Sur La Terre Issue 21

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EDiTOrialBut as we mop our brows and bemoan the rising mercury in our thermometers, we should spare a thought for those who cannot afford the respite of air conditioning or even a place to shelter from the beating sun. while we cool off in our temperature-controlled swimming pools, it does well to remember that, even in our technologically-enlightened 21st century world, there are still families and children that don’t even have access to clean drinking water. and, as we feast through until the dawning of the light on sumptuous buffets and banquets provided by the myriad luxury hotels and restaurants around the region, let us spare a thought for the starving when pushing that half-eaten plate of food into the hands of the waiter.

the intensity of our modern lives means that while many of us would like to make a charitable difference in this world, it is not always easy to fi nd the time. that is why our main feature in this issue focuses on companies and organisations founded with the raison d’être to help those less well off than ourselves by selling highly desirable luxury goods and services. in doing so, we welcome the newest member of the SLT editorial team, laura hamilton, as she goes in search of the choicest charity-driven “luxury goods samaritans.” this means that while we indulge in some of our favourite downtime activities, such as trawling the malls or mingling with high society, we can simultaneously do more for a plethora of good causes.

with ramadan nearing its end for another year, no doubt thoughts will be turning towards escaping the heat and humidity with an Eid holiday. let scott lang show you the sights of one of the world’s most unique cities, as he visits Venice in our horizons feature. if you are still feeling uninspired, then let globetrotter be your guide to new experiences and epicurean events happening globally. Even if you are not jetting off, we have plenty of cool to keep the heat at bay. courtesy of Sur la Terre International, we have an exclusive interview with none other than george clooney; steven paugh gets high at strata, doha’s tallest restaurant and lounge; sophie Jones-cooper kits you out with your summer fashion essentials and i get into the riviera spirit on the côte d’azur with the rolls-royce phantom series ii. with the addition of the world’s most expensive edible cupcake, super-chef guy savoy, sultry amouage perfumes, J-craft speedboats and a liberal sprinkling of aurasma-enabled SLT Vision content*, it seems we have served up a another sizzlingly sybaritic summer issue of Sur la Terre.

ramadan Kareem and Eid mubarak!

James McCarthy

reGional ManaGinG eDitor

By the time this issue hits the shelves, we will already be halfway through the Holy Month of Ramadan and

the sweltering summer heat will be reaching its nigh-

unbearable apex.

*how to usE SLT VISION

1. download the free aurasma lite app.

2. activate it on your apple or adroid-powered device.

3. hold your device over the page when you see this symbol

4. watch the picture come to life!

to see a video demonstration of how to use SLT Vision, visit www.facebook.com/sltme

1. sur la terre . editor’s letter .

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Enjoy the Leisure and Serenity that Mashata Beauty Center & Spa offers you...

Experience a hydrotherapy massage under the Vichy Shower, the first of its kind in Qatar. The Vichy Shower Therapy washes away the stress, puts an end to insomnia, and relaxes sore muscles. Pamper your feet with rose and feel the smoothness and softness of your skin. Release all your stress and feel your body in our Turkish bath, Moroccan Bath, Swedish massage, Thai Compress Herbal massage, Hot Stone massage, bamboo massage, Chocolate Treatment, Cotton Treatment with a delicious jasmine fragrance, Rose Body Scrub, in addition to the Mango, honey, milk, and ginger scrub, which all give you the Cleopatra Beauty. Enjoy the Foot and Leg massage, Thai Foot massage, Back, Neck & Shoulder De-Stress massage. This comprehensive series of international body treatments and massages will protect and rejuvenate your skin and soul!!

Photos of Al Mashata Spa Qatar, available on

Al Mashata SpaAl Mashata SpaGym | Swimming pool | Spa | Steam bath | Bronzage | Massage | Hair care | Make-up | Skin care | Body care | Manicure

Ahmed Bin Hanbal Street (behind The Mall), P.O. Box: 19282 Doha, Qatar Tel: +974 4466 2558 / 4465 2963 Fax: +974 4466 2855

Email: [email protected] www.almashataspa.com

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Enjoy the Leisure and Serenity that Mashata Beauty Center & Spa offers you...

Experience a hydrotherapy massage under the Vichy Shower, the first of its kind in Qatar. The Vichy Shower Therapy washes away the stress, puts an end to insomnia, and relaxes sore muscles. Pamper your feet with rose and feel the smoothness and softness of your skin. Release all your stress and feel your body in our Turkish bath, Moroccan Bath, Swedish massage, Thai Compress Herbal massage, Hot Stone massage, bamboo massage, Chocolate Treatment, Cotton Treatment with a delicious jasmine fragrance, Rose Body Scrub, in addition to the Mango, honey, milk, and ginger scrub, which all give you the Cleopatra Beauty. Enjoy the Foot and Leg massage, Thai Foot massage, Back, Neck & Shoulder De-Stress massage. This comprehensive series of international body treatments and massages will protect and rejuvenate your skin and soul!!

Photos of Al Mashata Spa Qatar, available on

Al Mashata SpaAl Mashata SpaGym | Swimming pool | Spa | Steam bath | Bronzage | Massage | Hair care | Make-up | Skin care | Body care | Manicure

Ahmed Bin Hanbal Street (behind The Mall), P.O. Box: 19282 Doha, Qatar Tel: +974 4466 2558 / 4465 2963 Fax: +974 4466 2855

Email: [email protected] www.almashataspa.com

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the listA r t, c u lt u r e , l i f e s t y l e

the scen eWe r e y o u s e e n o n t h e s c e n e?

f or you r ey e s on lyth e t h i n g s y o u n e e d t o o W n

st y le con fiden ti a ls u m m e r & b e y o n d

gl obe tro t teryo u r g u i d e t o g l o b A l l u x u r y

r ev u est r AtA l o u n g e A n d e f o r e A s pA

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fa shiong A m e o n f o r A s p o r t i n g s u m m e r

tr en ds con fiden ti a lc l o s e t c l A s s i c s

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NUMBER 21DOHA CONTENTS

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l ooK booKth e b e s t l o o K s f o r g u y s & g i r l s

fe atu r el u x u r y g o o d s s A m A r i tA n s

acce ssor ie ss c u l p t i n g s u m m e r

i n Mo tionh A u t e n e W W h e e l s f r o m m c l A r e n

& r o l l s - r o y c e

ou t of the boxWAv e b A s h i n g W i t h J - c r A f t

be au t yb r i g h t & b o l d

hor i Zonsve n e t i A n c l A s s

M a r K e tpl acep r o d u c t s AvA i l A b l e l o c A l ly

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NUMBER 21DOHA CONTENTS

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EtEr na l su nshinE of thE spotlEs s mind !Each pr ay’r accEp tEd, a nd Each w ish r Esign’d ;

- Elo i sa t o Ab e l a r d , A l e x a n d e r Pop e

ThE liSTarts and culturE

whEn: when: 26 - 27 augustwhErE: imilchil, moroccowhat: wedding festivalas legend has is it, tislet and isli, two lovers from enemy tribes, were forbidden to marry and were so inconsolable that they drowned themselves in the lakes of the atlas mountains. it is said that the star-crossed lovers’ deaths made the warring Berber clans resolve to end their differences. to honour the couple and to celebrate marriages and weddings, every year in the Berber village of imilchil in morocco there is a three-day festival. traditional attire is worn; men wear white turbans, women dress up in jewellery and couples become engaged (although no one actually gets married). there is dancing, music and singing and, of course, a little husband-hunting. for years, this was a closed event, but is now becoming popular with tourists, who are drawn to the romance.www.moroccofestivals.co.uk/imilchil_festival

Imilchil Wedding Festival

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whEn: 12 september to 12 octoberwhErE: alriwaQ Exhibition hall, dohawhat: art Exhibitionin the spirit of showcasing Qatar’s cultural treasures, Qatar museums authority, under the patronage of h.E. sheikha al-mayassa bint hamad al-thani and the leadership of abdulla al najjar, cEo of Qatar museums authority, presents the much-anticipated mal lawal Exhibition. meaning “from the old days” in the Qatari dialect, Qatari nationals and residents scour through their private collections, dusting off precious heirlooms, antiques and artworks to be put on show and shared with the greater community in the al riwaq gallery on doha’s corniche. mal lawal celebrates objects of historical, cultural and personal value, and awards items of particular interest with various prizes, including a purse of up to Qr 300,000. also on display are the works of three generations of prominent Qatari artists. Viewing this eclectic collection will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a rare insight into the various cultures of the peninsula. www.qma.com.qa

Mal Lawal Exhibition

whEn: 17 to 20 october whErE: the first group theatre, madinat Jumeirah, dubaiwhat: dance festivalwe like to boogie woogie, we like to boogie woogie, we like to...BoogiE! and we’re sure you do, too, so the 5th dubai international dance festival should be right up your alley. after five years of dance offs, these guys sure know how to throw a party. as it is all under one roof, you can conserve your energy for booty-shaking, because this is the BiggEst dance festival in the uaE, with both homegrown and international dancers, themed dance parties and competitions to whip you into a frenzy. for the more sophisticated and cultured music lover, there are youth orchestras and classical dance academies to lift your soul. Keep a keen eye on the website for event details.www.dubaidancefestival.com

5th Dubai International Dance Festival

17-20oct

24 . sur la terre . the list .

ThE liSTEntErtainmEnt

whEn: september 6whErE: Beirut waterfront, Beirutwhat: concertone of the most influential, popular and iconic alternative rock bands to ever grace a stage, the red hot chili peppers, are heading to lebanon to fill the streets of Beirut with their inimitable style in what will be lebanon’s biggest ever concert. that’s saying a lot for the small yet feisty country of constant party-rockers! the band’s first hit was the classic “under the Bridge” and since then, the chili peppers have sold over 100 million records in the 30 years they have been together. Even after all that time, the band has lost none of its vitality and edge, and have just celebrated their recent induction into the rock and roll hall of fame. rock out with anthony Kiedis, flea and the gang and “dream of californication” in Beirut this autumn. grab tickets before they sell out. www.redhotchilipeppers.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers Concert

whEn: october 04whErE: istanbul, turkeywhat: concertlenny Kravitz is a cool customer. whether he’s strutting his stuff on stage, swimming through the world of fashion or making cameos in tV and film, he’s just plain cool. similarly, istanbul is one helluva town, and it has also become the regional epicentre for all kinds of glam goings-on. that’s why it’s no surprise that these two mighty forces would one day meet... and send chills down the spines of all those who witness their congress! taking place at the turkcell Kuruçeşme arena in İstanbul, the four-time grammy award-winning songster will belt out his most famous and groove-filled, funktastic and soulful tunes, like “fly away,” “are you gonna go my way?” and “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” women may want him and men may want to be him, but we’re betting that everyone in istanbul can’t wait to sEE him live! we know we can’t!www.lennykravitz.com

Lenny Kravitz Concert

4oct

whEn: september 14whErE: abu dhabi international marine sports club, abu dhabi Breakwaterwhat: sport Eventthe three firm bedfellows of speed, performance and skill join forces in the first heat of the uaE international Jet ski championships this september, and with the regional love affair with all three elements, it’s sure to be quite a show. the world’s best jet ski racers will compete against each other near the shores of the abu dhabi Breakwater, thrilling spectators as they rely on their skills to beat out the competition. the races are divided into different classes, allowing competitors to race one another at their own level of expertise, and is held over six rounds, with three being held in abu dhabi and three in dubai. don’t miss out on seeing some of the fastest men in the world battle it out for bragging rights and the crown of the one, true sovereign of the sea-skimmers!www.adimsc.ae

UAE Jet Ski Championship

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6 sEp


ThE liSTlifEstylE

whEn: october 25 - november 5whErE: throughout Egyptwhat: raceEveryone knows or has heard about the political race that has been going on in beleaguered Egypt recently, but there is another race to pay attention to, as well - and a much less frustrating one at that! the sahara race is the ultimate endurance test: 200 competitors, 7 days and 250 km across the sahara desert. the race starts in wadi al-hitan, a region known as the Valley of whales. a desert which used to be underwater, the wadi is littered with fossils of the gentle giants, making for a solemn and eerie journey. the race ends at the pyramids of giza, where the pharaohs of ancient Egypt still sleep (we hope) in their tombs. the competitors carry all their equipment and are completely self-sufficient for the week as they travel across the sandy terrain. those wanting to take part in this epic trip can apply through their website, while everyone else can follow along from home. www.4deserts.com/sahararace

The Sahara Race 2012

25 oct-5 Nov

whEn: september 9 to 22whErE: the ritz-carlton hotel, dohawhat: food festivalBrunch is a big deal these days. too lazy to get up in time for breakfast? too hungry to wait for lunch? Brunch sweeps in and saves the day! so you can understand, when the ritz-carlton doha announced that it was planning on serving an asian-fusion brunch, we were very excited. the food festival was inspired by and includes the best of the cuisine from countries that lie around the edge of the pacific ocean, such as singapore, Japan, fiji, indonesia, thailand, hawaii and peru. when north, south, East and west collide, the result is a culinary explosion of taste and adventure inspired by seafood and fresh fruit. the pacific rim festival has our mouths watering already! www.ritzcarlton.com

Pacific Rim Festival

9-22sEp

whEn: 29 oct - 6 novwhErE: dubai world trade centre, dubaiwhat: shopping festivalgitEX shopper dubai was originally designed to sate the silicon-savvy tech-brigade, but it has now grown and spread well into the mainstream, reporting a 2011 sales record of over us$52.5 million! should the trend continue, and we think it will, that means that the 2012 edition is going to be even bigger, and is a must-see for any giga-geek or casual techie. Boasting world-class brands and showcasing the latest developments in technology, the 8-day extravaganza allows visitors to browse the latest gadgets, learn about new technologies and trends, and of course purchase more cutting-edge products than is probably humanly possible... which is exactly what the machines want you to do! still, if you’re not afraid of the great machine uprising like we are, then there is no better place to be assimilated... er... have fun than at gitEX shopper dubai! resistance is futile!www.gitexshopperdubai.com

GITEX Shopper Dubai 2012

29 oct-6 Nov


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Porsche Boxster Launch

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a l Bor aQ por s chE pulls thE coV Er s off thE latEs t gEnEr ation of it s suc cEs sful BoX tEr s sport s c a r .

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1. ahed dawood and al Boraq cEo, salman Jassim darwish2. mohd Jaffar, Zohed, syed syed Zoha razvi and wasif ikram3. hafr hassan and ameera hassan4. dimitros and yasmeen5. Knut laastad, Jonas, stine and martin

t H e s c e n e

30 . sur la terre . the scene .

Anima Gallery Opening

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Qata r w ElcomEd a nothEr fi nE a ddition to it s grow i ng a rt s cEnE w hEn a ni m a ga llEry & lou ngE on thE pEa r l opEnEd it s

do or s for thE fir s t ti mE at a V i p cEr Emoni a l EV En t.— —

1. Vincent corver, sarah raslan and mayak nercessian2. hussain and noor3. marisa caichiolo, abdul rasoul salman and friend4. claude Bakhos and ramsey abuhamad

t H e s c e n e

. sur la terre . the scene .

5. delphine meaux (right) and friends6. sean and chadia7. omar alfardan and Khalil sholy8. syed noureddin (middle) and family

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clothes . bags . shoes . accessories

Villaggio 4413 5580

Jones the Grocer, The Gate

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gastronomEs and gourmEts in thE hEart of doha’s BusinEss district now haVE fiVE-star food shopping and light BitEs a stonE’s throw from thEir

officEs, now that JonEs thE grocEr has finally sEt out its stall at thE gatE. — —

1. debbie garcia, susan English, Bronwyn hammond and Kim audsley2. nicola Bailey, rachael alannar, Julia moore and Beccah Barton3. sanjay, alee and anita4. Jane taylor, Julia adamson, pamela mcdawell and nicola skinner5. h.E. pablo Kang, the australian ambassador and John manos, director of Jones the grocer6. margie moore and lisa streeter7. murtada shawki, rania Khalil, Eleni Zorballa, stergios papaloawwol and Eleftherios ambatzis

t H e s c e n e

. sur la terre . the scene .34

EURO 2012 At Doha MarriotQatar found itsElf in a footBa ll frEnZ y in July a s Euro 2012 KicKEd off in Ea stEr n EuropE. for thosE that couldn’t gEt to pola nd & uKr a inE,

thE most colourful supportEr s found thEmsElVEs at thE doha marr iot t’s spEci a l Euro12 fa nZonE. oVEr thE nEX t couplE of pagEs our

sna ppEr ha s ca pturEd thE fa ns, thEir tEnsion, thEir Joy a nd thEir hEatBrEa K from thE opEning match to thE Epic spa in V ita ly fina l.

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t H e s c e n e


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EURO 2012 At Doha Marriot

t H e s c e n e


QPC Launches “Definitely Able” Campaign

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in a Joint collaBoratiVE initiatiVE, thE first of its Kind in Qatar, sasol and thE south african paralympic whEElchair BasKEtBall tEam (wBsa),

thE Qatar olympic committEE (Qoc) and thE Qatar paralympic committEE (Qpc), haVE launchEd thE “BEing disaBlEd mEans dEfinitEly aBlE” campaign.

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1. members of the south african wheelchair Basketball team pose with Qpc memebers2. mr. and mrs. radebe3. mohammed al-dosari and h.E. the ambassador of south africa4. cecelia, Edwin and marinda5. representatives of the Qatar paralympic comittee6. Qatar paralympic athletes 7. Qatar olympic committee secretary general h.E. sheikh saoud Bin abdulrahman al-thani

t H e s c e n e


WElCOMETO a WOrlD WhErE MONEY iS NO OBJECT aND COOl COMES aT a PriCE. FYEO iS a MilliONairE’S ShOPPiNg liST ThaT givES YOU aN iNSiDE TraCK TO ThE ThiNgS YOU NEED TO OWN.

fO

R yO u R eyes Only

Edible luxury is nothing new, but in many cases golden desserts and gilded gastronomy have often been adorned by inedible ingredients, such as jewels or precious metals. however, when your opulent appetitie gets too much to bear, you can enjoy the world’s most expensive, fully edible cupcake, courtesy of Bloomsbury’s at dubai mall. for the the princely sum of us$1,010, you can feast on the golden phoenix, made using 23-carat edible gold sheets, organic fl our and butter, imported from the uK, premium italian amedei porcelena cocoa and the high-est quality gold ugandan vanilla beans. in order to up the decadence, the opulence-encrusted confection is presented on a Villari 24-carat gold Empire morning cake stand with cloch topped with chocolate icing, alongside strawberries dipped in edible gold, and various other adorn-ments. however, while this is not something that will provide an im-mediate fi x of food-based fi nery, since it has to be ordered 48 hours in advance, as a wise person once said, some things in life are just worth waiting for. Even under the weight of all the hype and its precious in-gredients, the richest thing about the golden phoenix is the good it will do. all proceeds from the sale of the golden phoenix will be donated to a dedicated charity*, so foodies wealthy enough to order this sybaritic snack can enjoy it, safe in the knowledge that while they are enjoying every epicurean mouthful, someone much less fortunate is benefi ting. sometimes, it is possible to have your cake and eat it. www.ilovebloomsburys.com

*If you liked this, then you will love our main Feature on page 86, where we highlight other socially-conscious companies delivering luxury products for the benefi t of those less fortunate.

lET ThEM EaT CaKE >>>

42 . sur la terre . for your eyes only .

fancy a smoke? or would you just like to smoke something fancy? thanks to the boffins at porsche design, you can

fill your lungs with the ultimate in luxury hookah pipes. the german company has updated its world collec-tion, including the extraordinary porsche design shi-sha we covered early last year. this new edition, how-ever, combines the same high-quality materials such as aluminium, stainless steel, ceramic and glass, but with a timeless touch of gold. made in germany, the pipe stands at a height of 55 centimetres, while the long flexible tube is crafted from the company’s patented

tecflex material. this special gold Edition is limited to 10 pieces globally, so like the company’s cars, you have

to be quick of the line to secure yours. porsche design is a luxury brand with a particular focus on technically inspired

products and was established in 1972 by professor ferdinand alexander porsche, himself. the brand has grown considerably

since then and recently showed its heavyweight calibre when it opened its concession at the world’s most famous corner shop, har-

rods, where you can pick up one of these posh pipes for around $2,400. www.porsche-design.com

havE a NargilE >>>

when it comes to “pressing the flesh” or “rubbing elbows” at high society shindigs, women are well-covered in the flashy accessory department, while many well-heeled gents can only crack one off at the wrist, often opt-ing for a fine watch. however, in the stacked deck of precious jewellery and haute horology, Jacob & co. is quite the card. Known for its off-kilter sartorial styles, the brand has made quite the name for itself in asserting mastery over the beauty in complica-tion, whether in reference to a timepiece or in the multifaceted phantasmagoria of its men’s jewellery. for society chaps that prefer to show a little cuff, some of Jacob & co.’s most captivating pieces are its cufflinks, which, in varying collections, have taken the form of 18-carat gold skulls and semi-precious roulette tables. paramount to all of these, however, are the Jacob & co. canary diamond cufflinks. the opu-lence of these ornaments begins with an 18-carat white gold frame that is decorated with almost 11 carats of white diamonds, all surrounding a centrepiece of 21-carat canary yel-low diamonds. all together, that makes these one-of-a-kind wrist wreaths the most expensive cufflinks in the world, with an asking price of... get this... $4.2 million a pair! that may be a lot to ask for a set of cufflinks, but if you absolutely, positively have to impress every other person in the room... accept no substitutes. www.jacobandco.com

WriST gliSTENEr >>>

43. sur la terre . for your eyes only .

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James Bond’s watch of choice these days is the omega seamaster planet ocean (although he can sometimes be seen sporting the company’s aqua terra mod-

el for dressy occasions), the line-up of which has just been updated. while the exploits of 007 quite often draw the spotlight away from his glamour-

ous wristwear, in the new range (and possibly the new movie Skyfall), however, the undoubted star of the show is the 45.5mm titanium

liquidmetal chronograph. it is distinguished not only by its per-formance as a precision timepiece, but also by its unusual mix of new materials. the case is hewn from grade 5 titanium, where-by the very lightweight element has been alloyed with small amounts of aluminium and vanadium to increase strength and durability. it can also be polished to a brighter lustre than other grades of titanium. it has a striking blue ceramic bezel, with scaling and numbers that are made of a zirconium-based alloy called liquidmetal, which, let’s be honest, sounds like some nefarious havoc-creating substance developed in one of

s.p.E.c.t.r.E’s underground lairs. the union of blue ceramics and liquidmetal in the new planet ocean model is not only

stunning, but means that, like Bond, no matter what you throw at it, the bezel of the watch will always maintain its striking appear-

ance. again, while Bond is driven by a healthy mix of revenge and his sense of duty, the seamaster is driven by an equally unrelenting

co-axial calibre 9300 movement, which sweeps the faceted rhodium-plated hands across the dial. like all seamaster deep sea watches before

it, the $10,500 titanium liquidmetal chronograph has the standard helium escape valve and a water resistance to around 2,000 feet.

www.omega.com

DEEP BlUE SEaMaSTEr >>>

thanks to specialized, the leading name in cutting-edge bi-cycle manufacture and production, marvel comics’ ghost rider won’t be the only one to claim the mantle of a two-wheeled “spirit of Venge-ance.” its appropriately named new model, the Venge, has been developed with mclar-en applied technologies - the mad geniuses behind the mclaren f1 and mp4-12c supercars - to improve upon its original s-works Venge model with increased stiff-ness and an even greater lightness of being amazing. originally developed for great Britain olympic cyclist mark cavendish, the Venge is built with a sub 950-gram frame from high modulus fact 12r carbon, an fEa optimised carbon layup, cambered airfoil x-section seat-stays, an integrated top cap, tapered head and steer tube, full internal cable routing and a bevy of other seemingly bionic bicycle enhancements. the Venge is quite possibly the fastest and most aerodynamically arresting means of man-powered vehicular conveyance that has ever been born. the 2012 tour de france may have just ended, but this joint effort between specialized and mclaren is truly its own tour de force, and would make any push-peddle enthusiast his or her own reigning chained champion. www.venge.specialized.com

ThE SPiriT OF vENgE-ENCE >>>

44 . sur la terre . for your eyes only .

FAUCHON MONA LISA 24cmx33.5cm SLT.pdf 1 7/21/12 11:09 AM

Maison Martin Margiela . .

summer & beyond

TaKE ShaDENothing makes an instant style impact like a pair of statement sunglasses.

For her…marnidiormoschino stella mccartney

stylecOnfiDentiAl

MAKE WAY FoR A stYLE-DRENcHED sUMMER AND gEt sEt FoR A vERY cooL AUtUMN

For him… asos.comsalvatore ferragamo at mrporter.comErmenegildo Zegnamaison martin margiela

Dior. .

Marni . .

AsOs.com.. salvatore ferragamo..

ermenegildo Zegna . .

Moschino. . stella Mccartney. .

46 . sur la terre . style confidential .

TWO’S COMPaNYwatch out domenico and stefano (gabbana that is), there is another design duo on the fashion block racking up some serious style credentials of late – identical twin brothers dean and dan caten of dsquared. not only does their a-list clientele include will.i.am, Justin timberlake, madonna and rihanna, but they have also recently launched their very first bag line for both men and women. “the bags are inspired by the 1950s but with a touch of dsquared moderninity,” dean tells Sur La Terre.

sophie Jones-cooper caught up with dean and dan to find out more about their bag line, their style tips for autumn and what they like to wear when they are not in their trademark white shirts, skinny ties and fitted jeans…

Why did you decide to launch a bag line?dean: we had bags in our shows but that wasn’t enough. we wanted to make our collection complete and have a special focus on bags.dan: a real handbag line is a way to offer our clients a dsquared piece that can become a must-have with every outfit or occasion.

What is your Favourite bag From the neW collection?dean: the duffle dean. i love the colours, the size is perfect and it matches everything. i also like the name! dan: my favourite is the wesley shopper. it has so many pockets and is really practical.

so your bags are For men and Women?dean: sure. women and men will both appreciate the

details, materials, colours and range that we have carefully chosen and designed.dan: women simply love bags and men have the need to carry their items in a bag that is simple and trendy while also reflecting their personality. What Five Words sum up your aW 12 collections?dean: the women’s would be cinderella killer pumps, raw, elegant, playful and sassy…dan: and the men’s, mohair, elegant, rebellious, fun and easy to match.

What Will you be Wearing this autumn?dean: the green parka from our show.dan: mohair sweaters.

hoW Would you describe your style in just a FeW Words?dean: Effortless.dan: casually elegant.

What are your three tips For autumn Fashion?dean: for women, go borrow your mom’s vintage accessories and mix them up with your own clothes and for men, layer up and mix fabrics.dan: purchase a strong accessory that will be able to take you through the entire season.

olympic Fever is gripping the World this summer. iF you Were athletes, What sport Would you be participating in? dean: we are not big athletes, but i wouldn’t mind being a swimmer.dan: i would be a footballer, as we have collaborated with great teams like f.c. Barcelona and they have inspired us!

you spend a lot oF time in london. Where do you like to spend your time in the city?dean: lunch at 202, soho house and wholesale which is a great restaurant.dan: the ivy, charity house (a great member’s club) and i love notting hill.

are you going aWay this summer?dean: yes, we will go to mykonos.dan: we never miss out on greece but we still haven’t decided where else we are going…

Dsquared Men’s AW12..

Dsquared Women’s AW12..

Bags from the new Dsquared handbag AW12 collection. . Dean and Dan caten of Dsquared.. .

47. sur la terre . style confidential .

FOr ThE liTTlE ONES

EiD EXClUSivES

all aBOUT ThE BOYS

fashion isn’t just for us grown ups as suri cruise, harper Beckham and Kingston rossdale (gwen stefani’s mini man) prove. and designers are cashing in on this with recent childrenswear launches from lanvin, diane Von furstenberg and gucci. if you have a little girl to dress up, lanvin’s children’s collection is utterly adorable while for daddy’s little boys, Villbrequin’s matching father/son water changing shorts are sure to entertain (little jelly fish appear on the material when it gets wet!) dolce & gabbana are the latest designers to launch a kids line with a collection aimed at newborns and children up to age 10 and which is available from July.

to celebrate Eid al fitr, some of our favourite European fashion houses have designed unique limited edition designs. we love these marni necklaces made from “apricot” coloured resin that includes pyrite flakes, crystal and glass, but be quick, as there are only 5 of each design and they are only on sale in dubai. Emporio armani also have something for him, a limited edition t-shirt as well as something for her, a limited edition metallic-gold leather bag with removable charms (limited numbers available across the gcc).

david Beckham was on the cover of July’s Elle UK magazine, this year saw the first ever london collections men fashion week and milan was bursting with testosterone last month on the ss 13 catwalks. Emporio armani saw models in super short shorts and blazers while at giorgio armani we enjoyed trilby and brogue wearing shirtless chaps, but it was dolce & gabbana who topped it off, not with their army of models, but real sicilian men and boys. Giorgio Armani . . Dolce & Gabbana. . emporio Armani . .

48 . sur la terre . style confidential .

BriTiSh, TO a TEE

“it’s an exciting year for britain and it’s especially great to be a designer in london, given the incredible focus placed on this city.” richard nicoll

“london is the centre of attention at the moment with the olympics right around the corner, not to mention the fact it has become the epicentre of such innovative design. i’m just happy to be a part of it in my own way.”jonathan saunders

“using signature pre-fall primary colours, i’ve created a graphic twist on the staple summer vest – an easy addition to any summer wardrobe.” roksanda illincic

“i wanted to incorporate my signature graphic approach and love of deco, so i created a stylised sunburst to represent the enthusiasm and energy that is being generated by london design right now!” holly Fulton

all eyes were on Britain this summer, and in celebration of not only the london 2012 olympics and the diamond Jubilee but also modern British design, British fashion retailer matches has collaborated with some of the most innovative names in British fashion to launch a collection of limited edition tees. “i’m very proud of this beautiful collection of t-shirts and also that with the proceeds, we can support the dispossessed fund to fight poverty in london,” explains ruth chapman, cEo of matches.

Sur La Terre gets the inside scoop from the British designers themselves about what inspired them to create their unique and wonderful designs…

the t-shirts go on sale at the end of July and are available from all matches stores and online at www.matchesfashion.com priced at around $93.

49. sur la terre . style confidential .

G l O B e t R O t t e R

glOBal gaThEriNgSGlobal Gatherings is your at-a-glance map of magnifi cence, directing you to all of the culturally essential, entertaining and luxurious events and happenings that will be taking place across the world (or perhaps, we should say, “sur la terre”) over the coming months.

Where: locarno

WhAT: locarno FilM FeStiVal

WheN: FroM 1St to 11 auGuSt 2012www.pardo.ch

Where: Monaco

WhAT: Monaco Yacht ShoW

WheN: FroM 19 to 22 SepteMber 2012www.monacoyachtshow.com

Where: eDinburGh

WhAT: eDinburGh international

book FeStiVal

WheN: FroM 11 to 27 auGuStwww.edbookfest.co.uk Where: San DieGo

WhAT: conteMporarY art Fair

WheN: FroM 6 to 9 SepteMber 2012www.artsandiego2012.com

50 . sur la terre . globe trotter .

Where: Wien

Wien MuSeuM

WhAT: kliMt. the Wien

MuSeuM’S collection

WheN: FroM 16 MaY to 16

SepteMber 2012www.wienmuseum.at

Where: GStaaD

WhAT: hublot polo GolD cup

WheN: FroM 16 to 19 auGuSt 2012www.pologstaad.ch

Where: pariS

WhAT: leonarD cohen at olYMpia hall

WheN: FroM 28 to 30 SepteMberwww.olympiahall.com

Where: abu Dhabi

WhAT: abu Dhabi FilM FeStiVal

WheN: FroM 11 to 20 octoberwww.abudhabifi lmfestival.ae

Where: port eliZabeth

WhAT: the reD ball

WheN: 15 SepteMberwww.igazi.org.za

Where: ballarat

WhAT: 2012 ballarat FeStiVal oF

MotorinG

WheN: FroM 25 auGuSt to 2 SepteMberwww.ballaratfestivalofmotoring.com.au

Where: Venice

WhAT: the 69th Venice FilM FeStiVal

WheN: FroM 29 auGuSt to 8

SepteMber 2012www.labiennale.org

Where: oSlo

WhAT: oSlo JaZZ FeStiVal

WheN: FroM 13 to 18 auGuSt 2012www.oslojazz.no

Where: tate MoDern

WhAT: DaMien hirSt

WheN: FroM 4 april

to 9 SepteMber 2012www.tate.org.uk

51. sur la terre . globe trotter .

piccinomovida

Where: Valencia, Spain

GPS: 39 ˚ 27’ 27.79” n, 0 ˚ 20’ 47.35” W

Where: Dubai, uae

GPS: 25 ˚ 13’ 25.02” n, 55 ˚ 16’ 57.67” e

when in spain, travellers tend to be preoccupied by the beaches, the paella and the marvellous architecture, but it would be a mistake to let one’s sense of style go by untouched. around every corner lies a little couture spot with hidden gems just waiting to be found. when spanish design company, masquespacio, opened piccino in Valencia in June 2012, it made the chic interior as much of a pull as the apparel in the family-owned children’s fashion store. “piccino” means children in italian and so it is only fitting that a pair of neon 2d characters (a boy and a girl based on the owner’s two kids), welcome customers into the tiny store. piccino has cartoon-inspired decorations that enthrall the children who enter it. the walls have been painted a cheerful white, with bright and playful graphics playing along them. furniture is parodied with cut-outs, bright vinyl cartoon lamps and dressmakers dolls, making customers feel as if they had wandered into a children’s storybook. piccino sells italian children’s brands like Brems and Bimbus, which make unique and unusual clothes for babies and teenagers alike, and make the boutique the go-to place for parents who want their progenies to look cool and stylish. www.piccino.es

dubai is a city known for its nightlife, where crazy exploits and decadent hedonism go hand-in-hand. the nightlife scene has been invaded by British exports of late, from the theatrical cirque du soir at the fairmont, Embassy in the grovesnor house hotel to the young royal’s favourite mahiki, all culminating in the arrival of playboy paradise and celeb hotspot movida this January. you can find the infamous club discreetly situated at the back of the radisson royal hotel on sheikh Zayed road. famous for its saint tropez-inspired style, movida is synonymous with red-carpet celebrity shenanigans and has already attracted more than its fair share of stars. to book a table at this, the most exclusive club in dubai, you have to be “known,” so if you’re not a familiar face on the scene in saint tropez, cannes or london, you won’t be let in. located on the first floor, movida boasts two bars, 38 Vip tables and a capacity of 600 people. for those who want a little more privacy, there is an exclusive, more secluded area. the staff offers a slick service, while the resident dJ joined movida all the way from saint tropez. with the cool fluorescent purple light making everyone look mysterious and glamorous, movida is the place to see and be seen in dubai.www.movida-dubai.com

G l O B e t R O t t e R

ShOPPiNgNighTliFE

52 . sur la terre . globe trotter .

Ai FioriLa Maison Champs Elysees

Hailed as a sensation in its hometown, Ai Fiori, which means “among the flowers” in Italian, is a newly-opened restaurant in Setai Fifth Avenue hotel. Chef and restauranteur Michael White, who has gained a reputation as a “pasta magician,” mixes regional dishes from Italy with cuisine from the French Riviera, resulting in a menu that is a soulful amalgamation of French precision and Italian passion, like half-pipes of beef bone filled with celery root, thinly sliced scallops and black truffle and buttery poached oysters with cucumber and sturgeon caviar. For those into seafood, the braised lobster knuckle, decorated with black truffle and tarragon (Chef White is very generous with the black truffle) will be a firm favourite. The roasted breast of squab, with sticky Madeira sauce, puree of parsnips and a golden croquette filled with liquefied foie gras is the very epitome of opulence. This is French food as it might be cooked for Italian aristocrats. Expertly trained sommeliers are on-hand to advise which bottle from their extensive wine list goes with each dish. Ai Fiori is a must-stop for gastronomic connoisseurs, and has recently earned a Michelin star, which is well-deserved, as the spotlight shines on Ai Fiori’s hedonistic offerings rather than its surroundings. There is also a bar and lounge, which can either be a great prelude to entering the restaurant or a destination in and of itself. To get a taste of the sumptuous cuisine, reserve a table two weeks in advance.www.aifiorinyc.com

As Paris is a city of decadence and over-indulgence, it is only fitting that you stay in a hotel that is just as romantic and bewitching as the city outside. With modern designs luxuriating inside its 18th century architecture, La Maison Champs Elysees is a boutique hotel in the heart of Paris. In fact, the interiors are so stunning, you may not want to leave. Belgian fashion design house Martin Margiela won a competition to re-design the historical half of the hotel, which spans two buildings - one Napoleonic and the other more modern. Margiela also designed the hotel’s restaurant, a Cigar Bar where no colour other than black can be seen. On the other side of the spectrum is the smoking room, aka, White Lounge, where everything is a different shade of white (other than the grand piano). Yet another restaurant, called The Terrace, sits outside beneath a beautiful canopy of foliage. Margiela also designed 17 completely individual hotel suites called the Couture Collection, all mischievously designed entirely in minimalist monochrome and featuring special touches like pictures with white covers that you can remove. In this hotel, the guests choose the decoration. The most popular suites include the Gilded Lounge, which is decorated with wallpaper made from black and white photographs of the Empire-style Gilded Salon on the hotel’s second floor, and the Curiosity Case suite, which is like being inside a black box, with a hushed but decadent ambience. www.lamaisonchampselysees.com

restaurantHOteL

Where: Paris, France

GPS: 48 ˚ 51’ 59.72” n, 2 ˚ 18’ 32.54” e

Where: new York, Usa

GPS: 40 ˚ 45’ 00.86” n, 73 ˚ 59’ 01.38” w

. sur la terre . globe trotter . 53

a SenSe oF eForea

R e v u es pa

After a visit to Doha’s newest spa, Laura Hamilton is relaxed, refreshed, renewed, shiny and... sleepy?

four pearls

54 . sur la terre . revue .

Ah yes, i’m in a spa. the new hilton’s spa, eforea, which is my first assignment here at Sur La Terre, and i have unwittingly slept through it. how embarrassing, and also unprofessional, but so easy to do...the siren call of sleep stole through my eyemask and lured me to the land of nod while anthony,

my aesthetician massaged my shoulders and smoothed lotion into my face.

cut to an hour earlier and i was sitting in the darkened transition room, cross-legged on a bed, stress eating dried apricots and gulping peppermint tea, my stream of thought a never-ending list of impossible tasks i had to get done asap. i went to the bathroom, accidentally washed my hands with body lotion then moisturised them with soap, couldn’t get a grip

lost in a drEa m, floating a round m y suBconscious ,

i’m awa rE of somEthing cool rolling a round

m y facE. “a m i in m y BEd ? ” i a sK m ysElf, But it

doEsn’t fEEl liKE it. i dr if t into a highEr lEVEl

of consciousnEs s a nd rEa lisE th at m y Ey Es a rE

coVErEd. i’m wr a ppEd in towEls a nd t w inKly music is

ca lming m y soul. wh at on Ea rth is h a ppEning ?

. sur la terre . revue .

on the doorknob and sat back down in the transition room, defeated. i couldn’t get calm - i was twitchier than a spider with tourettes, so i returned to the plate of apricots.

a few minutes later i looked up and saw one of the ninja spa people summoning me. “But there are some apricots left,” i wanted to say, “taunting me with their wrinkly orange faces.”

it’s quite possible i was having a stress-down...or that i’d gone mental.

Either way, everyone politely pretended not to notice and i was led down the hall into a room where i collapsed, exhausted.

55

in the corner was a trolley with some interesting-looking equipment. i had chosen the signature correcting facial, as i was intrigued by microcurrent technology, which stimulates muscles with small amounts of electricity to rejuvenate, hydrate and tighten your skin.

it was hard narrowing it down to one treatment. Eforea has split its spa experience into three sections: the Essentials Journey, which includes after-sun rescue and Jet lag Body remedy; the Escape Journey, which is about holistic rejuvenation, with nurturing massages and melt away tension facials and, finally, the men’s Journey, which focuses on treatments like the realigning sports massage. if you were to walk into any of the 11 Eforea spas (which are exclusive to hilton hotels) worldwide, you would find these treatments. “we wanted some consistency,” explains tyra lowman, the senior director of the spas, “we don’t want to overload customers with choice.” Eforea spa is keeping it simple.

doha has done a number on my skin (well, my lackadaisical approach to skin care, in particular makeup removal, can’t have helped) and my fine lines need to be corrected. my skin tone could also do with evening, and a multi-acid exfoliation sounds like the perfect antidote to oily congestion. i want microcurrents. i want them zapping my face into behaving. tyra lowman told me this was her favourite treatment and if she advocates it, it must be good.

But first, my face has lotion massaged into it, my shoulders, arms and legs also get kneading and i start to relax. it was very calming and i could feel the tension melting away. Eforea uses organic products, like Kerstin florian and li’tya, which are perfect for my hyper-sensitive skin. then the equipment came out, the eye mask went on and in my warm and soft little cocoon i drifted off.

i fell asleep, in the middle of the day, in the hilton doha, wrapped in a towel, wearing an eye mask, while the aesthetician zapped me with electricity; eforea is that good. the girl, who earlier in the day was so on edge a doorknob presented a challenge for her was so at ease that she had fallen asleep. you have to be pretty relaxed to go from nervy lunatic to relaxed and sleepy in an hour. when i woke up, my skin was so soft by the end of the treatment, all the dirt and grime had melted away and my face was glowing.


StrataSFaction

R e v u ef o o d

As its name implies, Strata, which straddles the 55th and 56th floors of the relatively new-to-Doha InterContinental City Hotel in West Bay, is a restaurant

that is all about layers. As the uncontested highest restaurant in town, its first layer is a physical one, and without a doubt, the inaugural element that will

surprise you. Steven Paugh rises to the occasion and explores further.

three and a half pearls

57. sur la terre . revue .

let’s be honest, doha is not what you might call a “pretty” city ... at least not in the traditional sense ... or in the daytime. under the cover of nightfall, however, the veins of this special little city are set alight and come alive, pulsating in streams of neon and kaleidoscope gashes of sci-fi drapery and brake

lights. it’s breathtaking, quite frankly, and as seen from the city’s new stratospheric supper stop, it is also one of those sensory experiences so unique to the country. of course, not solely for its lofty perch amidst all this manmade glamour is strata already garnering a reputation for “high-end” dining, as it also enjoys a position amongst the upper echelon of doha’s social strata. saying that, it is definitely not a place for those diners afraid of haute heights.

strata is a high-concept restaurant, and as such, luxuriates with a decidedly luxurious gastronomic gravitas, despite its head being physically planted in the clouds. after my guest and i sat down at our table overlooking the now twinkling nucleus of Qatar’s metropolitan epicentre, and remarking on the well-appointed interior environs, we were approached by a friendly member of staff, who hit us with a very interesting introduction: “the concept of strata,” she said with a sweet smile and not a small measure of presence, “is that everything on our menu is undercooked.”

“intriguing,” we replied ... in the confused silence of sideways glances at one another. what she meant, we quickly learned, was not that the chef didn’t know his way around a hob, but that every dish on strata’s “seafood-centric” menu is cooked only just-so, which is to say, not very much at all. steamed, slow-cooked, smoked, poached and sometimes simply raw are the staples of the kitchen’s modus operandi, with a la carte specialties ranging from Beluga Black sea caviar and internationally prized gillardeau oysters to assorted sashimi and slow-cooked shellfish. as a former resident of Japan, the culinary scene of which often boasts dishes on a scale from raw to still-wriggling, i was quite happy about the prospect of fresh seafood marinating in a variety of sea foams and sauces; my guest, however, was noticeably... less so.


this is where the concept of strata can go a bit sour for the more meat & potatoes-minded, who might call it, and restaurants like it, pretentious, kitschy or pernickety. to his credit, though, my guest soldiered forth through his initial misgivings and ordered, for him, the most “normal-looking” thing on the menu: a poached salmon fillet served with a soya coriander reduction, tofu and dashi jelly and asparagus in ikura sauce. i, on the other hand, was feeling both emboldened and a bit saucy, and decided to jump headlong into the concept of strata, ordering its signature five-course degustation menu. what followed was a first-rate education in - you guessed it - layers.

after enjoying a complimentary amuse bouche of hammour tartar and sea foam with my guest, i was soon greeted with something that looked truly out of this world. i mean that literally. the starter, a caviar and umami oyster combo served alongside blinis and crowned with cucumber jelly and lemon foam, came riding in on what appeared to be a small, glass replica of the starship Enterprise. such a presentation might ruffle the feathers of those less inclined to appreciate a bit of the ol’ “weird for the sake of being weird,” but i found it refreshing. it showed me that strata doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that the folks there are having a bit of fun, if not taking some interesting creative license, with their avant garde concoctions. this is something that you can taste, as well, and again, the levels of this exploratory dish took my taste buds to where no man has gone before ... which is admittedly a suspect way to write that sentence, but work with me here, i’m feeling thematic.

like the subsequent courses that followed, the starter was paired excellently with its own beverage; in this case, a lanson Black label Brut champagne from reims, which played well as an accompaniment to the rich flavours, yet delicate texture of the oyster and caviar, neither of which overpowered the other, nor lessened the impact of the continuing cavalcade of courses.

up next was an old favourite from my time in the land of the rising sun: poached hamachi in lime and coconut with baby bok choi, pomello jelly and daikon. with a flavour that harkened to a possible tryst with a tangerine, this dish proved to have its own pleasantly surprising layers, exemplifying at once strata’s spirit and the marriage of divergent tastes so common to its spiritual home of Japan. Enjoyed during sips of the chilean casa silva reserva chardonnay, the hamachi was a favourite of the evening and led well into the heavier herb butter-poached tuna with mushroom cream, coriander bouquet, crispy garlic, shaved fennel and a drizzle of sweet chilli vinaigrette.

finally it was time to call in the mains, and while my guest and i had been sharing throughout the evening, he was excited to get stuck in, even claiming to feel a bit jealous, having had his mind sufficiently blown by his tentative samplings of my courses - particularly the hamachi. when his poached salmon arrived, however, he still didn’t like the look of it - through no fault of the restaurant, mind, but his own trepidation of gently-cooked cuisine. this is where the character of strata came to shine. our waiter for the evening, the immensely kind and helpful pardeep, accommodated as best he could, rendering the original creation, which looked gorgeous in the naturally alluring pink-orange hue that shone brightly through the soya and coriander glaze, into a much flatter, pale salmon steak. still, there is no accounting for taste, and my guest was appeased enough to enjoy his slightly customised meal with gusto.

the final performer in my own personal parade was a smoked lobster, cooked at low temperature and served with green pea mousseline, herb and lemon butter, saffron vegetable tagliatelle, and paired with a glass of Bila haut (m. chapoutier) from côtes du roussillon, the peppery-cum-fruity palate of which complemented the meaty dish exceptionally. served beneath a dome of glass that captured the gently-undulating

wisps of smoke in which it was prepared, it looked like the implement of some great yet terrifying sorcerer. when pardeep, with dramatic flair, whipped off the dome to reveal a heady, hickory aroma that took me back to the bygone campfires still burning in my childhood memory, under which lurked luscious blossoms of lobster meat ... well, let’s just say that i was officially put under strata’s spell. again, all of this might at first seem pretentious and unnecessary, and ... well, the show of it, the spectacle is admittedly a bit over the top, but for the sensory explosion you feel upon breathing in its bouquet and dipping your teeth into the meaty flesh of lobster like toes into a warm bath, you realise that sometimes the pageantry of the pugilist peppers the punch.

the night ended, as meals tend to, on a sweet note, with an assortment of strata’s puddings, including everything from coconut chocolate croquettes to chocolate fondant, each one more more-ish than the last. unfortunately, my guest had to make a hasty retreat owing to family commitments, but i was in no rush and decided to stick around to try the restaurant’s highly-recommended irish coffee, aka the cafe de strata. fie on you ...that’s right, fiE on you if you leave strata without sipping this after you sup. served with a spoon of white chocolate whiskey cream, irish whiskey is set alight before being poured, still-burning, over a dome (strata apparently really likes its domes) of white chocolate, which ripples and melts under the azure flame before capsizing and cascading into a sea of arabica coffee and Kahlua in an iceberg glass. it is singularly one of the most rewarding experiences - both visually and flavourfully - i have had in doha.

in the end, strata’s cuisine does smack quietly with some pretense, but then again ... so what? the fun of it is in sampling its unorthodox creations and laughing in wonder at how food could be brewed in such a fantastical way. it’s like postmodern art - you may not always “get it,” but figuring out what it is and why it was made in the first place sure is a treat. provided you don’t take it, or yourself, too seriously - and that you are feeling particularly deeply-pocketed (my multi-course meal alone came to Qr 700, which admittedly isn’t terrible, considering the wines) - strata will, like its namesake, take your doha dining experience to a whole new level.

59. sur la terre . revue .

i n f O c u s

Houssam Chouman, the brand manager of Maya la Chocolateire, is a driven man in the world of chocolate. He may not be named Willy or live in a chocolate factory, but he has been making sweet dreams come true throughout the GCC and the Middle East. After

earning an undergraduate degree in hospitality management, Houssam quickly obtained his masters before finally receiving a doctorate in F&B in 2011. The very next year, he was honoured with Bahrain’s award for Best Brand Manager of the Year for his work

and success in the industry. Similarly, he has been decorated many times over throughout his career, by international embassies, high-end companies and even members of certain royal families! In an exclusive sur la terre contribution, Houssam shares some of the

secrets of his and Maya la Chocolateire’s sweet success.

behinD MaYathe man

60 . sur la terre . in focus .

Everybody loves chocolate. that’s the first thing you should know about this business. the second thing you should know is this: just because everyone wants what we sell, that doesn’t make it easy. Enjoying chocolate is not just about filling the craving in your sweet tooth, it’s

about enjoying the finer things in life and learning to appreciate quality. it is about taste, but it is also about awareness. chocolate and education - these are the two things we love to share most.

it’s important to spread awareness, like... well, like chocolate, and we strive to do so within the communities where you find us. chocolate is an education, and we work hard to inform you about its varieties and international standards. we want to develop a culture in the countries where we operate, such as Qatar, the uaE, Jordan, and soon oman and lebanon. it’s our duty to satisfy everyone’s tastes, but it’s equally important to satisfy their hunger for knowledge, and we do that in a very unique way.

Each shop under the maya banner is separated into two sections: a diner (where the dishes are made from the finest Belgian chocolate) and a retail section (the products of which come from our dedicated chocolate factory in Bahrain). thanks to these exclusive ties, both locally and internationally, when you come to our shops, you will learn the differences between them, as well as realise how they differ from chocolate in other places, like switzerland. you will be able to recognise the varieties in taste, quality and even cocoa percentages in products like dark chocolate, and have some fun learning about the history, cultural significance and pop culture status of chocolate through our menus. as i said, we want to help develop “educated tastes” in the gulf.

to do all of this, we must first focus on constantly improving ourselves and our own knowledge. after all, how can we be expected to educate the world about chocolate if we are not first experts ourselves? one of my most important responsibilities is to keep up with everything from the new chocolates and flavours, to the new shops and cafes that will open in the gulf and internationally. that is why i personally take part in regular training sessions in Belgium, with some of the most well-regarded confectionary chefs in the world.

afterwards, i develop and adapt our menu recipes using the new ingredients, processes and strategies that i have learned. we focus on what has made us successful and do not diverge from that recipe. at the same time in this business, you have to learn to adapt, without copying someone or something else. that is part of what makes the maya experience different, and where some other brands get it wrong: where others copy, we improve.

Being based in the middle East, we also have to be able to roll with regional tastes. many people don’t know this because other cuisine in the region can be very similar, but in terms of chocolate, tastes vary hugely. something that is popular in Jordan or lebanon, won’t necessarily have the same sales as something here in Qatar or in the uaE. that is why it is important to do homework - to see what works in each place and why, and to develop the menus based on the support of the customers, without diluting the flavour or integrity of the brand.

of course, just as you must play to and respect your strengths, part of evolving is being able to diversify. for example, we are leading the way on offering healthier options in our menus, such as our growing sugar-free selection. this may still be more popular in places like Europe, but that’s the culture we want to create here in the gulf, and again, it comes down to allowing your customers that experience and providing them with an education. as long as you keep your patrons up-to-date and show your loyalty, you will always get loyalty in return.

i communicate with our loyal customers regularly and directly to see what they think about our dishes or the chocolate we sell, what they like

about it and even what they would like to see. most of this information i take directly from the customers, whether it’s doing something as simple as reading comment cards or by monitoring all of our transactions online. the best way is to have an open and direct dialogue with new and loyal patrons, be it over email or in person. getting that feedback is extremely important - it helps everything from our own evolution of success to the marketing that we create around the brand.

when i launched maya here in Qatar and the other countries i manage, i wanted it to be unique, and our strategy to reflect that by connecting with our customers and associating ourselves with like-minded brands, whether that’s through magazines like Sur la Terre, or picking our neighbors at each of our sites. you will notice that each maya shop sits next to high-end brands, mostly within the world of fashion, like Burberry, tom ford or armani.

this is our image at maya la chocolaterie, and it’s the world we want to live in. trust me when i say that after you experience the result of our hard work and dedication, you’ll want to live here, too.

61. sur la terre . in focus .

w hEn summEr gathEr s u p hEr roBEs of glory,a nd, liKE a drEa m, glidEs away.- Sara h He l e n Wh i t m a n

u p c lO s e A n D p e R s O n A l

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. sur la terre . up close and personal .64

throughout your career, you’ve been hailed as a “classic heartthrob” but the roles you choose are closer to man-in-crisis.george clooney : it’s funny, people keep saying, “surprisingly, you’re not bad in this film.” i think that this assumption comes from certain choices i’ve made in my

career which were not always the right ones. i will always have these skeletons which i won’t be able to shake off. some people say, “he only ever plays himself.” and i have been bad. for example, i was bad in Batman and Robin. it wasn’t a good film and i was also bad in it. i wasn’t very good in The Peacemaker either. i didn’t quite get it. i hadn’t made enough films. i didn’t know what i was trying to do. i was just trying to be this bad guy. But you don’t act that type of guy, they just are. i’ve made mistakes like that.

At the beginning of your career, did you do what you felt you had to, rather than what you wanted to do?g.c.: it’s funny. sometimes, your career can go in strange ways. i was a journeyman actor paid by the day for 12 or 13 years. i filmed loads of pilots, loads of series. and suddenly, i had the chance to do dreamworks’ first film and Batman. i had to understand that, if i was going to do films like those, i was going to be held responsible not just for my roles but for the whole film. there is a huge difference. i had to make the right decision. i took a year off and decided to read some scripts. it was then that Out of Sight came my way. i said to myself, “from now on i’m going to focus on screenplays and directing.” i didn’t do that before. at first you just read the script. it didn’t matter if gotham was getting pillaged, what mattered was being able to say, “ it’s a good experience.” i did Out of Sight, Three Kings and O Brother, Where Art Thou which are all very good films.

Is that when you realised how important it was to choose good films?g.c.: you can’t be bad if the film is good. it doesn’t matter if it is a small part. it is never a mistake to be in a good film. But when you start out, you don’t worry about the quality of the film. you are worried about not getting the job. you have to change your way of seeing things and say to yourself, “oh! i don’t want to do that!” my first real film was From Dusk Till Dawn. Quentin tarantino had just finished Pulp Fiction with robert rodriguez. Everything was so easy and so much fun. then, i made some really stupid

decisions. But Batman and Robin made over $200 million worldwide and i travelled the world. it was a bad film, but it taught me how to talk about it, i learnt how to take knocks. it was a good lesson. i couldn’t have done Syriana without Batman and Robin. it’s strange how it works out.

One of the main themes of The Descendants is grief. When was the first time you were aware of the idea of death?g.c. : i was brought up in a catholic family in Kentucky where open-casket funerals make death a very interesting thing. it’s more real. i think it’s barbaric in a way, but i understand the theory which says that it is important to see the deceased; you need to let that instil itself in you. i don’t like the idea because the last image i have of my grandparents is of them in an open casket which didn’t look like them. i also remember being with my uncle george who i was very close to, and holding his hand. he had throat cancer. his death changed me fundamentally the minute it happened. it was as though i was part of some awful show. i was in a relationship which wasn’t working and i held his hand and just before he died and he kept saying, “what a waste, what a waste…” i think he was talking about smoking. But he had a long life. when he was young, he was a basketball player, a pilot and he was my aunt rosemary’s manager. he dated miss america. and at the end he was sleeping in a tacky room, not right at the end, but for most of the end of his life. he drank a lot. i remember the moment he died, he didn’t look like himself. i know that people often say that, but it’s true. he really looked different. i remember thinking, “i don’t want to be 68 or 70, lying somewhere and saying to myself, ‘what a waste’.” right up to the end i’ll have my foot on the throttle. as fast as i can. so if i get knocked down by a bus tomorrow i can say, “i packed a lot into 50 years.” he was my dad’s uncle, but barely older than my father. he was a real uncle. i was about 27, i was already an adult, but i kept asking myself, “what am i doing?” it was ridiculous. death made me understand that you have to live life to the full. dying is the most private thing that anyone has to do. someone can hold your hand, but it is the one journey you do alone. you can sit there and tell me that we are all in this together but it’s not true. it’s our private journey. i didn’t feel comfortable being there at that moment. the lesson in all of that for me was to live. to really live. to never wake up saying, “i should have done that.”

George Clooney

-SUR LA TERRE InTERnATIonAL cAuGHt up

WitH MOvie stAR GeORGe clOOney AnD AlexAnDeR pAyne, tHe DiRectOR Of His lAtest DvD ReleAse, THE DESCEnDAnTS.

-

. sur la terre . up close and personal .

Text : Laurence Gallier

65

You’re very close to your father, journalist Nick Clooney. What’s your relationship like with him?g.c. : my father, who is extremely funny and witty, is also the best when it comes to giving eulogies. my father gave the eulogy for walter cronkite in front of Bill clinton and Barack obama. it was incredible; both funny and sad. he did it for my aunt rosemary, too. he really is the best. one day i went back and asked him: “how old are you, 70?” he replied, “77.” and i just said, “so you are old.” “i guess so ,” he said. it’s like william holden in Network. he is sure that the end is closer than the beginning, so i said, “you really are the best at doing eulogies.” “yes.” “and barring the unforeseen, i will probably have to do a eulogy for you some day.” “yes.” “But you’re better at all that than me, why don’t you help me out by writing your own?” “ i like that idea,” he said. now, he’s writing his eulogy!

How do you prepare for a role? g.c. : the script is all i need. i do some research, i meet some people. we don’t all work in the same way. i am the type of actor who says, “today i’m going to work and that’s it.” and i leave it all behind at work when it’s done, and i go back to my life. i have an on/off switch. the director can help by indicating what level he wants it to be played at. this is a diffi cult fi lm to sum up. some parts of the screenplay are like a farce : running down the street trying to look like a dork, hiding behind a bush and poking your head out, that kind of thing. then there are more delicate things where you have to work out how to do it without all the machinery being seen. a good script and a good director do that.alexander payne: we help each other. what i like about the actor/director relationship is how we help each other. he says that he relies on the director for the story, the tone for that particular day, clues about the character and the circumstances of the action. But the director also relies on the actor for clues. “who is this man? how would a person react in such circumstances?” once i see what the actor gives me, i can just comment or decide to send him in another direction. it is a dialogue between these two people to try and create something bigger than ourselves.

When did you two fi rst meet?a.p.: it was in 2003... g.c.: for Sideways... a.p.: you arrived on your motorbike… g.c.: we had lunch and talked for a long time. and then you left saying, “i don’t know what i should do.” and i said to myself, “i don’t know what he wants to do.” in the end, i didn’t get the role. so i got a voodoo doll and stuck some pins into it. six or seven years later, it worked. i got

a call from Bryan lourd saying that alexander wanted to talk to me. at that time i was in toronto, fi lming two movies. we met up in a wonderful italian restaurant. we had a great evening and suddenly he said, “i’m going to send you a script, let me know what you think.” i said yes even before reading it because i really wanted to work with alexander.

Was it the lure of fi lming Th e Descendants in Hawaii that made you say yes?g.c. : it’s tough working with alexander! and even worse having to fi lm in hawaii. i remember one funny thing with the coen brothers: i met them in arizona, where i was shooting Three Kings. they told me, “we’re going to send you a script, we were wondering if you’d agree to do a movie with us.” i said yes straight away, then i read the script, it was O Brother, Where Art Thou. i couldn’t believe my luck. when alexander told me he was going to send me a script, there is always this fear saying, “i’m going to be in alexander payne’s fi rst bad movie, because i didn’t read the script! that would be just my luck.” But, the exact opposite happened. i thought it was the best script i’d read in a long time. in one way, nothing much happens. when you try and give the movie’s pitch, it’s complicated. it’s a movie which unfolds really slowly. it’s beautiful how it just takes its time. it’s really hard to describe the screenplay. when you start to read it you are immediately drawn in and by the end, you are completely immersed.

Did you relate to the character of Matt? Is that why you wanted to play him? g.c. : i always say to myself that i can try to do it. like when i did Solaris. steven soderbergh was my partner. i sent him a letter because i think it’s fair to give people some space for them to decide. it’s better than saying everything face to face, which can be awkward. so i wrote to him saying, “i don’t know if i can play him but i would like to try. But only if you think i could do it.” he wrote back, “great, let’s do it.” you need that distance, you can’t always be direct with people. that’s how we approached things. i had the opportunity to read it, quickly, and to digest it. i knew that it was something i had never done before, that it was very different from other roles i had done. i was interested in exploring it. i imagine that if you are going to explore something new, you have to do it with people you trust.

In the fi lm there is a great scene where Matt opens up to his comatose wife. How do you create that emotion?g.c.: it’s hard. i was very close to pattie (hastie), the actress who plays my wife who is in a coma. i was conscious that i had to be careful not to shout so as not to make her move. you have to be aware of the space. at the same time it was easy because you had to remember that you were in a hospital. we worked on how much could be heard outside. for me, the idea was that it had to be confi ned to this room, with a lot of people outside, including their two daughters, so you had to be able to control yourself. actors try to cry – people try not to. actors try to be angry – people generally try not to be. when you’re put in a position where you have to try to do all you can not to do something, that is usually the best thing for an actor.

66 . sur la terre . up close and personal .

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. sur la terre . up close and personal . 67

first things first, as one of the world’s most renowned and well-regarded chefs, what would you say has been the secret to your success?well, the first secret would be my mother. she was an excellent chef. secondly, i was lucky to have received great training with

some of the finest chefs and teachers in the world. the third ingredient is that i am a hard worker, and the fourth is that i am passionate. of course, my passion for food was at first subconscious, but my first love has always been food! when you take raw ingredients, blend and cook them with spices and some vegetables or a nice fillet ... in a few seconds or a few minutes, you transform what you are cooking into something beautiful, and you transform the face of your diner into a smile. for me, that was magic. it’s still magic.

That also sounds challenging, to perform a different “magic trick” for every single “audience member” in your theatre...oh yes. Each guest must feel the attention and passion of the restaurant, without feeling the rigidity of our routine. a restaurant should be in a time outside of time - everything should be natural, simple, arriving with perfection and without you noticing. it’s like a circus. when the acrobats do a manoeuvre, it looks easy, but it takes a lot of work and training, and of course passion. their job, like ours, is to make everything look easy. it’s not, but when it is done well and it looks that way, that’s talent.

i had a great experience like this here in doha the other day with a good friend. we went to the turkish restaurant, sukar pasha, at Katara. the terrace, the weather, the atmosphere - everything was perfect. the food was simple, but fresh, the waitress was lovely ... it was amazing! we left the place light and uplifted. afterward, we had a great sleep! and that’s how you should walk away from every restaurant.

-RenOWneD fRencH MAsteR cHef, Guy sAvOy, HAs Been One Of tHe WORlD’s MOst HiGHly-DecORAteD AnD culinARily siGnificAnt icOns since His fiRst

BReAkOut success in tHe eARly-tO-MiD 1980s. since tHen, His WORlDWiDe cHAin Of epOnyMOus eAteRies HAs nOt Only cAptuReD A cOllective inteRnAtiOnAl

iMAGinAtiOn, But AlsO A siGnificAnt sHARe Of cRiticAl AccOlADes AnD inDustRy AWARDs, incluDinG, But in nO WAy liMiteD tO, A leGiOn D’HOnneuR fROM tHe

fRencH MinisteR Of AGRicultuRe, tHRee MicHelin stARs fOR His pARis venue AnD tWO MORe fOR His lAs veGAs site. On A Recent tRip tO DOHA, suR lA teRRe cAuGHt

up WitH tHe GOOD cHef tO Ask HiM WHy He WAs HeRe, WHeRe He HAD cOMe fROM AnD WHeRe His cRAft WOulD Be GOinG intO tHe futuRe.

-

Guy Savoy

You have been in the public eye and celebrated as a master chef since the early-to-mid eighties, and have seen many styles and fads of cooking come and go in and out of popularity. The trends seem to continue to turn like tides. How do you believe cuisine has changed on an international level, and how has it changed the culinary scene? there has been this great evolution, so that today, every country knows it has its own culinary culture. Every city has different restaurants and products. of course, i think the french showed the way! [laughs] that’s not meant to be arrogance, but look, i’ve seen different nationalities of chefs learning in france, whether it’s Japanese, american or British. gordon ramsay, for example - he worked with me 25 years ago for two years! now, when these chefs return to their countries, they work within their own culture with a little bit of french spirit, and all of the different cuisines around the world have benefitted from that.

Do you think there is a worry about a homogeny where the individual culinary cultures will be diluted against each other?no, no! i think it’s the opposite! culinary culture has been amplified! look at England or the united stated. fifty years ago, people thought there was no culture there, but look at today. look at all of the restaurants and chefs. look at Qatar today! there are farms in the desert for vegetables and fruit. i just think that france was the beginning.

What about the next evolution of food? Do you know where it is going, or can you tell how it will change?i don’t know the next step, but i don’t know if it is necessary to. today, we have a lot of italian food, french food, american food, fusion food, “molecular food,” all together at once! it’s the same for music. there is country music, rock & roll, classical. or look at art - prehistoric, modern, classical. food follows the same idea. we live in a time where we have access to all of these different things, and we are very lucky for it. it’s an exceptional era.


Doha is a good example of that modern mixture...oh yes! it’s a small world. i’ve been to the turkish restaurant, the other night i had italian, last night i went to a lebanese restaurant, and tonight i will have dinner in a private Qatari family home. that’s very exciting.

Your host must be nervous about cooking for a famed chef such as yourself!you know, i am never prejudice about anything. i will go to that family dinner with the desire to have a new experience, and will arrive tonight as a complete virgin to food! i am not a judge, and food is not scientific. food is a free spirit. when you run for exercise, you try to beat your best time. when you cook, you try to haVE the best time! [laughs]

the wife of my friend who invited me over for this meal did tell me that she felt a lot of pressure about the meal, but i told her she shouldn’t. when you put some heart in your recipe, it will be a success. you should never feel pressure with food, only passion.

Speaking of Doha, what brings you here? i met with the Qatar luxury group, and their spirit of doing the highest level of everything touched me. after exploring doha, i could feel that it was also the spirit of this place. there is the world cup that is coming, the art in the modern and islamic art museums. in Qatar, many things are improving, like wealth, health, sport, culture, food ... it’s thE most modern experience in the world right now, and i have to be here!

i want the concept of this new restaurant to be modern, artistic. ninety percent of the menu you would find in paris will be available here, with 10% from the middle East ... or more specifically, from doha. i don’t know what those dishes will be yet, but i know i will be inspired. i am always inspired by places.

You once said, “It is the duty of the chef to bring the best provisions to the table and to work with local and locally available products as much as possible.” With that in mind, do you think that setting up a restaurant in the Gulf will be a challenge? What about not being able to work with certain meats or ingredients that are “verboten” in this region? it’s a challenge for a chef, of course, but for us, the rule is always the same: take the best product from the best place. if we can find all of the ingredients we need in doha, i’ll work with them. look at the doha fish market - i’m sure we can find excellent fish there. it’s too early to say, but this is my mission.

i do not use pork in my dishes anyway, and i don’t like alcohol in my food. i love wine of course, but never in the food. i have too much respect for the food ... and too much respect for the wine! [laughs] yes, of course it will be a challenge, but challenges are fun!

It’s safe to say that the Doha community will be salivating over the news of Guy Savoy joining its restauranteur ranks, and we look forward to trying all of the signature dishes for which you have become famous, but is there a dish that is your favourite? oh, it’s difficult to limit it to one meal. maybe it was a cheese fondue in a cabin in a mountain with some friends, or my mother’s rice pudding, which i have put on the menu of each of my restaurants. one of my favourite meals is toasted crusty bread with some sardines and fresh, hard butter. it’s so simple and everybody can do it. one of the greatest meals i have ever had was one that i made from a fish caught on the bank of a lake in the last light of day, seasoned by natural salt and served with a wild salad, and grilled simply over a fire with a couple of eggs. it can be a nice meal in a lovely restaurant or just something you enjoy with some friends. a favourite meal is made of a little spontaneity, paying attention to the details and remembering that each taste is a memory.

“You should never feel pressure with food... only passion.”

69. sur la terre . up close and personal .

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With looting, rioting and arson engulfing his current hometown of london on a city-wide scale and 24-hour rolling news channels feeding him a constant stream of revolution from the arab spring, chong decided that, in some small way, the world needed an “interlude,” a time-out from the chaotic and a pause in the grand narrative of his series of operatic-themed perfumes.

“this was all causing a lot of confusion in my thoughts,” explains chong. “the things happening outside my door had a profound effect, let alone what was going on here in the middle East.

“i didn’t know what would happen to our market here or whether i would be able to launch a new fragrance this year. would there even be an amouage in the middle East? it made my creative process very staccato, very fragmented. then there was that terrible tsunami in Japan, which was beyond anyone’s control.”

within this maelstrom of disaster and global nihilism, chong was able to harness the disturbance in his emotions and channel it, breathing life into an altogether different amouage perfume.

Christopher Chong

-

tRuly cReAtive peOple ARe incReDiBly susceptiBle tO tHeiR suRROunDinGs,

nOne MORe sO tHAn AMOuAGe cReAtive DiRectOR, cHRistOpHeR

cHOnG WHO, WHen seeMinGly tHe WHOle WORlD eRupteD in viOlence

AnD RevOlutiOn lAst yeAR, WAs fORceD tO RetHink His next OlfActORy

Opus. slt GOt tO sit WitH tHe scent-MAsteR GeneRAl At tHe neW peRfuMe’s

ReGiOnAl lAuncH in DuBAi. -

71. sur la terre . up close and personal .

“it’s a tribute, if you like,” continues chong. “a hope that through all of the chaos and disorder in the world, we can all find a moment of peace within ourselves. in the construction of the fragrance, i follow chaos and disorder. Everything is about a contrast, creating a tension and an anxiety.”

indeed, it is a complex perfume, especially Interlude Woman. chong artfully blends fragrances and flavours together to create a multi-faceted, layered perfume where you are hit by a plethora of emotive olfactory triggers which mutate and change with every sniff.

chong’s trademark discord is rife throughout, but as always, like a master watch maker, he places the components in the exact order required to create an alluring and timeless finished product. the piquant citrus of the grapefruit juxtaposes the bergamot. weight is given to the perfume by the key notes of frankincense and myrrh, which chong explains represents hope in the whole ensemble.

starting with tension, chong raises the bar further with rose and jasmin vying for superiority, before the discord appears through the unique association of coffee, kiwi and nut. all of this covers a potent base note of agarwood mingling with vanilla, sandalwood and a lot of oak moss. none of these ingredients should, by rights, smell good together, but somehow

chong, like a master of perfume puppets, harmoniously brings them all together for that final redolent performance.

harmony resonates in the heart of Interlude Man. Zesty bergamot, oregano and pimento berry oil conjure perpetuating intervals of conflict which are countered by aromatic notes of amber, frankincense, cistus and myrrh. Eternal notes of leather, agarwood smoke, patchouli and sandalwood in the base, not only add lasting layers of depth and texture, but invoke the dark, smokey aftermath of destruction and fire. with Interlude Man, chong has delivered a bold and evocative, yet at the same time introspective, fragrance. “perfume doesn’t have to be a happy pill,” he concludes. “it is about emotions and how we express them. this time i am expressing a traumatic, fragmented world. all people need to do is communicate and, apart from making death and drama more wearable, that is what i am trying to achieve with my fragrances.

“i’ll be honest, i know that not all of my perfumes are harmonious, some of them can be a bit disturbing at first smell when you are not used to them, but they do nurture discussion, it’s all about creating a dialogue or an exchange.

“if everyone could do the same, the world would be such a better place.”

“In the construction of the fragrance, I follow chaos and disorder.

Everything is about a contrast, creating a tension and an anxiety...”


Game on!pHotogRApHED BY FRED cHApotAt, WWW.FREDcHApotAt.coM

stYLED BY pAscALE HUg, WWW.pAscALE-HUg.cH

HAiR & MAKE-Up BY cHRistopHE DURAND AND JUAN RoMERo, WWW.LEBALDEscREAtEURs.coM

MoDELs: stEpHANiE vAN ARENDoNK, optioN MoDELs ZURicH AND FRANcK vioNNEt

spEciAL tHANKs to tHE goLF cLUB DE BoNMoNt FoR HostiNg tHE sHoot.

Swimsuit, ERES Geneva; Hooded cardigan, JEAN PAUL GAULTIER Geneva; Visor, HERMèS Geneva; MATTIOLI necklaces, LES AMBASSADEURS Geneva; REPOSSI serpent ring, BIJOUTERIE KUNz Geneva; BARBARA BUI shoes, NOUCHKA boutique Geneva.

fA s H i O n

7373. sur la terre . fashion .

She wears:STELLA MCCARTNEY dress, ANITA SMAGA Geneva; Clutch bag, CHANEL Geneva; NIKE socks and ADIDAS shoes, ATHLETICUM Geneva.Left: Gold and diamond bracelets, VHERNIER Geneva; REPOSSI rings, BIJOUTERIE KUNz Geneva. Right: (center) Diamond and gold bracelet, CARTIER Geneva; FUSEAU bracelets, VHERNIER Geneva.

He wears: ACNé sweater, CAMILLE boutique Lausanne; MALO swimming trunks, NOUCHKA boutique Geneva; MOCCASINS, BALLY Geneva; Scarf, BURBERRY Geneva.

. sur la terre . fashion .74


She wears: Scarf, HERMèS Geneva; ADIDAS sports bra, ATHLETICUM Geneva; Trousers, CHANEL Geneva; Floral Earrings, BOGH-ART Geneva; PANTHèRE ring, CARTIER Geneva;

«Incroyables et Merveilleuses Voluptueuse» ring, DIOR JOAILLERIE Geneva; JIMMY CHOO shoes and bag, DRAKE STORE Geneva & Lausanne.

He wears: ACNé tank top, Boutique CAMILLE Lausanne; Trousers, moccasins and bag, BALLY Geneva; Green track top, ADIDAS Geneva; Wrist bands, ATHLETICUM Geneva;

IWC watch, LES AMBASSADEURS Geneva.

Opposite: Dress, HERVé LéGER Geneva; Sleeveless jacket, CHANEL Geneva; Bracelets, HERMèS Geneva; ADIDAS wrist bands, ATHLETICUM Geneva; “Incroyables et Merveilleuses Audacieuse” ring (left) and

“Incroyables et Merveilleuses Voluptueuse” ring (right), DIOR JOAILLERIE Geneva.

76 . sur la terre . fashion .

Dress ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER, «Ice Cube» necklace and «Temptations» earrings CHOPARDPage on the right: Draped sleeves JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER, Dress ARzU KAPROL


Dress, LACOSTE Geneva; Swimsuit, HERVé LéGER Geneva; Scarf, HERMèS Geneva;NIKE wrist bands, ATHLETICUM Geneva; Yellow Diamond and Emerald earrings, BOGH-ART Geneva; Gold and

diamond bracelets and rings, VHERNIER Geneva; BRéGUET Marine watch, LES AMBASSADEURS Geneva.

78 . sur la terre . fashion .

t R e n D s cOnfiDentiAl

Avid style-savvy readers will know these few pages usually consist of me reflecting on the new season catwalks, trends, colours, shapes and styles, but for this issue, i decided not to focus on what is top of the current trend charts, but instead, simply great clothes. these are the

wardrobe items that transcend time and work effortlessly season after season, aka classic wardrobe staples. when it comes to fabulous fashion, some of the best clothes are not new, but those that have been around the block and back again.

throughout history, the world has been graced with some key style icons whose classic looks have defined our wardrobes. with many of us packing our lV trunks for cooler climes this summer, there isn’t a better time to slim down your wardrobe and keep it sleek with a handful of classics as your mainstay. for me, these five versatile closet classics are a must for every woman, working just as effortlessly day or night, rural or rock’n’roll, summer or autumn.

The little black dresswhen in doubt, the little black dress is always a winner. why? Because it is simple and stylish and can easily be dressed up or pared down. while today it takes on many guises, from micro to maxi and effortless to embellished, when the little black dress (or lBd as it is now known) first made its fashionable debut back in the 1920s, it fell just above the knee, was a plain shift and simply “black.”

it was none other than fashion icon mademoiselle coco chanel who brought it to our attention in 1926 when it featured in american Vogue. it was described back then as “a sort of uniform for women of all tastes” and they weren’t wrong. By the mid 30s the lBd was fast becoming a wardrobe staple for many women (of all tastes) but in 1961, it was audrey hepburn’s givenchy lBd in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, that propelled the lBd into even higher fashion ground.

throughout the 80s, business women powered their way to the top in their lBds, many an a-lister has made front page news in an lBd (how can we forget Elizabeth hurley’s somewhat risqué Versace number at the Four Weddings and a Funeral premiere in 1994) and it is still every woman’s best friend (well, alongside diamonds of course). the lBd never goes out of style.

Sophie Jones-Cooper chooses five wardrobe essentials that no woman should be without this summer.

ClOSETClassics

how to wEar... Just because the sun is shining and our holidays beckon, that is no reason to put aside the lBd. a little black number is the perfect summer holiday companion, as it looks fab with a tan or dark skin. and it doesn’t need to be figure hugging and sleek; this summer, laidback luxe styles are the way to go. Boho crochet, black lace and breezy chiffons look elegant yet relaxed and pair with tan sandals or wooden wedges and gypsy style earrings and bangles for a haute-boho style.

tadashi shoji . .

79. sur la terre . trends confidential .

Cigarette pantsyou may know these leggy lovelies by a different name, most notably their recent tag of “ankle grazers,” but call them what you like; these cropped skinny pants are the embodiment of elegant style and have been smoking hot for decades now. they are classic, classy and adaptable and have been serving us women for over half a century.

when style icon audrey hepburn wasn’t in her lBd, she was a perennial wearer of cigarette pants and popularised this slim leg look back in the 50s in her movie Funny Face. retaining their namesake shape, cigarette pants transcended through the social movements of our generations, from the punk era of the 70s when fashion designer Vivienne westwood helped raise their status back up to the glam-metal scene of the 80s and then their early 2000s guise as part of the skinny jeans movement. Kate moss helped keep cigarette pants in the “it” gang in the 90s, with women around the world investing in skinny cropped pants in the hope of attaining Kate moss-style skinny legs.

now decades on from their first outing, cigarette pants are still at the forefront of fashion in the shape of coloured ankle grazers. Even the duchess of cambridge has been seen in a coral pair. whether classic black or contemporary and with a colour boost, cigarette pants are an everyday necessity for us ladies, princess or not.

how to wEar... team with some brogues or ballet pumps for daytime chic and swap for some killer heels in the evening to up the glam stakes. a silk shirt and boyfriend blazer is a great off-duty look or give your cigarette pants a feminine injection and team with a floral blouse or peplum top.

Jeansthe faithful jeans are perhaps the most accessible item in the fashion alphabet. fundamentally they are casual trousers made from denim, with raised seams and more often than not, with back pockets sewn on – who would have thought something so simple would become such a mainstay hit?

the original jeans were not designed for fashion, but for the genoese navy who required all-purpose trousers for their sailors that could be worn when wet or dry. it was only by the 50s that jeans became popular with the youth, seen as a soft protest against conformity, and by the mid-70s they had become general everyday informal fashion. in the 80s jeans took on a whole new persona and were no longer stiff, but stretchy as showcased by leggy lovely Brooke shields in that legendary calvin Klein advert.

the shape and style of jeans has continued to change with each fashion trend and over the years we have seen styles including bootleg, flared, skinny, cropped, high-waist and hipsters. they may be the hardest wardrobe item to find that fit your body to perfection, but once you find that pair, it is like finding a best friend you never say goodbye to.

Angel schlesser . . Dsquared . .

80 . sur la terre . trends confidential .

how to wEar... denim is big news again this season and is not just limited to jeans, but shorts, shirts, jackets and dresses. it takes on a softer feel too for summer, with light and faded denims – ideal for the hot sunny days. and when it comes to the jeans themselves, my advice is choose whatever shape best suits your body. don’t follow trends – if high-waisted makes you look bottom heavy, then go for hipsters and if skinny isn’t doing what is says on the tin, go for a baggier boyfriend style.

Oversized Shadesone of the many plusses of middle Eastern living is the excuse to wear sunglasses most days of the year. and while sunglasses are a necessity in terms of accessorising an outfit, they are first and foremost a way to protect our eyes from harmful uV rays. who wants wrinkled uV drenched eyes? not me.

the history of sunglasses dates back as far as ancient roman and chinese times, but the first pair of sunglasses was officially launched back in 1929. it wasn’t until goddess of glamour Jackie onassis made history by wearing her bad boy “Jackie o” shades, that wearing sunglasses became a fashion statement. thanks to Jackie o’s trend setting style, the same rule still stands today, when it comes to our shades, bigger must be better… Katie holmes, Victoria Beckham and nicole richie are all modern day icons that hide perfectly behind their oversized shades while oozing style and sophistication and keeping wrinkles and dark circles at bay.

how to wEar... there are no rules when it comes to wearing big shades. they can be worn with anything and anywhere, well except inside of course. that being said, black shades are great for city chic, coloured frames are fun for a playful summer and tan or tortoiseshell are great on the beach.

The Trench Coatcome rain or shine, the trench is a must-have for every woman. there is something about this coat that stands the test of time. however old the trench, it will never look out of date, only enviably vintage. and while today’s contemporary trench is a beautifully tailored and refined piece of women’s outerwear, it didn’t start out that way.

the trench was originally designed for men, as an alternative to the heavy great coats worn by the British and french soldiers during the first world war. thomas Burberry designed the army officers’ raincoats for British troops fighting in the trenches and this is how the “trench” got its name.

since then, the trench has come on leaps and bounds and made its way into our wardrobes thanks to its versatile and effortless style and ability to transform an outfit in an instant. popularised back in the day by audrey hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the trench epitomises feminine chic, yet still retains that air of masculinity.

how to wEar... the best thing about a trench coat is that it really doesn’t matter what you wear underneath, the bag you carry or the shoes you wear. a trench is an outfit in its own right and can be worn over most day and evening outfits. wear buttoned up to the max and casually tied at the front for maximum impact. and if you are only going to invest in one trench, make it a Burberry.

Dsquared . .

Burberry . .

81. sur la terre . trends confidential .

drEss matthew williamson, drEss alberta ferretti, top monsoon, Body suit dolce & gabbana at net-a-porter.com, drEss dorothy perkins, top Juicy couture at net-a-porter.com, trousErs tucker at net-a-porter.com, Earrings isharya at net-a-porter.com, sandals monsoon, Bag and shoEs tod’s, ring ysl at net-a-porter.com, Bag Bulgari, nEcKlacE Vinader at net-a-porter.com

azUrE ShOrES

lO O k B O O k

Add a splash of the ocean to a taste of the tropics for a refreshing summer style cocktail

catwalK momEnt: aqua shades sailed down the catwalks at carlos miele (above right) and carolina herrera (above left).

top tip: accessorise your aqua shades and tropical prints with gold and yellow, and don’t be afraid to pile on the jewels and beads

82 . sur la terre . look book .

Give your wardrobe a dose of Parisian cool, British sensibility or Italian refinement with a new season blazer

lO O k B O O k

douBlE BrEastEd BlaZEr loro piana at mrporter.com, wool BlaZEr yves saint laurent at mrporter.com, BaBy BluE BlaZEr & shirt austin reed, BEigE BlaZEr crew clothing, polo shirt dunhill at mrporter.com, shirt Etro at mrporter.com, chinos river island, shorts asos.com JEans apc at mrporter.com, Bag salvatore ferragamo, EspadrillEs asos.com, BElt salvatore ferragamo, shoEs Jeff Banks at debenhams, cuff Versace

BlaziNg hOT

top tip: for a less formal style, wear a polo instead of a classic shirt or team your blazer with shorts and espadrilles.

image courtesy of Austin Reed..

83. sur la terre . look book .

. sur la terre . section .84

a light hEa rt li V Es long.- Lo v e’s L a b or ’s Lo s t , Wi l l i a m Sh ak e sp e a r e

. sur la terre . section . 85

f e At u R e

lUXUrY gOODS Samaritans

86 . sur la terre . feature .

lAuRA HAMiltOn HiGHliGHts leADinG

luxuRy BRAnDs AnD Businesses fOunDeD

sOlely tO tuRn fineRy intO pHilAntHROpy

charity’s long history is peppered with iconic figures throughout time who have set precedents which are hard to follow. arguably the greatest example of these is andrew carnegie, the famous scottish philanthropist who founded the first-ever public library in his native dunfermline, before going on to establishing a further 2,509 such libraries in communities across the world. when he died in 1919, he

had given away $350 million to his worthwhile cause. that’s a pretty hard act to follow.

however, there is a new archetype for charity that advocates material awards; although it seems that luxury and charity are polar opposites, combining them can be mutually beneficial. after all, it is always nice to have a reminder of how generous you are. the go-to model for luxury charity is auctions, dinners, balls and designer collections, where high-profile personages raise awareness with their chequebooks. charity auctions can raise huge amounts of money, as was evidenced one night in 2011, when Elizabeth taylor auctioned off her treasure trove of jewels for a record-breaking $115 million, benefitting her aids foundation.

another thing that luxury brands are associated with is setting up their own charities and foundations, as well as creating special collections. italian prima donna donatella Versace, for example, teamed up with chinese martial arts star Jet li to start Versace one foundation, which funds teachers and doctors to work in child centres in the sichuan region of china, an area devastated by an earthquake in 2008. Versace enlisted the children to draw on canvas tote bags, which were then sold at the brand’s boutiques. the end profits of this admirable joint venture not only benefited the child centres in the region, but also the starlight children’s foundation, a charity which works with seriously ill and injured children.

on the other hand, Bulgari prefers to work with well-established charities, designing a silver and ceramic ring for uK charity save the children. outwardly, these rings are nothing more than a stylish accessory, with the Bulgari brand engraved on the edge and the charity’s name on the inside. that way, the discretion of the charitable wearer remains intact under the façade of style. the profits from the ring, worn by the likes of isabella rossellini and leighton meester, go to providing books for children in Brazil, safe drinking water in uganda and coloured pencils for children in china.

“this is not charity, this is work,” declares provocateur and fashion legend, dame Vivienne westwood about her recent collaboration with the Ethical fashion programme, which supports over 7,000 women in africa. using recycled materials, westwood’s Ethical fashion africa collection is a series of bags made by women who want to improve their lives. the bags are bright and colourful, with avian-inspired designs and supportive slogans, such as “do it yourself,” emblazoned on the entire collection. in a world of gender inequality, it is high-end moves from high-end individuals like this that may make all the difference in the world. to find out more about westwood’s project, visit her website at www.viviennewestwood.co.uk.

87. sur la terre . feature .

A night to rememberas we mentioned before, charity balls and celebrity auctions are still very much de rigueur, but the paradigm of such strategies has shifted and indeed evolved. the epitome of this evolution (at least in its party form) is the global party. the brainchild of entrepreneur david Johnstone and backed by lord stanley fink, a British hedge fund manager, the world’s biggest secret party (until now) brings the charity ball into the 21st century and on a scale that had never before been attempted. the inaugural celebration in 2011 was inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days and dubbed the party of the decade. the hedonistic fun on the surface of the parties actually took two whole years to plan, and raised $9.3 million for no fewer than 12 charities. invites to the next one are hard to come by, and are reserved for Vips and consumers of luxury brands champagne for life and Key-2 luxury.

whereas previous modes of charitable giving were merely exercises in public relations, or side-projects to assuage capitalist guilt while indulging in a little philanthropy, global party guests are rewarded with genuine luxury and a chance to be a part of the world’s elite. the invitation and the incentive for being part of the global party are one and the same. if you were to steal a glimpse into the handbags of supermodels helena christensen or Eva herzigova, you would find beneath a stylish flash of silver, a coveted item that is not available to the general public: an otherwise innocuous key-ring. this engraved key opens doors to exclusive Vip privileges for life, amongst which complimentary bottles of champagne appear frequently, free to those that can afford it, very expensive to those that can’t.

as the global party 2011 was such a roaring success, it is trying to outdo itself with its next event. scheduled for 2013, the theme is 360°; that is, 360 parties in secret locations across 120 cities over four nights, the proceeds of which will benefit 360 charities. guests are challenged to circumnavigate the world and frequent as many of the 360 parties as possible to be crowned winner of the global party 2013.

Merci beaucoup and thanks for all the fishnobel peace prize winner, professor muhammed yunus came up with the concept of “social business,” which is the perfect marriage of profit and charity. charity used to be an offshoot and not the mainstay of businesses, but now altruism has become a powerful motivator for luxury brands as social businesses kick off.

one such social business is merci, dreamed up by Bernard and marie-france cohen. Best known for founding successful luxury children’s clothes brand Bonpoint, they set up the charity boutique in a converted factory in the marais district of paris in 2009 and have since acquired a cult following. after making a name and fortune for themselves in the fashion world, they wanted to give something back, which is why they named their new venture “thank you” in french. “merci” is printed all over the walls, with the names of organisations and people who have provided the products in their boutique and helped them in their philanthropic quest.

off the tourist track, it is almost a parisian secret. from the street, merci looks nondescript, but inside, the luxury concept store is a treasure chest, a testament to french chic and simplistic beauty. it looks like an art gallery. Beyond the façade is a courtyard, which boasts a café, tea room and restaurant. inside, the interlinking loft-spaces comprise the retail space and a bookstore, a florist and a corner devoted to annick goutal (late perfumer and marie-france’s sister), where customers can buy perfume in minimalistic glass bottles or simply fill up their own flagons with their favourite scents. merci has everything, from haberdashery to antiques. of course, the main attraction is the apparel. the door to Merci is deceptively innocuous . . . . .

David Johnstone and lord fink launch the Global party. .


designers, artists, musicians, actors, stylists, authors and famous friends of the couple donated items, from their own collections or specifically crafted pieces and entire collections exclusively for the parisian retail experiment, generously foregoing profits. the designers who have signed on to help merci are diverse and eclectic, and range from yves saint laurent to acne. the cohens regularly convince European luxury fashion houses like montero, italy’s most prestigious silk house, to collaborate with them and create one-off lines. this exclusivity means that the beautiful designer clothes, accessories and artwork that can be found in merci are not only benefiting charity, but are completely unique. the profits go to a children’s charity in madagascar, an area of africa that marie-france has often visited; her labour of love is helping impoverished girls so that they can get an education and have a career. you can find more information at www.merci-merci.com.

Rifles, revisitedof course, some luxury-based charities are not as uniform as setting up fashion houses or organising parties. some set themselves apart from the usual dialogue with a bullet… literally. in the last issue of Sur la Terre, we introduced you to jewellery-company fonderie 47, which brings new meaning to the term “precious metal.” when peter thum and John Zapolski met at a tEd conference, they decided to launch a hybrid business model to align their affinity for charity with good business. devoted to removing aK-47 rifles from the black market in the republic of congo, they buy the rifles and fuse the steel with titanium, white and yellow gold and meld it into rare and stunning pieces of jewellery, upcycling the rifles to make art while subverting and diminishing the power of the weapons themselves. as pablo picasso said, “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” that is something the good people at fonderie 47 have taken to heart.

with the help of mechanical engineer roland iten and master jeweller philip grangi, the rogue weapons are transformed into luxurious cufflinks, earrings, pendants, and rings. apart from the cufflinks, which have kept the serial number of the gun, there is no indication that this jewellery has been created from aK-47s, or was even upcycled at all. the lure of these luxury items is that it never advertises its humanitarian background and appears only as unusual and elegant pieces. the jewellery has a veneer of antiquarianism, like artefacts you might find in a museum, or bid on at an auction. the timeless pieces have the quality of an heirloom, whether it is the masculine elegance of the bespoke men’s rings, or the greco-roman edge to the earrings. iten, who spawns mechanical luxury for gentleman, has created a limited and numbered series of cufflinks that can be transformed into a bracelet. if you can’t tell, transformation is a central theme at fonderie 47.

fonderie 47 holds a blueprint for sustainability in social businesses, using its idea of creative destruction to appease the desire for statement jewellery and aspiration towards charity. thum wanted to create rare pieces that would inspire people, rather than cheap tokens of goodwill; to that end, the jewellery is sold at private events, and revenue is invested back into organisations to destroy arms in africa. an earring can destroy 70 weapons, a ring 75 and a set of cufflinks 100. the revenue feeds into the fonderie 47 foundation, a charity which finances organisations like mines advisory group to help demolish weapons for the congo’s government. to cast your eye over more of fonderie 47’s gorgeous jewellery, visit www.fonderie47.com

scent s by the late Annick Goutal . .

these stunning earrings look nothing l ike rif les!

phil ip Grangi designed these masculine rings

Roland iten’s special ly designed cuff l inks , featured in slt 20

89. sur la terre . feature .

Waste Not, Want Notanother innovative organisation with a conscious is Bottletop, which straddles the borders between charity and fashion by spinning bottle tops and ring pulls into luxurious accessories. while, on the surface, fusing western waste with fashion sounds dubious, the result is edgy, stylish and becoming very popular. Bottletop bags can be seen in high-end boutiques and on the arms of the rich and famous. the ring pulls are woven together to make lightweight bags, clutches and belts that are both timeless and unusual. the company was conceived and is run by fashionista cameron saul, the son of roger saul, founder of mulberry, the well-known and exclusive fashion and accessories label. style must run in the family.

after discovering a wire frame handbag made from bottle tops while working in uganda, saul was inspired to collaborate with the English fashion house, and in 2002 the mulberry Bottletop campaign was born. the original Bottletop mulberry bags became so popular that the company decided to go back to the favelas in Brazil, setting up workshops with local craftsmen and women, and producing the iconic ring pull clutches. ten years later, Bottletop presents a ready-to-wear range in collaboration with french design studio “atelier du sartel”.

not only has Bottletop prevented over three million ring pulls going into landfills, but it pumps its profits back into the Bottletop foundation, which helps young people from the third world into educational programmes to educate them and give them more opportunities. in Bottletop’s attempts to alleviate poverty, they empower 35,000 young people a year with life skills, and were recently shortlisted for The Observer Ethical awards 2012 in the “fashion and accessories” category.

Philanthropy is Beautifulsome streets are paved with gold, some with good intentions, but rarely are they paved with both. former wall street banker, Joan hornig, is an american jewellery-maker who refuses to take any of the profits she makes. after studying fine art at harvard university, she made her own jewellery for years, until someone complimented her on a necklace she was wearing and recommended her to Bergdorf goodman, the luxury charity department store in manhattan, where her first collection sold out in days. Bergdorf refused to put a plaque next to her collection, saying she would donate all the money to charity, so she started the Joan B. hornig foundation, which supports various charitable organisations around the world and has donated almost $1 million to over 700 charities so far. she has since moved from Bergdorf to several high-end boutiques where the customer has to fill out a form, designating their chosen charity and can even suggest new charities. particular pieces have been designed for specific causes, like the silver hammer pendants that benefit the association of Junior leagues international, or the snowflake earrings made of 18-carat white cold and blue topaz, which profit unicEf.

Joan hornig designs her jewellery on the floor of her bedroom, using 18-carat gold, diamonds, south sea pearls, gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones to make necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings that are inspired by nature and by the fine art she studied at university. the art deco influence can be seen in her earrings and her cuffs are reminiscent of austrian artist Klimt. her signature pieces are lariats, delicate necklaces that look like lassos, decorated with entwined stones and flinty metal. aerial and simplistic, her jewellery is regularly spotted on the red carpet. this is jewellery designed to make a statement and a difference. as hornig says, philanthropy is beautiful. see hornig’s beautiful creations at www.joanhornig.com.

luxury charity is the perfect way of rewarding your generosity, an investment in your soul. it’s possible, it seems, to be beautiful inside and out. and if you can’t do good things, you can always buy them!Hornig refuses al l profit s from her unique jewellery

this styl ish handbag is made from soda can ring-pulls . .


Acc e s s O R i e s

SculptingSuMMer

pHotogRApHED BY FRED cHApotAt, WWW.FREDcHApotAt.coM

stYLED BY pAscALE HUg, WWW.pAscALE-HUg.cH

HAiR & MAKE-Up BY cHRistopHE DURAND AND JUAN RoMERo, WWW.LEBALDEscREAtEURs.coM

MoDEL: stEpHANiE vAN ARENDoNK, optioN MoDEL AgENcY ZURicH

Hat by Bronte, Charivari boutique Geneva “Etoile de mer” ring by Bulgari, Les Ambassadeurs boutique, Geneva

. sur la terre . accessories . 91

Céline sunglasses, Lunetterie de Pépinet Lausanne“Coffret de Victoire” ring in yellow and white gold with diamonds, golden beryl, amethyst, rubies and yellow sapphires. Dior Joaillerie Geneva

92 . sur la terre . accessories .

Guiseppe zanotti sandals, Charivari boutique Geneva“Berbère” ring by Repossi, Bijouterie Kunz Geneva

93. sur la terre . accessories .

Fendi bag, Fendi boutique GenevaBernard Delettrez bracelet, Charivari boutique Geneva

94 . sur la terre . accessories .

i n M Ot i O n

ThE aMaziNgSpider Mac

In the week that Hollywood, to great fanfare, rebooted the franchise of a famous web-spinning superhero, the motoring

world was getting bitten by a whole different species of Spider. James McCarthy was in Dubai for McLaren’s big reveal.

96 . sur la terre . in motion .

As some of our more eagle-eyed readers might recall, a few issues ago, i was forced to make a public declaration of just how wrong i had been about mclaren automotive’s mighty mp4-12c.

while my time was brief behind the wheel of the mp4-12c, it was enough to invoke an epiphany, which opened my eyes to just how great a car it is. it wasn’t quite enough, however, to depose my belief that the ferrari 458, or indeed its chopped-top sibling, the 458 spider, was the benchmark in V8 rear-mid-engine sports cars.

while my mind was irrevocably changed that evening in abu dhabi as i suddenly understood what the mac was all about, and while i openly admit to it being an amazingly exciting car to drive, the ferrari still seems just a little more fun; a little less uptight.

one of the reasons that i loved the 458 spider so much, aside from its skittish playfulness and visceral performance, was that you could lower that spectacularly engineered roof and enjoy an automotive symphony that can rarely be matched.

however, that could soon be about to change.

mclaren has pulled the covers off its second car in the mp4-12c family and, yes, you guessed it, it’s a spider. it was a pretty predictable move considering that building cars without a roof has been its bread & butter business for decades.

that said, the company has made no bones about the fact that it is in direct, fierce competition with the prancing horse, both on and off the f1 circuit. as such, it seems that every part of this particular species of arachnid has been bred to be just a little bit better than its rival.

with similar, but slightly more pronounced, roll-safe buttresses to those on the 458 framing the 616 bhp m838t engine, the mp4-12c spider is far more visually dramatic than the coupe. it almost looks longer. mclaren has even managed to maintain its dihedral door arrangement, a slight poke at the obvious inability of mercedes to attach its iconic gullwings to the sls convertible, perhaps. mac is taking on all-comers, not just the italian stallion.

however, the first point that mark harrison, regional director for mclaren’s mEa operations, was keen to make was about the roof of the mp4-12c spider. in italy, i gushed about the design of the ferrari’s

retractable hard top, which i described as “tantamount to automotive origami” and how it only added just 50kg of weight to the 458’s lithe frame. however, the hard top, which was the first of its kind in many engineering terms, could not be operated while the car was in motion and its design meant that ferrari had to forego the inclusion of the traditional see-through engine cover.

in a spectacular show of engineering nous and, dare i say it, one upmanship, the boffins at mclaren have developed a retractable hard top that not only still allows the 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo power plant to still show off its wares through a perspex engine cover, but can also be operated at speeds up to 30mph. adding further insult to its rival’s injury, the company is offering a bespoke luggage set that fits exactly inside the empty 52-litre cavity when the roof is in place. it ships as standard with every car. Equally, thanks to its unique carbon “monocell” tub design, the mp4-12c spider has only achieved a positively anorexic 40kg weight gain as a result.

there are other tweaks and additions, from new cosmetic options such as a greater choice of wheel designs, some flashy new colour schemes and an entirely new line of interior options, as well as some more technical improvements. chief among these is a newly remapped performance package and, perhaps more importantly in our part of the world, Vehicle lift, which will be available as an option on 2013 models. the system will allow the 12c spider to be raised front and rear for improved ground clearance, meaning that you won’t leave the front diffuser behind the next time you get caught out by the lethally high speed bumps or the vertiginous grand canyon-esque potholes that scatter the region’s roads like acne on the face of a hormonal teenage Twilight fan.

with the clear performance capabilities and the massive amounts of technology under the skin of the mp4-12c spider, the addition of open-to-the-elements driving will doubtless add an even more visceral dimension to the experience of driving a mclaren, especially with the twin turbo V8 soundtrack, though whether or not that one area where the ferrari will continue to reign supreme is yet to be seen.

however, it’s going to be the end of the year before anyone can really put that argument to bed, as mclaren expects to be making its first deliveries in november on an order book that is now open, but filling up fast.

speed is a mclaren trait, and like the company’s cars, its customers need get into a pole position at one of mclaren’s 38 global dealers, at least if they want an mp4-12c spider this side of new year.

97. sur la terre . in motion .

i n M Ot i O n

PhaNTOM SEriES ii:The Riviera Spirit

the phantom series i i long Wheel Base. .


While experiencing the lifestyle of a Rolls-Royce owner on the Côte d’Azur, James McCarthy discovers that, with the Phantom

Series II, sometimes sequels can be better than the original.

the gcc can, on occasion, be a car-lover’s paradise. ferraris, lamborghinis and the occasional Bugatti are regular sights on the highways of our fair region. as newton once theorised, however, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” as such, for every adrenalin-inducing set

of wheels we see, there are plenty of gaudy, pimped-out, four-wheeled monstrosities crowding the roads to balance out the beauty.

seriously, who paints an aston martin purple? it only serves to reinforce the age-old platitude that money can’t buy class.

fortunately, there is always one serene example of automotive sophistication which, when it glides by, no matter what colour or shape the handcrafted bespoke fixtures and fitments take, will always put its driver a cut above the rest. it is quite literally the rolls-royce of cars. i am, of course, talking about the phantom.

the current model has been wafting past the world’s forelock-tugging masses for quite some time now, nearly a decade in fact, and while it remains in every way as impressively engineered and imposing in stature as it did at its launch in 2003, some of the on-board technology (and a few of the cosmetics) are starting to get a little long in the tooth.

that is why i find myself lounging languidly in the early summer sunshine at the super discrete cap Estel, a hotel usually intended for only the incredibly rich and very famous, while the mediterranean laps gently against the shingle-covered shores of the côte d’azur. the goodwood-based marque has gathered the cream of the world’s motoring and lifestyle press to the french riviera, not only to give a few humble hacks the opportunity to experience the effortless luxury of your run-of-the-mill phantom owner’s lifestyle, but to introduce us to the line up of the new rolls-royce phantom series ii, and where better to show off its latest luxo-barge than in the product’s native environment: the playground of the rich and famous?

if an opportunity to drive (and be driven in) the full line-up of the new phantom models on some of the vertiginous roads and stages of the old monte carlo rally wasn’t enough of a draw for the aforementioned scribes, then the locale certainly was.


as a fitting precursor to the following day’s endeavours, and to add some gravitas and context to proceedings, each and every one of the invited journalists was greeted at the entrance of the magnificent cap Estel by the majestic sight of a perfectly preserved 1933 rolls-royce phantom ii. if ever there was a car that looked more at home in the courtyard of a sprawling early 20th century mediterranean villa, then i can’t think of it. never far away from this empirical vehicle was its driver and restorer, georgina wood of official rolls-royce heritage dealer, p & a wood, who was like a proud mother doting over her well-turned-out progeny at his graduation. with the enthusiasm of kid at christmas, she invited me to climb aboard for a quick spin along the road to monaco.

despite her petite frame, georgina was clearly made of stern stuff as she negotiated not only the tight turns of the hotel’s steep, snaking driveway in the three-tonne behemoth, but a veritable cornucopia of polished brass levers and a steering wheel the size of a dustbin lid as well. while the ascent was far from effortless, at least for georgina, it was on the main road that the vintage limousine came into its own. with barely a murmur from the spitfire-esque V12 masterpiece under the bonnet, it was as if the car was moving on rails.

it was easy to fool myself that i was a member of the bourgeois elite, swanning into town to pick up a few harry winston necklaces and maybe a rolex or two. perhaps the most telling of all the admiring looks that were directed our way was the nod of acknowledgment from the rear passenger of a white, chauffeur-driven 1980 rolls-royce silver spirit that passed us on our return to le cap Estel. as we purred through the huge gates of the hotel, i was now fully prepared for my sojourn into the southern french countryside in the 1933’s great grandson and his siblings the following day.

as we emerged, bleary-eyed, from an evening of fine food and even finer wine, the courtyard was alive with activity as the rolls-royce team scurried around like ants, fussing over a fleet of land yachts that would have made lord nelson jealous. there was the standard (if there is such a rolls) phantom saloon, the coupé, the colossal Extended wheel Base (EwB) and the stylish drophead coupé, all glinting in the early morning sunshine and ready to take to the roads.

-if eveR tHeRe WAs A

cAR tHAt lOOkeD MORe At HOMe in tHe cOuRtyARD Of A spRAWlinG

eARly 20tH centuRy MeDiteRRAneAn

villA, tHen i cAn’t tHink Of it.

-

the phantom series i i Drophead coupé and the 1933 phantom i i at le cap estel . .


to make wholesale changes to such a modern automotive icon would be akin to giving mona lisa a funky new hair-do. many companies have gone down that road and ended up transforming their masterpiece from “contemplative beauty” into something resembling the bald, rabid umbrella-wielding insanity of Britney spears. Equally, like Britney, it has taken years for these misguided marques to try and claw back any credibility. in some cases, again drawing eerie parallels with the troubled songstress, failing to do so at all.

therefore, externally at least, the changes to the phantom have been kept to a subtle minimum. like an artfully administered Botox injection, the designers have delivered a more elegant adaptive lEd headlamp design which, coupled with a new front bumper arrangement, gives the front of the car a more aloof visage. there has been a similar nip and tuck procedure at the rear, again with a new tail light configuration. the coupé and the drophead both wear a single-piece grille surround, and the entire range benefits from three new 21-inch wheel options.

Beauty, however, is not just skin deep and perhaps the most significant changes are to the myriad technology and driver aids inside the cabin. the series ii offers a larger

centre display screen with simpler and more intuitive “infotainment” controls, an updated 3d satnav, a full-featured parking assist and reverse camera system as well as the latest technological wizardry to enable both current and future generations of smartphones to assimilate with the car. there is even a special app for connecting an iphone’s music library to the car’s sound system; a tour de force of such aural perfection that even the sirens of ancient greek mythology would blush with inadequacy in its presence.

Even further under the skin of the series ii, there is a newly designed, smoother eight-speed automatic gearbox that makes the ride even more effortless and a reinforced aluminium space-frame, which has been toughened up to allow for an optional “dynamic” driving package, something which doesn’t immediately spring to mind as being an essential addition when buying a rolls-royce. however, it will cater more for lucrative markets, such as the middle East and china, where the preference is to drive the car, rather than be driven.

and so, under the power of possibly one of the most beautifully engineered, naturally aspirated, 6.75-litre V12 engines of the modern motoring age and, fittingly, with the first melodic notes of the Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun blasting out of the concert hall harmon logic7 speaker system, we hit the road under an azure blue sky.

as a passenger, the cabin of the rolls-royce phantom is such a wonderfully cosseted place to be. reclining in the comfort of a seat that would put an Emirates a380 first class cabin to shame, the heady aroma of fine leather and wood fills the air. as the gargantuan 21-inch wheels eat up the miles with such consumate ease, they do so in perfect silence and with a grace that belies the car’s epic size and weight. it barely feels like the car is moving at all.

the 1933 phantom i i on the road between le cap estel and Monaco..


Equally, sitting behind the wheel, there is no drama or fuss; it is incredibly effortless to drive, which in its own way can be a hinderance rather than a help. any of the rolls-royce phantoms are big, even the “sportier” coupé, so gauging the mammoth proportions of each takes a little while, and even longer in the EwB. Either way, with most cars, the driver is inundated with a constant stream of feedback from the road, whether it is due to the weight of the car, through the sensitivity of the suspension, via the tyres or even through the play of the steering wheel. with the phantom, you get none of this. i felt oddly detached because, to ensure the luxuriant comfort for which the marque has become famous, the technology that cushions the passenger from the outside world results in little or no physical indications from the road.

taking some of the tight corners on the wonderful roads of provence, the phantom performed its manoeuvre with otherworldly adroitness, but i was always unsure of where i was placing the front wheels

the phantom series i i coupé. .

the phantom series i i saloon. .


because the only way to measure my approach was to just follow the line of the sweeping bonnet (which seems to go on forever) to the spirit of Ecstasy standing at its zenith and just hope she didn’t kiss an oncoming motorist.

with the “dynamic” package installed, many of these detachment issues are probably addressed, making the driving experience a slightly more visceral and tactile one. however, caught up in the magnificent vistas of our route, along with the joy of just being in the world’s most luxurious car with Johan sebastian Bach’s Cello Concerto in G minor providing the perfect soundtrack, my driving partner and i completely neglected to try it.

after an hour or so of driving, it became much easier to judge the clinically obese proportions of each model, transforming the drive into a zen-like pleasure. while the V12 under the hood doesn’t punch out the same sort of horsepower as those found in its less sedate two-seater equivalents from maranello, santa a’gata Bolognese or warwickshire, it is just as capable of harassing the speed limit, but with much less fuss and far more dignity. the phantom’s steady power output has the feel of an orchestra reaching the crescendo of a symphony, deftly moving up the gears and, with them, the km/h, in a completely unperturbed manner. there is absolutely no indication that the car is a salad-dodging 2.5 tonnes, as it climbs up the speedo to its 240km/h top speed and, with a grace akin to lionel messi pirouetting past a flailing goalkeeper, it just ghosts around corners with the smoothness of a mag-lev monorail.

there is little doubt that rolls-royce has become a synonym for perfection and luxury, and the full line-up of the new cars that carry the phantom series ii moniker have each met the exacting standards set out by founder sir henry royce in the maxim to “strive for perfection in everything you do.” those at the helm of the company today can honestly say that they have, once again, lived up to that noble sentiment, improving on what was already the perfect luxury automobile and somehow making it a little better.

for me though, the phantom will always be a car in which one is chauffeured; it is the car’s entire raison d’être: to travel effortlessly

(there is that word again) from one place to another at the acme of comfort, class and style. those that buy the car so they may drive it themselves, however, will be well aware of the undemanding nature of the car’s handling and performance, but that is exactly why they want one in the first place, as well as the fact that it is a symbol of status and epitomises a level of luxury that is only possible to obtain if you have a significantly weighty wallet.

which takes me, rather neatly, back to a point i raised way back at the start of this rambling article. purchasing a phantom series ii will not only give its buyer the satisfaction of owning a perfectly engineered and, if it’s their wont, flashy set of wheels, but also the knowledge that - contrary to popular belief and espousing a commonly quoth platitude - it is indeed possible to buy quite a sizeable amount of class. two-and-half tonnes of it, to be exact.

the incredibly plush interior of the phantom series i i long Wheel Base. .


to sEE thE summEr sK y is poEtry, though nEV Er in a BooK it liE -

truE poEms flEE.- To s e e t h e Su m m e r Sk y, Em i l y D i c k in son

J-CraFT TOrPEDO: A Modern Classic

James McCarthy invokes 1960s Riviera cool as he takes to the waves in the J-Craft Torpedo.

Out Of tHe BOx

106 . sur la terre . out of the box .

there is one thing common to all of the world’s playgrounds of the rich and famous. from monaco and cannes on the côte d’azur, to italy’s lake como. from miami to dubai, one thing is certain; where the

super wealthy play, you will fi nd clear, blue water.

while many will opt for the bling-bling mega yachts we see mooring up at the pearl Qatar or monaco harbour, the truly rakish amongst the sea-faring elite will have a stylish little runabout; you know, just for those afternoon jaunts to some secluded cove; or better still, dinner at the latest thomas starke restaurant.

let’s be honest, what smacks of international playboy more than rocking up to the jetty of a monaco michelin-starred eatery behind the wheel a $1.2 million J-craft torpedo? let me tell you from recent experience, nothing, that’s what. i was lucky enough to discover this on Sur la Terre’s recent sojourn to the côte d’azur with rolls-royce (see page 98), where the great British marque arranged for a fl otilla of three, 42-foot J craft torpedo boats to spirit the assembled journos to dinner.

it was not your average taxi ride, especially if you were on the same craft as the effervescent richard carter, director of global communications for rolls-royce. the gregarious cape town man was all too keen to put these marvellous boats through their paces and if that meant handing them over to a bunch of land-lubber lifestyle scribes to demonstrate just how easy and fun they are to operate, then he was more than happy to do so.

after a day of sedately driving around in the most cosseted of luxury cars, taking the wheel of a powerful speedboat and racing at 40 knots from nice to monaco was an adrenaline rush of epic proportions. careering the boat into a 320-degree turn so that it was nearly vertical to the water before giving the loud lever a good shove and accelerating like a scalded cat had me whooping like 10-year-old on a disneyland rollercoaster.

despite scudding over the surface at some speed, and quite often putting a signifi cant amount of air between the boat and the water, the cleverly designed hull meant that not a single briny drop of the mediterranean touched any of the six passengers aboard, even during the g-force-inducing aquabatics being performed when the guys from J-craft were at the helm.

despite all of the pulse-raising power and limber manouverability of the torpedo, that is not the real appeal, though. it is far more (excuse the pun) shallow than that. it just looks cool. and, by cool, i mean rat-pack or Brigitte Bardot in her 1960s riviera heyday cool.

the mere look of the J-craft torpedo invokes all the hedonism of the post-war jet-set. think Mad Men on water, such is the wonderful retro feel to these sublimely engineered and technologically advanced boats.

J-craft is a swedish company dedicated to delivering boats that are packed to the poop deck with state of the art technology, but which do not compromise on their singular style and preserve a proud swedish boat-building heritage.

107. sur la terre . out of the box .

the result is a visually stunning craft that can perform perfectly as a chase boat, a tender or a well-appointed day cruiser, and does so with a style and elegance befitting the Vip demographic of its likely owner.

Entirely hand-built with more than 4,000 man-hours going into each one, much like our hosts for the trip, rolls-royce, for J-craft, the devil is very much in the details. a lot of work goes into the touch of the leather, the weight of a switch or the action of a hinge, things that for the most part, are imperceptible, but subliminally set the J-craft apart.

again drawing parallels between J-craft and rolls-royce is the beautiful wooden decking. resembling the teak woodwork found on the phantom drophead coupe, J-craft opt for eco-friendly mahogany, which is lacquered and varnished eighteen times for not only a peerless finish but to increase its strength and to add durability.

however, it is not the shared philosophy of perfection, nor the craftsmanship or production skill - even the eye-watering price tag of the products themselves - that bring rolls-royce and J-craft into the same sphere of the global elite. their greatest similarity, in my opinion, at least, is that when you can afford to arrive at a top monaco restaurant aboard either, you know you have finally made it.

-tHe MeRe lOOk Of tHe J-cRAft

tORpeDO invOkes All tHe HeDOnisM Of tHe pOst-WAR

Jet-set. tHink MAD Men On WAteR.

-

108 . sur la terre . out of the box .

cHANEL vitALUMiERE AqUA FREsH AND HYDRAtiNg cREAM coMpAct iN “BEigE” - YvEs sAiNt LAURENt RoUgE pURE coUtURE LipsticK iN “RoUgE MADRAs” - cLARiNs Fix’ MAKE-Up spRAY

pHotogRApHED BY FRED cHApotAt, WWW.FREDcHApotAt.coM

MAKE-Up BY cHRistopHE DURAND AND JUAN RoMERo, WWW.LEBALDEscREAtEURs.coM

MoDEL: stEpHANiE vAN ARENDoNK, optioN MoDEL AgENcY ZURicH

REtoUcHiNg BY oNE HUNDRED BERLiN

B e Au t y

bright & bold

109. sur la terre . beauty .

LA pRAiRiE ADvANcED MARiNE BioLogY EYE gEL - cHANEL EYEsHADoW DUo iN “37 sABLE EMoUvANt” - EstéE LAUDER pURE coLoUR iNtENsE KAJAL EYE cRAYoN iN “DRAMAtic tEAL” - LANcôME HYpNôsE DoLL LAsHEs MAscARA - cHANEL RoUgE coco sHiNE

HYDRAtiNg cLEAR LipsHiNE iN “EMpREiNtE” - cLARiNs BRoNZiNg DUo spF15 MiNERAL poWDER coMpAct

110 . sur la terre . beauty .

gioRgio ARMANi LAstiNg siLK Uv FoUNDAtioN spF 20 - cLARiNs iNstANt LiNER iN “BLAcK” - DioRsHoW NEW LooK MAscARA iN “BLAcK”

- cHANEL NAiL coLoUR iN “HoLiDAY”

111. sur la terre . beauty .

H O R i ZO n s

VenetianClass

. sur la terre . horizons .112

trundling across the lapping tide of laguna Veneta aboard the express train from milan is not unlike being delivered into a shakespearean dream. the devolution of frenetic city hustle into sun-drenched green fields and finally a city floating in the sea creates such a theatrical disparity, it’s like

being deported into the globe theatre circa 1560.

it feels suitably apt then to amble into Venice’s northern shores via the ponte della libertà – which is the only connecting bridge to the mainland – as it provides a chance to absorb the transition from modern day to medieval wonderment at a pace less assaulting to the senses.

all of the tracks end under the brutalist ceiling of santa lucia train station, which is the last time you’re likely to see anything with wheels – as the city remains accessible only by water or foot. Beyond its modernist confines lies the mouth of the grand canal and the main thoroughfare into the city.

peering into this thin little tributary for the first time is quite a spectacle. from the calm vantage of a lofty concrete step, i watched hundreds of boats flow into every inch of the canal and emerge again without changing a knot. it’s an exercise in nautical precision. the chances of a collision seem inevitable yet hapless sailors don’t even adjust a stride. this is the instant and obvious beauty of Venice. things just seem to work, even when the odds of sense are stacked higher than the cat in a hat’s headgear.

-in a world riddled with cars and noise, scott Lang goes in search of peace and tranquillity

aboard the floating city of venice-

above the noisy clinking noses of boats, linen-clad holiday-goers sip wine about the fringes of santa lucia while tourists wrestle for space on the Vaporetti (water busses), which service all of the main attractions on both sides of the canal.

i clambered aboard a sleek water taxi and meandered into the lazy afternoon traffic heading south down the grand canal towards san marco. the grand canal is the main corridor of water that connects both ends of the city and is usually stacked with travellers. consequently, (depending on the time of day) a jaunt from one end to the other might take anywhere from 25-40 minutes. But Venice is not a city you can approach with an air of urgency, it’s a place built for discovery on foot, in the sunshine. as a result, its car-less lack of kinetic chaos inspires a voyeuristic calm; the type of serene comfort that can only be achieved when truly unwound.

the boat journey is littered with architectural gems as towering gothic, baroque and renaissance palaces all jut into view as the canal weaves its way south. it is surreal to imagine that each of the 124 islands were reclaimed from the lagoon and sit perched on a plateau of wooden piles driven into the vast expanse of marshland. Each garden, monument, bridge and palace is perplexingly balanced on wooden stilts, which are ingeniously maintained largely in the same way since the sixth century. as a result, Venice looks almost exactly as it has for the better part of a thousand years.

sunset on the Grand canal from the oldest bridge in venice, the iconic ponte di Rialto. .

113. sur la terre . horizons .

the entire city was built in the fifth and sixth centuries at the hands of frightened men who sought refuge in the lagoon from the barbarians who swept down from central Europe, destroying everything in their path. the panic-stricken inhabitants of the great mainland cities fled for their lives to the only available refuge, the lagoon. since then, Barbarian hordes have been replaced by gaggles of tourists that are more akin to happy rambling than murderous pillaging, which makes for a much safer holiday.

having arrived at s. marco Vallaresso i took to the cobblestones to find the internationally renowned the westin Europa & regina hotel, which was tucked neatly between three little streets fronting the grand canal. this exclusive hotel has a deceptive and unassuming façade, which blends subtly into the modest entrances that all share a small courtyard. once inside, however, its decadent grandeur is uncovered behind a row of ornate Venetian glass doors. the lobby is framed by elegant corinthian pilasters, marble fixtures and is alight with the subtle glow of classic chandeliers. it looks more like the doge’s dining room than a primary foyer.

the hotel has a rich and eclectic history and is the result of the joining of five 18th and 19th century palaces. the oldest palace belonged to the tiepolos, which was an illustrious Venetian family that gave the city two doges and the seventeenth century painter giambattista tiepolo. another palace was home to the san moisè theatre, which also featured the first performance of La Cambiale di Matrimonio, the first opera composed by the young rossini. in addition to composers, starlets and doges, the property counts one claude monet among its long-stay guests, who apparently spent time creating impressionist works having found a view “if such a thing were possible, even more beautiful than that of palazzo Barbaro.”

while i may have left my paintbrushes at home, i was able to commit the view to memory from the terrace in my room that jutted into the grand canal, which as monet quite succinctly observed is breathtakingly beautiful. the sweeping vista offered panoramic views that stretched from the tip of isola di san giorgio maggiore right up until the s-bend of the canal swerved past the guggenheim gallery. most magnificently was the baroque masterpiece, s. m. della salute – commonly known as the salute – perched on a stone mantle a literal canal width away from my window. in a city where people are many and space is sparse, this is the only hotel in the centre that boasts a selection of terraces, and i was moderately ecstatic to have the use of one.

the hotel is parked at the nether end of the grand canal and is a stone’s throw from the majority of Venice’s best bits, including the gran teatro la fenice, palazzo ducale and the super-chic shopping district of corte Barozzi.

most notably, however, the westin Europa & regina is parked next to the monumental grandeur of piazza san marco. the square, once described by napoleon as the greatest drawing room in Europe contains some of the most famous architectural masterpieces in italy and

remains one of the few squares in Europe untainted by the noise and pollution of motor traffic. But resist the urge to visit the square during the peak tourist hours of the day, and instead leave your first impressions until after dark, as the locals confess it is best seen at night. it is difficult to deny that the shadows cast over the great arches and romanesque carvings of st mark’s Basillica, doge’s palace and campanile clock tower are not more majestic in the moonlight.

it is an unavoidable certainly that if you go to Venice, you will fall in love. whether it’s the architecture, food, music, gelato, late summer nights or early morning strolls, the city exudes an undeniabe depth of romance that is difficult to ignore. Even the hardiest cynic won’t be able to resist the urge to stroll giddily in the streets, smile at strangers and take photos for couples cooing on the quaint little bridges littered across the city.

with that in mind, i bought a broad-brimmed hat and stepped aboard a gondola for an evening tour of the waterways of Venice. while singing gondoliers are somewhat of a trite motif, they are such an integral part of the city and quite frankly, it has to be done. But thankfully, i wasn’t disappointed. the twilight hour drowned the sleepy little avenues and coves in shards of sunlight and the little ripples sparkled with golden peaks. gliding silently between the slender streets, we stuck to the smaller canals, which were devoid of traffic and tourist noise. instead, i was alone to enjoy the silent tide and the shimmering sunshine that amplified the multicolored faces of the houses on the canal.

the campanile clock tower offers the best view of saint Mark’s Basil ica from above. .

the Westin europa & Regina hotel . .

114 . sur la terre . horizons .

while romance and Kodak moments may be its biggest exports, Venice also harbours a kicking scene after dark, albeit tucked away down a labyrinth of alleyways and canals. Venice’s nightlife is often overlooked because it can be difficult to find and many day-trippers prefer the tried and tested method of museums by day and early dinners by night. But if you’re looking for a spot to show off your dance moves and mingle amidst the Venetian midnight vibe then look no further than centrale in san marco. comprised of a hip bar and restaurant, centrale is a futuristic venue that has been created inside a sixteenth-century building. it’s more of a local jaunt and as a result, tourist traffic is sparse. diners are masked behind tinted-glass windows while bar-hoppers are free to enjoy space at the bar or at the myriad sofas and tables scattered about the cocktail lounge. the music is an eclectic blend of acid jazz, italian rap and seventies tunes and there is a romantic lounge looking out over a small canal, which provides a more intimate place to unwind.

having spent a week pacing around the tiny isles of Venice, i begrudgingly boarded my water taxi and took to the grand canal for one last gander at the beautiful pieces that make up the puzzle of Venice. as i buzzed under the ponte di rialto and veered into the jetty at santa lucia i couldn’t help but feel an affinity for this little slice of italy. it had taken a week to find my feet, fall in love and buy a ridiculous broad-brimmed hat that i was sure never to wear again. as i chugged back across the vast blue emptiness of the lagoon, i prepared myself for a world riddled with cars, noise and people with smaller smiles, and couldn’t help but wonder why we don’t build more cities in the sea.

rESTaUraNT TErrazza DaNiEli the hotel danieli is one of italy’s most fa-mous and luxurious hotels, and its heritage dates back to the fourteenth century. while it has been renovated over the ages to ac-commodate modern technologies, it still re-tains its artisan roots and features one of the finest rooftop terrace restaurants in Venice.

the restaurant terrazza danieli creates a sensuous journey through the gastronomic past of the serenissima. looking out over the giudecca and grand canals to the Venice lido and beyond, it is a surreal contrast to share the same view that Venetian noblemen once used to observe the arrival of merchant ships from the orient, laden with exotic spices and salts. it is these same indigenous ingredients from land and sea that executive chef gian nicola colucci utilises in his seasonal creations that showcase the very best of regional cuisine and traditional mediterranean fare.

the restaurant terrazza danieli’s culinary exploration is complemented by a remarkable selection of italian and international wines and spirits personally recommended by the head sommelier, winner of the 2009 Bonaventura maschio award for Excellence.

riva degli schiavoni 4196, 30122 venice+39 041 522 6480 www.danielihotelvenice.comwww.terrazzadanieli.com

Where to Eat:

the Gothic façade of Doge’s palace. .

the majestic arena of saint Mark’s square at dusk . .

Restaurant terrazza Danieli . .

Restaurant terrazza Danieli . .

115. sur la terre . horizons .

What to Do:

Where to Stay:

iNTErPrETi vENEziaNiVenice is teeming with musical talent, most notably a group of artists known as interpreti Veneziani who are collectively able to interpret the Baroque, classical and modern repertory with virtuous variety. with great success from global audiences and critics, the group has appeared at many of the world’s most influential concert halls. when the musicians are not touring with their interpretations of traditional classics, they occupy the quaint chisa san Vidal in Venice’s san marco district and perform throughout the summer season.

chiesa san vidal, san marco 2862/b, 30124 venezia+39 041 2770561www.interpretiveneziani.com

PEggY gUggENhEiM COllECTiONthe peggy guggenheim collection is among the most important museums in italy for European and american art of the first half of the 20th century. it is located in peggy guggenheim’s former home, palazzo Venier dei leoni, on the grand canal, in the dorsoduro district. the museum presents peggy guggenheim’s personal collection, masterpieces from the gianni mattioli collection, the nasher sculpture garden, as well as temporary exhibitions. her

ThE WESTiN EUrOPa & rEgiNathe westin Europa & regina hotel has a rich an eclectic history and is the result of the joining of five 18th and 19th century palaces and counts impressionist painter claude monet among its long-stay guests. the sweeping vista from its terraces offer unadulterated panoramic views of the city, while in-room spa services will refresh and reinvigorate you. the hotel is located on the grand canal and is a stone’s throw from most of Venice’s biggest tourist attractions, including the famous piazza san marco.

san marco 2159, 30124 venezia+39 041 2400001www.westineuropareginavenice.com

collection holds major works of cubism, futurism, metaphysical painting, European abstraction, avant-garde sculpture, surrealism, and american abstract Expressionism, by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

palazzo venier dei leoni, dorsoduro 701, 30123 venezia+39 041 2405411www.guggenheim-venice.it

vENETiaN COOKiNg EXPEriENCEif you’re looking to take home more than just memories from your trip to Venice, restaurant la cusina at the westin Europa & regina offers visitors the opportunity to learn some culinary master skills at a live cooking session every sunday on its grand terrace (weather permitting, of course). chef alberto fol and his team share their passion and recipes in an intimate environment, showcasing the best selection from the local fields and markets. the friendly team demonstrate methods and techniques that will energise your inner chef and inspire the confidence to create Venetian cuisine in your own home.

restaurant la cucina, san marco 2159, 30124 venice+39 041 2400001www.lacusina.com

Duluxe terrace suite - palazzo Regina, the Westin europa & Regina hotel . .

Bar tiepolo - the Westin europa & Regina hotel . . Masked advocates of the carnevale di venezia . .

116 . sur la terre . horizons .

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Subscription form 2012

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contributorsLaurence Gallier

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Cover Image: George Clooney attends the 68th Venice Film Festival

at the Palazzo del Cinema in 2011 (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

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Sur La Terre Issue 21

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