Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2020 i Maxim

It may be a bit hard to envision at the moment, but we will travel again. And when we do, Madeira awaits—a volcanic gem 400 miles off the coast of Morocco whose remoteness might just be its greatest asset. The Island of Eternal Spring reopened in July to visitors offering idyllic weather year round, ancient traditions and folklore, pampering luxury resorts, Michelin-starred restaurants and enough outdoor activities to make Hawaii look redundant. Recently voted Europe’s Leading Island Destination for the sixth time at the World Travel Awards, its relative mystery to Americans only makes it all the more appealing. First charted in 1419 by Portuguese ships sailing under the flag of Prince Henry the Navigator, the discovery of Madeira officially marked the dawn of the Age of Exploration. When these…

Last October the $1.9 million sale of a bottle of The Macallan single malt Scotch distilled in 1926—the highest price ever paid at auction for a bottle of spirit—made even those who never touch the stuff sit up and take notice. At 700ml, it contains about 45 pours, making each dram worth around $42,000. Martin Green, Whisky Specialist for the storied Bonhams auction house in Edinburgh, Scotland, and one of the world’s foremost experts, was, however, hardly surprised. “For the past two years, Scotch whisky has been making headlines around the world as never before,” Green tells us. “Records have tumbled at such a pace that, at one point, Bonhams broke the world record for a bottle of whisky at auction twice in the same sale,” in Hong Kong in…

If you’re not a betting man, and you don’t know your horseflesh, you’ll never have heard of Tyler Gaffalione. But if you like a flutter, or even watch this sport of kings from afar, you should have heard his name. Gaffalione is hot stuff when it comes to riding the lightning on some of the fastest, most powerful beasts on four legs. Keeping up with family tradition Gaffalione is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both of whom raced as professional jockeys. His grandfather took a mount in over 3,200 races, and his father won over 800 races in a career spanning 20 years. Gaffalione looks as if he has already eclipsed both to take the family crown. On July 4, 2017, he tied Hall of Fame…

It was time to get the hell outta Dodge. Like almost every human in the known universe we’d just spent the last few months staring at the same four walls, and our minds were beginning to play tricks on us. Like that trash compactor scene in Star Wars, the room was starting to squeeze in, tightening every day. One thought kept boomeranging back to mind: road trip. That classic American rite of passage, the treasured summer excursion of jumping in your favorite vehicle, stretching your legs and throttle foot, and discovering what the world has to offer. And seeing as Rolls-Royce—arguably the most esteemed luxury marque the world has ever known—volunteered a Cullinan Black Badge for adventure, our steed for this voyage was obvious. The three-ton steel, leather and carbon…

COVER: Feather jacket, PINKO, www.pinko.com; silk slip dress, LA PERLA, www.laperla.com. COVER STORY: P.54: Leather shirt, MARTA MARTINO, www.martamartino.com; bronze, gold, driftwood and feldspar necklace by REGINA DABDAB, www.reginadabdab.com; bra and panties, LA PERLA, www.laperla.com. P.56: Lace bra, LIVY STUDIO, www.li-vy.com; leather shorts, MAJE, www.maje.com; over-the-knee boots, MAISON ERNEST, www.maisonernest.com. P.59: Leather jacket, TOD’S www.tods.com; panties, LIVY, int.li-vy.com; black rhodium silver and diamond earrings, necklace, and ring, STATEMENT, www.statement.paris. P.60, left: leather shorts, top, and lace up shoes, ALAÏA, www.maison-alaia.com. Right: Ruffled bolero and panties, ALAÏA, www.maison-alaia.com; hat, ANTHONY PETO, www.anthonypeto.com. P.62: Knitted lingerie set with pearls and over-the-knee boots, LOU DE BETOLY, www.loudebetoly.com; bronze, silver plated, crystal, driftwood and blue kyanite necklace, REGINA DABDAB, www.reginadabdab.com. P.65: Silk shirt in gold, PINKO, www.pinko.com. Leather pants, SANDRO, www.sandro.com. P.66: Silk dress…

Hublot, founded in Switzerland exactly 40 years ago, has grown into one of the world’s most recognizable luxury watch brands, as much a symbol of wealth and achievement as it is of highly innovative watchmaking. Early on the brand, part of the LVMH portfolio since 2008, established its Art of Fusion ethos, merging traditional watchmaking techniques with new materials, such as brightly-colored ceramics and scratchproof gold, and revolutionizing the world of luxury watch design in the process. Over the years it has expanded horological horizons through partnerships with the likes of Ferrari, Formula One, international style icon Lapo Elkann, artist Shepard Fairey, and various other creatives and celebrities. And in 2018 it took its first step into the world of hybrid watches, with a connected version of the Big Bang,…

“Issa comeback, missed your lovin’ so bad,” sings JoJo in her single, “Comeback,” featuring Tory Lanez and 30 Roc. It’s off the new Deluxe version of her album, good to know, released earlier this year. “I wasn’t having sex,” JoJo tells Maxim about the song’s lyrics, which get much steamier. “[But] it was very much on my mind. I was just really interested in sensuality and sexuality around this project.” Twenty-nine years old, beautiful and successful, but no sex? “I just realized I had been a serial dater since I was 14 and that I haven’t really spent time on my own,” she says. “And I just wanted to see how it was. I always had somebody I could call and have a little make out, a little intimacy. So,…

While the aviation industry cools its jets due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the aerospace sector is heating up, meeting multiple milestones this year and aiming to put some wealthy travelers into orbit. Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic are all gaining major momentum towards the long-awaited goal of commercial space travel NASA meanwhile has strategically partnered with private companies to bolster America’s efforts at increasing our footprint in the final frontier. The agency’s Commercial Crew Program awarded SpaceX a multi-billion dollar contract in 2014 to get its space shuttles ready to transport NASA crew to the International Space Station In the half-century since the Apollo 11 Moon landing, humans have made significant progress in space exploration. As the transhumanist age promises evolution beyond earth-bound decay—the era of neural augmentation and…

“THE EARTH AND ITS TOPOGRAPHICAL MISCHIEF MEETS THE ZENITH EXPRESSION OF ITALIAN MACHINERY PUSHED TO ITS LIMITS” There is an unseen architecture in the universe one can discern with the correct lenses, like those alien-spotting sunglasses “Rowdy” Roddy Piper wears in They Live. An unheard symphony if you tune your ears to the right frequency. Followers of Carl Jung would call it synchronicity; the Grateful Dead faithful promise you can see this web of oneness under the spell of the right psychonutrients But forget all that crap. You don’t need sci-fi eyewear or glands from some endangered Arizona desert toad to manifest spiritual zen—all you need is a Ferrari F8 Spider, an azure sky overhead, and a clear swath of open tarmac rolling out before you like a red carpet.…

One hundred mph. More. More. Flat out. Rockabilly hair slicked back. Lewis leathers. Emblems ablaze. Twitching for another Woodbine to smoke upon a successful return. Well on the way to joining the exclusive Ton Up Club. This is the origin of the café racer. So named for London’s Ace Café, and the speed freaks who raced to the nearby Hanger Lane roundabout and back to earn their place in the Ton Up Club after World War II. Legend has it that if your bike couldn’t do 100 mph, you had no chance of making the distance required in the time it took for a record to play on the jukebox. The fancy marques of the day were BSA, Triumph and Norton, and if you were really lucky, and wealthy, Vincent.…

Sushi is at the heart of Japanese culture. So, too, are the 20 masters portrayed in Sushi Shokunin, my new book being published this month by Assouline. There is no single English word that adequately conveys the meaning of shokunin; while it is typically translated as “craftsman” or “artisan,” these definitions fail to express the magnitude and breadth of the Japanese term. Inherent in a more exacting translation, “master craftsman,” is a glimmer of the more expansive nature of true shokunin: concurrently, they are altruistic leaders, teachers, and artists of tremendous spirit and skill, who strive for excellence not only for themselves, but also for the benefit of others—their families, apprentices, customers, communities and regions. This dedication to a lifelong pursuit of the highest level of mastery—spurred by an unwavering…

Legend has it that one of our favorite cocktails, the Hemingway Daiquiri, was dreamt up in a bar in Havana. Ernest Hemingway, World War I volunteer, writer, boozer, fisherman, and celebrated bon vivant, nipped into La Floridita sometime in the 1930s to answer nature’s call. He noticed that patrons were bragging about the fantastic daiquiris being served. So he ordered one, and took a sip. Never a man of meager appetites, he then ordered another. And another. As he had a hereditary aversion to sugar and death by diabetes, he asked for these to be made with no sugar—and double the amount of rum. And so the Hemingway Daiquiri, in its original incarnation, was born. Lime juice and lots of rum. Nothing more. Nothing less. According to Phillip Greene, author…