Issues

Insights from Watches and Wonders 2026 – the world’s leading watch fair

Since the demise of the Baselworld watch and jewellery fair, Geneva’s Watches and Wonders – the brainchild of luxury conglomerate Richemont – has become the industry’s most significant trade show. The fair has gathered momentum and the 2026 edition is continuing this trend.

With a record-breaking turnout of nearly 60,000 visitors (up from last year’s 55,000), 6,000 retailers and 50,000 overnight stays, this marks the salon’s most significant edition to date. Once a private industry event reserved for press and collectors, it has been expanding its public engagement, with ticketed access available since 2022. Organisers have reported a 15 per cent increase in ticket sales this year, a quarter of which were sold to under-25s, showing that high-end watchmaking is engaging the next generation. There were also significant takeover projects in Geneva city centre, including a watchmaking village and a partnership with Montreux Jazz Club.

“Even if geopolitical developments might be denting the limited revival we have seen so far, Richemont’s recent results hinted at 7 per cent organic growth for the specialist watchmakers’ division in the last quarter of 2025,” says Luca Solca, the managing director of global luxury goods at equity-research firm Bernstein SG. Watches are again doing better than expected, beating categories such as fashion during the challenging economic times. But Solca advises that the war in the Middle East could have a significant impact on the performance of this year’s show.

What’s on trend
This year’s models
The best in redesigns, skeletonised dials, calendar watches and more.

Like seasonal fashion, horology follows the beat of the times – and this edition of Watches and Wonders showcases a range of key trends.

Vintage designs are always popular, with the 1960s and 1970s dominating in recent years. With its seductive shape, Piaget’s new cocktail hour Sixties is a fine example, while subtle hints of 1980s and 1990s styling are also creeping in, with softer lines and sleeker bracelet designs.

But some brands are looking ahead, such as IWC Schaffhausen, which debuts its contemporary Pilot’s Ventura Vertical Drive, in a departure from its classic codes. Parmigiani Fleurier is redesigning the chronograph, eliminating traditional subdials in favour of multiple hands.

Brands are dialling up material alchemy and artisanal techniques. Exotic hardstones feature – take Cartier’s yellow-gold and obsidian Santos-Dumont tank or Piaget’s use of blue quartz. Grand Seiko shows its skill for precision metalworking with its Tateshina Otaki waterfall edition, with a platinum case and hand-engraved dial. Skeletonised dials are draws: Hermès, Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Tag Heuer all have reimagined signature models.

Calendar watches are a big deal too: Patek Philippe’s Annual Calendar and Audemars Piguet’s openwork perpetual calendars are all made with highly complex movements.

Q&A
Matthieu Humair
CEO, Watches and Wonders

What were your expectations for Watches and Wonders 2026?
This year is highlighted by the arrival of Audemars Piguet and 10 new brands. It’s great to have them at an event that’s just becoming bigger and bigger, while maintaining the level of service that makes the DNA of the salon.

Are there any new initiatives that are exciting you this year?
We are very excited about our new partnership with the Montreux Jazz Club in Geneva city centre, which showcases emerging talents from the international music scene, as well as new watchmaking talent. We also have the Watchmaking Village in town – with the Swiss Watch Industry Employers’ Association – to showcase professional opportunities and career paths.

A Danish icon returns: Inside Urban Jürgensen’s comeback to the watchmaking scene

Urban Jürgensen is not a name that readily comes up in conversations about the world’s great watchmakers. Outside specialist collecting circles, it has long lingered in relative obscurity – an outlier with a history that stretches back more than 250 years.

Now, a new ownership team is betting that this is precisely its strength. Relaunched in Los Angeles with a trio of high-end timepieces, the Danish brand is being repositioned at the top of contemporary watchmaking. “The high and low ends of the market are where the most interesting things are happening,” says CEO Alex Rosenfield, who runs the business alongside his father, Andrew, the Guggenheim Partners executive who acquired the brand in 2021. “We’re comfortable operating at that extreme.”

The relaunch centres on three limited-edition timepieces developed with master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, who is widely regarded as one of the finest practitioners in the field. The most complex model is limited to 75 pieces and priced at CHF 368,000 (€400,000), placing the brand among the most expensive names in contemporary watchmaking.

Rosenfield is clear about the strategy. “Companies that make things to the absolute highest standard, with love and care and the inherent limitations that kind of making requires, will always have an audience,” he says. That belief underpins the timing of the relaunch. Although the company was acquired in 2021, the new owners resisted moving too quickly. “Our view was always that when it is ready is when we will do it,” says Rosenfield.

If the business strategy is contemporary, the foundations are anything but. Urban Jürgensen’s history goes back to 18th-century Denmark, when the country relied on imported timepieces. That changed with Jürgen Jürgensen, who trained in Le Locle before returning to Copenhagen to set up Denmark’s first watchmaking workshop in 1773, producing thousands of timepieces and becoming royal clockmaker to the Danish court.

His son, Urban, further elevated the name. His marine chronometers supported the Danish navy, while his pocket watches were prized by the royal family. The business remained in family hands for generations but, by the early 20th century, had drifted away and gradually lost prominence. While contemporaries such as Abraham-Louis Breguet endured, Urban Jürgensen faded from view.

Interest was revived in 1976, when the Danish Clock and Watchmakers’ Guild marked the bicentenary of Urban’s birth. Watchmakers Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt acquired the name and set about restoring it. From the 1980s onwards, the brand rebuilt its reputation, introducing its first wristwatches. A pivotal moment came in 1996 with the arrival of Voutilainen, who later completed Pratt’s Oval Pocket Watch, a decades-long project that sold at auction in 2006 for CHF3.7m. Even so, stability proved elusive. A private-equity consortium acquired the brand in 2014, before Rosenfields’ takeover marked a more decisive reset.

Working alongside Voutilainen, the Rosenfields planned the company’s relaunch with three distinct models aimed at collectors: UJ-1, UJ-2 and UJ-3. The UJ-1 reinterprets Pratt’s Oval Pocket Watch in wristwatch form with a one-minute flying tourbillon. The UJ-2 is a three-hand watch with a double-wheel natural escapement, and the UJ-3 adds a perpetual calendar and instantaneous moonphase.

For Rosenfield, the product alone is not enough. “The product matters but an emotional connection is what gets you there in the long run,” he says, adding that the brand is aiming to establish a more cultural presence. The same logic applies to distribution. Urban Jürgensen is currently selling directly to clients through private appointments, with plans for showrooms in Geneva and New York. Rosenfield is also exploring ways to take the watches on the road. “We want to do trunk shows that aren’t like trunk shows,” he says.

That openness is underpinned by a slower approach to production. In Biel, the workshop prioritises precision over scale: watch decorator Stéphane Bastide spends up to 20 hours polishing the screws in a single watch – including heads that remain invisible once assembled. For Voutilainen, this reflects something more fundamental than technique. The workshop, he says, is defined as much by “horological savoir-être” as by technical skill. “There’s harmony inside but we must also be brave enough to break the rules.”
urbanjurgensen.com

How investing in staff wellbeing generated higher revenue at the Maldives’ Patina Hotels & Resorts

Where do hotel staff go after their shift? Too often, it’s a cramped, forgotten corner at the back of a resort, where fluorescent-lit quarters suggest how little thought has gone into their wellbeing. But some high-end hospitality players are looking to change that. “We ask our teams to create transformative experiences but they’re living in conditions that we would never show our guests,” says Evan Kwee, the vice-chairman of Singapore-headquartered Capella Hotel Group. “That contradiction troubled us.” 

What is often at the heart of the decision to focus on staff’s quality of life is the ability to retain talent. Hospitality businesses have a notoriously high turnover with the annual rate in the US estimated at 70 per cent. As the mastermind of Capella’s Patina Hotels in the Maldives, which focus on wellness and renewal, Kwee embraced the opportunity to practise what he preached with the creation of Fari Campus in collaboration with URBNarc founder Gaurang Khemka. Based on a separate island in the Maldives, Fari Campus caters to employees of Patina and The Ritz-Carlton’s neighbouring outposts. “Hoteliers are realising that investing in staff wellbeing is about more than just goodwill,” says Dave Moore, the global CEO of WATG, the Hawaii-founded hospitality-design firm behind the Fari Islands’ master plan. 

The benefits of Fari Campus are clear: at 13.3 per cent, Patina Maldives’ annual staff turnover is lower than all its competitors. A 15-minute boat ride away from their workplaces, staff have a clear distinction between work and leisure with a full-sized football field, volleyball courts, two restaurants, a private staff beach and even more at their disposal. “The staff feel like they’re really at home after they leave the [hotel] island,” says general manager Anthony Gill. “They know that they are not going to be called back; no guest or senior manager will be disturbing them.” Importantly, family members are granted access during certain seasons – a factor that is often overlooked in a demanding and anti-social industry.  

The new standard set by brands such as Capella means that businesses in the sector will have to think more carefully about design beyond the guest quarters. “Engaged staff deliver better service,” says Moore. “This drives repeat guest visits, loyalty and, ultimately, higher revenue.”

Read more about workplaces that centre employee wellbeing:
‘The perfect kitchen is where there is no fear.’ Seven global chefs share their tips for running a successful restaurant

Five simple ways to seed change in your neighbourhood for greener cities

1.
Make the most of overlooked spaces
Have a balcony? Then create a bosco verticale (vertical forest). Cities are full of unlikely growing spots. In Paris, car parks have been turned into mushroom farms. In Tokyo, herbs and small crops grow inside repurposed office spaces; the main lobby of recruitment firm Pasona’s headquarters even contains a miniature rice paddy. Rethink where food can grow and forgotten corners of the city will bloom.

2.
Encourage biodiversity
“More habitats mean more species – and that means more biodiversity,” says Delamain. So make smart interventions, from building wet environments using diverted rainwater to creating mounds so that there are higher and lower areas. Complex soil structures, meanwhile, can improve water absorption and help to offset flooding.

3.
Plant an orchard
If your neighbourhood has a patch of land going spare, consider planting a community orchard. Fruit trees are generous; they provide baskets of apples, shade in the summer and a fun excuse for harvest gatherings. They’re also useful in terms of bolstering a nation’s food resilience and sovereignty. Bringing people together is also a good argument against automation. “If you can press a button and it all gets watered, you don’t really get to know and invest in your garden,” says Delamain.

4.
Think longer term
Children are naturally curious and surprisingly good gardeners. Every school should have a small jungle of pots and plants for them to explore. Give them a patch of soil and they’ll happily dig in. “Before you know it, you will have converted a whole generation,” says Delamain. The same goes for building community. A small act of gardening could have long-term effects. “I just don’t think anybody could leave a community gardening club without feeling a bit better about life,” says Delamain. Join a club, get your hands in the soil and trade a few tips over compost. It’s a heartwarming pastime – and, according to Delamain, “gardening clubs are full of the nicest people on the planet”.

5.
Create a microclimate
As our planet warms, consider planting trees in arid places to transform once inhospitable dry zones into lush oases. Even in subtropical megacities, you can still create the coolest place in town. Plus, it means you’ll have somewhere to lie down. “We’re designed to be in a natural environment, but now live in this very concrete world,” she says. It can be on the grass or on a bench, simply somewhere to properly immerse yourself. Sprawl in the middle of pots and planters, look at the canopy of trees, listen to the blackbird singing, sunbathe and enjoy your garden.

Read next:
Inside Paris’s secret gardens: How rooftop re-wilding projects are turning the city green

The commute: Travel into the city with Ingka Group’s creative director Marcus Engman

It’s 06.45 when Marcus Engman leaves his home near Helsingborg for his commute to Malmö. As the creative director of Ikea’s retailer, Ingka Group, Engman influences lives and living spaces around the world – and the ideas hatched on his scenic journey can shape his work, which is sold in 63 countries. Today we join him for the ride, stopping at his design studio, Skewed, before hopping on a train to Ikea’s Hubhult office.

Tell us about your commute. Can we set our watch by your movements?
I don’t stick to routines but the older I get, the more I have become a morning person. I live in the countryside by the sea and share a car, an electric BMW IX1, with my wife. When I’m going to Malmö, I leave before 07.00.

What’s your go-to work outfit?
Basics from Margaret Howell, Stone Island and Singular Society and some old Tricker’s footwear. I have a well-worn black Billingham bag that has been on a couple of tours around the world. Inside is a Leica Q3 28mm. I’m a camera geek.

We’re peckish – where can we stop for coffee and a bite on the way?
I like Solde Kaferosteri & Kafebar [on Regementsgatan]. It has the best cofee in Malmö.

What do you listen to when you’re on the move?
Swedish radio – but at home, a lot of jazz. I like Indian singer-songwriter Asha Puthli, who created music with one of my all-time favourites, Ornette Coleman.

Now we’re at Triangeln station in central Malmö, heading to Hyllie, near Ikea’s Hubhult office. How do you like train travel?
The overall look and feel of the train – the choice of materials – are, at best, practical. It would be fun to create an environment that invites people to socialise more: to get ready for a hectic day or wind down after one.

The delightful world of three multi-brand boutiques keeping independent, curated retail alive

Multi-brand boutiques are an increasingly rare sight these days, as luxury houses opt for tighter control over everything from merchandising to storytelling. Independent retailers have also grown more cautious about buying seasonal stock in a market where competition for customers’ attention has never been fiercer. Whether in Paris, Bangkok or New York, it’s becoming unusual to stumble upon a great shop that offers a mix of labels – some familiar and others less so. In their place, brand-owned flagships have multiplied. But along the way, the thrill of discovery has been lost. When Paris’s Colette closed its doors, only to be replaced by a single-brand shop, it marked more than the end of a beloved retail destination – it signalled a broader shift towards a more homogenised experience.

Yet a handful of retailers continue to defy this trend. Committed to the art of selection, they trust their instincts, invest in emerging talent and build spaces that reflect a distinct point of view. As shoppers seek more meaningful, in-person experiences, these boutiques have become destinations in their own right: places to not only find exceptional clothing but also to engage in conversation, linger over an aperitivo and enjoy carefully considered interiors. From established names in Berlin and New York to a fast-growing venture redefining menswear in Canada, we speak to the founders who are keeping the spirit of the multi-brand boutique alive.

1.
Murkudis
Berlin

In Berlin, Andreas Murkudis is more like a cultural institution than a clothes shop. Sure, the retailer, which occupies a former printworks in the Tiergarten district, stocks an unparalleled selection of fashion brands, from Dries Van Noten and Yohji Yamamoto to Durazzi, Carven and Hodakova, but its broader relevance stems from the regular events and exhibitions that take place in-store. These might be a modular-furniture showcase or a Carsten Nicolai art installation, and reliably draw a bigger and sharper crowd than most galleries.

Murkudis will mark the 25th anniversary of his namesake business next year and is currently lining up a yearlong celebration. “At the moment, so many retail stores are closing,” he says. “It’s important for us to do even more.” He plans to partner with some of his favourite brands to introduce a small, exclusive product capsule each week. Ideas include a sweater in 10 different colours, a special model of Ludwig Reiter shoes and a reissue of an archival Felisi bag. This year Murkudis is also throwing the fifth edition of the Charity Market, an outdoor fair selling donated or deadstock items that typically raises more than €100,000 for local charities. “Every brand we ask will give something,” he says.

In June, also keep an eye out for Murkudis’s first pop-up shop in Paris, which will be selling an edit of smaller Japanese brands – a lifelong dream of the seasoned retailer. While Murkudis might have global ambitions, shoppers still have to head to Potsdamer Strasse to browse the full selection. After almost a quarter of a century in the business, Murkudis still doesn’t see an online shop as a necessity.
andreasmurkudis.com

2.
Neighbour
Vancouver

Fifteen years ago, Saager Dilawri quit his fashion job in New York and decided to fulfil a dream of opening his own menswear shop. At the age of 26, he moved to Vancouver, leased a courtyard space in the Gastown district and opened Neighbour. “Some friends gave me clothes to sell and then I sat there for two years in a fishbowl,” he says. “People walked past and saw a lonely, confused guy.”

It might have taken a while for Vancouverites to catch on but today Neighbour – which is run by Dilawri and his wife, Karyna Schultz – is a growing fashion empire, known for introducing some of the most in-demand, artisanal labels to the Canadian market.

Neighbour has since quadrupled in size, with standalone womenswear and home shops all within walking distance of each other. When a three-storey retail space became free next to the women’s boutique on West Cordova Street, Dilawri snapped it up. In the renovated space, a warm interior with wooden beams, exposed brick and matte aluminium details forms the setting for about 40 brands, many of which are exclusive to the boutique. Neighbour introduced Our Legacy and Norse Projects to Vancouver early on and stocks Japanese niche brands such as Maatee & Sons and Gorsch alongside local stalwarts such as Veilance. Dilawri gravitates towards unfussy clothes made with materials that improve with age. “I’m really into anything that feels better after a few years of wearing it,” he says. “It makes it less precious.”

Today, Neighbour ranks among Canada’s most influential fashion retailers. Does Dilawri have any wisdom to impart? “If you’re going to run an independent business, it has to come from within,” he says. “We are really into everything that we sell – and that makes it easy.”
shopneighbour.com

3.
La Garçonne
New York

La Garçonne is nestled in quiet Greenwich Street in Tribeca. There’s barely any signage or products displayed in the windows, yet for the past decade the multi-brand boutique has become an essential stop for shoppers looking for collectible pieces. New Yorkers, who know the shop staff by name, drop by almost weekly, while those passing through the city make the trip to Tribeca to immerse themselves in co-founder Kris Kim’s elegant world – an all-white space with soft lighting and customised wooden cabinetry filled with clothing and accessories by houses including Dries Van Noten and The Row, as well as independents such as Tokyo-based Minä Perhonen or Tyrolean label Bergfabel.

“We have a pretty wide selection of The Row but it’s our interpretation – you’ll never find very dressy pieces,” says Kim. “I like to stay with brands, even as the market changes. Lemaire is another mainstay for us; I remember having appointments with Christophe [Lemaire] when he was on his own in a tiny showroom. Sometimes it’s just about finding practical pieces customers need; at other times it’s about discovery and giving them something to think about.”

While other fashion capitals are seeing their independent boutiques close, La Garçonne has established itself as an institution in Tribeca, opening a dedicated menswear store last year as well as an outpost in Amagansett in Long Island. Achieving longevity comes down to trusting your taste and committing to serving the customer, rather than the brands, says Kim. “Traditionally in retail, there was more focus on getting the vision right or having the right looks but when you have a shop you really have to know everything about your customer, right down to their names,” she adds.

As her business grows, Kim has found herself experimenting more. “I’ve grown up with the shop and I think it gets more fun as I get older,” she says, pointing to beaded necklaces by Greek jeweller Ileana Makri and colourful socks by Italian label Maria La Rosa. “It’s important to offer customers some colour and pattern.”

Kim says that shops need to “keep up with the times” and she’s always keeping an eye on what her teenage children are wearing or researching the trends that are shaping youth culture. “We’re at a moment where we’re craving things that are old and have stories [behind them],” she says, adding that no matter the direction fashion takes, she makes sure that any item she picks up fits her own taste and identity. “It’s a commitment to run your own boutique. I’ve been asking this from the beginning, ‘Why can’t a shop be a beautiful brand in itself? A space that you want to walk into, to experience and discover?’”
lagarconne.com

Lake Como gets a beautiful new must-stay with the arrival of the Edition hotel

Glassy waters, a balmy climate and patrician villas with sun-drenched gardens framed by mountains – for centuries, Como has epitomised the stately Italian getaway. This sense of romance endures in The Lake Como Edition, which occupies a prime position on the western shore facing the Bellagio peninsula.

Lake Como has ceded some ground to other resorts in recent years but the new Edition is the first of a raft of significant lakeside openings from major groups, including the Ritz-Carlton, Belmond and Six Senses.

Ian Schrager, the hotelier behind the brand, built his reputation on nightlife and the Lake Como location aptly stays lively after dark. The Edition’s lake-view bars and restaurants have been “buzzing since day one”, says Anton Moore, its general manager.

Housed in a reimagined 1830 property in Cadenabbia, the hotel features a rooftop terrace with all-day dining, shrouded in lush greenery. There’s a lobby bar, a library café and a fine-dining restaurant, Cetino by chef Mauro Colagreco, as well as a floating pool and deck-side restaurant at the lake’s edge.

Interiors by Neri&Hu and De.Tales that reach beyond faded Italianate grandeur are part of what has prompted guests to comment on how different the hotel is from anything else on the lake, says Moore. “They also tell me how much it was needed.” The spacious lobby is lined with marble archways, whose form is echoed in the doorways of the hotel’s 148 guest rooms, many of which have lake-facing balconies. Multi-hued marbles combine with sleek custom furnishings and contemporary pieces by Arflex, Agapecasa, Liaigre, Lambert & Fils and Thonet, set against walls painted with natural stone pigments.

The spa, inspired by Swiss bathhouse traditions, has seven treatment rooms, a sauna, hammam and plunge pools that overlook the lake. It promises treatments to improve sleep, vitality and more – a welcome option if you have stayed up a little late enjoying the liveliest hotel on the lake.
editionhotels.com

Put your best foot forward: 15 shoe styles to add to your closet this spring

Stylist: Kyoko Tamoto

How to get dressed: Japan’s style veteran Hirofumi Kurino shares his tips

Japan’s sartorial big hitters have long intrigued the fashion world – and Hirofumi Kurino is right up there as one of the most influential figures in menswear. A co-founder of Japanese fashion retailer United Arrows (UA), where he is now a senior adviser, Kurino’s signature blend of high and low – a tailored jacket and New Balance trainers – is easy to admire and hard to imitate. Relentlessly snapped by street photographers, Kurino knows how to appreciate craftsmanship, whether in an Italian shirt, Japanese wool trousers or a good tweed, but he will happily try something new.

Comfortable in his own skin, unfailingly courteous and curious about the world, Kurino, who is also a consultant for Japanese manufacturing organisation J-Quality, is the embodiment of great style. Monocle meets him in the fashion archive of UA’s Tokyo HQ to talk about the art of getting dressed.

How do you decide what to wear every morning?
There’s no formula. Sometimes I choose my clothes the night before, sometimes I decide in the morning. It depends if I have a certain image in my mind. I prefer natural fabrics but I’m open to any material or silhouette. Colour is key for me when I’m choosing what to wear; it’s more important than the fit. Royal blue is my favourite. I dress for myself, and maybe for friends who appreciate my style but I’m not interested in showing off or thinking about whether someone is going to photograph me. If I head out in the morning and something doesn’t feel right – maybe the socks are wrong – I’ll turn back. My wife and daughter are the same.

Anything you steer away from?
I don’t like rules for dressing and I think age is irrelevant but I do avoid logos and big luxury brands, and I don’t like pre-ripped jeans. If my jeans tear naturally, that’s different.

Who or what influences your style?
When I was at school in Setagaya in Tokyo, my first style idol was Sean Connery in From Russia with Love, even if I couldn’t afford to replicate his sharp suits at that age. I loved The Beatles too. I also DJ for friends from time to time. I was buying vinyl in the 1960s, switched to CDs and now I’m back with vinyl again, so album covers such as Nursery Cryme [Genesis, 1971] or New Boots and Panties!! [Ian Dury, 1977] can be big style inspirations. I draw a lot from travelling. I recently did a 17-day trip to Europe and attended Dries Van Noten’s final show in Paris, which was very emotional. He did 129 shows in his career and I went to 125 of them.

You spend so much time on the road. How do you pack for a trip?
I’m good at packing a capsule wardrobe and I like a soft Eastpak holdall on wheels. I have 10 of them. 

What are your wardrobe staples?
I still wear a lot of jackets and suits. I’m a big fan of Caruso suits; I love the way they’re relaxed but elegant. I wear shirts from all over the place, but UA is probably the biggest buyer of [Neapolitan shirtmaker] Salvatore Piccolo. I’ve also ended up with an encyclopedic knowledge of white T-shirts and Uniqlo has one of the best. I’m interested in mass production and love the socks from my nearby supermarket. I also go to a local barber. I’ve had my hair the same way for 30 years – if I go somewhere fancy my hair will look the way the stylist wants and not like me. 

Which young labels are you currently enjoying?
Recently, I’ve been interested in Wales Bonner and SS Daley [from London] as well as [Milan-based Japanese label] Setchu. A black Setchu blazer that I have is amazing, it folds up into a B4 envelope and the creases are built in. You just have to hope that nobody tries to iron them out. 

Are you still excited about fashion?
If I think about fashion as trends or big companies, I’m not so thrilled. But if I think about creation, craftsmanship and interesting people, then I’m excited.

Our April issue demonstrates why old-school diplomacy matters now more than ever

Monocle’s outposts around the world act as embassies for our business. Our offices, shops and cafés are places where you can enter our domain and leave the rest of the world behind. If, for example, you push open the door of our shop in Merano, South Tyrol, its manager, Linda Egger, will immediately set about making you feel at home. She’ll dispense useful information about the town, suggest where you might have supper and hopefully entice you to make a small trade deal for a Monocle product or two. She’s a Monocle ambassador who represents the brand and can talk with passion and knowledge about our history.

We are blessed to have lots of people in our business – from editors to baristas – who are good at this diplomatic work. Some are cultural attachés; others sit in the commercial section of the mission. One or two occasionally need to adopt a military attaché’s mantle when world events demand nimble manoeuvres. And it all works rather nicely.

While some might question the role of actual national embassies at a time when diplomacy can occasionally seem irrelevant, the best of them still do vital work. They take care of their country’s diaspora, build bridges with their host nations, manage moments of tension and use soft power to make friends. They host parties at which political differences are forgotten as guests sample wine from the home country.

It’s why, for this issue, we asked our foreign editor, Alexis Self, to put together The Good Embassy Guide, celebrating missions that do their nations proud. In those pages, you’ll see how five Nordic nations came together on one site in Berlin in a display of their shared histories. We’ll take you to the Italian embassy in London to explore how it has become a showcase for the national brand and look at how the Peruvians use food to make friends in Washington. It’s a story about why physical space matters. Let’s not pretend that laptop diplomacy is a substitute.

It was also an embassy that hosted our editorial director, Tyler Brûlé, and Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, for their interview in this issue. They sat down together at the Canadian mission in Tokyo to discuss how middle-sized powers can become less dependent on the US, forge new trade ties that aren’t jolted by fluctuating tariffs and better defend themselves. And it’s a fascinating conversation about national brands and considered diplomacy too.

This issue is also our Style Special. As well as guiding you to some new retail outposts and selecting brands that you should know, it includes some illuminating interviews. One of these is with Olivier Bron, the CEO of US department store Bloomingdale’s. He has been in position for two years and is tasked with revitalising the company – and not just what’s on sale. “Getting the merchandise right isn’t enough,” he tells our reporter Rosemary Feitelberg. “You need to have the right marketing, the right campaigns and the right store design.” And it seems to be working. But what makes the story so fascinating is that he’s delivering this turnaround at a time when Saks Global has filed for bankruptcy and many analysts have been predicting the end of the US department store.

And there are many more stories in the issue that show how you can create your own path and move beyond the conventional narrative. In our Business pages, for example, we spotlight the Japanese shops rethinking retail (from football to convenience stores). In Culture, we meet Martin Krasnik, the editor of Danish long-reads newspaper Weekendavisen, which is widely read in print. And in our Expo, we present dealers who have allowed their passion and heart to guide their successful businesses.

But it’s the idea of us all finding our inner ambassador that stayed with me most while reading the proof pages for this issue: how being a good representative, taking care to explain your stance and even looking the part matter. And that embassy party, of course. If you would like to drop me a diplomatically worded note, you can always find me at at@monocle.com.

Subscribers can read everything from our April issue, here.