Air Magazine - Nasjet - July'19

JULY 2019

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

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Contents JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

EDITORIAL Editorial Director

John Thatcher Managing Editor

Faye Bartle Editor

Chris Ujma chris@hotmedia.me

ART Art Director

Kerri Bennett Senior Designer

Hiral Kapadia Illustration

Leona Beth

COMMERCIAL AIR

Managing Director

Victoria Thatcher General Manager

David Wade

david@hotmedia.me Commercial Director

Rawan Chehab

rawan@hotmedia.me

PRODUCTION Production Manager

Muthu Kumar

Thirty Eight

Forty Four

Fifty

Fifty Six

50 years since NASA set foot on the Moon, society has had half a century to reflect on what it meant to mankind

As Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a masterful tale of historic Hollywood, what does he think of the industry as it stands?

With fashion often viewed from its front, Palais Galliera presents sublime style from a different vantage

The Mini Cooper red, white and blue the bloody doors off in The Italian Job – and the storyline has come full circle

The Eagle Has Landed

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Once Upon a Time

Back to Brilliance

Caine and Able

Contents

AIR

JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

Fourteen

Twenty Eight

Jewellery

Motoring

Sixty Two

Seventy

Vincent Peters has a unique take on the celebrity portrait – with collectors clamouring for the result

Cora Sheibani’s eye-catching Glow collection frames the artistic risk that illuminates her creative method

McLaren has reimagined its 720s as a convertible – but this is one Spider which certainly doesn’t crawl

Gladden Private Island has been called the world’s most private escape (so don’t tell anyone where it is)

Twenty Four

Thirty Four

Sixty Six

The poetic glasswork of Jean-Michel Othoniel has been enjoyed around the world. It’s time to come home

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin went to Moon and back in one piece. So did his Omega Speedmaster Professional

Santi Taura is moving his Michelin-starred enclave: the south of Mallorca will be delighted with his choice

Radar

Art & Design

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Jewellery

Travel

Gastronomy Tel: 00971 4 364 2876 Fax: 00971 4 369 7494 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in AIR.

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NasJet JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

NasJet is the first private charter company in Saudi Arabia, providing bespoke aviation services for the most discerning clients and institutions in the world since 1999. Currently, the Group operates more than 24 corporate aircraft, making us the largest and most experienced private jet operator in the region with a managed fleet value exceeding USD1.5 billion.

NasJet, which is part of NAS Holding, employs over 1,800 industry experts, operating 24/7 from our state-of-the-art flight centre in Riyadh and across the world delivering a superior level of safety, service and value. At NasJet we have the expertise and international experience to operate corporate aircraft worldwide. Every hour of every day, we are moving planes, crews and inventory across continents. We give you peace of mind when it comes to our commercial operations. As a Saudi company we are backed by some of the most prominent shareholders in the world. We are established.

On our Air Operator Certificate (AOC), NasJet currently operates:

Welcome Onboard JULY 2019

• Cessna Citation Excel, which can seat 6 passengers and fly for up to 3 hours non-stop • Embraer Legacy 600, which can seat 13-15 passengers and fly for up to 5 hours non-stop • Gulfstream GIV-SP and G450 Aircraft, which can seat 13-14 passengers and fly for up to 8 hours non-stop • Gulfstream GV, which can seat 16 passengers and fly for up to 12 hours non-stop • Airbus 318ACJ, which can seat 19-22 passengers and fly for up to 8 hours non-stop • Boeing Business Jet (B737-900), which can seat 38 passengers and fly for up to 9 hours non-stop • Boeing 767, which can seat up to 44 passengers and fly for up to 14 hours non-stop NasJet is pleased to offer the following services: • Aircraft Purchase and Sales. We have aircraft available for sale and management, or we can manage the purchase or sale of other aircraft.

• Aircraft Acquisition, Acceptance, Completion and Delivery. We can find you the new aircraft that suits your needs, customise it to your liking, monitor the build of the aircraft at the manufacturer, and supervise the final delivery process to ensure a smooth and rewarding private aircraft experience.

• Aircraft Management, where we are responsible for your aircraft from all aspects to provide you the highest safety standards, the best service and the most economical management solutions.

• Block Charter, where we provide you with charter solutions sold in bulk at discounted rates.

• Ad-Hoc Charter, where we can serve your charter needs where and when you need us on demand.

With the new GACA Rules and Regulations having come into effect, NasJet has established itself as the first to market our Private and Commercial AOC Services. We welcome the opportunity to serve you, and look forward to seeing you aboard one of our private jets.

Captain Mohammed Al Gabbas Senior Vice President Cover: Leonardo DiCaprio

by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Contact Details: nasjet.com.sa / +966 11 261 1199 / sales@nasjet.com 9

NasJet JULY 2019 : ISSUE 98

Knowledge Exchange NASJET UPDATES LEADING INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS ON ITS OPERATIONS, PLUS KSA MARKET DEVELOPMENTS NasJet was once again honoured to partake in Corporate Jet Investor Dubai: a conference which attracts a prestigious cross section of industry movers, shakers and decision makers.

The fourth iteration of the event, hosted by The Ritz-Carlton Jumeriah Beach, was an opportunity to examine the realities of managing and operating aircraft in the Middle East – while time was also dedicated to discussing matters affecting neighbouring markets.

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The midday session served as an opportunity for speakers Captain Mohammed Al Gabbas (NasJet’s Senior Vice President) and Yosef Hafiz (NasJet CCO) to take to the stage and provide delegates with a pulse check of both NasJet’s business focus, and of the wider Saudi Arabian private jet landscape – including a timely update on GACA’s newly-implemented rules and regulations.

“It’s safe to say that, this time last year, people were sceptical of the new GACA Rules and Regulations,” said Hafiz. “Observers openly wondered how GACA was going to regulate other aircraft that are not registered in Saudi Arabia.” Said rules came into full effect as of 1 January 2019, and require all aircraft owners – regardless of where they are registered to be on a private Operators Certificate (under Part

125) or on a commercial Air Operator Certificate (under 121 Special Unscheduled).

“GACA has taken a strong stance against aircraft owners and operators, they put their foot down, and did not offer an extension beyond the 1 January deadline,” admits Hafiz. “But they needed to regulate the market, as there were a lot of savvy owners managing an aircraft on their own, with the pilot, and they weren’t doing a good job. There’s been a pushback from some of the aircraft owners but eventually, they are all going to have to comply. They will all have to find an AOC holder, an OC holder, who can maintain their aircraft for them. It’s predominantly about safety. ” A positive impact is that the Grey market (where private aircraft owners conduct illegal charter flights without an AOC), “Is almost eliminated in

Image: Gulfstream G650ER, courtesy of Gulfstream News

Saudi Arabia,” says Hafiz. “It’s almost nil. We are seeing less and less grey market charter which was a big issue for management companies in KSA. Cabotage [the transport of cargo or passengers from one destination to another, for a fee, within the same country] has been eliminated completely. Anybody who wants to fly domestically has to be with a Saudi company that has an AOC or an OC in Saudi Arabia.”

From a NasJet-centric aspect, Captain Al Gabbas spoke of the previous 12 months as being, “The best year since we started the business – and there’s a couple of reasons behind that. We merged some services with our sister company FlyNas – so maintenance and operations became one department – and we also decided to remove five Fokker aircraft, which were not needed because there was not

enough demand in Saudi Arabia.”

The selling is no surprise, being in line with NasJet’s shift of focus to aircraft management.

Says Hafiz, “For us– as with other operators in Saudi Arabia – aircraft management is where the future lies. As a company we used to do fractional ownership; we used to do ad hoc charter; we used to own the assets. That doesn’t work. It’s not about owning the asset; we’ve learned that over the last 20 years of business. The changes that we have made have shown positive results for us as a company. Our future lies in consolidating all the efforts we have to manage aircraft in Saudi Arabia.”

Added the captain, “There are good margins for us there and it’s our core business – we do supplement that with charter, and a lot of the aircraft that we operate are on a Commercial AOC, so there’s a high

demand for charter flights, especially from the government sector. That helps out aircraft owners offset some of the cost.” Casting an eye to the year ahead, Captain Al Gabbas was direct about his “optimism” for NasJet operations. Hafiz provided the colour commentary, saying, “The need for jet owners to have an AOC or OC registration has meant that competition among aircraft management companies in Saudi Arabia has continued to rise. This demand has led to aircraft owners seeking providers who can provide them with the better level of service – which has led Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI) directly to NasJet’s doorstep.”

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Radar JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

© Selected Works by Vincent Peters, published by teNeues / teneues.com, Emma Watson, London, Photo © Vincent Peters

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Image: Scarlett Johansson, New York Photo © Vincent Peters. All rights reserved

AIR

Vincent Peters’ photographs are exquisite works – just ask the Fine Art audience which clamours for his portraits. He’s photographed the most famous celebrity faces of this world, yet has managed to discover previously unseen nuance.

Peters currently has a solo show in Sweden; the efforts are distinctly show-stopping.

The book Selected Works is a companion to Vincent Peters’ solo exhibition at Fotografiska in Stockholm, until 1 September

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Critique JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

Film The Farewell Dir: Lulu Wang When a beloved grandmother has not long to live, a family plans a wedding just to bring the clan back together – except they hide the truth from the elder.

AT BEST: “The Farewell has some beautiful, truthful things to say about how love persists across the oceans.”

RogerEbert AT WORST: “I’m afraid to say it left me cold, despite the strength of Wang’s direction and the understated performances by the entire ensemble.” Film Enquiry

La Camarista / The Chambermaid AIR

Dir: Lila Avilés A young chambermaid at a luxurious Mexico City hotel confronts the monotony of long workdays – with insightful examinations of life.

AT BEST: “ She is quiet, but it’s impossible not to see her, both as a character and as a human. There’s an inner light bursting to break free... buried under decades of struggle.” Culturess AT WORST: “Quiet, unapologetically political and deeply affecting.”

One Room With a View

Ophelia Dir: Claire McCarthy This version of Shakespeare’s secret love affair between Ophelia and Hamlet is played out in medieval-era Denmark.

AT BEST: “ This vigorous, colourful and clever melodrama smartly rethinks both the play and the character.” Hollywood Reporter AT WORST: “Most damning is that the film no longer feels as if it belongs to Ophelia, but instead uses her for a different take on a well-known tale.” indieWire

The Mountain Dr. Wallace Fiennes employs an introverted young man as a photographer to document an asylum tour.

AT BEST: “This sombre and lyrical achievement is the warmest and most inviting work from a director who traffics in an acquired taste.” indieWire AT WORST: “Alverson’s serene affectations serve a stern, stark thesis about our evolving understanding of mental health, as well as America’s dubious romanticisation of its heartland.” Variety 16

Images: A24; Kino Lorber; IFC Films; Kino Lorber

Dir: Rick Alverson

Elegance is an attitude Simon Baker

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Critique JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

AIR

Theatre

Tok Stephen as Alvin and Debra Michaels as Vernice in Strange Fruit at the Bush Theatre. Photo: Helen Murray

“A

s family dramas go, Caryl Phillips’ Strange Fruit is at the epic end of the scale,” writes Rosemary Waugh for Time Out of the play, at Bush Theatre through July. “At its core is the intergenerational conflict between Vivien, who came to England from the West Indies as a single mother, and her now-grown-up sons... It’s a lengthy piece with a tendency to give the characters over-explanatory speeches. But you can understand why: Phillips’ play quite literally has so much to say. It’s also engrossing to watch because Nancy Medina’s revival is performed by an excellent cast.”

Medina, “Has directed a slow-burning story of a family caught between two cultures in 80s Britain,” says Michael Billington in The Telegraph. “We expect plays today to be brisker and shorter, but Phillips’ portrait of a family divided against itself and alienated from the surrounding society still rings disquietingly true.” Sarah Crompton writes for WhatsOnStage, “The visceral nature of [the sons] disappointment and their hurt hangs heavily in the air. The commitment of their playing

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makes Phillips’ words seem urgent and admonitory. [It’s] a very necessary and excellent baton-passing revival.”

On paper, The Secret Life of Bees sounds like a honey of a show,” says Time Out’s Adam Feldman of the show, at Atlantic Theater Company through July. “A new musical, adapted from Sue Monk Kidd’s bestselling 2001 novel, with a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score by Duncan Sheik and Susan Birkenhead...

[But] it turns out to be all buzz and no sting.” Variety’s Frank Rizzo is more saccharine, writing,“The feeling of empowerment, uplift and solidarity could come across in lesser hands as maudlin, naive or simplistic. But this creative team and ensemble of performers create characters that are fresh, a credible story that is transformative and a spiritual centre.”

Praises Alexis Soloski in The Guardian, “The acting is generally deft and the singing is splendid... There are also several standouts among the chorus.

When their voices join it sounds like what a dripping honeycomb tastes like – so sweet, so fine, so abounding.”

“Life sucks – but does the play?” asks David Gordon for Theater Mania, of Life Sucks. (at Acorn Theatre, New York until 1 September). “Considering the incendiary title, it is a surprisingly straightforward adaptation of the Chekhov source material... Aaron Posner knows his way around Chekhov adaptations... but there’s something about Life Sucks. that just doesn’t click. Perhaps it’s Jeff Wise’s lackadaisical direction...” Writes Elisabeth Vincentelli in The New York Times, “Posner has kept the original play’s basic architecture... Chekhov’s play has transcended the centuries because it is about timeless concerns: how hard it is to communicate with others, the vagaries – and unfairness – of love, the idea that life is something you must simultaneously endure and make the most of.” Says Helen Shaw for Time Out, “Posner’s credo – if your life sucks, you can still make other people’s lives suck less – resonates beautifully with the 1898 play. There’s a kind of spiritual medicine hidden... to do real good to an audience with 21st-century preoccupations.”

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Critique JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

AIR

“I

n the 1998 Hollywood thriller Enemy of the State, an innocent man (played by Will Smith) is pursued by a rogue spy agency that uses the advanced satellite ‘Big Daddy’ to monitor his every move. It was, however, much more than just prescient: it was also an inspiration, even a blueprint, for one of the most powerful surveillance technologies ever created,” opens Sharon Weinberger in her review of Eyes in the Sky. “The cinematically inspired research was picked up by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which funded the building of Gorgon – an aircraft-mounted camera with a capacity of almost two billion pixels.” Says Kirkus Reivews, “Drone surveillance unsettles civil liberties advocates, but they will have much more to discuss regarding an eye in the sky that observes everyone all the time... What Michel makes vividly clear is that civilian authorities yearn for this technology... The FBI and many police departments are flying prototypes, which have sometimes proved successful in tracing criminal activities. Is this a preliminary to the all-seeing eye of Nineteen Eighty-Four?”

Publisher’s Weekly says of author Arthur Holland Michel, “Avoiding the pitfall of coming across as anti-technology, Michel points out the potential benefits of these inventions beyond their original applications, such as in fighting forest fires and finding hurricane survivors...

Alarming but not alarmist, this study leaves readers with a persuasive look at how society might regulate cutting-edge technology to assure both individual privacy rights and the government’s ability to guard public safety.”

Reviews Jerome Boyd Maunsell for Evening Standard, “‘We know so little of the worlds beneath our feet,’ muses the Cambridge academic and writer Robert Macfarlane at the opening of Underland, a labyrinthine, occasionally terrifying journey into subterranean spaces which he has been working on for more than six years. Travel writing

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usually moves across horizontal space – across countries, oceans, continents.

This book, however, also pushes ‘into the earth’s gullet’, as Macfarlane squeezes and slips through rifts and portals into networks of tunnels, caves, mines, catacombs, chasms, holes and abysses – discovering an extraordinary ‘topography of cavities and clandestine places.’” As usual with Macfarlane “The book] is as much about the people he meets as the places he visits. He has a remarkable gift for bringing these charismatic eccentrics to life... It’s [an] extraordinary book, at once learned and readable, thrilling and beautifully written,” believes Alex Preston, writing in The Guardian. Kirkus Reviews praises, “Wherever he travels, he enhances our sense of wonder‚ which, after all, is the whole point of storytelling... A treasure all of its own. Anyone who cares to ponder the world beneath our feet will find this to be an essential text.”

Turning to novels, Human Matter: A Fiction by Rodrigo Rey Rosa, is “A sombre, allusive story of his native country’s troubled past,” muses Kirkus Reviews. “The human matter of the title is not just corporeal, although the events Rey Rosa recounts in this slender novel have yielded mounds of corpses. It also includes the faint traces of those who were “disappeared” at the hands of the National Police, a body theoretically disbanded after peace accords were signed between the government and its guerrilla discontents in 1996... Rey Rosa is suggestive rather than explicit, his narrator slowly despairing of ever finding the truth: When asked who his story is intended for, he finally replies, ‘maybe it’s just for me.’” He ,“Writes in the first person, using his own story, diary entries, investigative journalism, and philosophical meanderings as narrative vehicles,” explains Tony Bailie for New York Journal of Books. “By the end of this novel you feel glad to have come out on the other side and carry the hope that Rey Rosa, those close to him, and his fellow countrymen will do so, too.”

Images: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Penguin Books

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Critique JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

Art

AIR

Álvaro Hoppe Calle Alameda, Santiago, 1983 © Álvaro Hoppe, courtesy of the artist.

Showing at Urban Impulses: Latin American Photography From 1959 to 2016 at The Photographers’ Gallery until the 6 October

“I

t’s easy to take photography for granted. But as this show of Latin American photography from 1959 to 2016 makes clear, cameras have long served a more important function than capturing the light bouncing off an acai berry bowl,” writes Rosemary Waugh for Time Out, of Urban Impulses: Latin American Photography 1962–2016 at Photographers’ Gallery in London until October.

“Collecting together photos from the entire swathe of Latin America across five decades could easily backfire, leading to a sprawling mess of a show.

But this thematic categorisation is convincing and works really well.”

Say Vamos London, “In the ‘Pop-ular’ theme, artists’ mine the tropes of mass media and their manifestation in public spaces, particularly through the richness of pop culture imagery... [marking] the visual identity of the Latin American metropolis,” This survey, “Spans half a century and looks at the changing nature and contradictions of Latin American urban life. Featuring several hundred images... it is a conceptually ambitious show,” write The Guardian.

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“It isn’t hard to find porcelain, gold or marble in Manhattan’s Frick Collection – in fact, given how prominently they figured in the collecting tastes of its founder, steel magnate Henry Clay Frick, it would be hard to avoid them. But it is rare to encounter these luxurious materials in the forms they take in Elective Affinities: Edmund de Waal at The Frick Collection,” explains Susan Delson for The Wall Street Journal.

“The installations are intended to add ‘another conversation, another dimension’ to the experience of the museum, said exhibition organiser Charlotte Vignon, curator of decorative arts at the Frick. “While many museums commission contemporary artists to jazz up staid permanent collections, de Waal has installed nine works that seem to actually increase the hush of its galleries...” says Time Out New York.

“Remarkably, de Waal’s works can make us feel that we are looking at familiar masterpieces for the first time.” Frames Deborah Solomon for WYNC, “He is a master observer who sees paintings in relation to other things – be they curly gold frames, or side tables, or brocaded wallpaper, or just other paintings, and

his latest installation at the Frick makes you feel the pathos of collections of objects – which may last as a group forever, or may not last at all.”

“Young Venezuelan-American artist Alvaro Barrington has been given free rein to fill this ludicrously ostentatious spa-like space with art the he likes, is influenced by and nicks from,” writes Time Out’s Eddy Frankel of Artists I Steal From, at Thaddaeus Ropac in Mayfair until 17 August. “Walking through the show, you realise that, damn, Barrington’s got taste. There’s an incredibly dark Jean-Michel Basquiat self-portrait, a pendulous Louise Bourgeois sculpture, a Robert Rauschenberg chunk of car, a cracking Philip Guston...

And that’s just the big names.”

The pieces were co-curated with the gallery’s Dame Julia Peyton-Jones, writes Mark Beech for Blouin Artinfo.

“Artists have often borrowed from others for their practice, or simply been inspired or influenced by them. The exhibition catalog is prefaced by the Pablo Picasso quote: ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal.’ It’s a spectacular show.”

Curiosity.

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Art & Design

AIR

JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

Poetic Installations As the ‘emotional geometry’ of Jean-Michel Othoniel is primed to grace The Louvre in Paris, the artist talks about his sculptures – whose relationship to human scale ranges from intimacy to monumentality INTERVIEW: ALAIN ELKANN

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AIR

“Y

es, I build Utopia, but for me it is very important to enter into reality and to touch people,” says Jean-Michel Othoniel. “It is profoundly important for me today as an artist to bring hope to the world.”

Of all this artist’s wisdom, the above is a particularly apt remark to hone in on because – in his formative years – it was art that brought hope to Othoniel’s world.

Born in 1964 in Saint-Étienne, Othoniel’s parents were not artists themselves (his father was an engineer, and his mother, a teacher). He recounts how the city had a single museum of contemporary art where he would go as a child, “Maybe because I wanted to escape the sadness of life at the time,” he says. At the age of seven, Jean-Michel, “Decided to be part of the art world. I enjoyed the family of the art world then as now. My parents were very happy, they saw that I was in a context I loved. As a child I was a big dreamer.”

While still at school, he started creating poetic installations with small objects, and was afforded the chance to show them at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (MAMVP); he was also invited to a one-year residency programme by the Cartier Foundation.

Othoniel tempers talk of having been a child prodigy (“I don’t know about that…”), but does attribute his early success to being part of “the good energy” at the end of the 1980s, when the art world changed.

“It was more open minded, and you were able to do what you wanted,” the artist explains. “There were no more ‘movements’ to fit into, and it was really great to be able to be different without pressure to be part of a group.”

On finishing high school, Othoniel left for Paris and entered the art school of Cergy-Pontoise (ENSACP). “It was an amazing new type of art school, and we were able to do different media at the same time: video, sculpture, painting, poetry, the history of gardens,” he enthuses. “It gave me the freedom to jump from one material to another.”

A seminal turning point – when Othoniel began working with glass – came during his two-year stint attending Villa Medici (the French Academy in Rome). “I was very curious about the natural black glass material called obsidian,” he details.

“Both sulphur and obsidian are volcanic, and I abandoned sulphur for obsidian and entered into the world of glass. I decided to recreate natural glass in an artificial way, working with glass blowers in the

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Opening pages: View of the exhibition Oracles at Perrotin Paris (2019) Photo: Claire Dorn ©JeanMichel Othoniel / ADAGP, Paris, 2019. Courtesy of the artist & Perrotin; Portrait Photo: Claire Dorn Above: Grotta Azzurra, 2017 Mirrored blue Indian glass bricks, steel, fountain 180 x 201 x 205 cm / 70 7/8 x 79 1/8 x 80 11/16 inch 2120.00 kg Photo: Claire Dorn ©Jean-Michel Othoniel Opposite: View of the installation Alfa at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha (2019) © Courtesy Othoniel Studio. All images courtesy of Perrotin.

Marseille Centre for Research on Glass and the Visual Arts (CIRVA). When I was at Villa Medici in 1996, I went to Murano many times to prepare a project for the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, where I did a show in the garden in 1997, my first solo show in an American museum.”

His journey with glass continued as he explored the “quality” of the material: “The light, the colour, and the possibility of building things in an architectural way.

I wanted to put glass outside, connected with nature. This gives a stronger, more

organic meaning than if it is in a room, where it is decorative. I had to fight with the decorative.”

A string of shows and exhibitions followed suit, each catching the eye. In 2004 he had a large exhibition at the Cartier Foundation building by Jean Nouvel, and it was then that he started to work with the art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin – and also met the American architect Peter Marino. “They both changed my life”, Othoniel acknowledges.

“After 20 years, I started to make

money with my work for the first time.”

He describes how Perrotin, “Is of my generation and working with a person of my age brought a new type of collector, new museums and new energy. We built projects together.”

Among them were another show at the Guggenheim; the Brooklyn Museum; in Japan; and the “last big one”, in Qatar.

At the same time he worked with Marino on special commissions, and entered into some of the best collections in the United States.

Now, aged 55, he defines himself as, “More and more a sculptor. I love the direct connection of the body of the viewer with the work. What I try to express is the idea of the re-enchantment of the world, how an artist can bring hope.” The approach has shaped a portfolio of artwork

that has put Othoniel alongside the great artists of patrimony.

For instance, he has created a show for the 30th anniversary of the grand Louvre Pyramid. “They gave me the opportunity to do whatever I want, and I decided to do The Secret Language of Flowers, a book in which I try to explain the meaning of the flowers in the masterpiece paintings,” he says of the exhibit, which runs until early 2020. “I have had this passion ever since I was a teenager, collecting notes and stories about flowers.”

The Louvre represents a homecoming of sorts, and of being a French artist in the world today Othoniel estimates, “I am at the same time totally French and totally international. Globalisation exists for art, and to be able to talk to different cultures

is the main goal and the biggest difficulty for the artist today, whether American, Italian or French. But I am French, and the idea of poetry is really French.”

It’s why, despite his name (and art) popping up in cities around the world, he continues to reside in France – specifically in Paris and close to Montpellier, in Sète, where Othoniel has a house in the harbour. “I am very contemplative and I like to have time for myself,” he says wistfully, still the dreamer – from childhood to forever.

Jean-Michel Othoniel has concurrent solo shows at CCK in Buenos Aires (until 7 November), Château La Coste In Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade (until 20 November) and Musee de Louvre in Paris (until 24 February 2020). For further artist info, visit perrotin.com

Interview: Alain Elkann / The Interview People

I love the direct connection of the viewer with the work...

I try to express the idea of the re-enchantment of the world

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Glow Pro

Cora Sheibani crafts one-of-a-kind pieces that delight a discerning jewellery audience – and it was a desire to design different that illuminated her way WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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Jewellery JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

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iamonds are forever, are ‘a girl’s best friend’… and, fascinatingly, some even have the innate ability to glow.

I must confess that for all my jewellery knowledge, this subliminal fact – that certain gems come to life with natural fluorescence, when placed under UV light – left my mouth somewhat agape.

A gracious Cora Sheibani, whose Glow collection prompted the revelation, spared my blushes.

“You’re not the first one to have seen my pieces and wondered ‘What did you do to them?’” she smiles.

The reality is that between a quarter and a third of diamonds that are ‘gem quality’ show some kind of fluorescence – though not to the naked eye. Back in the 1960s this inner glow was considered a good thing.

“With diamonds it could improve the colour from being slightly off-white to being brighter,” Sheibani explains.

“Then, in the 1970s/80s, the Japanese started buying more stones and wanted the flawless, pure stones. There was a

shift in the market and subsequently fluorescence became unfavourable.”

She says it can partly be attributed to an increased desire for large pavé surfaces – where the uniqueness of fluorescence can spoil the uniformity.

Either way, a vast price gap formed.

“I thought the neglect of these stones was bizarre,” expresses the Swiss-born/London-based jeweller.

“The fact that the shift was market driven, rather than shaped by people asking how they emotionally felt about the luminous effect – I found that absurd. Using that as the basis for an idea added a more conceptual side to my design.”

Her newest collective – which Sheibani calls “a glowing retrospective”– includes classics from previous themes like ‘Clouds with a Silver Lining’ given newfound UV zest. And while Glow is simply the most-current outlet for her creativity, the concept is emblematic of this jeweller’s overarching intention to go against the flow.

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“I come from an opinionated family, and learnt not to follow the crowd or the trend,” she explains.

“I learnt that, when contemplating something visually, to judge it on a personal, intuitive level.”

At this point it would be remiss not to touch upon her noteworthy parentage: her father is Bruno Bischofberger, the famed fine arts dealer who Sheibani praises as having “a great eye; he’s a great person when it comes to judging and knowing what he likes.”

Yet, when asked of this influence – the oft-mentioned prominence of her fine art upbringing – she says a fair measure of inspiration actually came from her mother.

“Until I was older, I didn’t realise how my life was different; when I was a child I thought that being around artists and art was normal,” she gently deflects (but does not dismiss) of her ‘educated gut-instinct.’

“My mother, though, is hugely creative: a good deal of the intuitive style that I’m banking on, I got from her. She knows how to compose an outfit of new and old clothes, complemented with jewellery; how to adeptly arrange flowers; how to appreciate art; how to take an interesting photograph,” Sheibani muses. “It’s not always the obvious person who has the biggest influence.”

Obvious does not describe the places where one can acquire her jewellery, either. Sheibani has shunned the boutique model, opting to operate out of her private showroom. An audience with Cora is by appointment only, and means each bespoke journey is imbued with personal interaction; it has resulted in many clients becoming good friends.

In place of a physical store, her work instead catches the eye on modern social media platforms and via old-fashioned word of mouth.

Despite the visual impact of viewing these glittering pieces on magazine paper or a tempered glass screen, though, there is a downside to a client’s lack of tactile interaction with the jewellery, she says: an inability to appreciate the sublime quality of each piece.

“I’m loyal to quality craftsmanship and still manufacture in Europe [largely in Switzerland] and my jewellery always surprise in that they feel heavier, because I’m more generous 30

I followed what felt natural to me and trusted that instinct, because it’s okay to be different

with my use of gold. This gives the pieces a solidity,” Sheibani explains.

“For a jewellery connoisseur, the first thing you do to inspect a piece of jewellery is to turn it around, to see how the reverse has been crafted,” she shares. “This quality, intricacy and sense of longevity are factors that, for all the value of social media and print press, you can never appreciate unless you hold the piece in your hands.”

The best route, then, is to admire the creations in person, during one of Sheibani’s international forays.

She exhibits her pieces at events such as Glow – a collaboration with Louisa Guinness Gallery back in May, hosted at Colnaghi Gallery in New York. The jeweller has October dates mooted for Munich and Zurich.

To draw a parallel with the glowing gemstones, there is an organic authenticity to Sheibani’s process that centres on intrinsic value and beauty, not cold commodity.

She is free from the confines of a large haute jewellery maison, and liberated to create pieces with soul.

“People often buy jewellery as an investment, concerned about what other people say,” Sheibani outlines.

“With my Glow collection, everyone was telling me that gems with fluorescence were bad – but I said ‘I don’t think so!’, and followed what felt natural to me. I trusted that instinct because it’s okay to be different. I don’t want to follow trends, I want to set them.”

This jewellery is the tangible outcome of Sheibani’s self-conviction: thoughtful necklaces, rings and adornments that are unique in every sense of the word. It’s little wonder, then, that the clients who do stumble upon her precious work can’t help but feel a glow of self-satisfaction.

To arrange a private consultation contact Cora at corasheibani.com

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Master craftsmanship, effortless style and timeless appeal; this month’s must-haves and collectibles

OB JECTS OF DESIRE

C H O PA R D

RED CARPE T COLLEC TION 2019

To peruse the offerings from the annual Chopard Red Carpet Collection evokes the emotion of being a kid in a candy store: there’s every flavour of delicious high jewellery treat to entice. The actual theme devised by co-president and artistic director 1

Caroline Scheufele is equally sweet: love.

Necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches and jewellery watches comprise this year’s magnificent collection – among them this arresting necklace set with sapphires, amethysts, garnets, topaz and tsavorites.

OB JECTS OF DESIRE

V E R SACE

I LOVE BAROQUE

Bold, baroque prints are the very essence of the Gianni Versace era, and since the brand decided to grace its homeware, garments, and sleepwear with the pattern, the pieces have become proven must-haves. The ‘Casa’ just unveiled its ‘I Love Baroque’ series and,

though you won’t see them worn on City Walk boulevard, there’s quite the clamour for these extravagant lounge options (in navy, gold or white). Ideal for sashaying around the house, lounging in the jet or – of course – relaxing at Palazzo Versace Dubai.

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GIVENCHY

THE MYSTIC BAG

To fully appreciate the synergy of this tote, one must look to its inspiration: the ‘mysterious aura’ of creative director Clare Waight Keller’s Pre-Fall 2019 haute couture lookbook. The collection is a harmony of tailoring and progressive silhouettes

– much like the Mystic – with its classic, graceful look for a thoroughly modern style landscape. Its name alludes to the halfhidden lock which, when closed, aligns to form a double ‘G’. The piece is deemed the signature accessory of Givenchy’s season.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

A S TON M A RT I N

D B 4 G T Z A G AT O C O N T I N U AT I O N The Rosso Maja-painted Zagato Continuation is simultaneously something old and something new. It’s the first of its kind in the established Aston Martin DBZ Centenary Collection, and is a throwback to the thoroughbred Ferrari-slayer of the

1960s. A version of the capacity 4.7 litre straight-six cylinder petrol engine (found in the DB4 GT Continuation) lies within and, in this guise, produces in excess of 390bhp. The culmination of 4,500 hours of craftsmanship, just 19 will be produced.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

BREITLING

S U P E R O C E A N H E R I TA G E O C E A N C O N S E R V A N C Y – LIMITED EDITION The clock is ticking on society’s fight against pollution, believes Breitling, and this limited edition timepiece offering combines watch collection with conservancy. The brand has deployed its surfer squad (including Kelly Slater) to highlight ocean education.

This 44mm stainless-steel chronometer upholds the ‘call to action’ of the SuperOcean legacy: its blue satin NATO strap, for instance, is made of Econyl yarn – a material repurposed from nylon waste, such as fishing nets from the world’s oceans.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

CHANEL

SEC RE T S D’ORIE NT S

Maison Chanel certainly does like adding a covert touch to its adornments. There was last year’s enigmatic Code Coco timepiece, for instance, with its elegant peek-a-boo concealment. Now, under the Fine Jewellery guise, Chanel is unfurling

the bejewelled secrets of the Orient: a capsule collection exclusively for the Middle East. This Topaze Ring (white gold, yellow gold, topaz and diamonds) is among an expressive collection that marries pearls and diamonds with gold and silver.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

LOEWE

VULCANO

Yes, this is a piece from luxury Spanish fashion house Loewe but thankfully no, it is not some sort of outlandish garment. The table sculpture, by Anthea Hamilton, can be encountered at the brand’s new ‘casa’ on London’s Bond Street – a move that allows

the company to cater to its ever-growing client base, larger collections, and crucially, provides a home for Loewe’s ambitious art programme. The palatial store evokes the imagined mansion of a discerning art collector and fashion aficionado.

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A Summer Splash

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iver’s watches have been popular ever since the mid 1950s, when French explorer and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau introduced both the aqualung and the diver’s watch to the general public.

Cousteau’s undersea odysseys made quite a splash in people’s imaginations.

Inspired by that intrepid Frenchman, suddenly everyone wanted to explore the strange new world under the oceans.

When National Geographic ran an article celebrating the achievements of the explorer in 1954, dive watches were immediately in demand – and have been ever since.

Watchmakers were shrewd to spot the opportunity – adventurous divers needed their trusty, water-resistant dive watches, and Rolex was quick to respond with the (now legendary) Submariner. In this article I’ve selected the three eminently collectible vintage diver’s watches.

Rolex Submariner 5513, 1980s For vintage Rolex enthusiasts like myself, the Submariner Ref 5513 is the Submariner to have. It may not be the rarest vintage Diver – in fact it is actually one of the longest-running series in Rolex’s history (1962 - 1989) – however it is considered by many collectors to be the epitome of the classic dive watch, and it’s one of the most recognisable watches in the world.

Some of these Subs have performed particularly well at auction. Steve McQueen’s 5513 from 1967 was set to break all records (estimated well over USD15 million) before it was removed from the listings at Phillips.

The robust 40mm case and the overall design – especially the crown-guards

TARIQ MALIK

case with a screw-down caseback, a big uni-directional bezel that could be handled with gloves on, together with a strap design that could accommodate the bulky diving suits. These were worldfirst innovations, and the design ideas are still used today.

The French Navy was impressed, and the Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms has become highly collectible ever since.

– provide protection against impacts and accidental unscrewing while underwater. It is more than a tool watch, though. It’s a collector’s dream come true. The models from the mid 1980s are a particular favourite of mine.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms We return to France or the next dive classic: the Fifty Fathoms. Blancpain teamed up with the French Navy in the 1950s to create a watch that could withstand the rigours of the ‘Nageurs de Combat’ (French combat swimmers).

They wanted a watch that was legible, tough, and could keep track of oxygen usage, all at a depth of 300ft, or 50 fathoms – hence the name.

The result was a remarkable tool watch.

The luminescent dial was clean and uncomplicated, and easy to read, even when visibility was poor. It had a tough

Omega Seamaster Professional (James bond), 1980s Omega initially intended the Seamaster to be little more than a sporty dress watch. That was in 1948, just before Cousteau appeared on National Geographic covers – but things changed during the 70s when Omega collaborated with the French explorer on some deep sea experiments, to improve the depth rating of their watch.

When the Seamaster ‘Ploprof’ 600m (2000ft) appeared, Omega became established as a serious diver’s watch.

We had to wait about 20 more years for the Seamaster Professional 2531.80, which was introduced in 1993.

When the watch appeared on the wrist of Pierce Brosnan in the movie GoldenEye, it didn’t take long for people to start calling it “the Bond watch.”

The Bond-Seamaster partnership has lasted through a number of subsequent movies, and has forever associated the image of the suave secret agent with the blue dial that is so characteristic of the Seamaster. It remains a classic, and it remains one of my all-time favourites – even without the secret agent gadgets.

Dubai’s DIFC is home to Momentum, Tariq’s co-founded vintage watch boutique. momentum-dubai.com 33

Timepieces

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JULY 2019 : ISSUE 98

Out of This World

Omega’s Speedmaster withstood the ultimate test of endurance, travelling to the Moon upon the wrist of Apollo 11 astronauts. 50 years on, a special edition of the timepiece honours mankind’s momentous occasion

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This page: The Omega Speedmaster th Apollo 11 50 Anniversary Limited Edition

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Opposite: Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of Omega, with Apollo 11 lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin – who made the historic 1969 trip alongside commander Neil Armstrong and command module pilot Michael Collins

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hen Commander Neil Armstrong stepped off the Apollo 11 lander in July 1969, he became the first man on the Moon.

Buzz Aldrin, who followed him down the steps, was the second. And the Omega Speedmaster Professional, upon Aldrin’s wrist, became the first watch to be worn on the lunar surface.

When the ‘Speedy’ was first developed in 1957 (as the reference CK2915), the chronograph was not built as a ‘moon watch’, of course, instead intended for sports and race timekeeping.

Omega was no stranger to reliability when charting human achievement, though: the brand was the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games in 1968. Still, going into orbit was a giant leap for watchkind.

Bids from a handful of brands were considered for an official watch to use for space missions, and James Ragan was the NASA engineer responsible for testing Apollo 11 hardware.

He qualified the hand-wound Speedmaster in 1965, putting the watch through its paces against stringent NASA test procedures to determine the Speedmaster’s handling of extreme temperatures, humidity, shock, pressure, decompression and vibration. Only then, having passed, was it deemed ‘Operational for space exploration and flight certified.’ Omega’s excellence had produced a watch that was to an elite standard.

“The watch was a backup,” says Ragan, when defining the timepiece’s crucial role in the mission. “If the astronauts lost the capability of talking to the ground, or the capability of their digital timers on the lunar surface, then the only thing they had to rely on was the Omega watch they had on their wrist. It needed to be there for them if they had a problem.” True to form, Armstrong left his Speedy in the lunar module, as the ‘Eagle’s electronic timer had malfunctioned’ (according to Aldrin in the book Return to Earth).

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If the astronauts lost the capability of their digital timers on the lunar surface, then the only thing they had to rely on was the Omega watch they had on their wrist

The exact chronograph that graced the Moon was a ST105.012 calibre – yet the 2019 limited edition piece, created to honour the golden anniversary of the Space feat, draws inspiration from a Speedmaster first observed slightly closer to home.

On 25 November 1969 – five months after the lunar feat – a special ‘Astronaut Appreciation Dinner’ was held in Houston, Texas, in honour of the heroes.

Omega took the opportunity to present to the astronauts a special edition Speedmaster BA145.022, crafted from 18K yellow gold with a rare burgundy bezel, carrying an inscription on the caseback that read, ‘to mark man’s conquest of space with time, through time, on time.’

This gold Speedmaster housed the calibre 861 and was Omega’s very first commemorative numbered edition, ‘With only 1,014 models being produced from 1969 to 1973,’ say the company’s historians. ‘The very first of these was created for US President, Richard Nixon, with number two allocated to the US Vice President Spiro Agnew. These watches, however, were later returned to Omega due to the US government’s strict gifting protocol.’

That limited number – 1,014 – returns for the 2019 commemorative edition. Its design follows that of the timepiece gifted to the iconic earthlings, with the new chronograph crafted from an exclusive new 18k gold alloy (bestowed with the name ‘Moonshine’, evoking the moonlight of an inky blue sky), with a ceramic burgundy bezel ring, and powered by

a brand-new manual winding Master Chronometer calibre 3861.

The contemporary caseback is a treat itself. The outer caseback ring features mechanically engraved markings of ‘1969-2019’, and individual numbering of the timepiece is highlighted in burgundy.

The inner decorative ring, crafted from that 18k Moonshine, has undergone two separate laser ablation processes as well as PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) colour treatments in blue and black.

From that process, collectors can observe a matte-finished blue ocean that surrounds a partial world map of the American continents (in polished finish), focused on the rocket’s lift-off site Cape Canaveral (which was known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973).

Upon the matte-finished black background are the words ‘Apollo 11 – 50th Anniversary’ and ‘The First Watch Worn on The Moon’. Lastly, a domed lunar meteorite inlay has been delicately set into the cavity of the ring, with the Moon and the Earth in accurate proportion.

“Whenever I gaze up at the Moon, I feel like I’m on a time machine,” once mused Aldrin. “I am back to that precious pinpoint of time, standing on the foreboding – yet beautiful – Sea of Tranquillity. I could see our shining blue planet Earth poised in the darkness of space.” The latest Omega release is an homage to the ‘time machine’ that accompanied NASA’s heroes on that mission and, for horology aficionados, it’s a precious link to the eternal lunar legend.

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TO THE

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MO In 1969, an estimated 500 million people tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong set foot on a serene lunarscape. But the triumphant Moon Landing mission was one laced with danger, testing the astronauts’ resolve – both then, and once back home WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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AND BACK

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t was the Wright Brothers who first took ‘one giant leap for mankind’, 66 years before the Moon landing took place.

Entrepreneurial American siblings Orville and Wilbur built The Wright Flyer and, on 17 December 1903, the pair completed the first controlled flight of a powerdriven, heavier-than-air plane; Wilbur flew the craft for 59 seconds, at 852 feet.

In July of 1969, the brothers’ creation was on its way to the Moon. Neil Armstrong, commander of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission, had symbolically packed a piece of fabric and wood from the original flyer.

Armstrong and his crew of Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Michael Collins were on the way to writing their own thrilling chapter in the legend of flight.

Their first 59 seconds were spent rather differently, roaring from the launchpad at Cape Kennedy into a clear blue sky.

A further 12 minutes took the crew into Earth orbit, and they made a course for the Moon – arriving on 19 July.

Collins remained in the circling Command Module, while Armstrong and Aldrin went to the surface in the Lunar Module for ‘EVA’ (Extravehicular activity), every step watched by 500 million people back on our little blue marble. The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean just over eight days later.

Heralded science writer Dr. David Whitehouse – who agreed to speak ahead of releasing his new book Apollo 11: The Inside Story – says the initial decision to go to the Moon was reactionary on America’s part.

“When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, the Americans were totally shocked that a country they perceived as technologically backward – having been financially devastated by the World War – could have accomplished such a feat,” he relates. “American rocket scientists knew they could have launched a satellite before Sputnik, but they hadn’t been interested.”

NASA was founded in 1958, to gather together America’s rocket efforts. “They said, ‘We’ve lost the satellite race, we may well lose the race to put a person in space, what can we beat the Soviets at?

We could probably beat them at going to the Moon’,” explains Dr. Whitehouse.

President John F. Kennedy championed going to the Moon as a great national effort and, after he was tragically assassinated, the goal became set in stone as ‘the legacy of a martyred president.’ Culturally, it was a race that America simply had to win.

The Apollo project formed in 1960, with some of the greatest minds in science 40

Opening pages: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission – with Neil Armstrong and the nearby Lunar Module reflected in his visor Opposite: Aldrin with the US flag

trying to figure out the equation.

What makes the eventual landing all the more impressive, Dr. Whitehouse believes, is that a decade prior to the Apollo programme, “Nobody knew anything. Nobody knew how to get to the Moon; what type (or how many) rockets you needed. Nobody knew where you would land, who would build the capsule, how you would test it. Nobody knew a darn thing – and that all had to be worked out in a short number of years.”

On NASA’s first test of the unmanned Saturn V (Apollo 4 in 1967), it flew around the Moon – a remarkable feat for a first time run. It proved how adept NASA is at turning technology into something that will work.

“The method of Wernher von Braun, Germany’s rocket technology pioneer, was to test a piece of the rocket, then when you have another bit you connect it, then test that… Well Saturn V had a million working parts, and it was impossible to do that in sequence, so NASA had to analyse it as a complete system,” explains Dr. Whitehouse. “That approach is what got them to the Moon on time.”

It was during one of these problemsolving moments, in 1966, that the Moon mission witnessed the resolve of its eventual commander.

NASA realised that the key to getting to the Moon was mastering rendezvous and docking, which required a two-man system. Neil Armstrong achieved the first docking in space aboard Gemini 8 – but it was an exercise gone wrong, as a post-manoeuvre failure of the capsule caused it to spin out of control.

Armstrong calmly figured out how to correct the tumble, saving his own life and that of command pilot Dave Scott. They were within seconds of passing out.

“His handling of the situation earned Armstrong serious kudos, and lent in his favour to being named the commander for the Moon landings,” explains space expert Whitehouse. “He was known as being a fine pilot and engineer, and his cool demeanour in the first big space disaster primed him for Apollo 11.”

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Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins said it had been like ‘a daisy chain’ – one event after another event – and he was amazed that the chain held, for them to get back safely

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Above: Kuwaitis watching the first landing of man on the Moon, July 1969

The assembled crew – Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins – each had prior spaceflight experience, yet were not close on a personal level. Collins self-analysed them as ‘amiable strangers’. “The combination worked, even though they had personalities that didn’t quite merge,” discloses Dr. Whitehouse.

He describes Armstrong as reserved, and a man who didn’t get into argument or conflict; Aldrin was frank talking and shaped by his father’s demand for excellence; Collins has been called the drummer of the band, a stable bridge between the other two. “They were an efficient crew who worked well together but outside the simulator they rarely fraternised,” he adds.

An oft-unsung fact of the landing is that for Armstrong to take that “One small step for man,” over 400,000 other fine Americans were employed by NASA and its contractors to make the mission possible.

“In mission control, hundreds of people – controllers for flight, for medics, for flight guidance, etc – were on-hand at all times,” explains Dr. Whitehouse.“There was another floor filled entirely with computers, which were busy calculating precise timings. For the sheer logistics involved, it was a well-oiled accomplishment.”

With retrospect, the mission unfolded in a fairytale way: mankind attempts to walk on the Moon, walks on the Moon, everyone returns home to a hero’s welcome.

Yet the seeming ease of the mission has perhaps lulled the public into a false sense of security. The margin between success and catastrophe was razor thin.

“When they returned, Collins said it had been like ‘a daisy chain’ – one event after another event – and he was amazed that the chain held, for them to get back safely,” reveals Dr. Whitehouse. “Had the Apollo 13 incident [an oxygen tank explosion, crippling the command module] happened to Apollo 11, it’s possible they might not have made it back; by the time that incident struck Apollo 13, NASA had sufficient experience to get them home.”

One danger-fraught unknown for Apollo 11, he explains, was the landing itself – and so it proved, as the touchdown did not go as the simulators predicted. “Armstrong took over partial manual control because they were headed down into a boulder field, and he was flying as he’d never done in the simulator,” divulges Dr. Whitehouse.

“It could well have materialised that he wouldn’t find a place to land, which would have been a grave problem. They could have bashed the Lunar Module when

it landed, preventing them from taking off… The same can be said for the five subsequent Apollo missions to the Moon.

There were probably 20 crucial points in each mission that would have to pass without incident for the crew to stay alive.”

In 1969 the men navigated their way to the Moon but afterwards, they have had to navigate what it meant.

After all, these were human beings who had experienced an unparalleled moment, for which years of focus and determination had taken a heavy toll on loved ones. It’s a powerful moment of an astronaut’s career, redefining their life.

Dr. Whitehouse named the final chapter of his book ‘The Melancholy of All Things Done.’ “What do you do once you’ve been to the Moon?” he ponders.

Only 12 men have ever set foot on the lunar surface, the last being Gene Cernan in 1972.

In his documentary The Last Man on the Moon, Cernan recalled being there as “The ultimate quiet moment in my life”, and says that when he looks up at the sky, he’s able to “take my mind back to the Moon at the speed of thought”. When Dr. Whitehouse spoke to Alan Shepard, who walked on the Moon in 1971, he shared that when laying in the dark at night with closed eyes, he was back on the Lunar surface –“And I shed a tear, because I know it is never going to happen again”.

As such, when putting the Moon landing into context, Dr. Whitehouse contemplates the psychological impact of a half-century of memories.

“I realised something about the Apollo missions: it is now old men looking back at what they did when they were young,” he muses. “They did this remarkable thing 50 years ago, and now they’ve had 50 years to come to terms with it. It’s a lesson for us all: that if we’re lucky we all get old, and we all have to look back on what we have done, and make sense of it.”

For those who haven’t been to the Moon, this triumphant allegory can be processed another way, he believes. “Apollo represents a momentous technical achievement, and a profound achievement of courage – but it is also a myth,” postulates the author.

“It’s the modern-day voyage of Argo, because the Moon is not just a place; not just rocks and a landing site. For us, it has been a mythological object of mystery for thousands of years, so Apollo landing on the Moon is not just a rocket and a capsule. To humanity, it will forever mean so much more than that.”

‘Apollo 11: The Inside Story’ by Dr. David Whitehouse is published by Icon Books 43

Starring in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘love letter to an industry’, Leonardo DiCaprio is well placed to reflect on Hollywood’s storied history – as well as its seismic present

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INTERVIEW: SUZY MALOY ADDITIONAL WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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or all of his years in the movie industry – from a fresh-faced scamp in Titanic and a heartthrob in Romeo & Juliet, through to meaty roles in Inception and The Revenant – Leonardo DiCaprio is a cinematic chameleon; versatility that ensured he finally nabbed that elusive Oscar.

Despite the prolific blockbuster hitlist, though, the 44-year-old has curiously never shared the screen with fellow heavyweight Brad Pitt, 55. That remarkable silver screen quirk becomes void this month, when the titans join forces in the release of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.

Quentin Tarantino’s ambitious film follows faded television actor Rick Dalton (played by DiCaprio, yet reportedly based on the real-life Burt Reynolds) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt), striving to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age, in 1969 Los Angeles.

The director has called it his “most personal” film yet: “I think of it like my memory piece. Alfonso Cuarón had Roma and Mexico City, 1970. I had LA and 1969. This is me. This is the year

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that formed me. I was six years old then.

This is my world,” he said. On its Cannes Film Festival showing, it received a six-minute-long standing ovation.

“We came around in this industry at the same time, around the 90s,” says DiCaprio, of working with his co-star on the eagerly awaited movie. “Working with Brad was great: we have this intersecting story together in this movie and Brad is an amazing actor and so professional. He is so easy to work with.

And if you have that kind of tension lifted, great things can happen.”

(For Pitt’s take on the experience, at Cannes he confided to The Playlist that, “I had a great laugh with Leo. It’s that thing knowing you have the best of the best on the opposite side of the table, holding up the scene with you. There is a great relief in that… We have the same reference points. We have been going through this at the same time, with similar experiences to laugh about it. I hope we do it again, it was great fun.”)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood marks Tarantino’s ninth feature outing and, while it marks DiCaprio’s first film alongside Brad, he is no stranger to working with the man behind the camera, having been

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As the final season of HBO’s medieval saga roars to life, Games of Thrones star Emilia Clarke bids farewell to her empowering, dragon-blooded character – but not to the experience INTERVIEW: PETE CARROLL ADDITIONAL WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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cast as a lead in Django Unchained – Tarantino’s take on the Western.

Indeed, the director’s obsession for detail appears to have aligned with both of these stalwarts’ approach.

“Quentin had given us all this material to study, and what was great for Brad and I is that because we knew so much about our character’s back stories, there were moments of improvisation,” admits DiCaprio. “Not a lot had to be said. We understood the bond of our characters implicitly.

We got folders of our characters, how he had my back over time.”

DiCaprio says he connected with Tarantino’s character – as well as the story – “Right away. Brad and I talked about it earlier. [As an actor], you need to work hard to make it, but you also need to have that one moment of good luck, that opportunity coming your way. My character’s identity is defined by that opportunity: will he ever be the manifestations of his own dreams, or is he going to be happy in his own skin? Will he be thankful for what he does have? I have a lot of friends that are actors, who are still searching for those opportunities.”

The actor told The New York Times that in the buildup to the movie, “We had a screening of a multitude of B films that I had never heard of, a lot of 1960s television with actors like Ralph Meeker and Ty Hardin,” he explains, of viewings organised by Tarantino. “These guys could have been McQueen-esque, but didn’t make the transition from black and white television, especially westerns, to career-makers like The Great Escape.

So it was almost like a love story to them. Did they get that one opportunity?

No, that may have passed them by.”

With that in mind, the director has created a film that Di Caprio calls, “An homage to all those actors that may have been forgotten. It’s really his love letter to this industry.” Just like 46

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his co-stars (a star-studded cast that includes Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, and the great Al Pacino), DiCaprio is among the fortunate few to have found that opportunity.

“I was lucky,” he says. “I was in the right place in the right time. I’ve been able to be my own boss creatively, and I feel so fortunate. It’s in my DNA, but you still ask yourself all the time whether you will ever be let into this elite club.” It’s a scenario his character, Rick, finds himself in.

Having emerged through the gauntlet, what advice would DiCaprio give his younger self? “Just enjoy the process more,” he considers.

“That’s what I would tell myself. Keep pushing yourself but enjoy the ride.

It’s supposed to be taken seriously.”

In the movie, where he’s still caught in the stardom quicksand, Brad Pitt plays DiCaprio’s stunt double. “Our characters are based on the time in Hollywood when there was a true partnership – we talked about Steve McQueen and his double Bud Ekins, as well as others.” Ekins, who was inducted into the Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame, resembled McQueen and worked closely with him on movies such as The Great Escape and Bullitt.

DiCaprio says he never had that special bond with his own stunt guy – but only because, “It’s not the same these days.

Guys clicked in back in the day and relied on each other. Stunt coordinators are not just there to create a fall, so we don’t get hurt. They are really there to come up with new ideas and scenarios, and there is real pressure to keep evolving.

There was more of a pairing, in respect to what the scene could become.”

He admits that, relatable to the era, Pitt’s character Cliff is a bit more than just the stunt double: “He is more like a swiss army knife. You are right he is not only the stunt double, but also his bodyguard, his shoulder to cry on.

He acts like his psychiatrist in a lot of

Interview: Suzy Maloy / The Interview People Images: This spread and overleaf, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc (Andrew Cooper –© 2019 CTMG, Inc)

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10 years of anyone’s life is filled to the brim with big moments. And so saying goodbye is kind of just bittersweet

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ways. He is everything to him. He pays him once and gets 12 other jobs.”

DiCaprio says he has worked with guys of that nature himself: when he worked in Africa for eight months filming Blood Diamond. “You get that one person to be silent and watch TV with you when you don’t want to be alone”, he explains.

Back on US soil, the industry – and Hollywood itself – has undoubtedly changed in almost every aspect; Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson wrote that, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a wistful story about the past that’s obviously meant to speak to the present, both eras of a fiercely changing industry”.

DiCaprio deems its current landscape as being, “In another transition. We have made a film that is leaning back onto a forgotten style of movie making, though I am looking forward to this new future.

The old studio system is becoming a fossil.” He adds, “I just hope we are not overwhelmed with content – and that we are not over sensitised when something very unique comes around. There are a lot of projects being made now that wouldn’t have been made five years ago.”

Despite DiCaprio’s enthusiasm for contemporary Hollywood (and his immense power to shape it), the filming of the movie did leave him with a soft spot for its landscape in the 1960s. “I love the city and the history of film,” he reflects. “That time was a transitional period for our country and for the city of Los Angeles. Back then it was all about being cool – and the essence of cool.”

There is a need to be a student of the past, he believes, and it is typified in the approach of this project’s director. “The consistency in this industry of directors that continue to produce great art are usually the ones that have an acute understanding of its history,” DiCaprio assesses. “Quentin has copies of music that I never heard of. The guy is like a walking archive. There are very few filmmakers that think like he does; Martin Scorsese might be another one. Their childhood has been so immersed in this art form that anything you speak about is in the context of movies.

It’s in their DNA. It’s hard to describe.”

Boldness with a script (to which Tarantino is no stranger) takes courage: a prominent trait in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

“Being able to speak out in the face of adversity, that’s courage to me,” DiCaprio considers. “Even if it means you end up being unpopular. Speaking the truth. It’s not always easy, but we need it, don’t we?”

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HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE

A Palais Galliera exhibit looks at couture from a whole new perspective – the mastery of Fashion From Behind

WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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Opening pages: Jeanloup Sieff – ‘Eve from behind’ / Kim Islinski [Top and skirt Martine Sitbon, published in New York, 1997] © Estate of Jeanloup Sieff Opposite: John Galliano, Sheathdress closed by 51 buttons, FW98-99 © Patrimoine John Galliano and © Aurélie Dupuis/ Azentis; Comme des Garçons, Suit Bermuda shorts, RTW, FW13-14 © Françoise Cochennec / Galliera / Roger-Viollet; Schiaparelli, Evening gown worn by Carina Lau, Haute couture, SS15 (variation) © Françoise Cochennec / Galliera / Roger-Viollet; Jean Patou by Christian Lacroix, Evening gown, Haute couture, FW86-87 © Aurélie Dupuis / Galliera / Azentis

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The back questions the only “ part of ourselves that we cannot see nor entirely touch. Thus, our first reflex is to forget it ”

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here’s a quaint French idiom that says a lot about the back: ‘Casser du sucre sur le dos de quelqu’un’. It means ‘breaking sugar on someone’s back’, and portends to malicious gossip, traded when one’s back is turned (perhaps while sprinkling sweet niceties to their face).

Symbolically, the back demands overprotection, in any culture. We’re always urged to ‘watch our back’ because – both literally and figuratively – it’s a point of susceptibility.

“The back questions the only part of ourselves that we cannot see nor entirely touch,” says Alexandre Samson, curator at The Palais Galliera in Paris. “Thus, our first reflex is to forget it.”

Catwalk style usually likes to be admired from the front but when it comes to couture, Samson started protectively ‘watching its back’ nine years ago. Sansom has masterminded a compelling new exhibition titled Fashion From Behind – an idea which began percolating in his mind when he observed the work of the great Madame Grès.

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“She caught my eye a decade ago because, as a couturier, she had always worked her models in a threedimensional way – and I thought at that time it could be a fascinating subject,” he explains.

The matter evolved further when Samson was appointed curator for contemporary creation at The Palais, where he was using online platforms such as Voguerunway and Nowfashion to work on contemporary shows – regularly confronted by the seasonal photography tsunami of statuesque models, draped in the latest runway ‘looks’.

“Have you already noticed that backs of profiles are totally absent?” he quizzes. “The catwalk images just show the fronts. This restricted point of view is due to the speed needed to shoot each look, plus the number of shows each season, say, around 80 shows for womenswear in Paris. Yet it is the opposite of fashion creation and clothes, which are conceived and perceived in three-dimensions, upon the human body.”

While The Palais Galliera undergoes major renovation, it has collaborated with Musée Bourdelle to host an exploration of the theme, bringing together back-centric pieces – from the majestic train of a court gown to the weight of a backpack; from the sensuality of a plunging backline to complicated fastening systems.

The contributions, from both museums and fashion houses, star significant fashion names such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Elsa Schiaparelli, Azzedine Alaïa, Martin Margiela and Olivier Theyskens.

The platform is also an opportunity to question the perception we all have of our back, using this exceptional collection of clothing and accessories as a jump point.

Samson asserts in his initial analysis that, “A person is vulnerable because they cannot see their back, and yet fashion constantly decorates it; burdens it; reveals it.”

Thanks to savvy designers, “on this flattest part of our body, messages and patterns are unambiguously displayed

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I’m chasing a silhouette. I see a woman just like someone passing by, like a person who disappears. If she turns around, it’s over. Truly over

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Opposite: Jeanloup Sieff, Astrid Heeren’s back, Bill Blass dress for Maurice Rentner, Palm Beach, [Bill Blass’dress for Maurice Rentner, published in Harper’s Bazaar, 1964] © Estate of Jeanloup Sieff

without our ever seeing the glances and stares they attract.”

Historically, he enlightens, women were the first to use this part of their body. “In a psychological game of seduction and submission. This mechanism could also be the same for men’s clothes, such as soccer shirts with big number and player names on the back which convey a message: ‘I’m showing you a part of my body that I cannot see and cannot touch. But I’m keeping the power on it.’”

Those are times the back is acknowledged. Other times, “It is so much forgotten that it still reflects ancient social inequalities, known as archaisms,” Samson says, citing women’s dress zippers and closures as being one of them.

“How come in 2019 – in an era where men and women are so called equals – women are the only people to still have clothes closed from the back?” he asks.

“And above all, in spite of the anatomic antithesis of the arm and shoulder morphology. For instance, an osteopath in Paris could cure almost 10 womens’ shoulders per year, hurt by the gestures of zipping their dress.”

As mentioned, couture is well documented from the front, but from the back, not so much. So was this an obstacle for Samson on his curatorial journey – and did he receive any pieces that astounded him, once he turned them to inspect the reverse?

“It was sometimes hard to select clothes from contemporary designers due to current platforms of diffusion just showing looks from the face,” he admits.

“But yes, that meant it was sometimes the source of great surprises. For instance, when Jean Paul Gaultier offered one of his trench coat couture dresses in 2016, he first sent a picture of the piece from the front. We felt very honoured yet simultaneously a little bit disappointed: we had already several trench coat dresses from the designer in the Museum,” the curator recalls. “But when the piece arrived, we all had a shock: the back was naked, framed by drapes that are maintained by

straps when the train was cut in three spikes. Nothing from the front could have revealed the beauty and sophistication of the back. This dress is part of the show.”

Gaultier is among those who Samson singles out as being among ‘design royalty of the reverse’. “Jean Paul Gaultier is a great name for the back: His models are often worked as turnovers, with a naked back for males for instance, or laced corset, printed patterns or surprising labels for women,” he says.

“Traditionally, the back has been worked by all the greatest couturiers of the 20th century. However, Cristobal Balenciaga is the one who studied this anatomical area. As a sculptor, he modelled profiles with trains and volumes, and some archives says that he tried his best creation on Colette, one of his models whose shoulders were said to be slightly stooped.”

Samson also singles out Yohji Yamamoto – the master tailor known for his avant-garde Japanese design aesthetic – as being one of the most important designers to have mastered ‘the art of the back.’

The curator points to a poignant, powerful Yamamoto quote as justification: “I’m chasing a silhouette.

I see a woman just like someone passing by, like a person who disappears. If she turns around, it’s over. Truly over,” said the Tokyo-born savant. “The back is also for me the focal point of my construction. Right there, near the collarbones. This conveys the emotion of a garment. I think clothes should be made from the back, and not the front.”

For the wearer, it’s clear that societal backstabbing, back baiting and ‘sugar breaking’ don’t look like going out of fashion any time soon. So – as this resplendent exhibition suggests – one may as well give the offender a sweet sight to savour.

The Palais Galliera presents ‘Back Side – Fashion from Behind’ as an off-site exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle until 17 November. For more information, visit palaisgalliera.paris.fr 55

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Mini Adventures In honour of the 50 th anniversary of The Italian Job, Matthew Field has compiled a 300-page tome – and shared with AIR some mini stories from the making of the Mini Cooper classic WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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The Premise / “They say he’s going to do a job in Italy” “I wanted to do a caper which would, in some way, incorporate the spirit of individualism, confidence and cockiness that existed in London in the Sixties,” writer Troy Kennedy Martin explained to Matt Field, author of The Self Preservation Society: 50 Years of The Italian Job. “My brother Ian had written a script for the BBC about a robbery, to be set around a computerised traffic control system in Piccadilly Circus in the centre of London, but couldn’t get the idea off the ground.” Says Ian, “The idea of setting it in Italy was the important thing.

It became much more inventive. Troy made it larger and more international.”

The Italian Job was written to showcase the talents of Michael Caine, cast as ex-convict Charlie Croker, says Field. “The reason he was so perfect is that the part was made for him – they even gave a part to Michael’s tailor, Doug Hayward, who made his suits when he was frequenting King’s Road in the Swinging Sixties. Michael Caine is really just playing himself – except he’s 100 percent honest in real life.”

The Motors / “Typical, isn’t it? I’ve been out of jail five minutes, and already I’m in a hot car” The film opens with a gorgeous Lamborghini Miura suavely snaking along Italian Riviera roads, set to the melody of Matt Monro. But the plucky Mini Cooper ends up as the real star of the show.

“Martin, who came up with the idea for the movie, always had the Mini Cooper at the heart of the film. He thought it represented the Britain of the time, as it was classless: a prince could drive one; a district nurse could drive one... anyone could,”says Field. “It represented a Britain that was brimming with self assurance.”

Astoundingly, when the studio approached BMC (British Motor Corporation, then makers of the Mini), they were lukewarm and largely uncooperative. Back then, product placement just wasn’t a thing. “Now, films are a shop window and many are made around products,” adds Field. “The film stands as the greatest ‘car commercial’ ever, but when BMC read the script back then, they just couldn’t see it.”

Their Italian counterparts certainly could. “Fiat offered the filmmakers use of their Fiat 500s for free – and even 58

promised the producer USD50,000 plus a free Ferrari,” details the author. “He turned it down because he felt the spirit of The Italian Job was the Mini Cooper.”

Since then, BMW – which produces the modern day Mini – “Have been really smart in expanding the brand,” Field praises. “The way it drives today, it still has that same feel and a cheeky smile.”

Owners seem to agree: the new Mini is about to celebrate its 10-millionth sale.

Says Rémy, “Very often people ask ‘What was your favourite stunt?” and I’d say that jump because it was emotional, because it was difficult. Production said, ‘No, no it’s too dangerous, we cannot give you permission,’ but I insisted so much that they eventually gave in.”

The Stunts / “Get the wheels in line!”

The football crowd-style chanting, the Cockney rhyming slang, the defiant undercurrents of ‘us against them’... Yes, the film’s title track, (also known as Get a Bloomin’ Move On!) could only have been written by a saucy Brit with a knowing wink.

Except it wasn’t. This sing-along slice of patriotic pomp was penned by none other than Quincy Jones, the legendary American jazz composer.

“I was very flattered because that’s how I wanted it to feel, that we’d really got into the soil,” a delighted Jones told Field. “When you’re dealing with Michael Caine and Noël Coward, you better be dealing with a Brit approach, you know?... We started to talk about Cockney slang, and that registered right away because as a jazz musician, the beboppers had more slang than anybody.”

Says Field, “It’s interesting that this quintessentially British piece of music was written by an African-American from south-side Chicago, but his score is like glue: it joins the scenes together.”

The 15-minute getaway through Italy is a technical masterpiece that redefined a genre. ‘The three Mini’s escape through the palazzos, along the gallerias and across the rooftops of Turin,’ writes Field in the book. ‘It is played for laughs as much as for thrills... a celebration of an English job well done.’

Still, these were pre-CGI days, and the chase required adept drivers to perform the stunts. French driver Rémy Julienne stepped up to choreograph, backed by his eponymous stunt team (there were no British stunt teams capable of pulling off the project).

“He brought science to the sequence; meticulous planning. For instance, with the famous scene where the Mini’s leap from one rooftop to another, a slight slip of the accelerator and they would have hit the brick wall and been killed instantly,” cautions Field. “It just wouldn’t be done today.”

The Self Preservation Society / “Get your skates on mate, get your skates on mate...”

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All images: © Paramount Pictures, from The Self Preservation Society: 50 Years of The Italian Job

The Cliffhanger / “Hang on a minute lads. I’ve got a great idea”

with the gang, they are actually the criminals, so to leave them balancing there is – I think – the perfect ending.”

In the final scene, the getaway coach is precariously balanced on a cliff edge, with the gang at one end of the vehicle and the gold loot agonisingly within reach at the other... Then, roll credits. Movie over.

The abrupt finale is one of the most famous endings in movie history, but was scorned at the time. “Michael Caine didn’t like it,” chuckles Field. “He thought it would leave the audience unsatisfied.

They had come up with other endings but, following that terrific chase scene, they just didn’t have enough punch; a talking scene would have fallen flat.”

Producer Michael Deeley thoughtup the ending on a plane, on the way to a meeting with Paramount Studios Remarked screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, wryly, “I think the ending was very good, but it had to be something that had been invented by a senior executive. If a writer had come up with that, they would have laughed, torn it up and thrown it in the bin.”

“In hindsight, it works morally, too,” believes Field. “Though we side

The Legacy / “Just remember this: in this country they drive on the wrong side of the road” It may be treasured now, but the film didn’t exactly break the British box office, languishing in 14th place by the end of 1969. (It was beaten by Carry On Camping).

But it was a slow burning success. “Cult movies are often works later reckoned to be ‘ahead of their time’,” wrote Deeley in the book’s foreword. “But it is a real joy when those ‘mistimed’ pictures grow up and find the public appreciation they always merited... 50 years after its release, The Italian Job is rooted in the affections of the British public.”

It has come to represent something of a cultural zeitgeist. “I remember a reporter asking me a year or two after the film what I had thought of the 1960s,” recounts the now-knighted Sir Michael Caine. “I said, ‘I’ll tell you what I think: you will still be asking me about it when I’m 70!’ It was more

than just a decade – it’s a brand, a template of how to change the world.”

The movie embodied that spirit, yet also resonates more than ever in the current climate, posits Field. “Its 50th anniversary falls in the year of Brexit. Its release coincided with Britain entering into the common market, and it was a cheeky look at Britain versus Europe – the Brits going to rob the gold from the Italians; the ‘self-preservation society.’ Now the UK is leaving the EU, and is having the same political debates that swirled when the film was released. It’s very timely.”

What has kept it alive, “Is that the Mini is still on the road and, despite being 87, Michael Caine’s popularity has not diminished. That both of these British icons are still beloved today are a key to the film’s endurance,” Field believes. “There’s so much love for the film, and not only among movie buffs or car fanatics. Everyone seems to have a soft spot for The Italian Job.” The Book / The Self Preservation Society: 50 Years of The Italian Job by Matthew Field is available from porterpress.co.uk 61

Motoring JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

Super Hero In the shape of the 720S Spider, McLaren has added an exhilarating, technical tour de force to its Super Series

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WORDS: ANDREW ENGLISH

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ith an oxymoronic reputation as the sensible supercar, McLaren’s series of ever-faster mid-engined two seaters has done well for the Woking-based manufacturer, although critics point out that the cars look too similar and share too much of their drivetrains. There’s some truth in that, but McLaren has carefully managed its meagre disparities, enough to keep buyers interested and coming back.

Estimates are that more than 17,000 McLarens have sold since the first MP412C in 2011 and while the company says it is strictly limiting production to maintain exclusivity, every time I look the total has risen by 1,000 – the ceiling currently stands at 6,000 a year by 2024.

The two-year-old 720s fits into the Super Series, the mid-point of the t hree McLaren ranges, all of them midengined with carbon-fibre tubs, sharing similar hard points for the aluminium, carbon-fibre and Sheet-MouldedComposite (SMC) coachwork. Likewise, all share the same basic Ricardo-designed and built V8 turbocharged engine and Oerlikon Graziano seven-speed twinclutch transmission.

Most of this drophead was designed and engineered at the same time as the coupé, but there remained a lot to do. Its glazed carbon-fibre rear buttresses form part of the roll-over protection, while channelling air to the radiators and to the huge rear wing to provide downforce; the glass also allows better rear visibility, including overthe-shoulder views.

New panels include the front wings, onepiece roof, the rear wings and rear engine cover. All the changes, plus the high-speed motors for the folding roof, have added 49kg to the kerb weight so, fuelled and oiled, a 720s Spider weighs 1,468kg.

With aerodynamic addenda on the sides, channels along the door tops, mournfullooking headlights and endless seams and vents, this is a bitty, almost nerdy design, but the drophead roof looks pretty good, better in fact than the coupé.

The engine is a 3,994cc, 90-degree, quad-cam, dry-sump V8, with a brace of twin-scroll turbos. Power is 710bhp at 7,500rpm and the 568lb ft torque peak starts at 5,500rpm.

Its performance is virtually the same as the coupé, with 0-99km/h acceleration in 2.9s, 0-199km/h in 7.9s, a top speed of 341km/h and (should you not care much for your coiffure) 325km/h with the top down. The roof also displays the same 64

high-performance character, being stowed in just 11s at up to 49km/h.

The Spider runs on the same double wishbone suspension and actively adjustable damping as the coupé, together with Pirelli P Zero tyres, 245/35/R19 at the front, 305/30/R20 at the back. Brakes are carbon-ceramic rotors with AP Racing six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston items at the back. There’s an open rear differential with a Formula One-style torque vectoring system using the rear brakes.

If the chassis and drivetrain are almost state of the art in going faster, then the cabin comes as a slight letdown. The leather seats are supportive, but I didn’t find them terrifically comfortable, the seat adjustment controls are baffling, as is the central touchscreen, which has poor satnav graphics, hard-to-access functions and requires a hefty shove from a digit.

The marque took us to the desert playground of Arizona for the launch, and we set off with the tyre pressure warning system beeping and never did

All images: The McLaren 720S Spider, from the marque’s Super Series

find out how to reset it. And while you can pair your telephone with the system, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, those prerequisites of the modern motor, are noticeable by their absence.

McLaren will rightly point out that it’s difficult for small manufacturers to stay ahead of the blistering pace of development in consumer electronics, but why bother? Just link the phone and let the Silicon Valley giants do the job for you.

There’s a total of 208 litres of storage under the bonnet and rear deck, but only scant space in the car. And in spite of the scissor doors, getting out of the 720s is not the most dignified procedure; modelling agencies probably have entire classes on how do it in a short skirt.

Arizona might be warm, but it rained for pretty much the whole four hours we had in the car. On wet, slippery motorways and back roads, the 720s was pretty well behaved, however.

The throttle has a long travel, the stability control system is gentle (though the traction control is a bit

abrupt) and the ride in Comfort setting is accommodating.

On a dry road or a circuit, you can up the settings to Sport or even Track, which sharpen the responses, but it’s still pretty potent in Comfort. On a rare bit of dry tarmac I nailed the throttle hard enough to induce some wheel spin and that shrieking banshee of an engine up to its near 8,000rpm red line.

This is a brain-frazzling quick machine, you just push the throttle and off it goes, with you hanging on like Mr Punch to a string of sausages.

The steering is fast and has first-rate on-centre response; you feel you are in something quite special even at walking pace, but it isn’t the most communicative device and it’s easy to see how you might get yourself into a heap of trouble by overdriving this car.

The round town refinement is a little lacking as well, the engine drones at low revs, the brakes (as with most carbonceramic set-ups) can be grabby when cold, the wide tyres flap over expansion

joints (they’re really quite noisy at motorway speeds, too) and the gearbox clanks and grumbles.

Go faster, however, and it all starts to make more sense. The chassis refinement and control are quite superlative when you hook up a series of corners, even in the wet. The engine note improves immensely and the car connects with its driver in a way that some rivals don’t quite manage.

The Luxury Specification model we drove was fitted with over USD90,000 worth of options: these included a power-adjustable steering wheel, Aztec Gold paint, the lovely electrochromatic glass roof, along with carbon-fibre seat backs. How could you work your car’s carbon-fibre seat backs into a conversation without seeming like a complete dork?

In all, it’s better looking than the coupé, with none of the drawbacks of a convertible in terms of chassis twisting and/or reduced performance; it also has minimal weight gain for a drophead.

Exhilarating to drive and super quick, technically the 720S is a tour de force.

This is a brain“frazzling quick

machine. You just push the throttle and off it goes

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Gastronomy JULY 2019 : ISSUE 98

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Treasure Island

Santi Taura is relocating his Michelin-starred DINS to Mallorca’s old town neighborhood of La Calatrava. Why? WORDS: CHRIS UJMA

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eographically, the move is not as drastic as it first sounds.

Mallorca’s historic La Calatrava neighbourhood is not a million miles away from the original location of Santi Taura’s DINS – a Michelin star gem which, before July, lay a half hour further north on the island.

In Lloseta – the former home of Taura’s grandmother, where DINS resided since 2003 – he estimates having attracted an audience comprising “70 percent of local islanders visiting us there, with the other 30 percent being an international mix. Our waiting list to dine at the restaurant is one of the longest in Spain.”

Now in Palma, DINS is a jewel of the suave new El Llorenç Parc de la Mar hotel, and Taura is excited to attract a more diverse guest list. “We will have greater exposure to an international audience that will be staying at the hotel,” he admits.

“Those guests may have never made their way to Lloseta, but naturally, because of the hotel aspect, we will be exposed to a much wider audience who might not have 66

otherwise found us. Plus of course we are still within reach for our loyal clientele.

For us, that is very exciting.”

El Llorenç has been described as ‘a magical location facing the Mediterranean Sea’; Taura calls it a “special location.” He enthuses about how, from the hotel, one can overlook the old walls of the city and the bay, with a park that leads directly to the cathedral. The hotel, in a rather coveted quieter corner of the old town, allows guests to soak all of this in while seated on the stunning dining terrace.

“It seemed to make sense to partner with a new luxury hotel on the island, whose location and design were going to reflect historically what our food is also all about,” he explains. “La Calatrava is the oldest neighbourhood of Palma, and many of our recipes have ancient roots but are created in a modern way. It’s all just seemed like a natural fit. The timing and opportunity were both right.”

When it comes to food matters, Mallorca is known for its rich culinary tapestry, with the many cultures that have landed on the island

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each leaving an indelible gastronomic mark. Through various records and recipes, one can chart the preferences of island ancestors from the Roman Empire onwards, while Arab and Christian texts reveal their cooking methods and secrets.

The chef is famed for creating new interpretations of recipes that have been made for centuries across the island, and the relocation keeps Taura within touching distance of the precious produce that is required to shape his signature interpretations of these dishes.

“It’s not that it is difficult to master,” he downplays. “It’s about how you turn the best products into the best possible cuisine – highlighting the best qualities of the product.” It takes both respect and knowledge to manipulate the items, though: many of the island’s products are found nowhere else in the world. “It’s fascinating to look at how and why recipes developed over time – and to see how we can recreate them from today’s products, and for a modern palate,” he twinkles.

Among the menu showstoppers at DINS are Panada de moll (a red mullet pie), a unique sea and mountain recipe of Porcella amb anfòs, and Espinagada (a traditional recipe made with eel and spinach).

Panada de Moll “is a typical recipe for centuries on the island and only two

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restaurants in the world offer it”, the chef annotates. “The difficulty is that the fish has many tiny bones so it is incredibly labour intensive, as one needs many fish in order to make enough for restaurant service.”

Taura says that “few people” know how to cook Porcella amb anfòs – and few have tasted the fusion.

As for Espinagada, “The recipe really reaches back in history – back to 1400,” he elaborates. “At that time, eel was an abundant catch for the island. It was a dish made before Easter, generally only made with spinach, from which its name comes, until someone thought of adding eel which didn’t break the rules of Lent of not eating meat. We make it today with a particularly thin dough, which at the time only rich people could afford to do.”

While Taura’s mastery stands a level above (rubber stamped by his Michelin star recognition), he is not alone in the quest to spotlight local delights. In the last 15 years there has been a shift in Mallorca’s dining scene, toward utilising the homegrown products, with a network of chefs following this concept – each with their own style of interpreting the dishes.

It’s easy to see why, Taura explains. “We are really spoilt on Mallorca, in terms of products,” he beams. “We have many artisans producing some really special items. We

always have the freshest fish, and the salt from the island is also quite unique. We forage for mushrooms in-season – the choices are vast. I could add that our wines and olive oil are special as well. Some Mallorcan wines have a small production so aren’t exported, which means you are drinking them on the doorstep of where they are crafted – and that’s special.”

With regards to the new arena in which Taura’s Mallorcan magic will transpire, “I don’t think I am moving out of our comfort zone,” he confesses. “The kitchen setup will be similar in that it remains interactive. I think this is one of the reasons guests enjoyed it so much. They get to see us cook, we explain some things about the dishes, and we hear directly if they enjoy it. That’s very satisfying for me and the entire team. It will be similar here in the restaurant – equally interactive – and perhaps in closer proximity than before.

There is a counter around the workspace for diners to see the preparation first-hand.”

Taura and his team worked closely with the designer of the hotel, as the restaurant needed to be entirely integrated within the plans for the property. Yet while the aesthetics may be new, Taura is dedicated to delivering the high level of service and creative cuisine for which DINS is so highly regarded. “That is our heart and soul, and won’t ever change,” he promises.

“

It’s fascinating to look at how and why recipes developed over time, and to see how we can recreate them from today’s products, for a modern palate

”

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42 JOURNEYS BY JET

Gladden Private Island

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Belize

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Travel JULY 2019 : ISSUE 98

S

o secret is Gladden Private Island, it feels quaint that a photograph of the resort even exists. The postage stamp of terrain – which lies off the coast of Belize in Central America – caters to just four guests; in the luxury sojourn stakes, that makes it a myth of Loch Ness Monster or Yeti proportions.

Yet here is proof that such a resort truly does inhabit the planet: there’s no camera hoax trickery here. They call this gem of the Belize Barrier Reef ‘The Most Private Island in the World’ and it’s tough to argue against that estimation: the views stretch for eternity, and there’s no sign of human life for miles.

The word ‘neighbour’ simply isn’t uttered here.

The island is set in the turquoise Carribbean Sea, among its aquamarine lagoons, and mere kilometeres away one can find the magical ‘Gladden Split’ where whale sharks congregate once a year.

Gladden Private Resort is fringed with coral and white sand, and at its heart sits a casually elegant, Mayan-inspired villa designed for just one couple, replete with the all-inclusive service of a luxury resort.

Custom dining experiences include moonlit suppers on the rooftop terrace, romantic meals on the beach, or an array of tapas at poolside. Organic produce is grown in Gladdens Garden, with fresh fish caught straight from the surrounding waters.

Its owners even have a ‘privacy meter’ to indicate if a member of the team is on the main island for any reason; the chef, manager and concierge are on an adjoining island just a two-minute boat ride away, ready to cater to every whim.

If you’re somewhat elusive yourself (and are not prone to public sightings), this is the ideal haven in which to hunker down. It’s the last place anyone will come looking.

Fly into Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport, before being met at customs for a 40 minute helicopter journey to the island. gladdenprivateisland.com 71

What I Know Now JULY 2019: ISSUE 98

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Brigitte Bardot STYLE ICON / FOUNDER OF THE BRIGITTE BARDOT FOUNDATION

Being born in 1934, I grew up during the war and fashion didn’t mean anything to us. In And God Created Woman (as in lots of other movies), I wore my own clothes and it always made me feel like I was really myself. In couture I felt I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t, all stiff and formal.

The Bardot style is simply my own style; in other words, it’s not a style at all. I dressed in the same way as I did my hair: depending on what took my fancy, and what I felt like at that moment.

I wore elegant gowns designed by the top couturiers as well as gorgeous gypsy outfits that were unconventional, things I came across by accident and then became fashionable. It makes me laugh!

In any case, it was prettier and sexier than what we see these days. I’m proud I created a style that doesn’t go out of fashion – because I was never fashionable!

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As for my hair... I couldn’t get my bun right, and there were lots of strands of hair dangling down and annoying me, so I thought it would be a good idea to tease them so they framed my face. And so I invented the ‘choucroute’ beehive.

I remember one day feeling like I wanted to treat myself to something really lovely.

I was fed up with lots of people living off me and not always indulging myself like I’d have liked to. I had seen and loved a fantastic movie by Alain Resnais (it was Last Year in Marienbad), which had Delphine Seyrig wearing a gorgeous dress, by Chanel.

The dress was breathtaking and brought tears to my eyes, so I decided to buy it and I went to the Chanel boutique. That was my first meeting with Coco Chanel – in her inner shrine – and the woman I met was human and accessible, charming and elegant.

One career regret is that I wore fur without thinking, without realising what I was putting on. There was no anti-fur campaign back then. When I realised the terrible things involved, it made me feel sick, I cried over it, and felt guilty. How could I have done something like that?

I always gave back the dresses that were lent to me by couturiers, but they usually gave them to me as a gift. Eventually, I auctioned my entire wardrobe off to raise the money to set up my animal rights foundation. And now? I don’t dress up anymore.

Abridged extract from ‘Brigitte Bardot: My Life in Fashion’

by Henry-Jean Servat; published

by Flammarion

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