BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOWARD DE WALDEN ESTATE AND THE PORTMAN ESTATE
P.48 THE SEALSKINZ QUEST TO KEEP US DRY, HAPPY AND ACTIVE IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS
P.26 HOW MARYLEBONE BECAME A MAGNET FOR STYLISH MEN
P.40 A FISHMONGER’S MISSION TO MAKE EVERYONE FALL IN LOVE WITH SEAFOOD
Cover: A walker in a Burlingham waterproof jacket from Sealskinz, by Joshua
Moses
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Contributors
Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu
Lauren Bravo
Ellie Costigan
Clare Finney
Orlando Gili
Viel Richardson
Design and art direction Em-Project Limited mike@em-project.com
Owned and supported by The Howard de Walden Estate 23 Queen Anne Street, W1G 9DL 020 7580 3163 hdwe.co.uk
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MARYLEBONE JOURNAL ISSUE NO.111
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOWARD DE WALDEN ESTATE AND THE PORTMAN ESTATE
Published September 2025
5
HAPPENINGS IN MARYLEBONE
Events, exhibitions, film, music, shopping, talks, theatre and walks
10 Q&A: ELIZA MILLETT
The Kleio Quartet’s cellist on the New Generation Artists scheme, the pressure of competition, and Wigmore Hall’s diverse audiences
18 IN PROFILE: NAYIA YIAKOUMAKI
The director of the Hellenic Centre on her mission to make Greek culture more relevant to contemporary London
26
THE STYLE COUNCIL
As Marylebone cements its reputation as a modern menswear destination, the Journal goes in search of the secrets to its success
A CLOSER LOOK
Food, style, home, wellbeing a nd healthcare
40
Q&A: NIC RASCLE
The owner of La Petite Poissonnerie on hard work, short supply chains and convincing people to love oysters
48
Q&A: RICHARD EDMONDS
The COO of Sealskinz on outdoor life, pairing functionality with style, and helping ordinary people do extraord inary things
58
ANATOMY OF A DESIGN
Mark Adams, managing director of Vitsœ, on the challenging times that led to the creation of the 606 Universal Shelving System
Matthew Burgess-Evans, head of store development for Oxfam
Good news Marylebone, we’re back!
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Find out what’s new
– New and improved bakery
– Improved meat and fish counters – save 20% on Fish Friday and Sizzling Saturday with My Waitrose
– New-look sushi counter
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HAPPENINGS
IN
MARYLEBONE EVENTS EXHIBITIONS FILM MUSIC SHOPPING TALKS
THEATRE WALKS
MUSIC
19 SEPTEMBER, 7pm
GABRIELE BALDOCCI Bechstein Hall
22 Wigmore Street, W1U 2RH bechsteinhall.com
Born in Moscow, Evelyne Berezovsky is the daughter of famed Russian pianist Boris Berezovsky, but her rich talent and unique style have established her as a musical force in her own right. Her diverse programme includes works by Rachmaninov, Ravel and Tatiana Svetlova.
THEATRE
UNTIL 20 SEPTEMBER
BRIGADOON
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU openairtheatre.com
Lerner & Loewe’s musical classic Brigadoon tells the story of two wartime fighter pilots who crash in the Scottish Highlands and stumble upon a mysterious village while trying to find their way home. Romance and timeless songs ensue.
MUSIC
25 SEPTEMBER, 7.30pm
NIKOLA HILLEBRAND, MALCOLM MARTINEAU
Wigmore Hall 36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
In less than a decade, Nikola Hillebrand has established herself among the world’s leading singers. The German soprano, known for luminous sound and flawless technique, journeys through some of Schubert’s greatest songs with pianist Malcolm Martineau.
2. EXHIBITION
British portrait artist Paul Wright, whose work was recently selected for the hugely prestigious Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery for the third time, has been represented by Thompson’s Gallery since the very start of his career. This new exhibition continues his deep exploration of human connection in an age of digital noise and detachment, featuring bold, expressive, psychologically rich oi l portraits.
Jeroen Berwaerts presents a powerful programme of music by 20th-century emigrant composers who settled in the USA. The concert includes Weill’s Little Threepenny Music, which features one of the most famous songs in the theatrical repertoire: Mack the Knife.
1. Nikola Hillebrand, Wigmore Hall
2. My Patois by Paul Wright, Thompson’s Gallery
3. Jeroen Berwaerts, Royal Academy of Music 1.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 27 SEPTEMBER
MYUNG NAM AN
Cube Gallery
16 Crawford Street, W1H 1BS cube-gallery.co.uk
Originally from South Korea, but now resident in London. Myung Nam An is a ceramicist known for her intricate, expressive, richly colourful porcelain creations, inspired by her extensive travels and direct cultural experiences. This will be her first solo exhibition at Cube Gallery.
MUSIC
27 SEPTEMBER, 5pm ENGLISH CORONATION ANTHEMS
St Marylebone Parish Church 17 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LT stmarylebone.org
This collaboration between St Marylebone Parish Church and the Royal Academy of Music explores works for the church, court and stage from the English Restoration, framed by two majestic anthems from the coronation of James II.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 30 SEPTEMBER
SECOND SKIN
Mint Gallery
3-5 Duke Street, W1U 3ED mintgallery.co.uk
Part of London Design Festival, this exhibition explores how unconventional materials and processes are being used to inspire new creative directions in contemporary design, acting as carriers of narrative and emotional resonance as well as function.
2.
1.
THEATRE
When the invasion of Ukraine sees a Russian theatre director’s free-spirited reimagining of Chekhov stripped down to a stateapproved shell, he flees to New York – only to discover that regaining freedom takes more than a transatlanic flight. Written by Eli Rarely, this bold comedy arrives for its London debut after a successful Off-Broadway run.
UNTIL 11 OCTOBER
SEAGULL: TRUE STORY
Marylebone Theatre 35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com
EVENT
Marylebone’s extraordinary restaurant scene features heavily in this autumn’s London Restaurant Festival. Look out for restaurant- hopping tours of Old and New Quebec Street, Moxon Street and Seymour Place, as well as plenty of special festival menus and experiences. There’s also a chance to win £500 to spend in a Marylebone business of your choice. Visit the festival website for f ull listings.
1 – 31 OCTOBER LONDON RESTAURANT FESTIVAL londonrestaurantfestival.com
MUSIC
3 OCTOBER, 7.30pm ACADEMY JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH ANDERS JORMIN
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Hailed as a founding force in European jazz, bassist Anders Jormin has shaped the genre for decades through his visionary playing and compositions. The Academy Jazz Orchestra presents the electrifying UK premieres of his large ensemble works.
Born in Italy and now based in London, Gabriele Baldocci is a pianist whose work as both a composer and performer is as eclectic as it is orginal. He is an artist who regularly blurs the boundaries between musical genres and embraces the creative power of improvisation.
MUSIC
4 OCTOBER, 1pm THOMAS GIBBS, APARTMENT HOUSE, MITCHELL KEELY Wigmore Hall 36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
This concert includes the premiere of Sun Book, a new work commissioned by Wigmore Hall from innovative young composer Thomas Gibbs, followed by Three Photographs by Julius Aglinskas and Luc Ferrari’s seminal Cellule 75.
MUSIC
5 OCTOBER, 12pm RESOUNDING SHORES
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Continuing the Academy’s Resounding Shores series, acclaimed lutenist Elizabeth Kenny directs the Academy Baroque Soloists in music from Purcell’s King Arthur and Charpentier’s The Denial of St Peter, one of the most poignant and expressive scenas of the period.
1. Seagull: True Story, Marylebone Theatre
AGF_01 Cabinet by Aurèlien Veyrat, Second Skin, Mint Gallery
Thomas Gibbs, Wigmore Hall
London Restaurant Festival
MUSIC
13 OCTOBER, 7.30pm
CHIAROSCURO QUARTET
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
The Chiaroscuro Quartet, which plays on gut strings and with period bows, applies its famous panache to two contrasting works by Haydn, before being joined on Robert Schumann’s effervescent Piano Quintet by charismatic French pianist Cédric Tiberghien.
MUSIC
17 OCTOBER, 7.30pm
ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH RODERICK COX
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
American conductor Roderick Cox leads the Academy Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s insurgent Fifth Symphony and Richard Strauss’ thunderous, subtly tongue-in-cheek tone poem Ein Heldenleben.
MUSIC
19 OCTOBER, 11.30am
TONY SIQI YUN
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Canadian-born pianist Tony Siqi Yun, the gold medallist at the 2019 First China International Music Competition, makes his Wigmore Hall debut with a programme featuring Busoni’s poetic Elegien and the intense concentration of Schumann’s Etudes symphoniques.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 24 OCTOBER
ROBBIE WILLIAMS: RADICAL HONESTY
Moco Museum London 1 Marble Arch, W1H 7EJ mocomuseum.com
Musician, performer and national treasure Robbie Williams has been reinventing himself as a visual artist. This exhibition presents new artworks exploring themes of anxiety, self love and introversion with typical candour and humour.
EXHIBITION
7 – 24 OCTOBER
AUTUMN CATALOGUE
Thompson’s Gallery
3 Seymour Place, W1H 5AZ thompsonsgallery.co.uk
This annual mixed show features a richly varied selection of new works from Thompson’s Gallery’s most popular artists and some exciting new talents. This year sees the introduction to the exhibition of ceramic art, including the porcelain vessels of Lara Scobie.
MUSIC
24 OCTOBER, 7pm
PIANIST NADA
Bechstein Hall
22 Wigmore Street, W1U 2RH bechsteinhall.com
Pianist Nada is the stage name of Nada Loutfi, a Lebanese-born, US-based pianist famed for her mastery of Johannes Brahms. Here, she performs Brahms’ Scherzo Op4 alongside the UK premiere of three works by Franco-Lebanese composer Violaine Prince.
EXHIBITION
This group exhibition celebrates the different ways in which colour, shape and form can be expressed and manipulated. It brings together the distinct practices of French ceramicist Hélène Morbu, German glass artist Hildegard Pax and Canadian sculptor Kal Mansur, three artists united by their engagement with material, structure and light.
9 – 25 OCTOBER FIRED & REFRACTED
Cube Gallery
16 Crawford Street, W1H 1BS cube-gallery.co.uk
2.
3. Sundance by Peter Wileman, Autumn Catalogue, Thompson’s Gallery
Starting in the 1950s and continuing for several decades, Bill Brandt, one of Britain’s most influential photographers, took abstract shots of nude bodies on beaches, which saw them blending with the smooth rocks and dark caves or suggesting the form of beached sea creatures.
1. Emotion Sweater by Robbie Williams, Moco Museum London
Chiaroscuro Quartet, Wigmore Hall
Q&A: ELIZA MILLETT
The Kleio Quartet’s cellist on the New Generation Artists scheme, the pressure of competition, and the unusually diverse audiences at Wigmore Hall
Interview: E llie Costigan
Q: What drew you to chamber music – and to the cello?
A: I’ve been playing from an incredibly young age. It was a central part of my growth, especially socially. I attended ProCorda chamber music courses up in Suffolk then went on to do MusicWorks, which are both environments that foster collaboration. Being a chamber musician means you have to give and take at the same time – let people have their space and create your own too. That’s what I love about it: it’s all about trying to make each other sound as fantastic as possible, for the greater service of the overall sound. The cello is the base, the rhythmic anchor. It’s the bedrock of the group –the tempo and groove master. Someone once said to me: “The quiet brilliance of being the cellist is that you can both support and dominate” – that’s exactly it. I like being able to quietly steer the emotional and structura l direction.
Q: How did the Kleio Quartet come together?
A: It was founded in 2019 at the Siji Ozawa Academy by Yume and Katherine. I joined in 2022 and Juliette joined in September last year. Juliette, Yume and I had previously played in a string trio and the other three have known each other since school. I think there’s a certain dynamism between the four of us. We have very strong, very different personalities, with distinct musical instincts and approaches. There’s a lot of space for individuality, but a collective identity too, rooted in listening, responsiveness and risktaking. We push and challenge each other, but always at the service of the music.
Q: How do you go about choosing you r repertoire?
A: Every year we put together a list of dream pieces we want to play and why, then we pitch them to each other. We then take a vote, which is a nice, democratic way of doing
Left to right: Yume Fujise, Katherine Yoon, Eliza Millett, Juliette Roos
it. We’re ambitious in our choices. Because we’re BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, there’s a very fast turnover. It’s been incredible: we calculated that, since we started the scheme in September last year, we’ve done something like 20 quartets, which is vast – some really meaty ones, too. It means our programmes are always changing, which is a blessing and a curse!
Q: What have you gained from being New Generation Artists?
A: They’ve been a fantastic resource, in terms of advice and recordings, and they’ve given us numerous live broadcast concerts, all over the country. We’ve had huge exposure, so it’s a wonderful stepping stone to the next phase of our careers. It’s equipped us with a new versatility, too. We’ve been live on In Tune, Radio 3’s drivetime show, a couple of times and there’s something amazing about just stepping into the moment and owning it. Every single note counts, because you won’t get it back. You’ve got to commit. It’s taught us to have real conviction in what we’re trying to do and say.
Q: You also won the Cole Nielsen International Chamber of Music Competition. How important is that kind of recognition?
A: We’ve really reaped the rewards of that competition – it got us management in Scandinavia, as well as wider exposure on an international level. There’s also so much value in the preparation process. You improve exponentially, because you’ve got a shared goal. We had to really step up, in a short space of time. What was amazing about the competition was, in each round the concert hall got bigger – the final was in this absolutely stunning wood-panelled hall, with a massive organ behind us. It was all live streamed, so very high pressure. Olympic-level feelings of stress and anxiety. But that’s where you learn to trust each other.
Q: You’ve played all over Europe. How do London audiences compare?
A: Every audience will have a different energy. In Denmark, for example, the audience tends to be more outward and exuberant. They have an amazing culture of standing up at the end of concerts and clapping in unison in a really beautiful, dignified way. I’m always struck by how attentive London audiences are in particular – and how diverse. Wigmore Hall is special in that way: you’ll find students sat next to season ticket holders. There is such a richness to the building’s history, too, which is apparent when you play there, and a sense of intimacy. It’s extraordinary.
Q: What can people expect from your upcoming Wigmore Hall performance?
A: We’re starting with Haydn’s No. 6, which is nicknamed The Frog. It’s a masterclass in wit and invention. Conversational textures are at the forefront and humour is never far from the surface, which is classic Haydn. The second work is radically different: short, concise works by Anton Webern – almost five miniatures. I’m really excited to play that in Wigmore Hall, because every gesture matters. The silence speaks and it’s such a transparent hall. I think it’l l work well.
The final piece is Elgar’s E Minor Quartet, which is incredibly introspective. He wrote it in his final year and it’s full of nostalgia and restraint. There’s something very private about it, which I love. It has an Englishness to it, but it’s surprisingly modern in its harmonic layering and structural ambiguity. It’s quite a dark work, but very poignant. The programme has so many different colours to it.
6 OCTOBER, 1pm
KLEIO QUARTET
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
EXHIBITION UNTIL 26 OCTOBER GRAYSON PERRY: DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR The Wallace Collection Manchester Square, W1U 3BN wallacecollection.org
For this highly ambitious exhibition, Grayson Perry tells the imagined story of Shirley Smith, a working-class woman who, after a seizure, wakes up believing herself to be the heir to The Wallace Collection and starts to make art based on her visions.
EXHIBITION 21 – 27 OCTOBER MAKING CONNECTIONS: ABSTRACTION AND MODERN BRITISH ART
67 York Street Gallery 67a York Street, W1H 1QB 67yorkstreetgallery.com
This show brings together some of the biggest British artists of the 1960s and 70s, when Patrick Heron, David Hockney, Elisabeth Frink, John Piper and Henry Moore were pushing the boundaries of abstraction and experimentation.
2. 1. Kleio Quartet, Wigmore Hall
2. Foliate Heads by John Piper, Making Connections, 67 York Street Gallery
MASTERCLASSES
The Japanese Knife Company is offering free knife-sharpening demonstrations at its Baker Street store on alternate Sunday afternoons from 28th September. Drop by at 1pm to discover the techniques and tools required to keep your blades in mint condition. The team are also offering local residents access to regular Tuesday evening subscriber- only events, covering everything from sushi making to knife skills. Visit the store for full details and a chance to sign up.
ALTERNATE SUNDAYS, 1pm
KNIFE SHARPENING
TECHNIQUES & TOOLS
Japanese Knife Company 36 Baker Street, W1U 3EU japaneseknifecompany.com
MUSIC
27 OCTOBER, 7.30pm
JENEBA KANNEH-MASON
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, one of the youngest members of her ludicrously talented musical family, embraces two cornerstones of the keyboard repertoire by Beethoven and Bach before turning to evocative works by William Grant Still and Florence Price.
MUSIC
28 OCTOBER, 11am
AUTUMN PIANO FESTIVAL
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Curated by Joanna MacGregor, this year’s free festival of piano music closes a multi-year presentation of Robert Schumann’s complete works for solo piano, performed by Academy pianists – over 17 hours of some of the greatest and most original piano music ever composed.
1. Knife Sharpening Techniques & Tools, Japanese Knife Company
2. Jeneba KannehMason, Wigmore Hall
3. Plywood 2024 by Hugh Hayden, Lisson Gallery
EXHIBITION
26 SEPTEMBER – 1 NOVEMBER
DING YI: THE ROAD TO HEAVEN
Lisson Gallery
67 Lisson Street, NW1 5DA lissongallery.com
Named after a painted scroll used in ritual practices, this exhibition draws on artist Ding Yi’s travels through the Yunnan region of southwest China. It features intricately carved basswood panels, mineralpigmented canvases and works on traditional Dongba paper.
MUSIC
30 SEPTEMBER, 21 OCTOBER, 4 NOVEMBER, 1pm
YOUNG VOICES SERIES
St Marylebone Parish Church 17 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LT stmarylebone.org
This series of free lunchtime concerts, which showcases emerging performers in classical, jazz and musical theatre from the Royal Academy of Music, offers a chance to experience the next generation of musical talent in a beautiful, intimate setting.
EXHIBITION
Known for his poignant visual metaphors, American artist Hugh Hayden uses a variety of mediums to transform familiar forms into layered compositions that explore themes of identity, social dynamics and cultural memory. This is his first solo exhibition in the UK for over five years.
26 SEPTEMBER – 1 NOVEMBER HUGH HAYDEN
Lisson Gallery
27 Bell Street, NW1 5BY lissongallery.com
MUSIC
4 NOVEMBER, 1pm NATHAN AMARAL, JONATHAN WARE
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Promoted by Young Classical Artists Trust, Brazilian violinist Nathan Amaral, one of Classic FM’s 2024 Rising Stars, makes his return to Wigmore Hall to perform a programme of Mozart, Francisco Mignone and Elgar, joined by acclaimed pianist Jonathan Ware.
MUSIC
18 – 21 NOVEMBER, 7pm
ROYAL ACADEMY OPERA: CARMEN
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
With a lush score and instantly recognisable arias, Carmen follows a fiercely independent woman whose passion ignites obsession and jealousy, leading to tragic consequences. The Academy’s opera department presents a new production directed by Harry Fehr.
THEATRE
Abe is a novelist living in Brooklyn with his devoted wife, Sophie. Esther and Schmuli are newly married members of a Hasidic Jewish community. One couple seemingly free, the other seemingly fenced in. Neither happy. This play by Anna Ziegler explores the nature of love, belief and trust.
17 OCTOBER – 29 NOVEMBER THE WANDERERS
Marylebone Theatre
35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com
THEATRE
3 – 23 NOVEMBER
VOILA! THEATRE FESTIVAL
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Returning for its 12th run, the Voila! Theatre festival presents boundary-pushing work from across the continent of Europe, bringing together a rich array of languages, ideas and influences to present a colourful tapestry of theatrical performances over a three- week period.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 24 NOVEMBER
ひろしま/HIROSHIMA
Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, NW1 4QP dajf.org.uk
Marking the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, this exhibition by three Japanese women artists, Ishiuchi Miyako, Fujioka Aya, Sasaoka Keiko, shifts its gaze to another side of the city: the personal, the ordinary and the everyday.
FOOD
27 NOVEMBER
THANKSGIVING MENU
108 Brasserie
108 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QE 108brasserie.com
Mark the USA’s national celebration with a traditional four-course Thanksgiving menu, featuring Maine lobster rolls, Baltimore-style crab cakes and roast turkey, concluding with a visit to the Pie Room for a spread of classic American pies, from pecan to pumpkin, key lime to banoffee.
EXHIBITION
11 – 28 NOVEMBER
TONY DE WOLF
Thompson’s Gallery
3 Seymour Place, W1H 5AZ thompsonsgallery.co.uk
Belgian artist Tony de Wolf is considered a modern master of still life painting. Bringing a sense of coolness to the historic tradition of Flemish still lifes, he incorporates the reflective surfaces of modern kitchen worktops and tableware into his complex compositions.
1. The Wanderers, Marylebone Theatre
2. From the series Park City (2022-) by Sasaoka Keiko, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.
3. Red Currants with Silver vby Tony de Wolf, Thompson’s Gallery
4. Daniel’s Husband, Marylebone Theatre
3.
THEATRE
5 DECEMBER – 10 JANUARY
DANIEL’S HUSBAND
Marylebone Theatre
35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com
Michael McKeever’s hit off-Broadway play makes its UK premiere, directed by Alan Souza. An unflinching look at the nature of love, it explores the relationship of Daniel and Mitchell, whose seemingly bright future is shaken by a sudden crisis that tests the strength of their devotion.
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IN PROFILE NAYIA YIAKOUMAKI
The director of the Hellenic Centre on the true meaning of curation, the importance of collaboration, and her mission to make Greek culture relevant to contemporary London
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Images: Orlando Gili
NAYIA YIAKOUMAKI
“It was a real shock to realise the level to which this was official propaganda and not the expression of photojournalistic freedom, which photographic historians –and indeed everyone else – had for decades believed it to be.”
Nayia Yiakoumaki, now the director of the Hellenic Centre, Marylebone’s Greek and Cypriot cultural centre, was previously a curator at the Whitechapel Gallery. She is describing the moment in 2018 that she and her Whitechapel team first came across a series of censored negatives held in the US Library of Congress. These legendary Depression-era images by Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and other renowned photographers had helped shape the world’s understanding of 1930s America. Presented in a major new exhibition entitled Killed Negatives, what Nayia found in the archives challenged everything the art world had previously thought about this iconic body of work.
“It revealed not just censored images but an entire apparatus of control behind them,” Nayia explains. “The project had been run by the Farm Security Administration (FSA) who we could see had a clearly defined agenda. Negatives the FSA didn’t like were pierced with a hole punch. Destroyed. Or so the
administration thought. The FSA had given photographers detailed instructions on what to photograph and how to photograph it: start with poverty at level one, work your way up to prosperity at level 10. The resulting work wasn’t documentary truth but a carefully constructed narrative, designed to serve political ends. This is what the ‘Depression’ should look like. Suddenly, we had photojournalism historians coming to us and saying: ‘I wasn’t awa re of this!’”
This ground-breaking discovery was a perfect distillation of Nayia’s entire approach to cultural work. Archives, she says, “are full of truths, lies, inconsistencies, huge gaps”. But rather than seeing this complexity as a weakness, she recognises it as the source of their transformative power. Historical records are full of surprises waiting to be ‘activated’ by the right curatorial eye. Those pierced negatives in the Library of Congress confirmed that scratching beneath the surface of accepted wisdom could reveal stories that challenge, complicate and ultimately enrich our understanding of the past and in doing so transform the way we see the present.
In recent years, the word ‘curate’ has been watered down, drained of depth, reduced to a synonym for
‘organise with a bit of thought’. But for Nayia, who holds a doctorate in curatorship, the word retains a much deeper definition. “A curator is someone who puts new meaning into an assemblage of artefacts,” she explains. “It’s not just about arrangement but bringing about a transformation of understanding through new connections.”
This philosophy has guided every major decision she has made in her wide-ranging career. “My curatorial thinking is always about making associations, such as juxtaposing disparate artworks we would not normally connect, or placing an artist within the wider social context,” she says, her hands moving to draw invisible lines in the air. “The difference between curating and merely organising lies in the ability to create associations that reveal new truths.”
I ask what qualities are essential to effective curation. Without missing a beat, she replies: “Awareness of social values, sensitivity to contemporary issues and passion for social change alongside a knowledge of the subject. It’s very easy to curate a show without offering anything to the world – just putting amazing work together – but I believe doing so is missing an opportunity.”
Nayia’s version of curation involves re-assessment, challenge
and even deliberate disturbance within your own institution. “If you do not challenge your institution’s assumptions, you will never truly offer them your best,” she explains. At Whitechapel, this meant a reluctance to put on exhibitions that simply celebrated the gallery’s history. Instead, she invited contemporary voices to challenge past narratives – a process she calls ‘re-archivisation’.
Intellectual modesty is, she insists, essential. “A member of the audience can walk in and offer something invaluable, because they recognise a narrative or a history that you would never know. The curator who believes they know everything creates closed exhibitions. The ones open to being taught creates spaces where new knowledge emerges.”
The same curator who once staged an exhibition showing that Jackson Pollock’s posthumous European exhibitions were among the many abstract art shows sponsored by the CIA to contrast American artistic freedom with the Soviet Union’s state-mandated Social Realism movement – softpower diplomacy masquerading as cultural exchange – is now applying that same inquiring eye to common stereotypes of Greek and Cypriot culture.
When Nayia was first approached about the role at the Hellenic Centre in 2022, she immediately saw opportunities that others might have missed. This time, instead of activating individual exhibitions, she would have the chance to reinvent an entire cultural institution using the same principles that had underpinned her previous gallery work.
The centre’s board members were honest about the challenge they faced. The institution had built its reputation on history, classics and mythology – solid ground but perhaps a little too narrow and familiar. London is one of the world’s most artistic and multicultural cities, yet thousands of people walked past the centre’s doors each day without giving a thought to what was happening inside; some presumed it was an embassy. The board wanted change but weren’t entirely sure how to deploy it. The situation was both daunting and irresistible: a respected institution with a 30-year history, looking for new ways to connect with a contempor ary audience.
It was the same fundamental question Nayia had been grappling with throughout her career: how do you make the past speak to the present? The Hellenic Centre presented a unique twist on this
familiar problem. “I thought we could shake off some cliches and stereotypes surrounding Greek culture while helping the centre expand and improve.”
The first thing she changed was the most basic: she opened the doors – a small practical act but a major philosophical statement. “When we open at 9:30am the doors stay open. People know it’s an open building. You can just come in.” The open doors, together with a highly visible notice board showing the full programme, had an immediate impact. “You saw people stopping and looking,” Nayia observes. “Even if the doors were shut when they passed by the building at night, they still understood that this is a
The difference between curating and merely organising lies in the ability to create associations that reveal new truths.
cultural centre they are welcome to investigate.”
But her task extended far beyond improved signage. It began with the tricky programming challenge of balancing Greece’s dual identity – ancient greatness and modern complexity – while giving it greater relevance to multicultural London. “This is not about Greece for Greeks,” she insists. “It’s Greece and Greek artists, yes, but also international artists and thinkers who engage with the region and its issues.”
Nayia’s archive exhibitions at Whitechapel became wider community events, the success of which was based on her soliciting of personal testimonies and interviews with artists, local people and anyone who had been personally present for the historical moments she was exploring. These exhibitions drew audiences who saw their own experiences reflected back, creating what she describes as a virtuous cycle: “More diverse voices meant richer exhibitions, which attracted more diverse audiences, which generated more untold stories for the archive.” This is the virtuous circle she’s now seeking to recreate on Paddington Street.
Instead of programming that merely confirms stereotypes about Hellenic culture, such as mythology and taverna dancing, she began seeking speakers and artists who would bring a breath of fresh air to traditional subjects and introduce contemporary Greek and Cypriot voices largely unknown in Britain.
Nayia’s curatorial philosophy manifests in everything from the programming of exhibitions during Frieze Art Fair to collaborating with the Freud Museum, with the aim of connecting disparate audiences and creating unexpected associations. Where the centre once operated in relative isolation, it has now built partnerships with institutions from the White Cube Gallery to the Ashmolean. “We network, we mix the audiences,” she explains. “It’s
This is not about Greece for Greeks. It’s Greece and Greek artists, yes, but also international artists and thinkers who engage with the region and its issues.
The success validates Nayia’s core insight that cultural institutions gain power not from what they preserve unchanged but from their capacity to generate new knowledge. Instead of being guardians of fixed historical narratives, they need to become platforms for ongoing re-interpretation. “We need to make sure that we ourselves learn something new every time, not just our audience,” she explains. After three decades, Nayia remains a researcher first and foremost, always searching for new meanings among assemblages of seemingly unconnected artefacts.
When asked what she would like her legacy to eventually be, Nayia’s response reveals the same forwardthinking perspective that has shaped her entire career. “I would like the Hellenic Centre to be widely know n and become a destination for many people,” she begins, but her real ambition is institutional: “I would like to know that I have contributed to changing the perception of the Hellenic Centre as an organisation focused on one part icular group of people to one that engages with the wider community.”
something that helps both sides to engage with new people.”
Increasing the contemporary aspect of programming doesn’t mean dispensing completely with history. “Sharing the cultural production coming from Cyprus and Greece today is how we build connections to what’s happening in the UK,” she explains. “But this isn’t replacement, it’s expansion. The centre still offers strong historical programming and community events based around Greek anniversaries and festivals, with a lot of food and dance. But now these traditional elements are balanced by contemporary voices that enrich people’s understanding of the Greek identity.”
Rather than rejecting the Hellenic Centre’s institutional history, the programme now places it in conversation with present perspectives. Greek lessons for adults draw in people who are planning to holiday or work in Greece, while contemporary art exhibitions attract visitors who might never have considered Greek culture relevant to their lives. The strategy is working. “Our audience has expanded significantly in the last three years,” she reveals. “We have a much wider range of ages, with a lot more young people coming. Most tellingly, every week I ask people, is it your first time? And so many say yes.”
Three years in, the centre’s transformation is gaining recognition beyond London. “I know that people in Greece talk about us now,” Nayia says with a smile. “They say there is a buzz there about the Hellenic Centre. Similarly, Cyprus has taken notice of the centre’s increased activity and fostering of international collaborations.” This external validation matters because it confirms Nayia’s central insight that cultural institutions serve their purpose best when they engage successfully with their immediate contexts. A Greek cultural centre in London that only appeals to existing Greek communities ultimately serves neither Greece nor Britain well. But one that makes Greek culture genuinely relevant to contemporary London creates new audiences for Greek artists while enriching British cultural life. This approach offers a model for how other cultural institutions can foster understanding in increasingly fragmented societies. By demonstrating that “we all share similar concerns, whether this has to do with politics or family or daily life,” the Hellenic Centre proves that cultural differences enrich rather than threaten community cohesion, challenging rising nationalist narratives across Europe.
Her hope is that the centre will attract sustained philanthropic support, not only for prestigious one-off projects but for greater community engagement. “I would like to see the centre being consistently supported by philanthropists, to be able to continue having open doors and cement the strong collaborations that make culture accessible. Last November we celebrated our 30th anniversary and I want to make sure we’re still here in 30 years’ time.”
Mere survival, though, isn’t enough. Nayia wants to demonstrate that through listening to contemporary perspectives, challenging comfortable assumptions and being open to unexpected voices, cultural centres can transform the way they operate in multicultural societies. Rather than defending fixed national narratives, they can help those narratives evolve through encounters with different perspectives. The result isn’t the dilution of cultural identity, but its renewal through genuine engagement with contemporary realities. And with that, the creation of spaces where future curators and audiences can discover new, revelatory, history-changing stories.
THE HELLENIC CENTRE 16-18 Paddington Street, W1U 5AS helleniccentre.org
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THE STYLE COUNCIL
As Marylebone cements its reputation as a modern menswear destination, the Journal searches out the secrets of its success
Words: Lauren Bravo Trunk and TWC images: Will Milligan
This page: Barnes jacket with 007 relaxed-fit selvedge jeans, oxford shirt and silk cravat, The Workers Club
Opposite: Birch denim jacket with Jackson trousers and Reuben chambray shirt, The Workers Club
Bailey coat with 007 relaxed-fit selvedge jeans and polo sweater, The Workers Club
The streets of London are paved with well- dressed men.
Across the centuries, countless dandies have claimed their own London postcode, from the squires and rakes of Savile Row to the mods of Carnaby Street, the punks of Camden and the creative directors of Shoreditch. But now a new menswear destination is emerging, in our very own pocket of W1. “Marylebone has become one of the most important independent menswear shopping areas of London,” says Lucas Nicholson, commercial director at menswear magazine Permanent Style, who describes the local vibe as “professional, clean and well - tailored, with an emphasis on well-made items.”
Recent years have seen more and more brands arriving in the neighbourhood, each with its own quietly confident aesthetic. On Marylebone High Street you’ll find burnished suede and corduroy at Slowear, florals and crochet at Octobre Editions and a rainbow of chic, yacht-ready linens at Luca Faloni. Meanwhile, Chiltern Street – not so long ago a stretch famed for its bridal boutiques – now boasts numerous shops ready to fit out the modern gentleman with everything from boxer shorts to overcoats, spectacles to slippers. There are common threads
running throughout (the mighty chore jacket isn’t going anywhere fast), but enough variety to create a rea l community.
“We all complement each other,” says Mats Klingberg, founder and director of Trunk. “You don’t have all these brands and shops that you see all over the world, on a traditional high street where it’s just copy-paste. That’s what makes the area unique, I think.” After tailors Grey Flannel (in situ since 1974), Trunk is the second oldest menswear boutique on Chiltern Street, having first opened its doors in 2010. The shop has since been joined by more of its peers, from the heritage cool of John Simons to the contemporary tailoring of Casely-Hayford and the vintage - casual of Bryceland’s & Co. But despite so much competition, there are no tie - swinging contests here. “It’s a very friendly atmosphere,” insists Mats. “Everyone chats and says hello.”
We might have been forgiven for thinking the pandemic spelled the end of the sharply dressed man. But five years on, the sweatpants are back in the drawer and high-quality menswear is booming. Market research company Mintel reports that the UK market is expected to grow by 8.3 percent between 2024 and 2029, an uptick fuelled in part by the rise of flexible working and the creative freedom of changing dress codes. “Menswear is evolving
way more than womenswear,” says Isla Wallrock, a recent fashion graduate, who holds court behind the counter at Oliver Spencer. “Within the next 10 years, I predict womenswear will be struggling, and menswear will just keep shooting up and up.”
But this growth isn’t a sign that men are following women onto the treadmill of fast fashion –rather it’s the opposite: a renewed interest in craft and heritage that is leading shoppers of all genders to shun viral fads and invest in timeless, hardworking pieces. Sustainability comes as standard for most of Marylebone’s menswear brands, with quality, longevity and provenance prized far higher than quick-fix trends.
At Sunspel, the historic underwear brand turned outfitters to James Bond, the walls are adorned with photos of the Nottinghamshire factory where its t-shirts have been made since 1937. “The design is simple but the quality is high,” says store manager Emanuele Baker. “People come back and tell us: ‘I bought this t-shirt years ago, and I need more because they’re incredible.’ They’ve had it for five years and it still feels newer than everything they’ve b ought since.”
Over the road at The Workers Club (TWC), the manifesto “buy less, buy better” is evident in everything from the sweaters, hand-knitted to order in Wales,
We’d get shoppers scrutinising our socks, asking where the yarn comes from. We thought, these are our people!
Charlotte Cameron, The Workers Club
In Marylebone, you don’t have the brands that you see on most high streets where it’s just copy-paste. That’s what makes the area unique.
Mats Klingberg, Trunk
Left: Meister tweed jacket by Ring Jacket, Enford polo shirt by Trunk and cotton doeskin trousers by Incotex, all available at Trunk
Right: Coleman moleskin jacket, Moxon polo shirt and Palmer chinos, all by Trunk
to the pop of colour on the selvedge edge of the Japanese denim. Cofounded by designers Adam and Charlotte Cameron, the brand’s name stands for The Workers’ Club, borrowed from a 1920s Constructivist workspace set up by Aleksandr Rodchenko – and the aesthetic is a fittingly cool slice of urban utility, born amid the wellies and gilets of rural Oxfordshire. “We didn’t want to leave fashion behind just because we’d moved to the countryside,” says Adam.
The couple set their sights on Marylebone after years of selling at the annual Monocle Christmas Market. “You’d get shoppers scrutinising our socks, saying: ‘They’re made in Britain, but where does the yarn come from? Which sheep is used for the wool in this jumper?’,” says Charlotte. “We thought: ‘These are our people’.”
If there’s one quality that unites the Marylebone menswear shopper, it’s a tendency to be nerdy about the details. An anorak in a chore jacket, if you will. “Men like to get a bit granular,” agrees Aidan Keen, store manager at Trunk. “They love that gearhead stuff. And social media is making it all more accessible.”
Case in point: the cult of Japanese denim. Weighty, traditionally woven and incredibly hardwearing, you’ll find the prized fabric on the racks at Trunk, Bryceland’s, Grey Flannel and TWC. “Japanese fabric is pretty
commonly known as the best fabric in the world,” says Adam at TWC. “The way they dye the fabric, every part of the process is very traditional. It takes a bit more time. Everywhere else in the world, people want things done in the quickest way – but in Japan, there is no shortcut.”
TWC’s jeans are made in Japan too – not offshored to cheaper manufacturers in Europe, as is often the case. “We’re purists,” says Charlotte. “From the mill to the manufacturer to the laundry, it’s all done in one area, at the heart of the denim industry.” Of course, Marylebone shoppers are as likely to be international as local (“Sometimes they literally come to us straight from the airport,” says Aidan at Trunk). But in an increasingly homogenised global fashion landscape, the expert curation of a good boutique is more valued than ever.
Just ask the mods a few doors down at John Simons, widely credited with introducing the preppy Ivy League style to the UK in the 1950s, which moved to Chiltern Street in 2011 after more than half a century of dressing London’s coolest faces. Lining the walls between mid-century art and vintage sporting equipment, you’ll find paisley scarves by Tootal, rubber-soled lace-ups by Paraboot, and the iconic zip-up bomber jacket nicknamed ‘The Harrington’ by John Simons
himself back in 1965. Paul Weller is a long-time customer and collaborator.
But despite a reputation for influencing the in-crowd, dedicated followers of fashion they are not. “To be honest, we don’t look at what anyone else is doing,” insists store manager Sean O’Byrne. “But I’d say we’re more on-trend now than we’ve ever been, even with items we’ve been selling for 60 years.”
But even if the Marylebone man isn’t one week in polka dots, the next week in stripes, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room in his wardrobe for something a little more avant garde. At the immaculately cool Bryceland’s & Co., they’re making micro-shorts and leather slippers happen. Dagger collars and patch pockets hark back to mid-century romantic heroes, ‘sportswear’ translates as cropped raglan sweatshirts in ice cream colours, and silhouettes are unabashedly retro. While many British men are still getting their heads around the death of the skinny jean, Bryceland’s is championing the bootcut.
Meanwhile back on the high street, a slew of French and Italian arrivals are helping to nudge the greyscale male out of his comfort zone and into a world of glorious technicolour. Par exemple, Fursac, founded in Paris in 1973 and now part of the influential French fashion group that owns chic Marylebone womenswear brands
A MAN’S WORLD
Menswear stores in Marylebone
agnès b
40-41 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QH agnesb.com
Bryceland’s & Co.
48 Chiltern Street, W1U 7QS brycelandsco.co.uk
Casely-Hayford
3 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PB casely-hayford.com
Dashing Tweeds
47 Dorset Street, W1U 7ND dashingtweeds.co.uk
Fursac
12 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4BT uk.fursac.com
Grey Flannel
7 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PE greyflannel.co.uk
John Simons
46 Chiltern Street, W1U 7QR johnsimons.co.uk
Luca Faloni
108 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4RU lucafaloni.com
Octobre Editions
29 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4PL octobre-editions.com
Oliver Spencer
39 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PP oliverspencer.co.uk
Paul Smith
38 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QF paulsmith.com
Sirplus
81A Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QL sirplus.co.uk
Slowear
25 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4PH slowear.com
Sunspel
13-15 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PG sunspel.com
The Workers Club
58 Chiltern Street, W1U 7QZ theworkersclub.co.uk
Trunk
8 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PU trunkclothiers.com
Vince
87 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QU vince.com
William Crabtree & Sons
15 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RT williamcrabtree.co.uk
Above: Viscose shark collar shirt, Fursac
Right: Cody jacket, Octobre Editions
Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot. Since 2021, Fursac has been headed up by creative director Gauthier Borsarello, a vintage aficionado who describes his “inspiration frame” for the brand as “Parisian, 1960-1980, Left Bank, new money.” On the racks this translates to sleek, beatnik silhouettes, snug tailoring and the occasional rock- n - roll riff, such as a sugar- pink faux fur jacket. Utilitarian workwear it is not.
Indeed, perhaps not since Mick Jagger played Hyde Park in a white frock has fashion’s gender binary been as bendy as it is today. The modern man needs no permission to embrace colour, print and embellishment. Yet even in the year 2025 it is still hard to write about menswear without acknowledging one important, unseen, c ustomer base.
“We still get a lot of: ‘I like it, but let me ask my wife,’” says André Larnyoh. The actor and model has worked at Bryceland’s & Co. since its Chiltern Street store opened in 2023 and can regularly be seen cutting a dash on the brand’s Instagram. “Buying clothes in general, men are nervous,” he says. “It’s not built into our DNA – or traditionally it wasn’t.”
Even founders themselves aren’t quick to dispel the old notion that men, as a monolith, don’t shop recreationally. “A lot of guys aren’t used to buying their own clothes,” shrugs Charlotte at TWC. The
store also stocks vinyl, which began as a way to lure in their target demographic. “I’d see men come in, go straight for the records, and then leave,” laughs Adam.
“Personally, I don’t like shopping either,” admits Mats at Trunk. “The idea of walking up and down Oxford Street or something, trying on trousers, is just hell.” But providing the opposite – an intimate, boutique experience – works well in the favour of Marylebone’s menswear brands. “Often men come in for a pair of trousers and walk out with three pairs of trousers, five shirts and two jackets,” says Mats. “And they’re super happy because it means they won’t have to go shopping for the rest of the year.”
Despite their apparent reluctance, recent studies suggest men are still more likely than women to favour a bricks-and-mortar experience over shopping online. And when they find somewhere they love, the loyalty pays dividends. “We get people who have been shopping with us since they were 16, and now they’re 70, and they’re still shopping with us,” says Sean at John Simons. It isn’t marketing that brings in new blood but, to quote one vintage review of Grey Flannel, ‘whispers over the basins in executive washrooms.’ “Unsolicited
recommendation is how we survive,” says Sean. “We’ve given into Instagram and that sort of thing, having resisted it for as long as we could – but it’s word of mouth that brings most people in. There aren’t many shops like it anymore, to be honest.”
But whether the aesthetic is minimalist or retro, all Marylebone’s menswear founders seem united in this desire to recreate the personal service of an old-fashioned outfitter. To offer not just retail, but hospitality; a cup of coffee, a comfy chair, and invaluable opinions from somebody outside of your immediate family. The result can be pretty special. “Many customers have come to trust us as their advisors. Then they start to trust their own opinions as well, to be confident about what works for them,” says Mats, who has just renewed his lease on the Trunk shop for another 10 years. “I’ve had letters thanking me for the impact Trunk has had on their lives. Which might be considered vain, but I don’t think it’s about vanity or peacocking – I think it’s about self-esteem.”
“You can see it,” he adds, “When men put things on that fit them and suit them, they stand a bit straighter and get a little twinkle in their eye. And what’s wrong with that?”
Nothing at all. It might not be clothes that maketh the man, but they cert ainly help.
Personally, I don’t like shopping either. The idea of walking up and down Oxford Street, trying on trousers, is just hell.
Mats Klingberg, Trunk
Seymour Kitchen, Seymour Place
THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS
Introducing the people behind central London’s vital charities and community organisations: Matthew Burgess-Evans, head of store development for Oxfam
Interview: Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu
Images: Orlando Gili
Oxfam is a global movement of people working towards a world without poverty, where everyone has the power to thrive, not just survive. The 22 affiliates that make up the Oxfam con federation –of which Oxfam GB is one – work alongside partner organisations and communities in over 80 countries to support millions of people and build a radically b etter world.
Our shops in the UK are a vital source of fundraising for that mission. We have over 500 shops across the country, as well as the Oxfam online shop, which between them helped raise £102.8m in gross income in 2023/24. Across the shop network, over 20,000 volunteers enable us to make a difference every day, raising funds to tackle poverty and inequality around the world at a time when they’re desperately needed most. To support that hugely important work, we’ve recently undertaken our first major overhaul of shop design in over a decade. We’ve always maintained a refurbishment program me, but this is something much more fundamental.
Over the past few years, we’ve opened our first superstores in Oxford and most recently in Manchester. The creation of the Manchester superstore was particularly significant – it was the first time we’d introduced our new brand guidelines into a retail space, designed to reshape how we talk about Oxfam in our retail spaces, creating opportunities for people to connect with our cause. That superstore was so well received in terms of both the concept and the look and feel that we quickly turned our attention to how we might translate that approach from a 10,000 square foot superstore into one of our standard high street shops.
That journey began with Oxfam Marylebone. This is such a well-loved shop and has been a con sistent part of the community for a very long time, but we recognised that it needed some TLC. As well as being so much smaller, the Marylebone shop is a completely different location and type of operation to the Manchester superstore, which means we’ve had to tailor a lot of things to meet the specific demands of the space and the needs of the local community. We started work on the refurbishment at the end of January and reopened at the end of March.
This project has been a great opportunity for us to celebrate the work that Oxfam does and express ourselves in a bolder way at crucial touchpoints with our supporters and our donors. Everything we’ve done through this new concept is intended to connect people to the cause. We’ve done that through the >
The Marylebone shop has a team of volunteers who have been here for years or even decades, dedicating their time to Oxfam.
fixtures and fittings as well as the creative design. For example, in a nod to our humanitarian efforts, we’ve used oriented strand board (OSB) for our shelving – OSB, a type of engineered wood, is the primary material used in our shipping crates, and its use in the shops reinforces our commitment to sustainability and resourcefulness. Taps are used as hooks in the changing room, symbolising the vital equipment we supply to organisations focused on water and sanitation. We did the same at the Manchester superstore and had such an overwhelming response –when we saw that people were going in, taking pictures of the taps and putting them on Instagram, we knew straight away that it was really resonating.
We’ve also extended our colour palette beyond our usual brand identifier – our signature green is only used at the cash desk. Towards the back of the shop there’s a section where we’ve hung striking wallpaper, custom-made from archival covers of Oxfam’s Bother magazine from the 1970s and 1980s. This unique feature not only serves as a tribute to our history but is also intended to inspire a new generation of activists who visit the shop. We found the magazines in our head office, just randomly in a box. The wallpaper creates a cool kind of fly-poster vibe, bringing lots of colour to the store while showcasing to our supporters that we’ve been fighting for justice and equality for decades on end.
Oxfam is present at many different festivals throughout the year, with Glastonbury always being a massive highlight. Vibrant reproductions of our festival posters now adorn the interior of the fitting room. Along with the taps, it’s another big, bold moment that’s become a bit of an Instagram staple. Touches like these have cut through with a younger generation of activist. We’ve also introduced a bespoke vintage section, which has seen an increase in a younger people coming into the shop to see what Oxfam is all about. Once they’re through the door, our activist tone is really resonating with them.
Oxfam Marylebone is such a successful shop for us, so it was important that we invest in meeting some of the daily challenges inherent to the space. We were able to move things around on the shop floor to improve the customer experience. We shifted the cash desk and fitting room, which made the layout flow more comfortably, allowing our customers to shop from front to back. We also introduced more fixtures onto the shop floor so that more items can be displayed in a more elevated and considered arrangement. The team receives many donations of designer goods, which previously presented a
challenge – putting high-end Chanel or Gucci out on the shopfloor comes with an increased risk of theft. To help with this, we designed some special fixtures for the windows where these incredible donations can be safely and prominently exhibited. They’ve been flying out ever since, wh ich is great.
The response has been overwhelming. We had lots of eager customers trying to come in for a look while we were closed, and the anticipation was building as we got closer to the reopening. I remember on the opening day hearing people come into the shop and going: “Wow!” Many of our customers have been coming here for years – they know the team and the layout of the shop – so to hear their positive reactions to all the changes was just unbelievable. And that has continued. So many people have gone out of their way to send lovely feedback.
Marylebone really is a community, and the shop has a team of volunteers who have been here for years or even decades, dedicating their time to Oxfam. Their commitment speaks volumes about how important this work is. Making little changes or tweaks to try to strengthen our retail network is an important way of bringing them and our donors with us, because without them we simply wouldn’t be able to do what we do.
As head of store development, I led the refurbishment project. Translating a 10,000 square foot superstore into a standard shop space was always going to be a challenge, especially somewhere like Oxfam Marylebone which is so beloved by the community. I have to admit, it was a bit daunting stepping in to take it on, but the great thing about working for Oxfam is that you’re surrounded every day by people who can see the bigger picture and understand why we’re all here. Having such a supportive team makes everything much easier.
It’s always exciting when you get to bring something new, and to be leading the first major change in Oxfam’s retail network in a decade has been both an honour and a joy for me. For it to have received such overwhelming positive feedback, for the community to have embraced it in the way they have, and for Oxfam to have decided that this is the look and feel they want to roll out across their entire network – I couldn’t be any prouder. It’s such a fulfilling and rewarding thing to have contributed to.
OXFAM MARYLEBONE
91 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4RB
oxfam.org.uk
A CLOSER LOOK
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STYLE »48 Q&A
Richard Edmonds of Sealskinz on helping ordinary people do extraordinary things
STYLE »52 STYLE PHILOSOPHY
Emmy Scarterfield, founder of Emmy London, on reinventing bridal shoes and trusting in auspicious apples
HOME »58 ANATOMY OF A DESIGN
Mark Adams of Vitsœ on the challenging times that inspired the 606 Universal Shelving System
Q&A: NIC RASCLE
The owner of La Petite Poissonnerie fishmonger’s and seafood bar on hard work, short supply chains and convincing people to love oysters
Interview: Clare Finney
Images: Da ria Agafonova
Q: Which came first – being a fishmonger or being a chef?
A: My background is in cheffing. I trained for four years in France, in two different schools, and have worked as a chef everywhere from Club Med to Michelin-starred restaurants. The fishmonger side came about because I was bored. I was working as the head chef in a staff canteen in London, a very easy nine-to-five job, and I got bored because I love working. I started my own private cheffing business, and I was still bored, so I went across the street to the fishmonger and said: “Please let me do something. I will work for free; I just need to work.” I got my apron that same day – and that was 20 years ago. When he went bust, I opened my own shop in Primrose Hill and set out to be one of the best fishmongers in London. Then I found the shop here and fell in love with it.
For five years we ran it as a fishmonger’s only, with a few takeaway dishes for lunch; then
we realised many customers were more interested in eating out than in cooking at home, so we opened a restaurant too. We are still a fishmonger’s, though; we go through 50 tonnes of seafood and 50,000 oysters every year. So, we call ourselves a fishmonger-plus.
Q: La Petite Poissonnerie combines French and Japanese influences. How are those very different cultures reflected in what you do here?
A: I am French, so the French speaks for itself, through the wine list and the menu. The Japanese come from the fact that, if you want to be one of the best fishmongers in London, you cannot be without sashimi. If your fish is of good enough quality to make sashimi, and Japanese customers come and buy that sashimi, you must be doing something right. If you’re doing sashimi, you might as well have nigiri and uramaki too.
The combination of French and Japanese suits us. I think every business should have an identity, so my rules around identity were clear when we opened, as were the rules around appearances: no white polystyrene, no stainless steel unless required, all natural materials like brick and wood. Our bar is made of dark American walnut; most seafood bars have granite and marble, but I think that is too cold. Wood brings a special warmth.
Q: Does your menu draw from a particular region of France?
A: There are three areas of France which influence my cooking. First, there’s the place I am from, Côtes du Rhône. On our menu, we have ravioles du dauphiné, which is a tiny little pasta from my home region – the name means ‘little king’. The smoked cod’s liver, too, is a childhood memory of mine. Twice a year – 24th and 31st December – we were allowed to eat in front of the TV. My mum would make canapes – smoked salmon,
fake caviar and smoked cod’s liver – and we could watch rubbish TV for those two days. The rest of the year we had a nice, balanced meal at the table. So that is an important dish for me, too.
Another big influence is Lyon, because that’s where I trained, and it’s not far from where I grew up. It is such a culinary city. Lyonnaise food has always been at the heart of cooking in France. It uses lots of butter – sometimes I think I should buy my own cow, we get through so much! Finally, there’s the Mediterranean coast, where I worked for many years, and that is
“I do lots of food education in my restaurant, particularly about oysters and sea urchins; about 20 to 40 people a year come in and say they don’t like oysters, and I retrain almost all of them.”
the opposite: a lot of olive oil, more Mediterranean-style food, like the bouillabaisse, which comes from the city of Marseille.
Q: How do you ensure your seafood is as fresh as possible?
A: I know where to buy, and I know how to buy. I buy specific fish from specific areas around the British Isles – Cornwall, Dorset, a bit from Ireland and the Shetlands – and I buy directly. It’s super important in this industry to know your supplier, and I have a good relationship with all of my suppliers, which were strengthened in Covid when they couldn’t sell to restaurants. In the morning, I get photos from fishermen’s boats. I buy their catch, and then it’s in my shop. For freshness, you can’t beat such a short supply chain, and it also means there’s mini mal wastage.
Q: You’re the father of a young boy who seems to love every fish and shellfish under the sun. How have you managed that, when children are generally wary of anything fishier than fishfingers?
A: We usually make our own fishfingers, but the other day we gave my son Birds Eye and he looked at us like, what is this? Why have you given it to me? For his first birthday, he sat at the restaurant and we made him eat sashimi, ceviche, scallop, real caviar, foie gras and an oyster, and since then he has eaten all seafood. The rule with food is, he doesn’t have the right to say: “I don’t like this and that’s it.” He has to say: “I don’t like it because...” He has
to give me a reason. He is very well trained in food, and when he gets older I will train him in wine too. I hate it in the restaurant when people say, my kid won’t eat this, I won’t eat that. No one can learn with that attitude. I do lots of food education in my restaurant, particularly about oysters and sea urchins; about 20 to 40 people a year come in and say they don’t like oysters, and I retrain almost all of them. It took me four years to like oysters, but you have to keep going and find the oysters you love. My problem was that I was always having fine de claire oysters, and I find them uninteresting. I still do. I wouldn’t wake up and say: “Oh, I want a fine de claire today.” But I would wake up and say: “Oh, I really want a josephine!”
Q: I’ve never been sure about oysters. How would you go about convincing someone like me?
A: We have up to 20 different types of oysters, both rock oysters and natives when they’re in season. We probably offer the widest range in London. Different varieties and farming techniques make oysters meatier or lighter, which is why we have so many, and people who say they don’t like oysters usually just don’t understand how much variety there is. I don’t charge people who say they don’t like oysters when I am trying to retrain them. I start with a tiny oyster, and I open it up. I describe each part of the oyster and what to expect – because I can tell, from looking at an oyster, what it will taste like. If there is not much meat, it will be saltier, and the muscle will be creamier or meatier depending on how thick it is. Then I get them to try it. There is no lemon, Tabasco or mignonette at this stage, because this is all about the oyster. They have to understand why it is so good. That’s how we start.
Q: Would getting me to fall in love with the sea urchin be more of a challenge?
A: The sea urchin – well, this is my favourite food in the world, but it is the Marmite of the sea, particularly when raw. Nothing can prepare your tastebuds for it! It is a very specific flavour, so if you came in and asked for a raw sea urchin, having not had it before, I’d say no. First, you must have a seafood linguine with sea urchin, flavoured with garlic, parsley and olive oil. It is more subtle, and much more tolerable as a first experience. In that case, 80 percent of people will find they like sea urchins. When it comes to seafood, I usually know better, so I am not afraid to have rules!
NEW
Q: What does the future have in store?
A: We’re working on a tasting menu, and I’m also creating a better half-bottle wine list. I have a really lovely selection of white and red, including a lot of Burgundy, three sparkling wines and some Alsace and Bordeaux. It will be one of the best half- bottle wine lists in London – because not everyone wants a whole bottle.
LA PETITE POISSONNERIE 19 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RY lapetitepoissonnerie.com
After making its name in Nancy, France, the BIG sister vegan cafe has popped up on Nutford Place until January 2026, offering sophisticated all-day breakfasts and desserts. Co-founded by CEO Maïlys Torterat and chef Nico Lamboley, the cafe attempts to minimise its environmental impact through its 100 percent plantbased menu, the use of seasonal ingredients, the generation of zero food waste, and an approach that uses vastly less energy than conventional restaurants.
22-23 Nutford Place, W1H 5YH bigsistervegan.com
NEW ARRIVAL
BIG sister
BIG SISTER
A GLASS APART
Kristina Gladilina, head of wine at Michelin- starred Lita, on how a Burgundy from an unconventional producer challenges perceptions about the region’s pinot noir
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Ladoix ‘Le Cloud’ Prieure - Roch 2019 comes from a parcel of vineyards in the Ladoix appellation owned by Domaine Prieuré-Roch. This estate has been connected to Burgundy royalty since 1988, when Henry-Frédéric Roch, co-manager of the legendary Domaine de la Romanée - Conti, established his own domaine. That connection to Romanée-Conti added some mystique when I first encountered this wine, but really this is a pinot noir that demands attention on it s own merits.
When I first tried it, my reaction was immediate. It was like getting in touch with something really hard to reach, something unique. The sensory experience was voluptuous yet delicate – as expressive as pinot noir can be. You get soured wild cherries and crushed raspberries alongside peonies and rose petals, a kaleidoscope of different flavours.
The vines are cultivated organically and biodynamically, with extremely low yields. This minimal-intervention approach continues in the cellar. The grapes undergo 100 percent whole-cluster fermentation with natural yeasts, without pumping, fining or filtration. Sulphur, if they use it at all, appears only at bottling in the
smallest possible quantities. The Prieure-Roch winemakers believe that wine should remain a true expression of its terroir.
This isn’t a wine I will suggest to everyone. Its liveliness and unconventional style can be overwhelming for some, but in the right company it becomes transformative. At Lita, where our sharing concept revolves around generous main courses like whole Cornish turbot and T-bone steaks, the wine’s savoury, spicy earthiness complements our dishes while maintaining its distinctive character.
I truly believe that people need to look at wine more open-mindedly. Wine regions are changing, people are changing. When you look at the complexity of Burgundy, where a single Premier Cru vineyard might be shared between 20 winemakers, you need to be willing to explore to find the best wines. Everyone thinks they know what to expect of pinot noir, but this wine offers something genuinely different. It is proof that even though people think they understand Burgundy, there is always still room for revelation.
LITA
7-9 Paddington Street, W1U 5QH litamarylebone.com
ANATOMY OF A DISH
BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING
Trevor Gulliver, co-founder of St. JOHN, on a thrifty but delicious British dessert
Interview: Clare Finney
In a nutshell
At St. JOHN, we’re bakers. The Marylebone shop sells proper sourdough bread, and the bread that isn’t sold that day is used in our bread and butter pudding. There are generous handfuls of raisins, good milk and good cream. We serve it with custard; we think that’s only correct.
The inspiration
Fergus Henderson’s mother came from Lancashire, so he has carried the influence of that cooking, and I certainly had bread and butter pudding growing up. There’s a post-war thriftiness to it: if there’s bread left over it goes in the pudding, and if there’s pudding left over it goes in staff lunches. On days when there’s no leftover bread there’s no bread and butter pudding.
The purpose
This is St. JOHN’s nose-to-tail philosophy translated into dessert. It’s also a British classic, which is very us. We leave the bread to soak happily overnight, so it’s deceptively light. We want to be generous with our puddings, but we don’t want to fill you up – so while you might look at the portion of pudding and think ‘gosh’, it’s not a heavyweight dish at all. There’s also a delicate
freshness to the custard which complements the toothsomeness of the pudding.
The technique
We soak the bread in double cream, whole milk, sugar, free range eggs, raisins – not currants – the zest of a large orange and half a lemon. We don’t cook it until it the liquid is completely absorbed. We sprinkle demerera sugar over the top to give it a bit of crunch before it’s cooked, and we try not to cook more than we need. With food this simple, everything comes down to good ingredients and careful timing.
The secret
To tell if the liquid has been completely soaked up by the bread, make a hole just big enough to see inside, then check by eye – you shouldn’t be able to see the mixture. Always use sourdough: it has a great texture and will remain aerated, unlike dense white bread produced by the Chorleywood method. As for the custard, all you need is a decent pan, good eggs – and experience.
ST. JOHN
98 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QA
stjohnrestaurant.com
LIFE LESSONS
Katie Caldesi looks back at 20 years of La Cucina Caldesi, Marylebone’s much-loved Italian cookery school
It was at 11.30am, 29 years ago, that Giancarlo Caldesi handed me a bowl of pasta – and changed my life. Though I’d tasted Italian tourist food on my travels as an art student, no one had ever cooked proper Italian cuisine for me. That day, the Italian chef who had employed me to paint a mural in his London restaurant chopped fresh, ripe tomatoes, mixed them with torn mozzarella, basil, spicy chilli and salt, doused them in extra virgin olive oil and tossed them into hot spaghetti. This was a meal he normally produced for his waiters before the lunchtime service, but on this day the restaurant was closed while we painted. We were the sole recipients of those life - cha nging bowls.
I couldn’t help but ask Giancarlo how he’d cooked the pasta. It held far more fascination than the huge fresco of Roman athletes I was working on. The next day, more pasta creations arrived. And so it continued. Each morning as we
painted, my mouth would begin to water at 11.15 as Giancarlo worked in the kitchen and the aromas of frying garlic, broken rosemary and parmesan wafted in my direction. No aftershave will ever be as enticing as the scent of someone cook ing for you.
Over the next few months, Giancarlo, the chef and restaurateur from Tuscany, commissioned more and more murals from the painter from Eastbourne. Each loved the craft of the other. Every day was spent cooking or painting. Giancarlo became a dab hand at gilding and I learnt to cook Italian. I was soon rolling potato gnocchi, learning how to shape tortellini and produce Giancarlo’s father’s ragu. The chef and the painter became inseparable. Before long, we had moved into a tiny apartment above the restaurant in Marylebone. Marriage followed, as did two children.
One Sunday, just before the millennium, a family asked if we
could teach them how to make fresh pasta. After lunch service, we took them down into the restaurant kitchen. Flour flew, eggs cracked – and something clicked. It was fun, creative, chaotic and deeply satisfying. The idea of teaching others our skills was born.
We started hosting small, intimate cooking classes in our restaurant kitchen. But space was tight – and tempers even tighter. The chefs needed the kitchen, and so did we. In the pressured heat of service, swear words echoed off the tiles. We needed a solution – a dedicated home for our new baby. In a rather biblical way, we found an old stable in a tiny mews street off Marylebone Lane. We loved the light, airy room. In 2005 it became La Cucina Caldesi Cookery School.
Run by head chef Stefano Borella, the classes were informal, joyful and relaxed. In contrast to the formal cookery schools of the time, nothing was measured or
pre -prepared; our pasta-loving guests poured a pile of flour onto the table in true nonna-style and mixed eggs into it with a knife. Egg on the floor, flour on shoes, pasta on the plate. Over time we introduced pasta machines and measured flour in bowls – less mess and happier guests but still nothing too pre -prepared. We feel our students should take the ingredients right the way through to the plate. Giancarlo was asked to write a book of his mother’s recipes but struggled to put pen to paper due to his dyslexia. I stepped in to help. I too struggled and the first manuscript was returned with “Grammar awful” written on the front in red pen. With edits, amends and practice the recipes worked and we used these in our school. Giancarlo made me promise not to put English twists on his recipes; they had to be exactly as he remembered them from his childhood – authentic, sacred to his family.
BIRTHDAY BASHES
As part of La Cucina Caldesi’s anniversary celebrations, the cookery school is hosting a series of special classes this autumn, taking in food from all around the Mediterranean. Visit the website to book a place.
7 October
Katie Caldesi: Northern Italy
30 October
Vivian Papasotiriou (Yayaka): Greece
6 November
Amber Hazael (Bubala): Middle East
12 November
Soha Darwish: Syria & Egypt
21 September
Sophie Grigson: Southern Italy
27 November
Amoul Oakes: Lebanon
6 December
Özlem Warren: Turkey
More books followed. We travelled the length and breadth of Italy and spent time in Rome, Venice, Tuscany, Amalfi and Sicily to write about their regional culinary differences. I learnt to speak Italian. While there, we worked in restaurant kitchens and home kitchens, guided by generous chefs, mammas and nonnas, all of whom made me promise not to change their recipes. I was happy to make that commitment – I wanted to guard the precious histories we’d been given.
Our classes at the school branched out into other themes: A day in Amalfi, Fish and Shellfish, La Dolce Vita. In recent years, the school has also expanded its offerings to include courses on low - carb and healthy eating, inspired in part by Giancarlo’s recovery from type-2 diabetes. With locations in Marylebone, Gerrard’s Cross and Bray, Berkshire, the school boasts expert instructors who teach culinary enthusiasts and aspiring chefs the secrets of traditional and modern Italian cuisine. And our boys run wine - tastings and cocktail making classes – continuing the fa mily spirit.
When we opened La Cucina Caldesi all those years ago, we had no idea how it would evolve, that groups would want to come from offices, schools and banks, that businesses would see it as a way of connecting staff through the shared enjoyment of food and wine. Corporate cooking classes just weren’t a thing back then. Now half of our classes are tailormade for groups.
That bowl of pasta changed my life for the better. Our hope is that the countless bowls of pasta prepared by our guests over the past 20 years have brought their fair share of happiness too.
The chief operating officer of Sealskinz on the joys of outdoor life, pairing functionality with style, and helping ordinary people do extraordinary things
Interview: Mark Riddaway Images: Joshua Mose s, Ben Kelvin
Q: How would you sum up what Sealskinz stands for?
A: In short, Sealskinz is a brand that helps people stay outdoors longer. It’s been going for almost 25 years now. Sealskinz started life in Norfolk and it began with a very simple mission: to keep people dry on their feet. They started by inventing a waterproof sock which was quickly adopted by the British military. If you join the British Army today, you still get given two pairs of Sealskinz socks on your arrival to help keep your feet nice and dry when you’re training. Our heritage is in problem solving; the problem was how you keep people’s feet dry. The solution was this fantastic new waterproof membrane called Aquasealz. There are tiny perforations in the membrane –big enough for air to pass through so you don’t overheat, but too small for water to get in. Go to a tap and fill up a sock, a glove, or any of our waterproof products and you’ll find they’re completely water-sealed, but you don’t get that horrible sweaty feeling when you’re wearing them. It all started with t hat membrane.
Q: Of all the places to launch an effective waterproofing product, the UK must be among the richest wit h potential!
A: It really is! We’ve been talking for about two minutes and we’re now onto the weather, and that’s quite a long time for a conversation in this country to go without heading that way! But you’re absolutely right: the British know a thing or two about rain. We have all the seasons here. I think it’s one of the special things about the UK, and a lot of people around the world look on us with envy because of that variety. The seasons drive the way we dress, the way we work, the way we commute, the way we socialise, the way we exercise. The weather has a massive impact on us, and if we want to be outdoors a lot, we need to be dressed for it. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad kit.
Q: So, what brought you to the brand?
A: When I joined the business two years ago, I’d been a user of Sealskinz for many years. I’m an avid outdoor person: I bike, I run, I walk. I’m based down in Dorset, and it’s just a beautiful part of the world to be outdoors as much as possible. I knew of Sealskinz through hiking, through biking, through all the outdoor activities I’d done. Now, through my work, I often get the chance to talk about how our products can help them stay outdoors longer, and it’s great because when you’re a person who does it, who lives it, what you say can
really resonate. I know what it’s like to be out on a bike and get soaking wet feet, with an hour still left to get back home – it’s not fun, right? I know what it’s like for the kids to be in that same position when we take them out on the south coast. I know from personal experience how great our products are and I’m genuinely passionate about it.
Q: Sealskinz has grown in breadth and visibility over the past couple of years. What’s behind its recent development?
A: The brand was acquired two and a half years ago by a group of investors. One of them was Ray
Kelvin, the founder of Ted Baker, who’s super passionate about the outdoors. He’s an absolutely mad fisherman, so had a big personal interest in this space. The big thing that Sealskinz had for 20 years was an effective product – the basic product, those waterproof items, was brilliant, unparalleled. Our waterproofing technology is the heritage of the business, but it was always just a black sock, a black glove, a very limited range. What we’ve done, with Ray’s vision and the design team’s vision, is bring that fantastic performance into a broader and more stylised product line. Today, we’re not just
thinking about how it functions but also how it looks and how it makes you feel. That’s the journey we’ve been on. There are lots of brands out there that are good on the aesthetics but don’t have the functionality, and others that have the functionality but don’t have the aesthetic. What we’re trying to do is use our expertise and heritage to make some of the best outdoor accessories in the world but with a more fashionable, stylish design approach.
“When you’re a person who does it, who lives it, what you say can really resonate. I know what it’s like to be out on a bike and get soaking wet feet, with an hour still left to get back home – it’s not fun.”
A: Every design that the product team pour their hearts and souls into, the common thread is: “Does it help you stay outdoors longer?” If it does, it’s Sealskinz. We’re most famous for waterproofing, and that’s our heritage, but we’ve been able to move into other things that help people stay outdoors. As I said earlier, we get all the seasons here, right? Sometimes it’s super-hot, so we’ve created loads of interesting UV-protection products. Hats, for example. Our hat range has grown significantly. We have these fantastic foldable caps. They’re waterproof, they’re UV-protected and they fold up to almost nothing, so you can just put it in your pocket if you’re out on a hike and the sun goes in. We’ve played around with how they look, the different colours and the different styles, because we know people like to look good as well as get that function.
Q: You’re now producing clothes for specific pursuits – running, skiing, golf, watersports. Have you had to engage with expertise in those spheres to make sure you’re addressing the right problems?
A: Yes, and we draw upon that expertise a lot. Running, for example – I’ve spent my life running. I joined a running club when I was 13 years old and took it quite seriously for many years, before moving on to enjoying it for health and fitness as I’ve got older. It’s been a huge part of my life. Before Sealskinz, I’d built my own running brand – I was co-founder of a brand called Runderwear, which is the biggest running underwear brand in the UK. So, for me, Sealskinz starting a run collection was so exciting. We’ve got underwear, socks, shorts, t-shirts, water-repellent jackets, gloves, hats. I’ll wear those products while we’re designing and developing them. We’ll speak to other runners. Everything we do, we’ll run user trials as we’re developing them. When I first joined the business a
Q: How have you approached that diversification? Is there still a common thread to it all? >
Richard Edmonds
couple of years ago, we were given the first samples of ski gloves just before I went on a family skiing holiday, a year before we launched anything. Obviously, we do lots of more formal testing as well, but that user feedback is so important to us. Real people using our products in rea l situations.
Q: As a runner, what do you think are the most important problems that the Sealskinz collection addresses?
A: Well, anyone’s who has been out running will have got the dreaded chaffing, right? It can be because you’re too hot, it can be because you’re too cold, it could be because it’s raining – just about every weather seems to potentially start chaffing! So, we’ve created some shorts with this really beautiful under-short, which reduces that risk. We’ve also launched seamless underwear, made on a 360-degree seamless machine, so you don’t have seams rubbing against the skin. We’ll provide you with anti-blister socks – doublelayer socks that stop blisters. We have water-repellent jackets that you can pack away on your arm if the sun comes out during your run. Everything we’re doing has purpose. What we’ve done with the run collection is ask: “What are some of the pain points of running and how can we help solve them with the range?”
Q: You opened your first and only retail store in Marylebone last year, and it’s now become the base for a monthly running club. What inspired you to start that?
A: We’d always seen the shop as being more than just a retail space. We wanted it to be a community hub. It’s in a fantastic location, in the heart of London, near some fantastic parks, so running seemed like a perfect thing to do. The Run Club started about six months ago. We weren’t sure how many people we would get, but nearly 200 people showed up at our shop. It was a
STYLE PHILOSOPHY
EMMY LONDON
Emmy Scarterfield, founder of Emmy London, on reinventing bridal shoes, creating balance in a heel, and trusting in auspicious apples
Interview: Ellie Costigan
My love of shoes was apparent from a very young age. As young as two or three, I would put building blocks in my socks to make high heels. I fell in love with the clip-cloppy noise. I used to keep old shoes and set up a pretend shoe shop in my bedroom. We didn’t get new shoes very often but when we did, I was so excited, I’d sleep with them under my pillow.
After studying at Cordwainers College, I worked at Marks & Spencer, but I wasn’t enamoured with the corporate world. I moved to Milan, having never been to Italy before, with £400 in my account and enough Italian to ask for a cheese and tomato sandwich. I got there and spent £395 pounds on a pair of shoes that I couldn’t walk in. I had a fiver left for a sandwich! I did an internship
“Today,
we’re not just thinking about how a product functions but also how it looks and how it makes you feel. That’s the journey we’ve been on.”
there, at Georgio Armani. It was the best thing I ever did.
The idea for Emmy London came when a friend of mine, who was getting married, had a really difficult time finding shoes she liked. Bridal shoes at the time were overpriced, uncomfortable and frumpy, or fashion shoes but in bridal fabric. I thought, there has to be something in between. Something comfortable, beautiful, fit to wear all day, and as exciting as the dress. We launched 21 years ago, doing bespoke bridal shoes.
We made the shoes Carole Middleton wore at William and Kate’s wedding. I received an email from Party Pieces and I just thought oh, it’s probably because I’ve ordered things in the past from there for my
girls’ birthday. I almost deleted it. Turned out it was Pippa Middleton saying they really needed some shoes. That was the first time we did shoes that weren’t bridal. She asked for a bag, too, which we didn’t really do at the time! But I am trained in bag design, so we did it for her. That really put us on the global map.
Covid changed everything. I started offering appointments over Facetime, which meant anyone from anywhere could shop here. It also meant I met women who weren’t necessarily brides, but shoes were their thing and they wanted something bespoke.
Now, we do fashion shoes, as well as occasion shoes and day-to-day handbags. It’s been really exciting to grow that side of the business.
We have a very simple aesthetic – timeless. Shoes you’ll still wear in 10 years’ time. Some of the lasts I’m working with have been in the collection since day one. It just shows the longevity of a classic shoe shape.
Comfort is key, and it’s a sense of balance that creates it. We have women who thought they couldn’t wear heels anymore try ours on and say: “Oh, it doesn’t really feel that high.”
bit chaotic but very exciting. We carefully split everybody up, with run leaders for every group, then go round Regent’s Park for a 5K. We give people a drink afterwards and get a conversation going –about Sealskinz but also about their stories, what they want out of running, what they’re trying to achieve. For some it’s just for fitness, some are training for something, for other’s it’s about meeting people. Now, we’ve got a real core group who have been there every month, then about half the people each time are new and being welcomed in. It’s a community that can give us really helpful feedback: What problems
It’s because your weight is perfectly distributed – you don’t get that tipping forward feeling.
We use very soft materials, which almost mould to your foot. If shoes are uncomfortable, it ruins your day. Especially when it comes to big life occasions: you’ve put a lot of thought and money into it, it’s a shame to not enjoy it because of your feet.
At Emmy London, it is women designing for women. We understand what works.
It’s a myth that an ankle strap or ribbon cuts your legs off and makes them look shorter. If you tie it to the side, a sash actually makes your ankle look very slim.
Everything is made in our Portuguese workshop, which is quite small. All my sketches start out as 2D drawings –usually doodles. I’ll then do a more technical spec for the factory, think about materials, how I want them to stitch, the pattern and so on. The next step is to draw the design onto the last, to create a 3D mould. Once the design is approved, it’ll be put onto a computer and the material will be cut by laser.
The age range of our customer is from mid-to-late 20s, right up to women in their 70s. Our shoes have such broad appeal.
do you have? What are you missing? How can we help? That kind of feedback is invaluable to us.
Q: As well as engaging with passionate amateurs, do you have relationships with people at the more elite end of their pursuits?
A: Not at elite professional level in the sense of winning Olympic golds. What we like to do is support ordinary people doing extraordinary things, because that’s what inspires us. We’ve just had a guy, Adam, who broke the world record as part of a team rowing across the Atlantic. He had two different types of our gloves and our waterproof socks. He’s an
I think it’s because I’ve got quite classic taste; I lean into styles that lots of women like.
The shoes can be personalised with our bows and shoe clips, which is a very sustainable way to shop. You can buy classic court shoes, say, then dress them up or down with accessories. It’s never just one shoe, one way.
I was walking down New Quebec Street one evening last summer and saw there were retail spaces available, so I went to have a look. This is a bit strange, I realise, but my mum died three years ago and since then she’s been leaving me signs, in the form of apples. If something is a bad decision, I’ll see a rotten apple. If it’s a good one, it’s a whole, healthy, shiny apple. When I came to see the property, it was completely empty apart from one whole apple. But we didn’t get it; instead we were offered this space, number three. I wasn’t feeling it, but then when I was sorting through mum’s stuff I found one of her paintings – of three whole apples. So, I took it. I was confident it would be right – and it was. Marylebone is a joyous place to work. It’s surpassed my expectations.
EMMY LONDON
3 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RE
emmylondon.com
ordinary guy who’s done this most extraordinary challenge. Isn’t it amazing when a person like you or me goes and does something that just blows your mind? I watch things like the gymnastics at the Olympics and know that not in a million years could I do what they do. Whereas, if it’s a guy my age who has a job and a family just like me and has gone and done this amazing thing, it makes me feel that maybe I could do something like that too. Those are the people we love to support.
SEALSKINZ 1 Hinde Street, W1U 2AY sealskinz.com
HATS
“I’m just not a hat person,” some people will tell you, pointing at their head as if the mere notion of one is unthinkable. A few of them are right; their hair or skull shape is simply not conducive to being covered with anything more structured than a hood on a rainy day. Most, though, just need more confidence, more imagination or, quite simply, more insight into the sheer variety of hats on offer. Because the chances are that the right hat, just like the right person, is out there somewhere; you just haven’t met it yet.
FRANCO 8 CLOCHE BY MÜHLBAUER MOUKI MOU, £260 moukimou.com
Vienna meets southeast Asia meets poetic scarecrow in this scrunched bell hat. The hat is made from parasisol, a type of straw derived from the agave plant, sourced from southeast Asia; Mühlbauer is a Viennese millinery established in 1903 by Juliana Mühlbauer, and still in family hands. Today, Klaus Mühlbauer collaborates with designers Nora Berger and Madeleine Bujatti and a host of Viennese artisans to create distinctive, practical pieces. This hat’s bendy wire allows you to shape the brim according to your preference; the scrunchability enables you to stuff it in your bag, ready to wear here or abroad.
NEWSBOY CAP
DASHING TWEEDS, £130 dashingtweeds.co.uk
This is a style of hat most often referred to as a Peaky Blinder hat, so synonymous has it become with the TV series of that name (itself based on a real-life 19th century Brimingham gang). Historically, though, it would have been known as a newsboy or bakerboy cap. Today, the style is more often worn by stylish men out and about at the weekend than it is newspaper delivery boys, bakers and criminal gangs; and it’s for stylish men that this eight-piece cap in 100 percent merino lambswool tweed has been made.
PAUL BEANIE SÉZANE, £50
sezane.com
There’s no designer more classically attuned than a French designer, and no hat more classic than a soft, woolly beanie. Thus, anyone in doubt about their capacity to look good in headgear should turn to this blush- coloured beanie from Sézane. With English rib knitting and a flattering lapel edge woven in Italy from alpaca wool and recycled polyamide, it’s an easy win for everyone from those looking to make a subtle style statement to those seeking swift cover for a bad hair day.
LISA SILK SATIN SHIRT ISABEL MANNS, £295 isabelmanns.com
EAST SCARF AMERICAN VINTAGE, £90 americanvintage-store.com
DOVER TRAINERS PAUL SMITH, £195 paulsmith.com
ELIZABETH LINE
Kate Allden, co-founder of KJ’s Laundry, on a look that is wearable, versatile and effortlessly elegant
The Elizabeth blouse is designed to offer the elusive quality every woman craves from her wardrobe: timeless elegance. Cut from a luxurious cotton - silk blend and inspired by French classics, it drapes beautifully, making it wearable and versatile. During the day, a half-tuck into straight- leg or boyfriend jeans sets the tone for a look that feels undone yet considered. Or wear it untucked over tailored shorts, with your sleeves casually rolled up to the elbow, and add a woven sandal for the kind of understated chic that looks like it happened without you trying.
As autumn kicks into gear, the Elizabeth blouse remains just as effective. Layer under a sleeveless knit or cropped sweater for added warmth, or under a structured blazer for a sharper look that will carry you into the evening. In fact, even at night, the blouse doesn’t miss a step – tucked into a leather skirt or slim trousers and teamed with statement earrings and heels, it becomes effortlessly glamorous. Available in two shades – navy and claret – the Elizabeth blouse is a reminder of what KJ’s Laundry has always stood for: that the best clothes don’t shout; they whisper.
KJ’S LAUNDRY
74 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2PW
kjslaundry.com
606 UNIVERSAL SHELVING SYSTEM
Mark Adams, managing director of Vitsœ, on the challenging times that led to one of the world’s most elegant and practical storage systems
Interview: Viel Richardson
Requirement
The requirement that drove the creation of our 606 Universal Shelving System was a stark one: the complete rebuilding of Europe after World War II. German cities had been reduced to rubble and young designers like Dieter Rams were faced with creating ways of living in a dramatically changed landscape. Gone were large houses with separate rooms. In their place rose tiny apartments where people lived, worked, ate and slept in minimal space. Dieter showed me his 1950s Frankfurt
apartment floor plan – a single room with a shared bathroom down the corridor. The challenge that Dieter and Niels Vitsœ addressed was making these compact spaces truly multifunctional. The solution was vertical: use walls to lift things off the floor. But their most important choice was thinking beyond the immediate problem. They wanted a system that would last and adapt to unforeseen changes. The adaptability their intellectual rigour built into the system from the beginning is why we’re still thriving over 65 years later.
Inspiration
Our inspiration comes from systems thinking and the natural world. I’m an evolutionary biologist by training and that perspective shapes everything. Nature creates resilient, adaptable systems that respond to change without collapsing – exactly what Dieter and Niels were trying to achieve. Nature makes no waste, isn’t obsessed with novelty and favours better over newer. These principles are fundamental. Dieter was influenced by American architects like Skidmore,
Owings & Merrill, who were helping rebuild Germany with modular, systematic approaches. Dieter visited Japan in 1968 and incorporated their design philosophy, which emphasises longevity, simplicity and respect for materials. The beauty of this approach is that it accommodates whatever the future throws at it. We don’t guess what’s coming, we just ensure our designs can adapt to meet it.
Process
When we moved production from Germany to the UK
in 1995, we started from scratch. We took every component to a new supplier and asked: “Can we do this better?” Over 10 years, we made 90 improvements to the system – creating new drawer runners, introducing laser cutting, refining the mechanisms. But we never made a change for change’s sake. Each evolution maintains backwards and forwards compatibility. A customer with a cabinet from 20 years ago can upgrade to our new self-closing door mechanism by removing just four screws. That’s systems thinking in
practice. The aluminium pin that holds everything together exemplifies our approach. They used to have square shoulders that would catch as you pushed them in. We experimented with different shoulder angles, testing them on real installations. Eventually we settled on 50 degrees: smooth enough not to catch, secure enough not to slip. It’s a detail nobody notices, but that’s the point. Most good design is below the perception of the customer.
Materials
We use each material in
the way most appropriate to its properties. Extruded aluminium forms the vertical structural elements, folded steel creates the load-bearing shelves, and wood provides the warm touch points like drawer handles. The steel shelves look modest, but they’re incredibly robust –DJs with large record collections tell us it’s the only system that doesn’t bow.
We constantly evaluate new materials. There’s been a real push for vegan leather, but it isn’t robust enough. Cambridge University has helped us explore hempreinforced biopolymers, but we haven’t found better alternatives for longevity. Real leather is an industrial by-product and lasts for decades. We recently introduced Belgian linen as a leather alternative, choosing a supplier who’s worked with the material for five generations. The key is never forcing materials beyond their capabilities. True sustainability means choosing materials that last.
Philosophy
Our ethos that underpins our work is that we want to allow more people to live better, with less, that lasts longer. It doesn’t mention shelves or furniture because in 20 years we might be doing something completely different. But we’ll still be pursuing that same purpose. We’ve never pursued growth for growth’s sake. We could be bigger if we wanted, but that’s not the point. When a customer moves house, we help them reconfigure everything without charge. The most common thing we hear is: “I wish I’d known about you sooner.” We’re trying to align ourselves as closely as possible to the natural order. Systems thinking, longevity, and respect for resources – these aren’t just design principles, they’re how we believe humans should live on this planet.
VITSŒ
21 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2NG vitsoe.com
NEW
A sense of humour isn’t something necessarily associated with acupuncture – a pursuit that, like most areas of alternative healthcare, tends to take itself very seriously. The smile-inducing name of Marylebone’s new acupuncture clinic, Pricc, suggests this may be the exception. Founded in 2019 by Victorine Pot, whose career change was inspired by the relief she’d gained from acupuncture during a period of illness, Pricc first opened in Notting Hill, where it quickly gained a reputation for affordable, accessible treatments in a playfully pastel-hued setting. Now, Pricc has arrived on New Cavendish Street, offering more of the same. Its experienced practitioners are there to offer support around stress and anxiety, pain management, skincare and other concerns in a suitably relaxed and relaxing environment.
PRICC
31 New Cavendish Street, W1G 9TT
pricc.co.uk
Pricc
Q&A: CONSCIOUS RECOUPLING
Dr Magdalena Goryczko of Dorset Street Psychotherapy on how couples therapy aims to help partners understand each other by first understanding themselves
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Q: In simple terms, what does couples therapy ai m to achieve?
A: Having couples therapy is like hiring a guide for the journey you’re already on, except most couples arrive with the map upside down. They need help putting it right. It’s a designated space where people can pause and ask: “How did we get here? What do we actually want to achieve?” It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong; it’s about helping two people understand why they keep getting stuck.
Q: So it’s not just an attempt to stop couples from arguing?
A: No, it’s an attempt to translate what seems untranslatable. Those midnight fights over dishwasher loading – we decode them. It’s never about the dishes. What emerges might be one person saying: “When you dismiss my way of doing things, I feel like my voice doesn’t matter.” And that feeling predates the relationship, perhaps by decades. The goal isn’t simply fewer fights;
the goal is to help couples build a relationship where they can thrive rather than just co-exist. When couples come, they assume what they need is to communicate better, but what they actually need is to understand better – first themselves, then each other.
Q: So often the core issue isn’t simply poor communication?
A: No, it’s poor understanding. Under pressure, a partner can slip into automatic behaviours that protected them in the past. The withdrawal, the blaming –these aren’t faults to be fixed, they’re survival strategies we need to understand. The first task is noticing what’s happening in the moment of conflict. What’s being triggered? What’s being protected? I might hear someone say: “You’re just like my dad.” That’s not just an insult, it’s a goldmine for us. We’re like detectives of the unconscious, because underneath every “you’re so selfish” there’s a much quieter and
scarier statement: “I don’t matter to you.” That’s where t he work lies.
Q: Your practice has a psychodynamic emphasis. Can you explain what this approach involves?
A: Psychodynamic couples therapy is about excavating the relational unconscious, the hidden scripts, the patterns of behaviour that partners co-create without realising they’re doing it. Most fights are echoes of old scripts playing out. A script could be: “I will be the strong one, so you can be the weak one” – something that person was never allowed to be growing up. The work is about stopping couples seeing each other as enemies, but as two people who keep bumping into each other’s unhealed parts. When someone says: “You’re just like my dad,” it’s a clue. We have the past as a silent third partner in the room.
Q: Is couples therapy just for relationships in crisis?
A: No. We do see couples in crisis, but some of the most powerful work happens long before things reach breaking point. I see couples who have become ‘roommates’: no big fights, they still love each other but the spark is missing. They say: “We’re not unhappy, just not happy.” Then there are the Groundhog Day fighters – same fight, different day. They’re fighting about sex, about in-laws, about dishes, but it’s never really about that. There are also couples experiencing major life changes – a new baby, or an empty nest causing one to panic while the other checks out. I also see the Instagram-perfect couples who look flawless but feel lonely. The question they often have is: “Shouldn’t there be more?” Then there are the pre-emptive strike couples. These are people who’ve seen something go wrong in their families, maybe both sets of parents have divorced, so they come to me before they hit a roadblock. Therapy isn’t just for couples in crisis. >
“Seeing a therapist isn’t an admission of failure. The real failure is letting pride keep you lonely. It isn’t the last rites for a relationship. It’s more like GPS guidance when you’re continually circling the same block.”
enactment of a pattern. When he rolls his eyes exactly as she’s saying: “You’re always criticising me,” we don’t have to imagine this dynamic because it’s right in front of us. What follows is reparation in real time. When she says: “I never knew that your silence meant pain,” that hits much harder than any interpretation I could make. These are the ‘aha’ moments that happen between partners. Nothing we do can replace moments like this. But there are challenges too – couples will always try to recruit me into referee duty. What I do is ask: “What happens when you need a judge, instead of each other?”
Maybe vulnerability was dangerous in the family where they grew up, so that’s why they withhold now. Instead of saying: “You need to stop withdrawing,” we explore what the withdrawal is about. What does it protect? When did you learn that going quiet kept you safe? This keeps both partners out of blame. Rather than one person being ‘the problem’, we’re looking at patterns that made sense somewhere, sometime. It’s about staying curious so both partners can witness the patterns between them and then begin to rewrite t hose scripts.
Q: What happens when one partner is less enthusiastic about the process than the other?
A: It would be naive to think that relationships move in perfect sync. If one partner is reluctant, I become curious. What does this resistance protect? Maybe for them attendance is an admission of failure, or they might be worried they’ll be ganged up on. I meet people where they are. Perhaps starting with them as individuals to build confidence before they attend joint sessions. For somebody who’s inconsistent in their attendance, I explore the meaning behind the absence. I might say: “When you skip sessions, what feelings are you avoiding?” But the truth is, if one partner consistently remains cut off, then we do hit limits, because therapy thrives on curiosity. Even anger has more potential than indifference. If we reach the point of constant indifference, progress is very difficult.
Q: How does working with a couple differ from individual therapy? What advantages are there to seeing the relationship dynamics play out in real time?
A: It’s like the difference between studying a soloist and conducting a duet. Same instruments, entirely different music. The main advantage is seeing real-time
Q: One concern couples may have is that the therapist might take sides. How do you combat this?
A: This fear of being ganged up on is so understandable. We talk a lot about neutrality in therapy, but in couples work, neutrality isn’t about being Switzerland. It’s about seeing each part of the truth with equal compassion. I don’t side with people; I show the patterns. I might say to one partner: “It sounds as though you might be starving for recognition.” But then I’ll turn to the other one and say: “And you might be drowning in ‘not good enough’.” Each pattern reveals the same pain, just different dialects. I might say: “Notice how her nagging spikes when you withdraw. It’s not malice – she panics.” Or: “His sarcasm hurts, but your silence fuels it. Let’s unpack both behaviours.” I’m not pointing fingers at people. My job isn’t to say who’s right or wrong, it’s to expose how being ‘right’ keeps them lonely.
Q: Does looking at defences like withdrawal or blaming as survival strategies rather than bad behaviours change the therapeutic work?
A: It changes everything. I’m not thinking, this is bad behaviour to stop. I’m thinking, what is this protecting this person from?
Q: How do you balance addressing immediate crises with exploring these deeper patterns?
A: When people come in absolute crisis, when there’s been an affair or layoff and they’re drowning in trauma, we first need to stabilise the relationship. You stabilise people so they feel safe here. You don’t go deep first. The goal is to make the past useful, not a ll-consuming.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception you’d like to dispel?
A: There is a perception that seeing a therapist is an admission of failure. The real failure is letting pride keep you lonely. Couples therapy isn’t the last rites for a relationship. It’s more like GPS guidance when you’re continually circling the same block. Think of therapy like hiring a translator for a dialect you’ve both been fumbling with for years. Worst case, you walk out with a dictionary instead of a headache. The bottom line is that nobody needs to believe in therapy; they need to believe that the relationship deserves a fair fight. Your relationship already has everything it needs; you just need a guide to help you put the map the right way up.
A two-bedroom mews house with the rarity of a private garage and garden.
The ground floor features a secure garage with electric doors and openplan kitchen and dining area, which leads to a secluded garden. A modern spiral staircase leads upstairs to a bright and spacious reception room stretching across the full width of the house, along with two double bedrooms and shower room. Immaculately presented throughout, this charming home is tucked away on a quiet cobbled mews in the very heart of Marylebone Village.
Leasehold
£1,395,000
JACOBS WELL MEWS, MARYLEBONE VILLAGE, LONDON W1G
This three-storey mews house, measuring approximately 1,179 sq ft (110 sq m). The ground floor features a generous double bedroom with en-suite shower room. On the first floor, there are two further double bedrooms, a family bathroom, and a separate WC, along with cleverly integrated storage housing a separate washer and dryer.
The top floor presents a bright reception room with ample space for both seating and dining areas, together with a wellappointed kitchen. Additional benefits include garage and air conditioning. Furnished
£1,250 PER WEEK
Hallam Street London W1W
Guide price £1,700,000
Just moments from Oxford Circus, this spacious two-bedroom, apartment in a newly refurbished mansion block offers superb potential.
