“I came across Loro Piana almost by accident really,” says British author and historian Nicholas Foulkes. “I was in Palm Beach at The Breakers hotel and there was a sort of gentleman’s outfitters. One of the things was a buttercup-coloured or primrose-coloured gilet. It was cashmere with a check lining and a gathered neck.” It was in the late 1990s and Foulkes immediately fell in love with it and the label on the gilet. Today he is the author of Loro Piana: Master of Fibres, a hefty tome from publisher Assouline celebrating the centenary of the family-run and now LVMH-owned Italian brand.
“It was the first time I came into contact with it. It wasn’t really a brand that anybody knew. It wasn’t really a brand even. It was just a maker,” recalls Foulkes. “So I felt quite smug discovering something that was rather good and even more smug when it became very popular.” In the years since, Loro Piana has turned into the quintessential “if you know you know” brand.
How does Foulkes explain the meteoric rise of the house to the heights of the fashion industry in a couple of short decades? “If I knew, I would have done it myself,” he jokes. “I think it’s a type of magic, really. I mean, you had two remarkable men running the company for a start.
“I prefer to talk about quality than luxury. And you had a real passion for quality and a real understanding of the emotion of these objects and how the feel of them is a sensory pleasure in itself.” In the 1970s, the business was taken over by brothers Pier Luigi and Sergio Loro Piana, who took the family’s decades of expertise and transformed the wool specialist supply house – that had been building in prominence since the 1800s – into makers of extremely high-end, exclusive clothes and scarves from the finest wools and fibres money can buy.
By the 1980s, as others looked to cash in on the lure of mass appeal, the brothers instead doubled down on this exclusivity, investing in small farms and rural communities that produce remarkable fibres, such as the world’s most delicate merino wool, a special type of cashmere found only on baby goats and vicuna that can be harvested only every three years, making it the rarest fleece in the world.
“Pier Luigi is a business genius and also a remarkable man when it comes to imagining and then sourcing these extremely recondite fabrics,” says Foulkes. “And Sergio, with whom I used to spend quite a bit of time, was this incredibly stylish man. I mean, if you wanted to kind of cast a stylish Italian industrialist from central casting you would get Sergio. Loro Piana wasn’t a lifestyle brand. He was living the life and that was the Loro Piana life. It was so authentic because it was family,” he adds.
“I believe luxury is about people essentially. It’s about emotional responses to inanimate objects in which you detect the character of the individuals who have made the product. And that for me is when you have that connection and it’s not manufactured,” says Foulkes. He would know, having made a name for himself as one of the foremost chroniclers of luxury, with books on Patek Philippe, Louis Vuitton, a chronicle of men’s fashion called Last of the Dandies, and the famously decadent costume balls of the 20th century.
“To survive in these days, you have to grow, otherwise you’re standing still, going backwards. The trick is to grow while keeping your roots. I think that Loro Piana has succeeded with that because I still wear items of Loro Piana that I’ve had for 20 years.” The book evokes the origins of the brand in a sort of bygone era. Whether it is in the family’s attention to the global jet set – “we started to give our customers solutions to be elegant and comfortable in Saint-Tropez, in Gstaad, in the Hamptons, in their spare time,” says Maria Luisa Loro Piana in the book – or its move to New York in the glorious yuppie days of the 1980s. “That may be me sort of projecting my kind of fondness for this vanished world of glamour on to things,” says Foulkes. “It’s probably why I liked Sergio so much because he had that sort of 1950s elegance about him.”
“It was like a friend was making the stuff for you. Of course it’s a much bigger brand these days, but I think there’s still a personality about it, which is what makes it different.”
Since the brand was bought by LVMH in 2013, Loro Piana has been the subject of a plan to bring it to wider attention. In the recent boom of so-called “quiet luxury”, it was propelled into the spotlight as the poster child for the elusive style. “I don’t like the term quiet luxury because it is a crude and blunt instrument to basically say that stuff that isn’t screamingly logo branded,” says Foulkes. “But Loro Piana was what it was before quiet luxury, and will continue to be that in my opinion.”
He reiterates just how surprised he is by the rapidity of the brand’s rise, even saying it is a privilege to have witnessed something like this happening during his lifetime. “I’ve written everything from articles in HTSI and Vanity Fair, right up to books of several hundred pages. I’ve written a biography of French expressionist Bernard Buffet. I wrote a trilogy of history about 19th century England. I write across a big spread of things. I write the kind of thing that I would like to read. I do my best to make sure that it has been sufficiently researched so that, by the time I’m writing it, I’m more familiar with the world I’m writing about than the world in which I live,” he says. “So while I was writing this book, part of me was living in the world of Loro Piana.” Not a bad place to live, if you ask me.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
SPEC%20SHEET
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M2%2C%208-core%20GPU%2C%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.3-inch%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201600%2C%20227ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%3B%20Touch%20Bar%20with%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206%2C%20Bluetooth%205.0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2058.2Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2020%20hours%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20720p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%2C%20ProRes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Stereo%20speakers%20with%20HDR%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20support%2C%20Dolby%20support%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Pro%2C%2067W%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C%20cable%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh5%2C499%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
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Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
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Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
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