Here at LUX magazine we like to have a car for every reason, and season. In one of northern Europe’s wetter winters of recent years, we dreamed of a car that could take us to Dakar – the now mythical Dakar of the crazy 1980s rallies – while also being enjoyable to drive between London and the Cotswolds, or Geneva and Verbier. Porsche kindly conjured up the 911 Dakar, one of the most extraordinary machines of recent times. Meanwhile, to shake off the cobwebs, we imagined a roofless car where you could drive, with a couple of friends, or all three of your blonde, Etro-clad boyfriends (sharing is caring), at high and enjoyable velocities; and BMW created the M4 Cabriolet and sent it to us. And then, when all’s said and done, we just wanted an excellent, understated, clean car with a beautifully designed interior, for those quick incognito visits to Loro Piana. Mazda’s CX-60 hove silently into view, like Jeeves

The Porsche 911 Dakar is a wild animal, part sports car, part rally car, and definitely not for the faint of heart. We take it out on a long lead and are smitten. The BMW M4 Competition, in our next story, meanwhile, is an old-school car for a rakish rogue to drive from Milan to Monte Carlo in, Havana in hand, his third mistress in the front seat, and a case of Richebourg in each of the back seats

Why is Porsche a car manufacturer that LUX has a particular soft spot for, like Rolex? Because they make engineered precision made products that very price from accessible luxury (918/Oyster), to among the most desirable and expensive products in the world. But they also make these products specialised to appeal to a variety of uses, and are the best in their individual class at those.

So while Rolex has a Sea Dweller and Submariner in case you want to explore deep reefs, Porsche has, within in its iconic 911 range, versions specialised for race tracks (GT3), for Monaco posing (Targa), for high-speed touring with a twist (Turbo), and for old-fashioned top down cruising (Cabriolet). There are numerous others.

To this, we can now add the Dakar. Car companies over the decades have not been short of marketing-led branded badges: you can buy variations of mass-produced cars called the Roland Garros (after the French Open tournament), the Vogue (a Range Rover), and the Picasso.

But none of those will make you any better at tennis, fashion or art; they are pure marketing. The Dakar is not one of those. It is named after the extraordinarily punishing and challenging Paris Dakar rally of the 1980s, which Porsche actually won, twice.

On the 40th anniversary of their first win, Porsche have created a 911 Dakar, but they didn’t do it simply by sticking a badge and some sand coloured leather inside.

Instead, they completely reengineered the car, effectively armour plating Its bottom half, raising it off the ground with an option to raise itself even further, even at high speeds (you have to go over big obstacles at high speeds on a rally), and re-engineered the driving programs to include modes called “off-road” and “rallye”, and tested them thoroughly in a real desert.

The Dakar comes as standard with massive balloon-like Scorpion off-road tyres more commonly found on vehicles taking you on safari, inside there are racing bucket seats (perhaps slightly less than useful for daily use) and a roll cage in the back in case you flip the car over while going up a crack in the Sahara desert at 90 mph.

The car’s engine is that of 911 GTS, one of the fast versions of an already rapid model.

But what’s it like to drive? If you, like us, thought that this high-performance dune buggy would feel a bit odd in normal city and country life, you would be as surprised as we are. It is, frankly, a hoot from the moment you turn the switch to start the engine, louder than normal 911s because the rear seat has been replaced by a metal roll cage. Put it into Sport, the standard mode for driving on road, tap the accelerator and go round a roundabout and the thing is an absolute blast. Where all other 911s, even the fastest ones, are so over engineered for the road they deal with more or less everything up to the legal spirit speed limit with a shrug of efficiency, this car lets you know that it’s made for the wild side of life.

The suspension is different to a standard 911, and you have those tyres, meaning you feel when you’re going round corners. Over high speed bumps it floats a little bit and squishes a little bit in a manner unthinkable within Teutonic brilliance of perfection of other 911s.

That’s not to say it’s better, necessarily, that depends a little bit on what you’re expecting from your car. It’s certainly laugh out loud fun in the way other 911s are not, but it’s also loud, and a little bit disruptive. It’s not a car that you can just fold yourself into at the end of a long day and ask to drive you home: it feels much more old school than that, and indeed if you are used to the old-fashioned air cooled 911s which were much more of a handful in some cases, this is true to DNA.

But it has something that none of them do, which is the ability to turn off a road, drive down a track or a muddy field and surge forward exactly where you aim it, taking obstacles in its wake. We drove through a muddy, grassy field in the Dakar and not only was it brilliant – it was enormous fun.

It’s also extremely fast – as fast point to point as the 911 GTS it is based on, perhaps more so in wet conditions when those tyres come into their own, but less so on an extremely twisty road where the increased body roll and general to-do make it more of a handful, but less brutally efficient.

We absolutely loved it, because we feel that many of the brilliant models in the standard 911 range are almost a bit too competent for their own good, like someone buttoned up that you know can be a party animal, but instead just chooses to do everything extremely precisely.

The 911 Dakar can do everything too, but does it with a big grin on its face. If they were ever making a remake of the classic road trip movie from the 80s the Cannonball Run, the Dakar would play the leading role.

porsche.com

BMW M4 Review

BMW is a brand that means different things to its different aficionados around the world. In China or the Gulf, it is a maker of big, shiny, powerful 4x4s.

To motor racing lovers of an older generation in Europe, it is the creator of the “M for Motorsport” cars, which are finely-honed and focused road racers.

For others, its heritage shines most brightly as a maker of coupés, two-door, four-seater cars that combine style and a rakish sportiness with the practicality of having back seats and a boot/trunk that is usable, and the knowhow of a manufacturer of luxury cars.

This particular heritage line probably started with the Bauhaus-style sleek coupés of the 1960s and 70s. It was amplified by its cultish 635 CSi model in the 1980s, the pinnacle of the Six series, which was the car of choice for someone not wanting to show off. Ferrari-style but wanting to look more stylish than the driver of yet another fast sedan car.

As with all cars, these heritage lines have become somewhat blurred by the proliferation of model lines and propulsion types over the years, and the profusion of huge SUVs. BMW no longer produces a Six series: customers are directed to the Eight series, which has a big, long coupe in its lineup, but more on the luxury than the sporting end of the spectrum and does not look as cool.

Climbing into the new M4 (we had the convertible version, but the review would be the same for the coupe, just with less La Roche Posay Factor 30) , it instantly struck us that this car is the progeny of two of those three illustrious heritage lines. It’s a long, rakish and stylish two door car with a four-seater interior, big enough for four adults but cool enough to look like a two-seater sports car unless you peer carefully inside. Its interior is particularly fun, at a time when many car interiors are starting to resemble the same virtual reality control pod. You get bucket seats with carbon fibre cut outs, plenty of carbon fibre elsewhere, and the feeling that you are piloting a sports machine, not a games console.

It’s also an “M Car” – M originally standing for the Motorsport division of the company where cars were individually conceived and built quite separately from the normal model lineup. That distinction has been diluted by the application of M badges to models in the rest of the range, but for enthusiasts, the M badge followed by a single number, like M4, still the denotes a BMW of supposedly pure racing heritage.

So much for the looks and the theory: what about the practice? This, after all, is a world where the average electric car will burn off most huffing and puffing petrol engine vehicles in a straight line race, and when many cars will cling to the road around bends, meaning there is no real world distinction between a sporting high-performance car and a standard electric car which just happens to go very fast.

Actually there is. You realise this as soon as you turn on the growly engine of the M4 and aim around your corner. This is a car that has proper steering feel and weight, enjoying itself as it zips into and out of corners, encourages you to drive faster and take the twisty route to wherever you are going rather than simply shuffle you along in an efficient haze of forgettable speed. The fact that it’s a convertible is, for us also a big bonus as when you put the roof down you have so much more sensation.

Passengers also feel they are in something sporting and special, rather than yet another generic, nicely built, swift piece of transportation. You would never use the M4 as an Uber, even though it’s plenty comfortable for four.

The original M cars had a reputation for being as fast as fun as pure sports cars like a Porsche 911. The BMW coupe from the 1970s and 80s were paragons of style. The M4 Competition cabriolet seeks to combine those qualities in an automotive climate that is completely different, dominated by safety and sustainability requirements which largely strip the soul and individuality and fun away from most machines. Remarkably, it succeeds: the only drawback is, it’s so good, and so well priced compared to other cars of its abilities which are in the category above, that it is bound to be a reasonably common sight on our roads. You can’t have everything. But you can have nearly everything.

bmw.com

Mazda CX-60 Review

Stealth wealth is a buzz phrase in increasing use at a time of continued political and economic uncertainty in the world.

What does that look like when applied to motoring? Perhaps swapping a highly ostentatious SUV for something that can do the same job while attracting far less attention, but with an interior appointed well enough to make you feel relaxed and content.

What does this have to do with the Mazda? Well, it’s a car that from the outside looks good enough, if a little plain: nicely proportioned, but with nothing that would make heads turn or anyone ask you what you are driving. For some people that is a bonus, and for many others it may simply be that it is less important then the inside of the car – where you spend all your time, compared to the seconds that you spent looking at the outside of your car.

The interior of the Mazda is lovely. And the light materials reminded us somehow of a beach club in the south of France, possibly not a look the designers were aiming for but very positive and stylish nonetheless. In a traffic jam or a slow highway, it’s a delightful place to be – more attractive than the interiors of many more expensive rivals which have followed each other down the rabbit hole of dark Bauhaus type black hole design for many years.

For many, the word Mazda is a byword for agility, as this is the company that created the brilliant two seater MX5 sports car which has kept singles and couples entertained with its joyously gazelle like handling for decades. You obviously don’t get the same kind of agility in a this, a mid-size five seater SUV, but this car still has a lightness of touch which is enjoyable; it never feels heavy, always precise.

Altogether, a most pleasing car to spend time in for driver and passengers. And one which, if it entered your daily life, would make you feel less conspicuous and quite possibly more at peace.

mazda.com

Domaine de Lavy, in the Dordogne, a historic, green and hilly region in Southwest France

In the heart of the historic Dordogne region, Domaine de Vieux Mareuil stands as a sanctuary-like estate with a simple yet profound philosophy: providing guests with freedom while preserving the land that defines it

Spanning 200 acres of forests, fields, and exquisitely restored properties, Domaine de Vieux Mareuil reflects the spirit of its creator, Laëtitia Morlat.

Madame Morlat’s family history dates back to the early 1200’s in Dordogne. She lives in the home she was born in and enjoyed her childhood in the Perigord Vert region. “I love every property because each one contains a part of my soul and my spirit,” she says. Madame Morlat’s intimate connection with the area and her determination to protect its future is at the core of the estate.

Laëtitia Morlat, owner and designer of Domaine de Vieux Mareuil

There are no rigid schedules, prefixed packages, or brochures dictating your stay at the Domaine. As Madame Morlat explains, “We want to leave each person that comes with an experience.”

Read more: Kempinski Palace Engelberg Review

Whether it’s a private dinner under the stars or truffle hunting with dogs in the forests surrounding the estate, the experiences are made bespoke to each individual. The idea is for guests to embrace the land they inhabit. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword at the estate—it’s a way of life.

A modern style billiards room in the former Soldier’s House within Domaine de Lavy

From the moment you step onto the estate, it’s clear that the Domaine’s connection to the land is not performative but essential. A sprawling permaculture garden provides the chef with organic, seasonal produce, ensuring that meals are not just farm-to-table but deeply tied to the local soil.

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Partnerships with nearby producers keep the supply chain short, reducing the estate’s carbon footprint while supporting the regional economy. Even the furniture in the beautifully Provençal designed interiors is often sourced second-hand and restored—an approach that celebrates craftsmanship while embracing circular practices.

A sitting area in Domaine de Bagatelle with access to the garden and sweeping views across the valley

Madame Morlat’s experiences abroad, particularly in Japan, shaped her philosophy of finding beauty in simplicity. This is evident in the carefully curated art by local artists, and the hand-painted details on beams and fireplaces by her long-time friend and collaborator Christophe Boucher. These design choices mirror her commitment to preserving not only the spirit of the past but the environment’s future.

Each bedroom is meticulously personalised and named in Chateau de Chanet; the above is Chambre Josephine

The Domaine is a haven, not just for its guests but for the ecosystems it fosters. Solar panels power much of the estate, while beehives and insect houses support local biodiversity, and forest maintenance practices ensure the land remains healthy.

For Madame Morlat, sustainability isn’t separate from luxury; it’s integral to it. It’s about ensuring that the pristine landscapes that shaped her childhood, and now provide solace for her guests, will last for generations.

Villa de La Roussie

Madame Morlat’s approach to hospitality was shaped by a new era, a world redefined by the pandemic. Privacy is no longer just a luxury; it’s a necessity. At the Domaine, guests enjoy this freedom in every aspect, from how they spend their time to the exclusive use of spaces. “People come here for the freedom of privacy,” Madame Morlat emphasises.

Read more: Mandarin Oriental Lucerne Review 

This ethos permeates the entire estate, offering guests the liberty to craft a stay that reflects their needs, desires, and imagination. The 44 staff aren’t just employees; they are collaborators who contribute to creating unforgettable experiences for each guest.

The swimming pool in Chateau de Chanet overlooks the gardens of the estate

Each of the four estates possess their own character, shaped by their unique locations, yet all share an attention to detail that show a commitment to quality and authenticity.

Château de Chanet, true to its name, exudes the stately charm of a castle while retaining an inviting warmth. Despite being the largest property within the estate, its wooden beams and thoughtfully designed interiors create an unmistakable sense of home. It is also where Madame Morlat and her husband spent their honeymoon!

The bright drawing room filled with natural light in Villa de La Roussie

In contrast, Bagatelle is for those who seek a more modern escape, reminiscent of a villa on the Côte d’Azur. Its sleek, minimalist design is complemented by breathtaking views, with a pool that stretches out toward the rolling hills of the Perigord countryside.

Domaine de Lavy is an entertainer’s dream. Nestled amidst lush green hills, this property comprises two separate houses, making it ideal for hosting large groups of friends or family.

Every nook is used to its full potential, even this chess corner at Chateau de Chanet

Finally, there is La Roussie, the smallest and most intimate of the estates. Set within a lovingly restored farmhouse, it’s ideal for creating cherished memories with loved ones; a place where the simplicity of rural life meets the refined comforts of the Domaine.

Read more: Prince de Galles, Paris Review

This is Madame Morlat’s legacy: not just a collection of properties, but a philosophy of love for a region, a history, and a future. At Domaine de Vieux Mareuil, luxury isn’t about excess – it’s about “intention”. That intention, like the estate itself, feels timeless.

Domaine de Bagatelle’s design blends the elegance of the French Riviera with the distinctive charm of the French countryside

Rates: €6,500 Euros per night at Chateau de Chanet/Bagatelle Estate/Lavy €3,000 Euros per night at La Roussie Villa.

Minimum 2 nights stay

domainedevieuxmareuil.com

The winter mountain haven of Kempinsky Engelberg, in one of the snowiest parts of Switzerland

Perched beneath the panoramic Titlis peak, Kempinski Palace Engelberg blends Alpine charm with refined luxury. Equal parts indulgence and spectacle, it’s a winter escape for those who like their wilderness with room service

For a country that has many famous winter sports resorts, such as St Moritz, Zermatt, Verbier and Gstaad, Switzerland also has a large number of winter sports resorts that you may never have heard of. Including some rather old and established ones.

Engelberg has been a summer and winter mountain haven for more than 100 years, and travelling there you wonder why it is not more internationally known right now. Access is among the easiest of any ski resorts, a quick train ride up from the town of Lucerne, itself less than an hour from Zürich and it’s international connections.

An evening scene in the Kempinski Engelberg restaurant Cattani, where hearty but refreshing Italian cuisine is a feature

There was a car at the station waiting to take us to the luxury Kempinsky resort, but this was not exactly necessary as the grand hotel itself was clearly visible just a few metres away; instead the luggage went by car. The “sports” in “winter sports” surely starts with the walk from the station…

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The building itself, is one of those Art Nouveau palaces dotted throughout central and southern Europe, from a time when the most luxurious thing the super wealthy could do was travel to a grand hotel in a neighbouring country.

Sympathetically refurbished, the contemporary-feeling reception area is home to some beautiful local collaborations throughout the year: real rabbits at easter, a beautiful nativity at Christmas.

A luxury bedroom stay at the Kempinski Engelberg

Often in these legacy hotels, bedrooms are small and compromised, but not here, as the hotel, originally built in 1889, closed for four years for a massive refurbishment which seamlessly incorporated a new wing, reopening in 2021. The new wing is so well designed that you really have to pay attention to be aware of the join between the buildings along the broad corridors as you walk through. Our room was big, airy, modern, with a huge balcony covered to the elements to facilitate sitting outside at all times of year. It looked out over a winter garden, home to a skating rink in winter; the view continued up the valley to a dramatic snow covered rock face.

Read next: Mandarin Oriental Lucerne Review 

At just over 1000m, Engelberg is not high by Alpine standards, but facts can sometimes be deceiving. Its position on the northern flank of the Alps means that it receives the best of all the northernly snow in the Alps – the coldest and best powder – and generally has a snow record to match resorts of far higher altitude.

Festive comfort and cheer at the Kempinski Engelberg

A shuttle bus takes you to a gondola which zooms up through a forest plateau into a big snow bowl high above the tree line, with a variety of runs, mainly suited to intermediates. In summer, it’s a walking paradise as all the mountain areas curve around the valley in a C-shape, giving a variety of options for both hiking and snow sports. It’s not as extensive as the biggest ski areas in the Alps, but there’s plenty to explore over a few days and dramatic views down to the Swiss plateau and lakes from the top.

Head back to the hotel, and the place you have to head to whether you have been skiing, hiking, or simply strolling around the pretty village centre, is the rooftop pool and spa, which is enclosed in glass, with dramatic views in every direction. It’s a big, long and generous pool with hydrotherapy jets at its sides, meaning you can enjoy it to lounge or to do some proper laps; or lie on a lounger with a view of the Alps, basking in sunshine while protected from the wind.

Balcony terraces on the new wing are huge and feature uninterrupted views of the northern peaks of the Alps

The hotel’s main restaurant, Cattani, is a carefully and sympathetically reimagined rework of the traditional grand hotel restaurant, with immensely high ceilings, windows and grandeur, offset by a casual chic: blonde woods, orange banquettes, no tablecloths, and light Swiss-Med cuisine. Altogether a brilliant reimagining of a mountain resort hotel.

kempinskiengelberg.com  

The entrance to Prince de Galles sits just steps away from the Champs-Élysées

Looking for chic, swankiness and glamour in the ultimate Parisian location? Check out the Prince de Galles, where even the breakfast makes you feel you are in a Brigitte Bardot movie

Despite, perhaps because of, the plethora of boutique hotels that have opened in the city over the years, glamour is still an essential element for us any stay in Paris.

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And for glamour, you really have to be in one address, the Avenue George V, surrounded by luxury brands and feeling that you are a resident in the most exclusive area of Paris, the cross-cross of luxury boulevards in the 8^th Arrondisement, in between the Champs-Elysees and the river.

The reception to the luxury boutique hotel is an art deco design of white and black marble

And so it felt very appropriate checking in to the Prince des Galles, in the heart of the area, with lobby of art deco black and white marble, offset by taupe carpets, and sweeping staircase. Our room was that very rare thing, and utterly silent haven in the heart of Paris, looking out over the rooftops, with no traffic noise, yet somehow in the middle of all the action. It had everything you would expect: lavish sheets, bathroom swathed in marble, and something you didn’t, in its sense of peace and tranquility.

‘Glamour is still an essential element for us any stay in Paris’

One of the most delightful parts of our stay was our breakfast. This is Paris, after all, so to be ushered into the grand dining room and offered an à la carte breakfast was special enough: but to be surrounded by the decor of the 19.20 dining room was even more so. Deep leather chairs, dramatic and vivid artworks, and a superb Eggs Benedict set one up for the day in a slow food way.

Read more: How art is remediating environmental and societal damage from overdevelopment

All of this with the assured service of a top hotel from the Luxury Collection, at a price point reasonable for its level of luxury. Love it.

Prince de Galles Hotel

A luxury bedroom at Prince de Galles

The spa of the Ultima Crans-Montana covers 1,000m² of the property, and has an on-site lake surrounded by alpine woods

This private luxury chalet, previously owned by Bernard Arnault, from the Ultima Collection is located in Crans-Montana, a sunny gem on a high shelf in the Valais Alps of Switerzland. The 16-bedroom chalet offers guests the opportunity to take advantage of winter sports and other activities in this beautifully located village, as Fabienne Amez-Droz discovers

In the heart of the Valais Alps, Crans-Montana offers a slightly more understated charm compared to other Swiss ski resorts like Gstaad or St. Moritz, which are internationally more well-known. But it definitely has the same glitz – plus epic and scenic skiing.

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This sunny village, made up of the towns of Crans and Montana, attracts many golfers in the summer, with the Omega European Masters and welcomes ski enthusiasts and families in the winter, who come to explore the mountains air and enjoy ski touring.

The spa area features sauna, hammam, fitness gym, and heated outdoor pool

Just 2 hours and 20 minutes from Geneva Airport lies the former ski retreat of Roger Moore. Bridging the gap between the luxury hotel and luxury home genres, the Ultima Collection with its properties in places like Gstaad, Courchevel, Megève and many more, targets elite travellers with an eye for luxurious details and services.

Read more: Grace Hotel St. Moritz review

In 2018, the Ultima Collection acquired two luxury chalets in Crans-Montana, which were originally built by Bernard Arnault in the 1990s. The properties were renovated and the interiors completely redesigned – although there is a new owner since this year who wants to redecorate all the Ultima properties again with for example more classical art on the walls.

The two chalets offer 16-bedrooms in total and are connected underground

Today, affluent ski enthusiasts can rent the two private chalets, connected by an underground passage, featuring a total of 16 bedrooms, on a weekly price basis. The Ultima in Crans-Montana is particularly popular among Russian and Middle Eastern guests, in winter as well as in summer where people enjoy the fresh air and some hiking.

Football legend Lionel Messi and other celebs have visited the residence in recent years. Sven Flory, Chief Commercial Officer of the Ultima Collection, mentioned that these kind of guests really enjoy the privacy of the chalets and that there are no other guests around.

Situated in the heart of the Crans-Montana region, the two chalets are set in between natural lakes and woods

The chalet’s architecture combines traditional Swiss with contemporary elements, featuring natural materials like wood and stone paired with sleek modern furnishings.

The chalet’s wellness facilities offer non-skiers a good alternative programme. Guests can indulge in the spa that includes an outdoor pool, hammam, snow shower and treatment rooms, where you can book an appointment – from massages to facials, tailored to individual preferences.

The spa team can personalise detox and immune-boosting treatments to a persons exact needs

The wellness area also features a gym equipped with all necessary equipment. Yoga-lovers can book a private teaching session with their in-house yoga instructor. Especially after having done the first ski day of the season, muscles might be sore and a good stretch might help to prepare you for the rest of the week.

Read more: The intimate grandeur of the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat 

For the real skiers, the Ultima Crans-Montana provides experienced ski guides to assist guests in exploring the area’s slopes and off-piste trails. The chalet of course does have a ski room, equipped with heated lockers and all the necessary facilities to keep your Fusalp or Moncler ski gear safe and warm. I enjoyed rocketing down from the high lift station at Les Violettes, from where you can see a spectacular view of all the Valais Alps including the Matterhorn. The skiing is a mix of high mountain and forest trails, and suitable for all grades.

The two chalets can accommodate up to 38 guests. Both of the buildings have access to the retreat’s spa and outdoor pool area

From a cozy cheese fondue, beef wellington to a barbeque outside – a private chef will be available at all times to create menus tailored to guests’ tastes, using locally sourced ingredients. Pair the dishes with the local wines from the Valais, grown in the vineyards below the resort, like a floral Petite Arvine (white) or spicy Cornalin (red) – which seem to be quite unknown in the world of wines, as we Swiss like to keep the good things to ourselves.

The two chalets feature a cinema room, cigar lounge, an office space and a Billiard room

The Ultima Crans-Montana is more than just a place to stay; it is a destination in itself. For those seeking the ultimate alpine luxury, plus seclusion and being away from the crowds of people you know in Courchevel or St Moritz, the Ultima Crans-Montana is a compelling choice.

Find out more: www.ultimacollection.com

Locke am Platz combines Riviera style with modernism

LUX visits a surprising and refreshing new addition to the Zurich hotel and dining scene

The hotel is minutes from the city centre,  with the boutiques of the Bahnhofstrasse and the lake in easy reach

 

The restaurant Choupette, downstairs in the hotel, is shaped and inspired by traditional brasserie cuisine, head chef Jaco Redelinghuys creates modern dishes with a twist. to a cool soundtrack

Time travellers from the 1970s and 80s would feel right at home with the decor

Astrea London’s founders Claire Ferrini and Nathalie Morrison

Astrea London, founded by Claire Ferrini and Nathalie Morrison, aims to epitomise feminine elegance through visually stunning and unique pieces of jewellery, without harming our planet. Opting for lab-grown diamonds rather than mined gems, Astrea aims to “reshape the landscape of high-end luxury jewellery” with its blend of glamorous design and ethical business practice. Talking to LUX, Ferrini discusses the influence and heritage of grandmother Margaret Coglin, “the Grace Kelly of Kenya”, the importance of sustainability in jewellery and the delicate designs that Astrea London creates.

LUX: What inspired you to create the brand?

Claire Ferrini: The inspiration to start Astrea came from my grandmother, who gifted me a beautiful Trilogy diamond necklace 30 years ago. The diamonds were in fact lab grown diamonds and it was my grandmother’s belief that we should not be mining diamonds but protecting our planet and embracing lab grown diamonds instead. She believed it would be the future of the diamond industry. 30 years on, I decided to look into that concept and together with my business partner Nathalie, we started Astrea.

LUX: Have your personal backgrounds influenced its conception?

CF: We both come from financial backgrounds so the jewellery industry was new to us.  But setting up businesses is Nathalie’s forte and with my engineering background and interest in lab grown diamonds, the business came together easily.  As well as this, we each have four children who are all very much aware of how we should be protecting our planet and adopting sustainable practices in our every day lives.  Being able to start a business that’s very existence will eliminate practices that desecrate our planet is hugely exciting and has inspired our children to look at ways in which we can further help protect our planet.  As well as that, our motto is to “always give back” and it is our aim to always give back to those less fortunate than ourselves and to support charities close to our hearts.  We both have ties to Africa and the charities we support look to educate and empower children in Africa.

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LUX: Did you experience any challenges in creating a brand around lab grown diamonds?

CF: Lab diamond sales in the US are 75% of all diamond sales today. However, the UK is way behind that and our first challenge, going into the lab grown diamond industry, was to raise awareness and educate the customer about lab diamonds and the fact that they are REAL diamonds.  The lab diamond industry has definitely created issues for the mined diamond industry, but it will take time for customers and businesses to accept and embrace the idea.

LUX: What has been the response to your use of lab grown diamonds?

CF: We have been overwhelmed with the positivity and the take up of lab diamond jewellery since we started the business.  When clients have that ‘lightbulb moment’ and realise that not only are lab diamonds 100% identical to their mined counterparts, so a gemologist with decades of experience cannot tell the difference, but also that they are in fact better in quality and sparkle as well as ethically produced – that is a win for us.  We believe that the customer has a right to understand what they are buying and does not need to be paying inflated prices (up to 80% more) for mined diamonds that are in fact worse quality.  We have also noticed a positive trend with influencers and celebrities keen to wear our stones as they are more sustainable and ethically produced and we were thrilled to appear a few times on the Cannes film festival red carpet this year, with the likes of supermodel Coco Rocha wearing our pieces.

Supermodel Coco Rocha wearing Astrea London pieces on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival

LUX: What characterises the jewellery design of Astrea?

CF: We began our journey into lab diamond jewellery with the aim to come up with classic, every day, simple jewellery that was a staple in one’s jewellery box.  That included eternity rings, studs, simple pendants and tennis bracelets.  Our aim was to produce the best quality diamond jewellery that was both classic and timeless – we only use certified top quality diamonds with D/E/F colours and VS1+ clarity, which sits in the top 1% of quality diamonds worldwide.  Once we had achieved best quality, we moved onto designing bespoke pieces that showcased versatility and manufacturing complexity that would not be possible in mined diamonds – for example our “Eternal Eight necklace” that can be worn in eight different ways, from choker necklace to earrings, lariat necklace and more. With over 105 colourless diamonds (graded D/E/F and comparable to only the top 1% of quality diamonds globally), it was a showstopper of beautiful diamonds combined with state of the art innovation.

LUX: Have your sustainability principles shaped the brand’s aesthetic?

CF: To date, we have focused on creating pieces that are timeless rather than trendy so that it remains relevant and will always be a part of one’s staple jewellery collection. We now also create beautiful pieces with lab grown coloured diamonds always ensuring best quality stones and jewellery manufacture, using only sustainable lab diamond stones.

Astrea London’s Baguette Bracelet

LUX: Why is an ‘ethical future’ so important to Astrea?

CF: An ethical future is crucial to Astrea and the lab diamond industry for several reasons. Today’s consumers are increasingly aware of the ethical implications of their purchases and therefore a commitment by suppliers to have ethical practices, helps meet this demand and attracts customers who truly prioritise sustainability and social responsibility. As well as this, lab diamonds have a significantly lower environmental footprint compared to mined diamonds and this is the backbone of our business. It is Astrea’s aim to promote lab diamonds, commit to strict ethical standards and promote environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

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LUX: While lab-grown diamonds are far more ethical and environmentally-friendly than diamond mining, there is still a positive carbon footprint from the heat and pressure required to grown them. Does Astrea have any plans for achieving carbon neutrality?

CF: Yes absolutely.  Whilst lab grown diamonds are proven to be significantly more sustainable with fully recycled water usage and only 17kw per rough carat produced versus 106-150kw for well-known mined companies, we are actively pursuing strategies to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce our overall environmental impact. With a combination of solar power, recycled water, research and development of new technologies that require less energy, and signed codes of conduct to ensure continued work towards a zero-carbon footprint, it is our aim to ultimately achieve net-zero diamonds. We are constantly and actively looking into offsetting our carbon footprint and are members of Responsible jewellery councils in order to keep abreast of the industry standards.

This image and next: Astrea London uses only lab-grown diamonds, presenting no ethical issues about mining or treatment of workers

LUX: What do you think is the future of lab-grown diamonds?

CF: At Astrea, we believe that within the next 5-10 years, there will no longer be the need for mined diamond jewellery and lab diamond jewellery will fully take over the diamond industry.  The next generation has little to no interest in carving up the Earth to mine diamonds and for that reason, we believe lab diamonds will ultimately be the only diamonds on the market.  Currently lab diamonds make up 50% of the engagement ring industry in the US – whilst the UK is behind on numbers, that trend is certainly picking up here too. According to the Economist, “75% of diamonds globally will be lab grown by 2050”.  We anticipate that this will materialise by 2035.

LUX: Do you think that lab-gown diamonds will one day replace diamond mining completely?

CF: Absolutely – lab grown diamonds are the future of the diamond industry.  The diamond industry is undergoing significant changes spurred by increasing awareness and evolving consumer preferences.  Laboratory grown diamonds are gaining a lot of traction, providing customers with the same stunning beauty and elegance of natural diamonds but with transparency, sustainability and ethical practices that align with their values.

LUX: We’d love to know more about your design process – your collections have different inspirations but for example, please tell us more about the inception of the Grace Eternal collection?

CF: The Grace Eternal collection was inspired by my grandmother, Margaret Coglin, who was always known as the “Grace Kelly of Kenya” where she lived.  The eternal collection consists of classic staple pieces, including tennis bracelets, pendants and eternity rings, that will never go out of fashion and are easy to wear, timelessly beautiful and are simple staple classics.  Bought as a collection, these have been incredibly popular.  We have since evolved into our L’amour collection which is a stunning collection of heart shaped jewellery including our hearts entwined ring which has been hugely popular, our heart trilogy necklaces, drop earrings and heart pendants – perfect for Valentines and that special occasion.  Our bespoke part of the business has been hugely successful whereby we design and create bespoke pieces for our clients.  We have 3 designers who come with a wealth of experience from the top jewellery brand houses and who are instrumental in ensuring all our designs are unique – we look forward to introducing these designs and creations imminently with different shape diamonds, set into intricate pieces.

LUX: Do you have plans for a London boutique?

CF: We have just opened our first UK store at the Fairmont Windsor Park, having opened at the Villa la Coste in France, this Summer.  It has been a huge success for Astrea and gives customers the opportunity to see our pieces in person and to judge for themselves the quality of our jewellery.  We do have plans for a London boutique as well as other cities in Europe.

Pieces from Astrea London’s L’Amour Collection

LUX: Do you have a favourite piece and why?

CF: I personally love our tennis bracelets – because they can be worn day and night, from weddings to evenings out.  They are classic yet timeless and elegant and when made with different shaped stones, for example our oval tennis bracelet, they are strikingly beautiful.  No matter how big or small you go, they carry such a huge impact.

astrealondon.com

In the heart of the heartbreakingly pretty town of Lucerne, by the lake of the same name, sits Mandarin Oriental Lucerne, Switzerland. Does it live up to its promise? LUX takes a plane, a train and a stroll along the lakefront to visit the palace hotel and find out 

Is Lucerne one of the most underrated towns in Europe? A gem of an ancient town, small enough to feel like a big village and with barely any evidence of industry, spread along the edge of a lake with a massive view of the central Swiss Alps and a bridge in the centre of town straight out of a Brothers Grimm fairytale. 

Its only sin is to be in the middle of a country with so many views that visitors perhaps feel spoiled for choice. Until now, there has not quite been a world-class place to stay in the town, to match its world-class location, views and tourist sites. That all changed when the Mandarin Oriental opened, after a five year refurbishment of what used to be The Palace. 

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Mandarin, a Hong Kong based luxury hospitality group, does not do anything except excellent hotels, and does them with a panache that belies the terms “contemporary“ or “traditional“ – somehow its hotels are superior to both, whilst also encapsulating them.

How would this play in this grand old building in a traditional city?

The pedestrianised pathway just outside the hotel allows for a safe and easy stroll after your meal

The first, decidedly positive, impression on walking from the station (you really must walk around towns in Switzerland if you can, the views are all around and the air is fresh), is joy that the lakeside road along the front of the hotel, lined with trees, has been entirely given over to pedestrians and bicycles. This means the only traffic in front of the hotel’s grand facade is a morning and evening passegiata on holidays and weekends, and the swish of cyclists going to work on weekdays.

Due to the way the hotel has been remodelled, the entrance is at one end of a long building, you walk into a corridor and turn right into a palatial but contemporary reception area from from which you are whisked up, in LUX’s case, to a big suite with a small balcony (these were built in the era before global warming, when balconies in central Europe were for occasional use only) and just gorgeous decor. 

Chilling on the first evening involved looking over the tops of the trees and across the lake, to a line of wavy white Alps as they turned rose and then slate coloured in the sunset. A couple of glasses of champagne later, LUX could have stayed on the balcony all night, but a chilly breeze was descending from the glaciers and we also had a dinner awaiting us, a few floors directly below, on the buzzing front terrace adjoining the lakeside promenade.

This has been elegantly done, with just a low set of metal railings separating it from the promenade so you do not feel like you are caged in. It is a mystery to us why Italian Alpine lakes are so celebrated while those in Switzerland, which are geographically identical, are less so. This was possibly due to the cooler climate on the northern side of the Alps in Switzerland in years past, but these days, Switzerland has long months of sunshine from spring until autumn, with mirror image views compared to those of the Italian lakes, and, in this particular case, a refinement and lack of overcrowding that is hard to find sometimes in Italy.

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LUX’s preferred breakfast location was the little balcony in our room, no reflection or the beautiful breakfast room downstairs space but simply an indication of how good the view was from the balcony – also showing that you don’t need a giant terrace to enjoy outdoor living.

Mandarin Oriental had a big challenge with this property, due to its size, scale, history and also its layout. We have never seen them fail yet, and we are delighted to see that the result is not just good, but world leading. It’s a destination hotel, in a destination town, with an exhilaration of view that is unmatched. Just make sure you get a room with a balcony.

https://www.mandarinoriental.com/en/luzern/palace

In the second of our winter season series on luxury hotels in Switzerland, LUX visits luxury gems in Geneva, Zurich and Lucerne, and destinations new and old high in the Alps. Next up: The Grace, St Moritz reviewed

No mountain resort in the world has the same quality or quantity of proper luxury legacy hotels as St Moritz – in fact the resort high in the Engadine Valley rightly claimed to have invented luxury mountain hotels in the 19th century. And it has remained that way ever since, with no additions to the luxury portfolio for many decades.

Until recently, until the opening of the Grace.

The new hotel, built just above the station and the resorts’ lake which is the home of some of the world’s most glamorous winter activities, has quite a challenge: to attract the attention of the super wealthy heritage crowd who have been coming, winter and (sometimes) summer, for generations, and are used to formal splendour of the existing portfolio, whilst attracting a new crowd of next generation wealth who have travelled more broadly than any of their predecessors and know what luxury looks like in Indonesia, Chile and Miami.

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Sweep into the Grace, and your first impression is that they are doing a pretty good job of it. There is, as in all these type of hotel, a big, high ceilinged lobby area with tall windows affording of view over the lake and forest, but it is not staffed by suited waiters, it has a more, contemporary private members club field, with art works on the walls and contemporary arts and design books on the tables. 

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Walk a few metres along and you get to the spectacular bar area, not a sideline here but a main feature with a long bar and tables arranged as if you are in a jazz club, which frequently you are – whilst we were there there was a modern jazz band playing all evening, a cleverly curated mix appealing to both generations. Far harder to do than to say it.

And that’s the beauty of the Grace. It’s not a hotel that has looked at its competitors and decided to do something oppositionally different, or hyper-contemporary to the point of being out of place. It is simply taking the mountain luxury specific to the area and moving it along.

The restaurant, relaxing in taupes and greys, looks out over the lake and the Alps; LUX enjoyed Hokkaido pumpkin, kingfish crudo with pineapple aguachile, and seabass in bouillabaisse sauce.

The rooms benefit from a few advantages of a new build: they are large and residential in feel, with big terraces and bathrooms, with more in the layout of the luxury apartment than a hotel and all the better for it.  

The spa, also newly built, is a standout with LUX enjoying a caviar balm treatment. Although we found the otherwise delightful 20m pool a little chilly at 26 degrees; we prefer a milder 29 degrees. 

We much admired the intriguing selection of art in public spaces – we feel there is a lot more potential here as St Moritz is becoming one of Europe’s art capitals – and a service style which is carefully calibrated not to compromise on old school Swiss quality, while dialling down on the formality. An excellent addition to the scene, and we will be back to the Grace.

https://www.gracestmoritz.ch

In the first of our winter season series on luxury hotels in Switzerland, LUX visits luxury gems in Geneva, Zurich and Lucerne, and destinations new and old high in the Alps. First up: the Four Seasons Geneva reviewed

In the world’s great cities there is a certain satisfaction that comes purely from being in the right location. That’s not necessarily the geographical centre of the city – we wouldn’t want to stay on Picadilly Circus in London or Times Square in New York. 

There is a physical location in each city that makes you feel that you are both at the heart of things and also looking at the best of where you are. That might be the Place de la Concorde in Paris; or Central by the harbour in Hong Kong.

In Geneva, arriving at the Four Seasons, you know you are exactly where you need to be.

The hotel faces across the point at which the banana shape of Lake Geneva, which extends east all the way into the Alps, contracts into the upper mouth of the river rhone, which then flows down through France all the way to the Mediterranean. Facing you across the waters is the old town of Geneva, above which rise the Alps and, on a clear day, the mighty Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe, towering over you with its dome of snow year round. 

The feeling that you have arrived, with a capital A is emphasised by the greetings of the seemingly endless procession of staff as you come in, who magically know your name as they open the door for the first time. Four Seasons service at its best.

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Our room, a junior suite, looked out over the lakefront embankment to the view;  it had a lavish marble bathroom and a vibe that business leaders and aristocrats have been staying there for decades, if not longer. Even before Four Seasons took it over, the hotel was the city’s premier address.

Particularly attractive is that the embankment in front of the hotel is now pedestrianised, with the exception of cars to and from the hotel, meaning you don’t have to brave or hear the traffic between the hotel and the water.

Every city luxury hotel now needs to do so much more than provide comfortable rooms, a bar and restaurants and business efficiency. And while this Grand Dame of a building would not immediately be one that you associate with an urban resort, that is exactly what it is. 

Take the elevator to the top floor, wander down the corridor into the spa and up a staircase and you are at Izumi, a funky rooftop Japanese restaurant spread across two very casual, relaxing floors.

We visited in the cold season, but nonetheless on the roof there was a marquee with a pop-up Shabu-Shabu restaurant; all around it, in summer, the terrace becomes a lively cocktail bar with – an astonishing 360° view, across the city and lake to the Alps on one side, and to the mountains on the other. A special place, and on our evening, we headed downstairs to the light and vibey Izumi for a magnificent meal.

To start with, the hotel’s own all Chardonnay champagne, light, floral, rounded and so delicious that we decided to keep with it to match the meal. We loved the Jalapeño Karashi Miso, Quinoa Salsa, Sorrel Cress Chu Toro, the Black Cod tapas with Jalepeño miso, and the Tatsuta-age baby chicken.

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On our second night, we headed down to the bar, unusually in a light and airy salon-type room on the ground floor. This is a cocktail bar at its best – although it’s so popular you have to book – with slick service and some celebrated cocktails; and also a thorough bar menu, for an excellent evening with no need for dinner.

Almost equally memorable was breakfast, which took place at the Il Lago, usually the hotel’s gourmet Italian restaurant. This was a perfect combination of an extremely high-quality buffet with excellent à la carte options. 

Later that morning, we headed back up to the top floor to the spa where we had a very smartly devised Alpina Aroma massage.

Altogether very special, and you could also almost forget that you are actually in the centre of a historic European city with plenty of attractions all around, and of course the winter sports destinations of the Alps literally within sight. If you are flying to your skiing holiday via Geneva, a couple of nights at the Four Seasons, could be a lot more relaxing than activities and partying on the slopes above.

https://www.fourseasons.com/geneva/ 

The reception at Preventicum’s London clinic

London’s Preventicum has been at the forefront of preventative healthcare – where you see and anticipate potential health risks – for almost two decades.  Here, Preventicum’s Medical Director, Dr Ying-Young Hui speaks to Samantha Welsh about how about the importance of early detection, and how a holistic approach can give a complete picture of health, guiding on lifestyle changes and potential clinical interventions; and we present some frankly chilling case studies  

LUX:  What brought about Preventicum’s early start in the competitive health diagnostic space?

Dr Ying-Young Hui:  Preventicum launched its pioneering preventive health assessments in London in 2005 at its luxury London clinic. We developed our detailed health assessments to give clients the ultimate reassurance and peace of mind, enabling them to live their lives to the full. Instead of addressing health concerns when they arise, we can detect the earliest signs of and risk factors for heart disease, cancers, stroke, diabetes and many other conditions. This proactive approach allows us to create tailored health and lifestyle plans so that our clients can stay in optimal health and well-being.

Preventicum offers preventive healthcare, using state of the art technology

LUX:  What breakthroughs differentiate Preventicum services from those of competitors?

Dr Y-YH:  For over 19 years, Preventicum has been at the forefront of preventive health and we have developed the most advanced and safest health assessments in the world. We combine pioneering cardiac and brain analysis, laboratory tests, state-of-the-art, radiation-free MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and ultrasound scans with detailed GP and Radiologist consultations, as well as referrals to a network of specialists.

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Preventicum offers the only doctor-led, non-invasive health assessments that are completed on a single day, under one roof, with results available before our clients leave. By consistently researching and introducing new clinical developments, we ensure that Preventicum remains at the forefront of preventive healthcare, offering our clients the very latest, gold-standard tests and technology.

LUX:  With the curated approach to the hospitality experience, what does this show about values and clienteling?

Dr Y-YH:  At Preventicum, our clients’ experience extends well beyond the medical tests and scans included in their health assessment. Many of our clients describe their experience as “spa-like” thanks to our beautiful environment and our dedicated team who provide unparalleled service and build long-lasting relationships.

Dr Ying-Young Hui, Preventicum’s Medical Director

With a tailored approach, our client’s Preventicum Doctor oversees the tests and scans that are included in their health assessment and along with two detailed consultations, they create a detailed clinical report and lifestyle prescription

LUX:  How do you structure the detailed client consultations at the beginning and end of the day?

Dr Y-YH:  Each client meets a dedicated Preventicum Doctor who guides them through their assessment and addresses any health concerns. The day begins with up to an hour with their doctor to discuss their current health, medical and family history and any specific concerns they may have. We also assess key lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, alcohol intake and sleep, all which are crucial in determining current health and future risks. This consultation also includes a comprehensive physical examination and a guide as to what will happen throughout the day.

Following the client’s tests, MRI and ultrasound scans, and cardiac assessment, clients have a unique opportunity to review their MRI scans in a consultation with one of our Consultant Radiologists, including viewing their beating heart. The day concludes with a consultation with the client’s Preventicum Doctor to discuss the day’s findings and results, provide reassurance and where clinically indicated, arrange referrals to specialists within our network.

‘Preventicum remains at the forefront of preventive healthcare, offering our clients the very latest, gold-standard tests and technology’ – Dr Ying-Young Hui

LUX:  Lifestyles in the developed world are contributing to rising rates of diverse cancers.  Where have you had successes in early detection, and how can we help ourselves?

Dr Y-YH:  Cancer rates are increasing, including in the younger population, with approximately 375,000 new cancer diagnoses per year in the UK. It is estimated that 1 in 2 people in the UK currently under 65 years old will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. Our doctors are able to detect the earliest stages of cancers thanks to the combination of their expertise and our technology.

Recently, we have found clients who showed early stages of kidney, lung, thyroid and prostate cancer.  Detecting and diagnosing these cancers at an early stage usually means shorter and less invasive treatment plan and most cancers have far higher survival rates if found early.

To reduce the risk of cancer, we recommend lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake, increasing physical activity and maintaining a healthy diet. Annual Preventicum health assessments also play a crucial role in identifying signs of and risk factors for cancers, further aiding early detection and prevention.

‘Each client meets a dedicated Preventicum Doctor who guides them through their assessment and addresses any health concerns’ – Dr Ying-Young Hui

LUX:  What is the approach to cholesterol management?

Dr Y-YH:  Cholesterol management is crucial for a long and healthy life with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases including heart disease and stroke.  Effective cholesterol management requires a multifaceted approach, combining lifestyle changes with medication and regular monitoring.

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During the client’s initial consultation, we spend up to an hour gathering vital information about their lifestyle, personal medical history, family history and any symptoms. This data, along with results from detailed blood tests, blood pressure, stress echocardiograms, cardiac MRI, oxygenation-sensitive cardiac MRI (OS-CMR) and carotid artery ultrasound allows us to create a personalised cholesterol management programme.

We provide specific and tailored advice about changes which can improve High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lower Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, such as reducing the consumption of saturated fats, increasing consumption of foods high in omega-3- fatty acids (such as oily fish and avocado), setting targets for moderate and high intensity exercise and optimising sleep quantity and quality.

Our approach emphasises reducing future risk with dietary changes, regular physical activity and when necessary, the use of cholesterol-lowering medications, with referrals to lipid specialists when clinically indicated.

Client room at Preventicum

LUX:  Hereditary conditions can be the ‘silent killer’, what is your experience with investigation and proactive intervention?

Dr Y-YH:  Hereditary conditions often develop without symptoms until they reach an advanced stage, making early detection and regular health assessments even more important. At Preventicum, clients complete a detailed medical questionnaire that includes a full family history, discussed during their hour-long initial consultation. Our Preventicum Doctors oversee all test and scan results and therefore have a complete view of our client’s health.

This proactive approach has allowed us to identify conditions such as cardiomyopathies, heart valve anomalies, and familial hypercholesterolemia early, leading to timely interventions that reduce the risk of severe health issues. Over the past 19 years, we have successfully identified and managed these hereditary conditions in many clients. We also have a partnership with an expert Clinical Geneticist who we can refer to if clinically indicated.

LUX:  What other diagnostic areas offer opportunities for innovations in partnership?

Dr Y-YH:  Preventicum is committed to remaining at the forefront of preventive health by partnering with leaders and experts in many clinical specialisms.  We have worked with Perspectum to offer LiverMultiScan, which provides a comprehensive view of liver health, including detailed measures of inflammation and fibrosis.

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In 2023, we introduced our Optimal assessment, the world’s most clinically advanced health assessment, featuring partnerships with BrainKey for detailed brain analysis of over 25 regions of the brain including brain age and Area19 for a world first in health screening – pioneering Oxygenation-Sensitive Cardiac MRI (OS-CMR). Additionally, our collaboration with Medical iSight allows clients to interact with 3D Augmented Reality visuals of their brain scans using Microsoft HoloLens.

LUX:  Can some investigations be unnecessarily invasive for the client, for example, cardiac diagnostics?

 Dr Y-YH:  All Preventicum assessments are safe and non-invasive. Our innovative OS-CMR technology, the most advanced cardiac assessment in the world, is non-invasive and requires no stress or medication. We rely on radiation-free MRI and ultrasound imaging, ensuring our clients avoid any adverse side effects and are not exposed to potentially harmful radiation.

‘Many of our clients describe their experience as “spa-like”’ – Dr Ying-Young Hui

This approach makes our assessments suitable for annual health screenings and also demonstrates our commitment to delivering the most advanced health assessments in the safest and most comfortable way for our clients.

Case studies: Some chilling real life case studies of lives saved and lifestyles altered from the Preventicum team.

High-grade atrioventricular block

A female client in her mid-fifties booked a Preventicum assessment after experiencing shortness of breath climbing stairs and was anxious about her health. During both the exercise stress echocardiogram and cardiac MRI scans, abnormalities were seen. Urgently referred to see a Cardiologist by her Preventicum Doctor. Further investigation revealed a high-grade atrioventricular block and a pacemaker was successfully fitted. Our client reported an upturn in her health and general wellbeing after this procedure.

Large aortic aneurysm

A healthy Orthopaedic surgeon in his late sixties booked a Preventicum assessment. He was known to have high blood pressure. During our client’s ultrasound scan, a 7cm abdominal aortic aneurysm (ballooning of the major artery running down the centre of the abdomen) was seen which had a high risk of rupturing. He was immediately referred to see a Vascular Surgeon who performed an urgent repair to the aneurysm through the main artery of his leg. Normally, large aortic aneurysms remain undetected with sudden death being the first symptom. Five years on, our client is doing very well, having made a good recovery with follow-up monitoring revealing the aneurysm to be fully repaired.

Lung cancer

A 61-year-old Company Director, returned to Preventicum for his third assessment. He was fit and well, living an active and busy life. The Consultant Cardiac Radiologist saw a 6mm lung nodule in the background of the cardiac MRI scans. The client was urgently referred for a follow-up CT scan. He attended an appointment with a specialist who made the decision to watch this for three months.

During this time, the nodule grew from 6mm to 12mm. A specialist biopsy operation at St. Batholomew’s Hospital then confirmed this was lung cancer. An operation at The Royal Brompton followed where 55% of his lung was removed. He was active straight after his operation and within three months was back to riding a bike, playing golf and running at 80% of his previous fitness.

A radiologist consultation at Preventicum

Severe heart disease

A male client in his early seventies visited Preventicum for a third time. All his cardiac investigations were normal and he was generally in good health, but experiencing shortness of breath during bursts of intense activity. Our client’s resting ECG showed severe heart rhythm abnormalities and a further resting echocardiogram showed a dilated left ventricle with poor cardiac efficiency and function.

This was confirmed in his cardiac MRI and indicated the possibility of dilated cardiomyopathy. We referred our client for review with a Consultant Cardiologist and he had an urgent coronary angiogram. He is now under ongoing specialist care.

Kidney cancer

A 54-year-old Finance Director booked his first Preventicum assessment, feeling in generally good health with no specific concerns to address. During his abdominal ultrasound and MRI scans, a suspicious kidney lesion was seen. Following a comprehensive discussion he was referred to a Consultant Urologist for further investigation. Under the expert care of this specialist, a malignant kidney tumour was diagnosed. He had a successful operation to remove the tumour and thanks to our very early detection, he has not needed any further treatment as the surgery was wholly curative.

Large brain aneurysm with no symptoms

A Property Director in his early forties, booked a Preventicum assessment. He had no symptoms and was generally in good health. During his MRI scans, a large 11mm brain aneurysm was seen. The Preventicum Doctor immediately referred him to a leading Neurosurgeon who performed a catheter angiogram to examine the anatomy of the aneurysm in more detail.

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Interestingly, the year before his visit to Preventicum our client saw a Neurologist who had carried out an MRI brain scan, but the aneurysm had not been seen. The possibilities for intervention were thoroughly discussed and he opted for open surgery to the aneurysm which was a great success.

Coronary artery disease

A client attended his Preventicum assessment and mentioned a four-week history of chest pain during exertion. During his assessment, he was found to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a significantly abnormal ECG. The client was urgently referred to a Cardiologist who performed a cardiac CT, revealing a dangerous blockage in the main artery taking blood to his heart.

Following immediate admission into hospital, our client underwent an emergency primary angioplasty procedure to open the blockage and two stents were put into his main coronary artery. He made an excellent recovery and was put on long-term medications to control his blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Prior to his Preventicum assessment, the client had a very high risk of having a sudden, fatal heart attack.

Thyroid cancer

A 28-year-old male client booked his first Preventicum assessment as he was concerned about his general wellbeing, was feeling tired and had been experiencing night sweats. During his assessment, our client’s full blood count and inflammatory markers were normal. However, during his ultrasound examination, our sonographer noted an abnormal looking lymph node in his neck.

An urgent referral was made to a Head and Neck Consultant and following a lymph node biopsy, the client was diagnosed with a medullary carcinoma (cancer) of the thyroid gland. He had surgery to remove the thyroid gland and 50 additional lymph nodes. The client has fully recovered from this curative surgery.

preventicum.co.uk

The vision for Bankside Yards, a sustainable and liveable district for London

A new development just across the Thames from the City of London, Bankside Yards will open-up 3.3 acres of riverside public realm and 14 railway arches, integrating retail, bars and restaurants with cultural spaces, offices for global corporates, SMEs and start-ups, within a new residential district mixing affordable and private housing with branded residences and a Mandarin Oriental hotel. The Executive Director of Developer Native Land, Nicholas Gray, speaks with LUX about building a sustainable, liveable district for London

LUX:  Please share with us the vision for Bankside Yards

Nicholas Gray:  Bankside Yards has been designed as a new hyper-mixed destination by Native Land, aimed at transforming the South Bank and allowing members of the public to move freely along the Thames Path. The octet of new buildings on the 5.5-acre site will be Net Zero in operation; four will be dedicated to residential and will comprise approximately 600 homes, both private and affordable. The first, Opus, will be the tallest residential building in prime central London when complete and will be launching sales in Spring 2025. Three have been designed as next-generation workspaces with the flagship, Arbor, already complete. This ESG-focused building has achieved record rents for the South Bank and has been 75% let, including to NYSE and FTSE-100 listed firms. We’re hugely excited by the potential of this future riverside community and are delighted to be joined by renowned international brand, Mandarin Oriental, which will open its third London hotel at Bankside Yards in 2028.

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The rail viaduct, a key remnant of Southwark’s industrial heritage, forms the spine of the masterplan. The 14 historic arches, which have been closed for 150 years, will be transformed into 50,000 square feet of amenity, retail, bar, restaurant and cultural spaces for residents and the public to enjoy. Each element will be surrounded by 3.3 acres of new ‘greened’ public realm and will be powered by a cutting-edge 5th generation energy sharing network – the first of its scale in the UK.

Nicholas Gray, Executive Director, Native Land

LUX:  How will this hyper-mix of uses connect with the future city?

NG:  Bankside Yards will open-up an important piece of London with amazing transport connections and, as a London-based developer, Native Land is keen to contribute to the rich mix of the South Bank by creating a place that’s accessible, enjoyable and productive.

At 1.4 million sq ft, Bankside Yards is one of the most significant developments underway in the capital. This future-focused regeneration project will deliver a world-class mix of prime riverside residential, HQ workplaces, 5-star hospitality space and exceptional private and public amenities, on a scale that reflects the site’s strategic location in a global gateway city. Native Land’s early successes in the area reflect a growing desire from a new generation of business leaders, employees, and homebuyers to leave behind the monocultures of traditional commercial or residential markets in favour of more authentic and inspiring urban neighbourhoods.

The domestic and global appeal of Bankside Yards has already been evidenced by the occupiers and operators who have already committed to the development: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Merlin Entertainments, Smith Group plc, Lewis Silkin, Winckworth Sherwood, The Carbon Trust, Wipro and Flutter. Bankside Yards is meeting the growing demand from both residential buyers and commercial occupiers to live and work in a more responsible, health-conscious, and sustainable way.

‘A world-class mix of prime riverside residential, HQ workplaces, 5-star hospitality space and exceptional private and public amenities, on a scale that reflects the site’s strategic location in a global gateway city’ – Nicholas Gray

LUX:  What is the potential local benefit for the London Borough of Southwark?

NG:  We believe Bankside Yards will cement the area as London’s leading destination for culture. One of the most exciting regeneration schemes to hit the UK in many years, we see this as an opportunity to transform this disconnected area of London, paving the way for future smart living and working in the capital.

The previously closed site will provide a brand-new lifestyle offering for the South Bank; across retail, cultural and amenity spaces. With 50% of the development allocated to public realm, Bankside Yards will create a varied and active new neighbourhood for Southwark, encouraging and complementing business growth and enriching the renowned arts institutes and thriving performing arts venues nearby.

In addition, the development will deliver hundreds of new homes, including apartments for private sale and rent, on-site affordable housing and a financial contribution of at least £65 million to Southwark Council to deliver new housing across the borough.

‘Bankside Yards will cement the area as London’s leading destination for culture’ – Nicholas Gray

Finally, renowned hospitality brand Mandarin Oriental will be opening its third London hotel, a move that will positively impact not only the Bankside locality but also the wider area. This is an important element in our intention to offer the very best amenities side-by-side with cultural institutions, top-tier businesses and a rich and varied community.

LUX:  How do you embed sustainability throughout the development process?

NG:  Bankside Yards is the UK’s first major mixed-use fossil fuel-free development in operation. The integrated 5th Generation energy sharing network – the first of its scale in the UK – enables each building to ‘extract’ or ‘reject’ energy into a single thermal network serving the entire development, significantly reducing operational energy throughout. The initial two buildings at Bankside Yards, Arbor and Opus, will enjoy the benefits of the energy-sharing network from the outset, and the benefits will be enhanced as each new building is completed and added to the network.

Read More: Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 review

In addition, all of Bankside Yards’ eight buildings will be all-electric and we are sourcing power from renewable sources. The buildings will use heat pumps, high efficiency building services systems, and optimised façades. During the development process, an underground logistics network will minimise disruption, congestion and truck movements within the local area. This means there will be no ground-level loading bays, releasing over 10,000 sq ft (8% of the total public realm) of additional above-ground space for biodiversity, public space, amenity and active frontages.

We are also creating 3.3 acres of new ‘greened’ public realm which includes planting 150 new trees of 20 different species and creating biodiverse roofs on six of the development’s eight buildings. This will support the mayor’s commitment to a 10% increase in London’s tree canopy cover by 2050. Future residents and visitors will also be able to take full advantage of the integrated electric car charging points and 284 bike stations.

LUX:  What differentiates the net zero strategy at Bankside Yards?

NG:  The big advantage we have at Bankside Yards is that we are a large-scale, mixed use, 24/7 development that is under the control of a single ownership. That allows the delivery of innovative engineering solutions such as the 5th generation energy system, the first of its kind in the UK.

A streetview of Bankside Yards, featuring The Arches

Climate change is perhaps the largest disruptor to the way we will live in the future. However, we cannot stop building, therefore it’s logical that we build and operate our buildings more sustainably. Bankside Yards is a leading example of how we can do that. Native Land’s approach has been to design buildings that use much less carbon to build and operate. We then use energy from renewable ‘green’ sources for the remaining requirements necessary to operate the development, in a comfortable and efficient way for its occupants. Having a mixed-use development which has 24/7 uses and activities within it, means that energy can be shared between the buildings in an optimised way during different periods of the day or climate cycles.

LUX:  Where could you see similar opportunities to increase the pace of decarbonisation in the UK?

NG:  In order to reduce substantially the impact that the built environment has on climate change, developers need to encourage and promote bold innovative solutions that can serve as influential examples and lead the way forward. Additionally, we must design with the recognition that what we build must serve the needs of our communities and many future generations. I believe that we will be successful in doing both with Bankside Yards and that it will serve as an exemplar in this regard.

Bankside Yards is a partnership between Native Land, Temasek, Amcorp Properties, and Hotel Properties Limited of Singapore

banksideyards.com

The old-school but high-tech Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63

Mercedes-Benz’s performance division AMG has produced a new two seater high performance coupe that is back to the best of the past

In a taxi in a European city recently, I was party to a rather poignant scenario. We were stopped at the traffic lights, and two young local guys were in the lane alongside, in a VW Golf GTI, and iconic car for any aspiring car enthusiast.

They had plainly pimped it up to make it faster, with a loud exhaust and an engine that sounded screamier than the original. They were playing around, revving the engine, ready to screech off at the lights. My taxi was electric, a comfortable bland machine whose manufacturer I can’t recall. When the lights changed green, the young men alongside us screeched forward with a chirp of tyres and zing of engine and exhaust.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 in action, crossing mountainous terrain

My taxi driver, with a hint of amusement, simply extended his foot in his electric family car we cruised severely passed them, their little sports car desperately sounding like it was trying to keep up as the taxi wafted down the road gaining pace rapidly but with seemingly no effort, and in silence.

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

This made me ponder. That coming weekend, I was due to take delivery of an AMG GT 63, a petrol powered touring car several leagues above the little Golf GTI I had seen on my business trip. But still, however fast a car is, there is always an electric car, often a very bland booking one, that is much faster, simply because of the physics of electric propulsion.

‘There is something unashamedly old school about it [but] of course it has an excellent touchscreen information and entertainment system, all the latest safety gadgets, and a hi-fi system’

So what is the point of a V8 petrol powered grand touring car like the AMG GT, which once would have had its own performance as its starring factor?

Within minutes of getting behind the seat of the AMG I had a strong inkling of the answer.

But, let’s look at the car itself. Produced entirely by Mercedes-Benz’s high performance division, AMG, there is something unashamedly old school about it.

Of course it has an excellent touchscreen information and entertainment system, all the latest safety gadgets, and a hi-fi system that makes you think you are in the Vienna Opera House.

But anyone can do that in a car these days.

A front view of the GT 63

What’s the GT has, in container-loads, is character and soul. You sit low and deep alongside your passenger, with a couple of tiny seats behind you indicating that family values perhaps are not of the highest concern for the driver and passenger.

Stab the button, and the engine comes to life a bit like waking up an Italian mastiff (or should that be a German mastiff?). No silent gliding here.

The car rumbles along the road, sounding and feeling much more like one of those overpowered muscle car coops from a 1960s movie than anything from the 2020s. The steering feels organic and real, rather than like you are playing with a game console joystick, which is sadly what a lot of cars these days feel like.

Just like every other car sold today, the steering is electric – you are not actually, controlling a mechanism that turns the wheels, you are simply sending a signal to an electrical program – but AMG have done a superb job in making you think otherwise.

‘This is not the kind of car you get into, cruise down the road and then 20 minutes later look in astonishment at the speed and realise you were going much faster than you thought. It’s a car with a feeling of speed’

It gather speed in bursts with its muscular V8 engine, and most importantly lets you know it is doing so. This is not the kind of car you get into, cruise down the road and then 20 minutes later look in astonishment at the speed and realise you were going much faster than you thought. It’s a car with a feeling of speed.

Read more: A palatial stay at the St. Regis Hotel

The same applies to the handling, which gives you all the sensations of cornering properly, including delightful feedback when turning in to a bend and, despite the car’s safety first four-wheel-drive, a real feeling that it could do one of those cop car swivels around the corner if you press the accelerate too hard at the wrong/right time. (It won’t, unless you turn all the safety systems off, for which you will need the skills of an advanced computer hacker.)

The AMG GT 63 is a contemporary sports car with the character of the great grand tourers of the past

It’s an interior full of sporting intent: nobody will get into the car alongside you and assume they are just in another set of wheels. It makes a statement, saying: This is my car I bought to drive, properly, while everyone else is wafting around in fear of speed limits and legislation.

If it feels a bit out of place in today’s roster of new cars, that’s because it has deliberately bucked a trend, perhaps more surprising coming from a manufacturer so devoted to electrification as it’s parent company Mercedes-Benz. There’s a soul in the company that invented the car, and it is manifesting itself in the AMG GT.

Does it have any drawbacks? Well, it’s a long, low car with it effectively only two seats, although you could perhaps sedate your children and stick them in the back. It does have a decent boot/trunk space, but of course it is not as convenient or easy as an electric taxi. That’s why exists, and you should buy one, although unlike ours, we would recommend a more poppy colour to make the exterior, which is slick but not exceptional, stand out more. Racing yellow or orange, perhaps. Or frog green. Do it while you can.

https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/

Bettina Bryant, owner of the iconic Napa Valley Bryant Estate

Bryant Estate is one of the original Napa Valley icons. Along with Screaming Eagle and Harlan, Bryant’s wines became revered by collectors and connoisseurs as Napa’s fame as a fine wine region spread worldwide in the 1990s. When Don Bryant, the estate’s pioneering founder, stepped aside his wife Bettina took over the reins. A former professional ballet dancer and art historian, Bettina is creating a new future for this legendary estate whose wines are available only to a fortunate few on a private list, weaving in a deep association with art and biodynamic culture. Here, Bettina Bryant and her winemaker KK Carothers speak with LUX Editor in Chief Darius Sanai while tasting a back catalogue of some of the revered Bryant wines

LUX: You are a team that works together and travels together. Bettina and KK, how did you meet and how did the chemistry develop?

Bettina Bryant: I am so grateful to have had the length of time that I’ve had to work with KK. She arrived in 2012 as a harvest intern, and was with us for four years, progressing from harvest intern to oenologist then assistant winemaker.

It was beautiful to watch her evolution, her quiet intelligence and thoughtfulness working with the wines. In 2016, she departed for a new opportunity. It was a sad day for both of us, but we both knew it was an important step in her growth. She went to work with a remarkable estate called ADAMVS, and gained a lot of wonderful knowledge around biodynamic viticulture.

When the opportunity arose to draw her back in as winemaker at Bryant, it was an effortless decision. KK and I have a transparent and honest communication, and she is always completely prepared. We are very aligned. It has been exciting to apply our awareness around where we want to evolve the estate, from both an ecological and artistic standpoint.

Bettina Bryant welcomes us into the estate

KK: I felt just right about coming back to Bryant after leaving for a couple of years because Bettina is an incredible leader. Just as I was coming up the stairs here, I asked Joe, with whom we work, “What’s one nice thing about Bettina?” and he responded, “she’s so generous”. And it’s true: generous with her time.

Bettina is very empowering. She believes in people. I’m perpetually inspired by her open mindedness and setting bigger goals for everybody here. She really brings out the best in everybody.

Read more: Maryam Eisler interviews Pamela Willoughby

LUX: Bryant is not just about wine; there’s a whole global cultural sphere here.

BB: I just wanted to reference briefly, again, that wonderful Rick Rubin quote about the creative act, that ‘it is not about your specific output, it is about your relationship to the world’.

Darius, I believe this quote refers to your suggestion that Bryant is contextualized within a global sphere. My big revelation, having been a performing artist, interacting with an audience, traveling extensively and progressing through life, is recognizing how truly interconnected we are.

The 2016 Bryant Family Vineyard

My arrival at the estate in 2007 was a profound experience. Arriving at the property, whose wines I had tasted only sparingly, drove home just how majestic this site is. The vineyard has the shape of an amphitheater, one with a direct view over Lake Hennessey. We literally have a platform, and it is important that what we say and do is of the highest integrity.

This revelation made me analyze every aspect of what we do, from tending the vineyard, enhancing the team culture, to packaging – the thoughtfulness behind that and the responsibility of how we communicate with our audience. This has been one of the biggest honours of my life, and I take it very, very seriously.

Read more: The Future of Philanthropy with UBS

LUX: Your wines and your art collaborations seem quite holistic – all part of one ecosystem.

BB: For me art and wine are inextricable. For the label project, it is a very personal expression but absolutely inspired by the artists I work with. People may not realize the number of hours that I spend thinking about a label. The design is deeply considered, and great attention is made to what is actually being communicated. For the 2021 Bettina collaboration with the artist Elliott Puckette, each label was letter pressed and hand applied.

The interlinked relationship between art and wine on the estate

LUX: Let’s move on to the tasting. Why did you choose these specific wines?

BB: I wanted to select something from the first decade, the 90s, which was a very historic decade for Napa Valley. There were maybe 50 or 60 wineries in existence in the Valley. Today we are 10-times this. My husband Don arrived in the late 80s, and very serendipitously acquired the first parcel on Pritchard Hill, but not with the intention to farm.

He then acquired the 13.2-acre vineyard parcel, which I understand now was highly coveted by one of our neighbors. Don had a great intuition and worked at a very rapid pace. The first vintage of Bryant was 1992. Helen Turley was the winemaker with us for a decade, and the ‘96 vintage sits squarely in the middle of her time. I think this is an absolutely exquisite wine.

It has a quiet elegance when compared to the ’97. The ‘97 was the wine that really put us on the map when Robert Parker awarded it 100 points (the ‘96 was a 99-point wine in a moment when many wine professionals feel scores actually meant something). I don’t pull these wines out very often.

‘The ‘96 was a 99-point wine in a moment when many wine professionals feel scores actually meant something’ – Bettina Bryant

LUX: We are now tasting a wine which is 28 years old. When your wine ages, how does it change? Does it transform? Does it develop gently?

BB: I think this wine is a testament to Napa Valley. This was followed by a decade in the early 2000s when a lot of producers were really pushing high octane wines. Bryant has generally maintained a more restrained approach. I feel this is just a gorgeous example of a Napa wine that has finesse and elegance on par with Europe.

KK: I agree. You open up the bottle, pull out the cork, and the ’96 is so expressive. It still has a youthful edge to it, but is also elegant and seamless and complex. It is a precious bottle, we don’t get to try it often, but it is a testament to this vineyard and what was happening in that era with the legendary Helen Turley.

Read more: An Interview with Marian Goodman Gallery 

LUX: Napa has been making wines for a shorter time than Bordeaux. Is this a longevity legend in the making? In 50- or 100-years’ time, will people find a bottle of this and open it like a 1945 Mouton-Rothschild?

BB: I would like to think so.

KK: Yes, based on the way the line is tracking now. It’s got decades and decades to go, and even the younger vintages are trending that way.

LUX: We are now trying the 2006. Did the Bryant Estate ever go down the route of making super-powerful wines?

The art of winemaking at the Bryant Estate

BB: 2006 is considered a vintage that tested growers and winemakers. Heavy winter rains led to some summer flooding, but Spring and Summer were warm with good fruit set. There are a few Bryant wines that probably exude a bit of that thinking, but I feel that we tend to be more restrained than others in our peer group.

KK: The proof is in the pudding when trying this wine. It’s not at all concentrated or hot or elevated or overly muscular. It’s simply there. You can recognise that it is balanced.

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BB: I love the delicacy here. I think it has a really feminine quality, and yet the aromatics are so revealing. Persistent.

I just wish we had more bottles. Don considered success as selling out. So, it is a privilege to be able to taste this with you today. I arrived at the estate in 2007 when this wine was being evolved. I find this wine is in a really good place right now. I showed it last year at a charity dinner in Nashville, Tennessee, and it was the wine of the night.

KK: I get the sense that it has a lot of legs. The tannin is still prevalent and still quite structured. I can see this having a long life and continuing to deliver for decades.

‘There’s a wind that comes off the Pacific Ocean, through the Petaluma Gap in the afternoon, kind of skips off the lake and pulls down the diversity of soil resistance on the site’ – KK

LUX: What is the style of Bryant? What makes Bryant Estate, Bryant Estate?

KK: There are infinite factors that go into it. At its core, it’s about the site, good ground, and the way that it’s farmed. We’re above Lake Hennessey, which is unusual. It’s rare to be in Napa and have a maritime influence. There’s a wind that comes off the Pacific Ocean, through the Petaluma Gap in the afternoon, kind of skips off the lake and pulls down the diversity of soil resistance on the site.

Read more: Cristal evening with Louis Roederer’s Frédéric Rouzaud

LUX: People think of Napa as being hot in summer, but it’s a lot more complicated than that with the ocean fog and breezes.

BB: We are above the fog line. We get fog in the morning, which arrives overnight to keep temperatures cooler. It’s a Mediterranean climate, not a continental climate, so that’s important for retaining acidity in the grapes. Otherwise, the grapes can lose that precious acid, which you can’t really get back if degraded because of too much heat, especially at nighttime. We do have this diurnal shift where it can be 20, 30,40, degree changes in the temperature from nighttime to the morning. Yes, there are certainly many climatic factors, soil types, and differences throughout Napa that make each place very unique.

The landscape of the Bryant Estate property

LUX: Do you have a benchmark?

BB: Well, for Don, the benchmark was 1982 Chateau Latour. For him, that was a definitive wine.

LUX: And all the grapes for your flagship wine are picked from one site?

BB: Yes, this was something that Don identified early on. He was studying Robert Parker reviews, and he realized that Bryant was the only wine in that particular echelon that was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from one site. So, I do think that is a differentiating factor in why this wine is quite distinctive.

The site is very undulating, but this wine has always been 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. To achieve this requires a lot of attention. You can’t just offset an edge by adding a little bit of Merlot or create a little bit of lift with some Petit Verdot. This is pure Cabernet Sauvignon. The fact that the site is so undulating really shapes the dynamic aspect of this wine.

The palate of the Bryant Estate Carbernet Sauvignon: layers of vibrant cassis, black cherry, and black currant interplay with savoury infusions of graphite, sage, tapenade, and tobacco

LUX: Your production, by the standards of the celebrated Bordeaux estates, is small. You could sell everything you make many times over. Do you want your stories to resonate with a broader world of wine connoisseurs?

BB: Entering this space as an art historian – one very focused on artist stories and craft – explains how I have approached Bryant and the opportunity to preserve the story. Extended from this, I have been developing an import entity whose intent is to shed light on other producers whose values resonate with what we are doing at Bryant. There are so many important stories that deserve to be preserved. Are these producers in the right relationship to the land, to the craft?

LUX: Let’s move on to the third decade of the Bryant estate – the 2018 vintage. KK, you made this wine. Is speaking about wine like speaking about a child?

KK: Yes, in a lot of ways it is like a child. I love doing it. It’s not easy. I feel we must dispel this notion that it’s so romantic. It’s a lot of work, effort, thought, and movement. Winemaking is not an easy endeavor.

Winemaking is ‘really about being in tune with nature’

When I arrived back in 2018, it was a great harvest. It’s been a while since I’ve tried the ‘18. It’s really enjoyable to have this opportunity to taste it, especially in this lineup. I find there is a mineral freshness to this wine, accompanied by a fresh fruit profile with integrated, even, and coating tannins. In 2018, we picked the vineyard over 60 different times, and fermented in an assortment of vessels – barrels, puncheons, concrete and stainless tanks – and aged the wine in 225 L, 300 L, and 500 L oak formats. It’s really the epitome of us being in tune.

The interconnectedness of everything. We are in tune with every step, with every vine. It’s really just part of a full integration with life.

BB: I would also say it’s about being fully present.

KK: You can’t do this as a consultant or while not being present. When you’re here and walking and smelling and tasting and cleaning, washing barrels, you can tell: this one smells a little strange, I won’t keep this barrel for next year. The fact that we’re small and pay meticulous attention to detail is just part of that presence and being in tune and connected.

The season’s first growth in the Napa Valley

Getting back to art and winemaking: there is a scientific base. But the more I go along, it’s really about using your gut and intuition – just being in the moment and doing what you have to do, when you have to do it.

LUX: Why did you make the Bettina a blended wine?

BB: Don was aware that Bryant, within the echelon of cult Napa wines, stood apart as a single varietal wine. As previously mentioned, he was very passionate about 1982 Chateau Latour, and became interested in the idea of making a Bordeaux-inspired wine.

We were initially looking at potential vineyards for acquisition, but then received an offer in 2009 for some exceptional fruit. This coincided with the year that we were married.

Don surprised me by naming the wine after me. It was actually a wedding gift. There is so much beauty within that gesture, and it has been a wonderful exploration of how to coax these other varietals and create a wine that is complimentary to the estate wine.

The 2014 Bettina

KK: 2017 was a dramatic year: we were hit with the first fires midstream, and it was enormously challenging. We were about 80% picked at that point. But it was a very foreign experience. I think this vintage points to perseverance. Those who didn’t panic delivered exceptional wines.

LUX: How would you describe this wine to somebody who’s tasting it as a contrast to the flagship?

BB: It’s interesting. From the outset, people often refer to Bryant Family Vineyard as the more feminine wine in our canon, and the Bettina more masculine. The wine has a lot of presence. I think it’s a very voluptuous wine. It’s not shy.

KK: The inclusion of other varietals, Cab Franc, the Merlot, the Petit Verdot, in addition to the Cab and co-fermenting those in the tank so the skins of the one varietal are in contact with the juice of another, builds a certain complexity.

The composition of The Bettina Proprietary red wine

BB: Let’s move on to the ‘19 Bettina, which is a pivotal point in its evolutionary journey. In this vintage, we did a little bit of stem inclusion, just to give the wine a bit of floral character, as well as integrate a bit of the Bryant Family Vineyard cabernet. It was very symbolic, literally bringing this wine in house. This wine has a presence of mind that I think is really balanced.

LUX: Bettina, you are an art historian. There is a depth to your art collaborations for the labels.

BB: Art has always been an inextricable part of who I am. From an early age, I was immersed in looking at art. My parents were always bringing me to museums. I was introduced to music early on, and then I danced, eventually professionally. I always had an awareness of how intertwined things were, and view things through an artistic lens. The hand, the gesture in making the wine, was really evident to me, and I wanted to carry that forward into the external expression of the bottle and how it would be received.

‘I love the idea of having this word on the table, and subliminally impacting the dinner conversation’ – Bettina Bryant

I understood that the Bettina wine was the sandbox where I could be playful, and inaugurated an artist series with the tenth vintage, the 2019. With the 2019 Bettina, I selected a really wonderful and well-known artist named Ed Ruscha, who does a lot of work with text-based images. He had gifted me a drawing featuring the word ‘NOW’ in connection with another project I was working on in New York. I love the idea of having this word on the table, and subliminally impacting the dinner conversation.   

Read more: Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 review

LUX: You spend a lot of time with art, being with not just artists, but art itself. It’s a very important part of your life. How does that inform the Bettina wine, the estate, and your relationship with KK? 

BB: I have had the wonderful opportunity to dabble in different modalities, whether it was dance or music, and I know how that elevates my daily life. There’s an amazing quote by Gerhard Richter in which he says, ‘art is the greatest form of hope’. I find that I’m an optimist by nature. I’m just always wanting to inspire, wanting to elevate, wanting to connect, to help with problem solving. When I left my dance career and headed into my academic career, I was working with a dance program in the public school system in New York.  It was very moving to see young, often underprivileged, children be invited to dance for the first time.  Movement became a very joyful experience. It illuminated for me that art has the ability to be a catalyst for positive change.  

‘When Ed presented the abstract artwork that encases this bottle, he said it reminded him of falling grapes’ – Bettina Bryant

LUX: And finally, we have the 2021 Chardonnay.

BB: I always wished, whenever I would present wines at tastings and dinners, that we had our own white. KK and I decided to do an in-depth blind tasting of Chardonnays from around the world, and we landed on the same one at the conclusion of the tasting: a 2013 Chevalier-Montrachet. The fact that we were so aligned in our thinking and taste profile felt like a sign from the universe.

The 2021 Bryant Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay

KK: Bettina and I both love white burgundy. It has been a journey to find white wine around this area as it’s warm here and we don’t want to go so far to acquire white grapes. We believe in the importance of localism and not trying to drive six hours to pick up fruit, instead keeping it as close to Bryant as possible.

That required a lot of steps, a lot of walking vineyards and finding different sources for good ground. I homed in on Sonoma Mountain, which is just about an hour from here, near Glen Ellen, where Jack London settled. This vineyard is right on the north base of Sonoma Mountain, an extinct volcano and an area that was once covered by the Pacific Ocean.

The mountainous terrain of the Napa Valley

An AVA established in 1985, Sonoma Mountain is a relatively remote and rugged area speckled with Redwood trees, vast ranches and unpaved, one-way roads. The well-draining soils on the vineyard block are a combination of white tufa and basalt, often found on mountains and foothills (the names of the series are called Toomes, Guenoc, Goulding and Red Hill). Thanks to its orientation, the block receives a warming morning sun to dry out the dawn dew but is soon shaded from the higher heat of the afternoon sun, another important characteristic to growing white grapes in sunny California.

The wine is flinty and mineral driven, crisp and with length, and marked by effortless beauty. Upon this alignment of choice, we finally felt ready to create a Bryant Chardonnay.

bryant.estate

Marian Goodman Gallery’s new Tribeca headquarters, where their inaugural exhibition Your Patience is Appreciated will take place from October 26th to December 14th

After 40 years on 57th Street, the historic New York institution Marian Goodman Gallery has announced their move to a headquarters in new art-centre Tribeca, a space of almost double the size. Cleo Scott speaks with Partners Philipp Kaiser and Rose Lord about the importance of the artist, the changing tides of the New York art world, and continuing founder Marian Goodman’s legacy as one of the most respected on the global contemporary art stage

LUX: How have your individual backgrounds influenced your approach to curating and running the Marian Goodman Gallery? What has been your overall vision for the Gallery?

Rose Lord: I’ve worked at the Gallery for 22 years, which is incredible. I’ve spent a lot of time with Marian over the years, and learned so much from her. Her way of looking at the world and dealing with artists and collectors has been very formative. I think that the five Partners of the Gallery, the directors, and the people working in all three galleries in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris share the same vision. We’re trying to create a forum to show exemplary artists, but also create a kind of platform for discussion with the artists and share their ideas that can impact the world, impact society.

Philipp Kaiser: Yes, absolutely. That’s the reason why I wouldn’t have considered another gallery to join. I was in the museum world before my time at the Gallery and worked in institutions in three different countries. Marian has respect towards the institutional mission, and never wanted to compete with it. I feel the Gallery itself is an institution.

Marian Goodman with her five partners, from left to right: Rose Lord, Leslie Nolan, Philipp Kaiser, Marian Goodman, Junette Teng, and Emily-Jane Kirwan

LUX: You are two of the five Partners of the Gallery, established by Marian Goodman to ensure continuity. How does the launch of the Tribeca flagship provide continuity for the Gallery’s legacy?

PK: We set up this structure of five Partners to establish a structure for stability and the next chapter for the Gallery. Marian brought together such a special group of artists, and we want to move the Gallery into the future.

RL: When Marian opened the Gallery on 57th Street it was one of the centres of the art world, but these centres have shifted over the last 43 years. You could say to Chelsea, but then also to Tribeca. It was big decision for us to move from midtown, but it was informed by wanting to be part of a community again, wanting to be surrounded by other artist-centric galleries. I think one of the things that we learned from Marian is to keep a gallery relevant, you must keep moving with the times. And we’re doing that: we’re moving to Tribeca, we opened a gallery in LA last year, we’ve been taking on new artists. A gallery cannot remain static. It must be a living organism that plugs into the discussions that are going on around it.

Installation for Marian Goodman’s inaugural show Your Patience is Appreciated in the new Tribeca space, featuring work from Julie Mehretu, Gabriel Orozco, and Nairy Baghramian

LUX: Are there any elements of this development that will break from the tradition of Marian Goodman?

PK: Absolutely not. The Tribeca space is a commitment to have our headquarters in New York. There’s always the temptation to grow and have more galleries, but Marian has never done that. She always was thoughtful about growth and maintaining the rigor of the Gallery, and we have been continuing this vision.

LUX: Marian Goodman currently represents 47 artists. A strength of the Gallery is that it is very selective with the artists that you choose to represent. With the expansion of your headquarters in New York, are you also hoping to expand your representation, and if so, how will you balance this expansion with your selective roster?

RL: The first thing to say is we want to keep with the tradition, but we want to find a way to build on that tradition and into the future. We have already added quite a lot of artists over the last two years, such as Daniel Boyd, Delcy Morelos, Andrea Fraser, and Tavares Strachan. We try to be very careful and not just add artists left and right. We want to be in dialogue with them.

Unghia e foglie di alloro by Giuseppe Penone, a work made of glass and laurel leaves that will feature in the Gallery’s inaugural exhibition

PK: Exactly, but these days it’s a bit of a different situation. You have to be faster, because many of the big galleries are much more speculative than they were 10 years ago. But I believe there is a real integrity in our artists, who really dive into conceptualism and social concerns. This runs through the program, and that’s also why the different generations within our program highly respect each other.

RL: That’s been the challenge of the opening show to weave together this kind of history, this narrative, and different generations, the different types of work.

LUX: Your inaugural exhibition ‘Your Patience Is Appreciated: An Inaugural Show’ features some 75 works across media. How did you select the artists and works featured at the Tribeca launch? Are there any broad themes or messages you hope to convey through the selection of these works?

PK: Well, we wanted to include all of the artists that we represent. Everybody at the Gallery was involved in the creation of the exhibition, which brings together both historical and new pieces. For me, curatorially, it was kind of a challenging puzzle to create a narrative over three different floors. How do you summarise a group of distinct artists? How do you put them under one roof? How do you create a meaningful exhibition about what you’ve been doing for the last 47 years, that also looks to the future?

Pierre Huyghe’s timekeeper piece, titled Timekeeper Drill Core (MGG 57th St), carries a piece of the 57th street Gallery to the Tribeca headquarters

RL: We have these two ‘Timekeeper’ pieces that Pierre Huyghe made for our Gallery. It’s kind of like the rings of a tree; he scours through the different layers of paint in the Gallery walls from our former 57th street location. The Gallery at 57th Street was frequently painted black and white, and some artists asked for specifically coloured walls for their exhibitions. So the work by Pierre is literally a visual history of the 57th Street Gallery – you see these different colours and layers of the Gallery’s history.

PK: What I’ve tried to establish is a cross-generational conversation between the artists. There’s kind of a Duchampian thread that runs through the building, themes, and artists. You see, for example, Pierre’s rings on the ground floor, and then on the second floor, there’s a wall drawing by Giuseppe Penone. There’s a piece of paper with his fingerprints, and then he made all these lines around the fingerprints bigger and bigger and bigger until it’s like, over three-meter diameter. So, Pierre’s and Giuseppe’s pieces are in conversation; they form the same type of pattern and become reflections on identity and time. And I think that’s why we chose the title Your Patience is Appreciated. It addresses expectations of change, and reflects the duration of what we’re doing, and that we’re in this for the long run.

Installation of the third floor of the exhibition, featuring wallpaper and work by Annette Messager, Richard Deacon, and Tony Cragg

LUX: What are your aspirations for the Gallery beyond this launch? Are there future projects or collaborations in the pipeline?

PK: The first show in the new year will be a two-person show. The new Tribeca space has these two gallery floors that enable us to have interesting conversations between different artists. It will be a conversation between An-My Lê, who came as a refugee from Vietnam to the United States, and Boris Mikhailov, a Ukrainian photographer who hasn’t really been properly shown in the US. We feel this is going to be a show that resonates following the election, and the time we’re living in.

We’re also excited to announce an exhibition of Tavares Strachan’s work in March 2025, and following that, a show of Pierre Huyghe’s work in May 2025. Pierre hasn’t had a gallery show for a very, very long time, and some of these works will be premiered in the US. We’ve been wanting to program a show with Pierre in the Gallery for a long time, but he’s just had too many museum shows and big projects. And now, finally, May 2025.

https://www.mariangoodman.com/

The hotel, in harmony with its forested location

Tucked above the village of Sils, the Waldhaus hotel offers a blend of natural beauty and 20th-century design. A LUX editor reflects on their retreat, where the surrounding forest and timeless atmosphere offers a sanctuary for artists and wanderers alike

Waldhaus literally means “forest house” in German and, if you walk out of the grand doors of the Waldhaus hotel perched on a rock above the tiny village of Sils, turn left along the path leading through an ancient larch and pine forest and disappear along the mountain slope, you could walk for days without ever emerging from the canopy of the forest above and the humus of the ground below. It is a near-infinite ecosystem of fungi and plants that work in one with the trees, insects and animals to keep this great Alpine forest alive.

A framed view from the Rock Room

You could, in theory, walk for thousands of kilometres circumnavigating the Alps and never emerge from the forest. But that would be a shame, as the Waldhaus, which opened in 1908, is itself just so delicious.

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Unlike some grand Swiss hotels, this is a creative and authentic tribute to 20th-century design, its interior architecture genuinely and lovingly created by generations of owners.

A game of tennis, Waldhaus Sils-Style

It is made to be at one with the forest and many of its picture windows look not over and out of the woods, but inside them, framing them like a Jasper Goodall photograph. The Waldhaus is where writers and artists, including some of the most celebrated in the German-speaking world, have come for generations to relax and be inspired.

It is a hotel as imagined by a poet, the service just formal enough but never oppressive, the food never showy but perfectly made from local ingredients, including a nightly bouillon – always made with a different stock – that is a demonstration of how clear soup is a tonic for the soul.

A space where 20th-century design meets timeless creativity

The hotel, which has 140 rooms and suites, is neither a summer nor a winter resort: it is a place to disappear to and be inspired, whatever the season, and if you wish to vanish up the beautiful hidden valleys of the Engadine above on a summertime walk, or spend the day in winter sports in some of the celebrated mountainsides of adjacent St Moritz, you can.

Read more: A palatial stay at St Regis Hotel, Venice

This is a place for artists – visual, musical, literary – first and foremost. It would never be so gauche as to proclaim that it is so; it just is.

waldhaus-sils.ch

The Marchese Lamberto di Frescobaldi with LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai

Italy’s greatest wine, and now a cult collectible, Masseto is the wine every wealthy collector wants to add to their cellar. But is it as good as its stellar reputation? At a rare tasting hosted by the Marchese di Frescobaldi in London, Darius Sanai sought the answer

Wine is often cited alongside art and classic cars as a collectible, but there are some fundamental differences between the worlds great wines and its great artworks and motors.

The most notable is its ephemerality.

You can collect and enjoy a Fontana artwork for decades; likewise, you can jump into your Ferrari F50 and tear around the back roads of Tuscany any time you like.

But to enjoy a wine, you must also destroy it, or at least consume it. A tasting of great and rare wines is a more special occasion even than visiting an art collection or driving the rarest classic in the world: these are the first and last time these particular bottles will ever be tasted.

A harvest of the Masseto vineyard

That came to mind as I arrived for a pretty special tasting across 10 vintages of Masseto, which has, in just 25 years – an instant in fine wine terms – established itself as Italy’s greatest, or at least certainly most celebrated, red wine.

The price of Masseto has increased exponentially over the last few years, as wealthy collectors and consumers around the world fight for it, while production remains as limited as it ever was.

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The Marchese Lamberto di Frescobaldi, scion of the ancient Florentine family, who hosted the tasting, even told us that family members were restricted to buying – not being given – three bottles a year each. And what, someone asked, if they had children, would they also get three bottles each? “No, “he replied, “your children are your problem“.

The Marchese is a lucid and entertaining host, his dry humour manifesting itself at unexpected moments so; for example, on tasting one of the rarest wines, he commented that he was going to spit it, as professionals do, into the spitoon provided, but then decided to “spit backwards”.

The futuristic construction of the entrance to the Masseto winery

Masseto comes from a very interesting vineyard location, a little plateau very close to the coast in Tuscany, so near that you can see and feel the sea from some of the vineyards. To the other side are the endless forests of the Massa Marittima, beyond which is Tuscany’s more arid interior and other famous wine areas such as Montalcino. Although the climate has become warmer in recent years, sea breezes and summer rains allow Masseto to have that unique combination of richness and freshness, combined with all its other elements.

But what makes a truly great wine, and does it really deserve to join the pantheon of global legends, such as Château Latour and Domaine de la Romanée Conti?

The Masseto plot is unique; a hill of almost 7 hectares with blue clay soil, with some layers of clay rock-hard and forming solid boulders.

Assessment from critics is one element, and so is the ability to age. We won’t know about the latter definitively for a few decades at least – the first vintages appeared in the late 1980s– but we tasted vintages back to the 1990s , on this elegant occasion, the first for several years given by the house. And the wines were, overwhelmingly, magnificent, and also showed a remarkable variety between vintages and ability to develop character and complexity over the years.

Masseto is a delicious wine – something that cannot always be said of the worlds great wines, some of which are rather austere – but it is also a magnificently sophisticated one, combining qualities rarely found together in a bottle – if ever. It has a character and profile all of its own. For those reason it certainly ranks among the very greatest.

A Masseto vintage from 2005, one of the many featured in this evening of tastings

Tasting notes by Darius Sanai

Masseto 2021
Like sitting on the highest spire of the Duomo in Milan and looking at Monte Rosa and the Alps, deep in snow, in the distance

Masseto 2016
This wine is being on a Riva, on a still June day on Lake Garda, and hearing the bells of the little church at Bardolino ringing out across the water: it has warmth, freshness and soul

Masseto 2015
Have you ever arrived at La Scala in Milan, in your tuxedo or couture gown, in a Blu Chiaro Metalizzato Ferrari 575 (manual gearbox version), swept up the red carpet and sat in a box to hear Placido Domingo perform Tosca? The Masseto 2015 is that whole experience, in a bottle; but don’t experience it for another five years

Masseto 2013
The delicacy of a Murano glass combined with the richness of palette of its hand-painted colouring

Masseto 2009
Lunch on a July day on the terrace at the Splendido in Portofino. It’s a rich wine, from a hot year, but somehow still has life and complexity, no heaviness

A view of the Masseto cellar, which stores the range of vintages tasted by Darius Sanai

Masseto 2006
Isabella Rossellini in Blue Velvet. Mysterious, difficult, then seductive and transfixing

Masseto 2005
“Tradition is the soft landing of our fears” – Lamberto Frescobaldi. This quote intrigued me so much that I forgot to make any notes about this vintage. Lamberto was speaking about how wine estates need to adapt and change.

Read more: Cristal evening with Louis Roederer’s Frédéric Rouzaud

Masseto 1999
At 25 years old, this wine is Walter Santeso, playing Paparazzo, in La Dolce Vita. A classic, that’s all

Masseto 1996
If a great wine is one that keeps evolving with age, this is a true great. On blind tasting I would have had it down as a Cheval Blanc, such is its power and delicatesse, and ability to keep evolving, and its perfume

Masseto 1995
Sophie Loren in Two Women, with a kind of unbridled joy of sophistication

masseto.com

‘Geller’, 2024, on display at Bernard Frize’s upcoming exhibition at the LA branch of Marian Goodman Gallery.

Bernard Frize is an artist who lets the materials decide for him. A French painter who has been developing his uniquely industrial practice over the past 45 years, leading gallery Marian Goodman announced their representation of him in 2024. Ahead of his inaugural solo exhibition at Marian Goodman’s Los Angeles space, Cleo Scott asks him about process, materiality, and the role of the artist

LUX: Your works are centred around the process of creation. Can you take me through your process of creation of ‘Tama’, which will be on display in your upcoming exhibition at Marian Goodman in LA?

Bernard Frize: I’ve always liked the fact that my paintings are multicoloured, in other words that I don’t choose the colours and mix them. These paintings are very simple: large brushstrokes crossing the canvas vertically; there is an overload of paint on both edges because there is no beginning or end – could I say that the edges are in their raw state? In fact, I paint in both directions and I stop the brushstrokes before the end of the canvas. The latency, the veil which covers what has not yet explanation, but shows its potential, this is what I wish to call in these paintings.

Bernard Frize photographed before his work

LUX: Your works ‘Tama’, ‘Kario’, and ‘Voni’ appear to have been made using the same process of creation. What is the relationship between your works, focusing on process and materiality?

BF: I’m always fascinated by the dissolution of the image into its materiality or by the creation of images from their raw components.

It reminds me of the birth of Aphrodite on the shore of Paphos and I like to imagine how to describe a picture, her body emerging from the waves, which could also be interpreted as a plunge into the sea. There is always this temporal ambiguity in the image, between diving and emerging, doing and undoing; each gesture stopped at a moment in its course could have been something different if we had thought of other options. The paint is wet and then dries.

I went to Paphos a long time ago and stared at the beautiful sea; now, the place of Aphrodite’s birth has become a waterpark.

When doing a painting, either there is no goal, no objective, or there are means and processes for doing something. There is no idea without its material inscription. I like processes to embody ways of thinking. There is always a sequence of operations necessary for the organisation of a painting; I like this organisation and its possibility to be the motif of a painting, because after all, the subject of a painting is what makes it exist, not only what it represents, but also how it is represented. The word itself, representation tells us that it is presented two times.

Bernard Frize’s ‘Voni’, which will be on display at his upcoming exhibition at the LA branch at Marian Goodman Gallery.

LUX: You have said ‘the method has disappeared under the conditions of its realisation’ in your work. Does this create a tension between your experience of creation and the viewer’s experience of its realisation?

BF: I will always feel and understand my painting in a different way than a viewer. A painting is not showing a recipe. Its description will, I hope, never exhaust what is in it. Why can we stay long minutes in front a painting in a museum, come back, and find again pleasure to see it? Isn’t it incredible that a canvas could provoke feelings and thoughts? Do we ever think about the painter? We mostly think about ourselves, how we receive the painting and decipher how the elements we look at are stimulating thoughts and feelings.

I always had some warmth enveloping me and a feeling of completeness from my visit in a museum. I am not receptive to all the paintings but looking at those which move me – and this is often changing – give me a feeling of wealth, of exhaustion. I hope my work can do the same; a work of art does not talk, does not say anything and will never be replaced by sentences. We read explanations on plates in the museums, do they satisfy our feelings?

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They give, at most, a context for the painting, and most people read them but do not look at the paintings more than the time it takes to read. The viewer and I have different goals; my work is to be as clear as possible to offer satisfying and intellectual pleasure which lasts and could be renewed.

Frize’s acrylic and resin painting ‘Irfan’, 2024, as part of Frize’s inaugural solo show.

LUX: How does the space of the Marian Goodman gallery in LA interact with your works?

BF: I have no idea! I only know the beautiful cardboard model that the French branch of Marian Goodman Gallery offered me. I printed the reproduction of my paintings and hang them into the model. I know that when I will see the real space, I will have another experience and I will hang the paintings.

LUX: Why have you chosen to be represented by Marian Goodman?

BF: I had the chance to meet Philip Kaiser a long time ago when he was working in the Kunsthalle Basel and always appreciated his curatorial vision. I was thrilled when he proposed me to join the gallery; I suppose everyone in the art world pays respect for the achievement of Marian Goodman’s gallery and for the exhibitions of the artists it is working with. There was, for me, no doubt that being represented by the gallery would be a great opportunity.

In ‘Yudzon’, the transparency of the layers reveal ‘the creation of images from their raw components’.

LUX: Are there any values – aesthetic or philosophical – that you share with the gallery?

BF: A gallery is a business; painting is a business too. I’ve spent many years, if not the majority of my adult life, without earning much from painting. I believe one continues to do what one likes not for the money but because one is driven. At one point, I had the chance to work with galleries who helped me to live from my work and found ways to distribute my work.  There are many good artists at Marian Goodman Gallery who seem difficult to sell. I suppose it is a balance between the artists who sell well and those who don’t very much. The quality of their work is not a question. The aesthetic or philosophical qualities of these artists are not meeting market value, but aesthetic or intellectual ones. Meanwhile, the gallery respect them and decided to support them. Most galleries today would not do this, or would not afford it.

Read more: LUX curates for Richard Mille

I suppose running a gallery is an intellectual journey with companions you admire and you want to give them time to develop. In reverse, many galleries would not exist without the support of artists.

In my understanding, Marian Gallery is “old-fashioned” like one would say there is tradition in quality; there is a deep belief that good art is not always meeting the request of the market and it is important to give time to the time when the art is the main preoccupation.

Bernard Frize will be exhibiting his work at Marian Goodman, Los Angeles, from November 16th. 

Daniel Buren at Mount Nelson, 2023

When luxury titan LVMH bought the chic hotel and travel group Belmond, it catalysed an artistic photographic collaboration that encapsulates the shift towards the experiential. Belmond’s Arnaud Champenois speaks to LUX about the vision

Luxury hotels are not usually synonymous with daring photographic art: play it safe and show what the property looks like is the regular mantra. Not so with Belmond, the British brand that owns 46 gems such as Villa San Michele in Florence and the Copacabana Palace in Rio.

View from La Residencia, Mallorca (Photographed by François Halard)

Since its acquisition by LVMH in 2019, the group has been creating whimsical and sophisticated art images in collaboration with Galleria Continua in a project titled Mitico. The latest edition, its third, takes place this year with French master Daniel Buren. It’s all part of a shift from physical goods to experiences.

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“The term ‘experiential travel’ has evolved. Modern luxury travellers now want something different,” says Belmond’s Senior VP of Marketing and Communications, Arnaud Champenois.

Splendido hotel, Portofino (Marco Valmarana, courtesy of Belmond and Galleria Continua)

“Tick-box, fast and thoughtless travel is in the past. Travellers want to go much deeper into a destination, rather than purely seeing it and ticking it off their list.

Read more: Arnaud Champenois on preserving heritage and transforming experiences

Mount Nelson, Cape Town (Photographed by Rosie Marks)

They want to stay longer, try local delicacies, enjoy traditional music and crafts, understand the people, discover the real local treasures. They want to live the stories, not just hear them.”

Samantha Welsh

belmond.com/mitico

Frédéric Rouzaud, Maria Sukkar and Darius Sanai

LUX and Louis Roederer co-hosted an event for collectors of art, design and champagne where Frédéric Rouzaud, Maria Sukkar and Darius Sanai had a lively panel discussion about art, sustainability and responsibility. Some rare and celebrated champagnes from the Maison were served, including Cristal Vinotheque Rose 2002 and Cristal Vinotheque 1996, from magnum

Frédéric Rouzaud, Darius Sanai and Maria Sukkar

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Alexandra Tilling, Richard Billett, Samantha Welsh, Lorna Mourad, Malek Sukkar, Ege Gürmeriçliler, Nadim Mourad

Read more: Louis Roederer Photography Prize for Sustainability

Philippe Starck designed the label for Roederer’s zero added sugar Brut Nature

Maria Sukkar, Jennifer Boghossian, Lorna Mourad, Malek Sukkar and Rob Boghossian

Anne Pierre d’Albis Ganem, Ege Gürmeriçliler, Samantha Welsh and Maria Sukkar

Frédéric Rouzaud, Darius Sanai and Maria Sukkar

Louis Roederer’s cristal rosé

www.louis-roederer.com

Fritz Burkard, a Swiss car collector, is renowned for his collection of vintage cars, called the Pearl Collection

Back in August, Fritz Burkard made waves when his Bugatti Type 59 won the celebrated Pebble Beach Best of Show. The swiss car collector speaks with Fabienne Amez-Droz about his idea to open a new private museum in Switzerland to see his cars, and the roots of his passion

LUX: How long have you been passionate about vintage cars, and when did you start with the Pearl Collection?

Fritz Burkard: I bought my first classic car when I was twenty. It was a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, and I got it for 4,000 Swiss francs at the time. That car means a lot to me. I still have it, and next week I’m getting it fully restored from the ground up.

For the first time in the history of the Pebble Beach Concours d’élégance, Best of Show was awarded to a preservation car—a Bugatti Type 59

LUX: How do you decide which cars to add to your collection, given that it has such a variety of different cars? (Very original, very dramatic and very beautiful)

FB: I don’t see much of a difference between buying a car and buying art. Cars, especially vintage ones, are pure art to me. I don’t follow a specific plan or checklist when adding cars to my collection; I go with my gut feeling.

Sometimes, I come across beautiful cars, but if I don’t feel a strong emotional connection, I won’t buy them. Essentially, I’ve gathered cars that I personally like, which makes my collection a diverse patchwork. That’s what makes it interesting. If you have a collection filled with just supercars, you start to lose the individuality of each car. But with contrast, each car stands out for its uniqueness. I’m also only interested in original cars.

LUX: How many cars are in the collection?

FB: There are about 80 to 90 cars in total.

The Bugatti was one of 214 cars from 16 countries and 29 states that competed at Pebble Beach, California

LUX: Is it important how the cars are arranged in the space?

FB: Definitely. We’ve just moved all the cars into the space, which we’ve been planning for two years. I didn’t have a clear plan initially, but there’s an area where I always wanted to do something special.

We’re still moving cars around because sometimes the combinations don’t work. I listen to my gut feeling because the collection is for me more than anyone else.

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LUX: Will the collection be seen by friends only or will interested car fans or collectors be able to have a look at it aswell?

FB: I want the collection to be accessible to everyone, especially children, so they can experience and fall in love with these types of cars. Right now, it’s more of a private space, but at a later stage, people will be able to book tours via a website.

It’ll be a limited number of people, as I want it to be an experience where they can open the cars and even sit in them. I want to avoid chaos, especially since it’s so close to my living space. There will be a driveway in the middle, so each car can be taken out and driven.

Despite these successes, for Fritz the vehicles are more than mere acquisitions – he believes that a love of such machinery comes from the heart and the most important thing in a car is your smile

LUX: What is one of your favourite cars in your collection?

FB: Not really. I have a handful of favourite ones depending on the memories they’ve created for me and my daughters. For example, my Chevrolet Camaro isn’t a show-stopper, but for my university friends and me, it holds a lot of meaning. We can’t wait to take a road trip and feel like we’re 22 again. That’s what it’s all about.

LUX: What is the most important thing in a car to you?

FB: For me, the most important thing is what I call the “Smile-o-meter.” It doesn’t have a brand, year, or price tag—it just makes you happy. That’s what driving should be about—having fun and feeling happiness with the people important to you.

LUX: What are your thoughts on supercars?

FB: I do have modern cars, especially modern Bugattis. They are breathtaking and unmatched by any other brand. However, if I had to choose between a modern and a classic Bugatti for a tour, it would always be the classic one.

The driving experience is more exciting—you become part of the machine. Modern Bugattis, on the other hand, feel like comfortable beasts. The era of pure performance is over for me. Today, what matters is the experience, comfort, luxury, details, and design.

For example, ETH Zurich built a car that accelerates from 0 to 60 km/h in 0.8 seconds. Do we really need that? What excites me more are cars that offer a complete experience.

Read more: The new Mercedes-Maybach SL luxury sports car

LUX: What do you think of the designs of modern hypercars?

FB: Many modern hypercar designs don’t convince me, though I can appreciate them for what they are. Bugatti, with its new models, is still breathtaking—simple and smooth. Other brands, like Pagani, don’t hit my taste, but they still make bold design statements that appeal to others.

That’s perfectly fine. There are many different ways to approach design, and that diversity is what makes the industry fun. The passion people have for classic cars is something I really appreciate, but I’m less fond of being around pure investors, as they miss the point.

The Pearl Collection is known for using its vehicles enthusiastically, rather than just leaving them on static display

LUX: Can you share the history of this particular Bugatti you won the Pebble Beach with? How did you acquire it?

FB: I acquired the car during COVID at an auction. It was born in 1934 for the Grand Prix and originally painted blue. It won a Grand Prix and placed third in Monaco with René Dreyfus, who later became a French Resistance hero.

King Leopold of Belgium then bought it, and it was repainted black with a yellow stripe, Belgium’s racing colors. It changed hands several times, but nobody ever restored it—they just kept it running. That’s the secret to preservation: always keep the car running.

When we got it, we discovered the original Bugatti license plate under the black paint. We restored it to its 1937 condition, as it was when King Leopold bought it. I drove it every morning at Pebble Beach for two to three hours along the Pacific coastline.

Even on the morning of the Concours, I took it out. To me, that’s what a car is made for—not just to look at, but to drive, feel, and experience.

Burkard is planning to make his Pearl Collection even more approachable to car enthusiasts by setting up a showroom in Zug where you can schedule appointments to see the cars

LUX: How did it feel to win Pebble Beach as the first European, and especially Swiss, person?

FB: It was overwhelming. For 73 years, only Americans and Asians had won, so I was thrilled that a preservation car and a Bugatti won, especially this Bugatti, one of the most successful racing Bugattis of the 1930s.

There’s a funny story behind it. After the show, we were initially sent off to our parking spot, and we were happy, thinking we had won in our segment. But then they called us back, “Fritz Burkhard, please return to the stage!”

We were in a panic, almost packed up to leave! Standing there as one of the final four, with my friend Philipp Sarasin also nominated, was surreal. When they announced the win, I completely lost it. I knew what it meant for me, the car, and for Pebble Beach: the first European car to win, and a preservation car at that. It was a huge moment!

The four curators of the “Women and Speed” show: Maria Sukkar, Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, Maryam Eisler and Angeliki Kim Perfetti

When Richard Mille, the super-luxury watch brand, asked LUX magazine to create an exhibition in their Mayfair boutique during London’s Frieze Art Fair, we engaged four female collectors-curators to create an original narrative around the topic of “Women and Speed”. But why does the subject feel like an unconventional – even contradictory – pairing? Woman have often been depicted as slow, pensive, gentle subjects in art. Meanwhile, the male subject has raced from the oil-painted battle scene to the quick flash of the photograph as they drive past in fast cars, with women the ever-bystander.

Our curators, Maria Sukkar, Maryam Eisler, Angeliki Kim Perfetti and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, challenged that narrative.

The result was a stunning and original show featuring works by artists including Tracey Emin, Marina Abramović and Mary McCartney, and including iconic works such as Warhol‘s polaroid of Blondie’s Debbie Harry and American artist Jordan Watson‘s depiction of a female racing driver. There were also celebrated works by the likes of Helmut Newton, Nassia Inglessis, Fernand Fonssagrives, Maryam Eisler, and a stunning digital artwork by Six N. Five.

Guests of the opening included the crème de la crème of the London and international collecting world.

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Linda Bassatne, Maria Sukkar, Jo Glynn-Smith, Dina Nasser Khadivi and Alice Harvey

Francesca Ariani and Chloë Lopez

Samantha Welsh, Angeliki Kim Perfetti, Maria Sukkar, Darius Sanai and Maryam Eisler in the Richard Mille flagship store on Old Bond Street where the art curation took place

Tim Jeffries and Maryam Eisler

Jordan Watson with his artwork “Fast and Futurist” and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, enjoying the George Condo issue of LUX

Megan Reynolds and Chloë Lopez

Maryam Eisler, Tim Jeffries, Rachel Verghis and Darius Sanai in front of the Mary McCartney work “Kate, Kate, Kate”

Jordan Watson and Tarka Russell

Darius Sanai, Maryam Eisler, Maria Sukkar and Katy Wickremesinghe

Jonathan Glynn Smith and Nick Sullivan

Nassia Inglessis, Margot Mottaz and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst

Alexander James and Marcello Polito

Maryam Eisler, Michele Codoni, and Angeliki Kim Perfetti

Angeliki Kim Perfetti and Annabelle Scholar

The curators: Maria Sukkar, Maryam Eisler, Angeliki Kim Perfetti and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst – with special thanks to Michael Hoppen, Tim Jeffries, Mary McCartney and Superblue.

Director: Darius Sanai, Editor-in-chief, LUX magazine

Some of Spirit Now’s London members during a meeting to decide the shortlist for the 2024 Prize, ahead of Frieze

An art prize awarded by some of London’s leading art collectors, in collaboration with Frieze Art Fair and the University of Cambridge, has announced Bambou Gili, Asemahle and Shafei Xia as its 2024 winners. Taya Suleyman reports

Bambou Gili, Asemahle Ntlonti, and Shafei Xia are the winners of the Spirit Now London Acquisition Prize announced at Frieze London. The prize, which celebrates emerging female artists of the age of 40 or below in collaboration with The Women’s Art Collection, was awarded by sixteen members from the Spirit of Giving Committee chaired by Marie-Laurie de Clermont-Tonnerre, founder and director of Spirit Now London, alongside Harriet Loffler, curator of The Women’s Art Collection.

Bambou Gili, announced as one of the winners, is known for her surreal, figurative oil paintings that reference art historical compositions but through a contemporaneous lens that employs esoteric tonal palettes. Reflecting on contemporary life, friendships, and interiority, Gili creates an imagined community of affection and care. With a palette of blues, greens, and turquoise, Legally Stev (2024) reflects Gili’s interest in observing intimate moments from afar.

Gili’s latest oil painting for Frieze, Legally Stev (2024), portrays a close confidante of the artist in a moment of quiet repose, capturing an intimate sense of rest and reflection

Asemahle Ntlonti took home the prize for her deeply expressive paintings, which emerge from building up and stripping away material. Her ancestral homeland in the Eastern Cape of South Africa is a source of inspiration as her work is filled with nostalgia and longing, painting cracked, mud-veined surfaces that evoke the land’s deep emotional resonance. Her paintings become a poignant inquiry into ancestry, history, and the search for belonging.

Working directly on the floor to fully engage her body in the process, Ntlonti gradually builds her pieces by instinctively layering and removing material as seen in this painting Uhambo (2024)

Multi-media artist, Shafei Xia was also named a winner. Drawing from the bold, sensual style of Japanese shunga and 19th-century Chinese erotic paintings, Xia explores the complex dimensions of love—its passion, jealousy, and even violence—through a lens of elegance and refinement. Her work celebrates female creativity, championing its diversity in all its forms.

Xia’s Fight and the Party (2024), watercolour on sandal paper, evokes a delicate balance between tension and harmony, capturing the intricacies of power dynamics, playfulness, and emotional intensity

A new chapter unfolds for the winners, whose works will soon be acquired and donated to The Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College at The University of Cambridge, which aims to provide a platform for female artists in response to the ongoing underrepresentation of women in museums. Their work will join a collection of over 600 works, including those by notable artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Tracey Emin, and Lubaina Himid.

Within the realm of art and philanthropy, Spirit Now London is an exclusive international community comprised of art patrons, collectors, and friends. The organisation aims to support cultural institutions, promote women and emerging artists, as well as providing financial support for art exhibitions.

Members gain private access to exhibitions, intimate art events, and discussions that encourage thoughtful explorations of contemporary creativity. By facilitating connections among art lovers and cultural visionaries, Spirit Now London seeks to foster a vibrant community that champions emerging talent, enriches the cultural dialogue, and reshapes the narratives of contemporary art.

spiritnowlondon.com

Winner of Claridge’s first Royal Academy Schools Art Prize, the young performance artist Daria Blum has taken to their ArtSpace to point fingers at you – no, me – no, her. 

LUX Magazine: What is the significance of the pointed finger?

Daria Blum: The gesture of the pointed finger has appeared repeatedly within my work, and in this performance I was interested in investigating its multiple meanings through subtle changes in direction and tension, using it to claim attention, cast a spell, blame, or ‘point the finger’. The sculptural works in the show also reference this act of deflection through the use of the pop filters, which are used to deflect air from reaching the microphone when speaking or singing into it. The mic stand sculptures emphasise the absence of the voice, which is an important aspect within the exhibition — I’ve been thinking about the demand for (live) performance, within my own practice as a ‘performance artist’ but also within the arts more broadly, and even though I ultimately ‘give in’ by performing this piece, there is a reluctance to speak, to sing, to be perceived.

In her performance for the exhibition ‘Daria Blum: Drip Drip Point Warp Spin Buckle Rot’, Blum stares down the audience, slowly directing her pointed finger to each member.

After her live performance, Blum makes her way through the audience and slips out the door at the back. The performance then takes on a digital aspect, transporting the audience into new worlds.

Blum appears on screen, continuing to point her finger as she makes her way through an abandoned 1970s office building.

Blum’s performance takes place amongst her ‘Redeflect’ installations that combine microphones, stands, and digital prints.

Gilles Dyan, Chairman and Founder of the Opera Gallery Group, appointed Isabelle de La Bruyère as the Chief Executive Officer of Opera Gallery Group

Former Christie’s big shot Isabelle de la Bruyere recently joined global gallery behemoth Opera Gallery as Group CEO. From her swanky offices above London’s Bond Street, she speaks with LUX about her mission to take Opera Gallery, whose reputation has been carved from selling big-ticket secondary market works to the wealthy from its luxury retail locations, to another level

LUX: What made you take on this challenge?

Isabelle de la Bruyère: I have been following Opera Gallery and its expansion for the last twenty years and have always admired the Chairman’s vision for the group.

When I first moved to the Middle East for Christie’s, I realised how intimidating the art world was for clients who didn’t know it well. Gilles Dyan, who founded Opera Gallery in Singapore in 1994, understood this and built a business that was welcoming and accessible to art enthusiasts and collectors, with artworks of all price points. He always placed his galleries in the most luxurious shopping districts, and had a very personal, hands-on approach that clients truly appreciated. He made the art buying process easy and personable, and he has built a very loyal clientele who appreciate this approach.

The company has grown in the last fifteen years and the identity of the group has changed tremendously, but the engagement and commitment we have to our clients, and to anyone walking into the gallery, has not.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

LUX: How do you envision shaping Opera Gallery’s future, and what strategies do you plan to implement to distinguish it in the contemporary art landscape?

IB: I think Opera is already very well placed, but I’m focussed on organising more curated, museum-quality shows across our various galleries. I think it is very important to work with curators, critics and historians who can bring a different perspective and audience.

We recently organised a fantastic show in London entitled ‘The Whole World Smiles With You’, which was curated Alayo Akinkugbe, writer, curator, and founder of the Instagram account: @Ablackhistoryofart, and host of the “A Shared Gaze” podcast, which facilitates conversations with Black contemporary artists from across the globe.

The exhibition featured works by well-known artists such as Amoako Boafo, Chris Ofili, and Deborah Roberts, along emerging artists such as Jazz Grant, Thelonious Stokes, and Noel Anderson. Through her vision, the exhibition interrogated various modes of figuration by contemporary Black artists, and challenged the Western canon by overtly reconfiguring renowned paintings and portraying figures in poses reminiscent of pre-twentieth-century European portraiture.

This exhibition was an opportunity for us to engage with a contemporary dialogue in a more academic way and facilitate a dialogue between an incredible group of artists working in a range of mediums. In partnership with London Gallery Weekend, we hosted the recording of Alayo’s ‘A Shared Gaze’ podcast.

In addition to a more curated approach, Opera is championing its artists and Artist Estate Representation with its “Artist-Led Approach.” Our core mission is to champion each of Opera Gallery’s artists’ identities, capturing the attention of visitors, and encouraging a connection between the audience and the artworks.

We are working with and representing more contemporary artists than ever before, recently adding the likes of Anselm Reyle, Gustavo Nazareno, and the legendary London-based artist Ron Arad to our roster. It is a great honour for us to work with such talented creatives, and we want to continue to extend our family of artists with whom we work.

The Whole World Smiles With You – exhibition in London, cred. Eva Herzog

Contemporary artist Gustavo Nazareno in his studio

LUX: Opera Gallery interlinks household names in contemporary and near-contemporary art with very emerging and largely unknown artists. How do you navigate this dynamic interplay?

IB: Artists are influenced one way or another by the past and their predecessors. The masters we show, such as Picasso, Dubuffet, Warhol, Haring, or Soulages, have often been studied, admired or have impacted many of the contemporary artists we work with. Thus to me it makes sense to showcase some of the masters with appropriate contemporary artists who may have adapted some stylistic language or beliefs from their precursors. We do focus more than ever on curation, however, and it is important for us that our exhibitions are visually appealing, but also cater to our clients’ tastes and budgets.

An artwork by Jean Dubuffet

LUX: Do you have any ‘guilty pleasures’ in art?

IB: Having always worked in 19th & 20th-century art, I rarely got to meet artists and even less work with them. Since joining Opera, however, all that changed and I now get to learn about the artist’s process directly from them, and understand their work in a much more personal and passionate way, which isn’t necessarily a “guilty pleasure” but a pleasure nonetheless!

I recently travelled with Ron Arad to Washington, D.C. and revisited the Watergate Hotel, which he worked upon and created various works for, through his eyes. It was a marvellous experience and one that got me to understand the man, the creative, and his art more deeply.

The same can be said with Manolo Valdes or Gustavo Nazareno, who are two artists we work very closely with and who teach me about their work on a weekly, if not daily, basis. At the end, passion comes with knowledge and the more I learn, the more I appreciate!

Isabelle de la Bruyère with Israeli avant-garde designer and artist Ron Arad

LUX: Art and Purpose: do they come hand in hand?

IB: Absolutely. Of course the notion of ‘purpose’ can take many forms, but in the creative space, I believe that great artworks and artists lead with purpose and a strong point of view. To me, it’s this incisive approach to the expression of feeling, experience, and belief that is most impactful and intrinsically provides a space for dialogue and the exchange of ideas.

Read more: Art collector Andrea Morante talks on artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

I see creative expression as an essential part of human experience – seeing art that challenges us, or isn’t immediately obvious to us, makes us better empathisers, helps us think in different ways and in general enriches our lives and helps us keep an open mind to the world.

LUX: What is the biggest change the art world has seen since you joined Christie’s back in 1998?

IB: The greatest change is in the number of art collectors that buy artworks in the million-dollar bracket. When I first started in Christie’s Impressionist & Modern department, we had a list of one thousand clients that could spend at least one million dollars on a painting.

This number now seems ridiculously low in today’s world, and the number of art collectors and enthusiasts has grown with the globalisation and growing economies of the world. Collectors are no longer limited to a few families, but rather an expansive global base from all continents, each with the power to buy works in the seven figure range.

The world’s millionaire population has more than doubled in the last decade, and so has their interest in art, which has also become so much more accessible. There are more galleries, auctions, fairs, and private museums than ever before, which has helped foster new clientele.

We go where clients are nowadays, and Opera Gallery was one of the first art galleries to open up in Hong Kong, Dubai, Monaco and Aspen, as our founder understood the importance of being close to our clients. Globalisation of the art market has dramatically changed the way we work today, as well as the accessibility that has allowed for a more inclusive art world.

Opera Gallery London will be presenting an exhibition by Brazilian artist Gustavo from October 8th to November 9th, 2024.

www.operagallery.com

Cora Sheibani has been designing jewellery for over 20 years. Her pieces are almost exclusively made in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France, by goldsmiths of the highest calibre

In our latest print issue, Ina Sarikhani writes about jeweller Cora Sheibani whose whimsically beautiful creations are the go-to for aesthetes in London.

Cora Sheibani is the best advertisement for her bespoke, colour-saturated jewellery. Voluble, and a vision with her brilliant red hair, she is eager to discuss her work, art-history references, technical production and gemology, but the eye is drawn to her striking smoky quartz, bronze and red-gold cuff. “I wear a big bracelet instead of high heels,” she explains.

Cora Sheibani has had jewellery exhibitions in many cities including London, Zurich, Geneva, Basel, St. Moritz, Paris, Copenhagen, Miami, Milan and New York

Her brand of exclusive is for every day as well as high days. The designer’s background is steeped in art. Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ettore Sottsass were represented by her art-dealer father and were family friends. When she was just four years old, she painted a canvas with Basquiat. Today it hangs in her hallway.

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

This deep aestheticism is evident in her work, which has been exhibited from Miami to Milan. The collections, including Copper Mould, Clouds and Colour & Contradiction, are bold and cast in wild colour combinations. Think pink against fire opal; black onyx beads with slices of turquoise; gold butterfly earrings of garnets, peridots and heliodors.

Read more: LUX’s Artist in Residence – Annie Morris

She is renowned for jewelry that balances whimsy and sophistication, her designs feature playful motifs like clouds, pastries, and plant pots, alongside pieces with architectural and surreal elements.

This play of shape, colour and light is backed by exceptional craftsmanship, with collections made in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France, and each edition is unique. The pieces are intended to be of their time. They are also ageless – sitting as easily on Sheibani’s daughter, Aryana, as on herself. They are also, of course, enduring. As the designer says, “Jewellery just has a longer shelf life than other design.”

corasheibani.com

Mercedes-Benz is demonstrating their new Mercedes-Maybach SL with a diverse brand experience at Pebble Beach Automotive Week 2024

LUX travelled to Monterey and Pebble Beach, to join Mercedes-Benz for the worldwide launch of the new Mercedes-Maybach SL 680, a super-luxe open-topped touring car aimed at bringing 1960s St Tropez glamour to a new generation of wealthy consumers. Fabienne Amez-Droz joined them in her best Hermès headscarf and Ray-Bans

The annual Monterey Car Week and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance attracts many car enthusiasts and some of the biggest automotive brands of the world. On the western edge of California, lounges from the most renowned car brands were set up and displayed some of their best and newest car models.

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

Among them was the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge, where visitors could admire various historic Mercedes-Benz cars. But it didn’t stop at just looking at cars – you could even borrow a vintage Mercedes and test it along Highway 1 towards Carmel Valley.

Sunny California seems like a good place to launch the V8 convertible Maybach car. The Monogram Series is launched in either White Ambience or Red Ambience specification

Driving the 1971 Mercedes 280 SL convertible, surrounded by California’s scenery and the not-so-well-functioning radio music, it felt like a little time travel, making me feel like I was in an old school music video – so much I had almost lost track of time.

Read more: Electric dream: Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 review

After all the impressions of the Mercedes Benz star lounge, the highly anticipated evening launch event took place. Mercedes-Maybach introduced its SL 680 Monogram Series, a luxurious two-seater convertible defined by intricate patterning and striking two-tone finishes.

The Mercedes team notes that driving the SL Monogram Series is as smooth and quiet as can be expected from a Maybach. A noise-optimized exhaust system and top-notch insulation make sure of that

The spectacle was held in an ultra-modern private house in the middle of Pebble Beach. What immediately caught my eye was the huge “car runway” in the garden of the house. At the start of the runway was a car, covered with a giant cloth.

Read more: Mercedes-Benz On The Art Of Creating Desire

After a few glasses of champagne and canapés, all the guests were called to the runway, where Daniel Lesco (Head of Mercedes-Maybach) and Michael Schiebe (Mercedes‑AMG ) heightened our anticipation for the car’s unveiling. They shared their vision for the new design and explained “what makes a Maybach a Maybach.”

Inside the car, drivers can expect a luxurious interior – It is covered in crystal white nappa leather. Other unique touches include a Maybach-branded steering wheel, stainless-steel pedals, and custom door sill trims

Finally, the new Mercedes-Maybach SL was revealed, driving down the runway. Its two design concepts, “Red Ambience” and “White Ambience,” set the tone for Mercedes Maybachs new level of luxury. While many Maybach owners favor classic designs, others prefer a more flamboyant display of their wealth, as Daniel Lescow says, “Customers who buy this car know that it is a statement car and they want that. We wanted to combine top technology, comfort and luxury”.

The car’s designs took inspiration from high-end, logo-covered handbags. The goal was to achieve a similar aesthetic by offering an optional hand-painted logo pattern on the hood and rear of the Monogram Series.

The hood, featuring the Mercedes star, also comes with an optional hand painted Maybach pattern in graphite grey and the headlights are covered with rose gold accents

The car comes with a special illuminated Maybach grille, headlights with rose gold details and 21-inch wheels. Even though the Maybach is a sports car, it is quite comfortable and drives quietly. With the push of a button you can drive more dynamically up to 260 km/h.

The interior of the car is trimmed in Crystal White Nappa leather. It has a Maybach-specific 3-spoke steering wheel, stainless steel door sills and pedal set. The dashboard is dominated by a massive OLED touchscreen, blending luxury with futuristic digital control, which can seem complicated in the beginning but once you have figured it out, it can do nearly anything you want. The MBUX system allows for voice commands and some of the advanced driver-assistance tools make long roadtrip drives more relaxing.

The Maybach SL680 Monogram Series will arrive in Europe first ahead of other markets. That’ll be in spring 2025, in time for next year’s car week

All quite something, and all the car you’ll need for wafting between Pampelonne Beach and Portofino, or indeed Pebble Beach and Newport Beach, next summer. Just don’t forget the Hermès headscarf and Beach Boys cassette. Wait, there’s no cassette deck? Oh well, no car can be perfect.

www.mercedes-benz.co.uk

Each issue, LUX invites an artist to take up residence and create a work exclusively for us. London-based sculptor and multimedia artist, Annie Morris takes up the challenge

“Drawing helps me explain the things in my life that I find hard to talk about” – Annie Morris

www.anniemorris.com

Daniel Arsham sitting with a bottle of Moët & Chandon before his 280th anniversary monumental relief sculpture

American artist Daniel Arsham sculpts a monumental relief in celebration of the 280^th anniversary of Moët & Chandon, aligning the present-day champagne house with a classical history of prestige and grandeur.

French champagne house Moët & Chandon unveils Collection Impériale Création No. 1 through a monumental sculptural relief created by the New York based contemporary artist Daniel Arsham. Inspired by his personal tour of the Moët & Chandon estate in Épernay, France, Arsham drew from the neoclassical architecture, busts, and faux columns to reimagine the Moët & Chandon bottle.

One of the eighty exclusive bottles that Arsham designed for Moët & Chandon, inspired by their estate

Arsham’s final creation is quite a striking, wall-mounted plaster-cast sculpture, monumental in scale. It feels as if it were recovered from the ruins of an ancient civilization, evoking a sense of mystery and history akin to ancient spolia. Yet, ‘Moët & Chandon’ appears in the place of etched Latin. Interspersed throughout the piece are clusters of grapes, a nod to the vineyards surrounding the estate; a wooden wine barrel, referencing the craft of winemaking; and images of the estate, woven into the relief.

In a rather grandiose gesture, the goddess Pheme, the personification of fame and renown, blasts her trumpet. Arsham cleverly intertwines the brand’s present-day prestige amongst fashion-house-drinkers with the grandeur of antiquity, creating an emblem of the enduring reputation of Moët & Chandon.

Cleo Scott

Douglas Abdell has emerged from obscurity in a striking exhibition at Ab-Anbar Gallery, London. In conversation with LUX, Abdell, a prominent artist of the 1970s and 80s, meditates on medium and language as he makes his comeback.

An intriguing new exhibition in London brings together two decades of work by Douglas Abdell, an American sculptor and painter with Lebanese and Italian roots. Abdell was a prominent artist in the 1970s and 80s before moving to Spain, where he continued to work in relative obscurity for the next thirty years. The Ab-Anbar Gallery in Fitzrovia weaves together his calligraphic signs, symbols, and alphabets through space and time. This interplay of sculpture and painting from the Málaga-based artist creates a mesmerising field of deconstruction and reconstruction of languages, cultures, and imagination. He speaks to LUX about his past, present and future.

View of Douglas Abdell: Intervalism and Other Mathematics
Left to right: 8 to 9 Key Interval Of Oscillation, 1986; 5 Window, 1984; Intervalists Pitch Fork, 1985

LUX: This exhibition features your work from the 1970s until today. How has your work developed thematically, visually, and intentionally over the last few decades?

Douglas Abdell: The main floor of the exhibition shows work from 1968 until 1989. This includes work from my Yad, Kryad, Phoenaes, and Intervalist painting and sculpture. You can also see a bronze sculpture from my Fourth Punic War period, and a bronze sculpture from 1968, which can be broke down to a surrealistic biomorphic with motoristic construct.

On the basement floor there is a room with an Aekyadic Wall Work, several Aekyadic Drawing works, and a fantastic collage wall made by Salman, dealing with my life from childhood to the present. The exhibition features films from different periods of my work, and in another room, there is a documentary of my work being played continually.

LUX: How does your sculptural work relate to your painting, both in this exhibition and your broader practice?

DA: The basis of my sculpture comes from drawing, and sometimes the drawing leads to a painting. The Intervalist paintings in the exhibition came before the Intervalist Sculpture. In making the paintings I realized that some of the forms and structures that I was painting would be more dynamic as sculpture.

From left to right: Bitia vs. Pergamon, Hannibal, 1987; Beirut Phoenaes, 1985

LUX: Why was it important for you to exhibit within Ab-Anbar Gallery?

DA: Ab-Anbar presented me with a concept of an exhibit which showed a profound study of different periods of my work and that impressed me.

LUX: Does your work relate to your American, Lebanese, and Italian identity?

DA: Growing up in a family with ancestors from Lebanon and Italy has had a substantial influence on my person. Both families were proud of their heritage and would teach me about their histories. Italian, Arabic and English were being continually spoken in our household.

Douglas Abdell, Phoenaes Drawings PHRAENN-FHRAEN-FRAE, 1981

LUX: What is the relationship of language to the social and political issues that you explore in your work?

DA: I would say that growing up in a family with different languages spoken has automatically put me in a linguistic position which has transformed into what I best know, and what I feel compelled to do: my natural calling as a Sculptor. This is sometimes manifested in a conscious activity to analyse and reconstruct a political reality.

LUX: Why do you choose visual media to explore language? Why do you prefer it over, say, spoken word?

DA: I would say that I have a profound need to visually realise my thinking. It’s like I have a tremendous need to fill a profound void – a type of black space which haunts me. I must activate structures, phonetic activities manifested, for example, in my Phoenaes Paintings and Intervalist sculptures. I am now consumed and totally dominated with my Aekyadic work, which can be seen a bit in the basement room. Aekyadism is a Language, read it…

Cleo Scott 

View of recreated Douglas Abdell studio, with collage by Salman Matinfar

The Director of London’s Design Museum, Tim Marlow is a celebrated figure in both design and art and an often outspoken authority on both. Samantha Welsh brings Marlow together with South Asian art flag bearer and philanthropist Durjoy Rahman, whose commercial business focusses on textile design and production, for an insightful and sometimes feisty exchange

LUX: What is the relationship between design and art?

Tim Marlow: Designers can make art, and artists can design, but art should be produced without responsibility for anything other than the motivation of the person creating it. Design is a response to something, about problem solving, involving critical design and speculative design, and seeks to find a solution functionally.

Durjoy Rahman: Yes, design and art are interrelated but art is self-responsive and inspirational and can happen consciously or subconsciously, whereas design is purpose-oriented. Of course much design involves art and a lot of artworks include design elements.

TM: Design has existed since humans had consciousness and needed to provide structures to survive, evolve and thrive. We also have this compulsion to express ourselves, to make sense of things, to express our consciousness. The notion of a designer as we understand it now in the West originates in the Industrial Revolution and before that there was no categorisation.

Tim Marlow explored the relationship between art and design in the 2024 exhibition Barbie at the Design Museum, London

LUX: So there are blurred boundaries?

TM: Leonardo Da Vinci was a scientist, an artist, a designer, a composite creative human being. Hussein Chalayan is talented fashion designer who makes sculpture, his fashion designs are informed by sculpture, and his sculpture is informed by the language of fashion that he has evolved. Art often reaches the language of boundary blurring, but I have encountered quite a lot of resistance to people from design or architecture moving in on that world. With architects, if you have gone through seven years of professional training and then somebody comes along from a completely different background to design the building you might baulk at them being called an architect but one has to stop being too insecure about these things. Some of the greatest twentieth century starchitects like Carlo Scarpa, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright were not fully-qualified architects.

LUX: How can good design attract new art audiences?

TM: Creative input from different disciplines into other disciplines is something to celebrate. Rachel Whiteread once designed a daybed. Charles and Ray Eames explored the functionality of plywood to design furniture, a prosthetic leg support, and to make sculpture. How we categorize art or design is a national cultural obsession and we should kick it about a bit!

DR: I have seen a resentment among the artist community where a product designer can claim they are both designer and an artist but an artist cannot call himself a designer. The designer can call their product an installation, a sculpture, a movable artwork but a watercolorist cannot make something and call themselves a designer. When I saw the Eames’ first plywood chair I thought it was a sculpture! And Philiippe Starck is designer, an architect, and an artist.

Latest images from Durjoy Rahman’s 3/22 display space, featuring his collection of art and design

LUX: What can be an approach to collecting functional designed works?

TM: As Director of the Design Museum I salute the collecting of design but also love the fact that design is a growing area for collectors.

LUX: What about design involving an iterative technological function?

TM: There is no question that design is often iterative and it does evolve. It is not always a progression to greater efficacy but tech tends to move us in that direction. A chair produced two hundred years ago can be as comfortable as one that is produced now. However, devices to communicate between human has absolutely evolved over hundreds, if not thousands, even millions of miles. Our collections are displayed around three themes: designer, maker, user; and at the very end is the final piece, the wall. As a series of objects it resembles a diagram interlinking TVs, typewriters, calendars, phones, pens, calculators. Right in the middle is an iPhone, showing all of those functions of those designed objects have been distilled into this one object. But it’s not actually saying that this object is better! […] So design is evolutionary and iterative, whereas art is not like that.

DR: I was recently introduced by LUX to the largest collector of video art in the world right now, whose collection is based in Berlin and Frankfurt. Is technology influencing art or is art influencing technology? There, technology was inspired by art. […] At Venice Biennale, Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation sponsored an artist who created a work that involved photographing, scanning and reassembling tile by tile a heritage basilica reconfigured as an aluminium object.

LUX: How do you decide what design talent to mentor?

TM: For both, you look at the final degree shows, of course, and there are prizes and bursaries for emerging talent. When you see someone early on in their career who is doing interesting things the key is to try and just watch that talent and give it quiet support, not overburden it with exhibitions too early. It is nebulous, intuitive and sometimes self-evident but always about people who understand or give a sense of authenticity, that it is something that they have actually wrestled with and the work is the result of dealing with complexity rather than ease or facility.

DR: I am not a leader of an institution, or involved in programming, so I am not under pressure to identify the talent in the same way. I am a provider, an art collector. While we started our foundation, we had less pressure but our question is always to ask what has contemporary relevance.

Conservatory by Jamie Gatty Irving: a feature of the the Design Researchers in Residence Program, which supports young designers

TM: With western art, there are certain artists whose talent is self-evidently there and their reputations as major artists will not diminish. For example, Rembrandt and Caravaggio are just two we can name but the idea there is an innate talent that is always recognized is wrong. There are people who had no opportunity to exhibit, women, for example, and we now realize there is an extraordinary talent that was never showcased and we did not know about. Taste and talent change, they are not universal.

LUX: What is needed from the spaces in which projects happen? How can this work physically and metaphorically?

DR: Physically, it should be welcoming and inspiring environment that fosters creativity and collaboration metaphorically, a space where artists can express themselves freely. We had a photography exhibition by Magnum photographer Raghu Rai and converted a finance institute into an art space, with a video installation and a 3D context for photos taken during the Bangladeshi war of liberation in 1971 to offer a new generation a different perspective of the struggle and sacrifice. I especially enjoyed your Ai Wei Wei exhibition at the Design Museum last year, Tim, with the old Chinese columns installed to show the artist’s background.

An exploration of space in relationship to art design projects, from the 2023 Design Museum exhibition Ai Wei Wei: Making Sense

TM: Thank you, that show was interesting because we took out all the walls of the space to open it up completely. The best characteristic of space in which art design projects can happen is flexibility. Having historically loaded spaces where their history is evident can be a real joy for artists too. In the Royal Academy there are these beaux arts spaces with beautiful light and you could build on, play with, transform and subvert the history of those spaces but you take them as a given; whereas I think the idea of having flexible spaces where things can happen in different ways are really important. You need also to layer on interesting lighting, finishes, materials. Carpeting is an absolute killer if you are trying to show art or design. Think of a trade fair or art fair where the floors are carpeted as you walk around and how that gives a completely different feel for a kind of project.

LUX: What about curatorial autonomy, what is your message for Millennials and Gen Z philanthropists who want to see institutions that look like them and model their values?

TM: It is very difficult if you chase audiences too specifically. As an institution you have to program and you have to do it from a position of expertise. That is not being arrogant. At the RA and the Design Museum I have always worked with external experts in a subject.

We do not know everything about everything but we do know who the interesting people are to wrestle with and present it. I think if you start presenting things in interesting, incredible ways with authority and authenticity, you then have a chance to show audiences things that they did not know they would like. You also look at what is culturally resonant for people and think about attracting certain kinds of audience that wouldn’t necessarily come to the museum.

So, doing a Barbie show, will attract a very different audience to doing design and football which will attract a very different audience to Enzo Mari, who will attract a very different audience to Tim Burton just to give you the four shows that we have on. I always collaborated with living creative people and the best curators I work with are collaborators.

They can harness, empower, steer, let go and enable people make the kinds of exhibitions that can only be made in their lifetime. One of the roles of a contemporary Museum is to try and work creatively with people rather than curate living people as if they’re dead entities. But there are also ways of collaborating creatively with the dead! We did a Charlotte Perian exhibition, where Assemble, the Turner Prize-winning art, design and architecture collective, installed the exhibition made with extraordinary plants.

The importance of the marriage between art and design in Rahman’s curation

DR: That is interesting. One of DBF’s missions is to give recognition to artists who had none during their lifetime. A female artist, Novera Ahmed who died in 2014, is an example and we curated her work because she is the designer of our language movement Bhasha Andolan, leading our nation’s struggle to preserve Bangla and not have Urdu imposed upon us by Pakistan back in 1952.

Some of our new generation is forgetting about her contribution. Again, about the purpose behind curation, we collaborated on the Raghu Rai photography exhibition mentioned earlier with the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University and, controversially, appointed a very young curator because he is next gen and had not witnessed the War of Liberation of 1971.

Our main objective was for a next gen curatorial lens, to bring into sharp focus the post-war geography of this subcontinent, to appeal directly to the next generation. My advisory team and I wanted to fuse this historical event with the current context and we knew a young curator could do a better job than a historian or an experienced curator of my generation. Next gen asks questions, has the potential to shape art philanthropy, and wants to create a more inclusive and equitable world.

Freya Spencer-Wood, Jamie Gatty Irving, April Barrett and Eliza Collin, as part of the 2023–2024 Design Researchers in Residence cohort

Find out more:

timmarlowdesignmuseum.com

durjoybangladesh.org

Under the theme of “Conversations With Nature,” this year, six artists from five continents have traveled to Reims and created works of art based on their personal impressions of the landscape they encountered there

Brazilian artist Henrique Oliveira is creating a scuptural installation for Ruinart, preferred champagne house of every self-respecting next gen oligarch, at Frieze London this year. Cleo Scott investigates

Henrique Oliveira’s forms spring out of the ground like inverted roots. A Brazilian-born painter and sculptor who works between his São Paolo and London studios, his large-scale sculptural installations are known as ‘tapumes’, or ‘fencing’ in Portuguese, which reference the wooden construction fences seen throughout São Paolo.

Oliveira is known for his works exploring the tension between nature and urban life

Oliveira uses lengths of stapled wooden tubing to create organic forms, which are then covered in layers of thinly applied wood, which he selects for their weathered and knotted surfaces. This results in bark-like forms that are at once natural and supernatural.

Oliveira’s project for ‘Conversations with Nature’, part of the Carte Blanche 2024 artists’ initiative from chi-chi Champagne house Ruinart, draws inspiration from the underground world of the Champagne region.

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From a network of chalk pits that provide the ideal environment for vines to grow, to the wine cellars of Ruinart, there seems to be as much life beneath the soil as above. Oliveira unearths this subterranean realm. His forms are roots of vines climbing above ground, seemingly alive in their writhing and twisted compositions.

While Oliveiras paintings evoke an organic proliferation of colors, his sculptures create the illusion of vegetal roots emerging in the urban environment

Forms are taken directly from nature and created using its very materials. However, the impossible distortion and scale of the work introduces an element of the supernatural – something beyond nature – only possible with the hand of man.

Ruinart’s Carte Blanche – not to be confused with Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, the maison’s all-Chardonnay champagne which is the daily pick-me-up of the ultra high net worth party set – this year brings together an international group of artists who centre their work around their connection and commitment to the natural world

Read more: Joel Mesler’s Californian Art at Château La Coste

Six artists travelled to the Champagne region, invited by Ruinart to use their diversity of mediums and practices to ‘converse’ with the landscape of the Maison Ruinart vineyards. Of this collective, the work of Henrique Oliveira and Marcus Coates will be exhibited within the Ruinart Art Bar at Frieze London, amid a backdrop of much Blanc de Blancs imbibing, from October 9th to 13th.

His art is sensitive to sustainable development issues and draws inspiration from the parasitic dimension of these structures, while also highlighting the importance of a mindful use of natural resources

Oliveira’s work embodies the relationship between man and nature at the heart of Ruinart and its Carte Blanche. In observation, understanding, and conversation with his subject, Oliveira breaks down the vine and reconstructs it, rather like the journey of the grape from a vineyard to the bottling of champagne – and onwards to the upper pool deck of that yacht moored off Pampelonne beach.

Find out more: runairt.com

Gerard and Kelly: “E for Eileen”

The Engadine, the high valley in Switzerland that is home to St. Moritz, also houses the literary village of Sils, some of the world’s most interesting small museums and art initiatives, and some of its biggest art collectors. In this ecosystem, a relative newcomer, the St. Moritz Art Film Festival, is taking root, supported by some high-level collectors. The festival opens after Venice’s spectacular film festival, with a different brief, and in what has traditionally been a quiet month in St Moritz where wealthy residents have taken flight and when many of the luxury hotels are closed: a time when it is difficult to achieve traction. LUX Editor-in-Chief, Darius Sanai asks the Festival’s director, Stefano Rabolli Pansera, formerly the director of Hauser & Wirth in St Moritz, about what he hopes to achieve with this bijou concept.

LUX: Why is this different to any other film festival, and how?

Stafano Rabolli Pansera: The St. Moritz Art Film Festival is defined by the following four distinctive elements:

1. The festival takes place in the newly reopened Cinema Scala in the centre of St. Moritz, surrounded by the nature of the Engadine Valley. The Engadine marks the hinge between North and South of Europe: it is located at the centre of the continent, yet it feels detached from it, thus providing a critical distance to our timely issues.

2. As the name of the Art Film Festival highlights, the programme connects tradition and innovation as it lies at the intersection of arthouse cinema, video art and commercial cinematographic productions. Therefore, the scale of the festival remains intimate and exclusive, but also invites a broader audience to attend and participate in the different offerings.

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3. A cultural event with a significant territorial impact. The festival is a spatial happening: it is an event that attracts new audiences to the Engadine, it extends the tourist season by operating as some sort of territorial catalyst. St. Moritz Art Film Festival wants to be a one-of-a-kind festival, leading the path to sustainable cultural tourism in one of the most beautiful valleys, the Engadine. The festival’s unique landscape and surroundings invite to a responsible and sustainable use of the Valley’s resources and facilities.

4. The festival is curated as an exhibition of video art. A yearly curatorial theme is carefully chosen as the common thread of the programme of screenings, conversations, and collateral events during the year. The outcome is a coherent development of a strong annual theme, that triggers factual, philosophical and cultural debates, leaving a strong impression on the audience. The life of festival unravels throughout the years with a coherent development of different themes that are related to each other and create some sort of narrative.

Amshu Chukki: “Different Danny”

LUX: How has the art scene in St Moritz developed recently?

SRP: The Engadine has always been a source of inspiration for artists and thinkers: from Nietzsche to Gerhard Richter, from Alfred Hitchcock to Claudio Abbado. In recent years, thanks to extraordinary gallerists such as Bruno Bischofberger, Carsten Greeve and Hauser & Wirth, amongst many others, and thanks to enlightened collectors, the Engadine has become a unique context for exhibiting and divulging art.

Initiatives such as Muzeum Susch, Proyectoamil, and Engadine Art Talk, the Engadin has been transformed into an active centre of artistic production and a laboratory of ideas. The main differences with the past are the expansion of the cultural scene beyond St. Moritz into the entire Engadine valley and the emergence of an organised network of institutions that provide a constant cultural programme beyond the seasonal affluence of tourists.

Robert Cahen: “Juste le temps”

LUX: What is your main aim for the festival?

SRP: The aim of the St. Moritz Art Film festival is to reinforce its position as a leading cultural force in the international landscape of cinema and video art by offering a platform for sophisticated films and unique videos and for developing a consistent curatorial and philosophical discourse.

The St. Moritz Art Film Festival will always be an exclusive Festival: it is going to find a position in the circles of Video art and films d’essai. Yet, we aim to enlarge the audience and to attract famous and inspiring personalities from the world of Cinema and Video Art.

Read more: Art collector Andrea Morante talks on artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

Furthermore, we are building a year-long programme of events, in order to maintain the interest for experimental films alive. We are aware of the impact of the Festival in the local scene and we hope to be able to generate a robust economy by attracting international audiences and by employing a larger number of people for different programmes and for a longer period.

Ila Beka Lemoine: “The Sense of Tuning Stills”

LUX: What are the most interesting elements in this year’s festival?

SRP: The annual theme of the third year is “Meanwhile Histories” and it questions the notion of time which is commonly associated with history, a linear succession of one event after another. But time is an overlapping of multiple experiences that occur simultaneously. There are always multiple sides to events and occurrences.

Young jun Tak: “Love your clean feet on thursday”

However, the dominant historical perspective often cancels the multiplicity in favour of a linear understanding of events. What remains is always set by the main narrative, which can shape and control how history is remembered, what is neglected and silenced, and crucially, what history is passed to future generations.

Read more: The Richard Mille Art Prize at the Louvre Abu Dhabi

To approach minor or forgotten histories, perhaps it would be helpful to think of alternative temporalities in terms of “meanwhile”. When we read the dominant history, we must think about what else was happening “meanwhile”.

“Meanwhile Histories” challenges the dominant narratives that have shaped our understanding of history.

The collectors say:

Gerd Schepers  is a Swiss art collector and one of the supporters of the festival. “It’s brilliant that Stefano is bringing this kind of content to the Engadin and the program definitely opens up a fresh perspective in a traditional commercial space with lots of untold stories.”

Aleksandra Pusnik, collector and supporter of thefestival: “The village of St. Moritz per se has always been a special place. On the surface, it carries a connotation of a place of ultimate luxury, only reached by the rich and famous. The Art Film Festival, with its choice of films, taps into the layers below this surface, only to discover the depth of the messages which get sent to the viewers, which in return addresses the masses, all of us, the planet. As the festival closes each year, I feel enriched by these messages as well as pensive about their content.”

The festival will take place from the 12th to the 15th of September 2024.

Find out more: smaff.org

Joel Mesler: Me, you and the sunset. Photograph by Francois Deladerriere

A striking new show by Joel Mesler brings nature, light and life to Château La Coste in the south of France, a place not short of any of these qualities. “Me, you and the sunset” is quite mesmerising

You can’t walk around the grounds of Paddy McKillen‘s Château La Coste without bumping into a museum-spec artwork. A Louise Bourgeois spider here, a Damien Hirst there, site-specific works by the likes of  Tunga, Bob Dylan, Tatsuo Miyajima, or Sophie Calle there. In total, there are about 40 artworks in the grounds.

Crounching spider by Louise Bourgeois. Photograph by Andrew Pattman

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Psicopompos by Tunga. Photograph by Andrew Pattman

As if that’s not enough, the estate complex in the heart of Provence also has three exhibition pavilions or galleries that host temporary and rotating exhibitions.

This summer, Californian artist Joel Mesler is showcasing his exhibition “Me, you and the Sunset” in the gallery designed by architect Richard Rogers.

The Richard Rogers Gallery at Château La Coste

Mesler’s show is inspiring. His twelve new paintings represent a series of connections between an individual (the self) and the landscape, as well as the people within it.

Joel Mesler: Me, you and the sunset. Photograph by Francois Deladerriere

The body of work reflects Mesler’s own views during his visit to the Château the previous summer. The paintings and sculptures, reflect the luminous sunsets of Provence.

Read more: MedBodrum: A New Type of Luxury Festival

There’s hints of Van Gogh there, but also the Californian in Mesler, who seems to pick up on the refractions and shades created by the Saharan desert dust that the high atmospheric Sirocco winds carry northwards here, a link to the desert skies in the east of his home state. Mesler’s paintings tell woven, personal tales.

Joel Mesler: Me, you and the sunset. Photography by Francois Deladerriere

The colorful, almost neon-like glowing paintings feature simple words like “ME,” “YOU,” “LOVE,” and “SUNRISE,” reflecting the recurring themes in Mesler’s art.

The original apartment building has turned into a hotel with 79 suites, each with either a small bar, kitchenette, and separate living areas, most of them having a working fireplace

Candice Tucker checks in to the Petit Ermitage, for a bohemian European escape in the heart of West Hollywood

The Wow Factor

If you didn’t know about the Petit Ermitage, you would likely walk past this discreet hotel, in the heart of West Hollywood, without taking a second look. Once you walk in, it’s a completely different experience. The hotel exudes an enchanting blend of bohemian chic and European elegance.

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The rooftop, a dreamy oasis, is the crown jewel with its lush garden, cosy fireplaces and red and white striped double lounge chairs surrounding the pool area. Art lovers will be delighted by the curated collection that adorns the hotel, including works by Miro and de Kooning. The ambiance is intimate and full of character—a perfect escape from the ordinary.

The rooftop offers a heated saltwater pool, a cozy lounge area and fireplace

People Watching

The rooftop pool at Petit Ermitage is one of the best spots for people-watching in LA, especially because it’s the city’s only European-style pool. The crowd is stylish and eclectic, a mix of creatives and influencers.

Read more: The Savoy, London review

It’s a serene haven where you might find yourself lounging next to Hollywood’s elite, as the hotel is a known favourite among celebrities seeking privacy. The no-photos-or-videos policy by the pool ensures that everyone can relax without the intrusion of social media, making it a rare, paparazzi-free zone in Los Angeles.

Show Me to My Room

The rooms at Petit Ermitage are a delightful mix of vintage charm and modern comfort. The Belle Suite, where I was staying, had a floral pink wallpaper, complimented by plush green rugs. The light up vanity and fireplace create a sense of warmth that makes you feel right at home. The bathrooms are equally quirky, with vintage tiles and well-chosen amenities that add to the overall boutique experience.

The walls if the hotel are filled with art from the owner’s personal collection, including works by Miro, de Kooning, Rauschenberg, and Dalí

Come Dine with Me

The rooftop restaurant offers dishes that blend Mediterranean influences with fresh, local ingredients. The ambiance is enhanced by the garden surroundings, twinkling lights, and the soft hum of conversation.

One standout on the breakfast menu is the breakfast burrito—an absolute must-try. Packed with fluffy scrambled eggs, and fresh avocado, all wrapped in a perfectly grilled tortilla, it was the best way to start the day in LA.

Find out more: https://www.petitermitage.com/

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing 4x4s across different models: Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque

Range Rover was the original manufacturer of SUVs, Is it still among the best? We drive the slick new Velar, to find out

In the world where every car seems to be a large sport utility vehicle with four-wheel-drive, and enormous amounts of horizontal lateral and vertical space, it’s hard to believe that not that long ago there was really just one SUV you could buy.

The Range Rover was the preferred car for English countryside aristocrats, who used it to navigate the private lanes on their muddy estates. It had the height to avoid rural obstacles and the powerful V8 engine to get it out of mud holes. And quite a lot of comfort and style besides.

Velar, a Latin name that means “to veil”, “Velar” also could’ve been an acronym for “Vee-Eight Land Rover,” as the original prototypes all had eight-cylinder engines

That was then. But what about now? Presumably the tsunami of SUVs from every type of car manufacturer, from Lamborghini to Hyundai, means the original has been sidelined? What would a Range Rover’s USP be now?

Quite a lot, as it turns out, we discovered when driving the Velar.

Great cars always have a distinctive characteristic that is retained down the generations, regardless of evolution. The Mercedes-Benz S class has its own luxurious style distinctive and superior to all of its rivals. The Porsche 911 has a character and precision that it retains even though its current models are unrelated to the originals in the 1960s.

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Similarly, a driver of an original Range Rover from the 1970s would instantly recognise the current model – in a good way. Driving down a road – even a normal urban road – if you feel a sense of security, authority and comfort, as if driving your favourite armchair. The security also arises from the knowledge that this is a famously capable car off-road, even if you never venture down your own muddy farm track.

The Velar relies heavily on electronics and brake intervention for off-road control

Other powerful SUVs hurtle, the Range Rover Appears to waft, Jeeves like, even when it is going very fast.

The interior is British luxurious, that is to say not focused on design-function like some competitors, but all about comfort. While it is an extremely accommodating car for passengers, as a driver you felt like you had melded with it and simply never wanted to get out.

Read more: Rolls-Royce Presents Cullinan Series II In Ibiza

We doubt any Range Rover drivers will be taking their cars for a sports car style blast: they will have other cars for that. Still if you’re pressing on, it retains its composure and comfort, although if you are a super enthusiastic driver, you may well find more sharpness in some of its competitors.

Costumers can tailor their own Range Rover Velar: From different colours on the outside, wheel and roof options. The outside colours vary from Zadar Grey, Santorini Black to Fuji White and more

Some current SUVs work in certain markets, where flashy cars are applauded: however if you live somewhere where discretion is more the word, the Velar will probably suit you more. Although big, and imposing, it has an understated confidence to it that does not invite aggression from other drivers. A worthy successor to the original.

www.landrover.com/range-rover/range-rover-velar

The Clement Palo Alto is ranked #14 on the All-Inclusive Resorts list in the USA

The Clement Palo Alto offers a distinctive experience that stands out in a region known more for its tech giants than its hospitality. Candice Tucker reviews this luxury all-inclusive hotel and shares why it is the place to stay in Silicon Valley.

The moment you walk into The Clement, there is an instant sense of homeliness. Just a small minimalist reception area which leads through to a lounge, restaurant and 24-hour open kitchen area, the hotel has a residential charm that completely puts you at ease. With light brown wooden finishes and cream leather sofas, the hotel strikes the perfect balance of luxury without pretentiousness—ideal for those using it as a sophisticated retreat while attending meetings or visiting Stanford University, just across the road.

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Stepping into the bedroom feels like entering your own private sanctuary. The expansive space is thoughtfully divided, offering a cozy lounge area and a dedicated workspace with a separate guest loo. The bedroom area provides a tranquil retreat, while the enormous white marbled bathroom—complete with a double-sized shower and bath added a touch of spa-like luxury.

The generous space makes it feel more like a well-appointed apartment than a hotel room, creating a restful environment that feels like a home away from home. To no surprise, being in Silicon Valley, the technology was completely up to date with one simple machine controlling every function possible in the room.

The hotel is located downtown Palo Alto near the Stanford University campus with 23 residential-inspired suites

Later in the afternoon, feeling a bit peckish, I called reception to inquire about room service. While they were happy to send something up, they suggested I explore the 24-hour open kitchen instead. Right by the main restaurant, this brown wooden kitchen with dark marble tabletops resembles one you’d find in a luxury Beverly Hills mansion.

Read more: Shogun, Zermatt’s finest Japanese restaurant, reviewed

Complete with a double fridge, cabinets filled with perfectly arranged jars of biscuits, yogurt and fruit bowls, fresh juices, and an array of light snacks, I was browsing through as if it were my very own dream kitchen at home. It was a refreshingly personal touch, allowing guests to help themselves at any time, fostering an atmosphere of comfort and familiarity.

All meals and beverages are inclusive in the price of your room, thus no exchange of money is necessary

The next day I dined at the hotel’s restaurant for lunch which offers a curated seasonal menu that showcases local ingredients. I was also given the option to dine whenever and wherever I chose, which was not only convenient but added to the level of personalisation that the hotel seems to so easily provide. The tomato soup was flavoursome and light and left the perfect amount of room for the Dijon roasted salmon which was soft in the middle with a crispy tangy outer layer.

Read more: Chez Vrony, Zermatt, Switzerland review

The Clement Palo Alto excels at offering a luxury experience that never feels overwhelming. The hotel’s small size, combined with its attention to detail and personalised service, creates an intimate atmosphere that’s perfect for both business travellers and those visiting Stanford University. Every aspect of the stay is designed to cater to your needs, making it a place you’ll want to return to time and time again.

www.theclementpaloalto.com

Boutique hotel La Fiermontina Luxury Home is an homage to Antonia Fiermonte and the two artists who loved her. The garden shares its ancient city walls with Lecce

Lecce, the most celebrated city in Puglia, comes at you unexpectedly, like many of Italy’s gems. You drive past vineyards and olive groves, go through some unremarkable suburbs and then suddenly you are faced with a wall and gate of Roman origin. Once inside, the streets shrink and are cobbled; but what looks like a cluster of ancient buildings also houses more treasures within.

One of these is La Fiermontina Luxury Home, the city’s most celebrated hotel, set around a garden and olive grove within the ancient walls. The owners have just opened a new property, the Fiermonte Museum, 50 metres away down a quiet cobbled street.

All rooms and suites of La Fiermontina Luxury Home are inspired by traditional local buildings and are full of character, decorated with vintage and high-end antique pieces

Turn  right at the old lady who spends her days sewing, sitting on a chair on the cobbles, through a latticed iron gate, and you enter into a bijou courtyard, surrounded by lush trees – you could pick your own loquats certain times of the year.

Under a newly built staircase – the whole construction is new out of old sit two sculptures, and the art theme continues when you walk through the first floor terrace and slide the glass doors open, to be greeted by an array of sculptures and paintings.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Our room had high, vaulted ceilings, showcase artworks and furnishings – the Fiermontina team are masters at creating contemporary art and design elegance out of historic landmarks.

The artworks around La Fiermontina Luxury Home are part of the carefully selected collection, and the architecture tells a story of the family’s ancestors and the country’s history

The Suite Nocturne of the Fiermonte Museum is covered in blue tones and music-themed

Ceilings and curtains were a deep blue, the window looking out onto a lush tropical treescape (all this within the old town). It was utterly peaceful, silent both at night and during the way, yet a couple of minutes stroll along the cobbles takes you into the heart of the old town.

Read more: Artists In Conversation: Michelangelo Pistoletto and Pascale Marthine Tayou with Maryam Eisler

The Fiermonte Museum consists of works from the Fiermonte family’s private collection, taking visitors on a kaleidoscopic journey through 20th-century art

This really is a Museum with rooms: you are given tickets, key card access and a lantern so you can access the museum in the same building at night. And then have breakfast in the courtyard, with an utterly bijou buffet served by your own staff – it feels like staying in a private home, more than a hotel.

We had dinner on our last night at the Zephyr restaurant.

www.lafiermontinacollection.com

In our latest print issue we covered the preview week of the world’s most celebrated art biennale, which brought artists, collectors, institutional leaders, philanthropists, curators and the merely curious for a whirlwind of parties across the ancient city. All photographed by Darius Sanai using a vintage Nikon Coolpix ultra-compact

Esben Weile Kjaer and Lucca Hue-Williams

Maria Sukkar and Emin Mammadov

Maryam Eisler

Yana Peel

Hans Ulrich Obrist, Eun-Me Ahn and Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

Darius Sanai and Ralph Rugoff

Yamini Mehta and Nada Raza

Durjoy Rahman and Vinita Agarwal

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Samantha Welsh, Jessica Hartley and Lee Sharrock

Carolina Conforti, François-Laurent Renet and Hamlet the dog

Shaan Shahani

Read more: Armando Testa at the Venice Biennale 2024

Nick Chu and Marton Nemes

Read more: Artists In Conversation: Michelangelo Pistoletto and Pascale Marthine Tayou with Maryam Eisler

Oli Epp and Javier Martinez

Stefanie Sauska and Julia Mechtler

Bernardo Pereira and Djoser Botelho Braz

Ana Helena Pires, Sandra Hegedus, Maguy Etlin and Vanessa Tubino

Marie-Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre and Laure Martin

Roman Schramm, Petroc Sesti, Emilie Pugh and Tracey Ryans

Glicéria Tupinambá

Nadja Romain

Masha Nosova, Fabienne Amez-Droz, Isabella Fergusson

The original Cullinan, launched in 2018, was the world’s first super-luxury SUV. The new Cullinan Series II adapts to changes in codes of luxury

More than half a decade after the launch of Rolls-Royce’s original Cullinan, the Cullinan Series II has unveiled in Ibiza. Codes of luxury have changed. And so has the model’s design, engine and character. Fabienne Amez-Droz takes a spin

Think a cross between a sky-scraper, a boat, and a (strangely civilised) wild boar. The Cullinan Series II is an animal with all the hallmarks of a Rolls-Royce classic. It flaunts a handsome large snout, crisp edges and clean geometry. Its muscles, though lean, seem somehow monolithic.

When Cullinan was first launched, less than 70% were self-driven: today, almost every Cullinan is driven by its owner

A versatile 6.75 litre V12 engine provides agility. While it could handle Ibiza’s coastal roads and narrow village streets with ease, it was unable to begin to flex its muscles, under the tame Ibiza sun. It’s wilder capabilities include off-road handling, equal to the most dangerous and hostile environments. I couldn’t say I was complaining.

The bumper lines form a shallow ‘V’ from the lowest point of the daytime running lights to the motor car’s centre point, recalling the sharp bow lines of modern sports yachts

Calmer drives between lunches and dinners, across the island and from the Six Senses Hotel, to a private dinner hosted by the Rolls-Royce team in the villa of the six senses owner, were more to my preference. As was the coastal path to Casa Jondal, the beachside restaurant serving laid-back luxury not dissimilar to the backseat of a Cullinan Series II. Naturally, a bottle of champagne, out of the champagne compartment, pairing perfectly with view of the horizon.

Reflecting clients’ desires for bolder forms of self-expression, new decoration and detail have been added throughout the interior of Cullinan Series II

But let’s hop from the backseat to the front. Codes of luxury have changed. People are starting to drive their own cars. Back in 2018, at the launch of the first Cullinan, less than 70% were self-driven; today less than 10% of clients retain the services of a chauffeur, and the average age of Rolls-Royce clients has dropped from 56 in 2010 to 43 today. And the Cullinan Series II reflects this. As Anders Warming, Director of Design for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the ‘statement and flourish’ built in this second series is undeniable.

Adapting to the desire of many clients to escape into nature, the interior is comprised of a palette inspired by botanicals. Cullinan Series II introduces Grey Stained Ash, a richly grained natural open-pore wood with a light shimmer

Flourish is the word. A pattern on them – reportedly evoking clouds – is suggestive, too, of something hovering between Japanese ink drawing, khaki, botanicals and cartography. Quite a range, but then so are Rolls-Royce’s design inspirations, from nautical to architectural matter. Oh, and with 107,000 individual perforations into the leather to create them, because why not?

This is a modern-vintage nexus that Rolls-Royce has harnessed for its newfound younger generation of customers. See its classically geometrical, Art-Deco style wheels, for instance: one feels one might just see Jay Gatsby through the rear-view mirror, but then spot Daniel Craig in the side-view one.

The new Spirit of Ecstasy Clock Cabinet is set inside a vitrine that displays both an analogue timepiece and an up-lit Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. The figurine is constructed from solid stainless steel and placed on her own stage with a matte black back panel

If craft is all the rage at the moment, Rolls-Royce are not new to the game. After four years of development, Rolls-Royce’s trademark Spirit of Ecstasy sits not only on its bonnet but inside the car, lit up and enhanced. And it even shapeshifts to become a technological item ­– ‘SPIRIT’ – a digital interface linking to a private members app, Whispers. The minds of analogue and digital craftspeople are meticulously stitched together, unsurprisingly well. And at the unsurprising price of not far off half a million pounds. Why compromise on craft?

Read more: Rolls-Royce launches new Boat Tail at Lake Como 

Fitting it is to have unveiled this car at the Six Senses hotel ­– aptly-named in relation to a car with the instinct and power of a wild boar, and the grace of a mercurial, siren-like Spirit of Ecstasy. To borrow the CEO’s phrase, let ‘magic carpet ride’ begin.

www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

The Hato Restaurant is located in the heart of St. Moritz village, only a few minutes walk away from the well-known Badrutts Palace

In the heart of St Moritz, Hato is all about people watching, inside and out, DJ vibes, and some vibrant pan-Asian cuisine to match anything in Mayfair, as LUX discovers

Slip into a window table at Hato and you have a ringside seat of the high-rolling circus that is St Moritz in season. A slick, dark, club-bar of a restaurant, Hato is right in the heart of the village, slightly elevated from the street, so you can look out, chilling to the DJ tunes, and spot exactly who is in town with which of their lovers/dogs/families.

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The cuisine is Fine Asian and the menu references the Head Chef’s previous role at Sexy Fish in London, but that doesn’t really do justice to Hato: this is much more refined than Sexy Fish, both in concept and execution.

The restaurant with views on the lake of St. Moritz serves fine asian cuisine dishes that are displayed in a very extravagant style

Our Som Tam salad – not jam, coriander, green papaya, carrots, red onion and iceberg – was a dish surely never served before in St Moritz, and had a delicious vibrancy, matched well with our other sharing starter of steamed aubergine with chilli and coriander.

Read More: Roia’s fine-dining in Singapore’s Botanics

Hato started quiet that evening but quite late, as our mains arrived, troupes of young St Moritzians waltzed in, evidently familiar with the place, laughing, jogging over to their regular tables, chatting in the multilingual Esperanto of English, Italian, French and German that is the trademark of the Engadine.

Established in 2015, Hato is known for it’s range of asian foods, from rock shrimp tempura to Hamachi, a new style of yuzu truffle

Next up was handmade dim sum, which we had chosen over tempura, which seems to be everywhere these days. The siu mai and har gau were sufficiently al dente and definite, but it was the spinach and mushroom that caused delectations, likely due to the clarity of the local ingredients.

A main of black cod was originally, and highly successfully, served with saikio miso, truffle yuzu and fennel but the real standout of the whole meal was the whole butterfly seabass, with Thai spices. Zingy, buttery, thought provoking.

Grilled miso chicken, sashimi, nigiri, maki, handmade dim sum with ponzu sauce, shiitake mushrooms, tuna takaky: one doesn’t lack choice at HATO

We’re not sure if people go to Hato for the food or the vibe – both are high up the scale – or to spot their ex walking with someone new down below, to which the only answer is another bottle of Dom Perignon.

www.hato-restaurants.com

The Japanese restaurant Shogun in Zermatt offers sushi, and many other Japanese specialties such as ramen

Zermatt, the celebrated Swiss ski and mountain resort, has a little-known but powerful connection with Japan. Nowhere better to experience it than at Shogun, a properly authentic Japanese in the village centre

A perhaps little known fact about the high Alps is the Japanese connection. Zermatt, cradled by a ring of the most spectacular 4000m peaks in Europe, has a long-term connection with Japanese mountaineers who, like the English, were among the early-adopter climbers of peaks like the Matterhorn and (even more imposing, if less famous) Weisshorn. A significant number of Alpine books available in the village’s bookstores were authored or photographed by established Japanese climbers.

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In that context, it is not surprising that Zermatt has a Japanese restaurant which is quite different in feel from the current trend for Asian-fusion.

Walking into Shogun, you feel like you are entering an eatery in Hokkaido, the mountain and ski island of Japan: through a little garden and up some steps, everything is Zen, simple, wooden, careful, thoughtful.

Shogun prepares the Japanese food freshly and sells it at moderate prices

Menus are bilingual, also in Japanese. We chose a set menu, which featured a stunning, tastebud-reviving hamachi carpaccio with jalapeños, red onion, ponzu sauce and sesame oil, Swiss grilled beef which was tender, simple, almost liquid, and a yuzu cheesecake.

Read more: Mandarin Oriental, Zurich review

From the à la carte we had spicy tuna tartare, topped with quail’s egg, tori kaarage (chicken with soy, ginger and garlic), and grilled scallops and white fish with grilled vegetables.

Next to eating in the restaurant, you can also get the dishes delivered or you can get it at their take away station

A combination of quality of ingredients and care and craft of execution made the food utterly standout, even for someone used to eating at the world’s great Japanese restaurants.

The purity may come as a surprise to a generation reared on the easy-listening Japanese of Asian fusion restaurants, but Zermatt is, at heart, all about purity. Memorable for all the right reasons.

The two japanese chefs import the rice that they are using for the dishes directly from Japan

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shogun-japan-restaurant-zermatt.ch

The Magill Estate, South Australia, home of Penfolds since 1844

One of the world’s great red wines comes, unusually, not from a hallowed single piece of land, but from an ever-varying blend of vineyards in South Australia. Penfolds Bin 707 has risen meteorically into the consciousness of wine collectors in the last couple of decades, renowned for its silken balance and depth. Darius Sanai meets Penfolds Senior Winemaker Steph Dutton over a tasting of vintages ranging from 1990 to 2021 to discover insights into a wine every connoisseur should be considering for their cellar, dining table – and home cinema

Wine connoisseurs seeking the world’s great Cabernet Sauvignons typically have two broad styles to explore. There are the old-world wines of Bordeaux, including great names like Chateau Lafite and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Cabernet-dominated red wine blends that are complex, often austere, and reserved; and the more exuberant, rich, sweeter style of Napa Valley Cabernet from California. To these (very broad generalisations), we can add a third: Bin 707, a Cabernet Sauvignon made in South Australia by the celebrated wine brand, Penfolds.

Bin 707 is distinctive as, like many Penfolds wines from Australia and elsewhere, it is not sourced from a particular estate or plot of land: instead, each year, the winemakers choose what they think are the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from around the region, that will work best in harmony with each other, and blend them to make Bin 707. (And in years when the grapes are not deemed good enough, the wine is not made at all).

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The wine has a typical Penfolds high-end class and style: immensely smooth, refined, sophisticated and balanced, without being overwhelming with any single element: neither too rich, nor austere, nor over fruity, nor bitingly tannic. And like all the world’s great wines, Bin 707s develop with age, adding layers and subtlety while retaining their essential character and soul.

But how do you create such a distinctive wine? Darius Sanai organised a conversation and tasting, over Zoom, with Steph Dutton, Penfolds winemaker, to find out more. Dutton outlines in her own words some background behind what is becoming one of the world’s legendary Cabernets; and as they taste through vintages, both Dutton and Sanai give their thoughts on each.

Steph Dutton conducted our tasting from the tasting room at Penfolds celebrated Magill estate in Australia

Steph Dutton, Penfolds Senior Winemaker, on Bin 707:

“Bin 707 has always led the charge for Cabernet, which here in Australia was a variety that took longer to find its feet compared to Shiraz. Yet Cabernet is still king in the fine wine world in terms of its nobility, its ageability, and this ability for Cabernet to tell a very long-lived story.

Bin 707 is now attaining a real cult following that has previously always been attached to Grange (Penfolds’ famous Shiraz). Our job as winemakers with a wine like Bin 707, which has been around since its inaugural release in 1964, is to honour the style that our predecessors have already carved out, but we should also still be making the 1% and 2% changes every year in the right direction in the name of excellence.

Whether it’s Grange or Bin 707 , the rule about selecting the fruit to go in the wine is that it doesn’t matter where it comes from, as long as it’s the best. And so as you go through warm vintages, cool vintages, and everything in between, the different regions are going to be represented at different percentages. It’s the best of the best from each vintage.”

Bin 707 has a distinctive and balanced style of its own, appealing to collectors of Cabernet Sauvignon around the world

Penfolds Bin 707 1990

Steph Dutton: 1990 is probably one of the most famous vintages in South Australia, so it was sort of the logical place to begin today. I will always be fascinated to know what the 1990 was like at the time, as I can’t time travel and go back and know what it looked like during vintage. With this wine, I like to say you can be the most intense voice in the room, but it doesn’t mean you’re the loudest voice in the room. And I think as wines age, the best examples do keep their intensity, but they become a little bit more subtle and less obvious. It’s almost like the components are retreating into themselves a little bit more, but they’re resolved.

Read more: Bettina Bryant on California’s Bryant Estate

Darius Sanai: Amazing nose, palette of colours, I want to have a Bistecca alla Fiorentina done medium. It’s got that wonderful structure to it, and I want rosemary on the steak. It’s not powerful, but it’s still full, not faded at all. If I had a case of this, I would last it out for another 20 years.

Penfolds publishes a guide to how each vintage of all of its great wines is maturing

Penfolds Bin 707 1998

SD: This is a big vintage in proportions. It is full of tannin and muscle. It should be incredibly fruit sweet. This is going to be one of your more obvious wines in the line-up. Looking at my own tasting notes, I speak about muscle, the grunt, the sinew, grainier tannins. I’ve spoken about a warmth that comes with the wine, you know, that chocolatey blackberry sort of warmth and comfort, sort of a generosity.

DS: Plenty of everything here, still incredibly refined though. Not overwhelming like some Napa Cabernets are, for example. There is plenty of fruit and tannin, but also a balance and smoothness, nothing jumps out at you too much, and it is incredibly fresh and moreish also. Just delicious. It also feels ageless: this is a wine that is 26 years old, but it could be 16 years old or six years old, with that layered balance. I would say that extra power in this one along with that freshness would make it match nicely with a chicken tajine, not too spicy, but with a little turmeric and allspice.

Penfolds Bin 707 2004

SD: This is a more elegant wine, like the 1990, while the 1998 is moodier and broodier. 2004 is a cooler climate vintage and we source fruit from different areas, depending on the vintage. The art of multi-regional blending gives you, a different skill set, but also something different that you’re offering your collectors and your loyalists. It’s a little bit like thinking of a choir with many voices, all singing together at one point in time, versus a solo artist. And our job as winemakers is probably, we don’t want to lose the solo artist in a choir, but we want the power and magic of the choir when it’s the best fit.

And so our job as winemakers is not only knowing when and how to blend, but also knowing when not to blend.

DS: Same style, like a sibling, very refined. Its layering is subtle but still distinctive. And it doesn’t taste anything remotely like 20 years old. I have had 2004 Bordeaux first growths that look and taste distinctly older than this.

SD: In the wine world, it’s a little bit like the real world. If you’re mistaken for a younger version, it’s the biggest compliment, because it means you’ve got a longer life ahead of you with wine. So to hear it looks more youthful than what it is, it’s the best thing you can say to a winemaker!

LUX tasted through six vintages of Penfolds Bin 707 at a country house in England’s Cotswolds, while speaking to Steph Dutton in South Australia

Penfolds Bin 707 2006

SD: This wine is more like a 10-year-old rather than a 20-year-old. It was from a drought year, but drought doesn’t mean it was hot, it just means it was dry. The wine is very tightly wound in the best kind of way. There’s a lot of untapped potential here being revealed.

DS: It has that youthful mouthpuckering tang but still that distinctive Bin 707 deliciousness.

SD: It has what I call that upfront fruit vibrancy and density. I think dried and cured meats with a vintage like this are lovely but also not overpowering. You know, when you think about bresaola as an example, or jamon iberico. If you go to a restaurant, bresaola is one of the best matches for aged cabernet that you can come across.

Penfolds Bin 707 2010

SD: 2010 was an incredibly strong vintage. It wasn’t the biggest of anything, but it was kind of the best of everything. Proportioned, rather than big.

DS: There are many, many layers here, but typical of this wine, it’s all very subtle and silky. It doesn’t demand your attention, like some famous Cabernets. If you wanted to, you could whiz through a bottle while watching Netflix with a sourdough pizza with nduja – there’s plenty of structure to match that spice – or you could sit with a fellow connoisseur and analyse it over water biscuits. It’s fascinating to have that dual character; with other great wines you tend to only be able to do one of those.

Penfolds Bin 707 2021

SD: Like 2010, 2021 was a fantastic vintage. You can taste that it is primary, bright, glossy, full of juiciness, very firm tannins. It’s like a little glimpse of a wine that’s in its infancy.

DS: That is the expert winemaker perspective… for me, it is dangerously drinkable now in 2024, considering that it will probably age as well as the 1990. There’s nothing forbidding about it, although it is certainly full of bright, rich colours. It’s one you could drink with a filet mignon, or sauteed chanterelle mushrooms on toast, and that would bring it out even more. But like all the others. it’s perfectly balanced, there’s nothing showy or overblown about it. You could drink it every day, as well as at Christmas.

www.penfolds.com

The Savoy was London’s first hotel specifically designed for luxury, raising the bar for comfort and service in a way that was unprecedented at the time

The Savoy is a global hotel legend. But, after a recent revitalisation, can it live up to its lofty reputation? LUX finds out

Glamour is a hard concept to pin down. Why are some people glamorous and others merely sexy? And what makes a hotel glamorous, rather than just impressive?

History helps, but not all historic luxury hotels are glamorous; some are faded, others reworked so their character is stripped out: too perfect.

The exterior of the hotel was crafted to resemble a chic waterside Continental hotel, with long rows of balconies along the River Front

The Savoy is glamorous. We weren’t quite sure it would be, having not been inside for years. It’s in a slightly curious location, perfect for London’s theatreland and Covent Garden, and famously overlooking the Thames, but not in the Mayfair/Knightsbridge hub.

But this is a hotel with heritage and society history written into it, as you notice when your taxi trundles up the driveway past the Savoy’s own theatre, on the right, and its celebrated Grill, on the left.

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The lobby area is so redolent of the roaring Twenties that you expect a jazz band to burst in at any moment. Up we went, in a tiny, period-chic lift, to a suite with a view across the Thames and out towards the lights of Canary Wharf – which of course didn’t exist for most of this hotel’s history. Despite the super-central location, there was no sound at all, the only traffic a stream of middle distance lights on Waterloo Bridge.

The Savoy hotel, built by Richard D’Oyly Carte, the creator of the Savoy Theatre, had a distinctly theatrical flair when it opened in 1889 – The décor was classically Victorian, but experienced changes since then

The American Bar is a Savoy legend, and the design and decor just ooze interwar chic – which is just as well, as some of the clients were dressed for a Sunday morning at a fast food restaurant. Should hotel bars have dress codes? Probably not, but onesies should certainly be banned. Glamour does need a certain filter.

The American Bar is the longest surviving cocktail bar and since 1893 has had guest from Winston Churchill to Ernest Hemingway

Fortunately, the staff and spectacle more than made up. Our server was charming, knowledgeable, passionate about his job, and professional – in the sense that working in the bar was his profession, in which he took pride, increasingly rare. The pianist was the pro you would expect, toning down the volume and singing so it didn’t overwhelm, but keeping everyones’ conversations moving along with his timing. Sip that perfect Negroni, gaze at the brilliant pianist, just don’t expect to see your fellow guests dressed like Audrey Hepburn.

Read more: La Fiermontina Family Collection, Lecce, Puglia review

The Savoy Grill was, back in the day, a place where Englishmen (always men) with starched collars and three piece suits would repair to for long lunches with their peers, who had been to the same boarding schools and worked in the same firms. It is a masterpiece of historic design, and you get there by sweeping across the (glamorous) lobby from the American Bar.

The Savoy river restaurant by Gordon Ramsay has views of the River Thames. There’s also an option of renting a private dining room for 8-12 guests, suitable for special events

And it’s quite an entrance. The Grill is now run by Gordon Ramsay, who has long done away with the men in three piece suits (they faded out of their own accord, apart from bizarre UK politician Jacob Rees-Mogg), and we were swept to our corner table by the hyper-professional staff.

Here at the Grill you see how a great restaurant is at the heart of the community of a great city. Tables surrounding us included a three-generation family celebration; people having a post-theatre dinner; a finance dude engaging in a very intense and thoughtful wine tasting of red Burgundies over his dinner; a couple who looked like they had materialised from everyone’s For You page on Instagram; two young women sipping champagne and talking about men; a lone woman in Dior who knew the staff as well as she knew her huge solitaire diamond ring.

The Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay serves a classic British and French-inspired menu from Beef Wellington, dry-aged beef to a Dover sole

We had Kir Royal Louet-Feissser oysters with blackberry and champagne – quite the combination – and a bright and highly defined yellowtail crude with English cucumber, dill and shisho, followed by an absolutely perfect olive crusted monkfish and moist and tender Beef Wellington, a nod to Savoy Grill tradition. Brilliant food but more importantly true dining experience.

And then a wander back across the now quiet lobby, up in the bijou lift, and to the room with the lights of London across the water. But the highlights were not over yet: the next morning, the Savoy served up perhaps the best in-room dining breakfast LUX has ever encountered.

Presentation was silver service and beautiful – perhaps a key quality of glamour – but the sourcing of the ingredients and cooking were extraordinary. Pancakes, each as thick as a finger, but with rich taste in their puffy interiors, rather than the oily exterior and sweet nothingness of so many; top quality avocado on fresh sourdough with a gentle sprinkle of chilli. Just beautiful – and glamorous to the last.

thesavoylondon.com

Vogue‘s former Fashion Features Director Harriet Quick, and former head of personal shopping at Harrods Sukeena Rao have partnered to create Luminaire, for high-class, tailored personal shopping. They talk to LUX about sustainability, AI, and exclusive upcoming projects.

LUX: How did you come together to start Luminaire?

Harriet Quick: Sukeena and I first met in the mid-noughties when she was then heading up personal shopping at Harrods and I was working as fashion features director at Vogue. I was writing a profile on Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga and came to Harrods to attend a special trunk show. Luxury retail and luxury magazines can often seem like church and state but here was a moment to witness how Rao was introducing clients to the brand and all the magic that happens in the styling suites at the point of ‘try on’.

Luminaire, launched in mid 2022, draws on the combination of expertise from personal shopping and fashion journalism.

LUX: What’s the biggest misconception people have about buying clothes?

Harriet Quick & Sukeena Rao: We can all get swept away by brand, hype and the incredible mise en scène and storytelling of a catwalk show. However, when it comes down to our own sense of style, it really is proportions that matter most – finding the shapes and looks that suit your body shape, work with your lifestyle and chime with your aesthetic preferences. As Miuccia Prada has pointed out, it takes practice and patience. Luminaireco.com is a navigator and catalyst in that process.

LUX: Harriet, as a former fashion features director at Vogue, how do you think that the largest fashion magazines will change in 10 years, compared to now? Will they still hold a lot of influence on fashion trends, or are they fading?

HQ: We now receive fashion information at multiple ‘nodal’ points whether digital, on social, in print, a podcast, Substack or via an experience. I think there will always be room for a beautiful magazine like Vogue but it no longer has the absolute authority, the first word on fashion, that it exerted in the pre-digital era. Readers and viewers go to the voices and visions they find exciting and relevant not just one source: media is individualized.

At Luminaire, we distil the bigger meta themes into highly curated shopping edits, flag the integrity of the design and provide a 360 view that reaches out art, design, escape and to experts in beauty and wellbeing. We’ve always seeking to hyper connect clients and readers with exceptional finds.

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LUX: Would AI make a good personal shopper?

HQ: I think there are some fun styling tools but the advice for now is lowest common denominator. Maybe because of super intelligence and the revolution in AI, clients are seeking ever more personal advice – we desire the human touch – the intelligent viewpoint – a real conversation. To that end, Luminaire is hosting a series of summer events with Burberry bringing together clients over picnics, and guided store tours.

LUX: What was your earliest memory of being conscious about the clothes you were wearing?

HQ: Maybe age 5, I became fixated choosing a Liberty floral fabric for a sundress my mother was making for me. I used to go with her to Harvey Nichols, pour over copies of Vogue and that opened by eyes to this dizzying and wonderful world of fashion. After studying for a post grad in journalism at City University, I became dedicated to all areas of design journalism then became more specialist in fashion at The Guardian, The Frank Magazine than Vogue.

Luminaire’s summer series features Barbara Stürm, Lou Lou de Saison and Pierre Augustin Rose

LUX: How you adapted your business model alongside increased concern for sustainability and slow fashion?

HQ: Our general maxim is buy less, buy better and work with what you already have in your wardrobe. The shopping team often has to advise against repeat buys and steer clients towards accessories or pieces that really will make a difference and that might be a fine jewellery piece, an Hermès handbag or lovely staples from Toteme or Wardrobe NYC. The gifting suggestions are also excellent.

LUX: Name a trend that Luminaire are keen on at the moment.

HQ&SR: All eyes are on Chloé and so called ‘boho’ but how does that translate? A flowing chiffon blouse in a Chloé dune shade, is a great multi-tasking starter. The skirt suit is re-emerging after seasons of trouser suits and that looks so elegant in tweed and plaid wools from brands including Chanel, Petar Petrov and Loro Piana.

Read more: Giambattista Valli on the love for beauty

LUX: Rao, what made you want to break away from Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and consult houses to begin your own company?

Sukeena Rao: Although I continued to work with private clients, I took a break to have my two children. I had always wanted to join the dots between personal shopping and editorial offering up a 360-view combining shopping, sourcing and inspired advice.

LUX: Where do your views differ in terms of fashion and your business model?

SR: We approach fashion from complimentary and contrasting angles with Harriet EIC attending the bi-annual fashion shows looking to future trends and shifts, and myself as Chief Commercial Officer concentrating on the collections as they arrive on the shop floor.  There is a constant desire to edit and find the very best. Olivia Scanlon, the CEO, based in NYC comes from a legal and finance background and that bedrock is vital in growing a business in a measured strategic manner.

LUX: What next? Do you have any exciting new projects you could tell us about?

HQ&SR: In September we are launching a newly designed website. It’s super intuitive to navigate and there is a dedicated Private Client portal where each client can view their own personalised mood boards, wish lists and shopping history; book experts including sessions with the Luminaire team and be alerted to invitations to Luminaire events and happenings. But you don’t have to be a private client to dive in and shop the themed edits and benefit from styling suggestions. We want to take the endless scroll out of shopping and go beyond the overwhelm of hype and the selection/browsing process a reward and delight – that’s what luxury is about.

See More:

luminaireco.com

The UK’s only black tie music festival, Henley Festival, returns for its 42nd year, this week. LUX has a look

Mud, sweat and beers. That’s what one associates with music festivals. Well one hopes that there’ll be sun, a friend or two and some good music to make your voice worth losing back at the work the next day. (‘Been off ill, have you?’, one hears the boss ask. ‘Yes, yes’ one surreptitiously croaks. ‘Not at Glastonbury?’ ‘No, no; just a cold…’) Not, however, at Henley Festival…

Henley Festival features not only music, but art, comedy and what it calls the ‘Roving Troupe’, groups of roaming entertainers of various sorts.

The town, renowned across Britain for the home of the Royal Regatta, has been pulsing to the UK’s only black tie music and arts festival. The dress code reads somberly that if you are spotted in casual attire, you’ll be ‘refused entry to the event.’ One pictures security guards in morning suits rather than fluorescent jackets. 

Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England, is home to the Henley Royal Regatta, first held in 1839 as a local festival but now an internationally renowned competition.

Henley, in line with its dress code, ensures that both art and gastronomy are focuses of equal measure to the music, which itself proves to be strong and eclectic.

In the past, Henley Festival has featured Jess Glenn alongside the Heritage Orchestra, Melanie C alongside Goldie, and the Pet Shop Boys as well as Chaka Khan. This year, the lineup has procured artists from across the pop, classical, world music, and jazz settings, from Nicole Scherzinger to Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook, to Trevor Nelson, Gladys Knight and Sam Ryder. Oh, and a minor addition – the semi final of the Euros will be shown as part of the festival this year, on July 10th.

KATYA, winner of the Rising Star Initiative, rose to fame with her debut single, ‘I’ll Take Your Number’, featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds UK & IE playlist.

2022 saw the 40 year anniversary for Henley Festival, and marked the founding of RISE – a platform lifting up emerging young musicians, comedians and visual artists. This, as Jo Bausor, CEO of Henley Festival, contents, is ‘rapidly becoming the beating heart of Henley Festival and is at the core of everything we do.” And this year, one will find the inaugural Westcoast RISING Star Award – awarded to multi-instrumentalist KATYA, who has impressed the UK’s largest festival, Glastonbury, as well as BBC Radio 1, for her electronic beats, jazz overtones and soundscapes.

The range of dining and drinking options spans from riverside fine-dining to grazing, to various bars across the site.

It’s no surprise that a music festival in Henley – the second most expensive market town in England for property – has opted for black tie. But what is surprising is how radical it seems that, despite the obvious discomfort of mud, sweat and beer, no other festival in the UK has gone for the comfort and sophistication of bow ties, velvet and Veuve Clicquot. For now.

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henley-festival.co.uk

The modern fine dining restaurant Roia offers a division between Asia and Europe. The Chef-Partner Priyam Chatterjee explores traditional French techniques with a focus on the flora found in the Botanic Gardens from where they source key herbs and flowers.

In our Spring/Summer 2024 Print Edition, the opening page of our LUX Report is dedicated to an intriguing new development from a fascinating Singapore entrepreneur. Kishin RK’s new fine dining destination, Roia, is located, unusually for Singapore, in a historic building surrounded by lush tropical foliage. It’s a new landmark destination, as Kishin explains to LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai

Kishin RK, owner of the new landmark Roia restaurant set in a réapplication of a Unesco World Heritage site in Singapore and featured on this page, is something of a paradox. Softly spoken and understated, he eschews the glitz and high profile sought by some of his fellow young(ish) billionaire entrepreneurs from Singapore and its sibling, Hong Kong.

The restaurant’s ambiance is a reflection of its culinary philosophy

When LUX meets him in a café in an upscale Singapore mall, he is full of boyish enthusiasm for his new projects – enthusiasm backed by the forensic eye for detail that made him the country’s youngest billionaire. But Kishin’s paradox is that he doesn’t want to just be a dealmaker, acquiring wealth through real estate and his other investments: he also wants to be a game-changer, a place-maker.

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His family has already achieved this through the redevelopment of Robertson Quay in Singapore, home to the swanky 1880 private members’ club (a kind of Soho House for the finance sector); and, in a subtle way, through the reshaping of the heritage site at the Singapore Botanic Gardens that now houses Roia.

Chef Priyam Chatterjee’s dishes, are reflections of blending his experiences and artistic inspirations into each course.

Kishin has international ambitions for his place-making, with London at the top of the agenda. His philosophy? “The most exciting and fascinating thing to me as a developer is focusing on districts and creating a very strong energy, shaping the behavioural patterns of people who visit.”

Read more: Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, Review

From power lunches that talk business to intimate gatherings, Roia has a space for every kind of meeting

His philosophy – casual but distinct, energetic, with a tailored style and high standards in cuisine – will be arriving in London, his favourite European city, soon. Watch this space.

www.roia.sg

After originally existing as engine suppliers, Henry Royce built his first motor car in 1904, which later lead to the establishment of the Rolls Royce brand in March of 1906

Elegant. Iconic. Timeless. The three words that best describe Rolls Royce and the South of France. So, it was perfectly fitting that the Rolls Royce Phantom ‘Rendez-vous’ was set in the heart of the French Riviera, Roquebrune, in the hills overlooking Monaco. Candice Tucker reports.

The experience was set to make us feel like a Rolls Royce owner and it started from the moment we landed at Nice airport. Outside baggage reclaim, my driver awaited me and took me to the car, opened the door and explained the comforting features of the Phantom.

The details of luxury are only fit for this type of car: a button to open the door from the inside (so you don’t appear to be opening it yourself), the cushions behind your legs and neck, the champagne fridge between the two back seats and the whiskey and cigar hampers in the boot, which I can imagine many enjoy during a long drive down the Italian coast.

I could have sat in the car for hours comfortably, but we quickly arrived at the hotel.

Rolls Royce couldn’t have chosen a better location to host it’s rendez-vous than the Maybourne Riviera Hotel. In many ways, the elegance of the Maybourne Riviera and a Rolls Royce are similar.

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Both are renowned for their attention to detail, craftsmanship, and commitment to creating an unparalleled experience for their guests or customers. Just as a Rolls Royce is a symbol of luxury and prestige, so too is the Maybourne Riviera a symbol of exclusivity and refinement.

After settling in for a few hours, I was driven to a typically luxurious Monégasque spa, where no one was surprised to see a woman in her twenties being chauffeured in a Rolls Royce Phantom to her appointment.

Feeling incredibly relaxed, post massage, the Phantom was waiting right outside ready to take me back to the Maybourne for a beautiful dinner on the side of the hotel’s cliff face with views of the sea and the lights of Monte Carlo beneath us.

Read more: Range Rover Velar review

The next day we had the opportunity to drive the cars ourselves to the medieval town of Gourdon.

The standout feature when you first look at the Phantom is its size. As large as it may be, it doesn’t feel cumbersome to drive. In fact, it feels surprisingly nimble, thanks in part to its smooth and responsive handling. The steering is precise, and the brakes are strong, which was a blessing when driving down the winding roads of the Côte d’Azur.

Rolls Royce is the haut-couture of the car world. Everything is designed to an owner’s specification and taste to make it feel like something of their own, rather than a material item that anyone can have.

The infinite personalisation of these cars makes each Phantom completely unique, down to adding artworks to the front body of the interior of the car, so it becomes part of someone’s home rather than simply a mode of transport. The excitement of entering the Phantom each time, is completely different to that of a Lamborghini or Ferrari. It’s not thrill seeking, it’s simply the most luxurious form of comfort.

Find more: www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Recently reimagined Singaporean elegance at Marina Bay: LUX Checks In

Checking-in from the heat of a long day, MO’s calming presence of a vast ring of concentric rooms welcomes one in. Across its new colour scheme of pinks and greens, one feels that Wimbledon might just take some notes, to be lifted to a quiet Singaporean elegance.

The room had an immense view of Marina Bay’s iconic skyline (but safe from its heat): lay back, feet up, and helped myself to delicious Singaporean chocolates.

Up on the 5th floor, Mandarin Oriental’s 25-meter swimming pool looks over the Singapore skyline

Wandering around vast zen corridors, I checked out for myself what are supposedly world-renowned cocktails at the MO Bar. Dark blue suave, art deco chic – I had a reclaimed Singapore Sling to begin, naturally. It had a sweetness without overdoing it – and cutting beneath with jagged sourness  it was balanced by a bright lollipop – a humorous play on Singapore’s original historic drink.

Mandarin Oriental has various food stores and its cake shop has artisanal confectioneries, specialising in cakes, pastries, festive treats, and premium gifts for all occasions.

After their recent revamp, I’d like to see the room where the chemistry of cocktails takes place – it seems a Willy-Wonka-cum-James-Bond enterprise – and it delivers. Onto the ‘White Rabbit’ cocktail, made with an edible layer of an image of a White Rabbit, the type that slips onto the tongue and dissolves. But the real taste lies underneath, with a laksa tang.

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From fresh Singaporean breakfast to lunch the next day, I swanned up to the pool for a dip with another view of the skyline, before a welcome Italian twist. Ruinart blanc de blanc, antipasti, fish and exquisite cheese looking over the pool – what more could one want, apart from an Italian waiter himself serving with Mediterranean charm and gastronomic expertise? Well, it had that too.

Read More: Nira Alpina, St Moritz, Review

Mandarin Oriental has 510 rooms, and 8 restaurants, also including MO BAR, The Spa, and a lounge and club HAUS 65.

A much needed massage at The Spa after months of London brought a zen which – well, I only wish I could maintain it in London, but without the Singaporean skyline and fresh noodles it won’t be so easy.

See More:

mandarinoriental.com

LUX checks in to Borgo Santandrea, a sweet spot on the Amalfi coast which feels far from the madding tourist crowds

‘Everybody should have one talent, what’s yours?’ Or so says Dickie Greenleaf in the thriller – most recently a Netflix hit – TheTalented Mr Ripley. If it was Italy, rather than criminal Tom Ripley, responding, the answer would not be ‘forging signatures, telling lies, impersonating practically anybody’, but, perhaps, ‘Venezia, Roma, Toscana… Amalfi’. But how could one pick just one? Across its various shooting locations Ripley’s Amalfi shone out in staggering blue. I couldn’t resist.

A private beach, a pool, and ancient buildings look out onto the Amalfi Coast

It’s hard not to reach for clichés when, checking into the room, one is faced with a vast abstract painting of two blues – that is, sea and sky – contained like a Rothko in their window frame. The room seems to lead one towards this, across bespoke furniture and their signature tiles of blue and white.

Read More: Mandarin Oriental, Zurich, Review

Tucked away, 52 metres above sea level, one sleeps cocooned in something which is clean, refreshingly modern. And yet, at the beach bar, Marinella Beach Club, one still feels that one might just hear the fisherman, raising a glass of limoncello up with a clinking ‘salute!’ after a long day of hauling nets into its ancient building.

Alici, for fine dining at Borgo Santandrea, is a 1 Michelin star restaurant

Holding onto both old and new is the Marinella Restaurant. A Cardinale Twist to begin, for me. Its bitter freshness is what I want in the salt air, while I browse the menu. It seems wrong to bypass fish while sitting by the setting sun over the sea. Borgo Santandrea do it as they should – tender, fresh, not overdone or too spiced up; the ingredients are as fresh as they can be, so I begin with a platter of shellfish sprinkled with Amalfi lemon zest.

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Next comes a confession. I’m afraid I have a weakness for ‘Zucchini alla Scapece’. It’s that type that has its natural sweetness balanced by the acid of its vinegar marinade and freshened by mint. It brings me back to a Neapolitan chef in Tuscany, who – unable to comprehend how one of his customers didn’t like garlic – would stamp about the kitchen, thumb to fingers shaking his hand in the air, muttering histrionically, ‘è aglio, dio mio’. But fear not, here – garlic brings out the juices of a tender, grillet fillet of fish, paired with potato.

Each room at Borgo Santandrea is styled in a different way, looking at various shades Meditteranean styles

Not that a need a ‘pick-me-up’, or ‘Tiramisu’, following this, but it did the trick. And my swim provided a salty digestivo, and, under its soporific gauze, I fell into a deep slumber, back in the bedroom of signature artisan chic, just 50 metres above the sea.

Bespoke boat trips are offered for guests across the hotel

I have no doubt that The Talented Mr Ripley will be sending lots more people Amalfi’s sun-warmed way, and I’m lucky I had got there before. Lucky, too, that – contrary to ‘telling lies… impersonating practically anybody’, Borgo Santandrea provides a rare pocket of honesty along an increasingly tourist-ridden place. It seems to pare itself back to the essence of Italy’s talent – if there is just one, that is – that laidback elegance and spirit that can’t help but leak into one, and see the utter necessity of shaking one’s fist at garlic.

Find out More:

borgosantandrea.it

Shisen Hanten’s signature steamed sliced kurobuta pork with chilli

Michelin-Star Singaporean Restaurant – renowned for high levels of food, and a view of Singapore from 35 levels high. LUX checks it out

Muted chandeliers, an almost debonair charm welcome one in – and the lights across night sky waving from fellow tall buildings, silhouetting the Singapore skyline.

Shisen Hanten’s Executive Chef, Chen Kentaro

We were served what is called the ‘Opulent Menu’ – something that Chef Kentaro likes to nimbly stretch across Szechwan cuisine with an embition menu, celebrating signature flavours of Shisen Hanten – a fusion, if you like – and traditional Cantonese flavours.

A fine Devaux Cuvée to start, to accompany a selection of (particularly succulent) prawn, pork and specially delicious bang bang chicken.

Next a Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Crab Roe soup. And the crab was so fresh that some guests, who didn’t like tripe, enjoyed these just fine.

Shisen Hanten’s Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Crab Roe Soup

But the freshness of a Wagyu Beef rose above itself, complimented by a glass of Torbreck. Tender, and served across an array of dishes.

Shisen Hanten is located on the thirty-fifth floor in Orchard, Singapore

Steamed lobster was cooked confidently, amply seasoned with its Yuzu soya sauce – retaining its juicy tenderness, and matched confidently by an Australian Chardonnay of a calm dry and the stir-fried tofu had a signature Singaporean fire unmatched.

Chef Chen’s Original Spicy Noodle Soup

Night was closing in, lights were beginning to turn out in the disciplined buildings of Singapore, but time for just one Szechwan jelly with delicious fresh fruit. One last sip of Chardonnay, before descending the many flights to the heart of the city below.

Set between Belgravia and Knightsbridge, Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay is a Michelin starred restaurant serving exceptional modern French cuisine.

LUX heads to Gordon Ramsay’s classic London restaurant, which has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and experiences effortless gastronomy at its best

Petrus is located in one of the quietest and most bijou parts of the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate, in London’s Knightsbridge. We parked right outside, on a Friday night, which is an achievement in itself in London – although most of the residents here had likely left for their country manors immediately after school on Thursday.

The restaurant’s seasonal menus include A La Carte, Lunch, Kitchen Table and Prestige Menu

The ambience of the restaurant  is peaceful and refined, although not at all stuffy or pressurising. There is plenty of space between the tables, which are laid out cleverly so you are not sitting either in rows or with numerous other diners in your eyeliner: this is a discreet place, to go when you don’t really want to be seen, rather than the opposite. In fact there wasn’t really a “bad” table in the place: given a choice, I am not sure which table I would pick, the layout is so intelligently done.

As one would expect from a restaurant named after one of the world’s finest wines, the wine list features many different vintages of Château Pétrus and is the first restaurant in Europe to offer it by the glass.

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The menu is best described as clean modern British: Isle of Skye Scallop with coastal herbs, lemon and olive oil sabayon, smoked eel with oscietra caviar, celery and apple: these were as fresh tasting as the country landscapes they came from. Rack of Dover Sole with with white asparagus. Chervil and citrus Hollandairse was beautifully and gastronomically wrought, although it prompted a debate at our table about whether sole should only ever be served on the bone, rather than as a rack – none of us felt like arguing with Gordon about it in person, though.

Read more: La Fiermontina, Palazzo Bozzi Corso, Review

As much as the food was memorable, the service and theatre was even more so. This is a place that really knows how the theatre of gastronomy works, and it wasn’t so much that it was all seamless, as you would expect; it was fascinating to watch the staff in their silent dance as they whizzed about their duties, never conspicuous but never absent. We also engaged the very engaging sommelier in a discussion about small grower champagnes; people here seem to love their work, as well as their food and their wine.

Available for up to eight guests, you will be greeted by the restaurant team and served a seven-course bespoke menu.

Petrus is not for every Friday night, just as you wouldn’t take the Ferrari GTO out every weekend. It’s for when you really want an immersive and inspirational gastronomic experience, with someone you are close to or want to be discreet with.

The restaurant has held one Michelin star since 2011

www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/petrus

The Mandarin Oriental is in the beating banking heart in the old town of Zurich

Zurich has seen the transformation of one of its oldest hotels into a gem in the historic heart of the city

For those unacquainted with Switzerland’s largest city, a visit to Zurich always comes as a positive surprise. You may expect banks and pharmaceutical company HQs in a clinical row; instead you get a bijou medieval old town on the banks of a river filled with swans and storks, a dramatic lakeside waterfront with a view of the Alps, and plenty of olde-Europe atmosphere.

The spiritual centre of the town is the Paradeplatz, the point, a few hundred metres from the lake, where the chic Bahnhofstrasse luxury shopping street meets the edge of the old town, amid some serious-looking private banks housed in historic buildings and trams coming and going (cars are banned from this part of town). And now, for the first time in decades, the Paradeplatz has a hotel to match its stature as the world’s centre of discreet wealth management.

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The Savoy has been on the Paradeplatz for generations; it was one of Switzerland’s original luxury hotels, but until recently had slipped off the pinnacle of hotelerie and was a rather uninspiring and old-fashioned five star hostelry. Now, following a magic wand by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, it is the talk of the town.

The LUX lodgings certainly deserved to be making waves. After walking in and being recognised by the staff without saying our name (always impressive, even if pretty easy with a quick online search), we were whisked upstairs to a corner suite, beautifully and elaborately decorated, with a view over the little square and the streets around. Decor was fresh, light and airy, with thick light taupe carpets and some beautiful marquetry.

Guest can enjoy their morning coffee on their balcony overlooking the famous Paradeplatz

Read more: Visiting Ferrari Trento: The sparkling wine of Formula 1

One of the fascinating questions about the hotel was: how do you meld old Switzerland (the Savoy) with Mandarin Oriental, a luxury brand with its roots in East Asia? While there were hints and accents of contemporary Hong Kong in the design cues, this was, pleasingly, not an attempt to insert one culture inside the other.

Dinner the first night was at the Savoy Brasserie & Bar,  blending just a hint of Swiss formality (white coats for the wait staff) with an ease of spirit and sense of life. Oysters were a feature here – to go with an art deco theme – and we particularly enjoyed a main of monkfish escabeche, with bell pepper and crispy rice chips.

Guests can have drinks and light bites in the Mandarin lounge

The culinary highlight was the next evening; Orsini is technically in the adjacent Orsini building from the 14th century,, but to reach it you stroll around the side of the building, with a historic church reminding you of where you are, and into a narrow entrance opening out into a bijou dining room. Our fellow diners included two highly wealthy finance people of international origin, quietly celebrating a deal, a couple celebrating an anniversary, and another finance person quietly making his next billion on his iPad.

The cuisine was as rarefied as the atmosphere. Artichoke with “cacio e Pepe” milk, grapefruit and Mazara red prawn tartare; potato gnocchi with grilled eel, “Giulio Ferrari” Spumante sauce (that’s a top Italian sparkling wine), fava beans and caviar; both were outstanding in their subtlety. Bravo to Mandarin Oriental for running two such brilliant but contrasting restaurants under the same roof

There are two superb dining options in the hotel: The casual Savoy Brasserie & Bar and the intimatefine dining restaurant Orsini

Those would have been the hotel’s public space pieces de resistance, but while LUX was staying there, the MO opened its rooftop bar. And we learned something quite spectacular about Zurich rooftops. Even if the building is not very high – the MO is just one storey higher than its neighbours – they can make for astonishing views, because as soon as you rise above the buildings around you, you are greeted not just by a view of the city’s churches and other landmarks, but the sweep of the Alps and lake on one side, and dramatic forested hills on the other. A few floors and you are in another world. So the MO is not just the most chi-chi spot in town, but one of the vibeiest also.

This is a boutique MO, not a grand one, but the company has over the years shown it can do old-world boutique (Munich) just as well as it does new and palatial (New York), the sign of a hotel brand immensely comfortable in its own skin and flexible enough not just to move with the times and spaces it operates in, but lead with them.

www.mandarinoriental.com/de/zurich/savoy/

Dating back to 1775, this building is nearby the Basilica of Santa Croce in Lecce

Authentic. immaculate, aristocratic, contemporary family-curated luxury in a Baroque palace in a city that’s a living museum? Take us to the Palazzo Bozzi Corso in Lecce, Puglia

Authenticity is becoming an ever greater part of the luxury travel experience. People want experiences when they travel, and cookie-cutter luxury simply doesn’t cut it anymore.

That’s why you get French and Italian fashion and luxury creating spectacular hotels in territories as far apart as Australia and Las Vegas. But authenticity cannot be created through replication or over the Internet; by definition it is something that comes from inside.

The hotel was designed by the 18th-century architect Emanuele Manieri, this historic building attained its unique blend of traditional and contemporary features when it was developed in conjunction with the La Fiermontina Family Collection.

That, more than anything else, is what strikes you when you walk into the Palzzo Bozzi Corso. You are walking along a historic street in Lecce, in the heart of Puglia, buzzing with tourists, locals, craft shops, wine bars, local food markets.

Dedicated to the memory of the boxer and actor Enzo Fiermonte, La Fiermontina Palazzo Bozzi Corso offers its guests spaces with ornate furnishings and artworks

This is and was a wealthy town and the Baroque era buildings are grand and imposing. Then you walk into the Palazzo and you are whisked into the private home of a wealthy merchant of hundreds of years ago: the equivalent of walking into a Rockefeller house in a different era.

Except the Palazzo Bozzi Corso has been sylishly and impeccably updated so it feels almost like a perfectly curated exhibition, a museum of contemporary and 18^th century Italian design, immaculately reimagined as an intimate luxury hotel.

Art by the likes of John Lennon (a friend of the owning family) and Fernand Leger sits among the Renaissance artefacts; no interior designer in the world could create a passion project so warm and thoughtful. This is a place to live, or at least to stay for as long as possible.

The building is also home to original drawings by John Lennon, donated by Yoko Ono, a friend of the owner’s mother.

There are only 10 suites here and every one is different: ours had a stone arch above the bed, church-like high ceilings, modernist furniture, a combination of ancient and contemporary art, eggshell walls, vast mirrors. Bathrooms are out of a show suite at Milan Design Week, except the work, both physically and in the destination.

Walk out of the building and you are in the living museum of Baroque that is Lecce; there is a roof terrace, and you can use the pool in the garden at the nearby sister hotel (also gorgeous), La Fiermontina. Authentic luxury doesn’t even begin to describe Palazzo Bozzi Corso.

Guests also have access to the secret garden and rooftop terrace to see the sunset

www.lafiermontinacollection.com/en/palazzo-bozzi-corso

Darius Sanai is Editor in Chief of LUX and an Editor in Chief at Condé Nast International

The hotel is located at the highest point in the village of Surlej, just 5 kilometres from St. Moritz. As a result, the hotel offers ski-in ski-out to the slopes

With a spectacular view of the Engadine Valley, and located right by one of the region’s best ski and hiking mountains, Nira Alpina is a hip hotel to inspire the soul – and palate

Nira Alpina offers views of untouched natural scenery and is suitable for both summer and winter adventures

The spa of the hotel offers a relaxation room with coloured mood lighting, a steam room, a sauna, a vast whirlpool, and five large treatment rooms

In the summer the hotel offers multiple outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, skiing and watersports.

During the winter guests have a wide selection of winter activities, including ice skating, winter hiking, sledding, bobsledding, horse riding, hang gliding, sky diving and Nordic walking.

The sparkling wine of Ferrari Trento is being splashed around by the winners at the F1 podium

Formula 1 celebrates with sparkling wine from Italian winemaker Ferrari Trento – They have been the official partner of the competition since 2021. Fabienne Amez-Droz visits the alpine city of Trento, tastes their different wines and experiences the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix first hand.

Ferrari Trento is the “Official toast of Formula One,” celebrated globally by drivers spraying each other with sparkling wine at the end of the races. The Ferrari Trento vineyards are located in Trento, nearby the dolomites mountains in Italy, and the company is, as many would suspect, unrelated to the Ferrari racing team. Actually the Ferrari Trento family company came first – their business dates back to the early automobile era, predating Enzo Ferrari’s first race car. But the brand’s name recognition has been clearly beneficial.

The family-owned Villa Margon in Trento, situated above the vineyards, is a Renaissance-era estate with 16th-century frescoes.

Founded in 1902 by Giulio Ferrari, the business was sold to Bruno Lunelli, a local wine shop owner, in 1952. Since then, the brand seeks to communicate “The italian art of living” with its costumers worldwide.

Today it is managed by the third generation of the Lunelli family with Matteo Lunelli as CEO and President of the family business. Ferrari Trento’s other executive family member is its vice-president, Camilla Lunelli, niece of Bruno. A story that does the rounds in northern Italy is that Bruno was friends with Enzo Ferrari, and Enzo once expressed interest in investing in his namesake wine company, although the Lunelli family declined, as they wanted to keep it as a family business.

The family has an estate, called Villa Margon, located above the vineyards, where you can walk around the ancient building, gardens and learn about the family’s history. The Villa is covered in-and outside with frescoes dating back to the 16th-century. A little drive further down from the estate, you can find their big, modern winery, where they produces all of their so-called Trentodoc‘s, available in six different lines – each of which expresses its own distinctive characteristics.

Trento DOC (Denominazione di origine controllata), commonly known as Trentodoc, is an appellation for white and rosé sparkling wine made in Trento in Italy. They produce the sparkling wines with a traditional method, just like Champagne. In this method, the second fermentation occurs in the bottle, creating the bubbles. Along with Franciacorta, it is a region of Italy widely considered to make world-class sparkling wines, leagues above cheap Prosecco.

After visiting the large Ferrari Trento winery in the valley, Camilla Lunelli invited me to the Michelin-starred Restaurant Locanda Margon  and explained all of the different sparkling wines, which they offer and how to pair them with a gourmet meal.

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The modern Ferrari Trento winery in the valley can store 20 million bottles, with over six million sold last year.

Read more: 6 Questions: Matteo Lunelli, CEO & President of Ferrari Trento

For this year’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, I was hosted by the Lunelli- Ferrari Trento- family. This particular racing track is one of the most well-known racing venues in the history of the Italian Grand Prix’s and 2024 marks the 30 years anniversary since the deadly accident of Brazilian F1-driver Ayrton Senna (1960-1994).

For the Imola Race, the brand designed a special Ferrari Trento bottle in honour of Senna which has been signed by the winning drivers: Max Verstappen, Charles LeClerc and Lando Norris, and it will be up for auction for the Senna Foundation in Brazil.

The Ferrari Trento Team took me around the Paddock and gave me an intimate tour of the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber– garage to show what it would be like, to be down there during a race. You could see the Netflix “Drive to survive” camera team taking shots for the show. An experience worth celebrating!

The bottle of Ferrari Trento designed in honour of Ayrton Senna for the Imola Grand Prix 2024

Mucciaccia Gallery is delighted to present the exhibition Tête-à-tête in its gallery in Rome, curated by Catherine Loewe

Tête-à-Tête is an exhibition that explores the private and creative lives of contemporary artist couples.  Here LUX speaks to curator Catherine Loewe about the inspiration behind the show and the fascinating connections between the work of these modern-day duos.

The exhibition Tête-à-tête sizzles through the summer months in the heart of Rome at Mucciaccia Gallery, providing a rare glimpse into the world of creative couples where love, life and art collide. The show features eight acclaimed international contemporary couples whose multi-disciplinary work is placed in dialogue with each other.

The title from the French expression “head to head’ refers to the conversations and dynamic interplay that has such a significant impact on their practices, whether working individually or in collaboration.  In an ever-evolving cultural landscape, this exhibition examines how artists navigate the complexities of relationships while pushing the boundaries of artistic expression in the 21^st century.

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LUX:  Where did the inspiration for the show come from?

Catherine Loewe: I’ve always been fascinated by the passionate stories of artist couples who played a key role in the development of avant-garde art.  These revolutionary couples reflected the shifting structure of both art and society, like Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, Josef and Anni Albers, Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning, who rode the wave of radical thinking in the wake of Cubism, Bauhaus and Surrealism.

There was a fantastic exhibition at the Barbican that covered this topic and I wanted to bring the narrative up to date with contemporary artists.   I was also inspired by Vasari’s incredible work the Lives of the Artists which so memorably set forth the connections between artists lives and their works, in many ways providing a template for art historical documentation right up to the present day.

The exhibition brings together eight internationally acclaimed contemporary artist couples, featuring multi- disciplinary work, including photography, textiles, sculpture, painting and digital art.

LUX:  How did you select the artist couples?

CL: I was looking to include artists working across variety of disciplines from painting, sculpture, textiles and photography to convey an overview of artistic practices today.  I was greatly supported by Maryam Eisler, whose incredible photographic portraits feature as part of the show and the accompanying catalogue.

Thanks to Maryam we included pioneering artists who have witnessed seismic social, political and cultural changes like Emilia and Ilya Kabakov, the hugely influential conceptual artists whose story began in Soviet era Russia. Also, Iranian couple Shirin Neshat and Shoja Anzari, whose powerful and poetic film and photographic work centres around issues of exile, oppression and resilience.

These artists couples have truly created a lasting legacy for future generations.  British artist Rob and Nick Carter have worked in collaboration for over 25 years, pioneering cutting-edge digital techniques and more recently exploring notions of authorship through the use of robots.

The paintings in the show based on Venus, Botticelli’s rendition reprised by Andy Warhol were executed by a six-axis robot called Heidi, switching brushes and colours using hundreds of thousands of lines of bespoke software code – something I think would have amazed both Botticelli and Warhol.

As the title which refers to the French expression “head to head’ suggests, the exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the dynamics behind artist relationships, revealed through intimate conversations with them.

Read more: Dakis Joannou interview in Hydra

LUX:  Were there other artists you would have liked to include?

CL: It is a big theme and there are many artists we could have shown like Bharti Kher and Subodh Gupta, Elmgreen and Dragset, John Currin and Rachel Feinstein, Rashid Johnson and Sheri Hovsepian to name but a few – perhaps for an enlarged version of the show.

LUX:  Had all the artists shown together before?

CL: Charlotte and Philip Colbert had never shown together, although both fascinatingly share a subversive and surreal outlook, curiously mirroring each other with their chosen symbols, in Charlotte’s case the all-seeing eye, uterus, and breast and Philip’s the lobster, cactus and shark.

These motifs are seamlessly fused in their house which is a work of art in itself filled to the rafters with their art and designs – my favourite being a bathtub called Mother’s Milk made up of over a hundred silicone breasts.

LUX:  How has being together influenced the work of the artists?

CL: Creatively, these partnerships clearly act as a catalyst for artistic growth and exploration, the constant exchange of ideas is something one cannot achieve alone.  Whilst some couples maintain separate practices and others collaborate, the way they bounce ideas of each other creates this dynamic flow which translated into their work often produces major breakthroughs.

Of course, there are also rivalries, and I love the stormy life of Italian painters Pizzi Cannella and Rosella Fumasoni who so evocatively sums it up saying, “Talent always needs company. The beauty of having an artist close to you is the mindless mutual trust in the invisible.”

With works displayed in dialogue with each other, the exhibition explores how the creative interplay between these couples has impacted their practices

LUX: How did you tackle the issues of gender inequality?

CL: For centuries the prevailing concept of the male genius meant that women’s careers were eclipsed by their ‘famous’ partners, whilst they were locked in the roles of mistress, muse or mother.  Such was the case with Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner or the often toxic relationship between Pablo Picasso and Francoise Gilot – both women are only now receiving long overdue recognition.

Today these issues are certainly being vigorously addressed but still not fully resolved, for instance Sue Arrowsmith struggled to gain exposure in contrast to the meteoric career of Ian Davenport, who was one of the YBA’s in Damien Hirst’s circle.

What did however become apparent whilst doing this show is the huge amount of love, support and resilience these couples have in the face of many challenges both creative and personal.

The interviews reveal how much of a juggling act being an artist couple can be, particularly with the demands of a hectic international exhibition schedule and a young family – more like the collision of love, art and life!

The exhibition in Rom opens its doors from the 10th May until the 2nd August 2024

LUX: What did you most enjoy about this show?

CL: It is beautiful to see the synergies between the works of these artists – like the striking geometric sculptures of Conrad Shawcross juxtaposed with the tactile, abstract hand stitched pieces by Carolina Mazzolari – a visual yin and yang both in their respective ways profoundly philosophical.

The guest enjoyed the Tête-à-tête exhibition at the Mucciaccia Gallery

Or the singing colours of Annie Morris stacked spheres in conversation with the hovering hues of Idris Khan which are so full of emotional and spiritual yearning, charting their experiences of love, loss, and catharsis.  Sue Arrowsmith and Ian Davenport have created paintings especially for the show that explore the interplay of colour, form and space take inspiration from the work of Fra Angelico fusing Sue’s use of shimmering gold leaf and Ian’s interest in the palette of Old Masters.

I also really enjoyed spending time with the artists in their homes and studios, doing photo-shoots and interviews, which I tried to keep quite light-hearted, but which turned out to be surprisingly revealing.

Tête-à-tête runs until 2 August 2024, at the Mucciaccia Gallery, Rome

mucciaccia.com

Portrait of Scott Richler, founder and creative director of Gabriel Scott

The furniture and lighting studio Gabriel Scott was founded in Montreal, by Scott Richler. It was established in an effort to blend his jewellery design experience developed over many years to designing lighting and furniture. He speaks to LUX about the process behind it and how he focusses on craftmanship and exquisite materials

Q: Where do you draw inspiration from your furniture and lighting?  Which brands, or elements of brands, inspired you when you began your design line?

Scott Richtler: Mostly the language of our Gabriel Scott pieces is based on some prior experience in my life.  Mostly from the time I spent in jewellery design and fashion with a separate brand called Jennifer Scott between 2000 and 2005. I created statement jewellery from semi-precious stone.

This led to a career in design, mostly in women’s accessories like handbags seen in Bergdorf’s and Neiman Marcus. Working in high end fashion design meant I developed a high range of design skills learning from the best artisans in Italy.

Before this though I had an architecture background, so I have macro scale and smaller scale design experience; I like the immediacy of this, I speak many different design languages.  I’m into details and you can see the story of my background come through into our lighting fixtures.

The Welles Glass Chandelier, curated in essence of timeless jewellery

Q: In the 18th century, furniture was elevated from functional pieces to works of art, acting as a status symbol in the Victorian home. What would you say is furniture’s symbolic purpose today?

SR: The function of an architect is to look at a space and interact with it. Furniture and lighting are all objects you interact with in one way or another. Everything in your life surrounding you has a form of dialogue around it.

Furniture can be seen as sculpture or more precisely functional sculpture. It’s also about how the user of that space interacts with the environment. Decorative lighting can be viewed as a pretentious status symbol and pretentious pursuit.

Decorative lighting is functional but not totally necessary in a home. Decorative lighting is a focal talking point, creating interest and texture in a home, it is an elevated art form in this sense.

Greg Natale’s East Brisbane house in Australia: This riverfront residence combines interior architecture with the layering of sumptuous finishes to create a “modern palazzo” that celebrates its owners’ deep connection to Italy.

Q: The lighting industry now faces issues with regard to electricity usage and sustainability. How do you combat or navigate these issues, and how do they challenge your principle that designs should be ‘Timeless’?

SR: Gabriel Scott designs use low LED’s and these drop very little electricity, you could keep them on forever and they’re very environmentally friendly. I’ve always approached design through timelessness because it should be like this.

Gabriel Scott furnishings and lighting are classic with longevity just like Chanel. You can wear a Chanel piece from 60-years ago and it’s still as contemporary in present day today. I’m in the camp sitting with vintage Porsche’s being more sustainable than Tesla’s.

The amount of investment required to build a Tesla that will be used for no-more than 10-years is less sustainable than driving a Porsche that’s been on the planet for 50 years. Investing in a Gabriel Scott light is much the same, it’s an investment which will stand the test of time and last.

Q: How else does Gabriel Scott engage with sustainability?

SR: Like a fine designer quality brand, Gabriel Scott’s pieces are investments, well made, amazing materials with longevity.  The materials come from the earth, they’re minerals and glass is recyclable. We use materials that are long-lasting, if you invest in our furnishings they will last forever and you can move with them from home to home.

I do feel strongly that the word sustainability needs to be used carefully by companies. There are so many brands out there greenwashing their companies in a way that is detrimental to the wider sustainability agenda.

Q: Is it important for contemporary art to be functional as well as aesthetic?

SR: It’s not important for any art to be functional.  The dialogue of art is to not be functional whatsoever. As a matter of fact, if it’s not functional, sometimes it creates more questions in the user, which therefore creates a dialogue that may be intentional or not.

The Welles Long Chandelier 17, Smoked Purple and Gray Glass. The Welles collection was coined by notable architect and designer, called David Rockwell.

Q: Would you say furniture and lighting are of increasing importance in the art world now?

SR: Lighting and art in juxtaposition are increasingly important and the majority if not all high-end clients have both in their homes.  We’re recognizing this and from May our London showroom will be welcoming in the Virginia Damsta gallery.

We’re creating a art and lighting gallery with an inaugural exhibition, titled “The New Artists: When Machines Dream” departing from the conventional white cube concept, we’re going to be presenting a synthesis, a symbiosis of art and design. This fusion illuminate’s artwork and creates a harmonious interplay between art and design.

Q: What key changes have you noticed in lighting/furniture design since you founded Gabriel Scott in 2012?

SR: I’ve seen a shift culturally, pre-2012 most high-quality furniture and lighting was manufactured mostly Italian.  Italy is known for being refined and creating the best.  But most of its industrialized and this was the key to the Italian success, being able to industrialize production of beautiful lamps and furniture.

For the last 10-years, there’s been a pivot towards a more artisanal approach. A much more hands-on, handmade approach to furniture and lighting which is more appreciated. The shift has been from the benchmark of quality Italian pieces which have been industrialised. Not the benchmark is more artisan like a carpenter trained in skills from hundreds of years ago which is just exquisite so there has been an elevation.

Q: Do you feel like people are getting more adventurous with their lighting?

SR: Yes I 100% agree with this, but if you look back into time you’ll find plenty of people who were adventurous with design. For example, if you look into interior designer’s in North Carolina, it would not have been surprising to find a sculptural element to a wall sconce in a Gio Ponti house like 50-60 years ago.

You would find sculptural lighting, it just was something that was very European it never really traded into the sort of mass market.  The general public are more conscious about lighting due to big interiors companies being more adventurous with media campaigns.  Decorative lighting has kind of become the norm – with more people on board!

The Myriad Chandelier, 12 Long. The chandelier projects a warm light through its double-blown glass and is hand-made to order.

Q: With your background in architecture and fashion, you interpret decorative lighting as larger scale jewellery. How else has your experience in the fields impacted your perspective on interior design?

SR: I’ve taken inspiration from many great interior designers such as Joseph Dirand. My perspective on interior design is that you can easily interpret a space through the objects that populate that space. My perspective is being an interior designer doesn’t necessarily have to be a maximalist pursuit.

You don’t have to put a great deal into a space to make it special. You can put in an amazing table, piece of art and light fixture – the look can be pretty minimalist. But there’s something unique and special about it is because of the objects in space.

Q: Are there any elements of different brands that have inspired your line?

SR: I love to look at jewelry lines like Pomellato, Cartier and De Beers for inspiration for our lighting. A discontinued Cartier ring inspired the Harlow light.  The ring was like a series of balls that are cold and explode.

In terms of furnishing’s I find Gio Ponti inspirational. Buckminster Fuller is an incredible inspirational architect. I’m enthused by Olafur Eliasson the artist. So its varied, it doesn’t come from furniture traditions. It’s just like images that are blended.

www.gabriel-scott.com

The MedBodrum festivities took place at the Maçakızı Hotel and Villa Maçakızı in Bodrum

Experiences are the future of luxury. Darius Sanai visits MedBodrum, a visionary new type of festival, combining fabulous cuisine, vibey music, art and culture, in one of the hottest Mediterranean destinations

An assemblage of famed and Michelin-starred chefs cooking in the open air by the Mediterreanean; a mellowness of Bossa Nova from Bebel Gilberto, singing just with an acoustic guitarist as an accompanist, just centimetres from the water’s edge;

guests moving seamlessly from Chandon wine to Caipirinhas; a semi-outdoor display of art dotted around two properties, a boat ride from each other, featuring works by Marina Abramovic, Antony Gormley and LUX’s own chief contributing editor, the collector and artist Maryam Eisler, among others.

The festival features top international cuisine

Welcome to MedBodrum, a new type of festival, whose inaugural edition took place last week over four days in the spring sunshine and moonlight in a bay surrounded by deep forest just outside the chi-chi Turkish Riviera resort of Bodrum.

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Carlo Bernardini’s recipes are inspired by his late grandmother’s cooking

The aural and sensory entertainment, in what promises to be an annual festival, was stunning. The music came from Skip Marley on the first night through Mestiza and to Gilberto as the grand finale.

There were different presentations of cuisine – from formal dinners to the memorable beachside BBQ cookout – from chefs including Aret Sahakyan, Carlo Bernardini, Alejandro Serrano and Deepanker Khosla.

Michelin-starred cuisine for all palates

Never have art collectors been quite so spoiled for choice for sampling everything from exquisite langoustines to a dairy-free vat of pasta with fresh tomato, in a Med-side luxury location – except possibly in their own homes.

And that’s what made MedBodrum special: given the organic villa-style architecture and intimacy of Macakizi, a resort that is a go-to stop off from many superyacht summers, it felt like a big house party, your house party, but organised by someone else who knows all the right chefs and musicians and artists.

Festival guests enjoyed DJs and a variety of top international acts

(Fru Tholstrup and Jane Cowan‘s curation of artworks was seen both at Macakizi, the eco-hotel at the heart of the festival, and the Villa Macakizi private palace a boat ride across the bay.)

But the most compelling memory is that of a wholly new concept created by Sahir Erozan, Macakizi’s owner and the creative mind behind this celebration.

Erozan is a restaurateur and hotelier, and he is wrapping together three areas – gastronomy, art and music, with a good dash of fine wine thrown in – in a way that nobody else does.

Sahir Erozan, the owner of the Maçakızı Hotel in Bodrum, with friends art the MedBodrum evening events

Skip Marley, grandson of Bob Marley and Rita Marley, performing at the event in Bodrum.

Luxury consumers love eating well, collect art, and enjoy bringing performers in for private concerts. And yet these activities are too often separated: there is no art at the Miami Food & Wine, no music at the Venice Biennale, and anybody who has been to an Art Basel or Frieze knows the issue with the cuisine and hospitality (there is none).

Erozan is bringing them together all under the banner of the Mediterranean.

Read more: Leading MACAN, Indonesia’s first contemporary art museum

It’s a new kind of luxury experience, one that can travel. Everyone knows that experiences are the new obsession for luxury consumers. There remain challenges: how to integrate the art (and what kind of art?); who to invite and who not to invite – the hotel remained open to regular paying guests; which brands to involve, or not; how to create a “tribe” like the most successful clubs, from Studio 54 in 1980 to Soho House in 1999 and Oswalds in 2024.

Artworks by Matous Hasa. Art is one of the pillars of the festival, along with cuisine, music and sustainability

And there is a sustainability element which was a little uncertain: we would say be bold and have conversations with regenerative ocean innovators in the mornings and afternoons, before the music and cuisine (and caipirinhas) really kick in.

For MedBodrum felt like a visiting a club (LUX is too young to have been to Studio 54 but we understand it was an invigorating experience), albeit a virtual one.

People were in their own tribe, curated, like all the best clubs, by one all-seeing owner, in the shape of the permanently cigarred Sahir.

Medbodrum guests on the beachside deck at the Macakizi

With the tones of Bebel Gilberto purring “happy birthday to me” still in our ears (she performed on her birthday, and Erozan presented her with a gift, a cake and some Dom Perignon at the end of her set) we look forward to seeing how MedBodrum develops onwards and upwards for a new and even more international generation.

www.medbodrum.com

Raghu Rai’s exhibition, “Rise of a Nation”. Rai’s photo essays are featured in TIME, LIFE, Geo, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, Newsweek, The Independent and The New Yorker.

Celebrated Magnum Photographer Raghu Rai shed photographic light on one of the biggest refugee exodus in history following the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Now, the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation (DBF), in collaboration with the Raghu Rai Foundation, shed necessary light on him, launching “Rise of a Nation”, a book and accompanying exhibition which features this photography. LUX takes a look

It was by chance that Raghu Rai, then a qualified Civil Engineer, started photography in 1965. Since then he has photographed across the world, been nominated by Henri Carter-Bresson to the esteemed Magnum Photos and used photography to document, expose and express extremely delicate, painful matters. He went to a war zone in 1971, walking endless along freedom fighters (Mukti Bahraini) and Indian forces on the battlefield. 

Cemented in the book “Rise of a Nation” are photographs that were, until now, unpublished. They come from his 1971 series on the War of Liberation, archiving the memory of these events of destruction, violence, pain and hope with both technical skill and vast sensitivity. Indeed, are the two entirely separate?

Raghu Rai at the opening of his exhibition. In the last 18 years, Rai has specialized in extensive coverage of India, producing books, including ‘Raghu Rai’s Delhi’, ‘The Sikhs’, ‘Calcutta’, ‘Khajuraho’, ‘Taj Mahal’, ‘Tibet in Exile’, ‘India’, and ‘Mother Teresa’.

In our narrative-based nature, physically crafted lines can become storylines. Such can be seen in the exhibition marking the 75th anniversary of the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka, taking place at the Zainul Gallery. As the curator of the exhibition Zihan Karim notes, one can read ‘profound human stories etched on the faces of refugees’ in his photography. Etching is the word for Rai. See women, for instance, scarred by pain and weather, etched with the sharp lens, and a keen eye for light, head cocked slightly to the left in weary pain, teary, eyes glancing up and leaking tears across his lines. 

Read more: Maria Sukkar and Durjoy Rahman on supporting artists from your hometown

Among much of his documentary and investigatory photography essay, Rai does seem etches stories with his photographs. But he also reveals how good photography is vast and nimble, hopping across styles akin to watercolour images of smoother composition or dynamic charcoal. And these lines, this technical skill, seems fundamental to his sensitivity and expression of this turning point in South Asian history.

Durjoy Rahman, right, founded the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation in 2018 to promote and elevate South Asian Art

‘Over ten million Bangladeshis fled to neighbouring India,’ as Karim notes, ‘to escape the brutal violence perpetrated by the Pakistani military.’ Rai follows these, across camps, waiting, starving, trudging on foot and across the sea, glancing glazed over in crisis.

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Rai’s etching and lines and storylines are at once tied to such a specific moment – the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War – and universal, timeless. They provide templates of stories that could not be more relevant today. 

The Bangladesh Liberation War, also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh, was the revolution and war sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in Pakistan, which led to the independence of Bangladesh.

As Karim notes, the world faces ‘an unprecedented displacement crisis, with over 82 million people forcible displaced’. Political upheaval, climate change, forced migration. Durjoy Rahman, philanthropist, art collector and Founder of the Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation which co-published this book, aptly adds to this. ‘The theme of this photography exhibition is not only about the freedom and struggle of our own but also a response to the ongoing genocide in Myanmar and Palestine.’ 

Among Rai’s photography reporting worked on a documentary project for Greenpeace on the chemical disaster at Bhopal in 1984, and on its ongoing effects on the lives of gas victims

Rai carves light and lines, revealing stories of the horrific effects war in 1971, and these, in turn, springboard one to the present. As Rahman aptly notes, ‘Future generations of our country must remember the price of freedom. Wherever and whenever war breaks out, death, destruction, displacement, despair, and dishonour are universal. Peace is the only battle worth waging.’ 

Rai’s photography attest to this, offering a painful, exquisite glimpse of stories past and current. 

The late Armando Testa founded Studio Armando Testa, one Italy’s largest agencies, in 1956.

Armando Testa is the greatest 20th-century design figure you’ve never heard of. Armando’s creations, straddling design and art, were groundbreaking and epoch-defining, but suffering from snobbery on the part of the high-art world towards what was and still is considered the lowlier and more commercial discipline of design. A new show at the Venice Biennale, conceived by Gemma Testa, Founder of Acacia Foundation, and curated by London’s Design Museum Director Tim Marlow, seeks to redress the balance. Here, Testa and Marlow discuss Armando’s legacy in a conversation moderated by LUX and edited by Isabella Fergusson

LUX: Gemma, why did you collaborate with Tim Marlow in curating the Armando Testa retrospective at the Venice Biennale this year?

Gemma Testa: I wanted to enable the work of Armando to become internationally known. Tim seemed an excellent choice, with his deep knowledge of both contemporary art and design.

Meat Chair, by Armando Testa, 1978.

LUX: Tim, what made you interested in the project?

Tim Marlow: This is one of the most important Italian artists in post-war and visual culture whom I didn’t know enough about, and many others like me don’t. The chance to explore and shed light on someone who beautifully straddles the worlds of graphic design and art, advertising and popular culture and supposed fine art was a wonderful opportunity.

Advertisement for Pirelli tyres, Armando Testa, 1954

LUX: Could you tell us about Testa’s significance?

TM: Armando was utterly radical from the beginning. He trained, learned painting, visual arts, art history, graphic design and advertising. He was a pop artist before Pop Art had even been invented. He understood the distilled language of Minimalism – look at his work in the 1940s and 50s before Minimalism existed. But he also understood that visual culture was a means of communication. There is this extraordinary creative trajectory that straddles very different worlds. His favourite word is ‘synthesis’.

GT: The main difficulty for Armando, for many years, was the lack of a proper gallery to represent him. Advertising is seen simply as commerce. Galleria Continua asked me to present Armando. This is a great opportunity to let his work gain recognition – he always believed in the great connection between art and advertising. While working on campaigns, he asked me many times, “What do you think about this?” I’d answer, “What is the aim? What are you working for? Who is the client?” and he’d answer, “You have to look at the sign; you have to look at the mark, at the drawing itself.” He has always understood and believed that there is a link between these two disciplines – advertising and art.

Tango Caliente, by Armando Testa

LUX: What are your purposes for the Venice exhibition?

TM: It’s the need and opportunity to present Armando’s works to a new audience, art scene and culture. The natural place for Testa – as a designer and as an artist – might be the Architecture Biennale, which is porous, looking at all sorts of disciplines. But it is decisive and important that it opens during the Art Biennale. Though the art world talks of porosity, it can be very territorial, and it can be a little defensive about people who come from disciplines other than the art world itself. Armando genuinely had a symbiotic relationship between the two. Even artists like Michelangelo Pistoletto – who studied at Armando’s design school – felt the importance of Armando as an artist and, as he put it, a “genius ad man”.

“Punt e Mes”, by Armando Testa, 1974

LUX: Gemma, how do you respond to that?

GT: Yes, some friends of mind suggested that I present Armando to the Architecture Biennale, but I felt that this could have limited his position. And there is a generation who know none of his works as an artist: this is who the exhibition is for.

TM: The great ‘Punt e Mes’ campaign is a very condensed example of why Testa is so brilliant – his sphere, half-sphere piece. It is a pun on the name ‘Punt e Mes’ [‘Point and a Half’]. It is a visual pun on a sphere and a half-sphere. He paints it. He makes a sculpture of it as well as a poster of it. He interrogates it in every way and makes it universal. An advertising campaign for Vermouth, using an Italian dialect, ought only to resonate with a specifically Italian audience, but it doesn’t. That is what we want to show.

LUX: How would Armando wish to be remembered following the Biennale? As an artist, a designer, or something else?

GT: Perhaps he would want to be remembered more as a creative, a multidisciplinary artist than an advertiser or a designer; the exhibition represents all the shades of his creative universe.

Exhibition Armando Testa is at the Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna Ca’ Pesaro, Venice, 20 April-15 September 2024

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The greatest wine discoveries on the planet might just be from an Australian brand that has been hiding in plain sight. In a conversation and tasting with Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago, LUX has a revelation

The world of fine wine is a paradox that make things interesting – sits Penfolds, a one. Some of the greatest wines are household names: who hasn’t heard of Dom Pérignon or Château Lafite? Yet others of the same or even higher stature are almost secret; few outside a tiny circle of collectors know of the wines of Henri Jayer or Château Rayas.

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And even seasoned wine collectors and aficionados could be forgiven for being confused by the “origin paradox”. This is not a story of religion (although, given the fervency of arguments it generates, it could be), but of location. As ever wealthier collectors delve ever deeper into their passions, the specific vineyard sites of specific producers can see their produce sell for a multiple of the price of the vines next door, ostensibly making the same kind of wine from the same type of grapes on the same soil.

Chief Winemaker Peter Gago

Within this fascinating collectors’ maelstrom – and with wine, as with people, it’s the paradoxes that make things interesting – sits Penfolds, a producer at once revered for its super-premium collectable wines, and known for its good value everyday bottlings. Penfolds is a latticework of delicious paradoxes – a fine-wine world in itself. For example, it’s quite possible you will find a delicious, easy-drinking Penfolds red wine at a good metropolitan supermarket for the price of four oat chai lattes at Starbucks. Meanwhile, if you wanted to get your hands on a bottle of Penfolds g3, one of the producer’s most revered red wines, wine-searcher.com lists its average global price as around £18,500 (US$23,000) at the time of writing. Only 1,200 bottles were ever made. Even more extreme is Penfolds Ampoule, a glass and precious-metal decanter of one of its most rare wines, the Penfolds (monopole) 2004 Kalimna Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon, of which only 12 were made, and which currently retails at around £127,000 (US$160,000) – if you can find one.

A line-up of Penfolds classics

Penfolds’ slightly more abundant high-end wines, The Penfolds Collection, are celebrated by connoisseurs around the world: bottles such as Grange and Bin 707 sell for the same prices as the most prized châteaux from Bordeaux. The 2021 Yattarna, a Chardonnay, recently received a 100/100-points score from leading authority on Australian wine Andrew Caillard MW; like a super-luxe white Burgundy – Le Montrachet, say. For us, the most intriguing, and delicious (see tasting notes, opposite) Penfolds paradox is a development of the company’s different way of doing things. Grange, traditionally its most celebrated wine, made mainly of the Shiraz (Syrah) grape, has always been made from multiple vineyard sites across a vast area, in stark contrast to its counterparts in France, which are from tiny, specified vineyard plots.

Now, Penfolds has stretched that logic from Australia across countries and even continents: Penfolds II is a top-end Cabernet-Shiraz from Bordeaux and South Australia (in the same bottle). The company also now makes Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Napa, as well as making wines (in the Medoc/Bordeaux) with grapes sourced from across the Bordeaux region. Peter Gago, Chief Winemaker at Penfolds, says stretching the brand from the high end to the middle market is a deliberate, democratising strategy. “Luxury has many meanings to many different people – it’s a continuum,” he explains. “We mustn’t forget that this is Penfolds’ 180th year, and what we do at the top end has to permeate all the way down to entry-level wines. This is what sets us apart from other ‘luxury’ wines. I’m not saying I’m a socialist when it comes to luxury, but it’s not just for the chosen few, it’s for everyone to have a taste of. “What makes us unique is affordable luxury at one level, transcending to the 2012 Ampoule launched at the Baccarat Club in Moscow: courage coupled with quality.” Gago makes the point that Penfolds wines have rewarded investors in top-end wines as well as any of the world’s best: the Ampoule was launched at around £87,600 (US$110,000) 12 years ago, and one reportedly recently sold on the secondary market for around £130,400 (US$162,000).

Read more: Lewis Chester on Giacomo Conterno

The Grange Tunnel at the Magill Estate, which is just east of Adelaide

UK-born Gago has been Chief Winemaker at Penfolds for 22 years and moves and shakes with rock stars and Hollywood actors who revere the wines; but he is never happier than when talking about the wines. He enthuses about Penfolds’ continuing collaboration with Champagne Thiénot, which has seen the release of some highly acclaimed vintage Champagnes in its first five years, including the 2013 Penfolds X Champagne Thiénot Blanc de Noirs, which last year was awarded Best Blanc de Noirs Champagne in the world by a panel of experts compiled by tastingbook.com founder Pekka Nuikki. (Champagne, of course, can only be made in the Champagne region of France.) He also enjoys the challenges of making a great Pinot Noir to match the best of Burgundy like a great Chambertin or Vosne-Romanée. “Some say that Australian Pinot Noirs lack the complexity of Burgundy. With Cabernet and Shiraz, we’re competing at any level. For Pinot Noir, the journey continues,” says Gago. It’s a journey Penfolds has been taking for nearly two centuries, and one that Gago and his successors will no doubt savour. Meanwhile, the greatest wine discovery you may make this year could just be a wine from a brand that’s been hiding in plain sight.

King Charles and Queen Camilla (the then Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall) taste the 1962 Penfolds Bin 60A with Peter Gago in 2015, Milton Wordley Photography

Photo London is one of the leading photographic fairs

Photo London’s ninth edition aims to integrate photography into the contemporary art world. But can it? Isabella Fergusson finds out

The cobbles of Somerset House aren’t quite bearing the catwalks of heels, neon suits and russet trousers one sees at Frieze or Art Basel. More cameras than Gucci bags slung across shoulders, more prams pushed, more WatchHouse coffee than Ruinart champagne. It seems more democratic – but to its strength or its downfall?

100 exhibitors, 44 cities worldwide: the numbers are good for London’s top photography fair, and returning galleries are strong. But, ever since photography entered the commercial world in the ‘70s, it has been seen as something of a niche by many. Its Director, Kamiar Maleki insists, however, that 2024 has seen yet more progress in cranking the door open to a contemporary art-collector-base.

This year’s Photo London is curated by Dani Matthews and entitled Shifting Horizons; photograph by Isabella Sanai

What’s happening this year that’s made it successful? ‘We’re branching out,’ he says, ‘we’re including more film, more mediums, and the car’ – he points to a navy electric car, a Lunaz, parked in the Somerset House courtyard – ‘which has been invested in by big names such as David Beckham – these have helped gain traction’. Is this because photography is not attractive enough by itself? ‘We have to entice the High Net Worths through other mediums’, he responds diplomatically. Perhaps a hint that photography alone still lacks respect; but perhaps, too, a testament to Maleki’s success in luring people into giving it the attention it deserves.

Rebecca Hicks, Director of Purdy Hicks, in the reflection of a daguerrotype by Japanese photographer Takashi Arai; photographed by Joe Oswald

Photography’s technical gymnastics are exhibited with undeniable flair: see Takashi Arai’s impressive daguerrotypes, Susan Derge’s cameraless photography, laid directly over Dartmoor puddles of frogspawn, and Roope Rainisto’s AI-based works, thrumming with viewers, to a remarkable manipulation of printing mediums across the fair. The number of mediocre works was to be expected, but the number which stood out as sensational from the many Michael Jackson-type portraits was higher than one might imagine.

Photo London brings together the world’s leading galleries in a major international photography Fair at Somerset House; photograph by Isabella Sanai

Sales? Well, as Rebecca Hicks, Director of Purdy Hicks, comments, the general consensus is that sales ‘remain quiet so far’. Maleki slides past the question with an ‘ask me on Tuesday!’ Fru Tholstrup, London-based art advisor and curator, though, beams with anomalous success of her showcase of Mariano Vivanco’s work from his latest book, ‘Peru’, hopping through folklore and mythology expressing striking figures between humans and animals, which one tends to associate with drawings rather than photography. Mariano remains confident in photography’s ability to leak into fine art, with a winking ‘Respect Photography, or Die!’. And he’s sold with fine art figures, too.

Kamiar Maleki, Director of Photo London; photograph by Joe Oswald

Some dealers insist they are at Photo London for the artistic exposure as much as sales. Gerber & Stauffer Fine Arts has an exhibition featuring Iranian-born Rahi Rezvani, introduced to the commercial world for the first time. Successful in luxury, performing arts and entertainment industries, he has never before sold a single print of his works.

French photographer Valérie Belin has been named as the Master of Photography 2024; photograph by Isabella Sanai

But why start now? ‘People think success in photography is selling lots of photographs. I disagree. It’s about choosing carefully and selling well.’ He refuses to sell hundreds of his prints he has laid out, from a portrait of Quentin Tarantino to fiery images of dance, to a triptych covered in a natural substance he associates with sperm. Technologically, these seem extremely impressive, perhaps as or even more than those on the wall. When asked how he took them, he smiles knowingly, holding back. Brimming with confidence, he isn’t particularly interested in selling lots, but few, well-chosen ones.

That’s the way to elevate photography to the fine art world, he and Thomas Stauffer, Director of Gerber & Stauffer Fine Arts agree. Reduce the print number – even to one (in the case of his photograph ‘Willem Dafoe’) – signed with guarantee of no reproduction, and photography can have the value and respect of art. Although, in general, the knowledge that further prints can be made will always linger with all types of photography except polaroid. Even when reducing the number of editions, photography still remains on the precarious edge for established contemporary collectors.

Willem Dafoe, photographed by Rahi Rezvani, 2012

It’s entirely the other way around for Ana Matos, Director of Salgadeiras Arte Contemporânea. The very fact that, unlike painting, photography editions expands to an average of 5 to 7 means that it gains a democratic value, attracting a new wave of emerging millennial collectors. Such can be seen in the floor for the Nikon Emerging Photographers Award, part of Photo London. The average age decreases, buzz increases and – while sales are still reportedly quiet – the recognition and discussions are engaging a new crowd in collecting. Perhaps it’s not so much about gaining older contemporary art collectors, but shifting the next generation of collectors to photography.

Photo London has two major exhibitions as part of the Public Programme, over 120 new and returning international exhibitors; photograph by Joe Oswald

And perhaps, by virtue of its less revered status, Photo London does focus more for new art and expression than collector-base. As photographer Maryam Eisler comments, ‘Photo London is a place of discovery and new talent.’ One can meet the photographs at eye-level, rather than kneel before them, and the fair is focused on the artform itself, and forming a snapshot of its growing identity and credibility. One feels closer to it all, somehow. And – as Eisler also points out – this is aided by its ‘excellent satellite programme of talks and critical thinking.’

Photo London 2024 features over 400 photographers from around the globe; photograph by Joe Oswald

Photography remains on the sideline of established contemporary art; sales seem quiet. But, stripped of the catwalk-tendency of many art fairs, which can distract from the art itself, the model of a fair where art is accessible and thought about, rather than prized solely for sales, may be commercially more challenging, but is extremely refreshing. And, though established collectors may not dive into buying, photography might just present a more democratic art world – with a long way to go.

Photo London runs at Somerset House from 16-19 May 2024

See More: photolondon.org

Is it a club, an Italian restaurant or a sushi house? Actually, Sumosan Twiga on London’s Sloane Street is all three, and all the better for it

Top quality food with a fun vibe has taken off in the world’s cultural capitals over the past few years. For a showoff dining experience, you are no longer restricted Ito temples of gastronomy. Top-quality ingredients and cheffing can now combine to make the ultimate comfort food.

But there’s still a challenge. What if you want a vibe, but can’t work out whether to go for a perfect pasta with beef and herbs, or some top-quality sushi? Or what if your party has split opinions and nobody wants to compromise?

Launched in November 2016, Sumosan Twiga is the combination of the Japanese restaurant, Sumosan, and the brand Twiga

What you do is secure a booking at Sumosan Twiga, on London’s Sloane Street. Past a couple of intimidating doormen – to ensure the maki rolls are not consumed by the wrong type of customer, presumably, to be greeted by a glamorous receptionist, you are then whisked up in an elevator and enter a world of DJs and a partying crowd all dressed in Cavalli and Etro.

Ponder the menu over a couple of Bellinis and you soon note, if you didn’t know already, that Sumosan Twiga is effectively a sushi restaurant and a high-end Italian wrapped into one place. Back in the day, that might have meant some compromise – a chef practiced in one cuisine trying to master the other, with limited success. But not here: whether you stick to Italian or focus on sushi or (as we would recommend) you sample both, this is top-quality cuisine which, a little like the clientele, is here in in generous and beautifully presented portions.

The menu offers an array of classic Italian dishes and flavours paired with contemporary Japanese cuisine.

We started with burrata with datterino tomatoes, Kobe mini sliders (OK, more Meatpacking than Milan), and lobster with lollo blondo salad as a pre-starter; ingredients with beautiful and it was put together with care. From the Japanese menu we went on to seared salmon, lime soy and mustard miso, as delicate and umami as it sounds, and some rolls: buba, seabass with jalapeno and cucumber, wasabi tobiko and albemarle and salmon with orange tobiko: meatily fulsome and also featherlight.

Sumusan Twiga is the brain child of Flavio Briatore, of Formula One fame & Janina Wolkow, pioneer of the luxury Sumosan brand.

Mains were veal milanese with rocket and cherry tomatoes, hugely satisfying, what might be London’s best tagliatelle bolognese with chunks of feelsome beef, and Alaskan black marinated miso cod.

The only discord in our party was over whether it’s better to keep things pure by having Japanese starters and Italian mains (or vice versa) or just order a huge selection; the general agreement was one cuisine per course (whether that’s two or five courses) was better, so your palate does not train itself for the slicing umami of the tuna sashimi and freshly grated wasabi only to have a piece of breaded Milanese and pasta pomodoro, from a different gastronomic planet, with the next mouthful. The general consensus was to split the cuisines by course. But then we ordered another caipirinha, got up and danced, and forgot all about it.

In 1974, Giovanni Conterno purchased the entire 14-hectare Cascina Francia vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba. It is now known as the Francia vineyard.

What are the 12 greatest wine estates in the world? A subjective question, surely. Lewis Chester doesn’t think so. The British financier and founder of the Golden Vines awards presents his series for LUX of his golden dozen, the most collectible wine estates from the world’s major regions. For the second instalment, he looks towards Piedmont in search of the best Barolo 

Roberto Conterno is not like many Italian winemakers I have met. Firstly, he’s serious and fastidious. A clean freak, the cellar is always spotless. While tasting wine from one of his barrels, he almost had a coronary when a few drops of red wine spilled from his pipette onto the cellar floor. We met again a few years later, and nothing had changed, except he was keen to show me his new range of glassware, Sensory, that he had designed to taste with wines from any region. In the process, he opened some very pricey wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux to prove his point. Convinced by the taste test, I purchased the first 36 glasses sold in the UK market.

Roberto is deeply respectful of the terroir that he inherited from his late father, Giovanni. This includes the fourteen-hectare monopole (solely-owned designated vineyard) of Cascina Francia, in what is considered the best village in Barolo, Serralunga d’Alba. 400 metres in altitude, it includes 9.4 hectares of Nebbiolo, the varietal he uses in his Barolo designated wines. In 2008, Roberto increased the estate’s landholdings by acquiring 3 hectares of Cerretta, another well regarded vineyard in the village. Finally, in 2015, he purchased Arione, a highly-sought after nearly 6 hectare vineyard situated next to Cascina Francia.

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Monfortino is not a vineyard. It is a name invented for their top bottling at some point early in the 20th Century.

Although the estate makes more than seven cuvées, undoubtedly the best is Monfortino Riserva. An iconic wine designed for long-ageing, it has more than a hundred years of history since the inaugural 1924 vintage. Monfortino Riserva is aged for a minimum of five years in either 50+ year-old Slavonian oak or newer Austrian Franz Stockinger large casks (plus one year in the bottle).

Returning from the First World War, Roberto’s grandfather, Giacomo, had the vision to create a unique bottling of Nebbiolo, sourcing the best grapes from different growers, at a time when wine was typically sold in cask or purchased by local merchants for blending. Only from 1978 was the first Monfortino produced from grapes sourced from the family’s own Cascina Francia vineyard.

I first realised that Monfortino Riserva was one of the world’s greatest wines when I purchased some very old bottles from a little wine shop in Alba fifteen years ago: 1955, 1961 and 1978, all legendary vintages. Opening them at various dinners, they all performed remarkably well. The 1955 vintage had a bizarre trajectory. On opening, it buzzed with aromas of violets, rose petals and a hint of tar, collapsing to oblivion within twenty minutes of pouring. The wine in my glass had become a deadly shade of pale. However, after a further thirty minutes, it had miraculously revived and was as good as when it had first been poured. The greatest comeback since Lazarus!

Read more: Tasting Bollinger’s new luxury cuvées in Paris

The selection of grapes for Monfortino typically takes place in the vineyard. It must be done early in the winemaking process because one of the key differences between Monfortino and their other bottlings is that there is no temperature control during fermentation of the Monfortino grapes.

Monfortino Riserva is still Italy’s reference fine wine. It is also one of (if not the) most expensive, with many vintages selling in the secondary market for more than £1,000 per 75cl bottle. But it’s worth every penny. Fear not, however. Roberto’s other bottlings, in particular Cerretta and Arione, are incredible wines that cost a fraction of the price of Monfortino Riserva.

Lewis’s Best 3 Wines from Giacomo Conterno

Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Riserva, 2010: An iron fist in a velvet glove is the most apt description of a wine full of power and grace, that will no doubt be showing well for the next fifty-plus years. Monfortino is known for aromas of leather, licorice, incense and dried rose petals, and this wine has it in abundance. However, the coup de grâce was the extremely long finish that captivates you to drink the rest of the bottle before your wife reaches for the bottle.

Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Riserva, 2002: I was lucky enough to try the 2001 and 2002 (in magnums) together at a dinner in Turin. It was a close toss up as to which gave greater pleasure. However, the 2002 got the nod as I was wowed by the balsamic and black tea aromas, savoury sweet mid-palate, and the silky but firm tannins. Just divine.

Roberto Conterno is the third generation winemaker at the helm of arguably Piedmont’s most famed estate

Giacomo Conterno, Monfortino Riserva, 1955: you just can’t beat having a wine that’s older than oneself and marvelling at how it can make you smile. The flowery petal notes, the intensity of the palate despite the wine having lost almost all its colour, and a long delicate finish. The fact that the wine died and then revived miraculously only added to the long-lived memory of its happy consumption.

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Two cameras, one journey, two childhood friends — and eighteen days to shoot their surroundings across the American West. Maryam Eisler and Alexei Riboud had followed separate paths for 38 years. Would the two photographers’ love of the still image converge their paths? LUX finds out

After graduating from high school together in Paris, in 1985, Maryam (then Homayoun) Eisler and Alexei Riboud parted ways; Eisler to the world of business, first at L’Oréal and then at Estée Lauder in London and in New York; Riboud to the world of graphic design and photography, in Paris, New York and Johannesburg, following in the footsteps of his celebrated parents, photographer Marc Riboud and sculptor, author and poet Barbara Chase-Riboud.

Lights glowing faintly, flickering occasionally on an old, lonesome sign for a motel on the border of Marfa, Texas, that is long gone; photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

Nearly four decades later, in early 2024, the art world brought them back together, for a three-week American road trip through parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, photographing space, place and people along the way in a form of visual dialogue. In, and in-between locals travelling by car, well over 2000 miles, from Houston to El Paso… Marfa, Presidio and White Sands to Santa Fe and Canyon Point… they’d hop out of the vehicle at any given moment, and say ‘See you in an hour!’, and go their respective ways, out in the wilderness, reacting to circumstances as they came across them, vowing not to give any advice to each other on what or how to shoot. Not even sharing their images until they returned home.

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Laughing, the two recall the fifteen U-turns they took on one straight 22 mile road from Espagnola to Ghost Ranch, because they kept seeing elements they wanted to capture, not to mention the 24 hours they spent obsessing over a missed opportunity, a derelict 1950s motel, now far behind them.

White sands National Park, New Mexico, photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

The images that Eisler and Riboud produced provide an intriguing study of contrasting perspectives and techniques. They both certainly shared a road trip, but in artistic terms (and fortunately for the viewer of the works), they were on parallel journeys, each producing compelling results. As Carrie Scott, the art historian and curator, notes: ‘I am buoyed by the conversation here between these two artists. Maryam and Alexei are shaping our perceptions of the American West through their dual lenses, which in turns gives us a moment to reflect on our fixed perspectives.’ It’s a far cry, as Scott adds, from the ‘longstanding tradition in American photography, dating back to the 19th century, of a singular male voice and viewpoint.’

A friendly security guard at the Concordia cemetery  in El Paso, TX giving Eisler and Riboud directions to the tomb of John Wesley Hardin, the man who earned himself a reputation as one of the Wild West’s most pernicious gunslinging outlaws; photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

Riboud is attracted to the outskirts and grey areas, the transitional spaces and borders where he finds the elements to compose his photographs. His approach has been refined over many years of shooting in diverse locations, including Havana, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Shanghai, Chicago and of course Paris — usually with a focus on the peripheral spaces within or next to large cities.

A railway track cutting through the town of Marfa, Texas, photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

‘I like wandering into places I have never been to, especially on the margins of well-known locations, exploring the counter-space of an established geography. My photography is about experimentation. I gather fragments from urban landscapes, in an effort to capture innate structures’, says Riboud. ‘On this trip, I was drawn to the outskirts of towns, and to the frontiers between human settlements and the unpopulated natural environments.’

A Navajo Nation dancer performing an indigenous ritual dance impersonating animal spirits, Page, Arizona; photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

‘This trip was a huge challenge for me’, says Eisler: ‘My focus has always been on the figurative and more specifically on what I like to call the ‘Sublime Feminine’ in its physicality and in its essence. I had to push myself to work in a new way, this time around, moving away from body landscape to natural landscape.’ But would she find parallels between nature and figure?

Read more: Maryam Eisler: Intimate Landscapes

‘In my work, I always talk about female ‘body architecture’ in dialogue with spatial architecture… its curvilinear slopes, its nooks and its crannies, its valleys. I have often explored this theme in big, barren, hostile nature, from Iceland to Mexico and beyond, except this time the female figure was not there to be photographed. I also surprised myself in adopting a new way to work… primarily using a wide angle lens (which I never do) in order to capture as much of the big sky and vast land as my lens could take in. I wanted to visually overdose on the nature that surrounded me!’

In between walls of a teared down house in the border town of Presidio, Texas, photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

It’s no wonder that these two photographers operated quite differently during the road trip. They are two very different characters. Eisler’s made a quicksilver shift from business and writing to art, and has the smiling, knowing grace of a meditative guru while retaining the poise of a terrifying boss.

Alexei Riboud, photographed by Maryam Eisler on US Highway 90 near Van Horn, Texas, 2024

Riboud, on the other hand, projects a laid-back-almost-to-horizontal suave creativity. Nonetheless, both have clearly forged a deep connection that transcends their decades apart and their contrasting artistic and technical sensibilities.

Homeless young man in downtown Houston with a t-shirt depicting Martin Luther King and Malcolm X’s encounter; Houston, Texas; photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

To the extent that the origins of their photography have links, they are serendipitous, through a mutual interest in graphics. Riboud, who did graphic design for an advertising agency in South Africa in the 1990s, began to photograph on weekends, and enjoyed it enough to make it his main focus.

Derelict remains of the former Art Deco movie theatre in Marfa, Texas; The Palace, closed since the 1970s, is now an illustrator’s studio; photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

At L’Oréal, Eisler’s involvement in the development of ad campaigns — what she calls ‘surface beauty’ — revved up her dormant love of visual story-telling. Today, one can experience both the outer and inner dimension in her exploration of the ‘Sublime Feminine’. Laughing, she recalls her father’s niggling voice in her head, asking her what she was doing with that ‘love of photography’ she had so enthusiastically written about in her college applications? But life after the (Iranian) Revolution would dictate otherwise, until years later.

Looking through the US-Mexico border wall in El Paso near Amara House at La Hacienda, an organisation working to inspire connection beyond borders through mutual understanding and meaningful action in pursuit of narrative systems, and personal change; El Paso, Texas; photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

Both Alexei and Maryam have indelible memories from their trip. Alexei reflects back on the town of El Paso, near the US-Mexico border: ‘‘There was the feeling of being at a crossroad of narratives with stratified areas, unsettled spaces in transition.’ Maryam recalls a moment on the border of Utah and Arizona: ‘A hypnotising Native American ritual dance made me think deep about indigenous cultural history and the suffering that the native people have and continue to endure… I was completely mesmerised by the strength of the dancers storytelling through moves anchored deep in tradition.’ Riboud points to the gentrification of Marfa, Texas: ‘Beyoncé and Jay-Z just bought a house there! You get a sense that it’s rapidly changing from the isolated artistic outpost that Donald Judd built all those years ago; the city is now attracting newcomers, as real estate prices are booming!’

Alexei Riboud, photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

The two photographers’ contrasting visual perspectives provide fertile ground for dialogue, and – as Scott says, ‘a new, layered perspective on the complex reality of the 21st-century American West. Where Maryam’s portraits provide narrative depth – each portrait becomes a story, a window into the lives, cultures, and experiences of individuals within that vast expanse – Alexei’s focus on the landscape reflects on America’s historical relationship with western expansion.’

Maryam Eisler, photographed by Alexei Riboud, in Upper Antelope Canyon, Arizona 2024

Riboud praises Eisler’s link between the female body and the architecture of space and place, as well as her graphic eye mingled with sensuality. For Eisler, it’s Riboud’s conceptual visual rendering—‘almost like a painting’ — that stands out above all. ‘The lens Alexei uses enables him to capture space and light in a very unique manner. The end result is subtle, painterly and beautiful, with incredible hues of light pinks and accents of deep purples in some instances. I think Alexei uses light to paint.’

Along the banks of Rio Grande river near Los Alamos, New Mexico. This is the view from the House at Otomi Bridge that frequently hosted Manhattan Project scientists. A team room and restaurant at the time – once post office and train station – where Oppenheimer kept a standing reservation for whenever he wanted to dine; New Mexico; photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

Kamiar Maleki, Director of Photo London, expresses their effect on one another – their oscillations, recalling Maryam’s ‘evolution from exploring the female figure to this more recent body of work’ and its ‘profound shift towards celebrating the Sublime in a new and different way – as displayed in Mother Nature‘, as well as ‘in the vast potent (waste) lands of the American West landscape.’

Maryam Eisler, as photographed by herself at Prada, Marfa, by Elmgreen & Dragset in Valentine, Texas, 2024

For Alexei, it’s his ‘minimalist elegance, presenting viewers with unexpected compositions that speak volumes through their simplicity.’

Portrait of an outsider Texan artist, James Magee, a dear friend of the painter Annabel Livermore, whose painting he sits in front of, and who various writers have described as his alter ago, a relationship referred to by The New York Times as ‘a tough act to follow’, photographed in El Paso, Texas, by Maryam Eisler, 2024

Reflecting on the journey, Eisler says, ‘I still recall the vastness of land and the ever-changing skies and clouds. We could’ve produced an entire body of work on the clouds of New Mexico; the evolving light and its plethora of shades… It was sky theatrics every day! As we drove on Interstate highways, I could not help but feel a deep sense of inner peace.

Alexei Riboud in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

In fact, I had a memorable moment in White Sands National Park, as the sun was setting down amidst scarlet and purple skies. I recall seeing Alexei, camera in hand, standing on the opposite hill, akin to a dot in the greater universe… And for just a second or two, which felt like eternity, I took off mentally into a parallel state of mind, engulfed by Mother Nature. It was so powerful’.

Weary billboard with missing parts north of El Paso in the vast plains of Texas; photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

‘I think the camera changes what you see, particularly when it’s your first experience of a place, of a unique location’, says Riboud. ‘Something happens that you can’t control; it’s your subconscious working, through the frame of the camera, on the construction of the image.’

Roughly halfway between Van horn and Valentine on U.S 90 reside crumbling buildings seen through a chain link fence: a one time significant railway dewatering station, now turned ghost town of Lobo, Texas; photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

And when it’s not the camera, there are parallel – or, rather, oscillatory – expressions, from a writer they met along the way. Glimpse below the poem ‘Eileen’, written by poet Amanda Bloom in West Texas. Her series of linguistic short takes provide a further mode of expression, imbricating the tapestry of their journey:

Poet Amanda Bloom lying by the pool of the iconic ‘Hotel Paisano’ in Marfa Texas where the cast of the 1956 Hollywood movie ‘The Giant’, starring James Dean & Elizabeth Taylor, stayed during the filming of the movie; photographed by Maryam Eisler, 2024

Windmill sentinels
over the oil field.
The air is quick here.
You can’t keep your
thoughts with you.
The star dome
holds you down
while you move.

The yucca heads higher
than a street sign,
flowers brown and dry,
still hanging on, stalk bent
from day after day of the
troposphere in motion.
Learn surrender from
the yucca. It rattles
before its release.

The land is home
to ore, ice volcanos,
ocean floor turned
high desert, Eileen
the horse that did
not die on the way
to El Paso, you.

Pumpjacks pull.
Windmills spin.
The yucca shudders and
two brown blossoms
light on the wind.
Eileen stretches
her bum leg.

The journey – from photography to poetry – provides, in Carrie Scott’s words ‘a dialogue about the deep humanity embedded in the landscape’s history’. And, indeed, it is ‘a tapestry’ as well as a dialogue, as the Director of Photo London concludes – ‘of beauty, emotion, and storytelling, inviting viewers to contemplate the profound depths of the American big nature experience alongside the quiet poetry of simple existence.’

Here, in Riboud’s street scene in El Paso is what Eisler calls his ‘geometric approach to depicting space in its subtle linearity, very unique to his eye’; photographed by Alexei Riboud, 2024

From dialogue, to tapestry, the works will soon be woven into a book, as well as an exhibition to be launched around Photo London 2025 – and in a way, as Scott aptly notes, ‘that we haven’t seen before’.

See More:

maryameisler.com

alexeiriboud.com

The Ferrari 275 is a series of front-engined V12-powered grand touring automobiles with two-seater coupé and spider bodies produced between 1964 and 1968

Sweden is not the first country that comes to mind when thinking of automotive nirvana, but Paris-based auction house Artcurial has found a treasure trove there that it is putting to auction in Monaco this week. The main feature is a selection of beautiful Porsche 911s from the pre-1997 switch to water-cooled engines: there’s something for every Porsche aficionado, at almost every budget. There are some deliciously specified examples being sold on behalf of a Swedish collector with impeccable taste. It is also cleverly marketed as a no-reserve auction, with some eye-catchingly low estimates: a surefire way to attract interest. Go, enjoy, but beware of overpaying in the heat of the no-reserve moment.

Matthieu Lamoure from Artcurial says:

This W Collection, owned by Staffan Wittmark, is exceptional because it represents the culmination of a man’s lifelong passion for creation. As European importer of the ready-to-wear brand Gant and the brand’s artistic director, he studied design and put together the models in his collection with a rare aesthetic sensibility. His 26 Porsches, presented in the sale, work by color pair, for example, and by model. He defined the codes of his collection by growing up on the streets of Stockholm with a taste for line and design excellence. For this reason, three major brands have marked his passion: Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes. For him, the lines created by Pininfarina for Ferrari represent the pinnacle of aerodynamic elegance.

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The Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 to 1957 as a gullwinged coupé and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster

The second important parameter of this collection is that Staffan Wittmark has decided to entrust his collection to the market, with no reserve price. He is turning the page like a collector who has reached the end of one project and is ready to start another. We will therefore start the auction at 50% of the low estimate, allowing all buyers to try their luck. What’s also exceptional is the condition of the cars. They are either fully restored, like the 9 Ferraris certified by the Ferrari factory, or the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing and Roadster.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was capable of reaching speeds of up to 263 km/h (163 mph), earning it a reputation as a sports car racing champion and making it the fastest production car of its time

Read more: BMW XM Review

To find 44 cars offered by a single owner gives the ensemble a wonderful provenance. and in such restored condition is a rare element in any collection.

Quality, provenance, exclusivity and passion are the watchwords of this fabulous sale!

The designation “SL” is an abbreviation of the German term “super-leicht,” meaning “super-light,” a reference to the car’s racing-bred lightweight construction

The current exhibition at Lucca Hue-Williams gallery “Albion Jeune” are paintings from saudi-arbian artist Alia Ahmad

Lucca Hue-Williams, London’s coolest young gallerist, reopens her Albion Jeune gallery with an exhibition by emerging Saudi artist Alia Ahmad which transposes a vibrant colour palette on her homeland’s desert landscapes

“Thought to Image” is intriguing as an ode to Saudi Arabia’s deserts and its rapidly growing metropolises. Ahmad’s work is a tribute not just to modern, rapidly developing Saudi but to an ancient land that is both rediscovered and lost in today’s rapid development.

Alia Ahmad aims to investigate the balance between natural elements, such as light and plants, by painting them even more explicitly.

It is also a sellout show for one of the world’s most exciting young gallerists, who is developing a reputation for discovering and nurturing talent from around the world. Ahmad herself, gently and wittily subversive, was at the opening herself.

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The Albion jeune art gallery is located at 16 -17 Little Portland Street in London

Her use of colour and texture is just as fascinating, particularly where the trees (or long objects) are rooted. These maximalist shapes and colours certainly give a sense of busyness; just that of a major, populated city. However, these colours are not particularly telling of the buildings’ rather monotonous, gray and urbanised design. In using this style, Ahmad simultaneously captures the modern denseness and the cultural history of Sadu; these colours take from the embroidery from Saudi, an ancient tribal weaving craft by the Bedouin people.

Read more: Leading MACAN, Indonesia’s first contemporary art museum

Lucca Hue-Williams, the owner of the Albion Jeune art gallery in London, at the exhibition opening evening

Magnus Renfrew has twenty years’ experience in the international art world, the last decade of which have been spent in Asia

Magnus Renfrew knows about art fairs in Asia. He co-founded Art Hong Kong (now Art Basel Hong Kong) and has launched numerous other fairs in the region. He speaks with LUX about Art SG, the fair he and his partners launched in Singapore as a hub for Southeast Asia, the Asian art market, and the future of art fairs

LUX: Do you think Singapore will become an art and/or cultural hub for Southeast Asia? Why did you choose Singapore rather than (for example) Bangkok, Jakarta, or KL?

Magnus Renfrew: Each city is unique with individual strengths and spheres of influence. Singapore is the gateway to Southeast Asia and as the de facto hub for the region, which has a population of 650 million people nearing the size of Europe, so logic dictates that it too should host an international art fair to serve a region that has some of the fastest growing economies in the world. What’s more, Southeast Asia has a diverse and exciting range of cultural ecosystems, and we want to bring together these communities alongside the international art world. Singapore has exceptional infrastructure and transport links, great hotels and restaurants, English is commonly spoken, Mandarin is commonly spoken. All these factors make it an exceptional place to host a major international art fair.

Furthermore, Singapore has a strong local art scene, with local galleries and considerable government investment in art and culture, which sees an active interest in growing the ecosystem in the city. The city’s cultural landscape is developing rapidly with world class museums such as the National Gallery of Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, alongside a growing cluster of commercial galleries, and an increasingly engaged community of collectors. We saw the successful launch of our inaugural edition last year, and I am excited to see the fair continue to develop against this exciting backdrop.

The case for Singapore is continuing to build as it gains greater importance geo-economically, geo-politically and as the Asia centre of wealth management. Singapore is in the ascent in every aspect and culture will inevitably be a part of that story.

LUX: You have significant fairs in Japan and Taiwan. What is the secret of a successful art fair in East Asia?

MR: It is important to have a solid premise for the fair, to identify the natural catchment area, to focus on who the fair serves, and to build domestic and regional support from all stakeholders – the government, galleries, collectors, and institutions. There are no shortcuts and it takes time to build.

What are the differences between Art SG and Art HK at a similar stage?

MR: The overall context of the art market in Asia is of course very different and the collector base across Asia has developed out of all recognition. In a very short space of time ART SG has successfully been able to attract a geographically diverse audience from across Southeast Asia and beyond. The context for ART SG is very different. When we started ART HK there were few institutions and an art scene heavily focused on auctions – it is arguable that ART HK played a significant role in building the case for Hong Kong as a cultural hub and in encouraging collectors to understand the importance of the gallery system. Singapore’s art scene is much more established than Hong Kong was when we launched, with a vibrant gallery scene and exceptional institutions, as well as a pro-active private collectors and foundations. This was reflected in the extraordinary diversity and quality of offerings during Singapore Art Week.

ART SG has its own distinctive identity as an important meeting point for collectors and art lovers from Southeast Asia and around the world by bringing together the best of regional and international galleries and artists, alongside dynamic programming to deepen understanding of its cultural context.

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LUX: Second year of Art SG saw some galleries (Perrotin, Zwirner, Esther Schipper) not return – why? Will they be back?

MR: Galleries have a host of different reasons that play into their decision making including their own programming. Pace is going to be opening their space in Tokyo this year, so they will be participating in Tokyo Gendai for the first time. Perrotin has chosen to do Taipei Dangdai and Tokyo Gendai this year. A number of galleries who chose to sit out ART SG this year visited the Fair and expressed how impressed they were with the quality of attendance, the buzz and the energy. I would anticipate that we will be working again with those galleries in Singapore and elsewhere in the future.

Southeast Asia’s leading international art fair (ART SG), attracted 43’000 visitors in 2023.

LUX: How did this year’s edition do, commercially?

MR: We are delighted by the response to the second edition of ART SG. Throughout the fair’s four days, galleries reported speedy and sustained sales, with works placed in major private and institutional collections. Galleries highlighted an enthusiastic response from both established and emerging collectors from all corners of the world, with many noting that ART SG had provided a great platform for meeting new collectors.

A snapshot of reported sales include: Thaddeaus Ropac sold a work by Anselm Kiefer for EUR 1.1 million, alongside works by Lee Bul, Miquel Barceló, Jules de Balincourt, Alex Katz, Oliver Beer, Mandy El-Sayegh, and James Rosenquist; Sundaram Tagore sold a range of works by Hiroshi Senju, Jane Lee, Miya Ando, and Zheng Lu for a combined total of over USD 1 million; White Cube sold works by Tracey Emin, Jessica Rankin, and Darren Almond, among others for a combined total of GBP 1.5 million; Waddington Custot sold two sculptures by Barry Flanagan, including a work sold for USD 680,000 to a Chinese resident of Singapore, an installation featured as part of PLATFORM by Ian Davenport sold for USD 360,000 and two sculptures by Yves Dana, including a work for sold for USD 92,000 to a collector based in Singapore; Lehmann Maupin sold a number of works, including a painting by David Salle sold for USD 250,000 to a prominent family collection in Singapore, alongside multiple works by Lee Bul and Kim Yun Shin for prices within the range of USD 200,000 – 300,000 and USD 60,000 – 90,000 respectively; Johyun Gallery sold a number of works, including a painting by Park Seo-Bo for USD 250,000 and multiple works by Lee Bae for prices in the range of USD 50,000 – 180,000 each; The Back Room placed an installation by Marcos Kueh featured as part of PLATFORM to an institution in Singapore with a price range between SGD 50,000 – 100,000; First-time participant Sabrina Amrani sold three works by Carlos Aires within a price range of USD 27,000 – 60,000 to private collectors in Singapore; Asia Art Center sold a number of key works by Li Chen and three works from Ju Ming’s Tai Chi Series, all of which have been acquired by private collectors, with a total value of around USD 600,000; Waterhouse & Dodd sold four works by Duncan McCormick to private collectors in the UK, South Korea, Italy and Hong Kong for a combined total of USD 150,000; albertz benda reported a sold-out presentation of three new paintings and four mixed-media watercolours by Australian painter Del Kathryn Barton to a Chinese collector on the opening day; Carl Kostyál reported a sold-out booth of Indonesian artist Atreyu Moniaga, with works priced at USD 18,000 each; Harper’s sold a painting by Eliot Greenwald for USD 40,000 and a painting by Marcus Brutus for USD 32,000; and MAKASIINI CONTEMPORARY sold works by Nir Hod and Jacob Hashimoto for USD 68,000 and USD 40,000 to private collectors in Singapore and Belgium respectively.

Read more: Shangri-La, Singapore, Review

LUX: Some collectors said to us that official programming for significant collectors was limited compared with early years of Art HK. How would you respond to this?

MR: Within ART SG’s bespoke VIP program, collectors were able to tap into a vibrant and dynamic line up of art events, openings, and after-parties to enrich their experience of the overall fair and art week, including private collection visits in collectors’ residences, artist studio visits, gallery openings, and more. Collectors were able to RSVP to openings and curator-led tours of private collection and foundation exhibitions such as Translations: Afro-Asian Poetics by non-profit collector-led foundation The Institutum, curated by Dr Zoe Whitley, director of Chisenhale Gallery, London, Rough, presented by The Pierre Lorinet Collection, and Chronic Compulsions presented by The Private Museum, as well as tours of major museum exhibitions at the National Gallery of Singapore and Singapore Art Museum. There were after-hours events including specially curated art parties at the National Gallery Singapore, ArtScience Museum, and Soho Residency, and a young collectors’ party at a spectacular new venue with views over the Singapore skyline. Our collector programming also offered immersive art and food dining experiences created especially for ART SG, such as Indochina by Senang Supper Club which featured two Cambodian artists discussing their art and non-profit initiative in Siem Reap over a curated menu from the Indochina region; a walking tour of cultural precinct Kampong Glam led by award winning cookbook author Khir Johari and Michelin-starred chef Ivan Brehm; and a four-hands Afro-Asian dinner which reflected the narrative and curation of the Translations exhibition. In addition to the official programming by the fair, there were also a number of gallery dinners, collector-hosted evenings, and karaoke nights and many other parties to round off the week.

LUX: What will you change about the fair for 2025?

MR: We will be doubling down on VIP outreach across our core constituency of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and also Vietnam, as well as markets with a resonance with Singapore, such as Australia, New Zealand, Chia and South Asia, and expanding the programming of the fair both within on-site and for collectors throughout the city. We will be working on more collaborations with privately owned museums and foundations, as alignment with collector-led initiatives that seek to make a difference is key to ART SG’s ambition to grow the regional ecosystem.

The Art SG 2023 showcased an assembly of leading galleries from the region and around the world

LUX: What is the main collector base for Art SG?

MR: There is an established base of sophisticated collectors in Southeast Asia and a younger generation of new buyers who are hungry to engage with contemporary art.

Singapore is also increasingly home to the region’s wealth base as demonstrated by the growing number of family offices opening here, as well as its emerging position as Asia’s tech capital. This together with established international businesses and entrepreneurs recognising the benefits of Singapore as the base for their pan-Asian operations, provides the context for a rapidly developing, forward thinking and affluent collector base, who are increasingly engaging with Singapore’s rich cultural landscape.

Thousands of VIPs attended the preview day of ART SG’s highly anticipated second edition. Strong attendance from both local and international collectors and leading figures from institutions, museums, and foundations, hailing from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as Europe and the US. Notable visitors include:

Collectors

• Alan Lau, Hong Kong
• Albert Lim & Linda Neo, Singapore
• Alexander Tedja, Indonesia
• Alina Xie, China
• Andrew Xue, Founder of Pond Society, China & Singapore
• Belinda Tanoto, Founder of Tanoto Art Foundation, Indonesia
• Dato Noor Azman Mohd Nurdin, Malaysia
• Disaphol Chansiri, Thailand
• Ellie Lai, Taiwan
• Eric Booth & Jean-Michel Beurdeley, MAIIAM, Thailand
• Evan Chow, Hong Kong
• Han Nefkens, Han Nefkens Foundation, Spain
• Harayanto Adikoesoemo, Founder of Museum MACAN, Indonesia Iwan Kurniawan Lukminto, Founder of Tumurun Museum, Indonesia Jack Feng, China/Singapore
• Ji Dahai, Founder of Yalv River Art Museum, China
• Jim Amberson, Singapore
• Justine Tek, Director and CEO, Yuz Museum, China
• Kim & Lito Camacho, Singapore
• Kit Bencharongkul, MOCA Bangkok, Thailand
• Kulapat Yantrasast, USA
• Leo Shih, Taiwan
• Li Fan, Founder of Whale Art Museum, China & Singapore
• Mike & Lou Samson, Philippines/Singapore
• Nathan Gunawan, Indonesia/Singapore
• Nishita Shah, Thailand
• Patrick Sun, Founder of Sunpride Foundation, Hong Kong
• Pierre Lorinet, Singapore
• Pontiac Land Group, Singapore
• Rath Osathanugroh, Thailand
• Rudy Tseng, Taiwan
• Rvisra Chirathivat, Thailand
• Simon Cheong, Singapore
• Shunji Oketa, Founder of Oketa Collection, Japan
• Thomas Shao, Founder of the MetaMedia Group and the Shao Foundation, China TY Jiang, Les Yeux Art Foundation, USA
• Wu Meng, M Art Foundation, China
• Xiaoyang Peng, Founder of DRC No.12 space & The Bunker, China
• Yang Bin, China

Institutions

• Aaron Cezar, Founding Director, Delfina Foundation, UK
• Aaron Seeto, Director, Museum MACAN, Indonesia
• Derek Sulger, Co-Chairperson, UCCA, China
• Eugene Tan, Director of National Gallery Singapore and Director of Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
• Jessica S Hong, Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Toledo Museum, USA Judith Greer, Director of International Programmes for Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE
• Lee Dong Kook, Director, GyeonGi Cultural Foundation and Gyeonggi Province Museum, Korea
• Mami Kataoka, Director, Mori Art Museum, Japan
• Pi Li, Head of Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong
• Sook-Kyung Lee, Director, The Whitworth, Manchester & 14th Gwangju Biennale Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Director, Bangkok Kunsthalle, Thailand
• Virginia Moon, Associate Curator, Korean Art, LACMA, USA
• Xie Siwei, Museum Director, Yuz Museum, China
• Xue Tan, Senior Curator, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong
• Zoe Whitley, Director, Chisenhale London, UK

LUX: Will art fairs remain strong commercially in the coming decades?

MR: Art fairs always have and will continue to play a crucial role in the art market.

The recent edition of ART SG saw 45,303 visitors across four show days, hailing from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as Europe and the US – in increase from the 43,000 visitors who attended the inaugural edition. The strong international attendance from leading private collectors, as well as directors, curators, and patrons from international museums and institutions at ART SG is a testament to the importance and appeal of the fair as the region’s leading fair.

Meaningful dialogues and insightful conversations were held alongside the Fair at ART SG 2023

LUX: Will Art SG help awareness of SE Asian Art grow on the global scene, or is that not the point?

MR: Definitely. As Southeast Asia’s leading art fair, ART SG invites the world’s leading collectors and art leaders to experience Singapore and all that the region has to offer, but also encourage a new generation of emerging collectors to be inspired by the rich diversity of art the region.

ART SG 2024 saw a strong line-up of Southeast Asian galleries making a dynamic debut at the fair, as well as some of the most significant galleries from across the region, featuring both established and emerging Southeast Asian artists. Some of the highlights include FOST Gallery (Singapore) which presented a a significant showcase reflecting recent contemporary art practice in Singapore and Southeast Asia, including Donna Ong, Eng Tow, Ian Woo, Wyn- Lyn Tan, as well as Elaine Roberto-Navas and Luis Antonio Santos; Gajah Gallery (Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta) which showed renowned artists from the region including Suzann Victor, Yunizar and Uji “Hahan” Handoko Eko Saputro; and BANGKOK CITYCITY (Bangkok), whose first-time participation featured a new installation by Tanatchai Bandasak, large-scale paintings by street artist Alex Face inspired by significant political movements in Thailand, and works by renowned Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai featuring his classic motifs of denim, fire and mythical imagery, among others.

artsg.com

Since 1829, Champagne Bollinger has been making gwines, expressing the aromas of the fruit in all its dimensions.

James Bond’s champagne house of choice released the latest iterations of its new top-end champagnes amid glitz and glamour in Paris. Masha Nosova secured an invitation

The evening took place at the Bucherie in the Latin Quarter, originally an amphitheatre for medical students in the 17^th century.

The cuvees served were La Grande Annee and La Grande Année Rose 2015. Bollinger uses oak barrels for fermentation, unusually for champagne, which creates richness, weight complexity and depth A tangible connection to this legacy was brought to life as Gaël Chaunut, the in-house head cooper, demonstrated the centuries-old art of barrel-making, a process as intricate as it is timeless.

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Charles-Armand de Belenet is the managing director of Maison Bollinger

The themes of ‘wood’ permeated throughout the evening, from the meticulously crafted canopy of 9,500 paper pieces, reminiscent of a forest, to the exquisite gastronomic journey curated by Two Michelin-starred Chef Olivier Nasti, masterfully incorporating elements of nature into his tantalising creations and transporting us on a journey of flavours. His venison tartare with Osciètre caviar and citrus ice with petals complimented effortlessly alongside La Grande Année, while the tender game of Alsatian hunts presented with a colourful quintuplet of sauces, found its perfect match with La Grande Année Rosé 2015. A mystery wine, which later revealed itself as the Grande Annee 1989 was paired with a 28 month aged Comte.

Read more: A tasting of Drouhin’s fine Burgundies

The Maison Bollinger event took place in a beautiful house in the heart of Paris

Champagne-bollinger.com

The new BMW XM is the first high-performance car from BMW M GmbH with an electrified drive system

BMW’s sporting flagship promises to be the best of its luxury SUV division, combined with the best of its racy M division. Does it deliver?

Many large SUVs are dramatically imposing, aggressive vehicles that look like they are as likely to declare war on Mars as get you to your destination. Which is fine if you are a certain type of person or in a certain mood. But not always.

The BMW XM is certainly a large SUV. It is also a kind of flagship of the company’s range, combining, in an adaptation of their own words, the best of its SUV division (X) with the best of its sports division (M).

It doesn’t need a racing driver to tell you that a huge, tall wide vehicle is not necessarily best suited to a racing purpose; and nor is a racing car mush suited to carrying several people wearing Etro and Patek Philippe and Off White around in comfort.

But in the manner of an athletic rugby forward, or a centre back, the XM carries off that blend of athleticism and muscle.

Unique exterior design twinned with luxurious interior that showcases the ‘M Lounge’ concept

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What is particularly interesting about the car is that while it looks dramatic and striking, it manages not to look aggressive. Perhaps because of its hybrid nature, it gives off an element of futuristic electric vibe.

It’s also great fun to drive, even in town. BMW have somehow managed to endow it with responsive steering, and very flat cornering, it feels astonishingly agile for a car the size of a small hotel. Like all hybrids, it is very relaxing to drive an electric mode, and when the engine kicks in, you get an overlay of sound.

The nature of the sound divided our passengers: Some thought it sounded cool and racy, others said that such a sophisticated looking car should be seen and felt rather than heard. It’s not as noisy as a Lamborghini SUV, but it’s much louder than a Bentley Bentayga or Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Happy medium or compromise? Probably in the eye of the beholder.

Read more: Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Review

What sure is that this is a magnificent long-distance vehicle. Back seat passengers get smart, detachable branded leather cushions. (even the plug-in charging cables in the boot/trunk are housed in a rather striking leather overnight bag), there is masses of legroom and a feeling of a huge amount of space and light in the car, and also that the rear seats are well designed, unlike in some of these vehicles where you end up sitting very upright. A journey between London and Oxford was devoured in one gulp without anybody noticing the in between.

Speaking of gulps, in the past an SUV of this size would have been planet-wearingly thirsty, but due to its engine efficiency and electrical assistance, the XM is remarkably frugal – more so than many cars half its size and power.

The high-performance Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) is powered by a newly developed plug-in hybrid system delivering 653hp and 800Nm of torque

Criticisms? Apart from the size, which you have to be able to deal with f you are buying a car like this, the entertaining and sporty nature of the driving experience means that the ride is quite firm. Don’t expect a limousine here – for that you should look at this car’s I7 sibling. But if you can live with that, this is quite the car.

www.bmw.com

The stunning pool area of the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore

The Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore offers a tropical sanctuary  in the heart of the city. LUX checks in

Singapore’s hawker food is the street food of legend and even features in gastronomic guides. But while the food is astonishing, the stress of getting a table is less so. And much as it is fun to be crammed in with others buzzing with the same experience, sometimes you crave peace. And you do need an appetite for the equatorial heat. We took our Singapore laksa with vintage champagne, in pure tranquillity, in a temperature-controlled garden room, looking over lush plantations, a lawn and a swimming pool. How? The Shangri-La brings the street food to the hotel guests, that’s how.

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At the Line kitchen pop-ups, real street-food chefs from guest hawker stalls, including Habib’s Rojak, cook in the hotel kitchens. It doesn’t replace the authentic experience, but having just landed from Qatar it suited us. After lunch, we wandered down to the huge outdoor pool to swim a few lengths before drifting into the spa for a restorative treatment. The Shangri-La is not among the newest of Singapore’s luxury hotels, but, as seasoned travellers know, newness does not always mean improvement.

The Hotel Lobby Lounge is equipped with a lot of green plants in the Tower Wing

Read more: Waku Ghin, Singapore, Review

A new developer might have been tempted to build over the rich tropical gardens, or make a smaller pool. There’s also the danger of design to social media. A space made to look good on Instagram is not always good to be in, and this is very true of bars, where bold shapes detract from the dreamy ambiance that makes a good bar. And the Shangri-La has a good bar. The Origin is dark, full of corners and has a long wooden bar for sitting at. We asked for a gin southside margarita, a hybrid cocktail of my own invention, and were pleased, although not surprised, that the bartender knew the ingredients.

The rose veranda has a high tea set menu, designed to continue afternoon traditions of luxurious tête-à-têtes over dainty sandwiches, delectable pastries and freshly baked scones served with clotted cream.

This joint effort was so delightful we had another. And another. In Singapore, you want a room with a view, and our suite had just that: high over the gardens and high-rises of the Orchard area. The room was conventional luxury, and all the better for it. To end the day, a charming wander through the gardens, then sitting poolside by a tropical fruit tree at midnight, bracing for another day.

Nestled within 15 acres of tropical landscaped gardens, guests are warmly embraced by the hotel’s distinct service and smiles.

shangri-la.com

Designed by award-winning Japanese designer Yohei Akao, the dining space integrates natural materials and intricate details, an ode to nature and heritage

Hidden away on the second floor, overlooking hundreds of croupier hands shuffling and dealing in the casino below, is Waku Ghin. LUX inspects the two-Michelin starred Japanese fusion restaurant in Marina Bay shopping centre, Singapore.

Past the suave darkness of the main area, with walls adorned with dark wood and striking art, and a bar teeming with sakés, is a private room, reserved for the chef’s omakase. One sits, cocooned by lighter wood panneling, at a table opposite the chef’s knives and metal, a stove, spices. The chef, in arm’s reach, sharpens his knives. His sous-chef – stick of fresh wasabi in hand, resembling something between a turnip and a thick leek – mashes it to its bright green pulp. The ancient Japanese ritual begins.

The chefs bring out a vast white polystyrene tray, as you see in fishmongers, with fresh fish. Abalone, twitching at the touch, Carabinero prawns, sea urchins, snapper, uroko. But fusion can be flimsy, and non-committal. Would we lose the natural juice of the French Royale oyster to the overpowering salt and spices of ginger and rice vinegar?

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A chemist’s nose follows these flavours and textures, balanced rather then strewn. As with the marinated prawn in sea urchin – the balance of sweet, almost fruity tastes is careful, rather than overbearing. It’s a visual pleasure, too, its orange body sitting boldly in a black shell.

Experience the new sushi omakase at the private Sushi Room customised for four where diners can get a taste of the finest regional delicacies of Japan

Black truffle and caviar are not attention-seeking but sit subtly alongside, with Oscietra caviar preserved at the very lowest salt-level. The carabinero prawn, vast and dealt with by some sort of saber and a dome, flashed in from of us like an elegant medieval duel. And fear not the fiery wrath of wasabi paste; fresh wasabi is a far milder and more succulent cry. (This makes resoundingly clear the sad fact that most so-called ‘wasabi’ consists solely of turnip and flavouring.) And it prods rather than murders its accompanying red marbled, tender and peppery wagyu sushi, slung elegantly across rice with a dip of citrus soy sauce.

After this we are presented the Amadai Uroko with Maitake Mushroom and Mizuna. The uroko, a type of Japanese tilefish with very thin skin, easier to pincer, puffs up immensely under the heat of the metal stove in front of us, under the expert hand of Executive Chef, Masahiko Inoue. And here is the freshness of the mushrooms; quiet, modest, delicious.

Read more: Rosewood Hong Kong review

Goodbye to the chefs – we are whizzed off to the dessert room, and eased slowly back to reality. One remembers than one is not in a cave in Mount Fuji but, overlooking chandeliers and Gucci, in Singapore’s shopping centre. After many courses, I manage one last one, of Mandarin Granita and White Rum Jelly, luckily unlike the English trifle, where jelly can be a tyrannical dictator. Alongside, the balance of sesame ice-cream and hojicha Chantilly (a type of Japanese green tea, served in puffs) provides a conversation of nut and herb, of temperatures, of colours.

For a more casual night out, the extended bar dining area features Chef Tetsuya’s timeless cuisine