Moissonnier is synonymous with bold, bespoke design and has recently opened its first North American showroom in Vancouver.
Claudia Cusano
Raw Craft
The lives and work of artisans at the forefront of the American craft movement.
Belgium’s House of Delvaux
At 188 years old, Delvaux is only just beginning to achieve global renown.
Pirelli Winter Rubber
Pirelli continues on in its quest for winter domination in both skiing and driving.
Aman Wellness
Embrace the ancient wisdom of Ayurvedic medicine among India’s rugged Aravalli Range.
The Faena District
Alan Faena has master-planned an arts, entertainment, and residential development that spans six city blocks along the Mid-Beach area of Miami Beach to create a utopian city-within-a-city: the Faena District.
Playa Grande Beach Club
Inside the nostalgic Caribbean fairy-tale world of Playa Grande Beach Club.
Amanera, Dominican Republic
A refined breed of retreat is emerging in the Dominican Republic.
Berluti Pour Krug
LVMH properties, Berluti and Krug, collaborate for the creation of limited edition bags designed to hold the respective brands’ coveted champagne and shoes.
Gansevoort Dominican Republic
The Gansevoort’s newest outpost in the Caribbean brings a Miami sensibility to the DR—über-cool, look-at-me digs.
Head-Line Mountain Holidays
Head-Line Mountain Holidays, an outfitter based in Whistler, B.C., specializes in adventure with a capital A.
L’Homme Prada and La Femme Prada
For Prada, Daniela Andrier has become the unofficial house perfumer, creating 28 fragrances to date.
Fresh’s Vitamin Nectar Face Mask
The Vitamin Nectar mask from Fresh is the first of an entire line of Vitamin Nectar products that will be unveiled in the spring.
Richard Ginori’s Renaissance
Richard Ginori’s tableware epitomizes Italian excellence as some of the finest porcelain the world over. The company is a grand combination of industry and craftsmanship wrapped in a rich history of good taste.
Whistler Blackcomb
No one figures more prominently in the history and development of Whistler Blackcomb than Hugh Smythe, having played a role in almost all of the key moments of its development.
Penfolds’ Aevum Imperial Service Ritual
Australian winemaker Penfolds collaborates with Saint-Louis on a project to celebrate the winery’s latest release: its 2012 Grange in the very limited edition Imperial size (a six-litre bottle).
Park City, Utah
You’ve heard it said many times: “No two snowflakes are alike.” It’s the same with ski resorts. Some are large, some are small, some are friendly, others impersonal. Some push the limits of the best skiers while others make them yawn. But like the humble snowflakes on which they depend, each resort has its own personality.
Artisanal Craft in Rome
The Piovano family are Roman restorers, specializing in carving, gilding, micromosaics, engraving, and sculpting.
Bocache & Salvucci Shoemakers
What began as a hobby business in 1997 became a proper shop in 2001: Bocache & Salvucci Calzolai (shoemakers).
Rome’s Oldest Hat Workshop
From the frilly fascinator to the 1920s-style wool cloche, each piece from Antica Manifattura Cappelli is made to measure and Made in Italy.
Shiseido: The World’s Oldest Cosmetics Company
Founded in 1872 by Arinobu Fukuhara, Shiseido is widely credited with bringing aspects of Western life and culture to the East.
Arizona, the Grand Canyon State
FROM THE ARCHIVE:Native American folklore is woven into Arizona’s history, and tales of pusillanimous villains and heroic outlaws abound from the cowboy years, making the state a real-life adventure land.
Miraval at Monarch Beach Resort
Miraval provides choose-as-you-please rejuvenation. No matter how one decides to spend their time, ocean views and sound of rolling waves make for a paradisiacal backdrop to a luxurious escape.
Suncadia Resort
The natural world seems larger than life in Washington State, where towering conifers drip with lush green mosses and volcanoes sit quietly.
Omega at the Olympics
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Swiss watchmaker Omega holds the coveted role of official timekeeper for the Olympic Games, and it has an array of high-tech innovations to make sure its results are absolutely and unquestionably accurate.
Conservatorium Hotel
The Conservatorium Hotel, a melding of ancient and ultra-modern, falls not far short of perfect.
Meditation? Why Not
Meditation is one of those things that has intrigued me for a while. I’m not one for the Zen life: too impatient for yoga, too hungry for juice cleanses, too Italian not to drink lots of wine.
St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico
There is a growing emphasis on meditation’s benefits for mental balance and well-being and the St. Regis Bahia Beach resort in Puerto Rico has tapped into the mindfulness of travel offering the Be Here, Be Now program.
TEFAF: From Maastricht to New York
The grande dame of art fairs may be coming west but her eclectic home remains in Maastricht.
Tierra Santa Spa, Miami
A spa is a spa is a spa. Once upon a time that was the case but today, the spa has been elevated to revered status and the hotel spa, a class of distinction.
Clé de Peau Beauté
It is more than using the right cleanser and moisturizer. It is more than exfoliation and masking. It is more than a genetic difference. It’s a lifestyle.
Caffè Culture
There is bread. And then there is bread. There is espresso. And then there is espresso.
Allison Inn & Spa
FROM THE ARCHIVE: One of only 20 hotels in the world to be awarded LEED Gold certification, the 85-room Allison Inn & Spa is the pinnacle of Northwest elegance.
TEFAF Maastricht
The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) is universally regarded as the world’s leading art fair, with old master, antique, and contemporary dealers from around the world convening annually in Maastricht since 1988.
Cheval Blanc
For its third maison, Cheval Blanc transformed the 40-key Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France to Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France: rooms, suites, and villas individually decorated in easy-but-elegant West Indies style with a distinctive French flair.
Climate Change and its Impact on Wine
It seems the global weather system is getting weirder and less predictable. And on the contentious but important subject of global warming? The study of how wine will react to climate change is one small but telling piece of the larger story of how agriculture as a whole will endure.
Club Med in the High Alps
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Founded in the 1950s, Paris-based Club Méditerranée—better known as Club Med—was the first all-inclusive resort company. In the decades since, the French brand has evolved.
Hublot Big Bang “Vino”
Kobe Bryant, as the saying goes, gets better with age—a trait that’s earned him the nickname Vino among his peers.
Virtuoso Luxury Travel Advisers
Not long ago, it seemed that DIY online bookings would make travel agents a thing of the past. Instead, the sector is rebounding. Enter Virtuoso, a luxury travel advising service that goes far beyond taking your reservation.
Champagne Krug
There is a perception about champagne that has placed it in the celebratory corner. We pop it on New Year’s, births and birthdays, weddings and divorces, and spray each other with it when we win major championships—but we don’t drink (enough of) it.
Get Outfitted
Skiing means lots of gear. The good news is you no longer have to lug it with you. Enter Get Outfitted, a web service that rents clothing, equipment, and accessories—whether a warmer parka or a package of everything you need to get out on the slopes.
BMW Art Cars
As a result of the Art Car series, BMW has had a role in some of the most beautiful cars ever seen on the race track. There are more to come.
Pairing Up: Krug and Music
“The sound of a drink being poured tells you expectations about temperature, perhaps viscosity, also carbonation, and the quality of the drink in the glass. All that before you have taken your first sip.”
The Reinvented BMW 7 Series
Anyone who cares about design cares about all the things around them: what looks the best, works the best, and says the most about them. Whether purchased with a purposeful eye to make a statement or purchased without a conscious knowledge of why, the type of car one drives says a lot about personality.
Meet Grange
Officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia, Grange boasts an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951, and demonstrates the synergy between shiraz and the growing region’s soil and climate.
From Ventimiglia to La Spezia
FROM THE ARCHIVE: From one long stretch of Mediterranean the gods wrought two Rivieras—Italian and French—what’s your pleasure? Travel and live on olives, pesto, and espresso, but decline to take this sun-blessed pocket of coastline for granted. The exposure to such gorgeousness could spoil you for life.
Only Watch
On November 7, the sixth biennial Only Watch auction will take place to raise money for the Monaco Association Against Muscular Dystrophy.
Made in Italy
In recent years, automobile manufacturers have responded to the increased demand for “personal” with special designer editions created in collaboration with fashion houses.
Adrien Brody
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Adrien Brody does not give off the smooth-talking, sound bite–heavy suaveness that defines so many of his contemporaries. He is eloquent and humble, his voice deep and his laugh infectious, his words thoughtful and sincere.
Tidal Greens
A revival in traditional ways and “simple living” is driving a voracious interest in the wild, the pristine, and the organic—three terms that are epitomized in Seaflora, a certified-organic skin-care line of seaweed-based products.
A Rare Vintage
At the base of Mission Hill Family Estate’s monumental bell tower is a cast-iron sculpture affixed to a rectangular block of granite. The sculpture is emblematic of the winery’s proprietor. Whether it’s ski jumping or empire building, with Anthony von Mandl, it’s all about how far you can fly.
Baltic Bliss
For a large portion of northern hemisphere travellers, a holiday often means following the sun south. To Hawaii, the South Pacific, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean.
The Burmester Sound
Burmester is one of the world’s most exalted audio manufacturers. The Berlin-based company produces objects of desire—both sonically and visually.
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort
To those in the know, the proper pronunciation is: Clah-quot. Within British Columbia’s Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, on the westernmost edge of Vancouver Island, is a native wilderness of storybook beauty.
House of Gucci
The Gucci story begins with Guccio Gucci, a Florentine immigrant in London who saw the potential of luggage as a status symbol while he was working as a porter at the Savoy Hotel. Ninety years later, the company built its own cultural institution.
Bottega Veneta Residences
Discretion, quality, and unsurpassed craftsmanship define Bottega Veneta. Creative director Tomas Maier has been the driving force of the brand’s ascent to the very pinnacle of luxury since taking tenure in 2001.
The Lacoste LT12 Tennis Racquet
The crocodile brand with roots embedded deep in the sport of tennis has invented another first: a hybrid tennis racquet, the LT12, made from a combination of wood and graphite.
Horological Smartwatch
With Apple’s entry into the smartwatch market, watchmakers are taking note that the fledgling wearable isn’t just a fad that’s going away any time soon. However, watchmakers have the unique problem of staying steadfast to their calling of making true watches.
Ferragamo’s MTO Driver
The gentleman’s driver, a shoe often cited as a must-have staple, is getting personal.
Bernardus Lodge & Spa
After closing down for four months to complete a multi-million all-encompassing property renovation, Bernardus Lodge & Spa in Carmel Valley has reopened its doors.
The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
A stone’s throw away from the CN Tower and in the middle of the city’s downtown core is the Ritz-Carlton Toronto, posh and proper as only a Ritz property can be.
Amedei Chocolate
Chocolate is the universally loved treat that tempts us everywhere from vending machines to chic boutiques. Amedei, founded in 1990, is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker based in Tuscany.
Castiglion del Bosco
One cannot think of Tuscany without imagining the cipresso so symbolic of the Tuscan landscape.
Meet the Smiths
There are certain getaways where, perhaps, the use of a pseudonym is essential. Signori Rossi for the Italians; Monsieur Dupont for the French; Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the British—names to use when you check in to a hotel with someone you’re not supposed to be with.
Hangzhou, China
FROM THE ARCHIVE:Hangzhou, situated in the Yangtze River Delta and a 38-minute ride by high-speed train from Shanghai, is one of China’s most unique destinations.
Felipe Oliveira Baptista
FROM THE ARCHIVE: “I’m feeling a bit tipsy,” says Felipe Oliveira Baptista, the heralded new guy at Lacoste. This tipsy feeling is not from downing too many celebratory toasts. (At least, not yet—it’s only 2:45 p.m.) Baptista has just debuted his first collection as creative director for the storied label, and he’s high on pure adrenaline.
St. Regis New York
So much has happened at the St. Regis New York, a designated Manhattan landmark with a history that dates back to 1904. The hotel has entered a bold new era of glamour, having completed a $90-million renovation.
Veuve Clicquot
A few years ago, over a patio lunch at a restaurant in Toronto’s Yorkville district, Madame Cécile Bonnefond, the former president of Veuve Clicquot, made a lasting impression.
Dom Pérignon P2
The beauty of Iceland, with its volcanoes and glaciers, made for a fitting backdrop for the release of the new Dom Pérignon vintage, P2.
A Design Collaboration: Simon Beck and Icebreaker
New Zealand–based apparel company Icebreaker has pioneered new uses for merino wool since 1994 and has now partnered with snow artist Simon Beck for their Art of Nature project.
On the road with Audi
Sometimes it’s the journey. Sometimes it’s the destination. Sometimes it’s both. Tofino is a natural paradise in itself but it’s worth a visit simply for the drive.
Chanel No. 5
FROM THE ARCHIVE: To make its signature No. 5 perfume, Chanel only uses the very best Rosa centifolia, which has come from the same fields in Provence for the last 89 years.
Simon Beck for Icebreaker
The merino is one of the world’s most ancient breeds of sheep, and one of the toughest. Very different to regular sheep that chew grass in the lowlands, merino sheep live in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
Signora Sophia
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Since the Pirelli Calendar’s inception in 1964, the images have been not just of beautiful women but of the beautiful women. Here, we look back on the epitome of Mediterranean beauty, Signora Sophia Loren, who appeared in the famed calendar in 2007.
The Peninsula in Paris
Hong Kong–based Peninsula Hotels has made its first European foray with the opening of Peninsula Paris at 19 Avenue Kléber, just steps from the Arc de Triomphe.
Pacific Sands Beach Resort
Set on 41 marvelous acres along Cox Bay in Tofino, Pacific Sands Beach Resort is fixed in a prime location. Quite frankly, this could be one of the most hauntingly spectacular settings on earth.
Chocolate Tofino
Tofino is, for Canada, the end of the line—all roads come to a dead-end here. This is the far west of the West Coast and known, in some parts, as “Hawaii of the North”. Tofino is where Kim and Cam Shaw, originally from Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan (a border city), now call home.
Signora Fiamma
The round-toe, low-heeled pump with grosgrain ribbon and a gold buckle stamped with “Salvatore Ferragamo” has long been a badge of country-club chic. The Vara, as Fiamma Ferragamo (Salvatore’s late daughter) called the model she designed in the late 1970s, remains a wardrobe staple.
The H Project
Provenance has long been the “it” word in the art world. Tracing the ownership history of a work of art is essential to understanding the historical, social, and economic context of the piece. This interest in the origin of things has extended well beyond the art world to the culinary realm—farm-to-table and slow-food movements—and now, it seems, to the fashion world.
Simon Beck Snow Art
FROM THE ARCHIVE: It’s possible you’ve never heard of Simon Beck. But after this, you won’t be able to forget him or his wintery creations. Beck makes snow art—intricate and precise drawings—in virgin snow with nothing but an expedition compass and a pair of snowshoes.
Le Train Bleu
To enter this restaurant is to step back in time and in all probability you’ve never—ever—seen a railway station restaurant as extravagant as this belle époque showpiece.
Homer St. Cafe and Bar
Every month seems to bring a new restaurant to Vancouver, and although foodies can be a fickle bunch, the Homer St. Cafe and Bar is love at first bite.
Red Hills Market
Red Hills Market delivers a taste of local goodness with a wide selection of cheeses, charcuterie, craft beer, and wine. The place is crowded almost all the time and for good reason.
Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York
Those with discerning tastes are familiar with the beauty and design of Baccarat crystal. This year, a select few will be able to enjoy a home of Baccarat design.
A-Rosa River Cruises
Those European riverboats that slowly make their way down the continent’s beloved waterways are picking up speed. River cruising has become the fastest-growing segment of the cruise industry—and these vessels are not your grandparents’ riverboats.
Peninsula New York
Peninsula Hotels exemplify an unmatched classical grandeur that embodies elegance, style, and all the finer things. A successful hotel must change over the years, but its unique role and reputation must remain consistent. Such is the case with the Peninsula New York, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this past September.
Mikimoto Four Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, fall—no matter what your favourite time of year, Mikimoto’s Four Seasons collection of nine one-of-a-kind, limited-edition pieces is bound to enchant.
Skin Deep
RoC was one of the first skin-care companies to offer stabilized retinol formulated in its products, and over the years, has optimized its retinol range to deliver better results and improve tolerance by the skin.
Nacho Figueras
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Every sport has a star who, both in and out of competition, comes to embody the character and personality of the sport itself. For polo, that athlete is Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras.
Timothy Oulton
The year 2013 has been a royal one, and British novelty has not waned. London antiques dealer and furniture reproductionist Timothy Oulton has opened his first galleries in Canada.
The 2014 BMW X5
Schön (beautiful) was the precise word the executives from German automaker BMW vocalized when welcoming journalists to Vancouver, the chosen launch city for the new X5, the third generation of BMW’s SUV.
Hawaii’s Big Island
Mention Hawaii and people think of pineapples, swaying palms, picturesque sunsets, foaming surf, and lithe hula dancers. This is all true. But with orchid jungles, lush green valleys, rocky shores, and rolling lava fields, Hawaii also provides some incredibly scenic drives.
The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley
For nearly a century, the Broadmoor, located in Colorado Springs, has reigned over the hospitality industry with unwavering gentility and grace. Her founder, Spencer Penrose, set out to make his hotel America’s finest.
Azuridge Estate Hotel
The hamlet of Priddis, Alberta, is a whistle stop off Highway 22X. Here in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, on 13 hectares of resplendent natural beauty, is Azuridge. Once a private residence, now a 13-suite estate hotel, Azuridge is a hidden gem in the verdant forest lands.
Of Dalmore Distinction
“Whisky runs in my blood,” says Richard Paterson, spirited ambassador for the Dalmore and a third-generation whisky man. Paterson’s skill at tasting, assessing, and blending whiskies has become so acute he is affectionately known in the trade as “the Nose”.
The Costume Designer
Imagine Saturday Night Fever without John Travolta’s white three-piece suit. Seems impossible. Costumes, created by the meticulous hands and utopian minds of costume designers, need actors to breathe life into them and the camera to capture them on film, resulting in a mystery moment of alchemy when it all comes together.
Lacoste: Celebrating 80
What began 80 years ago as one product defined by a crocodile—the polo—has evolved into a lifestyle. In celebration of Lacoste’s milestone anniversary, the brand has teamed up with the nobility of French heritage maisons to produce Maisons Françaises, a collection of nine notable objets—all commemorating the crocodile.
The Tiffany & Co. Blue Book Collection
The legacy of Tiffany & Co. design is richly told in the annual Blue Book Collection, featuring the company’s most spectacular jewels. Initially published in 1845, the Tiffany Blue Book was the first catalogue to be distributed in the United States.
Details Matter
The granite and limestone art deco building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York contains 16 jewellers’ benches on the seventh floor. The tools splayed on each bench mimic what would be found in a carpenter’s toolbox. The noticeable difference is scale: screwdrivers, pliers, and saw blades are a fraction the size of what Mr. Fix-It uses.
Biologique Recherche
Keeping skin healthy as decades pass can be as easy as remembering this adage: accept the things you cannot change, have the courage to change the things you can, and be wise enough to tell the difference.
