Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

Andrew Tuck counts us in this week with the latest from the Monocle Quality of Life Conference before we drop anchor in the Mediterranean to visit one of Italy’s hidden gems: Sardinia. We also go to the US for a lesson in taking the road less travelled and make a bid on some choice memorabilia at Sotheby’s – but you might want to hurry before another lot bites the dust.

It’s that precise moment where, in northern Europe, you suddenly sense that the season is about to shift. You notice the softening of the light, the horse chestnuts hanging from the trees and the temperature beginning its downward trajectory. It’s all fine but what you don’t want is rain or sullen grey crowds. Well, not if you are about to host The Monocle Quality of Life Conference in Munich (it would bring back memories of a very soggy galoshes-required gathering in the city).

The hardcore team of event planners and tech crew started arriving in the city on Tuesday but I came on Wednesday with a posse of editors, filmmakers and staff from our commercial squad. As we touched down, the weather looked wobbly and a little unwelcoming – should I have packed a gilet? Apparently realising that this was not what was required, the weather gods relented and by Thursday night they had turned the temperature dial up for a last summer blast, replacing the grey with blue. Thank you. It meant that as people arrived from all over the world to the welcome reception at Schumann’s Bar am Hofgarten, everything felt pretty damned perfect. The bar has a street entrance but, at the back, opens onto the vast Hofgarten – a formal, enclosed garden where locals play boules or come for an evening saunter. We had placed a big bet on the weather months ago and had arranged for cocktails and an easy dinner to be served there, alfresco.

As I stood back to survey the scene, the occasional brown leaf eddying down from one of the vast trees, I suddenly saw what this was all about, all these months of preparing and planning (and let’s be super clear here – it’s other people’s diligent organising; I just get to take some of the glory with a mic on stage). Over a couple of hours, I caught up with attendees from past events and numerous first-timers. In no time I was having conversations about their lives and careers that will stay with me. Here was Lad, a woman I have known for years from social media, who had made the journey from Seattle and somehow combines being an artist with being a human-computer interaction research chief; Howard, an architect from Sweden with a deep knowledge of Formula One; and Colin, the founder of Never Too Small, a media brand about tiny apartments, which I adore. There were people from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and even Liverpool.

Tyler and I got to perch on a couple of garden chairs and, after the dinging of a wine glass to get everyone’s attention, we said some words of welcome – and even got a few laughs. As always at Monocle events, I was struck by how everyone in the room – phones were in pockets – (me included) was here to listen to each other.

As I have revealed before, I write this column on a Friday morning, which is a little painful when the main day of talks and debates for the conference lies ahead – and today demanded a buzzing alarm at 04.30. It was made even more painful by the fact that I may have lingered perhaps a little later than was wise at the convivial Schumann’s.

But as I file this, some of the day has begun to unfold here at the Allianz Auditorium (not to be confused with the Allianz Arena – we are big but not that big). We’ve already had a branding masterclass, got the scoop on which property assets to invest in and been taken through the strategic risks on the road ahead. But I imagine my colleague Tyler Brûlé will be revealing more in his column tomorrow. Some of the highlights from the conference will be played across our programming on Monocle Radio in the coming week. But for now, have a good Saturday and hopefully, you’ll be in the room next year.

The well-documented rise of athleisure has long been getting us used to divorcing clothing from its originally intended, sport-related function (writes Chiara Rimella). But after yoga pants and hiking sneakers, there’s another item that’s found life away from the training programme. Long the preserve of lycra-clad cyclists who braved intimidating inclines on two wheels, wrap-around, multicoloured biking goggles have become a feasible choice for less strenuous, everyday life activities. With their mirrored lenses shimmering in the sun, they were on sale at every self-respecting beach tat shop around the Mediterranean this summer.

While brands such as Denmark’s Pas Normal Studios have successfully managed to create cycling apparel that looks less technical and more design-conscious, it’s not that common to see the aesthetic hallmarks of biking translate to the high street (not many people like to wear padded skin-tight shorts – unless absolutely necessary). And yet, this style of sunglasses has managed to make the journey in this direction, becoming the preserve of a fashion crowd in pursuit of a look that’s half Jane Fonda workout, half peak-Thierry Mugler – a very self-conscious cyber-punk feel with a whiff of the 1990s. Of course, it’s no longer just the specialist brands that are supplying the goods: labels such as Prada have joined the pack with its moody Linea Rossa Impavid model, proving that this trend has truly stepped up a gear.

The US has long been a car-centric nation but it plays out in bizarre ways (writes Christopher Cermak). I’m always struck by the number of suburban neighbourhoods that quite literally have no pavements to walk on. If I spent time at my uncle’s home on Long Island, New York, I would have to walk in the street to get to the train station. Even in Washington, staying in a house in the old neighbourhood of Cleveland Park just outside the city centre, I was amazed at how often I would have to walk cautiously along the road, dodging unsuspecting cars, for lack of any alternative. It’s as if some neighbourhoods just assume that nobody wants to walk; this despite many a dog-walker awkwardly passing me in the street on my strolls.

It all comes down to a traditional notion that a lack of pavements in the suburbs would create a more rural feel. Despite the fact that many American cities recognise the health benefits of walking and the importance of pedestrianising large parts of city centres, the suburbs still suffer from a lack of walkways.

In general, the rule is that newly built houses add a path in front of them but if you live in an older home, then you have no such obligation and cities can’t typically force you to change your own land. This creates a bizarre patchwork – one house with a pavement in front, one without. Hopefully, the day will come when things change but until then, you’ll find me running on the suburban obstacle course wherever I have to. It still beats driving everywhere.

The Monocle Concierge is our purveyor of top tips and delectable recommendations for your next trip. It’s also on hand in audio form on Monocle Radio, with reports and the latest travel news from around the world. If you’re planning to go somewhere nice and would like some advice, click here. We will answer one question a week.

Dear Concierge,

Do you have any hidden gems or recommendations for a weekend in Sardinia?

Sebastian Tondon,
United States

Dear Sebastian,

Sardinia is one giant treasure trove. First, decide on where you want to focus your efforts as this is a large island (the second largest in the Mediterranean). The surprisingly overlooked capital of Cagliari is an easy-breezy mini metropolis, with its palm and jacaranda-lined avenues, as well as pastel-coloured architecture. At the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, you will find countless treasures from the many ancient civilizations that have flourished and fallen in Sardinia, bronze figurines from the Nuragic period and the Giants of Mont’e Prama, which are thought to date back as far as 900 BCE, are not to be missed. From there, take a stroll through the Castello district to Bastione di Saint Remy for a spectacular view across the aptly named Golfo degli Angeli (Bay of Angels).

Sardinian cuisine is conquering both the Italian mainland and the world beyond. The legendary San Benedetto covered market in Cagliari is currently undergoing a revamp but its stalls have been set up around the nearby Teatro Lirico opera house. You’ll be hard-pressed to find better fresh seafood anywhere in the world. For classic Sardinian fare, book a table at the rustic yet contemporary Pani e Casu back in the hilltop Castello district (there are great views of the sunset here too). For a more laid-back, fusion-filled approach, make sure to go to the Cagliari-cum-Marseille inspired Bar Pipette. Fine wines from across the globe are accompanied by beautifully conceived dishes.

The beach is an absolute must on even the shortest of visits to Sardinia; luckily, the capital has plenty to choose from. The wide, sandy expanse of Poetto or the crystal-clear, turquoise waters of the coves around Calamosca are probably among the best places in which you can dip your toes in any Italian city. As they say in Sardinian: Bonu viazu!

Fashion designer Jonathan Anderson, who is also the creative director of Spanish luxury label Loewe, is taking to the art world this autumn with a new exhibition, On Foot, opening at the Offer Waterman Gallery (writes Natalie Theodosi). For his show, Anderson has curated a series of contemporary works by British artists such as Frank Auerbach, Sara Flynn, Lucian Freud and Barbara Hepworth, which will be displayed next to some of his designs for Loewe and his own label, JW Anderson.

The idea of the show was to handpick a wide variety of pieces, from ceramics and paintings to fashion designs, that create “stark contrasts” when displayed next to each other. They also mimic the experience of walking around different parts of London, from traffic-clogged streets to green parks and busy pubs. Irish-born Anderson, who now works between London and Paris, has been interested in working with British artists. Earlier this year he worked with the 100-year-old kitchenware brand, Cornishware, and he counts visual artist Anthea Hamilton as a friend and frequent collaborator. The two first joined forces in 2018 to create costumes for a Tate Britain installation and are now working together on a series of surrealist accessories – some shaped like the pigeons you spot around London – that will be on sale at the Offer Waterman Gallery and the JW Anderson shop in Soho.

Rock stars are often advanced as evidence of the truism that money cannot buy taste (writes Andrew Mueller). It was the sight of Ike and Tina Turner’s luridly decorated early-1970s abode that prompted one record company executive to mutter, “Hey, so you can spend $70,000 at Woolworths?” The late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury, had more rarefied sensibilities than that but it can be said that the trove of his possessions on the block at Sotheby’s is distinguished by an exuberant disregard for decorum.

Six auctions of Mercury artefacts are scheduled, the climax of a month-long exhibition at Sotheby’s London. The Evening Sale on 6 September includes the biggest prize: the Yamaha baby grand piano upon which he composed “Bohemian Rhapsody”, among many others (the estimate for that runs up to €3.5m, so you may need to have written at least as big a hit yourself to be able to afford it). Of the other lots, there are the treasures that Mercury acquired with the fortune that Queen earned him, including works by Picasso, Fabergé, Chagall, Miró and Dalí. But more intriguing are the personal memorabilia: stage costumes, handwritten lyrics and the outer door of his Kensington home, slathered with graffiti by grieving fans after his death in 1991. The estimate for this crowd-sourced tombstone is €30,000.