Nigel Curtiss’s brand is expanding into suits for women (modelled here by the designer’s daughter Aiden), luxury leather goods and less formal wear for men

Gauhar Kapparova

Nigel Curtiss makes suits for A-listers, with cuts and fabrics that fuse the wearer’s own personal style with a timeless elegance. LUX’s Editor-at-Large, Gauhar Kapparova hears how he moved from being a model into design, about his time in Japan, and what makes the perfect Curtiss capsule wardrobe

Nigel Curtiss

LUX: Why have you chosen to move entirely into custom design now?
Nigel Curtiss: I moved into custom design for many reasons. Firstly, for a pragmatic one, being a small luxury-level designer selling to retail was not fun anymore. Many stores, especially independent ones, were struggling and the problems were passed down the line. Secondly, I was becoming weary of the system, the cost of a show, the samples, a showroom, fighting for space on a shop floor, and most importantly my collection not being bought and displayed as I imagined it. I felt increasingly detached from the end user. In a way, I felt comfortable going in the opposite direction of fast fashion. Slowing it down, making it more personal.

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LUX: You’ve said that you don’t design just clothes but an identity. Do you mean the client’s identity?
Nigel Curtiss: I feel that in modern-day fashion you end up wearing the personality of the designer. In many cases you are shouting that from the rooftops by wearing their logo. It is not so much about the personality of the wearer but being part of a tribe. My clients generally prefer to show their own personality. I work closely with them to understand what makes them tick. The clothes need to complement the person, not take over. There is an underlying theme in what I do – amazing fabrics, lightweight construction, comfort and perfect fit. The client gives me the clues to do the rest.

LUX: Do you notice a style divide between your clients in the US and the UK? Does your design approach change accordingly?
Nigel Curtiss: No, I don’t. Maybe because the clients who want to work with me have the same desires and all demand the best. The only location-specific changes are due to climate. Clients in Miami can’t wear what I sell in NYC in the winter.

LUX: Clean, uncomplicated lines are a signature part of the Nigel Curtiss look. Do your clients inspire you to add design touches that tap into their personal tastes or lifestyle?
Nigel Curtiss: Absolutely, that happens all the time. Quite often, when I understand that they have a more expressive personality, I will suggest some details that will make the difference without taking over the garment.

LUX: You began an almost decade-long tenure working at Comme des Garçons after first being cast as a model for them. How did you make this transition?
Nigel Curtiss: I guest lecture at Parsons School of Design and get asked this question a lot! I always say that I think I’ve had a lot of luck in my career, but that I made my own luck. I modelled in the first CDG show in Paris. They didn’t use models, compliments”, or “My wife says I look great/sexy in this”. That’s when we know we’ve cracked it.

LUX: Made-to-measure tailoring that doesn’t date taps into the idea of slow fashion. How sustainable is your business?
Nigel Curtiss: Sustainability is becoming so important. Made to measure is already a far more sustainable fashion option. We have no dead stock, in fact no stock and no landfill. What we do isn’t a passing fad. My clients wear what I make them for years until it’s worn out, and that’s a long time. Also, we try to limit our carbon footprint and are looking at biodegradable packaging, recycled hangers, and so on.

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LUX: Quality fabric is a cornerstone of your design ethos. Who makes the best fabrics?
Nigel Curtiss: There are so many great sources of fabric. English wools; Italian wools, shirting and silks. I love Japanese fabrics, too. But for me, it has to be amazing quality, beautifully designed and close to my manufacturing base. I’m not going to ship fabric half-way around the world.

LUX: Has a particular fabric ever inspired a design, rather than vice versa?
Nigel Curtiss: For me, the fabric is always the starting point. I don’t design first then look for a fabric.

LUX: If you could ban one item of men’s clothing, what would it be?
Nigel Curtiss: This is one of those questions that always comes back to haunt you. I can’t think of anything I hate except anything that’s boring. Oh, and fast, disposable fashion.

LUX: What five pieces make up the perfect Nigel Curtiss capsule wardrobe?
Nigel Curtiss: Only five? That’s going to be tough. Charcoal-grey suit. Navy sports coat (you can wear it with the charcoal pants). Perfect slim, dark denim jeans (you can wear them with both jackets). The perfect white shirt, and a pale blue one (if that doesn’t count as my fifth item). The Nigel Curtiss navy polo shirt. It’s my classic and all my clients buy it. The collar stands up just perfectly to wear with a jacket or without. I have some high-profile clients who wear them with a suit on a daily basis. That’s six or seven outfits!

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LUX: You have a great celebrity following, with Kyle MacLachlan, David Schwimmer, Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Goldblum, and so on. Is it different designing for the red carpet?
Nigel Curtiss: The vast majority of my red-carpet attendees are the powerful men behind the scenes – the studio heads and the top executives. They are happy to be more low profile. I’m always very happy to work with any celebrities and dress them so they stand out in the most positive way. It shouldn’t be about the clothes.

LUX: You also dress a lot of high-profile athletes and sportsmen. Do you take a different approach to designing their clothes?
Nigel Curtiss: We try to use more performance fabrics, with natural-stretch, cool, lightweight fabrics. We might need to work more on the silhouette, but the concept stays the same.

LUX: Who will you be dressing for the 2020 awards season?
Nigel Curtiss: Well, we are already working with a few but I’m not at liberty to say anything yet. Also, you really don’t know until the day.

LUX: What is the first thing you notice about a good suit?
Nigel Curtiss: The balance. The fit can be altered for a client but if the balance is off, then it will never be right. But I can’t think of a design detail that I would look at and say it’s ruined the suit. I’m happy to look at creativity in context.

LUX: Are there rules for dressing well or is this an outdated concept?
Nigel Curtiss: Being British, we were brought up with so many rules. For dressing, for how to eat, the list goes on. Working with Rei encouraged me to re-evaluate those rules. I don’t like them. However, I think that if you are unsure about how to dress, then rules can help you feel better about what you are wearing. Some of my clients need to start in that place and then we edge them towards being confident in what they are wearing. Compliments help a lot!

LUX: What is next on the horizon for the Nigel Curtiss brand?
Nigel Curtiss: A proper, luxury Nigel Curtiss women’s tailoring brand is very close. Watch this space.

View the collections: nigelcurtiss.com

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue.

Installation view of Human Being, Being Human by Farzad Kohan at Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar

Last week saw the opening of Monaco’s latest contemporary art gallery Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar. LUX recounts the evening

On Thursday evening last week, the doors opened to Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar with an exhibition entitled Human Being, Being Human by Iranian artist Farzad Kohan. The gallery is the brainchild of Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar, wife of artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar, and will offer a programme of exhibitions by international established and emerging artists.

Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar with her husband and artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

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A glamorous crowd of visitors admired Kohan’s latest collection of colourful abstract paintings, which focus on the power of positive messaging. The textured canvas are etched with lines of English or Farsi script, which are repeated to give the impression of a mantra.

Installation view of Human Being, Being Human by Farzad Kohan

Those in attendance included Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar, alongside Game of Thrones actress Laura Pradelska, Star Trek actress Alice Eve and British model Neelam Gill. Following the private view, guests enjoyed an exclusive dinner at Yacht Club de Monaco hosted by Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar.

Model Neelam Gill attends the launch party and private view

LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai with guests at the launch party

Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar is located at 45 Avenue de Grande Bretagne 98000, Monaco. For more information visit: mariabehnambakhtiar.com

Exhibition view, Tim Walker: Wonderful People, Michael Hoppen Gallery (London, 2019–2020). Photo and © Michael Hoppen Gallery, London

Tim Walker’s photographs are usually found on the glossy covers and pages of high-end fashion magazines, but his work holds a different power in a gallery setting as this latest exhibition at Michael Hoppen Gallery shows. The exhibition, entitled Wonderful People, focuses on the British photographer’s portraits of celebrities, and runs alongside the V&A‘s current retrospective show.

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The display includes over sixty portraits, spanning his entire career, and featuring the likes of Margaret Atwood, Adwoa Aboah, Tilda Swinton (Walker’s long-term muse), Helena Bonham Carter, Claire Foy and Emma Watson. As with all of his works, these individuals are cast into surreal dreamscapes, often set against otherworldly backdrops, wearing striking costumes or holding unusual props.

Margaret Atwood, Tim Walker for The Sunday Times (London, 2019). © Tim Walker Studio, Courtesy Michael Hoppen Gallery

Tilda Swinton in exaggerated collar, Tim Walker (Reykjavik, Iceland 2011). Fashion: Giorgio Armani. © Tim Walker Studio, Courtesy Michael Hoppen Gallery

For Walker, photography is less about capturing what can already be seen, and more about enlivening the imagination. Whilst most of the faces are instantly recognisable, they appear strange, and somehow distant through Walker’s lens. The work, of course, is fantastical, deliberately playful, and yet, something more sinister seems to be lurking beneath.

Read more: Champagne Bollinger celebrates 40-year James Bond partnership

Standing in front of prize-winning writer Margaret Atwood poised as a witch-like figure holding a long feather quill, one can’t help but wonder whether we’re being asked to contemplate the bizarre realm of celebrity alongside the beauty of the image, to wonder at the power of our imagination whilst recognising the myths it creates.

Jordan Robson & Emma Watson, Tim Walker (London, 2016). Fashion: Maison Francesco Scognamlgllo © Tim Walker Studio, Courtesy Michael Hoppen Gallery

Tim Walker: Wonderful People runs until 25 January 2025 at Michael Hoppen Gallery, London.

The ‘Black Hawk’ high jewellery collection by Messika

Valérie Messika grew up playing with precious stones. Her father, Andre, was renowned in the diamond industry for decades, but at the age of 25, Valérie discovered a niche in the market: everyday, wearable diamonds. She founded her eponymous brand around this ethos and Messika has since become a favourite amongst celebrities with stores across the globe. Here, we speak to the designer about fashion, Parisian style and designing for men

Valérie Messika by David Ferrura

1. What’s your most cherish piece of jewellery?

When I was young, my grandmother, who is one of the most amazing women I have ever met, gave me one of her rings. It is a pear shaped 9.30 carat diamond, it is my favourite piece of jewellery.

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2. How much attention do you pay to trends?

I am a real fashion lover! I get my inspiration from a lot of things, at all times– but fashion and haute couture are one of my biggest sources of inspiration. I find inspiration by walking the streets in Paris and looking at people’s attitude and style. I admire the Parisiennes; they look so chic but always in a very minimal and trendy way.

Pieces from the ‘Desert Bloom’ high jewellery collection by Messika

3. What makes a piece of jewellery timeless?

To be timeless, a piece of jewellery must be a mix between classic and contemporary, but always with a twist of modernity.

4. Do you approach designing for men and women differently?

I get my inspiration from people that surround me such as my two daughters, my husband and my father. I also take into consideration feedback from my clients, this is important to me.

Creating for men was about how I see men. Forging a bond between men and women’s jewellery was a real challenge. I have created a masculine interpretation of my iconic collection Move, that combines both power and lightness. The motif of the three moving diamonds is deeply imprinted in me and lies very close to my heart, it stands for the ‘love of yesterday, today and tomorrow’.

Read more: 6 mountain restaurants to stir your soul this summer

5. When you get dressed in the morning, which do you choose first: clothes or jewellery?

I am very lucky as I can change my jewellery every day. I always associate my jewels with my clothes. What I like is stacking bangles by mixing my signature collections, Move and Skinny. I adore wearing jewellery as fashion accessories.

Messika pieces are created to be worn on an everyday basis. Diamonds can be worn every day with a pair of jeans, your favourite sneakers or your favourite jumper!

‘Wild Moon’ earrings by Messika

6. What’s your favourite jewel other than a diamond?

This is a tricky question as diamonds are in my DNA. This passion is my heritage. But I always have my Audemars Piguet watch that I consider to be like a piece of jewellery.

Discover Messika’s collections: messika.com

Chelsea FC players Ross Barkley, Marcos Alonso, Olivier Giroud and David Luiz with Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe (middle) cutting the ribbon to mark the opening of Hublot’s London flagship boutique

Monday night saw the official opening of Hublot’s flagship boutique on New Bond Street

Celebrities and fashionistas lined the pavements of New Bond Street in the early evening to celebrate the opening of Hublot‘s first flagship in London and 92nd international store. The store replaces the brand’s previous shop, at the Northern end of the same street, which was run by the watchmaker’s former UK partner Time Products Luxury and owned by Marcus Margulies. Together with four Chelsea FC players, Hublot’s CEO Ricardo Guadalupe cut the ribbon.

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Guests admired the glossy interiors and Pop-Art paintings of the brand’s iconic Big Bang watches whilst Chelsea players signed an illustrated map charting the route from their Stamford Bridge stadium to the Hublot boutique – a gift to mark the extension of the club’s partnership with the brand for another three years.

British model Lara Stone

Ricardo Guadalupe and Olympic athlete Dina Asher-Smith

Read more: Caroline Scheufele on Chopard’s gold standard

Those attending included Lara Stone, Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Jackson and English cricketer Nick Compton. Celebrations continued late into the night with a champagne reception and dinner at Beck in Brown’s Hotel.

The interiors of Hublot’s New Bond Street boutique

Actress Amy Jackson

England football manager Gareth Southgate

Adam Mcnamara, Jack Lowden and Oliver Proudlock

The Hublot Flagship Boutique is located on 14 New Bond Street, London W1S 3SX. For more information on the brand visit: hublot.com

Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s sculptures stand alongside Jean Cocteau’s murals in Villa Santo Sospir

Last week saw the private view and opening of French-Iranian artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s latest exhibition. LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai was entranced.

The mesmerising Villa Santo Sospir on Cap Ferrat in the south of France, once home to Jean Cocteau, played host to Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s private view of his Oneness Wholeness with Jean Cocteau exhibition; LUX was privileged to be invited.

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The villa itself is something of an anomaly on Cap Ferrat, perhaps the swankiest real estate spot in Europe. Walk down the steep drive from the little road (just around the corner from the Four Seasons Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat) and you are transported into the 1950s. No bulletproof glass or architect-designed pavilions here: just a low-rise villa, its gardens festooned with bougainvillea and bamboo, and, inside, walls decorated with intricate murals by Cocteau himself.

Those attending included Lily Cole, Richard Biedul, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kiera Chaplin and Jo Wood.

From right to left: Natalie Rushdie, Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar, Melissa Tarling, Richard Biedul and Nathalie Emmanuel

Kate Slesinger, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and Darius Sanai

Tyrone Wood and Jo Wood

Guests were scattered through the cosy living room, onto the terrace, down the stairs on another garden terrace, and on a final, lowest level near the sea, but the stars of the show were Behnam-Bakhtiar’s sculptures (which also adorn one of the special covers of this issue of LUX magazine) and a soundtrack which featured Cocteau himself, present among us.

Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar with Nathalie Emmanuel

Silhouettes of guests merge with Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar’s sculptures as the sun sets

As a storm cleared and the sun set over Cap d’Antibes and the Massif de l’Esterel in the distance, the melancholy and joy of Behnam-Bakhtiar’s creations added an extra note to the end of summer in an area that has inspired artists for generations. Who knows, perhaps its the start of a new life for the Cote d’Azur as an artistic hub, generations after the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, Cézanne and Dufy were mesmerised by the light, shapes and people here.

Oneness Wholeness with Jean Cocteau runs until 30 September at Villa Santo Sospir

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