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Taking a break in the world’s greatest sparkling wine region is lure enough in itself. But you can put yourself right in the heart of it all in the home of Champagne’s most elegant, Chardonnay-based wines.
Originally appeared in the July 2019 issue of Decanter Magazine, with abridged versions here and here
Originally appeared on Wallpaper*
Two things strike you as you walk around CRN’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy. The first is that the water in this part of the Adriatic is a very particular shade of light, chalky blue, which bounces off the hull of a yacht as if by design. The second is that everything is really big.
This makes sense: after all, CRN is in the business of thinking big. Designing and building fully custom steel and aluminium yachts of up to 100 metres in length needs space – 80,000 sq m, in fact, of gargantuan warehouses and private marinas, all based in Ancona’s historic harbour. Founded in 1963 in the city, CRN’s dedicated fleet now numbers more than 180, along with a healthy number of aluminium and light-alloy models built for other brands under the Ferretti Group umbrella.
Having just completed its latest megayacht, CRN is building four other custom yachts simultaneously, each build bringing its own challenges and ambitious owners. Working in such a bespoke and exacting world should be a sure-fire formula for stress, especially when any new materials you develop or solutions you find probably won’t be used again, but to Gabriele Piacenti, senior project architect at CRN, it’s anything but. ‘It’s very fun,’ says Gabriele, pretty persuasively. ‘For an architect or designer it’s probably one of the best places to work.
‘Maybe you never use things again, but our yachts are one-offs. For example, we’ve been working with these guys at Fendi and other luxury brands, and we asked them to study some elements for decorative walls. We work directly with the craftsmen, asking for something new.
‘Each detail has to be clear in our mind. We have to make in three dimensions what we draw in two dimensions, so you think in 3D, you draw in 2D, you come back to 3D. It’s not so easy, but it’s really fun.’
Costanza Pazzi, chief architect of CRN’s design department, has just finished work on CRN’s latest creation, the 79-metre steel and aluminium M/Y 135 megayacht, launched earlier this year at a lavish private ceremony attended by not only the owner and guests, but all those who worked on the yacht’s creation. Working alongside Zuccon International Project on the exterior and Laura Sessa for interiors, the new ship has five decks accommodating 12 guests in five VIP cabins, plus the owner’s suite and a 29-strong crew.
Even working with experts like Zuccon and Laura Sessa, and nearly 200 other accomplished professionals, getting a superyacht from a mood board to the water isn’t an easy task: ‘I worked closely with Laura and the [owner’s] family,’ Costanza explains. ‘In the first meeting, they asked for a mountain chalet on the water. We used a lot of white wood, oak, a lot of wallpaper. We also used a lot of teak and all the colours that the family chose, because they each chose their own cabins. It was amazing to work with them.’
CRN is represented in every meeting a client has with its designers, because as Constanza says, ‘at the end of the day, they would like something, but I have to build [the boat]. I have to explain what we can and can’t do, because we’re not in a building.
‘Sometimes we fight, but at the end we find a compromise. For me, a boat is a beautiful compromise.’
Other concept projects in the pipeline are collaborations with some of yachting’s most important designers – Alfarosso (45m, 50m and 55m) by Francesco Paszkowski, Begallta (75m) by Lobanov and She (70m) by Vallicelli. Looks like there are more beautiful compromises on the horizon.
Originally appeared in Luxury London Magazine, September 2018
Originally on Living It
Cédric Grolet can certainly make pastry. Trained by master pâtissier and creator of the indulgent L’Eclair de Génie, Christophe Adam, Grolet moved in 2011 to Parisian high luxury hotel Le Meurice to work alongside two Michelin stalwarts, head chef Alain Ducasse and executive chef Jocelyn Herland. After only two years, Ducasse had seen enough to name him executive pastry chef at the hotel, and his exploits since have only seen his stock rise further among his peers.
Grolet was recently crowned best pastry chef by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, and it’s not hard to see why. His unfathomably lifelike creations range from fruit, to personal twists on traditional French desserts, and the fruit creations in particular have garnered praise across the gastronomic world - achieved by a thin shell of airbrushed white chocolate, the desserts have to be seen to be believed. Luckily for us, they have helped him gain a formidable following on social media, where he showcases the very best of his wares.
Earlier this year, Grolet opened his first pastry shop, handily situated in Le Meurice. While undoubtedly this is a priceless opportunity to develop his craft within the juggernaut of the Dorchester Collection and under the watchful eye of Ducasse, the opening also reflects on how highly Le Meurice values his skills - the hotel is surely desperate to keep hold of one of its biggest assets. In between bouts of globe-hopping, receiving awards, and the small matter of his day job, we managed a few quiet minutes with the 32-year-old crown prince of pastry.
Q. The 50 Best Awards shows how fêted you are by your peers. How have you reached such a high level of quality in a relatively short period?
"I love watching and listening. Exchange is important of course, but when you have very great professionals in front of you, I think you just have to take what they offer you: their time. It is an honour to win an award which gives me a platform to shine a light on the incredible creativity of pastry chefs the world over. I have been inspired by many innovative chefs in my career and especially by the pâtisserie tradition of my home country of France. I always seek to create moments of togetherness, menus which produce lasting memories and introduce diners to our world. After all, that is what we, as chefs, seek to do every day."
Q. How is working at Le Meurice with Alain Ducasse and Jocelyn Herland?
"The transmission of knowledge is very important to me. I’ve had the chance to learn from a number of very talented chefs; today evolving alongside Alain Ducasse is a great opportunity. His style, centred on essential tastes and original fragrances, allows me to revisit my classic techniques and deepen my skill-set. Both Alain and Jocelyn have taught me how to select raw materials, to ensure their quality, to work with them in the simplest possible way - revealing their optimum taste."
Q. Where do you get the ideas for your pastry creations?
"I am very lucky, my mother is a real cordon bleu. She has always made a lot of desserts at home and it is indisputably she who gave me the desire to cook and make pastry. Everything is inspiring. I draw a lot from my childhood memories and my education, but typically, I am inspired by everything around me; fashion, cars, colours, architecture, museums, travels. I’m particularly inspired by the cultures from all different countries in which I have traveled. I love Asia; I have had the chance to travel there several times. I particularly appreciate the delicacy of the products used and their originality. There is no bad idea."
Q. What makes a great pâtissier?
"A great pâtissier... what a question! I do not think there are any specific criteria. In addition to mastering the classics, the key is to be greedy, curious and passionate. My only pleasure is to evoke an emotion. The profession of a pastry chef is very demanding, but it is also very rewarding. To secretly observe an unknown person and to read joy and happiness from the first bite is magical. I like more than anything that my pastries evoke a pleasant memory."
Q. What's next for you?
"My goal is to grow my team, to push our knowledge further and develop our good relations. I would also like to develop my shop internationally."
Originally on Living It
It's a common predicament: what is a high net worth individual to do if they want a second home abroad, but don’t feel like they can commit to one place?
Until 2007, the poor souls would have had to bravely put up with their one villa in the Maldives. However, help is at hand, courtesy of The Hideaways Club. The Club is an international investment fund of shared ownership properties, through which members can jet off to myriad destinations across the world and enjoy a second home/flat/chalet/villa/castle without the onerous tasks usually associated with it, such as maintenance and energy costs. To sweeten the deal, there’s a 24/7 concierge at your beck on call, and the properties are smack bang in the middle of each destination. Suffice to say, members are usually happy with what they get.
One such member is Wimbledon stalwart and former British number one tennis player, Tim Henman. When his playing career came to a close, there was a decision to make: “When I stopped competing, my wife and I thought about buying a place overseas. I was never allowed to ski when I was playing tennis, because of the injury risk, so we thought about buying a chalet, but then we like France and Italy for the hot weather.
“Then we came across The Hideaways Club. It’s very much a lifestyle choice and you can have a second home for every season of the year. Having travelled so much of my life and had just one or two weeks of holiday a year, suddenly I wanted to take advantage of my extra free time. I’d much rather spend my time in a villa than a hotel - I spent most of my career living in hotels - and we love to get away from it all during our holidays, so it’s very much about the space and privacy.
“Most of the villas sleep around 10-12 people so it’s great too for inviting friends and family along.”
To say Mr Henman is an enthusiast would be an understatement, with the sportsman recently becoming an official ambassador for the Club. He’s certainly used the service to its full extent, visiting 15 of the Club’s properties in places as varied as France, Italy, Sri Lanka, Spain, Switzerland, and Ko Samui in Thailand.
“One we really enjoyed was Ko Samui for New Year’s a few years ago,” said Henman. “It’s an amazing beachfront villa and we had incredible staff looking after us. There were 10 of us, we went with another family who are great friends of ours. I lived in hotels from the ages of 16 to 33 for probably 35 weeks a year, so I enjoy the space and the privacy that goes with the Club.”
For reasons still unknown to myself, I was invited to stay at the Club’s Paris property, an apartment just off the Champs Élysées. The apartment is part of the City Collection, a newer range of properties in cities such as Berlin, London and New York.
As promised, my local concierge was waiting for me, a jovially acerbic American man who’d lived in Paris for more than twenty years. A quick tour around the apartment - a chic two-bedroom with open-plan living and dining areas set in a perfectly-Parisian townhouse complex - and some tips for the best places to eat in the area, and I was left to my own devices.
This included accidentally pulling down a curtain rail in the master bedroom, but one phone call with my American fairy godfather and the problem was sorted while I was out at one of his recommended bistros catching up with an old friend and becoming acquainted with a bottle of red wine. I’d say I tore the curtain down deliberately, as some kind of journalistic test, but nobody would believe me.
This service is also vital for Henman: “The first-class Concierge team takes care of everything, from restaurant bookings, airport transfers, arranging curated tours, babysitting, and more. You’ll be very hard-pressed to find a team who knows more about our destinations.
“When our children were small the Concierge would organise things like cots, car seats and they even stocked our fridge with our favourite foods. You can be pretty demanding!”
Luckily, I had no children with me to add to the destruction, especially when taking the record-breakingly small French lift up to the apartment after one too many absinthes. However, this is all part of the experience.
“It’s all about the lifestyle,” says Henman, “and enjoying our second homes without the usual hassles of owning property from afar, leaving us to enjoy every minute of our holiday time with friends and family wherever we go.
“I’d love to go South Africa next for some winter sun. There’s virtually no time difference with the UK which is a bonus and there’s lots to see and do, with some excellent wines to try too.”
See you there, Tim.
Originally appeared on Living it
While Scotch whisky is currently enjoying huge popularity across a wide range of audiences, the landscape hasn’t always been this way. Whisky is risky - the product has to sit in casks for a minimum of three years and a day before it can even be called Scotch, so forward planning is the cornerstone of any distiller’s business. Unfortunately, this, along with the peaks and troughs of whisky popularity, means that some distilleries aren’t able to survive. These are the ‘ghost distilleries’, places where once was a thriving business, but now lie only a few unopened casks.
The whiskies from these ghost distilleries can be highly sought after, both for their unique flavour profiles and romantic provenance. Scotch giant Johnnie Walker has collected a number of ‘irreplaceable casks’, in order to preserve the legacy of distillers that had to concede their dream of producing their own whisky.
The brand’s parent company, Diageo, has also decided to reopen two distilleries and guide them back to their former glory. Brora, a Highlands distillery, was cursed by its own success, when a second distillery was built alongside it to meet demand, just before the market crash of the late 1970s, and it finally ceased production in 1983. Islay distillery Port Ellen closed the same year, having run since 1825. However, both will have a new lease of life when they reopen in 2020, rediscovering the one-of-a-kind tastes of each.
Dr Jim Beveridge, master distiller at Johnnie Walker, has worked for the brand for almost four decades, having joined as a chemistry graduate straight out of University. His first job, as a flavour chemist, saw him slowly make the move over to the blending table with his understanding of the relationship of maturation between whisky and the casks it is stored in. His newest creation is Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare,a blend of some of the rarest whiskies from the Johnnie Walker Reserves used to create Johnnie Walker Blue Label, producing unique flavours that will never be created again. Living it sat down with Dr Beveridge to discuss ghost distilleries, one-off whiskies and why innovation is key to success in the industry.
What do you think attracts us to the idea of ghost distilleries?
There is something quite romantic about being able to savour the great whiskies from distilleries that closed long ago. For me, it’s fascinating how whiskies from a small number of iconic, closed distilleries have a unique, inimitable character that lend something very special to the taste of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Exploring the character of these wonderful whiskies was what we set out to do with Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Brora.
Why do you think it’s necessary to revive ghost distilleries? Is it a matter of legacy?
The rare whiskies that come from closed ‘ghost’ distilleries offer a fleeting opportunity to experience the often-unique Scotch they produced. They are so rare that not everyone gets the chance to experience their unique flavours. With such a growing interest in whisky, if we can revive a ‘ghost’ distillery then we can we can offer more people a chance to taste something of the spirit of these wonderful distilleries and their unique whiskies.
How often do you get to work with whiskies of this rarity?
Not often enough in my book! These whiskies are so rare that working with them only comes along occasionally.
You always have a mixture of feelings towards these very rare whiskies from ‘ghost’ distilleries. The great challenge of ‘ghost’ distilleries being that their supply is finite, yet, on the other hand they are there, and they need to be used.
Day-by-day we use all kinds of whisky from all over Scotland and of different ages - bringing out different characteristics to experiment with. We tweak, record and perfect each experiment until we discover something that can sit alongside our iconic portfolio of whiskies.
How big is your library of irreplaceable casks? It must be quite exciting to explore them all.
Not big at all. I mean, these whiskies are so precious that I always wish we had more of them to work with. The reality for something like Brora is that we only have a handful of casks. When we do work with these whiskies we feel very privileged.
Why have Brora and Port Ellen been chosen to be revitalised?
Fifteen or so years ago Diageo started bottling Port Ellen and Brora as special releases. They have become so popular that it became obvious the time was right to bring those two distilleries back to life in order to meet the number of people who can enjoy the Brora and Port Ellen whiskies.
Their reopening is part of Diageo’s huge investment in Scotch whisky industry and tourism – it’s exciting to see how that will transform the Scotch whisky visitor experiences across Scotland.
How unique is the Brora flavour profile, and how does it lend itself to Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare?
There only is one Brora – so its flavour is completely unique. Brora stocks are a mere drop in the ocean among the 10 million casks available to the Johnnie Walker blending team.
Any sample of Brora is deeply aged and from a distillery that produced only small amounts of whisky – that makes for a very special Scotch indeed. This lends something very special to Blue Label and brings a uniquely rich fruitiness and a subtle smokiness to Blue Label Ghost and Rare Brora.
What about the whiskies from Cambus and Pittyvaich? They’re two other ghost distilleries that play a big part in this new expression. What are you looking to get out of those in terms of taste?
Pittyviach has unique flavours, in a completely different flavour style to Brora. It is a classic malt whisky, which has got spicy aromas, that is very important to the layers of flavour in Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Brora.
Cambus is a grain whisky, again it has rich, deep vanilla flavours and sweet notes – so there is quite a contrast there, very rich in flavours.
Together these three presented the best flavour profile to blend with the other rare whiskies from existing distilleries to create a blend of great richness and elegance.
Is the era of ghost distilleries at an end? Is there still a risk of closures, or do you think the Scotch industry is in the strongest shape it’s arguably ever been in?
I hope so. While I enjoy working with these ‘ghost’ whiskies I certainly don’t want to wish any into existence – a distillery has to close for that to happen and I wouldn’t want that to ever be the case but I accept that from time to time it happens.
The whisky industry in Scotland looks strong, so I’m hopeful that if this is the case, all the distilleries producing such wonderful Scotch in Scotland will continue to do so.
Should we be doing more to protect distilleries, or do you think with the re-emergence of Scotch on the wider market, people are finally appreciating the history and craftsmanship behind them?
Whisky enthusiasts have always been interested in the provenance and history of Scotch, they want to travel to the great distilleries of Scotland to touch and feel the distilleries where their favourite whiskies are made. It seems to me that more and more people want this experience and that can only be good news.
Originally in The City Magazine
Originally appeared in The City Magazine and online at Luxury London
The fantastical world of Mr. Joshua Kane
He’s the ex-footballing tailor who sells out fashion events at the London Palladium. Meet Joshua Kane – designer, director and all-round raconteur
Joshua Kane dreams big. His two boyhood passions were football and clothes. Having played in goal for Fulham FC until the age of 20, his pursuit of a career in the Premier League went further than most. During London Fashion Week, Kane sold out a show at the London Palladium, his footballing past now eclipsed by a career in tailoring.
After retiring from football, Kane won the chance to work at Brooks Brothers’ design studio in New York before moving on to be assistant designer at Jaeger, Prorsum designer at Burberry and senior designer at Paul Smith. He then started his own studio in the sitting room of his flat. In less than three years, his brand has morphed from a front room via LFW into a standalone store in Fitzrovia.
This is the rise of Joshua Kane, in his own words.
“I was never a fashion person. I hate that exclusive, fashionista-style world. The further I entered it, the more I fell in love with the design aspect. I was always taught that tailoring is like sculpture. Anyone can access it – it doesn’t mean you’re going to buy that sculpture for £250,000, or that suit for £1,500, but you should still be able to enjoy it on a level other than just retail.
"It’s only fucking clothes. We’re only making clothes, for people to buy, and people to enjoy. It’s enjoyment out of physical things – nothing more than that.
"What I’ve always wanted to do is create stories, in the same way that you watch a film and the next morning still have flashbacks. I wanted to create something you can build on rather than a collection being over; the story of my characters evolve – there’s something to keep going back to.
"The idea of trends in fashion is bollocks. Absolute bollocks. People like different things; famous people are maybe wearing more tracksuits, but that’s just what’s being thrown at your face in pictures. You’ve still got people who love tailoring, who buy four or five suits at a time.”
“I’ve been super lucky to work with the likes of Sir Paul Smith and Christopher Bailey, which was really inspiring. However, while I was at Paul Smith, I had a really bad day and quit my job as senior designer. I panicked – I didn’t know how I was going to pay my mortgage. I called a couple of interns and said I had a job. They thought it was at Paul Smith, and I said, ‘well, come to this address’.
"I gutted my house overnight. I cleared out my living room, set up my mannequins and machines, and said, ‘We’re going to start Joshua Kane Bespoke. We’re going to make suits. I’m a trained tailor: I can make a suit in a month, but now I’m going to have to make one every nine days.’
"I had a bunch of business cards from three years of parties, where I’d be dressed in my own suits and be asked where I get them. I made up an assistant’s name, sent out loads of emails, booked in appointments, and within about 12 days Russell Brand turned up and said, ‘I’ve heard about your suits. I really want one for the stage.’ We did loads for him, and this August we finished his wedding suit.”
In the run up to last September’s spectacle at the Palladium, Kane directed three short films, setting the agenda for both his show and the new collection. The shorts, starring Asa Butterfield [from the film Hugo], served as a dramatic teaser in the weeks preceding the show.
“I’ve caught the bug. It’s a creative outlet. It’s a fresh perspective. People don’t know how clothes move when they direct, but I do. I understand proportion, silhouette, movement of fabric, and how you can create dramatic, beautiful moments. I would love to do a feature-length version.
"It was all filmed here [in his studio] in six hours. We green-screened the back wall, and built battlements to interact with. Asa [Butterfield] is a friend of mine, and an amazing actor. His last film was the lead in a Tim Burton movie, and he stepped into my basement to be directed by an absolute first-timer. It couldn’t be any more rogue! But that’s why he did it. He loved how crazy my ideas were.”
Originally in The City Magazine and on Luxury London
From a small town in New York State, Tommy Hilfiger started a fashion empire that changed the world. His first show in London for 20 years indicates he’s out to reinvent American style once again
Tommy Hilfiger is the American Dream. Born Thomas Jacob Hilfiger in 1951, he grew up in Elmira, New York State – a town whose motto is, rather proudly, ‘A Great Place to Live’. The second of nine children, his father was a watchmaker of Dutch- German descent, and his mother an Irish nurse.
He founded his first store, People’s Place, with two friends in 1969 aged 18, doing so with the $150 life savings he’d earned from working at a petrol station. The store was stocked with clothes from New York City, incorporated a record shop, and held rock concerts in the basement.
“As a teenager, I was really influenced by rock ’n’ roll artists and the cutting-edge fashions they were wearing,” Hilfiger tells me. “It was impossible to find those styles in Elmira, so I decided to design them myself, inspired by the musicians I loved.
“I then opened my first store, People’s Place, where we sold the coolest clothes while blasting our favourite rock tunes. This is when I discovered my passion for designing.”
It’s not just rock and roll that has informed the direction of Tommy Hilfiger. The brand’s ability
to traverse the preppy, rock and R&B scenes is unique. The '90s was a particularly rich decade for Hilfiger’s collaboration with the R&B world, with superstar singer Aaliyah becoming the brand’s spokesperson in 1997, and artists as varied as Snoop Dogg, TLC and Destiny’s Child wearing its range (when Snoop wore a Tommy sweatshirt while appearing on Saturday Night Live, stores in New York sold out within a day.) The brand is now worn by the likes of Drake and A$AP Rocky.
“Pop culture has influenced my designs throughout my career,” says Hilfiger. “I’ve always embraced change, evolution and innovation – that’s what pop culture is all about.
“Staying on the pulse of pop culture has helped to keep our brand relevant generation after generation.”
The latest project, TommyNow, is a global fashion roadshow. The first three events (#TOMMYNOW in New York City, TommyLand in LA, and now RockCircus at the Roundhouse in London) have changed the definition of what it means to put on a fashion show. Similarly to the London Palladium events put on by Joshua Kane, TommyNow is more of a set piece than a show; it ended with flying dancers, and a performance by The Chainsmokers, recently employed as the new faces of the brand. As much a spectacle as a chance to look at the new collection, RockCircus had an air of the extravagant, with fashion glitterati mingling with style enthusiasts after the show.
Central to the project’s success is the brand’s modern outlook – Tommy Hilfiger was an early adopter in an industry slowly realising and understanding the power of social media. The new campaign’s central star, Gigi Hadid, currently has more than 36 million Instagram followers, and the list of social ‘influencers’ at Tommy’s shows grows with each guest list. RockCircus was also streamed online, and all items on the catwalk were available immediately from the venue and on the brand’s website. Last year’s New York Fashion Week show was the first time Hilfiger had embraced the see-now, buy-now concept. Traffic to tommy.com increased by 900 per cent.
“We break conventions,” says Tommy. “We’re always looking for new ways to democratise the runway. The livestream connects us with our global audiences in a powerful way.
“My vision for TommyNow was to create a platform that we could take on tour and bring to new audiences around the world. Social media is another fantastic platform, where we can share our inclusive spirit, bring ourselves even closer to our consumers, and introduce our brand to the next generation of fans.”
Reinvention is core to the brand, but some things don’t change, one of them being the ‘preppy’ factor of Hilfiger’s collections. Although the latest collection is decidedly ‘rocky’, influences of Ivy League schools and over-the-shoulder sweaters remain. When I ask him whether the preppy style will survive in a future fashion landscape, Hilfiger is enthusiastic: “Fashion is constantly evolving. Our brand DNA is all about adding a fresh twist to classic American cool designs. I love seeing how our fans combine their own style to our modern designs.”
It also helps that his clothes are supremely comfortable, something that could be attributed to Hilfiger’s time in India. In a book produced by Assouline, aptly titled Tommy Hilfiger, the man himself details how, towards the beginning of his brand’s expansion in the early ’80s, he would spend time in the factories where his clothes were produced, “with my pile of sketches and watch [the clothes] being made, tweaking as I went. There’s no better design school in the world.”
RockCircus marked a return to London Fashion Week after a 20-year hiatus, but, says Hilfiger, it is a city that he loves. “London has an amazing fashion and music heritage. I first visited because I wanted to explore the style. I was influenced by the British bands of the time like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who. They had and have a style very different to anyone else.”
Hilfiger dressed the Rolling Stones for their 1998 world tour, and was an official sponsor of The Who’s Pete Townshend’s 1993 Psychoderelict tour. His company also became sponsor for artists from varying genres, including Sheryl Crow, Britney Spears and Lenny Kravitz.
Besides the glamorous catwalks and exclusive parties, Hilfiger is a serial charity worker, having launched the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, supporting charities that help at-risk young Americans. He and his second wife each have a child on the autistic spectrum, and both are on the board of directors for charity Autism Speaks, with Hilfiger recently designing a T-shirt to support the 2017 Autism Speaks Walk. Hilfiger was also a big name in the campaign to build the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., completed in 2011. Indeed, when I ask him who he looks to for inspiration, Hilfiger is unequivocal in his choice: “One of my idols is Martin Luther King, Jr. He was one of the greatest forces for change in American and world history, and I’ve always had the utmost respect for his passion, devotion and what he stood for as a leader.”
In the fashion world, he hopes to be a leader himself, in sustainability. After reports on factory workers in Bangladesh found major welfare problems, Tommy Hilfiger’s parent company PVH signed a factory safety pact, and invested money in improving the lives of those making clothes for many Western brands. “It’s our mission to be one of the leading sustainable designer lifestyle brands, and our future success is dependent on bringing sustainable practices into everything we do.”
As always, Hilfiger is looking to the future. It’s down to the rest of the fashion world to keep up.
Originally on Luxury London
The cutting-edge silhouettes for his eponymous brand may define contemporary cool, but Oliver Spencer started out in waistcoats. With the opening of Favourbrook’s new Pall Mall store, the tailor makes a return to formalwear
I’m 15 minutes late. Flushed and flustered, I stumble into the plush new Pall Mall premises of Favourbrook formalwear and breathlessly ask for Oliver Spencer, owner and founder of both Favourbrook and his eponymous brand, a cornerstone of London Fashion Week Men’s.
Turns out, he’s next door in the café scouting a spot for us to have coffee. He strolls back into the store to greet me, past his olive-brown scooter parked outside.
“No problem! I’m fine, I’m relaxed because I managed to get here on the scooter alive,” he explains. “There was a pile-up outside earlier. The police asked me where I was going with the scooter and said I couldn’t park it on the street. I said that it was actually my shop. It’s on my property”.
And what a property Spencer now has. The double- fronted store at 16-17 Pall Mall is a beauty, inside and out. The building was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens at a time when every building of note seemed to have his signature on the blueprints (including what is now The Ned).
Directly across from Favourbrook are the Athenaeum, Reform and Travellers private members’ clubs; turn right and you have the Royal Automobile Club, left and you walk into premium outdoor wear shop Farlows.
“I feel like I’m on a film set,” says Spencer. “It makes life at Favourbrook really easy. It’s great, I’m really pleased.” He moved to the new premises from Jermyn Street, where Favourbrook had been for 25 years. It might only be seven minutes’ walk away, but the move was a wrench: “I was sad. I was really sad. But I knew what I was doing, and I knew it made sense.
“Coming into this building is fantastic. I like the fact that it’s double-fronted, so I get both my shops there [menswear and womenswear], and it’s got one entrance. Boom. I’ve lined up next to Farlows. It’s all great.”
It’s a different world to where Spencer started out, studying at art school and selling second-hand clothing in West London. “I started Favourbrook in 1993. I was working on Portobello Road, wheeling and dealing, loving it.
“It all started off with waistcoats. I was shown some ecclesiastical cloth at a weavers, but it was basically all seconds: it all had lines in it. They asked me what on earth I could do with it. I got a waistcoat pattern from a Turkish tailor and said we can make waistcoats.
“So, I started off making waistcoats, and then Four Weddings and a Funeral happened. That film was the catalyst for everything.”
All waistcoats in the quintessential 1990s British romcom were designed by Spencer. From here, his name grew, and 24 years later, Favourbrook still creates the sort of eccentric clothing championed by Simon Callow in the film.
Weddings are still big business, especially at the start of a new year following so many Christmas proposals. For Spencer, it’s a fascinating arena: “It’s an interesting business for us, definitely. You get a wide range, you get whole families and really weird requests. It’s really diverse.
“We’ve made lots of incredibly different things for people over the years. Back in the day we used to make cream frock coats for people to get married in, all types of stuff. Very dandy. And I think it’s going to go back to being dandy.
“There’s a push towards dressing up again, going out and having a good time. I think that’s fantastic.”
‘Fantastic’ is a buzzword for Spencer, as is ‘great’. He’s a man seemingly at ease with himself and the worlds of formalwear and contemporary fashion he simultaneously inhabits. On surface level, it’s hard to see where Favourbrook and Oliver Spencer the brand intersect, but Spencer explains: “Oliver Spencer came out of Favourbrook, when I was wearing corduroy suits on the shop floor and people were loving it.
“They do cross over. There are two velvet jackets in Favourbrook at the moment, one’s green and one’s orange, and they cross from a smoking jacket in there to a bomber jacket in Oliver Spencer. So sometimes I share fabrics. Both companies were all about fabrication – my passion was always fabrication.”
Each topic we discuss resorts back to fabrics. The reason for him going into clothing? “Buying a second-hand suit. It was a sky blue seersucker suit, it was hilarious. Way too big. I just sort of... just heaved it all in, with high-waisted trousers. This was way back in ’89. Popped it on with a pair of sandals, and off I went. I looked ridiculous, but I loved it.”
And of the current state of British menswear? “I enjoy every single bit of it. I enjoy everyone coming together: I think the menswear community is fantastic. It’s going from strength to strength. The menswear community is in a great spot.
“I love coming to work, and I love dressing up. And actually, I’m a shopkeeper at heart, so I love being on the shop floor serving.”
With that, Spencer is due at another appointment. Diplomatically, he says: “We’re all running a bit late this morning”, pays for our coffee, shakes my hand, and strolls away tapping at his smart phone, working out where next for Mr Spencer and his olive scooter.
Restaurants are facing problems with staffing in the light of Brexit uncertainties. Is it the same in clothing?
OS: Not at the moment, not yet. But it’s got to worry us all. I’m much more worried actually by the disenfranchisement of the youth in London full stop. I think London is not a place for young people anymore. It’s a really big issue. No-one can afford to live here, and not many of us can afford to go out here, either. I’m talking about the under-25s here, really right at the beginning. It’s just really difficult.
Will that affect London’s creative scene?
OS: I think it will have a massive side effect. I don’t want London to become like New York, with streets and streets of empty shops. That’s because everything is over-rented, nobody can afford anything.
Will the cost of operating a business in London stifle entrepreneurship?
OS: I think it will... I think it probably did for me on Jermyn Street already. The rent there now is astronomical. It never used to be, it used to be at a level where people like you and I could afford it. Now I’ve made a stand. One thing I was determined not to do is to work for the landlord. First of all, I work to pay my wages, then I work for the landlord, then eventually, if there’s anything left, we get something. But it’s in that order, and now, the order’s wrong.
What’s your focus for the coming year?
OS: I’ll be focusing on dealing with Brexit, dealing with the hangover of that, and seeing what the hell goes on with my Portuguese manufacturing place. That’s my next big worry. There’s all this to-ing and fro-ing with all the politicians. To be honest, I don’t know how much we’re going to notice Brexit in London. It’s interesting that the Germans and French think they’re going to benefit. I don’t think it’s going to happen. The guys that I know in the City just laugh when I ask them about it. There are 450,000 people working in London’s financial districts. Frankfurt and Paris don’t have the infrastructure. They’re way off.
Francis Mallmann is an adventurous chef. Once an upstart young cook from Argentina, Mallmann’s career took off with classical stints in France alongside Alain Chapel, and later, closer to home in Argentina and Honduras. He now has restaurants across the Americas and Europe, and a venue in London is in the pipeline (“we’re working on it”). His next project is with Krug and its luxury festival, Into the Wild. After the official festival launch, and before he set off for a week in the South of France, Mallmann discussed the beauty of a happy restaurant, cooking with fire, and adventures in Patagonia.
What ignited your passion for cooking?
FM: It was as a kid when we went to a restaurant and had lunch on a beautiful table. It wasn’t the cooking really, it was more the happiness and celebration of that day that stayed with me. Later on in life when I started thinking about having a profession, I found that I wanted to be involved with restaurants. It’s a place to share, and that’s what I try to do a lot.
Do modern restaurants retain that spirit?
FM: The restaurant is a place to share beautiful moments with people you love. It shouldn’t be like a church, where you are there to tell the chef that he is important, or for him to tell you that he is important. They’re constantly interrupting you to tell you that this was cooked with something or the mushrooms were found somewhere. Go back to the kitchen, I don’t care!
What’s the appeal of cooking with open fire?
FM: I started with a more classical cooking career, working in France for quite a while as a young chef, and carried on with that when I went back home. When I was around 40, I realised that
I wanted to find my own language of cooking, and I embraced the tools of my childhood, the south, the natives, the gauchos. Cooking with open fire was a product of that.
How often do you return to the wilds of Patagonia?
FM: Very often. I love it: Patagonia, the language of the mountain, the Andes, the lakes, the forest, I was bred with that. It’s where I feel at home and at ease. I like the beauty, the silence. It grounds me. At home, there’s no phone signal or internet.
If there was one place in the world you could open a restaurant tomorrow, where would it be?
FM: Paris. I love Paris, it’s the most romantic city in the world.
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