Render of Avenue of the Stars ocean walk in Hong Kong
Render of Avenue of the Stars ocean walk in Hong Kong

The Avenue of the Stars is Hong Kong’s new oceanside promenade developed by Adrian Cheng

The Avenue of the Stars is the oceanside promenade in Asia’s most exciting city that has just been reworked as part of the vision of Adrian Cheng, developer extraordinaire

If you’re visiting Hong Kong this winter – well, lucky you. It’s the best time of year to experience the most vibrant city in Asia, and, as from today, there is no better place to catch the phantasmagorical light show that the city puts on every night than the new Avenue of the Stars. On the waterfront, this is a half-kilometre long pedestrian zone and green space with breathtaking views of the city, which has just been reworked as part of the area’s seminal Victoria Dockside development.

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Image of oceanside promenade Avenue of the Stars at night with lights glowing in the distance

The Avenue of the Stars at night, with the lights of Central Hong Kong across the harbour

Victoria Dockside is the vision of Adrian Cheng, entrepreneur/visionary, tech and cultural tycoon, and one of LUX’s favourite dudes, and later this year will open fully as a cultural, luxury retail, public art, residential and concert space (stick with us for more details). It will also host the global flagship of Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotel Group (Hotel de Crillon in Paris, The Carlyle in New York, etc), run with eye-watering panache by Adrian’s super-stylish maths genius sister Sonia.

Sibling rivalry? Maybe, but it’s certainly producing some epochal results. It’s time for that midnight stroll…

Darius Sanai

Read our LUX x Rosewood collaborations on ‘The New Creative Entrepreneurs’ here: lux-mag.com/meet-the-new-creative-entrepreneurs

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Portrait of London College of Fashion student and youtube star Derin Adetosoye
Portrait of the makers and hosts of 'The Receipts Podcast' pictured in their studio

Tolani Shoneye, Milena Sanchez and Audrey Indome of ‘The Receipts Podcast’

Remember the days when being creative meant you were someone who couldn’t cut it in the world of real jobs? Now artistry and enterprise go hand in hand, says Emma Love
Photography by Kate Peter

A LUX x ROSEWOOD COLLABORATION

What do you get if you cross eBay with Instagram? The youth-targeted, app-based selling platform Depop where vendors post images of the items that they want to sell, that’s billed as the ‘creative community’s mobile marketplace’. Depop can be as basic as a teenager posting pictures of unwanted jewellery they are selling from their bedroom, and as sophisticated as a highly stylised vintage fashion shoot – quite possibly also created by a school kid from their bedroom.

For many millennials, these apps are a neat way to make extra money on the side; the most entrepreneurial have turned selling via Depop and marketing themselves on social media into full-blown businesses. Jade Douse fits into the latter category. After realising how much money she could make by selling clothes on Depop, she teamed up with friend Symone Mills to set up street-style-inspired label Oh Hey Girl on Big Cartel in 2016. “It was a slow burner until we started putting sponsored ads on Facebook and Instagram,” recalls Douse. “We literally went from making £8,000 to £35,000 in a month.”

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Two years on, with fans including models Bella Hadid and Jourdan Dunn, Instagram is still integral to their business. “It’s our biggest network,” says Douse. “And sponsored ads are cheap. There really is nothing to hold anyone back from giving it a try.” Alongside the brand’s strong visual identity and magazine-worthy styling, its success lies in its simple shopping process: click on a pair of high-waisted, belted jeans or a puff-sleeved shirt on @ohheygirlstore and you are redirected to its website to pay. It’s a shopping solution for design conscious, iPhone-wielding buyers, and easy to manage for iPhone-wielding vendors. No wonder it works.

Founder of online clothing retailer Oh Hey Girl, Jade Douse

Portrait of Symone Mills, Oh Hey Girl founder

Jade Douse (above) and Symone Mills (here) set up Oh Hey Girl in 2016, selling exclusively online

“Social media is increasingly becoming [the place] where we discover new products,” says Petah Marian, senior editor at WGSN Insight, the industry analyst. “For many people, it feels like an intimate place to spend your time. When you see new things on these platforms, you get the sense that it’s a friend suggesting an item,even when it’s a professional influencer.”

The biggest challenge for Oh Hey Girl? Being able to react quickly in a fast-paced industry.“We’re always looking at how other brands market themselves, so we can find similar strategies that work for us,” explains Douse, who says she wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.

Retail isn’t the only industry where advances in technology have spawned out-of-the-box thinkers creative enough to carve out a unique niche. Research from Nesta and the Creative Industries Council shows that the creative industries are driving economic growth across the UK, with one million new jobs expected to be created between 2013 and 2030. “There are many jobs in the creative industries that didn’t exist 20 years ago,” explains Eliza Easton, principal policy researcher on creative economies at Nesta. “In terms of new sectors, the impact of digital can be seen across the board,especially in areas such as augmented and virtual reality, where we found 1,000 specialist companies making £660million in sales.”

Watch the LUX x ROSEWOOD film featuring the entrepreneurs

Read more: Where leading scientists and cutting-edge poets meet

Deborah Dickinson, associate professor in creative practice at City University London, agrees, citing UK Government statistics that show the creative industries were estimated to be worth £87.4billion in 2015, up 34 percent from 2010. “One of the most fascinating aspects of my job teaching creative industries to undergraduates for the past decade has been the complete change in the type of creative enterprises students move into. Probably the biggest area of job growth and employment opportunities is around digital technologies.”

Image of a home recording studio with wires hanging on hooks on the wall and a deskOne place where the impact of the digital revolution is most evident is on online platforms such as Sedition, where you can buy, rent and trade limited-edition digital artworks which are viewed on any connected device or screen.“When we first started Sedition it was an entirely new concept,” recalls director Rory Blain. “Before the digital advent many artists were working on the fringes, waiting for the technology to catch up with the vision they had. For us, it was the big advancement in screen resolution and bandwidth that meant artists were then happy to present their work on a screen.”

Take artist Gordon Cheung, whose New Order series of paintings, derived from the Dutch Golden Age and modified using an algorithm, sell on the website. For Cheung, who creates a deliberate ‘glitch’ in the code to distort the image, it’s been a learning curve. “The first time I used the code it took five minutes to make one glitch; I calculated that if I wanted to do 2,000 glitches it would take far too long,” he says. His solution to speed up the process was to ask a friend to create a user-friendly interface. Experimental artist duo Overlap, AKA Michael Denton and Anna McCrickard, also use software programmes to deliberately disrupt their music and moving-image-based artworks, including Lands, an audiovisual series of 40 iterations of the same multilayered electronic landscape (also available on Sedition).

Experimental art duo overlap at work in their home studio

Portrait of artists Michael Denton and Anna McCrickard in their home studio

Michael Denton and Anna McCrickard use Sedition as a platform for their audiovisual art

“The values that are attributed to digital artworks are exciting and frustrating at the same time; a lot of people are still nonplussed by time-based painting,” says Denton, who started out VJing for big-name music acts nearly 20 years ago. “The other side of the coin is that people are getting used to listening and reading things in different ways.” He is also excited at how the creative industries are moving forwards, and what the future holds. “In terms of where it’s going next, I think more people will become specialists in more obscure things. Technology throws up so many creative possibilities and so few of those have been explored. For instance, in visual-editing software, there isn’t a facility to move images around in relation to bars of music. If there was, I would be using it all the time, but areas like this haven’t advanced at all.”

This year, Nesta studied 41 million job adverts to identify the digital skills required for a ‘future-proof’ job, and it seems the most secure involve creativity. “What’s going to be needed is cognitive thinking and communication, so creative jobs are most likely to grow as they require those skills,” says Easton, citing a boom in entrepreneurship as another current industry trend. “In the creative world, a third of people are freelance. It’s a sector run by entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks on their own ideas.”

Instagram bristles with micro-entrepreneurs selling their own artistic creations. A LUX editor recently bought a triptych of postcard-sized oil paintings from an up-and-coming artist still studying at Oxford – a creative vendor and a purchaser connected via an algorithm.

Derin Adetosoye editing a YouTube channel post

Derin Adetosoye at work on her YouTube channel

But nowhere can the new creatives be seen more dramatically than on YouTube. While a certain group of young stars are making a name for themselves with channels that focus on lifestyle and beauty, there are more interesting talents beneath the superfice, including under-the-radar vloggers putting a fun spin on everyday topics. There’s photographer George Muncey whose Negative Feedback channel offers practical advice on editing photos and shooting film at night for instance, and London College of Fashion student Derin Adetosoye whose videos tackle helpful subjects such as exam tips and what university life is really like.

Portrait of London College of Fashion student and youtube star Derin Adetosoye

London College of Fashion student Derin Adetosoye has 30,000 YouTube subscribers

“YouTube is such an interesting platform because it allows you to have the best engagement with your audience,” explains Adetosoye, whose videos have led to her cohosting the Exam Essentials web series for BBC Bitesize as well as catching the attention of BBC 1Xtra. “You can articulate things better than you would be able to via a written blog and your audience can really see your personality. It’s also immediate so you can understand how a subject is resonating with viewers.”

Read more: Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst on the art x technology revolution

The biggest obstacles she has had to overcome include shyness at filming in public and finding ways to make her subjects more amusing. “When vlogs first started it was all about showing every single thing that happened in your day. Now, they tend to be shorter, better planned and more entertaining. It’s a good thing because it means that the viewer is getting the best content.” Although Adetosoye has no plans to make a full-time career from vlogging, she doesn’t see herself stopping anytime soon either. “When people tell me they’ve aced a test or chosen to take a particular degree because they were inspired by my videos, it’s heart warming.” And as Easton concludes: “YouTube and Netflix are platforms, but without content they are nothing. It’s the content that defines how we want to use these new platforms.”

Another flourishing platform is the podcast. Once often just the best bits of radio shows, podcasts now are producing some of the most thrilling new content (and popularity is rising: figures released in 2018 by Radio Joint Audience Research, the official body measuring UK radio audiences, revealed that six million adults in the UK listen to a podcast weekly). From comedies such as My Dad Wrote a Porno (which has been turned into a live stage show and is set to be a HBO special too), to singer-songwriter Jessie Ware’s Table Manners about ‘food, family and the art of having a chat’, it is the current medium of choice for opinionated, personal broadcasts.

Tolani Shoneye is a journalist and one of the founders of The Receipts Podcast

Tolani Shoneye of ‘The Receipts Podcast’

“Podcasts allow more voices to be heard,” agrees journalist Tolani Shoneye, one third of the trio that hosts The Receipts Podcast, which delivers straight-talking conversations about all kinds of subjects from relationships to music. “In the past if you wanted to get something made you’d have to go through the proper channels. Now there’s more freedom; anyone can make a podcast and have a voice.”

And that’s the irony. In an era when the human race is fearing redundancy, or worse, due to AI developments, creative disciplines, aided by technology, are booming as never before. Millions are taking the opportunity to be both creative and entrepreneurial, something AI is ill-suited to do. Even as machines poise to take over, creativity has never had it so good.

Rosewood hotel London

Rosewood London

ROSEWOOD LONDON

Rosewood London is in the heart of the city with a claim to be the world’s creative capital. A blend of English heritage and contemporary refinement, the Edwardian building is an oasis on historic High Holborn, with easy access to the vibes of Shoreditch, the glamour of Mayfair, the glitz of Theatreland and the buzz of the City.

Book your stay: rosewoodhotels.com

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue.

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Reading time: 9 min
Explorers climb through an ice cave in the South Pole
An image of a candlelight ceremony at Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan. Instagram: @abercrombiekent

Increasingly businesses and professionals are using Instagram as a way of promoting their brand, but the app can also function as a modern-day diary. LUX contributor and Abercrombie & Kent Founder Geoffrey Kent explains why he’s a social media convert

Oscar Wilde wrote: “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.” Not many people have led as sensational a life as that of the Irish playwright, but keeping a diary or journal isn’t just for the outrageous, or the pursuit of Adrian Mole-esque teenagers.

A growing body of research suggests that recording your experiences is a good practice, not only for posterity, but also as a good mental-health practice. Other benefits include aiding memory. Oscar Wilde also wrote that “memory is the diary we all carry about with us” – but memory is a funny thing. Impressions can last for years but the minutiae can become lost quite quickly if not written down.

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

I discovered this for myself in 1958, as a teenager. When I was 16, I rode a motorbike from Nairobi to Cape Town on a 3,000-mile journey of self-discovery along some of Africa’s most dangerous roads. In my saddlebags, along with my Shell Oil road map, a poncho, tarpaulin sheet and elephant hair bracelets, were a pencil and journal. Every day, I made notes: the route I took, how many elephant hair bracelets I had managed to trade at market, leopard tracks on my tails, that the giraffes that I saw had smaller and smaller spots, that my next challenge would be climbing Kilimanjaro. I also posed more existential questions, such as: who is Geoffrey Kent? What do I think is worthwhile? I usually wrote at midday whilst catching shade from the broiling heat, resting at the base of baobab trees.

Businessman and traveller Geoffrey Kent poses in front of tent in the South Pole

Geoffrey Kent at the Abercrombie & Kent camp in the South Pole. Instagram: @geoffrey_kent

Upon arriving in Cape Town, I felt a profound sense of achievement, duly recorded in my journal‚ and then my thoughts turned immediately to my next challenge – how to get home. I didn’t fancy another 3,000-mile bike ride back to Nairobi. I needed to earn some money so I could go back by boat or train – anything but by two wheels. A friend in Cape Town suggested I write a story about my journey and try to sell it. Thank goodness for my journal and all the notes I had taken along my route. I managed to pull together a good piece, full of accurate, evocative details, and the Cape Argus newspaper agreed to publish the article along with photos of me on my bike.

Due to my scribblings in my journal I was able to get home in style – in first class, aboard the Africa, the best ship in the Lloyd Triestino line, from Cape Town to Mombasa. From that day to this, I have always kept a diary. My diaries were invaluable in researching and writing my memoir Safari: A Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer. In the pages of Smythson notebooks unseen for years (sometimes decades), I uncovered details that had been lost to time – that I had been granted the first license to take travellers into the Ngorongoro Crater; how dinner with David Niven led me to own my first boat on the Nile; how I got into China before any other travel executive travelling as an Ethiopian citizen (thanks to my sister’s birth in Addis Ababa) in a tour group organised by an Ethiopian pro-Communist group that I had read about in the East African Standard.

Read more: Get to know these 4 new Instagram aesthetes

Over the years however, an evolution has occurred in step with technology and my method of memory-keeping has changed. I now keep a visual diary. Upon opening my Instagram account (@geoffrey_kent), I fell in love with the platform and now use it to – yes, promote my businesses and brands – but also as a photographic journal. It’s my new diary. Social media is the easy, accessible way to record your life and experiences in a public forum (shared with the wide world or just a private, select few – your choice). I post religiously – even from the South Pole.

Explorers climb through an ice cave in the South Pole

An Abercrombie & Kent expedition to the South Pole (Day 5). Image courtesy of A&K

Antarctica is never one to be underestimated, but it is amazing too. I will long remember seeing the Emperor penguins, exploring the ice tunnels, climbing and naming a mountain in the Drygalski mountain range, and making it to the South Pole. Despite what can kindly be called patchy internet access, I posted daily to my grid and look forward to scrolling through my feed in years to come to bring to mind this sensational trip with some new close friends.

7 steps to Instagram success

1. Start by thinking about what it is you like about your favourite account.

2. Try the Preview app – it’s a cool tool for testing out your posts before you commit an image to your feed.

3. Quality rather than quantity – only feature amazing images which are in line with your chosen aesthetic.

4. Be sure to edit – Android and iPhone have excellent built-in photo editing tools for cropping and levelling, but there are lots of apps that can help make your photos picture perfect.

5. Be smart about hashtags – you can add up to thirty hashtags in one post, but you shouldn’t.

6. Include the geotag to boost your post’s visibility.

7. When and how much you post matters – those in the know suggest posting at similar times every day, when your followers are active.

Discover Abercombie & Kent’s portfolio of luxury travel tours: abercrombiekent.co.uk

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Reading time: 4 min
Model poses in futuristic make-up and styling

graphic banner in red, white and blue reading Charlie Newman's model of the month

Portrait of a Afro-America model positing in natural make-up wearing a black jackt

Model, philanthropist and psychology student Olivia Anakwe. Instagram: @olivia_anakwe

LUX contributing editor and model at Models 1, Charlie Newman continues her online exclusive series, interviewing her peers about their creative pursuits, passions and politics

colour headshot of blond girl laughing with hand against face wearing multiple rings

Charlie Newman

THIS MONTH: 22-year-old Nigerian American model Olivia Anakwe grew up in the small town of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and was scouted whilst studying for a degree Psychology. In her first season, she walked an astounding 40 shows and has since shot for Harpers Bazaar, W Magazine, LOVE and Allure. Fellow Models 1 girl, Charlie speaks to Olivia about balancing time, philanthropy and Michelle Obama.

Charlie Newman: How and when you were first scouted?
Olivia Anakwe: I was scouted in the summer when I was visiting New York for my sister’s graduation. We went out to lunch at Westville and I was scouted right when I walked into the restaurant. I chose to take advantage of the opportunity, transferred from University of Pittsburgh to Pace University and was thrown right into the middle of the hustle and bustle in the Financial District of Manhattan. I am studying Psychology on the Pre-Medical track and will be graduating in Spring of next year – I can’t wait!

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

Charlie Newman: Was modelling something you considered doing when you were younger or did you just fall into it?
Olivia Anakwe: I did a small Target ad and a knitwear catalogue when I was younger which I can’t really remember very well. Growing up, my aunties always made comments about using my height to model but I never took it seriously.

Charlie Newman: How easy have you found the balance between studying and modelling? Is your agency supportive of your studying commitments?
Olivia Anakwe: My agency is super supportive, but I definitely speak up about my studying commitments and exams. To find balance I take advantage of my free time; whether I am in the hair chair, waiting for my flight, or riding the subway, I save documents to my google drive, make it available offline, and whip it out during those spare minutes. I often take pictures of my textbook and read it over. We are in such a technology-driven age, so it’s all about putting our gadgets to positive use.

Kate Spade fashion campaign 2019 starring a female model wearing a patterned dress and sunglasses

Instagram: @olivia_anakwe for Kate Spade Pre-Fall ‘19

Charlie Newman: After modelling, how do you hope to use your degree in the future?
Olivia Anakwe: I am drawn to the meaning behind all of our actions so that is why I love Psychology. However, I want to go into Dermatology and use that unconventional background to offer a different perspective in the medical field.

Charlie Newman: Your career has really catapulted in such a short period of time. What do you to do to stay grounded?
Olivia Anakwe: Bikram yoga has been such an important practice in my life; mentally and physically it has kept my body balanced and stronger than ever. I also love going to coffee shops, reading, cooking with friends, and self-care rituals (sheet masks, essential oils, & wine!)

Charlie Newman: What advice would you give to any aspiring young boys or girls wishing to enter the fashion industry?
Olivia Anakwe: Don’t let anyone get in the way of your drive and stay level-headed. It is important to have confidence because you may receive a million “nos” until one person sees something in you and says “yes”. So always believe in yourself!

Charlie Newman: What has been your favourite job thus far and why?
Olivia Anakwe: Shooting the Miu Miu Spring Summer ‘18 Campaign with Alasdair Mclellan in the middle of the desert of Arizona was incredible. To shot alongside industry legends including Adwoa Aboah, Cameron Russell, Jean Campbell and Dakota Fanning was a total honour. It was my first time in Arizona and the whole team made the experience unforgettable.

Charlie Newman: I can see from your Instagram that your passionate about food. Is this something that was instilled within your family home or since moving to New York? What’s your favourite restaurant in the city?
Olivia Anakwe: Yes, I am a total foodie! Coming together for home cooked meals is ingrained in Nigerian culture – our Thanksgiving and Christmas is nothing less than a 20 dish feast. I have been cooking my own dishes since I was young, but was only introduced to healthy eating when I got scouted and moved to New York. Gathering to enjoy a meal is a ritual that I cherish. My favourite takeaway has to be Queen of Falafel, a mediterranean spot with the freshest falafel, pita, and roasted eggplant. For vegan pizza go to Paulie Gee’s – you will not even believe the cheese is vegan, simply mind blowing! For the latest obsession, Thaiholic, for clean Thai food with absolute flavour.

Read more: Where leading scientists and cutting-edge poets meet

Charlie Newman: I read that you did tap dance as a child. Is this something you’ve continued to enjoy? Have you found the movement and the performance elements of dance helpful to your modelling career?
Olivia Anakwe: No, sadly I don’t tap dance anymore but my background in dance has definitely complimented being in front of the camera. I am more aware of my body because movement allows me to flow into various poses and carry myself when walking into castings.

Charlie Newman: If you could wave a magic wand and change something within the fashion industry, what would you choose and why?
Olivia Anakwe: As always, inclusivity and representation. It is so important for people to see themselves in the things that they admire because it reinforces the greatness they can attain.

Female model poses in white scarf and coat looking into the distance

Instagram: @olivia_anakwe for Mansur Gavriel

Charlie Newman: I really admire the fact that you’re using your profile to promote good causes, such as  organising the ‘Shake That Give Back’ event to help collect funds for the the NUWAY foundation and the Women’s Refugee Commission. Where did this idea come from and why did you chose these two specific charities?
Olivia Anakwe: The conversation sparked as we [Olivia and her friend Meghan] were discussing what we could do to give back towards the end of the year. We both love bringing people together so we figured why not combine both of these things into a huge celebration! We each picked a cause that was close to our backgrounds.

As a first generation Nigerian in America, giving back is something that is ingrained in our culture and a value that my mother and father always instilled. Discovering the NUWAY Foundation was particularly special because they are involved in charitable contributions that are quite active and really make a difference for the communities in Nigeria that they work with. Their message of ‘Give H.O.P.E.’ provides: Healthcare, Opportunity, Pure Water, and Educational resources and development.

Meghan chose the Women’s Refugee Commission as she is a child of refugees. Her mother’s family had everything taken from them, escaped Communism in Vietnam via a fishing boat and landed ashore on the Malaysian island of Bidong where they lived in a refugee camp for a little over a year. The Women’s Refugee Commission specifically helps to improve the lives of refugee women within these camps and empower them once they begin the start of their new lives. They provide services of financial education, reproductive health services and also educate other nonprofit organisations in ways to help prevent these dangers that women in the refugee camps may face.

Charlie Newman: Are you involved in anymore charitable projects this year?
Olivia Anakwe: Yes I am and more is to come! I will also be working with the Model Mafia group this year so be sure to follow along on my Instagram and @modelactivist for upcoming events!

Charlie Newman: Lastly who is your role model of the month?
Olivia Anakwe: My role model of the month is Michelle Obama! I just finished her memoir Becoming; it was so eloquently written and inspiring. She is a true powerhouse and a figure who has always stayed true to herself.

Follow Olivia on Instagram: @olivia_anakwe

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Reading time: 6 min
Luxury hotel complex on top of a hill overlooking Lake Lucerne in Swtizerland
Luxury hotel complex on top of a hill overlooking Lake Lucerne in Swtizerland

The Bürgenstock resort complex sits atop a mountain ridge overlooking Lake Lucerne

At the new Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, medical science meets luxury indulgence. Darius Sanai gets checked out at the spectacular retreat with high-end dining as well as top doctors and testing facilities

Medical spa. Two words to strike fear into the  mind of any traveller; or into my mind, at least.  For in my experience, such places fall into one of two categories. One follows the pseudo- scientific line: where you are ushered into a world of energy types, detox, alkaline cures and naturopathy. That’s not to denigrate mystical and ancient health rites, many of which might have a positive psychological effect in these stressed-out times, but if I want to know if there’s something wrong with me, I want to really know, not be treated by someone who tells me I need to eat spinach to increase my body’s pH and therefore its alkalinity (if our stomachs were not highly acidic, we would be dead).

The other type of medical spa historically employs real doctors, but in a joyless, alcohol-free environment more akin to a prison camp than a luxury retreat, so, while you may emerge genuinely more healthy and with a good idea of what’s gone wrong with you, you’re also likely to decide you’d rather die young than return.

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

So it was with fascination that I approached the Waldhotel at Bürgenstock, in Switzerland. Bürgenstock has a place in European history, as a hotel, once beloved of Hollywood stars (Audrey Hepburn lived here), high up overlooking Lake Lucerne. It was recently developed into a series of super-luxe hotels, including what claims to be one of Switzerland’s best medical hotels, and restaurants, by its new owners from Qatar. I decided to check in for a couple of days for a full checkout; like many men, I have no qualms about spending thousands maintaining my collection of classic cars in perfect shape, but have never even had so much as a spark-plug examination on my own body.

Bürgenstock sent me a very thorough, and beautifully presented, programme. I would stay at the five-star Waldhotel for three days; after my blood was taken on the first day, I would mingle a series of tests and scans (the most important one being a full examination by a cardiologist) with feel-good spa treatments, relaxation in the pools, and some dining in their restaurants.

Luxury indoor spa swimming pool

The pool at the Waldhotel, where medical and spa facilities are combined

The resort is a series of buildings, built out and along from the original Palace hotel, along a ridge some 500m above Lake Lucerne. The sharpness of the ridge means you have two completely different perspectives, as if you are on a movie set. In one direction, the mountain drops away almost vertically, through vertiginous forests, into the lake; from the café terrace of the Palace hotel, you can see boats, quays and summer houses far below, like dolls house parts. The lake spreads out with Lucerne itself sprawling at one end, and beyond, numerous ridges of hills behind which other lakes alternate with forest and meadow, all the way to Germany in the distance.

In the other direction, there is almost no drop at all: just a gentle bowl of high Alpine pasture, fluorescent green, cows tinkling their bells, giving way to forest beyond, and then neck-strainingly high peaks, covered with snow even in mid-summer, in the far distance.

Read more: A VIP ferry ride from Dover to Calais with DFDS

My hotel room had the latter view, which was very relaxing. The room was large, modern and coolly decorated in blonde woods and taupe furnishings, with a big balcony on which you could relax with a cigar at night (having done your lung function test already, of course) and feel the sounds and smells of the meadows.

The medical centre was just a few floors down. My blood was taken efficiently in a lab-like room, and I went off for breakfast on a roof terrace with a wider view of the meadow and mountain side of the resort. There are no hints here that you are in a place where you must deny yourself; the breakfast provided everything from pancakes and omelettes à la carte to home-made cornflakes. I spent the rest of the day swimming in the main pool in the Bürgenstock hotel, a five-minute walk away through the resort, and gaping at the quite astonishing view from its wraparound spa pool which overhangs the cliff face down to Lake Lucerne. Dinner at Sharq, along the ridge, had equally magnetic views, as day turned to dusk and the lights of one of the world’s richest areas popped up all around below us. Sharq serves Persian and Lebanese cuisine, and its khoresh dishes and marinaded grills were as good as any Persian restaurant’s, anywhere. The wine list focuses on Lebanese wine, but you can also order from the main restaurant list.

Luxury contemporary facade to Waldhotel, Switzerland

The entrance to the Waldhotel, newly built in 2017

The next day, Dr Verena Briner, head of the medical centre and one of the country’s most prominent physicians, went through my blood test results with me. Page after page of measurements revealed – nothing at all. I was fine. I didn’t even need an oil change. But that was just the beginning. She handed me over to a consultant cardiologist, who put me through a variety of physical exertions while examining my heart with an echocardiogram. All fine. Next, I was scanned for bone density, and body fat vs body muscle. All fine, despite the Persian meal the previous night. A lung function test was OK also, meaning the cigar was on the cards that night. A full pass, with no red flags, or even yellow lights. After all that effort, I was almost disappointed – but not, of course, and no medical can test for absolutely everything that could be wrong with you – but Bürgenstock did well, all while I was having a fabulous holiday.

On the last night, I celebrated at Spices, the Bürgenstock’s flagship restaurant, which is cantilevered over the cliff’s edge. You could pick between Cantonese and Japanese, and all the lights below added to a Hong Kong vibe. It was astonishing, but true: one of Europe’s most spectacular contemporary luxury experiences is also home to a brilliant medical spa.

Vital Statistics

Dr Verena Briner, Medical Director of the Bürgenstock Resort, on the key elements you have to be aware of to ensure a long and healthy life, and how they are tested

The basic check-up focuses on the most common diseases. The programme includes taking the patient’s history and conducting a clinical examination. We screen for diseases that affect the blood  (eg. anaemia), the liver and kidney, metabolism (such as diabetes and atherosclerosis), and vitamin deficiency. We measure blood pressure, run an ECG, use bone densitometry to identify any risk for osteoporosis and carry out an ultrasound scan of the abdomen. For anyone over 45, a colonoscopy is recommended as carcinoma of the gut becomes more likely as we get older. The lung function test may show signs of smoking-induced damage. Measuring body mass index and body composition is important, too, as obesity often leads to high blood pressure, diabetes, impaired lipid metabolism, sleep apnea (snoring) and arthrosis in the joints.

We check also for cardio-vascular diseases, of which the majority of the population of the Western world die. Since the development of interventional cardiology, people rarely die from a sudden heart attack but are much more likely to have a chronic condition such as atherosclerosis of the blood vessels, which may be treated with drugs, angioplasty, stents or bypass operation. The risk factors that accelerate atherosclerosis include high blood pressure, diabetes, being overweight, smoking, high cholesterol, and little or no physical activity. A history of coronary artery disease in the family increases the chance that the patient will develop it as well. The cardiologist supervises a stress test and uses echocardiography to spot any impaired heart muscle function. If there are signs of reduced blood flow in the coronary arteries, we recommend a coronarography or a heart CT scan.

The Waldhotel works with the Lucerne central hospital where this can be done. Anyone short of time may prefer to come to the Waldhotel Medical Centre where we can organise all the tests during their stay.

Book your stay: buergenstock.ch

This article was originally published in the Winter 19 issue.

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A Hong Kong market place at night photographed by @nelis_vansia
A Hong Kong market place at night photographed by @nelis_vansia

Instagram: @nelis_vansia

Has Instagram been taken over by fake follower fever, banal mirror selfies and blatant product promotion? Not if you’re one of the new wave of creatives, eschewing follower numbers and influencer labels and doing it their own way, says Bryony Stone

A LUX x ROSEWOOD COLLABORATION

Instagram is in danger of eating itself. More than eight years after it was founded, what started as a photo-sharing app morphed first into a badge of cool among first movers and later into the biggest photographic movement in history. People’s self-worth, and tragically sometimes their lives, can hinge on followers and likes, and a generation of self-declared influencers (if you think about it, that can’t really be a job) are creaming fortunes, large or small, from their commercial posts. Kim Kardashian West and Kylie Jenner, two members of the Kardashian clan, boast a collective total of 236 million followers, which, while there’s almost certainly overlap, still constitutes just over three percent of the world’s population.

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

It’s unsurprising that scrolling through Instagram is starting to feel like falling head-first down a rabbit hole into a wonderland where everything is #sponsored. Wasn’t that new influencer in Fendi wearing Prada yesterday and Gucci the day before? Does he really have 871,000 human followers? And who actually looks perfect all day, every day anyway?

Yet, under the radar, a new wave of Instagram stars is emerging. Forget fake followers and paid-for posts: these creatives are more interested in contributing to the real culture in the cities around them, and in the aesthetic of what they can create on what is still a remarkable visual medium. From Paris to New York, Hong Kong to London, meet four individuals who are redefining the Insta scene from the inside out.

Model, muse and casting director Deng Duot Deng is a rising instagram star originally from Sudan

Instagram: @de3ng

@de3ng, New York

Sudan-born, New York-based Deng Duot Deng describes himself as a “muse, model, creative director and casting director”. He has his own clothing line called Dengwear and posts crafted images with a casual feel that combine his passions: design, football and streetwear.

Describe your Instagram style: “Grounded in the nuances of street style and culture.”

How has the platform changed your life? “It’s a way to interact and connect the dots. I can see my common interests [with other users] as well our different tastes in art, fashion and culture. Through Instagram I’ve been featured in a campaign for Apple and a lookbook for Yeezy x Adidas.”

Image taken by Sudan born, New York-based instagram star Deng Duot Deng

Instagram: @de3ng

Do you consider yourself an influencer or something else? “I’m a brand and a trendsetter.”

Why do you think people follow you? “I’m pretty authentic on my profile; I genuinely

express how I feel, but with a creative touch. Being natural makes a good image and keeps my followers engaged.”

What’s your favourite recent Instagram image? “A picture of my niece and I after her baptism. It was a beautiful moment.”

What are your New York hangouts? “Different creative spaces… I like to explore.”

What do you love most about New York? “The abundance of creativity – and the opportunities that can come from something as simple as walking into a bodega.”

Read more: Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer on urban transformation

Instagram image by @nelis_vansia of Hypebeast

Instagram: @nelis_vansia

@nelis_vansia, Hong Kong

Hong Kong-based Nelis Vansia takes beautiful reportage type Instagram photos

Instagram: @nelis_vansia

A former woodworker turned videographer, Hong Kong-based Nelis Vansia works at fashion-focused digital-media company Hypebeast. In his free time, he shoots intriguing, moodily lit films and stills that showcase the spirit of the city.

Describe your Instagram style: “Go with the flow. I like to capture everyday life.”

What’s Hong Kong’s creative scene like? “It’s a really tough place to survive creatively because the city is mostly focused on making money. You have to be tough here to do your own thing. But thanks to the internet, Hong Kongers are becoming more exposed to art and creation.”

Why do you use Instagram? “At the beginning, it was personal. Now, I’m posting videos and photos to build my own brand.”

Large block of flats shot from below by @nelis_vansia

Instagram: @nelis_vansia

Do you ever meet your followers in real life? “Half are my friends, and the rest are interested in the things I do. When I meet followers at events it can sometimes be awkward.”

Where do you go for downtime? “Hong Kong is so dense, but outside the Central Business District there are undeveloped areas such as Sham Shui Po where the pace isn’t as fast. Here, I can slow down and see everything clearly.”

What’s your favourite recent Instagram shot? “It’s a picture of Ydizzy, a rapper from Japan. I randomly bumped into him on the street chilling by the road and smoking and I asked if I could take a snap of him.”

Jean-Yves Diallo is a Parisian street-style star, creative director and model who runs the Instagram account @Neptunes2000

Instagram: @Neptunes2000

@Neptunes2000, Paris

Image of man sitting on a metro doorway

Instagram: @Neptunes2000

Jean-Yves Diallo is a Parisian street-style star, creative director and model with a penchant for whiplash-inducing outfits and creating conversation-starter, tongue-in-cheek images.

Describe your Instagram style: “Hybrid and colourful. I’m always adding new colours and patterns.”

Why do you post on Instagram? “To show people that you don’t necessary need big brands to break the regular codes and that only you make the image. I take pictures in the subway, in the streets, in ghetto apartments… you just need to be yourself.”

Portrait of a man sitting whilst an illustrator draws him on the street

Instagram: @Neptunes2000

How has it opened doors? “I’ve extended my fashion network, but I’m careful with what I post. You can get lost by posting too much. People follow me because I have my own wave; I mix and match and don’t wear mainstream brands.”

Do you feel that you’re an influencer? “I consider myself more of an icon. I don’t want to influence people and all my life doesn’t turn around the app.”

What’s the creative scene like in Paris? “It’s heavy here, but people are too inspired by other countries and too conformist. They need to let their imagination speak out.”

What makes a great image? “I style and direct my own shoots so it’s all about the angle and light. Then I add my vibe to make it unique.”

Read more: Why creatives need to understand tech

Man wearing a hoody stands at the top of concrete steps with his skateboard

Instagram: @edozollo

@edozollo, London

After dark photo by Italian photographer Edo Zollo of man hiding in an alley

Instagram: @edozollo

Italian photographer Edo Zollo has been living in London for close to two decades. His low-lit and occasionally ominous images – which are always taken after dark and capture quiet moments and corners – showcase a side to the city that’s not often noticed.

Why do you post on Instagram? “Instagram feels like a small community because followers interact and share my passion for photography, but at the same time, it allows my images to reach a wider audience. My followers motivate me to go out in the dark and take pictures.”

Why do you think people follow you? “I’d like to think that my shots are mysterious; a bit [like] Hitchcock’s Rear Window.”

Where do you go in London to take a good image? “I don’t have a specific location. I’m mostly out at night. Once I’ve found the spot, I wait until someone with just the right amount of mystery comes along.”

Do you consider yourself an influencer? “I’m more someone that offers an alternative view of London.”

artistic photograph of a man walking at night through a concrete landscape

Instagram: @edozollo

What do you love most about London? “That it constantly changes! There’s always something new, something that changes your way of thinking. Also, it’s nearly impossible to be bored. Everything is here: entertainment, food and people from nearly every culture, and so your imagination is free to flow.”

Where do you like to hang out in the city? “House parties are my thing right now, but when I want to be alone, the streets of London at night become my secret spot.”

Facade of grand Parisian building with columned entranceHÔTEL DE CRILLON, A ROSEWOOD HOTEL

Hôtel de Crillon in Paris is a grand microcosm of the City of Lights: a historic palace that is one of the city’s landmarks, and also a contemporary home for guests. As Paris develops its thrilling contemporary art, food and culture scene, atop the cultural riches and business powerhouses that sit the city atop the world’s fashion ladder, Hôtel de Crillon is, literally and metaphorically, at the heart of it all.

Book your room at: rosewoodhotels.com

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue.

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Ski slopes lit by lights at night in St. Mortiz
Ski slopes lit by lights at night in St. Mortiz

Night time skiing on Corvatsch Mountain, St. Mortiz

It’s been another winter of fantastic snowfall, and Darius Sanai is dreaming of his favourite location in the Alps, and the vibe at the Kulm hotel in St Moritz

It’s been another early winter of record snowfalls in the Alps, particularly in the eastern and northern tranches of the range. So it’s a perfect time to plan your impromptu visit to the mountains, and January and early February will be beyond perfect this year, with excellent snow and the customary lack of crowds that this part of the season brings, before the school holidays in mid-February change the tone.

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

One of the saddest sights is to see couples and families split for ski weekends, with non-skiers staying at home. If you’re going heli-skiing in Canada, there may be nothing for your other half to do, but take a trip to one of our favourite hotels in one of the most wonderful parts of the Alps, and it might be that, at this time of year, as the events diary bristles, it’s the non-skier who makes the skier in the party jealous.

a snow polo game in St. Mortiz

St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow, 2013

The hotel is the Kulm, the fabulous contemporary-classic grande dame of St Moritz’s. The area is famed for its range of activities for both skiers and non-skiers. This weekend sees the legendary Snow Polo on the lake of St Moritz (where the Kulm, has its own special stand where you can graze on gourmet delicacies and sip champagne all day). Happening simultaneously nearby are the Engadin Art Talks and the Snow Golf Championships, followed next week by the horse races in the snow, and the Grand National Cresta Run

Read more: The history of TAG Heuer’s motorsport romance

All of that combined with the usual glories of the St Moritz-Pontresina area, including several challenging ski mountains, and the fur-lined nightlife.

Alpine luxury spa with views of snow topped mountains and an indoor pool

The indoor pool at Kulm’s spa

A luxury ski hotel bedroom with natural colour palette and wooden roof

Kulm’s style is old-world elegance meets contemporary

But what we love particularly about staying at the Kulm is its sense of old-world grace – and its facilities. The spectacular pool has picture windows looking out over the forest and valley, rooms have a similar view. The classic restaurant and bar areas make you convinced that David Niven is going to pop out from around the corner. The rooms, meanwhile, have a very contemporary vibe, while not letting up on the rich Swiss luxe. You feel like a traveller in the mountains, taken care of at a real grand hotel, with options of everything from cross-country skiing to spectacular black runs, from watching the horses to chilling in the vast spa. The hotel is just a whisker above the crowded part of St Moritz (and a three minute walk from Pavarotti’s, our favourite spot for an après-ski Franciacorta) …and did we mention, the snow is fantastic this year?

Book your stay: kulm.com

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White cliffs of dover with the channel stretching into a blue horizon

Image of a DFDS ferry floating on the sea

The DFDS ferry from Dover to Calais only takes 90 minutes, but with beautiful views, good food, and the comforts of a VIP lounge, you’ll wish the journey was longer, says LUX’s Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai

What is the most curious new development of early 2019 was a report stating that sales of paper maps are actually increasing. The report quoted extensively from the august merchant of the world’s greatest and most detailed maps, the cartographers Stanfords of Longacre in London. Apparently, in the era when your phone contains not just a map but predictions for exactly you should be doing in the confines of that map, the lure of the paper map is increasing, not decreasing – in some cases, anyway.

On the face of it, this seems bizarre. Why would we need a foldout map, when everything you might have a need to know about a journey is stored inside your phone, and by tapping your destination, it will not only tell you how to get there, it will tell you exactly how long it will take you to get there and how many people recommend the fish pie at each restaurant en route. Astonishing progress. Or is it?

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

Think about that for a second: on a Google map, your journey across the country, or across the continent, is reduced to a simple statement of time. This is an amount of time, it is implied, that must be endured until you do what you actually need to do, which is is get to the stated destination at the other end. It completely ignores the fact that the journey might be an end itself, that the journey might be something to enjoy and indulge in.
White cliffs of dover with the channel stretching into a blue horizon

The iconic white cliffs of Dover

Your electronic devices all about maximising the efficiency of delivering a certain message in a certain way. Yet the art of travel is precisely the opposite. Your journey is not data to be downloaded in a microsecond. It is something to be indulged in and appreciated in itself, not simply a means to an end.

These days, there are many very efficient ways to get from Britain across the continent of Europe (Brexit aside), including a plethora of travel by aircraft to different hubs, high-speed trains, and of course the tunnel under the Channel. But all of these assume that the two points of interest in your journey are the beginning and the end, and nothing in between. Or, in the case of the tunnel, assuming that the speed with which you get from one side of the water to the other is more important than what’s above.

Read more: Ingenuity is crucial to human destiny

Until relatively recently you might have been forgiven for avoiding the option of ferry travel, as the vessels that sailed from the UK to France were not the most sophisticated, even though they had their own romance. So, recently, on a DFDS ferry from Dover to Calais, we were both delighted and astonished. An efficient cafeteria served a selection of French-biased food (real vegetables, properly cooked, accompanying meats of various types) which you could take and eat at your leisure in the refectory overlooking the stern of the ship. France, to start with a line in the distance, became a distinct outline of cliffs, beaches, and buildings by the end of the meal.

Meanwhile, a walk round to the outside deck at the back revealed the cliffs of Dover, slowly fading into the haze, as we left the seagulls behind.

Luxury ferry lounge with leather chairs

The VIP lounge offers a comfortable space for travellers to relax and enjoy the views

But the most compelling aspect of all, besides the views, and the sense of reality that you are crossing a body of water between one part of the continent to another (a body of water that has proved the difference between independence and conquest for Britain since 1066), was the simple comfort of the VIP lounge. Here for an extra fare, you can relax in absolute silence on the array of sofas and help yourself to a selection of drinks and snacks. And read magazines and newspapers while watching the world go by for the windows. As an element of a long journey, it is a real respite break for drivers and passengers. It is not inaccurate to say that we were rather disappointed with the announcement that came after just over an hour into the journey, that we would soon be disembarking at Calais.

And there’s the rub. Taking the ferry is actually barely any slower than going underground when all the elements of boarding and embarkation are taken into account. If it’s rough, you may wish to spend a bit more time outside, but you still feel like you have been somewhere, properly traveled, rather than simply been transported. We will be doing it again this summer.

Book your journey: dfdsseaways.co.uk

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Reading time: 4 min
Vintage photograph of Jack Heuer of TAG Heuer swiss watches greeting Enzo Ferrari seated at a table
Vintage photograph of Jack Heuer of TAG Heuer swiss watches greeting Enzo Ferrari seated at a table

Enzo Ferrari (seated) being greeted by Jack Heuer in 1974

Famed for its relationships with key drivers in the 1960s and its innovation with the Ferrari F1 team in the 1970s, TAG Heuer is now working with Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing. Jason Barlow explores the Swiss brand’s new world of creative horological engineering

The firepower in a Formula One team isn’t solely derived from the car’s hybrid powertrain or its drivers. Alongside arguably the hottest young talent on the grid, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing has established a formidable array of partners. Prominent amongst these are two names that combine contemporary global brand equity but also pulse with historical resonance: Aston Martin and TAG Heuer. For students of such things, this triumvirate is one of the most powerful in world sport.

The first fruit of the relationship is a beautiful Carrera Calibre Heuer 01 chronograph, the Aston Martin Special Edition, whose dial is skeletonised by a pattern of hexagons that delivers an aesthetic parallel to the distinctive design language used on the latest Aston Martin Vantage, while a black brushed-ceramic tachymeter bezel and PVD-treated case with a sapphire window to view the movement bring TAG Heuer’s signature design features to the fore. (The collaboration has also yielded a second watch, the more affordable Formula 1 chronograph.)

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

These are exciting times for Aston Martin and new avenues are opening with bespoke collaborations with iconic brands such as Red Bull Racing and TAG Heuer. Formula One offers the ultimate global stage to build awareness of the carmaker’s brand and the relationship with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing has created the revolutionary hypercar, the Aston Martin Valkyrie.

TAG Heuer timepieces shown in the cockpit of a racing car

The Tag Heuer Formula 1 Aston Martin Racing Special Edition watches in the cockpit of a 2018 Aston Martin Vantage

Of course, cars and watches are a pairing that, if not as old as time itself, certainly go right back to the earliest days of the automobile. What is a chronograph if not a technically complex machine strapped to your wrist? In a watch with a fine mechanical movement, the interaction between the tiny chains, gearwheels and axles (or arbors) operates with the same sort of thrilling alchemy that you find in an internal combustion engine. Some of the techniques go much further back in time, and by a considerable margin: the fusee, a conical device which reduces inconsistencies in the mechanism’s torque curve, can be spotted in the drawings of Renaissance designers and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Filippo Brunelleschi.

Mounted timepiece by Edouard Heuer

Edouard Heuer’s dashboard-mounted Time of Trip chronograph first made in 1911

Motor racing is obviously a rather more recent phenomenon, and although other brands have worked the angles, TAG Heuer was the first to make the connection. Edouard Heuer’s dashboard-mounted Time of Trip chronograph, designed for use in cars and biplanes, appeared in 1911. In 1916, the Mikrograph arrived, a stopwatch with the ability to measure time to an unheard of one hundredth of a second. The expertise of the Heuer Watch Company soon extended to other big sporting events, including the Olympics, and by 1958 it had unveiled the Rally-Master, a dual-face device which featured a Master Time eight-day clock and a Monte Carlo stopwatch. Star drivers had also begun to appreciate the wristwatch as an appropriate accessory, and Juan Manuel Fangio was an early adopter.

But it was during the 1960s that the story intensifies, particularly when it comes to the Carrera names, originally derived from the legendary, and frequently deadly, 1950s Mexican road race, the Carrera Panamericana. Jack Heuer, Edouard’s grandson, takes up the tale:

Portrait of watchmaker Jack Heuer of Swiss brand TAG Heuer

Jack Heuer

“I first heard about the Carrera from Pedro Rodríguez at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race,” he recalls. “The officials were members of SCCA [Sports Car Club of America], voluntary guys, and I supplied them with their timing equipment.” Heuer was busy developing the world’s first self-winding chronograph at the time (the Calibre 11 automatic chronograph would arrive in 1969) and was searching for the right way to promote its new creations. “We were too small to go full blast with big advertising worldwide,” Heuer told me. “So I said, maybe we should try PR.”

This was a master-stroke, as it turns out. “The Rodríguez brothers were racing with Ferrari, and they were still so young they were travelling with their parents. Pedro and his brother Ricardo were two of the fastest, smartest and bravest endurance drivers of all time. To hear them talk of the Carrera made my imagination soar. Just the sound of the name itself – elegant, dynamic, easily pronounced in all languages – was charged with emotion. I thought, that’s a good name for a watch.”

Read more: Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst on the art x technology revolution

Porsche, of course, had been using the name on model derivatives since 1955, and it was one of the company’s drivers, Jo Siffert – also known as ‘Seppi’ – who really established the Heuer name in motorsport. The son of a poor Swiss farmer, Siffert hustled his way into F1, and signed a deal with Heuer in 1969 to become the company’s official brand ambassador. Significantly, this was the first non-automotive personal sponsorship deal in F1 history.

Siffert had been a Heuer fan for years and was even buying watches at cost price and then selling them to his colleagues in the pit lane. Though more closely associated with Heuer’s Autavia chronograph – colloquially known as the ‘Siffert’ by its many fans – it was his partnership with Porsche in the world sports car championship that secured Siffert’s legendary status, but also granted Heuer’s Carrera and Monaco chronographs the untouchable status they still enjoy 50 years later amongst racing and watch fans.

Steve McQueen as a racing driver in the 1971 film Le Mans

Classic style watch with black strap and silver square face

Top: Steve McQueen in the film ‘Le Mans’ in 1971. Here: the Heuer Monaco watch the actor is wearing

There is another factor we can’t overlook, however, one that’s reeling in a new generation of clients who have probably never heard of Jo Siffert. They all know the movie star Steve McQueen, however. In 1970 he was at the height of his box-office powers, and McQueen embarked on a passion project that was an ode to the famous French endurance race, the Le Mans 24 hours. The actor had first met Siffert at the Sebring 12 hours race in 1970. Along with Derek Bell, Siffert had been hired to teach McQueen how to drive a Porsche 917K for his role in the film Le Mans (1971), and although the prop master had already approached Jack Heuer about supplying watches for the film, Seppi happened to be wearing one of his anyway – a Monaco. When the film’s director, Lee H. Katzin, urged McQueen to finalise his character’s appearance, he replied, “I want to look like Jo, because he’s a real racer, a real pro”.

McQueen, the Heuer Monaco and Le Mans: it’s the gift that keeps on giving. But at least it was real, as Bell remembers. “I thought Steve drove very well. In fact, he was probably better than we all realised. He was driving that Porsche 917 around Le Mans, after all, pretty much flat out down the Mulsanne Straight, and people were scared of that car. I don’t recall him even testing it beforehand. It really was a hell of an era.”

Read more: Why now is the time to go to Sabi Sabi, South Africa

Bell continues, “I suspect he’d find the mythology that has grown around him hilarious. He was so laid back, there was no sense of the superstar thing, and that’s what came across to us the whole way through. He didn’t want to be an actor, he wanted to be a racing driver. Every spare moment he had, he’d sit with us.”

Jack Heuer, meanwhile, didn’t rest. In 1973, he did a deal with the biggest motorsport name of all, Enzo Ferrari, becoming the Scuderia’s official time-keeper, both in Formula One but also at the then recently constructed Fiorano circuit. New track-side photo cells combined with a device called the Le Mans Heuer Centigraph gave Enzo Ferrari the edge he was so adept at finding.

“Our agreement with Ferrari was key, because it is still the biggest marketing coup we ever made,” Jack Heuer says. “Ferrari was a myth and still is. I was the same age as Enzo’s lost son Dino, and I just seemed to connect with him. He was a great salesman, though, and a ferocious negotiator. He would always push for more than we could really deliver. We supplied engraved watches to all of Ferrari’s drivers in that period. It was a fantastic time.”

And a pioneering one, too. Whether by accident or design, TAG Heuer’s motorsport roots run deep, and they run true. Quite simply, it’s why we love their watches. The alignment with Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing promises to put the brand right back at the sharp end of the grid once again.

Discover the collection: tagheuer.com

British model Cara Delevingne sits on mound of earth in the African bush wearing all black for TAG Heuer campaign

TAG Heuer brand ambassador Cara Delevingne on set in South Africa for TAG’s latest campaign

Don’t Crack Under Pressure

British model and brand ambassador Cara Delevingne  travelled to the South African savannah for TAG Heuer’s latest campaign. Working with Kevin Richardson, nicknamed ‘The Lion Whisperer’ for his unique relationship with the predators, the shoot required Cara to pose for the camera while a male lion approached in the background — truly testing the brand’s ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’ motto. “There isn’t any human or animal on this planet that hasn’t felt pressured,” comments Cara. “Pressure doesn’t have to be a bad thing… it’s how you work under that circumstance.”

Still, working with wild animals isn’t without its dangers. Photographer David Yarrow shot from inside a cage, whilst Cara was called back to safety each time the lion came too close, allowing only a few seconds for each shot. The result is a series of strikingly raw monochrome images, one of which was auctioned off for £120,000 with the proceeds being donated to the Cara Delevingne Foundation, which supports young woman all over the world. “In this visual, Cara is shown as powerful, courageous, audacious and commanding of respect,” says Jean-Claude Biver, TAG Heuer’s CEO. “I hope her attitude and engagement with her foundation will inspire many around her to do things differently, to innovate, to take risks.”

Watch behind-the-scenes footage from the campaign:

Millie Walton

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue.

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Miniature painting by artist Hana Louise Shahnavaz of galloping horses
Miniature painting by artist Hana Louise Shahnavaz of galloping horses

‘Shabdiz and Gholghoun, horses of Persian poetic myth;’ Hana Louise Shahnavaz (2018)

Are you a scientist or an artist, a genius or a poet? Do you really have to choose? Perhaps humans are more rounded than that. Some of the world’s leading scientists tell us about their favourite poets, cutting-edge poets nominate the scientific geniuses who changed the world

A LUX x ROSEWOOD COLLABORATION

Genius: Douglas Eck

“I studied English literature as an undergraduate, so I read a lot of poetry at that point in my life. I like structure, so I’m drawn to poetry that plays with metre and rhyme such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s love sonnets. I also enjoy the work of American poets Elizabeth Bishop and Ezra Pound. I could [also] go on for hours about lyrics, particularly from artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Joni Mitchell, Jay-Z, Tom Waits, Björk and Georges Brassens.” For an artist to be successful, Eck believes, “They must create something new that extends our understanding of the world around us, persuading us to think differently.”

Principal scientist on the Google Brain team in San Francisco, Douglas Eck spends his days working on Magenta, a research project exploring the role of machine learning in the process of creating art and music.

Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine

Poet: Sabrina Mahfouz

“The concept of a singular genius to me is something very male – that one person can have a great idea and that all the hundreds or thousands of people responsible for making it happen can get pushed into anonymity! I believe in collective genius but not in an individual one. What’s happening in the worlds of technology and activism seem to be the most illuminating examples of collective genius around today – both areas which inform and inspire my own work constantly.”

An award-winning writer, playwright and poet, Sabrina Mahfouz is one of the most exciting voices on the creative arts scene today.

Genius: Richard Sargeant

“I don’t foresee my favourite poems in my battered copy of Francis Turner Palgrave’s Golden Treasury ever being replaced by AI, because we don’t buy art for its function, but for its story and experience. I might admire poems for their cleverness, but I love them for the character they reveal. I love Milton’s courage in the face of his blindness (which is described in his poem When I Consider How My Light Is Spent) and G.K. Chesterton’s joyful humility in the epic The Ballad of the White Horse.

“As with other art forms, it isn’t ultimately the quality of the stanzas, but the resonance of the experience that stands behind them that gives poetry its purchase on our mood and our imagination. In poetry, the spirit of the work is the essence of what we value.”

Richard Sargeant is chief commercial officer at ASI Data Science, a leader in the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to real world business and public policy problems. The company was listed on this year’s Tech Track Ones to Watch

Poet: Hollie McNish

“I recently watched the American biographical film Hidden Figures, so right now the three geniuses inspiring me are the mathematicians who worked in Nasa during the space race: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. I am so fascinated by this sort of mathematical brain. Saying that, I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of a genius. The first idea I had of this concept was Roald Dahl’s Matilda. But after that, in all my education and university life, geniuses – until this film– were so strongly aligned to the white male that I found the concept almost ridiculous.”

Performance poet and writer Hollie McNish has published five books of poetry, including ‘Nobody Told Me‘, which won the 2016 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry

Read more: Philippe Sereys de Rothschild on fine wine & supporting the arts

Genius: Ian Blatchford

“Poetry has a rapier-like quality, revealing our emotions, motives and sometimes hubris,which is why I love the work of John Donne so much. You can find it in science too. I like to think mathematics is the poetry of science,a kind of haiku in which you can spin a whole universe and its destiny out of a few symbols.”

Ian Blatchford has been director and chief executive of the Science Museum Group for the past eight years. Previously he was deputy director of London’s V&A Museum

Poet: Rosy Carrick

Nikola Tesla was the Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer who was best known for his contribution to the design of electric currents. What’s interesting about Tesla is the line between creativity and insanity. Often the work of a creative genius can seem like magic or craziness but we realise later that it is someone simply ahead of their time.”

For the past eight years, writer and performer Rosy Carrick has been a co-host of the Latitude Festival poetry stage and also co-curates the Port Eliot Festival poetry stage.

The top of the Carlyle hotel in New YorkTHE CARLYLE, A ROSEWOOD HOTEL

New York is a city steeped in poets, from the likes of Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg to today’s virtuosos on the slam poetry scene. The Carlyle Hotel has the great fortune to have a legacy in both camps, as legend on the Upper East Side, home to the city’s aristocracy, and for its Bemelmans Bar, famously decorated by illustrator extraordinaire Ludwig Bemelmans.

rosewoodhotels.com

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue

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closeup photo of turned on computer monitor

closeup photo of turned on computer monitor

By Greg Williams

A LUX x ROSEWOOD COLLABORATION

Black and white portrait of WIRED magazine editor Greg Williams

Greg Williams

In recent years, ambitious parents have added a further endeavour to the list of educational activities they believe will enhance the character of their children. Along with music lessons, chess and languages, coding has become a must for any child whois to compete in the global economy of the future. No longer is it acceptable to master the Suzuki violin method or be proficient with an épée, no, the corporate titans of the future must also be armed with a fully developed grasp of the programming language Python. Tiger mothers from Cupertino to Chelsea compete to secure Imperial College computer science graduates as tutors, fearful that their children will be left behind by the merciless advancement of AI and quantum computing.

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There is some truth to large numbers of young people needing to be proficient in STEM skills. But it isn’t the whole picture. As it has floundered from one recent catastrophe to another, Facebook has demonstrated at in ear to deficiencies in its business, from culpability in undermining the democratic process to data privacy. Founder Mark Zuckerberg’s response that he would ‘fix’ Facebook demonstrated his engineer’s mindset. Having leadership capable of empathy and creative engagement would have served it much better than the obfuscation and platitudes that have become its hallmark.

Technical, scientific and engineering skills are crucial for economies, but so too is the underpinning of all discovery: language. Many in the technology industry believe that coding will soon be done by machines themselves, making much of what humans do today obsolete. What will remain crucial for our advancement are the skills that existed long before the concept of the programmable computer: human creativity and ingenuity. It’s what will determine our destiny.

Six ways to get technical:

1. Realise that it’s not just you; everyone else is also trying to understand what digital transformation means.
2. Ignore jargon. If it can’t be explained simply,you probably don’t need to know about it.
3. Don’t be afraid of the new.
4. Assume big tech is not your friend.
5. Stay curious. You have access to every piece of information ever, why follow Kylie Jenner?
6. It’s not really about technology, it’s about human beings.

Greg Williams is editor in chief of WIRED

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue.

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close-up photo of SPMTE color bars

close-up photo of SPMTE color bars

By Dylan Jones

A LUX x ROSEWOOD COLLABORATION

Portrait of GQ editor Dylan Jones

Dylan Jones

I remember the very first time I met Jonathan Ive [Apple’s chief design officer], 15 years ago, at the old Design Museum near London’s Tower Bridge. It was a winter’s evening and we were sipping entry-level sauvignon blanc and eating overly complex finger food as we stared across the Thames and compared notes on how our respective companies were working together.

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We were talking about the need for creatives to work more collaboratively with those in the emerging tech sector, and, obviously, why it was imperative that ‘tech-heads’ (his term, not mine), should seek out more creatives. A decade and a half later, the penny finally seems to be dropping.

I have long been involved in discussions with creatives about how the big tech companies still think they can get away with treating content providers like serfs, but not only does this situation look as though it is slowly changing, but also it seems that far more people in tech are now reaching out to the creative industries. Not because they still desperately need content, but more importantly because they understand that in order to build long-standing editorial propositions, it is vital for both sectors to work hand in hand. Which means that the creative sector as a whole needs to be more responsive, and perhaps even more proactive in reaching out to tech, in order to start building for the future. It is no use pitching editorial against delivery systems, as they both need each other, more so now than at any time in the past.

Almost unbelievably, there are still those on both sides of the divide who think that one can work without the other. But more fool them. The future is bright and the future is exciting and the future is right here under our noses, but there is little point in trying to embrace it alone.

Six ways to get creative:

1. Build a proposition that partners can co-own.
2. Never clip your own wings.
3. Be transgressive as well as transformative.
4. Listen more.
5. Ask more questions.
6. Own the data.

Dylan Jones is the editor in chief of British GQ and menswear chairman of the British Fashion Council.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue.

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Immersive digital art installation with coloured lights surrounding a room
Large scale installation of black and white faces pasted onto the floor of a Paris museum by artist JR

‘Inside Out, Au Pantheon, Nef, Paris, France’; by JR (2014)

It’s not just the consumption of art that is being revolutionised by technology; it’s all about the democratisation of who can become a creative, and the effect this can have on society, says Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst

A LUX x ROSEWOOD COLLABORATION

Portrait of Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, founder of Futurepace

Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst

A few years ago, I became aware of teamLab, an extraordinary group of  artists based in Tokyo. They have over  500 members in their organisation, and they  come from all walks of life. When you meet  them and exchange business cards, you will find one might be an architect, one might be a programmer. It’s quite an astonishing  group, all working together to create these amazing visual experiences. At the time, they had had numerous exhibitions in Japan; their immersive interactive digital works result in hugely colourful exhibitions.

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Most of their subject matter is based on the natural environment: they create flowers, birds, trees, fish, butterflies and waterfalls, and the viewer becomes part of the experience of the exhibition. Through the way in which their algorithms work, the artworks respond to and interact with visitors. Some of the pieces are very large, such as one in Tokyo where you roll up your trousers, take your shoes off and walk across the floor, and (digital) fish touch you, swim around you and swim away. In these exhibitions, the work is programmed at the start of the exhibition, but is influenced by the visitors. The artist stops having control from the moment the first visitor appears, which moves things on from the repetitive visual loop you would see in earlier video art displays.

Immersive digital art installation with coloured lights surrounding a room

teamLab digital art installation ‘The Infinite Crystal Universe’

It was when we [Pace Gallery] were hosting a show in Palo Alto, California, by teamLab, in the old Tesla factory, that it became evident that the old ‘white cube art gallery’ model was not the way to support artists such as these. The exhibition was ticketed, the space was huge, and it travelled to London and Beijing; its size and reach were beyond anything a traditional private gallery could host, as it had large-scale public appeal.

Tech engineers and programmers creating art is a major change for the future of creativity in general, and the art world in particular. Five or 10 years ago, I felt the art world to be slow on the uptake of technology. These artists are now creating a new world of art through technology, understanding the tools you need to bring the disciplines together. You have teams of people with science and technology backgrounds and others who have studied art together in a studio – people with sharply different backgrounds and skill sets. It’s unlikely you would have had engineers in an art studio just a decade ago.

Read more: Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer on urban transformation

This means that participation is no longer just about the art world; we are reaching a much broader audience. Previously, the art world was confined to a very small percentage of people. Now the reach of these new types of art is much broader; through social media, millions are seeing it, and millions are visiting exhibitions by artists such as teamLab, JR or Random International. Studio Drift, a team we work with in the Netherlands, has just had an exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, which was one of the most-visited shows the museum has ever done.

They have a much wider reach than a typical contemporary art show. This in turn means there is a whole new category of people experiencing this kind of creativity, who wouldn’t go to see a show of works on canvas. It opens doors to new audiences, and it also by extension gives the opportunity for people to start to see themselves as artists who may not have otherwise considered doing so.

Still image of large scale digital installation by art collective teamLab

Video graphic of rippling waves by Tokyo art collective teamLab

Here and above: ‘Trancending Boundaries’ by teamLab

We are in a moment in time when much is changing. Groups of artists have a much bigger reach, they are involved in conversations around nature and sustainability and technology, and all these artists care very much about how art can be part of people’s lives, moving nature into the built environment, and seeing how nature can be incorporated into modern life.

With FuturePace (through which we represent artist groups like these) and our partner Futurecity, we are involved in conversations with airports, cities and placemakers. There is a public realm element to it, lifting people’s lives with art experiences. JR, for example, is not just a street artist. He has a message he wants to convey, he is understood by a very broad swathe of people (he has 1.2 million Instagram followers) and his work has the power to transform societies. He has worked in favelas in Brazil, set up schools, started projects to feed homeless people, and worked against gun crime. He has seen that art has the power to speak to people and transform. He is very passionate and energetic in what he does, and he deals with art that is aimed to be visible to the many, not the few. And his art is not just for the wealthy. The democratisation of art is the next frontier, outside of the world of the galleries. It is an inclusive movement, inclusive of people who can make it and also of those who can consume it.

Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst is a former president of Pace London, the international gallery group, and co-founder of FuturePace, a collaboration between Pace and the placemaking city developer Futurecity. Find out more: future-pace.com

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue. 

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South african open air safari camp pictured at night
South african open air safari camp pictured at night

The safari deck at Selati Camp with views across the bush

Why should I go now?

Whilst the frost is settling over Europe, it’s summer in South Africa and the sun is scorching.

The Sabi Sand Wildtuin is an unfenced private game reserve stretching a massive 60,000 hectares of pure, uninterrupted wilderness. It’s situated adjacent to the Kruger National Park and is regarded as one of the top safari destinations in the country; home to the Big Five (i.e. lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant) and over 200 other animals.

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Aside from the game drives, “Tshamakahle”, “stay well” in Shangaan (the local language of Sabi Sands) is the only item on the To Do list.

Suite at a traditional luxury safari camp in africa with vintage furnishings

The Ivory Presidential suite with a private plunge pool

What’s the lowdown?

The Selati Camp is one of four luxury all-suite lodges at Sabi Sabi. Intimate with a classic, vintage aesthetic (think thatched roofs and original antiques), the vibe is elegant yet eclectic. The service style is old school, though not too formal, and very personable. Nothing feels too much to ask.

The safari experience generally follows the same routine: at 5.30am the ranger comes knocking on your door for the morning drive, which might sound horrifying but this is the best time to spot the animals before they all slink away into the shade. To soften the blow, there are blankets and hot water bottles in the trucks, and after an hour or two of driving, there’s often a pitstop for breakfast in the bush.

Read more: We speak to designer Mandkhai Jargalsaikhan about Mongolian cashmere

After that, the rest of the day is left open for snoozing, sunbathing, book reading, drawing or whatever else takes your fancy. The evening safari starts at 4pm, returning in time for dinner.

An alfresco bath tub surrounded by candles

An outdoor bathtub beside one of the luxury suites

Getting horizontal

We loved the earthy colour palette, natural textures and the grandeur of the four poster bed draped with a curtain.

There are no fences around the lodges and our shower and bath were alfresco, which all added to the feeling of being at one with nature.

Flipside

The Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve is perfect to get to by private plane from Nelspruit (less than 15 minutes in the air), but if you arrive after dark they won’t let you land on the Sabi Sabi airstrip because it’s too hard to keep the animals off the run way.

Rates: From £650 (approx. €750 /$850 ) per person per night, all inclusive.

To book your stay visit: sabisabi.com/lodges/selaticamp

Kitty Harris

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Fashion look book with two images of models wearing suits and white heels
Fashion look book with two images of models wearing suits and white heels

Looks from the MANDKHAI Autumn/ Winter 2018 collection

Mongolian designer Mandkhai Jargalsaikhan’s eponymous brand is dedicated to the sustainable production of high quality cashmere. Using yarn spun from the coats of free roaming goats, the cashmere is dyed and then delicately crafted into elegant, contemporary garments. We ask the designer 6 Questions.

Portrait of designer Mongolian designer Mandkhai Jargalsaikhan, founder of MANDKHAI luxury cashmere brand

Mandkhai Jargalsaikhan

1. What’s your favourite memory from your childhood?

My favourite memories will have to be the times I spent at the factory growing up. My parents always worked until late so I would often be with them at the factory watching the craftsmen do their jobs and playing around.

We got visitors regularly at the factory and one time everyone kept asking me to go this man and ask for an autograph. I did as I was told not knowing who it was because I must have been around 5-6 years old. Later I found out it was Richard Gere!

2. Why did you want to start your own brand?

I started MANDKHAI because I saw that there was a gap in the market for well designed, modern cashmere pieces. Everything I saw was very basic and old fashioned. After studying fashion design in London, I felt like I could offer something more exciting using my background in cashmere production. We make everything ourselves in our factory in Mongolia and are vertically integrated, so I really wanted to show the different processes and give an insight into the craftsmanship and expertise that goes into the production of cashmere, which in itself is sustainable.

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My name means to rise above in Mongolian. I decided to stick with my name because I wanted the brand to be personal and relatable while staying true to my roots.

Model poses in studio setting wearing a white t-shirt and white trousers

MANDKHAI Spring/ Summer 2019 collection

3. What’s your top tip for recognising and buying high quality cashmere?

Just because it’s super soft does not necessarily mean it’s good quality cashmere. Do have a look at where it was made. Mongolian cashmere (not to be confused with inner Mongolia as that’s a region in China) is of higher quality because the cashmere comes from free roaming goats that produce the fibre to survive the harsh winters reaching up to -50C. Good quality cashmere will last you decades and becomes even softer as you wear it and will even stop pilling.

4. Do you think it’s possible for fashion to become fully sustainable?

Everything is possible, so yes I do think fashion can become fully sustainable. It just needs people to want it.

Read more: Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer on urban transformation

5. Who or what is inspiring you right now?

A trip I took to Wyoming and Jackson hole is currently inspiring me. The nature is beautiful there and it’s similar to Mongolia in some areas. Our next collection is based on this trip and I am very excited to share it soon.

Model poses wearing an orange slip dress

MANDKHAI Spring/ Summer 2019 collection

6. What’s next for MANDKHAI?

Recently we have added a menswear line and are excited to see the growth as we are getting good responses. I think fashion is becoming more and more androgynous and it will be definitely interesting to design for men. We will also keep pushing our womenswear and work to create an awareness around cashmere production.

Discover the MANDKHAI collections: mandkhai.com

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Bird's eye shot of Canary Wharf, London at night with a sunset sky
Bird's eye shot of Canary Wharf, London at night with a sunset sky

The Canary Wharf Estate is now one of London’s most recognisable views

Once an industrial dockyard, Canary Wharf Estate is now home to London’s most famous skyline of angular glass towers, but thanks to the vision of property developer Canary Wharf Group, it’s also a highly desirable residential area with a thriving Arts + Events programme, high-end dining options and plenty of luxury developments underway. LUX speaks to the group’s Managing Director Camille Waxer about creating a lifestyle destination, the importance of public art and her vision for the future
Colour portrait of Camille Waxer, the managing director of leading property development company the canary wharf group

Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer

LUX: What’s your vision for Wood Wharf as Canary Wharf’s newest mixed use district?
Camille Waxer: Our new district is designed to provide a residential led, mixed-use, waterside community defined by the quality of its public spaces, the diversity of its activities and its exemplary architecture.

The finished development will have the buzz that currently exists at Canary Wharf complemented by the tranquil setting of waterside living. Boutique shops and neighbourhood restaurants will be part of a thriving community with entertainment and leisure activities within the gardens, parks and squares and along the waterside boardwalks that line to the north and south side of Wood Wharf. As with Canary Wharf, art will be an integral part the community, in addition to a gallery there will art dotted throughout the development. There will also be a primary school, nurseries, GP surgery and play spaces for children.

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LUX: How do you select retailers for Canary Wharf? Have you noticed an increased demand for independent businesses or are high street names still dominant?
Camille Waxer: Initially the vision for the retail and food and beverage provision was to serve the working population but it was clear from very early on that the area wanted more, we started out with 6,000 sq ft of retail space and we now have over 1 million sq ft and Canary Wharf has become a destination. We evolved and we will continue to develop to meet the needs of the many visitors who come here – we regularly survey our visitors in the malls to deliver the shops, cafes, restaurants, services and amenities that people want at Canary Wharf. Our aim has always been to deliver what our customers want; it is a simple yet winning formula. Know your market, both with the retailers and your shoppers and your customers will become advocates for what you do.

The current trend is for independents which we love, there are some really interesting brands coming through but we need high street retailers as well, you need the mix. Our choice of retailers – whether they’re independents or high street names – will continue to increase, with the addition of new brands, particularly in food and leisure, and health and fitness. We recently launched Wharf Kitchen – a street food market where we bought together seven independents together and The Ivy, Polo Ralph Lauren, Peloton and Claudie Pierlot have also opened recently.

Shot from behind the stage at a music festival looking out at the crowds enjoying the music

A crowd enjoying Nashville Meets London music concert in Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf

LUX: With Arts+Events, retail and dining, Canary Wharf has transformed in feel; it’s now much more than just a business district. How do you create a lifestyle destination?
Camille Waxer: We have 120,000 people working here each day and another 150,000 people visiting daily so it is important to create a place that people like. Our approach from the design of our master plan over 30 years ago through to what you see today and will continue to see in the future is centred on our belief that it is the consideration and integration of every part of this development that makes it the incredible place that it is – everything from the smallest detail to the largest of buildings.

We not only want to create exceptional buildings like our flagship residential building, One Park Drive, designed by Swiss architects Herzog de Meuron, but also an incredible environment for all of our visitors to enjoy. From the outset, public realm has been key to our development. We put our shops underground so we could put parks above them. When you walk around Canary Wharf you’ll will find buildings designed by globally renowned architectural practices surrounded by beautiful and award-winning gardens, parks and squares – all complemented by a culturally inspiring arts and events programme.

Read more: Why you need to see Alberto Giacometti at Guggenheim, Bilbao

LUX: Why it is important for an area to have Arts+Events programmes and what do you think are the most effective ways of building/creating a community feel?
Camille Waxer: From the outset we had a cultural masterplan that included a fully curated programme of day and evening events and activations throughout the week. The culture is the glue that holds Canary Wharf together, without it we would be like every other development.

Our year-round Arts+Events programme delivers over 200 diverse events each year, designed to offer something for all tastes, there is everything from music concerts, comedy nights, family and community shows to food markets, sporting events, dance and theatre – all free to attend. We work with many of the world’s leading art institutions yet crucially we also work with small, local community groups who are part of the fabric of our Estate. The sense of community that you feel when visiting Canary Wharf comes from the people, whilst the developer can create the place it is the people that will make it a community and we recognised this from the very beginning.

Our events are designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, from the local area and beyond and through our events programme, people engage, interact and enjoy their time at Canary Wharf. In January, we have our fantastic Winter Lights Festival which runs for 10 days and has become a must see event in people’s calendars.

Large public light installation in Canary Wharf, London

Public art installation of blue LED lights amongst an urban landscape

Here and above: installations from the 2018 Winter Lights display in Canary Wharf

LUX: Canary Wharf Group has an impressive public art collection which includes work by Henry Moore and light artist Bill Culbert. What purpose do corporate collections serve?
Camille Waxer: Art is in our DNA and has been integrated in to the built environment from the very beginning. We have always been driven to provide a destination that has a positive impact on those who use it – the office occupiers, the local community and visitors to our Estate and for us art plays a huge part in this. Our corporate collection serves the local and wider community, it is accessible, and most importantly located in places where it can be seen and touched. The art that you see throughout the Estate has helped to create a sense of place.

Canary Wharf is now home to one of London’s largest collections of public art with over 70 pieces of art across the Estate, new pieces are added to the permanent collection each year and we also host a temporary exhibition programme that champions emerging and local artists alongside more well-known artists. Our CEO and Chairman Sir George Iacobescu, CBE is the force behind the collection and I feel privileged to work with him on it.

LUX: In 2013 you launched Level39, a tech community offering expert mentors and workspaces. How does this scheme work and where did the idea come from?
Camille Waxer: With London emerging as one of the world’s leading centres of technology innovation – we launched Level39, a community and co-working space for startups and scale-ups situated in the heart of Canary Wharf. It is now home to 200 ambitious companies and has grown to become the leading fintech – financial technology – hub in the world and the largest concentration of cyber security startups in the city.

The community has helped change the Canary Wharf from a predominantly financial services district to a more technology-focused community.

LUX: What’s the greatest challenge in managing a 97 acre site with a service charge budget of over £90m?
Camille Waxer: I can only respond in saying that we have the most amazing team of dedicated people working for Canary Wharf Group. Yes we have challenges yet we are a very well-oiled machine, with a huge amount of expertise and experience.

We are all exceptionally proud of everything we have achieved, there are challenges as with any organisation yet they are dealt with as a team and as a result it is a joy to manage the Estate even with the challenges.

LUX: When Southbank Place completes in 2019 what can we expect to see?
Camille Waxer: Southbank Place has been one of the most talked-about developments in London since it was first announced, and I believe that it will really change the landscape of the local area once complete. The location is so central and such a great cultural hub, I can’t wait for us to be part of the community with merging our own arts and events programme with the surrounding venues.
Some of our shops have already opened Gail’s Bakery, M&S and Boots to name a few. The independents will follow. Southbank Place is just the start of the revitalisation of this area of London.

Read more: Philippe Sereys de Rothschild on fine wine & supporting the arts

LUX: How do you make sustainability a priority whilst trying to meet consumer demands?
Camille Waxer: Sustainability is an integral part of our strategy to shape Canary Wharf as a city of the future. With our new residential developments our Estate is evolving; from a place to work in to a place to live. And we know consumers want a more sustainable planet/environment.

On World Environment Day, June 2018 we launched ‘Breaking the Plastic Habit’, a 12 month programme designed to remove single-use plastics across the Canary Wharf Estate. As part of this programme, we have committed to becoming the world’s first commercial centre to be accredited with ‘Plastic Free Community’ status in partnership with Surfers against Sewage, a national marine conservation and campaigning charity. This is something that we are passionate about with the volume of food operators we have and it is our responsibility to do something about it.

LUX: Can we expect to see changes in consumer buying in the next ten years and will this affect leasing and retail spaces?
Camille Waxer: The retail market continues to be challenging. However, there is still a huge demand for retail stores as consumers continue to want to enjoy retail experiences within physical store environments. The trend at the moment is for independent operators and it is wonderful to see the talent emerging, I sit in many meetings and I think wow that takes guts to give it all up to open up a food stall. A blend / mix of independents and high street is important.

Pimms being served in a london garden from a trolley with a red umbrella

Visitors enjoying Pimms being served for the Wimbledon tennis screening in Cabot Square, Canary Wharf

LUX: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?
Camille Waxer: My biggest achievement is the time that I have spent here. I have been working at Canary Wharf Group for 28 years, I have been part of realising our vision for a master plan that was completely new to London – the creation of a purpose built, district designed to respond to the needs of its users in an area that was unused and suffering from high levels of dilapidation and unemployment following the closure of the docks.

The early days were some of my favourite moments, at the time there were few believers in what we were doing but look at where we are now; we have gone beyond what anyone thought possible, we haven’t simply created a district we have created a destination – Canary Wharf is vibrant and thriving with over 49 million people visiting our malls each year. We have contributed to the regeneration of a large area of our city. It doesn’t get much better than this!

The passion and collective hard work of the team here is very inspiring. This is not a job for me, it is a pleasure.

LUX: When you’re not leading the group’s retail efforts, how do you like to spend your time?
Camille Waxer: My daughter and my husband play golf so I walk the courses with them which is pretty much every weekend and once a year I get my own clubs out but frankly that is probably once too many. I love going to the theatre, art galleries, dabbling in property development and sitting on the dock at my friend’s cottage in the lake area outside of Toronto; just enjoying the moment, it is magic.

Find out more: group.canarywharf.com

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Luxury dining room with large windows into the gardens
Luxury dining room with large windows into the gardens

The winter terrace at Rampoldi restaurant in Monaco

First opened in 1946, Mediterranean restaurant Rampoldi is legendary in Monaco for hosting Hollywood icons such Princess Grace and Roger Moore. Now with a fresh new look and a young star chef at helm, the restaurant has its sights set on Michelin status. LUX asks chef Antonio Salvatore 6 Questions.

Portrait of Rampoldi restaurant's head chef Antonio Salvatore

Chef Antonio Salvatore

1. What are some of the food markets across the world that inspire (or have inspired) your cooking?

Food is emotion. I believe food generally serves as a natural gateway to a more profound understanding of culture and history, people and places. I’ve made no secret of my affection for cooking with fresh produce. Some markets that have really caught my eye are: La Boqueria in Barcelona, Mercado Saint Miguel in Madrid or Rungis in Paris. Wherever I go, I take inspiration from what I see and bring that into Rampoldi’s special gourmet dishes.

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2. Which dish are you most proud of at Rampoldi and why?

I think it would definitely have to be the roasted baby goat with aromatic herbs. My attachment to this dish is deep, dating back to my childhood. The rugged terrain of Basilicata [in Southern Italy], where I come from, makes the area well-suited to goat grazing. The tender, tasty meat of baby goats from the area is very valued. I love this dish for its simplicity and unparalleled flavour… some our clients come especially for this.

3. What’s the secret behind your famous tomato sauce?

A true classic of Italian cuisine! It’s perfect for so many dishes, but especially for pasta. Fresh tomatoes from the garden and the best olive oil are two of the main ingredients. For the rest, you’ll have to come to Rampoldi to try it out…

Luxury dish served at Rampoldi restaurant in Monaco

Beef steak tartare with Royal Premium caviar and apple sorbet

4. With so many luxury dining options in Monaco, how do you stand out?

Our clients understand that dining out at Rampoldi is a great opportunity to unwind, relax and enjoy a delicious meal in a great atmosphere. I have always believed this is what most people are looking for when they decide to dine out. Our clients are at the core of everything we do. We have created a very strong connection with our regulars over the years. I know all of their favourite dishes and flavours!

Read more: Geoffrey Kent’s hottest travel experiences & destinations for 2019

5. Where do you see the restaurant in five years?

My heart is in Rampoldi. My everyday goal is to see my clients happy. Rampoldi has become a feeling, a state of mind. Over the next few years, I’m aiming to achieve our first Michelin star, which would be a great validation of our work. We also have plans on expanding internationally in the next couple of years.

a gourmet dessert elegantly served at Rampoldi restaurant

Rampoldi’s ‘Le Citron’ – lemon and mint pieces covered in white chocolate mousse, coated in a crispy shell

6. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt as a chef?

Over the years, I have had incredible opportunities, working alongside some of the world’s most famous chefs. After spending so much time with these incredible and successful individuals, I now better understand the meaning of creating a compelling vision for my life: understanding the power of a decision, working harder than anyone else to achieve my goals, and learning to adapt in life and my career when things don’t go as planned. However, the most powerful lesson I’ve learnt is to respect and understand the power of relationships. This is something I brought with me at Rampoldi and is at the core of everything we do.

Find out more about the restaurant: rampoldi.mc

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