ZANETA CHENG

Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief of contemporary French fashion brand ba&sh tell us about parties in Ibiza, the infamous ‘ba&sh wash’ and how this particular strand of boho chic is set to conquer the world.

What’s the recipe to building a successful international business? For starters, don’t think of it as one. Secondly, grab your childhood best friend and do it together. Finally, travel around the world to find your inspiration. Before you know it, L Capital, the investment arm of LVMH, will come calling and propose to expand the brand globally. In fact, it is precisely international expansion that brings Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief of lust-have label ba&sh (the brand takes the first two letters of their names) from their native Paris into the steamy mid June heat of Hong Kong.

It is immediately apparent that the two women are paragons of the fabled French je ne sais quoi. Krief is dressed in a summery green maxi dress and Boccara in a belted monochrome patterned number that skims the floor. Born and raised in the City of Lights, they seem to have breezed through life hand in hand. “We met in school. We passed our final exams together. We do very important things together so we studied together only separating at university,” Krief shares. “She studied PR, I studied law. We didn’t like it so much so we got married, we got children, and then we got bored. That was when we decided to do something together.”

Nodding, Boccara adds, “We make what we want to wear. We didn’t make a brand; we didn’t start with a business. It’s a very nice story because when we started designing the first collection, we didn’t say okay, let’s do it like this or that. We just made what we wanted to wear. We created this brand as consumers and that was it.”

To build a brand based on their own wants and needs was a savvy decision, given that when the label was founded in 2003 the retail market in Paris consisted of two polarities: affordable mass brands or luxury super brands. “We decided to create our own line of things for working women, who like nice quality and nice fabric but don’t want to spend so much for one season or so cheap. That’s literally how affordable brands began at that time. We and some other brands created brands for this market,” Boccara explains. “We decided to create a brand we like and we decided to sell it where we would like to buy it, and it was hard at first to convince buyers because we would go into these luxury multi-brand stores and they did not want to at first, but little by little it worked.”

The clothes are as bohemian and contemporary as the women who design them. When it was just the two of them, Boccara and Krief would to fly to exotic locales in India, Ibiza and Marrakesh for inspiration. These days, the team has expanded but the method remains the same. According to Krief, “Every season we take all our team (and we now have a big team) out of the office to create. No phones, nothing. Only creation. Sometimes it’s outside Paris, sometimes India, sometimes Ibiza for one week. Everybody brings pictures, fabric and everything we like and we mix it all together during that week and then the collection starts!”

The label has a clear focus on comfort and ease, which Krief is at pains to share, “We have never been fashion addicts, not even now. Ba&sh is not a fashion-addicted brand, it’s trendy and wearable. We are very sensitive to this day about the fabrics we like. All our factories tell us that ours is the ba&sh washing. There is a lot of washing because we want it to be soft, if we try something and it itches or doesn’t feel nice, we don’t accept it.” With five children between them, of which three are daughters between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two, the brand dresses the entire gang, perfect for parties along the coast of Ibiza where dinners and dancing late into the night demand chic comfort.

No longer a Parisian insider’s secret treasure trove, with Hong Kong outposts in IFC, Times Square, Harbour City, and boutiques in London, Dubai and America, the two friends are ecstatic to be sharing their wares. Boccara says, “It’s an easy brand to expand everywhere because this kind of affordable luxury suits everyone. I think girls like these kinds of brands because you get quality at a fair price that’s easy to wear and feminine.” Krief chimes in to confirm that the ba&sh girl transcends borders, “We feel the girls from Paris, Hong Kong, New York and London are the same. She’s feminine, enjoys life, self-confident, works, likes to party, to go out at night with friends and kids. She loves life!” With aims of expanding throughout mainland China in the near future, girls from Ibiza to Beijing can expect to have a blast in ba&sh in no time.

(Published: 3 July 2017)

In our kitchens is your new go-to recipe book to go into the kitchens of the well-heeled and famous in Hong Kong.

To much of the world, Hong Kong is viewed as a financial hub, a shopping paradise, a metropolis in thrall to mammon in all its forms. As with most stereotypes there’s more than a degree of truth to this, but scratch this city’s cold and shiny surface and you’ll soon encounter extraordinary warmth and generosity. There are, in fact, plenty of people here who are prepared to carve out time for others, to give back and, moreover, to use their business savvy for good.  Such is the case with In our kitchens, a collaboration between the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation and Rue Madame, Hong Kong’s premiere destination for French fashions. Arianne Zaugury, Founder of Rue Madame Fashion Group, Jo Soo-Tang, Chairman of Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation and Founder of Wellness 360 joined forces to put together a recipe book of at-home recipes from the city’s most recognised figures. These include Amanda Strang, Ana R, Cara G McIlroy, Gaile Lok and more.

Each recipe in In our kitchens is a tie to the contributor’s own life, with a link to their passion for cooking and devotion to family and friends. Not only does the book aspire to gather even the busiest of working women and men around a table with home cooked food and their family, each recipe gives a little tip or secret to make the process just that bit easier. The love and goodness doesn’t stop here, 100% of the proceeds from every book sale will be donated to the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation so with every bite taken, someone will be receiving the care that they need. 

Prestige spoke to Arianne Zaugury, Jo Soo Tang and Amanda S to find out just how they conceived of the cookbook that keeps on giving and what cooking really means to them:

How did In our kitchens come about and why a recipe book?

Jo Soo Tang: I’ve known Arianne for over ten years and it was her lovely idea. I am a passionate foodie and love to cook for my family, so the collaboration was a "match made in heaven".

Amanda S: I joined shortly after it started and helped to gather the recipes. My experience and understanding of cooking made it easier to put the book together.

Arianne Zaugury: I think the three of us like people and food is something that brings people together. We are so blessed that some amazing people joined the project, which made it real and outstanding.

Which recipe did you contribute and why?

Amanda S: I contributed with the baked scallops because my grandmother loved it and the Chocolate Madeleines (p77) recipe because I grew up eating madeleines and it’s my favourite French dessert. 

Jo Soo Tang: My eldest daughter, Mischa, entered a cooking competition for fun a few years ago and this was her recipe. The dish was modified and sold at Pizza Express HK for a few months. I felt it was time to "show off" her win  - Mischa's Nobashi Prawn Pasta (p59) with cream and tomatoes. 

Arianne Zaugury: I actually gave a few, I could not choose! One of the highlights is the Challah Bread (p23), the Jewish traditional bread, which is actually not so hard to make.

Which recipe in In our kitchens would love to try that isn’t yours and why?

Arianne Zaugury: I am dying to try Amanda 's Baked Scallops (p31). I tried them once at her place and they were so good so I am so excited to try to make my own.

Amanda S: Ariane’s recipe - Moroccon Tchoutchouka (p15). I tried it when we were doing the photo shoot together and it’s very delicious. I am dying to make that!

What role does cooking play in your life?

Arianne: Cooking is just the best way to express love. I like to have a table; a house full of people and this just comes with a lot of cooking.

Jo Soo Tang: Cooking is a part of my life. I cook at least twice a week and mainly over the weekend for my own family. I really enjoy the entire process - food shopping, preparing the ingredients with my eldest daughter and having my younger daughter watch us cook. My son promised me he would help daddy prepare the barbecue this summer. 

What are you favourite dishes to cook for yourselves? For friends and family?

Arianne: For myself, I love cooking soup and trying new things, putting everything I can find and see if it works. Sometimes it is delicious but I have to say Sometimes it is not...

Jo Soo Tang: I love cooking pasta and roasting little, French yellow chickens. For my family, I normally pick a recipe and it can be from one of my Thai cookbooks or Jamie Oliver. I follow Jamie Oliver's recipes a lot and sometimes some quick to make meals from FB videos. 

Do you have any quick and easy meals you can share? Any kitchen/cooking secrets?

Arianne Zaugury: Whenever I try a new cake I tend to reduce the sugar by 30% and it always turns out okay.

Jo Soo Tang: My favourite are egg cups for brunch and you serve it with a simple salad. You use the muffin baking tray, spray it up with olive oil, wrap the muffin areas with half a slice of bacon, add an egg, salt and pepper and bake them for 15 mins! It's the quickest meal, full of protein and doesn't mess up your kitchen. I also don’t use soy sauce anymore and have replaced it with coconut aminos! It is amazing as a marinade. I also use coconut nectar instead of white sugar!

How often do you cook yourselves?

Jo Soo Tang: Every weekend!

Amanda S: At least 3 times per week.

Arianne Zaugury: Not often enough but now I have no more excuse!

In our kitchens retails at HK$299 and is available on www.ruemadame.com and in the following shops in Hong Kong: Rue Madame, Clémence by Rue Madame, American Vintage, Phase Eight, Whistles, Petit Bazaar and Kapok. The book will also be sold during the Wellness 360 Fairs and the 4th Annual Women of Hope (WHO) Awards Luncheon.

Published: 26 May, 2017

Louis Vuitton, Off-White and Adidas are just some of the brands that love this photographer’s work.

Paris-based, NYC-native photographer Christina Paik has taken the fashion world by storm. Close friends with Off-White’s founder and creative director Virgil Abloh and shooting for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Maison Margiela and Acne Studios she is a petite female figure in a world dominated by men and yet she creates images that marry high fashion and street style effortlessly – all with a very precise eye. Last month Paik stopped by Hong Kong for her MEUFS exhibition hosted at Hong Kong’s J-01 Gallery. We met her as she was setting up her showcase to understand how this photography and fine art major managed to make such impact in the world of fashion.

What is MEUFS?

It’s all girls: meuf means “girl” in French. Femme is French for girl – they flip it and add an “s” to make it plural. The images are from 2008 until now. 

What’s the motivation behind MEUFS and how did this begin? What are you trying to create with this exhibition?

I started shooting girls a lot in Paris. A modelling agency reached out to me and said, “Hey, we keep seeing your work, we love it. We want you to shoot our girls but we don’t want you to shoot it the modelling agency way, we just want you to shoot it natural, candid, however you want.” So these girls would show up every week but they didn’t know how to dress – so I started dressing them. I think the most important reason why I keep shooting women is because the idea of beauty right now is really lost. Everything is Photoshopped, so girls look at magazines and think, “Am I supposed to look like this?” It’s all a lot of “post-” work. What is real beauty any more? For me it’s more about the chemistry I have with the sitter and I tell all my girls when they show up to the shoot: no make-up. Their natural beauty is what I’m trying to portray, to show these women and young readers what real beauty is. You being yourself, you not caring about what anyone else is saying – so that’s really why I shoot a lot of girls.

What is a “CP Girl” and what do you look for in her?

I think being unique is important just because I want to show these girls off. You have to be you. That is true beauty. They definitely need to have a certain look.

Does styling make a difference to the girls that you shoot?

I feel like I’m so picky and unique with my style. I love high-end and I love streetwear, and I think the balance between the two is trending right now so it’s interesting. I mean, I don’t want to shoot a girl wearing head to toe … I can’t drop brand names because it’s all politics for me. My site My Kinda Cosy [actually a page within Paik’s website] is my interpretation of how I would wear high-end stuff so I would do “My Kinda Céline”, “My Kinda Comme des Garçons” and then I tag it as My Kinda Cosy because it’s the way I dress every day. I want to be cosy, so I could be wearing an oversized T-shirt with a Comme skirt.

You took a lot of self-portraits in the beginning. What was behind that?

When I first moved to Paris, I really tried to connect with the city because I loved it. I had been studying photography and doing fine art before that, but when I studied in Paris, I really knew I wanted to be a photographer. When I first moved there I wasn’t really happy and I did the self-portrait work as a [way to] countdown every week. “Am I happy today? Am I happy this week?” I would [wonder, and I would] release a self-portrait every week in that sense. It’s a diary and I put it on the website I had and dated it. The series is called “Let Me Be” and I would release self-portraits every Tuesday.

From a creative perspective, how does the process of representing yourself or someone else differ?

The process is so important. It’s different shooting others and shooting yourself because obviously a self-portrait is how you want to portray yourself and how you feel. If you look at my self-portrait work you don’t see my face or it’s just really dark. My first series was re-enacting my childhood memories so there’s a lot more depth to it.

What’s important to you when shooting a muse or a subject?

There needs to be a connection. If a sitter isn’t going to meet me half way then I’ll try and get the sitter comfortable, ask them questions like about where they’re from. Love life is always good to break the ice, but I’ve had so many beautiful models where they just won’t work with me. If that happens, I don’t really want to shoot them so I just send them home.

What’s next for you?

Hopefully I’ll get to sleep. I’m also working on a book with Virgil; we worked together before Off-White started and I have backstage and casting shots from [their launch show at] Paris Fashion Week. We haven’t released any of it before, and I feel like this is a good time to do that.

Published: 28 April, 2017

The thing about Jane Birkin is that as soon as you feel you have the measure of her – ingénue, Serge Gainsbourg’s muse and lover, stage performer, style icon – she offers up another facet of herself that is as fascinating as the last. Perhaps it is this inability to pin her to a title or bracket that is the key to her longevity in the public eye, particularly in France where she remains hugely loved. It is certainly why we felt compelled to append a story published in the April print issue of Prestige Hong Kong with a supporting feature, to encapsulate the legend in her entirety.

Moving away from her thoughtful ruminatings about performing, here we segue into frank conversation about her daughters, the death of her eldest Kate, whom she had with British composer John Barry, the privileges of the entertainment industry and her place in it as she ages. At no point does the normal public relations manifesto overshadow her words and one gets the feeling that it is precisely this refreshing and down to earth attitude that has seen her forge such a distinct and unique path in life.

Why do you think audiences still listen to your songs?

When you’ve been singing this long, I don’t mean singing on stage but I sang with Serge for Je t’aime… moi non plus when I was twenty so I think people remember where they were when they first heard that song and that’s probably why they’re moved or touched – because of themselves, because I’m a part of their history. I’ve been in France now for nearly fifty years. So I’ve been part of people’s histories for nearly fifty years. And not only for fashion, movies and songs but there’ve been political crises in Paris, political prisoners, Aung San Suu Kyi, people that I’ve defended or gone to their countries and they’ve been under siege like in Sarajevo – it means that I care and I like getting to places if I can and I usually can, to sing for people on the spot. I’m lucky because if you have about ten good songs, it means you can sing anywhere. You can sing in a hospital, you can sing – I was in Haiti singing for people who had been in the earthquake. Whilst I’m singing they’re not thinking oh her poor leg is sore or his poor arm so that’s already something.

What do you want an audience to take from your performance?

That they should be moved and have two hours of thinking of something else. Sometimes it helps. When my [eldest] daughter [Kate] died, the only thing I could do was to see three movies a day and maybe the theatre at night. Anything so as to not think about my story but other people’s stories and sometimes their stories are far more tragic. Sometimes with a bit of luck they can be quite funny and I find that in that case, entertainment in its large sense, art in any sense helps people. If it helped me then I think it would surely help anybody. It was about the only thing I could do. So, if people want to think of something else, either because they’re unhappy or because they’re with a boyfriend and they want to bring him along and hold hands because, after all, they’re lovers’ songs, then that’s something. I rather like seeing people holding on to each other as if they were sort of desperate for them not to break up and then they leave the theatre having felt something for themselves. Not necessarily for me but for them.

Your relationship with your daughters is known to be quite wonderful. Does being a mother come first to you or does friendship? 

I hope I’m a mother but you never know. If you’re not a mother, then I hope at least I’m a friend. You know, I rooted for them. I wanted Charlotte to be an actress when she was twelve. I wanted Kate to be what she wanted to be: a photographer at seventeen. I wish I’d had more money with Kate, because if I’d had money it would have changed her life. I would’ve been able to give her a fashion coutourier label or help and I think it’s quite difficult to be a photographer where magazines never pay. It’s very difficult to make any money and you’re with actresses who are my other daughters who get so much money. It is sometimes quite difficult to all live in the same world when the salaries aren’t the same. But I was their first fan. Lou developed into a writer, writing music. When I heard it I gave it directly to Etienne Deroux who I knew would produce it much better than I could because it was so obviously wonderful. When Lou found her place at thirty, I had a great sense of relief that they’ve been understood. They can also be artists like me. It is a very lucky profession that you can share with other people. You don’t have to be lonely and usually there’ll be some project that’ll turn up where you can be with other people. I find it soothing to be an artist. I think how lucky we are. So that my three girls are and found their feet, it’s lucky. But it’s a difficult métier too. You’re frightened of getting older; you’re frightened of not getting as many parts. It’s constant competition. I think that must be hard.

Are you still interested in cinema? Would you take a role if somebody came to you with one?

I did it! No one asked me to do anything for about twenty years so I didn’t think I’d do another movie. Then a boy got a hold of me on the internet and asked if I would do a film about a little old lady who waves to a TGV train. It was a true story about a lady who waved to this man on the fast train every day. It’s not that he was going to reply because it went so fast that she could hardly see him but one day the train doesn’t come past her house anymore.

I said, “Come to Paris and see me because I’ve changed and maybe you won’t want me anymore if you see what I look like now.” He came and he said no no no that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted me to film for ten days, so I said ok and followed him to a strange little town in Switzerland. He made me work so hard, I thought, he doesn’t take pity on his grandmother. He put me up onto train rails at quarter to twelve at night he was taking panoramas from underneath and then starting again at seven in the morning.

I hadn’t been out of bed for about two years because of Kate so I hadn’t actually walked. So when he said run for the train, I did of course because there was no double or anything so of course I ran but Zurich station is enormous. I ran once and twice. In the end you had to run ten times. Then I had to catch the train and he was filming and I got to Paris, I couldn’t get out of the train. I had to ring somebody to carry me onto the taxi and carry me home because I’d used the muscles I hadn’t having been in bed for so long. So he nearly killed me but he was very young and I was enchanted by the idea of playing this very ordinary person. I think the cinema is really for people that are young and photogenic – I find myself watching films when people are young and photogenic – or great actresses, which I’ve never been.

If not, that was my last one. I thought no one would ever see this film and it was suddenly picked out to be an Oscar so it was that everyone had seen it in Hollywood. I was quite horrified to see that everyone had seen this old lady waving to the train. It didn’t win but it was nominated. It was quite good fun. Quite good.

(Published: 18 April 2017)

Editing: Zaneta Cheng

Interview: Zaneta Cheng

(Published: 21 April 2017)

For Jane Birkin, her enduring legacy is an afterthought to her mission to keep the work of Serge Gainsbourg alive. She tells Zaneta Cheng of Gainsbourg’s poignant songs, her fear of concerts and her love for France

The opening song of the concert is “Ces Petits Riens” (These Little Nothings). It begins Mieux vaut n’penser a rien / Que n’pas penser du tout (Better to think of nothing than not to think at all). When Jane Birkin walks out in a suit of all black, replete with satin lapels and suede boots – ever the siren of Saint Germain and Left Bank louche – singing those words in her breathy warble, it’s apparent they mean anything but nought to her. Eyes shut, each word sung in such visible earnest, she’s one of the rare artists whose live performances are immeasurably more moving and magical than her recordings. On stage, each tremble and break conveys the fragility, vulnerability and immense responsibility she feels as she sings the songs of Serge Gainsbourg, to whom she was lover and muse – the former for 12 years and the latter until his death in 1991. The lovers became legends in France with their song “Je T’aime ... Moi Non Plus”, banned from airwaves for its sexual content in the UK, Italy, Spain and other countries when it was released. Since then, Birkin – an English import – became woven into the fabric of French culture, with her hair and her unstudied style mimicked even beyond Gallic shores. Now the torch-bearer for Gainsbourg’s oeuvre, she’s embarking once again on a concert tour, two years after the death of her eldest daughter and 26 years since Gainsbourg’s passing, stopping in Hong Kong to spin us the magical web that was Serge and Jane. Prestige caught up with Birkin before her two performances here last month.

Although you had a long career as a singer and recording artist, you never performed live until your concert at the Bataclan in your 40s. Can you tell us about that concert and what made you decide to go on tour?

I remember being pushed on stage, and them taking my fingers so they could peel me off and push me on stage. I must say it was frightening. I must have done it for a year, that show at the Bataclan, and then I went on tour. Serge wrote two more records for me – Lost Song and then Amour des Feintes, which was the last album he ever wrote, and then he died. [Philippe] Lerichonne, my artistic director, said, “Now Serge is dead, you must sing the whole last album.” I sang that concert for nearly a year and I put the microphone down at the end of the concert because Lerichonne said that’s how I should end, and people thought I wouldn’t sing any more. I thought they were right. Serge is dead so I don’t know what to sing any more. Then I started to miss it, miss the people attached to it, so I made another record with many authors, because Lerichonne said to me, “If you’re going to make a record without Serge, then be completely unfaithful, don’t sing for another composer, sing for 25 other composers.” So I did. Then I was asked to do a tiny concert in Avignon for the Festival de Théâtre. A woman asked if I knew a few songs with a sort of folklore and I didn’t, but I arranged Serge’s songs with Arab musicians. The head of the Odéon, a very classical and prestigious theatre in Paris, asked if I had anything to sing for four days because they had a hole and they didn’t know what to put in it, so I said come and see, maybe it’s not chic enough. They came and watched, and they thought it was chic so they gave us the four days. In the audience was a man who asked me if I wanted a manager and if I wanted to go on tour. I never had a manager before, so I said, “Why not?” So I did [the album] Arabesque round the world for nearly 10 years.

How do you prepare for them?

I shouldn’t talk because I get [croaky]. It’s always very frightening and I make people’s lives miserable by saying, “I mustn’t talk, I mustn’t talk.” Then I have my hair curled. Then I go through all the words because there are 25 songs and the words are quite complicated, but it’s a very strange métier because the last time I sang must have been four years ago. So from singing nothing to singing 25 songs for nearly two hours every night, there’s been no training. If I was a professional singer maybe I would do a la gamme [training] like opera singers do every day, but here, there’s no training whatsoever.

You’ve been performing Serge Gainsbourg’s songs for 30 years. Have your feelings toward the songs changed?

No. It’s changed in that when I did the Bataclan, he was there. I was trying to please one person, who was Serge. When he died, I just wanted the voice to be strong enough so that I didn’t lose it, and that they would think his melodies so beautiful and they would understand his words. Then I became the person who carried his work around, which was a great responsibility. With the classical music, this time, I’ve realised how terribly sad his songs are. Most of the ones I’ve decided to sing this time are from when we separated. So I know the pain it was for him, and sometimes when I’m singing them I mustn’t sing too much, otherwise you could cry and you can’t sing any more, and anyway it’s too late. But I find myself feeling more moved maybe than at the beginning.

This time I liked singing “Lost Song”, which I had absolutely no interest in singing when Serge gave it to me. I went to see him and asked him if he would write some words for some classical music. I had forgotten the composer so I hummed and he said, “Grieg.” Then I told him, “I don’t know who I am any more. I’ve come back from Japan. But am I English? Am I French? Am I old and am I young?” He said, “So you want a sort of lost song then.” But when I sang the song I thought he was making fun of me. So I sang the words but I didn’t realise quite how extraordinary they are. At the end of the song he says, “You say vous after having said tu.” In the French language you say vous vois to older people and people you don’t know. When you meet with them, or sleep with them, or they’re your children, then you say tu. So he says, “Now you say vous to me, whereas before you used to say tu.” But it also means to kill me, tu moi. So it’s a very poignant song.

Your concert sets tend to be minimalistic. Is this a deliberate aesthetic decision?

No, I wouldn’t have known what to do. Lerichonne tells me where to stand roughly so that in my head it changes a tiny bit, but there’s really very little that I do. I don’t know how to dance. They don’t need my anecdotes for making it even longer, so if I can just come up with the songs, that’s already quite good. I’m dressed very simply, so it’s what I do best, which is not very much.

You’re one of the most admired women in the world and one of the most copied. How does it feel to live with that legacy?

What is the legacy?

As a fashion icon, musician, actress, symbol of femininity for an era.

I had a good idea for the [Hermès Birkin] bag. That was a very good idea, but that’s all I had, one idea. And then one had people who knew how to dress you with very little. Saint Laurent made it very easy to wear men’s smoking jackets. So what else did I do? As I was very young, I used to dare to do things that nowadays I don’t think people would ever dare do because they would know how to do it correctly, and I didn’t. I had a dress that was in lace, I remember, and I didn’t like it so I just turned it the other way round and put a brooch on it and went to Cannes. People thought it was a very extraordinary dress but it was the other way round. I think I read somewhere that Françoise Hardy had a V-neck jersey and she turned it the other way round. So sometimes it’s just turning things the other way round.

Why do you think people love your songs?

When you’ve been singing this long – I don’t mean singing on stage, but I sang “Je T’aime ... Moi Non Plus” with Serge when I was 20, so I’ve been singing for a very long time – I think they remember where they were when they first heard that song, and that’s probably why they’re moved or touched, because of themselves, because I’m a part of their history. I’ve been in France now for nearly 50 years, so I’ve been part of people’s histories for nearly 50 years. I’m lucky because if you have about 10 good songs it means you can sing anywhere. You can make people think of something else for about an hour. If they’re living through things that are quite difficult then – c’est déjà ca [as it’s already happened, you have to accept it]. I think if the fascists win in France it would be a great big mistake and it would be very, very, very frightening, so if I can do anything to stop Marine le Pen, I will. I love France. I don’t want people looking at us in horror like they look at Trump, or like they look at Brexit. I love them much too much for that. 

Happy International Women’s Day! To celebrate in style, the Prestige Hong Kong team has scoured the island to find a special selection of treats to help you pamper yourself, plus we’ve rounded up a few good causes spreading the message of female empowerment so that you can help others too. Read on to explore our top picks for today.

(Published: 8 March, 2017)

The fresh faced Taiwanese beauty is everyone's favourite girl next door and much more than she seems.

There’s something wonderfully grounding about Gwei Lun Mei. Perhaps it’s because she’s not afraid to get lost. 

Once a journalist herself, the award-winning Taiwanese actress carries an old-school sense of wonder and willingness to explore the world and life around her without the trappings of luxury and comfort. Even when approaching the new and unfamiliar, be it environment, scripts or characters, the actress believes in embracing life’s experiences fully and wholly. Despite having played seemingly fragile girl-next-door roles, her independence and dedication to developing a unique perspective by getting her hands dirty and delving into authentic environments has carried her to greater heights each time, imbuing each of her characters with believability despite their seeming frailty, as was the case in the 2007 mystery-romance Secret.

A veteran in the industry with a decade of experience under her belt and works to her name of such quality that the Macau Film Festival recently held a three-film retrospective of her work: Secret, The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011) and Forêt Debussy (2016). Praised in reviews internationally, Gwei is guaranteed to bring depth to each character she portrays, finding the filament of strength in each one. We took the opportunity to sit down with her after her appointment as the face of Montblanc Bohème.

You’re known for your fresh, girl-next-door persona, but do you have a wish to explore characters of a different genre?

I’ve always wanted to try out for characters from an autobiography, but now I’m hoping to experiment with urban romantic comedies, like When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle.

Since Blue Gate in 2002, how have you approached choosing scripts and characters?

After 10 years of performing, my perspective on choosing scripts and characters has changed, along with my realisations of life and the lessons from films I’ve watched. More importantly, it’s about whether or not I understand a character’s desire, whether the story resonates with me, and if there might be a spark in the collaborative process between the director and the cast. I look for thought-provoking stories and characters.

Does your background as a former magazine columnist affect the way you investigate and approach your roles?

Writing is often a way for people to organise their thoughts and ideas. In order to share your thoughts with others, you need to open up your five senses and embrace life as it is. That’s the same with performance. It’s the art of sharing everything you experience in life.

We know that you’re an avid solo traveller. Do you have a particularly memorable experience from your travels?

In 2004, when I was still a sophomore in college, I applied for the school’s student exchange programme to study for a year at the Jean Moulin University Lyon III in France. That year I had a phenomenal experience travelling alone through southern France. Starting out from Aix-en-Provence, I went to Marseille, Arles, Avignon, Nîmes, Orange, and Cassis. It was a slightly anxious yet exciting venture, to be wandering around unfamiliar and foreign cities. On the beach at Cassis, surrounded by completely naked women, I’d drifted off comfortably feeling thegentle breeze, then woke up five hours later with sunburn all over my body. After that, even the slightest gust of wind would bring a lot of pain to this first-degree burn. The scars took a long time to fade.

Back then there was no Google Maps, only travel guides and paper maps. I ended up witnessing the true everyday lives of the locals. As a tourist passing through, it wasn’t easy to enjoy all the various aspects of life and the real charm of the cities. The way I prefer to travel is to live in a city for a longer period of time, if there’s a chance, and pretend that I’m a local. There’d be no rush to make it to all the tourist spots and there’d be time to just live comfortably, stroll the traditional markets, and go for a walk on the streets.

You’re the face of Montblanc Bohème. Why did you decide to partner with Montblanc, andwhen did your collaboration begin?

I began my collaboration with Montblanc’s Bohème women’s collection in the spring of 2014. I was thrilled that Montblanc features the traits of a strong, independent woman, in contrast with the public’s impression of graceful feminine beauty. The watch’s design with the culture film wide frame also showcases women’s spontaneity. I also respect how Montblanc encourages young artists. As the brand continues to advance with time and age Montblanc holds on to its traditional craft, but at the same time allows young artists the opportunity to explore. I love the interchange of new and old ideas and arts.

Have you always had an affinity with Montblanc and the art of the Swiss watch?

When I was young, my memory of Montblanc is my father’s fountain pen on his desk. The icon of the six-rayed star left an impression in my mind and drew me closer to the understanding of the image of Montblanc. I’ve also heard much about the intricate craftsmanship of the Swiss watch.

With a demanding work schedule, what are your secrets to keeping your face and body healthy and in tip-top shape?

A healthy nutritious diet, plenty of water, and sleep. Removing my make-up completely every day and a good skin hydration routine is a must. I do yoga once or twice every week and whenever I can I try to walk instead of riding in a car.

How about for the red carpet?

Getting enough rest the night before. Comfort and confidence are your best wardrobe.

Do you have any favourite designers for the red carpet, and which are your favourites for daily wear?

I don’t have a preference for specific brands on the red carpet because each brand varies its designs for every season. I choose what I like to wear based on whatever outfit best suits the occasion and gives me the most confidence. As for everyday wear, I like brands such as Comme des Garçons, Rick Owens, Toga and Uniqlo.

Between pie, ham, turkey, eggnog and mulled wine, being in the throes of Christmas means that we often exist in a guilt-ridden cocoon of sweet satiation and uncomfortably tight elastic waistbands.

Thankfully, in preparation for the season, Belvedere has taken the health trend by the horns and brought Ryan Chetiyarwardana (aka Mr Lyan) – who was named International Bartender of the Year in 2015 – to create all-natural, low-sugar cocktails for party season with vodka as the central spirit. Naturally, we at Prestige jumped at the chance to pick his brains on all things liquor and cheekily requested a bespoke cocktail, too.

How does it feel to be awarded the Greatest Bartender in the World?

It’s an amazing award to be given because it’s bestowed upon you by your peers. It’s not a singular competition, where there’s one panel and you make one drink to do it. It’s cumulative. So, it’s really nice because it’s recognising not just what I do but everything within the team. So within the both bars, what they’re working on, the talks we do around the world, the collaborations we do, different trainings, coming out to speak to people in different parts of the world. And it’s a really beautiful recognition of that, so it’s a huge honour.

What trends have you seen in the cocktail industry?

I’ve seen people starting to embrace things like bitterness a lot more and I think that’s because people are starting to drink much more around their food. They’re also moving away from having very sweet, very sugary-led cocktails. Palettes have moved on. And alongside that, I think people are drinking lower ABV drinks. So having drinks that are lighter work in different scenarios. You know, people are still going to have your Manhattans and your martinis, but they are choosing the occasion to which to enjoy them. They’re going “right, I’m going to drink a glass of wine at this time, or have a beer at this point. I’ll have a gin and tonic then. And I’ll have a vodka martini here at a different point or I’ll have a spritz.” Understanding that bridge, where that cocktail works best, is something that we’ve seen a lot of.

 What is the concept of a ‘healthy cocktail’ to you?

 It’s obviously difficult to call a cocktail “healthy.” But it’s how it can fit into a healthy lifestyle. Alcohol’s been a part of civilisation for millennia, and if we treat it with respect and treat it like every other ingredient that we should have in our lives and use it in a balanced sense, then it could form a brilliant part of [life]. One of the major culprits around [alcohol’s poor reputation] I think, is a poor quality ingredient. So it’s having lots of artificially-created products, lots of sugar within the bad booze. Having a load of fructose alongside a lot of alcohol, it’s just a whack on your liver that your body doesn’t need. We’ve grown up to have fresh fruit, fresh herbs, so if you have them all together in a unison, in a balanced way, you get something that tastes amazing and also is much better for you.

What inspired the Prestige cocktail?

The cocktail today was really about finding things that had been inspired by the travels. So what I wanted to do was take the DNA of something easily replicable, something everybody can make at home so they could actually have a go at trying to make this cocktail. But also in a way this was a little nod to where we are in the world.  I’ve been out to Hong Kong once and it was, again, very brief. So, it’s about trying to find things that have inspired me. It’s not things that I know about the culture specifically, but one of the things that really stuck out to me was the dragon fruit.

It’s a fruit we come across back home but it just doesn’t have the same vibrancy that it does over here. So the breakfasts I’ve had, both here and Singapore, they all have had dragon fruit as part of them. And it’s been a couple of the dinners. I’ve seen it crop up, and at first I was like “I don’t really see the point. Dragon fruit doesn’t taste of anything back home.” Trying it here, it had this lovely creaminess, this brightness like an apple but this acidity to it as well. So it’s all these combinations of flavours. That was a real kind of a showcase of what we’re talking about: looking to nature, trying to find things that are inspiring, things that are exciting. Particularly, it’s an absolutely striking fruit. It looks amazing. And just that connection between not quite knowing what it’s going to be like, the flavour being as unusual and combined as it is, and then just having some flavours surrounding it in a real way to showcase that alongside something harmonious and balanced was the main focus.

How would you suggest others recreate it at home?

I think, for making drinks at home, it’s all about having the best ingredients. That’s the simplest place to start. Good ingredients make it really easy to make a good drink. Having bad ingredients makes it really hard to make even a mediocre drink. So start with good ingredients. And that’s everything. It’s having the right glasses. It’s having the right ice. It’s about having good quality fruits and it’s also obviously, the quality of your spirits going into it. Any of those things, if they’re inferior, if they’re fake, if they’re not going to showcase in the right way means the whole drink falls down.

So if we’re serving wine in a wine glass, the stem keeps your hand away from warming it up too quickly, so it gives it a bit more time to open out. The shape of it channels the aromas but it traps some of those bubbles so it stays fresh. Some good, hard ice cubes mean the drink opens out. So the idea with this is that the first sip is really bright and it starts to dilute, but slowly. And you keep those bubbles, and it starts to evolve over time so you can spend some time chatting with friends, you can be outside in the heat, you can have it alongside food and it continues to open out. So again, the dragon fruit – here in Asia it works a lot better than it does in the U.K. so trying to get a good quality fruit that has ripeness. We are using Belvedere as the heart. It’s a rye-based vodka; it’s got a lot of character to it. It has a lot of flavour without having any added sugars, glycerin, anything that’s going to maul those flavours or give you a terrible hangover. None of that stuff is there. So it’s really, again, a very natural, pure ingredient.

How would you suggest we survive an event serving alcohol?

You don’t want to drink martinis or an old-fashioned all night because it’s just going to knock you out. That’s a real end of the evening, very early on. So the spritz is ideal. It’s perfect for being able to pace through a party. It’s elegant. It looks like you’re having a cocktail. It’s got that “wow” factor to it, but it gives you this lightness to it. It’s refreshing. It cleans your palette. It’s bright. It’s quenching your thirst, but it’s not so alcoholic that it’s going to tire out your palette or get you too drunk.

(Published: 1 December 2016)

We are living in the golden age of British period dramas. With Netflix’s new series The Crown following Downton Abbey and theatre such as The Queen on the West End in London, gleaming baubles from all periods of British history are more of interest to the public than ever before. Lesser known to the public is that these jewels are not only relegated to museums.

Privately owned British auction house Bonhams (founded in 1793) has established itself as one of the foremost auction houses in the sale of jewellery in London, New York and Hong Kong, having held more dedicated jewellery auctions than any other international auctioneer. Ranging from diamonds and coloured stones to Art Deco and antique pieces reaching all the way to the Georgian period, Bonhams will be holding a Rare Jewels and Jadeite Auction on Wednesday, November 30 to cater to the increasing appetite among enthusiasts of all that glitters.

Graeme Thompson

Ahead of this auction, we sit down with Bonhams Director of Jewellery in Asia, Graeme Thompson, to hear some of his stories from behind the podium of Bonhams, both in London and Hong Kong.

Is there anything that happens during an auction that only you as the auctioneer knows about?

Some bidders like to be very discreet when they bid in the room but they don’t like to be seen bidding. However, they want to attend the sale to gauge the mood at the auction. As a result, what sometimes happens is the buyer comes to the auction and prearranges for a telephone bidder to be bidding on his behalf. But the buyer does not want to be on the phone or seen to raise his hand during the auction, so what happens is that when the lot comes up for sale it is agreed that when he wants to bid the buyer leaves his/her catalogue open on his lap. When he/she wants to stop bidding, he closes it as an indication to the telephone bidder bidding on his behalf that he would like to stop.

This strategy works well because the buyer remains anonymous, he is not seen by others to be bidding on a lot – yet, at the same time, the buyer sees and feels what is happening at the auction.

Can you share an interesting story about those who put their items up for sale?

A lady brought what she thought was a set of cultured pearls to be valued by a Bonhams jewellery specialist for sale at auction and expected them to be valued under US$5,000. What she didn’t realise was that they were in fact natural saltwater pearls, not cultured pearls. Natural pearls are extremely rare today as a result of very limited production due to over fishing and pollution.

When the lot came up for sale and the bidding went up and up and up, she couldn’t contain her delight. When the hammer came crashing down, they eventually sold for over 10 times the low estimate and she shrieked with delight!

Have there been any especially memorable moments during your time on the podium?

I actually sold my brother-in-law his engagement ring in London. It was a lovely experience because it was the first time he had ever attended an auction and it was the very first time he ever bid at an auction, and I was standing up there and I could see him throughout the preceding fifty lots and he was looking kind of nervous and anxious.

Eventually the lot came up and I started off the bidding and he just put his hand in the air. He had this sort of blank expression on his face and there was quite a lot of bidding going on but he kept his hand in the air, didn’t do anything and he wasn’t really even looking at me. Anyway, he was the last person with his hand up, so I took the bid and mentioned the final figure, the hammer came down and I had to urge him to put up his paddle number because people often forget to show the auctioneer the paddle number, which is their buyer name and eventually he gave it to me.

I went over to him about an hour after the auction – I managed to catch him and said, ‘Well how was it?’ He said he could not remember one moment of it. He said he was so nervous and he didn’t know what to do and he said, "I have no recollection of what happened but I know I’ve got it because I’ve already paid for it.”

What are some difficulties you've encountered since you took up your role at Bonhams Asia?

With the Asian Contemporary auctions, there’s no greater fear than pronouncing the name of an artist wrong and it can be quite a complex thing to pronounce some of these Chinese names or some of these Asian artists. When you’re selling lots to a group of collectors or some private individuals, and dealers are there, you as the auctioneer have to get these pronunciations right and they can be very complex. And inevitably it’s the Westerner standing on the rostrum trying to pronounce these names. People do a laugh a little bit when you get them a bit wrong but it’s part and parcel of the job. I think people do appreciate the effort and it’s just a part of the game.

(Published: 22 November 2016)

Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude, reunion and stuffed bellies. In order to ensure that no one is bereft of the last requisite in the aforementioned triumvirate, we've searched high and low for the best places to celebrate.

The First Supper

When Thanksgiving was a foreign concept in Hong Kong, celebrated by only a handful of expat Americans, this small contingent would without a doubt head to the Mandarin Oriental for their holiday supper. These days, the Mandarin Thanksgiving feast is so lauded and popular that the hotel has introduced a delivery service. In order to ensure you get your hands on the famed "Top Hat" box for your loved ones, orders must be placed this year by Monday, 21 November. The spread features either a medium or large roasted turkey with all the trimmings, and lucky feasters will only need to reheat the items in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes before they can enjoy the spread. Delivery starts at HK$2,788 for a 7kg turkey to HK$3,988 for an even bigger and better feast. Orders can be made through The Mandarin Cake Shop at +852 2825 4008 or email mohkg-cakeshop@mohg.com.

Family Feast

Morty’s Delicatessen is a sure-fire win for families looking to bring a taste of the Big Apple into their homes. Available for Thanksgiving from 24 November and throughout December, the Morty's Thanksgiving menu features a Whole Roasted American Turkey (9-10kg) cured with a combination of dried spices to bring out the flavour of the bird. Alongside it will be Morty’s Apple Smoked Bacon Stuffing, mashed potato, and sweet potato mash topped off with Martha’s Apple Pie and Homemade Blueberry Cheesecake. Orders for the Family Feast @ Home will be made 3 days in advance and can be picked up before noon or delivered after 3pm. Contact Morty’s Delicatessen directly at +852 3665 0900 or info@mortys.hk for more information.

Smoker’s Turkey

No, we don’t mean a Thanksgiving feast for those with a nicotine habit. CRFT-PIT, the artisan smokehouse and food factory in Ap Lei Chau, is fixin' up a southern-style Thanksgiving treat that can be delivered to your house either chilled or hot and ready to eat. If you choose the former, all home cooks have to do is to reheat and serve fresh out the oven, so that guests can be dazzled by the host’s seeming kitchen prowess. The set includes Hickory smoked-trukey with CRFT bird rub, cranberry BBQ sauce, smoked-turkey and pork sausage stuffing, accompanied by farmers market salad and Bourbon sweet potato mash. The price of the set is HK$1,988 and will happily serve a group of six to eight. We promise that this smoker’s feast will have none of the tar but all of the addiction.

No belly left behind

In Stone Nullah Tavern’s case, this Thanksgiving is about making sure that even those who just want to Netflix and chill can partake in the festive meal. Available only from 21 to 27 November, this Wanchai haunt will be serving a special Thanksgiving menu crafted by the eatery’s New England-native Executive Chef Vinny Lauria. Starting with a seafood platter of oysters, ceviche, crab legs and more, the meal moves into a choice of Garlic Butter Roasted Turkey or Southern Fried Turkey with savory black pepper and bourbon gravy. Apple and cheddar stuffing, pulled pork rib and mac n’ cheese are among the many treats in accompaniment. In the spirit of fully embracing the holiday, restaurant diners have the option of free-flow drinks at either HK$198 for a Prosecco package or HK$308 for a champagne package. For those who wish to opt out of tiring social gatherings, Stone Nullah Tavern has you covered with a Thanksgiving TV Dinner for 1 that is served hot but can also be microwaved should the meal be had later. If ever there were a feast for one, this would be it.  A cheddar biscuit makes way for Garlic Butter Roasted Turkey served with all the trimmings in portions that will fit perfectly in a tray balanced on your lap in front of the TV screen. The Thanksgiving Dinner Menu is HK$548 per person with 10% service charge and the Thankgiving TV Dinner for 1 is HK$350.

The Spanish Spread

You know it’s always a party whenever the Spanish are involved. From 23 to 26 November, La Paloma will see its Spanish chef Willy Trullas Moreno collaborate with equally celebrated American Pastry chef Jason Licker to create an American Thanksgiving meal with Spanish flair. Barbecued Iberico pork with smoked baby eggplants and beef cheek with foie gras and apples are just two of the dishes on this Spanish-inspired menu. Mouthwatering profiteroles featuring Fofo by El Willy’s Crème Catalan and Licker's matcha is one dessert we have our eye on; another is the churros sundae, which comes served with dulce de leche ice cream and salted almond crumble. The Thanksgiving menu is priced at HK$400 per person and if you go on Thanksgiving Day proper, La Paloma will have a live DJ weaving music magic from 8pm till late for a true holiday party.

Good Gobble

Beloved Sai Ying Pun butcher Bones & Blades have an exclusive selection of coveted Kelly Bronze turkeys (4kg) for those looking to whip up a healthy Thanksgiving feast with all the flavour but minimal guilt. Looking to increase taste but decrease bloat, the butcher has used a gluten-free stuffing made with a pork and chicken base with mixed vegetables and quinoa instead of traditional bread. This way, all guests can relax around the table in the knowledge that they can revel in all the goodness of the season.

(Published: 16 November 2016)

Adding to the hype around liquid lipsticks, NARS – the iconic brand that brought us Laguna Bronzer, Orgasm Blush and Radiant Creamy Concealer – is bringing us the Velvet Lip Glide. To the delight of beauty queens everywhere, this new liquid lipstick is a departure from the matt formulas that line the shelves of beauty stores, combining the sheen of a gloss with the coverage and saturation of a lipstick.

Prestige managed to catch Jane Richardson, international lead makeup stylist at NARS, while she was in Hong Kong, to demonstrate three ways to use the Velvet Lip Glides, taking them from tint to full-impact lip against a flawless, milky complexion.

Products mentioned

Velvet Matte Skin Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Radiant Creamy Concealer

The Multiple (Orgasm)

The Multiple (Na Pali Coast)

Soft Velvet Loose Powder

Yachiyo Kabuki Brush

Blush (Nico)

Contour Blush (Talia)

Dual Intensity Eyeshadow (Himalia)

Brow gel (Kinshasa)

Audacious Mascara

Velvet Lip Glide (Area)

Six cult brands you should know on this beauty portal, plus best-selling recommendations.

Beauty department store Sephora has made its way from its home in France to international fame across the world. Despite exiting Hong Kong's brick-and-mortar market some years ago, it's returned to our shores via an online platform, Sephora.hk. In honour of this occasion, we have chosen a selection of best selling products from five cult brands exclusive to the site in Hong Kong – along with favourites from the brand's own collection – that we will be stashing in our make up bags from here on out.

Becca

In this era of nip and tuck, where a visit to a plastic surgeon is as common as going to the dentist, Becca is a less permanent option for reshaping your features. Playing with light and shade, theirs is the ultimate complexion collection to accentuate your angles – no bandages involved.

Top pick: Becca Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Face Palette

Following the sell-out success of Champagne Pop, a highlighter to rival none, vlogging sensation Jaclyn Hill has once again joined forces with Becca to bring you this limited edition face palette. Combining bestsellers Champagne Pop and Prosecco Pop as well as three blushes – Pamplemousse, Amaretto and Rose Spritz – this palette will let you play every day, creating a unique glow with endless layers of light and colour.

Too Faced

When Jerrod Blandino and his husband Jeremy Johnson founded Too Faced in 1998, they wanted to give women cutting-edge makeup that let them have fun and look beautiful across all tastes and preferences. This brand of brazen beauty works hard to imbue women with confidence, one cruelty and paraben-free hit at a time.

Top pick: Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Like its coveted predecessor, this eyeshadow palette might only seem to have earned its name by looking like a chocolate bar, but each highly pigmented shade is in fact infused with cocoa powder to give it all the skin benefits of cocoa. From warm caramels to deep mochas and sugary blueberry hues, this is a hit product that’s as delicious to smell as to apply.

Nudestix

You know you can’t go wrong when a chemical engineer, make-up artist mother joins forces with her daughters to create the ultimate easy-to-use make-up collection. They decided it was time to take the hassle out of make-up, transforming all elements of your make-up kit, such as palettes, pots and tubes, into a simple collection of make-up sticks that have you covered from foundation to lipstick.

Top pick: Nudestix Lip/Cheek Pencil

Told you Nudestix would make life easier for you. This two-in-one Lip/Cheek Pencil plays into the beauty world’s latest multi-purpose and no-make-up make-up fad to let you create a fresh look on-the-go, all while infusing your skin (and lips) with moisturising ingredients including shea butter, vitamin E and peptides.

Zoeva

Zoeva has quickly amassed a following that rivals stalwart brands in Sephora’s archive. The label was founded in 2008 with a starting line-up of just 10 brushes, and has grown to encompass colour products for every part of the face, as well as brushes for every need imaginable.

Top pick: Zoeva Rose Golden Complete Eye Set

Soft, versatile and affordable, Zoeva brushes are quickly overtaking giants on the market to become everyone’s go-to tools. This set of 12 beautifully handcrafted brushes is made of a combination of natural and synthetic fibers with rose-golden ferrules and matte-black handles.

Mario Badescu

Long established as a cult brand, Mario Badescu is known as the man and brand to go to for when your skin misbehaves. Brought about by rigorous research and constant innovation, his botanically based skincare treatments run the gamut of concerns, following the belief that skin is unique and cannot be confined by any universal skin care regimen.

Top pick: Mario Badescu Skin Care’s Silver Powder 28g

Armed with this Silver Powder that will unclog your pores, minimise blackheads and achieve that coveted healthy glow, you can cast aside app filters and Photoshop. Pour a little into your palm, mix it with water and rub the paste onto the most stubborn of blackheads. Wait ten minutes and it will be as if they were never there.

Sephora Collection

Given its decades’ worth of experience selecting and housing the best in skincare, it makes sense that Sephora launched Sephora Collection, an in-house brand. Translating their expertise into a mammoth offering of over 80 eye shadows, 90 lipsticks and 100 eyeliners, the collection has been received with open arms by even the most knowledgeable in the industry.

Top pick: Sephora Collection Instant Eye Makeup Remover

With so much technology and variety at our fingertips, make-up today needs to work harder than ever in order to earn a place on our shelves. This eye make-up remover is the ticket to effortlessly removing even most stubborn of waterproof mascaras. As an added bonus, the solution strengthens your lashes, promoting healthier lash growth to make you beautiful even sans war paint.

Published: 13 December, 2016

A few years ago, something strange happened. Ipek Irgit found herself in a crisis – a bikini crisis. Everything she tried on just was not quite right. Having spent every summer in Cesme, an Augean coastal town, Irgit could point anybody to the best place for fried calamari, corn and mussels. But this beach aficionado couldn't find the most fundamental piece of beach gear. What to do? Create her own. “Something different to what’s out there, looks cool and would also support my 34Ds,” laughs Irgit.

For the new designer, the perfect bikini is “whatever makes one feel good.” Perfect fit is what counts. Bottoms are simply Brazilian cut but a good top is more exacting. “I really don’t like bikinis that are made with cheap materials that thins out or sags after a couple of wears or the ones with too much push up.I just really dislike padding. They are so annoying. People should stop being afraid of nipples,” she explains.

The result of her frustration? A series of bold crayon box crochet bikinis where you’re guaranteed seven colours, if not more, in any given set, a consequence of Irgit’s passion for colour. “I add colour in everything, when I dress, when I decorate my house even when I cook”. Made of elastic, Igrit insists there's no end to fun that can be had whilst wearing her creations listing “catching waves, cartwheeling, daydreaming, making out and hula hooping” as viable activities to test them out in.

Each bikini is handmade. Although production has now been moved to Turkey and China, excellent quality and workmanship in good conditions are ensured by Irgit, “I don’t want people to think that ‘Made in China’ means sweatshop conditions always”. At the beginning however, after she had the first sample made, she decided to learn to make them on her own in order to experiment with new variations, “I asked my mother to show me and took a video as she showed me. Then I came home and figured it out”.

Gradually, KIINI has developed a cult following and count girls like Natalie Joos and Cara Delevigne as fans. “I get so excited when people tag themselves in KIINIs on Instagram. I constantly fall in love with these amazing women around the world,” says Irgit. Her idea of the KIINI woman is brave, open-minded and strong. In her words, “someone not afraid of catching attention because believe me, when you wear a KIINI, it is guaranteed you will be stopped on the beach at least ten times a day”.

All these qualities come back to Irgit herself. A personification of the buzz and joy of her bikinis, she bravely set off to New York after finishing university in her native Ankara compelled to get out of her comfort zone in Turkey. Inspired by the similarity of the brand’s East Coast base but global influence, she named her initial bikinis Tasmin, Lolo and Chacha after her friends’ children who were born in New York to parents from all over the globe. Something that has since snowballed into a larger operation, “more and more friends started having baby girls, so I made more colours and named more bikinis. I have a lot of friends lined up asking for a bikini named after their kids now. I gotta get working”.

KIINI is available on avenue32.com

Text by Zaneta Cheng

(Published: 27 June 2014)

Trust Hedi Slimane to find a pair of English boys that puts the ‘in’ back into British Invasion. Jack Dalby, independent guitarist and Jake Smallwood, singer of five piece band White Room are the two dreamboats gazing mesmerically at us for Saint Laurent’s AW 14 Mens campaign. But that’s enough swooning, what of the clothes (remember them, those things south of those glass cutting cheekbones, cherubic lips…)?

Styled to 60s rockabilly perfection, the upswept coif harked back to the days of James Dean Americana. Together, the boys stroll by the camera, leather jackets perfectly fitted, Smallwood looking straight on as if daring us to forget them after the last strand of his tartan scarf breezes by. Again, Slimane brings it with his distinct brand of live or die louche. Like the tweed coat that closed the show back in January, collar flipped up against an expanse of concrete rooftop and highway as if waiting for the Chickie Run come nightfall. And no Slimane mens collection would be complete without at least one shot of a hot skinny musician in an impeccable suit with requisite skinny tie. They might seem to be rebels without a cause but none of it matters when they’re wearing Saint Laurent.

(Published: 26 June 2014)

Sometimes, in an atmosphere as intense as Penn’s, it helps to get away by having a low key meal and a bit of kitsch. King Tut, a new Egyptian BYO on 13th and Pine, offers just the right balance of laid back ambiance, good food and mummy paraphenalia. The restaurant is a far cry from the glitz of the Garces, Starr and Vetri triumvirate, and all the better for it.

The space is small, so seating is tight but cozy. The service is friendly, though a bit slow. A picture of King Tut greets patrons on the front of a menu that begins with soups, salads and appetizers. Unique offerings include Egyptian lentil soup ($3.75), Loubieh Bil Zeit ($6.95) — simmered dandelion with olive oil — and Youmami (a mix between your standard garden and Greek salads with tahini and chicken kabobs for $10.95).

For those with less adventurous taste buds, there is the standard fare of falafel ($5.95) and stuffed grape leaves with falafel and mint. King Tut serves up a variety of vegetarian options, too. My dining companion loved the Bamiya (12.95), which consisted of pita with okra in salsa, saying it tickled her Turkish roots. “The Vegetarian” includes spicy potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, chick peas and mint with sides of rice and pita ($12.95) All items are available either as platters or sandwiches (ranging from $5.95–$7.95).

For carnivores, your bases are covered with selections of beef and chicken, but King Tut does seem to lay it heavy on the lamb. Meat entrees include Shawarma Dajaj and Shawarma Lahme (chicken and beef respectively), and like the vegetable ones, can be ordered as platters ($16.95) or sandwiches ($7.95). King Tut's lamb options are more varied, ranging from minced lamb in the Grilled Kafta, to the style of the Hawache, for which toasted dough is stuffed with ground lamb and spices.

I chose the Barbequed Ganbari (grilled shrimp in garlic, onion and spices for $22.59). Ladled over spiced rice, the shrimp tasted like normal barbequed shrimp, but the accompanying sharp, tangy salsa is what convinced me that King Tut is worth visiting again. I felt like I was enjoying the dish on the banks of the Nile.

Dessert is a must at King Tut. The chocolate baklava ($2.50) and Kanafe with walnuts ($3.95) transported us to a land of sugary delight. Both were soaked in a special milk, which was a bonus to an already yummy treat. Between the delicious food and the staff who treated us as if we were royalty, King Tut is truly one restaurant fit for a pharaoh.

KING TUT 401 S. 13th St. (215)-735-8111 Don’t Miss: The entire dessert menu Skip: The falafel — get more adventurous! $$$$$

(Published: 26 October 2011)