The Glossary Winter 2019

Arts & Culture

10 THE GLOSSARY EDIT

A few of our favourite things 13 AGENDA

Key cultural dates for your diary 20 ANDY WARHOL

Previewing the major new exhibition opening at Tate Modern this year 24 IN THE FRAME

A focus on the talented yet o en overlooked surrealist artist Dora Maar

LILY IN BLOOM

Actress Lily James on breaking away from the fairytale heroine roles 36 FASHION NOTES

Key pieces to see you through winter 38 LUNAR NEW YEAR EDIT

Limited-edition releases that celebrate the Year of the Rat 40 A FORCE FOR FASHION

Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood on making a fresh start with their unique online shopping platform 44 MY STYLE GLOSSARY

Olivia von Halle shares her design inspirations and go-to brands 46

THE WATCH & JEWELLERY EDIT

All the new launches and openings 48

INSIDER ELEGANCE

How high jewellery brands are changing tack to appeal to millennials

Beauty & Wellness

BEAUTY NOTES

The latest products and trends 56

THE WINTER SKINCARE EDIT

Contributing beauty director

Alessandra Steinherr lists her top products to protect and nourish

CREATING CHANGE. ISLAND BY ISLAND. SUNGLASSES MADE FROM OCEAN PLASTIC ® CLEANWAVES.COM

THE GLOSSARY TEAM

The dawn of a new decade means we must look forward, embrace positivity and, in doing so, celebrate all that is bright, bold and beautiful. And who better to lead us into the 2020s than cover star Lily James, soon to be on our screens as Mrs de Winter in the new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic gothic novel Rebecca? E ervescent, intelligent and supremely talented, Lily talks fame, family and the future on page 28.

Also in this issue, Poppy Delevingne throws open the doors to her west London home. The model-turned-actress and her interior designer Joanna Plant tell us about the inspiration behind the look - a joyous clash of colours, textures and prints. For your own slice of Poppy’s idiosyncratic style, turn to page 92 for motivation.

While it’s still dark and chilly outside, there can be few better things to do than focus on nurturing ourselves, both inside and out. Contributing beauty director Alessandra Steinherr reveals her cold weather skin and hair saviours on page 56. Plus, we look at the new wellness trends and boutique fitness openings in the capital to help you refocus (page 66), and Sadie Frost shares her pearls of wellbeing wisdom on page 68.

If you’re a er some real sunshine and a dose of other-worldly charm (both guaranteed in less than three-and-a-half hours), we’ve checked into Marrakech’s most beguiling boutique riads (page 84), promising orange blossom-scented courtyards, next-level hammams and exquisite decor.

We also hear from former Vogue editors Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood about their new e-commerce platform Collagerie (page 40), Laura Bailey divulges her favourite hotspots in town (page 96), and jewellery expert Sarah Royce-Greenshill investigates the rise in experiential luxury on page 48.

And, as ever, we bring you London’s must-see cultural o erings, including two major art shows: the first, a retrospective of game-changing surrealist photographer Dora Maar (page 24) and the second, a major Andy Warhol exhibition (page 20). Meanwhile, our restaurant editor Hilary Armstrong samples the latest from the stand-out hotel dining scene on page 74.

Enjoy the issue – we hope it inspires you.

i t

THE GUEST LIST WINTER 2020

THE FASHION VETERANS

LUCINDA CHAMBERS & SERENA HOOD

Lucinda and Serena talk style and starting a new business on page 40

Former British Vogue editors Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood have a lifetime’s experience in fashion.

Sensing a need to simplify the online shopping process, they launched Collagerie at the end of last year, an expertly curated e-commerce platform offering adroit styling advice.

My must-have new year purchase is… SH “In a dream world, a coral maxi dress from Valentino. The colour, the way the fabric falls and the shape is just incredible.”

LC “I’m saving for a Rosie McGuinness painting. I absolutely love collecting fashion illustration, it’s a real passion.”

THE BEAUTY SAGE ALESSANDRA STEINHERR

Alessandra shares her cold weather skin and hair saviours on page 56

Beauty director at Glamour for over a decade, award-winning journalist Alessandra has since launched her own beauty and skincare consultancy business, helming many successful brand partnerships. She has recently joined The Glossary as contributing beauty director.

My must-have new year purchase is… “I have been obsessing over a Chanel Coco Crush Beige Gold ring for so long so am planning to treat myself to one for my birthday this year.”

THE JEWELLERY EXPERT SARAH ROYCEGREENSHILL

Sarah charts the rise in experiential luxury on page 48

Sarah is Jewellery & Watches editor at the The Telegraph and Telegraph Luxury, as well as a contributor to Vanity Fair, Tatler, Conde Nast Traveller and Architectural Digest

She admits to spending an inordinate amount of time trawling jewellery auctions for the perfect emerald.

My must-have new year purchase is… “I’m lusting after a ‘Lumiere’ locket by Loquet London, which contains a secret message you can see when you hold it up to the lightingenious and totally charming.”

THE MODEL & PHOTOGRAPHER

LAURA BAILEY

Laura opens her little black book to London on page 96

Laura has modelled for everyone from Chanel to L’Oreal, alongside working as a successful photographer, fashion consultant and writer for a number of publications, including in her role as longtime contributing editor on British Vogue

My must-have new year purchase is… “A little white suit by Chanel and a pair of Blondey x Adidas Superstars trainers.”

THE WELLNESS WARRIOR

SADIE FROST

Sadie shares her pearls of wellbeing wisdom on page 68

Actress, film producer, fashion designer and mother-of-four Sadie has practiced yoga for more than 30 years and has always had a love for all things health and fitness, most recently launching FROST, a sustainable collection of chakrainspired activewear.

My must-have new year purchase is… “A beautiful silk kaftan from Debbie von Bismark’s shop in Knightsbridge, Debonnaire. The boutique is a treasure trove of pieces you won’t find anywhere else.”

CREED ROYAL PRINCESS OUD FRAGRANCE

Sicilian bergamot and soft iris bring a contemporary twist to fine and rare oud.

£245 (75ml), creedfragrances.co.uk

What’s on our radar

BELLA FREUD

LOVE IS THE DRUG CANDLE

A provocative mix of Maraschino cherry, violet and musk for heady romance. £50, bellafreud.com

JIMMY CHOO

AVELINE 100 SANDALS

Step up your evening wear game with a pair of statement sandals featuring an oversized tulle bow.

£725, jimmychoo.com

CARTIER

123 brilliant-cut diamonds make this timepiece every girl’s new best friend.

£27,300, net-a-porter.com

THE VAMPIRE'S WIFE

PUSSY BOW COLLECTION

Opulent metallic fabrics, voluminous sleeves and exaggerated silhouettes... this covetable new collection is the first of many upcoming collaborations for the label with costume designer Alice Babidge.

Kate Moss wears The Mini Mayhem Dress £995, thevampireswife.com

MICHAEL KORS COLLECTION

The new season collection from the American designer mixes nautical style, stars and stripes, plus a preppy-punk spirit.

Shoulder bag £1,750, michaelkors.co.uk

SPINEL AND

GRAFF

DIAMOND

COCKTAIL RING

The magenta-coloured spinel is bound to be the most eye-catching gemstone in the room.

£POA, graff.com

CHANEL

PERFUME PENCIL SET

Chanel’s ingenious new perfume pencils are available in a pastel-coloured set of four, each one offering a different variation of the bestselling Chance fragrance. £65, chanel.com

DOM PÉRIGNON

2006

ROSÉ

With a striking and intense aroma, the Maison’s 26th vintage rosé is a bolder expression of its iconic blanc champagne. £270, clos19.com

CECIL BEATON:

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY 12 MARCH - 7 JUNE

A rare look at 150 works, exploring the glamorous and hedonistic world of the bohemians of the 20s and 30s, as seen through the eyes of the renowned British photographer.

Pictured: Tilly Losch by Fred Daniels, 1936 npg.com

BURBERRY

KISSES LIPSTICK IN POMEGRANATE PINK NO.41

The nourishing and weightless gel texture delivers a buildable result and six hours of continuous hydration. £25, burberry.com

THE CINEMA AT SELFRIDGES

The first department store in the world to open a permanent cinema, complete with three state-of-the-art screens, a cocktail lounge and a priority membership scheme.

Tickets from £15, thecinemaatselfridges.com

GRACE & THORN

MY DESIRE BOUQUET

An offbeat alternative to a dozen roses, these handcrafted bouquets by the fashion set’s favourite florist include Ranunculus, Astrantia and Asparagus fern. From £90, graceandthorn.com

Dora Maar TATE

MODERN

UNTIL 15 MARCH

As Pablo Picasso’s lover and muse, Dora Maar lived in the artist’s shadow, but she was a highly successful photographer in her own right – her provocative photomontages lauded for their surrealism, her commercial photography much in demand. This major exhibition explores Maar’s long and fruitful career, in the context of work by her contemporaries. See Artist Focus, page 24. tate.org.uk

ON

SWAN LAKE

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

15 MARCH - 16 MAY

Liam Scarlett’s glorious production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake received rave reviews when it was first staged in 2018. Returning for its first revival, the classical ballet promises to be as spellbinding as ever, as the entire Company shines in this intoxicating tale of doomed love, refreshed for a new generation. roh.org.uk

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS

For Picasso, paper wasn’t merely for sketching out ideas. He created sculptures, assembled collages and practised printmaking, using everything from café tablecloths to newspaper cuttings in the process. Spanning his 80-year career, this exhibition offers a new insight into his creative spirit and working methods - all via the medium of paper - with highlights including a collage, Women at Their Toilette (1937-8), shown in the UK for the first time in over 50 years. royalacademy.org.uk

BRITISH SURREALISM

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY

26 FEBRUARY - 17 MAY

An exploration into the origins of surrealist art in Britain, which actually pre-dates the international movement’s beginnings in the 1920s. A 170-year period is highlighted, from 1783 to 1952, bringing together artists including Francis Bacon and Henry Moore, and exploring the themes of anarchy, radical politics, war and sexual desire. dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

British Baroque: Power and Illusion

TATE BRITAIN

5 FEBRUARY - 19 APRIL

In what is a first for Tate, this show explores baroque art in Britain, focusing on the later (often overlooked) years of the 17th century. From the royal court to the rise of party politics, visitors will learn how art and architecture were used as an expression of status and influence, with many works on display for the first time. tate.org.uk

ECO-VISIONARIES

ROYAL ACADEMY UNTIL

23 FEBRUARY

From climate change to species extinction, nothing is as pressing as the state of our planet. This timely exhibition looks at humankind’s impact on the world and how architects, designers and artists - Olafur Eliasson, Virgil Abloh and Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg among them - are responding to the environmental crisis, beyond the mainstream notions of sustainability. royalacademy.org.uk

THEATRE

CYRANO DE BERGERAC

PLAYHOUSE THEATRE UNTIL

29 FEBRUARY

James McAvoy returns to the West End in a new production of Edmond Rostand’s classic play about the life of the titular character, a hugely romantic 17th-century playwright and author. This stage adaptation by Martin Crimp is directed by Jamie Lloyd, who previously collaborated with McAvoy on the critically acclaimed production of Macbeth at Trafalgar Studios in 2013. theplayhousetheatre.co.uk

THE WELKIN NATIONAL THEATRE UNTIL 23 MAY

Maxine Peake returns to the National Theatre in Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin, a tale based in rural Suffolk in 1759. Peake plays midwife Lizzy Luke who sets about defending Sally Poppy (Ria Zmitrowicz), a woman sentenced to hang for murder. When she claims to be pregnant, 12 matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth or trying to escape the noose. nationaltheatre.org.uk

THE OLD VIC 27 JANUARY28 MARCH

Daniel Radcliffe and Alan Cumming star in Samuel Beckett’s macabre comedy about Hamm (Cumming), an old, blind tyrant, who is locked in a stalemate with his resentful servant Clov (Radcliffe), and their complex relationship of casual savagery and mutual dependence. Endgame will be presented in a double bill with Beckett’s rarely-seen short play Rough for Theatre II oldvictheatre.org

Troy: Myth and Reality

THE BRITISH MUSEUM

UNTIL 8 MARCH

A blockbuster exhibition looking at the 3000-year legend of Troy, the Bronze Age city that was plunged into war following the abduction of the world’s most beautiful woman, Helen. From dramatic ancient sculptures to striking contemporary works, over 300 objects will bring the story to life, throwing up the question: is there any truth behind the myth? britishmuseum.org

DOROTHEA TANNING

ALISON JACQUES GALLERY

21 JANUARY - 24 MARCH

Alison Jacques Gallery in Fitzrovia presents Dorothea Tanning: Worlds in Collision, a solo exhibition featuring a rarely shown body of the artist’s later work, from 1981 to 1989, much of it centred around the bicycle, a subject matter with which she was fascinated at the time.

alisonjacquesgallery.com

David Hockney: Drawing from Life

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

27 FEBRUARY - 28 JUNE

Focusing on David Hockney’s drawings from the 1950s onwards, this exhibition traces his incredible skill as a draughtsman by revisiting five subjects (himself, his muse Celia Birtwell, his mother Laura and two friends) over a period of five decades. It features 150 works, including coloured pencil drawings from the 1970s and a series of new portraits. npg.org.uk

KIMONO: KYOTO TO CATWALK VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM

29 FEBRUARY - 21 JUNE

Europe’s first major exhibition on the kimono promises to reveal its sartorial and social significance from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and further afield. Exquisite pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries will be displayed alongside fashions by major designers (notably Alexander McQueen’s dress for Björk) and iconic film costumes, including those from Star Wars vam.ac.uk

David Bomberg

THE NATIONAL GALLERY UNTIL 1 MARCH

Original exhibition Young Bomberg and the Old Masters explores how David Bomberg’s rebellious, youthful oeuvre was, despite him once saying “I hate… the Fat Man of the Renaissance”, inspired by some of the greatest painters in art history. The exhibition features a collection of nine of the revolutionary artist’s earliest and most outstanding paintings, dating from the 1910s, juxtaposed with works by those he so revered, Botticelli and El Greco included. nationalgallery.org.uk

TAYLOR WESSING PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY UNTIL 16 FEBRUARY 2020

Held in conjunction with the annual Taylor Wessing photographic competition, which celebrates the very best in contemporary portrait photography from around the world, this exhibition showcases the diverse range of this year’s entries and, of course, the winners, including American artist Pat Martin’s portraits of his late mother, which saw him collect first prize. npg.org.uk

CARS:

ACCELERATING THE MODERN WORLD

Fifteen truly extraordinary cars have been brought together to tell the story of how the automobile has accelerated the pace of change over the past century. These vehicles - including an autonomous flying car, a converted low-rider and a 1950s concept carwill be juxtaposed with a fascinating collection of memorabilia, fashion, graphics and film to look at the role of the car in the past and the future. vam.ac.uk

SHOT IN SOHO

THE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ GALLERY UNTIL 9 FEBRUARY

It may be small, but Soho has always packed a punch - and this exhibition pays tribute to the area’s diversity, defiance and creative spirit. Images taken by the likes of Corinne Day and William Klein sit alongside work by lesser-known photographers, all of them capturing the essence of this pocket of London and bringing it to life.

thephotographersgallery.org.uk

Andy Warhol

TATE MODERN

He may have famously declared “I like boring things”, but Andy Warhol is the last person one would describe as dull. Shy, perhaps; though his work, of course, was anything but – at once exuberant, avant-garde, expressive and unapologetic. Warhol, with his shock of white hair and wireframed glasses, is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, the leading exponent of the Pop Art movement and a true visionary.

This spring sees the opening of a major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, its first for almost 20 years, which celebrates Warhol’s path from his humble beginnings as the son of Slovakian immigrants to prolific pop artist, and gives us a compelling insight into how his oeuvre marked a period of cultural and political transformation.

Warhol started life as Andrew Warhola, born in Pennsylvania in 1928. After moving to New York in 1949, he dropped the ‘a’ from his surname and began work as a commercial illustrator, fast gaining a reputation for his lighthearted, whimsical drawings.

Long fascinated by consumerism, celebrity and counterculture, Warhol began to play around with American imagery in the early 1960s, focusing on mass-produced commercial goods and screen-printing their simple graphic designs onto a canvas (he used a similar technique to create his acclaimed portraits).

As Warhol himself once said: “Once you ‘got’ pop, you could never see a sign the same way again. And once you thought pop, you could never see America the same way again.”

Previous page, from left: Helen/Harry Morales for Ladies and Gentlemen, 1975; Self Portrait, 1986

This page, clockwise from above: Sixty Last Suppers, 1986; Debbie Harry, 1980; Green Coca-Cola Bottles, 1962

© 2019 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London

In 1962, Warhol founded The Factory, his NYC studio, which became the hub of the city’s social

scene, frequented by an artistic, hedonistic crowd. It was also a space in which Warhol continued to push boundaries, whether that was experimenting with other forms of mass media, authoring books, co-managing The Velvet Underground, founding the magazine Interview or producing his groundbreaking prints.

Many of these iconic images will be on display in the Tate showMarilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans included, as well as rarely loaned works including a 1980 portrait of Debbie Harry and the poignant Sixty Last Suppers, one of his final works before his untimely death in 1987, on view for the first time in this country.

This retrospective digs deep, highlighting Warhol’s fascination around desire, identity and belief. We learn how religion was a significant context to his work (his family were devout followers of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church). Warhol’s sexuality, too, is an important theme, with his evocative 1950s drawings of male nudes paired alongside the film Sleep (1963), which documents his lover, the poet John Giorno.

A highlight, however, has to be the room dedicated to the largest grouping of his 1975 Ladies and Gentlemen series ever shown in the UK. The portraits, among Warhol’s lesser known works, depict figures from New York’s transgender community, including iconic performer and activist Marsha ‘Pay it no Mind’ Johnson - a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

Whether emotive pencil drawings or largescale painting projects, floating installations or instantly recognisable works from the pop period, more than 100 pieces in this exhibition serve to help us better understand how Warhol the ‘outsider’ became an American icon who changed the art world forever.

tate.org.uk

Artist Focus

FRAME In the

Hitherto defined by her relationship with Picasso, Dora Maar was a dazzling surrealist artist in her own right, as this Tate Modern show exemplifies

Above: Untitled, c.1933

Right: Untitled (Fashion photograph), c.1935

Dora Maar is widely, yet regrettably, best remembered for having loved and lost Picasso. She has largely been defined by Picasso’s painterly impressions of her, particularly as the Weeping Woman. “I could never see her, never imagine her, except crying,” Picasso once remarked.

A new retrospective at Tate Modern, however, proves that there was far more to Dora Maar than her immortalised tears. Featuring more than 200 works from a career spanning six decades, the first UK retrospective of Maar’s work introduces us to a restless innovator, who experimented with medium, technique and style as much as she did with politics, lovers and identities. Quite simply, it’s ravishing to discover her.

Born Henriette Théodora Markovitch in 1907 to an architect father and fashion boutique-owning mother, Maar spent her childhood between Argentina and France. She studied art in Paris before pursuing a career in photography.

She showed a precocious talent in the medium from the outset, excelling in the predominantly male-dominated industry. In around 1931, she set up a studio with the film set designer Pierre Kéfer, changing her name, shortly afterwards, to the snappier Dora Maar. They mingled with the likes of Brassaï and Man Ray, and specialised in commercial assignments, portraits, nudes, fashion and advertising. By 1935, she had established her own studio in Paris.

Innovation thrums at the heart of her early work and the opening galleries of this exhibition. We encounter it in her experimental photomontages, her erotic nudes and her avant-garde commissions for major brands, including Chanel, Ambre Solaire and the haircare brand Pétrole Hahn, which all appeared in the big French magazines of the day.

One such example is The Years Lie in Wait for You, c.1935, an uncanny photomontage believed to have been created as part of an advertising campaign for an anti-ageing cream. It was created by overlaying two negatives - the first is of Maar’s close friend Nusch Eluard, the second is of a spider’s web - and printing them as one.

Beyond the studio, Maar’s practice expanded into street photography and surrealism. Poignant portraits of beggars, lottery ticket sellers and disabled war veterans taken during visits to London, Paris and Barcelona shed light on the fraught political climate and shocking social conditions in Europe during the economic depression of the early 1930s, while uncanny depictions of her preferred themes - the erotic, sleep, eyes, and the sea - reveal her affinity with the surrealists, with whom she successfully exhibited throughout the decade.

As well as identifying with the artistic ideas and interests of the surrealists, Maar embraced their leftist politics. She became actively involved in revolutionary groups and movements - a radical initiative for a woman at that time. “I was very much on the left at 25… not like now, ” she later said.

In the most diverse room of this unflinching retrospective, surrealist images with unusual crops and disorientating vantage points loom large. The startling Portrait of Ubu, an armadillo foetus in three-quarter profile, nestles alongside Maar’s uncanny image of a hand emerging from a conch shell. Elsewhere, there are portraits of her inner surrealist circle and Man Ray’s celebrated 1936 portrait of Maar in his studio.

It was this portrait that first piqued Picasso’s interest in the hot-blooded brunette. When Picasso saw it in Man Ray’s studio, he begged him to exchange it for one of his own etchings. At this point, the show shifts gear again. Enter Picasso and an alternative Maar.

When they met in the winter of 1935-36 in Paris’s fashionable Les

Deux Magots, Maar was at the height of her career. She had fame, beauty and panache. Picasso, on the other hand, was emerging from what he later described as “the worst time of my life”

What unfolded over the next decade or so is excruciating to witness. As Picasso’s star rose, Maar’s all too near extinguished. Although Tate pitches their relationship as a period of collaborative creative exchangeshe documented the progression of Picasso’s monumental 1937 Guernica, his response to the aerial bombing of the Basque town of the same name, and he experimented with new photographic and printmaking techniques inspired by Maar’s practice - it seems little believable.

Maar abandoned photography for painting, apparently on Picasso’s account, and slid into a deep depression. The lacklustre portraits, with flattened features and bold outlines, illustrate the extent of Picasso’s overbearing influence. What strikes a chord here, though, is a double portrait from 1937 (thankfully stylistically Picasso-free) called The Conversation, a nod to the toxic love triangle in which she found herself entangled. Exhibited for the first time in the UK, it depicts Picasso’s two anguished lovers side by side: we see Dora from the back and Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s lover whom he’d met nearly a decade earlier, from the front.

While Maar plunged into turmoil, Picasso thrived, casting his suffering muse in the role of his ‘Weeping Woman’ more than 30 times. Fractured and distorted, Tate’s version from 1937 paints a brutal portrait of female fragility. After the breakdown of their relationship, Maar divided her time between Paris and Ménerbes in the south of France. There, she made gestural landscapes, and later abstract compositions of the natural elements in ink, oil and watercolour. Isolated and traumatised, she retreated from public life, turning to Catholicism for comfort. There’s little mention of this here though, which is an uncomfortable and peculiar omission. It was not until the 1980s that Maar actively returned to photography. She made photograms by laying household objects or personal items such as her rosary beads onto photo-sensitive paper, and abstractions by scratching into her negatives. On display in the final room of the exhibition, these camera-less experimentations are far quieter than her provocative early stills, yet nonetheless intriguing.

While life in Picasso’s shadow has been cruel to Dora Maar, who died in 1997 at the age of 89, this exhibition shows a talent, particularly in the 1930s, that far surpasses her desolate story. Finally, her star rises again. Let this be a bold new beginning for the dazzling Dora Maar.

Until 15 March tate.org.uk

“ The retrospective introduces us to a restless innovator, who experimented with medium, technique and style as much as she did with politics, lovers and identities”

Interview

LILY in BLOOM

She’s played the fairytale heroine with aplomb, but Lily James is done with typecasting. Here, the actress opens up about her family, the future, and finding new roles

Ithink I have much more to offer than being confined to the ‘romantic girl’ box. I have many different sides to my personality: I can get angry quite easily if things bother me...” Lily James is talking typecasting. The actress - whose career, she admits, has at times left her feeling “persecuted by corsets” - is keen to “express my many different sides, in all sorts of characters.”

She has certainly found the answer in Rebecca, the highly anticipated film adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 gothic masterpiece, due for release later this year. James plays Mrs de Winter, alongside Armie Hammer as her aristocratic husband Maxim, in the Netflix production, which follows the couple as they start married life at the bleak Cornish estate of Manderley, overseen by forbidding housekeeper Mrs Danvers, brilliantly depicted by Kristin Scott Thomas.

With a screenplay by Jane Goldman and Ben Wheatley directing, it looks set to captivate audiences every bit as much as Alfred Hitchcock’s Academy Award-winning take on the novel, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. “I’m passionate about the story,” says James. “That’s all I’m thinking, dreaming and talking about at the moment. Hitchcock has done it and now we’re doing it again, with a fresh outlook.”

“Although I was very intent on staying as close to the book as I can,” she continues, “at the same time we had to let it take flight and see what it was going to be, taking it moment by moment. I’ve read the book seven or eight times, I feel like the character is so precious to me.”

Married to a man who turns out to be as cold as he is rich, and haunted by constant reminders of her husband’s deceased first spouse (the eponymous Rebecca), the young Mrs de Winter is lonely, unhappy and scared. It was a situation that James did not take lightly. “I found it hard to let go of the character,” she explains. “She’s really bullied and gas-lighted, and lives in a difficult headspace. I kept having panic attacks after it finished; I couldn’t shake it off.”

Such dedication is typical of James. Though she appeared in Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the television drama based on the real-life adventures of Belle de Jour, it was playing the spirited Lady Rose in Downton Abbey a year later that catapulted her into the spotlight (“that show enabled me to be seen more - and that’s all you really want as an actor, to be able to be seen”), going on to make some 20 films in under a decade - all before reaching the age of 30, last year.

But, like many young actresses who arrive on the scene by way of the period drama, James’ English rose sensibilities made the threat of being typecast almost inevitable. A big-budget remake of Disney classic Cinderella, plus Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a War and Peace TV series and the World War II romance The Exception soon followed, causing James to feel “stressed out” she was only being offered certain roles.

“When I was working with Kenneth Branagh on Cinderella, he told me to be patient and that I had a long career ahead of me and that the opportunities will open up in time. So that advice keeps me from getting upset or worrying too much about being typecast,” she says.

Branagh’s sage words proved to be true and James has since shied away from expectations. She’s starred in ABBA singalong smash hit Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Danny Boyle’s Beatlesthemed rom-com Yesterday, had a starring role in Billie Piper’s directorial debut Rare Beasts, and appeared on stage to critical acclaim in All About Eve, alongside Gillian Anderson. “I played a dark, angry, pathological liar for 14 weeks, eight times per week,” she smiles. Not to mention appearing in lucrative beauty campaigns for Burberry.

“I must enjoy it because I can’t seem to help myself,” she laughs. “I know I’ll have to slow down soon because it is a strain on your personal life. But when you have the chance to do a film like Mamma Mia! and work with Meryl Streep and actors of that calibre, you simply have to take those opportunities.”

James, it seems, has accepted the pressures of the industry with a steeliness beyond her years, her vivacious persona belying any anxiety or stress caused by the red-carpet rollercoaster of fame. Not least when it comes to her long-term relationship with former Dr Who star Matt Smith. Having met on the set of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the pair’s hectic work schedules proved too much in 2019, and they went their separate ways after five years together.

“

I’m very curious about human psychology; acting requires you to be constantly trying to understand your character’s personality, their thinking and motivations”

While Smith is rumoured to have grown close to Claire Foy, his co-star in The Crown, James has been seen on the arm of rising star Max Ianeselli. It’s a matter on which she will not be drawn. “Sometimes it’s odd to see photos taken of you by the paparazzi when you had no idea you were being photographed,” she concedes.

“It’s also difficult to be away from home a lot,” she continues. “I had to give away my cat a while ago, even though I was obsessed with it. But I was never home, and the cat was pissing everywhere. But I still see her when I visit the friend I gave her to.”

Home these days may be London, but James often refers to her down-to-earth upbringing in Esher, Surrey, where she was the middle child of two brothers, Sam and Charlie. “It was wonderful to live in the countryside where the pace of life was a little slower and the air was so fresh,” she says. “It’s very different from living in the city. I went to a fantastic school where I felt secure and relaxed. It was a bit like living in a bubble; very beautiful, but still a bubble.”

James’s pride in her family is well evidenced, not least in her decision to take her father James Thomson’s name as her professional surname. Though he died aged 54 from cancer, when James was just 18, he remains her “biggest inspiration”.

“My dad did a lot of things,” she reminisces. “In addition to being an actor, he was a musician and an entrepreneur. He was also a great thinker and had an analytic mind, as well as being very spiritual. He always encouraged me to be curious and to discover things on my own.

I’m very curious about human psychology; acting requires you to be constantly trying to understand your character’s personality, their thinking and motivations.”

Performing stole James’s heart from an early age and, after a stint at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, she went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which counts Ewan McGregor, Jodie Whittaker, Michelle Dockery and Daniel Craig among its alumni.

“I’m an actress mainly because my grandmother [Helen Horton, who lent her voice to the spaceship ‘Mother’ in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Alien] and my father did the same job,” she continues. “I’ ve always loved to perform - I have it in my blood. My father was an actor when he was in his early 20s, and he even lived on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. One of my uncles was also an actor; you could say that I come from a family of artists.”

Her mother, Ninette, is an equally close influence, and James credits her with holding the family together after the deaths of her father, uncle and grandmother, which happened in quick succession. “We often travel together when I’m promoting a film,” James explains. “She’s so supportive of me and whenever I feel down or a bit confused about work or life, I always know that I can call her. She’s a great listener and can usually get me to see problems from another perspective. It’s very reassuring to know that I’m able to rely on her advice.”

So, too, her siblings. “I have a great relationship with my brothers now, but when I was younger I could be a real nightmare,” she laughs. “I fought with them all the time. I was a pretty big and tough girl and so I would always win our fights. They have supported me tirelessly, though. When I played in Chekhov’ s The Seagull on stage, they saw the performance nine times. Charlie now lives in Australia, but he came to London for a week to see me in All about Eve.”

And let’s not forget James’s tight circle of friends, who also keep her grounded; she even went backpacking around Asia with one friend, to help bring back a sense of reality post-Cinderella. “A lot of them find it funny because they’re used to seeing me wear jeans, Doc Martens, T-shirts and worn jumpers most of the time,” she smiles. “At premieres, I try to look sleek and sophisticated, but I don’t think I’m quite there yet.

“I’ve learnt a great deal from working with so many exceptionally talented people and I am infinitely grateful for those experiences. They’ve changed my view of what it means to be a woman and an actress”

She’s being modest, of course. James is fast-becoming Hollywood’s golden girl, though she’s quick to credit her success to others. “I’ve learnt a great deal from working with so many exceptionally talented people and I am infinitely grateful for those experiences. They’ ve changed my view of what it means to be a woman and an actress, and they’ ve given me invaluable inspiration. I still remember how on the set of Mamma Mia! I would stand speechless next to Meryl - it was amazing to see the kind of magic she creates.”

“I feel like a sponge who gets to absorb all those incredible little secrets that are part of what makes those actors so great,” she continues. “I learnt so much from Cate Blanchett [who played James’s wicked stepmother in Cinderella] and how she has this extraordinary ability to act with her eyes.”

Did Blanchett offer any career advice, I wonder. “She told me that I should try to find roles that frighten me because those are the experiences that will challenge you and make you a better actor. Those are also the roles that are going to make you a more interesting and enlightened individual.”

As for the future, it will be interesting to see if James is tempted to follow the lead of some of her contemporaries, such as Emilia Clarke and Margot Robbie, who have set about producing femaleorientated films. “I’ve been thinking about doing something similar for a long time now with a friend from drama school,” James says. “We want to find projects that we believe in and that we would want to be involved in from the idea to the finished film.”

But for now, there’s Rebecca, which looks set to go stellar, taking its lead star with it. And yet, if I know anything about James, she won’t be letting the attention go to her head. “I think I’m the same person I’ve always been, except that I’ ve been learning so much more about the world in general. All the travelling I’ ve been able to do has helped me gain more perspective on things. I spent a lot of time daydreaming, though. I always had a romantic side; I still do.”

Lily James is the face of Burberry Beauty and wears Matte Glow Liquid Foundation, £35, burberry.com

STYLE

e Cover Up

Fashion’s love affair with a neutral palette continues into the 2020s, and a camel coat is a timeless and versatile classic that has serious staying power. This elegant, tailored coat from Michael Kors Collection elevates the look with statement ruffles and a power shoulder. Keep accessories tonal for maximum chic points.

Michael Kors Collection Townhouse, 9 Old Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 michaelkors.com

Fashion Notes

CHAIN REACTION

Forget thin, barely there, single chains, this season’s breakout jewellery trend is gold and bold. Simple chain chokers and bracelets with chunky links are best worn with a clean, minimal wardrobe for high impact.

Givenchy Twisted bracelet with charm, £565, givenchy.com

COMING UP ROSES

Alexander McQueen celebrates the symbolism of flowers throughout its collections with a beautiful exhibition, Roses, at its Old Bond Street flagship store. The brainchild of creative director Sarah Burton, the installation (open to the public and free) details the creative journey behind the house’s iconic wildflower pieces and centres around a selection of McQueen dresses, including the swirling silk red Rose dress, modelled here by Kate Moss.

27 Old Bond Street, Mayfair W1 alexandermcqueen.com

Modern Tailoring LOOK SHARP

Ever since its debut in 1968, Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘Le Smoking’ - his black tailored tuxedo for women - has epitomised female empowerment and confidence. With the suit being this season’s most desirable tailored item, the Maison’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello has conceived a contemporary collection paying homage to the iconic design. ysl.com

ACE LACES

Stella McCartney has launched her second iteration of the iconic #StanSmith sneaker. Staying true to the designer’s beliefs, the rainbowlaced pumps are leather-free and made from 100% vegan materials. £235, stellamccartney.com

All White Now

Responding to the millennial trend of modern brides opting for a white dress by a fashion designer rather than a traditional ‘wedding dress’, Matches Fashion is launching the Wedding Edit, a curated capsule collection with more than 250 pieces by established names such as Erdem, Christopher Kane and Molly Goddard, as well as emerging designers. matchesfashion.com

The tuxedo takes centre stage, Alexander McQueen celebrates roses and vegan trainers go technicolour

FINE ART

For the fourth edition of Dior Lady Art, 11 globally renowned artists have reimagined and customised the timeless handbag. The brief was an expression of self, while connecting Dior to the world through creativity, using a variety of techniques and creating a unique piece of wearable art in the process. dior.com

BURBERRY

Above: Silk square scarf, £300 Right: Small quilted Lola bag, £1,250, burberry.com

CHARLOTTE ADSETT

CHRISTIAN DIOR

Phoenix tote bag, £2,200, dior.com

Small Aby Lock bag, net-a-porter.com

£750, farfetch.com

LOUIS VUITTON

Bag charm & key holder, £305, louisvuitton.com

MARNI

Leather pumps, £550, matchesfashion.com

Year Edit

A year of new beginnings and prosperity

GUCCI X DISNEY

From top left: Silk scarf, £315; GG Marmont shoulder bag, £2,030, Ace sneakers, £575; Oversize T-shirt, £400; gucci.com

5 of the best RAT-INSPIRED WATCHES

Interview

A FORCE for FASHION

Former Vogue editors Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood are on a mission to transform the way we shop with their online platform Collagerie. They talk to Clare Coulson about style, starting anew and why we should all “buy less, buy better”

How we shop has changed dramatically. We follow influencers, we scroll online; we shop from high to low, discovering just as many brilliant buys in the nooks and crannies of the high street as we find in luxury boutiques; we are more discerning, more informed. But, as we speed into a new decade, we are also more time-poor than we’ve ever been.

A new online platform aims to tap into all of that and hopefully provide some solutions. Collagerie, as the name suggests, is a rich retail tapestry of fashion, as well as interiors and beauty, curated by two former Vogue editors, Serena Hood and Lucinda Chambers. “A good idea came to us and we thought, ‘If we want and need this, we are not so weird and wonderful that there aren’t other women like us,’” says Chambers of the start-up, which was devised at her west London kitchen table. It has been 18 months in the making, but boasts a lifetime’s experience in the fashion business.

The pair sat opposite each other at Vogue for more than five years. Hood is a glossy New Yorker who formerly worked at the American edition of the magazine. She then met and married British financier Peregrine Hood and decamped to London, where she became British Vogue’s executive fashion director - a role that provides a link between the advertisers and the editorial team - and she worked extensively on events, including the magazine’s annual fashion festival.

Chambers, meanwhile, barely needs any introduction. She started working at Vogue in the 1970s, left to set up Elle , returning to Vogue as its fashion director for 25 years, working with photographers such as Nick Knight and Patrick Demarchelier on her incredible flights-of-fantasy shoots. At the same time, she consulted for brands including Prada and Marni - which at the height of its success owed an enormous debt to Chambers’ own idiosyncratic and eclectic personal style.

knowledge when, a couple of months later,

When Edward Enninful became the new editor of Vogue in 2017 - succeeding Alexandra Shulman - Chambers was unceremoniously fired in a three-minute conversation, which swiftly became public knowledge when, a couple of months later, she gave a blisteringly honest interview to fashion journal Vestoj, which not only let rip at her former employers but also gave a gloriously candid - and entirely accurate - take on the fashion business.

Despite her lofty credentials, Chambers is entirely grounded, considered and, surprisingly, very relatable. “What was interesting about Vogue and unexpectedly pleasurablebecause that was never the regiment I joined - was going out giving talks all over the country. Manchester, Liverpool, you name it, and doing events like Fashion’s Night Out, the Vogue Festival, and actually really enjoying it,” she says.

considered and, surprisingly, very and actually really enjoying it,” she says.

As a result of those experiences, the pair hope that Collagerie will exist in the real world too - through collaborations, events and pop-ups, capitalising on the huge success of live fashion events but also building a community around their concept. “A lot of the day job at

became about doing events,” agrees Hood. “And what we took away from that was how women feel overwhelmed by the amount of choice.”

“If you’re looking for a black T-shirt you go down the rabbit hole and, before you know it, you have eight tabs open and you end up looking at lampshades and you’ve kind of forgotten what you were looking for in the first place,” Chambers adds.

The site - which has the tagline “the one thing over everything” - was very much conceived in a bid to simplify the online shopping process, to reduce the noise as it were, and to save time; it’s like delving into the ultimate shopper’s notebook and discovering pieces that you would never find unless you trawled every corner of every shop. “From day one we wanted it to be different,” says Chambers. “We didn’t want it to have an endless scroll, we didn’t want it to feel overwhelming; we wanted it to feel very aspirational.”

Collagerie is really about discovery, with the duo pinpointing all the gemsand so it swings from the super luxe to the totally accessible.

An 18k gold Tank watch from Cartier, a buttery-soft leather Bottega Veneta Knot bag, Burberry monogram wide -leg trousers and Celine’s cat-eye sunglasses sit cheek by jowl with pieces from premium highstreet hero brands – Arket’s white straight-legged jeans or a belted denim jumpsuit from & Other Stories.

Knot bag, Burberry monogram wide jowl pieces from premium highwhite straight-legged jeans denim from & Other Stories.

“Most of the women we know, if not all of them, have their favourite vintage earrings they’ve had forever, they invest in a bag that they thought a lot about before buying, they have a bit of high street, a beloved print - it is the mix,” explains Chambers of their thought process.

“Most of the women we they’ve had forever, they invest in before buying, they have a bit of of thought process. But also rather than six that will languish in your are all starting to think more carefully

But it’s also about making good choices - buying one perfect T-shirt rather than six that will languish in your wardrobe. “Hopefully,” adds Hood. “We are all starting to think more carefully about the purchases we make. Lucinda and I both enjoy print, we both enjoy colour and we both buy things we love that we will take out again and again and I think the tagline is really about an attitude towards shopping. It’s not about buying once, wearing once.”

colour and we both buy things we love and I think the tagline is really about an attitude towards shopping. It’s not

Not only are the women decades apart in age (58 and 36), but their styles are poles apart too - Hood is the epitome of glossy uptown elegance, while Chambers is all haute bohemia with a bit of street style added in. “We do have different tastes but it feels as one world,” says Hood. Rather than holding an inventory, shoppers are sent on to make their purchases from the brands’ own online stores, who will also ship.

In many ways Collagerie reflects what brands like Vogue should have got off the ground a decade ago (they have tried and spectacularly failed to do so) and even if they are both carefully complimentary about the magazine world they are clearly revelling in having their own venture. “You can invent the rules, which is amazing,” admits Chambers. “And it’s exciting to be part of a conversation that’s very dynamic.”

Getting the business off the ground, they’ve been overwhelmed by how the tech world has embraced them: “Everyone is willing to share their knowledge and wants you to be part of this huge growing family,” she goes on. “And that feels really fresh, and really innovative.”

Stephanie Phair, chief strategy officer of Farfetch and chair of the British Fashion Council, was one of the first to pitch in with advice and Adam Brown, who launched his own start-up, Orlebar Brown, from his kitchen table before eventually being bought out by Chanel in 2018, helped roadmap the duo’s strategy. Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, founder of the supremely successful floristry start-up Flowerbx, has also been an invaluable source of information and advice. “The generosity is lovely,” says Chambers, who is clearly overwhelmed by people’s willingness to share ideas.

But perhaps the most galvanising force is the relationship that the pair have with each other. Both have extremely busy lives (Chambers also has her own styling work, as well as the brand Colville, which she founded at the end of 2018, while Hood has two very young daughters).

“We both know each other’s work ethic so there are no surprises,” says Chambers, who admits that meetings are often snatched in their cars, such is their frantic schedule. “Two former colleagues starting a business is a very

different thing to two best friends starting a business – I love my best friend, but I would not be able to run a business with her,” adds Hood. “Lucinda has propelled this to actually happen -

I never would have done it without her.”

collagerie.com

The

Glossary Edit

Wardrobe Refresh Lucinda & Serena’s key updates

“A new year for me means a new start, and no better place to start than your wardrobe. Take it back to basics with neutrals and classic tailoring. This is a palette that you will never tire of” Serena Hood

REJINA

REJINA PYO Amelia tiger-print midi dress, £725

VINCE Pleated midi skirt, £430

MANOLO BLAHNIK High heeled booties, £745

LOUIS VUITTON White leather bag, £1,530

WEAR NOTHING UNDERNEATH Blue shirt, £80

BURBERRY Monogram trousers, £690 CELINE Oversized sunglasses, £320

WANDLER Lotte bow-trim satin mules, £400 all available from collagerie.com

and

“Two former colleagues starting a business is a very different thing to two best friends starting a business - I love my best friend, but I would not be able to run a business with her. Lucinda has propelled this to actually happen - and I never would have done it without her”

My Style Glossary

Olivia von Halle

Olivia von Halle, whose eponymous nightwear brand counts Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow as fans, tells us about her maximalist style, her design inspirations and why her Resort 2020 collection is channelling 60s supermodel Donyale Luna

told to LUCIANA BELLINI

My style icon

The quintessentially British and wildly eccentric Daphne Guinness. She is a true original, with a unique and nonconformist approach to fashion. Her clothes are so expressive and you can just tell she has fun getting dressed. Her every look is standout.

My current style muse

I’m currently obsessed with Donyale Luna, the original black supermodel of the 1960s who was a muse to Andy Warhol and a true visionary and pioneer. She was so mysterious with an otherworldly persona. When people asked where she was from, she’d reply, “I’m from the moon, darling”. She was the starting point of inspiration for our Resort 2020 collection.

Films that have influenced me

Growing up, I was completely infatuated with True Romance – Alabama Whitman is 1990s heaven. More recently, it is the style and whimsy of the original Picnic at Hanging Rock. Their white cotton prairie dresses featured heavily on the mood board for our Spring/Summer 2020 line.

My personal style

My aesthetic is thoroughly maximalist and I am a dress obsessive. For the past few years I have worn my favourite designers Alessandra Rich and The Vampire’s Wife, and also my own Olivia von Halle midi and maxi dresses on repeat. They lend a sense of occasion and have the power to elevate the everyday. alessandrarich.com, thevampireswife.com oliviavonhalle.com

My favourite pair of shoes

I’m a big fan of statement platforms. I recently rediscovered my Hannelore Platform Loafers from Gucci (from the SS17 collection). They have a huge floral silk platform with an embroidered silk slipper on top, fastened with little leather straps. Completely impossible to walk in, but fun. gucci.com

My favourite coffee-table book Equus by Tim Flach (Abrams Books, £45) is full of the most beautiful equestrian photography – I grew up on a farm in Kent and have always loved horses, so this is always out on display.

My go-to museum

It would have to be the V&A, where Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty and Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up remain two of my all-time favourite exhibitions. The production is always so impressive and almost theatrical – it’s a brilliant way to experience fashion and art. vam.ac.uk

My favourite photographer

Right now, Kristin-Lee Moolman – her photographs, as well as being beautiful, provide a much-needed counternarrative to idealised imagery.

My favourite fragrance

A few years back I met Eddie Roschi, co-founder of boutique perfumery Le Labo, and he told me my perfect fragrance was Fleur d'Oranger, which I have worn religiously ever since. lelabofragrances.co.uk

Olivia's

The beauty staple I’m never without Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream – it’s expensive, but so worth it. You can put it on before bed and look like you’ve had ten hours’ sleep, even if you’ve only had half that. Their lip balm is so rich; nothing works better on chapped lips. cremedelamer.co.uk

My go-to interiors brands

Matilda Goad and Beata Heuman are bright and colourful and suit my eclectic vibe. I’ve recently bought a pair of candle shades from Susannah Garrod, hand-painted with candy stripes – they make the perfect centrepiece for a dinner party table. beataheuman.com, matildagoad.com susannahgarrod.bigcartel.com

On my fashion shopping list

My new year’s resolution is to only buy considered pieces that I know I will keep forever. I have my eye on a trench coat by Rejina Pyo.

The best place for vintage fashion

I visit Rellik on Golborne Road whenever I get the chance. relliklondon.co.uk

My most treasured possession

My Jessica McCormack New York ring. It was a present from my husband for my 30th birthday and I have worn it every day since. The design is inspired by the New York city skyline and it’s got a very glamorous Art Deco feel to it, but is super modern at the same time. jessicamccormack.com

Olivia von Halle boutique, 190 Pavilion Road, Chelsea, SW3 oliviavonhalle.com

WEB DESIGN

Gra ’s contemporary Threads collection celebrates the modern themes of connectivity and social media - the ‘threads’ that weave us all together - by spinning graphic, latticework forms with a web of pavé and custom-cut diamonds, giving classic diamond pieces a spontaneous and modern, interlinked treatment. There are both everyday pieces and high jewellery creations, with emeralds and yellow diamonds brilliantly rounding out this exciting designs.

6-8 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 gra .com

EDIT e

Watch&Jewellery

LONDON’S DAZZLING NEW OPENINGS, TRENDS AND STATEMENT PIECES

New Collection

ROAR POWER

The Panthère has been a creative signature for Cartier ever since spot motifs first appeared on a watch in 1914. Since then, the feline has inspired everything from jewellery and watches to fragrances and accessories, her fearlessness, freedom and defiance perfectly embodying the indomitable spirit of the house’s devotees over the decades, now known as the ‘Cartier Panthère Tribe’. Expect new additions to the new Panthère collection throughout the year, including bracelets and stackable rings. 175-177 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 cartier.co.uk

The American Dream

The house of Harry Winston is New York through and through, so it’s somewhat surprising the jeweller hasn’t issued a collection based around the Big Apple – until now. The New York Collection features nine suites that pay homage to the city landmarks that influenced Mr Winston, from the Upper East Side brownstone where he was born – expressed via elongated drop earrings –to bedazzling white and coloured diamond jewels that recall the bright lights of Broadway.

171 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 harrywinston.com

LOVE STORY

Ten years ago, Van Cleef & Arpels’ Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux watch danced onto the scene and redefined women’s haute horlogerie with its retrograde dial animating two lovers rendezvousing on a bridge.

The woman represented the hours and the man the minutes, coming together at midnight to embrace.

The house has now revisited the iconic timepiece with six glittering bejewelled variations that depict daytime (rose gold), nighttime (white gold) and seasonal scenes, further continuing the love story.

9 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 vancleefarpels.com

Seeing Stars

Celestial-themed gems have been in the stars for some time now but Coco Chanel, ever the visionary, was already smitten with the motif back in 1932, when she created her first and only jewellery collection. Comets and stars featured prominently, and the brand’s Comète range is still a firm favourite today. New pieces have been added over the years and include mismatched shooting-star diamond earrings and a heavenly diamond ear climber sprinkled with pearls.

173 New Bond Street, Mayfair, W1 chanel.com

Creating a Buzz BEE GODESS

Bee Goddess has recently opened its first standalone boutique in Chelsea.

The luxury brand, founded by Turkish-born Ece Sirin and named a er the mother of all goddesses from Catalhöyük, has built up a reputation for its fine jewellery based around ancient symbols, each piece holding talismanic properties for the wearer, with Sirin o ering coaching sessions for her clients to help them discover their own spiritual archetype.

101 Walton Street, Chelsea, SW3 beegoddess.com

Fine Jewellery

Insider Elegance

Concerned about sustainability, cluedup on provenance and less brand-loyal than previous generations, millennials are posing something of a challenge for the luxury goods industry. Those aged between 23 and 38 years are now the largest workingage cohort, with the spending power to match - and yet they don’t always play ball. Why? They are far less interested in ‘stuff’.

Indeed, a study by Harris Group reveals that 72% of millennials prioritise experiences over products. In the Instagram age, seeing, doing and sharing is paramount. With millennials and Generation Z (the seven- to-22-year-olds who’ll soon wield spending power of their own) expected to account for 45% of all luxury spending by 2025, according to style oracle The Business of Fashion, high-end brands have had to rethink their marketing strategies.

One approach, particularly popular within the jewellery and watch sector, is to offer one-of-a-kind experiences. Businesses are showering their best clients with hospitality, hosting evermore glamorous events and experiences to build on their customer loyalty.

With millennials redefining the shape of luxury, high-end jewellery brands are setting out to win over the hearts of the younger generation

Last summer, Dior celebrated 20 years since Victoire de Castellane launched the house’s first fine jewellery collection with a three-day VIP event in Venice for couture clients. Guests enjoyed a gala evening at the 18th-century Palazzo Labia, the very same palazzo that hosted the opulent 1951 Tiepolo Ball for which Christian Dior and Salvador Dalí designed the costumes, while models walked the rooms wearing Dior’s latest jewels. Also on the agenda was a private performance by the Rome corps de ballet at Teatro Malibran, and dinner at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco among works by Tintoretto.

Other houses have not been outdone. When Bulgari launched its silver screen-inspired Cinemagia highjewellery collection last June, guests were flown to the island of Capri, where they spent a glittering night overlooking the Amalfi coast, with the likes of Alicia Vikander, Kate Hudson, Uma Thurman and Lily Aldridge (pictured right). Shortly afterwards, 400 or so of Dolce & Gabbana’s top clients travelled to Sicily, where the house showcased its Alta Gioielleria collection during a three-day Alta Moda extravaganza. Piaget has been known to helicopter clients from Monaco to St Tropez for similar reasons.

For other clients, however, privacy is paramount, which is why top jewellery houses are investing significantly in dedicated VIP areas. Akin to fivestar hotel suites, these are sumptuous spaces in which clients can relax and feel at home. The entire third floor of Cartier newly renovated Bond Street store has been transformed into ‘La Residence’, a private lounge in which it hosts top-tier customers. It even includes a bar - stocked, of course, with Cartierbranded Champagne.

For pure opulence, no private suite can ever match that found at 26 Place Vendôme, Boucheron’s HQ since 1893. Following an 18-month refurbishment, the boutique reopened in January 2019, with the third floor converted into a private apartment. Clients can spend the night in the one-bedroom residence, complete with a library whose walls are covered with 18th-century frescoes; a designer furniture-clad living room, dining room and bedroom; and a marble en-suite offering views of the Vendôme column from the roll-top bath. The apartment is serviced by The Ritz; steak-frites and Champagne is but a phone call away.

The doors to these private salons are opened by invitation only, to a handful of the most important customers. No matter how deep your pockets, if you’re not on that list, you’re not coming in. “It makes individuals feel like they have access to a special club - they have to keep buying in order to remain a member,” says Annabel Davidson, jewellery editor at Vanity Fair.

BOUCHERON

British luxury house William & Son capitalises on its royal connections to offer a select few clients money-can’tbuy experiences in its home city of London. Director of homeware Lucy Asprey is a member of the preservation committee for the Royal Estate, a role which grants the house’s VIPs special access to London landmarks, usually inaccessible to the public.

Boucheron’s residence, 26 Place Vendôme.

Increasingly, however, brands are going beyond pampering and VIP suites, seeking also to deepen their top clients’ knowledge and understanding. William & Son hosts exclusive dinners, for example, where its gemmologist might hold a masterclass, educating clients on the four Cs of diamond grading, or the characteristics of certain gemstones. The brand is planning a deep-dive into coloured diamonds, during which guests will have the opportunity to handle some of the world’s rarest gemstones, the likes of which are usually seen in museums.

“At William & Son our customers travel from all over the world to visit our store and talk to our experts. That’s why we are dedicated to providing the best possible brand experiences,” explains Perry Braun, William & Son chief marketing officer.

“Whether that’s an exclusive event in our store on Bruton Street or unique experiences in some of London’s

WILLIAM & SON

Anya platinum, ruby & diamond ring £14,400 williamandson.com

PATEK PHILIPPE

Twenty-4 Automatic Ref. 7300/1201R £43,410 patek.com

prestigious landmarks. A great example is the Tower of London, which provides the perfect backdrop to showcase our jewellery.”

Prestigious Swiss watchmaker

Patek Philippe, meanwhile, opens the doors to its manufacture in Geneva for a select few clients every year. The once-in-a-lifetime trip offers a behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary craftsmanship that goes into its handmade timepieces, giving clients frontrow seats to the watchmakers, jewellers, polishers, case fitters, enamellers and engravers, and dozens of other specialists who work side by side to make every Patek Philippe timepiece tick. It also includes a guided tour of the Patek Philippe Museum, the so-called “temple to watchmaking” that opened in 2001. For horology enthusiasts, this invitation is the ultimate accolate. For Patek Philippe, it’s a powerful way to cement brand loyalty.

Ashoka cut diamond ring of over five carats, marquise and brilliant cut diamonds set in platinum £POA, boodles.com

British jewellery brand Boodles is also welcoming high-spending clients behind the scenes, flying them to the offices of one of New York’s most prominent diamond dealers, to watch diamonds being cut and polished and potentially select a stone to be incorporated into a one-of-a-kind design. The house recently announced a partnership with the famed Cullinan mine, allowing it to trace the supply chain of certain diamonds from mine to finished jewel. It is also planning a money-can’t-buy trip to South Africa for a select few, who’ll visit the mine to watch rough diamonds being discovered. If they spot a rock that takes their fancy, they’ll be able to commission a piece of Boodles jewellery from it, with the knowledge that they’ve been involved in the billion-year-old diamond’s journey since the moment it came out of the ground. If that’s not worth a few social media ‘likes’, I don’t know what is.

Make it personal.

The Moisturiser

The Hydrator

Your skin’s needs are unique and always changing. The world-renowned beauty trailblazer, Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh pioneered the concept of mixing different, powerful serums to create a personalised daily ritual that perfectly meets your skin’s needs. Potent and award-winning, Dr Sebagh’s iconic serums—including the trio of super-serums featured here—can all be used alone or combined, for agelessly radiant results.

Moisturising is essential to restore the skin barrier, protect against environmental aggressors, seal in hydration and keep skin plump. Deeply moisturise and soothe your skin using Rose de Vie Serum, with antioxidant and nourishing rosehip oil, blended with the hydrating, hyaluronic acid-rich Serum Repair, which instantly leaves skin looking and feeling plumped, firmer and tighter.

The Brightener The Anti-Ager

Add a trouble-shooting, ‘Ageing-Maintenance’ hero to the mix with a few drops of Supreme Maintenance Youth Serum. It boasts 95% active ingredients, more than any other skin care product, including the ‘youth molecule’ Resveratrol, three anti-aging peptides, a mineral radiance booster and an anti-pollution film.

Power-up your serum blend even more with a little Pure Vitamin C Powder Cream. This patented, highly concentrated and stabilised powder-to-cream formula can be mixed with any serum to brighten the skin, prevent pigmentation and bring back its glow.

Available in-store and at drsebagh.com

BEAUTY

Eye Opener

Rihanna’s best-selling make-up brand Fenty Beauty has launched its first-ever mascara. A long-awaited addition to the range, Full Frontal (£21) boasts a lightweight, ultra-black formula and an innovative ‘flat-to-flat’ brush. The fat side of the brush lifts, while the flat side separates and curls every single lash, creating volume and definition.

It’s also water-resistant, sweat-resistant and 100% cruelty free.

Beauty Notes

Sustainable candles, the décolleté saviour and the red hot

products

for Lunar New Year

Colour Crush

GLOW WILD

NARS’ supercharged A erglow collection delivers a highimpact look with a warm-toned eyeshadow palette (£56) in matte, satin and shimmer finishes, plus a cheek palette (£46) featuring unique gel-to-powder highlighters, and deliciously hydrating lip balms in eight shades (£23). narscosmetics.co.uk

Lip Service

For lips that are feeling the effects of winter, this three-step lipcare range from celebrity make-up artist Zoë Taylor is a must. Comprising a scrub, an oil and a balm, the handcrafted, vegan and cruelty-free collection will provide gentle exfoliation, enrichment and protection. Lip kit £64; tinkertailorbeauty.com

Smooth Operator

Part of Inhibit V-Neck, Natura Bissé’s targeted programme of spa treatments and at-home products aimed at the delicate neck and décolleté area, Inhibit Tensoli Neck Serum is a lightweight, ultraconcentrated formula designed to tighten, fill and firm skin. By preserving collagen fibre and providing a plumping effect, it promises to reduce sagginess around the chin and jaw in just three weeks. £294; naturabisse.com

Wax Lyrical

Socially conscious fragrance house Sana Jardin has unveiled a range of 100% vegetable wax candles featuring some of its bestselling scents, including Jaipur Chant, a heady blend of tuberose, Italian lemon and clove leaf. To help bring about social change and economic empowerment for women, the brand’s Beyond Sustainability programme enables female flower harvesters in Morocco to upcycle any byproducts from the perfume production for a profit. £48; net-a-porter.com

Lunar New Year

New Beginnings

As well as marking the beginning of a new decade, 2020 is the Year of the Rat - the first of the 12 zodiac signs, symbolising a fresh start. To mark the Lunar New Year, many beauty brands have released limitededition make-up, fragrances and skincare products in red and gold hues and sumptuous packaging to usher in good fortune and celebrate in style.

Skincare ritual

DEEP CLEANSE

Taking time to thoroughly cleanse is an essential part of a modern skincare regime, and Chanel wants us to savour this ritual by indulging in e Cleansing Collection, part of its Sublimage skincare line. e range of four new products, which can be used individually or combined, consists of a Radiance-Revealing Rich Cleansing Soap (£80), a Gel-to-Oil Cleanser (£85), a Cleansing Water (£85) and a Purifying Face Scrub (£105), leading to clear and luminous skin. All products in the Sublimage collection contain Madagascan vanilla planifolia, known for it extraordinary revitalising properties. chanel.com

The Winter SKINCARE

It may be a winter wonderland at the moment, but the inclement weather brings a whole new set of challenges when it comes to our skincare regime. As we flit between the freezing outdoors and the all-too-often overheated indoors, it can wreak head-to-toe havoc on the skin.

The rapid and frequent changes in temperature mean our rosy-cheeked glow, which occurs naturally when the capillaries dilate, lasts much longer, leading to dehydration, flaking and irritation, whatever your skin type. For sufferers, this prolonged redness can aggravate rosacea too. And then there’s that icy wind, which blasts the skin barrier, leaving it vulnerable and less able to do its job of locking in moisture and keeping skin hydrated, as well as protecting it from the elements.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. A soft and smooth complexion is achievable when the temperature plummets; as with every season change, you just need to alter your routine accordingly, introducing products that offer deep nourishment, intense hydration and protection. Here’s my guide to the cold weather skin (and hair) saviours, some new, others time-honoured classics. What’s important is finding something that really works for you this wintertide.

With the cold season upon us, contributing beauty director Alessandra Steinherr shares the skin and hair saviours that will nourish, protect and hydrate

FACE TIME

To protect our skin barrier through the bleaker months, we need to moisturise more meticulously, although different skin types will require different products of course. If you have very dry skin, you’ll be looking for a heavier cream product containing shea butter - with its rich moisturising agents - and ceramides, which are lipids (fats) and the building blocks of your skin barrier.

Dehydrated skin (different to dry skin and due to a lack of water) doesn’t need lipids so much as you’re probably producing enough oil already, but will benefit from glycerin, a super hydrator that attracts moisture to the skin, and hyaluronic acid - critical in maintaining skin hydration. Even those with oilier skin aren’t immune to the inconveniences of winter, so you’re looking for the same.

Omorovicza Gold Rescue Cream (£185) is ideal for dry, flaky skin. Its waterin-oil formula means it is really thick, and therefore soothing and calming – I swear by it. Another ultra-rich cream is Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Rich Cream (£320) which contains glycerin, as well as omega and lipid-replenishing properties. Less rich, but no less comforting, is Sisley Velvet Nourishing Cream with Sa ron flowers (£143). Buckwheat extracts and Vitamin E protect the skin and the shea butter restores it, plus it really helps prevent water loss.

A great new product for all types of skin is Mary Reynolds Skin Quencher (£37.99). Its multi-layered formula contains squalane, a valuable botanical lipid, glycerine and hyaluronic acid, and you can use it as a serum under cream or on its own if you have oilier skin. For dry or very sensitive skin, Dr Sebagh Rose De Vie Serum (£129) is actually an oil, and is full of liquid nutrients that replenish, repair and revitalise. Light and nongreasy, it helps keep skin hydrated and you can use it over a cream, mixed with a cream or by itself, depending on your skin. Plus, the natural rosehip oil in it smells divine.

If you’re looking for a mask, I prefer to use a cream mask rather than a sheet mask at this time of year as it’s more comforting. Dr. Barbara Sturm Deep Hydrating Mask (£90) contains soothing aloe, vitamin E and Camomile.

BODY BOOSTERS

How many of us are guilty of neglecting whole-body skincare when the sun disappears? We tend to focus on our face, buying products with amazing formulas and fantastic ingredients, turning to a basic cream for everywhere else. After all, we’re perennially swamped in oversized jumpers, trousers and boots, so what does it matter? But we mustn’t neglect these hidden-away areas, as they too have a tendency to get dehydrated; they have fewer oil glands for starters, plus a favourite seasonal pastime of long hot soaks in the bath can leave skin really dry (to combat this, always apply your body product while your skin is still damp).

Both the recently launched Augustinus Bader The Body Cream (£130) and the classic Natura Bissé Diamond Body Cream (£195) are like super creams for your body. If, like me, you want a cream that’s rich but also something that isn’t sticky and means you can get dressed straight after application, these are for you, as they absorb really well. Irene Forte Skincare Orange Blossom Body Oil (£99), meanwhile, is made with orange blossom, jojoba, olive, pistachio and grapeseed oils, and really hydrates skin. It also smells delicious and, at the time of year when self-care can take a dip, it will certainly perk you up.

Our hands are constantly exposed to the elements, leaving them irritated and incredibly dry, even if you have oily skin.

Chanel La Crème Main (£45) has a rich texture, the may rose wax and iris pallida in it leaving a moisturising protective layer. Its compact design means it can be easily popped in your bag, crucial as you need to reapply hand cream frequently. Added bonus: it has a clever pump, dispensing the precise amount that you need.

them irritated and incredibly dry, even if you have oily skin. and Japanese mulberry leaving skin soft and supple; it also

Treatment Cream (£23) and Japanese mulberry leaving skin soft and supple; it also fortifies nails (which suffer from the cold too).

THE DELICATE AREAS

Puckering up in winter can be hard. There are virtually no oil glands in the lips, plus the skin is very thin, so they dry out all too easily, becoming chapped and sore. La Mer The Lip Balm (£52) is fantastic, particularly if you’re a lipstick wearer as make-up goes on top really well and it’s not too

L’O cine Universelle Buly Baume des Muses (€28) is a new plant-based translucent lip balm, which repairs and protects when applied. Plus it’s the chicest thing in the world and, for extra luxe, you can get it engraved with your initials.

Skin around the eyes also needs some TLC. Seed to Skin The Eye Rescue Duo (£225) consists of a daytime and a nighttime product. They work in tandem; the former has peptides to help with elasticity and has a bit of a soft focus effect, which makes the eye area look better. The latter is much richer and helps with skin rejuvenation.

HEALTHY HAIR

Central heating has a lot to answer for when it comes to hair, leaving it drier, fluffier and frizzier. If you suffer from flyaway, fuzzy hair, Aveda Nutriplenish (£27.50) is a new leave-in spray conditioner, which protects hair and ensures it doesn’t go all over the place, but equally doesn’t weigh the hair down. For people who have dryness and who have colour in their hair, Philip B Russian Amber Imperial Gold Masque (£243) is incredibly luxe, packed with pure botanicals and essential oils to restore natural shine and bounce. For those who suffer from a dry, irritated scalp, the cold weather can make matters worse. Kérastase Scrub Apaisant (£43) deep-cleanses the scalp and the hair, removing product buildup and combating dryness.

SUPPLEMENT BOOSTERS

It’s important to look after yourself from the inside out, as well as the outside in. Research consistently shows that a balanced diet that’s rich in antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids can have multiple benefits, including better skin, shinier hair, increased energy and improved brain function. But as soon as it turns brisk our good intentions can go out of the window, and we’re drawn to richer, heartier foods, consuming fewer fresh vegetables and fruit in the process.

Adding calibrated supplements to your diet as a preventative measure can be an effective way to reap these skin, mood and body-boosting rewards. Though they do come with caveats: when taking supplements, be consistent and remember it takes time - don’t expect overnight results. And, of course, the rest of your diet has to be relatively healthy - nothing in isolation works.

Finally, note that there is little regulation in the supplement industry - so it’s down to us to do the research and determine which ones fulfil their promises. These are the ones that I think are effective. QMS Collagen Intravital Plus (£69) supplements work by increasing cellular metabolism and are packed with vitamin Bs to boost organ health, plus antioxidants to lessen inflammation and copper, which contributes to normal skin function. Sarah Chapman Skinesis Omega+Booster Supplement (£64) contains a blend of four different omega oils and oil-soluble vitamins A, E and, crucially, D3 (the sunshine vitamin). These provide immune system support and have been shown to improve the health of the brain, heart, eyes, mood and skin. And Marie Reynolds London 3-Set (£27.99), which contain vitamins and adaptogenic botanicals to support your body’s natural defences, reduce inflammation and lift your mood.

THE WINTER WONDERS

Now we’ve established that winter is definitely a time to nourish ourselves, why not go that extra mile and have someone do it for you? Whether a full-body massage or hyaluronicbased filler facials, these treatments can help keep skin happily hydrated during the cold, dark months

THE LIGHT SALON e Light Salon in Harvey Nichols offers advanced LED light therapy to strengthen and support skin structure. erapeutic wavelengths of light energy are emitted to stimulate the cells, boosting collagen production to give skin structure, and improving blood and lymphatic circulation. I had the head-to-toe treatment (45 minutes): they cover you in hyaluronic acid before the lights go on, during which you have a mini facial and scalp massage. As well as benefiting your skin, exposure to light li s your mood, and I came out of this treatment smiling.

£120. Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1; thelight-salon.com

VOLITE

e latest in minimally invasive treatments is hyaluronic-based filler facials that hydrate the skin from within. e process involves injecting a hyaluronic acid-based filler superficially - it’s a lighter formula than a volumising filler - to give skin a moisture boost and also stimulate new collagen. Results, which last between three to six months, are a generally plumper skin all over, with diminished lines and a dewy, hydrated complexion. Recommended if you have all-over lines and dryness, it works well to smooth forehead and eye area lines. From £400. Phi Clinic, 102 Harley Street, Marylebone, W1; phiclinic.com

CAUDALIE DIVINE BODY TREATMENT

An indulgent full-body massage using the signature Caudalie Divine Oil, a blend of therapeutic plantbased oils. Not only is it the perfect treat to combat those January and February blues, but it so ens skin from head to toe, eliminating any dryness, especially in areas such as shins, where there aren’t many oil glands. You’ll walk out feeling fully refreshed and deeply nourished. £70. 52 Ledbury Road, No ing Hill, W11; uk.caudalie.com

My Favourite Classic & New

CANDLES

by ALESSANDRA STEINHERR

Cold, bleak days and long dark evenings call for one thing: candles. They’re an essential winter luxury. I light candles morning, noon and night - they make the home smell beautiful, and their warm glow creates an inviting, cosy ambience even in the darkest of corners. Whether spicy and musky or fresh and floral, a candle can li any mood and light up any situation, comforting, cheering and calming in equal measure. Candle season is here, and I, for one, am delighted.

BYREDO

AMBRE JAPONAIS £57, byredo.com

Surprising and complex, this has notes of black pepper, coriander seeds, sandalwood and sesame, resulting in a spicy aroma. It also has a blissful burn time of 60 hours.

DIPTYQUE

PARIS EN FLEUR £53, diptyqueparis.com

I am a huge fan of roses and this brand-new limited edition candle is so and floral, yet it feels more mature because of the woody undertones, giving it less of a girly feel.

JO MALONE

LAVENDER & LOVAGE £48, jomalone.co.uk

e clean notes of lavender and lovage, deepened with rosemary and thyme, evoke the joyful scent of freshly laundered, white linen drying in a summer garden.

JONATHAN WARD

FIG ULTIMATUM £45, jonathanward.me

Cassis, purple fig, ginger, musk and amber combine to lend a waxy warmth; the rich balance between ripe fruits and woody hints is really comforting.

LOUIS VUITTON FEUILLES D’OR £160, louisvuitton.com

A unique and unexpectedly crisp, creamy scent, with notes of patchouli, cedar and Peruvian balsam giving an earthy edge. It’s also prettily presented, featuring a gold lid and chic leather handle.

GUERLAIN HIVER EN RUSSIE £59, guerlain.com

A heady blend of smoky tea, frankincense and wood, evoking the sumptuousness of Holy Russia. Mysterious and deep, this candle is made for wintry nights.

CIRE TRUDON SOLIS REX £75, trudon.com

Inspired by the parquet floor of Château de Versailles’ famous Hall of Mirrors, this has a woody, ‘incensy’ base li ed by delicate pine, eucalyptus and orange – and it will flicker for up to 60 hours.

MAISON CHRISTIAN DIOR JARDIN D’ORANGERS £75, dior.com

A perfect blend of neroli and citrus means the fragrance isn’t overpowering, and yet it fills up a room beautifully. It’s light and airy, and the freshness is a great mood enhancer.

Hair heroes

In a bid to reduce our bathroom waste, we’re striving to streamline our haircare wardrobe while seeking out products that are kinder to both the environment and our hair. An innovative capsule collection of six multi-use vegan haircare products, LØRE Originals fits the bill on both counts.

The brainchild of the team behind boutique unisex salon brand Taylor Taylor London, the LØRE Originals collection is non-gender-specific and has been created to suit all hair types. The entire range is cruelty-free and PETA-approved, free from potentially harmful parabens, sulfates and MITs. Instead, it’s full of the very best natural and plant-based ingredients, supported by the latest scientific compounds.

Created by Taylor Taylor London stylists and clients, together with British chemists, LØRE Originals’ hardworking products are all multipurpose - hero products that would meet the everyday

requirements of the Taylor Taylor London hairdressing team and also simplify our at-home haircare routine. Built to last, the concentrated formula of each product means a little goes a long way, but when you are finished with it, it’s good to know that the pared-back packaging is 100% recyclable.

Manufactured entirely in the UK, each product in the range is designed to protect, strengthen, hydrate and nourish, focusing on the long-term integrity of the scalp as well as the hair, nurturing each follicle at the root and protecting its core qualities as it grows. There are six products, offering effortless maintenance and styling - a shampoo, conditioner, primer spray, finishing spray and finishing cream, as well as an award-winning hair mask that has achieved cult status among beauty editors and received a Vogue Beauty Award for Most Innovative Product. In the same way that it has created stylish and contemporary spaces for its unisex hair salons, with LØRE Originals, Taylor Taylor London has created a luxe haircare range that’s truly gender-neutral - and sustainable too.

From £17, loreoriginals.com

Taylor Taylor London boutique salons are in Shoreditch, Notting Hill and within the Liberty London store on Regent Street

Heaven SCENT

WARMING UNISEX FRAGRANCES FOR WINTER

CELINE

HAUTE PARFUMERIE COLLECTION

Eau de parfum, 100ml, £175

Fashion house Celine has launched its first-ever fragrance line, conceived by creative director Hedi Slimane and designed to represent the essence of Paris. e Haute Parfumerie collection consists of nine fragrances (with two more to follow later this year) and has its own dedicated store on Paris’s prestigious Rue Saint-Honoré. For Slimane, who has kept a journal of olfactive memories for many years, each fragrance evokes a specific moment in the designer’s life. celine.com

BYREDO

REINE DE NUIT

Extrait de parfum, £50ml, £230

High-end Swedish brand Byredo has relaunched Night Veils, its premium collection of three fragrances. e trio comprises Casablanca Lily, Sellier and Reine de Nuit – an intense concentrate of jasmine, lily and rose that comes alive a er dark. selfridges.com

FRÉDÉRIC MALLE

ROSE & CUIR

Eau de parfum, 125ml, £245

Created by long-term Frédéric Malle collaborator Jean-Claude Ellena, Rose & Cuir is a modern interpretation of a classical rose fragrance. A woody scent, it blends floral notes of rose and geranium with spicy Sichuan pepper and cassis, while lingering earthy notes of cedar and leather provide a strong, sensual finish. fredericmalle.co.uk

YVES SAINT LAURENT

ATLAS GARDEN

Eau de parfum, £100ml, £95

Part of Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Vestiaire des Parfums Collection Orientale, Atlas Garden is a vibrant ode to Morocco, based on the eponymous designer’s links to the Atlas Mountains and Marrakech, a place that became his refuge. It’s a delicate oriental scent with a heart of neroli and notes of orange blossom and tonka bean. yslbeauty.co.uk

VILHELM

PEONY

COUTURE

Eau de parfum, £100ml, £165

In an exclusive collaboration with Liberty London, Vilhelm Parfumerie celebrates the power of the peony in an opulent fragrance that has French peonies and Turkish roses at its heart, supported by bold notes of black pepper and aniseed. libertylondon.com

TIZIANA TERENZI WIRTANEN

Extrait de parfum, 100ml, £315

Named a er the notoriously mysterious Wirtanen comet, this seductive scent from Italian brand Tiziana Terenzi opens with bright notes of bergamot and ylang ylang, supported by a heart of black pepper and oud, balanced out by a base of caramel and sandalwood. selfridges.com

COMME DES GARÇONS

COPPER

Eau de parfum, 100ml, £120

With warming notes of ginger and pink pepper, this invigorating oriental parfum packs a real punch. e mix of smoky green tobacco leaf with sweet blackcurrant and violet leaf results in a distinctive metallic yet spicy composition. selfridges.com

LOEWE

JARDINES DE SABATINI

Eau de parfum, 100ml, £245

e latest addition to Loewe’s Colección Un Paseo por Madrid line, Jardines de Sabatini is an upli ing scent offering fruity top notes of blackberry and grapefruit, underpinned by a heart of tonka bean, patchouli and Provençal honey for a truly ambrosial finish. harrods.com

DIPTYQUE

EAU CAPITALE

Eau de parfum, 75ml, £120

Paying homage to its birthplace of Paris, Diptyque has released its first-ever chypre floral fragrance. e multi-faceted scent celebrates the many faces of Paris, where tradition and modernity work so well together. Eau Capitale is an effervescent composition with notes of bergamot orange and pink pepper, elevated by rose and patchouli. diptyqueparis.com

SHAPE SHIFTERS

Fashion designer Roksanda Ilincˇic ˇ has collaborated with sportswear brand Lululemon to create a directional collection of athleisurewear you’ll want to wear after you leave the gym. The 2nd drop - launching in January - will complete a 17-piece capsule featuring Roksanda’s modern shapes and trademark colour blocking. From £88, lululemon.com

BOTTLE UP

This innovative self-cleaning reusable bottle uses a rechargeable UV-C LED light to eradicate harmful bacteria and neutralise odours, purifying water every two hours when you’re on the go. Its double insulation ensures cool fluids remain chilled for 24 hours and hot for up to 12 hours.

£95, livelarq.com

Wellness Notes

Fashion-forward workout kit, meditation pods and the latest boutique fitness studios

NAD+ (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a coenzyme found in every cell in your body, and is crucial for maintaining healthy cell function. As we age, NAD+ levels in our cells decline, with the level in our 50s believed to be around half of that in our 20s. To reverse this decline, NAD+ Anti-Ageing IV Therapy can help restore NAD+ levels, promoting healthy ageing, boosting energy levels and increasing vigour.

48 Wimpole Street, Marylebone, W1 ivboost.uk

Directly derived from the hemp plant, CBD (Cannabidoil) is widely hailed for its health and wellness benefits, and is typically consumed as an oil. Now, Marylebone’s Vitamin Injections clinic is offering the first CBD injection, which goes directly into the bloodstream for maximum effect. CBD has been used to treat the symptoms of epilepsy, as well as aiding pain, alleviating anxiety and stress, and promoting healthy sleep.

98 Crawford Street, Marylebone, W1 vitamininjections.co.uk

Also known as Intravenous Laser Blood Irradiation, IV laser therapy applies blue, red and yellow infrared lasers to trigger a range of positive wellness effects. Colours are prescribed according to your needs, with each colour offering something different: blue accelerates healing and relieves pain; red strengthens the immune system and increases cell activity; and yellow enhances vitamin D and serotonin production.

75 Wimpole Street, Marylebone, W1 theelixirclinic.com

GREEN HOUSE

Plants do more than decorate a room, they deliver psychological and physical benefits too. Boskke’s award-winning gravity-defying Sky Planter is an upsidedown ceramic pot that allows you to grow plants from your ceiling, whether at home or in the office. Its innovative Slo-Flo irrigation system releases moisture into the plant for up to two weeks at a time. From £45, boskke.com

The best new boutique studios in London

Psycle Notting Hill

LIFT YOUR SPIRITS

Made from the purest crystal water and bathed in full moonlight, Moon Mist Aura Spray by reflexologist Paolo Lai is designed to bring maximum healing, emotional clarity and purification to body and mind. Enriched with essential oils and Himalayan rock salt, it can be used to recharge or to clear negative energy from a room. £30, paoloreflex.com

TRACK STAR

Spin studio Psycle London has brought its empowering Ride classes to Notting Hill, with a new 56-bike Ride-only studio featuring an interactive lighting system and state-of-the-art sound system for immersive and energetic workouts. Optimising emotional as well as physical wellbeing, classes are supported by a tranquil community space and plantbased Energy Kitchen with a menu designed by Psycle CEO and nutritionist, Rhian Stephenson. 37-41 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, W2 psyclelondon.com

Rumble Dalston

Developed by physicians and neuroscientists, Apollo is the first ever clinically validated wearable that actively changes the body's response to stress. AI technology delivers vibrations to your nervous system, with programmes designed to help with everything from reducing anxiety to facilitating sleep. apolloneuro.com

£275,

GOOD VIBRATIONS

Designed by chiropractor Dr Jason Wersland, theTheragun G3 is the leading hand-held percussive massage tool that delivers a deep muscle treatment with precision. Using repetitive strokes to stimulate circulation, generate heat and release deep tension, the pro-grade massager will swiftly break up knots, improve mobility and increase lymphatic flow.

£375, theragun.com

TIME OUT

If you’re struggling to fi nd a space in which to switch off or meditate during your working day then book into one of Pop & Rest’s private pods for a mind-boosting power nap. With branches in Shoreditch and Holborn, and slots from 30 minutes available, you can even squeeze it in during your lunch break.

From £8, popnrest.com

London’s first carbon-neutral fi tness and wellness studio has opened on Dalston Square, promising clients a versatile space in which to train in a way that suits them, while being mindful of their carbon footprint. Rumble offers a range of classes across its four studios, from HIIT and sparring to spinning and yoga, as well as a climbing wall and the first-ever gamma frequency workshops in the UK. There is no single-use plastic on site, and it pledges to plant a tree for every class booking.

Labyrinth Tower, Dalston Square, Dalston, E8 rumble-gym.com

StretchLAB Fitzrovia

The concept of assisted stretching is already extremely popular in the US and is finally gaining traction in London, with new studio StretchLAB offering one-onone assisted stretching in 25 or 50 minute sessions. Designed to help your body recover from the stresses of modern life, the sessions involve a trained ‘stretchologist’ using a safe, efficient technique to stretch your whole body, promising to release tension, increase flexibility and build strength, as well as awakening sedentary muscles. Book in to relieve postexercise aches and pains or to improve your posture after sitting at a desk all day.

18 Wells Street, Fitzrovia, W1 stretch-lab.co.uk

ALL WORKED OUT

Actress, producer, fashion designer, author, yogi extraordinaire - Sadie Frost is a woman of many talents. Having starred in numerous Hollywood hits and previously run awardwinning fashion label Frost French with her friend Jemima French, 54-year-old Frost is adding one more string to her bow with her wearable new activewear brand.

It might seem like a surprising development to those who know her best as the 1990s ‘It girl’, whose hedonistic, hell-raising days with the Primrose Hill set were the stuff of legend. But these days, Frost’s approach to life takes a more spiritual outlook. Having been persuaded by her mother to try yoga in order to help her asthma, Frost has been practising it for over 30 years.

As well as providing a lifelong interest, yoga has also been the inspiration for Frost’s next move. Her new label, the recently launched FROST, is a considered, Chakra-inspired yoga wear range that is both sustainably developed and ethically produced. Stocked online and at some of London’s top yoga studios, such as Triyoga, Indaba, Bhuti, Yoga Matters, Press Primrose Hill and Urban Retreat, expect to see it on your favourite yoga teacher soon. Here, Frost tells us about meditation, mantras and what life’s bumps in the road have taught her about self care.

With a new activewear brand, actress and designer Sadie Frost shares her words of wisdom when it comes to wellbeing

BEAUTY & WELLNESS

I ALWAYS START MY DAY WITH A FEW HOURS TO MYSELF. I’m a morning person, so I wake up early and do some guided meditation. I’ll then do a gentle yoga practice to help with the flexibility of my spine – I’ve suffered with back issues from an early age. Together they take me about an hour, then I’ll have some breakfast and head outdoors. I’m lucky to live near Hampstead Heath - it’s so refreshing to be out with nature and sets me up for the day.

MY SELF-CARE MANTRA IS “I AM PEACE”. It’s simple, but it rings true. For me, self care is about creating peace within myself by letting go. The more we try to control things, the more obstacles we will find. Calming your mind when your thoughts are racing and discovering the joy of being serene is the key.

MEDITATION IS A GREAT COPING MECHANISM. Modern life can make it easy to be competitive, negative and resentful, but meditation teaches you to banish those feelings and put things into perspective. I think that if I had discovered meditation earlier on, it would have helped me deal with so many of the things I have been through, including post-natal depression. Even if I only meditate for five to ten minutes a day, I find it really strengthening and helpful when I’m feeling overwhelmed. It’s so important for my mental health.

I’VE BEEN A VEGETARIAN ALL MY LIFE. I also eat very little dairy. My stepfather is an avid gardener and we always ate organic food that he’d grown, so right from an early age I ate well. The current focus on clean eating is nothing new to me. I’ve never found it limiting, but it’s tricky when you eat out and all that’s on the menu is bread. I try to not eat processed food, but I’d never exclude anything from my diet. It’s important to remember that having a pizza now and again isn’t going to kill you.

THE BEST NUTRITION IS A HEALTHY DIET THAT YOU CAN STICK TO. For me, the key is eating lots of dark green vegetables and healthy plant-based proteins and juices, plus I take apple cider vinegar every day. There’s too much pressure today to be your best healthy self all the time –striving for that perfection only causes stress and defeats the object.

I FEEL THE MOST AT PEACE WHEN I AM PRACTISING YOGA. My mum took me to my first class at 16, and then I did my first course at 20 - an Ananda yoga course in Westbourne Grove. With four kids, it can be difficult to find any time for yourself, but over the past ten years I’ve developed a committed practice, doing it every day and travelling to India at least once a year for a retreat. I go to Ashiyana in the north of Goa – I really like its ethos and the food is amazing.

CONNECTING WITH YOUR BREATH IS IMPORTANT. If you aren’t breathing properly, you’re going to affect your stress levels. There’s a lot of misconceptions around breathwork. Slowing down and spending time breathing doesn’t mean you’re doing less or wasting time. The calm breathwork really balances out your work, so you actually achieve more.

IT’S ESSENTIAL TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE. Pick the ones who inspire and excite you, and help you eliminate the negative energy in your life. These ones are the only people who truly matter. Over the years, I’ve learnt that the most important thing is to concentrate on yourself and not worry about what everyone else is thinking or doing.

MY BEDROOM IS MY ULTIMATE PLACE OF ZEN. I like to go to bed early, so my room is my sanctuary. It has everything I need to help me unwind – a steam, a fire and lots of candles and incense for my meditation. Nowhere in the world gives me more peace than this room.

FROST WAS BORN FROM A NEED FOR SPORTSWEAR THAT CHANNELS SPIRITUALITY. Everything I found seemed abrasively neon or aggressively branded and not particularly aligned with the practice. So I came up with the idea of doing a line based on the Chakra colours and intentions, using sustainable, non-toxic fabrics. The collection is full of pieces that create great silhouettes and hold you in. My favourite is the mesh jackets with lotuses on the back.

FROST is available to buy from its online store and various studios across London. For more details, visit frostlondon.com

MY LONDON GLOSSARY

DINNER DATE

I like veggie restaurants that make the kind of wholesome, hearty food that I grew up with, like Wild Food Café and EZ & Moss, both in Islington.

Wild Food Café, 270 Upper Street, Islington, N1; wildfoodcafe.com

EZ & Moss, 183 Holloway Road, Islington, N7

FAVOURITE STUDIO

I can’t choose one, but I love Triyoga, Indaba and Fierce Grace. I like the cosy intimate studios rather than the full-on yoga machines that are becoming more and more common these days.

Triyoga Camden, 57 Jamestown Road, NW1; triyoga.co.uk

Indaba, 18 Hayes Place, Marylebone, NW1; indabayoga.com

Fierce Grace, 56 Muswell Hill, N10; fiercegracemuswellhill.co.uk

BEST BEAUTY SPOT

I adore 111SKIN and its spa at the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge – it does the best facials. Go for the whole afternoon and it feels like a holiday. Bulgari Hotel, 171 Knightsbridge, SW7; bulgarihotels.com

WELLNESS DESTINATION

The Khera-Griggs Cleanse Clinic at Urban Retreat is the best place for a detox and lymph drainage. It offers loads of great treatments and is way ahead of the curve.

Urban Retreat, The White House, 2-4 Hans Crescent, SW1; urbanretreat.co.uk

TOP SHOP

I’m a big believer in supporting local businesses. My local supermarket – Pomona in Belsize Park – has the best organic veggie food and household essentials. These little stores are disappearing so we need to support them.

Pomona Foods, 179 Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3; pomonafoods.co.uk

Jungle Is Massive

‘Rainforest dining’ is the best way to take the chill out of winter, thanks to this Berkley Square launch. Amazonico built a loyal following in Madrid, but the Mayfair opening is even louder in every sense – there’s live jazz (from bossa nova to Bulería), an overhead forest of ferns and feast of South American flavours which deliver a tropical blast.

Amazonico, 10 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1 restauranteamazonico.com

Tasting Notes

The latest openings and places to know across the capital

TELLING STORIES

Expect culinary theatrics from Tom Aikens as he makes a return to fine dining with the launch of Muse. There’s space for just 25 diners in the converted Belgravia mews, meaning that everyone has a front seat for a tasting menu that charts the various culinary inspirations throughout the chef’s life.

38 Groom Place, Belgravia, SW1 musebytomaikens.co.uk

ETHICAL TASTES

If you thought that ‘zero waste’ was about using up the dregs then this Chelsea launch will challenge your preconceptions. Ugly Butterfly helps diners enjoy guilt-free gluttony with dishes such as lobster shell soup and crisp fried chicken feet with caviar washed down with a selection from the strong by-the-glass champagne list. 55 King’s Road, Chelsea, SW3 uglybutterfly.co.uk

PLANTING THE SEEDS

14 Hills takes inspiration from its location - not the fact that it’s in the heart of the City, but one floor below London’s biggest public roof garden. Tables nestle between alocasia palms and philodendrons in what is sure to become a destination restaurant. Live music accompanies a busy weekend brunch service, and (unusually for this part of town) a great value children’s menu (£8 for three courses and a healthy juice) means that it’s much more than just business lunches during the week.

14th floor, 120 Fenchurch Street, City, EC3 14hills.co.uk

Mediterranean Diet

A PLACE IN THE SUN

Think deep tans and ‘very dry’ Martinis at Folie - a chic new spot inspired by the glamour of the Riviera. The owners aren’t only striving to recreate Mediterranean cuisine but also the conviviality of a long evening in Portofino or Marseille with generous platters to share between friends.

37 Golden Square, Soho, W1 folie.london

TOP OF THE WORLD

London’s hottest Mexican restaurant is hidden away at the top of new Marylebone hotel Treehouse London, where the 360-degree views across the capital’s skyline stretch far above the treetops. Stunning views aside, Madera is a great spot for weekend brunch, a light ceviche lunch or a blowout dinner working through the taquería menu. 14-15 Langham Place, Marylebone, W1 treehousehotels.com

LUCK OF THE IRISH

Leave the hustle of Old Street behind and hunker down in Richard Corrigan’s latest restaurant and bar, Daffodil Mulligan. If a cold pint of Guinness isn’t the perfect tonic then the oyster bar is sure to raise spirits - as will the prime sirloin and bone marrow-topped mash. It’s not for the fainthearted, but get stuck in and Daffodil Mulligan is the sort of place where weekends disappear in a happy fug of stout, Irish coffee and live music in the basement saloon. 70-74 City Road, Old Street, EC1 daffodilmulligan.com

GOLDEN WONDER

The new restaurant at members’ club Annabel’s encapsulates oldschool decadence. It’s all-out Italian maximalism - think heavily fringed furnishings, gold walls and mirrored ceilings. The wine list includes the largest private collection of Barolo in the UK, and there’s no holding back in the kitchen either. Expect generous amounts of Norcia black truffle, well-aged Parmesan and a feast of cannoli and zabaione to round off a classic Italian feast.

Matteo’s at Annabel’s, 46 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1 annabels.co.uk

HAUTE HOTELS

Newly opened and re-launched hotel restaurants are everywhere this season. Hilary Armstrong samples the best on offer

Seabird

32-40 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, SE1 seabirdlondon.com

When it comes to restaurants in tall buildings, there’s a widely held belief that the quality of food drops a notch for every fl oor you travel. By this measure, Seabird, located on the 14th fl oor of The Hoxton Hotel in Southwark, should be a dud. First impressions suggest otherwise. The room’s bright and beautiful, the skyline even more so (I recommend factoring in time for drinks and views on the heated terrace). Every detail has been prettified to perfection, from the ceramic ‘scale’ tiles on the tabletops to the tassels on the cushions and the cream crochet tops on the waiting staff.

This is not your typical seafood restaurant. This new concept is a collaboration with hip Williamsburg raw bar Maison Premiere. Shellfish is the star, presented at a grand central altar with marble counter. Oysters get their own list (London’s longest) and ‘mermelier’ (a sommelier of the sea). We pick a selection from Morecambe Bay, Yerseke in Holland and, my favourite, Gillardeau from Poitou-Charentes. We over-order, partly because portions are vast and partly because it’s all so damned tempting. Keep your head: one ‘small plate’ each is ample. We rather wish we’d given sea bass crudo a miss: the mild, sweet fish doesn’t stand a chance against black olive tapenade. Far better is the showstopping signature of an octopus tentacle served hot-dog style in a brioche bun, with a pop art squirt of sobrasada aioli.

Thematically, the menu’s loosely Iberian. A handsome John Dory - I didn’t know God made them this big - is cooked over coals and lavishly spread with mojo verde. It could feed an entire family. It’s accompanied by addictive Canarian papas arrugadas (potatoes boiled in salt water) with mojo rojo. We stick with the Canary Islands on the wine front, relishing the rare opportunity to drink the region’s sprightly wines by the glass. The drinks list is diverting for any number of other reasons too: our heads are turned by a hard-to-get Cuvée

des

of Izarra liqueur tipped over a lemon granita dabbed with chantilly cream. Life on the 14th fl oor is pretty good.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £140

SIGNATURE DISHES: Oysters; octopus roll, sobrasada aioli, padron peppers

WHAT TO DRINK: Iberian whites

CHARLIE’S

AT BROWN ’ S

Brown’s Hotel has had a rethink of its vintage panelled dining room, installing a new chef - Adam Byatt - little more than a year since the previous one - three Michelin-starred Heinz Beckarrived. I have a strong suspicion that Byatt’s modern British concept will have the staying power that eluded Beck. Byatt knows London. The Essex lad did his apprenticeship at Claridge’s and has worked in the city ever since, winning a Michelin star at his neighbourhood restaurant Trinity in Clapham in 2016. It’s this experience that has taught him that his culinary egotism comes second to what the locals want.

We settle onto a striped velvet banquette where we’re immediately treated to a boule of still-hot sourdough with salty butter, and a still life with leafy radishes, silky cod’s roe and golden olive oil. From here, we take in

the surrounds: good linen, cut fl owers, pretty china (remind me to put William Edwards’ Sultan’s Garden on my next wedding list) and a fl eet of waiting staff in neat white jackets. Classic grill room dishes - game, oysters, whole fish and roasts - call to us. Game traditions are upheld by the buttery, nutmeg-infused bread sauce that arrives with our grouse. Pommes souffl ées stand in smartly for game chips. A fi rst course of pressed terrine with chicken, ceps and rich duck liver will please the traditionalists too. Byatt’s innovation is to update the old, dare we say, male-skewed grill model with the introduction of lighter international fl avours such as a caulifl ower, caper and raisin salad, Sicilian red prawns and seared tuna with charred cucumber and clementine. Dessert too is whatever takes the fancy, which for some will mean cheese and port, for others a scoop or two of salted caramel ice-cream. For us, it means a fl awless crème caramel.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £150 SIGNATURE DISHES: Daily dishes from the trolley, eg rib of beef and Yorkshire pudding on Sundays WHAT TO DRINK: Old World wines

DECIMO

AT THE STANDARD

10 Argyle Street, King’s Cross, WC1 decimo.london

Even before Decimo on the tenth floor of the London Standard had served its first perfect, perfect ham croqueta, it was down as the opening of 2019. Isla, Adam Rawson’s spot on the ground floor was a teaser, but it was Decimo, helmed by Peter Sanchez-Iglesias (a star in his native Bristol and a bit of an enigma to Londoners) that we were all waiting for.

It doesn’t disappoint. The fun begins in the lift, a pillarbox red capsule that zooms up the hotel exterior to the top floor, and opens up to vistas out towards St Pancras clock tower (which looks close enough to touch) and down over Dickensian streets below. Not even the most jaded Londoner could fail to be transported by the views.

Sanchez-Iglesias, who has two stars (one apiece at his family’s two restaurants, Casamia and Paco Tapas) has looked to both his Spanish heritage and the cooking of contemporary Mexico for inspiration, producing an easygoing menu of tapas, aguachile, tacos and grills. The hero dish, splashed all

over Instagram, is a runny egg tortilla with caviar at £45. We say splurge on two portions of crab aguachile instead. The steamed white crab meat, its cool sweetness piqued with black jalapeño, kombu jelly and threeyear-old soy, is unforgettable. Our unusual aged natural Albariño is a perfect match.

The flavours, the colours, the textures are dialled up to eleven. How else to grab our attention, which could at any moment wander to the views, the people or the drinks? Turbot comes brushed with ham fat and Mexican oregano before being given the wood-fire treatment. Tomatoes are grated and sliced and anointed with arbequina oil. Even the more modest ingredients have a stealthe-show quality: grill-blackened trombetta courgettes, fried potatoes with alioli and a single roasted fig speared with a vanilla pod are dishes we’ll come back for again and again.

Look past the hype: Decimo is a keeper.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £160

SIGNATURE DISHES: Decimo tortilla with caviar; Homage to Caesar Cardini WHAT TO DRINK:

The Yard

by Robin Gill

It’s quite intimidating taking wine recommendations from a sommelier with a knuckleduster - what happens if the bottle’s corked? - but it’s all part of the narrative at The Yard by Robin Gill, the new restaurant at Great Scotland Yard Hotel that opened in December on the site of the old Metropolitan Police HQ. The 152room hotel is the first UK property in the Unbound Collection by Hyatt. They’ve had fun exploring the law-and-order theme, introducing subtle touches such as epaulettes on the uniforms, a display of bobbies’ whistles and a stunning ‘broken glass’ chandelier in The 40 Elephants bar - named after an all-female

gang of thieves. The art in the foyer comes from prison arts charity Koestler Arts.

Robin Gill, the affable Irish chef behind well-received south London independents (Sorella, Darby’s, The Dairy), was an inspired signing. I’m always impressed by how complex yet approachable his cooking is. Our waiter lays down the law, insisting we order the Cornish lobster special. This unapologetically luxurious dish with ravioli, lobster bisque and a shoal of brown shrimp is our dish of the night. Another starter of chicken thigh that combines the savoury umami layers of pressed chicken skin with the turbo-charged vegetal ‘oomph’ of a leek and seaweed

roll is a clear expression of the Gill style. An Asian-inflected dish of monkfish and turnips is spiked with homemade XO sauce that is aromatic rather than aggressive. At lunchtime there’s also a set menu, which, at £19.50 for two courses, represents uncommonly good value.

Back to our sommelier: it turns out she’s really a sweetheart. Her enthusiasm for the Yard’s cellar is both impressive and understandable: she steers us towards a floral Saint-Péray, an earthy Naoussa from Greece (poured en magnum) and a classic Banyuls to go with chocolate mousse. Further libatory temptations lie behind the secret doors that open to reveal the hotel’s whisky bar, Síbín.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE):

£150

SIGNATURE DISHES: Chicken thigh, crispy skin, leek and truffle terrine; roast fallow deer, red cabbage, celeriac, hunter’s pie.

WHAT TO DRINK: The 40 Elephants Cup cocktail

Hélène

Darroze

AT THE CONNAUGHT

How best to convey the experience of dining at the newly reopened Hélène Darroze at The Connaught? Let’s start at the end, over postprandial coffee, which our waiter Paulina expertly makes, fi rst grinding the beans manually at the table and fi nally serving it in delicate Hermès ‘Bleus d’Ailleurs’ china cups. Such is the attention to detail paid to even a single cup of espresso.

Hélène Darroze, who famously inspired the character of Colette in Pixar’s Ratatouille divides her time between her restaurants in Paris and London. She’s been rewarded with two stars apiece in Paris and London, but not one to rest on her laurels, she has this year revitalised her restaurant empire, renaming her flagship French restaurant Marsan (after her hometown) in May 2019 and relaunching at The Connaught in September 2019 with a playful new look by Pierre Yovanovitch.

The oak-panelled dining room vibrates with new energy. It’s bursting with colour: here in the ‘Espelette red’ of the tables’ lacquered bases, there in the salmon-pink cornicing. Darroze has worked with historic houses and favoured artisans to offer, at every turn, a tactile new artwork to hold or behold. The ‘Chef’s Table’ is now London’s

prettiest, with a table of travertine stone beneath artist Rochegaussen’s cobalt blue fresco. Elsewhere, there’s an Armagnac room - Darroze’s own family are producers - with 250 types and 50 vintages from 30 estates.

The menu follows a simple formula: choose fi ve (£120) or seven (£160) courses. Alternatively, come at lunch for the bighearted weekday lunch formula (just £65 including wine, water and coffee). After a tantalising fl urry of amuses - including a pine-infused consommé and a Montgomery cheddar shortbread with balsamic jellyand a few hunks of campaillou bread with espelette pepper butter, starters are a play of contrasts. Grouse terrine en croûte with foie gras (a favourite ingredient) is classical and robust; cep ravioli is pretty but powerful, boosted with the strong fl avours of snails, parsley and wet walnuts. As we discover, Darroze is not shy of fl avour: next up is hake with black pudding, and a tender pork chop, its natural sweetness amplifi ed with honey and beer.

of snails, parsley and wet walnuts.

For me, there’s only one dessert, and that’s the Signature Baba. Many chefs do a version, of course, but none drenched in their family’s own Armagnac (we choose the spicy 1999 vintage). The result is both familiar and familial. It’s these stories, these details, that put Darroze among the greats.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £420

SIGNATURE DISHES: Lobster, tandoori spices; Signature Baba, Armagnac Darroze

WHAT TO DRINK: Wine pairings from the 3,000-bin cellar

DAVIES AND BROOK

AT CLARIDGE’S

Brook Street, London, W1 claridges.co.uk

When Davies and Brook finally opened its doors at Claridge’s in early December, it instantly shot to the top of the year’s ‘Best of’ lists.

Its Swiss chef Daniel Humm may not be a household name but he’s revered by his peers as the chef half of the partnership behind New York’s Eleven Madison Park, winner of the World’s Best Restaurant in 2017. It was a shock when Humm and his front-of-house partner Will Guidara split so soon before the the Claridge’s launch but, judging by a meal during opening week, Humm has everything under control.

Already Davies and Brook feels like an old friend. The dining room looks and feels lovely, the colonnades now accented with crystal, a series of photographs by artist Roni Horn lining the walls. Service is smooth and scrupulous – very much of the top-buttonundone Manhattan school.

The £98 four-course menu offers no gimmicks, no shocks of flavour. Some might find it a little straight. Not me, however: I find the subtlety a relief. A pre-starter of scallop has us immediately on

side, the raw shellfish served over ice with apple and horseradish alongside hot scallop broth and a scroll of freshly baked bread with scallop shell butter. Foie gras is a favourite ingredient. Humm presents the smooth, cocoa-marbled liver as a neat round lid concealing a little tartlet with sharp plum compôte and exemplary pastry. The sommelier plays a classical hand here, recommending an excellent Riesling Spätlese. Next, silky king crab chawanmushi, a set custard garnished with daikon and black truffle julienned to flatter the texture of the crab. The house signature of duck breast with beetroot and an assertive sauce civet is a must-order, paired with a glass of Stéphane Ogier’s Côte-Rôtie. After a hot apple doughnut with mulled wine ice cream, we assume that’s it. But no, our waiter sends us off home with chocolate and granola for the following day. We could get used to the Davies and Brook treatment.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £300

SIGNATURE DISHES: Dry-aged roast duck with honey and lavender; Celeriac braised with black truffle.

WHAT TO DRINK: Dirty Martini

TheBetterment

AT THE BILTMORE

44 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1 thebettermentmayfair.com

Jason Atherton’s latest opening at The Biltmore Mayfair, directly opposite what was his debut restaurant Maze (and is now his old rival Ramsay’s Lucky Cat), sees the arch innovator reimagine the modern British hotel dining room. He’s included a few classics - a burger, a rib-eye, a proper English breakfast - but most other conventions are left at the door. Atherton is dubbing it a ‘theatre of the senses’. Certainly, there’s lots to take in, from comedy cocktails

(our ‘Orange American’ sports a Trump wig of yellow candyfloss) to champagne trolleys, to the receptionists’ off-the-shoulder tops, and a heated terrace that, for all the planters, somehow still feels like a parking bay.

The concept needs a little ‘betterment’ for want of a better word, but that doesn’t stop the kitchen going full tilt. Our langoustine crudo dusted with raspberry powder is supremely elegant, and gratinated brown crab on brioche toast packs a mighty umami punch. We split a whole roast chicken between two. Stuffed with trompette mushrooms and served with retro ‘sauce Albuféra’, it’s blissful (and a steal at £45). With cooking this good, who needs gimmicks? Come for the theatre, stay for the food.

MEAL FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £140

SIGNATURE DISHES: The Betterment burger, braised oxtail, fontina cheese

WHAT TO DRINK: The Orange American

WILD HONEY

AT THE SOFITEL

8 Pall Mall, St James’s, SW1 wildhoneystjames.co.uk

Anthony Demetre certainly wasn’t out of the kitchen for long. Only two months elapsed between the closure of Wild Honey in Mayfair and its reopening in St James’s but it was long enough to remind Londoners not to take this fine chef for granted.

I’m reminded of this as I sit down at a marble-topped table in Wild Honey’s new home within the Sofitel London St James. All the Demetre signatures are there, by which I don’t so much mean the classic bouillabaisse Marseillaise and rabbit shoulder cottage pie that have followed him from his Soho restaurant Arbutus, as the set menus and the range of wines en carafe that define his approach. Which other London five-star hotels do three courses at lunch for as little as £27? He does a ‘café menu’ too, an abbreviated version of the carte, which includes much talked-about dishes such as hand cut rigatoni ‘cacio e pepe’ with crispy chicken thighs, and wobbly nutmeg-crusted custard tart. It’s hard to believe it now, but there was a time when such approachability was considered beneath a Michelin starred chef’s dignity. Demetre broke the mould.

Demetre has had a hand in the wine list too, bringing his favourite suppliers with him. Natural wines from Tutto, Dynamic Vines, Les Caves de Pyrene and the like are more often found in hip East London bistros than in glossy global hotel groups. Our textural

Australian Pinot Grigio (pale pink from a few days’ skin contact) is a happy discovery. Menus, as one would expect, are superseasonal. Big flavours for winter days include cod with Shetland mussels and purple-sprouting broccoli; roast heritage beetroot, Christian Parra black pudding, cured wild boar cheek and green sauce; and ricotta ‘gnudi’ with squash, grapes and red endive. It’s good to have Wild Honey back.

MEAL

FOR TWO (WITH WINE): £150

SIGNATURE DISHES: Hand cut rigatoni ‘cacio e pepe’, crisp boneless chicken wings; Classic bouillabaisse Marseille-style; Wild Honey ice cream, fresh honey

WHAT TO DRINK: Negroni cocktails, French wines from the single bottle list

OZEN BY ATMOSPHERE AT MAADHOO, MALDIVES

Situated in the South Malé Atoll just 45-minutes from the airport via luxury speed-boat, OZEN by Atmosphere at Maadhoo specialises in catering to the discerning luxury world traveller. Embark upon an exquisite and authentically Maldivian experience unlike any other – with The Atmosphere INDULGENCE™ – OZENʼs unique luxury holiday plan! From Champagne trails, sumptuous à la carte fine-dining experiences – including an underwater dining experience, luxurious villas and amenities, holistic spa treatments and exhilarating diving and even more indulgence… MAADHOO ISLAND | SOUTH MALÉ ATOLL | THE MALDIVES

Moroccan Delights

Romantic, evocative, intoxicating... Marrakech doesn’t do anything by halves, from its swirling stucco palaces and fabled ancient medina to its vibrant bazaars and orange-scented gardens. See page 84 for the Moroccan city’s most atmospheric riads and beguiling boutique hotels, including the iconic design delight that is El-Fenn. el-fenn.com

Travel Notes

Winter Wellness

THE ICE QUEEN

The snow-cloaked Gstaad Palace forms the dazzling setting for a spectacular new winter wellness escape. Curated by experts at the sumptuous Palace spa, the Alpine programme features massages using locally-sourced herbs, honey and salt, as well as a pioneering new Cellgym experience, which harnesses the benefits of a low oxygen, high-altitude environment on the body’s cells. palace.ch

CITY SLICKER

Set to be one of Shanghai’s most luxurious offerings, the Westbund Hotel from Rocco Forte, will open next year in one of the city’s buzziest riverfront neighbourhoods. With an ultra-modern all-glass façade, the design concept will draw on Chinese artistic practices and classic Eastern aesthetics, with 219 rooms and an al fresco bar on the 52nd floor. roccofortehotels.com

DRINK IT IN

Prepare to head to wine country, as a recentlyrestored (and heartflutteringly beautiful) private villa has just become available for exclusive use. Located in South Africa’s stunning Paarl Valley, watched over by the ancient granite Klein Drakenstein mountains, Brookdale Estate sleeps up to ten people in peaceful, contemporary rooms. Architects have kept the design of the property as faithful as possible to the original Cape Manor house, which was pulled down in the 50s. Best of all? The estate’s vineyard is not open to the public, so you’ll have 27 hectares of vines all to yourself.

brookdale-estate.com

C’EST CHIC

Located at the heart of Paris’s elegant Triangle d’Or, Bvlgari’s latest hotel offering looks set to be one of the city’s finest addresses. With 76 mostly-suite rooms and a sprawling spa containing a 25-metre pool, it will also be home to Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, a restaurant concept overseen by the talented Michelin-star chef. bulgarihotels.com

Wild camp in the Omani desert, seek snowcapped serenity in Gstaad and discover every oenophile’s dream home

WILD AND FREE

Forget seven-star hotels. Sometimes luxury comes in the form of being entirely offgrid, with nothing but an endless sky and sand between your toes. Which is exactly what’s on offer with Anantara’s new luxury mobile camping adventures at Al Baleed Resort Salalah in southern Oman, with tailored itineraries and camp locations allowing guests to discover the country’s vast deserts, rugged mountains and long empty beaches at their own pace. anantara.com

SOUL SOOTHER

Twenty years after fires devastated the exquisite 19th-century Kocatas Mansions and left them uninhabitable, they have been lovingly restored by Six Senses. Set in Istanbul’s prosperous Sariyer district, the 45-room and suite hotel – opening in Spring 2020 – will host three restaurants and that all-important Six Senses spa, with uninterrupted views of the Bosphorus River. sixsenses.com

The Magic of

A whole new, sun-dappled world, just three-and-a-half hours away... the Moroccan city’s dreamiest riads offer thoughtful luxury, from bright and bold to a more pared-back aesthetic

When Vanessa Branson and Howell James walked into the crumbling courtyard of a colonial mansion in the Medina that had seen better days, it was love at first sight. Two years later, and they’d converted it into a charming six-bedroom boutique hotel.

That was in 2004. They’ve since bought neighbouring riads and, with the help of acclaimed Moroccan architect Amine Kabbaj, added a further 22 rooms and suites to the property, alongside three pools, a yoga lawn, 50-cover restaurant, bar, spa, beautifully-curated shop and a library - all nestled amongst a series of shady courtyards or on the expansive roof terrace.

The interiors moodboard is Instagram gold. The first thing that strikes you is the kaleidoscopic decor - colour imbues everything, from the rich jewel tones of the walls to the retro furniture and one-off bespoke pieces. A saffron yellow sofa here, an eye-popping fuschia kilim rug and a Francis Upritchard chandelier there. Vanessa used to run a gallery in London, and much of her private collection, including works by Bridget Riley, Fred Pollock and David Shrigley, adorns the hotel.

Interior designer Willem Smit, now managing partner at El Fenn, has a ‘living design’ approach, so that pieces across the hotel are switched up constantly, and each time you visit there’ll be something different - it could be a recent find from a local flea market or a new art

installation. The overall effect is of an evolving space that’s “Morocco meets rock and roll plus a bit of luxe”.

But instead of overpowering more traditional design nuances - like the carved cedar ceilings, ornate zellige tiling, tadelakt plasterwork and hand-stitched camel leather floors - the modern aesthetic works alongside them exquisitely.

Of the 28 individually-styled roomseach touched by a rainbow - we stayed in the ‘pink’ room, its dusky rose walls, pinkand-white tiled floor and ruby red velvet armchairs giving it a decidedly romantic spin, enhanced by the enormous bathroom with its free-standing roll top silver bath that’s big enough for two.

Gloriously eclectic it may all be (little wonder Madonna hired the entire riad for her lavish five-day 60th birthday celebrations last year), but this should not detract from the attentive level of service thanks to a fleet of staff, all dressed in bright red, naturally. Nor for that matter the food, considered some of the best in Marrakech.

With its candy-striped cushions, antique pottery adorning the walls, wicker lanterns and sun-drenched views of the Koutoubia mosque, the roof terrace is the ideal place for breakfast (delicious coffee,

homemade yoghurt and granola, fruit, goats’ cheese, freshly-baked bread and pastries, eggs, pancakes…) - it’s also lovely for lunch, light bites or a starlit drink, surrounded by hundreds of flickering candles. The main restaurant, offering a mix of traditional Moroccan and European cuisine with such dishes as grilled scallops with red lentils or quail tagine laced with honey and cinnamon, is hugely popular, particularly when the temperature drops.

One too many cocktails can be rectified the following day at the El Fenn spa with a vigorous black soap scrub and clay body mask in the hammam or hot room, followed by an Argan-based massage with essence of rose or amber, and mint tea by the spa pool. You’ll feel so relaxed, you’ll likely be moving at the same pace as the family of resident tortoises.

Need to know Rooms from €230 per night.

Tucked down an alleyway in the heart of Marrakech’s ancient Medina, amongst its spice sellers and antique shops, and moments from Dar El Bacha Palace, Riad de Tarabel is the epitome of coollyelegant, rose-scented serenity.

The colonial-esque central courtyard, lined with citrus trees and palms, is the hub, from which a series of sun-dappled patios, terraces and a grand salon lead off, so too the ten bedrooms (three of them suites). Decor throughout is pared back chic with striking pieces sourced from Parisian antiques markets, family heirlooms and glittering chandeliers, all complementing the muted colour palette and subtle Moorish architecture.

Even when the hotel is fully-booked, you never see anyone else. Whether lying on a chic rattan lounger by the pool, sipping mint tea on the rooftop or dining by the huge indoor fireplace (it gets cold at night in the winter months), it feels deliciously private, as though you have the place to yourselves. This is in large part due to the staff, who skillfully and discreetly ensure guests are always spread throughout the property. Laurent Bocca, the French manager, is charming, as is his nothing-is-too-much-bother team, making it feel a world away from an impersonal hotel.

While there isn’t a 'restaurant' per se, Moroccan chef Fatima Zohra is on hand to whip up whatever you’d like (as long as you order before 2pm), using fresh and seasonal ingredients; dishes might include a delectable lamb tagine with quince or chicken preserved with lemons and olives, to be eaten by flickering candlelight. There’s a seemingly never-ending supply of homemade pastries and the breakfast spread is not for the faint-hearted.

As if this place couldn’t get any dreamier, the spaLes Bains de Tarabel - is outstanding. Hardly surprising when you hear that it is helmed by Arkia el-Baz, who previously headed up the superlative spa at the nearby Royal Mansour.

Step through a secret door (clue: it’s a big fulllength mirror - press a tiny button and it slides open) and you’ll be enveloped in the fragrance of eucalyptus, orange blossom and ghassoul. The treatment list may be small, but it’s perfectly formed; highlights include the ancestral hammam, and a back reflexology treatment during which a therapist uses slow and deep movements

to work on pressure points, restoring balance. If time hasn’t already stood still for you at Riad de Tarabel, it will now.

Need to know Rooms from €230 per night, suites from €510.

HOME INTERIORS &

Tropical Paradise

Bringing the outside in, the Summerhouse collection from Osborne & Little is inspired by hothouse and indoor plants. Exquisite printed wallpapers, fabrics and co-ordinating weaves feature trees, foliage and flowers, with subtle three-dimensional effects in a colour palette that includes shades of greens and blues in a nod to this year’s key colour trends. osborneandlittle.com

Design Notes

Bauhaus-inspired

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Multi disciplinary designer Anissa Kermiche has become a cult interiors favourite thanks to her tongue-in-cheek ceramic vases designed to celebrate and empower the female form. The Constantin Brâncusiinspired Love Handles derrière-shaped vase is now also available in a super size version for those looking for a stand-out sculptural statement. From £340-£2,490 anissakermiche.com

HEART OF GLASS

Artist and designer Helle Mardahl graduated from London’s Central Saint Martins in 2001 and is now based in Copenhagen. Inspired by the sweet shops of her childhood, each piece in her candy-coloured collection of glass bowls, jars, dishes and even spoons is hand-blown into imperfect shapes, and can be mixed and matched as you please.

Medium Candy Jar, £1,070 matchesfashion.com

Paper cuts

IN FULL BLOOM

With a studio set in the Sicilian countryside, it’s easy to see where interior designer and artist Giusi Badalamenti finds inspiration for her delicate sculptural work. These charming flowers are carefully handcra ed using paper and wire so that each one is unique. Head to fashion and homeware emporium Alex Eagle Studio to make up your own arrangement from a selection.

Alex Eagle Studio, 6-10 Lexington Street, Soho W1; alexeagle.co.uk

IN GOOD SHAPE

Ethical Scandi design brand Mater recently partnered with fellow Danish architect Eva Harlou on He & She, a pair of elegant Bauhaus-inspired dining chairs (£677 each). e seats are handcra ed from FSC certified oak and the cane work is made from woven rattan — a fast-growing and naturally harvested material selected for it’s exceptional sustainability. materdesign.co.uk

THE GRAND TOUR

Louis Vuitton’s The Objets

Nomades is an ever-expanding collection of limited-edition, collectable furniture and homeware pieces inspired by the House’s travel DNA. Created eight years ago and touring international design fairs ever since, the unique collection combines the brand’s savoir-faire with the artistry of world-renowned designers and artisans including Patricia Urquiola, India Mahdavi, the Campana Brothers, and most recently Andrew Kudless. louisvuitton.com

NEO MINT CONDITION

According to trend forecasters WGSN, the pastel shade of ‘neo mint’ will be the major colour trend in interiors this year. Described as ‘an oxygenating, fresh tone that harmonises science and technology with nature’, this clean colour feels optimistic in our uncertain times.

chairs, shapely vases and this years green trend

Designer Focus

POPPY APPEAL

From Bowie-inspired mirrors to banana-leaf wallpaper, Poppy Delevingne’s west London home is a joyful mix of clashing colours and prints, sumptuous furnishings and clean lines. Here, she and her interior designer Joanna Plant talk about their shared aesthetic

Tucked away in a sleepy part of Shepherd’s Bush sits model and actress Poppy Delevingne’s house, a pretty period townhouse on a quiet, blossom-lined street. But that quaint façade doesn’t tell the full story: step inside and you’ll find a riot of colour and mismatching prints and patterns, alongside dark lacquered walls, whimsical wallpaper and vintage treasures.

Delevingne and her husband James Cook (who is CEO of his family’s aviation company) bought the house in 2015, a year after their wedding, after hearing about the property through Delevingne’s aunt and immediately falling in love with it. They wanted to give it a complete overhaul, however, so they tasked Putney-based architect Alex Tart with removing all the staircases, raising the ceilings and even digging into the garden to excavate a spot for Delevingne’s study - at one point the house was just a shell, where you could see from down in the basement all the way up to the roof.

It was two years before they were able to move in, after months of Cook handdelivering drawings for planning permissions to the neighbours’ houses to get their approval. Delevingne has described the project as “a labour of love” and said the most important element was to make sure it was a true reflection of her and her husband. Which is why she enlisted the help of west London-based interior designer Joanna Plant to pull together the house’s broad mix of designs.

“I met Poppy and James through Poppy’s aunt, but the decorating deal was actually cut between Poppy and my husband, Nick, at Glastonbury,” explains Plant. “Which, if you know Poppy, won’t be at all surprising!” Her brief for the house was “grown-up fun”, which Plant carried out to a T, from the floor-to-ceiling Martinique banana-leaf wallpaper in the ground-floor guest bathroom (which also famously graces the walls of The Beverly Hills Hotel) to the house’s gleaming red-painted bar, which was where Plant started the project - because, according to the interior designer, “every house needs a bar”.

“Conceptually, I was clear from the outset what the aesthetic would be and I was able to draw on so many good references - The Bel-Air hotel, holidays in the south of France, sexy hotel lobbies and old Hollywood glamour,” explains Plant. ‘Poppy has very good design credentials, having grown up in houses decorated by Nina Campbell, and so I knew that she understood about being brave with colour and the importance of good furniture.”

The design process was carried out in a thoroughly modern way - with both Delevingne and Cook travelling constantly for work, traditional sketches and mood boards were ditched in favour of group text messages, with Plant pinging over photographs or ideas and everyone responding instantly in whatever time zone they happened to be in. “Working with Jo was a dream come true,” says Delevingne. “The whole experience was totally seamless and by the end we were practically finishing each other’s sentences.” The couple’s travels provided a large part of the inspiration for the house. Their cosy sitting room - which Delevingne has said she wanted to feel “mysterious and naughty” - was inspired by the Hôtel Costes in Paris and features glossy dark walls painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue, multicoloured lightning-shaped mirrors by Bride & Wolfe (inspired by Delevingne’s hero, David Bowie), and gold Hans Koegl palm-tree lamps. The pièce de résistance, however, is the enormous blood-red velvet sofa, custom made by

Plant, which Delevingne has cited as her favourite piece in the house - mainly because it’s the best place to take naps.

“My favourite room in the house would have to be my dusty-pink bedroom,” says Delevingne. “The wallpaper is linen and first thing in the morning, when the light comes in, it’s like you’re in a cocoon. It glows, and I find it so calming.” Fresh and feminine without feeling overly saccharine or girly, the rose-pink Fromental wallpaper is paired with an enormous Ensemblier headboard, covered in a pink mohair velvet by Claremont. The master bathroom also features a pink-painted C.P. Hart bathtub to match, offset by an exquisite hand-painted silk wall covering by De Gournay. Cook was said to be less than

impressed with his wife’s choice of colour scheme at first, but Delevingne insists he’s come around to it.

It’s the downstairs guest bathroom that Plant chooses as her favoured room, because “we had to shoehorn it into what was an almost impossibly small space under the stairs, but we did it, and the Martinique banana leaf wallpaper is such an unexpected surprise”.

The house is an eclectic mix of old and new, which has come to be known as Plant’s signature style. It is her husband, Nick, who sources all the antiques and commissions the bespoke furniture pieces - always made in British workshops - such as Delevingne’s bespoke sofas and the downstairs bathroom sink. Delevingne also loves to scour antique

The Glossary Edit

Poppy’s Style Guide

shops for special pieces for her home – her favourite spots include Golborne Road in Notting Hill and Kempton Market, the twice-monthly antiques market at Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey.

When she’s in Los Angeles, a place she visits frequently for filming, she’ll head to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Top finds include the vintage wicker peacock chair that sits proudly in the master bedroom and the vintage brass desk in Delevingne’s study, which also features a custom neon sign and a Fiona Mcdonald chair covered in blue palm-print House of Hackney fabric (Delevingne’s go-to for patterned fabrics). For more modern pieces, Delevingne will head to The Conran Shop or OKA.

The house is a trove of treasures, filled with delights and surprises at every turn, and yet you’d never guess from the outside, as it looks just like any other typical London townhouse, on any other residential street. But in Delevingne’s words, “grown-up fun” was the order of the day here - and that’s exactly what Plant has achieved.

“We had such fun working together. Delevingne is the sweetest person and making her first home for her was the best - we just got each other, which made the whole process such a joy,” says Plant. “I am really proud that the house is standing the test of time. The colour schemes are pretty punchy and not for the faint-hearted, but it’s the brave moves in decoration that give the most long-term happiness.”

joannaplantinteriors.com

"I always think vintage pieces create personality as they have a story - you know that they’ve lived a life before you. I love scouring the antique shops on Golborne Road in Notting Hill and Kempton Market antiques market in Surrey, or the Rose Bowl vintage fair in Los Angeles." "There are definitely prints that I particularly gravitate to. I adore anything with a palm, banana leaf or or animals. De Gournay is my go-to for wallpaper, and House Of Hackney for fabrics."

are animals. go-to House

DIANE

HOUSE

ATT

GEORG

£165, houseofhackney.com

£1,995, attpynta.com

BRIDIE HALL Alphabet pen pot, £40, pentreath-hall.com

EICHHOLTZ Mirage swivel chair, £1,090, sweetpeaandwillow.com

"Don’t be afraid of clashing colours and prints, it only brings vividness to your space."

"These mirrored lightning bolts by Bride & Wolfe remind me of my ultimate hero, David Bowie."

MY GLOSSARY

LAURA BAILEY

Model, photographer and British Vogue contributing editor Laura Bailey opens her little black book to the capital

As told to HARRIET COOPER

HOME IS...

Just off Portobello Road. I’ve lived around Ladbroke Grove for 20 years, even if New York did steal my heart for a while. I treasure my neighbourhood for its secret gardens, market, and friends on every corner.

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT

For a celebration, The Wolseley or Spring at Somerset House. For cosy meals with girlfriends, Six Portland Road or Laylow on Golborne Road, where I take my dogs. Sunday lunch at The River Café is the dream. thewolseley.com; springrestaurant.co.uk; sixportlandroad.com; laylow.co.uk; rivercafe.co.uk

FAVOURITE COCKTAIL

I love a Piscine (Champagne on ice) at The Fumoir at Claridges - it’s the best place for a date. Though I’m equally as happy with a glass of red at one of my local pubs, The Windsor Castle or The Cow. claridges.co.uk; thewindsorcastlekensington.co.uk; thecowlondon.co.uk

FAVOURITE HOTEL

The Portobello Hotel is where my overseas friends stay so they can fl it between my house and the hotel. It’s quirky, romantic and it keeps its secrets well... portobellohotel.com

FAVOURITE MEMBERS’ CLUB

Soho House forever - I can’t wait

for Paris to open this year. Also The Conduit in Mayfair - the Vogue team had their Christmas party there, though I’m not a member (yet). sohohouse.com; theconduit.com

FAVOURITE GALLERY

We’re spoilt for choice in London. The recent Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits at the RA moved me. I’m a patron of The Photographers’ Gallery in Soho, which is another gem – the basement bookstore is a favourite haunt. royalacademy.org.uk; thephotographersgallery.org.uk

FAVOURITE BRITISH ARTIST

Jenny Saville. One of my most cherished works is a print from her collaborative series with photographer Glen Luchford. I fi rst saw Jenny’s work at the Saatchi Gallery’s Sensation exhibition in 1997 and I have been in awe ever since.

BEST LOCAL SHOPS

Halfpipe on Golborne Road for my bicycle needs, plus my son’s skateboard paraphernalia. Clarke’s for panic takeout when I haven’t time to cook. Natural beauty mecca Onda on Westbourne Grove, and Liberté Chérie, a zero-waste grocery store on Portobello Road. halfpipelondon.com; sallyclarke.com; ondabeauty.co.uk; libertecherie.co

I GET MY HAIR DONE AT...

Everything, always, at Josh Wood Colour Atelier in Holland Park. I see

Josh for colour (he’s my best friend - he used to paint my hair pink in our kitchen sink when we lived together in our 20s). joshwoodcolour.com

GO-TO THERAPISTS

The therapists at Koia in W11 have the strongest hands. Plus I have a monthly massage and acupuncture with Josie Jenkinson, and my facialist for more than 20 years has been Una Brennan. If you know, you know… koia.london

any chance I get. opusfitness.co.uk; boxcleversports.com; bodyism.com

FAVOURITE BOUTIQUES

For presents, Alex Eagle Studio on Lexington Street in Soho and Goop on Westbourne Grove (which stocks Loquet London, the jewellery brand I created with my friend Sheherazade Goldsmith). Also Mount Street Printers for bespoke stationery. alexeagle.co.uk; goop.com; mountstreetprinters.com

FAVOURITE FASHION DESIGNERS

Virginie Viard for Chanel, Simone Rocha, Molly Goddard, Stella McCartney for her tailoring and tennis kit, and Shrimps. My brands to watch include Ryan Lo, streetwear label Aries and Blondey McCoy’s Thames.

BEST BEAUTY SPOT

The Chanel beauty counter in the Bond Street fl agship store. I adore Boy by Chanel. It’s mysterious, sensual and androgynous. chanel.com

FAVOURITE

WELLNESS SPACE

Opus Fitness for Pilates, Box Clever Sports for boxing and Bodyism for yoga and a stretch - and coffee. I also indulge my tennis obsession

BEST FOR VINTAGE Rellik in the shadow of the Trellick Tower, and Portobello Market on Friday mornings. Also Golborne Road, especially Phoenix. relliklondon.co.uk; phoenixgolborne.co.uk

@laurabaileylondon laurabailey.com

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