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The people who make the things, the places and the arguments worth reading about.
Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian may hail from an Armenian family from Aleppo but everything else about him is resolutely French. Paris is where he started in the business, creating some of the most successful perfumes for major designers, it’s also where he co-founded the esteemed Maison Fra…
Last August, Ralph Lauren’s executive vice-president of advertising, marketing and communications was elected to the corporation’s board. Noteworthy? We thought so. Why? Well, let’s just say this acorn hasn’t fallen far from Ralph’s tree. I first met 42-year-old David Lauren just a few …
As I make my way through the busy streets of Ashrafieh, it might be due to my biased perception but my eyes are drawn to Maktabis everywhere. And all of them in the carpet business. There’s Nivine Maktabi’s Oumnia, with its modernist tribal rugs, Hadi Maktabi’s traditional Oriental carp…
The hotels Jean-Michel Gathy designs for the likes of Aman, One&Only and Cheval Blanc are off the decadence Richter scale. It’s therefore about time we meet the man who pioneered the private plunge pool, ‘naughty bathrooms’ and basking nets. The name Jean-Michel Gathy may not featur…
Born in Dakar and raised in Kuwait City, Fatima Al Qadiri is a genre-mixing phenomenon in the world of electronica. The New York-based visual artist and composer’s works pivot around the politicised axes of gender, consumerism, military action and cultural stereotypes. “I believe in dji…
Born in Beirut but based in Paris and as passionate about graphic design as he is about furniture or lighting, Charles Kalpakian’s designs sit at the junction of several different overlapping worlds. A quote from Gibran. A vase called ‘Saida’. A room divider called ‘Hawa’. A light fixtu…
Practicing interior design and architecture out of the same office, professions as separate as they are entwined, Dada & Associates and TheOtherDada operate in a way that is interdependent but independent. audience signals @ambrouille As family businesses go, the Dadas rather break …
At first sight, you’ll never guess that Marianne Hoayek is the right hand of one of the world’s strongest and most respected central bank governors. Ignore those good looks and youthful exuberance because underneath lies a powerfully intelligent and determined person. Marianne Hoayek ma…
With high collars, plunging backless dresses, tailored cropped tops and smart tuxedo jackets, Karoline Lang’s designs are refreshingly un-Middle Eastern, and even her branding doesn’t give the game away. She does in fact hail from Beirut and is definitely a talent to watch out for. By t…
Seven years on, Philippe Massoud’s ilili , the New York-based Mediterranean fusion restaurant is busy redefining the concept of Lebanese cuisine. New York City is now several years deep into its fascination with Brussels sprouts. In a town known for its seasonal food fads – think pork b…
Nathalie Khayat’s studio isn’t especially quiet. Just down the road from the post office on Sassine Square in Beirut’s Ashrafieh, it opens onto the city’s soundscape; the dull roar of traffic, squealing tyres, honking horns, the drill of construction, passing conversations, the cries of…
If ever it is completed, Abu Dhabi’s Mastaba Project would be the world’s largest public sculpture. First developed by the celebrated art duo Christo & Jeanne-Claude back in 1977, a new book by Taschen documents the process of the monument’s construction. The craft of the builder wa…