Hublot’s latest series of classic fusion chronographs is a celebration of the laid-back Mediterranean lifestyle

Evoking the mood of luxuriously languid days on board a superyacht, Hublot has selected a nautical colour palette for their ‘Cruise’ collection, a new limited edition trio of classic fusion chronographs. The timepieces are named after, and pay homage to the Mediterranean islands of Ibiza, Mykonos, and Capri with varying shades of blue contrasted against striking white and metallic details.

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Ibiza

The dominant colour of the model dedicated to the ‘White Isle’ is complemented by a blue ceramic satin-finished bezel and 45-mm case enclosing the chronograph movement, bound by a bi-material strap in cerulean blue rubber and white alligator leather. Characteristic of the brand’s innovative fusion of materials, these highly resistant and waterproof strap components are beautifully stitched in blue, alongside the polished and engraved back case and matte white dials.

Mykonos

Incorporating a similar combination of materials, but with the option of either king gold or titanium, the Mykonos model fully showcases the mechanisms of the watch, revealing the inner workings of the self-winding chronograph movement. Sapphire crystal sits at the centre of the dial, reflected in the Aegean blue lacquered small seconds hands and matching blue ceramic bezel and strap. The most striking element comes in the form of a small rotating windmill aligned at three o’clock, distinguishing the model with the island’s iconic attractions.

Read more: OMM’s Creative Director Idil Tabanca on creating an art institution

Capri

The most relaxed of the three models, the Capri watch is decidedly lighter in colour with a sky blue satin-finished dial housed in a ceramic case of the same bespoke blue. The white lined rubber strap adds a touch of sporty chic, bringing a different dimension to this easy-to-wear collection.

Chloe Frost-Smith

For more information visit: hublot.com

This September will see the opening of Odunpazari Modern Museum (OMM), a major new art museum in Eskişehir, Turkey. Designed by architects Kengo Kuma and Associates, the museum is the brainchild of art collector Erol Tabanca, whose collection will provide the permanent exhibition, and his daughter Idil Tabanca who sits at the helm as Creative Director. We speak to Idil about her multidisciplinary approach, creating an international cultural destination and the challenge of bringing contemporary art to new audiences.

LUX: You were one of the founding editors of the successful New York-based art and fashion magazine Bullett – do you see yourself primarily as a journalist?
Idil Tabanca: No, not at all. I studied digital media because I always thought I was going to go into film. I wanted to do set design, production design, that kind of thing. Growing up that was my dream. I just wanted to make stuff. After I graduated, I worked in film for a couple of years on various projects in the US and then I was called in to do production design for a film in New York and that’s where I met the people I ended up setting up the magazine with. We just fell into, it was very organic and we didn’t have any money so we became our own publishers because we had all this great content that we wanted to put out. There are so many stories which aren’t at all luxurious like we would get our friends to dress up as catering staff for the cover shoot of some Oscar winning actor. We didn’t have the money to hire actual caterers but we wanted to keep up the appearance. It was like the con that didn’t end.

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LUX: And you’ve gone from that to being the Creative Director of OMM.
Idil Tabanca: Well yes, and this is a very different project because for starters, it’s my family’s foundation. My father [Erol Tabanca] started collecting art about thirty years ago. It started out just as a pure love for art and the pleasure he got from it, there was no strategy involved. He was buying what he wanted to buy. As time progressed, he filled up his house and then his entire office, he didn’t have enough room for the art and he also wanted to share the works that he found so inspiring so he started the foundation. That was around the time I was closing the magazine because the internet happened. It happened to the world. So many magazines were closing. The museum is a great opportunity because if I was at another institution like this, it would’ve taken me a really long time to be here. I felt like there could be an opportunity for me to have a voice, to have a say for the young people that needed this kind of a platform back in Turkey.

I feel like there’s huge potential in Turkey for artists, but not necessarily any organisations and platforms. The exciting part of the project for me is that I can actually give young people that opportunity.

LUX: Have you always shared your father’s passion for art?
Idil Tabanca: It was part of the magazine: we covered art, fashion, culture and cinema. I have always been interested in video and photography because of my studies, but I don’t have this amazing knowledge of art history or anything like that. It wasn’t part of my education so I’m learning that part now. Even just getting familiar with the art collection is a huge amount of work. I feel like I’ve got a good sense of aesthetics, but I’m learning the rest. I’m exposing myself to a lot of art, I read a lot, go to a lot of exhibitions.

Read more: London to Cornwall in a luxury Mercedes-Benz camper van

LUX: Can you tell us more about your concept for the museum?
Idil Tabanca: We’re from Eskişehir as a family and people from Eskişehir are very proud because it’s like a secular, intellectual, very young and fun town in Turkey. It’s very unique. They say it’s like a European city in Turkey. People are very open minded and because of that, there’s a huge potential for young people. There are also three art universities. My father has always felt that he wanted to give back to that community in some way.

We chose Kengo Kuma, whose work is so iconic, to make the museum iconic. Bilbao was an industrial city before the Guggenheim came and now it’s known as an art destination; I think Eskişehir has that same potential. For a long time in Turkey because of the regime and what’s happened there, there hasn’t been a lot of exciting developments. We also don’t have a huge museum culture. I don’t have any memories of going to museums with my family. I love that we might be able to change that for some people, and to change the place. Having a museum like this, starts an exchange, it becomes a bridge between cultures. For example, we have Kengo Kuma’s work  and we have Japanese artists who are showing. We want different cultures to be able to merge in the space.

LUX: We hear that the museum is also going to have a strong connection with fashion, is that right?
Idil Tabanca: Yes, I want every aspect of the museum to be like an art work in its own right and I’ve got Turkish fashion designer Dilara Findikoglu to design the uniforms for the museum staff. She’s blown up recently and dresses people like Madonna. I think that she’ll be the creative director of somewhere like Alexander McQueen very soon. But the reason for collaborating with her was, firstly, to challenge people. She is completely embraced internationally and keeps winning fashion awards, but in Turkey I feel like it’s part of our culture to be suspicious of anything that’s actually good and we do that to artists too. We don’t appreciate them at home as much as you do in Western culture. In Turkey, there’s no sense of protecting the things that are valuable and that’s the same with ruins even, you’re just allowed to walk all over the place. So I want to work with and give value to artists and designers from our communities that are doing really well outside of the country. That’s the reason we’re putting together a homecoming show to start a dialogue about who we are as a culture and why we don’t appreciate these people or talk abut them. We have local celebrities, but they’re not the people who are making a difference in the world.

LUX: And how will the exhibition programme work?
Idil Tabanca: We have the permanent collection, which will constantly change and be curated by different people and then we’ll have travelling shows and events. Exhibitions by other artists who have nothing to do with the permanent collection. For example, we’re bringing work by Marshmallow Laser Feast (who recently had a VR experience at the Saatchi gallery) to the opening. They’re really interesting because they use technology to bring people back to nature – I’m really excited to collaborate with them. Also the other part which will be so exciting for me is that we’ll get people coming to the museum who haven’t been exposed to anything, we’re going to get such a raw audience.

LUX: What are local attitudes towards contemporary art? Is there much of an existing art scene?
Idil Tabanca: Yes, there is definitely an art scene. There’s a tiny wooden museum, glass blowing is huge and there are lots of little shops that make ceramics. There’s part of the town which is all these old houses, which look like they would have hundreds of years a go. There’s a wax museum, which is hilarious because no-one looks like they’re supposed to, but it receives 11,000 visitors on the weekend, which demonstrates the lack of cultural activities. But yes, we’re in talks with the art universities. We want to have residency artists that come in from abroad and to give them access to the facilities. We’re also going to organise discussions and education programmes. There’s the only animation studio in Turkey there so there’s definitely a lot of potential.

Read more: Savoir Beds’ MD Alistair Hughes on the value of craftsmanship

LUX: Are there any contemporary Turkish artists that you’re particularly excited about at the moment?
Idil Tabanca: Nilbar Güreş’ work is phenomenal. She’s based in Vienna. Another one of my favourite Turkish artists is Sukran Moral. She’s definitely someone I’d love to bring [to the museum] sometime in the future. She’s pretty established and is currently based in Italy.  She’s fantastic. Also Fatma Bucak is another young Turkish artist that I’d like to bring to the museum. She has some wonderful videos.

LUX: How much of a consideration is sustainability?
Idil Tabanca: The building is made from sustainable forests, and we are trying to make it all as sustainable as possible, but in a place where that dialogue hasn’t started yet, it’s going to be tougher for us. So we have this task of talking to people and explaining to them why it’s important, why we’re not giving out plastic bags for example. I think it’s the responsibility of institution like ours to be a leader on these kinds of things.

LUX: Lastly, for first time visitors to Eskişehir, what are your hot tips for things to do and see?
Idil Tabanca: Oh my god, there’s so much to do! There’s a really good thermal spa. Then there’s also this fake Disneyland that I think is fascinating. You go and Snow White has her wig on sideways, it’s just a very weird place. The old part of town too where they have all these really cute houses and artists with their own little studios and shops selling handmade things. The area is called Odunpazarı, and it’s so beautiful. The museum is right in the middle of everything so the best way is to just walk around and discover the area.

OMM will officially open in September 2019, for more information visit: omm.art

The Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo camper van provides a luxurious and hassle-free alternative to camping, as Digital Editor Millie Walton discovered on a road trip around Cornwall

At its best camping means seclusion, starry nights, wilderness, mugs of hot chocolate, campfires and barbecues; at its worst it means pouring rain, crowds of people, and hours of packing and unpacking. Usually, it’s a combination of the two. As children, we would drift around, teeth chattering in our damp pjs hoping for an invitation or even just a glimpse inside one of the gleaming camper vans that promised unimaginable luxuries: warmth, electricity, a real bed. Last summer, the childhood dream came true in the form of the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo.

Needless to say that the Marco Polo is a lot smarter than most of the camper vans I encountered as a child; in fact, if you were to pass it by unaware, you’d most likely think it was a luxurious people carrier rather than a camper. It’s sophisticated and spacious, rather than bohemian and cosy.

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On Friday evening with a fridge full of food and cupboards stuffed with crockery and bedding, we set off from London to Cornwall, or rather to Blackdown Hills in Devon where we had booked in for a night at a farm campsite to break up the journey. Aside from this one reservation, our general plan was to have no plan, to find the most beautiful, remote cliff-edges and watch the sunset on the horizon with a glass of wine. The real joy of a camper van is the absence of hassle; it’s all there, ready to go, whenever you want it.

The drive down was incredibly comfortable. It’s a large vehicle, but it’s easy to control with excellent visibility; little flashing lights appear in the wing mirrors when another car is approaching and a 360-degree camera system that makes reversing and parking actually fun. We had a few hairy moments of sliding cutlery on sweeping bends, and had to do a bit of rearranging in the back, but all in all, it was a pleasure to drive. Perched high up on the driver’s leather arm chair, you have the sense of commanding the road.

The Marco Polo’s interiors are high-tech, sleek and shiny. There’s a lot of leather, chrome and metallic surfaces; it reminded us of being inside a yacht, but with the roof up, it is spacious enough to stand upright, which makes cooking a lot easier. The first night, we struggled working out which button did what and regretted not studying the manual on the way down. In an ideal world, you’d be given a quick demo before you set off; I’m convinced there were lots more exciting features that we didn’t discover.

Read more: Savoir Beds’ MD Alistair Hughes on the value of craftsmanship

It might not be the most homely of spaces, but the layout has been carefully considered to maximise space. There are plenty of hidden cupboards and drawers, and the option of two double beds: one ‘upstairs’ in a pop roof (you push a button and it raises electrically) and one ‘downstairs’ formed from the rear seats, which flatten at the touch of another button. We preferred the downstairs bed because it was warmer, but the upstairs mattress is more comfortable owing to the fact that it is actually a mattress rather than two slightly lumpy leather chairs. Each morning, after a cooked breakfast, we hopped into the front and hit the road – easy as that.

Our route took us on a tour around the edge of Cornwall, which did mean encountering several remote cliff-tops, but it’s actually harder than you think to find camping friendly spots that aren’t on private land or somewhat precarious. Also if you want to utilise the mood lighting, it’s necessary to occasionally plug in and charge up. We didn’t mind the campsites though, even the busier ones. Tucked up inside with the doors shut and curtains drawn, we felt snug and enclosed in own little space pod. It took us a while to work out the best layout for daytime usage; there was a lot of swivelling seats and moving things in and out of different cupboards but after a few days, we had it all figured out.

We spent four nights sleeping in the camper, and could have easily spent more. It is able to accommodate up to four guests sleeping, but it would be tight with more than two sharing the space unless they were small children. Also it’s worth noting that it feels a bit too slick for climbing in and out of with sandy feet and wet suits, and I wouldn’t imagine it’s the best environment for dogs; we became oddly precious about sweeping the wood panelled flooring, more out of anxiety than house pride (this is probably due to the fact that we were renting).

On our final night, we found the perfect perch on the edge of a cliff above St. Mawes. We woke to the sun skimming pink and gold across the surface of the sea.

For more information visit: mercedes-benz.co.uk

In 2015, Lorenzo Uggeri swapped his job as an analyst in the steel industry to launch an online marketplace for fine art: Kooness.com. The platform now showcases work from over 600 galleries across the globe and last year, Uggeri appeared on Forbes’ prestigious 30 under 30 list in Art & Culture. We put the young entrepreneur in our 6 Questions hot seat.

1. How did you come up with the concept of Kooness?

Four years ago, I was at my friend’s house and a friend of hers gave her a piece of artwork as a gift. We were spending a lot of time trying to understand which wall the artwork should be hung up on in order for it to fit best in the space. At that moment, I thought of the idea to make an app with virtual reality [technology] to understand where the artwork can fit best.

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At that time I was working as an analyst in a big company in the steel industry. After I came up with the idea, I started studying the art business market, in particular the online art market and I found out that there were many different possibilities. I decided to quit my job and move to New York City where I attended a summer course at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

While I was in New York, I changed the business plan for Kooness. From the initial idea of virtual reality, I decided that Kooness was going to be an online marketplace where galleries could increase their sales and find collectors, and collectors could find artists and galleries.

2. Is the platform designed more for established collectors or new buyers?

Our motto is to transform simple customers today into the collectors of the future. The idea of Kooness is to democratise the art world and give access to people that are not really in the art market. From an outside perspective, the art market appears to be very closed off. People are often afraid to ask about prices and information when they go to galleries, therefore Kooness gives people the possibility to experience the art world in a different way. At the same time, we also have established collectors that use our platform since we work with over 600 galleries in 25 different countries, which gives collectors the chance to see new artwork from smaller galleries and young emerging artists. Therefore, we cater to both new and established collectors.

3. How are online art platforms impacting the larger art market?

Online platforms are completely transforming the art market. Many major auction houses are investing in creating their own online platforms to give clients the possibility to bid directly. The world is constantly becoming more digital and it is necessary for the art world to join in.

When I started Kooness, people were very sceptical since it was a completely new way of doing things and it made them uncomfortable. The segment of our platform is increasing, the revenue is double digits every year. In a couple of years, the revenue will come from the online platforms for galleries, auction houses and collectors inside the art market.

Read more: Savoir Beds’ MD Alistair Hughes on the value of craftsmanship

4. What advice would you give to a first time buyer looking to build a collection?

I would give them the same advice as an experienced collector gave me the first time: buy what you like. I have talked to many experienced collectors, they all have told me the exact same thing: collecting is a process and you will never start out with discovering the new Picasso of this generation as your first piece. When you start collecting, your taste will change and you will start to develop an eye.

5. Which galleries should we be keeping our eye on right now?

I can not really name names as I work with many galleries. I was recently in Basel and there were many amazing galleries there, from established to new. There are also many great galleries from Milan that play an important role in the art world today such as Massimo De Carlo gallery and Francesca Minini. It is quite difficult to suggest a gallery since you find so many different things in each gallery, it depends what you are looking for.

6. What’s next for Kooness?

We have big plans. By the end of July, we will launch our blog chain platform for the certification of artwork. For a platform like Kooness and I think I can talk of behalf of my competitors as well, it is important to give the collectors something new every 2-3 months since the competition is very high. There are many smart and young people working in the art industry and everyone plays a small part from working the blog chain to working as an advisor. Therefore, it is important to embrace every aspect and include them in one platform, which is what I do with Kooness. I make improvements around every three months to give the collectors and users new ways to experience art in order to provide the best digital art experience.

Discover Kooness: kooness.com

Interview by Andrea Stenslie

In 1905 The Savoy Hotel decided to create a bespoke bed for its guests, and so began the legacy of what’s now known as Savoir Beds. Every Savoir bed is crafted from chemical-free natural materials, carefully selected to provide the optimum sleeping environment. Here, we speak to the Savoir’s Managing Director Alistair Hughes about mastering craft, delivering consistency and the brand’s efforts to be sustainable.

LUX: Can you tell us how a Savoir bed is created from start to finish?
Alistair Hughes: Every Savoir bed is tailor-made for the client to ensure it fits them perfectly. The process starts with a ‘fitting’ at one of our showrooms, where our expertly trained staff will discuss the needs of the client and try them on the various models and different support options in order to make a bespoke bed. We have created four varieties of Savoir beds, named No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, and they all have infinite customisable options. Beyond comfort is the design and styling of the bed, our sales team will work to the client’s requirements offering unlimited fabric options for upholstery and styles for the headboard and base.

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Following the fitting, the order is shared with our in-house design team at our Bedworks in North London. Our CAD designer will work with the showroom to create a render which is sent to the client for approval. Once the design has been reviewed and approved by the client, it is then passed on to production. Our fabric specialist will order the clients’ chosen fabric for the headboard and base, once delivered they will carefully check every inch to ensure it is absolutely perfect.

The fabric is then passed on to our cutting room which will cut the fabric. It is also during this stage that our seamstresses will cut the signature Savoir Trellis ticking which is used for all our mattresses, toppers and top of the box springs. Once cut, the fabric is left for a minimum of 24 hours to allow it to relax (when it’s on a roll, it is stretched slightly). The Savoir seamstresses will then sew the mattress, topper and mattress cases, ready to be passed on to the craftsmen.

The bed set starts with the box spring. A wooden frame is created in woodwork, in which large hourglass springs are carefully secured. The springs are then hand-tied together, using eight-way star-lashing. A stitched hair role is then created on the edge of the base, through packing horsetail hair in to a neat roll and stitching in place. An abundance of hand-teased loose hair is then placed on top of the boxspring, with tufting the last stage to ensure all the hair stays in place.

Next is the mattress, hand-tied pocket springs, which are produced in the Savoir Bedworks, are sandwiched between masses of hand-laid, long, loose horse tail, with cotton and wool. The mattress is then hand-slipped to close and hand-side-stitched to ensure the springs stay in place. Like the box spring, the mattress is also tufted, stopping the natural materials moving.

The final element of the bed set is the topper, the natural casing that the seamstresses cut and sew together is filled with long, loose, hand tease horse tail, along with a layer of lambs wool, cotton or yak fibres, depending upon the chosen topper. The topper is also tufted, with beautiful fabric tufts on both sides to create a petal effect when a stitch pulls them closer together.

For clients that have specified a bespoke headboard, this will be crafted by the highly skilled Savoir upholsterers. The frame will be carved and constructed in the expansive woodwork workshop. Once created, this is passed on to the upholsterers, where the fabric which was cut by the seamstresses is carefully applied to the frame. No two beds are the same, so our upholsterers have years of experience to ensure the finished headboard is perfect.

Before every bed is delivered to the client, it is set up by the Savoir Quality Control team. The team will ensure that every detail of the bed is to the clients’ specification. The finished bed is then shipped around the world, direct to its new home.

Read more: Test driving Michelin’s tyres for supercars

LUX: How do you ensure a consistent quality of product?
Alistair Hughes: We make less than 1,000 beds a year because we are focused on making the best, not the most.

We continue to hand craft our beds at our North London Bedworks and in Wales, just outside Cardiff. Every Savoir bed is made to order for a particular client, built by hand to meet specific needs and deliver unsurpassed comfort.

We use only the finest, natural materials including Argentinian curled horse tail, which provides a breathable sleeping surface and the ultimate temperature control for enhanced sleep. The high standard of materials and skilled craftsmanship result in a consistently comfortable bed for our clients and one that matches their style aspirations, as only a bespoke product can.

LUX: The original Savoy bed was designed in 1905 and has changed very little since – how do balance heritage and innovation?
Alistair Hughes: I am immensely proud of the heritage of Savoir, I couldn’t imagine a better legacy for a bed company.

The beds were first created for The Savoy Hotel whose sole aim was to give the best night’s sleep to the most demanding clients in the world. The result was The Savoy Bed, now named the Savoir N°2, and it remains our most popular bed. Liza Minnelli had refused to leave the hotel without one; Emma Thompson said the bed had cured her insomnia.  The product had been raved about for over 100 years by the most demanding guests in the world.

However, innovation is very important to keep driving our business forward. We pride ourselves in being at the forefront of designer collaborations and each year we hand-pick the best brands and designers to create inspired designs. Last year we collaborated with the National Gallery, Fromental, Nicole Fuller and Steve Leung.

Read more: Bentley auctions new model for the Elton John AIDS Foundation

As we have control over every element of production, anything is possible which excites designers. Beds for superyachts or fantastic headboards inspired by art or architecture, we can craft and create anything. Our Savoir designers work closely with collaborators to design a personalised, unique piece of furniture. It’s always a special moment when we have designers visit the Bedworks and they are astounded by the amazing and extremely skilled craftsmen.

This month we launched our most innovative design yet and the world’s most luxurious bed: The Three Sixty. Available exclusively at Harrods, the bed is the epitome of contemporary design and bespoke British craft. It seamlessly combines aesthetics, technology and ultra-luxury.

LUX: Why did you decide to change the company name from Savoy to Savoir?
Alistair Hughes: Our heritage is of course The Savoy Hotel, but we also wanted to supply other hotels who might not want the name “Savoy” across their beds!  We liked the idea of Savoir Faire, with all its associations with quality craftsmanship, and the fact it was not a million miles from Savoy.

LUX: Having recently expanded overseas, how does Savoir cater to these new markets?
Alistair Hughes: We have 14 showrooms around the world from London to New York and Paris, as well as worldwide in China, Germany, Russia, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong.

We have collaborated with a number of international designers to create beds for different markets. We have worked with Nicole Fuller in the US, Steve Leung and Teo Yang in Asia and we will soon be unveiling a new partnership with Bill Amberg, the UK’s leading bespoke leather product, interiors and furniture designer.

LUX: Where is the biggest emerging market for you?
Alistair Hughes: Asia is developing rapidly and Savoir is growing its presence in Asia with showrooms in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei and next month we will be opening a 1,385 square foot showroom in the new Raffles Hotel Arcade in Singapore.  We are in advanced discussions about a showroom in the south of China too, so a lot to look forward to.  But that said, America is still the largest luxury market in the world, and as an emerging brand it is an absolutely key focus.

Read more: Meet the young model who creates ads for Nike

LUX: How do you create a sustainable product?
Alistair Hughes: All Savoir bed sets have a 25 year guarantee and we turn our back on the throw-away culture.

We refresh beds and mattresses through recycling materials. For example, the existing horse tail is removed from a mattress, it is then re-carded through the use of a carding machine, and then hand-teased and redistributed within the existing mattress casing. The re-carding machine is over 100 years old and is thought to be one of only two in the country. We can also recycle casings for mattresses, re-making and re-tying box springs to re-invigorate the perfect and bespoke mattress tension, which may have been lost over time.

LUX: How does your previous role in management consultancy inform the operations of Savoir?
Alistair Hughes: I think it helped to bring a broader perspective to what I do and how the business can best meet the needs of our clients.  Within bed manufacture in general there had been a strong focus on driving down cost.  Retailers often see a mattress as a grey box, they all look the same, just get the price down. Savoir thinks more of the end client and what they want: a great night’s sleep.  So the focus has been the best product, and understanding that clients are willing to pay for something better.

LUX: Where was your best night’s sleep?
Alistair Hughes: I’m spoilt, having the best bed in the world at home.  At the end of the day, there is nothing like getting into a Savoir.  I love the feeling, especially with fresh, cool and crisp percale sheets.  I’m instantly relaxed…it’s a great feeling!

Beyond that, I grew up in Ethiopia and Malawi and have always had a thing about the big African skies.  On recent family trips we have had some great under canvas holidays, most recently in Botswana.  There is something magical about the lack of light pollution, the stars and the sound of nature (not always quiet, but definitely music to my ears).

Discover Savoir’s range: savoirbeds.com

LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai attends the premiere night of Adriana Lecouvreur sponsored by Swarovski at the Salzburg Festival

LUX had a wonderful time at the weekend at the Salzburg Festival’s premiere of the choral opera Adriana Lecouvreur, featuring the astonishing Anna Netrebko, probably the greatest singer in the world, in the title role. Netrebko’s voice was a performance in itself at the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, powerful, emotive, an orchestra without an orchestra.

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Our editor-in-chief Darius Sanai enjoyed some engaging chats over Louis Roederer champagne afterwards with Nadja Swarovski, who sponsored the show, and various members of the Swarovski family and their friends.

Swarovski also provided the crystals for the costumes worn by the leading roles – and Netrebko in a stunning green gown adorned with crystals that seemed to radiate beams of light, in the first act, was particularly memorable.

Utterly fabulous, and Netrebko’s was a performance for the ages.

Find out more: salzburgerfestspiele.at and swarovski.com

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

THIS MONTH: 21-year-old Emily O’Donnell signed with Models 1 just under a year ago and has already shot for the likes of Vogue Italia, LOVE magazine, Hunger and iD China. Having recently graduated from UAL, she is also pursuing a career in creative direction whilst making art and music on the side. Here, she chats to Charlie about juggling her passions, how structure hinders creativity and collaborating with Nike.

Charlie Newman: What was your childhood like? Are you from a creative background?
Emily O’ Donnell: I was born in Leeds, where my mum is from. At two weeks old I moved to Milan because my dad is Italian and that’s where I was raised, which explains why I have such a weird accent! I was in Milan until I was about 17 years old but by then I was itching to get back to the UK, so I moved to Birmingham for two years to finish my diploma in art and design. After that I moved to London and studied at UAL, so I’ve been studying art since I was 13. The schooling system is really different in Italy, in Milan you have to choose what you want to do at 12 years old, and my choice was art! I don’t actually have creative parents. When I was growing up, music was the main thing for me. I was a super RnB head, my main inspiration until this day is Erykah Badu.

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Charlie Newman: Congratulations on graduating from UAL! What was your final project on?
Emily O’ Donnell: My course was fashion styling and production but I shifted more into creative direction which is what I’m doing more of now. I did a short film based around the importance of the body within cultural fabric, whether that’s within religion or cultural tradition. I basically explored the meaning of fabric within different religions and sort of distilled the two – body and fabric – and then reworked them in a more contemporary way. I created a film and an editorial.

Charlie Newman: Do you think it is important to study the arts is if you looking to work in a creative industry?
Emily O’ Donnell: I think especially for art and fashion I don’t think you necessarily need it, I’m not saying I haven’t learnt anything, I definitely have, especially at UAL, it’s been great platform to network. But as far as your creative flow and your creative knowledge goes, I don’t think being in such a structured environment helps. For me, university courses aren’t structured for you like to your work. By the time I finished a project I always hated the work, I was done with it. But it’s definitely been a good experience, I’ve learnt from it. I’m just now ready to move on.

Charlie Newman: When did you sign with Models 1 and how were you scouted?
Emily O’ Donnell: My friend wanted to go to this scouting event at a Brandy Melville store and I said I would go along with her to support – I really had no interest in it. We were both asked to come back and having seen my Instagram, Models 1 wanted me on their talent board and New Faces. I signed with them almost a year ago. It’s been good, I’m a workaholic and I really need to keep working and they know that! I saw a few agencies before but having been a freelancer for a few years I knew that if I were to be signed by an agency, I really wanted one that would take care of me so it’s been great. Models 1 know I don’t just wanted to be modelling, that they need to push my whole career. I’m not just my face.

Charlie Newman: What are you working on now?
Emily O’ Donnell: I’m working on a few projects to expand my creative direction portfolio. I’m working on a combination of commissioned and personal work. I paint too and I’ve been working on an EP for the past year now. Because of university I’ve had to put everything on pause and now that I’m done with it I can throw myself back into it all – no summer breaks for me!

Read more: Test driving Michelin’s tyres for supercars

Charlie Newman: How do you juggle it all?
Emily O’ Donnell: You know how people say that you can only master one art and you can’t do them all? Well for me it’s a necessity to have different outlets for me to be creative. I don’t think I could stick to one job for the rest of my life and for that to be it. I’ve always said that I’m going to work my ass off to make sure that I’m not in a position that I don’t want to be in. I never see it as Emily the painter, Emily the singer, Emily the creative director, Emily the model. They’re all a part of me and I love them all, I can’t not do any of them. If I’m not working enough I really feel it – I hate it.

Charlie Newman: Last year, Nike asked you to create a video for the launch of their new tracksuit campaign. What was it like collaborating with such a huge brand?
Emily O’ Donnell: I’m so lucky I have such an amazing relationship with Nike, they’re like family to me. They’re one of my favourite brands so when they reached out, of course I went for it. They gave me so much freedom for the video too which was great, all they told me was that it had to be fresh, be London and focus on youth culture. That job of course opened a lot of doors for me, I can’t thank them enough. If every there’s an opportunity for me to be in the right place at the right time I’ll take it!

Charlie Newman: What would be your dream project now?
Emily O’ Donnell: I really want to push my creative direction more into high end designers. I’ve done a lot of sportswear designers so it would be nice to mix it up.

Charlie Newman: What are you listening to or watching at the moment?
Emily O’ Donnell: I’m listening to Tyler the Creator, D’Angelo and Solange. I don’t really do series when it comes to film, because I don’t have the time. But having done film studies I’m really into David Lynch and Stanley Cooper, all the classics. I feel like when I watch movies now I’m only seeing the technical side of it, how they’ve shot it. I find it really hard for my brain to switch off. I watch a lot of documentaries because I find it much easier to watch, there’s less to analyse and it’s more informative.

Charlie Newman: You have such a distinctive beautiful look. When did you decide to shave your hair?
Emily O’ Donnell: I’ve had my head shaved for two years and before that I had a big brown bob, a bob! I feel like this is a much much better for my work, although it’s such an effort, I shave it and bleach it every week! People often say to me that they can’t work out where I’m from. It’s fresh and I’m really happy with it.

Charlie Newman: What do you think has been a career highlight for you?
Emily O’ Donnell: I wouldn’t like to say because I never like to sit back and I’m always onto the next thing. I’m lucky to have done so many sick shoots.

Charlie Newman: Finally, who’s your role model of the month?
Emily O’ Donnell: It’s got to be Erykah Badu, every time, I love her!

Follow Emily on Instagram: @emily.j.odonnell

LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai tries out Michelin’s supercar tyres on his Ferrari 430 Spider to see whether they’re worth the investment

Tyres are a curiously under-explored subject when it comes to supercar optimisation and maintenance. You can have conversations all day long with fellow owners about filters, suspension geometry, engine remapping, and other arcane elements of your car’s construction that might add fractions of a second to your lap time on a circuit.

But conversations about the patches of rubber that actually transmit all the power, and handling, from the car to the road and vice versa, are frequently limited to the very basics. How big are your wheels? How wide are your tires? Are they okay to drive when they have a certain amount of tread left, or a certain age?

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But tyres are, as any Formula One driver knows, far more important than that. Not only are they the only point of contact between your car and the road, they also elements of your car that will never, ever be made by the manufacturer of your car. You may have a Ferrari, a McLaren, or a Lamborghini, but your tyres will always be made by third-party manufacturers.

Each manufacturer has a range of tyres optimised for types of car and driving. My Ferraris were all supplied with Pirelli P Zero tyres, with the owners’ handbooks stating that these and similar Michelin and Bridgestone tyres were all officially approved. Owners’ forums, meanwhile, were full of discussion about the latest range of Michelin tyres for supercars, the Pilot Sport 4S.

Of all my Ferraris, there is one model that has become my car of choice for a sunny, weekend high-speed drive in the countryside. The 430 Spider is the last of the line in a significant way. Certain model lines of Ferrari are celebrated for their ‘mid engines’, meaning the engine is located just behind the driver’s head, rather than under the front bonnet. They are also celebrated for their “gated manual” gearshift: a metal manual gear-lever which moves around a race-style bar metal gate, a work of art in itself. The 430 Spider is the last, and most modern, Ferrari that combines these two attributes; all mid-engined Ferraris since then have been made only with paddle-style gearshifts by the steering wheel, and no clutch pedals, like an automatic.

So the 430 Spider is a piece of history, and quite rare: a few hundred were made in right-hand drive. And it’s also tremendous fun to drive, combining a 485hp engine behind your head, no roof, sharp handling, and the opportunity to shift gear yourself. There was nothing wrong with the way it drove on its Pirelli tyres, in fact it was quite thrilling, but I decided to swap over to the new Michelins to see if they made any difference.

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First thing to notice: the car rides appreciably more smoothly on the new tyres. Lumps in the road that formerly jarred now only bump. But you don’t buy a Ferrari for its comfortable ride.

Going for an enthusiastic drive, the improvements made themselves known more subtly. Previously, turning into a corner, the car felt sharp, but now that sharpness, and feel, was there all the way through each curve. It was as if there was a new channel of communication open with the road. Push harder around the corner, and the feel increased: you had a stronger sense of what the car was doing.

Modern Ferraris have a switch on the steering wheel that allows you to flick between driving modes; the F430 was the first to have this, and for enthusiastic driving I switch mine to Race. This sharpens up responses and also means the car is allowed to slide around a bit when you are driving at its limit, before the electronic systems (usually) catch the car. Pushing on, in Race mode, the car now feels more adhesive at the limit – it simply feels like it sticks to the road more. It’s not a transformation – the car always had superb roadholding – but now you feel more on the way, and can stay gripping the road longer.

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I haven’t tested another of the PS4S’s supposed attributes, its wet weather grip, because I don’t take my car out in the wet; and hope not to test another of its noted qualities, its performance under emergency braking.

Normally, performance and comfort in tyres are in inverse proportion: the more comfortable the tyre, the less suited to high-speed driving, and vice versa. The PS4S (not to be confused with another Michelin tyre, the less sporty PS4) manages somehow to combine both. In terms of investing in an upgrade in your car: if you have a car worth £150,000 (or euros, or dollars) or more, spending around 1% of that on a set of new Pilot Sport 4S tyres might just be the smartest investment you make.

Find out more at michelin.com and ferrari.com

The Watercolour World is an ambitious online project to digitise the world’s watercolours and rescue this all-too-often overlooked but artistically and historically significant medium from being forgotten. It is creating a wealth of riches for all of us, says Michael Brooks

Fred Hohler describes the idea as “blindingly obvious” in hindsight. Having spearheaded the creation of a digital record of the United Kingdom’s oil paintings, the former diplomat soon realised his Public Catalogue Foundation had left an ‘orphan’ collection of watercolours in dark drawers, cabinets and basements across the world.

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Now, though, these paintings are emerging, blinking, into the light. The Watercolour World is a rapidly growing website that hosts digital reproductions of watercolours from around the world. Even in these early days – the site’s official launch was in January 2019 – it has become an engrossing collection. Whether you are captivated by an 1840 view of Kings Cross as a rubbish dump – the ‘Great Dustheap’ – or sailors chasing a slave ship near Zanzibar in 1876, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of riches is coming into view. “I have a new favourite about four times a day,” Hohler admits.

Watercolour is often passed over as an unimportant medium, despite the fact that Ruskin, Gainsborough, Turner and Constable all used it at various times. “The lower status of watercolour was owing to the fact that it had been invented relatively recently, had not been used by the Old Masters, and was widely used by amateurs for documentary purposes,” says Sir Charles Saumarez Smith, senior director of Blain Southern gallery, and former chief executive of the Royal Academy of Arts.

In many ways, this negative view of the medium is what makes the new collection so compelling. In the 17th century, for instance, watercolour was the military medium of choice. Before photography, painting was considered the best way to keep tabs on where the military had been, and how easy its terrain and infrastructures would be to defend. “From the time of George III, the way of making a record for the military, then the civil service overseas, and the navy, was watercolour,” Hohler says.

At Woolwich Military Academy and elsewhere, officers studied drawing and were taught how to survey a landscape and draw coasts and harbours so that the knowledge of newly gained territories could be spread amongst the military. The watercolourist Paul Sandby was among those who did the training, and the courses were clearly popular, with many accomplished amateur painters emerging from the military academies. As a result, military, government and private collections are awash with watercolour landscapes from across the world, all painted with an attention to detail.

Many of them, however, have not seen the light of day for decades, if not centuries. “Watercolour as a medium is naturally more susceptible to the effects of heat and light,” says the charity’s chief executive Andra Fitzherbert. “As a result, they tend to be hidden away in dark places or kept in albums where they’re rarely pulled out and enjoyed.”

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And that’s where The Watercolour World project comes in. Launched with the patronage of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and realised through support from the Marandi Foundation, The Watercolour World aims to collate hundreds of thousands of watercolour paintings, many of which have never been available to the public until now.

It’s a labour of love, but it will also be very useful, Hohler says. For a start, the watercolours facilitate the re-creation of lost historical artefacts. Paintings in the collection show the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, which has been extensively destroyed by ISIS. Hohler and Fitzherbert hope that The Watercolour World will one day be useful to its regeneration. Then there are the watercolours depicting the tombs of Pharaoh Sety I. The wall paintings of these tombs were damaged by those keen to profit from exhibiting the contents and recreating the spaces for a London audience in the 19th century. Thanks to watercolours, there is a record of how they once looked, and The Watercolour World will be an invaluable resource for future archaeological research.

Just as exciting is the scientific potential of the project. Many watercolours offer a view of a world that no longer exists and are a means by which conservationists, ocean scientists, coastal engineers and geologists can reach back into the past, make sense of the present, and perhaps safeguard the future.

There is strong precedent for this. In the 1860s, the government moved the Gunditjmara, the Aboriginal people of the area, off Tower Hill, an extinct volcano in Victoria, Australia. They proceeded to clear the land’s thick vegetation for grazing. Only in the 1960s was there a move to restore the area. Fortunately, the watercolourist Eugene von Guérard had made a painting of the virgin land in 1855, a painting so detailed that the authorities could identify more than 20 species of plant to use in the restoration project.

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The vast and growing catalogue of paintings in The Watercolour World means that similar restorations might be possible in other areas. Some of the paintings are already in use in a project to catalogue changes in the British coastline over the past 250 years. Geologist and coastal engineer Robin McInnes is in the closing stages of The State of the British Coast Study, which was commissioned by The Crown Estate, the European Commission and Historic England. Using a range of sources, including paintings in The Watercolour World, McInnes has been able to discern where and when beaches have eroded, cliff lines have changed and engineering projects have made an impact on the shoreline. The results of the study will be used to aid conservation and ecological efforts. “They’ve been feeding me coastal images, many from private collections that have never been seen before. I’ve been able to use some in my study,” McInnes says. Some are from less highbrow sources, too. “Postcard companies employed some prolific watercolour artists to paint the coast.”

Another environmental application will be in surveys of glaciers. Watercolours have a strong history here. The first known depiction of a glacier, made in 1601, was Abraham Jäger’s painting of the Rofener Glacier in Austria. By the middle of the 19th century, artists were painting faithful renditions of scenes at the heads of glaciers. John Brett’s Glacier of Rosenlaui, for instance, shows the position of the glacier in 1856, as well as a detailed portrait of the erratics, the boulders at its head that had been carried by the ice. The Watercolour World’s collection includes renditions of glaciers by Horace Bénédict de Saussure, the precision of which give a marker for recent glacier retreat. “Climate change is on almost everybody’s mind right now, but in the 19th century artists and scientists were working together documenting glaciers,” says Barbara Matilsky, who curated last year’s ‘Vanishing Ice’ exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis. Many of the show’s 47 artworks, dating from 1860 to 2017, showed evidence of climate change.

Using The Watercolour World as a scientific resource is a “fabulous idea”, Matilsky says. She points out that artists and scientists have long worked together to document the natural environment. In the 19th century, for instance, geologists at the Museum of Natural History in Paris commissioned artists to paint glaciers. “They wanted to show students what they look like so they could intuit from these works the processes that formed the glaciers,” Matilsky says. “Scientists were very much aware that artists were important in communicating scientific concepts.”

At the other end of Earth’s temperature scale, The Watercolour World includes dozens of paintings of volcanoes. The 1776 eruption of Vesuvius is particularly well represented, because the British diplomat Sir William Hamilton commissioned the artist Pietro Fabris to paint 54 illustrations of the volcano for his scientific studies of its geology.

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Fitzherbert is keen to point out that The Watercolour World will be of relevance to everyone, not just to scientists and culture professionals. All of the images have searchable location and keyword information, allowing people to explore their family history and their local area’s past. “We want to make it personal so that people can navigate through a map and find local places of interest and find family homes or where they were brought up,” she says. “People can use these paintings to reflect on their own lives.”

The Watercolour World operates a small team, equipped with a Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner, to perform the digitisation. In addition, a group of volunteers tag and categorise the images, adding their locations and all relevant data about the artist’s intentions. Only then are they uploaded onto the site.

The project has yielded unexpected gains. One is that, in some ways, the website offers something even better than a gallery viewing. The scanners provide a depth of colour and an ability to zoom in that just aren’t available in a static display. What’s more, observing the paintings on screens means they are, effectively, backlit. “You see it in an entirely different way,” Hohler says. “It’s given a brilliance to these images that you don’t otherwise get.”

Though the collection is already clocking in at 83,000 images, a queue is forming. “The wonderful thing is, as soon as you launch a project like this, it belongs to everybody,” Hohler says. Many institutions and organisations have offered their digitised collections. The Watercolour World is even receiving offers to scan private collections that have never been made public, let alone digitised. “We’ve been overwhelmed by people’s positivity and encouragement,” Fitzherbert says.

Find out more: watercolourworld.org

This article was originally published in the Summer 19 Issue

Bentley auctions its new First Edition Flying Spur to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation at a Midsummer gala in Cap d’Antibes

On Wednesday evening at Villa Dorane in Cap d’Antibes, the Elton John Aids Foundation hosted its first Midsummer party, welcoming guests for a cocktail reception followed by dinner and a live auction where Bentley’s newest model, the First Edition Flying Spur reached a bid of €700,000.

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The winning bidder will be invited to create their own bespoke version of the car through Bentley’s Co-Creation Luxury Service, which is normally offered only to an exclusive selection of clients. Working with the brand’s design team, the owner will have the opportunity to personalise both interior and exterior details. All proceeds raised will go directly to the foundation.

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“It’s because of the consistent support and kindness of so many people in this room that we are able to commit the Elton John AIDS Foundation to real partnerships with world leaders that can a make a future without AIDS,’ commented Sir Elton John who hosted the evening with David Furnish.

For more information visit: bentleymotors.com and ejaf.org