AIR Magazine - Empire Aviation - February'23

FEBRUARY 2023

DIANE KRUGER

“Creation” Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 Grand Title winner © Laurent Ballesta

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Contents

Credit: Carolina Herrera Pre Fall 2023

FEBRUARY 2023: ISSUE 137

FEATURES Thirty

Thirty Eight

Forty Six

With her nomadic habits, refusal to be typecast, and modern take on life, Diane Kruger sets her own agenda.

Frilly, frothy, and a tad rebellious, that’s Wes Gordon’s style. No wonder everyone’s loving Carolina Herrera.

Roger Gastman on how graffiti and street art became champions of the art world.

Go Your Own Way

Flash Gordon

The Writing’s On The Wall

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Contents

FEBRUARY 2023: ISSUE 137

REGULARS Fourteen

Radar

Sixteen

Objects of Desire Eighteen

Critique Twenty Four

Jewellery Twenty Six

Timepieces Fifty Two

Motoring

EDITORIAL

Fifty Six

Editor-in-Chief & Co-owner

Gastronomy

John Thatcher john@hotmedia.me

Sixty Two

Ultimate Stays

ART Art Director

Kerri Bennett

Sixty Four

What I Know Now

Illustration

Leona Beth

COMMERCIAL Managing Director & Co-owner

Victoria Thatcher General Manager

David Wade

david@hotmedia.me

Twenty

Art & Design Nicholas Foulkes pays homage to the talent and timehonoured craft inside Louis Vuitton’s storied workshops.

PRODUCTION Digital Media Manager

Muthu Kumar

M e d i a C i t y, D u b a i , UAE Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media is strictly prohibited.

HOT Media does not accept liability for any omissions or errors in AIR.

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Empire Aviation Group FEBRUARY 2023:ISSUE 137

Welcome Onboard FEBRUARY 2023

Welcome to this issue of AIR – our onboard lifestyle magazine.

Private aviation meets the demand for business and leisure travel with a high degree of privacy, security and personalised service.

I believe we are increasingly seeing the signs of business aviation coming of age as we continue to see growing regional demand for business jet ownership and charter. The sector proved resilient during the crisis of the last three years and has proved its value to countless numbers of companies and organisations, especially during periods when commercial aviation operations had some restrictions. The sector is now rising above pre-pandemic levels in the region and we anticipate this will continue in 2023, even beyond the impact of the Expo2020 Dubai and FIFA World Cup finals.

So, as interest in business aviation expands, we have taken the opportunity to look into the ‘crystal ball’ and share some of the industry’s insights and predictions for the regional sector for acquisitions and business jet charters. The step up into aircraft ownership has become more attractive now with the increase in charter usage. We have seen that travellers who flew First and Business Class with scheduled airlines before the pandemic and opted to experience private aviation during the crisis (due to limited commercial airline options) now continue to fly privately rather than move back to commercial. It’s not unusual for someone to enjoy the unique experience of a private flight and be so captivated by it that they prefer to fly privately.

There are various options for purchasing aircraft, from full ownership to shared or fractional ownership. Shantanu Mehrotra, our Director of Finance, made a very impactful presentation on the subject at last December’s MEBAA (Middle East Business Aviation) event in Dubai. He shared an overview of the Middle East business jet market, emphasising how the market has matured with owners acquiring large-capacity and long-range jets to use as a business tool for their company operations. Buyers are keen on aircraft that can operate for at least 6-8 flying hours, which will get them from the Middle East to cities in Europe or Singapore, for example.

For those interested in leisure charter, we also include a feature on one of our newest Luxury Partners – Como Hotels. Through our Luxury Partner programme, we provide charter customers the option to combine a private jet charter with a conveniently packaged, unforgettable stay at the beautiful Como Hotels Cocoa Island Resort in the Maldives.

Enjoy the read.

Paras P. Dhamecha Founder & Managing Director

Contact Details: Cover: Diane Kruger/Reuters

info@empire.aero empireaviation.com

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Empire Aviation Group FEBRUARY 2023:ISSUE 137

Business Aviation Means Business Private jet use in the Middle East continues to soar

Shantanu Mehrotra Director of Finance, Empire Aviation

According to MEBAA — the Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association — the Middle East’s private aviation sector grew around 26% year-on-year in 2022 in terms of aircraft movements, thanks in part to the positive impact of Expo2020 Dubai and the FIFA World Cup 2022 but also as a result of the growth in aircraft registrations in the UAE. The business aviation sector is now looking to sustain healthy future growth and is confident of achieving this.

Business jet manufacturers may still be facing issues such as in the supply chain, which delays some deliveries of new aircraft. However, the market for pre-owned aircraft remains healthy, although there is still the challenge of finding high-quality aircraft for buyers.

According to WINGX, in the rest of the world (excluding North America 10

and Europe), business jet activity started January 2023 38% above last year, with demand 82% above pre-pandemic January 2020 and 50% above 2021. At the end of 2022 to early January 2023, activity in the Middle East was up 28% compared to a year ago and, at the moment, Al Maktoum is the busiest business jet airport in the rest of the world region.

Honeywell recently published its 31st annual Global Business Aviation Outlook, which forecasts strong fiveyear purchase plans for new business jets. The business aviation industry has benefited from first-time private aviation users and buyers, which is thought to be the result of the pandemic. According to Honeywell, almost 74% of surveyed new private aviation users expect to maintain the same level of flight in 2023 as in 2022, and only 4% expect to fly less in 2023.

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Empire Aviation Group FEBRUARY 2023:ISSUE 137

Fly In Style To COMO Cocoa Island An Empire Aviation charter aircraft will whisk you and your guests to the Maldives

COMO Cocoa Island is a tranquil private island resort located in the Maldives, with 33 overwater villas allowing you to slip from your balcony into the turquoise lagoon to explore the sealife-rich house reef. It promises what few luxury Maldivian resorts can truly provide: peacefulness, privacy and the opportunity to do very little — very little, that is, aside from stroll on silk-soft sand, snorkel in a world of colourful marine life, relax on a massage table or on a daybed, simply staring out at the hypnotic azure ocean.

Now, travelling to the Indian Ocean’s Maldives has never been easier and more memorable than onboard a private jet and staying at one of Empire Aviation’s Luxury Partner resorts — The Como Cocoa Island Resort.

The Gateway to the Paradise of the Blue Lagoon, the Como Cocoa Island, with its crystal blue waters and striking sandbars, is the perfect destination for a luxury getaway.

On arrival in the Maldives, your first step is your 40-minute speedboat 12

transfer from Malé International Airport for the spectacular scenic journey to the island. From there, you will be taken to your luxurious villa, offering a unique blend of local culture and modern amenities — allowing you to enjoy postcard-perfect views and the utmost privacy.

Designed to offer both luxury and convenience, the premium Villa collection at the Cocoa Island resort boasts spacious terraces that evoke an open horizon, modern furnishings, breathtaking views over the lagoon, and a private pool and sundeck.

An Empire Aviation charter aircraft will take you and your guests to the Maldives in style. With its long range and large baggage capacity, Empire’s Embraer Legacy 650 is a highly requested aircraft for charters to the Maldives, providing comfort, convenience and competitive pricing.

The Legacy 650 can accommodate up to 13 passengers with VIP food & beverage catering services and onboard entertainment systems.

Radar FEBRUARY 2023: ISSUE 137

AIR

A curated selection of the celebrated work of renowned photographer Guy Bourdin will show at THAT Concept Store in Dubai this month. The late Bourdin’s distinct photographic style was as much experimental as it was provocative, a method partly honed under the creative guidance of surrealist photographer Man Ray. It was also a method that made for vibrant, immediately captivating images and an outstanding career that saw Bourdin credited with revolutionising fashion photography in the late 20th century.

THAT X Guy Bourdin, THAT Concept Store, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, Feb 2-Mar 1

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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

CHANEL

COCO CRUSH Chanel’s iconic matelassé has long been a motif of the house. Inspired by its use in the equestrian world into which a young Gabrielle Chanel was introduced, she used it to decorate accessories at her private home on Rue Cambon, before it found its way

onto clothing and handbags. The Coco Crush collection continues to pay homage to it in the most desirable way, and 2023 brings a host of new novelties crafted from 18k beige gold, including this bracelet worn by house ambassador Margaret Qualley.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

DIOR

ERL MEN’S CAPSULE Kim Jones drafted in Eli Russell Linnetz, better known by his brand name ERL, as guest designer for this Spring 2023 men’s capsule, a man who is quietly becoming increasingly influential in the fashion world thanks to his cool Californian

aesthetic. And it’s California that the pair lean on here, notably the rolling ocean waves, transformed into a motif that is used across a mix of sweatshirts and shorts. Elsewhere in the collection, the exceptional cuts are trademark Jones.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

HUBLOT

BIG BANG TOURBILLON SA XEM YELLOW NEON The bright minds at Hublot have produced an equally brilliant shade of neon yellow for the latest Big Bang, a totally transparent yet completely resistant material that took three years of research. The eye-popping nature of the timepiece continues with

the decision to skeletonise the entire calibre, a feat of watchmaking that pushes open-worked materials to the limits of their functional resistance. It is available as a limited edition of 50 pieces, and comes with a rubber strap tailor-made for this watch.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

HERMÈS’

HAUT À COURROIES The Haut à Courroies, HAC for short, was Hermès’ first ever bag, designed in the early 20th century to carry a saddle and riding boots. This latest iteration is inspired by the brand’s men’s ready-to-wear universe, and the skill involved in its decoration

— strips of leather placed using the appliqué-piqué technique to form checks on the front, sides, flap, and on the back of the bag — has been hailed a genuine technical feat. Crafted from Evercolor and Evergrain calfskin, it’s also rather stylish.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

GUCCI

T H E J A C K I E 1 961 Since it was first christened in the 60s – taking the name of Jackie Kennedy, who was rarely photographed without it – Gucci’s most iconic handbag has had a number of iterations as it adapted to the changing times. Its signature style has, however, been the 5

one constant, along with the quality of the material used to craft it. This latest offering comes in natural grain, patent or precious leather, or the GG Supreme canvas, in three sizes (mini, small, and medium) and countless colours.

OB JECTS OF DESIRE OB JECTS OF DESIRE

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

L O U I S V U I T T O N X YAY O I K U S A M A

CR AF TING INFINIT Y

The nonagenarian Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who has polka-dotted her way through her celebrated career to become one of the art world’s biggest stars, has teamed up again with Louis Vuitton for the first time in a decade to produce the playful Crafting

Infinity collection, for which Kusama’s signature style enlivens the brand’s ready-to-wear, bags, shoes, accessories, fragrances, luggage and trunks. To be released in two parts, the first drop is in stores now, with the second to follow on March 31.

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OB JECTS OF DESIRE

ZENITH

DEF Y E X TREME GL ACIER Living up to its name, the DEFY Extreme Glacier braves punishing, icy temperatures like no other timepiece, just as 2021’s DEFY Extreme Desert — the debut watch in the series — defied the heat. Numerous elements of the watch have been designed

in keeping with the icy theme, including chronograph counters made in transparent sapphire crystal that’s given a frosted finish, and the use of chalcedony, a crystalline semi-translucent stone with a pale blue hue.

It’s limited to 50 pieces.

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OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Critique FEBRUARY 2023 : ISSUE 137

Film Emily Dir. Frances O’Connor A part-fictionalised version of the life of English writer Emily Brontë tells of her yearning for artistic and personal freedom.

AT BEST: “A film brimming with warmth, heart and intelligence.’ — Brian Viner, Daily Mail AT WORST: “I just don’t think the story does the writer justice, or goes in any particularly interesting places.” — James Luxford, BBC

Full Time Dir. Eric Gravel A panic-fuelled portrait of a woman struggling to juggle motherhood and a job that isn’t paying enough to free her from debt.

AIR

AT BEST: “A breathless masterclass in execution, this is cinema at its finest.” — Dallas King, Flick Feast AT WORST: “It’s a propulsively intense piece of filmmaking, at times a bit like watching a highwire chainsaw juggling act.” — Wendy Ide, Screen International

The Blue Caftan Dir. Maryam Touzani A talented apprentice breathes new life into a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco’s oldest medinas.

AT BEST: “The auteur crafts a surprisingly warm story that subverts expectations at almost every turn.” — Christian Zilko, indieWire AT WORST: “Has nothing but the best of intentions, though, that’s about all it really has going for it.” — Paul Attard, In Review

A Radiant Girl Dir. Sandrine Kiberlain Coming-of-age drama set in Paris in 1942 in which the carefree nature of an aspiring actress is checked by the Nazi occupation of her city.

AT BEST: “A masterfully assembled coming-of-age that falls in love, enchants, unsettles, and breaks your heart.” — Ricardo Gallegos, La Estatuilla AT WORST: “The film gets bogged down in backstage discussion of a sort that can too easily feel alienating to audiences.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen International 18

Critique FEBRUARY 2023 : ISSUE 137

Books

Deepti Kapoor’s Age of Vice is an action-packed story of seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence. “Deeply addictive; this spellbinder would be easy to devour in one big gulp, but it’s worth savouring… The author possesses a talent great enough to match the massive scope of her subject,” writes Publishers Weekly. Says Booklist: “Kapoor spins a dizzying ride.

Weaving the backstories of Ajay, Neha, and Sunny together, Kapoor’s frenetic and colourful novel highlights the new global pecking order… But as this gripping tale shows, even the weakest deserve one last gasp of dignity.” Good Housekeeping calls it, “A complex, gaspinducing drama that accelerates to an explosive ending,” while Kirkus hails it as, “A whole lot of fun. It doesn’t take long for the reader to become invested in the Mario Puzo–esque drama of the Wadia family and their associates.”

A woman who struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of

others finds herself caught in a web of deception when she finds a dead body in the hotel where she works. That’s the premise of Nita Prose’s The Maid, a cosy mystery that The New York Times calls “Charming, eccentric.” Booklist is equally smitten: “Captivating, charming, and heart-warming, with deft writing and a clever, original plot, this unusual crime novel will leave readers with a warm glow.” The master of horror, Stephen King writes that The Maid is both, “Excellent and totally entertaining,” with what is “The most interesting (and endearing) main character in a long time.”

Another author, Ashley Audrain, hails it as, “A masterful, charming mystery that will touch your heart in ways you could never expect. The endearing, unforgettable Molly reminds us to challenge our assumptions about one another, and shows us how meaningful it is to feel truly seen in the world.”

In Decolinization, a trio of authors hail unsung heroes of Africa and Asia who refused to accept subjugation

from Europeans. “An eye-opening collection of stories, portraits, and images that powerfully capture the resilience and courage of the women and men who resisted colonialism over two hundred years. A timely intervention and a page-turning read,” says fellow author Robert Gildea.

“The authors of Decolonization unpack and reimagine what is often written about the end of European empires. The book mirrors the very creativity, dynamism, and unpredictability of its subjects — the men and women who endured colonialism and fought for independence.

Global in scope, but deeply personal in content, Decolonization is guaranteed to provoke and inspire its readers to think anew about the making of the postcolonial world,” says writer J. P. Daughton, while Afrique Magazine sums it up succinctly: “Striking. This panorama inverts the focus to recount from the point of view of the colonized 150 years of struggle against the subjugation of Africa and Asia.”

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THE PINNACLE OF LUXU RY L I V I N G

B U LG A R I L I G H T H O U S E .C O M

A N E L E VAT E D L I F E S T Y L E AT I T S F I N E S T Suspended between sea and sky along the pristine shores of Jumeira Bay lies Bulgari Lighthouse Dubai.

A collection of sublime, four to five-bedroom penthouses that reflect the Bulgari values of unrivalled craftsmanship, thoughtful precision and timeless elegance. Cocooned in architectural coral, the precious, natural material serves as both a practical and metaphorical inspiration for the building’s design, providing protection, privacy and peace to those who call the building home.

Visit bulgarilighthouse.com

Art & Design FEBRUARY 2023: ISSUE 137

Masters At Work Assouline’s beautiful book pays homage to the talent and time-honoured craft inside Louis Vuitton’s storied workshops

AIR

WORDS: NICHOLAS FOULKES

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When asked about the quality that most defines Louis Vuitton, chief executive Michael Burke has no doubt.

“Fundamentally, it’s not about luggage, it’s about innovation. Innovation came before luggage. The reason why Louis went into business himself is because he wanted to innovate and create something different than what was on the market.”

He is also convinced that Louis Vuitton has played a crucial role in retaining France’s hard-won, jealously guarded and centuries-old supremacy of skills.

“Had we not insisted on making the great majority of our leather goods in France thirty years ago, leather goods manufacturing would have moved to Italy, just like silk left Lyon and went to Como, and watchmaking left France and established itself in Switzerland.”

And just as in the seventeenth century,

artists and artisans lived and worked within the Louvre itself (Boulle crafted his innovative furniture in a suite of rooms once belonging to Anne of Austria), so at Louis Vuitton the artists and artisans whose skill and ingenuity have contributed to both the success of the marque and the prestige of France pursue their various métiers in surroundings that confound the customary notion of what constitutes an atelier.

Amidst a world leached of colour and character by the received orthodoxy of business school and subject to the tyranny of quarterly results, at Louis Vuitton the idea flourishes that a workshop can be a place of fulfilment and individuality, a place where traditional craft skills can be learned, respected, continued and transmitted by those who defy the outdated image of the elderly

AIR

Louis Vuitton the idea flourishes that a workshop ‘At can be a place of fulfilment and individuality ’

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Opening pages: © Oliver Pilcher Opposite page, top to bottom: © Oliver Pilcher; © Archives Louis Vuitton Malletier This page: © Oliver Pilcher

craftsman hunched over his workbench.

“They are people who love making stuff with their hands,” explains Burke. “They just love it, they love every minute of it, and they’re young, they’re so young.

Twenty years ago, we had trouble finding them, because kids did not believe that making things was a worthwhile gig. Now they look at it and say, ‘this is the best gig in town,’ and they’re happy and they’re laughing. The great majority of them are kids now, very different than when I started, when everyone was old! Now I am old, and everyone is young.”

Ours is the age of the celebrity creator, the disruptor, the artistic polymath… a type of deism that exalts the creative to hitherto unimagined heights of fame worshipped daily by millions of devout followers in the virtual church of social media.

But it is worth reflecting that while anyone can have an idea, the skilled hands of trained artisans are needed to give those ideas the gift of life. Without Louis Vuitton’s resources and artisans, Virgil Abloh’s illuminated colour-change Light Up Keepall would still exist only as a mental image. Instead, using timehonoured techniques and technical ingenuity, a bag from the 1930s was propelled into the future.

“When you spend time with these new, transgressive individuals, these twentyfirst-century creative types, they all have one thing in common. They are all in awe of the past, they wouldn’t be successful if they hadn’t learned from the past,” explains Burke. “Everyone sees them only as disruptors, but if they were just disrupting, they wouldn’t be successful for long. The reason why they are successful is because they are disrupting by taking people back. Instead of copying the past, they are understanding it and serving it up in a twenty-first century way.”

Abridged excerpt from Louis Vuitton Manufacturers, published by Assouline, out now 23

house love The rich history of Van Cleef & Arpels spans more than a century of innovation, elegance and extraordinary craftsmanship, its prized creations ever alluring. 280 such pieces, bolstered by a treasure trove of archival documents, sketches and gouaché designs, are the subject of blockbuster exhibition Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love, now on show at The Saudi National Museum in Riyadh. AIR meets its celebrated curator, Alba Cappellieri, for the inside story of a dazzling display of artistry…

Van Cleef & Arpels Time, Nature, Love The National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Running until April 15, 2023 Curator: Alba Cappellieri Designer: Johanna Grawunder

Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels x AIR

T

he enchanting story of Van Cleef & Arpels comprises a myriad of compelling chapters.

It begins with one that tells of love; the marriage of young couple Alfred Van Cleef, son of a diamond broker, and Estelle Arpels, daughter of a precious stones merchant, a solid bond on which the foundation for the maison’s enduring legacy was built. And it weaves majestically through the decades, from the outset of the twentieth century in Paris, when its spiritual home and first boutique was opened at 22 Place Vendôme, to the 1930s, a decade rich in innovation encapsulated by the distinctive design of the Cadenas watch and the masterful Mystery Set technique. And from the 1950s, when the transformative (literally and, for jewellery design as a whole, figuratively) Zip necklace was perfected, to 2010’s magnificently romantic Pont des Amoureux timepiece, the recipient of that year’s Ladies’ Watch Prize at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

It remains within the fabled walls of 22 Place Vendôme that many such historic

treasures are fashioned by hand, where seemingly impossible ideas are made possible, where for over a century the highly skilled artisans of the maison have performed their cherished craft, handing down their expert knowledge to the next generation of craftspeople, continuing the story, expanding the universe.

It’s a story that has been told down the years via blockbuster exhibitions in many parts of the world, from New York to Tokyo. Now it’s the turn of Saudi Arabia.

Supported by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, Van Cleef & Arpels: Time, Nature, Love, on show now at The National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh until April 15, draws together some 280 jewellery items, watches and precious objects created by Van Cleef & Arpels since its founding in 1906, coupled with more than 90 archival documents, sketches and gouaché designs.

The task of curating what is the largest exhibition of its type to ever be staged in the Kingdom befell Alba Cappellieri, Professor of Jewellery Design at Milan Polytechnic University and President of the Milano Fashion Institute. She boasts

Van Cleef & Arpels x AIR

an encyclopaedic knowledge of Van Cleef & Arpels’ vast archive and possesses a creative verve that ensures the exhibition is far removed from a formulaic showcase of iconic creations, past and present, one in sync with the atmospheric, immersive scenography fashioned by internationally renowned architect-designer, Johanna Grawunder.

“My first idea was not to show the most exceptional gemstones, the most famous and spectacular jewellery pieces, but try to write a different story,” says Cappellieri.

“Van Cleef & Arpels is the most innovative jewellery company from this perspective.

After studying in its archives for three years, I realised there are so many pieces you’ve never seen, so many stories you don’t know. It would be a disservice to the maison to only show the masterpieces and not share these other stories.

The idea she struck upon was to interpret

Van Cleef & Arpels’ patrimonial oeuvre via three distinct chapters. “I consider Time, Nature and Love to be the most important and most representative values of life and consequently of the objects that accompany our daily lives,” she says. “Unfortunately, such values are not very easy to find in jewellery because jewellery is always in balance between eternity and ephemeral, tradition and fashion, love and investment, beauty and concept, nature and fiction.

“High jewellery indulges in a timeless dimension, uninterested in the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. This does not apply to Van Cleef & Arpels, which has always had a strong focus on time. What this exhibition demonstrates is the maison’s ability to represent a fragmented period like the twentieth century and its aporia, the capacity to epitomise the eternal values of beauty and, at the same time, the fleeting power of seduction.

Van Cleef & Arpels x AIR

‘Innovating high jewellery is extremely rare for different reasons.

Van Cleef & Arpels is one of the very few maisons that succeed’ “Coming from a design culture, where every object must represent its time, I realised that the ability of Van Cleef & Arpels is in bridging sometimes controversial aspects. You find alternative and ephemeral, you find global and local. You can find the details and the big gems. You can find beauty in terms of ornamentation, and you can find science in terms of innovation.”

Innovation is one area in which Van Cleef & Arpels truly excels. The blissful union of masterful watchmaking and jewellery savoir-faire has birthed evermore extraordinary, ever-more daring designs, many ahead of their time.

“The maison’s first watches, such as the Pendant watch from 1912 and the Lapel watches of the early 1920s illustrate very well the new Art Deco aesthetic in advance of the Paris International Exhibition in 1925, when the Art Deco

movement was launched.”

That was also the decade in which Van Cleef & Arpels debuted its first ‘secret’ watch, the dial hidden by jewels. “The Cadenas wristwatch and the Ludo secret watch (named in reference to Louis Arpels, known to his friends as ‘Ludo’) are some of my favourite examples for the maison’s ability to combine the supreme craftsmanship of the bracelets with the innovative mechanisms of the watches.”

A 1949 example of the Ludo ‘secret’ bracelet-watch on show at the exhibition, its rectangular dial concealed beneath two spring-loaded, brick-patterned gold flaps, also features the renowned Mystery Set technique. “The Mystery Set is one of the most relevant innovations in the history of jewellery,” states Cappellieri emphatically.

“It is a true feat and an iconic example of Van Cleef & Arpels’ unparalleled expertise.”

Van Cleef & Arpels x AIR

‘The Mystery Set is one of the most relevant innovations in the history of jewellery’

The technique, patented in 1933, makes it possible to set precious stones (rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds) with no prong or other metal component visible. “You can admire some of the most impressive examples of this magic technique in the exhibition’s Exactitude Room,” details Cappellieri.

She is equally effusive of Van Cleef & Arpels’ interpretation of nature, a muse for many jewellery houses. What does she think sets the maison apart? “Through Van Cleef & Arpels’ creations, nature becomes art, in terms of gemstones and craftsmanship, but also as a humanistic attitude towards harmony.” You see this expressed in the form of blooming flora and joyful fauna, brought to near life through vibrant colours and the supremely

skilled use of precious stones.

Such creations have been a characteristic of the maison for a century, with fine examples on show at the exhibition including the Bird of Paradise clip from 1942, its wings depicted outspread in flight, radiant in rubies and sapphires; its body sculpted in yellow gold; and its beak dotted with brilliant-cut diamonds.

Chief among the world’s most desired jewellery maisons, Van Cleef & Arpels’ long list of clients naturally includes some of modern history’s most influential females; Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich and Ava Gardner brought Van Cleef & Arpels’ designs to Hollywood, while the likes of Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Princess Fawzia of Egypt and the Empress of Iran, Farah Diba, gave them the royal seal of approval.

Van Cleef & Arpels x AIR

‘Through Van Cleef & Arpels’ creations, nature becomes art’ Many of the bonds Van Cleef & Arpels formed were with lionized couples, their extraordinary pieces gifted as declarations of love, thereby influencing some of the most legendary love stories of the twentieth century. “For me, love is the most powerful energy in the world and every piece of jewellery is crafted with love. But there are two creations that really stand out. Firstly, the Barquerolles choker, given to Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Burton in 1971 to mark the birth of her first grandchild, hence the couple’s pet name for the piece: the ‘granny necklace’.

The passionate love story that united these two Hollywood idols abounds

with exceptional jewels like this piece,” enthuses Cappellieri.

“The second is a tiara worn in 1978

by Princess Grace at the wedding of her daughter, Caroline. It was a tiara in platinum set with round, pear-shaped and marquise-cut diamonds for a total of 144 gems weighing 77.34 carats. This exquisite diadem is transformable, as it can also be worn as a necklace.”

It was, of course, due to love that the story of Van Cleef & Arpels began, and its latest chapter, as told so engagingly

by Cappellieri in Riyadh, is testament of its enduring influence on a maison whose timeless designs never fail to capture your heart.

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Breaking The Rules As the CEO of Roger Dubuis, Nicola Andreatta is helping stretch the boundaries of creativity in the watch industry WORDS: JOHN THATCHER

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oger Dubuis may well be considered a young pup relative to the old dogs of the watchmaking world (the company was founded in 1995), but history ensures that it carries a real bite, its boundary-pushing timepieces among the industry’s most daring and creative. “I started going to my father’s factory when I was a little boy, five or six years-old,” remembers Nicola Andreatta, the avant-garde manufacturer’s CEO, who hails from a family that has been involved in various aspects of watchmaking for three generations. “There was an incredibly skilled prototypist who was taking care of developing the cases the factory was manufacturing for several brands. Seeing him crafting the metal to obtain such a beautiful object out of raw materials was the beginning of a love story.”

It just so happens that one of those

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‘beautiful’ items his father’s factory manufactured was among the first cases produced for Roger Dubuis.

Andreatta and Dubuis were natural bedfellows, both employed in the pursuit of innovation via the use of emerging technologies. Since joining the brand in 2018 on a mission to “show the world what an incredible maison Roger Dubuis is,” Andreatta has certainly overseen its advancement.

“I am proud of how we have made the maison evolve,” he says, reflecting on his first four years at the helm.

“We brought more consistency to our product offer. We worked very hard to reinterpret our iconic Excalibur, starting with our double and mono tourbillon, and concluding with our monobalancier. 100% of the product has been totally redesigned in order to adapt it to the evolution of our clients’ expectations; a more modern design, totally new calibers

Timepieces

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Opening pages, from left to right: Platinum Edition Excalibur Monobalancier; Nicola Andreatta Right: Platinum Edition Excalibur Monobalancier

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featuring improved performance, and a better resistance to daily wear.”

The expectations of the brand’s Middle East clients – keen to wear the latest and greatest, the biggest and the boldest on their wrists – led Roger Dubuis to produce a new Platinum Edition Excalibur Monobalancier for the region, available exclusively at the brand’s boutique in The Dubai Mall.

Clad in a striking mint green and featuring all the hallmarks of the brand’s horological craftsmanship and style – skeleton automatic monobalancier; signature star; each component carefully finished by hand – the extraordinary timepiece was all the more difficult to craft due to the use of platinum for the case, a metal six times harder than gold. “That was certainly the biggest challenge,” says Andreatta, who was in Dubai to unveil the watch. “In addition to being extremely precious and rare, it is a harder metal to work and to finish properly. It required the most skilled craftsmen to work with it without compromising on the Excalibur signature shape and finishings.”

The word ‘compromise’ is anathema to a brand like Roger Dubuis. Why did it decide to launch a watch exclusively for the Middle East? “It was a way for us to show our appreciation and pay tribute to the watch community in the region, 28

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We challenge convention and are serial innovators

other than exploring materials and colour combinations. We have seen that there is a growing popularity of highend watchmaking in the Middle East.

In fact, the region has become the new hub for watch enthusiasts, collectors and the trade, with the organisation of several exhibitions and watch-focused events. A great number of watch collector clubs have been founded across the Middle East, strengthening a spirit of community, promoting information-sharing, and making the audience a very knowledgeable one.”

Another area of the brand’s business that has been reimagined under Andreatta’s tenure is marketing.

“We have clarified our territories of expression – motorsports and urban culture – and recentred our messaging along the purpose and the value of the maison. There is a need to continue nourishing these territories, before thinking to expand elsewhere. These are already very vast and rich playgrounds where a lot is still to be explored.”

Urban culture is the most playful.

Under its umbrella, the brand has collated the Urban Culture Tribe, a collective of world-famous artists adept at ripping up and rewriting the rule book in their own specialist fields of artistic expression. It includes the tattooist Dr. Woo, graffiti artist Gully,

multi-discipline Chinese artist Liu Wei, and the Japanese illustrator and sculptor Hajime Sorayama, all of whom have collaborated with Roger Dubuis to produce their own interpretations of the Excalibur timepiece.

“The co-creation process has to be seen as an opportunity for everyone to express themselves,” outlines Andreatta. “First of all, we start from a close and genuine connection, which most of the time becomes a friendship, then a shared mindset and shared values – the starting point for the development of a lasting collaboration. They [Urban Culture Tribe] all represent excellence and innovation in their own world, and they bring a different perspective on our watchmaking world.”

For a brand that only looks forward, how much scope does Andreatta believe there is for further innovation in wristwatches? “We challenge convention, and we are intrinsically serial innovators, very attentive to what is happening in terms of industrial and technical evolutions.

There is always a way to go beyond, to explore. This is in the nature of the human being and it is our purpose as a brand. Thinking out of the box means evolving a category into something that doesn’t exist today, and this is constantly our ambition.”

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With her nomadic habits, her refusal to be typecast, and her modern take on marriage and motherhood, Diane Kruger sets her own agenda

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WORDS: HERMIONE EYRE

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t’s awesome,” says Diane Kruger with a sigh, looking out across the rooftops of Paris, her pale blue eyes lit by a burst of winter sun. She and her fiancé, the actor Norman Reedus, have been taking time out from Hollywood to spend a year wenjoying la vie Parisienne with their four-year-old daughter, Nova.

“It’s a different way of life here. Also I find, right now, America is very divided, and — not that Europe doesn’t have its own problems, but it’s kind of nice to be out of America for a bit. And I always wanted that for Nova — she’s half German, after all.”

Kruger is trilingual: German by birth, adopted darling of the French film industry, and a part-time American star with perfect, unaccented English. Is it any wonder Tarantino cast her as a spy in Inglourious Basterds?

She is formidably smart as well as utterly gorgeous, the kind of blonde, to quote Raymond Chandler, to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.

After her first big break, as Helen in the 2004 epic Troy, her natural authority won her parts as a history professor (in National Treasure and its sequel, opposite Nicolas Cage), a queen (Marie Antoinette in the French language film Les Adieuxàla Reine) and a Hollywood sociopath (the television series Swimming with Sharks, from 2021).

Her typecasting could easily have been ‘glacial’, but she started to set her own agenda, choosing parts calling for empathy and tenderness, such as the German revenge tragedy In the Fade, for which she won the Cannes award for Best Actress in 2017. She is currently hoping to co-produce an ‘ambitious’ television project in which she is to play Marlene Dietrich.

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Meeting her off-duty in Paris, as she tries on Chaumet jewels for a photoshoot, I find her informal and contented, much more relaxed than the fledgeling star first I met in 2005.

She whizzes around Paris on a hired electric scooter, and relishes the local food — halfway through the shoot, cast and crew all sit down for a feast, Kruger choosing creamy mushroom risotto, Coke Zero, and fresh bread, while chatting in French with the team.

I catch the odd phrase about parties, gossip and jewels. “I love Chaumet’s artisanal feel,” she says. “It’s less mass produced than some of the big names and it’s a family proposition, going down the generations. I love their history” — Chaumet’s Joséphine range, which she wears for the shoot, references its work commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte for his Empress — “and their archives are amazing.”

Sitting opposite me in a stripy yellow ribbed top like a glamorous bee, with three-quarter-length jeans and biker boots, she says, “I definitely feel a little more stylish in France. In America I barely get my pyjamas off, I just put on a coat and walk Nova to nursery.

For me, America’s either very highend glam, or not. Here there’s just a normal chicness that everybody has.

What’s in stores is different, people are much more put-together, I enjoy seeing all these good-shaped coats…”

When she spoke about America being divided, what did she mean?

“Don’t misunderstand me, I love America. But although it’s politically divided for sure, also the baseline of morality and common sense seems to be lost a little, everyone feels at one another’s throats and everything is politicised. It feels like the country’s not functioning properly.”

Her home used to be New York, but she says violence and homelessness ticked up. She plays Trump’s publicist Kellyanne Conway in a sassy little takedown skit I found online. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re Republican or Democrat, it was just unbelievable what was happening before our eyes,” she says, referring to what she saw as an Orwellian repurposing of language — for example the slippery renaming of a lie as an ‘alternative fact’. She laughs. “It’s not funny any more. It seems to me like there’s 32

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I definitely feel a little more stylish in France. In America I barely get my pyjamas off

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been an acceleration since the Trump presidency of what is acceptable and what is said. But things can change so quickly, for better or worse.”

The film industry has been through upheavals of its own lately, too.

Does she feel more respect now? “I always felt respected.” With a place on juries in Cannes, as well as power in Hollywood, she has perhaps been part of changing the industry to become more fair to women?

“Change really has to come from the top, and so when I say, OK, I’m not doing castings in a hotel room, that doesn’t really change things, but when the Screen Actors Guild has a rule that no castings can be held in a hotel room, that’s change.”

It has to be systemic. “Right. And I think people are put on guard now, because a space has been created for complaints.” Love struck after she met Reedus in 2015 on the set of Sky, an American road movie written and directed by Kruger’s friend the French auteur Fabienne Berthaud.

“We’ve made three films together,” she says of Berthaud; Kruger has a producing credit on them all. “She holds the camera herself. When we first came together she was not so great at scriptwriting, and I produce things on a more creative level. I think I have a good eye for storytelling, I’m good in the edit. I really trust her and I respect her vision.”

Rare to work with a female auteur; rarer still to find that your wild-card co-star turns out to be your soul mate.

She could never have predicted that was going to happen? “I know, right?

And I hope it never happens again!”

Kruger had already had a short-lived marriage, aged 21, to the French actor and director Guillaume Canet (now partner of Marion Cotillard), and a

10-year relationship with heartthrob Joshua Jackson of Dawson’s Creek.

But Reedus, 53, is a whole other box of oranges, a free-spirit photographer, motorcyclist and novelist, best known for his role as zombie hunter Daryl Dixon in the television drama The Walking Dead. With 11 series completed, he is now shooting a followup, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

“He’s filming his spin-off here in Paris, by pure coincidence,” says Diane, beaming. He has got her into motorcycling, and the pair spent a lot of the summer “exploring the south of France, on country roads, with no music but the sound of the wind…” She has an American licence, but in France rides pillion with Reedus. “I prefer it, to be honest, I love being a passenger.

I don’t have to worry about crashing, I just cling, and yet it’s a solitary experience: you’re in your own head…”

Before the arrival of their daughter, Nova Tennessee, in 2018, Diane was already step-mother to Reedus’s son, Mingus, with the Danish model Helena Christensen.

“Mingus was 16 when we met, although his mom and I already knew one another. I’ve known her longer than I’ve known Norman.” (Kruger began modelling in her teenage days, and they both walked for Dries Van Noten.)

“When I became a mom myself, I didn’t expect to love it quite as much as I do. I mean, I wanted to have a child, and I thought I would like it, but I’m quite taken with all aspects of it.” Kruger’s voice is full of laughter.

“My favourite time is to be with her reading books. It blows my mind to see her mind blown…”

Will Nova be multilingual too? “We’ll see, we’ll hopefully try. I speak German to her and hopefully she’s going to pick up some French, fingers crossed.”

Since modelling internationally at an early age, and spending weeks in London with the Royal Ballet School as a child, Kruger has always been a nomad. “I think it’s a huge privilege to live a travelled life. But now I’d always rent a house or apartment, so Nova has a base that feels like home.

I think it’s important she has stuff around her, not just toys but the books and bedding and artwork that make a home. I have a library in every house.”

Kruger has, as it happens, written

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Mine wasn’t a school that encouraged other ways of thinking.

That’s why they kicked me out

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Living in France has allowed Nova to be close to Diane’s family, her mother, Maria-Theresa, and brother, Stefan, and I wonder if a reconciliation with her father might ever be possible. “No, no, I’m past the point of being angry, and I’m not interested in going back there, put it that way.” She flashes an intense look. “One makes choices. I don’t know if you can ever really get over it, but you can stick in the past or you can move on and write your own history.” She is clearly doing the latter.

She is getting ready to collect Nova from school. “I’ve finished filming for the year, so I have almost two months off, and we don’t have a nanny over here, so… it’s very ‘grounding’.’

I know that when I see her next, it will be as Jessica Lange’s daughter in the forthcoming Marlowe, the Neil Jordan take on John Banville’s rewriting of Raymond Chandler. It will be hard reconciling the brittle heiress onscreen with the warm person I’ve encountered today.

One more question related to her jewellery shoot. What does she like?

“We just got engaged, a year ago, so it feels like jewellery-wise I’m well covered. Norman is very generous.”

She isn’t wearing her engagement ring. “It’s lovely, it’s beautiful, it’s stunning — a solitaire diamond.

When I was younger, jewellery didn’t matter much to me, but now when I open my jewellery box it’s like my life is there. I have pieces my grandma gave me before she passed, as well as what I received from Norman for my daughter’s birth… And if you get a job you work really hard for, you reward yourself.” She giggles. “Well, I do!”

Credit: © Hermione Eyre / Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023

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a children’s book, A Name from the Sky for Nova, telling her how she got her name: “Nova, for the star that brings light on the darkest nights…

And Tennessee, for the beautiful Smoky Mountains where her father and I waited for her to arrive, wondering what she would be like.”

The book delves into Kruger’s own childhood, too — for example, the pet rabbit she took to school on a string. “That’s true, I did that with my rabbit Benny,” she says. Is the rabbit your spirit animal? “I don’t know about that, but he didn’t talk back.

Growing up, I was an uneasy child.

I felt at odds with the world, I think a lot of children do.” Her school in Algermissen, Lower Saxony, was not artistic. “It wasn’t a school that encouraged other ways of thinking.

That’s why they kicked me out, right?”

What happened? “I had been away for two months modelling, and even though when I came back I passed my exams, the principal said, ‘You’re missing too much class, either quit all this or finish school.’ I thought it was so unfair that this guy said I had to give up on my dreams just so he could tick his boxes, right?”

Her mother came to the rescue by giving her permission to leave.

“She said, ‘OK, take a sabbatical and go follow your dreams.’ That was something that I remembered when I became a mom…I feel the opportunity and the responsibility towards Nova to encourage her to live her life, whatever that may be, and not feeling like she’s always being held back” — here she adds wryly, “while also growing up with rules.”

Diane recently told Madame Figaro that Norman is un papa-gâteau — what does that mean? “He spoils her, he’s very much wrapped around her finger. He had a boy already, which was great, and he was so excited to have a girl. It’s very different, I think, seeing him with her and the unconditional love, y’know.” So it falls to Maman to provide the discipline? She laughs.

Kruger’s own childhood was marred by the alcoholism of her father. She has spoken about how her parents’ divorce when she was 13 weighed heavy. “Je n’ai pas vraiment eu de père,” she has said.

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HIGH ROLLER The Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II defines high luxury, a spellbinding expression of supreme craftsmanship and elite-level design, and a blank canvas built for bespoke alterations, onto which owners etch their distinct personalities

ART DIRECTOR: KERRI BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHER: AUSRA OSIPAVICIUTE LOCATION: AL FAISALIAH HOTEL

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Stylist Wafe Aldekhail Make-up Sumayyah Shawaish Model Mohammed Fawzi

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Frilly, frothy, and a little bit rebellious — that’s what Wes Gordon believes fashion should be. No wonder everyone from first ladies to Adele loves his designs for Carolina Herrera WORDS: HARRIET QUICK

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All pages: Carolina Herrera PF23

“Carolina Herrera is not overintellectual — it is about making beautiful clothes, and that’s more important than ever before. How we dress is one of the areas that we can control. If an outfit makes you smile, that’s not frivolous or silly... Excuse me, I’m in a full ramble!” Wes Gordon says from his 17th-floor Midtown studio, where the creative director has a bird’s eye view of 7th Avenue on a hot and sultry New York afternoon.

Dressed in a khaki utility jacket and T-shirt, Gordon speaks with the sincerity and vitality that befits the brand that was founded by the flamboyant Venezuelan-born designer Carolina Herrera more than 40 years ago. In 2018 Gordon, who initially worked as a consultant for Herrera, was invited by the designer herself to take the helm of the business that she established in the heady, boldfaced 1980s. That was an era of fax machines, MTV, Madonna and a new flush of American patriotism championed by the Reagans at the White House. Herrera, who was encouraged to start her own line by Diana Vreeland, seized the moment and created a bold take on elegance 40

that was adored by first ladies, society swans and business leaders alike.

“America has very few legacy fashion houses and Herrera is one of them,” he says. “It is one of the great names of elegance and grandeur intrinsic with Mrs Herrera herself. There is a mystique, an aura, a glamour and a strength that I was mesmerised by, growing up as a young boy in Atlanta.”

Indeed, alongside Bill Blass, Halston, Isaac Mizrahi, Oscar de la Renta and Geoffrey Beene, Herrera helped build the firmament of the American designer business and gave it a shape, cosmopolitan personality and sense of pragmatic chic that was distinct from the Parisian powerhouses. Redlipped and blonde-haired, she was constantly on the best dressed lists alongside her husband, the Venezuelan TV host Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, skilfully crisscrossing society cliques with her flamboyant gowns, cultural knowledge and exuberant style.

“She was downtown with Basquiat and at Studio 54 with Steve Rubell and uptown at galas and hosting parties in her townhouse,” Gordon says. “She was encapsulated by Andy Warhol in a silk-screen portrait and photographed

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I never want to give a mandate about colours or hemlines but let clients find something that really expresses their individuality

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All pages: Women’s Ready-to-Wear, SS23, by Gaspar Ruiz Lindberg and Larissa Hofmann

has very ‘fewAmerica legacy fashion houses and Herrera is one of them ’

by Robert Mapplethorpe. And she’s still alive and well today and a greatgrandmother!” Gordon still socialises with Herrera, now 83, exchanging stories but rarely talking about fashion.

One delicious anecdote surrounds the Warhol portrait of her. The pop artist swapped it for a woven gold minaudière that Herrera’s husband had given her. (She hid the exchange from her husband, saying the little evening bag was in for repair.) The other great lesson she imparted was not to be consumed by the often boring restrictions of “good taste” — her thinking was that real elegance needs a touch of madness, a hint of spice, visible in her penchant for jewel-toned ballgown skirts and her iconic white shirts with dramatic poet sleeves.

But Herrera’s creative world was starkly different from today’s postpandemic fashion business, which is driven by environmental concerns and fuelled by social media, influencers and celebrities. Society ladies and the doyennes of magazines no longer rule the roost, delivering diktats from ivory towers: today the customer is king.

Gordon wanted to marry the new

and old worlds and evolve the brand to appeal to loyalists and newcomers alike. And there’s a real diversity to the women it attracts, from the actress and producer Tessa Thompson (who wore a pink gown with 200 metres of tulle gathered into a train for the Met Gala) and Adele (a balloon-sleeve sequined cocktail dress for her birthday) to Rita Moreno, the 90-year-old star of the original West Side Story, who wore a sculptural black one-shouldered number to last year’s Oscars. “I never want to give a mandate about colours or hemlines but let clients find something that really expresses their individuality,” says Gordon, who has a masterful way with intoxicating colour, exuberant ruffles, sculptural silhouettes and sweeping hemlines.

The softly spoken thirtysomething has rich experience to pour into the brand. Raised in Atlanta and besotted by the work of John Galliano at Dior, he made a beeline for Central Saint Martins in London as soon as he was able. “During high school I used to train with a local dressmaker who taught me how to pattern-cut and sew. I moved to London in 2005, and 43

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The world does not need more ‘stuff’ ‘and making for the sake of making is the wrong approach ’

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Credit: The Sunday Times Style Magazine / News Licensing

coming from a traditional southern school to student housing in Aldgate East was a huge contrast. Throughout I had this attraction to the idea of elegance and Saint Martins does a great job pushing you to be who you truly are — it was a beautiful discovery process,” he adds. Via his network Gordon secured a summer internship at Oscar de la Renta in New York, and he later took the plunge to launch his own line of flamboyant eveningwear.

Little did he know, though, that in 2008 the economy was about to crash after the Lehman Brothers collapse.

Adversity is sometimes the best teacher. Buyers, unwilling to risk budgets on a new name, invited Gordon to present his collection in intimate trunk shows around the world. And it was that invaluable experience that gave him an insight into the lifestyles of potential clients. Rather than being reliant on a fictitious woman on a mood board, he got to see what truly makes eyes sparkle in the fitting room. Yet running his own brand versus taking on a legacy was a choice that had to be made. On meeting Herrera, he found an immediate connection. He now oversees all aspects of the brand, from bespoke commissions to seasonal collections, accessories and beauty.

The label is one of the few in New York that still runs an atelier with a team of long-standing seamstresses and tailors.

Having been given the chance to sink or swim (Mrs Herrera never sees the collections prior to their catwalk debut), Gordon is defiantly swimming.

He has achieved a happy work/life equilibrium with his partner, the real estate developer and celebrated glass-blower Paul Arnhold, and their 19-month-old son. The couple spend weekends at their farm in Connecticut, which offers a striking alternative to draping metres of silk faille.

“I come into the office on a Monday with fresh eggs from the farm and oversharing pictures of our baby,” Gordon says. “I didn’t grow up with animals and now they have become a passion — we have horses, ponies, cows, sheep and lots of chickens. The farm is a sanctuary and a huge part of my life.

“The world does not need more ‘stuff’ and making for the sake of making is the wrong approach,” he continues. “Fashion and luxury are about making something when you feel you have something to say, and I remind myself of that every day.

Clients want to feel amazing, have a good time and treat all special moments like a celebration.”

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Graffiti, street art, hip-hop and punk rock collide for a major exhibition kicking off in London this month, featuring original art, photography, and immersive installations WORDS: CHRIS ANDERSON

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as there a moment in time when graffiti or street art became elevated, viewed as culturally significant, and a form of contemporary art in its own right? The transition has definitely happened, with artwork frequently shared on social media; fashion and lifestyle brands embracing an urban vibe; property developers commissioning artists to create murals on their apartment blocks and shopping malls; and names such as Banksy becoming as well known as Andy Warhol or Vincent Van Gogh.

Museums and art galleries are also dedicating floor and wall space to this particular form of expression, knowing that it will prove popular with visitors.

The Saatchi Gallery in London is the latest to pay tribute, with its own exhibition, Beyond the Streets London, beginning this month. Supported by adidas Originals, the work of more than 150 artists will be featured, and covering 70,000 sq ft it marks the first time in eight years that a show has taken over the entirety of the venue.

Featuring special commissions, original art, rare ephemera, photography, immersive and sitespecific installations, archival fashion, and more, the exhibition will spotlight the icons, rule-breakers and mark-makers that have shaped our understanding of street art.

Expect to see key moments from the worlds of graffiti, hip-hop and punk rock, from painting trains

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to social activism, challenging authority, exploring how this rebellious urban culture has changed and influenced the mainstream.

The exhibition’s curator, Roger Gastman, is one of the world’s leading experts when it comes to street art.

The founder of Beyond the Streets (the global, art-driven cultural and educational movement), he is arguably one of the figures responsible for its increasing popularity, having led a number of shows in the US. He explains why London serves as the perfect setting. “The story of graffiti and street art can’t be told without highlighting the significant role London, and the UK in general, played in revolutionising these cultures and continuing to spread the word of their existence,” he explains. “Pushing the global narrative has always been of importance to us, and we’re honoured to continue telling our story at Saatchi Gallery, whose prestige and impact are unmatched in the UK.” Gastman believes that street art becoming more recognised was inevitable. “All subcultures grow and break out at some point,” he continues.

“The fact that graffiti and street art have become so global is a byproduct of decades of growth. It’s funny to think that things I would hide from my friends’ parents, or anyone for that matter, are now celebrated.

“It’s also important to remember that the rules and laws have not

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Just as people worked the system to write their names all over it back then, they are working the system now to keep their names in it

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Previous page: Lil Crazy Legs. Photo © Martha Cooper. 1983 These pages, clockwise from below: Felipe Pantone, Optichromie 114. Photo ©FPSTUDIO. 2019; Kenny Scharf, Closet #42 Bestest Ever.

Photo by Charles White of JW Pictures. 2022; Fab 5 Freddy, Spray Paint on Canvas Next pages, from left to right: CES, 2022; Shepard Fairey, Icons Faces. 2021

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It’s funny to think that things I would hide from my friends’ parents, or anyone for that matter, are now celebrated

changed – people have just grown up – and as they worked the system to write their names all over it back then, they are working the system now to keep their names in it, and often get paid and recognised for it.”

You can indeed make quite the living as a street artist today. A piece by KAWS, whose work is among those featured in Beyond the Streets London, had a 2005 painting of his sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2019 for $14.7 million – 15 times the estimate. The most paid for a Banksy artwork is $29.5 million, with Love is in the Bin sold at auction in 2021. As Gastman confirms, “Graffiti and street art is highly collected. Many artists that honed their skills on the streets have had great success in galleries and museums all over the world.”

One of the first major exhibitions to truly shine a spotlight on the culture was Art on the Streets in LA MOCA, Los Angeles, back in 2011, also involving Gastman. In its 113-day run, it attracted more than 200,000 visitors, proving that there was major interest. At the same time, the show had its share of critics, who accused LA MOCA of “glorifying vandalism”, with a New York councilman even threatening to pull the funding of any

of the city’s museums looking to host something similar on the East Coast.

So even then, just 12 years ago, a stigma around street art remained, but Gastman is defiant. “There will always be a stigma around anything illegal and misunderstood, that’s what this culture is based on,” he argues.

“With exhibitions like this, I always have the idea of education through entertainment. Keeping anyone’s attention is hard these days, so we’re grateful people are willing to spend the time to attend the shows, to learn and be inspired by such rich history.”

And helping to entertain will be a long list of names. “The show is arranged in chapters, with the first, Music and Art Converge, exploring the sociopolitical turmoil of the late 1970s and early 1980s, where the decline of cities met artistic resistance – a shift that was felt in both the US and the UK,” Gastman describes. “So we have Futura 2000’s legendary 30ft painting, created as a stage backdrop for British punk-rock band The Clash, alongside the work of Malcom McLaren, Mode 2, and American photojournalist Martha Cooper.

“Then we move into Jenny Holzer’s truisms; Henry Chalfant’s photography of New York train writers in action;

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Lady Aiko’s timeless stenciling of delicate silhouettes; and Gordon Matta-Clark’s extraordinary archive of graffiti photography. We also look at cultural icons who helped take graffiti to the mainstream, such as Mister Cartoon, known for his tattooing and Los Angeles murals, the Beastie Boys and Lady Pink. And we have artists like Jamie Reid, who defined the look of punk, and TAKI 183, an early pioneer.”

There is no doubt that this is a significant show, highlighting what has now become a major art form, whether critics like it or not.

Attitudes towards graffiti seem to have warmed gradually over time, and for Gastman this will lead to a brighter future. “As everything adapts and changes, so does street art and graffiti,” he concludes. “Laws change, tools change, and spaces in cities and messages change.

Everything becomes cluttered over time, and it takes more and more to cut through the noise. Graffiti and street art are illegal, but there’s always a new group of artists that will break through to get their names out there, regardless of consequence.”

Beyond the Streets London is at the Saatchi Gallery, London, from February 17-May 9 51

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FEBRUARY 2023 : ISSUE 137

The Need For Speed For those in the market for a Bugatti, the road begins with a pilgrimage to a chateau in northern France WORDS: JEREMY TAYLOR

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utomotive designer Ettore Bugatti is said to have judged the suitability of customers for his cars mainly by their table manners.

Lapses in etiquette or poor knife control meant prospective drivers missed out on their dream machine.

From the company’s very start in 1909, clients would be vetted at the imposing Château Saint-Jean — a property near Molsheim in the Alsace region (now a part of France but then annexed to Germany), which Bugatti had bought and where he made his cars. The formal mansion, with its oeil-de-boeuf windows and balustrades, was built by the Wangen de Geroldseck family in 1857, on the site of a 13th-century stronghold of the Knights of Malta.

The Milanese founder of the Bugatti marque threw lavish parties here to celebrate his Grand Prix wins. The marque dominated motor circuits in the 1920s and ‘30s, won the first-ever Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 and triumphed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice. No wonder his were among the world’s most coveted road cars.

Today, the Château Saint-Jean remains the centrepiece of the company and, as I discovered on a recent visit, it’s a little more welcoming to the hopefuls who jet in to personalise a new Bugatti. Based on their investment, the clients deserve a warm welcome: a ‘standard’ 8,000cc Chiron costs from $2.6 million, and there are almost infinite possible upgrades with commensurately gigantic price tags.

No two Bugattis are the same: designer Jascha Straub custom builds unique cars.

“Many clients come in with a firm idea of what they want, such as a family crest, favourite colour or seat material,” he explains. “Some choices don’t work, so I’m there to offer advice on how we remedy that. Ultimately, it’s up to the customer — the only feature that isn’t negotiable is the Bugatti badge.”

Most explore the company’s Sur Mesure customisation programme, which builds on Bugatti’s long history of coachbuilding and handcrafted interiors. One customer specified an elaborate Titanic Blue and grey scheme, hand-painted over the course of three weeks and known as ‘Zebra 1 of 1’. In 2021, the ‘Lady Bug’ featured a complex geometric ‘fading’ pattern that mimicked the spots on a 53

ladybird’s wing casing. It took Bugatti’s paint specialists 18 months to complete the painstaking paint job for a demanding American client.

Perhaps Bugatti’s best-known vehicle is La Voiture Noire. It also happens to be the world’s most expensive car. A tribute to the brand’s iconic Atlantic model of the 1930s, the $18 million hypercar is painted entirely in high-gloss black, boasts six exhaust pipes and could have driven straight off the set of a Batman movie.

“I’m shaping what will often be a once-ina-lifetime opportunity for our customers,’ says Straub.

Bugatti owners have included Tom Cruise, Jay-Z and Cristiano Ronaldo. The football star reportedly recently splashed out $10.5 million on a limited-edition Centodieci, one of 10 in existence, which can hit 236mph. Bugatti drivers also include billionaire fashion designer Ralph Lauren, who owns a rare 1938 Type 57SC Atlantic, and talk-show host Jay Leno, who boasts a supercharged 37A from the 1920s in his car collection.

Most prospective customers still make the pilgrimage to Molsheim, where the company’s space-age modern factory is right next to the château. However, for new buyers, it’s not merely rare leathers and gold fittings on the options list. Owners are surrounded by Bugatti exotica — I see everything from carbonfibre pool tables and rare bottles of Champagne to multi-million-pound home-speaker systems that will drown out any worries over the import bill.

Gian Paolo Fanucci is the company’s lifestyle guru and clearly a fan of the pool table, which is displayed in a domed orangery and surrounded by exotic 54

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Nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive

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plants: “The self-levelling pool table can be fitted on a superyacht and costs from $265,000,” he says. “Gyroscopic sensors ensure the table remains flat at sea.

And it features a computer system that recognises ball colours, adding up the score for you.”

A further trip to a yacht broker in Miami may be required if you are interested in the company’s two-person speedboat.

This is the $4.4 million Niniette, named after a Bugatti vessel commissioned by speedboat racer Prince Carlo Maurizio Ruspoli in 1930. The new version is designed with the same profile as a hypercar but also boasts a top-deck jacuzzi and a marble-and-leather interior.

Apart from the exclusivity guaranteed by such prices, it’s not so much the splashy add-ons that appeal to the Bugatti fan. Rather it’s the raw power of the car itself. At the Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany on 2 August 2019, British racing driver Andy Wallace ratcheted a modified Chiron up to 304.77mph, setting a world speed record for a production car. Travelling at almost 140 metres per second, he covered a mile every 11 seconds, and had the five-mile straight been longer, would have emptied a 100-litre fuel tank in a mere seven minutes.

Now Bugatti’s official test driver, Wallace, who has also won Le Mans

but now owns a modest Volkswagen hatchback, remembers the day fondly as we test-drive a Chiron in the countryside around Molsheim. “I didn’t sleep much the night before,” he says. “The whole geometry of the car starts to change at 280mph — everything happened so fast, I was constantly correcting the slightest movement of the car across the track.”

In 1952, five years after the death of Ettore Bugatti, his illustrious company ceased building. Several attempts to revive the marque failed before the Volkswagen Group bought the brand in 1998 and added the by then derelict château to its shopping list. Failing to buy the old Bugatti factory, now part of the French aerospace company Safran, it instead built a brand-new manufacture and started inviting customers to the château in 2005. In 2021, Bugatti announced a partnership with Rimac.

The Croatian electric hypercar firm will help the company as it moves, inevitably, towards a battery-powered future.

Newly formed Bugatti Rimac has its headquarters in Zagreb, but the French luxury marque will continue to welcome well-heeled customers to Molsheim.

“Château Saint-Jean is still the heart of the brand,” says Straub. “As our founder once said, “Nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive.”

That includes its latest model, the W16 Mistral, Bugatti’s fastest ever roadster that’s due for delivery in 2024 and priced at €5 million net for what would be one of 99 examples — though its entire production run is already sold out.

Even so, if you are visiting Château Saint-Jean, best not speak with your mouth full.

Credit: © Jeremy Taylor / Telegraph Media Group Limited 2023

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All pages: Bugatti W16 Mistral

As you drive, ‘you hear the

corresponding sounds of a meaty, all-powerful, gas-guzzling engine

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Gastronomy

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FEBRUARY 2023 : ISSUE 137

Turkish Delights With his unique approach to flavouring, Fatih Tutak adds a whole new dimension to Turkish cuisine WORDS: JOHN THATCHER

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M

emories of certain flavours are particularly vivid for chefs. So strong, they can literally shape their pathway through life. For Fatih Tutak it was an onion tarhana, cooked by his mother. “I tried it for the first time when I was seven.

I remember coming back from school, and my mum was preparing it. I’ll never forget the smell from the kitchen.

I went straight to the pot, picked up a wooden spoon and tasted it: that’s when I decided I wanted to become a chef.”

It was a good decision. Now at the helm of his own Istanbul-based restaurant, the two Michelin-star Turk Fatih Tutak, Tutak is revolutionising the cuisine of his homeland, respecting traditional ingredients yet elevating them through his unique approach to flavouring and use of preservation techniques, adding his own stamp to established dishes.

And yet his talent was honed not in Turkey but in Asia, where his thirst for discovery was first quenched. “I started travelling when I was 20, so I have had many opportunities to meet people and absorb their cultures,” says Tutak. “That was a critical part of my professional growth, as it helped me to get a more international perspective. Travelling abroad helps you expand your horizons. I built my career as a Turkish chef working

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mainly in Asia, where multiculturality plays a significant role, and I mean multiculturalism between western and Asian cultures, but also among Asian cultures themselves (Indian, Chinese, etc.). Everything I learnt there, all the experiences, the food I tried, have had an impact on the type of cuisine I am making today at Turk.”

A few places were particularly impactful. “Singapore was incredible.

Tokyo is probably the place that influenced me the most: the variety of ingredients and the techniques there are fantastic. In China, I was especially surprised by their seafood; they are used to seeing and cooking the raw produce alive. And they give food a particularly umami intensity, thanks to their great use of fermented dry ingredients. I enjoyed living in Qingdao (a city in Shandong Province), where the cuisine is very light, not oily, using superb fresh seafood and vegetables.

“Thailand is rock and roll. It’s like you are engaging in a fight with food, it punches you from everywhere, and still, you don’t stop: you keep eating and fighting, eating and fighting, eating and fighting. I’m always trying to bring to my dishes that same element of the unexpected: a punching factor that wakes you up and keeps you engaged with the experience of eating.”

The head-spinning blow, to borrow

‘

We create something completely new, a cuisine that is Turkish but also uniquely ours

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from Tutak’s parlance, was delivered during his time at The Dining Room of The House on Sathorn in Bangkok, a restaurant he swiftly led to international acclaim when it was voted as one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. “I vividly remember this group of guests (Turkish expats) at a private dinner being amazed by a dish I created called ‘From My Mom’ (Tutak’s take on Turkish manti). After finishing it in less than 30 seconds, they called me over to share their opinion. They said that even if the dish was clearly a humble dish, it was delicious. They were moved by it, and they could feel how meaningful it was for me to prepare it. But, most importantly, it showed the connection between me and where I come from.

It was their emotional echo, how they connected instantly, that made me realise my call. It was a clear example of how food can touch the heart.”

The call to return home was too loud to ignore. “I needed to smell, touch and feel the real Turkey; to be part of the people again — the only way to feed my mind and heart was to go back.”

He did so in 2019, opening Turk Fatih Tutak in Istanbul. Working closely with farmers, fishermen and spice dealers, Tutak began by looking to source traditional ingredients that had fallen out of favour, one example of which is a dry-aged meat from a native duck, the inspiration for which Tutak unearthed while reading Ottoman-era history. He also began to reimagine entire dishes. By 2022, his eponymous restaurant had won two Michelin stars. “For me, what makes Turkish ingredients different from those of anywhere else is their historical background. I really care about the way and how long the products are stored: pickling, drying, fermenting, there are so many processes we can apply to each one of them to create different flavour profiles, and how long we keep them in that state enhances or diminishes the taste. By using the correct way of storage, the ingredients can best show the cultures and stories behind them. There’s so much history in each ingredient, their origin and how they have been used and adopted throughout the years and by different groups of people. My goal is to make these stories shine through my dishes.”

One such dish on the menu that 60

Tutak feels best encapsulates his food philosophy is a charcoal Thracian lamb, fashioned kebab-style from twenty five layers of lamb, compressed with lamb fat and mushroom. “The taste and texture is incredible.”

For someone who places such emphasis on ingredients, it’s little surprise that Tutak extracts the absolute maximum from them.

“Sustainability is very important in my cuisine. We don’t throw away produce, I use as much as possible from every product — by doing this, I basically

use the whole ingredient across many dishes. And so we drastically reduce waste. Every guest who has come to my restaurant more than once has noticed that I change the menu quite often: my dishes follow the climate and the season, and I love that my guests can discover this evolution of nature through Turk. I would say that I combine seasonality with the future.”

And what of the future? Having achieved his dream of returning home to create a thoroughly modern style of Turkish cuisine, one so lauded, where

does he go from here? “What ensures my evolution as a chef is my endless curiosity, and also continued research of new products and a happiness about my cuisine in general. I enjoy the freedom and the challenge at the same time of creating something new every day: that keeps my mind in action.

I’m incredibly excited when I prepare a new dish, and that energy pushes my boundaries further. I am always trying and testing new combinations of flavours and techniques, and the dishes can always be improved — the only limit is perfection. So, even when a dish is ready to be included on the menu, I keep adjusting the recipe. And when it reaches perfection, after some time, I take it off the menu: there’s no challenge anymore, I move on to the next one.”

Whatever the next one, the future of Turkish cuisine is in safe, hugely talented hands.

Above: Fatih Tutak

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When I think a dish has reached perfection I take it off the menu: there’s no challenge anymore

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ULTIMATE STAYS

Atlantis The Royal

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Dubai

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Travel FEBRUARY 2023: ISSUE 137

T

he unequivocal statement of fact, spelled out in all caps for just a touch more emphasis, is the first thing to catch your eye when you visit the website of Atlantis The Royal. It says: THIS IS THE MOST ULTRA-LUXURY EXPERIENTIAL RESORT IN THE WORLD. And, having attended its much publicised ‘The Grand Reveal’ weekend, it would be as foolish as it is impossible to argue to the contrary.

Sister property Atlantis, The Palm has its own claim to luxury, backed up by stellar restaurants and eyepopping suites, yet there’s always been something of a disconnect between its offering and the overall experience, as though its mass appeal has hindered its more niche attractions, from which true luxury stems.

Atlantis The Royal immediately feels very different, operating on a whole other level of luxury which, of course, is the very reason it was built. But what a job they have done building it.

The architecture firm behind it, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), who also have the likes of New York’s Hudson Yards and six of the world’s 12 tallest towers on their list of achievements, has created a jawdropping property in the form of a stack of individual blocks, comprising six towers linked by a Sky Bridge and topped by Cloud 22, the most extravagant entertainment spot in a city of extravagance. It is simply stunning; cloud-skimming duplex cabanas replete with plunge pools, a swim up-bar and head-shaped DJ booth, and the kind of endless ocean views that stir the soul.

That feeling of swimming in the sky abounds at the resort, with 44 Suites and Signature Penthouses offering infinity pools, their terraces shaded in the style of Mozarabic courtyards to extend into summer the time guests can comfortably enjoy the outdoors.

Those spectacular Signature Penthouses number six in total and include the one-of-a-kind Royal Mansion, a split-level suite over the 18th and 19th floors with a 10-seater sunken majlis, swimming pool, library, bar, and an outdoor kitchen. It’s accessed by a private elevator and houses four bedrooms.

Yet there is a touch of the spectacular at almost every turn, huge ambition thrillingly realised.

It begins in the extravagantly proportioned lobby, where a gleaming, water-inspired sculpture stands at over 11 metres tall, facing out to sea. Elsewhere, performance fountain Skyblaze fuses spurts of water with bursts of fire, a first for the Middle East, while Heston Blumenthal’s inaugural cocktail bar, Resonance by Heston Blumenthal, houses a remarkable aquarium, filled with 4,000 moon jellyfish.

Blumenthal is one of a handful of the world’s finest chefs handpicked to open restaurants at the resort (in addition to his world-first cocktail bar, he’s also brought in Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, the holder of two Michelin stars). Stealing the headlines is Nobu’s first ever beachside restaurant, Nobu By The Beach, where the small-plate, brunch style dishes we enjoyed at its opening were exceptional – the square of wagyu sando almost impossibly tender, the slithers of raw fish always magnificently flavoured.

Nobu’s dishes are influenced by Peruvian flavours (he lived in the country for over 40 years) and the most authentic Peruvian recipes at the resort are offered by Gastón Acurio at La Mar, a fixture of the world’s best chefs lists. And while Costas Spiliadis debuts in Dubai with an outpost of his richly acclaimed, high-end Hellenic restaurant Estiatorio Milos, and Ariana Bundy opens her first, hotly anticipated restaurant, Ariana’s Persian Kitchen, it’s the arrival of José Andrés’ Jaleo to these shores which excites us most. We spent two hours in his warm company over lunch, during which time we tried a wide selection of his signature dishes. Dubai does a lot of cuisines extremely well, but Spanish isn’t yet one of them. Jaleo will change this. It is outstanding, marrying the traditional to the modern with an unmatched panache, one element of which, the liquid olive, stems from Andrés’ time with Ferran Adrià at the almost mythical El Bulli.

We may have been made to wait for the opening of Atlantis The Royal, but in no time at all it will proudly live up to that claim on its website.

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What I Know Now

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Wiggy Hindmarch FOUNDER, WIGGY KIT

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is ‘Live your dash’ — it’s engraved on a gold medallion my husband gave me, which I wear around my neck everyday.

It came from a poem that was read at my grandfather’s funeral called The Dash. The ‘dash’ represents the years spent alive on earth between the day you are born and the day you die… it encouraged me to take considered risks and embrace life and opportunities.

It has genuinely changed my life.

Life is short, shorter than you think.

By the time you figure this out you are already half way through!

One thing I do every day is Wordle, or some other sort of word games. I will get through a crossword compendium every vacation. I love nothing more than sitting on a sunlounger and testing my mental muscle. I also have to watch comedy every day. I start my morning by having a hazelnut latte, while several episodes of an American TV comedy play in the background as I’m getting ready… The 64

Office, Everybody Loves Raymond, and old episodes of Frasier set me up for a day in the studio. My recommendation is to always start and end each day laughing.

My husband and his family inspire me outside of work. They are all entrepreneurs and own their own businesses and have the most brilliant heads on their shoulders. The way they approach the normal ups and downs of business and juggle their busy lives I am in awe of. They have a family motto of ‘strength in the family’ and they live fully by it. Family first, and it is as solid as a rock. I admire my husband so much.

He is a gentleman of the truest kind and the absolute backbone of our family.

I have the greatest respect for him.

I believe personal success means getting the balance right between working on career success and enjoying family life, while spending more time doing fun stuff.

I am finessing that fine line bit by bit, and looking forward to having more time to eventually enjoy the

rewards my husband and I have worked so hard to achieve.

I would tell my younger self to have a bit more faith, belief, and confidence in myself. For me, career success came much later and it sprang from a growing self belief that developed after having children and realising I was tougher and more capable than I gave myself credit for. Children will do that!

I would like to live in multiple locations throughout the year, to eventually split my time between London, the Bahamas, and either the mountains of Europe or the States. I used to live on the east coast of America in New England and then in The Carolinas and have a very strong desire to have a little foothold back in the US again. I really enjoy the contrasts of cultures and can get a bit bogged down in London — elsewhere, I feel a lot freer to be more creative.

I like to live in a more ‘barefoot’ kind of environment, and sometimes feel better suited to that lifestyle.

Illustration: Leona Beth

FEBRUARY 2023 : ISSUE 137

Abu Dh bi

Your Palace, Your Story.

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