Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 - Issue 60 i The Rake

Not long ago, I was in Dallas on business. I made the requisite pilgrimage to Dealey Plaza and viewed the world’s most infamous grassy knoll, but I also discovered one of the more striking monuments among the thousands to John F. Kennedy. The Sixth Floor Museum is housed in the building that was once the Texas School Book Depository. You climb the stairs, turn a corner, and are faced with the open window through which Lee Harvey Oswald fired his rifle at Kennedy’s motorcade on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, with world-shattering consequences. The museum plays host to around 400,000 people a year, and their comments in the visitors’ book — “Our greatest President”; “Oh how we miss him!”; “A beacon of hope, cruelly extinguished” — are ample evidence…

When she was 19, Hermione Corfield appeared on the cover of Tatler, not necessarily as herself but as the physical manifestation of the ‘New Sloane’, a younger generation of that well-heeled Chelsea archetype who are “leaner, meaner” and are shunning traditional dress codes. But despite fitting the bill in terms of appearances, the actress seems to be actively shaking that stereotype. So far, Corfield has played a buttoned-up hotel manager, a fighter pilot, a princess, a record shop clerk, and a marine biologist: a veritable feast of roles for someone in the early stages of her career. Hermione grew up in Gloucestershire, the heart of the British countryside, interspersed with trips to London, where her mother, the shirtmaker Emma Willis, and father work. Her entry into the acting world was…

Becoming a creative force’s muse is no faint endorsement; it is an apportioning of huge responsibility. Being the muse to Ralph Lauren, the most successful and influential clothing designer of his era — a man who has redefined not just the domestic style scene in his native land but modern-day America — is a pedestal on which most mortals would feel more than a touch of acrophobia. Not so Ricky Lauren, who exhibits poise, grace and elegance, and reciprocates the profound respect and admiration proffered by her husband of 50 years, a man she describes as “the captain of our ship and the anchor in my life” in her book The Hamptons: Food, Family and History, a tome that blends memories, meals and other marvels to make up an ode…

This article was first published in Issue 36, October 2014 The pioneer spirit burns vast and bright in the heart of Ralph Lauren. And because of this, he’s risen from a humble upbringing, transcended geographical boundaries, and shaped the world’s cultural landscape by transforming a pure, essential vision of American optimism into one of the most globally successful luxury brands on Earth. As Hillary Clinton put it, on the occasion of awarding Lauren the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in June 2014: “Ralph… would come forth with a vision and an optimism and an energy that marks our country and those who call it home. He would exemplify the American Dream and also make it possible for so many others to have their dreams.” What she alludes to with the last…

All clothes property of Mark Large Mark Large’s wardrobe space, it’s fair to say, has adopted an expansionist policy that makes the efforts of Lord Wellesley, the British governor-general of Bengal from the late 18th century, look indolent. “The main bedroom has a massive built-in one, the second bedroom is rapidly being colonised, and the third bedroom has been turned entirely into a wardrobe for me and my wife,” Large tells The Rake of his zealous approach to garment acquisition. “Yet still, sometimes, if I haven’t worn something for a while, it has to go in the loft.” His grimace virtually sours his coffee. “I really don’t enjoy doing that, but it has to be done.” For Large, a decorator by profession, currently renovating the home of the Duke of…

Sitting imperiously at 12 o’clock, burning as brightly as Prometheus’s torch, cleverer than a Border Collie with spectacles, casting aside all martini-induced temporal miasma and capable of speaking 26 different languages, is the day of the week wheel in Rolex’s legendary, mythical Day- Date model. And of all the languages one might choose in which to read the day of the week, I’ve always had a romantic inclination towards French. Not just because I have a passable familiarity with the Gallic tongue (as well as a penchant for Gérard Depardieu movies), but because the language connects us with the origin of these names. In any language, a symbol… It goes back to between the first and third centuries B.C., when the Roman Empire decided to replace the eightday nundinal cycle…

I have always cherished masters of self-invention, from David Bowie to Archie Leach. But what do Ziggy Stardust and the irrepressibly suave Cary Grant have in common with the watch brand Bell & Ross? They never let history get in their way. Rather, they captured and bottled the zeitgeist of their respective eras, plotted an unstinting course in claiming our hearts, and kept us entertained beyond all others with their inimitable charm and style. Bell & Ross originated in the vivid imagination and single vision of two of the nicest men in the Swiss watchmaking industry, Bruno Belamich and Carlos Rosillo. “We knew each other at school and we immediately got on,” Rosillo says. “Bruno was only in Paris for one year and then his family moved back to Burgundy.…

“A camel,” goes a dictum that the corporate world militates against, “is a horse designed by a committee.” Whoever coined this bijou of anti-collectivism would get no quarrel from Howard Roark, the architect protagonist in Russian- American author Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel The Fountainhead. “Why wouldn’t you like to see a human body with a curling tail with a crest of ostrich feathers at the end? And with ears shaped like acanthus leaves?” Roark asks in one typical altercation over approaches to the master builder’s profession. “Because it would be useless and pointless. Because the beauty of the human body is that it hasn’t a single muscle which doesn’t serve its purpose; that there’s not a line wasted; that every detail of it fits one idea, the idea of a…

The 10-year anniversary of The Rake is a good time to reflect. This may come as a bit of a shock to anyone who has had the misfortune of spending a few minutes in my company, but, unlike my learned friend and boss, Wei Koh — who grew up with the most comprehensive curiosity for cultural codes of clothing — my taste has always been somewhat regimented, literally. I have been a bannerman for a very specific style of dress for as long as I can recall, and it is my father’s City dress look. The 1970s beckoned the end of an era in which all men who worked in the City (usually former army officers) would be required to wear suits, bowler hats, tightly furled umbrellas, bulled brogues and,…

I love New York for many reasons. Of course, for her endless activity in every cultural form, and for her around-the-clock accessibility and unmatched diversity. But mostly it is the people’s energy that makes the city unique. There is an atmosphere and intensity around the gathering of people in New York that is probably unprecedented throughout the world. I love the vibrancy of the different boroughs and its fantastic neighbourhoods, where local shops or cafés remember your name or your favourite order. You can feel at home in New York quickly, and New Yorkers give you compliments when least expected. There is constant development and change affecting the architecture of the city; it’s fascinating, when I come back from my travels, to discover new sights. New York is a safe,…

As an ursine gatecrasher into a traditionally canine zone, I may have united many readers’ eyebrows with my presence here. I’m confident, though, that my testimony will more than justify my having mounted this figurative podium, for mine is a tale that will ignite feelings of warmth, even within peers of mine who have tightly packed mohair fabric where mortals have internal organs. The story of how I became a global brand’s most famous non-equine symbol begins in the late eighties, when Mr. Lauren’s team asked the good people of Steiff — the topend teddy bear firm founded in the 19th century — to create a cuddly toy wearing a signature Ralph Lauren look to give their boss as a gift. A man disposed to the reciprocal nature of gratitude,…

Ralph Lauren American Western watch collection “I have always been inspired by the rugged beauty and romance of the American west,” Ralph Lauren once remarked, and the designer’s emotional affiliation to that part of the world has more than influenced his work over the decades. Now, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his empire’s existence, Lauren has blended his regard for aesthetics from the other side of the Mississippi with fine Swiss watchmaking tradition. Capturing the artistic essence of the vintage rodeo and concho belts Lauren often wears himself, not to mention the Wild West flavours of much of his output since the eighties, this range of timepieces includes pocket-watches and cushion models fashioned from antiqued sterling silver, antiqued 18ct rose-gold, and burnished vachetta leather. The fine workmanship found with…

This article was first published in Issue 19, December 2011 Amusingly, David Lauren, the third and youngest child of Ralph and Ricky Lauren, learned the extent of his father’s influence on American culture only when he went to college. He explains: “When I went to Duke University, I had a moment of epiphany, where I saw the vast cultural impact of my father’s vision. Here at this southern college, people from all 50 states were wearing the clothes he designed. What was incredible was that many of them didn’t realise that there was an actual person named Ralph Lauren. The greatest compliment they paid him was that they thought Ralph Lauren was an institution that had been around for more than a hundred years. This was something really extraordinary. One…

CARTER BERG Carter Berg was born and raised in New York City. The impulse to become a photographer struck during spring holiday of his final year in college, when he was working as a production assistant on a fashion shoot. He says: “I watched the photographer and his crew from afar and thought, ‘I want to do that’.” He adds: “I learned quickly that the really memorable pictures are the ones that can happen in between the picture you’re supposed to be taking. You always have to be looking and have your camera at the ready.” His work has appeared in numerous publications, such as Elle Decoration, Madame Figaro and Departures. He has also shot advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren, as well as images for several lifestyle books, including New…

We get him now, of course, but in September 1984, Bruce Springsteen must have felt like the most misunderstood man in America. Every musician wants a hit, but the success of his album Born in the U.S.A., then on its way to selling 15 million copies and reaching far beyond his usual fan base, had provoked reactions he could never have expected. Anyone who listened to the title track with any attention would see that, beside the stadium chant of its chorus, this was a protest song: the blue-collar guy who’s sent off to kill the yellow man returns to find he can’t get a job in the refinery and is left with nowhere to go. What Springsteen hadn’t realised is that most people don’t listen with attention, which is…

It would be unusual for anyone involved in the making of this magazine not to have their interest piqued by the opportunity to interview the first person to make a purchase at the Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery. That man, John Demsey, can reflect on a life fully lived and achievements that exceed even the loftiest ambitions of the well-heeled and rakishly minded. This is because, as Executive Group President of Estée Lauder, there are few men who have had greater influence on the cultural zeitgeist of the past 20 years. When one peels back the layers of Demsey’s story, one finds a man dedicated to bespoke craft, a connoisseur of art, architecture and pop culture (he swiftly named his desert island discs unprepared), and a man dedicated to one of…

When it came time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this magazine, I knew there was only one man who could be on our cover. And it didn’t bother me that he had graced the front of The Rake twice before, because each of those covers created some of the memories I treasure the most. The original cover story was a tribute to his inspiring the creation of The Rake. Throughout the perennially shifting winds of trend, Ralph Lauren’s brand has always been the steadfast beacon of classic elegance and eternal style. I remember the first words he ever said to me were, “So you created The Rake. I’ve always wanted my own magazine. But I don’t need it any more because I like yours.” I recall almost fainting at…

All clothes property of Alexander Kraft It’s always a risk sharing a vintage car with another individual for three days. Choose correctly and the experience is bucolic charm. Choose incorrectly and you are plunged into an existential hell that would leave Camus, Sartre and Ionesco weeping in unison on the floor. So I approached piloting the 1967 280SL built on Mercedes’ legendary W11 platform in a vintage rally from Munich to Lake Como in the summer with vague trepidation. Because I’d never spent any real time with my chosen co-pilot, Alexander Kraft. Even if you haven’t met him or don’t know the name, you’re sure, if you read this magazine, to recognise his silent-movie-star visage and Cifonelli swath-cutting style from his Instagram feed, alexander.kraft, replete with its ‘ceo’ and ‘gentleman’…

We all fantasise about inventing a time machine that would allow us to reach through the miasma of decades past, march into a Ferrari dealership in 1963 and lay down a deposit on one of the 39 Ferrari 250 GTOs ever made. Or back to Arles in 1889 to seek out the genius iconoclast Vincent van Gogh and purchase from him the work of totemic majesty that is Starry Night. But personally I’ve always wanted to return to 1967, two years before I was born, when a 28-year-old Ralph Lauren had the seminal inspiration that created the single most unique, enduring, original and visionary ready-towear empire and the first true American luxury brand. Over the next 50 years he would evolve, hone and refine an art form as singular as…

Let’s take a moment to look back at the staggering 22 years of Chopard L.U.C’s groundbreaking innovation: 1996 The calibre 1.96 is unveiled. 1997 The 1860 watch, a sublime 36.5mm timepiece with a massive gold dial produced by Metalem, wins Timezone and Montres Passion / Uhrenwelt’s watch of the year. 2000 The Quattro is introduced featuring two sets of stacked barrels, four in total, with a mighty 9-day power reserve and COSC and Geneva seal certification. 2003 The L.U.C Tourbillon is unveiled. Unlike the majority of other tourbillons, it beats at 4Hz and is the only COSC-certified tourbillon on the market aside from Patek Philippe’s. 2005 Chopard unveils the L.U.C Lunar One Perpetual Calendar, which features the first orbital moon phase display in a modern wristwatch. 2006 Chopard gives us…