Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2024 i Maxim

The best ideas are sometimes born out of an unexpected crossover in a Venn diagram, so to speak. Take the pocket knife, a humble and downright useful piece with real-world origins in the field. Trusty versions packed with multi-tools crowd the market, but William Henry’s USA-made pocket knives, and a full array of daily-carry essentials, blur the line between useful, stylish and downright luxurious in a way few brands can achieve. The Pacific Northwest brand boasts nearly 30 years of knife-making heritage, having been founded in 1997 by custom knifemaker and musician Matt Conable in northern California (the company moved to McMinnville, Oregon, in the early 2000s). Conable recognized the difference between custom one-off knives and pieces produced in larger quantities, and decided to take advantage of both old-world knifemaking…

“You already know I’m the queen of kings,” proclaims Willow Sias in the hook of her first single. A bold claim for a brand-new artist, but the confidence is warranted. “Queen of Kings” hit No. 8 on iTunes’ R&B/Soul chart when the track debuted in mid-January, putting Sias in the company of Usher, Mary J. Blige and other stars of the genre for that charting period. In fact, Sias seems to have a knack for finding instant success in new ventures. The beautiful up-and-coming singer, who originally hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, recently relocated to Beverly Hills to start a new business dubbed Eye Bar. The optical boutique has already attracted a host of celebrity clients, including Jennifer Lopez, Keanu Reeves and Rick Hilton of the Hilton Hotels empire. (Check…

In late 2023, RM Sotheby’s presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the right deep-pocketed buyer to purchase a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. The specific vehicle, chassis No. 3765, fetched a staggering $51.7 million at auction and generated an avalanche of international headlines, many of which featured the words “most expensive Ferrari ever.” Unusually, the clickbait actually undersold the news. Yes, this was the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at public auction—in fact, it took the record from another Ferrari 250 GTO that RM Sotheby’s auctioned for $48.4 million in 2018. But even more significantly, the 2023 sale made chassis No. 3765 the most valuable production car sold at auction, full stop. The only other automobile on earth that’s achieved a more numerable confirmed hammer price is the $142 million 1955 Mercedes-Benz…

When I first got into Thoroughbred horseracing, everybody had a collective challenge: How do we engage young people?” Belinda Stronach asks rhetorically about her initiation into the Sport of Kings. “Well, our efforts to engage young people are about curating an experience that we feel is compelling and relevant to what they would like to do. So we combine fashion, music, all forms of entertainment, hospitality, and we partner with the best in each jurisdiction to curate this experience. And that’s what Pegasus is.” We’re sitting in an expansive VIP suite overlooking Gulfstream Park, a storied horseracing track built in 1939 here in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that Stronach’s company 1/ST (under The Stronach Group umbrella since 2011). Beyond Gulfstream, 1/ST also owns a suite of preeminent thoroughbred properties including Santa…

The story of Royal Enfield is a wild and circuitous one. In the 1950s and, 60s the British manufacturer was the preferred choice of café racers and gentlemen rogues who made that era in motorcycling one of the most influential ever. But like most British marques from the 20th century, Royal Enfield struggled to compete with cheaper—and regrettably more reliable—Japanese bikes that poured into Europe and America in the, 60s and, 70s, eventually leading to the company’s shuttering in 1971. Except it didn’t, really. Across the globe in one of the British Empire’s former colonies, Royal Enfield had planted a seed that survives to this day. You see, in 1954 the government of India commissioned a huge order for Royal Enfield’s Bullet model to supply its troops along the Himalayan…

When summer rolls around we find ourselves anxiously checking our bar shelves to be sure we’re well supplied with bitter aperitifs, the building blocks of the traditional spritz, one of the most refreshing cocktails ever created. Aperol, Campari and Select of course being the iconic options, though lately we’re looking a little farther afield and discovering some true gems in the realm of amaro, the vividly hued, bittersweet herbal liqueur perfected by the Italians more than a century ago, but no longer their sole remit. All of which made our day that much brighter upon the arrival of “Spritz Cocktails,” a beguiling new book from Ryland Peters & Small featuring 35 recipes, with images by our favorite spirits photographer, Alex Luck. As the sheer number of offerings might divulge, the…

This is a wonderful place, and the hotel one of the best I have ever used…. It is the most lovely spot in the whole world.” So said Winston S. Churchill to Franklin D. Roosevelt about La Mamounia in Marrakech in 1943. He made a practice of taking up residence at the famous five-star hotel every winter, with other famous faces soon following suit. At that time La Mamounia had just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and just last year it turned 100. These days Churchill is honored by a bar named after him, as well as one of the hotel’s top suites. In 2020, the legendary hotel unveiled the first phases of a multimillion-dollar revamp, which was fully completed in 2023 in time for La Mamounia’s centennial. It had already…

It’s safe to say that when it comes to chartering a superyacht, Beyoncé and Jay-Z can literally choose any vessel in the world. Price is obviously no object—their combined net worth is said to be about $3 billion—and even an owner who doesn’t normally rent out his yacht could hardly resist an offer from the superstar duo. So it’s telling that on an epic trip to Croatia in 2020, they decided to set sail on the 350-ft. Benetti-built “Lana,” one of the most luxurious and expensive yachts in the world. “Lana,” which reportedly cost around $2 million per week to charter at the time, houses 12 guests along with 34 crew in an array of sybaritic staterooms. It features a spa with multiple treatment rooms, a cinema, beach club, helipad…

COVER: Shirt and Panty, VICTORIA’S SECRET PINK, victoriassecret.com. Earrings, H&M STUDIO, hm.com. P.64: Top, ALEXANDER WANG, alexanderwang.com. Panty, VICTORIA’S SECRET, victoriassecret.com. Boots, STUART WEITZMAN, stuartweitzman.com. P.65: Dress, FLEUR DU MAL, fleurdumal.com. Trench, AVEC LES FILLES, aveclesfilles.com. Rings, H&M STUDIO, hm.com. P.67: Top and Shorts, VICTORIA’S SECRET, victoriassecret.com. Shirt, FORTE FORTE, forte-forte.com. P.68: Top, GUESS, guess.com. Panty, VICTORIA’S SECRET, victoriassecret.com. Shoes, KURT GEIGER, kurtgeiger.com. Sunglasses, CHROME HEARTS, chromehearts.com. Earrings and Bracelet, H&M STUDIO, hm.com. Rings, MIRACO, shopmiraco.com. P.69: Coat, AVEC LESFILLES, aveclesfilles.com. Necklace, MIRACO, shopmiraco.com. P.71: Bustier, AGENT PROVOCATEUR, agentprovocateur.com. Tulle Skirts, FORTE FORTE, forte-forte.com. Shoes, RENE CAOVILLA, renecaovilla.com. MAXIM® MAXIM (ISSN 1092-9789) May/June Issue, Volume 268, Number 3 is published bimonthly in Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sep/Oct, and Nov/Dec by Maxim Inc., 121 West 36th Street #327, New York, NY…

Keyan Safyari is an enlightening example of how far a dogged work ethic can take a talented individual, even in a ruthlessly competitive environment like Hollywood. As a seasoned director of photography and founder of elite production-services company Moving Images Entertainment, his dizzying list of outstanding professional credits spans all forms of filmed media, including concert specials for Elton John (for which he won an Emmy), Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and Lionel Richie; feature films, prime-time TV shows, news network documentaries and even the Emmy Awards themselves. Read our interview with Safyari below to learn more about this extraordinary man’s humble beginnings, favorite projects and Tinseltown ascension. Tell us about the founding of Moving Images Entertainment in 2004. While still in college, I was working as a 3D modeler and…

The Maceo Plex soundtrack thrums throughout our handsomely appointed cabin as we squiggle over the mountains of Andalusia, slaloming across sun-drenched foothills in a 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63. The synthesis between the techno surging from the Burmester sound system and the GT 63’s surgically delivered force utterly transforms the test drive into a Nicolas Refn flick: tense and thrilling, taut with trial. We’re behind the wheel of the second generation of the Tristar’s apex predator, the AMG GT, to gauge its evolution from the sui generis model that ceased production in September 2022. The years for this successor gestating in AMG’s womb in Affalterbach, Germany, are proving themselves worthwhile as we rip across Spain’s southern province, blurring orchards of gnarled olive trees basking in the hot Mediterranean sun. The most…

With her pillowy pout, natural sense of style and undeniable talent, ballerina Violetta Komyshan has pliéd and pirouetted her way into becoming a veritable fashion favotite, too. After spending her early childhood years in Ukraine, Komyshan immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, with her family as a five-year-old with no English but with big aspirations of being a star performing onstage. After discovering ballet and immersing herself in the practice, she was accepted to the rigorous Ballet Tech School and her fate was sealed. The discipline and dedication needed to succeed never fazed Komyshan either, as she progressed to the famous Fiorello H. La-Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan and ultimately to BalletNext, which readied her for a professional career. “BALLET HAS AN ELEMENT OF…

French photographer Philippe Shangti was born in Toulouse in 1983 but moved to St-Tropez in the early 2000s, and the seaside resort’s legendary, stylish excess had a profound influence on the future art world star. He has even referred to St-Tropez as his muse. “Coming from a humble background and having a very wholesome nature, his new life on the French Riviera was a shock,” as his official bio puts it. “All the debauchery and opulence of parties and luxury inspired the artist’s initial creations.” And they continue to do so. This can be seen most prominently in his epic series of works dedicated to other top sybaritic destinations around the world, as well as the seven deadly sins. “Philippe expresses his vision of the sins through different photographic artworks,…

As the big game descended on Las Vegas, the Maxim Casino Royale Experience presented by Vivid Seats took over Resorts World Las Vegas on February 10, with an immersive Casino Royale extravaganza brought to life by unKommon events. Setting the stage for an epic Super Bowl weekend, the Maxim Big Game Experience showcased top entertainment, a star-studded fan turnout and more. Super Bowl weekend’s most highly sought-after soirée, the Maxim Casino Royale Experience delivered an unforgettable night with top athletes, actors, musicians, reality stars, models and more mingling throughout the venue and the E11EVEN Lounge, powered by the Miami hospitality giant. Among the A-listers in attendance were Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly; Chris Brown; Ne-Yo; T-Pain; Gabrielle Union; Fat Joe; Terrell Owens; R&B singer Mario; rappers Remy Ma and…