The Ferrari 275 is a series of front-engined V12-powered grand touring automobiles with two-seater coupé and spider bodies produced between 1964 and 1968

Sweden is not the first country that comes to mind when thinking of automotive nirvana, but Paris-based auction house Artcurial has found a treasure trove there that it is putting to auction in Monaco this week. The main feature is a selection of beautiful Porsche 911s from the pre-1997 switch to water-cooled engines: there’s something for every Porsche aficionado, at almost every budget. There are some deliciously specified examples being sold on behalf of a Swedish collector with impeccable taste. It is also cleverly marketed as a no-reserve auction, with some eye-catchingly low estimates: a surefire way to attract interest. Go, enjoy, but beware of overpaying in the heat of the no-reserve moment.

Matthieu Lamoure from Artcurial says:

This W Collection, owned by Staffan Wittmark, is exceptional because it represents the culmination of a man’s lifelong passion for creation. As European importer of the ready-to-wear brand Gant and the brand’s artistic director, he studied design and put together the models in his collection with a rare aesthetic sensibility. His 26 Porsches, presented in the sale, work by color pair, for example, and by model. He defined the codes of his collection by growing up on the streets of Stockholm with a taste for line and design excellence. For this reason, three major brands have marked his passion: Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes. For him, the lines created by Pininfarina for Ferrari represent the pinnacle of aerodynamic elegance.

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The Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 to 1957 as a gullwinged coupé and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster

The second important parameter of this collection is that Staffan Wittmark has decided to entrust his collection to the market, with no reserve price. He is turning the page like a collector who has reached the end of one project and is ready to start another. We will therefore start the auction at 50% of the low estimate, allowing all buyers to try their luck. What’s also exceptional is the condition of the cars. They are either fully restored, like the 9 Ferraris certified by the Ferrari factory, or the Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing and Roadster.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was capable of reaching speeds of up to 263 km/h (163 mph), earning it a reputation as a sports car racing champion and making it the fastest production car of its time

Read more: BMW XM Review

To find 44 cars offered by a single owner gives the ensemble a wonderful provenance. and in such restored condition is a rare element in any collection.

Quality, provenance, exclusivity and passion are the watchwords of this fabulous sale!

The designation “SL” is an abbreviation of the German term “super-leicht,” meaning “super-light,” a reference to the car’s racing-bred lightweight construction

A view of the Hotel Metropole’s grand exterior

In the heart of Monaco is a grand yet intimate hotel that offers fantastic dining, a world-class indoor/outdoor pool, one of the best spas in Europe and a mystique that makes it even more than the sum of its parts. Darius Sanai checks in

The arrival at a great hotel is a key part of its story. The Metropole is situated on the Casino Square of Monte-Carlo, one of the most celebrated public destinations in the (luxury) world. And yet your arrival is refreshingly discreet. Your car turns into a driveway, lined with supercars, away from the public gaze. You are ushered into the lobby as if arriving at a grand private home. The lobby itself is a visual feast, but a discreet one: no overbright lights and high ceilinged grandeur, but a dramatic floral display, tapestries on the walls and intriguingly lit corners and a segue into a bar area to the right. This is a place for insiders – those who really know Monaco.

The hotel lobby’s floral displays change according to the season

Our room, a Prestige Suite, was lavish and contemporary, a hard act to get quite right. Chandeliers and rich drapes, pale furnishings and walls, blonde wood loungers, floor-to-ceiling windows. A place of light, comfort and silence in a town that can sometimes be very hectic.

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The Metropole is famous for its food, and on the first evening we had a highly memorable meal, not at one of its celebrated restaurants but in the cosy heart of the bar, off the lobby. This is where Monaco residents go for casual dining. It’s comfort food, Monaco-style: a fabulous gazpacho, delicate artichoke with parmigiano, and a brilliant summation of Mediterranean cuisine: minestrone with monkfish, black beans and guianciale. Sublime yet simple.

The glamorous Hotel Metropole Bar was designed by architect and interior designer Jacques Garcia

The bar is a place to see friends as they swoosh back and forth to the lobby and the restaurants beyond: so we chose an excellent Pink Kiss, the house cocktail, gin-based, refreshing and balanced, to toast them.

The hotel recently opened its gastronomic restaurant, Les Ambassadeurs, by chef Christophe Cussac, who has overseen the food and beverage option at the hotel for almost two decades.

For LUX, though, the Metropole’s culinary piece de resistance is Yoshi, a small but exquisite Japanese restaurant situated in the courtyard, with a flower garden outside – a great indulgence considering the price of real estate here. The lacquered chicken – a delicious dish somewhere between teriyaki and yakitori – was memorable, the grilled black cod fleshy and fulsome with miso, and the miso soup refreshingly umami.

The Obento menu at the hotel’s Michelin Star restaurant Yoshi offers a light refreshing lunch option

Beyond the rooms and the cuisine is the spa, the hotel trying its hardest to ensure you never have to go anywhere in Monaco outside its domain. A wander down a corridor leads to a big terraced pool area, with views across town, a health food restaurant attached (with requisite, impossibly perfect men and women perched at the bar). The service at the pool is magnificent, intuitive and thorough without being overbearing. The pool miraculously turns into an indoor pool in winter, the walls of its pavilion swathed in Karl Lagerfeld frescoes.

Read more: Badrutt’s Palace St Moritz, Review

Just downstairs from the pool, we were wafted into the transformational world of the Bastien Gonzalez ‘Pedi:Mani:Cure’. If you ever wondered why women in Monaco have hands that look 20 years younger than they are, you now know the answer, although seeing a teenage girl emerging from the spa after us did beg the question of whether her hands disappeared altogether into a pre-natal state.

Designed by Karl Lagerfield, the ODYSSEY installation and heated pool is covered throughout the winter and al fresco during the rest of the year

But we digress. More than the magnificent hardware, any memory of the Metropole is dictated by the even more magnificent service. Not a given, even in this part of the world, it gives this uber-chic grand hotel in one of the world’s most iconic destinations the feel of a fantastic, extensive private home – albeit one with some of the world’s best chefs cooking for you, and a butler who can rustle up a fantastic club sandwich and cocktail if you just feel like chilling with your house guests in the drawing room. The Metropole is an absolute LUX favourite.

Find out more: metropole.com

Belle Époque meets contemporary at the Royal-Riviera, Côte d’Azur

In the second part of our luxury travel views column from the Spring/Summer 2023 issue, LUX’s Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai checks in at the Royal Riviera, Côte d’Azur

What drew us there?

Many of the great hotels of the French Riviera are places to see and be seen. They are the kind of destinations where wardrobe prep and social diary-checking can take as long as the stay itself.

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Wafting through the understated reception of the Royal-Riviera, you realise you are somewhere quite different. Walk to the pool area behind the main Belle Époque building and there is a low-rise building, Villa l’Orangerie, that houses capacious rooms and suites; to your left is an elegant restaurant beyond which you see the Mediterranean stretch to Monaco. Behind the hotel is a dramatic vista of mountains plunging to the sea. Although the hotel sits in the most desirable residential area of the coast, this is an enclave, a place where you put on your Chanel sunglasses only to protect yourself from the sun. Your fellow guests are as discreet as you are; they don’t need to shout about who they are.

The perfect private terrace

How was the stay?

Our suite was in the Villa l’Orangerie, whose rooms and suites are all newly renovated, as is the terrace surrounding the swimming pool and the garden deck, giving us much to admire. We had our own little private garden and could go from our living room to the pool in 12 steps.

Sit by the pool and you won’t feel like leaving: the view of the mountains and the Mediterranean cuisine served poolside or in the restaurant see to that. If you do go out, this is super-prime Côte d’Azur. The village of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is five minute’s walk one way along a pretty coastal path. The centre of Beaulieu-sur-Mer – another chichi resort in this hallowed region between Nice and Monte Carlo – is five minutes the other way. Outside the hotel is a little sandy beach, a section of which is for hotel guests only. It is delightful and very different to some Mediterranean hot spots: no Instagram celebrities, just people chilling in one of the most spectacular parts of Europe.

Read more: One&Only The Palm, Dubai, Review

One afternoon, we took a taxi halfway up the mountain to the hilltop village of Èze, a medieval scramble of streets with unbelievable views in every direction. Another evening we went for dinner with friends in Monte Carlo, around 25 minutes away. In both cases, we were pleased to get back to the peace of the Royal-Riviera.

Discreet Mediterranean styling in a Junior Suite

Anything else?

Breakfast is on an arcaded terrace in the original building, where, later, a glass of vintage champagne sets you up well for the evening. From there, it’s a short stroll to the terrace of the Jasmin Grill & Lounge for a glass of Whispering Angel and a main course of grilled turbot.

Find out more: royal-riviera.com

This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of LUX

Oliver Wenden, Vice President & CEO of the Prince Albert II Foundation standing with artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar next to his specially created human-sized enamel sculpture. Photo by David M. Benett

Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation held a joint event with Cap Ferrat based artist, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar, to launch the opening of Behnam-Bakhtiar’s solo show ‘Ocean’ at the the foundation’s headquarters, Villa Girasole. The partnership for the show was formed to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of the planet, and specifically the oceans

Olivier Wenden, Vice President & CEO of the Prince Albert II Foundation, noted,  “Sassan’s talent is quite unique. I really love the discussion in his colourful paintings between abstraction and figurative scenes. They also open a discussion between traditional art, symbolic of the Persian mosaic, and modernity.

“Sassan’s commitment to help raise awareness for the preservation of the planet through his talent and art is very essential. In addition to scientific messaging, we need to convey new ecological narratives that are more directly connected to our hearts.”

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Left to right: Cesc Fàbregas, Natalie Imbruglia, Daniella Fabregas, Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar and Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar. Photo by David M. Benett

When Wenden was asked about his favourite piece he chose the ‘Towards the Ocean’ painting, saying that it “conveys a central question about the place of the ocean in our life. The ocean is our best ally in tackling the issue of climate change, and at the same time it needs all our attention because it is threatened by many human induced pressures. We can’t save our future without saving the global ocean.”

On his show Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar said “If the energy of the ocean had a romantic dance with my own artistic energy, the result would be these site specific works created for the historic Villa Girasole, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.”

The guests who attended the private view of ‘Ocean’. Photo by David M. Benett

Read more: The Special Relationship of Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and Ali Jassim

Behnam-Bakhtiar chose to partner with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation because their “vision on progressing ocean and planetary health is unmatched.” As a true believer in their mission, he is “proud to be teaming up with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.”

Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar‘s exhibition will be on display at Villa Girasole from June 30th to September 15th 2023

Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and Ali Jassim

One is an artist and the other a financier, but in coming together to create a charitable foundation, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and patron, Ali Jassim have also found themselves blurring boundaries and creating art together, discovers Mark C. O’Flaherty

The relationship between artist and patron is one that has formed part of the bedrock of creative endeavours for centuries. The links between the Medici and Michelangelo defined Renaissance Italy with a complexity and intimacy far more than any of Brunelleschi’s domed architectural gestures, or the fictitious romance of Romeo and Juliet. Masterpieces simply flowed from the marriage of painter and family. Similarly, Peggy Guggenheim freed up Jackson Pollock to create his grand abstract-expressionist canvases through a $150-a-month contract between 1943 and 1947, from Mural, the piece he created for her Manhattan townhouse, to his first major drip-technique masterpiece, Full Fathom Five. Right now, artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and financial advisor, philanthropist and entrepreneur Ali Jassim are exploring what an artist and patron can achieve in the 21st century. Both men have Iranian heritage (Jassim’s on his mother’s side), with Behnam-Bakhtiar based in France and Jassim in Puerto Rico.

‘Garden of the Soul’ At Dusk, 2020

When I speak to Behnam-Bakhtiar, it is via Zoom and he is in bed, functioning at half speed
after contracting Covid from his wife and child. “It’s okay, it’s just boring,” he says, sitting up to talk enthusiastically about what he was working on before the virus landed, and what comes next. Much of that will involve his relationship with his patron and now partner in philanthropy, Jassim, as they establish the Jassim Bakhtiar Foundation in Monaco, to help children in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the region. “We are doing our first fundraiser next year, in the south of France,” says the artist. “We want to have a huge impact. The language of arts and culture can create momentum and bring on the right people together for a cause, but this isn’t just about donating a few thousand dollars, we are looking at tens of millions.”

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The pair met around 10 years ago, at an exhibition in London. “We immediately knew we shared many of the same attributes, purely as human beings,” says Behnam-Bakhtiar. “Of course, we both have an Iranian heritage, but we found that we share core values. He was an art collector, and we talked a lot about my theories and philosophy, and he wanted to know where I wanted to go with my work. Then as he spends some time in Cap Ferrat, near where I am, we started talking more about Iran and the orphans of the conflict, and we decided to look at creating a foundation. But our relationship is about more than that. I believe we share experiences from past lives. We talk for about four hours on the phone every day. He likes to come and get his hands dirty in the studio, too, and the dynamic goes both ways: I’ve also become an advisor to him in his business endeavours.”

From the ‘Garden of the Soul’ series, At Midnight, by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

Jassim is a fascinating character, who has worked extensively with high-profile figures in the business world of the Middle-East and Europe. “When I first met Sassan, I felt an inexplicable connection. Then, over the years, as I found myself growing emotionally and spiritually, I began to understand it was a connection beyond explanation, beyond science and mathematics. It is a feeling that spans many lifetimes,” he says. “I believe the greatest teacher we have in our life is our own soul. Sassan and I both believe this, and we often take time aside to connect and meditate multiple times a week. I would love to live in a world one day where I feel I’ve had a positive impact and where respect is present across the world throughout races and religions, most importantly for Mother Earth. Difference is what we want to portray on the canvas through the art we are creating, but the goal is unity.”

From the ‘Garden of the Soul’ series, Love Always Prevails (detail), 2020, by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

Behnam-Bakhtiar has spent years exploring meditative practices as part of his work, grounding himself with Kundalini principles and, as he says, “focusing on my chakras and accessing dormant power”. He describes a William Blake-style revelatory moment of seeing bright colours after getting deeply into meditation, which fed through to how he creates his work. Many of his canvases have a romantic Monet-like quality to the florals, but also look like pixelated glitches on a monitor. Behnam- Bakhtiar tells me his peinture raclée technique is linked directly to his meditation: “When you strip layers of yourself away, you go inside yourself. I wanted to shut off external layers so I could feed the frequency of my soul. That promoted health and wellbeing and had a profound impact on me. So that’s what I started to do with my painting. I began to scrape off layers. And that physical process takes about six months, even for a relatively small painting. I play with the paint. The consistency of it is crucial. I need to wait after I’ve applied it so that it dries to a certain degree, at which point I can scrape it off to get the texture I am seeking. It is a technique that was born through meditation.”

Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar at the unveiling of ‘The Journey’, 2022, presented by Ali Jassim

As well as exploring meditative practices and laying the groundwork for their foundation (the HQ of which will also house Jassim’s impressive art collection, putting Behnam- Bakhtiar canvases alongside work by Renoir, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Richard Prince), the pair have been working on a collection of paintings entitled ‘The Journey’. Although the imagery has the same abstract beauty for which Behnam-Bakhtiar is renowned, it is also some of the most political and personal he has done in years, with skulls and crowns manifesting themselves in the mixture of oils, acrylics and crushed stone.

From the ‘Garden of the Soul’ series, At Sunrise, by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

Years ago, Behnam-Bakhtiar worked in the medium of photo collage, and the subject matter was overt. Born in Paris in 1984, he grew up in post-revolution Iran against the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war. One way of dealing with his traumatic experiences, which included imprisonment and life-threatening episodes, was to address the politics of Iran through imagery in works such as the 2016 series ‘This Way’, which features My Favorite Kinda Soldier is This Way and Tehran is This Way – the latter incorporating a collage of a figure with a gas mask and a dress of Iranian carpet pattern. Subsequently, as he practised meditation, it came to feature in his methodology, and his work became more visually romantic.

From the ‘Garden of the Soul’ series, At Peace, by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

In everything Behnam-Bakhtiar does, there is the resonance of his trauma in Iran. War and its impact on the human psyche are common and essential themes in contemporary art. In 2022, one of the most talked-about installations at the Venice Biennale was Anselm Kiefer’s work that took over the vast walls of the Sala dello Scrutinio in the Doge’s Palace. The series of paintings, entitled ‘Questi scritti, quando verranno bruciati, daranno finalmente un po’ di luce (‘These writings, when burned, will finally cast a little light’)’ created a devastating immersive tableau incorporating blasted landscapes and remnants of clothing. With war raging in Ukraine, it felt apposite, but almost intolerably graphic and moving. I ask Behnam- Bakhtiar why his reaction to trauma is to create beautiful imagery, rather than aggressive pieces.

Trees of Paradise, 2019, by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

“That’s probably the best question anyone’s asked me,” he says. “It’s been a very important value in my work. And I’ve had the privilege of being in group shows with Kiefer. My life has been filled with traumatic experiences. Back in the day, I would sit with some of my idols, who were older Iranian artists and friends of mine, and ask why we always had to paint sad things. And I knew the answer, of course – the art world wants us to show women in a hijab and show the sufferings of our people. The collages I used to do, that was when I had lost the plot. I had an exhibition in London and showed that work; it was about the children who were part of the war. Then I created another series, ‘The Real Me’, which was around the time we were all portrayed as bearded terrorists. I wanted to show that, despite the Islamic revolution, we lived like anyone else. I’d had enough of seeing sad work. Even if I start from a dark piece, it always ends up being beautiful. You can see the hurt, but I also want you to see the transformation in it, to bring hope and strength and love.”

‘Extremis’, Setareh Gallery, 2019

When Behnam-Bakhtiar talks about his patron “getting his hands dirty”, he means literally. Jassim has been working with him in the studio and, while he is operating under the artist’s direction, he has been physically making his mark on the canvas. The physical connection to the work is important for both of them. “What we are doing with the foundation together is so important,” says Behnam-Bakhtiar. “And this is a unique dynamic, for an established artist to work with someone who isn’t a painter. But I want him to have visual input. And I will credit those pieces to both of us.”

Read more: Domaine Clarence Dillon: L’Art de Vivre

With the duo also developing NFTs as part of their output, as well as building the Jassim Bakhtiar Foundation together, the potential for what began as a straightforward patron-and-artist scenario is limitless. The High Renaissance brought us Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, created with as many as 13 assistants and the infinite resources of the Vatican. With every advance in technology, and a will to use art for much more than religious decoration, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar and Ali Jassim could create unimaginable wonders.

Find out more: sassanbehnambakhtiar.com

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2022/23 issue of LUX

There may be more exclusive places on the islands near Cannes and in the bays around St Tropez and Capri, but summer isn’t summer without a little fix at the Monte Carlo Beach Club

If you are planning on visiting the French Riviera this summer and haven’t haven’t managed to book yourself a super prime villa or a suite at one of the luxury hotels, never fear. The Riviera is made or broken by your daytime waterside experiences and for that there is no place better than the newly refreshed Monte Carlo Beach Club.

Ostensibly a part of the adjoining Monte Carlo Beach hotel, which sits on a rock overlooking the bay, the town and the mountains beyond, this huge complex combining an outdoor Olympic swimming pool, extensive terrace areas and cabanas, watersports and restaurants is open to any guests staying at the prestigious hotels owned by the Societé des Bains de Mer which runs most of the hospitality in Monte Carlo.

But a little-known secret is that this social hub of the area is also open to all comers who book in advance and pay a daily fee. At €170 per person it’s a fraction of what you would pay for staying in a hotel nearby.

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So what do you get? A recent visit showed the facilities to be among the best, if not the best, of the entire Riviera. As well as the huge pool, with a separate lane for swimmers doing lengths, and two diving boards, vigilantly policed by lifeguards, there are lounges all around the pool and, more exclusively, cabanas on the lower terrace between the pool and the sea. You can also go parasailing, jet skiing or waterskiing and give yourself a booster of Domaine Ott rosé along with a tuna salad at the Terrace restaurant.

All of which makes for an excellent day or three out. But that’s not the whole story. When we have meetings with Monaco residents in summer, they tend to be at the beach club. Either on the terrace restaurant, or in the cabanas themselves. People-watching should be done subtly here so it doesn’t mark you out as a tourist.

Read more: Chef Ángel León: Ocean Sustainability Supremo

And please, no taking pictures of celebrity billionaires. But they are there, either chilling out for a day’s rest from the yacht, or taking a few hours out between meetings at the office, or simply on a day out with their family because their boat doesn’t have a swimming pool quite as big as this – nowhere else in the region does.

The flipside is that, if you already know people down here, this is not the place to go unless you want to see and be seen. We were accosted four times by friends and business contacts and invited to various combinations of lunch, drinks and boat outings, when all we were trying to do was take advantage of the sports facilities and get some proper exercise. But whether you use it as a social or leisure destination, there’s nothing quite like it.

Find out more: montecarlosbm.com/monte-carlo-beach-club

© Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

In the second part of our luxury travel views column from the Autumn 2021 issue, LUX’s Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai discovers a new side to Monaco at the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel

Just getting to the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel puts you in the mood. Unlike some of the grand hotels of the principality, the Beach is what it says it is. We drove past the entrance to a huge outdoor swimming pool and waterfront water-sports complex, and then down a narrow driveway to the entrance of this pink stone mini-Palace.

The vibe is deliberately casual, boutique glamour rather than formality. A low-key reception area, then up to the room with a balcony overlooking the terrace, swimming pool and sea, looking back out at Monaco in the mountains above. It was only from here (or from the yacht) that you recognise the vertiginous nature of the place: Monaco is built basically at the bottom of the cliff face, the land rising relentlessly upwards to become the Alps.

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It’s a few steps from the front entrance to the swimming pool and beach area. The pool is huge, and you have the choice of sunning yourself there, in a cabana or on the pier – when we were there, this seemed a little too adventurous as it was being washed by some rather lively waves.

The Monte-Carlo Beach’s La Vigie Lounge and Restaurant. © Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

We had a pleasant aperitif on the seafront terrace and were then whisked off to Yannick Alléno at the Hôtel Hermitage in town for dinner. A new addition to the Monaco dining scene, this restaurant is overseen by superchef Alléno and occupies a crescent-shaped, sea-facing terrace amid the grandeur of the Hôtel Hermitage. It is a quite spectacular gastronomic experience: Alléno was inspired by the years he spent in Japan, and the precision, focus, perfection and lightness of the cuisine – without being in any way ‘nouvelle’ and shrunken – is mind-blowing. The best new restaurant of 2021?

Breakfast and lunch the next day were both taken at the hotel, by the sea at the beach – it is the one place in Monaco where you feel you are away from the admittedly glamorous hustle of the town. The lunch terrace restaurant, Elsa, is noted for being the first 100 per cent organic restaurant to receive a Michelin star; wild-caught fish play a starring role here and my local white fish, in a vegetable broth, was just what was required ahead of an afternoon’s swimming in the pool, accompanied by a reviving glass or two of Deutz.

Book your stay: montecarlosbm.com

This article was originally published in the Autumn 2021 issue.

The Club Dauphin pool at the Grand-Hotel

In the first of our four part luxury travel views column from our Autumn 2021 issue, LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai experiences a taste of old world glamour at Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat

Cicadas trilling down a long avenue lined with high walls, behind which some of the world’s most expensive real estate lurks. Glimpses of the Mediterranean through the hedges. A security-guarded gateway, a short driveway and doormen opening doors on either side at the entrance to a Belle Époque mansion.

Arrival at the Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat could barely be more grand. You are in an unchanged south of France of 1920s flapper legend. Not here the camper vans, beach-going day-trippers and crowds of normal people that besmirch even the swankiest Monaco boulevard. Cap Ferrat is a place where the rich can be rich, and the Grand is the sea-facing jewel at its tip. High ceilings, light marble, big windows: first impressions are of a Parisian palace hotel transplanted and reworked to suit the setting, rather than anything like a resort. But wait, that comes later.

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Our room was light, a bedroom connecting through sliding doors to a living area with a taupe sofa, white and light grey colourways everywhere. Open the window (there was no balcony) and lavender and thyme and the sound of the cicadas pour in in one sensual flow.

The gardens and Le Cap. Image by Darius Sanai

Down through the palatial lobby, out of the door at the top of the staircase at the back of the building (or is at the front?), and down towards the gardens, it’s as if you are descending through layers of formality into total chillout.

Read more: Art Basel Miami Beach is Back and it’s Buzzing

The terrace of Le Cap restaurant is on the first layer of terrace, shaded by mature trees. Next layer down is a casual dining terrace and the bar where a rather good jazz band played under the canopy of the trees every evening. Carry on walking across the big lawn of the hotel and you can take various paths into a labyrinth of flower beds and trees – quite an indulgence in the place with the highest residential real estate price in the world. The gardens are on a gentle slope down towards the sea, and at night the combination of starlight, the bouquet from the plants and the sound of the jazz is intoxicating, even without a champagne cocktail.

The entrance hall

Directly across a little road from outside the back gate at the bottom of the garden is the entrance to Club Dauphin, the hotel’s beach club (local people can also join as members). You can take a funicular down the steep hillside that descends towards the sea, or walk down along the flower-lined path. You’re then presented with the club restaurant and swimming pool, at the very tip of the Cap. It seems that there is sea for 270 degrees around you, and what isn’t sea is either swimming pool, or a terrace where very expensive people are nibbling tiny amounts of vibrant food and being served out of magnums of Provençal rosé wine.

Here, the palace hotel you are staying in feels a long way away, and you have reached the pinnacle of informal chic as epitomised by somewhere like St Bart’s – or indeed, the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat.

Lunch at Club Dauphin and dinner at Le Cap seems to be standard practice at the Grand – preceded in our case by an aperitif next to the jazz band, our bench seat offering a gorgeous view across the lawns and trees to the sea. The food is a kind of ultra-superior Provençal: razor clams and cockles with seaweed and fennel bavaroise; grilled asparagus in thyme jelly; and a particular favourite, grilled red mullet with olive tapenade, tomato hearts and basil, fish and tomato reduction. The only thing that was missing was David Niven chatting to Audrey Hepburn at the next table.

Book your stay: fourseasons.com/capferrat

This article was originally published in the Autumn 2021 issue. 

Emilie Pastor © Kate Martin.

Emilie Pastor is a scion of the Monaco real estate and art collecting dynasty; Sibylle Rochat works with her as art advisor. Here, they speak to Samantha Welsh about their unique style of spotting and supporting artists

Emilie Pastor was born into art. She is a scion of Monaco’s renowned real estate family, and her father Michel Pastor was one of the most significant European art collectors of the 20th century. Emilie has teamed up with London-based art advisor Sybille Rochat, herself a significant figure on the collecting and consulting scene, to found the philanthropic organisation Concrete Projects. Pastor and Rochat are supporting emerging talent by providing financial and logistical support and expertise, and catalysing some exciting new collaborations with the music scene.

LUX: What made you want to engage in the art world together?
Sibylle Rochat: We started to see how, because of commercial pressures, everything was looking the same. It’s always the same artists represented by these mega-galleries that can produce big shows for a museum. We realised that a lot of young and mid-career artists were talking about projects that were impossible because of a lack of funding. The art world needs new voices, new ideas, new concepts.

Emilie Pastor: I wanted to give back and to make sure that creativity would go on, that it would not become too business oriented. That’s why it challenges us, to know that we are able to give this little bit extra, to have exhibitions that couldn’t be realised without us.

Concrete Projects supported Our Product, an exhibition by Pamela Rosenkranz at the Swiss Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2015. Image by Marc Asekhame.

LUX: The two things you offer are financial and technical support. How does that work?
Sibylle Rochat: When there’s a big project that we want to participate in, it’s quite challenging financially for galleries because they always need private support, especially with all the cutbacks in the culture sector. But what we offer is never big, big financial support. Rather, we’ll pay the technician, or for the water for the swimming pool, or the painting. For technical support, we have a solid network of art technicians and art handlers – very specialised craftspeople.

Emilie Pastor: For sustainability, we will try to have local support, too. That’s important for us.

Sibylle Rochat: Yes, we try to never fly anyone in for a project. We’re very careful about our carbon footprint. It’s good to source locally, for the community around the museum, for the artists to know the city, and so forth.

Sibylle Rochat © Kate Martin.

LUX: You also support Chisenhale Gallery.
Sibylle Rochat: I really like Chisenhale’s programme – the work they do and the space they give to new voices. They have an amazing track record in terms of artists. They’ve been showing Lynette Yiadom-Boakye since very early on, as well as Camille Henrot, Caragh Thuring and other young artists. We supported the work of Hannah Black there – she’s a very political artist who’s leading challenging conversations about change.

LUX: What does it take for a work to resonate with you?
Emilie Pastor: I need to feel something. I need to understand it, to see if it makes sense in my collection, if it’s coherent. I think about my children when I add to my collection – it’s a kind of legacy. I want to leave them something that has a meaning, that tells them something about the time they grew up in.

Sibylle Rochat: Kids only ever know them as parents. Art allows children to see and know their parents better.

CAT’S PAW by Abbas Akhavan was also supported by Concrete Projects at Chisenhale Gallery, London in 2021. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Ali Sadeghian

LUX: What projects do you have coming up?
Sibylle Rochat: We noticed the strong rap scene – grime especially – in places in south London like Peckham. Some of the musicians were looking at contemporary art for their album covers, but there was no bridge. So we decided that it would be good to put the two together to create an art video and track. (Think about Kanye West, who asked Louise Bourgeois to do his album cover.) We expose them to another scene. It’s an opportunity for both sides to find another world and be enriched by that. What I see is these young kids creating songs which resonate with video artists today. They need to do something together!

Find out more: concreteprojects.co.uk

This article was originally published in the Autumn/Winter 2021 issue.

Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar. Image by Marko Delbello Ocepek.

Iranian-born designer Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar does it all – interiors, architectural design, weddings. Whether large-scale events or private homes, a converted airplane or a château, he runs the gamut from extravagant to minimal with equal flair and imagination, bringing his clients’ stories to life. Torri Mundell reports

Architectural designer Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar is a man on the move. Since 2003, his striking design projects have made their mark on coastlines, private islands, mountainsides and city streets in Europe, Asia and the Gulf, while his events company operates from Dubai, London, Paris and Monaco. The spaces he conceives, from the cargo plane he transformed into an airborne apartment to a spectacular eco-friendly château in Provence and a refurbished 150-metre yacht extended with landscaped green spaces, are equally dynamic. “I think of spaces and events like personal books,” he says. “They are stories that we experience through an introduction, a body and a grande finale.”

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Though Behnam-Bakhtiar claims not to have a signature style, the emphasis on experiencing a space – rather than simply passing through it – is an essential part of his aesthetic. “To create this kind of extra dimension, I am very detail orientated. I study the space carefully, I envision the memories that can be created and I focus on the senses that can be discovered.”

Behnam-Bakhtiar’s floral design for a wedding in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

Ali Bakhtiar Interiors clients do not commission him to create something they have already seen somewhere else. “Everything I do is one of a kind,” he says. “I don’t hold on to what I have done or what has been done.” Conceiving wholly original designs for every project can be hard work, he admits, but it means that he never caves in to “the dullness of repetition.” Instead, each project is always “a learning process that definitely keeps me challenged and excited.”

Read more: Meet the marine biologist pioneering coral conservation

Behnam-Bakhtiar’s curiosity, extensive research and the relationships he fosters with his clients to “deeply understand their values, wants and needs” all feed into his vision for a project. Every aspect of design is thoughtfully considered to create a harmonious whole, but his spaces are also full of daring, unexpected moments. Consider the château he restored in Provence: he preserved the historic façade and added a self-sustainable modern basement, a pond that irrigates the rest of the estate and a formal dining room with a glass floor that overlooks a garden lavishly planted with lotus flowers. “I believe it is important to embrace modernity as much as ancient knowledge, because something might look cool and new but it also needs to age well,” says the designer about his blend of the traditional and contemporary.

A 2019 house on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat designed with glass walls to make the surrounding forest part of the interior. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

Though the scale of the properties he designs can be vast, Behnam-Bakhtiar imbues his spaces with personal elements as well. “Generally, my favourite events or interior projects are the ones in which I deeply connect with my client, because this is what inspires me to go beyond expectation, and create something ‘out of this world’, a visualisation of their dreams and more.” In the château, for instance, each of the 34 suites was decorated to represent places or moments in time that are meaningful to the owner.

Creating a blueprint that encompasses both grand design moments and personal detail requires a nuanced approach. “Architecture to me is about conserving memory; creating spaces that host our lives but remain in existence beyond it,” Behnam-Bakhtiar continues. “Unlike events, architecture has permanence and so you are not just working on one experience in time, you are working on a timeless structure that impacts repeatedly. I believe architecture, landscaping and interior design need to merge to bring true and lasting harmony.”

He takes his cues from the outdoors to create this harmony. “I used to design houses that stood out from nature,” he remembers. “I now create ones that integrate with nature. The house becomes engulfed by the landscape rather than being simply set in it.” This approach also chimes with the current drive for sustainability. “Much more than ever, we now see nature as something that needs to be integrated in interiors and architecture. Rather than fighting the rules of nature or working against it, which we have done for so long, we are finally starting to see the incredible benefits of an alliance.”

A 2018 house design in Florida with a characteristic Behnam-Bakhtiar blending of natural and built environments. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

The “green and self-sustainable” glass house he designed for a client on a private island epitomises how this can work. In building the residence from scratch, Behnam-Bakhtiar gave it a “system that transmits and observes energy” along with an ultra-modern, sleek exterior and sumptuous Art Deco furnishings.

Read more: American artist Rashid Johnson on searching for autonomy

Similarly, on a property refurbishment in the French Pyrénées, Behnam-Bakhtiar preserved the ancient rocks that predated the house by encasing them in glass boxes and installing a “hydraulic system to make the house ‘convertible’; completely open towards the seascape, on multiple levels. We also created several distinct courtyards and fountains, to give the landscape exciting layers.”

A render of an island house off the coast in Abu Dhabi, with an Art Deco inspired interior in contrast to the building’s ultra-modern minimalist exterior. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

Born in Tehran, Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar was still a child when he moved with his family to Paris after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He grew up surrounded by art and culture and his parents indulged his drive to “redecorate their interiors on a weekly basis”. Even so, he says, “it was very much a conscious adult decision to develop my creativity professionally.”

His early memories from Iran, particularly before the revolution, “in which large-scale events and gatherings were considered normal” may have informed Behnam-Bakhtiar’s other hugely successful business: event planning. Orchestrating large-scale, fantasy weddings, celebrations and parties is a complementary discipline to his design work but he came upon it entirely by chance. “I was working on the interior design of a palace for a client of mine, whose daughter was in the midst of planning her wedding. Completely uninspired by the process, she had sort of given up on her dream wedding until she coincidentally saw my plans for their winter garden. In love with the plans for the garden, she convinced me to design her large-scale royal-like wedding for 2,500 guests.”

A reception that took place in Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

Behnam-Bakhtiar’s ability to imagine multidimensional, immersive spaces works as well for one-off events as it does permanent buildings, and working across the two disciplines allows for a beneficial cross-pollination of ideas. “I mix architecture and interior design with event planning, and do things that have never been seen or done before. This has allowed me to evolve and remain modern. I embrace the future and the process of change and growth.” In 2019, Ali Bakhtiar Designs was named “best wedding planner in the Middle East” at the Destination Wedding Planners ACE awards, and in the same year the company won an honorary award at the Influencer Awards Monaco.

As with his architectural designs, the events he designs are inspired by their setting. “The location and not the budget is what creates the possibilities,” he says. What would he conjure up for a wedding at a castle with an unlimited budget? “I’d probably create a sunset moment, curate different areas so there is movement and a multi-layered experience of the castle. I would also do something with the façade, so the guests can view it differently throughout the evening.”

Read more: Why the market for modern classic Ferraris is hot right now

He is delighted to be commissioned for wedding and parties abroad. “Like creating a world from scratch, the entire infrastructure is purposefully built and specifically curated for the event, in the middle of nowhere.” The possibilities are endless, he points out, describing a beautiful event he planned on “a private island lit by 50,000 candles. The guests arrived by raft laid with beautiful flowers and in the middle of the island, we created a pond and fountain on which the gala’s dinner tables floated.” More unusually, Behnam-Bakhtiar also oversaw a divorce party on a cruise ship.

As with his design projects, Behnam-Bakhtiar and his team ensure they have oversight of every detail. “The design of the food, the uniforms, the bar; anything that has to do with the visuals, the service, the presentation… To me an event is never just about decoration, it is about continuous implementation; everything needs to run smoothly and as we visualised it.”

An impression of flower-covered columns for a wedding at the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata in Florence, January 2020. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

A rendered image of a tunnel of flowers for a wedding in Cape Town, 2020. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

With high-profile architectural and interior design clients and starry party guest lists, discretion is part of the Ali Bakhtiar Design service. He will not be drawn on the high profile personalities that have commissioned him. “We work with a lot of different people including celebrities and royalty, but under no circumstances do we share our clients’ names, whether we signed confidentiality agreements or not. We pride ourselves on being private.”

Word, however, is out – partly because of the design company’s huge international reach. “We go where our clients are, so it was only natural to expand,” Behnam-Bakhtiar explains of his company’s outposts in Dubai, London, Paris and Monaco. The company does not promote its productions but exposure has come nonetheless through guests’ photos on social media. And who can blame them? The vast hall filled with reflective ponds and dancing LED lights for a party in Shanghai and the arcade of pink roses for a church wedding in St Barts demanded a selfie. “Much of the current exposure of our work is not just because we have expanded but also because it is shared,” Behnam-Bakhtiar agrees.

A digital impression of a 2019 building design in Switzerland that brings nature into the heart of the home. Copyright and courtesy Ali Bakhtiar Designs

Like the architectural design industry, the events business is also becoming more mindful about expenditure. “I would like to see more consciousness around long-term trust and a sustainable use of funds,” Behnam-Bakhtiar asserts. “Rather than creating an event for the budget and exhausting funds, we now look at what we need for the event. This means we spend less on unnecessary things, so that these funds can be used elsewhere or go to charity.”

Behnam-Bakhtiar’s diligence is even more relevant in a post-Covid era. “Events of up to 7,000 people are postponed for at least a year,” he says, “but the smaller events are starting to take place now, in a more down-sized manner. We’re on stand-by, like the rest of the world.” With his vivid imagination, a roster of international clients and almost two decades of experience, he won’t be standing by for long.

Find out more: alibakhtiardesigns.com

This article features in the Autumn Issue, which will be published later this month.

Sumosan Twiga offers a fusion of Italian and Japanese cuisine

Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai discovers the culinary delights of Italian Japanese restaurant Sumosan Twiga

An Italian Japanese restaurant in London does not necessarily sound promising. Add the location, Knightsbridge, and you will be forgiven for having visions of yet another in a long line of smart restaurants with fabulous decor and just good enough food catering to a crowd of wealthy socialites who either have smoked too many cigars or are going on too many diets to notice about quality.

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Well, you’d been wrong about Sumosan Twiga. About the food, anyway – the decor is as snazzy as you would hope in this two floor hangout.

There are two cuisines on show here, Italian and Japanese, and many of the offerings are comfort food staples.

The Best of Both menu features the likes of tuna tartare, grilled Angus tenderloin with sweet chilli soy, California roll and tuna and salmon sashimi. Each dish was astonishing: the best of its type, the sashimi rich and full and melty, the tenderloin ripe and unctuous, the tartare delicate, the avocado freakishly fulsome.

Tofu steak with a spicy teriyaki sauce

We added a tagliatelle bolognese, which came in a large dish served onto your plate, Monaco-style; it could have been overcooked and bland, but it was meaty, chunky, bitey. And a spicy tuna maki. Which had more flavour than a maki should ever have.

Who would have thought it – top quality comfort Italian and Japanese, in the same funky setting. Oh, and there’s a DJ. Who needs Monaco?

Book your table: sumosantwigalondon.com

Jean-François Dieterich (left) with Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar at the Villa Cuccia-Noya.

The south of France, home to Matisse, Cézanne and Van Gogh, has one of the greatest artistic legacies in the world. Now the mayor of one of its most exclusive communities wants to create a cultural heritage for the next generation, as Lanie Goodman discovers

“I am made of all that I have seen,” French artist Henri Matisse once famously stated. The grand master of colour certainly got an eyeful during his lifetime of world travels. But when Matisse first arrived on the Côte d’Azur in 1917, he was so taken with the sunlit vistas of luxuriant gardens, graceful palms and the shimmering blue sea that he decided to settle in the south of France for the rest of his life. The artist’s love of plants extended to a philosophical perspective on all living things. “We ought to view ourselves with the same curiosity and openness with which we study a tree, the sky or a thought, because we too are linked to the entire universe,” Matisse muses in his writings.

For over a century, European crowned heads, artists and writers have flocked to the south of France to create their own private Eden, and predictably, the 2.48 sq km commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat – a lush secluded peninsula of seaside splendour midway between Nice and Monaco – has a rich history of outstanding artistic effervescence.

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These days, the town’s mayor, Jean-François Dieterich, is aiming to revive the cultural excitement with a contemporary art exhibition – with about 15 works in total – of French-Iranian artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar to inaugurate the beautifully restored Villa Namouna, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat’s brand new cultural space. This initiative is part of an ongoing programme to revive the once celebrated artistic enclave in the commune by showcasing living artists of international renown. “I find that the approach of Behnam-Bakhtiar – who has found serenity, joie de vivre and sources of inspiration through the outstanding natural landscapes of this peninsula – has a certain continuity with the artists of the 50s,” Dieterich says. “But he also has his own contemporary abstract technique and a rich palette of colours.”

My Tree of Life (2019–20) by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar.

For the 36-year-old artist, Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar, who now lives and works in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, the timeless Mediterranean landscape has had a profound effect on his point of view and his palette, much like Matisse. “My art has definitely changed since I moved here in 2010,” he says. “Although the technique I used, peinture raclée, was similar to now, a lot of the works were dark.”

Above all, explains Behnam-Bakhtiar, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been a grounding force. “This place gave me a new life and something that helped me to become a more complete, balanced human being. It has helped me cope with everything that has happened to me. I shifted my whole focus on things that are truly valuable, such as the dormant energy that exists inside us and our connection to nature.”

Read more: Discovering Deutsche Bank’s legendary art collection

We are at Behnam-Bakhtiar’s studio, situated on an upper floor of a white villa on the Cap. The room is ablaze with colour, a mesmerising assembly of large abstract canvases, stacked one behind the other and propped against the wall; in the centre of the room is the artist’s working space, a table littered with tubes of paint and a scraper. From the window, you gaze out at a palm tree, a verdant garden and patches of sea.

The show, entitled ‘Rebirth’, will debut with a one-day private viewing of 35 new paintings held at Villa Cuccia-Noya, a sumptuous waterfront estate owned by distinguished businessman, philanthropist and art collector Basil Sellers. “What an enormous energy rises from his works,” Sellers enthuses, referring to Behnam-Bakhtiar’s latest canvases. “I was astounded.”

Blue Soul Groove (2019) by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

Energy is indeed the very term Behnam-Bakhtiar uses to describe the palpable vibrancy of landscapes that he tries to capture in his paintings. Under the umbrella of the rebirth theme, the artist will also unveil two public installations – one on the Cap and the other in the village. It will be a first for the community in terms of public artwork – one of the works will be a lightweight but huge wrought-iron sculpture in which three suspended figures of a man, woman and child look as if they have sprung from the earth. As Behnam-Bakhtiar explains, the idea of the work is to convey “harmonious living with nature”, something which he feels should be transmitted to future generations.

The Paris-born artist, whose previous exhibitions include ‘Oneness Wholeness’ at London’s Saatchi Gallery in 2018 and at a Christie’s Middle Eastern, Modern and Contemporary Art exhibition in London in 2019, spent his formative years in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war. Articulate, calm and soft-spoken, Behnam-Bakhtiar briefly alludes to his imprisonment and torture but would rather speak about transformation. “My last exhibition, at the Setareh Gallery in Düsseldorf, Germany, was called ‘Extremis’ and it focused on all the hardcore experiences that happened in my past. For Saint-Jean, I wanted to do something that is the other side of the coin, to represent positivity and light.”

As you stand in front of his recent series of paintings, ‘Trees of Paradise’, the blended bright colours slowly conjure discernible shapes that “are part of the Cap Ferrat scenery”, Behnam-Bakhtiar says, urging me to touch the canvas. Despite the complex texture that meets the eye, the surface is surprisingly smooth. For inspiration, he adds, he often walks through a wooded section of the Cap, not far from the curvaceous Villa Brasilia, designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Dieterich and Behnam-Bakhtiar at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat’s town hall

“One painting may take me anywhere from five months to a year to finish,” he says, flashing a smile. “It takes a lot of time and patience.” Essentially, he explains, his process consists of painting, scraping, drying – hundreds of times – until he’s happy with the work. “When you know it’s right, you leave it. It just suddenly clicks for me.”

Whether mere coincidence or simply the glamorous allure of this privileged finger of land, a remarkable convergence of writers, artists, filmmakers and actors lived, worked and entertained on Cap Ferrat during the late 1940s and 1950s and the ‘dolce vita’ of the 1960s. Winston Churchill painted on the jetty undisturbed; Picasso sunbathed at the pool of Le Club Dauphin at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. British writer W Somerset Maugham, in search of the simple life purchased a Moorish-style villa, La Mauresque, planted superb gardens and hosted everyone from artist Marc Chagall (who had a neighbouring home on the Cap Ferrat) to Noel Coward, George Cukor and Harpo Marx. Another illustrious resident was British actor David Niven, who lived in the villa La Fleur du Cap on the coastal Promenade Maurice Rouvier and often lent his home to his friend, Charlie Chaplin.

Read more: In the studio with radical artist Mickalene Thomas

“There were numerous films shot in Saint-Jean,” says mayor Dieterich. “There were also legendary actors and directors who spent time here, such as Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, Rex Harrison, and Otto Preminger.” However, Cap Ferrat’s glorious artistic heyday revolved around the presence of two major figures: the Greek-born editor and publisher Efstratios Eleftheriades – known as Tériade – and poet, playwright, filmmaker and artist, Jean Cocteau.

In the postwar years, when the Côte d’Azur was a sun-drenched haven for artists, Matisse was a regular visitor to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat where his friend and collaborator Tériade lived in the turquoise-shuttered Villa Natacha, overlooking the harbour. The influential editor of Verve, who had commissioned every major artist of his time to design covers for his magazine, brought together the likes of Bonnard, Balthus, Miró and Derain. As a mark of friendship, the frail 83-year-old Matisse designed a stained-glass window – a Chinese fish surrounded by begonias – for Tériade’s dining room and also painted the villa’s walls with black enamel plane trees.

During that same period, Cocteau lived in a white-washed seaside house, the Villa Santo Sospir, owned by patroness of the arts, Francine Weisweiller, who had fallen in love with the rugged beauty of the then deserted Cap Ferrat in 1948 and turned it into her dream home. Weisweiller met Cocteau in 1950 when she financed Les Enfants Terribles, the film he had written, and invited him to the villa for a few days. He ended up staying 11 years and decided to ‘tattoo’ the white walls with whimsical mythological frescos. The privately owned villa is currently under restoration to preserve Cocteau’s Greek gods and local fisherman, plus the bohemian jumble of Madeleine Castaing-designed exotic wood furniture and curtains as well as vintage bric-a-brac.

The Villa Cuccia-Noya

Behnam-Bakhtiar, who was contacted by the owners of Santo Sospir just prior to the villa’s temporary closure in 2017, was enchanted. “They wanted me to do a show. The energy there was unreal and I went there every day, for about four weeks, trying to take it all in.” His exhibition, ‘Oneness, Wholeness with Jean Cocteau’, consisted of 36 sculptures scattered about the villa and garden, as well as an audio installation with a dialogue between Cocteau and himself.

Does Behnam-Bakhtiar feel in sync with the spirit of his artistic predecessors? The artist pauses, gazing at one of his ongoing ‘Trees of Paradise’ canvases. “You know, I was looking online and stumbled across a video of Cocteau sitting at the same table of Santo Sospir. He’s addressing the people of the year 2000 and saying the same things I’ve been talking about now – about how we are losing our humanity and behaving like robots. It’s a real honour to continue in his footsteps and work with the mayor to help revive what used to be here.”

Nostalgia aside, call it a reawakening of a state of mind when it comes to beauty. Or, as Matisse aptly summed it up: “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” And Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar would be inclined to agree.

Benham-Bakhtiar’s exhibition ‘Rebirth’ will open with a private view at Villa Cuccia-Noya on 10 September 2020; the show will run at Villa Namouna from 11 September – 11 October 2020.

For more information visit: sassanbehnambakhtiar.com

This story was originally published in the Summer 2020 Issue, out now.

Bentley’s third generation Continental has the lot – power, handling, looks, and even a rotating display next to the dashboard

In the third and final of our supercar reviews, LUX sits at the cockpit of another super fast convertible: the Bentley Continental GTC W12

It used to be said that sitting in a Bentley was like sitting in the drawing room of a Downton Abbey-style British country house. Wood panelling, tastefully muted colours, and probably a butler with a silver tray of slightly stale sherry lurking on the back seat.

That market for Bentleys has largely died out, and, under the aegis of its German owners (the Volkswagen group), the august British company has undergone one of the most successful brand transformations in the history of the luxury industry.

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If you doubt that, just sit in the cockpit of the new Bentley Continental GTC. I did, and found myself clutching a thick, two-tone steering wheel in black and cream. All around me were acres of quilted leather, more trapezoids than I could care to count, on the seats, and inside the doors. Above the leather on the doors, black lacquered piano would give it an oriental feel, above which was beautifully burnished British walnut wood. The fusion of colours and textures extended across the whole interior, and in between me and my passenger was the most lavish centre console I have ever come across, bursting with polished buttons, dials, and traditional looking air vents; all is as beautifully put together as a Swiss watch.

The positioning of this car is perfect: to the new generation of young, swanky drivers, as likely to be wearing a Hublot or Richard Mille as a Patek Philippe the previous generation has taken care of for you, it looks contemporary, super chic, but still has a nod to its heritage.

And to those who have always driven Bentleys – hey, what’s not to like?

We drove the top-of-the-range 12-cylinder convertible version, and the roof zips down in a few seconds leaving you and up to three passengers exposed to the sea breeze in Malibu, Monaco, Mayfair, Macau or wherever. The car sounds wonderful, in a deep, long, slightly rheumy way: it’s somewhere in between being fierce, like a Ferrari, and silent, like a Mercedes.

Click the switch into comfort mode and it lopes along happily, but move the dial into sport mode and the car tightens up and feels like it really wants to go and play. This is a big, heavy, powerful car, not a sports car, but it is immensely fun to drive. It changes direction faithfully – better than its predecessors, which always felt a little bit heavy – communicates well, flies along as it gets going, and is generally a hoot.

Along very tight, twisty country lanes – ironically, down which many traditional Bentley owners will live – you do start to feel its size, and width. But that’s part of the Bentley experience, as you imperiously wave at other vehicles to get out of your road.

Read more: Behind the wheel of the world’s most powerful supercars part two

On more open roads, it feels perfect, wailing its way up through its revs, always smooth, never harsh or unsettled. Its four-wheel drive ensures you always feel safe, and can power out the roundabouts, even wet ones, at comical speeds. And in a straight line, it never slows down. With a top speed of over 200mph, this is the fastest convertible in the world. Just warn your passenger not to get an expensive hair makeover before you try that.

But like any Bentley, its beauty is that it is not just here to be driven hard. You can spend your life pootling around and still enjoy the car’s many assets, most notably its beautifully appointed interior, its general presence and feel. It’s as easy to drive in town as it is down the highway – particularly if you don’t live in a town with very narrow streets. The only minor flaw we could find was that very wide centre console with all its gadgets impinged slightly on knee room for the driver and the passenger. But that just made it feel even more like sitting in the first-class seat of an international airline. Not that most owners would know what that feels like – and the Continental’s interior quality is certainly up to private jet level. We like. A lot.

LUX Rating: 18.5/20

Find out more: bentleymotors.com

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue.

The gallery’s founder Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar in front of a painting by Farzad Kohan in the exhibition ‘Human Being, Being Human’

Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar, a new gallery in the heart of Monaco, celebrates its opening with an exhibition of works by Iranian-American artist Farzad Kohan, but it is no ordinary commercial enterprise, as Rebecca Anne Proctor discovers

A visit to Monte Carlo is like stepping inside a gallery filled with glistening works of art. The picturesque town, with its expansive sea views, its numerous neatly landscaped gardens, countless restaurants, luxury boutiques and cultural institutions, continues to fuse its regal past with its new contemporary character.90

Entering this mix of glamour and culture is a new art gallery, Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar, which opened its doors in December 2019. Named after its founder, the art collector and wife of artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar, the gallery is dedicated to contemporary and modern art and highlighting works by established and emerging international artists.

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While the Behnam-Bakhtiars are known for their support of the Iranian art scene, particularly through the Fondation Behnam-Bakhtiar, where Maria holds the role of curator of the permanent collection, Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar will not limit its exhibitions or roster of artists to any particular culture or nationality. “The nationality of an artist is not what is important; what is crucial is the art and what the artist is trying to say. My mission is to show established and emerging artists from all over the world,” Maria says. The art and objects on show will be specially curated and exclusive to the gallery.

Located close to the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco at the Villa Sauber and to the Grimaldi Forum (which hosts the annual artmonte-carlo art fair), the gallery has placed itself at the heart of the city’s art centre. “Monaco is such a great place for art and culture,” says Maria. “Moreover, here in Monaco we have a wonderful group of collectors, some based locally and others who return regularly. We aim to add a new and exciting dimension to the Monaco art scene with our diverse programming.”

Installation shot of Farzad Kohan’s exhibition ‘Human Being, Being Human’ at Galerie Behnam-Bakhtiar in Monaco

Monaco offers a particular segment to the European art market. “It boasts highly influential residents and visitors who provide the perfect platform and exposure for our artists,” adds Maria. “And, for generations, the Prince’s family in addition to the government of Monaco have been great supporters of the arts.” Anyone who knows the city will be familiar with its buzzing social life, its numerous galas, operas, ballets and art exhibitions. “It’s wonderful that we will now be a part of this exciting agenda,” adds Maria. “It’s a place where you can really foster connections.”

Read more: Audemars Piguet’s Olivia Giuntini on art and women’s watches

Maria has been on the international art scene since 2009, firstly through the Fondation Behnam-Bakhtiar, established to promote emerging and established Iranian artists, and secondly as a collector. “I have been collecting art and supporting artists for a long time and this gallery is a way for me to further solidify my love of art,” says Maria, who has also hosted multiple non-profit functions in support of the arts in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. “I do what I do out of love,” she adds. “A gallery, like an artwork, is born of passion and dedication.”

The gallery will stage five to six exhibitions per year with, she says, “no specific geographic focus”. The gallery’s inaugural exhibition is ‘Human Being, Being Human’, by Los Angeles-based Iranian-American artist Farzad Kohan. The works on show, with their vibrant palette and meticulously drawn abstract lines, explore a segment of human experience, one marked by positive affirmations. “Farzad’s work was so important for us to start with because of the universal themes he addresses,” states Maria. “His paintings go beyond national and cultural boundaries. He speaks about love, kindness and humanity – themes that touch everyone from all walks of life.”

One of the paintings by Farzad Kohan’s in the exhibition ‘Human Being, Being Human’

The works exhibited in ‘Human Being, Being Human’ are being seen for the first time at the gallery. In one painting, replete with numerous thin lines, Kohan has written in his signature style the phrase “I have the power”. While at first this might appear boastful, when the viewer looks at the title of the work, To Change, they might think otherwise. “The way one perceives Farzad’s paintings is left up to the viewer’s own perspective,” Maria explains. In another painting. the word “everyday” is repeated, prompting the beholder to focus on the meaning of each instance. Then, as in the former work, one can see the title of the painting: Thankful. Indeed, gratitude for the everyday and for everything in life is a vital component to living a more compassionate existence. “I am a big fan of positive thinking and energy and I think it’s so wonderful to have a work in your home that offers positivity through beauty,” notes Maria.

Kohan’s work places an emphasis on form and material allowing for a reflection on the accumulation of various parts that make up a whole. For Kohan, art creation is akin to the diasporic experience, with which the artist, born in Tehran and now living in LA, is familiar. All stages, materials and processes, like all chapters in life, are part of a larger work and greater vision for the artist. In addition to his paintings, Kohan also makes installations and works on paper, particularly ink drawings.

Read more: Meet Russian style and fitness guru Polina Kitsenko

“He has developed signature techniques which he applies so skilfully to his multi-layered paintings,” says Maria. “I really connected to his ‘Human Being, Being Human’ series, where each painting is poetic, sentimental and beautiful not only visually but above all in its message. To me these works are brilliant because they incorporate various affirmations in the shape of an artwork.”.” Another facet of Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar’s activity is publishing. “Being a true bibliophile, one of the most exciting aspects of launching the gallery is the fact that we will run our own publishing house to produce books and catalogues to accompany our exhibitions.” This, in turn, Maria hopes, will open the door for dialogues between the gallery, its artists, curators, writers and of course, readers and visitors.

The goal of the gallery, as Maria states, is to give back to the larger community. “I want the gallery to serve as a platform that inspires change and highlights the importance of social responsibility,” says Maria. “For every exhibition, we donate a portion of the proceeds to a selected organisation that makes this world a better place.”

While the gallery is in essence commercial, its aims are higher. “One of the main reasons I love art is for its educational side. I appreciate surprising angles, different views and the diversity that art offers in its subjects and many explorations,” she adds. Galerie Maria Behnam-Bakhtiar, like the artworks it chooses to exhibit, offers an artistic and peaceful space in the heart of busy Monaco – a brief escape through art from the chaos of modern life.

‘Human Being, Being Human’ by Farzad Kohan runs until 4 March 2020. For more information visit: mariabehnambakhtiar.com

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue.

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

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

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

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

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

Installation view of Human Being, Being Human by Farzad Kohan

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

Model Neelam Gill attends the launch party and private view

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

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

People are buying bigger and bigger planes, says Jetcraft’s Jahid Fazal-Karim such as the Global 6000 private jet pictured here

Jahid Fazal-Karim joined Jetcraft in 2008, and has since transformed the company from a primarily US-based organisation to a global trading platform. LUX Editor-in-Chief speaks to the Dubai-based businessman about the private jet market, why buying pre-owned makes sense and how the jet sharing business is creating future buyers

Jahid Fazal-Karim

LUX: Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got into aviation?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: I’ve always been passionate about aviation. I studied aerospace engineering in France and after that I did a master’s degree in air transport management in Crenfield. Then I joined Airbus in the marketing team. After that I moved to the US to work in marketing for a commercial aircraft there. I spent nine years in commercial aviation and then eight years in business jets. My last job [before Jetcraft] was at Bombardier where I was running the sales for private jets worldwide.

LUX: What led you to Jetcraft?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: I was 38 years old, and I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My father was an entrepreneur, my grandfather was an entrepreneur, and I came to the point where I’d been working for two big companies and I thought: ‘okay, it’s probably time for me to start something on my own.’ As I said aviation was my passion so that’s where I wanted to stay, and I love the private jet side because it’s much more diverse. On the commercial aircraft side of things, you know your clients and they all have the same issues. They’re airlines, they buy an airplane to make money, right? So it’s very methodical. They all go for the best deal that’s going to produce the most amount of profit for them. The business aircraft side is much more diverse. You have airlines like VistaJet and Flexjet that are more analytical, but you also have the emotional side, or the high-net-worth individuals who are just buying planes. Some people will just buy a plane because they like it or they won’t buy it because they won’t like it. It is what it is. I’ve had clients that won’t even go in the plane. I remember I showed a Challenger 604 once, and this client came in, he saw the plane and said, ‘It looks too fat.’ The private jet industry is more varied and that makes it fun and exciting.

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LUX: What was your initial business model for Jetcraft?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: So here’s the thing about this industry. Nowadays, the industry is much more organised, and it it is getting more and more consolidated and organised. But 10 years ago when I left Bombardier, it was still outside the manufacturers, which were really professional companies that run proper businesses. But on the non-manufacturer side, nobody really looked at figuring out a way to make it a real structure for buying and selling. So when I left, I saw there was a gap there, and I started by doing a lot of deals by myself. It’s funny because I went from running an organisation with 300 people to doing everything by myself. I was getting a lot of business and at some point I had to either create a structure or buy into a good structure that I could grow. And that’s how, I ended up doing a deal with Jetcraft. At the time, I met Bucky Oliver, who was the owner of Jetcraft and I bought 50% of the company and it was a great company because he had the right pace. You know when you build something, you have to think about a pyramid, right? If your base is good, then you can start adding blocks. If it’s the other way around, it’s not going to work. The base of Jetcraft was really good, the culture was really good, the management team was good. So I bought 50% of Jetcraft and really expanded it to become a proper global structured company for sales and marketing. Essentially, we’re a sales and marketing company, but all I’ve done really is duplicate the OEM sales structure but into a non-OEM environment, and put some structure around brokerage, around buying, selling, financing and deals.

LUX: Is it purely a brokerage, or do you buy and sell yourself?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: Brokerage is one piece of our business because you have to be in the brokerage business to generate deals, but the main thing that we do that a lot of people can’t do is that we trade, we buy and sell. The other unique thing about Jetcraft is that we’re truly a global company, meaning that if you’re Chinese and you want to buy an airplane, you’ll be talking to somebody at Jetcraft that actually speaks your language, and so that allows us to be everywhere. Right now, for instance, the US is a pretty active market, so a lot of buyers are from North America, but outside North America there are challenges in Russia, China, Africa and so we have a lot of sellers from those countries. Now if you’re in the US, you’re a North American buyer and you want to buy a Chinese airplane, it’s actually a challenge for you to do it. And they don’t like to do it, because for them they think: ‘Oh no, it’s Chinese. I’m not going to touch the plane.’ So what do we do? We bridge that gap. We’ll go and acquire the plane from China, we’ll take it to the US, we’ll make it a US registered airplane, we’ll invest in the plane and we’ll make it proper US based airplane and then a US client can buy it. It’s all about being everywhere and arbitraging the sales side and the buy side.

LUX: Is the market driven purely by requirement?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: My background was working for manufacturers. So then you have to sell what you build, right? But the Jetcraft model is very different because it’s really customer centric. We actually provide what is best for the client. And like I said, some clients are very emotional people. They’ll say: ‘I want to buy that plane because it has three engines and I want to fly with three engines’, even when technically it doesn’t make a difference. It’s not less or more safe. But you know, if I had a client and that’s what he wants to buy, then I’ll find a way to get him the best three engine airplane that fits his needs. Some clients don’t know what they want so we’ll give them the choices of what’s available and list all the differences in all the different products.

We also focus on structuring a transaction that works for the client, because it’s not just about the airplane and the model and the brand. It’s also about how they want to buy. Some people are cash buyers, some people want to do tax deals, some people want to finance, some people want to be more confidential and they don’t want to be seen as owning a plane. So then you have to build different structures for them, and that’s been the big shift between working for Bombardier or Airbus and being at Jetcraft.

Interiors of the Global 6000

LUX: So there’s a whole service element to it?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: Yes, but we don’t actually do a lot of the services portion ourselves. For instance, I don’t manage planes, I don’t operate them because there are enough people in the world that are actually doing that very well, but we know all of the good service providers, we have relationships all around the world to put the buyers in touch with the right service providers. We really focus on the asset, on the buying, the selling, or representing a buyer, or representing a seller, and structuring the deal around the asset.

LUX: Are your clients typically businesses or individuals?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: Our clients can be corporations, or they can be private individuals. It’s really a diverse space. Very often people ask me: ‘what do you really sell?’ And I tell people: at private aviation, we sell time. It’s about how valuable your time is. If you’re a billionaire, or you’re CEO of a big company, your time is so precious that you’re not going to go waste time going to an airport, doing a check in, arriving three hours before, et cetera, et cetera.  That’s where the private jet comes into play. And so most of our deals are with business people. They’re not for really private use. They’re for businesses, to be more productive. That’s why we call it a business jet.

Read more: Hirsh’s creative director on designing timeless jewellery

LUX: Why do you think clients choose you over other options?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: That’s a very simple question to answer actually. We are the largest in our field and we have the best experience advising clients to buy whatever they need, number one. Number two, we can probably structure a transaction that would be better than anybody else. And we’ll probably find the best airplane for you, at the best buy. Because if you talk to somebody else, maybe you’ll talk to somebody in London, you’ll have access to a few number of airplanes on the market, but your London contact isn’t going to know the right airplane that maybe selling out of Russia or China or Africa, which is going to be a better value. We’re everywhere and I think that makes a big difference.

LUX: Why would a client buy pre-owned jet rather than going straight to the manufacturer?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: When I advise clients, I always tell them that if you’re not biased against somebody else having flown the plane, then the pre-owned deal will always be a better economical solution because the pre-owned airplane has already taken the first depreciation. It’s like a car. Once the plane is new, you take it out of the garage, it’s already lost 10%. So let’s say you buy a three to five year old plane, which I think is a good sweet spot for a first time buyer, your depreciation risk over time will be a lot less than buying a brand-new plane. But there are also advantages of buying new planes. So then it becomes more of a personal preference.

LUX: In your opinion, what is the best business jet on the market?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: It depends on the category, how many people you want to fly, how far, how much money you want to spend.

LUX: Let’s say eight people, long-haul, unlimited spend.
Jahid Fazal-Karim: In terms of models, I would say there’s probably three main models. There’s the 7X/8X – they are very quick planes, very modern. On the Bombardier side, you have the global line, 6,000, 5,000, 6,500, 5,500 and then on the Gulfstream side, you have the G 500, 600, 650. Frankly those three manufacturers and those planes, they all have pluses and minuses. And it becomes a lot to do with preference and budget. If you have a limited budget, you’re probably going to go for either the Gulfstream or the Bombardier. If you have unlimited budget, you can probably go for the best one if you wanted to, but the three planes are pretty equivalent. I personally have a bit of a bias because I used to work for Bombardier and I sold the Global. I always felt that the Global was one of the best – it’s an amazing airplane, especially when when you’re inside the plane and flying. On today’s market, it’s probably the best compromise between size, range and comfort.

The Global 6000 is a great compromise between size, range and comfort, says Jahid Fazal-Karim

LUX: What changes have you seen in the market in the last few years?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: The main change that I’ve seen is that people are buying bigger and bigger airplanes. The mix of small planes versus big planes has changed. When I started at Bombardier in 2001, so almost 20 years ago, there were a lot of lighter jets selling on the market and if you looked at the model mix, they were very few large airplanes available. Really it was a duopoly between Gulfstream and Bombardier. Today, even if you look at most of the OEMs, they all have bigger planes, such as a 7X, 8X. Everybody is going bigger and longer range, and now you see a lot of first time buyers that actually buy a Global or a 7X, or a G550 or 650 as their first plane. 18 years ago, you started with $10 million or $8 million, not a $15 million plane.

LUX: Have you noticed a change in the demographics of consumers? Where are you doing business?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: The United States are still the largest users of private jets by far. After that it’s probably Europe and Latin America, and then Asia. And then China is obviously growing. But China is interesting because it should be growing a lot faster in terms of the number of jets they buy, but they have these ups and downs, depending on the government and the policies.

Interestingly, Monaco is good place for doing business because people are in a relaxed environment and usually it’s when they’re relaxed and that’s when they think about purchasing a plane or a boat or a house. I have a lot of meetings in summer in Monaco and meet people in a very relaxed environment, have lunch with them or go to Le Club 55 in St. Tropez. I’ve done a lot of deals in those places.

Read more: Tim Walker’s portrait exhibition at Michael Hoppen Gallery, London

LUX: Is the jet share market affecting your business?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: I find the jet share market an enhancement to our business because it actually allows people to get into the private jet segment. In the old days when you didn’t have the FlexJet, the NetJets, the VistaJet, you had to go buy your jet, right? Not anybody could afford to just buy a jet. Today, you don’t have to, I mean you have to be wealthy obviously, but you don’t have to be super wealthy to fly private. So people get a taste of private flying a lot earlier, which means when they get more successful, and they can actually afford a plane, they’ll go and buy it.  But where we can play really well [with those companies] is when they resell, because when they replace their fleet they need people like us to move the products.

LUX: How are you considering sustainability issues?
Jahid Fazal-Karim:  I think any business that you try to develop these days has to have some form of awareness of sustainability. I think there’s a lot of misconception about airplanes because people think that airplanes pollute the planet. But if you think about the actual emission of airplanes, not just private jets, even commercial aircraft, they are actually very fuel efficient. The consumption of fuel per person is actually probably less than cars. Weight is a huge issue for anybody that is going to develop an airplane because the lighter you can develop an airplane, the farther you can fly, and the less fuel you’re going to consume. So efficiency is at the core of the design of an airplane, you can’t design an airplane with inefficiencies. And the industry is always researching ways of being more and more and more efficient. I think the technology is there and I think down the line you’ll see more and more efficient airplanes out there.

LUX: Finally, when you are travelling for pleasure, where do you go?
Jahid Fazal-Karim: My family and I try to discover new places. What’s funny is that I’ve been to a lot of places for business, but I don’t know much about them. So for instance, there was one trip that I took with my family in China. I used to go to China quite a lot and I still go now, but I’d never done a real cultural experience in China. So I went to China with my wife and one of my son for two weeks and we really discovered China. We went to see the terracotta soldiers, for instance, in Xi’an, and all the temples in the old city in Beijing. We’re thinking about going into Japan this winter because my older son loves Japanese food.

Find out more: jetcraft.com

Actor Steve McQueen wearing TAG Heuer’s first Monaco timepiece in the 1971 film Le Mans

TAG Heuer is celebrating the anniversary of its Monaco timepiece with a series of limited editions. Chloe Frost-Smith takes a closer look at the collection

Originally debuted as the world’s first water-resistant square cased chronograph in 1969 and made famous by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans, the TAG Heuer Monaco celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a series of five limited editions each alluding to a different decade in the iconic watch’s history as well as two additional timepieces featuring an entirely new in-house movement.

The 1969-1979 edition

Each timepiece is engraved with the brand’s original logo and features the Calibre 11, a modernised version of the first Monaco’s innovative self-winding chronograph movement, alongside a perforated leather strap which creates an automotive look and feel. The seventies edition, however, is the only watch in the collection to feature a brown leather strap, with a textured green Côtes de Genève dial accented with brown and amber touches.

TAG Heuer Monaco 1969-1979 edition with a brown leather strap

The 1979-1989 edition

The 1980s-inspired timepiece is instantly recognisable for its racing red on the watch face and stitching, strikingly set against black and silver detailing. It’s a classic colour combination for motorsport aficionados.

The 1979-1989 edition with a racing red watch face

The 1989-1999 edition

More traditionally Heuer Monaco in appearance, navy and red dominate the overall design of this timepiece whilst the grained, rhodium-plated silver-grey dial adds a contemporary edge.

The 1989-1999 edition follows TAH Heuer’s traditional Monaco colour palette

The 1999-2009 edition

Finished in an understated monochromatic scheme with flashes of red on the hands and markers, the 2000s edition is distinguishable by the white circular index which stands out against the black watch face, complemented by the black strap with white lining.

The monochrome 1999-2009 edition

The 2009-2019 edition

The latest watch in the series is simple yet sleek with a minimalistic approach to the most recent decade, incorporating an unconventional sandblasted stainless-steel case and polished pushers. The charcoal-coloured sun-ray dial is adorned with black-gold-plated indexes, in keeping with the black lining and grey stitching on the strap.

The sleek and contemporary 2009-2019 edition

The 02 edition

Sporting a blue sun-ray brushed dial, silver opaline counters, and a navy blue alligator strap, this edition is set apart from the rest of the series as the first Heuer Monaco timepiece to feature the Swiss brand’s most advanced calibre movement.

The 02 edition features an advanced calibre movement

The Calibre 12 Final edition

Completing the collection with a classic palette of black, white, and red, the final edition features a unique brushed ruthenium dial which allows the watch face to change colour in different lights.

The Calibre 12 Final edition changes colour according to the light

For more information visit: tagheuer.com

Philipp Plein at his Resort show during the Cannes Film Festival in 2018

Philipp Plein is the partying designer for the Monaco private-jet set, who has also retained his status among fashion’s elite. Harriet Quick meets a man with a keen business brain and the unashamedly alpha swagger of a self-made global entrepreneur

“I can remember going to Salone del Mobile for the launch of my furniture line. I rented a truck and drove to Milan with my former girlfriend. We set up the booth ourselves and we slept in a motel. It turned out the motel was also operating as a brothel. Each morning, we had to leave the room empty as it was booked for ‘use’,” says Philipp Plein. “We had dinner at the Autogrill on the highway every night. It was all we could afford.” Plein’s first foray in the business of design was more than 20 years ago and the memory has a fuzzy, sleazy halo.

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A model in Philipp Plein AW19

Today, the Philipp Plein empire encompasses menswear and womenswear collections, accessories, Philipp Plein Sport and 120 stores worldwide (some lease, others franchise), plus the menswear brand, Billionaire (a majority stake of which was purchased from Formula One managing director Flavio Briatore in 2016; it caters for gentlemen who prefer blazers to leather perfectos). It’s been reported that the group generates annual revenues of around €300 million.

As founder, CEO and creative director, Plein exudes the pride of a self-made man. The extrovert alpha male/female personality of his eponymous brand has earned legions of fans who are not in accord with the prissy propriety of high fashion. The stores (on the rue de Rivoli in Paris, London’s Bond Street, Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona and Soho in New York City) gleam with steel and shiny leather, embellished with Swarovski crystals. Mannequins feature six packs that spell machismo, and everything is dosed in irony.

A model backstage at Plein’s AW19 show in New York.

“The experience of building a business from scratch makes you really appreciate things,” says Plein of his trajectory from nobody to head of a fashion empire with 1.7 million Instagram followers. “Nothing was a ‘given’ or ‘easy.’ What people forget when they see the stars of today are the years of dedication and sacrifice. People suffer to reach certain goals.” He doesn’t go into the sacrifices he made, yet it is blatantly clear that Plein, who has an art gallery of tattoos on his considerable biceps, is an ‘all over everything’ workaholic. “I don’t get dropped, I drop the best sh*t in the game – on to the next one,” reads an Instagram post on 3 May 2019, with an image of a female model wearing fantasia eye make- up and a knockout crystal embellished body suit. Ahead of the Met Gala Camp: Notes on Fashion extravaganza, it was decidedly timely.

Read more: Gaggenau’s latest initiative to support emerging artisans

The Munich-born entrepreneur (son of a heart surgeon) possesses a fiery cocktail of Italian flare and Teutonic discipline. He launched into the design business creating sleek stainless-steel beds for dogs and then furniture for humans (he still owns 50% of the small steel factory that made his range) and went on to launch a line of upmarket objets and trophy tables with leather inlays. Dog owners from Miami to Zurich fell in love with the designer pet accessories and via that venture, the young Plein received an on-the- job education in the tastes and materialistic whimsies of the super-wealthy.

The Philipp Plein AW19 catwalk show in Milan

Christian Combs and Breah Hicks at the opening of a new Philipp Plein store in NYC

Philipp Plein the label had planted its roots. Next came the Swarovski crystal-skull- embellished military jackets. They sold from rails at furniture trade shows. That led to an apparel collection featuring more leather, shredded jeans, diva dresses and mini skirts with the kind of proportions, detailing and quality (the collection is made in small Italian factories) that made them several cuts above the average rock ’n’ roll cliché. The collections’ fun- loving rebelliousness appealed to a generation of pop stars, moguls and party kids. Jasmine di Milo, Mohamed Al Fayed’s daughter, was one of Plein’s first customers and bought the line for her mini in-store boutique at Harrods.

“I started marketing the brand into Europe – Germany first and Italy, France and the UK followed,” says Plein. “In the mid oughts, we entered the Russian market and then China. It was a wholesale brand and we went to all the major trade shows.” On early trips to New York’s Coterie show, even his teenage sister came along for the work/vacay ride.

Socialites and celebrities gathered for the opening of the new Philipp Plein store in New York in 2018

The Plein lifestyle – fast cars, nightclubs, champagne, sex – proved a lure. While the level of flash made the arbiters of taste wince, no one could deny the coherence and the quality. This was the era of kick-ass disruption. Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo were turning Chloé into a ‘girl power’ brand, Alexander McQueen was confounding the world with his fusion of romantic beauty with punkish violence while Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga was reviving the moribund house with his electric hybrid mix of futurism, utility and armour.

Through these players, the luxury fashion world was reignited with guts and creative daring. The trajectory was bigger, higher (remember those teetering platform heels?) and in the case of Tom Ford’s Gucci, ever sexier renditions of slinky jersey dresses and low-cut blouses. Plein, who dubbed himself a heroic outsider, was astutely aiming in on the person who did not like concepts and intellectual leanings. In this decade, while fashion trends have leant away from flash and excess, Plein has kept to his groove and it’s paid off. A slew of openings (the majority are franchised stores) followed, aligned with blockbuster shows starting in 2010 and a bonanza of parties.

Do a Google Image search for Plein, and you will be blasted with a showcase of fantastical show sets and extravagance featuring hip-hop stars, racing drivers, sports champs and endless hot models – male and female – living it up to the extremes of camp and bling. The vision was epic and the investment huge. He hired British set designer Simon Costin (the mastermind behind Alexander McQueen’s early shows) and drafted in performers (yes, Snoop Dogg, Rita Ora, Chris Brown) to realise the brand fantasy. A fun park with a rollercoaster, the Harlem Globetrotters, a monster truck crashing into cars – it was all about ‘action’. The brand outbid itself season after season with show costs reaching into the millions.

Plein has homes around the world, including his Manhattan penthouse and La Jungle du Roi villa in Cannes

Plein was not an outlier – it was a period of extravagance. The fashion industry in the late oughts valued spectacle, which, via live streaming and nascent social media platforms, could be viewed across the globe. Tom Ford at Saint Laurent showed in giant black Perspex boxes in the gardens of the Musée Rodin; Louis Vuitton under Marc Jacobs created visions of Paris with moving lifts modelled on the Ritz hotel. Chanel spearheaded the interactive, hyper-reality set with a supermarket, a rocket launch pad and a casino at the Grand Palais. The ‘immersive’ experience was born and Plein wanted to spoil his guests with the outlandish best.

The Billionaire AW19 catwalk show in Milan

Sustainability issues, questions of timing and seasons have somewhat tempered the phenomena of the blockbuster show. Louis Vuitton presented its Cruise 2020 collection at the TWA terminal at JFK (now a design gem hotel) with a note that the plants used for the relatively simple décor would be redistributed or turned into compost. Excess and ‘waste’ is not in fashion. Powerhouses are acutely aware that we are seeking diverse indie and often ecologically minded activities, at least in the West.

Some brands are scaling down, while others are changing formats, taking the show on the road and off the traditional Paris, London, New York axis. The Philipp Plein show now is a relatively plain production that concentrates on the clothes. “We staged the last ‘big’ show in Brooklyn and invited 4,000 people,” says Plein. “From that moment on, I thought: ‘I don’t always want to give people what they expect.’ I want to focus on in-store events and see the investment showing up in sales,” he says. “We are a big player online, with €55million in sales, and this does not include channels such as Farfetch. But we believe in offline stores – you need to be successful in both. While more and more people might be consuming online, we still need to dream the dream, enter stores and touch the product. It’s an omni-channel solution.”

World champion boxer Vasyl Lomachenko is the face of Billionaire

While the old school and economy of fashion relied on editor diktats and designer worship, Plein sees the power pass to the consumers, who, via social media, exert influence and opine endlessly. “The consumer is much more powerful than the medium itself: choosing what information to consume, where to find the information and who to follow or unfollow. It’s much more democratic. In the past, we were able to ‘control’ the consumer, now the consumer ‘controls’ us,” concludes Plein.

Read more: At home with minimalist architect John Pawson

On Instagram, Plein is a dynamic, flashy act to follow, allowing access into his personal world. You’ll find him with his feet up in his marble and glass New York penthouse watching The Rolling Stones; in a helicopter with his five-year-old son flying across the Hudson River; or on-site overseeing the build of an Italianate mansion. One of his favourite photo- op situations is in the vicinity of premium cars. His brand recently collaborated with Mansory on a limited-edition series of ‘Star Trooper’ Mercedes G63 vehicles, for €500,000 each.

He looks fit (running six km a day), full of pluck and at the same time, with his cropped hair, stubble and brown eyes, approachable. He calls himself an “old-school guy” – he likes cars, women, the trappings that wealth can buy, sleek modernity and shiny surfaces. He does not smoke and rarely drinks. His vice is Red Bull. “I want to live a long time,” he adds. For all the wild projections, Plein is ultimately tidy. He has his son, who lives with his mother in Brazil. “He has a happy, normal life,” says Plein of his little boy. “Of course, he enters into my world and he is privileged in the sense that he can enjoy both points of view. As parents, we have a big obligation to our children – and how influential we are towards to them. They are born pure and what that child discovers and experiences, builds character and establishes a value system. It is a base that they will then develop themselves.”

As for kicking up his own feet, Plein – who is now in his forties – is dubious. He has weighed up the option of selling his business, but this would mean giving up a majority stake. “My father told me: ‘Money is an obligation. What would you do with this money? If you don’t know, then don’t sell.’ I think I have mastered my own industry – I don’t know anything else and I am not in need of money right now,” he concludes.

Where the brand ego stops and the real Philipp Plein actually starts is hard to gauge. You can’t imagine him seeking an alter-ego life with a rustic cabana and a plot of agave plants in Mexico. “It’s difficult for me,” he says. “I have grown into the brand and the brand became part of my own life and reflects pretty much my lifestyle. You don’t have too many designers who have a namesake brand anymore,” he says.

Plus, future ventures including scent (the men’s cologne, devised by famed ‘nose’ Alberto Morillas is launching this year) and cosmetics, depend on his presence. Earlier this year, he put in a bid in for the failing Roberto Cavalli brand, which subsequently filed for bankruptcy and now seems irretrievable, not a ‘renovation’ investment. “I look at fashion like a sport,” says Plein. “If you want to perform in any industry you have to be mentally fit and able to deliver results, and you are always under pressure,” he says. “Designers are drafted in like soccer players.” He admits that he does not have a lot to say on sustainability issues (gen up quick), but is happy that his manufacturing is Europe- based and small-factory led.

The exotic leathers might be on the way out and times might be turbulent, but Plein’s view on luxury remains constant. “We give people unnecessary things that no one needs, but everyone wants.”

View the designer’s collections: plein.com

This article was originally published in the Autumn 19 Issue.

Backstage image of a Chaumet tiara being fitted on a model

Tiaras are the cult jewel of maison Chaumet, and their latest exhibition ‘Chaumet in Majesty’ at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco offers a rare insight into the iconic jewel’s history

Since 1780 Chaumet has been the jeweller to sovereigns. This latest exhibition at Grimaldi Forum recounts the lives of the brand’s royal customers and delves into the history of the jewels themselves, highlighting tiaras as symbolic of timeless feminine power.

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Portrait of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, last Vicereine of India, wearing her Chaumet tiara for George VI’s coronation. Photographie de Yevonde, 1937. © Madame Yevonde/Mary Evans Picture Library

As Chaumet demonstrates, a tiara is not just a decorative jewel, but one which has an important functionality, specifically designed to imbue its wearer with virtuous qualities and authority. For example, The Briar Rose Bud tiara (1922) features fauna motif referring back to the power and prestige of classical laurel wreaths whilst the material qualities of the pearls evoke wisdom and diamonds are traditionally associated with timeless elegance and strength. The Pearl and Mircomosaic Parer (1811) also projects an image of its imperial court. The tiara depicts scenes of Roman landscapes through mosaic techniques to lend the piece and its wearer an air of romanticism and grandeur.

‘Chaumet in Majesty’ exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco: displaying the tiara with florets of Edwina Countess Mountbatten of Burma, last Vice-Queen of India created by Marcel Chaumet (1886-1964) in 1934 in the workshop of Maison Chaumet. The tiara was entrusted to another Maison who sold it to Lady Edwina Mountbatten. Private collection

Read more: Why we love Cartier’s high jewellery collection ‘Magnitude’

The exhibition brings together 250 pieces of jewellery, some of which are being seen publicly for the first time, sourced from the collections of Prince Albert II of Monaco, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and museum collections from all over the world. In the exhibition we see the heritage of the maison’s forms and the quality and beauty of their pieces, but more importantly, we can begin to appreciate jewellery’s role in signifying women’s power throughout the ages.

‘Chaumet in Majesty’ runs until 28 August 2019 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. For more information visit: chaumet.com 

Rosie Ellison-Balaam

Exterior render of the new One Monte-Carlo residences in Monaco

The new One Monte-Carlo development could just be the swankiest place in the world for you to hang out with your money, your trophy spouse, and your Ferrari

Wander to your living room window, glass of Cristal in hand, open the balcony door and step out into a view of the Casino de Monte-Carlo, and beyond it, the Mediterranean. Feel the need for an emergency handbag? No problem, a flagship Louis Vuitton is just downstairs.

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Welcome to One Monte-Carlo. To call the development, created by Richard Rogers, the celebrated British architect, and Bruno Moinard, ‘interior architect’ to the stars, lavish would be a dramatic understatement. Built next to the Hôtel de Paris on Casino Square, and opened amid much champagne this spring, One M-C bring new heights of extravagance to a principality not exactly unknown for its swanky places for you and your money to live.

Render of One M-C residences and public space

Designed by Richard Rogers, One Monte Carlo houses 37 luxury apartments and dozens of retail stores

Moinard, responsible for the contemporary yet warm interiors of luxury temples such as the Plaza Athénée and Château Latour, tells LUX that, “in line with the vision of Monaco’s future, we used materials that give life and humanity to this exceptional project”. Combined with Rogers’ curvaceous forms, this gives One M-C a sense of the mountains overlooking the city. Some of the principality’s bland 1960s apartment blocks must now be feeling ashamed of themselves.

The catch? You can never own in One M-C: the apartments are available for long-term rental only, and most have already been snapped up. Worth selling your LaFerrari for a year’s rental? We would.

Find out more: montecarlosbm.com/en/hotel-monaco/residences

This article was originally published in the Summer 19 Issue

‘Love Ritual’, 2018/19. Oil on canvas. Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar.

This year’s edition of artmonte-carlo brings international galleries to the Côte d’Azur. We speak to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat resident and artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar about the fair and the rising interest in contemporary Iranian art

artmonte-carlo returns to the French Riviera for its fourth-edition with a select list of prominent international galleries, including Kamel Mennour, White Cube and Victoria Miro to name but a few. This will be artist Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar‘s first time participating in the fair at Dusseldorf-based gallery Setareh’s booth, alongside contemporary Iranian artist Reza Derakshani. The booth will also feature works by Gregor Gleiwitz, Hans Hartung, Imi Knoebel, Markus Lupertz amongst others.

Based in Dusseldorf with three locations, Setareh Gallery presents a global selection of contemporary and modern art. Established in 2013, the gallery is anchored in the Rhineland whilst operating internationally.

Known for his vibrant, abstract mixed-media paintings, which draw on ancient Persian motifs, patterns and landscapes, Behnam-Bakhtiar celebrates a complex cultural identity and not only invites new perspectives on the region, but also explores themes of a prosperous way of life, human evolution, the universal language, eternal feelings and Self, history, present and future. His work awakens a strong sense of experiencing positive emotions and transcendence, while accessing its audience’s psyche to bring about locked knowledge, intuition and human sensitivity.

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‘It is not a surprise that Iranian art holds its own league due to the vastness and richness of the Iranian culture and heritage,’ says Bakhtiar. ‘Even though the contemporary Iranian art scene has faced many challenges throughout the last few decades due to the political climate on Iran – unfortunately affecting its artists, gallerists and art institutions – Iranian artists due to the quality of their work and their profiles internationally have managed to perform in an outstanding manner, being represented by leading galleries internationally, holding important museum and gallery exhibitions.’

‘Mini Lovers’, 2017. Oil on canvas. Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

Read more: Inside one of the world’s most exclusive business networks

Behnam-Bakhtiar’s own work has been steadily gaining an international presence since his emergence on the art scene back in 2009. A recent sale Christie’s sale in Dubai, U.A.E, Dubai, U.A.E, saw his painting ‘Eternal Spring, 100 x 73 cm’ surpass its estimate of USD 6,000 to 8,000 to sell for USD 12,500, whilst ‘Hunting the Dawn, 199 x 224 cm’ by Reza Derakshani sold for USD 112,500, both nearly doubling their estimates.

‘Psychedelic Wholeness’, 2017/2018. Oil on canvas. Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar

‘Flower Garden’. Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar.

Bakhtiar will be unveiling a new collection of works at the fair and is looking forward to exhibiting in a country that he feels a deep connection to. ‘As a somewhat local artist living and working in the neighbouring Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat while having roots in the principality from a very young age, it is nice to be representing the arts of the region in a fair of this calibre,’ he says.

artmonte-carlo runs from 25 to 28 April 2019. For more information visit: artmontecarlo.ch

To view more artwork by Sassan Behnam-Bakhtiar visit sassanbehnambakhtiar.com or follow the artist on Instagram @sassanbehnambakhtiar

The apartments boast spectacular views over the square and the ocean

LUX travelled to Monaco for the opening of One Monte-Carlo, the swankiest residential and retail development, in the most expensive location in Europe.

Clear blue skies, champagne poured out of magnums at breakfast time, real fur aplenty, and new flagship stores for the likes of Louis Vuitton and Céline. It can only be Monte-Carlo, and to be precise, it can only be the opening of One Monte-Carlo, a staggeringly opulent new development in the very heart of the principality, incorporating 37 apartments and dozens of fashion and luxury stores in what a property developer would call an ultra prime location.

Prince Albert II,Princesse Charlene, Prince Hereditaire Jacques and Princesse Gabriella at the inauguration of One Monte Carlo

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You may know Casino Square from its starring role in the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix and various movies, or because you park your Ferrari F 512M there when you visit the casino; now in a field of architecture engineering, it also boasts this rather beautiful development, next to the Hotel de Paris, designed by (Lord) Richard Rogers in an organic and eco-friendly style, anchored almost physically by the new Vuitton flagship.

With architecture by Richard Rogers and interior design by Bruno Moinard, One Monte Carlo houses 37 luxury apartments and dozens of retail stores

The apartments themselves are designed by the estimable Bruno Moinard, who works closely with both LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault and Kering founder Francois Pinault, personally. Interestingly, the apartments are only available for long-term rental not purchase. More than half have already been rented for the next 12 months, with some lucky residents paying more than €2 million a year. For les happy few, there is no better location in Monaco, or possibly Europe.

Darius Sanai

The winter terrace at Rampoldi restaurant in Monaco

First opened in 1946, Mediterranean restaurant Rampoldi is legendary in Monaco for hosting Hollywood icons such Princess Grace and Roger Moore. Now with a fresh new look and a young star chef at helm, the restaurant has its sights set on Michelin status. LUX asks chef Antonio Salvatore 6 Questions.

Chef Antonio Salvatore

1. What are some of the food markets across the world that inspire (or have inspired) your cooking?

Food is emotion. I believe food generally serves as a natural gateway to a more profound understanding of culture and history, people and places. I’ve made no secret of my affection for cooking with fresh produce. Some markets that have really caught my eye are: La Boqueria in Barcelona, Mercado Saint Miguel in Madrid or Rungis in Paris. Wherever I go, I take inspiration from what I see and bring that into Rampoldi’s special gourmet dishes.

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2. Which dish are you most proud of at Rampoldi and why?

I think it would definitely have to be the roasted baby goat with aromatic herbs. My attachment to this dish is deep, dating back to my childhood. The rugged terrain of Basilicata [in Southern Italy], where I come from, makes the area well-suited to goat grazing. The tender, tasty meat of baby goats from the area is very valued. I love this dish for its simplicity and unparalleled flavour… some our clients come especially for this.

3. What’s the secret behind your famous tomato sauce?

A true classic of Italian cuisine! It’s perfect for so many dishes, but especially for pasta. Fresh tomatoes from the garden and the best olive oil are two of the main ingredients. For the rest, you’ll have to come to Rampoldi to try it out…

Beef steak tartare with Royal Premium caviar and apple sorbet

4. With so many luxury dining options in Monaco, how do you stand out?

Our clients understand that dining out at Rampoldi is a great opportunity to unwind, relax and enjoy a delicious meal in a great atmosphere. I have always believed this is what most people are looking for when they decide to dine out. Our clients are at the core of everything we do. We have created a very strong connection with our regulars over the years. I know all of their favourite dishes and flavours!

Read more: Geoffrey Kent’s hottest travel experiences & destinations for 2019

5. Where do you see the restaurant in five years?

My heart is in Rampoldi. My everyday goal is to see my clients happy. Rampoldi has become a feeling, a state of mind. Over the next few years, I’m aiming to achieve our first Michelin star, which would be a great validation of our work. We also have plans on expanding internationally in the next couple of years.

Rampoldi’s ‘Le Citron’ – lemon and mint pieces covered in white chocolate mousse, coated in a crispy shell

6. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt as a chef?

Over the years, I have had incredible opportunities, working alongside some of the world’s most famous chefs. After spending so much time with these incredible and successful individuals, I now better understand the meaning of creating a compelling vision for my life: understanding the power of a decision, working harder than anyone else to achieve my goals, and learning to adapt in life and my career when things don’t go as planned. However, the most powerful lesson I’ve learnt is to respect and understand the power of relationships. This is something I brought with me at Rampoldi and is at the core of everything we do.

Find out more about the restaurant: rampoldi.mc

The grand exterior of Monte-Carlo Bay hotel

Why should I go now?

Speak to Monaco residents and they may tell you that August isn’t the ideal time to visit their fairytale territory: there are too many tourists, apparently. And yet we at LUX have quite a few Monaco-based friends who are staying put in the principality this month, and the overwhelming reason is the Monte Carlo Bay hotel.

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To understand its unique appeal, you need to be a little familiar with the rest of the hotel offerings on the Cote d’Azur. Monte Carlo itself has the Hermitage and the Metropole, beautiful, formal palaces with limited outdoor areas that somehow make them better suited to a romantic autumn break than a summer holiday. Down the coast, there are other palace hotels, some of them with big outdoor pools; but there is nothing like the Monte Carlo Bay.

The hotel offers a plethora of activities and boasts a large swimming pool complex (pictured here and below)

Arrive at the grand main entrance (you will likely be in a short queue of special edition Ferraris, convertible Rolls Royces, and souped-up Lamborghinis) walk through the high-ceilinged foyer and onto the terrace and you could be in a resort hotel in Asia; below you other terraces gleam invitingly, but the main attractions are, cleverly, screened out of sight.

What’s the lowdown?

L’Orange Verte

The Monte Carlo Bay is a rare hotel that, if anything, is too modest about itself. This is a full-on resort, built on a semicircle of land on Monaco’s seafront, extending out into the Mediterranean, with a complex of swimming pools, some of them sand-bottomed, extending under a maze of bridges and terraces towards the sea. Cafes and bars and speciality ice cream stalls pop up everywhere you turn, and the activity doesn’t stop at the seafront: you can swim in a specially cordoned-off area of the sea, 50 metres long, overseen by lifeguards and protected from jellyfish by a net. We tried parasailing and waterskiing, the former an absolutely spectacular way to experience the mountainous coastline surrounding the principality. And this being Monaco, the expertise of the instruction was unparalleled: our parasailing captain had been the French national champion.

Read more: Geoffrey Kent on finding new places in a well-travelled world

In the unlikely instance of the weather taking a turn for the worse, there is also a huge indoor pool and hydrotherapy area, itself connected to yet another outdoor pool. The design of the hotel means that all these extensive pool and terrace areas are invisible either from the street, or even from the hotel’s own restaurant terrace.

Guests can sunbathe right on the ocean’s edge

The Bay has its own Michelin-starred restaurant, Blue Bay, but we enjoyed our dinners from the expertly curated and created international menu (broken down by region) out on the terrace at L’Orange Verte, with its view over to the sea. The chicken satay and crudités plate was a perfectly summery compliment to a glass of Provencal rosé.

Getting horizontal

The Monte Carlo Bay is a four star hotel, rather than a five star, although you wouldn’t believe it from the facilities or the breakfast buffet, which offers everything from miso soup to a proper salad selection, a plethora of hot food, and two rows of every kind of fresh bread for toasting. The rooms reflect the fact that it’s a comfortable, but not a luxury, offering: stone floors without carpets, functional bathrooms of a decent size with excellent products, all without the extra fripperies of a luxury hotel, which felt unnecessary in the circumstances. Our room had a big balcony with a view over legendary nightclub Jimmy’z, just across the way, and to the sea and the palace of Monaco, on the famous rock across the bay.

Flipside

It’s worth paying the difference to get a sea view room; the view on the other side (of buildings) is less up-lifting.

Rates: From €182.70 ( approx. $200/ £150)

To book your stay visit: montecarlobay.com

The 70m Galatica Super Nova: Heesen’s biggest yacht to date

The new CEO of Heesen Yachts, Arthur Brouwer has stepped up to the helm at an exciting time for the luxury brand. Following the launch of their biggest yacht to date, 70m Galactica Super Nova at the Monaco Yacht Show, Arthur spoke to LUX, as part of our Luxury Leader series, about meeting the demands of the modern consumer, new technologies and sailing on the Amalfi coast.

Arthur Brouwer. Image by Dick Holthuis

LUX: What makes a yacht truly luxurious?
Arthur Brouwer: At Heesen Yachts we strive to combine engineering and design, with luxury elements such as detailed interiors with high-end materials. All these aspects are perfected with top-notch technology, innovation and modern cutting edge-design, creating a truly luxurious yacht.

LUX: How has the super yacht market evolved in the last ten years?
Arthur Brouwer: Superyacht owners are now looking for bigger, faster, yet comfortable and silent superyachts. The exteriors are becoming increasingly important with more request for more outside space to enable guests onboard to take in the surroundings. 70m Galactica Super Nova, launching at the Monaco Yacht Show on September 28th, is the perfect example of this trend, with a maximum cruise speed of 30 knots which is exceptional for such a calibre.

Read next: Francois Paul Journe on the art of watchmaking

LUX: What are the most difficult issues you face as CEO of an international business?
Arthur Brouwer: As discussed previously, the superyacht market is forever evolving and changing. As you can imagine, building a superyacht takes a certain amount of time, and when building on specs, we take a risk in offering the market something we predict will be suitable for future expectations. With the help of my great team, we seem to get it right though, but it is a risky process. Next year we will launch Project NOVA, a 50 metre Fast Displacement featuring a new hybrid technology for silent cruising. As we expected, silence is becoming the ultimate luxury.

The spacious foredeck can be used as helipad, sunbathing platform, informal dining space or an outdoor cinema

LUX: How have the demands of your customers changed?
Arthur Brouwer: More and more our customers are asking for detailed and extravagant interiors and design. Since we build full-custom superyachts, we constantly seek to satisfy these demands, however outrageous, and generally make the impossible, possible. We are also very lucky to have a team of exceptional in-house naval architects to make this happen.

Read next: Jean-Claude Biver on the levels of luxury

LUX: All of your yachts are bespoke designs, what’s the most challenging customization you’ve faced?
Arthur Brouwer: I think the most challenging customization was creating a glass pool bottom. The engineering around this had to be detailed to perfection to make sure the yacht could still cruise at high-speeds without shattering the glass floor.

LUX: What are the most interesting growth areas of your market?
Arthur Brouwer: I may seem repetitive, but once again, size is the constant growing area for superyachts. This is why we are currently building an 85m dry dock, meaning we will be able to build yachts up to 80m.

The yacht features a 6m swim-jet infinity pool with waterfall, glass-panelled bottom and spa jets for hydro massage

LUX: Are your competitors other yacht companies or houses, other indulgences etc?
Arthur Brouwer: We are competing against all the other shipyards, but competition is good. It means that we continue to raise the bar year on year and deliver at an ever higher standard.

Read next: Cary Arms brings luxury to Babbacombe Bay

LUX: What are your best insider’s tips for visitors coming to the Monaco Yacht Show?
Arthur Brouwer: Obviously no trip to the Monaco Yacht Show would be complete without a visit to a Heesen yacht, particularly this year where Galactica Super Nova is proving to be one of the stars of the show.

LUX: Where’s your favourite place to sail?
Arthur Brouwer: I love to sail to all kinds of exotic places, but a personal favourite is the Amalfi coast.

Read next: Investment tips from international entrepreneur, Javad Marandi

LUX: What’s next for Heesen Yachts?
Arthur Brouwer: Other than the development of unusual specialist builds like Project Nova; over the last few years we’ve seen a trend in the demand for bigger and bigger yachts, which doesn’t seem to be slowing down. We’ve just completed the addition of an 85m dry dock to our shipyard which will allow us to develop 80m yachts.

LUX: How do you relax?
Arthur Brouwer: Not at the Monaco Yacht Show! I enjoy long distance classic rallies.

heesenyachts.com

Speed and posing in Monte Carlo: Francesca Peak revels in the most glamorous destination on the F1 calendar, courtesy of Rolex

When you think of Formula One, you don’t think of the gruelling driver training, the complex mechanics, or the global travel involved in an exhausting 10-month schedule. Instead, it’s the lavish parties, glamorous crowds, and beautiful surroundings. More than any other international competition, Formula One is a seductive combination of speed and charm, and nowhere is this more evident than at the Monaco GP.

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Since the first race was run on the Circuit de Monaco in 1929, the event has remained one of the most competitive and desirable for drivers and fans alike. Along with the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hour race, it forms the Triple Crown of Motorsport, lusted after by every driver that graces the tarmac. And this year, about 10 years into being a Formula One fan, it was my chance to see the sport’s most legendary race up close and personal.

For this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, I was hosted by Rolex, Formula One’s official timekeeper, and taken underground – literally – to see all sides of the race weekend. Driving into the city from Nice airport, the colours of the houses and Mediterranean nonchalance drew me in, definitely something I could get used to. Oddly, the track is opened to pedestrians and cars when races aren’t taking place which, while making it much easier to drive up to the hotel, meant walking to dinner was a little unnerving.

Read next: Boodles’ Michael Wainwright on taking luxury overseas

One question I always had about race weekends was what visitors do to amuse themselves on the mornings before qualifying and racing. The answer in Monaco is, of course, take a classic car for a spin along the Grande Corniche, the mountain road that connects Monaco and Nice. My ride for the morning was a navy blue Jaguar XK120, in perfect condition but seemingly produced in an age before seat-belts were compulsory. The almost dangerous lack of power steering and extremely low gearstick were certainly a glimpse into the world of Formula One before today’s technology kicked in – no wonder the drivers had to be thin and fit as marathon runners.

A rainy Sunday took us around The Paddock, otherwise known as the Beverly Hills of motorsport: this is where the teams park up their motorhomes for the weekend, worth tens of millions of pounds. The Red Bull motorhome is more of a floating disco – by day a modest bar, restaurant and press centre, by night a disco with live DJ and dancing until the early hours.

Read next: Constructing timeless elegance

Being shown around The Paddock by Sir Jackie Stewart (a Rolex Testimonee for nigh on 50 years) was an honour – this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first win in Monaco, Stewart spoke of the track and the sport with nostalgia, affection but a tone grounded in reality, as only a brutally honest Scot can. Walking through the teams’ homes with Stewart made one realise how revered and legendary a personality he is – the sport certainly couldn’t be blamed for forgetting those who made it what it is today.

The weekend ended with the race itself which, thanks to a dry qualifying session followed by a race in the pouring rain, made for a more interesting race than usual. We watched from the Norman Foster-designed yacht club, an impressive structure nestled next to the water on the edge of the track. While some braved the rain outdoors to watch the cars passing beneath, others stayed inside with a blanket and a glass of champagne to watch on television with live commentary by Jonathan Legard. Somehow everything’s more immediate when the commentator’s standing right behind you.

rolex.com

Monaco is the place where yachtsmanship and money combine in an intoxicating and irresistible blend. Millie Walton is charmed by the sailors and owner of Maserati’s record-breaking yacht

Siren of the Seas: The VOR70 shows all the hallmarks of Maserati’s design prowess

The crew of the 70ft Maserati Yacht VOR70 are sitting around a table at Bistrot Le Bouchon, one of Monaco’s more understated restaurants. They have just sailed in from Barcelona and are sporting bodily evidence of the journey – a torn-off fingernail here, a badly swollen wrist there. But they speak with excitement about the boat’s ambitious 2015 racing programme, which culminates in the infamously challenging Rolex Sydney–Hobart Yacht Race, between mainland Australia and Tasmania.