Outlook Splurege - September 2015

September 2015 | Vol 4

OUTLOOK SPLURGE September 2015 VOL 4

FASHION’S

NEW MOOD A taste of

mauritius Cover_Sept 15_final.indd 1

Celebrating

250 years

of a cognac legacy 8/26/2015 11:39:29 PM

splurge edit

A season of style F ashion is about change,” tells us iconic designer Karl Lagerfeld in an exclusive interview, on his ongoing romance with luxury maison Fendi. It is actually only about change. Every season ushers a brand-new fashion trend, but some trends last more than others, and that is when they turn into style.

Take for example, Dior’s ‘New Look’ in the 1950s that revolutionized women’s dressing in the decades to come, taking the feminine, full-skirted dress to new heights. More than half a century later, as we have left those decades behind that were nearly complete mini-eras of certain trends, be they the glam ‘70s, the rock ‘80s, or the grunge ‘90s, we’ve reached midway through a new decade of fashion.

We can call it the decade of reinvention, when a crop of fresh-faced, youthful creative directors are changing the course of traditional European fashion houses, and lending it the edge of their favourite decade. It’s dipping into a specific moment in time, transforming it, and making it eternal, in a brandnew collection, for a new audience such as the ever-distracted Millennials. So we bring you some of our favourite silhouettes, textures, and details across our most beloved decades, and create a passionate story against the backdrop of the Fairmont Jaipur.

We also celebrate a cognac anniversary, savour the island flavour of Mauritius, and speak to a British royal about his greatest love, vintage cars.

“

Editor-in-Chief Krishna Prasad President Indranil Roy Associate Publisher Vidya Menon Executive Editor Priya Kumari Rana Business Office Vice Presidents Johnson D Silva, Shishir Saxena National Head Kabir Khattar Business Head (Digital) Avneendra Mani Tripathi Brand Head Jyoti Ahuja Circulation National Head Anindya Banerjee Assistant General Manager G Ramesh (South) Vinod Kumar (North) Production Assistant General Manager Shashank Dixit Senior Manager Shekhar Pandey Accounts General Manager A G Subramaniam

Priya Kumari Rana

Hugo Boss

Senior Manager Diwan Singh Bisht Head Office

contributors

AB-10 Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029, India Tel: 011-33505500 Fax: 011-26191420 Email: outlook@outlookindia.com Other Offices Mumbai Tel: 022-33545000 Fax: 022-33545100 Kolkata Tel: 033-33545400 Fax: 033-24650145 Chennai Tel: 044-33506300 Fax: 044-33506327

Marryam Reshii

Runvijay Paul

Ranjunee Chakma

Manish Mishra

This Delhi-based restaurant critic writes on the world’s top restaurants, travelling off the beaten track for lesser-known cuisines. She loves travel and cannot resist shopping.

He’s a self-taught photographer from Patiala, who apprenticed under the formidable Raghu Rai and mentor Nitin Rai. He’s learnt that to take a good photograph, you need to look beneath the surface.

This stylist shuttles between assignments in Delhi and Mumbai, and describes her fashion sense as simple, yet trendy, and far from OTT. She loves dogs and fashion, but says she could live without the latter.

This Mumbai-based fashion journalist and blogger has written for magazines like L’Officiel, HELLO! and Elle India. He’s passionate about the evolving menswear scene in India and internationally.

Bengaluru Tel: 080-45236100; 45236105 Hyderabad Tel: 040-23371144 Printed and published by Indrani Roy on behalf of Outlook Publishing (India) Pvt Ltd. Printed at IPP Limited. C4-C11, Phase II, Noida and published from AB-10 Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029 Cover & Layout design @alarinks

12 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Editor's Letter_FIN.indd 12

8/26/2015 6:34:43 AM

Advt.

Contents September 2015

Covetables

22 | Cutting-edge Treasures

22

From tiny drones that take off from your thumb, to a digitalized high-tech record player; from a vacuum cleaner-turned-robot to a spectacular flower watch, we’ve got it covered.

Splurge Watch

30 | Hot new Discoveries Take the new Mini Countryvan for a spin, enjoy a picnic in the Alps, find out what’s in store at Madonna’s new Rebel Heart world tour, and uncover James Bond’s latest timepiece.

30 heritage

36 | From rugs to riches This Bhadohi-headquartered luxury carpetmaker’s creations adorn palaces, hotels, and even the White House. We go to their New Delhi boutique to unravel their secrets.

Cover story Fashion

40 | The New Look Youthful creative directors have taken over European couture houses, and infused their own brand of retro chic and classic-meetsmodernity, to create a bold new look.

36

40

14 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Contents_FIN.indd 14

8/26/2015 10:54:22 PM

Advt.

September 2015

Contents COVER STORY Fashion

44 | The New Romance From ‘80s-inspired jackets and the flirtation with Japan to ‘70s-style disco chic and geometrical prints, fashion’s new mélange takes us to a whole new level of chic.

56 | Magical King Karl An icon of our times, the irrepressible Karl Lagerfeld dishes on his love for Fendi, his passion for photography, and how his design sketches obviate the need for any fittings.

HOme design

60 | Eye-popping Lights

56

Axel Meise, the founder of one of the world’s most innovative lighting companies, Occhio, brings to New Delhi its ocular marvels that have found their own space in high-end homes.

44 60 Gastronomy

66 | Tropical Seasoning

68

The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius beckons, for a quick lesson in spicy flavours with a distinctive Creole touch, and the refinement of French fine dining.

High Spirits

68 | Cognac Celebration

66

As the House of Hennessy turns 250 this year, we meet the direct descendant of the original founder, and learn of the special Collector Blend his company has created, as well as his family legacy .

16 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Contents_FIN.indd 16

8/26/2015 10:54:35 PM

Advt.

September 2015

Contents

70 WAnderlust

70 | Bohemian Rhapsody The Hotel Café Royal celebrates 150 years as a London landmark for royalty, high society, and turn-of-the-century Bohemian writers, even as it shows its refurbished suites and restaurants.

72 | Amazing Amsterdam A summer trip to the Dutch capital yields languorous boat rides along pretty canals, quaint villages, the smell of freshly baked bread, and chefs who prepare a sumptuous day’s catch.

TÊte-À-TÊte

76 | Audi’s new Drive Audi India head Joe King speaks about the luxury carmaker’s strategy to capture this niche market, even as it launches a flock of new models.

78 Cars

vintage

78 | Princely Manoeuvres HRH Prince Michael of Kent talks about his impressions of Indian car restoration, as he judges Cartier’s Concours d’Elegance, and tells us about a very special event in Edinburgh.

Parting Shot

80 | America’s Sweetheart

76

The beloved Jennifer Aniston weds in a secret ceremony in her Bel-Air pad, becomes the face of a global brand, and launches her new movie, all in one week. She’s arrived, and how.

18 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Contents_FIN.indd 18

8/26/2015 8:53:48 AM

Advt.

Covetables

Cutting-edge

TREASures

From psychedelic cabinets, and a Star Wars-inspired music machine, to a robotic vacuum cleaner and an Aston Martin picnic hamper, here’s a trove of accoutrements for you and your home. text by Hari Govind Nair

Cabinet Conundrum

B

oca do Lobo cabinets and sideboards are handmade in Portugal by artisans who combine traditional manufacturing techniques with the latest technology. They use the finest materials to shape these striking furniture pieces that find a perfect home in luxurious cosmopolitan environments.

Oblong: The Oblong bar cabinet features metal and wood, with a black gold finish. There is also a mirror on the interior.

Pixel: The Pixel features 1,088 triangles in a mĂŠlange of colours. The polished brass base gives the cabinet a unique personality, while the doors sport a diamond-quilted blue silk fabric on the inside.

Price: `19,12,000 (Oblong); `18,32,000 (Pixel)

Slim Shooter

T

he Ricoh Theta M15 is a slim, 95gm handheld video recorder with a spherical lens that can shoot videos up to three minutes long. Users then transfer videos to a smartphone via wi-fi for editing in a special app for iOS and Android. The fish-eye lenses capture images of just over 180 degrees. The device has 4 GB of internal memory, and has a lithium-ion battery.

It holds 100-1,600 photos and 100-400 videos.

Price: `16,200

22 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Covetables_FIN.indd 22

8/26/2015 2:39:24 AM

New Wave Speakers

A

udiophiles, rejoice. The electrostatic speakers of the Martin Logan Neolith can reproduce the most extraordinary, realistic sound waves.

They are primarily used in professional-grade hi-fi systems and rarely make an appearance in consumer audio, and are uninhibited by room limitations.

Smoothly blended low frequencies are provided by a 15-inch rear-firing ported woofer and a 12-inch front-firing sealed mid-bass woofer, delivering powerful, extremely accurate bass.

Price: `51,74,000

I Musical Creature

t’s a music box by MB&F, that looks like the Imperial Tie Fighter from Star Wars!

Limited to just 99 pieces, the Music Machine 3 has metal lattice-like vertical wings encasing dual music cylinders that play the theme tunes from Star Wars, Mission Impossible, and James Bond films on the right, and The Godfather, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, and The Persuaders on the left.

The wings are manufactured

by JMC Lutherie, and two movements mounted on the tail sections power it, each with its own winding key, a mainspring barrel, horizontal cylinder, and comb for notes.

Price: `11,63,000

Robotic

Vacuum

H

omemakers, help is at hand. The 360 Eye robot by Dyson, uses an unique 360° vision system to navigate a room. Its Radial Root Cyclone technology captures particles as small as pollen, with a 78,000 rpm vacuum cleaner motor. The Dyson Link app allows you to schedule your bot, even when you’re not at home. Price: `49,000 (to be launched)

Cascading

Credit Card Dispenser

H

ere’s a novel way to carry cash. Roland Iten’s RCD 82 Mark II mechanically performing credit-card holder houses a patented sorting lever that cascades up to six credit cards and collapses them back inside the case. Two 5N red-gold push buttons on either side of the case, when pushed simultaneously, discharge the internal carriage in seconds. The sapphire glass windows framed in 5N red gold placed on the titanium front plate allow for an easy view of the credit cards inside. Price to be announced

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 23

Covetables_FIN.indd 23

8/26/2015 2:39:30 AM

Covetables

Handy Intel M y Intelligent Communications Accessory (MICA), is a luxury smart bracelet designed

by Opening Ceremony and engineered with Intel technology. The bracelet, with its 18kt gold coating and sapphire touchscreen, allows you to view messages, calendar appointments, and Facebook and Gmail notifications. Find restaurants and shopping centres nearby, with the built-in Yelp search option.

Price: `32,000

Brilliant Caviar’s Spectacular

Caveat

L

a Prairie joins forces with Baccarat to produce a masterpiece in skincare – Caviar Spectaculaire, limited to just 1,500 pieces. Capturing the wonder of precious caviar, Caviar Spectaculaire contains a 75ml jar of the legendary lifting and firming Skin Caviar Luxe Cream nestled in an exquisite 940gm Baccarat crystal caviar server. The design of the crystal jar is based on Baccarat’s famous Harcourt 1841 glass. Price: `1,31,000

Bloom H

ere’s a piece that marries high horology with high jewellery. The B Crazy Haute Joaillerie by Breguet is a stunning creation that adds to the Swiss watchmaker’s bouquet of diamond watches after Crazy Flower and Petite Fleur. While the caseband is set with more than 1,000 baguette diamonds (totalling more than 70cts), the flange is set in staggered rows with 56 baguette diamonds. The ‘petals’ radiate outwards, mobile around the wrist, while the bracelet is in 18kt white gold and boasts of 200 diamonds. The hour and minute hands on the 133 diamond paved dial are opentipped in steel blue. The watch is powered by the in-house Calbre 586, a self-winding, 29-jewelled movement with a 40-hour power reserve. A sapphire crystal caseback lets you admire the platinum rotor that drives this jewelled piece. Price on request.

24 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Covetables_FIN.indd 24

8/26/2015 2:39:45 AM

Advt.

Covetables

British Heritage Picnic Hamper D

esigned for a party of two, the Aston Martin Picnic Hamper is perfect to dine under the sun (or the stars), for those who like to live in life’s fast lane. This beautifully crafted hamper is made of wicker, and includes 100 percent Scottish lambswool, English fine bone china, and Irish damask linen. The rich saddle leather is in kestrel tan, a contemporary Aston Martin trim colour, and is hand-cut and stitched to encase and fasten each of the 28 components in the hamper. As with any Aston Martin, the colour of the leather detailing can be tailored to one’s choice. Each hamper contains English fine bone china plates, cups, saucers, spoons, and forks, Irish damask linen napkins, lead-free champagne flutes and tumblers, stainless-steel and resin knives, a rosewood and stainless-steel corkscrew, and a Scottish lambswool rollup rug with waxed backing. Price: `2,94,000

Floating Vinyl

Gramophone

J

ust when you thought the days of vinyl were over... The Gramovox Floating Record plays LP records vertically through built-in, dynamic, full-range stereo speakers. The Floating Record’s imaginative design allows it to fit into most nooks and crannies for those who love record players but don’t like their clunkiness. The audio system uses two Tymphany 2” neodymium speakers driven by a 15 W per channel digital amplifier. With an adjustable, carbon-fibre tone arm, this audiophile staple is balanced radially around its main pivot-bearing axis. Price to be announced

Days of the Nano Drone

M

eet the Skeye Nano Drone, the world’s smallest quadcopter. It measures just 1,57 x 1,57 inches, and is so small, it can sit on your thumb and fly on precision-controlled exercises into the tiniest of crevices. Turning cycles, figures of eight, and banking turns, are easily done. The drone has three flight modes: Beginner, Advanced, and an Expert mode. Built-in LEDs make it easy to see the Skeye Nano Drone in low-light conditions.

High-thrust, low weight, and responsive controls allow you to perform amazing manoeuvres with just a flick of the sticks. It also flips and barrel rolls with lightning speed. Price: `3,200

26 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Covetables_FIN.indd 26

8/26/2015 2:39:47 AM

Advt.

Splurge Watch

Mini Country Cousin I t’s the perfect crossover. The new Mini Countryman, recently launched in India boasts of a spacious, five-door car interior and the looks of a Sports Utility Vehicle. This makeover instantly propels the new Mini Countryman onto a broader target group, whose growing family or leisure pursuits have created a need for increased space and flexibility. With its bold, contoured bonnet, a redesigned hexagonal grille, higher ground clearance, and large xenon headlights with LED foglights, it is ready to dominate the roads. Attractive 17-inch alloy wheels add to its visual impact. The vertical rear light clusters add a sporty touch. Inside, slightly raised seating improves the driver’s view of the road; there are height-adjustable Sports Leather seats, and the steering wheel is clad in leather. A state-of-the-art 10-speaker 640 Watt Harmon Kardon hi-fi provides entertainment. A four-cylinder turbodiesel engine powers the car at 82kW/112hp, providing a maximum torque of 270Nm at 1,7502.250rpm, as it surges from 0-100kn/hr in just 11.3 seconds to a top speed of 185km/hr. There’s also a six-speed Steptronic transmission, six airbags, Dynamic Stability Control, Brake Assist, ABS, and Run Flat indicator. The 6.5-inch display with Radio Mini Visual boost, when hooked to apps via a smartphone, provides digital infotainment. Price: `36,50,000 (ex-showroom). n

The new Mini Countryman sets new benchmarks in intelligent, lightweight construction and other technologies

Himalayan Auction

F

(Left) La Martina ambassador ‘Pacho’ with La Martina founder Lando Simonetti (extreme right)

Polo Royal

I

conic polo luxury brand La Martina announces Maharaja Padmanabh ‘Pacho’ Singh of Jaipur as its brand ambassador. The 16-year-old may well be the brand’s youngest ambassador, but boasts of an impeccable polo lineage that goes back over centuries, and has himself collected accolades in the sport, such as getting the Most Valuable Player award at last year’s British Polo Day in India. A student at Millfield School in Somerset, England, he is a rising player, who, one hopes will shine as brightly as former pupils and UK champs Alan Kent and high-goal star Tom Brodie. n

ollowing the mega success of the Himalayan sale in March, Bonhams announces its upcoming Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art Sale to take place in New York on 14th September, 2015. With over 123 lots and total estimates of $2-3 million, the sale will offer up Himalayan bronzes and thangkas, Indian stone, and Indian miniatures. Highlights include a magnificent 15th-century gilt copper alloy 12-armed statue of Chakrasamvara from Tibet (below right), estimated between $400,000-$500,000, and a copper alloy figure of 12th-century Tara in the Pala style from Tibet, estimated at $150,000-250,000. There’s also a group of thangkas, such as this 18th-century one from the Arhat series (top right), in the Palpung style from eastern Tibet, estimated between $20,000-30,000, from the collection of late Tibetan scholar Lobsang P Lhalungpa. A section of the sale will go to Nepal’s earthquake relief fund. n

30 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Splurge News_FIN.indd 30

8/26/2015 3:31:52 AM

Advt.

Splurge Watch

Island Flavours

Dine at any of the seven restaurants at Hayman Island

Enjoy a lavish spread at 3,066m

Picnic in the Alps

E

njoy a splendid gastronomic experience with your family or your love interest, in Europe’s highest barbecue site a Diavolezza, St Moritz, at 3,066 metres above sea level, with a picnic basket filled with goodies: meat (steak, chicken, sausage, or cervelat), salad, fruit, bread, dessert, and an apéritif. You’ll get there in an aerial cable car, and can stay at the Berghaus Diavolezza, where you can check out the lofty heights of the Piz Bernina (4,049m) and the Piz Palü (3,905m), from the panoramic Bellavista restaurant while enjoying traditional Swiss Graubünden and Valtellina specialties. The special picnic, along with a four-course Summer Full Moon menu with champagne, is available until 16th October, weather permitting. Bon apétit! n

E

scape to a private resort in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and enjoy culinary delights prepared by world-class chefs. Dine at Fire, at the One&Only at Hayman Island, with one of the country’s most impressive wine cellars and Aussie cuisine at its best. Let Chef Grant delight you with pan-asian delicacies at Bamboo, and the finest handmade pastas at Amici. Bar Fifty is a watering hole that harks back to the ‘50s, and comes alive post-dinner with its exclusive vintage wines and champagnes. Or, just let the chefs prepare a bespoke meal à deux. n

Costumes for a Rebel Heart

or the charity event Only Watch 2015 that takes place on 7th November in Geneva, Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin crafts a pièce unique Métiers d’Art Mécaniques Ajourées Timepiece, resplendent with an enamelled red ring. With its in-house movement, the Calibre 4,400, this sculptural work with its airy, transparent, and finely arched construction exalts the art of openworking and evokes large, European railway stations of the golden age of industrialization. Moreover, the engraver’s technique shines through with the Grand Feu enamalled ring in red, symbolizing the Principality of Monaco. n

photograph courtesy Shutterstock

Enamelled wonder F Madonna

P

op sensation and cultural icon Madonna is collaborating with Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele on costumes for her forthcoming Rebel Heart tour.

The much-anticipated tour begins on 9th September in Montréal, Canada, and ends in March 2016, in Brisbane. n

32 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Splurge News_FIN.indd 32

8/26/2015 3:31:58 AM

Advt.

Splurge Watch

Bliss in Ananda

N

Ananda has breathtaking views of the Ganges and mountains

Claude Simard and Jill Banwell

An outdoor yoga session

ow, detox with the masters. Über spa Ananda, set on the 100-acre palace estate of the Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal, near Rishikesh in the Himalayas is offering special workshops and private sessions with Visiting Masters Claude Simard and Jill Banwell from 1st to 30th September. Claude is trained in Shiatsu, Thai, and Swedish massage techniques, and is a meditation teacher who integrates inner child therapy and dreamwork into his treatments. He offers classes in Shiatsu and Acupressure Massage Treatment, Psycho Energetic Massage Treatment, and Inner Child Therapy. His life partner Jill is also a therapist and healing art professional for the last 14 years, working internationally in North America, Asia, and Europe in the fields of massage, reiki, tarot, crystal and colour healing, yoga, and meditation. She offers sessions in Intuitive Massage Treatment, Crystal and Colour Healing, Reiki Healing, and Reiki Initiation. Ananda, which has been voted as the World’s Top 5 Destination Spas for eight consecutive years, has recently appointed Gregory Urin as director of Spa Training. Urin comes to Ananda from Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, with 18 years of experience. n

Rising Spectre

F

or once, 007 has made Q proud. Displaying a mixture of interest and uncanny restraint, James Bond star Daniel Craig recently paid a visit to the centre of the Swiss watchmaking universe, for the inauguration of the Omega factory in Villeret. The blond actor, who reprises his role as Britain’s most suave secret service agent in the 24th Bond adventure Spectre, oversaw the production of the new Omega Seamaster 300 Limited Edition Spectre, which goes on sale in September.

“What was so impressive was the fact that these watches are made from the ground up,” says Craig. “You start with nothing, and there’s suddenly this working watch. To see the engineering and legacy that goes into it is what fascinated me.” He was accompanied on the tour by Nick Hayek, Swatch Group CEO, and Stephen Urquhart, president of Omega.

The Seamaster has been James Bond’s watch of choice since the 1995 Pierce Brosnan-starrer GoldenEye, and now collectors and fans of the Bond franchise will be able to snap up this limited edition with its bi-directional, rotating diving bezel, made of black ceramic, combined with a LiquidMetal®12 hour scale, so that time can be kept with any country in the world.

The most striking feature is its black and grey NATO strap with the 007 gun logo engraved on the bracelet strap. The watch is driven by the Co-Axial calibre 8,400 and is limited to 7,007 pieces, a tribute to the most famous member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. n

James Bond star Daniel Craig wearing the Omega Spectre

The actor at the factory in Villeret

Omega’s Seamaster 300 Spectre

34 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Splurge News_FIN.indd 34

8/26/2015 3:32:36 AM

Advt.

HERITAGE

The Dali’s Rose carpet

Magic

Carpets

T

This luxurious carpet-maker’s rugs adorn everything from the White House to the royal palace in Malaysia. We come away mesmerized by the sheer dint of its craftsmen’s artistry and talent.

text by Priya Kumari Rana

he majestic Dali’s Rose, with its sculpted crimson bloom, melting clock, and fabulous tigers hangs behind the glass façade of a MG Road store in New Delhi, a tribute to the eccentric Spanish artist, but also a testament to the extraordinary design, detailing and carpet-making prowess of Hands, a luxury carpet manufacturer headquartered in Bhadohi near Varanasi.

Although Hands was born in the ‘80s, its genesis began a century earlier, in 1881, when an Englishman called A Tellery founded one of the first carpet factories in the hub of India’s carpet-making industry, in the town of Bhadohi, cleverly using the town’s local talent (the area is

famed for its weavers’ expertise since the time of the Mughals). And then 35 years ago, ownership of the factory passed on to the Patodia family, whose patriarch used to once work there, and is today owned by Ravi Patodia, his two sons, and his nephew Deepankar Choudhary, director of Hands, the residential and commercial entity of the parent company, Patodia Exports.

“We’ve always chosen quality over quantity,” says Deepankar, as we walk around the 11,000 sq ft store, referring to other carpet makers who churn out rugs by the droves. There are traditional hand-knotted carpets using fibre wrapped around a loom, which can take up to three months to complete, and hand-tufted

36 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Carpets Hands_FIN.indd 36

8/27/2015 8:54:06 AM

Advt.

HERITAGE rugs, which take a few weeks, and use a tufting tool to form a rug pile on a designed stencil.

On the ground floor, alongside contemporary rugs, lie the exalted Persian carpets, rolled up rack by rack, which are also an essential part of the Hands collection, and include the Isfahan, Tabriz, and Kerman design styles (named after their respective cities in Iran), to name a few.

“What we do in Bhadohi is a knot that’s similar in style to the Kashmir knot, but not the same,” says Deepankar, pointing out the Persian influence on our own carpet-weaving industry.

On the first floor, hang carpets in sophisticated pull-out niches. These form the contemporary collection, made of hand-knotted bamboo silk, which cost over `1 lakh (the hand-tufted ones in wool start at `40,000).

There are also Tibetan rugs that sport a typical ribbed look (made with a steel rod during the weaving process), that cost over `1 lakh for hand-knotted bamboo silk. Hand-tufted wool, whether Tibetan or regular, is the cheapest, a

Hands is also creating bespoke pieces for private villas the world over, thanks to private architecture firms in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

Their latest project is a 40,000 sq ft mansion in Nairobi, Kenya.

The abstract design of a contemporary Hands carpet matches modern interiors

The MG Road showroom with carpet swatches and a meeting area. Inset: the exterior façade

small size of 5,5 x 8 ft starting at `40,000.

Larger, 8 x 10 ft, hand-knotted rugs go for around `1,80 lakh upwards, while the same size in pure silk is around `3,5 lakh.

As the eye wanders over a box of coloured poms under the lettering ‘bespoke’, one realizes that at the heart of an unique carpet is its design. In the design studio on the same floor, sit NIID- and NIFT-trained designers

such as Meenu, A hand-knotted carpet in pure silk who draws out all her designs on a wacom board and uses Texel, a special software for carpet-making, to create her patterns, which are then sent to the weavers at Bhadohi. “I did the carpets for the MGM Casino in Macau, and the Taj Pierre in New York; those were wall-towall carpets,” says Meenu. “Right now, we’re refurbishing the banquet hall carpets at Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai and Taj Palace hotel in Delhi.”

And Hands’ client list is even more impressive than at first glance: all 17 floors of the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, Dubai, the Plaza Hotel, New York, the Ritz Carlton in Singapore, a Louis Vuitton store, Veeraswamy’s restaurant in London, and even the White House. Besides corporate honchos and Bollywood heavyweights like Gauri Khan, they’re also creating bespoke pieces for private villas the world over, thanks to private architecture firms in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai, such as their latest project, a 40,000 sq ft mansion in Nairobi. They’ve also done palaces, such as the Ghantoot palace in Abu Dhabi, and more recently, the Malaysian King’s palace.

But the pièce de résistance at Hands is a small masterpiece, that took its weaver Ramjit Bim 13 long years to make, a hand-knotted silk carpet with the incredible density of 4,900 knots per inch, inspired by a Polynesian carpet seen by Ravi Patodia in a museum in Vienna.

This wonder, that’s not for sale, earned its maker an award from the President of India, and bears testimony to the richness and sheer genius of Indian craftsmen. “Handicraft is still the strength of our country,” says Deepankar. “It generates employment for millions, and we’re just happy to contribute to that. But labour-intensive pieces are getting rarer and rarer.” n

38 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Carpets Hands_FIN.indd 38

8/27/2015 8:54:15 AM

Advt.

Cover Story FASHION

Fashion’s

new

face Splurge looks at the new, talented crop of designers, who are giving design houses a new direction with their refreshing take on things. text by Manish Mishra

Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele

Christian Dior

Fashion is about today. It’s not about yesterday and neither about tomorrow. One look at the direction leading luxury brands are taking, and one can hear an echo of this thought across the board. Be it the modernity and movement at Dior, reinterpretation of glam rock at Saint Laurent, or the gender neutral clothing at Gucci. The underground music movement, art inspiration, and street style have been the key catalysts that morph design houses’ codes and handwritings. Here’s a look at the refreshing approach to aesthetic taking the chic corridors by storm.

New wave at Dior When Raf Simons joined Dior in 2012, he barely had eight weeks to bring out his first couture collection. He suffered from a minimalist tag, given his past at Jil Sander, besides of course, the rich legacy of Christian Dior.

However, he re-imagined the codes of the house, like the bar jacket and ‘50s full-skirted dresses with his own artistic touch. Who can forget the Sterling Ruby artworks, which were digitally printed on gowns and coat dresses? This year his Cruise 2016 show for Dior, held at the Bubble Palace

40 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Cover Story_Fashion_FIN.indd 40

8/26/2015 9:38:16 AM

just outside Cannes, saw a further update of the bar silhouette with new draping and pleating techniques making the ‘60s minis more youthful and utilitarian.

Today’s Dior woman wears a long, knee-length waistcoat with a pair of bermudas. At Dior Homme too, Kris Van Assche has infused a wave of au courant playful vibes. Lettering, pop accents, dots, and floral prints have found their way on tuxedo suits and business formals.

New vision at Zegna Stefano Pilati joined as creative director of Agnona and head of design for Ermenegildo Zegna Couture & Fashion Show, effective from the 1st of January 2013.

Darshan Mehta, president and chief executive officer of Reliance Brands shares, “Pilati’s creativity and fashion lineage has helped the brand ‘step up’ – adding a sense of allure and glamour around the brand. It has also helped target new customers – the Millennials – who are the new face of fashion consumerism in markets like China. With the Spring Summer 2015 collection, Stefano Pilati continued to explore and combine apparent contradictions, something he has been working on in his previous collections too. The silhouettes were more evidently defined in their volumes – the space – and in their graphism, the architecture. Strong, masculine lines were balanced by a contemporary attitude and the ample use of lightweight materials.”

Ermenegildo Zegna’s creative director Stefano Pilati

Ermenegildo Zegna

Gucci

Androgynous allure at Gucci As we say hello to the new fashion cycle, the line between what constitutes masculine and what denotes feminine in fashion is diminishing. Alessandro Michele at Gucci is at the forefront of this gender-less movement who showcased lace and crochet shirts for men in his menswear SS 16 collection. His poetic dandies accent their ‘70s-style pantsuits with floral and butterfly appliqués,

“Stefano Pilati’s fashion lineage has added allure and glamour to Zegna. It has also helped target the Millennials, the new face of fashion,” says Darshan Mehta.

Christian Dior

Louis Vuitton

and glitter sneakers that lace up the ankle like gladiator sandals. He envisioned the new Gucci buyer, who pairs a skirt with a daintily embroidered button-down and a man bag.

THE Rise of Louis Vuitton’s warrior princesses Ever since Nicolas Ghesquière joined the über-luxe label, there’s been a whirlwind of change, beginning with the new logo. Since the Prince of Paris wanted something easier, more supple, less geometric, and rounder to symbolize the new style at the legendary trunk-maker. He referenced a photo from the archives of one of Vuitton’s first boutiques with the house’s slanted initials inside a circle above the door. The revived logo is now etched on the clasp of Ghesquière’s trunk-shaped clutches. His Resort 2016 line showcased maxi dresses, floor-grazing gowns in crimson leather with a ruffled neckline and LV monogramme cutouts – all spelling a young, biker chic look laced with luxe appeal.

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 41

Cover Story_Fashion_FIN.indd 41

8/26/2015 9:38:26 AM

MODERNITY AT HUGO Boss Saint Laurent

In 2013 Jason Wu became creative director of Hugo Boss womenswear. Wu has infused lightness to the clothes, replacing suits and severe jackets with slipdresses and embellishments. It’s a whole new Boss woman – someone who harbours a penchant for natty button-downs and cut black trousers but also likes to shake things up in the evening. Jason hasn’t neglected the original customer, and brought younger buyers to the house.

As for menswear, Harish Chandra, country manager, Hugo Boss, says, “Hugo Boss prides itself on an individual approach to clients and the highest quality goods, as the brand constantly works on the needs of the modern man.”

Reinterpreting Glam Rock – Saint Laurent and Diesel Black Gold

Diesel Black Gold

Corneliani

Tod's

In the three years since Hedi Slimane took the reins at Saint Laurent, the brand has more than doubled its sales revenue.

Eyebrows were raised when Yves was axed from YSL for the company’s readyto-wear line. Despite being booed by critics at the outset, Hedi stuck to his core aesthetic and sort of brought back the ‘70s, which other designers lapped up later. Black tuxedo pants and dresses worn with wide-brimmed hats were instant hits. Later collections saw rocker-chic looks with ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s styling – there were super-skinny leather pants, fringed ponchos reminding one of Western movies, and motocross jackets worn with mini crinis.

Talking about glam rock, Diesel Black Gold FW 15 is the contemporary collection from Diesel, offering edgy rock chic to a sophisticated clientele. “The line takes its parent brand’s irreverent attitude and innovative techniques to new heights of refinement. Texture and material are at the forefront of creative director Mr Andreas Melbostad’s FW 15 collection. The collection is informed by a signature attitude drawn from a play on established men’s codes juxtaposed with irreverent counter-culture influences. In this range, London tailored traditions and fabrications are interacting with punk and rocker references. Tweeds and treated denim gives a new palette of textures.

A tweed punk jacket is combined with cut, seamed, and distressed jeans,” says Darshan Mehta.

Hugo Boss

Playfulness at Tod’s Alessandra Facchinetti has been called “Italy’s most underrated young woman designer” by fashion journalist Sarah Mower.

At Tod’s she’s made it classic, chic, and playful at the same time while injecting a strong Italian identity to it.

She worked on the famous Tod’s moccasin and brought something more feminine, like a ballet shoe to it.

Sporty chic at Corneliani Salesh Grover, business head, OSL Luxury Collections Pvt Ltd-Corneliani shares, “French model Vincent LaCrocq is the new face for Corneliani’s Fall Winter 2015 menswear campaign. In the upcoming Fall Winter 2015 ad campaign Sergio Corneliani (creative director) has showcased both sportswear and sartorial style. Vincent is quite the refined youth vision in suiting, fall knitwear, and sportswear. The upcoming ad campaign has been photographed by Johan Sandberg against the 16th-century Palazzo Te in Mantova as the backdrop. The brand is targeting a more youthful yet fashion-conscious audience, with its new designs, styles, and quality fabrics.” n

42 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Cover Story_Fashion_FIN.indd 42

8/26/2015 9:38:40 AM

Advt.

Cover Story FASHION

romance The new

This Fall, go head over heels for fashion’s new look, where the late ‘70s meet the early ‘80s in a delightful melée of styles.

From ‘70s sequins to the checked pantsuit, from double-breasted jackets, to feminine capes and skinny belts, to tapered trousers and a Japan-influenced construction, all hail this season’s love affair. photographed by RUNVIJAY PAUL styled by RANJUNEE CHAKMA makeup by KANGNA KOCHHAR hair by HIRA models MANU BORA, PRATEEK BALHARA, IReN (BRAVE MODELS MANAGEMENT), BARBORA (DIVA MODELS). location courtesy THE FAIRMONT JAIPUR

The return of the suave turtleneck and the ritzy charm of disco chic.

On her: Sequinned gown: Rohit Gandhi+Rahul Khanna Bag: Jimmy Choo Cuff: Outhouse Earrings: Sunar On him: Turtleneck: Corneliani Pants: Canali Watch: Montegrappa

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 44

8/26/2015 10:45:34 PM

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 45

8/26/2015 10:45:35 PM

Peplum and plaid win the day.

On her: Fishtrain gown: Gauri & Nainika Bag: Michael Kors Watch: Omega Bracelet and ring: KS Durlabhji On him: Jacket: Corneliani Shirt: Corneliani Jeans: Armani Shoes: Heel & Buckle Pocket square: Ermenegildo Zegna Watch: Ulysse Nardin

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 46

8/26/2015 10:45:38 PM

The peekaboo caped crusader.

Cape and skirt: Not So Serious Pallavi Mohan Scarf (used as top): Shingora Shoes: Christian Louboutin Hand harness: Outhouse Bag: Furla

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 47

8/26/2015 10:45:41 PM

When 3D floral appliquĂŠ meshes with herringbone and sleeveless jackets.

On her: Dress: Lecoanet Hemant Bag: Dior Shoes: Jimmy Choo Ring: KS Durlabhji Necklace (used as headband): Sunar On him: Shirt, coat, leather jacket, and pants: Ermenegildo Zegna Shoes: Christian Louboutin Watch: Ulysse Nardin Pen: Montegrappa

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 48

8/26/2015 10:45:43 PM

Party, épaulette and pailleté style.

Sequinned dress: Rohit Gandhi+Rahul Khanna Earrings: Sunar Cuff: Outhouse

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 49

8/26/2015 10:44:03 PM

A retro-cool suit evokes the nonchalance of ‘80s cult classic Miami Vice.

Suit: Canali Loafers: Canali Bag: Davidoff Watch: Montegrappa

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 50

8/26/2015 10:44:06 PM

Walk this way: a revival of style.

Left to right: Coatdress: Bottega Veneta; Bag: Dior; Shoes: Michael Kors; Watch: Omega. Jacket, shirt, and pants: Ermenegildo Zegna; Shoes: Christian Louboutin; Watch: Michael Kors; Sunglasses: Dolce & Gabbana. Sleeveless woollen top and pants: Dior; Shoes: Christian Louboutin; Necklace, ring, and earrings: KS Durlabhji; Watch: Omega. Double-breasted suit: Canali; Shoes: Armani; Watch: Montegrappa; Sunglasses: Armani. Suitcase and stroller: Louis Vuitton (from the personal collection of Tikka Shatrujit Singh of Kapurthala).

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 51

8/26/2015 10:44:09 PM

The return of the monokini, this time colour-blocked.

On her: Swimsuit: Shivan & Narresh Shoes: Christian Louboutin Watch: Omega Ring: KS Durlabhji Cuff: Outhouse Mobile phone: Vertu Sunglasses: Versace Sling bag: Furla On him: Bermudas: Canali

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 52

8/26/2015 10:44:11 PM

Jewel and desert tones, a touch of the louche, and narrow pants evoke the heady days of YSL in the decade of excess.

Jacket, shirt, pants: Ermenegildo Zegna Shoes: Christian Louboutin Watch: Michael Kors Sunglasses: Armani Suitcase: Louis Vuitton (from the personal collection of Tikka Shatrujit Singh of Kapurthala)

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 53

8/26/2015 10:44:13 PM

Big in Japan: Kimono blacks meet geometric prints.

On her: Jacket and pants: Dior Belt: Armani Shoes: Michael Kors Bag: Michael Kors Necklace: Outhouse On him: Sweater, shirt, and pants: Paul Smith Shoes: Canali Mobile phone: Vertu

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 54

8/26/2015 10:44:17 PM

Fashion’s way forward in the season’s big accessory, the scarf.

Shirt and scarf: Corneliani Pants: Canali Belt and shoes: Ermenegildo Zegna Sunglasses: Hugo Boss Bag: Davidoff

Fashion Shoot_jaipur_FIN.indd 55

8/26/2015 10:44:20 PM

Fashion

King

KARL

Fashion’s greatest icon, Karl Lagerfeld, tells Splurge about Fendi’s unique secrets, even as he celebrates 50 years as creative director of the Italian luxury maison.

Karl Lagerfeld

H

ave you always been passionate about fashion?

When I was a child I didn’t know you could live out of fashion. I had no plans, but I was always ready for the unexpected.

Fendi’s furs

Fendi Haute Fourrure

What are your thoughts about Carla and Adele Fendi?

Carla was kind of a genius. I loved Adele Fendi, the founder of the house… she was really a matriarch; she was great, a woman with an incredible charm. She was unbelievable.

Can you tell us a secret about Fendi?

Fendi’s biggest secret is the unique craftsmanship of the best Italian artisans. The acquisition by the LVMH group gives the brand an unique international dimension and the possibility to be modern and avant-garde at the same time. It has gained a global dimension with a strong Italian and unique Roman backbone.

In a country like Italy, where there is so much patrimony and heritage, it is impossible to forget about them.

What does creativity mean to you?

Being creative means to have ideas and to work with those ideas together with the right people who can understand and realize them. Creativity with no vision, or developed with people who have no talent to build something, is worthless.

Creativity is like breathing to me.

Do you have an archive that you consult for new ideas for Fendi collections?

I have no archives, but Fendi does. It seems I have

realized more than 50,000 sketches for Fendi…

Do you have one fur piece since you began, which means more to you than the others?

No! That’s in the next collection, which I have not made yet…

If you could sketch Fendi in the future, how would you see the brand going, and in which direction?

Fendi is a global brand with high quality and modern design. It is moving forward, changing, and enticing. I like to change as well, while the world is changing. With fashion, you have to.

That’s what fashion is about!

What does photography mean to you?

I like to think of it as a full-time hobby.

What is the difference between designing, fashion, and taking pictures?

It’s the next step. I photograph a lot of clothes that are not designed by me. It is to give a visual impact to clothes. It all depends on how you see them and what you do with them. The mood of the girls you are photographing is also crucial.

You manage so many things – from art, to shooting, and collections. How can you do all these things?

It’s easy to work with me in terms of fashion, because I sketch in a way that people can nearly do the dresses without me coming in for a fitting. You can see every single detail, every proportion, every cut, everything. My sketches are like images of things that already exist. My whole approach is conceptual; it’s not the couturier draping stuff. n

56 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Fashion Karl Lagerfeld_FIN.indd 56

8/26/2015 9:52:04 AM

Advt.

Fashion

Reversible hoodie

Into the

blue

Barbara Grotto, daughter of the founder of Italian denim brand GAS, tells us about youthoriented campaigns and smart innovations.

A Fall Winter GAS look

Shopping bag

Leather jacket

Zippered trench GAS belt

V

enice-based premium denim company GAS has just produced a capsule collection for Honda, shown across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. GAS has had a tradition of being associated with the world of biking, having partnered with Honda and Moto Grand Prix since 1997.

“We’ve designed the teamwear for the Moto GP,” says Barbara Grotto, GAS head of communications and daughter of the founder, on her visit to New Delhi. “In fact, the faces of our new campaign include Marc Marquez, current Moto GP champion, and the youngest to win the title, and British supermodel Stella Maxwell.”

Barbara As a youth-oriented company, GAS Grotto is no stranger to innovation. They’ve designed award-winning marketing campaigns such as ‘Free for 30 Seconds’ a few years ago, where anyone could register to play a special game, logging on to GAS’s online store for exactly 30 seconds, to make a purchase that was absolutely free.

GAS prides itself on denim made in Italy, with 40 percent of the business centred on it. “We bring our heritage, and our DNA in quality and innovation,” says Barbara. They’ve just launched a pop-up collection of super high-quality jeggings for women that accentuate curves or the perfect ‘B-side’. They’re also producing their next capsule collection of denims in brown, grey, and green, with a shiny, wax-like finish for the evenings. GAS also retails high-end jackets, polos, T-shirts, dresses, sweaters, in fact the entire apparel range (the collection is priced at `7,000 onwards).

With neighbours like Diesel, Replay, and Armani Jeans in the ‘Denim District’ of Venice, it’s easy to see how GAS is at the forefront of denim creativity.

“It’s a fabric to experiment with. Denim can be vintage, innovative or shiny.

You should be able to wear it to work, or to go clubbing,” says Barbara. n

Looks from GAS’s latest collection

58 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Fashion Gas_FIN.indd 58

8/26/2015 9:57:37 AM

Advt.

HOME DESIGN

The eyes Have It

With its ‘next-gen’ LEDs and stunning modular designs, German lighting solutions company Occhio has captured the world’s attention.

We meet founder Axel Meise in New Delhi, as he’s on a mission to light up our homes.

Occhio founder Axel Meise with his new Occhio io 3d collection, at the Lightbox showroom in New Delhi

Occhio Lighting_FIN.indd 60

8/26/2015 10:30:13 AM

Advt.

I

f light is the ‘fourth dimension’ of architecture, then a futuristic lighting product

by Occhio (‘eye’ in Italian) is surely a Ferrari amidst a sea of ordinary lamps. Founded in 1999 by self-taught German designer Axel Meise, this Munich-based, award-winning lighting systems and design company is today one of the most innovative in its field, and has revolutionized the way we look at brightening up our interiors.

The silver-haired Axel Meise is at Lightbox, a light boutique in an upscale building on MG Road, Delhi, where he’s been retailing his unique, modular offerings for two years.

“We’ve just crossed one million Occhios sold in the last 16 years worldwide,” he smiles.

It’s a remarkable figure considering the tight, niche market that his company operates in, and the price that each piece commands (prices start at `14,000). So what is so unique about an Occhio? For starters, the ten different body designs fall within four collections, and are aesthetically designed, ergonomic, and come with interchangeable parts in six colours, hence the modularity. Secondly, each light uses a high-technology LED ‘chip’ that can be changed as per one’s lighting needs, or powerful halogen mini bulbs. In brief, an Occhio light is the perfect marriage of form and function.

“A designer needs to relate his creation to functionality, as well as technology,” says the Düsseldorf-born Meise, who received a degree in mechanical engineering from a university in Munich. “But you need intuition, and feeling, two things you can teach yourself.” It’s Meise’s obsession with light from the age of 15, that set him to market his own table lamp while in high school, and eventually form his own company, Axelmeiselicht. This became Occhio when Meise ‘rediscovered’ his old partner from his halogen lighting design days, Christopher Kubler, in the late ’90s. Meise’s lighting credits in New Delhi include the Indira Gandhi

“In the past, before Occhio, you had to mix different products to create the right light, which didn’t satisfy me.

That is why I created Occhio.

This is one world, where everything fits together.”

Memorial Museum (which use the ceiling-embedded spotlights, from the Piu Piano series), and the German Embassy.

Each Occhio light treats the lens as its signature component. “The lenses look like eyes,” says Axel Meise. “And take light from outside. It’s the most advanced optical instrument there is.” The optical glass is glare-free and sourced from all over the world. In the spherical Occhio io 3d, his latest product, that comes as table, ceiling, hanging, or side lamp versions, the twist-off lens opens to reveal a next-generation, ‘high-colour’ CRI (colour rendering index) 95, Japan-made LED chip, the heart of the Occhio lighting system. (The colour rendering index measures perceived quality of light on a visible light spectrum. In natural sunlight, a CRI of 100 is the reference.)

Occhio lights come close, at a CRI of 95, for superb light.

What characterizes the Occhio io 3d, which is velvety to the touch, with invisible joints, and a tactile, circular, magnetically changeable insulated grip (this comes in six colours), is that it can be moved around and made to look different with the contrasting colours. “This is modularity. You get exactly what you need as a customer. You can individualize the product, and get your personal version of Occhio,” says Meise. You can even change the colour of the light, by inserting a special filter in green, red, blue, yellow, and magenta.

“In the past, before Occhio, you had to mix different products to create the right light, which didn’t satisfy me. That is why I created Occhio. This is one world, where everything fits together.” In the store, the suspended Divo, is more like a work of art than a light, and the Piu spotlight system on the ceiling, offers interchangeable LED chips (in high-colour and the slightly lower CRI flux, for museums, offices and shops) and halogen bulbs, the advantage of which is dimmability. Axel Meise’s Occhio, with its team of 70, supports architects and planners for their projects, the most noteworthy being, a bank in Stuttgart, a tobacco company in Bristol, a Rolls-Royce showroom in Geneva, a boutique in Munich, and a palatial residence in Köln. Two of his biggest projects have been in India, in Delhi and Agra, both residential. “They were really impressive,” says Meise. “The need for good lighting exists, but people don’t know where to go and what products to use.” With a couple of thousand units sold out of Lightbox, he’s looking forward to new growth in India. “Occhio is luxury; good lighting equals luxury. It means quality of life.” n

62 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Occhio Lighting_FIN.indd 62

8/26/2015 10:30:21 AM

Advt.

Gastronomy

Mauritius is

Delicious God created heaven first, and then Mauritius, said Mark Twain. Besides being a tropical paradise with its pristine beaches and luxe resorts, it’s also a culinary haven, finds Marryam Reshii

I

magine crossing by ship from Africa to Asia and suddenly chancing upon a lush tropical island with no human habitation at all. Imagine that you could choose how you wanted to decorate the island. Well, in a nutshell, that is pretty much the history of Mauritius. Discovered by the Portuguese, developed by the Dutch who brought in the sugar industry, manicured by the French who gave it its undeniable style, it went to the British who brought workers to toil in the labour-intensive sugar industry from another one of their territories: India!

One of the first things I ate there was a Victoria pineapple. Tiny – no larger than an ice-cream stick – and intensely sweet, it was sprinkled over with an addictive mixture of salt and coarsely pounded red chilli powder.

While the fruit could be compared to South African pineapples, the salt and chilli was straight from India. In a trice, I had figured out where Mauritius figured on the cuisine continuum.

Amari by Chef Vineet Bhatia, at LUX Belle Mare

66 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Mauritius - Food_FIN.indd 66

8/26/2015 10:36:41 AM

In my one week on the island, it appeared that every square metre was planted with sugar cane. Even the sides of the runway were verdant with the trademark emerald green as we touched down. Sugar not only gave employment, it created a few nabobs – the plantation owners, overwhelmingly all French. The by-product is – no prizes for guessing – rum, the drink of choice over wine. The nabobs lived in grand mansions, where everything from the wallpaper to the wine goblets came straight from France. The architecture, now, was another matter. That was completely vernacular: neither Asian, nor African, nor European, but an utterly charming blend of all three overlaid with a ‘plantation’ style. The mansions were usually located in vast grounds, most of which overlooked the sugarcane fields.

Times change, and how. Yesterday’s market for sugar has shrunk; the French have a minimal presence in Mauritius, but their homesteads have found another use: as hotels and upmarket restaurants. Most of the top hotels on the island have been made on the site of the grand châteaus. Telfair Golf Resort and Spa is just one example, though a particularly apt one, for not only has the beachside resort come up on plantation land in the extensive Bel Ombre estate, but there’s a nameless château too on the premises, the perfect place for dinners with white-gloved service. The château serves the cuisine that embodies Mauritius. We were served excellent French mini baguettes with butter and chutney! Without in the least meaning to bow to consumer preference, the menu ranged from almost purely French preparations to almost overwhelmingly Indian ones.

Near the stunning Pamplemousses Gardens, where 300-year-old trees are planted in a garden with a Mauritian-French sensibility, is the equally jaw-dropping Château Labourdonnais. All white and cream colonnaded verandahs and balustrades, it tells the story of how the upper echelon lived. But after I gaped in astonishment at the Limoges porcelain and the leather writing desk, it was time to have lunch at the Terrace Café. Though the open plan of the café was simple, the food was Mauritian comfort food, which, I was soon to discover, meant one thing: seafood. You could choose from a variety of fish and it would be cooked largely French-style, but with an undertone of Creole seasoning: tomatoes, onions, green chillies, and garlic cooked together was to follow me through my trip, sometimes in the guise of an African-style seasoning, at other times in a classic French sauce without the chillies, but always like a Mauritian rougaille. That was the beauty and versatility of the cuisine.

A modern Mauritian dish

The beach as seen from the Maradiva Villas Resort & Spa

All-day dining at the Coast 2 Coast restaurant at the Maradiva

Fish cooked French-style, but with an undertone of Creole seasoning: tomatoes, onions, green chillies, and garlic cooked together was to follow me through my trip, sometimes in the guise of an African-style seasoning, and at other times in a classic French sauce, without the chillies.

On the east coast, reputed to have the finest beaches, is Long Beach Resort whose executive chef, Prakash Seetul, is a man in a hurry.

After having worked in Paris at The Crillon, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten and at the St Regis, Doha, he is back in his homeland, rearing to farm seaweed and grow vegetables to enrich his guests’ experience. “I don’t want blue marlin to be available just on the breakfast buffet,” he tells me. This king of fish is caught in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mauritius and has come to symbolize exotic ingredients in Mauritius, as have hearts of palm. Seetul’s point is that more needs to be done to blue marlin than to merely smoke it. Already, his seafood ‘shack’ serves home-style Mauritian food. I dipped into a divine fish curry with aubergines, redolent with the flavour of fenugreek. Long Beach is certainly a destination worth watching out for, because of Chef Seetul.

And there’s a bonus: in next door LUX Belle Mare, our very own Chef Vineet Bhatia has his breathtaking restaurant, Amari. If I am allowed to have a say in my last meal on this planet, I’d choose his Sambhar Podi Lobster while looking out over the snowy white sands on to the azure sea. n

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 67

Mauritius - Food_FIN.indd 67

8/26/2015 10:36:51 AM

High SPIRITS

NECTAR GODS OF THE

On the 250th anniversary of the world’s oldest cognac maker, Splurge catches up with Maurice-Richard Hennessy, the direct descendant of the original founder, who tells us about the exclusive H250 blend, and preserving a family legacy.

Top: Maurice-Richard Hennessy is the direct descendant of Irishman Richard Hennessy, who founded the company in 1765.

Left: The H250 Collector Blend, comes in a gift box etched with a silver world map.

68 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

High Spirits_Nactor.indd 68

8/26/2015 10:39:50 AM

P

lease tell us about the H250 Collector Blend.

Master blender Yann Fillioux, with his Comité de Dégustation (Tasting Committee), selected special eaux-de-vie, aged in 250 handmade, 250 litre barrels of Limousin oak.

The H250 Blend is limited to 250 barrels of 250 litres to be sold worldwide. Hennessy has chosen young designer Stephanie Balini to create an original crystal decanter of the H250 Blend. The price for the H250 Collector Blend in India is $538.

What are the notes of the H250 Blend?

The Hennessy 250 Collector is in a bright, warm shade of amber, and reveals notes of bitter orange and fresh nutmeg, liquorice, dried peppermint leaves, and precious spices such as saffron.

It also has exceptional elegance, highlighted by a delightful nuance of spicy complexity.

not just a family. Maurice Hennessy, my grandfather taught me everything I know and passed down to me his passion for the savoir faire of the Maison Hennessy and for the people that work there and their talent: from the wine-growers, to the members of the tasting committee.

Left to right: The founder, Richard Hennessy; Oak barrels that age the cognac; Hennessy’s Chateau de Bagnolet in Cognac, France; The Distillery du Peu at the company’s estate in Cognac.

What are the key values of Hennessy that you in turn, would pass on to your children?

The life lessons my grandfather shared with me:

How did Hennessy remain a family company, even after it was bought over in the ‘70s and ‘80s by Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton? never take things for granted; you need to make your utmost, using your talent, knowledge and experience, and to help people discover Hennessy cognacs.

Generations of two families, Hennessy and Fillioux, have built Hennessy since the creation of the House in France 250 years ago.

The Hennessy and Fillioux family lineages have grown together, branch by branch, for generations, the Hennessy family passing on their business spirit and vision, and the Fillioux family handing down their expertise in the creation of cognacs. This collaboration is unique in the world, and is part of Hennessy’s legacy.

As a direct descendant of the Irish founder, Richard Hennessy, how do you maintain this legacy?

I was raised with a consciousness of respect for my family. My grandparents were active and involved. We were a close family, and so early on, I had the notion of belonging to a clan, to history,

“I was raised with a consciousness and respect for my family.

Early on, I had the notion of belonging to a clan, to history, not just a family,” says MauriceRichard Hennessy.

What is the most expensive cognac in your collection? Is this available in India?

Hennessy’s most expensive label, that is not a limited edition like the Hennessy 250 Collector blend is ‘Richard Hennessy’. This is an unique blend of exceptional and rare eaux-de-vie aged from 40 years to nearly 200 years. Each carafe is numbered and made of pure hand-blown crystal. Richard Hennessy reaches heights that approach cognac perfection. It retails for about $3,900 in India.

Where does India figure in your list of markets?

The three most important markets worldwide are the United States, China, and Russia. However, India is a very promising emerging market for Hennessy, as it benefits from a leadership positioning and high awareness in India, due to the fact that Hennessy has been present in the country for almost 200 years. The first export to India dates from 1818.

Which are your favourite Hennessy cocktails?

I enjoy different sorts of Hennessy cocktails, long drinks with ginger ale or cranberry juice or then classics, like the Sidecar and the Old Fashioned. n

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 69

High Spirits_Nactor.indd 69

8/26/2015 10:39:54 AM

Wanderlust

Hail

Britannia As it celebrates its 150th anniversary, London’s iconic Café Royal, now a 5-star luxury hotel, pays homage to its history, and with a bevy of new restaurants and refurbishments.

The Café Royal sits next to Mayfair and Soho, and is a five-minute stroll from Jermyn Street and Savile Row

T

he great writer and poet Oscar Wilde, a regular patron of Café Royal, is said to have drunk so much absinthe on one occasion that he hallucinated a bartender stacking chairs to be a girl picking flowers in a field. Princess Diana was often spotted having lunch here. These are just some of the remarkable people whose stories are embedded in the hotel’s history, which began in 1865, after a French wine merchant, Daniel Nicholas Tévenon and his wife Céleste, escaped poverty and creditors in Paris, and settled on the famous Regent Street to open their café.

(Regent Street was designed by John Nash in 1825 for the Prince Regent (later George IV), and even today, the area be-

longs to the Crown Estate, with strict restriction applying to proprietors.) The Café Royal, a meeting place for intellectuals that saw a stream of writers like Arthur Conan Doyle, Virginia Woolf, and Rudyard Kipling, as well as Winston Churchill, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, finally became Hotel Café Royal in December 2012, after a sizeable investment from the owners of The Set Hotels, and a four-year refurbishment by David Chipperfield Architects.

As the Café Royal celebrates its 150th year, it pays homage to its history, with its grand areas sensitively restored, and with a selection of restaurants, bars, and event areas that reflect its traditional hospitality and dining. Today, you will find 160 con-

70 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Travel_Cafe Royal London_FIN.indd 70

8/26/2015 10:42:08 AM

temporary guestrooms, including 54 suites and seven signature suites.

At the heart of the hotel, is the Ten Room, an informal all-day dining space which used to be one of London’s most renowned dining rooms.

Chef Armand Sablon has created a menu that takes British tradition and infuses it with contemporary flavour. And since the hotel is a stone’s throw away from the theatrical attractions of Piccadily, there is also on offer pre- and posttheatre dinner for theatre buffs who don’t want to miss out on fine-dining pleasures. The hotel recently offered guests ‘Bring your own ingredient’ at the Ten Room, where chefs have been given ingredients as eclectic as Wotsits, Cadbury’s Crème Eggs, and ham to challenge them for a four-course menu that they prepare onsite. The chef then pre-

Views at dusk from the Dome Suite’s terrace

The Oscar Wilde Bar with its gilded roof

pares a signed recipe of the guest’s preferred course to take away.

Another iconic destination at the Café Royal is the Green The Green Bar Bar, an homage to the infamous ‘green fairy’, the beverage of choice for the adherents of bohemian culture in the early 20th century – writers, artists, and musicians.

The Green Bar is headed by mixologist Antonio Catapano, who prepares the Absinthe Pimm’s (made up of La Fée Absinthe, Sipsmith Summer Cup orange juice, a splash of lemonade, and fresh cucumber). Aficionados can also savour American and French absinthes from special absinthe ‘fountains’. The Oscar Wilde Bar, formerly the Grille Room, has been named after Café Royal’s most famous patron, where he would socialize with prime minister Winston Churchill. It has been restored to its full glory, keeping intact the grand ceiling cartouches, marble, and mirrors from the

The Green Bar is an homage to the infamous ‘green fairy’ or absinthe, the beverage of choice for the bohemians of the early 20th century – writers, artists, and musicians.

The Oscar Wilde Bar has been named after its most famous patron.

old days, and using over 10,000 sheets of gold leaf.

And while gentlemen would smoke in this dark bar, the ladies used to retire to play dominos in the pretty Domino Room, connected to the bar via a hidden staircase. Today, The Domino is the new fine-dining experience that heralds its return to London’s vibrant social scene.

As for the suites, five suites have been restored to their original grandeur, the Club, the Tudor, the Celestine, the Empire, and the Dome Penthouse.

The Dome Penthouse (£14,000 a night) has been described as the ultimate ‘rock n roll residence with a Mary Poppins view’, and is a three-bedroom, 291 sq m space divided into three by an emerald green partition. Half the suite is a living space for work as well as entertaining. A DJ sound system with concert speakers and an impressive LED lighting system projected on to the domed ceiling, take the suite from serene to party central in a few seconds. Two spacious terraces offer sweeping views of London from the same vantage point as the large statue of Britannia, and are perfect to host guests, or simply to admire the city’s icons. The suite comes with private butler service, and access to The Club, a members-only area that boasts of patrons such as Stephen Fry and Jo Malone.

And to detox, there is the Akasha spa, with the city’s first Watsu pool for hydro treatments.

The most exclusive treatment on offer at the spa is the Valmont Elixir des Glaciers facial (£350 for 90 minutes), an anti-ageing facial to firm and smooth the skin. And to take a little of Café Royal back with you, there are house-made pastries, macaroons, pralines, and inhouse caviar and tea brands.

Times may have changed since 1973, when David Bowie shed his famous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, in the party of the century, the infamous ‘last supper’, attended by The Rolling Stones, Lulu, and Mike Reid, but this unshakeable British icon remains steadfast. n

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 71

Travel_Cafe Royal London_FIN.indd 71

8/26/2015 10:42:17 AM

Wanderlust

Going

DUTCH

A watercraft docked at the the boat club at Kudelstaart near Alsameer, near the airport

Ajit Rana soaks up the summer sun in Amsterdam, exploring picturesque canals in luxurious boat rides, and savouring fresh seafood in surrounding villages.

A

msterdam has always fascinated me, and every time I return, the desire to spend a substantial amount of time there is rekindled. This visit however, I was to see and experience new sights, tastes, and sounds in a way that I hadn’t ever before. Our hotel, The Conservatorium, itself is unique in its architecture and history. This building that started off as part of the Museum Quarter in the 19th century, later became home to three musical institutes, before finally being converted into a hotel in 2011. The front brick façade is encased in a glass structure, and this forms the lobby, lounge, café, and front office of the

72 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Travel - Amsterdam_FIN.indd 72

8/26/2015 10:23:59 PM

photographs by Ajit Rana

hotel. In the front entrance lobby hangs a chandelier made of violins that reveals this building’s musical heritage. Only the rooms are housed in the original brick structure.

On the first day of our trip, while the wife had meetings, a business associate of mine decided not to discuss work in the lobby or a meeting room but instead do so while showing me places outside the Dutch capital that are off the beaten path.Being a foodie, the idea of visiting a restaurant where all ingredients are grown in-house by the chef sounded exactly like the learning experience it promised to be.

Vork & Mes in Hoofddorp run by Chef Jonathan Karpathiosis is a ship-like aluminium and glass structure with a waterfall cascading across the roof and falling dramatically at the entrance.

Everything here is organic, which is clearly reflected in the freshness of the culinary palate.

As we went on beyond Schiphol Airport, we found ourselves driving along canals in the Aalsmeer area flanked by beautiful homes that had their own docks with boats. I was told that in a recent survey, when asked about whether they would give up going away on vacations or their boats, the Dutch were categorical about their love for their boats! Being a warm, sunny day, the canals were dotted with several vesselsof different shapes and sizes. We stopped at a small rustic eatery that served a specialty of the region – smoked eel. Needless to say, only politeness made me stop after two servings.

The following day, friends had arranged a private boat to take us on a half-day tour of the Amsterdam canals. The day itself, like the friendly Dutch, was warm and welcoming, with bright sunshine. The boat was luxurious with an ice bucket stacked with wine, beer, and spritzers, and hors d’oeuvres consisting of Parma ham, Gran Padano cheese, and olives that became the envy of canal-goers who gawked and expressed jealous comments of praise and desire!

A couple of hours on the canals took us past almost all the sights in Amsterdam like the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank’s house, and shopping and residential areas. What a warm sunny day does to the inhabitants of an otherwise sunshine-starved city became evident as the Dutch were out in droves along the tiny cafés along the canals, or otherwise just sitting with their legs dangling along the sides, watching boats and life go by.

Before dawn broke the following morning, the wife and I were meandering our way through picturesque country roads in our rented Audi A4 to Zaandam, to confirm what had been described to us as the best view in the Netherlands. We reached this point as the sun peeked out of the horizon, creating silhouettes

A corner bakery in Zaandam

Colourful houses at dawn in Zaandam

The Hard Rock Café as seen on a canal in Amsterdam

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 73

Travel - Amsterdam_FIN.indd 73

8/26/2015 10:24:14 PM

Wanderlust

The morning sun rises behind five windmills in Zaandam

of five windmills in a row. My finger pushed the shutter release on my camera as quickly as a hunter pulls his trigger while hunting a charging boar. At the opposite end, the light of dawn bathed typical Dutch houses in its orange hue.

Returning to our parked vehicle, an inviting aroma of freshly baked bread wafted through the air and we were drawn to it like moths to light. A bakery that had just opened its doors was ready for business and we were ready to be good customers. A selection of more breads than I can remember, an array of exotic fruit tarts, and the delectable aroma of freshly brewed coffee had me craving for breakfast. We

Top: The Vork & Mes restaurant in Hoofddorp. Right: Cod with Parma ham at Zilten Zoen (the Salty Kiss) in Bergen aan See

As the sun peeked out, it created silhouettes of five windmills in a row. At the opposite end, the light of dawn bathed typical Dutch houses in its orange hue.

sat outside the cafĂŠ feeling the early morning nip in the air and watching the odd villager cycling up to this bakery on the cobbled streets.

Outside the bakery, stood a flower cart with a selection of summer blossoms.

Our next recommended stop was Volendam. As in most fishing villages along the sea, a barrier, or djke, barricades the saline seawater from entering the lower lying lands. In Volendam, shops and restaurants catering to tourists adorn the Djke. While rich in Dutch character and fishing tradition, this village was very touristy and not in sync with the authentic, cultural experience we were seeking.

A lunch table had been reserved at a seafood restaurant called Zilte Zoen (the Salty Kiss) in Bergen aan Zee, a small holiday town on the North Sea. The drive took us past verdant fields and narrow streams, quaint villages, and forest roads. All along, are special cycling lanes for the health-conscious Dutch who have a fascination for cycling and staying healthy. All efforts are made to facilitate this with over 6,000km of bicycling tracks. Over 31 percent of the population uses bicycles as their primary means of transport.

Passing through Bergen,the cobbled streets were in complete shadow because of the thick tree cover, in spite of it being a bright, sunny day. Small openings led to driveways of typical Dutch homes with their long, sloping thatched roofs. The other side had dense woods with jogging and cycling trails carefully designed through them without disturbing nature.

Lunch at Zilte Zoen was fresh as can be. My cod with Parma ham and lemon oil tasted like it had been trawled an hour ago, while my wife chose a yearling lamb with a gravy of green tea and organic honey that was melt-in-the-mouth succulent. This excellent gastronomic experience ended an excellent three days in the land of the Oranje. n

74 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Travel - Amsterdam_FIN.indd 74

8/26/2015 10:24:22 PM

Advt.

TÊTE À TÊTE

Audi India head, Joe King

Road King of the

With the launch of the Audi RS6 Avant, followed by the all-new Audi Q3, this German luxury automaker is on a spirited salvo to introduce newer body shapes in its growing portfolio. We speak to Audi India head, Joe King, on appealing to young achievers, making lighter cars, and winning the race of the German giants.

W

hy launch the new Avant in this niche, with a new station wagon body shape?

It’s an exotic product for us. When you look at Indian consumers, they’re more globally orientated, and willing to look at successful body styles from overseas. And India is an exciting market. The RS6 Avant combines practicality, luxury, and sportiness. So the ‘Avant’ body style is interesting in the longer term, as it’s a hard-performance sportscar. It’s a CBU, directly imported into India.

The Audi TT Coupé

How many are you expected to sell in a year?

It’s a niche portfolio, when you look at the overall luxury car segment – 32,000 cars – volumes are obviously very small.

But we’ve had a lot of performance car launches this year; we’ve had the Audi TT and the Audi RS7 that have done brilliantly well – they’re sold out for the next five months –

76 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Joe King Audi_FIN.indd 76

8/26/2015 10:49:40 AM

Volume is not everything for us. We are here for the long run; we’re here to build a great luxury brand, which we’ve done, in a very short time.

After only five years, to be a leader in the luxury market is a great achievement and shows the love of the brand.

Joe King and Virat Kohli at the launch of the Audi RS6 Avant

so we think this will do well, and we will see our volumes doubling over the last year in the performance car segment.

What about the announcement you made recently, five cars in five months?

It’s a combination of being first movers, and bringing in a new body style that we’re proud of at Audi so that we do take the first move into a new segment. Plus we have updated current models and there are still some new body styles to come.

Virat Kohli is your new brand ambassador.

Is this aimed at young achievers?

That’s where our market is. We are a brand that young achievers flock to, and it’s been our success. I’m Australian, so I have quite an affinity to cricket. Virat has been a wonderful success, and is a passionate Audi fan for many, many years.

So it’s a perfect fit for us.

Is the entry-level star of next year, the new Q1, expected to come soon?

There is no plan to bring that in as of now.

The Audi TT Coupé

“We’re a brand that young achievers flock to, and this has been our success. We are here for the long run, and to build a luxury brand, which we’ve done in five short years.

This shows the love of the brand.”

The Audi RS7 Sportback

Will you launch the new Q7 by the end of the year? What about the A4?

We’ve just launched the new Audi Q3 in a brand-new avatar. Since its market launch in 2012, the Audi Q3 has been the most successful model in its segment.

Audi is looking forward to an exciting year with 10 new models. This means we will be launching at least one new car in each segment of our comprehensive product portfolio. We will also be launching the new Audi Q7, another favourite with the fans, sometime this year.

We will announce details on the new Audi A4 nearer to the time of its launch.

All of these cars have one thing in common: a lighter weight. How did Audi manage to shave off these hundreds of kilos in the newer models?

Audi pioneered the concept of Audi Ultra or the Audi Space Frame technology, a revolution in lightweight construction, since 1937.

Advantages include greater safety, increased performance, improved handling, lower fuel consumption, ease of repair, and attractive insurance premiums.

It’s a race between three German giants. How will you remain in the lead?

It’s not about leading every month. It’s about the customer experience, maintaining a market share while connecting to the customer, and building a solid platform for many years of growth and success. Today, we have showrooms in Guwahati and Madurai; we’re expanding further in Gujarat, and up north. We’re opening additional used-car facilities, and service facilities around the country. So we will grow our customer touch points by 15 percent this year.

Can you tell us about the technical training programmes at Audi?

Top students can go through a real Audi-based technical curriculum, and come into the network or come into Audi India. So, at the Technical Service Centre in Mumbai opened this year (our seventh in the Asia-Pacific area), we get a lot of data not only for technical issues, but also from a product development point of view. India’s got a wonderfully young, talented population, so for us it’s about providing an opportunity for those people who want to join the Audi family. n

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 77

Joe King Audi_FIN.indd 77

8/26/2015 10:49:48 AM

carS vintage

Royal Rendezvous

Chief judge at Cartier’s Concours d’Elegance, HRH Prince Michael of Kent

British royal Prince Michael of Kent admires the restoration he’s seen at Cartier’s recent vintage car exhibition in New Delhi, and tells us about an exciting upcoming rally at the Queen’s official residence in Edinburgh. text by Priya Kumari Rana

I

t’s not every day that one meets a member of the British royal family, especially one who’s a car aficionado in every sense: from vintage to supercars, to noncompetitive rally driving. As chief judge for this year’s ‘Travel with Style’ Concours d’Elegance by Cartier held in the Capital, His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, the Queen’s cousin and grandson of King George V, articulates his admiration for the ingenuity of Indian car restoration, and his love of rallying around the world.

What are your impressions of India, and this vintage car exhibition, so far?

It’s been a very, very well-organized show, and this is

the fourth time you’ve had me be a judge here. I’ve seen how the quality of restoration of cars in India has gone up enormously. Add to this the knowledge and energy people have, the determination they have to restore cars, from a condition you wouldn’t believe. Some of the cars being restored today look as though they’ve always been in this impeccable condition. If you see the books that some of the owners have compiled, of photographs, of how their cars looked before restoration, they looked as if there was no hope and they would be consigned to the scrap heap.

There is one car particularly – that had no reference to any other car anywhere, as there was only one other car like it in existence – that was restored badly, so they couldn’t use

78 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Prince Michael_FIN.indd 78

8/26/2015 10:53:14 AM

it as a template. So they had to guess how to do it.

When eventually, after restoration they found detailed descriptions of how the car had originally been designed, they found they had Interiors of the guessed right. So the knowledge 1934 Steward they have is extraordinary. And when you consider that in the old days, restoring a car was even more difficult than it is now. Today, you can practically build a car on eBay. It’s a bit of an exaggeration, but, you know A 1934 Steward (one and a half tonne) what I mean. I’ve noticed the wonderful flair belonging to the royal family of Udaipur that your fellow countrymen have for making something out of nothing, and for conjuring up from the worst possible bits and lumps of metal, something as beautiful as these cars.

Here we have a 100 cars, and just because you are not a prize-winner does not mean you have not produced an incredible car.

This is also an absolutely splendid way of bringing people together, and a good way of reaffirming the very strong historical links that we in Britain have always had with India. As I’ve spent some time in Rajasthan I am rather biased, you see. I think this is one of the leading concourses of its kind.

How does this car exhibition compare to the ones you’ve seen before?

It’s growing in stature very quickly. I myself have organized a concours in England, now twice, and this year, we have another one, and it’s going to be in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September. I very much hope that some of the people who entered their cars for this one in Delhi, will come to us then. It’s going to be at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. They’ve never had anything like this before, at the house, and it will be a one-time thing. The great advantage is a two-day, 150-mile tour of the countryside around Edinburgh, and we will stay in a fine house halfway around, and see one or two interesting things as we go. It gives the chance to people, who’ve come a long way, to do something more with their cars than just have them sitting in a field.

What is a favourite sport that you indulge in?

I used to ride a lot, but never with any distinction, and I’m not a polo player, but I have ridden horses in this country. I used to love carriage driving a long time ago. But now noncompetitive rallies is what I enjoy very much, and I’m involved with the vintage Bentley club, in England, Benjafield’s Racing Club – formed

by Dr Dudley Benjafield, a doctor in the ’20s. He

A 1925 Hispano Suiza H68

Interiors of a 1941 Cadillac Series 75

“There will be a concours in Edinburgh, Scotland in September at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the Queen. They’ve never had anything like this before, and it will be a onetime thing.”

A 1933 Minerva AL 40 HP belonging to the Nawab of Mahmudabad was a Bentley driver, one of the Bentley boys who helped to win Le Mans, and put Bentley on the map in the ’20s. We have a club of people and they motor race a lot during the summer in Europe. I have led them on non-competitive runs a few times, twice to Russia, and once in India, about eight years ago. We went from Delhi to Bombay with about eight cars. n

September 2015 | Outlook Splurge | 79

Prince Michael_FIN.indd 79

8/26/2015 10:53:27 AM

Parting Shot

MAD ABOUT

JEN

The beloved, just-married Jennifer Aniston becomes the face of a global brand, as she looks forward to her latest comedy, and adopting a child.

photograph Shutterstock

A

merica’s sweetheart is now spoken for. The former Friends star, one of US television’s best-loved female characters of all time, and one of Hollywood’s best-paid actors, tied the knot with long-time boyfriend, actor-director Justin Theroux in a hush-hush ceremony at their BelAir pad on August 5.

Tanned and aglow from her honeymoon in Bora-Bora, Jennifer, who split from Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt exactly 10 years ago after five years of marriage, showed up at the premiere of her latest film, She’s Funny That Way in a ‘70s-inspired jumpsuit by Roland Mouret and a wedding ring designed by Jennifer Meyer. Her second marriage already has Dame Fortune smiling down at her. The week of her nuptials saw her sign a lucrative, $5 million endorsement deal with Emirates Airlines. Not that she needs the money. Her Bel-Air mansion, bought jointly with husband Justin Theroux is worth $22 million. It was the perfect locale for her very private ceremony, which was attended by around 70 guests. Friends co-star Courteny Cox was maid of honour; Jimmy Kimmel presided over the ceremony, and guests included Ellen DeGeneres, Emily Blunt, and former Spiderman Tobey Maguire – but there’s a real chance that no one will ever see her wedding pics, as she’s not released them yet, nor is she on social media like Instagram.

The blonde beauty who has recently taken to transcendental meditation, coupled with her long-time love for yoga, will be seen next in the Garry Marshall-directed Mother’s Day, co-starring Oscar winner Julia Roberts. There are also rumours about her and Justin adopting a child in the near future. Power to you, Jen. n

Jennifer Aniston in Roland Mouret at the premiere of She’s Funny That Way in Los Angeles

80 | Outlook Splurge | September 2015

Parting Shot - Jen A FIN.indd 80

8/26/2015 7:40:29 AM

Advt.

Back Cover Advt.

Thanks!