Bouillabaisse, baguette, Bastille Day … and the Breton stripe. What could be more French? Royalty and the literati have had much to say about Paris. “Paris isn’t a city, it’s a world,” declared King Francois 1 in the 16th century, when it probably was; Ernest Hemingway wrote: “If you are lucky enough to have lived…
A New York hotel celebrates the skill and romance of Britain’s old-time basketweavers One thing the Firmdale Hotels have in common is the intoxicating collision of contemporary art, patterns and textiles. But you can always count on hotelier Kit Kemp to imbue each member of her 10-strong portfolio with a cheeky point of difference. In…
A public garden, two museums, cultural spaces … Yves Saint Laurent says thanks for the memories. Rarely does a guest say “Thank you for having me” quite so generously as Yves Saint Laurent did to Morocco. The French couturier and his long-time partner, Pierre Bergé, bequeathed to Marrakech a public garden (Jardin Majorelle), and two…
The luxury French perfume house, Creed, has opened a boutique in Sydney’s Double Bay. On a November evening in chic Double Bay, the bold and the beautiful are milling about on the footpath outside 36 Cross Street, clinking glasses of Perrier-Jouet to celebrate the opening of the first Sydney stand-alone boutique from the enduring luxury…
Premium perfumes no longer owe their cachet to flower power alone. Fragrance is upping the ante with notes borrowed from drugs, French palace floors, and the Three Wise Men, reports Susan Skelly. Niche perfumes are a little like a Scandinavian gourmet pizza – layers of improbable, intriguing combinations of ingredients foraged by a “nose” who’s…
Seeking body work, wattle seeds and Wollomi pines at Gaia Retreat & Spa in the Byron Bay hinterland With Gaia, you never lose that sense of returning to the fold. It’s like swapping medieval armour for a muslin baby wrap. This was Excess All Areas’ third visit. Last time, 2015, we were there to celebrate…
Technique, vision, and a Venezuelan cacao bean have produced a chocolate that leading chefs are doing their block over … Some never forget a face. Chef Giovanni Pilu, of the award-winning Sydney restaurant, Pilu, never forgets a taste. Several years ago, he encountered what he thought might be the perfect chocolate. “It was at the…
In search of glorious bush and seascapes when the hordes have returned to work after the holiday crush, Excess All Areas heads to Fairhaven, and that portfolio of retreats on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road that also includes Bells Beach, Aireys Inlet, Lorne, Anglesea and Apollo Bay. Home to the famous sea-locked rock stacks The Twelve Apostles…
Stefan Sielaff, Director of Design at Bentley Motors, is inspired by many things, from haute couture to architecture, timepieces, and even aircraft design. Success, notes the 54-year-old German-born innovator, is rooted in having a clear idea of what makes a brand unique. “For me, it’s the beauty of a fantastic exterior concealing innovations and craftsmanship that…
How do you remake a landmark without compromising its essence? The new Ritz Paris pulls it off in rare style, writes Susan Skelly. Arriving at the Ritz Paris is like turning up at a private mansion for a soirée you’ve spent weeks anticipating: a high-wattage welcome, a spritz of joie de vivre, a sense of…