GQ India - December 2015

INDIAN EDITION

New Event!

SHOWCASING INDIA’S GREATEST MENSWEAR DECEMBER 2015 `150

LUXURY LIST

The50 Best Things in the World Right NOW

GQ DRIVE AWARDS 2015

The Cars, Bikes (&Train)of theYear

THE ULTIMATE TATTOO GUIDE

K (Finally) KATRINA KAIF PHOTOGRAPHED BY SIGNE VILSTRUP

Opens up

TALKING WATCHES WITH SACHIN TENDULKAR Inside Arunachal’s Valley of Rock

Countdown display

Yac h t - Ma s t e r II / yacht • mas • ter • two /: 1. A chronograph created [XMKQÅKITTa NWZ aIKP\ ZIKQVO 2. Its unique countdown feature with mechanical memory is programmable from 10 minutes to one. 3. Designed for legibility, no matter what the conditions. 4. Characterised by the Ring Command bezel, a patented bezel that interacts with the watch’s movement. 5. An unprecedented combination of complexity and simplicity. 6. The Rolex Way.

Superl at ive /su • per • la • tive /: 1. Of the highest quality or degree. 2. A designation written on the dial of Rolex watches since the 1950s to distinguish their superior performance. 3. Backed by stringent certif ication criteria and rigorous testing procedures. 4. Now even more demanding with new Rolex standards that outclass official benchmarks. 5. Applied to every Rolex watch made. 6 . Symbolised by the Rolex seal. 7. The expression of excellence in watchmaking. 8. The Rolex Way.

More Rolex watchmaking at

DLF EMPORIO MALL, VASANT KUNJ, NEW DELHI 110070 T 011 41033059.

TOMFORD.COM

Elegance is an attitude Simon Baker

The Longines Master Collection

PHOTO: SIGNE VILSTRUP

228

DOUBLE AGENT A spy needs to look good, doesn’t he? By Kenneth Lam BATH ROBE BY DOLCE & GABBANA. WATCH BY TISSOT

DECEMBER 2015

— 15

CONTENTS

COVER STAR

KATRINA KAIF

214

HURRICANE KAT

She’s a force of nature – when you get her to open up, that is. By Megha Shah ON THE COVER

INDIAN EDITION

New Event!


LUXURY LIST

The50 Best Things in the World Right NOW


The Cars, Bikes (&Train)of theYear


I

(Finally)

SHIRT BY RALPH LAUREN. TROUSERS BY PAUL SMITH. BOW TIE BY BROOKS BROTHERS. BRACES BY THE BRO CODE

18 —

DECEMBER 2015

KATR NA KAIF PHOTOGRAPHED BY S GNE V LSTRUP

Opens up


TUXEDO JACKET, TROUSERS; BOTH BY PAUL SMITH. BRA BY MYLA

TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM. THE VALLÉE DE JOUX. FOR MILLENNIA A HARSH, UNYIELDING ENVIRONMENT; AND SINCE 1875 THE HOME OF AUDEMARS PIGUET, IN THE VILLAGE OF LE BRASSUS. T H E E ARLY WAT CHM A K ER S W ER E SHAPED HERE, IN AWE OF THE FORCE OF NATURE YET DRIVEN TO MASTER ITS MYSTERIES THROUGH THE COMPLEX MECHANICS OF THEIR CRAFT. STILL TODAY THIS PIONEERING SPIRIT INSPIRES US TO CONSTANTLY CHALLENGE THE CONVENTIONS OF FINE WATCHMAKING.

ROYAL OAK PERPETUAL CALENDAR IN PINK GOLD.

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CONTENTS 42 46 54 295 296 308

Editor’s Letter Contributors GQIndia.com Where to Buy GQ Central Open Letter

222

DIVIDED BY ZIRO

The Arunachal Pradesh valley is more than just a Western indie music festival. By Adil Hasan ON THE COVER

22 —

DECEMBER 2015

ON THE COVER

58 #TheMostElectricPartyOf2015 ICYMI, your BTS.

141 Van Heusen + GQ Fashion Nights On the eve of GQ’s first ever

fashion show, we profile India’s leading menswear designers.

118 The 50 Best Things In The World It starts with Kelly Gale and… well, read on for what we’ll remember 2015 for. Edited by Dave Besseling ON THE COVER

192 Mile high The next time you walk through Duty Free, this is the good stuff to pick up. By Nirmal Jain

design a n d technology.

luminor 1950 10 days gmt automatic (ref. 533)

BANGALORE - Ethos Summit, UB City - +91 80 40999621 • CHANDIGARH - Talwar Watch Co. - +91 1724028500 • CHENNAI - The Helvetica, +91 44 28464095 GURGAON - Kapoor Watch Co. - Ambience Mall - +91 124 4665500 • HYDERABAD - The Helvetica - +91 40 64555088 • KOLKATA - Exclusive Lines - +91 33 22820597 MUMBAI - Panerai Boutique, Taj Mahal Hotel - +91 22 22885052/53; Time Avenue, 189, Turner Road, Bandra West - +91 22 26515757 / 5858 Art Of Time - Waterfield Road, Bandra - 022 2642 6241 / 2643 3696 pa n e r a i . c o m

CONTENTS 200 GQ Drive Awards 2015 Brands experimented, revived and improved – we celebrate the best. Edited by Varun Godinho ON THE COVER

242 The Gentlemen’s Club It’s the Garden City vs Mumbai and Delhi in Bengaluru’s first GQ roundtable – and just to be fair, we had a non-native there, too. By Dave Besseling 250 Take cover The fabrics and patterns your granddad loved go modern. By Vlad Antonov 260 Fashion’s BFF You’ve never heard of him, but Olivier Rousteing is changing the face of ultra-luxury fashion. By Jessica Pressler 270 Works of art Classic tailoring gets quirky. By Darren McDonald

Virtual Reality is coming – and no, you won’t look like the guy from The Lawnmower Man; these are the books you should’ve bought (and read) in 2015; there are so many good gigs on the circuit this December that you may as well take the whole month off; and the award for Most Stylish Sport goes to…

BEST THINGS

IN THE

BLAZER, TROUSERS; BOTH BY CANALI. SHIRT BY PAUL & SHARK. BROOCH BY THE BRO CODE. POCKET SQUARE BY CORNELIANI

26 —

DECEMBER 2015

PHOTO: ERRIKOS ANDREOU/DEU: CREATIVE MANAGEMENT (AYUSHMANN)

THE

CONTE

281 TATTOO YOU

ON THE COVER

Behind the history of Olive, aka the birthplace of Mumbai’s modern nightlife; Suhel Seth gives us some crackling advice this month; how not to be a douche at a club

Your ultimate guide to getting inked – and not regretting it. T-SHIRT BY VOXPOP. JOGGERS BY BERSHKA. SHOES BY BREAKBOUNCE

Rolex ambassador and racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart gives us an all-access pass to the F1 Singapore GP 158 A master’s piece Timing is everything for Sachin Tendulkar. By Varun Godinho ON THE COVER

161 Lives: When things fall apart. By Che Kurrien 164 Art: The high-stakes world of international art auctions. By Kishore Singh 166 Humour: Mansplaining, explained. By Barnaby Pole 170 Film: Bollywood had nothing on Indian indie films this year. By Tanul Thakur

PHOTO: PRABHAT SHETTY (TATTOO)

Louis Vuitton goes ombre, and how; how to wear non-chinos and non-jeans; backpacks 2.0; Alessandro Michele goes back in time

30 —

DECEMBER 2015

ROYALENFIELD.COM

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GET THE AUTHENTIC GT EXPERIENCE AT YOUR DOORSTEP - VISIT CONTINENTALGT.IN Some of the components and accessories featured in the photograph may not be a part of the standard fitment.

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EDITOR

MANAGING EDITOR Maniza

Bharucha

FASHION DIRECTOR Vijendra ART DIRECTOR Mihir

Bhardwaj

Shah

PHOTO DIRECTOR Gizelle DEPUTY EDITORS

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Arjun

Che Kurrien

Cordo

Shikha Sethi, Dave Besseling

DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR Vivek LIFESTYLE EDITOR Megha AUTO & WATCH EDITOR Varun ASSISTANT EDITOR Nidhi FASHION FEATURES EDITOR SENIOR COPY EDITOR

Surve

Shah Godinho

DIGITAL COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Archana Jhangiani DIGITAL SALES MANAGERS (NEW DELHI) Akshat Saxena, Kritika Sharma MANAGER – CUSTOM SOLUTIONS (BENGALURU) Anitha Ramabhadran COMMERCIAL MANAGER – DIGITAL Ishani Roychoudhary

Gupta

MARKETING DIRECTOR Oona Dhabhar MARKETING MANAGER Komal Puri ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER Aditi Sharma

Shivangi Lolayekar

Vritti Rashi Goel

JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR FASHION BOOKINGS EDITOR

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – SUBSCRIPTIONS Bindu Nambiar AGM – ADMIN & SUBSCRIPTIONS OPS Boniface D’Souza ASSISTANT MANAGER – SUBSCRIPTIONS Radhika Dani

Tanya Vohra

Vasundhara Sharma

FASHION STYLIST (LONDON) Ravneet SYNDICATIONS MANAGER Michelle JUNIOR PHOTO EDITOR Pallavi

Channa

Khonde

SYNDICATIONS COORDINATOR

Giselle D’Mello EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Vidisha FASHION ASSISTANT Desiree

HEAD – EVENTS Neha Mishra ASSISTANT MANAGER – EVENTS Mansi Harkisandas CREATIVE DIRECTOR – PRINT PROMOTIONS Dipti Soonderji Mongia SENIOR PROMOTIONS MANAGER – COPY Sherrie A Marker PROMOTIONS MANAGER Tarana Sheth Sabharwal SENIOR PROMOTIONS WRITER Kinjal Vora SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Malavika Jadhav COPY EDITOR AND WRITER – PROMOTIONS Karishma Mehrotra GRAPHIC DESIGNER Karishma Gupta

Srinivasan

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Prem Abraham MANAGER – ALLIANCES Kosha Gala CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Jeeson Kollannur

Fernandes

DIGITAL EDITOR Rochelle ASSISTANT EDITORS (DIGITAL) Meryl

PR MANAGER Yasmin Ranijiwala ASSISTANT PR MANAGER Aishwarya Chhetri

Pereira

Kumar

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Richa

FINANCE DIRECTOR Vishandas Hardasani SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Dattaprasanna Bhagwat ACCOUNTANTS Anthony Paulose, Nitin Chavan

Pinto

D’souza, Pauline Zonunpuii

PHOTO RESEARCHER (DIGITAL)

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Nishant Jalan PLANNING MANAGER Alisha Goriawala

Simone Dhondy

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT (DIGITAL)

Sanika Waglay

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Amit

ASSOCIATE MANAGER – HUMAN RESOURCES Disha Makharia DIGITAL DIRECTOR Gaurav Mishra HEAD – TECHNOLOGY Arshad Kazi HEAD – AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Mayuri Nigam PRODUCT MANAGER Shefali Pandey UX DESIGNER Anurag Jain TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGERS

Navarange

PRODUCTION MANAGER Sunil COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mehra

PUBLISHER Almona Bhatia ADVERTISING DIRECTOR (NEW DELHI) Kapil Kapoor SENIOR ADVERTISING MANAGER Sneha Mahant Mehta ADVERTISING MANAGERS Mala Kashyap, Vinayak Ambekar ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER (NEW DELHI) Siddhartha Swarup ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Priyank Vora ITALY SALES REPRESENTATIVE Angelo Carredu US ADVERTISING MANAGER Alessandro Cremona ASIA SALES REPRESENTATIVE Kim Kenchington MIDDLE EAST SALES REPRESENTATIVE IAS Media

Nayak Sudeep Pawar

Amrita Sudheendran, Dipak Raghuwanshi

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

SENIOR EXECUTIVE – DIGITAL MARKETING Tanishta Singh

Anish Trivedi

DIRECTOR – VIDEO Anita Horam CREATIVE PRODUCERS Amrita Mahindroo, Ishita Bahadur

Iain Ball

CONDE NAST FACTORY

Karan Johar Rajeev Masand

BUSINESS HEAD Namrata Keswani EDITOR Sukanya A Shah FASHION EDITOR Kushal Parmarsand

Suhel Seth

EA TO MANAGING DIRECTOR Andrea D’souza

MANAGING DIRECTOR Alex

Kuruvilla

Conde Nast India Pvt. Ltd. MUMBAI 2nd Floor, Darabshaw House, Shoorji Vallabhdas Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001, India Tel: +91 22 6611 9000 Fax: +91 22 6611 9001 NEW DELHI Unit No. 503-B, 5th Floor, Salcon Rasvilas, Plot No. D-1, Saket District Centre, New Delhi 110017, India Tel: +91 11 4066 9000 Fax: +91 11 4066 9001 DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONDE NAST UK

Albert Read Coleridge

PRESIDENT, CONDE NAST INTERNATIONAL LTD. Nicholas

RNI.NO.: MAHENG/2008/27014. Printed and published by Almona Bhatia on behalf of Conde Nast India Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Thomson Press India Ltd., 18/35, Delhi-Mathura Road, Faridabad — 121 007, Haryana and published at 2nd Floor, Darabshaw House, Shoorji Vallabhdas Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001. Editor: CJ Kurrien. Processed at Commercial Reprographers. Distributed by Living Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. Manuscripts, drawings and other materials must be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. However, GQ cannot be responsible for unsolicited material. CHAIRMAN, CONDE NAST INTERNATIONAL LTD.

34 —

DECEMBER 2015

Jonathan Newhouse

JAGUAR XJ

ARRIVE IN STYLE Beauty, all-round refinement and sheer exhilarating power. XJ is pure Jaguar.

Jaguar XJ is designed to turn heads and attract glances. With a fusion of honed dynamic lines and sculpted elegance, it delivers an experience that fulfils Jaguar's core brand promise of performance and seduction. The view from inside the XJ is exceptional. A panoramic, heatreflective glass roof extends to the full width of the car and sweeps as far back as the rear seat area. It filters UV rays and floods the interior with natural light making it airy and enviably spacious. Further, XJ welcomes you with soothing phosphor blue interior lighting bathing the cabin with its subtle tones to reveal aesthetic perfection. XJ’s cabin is both contemporary and

luxurious, created to excite the senses. Comfort and quality reign supreme with form hugging supple leather complemented with twin needle stitching, contemporary surfaces and a choice of carefully crafted real wood veneers. With all this luxury, you don’t just travel in an XJ, you arrive in one. Disclaimer: Features, colours and accessories shown may not be a part of standard equipment.

In the USA: Condé Nast

Scan the QR code below to get your digital edition

CHAIRMAN: S.I. Newhouse, Jr. CEO: Charles H. Townsend PRESIDENT: Robert A. Sauerberg, Jr. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Anna Wintour

In other countries: Condé Nast International CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Jonathan Newhouse PRESIDENT: Nicholas Coleridge VICE PRESIDENTS: Giampaolo Grandi, James Woolhouse, Moritz von Laffert, Elizabeth Schimel CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER: Wolfgang Blau PRESIDENT, ASIA-PACIFIC: James Woolhouse PRESIDENT, NEW MARKETS AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, BRAND DEVELOPMENT: Karina Dobrotvorskaya DIRECTOR OF PLANNING: Jason Miles DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INVESTMENTS: Moritz von Laffert

INDIAN EDITION

New Event!

SHOWCASING INDIA’S GREATEST MENSWEAR GQ DRIVE AWARDS 2015

DECEMBER 2015 `150

The Cars, Bikes (& Train) of the Year

LUXURY LIST

The50 Best Things in theWorld Right NOW THE ULTIMATE TATTOO GUIDE


INDIAN EDITION

LUXURY LIST

The50 Best Things in theWorld Right NOW

The Condé Nast Group of Brands includes: US: Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Brides, Self, GQ, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, Details, Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Epicurious, Wired, W, Golf Digest, Teen Vogue, Ars Technica, Condé Nast Entertainment, The Scene UK: Vogue, House & Garden, Brides, Tatler, The World of Interiors, GQ, Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveller, Glamour, Condé Nast Johansens, GQ Style, Love, Wired, Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design, Ars Technica France: Vogue, Vogue Hommes International, AD, Glamour, Vogue Collections, GQ, AD Collector, Vanity Fair, Vogue Travel in France, GQ Le Manuel du Style

New Event!


Global PRESIDENT, CONDÉ NAST E-COMMERCE: Franck Zayan CONDÉ NAST GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Jamie Bill

Italy: Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, Vogue Bambini, Glamour, Vogue Gioiello, Vogue Sposa, AD, Condé Nast Traveller, GQ, Vanity Fair, Wired, Vogue Accessory, La Cucina Italiana, CNLive


The Cars, Bikes (& Train) of the Year

Germany: Vogue, GQ, AD, Glamour, GQ Style, Myself, Wired


Spain: Vogue, GQ, Vogue Novias, Vogue Niños, Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue Colecciones, Vogue Belleza, Glamour, AD, Vanity Fair

(Finally)

Opens up

TALKING WATCHES WITH SACHIN TENDULKAR

KATRINA KAIF PHOTOGRAPHED BY S GNE V LSTRUP

Inside Arunachal’s Valley of Rock

Japan: Vogue, GQ, Vogue Girl, Wired, Vogue Wedding

For Android GQIndia.com/Android

Taiwan: Vogue, GQ Russia: Vogue, GQ, AD, Glamour, GQ Style, Tatler, Condé Nast Traveller, Allure Mexico and Latin America: Vogue Mexico and Latin America, Glamour Mexico and Latin America, AD Mexico, GQ Mexico and Latin America, Vanity Fair Mexico India: Vogue, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, AD

Published under Joint Venture: Brazil: Vogue, Casa Vogue, GQ, Glamour, GQ Style

Published under License or Copyright Cooperation:

For iPad and iPhone GQIndia.com/iTunes

What a man’s got to do

Australia: Vogue, Vogue Living, GQ Bulgaria: Glamour China: Vogue, Vogue Collections, Self, AD, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, GQ Style, Brides, Condé Nast Center of Fashion & Design Czech Republic and Slovakia: La Cucina Italiana Hungary: Glamour Iceland: Glamour Korea: Vogue, GQ, Vogue Girl, Allure, W, GQ Style, Style.co.kr Middle East: Condé Nast Traveller, AD, Vogue Café at The Dubai Mall, GQ Bar Dubai Poland: Glamour Portugal: Vogue, GQ Romania: Glamour Russia: Vogue Café Moscow, Tatler Club Moscow South Africa: House & Garden, GQ, Glamour, House & Garden Gourmet, GQ Style The Netherlands: Glamour, Vogue Thailand: Vogue, GQ, Vogue Lounge Bangkok Turkey: Vogue, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller Ukraine: Vogue, Vogue Café Kiev

POWER PACKED he smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts through GQ’s new HQ, a space that combines regal grandeur with new-age finesse in the heart of Ballard Estate, south Bombay’s historic business district. Natural light filters in through a canopy of amaltas trees, set against stately buildings that hint at the city’s colonial past. From my desk I watch chirpy staffers write, edit, design and post – their tables punctuated by gleaming Macs and stark white columns, with warm, wooden undertones dotting the space. The walls are adorned by giant chimpanzees from the distant future – graphic wallpaper created by Thukral and Tagra. The conference room with its dark glass table top and high-backed black chairs is remniscent of a Bond villain’s lair. Yet outside, the sparrows chirp and leaves sway – an oasis of calm in a city choked to the brim. After seven frutiful years, we outgrew the space in the iconic building we occupied alongside our sister publication Vogue in an office located a few streets down from where we sit now. The move reflects substantial belief in GQ – and comes at a time when we are strengthening our position as the country’s leading men’s media brand. The past year has been an especially productive, energetic one, brimming with new initiatives like the Most Influential Young Indians list that we launched in July, as well as this month’s ambitious Fashion Nights event, in partnership with Van Heusen, which aims to put Indian menswear on the international map. We also enhanced the size and scale of our existing signature properties like the Men of the Year Awards, and the Best-Dressed Men in India. Each of these ideas is rooted in editorial enterprise, and has been incredibly satisfying to produce. Yet perhaps what we most relished creating is our year-end roundup, appearing in this issue, of the 50 Best Things in the World. I hope you won’t mind that we’ve included our new office on the list.

Editor

42 —

DECEMBER 2015

PHOTO: ARJUN MARK (CHE). DIGITAL ART: THUKRAL & TAGRA

Letter from the Editor

PROMOTION

CONTRIBUTORS ERRIKOS ANDREOU WHO: Photographer; Instagram @errikosandreou WHAT: Makes our 2015 Men (and Woman) Of The Year look damned good after they’ve picked up their #GQAward, page 58 “It’d include Facebook’s effort to bring internet access to developing countries, Fujitsu’s Ultrasonic Vibration touchscreens, that allow you to feel texture, the recent discovery of how to remove mercury from water and Adele’s new album, 25”

TANUL THAKUR WHO: Former engineer, film writer; Twitter@Plebeian42 WHAT: Highlights the year’s coolest indie films, page 170 “Nawazuddin Siddiqui (literally) shutting up Salman Khan in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Also, the Tamil film Kakka Muttai.”

VIVEK SURVE WHO: Deputy Art Director, GQ India WHAT: Designs this year’s GQ Drive Awards (page 200) and “Tattoo You” (page 281) “The GPS Pet Tracker Nuzzle. It’s a collar that gives you the exact location of your pet on your smartphone – so your pet can never get lost.”

DAVE BESSELING WHO: Deputy Editor, GQ India; Twitter @davebesseling WHAT: Send your hate (or love) mail to him for GQ’s 2015 list of the 50 best things in the world, page 118 “I would say the two music albums we’ve included this year, that prove, in the scattered nature of music consumption these days, that full albums are still being made and can be consumed as such, at great depth.”

46 —

DECEMBER 2015

where escape

Luxury, discretion and the legendary service of Four Seasons come together to create a coveted lifestyle in the heart of Bengaluru.

MEETS EXCELLENCE

24-hour service, state-of-the-art security and amenities, bespoke interiors and Four Seasons’ immaculate attention to detail. Come home to unparalleled elegance and exclusivity at Four Seasons Private Residences Bengaluru at Embassy ONE.

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL & RESIDENCES • COMMERCIAL • RETAIL

Visit our Four Seasons Discovery Center by appointment only

T: +91 81520 22222 W: www.embasyone.in E: [email protected]

Four Seasons disclaimer: Four Seasons Private Residences Bengaluru at Embassy One are not owned, developed or sold by Four Seasons Hotels Limited or its affiliates (Four Seasons). The developer, Embassy Group, uses the Four Seasons trademarks and tradenames under a license from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. The marks “FOUR SEASONS,” “FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS,” any combination thereof and the Tree Design are registered trademarks of Four Seasons Hotels Limited in Canada and U.S.A. and of Four Seasons Hotels (Barbados) Ltd. elsewhere.

Embassy Group disclaimer: The information and visuals contained herein are artistic impressions and are meant to be indicative and are subject to change as may be required by the authorities, architects and cannot form an offer or contract. While every reasonable care has been taken in providing the information, the promoter Embassy Property Developments Private Limited or their agents cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. The promoters reserve their rights to make alterations, additions and amendments as may be necessitated from time to time. Specifications and materials mentioned here are subjectto availability.

ROCHELLE PINTO

CONTRIBUTORS

WHO: Digital Editor, GQ India; Instagram @rochelle.pinto WHAT: Expounds on, among other things, the brilliance of the GQ office and Edward Snowden, page xxx “Our gangsta Supreme Court. I’m perennially surprised by how liberal and fearless it is, from taking on unruly politicians to upholding the rights of the transgender community to empowering women. Now if only this intellect were contagious…”

ADIL HASAN WHO: Photographer; Instagram @adil_jsr WHAT: Takes us on an intimate ride through the breathtaking Ziro Valley on the heels of the Ziro Valley Festival of Music, page 222 “A few months ago, the New Horizons space probe, launched nine years ago, gave us our first glimpse of Pluto and its exotic moon Charon, which we’ve known about for over 80 years! And this is just the beginning of the probe’s journey.”

PRABHAT SHETTY WHO: Photographer; Instagram @prabhatshetty WHAT: Puts the focus on ink in this month’s guide to getting tattooed, page 281 “Mad Max: Fury Road. To me, it redefines film-making – the same story can be told in a thousand different ways, but George Miller and his team created a cult classic with their stark, raw treatment.”

KENNETH LAM

VARUN GODINHO WHO: Auto & Watch Editor, GQ India; Twitter @varungq WHAT: Searched out the coolest, most experimental, slickest rides put out this year for GQ’s 2nd Annual Drive Awards, page 200 “Edward Snowden. Brilliant or diabolical, whatever your opinion of him, you’ve gotta hand it to a guy who’s taken on the world’s most powerful establishment – and survived. He’s got over 1.5 million followers on Twitter, but he follows just one account: @NSAGov.”

50 —

DECEMBER 2015

WHO: Photographer; Instagram @kenlams WHAT: Shoots GQ guy Rahul Khanna in Vietnam, page 228 “My brand new espresso machine, which keeps me getting out of bed every morning.”

Vermillion

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WHAT’S

NEW ON

INDIA

FOR THE LATEST STYLE ADVICE, PRODUCT PICKS AND BREAKING NEWS, FOLLOW THE TEAM ON...

com

THE HOTTEST WOMEN OF 2015

FROM DEEPIKA PADUKONE TO MONICA BELLUCCI

A NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH TO REMEMBER… IF YOU CAN

POSTPARTY SAVIOURS EXPERT GROOMING HACKS TO ENSURE ALL THAT BINGE DRINKING DOESN’T CATCH UP WITH YOU 54 —

DECEMBER 2015

PHOTO: TARUN VISHWA (DEEPIKA). IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES

THE WORLD’S WILDEST PARTY PLACES

Shahid Kapoor

Lisa Ray

AWARDS Philanthropist of the Year Rahul Bose

Catch all the action from the #MostElectricParty Of 2015

Deepika Padukone

AC Leander Paes & Aditi Rao Hydari Akshay Kumar dazzles the audience

The Grand Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai

SS

Sportsman of the Year Rohit Sharma

ACCESS

Ayushm ann Kh urrana

ITC’s majordomo YC Deveshwar

ACCESS Waluscha De Sousa

ACCES

DECEMBER 2015

— 59

Neil Nitin Mukesh

en Che Kurri apoor & Shahid K

ACCESS

Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta & Amy Jackson

The stage

Piyush Tewari

Suhel Seth

i mar Hiran illa & Rajku lex Kuruv Prateik, A

Miss India 2015, Aafreen Vaz

Bose Krishnamachari

Gaggan Anand

Sumeet Lamba

Madhav Chavan

ACCESS

Riyas Komu

ACCESS

Evelyn Sharma, Woolmark’s Lisa Griplas & Sabyasachi Mukherjee

ACCE

ACCESS

Rahul Bose

ACCESS Nikhil Mehra Rohit Sharma Arti Gudal

Ranveer Brar

lly wired The tota

GQ Team

Pernia Qureshi

Sagar Chordia, Arjun Mehra & Leander Paes 62 —

DECEMBER 2015

The Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi, Horniman Circle, Mumbai Hermes.com

ACCESS ACCESS

Deepika Gehani, Dilshad Khambata & Oona Dhabhar

Ashiesh Shah

Vikram Baidyanath Baa, the Cool Wool sheep

The live Woolmark exhibit

Shobhit Sawhney & Pernia Qureshi

Priti & Manoj Adlakha

ACCESS

Nico Gogh avala

ACCESS Riyas Komu, Bose Krishnamachari & Almona Bhatia Cyrus Sahukar

ACCESS

Aditi Rao Hydari

DECEMBER 2015

ACCE

64 —

AD Singh

ACC

Jason Dehni, Lisa Ray & Vijendra Bhardwaj

Sheetal Mallar & Martin da Costa

Pranati Rai Prakash

Ayushmann Khurrana Nachiket Barve

JJ Valaya

Elli Avram

Malavika Sangghvi The Chivas bar

Ajay Gehani Kamal Sidhu

Uday Benegal

66 —

DECEMBER 2015

CESS ACC

Bosco Bhandarkar

Samir Srivastav

Jitish Kallat

Rohit Sharma & Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri

Manak Singh

Priyanka & Akash Sheth

Sabyasachi Mukherjee & Deepika Padukone

ACCESS Rouhallah Gazi Gaurav & Priti Mahajan

DECEMBER 2015

ACCESS

68 —

Narendra Kumar

Miss India 2015, Vartika Singh

STYLE THAT’S MADE IN ITALY

Discover quality and craftsmanship from the land synonymous with discerning taste, Italy: effortless, timeless, passionate and stylish. Discover Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

Italy gives style a new meaning. It means dining in castles, indulging in glamorous Aperitivo evenings, island hopping on yachts, shopping alongside celebrities and sipping the one and only Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Here’s a line up of the things you must do (and drink) when in Italy.

platters of piquant salami, from T-bone steak prepared on chestnut wood to crawfish filled with courgettes and thyme; indulge until your heart’s content and enjoy it all paired with the crisp and refreshing taste of Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Experience the delectable flavors of Italy’s finest produce.

SHOP FOR ALL THINGS BESPOKE IN MILAN Step into a boutique on Via Monte Napoleone to be greeted by the storekeeper and a welcome drink. Study the suits elegantly hanging on the rack and get your measurements taken for a bespoke suit. Then walk inside Zegna, followed by Brioni, Prada and Armani. Once you’ve had your fill of shopping, walk into a bar along a vine-walled piazza and enjoy the Aperitivo hour with a chilled Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Live a life of Italian style.

GO ON A SKI SAFARI IN THE DOLOMITES For the ultimate style adventure, head to the Dolomites, A UNESCO World Heritage site dubbed “the Pale Mountains” for the silvery colour they reflect from the moon. Go on an exclusive ski safari and romantic horse and sled ride. Set at 1,800 meters, take a dip in an outdoor heated pool or spend some time in a glass sauna overlooking the snowcaps. Soak in the relaxed ambience with the perfect accompaniment, Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Embrace the spontaneous charm of the Italy’s giooa di vivere.

ISLAND HOP ON A YACHT ALONG THE AMALFI COAST From the picturesque town of Positano to the subtle elegance of Sorrento and captivating beauty of Capri, the Amalfi Coast has gifted us with several gems that are worth exploring. Imagine going from one stunning island to the next on a beautifully crafted sailing boat – clear, blue waters below you, cloudless skies above and a cool bottle of Peroni Nastro Azzurro to hand. Discover a world on which dreams are made. DINE IN A FLORENTINE MICHELIN-STAR RESTAURANT Clean flavours, complex textures, yet simply composed cuisine — these are just a few of the things to expect when you dine in style in Florence. From meltingly soft mortadella to

Brewed by Italians since 1963, using only the finest ingredients to yield a crisp and refreshing lager with an unmistakable character, Peroni Nastro Azzurro has been crafted for the discerning consumer with impeccable taste.

ESS ACCESS

Delicious fare courtesy of Grand Hyatt Mumbai

vek NBA team, Vi d an to own an Indian awar The first Indi al ob Gl e th ceives Ranadive, re

The LA Times’ Shashank Bengali & Anusha Bengali

Namita & Rhea Kuruvilla

ACCESS Angad Bedi & Prasad Naik

Siddharth Poojari & Renu Oberoi

DJ Arsh

Suket Dhir

Sumit Puri, Mala Kashyap, Srishti Sawhney & Pria Kataria Puri

Aditya Hitkari & Divya Palat

Hasleen Kaur

Colston Julian, Troy Costa, Shane & Falguni Peacock, Anil & Sabina Chopra, Manasi Scott, Vikram & Nisha Raizada

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ACCESS AC

Pratima & Gaurav Bhatia

Ashita Misquita & Ravi Avalur Rolf & Anu Blaser

Dino Morea

Shahid Kap oor school s Aditi Rao Hydar i on taking a selfie

Carla Dennis

ACCESS Nitin Mirani Drinks at the bar Jatin Kampani & Nikhila Palat

Jenny Reingen

Deepa Bhatia, Divia Thani & Sunaina Talwar

Upen Patel

Lamba & Paresh a, Anjana rb l’E el D , Vito Ambekar Vinayak

Sonalli Sehgall

CESS

THANK-YOU! MAIN SPONSOR: Chivas Studio ASSOCIATE SPONSORS: American

Keith Sequeira & Rochelle Maria Rao Prateik: ready to raise hell

ACCESS Sonam Bajwa

Express, The Woolmark Company, Star World, Grand Hyatt Mumbai EXCLUSIVE HOST: Cyrus Sahukar with a special segment hosted by Aditi Rao Hydari SCRIPT: Abbas Momin and Dhruv Deshpande PRESENTERS: Pernia Qureshi, Shobhit Sawhney, Jitish Kallat, Lisa Griplas, Evelyn Sharma, Lisa Ray, Waluscha De Sousa, Manoj Adlakha, Rochelle Maria Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, Suhel Seth, Lara Dutta, Amy Jackson, Aditi Rao Hydari ENTERTAINMENT: Bit of Both, feat Boombay Djembe Folas, with graphics by Wolves Visuals DIGITAL HOST: Rochelle Maria Rao AFTER PARTY: DJ Arsh GIFT PARTNER: Jean-Claude Biguine SET DESIGN & EVENT PRODUCTION: Seventy Event Media Group TV PRODUCTION: OML Production PHOTOGRAPHERS: Kedar Nene & Team, Manish Mansinh, Errikos Andreou/DEU: Creative Management The raging after party at China House

Schauna Chauhan & Bikram Saluja

Madhu Sneha & Sapna Pabbi

ALL ROADS LEAD TO

MUMBAI PRESENTING

WEEK

13th-18th February 2016

An insight into the pioneering initiative and what Make In India aims to accomplish

Across Mumbai, a melting pot which represents a unique combination of culture, commerce, technology, industry and urbanity

The best and brightest: Global, government and industry leaders, policy makers, regulators, business associations, entrepreneurs, research institutions and international media

13th-18th February, 2016. To stay updated with key events or to know more, visit www. makeinindia.com/ mumbai-week

WATC OUT F R?

WHEN?

WHO?

WHERE?

WHAT?

The much-awaited, landmark event Make In India Week is just around the corner. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Gain vital information across key manufacturing sectors through the Make In India Centre, business forums, design conferences, seminars and more

SHOWCASE + CONNECT + COLLABORATE

TH E

CI TY

O F

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D RE AM S

Make In India, a major national initiative, is designed to propel sustainable growth and make India the preferred global manufacturing destination. The theme of the week-long event is to: Showcase design, innovation and sustainability potential to highlight India’s top manufacturing sectors in the coming decade. Connect with global industry leaders and administrators through their involvement. Collaborate to take corporate and public participation to the next level. From being a global platform for networking and business opportunities to having access to stakeholders, global investors, tech firms and think tanks—it’s going to be big.

SE M IN AR S

Th no er i an se e’s an d s , an ple ha d t oc d e nty co ve hos ial f xp to lla be e ut lor loo bo en wi ure e n k ra p th . e fo te lan th Aw w i rw e to ne m ar de ard co d, o ds as to m in st th , te a e clu inn at c t t up d o w hn he w ing vat ill a olo M ith a iv c g a id 24 e a kno ies ke I ea -h n a n w s t ou d g le nd Ind ha r am dg le ia t s ha e e c ad W ol ck -ch om er ee sh k ve at a ur ho ng pan ip : Fo n i ba , n ie sk ru n wh g id s, ills ms de e t e fi sig re as rst- hat tha . In ge w t w c n o pr de a ne ill i ob rs dd ra sh ll cu le , e itio tio ap t t m ng n n e h s. in , a en As rou ee h tr ia’ g rs os ep s e h t an t o re co he d f in ne no de it ur m sig iat s ic ne ive s rs w ill

H AC K AT H O N

FO RU M S,

The Make In India Centre will feature an exhibition of the most innovative products and manufacturing processes that have been developed in India. The space itself will be an avant-garde statement in design, merging the aesthetics of traditional craft with a futuristic vision. Opportunities across key sectors that will boost Indian manufacturing activity will be highlighted.

&

THE MAKE IN INDIA CENTRE

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The calendar includes seminars, performances and workshops that will feature experts from finance, industry, art and design. Highlights include the Make In India Centre, CNN Asia Business Forum, Time India awards, Re-imagining Mumbai, Empowerment Through Design and much more. Investor or citizen, bureaucrat or businessman, this is one week that should be in everyone’s diaries!

INAUGURATION OF WEEK By the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi

On 13th February, 2016 in Mumbai

Follow the lion: Facebook - facebook.com/makeinindiaofficial Twitter - @makeinindia Instagram - @makeinindia For registration and queries visit makeinindia.com/mumbai-week

BIBLIOPHILE THE BEST BOOKS OF 2015

WORDS: NIDHI GUPTA. IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES

FIELD OF VISION You know the future has arrived when getting it on with extra-terrestrials becomes a thing. Alien Makeout Simulator is just one example of how far virtual reality gear has come from its Nineties motion sickness-inducing avatar. 21st-century headsets also won’t make you look like a douchebag, plus they’re all about 3D ‘immersive’ experiences – just imagine what porn will look like now. Dive in, with these cool kits coming soon to your friendly neighbourhood online store

Playstation VR DEVELOPER: Sony USP: With ten light sensors to track movement, a 100-degree field of view and ten pre-launched games, this is just the makeover your PS4 needs.

DECEMBER 2015

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TECH

Gear VR DEVELOPER: Samsung & Oculus USP: Lighter, half the price of the Rift, and can connect to all Samsung smart devices launched in 2015. (Sorry, Apple, they got here first.)

Vive DEVELOPER: HTC USP: Comes with two wall-mountable sensors which protect you from bumping into solid surfaces as you chase zombies around the room.

Glyph DEVELOPER: Avegant USP: Headphones and goggles rolled into one that can be plugged into just about any device. The sound quality is a win. See ya around, Beats.

Oculus Rift


DEVELOPER: Facebook & Oculus VR USP: Presence, immersiveness and developer content – like the Street View app or the game Bullet Train. Mark Zuckerberg’s poured $2 billion into its development, so you can count on it to blow your mind.

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BOOKS

READ RINSE REPEAT Make space on your shelves: GQ’s literary haul from 2015 will make a bookworm out of you yet

GENRE: Economics PUBLISHER: Vintage – Random House India. If you’re half the worldly-wise gentleman you think you are, you’re already familiar with Mihir Sharma’s incisive column in The Business Standard, and the simplicity with which he argues for a better world. In Restart, he tells you how to pull the domestic economy out of its funk, rotting in its own mess thanks to a national “passion for under-capacity”: Just go back to the drawing board. Plus, he knows how to pull a punchline. Who doesn’t like an argumentative Indian with a sense of humour?

GENRE: True crime PUBLISHER: Penguin. The Aarushi-Hemraj case is closed, the Talvars in prison – but you still can’t shake that voice in your head saying “something’s not right”. Journalist Avirook Sen’s own investigation into this politically motivated carnival of the CBI, judiciary and a trigger-happy media won’t bring closure, but he’s exacting about the facts. It all comes together in this damning indictment of a system gone to the dogs.

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DECEMBER 2015

GENRE: Crime Fiction PUBLISHER: Hodder & Stoughton. King won the Edgar prize, America’s top award for crime-writing, earlier this year for Mr Mercedes. That’s only one reason you must sample the sequel. In this one, you’ll find rabid fans, a murdered author, and Detective Bill Hodges hot on the trail. King’s simple prose might make you think it’s easy to drum up crime fiction. It isn’t.

GENRE: History PUBLISHER: Harper Collins India. Lessons in history aren’t always saturnine, sleepy affairs, like school taught you. Case in point: Raghu Karnad’s trip along the blasted memory lanes of World War II, through the stories of three relatives (granduncles) who’d enlisted in the British army in the Forties. In the process, he also calls out the selective amnesia involved in the making of a “nation”. This is Social Studies gone cool.

WORDS: NIDHI GUPTA.

GENRE: Love & relationships PUBLISHER: Penguin. Comedian Aziz Ansari may have played a hopeless romantic in Parks And Recreation, but in life, he’s a realist. In his first book, written with sociologist Eric Klinenberg, he muses on how love, and the process of finding and sustaining a relationship, has changed in the digital age. He’s dating a stunner of a pastry chef, whom he met through mutual friends, so maybe you should recuse yourself from Tinder for a bit and listen to what he has to say.

GENRE: Science fiction PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury. There’s a reason Ms Atwood, the reigning queen of storytelling, prefers to classify her novels, usually featuring futuristic dystopian worlds, as “speculative fiction”. When you read her latest, about a society on the brink of economic collapse, with sex bots trapped in Foucaultian prisons and doling out questionable drugs, you’ll know why: This is a hell you’ve already checked into, and can’t check out of.

GENRE: Autobiography PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House. This leather-clad man astride the vintage BMW bike on the cover was Oliver Sacks, among the greatest neurologists and writers of our time. In this, his last book, he talks candidly of boarding school bullying, gives us a peek into Fifties biker society, and provides treatises on body-building – all experiences that paved the way for his empathetic approach to the sciences. Read for a dose of humanism.

FILM

TARANTINO REDUX The Hateful Eight is out this month, and you couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas gift. Rest assured: It will come up at dinner, so you need to know what a Tarantino film is made of. Here’s the cheatsheet

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GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLISHER: Vertigo Comics. British author and all-around genius Neil Gaiman needs no introduction. Nor does his Sandman series, a collection coveted as much as, if not more than, Lord Of The Rings and Game Of Thrones. In this, the sixth edition, also the final comic in the prequel to the Sandman saga, there’s scintillating artwork by JH Williams III, and a chance for Dream to redeem himself. Superheroes be damned.

THE BLOODBATH

Think the car scene in Pulp Fiction, The Bride vs Gogo in Kill Bill Vol 1, the shootout in Django Unchained: Basically, if you’re a character in a Tarantino film, there’s very little chance you’ll come out of it alive. Now imagine the possibilities when there’s eight of these nuts cooped up in an isolated mansion.

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THE CAMERA ANGLES

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SAMUEL L JACKSON

When basically everyone’s going to die, you’re kind of left with no option but to show what the dead are seeing. Remember Sofia Fatale (Kill Bill) and Marvin Nash (Reservoir Dogs) gazing helplessly up at their assassins? And when so many humans have sinned, there must be a judgmental god looking down upon his wayward children: like when Jackie Brown was stuffing stolen money down an airport toilet.

If you spot this actor drawling street wisdom, brandishing guns and narrowing his eyes one too many times, you know Tarantino’s involved. And if Kurt Russell is lurking in the background, you can bet your lunch money on it.

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THE BALVENIE AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE DOG

Rich and luxurious, The Balvenie with its handcrafted perfection and honeyed character is one of Scotland’s best-kept secrets. Allow us to take you back in time and reveal a few of them

he Balvenie is truly one-of-a-kind. The secret to its unique and exquisite flavour lies in the fact that it is handcrafted at every stage of its production. The way the barley is sown in its 1,000-acre farm, the manner in which the grain is steeped in spring water and then dried with peat and anthracite, the sweetening of the stills with juniper and the process of “toasting” the casks – all of it is done by hand under the supervision of a malt master. But as a connoisseur, you probably know that. What you may not know is that for well over a hundred years The Balvenie has been served and savoured in a mysterious way. Allow us to introduce you to The Balvanie Dipping Dog – a secret that was once confined within the four walls of the distillery. In the early 1900s, Dipping Dogs were often used by distillery workers

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who’d help themselves to the delicious dram that was left to age in casks. Made from a copper tube and suspended from the worker’s belt, this curious vessel always hung by the sides of these men. And much like a dog – man’s best friend – it was always on a leash. But behind the excise man’s back these vessels were dipped into the casks and filled with liquid gold. We don’t blame

them. The Balvenie, after all, is extremely irresistible. Today, while stringent measures are used in the distillery to ensure that there are no dogs on the premises, there are still several places that use The Balvenie Dipping Dog to serve you. For instance, The Connaught in London or The Four Seasons in Hampshire promise you a barking good time.

MUSIC

F THE HOOK

December is a time of many things: Bonuses, resolutions and the sickest parties. With four destination dance festivals jostling for your attention (and cash) by lining up these world-renowned beatmakers, you’d better get cracking on those excuses for going MIA

Ratatat What’s a 14-year-old rocktronica band from Brooklyn that you’ve probably never heard of doing on this list of dance music giants? Just sample Mike Stroud and Evan Mast’s latest album, the supergroovy Magnifique. Like modern-day pied pipers, they played the super-dope “Cream On Chrome” off it at Coachella and got a stadium-sized audience moving like you would to a Bollywood item number. And if you’re still not convinced, jog your memory for Kid Cudi’s “The Pursuit Of Happiness” to understand the kind of dancefloor magic these guys can make.

Hardwell Perhaps Robbert van de Corput’s best talent (even better than the beats he drops) is knowing how to raise the bar. While others in his tribe are busy ascending charts, he’s putting out charity gigs for his foundation United We Are! and trying to break the world record – his own, mostly – for the biggest guest list. Everyone’s invited; but if all this nice-guy business isn’t what you’d expect out of your favourite “badass DJ”, there’s opener Vir Das to balance things out.

The United We Are: India gig will take place in Mumbai on December 13

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Also playing at Magnetic Fields (December 18-20) will be HVOB, DJ Objekt, DJ Koze and Shigeto

HO N O UR

stefanoricci.com

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POWE R

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PR ID E

MUSIC

Martin Garrix EDM’s wunderkind has had a great 2015. He brought his A-game to Ultra Miami, has been hanging out with Justin Bieber (#millennials), and dethroned Hardwell to become the world’s No 1 DJ (as per DJ Mag, the, uh, authority on the subject). Too much to achieve at 19, you say? A 14-year-old DJ called Diego debuted at Amsterdam Dance Event this year, so best catch Garrix while he’s still relevant.

Sunburn Festival (December 27-30) also has David Guetta as headliner

Disclosure If you haven’t latched on yet, you should know that the Lawrence brothers (Harold and Guy) are the men of the moment. Between dropping Caracal (a cracker of an album), hanging out with James Bond’s main man Sam Smith and throwing postGrammys house parties and hosting everyone from Taylor Swift to Mark Ronson, they’ve found the time to tour the world and actually play behind the console, not just pose prophet-like. Trust the Brits to keep it classy.

VH1 Supersonic (December 27-30) also has Deorro, Zed’s Dead and a stage curated by The Awakening on the line-up

Tiësto If there were such a thing as the godfather of EDM, you could call him Tiësto. The world’s richest, biggest DJs – including Garrix and Hardwell – turn into panicky schoolboys when he’s around. Everyone wants to be on his label Black Hole Recordings, and his mentor status is also cemented by the fact that he’s hunting for “America’s next top DJ” on a lame reality show. And he’s the only one who can pull it all off because, as he himself says, Tiësto’s superpower is Tiësto. Can’t argue with that.

THE RHYME BOT I love it when it’s sunny Sonny girl you could be my Cher, I’m in a love affair I can’t share it ain’t fair, Haha I’m just playin’ ladies you know I love you. I know my love is true and I know you love me too....

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DECEMBER 2015

minem may be a (self-proclaimed) rap god, but DeepBeat is a rap bot. An algorithm developed by AI researches at Aalto University in Finland, it can generate lyrics by mining a cache of 583,669 lines from 10,980 songs and combining them into new forms. “It was a challenge for it to detect rhymes, as English is not phonetic,” says lead researcher Eric Malmi. “We gave it a phonetic transcript of the lyrics.” Malmi created modes to teach DeepBeat how to pick the most relevant next line, by analyzing structure and keywords. Its

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raps have 21 per cent more rhymes than the highest-ranked rapper Malmi spotted – Inspectah Deck. But although the algorithm achieved great accuracy – it can tell a song’s next line from a random one in 82 per cent of the cases – its songs won’t win Grammys. Malmi is focused on helping it write more coherent songs. “It could improve lyrics and rhymes, but building storylines will still be for artists,” he says. “Short of a rap singularity, rappers won’t be put out of business.” Find out more at mining4meaning.com

WORDS: NIDHI GUPTA, GIAN VOLPICELLI. IMAGE: CORBIS, GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK

The line-up for Enchanted Valley Carnival (December 18-20) also includes Fatboy Slim, Ferry Corsten, Oliver Heldens, Alex M.O.R.P.H. and Shpongle

MUSIC

Giorgio Moroder Giorgio Moroder’s philosophy might be summed up as “Go big or go home.” The Italian innovator and hitmaker seized the zeitgeist for a whole decade before effectively retiring in the late Eighties. He had already achieved enough for a lifetime. Moroder found success in his late 30s with the mechanized disco juggernauts he made with Donna Summer, including the deathless “I Feel Love”. Moving on from disco before the bubble burst, he brought synthesizers to the multiplex with his scores for Midnight Express (for which he won the first of his three Oscars) and Scarface. He produced and co-wrote hits for Sparks, Japan and David Bowie, while pushing blockbuster soundtracks into the Eighties. Blondie’s “Call Me”, Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away”, Irene Cara’s “Flashdance... What A Feeling”: all Moroder’s work. He achieved all this while living in a Beverly Hills mansion and wooing actresses at LA hotspots. As soon as he got bored he disappeared into the life of a jet-set dilettante, so thank Daft Punk for reigniting his love of music with their audio biography, “Giorgio By Moroder”, from their 2013 album Random Access Memories. On this year’s comeback album, Déjà Vu, featuring Kylie, Britney and Sia, the 75-year-old’s pop instincts are undimmed, while his influence can be heard everywhere from EDM clubs to the Drive soundtrack. “It’s funny to read the papers now,” he said recently. “It’s almost like I invented music.” He invented more than most.

WORDS: DORIAN LYNSKEY. IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES, CORBIS

The line-up for Johnnie Walker: The Journey 2015 (December 12) also includes Tycho and Explosions in the Sky

Moroder back in the day at his Beverly Hills mansion

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DECEMBER 2015

TO BREAK IN SINGAPORE Vir Das takes you around Singapore, breaking one resolution at a time...

#1

STICK TO THE SPEED LIMIT (Screw that. Floor the accelerator!) When you have an F1 circuit and a fleet of supercars at your disposal, why would you drive like your grandpa? Vir gets his need-for-speed fix with the Ultimate Drive experience – 60 minutes in a Lamborghini Gallardo, hightailing the circuit like a boss.

#2

SAVE FOR A RAINY DAY (Seriously, in Singapore?) Shopping is Singapore’s unofficial national sport. How could you not shop? It's got the best luxury malls, top luxury designer brands, coolest high-street labels and more. From Orchard Road to Haji Lane, VivoCity (Singapore’s largest mall) to the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands hotel, Vir goes ahead and happily breaks the bank.

PHOTOGRAPHER: ARJUN MARK; STYLIST: TANYA VOHRA; HAIR & MAKE-UP: SHIMSHA SHETTY; VIR’S TRIP WAS SUPPORTED BY THE SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD AND THE CHIANGI AIRPORT GROUP

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NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

SHAVE IT OFF YOURSELF (Nah, get it DONE by the experts) Do it yourself is so last year. And let’s face it, men like getting pampered too. That’s why Vir Das wasted no time in booking his appointment at Sultans of Shave. Facial scrub, pre-shave oil, hot towel pat down, the shave, cold towel pat down, post-shave balm, moisturizer – time to feel like a king.

#4 GO ON A NO-MEAT DIET (Who you kidding, sink your teeth in it) The first thing on Vir’s list of things to do in the New Year is to have a kick-ass meal at BoCHINche. Perfect for someone with a voracious appetite, the Lomo Beef Fillet, Braised Lamb Shoulder, Chimichurri Steak Burger and Iberico Pork chops are the dishes to demolish. Get busy.

#5 DON’T GET DRUNK (Get Purple Drank instead) Vir Das makes it look easy at Singapore’s Tippling Club, with its super-cool, ultra-progressive and experimental cocktails. Down the Purple Drank, which may look like cough syrup in a medicine bottle, but will take you from sober to happy in seconds.

SPORTS

E V R E S G I B E TH

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DECEMBER 2015

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WORDS: JONATHAN HEAF. IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES, REX FEATURES

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©BOSCHMANN

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BE THERE! DO THAT!

A French Serenade

The Great Outdoors

PHOTO SOURCE ARTVENTURES

France has something for every kind of traveller – bespoke experiences that cater to solo vacationers, supersized families, adventure buffs, wine connoisseurs, travellers looking for unparalleled luxury and romantic escapades. When in France, you can’t go wrong. From the chateaux of the Loire to wine trails in Champagne, from picturesque Chamonix MontBlanc and the glamorous Riviera to the offbeat locales of Carcassonne and the Midi Pyrénées – every destination has something unique to offer.

ATOUT FRANCE © LÉONARD DE SERRES

BESPOKE FRENCH EXPERIENCES

Fun with the Family

ATOUT FRANCE © ROBERT PALOMBA

To craft your Be There! Do That! bespoke holiday to France, call Mercury Travels at Mumbai: 022 6615 3477-82 New Delhi: 011 4518 6121/11/08/00 Bangalore: 080 4241 3005/06/00 Chennai: 044 2852 2995/2840 or email [email protected] or log on to www.mercurytravels.co.in

Spirited Encounters

Exquisite Indulgences

The Great Outdoors: Take hot air balloon rides over the verdant vineyards of the Loire Valley, Champagne and Burgundy or go golfing in Chamonix Mont-Blanc or Evian. Hike through Lourdes in the Midi-Pyrénées or head to Pau in Aquitaine for tandem paragliding. White water rafting awaits you in the Gorges du Verdon area in Provence. Finally, visit one of France’s stunning beaches like Biarritz, Cannes or St Tropez for some surf and sail.

A French Serenade: Plan an amorous getaway in the City of Lights – Paris or woo your special someone with walks on the beach in decadent Deauville or La Baule or on a leisurely cruise down the Canal du Midi in Carcassonne. Picturesque Annecy in the Rhône-Alpes invites you for an intimate retreat while quaint villages of the South provide glimpses of the easy-going Mediterranean way of life!

YOUR FRENCH HOLIDAY, YOUR WAY. Romantic Escapades (10 N/11 D): Champagne, Paris with trips to Giverny and Versailles, Annecy, Chamonix MontBlanc with helicopter ride. France for the Family (11 N/12 D): Carcassonne, Toulouse, Paris with Disneyland, La Baule with trip to Nantes and cruise across Saint Nazaire or a visit of Guérande.

Exquisite Indulgences: Live like royals in any of Paris’s Palace Hotels with retail therapy indulgences in upscale Parisian neighbourhoods. Enjoy elegant escapades in chic Megève or Chamonix nestled in the French Alpes or enjoy the charmed life of the rich and famous at the glamorous seaside resorts of Nice, Cannes, St Tropez and Biarritz. Raise a toast to your French sojourn in the wine-growing regions of Burgundy, the Loire Valley or Champagne.

Fun with the Family: Start your fam-cation with the Chocolate Museum in Paris or pose with your favourite celebrities at the Grévin Wax Museum. Go to Angers for a medieval encounter at Le Puy du Fou – one of France’s most famous theme parks or enjoy a bit of Sci-fi in Nantes. Enjoy an outing at the Aeroscopia aviation museum or spatial encounters at the Cité de l Espace in Toulouse in the Midi Pyrénées.

Indulgence A La Francaise (7 N/8 D): Drive through the French Riviera in a Ferrari or Lamborghini Gallardo, Nice with full day trips to Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze, Cannes with boat tour and trip to Cote d’Azur, Saint Tropez and Port Grimaud. Adventure in France (9 N/10 D): Covering Chamonix Mont-Blanc with helicopter ride & Skywalk, excursion to Mer de Glace, Aiguille du Midi by cable car. Visit Lyon, drive through the French Riviera, Nice, St. Tropez & Port Grimaud with trips to Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze. Intoxicating France (9 N/10 D): Follow the wine trail in Bordeaux, drive along the “Chateaux Route” of the Medoc region, visit St. Emilion & Cognac. Paris with Crazy Horse Cabaret, trip to Champagne, Loire Valley, Burgundy. Strasbourg with Obernai Morning Tour & a gourmet meal with wine at the Kammerzell Restaurant.

France with Mercury Travels: Soar above lush vineyards on a hot air balloon, swoop down on a magnificent chateaux on an exhilarating helicopter ride. Explore the city of love, Paris, on a magical moonlight cruise. Wander its charming boulevards, feel time stand still at the Louvre. Shop to your heart’s content at the Galeries Lafayette. France with Mercury Travels. Nobody takes you closer.

Spirited Encounters: Visit Bordeaux-Aquitaine for some of the best reds and the Loire valley and Alsace for its white wine. Savour the fruity Chablis of Burgundy or the summery rosé of Provence and the Côtes du Rhône of the Rhône-Alpes. Don’t miss the bohemian Montmartre district for an encounter with an authentic Parisian vineyard or raise a toast in Champagne Ardenne.

To book your Be There! Do That! bespoke holiday to France, call 1800 266 2345 or email [email protected]

EDITED B Y MEG H A SH A H

THE

POWER

AGONY UNCLE: SUHEL SETH | HOW TO BEHAVE IN A LUXURY NIGHT CLUB

TA B L E S

THE OLIVE TWIST How a white-washed Mediterranean bar launched in a sleepy suburb 15 years ago kickstarted Mumbai’s nightlife scene as we know it today

IMAGE: FOTOCORP (CELEBS)

Written by Megha Shah

B

y 11.30am on a Friday morning, AD Singh has already begun club hopping – of another kind. The first few hours of his day were spent, unrushed, at the Bombay Gym, bumping into socialites and couples with old money sipping power juices by the pool. He then arrived at Mumbai’s oldest and swishest club, Breach Candy Swimming Bath Trust, where he’s chosen to have breakfast while waiting for me, at his favourite table on the first floor, overlooking the large India-shaped pool where a lone, white lady is taking leisurely laps. The 53-year-old Cathedral and John Connon School alumnus lives the life his brand promises. And it’s an omnipresent brand. After 25 restaurants, several beaming Page 3 images portraying his bonhomie with celebrities, some shrewd PR moves and many rapturous press releases, Singh is the city’s oldest, most recognizable hospitality face. The jewel of his empire – Olive Bar & Kitchen – turned 15 this year, and with it so did the city’s modern nightlife scene as we know it.

FOOD

A

Family guy Kabir with Pooja Bedi

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The party-loving Nawab with a friend in an earlier era

THE BOLLYWOOD CROWD FINALLY HAD A PLACE CLOSER TO HOME, MODELS COULD COME TO NETWORK AND AFFLUENT YOUNG PEOPLE COULD EXPLOIT THEIR NEWFOUND FREEDOMS

years of relentless smiling, even scored herself a movie with Rahul Bose. Speak to a member and he will have many stories to tell: like how many VIPs have (almost) fallen into the fish pond near the entrance (three movie stars, a world leader and a Miss India), or how Salman once grabbed a not-yet-famous Ranbir Kapoor and threatened to throw him in over a misunderstanding.

B

efore spots like Olive began to make Bandra cool, it was just another Mumbai suburb. And even though things had begun changing in the Nineties in India with a newly liberalized budding economy, where the right to party had become a badge of upward mobility, there were no real nightspots outside of South Mumbai. As the millennium ticked to an end and Y2K became everybody’s obsession, Singh opened a thus-far-unknown hybrid: a restaurant where the bar was given more prominence, in a neighbourhood mostly untouched by the cool kids. And it worked. The Bollywood crowd finally had a place closer to home, where it was cool to be seen and where models and starlets could come to network, and affluent young people could exploit their newfound freedoms until the

IMAGE: OLIVE (SAIF), FOTOCORP (KABIR)

sk any paparazzo and his most frequented restaurant of the last decade will undoubtedly be Olive in Khar. He may not be conversant with its white, candlelit interiors or the Mediterranean pebbles underfoot, or the set of bathrooms at the back of the venue that allow everyone to check each other out en route, but the distressed blue wooden doors will be all too familiar. He will have, after all, lit many a cigarette outside, waiting for the celebrity he was tipped off about to pull up in their car, hopefully with a date – or, better yet, drunk. It has always been a Disneyland for celebrity gawkers, the sort of place where “Should I get a Caesar salad?” is easily misheard as “Is that Saif?” The venue has even witnessed possibly the most famous Bollywood fight between a drunk Shah Rukh and Salman Khan at a distraught Katrina Kaif’s birthday party – a fight that spectators claim threatened to get physical if Gauri Khan hadn’t pulled her husband away and out the doors (into a camera-ready paparazzi cloud), leading Aamir Khan to calm the abusive Salman down and force a (temporary) truce between the two the next day. At the Breach Candy Club, cutting a fluffy omelette with his knife and toppling it onto a piece of toast, Singh says, “It’s been a challenge to select the correct staff. At a place like Olive, it’s as much about knowing the right wine or placing the napkin correctly as it is about being able manage celebrities. We once had a Front Of House manager who turned away Manish Malhotra, who’d come with Urmila Matondkar on one arm and Karisma Kapoor on the other. That was a disaster.” The staff have been trained to remain nonplussed with displays of celebrity, yet are able to soothe a ruffled ego with a flick of a napkin and the flourish of a menu. The hostess, Genelia, after

FOOD

Once upon a Bollywood scandal..

found that in the US, there were places that had different owners in the day and different owners at night. So I started the nocturnal Just Desserts in 1990 (in partnership with Rahul Akerkar). I realized we needed something with jazz music in Mumbai and started Jazz By The Bay.”

b

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Always a ladies’ man: Suhel Seth with Feroze Gujral and Mitali Kakkar

IMAGE: OLIVE (SUHEL), FOTOCORP (RANBIR)

wee hours. It extended the geographical scope of the city’s party scene and heralded a new age of Page 3 imagery and the “see and be seen” culture. “The restaurant biz has the highest failure rate, and in the industry we believe the three-year mark to be the danger zone. And sure enough by 2003, sales at Olive were dipping,” Singh pauses dramatically. “So we organized the biggest Italian festival the city had ever seen by tying up with the Italian Chamber of Commerce. There were chefs flying in from Europe and the food and wine being served surpassed the standards of what was available out there.” And soon Mumbai had a crowd that knew and ordered foods like Parma ham, crab, scallops and foie gras. Singh and his team kept the innovations coming, reflecting the changing attitudes of the city. When Kala Ghoda found itself at the centre of the city’s art boom, Olive organized art events; when wine became trendy, it organized wine appreciation classes. The concept of “special nights” caught on like wildfire. There were French nights and Moroccan nights. There were jazz nights and the famous Thursday nights when the city partied hard till late, pushing through sweltering crowds to reach the bar, dancing to the beats of a DJ. But then, Singh’s forte has always been ideating concepts that appeal to an upmarket crowd. In the late Eighties after throwing a smashing “boat party” for his sister, the former electrical engineer started Party Lines, which went on to become one of Mumbai’s most successful event organizing companies. He tapped into international ideas: “I

ut a decade after it opened, Olive’s standards were going down. Bar receipts were keeping it afloat while the number of diners kept dwindling. The prices were high, the food was sub-par and the menu was in dire need of a makeover. Singh began to bring young talented chefs into his fold, notably a graduate of the New York branch of the Culinary Institute of America who spent three-and-a-half years in the early Noughties apprenticing under Michelin-starred chefs in restaurants such as Jean Georges and Le Bernardin. Manu Chandra brought down the prices, put systems into the kitchen and began experimenting with the menu to give the restaurant a boost. Today, with a host of food-focused spots opening in quick succession around Mumbai, Olive is still more bar than kitchen. And the party institution continues to attract loyalists. On Bar Nights held every Thursday, the glitterati still gathers inside, swaying to an infectious playlist. The mood is still celebratory, the crowd mostly young, attractive and eager to connect. The white-washed walls hint at a better time. A time of questionable fashion but genuine fervour. A time when all the Khans of Bollywood still partied together. A time when you knew that being here made you cool as hell.

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GROOM OF THE YEAR, SHAHID KAPOOR BREAKS IT DOWN

SHAHID KAPOOR PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERRIKOS ANDREOU

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CULTURE

November 4,

2015

A rv ind, Sadly, the Ch addhas and Ta ndons have in fi ltrated ev er y pa rt of In dia. Even Bhu ha s been inva ta n ded by the K apurs and th A rora s. But yo e u m ig ht w ish to tr y places do not serve that alcohol and ha ve a perman ba n on Ta ndoo en t ri Ch icken an d Bla ck Dog. wou ld leave yo Th at u w ith fa r-flun g places such Bekal or Su ra as t. For recent events, Dad ri sa fe bet. If al is a l that fa ils, th en wander al to Kanya ku m on g ar i and bu ild your abode on upcom in g R am the Setu, wh ich w il l con nect In to Sr i La n ka dia . But then no ne of your fr ie ag ree to visit nds w il l and you won ’t be able to sh your 6-bedroo ow of f m moder n ist bu n ga low an hostin g capa d your bi lities, wh ic h is the whole havi n g a seco point of nd home in th e fi rst place.

says... Have an unlettered girlfriend? Afraid your son will remain bereft of an appropriately snobbish education? Is your life in meltdown? Suhel Seth rides to your emotional rescue

November 12, 2015

Va sudev,

SHARE your questions for Suhel at: GQadvice@ condenast.in

d an apostrophe in the The fact that you use for timony to your flair word “haven’t” is a tes ial soc in e ess fin r and you the English language r you d ose exp e ld hav skills. Only if you cou es of Wren & Martin girlfriend to the vagari ets. I suggest you let instead of satin bed she , r grammar offends you her know that her poo r you of one er oth of an which will take care traception. Once she responsibilities – con t e you to find your nex urg uld leaves you, I wo . nch lau k boo next girl at Shashi Tharoor’s gman. We can’t let win y pla to him ask Maybe of an apostrophe, e aus bec catastrophe strike yet again.

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DECEMBER 2015

ILLUSTRATION: ARUN JAITAPKAR

November 20, 2015

Jinesh, It is far easier to lie. And quicker too. Not to mention less expensive. You might want to call yourself a heritage conservationist, given that you help place borders on saris. You could also call yourself a Keeper of Borders and everyone will thank you for the little conflagrations we win along the border of Pakistan. I could actually do a huge brand repositioning for you if you promise me a lifetime supply of borders for free along with the numbers of a few of your prettiest clients. Till then, here’s a silent prayer for your brat.

CULTURE

HOW TO

get into

BEST CLUBS

THE

WORDS: MARK ANTHONY GREEN. PHOTO: TAGHI NADERZAD (EUGENE & MARK). GROOMING: BENJAMIN THIGPEN/ABTP. PROPS: CLAIRE TEDALDI/HALLEY RESOURCES. IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK (COUPLE)

(and maybe even leave with the prettiest date)

Club-going is a glossy oontz-oontz minefield, especially when travelling abroad: What to wear? Who to bring? Does bottle service make me look douchey? (Not entirely.) The duo behind every Hollywood star’s favourite New York late-night party spill secrets on how to run the room

START WITH THE TIP

W

ith any club worth its velvet rope, getting in means getting past a guy at the door. And if you do, many splendours await, as long as you play your cards right: On a good night, guys like Leo and Jay-Z are living large while staring out at a sea of stunning women. If only Eugene Remm (in the blue suit) and Mark Birnbaum, the two thirtysomething late-night magnates who opened Catch – which spreads to LA, Mexico City and Dubai this year – could usher you through, you wouldn’t have to worry. So here’s the next best thing: their game plan for winning over the bartender, owning the room and maybe even getting her number (assuming Leo doesn’t ask for it first).

MARK: Always open a tab. Tell the guy you’re going to be buying drinks from him all night long. And it’s not a bad idea to tip at the beginning of the night. That way, when things get crowded, he’ll be looking to take care of you because you already took care of him.

SAY NO TO SPARKLERS EUGENE: If you’re doing bottle service, less is more. Pay for the real estate so you’re

comfortable, but don’t overdo it. MARK: You’ll probably get more respect by not being that guy who buys stuff for no apparent reason.

NOTHING MONEY CAN’T FIX MARK: Any problem you have, like getting in or getting a table, can usually be solved with `1,000 – 5,000, depending on where you’re going. Just don’t be rude about the handoff.

YOU CAN BRING A WINGLADY... MARK: Always come with a pretty girl. It’s the easiest way to get in.

THE SMOOTHER MOVE

EUGENE: I’ve noticed it’s also the easiest way to get the attention of all the women inside. And of everyone who works there, too.

... BUT LEAVE THE WINGTIPS BEHIND EUGENE: The best style accessory you can wear on a night out is a great haircut. Shirts, jackets – whatever – can be overlooked. But a great haircut is the smartest investment a man can make. MARK: And high-end sneakers!

EUGENE: Offer to buy her a drink. If she accepts, you have 20 minutes, max, to get her to see something. MARK: And if she’s with a guy and you’re not sure what their deal is, mouth over: Boyfriend? If she says no, you know she’s interested. If she says yes, whether it’s true or not, you saved some embarrassment.

DECEMBER 2015

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Well, what do you want to know? She’s Victoria’s Secret Swede, but it’s her mother’s Indian genes that’ve toned her face to that beautiful shade of brown. Stretch that tight over everything else she’s got going on and you’re approaching hottest-woman-onEarth territory, which makes our job easy – because there’s really no other choice to lead into our 50 Best list this year. Next year, how will we top h—let’s not think about next year just yet.

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DECEMBER 2015

KELLY GALE: PHOTO: TODD BARRY; STYLING: KELLY HUME; HAIR: MARCO SANTINI; MAKE-UP: SOUHI

KELLY GALE

THE

B

IN THE

It’s been a good year for things in general, but these ones here, these are the best EDITED BY DAVE BESSELING

2

DEEPFLIGHT DRAGON

San Francisco’s top marine engineering firm DeepFlight, which has been specializing in personal submarines for nearly 50 years – think Richard Branson, James Bond – has created its masterpiece. The Dragon is a $1.5 million quadcopter that looks a little like a Formula 1 car, and is designed to dive to 400 feet. Should the power of its all-electric engine fail, it’ll simply float back to the surface thanks to a “positive buoyancy” feature – something Bond may interpret a little differently than Branson.

DECEMBER 2015

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5

FLOOD OF FIRE BY AMITAV GHOSH

3

DUBSMASH

It’s kind of like singing in front of the mirror for digital tweenies, except it’s totally socially acceptable for adults to upload lip-synced videos for the world to validate their star power. With some makeshift production and a decent sense of timing you might even produce some quality comic relief. With over 10 million downloads for this app, it’s safe to say bathroom singers everywhere have found their alternative to wasting money on embarrassing demo tapes. Wait. Maybe embarrassing is the link here.

The last offering in the Ibis trilogy, an ambitious historical-political-fictional project, Flood Of Fire is extensively researched, clinically plotted and beautifully narrated. Ghosh builds a fascinating world of sahibs, rajahs and opium traders running amok along the Indo-China border in the 19th century. Don’t take our word for it: It made the Man Booker shortlist, which means your over-exposed, listicle-obsessed mind can still sound cool by saying you’ve read it.

6

ADIDAS YEEZY BOOST 350

Alright Kanye, we’ll overlook your farcical bid for President in 2020 because you did good this year by dropping the sexy Yeezy Boost 350s in black. That you had raffles going across the world to snag a pair; that there was queuing outside Adidas stores with Snapchat-wielding teenagers for a limited edition collection that sold out in seconds; all testify to your connection to the worldwide masses. But on matters of controlling foreign policy and macro-economics, let’s hope it never comes to a vote.

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AIRBUS A350 XWB THE NEW DREAMLINER

DIOR AND I

Commissioned by the iconic House of Dior, this new documentary could have been a hollow, hagiographical film. But by taking viewers deep into the gilded innards of the maison, revealing all the angst, creativity and conflict around former creative director Raf Simons’ first collection, the French label allowed director Frederic Tcheng not only unprecedented access into its mysterious inner workings, but also to do what its famed team of seamstresses does day in and day out: create art. 120 —

DECEMBER 2015

IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (AIRBUS)

However unreal a nonstop between Mumbai and Rio De Janeiro may seem, Airbus’ latest is going to do it. Rolled out of its shrine in Toulouse, the new A350 boasts an extra-wide body, which means broader seats and more legroom, while eco-friendly Rolls-Royce engines save up to 25 per cent fuel burn on that 7,600-nautical-mile trip. There are 783 of these on order that will see Finnair, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific and others gain large on rival Boeing’s contrails.

Where SUVs are concerned, the Bentayga is the world’s most expensive – $230,000 base, add $170,000 for an optional Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon clock (see pg 208) – the most powerful (600hp) and the fastest (top speed of 301kph). You need anything else?

STEPHEN COLBERT BRINGING POLITICS TO LATE NIGHT President Bill Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama, Candidate Donald Trump. Not your run-of-the mill guests on late night television talk shows, which for too long have been dominated by actors, exotic animals and entertainers who are often not terribly entertaining. What celebrity political commentator Stephen Colbert has done with his refreshing line-up of heavyweight guests is bring substance to late night chatter – playing to his strengths and stamping his identity onto a show synonymous with David Letterman. He also gets politicians to relax: When Colbert teased Senator John McCain about whether he was going to run for President again in 2016, pat came the reply: “There’s no education in the second kick of a mule.”

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AMY SCHUMER This is the one who, just after she wins an Emmy, tells reporters that she’s carrying lube. She puts gun violence on par with the Kardashians who “lead with their bazookas”, on SNL. She writes films with Judd Apatow and Jennifer Lawrence. She sucked C-3PO’s finger while dressed as Princess Leia on her August GQ US cover. She’s having her Louis CK moment, and is proving that not only can women be funny, they can be the funniest.

11

THE WORLD’S FIRST FULLY SOLAR-POWERED AIRPORT: COCHIN INTERNATIONAL

There’s something pretty cool about the world’s first airport running on rays of sunshine not being in Sweden, or Germany, but in the developing world, and in India – and not in Delhi, not in Mumbai, but sleepy little Kochi. As of August 18 this year, Cochin International Airport runs off 46,150 solar panels spread over 45 acres of land. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that India’s most literate state is also first on renewable energy. 122 —

DECEMBER 2015

IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (COLBERT), REX FEATURES (COCHIN). AMY SCHUMER: PHOTO: MARK SELIGER; HAIR: KIM GUELDNER; MAKE-UP: ANDRÉA TILLER; MANICURE: RACHEL SHIM; SET DESIGN: ROB STRAUSS STUDIO; PRODUCTION: RUTH LEVY

BENTLEY BENTAYGA

12

THE US SUPREME COURT On June 26, 2015, in a historic judgment, the US Supreme Court guaranteed citizens the right to same-sex marriage – even in the 13 American states that continued to ban it. The nine Justices were bitterly divided, and victory was earned by the thinnest of margins: 5-4. “No longer may this liberty be denied,” wrote Justice Anthony M Kennedy, setting off widespread celebrations across the globe, and into the White House, where President Obama said the decision made the American union “a little more perfect.”

13

INDIE WATCHMAKERS

No marketing blitz, no ritzy ad campaigns. These are a rare breed of independent Swiss watchmakers who’ve challenged the big guys with hydromechanics, sci-fi clocks and patented twists on centuries-old complications. Next month, nine of them, including MB&F, HYT, Urwerk and Kari Voutilainen, are hitting the big league by exhibiting at the ultraprestigious Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. Watch out.

14

COMPTON BY DR DRE

After 16 years of publicly documented false starts, Andre Romelle Young, more popularly known as Dr Dre, released a new album: Compton. A searing, symphonic hip-hop masterpiece, the album includes a dizzying list of A-list collaborators, including Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and his co-founding N With an A: Ice Cube. In 2014, he also sold his headphone company, Beats by Dre, to Apple, a deal that reportedly made him rap’s first billionaire. And now with the creative KO that is Compton, Dre just might be the one person who has it all.

Can you hear me now?

16 124 —

LOUNGES IN THE SKY How miserable are you, flying cattle class next to a fat furry man-sloth pouring out of his seat, on a 16-hour flight, knowing the have-mores are up front, right by a fully stocked bar? While Emirates was the first to start this party, Korean Air now boasts two Absolut “celestial” lounges on its A380s. But it’s Etihad that beats all with a circular boutique lounge. It’s this envy gap that has aviation’s whales competing to host the most rocking parties ever thrown at 30,000 feet.

DECEMBER 2015

15

Edward Snowden has balls of carbyne. Public knowledge since 2013 – when the world’s top regime had its pants pulled down in public by one of its own. As it turns out, the man also has a crackling sense of humour. When the whistleblower joined Twitter in September this year, it was a simple: “Can you hear me now?” a reference to the Verizon phone-tapping scandal that had him exiled to Russia. He who laughs last… IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (SUPREME COURT, DR DRE)

Edward Snowden

EDWARD SNOWDEN JOINING TWITTER

BOND WOMEN It’s (possibly) Daniel Craig’s last mission as 007, and the world he will leave, both onscreen and off, is markedly different from the men-first decades of Sean Connery or Roger Moore. We’re into sexual equality now. So, at least in the context of a philandering James Bond, it’s something to begin calling the Bond Girls “Bond Women”. The first of these slots is filled by Monica Bellucci, who’s twothirds as old as the franchise itself. And about the only woman in the world who could shoulder the burden with poise. Che bella.

19

KEEMALA PHUKET

Overlooking the Andaman Sea, this 38-villa wellness resort is the newest, coolest place to disappear. Accommodation comes in the form of private giant pods that resemble kitted-out weaver bird nests. Inside, there are baths made out of rocks, monsoon showers and private lap pools with mindboggling views. Wellness here, as it turns out, can be a rather fungible idea, stretched to include yoga, sweating in infrared saunas and eating kale salads by day and enjoying inebriating substances to pulsating music at the resort’s two bars late into the night. And even if there weren’t any cocktails made with raw cacao and vanilla vodka, the Avatar-esque vibe will have you in a state of constant euphoria.

SENSE8

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Eight strangers/superheroes, born on 8/8, from eight cities across the world, are all connected mentally and metaphysically. Helmed by the Wachowskis, this show’s got our attention because it’s backed by Netflix, the binge experts successfully churning out non-traditional, gritty content. That, and one of those eight storylines is set in Mumbai, with Tina Desae, GQ man Purab Kohli and the legendary Anupam Kher. Represent.

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DECEMBER 2015

IMAGE: AFP (SENSE8). MONICA BELLUCCI: PHOTO: VINCENT PETERS; STYLIST: MIKI ZANINI; HAIR: JOHN NOLLET; MAKE-UP: CHRISTOPHE DANCHAND/B AGENCY

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20 What makes LeBron James so special is just how much better he is than anyone else. Yes, he’s got imposing size and muscle, but also the deft hands and speed of a little man. This year he walked away from his glitzy Miami championship-winning team and took up a daunting challenge: to shepherd his backwater hometown Cleveland Cavaliers out of the morass of chronic failure. The result? James single-handedly carried a group of discards, outcasts and piss artists to the brink of NBA glory – falling two games short of the ultimate prize. “This guy is simply scary,” said NBA legend Charles Barkley. We agree.

THE ROASTS AND THE ROASTED For a country with an ever-diminishing sense of humour, it took three Bollywood super acts and a group of internet upstarts to remind us to take ourselves less seriously. Hurling the kind of insults that would make a drunken sailor blush at an A-list audience, the comedy form of the “roast” arrived in India by merrily trampling over every taboo subject the writers of All India Bakchod could think of: sex, homosexuality, the drug habits of Bollywood stars, paedophilia, politics… Of course the culture police came after them. Of course FIRs were filed. But as the conservative busybodies were forced to finally admit, ideas can’t be supressed by a court order.

PIMPED OUT VANITY VANS

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If Floyd Mayweather’s gold Bentley golf cart impregnated Mukesh Ambani’s Antilla, the vehicle driving out of the most expensive garage in the world would be one bad-ass celebrity vanity van. This baby right here belongs to Shah Rukh Khan, and we have it on good authority he’s got a motorized chair in there to zoom from end to end like Dr Evil – albeit with perhaps slightly, slightly less grand plans for world domination.

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A GLOVE THAT TRANSLATES SIGN LANGUAGE INTO TEXT It may look like the Nintendo Power Glove – recently voted one of the worst videogame add-ons ever – but this most recent prototype, developed by Hadeel Ayoub, a student at the University of London, will convert sign language into text and speech. This means that not only will the hearing-impaired be able to communicate to all us slacking non-signers, but the deaf will be able to communicate directly with the blind. And when Ayoub’s next prototype is revealed, the one with a Wi-Fi chip, it’ll mean this power glove will have, in theory and metaphor, every smartphone in the world at its fingertips.

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NARCOS It is now established fact: we’re cool with bingewatching. And Netflix’s latest full-season feast concerns the man who introduced cocaine to what would become the drug’s most eager market: The United States. Who could have foreseen Pablo Escobar’s dominance of a global empire of marching powder contributing to the 21st-century’s most socially acceptable indulgence?

IMAGE: REX FEATURES (LEBRON, NARCOS)

LEBRON JAMES

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S A B YA S A C H I

sabyasachi.com

L o c a t i o n c o u r t e s y : TA J FA L A K N U M A

BRAVE BLOSSOMS At the recent rugby World Cup in England, the Japanese team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sport, beating South Africa’s towering Springboks. This was akin to India beating Germany in football or Japan beating India in cricket. “The Brave Blossoms”, as the team are fondly referred to, became instant toasts of Nippon, and their next two games – a loss to Scotland and a win against Samoa – were watched by 25 million people back home – nearly one in every four Japanese tuned in. All this sets the stage perfectly for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, to be held in Asia for the first time. In Japan, of course.

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TOM HARDY

HEARTH OF THE TEUTONS

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Five years after the Syrian civil war began, and with several other conflicts in the region raging on, we’re seeing the biggest movement of refugees since the Second World War. While global support has been consistent and outpouring, on European soil where these displaced millions flee, it has been Germany, not always known as the most warm and fuzzy bunch in the European Union, that has been the most welcoming. Which, considering the particularly bad behaviour of a particular political party that rose in the Thirties, makes the intake all the more symbolic.

KABBADI LEAGUE

Getting Indians excited about any sport other than cricket rings like Gigi Hadid attempting a quantum physics equation. And when the sport in question is over 2,000 years old, and hasn’t enjoyed any celebrity patronage until a year ago, betting on kabbadi to “broadcast in five languages across eight channels in 109 countries with live streaming viewership pegged at 13 million” would seem a little fantastical. And yet, that’s what’s happened.

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PHOTO: RICK RADELL (SRI LANKA BEACH). IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (TOM, BOSSOMS, SURFERS, ISRO), REX FEATURES (REFUGEES)

He came, guns ablaze, as the sanest psychopath in Mad Max. Then he oozed Sixties suave, flexed in expertly tailored suits, playing both Kray brothers in Brian Helgeland’s spy drama Legend. This month, he’ll compete wth Leonardo DiCaprio for best death-stare in The Revenant, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s revenge saga. The Hardy boy from London had a whole career as a talented actor before this year, but it’s been this last run that’s made us think, maybe, why not – Hardy at a baccarat table as the next Bond? Gentlemen, place your bets.

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TORONTO’S NEW AIRPORT TRAIN The spanking new UP Express delivers passengers between Canada’s two busiest passenger hubs – Pearson International Airport and Union Station – in 25 minutes. One of the largest projects of its kind in North America, it’s also got great aesthetics: at its Union Station hub, no detail has been overlooked, including commissioning Toronto clothier Matt Robinson – known for his military- and vintage-inspired designs – to create the staff uniforms, in a bid to evoke the golden age of Canadian train travel.

SRI LANKA’S BREAKS Known mostly for its tea and tradition, the emerald isle has quietly become a landmark destination on the Asian surfing scene alongside the better-known breaks of Bali and the Maldives. While Arugam Bay rivals the best surfing spots in the world, Kalpitya attracts an in-the-know, mostly Western crowd occupying unsullied beaches and design hotels. But you have what none of them do – a mere two-hour flight to paradise.

THE SMARTEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD You may not know much about Deloitte, but Deloitte’s building in Amsterdam, The Edge, knows a lot about you. This is the world’s “smartest” building, because if you work here, it knows who your 10:30 is and it’ll find an appropriate space in the building for you to meet. It’s also the greenest building on the planet, with solar panels producing more energy than the building consumes. If you’ve ever been to cloudy Holland, you’ll understand what a feat that really is.

DUBAI’S ALTERNATIVE SIDE

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DEBUT INDIAN FILM DIRECTORS

Despite Bollywood’s best attempts to bludgeon our brains with sequels and second-rung star kids, 2015 will be remembered for a rogue band of debutant film-makers, most under 40, Neeraj Ghaywan (Masaan), Chaitanya Tamhane (Court), and Kanu Behl (Titli), who travelled to festivals no less than Cannes and Venice, then came home and persuaded you to spend good money on a lo-fi film with no stars and unknown directors. These guys are the new Indian New Wave.

In a city growing so fast it’s measured in hummingbird flaps, it was inevitable: the hipsters have invaded Dubai. Now along with glitzy malls there’s a fast-rising gallery district, fashion designers, music gigs. It’s enough to offend that bearded, eye-rolling, “individualist” in your Bandra peer group.

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ISRO Yes, it is, in fact, rocket science. For the last couple of years the good people at the Indian Space Research Organisation have turned up the buzz in this temple of astrophysics: launching multiple communication and navigational satellites into space, testing a manned-rocket that can carry the weight of four elephants, and successfully orbiting Mars on its very first mission.

TECHNOLOGY DESIGN meets

They are called ‘Disruptors' for a reason and this season, the OnePlus 2 is here to change the status quo

rom getting work done and capturing candid and personal moments to being in touch with friends on social media, our phones have become an integral part of our lives. Understanding the importance of this device is OnePlus – a global technology company – that recently launched its latest flagship device, the OnePlus 2. Inspired by the notion of not settling for mediocrity, but only the best in technology and design, it goes beyond to deliver an unsurpassed experience to users.

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SLEEK AND SOPHISTICATED Taking cues from the watchmaking industry, the OnePlus 2 is crafted in a lightweight aluminium magnesium alloy frame, finished with stainless steel accents and a sleek pane of Corning Gorilla® Glass. What’s more, the OnePlus 2 comes with four hip StyleSwap covers for easy customization of your phone.

collecting pixels that captures amazing images in low light and its six-lens elements that prevents image distortion and improves clarity. Packed with features like OIS and Laser autofocus, the OnePlus 2 camera is all you need to shoot some fantastic stillphotos and mesmerizing 4K videos.

TECH SPECS PICTURE PERFECT With a 13-megapixel camera, what sets the OnePlus 2 apart from its contemporaries is its 1.3µm light-

Built on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 810 processor with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, the OnePlus 2 lets you play intensive 3D games and navigate your way though demanding apps. Paired with a 3,300-mAh lithium-polymer battery, it ensures that you stay charged throughout the day.

SECURITY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Ensuring that your phone is safe from prying eyes, the OnePlus 2 has an integrated advanced fingerprint sensor that unlocks your phone in less than half a second. What’s more, it allows you to save up to five fingerprints so that you aren’t confined to using only one finger.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER What makes a premium design-led smartphone even cooler? The software experience. The OnePlus 2 is supported by OxygenOS that allows you to customize your app permissions, icons, accent colours, and more. The OnePlus 2 is available exclusively on amazon.in.

For more information, visit oneplus.net/in

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PIYUSH TEWARI – THE SAVELIFE FOUNDATION

THE EVOLUTION OF INDIAN FOOD

The organization Tewari founded in the wake of his 17-year-old cousin’s death in a road accident, the SaveLIFE foundation, has trained 6,000 volunteers – citizens and police officers – to provide emergency care. He’s also championed a Good Samaritan Law that makes it easier for helpful bystanders to avoid the ensuing legal imbroglio of assisting in an accident case. On the ground that means 175,000 lives saved to date.

Not so long ago, Indian food was tandoori and a few dishes vaguely recalled from pre-Partition Punjab. In the Eighties, a clutch of hotel management graduates set out to the UK and Frenchified their techniques. But of late, an independent breed of young restaurateurs and chefs are border-less yet distinctive. From Bombay Canteen to Monkey Bar to Farzi Café – it’s about effing time.

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ITC

For years, it’s been regarded as the other Indian hotel chain. Mumbai chose the Taj, Delhi the Oberoi, and the ITC remained that awkward establishment. But in the last decade it has come to represent ambition and luxury like no other hotel chain has. The ITC launched its all-suite hotel in Gurgaon, flanked by a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. The ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru, houses the country’s biggest suite (5,000sqft). And all this while being one of the most sustainable and green luxury chains in the world.

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LILLY SINGH YouTube is where it’s at, and 26-year-old Lilly Singh, aka Superwoman, knows how to get them hits. Her self-help screeds and skits have won her a Screamy award and launched a successful travelling stand-up show. At last count she had over seven million followers, two of which are Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit.

Leaving eager fans waiting 15 years for the follow-up to one of the most praised albums of the Nineties doesn’t necessarily make for sound promotion. But if you’re D’Angelo, and the album is Black Messiah, you take in the wash of positivity like this is how you planned it all along. Because the album is, straight up, brilliant. If you haven’t heard it yet, you must. Or maybe you should wait a bit. Who knows when we’ll hear from this Drunken Master of neo-soul again.

40 THE NEW GQ INDIA OFFICE At GQ’s new HQ, even the wallpaper has more swag than you.

39 IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (D'ANGELO)

D’ANGELO BY BLACK MESSIAH

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POPE FRANCIS DOING THINGS

APPLE MUSIC You’ve heard the rant about the impossibility of making money in the music biz. Apple’s answer: If people won’t pay to own songs, they might pay for having constant access to them. Cue the largest library in the history of music, exclusive album launches, and seven million subscribers within three months. Boom.

For a guy running a gig that hasn’t changed in almost 2000 years, this Papa is proving the most progressive since St Peter. Post his Vatican takeover, Pope Francis has been saying and doing things like acknowledging climate change, that gay people are real, and that when it comes to state visits, he’d rather take a Fiat. World leaders would do well to take a page from this Holy Roller’s playbook.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC On July 4, 2011, Novak Djokovic became the first World No 1 who wasn’t Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal since 2004. With his Grand Slam tally hitting 10 at the US Open this year, only Federer, Nadal, Pete Sampras and Björn Borg have more. The Serb is not just at the top of his game, he’s so far ahead that even Federer needs him to be at less than 100 per cent to beat him.

THE DOUCHEBAGS OF INSTAGRAM

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QUENTIN TARANTINO’S TASTE IN MUSIC

As eclectic as Quentin Tarantino’s directing style has been – recreating sequences from his favourite films – so have been his choices in music. Who else would choose Dick Dale & the Del-Tones to emote the Pulp Fiction titles, or side Nancy Sinatra with the Japanese band, The 5.6.7.8s, in Kill Bill? No one else comes close to this cut-and-paste approach to popular cinema, and in his latest Hateful 8, this movie store nerdturned-genius director has original score material from Morricone, the man responsible for the sound of the Spaghetti Western. Quentin, you’ve done it all now. Really. Time to retire and write that novel.

IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (POPE), REX FEATURES (DJOKOVIC, TARANTINO)

Douchebag Dan Bilzarian, and the other champagnefuelled over-compensators of Instagram, like to keep their viewership’s voyeurism strictly luxury: fast cars with shiny new parts, or barely legal women with shinier new parts, there’s something for every depraved and yet aspirational auto-eroticist on the web.

THE HOUSE OF

HEEL & BUCKLE

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NEW BUSINESS CLASS BY SINGAPORE AIRLINES You’d think it would take balls big enough to fill a Business Class seat to suggest making Business Class seats smaller. But Singapore Airlines has done just that, justifying its shrinkage by prioritizing space for your gadgets, which, admit it, were always just falling off your lap anyway, whatever your pants are packing.

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

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PRINCESSES OF PERSIA

APPLE WATCH X HERMÈS Apple addicts may have been slavering over the interface of the new iPhone 6S at the keynote in Silicon Valley, but it was Hermès that pulled off the biggest design-tech coup. The Parisian house put its luxe stamp on the Apple Watch with three strap variations in leather so soft you could eat them.

If you knew Armenia was an actual place before you started wondering which gene pool could have possibly produced Kim Kardashian’s caboose, then kudos. If perhaps it was Kim’s ample mounds that led you to learn about this mountainous piece of the south Caucasus, the more astute among you might have also discovered that Armenia was once part of Persia, most of which is now occupied by Iran. Which means: when you start counting off some of the hottest women in the public eye as Armenian or Iranian, you’re talking about the same ancient people of Persia. And now you know.

After scoring three goals in five games, the Bayern Munich striker came off the bench to score five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg. This Polish star has almost as quickly scored his way into the upper echelons of worldclass strikers like Messi and Ronaldo.

PROJECT ZIRO If you’re in a verdant valley in the midst of endless paddy fields with some of India’s best music, you’re at the Ziro Festival of Music: Apatani tribal huts and band geeks from Thiruvananthapuram to Srinagar washing down fried frogs, silkworm cocoons and crickets with some of the finest local hooch to be found on the Subcontinent.

PHOTO: ADIL HASAN (ZIRO). IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (LEWANDOWSKI). KIM KARDASHIAN: PHOTO: GILLES BENSIMON; STYLIST: CHRISTINE CENTENERA; FASHION EDITOR: CHRISTINE CENTENERA; HAIR: ALAN WHITE; MAKE-UP: KELLIE STRATTON

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Look around: No one wants to look like an uncle any more, and guys across the country have embraced the power of style, wielding it like a weapon. Here are seven stellar designers showcasing new collections at this historic event, as we plant the Indian flag on the international menswear map PHOTOGRAPHED BY MANISH MANSINH WRITTEN BY SHIVANGI LOLAYEKAR, DAVE BESSELING & ROCHELLE PINTO

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RAJESH PRATAP SINGH He may be one of India’s best designers, but Rajesh Pratap Singh insists he’s more scientist than sartorialist

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’m not a fashion person,” says Rajesh Pratap Singh with an ambivalent smile. “Hopefully this conversation is not just about fashion.” It is an ambivalent thing for him to say, this fearless experimentor with an OCD attention span for fabrics and an ADD attitude towards the industry’s frothy bits. His mastery at adapting the classic silhouette to changing times is what makes Rajesh Pratap Singh great. Being both consistent and fresh, with a microscopic attention to detail, the perennial tinkering of a tailor, this is what’s made his menswear successful for two decades. This guy will run 20 experiments in a month, and “if you can do one perfect thing in a month, everything is okay.” Some, he says, take six weeks, some, six years. And when he says experiment, he’s talking about everything from creating his own fabrics, some of which include metal weaves – “real

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‘do not wear at the airport’ sort of stuff” – to growing his own cotton. Most recently, his mood has been indigo, which he says took an inordinate amount of fiddling to perfect, even by his standards. “This took me five years. And we actually went to a really, really old technology. Basically, we got to know how to fire our vats correctly.” Like a whisky distillery for clothes? “Yeah,” he laughs, “indigo is a bit like that. Getting the hang of our dye took us a while. Nobody taught us. We had to make a lot of mistakes.” Now edging into his mid-40s, shuttling between Paris and his atelier in Faridabad – bet you never thought you’d hear the words atelier and Faridabad in the same sentence – Singh knows what works for him, what’ll work for his customers, “intelligent people, people who want to know how their clothing is made,” and speaks of principles like “construction” and “engineering”. Suddenly his process, his setting up shop in a secluded, run-down industrial estate an hour south of Delhi, starts to make more sense. This guy isn’t a designer in a studio so much as a technician in a factory lab, or, with all those needles, an on-site surgeon. He was supposed to end up a doctor anyway. Or a farmer. Those were the sort of choices available where he grew up, a town called Sri Ganganagar in a northern corner of Rajasthan, bordering Haryana, Punjab and Pakistan. “I don’t really think about it,” he says, “but I’m sure it does affect my work.” For the hometown element of his next collection in Paris next month, “I’m going to do experiments with wool. I keep saying, I’m from Rajasthan, the best fabric for the desert is wool, because it insulates you completely under thick blankets.” Wool in the desert heat. It’s one of those paradoxes of life. “It is,” he says. “And, for example, if I’ve done suits in ikat, people in India will get it. In Paris, a lot of people think ikat is just a print. And then you want to kill them [laughs]. But, at the same time if it’s something about a silhouette or construction, people don’t give a damn here. There, they get it bang on. Last season we did this whole stitching theme. Basically, the way you sew bodies, you know, like a post-mortem.” He must have got that from when he first trained in Italy with textile manufacturer Marzotto, being surrounded with all that da Vinci stuff, his cadaver experiments, all those medieval sutures. “No, no,” he laughs, “I got it here, from Safdarjung hospital.”

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SHANTANU & NIKHIL

What do the brothers have in common besides a surname and a decadent fashion aesthetic? Absolutely nothing. And that’s why they work

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f the teenage versions of Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra were characters in a movie, they’d be Thor and Loki. Shantanu was the good guy, the consummate student who’d come home from school with a gold star and reach for the freshest clothes from the cupboard for the next morning. Nikhil, the brat, would swap his trousers for jeans or find an outfit closest to his uniform colours and brag about his style to his peers – most likely with his collar popped. It was a sense of loneliness as international students in the US – Shantanu was pursuing an MBA in Ohio, and Nikhil fashion design in Los Angeles – that got them talking and sparked an idea. They realized the latter’s aptitude for drapes and fits, leveraged by the former’s business acumen, was a winning combination, and they decided to start a label together. India’s fashion landscape at the turn of the new millennium was an open field. Senior prêt designers had graduated to wedding couture, leaving the arena open to a new generation. That’s when 144 —

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Shantanu & Nikhil showed their debut collection at Lakmé Fashion Week. “If there’s one thing I learned from America, it’s that you can sell anything. They’re marketing gurus,” Nikhil says. “We wanted to talk to contemporary India and believed we had the goods for it,” adds Shantanu. Out came minimalist sherwanis with leather details, edgy drapes, body-hugging cuts and sportier shoulders for the fit Indian man – an increasingly swelling tribe. Styling Amitabh Bachchan for Kaun Banega Crorepati was their first coup. Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh soon followed. In 2010, S&N joined the ranks of Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney to design a collection for Adidas – in the process becoming the first Indians to do so. The Mumbai Indians’ official team kit has been S&N since 2011. And this year, on a whim, they thought it would be a good idea to make shoes. “We’re having fun taking an old monkstrap and cutting it into a new shape,” Nikhil exclaims. Most recently, the brothers launched a standalone men’s store in Kolkata, with plans to open more in Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad. And in 2016, they’re gearing up to take on the digital ecosystem with a ready-to-wear men’s line. The frenzied chatter at Shantanu & Nikhil’s three-storeyed atelier in Noida drowns out Pink Floyd’s “Coming Back To Life”, playing on a junior designer’s computer. The brothers’ cabins lie adjacent to each other. Shantanu’s clutter-free desk and executive chairs sit at a carefully mapped distance from a blue lounger. Nikhil’s is in a state of controlled chaos: a mannequin at one end with a white draped kurta he’s readying for Fashion Nights, cone threads askew on the floor, and a wooden bench slanted out of place that no one’s bothering to correct.

DHRUV KAPOOR

Because real men wear powder pink bombers

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eep inside one of Gurgaon’s many sprawling residential blocks lies 27-year-old Dhruv Kapoor’s twostoreyed atelier. It could pass as any upscale bungalow, until you’re smacked in the face with a bold sign at the reception that reads “TEAM KAPOOR”. Kapoor’s office is a minimalist haven drenched in natural light, colour-popping curios and coffee table books ranging from Dansk to Prada. In front of two pristine white walls are racks of hulk-shaped bombers, oversized coats and scuba sweatshirts bearing acrylic slogans like “snob” and “anarchy”. Gurgaon’s starting to look like Milan. It makes sense. The Istituto Marangoni alum is still clinging to the coattails of his time in the fashion capital that he claims “brainwashed” him: “It gave me a new vision that wasn’t restricted in terms of dressing. It’s a culture that’s extremely open to trying new styles. And that’s getting guys like me a lot of attention.” He’s right. For his debut show at Lakmé Fashion Week last August on one of the smaller stages, he was initially mistaken for being Dhruv Kapur, the womenswear designer. But after putting out a range of sports luxe bombers and joggers – the kind Ranveer Singh and Virat Kohli would lap up – there was a new Dhruv to reckon with. At his second show this year, a mini stampede ensued at the same stage.

Kapoor is from a generation that’s part of the technology boom. He attends trade shows across the world and studies fabrics. “You can’t imagine the kind of stuff that’s being shown abroad: fragrant textures, crazy finishes and water-repellent clothes that have an oil finish, almost like something’s dripping off them.” He sources his neoprenes and viscose from China and blends them with Indian cottons for a combination that looks Matrix-futuristic but feels totally snug. Kapoor’s mother is sitting across the room at her desk, and handles communications and marketing for him (and deals with the workers, arranges for chai/coffee – basically oversees Team Kapoor). “I design for the kind of guys who are chilled out and not uptight about style – because I know the kind of comments that can come if you’re a man who’s perceived to be too fashionable,” Kapoor says. He would rather have new-age entrepreneurs, cultural editors and contemporary tastemakers as part of his clientele. On paper, it would be easy to pigeonhole him as the kind of clichéd young designer who comes from a privileged family, with access to an international spectrum of fashion. He attends toughticket parties; drops info like popular style blogger Bryan Boy’s asking rate for a brand endorsement; and follows Kim Jones and Kris Van Assche’s careers closely. But in the real world, Kapoor is something of a trailblazer: “Few men would wear a printed jumper or powder pink bomber here. I’m not scared to experiment with colour or proportion and am pushing hard to change the mindset,” he says. That is, perhaps, how the new become the establishment. They’re the designers who don’t care about playing it safe but are concerned with pushing creative boundaries. Guys like Dhruv Kapoor who’ll dress you up in techy fabrics and tailored sweatpants because they’re confident that you’re confident about being able to pull it off.

RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE The blue-blooded doyen is one of India’s fashion heavyweights. But don’t believe everything they say about him

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aghavendra Rathore is not what he seems. Despite being a true-blue Rajasthan royal who always looks like he’s ready for a polo shindig, the fashion designer knows what it’s like to be broke. While studying Greek mythology and robotics at Hampshire College in Massachusetts (the first from Jodhpur’s royal family to study in the West), he was worried about running out of cash. Privy purses had been abolished, and he only had enough money for a semester. So Rathore transferred to the smaller, more affordable Marlboro College in Vermont and washed dishes at the student union with his girlfriend for nine dollars an hour. “My life in India was limited. I wanted to study, it didn’t really matter what.” Rathore eventually graduated from the Parsons School of Design. While juggling four jobs and university, he’d observe fashion on the streets of Manhattan and sketch out looks as a freelancer for small-time design companies. This proved especially beneficial when Donna Karan came in as a guest lecturer, and hired him three weeks later. “The job was great in terms of positioning and understanding the quick pace of the American fashion industry. I learned that the idea was less important than getting the product finished.” A stint at Oscar de la Renta came next, with Rathore working directly under the legend. His first task was selecting 12 out of 5,000 animal furs. The problem with working at a luxury fashion house where a metre of fabric cost $1,000, and at a time when fur was considered almost illegal to wear, was that you risked facing belligerent activists. “People would throw things at me,” Rathore admits. But working at de la Renta came with serious perks – like styling Christie Turlington and

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Jackie Onassis – which also afforded him crucial lessons in client and PR management. Today Rathore counts the likes of Saif Ali Khan, Rahul Gandhi and Naveen Jindal among his patrons. Since he started his eponymous label in India, he’s distinguished himself as a cultural doyen, a marketing maven, a controlled dynamo and the king of modern-age classic menswear – championing bandhgalas and breeches and cutting them with razor-sharp precision. “Bandhgalas were in danger of being relegated to museums but I thought they were normal for men to wear,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. One of Rathore’s fondest memories remains a show he did for the Maharaja of Jodhpur, over 20 years ago. He’d returned home on a break from de la Renta, had no label, no tailors, and producing a fashion show in Rajasthan was unprecedented at the time: “You had to place a booking with a telephone operator in the evening to be able to make an outstation phone call the next day.” Rathore had good friend Tarun Tahiliani on board helping him cut threads, Suneet Verma firming up shoulder pads, and Rohit Bal taking care of logistics on the ground. It took 11 designers and `3 lakh to mount the show that would become the nucleus of the Rathore label. “I got a great response, and decided I could make a business out of it.” And pedigree sticks. Growing up, Rathore was used to seeing burly kinsmen with big whiskers wearing crisp achkans. Men who understood the importance of presentation. His father had a tailor over every week to fit a new outfit. His mother would design camel hairwoven jootis for the men. Rathore inherited the same passion, with an uncompromising attention to detail and style. It’s the reason he’s the best advertisement for his work.

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UJJAWAL DUBEY Meet India’s buzziest new designer

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alent aside, you need a trump card to even have a shot at entering the clubby world of Indian fashion. When Ujjawal Dubey debuted his label Antar-Agni at Lakmé Fashion Week last March, he presented a conceptual, anti-establishment aesthetic on the runway: an abundance of voluminous asymmetry, easy-breezy layering, and an overwhelming propensity for black. The kind of loungey, alternative clothing you’d pack for Paris with a stopover in Goa – and best paired with a joint. All lumberjack beard, hot white smile and fedora cocked to one side, the 28-year-old gives off the kind of hipster vibe that’s more obscure art gallery than front row at fashion week. It’s intentional. Dubey reiterates several times during this interview that fashion’s not really his thing.

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“We’re part of a fast-paced generation and it’ll catch up with us. People are returning to a slower life,” he says. He’s preparing for a mellower time: designing for guys like him, who don’t follow trends or obsessively refresh their Instagram feeds. Guys who would rather catch a gig than flutter about the social circuit. He also crafts furniture and dabbles in product design. Dubey was raised in Gorakhpur in eastern UP, where design legends like Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto – who’ve inspired Dubey’s work – mean nothing. But after studying at NIFT, Kolkata and apprenticing with Shantanu & Nikhil for six years, Dubey picked up on fashion-speak. “I had to convince myself before being able to convince anyone else that I could do it,” he says. It took Tom Ford’s life story to inspire Dubey. “Ford studied to be an architect, but then veered into fashion design. That he was able to make the switch – and do it so successfully – made me believe I could too,” he says. Unlike Ford, however, Dubey would rather be backstage than in the spotlight. His process is technical, and he focuses more on cuts and silhouettes than embroidery and embellishment. The mood of menswear today is one of rebellion. Street style is as important as the clothes on a runway, bloggers pull as much rank as editors and wearability is the name of the game. By playing the outsider with a proclivity for edgy fashion, Ujjawal Dubey might just be more of an insider than he thinks.

ROHIT GANDHI & RAHUL KHANNA There’s no R&R for R+R, who despite their success may be the first people you see when you enter their Delhi boutique

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ou know that spot in Defence Colony, that bit of D-Block near the Lajpat Nagar metro station? Oh, you don’t. It’s the stretch with several hundred metres of gigantic, backlit mens’ names on the buildings. Rohit Bal has a store there. Tarun Vadehra has a few. Yes? That’s right, that one. And now, having moved into a bigger, badder, more backlit space themselves, are Rohit and Rahul, who will be the first to remind you, in a very unpretentious way, mind you, that despite their flashy new digs on the closest thing Delhi has to Bond Street, back in the day they were the first ones on the block: “We’re totally responsible for bringing everybody here.” Rahul Khanna just wants to set that straight while sipping his 5:30pm coffee – “I don’t know about you but I need my drugs” – here in a basement room of the store he shares with his business partner of nearly 20 years, fellow Delhiite and design-based soulmate, Rohit Gandhi – also stirring a sugar cube into his coffee. “Look at this place now,” says Khanna, “it’s become a fashion street. We have seven art galleries, there are 12 designers,” and, “people that may or may not have known we were here now know for sure,”

adds Gandhi. These guys really do finish each other’s sentences. This pair of possibly telepathic designers are stuffed away in a corner of the basement – which used to be where Nature’s Basket kept Japanese noodles and European cold cuts – because if they set foot upstairs they’ll be swept away by people wanting their advice on how to spend disturbing amounts of money on their clothing. No, seriously, Khanna had to be dragged away from Rekha Purie, wife of India Today CEO Aroon Purie just now. Like, dragged. But that is part of their charm. Rohit and Rahul are always at Rohit+Rahul. They’re big famous fashion guys now, they don’t really need to be at the shop, but they’re people people. And people shop here as much for them as their clothes, paying as much for the conversation as the cut, be it kurta, sherwani or a forest green dinner jacket with crushed velvet lapels. “We started 18 years ago,” says Gandhi, “with a small store in my house in Golf Links.” Soon after, the duo launched their first label, H2O, then Cue, which included womenswear and still sells in dozens of retail stores around the country. So at a certain point in their commercial success, they must

have felt confident enough to amp it up and put their own names on everything. “We always thought we were good enough,” picks up Khanna, “but back in ’97 there really were no labels. I remember we were in London, and both of us got inspired by the Tie Shop and the Sock Shop, shops specializing in just one product. So we thought of opening a shirt shop, with every kind of print, every kind of collar. That’s what H2O was.” This goes on for a while, and after their dynamic shifts between squabbling siblings, proud parents and a grumpy old couple, there’s a point at which one may wonder, after having worked so closely for so long, how is it the pair of them haven’t killed each other yet? “We fight every hour,” laughs Khanna, who does sort of look like the actor who shares his name, “but we have a very similar sensibility.” Gandhi finishes his coffee and looks at Khanna. It’s almost 6pm. The boys are scheduled upstairs for several customer fittings. “Rahul can wear anything off the rack, just pick up a jacket and wear it.” He pauses this last bit of the badinage to pat his belly. “Me, I have to figure things out.” DECEMBER 2015

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TROY COSTA How a misfit came to be India’s go-to designer

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ast year, Troy Costa answered a phone call that would change his life. Narendra Modi, the newly elected Prime Minister of India, was looking for a power wardrobe that would do justice to a historic first trip to the US. Costa is the designer of choice for clients as influential – and varied – as billionaire scion Akash Ambani, media mogul Vineet Jain, GQ sportsman of the year Rohit Sharma and Hrithik Roshan. A powerful recommendation to the PM could have come from any of these sources. So how does someone with a socially awkward streak, who grew up dirt poor in the fishing hamlet of Chimbai in Bandra, Mumbai, end up dressing some of the most powerful men in the country? In the Bollywood-worthy tale of Troy Costa, it all starts with a football match. “There was a group of rich kids who’d play a pick-up game on Sundays at D’Monte Park in Bandra against Sohail Khan and his friends,” says Costa. “Every time I asked if I could join them, they’d turn me down. One day they were a few players short, so they agreed... They were losing the match anyway.” With Costa playing offence, the tide turned, both for the football match, and his career. After discovering that their match-winning teammate also happened to be a proficient menswear tailor, one order turned into ten, and before long “there was no turning back. 150 —

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My business just exploded by word-of-mouth.” Costa knows how to work the rustic Bandra boy charm to his advantage. Twenty-two years into the business and he still puts in longer hours than his peers, walking around his workshop from 10am to 10pm with a measuring tape dangling from his neck, then sitting back down at the drawing board once his family has gone to bed. Client, journalist or friend – his attention is available at every waking hour, unless a natural catastrophe stops him. His impeccably cut jackets look like they were sewn on Savile Row and he can reel off the top menswear trends like the disclaimer in a mutual funds advertisement. But what his clients equally value is Costa’s ability to understand them and help them overcome their physical shortcomings. These days, the 40-year-old is obsessed with empire-building. “Nobody taught me about legacy, but I’ve always understood the importance of it,” he says. The first step towards creating that will be a showcase at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris in June 2016, where he will make history as the first Indian designer to see his name on that prestigious menswear calendar. It’s a slot he wrangled after convincing Didier Grumbach, then-president of the Fédération Française de la Couture, to look past his skin colour and nationality and rate him purely on product. Step two will be setting up a chain of affordable menswear stores across India, Sri Lanka and Dubai. They will be named Cruz Troy Costa, after his nine-month-old son, the synergy of two exercises in building a legacy. And if the past 22 years are any evidence, this “glorified tailor”, as he was once called, is going to see his dream through. “I’m not in a hurry, I ain’t going away,” Costa declares dramatically. “Only death will cheat me, nothing else can.”

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EDITED BY VARUN GODINHO

Behind the scenes with Rolex at the Singapore GP Talking watches with Sachin Tendulkar

PHOTO: © ROLEX/JAD SHERIF

Singapore sling Varun Godinho travels to the Marina Bay Street Circuit to make sense of the most expensive, complex and fastest sporting juggernaut on the planet

ir Jackie Stewart has enjoyed a trackside seat to the evolution of modern-day Formula One: Triple World Champion, team owner and media commentator, his career’s spanned fifty years, and counting. So it’s fair to say he’s got a sharp insight and keen instinct – even correctly, if controversially, surmising that the much-loved Ayrton Senna deliberately crashed into Alain Prost at the Suzuka GP to ensure he took home

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the 1990 championship. Stewart’s most impactful contribution though has been to increase the sport’s safety – he was the first F1 driver to wear a seatbelt, and even fought for full-face helmets to be made mandatory. At this year’s Singapore GP, Stewart, along with nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, gave GQ an all-access pass to what really goes on behind the scenes at the sport’s coolest GP.

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THE CHARACTERS OF F1

THE PACEMAKER

Safety Car Driver: Bernd Mayländer A former rally car driver, Mayländer’s been driving the F1 safety car for the last 17 years. This season, he’s got a swanky upgrade – a 503hp MercedesAMG GT S. Throughout the race on Sunday, he’s cooling his heels in the pit lane, engine running, with a radio operator – who’s taking instructions from Whiting – riding shotgun. Although it seems like he drives terribly slowly on the telly, Mayländer says that at tracks like the Marina Bay Street Circuit, he can hit up to 248kph on the straights.

THE (REAL) BOSS

F1 Race Director: Charlie Whiting Whiting’s one of the most hated people in the sport. He decides the quantum of punishment for teams and drivers who err, and has the power to start/stop/suspend races. One of F1’s most seasoned professionals, he’s also apparently never missed a single race over the last 30 years. During qualifying and on race day, you’ll find him in the control room, studying 40plus screens, monitoring the action on every square metre of the track.

THE MEDIA MAN

F1 Media Delegate: Matteo Bonciani As head of media communications, this Italian isn’t as affable as you’d expect. After the qualifier on Saturday, Bonciani hustles the top three drivers into the press room for a televised debriefing. During the Q&A, he stands in one corner, still in sight of the camera, taking notes on who’s asking what. As soon as a journalist finishes his question, Bonciani nods to a colleague – a cue for her to follow up with the hack for a few more “contact” details. The average annual television audience for F1?

MILLION

THE ENFORCER

F1 Technical Delegate: Jo Bauer

Bauer’s responsible for catching cheats. Before qualifying on Saturday, each team wheels their cars into his office (above), a garage in the pit lane. There, the car will be weighed on the FIA homologated bridge (also known as the “bridge of doom”) and officially measured. If teams are found to have tampered with their cars on subsequent spot checks, the multi-lingual Bauer won’t let semantics get in the way of laying down the law. 154 —

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THE TECH WHIZ

Chief Technology Officer: John Morrison There are two primary functions of the tech centre (left), over which Morrison rules: electronic timekeeping and video production. Each F1 car is fitted with a transponder. As soon as a car passes a loop, placed every 200m on the circuit, data is relayed back to determine lap and sector times. Apart from a live feed collated from 24 cameras around the circuit, the army of video specialists he oversees is tasked with creating a rolling highlights package, pit lane feed, onboard footage, driver’s tracking page, timing page and graphics. The time it takes for all that to reach your screen from when it’s beamed out of this centre? Six seconds.

PHOTO: © ROLEX/JAD SHERIF

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PIT LANE-SPOTTING WITH JACKIE STEWART Involved in F1 for over 50 years, Stewart’s made more than a few (famous) friends in the industry

And how the men backstage played a role Lap 13: Contact. Williams’ Felipe Massa collides with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 3 coming out of the pit lane. Lap 14: The race is yellowflagged, while the stewards – four per race, who spend most of the race in a room just next to Whiting’s – review the incident to determine who was at fault. Lap 15: “Safety car standby. Safety car go.” Whiting instructs Mayländer to get out on the track and slow the race down while the marshals clear out the debris.

Lap 23: The stewards determine Hulkenberg was at fault. The punishment is swift: Whiting slaps him with a three-place grid penalty for the next race at the Suzuka GP. Lap 26-33: Lewis Hamilton radios his team during Lap 26 that he’s losing power in his gearbox. By Lap 33 the reining World Champion begins to slide down the order and his team can’t fix the problem, finally ordering him to box his car. Lap 37: Vettel’s radio booms to life: “There’s a man on

SIR JACKIE STEWART & TOM KRISTENSEN X ROLEX

SIR JACKIE STEWART

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TOM KRISTENSEN

the track. Man on the track!” Thankfully, he climbs back out soon – but not before Whiting gets Mayländer out on the track once again. Lap 61: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel romps home to wins his fourth Singapore GP, in a breezy poleto-podium finish. Post-race: Bonciani tears the three podium drivers, Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Räikkönen from the Parc Ferme, where they’re already celebrating hard, and up into the presentation area.

Although Rolex came on board as Global Partner and Official Timepiece of Formula 1 in 2013, the brand’s involvement with motorsports goes back to the Thirties, when Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed world record with a Rolex strapped on his wrist. In April 1968, Rolex signed one of its first-ever ambassadors – Sir Jackie Stewart. Which means he’s among the brand’s longest-serving ones, too. Even before 1968, however, Stewart was already a Rolex collector. “I bought myself a Day Date in Houston in 1966 when I got a little money from qualifying at the Indianapolis 500. It was a symbol I couldn’t have afforded in my early years. That same year, I was in pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix, and in those days, Rolex gave a watch to the [driver in the] pole position. That was my first Daytona – and I still have it.” Stewart’s fellow ambassador since 2010, Tom Kristensen is arguably one of the most successful drivers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, having won the race an unprecedented nine times. He’s a regular fixture at F1, often serving as a steward for many of the races.

> The Dealmaker: SIR MARTIN SORRELL This advertising mega tycoon is CEO of WPP (that own JWT, O&M, Grey, Burson-Martseller, Hill & Knowlton), and is also on the board of the company that owns F1. But he doesn’t come across as a blowhard multi-millionaire – at the Singapore GP, he’s in grey linen shorts, sneakers and a black T-shirt, sporting a charming, self-deprecating attitude (“I couldn’t afford the material to complete my trousers”). His salary last year alone was £40 million – more than the annual fee Mercedes supposedly paid Hamilton in 2014. STEWART X SORRELL: Sorrell was Stewart’s first PA, before he got into the advertising biz. > The Commentator: DAVID COULTHARD You can spot his jaw from a mile away. Seeing the two greet each other is like taking a time-warped trip through several generations of F1. Today, Coulthard’s one of the sport’s most respected commentators and columnists. STEWART X COULTHARD: Coulthard was born the year Stewart won his second world championship in 1971. And while Stewart may have been the sport’s first “Flying Scot”, Coulthard’s the most recent.

© ROLEX/JAD SHERIF

LIVE AT THE SINGAPORE F1 GP 2015

> The Talent Spotter: HELMUT MARKO He’s the Scooter Braun of F1, with an uncanny knack for spotting young talent. As head of Red Bull’s driver development program, he’s given some of the world’s finest drivers – including Sebastian Vettel, Juan Pablo Montoya, Max Versatppen and Daniel Ricciardo – their break in F1. STEWART X MARKO: Stewart raced alongside Marko in the Seventies. At the 1972 French Grand Prix (which Stewart won), Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus threw up a stone from the track that pierced Marko’s visor and took out an eye, ending the Austrian’s racing career.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Sachin Tendulkar Limited Edition

So when did you get your first real watch? Two years later. I was given a genuine Casio when the family realized that I had grown up and was responsible enough to look after a watch. Very few guys in school wore watches. I was one of them.

How many timepieces do you own today? I don’t like counting. I’m passionate about several things: cars, clothes, shoes, perfumes – and watches. But I don’t go by numbers. It’s about how much satisfaction these things give you, how much pleasure you derive.

OK, how about the luxury watch brands you own? I own Franck Muller, Panerai, Girard-Perregaux and Rolex. But once I started wearing Audemars Piguet, I’ve stuck to AP.

Who inducted you into the world of luxury watches? My uncle was a clock lover, actually. He would clean, polish and keep the ones he owned in terrific condition, and that’s how it rubbed off on me. None of my friends back then actually wore fancy watches.

A timepiece that you particularly treasure.

A MASTER’S PIECE S 60

Without a doubt, the AP rose gold Offshore [Ref 25940] with a rubber strap. I wore it during the [2011] World Cup. I took a photo and sent it to the brand. There couldn’t be a better one: World Cup trophy in my hand and an AP.

Any other athlete with an impressive watch collection we don’t know about? Kumar Sangakkara is a collector but I’ve only spoken to him about Patek Philippe. Muttiah Muralitharan loves watches too.

loganeering brand ambassadors. There are too many of them around, and the watch industry is teeming with them. And then there’s the next level of ambassadors. Panerai went from fringe military supplier to mainstream player when Sylvester Stallone, a fan, got his friends to invest in the brand. As for Kevin Spacey, there’s barely an episode of House of Cards in which Frank Underwood doesn’t go through at least half a dozen IWC timepieces. Closer home, serious watch collector Sachin Tendulkar has an enviable crop of luxury timepieces. Over the last decade though he’s been batting for Audemars Piguet – making him one of the brand’s longest-serving ambassadors. GQ caught up with the nationally retired Tendulkar (he, along with 27 other retired cricketers including Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara, played three T20 matches in the US last month) to get the minutiae on his watch obsession.

What was your first watch? The first watch that I received was from my uncle when I was in the 4th standard. He thought that it was better not give me an expensive watch since I was always up to mischief. So I was given a plastic replica of a Casio – which I damaged within days. 158 —

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You’ve already collaborated with AP on a watch, the one you’re currently wearing on your wrist (above). Given another shot, what would it look like?

For sure it wouldn’t be a formal watch, but more sporty. It’d also have something to do with India. [Tendulkar takes his watch off to point out the details.] The colours and type of stitching on the strap – the kind around a cricket ball – the flag colours on the dial, were all my idea. I would do something similar. SECONDS

WITH JASMINE AUDEMARS, CHAIRMAN, AUDEMARS PIGUET

Got any secret watch quirks? Not many people know this, but when I was playing for India, I always kept my watch around 7-8 minutes fast – and I still do. Whether the team had practice, a match, a function, a strategy meeting, a pool or recovery session, or whatever, I always wanted to be the first one to get there.

ON WHETHER THE LUXURY WATCH INDUSTRY CAN EVER MOVE OUT OF SWITZERLAND

There is no way we can leave Switzerland in our business. We’d lose the Swiss-made tag. The entire watch industry here is located between Geneva and Schaffhausen, and in a very narrow strip along the border. That’s where all the know-how is. The whole industrial base – the guys who make the hands, the face, the dial – are all located here. It’s a culture.

What happened if someone was late? Anyone who turned up late was fined his daily allowance. And if you repeated that, you ended up paying double the amount you’d paid last time. If you did that a third time, you paid double the second time’s amount. After that, the bus would leave without you and you’d have to find your own way.

Did the bus ever leave without you? You know, the fact that you’ve made the whole team wait – I didn’t ever want that to happen. I was one of the most punctual guys.

INTERVIEW: VARUN GODINHO. PHOTO: PRASAD NAIK. ILLUSTRATION: ARUN JAITAPKAR

On and off the pitch, Sachin Tendulkar’s got impeccable timing

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Lives: Che Kurrien Art: Kishore Singh Humour: Barnaby Pole Film: Tanul Thakur NEW

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THINGS FALL APART

WRITTEN BY CHE KURRIEN

MY GRANDFATHER LOVED ME DEEPLY, BUT THAT JUST WASN’T ENOUGH

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ILLUSTRATION: SACHIN SHETTY

ou always hurt the ones you love, and I was twelve when I broke my grandfather’s heart. Throughout my childood, he indulged me like a patriarch – overcompensating for the fact that my parents’

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LIVES

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marriage was in tatters during my growing years. He bought me expensive gifts on his business trips to England and lavished me with praise and attention – tacitly, guiltily acknowledging the hand he played in firming up my parents’ ill-conceived union. He had been swept away by my father’s charisma, wealth and pedigree, erroneously endorsing him as the perfect match for his daughter. The consequence of that one call would be devastating. My parents were married at St Thomas’ Cathedral in Bombay on Boxing Day in 1976, followed by a glittering reception at the Taj. At the time, my grandad was at the peak of his career, heading up Parry and Company, with a cavernous bungalow in Madras where he and my grandmother threw lavish parties aided by a batallion of staff. Although he earned a salary, he lived expansively: only drinking Johnny Walker, insisting on Bally belts to punctuate his well-cut suits, an elegant Bulova on his wrist. He was tall and good-looking – with an uncanny resemblance to Christopher Plummer. And when he retired, he blew up his provident fund taking his wife and my mother on a twomonth tour of Europe – living in the best hotels, drinking the finest wine. Soon after his first heart attack, my grandmother forbade him from smoking. Although I often spotted cigarette butts in the loo, it was our little secret. One of my fondest childhood memories is driving down to the rickety Cooperage stadium near Churchgate to watch Rovers Cup football matches between teams like Mahindra and Union Bank with him. This was the Eighties, and we sat on creaky benches amid a strictly working-class crowd, enjoying the heckling and peanuts. When I was even younger he took me every Sunday to ride ponies at the nearby Bandstand – a tradition I continue with my daughter. Despite his professional success, he remained connected and comfortable with his blue-collar roots. My grandfather was pushed out of his hometown, Kottayam, as a teenager by his dad who was concerned that the boy was getting embroiled with the activities of the local Communist party. Armed with a diploma in mechanical engineering, Karayoram Utthup Kurian was dispatched to his eldest brother in Bombay, who had done exceptionally well, 162 —

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heading up public relations at the old Burma Shell – the first Indian to hold the position. Pushed by his uptight, imperious brother, he went about Anglicizing himself in a bid for upward mobility: He took diction lessons, ballroom dancing classes and bought my grandmother subscriptions to Femina and Eve’s Weekly so she could master desserts like “Pineapple Upside Down” and “Baked Alaska”. He also insisted that English be spoken at home, ensuring my mom and her brother didn’t pick up a Malayalam twang. My favourite photograph of my grandparents has them lounging about on a desolate, spotless Juhu beach in the Fifties: she in a racy swimsuit sporting Sophia Loren shades while he towers over her, taut and muscular in black trunks, cigarette dangling from his hand, reminiscent of Richard Burton. He used all these strengths – innate and developed – to ascend to the upper reaches of the Indian corporate world, acquiring status along the way. This journey culminated in the grand wedding of his daughter to my dad – who belonged to one of the most prominent Malayali business families of Bombay at the time. Yet it took just over a decade for the marriage to officially end. My grandfather never recovered from the humiliation. No one got divorced in 1988, and the way my father went about it was brutal. People around us talked and judged. “I loved him more than my son,” my grandfather said to me at the time, tears in his eyes, acknowledging the natural chemistry between these gregarious men; in contrast to the formal relationship he shared with his own introverted boy. My grandfather was devastated, but had to keep it together for his daughter. My mother remarried and quickly got pregnant. Insecure about my own future and seduced by my father’s charm, I stayed with him and his family. My mother was shattered, but the one who took it hardest was my grandfather – who viewed my decision as the ultimate betrayal. He never looked me in the eye again. Soon after, my grandfather acquiesced to his wife’s demand and retreated back to Kerala. And within a month of moving, he was dead. Che Kurrien is editor of GQ India

ILLUSTRATION: SACHIN SHETTY

SOON AFTER HIS FIRST HEART ATTACK, MY GRANDMOTHER FORBADE HIM FROM SMOKING. ALTHOUGH I OFTEN SPOTTED CIGARETTE BUTTS IN THE LOO, IT WAS OUR LITTLE SECRET. ONE OF MY FONDEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IS DRIVING DOWN TO THE RICKETY COOPERAGE STADIUM TO WATCH ROVERS CUP FOOTBALL MATCHES BETWEEN TEAMS LIKE MAHINDRA AND UNION BANK. THIS WAS THE EIGHTIES, AND WE SAT ON CREAKY BENCHES AMID A STRICTLY WORKING-CLASS CROWD, ENJOYING THE HECKLING AND PEANUTS

ART

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HAMMER FEST

BY KISHORE SINGH

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ver the last few years, I must have invited a few dozen novitiates to attend auctions with me, only to be met with the same clichéd response: “If I raise my hand by mistake, will I have to pay for it?” Well, unless you have a paddle, and unless you wave that paddle, you’re not in any danger of accidentally emptying your bank balance. And here’s another eye-opener: Auction rooms, far from being quiet as a mortuary, buzz with conversations and telephone calls as assistants and agents receive bids from across the world, sometimes requesting the auctioneer to “hold on, just one more moment, please” because their client at the end of the line is conferring with someone else about whether the next bid is worth it or not. Or possibly arguing with a spouse about how much the addons of buyer’s premium and taxes will increase the cost, give or take a couple of lakhs. If you’re attending an auction in London or New York, prepare to be disappointed by the scant number of people in the room as expensive artwork worth crores of rupees goes under the gavel. This was not always so. Just the other week, one consigner told me, “Till a few years back, the room would be full and there would be no standing room at the back.” There are two reasons for the change. The first is 164 —

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technology: You can now bid over the phone or online, as auctions are run live on real time, making geography irrelevant. The other concerns the vexatious noseyparker. Collectors don’t like being identified – which you can’t help if you’re raising a paddle in the room – by either the media or other collectors. An anonymous “gone to paddle 1835” is your best bet for staying under the radar and keeping your name out of the papers, though much depends on how discreet you choose to be. Which is why we still don’t know who bought the VS Gaitonde at Christie’s sale in Mumbai for `23.4 crore in December 2013, yet “managed to find out” that the mysterious `27 crore FN Souza buyer at Christie’s New York in September this year was the indefatigable Kiran Nadar. There were only a couple dozen people in the second-floor room in New York in which the Souza record was made, but a week previously at Saffronart’s auction in Delhi, the ballroom and pre-function area were chock-a-block because an auction in India is still the equivalent of what fashion shows used to be until recently: something social and fun and preceded and followed by lots of drinking and dining. Invitations are eagerly sought after, and to not be asked to stay for the after

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ON THE BLOCK

Christie’s: Sells Indian art in London, New York and, since 2013, Mumbai. Has established the most records for Indian modern art and has a track record for sourcing great works. Sotheby’s: Competes with Christie’s city to city and has recently set up an office in Mumbai, though no India auction has been announced yet. Saffronart: Created a successful online auction model but has since gone offline too. Also does jewellery. Antiques are up next. Pundole’s: The Mumbai gallery morphed into an auction house and is mostly supported by the Parsi community. AstaGuru: The newest challenger on the block is proving it has the gumption to pull off successful auctions – and records.

party is the equivalent of facing social opprobrium. With just one serious bidder for every 100 people present in the room, the auctioneer must be extremely thankful for the telephone and online bids. Even though it does take the zing away for those in the room hoping to have a gawker moment. What’s interesting to watch is the difference between newbie and veteran bidders. Those being introduced to this world are usually accompanied by a gaggle of supporters and you can make them out for the wild gesticulation that accompanies their raised paddles – as though afraid of being ignored by the auctioneer, should that be possible – and they’ve been known to get carried away and end up with inappropriately high bids because they didn’t know better than to restrain themselves. Professional bidders, on the other hand, barely gesture with their paddles, confi rming a bid with a mere twitch of their head, never doubting the auctioneer’s ability to notice them – though people-watchers miss the drama. At the end, does the day belong to the bidder, or the auctioneer? When they shake hands at its conclusion, you can be sure they aren’t thanking each other. For, they’re adversaries who each tried to get the best deal, often at the other’s expense. Kishore Singh is a critic and an art consultant

ILLUSTRATION: ROHAN HANDE

A PEEK INTO THE THE ACTION IN AN AUCTIONEER’S CHAMBER

HUMOUR

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HOW NOT TO...

BY BARNABY POLE

...MANSPLAIN. (IT'S SOCIAL SUICIDE)

Without checking Google, are you sure you already know what “mansplaining” is? For female readers, are you sure you know what Google is? Congratulations! You’ve just been mansplained – the act of men unduly patronizing women because of their gender. I’ll help you out further: That superiority thing we sometimes do 166 —

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when trying to affirm our relevance in the world to women with a sturdy, forthright remark, but end up sounding like a dick? That. Assuming we agree it’s not our best feature, should we be worried it’s now also a verb? It seems to have started with an American writer, Rebecca Slomit, who was attending a party. She was cornered and lectured by a middle-aged man on a topic he thought he was an expert on

because of the book he’d just read. He was later dumbfounded to learn that she’d actually written it. Deep down, all men know they have done this at some stage. Even loveable Phil Dunphy does it to his wife Claire in an episode of Modern Family (“The, um... The trouble is Claire struggles with technology of any kind”). I happened to ask a male friend what he thought and got the searingly honest reply: “I think mansplaining exists because sometimes it’s necessary.” More helpfully, I also asked some female friends for examples and experiences. Oh, boy, were they happy to help. “My main one is motor-vehicle related. While parking, I generally experience older males standing behind my car waving their arms around in a circular motion. Then, incredulous silence if you seem able to park a car,” said one. “A guy helpfully explained to me at length why the gender pay gap wasn’t a problem because he’d ‘watched a YouTube video on it’,” said another. I’m particularly worried about this last one. Truly, nobody wants a world in which men think they’re experts on something because they’ve seen a video about it on the internet. That ends badly. But when it comes to suspiciously gendered hybrids in the English language, mansplaining isn’t the only offender. Take “manbag”, for example. Admittedly a noun, not a verb, but still entirely unnecessary. It’s just a bag, isn’t it? Then there’s “moobs” and “mannaries”. I’ve always had a softer spot, so to speak, for these two. Words describing men who’ve succumbed to gravity make sense, because breasts are naturally gendered in a way that casual hand luggage could never be. “Bromance” may appear to be a major offender but, considering the often pathetic difficulty we men have in expressing admiration or even love for a same-sex friend, it still gets a tick for being somewhat useful. So maybe when people – women, even – use the term, they are mansplaining “mansplaining” back to us which, of course, would mean that the term is useless, because if both sexes are doing it it’s just “explaining”, isn’t it? Except for the fact that it’s not only obviously a thing, but also one we’ve been doing for way too long. So... Yeah. Confused? I’m confused. To help, here’s a test in the form of

ILLUSTRATION: BEN JENNINGS

TALK

HUMOUR

TALK some new neologisms I’ve just made up. Please pass judgment on the following. WOMOANING: Excessive female nagging about something you’ve already said you’d sort out. BROANING: A man discussing his personal failings with another fellow by blaming someone else, usually the only

person in the world willing to have sex with him. Eg: “John! Quit broaning about Jane, she’s the best thing to happen to you for ages. And by ‘best’, I mean ‘only’.” WOMENTOUS: The tendency for women to overly exaggerate the importance of something not-that-

THAT SUPERIORITY THING WE DO WHEN TRYING TO AFFIRM OUR RELEVANCE IN THE WORLD TO WOMEN WITH A STURDY, FORTHRIGHT REMARK, BUT END UP SOUNDING LIKE A DICK? THAT. MEN ARE STILL TOO COMFORTABLE LETTING THEIR INSECURITIES MASQUERADE AS PATRONIZING BROVADO AND, AS A SEX, WE’D BE MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE IF WE STOPPED DOING IT IMMEDIATELY

important, particularly of an emotional nature. Eg: “Stop making it sound so womentous, I was only joking about fancying your sister”. (See also “Making a womountain out of a molehill”.) GUY-PAD: An apartment owned by a man with no books, pictures or decorations, but instead furnished almost entirely with technology, probably manufactured by Apple. MISS-PLACING: The phenomenon of women never knowing where something is. Eg: “I’ve lost my keys!” “Have you lost them or just miss-placed them?”

But this kind of etymological freestyling can also be dangerous. When we come up with a catchy phrase like mansplaining, bandy it about in conversation smugly and then leave it at that, we’re potentially trivializing our failings. Men are still too comfortable letting their insecurities masquerade as patronizing brovado and, as a sex, we’d be much more attractive if we stopped it immediately. Apologies, by the way, if you had to Google the word “etymological”. And if, as a man, you found that a bit patronizing, just be thankful you don’t have to put up with old women telling you how to park your car. Barnaby Pole was raised by feminists in the UK and still feels guilty about finding armpit hair unattractive. He now lives in Germany where nobody has body hair. Follow him on Twitter @biggestbarn

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IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES

WOMANIPULATING… This is getting offensive now...

FILM

TALK

170

DEBUTANT'S BALL

O

BY TANUL THAKUR

THE BIGGEST CELLULOID EVENTS OF 2015

n May 23, 2015, a local film gave Indian cinephiles a reason to celebrate: Neeraj Ghaywan had won two major awards for his debut, Masaan, at the Cannes Film Festival. The film opened in Indian theatres a few weeks later. But Masaan’s triumph – of an accomplished Indian movie, fêted at a renowned film festival and securing a theatrical release in its own country – wasn’t unique. It shared that privilege with four other films – Court, Kakka Muttai, Killa and Titli – and all of them shared something else in common, a commonality that augurs well for Indian cinema: They were all made by young debutant film-makers. These debuts, although superficially distinct, are at their core, quite similar. Both Court, where the outcome of a legal case is subconsciously shaped by the social awareness and economic standing of its lawyers and judge, and Kakka Muttai, centred on two preteens trying to procure pizza from an eatery that’s recently opened outside their slum, talk about the two “Indias” that are constantly rejecting, and yet running into, each other. Even NH10, Navdeep Singh’s second directorial venture, adeptly explores the unsettling consequences of that intersection. Kanu Behl’s Titli, and Masaan, to varying degrees, revolve around characters in search of their freedom: The male leads, bashful and reserved, harbour a deep-seated desire to escape their worlds, desperately seeking solace in an unfamiliar space and time. Killa, though thematically different from Behl and Ghaywan’s films, also deals with, for a major part of its runtime, anxieties induced by isolation. But these debuts wouldn’t have materialized had their makers not found key collaborators and mentors at critical junctures. Ghaywan assisted Anurag Kashyap on Gangs Of Wasseypur and Ugly, while Behl worked with Dibakar Banerjee on Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Love, Sex Aur Dhokha. Later, Kashyap and Banerjee helped coproduce their protégés’ first films. Similarly, Chaitanya Tamhane, Court’s director, formed a fruitful creative and financial partnership with Vivek Gomber, who both acted in and produced the film. M Manikandan, a wedding photographer by profession before directing his first feature, impressed Tamil film-maker Vetrimaaran with Kakka Muttai’s script, who along with Dhanush decided to produce the movie. Kashyap, Banerjee, Vetrimaaran, Gomber and Dhanush are primarily known as directors and actors rather than producers, and it was this sensibility – recognizing the need for stories like these to be told, regardless of their commercial viability – that allowed these fine debuts to happen. Some of these films also toyed with the conventional definition of a hero; Killa and Kakka Muttai, in particular, which placed kids at the centre of their stories. Indian directors, for long, have failed to appropriately utilize children in their films, often overselling and

banking on their cuteness and innocence. Killa and Kakka Muttai, in sharp contrast and quite laudably, managed to achieve the opposite: Their protagonists were fully formed, complete with complexities and ambiguities, defying simplistic labels. Manikandan and Arun did retain, through their characters, the quintessential qualities of childhood, the sense of wonderment and innocence, but their “heroes” weren’t paragons of virtue; they were, at various times, impolite, cheeky, sarcastic and, often, self-aware. Eleven-year-old Chinmay, Killa’s lead, who is otherwise shown as reticent in the film, scribbles an expletive on the wall of the school’s toilet when no one’s watching; his letters to his cousin include inquiries centred on, among other things, masturbation. The brothers in Kakka Muttai slyly dupe a delivery guy to peer into his box that contains slices of pizza, and ingeniously devise a method to make money out of men too drunk to find their homes. Masaan’s fourth character, who plays a crucial role in the film’s climax, is a kid called Jhonta (Nikhil Saini), sharing an unlikely bond with an elderly retired college professor – one that contains shades of filial affection and playful companionship. Even the biggest grosser of the year, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, featured a six-year-old girl, Shahida (Harshil Malhotra), who was as integral to the film as Salman Khan. Happily, this trend – of new directors making their own rules – is set to continue: A couple of months ago, Kannada fi lm Thithi won two top awards at the Locarno International Film Festival; Vetrimaaran’s Visaranai (“Interrogation”) screened at the Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, where Court premiered last year. Even Shah Rukh Khan – who’s signed his next few films with risk-taking directors such as Anand L Rai, Maneesh Sharma, Rahul Dholakia and, reportedly, Imtiaz Ali – seems intent to take some chances himself. This is promising, because if Bollywood’s reigning King is trying something other than extending his arms in foreign locales, then even the most cynical of cinegoers will have something to look forward to in 2016. Tanul Thakur is an award-winning film critic who, in a different life, used to be an engineer

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OM BR É

EDITED BY VIJENDRA BHARDWAJ & SHIVANGI LOLAYEKAR

AND IT COMES IN THE FINEST LEATHER

When we say invest in quality leather, we’re not talking about the tote you schlep to the grocery store or the trainers you wear round the clock. We’re talking about the kind of supreme leather you know will cause envy. The kind you won’t be able to stop touching; looks sumptuous enough to eat; and like a fine wine only gets better with time. And this season, no one’s doing it classier than Louis Vuitton, with its Ombré collection. Choose from a selection of bags, shoes and belts that you can count on to pay off lavishly. FROM TOP: VOYAGE OMBRÉ ACAJO BELT, LEATHER LOCKIT, PORTE-DOCUMENTS VOYAGE BANDOULIÈRE, CANYON CHELSEA BOOTS, BRAZZA WALLET; ALL BY LOUIS VUITTON, PRICES ON REQUEST DECEMBER 2015

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THE GUIDE

YOU GOTTA WEAR THE RIGHT TROUSERS IF YOU’RE GONNA BE A ROCK STAR

1 TURN IT UP

BOTTOMS UP

Trousers that twist and shout make a loud statement. Add excess leg room to the mix and you’ve found yourself the perfect combo of style and comfort. ї BOMBER JACKET, `25,000, REFLECTIVE PATIALA, `15,000, SHOES, `18,000; ALL BY KUNAL RAWAL

We still put them on one leg at a time, but pants aren’t what they used to be. Move on from skinny jeans and slim chinos and embrace the golden age of below-the-waist fashion PHOTOGRAPHED BY PRABHAT SHETTY

KUNAL RAWAL “There’s more than one silhouette that suits every body type. The idea is to go out there and find what works for you with an open mind.”

2 FLOWER POWER A throwback to Woodstock, Arjun Saluja’s palazzos would get Jimi Hendrix’s approval. ї BLAZER, PANTS; BOTH BY RISHTA BY ARJUN SALUJA, PRICE ON REQUEST. VEST BY KUNAL RAWAL, `3,000. SHOES BY CLARKS, `9,000

ARJUN SALUJA “The changing shape of trousers is more visible from a street style point of view today. How you wear them comes down to your personality.” 174 —

DECEMBER 2015

ive years ago, pants were a straightforward proposition, a non-issue, the opposite of a fashion-conversation starter. It was the heyday of flat-front chinos and slim, dark denim. Those were your options. Maybe you had a pair of cargo pants or wool trousers in your rotation. Maybe. Adventurous fashion happened above the belt and below the ankle, but what went on in between was a not-so-risky business. In the past two seasons, that’s all changed, with everyone from Neil Barrett to Gucci staking claim to a trousers tribe. Givenchy: loose leg, tapered hem. Balmain: skinny track pants, padded knee, back seams. Rick Owens: extreme drop-crotch, which he’s perfected over the years. Gone is the fear of attracting too much attention or being held hostage by the cult of the slim and skinny. One pair to rule them all? Not anymore. We have officially entered the era of statement trousers – a modern pantsosphere populated by the rolled, pleated, patterned, cinched, cropped,

ASSISTANT STYLIST: DESIREE FERNANDES. HAIR & MAKE-UP: MONA ANAND/BBLUNT. MODEL: KRISHNA CHATURVEDI/TOABH TALENT MANAGEMENT. IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (SALUJA), REX FEATURES

WRITTEN BY SHIVANGI LOLAYEKAR & ANTONINA JEDRZEJCZAK STYLED BY TANYA VOHRA

THE GUIDE

3 EASY BREEZY If you thought wide-leg pants were for women, you haven’t tried on the airy, masculine version. They instantly put you in a league of stylish men. Just ask Jude Law and Purab Kohli. ї LINEN DIGITAL PRINTED SHIRT, `6,400, LINEN TROUSERS, `7,500; BOTH BY ANTAR AGNI BY UJJAWAL DUBEY. SHOES BY TRÈSMODE, `6,000

ANTAR AGNI BY UJJAWAL DUBEY “Interesting trousers can be paired with the simplest or the most dramatic shirts and the result is equally impactful. Men are now realizing this more and are more willing to experiment.”

extra-wide, cargo and jogger. “Pants were always the most consistent thing. They were never really a consideration,” says Toby Bateman, the buying director at Mr Porter. “If you wanted to express yourself, it would be through your shirt, your shoes, or your jacket.” Today, pants are speaking volumes. The pairing of Nike Flyknits or Adidas Stan Smiths with just about everything – and the rise of sportswear in general – has a lot to do with the breaking-down of a man’s standard-issue uniform. (If rocking sneakers with a pair of suit slacks is permissible, traditional rules need not apply.) Add to that the explosion of streetstyle blogs that celebrate adventurous head-to-toe dressing, and you’ve got a sartorial force propelling menswear in a decidedly more daring direction, pants included. Like it or not, what men choose to slip their legs through every morning has always been linked to our idea of masculinity. Graduating to long pants from shorts and kneesocks was once a full-on rite of passage, and until the Seventies, trousers were so synonymous with maleness that women were banned from wearing them in some New York City restaurants. 176 —

DECEMBER 2015

GAURAV GUPTA “Indian men have been wearing draped trousers, lungis and dhotis for ages. With the idea of the Global Indian emerging, men are going back to their roots and experimenting with different silhouettes, old and new. Let’s embrace the difference.”

4 BREAK IT DOWN Remixed churidar pants are simply the easiest way to break away from the stereotypical slim-fit chinos you alway wear. ї ASYMMETRIC PANELLED SHIRT, `9,200, WHITE CIRCULAR ROCOCO TROUSERS, `22,000; BOTH BY GAURAV GUPTA. SHOES BY TRÈSMODE, `6,000

THE GUIDE

5 ROYAL TREATMENT Endorsed by princes and polo players alike, breeches are the mark of a classy gent. And no one cuts them better than Raghavendra Rathore. ї BANDHGALA, `80,000, SHIRT, `7,000, BREECHES, `13,000; ALL BY RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE. SHOES BY CLARKS, `6,000. POCKET SQUARE BY 16 STITCHES, `1,000

RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE “A style treasured by the Rajasthani aristocracy, breeches have been worn in Jodhpur for years. Even today they are unmatched icons of Indian style.”

So what’s the formula for successfully shaking things up in a world where the cropped drop-crotch is claiming its place alongside flat-front khakis? Where there’s no sartorial true north to keep you from looking like MC Hammer – or, worse, SpongeBob SquarePants? The simple answer: Flip your approach to getting dressed. Just as you’d make a bold, technical overcoat an outfit’s focal point, choose the pants first and use them to anchor the rest of your look. What do Kanye, Orlando Bloom and Justin Bieber have in common? They all own some crazy pants; but their crazy pants don’t own them. “With guys in the business, you see a lot of printed-silk pants, whether it’s Valentino, Givenchy or Christopher Kane. And they look good, but that’s not for your regular guy,” Bateman says. “But I think your regular guy can wear a jersey jogger from Lanvin or a skinny jean from Saint Laurent.” The beauty of manifold options is that you actually get to be more comfortable (painted-on raw denim be damned). If one silhouette is unflattering or puts your reproductive system at risk, don’t wear it. On the other hand, getting the more avantgarde styles tailored to suit your body type is no tougher than taking in the hem on your work slacks. The choice of where to land on the cut-and-fit spectrum is yours alone – and if you don’t want to retire your skinnies, well, that’s fine too.

SHANTANU & NIKHIL “The changing shape of trousers gives men the opportunities to layer and bring a lot more versatility to their daily look going from work to play.”

6 FAR AND WID The secret to wearing this dhotipalazzo hybrid is nonchalance. Pair yours with a black shirt for an East-meets-West vibe that few will be able to match. ї SHIRT, `38,000, PANTS, `22,000; BOTH BY SHANTANU & NIKHIL. SHOES BY KUNAL RAWAL, `18,000

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THE GUIDE An art print of classical Greek cavalry

THEN AND NOW GQ zooms in on the trouser timeline - the key styles and iconic moments in the evolution of men's pants

PLUS FOURS Volume pants hung over the knees, ballooning about 4 inches in an overlap. Here, Golfer Bobby Jones flaunts a pair in 1936.

HIGH-CUT Cut midway between the chest and waist, high pants were usually held up by braces. It was common to see them on Englishmen in 1914 as they strolled through London’s Hyde Park.

THE SWITCH

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER S/S 1992

BREECHES & PANTYHOSE Peter The Great passed an ordinance in Russia, making it compulsory for men to wear pants. In the late 1700s, the Dandy came alive in England and France, with Beau Brummell leading the way: Think lace edges, pantyhose, breeches and heels.

THE JODHPURS THE SKIRT Once the preserve of kings and maharajas, skirts were the mark royalty. They’ve been pushed into menswear time and again, most notably by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier in the Noughties.

COMME DES GARÇONS A/W 2015

4th Earl of Pembroke, 1615

Sir Pratap Singh, the Regent of Jodhpur and an avid polo player, invented a new style of pants in 1890 — a combination of breeches and the churidar called the Jodhpuri trouser. His version included leather reinforcement in the inner thigh and tighter calves to enable wearing riding boots.

An Indian maharaja in Europe, 1935

STRAIGHT LEG orian era saw straight trousers triped) worn to formal affairs. glish composer and pianist de Lara sports them in 1908 for Fair’s Men Of The Day issue.

RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE A/W 2015

STEWART GRANGER IN BEAU BRUMMELL, 1954

Once upon a long time ago, the Greeks and Romans endorsed nudity and wore drapes occasionally. Then in the 2nd century, Roman soldiers took to pants for war purposes.

Teenagers in cropped trousers, 1974

THE ZOOT, SWING AND BAGGY Extra long jackets and voluminous peg top trousers called the zoot suit or the zazous (in France) — were a cultural offshoot of the hot jazz and swing music scene of the Twenties, right up to the Fifties. Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra both rocked the wide leg. Later, a tamer (but still pleated and loose) version filtered into the business casual getup. And in the Eighties and Nineties ghetto gods like MC Hammer made it their own.

CAPRIS AND THE CROP First seen in the Sixties (think Halpin in Flipper), capris or calf-length pants reemerged in the late Nineties as sportswear trousers. In the new millennium, Thom Browne’s brought them back to the forefront.

Thom Browne

Jimmy Page in concert, 1973

THE BELLS

E DRAPED LEG costume has always ed the dhoti, and today ma of the (pre-stitched) draped re often seen in the global r arena.

GUCCI S/S 2016

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER S/S 1995

Elvis Presley on stage 1956

Flared trousers took over the world in the Seventies – everyone from Jimmy Page Mick Jagger and John Travo to Amitabh Bachchan rocked them. They disappeared from the menswear scene after that, until Alessandro Michelle sent them down th Gucci runway this year.

Mick Jagger on stage, 1968

Rebel Without a Cause an Wild One in the early Fift propelled the bad boy int role. With it came a ward of jeans by the likes of Le US and Lee Cooper in Eng

The boys (and their trousers) stayed slim and waif-like till the Sixties. In 2000 skinny pants sa major resurgen when Hedi Slim reinvented the Dior Homme. T continue to ma strong impact.

DECEMBER 2015

TOM FORD A/W 2015

IN THE JEANS

DIOR HOMME BY HEDI SLIMANE S/S 2007

THE SKINNY

G-STAR RAW A/W 2015

IMAGE: CORBIS, REX FEATURES, GETTY IMAGES

James dean in rebel without a cause 1965

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THE GUIDE

JACQUARD EVENING JACKET, COTTON EVENING SHIRT, WOOL TROUSERS, ALL BY GUCCI

starring

IMAAD SHAH Designer Alessandro Michele’s new collection for Gucci has started a revolution: reviving Seventies’ rock star swagger and pushing forward gender-bending menswear. As ribbon bows and dotted blazers become sartorial mainstays, GQ shows you how to pull them off Photographed by ERRIKOS ANDREOU Written by SHIVANGI LOLAYEKAR Styled by TANYA VOHRA

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DECEMBER 2015

T

ILD HE W

D

CHIL

ROBERT PLANT

PHOTO AGENCY: DEU: CREATIVE MANAGEMENT. ASSISTANT STYLIST: DESIREE FERNANDES. HAIR & MAKE-UP: MONA ANAND/BBLUNT. PRODUCTION: PALLAVI KUMAR. LOCATION: ELLIPSIS, MUMBAI

THAT 70s SHOW

Ͳͧ͞ ΃Ͳͻ΀Ά΃ͺ͑͸Ͳ΃͵ͶͿ ͿͶΈ͑͵Ͷͽ͹ͺ ͙͚ͪ͑͑͑ͣͦͦͩͪͥ͜͢͢͢͢͡͡

ΨΨΨ͟ΥΙΖΕΒΣΫΚΘΣΠΦΡ͟ΔΠΞ Design & ©2014 Little Yellow Beetle®

ͣ͑͢͡ͷ͟ͷ͟ Ͳ;ͳͺͶͿʹͶ͑;Ͳͽͽ ͸Ά΃͸Ͳ΀Ϳ ͙͚ͪ͑͑ͣͥ͑ͥͣͪͣͦͧ͜͢͢͡͡͡͠͡

CABLE KNIT SWEATER, SILK CRÊPE SHIRT, COTTON PANT; ALL BY GUCCI

The high-voltage sex appeal that had seeped into Gucci’s core by way of previous bosses Tom Ford and Frida Giannini is gone

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DECEMBER 2015

B

ack in 1975, when Robert Plant walked onstage in Madison Square Garden, hair long and unruly, wearing crotchhugging jeans and a body-kissing floral shirt left unbuttoned to flaunt his painfully lithe frame, women went wild. Guitarist Jimmy Page wasn’t far behind in an embroidered pantsuit, performing an unrehearsed 20-minute version of his tour de force “Dazed And Confused”. This was rock ’n’ roll history in the making. The Seventies was an era dipped in hedonistic glamour, soundtracked by everyone from Led Zeppelin to Chic; fronted by the likes of Andy Warhol; and dressed by legends like Halston in a combination of hippie chic and rock glam. Cut to 2015, when Gucci’s new creative director Alessandro Michele debuted his first full-fledged show in August. Out came the birds, bees and butterflies embroidered on seethrough tops, pussy bow blouses and silk suits. Oversized yellow-tinted sunnies masked models with hair so long you couldn’t tell whether they were male or female. The allusion to the Me Decade was palpable – candy-coloured lights across the ceiling of an abandoned train station, roided up with a double dose of psyche rock. A young Page and Plant wouldn’t have looked out of place here. Only, Michele wasn’t mimicking the swashbuckling style of the Seventies; he was recreating it, in more polished fashion, speaking to a new generation of eccentric minds. The muses for his Spring/Summer 2016 and more recent Cruise 2016 collection could range from a Left Bank intellectual to a Wes Anderson character, indie musicians to youth ready to break the moulds of conformity. The highvoltage sex appeal that had seeped into Gucci by way of previous creative directors Tom Ford and Frida Giannini was gone. And a radical era of vintage opulence and bohemia is now underway – an aesthetic about-turn you only see once in a few decades.

PHOTO AGENCY: DEU: CREATIVE MANAGEMENT. ASSISTANT STYLIST: DESIREE FERNANDES. HAIR & MAKE-UP: MONA ANAND/BBLUNT. PRODUCTION: PALLAVI KUMAR. LOCATION: ELLIPSIS, MUMBAI

THE GUIDE

THE LINE-UP

PRADA

CALVIN KLEIN JEANS

VALENTINO

DIOR HOMME

CASTELLO D’ORO

LOUIS VUITTON

CARRYON

The coolest alternative to a holdall just got a designer makeover. Which means it’s not for schoolboys anymore

186 —

DECEMBER 2015

PHOTO: VLAD ANTONOV. STYLING: KIRILL AKIMOV

LONGCHAMP

PHOTO: EDWARD URRUTIA. STYLING: EMMA FAGG

NYLON BACKPACK BY PRADA, `97,100

LEATHER BACKPACK BY BALLY, `91,500

LEATHER CHRISTOPHER PM BACKPACK BY LOUIS VUITTON, `2,65,700

NEOPRENE “ALIOSHA” BACKPACK BY CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, `1,88,600

CANVAS/LEATHER BACKPACK BY BURBERRY BRIT, `71,900

LEATHER BACKPACK BY HUGO BY HUGO BOSS, `68,800

LEATHER BACKPACK BY DIOR HOMME, `2,75,500

NYLON-BLEND BACKPACK BY PAUL SMITH, `52,200

LEATHER BACKPACK BY GUCCI, `1,58,800

DECEMBER 2015

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THE LINE-UP

TOPMAN, `1,250

HUGO BOSS, `11,000

PAUL SMITH, `10,500

LOUIS VUITTON, `34,400

TUMI, `5,250

MIND THE STRAP

DUNHILL, `18,100

BURBERRY `27,200

AIGNER AT GRAYS, `12,000

Don’t reduce one of the most functional fashion pieces to a mere behind-the-scenes accessory. Belt on with pride LACOSTE, `7,100

188 —

DECEMBER 2015

WORDS: JASON ALEXANDER BASSON. PHOTO: SÉBASTIEN ROHNER

TAG HEUER, `22,700

suits

/hallmarksuits www.hallmarksuits.in [email protected]

GQ EYE TOP PICKS FROM THE STYLE DESK

TWO WAY

Dean and Dan Caten were born in Toronto, live in London, and show their label, Dsquared2, in Milan. And it’s in this nexus that, for the past 20 years, the twins have found their niche: unrestrained menswear that ashes up a Canadian ake on denim and plaid, Brit punk and talian tailoring. To celebrate Dsquared2’s 0th anniversary, the Catens have looked o the archives for his year’s Fall/Winter ollection. There are rapper hats, tuxedos n velvet, camouflage, nd leather jackets with studs and fringe. squared2.com

FINE VINTAGE

ROCK ’N’ ROLL

To celebrate the 60th birthday of fashion powerhouse Renzo Rosso, Diesel has released a Limited Edition watch. Set in a case that’s more edges than curves, the dial’s got his birth date – 15/9/55 – lit up in fluorescent numbers, and a personal message from Rosso himself etched into the caseback. And, just so that we remember that this man is in fact the “Jeans Genius”, the strap on this ticker, limited to 555 pieces, is made from black denim. Rosso, rock on. diesel.com

OLD FASHIONE

Sixty-five years on, who would have ever thought th young British soldier’s wartime distraction would bec the inspiration for one of the world’s most recogniza shoes: Clarks Desert Boots. You can wear them o Rocky Mountain camping trip, for a midnight stroll New York or to a dive bar in Delhi, and they’ll surviv They also have yet to fall out of style. For that matter, the probably won’t for years to come. clarks. 190 —

DECEMBER 2015

Sometimes the most subtle accoutrements have the strongest impact. And few understand this better than Dior Homme’s artistic director Kris Van Assche, who’s put out a new collection of sumptuous wine le t

BLACK BEAUTY Meet the bag that will change how you function. Hermès’ Cabacity 45 is a drawstring satchel nested within a roomy carryall that’ll stock your office stuff and your casual clothes – to transition from work to the weekend in Alibaug like a bawse. hermes.com

WORDS: SHIVANGI LOLAYEKAR, VARUN GODINHO, KEVIN PIRES (DSQUARED2)

THE LIST

WHISKY Special a

MILE HIGH

Few places contain as much existential dread as the modern airport. Which is why drinking is always a good idea. We pick the rarest, most decadent reserves from Mumbai Duty Free that alone are worth travelling for PHOTOGRAPHED BY NIRMAL JAIN

JW ODYSSEY This big daddy is a smooth blend of three single malts, packaged in a crystal decanter that “swings” 360 degrees so it’s impossible to spill – even at sea. Price on request

ROYAL SALUTE 38-YEAR-OLD STONE OF DESTINY Named after the legendary Coronation stone of the ancient Scottish Kings, this has one of the richest, most luxurious flavours you’ll find. `26,000

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DECEMBER 2015

MACALLAN M DECANTER BY LALIQUE Drawn from Spanish sherry oaks dating back to the Forties and packaged in a limited edition crystal bottle, this one’s for savouring, not swigging. `2,61,000

WHISKY Special a

SINGLETON OF GLEN ORD ARTISAN When only a hand-crafted, small-batch single malt will do. `10,650

LAPHROAIG 25 YEAR OLD Characterized by an intense medicinal flavour, Laphroaig falls into the love-it-or-hate-it category. We love it. The 25 Year Old, especially, is a mellow, restrained expression with delicate peat (for ‘Froyg anyway), baked apple notes and a gentle nuttiness. A malt to unwind with. `34,300

GLENMORANGIE SIGNET Possibly the storied distillery’s most unorthodox offering. The lack of an age statement on the bottle is a statement in itself. `12,740

BALVENIE TRIPLE CASK AGED 12 YEARS Made from three different casks and with three distinct flavour profiles (vanilla, cinnamon and honeycomb), this makes a cracking end to any meal. `5,030

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DECEMBER 2015

WHISKY Special a

BRUICHLADDICH ORGANIC It may look more like a shampoo bottle, but once you taste this non-peated rebel from Islay you’ll know just how serious it is. `6,010

DEWAR’S SIGNATURE Awarded 95 points in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, this one is a fresh hit of vanilla fudge and cut flowers and cacao. Find a good friend and put the world to rights over a few glasses. `11,440

JAMESON SIGNATURE RESERVE A sweet Irish blend with no hard edges. Just the kind needed to put you into a sweet, deep sleep on a long flight. `3,140

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ARDBEG The godfather of Islay malts, this chest hair-producing, coalmine-in-aglass whisky may be a tad intense, but it’s still a damned good dram. `4,380

Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann

THE ULTIMATE SHOPPING DESTINATION Located in the heart of Paris, Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, on the Boulevard Haussmann, has the best creations on offer in its 70,000m². The flagship store, symbol of the Parisian elegance, offers more than 3,500 brands from affordable to the most prestigious references.

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GALERIES LAFAYETTE PARIS HAUSSMANN: 40, BOULEVARD HAUSSMANN, 75009 PARIS METRO: CHAUSSÉE D’ANTIN - LA FAYETTE Open Monday through Saturday from 9.30 AM to 8 PM. Late opening every Thursday until 9 PM. Special opening every Sunday in December from 11 AM to 7 PM. Tel: +33 (0)1 42 82 36 40 - haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en

Code: 670 132

WHISKY Special a

GLENLIVET 21 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH The most mature of the Glenlivet classic range, this much awarded 21 Year Old is a debonair addition to your bar. `11,300

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CHIVAS 18 Chivas blended whiskies, which were introduced over a century ago, were one of the first luxury whiskies the world saw – and loved. The 18 Year Old made with over 20 malt and grain whiskies makes it simple to see why. `6,860

GLENFIDDICH VINTAGE CASK

MONKEY SHOULDER

A seriously classy single malt with a lightly peated flavour. Unveil it on very special occasions. `8,170

A unique triple malt that’s so drinkable it defies convention. Just knowing about it makes you a man of mystery. `2,875

FOR THE LOVE OF GIFTING

Celebrate the festive season at Mumbai Duty Free with its latest Christmas campaign, ‘The Joy of Gifting’ If you’re travelling from Mumbai this winter, stop by Mumbai Duty Free (MDF) and pick out the perfect Christmas gift for your loved ones. Celebrating its latest campaign, ‘The Joy of Gifting’, MDF presents its premium offerings at unbeatable prices, along with exclusive promotions to help you find the perfect present. This year, MDF will be converted into a winter wonderland, with the entire store featuring Christmas elements to get you into the festive mood. However, the highlight of this year’s promotions is the special BMW activity. While you are sifting through various spirits and gifts, don’t forget to stop by MDF’s BMW store promotion for a chance to take home a BMW 320d. What’s more, MDF has also tied up with the upcoming romantic action film Dilwale. If you shop at MDF before December 18, you can win an exclusive meet-and-greet with the stars of the movie, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. So, if you find yourself passing through Terminal 2 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport from December to January, don’t forget to shop at MDF.

HAPPY SPIRIT SHOPPING!

åAn expansive range of spirits spread over 2,500sq ft åOver 39,000 bottles displayed at any given time å120 plus single malts available åMore than 700 liquor brands to choose from åExclusive special savings on pre-order facility

DRIVE AWARDS 2015

WORDS: JASON BARLOW

INDIA

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Not in recent memory have so many luxury brands shifted out of their comfort zone in a single year. From first-time SUVs by Jaguar and Bentley to a spankingnew Rolls-Royce (convertible) as well as an Indian motorcycle-maker that’s creating a stir on the global stage, we raise a well-greased wrench to this year’s rising stars EDITED BY VARUN GODINHO

BEST COLLAB

LAND ROVER DEFENDER X PAUL SMITH Land Rover’s Defender has dodged the sword of Damocles a few times in its 67 years, but now the end is truly nigh: Production will stop in December. Two million have been made since 1948, when the Series I arrived, and an estimated 75 per cent of Landies are still running wherever in the world they ended up – most likely in all 195 of the planet’s countries. But GQ’s favourite is the singular edition created by Sir Paul Smith. No fewer than 27 colours enliven the car’s agelessly appealing utilitarian exterior. There’s a handpainted bumblebee on the roof, blue leather trim on the air conditioning vents and a set of keys painted on the inside of the glove box.

THE NEW DEFENDER It lands within the next two years and insiders insist the new Defender is a corker. The 2011 DC100 show car was too pretty and not robust enough for some observers, and served as a reminder that anything wearing the Defender badge has to weather a Russian winter as convincingly as it handles a tony city suburb. Three million hardcore utility vehicles – including Toyota’s indestructible Hi-Lux and Nissan’s Patrol – are sold worldwide every year, so the stakes are high.

DRIVE AWARDS 2015 INDIA

LIVE WIRE

PORSCHE MISSION E CONCEPT In the world of electric cars, sheer power and acceleration rouse little excitement (although it’s good to know that the Mission E concept’s got a 600hp engine and can do 0-100kph in 3.5 seconds). Here, the endgame is maximizing range. Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, this four-seater supercar can travel 500km on a single charge. Better still, it can charge up to 80 per cent of its capacity in just 15 minutes. And it’s got zero emissions.

BILLIONAIRE’S CONVERTIBLE BEST WEEKEND BAG TO THROW IN THE BACKSEAT OF A HOT HATCH

TUMI X MINI

By proclaiming it to be “a driver’s car”, RR hopes to snare a completely different customer from its traditional base that has until now always done business in the back seat. The brand’s kitted this convertible with a massive 6.6-litre V12 engine that heaves its nearly 2.5-tonne frame from 0-100kph in an improbably quick five seconds. And it’s got some clever driver aids too: There’s a nifty satellite-aided transmission system that will scan the road ahead and pre-select the optimal gear from among the eight available.

WORDS: VARUN GODINHO

In a move that’d make the UN proud, American luggagemaker TUMI has collaborated with MINI, the British car manufacturer with German engineering credentials, to create a capsule collection – each made from military-spec ballistic nylon. Our pick is this trolley, that rolls as well as your ride does.

ROLLS-ROYCE DAWN

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BEST SUPERCAR

FERRARI 488 SPIDER

MOVIE OF THE YEAR

The 488 Spider is the most powerful and aerodynamic mid-engined V8 convertible to come out of Maranello yet. The 3.9-litre engine generates a stellar 661hp of power. And, this being a Ferrari, it seems almost anachronistic to quote 0-100kph times – it’s appropriate instead to note that it goes from 0-200kph in 8.7 seconds, and all the way to a hair-raising 326kph. It’s even got an F1-derived dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox. We wouldn’t drop the term “best Ferrari ever” lightly, but there’s a strong case for this ride.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION Despite a career spanning over three decades, 2015’s Rogue Nation is Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing film of all time. There were thunderous action sequences and climactic chases, with some fascinating cars and bikes driven and ridden on the limit too. Chief among them were a BMW M3 (driven backwards at one point), X5 xDrive 40e and 6 Series convertible. The coolest though was Cruise ripping a BMW S1000RR, one of the world’s fastest accelerating bikes (0-100kph in 3 seconds, with a top speed of 305kph). Rogue, indeed.


EDITOR’S CHOICE

ROCKET MAN

AUDI TT There’s visual evidence to call this one of Audi’s sportiest: a flat-bottomed steering wheel, a body that’s lither and lighter by 50kg than the outgoing model, and a racing-inspired fuel cap. The turbine A/C vents are angled towards the driver, and there’s no infotainment system to entertain any other passenger – all the necessary information has migrated to the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. In “Dynamic” mode, a tiny actuator fitted into the 2-litre dynamo feeds the car’s glorious rev notes from the torquey 370Nm engine into the cabin. Exactly why you should white-knuckle grip the wheel and keep your right foot pinned.

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Since the Fifties, Mercedes’ most imperious saloon has always spawned an era-defining coupé. The latest version is more sharply clothed than its predecessors and takes full advantage of Merc’s techno-superiority to inject some dynamism into the mix. The big news here is the debut of a system called “active curve tilting”, which uses the Magic Body Control’s camera-scan function to register corners up to 15 metres away. The camera relays its findings to the car’s individual suspension struts and alters their angle by up to 2.5 degrees to keep things level between speeds of 30-180kph. Elsewhere, the Coupé’s panoramic sunroof features Magic Sky Control – you can choose how much of it you want to see – and if its LED headlights aren’t powerful enough, you can option an additional 47 Swarovski crystals. Clearly, 46 weren’t quite enough.

WORDS: VARUN GODINHO, JASON BARLOW (MERCEDES-AMG)

MERCEDES-AMG S63 AMG COUPÉ

IF BOND OWNED A TRAIN

PININFARINA E320 EUROSTAR TRAIN

From the Alfa Romeo 8C (1933) and the outrageous Ferrari Sergio (2014), through to yachts and private jets, Italian design firm Pininfarina has created some of the most iconic vehicle shapes of the past century and has now turned its attention to the trans-Europe express. La dolce vita is brought to life with Pininfarina’s sweeping design aesthetics applied to livery, seating, bars, lighting and even onboard meeting rooms. Even leaves on the track couldn’t stop it.


GLOBAL INDIAN

ROYAL ENFIELD This brand’s got some serious ambition. First, it had record global sales in 2013. Then it unveiled its Continental GT 535 café racer last year, a bike that’s been a thumping success in Europe, with its two manufacturing facilities in Chennai already peaking at their half-a-million annual capacity. Next, it poached some fine hands like ex-Ducati designer Pierre Terblanche and Mark Wells (of Triumph Daytona 675 and Explorer fame). Last year, it also set up dealerships in Dubai, Paris, Madrid, London, Bogota, Jakarta and Melbourne – but that’s only the beginning. Its next stop: Milwaukee, USA. We get it, Enfield.

PARIS


LONDON

MADRID

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KING OF THE ROAD

MERCEDESBENZ G63 AMG ULTIMATE EXTRAVAGANCE


BREITLING MULLINER TOURBILLON CLOCK IN THE BENTLEY BENTAYGA $180,000. That’s the cost of the diamond-studded Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon clock, optional of course, that nearly doubles the price of Bentley’s first SUV. The purpose of a tourbillon is to protect the movement from gravitational forces. Good thing then that Bentley added a tourbillon – the Bentayga is the world’s fastest SUV, ripping through 0-100kph in 4.1 seconds, which means that this clock will be subjected to some serious g-forces.

This isn’t a car as much as a battering ram. From conquering armies to peace-loving Popes, the Geländewagen has showed up for duty for a varied demographic over the last 35 years. This year, Mercedes introduced the G63 AMG Crazy Colours Edition in India, with one variant each in Solar Beam, Sunset Beam and Alien Green up for sale, for a whopping `2.17 crore. The deliberate hard-edged exteriors complement that beast of an engine – a rorty 5.5-litre V8 that’s good for 544hp (nearly equal to the combined horsepower of five MINIs).

MOST RADICALLY OVERHAULED SUV

MARS VEHICLE

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT We’re done with soft-roaders – SUVs masquerading as offroad vehicles that in reality lose traction on so much as a wet patch. But the new Discovery Sport is the real deal: a proper off-roader that doesn’t look like a tool. It has the go-anywhere capability of a Freelander (which the Disco Sport replaces) and the city-bred good looks of the Evoque. Screaming metal.

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Any generational update requires a thorough revamp, and the German marque delivers with this second-gen ride (the Q7 was in fact Audi’s entry ticket into the SUV market ten years ago). From a new platform (it now shares one with Porsche and Bentley) and powertrain (the thirsty 4.2-litre V8’s been traded in for a fuelsipping 2.9-litre V6) to its chassis (300kg lighter) and infotainment system (capable of computing 8 billion operations per second), this is one heck of a makeover.


AUDI Q7

THE SUV YOU CAN’T CRASH (EVEN IF YOU WANTED TO)

VOLVO XC90 Volvo’s safety chops are legendary. (It even invented the three-point safety belt back in 1959.) Short of taking over the steering, this second-gen XC90 is the most idiotproof car on the road. If you turn into an intersection and the radar detects an object in the way, it will automatically brake. Likewise, if the front-facing cameras sense some erratic driving on a straight road, it’ll apply more torque to the steering wheel to help you get back in line.

DRIVE AWARDS 2015

BEST CUSTOMIZATION

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO DRIVERS When it comes to footwear specialists, few brands are as renowned as Salvatore Ferragamo. And when it comes to shoe design, few are as loved as the Driver moccasins. But with the new Made-To-Order service, you wouldn’t want just a ready-to-wear pair. The customization options are limitless: textures like crocodile, ostrich and condor calf, and colours ranging from sapphire grey to flaming red. Then there’s the Gancio “ornament” – the strip of metal that adorns every pair – which can be brushed in graphite or polished gold, with personalized lettering. In short, your mocs just got a whole lot cooler for your next summer drive.

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BEST COCKPIT KIT

JAGUAR F-PACE Called “In Control Touch Pro”, Jaguar claims its infotainment system in its first-ever SUV has more processing power than a Boeing 777: 100GB storage drive, 1GB/s Ethernet, with a built-in WiFi system that can hook eight devices up to the interwebs. And then there’s the software: Via your smartphone, or even smartwatch, you can control the temperature, lock the car and switch on the engine. If you’re headed to a meeting, enter that person’s email address into the system, and the car will send a message with your ETA after culling the information from the sat nav. It’s also got social media connectivity and voice recognition. Which means you can tweet while you #KeepYourEyesOnTheRoadYourHandsUponTheWheel.

WORDS: VARUN GODINHO, SHIVANGI LOLAYEKAR (SALVATORE FERRAGAMO)

INDIA

CRUISE CONTROL

HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD KING The low-slung stance, wide-set handlebars and broad rear tyre inspire the kind of confidence necessary for a longdistance touring motorcycle. And there are the added bits that make sitting upright for hours tolerable: adjustable air-suspension, a leather saddle with lower lumbar support and a windshield that’ll deflect the wind as you tear down the road. Most importantly, on a stretch that doesn’t require you to continuously shift gears, thumb this into cruise mode and let the six-speed gearbox find its sweet spot.


COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

After lying in a morgue for three years, Mercedes’ ultra-luxury brand is back. It’s the quietest car in the world. Still, the cabin’s so commodious that each time the driver speaks, a tiny microphone will pick up his voice and amplify it through the speakers in the back. For the tycoon seated in the Business Classstyle reclining massage thrones, sipping Dom out the Maybach-branded silver flutes, there’s a special air filter too that ionizes and perfumes the air. Delhi dudes, you’re welcome.

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MERCEDESMAYBACH S600

HURRICANE

KAT

She’s a hubba hubba incarnate. But there’s more to her than meets the eye. KATRINA KAIF breaks her stoic silence on everything you’ve ever wondered about her

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SIGNE VILSTRUP

Written by Megha SHAH

h

ere’s what happens in this article: I meet Katrina Kaif over three days in two cities in less than a week. Much does not go as either of us expects. On the first day, we mainly talk about why no one thinks she’s got a brain. On the second, we halt a Jet Airways plane that’s ready for take-off, and she shares her insecurities with me in the cosy confines of its J Class cabin. On the third, she invites me to her home (which she shares with Ranbir Kapoor) and reminisces about her days as a model and thrusting her breasts into Gulshan Grover’s face. Her parting words to me on the second day as we get out of a crowded airport coach: “Shit, I’ve said too much.” …. The first thought when you lay eyes on Katrina is: “That’s a lovely sight.” The second: “She must be a bitch.” Hers isn’t a grand, gracious, self-important aura possessed by most Bollywood stars; but a furtive, steely, don’t-approachme coolness that presents itself matter-of-factly to anyone within selfie-taking distance. She’s certain about her ideas and puts them across firmly. But in general, she would prefer not to put them across at all. In fact, she would prefer for there to be no people in the room at all. “We have to remind her to make eye contact with people,” a member of her mostly female team tells me. We are in Goa at the Alila Diwa resort shooting the 214 —

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styled by vijendra BHARDWAJ

images for this cover story with a Danish photographer, her Swedish assistant and a South African make-up artist – talent specifically requested by Katrina. Dressed in an androgynous suit, suggestive lingerie peeping out from under her lapels, with dahlia-shade lips and big anime eyes, she looks like some neo-noir femme fatale en route to her next kill. But her body language suggests otherwise. She keeps her head low, looks at nobody and nothing except the camera. And when the shoot pauses, and her hair is being fixed, she quickly retreats to the back of the large suite, facing the wall, her back towards me and the rest of the crew. Katrina Kaif is a fiercely private person. A quality that can easily be mistaken for arrogance in her line of work. But the more you observe her, the more it seems like she’s trying hard to protect some particularly fragile part of herself. Four hours into the shoot, she finally looks at me. Mainly because I’ve sat down next to her while she eats her lunch. In front of her is a bowl of grilled fish and assorted vegetables, which she prefers to consume with her fingers. “I know the conversation about me is rarely about my work,” she tells me. “I was recently invited to a conclave which brought together some of the country’s most brilliant young minds, but all anybody could ask me about was my exboyfriend. I don’t think people consider me intelligent.” It’s strange, I tell her. The fact that people think she has climbed her way to the top without a brain.

SHIRT BY RALPH LAUREN. TROUSERS BY PAUL SMITH. LINGERIE BY MYLA. BOW TIE BY BROOKS BROTHERS. BRACES BY THE BRO CODE

DECEMBER 2015

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BLAZER BY ERMANNO SCERVINO. BRIEFS BY MYLA

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“It’s not impossible,” she says, “The minutes between cut and action, you don’t need to use your brain – also, you shouldn’t ask questions like ‘Is this logical?’ or ‘Does this dialogue make sense?’ The less you can tap into this side, the better it’ll be for you. But after the shot is done it’s all about using your brain. It’s about people management. It’s the only way to make it in an industry that’s so haphazard and highly strung.” But she hasn’t had many films to talk about recently, I remind her. Her last semi-hit (Bang Bang) released almost a year-and-a-half ago. She looks at me sharply, and for a moment it seems I may have offended her. “I’ve had to deal with a lot of delays,” she agrees. “Like, Dhoom 3 was essentially Aamir Khan and Aditya Chopra taking the decisions. I may have screamed and stormed around the office but it wasn’t of much use.” Katrina is a double-digit exponent of good-lookingness, but more petite than you’d expect: She doesn’t eat up a door frame the way Deepika Padukone might. She flicks back her perfectly messed-up hair and licks her lips, which have the bright, clear-coat finish of a sportscar. She may look exceptionally young and dewy, but Katrina belongs to a previous generation. She isn’t part of the new breed of actresses and celebutantes, notorious for being beautiful and having fun, for treating fame like a beach vacation full of shells to find and then Instagram. She doesn’t take selfies or feature in Dubsmash videos. She isn’t on Twitter. Fame for her is serious, something she’s worked hard for, and she can’t seem to come to terms with how it can be left naked online, for anyone to dissect. “It’s easy to get a break in this business, but to maintain your momentum you have to be one of two things – crazy talented; or you have to work your butt off... like me.” She gets a call and her voice drops slightly. “I’m at work, baby. Yes, Goa.” She hangs up the phone. It’s Ranbir Kapoor, whom she’s been in a relationship with for about four years. “The industry’s not an easy place, but the hardest thing is to be the partner of an actor. Actors are selfish,” she continues, “They may have beautiful attributes, but for the large part, they’re megalomaniacal. As most successful people in the world usually are.”

I

.....

t’s time to shoot on the beach, which is practically deserted at this hour. Then one of her shapely legs hits the sand and mayhem ensues. There are people everywhere, all at once, perching on bicycles and motorbikes, fast multiplying, running towards the spot where security guards are holding up shields on either side of her: shack owners, locals, honeymooning couples, even curious Russians pointing, smiling, delighted. The camera phones strobe around her like a Ferris wheel. This annoys her, but just barely. She gives it ten minutes, and then, just like that, she’s inside a robe running away from the throng. ..... The next time we meet, I’m racing towards a deserted Jet Airways check-in counter at Dabolim airport, waving my ticket. The tight-lipped woman in uniform stares at me incredulously: the flight to Mumbai is ready for take-off. The counter shut half an hour ago. “I’m with Katrina Kaif...” I pant and point at the movie star’s emerging figure dressed in distressed jeans and a checked shirt. She’s back in “walls-up” mode, standing a fair distance away from us, face deep in her phone, completely transformed from the pouting, fearless goddess on the beach.

“IF MY PARTNER GIVES ME WHAT I NEED, I CAN BE THE BEST GIRLFRIEND” Ten minutes later, the aerobridge that had been detached is being reconnected to the flight. And five minutes later we’re taking off. “Shah Rukh taught me this trick. He always arrives twenty minutes before a flight, to avoid the crowds and lines.” We’re seated strategically in the last row of the Business Class section. Katrina takes her seat right back and curls into a feline position, her legs drawn close to her chest. The sun has set and as the cabin crew switch off the lights for take-off, we’re plunged into darkness, save for the twinkling, fading lights of the town below us. I don’t know if it’s the dark, or the rhythmic purr of the engines or the fact that we’re literally in transit, but Katrina is in a meditative mood. “I am a very responsive person. So, if my partner gives me what I need, I can be the best girlfriend you can wish for.” This isn’t tough to believe. “See, men and women, they’re different. Women give birth to babies and men don’t. We can’t say ‘oh equality on all levels, we’re all the same’. No, our biological needs and bodies are different. Men have been the hunters and the philanderers. Being with an actor has its own set of issues, but the basic differences arise because men are men. Cheaters will cheat anywhere. “It all comes down to the cards you’ve been dealt. The person you’ve chosen, or haven’t chosen, because your heart chose him for you. Look around us, marriages and relationships are in trouble everywhere. The lucky ones are able to find selfless love that transcends ego and insecurity.” And is she one of the lucky ones? She’s silent for a moment and looks directly at me. Even through the darkness, I can feel her gaze – this time really looking at me. “The back of my head wants to believe that I am. But the front of my head says be careful.” She’s silent again, for a moment. “I don’t think I can make such claims, because were it selfless love, then I wouldn’t feel the need to assert myself as much in the relationship. I would be more tolerant. I don’t want to be tolerant. I don’t want to accept it, I want to fight. I want to get what I think I deserve. “My greatest fear is that if and when I get married and I’m standing at the altar or the mandap, he may not love me completely. That he may not know his mind well enough to be making those commitments. The anticipation of heartbreak is my only fear.” There’s a fleeting, vulnerable quality in her voice and it seems to come from somewhere inside her that was established early and deeply. We both know where the conversation is headed, yet she seems unprepared when I voice the question. What does she think about Ranbir working on his most recent film with exgirlfriend Deepika Padukone, the trailers of which promise DECEMBER 2015

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WAISTCOAT, TROUSERS; BOTH BY RALPH LAUREN. LINGERIE BY CALVIN KLEIN. LOAFERS BY ERMANNO SCERVINO

DECEMBER 2015

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a tantalizing lip lock, among other things? There’s a long pause (from now on all pauses are long). “I can’t enforce my will on the people in my life. Their choices are their own. I may not be happy with them but I hope that as they mature or evolve, their choices will change.” She doesn’t say more. I ask her about her father, who left her mother and seven siblings when she was six. “I didn’t have a father figure and I’ve often wondered if that has affected my relationship with men. I haven’t really scrutinized this with a therapist, so I’m not sure. But when I think about my daughter and the qualities I want her to possess, I envision a big role played by her father, in instilling a strong sense of self. That’s important to me.” Up close, Katrina is affable. She’s hard-working and focused about the things she wants. She’s an eager learner and has the ability to look stunning but appear completely non-threatening too. She’s also able to say something disarmingly smart or wise but make it sound wide-eyed and innocuous. Qualities that probably worked in her favour when she landed in India at the age of 17 (the 13th country she had called home by then) and which endeared her to two older, experienced men soon after she debuted in Kaizad Gustad's Boom, who played an important role in shaping her life. Salman Khan, whom she met and fell in love with when she was 18, saw her through from anonymity to stardom, and Akshay Kumar, who starred in some of her biggest hits, and taught her all about the business of Bollywood. She may have been criticized for being arm candy and a glamorous supplement in movies, but there’s no denying the magnitude of her celebrity. Katrina Kaif is as A-list as it gets. A fact that she seems to have forgotten as she strolls out of the plane casually once it lands, chattering about boy problems and stepping into the coach which will take us to the domestic airport. “The base of my relationship with Salman was correct, it was true. Which is why we’re still able to be friends.” Around us it seems to me as though everybody hanging on to the handles in the coach has leaned in towards us, straining to listen, disbelieving of their luck. “But he lives in a parallel universe, always making these jokes about me publicly which get the media really kicked. Like, the comment he made on Kapil’s show when he saw my picture on a packet of crackers. ‘She is of no use to me.’” She rolls her eyes. “I called him and yelled at him. I can do that, it’s the sort of equation we have.” And he said ‘Okay sorry I’ll apologize to the media’. I told him to do no such thing and maintain a dignified silence if that’s possible.” She laughs. And that’s when she tells me, “Shit, I think I’ve said too much.”

I

.....

n her earliest memory of India, she’s wearing tiny shorts and a tee and standing in a little white room at Famous Studios in south Mumbai holding up a chalk board with her number on it. She’s on her daily auditioning rounds. A bored assistant gives her a cue, she turns to her side and shows her profile. She’s up for anything: fashion shows, events, appearances – but she’s really hoping for a TV commercial because that would mean more money. Later that night she heads out from her rented flat near Rizvi College in Bandra to Olive with her friends: show choreographer Alison Kanuga, fashion model Niketan Madhok and designer Rocky S. She likes partying, she gets a lot of attention and she knows it’s the best way to network. She throws back a shot and decides to stay until the money lasts, and then, if nothing happens, move on to the next country.

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She’s able TO say something disarmingly smart or wise, but make it sound wide-eyed and innocuous “Why don’t you come over on Friday? If you’re free,” reads Katrina’s text message. And so I make my way to her three-level Bandra residence for our final meeting, not too far from Salman Khan’s home. She’s down with the flu but this turns out to be our most upbeat encounter. “I’m not as close to Ranbir’s family as I’d like,” she says, flopped on a couch in one of the many sitting areas, dressed in track pants and a vest with no make-up. “But I’d like to hang out with them more. Family would be a defining factor when I make the decision to marry.” Without the weird enforced intimacy of the flight – the close seats, the drinks, the dim lights – our meeting feels more business-like. Around her a staff of about seven people are hovering, bringing her things she doesn’t seem to know she needs. One announces the arrival of Nitya Mehra, the assistant director of Life Of Pi, who’s here for a script reading. “Sandhya,” she says to her assistant, “please sit with her, na? Just engage.” And then to me, “I feel like I have a lot of wisdom, experience and a lot of knowledge to pass on.” She’s joking, but only half. “But Ranbir doesn’t seem to want any of it, he thinks he’s doing just fine in his career on his own.” But whether the people around her recognize it or not, the story of Katrina Kaif is extraordinary. Home-schooled and dragged around the world by her mom’s peripatetic lifestyle, she had no money or connections in India. She was fortuitously born with dark hair – that was it. She learnt the Devanagari script, auditioned tirelessly, changed her name, worked hard on her body, Indianized her look, fine-tuned her image, taught herself things she wasn’t privy to – knowledge that most of her contemporaries had inherited. And then quietly, when the others were clambering for meatier roles or declining to do just a song, became a commanding force. The Katrina Effect is a palpable energy that follows her everywhere she goes and lingers long after she’s left. And here, on ground zero, I’m engulfed by the charm, the wounded fragility, the hustling enterprise, and the silent force that is Katrina. And it takes me a few days to shake it off.

SUIT BY PAUL SMITH. LINGERIE BY MYLA. ASSISTANT STYLIST: TANYA VOHRA HAIR: BIANCA HARTKOPF/ TOABH TALENT MAKE-UP: SUBHASH VAGAL PHOTOGRAPHER AGENCY: TOMORROW MANAGEMENT PRODUCTION: GIZELLE CORDO, RAMAN LAMBA/ SALT MANAGEMENT PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: PALLAVI KUMAR FASHION COORDINATOR: RAVNEET CHANNA LOCATION: THE DIWA CLUB BY ALILA, GOA

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Looking out over the fertile Ziro Valley , sustained by a “permanent wet rice cultivation” of paddy fields – which also feeds the Apatani with its stock of fish – the only hint of modernity is the corrugated aluminum roofing that replaces the traditional bamboo. It was this idyll that inspired the festival founders to return after an accidental visit, but with bands. Lots of bands.

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DIVIDED BY

By now, you may have heard about the Ziro Festival of Music, held in the most northeast corner of Northeast India. But only the truly intrepid make the gruelling journey to remotest Arunachal Pradesh. Four years ago, the native Apatani people first opened their impossibly beautiful valley to visitors from across the Subcontinent, to share in three days of music. Here, photographer Adil Hasan captures this unique place where modernity hasn’t yet supplanted tradition

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With one of the lowest population densities in India, there’s plenty of space to stretch out at the Ziro Festival, which is becoming more popular by the year, hosting folk bands from Rajasthan, hiphoppers from Delhi and, of course, the rock ’n’ roll outfits that sustain the Northeast’s musical palette. Get there while it's still cool, hip cats.

”WE SAW THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND SAID ‘WHY CAN’T OUR BAND PLAY HERE?’ AND THEN WE REALIZED: WHY CAN’T WE HAVE TEN BANDS HERE? WHY CAN’T WE HAVE A FESTIVAL HERE?“ -- RANDEEP SINGH (right), festival co-founder & bassist for menwhopause

The Tetseo Sisters of Nagaland

Tripura-born Borkung Hrangkhawl of Delhi-based hip-hop act BK

IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE FESTIVAL, LOCALS BUMP UP PRODUCTION OF RICE MILLET AND BAMBOO HOMEBREWS TO SATE THE THIRSTY CROWD AND,OF COURSE, MAKE SOME MONEY

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Ziro Valley may be closer to the Chinese border than any Indian city, but aside from the local Apatani tribe you’ll find Assamese and Biharis, and Hindi is embraced as a common language in this microclimate of peaceful coexistence.

Fresh off his success on Cold War-era thriller The Americans, Rahul Khanna heads to Vietnam with GQ for a masterclass in luxury menswear

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JUMPER BY CORNELIANI. TROUSERS BY GIVENCHY. SLIDERS BY MR. HARE

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Some castings seem so obvious in retrospect. Rahul Khanna, who plays Pakistani intelligence agent Yousaf on The Americans, is central to one particularly salacious episode: He strangles an American spy, mid-coitus, before stuffing her naked body into a suitcase and carrying it out the front door. Khanna’s performance was stacked with seduction, titillation, a devilish charm – what any woman would confess he brings to the table. Khanna’s acting chops have become a talking point, so we get the actor to dish on doing the dirty on primetime.

What was your experience shooting for The Americans? It’s got one of the finest casts and crews I’ve had the privilege of working with. I feel we’re in the Golden Age of television. American shows, in particular, are on par with feature films in terms of quality and scale. The joy of working on a project like this is that it’s so meticulously researched, it’s like a history lesson. The show was created by Joe Weisberg, a former CIA agent, and every script has to be cleared by them. There’s fascinating detail about the

lives of spies during the Cold War. And I particularly love the disguises, gadgets and the extremes they would go to for their cause. Tell us about the infamous sex-to-suitcase scene. I’d watched the show so I knew it was pretty sexy. However after I signed on, they sent me an updated draft of the script (which was much more risqué) and a “nudity and simulated sex consent agreement”, which actors are legally required to sign. That’s when things got

SHIRT BY MARNI. TROUSERS BY CORNELIANI. SUNGLASSES BY GIORGIO ARMANI. TOTE BY TOD’S. LOAFERS BY MR. HARE

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pretty terrifying. I tweeted that I’ve bungee jumped, but signing that document was much scarier! I had a few days of wild panic but then told myself, “One of your favourite TV shows wants to fly you to New York to play the title role in an episode, roll around in bed with a beautiful woman, and pay you for it. You should be rejoicing, not panicking.” When we started shooting for Season 3 and I got another (much more graphic) love scene, I didn’t even bat an eyelid. In fact, I was quite excited. As an actor, you don’t often get the opportunity to make

love to a woman, then strangle her and then help two KGB operatives break up her body and stuff it into a suitcase! It’s Shakespearean. How did you prep for it? It’s amazing how self-conscious and vain you get when you learn you’re going to be spending a full day in your birthday suit with strangers and being filmed in HD. There was a fair amount of discipline with my diet and exercise regime in the weeks leading up to the shoot. On the day, the wardrobe department

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JUMPER, TROUSERS; BOTH BY BOTTEGA VENETA. BRACELET BY MONICA VINADER

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T-SHIRT BY CANALI. TROUSERS BY PAUL SMITH. SUNGLASSES BY GIORGIO ARMANI. BRACELET BY MONICA VINADER. LOAFERS BY MR. HARE

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delivered something called a modesty pouch to my trailer. It’s a contraption invented by Satan himself: basically a codpiece that’s supposed to stick to your skin like a Band-Aid and give the illusion of nudity while maintaining a degree of modesty and hygiene on the set. Ironically, if you get a little sweaty, it doesn’t stay stuck – which can be mortifying. Let’s just say I no longer have any secrets from the crew. The show’s set in the Eighties. What do you think about the style from that time? When I went in for my initial fitting, the first thing wardrobe designer Jenny Gering told me was, “Everything’s going to feel weird.” And it did. The cuts and fits of the clothes back then were so different. The Eighties was a decade of economic boom, and people were dressing to reflect that. Clothes were designed to make you look and feel bigger and more powerful – wide, padded shoulders, boxier cuts and louder prints. You feel like a different person in different clothes. And menswear today? I see a lot of experimentation. Gender lines are blurring and menswear is borrowing a lot of styles, prints, colours and accessories that are traditionally associated with women. It’ll be interesting to see if this continues to evolve into an androgynous norm or if there will be a hypermasculine reaction to it.

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SUIT BY ETRO. SHIRT, CUMMERBUND, POCKET SQUARE; ALL BY CANALI

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SHIRT BY JOHN VARVATOS. SCARF BY DOLCE & GABBANA

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SUIT, SHIRT; BOTH BY LOUIS VUITTON ASSISTANT STYLIST: RAVNEET CHANNA HAIR & MAKE-UP: SUCHILA AKSONPAEN PRODUCTION: VASUNDHARA SHARMA LOCATION: SIX SENSES NINH VAN BAY, VIETNAM

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PRESENTS

 ip f yo tastebuds Do you travel the world in search of mouth-watering delicacies prepared by some of the most celebrated chefs? Now with Condé Nast Traveller, some of our selected guests have the opportunity to taste the finest cuisines right here in India. Presenting Hot Tables—an exclusive live culinary series for tastemakers around the country that celebrate the common passion point of food. The launch of the first Hot Tables event in Bengaluru saw fifty guests enjoy a seven-course meal prepared by Dharshan Munidasa—the half-Japanese, half-Sri Lankan chef behind not one, but two, culinary hotspots. Both Nihonbashi and Ministry of Crab feature on the Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants 2015 list. What’s more, before each course, chef Munidasa engaged in an open dialogue with the guests to explain his ideas and the special ingredients behind every dish. The ballroom at The Leela Palace Bengaluru provided the perfect setting for a riveting night with many more to follow!

To collaborate with Condé Nast Traveller on this culinary series, please email [email protected]

From left: Rohan Murty, Ajay Shetty, Raghu Karnad & Gautam Bhimani

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Call it what you will – the Garden City, India’s IT hub, its pub capital, or the place where that one lake was so polluted it caught fire. Call it Bangalore or Bengaluru, this city of 7 million, perched on the Deccan Plateau, is easily overlooked and often overshadowed by Delhi and Mumbai, but to miss out on Karnataka’s capital is to miss out on a big part of India. So into the cozy, old-world den of the Library Bar at the Leela Palace we recruited Rohan Murty (Infosys scion, philanthropist, Bangalorean), Ajay Shetty (entrepreneur, vintner of Myra Wines, Bangalorean), Raghu Karnad (journalist, author of Farthest Field, Bangalorean) and Gautam Bhimani (cricket commentator for ESPN-Star Sports, a Bengali who’s been to Bangalore enough to be able to keep up) to chat about the city. And over perhaps a bit too much whisky, a fuzzy but truthful portrait of India’s most underrated city takes shape. Photographed by KUNAL DASWANI Interviewed by DAVE BESSELING

In association with Well, we’ve done enough of these things in Delhi and Mumbai, so, gentlemen, what’s the deal with Bangalore? LOCATION: THE LIBRARY BAR/THE LEELA PALACE BANGALORE

KARNAD: I think you should be

talking booze when you talk about Bangalore. SHETTY: It’s known for its bars and pubs. There’ve been some really iconic ones… The Night Watchman, Guzzlers Inn, Pico’s is very famous. MURTY: Well, for me, Bangalore is a university city, because our leading research institutes are here, a couple of other very well-known research centres are in Bangalore. SHETTY: And it’s just become more cosmopolitan, right? KARNAD: It’s always been a cosmopolitan city. It has origins that are a little uncommon: It was a Kannadaspeaking town, but then the cantonment arrived, and that became the character of Bangalore. It’s a little awkward because it’s a colonial legacy.

And beyond pub culture, booze production was a big part of the city’s growth, wasn’t it? KARNAD: Yeah, when I moved

back to Bangalore from Delhi, I showed up in the middle of town and expected everything around Lavelle Road to be fairly peaceful and sleepy. Suddenly UB City was looming over everything. And the site that UB City is built on is actually the first brewery in Bangalore. More than a hundred years ago. So there’s a really interesting lineage that connects this cosmopolitan aspect to this pub aspect of Bangalore; the way it’s always been a centre for both making and consuming alcoholic drinks. And that has made it, I think, a hospitable place for people from all over the world. MURTY: Actually, I have a very different take on that.

Shoot.

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rules here and there, but if you look at the US and you look at Cambridge, you look at Boston; Boston has 70 colleges and universities in and around it. And I think that’s what makes it very international, that’s what makes it very easy for people from the outside to come in, because you have universities. KARNAD: And there were lots of higher engineering institutions and science institutions, and as far as I can tell, that’s one of the reasons that IT flourished here as well… But there’s definitely a connection between the BPO/IT industry and the drinking scene. SHETTY: And that’s normal. When you have more youngsters, more income, [this confluence] makes sense. And look at Bangalore before ’91 – we were a retirement home, you know? A lot of people treated it that way. Bangalore was very sleepy and yes there were colleges, but it was the advent of industry that made it attractive. And I think we people here, we’re pretty laidback, pretty welcoming.

Gautam, you’ve been coming here as an outsider for years. How have you seen the city change?

BHIMANI: If you talk about a neutral person going on a pub crawl in Delhi or Mumbai or various cities across India – Chennai doesn’t count – the difference in Bangalore is that you can actually have a conversation with a complete stranger. MURTY: By virtue of the fact that we have a fair bit of migration from outside of Karnataka into Bangalore, it’s perhaps a little easier to get used to living here versus some of India’s other cities. KARNAD: Absolutely. But don’t you guys have this experience, where a friend visits Bangalore and they say, “Hey can you tell me what I should do, the 244 —

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AJAY SHETTY

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ROHAN MURTY

main things I should see,” and you say, “There’s Tipu Sultan’s palace, but then you’re basically done and you should just start eating and drinking”? I really think that Bangalore ultimately boils down to this slightly epicurean life of eating and drinking. SHETTY: I’m glad Bangalore has that. KARNAD: And there’s no other capital city in this country where you can be so agnostic towards language. That means that it’s extremely inclusive and easy to get around. BHIMANI: Even a rickshaw driver is resigned to the fact that it’s a cosmopolitan city. They’re expecting nine out of ten passengers to be from somewhere else. KARNAD: When it comes to the question of which culture you belong to, which gets emphasis and which is neglected … I just love this city because it’s a study in colonial hangover – for better and for worse. MURTY: Even more than Calcutta? KARNAD: For sure. BHIMANI: I don’t agree. In Calcutta, at the Tolly Club, the Calcutta Swimming Club, not only would the bearers speak [English] better than they spoke Bengali, if you spoke to them in Bengali they wouldn’t reply. Just try to get a little over-friendly with them and say, “Hey can you just get me a little bit of this”, and they’d reply in English, “Yes sir, it shall be done.” MURTY: Whenever I go to Calcutta, these clubs get to me to no end. Which is why I will never step into a Bangalore club. I don’t know what they’re celebrating, what laws they are preserving. BHIMANI: Would you call it the Bengaluru club and get away with it? MURTY: That’s the perfect question. Even: can you go inside and call it the Bengaluru Club? KARNAD: It wouldn’t be popular.

“Bangalore considers itself the only psychically healthy city in the country” But back to Rohan’s question: What exactly are these clubs celebrating? KARNAD: As a colonial inheritance, I think

RAGHU KARNAD

GAUTAM BHIMANI

Do you think Bangalore has an inferiority complex to Delhi or Bombay?

EVERYONE: No! [Laughs] KARNAD: I think Bangalore considers itself the only psychically healthy city in the country, and everyone else is just fucked up. And, we don’t have – touch wood – we don’t have riots. SHETTY: So we go back to the first point we were talking about: how laidback we are, how we adjust to things.

So it wasn’t like you wanted to move to another city where bigger, better things were happening?

SHETTY: No, I don’t think that ever happened. MURTY: I always viewed Bangalore as the new city of India, and all the other cities were like old city, old money, old everything. KARNAD: By the time any of us were old enough to make comparative judgments about cities, Bangalore was on fire, in the mid-Nineties.

So when you moved to Delhi, you weren’t all excited to be moving to the capital city? KARNAD: No, no, no. I wasn’t. You know Delhi has

its own intellectual chops, and those have to do with the industries that are centred there. Certain law, journalism, policy scenes. But Bangalore holds its own with a certain kind of decency that’s really hard to find. SHETTY: I think that’s the key word. I think Bangalore is a very decent city. BHIMANI: The day I finished my ICSE, there was an India-Pakistan test match happening here. It was during Holi, March 1987, and the two teams played Holi at the West End hotel and ruined the pool.

As a journalist, that story writes itself. MURTY: Look at the number of very decent

cricketers in Karnataka and Bangalore… Decent, I mean, in terms of their character. I don’t mean in terms of the performances: Of course those are superlative. [Laughs] BHIMANI: I was just going to come to that. It’s not a coincidence. There’s Srinath, Anil Kumble, Prasad, everyone of those guys – just very decent guys. 246 —

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LOCATION: THE LIBRARY BAR/THE LEELA PALACE BANGALORE

Bangalore is unique, because unlike Calcutta, there is discreet linguistic life in Bangalore. In Calcutta, everyone I know who is Bengali, learns Bengali. SHETTY: They’re comparatively proud of the language. KARNAD: The same is true for Madras, or Delhi. Bombay is different because everyone at least can speak Hindi. But here, cantonment culture still defines modern Bangalore. SHETTY: Forget cantonment, do you guys think city-bred kids in Bangalore aren’t proud of their language because it’s Kannada? MURTY: It really depends. My school did us a big disservice. They segregated the second-language Kannada students and the second-language Hindi students. So from the first standard to the tenth, we used to view the Hindi students with disdain. So we never really learned Hindi, and they never really learned Kannada because they viewed us the same way. BHIMANI: That’s exactly what happened to us in Calcutta. I took second-language Bengali, and those Hindi students were like outsiders. MURTY: I remember, once I was talking to some guys from school in Kannada, and one said “Dude, don’t talk in Kannada, the girls are here.”

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livier Rousteing is old. “Old, old, old,” he moans, peering at his reflection in the window of The Klay, the fancy gym in Paris where he takes his morning boxing lessons. He puts down his cigarette and presses his skin upwards, miming a facelift. In less than seven days, the fashion designer will turn 30. “I have definitely lost some of my youth,” he says. Not so much, though, that his face doesn’t immediately bounce back when he lets it go. The past few years have moved fast for Rousteing. His relationship with H&M, of all things, puts it in perspective: Eleven years ago, he was standing in line outside the H&M in Bordeaux, waiting with everyone else for Karl Lagerfeld’s collection to drop. Eight years ago, he was an assistant at Roberto Cavalli, creating sketches for the Italian label’s collaboration with H&M. And now, this month, Rousteing releases his own highly anticipated H&M project – a line inspired by the aristocratic fetishwear he’s been producing for nouveau royals like Kanye West and Beyoncé. “They ask you to take some pieces from your first collection, like vintage,” Rousteing says, sipping a restorative orange juice. “So it is kind of a celebration, which in a way is kind of scary. It was only five years ago! To me it feels like yesterday!” A collaboration with a youth brand like H&M is a natural fit for Rousteing, who ever since becoming Balmain’s creative director at the age of 25 has brought new life to a label that until recently conjured the smell of musky grandmother perfume. A bright-eyed sylph with a sunny disposition, skin the colour of a nonfat soy latte and a limitless collection of deep V-neck tees, he has managed to bring the septuagenarian fashion house, famous for its heavy embroidery and heavier price tags, into

IMAGE: REX FEATURES

He may be as famous for his Instagram exploits – partying with models, canoodling with Kardashians – as for his work coolifying the venerable French fashion label Balmain. But Olivier Rousteing, the 30-year-old designer whose buzzy H&M collaboration launched last month, says he’s out to upend an industry that’s too old and too white to reach millennials like him. Jessica Pressler reports from Paris on the Rousteing revolution

THE MERRY MEN

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, Fashion s

BFF

the modern day, not only through his designs but also through force of his persona. With his boundless enthusiasm, he has charmed the jaded fashion industry and racked up recruits to his #BalmainArmy, a collection of models, actors, musicians and pop-culture icons whom he defines, in his American-accented Frenglish, as “glamorous and beautiful and diverse and confidence and sexy and powerful – especially powerful” – and become something of a celebrity himself, thanks to the duckface selfies he posts on Instagram. The attention he has brought the house of Balmain has transformed a business that was not long ago facing bankruptcy, even as it has occasionally caused the suits at the label to gulp back a few mon Dieus. “Yes, I am aware of the rap song ‘Anaconda’,” booms Balmain CEO Emmanuel Diemoz. “I have not been aware of it before, and yeah, for sure, that was not easy,” he goes on, possibly in reference to the awkwardness that ensued when an assistant was called upon to explain the meaning of Nicki Minaj’s line He toss my salad like his name Romaine/And when we done, I make him buy me Balmain. “We must remember Balmain is a very old Parisian fashion house,” Diemoz says. “But when it comes to success and democratization, you cannot control everything. The worst for us would be not to be quoted anywhere.” Considering it was only a few years ago that the CEO of Louis Roederer – the venerable French house that produces the champagne Cristal – appeared to dismiss rap music’s audience as too lowbrow for its product, this is progress. Of course, getting his CEO to a place where he considers it a positive development when the label is mentioned in the same breath as asseating is also part of the reason Rousteing feels so old. “When I started out, I was Balmain’s baby,” he says. “To tell you the truth, now I think that Balmain is my baby.” “He said that?” Diemoz says. There’s a long bit of silence. “Well, I suppose it is the truth. He has built his brand, and without him we would not be where we are today.” At the gym, Rousteing looks up at the sky, where the morning sun is just creeping through the clouds. “It’s perfect for a selfie, actually,” he observes. Holding the phone in front of his face, he adjusts his black Borsalino hat, props his hand on his chin, pouts his lips and sucks in his cheeks. Click. Creating a brand is something that comes naturally to Rousteing, since it’s something he’s been doing his whole life. As the adopted only child of a white professional couple, he spent a lot of his time concocting origin stories for himself, ones that didn’t involve being plucked from an orphanage at 4 months old. “When I was like 10 years old, I was the Prince of Egypt. When I was 15, I was the Prince of Brazil,” he’d said the previous evening over a glass of Pinot Noir at Hôtel Costes, a Paris hotel that has itself been aspirationally swishy since the mid-Nineties. With its curated house music and international clientele, it’s a far cry from Bordeaux, where Rousteing grew up, a city that is “very conservative,” he says, “and very, very French.” Rousteing appreciated the culture:

The outfit that first piqued his interest in fashion, he says, was a Chanel jacket and matelassé bag. But he was obsessed with America, which he knew through pop music – Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Michael Jackson. “I was like, ‘How can you name someone the King of Pop?’” It impressed upon him the idea that America was a land of possibility. “You feel like anything can happen,” he says. “You have to show that you deserve it and that you are worth it, but they let you do it. In France, it’s not so easy.” Rousteing worked hard, got good grades, and was encouraged by his parents to enroll in law school. “I like defending people,” he explains. But after a month, he bagged it to study fashion at the École Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode in Paris. He didn’t fare much better there. “I hated it,” he says. His professors, he felt, were constantly trying to tamp down his ambition. To the surprise of his family, he quit school and took off for Italy. “I wanted to change my life,” he says. Soon he was doing grunt work at Roberto Cavalli in Florence, dancing in a nightclub to make ends meet. Five years in, after he had worked his way up to the “right hand” of then head designer Peter Dundas, he decided he was homesick for Paris. He sent his CV on impulse to Christophe Decarnin, the sensitive goth genius who had not so long ago helped pull Balmain from the brink of bankruptcy and then began peddling his hugely popular $1,500 ripped jeans. Decarnin didn’t talk much. (“Literally not at all,” says Diemoz. “He was very deep in his art.”) But he made up for it when he hired Rousteing, who,

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IMAGE: REX FEATURES

”WHEN I STARTED I WAS BALMAIN’S BABY... NOW I THINK BALMAIN IS MY BABY“

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a reputation as an insatiable, eager worker who was also really fun to hang out with. “The market is in general greedy for new faces, which we perfectly know,” says Diemoz. “The fact that he was not known was risky, but it was part of the game.” After the decision was announced, several longtime employees departed. “Some people left because they couldn’t have any respect for me because I was younger. Some people stayed because they loved me and thought I was really talented,” Rousteing says. His first collection was inspired by Las Vegas, a place Rousteing had only ever seen in movies. “I think my youth helped,” he says. “Like a kid, he’s not afraid of the water if he doesn’t know how to swim. He’s just going to go in.” He based the next collection around a Fabergé egg he had seen at an auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s belongings. For another, he took the office on a trip to Versailles. The reviews were solid. But as time went on, he realized he wasn’t especially happy. Two years ago, he paced nervously before his runway show in Paris when, he says, he was approached by Suzy Menkes, then fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune. Sensing his anxiety, she offered comfort. “She said, ‘Just stay true to yourself, because when you are honest with yourself and you are happy, that’s a success.’” 264 —

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here are times in everyone’s life when a simple platitude can blow you away, and for Rousteing this was one of those times. He looked at Menkes, pompadour bobbing as she walked away, and had a revelation. “I think I have been for long insecure,” he says. “Because when I was a kid, I was trying to please my parents so much because I was scared to go back to orphanage. “On this day I realized, You know what, I am going to believe in myself, whatever we are, whatever the reviews are.” From then on, he vowed to embrace who he was: a pop-starworshipping, social-media-loving capital-M millennial. His next few collections were inspired not by long-forgotten times but by things from his own life, the streetwear of the Eighties, the androgynous glamour of childhood idols like Michael Jackson. Core members of the “Balmain Army” include Kanye West, whom Rousteing met through Decarnin, and Kim Kardashian, who in turn introduced him to the rest of her family. “We all love him,” says Kylie Jenner, who co-starred in a recent campaign. “He’s so charming, he makes you feel like he’s your friend.” Rihanna felt the same way when she visited the atelier during her Diamonds World Tour and Instagrammed all the outfits Rousteing had picked out for her. #TheyOnlyPlayMyMusicInHere #HeCalledMeHisMUSE #IDiiiiiiieeeeddd, read the captions. “That was a moment, for Olivier, when everything switched,” says Michail Papadogkonas, who identifies himself as the designer’s “best friend” and whose V-neck reveals a “bros before hos” tattoo. For one, Rousteing grasped the power of Instagram, and watching Kim Kardashian taught him a thing or two about how to exploit the medium. “We are in a world where everybody wants to see every step,” Rousteing says. “The behind-the-scenes.” At first, Balmain was not entirely on board with the photos he started posting on his own and the company’s accounts, or the selfies he took, sometimes with celebrities, always with what became his trademark expression: cheeks sucked in, lips pouty, fierce Grace Jones gaze. “I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are we going with this?’” says Diemoz. But as Balmain’s followers and sales increased, the CEO came around. Sure, the vast majority of people on social media can’t afford a $3,000 poncho, but Balmain also sells shampoo, sunglasses, perfume. “By sharing his life, he is feeding the market,” Diemoz says.

etween Rousteing’s internet presence and “celebrity outreach”, as one blog put it, the brand began picking up buzz. But the approval was not entirely universal. As the Kardashian Principle attests, popularity is accompanied by a corresponding amount of what even the French call “haters”. Articles about Rousteing refer to his work as divisive or controversial, although they don’t usually say why. Privately and online, people in the industry will say Rousteing comes across as a narcissist or that he is too awestruck by celebrities. Rousteing brushes this off. “In France we have

IMAGE: REX FEATURES

three weeks later, was in Paris, working as Decarnin’s studio manager. Despite his volubility, Rousteing is, like everyone else, circumspect on the details that led Decarnin to miss his winter 2011 show and prompted his subsequent disappearance from the industry. It was said he had a nervous breakdown, and a spokesperson, quoted anonymously, claimed he was suffering from an ailment that was “not physical”. “Obviously it was really difficult,” Rousteing says. “We were really close. I always believed in him, and obviously something amazing happened to me, but I didn’t step on him to get where I am. It is thanks to him that I got what I have today.” There were a few other obvious candidates to replace Decarnin, but Balmain’s top brass weren’t interested in hiring a “fashion diva”, according to a source inside the house. They wanted someone young and fresh. Their gaze fell on Rousteing, who had only been there a year but who had forged

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you know, that life is different than the way it was before. The mainstream is changing.” Rousteing may have scrapped the lawyer career, but he’s still found himself defending people, defending choices. If there’s a common thread among the members of his Balmain Army, it’s not race or youth, it’s that they are people whom society has built up and also sort of diminishes. The Misunderstood Famous. The Crème de la Downtrodden. “My girls and my boys, they are like warriors,” Rousteing boasts to me. His latest recruit is reformed child pop star Justin Bieber, whom he took, dressed in a glittering Prince Charming jacket, as his date to the highbrow Met Gala this year, an event that despite Bieber’s international stardom, he had never been to. “Sometimes it’s not only a matter of fighting against something, it’s a matter of believing in someone,” says Rousteing. Like a kid from Bordeaux who is tired of having to justify his existence. “It’s an honour to have you,” André Leon Talley gushed on the red carpet. “I’m really honoured to have this guy support me,” Bieber said, shrugging his gilded shoulders. Back at his office, Rousteing takes a long look at himself in the full-length mirror he keeps by his desk. “I don’t feel insecure about anything anymore,” he says. Balmain is doing well, and the company has doubled its revenue. His next show is coming up, and after that, a birthday party in Malibu. “I don’t know where I come from,” he says. But he knows who he is. “I am the prince of my own castle.”

IMAGE: REX FEATURES

this word, blasé, like it’s cool to be bored,” he says. “And I am not bored, I am ambitious. And maybe this makes them mad, because they forgot when they were sexy and young.” All designers hang out with celebrities, as one poster on a site for fashion obsessives noted: “He reminds me of Gianni Versace in the Nineties and Jean Paul Gaultier when he was young and chilling with Madonna.” For Rousteing’s critics, the problem seems to be which celebrities he’s chosen. “Balmain, the house of reality sex stars,” reads one comment on a picture Rousteing posted of the Kardashians on Instagram. “Great house going downhill.” Rousteing’s face tightens when I mention this. “Kim is so chic,” he says. The comments that the pregnant Kardashian drew when she wore a Balmain dress to last year’s Video Music Awards enraged him (example: “She looked like a baked potato”). “I don’t know how you say in English, but in French you say antiféministe,” he says, growing more heated. “Should she stay home and wear black? Because she is proud of giving birth, she doesn’t want to wear a caftan, she wants to be on the red carpet to be with her husband and supporting him. What is more beautiful than that?” That there is a racial element to the animus against the Kardashian-Wests seems undeniable. But for Rousteing the highprofile mixed-race family is inspiring. “It is to me like a modern fairy tale,” he says. “When I was a kid, I was like, ‘Where I can see this kind of couple?’” Rousteing’s own heritage remains a bit of a mystery to him. “It was always too much for me,” he tells me of his reluctance to learn more. “What if you find out your mother was raped, or a prostitute?” As a Person of Colour, he’s frequently called on to answer Big Questions about race in the fashion industry. His decision to cast Rihanna as the face of a 2014 collection wasn’t a statement, he says. Nor is his habit of casting a diverse array of models – “a mixety,” he calls it – in his shows and campaigns. It’s just common sense. “I think it’s sad,” Rousteing says of people who would wonder about these choices. “They don’t realize,

CORE MEMBERS OF THE ‘BALMAIN ARMY’ INCLUDE KANYE WEST, KIM KARDASHIAN, KYLIE JENNER AND RIHANNA

PHOTOGRAPHER: TARUN VISHWA; FARROKH CHOTHIA

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Your first tat doesn’t have to be the deepest å The worst thing you can do with a first tattoo

There was a time, not that long ago, when the only people you knew with tattoos were sailors and hippies. That time is long gone, thanks to some brilliant artists and a whole new style of impressive ink they’re churning out. Here’s where to go and who to know when you join the tattooed tribe

– besides kanji – is overthink it. (Tip: That frequently involves kanji.) A first tat should be more a design flourish than a visual history of your personality; you can get into those later, when you find an artist you can trust. For now, keep it small and place it on your chest or upper biceps so you’ll get used to showing it off at the beach. And remember: The bigger your first is, the harder it’ll be to cover when you go down the rabbit hole.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY PRABHAT SHETTY

Acquin’s chest tattoo by Ashwin Dhondge at Al’s Tattoo, Bandra, Mumbai; alstattoostudio.com JEANS BY LEVI’S

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Tattoos by Duncan Veigas at Inkfidel Tattoo, Assagao, Goa T-SHIRT BY VOXPOP. JOGGERS BY BERSHKA. SHOES BY BREAKBOUNCE

Don’t ask

å If you’re going to

start getting ink, the first thing you should know is that people are going to ask you about it. Depending on the backstory, maybe you’ll want to oblige, because it’s nice that they’re curious. But not every piece has a story – and you’re not obliged to share if it does. When you decide to get more tattoos, a shift happens: The tattoos stop having deep significances and drawn-out stories and become more about the artist, the time in your life you got it, the impulsiveness or the long wait while you saved up cash. I view my tattoos as panels of a larger mural – some I spent years working on, some exist only because I woke up one morning and thought, “I want to get a new tattoo.” —GARRETT MUNCE

THIS INK IS SFW ї In most offices, at least. But if visible tattoos are still off limits at your stuffy nine-to-five, take our advice. First: A tattoo on your upper arm is the safest because it’s the easiest to cover. Your chest is also a safe zone – just make sure never to wear a white dress shirt without an undershirt. Second: Keep your collar buttoned to the top. And finally: Be wary of picnic-chic company outings. You might be able to get away with a short-sleeve collar shirt, but you gotta wear pants.

THE 4 LEVELS OF INKED-UP OFFICE ACCEPTABILITY

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Kevin Durant

Brad Pitt

David Beckham

Gucci Mane

1. The Secret Garden Keep your tats relegated to your torso and your sponsors will never know. Best for: basketball players, hedge-funders

2. The Barista Patchwork A line drawing here, your lover’s name there. Best for: creative directors, young architects

3. The BikeMessenger Sleeves You’re sending a signal that even a double-breasted suit can’t cover. Best for: drummers, actual tattoo artists

4. The Bad Decision You have an ice cream cone on your face. Best for: Gucci Mane, felons

DECEMBER 2015

WORDS: MARK BYRNE (SFW). IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (OFFICE ACCEPTABILITY)

T-SHIRT BY THE SOULED STORE

TATTOO YOU

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THE WORLD ATLAS OF TATTOOS (FOR ALL THE IDEAS YOU NEED)

BY ANNA FELICITY FRIEDMAN AND JAMES ELKINS

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

Nikhil’s tattoo by Derek Martinez, redrockettattoo.com Aditya’s space sleeve tattoo by Duncan Veigas at Inkfidel Tattoo, Assagao, Goa

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF TATTOOS (AND WHO WORE THEM FIRST)

POLYNESIAN (MAORI) TATTOOS The word tattoo comes from the Polynesian word “tattau”, which means “to mark”.

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SAILORS...

AMERICAN REBELS

JAPANESE GANGSTAS

... Likely caught the tattoo bug from ancient Polynesian tribes. A turtle tattoo meant you’d sailed past the equator, an anchor signified you’d crossed the Atlantic.

Once tattoos got a rap for being badass, American and Russian prisoners took them on. A teardrop tattoo? That’s visual shorthand for murder.

The Yakuza have some of the most elaborate tattoos you’ll ever see. But way before that, tats had a spiritual significance for ancient Japanese tribes and sometimes were used as a mark of punishment.

DECEMBER 2015

THE REST OF THE WORLD GETS ON BOARD There has never been a better time to get inked. The scene on the Subcontinent is particularly vibrant, so you have no more excuses for that dancing Shiva.

WORDS: SHIKHA SETHI (WORLD ATLAS). IMAGE: REX FEATURES (MAORI, SAILORS, REBS, YAKUZA), THE WORLD ATLAS OF TATTOO, BY ANNA FELICITY FRIEDMAN, PUBLISHED BY THAMES & HUDSON.

Featuring some of the world’s coolest tattoo artists, who specialize in everything from geometrical inkwork to painterly styles, this is the bible for inkheads. Nagaland’s Mo Naga (see next page) is in there, as is Manjeet Singh for his photo-realistic tats, and Abhinandan Basu, master of dot work and optical illusions. Lavishly produced and beautifully designed, it may cost half a plane ticket to Goa, but it’s also got all the tattoo inspiration you’ll ever need. Available on amazon.in

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tattooing professionally after college in the hope that I could revive this tradition in Nagaland, where it’s stopped completely for the last 50-60 years.

THE NEW TRIBAL TATTOO Meet Mo Naga, the tattoo artist whose geometric “neo Naga” style is taking over arms and legs worldwide You’re an accidental anthropologist and tattoo artist. How did you become interested in Naga tattoos? I stumbled on this rich tradition in 2007 when as a NIFT graduate I was researching the traditional textiles of the Northeast. The more I studied, the more I realized that there was an urgent need to start researching and documenting this ancient art form. I took up

What did you discover? Men and women both had tattoos, but a man could usually only get one if he proved his prowess as a warrior – sometimes this meant bringing back the head of an enemy. As a general rule, though, Naga women have more elaborate tattoos to mark important occasions such as puberty, marriage, having a child. In some tribes, the only person allowed to tattoo anyone else was the queen. But it’s hard to dig deep into the history, as many of the traditional artists are old and don’t want to talk about their work. Why? With the coming of colonialism and with Christianity, tattooing the body was seen as wrong, so it’s become taboo. Most of the artists are Christian converts. What are the most popular designs you do? The protector’s eye is an important symbol, similar to the third eye of Shiva. But not all symbols can be given to

outsiders. Right now my style is very modern, with a lot of straight lines and geometrical shapes. But in the next 4-5 months, I’m working on bigger, more complex pieces. Many of the traditional tattoos include symbols of nature – tigers, birds and snakes. What kind of techniques do you use? We use modern machines and organic inks, so it’s completely safe and hygienic. But I’m also learning the traditional way of tattooing, using indigenous ink and bamboo needles. How long do the tattoos take? Anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 months. The neo Naga tattoos are about precision, and symmetry, so they take double the time of other styles, like portraits. Tell us about your tattoos. I only have one. I had it done last December by a friend, a German tattoo artist with over 30 years of experience, who was on a biking trip across the world and stopped by. It’s a fusion of Polynesian- and Nagainspired tattoos. Contact Mo Naga at Headhunters’ Ink on Facebook or [email protected]

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DECEMBER 2015

INTERVIEW: SHIKHA SETHI

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THE CURE

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THE CURE

It’s party season all over again. Here’s how to get over that brutal hangover from hell (it may involve sparrow droppings.)

t’s Sunday morning. The one after the night before, if you get my drift. The kind when you don’t wake up until the middle of the afternoon. Given a choice, I’d be fast asleep. Instead, I find myself in a bar. It is a little after 7 in the morning and I, along with a few other fools, have gathered to watch a Formula One race. Having ended the previous night not much before this hour, I’m having a bit of trouble keeping my eyes open. And my head from experiencing a dull throbbing that resonates like the inside of a race car engine. Wodehouse’s Jeeves had a marvellous pick-me-up for these occasions. The ingredients called, among other things, for raw eggs and tomato juice. Unfortunately, the admirable Jeeves never shared his secret recipe with the rest of the world, so I can’t tell you if it worked. But at my table this morning, we go for something that we know will: A Bloody Mary. 290 —

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Yes, I know. You’re reading this thinking what kind of idiot pours more alcohol into his system when he’s hungover. Well, that’s why it’s called the hair of the dog. The original old wives’ tale said that if you swallowed a hair of the dog that bit you, you wouldn’t end up with rabies. And pouring alcohol back into your system helps you get over a hangover. A Bloody Mary, with the spice and salt that go into making it, is the perfect solution. So is a very cold beer. One glass of either is all you need to start feeling human again. Any more than that and you may find yourself back on the floor. Of course you really shouldn’t be drinking so much that you have a hangover the next morning. But if you do, try the Bloody Mary remedy. Or the non-alcoholic version, which I call a Bloody Shame. You also need lots of water, though scientists disagree. The only thing water does they say, if you’re sensible enough to alternate glasses between Jaegerbombs, is

to slow down the amount you consume. That’s fine, if you’re willing to take advice from the blokes of The Big Bang Theory. Don’t drink pots of coffee. The caffeine can irritate your insides and do you more harm than good. The same is true of orange juice, which has citric acid that irritates your already tender stomach lining. For the same reason, you shouldn’t take a painkiller. On a recent visit to Budapest, having unwisely gone on a crawl through the city’s ruinpubs, I was offered the Hungarian equivalent of the pick-me-up. It involved brandy and sparrow droppings. I’m not sure about the reasoning, unless it’s to make you violently ill, getting all the alcohol out of your stomach and into the gutter. But I can say with some certainty that wandering the streets of the city in the wee hours of the morning looking for a fricking sparrow certainly cured me of mine. Grease. There’s a reason why farmyard animals are bred: So they can put on our plates necessities such as eggs and bacon and black pudding. OK, so that last one is stretching it a bit, but all that food shovelled into your gut does more than clog your arteries. It helps with the absorption of alcohol. Trust me. This is no time to be counting your cholestrol. As a quick aside, the ultimate aphrodisiacal breakfast, Eggs Benedict, was reportedly invented by a hungover New York native who was too pickled to handle a knife and fork when it came to moving grease from plate to palate. So he asked for everything to be made into a semi-sandwich. Now it’s a brunch staple. Which brings me to sex. Seriously. It has absolutely no medicinal value but it will help you focus on parts of your body that have nothing to do with your throbbing head. And finally, sleep. Draw the curtains. Pull up the covers. Set your phone on silent. And withdraw from the world. By the time you wake up, that alcohol should be on its way out of your insides. Put it to the test. Order pizza. Bring your girlfriend to climax at least twice. Look for a plot in Orange Is The New Black. Yes, apparently there is one. You just have to look past the shower scenes.

IMAGE: SMM AUSAJA/NIHARIKA BUBNA KEDIA

WRITTEN BY ANISH TRIVEDI

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WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? What to eat in Goa? Where to stay in Rajasthan? Who are India's most glamorous travellers? And what are your favourite hotels, spas and cities in the world?

This and many other burning questions are answered in Condé Nast Traveller's latest issue!

DECEMBER-JANUARY 2015-16 ISSUE ON STANDS NOW

@CNTIndia | www.cntraveller.in

THE MERCHANDISE FEATURED EDITORIALLY HAS BEEN ORDERED FROM THE FOLLOWING STORES. SOME SHOPS MAY CARRY A SELECTION ONLY. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY WERE CHECKED AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRESS, BUT WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT PRICES WILL NOT CHANGE, OR THAT SPECIFIC ITEMS WILL BE IN STOCK WHEN THE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED. WE SUGGEST THAT, BEFORE VISITING A STORE, YOU CALL TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE YOUR SIZE

011-4601 5361; Bengaluru, 080-4147 6660 Land Rover Mumbai, 022-6747 8090; Delhi, 011-4692 2222; Bengaluru, 080-4309 9999 Lanvin lanvin.com Levi’s Mumbai, 022-2202 1581; Delhi, 011-4765 7379; Bengaluru, 080-4411 3367 Longchamp longchamp.com

Louis Vuitton A

Agent Provocateur agentprovocateur.com Aigner graysonline.com Akubra strandhatters.com.au

Antar-Agni by Ujjawal Dubey ujjawaldubey.com Audi Mumbai, 022-6616 8000; Delhi, 011-4948 6000; Bengaluru, 080-2852 1547 Audemars Piguet Mumbai, Time Avenue, 022-2651 5858; Delhi, Kapoor Watch Co, 011-4134 5678

D

D's Damat dsdamat.com Damaris nancymeyer.com Dior Homme Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4600 5900

Dolce & Gabbana dolcegabbana.com Dragon deepflight.com

Dries Van Noten driesvannoten.be Dsquared2 dsquared2.com Dunhill Delhi, 011-2336 6777; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8990

Bengaluru, 080-2520 7200 Jaguar India Mumbai, 022-6747 8080; Delhi, 011-4692 2222; Bengaluru, 080-4309 9999

Mumbai, 022-6664 4134; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4669 0000; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4246 0000

M

8888; Delhi, 011-3090 000; Bengaluru, 080-2234 1661 022-6612 3800; Delhi, 011-6653 8781; Bengaluru, 080-6649 5694

022-6743 9856; Delhi, 011-4357 5253

monicavinader.com Mr. Hare mrhare.com

Raey matchesfashion.com Raghavendra Rathore Mumbai, 022-6749 9481; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4330 2233

O

Omega Mumbai, 022-6655 0351; Delhi, 011-4151 3255; Bengaluru, 080-4098 2106

Ralph Lauren

Orlebar Brown

rishtabyarjun.com Rolex Mumbai, DiA, 022-2204 2299; Delhi, Kapoor Watch Co, 011-4134 5678; Bengaluru, 080-2211 3976

orlebarbrown.com

P

Maria Black

Paul Smith

johnvarvatos.com

maria-black.com Marni marni.com Michael Kors Mumbai, Palladium, 022-4002 8040; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4056 3704

Mumbai, Palladium, 022-6658 9960; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4604 0744; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8882/3

Mimi Holiday

pochette-square.com Porsche Mumbai, 84520 00911; Bengaluru,

Koovs koovs.com Kunal Rawal kunalrawal.com L

Lacoste Mumbai, 022-4347 0190; Delhi,

mimiholiday.com Mini Mumbai, 022-6171

R

Rado Mumbai,

Monica Vinader

John Varvatos

K

88840 00911 Prada prada.com)

Mercedes-Benz Mumbai,

Pochette Square

ralphlauren.com Ray-Ban ray-ban.com

Rishta by Arjun Saluja

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Mumbai, 022-2481 3326; Delhi, 011-4343 0000 Royal Enfield Mumbai, 022-2640 9526; Delhi, 011-6590 2249; Bengaluru, 080-2244 0588

S B

E

Bally Mumbai, Palladium,

Emanuel Ungaro

022-4347 0544; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4053 4149 Bentley Mumbai, 022-6671 0907; Delhi, 011-2412 1717 Bershka bershka.com Bhane bhane.com BMW Mumbai, 022-6161 3719; Delhi, 011-6635 6064; Bengaluru, 080-2222 4544

ungaro.com

Eric Bompard eric-bompard.com

Ermanno Scervino ermannoscervino.it

Ermenegildo Zegna Mumbai, 022-2285 7000; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4606 0999; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8805 Etro etro.com

Bottega Veneta

77177; Delhi, 99113 32203

Breakbounce

Gaurav Gupta Mumbai,

breakbounce.com Brioni brioni.com

022-2269 3433; Delhi, 011-4104 2989; Bengaluru, 080-4112 1088

Brunello Cucinelli brunellocucinelli.com Burberry Mumbai, Palladium, 022-4080 1990; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4652 9850; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8826

C

Ferrari Mumbai, 98706

G

Giorgio Armani Delhi, 011-4102 7122 Givenchy givenchy.com Gucci Mumbai, Palladium, 022 6749 9491; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4647 1111

H

Calvin Klein Mumbai,

Hardy Amies

Palladium, 022-6639 1467; Delhi, 011-4108 9582; Bengaluru, 080-4098 6229 Canali Mumbai, Palladium, 022-4009 8685; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4604 0731; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8997

hardyamies.com

Castello D’oro castellodoro.com

Chantelle Paris us.chantelle.com

Christian Louboutin Mumbai, 022-4347 1787; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4101 711

PHOTO: SIGNE VILSTRUP

F

Mumbai, Palladium, 022-6615 229; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4609 8262; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8932

Harley-Davidson Mumbai, 022-6155 7777; Delhi, 99104 03759; Bengaluru, 080-4949 7676 Hermès Mumbai, 022-2271 7400; Delhi, 011-4360 7780 H&M hm.com Hugo Boss Mumbai, 022-2491 2210; Delhi, 011-4604 0773; Bengaluru, 080-2520 7200

I

Church’s

IWC Mumbai, Time

church-footwear.com Clarks Mumbai, Phoenix Mills, 022-6749 5061; Delhi, DLF Promenade, 011-4650 8023; Bengaluru, Phoenix Market City, 080-6726 6052 Corneliani Mumbai, 022-6631 1303/4; Delhi, 011-4604 0722; Bengaluru, 080-4173 8170

Avenue, 022-2651 5757; Delhi, Johnson Watch Co, 011-4151 3121; Bengaluru, Ethos Summit, 080-4099 9621

J

Jaeger-LeCoultre Mumbai, Rose The Watch Bar, 022-2362 0275; Delhi, Kapoor Watch Co, 011-4604 0773;

Salvatore Ferragamo

BLAZER BY ERMANNO SCERVINO. BRIEFS BY MYLA

Mumbai, 022-3062 1018; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4660 9084; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-3004 1854 Santoni santonishoes.com

Shantanu & Nikhil Mumbai, 022-2605 8057; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4109 6650

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TAG Heuer Mumbai, Rose, 022-2362 0275; Delhi, Johnson Watch Co, 011-4151 3121; Bengaluru, Ethos, 080-4113 0611 Tod’s Mumbai, Palladium, 022-3027 7098; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4666 2700; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4280 0000 Tom Ford Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4103 3059 Tommy Hilfiger Mumbai, 022-3072 8807; Delhi, 011-4087 0041; Bengaluru, 080-2268 2091 Topman topman.com Trèsmode Mumbai, 022-2281 3031; Delhi, 011-4103 4239; Bengaluru, 080-2802 9545 Tumi Mumbai, Palladium, 022-6615 2295; Delhi, DLF Emporio, 011-4058 2318; Bengaluru, UB City, 080-4173 8948

U

Uniqlo uniqlo.com v

Valentino valentino.com Vicomte A valextra.it Volvo Mumbai, 022-6669 6969; Delhi, 011-4327 7100; Bengaluru, 080-4545 1414

Z

Z Zegna Mumbai, 022-2285 7000; Delhi, 011-4606 0999; Bengaluru, 080-4173 8805 Zenith Mumbai, Times of Lord, 022-2369 5254; Delhi, Johnson Watch Co, 011-4151 3121

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GQ CENTRAL

For mo re, see

DOUBL E AGEN T

on

PAGE 2 28

GOOD MORNING,

VIETNAM The sun, sand, sea and palatial landscape of the Six Senses resort provided the perfect backdrop to shoot with actor Rahul Khanna

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ahul Khanna’s penchant for impeccably cut suits – and for looking perfect in them – made him the obvious guy shoot for December’s luxury fashion feature. But how do you make a GQ regular look fresh every time? Answer: With a little help from a sexy resort in Vietnam. Tucked away on the island of Ninh Van Bay, the sprawling Six Senses resort begs you to indulge. Each beach-front villa comes with a private swimming pool and unadulterated views of the ocean. And each one is so stunning that it was a no-brainer to shoot Khanna in his Rock Villa on Day One. A couple hours in, photographer Kenneth Lam, Khanna and the rest of the team got onto bicycles to wander around the resort, stopping at a lush fruit garden to click a few more shots. For lunch, the team enjoyed a Vietnamese BBQ, lobster and king prawns, with a side of pho and papaya salad – some of which was off

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Sun kissed

pernova

Champagne su

p y p amazing GQ team and frequent swimming breaks made it feel more like a holiday with friends!” –Rahul Khanna

the menu. Shooting continued through the afternoon before we were treated to a tour of the surrounding cliffs and forest. Dinner was another lavish feast: Pork Vindaloo at Chulha, the hotel’s Indian restaurant. It was sumptuous enough to warrant a good night’s sleep and a late lie-in the next morning, but Khanna was up at the break of dawn anyway, enjoying the gorgeous sunrise and the hotel’s whitewashed beach. Six Senses felt like a relaxing getaway as much as a work trip. We’d grown so used to the staff’s tremendous hospitality that saying goodbye was hard, but we promised to return, with the prospect of a whole lot more play the next time. 298 —

DECEMBER 2015

Six Senses Resort Ninh Vân, tx. Ninh Hòa, Khánh Hòa, Vietnam +84 58 3728 222

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2015

INDIA `150

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HOMES IN THE WORLD

THE ART ISSUE SCULPTURAL SPACES BY THUKRAL & TAGRA KOHELIKA KOHLI RAJIV SAINI

ARTISTS & THEIR STUDIOS

SUDARSHAN SHETTY SUBODH GUPTA RAVINDER REDDY

INDIA’S POWER COLLECTORS PLUS ON THE SETS OF SPECTRE

REM KOOLHAAS

WHAT DAMIEN HIRST DID NEXT

THE ART OF LIVING AD goes inside the art-filled homes of some of India’s leading collectors and the studios of seven of the country’s most influential contemporary artists.

STREET SMART

GRAFFITI IN INDIA IS NO LONGER ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT

DESIGNED TO THRILL ON THE SETS OF SPECTRE, THE LATEST JAMES BOND FILM

HELLO MIAMI

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER ISSUE ON STANDS NOW @archdigestindia

architecturaldigestindia

archdigestindia

GQ CENTRAL

A DIVA IN DIWA Katrina Kaif’s sexiest shoot yet has us sweating in the winter

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he’s kneeling on the beach in Goa, attired in only a jacket and lingerie, her shoulders and toes speckled with sand, her bronzed, wet skin glistening in the sun. But Katrina Kaif is not the only sight to behold. Looming behind us is the Alila Diwa Goa, the location for GQ’s cover shoot with the actor. Despite being a 5-star hotel, the property exudes a boutique feel, and the level of service hangs in the air like a heady fragrance. A rare feat in Goa, where one is forced to choose between impersonal luxury and design-led edge, often lacking comfort. Katrina is staying at the Diwa Club, which has its own entrance, in-room check-in and a private pool with an open-air jacuzzi. Combine that with gourmet East-meetsWest food at the Spice Studio, and it’s really no wonder that our cover star exudes that dewy, blissed-out glow that’s normally the result of a 5-star vacation.

Alila Diwa Goa 48/10, Village Majorda Adao Waddo, Salcete, Goa — 403713 India +91 832-274 6800 www.alilahotels.com/diwagoa

For more, see HURRICANE KAT

on PAGE 214 302 —

DECEMBER 2015

PHOTOGRAPH: ERRIKOS ANDREOU

PRESENTS

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO

Destination Weddings DREAMY DESTINATIONS • ICONIC HOTELS • ROMANTIC WEDDING STORIES • EXPERTS’ INSIDER SECRETS • FASHION & ACCESSORIES FOR THE BRIDE AND GROOM • CELEBRATED WEDDING PLANNERS All this and much more...

AVAILABLE ALONG WITH OUR FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 ISSUE

For advertising queries, please email [email protected]

THE SEASON IN STANDOUT FASHION, FRAGRANCE, ACCESSORIES AND MORE Get layered

It’s that time of the year when you want to look your best. Explore the Autumn/ Winter 2015-16 collection by Being Human Clothing. It brings you hot new trends, straight from the runways of London, New York, Paris and Milan. This heavily distressed jacket, for instance, is for those wanting a rugged, lived-in look. Throw it on over a casual long-sleeved T-shirt, pair with grunge denims and lace-up boots and channel the American cowboy.

Eternal masculinity

Priced `7,999. Available exclusively at Being Human across India. For more information, visit beinghumanclothing.com

Fresh, exhilarating and exotic, ETERNITY NOW FOR MEN by Calvin Klein has an undeniable masculine appeal. An oriental fougère fragrance, it opens with spicy ginger, refreshing coconut and star anise. While the mid-notes reveal star fruit, cedar leaf, patchouli, the base awakens the senses with Moroccan cedar wood, tonka bean and Madagascar vanilla. Bottled in a clear glass flacon with a masculine shape, this new fragrance is perfect for the party season.

Saluti signore

Whether it’s food, fashion, cars or charming the ladies, let’s be honest, no one does it more stylishly than the Italians. A fine example would be Peroni Nastro Azzurro. This refreshing super-premium lager has a crisp character and an irrefutable touch of Italian style. An expertly brewed beer, it is made from the finest quality of spring barley, maize, malts and hops for those who appreciate the finer nuances of this beverage.

Priced `5,400 (Eau de Parfum 100ml) and `3,950 (Eau de Parfum 50ml). Available at select Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Parcos and Central outlets, amazon.in and nykaa.com

Priced `125. Available in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Goa, Bangalore and Chandigarh

Shady styles

It may be a tad early for Spring/Summer 2016 collections, but we couldn’t resist showcasing this stunning pair of sunglasses from Ermenegildo Zegna’s compilation. With a classic square shape, the devil is in the details. While discreet metallic elements decorate the ends of the front, the temples feature smart metallic plaques where the brand’s logo is engraved. With a wide range of classic colours, these sunglasses make for a stylish summer accessory. No harm in preparing for the upcoming season. Priced `27,100. Available at Ermenegildo Zegna boutiques across India

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DECEMBER 2015

Crisp not crunchy

Have a destination wedding to attend? Ditch the iron and pack the new NonIron Royal Oxford Dress Shirt by Brooks Brothers. Treated to remain wrinklefree, this shirt is crafted from Americangrown Super 100s 2-ply Supima® cotton. Featuring the brand’s signature buttondown collar and pucker-free seams, this shirt is all about making you look sharp. Priced `6,990. Available in Mumbai at Palladium Mall, Delhi and Gurgaon at Ambience Mall, Chandigarh at Elante Mall, Chennai at Phoenix MarketCity, Hyderabad at Banjara Hills and Bangalore at 100 ft Road, Indira Nagar

Cashmere it in

This winter, Italian menswear brand Corneliani introduces the Cashmere Élan Collection. The bandhgalas, doublebreasted blazers and sleeveless jackets from this collection are an elegant hybrid between a formal coat and a sports blazer, and are crafted from the rarest baby goat fibre. This crimson bandhgala, paired with slim-fit trousers will add a regal touch to your winter wardrobe. Priced `1,97,000 onwards (Jackets) `30,000 onwards (Scarves), `49,000 onwards (Pullovers). Available in Mumbai at The Taj Mahal Palace, Delhi at DLF Emporio and Bangalore at The Collection, UB City Mall

Scent and sensitivity

ICON, the new fragrance from the house of Dunhill, is all about bringing a touch of sensitivity to raw masculine strength. A fusion of rare and exotic ingredients, ICON opens with Italian bergamot, neroli absolute and a racy black pepper. While the mid notes reveal cardamom and Lavender de Provence, its base notes bring you the warmth of oud wood, Oris leather, earthy vertiver and oak.

Tic talk

Iconic and unstoppable, the new Calvin Klein Infinite is a timeless construction inspired by accuracy and elegance. Featuring a PVD pink gold case, this one-of-a-kind timepiece comes with a black leather strap. The watch also showcases the “Calvin Klein” logo at 12 o’clock and has polished white superluminova hour and minute hands that illuminate in the dark.

Priced `6,950 (100ml) and `5,300 (50ml). Available Parcos outlets across India

Priced `20,700. For more information, visit explore.calvinklein.com/en_ROW/explore/ ckwatchesandjewelry/home/products/

Suave means sartorial

Carry on business

Samsonite’s GT Supreme, is a collection of travel bags for businessmen who are always on the go. Featuring backpacks, tablet cases, rolling totes and more, each bag is fitted with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) protected pockets that secure your electronics. Crafted from heavy-duty ballistic nylon and premium leather, the GT Supreme makes for a perfect travel companion. Price on request. Available at Samsonite retail outlets across India. For more information, visit samsoniteindia.com

Bespoke clothing speaks volumes about your personal sense of style. It’s about taking a current trend and making it your own. Raymond Madeto-Measure Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection showcases exquisite fabrics, classic silhouettes and a sophisticated colour palette for men with discerning fashion sensibilities. Whether it’s the Business collection, playful Leisure line or the grand Ceremonial compilation, this season the brand is all set to help you create your own signature style. Price on request. For more information, visit raymondmtm.com

DECEMBER 2015

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OPEN LETTER

you want us back in your pants, unless Put your pumped-up fists come all this ’ve We . artfully stubbled face to introduce ours to your is about to DJ e dop t tha , ival e music fest way to attend our favourit is blocking our flailing bucket of Smirnoff come on stage, and your view. sticks, glowlover, but with your selfie You purport to be a music thrusting in ic too much kandi and pelv in-the-dark T-shirts, way d of candykin rst wo the firm yourself as all-girl moshpits, you con ity we pid stu ant vac of pe vast landsca ass, stalking around this rave. know as the modern-day down for your daddy, let us break this Before you go calling for mittee who got com h man” in the organizing ow meow and stuff you. We don’t have a “ma line our Jockeys with me n’t s and did We ty. par ter r-af afte the at Nagar original subwoofer to us passes and access tomized cars banging Lajp cus in e her collab. So up rix e Gar driv rtin n’t Ma arettes. We did now for a Badshah and our girl’s lingerie with cig wasn’t us screaming just ly tain cer it And fs. roo our sun said girls sprouting out of y are you even here? and our big question: Wh er wat e som b, doo a MPDG bunny on MDMA e’s her Is getting a selfie with an m? the w follo to ide dec and assistant n film for you, you junior l crowd’s WhatsApp group ld be a great big Zac Efro Did you hack into the coo cou life t tha k thin to did you just happen top on your bucket list? Or red in Coimbatore? arte dqu hea and Fatboy techie at a startup version of LinkedIn. Tiësto kind of socially acceptable e som of ival side fest r this you is Your Friends. Nor ressing them thus from Sorry man, life isn’t We Are names and insist on add first ir the no d” And che r. ear me “res sum ressed that you ssed your way through Slim aren’t going to be imp because you’ve bench-pre lla. Guess what: to fall into your arms just ng goi is e chi were so “tight” at Coache hoo ond No . Bey & ve Abo the console how ut abo ng ant-to-be-overheard moani one is listening to your me year. A&B weren’t invited this and e, why? Everyone’s got YouTub ’ve got it all wrong. Know for this “epic” weekend, you i’s Lev e r urit you favo of r se you e you spent distressing sound like, before the noi No matter how much tim ember what that used to Rem sic. mu the ut abo isn’t about you. It’s Because a music festival out all the pleasure? ed wn dro ts and es social anxieti roders and FlyLos, Ratata our idols, our Giorgio Mo see to ime sharing of lifet a The : of nce nce ivals are the cha nal, harmonious experie For some of us, these fest .) It’s meant to be a commu you h that made s wit e one don The not ms. re roo we’ gle yet, sung along to in our bed or to d nge Disclosures. (Don’t go Goo dba hea ve we’ t and over again. Others tha songs we’ve played over s e. le remixes of David Guetta’ adolescence a better plac g strobe lights and multip hin flas and nis ere leti wh App p an, cra stroy” the beaches of Dam of advice: Return to your yet, next year, plan to “de So we have a few words m, which w the lyrics to). Or, better kno you g re of trying to impress the son ssu one pre t the “Love Is Gone” (aka ’ll just save yourself all tha You . cks chi zero h Wit e. lywood styl you can party all night. Bol place, you know? like such an ass in the first ave beh you g kin ma is what’s Stay Plurnt,

308 —

DECEMBER 2015

WORDS: NIDHI GUPTA. IMAGE: ALAMY

eon afro and imitation Dear guy with a faux-n ide shack on the Wayfarers from a roads highway,

COMPLIMENTARY WITH GQ DECEMBER 2015

ODE TO AN ICON

A TRIBUTE TO CHARLES CORREA INDIA’S MOST INFLUENTIAL ARCHITECT

MEN AT WORK DESIGNERS WITH EDGE

FINE TASTE

A GUIDE TO INDIA’S BEST DESIGNED RESTAURANTS BARS & CAFÉS’

A HOME FOR $500 MILLION

A GUIDE TO INDIA’S FINEST LUXURY HOMES

6 —

LUXE ADDRESSES 2016

PHOTOGRAPHER: KATE DAVIS-MACLEOD; STYLED BY: VIJENDRA BHARDWAJ; HAIR: CRAIG TAYLOR/ONE REPRESENTS, LONDON; MAKEUP: SONIA DEVENEY / ONE REPRESENTS,

T

hrilling times are here — India's burgeoning real estate sector is estimated to swell fivefold, hitting the $676 billion mark by 2025. A decade away from real estate’s big bang, this special edition comes replete with myriad choices for the luxury homeowner. True to our creed, we turn the spotlight to men in design and decode what inspires that big idea as well as what drives their design sensibility in equal measure to their ambition. Spaces, and homes in particular, have graduated from mere enclaves of utility and comfort to holistic experiences. Plunge pools with breathtaking views, lounges bedecked in world class art, one-touch security systems, temperature-controlled botanical terraces, state-of-the-art gaming and theatre sanctums, etc., are modest stipulations on buyers’ checklists. The global Indian’s travels and tastes, now serve as an important catalyst to the process of owning and decorating a home. The men in this issue stand testimony. Exclusivity marked by discerning design elements, leave alone postcodes, pledge extravagant experiences to the man who exemplifies the good life. Welcome to GQ Luxe Addresses 2016.

EDITOR

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Arjun

Che Kurrien

MANAGING EDITOR Maniza

Bharucha Bhardwaj ART DIRECTOR Mihir Shah PHOTO DIRECTOR Gizelle Cordo DEPUTY EDITORS Shikha Sethi, Dave Besseling FASHION DIRECTOR Vijendra

DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR Vivek

Surve Shah AUTO & WATCH EDITOR Varun Godinho ASSISTANT EDITOR Nidhi Gupta FASHION FEATURES EDITOR Shivangi Lolayekar SENIOR COPY EDITOR Vritti Rashi Goel JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR Tanya Vohra FASHION BOOKINGS EDITOR Vasundhara Sharma FASHION STYLIST (LONDON) Ravneet Channa SYNDICATIONS MANAGER Michelle Pereira JUNIOR PHOTO EDITOR Pallavi Kumar SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Richa Khonde SYNDICATIONS COORDINATOR Giselle D’Mello EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Vidisha Srinivasan FASHION ASSISTANT Desiree Fernandes LIFESTYLE EDITOR Megha

DIGITAL EDITOR Rochelle

Pinto D’souza, Pauline Zonunpuii PHOTO RESEARCHER (DIGITAL) Simone Dhondy EDITORIAL ASSISTANT (DIGITAL) Sanika Waglay

ASSISTANT EDITORS (DIGITAL) Meryl

Mehra

PUBLISHER Almona Bhatia ADVERTISING DIRECTOR (NEW DELHI) Kapil Kapoor SENIOR ADVERTISING MANAGER Sneha Mahant Mehta ADVERTISING MANAGERS Mala Kashyap, Vinayak Ambekar ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER (NEW DELHI) Siddhartha Swarup ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Priyank Vora ITALY SALES REPRESENTATIVE Angelo Carredu US ADVERTISING MANAGER Alessandro Cremona ASIA SALES REPRESENTATIVE Kim Kenchington MIDDLE EAST SALES REPRESENTATIVE IAS Media DIGITAL COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Archana Jhangiani DIGITAL SALES MANAGERS (NEW DELHI) Akshat Saxena, Kritika Sharma MANAGER – CUSTOM SOLUTIONS (BENGALURU) Anitha Ramabhadran COMMERCIAL MANAGER – DIGITAL Ishani Roychoudhary MARKETING DIRECTOR Oona Dhabhar MARKETING MANAGER Komal Puri ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER Aditi Sharma ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – SUBSCRIPTIONS Bindu Nambiar AGM – ADMIN & SUBSCRIPTIONS OPS Boniface D’Souza ASSISTANT MANAGER – SUBSCRIPTIONS Radhika Dani PR MANAGER Yasmin Ranijiwala ASSISTANT PR MANAGER Aishwarya Chhetri HEAD – EVENTS Neha Mishra ASSISTANT MANAGER – EVENTS Mansi Harkisandas CREATIVE DIRECTOR – PRINT PROMOTIONS Dipti Soonderji Mongia SENIOR PROMOTIONS MANAGER – COPY Sherrie A Marker PROMOTIONS MANAGER Tarana Sheth Sabharwal SENIOR PROMOTIONS WRITER Kinjal Vora SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Malavika Jadhav COPY EDITOR AND WRITER – PROMOTIONS Karishma Mehrotra GRAPHIC DESIGNER Karishma Gupta CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Prem Abraham MANAGER – ALLIANCES Kosha Gala CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Jeeson Kollannur

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Amit

Navarange PRODUCTION MANAGER Sunil Nayak COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION MANAGER Sudeep Pawar

FINANCE DIRECTOR Vishandas Hardasani SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Dattaprasanna Bhagwat ACCOUNTANTS Anthony Paulose, Nitin Chavan

GQ LUXE ADDRESSES 2016

A. Shah MANAGING EDITOR Nisha Samson ART DIRECTOR Ashish Sahi PROJECT MANAGER Deepti Bellad FASHION EDITOR Kushal Parmanand FASHION BOOKINGS EDITOR Apoorva Singh GRAPHIC DESIGNER Varun Patil CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Ayushi Dalmia COPY EDITOR Risha Merchant CONTRIBUTING WRITER Arzoo Dina JUNIOR FASHION STYLIST Arshia Kachwala FASHION ASSISTANT Janine Dubash

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Nishant Jalan PLANNING MANAGER Alisha Goriawala

EDITOR Sukanya

MANAGING DIRECTOR Alex

ASSOCIATE MANAGER – HUMAN RESOURCES Disha Makharia DIGITAL DIRECTOR Gaurav Mishra HEAD – TECHNOLOGY Arshad Kazi HEAD – AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Mayuri Nigam PRODUCT MANAGER Shefali Pandey UX DESIGNER Anurag Jain TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGERS

Amrita Sudheendran, Dipak Raghuwanshi SENIOR EXECUTIVE – AD TECH Sandeep Tiwari SENIOR EXECUTIVE – DIGITAL MARKETING Tanishta Singh DIRECTOR – VIDEO Anita Horam CREATIVE PRODUCERS Amrita Mahindroo, Ishita Bahadur EA TO MANAGING DIRECTOR Andrea D’souza

Kuruvilla

Conde Nast India Pvt. Ltd. MUMBAI 2nd Floor, Darabshaw House, Shoorji Vallabhdas Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001, India Tel: +91 22 6611 9000 Fax: +91 22 6611 9001 NEW DELHI Unit No. 503-B, 5th Floor, Salcon Rasvilas, Plot No. D-1, Saket District Centre, New Delhi 110017, India Tel: +91 11 4066 9000 Fax: +91 11 4066 9001 DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONDE NAST UK

Albert Read Coleridge

PRESIDENT, CONDE NAST INTERNATIONAL LTD. Nicholas

RNI.NO.: MAHENG/2008/27014. Printed and published by Almona Bhatia on behalf of Conde Nast India Pvt. Ltd. Printed at Thomson Press India Ltd., 18/35, Delhi-Mathura Road, Faridabad — 121 007, Haryana and published at 2nd Floor, Darabshaw House, Shoorji Vallabhdas Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001. Editor: CJ Kurrien. Processed at Commercial Reprographers. Distributed by Living Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. Manuscripts, drawings and other materials must be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. However, GQ cannot be responsible for unsolicited material. CHAIRMAN, CONDE NAST INTERNATIONAL LTD. 8 —

LUXE ADDRESSES 2016

Jonathan Newhouse

ROCHE BOBOIS Unusual elegance and bespoke style, defines the iconic furniture brand's design philosophy

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ith a legacy spanning over 50 years, the name Roche Bobois is no stranger to the world of high-fashion decor. The French luxury furniture, accessories and home furnishings brand is known worldwide for its eclectic designs – a blend of creativity with a timeless aesthetic for pieces that are as iconic as they are innovative. Roche Bobois’ story dates back to the 1960’s. A chance encounter between two families – the Roche and the Chouchan – at a furniture expo in Copenhagen and their shared vision to import Scandinavian furniture in Paris, led to them merging businesses. As individuals from the post-war period began looking at new design influences, the label drew heavily from sophisticated Scandinavian furniture, breaking away from traditional, fluid forms, towards bold and unique interior elements. It’s this notion of combining fashion-forward designs that’s continued even today, leading to the brand’s popularity among decor connoisseurs and discerning patrons. Today, it has warranted its presence across 50 countries, including India, the USA, the UAE, China and Luxembourg, among others, with over 250 showrooms and counting. 10 —

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INSPIRED COLLECTIONS Plush yet comfortable, modern yet timeless, the legendary company is synonymous with fine furniture and exclusive style. Considered a trendsetter in the design world, Roche releases two new collections each season, often teaming up with established fashion houses and designers to bring out furniture and decor accessories that are diverse, yet epitomise understated luxury that they are known for. Using some of the finest fabrics and leathers, textures and materials, each piece is crafted to perfection. Part of its design philosophy is allowing consumers to customise their furniture, from carefully sourced materials, to create a piece that is bespoke and defines one’s personality. Les Contemporains and Nouveaux Classiques – the brand’s standing collections are refreshed each year. While the former is futuristic and edgy, the latter harks back to the traditional with a melange of original prints and textures.

LES CONTEMPORAINS Avant-garde and advanced, this line features sleek, contemporary designs in a vibrant colour palette. Dining and coffee tables, sofas and modular wall units, lighting and accessories – each element tells a story. For instance, Mah Jong, one of the brand’s most iconic and recognised pieces is crafted by Hans Hopfer. It breaks away from the design mould, with a modular lounge sofa and is upholstered in one of the finest fabrics available.

NOUVEAUX CLASSIQUES Classic designs never go out of style. And when combined with a hint of modernity, you get statement pieces that go beyond the constraints of time and trends. For instance, the Fifty-Fifty trend that draws inspiration from the colourful '50s, uses playful patterns and hues, but with a modern twist. The elegant Lieto collection with a mixed wood and metal table and a bevelled marble-top buffet, is another fine example, or the Aries Sofa upholstered in Sonia Rykiel Maison fabrics.

REINTERPRETING MODERNISM “We want to provoke visual sensations and establish a dialogue between the design and the user,” says Nicolas Roche, creative director, Roche Bobois, while explaining their latest Autumn/ Winter 2015-2016 collection that underlines the theme of 'Experience’. Take the ‘Quiet Life’ recliner or the padded egg-shaped ‘Aircell’. Each creation in this collection exudes the notion of experience. Comfort, as part of the Experience theme, also takes on a modern definition in this year’s collection. “Today, we want to see comfort, not just experience it. We no longer sit down on a sofa simply to watch television. We read and work there as well, using our tablet or computer; it needs to be multi-functional,” he explains. At the heart of the brand’s philosophy is savoirfare combined with design, original fabrics and an attention to detail that’s made them a step above the others in the luxury decor space. Although the brand has been on an expansion spree, Roche Bobois has never strayed from its guiding principles of maintaining quality, comfort, individuality and exclusivity.

ICONIC COLLABORATIONS Apart from a talented team of in-house designers, Roche Bobois regularly teams up with leading names in the fashion and design world, such as Stephen Burks, Christophe Delcourt, Ora-ïto and Cédric Ragot, to name a few. Over the years, they has also partnered with several high-end decor houses including Missoni Home, Sonia Rykiel and Jean Paul Gaultier, to design and curate exclusive collections. Promoting new talent allows the design house to imbibe new techniques and styles. The Roche Bobois Design award, the fourth edition in Germany, is one such initiative, encouraging upcoming fashion designers, artists and architects to lend a unique personality and modern aesthetic to their collection. Available exclusively at Roche Bobois, Mumbai, Tower 1, Indiabulls Finance Centre, Elphinstone (W), Mumbai 400013; Tel: +91 22-61062222; Email: mumbai@roche-bobois. com Roche Bobois, Bangalore, 7/1 Ulsoor Road, Opposite Purvankara, Head Office, Bangalore 560042; Tel: +91 80-41233336; Email: [email protected]

COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT PERIOD STYLE The Fifty-Fifty trend draws inspiration from the glamorous fifties while implementing a newage style with its design and finishes. Upgrade your space with the elegant Lieto table, with its arborescent base and bevelled marble or walnutveneered top, paired along with the Ixilon solid beech chair, for a modern-vintage aesthetic.

PATTERN PLAY The Graphisme trend features a bold blend of hypnotic prints, offset shapes and myriad colours.

INFORMALLY ELEGANT The Comfort trend is de rigueur for a contemporary look, while conveying comfort and warmth with their smooth silhouettes. If you're rooting for style over staccato, decorate your abode with Quiet Life, the reclining swivel chair and the Beam floor lamp with a hand-blown Murano glass shade.

Accents such as the Rosace cupboard in a 3-D faceted foampadded fabric and the monochrome, handmade Optical vases, lend a strong visual impact to the modern bachelor pad.

LUXE ADDRESSES 2016 — 13

CONTENTS 18 MEN AT WORK Designers with edge 40 HEY GOOD LOOKIN'! Because technology should look as good as it feels 70 GENTLEMAN'S LAIR Bachelor pad 101 76 ODE TO AN ICON A tribute to Charles Correa — India's most influential architect 80 FINE TASTE A guide to India's best designed restaurants, bars and cafés

90 A HOME FOR $500 MILLION This 100,000 sq. ft. gigamansion in Los Angeles is up for grabs 96 GLOSSARY COVER LOCATION COURTESY: ROCHE BOBOIS, MUMBAI PHOTOGRAPHER: PRASAD NAIK STYLED BY: KUSHAL PARMANAND MODEL: GAURAV ARORA HAIR & MAKEUP: GEORGE P KRITIKOS/ ANIMA CREATIVE MANAGEMENT PRODUCTION: APOORVA SINGH FASHION ASSISTANTS: ARSHIA KACHWALA, JANINE DUBASH ON GAURAV SWEATER BY HERMÈS. JACKET BY CANALI. TROUSERS BY DIOR HOMME. OVERCOAT BY CORNELIANI. SHOES BY HEEL AND BUCKLE. WATCH BY OMEGA. BRIEFCASE BY LOUIS VUITTON. PRELUDE PAGES LOCATION COURTESY: SIMONE NATURALLY INSPIRED PHOTOGRAPHER: FABIEN CHARUAU ART DIRECTION: ASHISH SAHI PRODUCTION: APOORVA SINGH

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PHOTOGRAPHER: SUSI BELIANSKA; STYLED BY: VIJENDRA BHARDWAJ; HAIR & MAKEUP: CLAUDIO FERRI

84 COMING HOME Ditch your regular hotel chain for these serviced apartments across Europe

CONTENTS AN ADVERTORIAL/ PROMOTIONAL SECTION `10 CRORE +

50 FOUR SEASONS PRIVATE RESIDENCES BANGALORE AT EMBASSY ONE, BANGALORE Embassy Group 52 THE RESERVE, MUMBAI Runwal Group 54 SAPPHIRE, NATRAJ, MUMBAI AND RAHEJA CASCADES, LONAVALA S Raheja Realty

`2 CRORE +

62 KING’S DOMAIN AND GINGER AT GREENAGE, BANGALORE Salarpuria Sattva Group 64 ADARSH PALM ACRES, BANGALORE Adarsh Developers 66 RAHEJA EXOTICA SORENTO, MUMBAI Raheja Universal Pvt Ltd 68 HIRANANDANI PARKS, CHENNAI AND HIRANANDANI FORTUNE CITY, PANVEL Hiranandani Communities

DISCLAIMER: “The information contained in this supplement has been prepared solely for the purpose of providing information to interested parties about luxury residential apartments in the various cities/ states of India and the same is based upon the information provided to Condé Nast India. You are therefore requested to verify this information and the authenticity thereof before you act upon the same. The contents of this supplement are purely conceptual and have no legal binding on Condé Nast India. All images of drawings, amenities, facilities, etc. shown in this supplement are subject to change and in reality may appear different for various reasons, including colour schemes. No representation is made or warranty given (either express or implied) as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein. While every care has been taken in the compilation of the information provided in this supplement and every attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that variations will not occur. Readers are requested to conduct their independent inquiries before acting on the information contained herein and Condé Nast India does not accept any responsibility for or any loss or damage suffered in this regard. The information provided herein and the views expressed herein are not of Condé Nast India and Condé Nast India does not accept any responsibility for the same.”

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PHOTOGRAPHER: SUSI BELIANSKA; STYLED BY: VIJENDRA BHARDWAJ; HAIR & MAKEUP: CLAUDIO FERRI

60 LEELA RESIDENCES, BHARTIYA CITY BANGALORE Bhartiya City

SHOWCASE

MEN AT WORK

MOODBOARD A collection of sketches, photographs and inspirations on Gautam Sinha’s pinboard in his personal studio.

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WORDS: SAMIR WADEKAR AND DIVYA MISHRA; PHOTOGRAPHER: ANSHUMAN SEN; STYLED BY: SURBHI SETHI

We pry into the workspaces of five leading men in design and decode their aesthetic

A R E VO LU T I O N A RY C E R A M I C M AT E R I A L SaphirKeramik, a high-tech material driving innovative design. With its precise, thin-walled forms and tight-edge radii, Laufen brings a new language to bathrooms. Collection INO, design by Toan Nguyen.

www.fcmlindia.com | [email protected] FCML Bangalore : 080 41169343 FCML Delhi : 011 26800482/92

| |

FCML Chennai : 044 42176167 FCML Mumbai : 022 49261200

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GAUTAM SINHA FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, NAPPA DORI

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MAKING THE CUT 1. Gautam Sinha in his Sultanpur village workspace. 2. A curation of Sinha’s Nappa Dori products, material and personal work tools. 3. Sinha has decorated his personal space and desktop with art and design artefacts that inspire him.

Gautam Sinha’s Nappa Dori is a lifestyle brand that retails stationery, accessories and home decor products. A tribute to Indian sensibilities — it has gained recognition by blending craftsmanship and fine materials with contemporary design. With an eye for austere aesthetics and a passion for leather, Sinha created Nappa Dori in 2010 as a vintage expression of an urban lifestyle brand. While the footprint in India continues to grow with three retail stores in New Delhi and launches scheduled for Mumbai and Bangalore, a strong digital presence prevails through the website (nappadori.com) and Instagram account (@nappadori).

What do you love about your space? Definitely the natural light — it transforms your state of mind and design.

What was the first product you designed for the brand? The first product I made was a classic metal trunk with a modern take. My father was in the air force and we moved a lot, so I have seen these trunks throughout my childhood.

Define your aesthetic in a word. Minimalist.

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Do you have any pet peeves about your desktop? I am a cleanliness freak; my biggest peeve is clutter. I like things in their place — perfectly aligned if possible. What are your workspace essentials? A big work desk, music, good stationery and a measuring tape. I love pencils, pens, rulers, scissors — anything to do with writing and creativity.

How has social media changed the way you conduct business? It’s an essential part of every business. One

needs to embrace it to reach a wider audience. Favourite Instagram accounts: @symmetrybreakfast is a visual delight for any food lover. @adamsenotori is a pilot and photographer whose aerial views are just awesome. I just love the dark, yet serene compositions by @local_milk. @thiswildidea is about a man and his dog, in its truest sense. Favourite stores and galleries: I absolutely love visiting design stores whenever I travel — Merci in Paris; Hutspot in Amsterdam; and Recollection in Antwerp. My favourite museum is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. What are you currently working on? Something new is always brewing at our studio. The next line of bags is something I am very excited about. We are also coming up with more stationery products.

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NIKHIL SHARMA FOUNDER, LACQUER EMBASSY

Nikhil Sharma defines his men’s fashion brand as a combination of classic influences and modern culture. While focusing heavily on detail and minimalist silhouettes, the label has managed to find a seamless yet timeless aesthetic. He set up base in New Delhi’s Hauz Khas, dividing the studio into three distinct sections: his office, store and sampling unit. How did you find this space? This used to be a bakery and cafe called Elmas, which I used to frequent. I had an instant connection to the space and when they relocated I was lucky to find this for my brand. What is your favourite spot here? It has to be this cosy spot (pictured left). Even when I am involved in non-creative tasks, it’s still my favourite section. Define your aesthetic in a word. Polished. In what way has e-commerce changed your business? I didn’t want my products to have a limited reach due to geographical limitations. It’s a necessity to be present online nowadays. We also get a lot of growth in terms of business as people order things almost instantly when they see what they like. Name five fashion staples for men. A well-fitted white shirt, a good pair of brown leather shoes, a silk pocket square, a well-crafted wallet and a blazer for day-to-night transformation.

FASHION FORWARD 1. Nikhil Sharma at his desk. 2. A curation of pieces designed for the brand, work tools and personal objects. 3. A section of the Lacquer Embassy store in Hauz Khas Village.

Oddest request from a customer: Stingray leather for the collar of a shirt! An overrated trend. Loud luxury logo display! Also, I am not sure why people blindly follow trends without knowing if it truly suits them. 3

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Born in Galway, Ireland, Enda Noone grew up in an environment where culture, art, literature and music were at the centre of daily life. After studying music and film, and getting a management degree in Dublin, he worked at setting up new ventures in London before moving to India to set up Ikka Dukka, with his friend from college, Nilisha Kohli. The duo conceived this passion project aiming to bring to the Indian market all the things they love. With an eclectic collection of books, fashion and home decor, Ikka Dukka has turned into one of India’s best-curated websites.

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ENDA NOONE FOUNDER, IKKADUKKA.COM

How did it all begin? It all began over a hot port, back in an old Dublin pub. After unsuccessfully trawling through the stores in search of unique gifts, Nilisha and I wondered: If we created items that we loved, would there be others like us who would love them too? It grew from there. What was your biggest challenge? Finding the right craftsmen, who could not only interpret our designs, but who also care as much about quality as we do. What would you add to your office? A showroom space so that people could come and see the products we are working on. Where do you shop online? Mr. Porter (mrporter.com) for great clothes; Abe Books (abebooks.com) for rare vintage books; and the Victoria and Albert Museum shop website (vam.ac.uk) for its incredible one-off finds and books.

DIGITAL DOMAIN 1. Enda Noone in his Gurgaon office. 2. A collection of products available on Ikkadukka.com. 3. A corner in Noone’s personal office.

Fondest shopping memory: My 1920's watch, with a well-worn leather strap, that I found in London’s Portobello Market. 3

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SANJAY GARG FOUNDER AND DESIGNER, RAW MANGO

What did you think of this office space when you first saw it? It was very far from the city, but the place really connected with me. However angry or mad I am, all the pressure in my head just calms down because the only sound you can hear is birds chirping.

WARP AND WEFT 1. Sanjay Garg in his Chattarpur studio in New Delhi. 2. A sampling of handwoven fabrics, sketches and curios from Garg’s studio.

Five essentials for work: Natural light, flowers, my laptop, books and my old textiles. Inspired by history and culture, Sanjay Garg, a textile design graduate from New Delhi’s National Institute of Fashion Technology, is busy reinventing India’s traditional handwoven fabrics. In 2008, he founded his label Raw Mango, and broke new ground with his line of re-engineered Chanderi saris, transforming them from stiff, heavy garments to fluid, near-weightless drapes that combined colours and motifs in daring new ways. From a small town in Rajasthan to having some of his works displayed in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, this perfectionist, who finds beauty in imperfection, has come a long way.

imperfect, and those imperfections make for a beautiful aesthetic. We never work with master craftsmen, only young weavers, so in a sense, we make things with ‘raw’ hands. Also, the paisley — known as ambi or kairi (meaning ‘mango’) in India — symbolizes Indian handwoven textiles, and is the one motif that is common across all weaving communities in India.

Why ‘Raw Mango’? Many ideas went into this. I believe in the beauty of imperfection. Handloom fabrics are

What is the first thing you do in office? I see if everything is kept in the right place. I’m 1,000 per cent particular about neatness!

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What drew you to handwoven textiles? I’ve always gravitated towards beauty — specifically towards things made by hand. Today, I am working with textiles, but tomorrow it could be terracotta.

What do you like best about your job? I think I can solve problems — like a doctor of design. Every craft comes to me with a problem. I don’t bypass it; I treat it. What space-related advice would you give a fledgling designer? They should look for a place that is an extension of their aesthetic and also their philosophy. For example, I would never want to be in a mall, because I don’t think the products I create would fit there. Sometimes you see these malls with fake palm trees; I would never enter a space like that! I don’t have anything fake in my house. I would also see who my neighbours are, what kind of brands they have and what their philosophy is because all these things matter.

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RAHUL MISHRA FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR, RAHUL MISHRA DESIGNS

Winner of the 2014 International Woolmark Prize at Milan Fashion Week, designer Rahul Mishra’s work with traditional Indian textiles and its craftsmen, has earned him a reputation for socially conscious design. A graduate from Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design, Mishra’s approach to his ground-floor studio is as pragmatic, as his designs are romantic. What is the first thing you do when you enter office? We receive a lot of calls from Japan and Australia in the morning. So we first try to finish all our international commitments after which we say a short prayer, for the vastu, thanking the space. What do you look for in a studio? For us, a creative space has to be a bit more neutral, and actually, less inspiring. Ideally, it should be in the by-lanes, so parking is not a problem, and off the main road, because those usually have high levels of pollution. This space is south-east facing, which means I get the maximum amount of sunlight. Also I have always had this thumb rule in my professional life that I don’t want to live more than 15 minutes away from work so [the commute between home and the studio] is very convenient. What are five things you can’t work without? My sketchbooks, Rotring pen, iPad, colour printer and my table lamp. What space-related advice would you give to a fledgling designer? Go for an office that makes you feel at home. That way, you don’t hate Mondays or working those extra hours. Have as many plants as possible around you. Don’t over-design. If the space is too strongly designed, your work may become slightly repetitive. I think this is critical.

FINE CRAFTSMANSHIP 1. Rahul Mishra in his Noida office. 2. One of the many work tables in the office Mishra rotates between. 3. Tools and inspirations on Mishra’s desk.

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LODHA

ALTAMOUNT 32 —

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When it comes to having an address with an enviable pin code, Altamount Road in Mumbai ticks all the boxes. Lodha Altamount, part of Lodha Group’s ‘The Luxury Collection’, picked its spot well. One of the most exclusive residential projects from the Group, Lodha Altamount makes for a plush living experience. The building, constructed on the highest elevation, makes a flagship project of Lodha Luxury Collection with breathtaking views. AN EXTRAORDINARY LOCATION This modern tower being constructed with glass finds itself nestled among colonial bungalows. Heritage homes such as the official residence of the Bombay Port Trust Chairman, and the residence of the Municipal Commissioner of


Mumbai, are testament to a street that is replete with history, heritage and illustrious living. Of course, the richest man in India calls this street home, along with a host of industrialists, politicians, and corporate scions among others. It is no wonder that India’s very own Billionaires Row is the 10th most expensive street in the world! A SITE IN A MILLION Lodha Altamount stands on the highest elevation of Altamount Road, the site which was formerly home to Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir and then to US Consulate, famously known as Washington House. It is an outstanding and unique site in the heart of cosmopolitan South Mumbai, embracing the beauty, tradition, and tranquillity of an old world charm blending amicably with the buzz of commercial hot spots around. The views of the city from here are unparalleled – across Back Bay to Nariman Point, one can view the expanse of Marine Drive, Haji Ali, Race Course and eastern harbor of Mumbai.

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In a city starved for space and views, the fact that the area overlooks the Arabian Sea on three sides, makes it an absolute win-win. A LANDMARK WORK OF ARCHITECTURE German-Iranian architect, Hadi Teherani conceived this tower that makes for quite a sight! The gorgeous glass façade ensures that Lodha Altamount offers its residents unrestricted views of the Arabian Sea. In addition, while you enjoy the sea view and scenery, the double glazed tinted glass takes care of your privacy! Considering that this tower is aiming to bring you the best of the best, Lodha Altamount is the culmination of some of the best expertise from all around the world. MKA Chicago, Francis Landscapes Lebanon, BES Singapore, Al Abbar Dubai, and Rajiv Saini & Associates are some of the names involved in constructing this masterpiece development that promises to become a landmark of the island city of Mumbai.

Lodha Altamount was conceived with the objective to bring the best in luxury living to Mumbai.


COME HOME TO THE WORLD OF EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES Lodha Altamount is in so many ways more than a mere residence. Integrated into the building are leisure facilities to rival those anywhere in the world, from sports to health and well-being and entertainment. Spread across two dedicated recreational zones, the first at 100 ft. above the ground with a 25- metre temperature controlled pool with Jacuzzi, a fully equipped fitness centre, private cinema, a sports field, a pool side bar, kids’ play area, massage room and a crèche. The second recreational zone is the residents’ private lounge at 500 ft. above the ground – a rarity to find in the island city of Mumbai. These are exclusive residences with lesser density ensuring only likeminded

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neighbourhood and generous luxurious splurge at the amenities. The grand entrance lobby is adorned by India’s first Picasso. THE RESIDENCES Want a grand experience of estate living in the sky? With a 13 ft. floorto-floor height and an all glass envelope in the residences starting at more than 100ft above the ground, Lodha Altamount commits generous bare shell residences to suit your own preferences. Moreover, in keeping with your privacy, each apartment has a private elevator lobby! Taking privacy a step further, this tower has a separate entrance for domestic staff. With this and more, Lodha Altamount offers you 3-, 4- and 5-bedroom homes as well as 5-bedroom pool villas with 3 sides open promising

nothing short of breathtaking panoramic views of the Arabian sea and the city beneath. In an effort to take service to another level, Lodha Altamount is managed by hospitality experts Saint Amand. This is a bespoke service that’s a first for India and they bring the finest standards of luxury service and living to your doorstep. This team puts your needs first and provides you with a dedicated concierge service to maintain the upkeep of the communal areas 24x7. What’s more, you will never have to leave your home if you don’t want to. Craving a particular meal? Saint Amand will take care of that for you with delicacies from their signature a la carte menu. Leaving for that soiree de gala and need pets to be taken care of? Saint Amand does it all.

Fully managed by hospitality experts, Saint Amand, these residences will bring a new dimension in modern living, effectively delivering the service of the world’s finest hotels to a domestic setting. and the Arabian sea. To take care of the recreation needs of the residents, there are two thoughtfully designed levels. The first one is 100 ft above the ground with an amenities’ space that's inspired from across the globe along with a private rooftop pool and lounge at 500 ft above the ground, probably the highest South Mumbai has. From its location , to modern architecture to the most enviably picked amenities and the fully managed residences with 24 x 7 living in a five-star experience by hospitality experts, Saint Amand - everything is crafted to ensure Lodha Altamount stands true to the values of Lodha Luxury Collection.

IN CONVERSATION WITH

CEO, LODHA LUXURY

What is your vision for Lodha Altamount? The vision for Lodha Altamount comes from Lodha family’s vision of creating the finest in luxury living. Lodha Group have been delivering world class homes and office spaces for the past 35 years. Two years ago, the company decided to raise the bar even higher. The group made its debut in London - the world’s capital in fine tastes and living. We have acquired 1 Grosvenor Square, the most coveted address in Prime Central London followed by the acquisition of New Court famous for its well-established vicinity in Central London. With Lodha Luxury Collection, headquartered in London, we intend to bring luxury developments to some of the globe’s most coveted locations, crafted to the highest level of detail and refinement and offering the highest standards of service to the residents. Lodha Altamount was conceived with the objective to bring the best in luxury living to Mumbai. It's a one-of-a-kind development that focuses on architecture and lifestyle. What makes Lodha Altamount an outstanding project? Located in Altamount Road, South Mumbai, the neighborhood houses corporate scions, bureaucrats, some of India's most influential families, and the largest gathering of international consulates, which is why it's called 'Billionaires Row'. Lodha Altamount boasts of unparalleled features in its residences. The project has one residence per floor and a private elevator lobby for each residence ensures privacy. The 13 ft floor-to-floor height and all glass façade create a grand experience of estate living in the sky. These are bareshell residences to suit one’s own preferences. All glass walls ensure breathtaking, panoramic views of the city

Tell us about your design philosphy for Lodha Altamount. Design sensibilities are defined by location. German Iranian architect Hadi Teherani had a big role to play. He is famous for his striking contemporary architecture and has created landmarks including Kranhäuser Cologne, Germany, Zayed University Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Tanzende Türme Hamburg, Germany. The resulting design is an exclusive facade emphasizing the grand vision for the tower and city, a spectacular modern building that would fit perfectly into Altamount Road’s classical context. Its not just a masterpiece on the outside, the inside, too is unique and detailed with lavish amenties that pamper its residents. You spoke about managed residences; please elaborate? With Lodha Altamount, our endeavour is to bring the finest contemporary living to India. Fully managed by hospitality experts, Saint Amand, these residences will bring a new dimension in modern living, effectively delivering the service of the world’s finest hotels to a domestic setting. Saint Amand provides seamless, immediate, and personal attention with the help of a dedicated 'residences team' manning the site 24-hours a day, seven days a week. From a dedicated concierge service to immaculate upkeep of the communal areas, residents will love to come home because they would know that everything is taken care of. How is the luxury real estate market evolving in India? Rapid urbanisation, increased disposable incomes, growth of luxury outlets, awareness of luxury products and focus of people towards getting experiences are all contributing to splurges in luxury sales across categories. India has upwards of 150,000 UHNI's that's growing at 17% per year. Homes are the most involved purchase and they look for a singular brand they can trust. It's an ever-increasing market. What are the factors to consider when it comes to purchasing luxury property? The first rule is location. It has been and always will be the most important factor to keep in mind before purchasing any property. This is followed by the quality of construction and detailing. If you’re looking at a truly luxurious development, it’s important not to compromise on any of these factors.


ELEGANCE PERSONIFIED Simone Arora’s decor store in South Mumbai is all about effortless luxury and timeless style

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esigning and curating spaces is something that comes naturally to Simone Arora. Her tryst with interiors and decor began early on, as she, alongside her husband Ajay Arora, built upholstery brand, D’Decor, to what it is today. After over 15 years of participating in international trade fairs and exhibits and interacting with designers across the globe, Arora decided to branch out on her own with her concept store, SIMONE, a culmination of design experience fused with her signature style. Her passion for decor is visible through her eponymous boutique, located in a prominent heritage mansion in South Mumbai. Inspired by nature, the interior space showcases a globally sourced selection of furniture, exclusive fine fabrics, objet d'art, tableware, glassware, bed and bath linen, lighting solutions and outdoor accessories, to create a tranquil living environment. Tell us about your design journey. I have spent 20 years of my career in the field of design as D'Decor's creative director. Here, we created new collections, explored colour options, attended, participated in international

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fairs and learned new techniques from people in the trade. These incredible chances, gave me a tremendous hands-on education and experience in the field of design. My foray into interiors came when I took on the challenging project to build and decorate my home 'Amore'. This is when I had the opportunity to personally source building materials, furniture, artefacts and accessories, from a global selection of offerings. These experiences further enhanced my creative sensibilities. This in turn led to the inception of 'SIMONE' – a fascinating fusion between the old and the new. The brand showcases international labels that are curated into room settings in natural hue themes. What inspires your design sensibilities? I was nurtured and brought up in a progressive and cosmopolitan home, where I was constantly exposed to beautiful art and objects, fine living and extensive travel. I met many influential people very early in my life. My parents are both artistically inclined and exposed me to a number of things that lead to my heightened sensibility. My inspiration also comes from various sources like heritage architecture, elements of nature, books and travel, that influences me to

different sights, sounds, interactions and experiences. What sets your style apart from other creatives in the same design space? My design aesthetic is classic, contemporary and distinctive. It leans towards a natural look and feel, with a luxe component. The colour palette is neutral with an emphasis on varied textures and forms, with a hint of metallic sheen. The SIMONE Naturally Inspired collection has a European-African design appeal that helps create a sophisticated yet comfortable ambience. It is a classic example of the kind of adaptive flexibility that urban planners and architects laud.

My design aesthetic is classic, contemporary and distinctive. It leans towards a natural look and feel, with a luxe component. Simone Arora, Designer, Curator & Founder

When did you discover your love for fabric and design? I was exposed to a beautiful home and visually stimulating surroundings very early in life. After marriage I was introduced to the world of fabrics and textiles – my husband and I visited and participated in all the leading home textile and design shows in Europe. Rich hues, art and textures in numerous forms and variations of home decor and textiles were on display. This exposure and further enhanced my love for fabrics, fashion, design and decor. What is the SIMONE signature style? My creation is contemporary, nature inspired and tranquil in feel with a luxe appeal. I instinctively gravitate towards natural and neutral colour tones and use matte textures with a hint of sheen and gloss to lend elegance. SIMONE, the store, is a unique fusion of the heritage world with contemporary interiors. What's the next big thing at SIMONE? Project SIMONE is the most recent expansion portfolio and concept product added to my brand. We offer themed mood boards in varied natural and neutral colour schemes that include floor and wall tiles, wall coverings, furnishings, and carpets. We have deliberated and put together colour stories to cater to various tastes and requirements. We also plan to take the 'SIMONE' Fine Fabric collection international by participating at Maison et Objet, Paris 2016. This line includes a luxurious and exclusive line of fabrics. Available at A01, Amarchand Mansion, 16 Madame Cama Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400001; Email: sales@simone. com; Website: simone.com, Contact +91-22-71117700


DIGITAL

HEY GOOD LOOKIN’!

A PORTRAIT ‘Quartz’ (J766F-03) fabric by Jane Churchill (backdrop); Gastón y Daniela. 1950s Danish table and Swedish chairs; Verde Gabán. Crystal horse bust by Lalique and crystal clock by Daum; Daum & Lalique. ‘RE’ 16-megapixel digital cameras with Bluetooth (blue and white); HTC. Photograph by Andrea Santolaya from the Prelude Series; Mondo Galleria. Silver bowl; El 8. ‘Lumix GM5’ compact camera (in bowl); Panasonic. ‘PowerShot G1X Mark II’ 12.8-megapixel camera; Canon. ‘Tracery’ rug by Kelly Wearstler; The Rug Company.

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PRODUCERS: EDUARDO MERLO & CARLOTA PEYDRO; PHOTOGRAPHERS: AARÓN SERRANO & OLGA MORENO

Because technology should look as good as it feels...

DIGITAL CANVAS Wooden centrepieces, marble globes and white Buddha figurine; The Interiorlist. Teapot by Ignacio del Toro; Guille Garcia-Hoz. Photograph by Man Ray (1945) in a lightbox; Mondo Gallery. ‘G Pad 10.1’ tablet; LG. ‘Triangle’ bag (yellow); Loewe. ‘Ordinary Purposes’ clock; Espacio Brut. ‘Galaxy Tab S 10.5’ tablet; Samsung. ‘Nexus 9’ tablet; HTC. ‘Candil’ table lamp; Alvaro Catalán de Ocón.


ON THE MOVE Marble table (top right) and table lamp; El 8. ‘iPhone 6 Plus’ smartphone; Apple. ‘One M8’ smartphone; HTC. ‘Else’ coral vase; PCM Designs. Gold bracelet by Silva/Bradshaw; Espacio Brut. 1960s German table (bottom right); La Recova. ‘Galaxy Alpha’ smartphone; Samsung. ‘G3’ smartphone and ‘G Watch R’ smartwatch; LG. 1960s Italian table (bottom left); El 8. ‘Cast Mini Jack Copper’ paperweight; Tom Dixon. 1950s tray (top left); La Recova. ‘Z’ purse; Loewe. Carpet; The Rug Company.

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PICTURE IN PICTURE ‘Laredo’ and ‘Phoenix’ fabrics (backdrop) by Larsen; Gastón y Daniela. 65-inch 4K Ultra HD TV; LG. Tray with monkeys, polar bear figurine, and table lamp; The Interiorlist. Obelisks; El 8. 50-inch ‘Viera TX-50AX800’ 4K Ultra HD TV; Panasonic. Console; Verde Gabán. Table; El 8. Table clock; Odalisca. 65inch ‘HU8500 Curved Smart 3D UHD 4K LED’ TV; Samsung. ‘Palm’ acrylic painting by Juan Escauriaza; Galeria Jorge Alcolea. Carved marble sculpture (on floor); Verde Gabán. Vase and rat; Guille García-Hoz. Carpet; The Rug Company. (On the screens, from top): video art by Amparo Sard from Espacio Líquido gallery; Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa from CarrerasMugica gallery; and Philippe Decrauzat from Parra & Romero gallery.


AN ADVERTORIAL/PROMOTIONAL SECTION

PRESENTING INDIA'S

FINEST LUXURY HOMES

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PHOTOGRAPHER: FABIEN CHARUAU; LOCATION COURTESY: SIMONE NATURALLY INSPIRED

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ARCHITECTURAL and DESIGN FORCES that pledge to envelop and exalt home owners await you on the pages that follow.

INSPIRATION evolves into elements that transcend from mere BLUEPRINTS to the details that define LUXE LIVING.


BANGALORE EMBASSY GROUP

FOUR SEASONS PRIVATE RESIDENCES BANGALORE AT EMBASSY ONE Iconic branded homes that are a class apart

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ndia’s garden city has been edging out other markets when it comes to premium realty projects in the country. And, when you’ve got one of the finest names in the hospitality business bringing uberexclusive branded private residences, it is only fitting to expect that these homes will be nothing short of spectacular. Come 2017, Embassy ONE, a high-end luxury project by the Bangalore-based Embassy Group, will see the debut of South India’s first Four Seasons Private Residences. These bespoke abodes have been crafted keeping in mind every conceivable luxury and comfort for the discerning individual. Three high-rise towers spread over 6.5 acres will house a 230-key Four Seasons Hotel and 109 bespoke branded private residences, around 1,75,000 sq. ft. of commercial offices and some 55,000 sq. ft. of fine dining, high-end retail stores, chic cafes and glitzy bars. From architecture to interior design, services and exclusive residential amenities, you’re sure to be pampered, the Four Seasons way. LIVE THE GOOD LIFE Wake up to the legendary Four Seasons hospitality in your own private residence. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer sweeping views of landscaped gardens. The South tower houses spacious 1- and 2- bedroom residences, while the North

Structure: 30-storey twin towers Units: South tower: 48 units North tower: 61 units Layouts: South tower: 1- or 2-BHK, North tower: 3- or 4-BHK, 3-BHK duplexes and penthouses Estimated handover: South tower Q3: 2017; North tower Q3: 2018 Developer: Embassy Group Website: embassyone.in Email: [email protected] Contact: +91-8152022222

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LIKES

“Embassy ONE flawlessly integrates residential, commercial, hospitality and retail within a single property. Our partnership with the prodigious Four Seasons ensures that residents and visitors enjoy the highest known standards of hospitality and privacy.” – Jitu Virwani, Chairman and Managing Director, Embassy Group tower, houses 3- and 4- bedroom homes, 3- bedroom duplexes and lavish 15,000 sq. ft. onwards penthouses. Each home comes equipped with a security system, both electronic and manual. Stoneclad facades, exquisite furnishings and top-end fixtures are featured across the property and bespoke living spaces. The developers have brought on board world-renowned design consultancy, Yabu Pushelberg from New York and Toronto, along with design partners HKS and Studio u+a, as the architects.

from the games room, wine chamber or media room, to unwind after a long day. If heading out isn’t on the agenda, choose the fine dining restaurant and bar or the stylish lobby lounge to relax over cocktails and entertainment. Pamper your senses at the spa and fitness centre, offering several massage treatments and steam rooms, sauna, an inviting plunge pool and an aerobic and yoga studio. Squash courts and a swimming pool complete the list of high-end amenities.

A LA CARTE SERVICES Your globe-trotting lifestyle may not allow you the time and leisure to get things done at the last minute. Rest assured, Four Seasons' 24-hour concierge and butler service is at hand to take care of your every whim and need. The property embodies exclusive living with private access and dedicated lobbies for residents. Take your pick

LOCATION Located at Bellary Road, in upcoming North Bangalore, Embassy ONE is about 30 kilometres away from the Bangalore International Airport and about 6.5 kilometres away from the buzzing MG Road. Embassy ONE not only offers bespoke living spaces, but also some of the city’s high-end retail at Central Plaza and commercial offerings at

The mix of opulent residential, commercial and retail spaces housed in the same project, coupled with the legendary Four Seasons service, makes it an exclusive refuge for those seeking privacy and comfort

SWANK FACTOR

Four Seasons residences

24-hour concierge

Spacious penthouses

Lush landscaping

Pinnacle at Embassy ONE, making it a comprehensive development. THE GROUP The Bangalore-based company has been creating luxury developments for over 30 years now. And, their diverse portfolio includes villas at Embassy Boulevard, sky condominiums at Embassy Lake Terraces and villaments at Embassy Grove. The group focuses on offering customers plush homes in excellent locations across the city. Today, Embassy Group has developed over 6 million sq. ft. of residential spaces that redefine sophisticated living.


MUMBAI RUNWAL GROUP

THE RESERVE

A majestic structure standing tall in Mumbai's skyline

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hen it comes to opulent living, The Runwal Group has a legacy of redefining luxury. Since 1978, the company has been constructing iconic projects, and, in keeping with this tradition, they're building The Reserve in Worli, Mumbai. Not only does this property personify luxury, it ensures that it's exclusive and private, too. Considering that it's swank and segregated, you're assured of having your space in a city that's starved of it. You're in the city but it'll seem like you're out of it. Additionally, the Four Seasons Hotel is a mere walk away and Palladium and St. Regis is a five-minute drive away. The Reserve pampers you with the best and makes sure you're wellconnected to the city as well. THE RESERVE Privacy takes on new meaning at The Reserve, as you indulge your senses with wide, open spaces and breathtaking views overlooking the Arabian Sea and Mahalaxmi Race Course. With 72 select residences coupled with 72,000 sq. ft. of open space, you will find yourself enveloped in your own private island, away from the din of the city. These luxurious residences prioritize your privacy and comfort. The 26-storey, petal shaped residential tower, split into three wings, has just one apartment per floor. Enjoy stunning views from your private sun deck that wraps around each apartment, while high-speed elevators whisk you to your floor. There is no dearth of space with the lavish 3-BHK and 4-BHK residences that are Vastu compliant and built like a private sanctuary. Taking luxury one step further, all apartments include premium furnishings, fittings, walk-in wardrobes and more.

THE RESERVE Structure: 26-storey tower Units: 72 select residences Layouts: 3- to 4-BHK Estimated handover: On enquiry Website: runwal.com Email: [email protected] Contact: +91-22-39528565

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LIKES

"The Reserve has marked the foray of Runwal Group into the uber-luxurious residential segment in South Mumbai. The residential offering is for discerning connoisseurs of luxury living. This project exudes exclusivity, privacy and grandeur."- Shalini Dixit, Vice President Marketing

Cocooned in the comfort of your own private island, The Reserve offers the luxury of space in plenty and lets you live life on a grand scale

SWANK FACTOR 72 Apartments only

ELITE AMENITIES Understanding the leisure needs of their affluent residents, the property has thoughtful inclusions and amenties to keep one active – a well-equipped gymnasium, yoga room, jogging track, outdoor fitness and gaming area, tennis court and a luxurious swimming pool. The clubhouse includes a cafe and dining area. The highlight of course, is basking in the property’s never ending greens, away from the noise of city life. PLUSH PATIO Fancy an intimate alfresco dining set-up? The property offers plenty of outdoor spaces including a pavilion, a skylight area, a corridor and stone garden, and a spacious lawn to entertain guests.

Yoga room

Private sun-deck

Swimming pool

LOCATION Mid-town Mumbai is the hottest new address for luxury residential projects. The Reserve blends in perfectly, with its close proximity to buzzing commercial buildings and trendy hotspots, yet it's located in its own private cocoon, next to the Four Seasons Hotel in Worli. The stunning views overlooking the Arabian sea complement this private escapade. LUXE ADDRESSES 2016 — 53

MUMBAI & LONAVLA S RAHEJA REALTY

SAPPHIRE, NATRAJ AND RAHEJA CASCADES Premium apartments and villas designed for privacy and comfort

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hen you live in a city that boasts of some of the most expensive real estate in the country, you’d want to ensure postcode envy. Complementing an elite lifestyle are two new luxury developments by S Raheja Realty. Cocooned in the leafy environs of Khar and Santacruz (W), these large, private abodes, are a short distance from the many hot-spots that dot this stretch. The company, which has been a part of Mumbai’s changing skyline for over six decades now, brings exclusive living for discerning dwellers, looking for a mix of modern architecture with discreet luxury. SAPPHIRE When it comes to luxury, Sapphire is a one-of-a-kind redevelopment project

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by S Raheja. In a city where space is a premium, this property offers spacious apartments in 3- and 5-BHK variants, while the top two floors house a 5,000 sq. ft. plush, elegant penthouse. Spaces have been designed keeping privacy and comfort in mind. Each apartment is south-west facing and offers crossventilation with running balconies. In fact, there are plenty of natural elements. Here’s what welcomes you – an indoor and outdoor gym, a conference room for business meetings, a children’s play area, three-level car parking and a 2,000 sq. ft. rooftop lounge complete with a bar and loungers, where you can choose to simply unwind after a long day. The 6-BHK penthouse is all about sleek living with modern interiors and an internal glass elevator within the penthouse. Take in views of the city life

below from the 600 sq. ft. terrace; the master bedroom with wide windows offers panoramic views. Two massive living rooms (formal and informal) as well as a separate dining room make up the rest of the home. Stir up some cocktails at the indoor and outdoor bars, or treat yourself to a full-spread with the massive island kitchen and breakfast table. Equipped with top-end fixtures and fitted out with imported Italian marble. LOCATION Situated on the corner of East and Main Avenue in Santacruz (W) and just a short distance away from Bandra in Mumbai, Sapphire offers the best of both worlds – quiet, suburban bliss, surrounded by trendy cafes and restaurants – exclusive living at its finest.

LIKES

NATRAJ Located in the heart of Mumbai, Natraj offers quaint views overlooking a park that’s just outside the property. Despite being minutes away from one of the city’s buzzing shopping streets, the building allows you complete privacy. You have ample space and exclusivity; with a single apartment on each floor. Each apartment spoils you with a cantilevered deck facing the park, a common gym and meeting area and two landscaped terrace lounges on the 6th and 15th floor – perfect for social soirees. The lavish five-bedroom penthouse comes with a 500 sq. ft. terrace, offering unobstructed views of the park below. The large formal and informal living rooms make for perfect entertainment options or intimate dinners. Branded fixtures and imported Italian marble used across the apartment make up the rest of the aesthetic. The penthouse is also fitted with state-of-the-art home automation systems.

LOCATION Natraj is located in the plush residential area of Khar (W). Cafes and restaurants surround the area and the property offers convenient access to the international and domestic airport in Mumbai. RAHEJA CASCADES That perfect holiday home need not be miles away from the city. Situated conveniently between the Mumbai-Pune corridor, Raheja Cascades, is an all-villa project, that embodies serene living. Thirty-five boutique villas are parcelled across six acres of land, with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. These villas, available in variants of 3-BHK to 5-BHK, have been crafted to perfection, with water being a key architectural element. Stunning water features make up the landscape with a 30 ft waterfall flowing down the facade into the private swimming pool of each villa, along with sunken seats. Lush green spaces are aplenty here, with courtyards,

The stylishly designed penthouses with indoor and outdoor bars are perfect for those social soirees. And the landscaped villas with cascading waterfalls provide you an element of nature within arm’s reach

Structure: Sapphire and Natraj: Single tower; Raheja Cascades: G+3 Units: Sapphire: 21 units including 1 penthouse; Natraj: 16 units including 1 penthouse; Raheja Cascades: 35 villas Layout: Raheja Cascades: 3- to 5-BHK villas; Sapphire: 3-BHK (1,230 sq. ft. carpet area), 5-BHK (2,500 sq. ft. carpet area); (5,000 sq. ft. penthouse on top 2 floors) Natraj: 4-BHK (1,600 sq. ft. carpet area); (3,400 sq. ft. penthouse on top 2 floors) Estimated handover: Sapphire: January 2017; Natraj: March 2016; Raheja Cascades: Mid 2017 Developers: S Raheja Realty Website: sraheja.com Email: [email protected] Contact: +91-9773041000


SWANK FACTOR

Conference room

Luxury penthouse

Rooftop lounge

Park view

Private pool

Clubhouse

a wooden deck, gardens and terraces at various levels. If you’re entertaining, the provisions for a bar and barbecue grill on the terrace make for a perfect addition. For those looking to combine relaxation with some activity, the property offers a clubhouse and amphitheatre, while indoor and outdoor spaces complete the list of amenities, allowing you to be one with nature within the comfort of your home. Each villa has been strategically planned, ensuring ample privacy for homeowners, and built incorporating sustainable and eco-friendly elements. Villas also come equipped with the latest in home automation, security systems, and a separate laundry room, while the sleek, modular kitchens are furnished with international fixtures. LOCATION Nestled in Lonavala, Raheja Cascades is easily accessible from Mumbai (100 kilometres away) and Pune (70 kilometres away), and just a few kilometres from the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. THE GROUP S Raheja Realty has many an iconic construction to its name, a recent landmark being Hinduja Healthcare in Khar, Mumbai. The company's vision is now being shaped by the third generation of the family, adapting to modern times, while still maintaining the traditions and ethics set forth by the co-founder of the Raheja Brothers, late Girdaridas Raheja – his legacy that has made the group uphold its tradition of excellence. The group’s primary focus has and continues to be luxury development in and around Mumbai. In recent years, the group has diversified its portfolio and ventured into affordable housing in minimetros and tier II towns across India. 56 —

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Today, S Raheja continues to revolutionize the real estate industry with a vision to incorporate evolved architectural practices and develop projects that are both sustainable and secure. Sapphire, Natraj and Raheja Cascades: Design architects: S Raheja Associates Ram Raheja BMC architects: YMS Consultants Architectural consultant: SNG Associates Structural consultants: J+W Consultants, Sapphire: Pravin Gala Consultants Landscape Architects: Raheja Cascades: WAHO Landscape Architects What was your vision for these projects? There’s been a conscious effort to steer our brand towards residential projects that are architecturally driven. We believe each property should be site-conscious and its design sensibility and concept should be defined by its location. So, at Raheja Cascades you will find generous use of waterfalls, such as a 30 ft waterfall flowing along each villa’s facade and open terraces at every level, merging indoor and outdoor spaces. Similarly, Natraj, located in Khar, is in close quarters to a park and the building’s design aesthetic capitalises on the open, green views it offers. In the case of Sapphire, we’ve been able to procure a prime spot in a buzzing residential suburb, maximising

In conversation with

RAM RAHEJA Director & Head of Arch. Dept.

“There is great potential for redevelopment and luxury housing in the years to come, what with higher disposable incomes. We’ve developed these projects to suit people’s desire for better lifestyles and for those discerning individuals seeking luxury and privacy, without compromising on the quality and standards that S Raheja Realty is known for.” - Ram Raheja amenity space such as a rooftop lounge, a penthouse and three-level car parking. Each flat is south-west facing, ensuring that there is great cross ventilation. Describe your design philosophy I don’t believe in following a particular design philosophy. It’s all about doing what inspires you and more importantly, what the requisites for a site are. You can build the most amazing and expensive project for potential buyers, but if it’s not in context to its surrounding area, then it’s a waste of time and investment. Creating a landmark, yet fitting in with the environment it is built in. Being an architect, I believe that in the case of design, everything lies in the details. What sets these projects apart from others in the city? Definitely, the architectural design and quality of construction of each property is what sets them apart. And then of course, beauty lies in the details, so we let the projects speak for themselves. What are the critical factors to consider when it comes to purchasing a luxury property?

The first rule is location. It has been and always will be the most important factor to keep in mind before purchasing any property. This is followed by the quality of construction and detailing. If you’re looking at a truly luxurious development, it’s important not to compromise on any of these factors. Additionally, with technology moving at the speed it is, tech-related amenities and other fancy add-ons can become outdated. New innovations are always rolling out in the market. Stick with the two factors mentioned above, as these will never fail you. How is the luxury real estate market evolving? The market for premium real estate is constantly evolving and is also very relative. This is because a city like Mumbai has micro-markets that behave differently. Therefore, purchases are often sentiment-driven depending on where you are looking to live. Having said that, I can safely say that the aspiration levels for premium lifestyles and luxury homes is ever increasing. LUXE ADDRESSES 2016 — 57

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ART, DESIGN and architectural breakthroughs come together in form and function, within SPACES that define MODERN-DAY LIVING. An amalgamation of FINE TASTES and discerning predilections create EXPERIENCES OF A LIFETIME.


BANGALORE BHARTIYA CITY

LEELA RESIDENCES, BHARTIYA CITY Majestic structures cocooned in privacy

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hen luxury is a way of life, it’s only befitting that your abode matches your penchant for all things exclusive. Developed by the Bhartiya Group and managed by the Leela, Leela Residences at Bhartiya City, aim to be game changers in the branded luxury residences segment. This all-encompassing project resides in the unspoilt precinct of North Bangalore, promising to complement chic lifestyles with elegant homes, contemporary decor and top-notch facilities. GRAND LIVING SPACES From 1-BHK and studio condos to lavish 4-BHK residences, each home has been created as a spacious haven for relaxation and rejuvenation, embellished with pieces of art, fine furniture and high-end fixtures. Soothing tones in a neutral colour palette make up the decor, influenced by classic design sensibilities. Take in the expansive views of the seven acre Central Park from your very own private abode, with a stylish walk-in wardrobe, et al. A private deck lets you soak in uninterrupted views of Bangalore’s skyline and the landscaped gardens just beyond. The 4-BHK residences spell sheer opulence with elegantly done-up rooms, a private sauna, two spacious decks with soothing green views,

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“We envisioned Bhartiya City as a place of culture, commerce and an exciting way of life – a city of joy that revolves around its people. The Leela Residences, will offer a set of luxurious homes that are like nowhere else in the world.” – Snehdeep Aggarwal, Founder and Chairman, Bhartiya Group

THE LOT LIKES

The Rococo style residences exude sophistication and glamour, while offering the best services and plush amenities from across the globe

Structure: 3 Towers Units: 176 Layouts: 1-BHK to 4-BHK and studio apartments Estimated handover: 2018 Developer: Bhartiya City Developers Website: leelaresidences.bhartiyacity.com Email: [email protected] Contact: +91-8049326900

an area to live and work. The property, located near Hebbal road, is about 23 kilometres away from the international airport and offers connectivity to the city through the Hebbal flyover and Bellary Road.

SWANK FACTOR

Swimming pool & spa

Private gym

Private theatre

delicate macarons, this exclusive amenity is sure to delight. A dedicated butler and concierge provides exceptional service, from arranging tickets for an event to whipping up that special Sunday brunch to entertain guests. A chauffeur, limousine and your very own personal chef, botanist and fitness instructor are just a call away.

Butler & Valet service

LOCATION Leela Residences is housed in the 125acre Bhartiya City in Bangalore. A mix of residential, commercial, hospitality and retail developments, each space has been meticulously designed, doubling up as

and a host of 5-star services on call. These limited edition apartments will complement the grandeur of the 256room luxury Leela hotel being developed next door. Those staying at the private Leela Residences will have the benefit of enjoying services offered by the Leela brand, known for its legendary Indian hospitality. DISCREET SERVICES In keeping with the lifestyles of its jetsetting residents, the property offers every possible luxurious amenity – an intimate clubhouse lounge and bar that’s exclusive to residents, a temperaturecontrolled swimming pool, a private theatre and game room and even a chef’s room for entertaining guests with cuisines from around the world. Whether you crave handmade Tuscan pasta or

THE GROUP Founded in 1987, the Gurgaon-based Bhartiya Group is a diversified lifestyle organisation with interests in fashion apparel as well as their real-estate division Bhartiya Urban. Their landmark project, Bhartiya City, a 20 million sq. ft. intergrated urban township, includes a seven acre Central Park, a centre for performing arts, commercial developments, among other amenities. For the past 28 years, Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, have been keeping the tradition of Indian hospitality alive with their eclectic range of hotels and resorts. The group has encapsulated this concept with its private residences, as well. Re-defining the standards of luxury hospitality, it was only fitting that The Leela brand be the perfect choice for this collaboration with Bhartiya Group. Some of The Leela's new properties under development include Bangalore, Jaipur, Agra, Lucknow and Kathmandu.

BANGALORE SALARPURIA SATTVA GROUP

KING’S DOMAIN AND GINGER AT GREENAGE Contemporary luxurious abodes in Bangalore

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ith a consistent demand for premium living in a city that’s home to some of the best entrepreneurial talent in the country, Bangalore’s skyline is one that’s changing rapidly. Salarpuria Sattva Group has been an integral part of this transformation with their upcoming projects King’s Domain and Ginger at Greenage, located in the heart of the city, yet, just a short distance away from Bangalore's buzzing localities. KING’S DOMAIN Lush greenery and tranquil surroundings, have made this a city of choice, not just for a rising number of start-ups and IT professionals but also those looking for a quiet, stylish home in the confines of solitude. Located in Rahat Bagh, adjacent to the upmarket Indiranagar, is Salarpuria Sattva’s all-villa project –– King’s Domain, offering limited edition, super luxury villas. Sleek, stylish and exclusive with just eight villaments, this project promotes large-format independent living for those seeking something private and exclusive, yet in close vicinity to offices as well as some of Bangalore's best social infrastructure. Framed by tall silver oak trees, these ultra-modern villas, designed by Kabir Hira Architects, are kitted out with top-end amenities and fixtures and imported marble flooring. Spacious and stylishly designed, the spaces keep comfort and safety in mind. These centrally-air conditioned villas boast of premium interior specifications, using advanced engineering. The property also offers top-end security and is now ready for possession. LOCATION Just a short distance away from popular retail outlets, restaurants, schools, hospitals and some of the best golf courses and clubs that the city has to offer, King’s Domain makes for plush living within a secure gated community. It also offers quick connectivity to the International Airport through Ring Road, connecting residents to key IT parks and offices, as well as easy access to Baiyappanahalli Metro station.

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GINGER AT GREENAGE Spread over 21 acres of lush greenery, Salarpuria Sattva’s latest project, Greenage, is in the heart of Bangalore’s IT hub. The 4-BHK homes at Ginger, a single luxury tower within the Greenage complex, offers exclusive amenities. Central to this swanky lifestyle is the 60,000 sq. ft. clubhouse, boasting of some of the best-in-class features, including a temperature-controlled swimming pool, indoor and outdoor sports amenities, salons, an outdoor amphitheatre, as well as creches. ATM and shopping facilities, make this a truly self-sufficient development. For those keen on aesthetics, open spaces are aplenty, with well-manicured

SWANK FACTOR Deck with a private garden

Clubhouse

GINGER AT GREENAGE

Temperaturecontrolled pool

Amphitheatre

LIKES

“We are in the business of transforming dreams to reality. Quality, timely delivery and attending to our customers are some of the key factors that have ensured our buyer's confidence. We have earned this trust with our sincerity for over three decades.”

– Bijay Agarwal, Managing Director lawns and a variety of recreational options to keep children engaged. The complex also includes sitting areas, a tea garden, jogging track and activity spaces, catering to all age groups. Each home is spaciously designed, airy and comes with well-appointed guest rooms and are available in different stages of construction – from ‘ready’ to ‘soon to be completed’. Designed to provide you with the ultimate in exclusive living, this is the group’s most awarded project to date, and has been rated a 6-star project by CRISIL. Envisioned by Zachariah and HOK, a design firm based in the US, it also caters to the environmentally conscious. The project has a dedicated water treatment plant, rainwater harvesting system, sewage treatment

plant and fire detection systems in each premium apartment. LOCATION Situated conveniently in the heart of Bangalore’s IT hub and just a short distance away from the upscale Koramangala neighbourhood, the Greenage complex is in close vicinity to workspaces and plenty of shopping and entertainment options, making it ideal for high-flying executives or IT professionals looking for privacy combined with exclusive living. THE GROUP The Salarpuria Sattva Group has been shaping the ever-changing skyline of Bangalore since 1986, with more than 18 million sq. ft. of construction completed

King's Domain and Ginger at Greenage, present ultra-modern residential homes, set amidst natural green spaces, and coupled with worldclass amenities

THE LOT Structure: Villas (Ground + 2 floors) at King’s Domain; Single tower (Ground + 17 floors) at Ginger, Greenage Units: 8 villas in King’s Domain; 64 apartments in Ginger, Greenage Layouts: King’s Domain: 4-BHK villas; Ginger, Greenage: 4-BHK apartments Estimated handover: King’s Domain: Ready for possession; Ginger, Greenage: 2016 Developers: Salarpuria Sattva Group Website: sattvagroup.in Email: [email protected] Contact: 1800 1213344

to date. Over the years, the company has garnered a highly reputable name for itself in the world of real estate. Besides developing prominent tech parks and commercial and retail spaces, the company now has approximately 21 residential projects under construction, all across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Coimbatore, Vizag and Goa. Some of their completed prominent residential landmarks in Bangalore include, Gold Summit and Luxuria.


BANGALORE ADARSH DEVELOPERS

ADARSH PALM ACRES High living in the midst of nature

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ver found yourself coveting one of those plush New York homes overlooking Central Park? Or waking up to sweeping views of nothing but verdant hills? Well, you can find one closer to home in Bangalore’s Adarsh Palm Acres, an all-villa project spread over an expansive 76 acres, located just a short distance away from the international airport. Everything about this property spells bliss. Spacious 4 BHK villas offer stunning vistas, coupled with a host of exclusive amenities for residents. With a legacy of building beautiful villa communities, Adarsh Developers, has marked a presence for itself in Bangalore as a leading real estate group. More recently the group has been lauded for

designing the swanky Shangri-La Hotel in the city, and its latest project, Palm Acres, ticks all the boxes – a contemporary villa precinct in the pristine surroundings of North Bangalore. Built as an exclusive gated community, it offers around 500 luxurious, eco-conscious villas, available in four variants that have been designed by US-based architect firm Callison, along with the group’s in-house design team. GREEN LIVING The grand attraction of course, is the central garden inspired by New York City’s iconic landmark, Central Park, featuring a boulevard that feature impressive green space with villas built on either side.

Structure: Contemporary luxury villas Units: 500 villas Layout: 4-BHK premium villas (3,150 sq. ft. to 5,400 sq. ft.) Estimated handover: 2017 Developers: Adarsh Developers Website: adarshpalmacres.com Email: [email protected] Contact: +91-9900100077

Thoughtfully designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle as well as a relaxing atmosphere for residents, the landscaping, designed by Site Concepts, a Singapore based firm, also features a cricket pitch, playground and open lawns. Other amenities include, a garden plaza, amphitheatre, a bio pond, Zen garden and an assortment of recreational spaces to unwind or lounge around. The park is also lined with walkways and a promenade that lend easy access to the villas. Adding to the privileged life, is the property’s world-class clubhouse, with a multi-cuisine restaurant, banquet, library, gaming areas and a swimming pool, that leaves you spoilt for choice. CONTEMPORARY COCOONS The villas at Adarsh Palm Acres have been envisioned keeping in mind clean and contemporary aesthetics that are attuned to the sensibilities of the urban dweller. Every structure has a floorto-floor height of 11 ft with optimum ventilation as well as natural light. Warm colours and large fenestrations help complement the surrounding environment. Engineered wooden flooring in the bedrooms exude warmth and the imported marble flooring in the living and family areas complete the sophisticated setting for each villa. Keeping the essence of sustainability in mind, the eco-conscious accommodation supports a rainwater harvesting system, provides for solar water heating, a stateof-the-art water and sanitation system and private gardens that truly personify green living. Other provisions include fire safety features, intruder alarms, gas leak detectors and video door phones.

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"It has been our persistent effort to build living spaces around the philosophy that it not only breathes the lifestyle of the owners but also reflects their aspirations. The premium villas at Palm Acres, with its contemporary aesthetics and international appeal, have been crafted with thoughtful features, amenities and our continued standard of excellence, giving you a wholesome lifestyle. Welcome to Paradise..." – B.M. Jayeshankar, Chairman and Managing Director

LOCATION In close proximity to the Kempegowda International airport, yet tucked away in the pristine environs of this upcoming part of the city that is witnessing an infrastructural boom, Adarsh Palm Acres makes for an ideal investment for discerning NRIs, high net-worth individuals and jet-setting executives, looking for comfort and privacy in an exclusive setting. Palm Acres is also strategically located close to a key commercial catchment which is currently under development. It also offers dual connectivity and accessibility via both NH7 and Hennur Bagalur Road. THE GROUP Over the last 27 years, Adarsh Developers has built for itself an admirable track record in the real estate world. With a focus on innovation and a model of corporate governance that seeks sustainable growth, the company has around 18 million sq. ft. of completed projects across the spectrum of residential, commercial and hospitality in Bangalore, along with an additional 10 million sq. ft. of projects under construction. The company pioneered

Inspired by New York's iconic Central Park, the sprawling garden at the property, includes a swanky clubhouse, cricket pitch, pool and other unique facilities

SWANK FACTOR Swimming pool

Central park

Restaurant and banquet

Kid's play area

the concept of gated villa communities with its project Palm Meadows, earning accolades for the brand and setting a benchmark in the industry for projects of this kind. The brand has made a mark within the luxury hospitality segment, with the 5-star Palm Meadows Resort in addition to the recently launched Shangri-La Hotel. In the commercial segment, the group has to its credit the city’s first built-to-suit facility, developed for Manhattan Associates.


MUMBAI RAHEJA UNIVERSAL

RAHEJA EXOTICA SORENTO Glamorous abodes set amidst nature

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tanding tall in Mumbai’s picturesque suburb, Madh Island, Raheja Exotica Sorento embodies seaside living in its truest form. Commanding spectacular views of the Arabian Sea and the glittering Mumbai cityscape in the near distance, this luxury development by the Raheja Universal Pvt. Ltd, promises elegant living spaces. Raheja Exotica Sorento’s advantageous location makes it very appealing. Nestled between palm groves and unspoilt landscapes, with the soothing sound of the sea in the background, it is an ideal abode for those looking to reside away from the hustle and bustle of the city. SPACIOUS SET-UP Built as a complete township over 30.6 acres, this gated community, surrounded

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by the sun, sand and sea, is the epitome of serene living. Despite being just within city limits, you’re wrapped up in the confines of luxury and nature, with a host of services at your beck and call. Each amenity has been thoughtfully included to ensure life here is nothing short of bliss. A prompt and dedicated concierge service will have you picked up and dropped to the ferry wharf. To keep up with your active lifestyle, the property offers a generously proportioned swimming pool, squash court, pavilion, game rooms, table tennis section and an expansive amphitheatre. After a long day, you can unwind at Club Exotica, the property’s swish clubhouse that doubles up as a calm sanctuary. Let your stress melt away with calming treatments at the property’s in-house spa. Gastronomes can indulge at the

Structure: Single tower, split into two wings Units: 376 Layout: 2- to 4-BHK residences Estimated handover: On Enquiry Developer: Raheja Universal Pvt Ltd Website: rahejaexoticasorento.com Email: [email protected] Contact: +91-22-66414343

restaurant. The sophisticated, 2-,3- and 4-BHK residences come with a private deck where you can view iridescent sunsets over the Arabian Sea. Each apartment has been fitted with premium fixtures and furnishings, while the

LIKES

Private and contemporary homes at Raheja Exotica Sorento make for perfect living for those looking for luxury in the lap of nature

“Raheja Exotica is a luxury masterpiece in Madh Island, which redefines seaside living at affordable prices. With amenities like a swimming pool, sun decks, a gymnasium and more, we have taken luxury living to new heights. This property is minutes away from Versova — so one can stay off city's busy life while staying within city limits.” – Anita

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Swimming pool

Spa

Kataria, Sr. Vice President – Sales decor exudes warmth and finesse. The construction also conforms with A-class earthquake-resistant norms. An additional feature at the property are the owned service residences with services that will enthral your mind and delight your soul. From house maintenance and cleaning to running errands, the concierge service is always available for your assistance. LOCATION Set amidst breezy surroundings, Raheja Exotica Sorento the posh township on Madh Island, located next to Madh church is just 10 minutes away from Versova. Besides access by the ferry

wharf, the property is also accessible by car. And, the proposed Versova-Madh Island bridge, will reduce travel time significantly between the two places. THE GROUP Set up in the year 1980, Raheja Universal (Pvt) Ltd, has been providing consumers with real-estate developments, that are both architecturally and aesthetically inclined. The company is steered by chairman, Suresh Raheja and his sons Rahul and Ashish Raheja to guide the company towards creating high-value assets and expanding pan-India. The brand has to its name approximately

Squash court

Amphitheatre

over 6.05 million sq. ft. of completed real estate in the Mumbai Metropolitan region, spanning 46 projects, including premium developments such as One, Altamount Road, Raheja Anchorage, Raheja Empress and Raheja Sunkist, among others. Some of their prestigious commercial developments include Raheja Titanium, Raheja Chromium and Raheja Arcade, to name a few.


CHENNAI & PANVEL HIRANANDANI COMMUNITIES

HIRANANDANI PARKS AND HIRANANDANI FORTUNE CITY Modern community living and global lifestyles set within lush landscapes

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magine your own paradise, surrounded by lush greens with a host of plush and contemporary amenities. Chennai in Tamil Nadu, and Panvel, an upcoming Mumbai suburb, will be home to two new townships by Hiranandani Communities. Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Indian real estate czar, is credited with spearheading the concept of community living. These are more just homes, they're spaces that provide you with a holistic life, built on the premise of an engaged, interactive neighbourhood. “It will be being part of something larger – a community comprising residents of that township who will share a very special relationship with nature. I co-relate community living with being close to nature," said Niranjan Hiranandani. HIRANANDANI PARKS, ORAGADAM, CHENNAI This mega township on the outskirts of Chennai, Hiranandani Parks, Oragadam, speaks vibrant living, where old-world tranquillity meets high-tech lifestyles.

Think tree-lined boulevards, shaded greens and landscaped gardens that ensure you’re always in harmony with nature. This open-plan, mixed-use development project is a fitness lover’s dream come true, housing a large cricket and football ground, badminton and squash courts and a children’s play area. The adjoining 12-hole golf course with a 250 metre driving range is a haven for golf enthusiasts. Wide, open spaces characterise the residences here, done up in the group’s signature neo-classical style of architecture, while marble flooring tops off the sophisticated finishes to each home. Besides stylish, modern homes, the communities will encourage rain water harvesting and various other environment-friendly practices. The concept of community living encompasses social infrastructure as well. LOCATION Located in the charming suburb of Oragadam, is recognized as one of South Asia's biggest commercial hubs,

HIRANANDANI PARKS, CHENNAI Structure: Villas, Towers and Plots Units: G+3; G+11 and G+27 (Towers) Layouts 2-2.5-3 and 4-BHK homes Estimated handover: 2016 Contact: +91-44-66949040 HIRANANDANI FORTUNE CITY, PANVEL Structure: Towers Units: G+11 and G+30 Layouts: 1- 2- and 3-BHK homes Estimated handover: 2016 Developer: Hiranandani Communities Website: hiranandanicommunities.com Email: [email protected] Contact: 91-22-61054340

housing renowned IT and automobile companies. The Hiranandani Parks township is designed to have schools, parks, retail stores, healthcare facilities

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The epitome of green communities, these projects are a perfect blend of impressive designs and spectacular views, creating a world of their own

“The verdant beauty that Hiranandani Parks, Chennai and Hiranandani Fortune City, Panvel reflect, will be similar to what we achieved earlier with Hiranandani Gardens, Hiranandani Estate and Hiranandani Meadows. It will be a testimony to our corporate philosophy that to create better communities, it is first essential to create greener communities.” Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director and entertainment options and multiple sports facilities. This place strikes a perfect balance between residential and commercial spaces, and Hiranandani Communities is tapping into one of the fastest growing suburbs in Chennai. HIRANANDANI FORTUNE CITY, PANVEL Hiranandani Fortune City, Panvel, offers two much desired features that are difficult to find just out of Mumbai, with convenient access in and out of the city. This 600-acre mixed-use township houses plush residences, offices, highstreet retail and entertainment hotspots, a sports complex and lavish clubhouses to take care of all your lifestyle needs. All homes are intelligently planned and crafted with precision. Keeping with the concept of community living, this township is being constructed with futuristic technology, innovative design and precision engineering. Benchmark projects like Hiranandani Gardens, Powai and Hiranandani Estate, Thane has

transformed quarry barren land into thriving global communities and this project will do the same here. The signature Hiranandani neoclassical style 2- and 3-BHK apartments, are opulent, classic and spacious, overlooking plush, landscaped green covers and the verdant hills beyond. Over the next five to seven years, the company expects the Hiranandani Fortune City township to be twice the size of their establishments in Powai and Thane. LOCATION The project is conveniently located near the new International Airport, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, JNPT and the CST-Panvel rail corridor. Panvel is set to be the next upcoming realty hotspot of MMR, with its soothing green views, making it an attractive investment proposition. HIRANANDANI BUSINESS PARK Alongside residential spaces, the

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Golf course

Play area

Healthcare centre

Lush landscaping

township will also house the Hiranandani Business Park. The existing business parks in Powai and Thane are home to top notch BFSI & IT companies. THE GROUP Synonymous with quality and commitment, Hiranandani Group are pioneers of mixed use township development with a pan-India and international presence. Ever since its inception in 1978, the Hiranandani Group has believed in the philosophy that every activity, be it in real estate and infrastructure, education, healthcare, hospitality, leisure or entertainment, be focused on creating a better experience and lifestyle for people.


MAN CAVE

, GENTLEMAN S LAIR

PARTY CENTRAL This padded red-and-brown alcove, reminiscent of a 1970's nightclub, is where the parties begin at Ashish Raheja’s house.

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WORDS: DEEPTI UNNI; PHOTOGRAPHER: GAELLE LE BOULICAUT; STYLED BY: PETE BERMEJO

A minimalist space with modernist accents – the clean lines of Ashish Raheja’s Mumbai home direct the eye to the stunning view of the chaotic city beneath

PHOTO: ASHISH SAHI

COMFORT SPREAD The living room is dominated by solid muted shades. A cube table featuring eclectic vignettes from New York is amongst one of the few patterned elements.


PHOTO: ASHISH SAHI

LOUNGE PAD A frosted-glass walkway connects the study to the entertainment space and the terrace beyond.

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PHOTO: ASHISH SAHI

COLLECTOR'S ITEMS Tempered glass stairs lead to the second storey; in an alcove under the stairs, Raheja keeps his sports memorabilia, including Vijender Singh’s bronze-winning boxing gloves and Abhinav Bindra’s rifle from the Olympics.


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ucked into a leafy lane, seconds away from the bustle of Hill Road in Bandra, Ashish Raheja’s 15th-storey penthouse is luxury redefined, an eyrie of calm drawn out of bedlam. Keeping with his reputation as one of the city’s most eligible bachelors, you’re forgiven for expecting a louche bachelor pad, all low lighting and plush leather. “It definitely started out as a bachelor pad,” laughs Raheja, “But as I’ve grown, the space evolved too.” Minimalism is the overriding theme here; the house and its furnishings take a back seat to the star of the show — the view. BACHELOR FAD When they began constructing Raheja Sunkist in Bandra in the early 2000's, he worked with architect Santosh Wadekar to design the internal space of the apartment. “The first was the space planning. I didn’t want any clutter. I just had one thing in mind — glass, white and steel to maximize the space and the view. So we took out all the pillars on this level and put affixed glass in the windows.” Raheja admits that the living room was the one he paid the least attention to. “It was where I occasionally entertained, but at that point of time it was too stark. So I asked my sister-in-law Ekta, who is an interior designer as well, to make this bachelor pad a proper home.” His brief to Ekta was to bring in a subtle feminine touch but one that resonated with his persona; without making the space too eclectic, and to keep it simple; with only geometric shapes and motifs running through the decor. Ekta added a touch of colour to the original brief — muted browns and greys in the carpet and loungers that sparsely dot the living room. The final product was to his specification; masculine but elegant, minimal but warm. His personal spaces, though, are a throwback to the earlier stark decor of the apartment. His bedroom is all-white, save for the wooden bed, as is his glassed bathroom. BOYS’ NIGHT OUT But most of the action happens on the other end of the glass walkway that connects to his "entertaining space". Incidentally, the walkway looks over the living area, which, backed by the colourful LED wall, is the space you’d associate with the colourful 1980's Bollywood era. Adding to the drama is an alcove padded with red and brown velvet. “This, of course, is a little ridiculous. It’s a little like a 1970's party room but that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be.” A La-Z-boy that looks out at a massive plasma TV set and a rugby-ball-shaped bar completes the ultimate bachelor fantasy space. But the pièce de résistance is the terrace that runs along the upper level. The view is magnificent with the best of Mumbai laid out in all its glory. “This is where I usually have my breakfast and of course, when I have company, it’s everyone’s favourite place to hang out,” says the real estate scion.

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OUTSIDE IN The absence of a roof in the living room ensures that the skylight lets in natural light.

The first was the space planning. I didn’t want any clutter. I just had one thing in mind — glass, white and steel to maximize the space and the view. So we took out all the pillars on this level and put affixed glass in the windows.

INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE EXPO 2015 The one-stop show for luxury real estate launches in India The growing breed of self-made millionaires, entrepreneurs and high net-worth individuals in India, has increased the demand for luxury real estate. After all, what better way to show you’ve arrived than owning a piece of prime property coveted by one and all. The International Real Estate Expo (IREX) 2015, makes its debut in India showcasing investment opportunities across the spectrum of premium residential and commercial real estate, hotel and leisure properties in India and across the globe.

"This show is being held in line with prestigious global realty exhibitions around the world. IREX 2015 offers a perfect platform for premium Indian and international real estate companies looking to tap this market.” – Vimal Anand, Director, IREX

Curated from 4-6 December, 2015, New Delhi will see leading Indian developers and international real estate companies like Sotheby’s, DAMAC Properties, Trafalgar, Ellington, Herald, Aristo and Ray White, to name a few, exhibit an array of high-end luxury projects. Prominent artist Paresh Maity’s art installation 'Mystic Abode' will be showcased at the expo. Additionally, prominent interior designers such as Gauri Khan, Raseel Gujral and Meera & Muzaffar Ali’s House of Kotwara, will display customdesigned interior spaces for viewers. You will also see branded developments in collaboration with iconic fashion houses such as Versace, FENDI, Bugatti, and luxury hotel apartments.

The 2016 edition will be held from 14-16 October in New Delhi. For further information, visit irexindia.com or contact +91-9818880538

“Today, the globe-trotting Indian lives in a boundary-free world, and it’s only fitting that they have high-quality residences to match this lifestyle. I warmly welcome the First edition of IREX. The one platform to discover high quality residences around the world.” - Gauri Khan, Founder, Gauri Khan Designs

“Indian real estate buyers are increasingly looking for a second home to invest in or plush holiday homes located overseas. The rise in globalisation and comparable valuations overseas are just some of the factors driving these investments.”

- Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India

TRIBUTE

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PHOTO: PRASAD NAIK

AN ICON

Architect Abha Narain Lambah recalls the life and legacy of the late Charles Correa, India’s most influential architect

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THE GENIUS In an era when architectural practices are increasingly becoming more corporate and less personality-driven, Correa represented perhaps the last of the great masters. His architecture — while firmly rooted in its Indian identity — was a game changer within the urban Indian landscape, underpinned by strong conceptual thought and symbolism. The hallmark of his buildings was a celebration of pure, unflinching geometry, not bothering with small frills, but characterized by bold strokes, reflective of his persona. His designs were uncompromising, much like the ideals for which he stood. Correa’s architectural genius dominated the urban landscape — from his early forays into low-cost housing in the 1960's, to seminal institutional architecture in the 1980's and '90s — such as the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Ahmedabad; Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur; Vidhan Bhavan, Bhopal; and in New Delhi, the National Crafts Museum, Surya Kund and the

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CHARLES CORREA ASSOCIATES/EXHIBITED AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS IN 2013

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grew up hero-worshipping Charles Correa from the heady days of the 1980's, witness to raging debates at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, over his Life Insurance Corporation building that was being constructed at the heart of Connaught Place. It was a massive red sandstone-clad structure that bravely held its own within Lutyens’ Delhi, and yet, was unapologetically contemporary. He was the embodiment of Howard Roark that one imagined while reading The Fountainhead, a bible for every student of architecture. With his six-foot frame, silver hair, thick spectacles and magnetic personality, he was the tallest among his peers — head and shoulders above the architects around him, physically and intellectually. He reinvented Indian modernism; his buildings stand proud as iconic architectural edifices — in step with the changing world, and yet, quintessentially Indian in spirit. Correa remained original and pioneering, truly among the greats, the iconic master architect of the post-Corbusian period.

British Council building. Through his works, he explored cutting-edge design and maintained an underlying symbolism, be it the reinvention of the mandala or the recurring leitmotif of the Indian courtyard. Charles was truly India’s ambassador to the West when it came to architectural brilliance. He was awarded a Royal Gold Medal in 1984 by the Royal Institute of British Architects and a UIA Gold Medal in 1990 by the International Union of Architects. Few could have imagined that, once well into his 80s, he would design the stunning Champalimaud Centre in Lisbon and the cutting-edge Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. His commitment to exploring architectural prototypes in India led to him adopting low-cost housing techniques — from the Tube House in Ahmedabad in the early 1960's, to designing apartment housing models like Tara Apartments in New Delhi in the 1970's, as well as the seminal Kanchanjunga high-rise in Mumbai, and his home in Sonmarg Apartments where he lived till his last days.

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THE VISIONARY To me, Charles Correa’s genius lay in his deep intellectual vision for the nation. His was the lone voice that raised issues about urbanism in the decades when India was suffering from comatose urban planning that eventually led » 3

PHOTO: ROSA REIS

THE MASTER'S PIECES 1. Charles Correa in his office in Opera House, Mumbai, in 2010. 2. A detailed drawing of the double-height balconies in Correa’s Kanchanjunga apartment building. 3. The Champalimaud Centre in Lisbon is one of Correa’s most recent works. 4. A sketch of Kanchanjunga, on Peddar Road, Mumbai.


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ART AT WORK 1. The Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, completed in 1992. 2. The British Council in New Delhi, which features the work of English painter Howard Hodgkin.

PHOTO: MAHENDRA SINH

THE INDIVIDUAL Over the years, I had known and admired Charles for the amazing human being that he was. With a quick wit and a storehouse of anecdotes, he was always ready with a disarming smile and could draw from his formidable love of cinema history to pull out a Hollywood film analogy for any issue. I remember, many years ago, when a radio show hosted by Milind Deora, appointed Charles and me to a panel, along with the then Secretary of Urban Development. This was the time when the debate on the mill lands was raging. His report recommending an equitable distribution of this land to create urban greens was being overruled by the government under pressure from the real estate lobby. Just as the debate was about to begin, Charles remarked, “When the gypsies are ready to fight it out to death and the music begins, don’t be surprised when someone suggests, ‘Let’s dance first!’” That was his fantastic sense of humour, commenting on our rather ironic debate when we knew as citizens fighting for public open space, we were battling the government’s stand, a futile effort as it eventually turned out to be. Mumbai, by ignoring the legend's vision, lost its greatest opportunity to reinvent itself, losing out hundreds of acres of land that could have been developed into urban greens and connected pedestrian zones, opting instead for vertical slums of concrete towers and gated communities isolated from the urban setting.

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IMAGE: CHARLES CORREA ASSOCIATES

« to the urban chaos we see today. As chairman of the first National Commission on Urbanization in 1985, he foretold many of the issues that we were to face with imploding cities and rapid urbanization in India. Navi Mumbai was his brainchild; and to his last years, Charles spoke passionately about how water transportation for a city such as Mumbai was a long neglected aspect of its infrastructure. He praised Le Corbusier’s works through his writings, but was objectively critical about his city planning in the Indian context, making the very insightful observation: “Each sector lives in sad isolation.” Still, post-Independence Indian city planning has been stuck in a time warp following these very ideas for decades or completely going the Gurgaon way, something that Charles would talk passionately about. In the 1980's, he gave Mumbai its archetype for a residential high-rise: Kanchanjunga, a monolithic tower that rose above the dense urban fabric in a pioneering form — a pure cuboid punctuated by skilfully calibrated voids and double-height balconies. To this day, it remains a city icon. Many years later, while working on the review of heritage buildings in the city, I had proposed to the government that this work should be listed among the modern heritage structures. In this too, Correa was perhaps ahead of his time.

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PHOTO: GARY OTTE

BODY AND SOUL 1. The Ismaili Centre Toronto, designed by Correa, was completed in 2014. 2. The Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston.

PHOTO: PETER VANDERWARKER

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Through the years, he became a mentor and guide, helping me work on design alternatives for the Crawford Market redevelopment in a battle against the political lobby who wanted the market to be given away to a builder. He gave generously of his time, even dashing off to the crowded market with my architects and his wife Monika in tow, to debate on how we could save the central open space in the market. In February this year, when I went to meet him in his studio with a young architect from my firm, he patiently listened to her

explain the revised design scheme, nodding his head in agreement and enthusiastically sketching his inputs on the design of stalls. For the young architects from my office, to visit his studio was like being a kid in a candy store for the first time. They would shyly ask for his autograph or a photograph with him, just to prove to their friends that they actually got to meet their hero! Perhaps this premier architect was so amazing in his sheer breadth of design repertoire because he never gave up on his

childlike innocence and curiosity through his life. Each decade, he surprised his critics and admirers with the innovation and creativity he brought to each of his projects. He wrote once, “I think I became an architect because of toy trains.” The last time I met Charles was over a wonderful lunch at his house with the most delicious moussaka prepared by Monika. They were wonderful hosts — warm, generous and one of those wonderful couples that seem perfectly in sync with each other. He was generous to a fault, plying me with food and wine. His once booming voice was now raspy — fighting against cancer — but his spirit was strong. We discussed many of his favourite topics, from declining urban aesthetics to the political situation. He also showed me the web portal that he had just finished working on, a repository of his life’s work — sketches, architectural renderings, photographs — this was his last gift to students, to be made available at the Sir JJ College of Architecture and for the architectural community. We salute this great man, mentor and guide, a magnetic personality, full of life — one whom generations of architects look up to as an inspiration and role model. In his life, he worked tirelessly, creating timeless architecture, and in his death, he leaves behind an architectural legacy that shall remain the greatest body of work by a modern Indian architect. LUXE ADDRESSES 2016 — 79

AMBIENCE

FINETASTE

Beyond star chefs and exotic ingredients, what sets a culinary experience apart is the character and aesthetic appeal of the space you’re served in. Step into these restaurants, bars and cafes — design gems across India, to satiate your appetite for design, among other things

JAIPUR BAR PALLADIO

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ar Palladio is where Venice meets Jaipur, rendering a blue and white tableau of design elements, which resoundingly echoes both cities. There are stories hidden in every niche, alcove and arch of this watering hole at the Narain Niwas Palace hotel, owned by Barbara Miolini and designed by Marie-Anne Oudejans — the Dutch designer behind fashion label Tocca. Bar Palladio is a throwback to gentlemen’s clubs of the '60s, combined with European furniture, Mughal art, block prints, colours and a strong Jaipuri aesthetic. The innately 'fusion' decor has a sinuous flow, with Mughal motifs painted in white on blue walls, scallops meeting

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Rajasthani arches on bay windows and furniture that is understated and subtly European. A Jaipur artist has painted frescoes of local birdlife in the innermost area of the bar, while the bar itself has lions carved in marble, reminiscent of early-20th century Venetian cafes. Oudejans partnered with both, Marie Lusa of the eponymous Zurich based Studio as well as Jaipur artisans to create Bar Palladio’s visual identity, graphics and painted motifs. The spaces are well-suited for leisurely conversation over an Italian menu and classic cocktails, including what is arguably Jaipur’s best Long Island Iced Tea.

WORDS: MITA KAPUR; PHOTO: MANAV PARHAWK

NARAIN SINGH CIRCLE

WORDS: SUPRIYA DRAVID; PHOTO COURTESY: THE HUNGRY MONKEY

WORDS: TANYA ABRAHAM; PHOTO: AJAI VADAKKATH

KOCHI KASHI ART CAFE FORT KOCHI

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ocated in one of Fort Kochi’s quaint alleys, Kashi Art Cafe carries old-world charm blended with elegance. Owned by Edgar Pinto, Kashi Art Cafe is one of Kochi’s most popular cafes and also houses an art gallery. Pinto was clear about what he wanted, and used the help of architect Karl Damschen to bring forth a contemporary space in a 200-year-old Dutch colonial house. The brass and cement coffee bar, a recent addition, harmonizes with the brass lampshades and red oxide ceiling. The walls carry art from previous exhibitions, though some are from the owner’s private collection. The indoor garden and wooden furniture at the tail end of the cafe remove any hints of monotony.

NEW DELHI THE HUNGRY MONKEY SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE

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he Hungry Monkey combines a cool California vibe with the über-urbanism of a New York City industrial loft — with exposed red brick walls, Tolix chairs, Edison light fixtures and typography on walls. The proprietors roped in Varrun Motihar, of the architectural firm MOVA1, to create the broad structural concept of the floor and design. The second phase of the project was spearheaded by Vritima Wadhwa, who was responsible for the overall aesthetic, including the colourful light fixtures and practical Scandinavian-style furniture designed by Motihar. Wadhwa also roped in Karan Bakshi of Artfeat Designs to create finishing touches such as the candle stands, door handles and the foot rail at the bar — which are all made of plumbing pipes — and the metal detailing with rivets on the mirror and the benches. The artworks and the illustrations on the partitions were created by Turmeric Design Studio.

BANGALORE THE LANTERN RESTAURANT & BAR

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his glass annexe graces the driveway porch at the Ritz-Carlton in Bangalore — the perfect marriage between fine dining and an edgy night lounge. Envisioned by internationally acclaimed avant-garde design firm Super Potato, this space, as its name suggests, draws inspiration from a Chinese lantern. Mostly comprised of rich hardwoods and stark granites, there are exotic textiles and porcelain vessels along the walls that provide a welcoming contrast at intervals. The al fresco dining area is surrounded by lush greenery, complementing the city's weather. Dim, gradient lighting sets the mood for an intimate evening, with world-class cocktails and a delectable Asian fare — the dim sum range especially, is as praiseworthy as the service.

WORDS: SANCHITA WAHI; PHOTO COURTESY: THE RITZ-CARLTON BENGALURU

RESIDENCY ROAD


WORDS: SANCHITA WAHI; PHOTO: CATE VICTORIA WILSON

WORDS: CHRYSELLE D’SILVA DIAS; PHOTO COURTESY: THE BLACK SHEEP BISTRO

PANAJI THE BLACK SHEEP BISTRO

BANGALORE OM MADE CAFE

SWAMI VIVEKANAND ROAD

KORAMANGALA

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rue to its name, The Black Sheep Bistro stands out from the motley crew of restaurants in Goa. Owners Sabreen and Prahlad Sukhtankar designed the space themselves. Having worked in some of the best hotels internationally, the couple had a fair idea of what their bistro in Goa should look like. The Bistro’s 100-yearold colonial facade belies its interiors — chic, contemporary and very New York — decorated in moody hues of walnut and black, with vanilla walls for a spot of brightness. The outdoor seating area merges fashion and food with racks of wispy clothing from next-door neighbour Sacha’s Shop. Prahlad, an ace sommelier, curates a phenomenal wine list to pair with a variety of locally sourced fish delicacies.

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ith its roots in Anjuna Beach Goa, Om Made Cafe might’ve left the Arabian Sea for a Bangalore rooftop, but Sara Tilche — the architectural mastermind behind this eatery — has managed to retain the Goan aesthetic. The most striking feature of this quaint cafe is that it offers a view of a very different skyline — one comprised of tree canopies below, creating the illusion that the cafe is perched on the treetops themselves. The distressed, white and blue, wooden outdoor furniture is accented at intervals with a surprise burst of canary yellow cane, and chairs that have been curated from a children’s nursery. The decor and views create the perfect setting for a lazy evening.

MUMBAI YUUKA

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uuka offers Chef Ting Yen’s interpretation of modern Japanese food on its plates, and owner Gayatri Ruia’s sense of contemporary, but unfussy Japanese design around them. A long sushi bar at the far end of the 55-seater room has wood bark and bamboo reed from Gujarat as a backdrop, offering contrast to the clean, structured lines and textures of the rest of the space. Origami sculptures in dark niches look over the restaurant that boasts a view of the city from the 37th floor. The chairs have clean lines and angles akin to the Japanese paper craft. Large slabs of black slate make up the tables; the herringbone weave on the wooden floor was cut and placed on site. The food arrives on either monochrome plates printed with cherry blossom branches, or on textured glass plates.

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WORDS: ROSHNI BAJAJ SANGHVI; PHOTO COURTESY: THE ST. REGIS MUMBAI

LOWER PAREL

TRAVEL

WIEDEN VIENNA, AUSTRIA

COMING HOME

all over the Alpine country, some with 20 rooms, a library, underfloor heating and a swimming pool that is really a natural pond. Also the Beim Stephansplatz residences in Vienna, offers free wi-fi and a cot for babies. Built in 1772 and located in the city centre, it is close to a number of supermarkets, restaurants and the underground station. (www.interhome.in; from €382 or `29,100) CHILD FRIENDLY

WORDS: AYESHA ALEEM

For business or pleasure, there’s never been a better time to ditch your regular hotel chain for one of these plush serviced residences across Europe

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entrally located, the residence offers free wi-fi and has room to store bicycles. It is one of the many housing options available on Interhome, a service that helps you find great holiday homes across Europe — and with the Austrian hills being alive with The Sound of Music in 2015, the 50th anniversary of the film, now is a great time to head here. There are properties

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GROSVENOR HOUSE APARTMENTS LONDON, UK Jumeirah isn’t a familiar name for luxury only in the Middle East; the hospitality group operates high-end residences overlooking Hyde Park at London’s upmarket address of Mayfair as well. Combining hotel and apartment conveniences, Grosvenor offers guests spa treatments and round-theclock concierge services. If you check in for seven nights, you only have to pay for five, with complimentary buffet

breakfast and wi-fi. Younger guests get ‘Busy Bee’ packs that promise entertainment with fun activities and can opt for a special kids’ food menu. The seven-storey Atrium allows you to feel like you’re enjoying the outdoors, while still giving you some privacy. The Grosvenor Penthouse, the largest suite, comes with a balcony, butler and bar as well as a media room and a bottle of Dom Perignon on arrival. (www.jumeirah.com; from £464 or `45,000) CHILD FRIENDLY

NO 46 PRAGUE PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC The owners, an interior designer and a photographer, restored this private 19th-century apartment located a short walk away from Wenceslas Square, over two years. Reflective of their travels, the decor includes a Parisian chandelier and an Aztecprint rug. The bathrooms have L’OCCITANE toiletries. A selection of wine and beer is provided; what you drink is deducted from your security deposit. (www. no46prague.com; from €180 or `14,000) GOOD VALUE

LA RESERVE PARIS, FRANCE No one does chic luxury like the French, and these 10 exclusive apartments in Place du Trocadéro, with spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower, are proof. Interior designer Remi Tessier has worked his magic at this gorgeous stay. Smaller versions of the candle chandelier seen in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque hang over a dining table and a wide collection of books and music that guests can choose from add a sense of comfort. This homely vibe is coupled with features like massages and a chef who will cook meals based on your preferences. One of the apartments comes with its own garden. (www.lareserve-paris.com; from €1,900 or `1,50,000 per night. Minimum three-night stay required) VISUAL DELIGHT LUXE ADDRESSES 2016 — 85

RIVA LOFTS FLORENCE, ITALY What is it about lofts that instantly makes us feel at home? Maybe it’s a subconscious association with childhood memories — reading about horses and warm hay-lined stables, climbing into a bunk bed, playing hide-and-seek. This hideaway of nine studios lets you leave the city’s bustle behind and climb into a sanctuary of 1950's French-style decor. With the Arno River flowing along the property, this is a great place to soak up the Tuscan landscape. Located opposite the beautiful park, Parco delle Cascine, the property is a mere 2km from the city centre. The tram that goes to the main station of Santa Maria Novella, is just 200m away; conveniently, you can buy tickets at Riva’s reception. Inside, floorto-ceiling windows ensure you don’t miss the outdoors, and in good weather, you can sprawl on one of the hammocks or lounge beds. Pets are allowed at an additional cost, cots are provided at no extra charge for children up to four years old and a babysitter can be arranged with two days’ notice. The tariff also includes buffet breakfast and the use of vintage bicycles. (www.rivalofts.com; from €225 or `17,500) CHILD FRIENDLY

CITADINES HOLBORN COVENT GARDEN LONDON, UK Located just a short stroll away from Covent Garden, is the stylish Citadines Holborn Covent Garden — Apart’Hotel, a part of The Ascott Limited’s collection of serviced residences around the world. This property offers sumptuous living with a taste of London’s historic culture. Choose from one of their many studios and onebedroom apartments that are spacious, elegant and 86 —

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contemporary, combining premium facilities with services personalised according to your budget and needs. The hotel has a total of 191 suites and rooms. Some of the other nearby attractions include the Royal Opera House and the British Museum, among others. (www.citadines.com; from £180 or `17,900 for a studio; £251 or `25,000 for an apartment) GOOD VALUE

LINNEN BERLIN, GERMANY With branches in the boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, these apartments are close to tourist spots like the Berlin Wall Memorial. Perfect for a party of up to six, Linnen exudes a refreshingly welcome lived-in feel. Minimal furnishing, wooden floors, fluffy duvets, custom-made cotton bedding from Portugal and headboard lighting give the rooms a luxe, unpretentious feel. The bathrooms have organic hand soap, towels and a hairdryer. Although the kitchen is well equipped, the Linnen cafe is great for when you’re feeling a bit lazy. Breakfast starts at 9am and the fabulous variety on offer spoil you for choice. (www.linnenberlin.com; from €80 or `6,100 per night. Minimum two-night stay required) GOOD VALUE

REVEL IN LUXURY AT VEERA’S STRAND PARK, GOA Laid-back elegance meets bold design at this trendsetting residential complex

When it comes to a holiday home in close proximity to the most coveted spots in Goa, Veera’s Strand Park makes for a compelling choice. A luxury residential project, located in the heart of North Goa, exemplifies a perfect escapade — designer serviced residences amidst leafy environs and lush surroundings, yet merely a stone’s throw away from Goa’s hottest beaches and bistros. Having established a name for itself with their residential as well as commercial projects. The Veera Developers Group (established in 1981) is now marking its presence within this dreamy destination, following the same highquality standards that they’ve been associated with. Each tastefully done-up apartment comes with chic furnishing, stylish flooring, a fully equipped modular kitchen, modern tableware, flat-screen TV, luxury bathroom fittings and breathtaking pieces of art and artefacts. Besides offering some of the best-in class amenities, including a dedicated concierge service; the interiors have been designed to incorporate strong natural elements. Spacious and comfortable, the private balcony in each boudoir opens up to inviting vistas and fresh air. A secure, gated community, the property, now ready for possession, also boasts of an outdoor swimming pool, a well-equipped gymnasium, automatic lifts and lush landscaped areas, making it perfect for families looking for a home-awayfrom-home experience.

Just a short walk from the popular Candolim beach, lends Veera’s Strand Park an enviable location, allowing you to choose from the many cafes, bistros and lazy beach shacks, that dot this stretch. Limited options of luxury residences in this popular area makes this property an excellent investment. An added convenience is that there are no separate maintenance charges when it comes to buying a home at Strand Park — your security deposit takes care of this. If you decide to arrive impromptu, rest assured the capable and well-trained concierge service will ensure that your apartment is ready and inviting. For further information, email [email protected] or contact +91-9818300827; +91-9922757993; +91-11-26183234/5/6

BAIXA HOUSE LISBON, PORTUGAL The refurbished 18th-century building in downtown Lisbon has 13 comfortable apartments, the largest of which can accommodate up to seven guests. The interiors are bright and airy, thanks to the natural light that comes in. The original wooden floors, tiles, windows and ceilings are complemented by accents such as a canary yellow lamp, cushions that match the ocean and violet or

orange flowers. Breakfast basics like tea and coffee, muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit and juice are topped up every day, while fresh bread gets delivered to your door. Pets are allowed as long as you inform them at the time of booking, and babysitting services are available, too. (www.baixahouse.com; from €290 or `22,500 for two nights. Minimum two-night stay required) CHILD FRIENDLY

DESTINATION BCN BARCELONA, SPAIN

PHOTO: FREDERIK VERCRUYSSE

The USP at this set of 15 apartments is the “high-end sleep system”: a scientifically designed mattress with goose down duvets and a pillow menu. The room decor varies from exposed brick to modern white walls and light wooden floors. The Tengujo & Naoko penthouse, which are two separate apartments, can be combined on request. It sleeps six and comes with rain showers in two bathrooms and a bathtub in the third. And when you wish to head out, Plaça de Catalunya, the city's busiest square, is a short walk away. (www. destinationbcn.com; from €155 or `12,000) GOOD VALUE

SHELTER 7 GHENT, BELGIUM Be greeted by vast spaces and glass facades, along with a bottle of vintage wine when you check in. The stairs look like they’ve been folded out of cardboard and skylights welcome the morning sun. You’ll get free wi-fi, fresh towels and toiletries, along with a hairdryer and an iron. Private but close to tourist attractions like St. Bavo’s Cathedral, Shelter 7 is perfect to explore the city. (www.shelter7.be; from €140 or `10,700 per night. Minimum two-night stay required on weekends) GOOD VALUE 88 —

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EXCLUSIVE

A HOME FOR

$500 PHOTO: KEVIN COOLEY

On a hilltop in Bel Air, a 100,000 sq. ft. gigamansion is under construction, for no one in particular. The asking price would shatter records but the intrepid developer, Nile Niami, might just get it — because as ridiculous as it sounds, in L.A.’s unbridled real estate bubble, Christopher Bagley finds that this house could be billed a bargain

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When it’s finished, in 2017, the home — photographed here via a drone, looking west — will have, among other amenities, an outdoor yoga platform (the semicircle, far right).


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1. About half of the tennis court had to be built on pilings to account for the land’s contours. It will have a covered viewing area and a fire pit. 92 —

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2. The inviting infinity pool for the guesthouse, which, when built, will be 5,000 sq. ft. itself.

3. The motor court and the main house’s entrance hall; a fire display will greet guests as they step inside.

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4. The gigamansion’s main guard gate (there will be a separate area, with monitors, for keeping an eye on the whole estate).

5. The property will be surrounded on three sides by a moat and other water features, to give it a floating appearance.

6. The “sky deck,” as Niami refers to it, will have a putting green, a bar, a lounge area and covered loggias. LUXE ADDRESSES 2016 — 93

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igh above Bel Air, Nile Niami is looking down on the tiny mansions of mere millionaires as he stands on a plywood platform that will soon be the roof deck of the house he’s selling for $500 million. When you expect a half billion dollars, everything has to scale up, including the views, and from this hilltop, they span 360 degrees — encompassing the San Gabriel Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The 47-year-old developer explains why he believes the property is not really so expensive when you think about it. The home itself, when it’s finished in 2017, will have five swimming pools, a casino, a nightclub with a VIP area, a lounge with jellyfish tanks in lieu of walls and ceilings and various other amenities that might seem excessive at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi. It will be more than 1,00,000 sq. ft., twice the size of the White House. Brusque, blunt, and palpably cologned, Niami isn’t one to make apologies about his new project’s size or price tag. “To be able to say that the biggest and the most expensive house in the world is here, that will be really good for L.A.,” he says. The main thing to understand about L.A.’s growing crop of no-expense-spared spec living spaces is that they are not actually homes, in the usual sense of the word. Most buyers live on other continents and visit these properties for only a week or two each year, using them mainly as places to park their wealth. After all, in an era where a Cézanne painting can fetch $250 million, a massive

The living and dining areas will open onto a courtyard with palm trees.

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trophy estate in Bel Air might seem like a perfectly sensible investment to a billionaire sheikh or oligarch who’s looking to keep his money safe from a grabby despot back home. And sure enough, for these clients, “bigger” and “better” are generally synonymous. No one can accuse Niami of ignoring the “go big or go home” ethos with the Bel Air property. As Drew Fenton, the real-estate broker who has the listing, says, “It is by far the most important estate project in Los Angeles over the last 25 years and will raise the bar for all other estates built in the city.” One entire temperature-controlled room will be dedicated to storing fresh flowers. Marketing materials refer to the property simply as “The One” and in lieu of a standard virtual tour, Fenton has put together a slickly produced film, with dozens of real-life, green-screened models populating a lifelike digital rendering. It shows the urbane man of the manse pulling up to the front door in his red Ferrari LaFerrari and moving through expanses of marble and glass, from cigar lounge to billiards room to spa, while yoga-toned women swim in clear-walled swimming pools, cavort on the indooroutdoor dance floor, and share laughs against a backdrop of neon-blue jellyfish. Part of the goal is to present L.A. as a seductive alternative to more typical billionaire havens like London, Monaco or Dubai. Around 2008, Niami met Fenton, who clued him in on the burgeoning market of spec homes priced at $10 million to $15 million — a range that sounded astronomical at the time. “I said, ‘Who buys a house for that?’ ” Niami

recalls. He soon found out: Cash-rich foreigners and entrepreneurs whose wealth is immune to such little-people problems as subprime-mortgage crises and stock-market swings. “For the $5 million houses, the buyers still needed loans,” he says. “But when you moved up to $10 or $15 million, it was guys who didn’t have to rely on the bank.” At one point, Niami was building four houses in the tiny neighbourhood of the Birds Streets — the hilly enclave above the Sunset Strip that’s been home to celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio and Halle Berry. “We were buying land for $9 million, doing a remodel, and selling for, like, $39 million,” he recalls. But soon Beverly Hills’ hot Trousdale Estates section beckoned. Exact sales figures for the latest spec homes can be hard to pin down, since most are off-market “pocket listings” and non-disclosure agreements are routine. But in Trousdale late last year, the fashion tycoon turned developer Bruce Makowsky sold a new 23,000 sq. ft. place to Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, for $70 million, setting a record for the area. Niami, who is building a property next door, has raised its price accordingly. “I’d figured mine was going to sell for about 40,” he says. “But that one went for 70, so we’re going to ask 90.” When Niami takes me to that site, he points out the future “Cristal room,” whose black lacquer shelves will feature a geometric display of champagne bottles of varying sizes, and the basementlevel “wellness suite” which will include a hair salon with mirrors that double as TV screens. Niami has a different off-market property in

Trousdale with another apparent must-have: a spinning car turntable, similar to those in auto showrooms, that’s visible from the living room. “So, while you’re watching TV, you can see your $3 million car,” he explains. This place is comparatively small, at 14,000 sq. ft., but Nile is convinced it will fetch $45 million. The creator's chief architect, a wry Irishman named Paul McClean, acknowledges that prices have become divorced from reality. “The numbers right now are crazy, no matter how you look at them,” he says. “But for most people who buy these kinds of houses, it’s not a decision that they calculate based on price per sq. ft. It’s more about the emotional draw. With Nile, we’re trying to sell a lifestyle, a sense of how people imagine they would live.” That’s one reason Niami always sells his houses fully furnished and decorated, down to the Junior Mints in the screening room. For as much bravado as Niami has about this project, what he can’t or won’t say is equally intriguing. He doesn’t know who sold him the massive Bel Air plot, which originally included a decrepit home that he promptly tore down. The secret transaction took place through a bank trust, and the owner remained anonymous (Niami declines to say what he paid). What he does know is that he managed to find room for almost every luxury amenity he could dream up — except a gun range. During our visit to the site in midsummer, the place is still a maze of steel beams and cement trucks, though it’s already easy to see that the finished building will dwarf Hearst Castle. After showing me where the 40-seat screening room will be, Niami walks me

through the master suite, which alone is 6,000 sq. ft. —“but when you’re in it, it doesn’t look that large, because everything else is so big,” he says. Next, we explore the main level; the glass-walled library will have a double-height ceiling and be surrounded on three sides by water. Don’t bother looking for first editions, however. “Nobody really reads books,” Niami says, “so I’m just going to fill the shelves with white books, for looks.” Stepping past the nightclub’s outdoor lounge area where circular banquettes will seem to float next to a two-story waterfall, he says: “I really think that this house is going to do a lot for L.A. Anybody who lives in the area is going to be proud to be near it.” Actually, a number of them will be lobbying to prevent anything like it from ever being built again. Last year, longtime Bel Air resident Fredric D Rosen, the former honcho at Ticketmaster, co-founded a homeowners’ alliance and quickly raised more than $750,000 from neighbors to help enact stricter limits on oversize homes. “What level of sanity would allow a house this big to be built, with a huge discotheque?” Rosen asks. “Anything over 20,000 sq. ft. should be considered a commercial project.” Even though Niami complied with locals’ requests for tighter controls — flagmen to ease traffic flow, reduced hauling hours, etc — Rosen and other critics contend that current building regulations are outdated and haphazardly enforced. (In some parts of the city, for example, there are height restrictions on new construction but nothing to limit excavation.) “We’re not some crazy anti-development

group telling you that your house should be gray or purple,” Rosen says. “What this is about is, you can’t put a size-eight foot in a size-five shoe.” But you can try. From Versailles to Hearst Castle, big-house builders have always relished barreling over — or veering around — any speed bumps that came between them and their Xanadu. This spring, thanks in part to pressure from Rosen’s group, L.A.’s city council issued a temporary ordinance to limit hauling and reduce construction traffic while the planning board considers permanent, citywide restrictions. In Beverly Hills, meanwhile, Nile says, “there are so many ridiculous rules that they put into place, and that’s why I’m not building in Trousdale anymore.” As for the social and moral issues raised by the spread of resort-size, mostly unoccupied residences at a time of rampant inequality, Niami deflects the question, preferring to focus on the hundreds of local jobs that his projects have created. Niami might just take his dump trucks and go play elsewhere. Lately, he’s convinced that the very spec boom he helped spawn has caused land in L.A. to become “ridiculously overpriced.” And once he has his behemoth built, he’s considering bringing his formula to Miami, Napa Valley and San Francisco, where he’s looked at property in Presidio Heights. In the Bay Area, the buyers will be tech titans likely to use the space as their main homes. Would it make Niami feel better to know if the owners of his masterworks will actually be living in them? “It doesn’t matter as long as they pay the money,” he concludes.

Niami surveys the vistas from one of the outdoor seating areas, which will appear to float on water off the nightclub.


GLOSSARY Alcove A recess or indentation in the wall of a room that’s usually segregated by pillars or drapery.

Atrium A large open roofed hall or central court that’s located inside a building. It usually rises through several floors and has a glass or glazed roof.

Avant-garde Unique, experimental and innovative ideas that push boundaries, break stereotype and establish a new way forward in terms of design sensibilities.

Banquette A long, upholstered circular bench that’s set against a wall.

Cuboid Buildings, space or objects that are cubic in shape.

Deck A timber platform or terrace attached to a house or another building.

Double-height ceiling A high ceiling that’s twice the height of a regular ceiling.

Duplex, triplex, quadraplex The number of units contained in a multi-family building. A duplex consists of two units per building; a triplex, three units per building; and a quadraplex, four units per building.

Eaves The horizontal exterior roof overhang.

Facade Fresco A type of mural painting that’s done on wet lime plaster.

Institutional architecture Architecture that’s related to specific government buildings, organisations and/or establishments.

Lattice An open framework of crisscrossed wood or metal strips that form regular, patterned spaces.

Leitmotif A dominant recurring theme in design.

Mandala A Hindu or Buddhist graphic symbol of the universe – a circle that encloses a square and it usually has a deity on each side. 96 —

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Origami

Rain shower head

A Japanese form of art that involves folding paper into creative shapes.

An overhead perforated nozzle about 8-14 inches wide that prompts steady fall of water.

Piling

Scallop

Refers to the support that all buildings, homes and structures need. Large amounts of steel, concrete or wood are inserted into the ground; this process ensures that your building or home has a structured base.

Originating from gothic and medieval architecture, scallops or scalloping are used as decorations under a cornice.

Pocket listing Properties where the broker holds exclusive selling rights. These properties are never listed or advertised and the broker holds an ‘Exclusive Right to Sell’ agreement.

Skylight A more or less horizontal window located on the roof of a building or bungalow.

Spec home A tailor-made house constructed by the builder on land owned by them.

Trims The finish materials in a building,

such as mouldings applied around openings or at the floor and ceiling of rooms.

Trophy estate Properties that are built in some of the most exclusive pincodes, have spectacular views, built on high-amenity land. They are often recreational or second and third homes for most owners.

Underfloor heating Central heating that controls temperatures in houses using radiation, conduction and convection.

Villament An amalgamation of a modern villa and an apartment, studded with luxurious amenities.


The main exterior or elevation of a house or building.

GQ India - December 2015

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