The Savoy was London’s first hotel specifically designed for luxury, raising the bar for comfort and service in a way that was unprecedented at the time

The Savoy is a global hotel legend. But, after a recent revitalisation, can it live up to its lofty reputation? LUX finds out

Glamour is a hard concept to pin down. Why are some people glamorous and others merely sexy? And what makes a hotel glamorous, rather than just impressive?

History helps, but not all historic luxury hotels are glamorous; some are faded, others reworked so their character is stripped out: too perfect.

The exterior of the hotel was crafted to resemble a chic waterside Continental hotel, with long rows of balconies along the River Front

The Savoy is glamorous. We weren’t quite sure it would be, having not been inside for years. It’s in a slightly curious location, perfect for London’s theatreland and Covent Garden, and famously overlooking the Thames, but not in the Mayfair/Knightsbridge hub.

But this is a hotel with heritage and society history written into it, as you notice when your taxi trundles up the driveway past the Savoy’s own theatre, on the right, and its celebrated Grill, on the left.

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The lobby area is so redolent of the roaring Twenties that you expect a jazz band to burst in at any moment. Up we went, in a tiny, period-chic lift, to a suite with a view across the Thames and out towards the lights of Canary Wharf – which of course didn’t exist for most of this hotel’s history. Despite the super-central location, there was no sound at all, the only traffic a stream of middle distance lights on Waterloo Bridge.

The Savoy hotel, built by Richard D’Oyly Carte, the creator of the Savoy Theatre, had a distinctly theatrical flair when it opened in 1889 – The décor was classically Victorian, but experienced changes since then

The American Bar is a Savoy legend, and the design and decor just ooze interwar chic – which is just as well, as some of the clients were dressed for a Sunday morning at a fast food restaurant. Should hotel bars have dress codes? Probably not, but onesies should certainly be banned. Glamour does need a certain filter.

The American Bar is the longest surviving cocktail bar and since 1893 has had guest from Winston Churchill to Ernest Hemingway

Fortunately, the staff and spectacle more than made up. Our server was charming, knowledgeable, passionate about his job, and professional – in the sense that working in the bar was his profession, in which he took pride, increasingly rare. The pianist was the pro you would expect, toning down the volume and singing so it didn’t overwhelm, but keeping everyones’ conversations moving along with his timing. Sip that perfect Negroni, gaze at the brilliant pianist, just don’t expect to see your fellow guests dressed like Audrey Hepburn.

Read more: La Fiermontina Family Collection, Lecce, Puglia review

The Savoy Grill was, back in the day, a place where Englishmen (always men) with starched collars and three piece suits would repair to for long lunches with their peers, who had been to the same boarding schools and worked in the same firms. It is a masterpiece of historic design, and you get there by sweeping across the (glamorous) lobby from the American Bar.

The Savoy river restaurant by Gordon Ramsay has views of the River Thames. There’s also an option of renting a private dining room for 8-12 guests, suitable for special events

And it’s quite an entrance. The Grill is now run by Gordon Ramsay, who has long done away with the men in three piece suits (they faded out of their own accord, apart from bizarre UK politician Jacob Rees-Mogg), and we were swept to our corner table by the hyper-professional staff.

Here at the Grill you see how a great restaurant is at the heart of the community of a great city. Tables surrounding us included a three-generation family celebration; people having a post-theatre dinner; a finance dude engaging in a very intense and thoughtful wine tasting of red Burgundies over his dinner; a couple who looked like they had materialised from everyone’s For You page on Instagram; two young women sipping champagne and talking about men; a lone woman in Dior who knew the staff as well as she knew her huge solitaire diamond ring.

The Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay serves a classic British and French-inspired menu from Beef Wellington, dry-aged beef to a Dover sole

We had Kir Royal Louet-Feissser oysters with blackberry and champagne – quite the combination – and a bright and highly defined yellowtail crude with English cucumber, dill and shisho, followed by an absolutely perfect olive crusted monkfish and moist and tender Beef Wellington, a nod to Savoy Grill tradition. Brilliant food but more importantly true dining experience.

And then a wander back across the now quiet lobby, up in the bijou lift, and to the room with the lights of London across the water. But the highlights were not over yet: the next morning, the Savoy served up perhaps the best in-room dining breakfast LUX has ever encountered.

Presentation was silver service and beautiful – perhaps a key quality of glamour – but the sourcing of the ingredients and cooking were extraordinary. Pancakes, each as thick as a finger, but with rich taste in their puffy interiors, rather than the oily exterior and sweet nothingness of so many; top quality avocado on fresh sourdough with a gentle sprinkle of chilli. Just beautiful – and glamorous to the last.

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Vogue‘s former Fashion Features Director Harriet Quick, and former head of personal shopping at Harrods Sukeena Rao have partnered to create Luminaire, for high-class, tailored personal shopping. They talk to LUX about sustainability, AI, and exclusive upcoming projects.

LUX: How did you come together to start Luminaire?

Harriet Quick: Sukeena and I first met in the mid-noughties when she was then heading up personal shopping at Harrods and I was working as fashion features director at Vogue. I was writing a profile on Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga and came to Harrods to attend a special trunk show. Luxury retail and luxury magazines can often seem like church and state but here was a moment to witness how Rao was introducing clients to the brand and all the magic that happens in the styling suites at the point of ‘try on’.

Luminaire, launched in mid 2022, draws on the combination of expertise from personal shopping and fashion journalism.

LUX: What’s the biggest misconception people have about buying clothes?

Harriet Quick & Sukeena Rao: We can all get swept away by brand, hype and the incredible mise en scène and storytelling of a catwalk show. However, when it comes down to our own sense of style, it really is proportions that matter most – finding the shapes and looks that suit your body shape, work with your lifestyle and chime with your aesthetic preferences. As Miuccia Prada has pointed out, it takes practice and patience. Luminaireco.com is a navigator and catalyst in that process.

LUX: Harriet, as a former fashion features director at Vogue, how do you think that the largest fashion magazines will change in 10 years, compared to now? Will they still hold a lot of influence on fashion trends, or are they fading?

HQ: We now receive fashion information at multiple ‘nodal’ points whether digital, on social, in print, a podcast, Substack or via an experience. I think there will always be room for a beautiful magazine like Vogue but it no longer has the absolute authority, the first word on fashion, that it exerted in the pre-digital era. Readers and viewers go to the voices and visions they find exciting and relevant not just one source: media is individualized.

At Luminaire, we distil the bigger meta themes into highly curated shopping edits, flag the integrity of the design and provide a 360 view that reaches out art, design, escape and to experts in beauty and wellbeing. We’ve always seeking to hyper connect clients and readers with exceptional finds.

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LUX: Would AI make a good personal shopper?

HQ: I think there are some fun styling tools but the advice for now is lowest common denominator. Maybe because of super intelligence and the revolution in AI, clients are seeking ever more personal advice – we desire the human touch – the intelligent viewpoint – a real conversation. To that end, Luminaire is hosting a series of summer events with Burberry bringing together clients over picnics, and guided store tours.

LUX: What was your earliest memory of being conscious about the clothes you were wearing?

HQ: Maybe age 5, I became fixated choosing a Liberty floral fabric for a sundress my mother was making for me. I used to go with her to Harvey Nichols, pour over copies of Vogue and that opened by eyes to this dizzying and wonderful world of fashion. After studying for a post grad in journalism at City University, I became dedicated to all areas of design journalism then became more specialist in fashion at The Guardian, The Frank Magazine than Vogue.

Luminaire’s summer series features Barbara Stürm, Lou Lou de Saison and Pierre Augustin Rose

LUX: How you adapted your business model alongside increased concern for sustainability and slow fashion?

HQ: Our general maxim is buy less, buy better and work with what you already have in your wardrobe. The shopping team often has to advise against repeat buys and steer clients towards accessories or pieces that really will make a difference and that might be a fine jewellery piece, an Hermès handbag or lovely staples from Toteme or Wardrobe NYC. The gifting suggestions are also excellent.

LUX: Name a trend that Luminaire are keen on at the moment.

HQ&SR: All eyes are on Chloé and so called ‘boho’ but how does that translate? A flowing chiffon blouse in a Chloé dune shade, is a great multi-tasking starter. The skirt suit is re-emerging after seasons of trouser suits and that looks so elegant in tweed and plaid wools from brands including Chanel, Petar Petrov and Loro Piana.

Read more: Giambattista Valli on the love for beauty

LUX: Rao, what made you want to break away from Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and consult houses to begin your own company?

Sukeena Rao: Although I continued to work with private clients, I took a break to have my two children. I had always wanted to join the dots between personal shopping and editorial offering up a 360-view combining shopping, sourcing and inspired advice.

LUX: Where do your views differ in terms of fashion and your business model?

SR: We approach fashion from complimentary and contrasting angles with Harriet EIC attending the bi-annual fashion shows looking to future trends and shifts, and myself as Chief Commercial Officer concentrating on the collections as they arrive on the shop floor.  There is a constant desire to edit and find the very best. Olivia Scanlon, the CEO, based in NYC comes from a legal and finance background and that bedrock is vital in growing a business in a measured strategic manner.

LUX: What next? Do you have any exciting new projects you could tell us about?

HQ&SR: In September we are launching a newly designed website. It’s super intuitive to navigate and there is a dedicated Private Client portal where each client can view their own personalised mood boards, wish lists and shopping history; book experts including sessions with the Luminaire team and be alerted to invitations to Luminaire events and happenings. But you don’t have to be a private client to dive in and shop the themed edits and benefit from styling suggestions. We want to take the endless scroll out of shopping and go beyond the overwhelm of hype and the selection/browsing process a reward and delight – that’s what luxury is about.

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The UK’s only black tie music festival, Henley Festival, returns for its 42nd year, this week. LUX has a look

Mud, sweat and beers. That’s what one associates with music festivals. Well one hopes that there’ll be sun, a friend or two and some good music to make your voice worth losing back at the work the next day. (‘Been off ill, have you?’, one hears the boss ask. ‘Yes, yes’ one surreptitiously croaks. ‘Not at Glastonbury?’ ‘No, no; just a cold…’) Not, however, at Henley Festival…

Henley Festival features not only music, but art, comedy and what it calls the ‘Roving Troupe’, groups of roaming entertainers of various sorts.

The town, renowned across Britain for the home of the Royal Regatta, has been pulsing to the UK’s only black tie music and arts festival. The dress code reads somberly that if you are spotted in casual attire, you’ll be ‘refused entry to the event.’ One pictures security guards in morning suits rather than fluorescent jackets. 

Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England, is home to the Henley Royal Regatta, first held in 1839 as a local festival but now an internationally renowned competition.

Henley, in line with its dress code, ensures that both art and gastronomy are focuses of equal measure to the music, which itself proves to be strong and eclectic.

In the past, Henley Festival has featured Jess Glenn alongside the Heritage Orchestra, Melanie C alongside Goldie, and the Pet Shop Boys as well as Chaka Khan. This year, the lineup has procured artists from across the pop, classical, world music, and jazz settings, from Nicole Scherzinger to Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook, to Trevor Nelson, Gladys Knight and Sam Ryder. Oh, and a minor addition – the semi final of the Euros will be shown as part of the festival this year, on July 10th.

KATYA, winner of the Rising Star Initiative, rose to fame with her debut single, ‘I’ll Take Your Number’, featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds UK & IE playlist.

2022 saw the 40 year anniversary for Henley Festival, and marked the founding of RISE – a platform lifting up emerging young musicians, comedians and visual artists. This, as Jo Bausor, CEO of Henley Festival, contents, is ‘rapidly becoming the beating heart of Henley Festival and is at the core of everything we do.” And this year, one will find the inaugural Westcoast RISING Star Award – awarded to multi-instrumentalist KATYA, who has impressed the UK’s largest festival, Glastonbury, as well as BBC Radio 1, for her electronic beats, jazz overtones and soundscapes.

The range of dining and drinking options spans from riverside fine-dining to grazing, to various bars across the site.

It’s no surprise that a music festival in Henley – the second most expensive market town in England for property – has opted for black tie. But what is surprising is how radical it seems that, despite the obvious discomfort of mud, sweat and beer, no other festival in the UK has gone for the comfort and sophistication of bow ties, velvet and Veuve Clicquot. For now.

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henley-festival.co.uk

The Bryant Estate’s 13-acre vineyard, overlooking Lake Hennessey

Bettina Bryant, owner of California’s iconic Bryant Estate, is a wine-world legend. She is also a philanthropist, a significant art collector and cultural polymath, and an advocate of nature and biodiversity. Darius Sanai meets Bryant over a thoughtful dinner in Mayfair, and she, in turn, presents a first-person meditation on her life and work

Encountering Bettina Bryant for the first time, in a Mayfair restaurant, I would not have imagined that she was in the wine industry. Elegant, compact of movement, considered and thoughtful, Bryant has an academic poise. She is an art historian (she studied at Columbia University), a collector and a former dancer. If anything, I would have imagined she was an academic: there is a precision to the way she gives answers, the sign of a mind that does not indulge in irrelevant debate.

Matt Morris: A Cabernet Sauvignon grape seen as a heavenly body – Bryant grapes are harvested according to the lunar cycle.

But Bryant also owns one of the world’s wine legends. Lovers of California’s renowned Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wines, which are as acclaimed and sought after as the most celebrated of Bordeaux, know that her Bryant Estate is one of the region’s own “first-growths”, the equivalent of a Château Latour or Château Lafite. (Unlike France, California doesn’t have an official first-growth categorisation system, but everyone knows that Bryant would be one of them if it did.)

In that, though, there is heartbreak. It was her visionary husband Don Bryant who first established the reputation of Bryant Estate alongside the likes of Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate, before succumbing to Alzheimer’s, with which he remains gravely ill.

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Bettina Bryant, the art historian, collector and former ballet dancer (she was mentored by Mikhail Baryshnikov at the American Ballet Theatre), unexpectedly took over the reins. Speaking with her, the conversation swoops between art, literature and, of course, wine. Although she is a born-and-bred American, Bryant’s parents had immigrated from Maienfeld, Switzerland – perhaps, coincidentally, the heart of that country’s fine wines.

The mineral-rich terroir

They were not in the wine industry: her father, Fridolin Sulser, was an acclaimed psychopharmacologist, an academic and scientific pioneer. You sense this in Bryant, in that precision and compactness of thought, which is common enough for scientists, but not so much for art collectors (this author does not know enough ballet dancers to comment on that side).

Since 2014, Bettina has been Proprietor and President of the winery, dedicating herself to maintaining the legacy established by her husband

Bryant has commissioned some fascinating and distinctive artists, including Ed Ruscha, to work with her winery: a particular favourite of mine is Sara Flores, a native artist from the Peruvian Amazon, whose art is at once deeply organic and somehow tightly graphic, rather like the mathematical forms of nature itself.

This commune with nature is important for Bryant. Her wines are biodynamic, and she has a scientist’s fascination for how natural cycles, and nature itself, interact with not just her vines, but with humans and our creativity. The wines themselves are creations of the utmost elegance and eloquence. Bryant Estate, the original legend, is deep, philosophical, somewhat Kantian in its uncompromising synthesis of nature.

A series of the renowned Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Bettina, a newer wine, has a lightness of being (is it autosuggestion to say it dances on the palate?), but also a persistence and gravitas. Bryant has also released a Chardonnay, a white wine of oceanic depth and character. All are made by Kathryn “KK” Carothers, her winemaker, a gentle soul with quiet wisdom and playful eyes who accompanies Bettina on many of her journeys around the world, like a family member. Enough from us.

Matt Morris. Weiferd Watts: The Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard

Bryant speaks about her life and her wines in her own words. We suggest a sip or two of Bettina, the wine, from an Ed Ruscha-designed magnum, as you drink them in.

A former dancer, Bettina’s creative story is interwoven with the wines, including the Bettina wine and this Bryant Estate logo

My journey to the helm of Bryant Estate was unexpectedly swift and accompanied by heartbreak. Six years after my arrival in Napa, my husband, Don, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was unable to continue day-to-day oversight.

I am immensely grateful for the time we had to work together, for the opportunity to shadow him and ask questions. I also worked early on with oenologist Michel Rolland and helped create the Bettina wine. Establishing myself in the process sooner, the time Don and I shared at the vineyard and our travels to other wine estates was deeply informative and invaluable.

Untitled (Pei Kené 1, 2022), 2022, by Sara Flores

Don was extremely generous with me, opening iconic bottles from his cellar, dispensing advice on running the business, managing and mentoring people and, of course, always maintaining an uncompromising attitude when it comes to quality. For more than a decade, I have been putting his lessons to use as I work to evolve the winery.

Among the things I have implemented are:

Biodynamic farming: I am perhaps most excited to have transitioned the vineyard from organic to biodynamic farming. We use no pre-emergent herbicides and rely wholly on elemental forces, such as fire, to coordinate vegetative growth. We replaced plastic ties with biodegradable twine and, in following the lunar cycles, have discovered that vines pruned during the descending moon recover more successfully than on the ascending moon.

Swell (PICA PICA), Five Rings of Magpie Feathers, 2020, by Kate MccGwire

Already, improvements to vine physiology and vine stress resilience are demonstrable, particularly in recent drought years. We have never witnessed more soil vitality, and I firmly believe that this translates into more expressive and pure wine aromatics. Being in deep connection to the land and its gifts teaches us that we must be in right reciprocity in all aspects of life. For me, this holistic view encourages harmony, balance and beauty in the wines. Much of society has become too extractive. We must engage in good practices and be mindful in giving back to nature. 

Education: I had wonderful mentors in my life and encourage my team to seek out opportunities for continued learning. I created two educational support programmes to encourage employees to pursue deeper learning, both in their chosen fields and in external areas of interest.

Philanthropy: I am passionate about philanthropy and have embraced four areas of support at the winery. First, the arts, emphasising arts education, creative learning and emotional healing through art. Second, the environment, spanning clean energy, climate action, conservation and environmental justice. Third, social impact, covering access to food, safe spaces, tribal support, job training and social justice.

California Grape Skins, 2009, by Ed Ruscha

And fourth, mental health, encompassing research, advocacy and support.

Read more: Visiting Ferrari Trento: The sparkling wine of Formula 1

Immersive moments: I recently engaged the French architect Severine Tatangelo of Studio PCH to collaborate with me on a Tasting Room / Dining Pavilion at the vineyard. She has designed several hospitality projects, including Nobu properties in Malibu, Los Cabos, Santorini and Warsaw.

My desire is to holistically integrate wine, nature and art. I want to honour the vineyard, the wine and the talent behind the wine, and inspire people to be present, to connect with nature, light, music, or maybe even silence. The design approach will be sympathetic to and harmonious with the contours of the existing building and landscape, so much so that it practically disappears, and will utilise materials such as stone, wood, clay and natural fibres.

Supporting small producers: The Napa of today has many other pressing factors at play, compared to when Don founded Bryant Estate in the mid 1980s. Not only has the number of wineries increased exponentially, but we are facing unprecedented environmental factors and supply pressures.

One of my biggest observations over the nearly two decades that I’ve been involved is that many of the new players sweeping in to acquire smaller family-founded wineries seem to have little respect for the essence of what made these small producers special. Post acquisition, I find many of the wines unrecognisable. This was a big impetus to create Bryant Imports, to cast light on – and hopefully protect the stories of – these special producers.

Das Angebot (The Offering), 2016, by Neo Rauch

The art of wine: My background as a dancer and art historian informed my art collecting, and I approach winemaking with a similar lens. To cite music producer Rick Rubin, author of The Creative Act: A Way of Being, “Being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about yourrelationship to the world”. For me, art and wine go hand in hand. The emanative, visceral power of visual art, music and architecture is no different for me than sharing a glass of wine with someone who understands that they are experiencing something ephemeral.

During the pandemic, I invited my friend Tom Campbell, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, to join me and my winemaker in a lively Zoom discussion around art and wine. Tom and Renée Dreyfus, his Curator of Ancient Art and Interpretation, talked about objects and depictions of wine in the museum collections, and my winemaker, KK, examined the artistic process of winemaking.

In 2020, I released my first artistic wine collaboration with UK-based artist Rachel Dein. Using our vineyard cover-crop botanicals, she created a unique impression that we transferred to the interior of the wine box. Many of my collectors claim that this presentation box holds pride of place in their cellars. Art that demonstrates virtuosic ability, wrought by an artist’s own hand, has always compelled me.

I studied a lot of theory at university and, while that can be a very intoxicating and cerebral exercise, I find that I really appreciate the gesture of the human hand in a work of art. No wonder I appreciate the craft of winemaking! My husband and I collected a lot of minimalist and abstract art (Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marden, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra), and in 2015 I installed a particularly beautiful grouping in the Great Room of our St Helena home. In 2016, I acquired a wonderful Neo Rauch painting titled Das Angebot (The Offering), and I repositioned a Kelly to accommodate this work. The energy in the room instantly electrified.

The Rauch painting features a central, brightly hued female figure surrounded by male figure en grisaille. The female figure offers fire in her cupped hands, alongside a muscular hand digging its hand into the earth. With this installation, I realised an affinity for figurative work that clearly harkened from my time in dance.

I now realise that this painting was perhaps prophetic, as I lost my home in the 2020 fires that swept through the valley. Thankfully, my connection to the earth remains solid. During the Covid pandemic, I was inspired by how the environment benefitted.

Artist Rachel Dein’s impression of botanicals from the estate, which featured within a wine box

The waterways cleared, air quality improved, turtles were returning to their natural breeding patterns, and so on. I also discovered the astonishing foraged feather pieces of Kate MccGwire and commissioned a large concentric work from her.

My interest in the utilisation of natural materials in art also led me to the Peruvian painter Sara Flores, a 74-year-old Shipibo-Conibo artist, who sings to the trees before she extracts the bark to make her pigments. I find that so touching and am excited to support a documentary film on her life and work.

And Ed Ruscha [who designed the 10th-anniversary artwork for the Bettina bottle] was a dream to work with and very receptive to my ideas – a genuinely generous artist (and human being). It was a complete honour to work with him.

The vineyard is located in a moderate microclimate that fosters natural sugar development and a gradual ripening of the grapes

Tapping more deeply into my creativity and understanding the opportunity to learn and grow is one of the greatest gifts of life. One of my particular joys is supporting others on their learning and creative paths, whether encouraging my winemaker to source and craft our new Chardonnay, commissioning works by artists or evolving my new business venture supporting other small wine producers whose values resonate with my own.

On a more personal level, I am about to begin meditation and mentorship work with a Buddhist teacher. With art and wine and luxury, it is imperative that we recognise the gifts we have been given and treat them responsibly.

Art and beauty have such potential to be catalysts for positive change. I have always loved Gerhard Richter’s quote: “Art is the highest form of hope”. In these turbulent times, I feel more compelled than ever to create and deliver a wine and experience that resonates and inspires.

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Veronica Colondam champions the field of social entrepreneurship in Indonesia with the establishment of YCAB Foundation in 1999

Veronica Colondam was the youngest ever recipient of the UN-Vienna Civil Society Award, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and received accolades throughout her career including Globe Asia’s Most Powerful Women in Indonesia, Forbes’ one of 10 most inspiring women in Asia and one of Asia’s 48 Philanthropists, and one of UN’s Solution Makers;  through YCAB Foundation she helms a social enterprise that aims to improve welfare through education and innovative financing, running programmes that have reached over 5 million underprivileged youth. She speaks with LUX Leaders & Philanthropists Editor, Samantha Welsh about creating a sustainable system that scales change.

LUX:  How have your spiritual beliefs informed your leadership values?

Veronica Colondam: I established YCAB Foundation in 1999 when I was 26 years old. Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa Foundation (YCAB) means ‘Loving the Nation’s Children Foundation’) and reflected my love for all Indonesia’s children and my aspiration to nurture intelligent and innovative young minds. As a committed Christian, I believe we are called to be the Salt & Light of this world, to be a Good Samaritan, to love our neighbour and to help all those in need. My leadership values foster a culture that prioritises Integrity, Service, Empathy, Resilience, Vibrancy, and Excellence (iSERVE.)

LUX:  Was there a catalytic ‘aha’ moment, when the scale of social injustice in Indonesia impelled you to set-up YCAB to drive change?

VC: For me it all started with education injustice.  About three years after YCAB was founded, I realized that the school drop-out rate in Indonesia was very high.  Millions of students did not complete their primary education. Further, the ASEAN Free Trade agreement 2010 put Indonesians at a competitive disadvantage as our schools did not offer teaching in tech and English.  In response, we launched our first Rumah Belajar (Rumah = house, Belajar = learning to improve English and tech literacy.  The ‘aha’ moment was when my 12-year-old daughter, Adelle took me as parent chaperone on her school community project and introduced me to the concept of microfinance.  This catalysed our YCAB family intervention model.

YCAB Foundation is the founding and flagship organisation in the YCAB social enterprise group which bases its operations on a mutually reinforcing and financially sustainable social change model

LUX:  What was the thinking behind that?

VC: We implement a family intervention model that empowers both mothers and children – ‘prosperous mothers smart kids’.  We can transform low-income families and lift them sustainably out of poverty. We focus on the mothers because research shows the critical impact of a mother’s prosperity on the household.  Economically-empowered earning mothers are in a better position to support their children’s education, reducing high school drop-out rates and lifting the family unit.

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LUX:  Why is YCAB’s microfinance model sustainable?

VC: This comes down to the integration of financial support with educational advancement.  We deploy capital to fund low-income women entrepreneurs ensuring their children’s education is a precondition for loan access.  This dual focus on immediate financial aid and long-term educational goals fosters a cycle of empowerment.  Additionally, YCAB’s transition into a self-reliant social enterprise, where profits from its ventures are reinvested into its mission, underpins its sustainability. The model’s success is evidenced by its recognition and supervision by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority, highlighting its impactful and sustainable approach to breaking the cycle of poverty and promoting community welfare

YCAB’s change model has one clear mission which is to improve welfare through education and innovative financing. YCAB aims to vitalize underprivileged youths to become self-reliant through economic empowerment and education, bringing them from mere subsistence to sustainable livelihood

LUX:  Twenty five years on, how successful has YCAB been in mobilising resources throughout Asia?

VC: We mobilized more than $120M US to reach over five million low-income young people, together with hundreds of thousands of mothers. This is equivalent to a per capita increase from $2 to the threshold of an aspiring middle class at $8.

LUX:  How did YCAB evolve from a not-for-profit to a social enterprise model?

VC: Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the concept of social enterprise back in 1999!  In fact, the term “social enterprise” only began gaining recognition in Indonesia about 12-15 years ago. I initially founded YCAB with financial sustainability in mind and after the first year, I started-up a company as the first business unit of the foundation.  Over time, we developed several business units to support the foundation’s mission and around 10 years’ later, after my INSEAD program, I realised we were operating under a social enterprise model.

LUX:  Where does microfinance fit within social impact entrepreneurship?

VC: Microfinance operates as a business model and enables the poor to access capital. This embodies the essence of social entrepreneurship, where business and social impact are integrated into the model. We leverage our for-profit businesses to support the mission of YCAB, the foundation, so we operate our education program under the YCAB Foundation structure, and the economic empowerment program for mothers (or MFi) under YCAB Ventures, a company licensed by the Indonesian Securities and Exchange Commission (OJK) since 2015. Under the Ventures structure mandated by OJK, we engage in equity-like investments to support SMEs and have expanded into impact investment. This structure allows us to consolidate all our companies that support YCAB’s mission into a portfolio — from our original business units to new impact investments. The Ventures structure provides us with the flexibility to engage in financing (MFi), investments across all business units and new impact ventures, all while advancing our agenda of empowering families out of generational poverty towards a prosperous future.

YCAB believes in the power of education to improve welfare. To date, YCAB has brought impact five millions underprivileged youths and hundreds of thousands of low income families

LUX:  YCAB’s partners rank among the world’s leading corporates;  what is it about your approach to partnerships over 25 years that secures engagement at this level?

VC: We are commited not only to meet the needs of our beneficiaries but also to align closely with the objectives of our partners, some being the world’s leading corporations. One key aspect of our partnership strategy is our engagement with governments. Sustainable change requires collaboration across sectors, so partnering with governments allows us to leverage their resources, expertise, and influence to optimise our impact. Furthermore, our board members bring their expertise, networks, and insights to the table which enhances the value proposition for our partners, because partnerships are strategic, impactful, and mutually beneficial. Successful partnerships are built on a foundation of trust, collaboration and a shared commitment to driving positive change.

Read more: Zahida Fizza Kabir on why philanthropy needs programmes to achieve systemic change

LUX: Was there any time that you overcame a barrier that, in retrospect, catalysed a systemic solution to a particularly challenging social problem?

VC: The first standout catalytic moment was our shift in focus from preventing youth drug addiction to primary prevention through education and soft skill development, addressing the root causes of youth curiosity toward substance abuse. However, gaining access to schools, the focus of our target audience was a significant challenge. In 2002, in a pivotal moment for YCAB, I and our board member Professor Rofikoh Rockim met the former Minister of Education, Mr. Yahya Muhaimin. He granted us his influential letter of recommendation so we could access schools and campaign with authority. This shows the impact of personal connections, advocacy, and strategic partnerships that sparked transformative change and empowered communities throughout Indonesia.

The second catalytic moment was the covid pandemic. During lockdown, we could only help people who had basic literacy and smartphones to access e-support, including e-donations.  We also used a WhatsApp-based chatbot. This revolutionised the financial literacy of mothers, the clients of our MFi program.  The pandemic also opened the door to financing social goods using capital market products, such as mutual funds. To coincide with YCAB’s 25^th Anniversary in August 2024, we will launch financial products that offer financial returns with social impact. This is gamechanging because with philanthropy in Indonesia, there is generally no tax deduction for donations aside from Islamic zakat giving which is regulated by a national zakat collection body. For non-religious non profits like YCAB, giving is not tax deductible so private corporate CSR donations are taken from EBITDA, contrary to public-listed companies.

YCAB is now exploring ways to implement the last link in its change model, that is, to create a sustainable system whereby students who graduate and become entrepreneurs or employed can pay it forward

LUX:  What is impact exactly for a social impact entrepreneur and how can you measure it fully?

VC: At YCAB, we embed impact measurement into all our programs. With our microfinance initiative, for example, we conduct our “welfare survey” with our beneficiaries tracking our impact on their increased earnings, business expansion, and perhaps most significantly, the educational opportunities their children receive as a result of our interventions.

LUX:  Finally, how do governments and financial institutions benefit by partnering with SIEs?

VC: We are not sitting behind our desks, we are out there in the heart of communities, listening, learning, and understanding their real needs. These grassroots connections mean our initiatives are genuine and address issues where they make impact, right where people live and breathe. We are always pushing boundaries, finding fresh ways to tackle age-old problems. When governments and financial institutions join forces with us, they are tapping into that spirit of innovation. When we innovate together, that vision becomes more than just a dream – it becomes our shared reality.

ycabfoundation.org

The modern fine dining restaurant Roia offers a division between Asia and Europe. The Chef-Partner Priyam Chatterjee explores traditional French techniques with a focus on the flora found in the Botanic Gardens from where they source key herbs and flowers.

In our Spring/Summer 2024 Print Edition, the opening page of our LUX Report is dedicated to an intriguing new development from a fascinating Singapore entrepreneur. Kishin RK’s new fine dining destination, Roia, is located, unusually for Singapore, in a historic building surrounded by lush tropical foliage. It’s a new landmark destination, as Kishin explains to LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai

Kishin RK, owner of the new landmark Roia restaurant set in a réapplication of a Unesco World Heritage site in Singapore and featured on this page, is something of a paradox. Softly spoken and understated, he eschews the glitz and high profile sought by some of his fellow young(ish) billionaire entrepreneurs from Singapore and its sibling, Hong Kong.

The restaurant’s ambiance is a reflection of its culinary philosophy

When LUX meets him in a café in an upscale Singapore mall, he is full of boyish enthusiasm for his new projects – enthusiasm backed by the forensic eye for detail that made him the country’s youngest billionaire. But Kishin’s paradox is that he doesn’t want to just be a dealmaker, acquiring wealth through real estate and his other investments: he also wants to be a game-changer, a place-maker.

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His family has already achieved this through the redevelopment of Robertson Quay in Singapore, home to the swanky 1880 private members’ club (a kind of Soho House for the finance sector); and, in a subtle way, through the reshaping of the heritage site at the Singapore Botanic Gardens that now houses Roia.

Chef Priyam Chatterjee’s dishes, are reflections of blending his experiences and artistic inspirations into each course.

Kishin has international ambitions for his place-making, with London at the top of the agenda. His philosophy? “The most exciting and fascinating thing to me as a developer is focusing on districts and creating a very strong energy, shaping the behavioural patterns of people who visit.”

Read more: Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, Review

From power lunches that talk business to intimate gatherings, Roia has a space for every kind of meeting

His philosophy – casual but distinct, energetic, with a tailored style and high standards in cuisine – will be arriving in London, his favourite European city, soon. Watch this space.

www.roia.sg

After originally existing as engine suppliers, Henry Royce built his first motor car in 1904, which later lead to the establishment of the Rolls Royce brand in March of 1906

Elegant. Iconic. Timeless. The three words that best describe Rolls Royce and the South of France. So, it was perfectly fitting that the Rolls Royce Phantom ‘Rendez-vous’ was set in the heart of the French Riviera, Roquebrune, in the hills overlooking Monaco. Candice Tucker reports.

The experience was set to make us feel like a Rolls Royce owner and it started from the moment we landed at Nice airport. Outside baggage reclaim, my driver awaited me and took me to the car, opened the door and explained the comforting features of the Phantom.

The details of luxury are only fit for this type of car: a button to open the door from the inside (so you don’t appear to be opening it yourself), the cushions behind your legs and neck, the champagne fridge between the two back seats and the whiskey and cigar hampers in the boot, which I can imagine many enjoy during a long drive down the Italian coast.

I could have sat in the car for hours comfortably, but we quickly arrived at the hotel.

Rolls Royce couldn’t have chosen a better location to host it’s rendez-vous than the Maybourne Riviera Hotel. In many ways, the elegance of the Maybourne Riviera and a Rolls Royce are similar.

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Both are renowned for their attention to detail, craftsmanship, and commitment to creating an unparalleled experience for their guests or customers. Just as a Rolls Royce is a symbol of luxury and prestige, so too is the Maybourne Riviera a symbol of exclusivity and refinement.

After settling in for a few hours, I was driven to a typically luxurious Monégasque spa, where no one was surprised to see a woman in her twenties being chauffeured in a Rolls Royce Phantom to her appointment.

Feeling incredibly relaxed, post massage, the Phantom was waiting right outside ready to take me back to the Maybourne for a beautiful dinner on the side of the hotel’s cliff face with views of the sea and the lights of Monte Carlo beneath us.

Read more: Range Rover Velar review

The next day we had the opportunity to drive the cars ourselves to the medieval town of Gourdon.

The standout feature when you first look at the Phantom is its size. As large as it may be, it doesn’t feel cumbersome to drive. In fact, it feels surprisingly nimble, thanks in part to its smooth and responsive handling. The steering is precise, and the brakes are strong, which was a blessing when driving down the winding roads of the Côte d’Azur.

Rolls Royce is the haut-couture of the car world. Everything is designed to an owner’s specification and taste to make it feel like something of their own, rather than a material item that anyone can have.

The infinite personalisation of these cars makes each Phantom completely unique, down to adding artworks to the front body of the interior of the car, so it becomes part of someone’s home rather than simply a mode of transport. The excitement of entering the Phantom each time, is completely different to that of a Lamborghini or Ferrari. It’s not thrill seeking, it’s simply the most luxurious form of comfort.

Find more: www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Recently reimagined Singaporean elegance at Marina Bay: LUX Checks In

Checking-in from the heat of a long day, MO’s calming presence of a vast ring of concentric rooms welcomes one in. Across its new colour scheme of pinks and greens, one feels that Wimbledon might just take some notes, to be lifted to a quiet Singaporean elegance.

The room had an immense view of Marina Bay’s iconic skyline (but safe from its heat): lay back, feet up, and helped myself to delicious Singaporean chocolates.

Up on the 5th floor, Mandarin Oriental’s 25-meter swimming pool looks over the Singapore skyline

Wandering around vast zen corridors, I checked out for myself what are supposedly world-renowned cocktails at the MO Bar. Dark blue suave, art deco chic – I had a reclaimed Singapore Sling to begin, naturally. It had a sweetness without overdoing it – and cutting beneath with jagged sourness  it was balanced by a bright lollipop – a humorous play on Singapore’s original historic drink.

Mandarin Oriental has various food stores and its cake shop has artisanal confectioneries, specialising in cakes, pastries, festive treats, and premium gifts for all occasions.

After their recent revamp, I’d like to see the room where the chemistry of cocktails takes place – it seems a Willy-Wonka-cum-James-Bond enterprise – and it delivers. Onto the ‘White Rabbit’ cocktail, made with an edible layer of an image of a White Rabbit, the type that slips onto the tongue and dissolves. But the real taste lies underneath, with a laksa tang.

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From fresh Singaporean breakfast to lunch the next day, I swanned up to the pool for a dip with another view of the skyline, before a welcome Italian twist. Ruinart blanc de blanc, antipasti, fish and exquisite cheese looking over the pool – what more could one want, apart from an Italian waiter himself serving with Mediterranean charm and gastronomic expertise? Well, it had that too.

Read More: Nira Alpina, St Moritz, Review

Mandarin Oriental has 510 rooms, and 8 restaurants, also including MO BAR, The Spa, and a lounge and club HAUS 65.

A much needed massage at The Spa after months of London brought a zen which – well, I only wish I could maintain it in London, but without the Singaporean skyline and fresh noodles it won’t be so easy.

See More:

mandarinoriental.com

LUX checks in to Borgo Santandrea, a sweet spot on the Amalfi coast which feels far from the madding tourist crowds

‘Everybody should have one talent, what’s yours?’ Or so says Dickie Greenleaf in the thriller – most recently a Netflix hit – TheTalented Mr Ripley. If it was Italy, rather than criminal Tom Ripley, responding, the answer would not be ‘forging signatures, telling lies, impersonating practically anybody’, but, perhaps, ‘Venezia, Roma, Toscana… Amalfi’. But how could one pick just one? Across its various shooting locations Ripley’s Amalfi shone out in staggering blue. I couldn’t resist.

A private beach, a pool, and ancient buildings look out onto the Amalfi Coast

It’s hard not to reach for clichés when, checking into the room, one is faced with a vast abstract painting of two blues – that is, sea and sky – contained like a Rothko in their window frame. The room seems to lead one towards this, across bespoke furniture and their signature tiles of blue and white.

Read More: Mandarin Oriental, Zurich, Review

Tucked away, 52 metres above sea level, one sleeps cocooned in something which is clean, refreshingly modern. And yet, at the beach bar, Marinella Beach Club, one still feels that one might just hear the fisherman, raising a glass of limoncello up with a clinking ‘salute!’ after a long day of hauling nets into its ancient building.

Alici, for fine dining at Borgo Santandrea, is a 1 Michelin star restaurant

Holding onto both old and new is the Marinella Restaurant. A Cardinale Twist to begin, for me. Its bitter freshness is what I want in the salt air, while I browse the menu. It seems wrong to bypass fish while sitting by the setting sun over the sea. Borgo Santandrea do it as they should – tender, fresh, not overdone or too spiced up; the ingredients are as fresh as they can be, so I begin with a platter of shellfish sprinkled with Amalfi lemon zest.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Next comes a confession. I’m afraid I have a weakness for ‘Zucchini alla Scapece’. It’s that type that has its natural sweetness balanced by the acid of its vinegar marinade and freshened by mint. It brings me back to a Neapolitan chef in Tuscany, who – unable to comprehend how one of his customers didn’t like garlic – would stamp about the kitchen, thumb to fingers shaking his hand in the air, muttering histrionically, ‘è aglio, dio mio’. But fear not, here – garlic brings out the juices of a tender, grillet fillet of fish, paired with potato.

Each room at Borgo Santandrea is styled in a different way, looking at various shades Meditteranean styles

Not that a need a ‘pick-me-up’, or ‘Tiramisu’, following this, but it did the trick. And my swim provided a salty digestivo, and, under its soporific gauze, I fell into a deep slumber, back in the bedroom of signature artisan chic, just 50 metres above the sea.

Bespoke boat trips are offered for guests across the hotel

I have no doubt that The Talented Mr Ripley will be sending lots more people Amalfi’s sun-warmed way, and I’m lucky I had got there before. Lucky, too, that – contrary to ‘telling lies… impersonating practically anybody’, Borgo Santandrea provides a rare pocket of honesty along an increasingly tourist-ridden place. It seems to pare itself back to the essence of Italy’s talent – if there is just one, that is – that laidback elegance and spirit that can’t help but leak into one, and see the utter necessity of shaking one’s fist at garlic.

Find out More:

borgosantandrea.it

Shisen Hanten’s signature steamed sliced kurobuta pork with chilli

Michelin-Star Singaporean Restaurant – renowned for high levels of food, and a view of Singapore from 35 levels high. LUX checks it out

Muted chandeliers, an almost debonair charm welcome one in – and the lights across night sky waving from fellow tall buildings, silhouetting the Singapore skyline.

Shisen Hanten’s Executive Chef, Chen Kentaro

We were served what is called the ‘Opulent Menu’ – something that Chef Kentaro likes to nimbly stretch across Szechwan cuisine with an embition menu, celebrating signature flavours of Shisen Hanten – a fusion, if you like – and traditional Cantonese flavours.

A fine Devaux Cuvée to start, to accompany a selection of (particularly succulent) prawn, pork and specially delicious bang bang chicken.

Next a Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Crab Roe soup. And the crab was so fresh that some guests, who didn’t like tripe, enjoyed these just fine.

Shisen Hanten’s Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Crab Roe Soup

But the freshness of a Wagyu Beef rose above itself, complimented by a glass of Torbreck. Tender, and served across an array of dishes.

Shisen Hanten is located on the thirty-fifth floor in Orchard, Singapore

Steamed lobster was cooked confidently, amply seasoned with its Yuzu soya sauce – retaining its juicy tenderness, and matched confidently by an Australian Chardonnay of a calm dry and the stir-fried tofu had a signature Singaporean fire unmatched.

Chef Chen’s Original Spicy Noodle Soup

Night was closing in, lights were beginning to turn out in the disciplined buildings of Singapore, but time for just one Szechwan jelly with delicious fresh fruit. One last sip of Chardonnay, before descending the many flights to the heart of the city below.