Sushi Shop is a ground-breaking global sushi chain, combining takeaway casual, fine-dining quality, experimental cuisine, and collaborations with some of the world’s greatest chefs. Kitty Harris floats between branches in London and Paris to discover more

Salmon Gravlax Roll

Grégory Marciano has brought gastronomic sushi collaborations to the Paris dining scene. His Sushi Shops, 36 in Paris and more than 130 in total around the world, combine a chilled-out takeaway twist alongside annual partnerships with some of the greatest chefs in the world.

Unsurprisingly, at their core is a blend of French gastronomic culture and Japanese heritage. Being a regular at his London, Marylebone store (kumquat and yuzu sunny roll and detox poke bowl, please) I jumped on the Eurostar to try the latest creations of Kei Kobayashi, this year’s collaborator, in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. I started with the Salmon Gravlax roll, a reinterpretation of Kei’s signature dish, with turnips, carrots and mint with a spicy tapenade-style sauce. Followed by the Gyu special roll, on top of which the beef carpaccio was blow torched twice to lacquer the teriyaki sauce.

Kei Kobayashi

Kobayashi is one of a number of celebrated chefs who had worked with Sushi Shop. Others include Joël Robuchon, the most Michelin-starred chef in the world; Jean-François Piège, of the two Michelin star ‘Le Grand Restaurant’ in Paris was followed by Thierry Marx of ‘Sur Mesure’, the two-Michelin starred restaurant at Mandarin Oriental, Paris.

Japanese-born Kobayashi has just received his second star at his French restaurant ‘Kei’ in Rue Coq Héron in Paris. He trained with Piège, the legendary Alain Ducasse, and Christophe Moret of the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris. “My inspiration comes from the products. Each product is unique and the ways to cook them are infinite. Especially vegetables…I couldn’t live without vegetables.” His Sushi Shop creations, the garden maki and red miso cucumber salad with peanuts, maple syrup, chilli and yuzu zest are testament to this.

Back in London, Marciano tells me that the plan is for high-end sushi collaborations to take over the world. Currently in more than 130 locations from New York to Madrid, he is well on his way, with Amsterdam and Zurich opening this year. A true raw revolution.

mysushishop.co.uk

New York interior designer Ryan Korban has designed retail spaces for  the biggest names in fashion – most recently the Aquazzura‘s opulent flagship on Madison Avenue – and counts Nicole Richie and Behati Prinsloo amongst his best friends, but it’s his uniquely luxe aesthetic that’s got people talking. Combining old world romance with urban seduction, Korban creates atmospheric and alluring worlds. It’s no wonder his name appears on the prestigious AD100 list as one of the design world’s best young talents for 2017. As part of our luxury leaders series, Nathalie Breitschwerdt speaks to Ryan Korban about his design philosophy, the relationship between fashion and interior design and his “must have” luxury.

Ryan Korban

LUX: Given your background is not in interior design, was it difficult to break through barriers to make your mark?
Ryan Korban: I truly believe good taste can help you start any creative career. When I began to study European history in school as well as art, I realised I loved the idea of creating an environment. In a city like New York, confidence and professionalism are everything. Any sign of weakness and you’re finished, so I try to stay strong through the whole thing. It’s important to just keep moving forward. I am always looking for the next thing and not relishing in the moment.

LUX: How would you define your own interior design aesthetic? What makes it unique?
Ryan Korban: I think it’s critical to have a very clear aesthetic because there are so many designers and it’s easy to get lost. The three critical elements in my style are sex, romance, and fantasy. It’s hard to say which one of them is most important, because I really do think it’s the combination of them that creates something alluring and beautiful.

The Alexander Wang flagship store by Ryan Korban

LUX: You describe your philosophy as “more is more”. When does more become too much?
Ryan Korban: There are times when I’ve tried “more is more” and that never feels as successful or well thought-out. If the room is a fifty-fifty split between contemporary and traditional furniture, I find that confusing – it’s like your taste is split in half. For me, a beautiful, contemporary room with antiques sprinkled throughout is just enough of both worlds. That’s when I get the most positive feedback.

Read next: LUX’s hotel of the month – The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

LUX:Which project did you find most challenging and why?
Ryan Korban: When you work with people who have their own ‘taste,’ it is always a collaboration, which is always a challenging thing. You want to be sure you push your client so they will listen to you, but you always have to be sure their voice is heard as well. It can be a very tricky balance. This is the exact reason I often prefer working on commercial spaces. It tends to be more straightforward when you are working with a company versus a private client.

Tribeca Residence by Ryan Korban

LUX: How do you define luxury within your brand? Is it exclusivity, a trend, the price?
Ryan Korban: For me, luxury is the idea of taking luxurious things and using them in your day-to-day life. It’s something that we saw happen in fashion, and I don’t think it’s necessarily something that has happened in design yet, which is what’s so alluring about it.

LUX: You designed retail stores for various fashion labels, how would you describe the relationship between fashion and interior design?
Ryan Korban: I think of interior design and fashion as a kind of art form. It’s all abstract for me; it’s all about a feeling or a mood. A client might want a living room that’s comfortable but also a little sexy. So you want furniture that you can fling yourself on – fur and carpeting.

The new Aquazzura flagship on Madison Avenue

Read next: How to chill in style on the slopes 

LUX: Which piece of furniture / decoration is an absolute luxury “must-have” for each household?
Ryan Korban: I think what you want to do in any space is create a sense of drama. I’m a huge believer in lighting. I think it’s another easy way to transform a space, and I don’t think you can have too much lighting, especially in New York City or any metropolitan setting.

LUX: What do you have planned for the future?
Ryan Korban: I have been really focused on residential right now and have some amazing projects completing in the spring.

ryankorban.com

The Ritz Carlton starts on the 102nd floor and only goes up from there

Why should I go?

March sees the arrival of the international fine art circus and party known as Art Basel in Hong Kong. While the Asian edition of the fair is not as lofty as the original in Switzerland, and less sexy than the Miami version which sweeps together America’s top collectors, gallerists, and wannabes every December, it is growing steadily in stature and is Asia’s premier art fair.

The world’s highest bar: Ozone

What’s the low down?

It’s actually a misnomer to say the Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong, is in Hong Kong. Sitting on the open terrace of the “Ozone” bar on the 118th floor, sipping a Tanqueray Ten Martini to steady our nerves, our view looked down onto the tops of clouds, with a dreamy orange glow. Closer inspection revealed a city and water far below the clouds. We were viewing Hong Kong’s landmarks as if overflying in a military drone: Ozone is the highest bar in the world, and the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong is the highest hotel in the world. Rooms span the 102nd to 108th floors, and the hotel is really located above Hong Kong. Like a mountaintop, the temperature on that terrace is a few degrees below that on the ground, a welcome break from the summer heat.

Read next: The largest David Hockney retrospective to date

Getting horizontal

Our bedroom had light taupes and greys balanced out deep mahogany wood finishes. It was classic-modern Ritz Carlton, with the service touches they do so well: a good balance between too much service (where in some luxury hotels you expect a butler to pop out of the bathroom cabinet to rinse your toothbrush for you), and overcasual, where an establishment tries, and fails, to be Soho House. Staff were professional, efficient, human (a mix of young European hotel-school pros and effortless stylish Asians) and didn’t jump out of cupboards to ask how our stay was going.

The Carlton Suite

Flipside

The hotel is located on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, which has its own attractions but is a 15-minute cab ride away from the central district. And it’s definitely not for those with vertigo.

Rates: From $7,600 HKD per night (approx. USD $1000/ €950/£800)
Darius Sanai

Art Basel Hong Kong, March 23-25

ritzcarlton.com/hongkong

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) 1971

As David Hockney approaches his 80th birthday, the Tate Britain celebrates his vast and varied body of work in the largest retrospective to date. From his most famous works, the vibrant, geometric images of Los Angeles swimming pools through to the avant-garde, intimate scenes depicted by the painter in his 20s when he was struggling to assert his identity in 1960s homophobic Britain, to his photographs, Yorkshire landscapes and most recent, heavily saturated pastoral scenes, the exhibition charts the artist’s extraordinary career and influence. Above all, it’s Hockney’s unique perspective that’s most captivating. Hockney’s world is constantly fluid, moving between being bright to the point of almost gaudy, abstract and surreal to something more contained, pure and linear. Whatever the version, it’s energetic, hopeful and full of life.

David Hockney runs until 29th May 2017 at Tate Britain, Millbank, London

The streets of Delhi. Picture by Igor Ovsyannykov

In the past, India’s heaving capital has been a fly-in, fly-out destination for most tourists, but with a booming art scene and the recent opening of the Hyatt hotel group’s, coolest counterpart, Andaz, Delhi is fast developing its own allure. Yet, it’s the chaos, culture and complexity, that makes Delhi so fascinating, says our Digital Editor, Millie Walton.

It’s daybreak in Delhi and the streets are singing with car horns as taxis and rickshaws muscle past each other, weaving in and out of stray dogs, pedestrians and the occasional cow. India’s capital is more than overwhelming: it’s explosive. Every year the city, consumes huge mouthfuls of landscape, stretching it’s borders further in order to accommodate it’s 9 million and growing population. It’s a heaving labyrinth of sounds, smells and bodies. It takes a few minutes to be able to focus in the sensual chaos. This isn’t London busy: heads down, too busy to stop, see or speak. This is India busy that centres around interaction and trade. There’s something calming about the vibrancy.

The sunlight cuts shapes through Chandni Chowk’s crammed streets, holding dust in the air and illuminating passersbys. It’s one of Delhi’s oldest and busiest market areas, but fortunately the mundane outweighs tourist curiosity so you can play the invisible observer, without being coerced into buying a trinket, batteries or silk scarves (if you want to purchase cheap merchandise of almost any category this is the place). Huge blocks of golden brown sugar lie stacked at the front of the stall, whilst the man next door makes Jalebi, dropping coils of batter into a copper bowl of spitting oil, and a dog hopefully pushes its nose through the litter on the road. There’s less traffic here and most of the rickshaws are pedalled, but the force of bodies is enough to keep you moving underneath the overhanging tangle of electrical wires and pipes. It’s better not to plan a route, not just because there’s little indication to tell you where to turn, but because you can let your surroundings fill you without limitations. I stop at the call of a chaiwala to buy a small cup of steaming, spicy, sweet Indian tea underneath a blackened building that looks as frail as an empty shell.

Read next: The 10th anniversary of Jaipur Literature Festival

I break out of the market onto a wider main road, slipping in behind a local as he crosses the road. The Jama Masjid is the largest and most imposing mosque in India, standing at an elevation of 10 metres with two tall watchtowers guarding the entrance. For visitors there’s an entrance free but it’s well worth it if only to stand barefoot courtyard, eye to eye with ornate yawning mouth that some 25,000 pass through for worship. Locals seem to stop here too, to rest on the steps and watch life sprawling below.

A cup of hot Masala chai exchanging hands. Picture by Igor Ovsyannykov

In a rickshaw some time later, I sit alongside the dense pocket of traffic jostling towards Connaught Place, the commercial and business district where most of the luxury hotels cluster. My driver holds down his horn as a man on a motorbike pushes ahead, the woman perched sidesaddle on the back throws back a stare that silences. Then we’re there, in a circle of colonial style white columns and designer shops. It’s another city entirely: New Delhi. The huge flag of India lazily ripples in the sky above, while smart Indians strut into designer shops. It’s beautiful, but lacks the visual seduction of the older areas. Here you’re less able to blend into the surroundings, as foreigners are quickly spotted by locals as affluent and therefore, targets for money making schemes.

Read next: British model Joanna Halpin on blogging and inspiration

The wider parts of New Delhi though are more pleasant and offer an interesting insight into India’s contemporary art scene. DAG Modern is the place to begin, with an impressive collection of modernist works, experimental art forms and paintings by some of the country’s most respected names. The theme of memory and identity that’s gripping the art world globally, reveals itself here with a display of works from 14 diaspora artists interpreted through western and Indian writings. I stand captivated by Satki Burman‘s swirl of moving colours that’s acutely relatable in this vibrant setting.

The Hyatt Regency Hotel, Delhi

Outside the heat has settled and the air is visibly thick with pollution. I retreat to India’s oldest luxury residence, the Hyatt Regency that’s cool and sultry with recent renovations.

The bakery at the back is still where many of the wealthy local families buy their bread and pastries, sending their drivers to make the most of the end of the day 50% discount. I sit downstairs in the cafe for a Indian high tea of chai, samosas and pani puri ( crisp balls filled with potato and spicy tangy water) before soaking in the jacuzzi pool, in the hotel’s gendered spa. As it’s Chinese New Year, dinner is at the hotel’s famed China Kitchen for a feast of crispy duck and dumplings. Oddly, it’s the best Chinese food I’ve ever tasted.

As I wander upstairs to bed, it strikes me that it’s incredibly still within the hotel walls, and I wonder, perhaps whether that’s the ultimate luxury in a city that’s endlessly restless.

British model and blogger, Joanna Halpin. Photograph by Bryan Rodner Carr

Sydney Lima

The models who look at us from our magazine covers and Instagram feeds are often astute businesspeople as well as subjects for fashion stylists and photographers. They are now “360 degree creatives”, raising revenue from everything from social media to events appearances. Our contributing editor Sydney Lima is a model with Storm and has appeared on the cover of Condé Nast‘s glossies; she also works in film and in this new exclusive series interviews her peers about the lifestyle.

THIS MONTH: British model Joanna Halpin joined Premier Models at the age of 20 and has since shot major campaigns for the likes of L’Oréal, Free People and Urban Outfitters. Her clean, minimalist aesthetic on Instagram has attracted a following of over 280,000 and now she’s climbing the blogging ladder too, with her sister and fellow model, Sarah Halpin and their model lifestyle blog, What She Said.

Sydney Lima: How did you get in to modelling?
Joanna Halpin: I went to agency ‘walk ins’ in London nearly 4 years ago now and got taken on by Premier.

SL: What’s been your favourite job to work on so far?
JH: I’m not too sure if I have a favourite job but I have been lucky enough to get taken some of the amazing counties and shoot in the most beautiful locations. So any job where I get to travel to somewhere new always makes the favourite list.

SL: What’s been your proudest working moment?
JH: Sarah and I have recently starting working on a big exciting project through our blog so that’s going to be a very proud moment when I can properly say what it is. So sorry to sound so secretive!

Read next: Jaipur Literature Festival photography series

SL: Did modelling have any influence over your decision to become a blogger? How did it all come about?
JH: Yes modelling did have an influence on me starting a blog. I love modelling but I wanted to be able to have more creative input on shoots. I have a background in graphic design, as does my sister, so we decided last summer to start our blog together so we could be creative, and of course it goes hand in hand with modelling.

Sydney Lima: How do you find inspiration?
Joanna Halpin: With apps like Instagram and Pinterest it’s so easy to be constantly influenced. There are now so many beautiful accounts to follow that are great for inspiration. Accounts such as @c_l_o, @frankieandclo, @maggieontherocks, @oraclefoxjournal and @fredericforest all generally post such a variety of things from campaigns, to art, to fashion, to interiors. I think what inspires me most is imagery over actual designers, or style icons.

SL: What plans do you have for 2017?
JH: I really want to focus on the blog this year, my sister Sarah who I run it with has finally finished university now so we can hopefully both dedicate much more time to it. We also want to travel together this year, we are actually both meant to be in Sydney right now but my visa is taking a little longer than I had originally thought. But hopefully I’ll be there with Sarah in a few days!
@joannahalpin | @whatshesaidblog

Courtesy of Kering

The luxury giant is taking the lead in sustainability – and now will the world listen?

We are all now accustomed to what could charitably be called eco-fluff, like the cards by your hotel beds saying the 300 room luxury hotel your are staying in can save the environment by not washing your towels. More effective would be turning the TV welcome messages off, investing in a fleet of electric hotel cars, and only allowing sales staff to attend travel industry events by videoconference; but these would all hit the bottom line, while saving money on laundry is good for the P&L.

One group stands out in the luxury world for the thoroughness and authenticity its messages, though: Kering, the French owner of brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Bottega Veneta, has gone far beyond window dressing in introducing its strict ‘Environmental P&L’ for its brands. The result has been an acquisition of the high ground in environmental leadership in luxury, at a cost of many millions to the privately-owned company’s bottom line. But, in the refreshingly visionary (in these times) words of company CEO and owner Francois-Henri Pinault: “We have no choice”.

Kering’s vision for sustainability. Courtesy of Kering.

Courtesy of Kering

One curious aspect of Kering’s eco-leadership is that it being done by a so-called soft brand, that of the mothership, and not in the names of the consumer-facing fashion and luxury brands it owns. As a result, few members of the general buying public have any idea about the eco-credentials of the Kering group products they are purchasing, in contrast to much hollow self-publicity around the issues elsewhere. It’s as if they are doing it for themselves.

Kering moved more towards centre-stage this week with the announcement of a broad and dramatic “2025 Program”. This specifies, among other things, reducing its brands’ “EP&L” (broadly, carbon emissions, water use, water and air pollution etc) by 40% over the next eight years; ensuring every one of its myriad suppliers of leather, textiles and other raw materials complies 100% with its strict standards; achieving gender parity at all levels; and building its own laboratories to create sustainable alternatives to unsustainable fabrics and textiles.

It’s big, it’s broad, it’s ambitious, it’s not window dressing, and, as Kering’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs Marie-Claire Daveu, it involves “transformational changes”. Other luxury groups must follow suit.

Read our exclusive interview featuring Marie-Claire Daveu in the summer issue of LUX, out in July.