Issues

The man reinforcing Roger Vivier’s bejewelled legacy

Bejewelled buckles on shoes might once have brought to mind royal portraits from the 17th century but in today’s fashion industry they call forth one name only: Roger Vivier. The Parisian maison has perfected the twinkle of its shoes since it was founded by the French designer in 1937. Vivier pushed the boundaries of footwear, partnering with Christian Dior to develop his New Look silhouette and providing pumps for Catherine Deneuve in 1967 erotic psychodrama Belle de Jour. When the designer died in 1998, he left behind a maison and a legacy that still evoke glamour.

In 2015 the house was bought by Italian holding company Tod’s Group for €415m. And Italian designer Gherardo Felloni was installed as creative director in 2018 – very successfully, as it turns out. Last year, overall revenue increased by 16.5 per cent to €286.7m.

“I’ve always looked to Roger Vivier as a reference for my own career,” Felloni tells Monocle. “He was an inventor, a genius.” He is wearing one of his go-to outfits: a crisp shirt and a simple navy cardigan accentuated with an antique gold necklace, dripping with pearls. “Vivier designed for the contemporary women of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. That’s why one of the first shoes I designed for Roger Vivier was a trainer. Women today want to be comfortable. Sometimes I joke that Vivier, if he were alive today, would have worked on trainers. So I did it for him.”

Felloni had previously worked in the accessories and footwear departments of labels including Fendi, Dior, Miu Miu and Prada. But, for him, being appointed the creative director of a house with a visionary founder is somewhat akin to entering into dialogue with someone beyond the grave. Shared passions such as gardening, jewellery and a playful approach to design facilitates that conversation. “I never knew Vivier but from the archive you can tell that he didn’t take himself too seriously,” says Felloni. “He wanted to make fashion contemporary and light. And I believe that fashion is a moment for creativity but also for the clients to have fun.”

Growing up in Tuscany, Felloni considered a career in opera, cinema or architecture. But the calling came from closer to home: his father and uncle ran the family shoe factory, where he spent his childhood learning about the complexities of shoe construction. “Shoes aren’t like a bag or a dress: the form needs to support the foot so you can walk,” he says. “The technical part of my job is important to me.” This early exposure to manufacturing also instilled in him a reverence for craft from an early age. Now, at Roger Vivier, Felloni works with the house’s atelier to develop new designs but also to reiterate and update shoes that he finds in the archive.

His aim is to communicate the savoir-faire and rarity of the maison to customers through opulent salon-style presentations of not only shoes but accessories including bags, belts and headbands. For the house’s campaigns, Felloni has tapped actors including Deneuve, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern and, most recently, Eva Green as brand ambassadors. “The women I’m obsessed with all have confidence in common,” he says. “When you’re confident, you can wear whatever you want. You don’t think about other people’s opinions. You’re free. That is what inspires me.”

Playlist: 50 cosy songs for long, dark nights

Morning sun
There’s nothing like the sunlight on a crisp winter morning. Allow these tracks to provide a gentle, warming accompaniment.

1.
Todo Dia Santo
Marcos Valle
Brazilian legend Marcos Valle delights with his breezy, effortlessly cool bossa sound.

Marcos Valle
Brazilian singer and producer

What are you listening to currently?
On the road, I like to listen to playlists that I’ve made. I’m also listening to Céu’s new album, Novela, which is very nice, very beautiful. She wrote lyrics for a song on my album, which I love. And to tell you the truth, I listen to Ravel and Debussy in the quiet moments.

What are your plans for 2025?
I recently released a new album, Túnel Acústico, so I’ll continue touring it in Brazil, Europe and the US. We’re also planning to tour in China. Another project that I’ve been working on is a music series by [the late] French composer Henri Salvador, which I artistically directed, produced and did arrangements for. It’s becoming an album and will also be turned into a show, which will be toured. Beyond that, I don’t know. I can only to wait and see what will happen.

Do you have any New Year’s traditions?
I prefer to stay at home with my wife, Patricia, and our little dog, Merlot. If I’m performing on New Year’s Eve, it’s got to be something very special. Otherwise, I prefer to relax. I think that’s the way to be prepared for a new year.

2.
Moonlit Floor
Lisa
A member of K-pop group Blackpink, Thai singer Lisa shines in this track that riffs on 1990s classic “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer.

3.
Cinnamon and Clove
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66
Another bossa nova classic, selected in tribute to the late Sérgio Mendes, who passed away in September.

4.
Sinking Boat
Infinity Song
Soft rock from four talented New York siblings.

5.
Crockett’s Theme
Jan Hammer
The iconic Miami Vice theme.

6.
Turbo
Sunni Colón
Mornings are always smoother with a little Sunni Colón.

7.
Rosário do Desejo
Ayom
A sunny blend of lusophone styles, from Brazilian frevos to Cape Verdean coladeiras.

8.
Love Me Jeje
Tems
This Tems track revamps Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 Nigerian Afro-pop hit of the same name.

9.
Amor em Jacumã
Lucas Santtana
Let cool Brazilian dub beats ease you into the day ahead.

10.
Erase/Rewind
The Cardigans
We never get tired of this one.

Walk in the park
Want to blow off the cobwebs with a walk? Grab your headphones…

1.
Somente o Sol
Deborah Blando
The Italo-Brazilian legend delivers a stirring cover of 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love”.

2.
Cruz de Navajas
Mecano
A Spanish new-wave classic.

3.
Amar Pela Metade
Calema
Kizomba pop from a duo with São Tomé and Príncipe roots.

4.
Sciura Milanese
Popa
A slick synth-pop tribute to the sciuras – the name given to chic older ladies in Milan.

5.
Ortak
Melike Sahin
New soulful pop from one of Turkey’s biggest stars.

6.
Power
Telenova
Alt-indie from the Melbourne trio’s 2024 debut album, Time Is a Flower.

7.
Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido
Karol G
The Colombian singer dominated this year’s charts with this bouncy track.

8.
Leh Benkhaby
Tul8te
This masked singer and producer blends pop with bossa nova and Egyptian sounds.

9.
Acidente
Jão
Melancholic pop by the young Brazilian singer-songwriter.

10.
Cool Breeze
The Jeremy Spencer Band
Let this cinematic yacht-rock track whisk you to the 1970s.

Aperitivo hour
Whether you’re enjoying an aperitivo at home or après-ski on the slopes, these songs will kick-start your evening.

1.
I Forget (I’m So Young)
Sofie Royer
Shimmering up-tempo electro-pop from the Austrian singer.

2.
Desliza
Ana Moura
Short, sultry and infectious, this new track from the Portuguese fado artist will get you moving.

3.
Nenuphar
Polo & Pan
The French duo’s electro-disco track is inspired by Mexico City and its grooves are guaranteed to spice up your evening.

4.
Air
Crystal Murray
Emotional pop-r&b from the Franco-American singer.

5.
Una Notte Speciale
Alice
This dreamy synth track became a classic upon its release in 1981.

6.
Total Normal
Michael Cretu
Top synth-pop by the Romanian-German music producer.

7.
Diet Pepsi
Addison Rae
Simply a perfect pop song.

8.
Veridis Quo
Daft Punk
Luca Guadagnino selected this for his new Chanel No 5 ad.

9.
Esperar Pra Ver
Evinha
Pure bossa nova brilliance.

10.
Uciekaj!
Lor
Exciting Polish folk-pop.

Hedonistic night
Escape the cold and lose (or find) yourself on the dance floor with these club-ready songs.

1.
Ô travers
Zaho de Sagazan
The acclaimed star combines French chanson with electro.

2.
Galactic Romance
Jaakko Eino Kalevi(Kiva Kiva Versio)
Italo-disco collides with Finnish melancholy – and it works.

3.
Serotonin Moonbeams
The Blessed Madonna
A love letter to 1990s rave.

4.
Acid in My Blood
Channel Tres
Techno to get lost in.

5.
Pump It Up
Endor
Featured on the soundtrack of one of the year’s buzziest films, The Substance.

6.
Nightcall
Kavinsky, Angèle & Phoenix
Revived when it was performed at the 2024 Olympic Games closing ceremony.

7.
Taboo
Kylie Minogue
Classic Kylie from this year.

8.
Dancing Island
Angelina Petrosova
The Uzbek diva in full flow.

9.
Life
Jamie xx, Robyn
Let optimism banish the blues.

10.
Mystery of Love
Mr Fingers
A famed Chicago house track.

New Year’s celebrations
Raucously ring in 2025.

1.
Tout Pour Moi
Clara Luciani
An uplifting song from new album Mon Sang.

2.
Fantasy
Jade
The former Little Mix member turns disco diva.

3.
Bafana Bafana
Professor Rhythm
Recorded at the end of Apartheid.

4.
Nandakke?
Aili
Delicious electro-pop by the Belgian-Japanese duo.

5.
Somebody to Love
Kazy Lambist
It’s all about love in this gem.

6.
Time for Celebration
Dov’è Liana
Indie with an Italian twist from the French trio.

7.
La Bohème
Mauvais Oeil
Pop inspired by Arab divas.

8.
Promised Land
Joe Smooth
Start your year by bouncing.

9.
Ti Voglio
Ornella Vanoni, Elodie, Ditonellapiaga
A new version of a classic track by Italian icon Ornella Vanoni.

10.
Rescue Me
Madonna
Gospel for the dance floor.

Monocle Radio
To listen to the playlist, search “Monocle Radio” on Spotify or tune in live. Our radio station broadcasts around the clock, seven days a week. You’ll find more music alongside a daily mix of comment, analysis and news shows across the schedule. Head to monocle.com/radio or download the programmes as podcasts wherever you get your audio.

Keeping it real: Why meeting prospective employees in person yields the best results

The job interview’s reputation is almost universally negative. But outside of TV sitcoms, are old-fashioned, in-person meetings with prospective employers ever that bad? The alternatives certainly are. As with so much else from the analogue world, we might already be suffering from the job interview’s increasingly endangered status. When UK-based recruitment consultants CV Genius surveyed 625 hiring managers on what they look for in a successful job application, 80 per cent responded that they couldn’t stand AI-generated applications. But there’s a trusty implement in the recruiter’s toolbox that can save us from hiring the wrong candidate: meeting them in person.

The consequences of letting someone get too far into the job-application process without having met them are obvious. Not only does an AI-generated CV and covering letter give the employer no idea whether the candidate’s self-professed acumen stands up to scrutiny but they also offer little indication of the personality type that could be about to enter your working life.

It’s time that we scotched the encroachment of AI into the hiring process by reviving mandatory, in-person job interviews and holding them as early into proceedings as possible. They might be stressful for many candidates and time-consuming for bosses but they also reduce the chances of hiring someone who has been dishonest in their application. They are also a vote in favour of that increasingly rare but precious element of the working day: human connection.

It doesn’t matter how gleaming someone’s written job application is, whether it’s bot-created or not. You simply can’t get a full measure of a candidate without spending some time together. Not only does the employer get an insight into an applicant’s acuity, style and sense of humour but the candidate, in return, gets to find out the same things about their prospective boss too.

AI has become worryingly adept at gaming written job applications. Generic questions such as, “What can you bring to this role?” and, “What do you consider your strengths and weaknesses?” are catnip to bots. To vet potential employees properly, all predictable elements of job questionnaires should be expunged. The requests should be so specific that AI will wither on the digital vine. It would be difficult for a candidate to use Chatgpt to answer a question such as, “Please could you illustrate an example, directly referencing your previous position, of when you solved a problem, detailing the specifics of the situation and giving us a step-by-step narrative of your response to it?”

AI is problematic in other, more disturbing ways. A University of Washington study published in 2023 tested three large-language AI models by making them evaluate hundreds of CVs against job descriptions. They found that the models favoured CVs from candidates with white-associated names 85 per cent of the time – and preferred other candidates to black men 100 per cent of the time.

The endgame of this reliance on AI will be horribly retrograde. Successful candidates will be chosen based on whether they are the most clued up on how to use the technology to their advantage. There is also the risk that bosses will simply become distrustful – and heartily bored – of the entire process and give the job to someone in their social network. Goodbye, meritocracy.

So, if we really want to hire the best candidate for the job, we need to tidy our office desk, find another chair, take a coffee order and usher in the first of those aspirant future employees.

December 2024 updates from Monocle magazine

So much to do, so little time – which is why Tyler Brûlé has resurrected an old tradition: the round-the-world tour.

“The last quarter of 2024 has been marked by the return of a dependable but slightly forgotten old habit: the round-the-world tour. Ten years ago I realised that it was more efficient to stay on the road for long stretches than to dash back to base all the time to check on the “kids” (my colleagues) and water the plants. For a variety of reasons, I fell out of the habit but, since October, rtw tours have been back in the diary and today I’m filing from the Park Hyatt Sydney, with the opera house in the background and more than 200 Monocle subscribers about to join us for our first party on the continent in almost a decade.

“My current tour started in Zürich and has included stops in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Melbourne. From Sydney, I’ll be moving on to North America, with sojourns in Dallas, Des Moines and Toronto, before pivoting to the Middle East for appointments in Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. All in all, it’ll be three weeks, with one carry-on and an array of story ideas for the issues ahead (and as many opportunities to match). For 2025, the agenda is just as packed. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the end of January, when we’ll be throwing open the doors of our new premises in Paris – and maybe, just maybe, a little outpost back Sydney way. Cheers to a happy and prosperous 2025.”

Out in the world

Over the past month, the Monocle team has been busy convening with readers and thought leaders. Here are some of the highlights.

The Monocle Shop at the Landmark
Hong Kong

We bolstered our Hong Kong presence this autumn with a month-long pop-up within the iconic Landmark retail space. Our appearance in Central happened while our beloved Wan Chai shop closed for some timely refurbishments. Both the Wan Chai outpost and The Monocle Café on London’s Chiltern Street are set to reopen in December.

Monocle at Selectshop Frame
Dubai, UAE

The Monocle shop was in Dubai in November for a pop-up at Selectshop Frame, coinciding with the launch of The Monocle 100: Dubai handbook.

Monocle Patrons at Maçakizi
Bodrum, Turkey

A sunny group of our most dedicated readers joined Monocle’s editors at the Maçakizi resort for faultless service and the best swimming set-up this side of the Pacific. Patrons are a select group who are invited to private events and sent every print product we make. To join the programme, email Holly Anderson at (han@monocle.com). It would be great to have you on board.

The Monocle Quality of Life Conference
Istanbul, Turkey

More than 100 delegates attended Monocle’s annual Quality of Life Conference in Turkey’s biggest city. The speaker line-up included architect Richard England, mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj and submarine officer Taylor Sheppard. There were also plenty of party moments at The Peninsula on the Bosphorus. Look out for all forthcoming events at monocle.com/events

Bucherer
New York, USA

In partnership with Swiss watchmaker Bucherer, Monocle’s sister publication Konfekt brought together leading creatives for dinner, drinks and a conversation on craft and luxury.

Coffee at Midori House
London, UK

During our Chiltern Street café renovation, the Monocle coffee (and bun) hit came from our truck parked outside Midori House. Beep beep!

From the editors: five things we’d like to see more of to round out 2024 and ring in 2025

1.
Off-season travel
Monocle was in Mykonos in November. The weather was stunning, there were few people and hotel prices were low. And you could go further afield too: it’s off-season in the northern hemishpere but hotting up down south.

2.
More indie print
Singapore is leading the way, with online politics and culture publication Jom launching a first print issue, food magazine Slow Press branching into events, and arts zine Now & Again releasing a new issue after two years.

3.
Visionary tech
Comédie Française has introduced for-hire eyeglasses that add individualised subtitles to the viewer’s field of vision. A winning idea both for hearing-impaired Parisians and foreign theatre visitors.

4.
Feast on frites
Next time you’re in Paris, tuck in to steak frites at Nonos. Chef Paul Peret’s 1950s-inspired grill at the Hotel de Crillon offers a tender take.

5.
Cultural education
The Blue Chair Film Festival in Laos (December) and the Jaipur Literature Festival in India (January) present a host of emerging Asian creatives.

Global: Up next

Feeling festive? Why not join Monocle for seasonal parties and pop-ups to round out the year.

The Monocle Shop, St Moritz, Switzerland
If you want an early dose of Christmas cheer, make your way to the Alps, where The Monocle Shop is set up as an outpost at Hotel Steffani.
5 December 2024 to 31 March 2025

Christmas Market, Zürich, Switzerland
Kick off the season with our annual Christmas market at our HQ at Dufourstrasse 90. Gifts and Glühwein are on offer.
7-8 December 2024

Christmas Market, London, UK
For some last-minute Christmas shopping and a visit from Santa, all the way from polar Finland, join us in London. Plus: live Monocle Radio broadcasts.
14-15 December 2024

Emily in limbo: The pull of Rome causes a diplomatic stir

Who vs who? France vs Italy

What it’s about: Emily in Paris, the Netflix series about an annoying American woman inhabiting a clichéd simulacrum of the French capital. It has become an enormous global hit, very possibly because it permits non-American and non-French people to sneer loftily at American and French people at the same time. Rumours abound that its titular character might be heading to Rome, and French president Emmanuel Macron, for one, is not having it: “Emily in Paris in Rome,” he has declared, “doesn’t make sense.” Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, responded: “One can’t control the heart: let’s let her choose.” More pointedly, Gualtieri wondered, “Doesn’t President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?”

What it’s really about: All criticism of Emily in Paris aside, it has been an immense soft-power boon for France. Sales of French brands worn by the characters have spiked. A study by France’s national film centre found that about four per cent of recent visitors to France had been inspired by the show. Four per cent of France’s tourist business is a perfectly reasonable thing for the president to worry about. Even Brigitte Macron is such a fan that she made a cameo appearance during the most recent season.

Likely resolution: Further wrangling over what is clearly a valuable media property, while the producers figure out how to milk this rivalry.

El Mordjene: The banned Algerian spread threatening to upset Nutella

In 2024, Nutella celebrated its 60th year as one of Italy’s most successful exports. But an Algerian upstart has been stealing the thunder of Ferrero Group’s famous chocolate spread. For sweet-toothed aficionados in France, Belgium and the Arab world, 2024 was the year of El Mordjene, a chocolate-and-hazelnut cream made by Algerian confectioner Cebon. This family business, founded in 1997, created El Mordjene in 2021 using hazelnuts, milk, cocoa, palm oil and, of course, lots of sugar.

Earlier this year, El Mordjene became a viral hit among Francophone internet users, which led to an explosion in popularity. As Cebon shifted gears to meet demand, there was a setback: French customs officials began detaining pallets of El Mordjene. Though it had been available in France since 2023, the spike in imports led authorities to realise that it had been on sale illegally, as EU rules forbid the import of Algerian products containing dairy. In Algeria, the press cried foul, with some inaccurately claiming that El Mordjene had been banned because it threatened to take Nutella’s crown.

Despite the ban, El Mordjene’s success provided an image boost for Algeria in the face of recent diplomatic setbacks with its former colonial masters. (In July, for instance, France sided with neighbouring Morocco in a decades-long dispute over the Western Sahara.) Indeed, the import ban might just be fuelling the hype, as French confiseurs and recipe websites compete to create a replica.

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December cultural updates, from Ruinart’s art-infused cellars to Finland’s national soundtrack

House Proud
Art, France

If you find yourself at an art fair and in need of a drink, chances are that a cold glass of Ruinart will be available to quench your thirst. The champagne house – which was founded in 1729, making it France’s oldest – has long fostered close ties with the contemporary art world. This relationship is the focus of Ruinart’s newly renovated headquarters in Reims. In addition to a sparkling new pavilion designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, artworks have been peppered throughout the site. Visitors will come across the first of these works – a flag painted with a calendar by British artist Marcus Coates – after following a zigzag path flanked by steep limestone walls up to the maison. Every day, a new flag replaces the last, with a description of how nature in the Champagne region is changing with the seasons. “Most of the art pieces here are about our connection with the living world,” Maison Ruinart president Frédéric Dufour tells Monocle. “This harmony with nature is absolutely crucial for us – our product comes from nature.”

Coates’s work is one of almost 20 pieces that can be seen in the Artists’ Garden. But there are also artworks inside the pavilion and the Unesco World Heritage-listed chalk cellars, where artistic duo Mouawad + Laurier has installed a giant sculptural “root” adorned with Murano-glass lamps. In response to climate data, it moves, lights up and emits sound. While ancient cellars and vineyards might be a far cry from the booths of Art Basel or Frieze, they represent a new creative iteration of Maison Ruinart and reinforce a universally known truth: that art is best observed with a glass of champagne in hand.
ruinart.com

Film: USA
Q&A

RaMell Ross
Director, ‘Nickel Boys’

Adapted from a novel by Colson Whitehead, the film Nickel Boys tells the story of two African-American boys, Elwood and Turner, and their traumatic experience of a reform school in 1960s Florida. Here, director RaMell Ross describes his unusual directorial decisions and his personal association with the story.

Why did you want to adapt this novel?
The book is about me in a way. I guess that I’m Elwood or Turner, given the type of family that I came from in the suburbs. What happened to them could have happened to me too.

The film is shot from a striking first-person perspective. Can you talk about that decision?
It seemed as though it was the right approach. Coming from an arts background, I believe that the intent of any project is just as important as the result. If the film doesn’t make a big splash but people get to access Elwood and Turner’s life and Whitehead’s novel through this subjectivity, then that’s a success to me.

Why did you want to use archival footage in ‘Nickel Boys’?
It opens the film up. It also helps to ground it in a way. The footage allows it to be both a Hollywood production and a film that shows what’s happening and what’s at stake in the real world.

Take note
Music, Finland

If your country were a piece of music, what would it sound like? That’s the question that the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs asked before commissioning Lauri Porra, one of Finland’s most revered contemporary composers, to create the nation’s soundscape. The idea is not to present Finland’s greatest hits to the world but to capture the country’s essence through mental images of nature, which are expressed by the sounds of instruments.

“It could be the colour of the sky, a forest scene or the sound of the water running in our rivers,” Porra tells monocle. “It’s not about recreating these sounds but capturing the feelings that they evoke.” The finished piece, which will be ready in time for Finland’s Independence Day on 6 December, will become the soundtrack to parties and other events thrown by Finnish embassies across the world.

Porra was given creative freedom to make sure that the work felt personal and intimate, instead of turning into an idealised marketing image of the country. “I have spent a large part of my life abroad and whenever I return to Finland, I notice how the scale of things appears to change,” he says. “Humans seem smaller and nature seems bigger. That gives a beautiful perspective to life as we become  more bewildered by our surroundings. I wanted to capture that sensation through the language of music.”

To hear the full report, tune in to ‘The Globalist’ on Monocle Radio.

Media: Italy
Trade secrets

With top-floor views of Florence’s Duomo, the headquarters of Italy Segreta feels like a daydream. The magazine, however, is not interested in fairy tales but rather the depiction of real life in Italy. Marina Serena Cacciapuoti, the magazine’s founder, grew up in Florence but moved to New York in 2014 to pursue a career as a photo editor. “I missed Italy,” she tells monocle. “And I hated how one-dimensionally it was perceived abroad: just pizza, prosciutto and the Amalfi coast.”

Cacciapuoti was only 28 years old when she left New York. “I was thriving,” she says. “But all I was building was myself.” Returning to Italy, she envisioned a magazine that would give a platform to young writers and photographers. After launching in 2020, Italy Segreta quickly exploded, highlighting often-overlooked details of Italy, such as coffee rituals and street life.

Italy Segreta now publishes a digital issue every month and, since 2023, an annual large-format print issue packed with articles on everything from essential pasta dishes to Sicilian ceramics.“Many Italians think of their country as dysfunctional,” says Cacciapuoti. “It’s partially true but we’re showing that it’s possible to create something that works here.”

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Novel approach
Books, Singapore

Singaporean photographer Rebecca Toh was exploring a Japanese fishing town in April when she wandered into a small library. She learned that each shelf was operated by different people, who brought their own books for others to borrow. “I couldn’t get the idea out of my head,” says Toh. She posted on social media to gauge interest in starting a similar project in Singapore and received hundreds of responses. Encouraged, she signed a lease for a shop in Bukit Merah.

An architect volunteered to install wooden flooring; graphic designer friends created a logo; and almost 200 people committed to a monthly fee of s$45 (€32) to cover the space’s costs. In August the Casual Poet Library opened to the public, staffed entirely by volunteers.

Membership is s$25 (€18) a year and members can borrow five books at a time. There are no late fees; mutual trust is central to the ethos of the library. One shelf is run by a class of schoolchildren, while some are curated by doctors, aspiring playwrights and couples. “People just want to share their passion for books and literature with others,” says Toh. “We have built a real community here.”

Innovations in gifting, architecture and property

Knut R Holmøy
CEO, Holmøy Maritime

Founded in 1973 in Norway’s High North, seafood group Holmøy Maritime prides itself on sustainable wild fishing – and great architecture. In 2014 it partnered with celebrated architecture studio Snøhetta to develop its headquarters in Vesterålen. A decade later, Snøhetta has delivered a 16,000 sq m facility at the fishery’s neighbouring Liland site, which will process 150 tonnes of salmon a day. The group’s CEO, Knut R Holmøy, tells us more.

Why is it important for your company to invest in good architecture?
It helps us to capture attention, attract expertise and create comfort and safety for those working with us. We offer the kinds of facilities that you might find in a city but with better views of Norway’s northern landscape.

How does it affect your team?
Our architecture shows that we prioritise quality. This gives our employees a sense of security and fosters pride. Nothing is achieved without human resources and, since moving our operation here, we have gained a lot in terms of efficiency for our investment.

How do Holmøy Maritime’s values help staff?
Our values revolve around sustainable production that’s both profitable and renewable. In this way, we can ensure safe and stable jobs, and acquire the expertise that we need to meet the environmental requirements that we face today, as well as those that we expect in the future.

Retail: London
Present and correct

Christmas is the busiest time of year at Colford. Founded in 2023 by Nathan Cole and Imogen Beresford, the London-based company sends out more than 5,000 intricately wrapped presents over the festive season. Catering to private and corporate clients including Hermès, Cartier and Soho House, Colford takes care of the entire gifting process, from selecting envelopes and commissioning calligraphy to packaging and delivery. “Luxury clients are always looking for new ways to elevate their brand,” says Cole. “They value our knowledge and guidance.”

The couple created Colford to facilitate a more considered approach to gifting, free from the last-minute rush. “We love the concept of a slower Christmas, especially one without excessive plastic wrapping paper,” says Beresford. “We have been working with paper made from recycled beer grain,” adds Cole. “It’s material that’s usually wasted after the brewing process. It creates a beautiful texture and subtle colour changes: you get some rich, deep browns through to the palest beiges.”

Colford takes pride in sourcing unusual materials and gifts, and works with more than 200 designers and makers. Creating a link between craftspeople and clients is important to the pair, who insist that gifting excellence doesn’t have to end with the festive season. “We can add a theatrical element all year round,” says Cole. “We consider how the present arrives, who delivers it, what they’re wearing and even what vehicle they arrive in.”

Hot properties

David Barry was the leader of the 2012 US Olympic wrestling squad, so he knows how to grapple with risk and tackle opportunity. It’s a skill set that has served the founder and ceo of property-development firm Urby well throughout his business career. Barry is also an angel investor who has backed Peloton, the Standard Hotels group and others. “Passion and strong values are what I look for,” he says. “These are often found in hospitality brands.”

Urby’s residential apartments offer a blend of traditional city living and the hospitality flair of boutique hotels. Since launching the company in 2014, Barry has worked to foster a sense of community in his developments. “We all rely too much on social media,” he says. “We need to return to humanity and cultivate real interactions. One way that we do this is by integrating a café into our lobbies.”

Urby now has eight properties across the US, in cities including Dallas and New York. Four more are in development. “The apartment world has often been dominated by financial interests and generic values,” says Barry. Urby’s generous amenities, such as communal gardens, gym classes and terraced pools, challenge this. Next, Barry hopes to expand across the border. “I would love to head to Mexico City,” he says. “It’s a vibrant city that’s bursting with creativity and Urby would thrive there.”

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The growing market for luxury product packaging

The market for luxury product packaging hit $16.8bn (€15.11bn) last year and, though brands are trying to find more sustainable ways to pack their goods, most of it will end up in landfill. New York-based start-up Chowa wants to bring preciousness back to packaging. It supplies high-end brands, such as fashion house Drake’s and Dom Pérignon, with kiribako boxes, which are traditionally used in Japan to store kimonos and the implements used in a tea ceremony. Chowa’s pitch is that its boxes, which are made from a pale paulownia wood that naturally keeps the contents dry in humid climates, can be kept and reused for storage by customers, while also telling a story about handmade traditions.

“Kiribako have been used to package premium products in Japan for centuries,” says founder Ray Suzuki, who grew up between New York and Tokyo. “These boxes also have an afterlife; repurposing is a huge part of [Japanese] culture.”

Founded last year, Chowa has quickly built a healthy client base, in sectors from hospitality to retail, and has collaborations with clothing brands on the horizon. Suzuki works with a factory in Hiroshima prefecture to make every box and initially struggled to find a partner, as many historic workshops feared that their heritage product would be thrown away once it landed on US shelves. Gaining their trust, says Suzuki, is part of the business model. “I speak to the clients one by one on behalf of the artisans. As long as they understand the care that goes into the boxes, I’m OK working with anyone.”

Chowa’s office is in a high-rise in Tribeca, with paulownia walls and a shoji window looking over the city. In July, Chowa opened a shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a library-like space where the brand can tell customers about Japanese craft and aesthetics through materials and architectural details. Subdued light falls across raw wooden columns and floors lined with denim from fashion brand Engineered Garments, which was founded by Suzuki’s father. The space can be turned into a chashitsu (tea room) and there is a small door to the storage area so that those entering must bow reverentially to the wooden boxes within.

“A space has the power to speak directly to the emotions and these boxes have the same sort of energy,” says Suzuki. “I want to share a certain idea about what luxury packaging can be. Luxury itself is transitioning to be more conscientious. People care about the story behind how things are made.” Indeed, some boxes are for life and not just for Christmas.
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