his Antwerp workshop, where the team of artisans painstakingly curates and shapes fine metals and stones to bring Gotlib’s sketches to life. Each diamond goes to the International Gemological Institute (IGI) laboratory in Antwerp for analysis. Only VS and VVS stones (those with Very Slight or Very, Very Slight Inclusions—essentially perfect) will do.

Though the designs are rooted in traditional craftsmanship, Gotlib doesn’t do traditional jewelry. His cufflinks pack strong personality into 2 centimeters, with pieces that run the gamut from elephant heads covered in more than 500 brilliant white and fancy yellow diamonds, to black-and whitediamond memento mori skulls. Each piece carries a story or intention. The two peridots in the Chameleon

Courtesy David Gotlib

Jewelry is a language—and few are as fluent in it as David Gotlib. Metals are his vernacular, and precious stones are his statement. “I was born in a diamond family,” says the third-generation, Antwerp-based diamond trader and president of the Antwerp Diamond Bourse, the most prestigious diamond exchange within the $40 billion industry. “I followed the footsteps of my father and grandfather.”

Drawing from his depth of knowledge in the gem industry, Gotlib created his eponymous cufflinks label in 2014. The passion project took root when he inherited a pair of cufflinks from his late grandfather. The pieces were simple, plain gold with no ornamentation or precious stones— but they had been worn for more than 30 years.

“I started to think, men don’t wear bracelets or earrings in the same way as women do, so maybe I could create something to give them that experience,” he says.

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a re a signif ica nt a nd grow ing pa r t of the brand. Whether a client is seeking something abstract and low-profile or highly specific and unapologetic, Gotlib’s fluency with fine jewelry can communicate the desire.

Fitting for a lifelong diamond lover, Gotlib doesn’t believe in cutting corners. “You really have to have a passion for it,” he says. “If you can’t make the magic, you can’t fool your clients.” Whereas other brands use less expensive backing materials for the precious stones, he uses only 18-karat gold.

And, of course, diamonds are at the heart of the brand—every creation has at least one diamond, although most contain dozens and some contain hundreds. As he says, “Jewelry without diamonds is not complete jewelry.”

“I started thinking, men don’t wear bracelets or earrings in the same way as women do, so maybe I could create something to give them that experience.”

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Courtesy David Gotlib

set remind the wearer that they’re always evolving.

White and brown diamonds in the Feather cufflinks are precisely hand-set to maximize shine and evoke the freedom of taking flight, while the Adam & Eve set, with rubies and black and white diamonds, reflects being mindful of one’s choices.

There’s whimsy in the brand, as seen in sporty designs with tennis rackets, diamond-encrusted footballs and tennis mitts, as well as punny styles like the Knock on Wood pink gold branches wrapped in diamonds. For more serious affairs, pieces like the White Gold Emperor, anchored by two large smoky quartzes at the center, translate an undeniable sense of style and power.

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FORM

BY NING CHAO

COU T UR E COMPLE X ION

For a more personalized beauty experience, nothing comes closer than products made from your own genetic material. The skincare equivalent of a Savile Row suit, such formulas target everything from acne to anti-aging more precisely than off-the-shelf options. In terms of efficacy, these ‘treatment topicals’ are on par with in-office procedures, according to Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Ava Shamban, founder of AVA MD Dermatology and SKIN FIVE Medical Spas.

The newest of the bunch is Texas-based BEMY, a cosmeceutical company specializing in custom products using messenger RNA (sourced from a skin biopsy behind the ear) to reprogram aging skin cells to act like younger versions of themselves when producing protein. “Going bespoke allows customers to use more effective products, specifically formulated for their needs, with fewer negative outcomes,” adds Dr. Shamban, who has tested BEMY’s flagship Formula U anti-aging skin cream on herself and is now documenting patients’ results. Since the active ingredient is coming from our own body, it’s less likely to be rejected and cause allergic reactions or irritation, she notes.

Orthopedic surgeon-turned-skin-savant Dr. Barbara Sturm is the original pioneer of the individualized approach, spinning patients’

platelet-rich plasma (PRP) into a $1,400 face cream her London clinic calls MC1. However, it’s nicknamed ‘Blood Cream’ for the blood draw required to make it. PRP treatments are one of the biggest game-changers in skincare in recent years.

The treatments draw from the orthopedic field, which found blood’s plasma layer is rich in growth factors and cytokines that promote tissue repair and regeneration. For decades, elite athletes have received PRP treatments, and more recently, the practice has extended to everyday patients battling tennis elbow, osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis and other musculoskeletal issues. The platelets are injected into the injured site, and proteins send signals to the body to speed the healing process.

The same theory should hold for skincare, Dr. Sturm posited and proved. Regarding skincare, PRP and its wound healing benefits translate to the ultimate face cream—it smooths, plumps and evens skin tone while reducing inflammation and breakouts and reversing sun damage.

For those who prefer a lighter formula, SoME Skincare adds your PRP to a serum and is available stateside at physician offices (no Naples derm carries the brand yet, but you can check with your doctor’s office in your Midwest and Western hometowns, where several providers

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While some products draw from your body’s regenerative powers to deliver glowing skin, other bespoke lines, like Veracity, test hormonal imbalances and take into account lifestyle choices to get at the root cause of issues, and recommend tailored topicals.

Ne w N YC s t a r t up Ver a c it y S el f c a r e recommends facial products after analyzing hormone levels from an at-home saliva test. “We match imbalances with proven solutions across topicals, supplements, diet and lifestyle choices— like exercise, stress management and sleep—to provide a personalized, science-backed plan to rebalance your hormones, treat root causes and optimize health and wellness,” CEO Allie Egan explains. She founded Veracity after discovering a hormonal imbalance was causing her chronic eczema-like dryness—and infertility. The program includes a hormone-tracking lifestyle app and one-on-one coaching to customize product combinations and ensure overall effectiveness.

Like having a personal skin guru on speed dial, this concierge service determines whether you need the Inflammation Response gel, Bioevolve Serum, Regenerating Infusion or an exact combination of all three, for optimal results. Oral supplement cocktails (custom curated according to your saliva test results) are another part of Veracity’s arsenal to calm cortisol spikes, balance estrogen and progesterone or restore exhausted adrenals.

After all, beauty truly comes from within.

Courtesy Veracity

offer the treatment). Once mixed, your personal SoME serum stays potent for up to 90 days if refrigerated. A matching pink SoME mini fridge maintains the optimal temperature to keep platelets and growth factors fresh and serves as a visual reminder to reach for the product daily.

“SoME is for prejuvenation—to ward off visible signs of cellular aging or sun and environmental damage,” Shamban says.

Compared to blood, PRP contains three to five times higher concentrations of growth factors, which are responsible for cellular repair, renewal and regeneration, explains Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Jason Diamond, whose patients Kate Hudson, Chrissy Teigen and the Kardashians sing his praises on social media. For the needle- and knife-averse, Dr. Diamond’s new Metacine InstaFacial Plasma uses bioengineered (no blood draw necessary) growth factors to mimic his signature regenerative #Diamond InstaFacial, where light laser resurfacing preps skin for the PRP injection, followed by microneedling with more PRP to smooth and firm skin and address sun damage. “Plasma provides a daily dose of growth factors to activate the skin’s innate ability to regenerate,” he explains.

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T H E FA B U L O U S B A R B I E H I L L S L E N D S H E R C R E A T I V E E Y E A N D F L A I R F O R T H E ST Y L E TO NA PL E S BOTA N ICA L G A R DE N ’ S 20T H H ATS IN T H E G A R DE N

By Stephanie Granada

Photography by Omar Cruz

Styling by Anna Ruiz

Barbie Hills wants you to have fun. Whether she’s coming up with a quirky icebreaker for a committee meeting or dreaming up tablescapes for the March Hats in the Garden fundraiser, she’s always looking to inject joie de vivre into the picture.

Growing up on a farm in Morris, IL, Barbie never dreamed she’d end up flying private to Chanel high jewelry shows, touring Coco Chanel’s Parisian apartment or having the means to raise millions for local charities.

The Barrington, IL, seasonal resident has made a strong mark on Naples over her 20 years living here with her husband, Paul. She’s a member of the Naples Botanical Garden Sustaining Leadership Council (SLC), and she and Paul are trustees of the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF).

You can see the fruits of the Hills’ labor through the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples rooftop garden, named for the couple; the Barrington Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, where the Hills helped fund the advanced care center; and NCEF’s building (the couple spearheaded the $7 million capital campaign to get the project built). Altogether, Barbie has raised millions for local nonprofits by chairing events, serving on committees and hosting more than a dozen Naples Winter Wine Festival (NWWF) vintner dinners.

This season, she takes on the queen bee role as chair for the milestone anniversary of Naples Botanical Garden’s Hats in the Garden.

I meet Barbie at Saks Fifth Avenue at Waterside Shops the day before the Hats Preview Party. She looks chic in Chanel platform sandals, a Chanel watch and a Chanel envelope clutch. “I kind of go in spurts,” she says. “Sometimes, I’ll be buying everything Fendi, then, it’ll be all Chanel. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re the Fendi Girl!’” Designers conceive collections together; it just feels right to honor a brand’s continuity from head to toe, she states plainly.

Barbie has just come from Waterside’s CH Carolina Herrera boutique. The heritage brand headlines this year’s Hats in the Garden runway show, with designer Wes Gordon in attendance. “I was picking out a few things for my granddaughter,”

Barbie says. “I set aside a dress she could match with her mother for Hats—we’ll see if they agree.”

For the Hills women, Hats is a fa mily tradition. Her daughter, two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters make it a rule to attend together every year—often in matching hats. In 2018, the ladies won the Best Group Hat nod for their coordinated red ensembles. This year, her son-in-law, FOX News anchor Bret Baier, serves as master of ceremonies. Barbie hopes to entice the rest of the men in the family to join. “Maybe I’ll play ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ for them,” she says with a giggle. “It’s such a guy’s song.”

Hats in the Garden is easily the pinnacle social event of the season, and the fundraiser’s 20th anniversary is like the Super Bowl of the social scene. The event chair is the team captain, taking point on everything from selecting decor and menus to drumming up support for the year’s fund-a-need. It wasn’t hard for her fellow SLC members to elect Barbie for the role. She has been on the council for 15 years, attended 18 out of the 19 Hats and brings a world of fashion experience from attending the international runway shows.

As she plans Hats, Barbie thinks back to events like her first high jewelry show with Bulgari. Under a lofty, open-air tent in a clifftop ga rden overlook ing the Mediterra nea n in Portofino, Bulgari models slinked around the room, slowly circling each table—the grand jewels shining inches from guests’ eyes. Adrien Brody was in attendance; Diana Ross performed.

“It was fabulous,” Barbie says.

She got her first taste of high fashion through NCEF’s marquee fundraiser, Naples Winter Wine Festival. Fellow Barrington transplants Charley and Sandra Denny had convinced Barbie and Paul to start attending in 2011. “We kept saying, ‘Who in their right mind would spend that much money on an event? These people are crazy,’” she recalls with a laugh. “Then, we went and donated out of our minds.” The festive spirit under the tent at NW WF attracts the fun-loving Barbie.

She likes knowing the excitement translates to millions raised for Collier County children.

Barbie lounges in a Lanvin dress from Naples’ Marissa Collections and Loeffler Randall shoes, Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake pendant and Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake bracelet from La Maison Yamron, and Yamron Collection 18-karat white gold diamond oblong hoops from Yamron Jewelers at Waterside Shops. Previous spread: Barbie wears a Jenny Packham dress, her own Chanel jewelry and Saint Laurent heels. She also wears a 16Arlington jumpsuit and her own Chanel jewelry.

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Barbie glitters in a Pamella Roland dress from Marissa Collections, Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake bracelet from La Maison Yamron, Robert Procop Bella Linda diamond ring from Yamron Jewelers, and a Bulgari Serpenti timepiece and yellow-diamond ring from Barbie’s personal collection.

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“ I ’ V E WA N T E D T O [C H A I R H AT S] SINCE FOR E V ER—I T ’S S U C H A N H O N O R .”

“When you grow up not having certain things, you want to provide those things for your kids,” Barbie says. She extends the same consideration to underserved children in her community.

At the 2013 festival, the Hills won the Sapphire & Ice lot, which included the trip to attend the Bulgari high jewelry show. The next year, she took home the Runway Runaway lot—a world tour of three major fashion weeks in New York, London and Paris. “I went on that trip with Amy,” Barbie says of her daughter and de facto stylist, Amy Baier.

Since then, Barbie’s become a regular at the shows, including for Chanel, where she’s one of the brand’s biggest high jewelry clients in the U.S. The world of 50-carat gems and celebrity-lined runways is light-years from Barbie’s upbringing in rural Illinois, but the elements of style were always there. As a kid, she’d pore over Vogue magazines, never imagining she’d one day don the designers on those pages. In college, Barbie enjoyed her classes on nutrition and interior design most. “I always loved design, art and party planning,” she says.

When she was a senior at Northern Illinois University, the Delta Gamma sister spotted Paul at a fraternity-sorority mixer. She spent the next six weeks walking by his lunch table, waiting for him to

ask her out. Every day, she’d get dolled up in a new outfit—coats, hats and shoes all matching. “When we got married and went home and unloaded the car, I didn’t have that many clothes. Paul said, ‘Where are all those clothes that you were wearing in college?’” she recalls. “Well, they all belonged to my sorority sisters—I needed six weeks of outfits that were different.”

Her knack for coordinated styles carries on today. You’ll rarely see Barbie without her long, bold lashes and a flawless, head-to-toe ensemble.

While she favors structured, timeless looks (she’s keen on the modern ladies’ suit trend), there’s often something playful thrown in—a pair of platform Fendi sneakers, a Chanel Lion talisman. “I love lions,” she says. “They are strong and protective, beautiful, classic.”

While Barbie loves fashion, she’s not defined by it. Her humble beginnings ground her in Midwestern, Catholic values. There’s no trace of cynicism, ego or veils with her. “She is genuinely one of the nicest, kindest people you’ll meet,” NCEF’s Lisa Juliano says. “You’ll never hear her say a bad word about anyone.” At the garden and at NCEF, Barbie makes the rounds, engaging staff, soliciting feedback and making sure everyone feels seen.

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The Chanel Tweed d’Été ring (center) was a gift from Paul to Barbie for their 50th wedding anniversary. Others, from left: Yamron Collection titanium fancy color diamond ring from Yamron, Bulgari Serpenti timepiece from Barbie’s own collection, Van Cleef & Arpels Snowflake bracelet from La Maison Yamron, Robert Procop Bella Linda diamond ring from Yamron.

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WHILE BARBIE LOV E S FA SHION, SHE’S NOT DE F I N E D B Y I T. “EV ERY THING T IE S BACK TO P H I L A N T H R OP Y,” H E R DAUGH T E R , A MY BA IER, SAYS.

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Chanel necklace and earrings from Barbie’s collection. Left: Barbie wears an Ermanno Scervino suit from Bal Harbour Shops, Loeffler Randall heels, and a Vhernier Calla ebony and diamond necklace from Yamron Jewelers at Waterside Shops.

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Recognizing the meteoric growth in Naples and the flurry of new faces, Barbie plans to add a welcoming committee to this year’s Hats event to greet guests and connect new visitors. She doesn’t want anyone to feel like an outsider.

While she admits the fanciful festivities drew her to NCEF and the garden, the organization’s missions and impact keep her rooted in place.

Education was paramount in Barbie’s childhood and throughout her life. She taught briefly after college and has steadfastly championed the cause over the past 13 years working with NCEF. “I don’t know anywhere else you can go where you can get as much done as in Naples,” Barbie says, referring to the strong philanthropic spirit and effective nonprofits that fill the city.

She got involved with Naples Botanical Garden in 2005, soon after moving to town. “I was just so impressed with what they had done from nothing,” Barbie says of the 170-acre oasis that started as a barren plot in 2000. “And the Hats fashion shows were unlike anything we had in the suburban Midwest. The event is just a really big deal—it’s like getting ready for a wedding. Everybody has to know what they’re going to wear, how they’re going to do their hair. You have to make sure you’re there on time. Then, you have your picture taken and end up in a magazine … There’s something about it all that’s just fun.”

Barbie chose the Runways theme for this year’s Hats to reflect the event’s fashion heritage and connect to the garden’s pathways and how they create inroads into nature. This year’s fund-a-need focuses on enhancing accessibility with more shade structures, restrooms and shuttle service around the garden. “I’ve wanted to do this since forever,” Barbie says of chairing Hats. As she works with the team to finalize details for the March event, she keeps essential lessons from childhood 4-H club days in mind. “The 4-H motto: ‘To make the best better,’” she says. “This year, we’re going to make those best 19 Hats luncheons even better.”

Her power as a chair lies in her ability to listen, collaborate and draw people in. In 2020, when she and Paul co-chaired NWWF with two other

couples, Barbie ran out and had personalized mugs made for the group. “She said we were coming in hot and got mugs for everyone with our names, like ‘Lisa is coming in HOT!,’” NCEF’s Lisa recalls.

A nother yea r, during a n NCEF tr ustee meeting, Barbie started tossing around a plastic ball; whoever caught it had to say the first thing that came to mind. “She comes up with these things that when you first hear them, you think, ‘Hmm,’ but then it’s just fun and gets everyone engaged,” Lisa says. “She really wants everyone to have a voice and feel appreciated.”

Barbie’s daughter, Amy, who recently relocated to Palm Beach with her husband, Bret, and their two kids, describes her mom as a pure soul. In the early days of Amy’s older son being treated for congenital heart defects, Amy saw the power of the motherly bond. “I was taking care of my son, and she was taking care of me, making sure I ate and rested.” At night, Barbie would sit with Amy’s younger son and pray the rosary. “People often don’t think about the siblings and how hard these things can be on them,” Barbie says.

Barbie keeps things simple, seeing the best in people and situations and focusing on the good. She surrounds herself with people who get things done (“I love perfectionists,” she says.) and follows her moral compass for her philanthropy. “We always want to take care of people,” Barbie says. “Where does that come from? Not sure. If you see somebody fall, you help them get up—you don’t think twice.”

Her family, including four kids and seven grandkids, is Barbie’s heart. “I gave all my kids nicknames when they were born. My oldest, Tom, is ‘The Happiest Day of My Life.’ The twins, Amy and Danny, are ‘The Best Day of My Life’ and ‘Our Greatest Love.’ And, my youngest, John Paul, is ‘Our Greatest Joy.’ I wanted each of them to know they were unique and uniquely loved.”

She extends the love for her family to the people around her. Along the way, she hopes to uplift others and bring a little sparkle into the days. The best compliment someone can give me is to come up to me after an event and say, ‘That was fun.’

Then I’d feel like, ‘OK, I did it.’”

Feather-topped jumpsuit from 16Arlington, paired with Barbie’s Chanel necklace and earrings.

Photographed at the Askar residence in Port Royal. Interior design by Julia Hall Designs. Hair and Makeup by Meggan Bradley. Flowers by 50Fifty Creative Services.

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P R E P A R E F O R T A K E O F F YO U ’ R E J E T T I N G O F F O N A W H I M , A N D T H E D R E A M Y D E S T I N AT I O N CALLS FOR ONE THING—CHIC SWIMWEAR PHOTOGR APHY BY GABOR JURINA ST YLING BY KRISTEN INGERSOLL

Karen Millen plunge, ponte bodysuit; D. Lacquaniti Cindi patent leather pumps and bejeweled clutch by Naples tailor and designer Dominic Lacquaniti.

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Trina Turk swimsuit, Stuart Weitzman sandals from Saks Fifth Avenue, stylist’s own blazer, 14-karat yellow-gold bracelet and necklace by Tiffany & Co. from Naples’ La Maison Yamron.

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Zimmerman Raie two-piece suit, D. Lacquaniti Cindi Mombasa heels, Cartier 18-karat rose-gold diamond necklace from La Maison Yamron. Right: D. Lacquaniti cherry pumps. Previous spread: Left: Zimmerman Raie wrap one-piece, Emma Pills gold necklace, D. Lacquaniti Loriana pumps with Swarovski crystals. Right: Yamron Estate 18-karat whitegold diamond ring and necklace and Bulgari 18-karat white-gold diamond bracelet from La Maison Yamron.

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Dolce & Gabbana bikini, Emma Pills ring and necklace, D. Lacquaniti Icon heels in suede and silk scarf, stylist’s own blazer. Left: Ramy Brook halter swimsuit, D. Lacquaniti suede and Swarovski crystal Marina sandals; Bulgari 18-karat white-gold diamond watch and viper bracelet, Yamron Estate 18-karat white-gold diamond necklace and ring from La Maison Yamron.

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Veronica Beard bustier, Sara Cristina black high-rise bottoms, D. Lacquaniti clutch and Cindi Mombasa pumps inFor flash gold, Tiffany Co.the 14-karat necklace fromlook La Maison Yamron. a swimsuit that & rivals water yellow-gold views, opt for a sculptural with ruffles that flatter.

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Dolce & Gabbana metallic bikini; Bulgari 18-karat white-gold diamond bracelet and ring, Cartier 18-karat white-gold diamond necklace and Graff 18-karat white-gold diamond earrings, from La Maison Yamron. Right: Missoni embroidered one-piece, D. Lacquaniti Loriana pumps. D. Lacquaniti shoes available at dlacquanitishoes.com and at his Downtown Naples boutique; Yamron jewelry available at yamron.com and at Waterside Shops.

Hair and makeup: Taryll Atkins Model: Charlotte, The Industry Model Management Photographed on location at Naples Airport Elite Jets and Jet 1 hangars.

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Oceanco sailing yacht Koru, Courtesy Tom van Oossanen

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Lufthansa releases two new concepts a year that deliver plush amenities, with the option to add and remove features as you see fit. Every base detail is created to optimize the flying experience. “In our SkyRetreat concept, we removed the wall to the cockpit and added a divan or sofa, so you can come sit and have a look from the front of the aircraft and put on headphones to listen to what the pilots are saying,” says Wieland Timm, head of sales for VIP and special aircraft services at Lufthansa. “A lot of owners are interested in what pilots do, so this makes it accessible.”

Amenities such as an observation deck in an airplane might seem light-years away, but Timm emphasizes that these designs are ready to implement today. SkyRetreat also features a DJ booth, while other concepts, like Welcome Home, have a full bar, boardroom and massage room. You can request nearly any material, and Lufthansa

Courtesy Lufthansa Technik

A spa suite, like one you find at a wellness retreat, a dance floor and a treasure trove of motor toys on the lower level transform your private jet into an all-in-one base camp for exploration.

Lufthansa is best known as a worldwide German commercial airline, but behind the scenes, subsidiary Lufthansa Technik provides worldwide maintenance, repair, overhaul and modification services for the aircraft industry. When it comes to private planes, Lufthansa Technik is responsible for the high-end customization of some of the world’s largest private aircraft for Boeing (specifically aboard 737, 777 and 777-9 models) and Airbus (models a320 and a350).

Lufthansa can make even the most far-fetched dreams come true while meeting worldwide safety standards. An observation deck akin to a yacht?

No problem. In addition to fully custom layouts and partnerships with brands like Mercedes,

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Lufthansa Technik makes jetting around the world all the more indulgent with its custom floor plans and layouts for Boeing and Airbus planes. The SkyRetreat concept includes a massage room for sky-high treatments, a DJ booth and boardroom, and finishes like marble that uses a Mercedes patent to slice the stone down to a 1-millimeter thickness—light enough for flight.

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Courtesy Lufthansa Technik

will do its best to make it work. For example, the team can install marble, which is traditionally too heavy for planes, thanks to a patent from Mercedes that slices marble down to just 1 millimeter thick. “[The younger generation] is interested in purchasing their aircraft, usually those in the Airbus a320 category. They aren’t as linked to business, and they have a lot of fun,” Timm says. “They also love boats, so we established the SkyRetreat design to look like a yacht deck or a high-end beach club.”

The Explorer delivers a dance floor, hotel-like bedrooms, a glass-bottom floor, an Adventure L ou nge i n c ol l a b or at ion w it h s up er c a r manufacturer Brabus, and a cargo door that transforms into a viewing terrace upon landing— answering the call for around-the-world adventures that can’t be done by boat or land. In the Adventure Lounge, you can store small boats, motorcycles, cars and other toys to take off upon landing.

When it comes to design, gone are the days of gold-flecked fixtures and design elements. The next generation wants organic shapes, modern Scandinavian-style design, and pure forms and shapes (think: Tesla, not Cadillac). Lufthansa Technik has massive in-house capabilities, with the largest wood veneer workshops in northern Germany and reliable partners for custom furnishings, textiles and technology to seamlessly integrate client preferences. Want to replicate your favorite Chanel or Hermès handbag’s hardware as a door handle? Why not?

Amid the glitz and glamor, you can still incorporate business-centric spaces and technology, like offices and boardrooms outfitted with the latest tech, including hidden passenger system control units, integrated interfaces, smart touch-screen desktops, translucent monitors on the walls, OLED roll-up screens and ceiling projection systems from Diehl Aerospace. All to say, nearly anything is possible.

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Courtesy Lufthansa Technik

The Explorer floor plan includes a lower-deck garage—done in collaboration with supercar manufacturer Brabus and seen from the main cabin through a glass floor—so you can tow your toys anywhere and take off as soon as you land.

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AWA Y

T he t rad it iona l sa i l i ng yac ht may be on t he verge of a rena issa nce a s megayac ht ow ners t rend you nger, more advent u rous a nd eco - consc ious

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for the 282-foot sailing yacht Aquijo, thinks he understands why Bezos made this choice. “[Sailing yachts] are a principal means of adventure,” he says. “They aren’t for tying at the dock, and they aren’t for little jaunts from Saint-Tropez to Monaco. They are for getting out and exploring and seeing the world.”

The yearning for adventure tracks with other trends in the megayacht industry, particularly the popularity of destinations beyond traditional Mediterranean and Caribbean oases, w ith seafarers venturing to places like Antarctica and Melanesia. “For expedition yachting, these sailing vessels offer several advantages,” says Rob McCallum of EYOS Expeditions, a luxury travel provider. “Their fuel endurance can’t be beaten by a motor yacht, and they offer a connection to the ocean and the environment that people undertaking these adventures typically want.”

A thirst for something new should come as no surprise as megayacht owners trend younger, owing in large part to tech money and to second

Bez os’ new 4 17-foot Koru wa s a su r pr isi ng ly ret ro acqu isit ion for a ma n who made h is for t u ne i n tec h—h is move m i r rors t he ret u r n of sa i l i ng yac ht s a s t he vessel of c hoice for wel l-heeled advent u rers.

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Koru by Tom van Oossanen. Previous Spread: Sailing yacht Aquijo by Stuart Pearce

When Jeff Bezos’ 417-foot megayacht, Koru, made her grand debut in the Balearic Islands last spring, she caught the yachting world’s fancy for a few good reasons. First, she is the longest yacht ever built in Holland, the country that invented the genre. Second, she has a figurehead carved into her bow that strongly resembles the businessman’s fiancé, Lauren Sanchez, raising the eyebrows of tastemakers worldwide. Third, she’s wind-powered—in fact, she is the largest privately owned sailing yacht in existence.

Bezos’ decision to go the sailing route was an interesting one for a man who made his fortune in technology. For one, the world’s third-richest person could have gone much larger had he opted for a diesel-powered leviathan. Koru is a good 200 feet shorter than the world’s largest motor yachts. For a man whose previous leisure concerns involved rocketing into space, buying a giant sailboat was a decidedly retro undertaking.

Tripp Design Naval Architecture’s Bill Tripp, the Connecticut-based designer responsible

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Stuart Pearce

Tripp Design’s 282-foot Aquijo stands as the world’s largest ketch, reaching speeds above 20 knots with all the luxuries for up to 12 guests to sail to the ends of the earth. Oh, and it’s available for charter.

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Maine in 1930 and still the longest yacht ever built in America. Corsair IV and other yachts of her age were built mainly for American and European owners who felt the seismic tumult of the world around them at the time and desired an assured path of egress in both a metaphysical and physical sense. With ongoing wars, artificial intelligence, climate change and other existential specters still hanging low over the land, perhaps it’s tempting for anyone with the means to hoist a sail and point their bow toward blue horizons.

One of the greenest superyachts on the seas, Oceanco’s Black Pearl has an advanced hybrid propulsion system and 230-feet DynaRig carbon masts that allow her to cross the Atlantic without a drop of fuel.

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Tom van Oossanen

and third generations of wealthy families who grew up around yachts. “We are seeing families with younger children cross over from powerboats to sailboats,” Tripp says. “They are looking to see what can be done for their kids’ future, watching their CO₂ and all of that. And sailboats are, of course, an effective answer.”

Even as owners look toward the future, they keep a keen eye on the past. Koru caught some yacht historians’ attention as likely being inspired

by J.P. Morgan Jr.’s famed Corsair IV, built in

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L A DOLCE V I TA

Courtesy Wally (2)

A f te r 3 0 ye a rs, It a l ia n sh ipya rd Wa l l y p r o v e s w h y i t s b o a t s a r e still the sleekest c r uisers on the water w it h t he new wa l ly power58

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Courtesy Wally/Toni Meneguzzo (2), Courtesy Wally/Gilles Martin-Raget (2)

With fold-down wings that create 325 square feet of aft deck space, carbon fiber detailing, an optional hydraulic platform for launching water toys, sleek lower deck spaces for up to four guests, and an angular hull that slices through the waves at a zippy 30-plus knots, the wallypower58 stands a cut above the rest.

LIC. AA26001988, REG. FLORIDA AR16971

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Wally is one of Italy’s cult yacht brands—similar to Boston Whaler and Cigarette Racing in the U.S.—with a small but highly fanatical following.

The devotion comes from a distinct, wedgeshaped look that is simple and elegant but so forward-thinking it took 20 years for copycat versions to appear (and there have been many duplicates of Wally’s innovative hulls, carbon fiber construction, fold-down sides, flush decks, hydraulic feat ures a nd w rapa round g la ss windshields).

Founder Luca Bassani named his company after the 1960s Wally Gator cartoon. “It was 1994, and the big sailboat designers were Camper & Nicholsons and Sparkman & Stephens—names that had been around for a century,” he says. “I wanted a name that represented the future.” The brand’s fate was evident from its earliest custom racing sailboats, with their triangular shape, narrow bow and open stern. The wallypower118, Wally’s first motor yacht, launched in 2003, shared the sailboats’ general shape but was even more revolutionary, with a riot of long, unbroken lines, faceted surfaces and sharp angles.

The design still influences new launches, like the wallypower58 and wallypower58X—even though they’re half the length. “It functions as a day boat like the wallytender but was also designed as a weekend cruiser,” Bassani says. It’s a cruiser for two “very lucky individuals,” he adds, since there’s only one stateroom. Topside, it’s a different story, with seating at the fore and aft for up to 12 guests on day trips, including a sunbed with a fold-up shade.

The wallypower58 has three 550 horsepower Volvo Penta IPS 700 drives, with optional IPS 800s that push the top speed from 36 knots to 38.

The “X” version features four 600 horsepower Mercury Verado V12 outboards that turn the boat

into a 50-knot rocket ship. “We’ve always been focused on performance—not just speed,” Bassani says. “It’s how the yacht slices through the waves and rides in rough seas.” Developed for the North American market, the tilting outboards are ideal for boating around Naples’ shallow coastal waters and pulling up to sandbars.

Details like the hull’s stea lthy, faceted shape differentiate the new 58s from anything else on the water. Meanwhile, the long cockpit benches, the fold-down sides of the transom (one of Bassani’s favorite moves), the single-piece windshield and dozens of other small touches define the boat. A few innovative features are sure to be picked up by competitors—mainly, the 4K video cameras that stand in place of portholes, projecting crystal-clear views of the outside world, preserving the boat’s clean lines and eliminating window maintenance. Back topside, the hydraulic platform lowers at the touch of a button to launch jet skis and other toys.

Carbon fiber provides an oh-so-cool factor as the material of choice for items as diverse as the cockpit table (which is typically wood or plastic), helm chairs and cabin floor. It’s equally critical for the boat’s structural integrity. Carbon makes up the hardtop and buttresses heavy items like the windshield (to withstand pounding from the water). “Instead of using heavier, cheaper materials, which would require ever-more horsepower, we designed the boat to be light and strong,” Bassani says.

Bassani’s obsession with micro-details across the yacht—the opening anchor locker on the bow that disappears into the hull when stowed, for instance—explains why Wally has staying power after 30 years. Wally has competitors now, but nobody comes close to the storied brand’s build quality and sleek look.

“ We ’ v e a l w a y s b e e n f o c u s e d o n p e r f o r m a n c e — n o t j u s t s p e e d , ” Wa l l y f o u n d e r L u c a B a s s a n i s a y s . “ I t ’s h o w t h e y a c h t s l i c e s t h r o u g h t h e w av e s a n d r id e s i n r o u g h s e a s .”

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4820 Bayshore Drive • Naples, Florida 34112 • naplesgarden.org

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DROPPING TA K E YOU R INTO THE ROA DS AU T OMO T I V E

SUPERCAR WILDEST WITH THESE A DV EN T U R ES

Courtesy McLaren/Patrick Gosling (2)

GEARS

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Got a supercar? You’ve got access. Among the likes of McLaren, Bentley and Porsche, automakers want to make sure you get the most out of your ultra-high horsepower. The brands craft excursions in breathtaking destinations, like Bentley’s four-day blitz through the natural splendor of New Mexico.

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Challenge, where owners can take their personal Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos through a series of races across the United States and the world. You can also purchase Ferraris that ran in Formula 1 to drive across prestigious circuits through the F1 Clienti Program.

The Ferrari Challenge is an exhilarating experience even the most jaded auto enthusiasts will appreciate. I once spent a weekend shadowing Michael Fassbender a few years back as he was piloting a car at a Ferrari Challenge weekend on California’s Laguna Seca track. For someone who is married to actor Alicia Vikander and has multiple Oscar nominations, he sure looked happier than I’ve seen him in press photos.

If an immersive automotive experience in a fabulous locale, without the high-octane technical driving, is more your Hermès bag, look to Bentley’s Extraordinary Journeys program. Experience seat time with an array of Bentley models through highly-curated road trips in exotic locations to allow new and existing customers to experience their newest models. Bentley recently concluded

Courtesy Porsche, Previous spread, Courtesy Bentley/Kelly Serfoss

Once you have the car of your dreams, immerse yourself in the high-speed world through uncharted terrain and onto scenic, supercharged roads. Rest assured, if a brand makes something that goes fast, drives incredibly well, and has a ton of style, it has also likely created a host of adventurous track days and far-out trips to maximize the ride.

Typically, the company provides you with a fresh set of wheels to keep your roadster pristine and test new models—win-win.

If you want to practice your skills on the track, Porsche and Ferrari are the way to go. Porsche offers 90-minute drives at one of the Experience Centers in Los Angeles or Atlanta, as well as driving schools and overnight trips. Porsche supplies the automobiles even if you’re not part of the owners’ club yet—a great way to try out different models if you’re in the market—while Ferrari’s Corso Pilota driving school is only for owners.

Ferrari’s courses become increasingly technical as you progress from Sport to Evoluzione+ to the Race Course. Throughout the three-step program, you learn the skills to compete safely in the Ferrari

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Courtesy Porsche

Porsche has Experience Centers in L.A. and Atlanta, where you can hone your driving skills with models like the 718 Cayman GT4 RS or 911 GT3 RS. Four-hour courses include one-on-one instruction and performance tracking app data to level up your ride.

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Courtesy Bentley/Kelly Serfoss (2)

What’s the point of having all that horsepower if you can’t use it? Beyond the Southwest’s red-tinged landscape, Bentley also ventures to New Zealand and the U.K.

Photo: Albert Vecerka

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a lavish four-day drive across New Mexico that included private jets, ultra-luxe accommodations at Sante Fe’s Bishop’s Lodge and incredible dining experiences at five-star restaurants like Mark Kiffin’s The Compound Restaurant.

For the perfect mix of racing and luxury travel, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG Driving Academy has an array of excursions, including one- and two-day driving programs on tracks across the country, as well as the signature AMG Explorer Napa Valley trip, which bases you for three nights at Stanly Ranch Auberge Resort for days of leisurely drives through Wine Country, track time at the Sonoma Raceway and, for good measure, off-roading in a Mercedes-AMG G63 SUV. Genius.

The wildest supercar adventures come from McLaren. The company offers a Pure McLaren Arctic Experience at its new Ice Driving Circuit in Inari, Finland, 165 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

You’ll learn to drive like the greatest Finnish racers of all time (think: Rosberg, Häkkinen, Kovalainen), stopping between Husky sledding jaunts and dinner under the Northern Lights. “The smooth, frozen surface allows for exciting maneuvers and drifting not possible in a McLaren on the road,” says Jamie Wall, lead driver coach at McLaren Automotive.

“The breathtaking scenery and the sense of freedom on the vast, frozen expanse enhances the fun, creating unforgettable memories for any driving enthusiast.” Please sign us up!

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Courtesy McLaren/Patrick Gosling

Head 165 miles north of the Arctic Circle for the Pure McLaren Arctic Experience, which has you drifting across smooth icy surfaces and dining under the Northern Lights.

A truly elevated flying experience.

101 AVIATION DRIVE NORTH | NAPLES, FLORIDA | 239.643.9700 | WWW.FLYJET1.COM

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PLAY

BY TODD PLUMMER

BACK IN THE SA DDLE

Courtesy Hermès/Nacho Alegre

H ER M ÈS BU I LDS ON ITS EQU EST R I A N LEGACY WITH A R EVOLU TIONA RY NEW SADDLE Luxury implies a degree of continuity—goods become valuable because they are consistently the best in their category. So when a maison introduces something as an evolution or (dare we say) improvement on their most iconic wares, there’s a ground-trembling sense of gravitas.

For equestrians and spectators alike, this year’s arrival of the new Hermès Selle Rouge saddle marks such a moment for the storied French luxury house.

Before Hermès became known for its silks, home accessories and collectible handbags, it was a humble equestrian workshop. In 1837, German immigrant Thierry Hermès opened his first atelier offering harnesses and bridles to the carriage trade and quickly became known among the Parisian elite for his skills and craftsmanship.

The introduction of saddles came a generation later with Thierry’s son, Charles-Émile.

Since then, every Hermès saddle—whether for casual equestrians or Olympic athletes—is handmade by a single craftsman at a time, made-

to-measure and configured especially for rider and horse. New models are released deliberately and seldomly, underscoring the longevity of Hermès’ designs and careful aversion to repetition.

In the 1960s, the maison developed the world’s first close-contact saddle, the Steinkraus, named for Bill Steinkraus, the first American to win gold in any equestrian discipline at the Olympics.

Half a century later, 2016 brought the debut of the Hermès Arpège, with an extra-deep seat for dressage rider Jessica von Bredow-Werndl.

Recently the brand introduced the Selle Rouge, which combines a deep seat with a lightweight and elegant design, bringing human and horse together for the closest possible riding experience.

The new saddle, made for show jumping and flat work, has several new details, obsessively adjusted to perfection. The tree (the chassis or backbone of a saddle) is made with beech wood, chosen for its shock absorbency and suppleness.

In the back, a part of the tree is exposed to show off the craftsmanship. Selle Rouge has recessed

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Courtesy Hermès/Freddie Barbera

Hermès’ new Selle Rouge saddle combines the best of the maison’s previous designs, dating back to the 1800s, with modern innovations. To ensure an intuitive fit, the maker measures 100 contact points on the horse’s back. The slim beech tree (the chassis or backbone of the saddle) took three years to perfect.

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E S TAT E S F R O M O V E R $ 6 . 5 M I L L I O N | P E N T H O U S E P R I C I N G U P O N R E Q U E S T epiquepelicanbay.com | 239.598.9900 | 6885 Pelican Bay Boulevard ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. The materials and features depicted in this rendering are based upon current development plans, which are subject to change without notice. All images, designs and features depicted herein are shown solely for illustrative purposes, and may differ in view, perspective or scale. No guarantees or representations are made that the materials and features depicted in this rendering will be provided, or if provided, will be of the same type, size or nature as depicted. Gulf Bay® Group of Companies. Creators of the Pelican Bay Skyline. Gulf Bay® Marketing Group, Inc. REALTORS®. ©Copyright 2023, Gulf Bay Development LV, LLC. All rights reserved.

blocks and a skirt incorporated into its flaps—all in a saddle that is more streamlined than ever.

The result is a marriage of technical rigor with aesthetic finesse for a saddle that helps the rider feel even closer to their horse.

The saddle is already a favorite of Jérôme Guéry, one of Hermès 15 partner riders and a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. Guéry, his horse Cristel and the design team spent three years testing and discussing every point of the design. If Guéry qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, enthusiasts can expect to see him riding the Selle Rouge in competition.

Adding a new saddle to Hermès’ oeuvre is not the only change to the brand’s equestrian universe.

In 2023, Hermès expanded its saddle-making program beyond its Parisian rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré headquarters, with the addition of a new atelier in Normandy, France’s horse country.

Equestrian excellence appears to be a major strategy for the brand, so the next time you’re wondering if jockeying for a Birkin is well worth it, consider springing for a saddle. The maison remains unmatched for its craftsmanship and commitment to excellence, so you can’t go wrong either way.

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Courtesy Hermès/Freddie Barbera

One craftsperson takes 30 hours to create each bespoke saddle, made for show jumping and flatwork.

The artisan oils the leather to achieve the warm, intense Saddler’s Red hue.

PLAY

BY KRISTEN SHIRLEY

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Courtesy Winch Design

Fa me d vision

super yacht f ir m Winch to the home via a

Desig n br ings its sing ular stunning recording studio

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Winch Design might be best known for its luxurious superyacht and private jet designs, but its architecture business, Studio Winch, is booming. The designers bring the same attention to detail; opulent, often sustainable materials; and incredible design to residential spaces without the logistical and spatial constraints of sea and air.

In today’s world of remote work and easy travel, many people spend less time at their primary residence. Creating a design universe that spans multiple spaces allows you to feel at home, even while in transit. In the past, it’s been common to see home design inspire private plane and yacht interiors. Now, aesthetes are taking cues from the road to bring the wanderlust home.

Project Antwerp is the perfect example of this approach. Studio Winch created the lavish recording studio for Grammy Award-winning DJ and music producer Afrojack. The Dutch DJ approached Winch when he needed a new recording studio and home with guest accommodations for musicians and space to relax and unwind between

sessions. The design between private and public spaces is seamlessly integrated with midnight blues and golds throughout, a nod to the fluid, collaborative nature of creating music.

Superyacht elements fill the Art Deco-inspired studio. The ceiling is decorated with glittering stars amid soft overhead circular lights, recreating the look of being at sea at night. Rich blue hues on the walls and furniture and wood panels with integrated bookshelves also pay tribute to the nautical life. The technical elements required for a recording studio are precisely and discreetly integrated, thanks to a collaboration with Pinna Acoustics. Although, Winch’s aptitude with yachts and aircraft already makes the group pretty handy with engineering, as seen in the use of acoustictransparent fabric and hard reflective materials.

As the worlds of work and play, home and travel, and form and function continue to blur, we can’t think of a better ‘game room’ to integrate into your home. It’ll certainly be every music lover’s favorite spot in town.

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Courtesy Winch Design

DJ Afrojack’s studio—with its nautical leanings, plush surfaces and pro acoustics—is but an example of what Winch Design can custom-create for music lovers.

L O R I F O W L E R N A P L E S L U X U R Y . C O M

AR E YOU L OOK I NG F OR A R E AL E S TATE E X PERI EN CE CURATED TO YOUR I ND IV ID UAL NE E D S BY A PR OF E S SI O N AL W I TH A TRACK R E C OR D OF S UC C E S S AND S ATI SFI ED CUSTO M ERS?

Lori Fowler, P.A. | 550 Fifth Avenue S., Naples, Fl 34102 | 239.877.3800

B U B B L Y

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Courtesy Dolce & Gabbana

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S P I R I T S

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LIFE

BY JILLIAN DARA

SIPPING C H A M PAG N E

BY T HE SE A SHOR E

Veuve Clicquot is in the midst of a 40 -year sea cellar ing exper iment , and you can be a par t of the magic quiet at an icy 39 degrees Fahrenheit with balanced pressure—affects the vintages over 40 years.

The Cellar In The Sea project was inspired by the 2010 discovery of 47 bottles of Veuve Clicquot in an 1840 shipwreck in the Åland archipelago, between Sweden and Finland. The wine, sweet but still intact, set a record when a single bottle sold at auction for 30,000 euros ($43,900) in the summer of 2011.

Given the wine’s condition and drinkability nearly 200 years later, Veuve Clicquot launched the oenological study to understand and track how sea cellaring affects the liquid over time. Simultaneously, the Champagne house is aging 350 bottles in their crayères (chalk caves) in Reims; both collections will be tested and tasted regularly to evaluate the conditions’ effect on long-term aging.

Courtesy Veuve Clicquot (2)

From Brittany, France, to Santa Barbara, California, wineries are experimenting with ocean aging.

Rather than the traditional method of maturing wines in an onsite barrel room, they’re purposefully submerging bottles into briny waters. As underwater cellaring has steadily gained traction—intriguing collectors for its novelty and barnacle-clad bottles that add character to any wine cellar—Veuve Clicquot has committed to a sea cellaring study of greater depth.

In 2014, the French Champagne house sank 350 bottles of four labels (non-vintage Yellow Label in 750 milliliters and magnum formats, Vintage Rosé 2004 and Demi-Sec). They wanted to analyze how aging the bubbles 40 meters below the surface of the Baltic Sea—where conditions remain dark and

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This year, Veuve Clicquot brought up a select number of bottles for analysis and celebrated with a voyage for 14 couples from Reims to the Åland Islands, complete with elaborate dinners, Finnish summer solstice festivities and dives to the 170-year-old shipwreck for qualified divers.

Guests tasted wines aged in the sea and in the traditional crayères. So far, experts have observed the wines are aging slower 40 meters below the surface, showing great potential for wines that need extended aging (especially larger formats, including magnums and jeroboams). For the Yellow Label wines, the bottles aged in the caves

seemed to reach their aging plateau after nine years. But the Yellow Label that was submerged under the sea retained freshness with white fruits and floral notes. The red wines seemed to have more of a protective effect on aging in the rosé, and for the demi-sec, the wines aged in the Baltic Sea have been able to keep a balance of freshness with more energy and tension.

Veuve Clicquot is tentatively looking to open another guest experience for 2024, which they will confirm in the coming months. Is an underwater cellar the next must-have for serious wine collectors? Only time will tell.

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Courtesy Veuve Clicquot/Leif Carlsson

Upon discovering centuries-old Champagne bottles that maintained surprising drinkability in an 1840 shipwreck, Veuve Clicquot sunk another 350 bottles to the ocean floor. The producer is comparing the underwater bottles with a set of the cellar-aged vintage to see how the wines age under different conditions.

N

ow C A on cc tr ep a ct tin s g

Sky pool

Sky jewel

Live it up at Aura in Downtown Naples From the rooftop infinity pool and surrounding sun deck to the spacious,

stylish interiors, residents of Aura at Metropolitan Naples will most certainly

live it up…each and every day of their lives. Featuring just 56 luxury residences

with private garage 15-33’ above FEMA guidelines in the heart of Downtown Naples, Aura’s amenities are surpassed only by the views which extend to the Gulf

of Mexico and the city lights of famed Fifth Avenue South. So live it up in Aura at Metropolitan Naples.

Pricing from $2M

239.758.9500 365 Fifth Avenue South, #104A MetropolitanNaples.com ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THIS WEBSITE AND TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. All artist’s renderings are proposed concepts shown only for marketing purposes and are based upon current development plans, which are subject to change by the developer, Aura at Metropolitan Naples LLC, which reserves the right to make changes at its sole discretion, without prior notice or approval of the purchaser. This project has been filed in the state of Florida and no other state. This is not an offer to sell or solicitation of offers to buy the condominium units in states where such offers or solicitation cannot be made. This advertisement does not constitute an offer where prior registration or other qualification is required. Prices, availability, plans, features, dimensions, specifications and amenities are subject at any time without notice. All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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LIFE

BY BRAD JAPHE

GOLD

O ne of t he cou nt r y ’s most prom i nent a nd i mpor t a nt bou rbon collections is in Southwest Florida

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Zach Stovall, Andrew Hyslop

RUSH

With several hundred labels to choose from— most of them from distilleries that have long since shuttered—Zoeller wastes surprisingly little time rattling off his most cherished assets.

Those include a mint-condition bottling of Old Oscar Pepper, a legendary facility that was built in 1812 and today serves as the site of Woodford Reserve; an extraordinarily rare expression of Old Ripy that was only bottled once; and a Green River from the recently revived 1885 distiller.

“It’s a perfectly preserved bourbon from a very sought-after brand,” he explains of the latter. “I have a bottle with clear liquid in it. It is sealed, and the label states that it contains Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. How is that possible? Turns out the whiskey was bottled just after Prohibition and contains 1-year-old whiskey.”

The bottles embody a portal to the past, the limited remnants of Kentucky’s deepest whiskey memories. Cherished history in liquid form.

Zoeller acquired the lion’s share of this collection from eBay. The popular online auction platform stopped allowing spirit sales in 2015, which certainly didn’t help in his pursuit to accumulate

Kentuckian Chet Zoeller started collecting pre-Prohibition whiskies 24 years ago. Most of his rare bottles—including a 12-year-old whiskey from the sought-after 1800s Green River distillery—are kept at the Frazier History Museum in his hometown of Louisville.

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Andrew Hyslop

Chet Zoeller wrote the book on bourbon. Well, he wrote a book on the subject, anyway. And an authoritative one, at that. While conducting his exhaustive research on whiskey history, he also began collecting the spirit one bottle at a time. That was back in the year 2000. Today, he lays claim to one of the country’s largest private collections of vintage American spirits. Most of the bottles are so precious they’re showcased under lock and key at the Frazier History Museum in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

After leaving his legal practice of 30-plus years and cofounding a successful bourbon brand with his son Trey, Zoeller retired with his wife down to Florida. The duo carted some of their most sentimental liquids with them—stuff they enjoy sharing with guests. In other words, if you’re a fan of bourbon from a bygone era, you really want to work on scoring an invite. “Almost all my bottles contain whiskey made before Prohibition,” Zoeller says. “Trey and I have opened our fair share, most of the time just when we’re looking for something fun to do together. I’ll testify to the fact that the whiskey isn’t just old; it’s wonderful.”

F I R S T

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collection of newer rare whiskies. Do your research, find what you like, and you can begin a collection.”

Zoeller humbly advises starting with a bottle of Jefferson’s, naturally. The line of rich, butterscotchforward bourbon he started with his son in 1997 enjoys wide distribution across the Sunshine State.

It drinks great now—or 20 years from now if you prefer it in vintage variety.

Andrew Hyslop

additional rarities. But it’s the skyrocketing popularity of the spirit over the past decade that all but ended his collecting efforts.

“To anyone wanting to start a collection of very old whiskey, I would say you are too late,” he laments. “There are fewer and fewer of the bottles out there, and the prices are now in the thousands per bottle. That said, it’s never too late to start a

An Old Ripy that was only bottled once, an 18-year Old Jordan bottled 1932, and an Old Oscar Pepper that goes for about $2,500 are some of the gems in this liquid gold collection.

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THIS IS OUR

Moment

To become involved and leave your legacy, contact Lisa Halsey at lhalsey@gulfshoreplayhouse.org

The curtain is rising and we want you to be a part of our next act Be a part of Naples’ most iconic, new haven for arts and culture. With your support, we’re one step closer to a bold, new center where theatregoers will share exceptional experiences, where every seat has an amazing view of a Broadway-sized stage, and where people of all ages and interests will discover the joy of theatre and unique educational opportunities. By investing in our bright future, you and your family can leave a lasting cultural legacy in downtown Naples for generations to come.

gulfshoreplayhouse.org

239.261.7529

LIFE

BY DAVID GR AVER

DESIGN TO THE MA X

B O L D t e x t u r e s

C O L O R S , T A K E

O V E R

L A V I S H W H E R E

A N D

l e f t

The decor divisions of some of the biggest Ita lia n fashion na mes (Dolce & Gabba na, Armani, Gucci, Versace, Missoni, Fendi) lead the conversation. No maison has indulged quite like DGCasa, the homewares segment of Dolce & Gabbana. With historic Sicilian origins, DGCasa’s new carnivalesque Carretto pattern adorns silk twill blankets, Duchesse cotton throw pillows and fine porcelain plates with a mesmeric swirl of deep red, blue, green and yellow. Luxuriant pieces like the Laerte chest of drawers and vibrant Anemone sofa are precisely hand-painted and laboriously handcrafted in Italy over the course of months.

Courtesy Dolce & Gabbana

Expressive swaths of color, overlapping patterns, decadent and textural materials, meticulous craftsmanship—these attributes converge in maximalist design, which boldly returns to the home. Years of adherence to minimalism—from Marie Kondo’s less-is-more narrative to the reserved Scandinavian aesthetic and the clean lines of midcentury modern furniture—are being upended by a suite of bombastic designers. And, few do maximalism better than the Italians.

Drawing from the Gilded Age’s extravagance, Baroque exuberance and the playfulness of Italy’s 1980s Memphis design, Italian design brands yield furnishings bursting with energy and opulence.

p a t t e r n s M I N I M A L I S M

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L U S H O F F

Dolce & Gabbana’s home collection, DGCasa, draws on a riot of colors, Sicilian motifs and impeccable craftsmanship. Recent collections flaunt the brand’s psychedelic Carretto print.

with architect and designer Roberto Lazzeroni.

While the line represents a subdued approach to ma x ima lism, w ith cur ved, jewel-toned sofas and hand-knotted geometric rugs, other objects lean fully into the exuberant movement.

Poltrona Frau just unveiled a collaboration with London-born Ghanaian fashion designer Ozwald Boateng. The collection features vividly colored nubuck leather seating, hand-embossed with ornate patterns that reference traditional fabrics of the African Akan tribe.

Through premier Ita lian manufacturing company Cassina’s partnership with pioneers

Courtesy Armani/Casa

The craftsmanship is rivaled only by new limited-edition iterations of Armani/Casa’s Art Deco-influenced Camilla desk and Sofia chair, with their hypnotic mosaic of mother-of-pearl inlay, and the Antoinette dressing table, with a folding top and hidden seat. Every iridescent mother-of-pearl tile is laid by hand in Italy, with only 11 of each piece produced.

Dedicated Italian design houses also embrace maximalism. Poltrona Frau—the heritage brand that has provided leather interiors to Ferrari and Maserati for decades—recently debuted the Dolce Vita-inspired DUO collection in collaboration

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Courtesy Armani/Casa

Armani was among the first fashion houses to launch an interiors line in 2000. This winter, Armani/Casa re-released iconic pieces like the Art Deco-inspired Antoinette dressing table, recreated with mother-of-pearl mosaic tile.

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Interior Design Residential • Commercial

Karen Larson Murphy, Principal

294 14th Ave S, Naples FL, 34102 | O: 239-293-0041 | C: 630-817-0029

like the futuristic, genre-defying Gaetano Pesce and the colorful Japanese furniture designer Toshiyuki Kita, the brand developed a portfolio of ultra-luxe maximalist designs. Consider Kita’s Wink armchair that folds at the base to become a lounge in happy shades of red, green and purple, or Pesce’s Tramonto sofa—an ode to the New York skyline with a proprietary raised fabric that resembles walls of skyscraper windows and a red satin setting sun creating the backrest.

T he s a me c a n b e s a id of t he h i s t or ic Florentine home decor brand Ginori 1735, which has partnered with greats like Gio Ponti to produce exuberant gold-etched ceramics

w ith ancient A mazon hunt scenes and the family-owned kitchen accessories of Alessi.

The brand’s partnership with Milanese artist Elena Salmistraro yielded such marvels as the Holyhedrics nativity figurines with colorful, pi xel-like pat terns. A ll these institutions u nder st a nd t hat m a x i m a l ism cha mpion s personal expression and that intentionality is the key to its success. Clashing patterns can occupy the same space. Another hand-thrown porcelain vase with an ornately painted scene can be added to a room. Furniture shapes can defy logic side by side. So long as they’re wellmade and they inspire.

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Courtesy Armani/Casa

Maximalism is all about embracing exuberance. Who lives it up better than the Italians? Bring a little of the dolce vita into your home with all-over patterns, lustrous finishes, bold color and plenty of eleganza.

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SOCIAL

BY ADDISON PEZOLDT

AGE N DA y o u r c a l e n d a r FOR p h i l a n t h r o p i c g a l a s

M A R K

JAN. 26-28 Naples Winter Wine Festival pours one out at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, with stellar vintages from top wineries and fare from Michelincaliber chefs. This year’s fund-a-need prioritizes children’s mental health and early learning. napleswinefestival.com FEB. 3 STARability Foundation helps those with different intellectual and developmental abilities shine. Immerse yourself in the Italian-inspired travel theme at the STARability Gala at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón; stay for the impactful stories. starability.org

A N D

MARCH 4 Dance the night away at Gulfshore Playhouse’s 20th season celebration, the Stompin’ at the Savoy Gala, which transports you to the heyday of NYC’s legendary Savoy Ballroom. Raise your paddles to help hit the $2.1 million goal. gulfshoreplayhouse.org MARCH 7 One of the longestrunning galas in town, The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’ Magic Under the Mangroves Gala has had a lot to do with keeping Naples green and gorgeous. Don’t miss it. conservancy.org MARCH 16 The invite-only Friends of Artis—Naples Gala transforms Hayes Hall’s stage into an opulent dining experience, complete with an up-close performance by Broadway stars. artisnaples.org MARCH 20 Naples Botanical Garden’s Hats in the Garden’s 20th anniversary includes a Carolina Herrera runway

Trunk Archive

FEB. 10 Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples’ Night at the Museum excites with a CMON Dreamhouse theme.

Don bubblegum hues, bid on Ferragamo’s custom pink ostrich handbag (the only one in the U.S.) and support the museum’s accessibility initiatives. cmon.org

N A P L E S ’

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show. Funds help expand access to the preserve. naplesgarden.org MARCH 21 Guest-of-honor Brooke Shields shares her mental health journey at The RitzCarlton Naples, Tiburón, as part of David Lawrence Centers’ Sound Minds event.

Get VIP tickets to attend a private dinner and meet the star. davidlawrencecenters.org MARCH 23 Youth Haven’s Starry Nights gala at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón, raff les off luxuries like a 2024 Range Rover to help children and teens affected by abuse or neglect in Southwest Florida.

The goal: to raise $2 million for our most vulnerable kids. youthhavenswf l.org APRIL 3 The Shelter For Abused Women & Children’s Bags & Bow Ties gala at The RitzCarlton, Naples, welcomes bow tie-clad guests to bid on Fendi and Gucci handbags for the cause. napleshelter.org

Courtesy Marretti

POST SCRIPT:

The grand staircase returns as a central figure for the sophisticated home, and none is more opulent than the new golden stunner by the 1914 Italian design house Marretti Stairs. The gilded showstopper debuted in October at a Miami design show as part of Marretti’s Grand Design line. Every staircase is built to the owner’s specifications, with artisans using electric pads to hand-plate gold directly onto a polished stainless steel surface. Fasteners disappear into the design, ensuring one flowing, sinuous look. Deftly incorporated LEDs in the 2-inch-thick marble steps and under the handrail illuminate the way. While Marretti is tight-lipped about its clients, we hear one golden staircase stands a regal centerpiece at a certain high fashion store in Paris. Talk about a glow up.

— Melanie Warner Spencer

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