Sommaire pour September 2020 de Robb Report

Jason H. Harper Harper concerns himself with all methods of motion for Robb Report as a writer splitting himself between automotive and luxury travel, and his assignments have taken him from the Gobi Desert to the Bhutanese Himalayas. For this issue, in “Porsche’s Best-Kept Secret” (p. 98), he examined the automaker’s little-known Exclusive Manufaktur program, in which a few customers a year can work with an in-house design team to create uniquely customized cars. “What I found most interesting was the high level of excitement,” says Harper. “Porsche can often seem secretive, but I got a glimpse at the passion and fun that surround a special build like the ones for Jorge Carnicero.” Kareem Rashed A regular freelance contributor to Robb Report, Rashed joined the magazine full-time as style editor…

Los Angeles collector and dealmaker Arthur Lewis is a rarity in the art world: He is Black, gay and powerful, and blends his business savvy with activism and tastemaking. Lewis has been creative director of fine arts for the United Talent Agency and its UTA Artist Space since 2019, after jobs at Kohl’s and the Gap; he’s also on the board of Prospect New Orleans. He spoke to Robb Report this summer, amid the pandemic and protests, as the art world was just starting up again. The conversation has been edited. Ted Loos Tell me about UTA Artist Space. We’re not a traditional gallery. I get to partner with galleries like Rachel Uffner, for our show on Arcmanoro Niles. The curators that I’ve worked with have all been women. I’m…

OPEN HOUSE When Eliot Noyes arrived at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in 1932, he was frustrated by the emphasis on beaux arts architecture, which felt out of touch with Germany’s Bauhaus modernists. Once Noyes had a chance to learn from the school’s new chairman and founder of the Bauhaus School, Walter Gropius, his career truly began. He was the design brain behind everything from the Selectric typewriter to the Bubble Houses in Florida. Yet one of the architect’s crowning achievements was his home in New Canaan, Conn., which remains privately owned by his descendants to this day. Invitations to this modernist masterpiece are scarce—which is why At the Noyes House, an art-and-design exhibition that opens on September 15 in the residence itself, is not to be missed. The event…

• CEILING BEAMS One of Gillen’s signature traits is how little he uses machinery in crafting certain elements of his homes. The thick glulam beams are made of Douglas fir and each is sanded by hand to create a raw-wood look that’s still polished. • CHANDELIER Dangling above the custom sofa are orbs of light hand-blown in the Czech Republic. Gillen saw it as the centerpiece of the room, which gets reflected in windows at night, doubling the glow. A smaller version hangs in the stairwell. • KITCHEN The stone countertops were made in Germany to Gillen’s specs: He wanted a thinner look less common than the thick slabs he sees elsewhere. Cabinetry is by Bulthaup, and appliances are from Miele, Sub-Zero and Gaggenau.…

When the sight of the building itself is as remarkable as the views from the penthouse, you know you’re dealing with a special piece of architecture. Miami’s new One Thousand Museum Residences, created by Zaha Hadid Architects, has already become a city landmark, despite being considered one of the world’s most challenging architectural projects to execute, thanks to its sinuous exoskeleton. The firm’s signature “water drop” motifs abound throughout the common spaces, which include a vast indoor-outdoor wellness center, a rooftop helipad, a private beach club and an on-premises bank vault. And you’ll be in excellent company: David and Victoria Beckham have bought a home in the building. Fifty floors up sits one of 10 full-floor mansions in the sky. This 11,500-square-foot, five-bedroom, 6.5-bath penthouse is the tower’s only completely…

NOBODY FORGETS the adage “less is more” faster than somebody shopping for a new motorcycle. Especially today, given the frequent high-profile salvos from our escalating engine-output arms race. But even skilled bikers can have a hard time wringing the most out of a 200 hp rocket on fast, twisty asphalt, let alone a closed course. And no one wants to be stuck using an expensive motorcycle to chase the cheap thrill of gunning it in a straight line between red lights. Most bikers, in fact, will find more enjoyment from smaller machines with lower displacement engines, and with excellent sub-1,000 cc models on the market from manufacturers as varied as Triumph, Yamaha, Ducati and MV Augusta, it’s proof the modern middleweight sportbike competes in a sporting division indeed. Among the…

Alfa Romeo teamed up with Compagnia Ducale to celebrate the former’s 110th anniversary. With the Dolomites as backdrop for both companies, it’s no surprise the $4,269 bike aims to conquer rocky trails rather than smooth asphalt. Bolstered with a powerful 48 v, 500 wh battery, the Dolomiti 110th Anniversary edition features a livery designed by Alfa Romeo’s in-house design studio, Centro Stile. Want to dominate the bike path like Mercedes-AMG Petronas dominates Formula 1? Then try this collaboration between the automaker and NPlus Bikes. A two-wheeled homage to the racing team, the V11 (V for velo and 11 for the current W11 Grand Prix racer) is offered in three build specifications—costing as much as $12,000 —and uses a carbon-fiber chassis made and hand-painted at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 headquarters in…

Super Veloce Aurum 18CT The Super Veloce’s RS Black Edition costs more than some pre-owned Porsche Boxsters, but the company’s flagship model is the $51,700 Aurum 18CT. A tribute to 1990s-era Formula 1 V-12 race engines, it has 18-karat-gold cam covers, a titanium 12-cylinder block and a black baseplate crafted from hand-laid carbon fiber. Kees van der Westen Speedster Taking design cues from the golden age of hot rods, Dutch coffee-machine specialist Kees van der Westen will happily build you one of its retro-style Speedster espresso brewers in stainless steel. Featuring two independent boilers with separate temperature controls, the appliance can be optioned with milled side panels. Price available on request. La Marzocco Linea Mini With its rosso-colored body panels and shiny gauges, the La Marzocco Linea Mini (starting at…

Acropolis Aviation’s G-KELT has not only one of the most opulent and technically advanced interiors of any private jet but also one of the most spacious. In its guise as an Airbus A320neo commercial airliner, its 90-by-12-foot cabin can accommodate 180 people; in the sprawling, opulent G-KELT space designed by Yves Pickardt of Alberto Pinto Design, it seats just 19. The vast cabin is up to three times more spacious than competing large-body jets and beautifully appointed with rich leather and woodwork, bespoke lamps and original artwork. There’s even a master suite with a king-size bed, and en suite with a marble sink and a shower. Acropolis says clients can use the plane, the world’s first completed ACJ320neo, for transporting heads of state or as an airborne boardroom with a…

• Made of carbon fiber, the gear shifter for the six-speed manual transmission is also enveloped in tarpan-brown leather accented with GT Silver stitching. • The embossed logo atop the center console’s storage compartment is a tribute to Porsche’s recent wins at 24 Hours of Le Mans. • The seat centers, bolsters and headrests—along with much of the interior—are upholstered in tarpan-brown leather, which was reserved solely for the limited-edition 911 R and had to be approved for use, then sourced. Customized commemorative badging and embroidery add to the exclusivity. • The door panels feature a mix of trim treatments—including leather, contrast stitching, cloth and carbon fiber—that only hint at the hundreds of options for personalization available through Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur.…

Ed Clark canvases, with their broad, juicy, brushy strokes of brilliant color, are unmistakable, as identifiable as Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings or Mark Rothko’s hazy red rectangles. Clark, an African-American artist who died in October at the age of 93, was influential to generations of artists but never gained the same household-name status as his fellow abstract expressionists. In recent years that slight has been on a course correction, and a new Los Angeles exhibition on view until January offers a glimpse of his groundbreaking midcareer work. Hauser & Wirth will show a dozen of Clark’s paintings made between 1960 and 1980, when he was honing what he called his “big sweep” technique: laying his gigantic canvases on the floor and spreading pigment across them with a janitor’s push broom,…

Cofounder and CEO of Sneakertopia, a pop-up museum in Los Angeles devoted to sneaker culture and art, Harris has been interested in fashion and footwear long before the term “sneakerhead” ever existed. The New York native now lives in LA, but his passion for style began in college at Howard University, where he first majored in fashion design and, with a friend, launched a clothing line called Tribe Vibe that they sold into Macy’s. Harris then transferred to the communications school at Howard to study film, and that experience defined much of his career as a producer and network executive, with stints or credits at TLC, A&E, NBC and Netflix, whether producing episodes of Trading Spaces or directing the animated music video for Big Pun and Ashanti’s “How We Roll”…

PROS + Charge all your Qi-enabled devices on one surface, sans unsightly cables. + Control locks, blinds and lighting from the nightstand if your home is already a connected one. + Built-in Bluetooth speakers and lighting can be programmed to match circadian rhythms. + Storage for books, blankets and bubbly. + The nifty spin-open lid is easy to operate in the dark. CONS × Older devices are still going to need charging cables. × The table’s built-in apps are compatible only with Android systems, so if you’re an Apple fan, this is just a not-very-smart table with a fancy lid. × It looks more like a giant Google Wi-Fi router than a chic furnishing. × Do you really need to drink in bed? × A reading lamp or vase on…

Two years ago Dixon surprised everyone by opening a restaurant beside his London HQ. Dubbed the Coal Office, it’s entirely shoppable: Guests can buy the Tom Dixon plates right off their table. While the 61-year-old Brit (who was once in a disco-funk band that toured with the Clash!) creates products known for their sleek lines, his own path has been more of a zigzag, from creating the futuristic RockStar suites aboard Virgin Voyages’ inaugural cruise ship to a brutalist mansion—architecture, interiors and all—in Monaco. His latest accessories collection debuts this month. “The difficult thing is being minimal but still being recognizably us,” he says of the creation process. What was the first thing you designed? In school, it was the process of turning clay into decorative and useful artifacts that…

IN 1965, LONG before the term “SUV” was even coined, Ford launched its Bronco, an off-roader that could play in the dirt as well as on asphalt. Owners gladly traded any stitch of luxury for a boxy brute that offered utility and the tenacity of a pack mule. By 1996, the Bronco had gotten big and flabby and was trotted off to the glue factory. Today, the first-gen Broncos, model years 1966 to 1977, have a cult following, and Ford has shrewdly leveraged the nostalgia, recently relaunching a new model with much fanfare. For Seth Burgett, a confirmed Ford guy since age nine, those early Broncos are magical machines. A serial entrepreneur and engineer, he had sold a sports-headphones company and needed a new challenge. So, as his Bronco-collecting bug…

While social distancing has always been part of motorcycling’s appeal, some of us now crave a stronger sense of connection, even through a tinted visor. Enter Cardo’s Packtalk Bold, a helmet-mounted communication system that enables bike-to-bike cross-talk with up to a mile of range. With its Dynamic Mesh Communication technology, the $340 device can link as many as 15 riders in a network configuration (rather than a daisy chain, as with older setups), which eliminates drop-offs when people stray out of range and adds them when they get closer. The JBL speakers can also stream music or phone calls. The Packtalk Bold performed admirably in a recent group tour of Southern California’s rambling back roads, adding crisp, clear conversation to an otherwise solitary experience. The tech is mostly easy to…

Riva 88 Folgore Inspired by historic automotive design, Riva’s 88 Folgore captures a bold new look with carbon and steel accents (standard on futuristic yachts) complementing retro mahogany inlays. The sleek profile is boosted by the integrated “sport-fly” bridge while the interior—an ensemble of marble, steel, wood and glass—offers owners a choice of three layouts for the master stateroom. Sanlorenzo 62Steel The prosaically named 62Steel has unusually inventive features, such as a glass-bottom swimming pool that doubles as the beach club’s ceiling, plus a gym overlooking the sea. The most impressive area of this 202-footer is the 2,260-square-foot master suite, with floor-to-ceiling bedroom windows and doors that lead to a private terrace. Blue II Don’t be fooled by the 1930s look: Turquoise’s 184-foot Blue II is equipped with modern exploration…

So you’ve gone to the trouble of getting the latest and greatest gaming system. But is your display up to the challenge? For the best in purpose-built gaming monitors, look no further than the new 49-inch Odyssey G9 from Samsung ($1,700), a leader in quantum light-emitting diode (QLED) TVs, which optimize color range and brightness. The screen’s dramatically curved shape matches the arc of the human eye, which not only immerses you in the action but causes less optic strain, a much-needed benefit when battling zombie hordes for hours (or days) on end.…

Though I live in New York City, as a native South African I’m especially aware of how the pandemic is wreaking havoc in my homeland. Limiting tourism is already destroying livelihoods and has the potential to devastate the continent’s wildlife with a surge in poaching. As money quickly dries up, employees take pay cuts and people look for alternative income, hunting big and small game illegally, both to sell and to feed their families. To say that an upswing in poaching is destructive for Africa is an obvious understatement. Not only are these animals critical to the ecosystem but they have long dazzled high-end international travelers who support conservation efforts through their visits. Witnessing a herd of elephants galumph about in a puddle of water is a kind of majesty…

If you had taken a walk down Savile Row last fall, you’d have found yourself on a glitzy London shopping street, super-cars lined up on either side and well-dressed city slickers strolling between stores with suit bags fit to burst. Skip forward 12 months, and all that has gone. As the UK slowly emerges from its lock-down slumber, the Row feels more like a sleepy side street than one of the world’s most famous retail destinations. Savile Row has been the lodestar of bespoke tailoring for over two centuries; the street’s oldest firm, Henry Poole, opened its doors in 1806. Today, more than 15 world-class tailoring firms work inside whitewashed Georgian townhouses to create exceptional men’s clothing by hand. Most bespoke suits here cost between $5,000 and $6,000, require an…

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 earlier this spring, Seattle fine-dining institution Canlis has scrambled to reinvent itself about a half-dozen times. First there were to-go meals, a breakfast bagel shed and the drive-through burger concept, which became a victim of its own success when it began causing traffic jams in the neighborhood and had to be scrapped. Then came a drive-in movie theater. Then an outdoor crab shack. Chicago’s Alinea followed suit, nimbly shifting to producing hundreds of gourmet meal kits per night and opening a rooftop pop-up called Alinea in Residence (AIR for short). Pivots like these have offset the current chaos, for now. But even from some of the most influential trailblazers in American fine dining, questions about the future are met with genuine uncertainty. “I no longer…

When the pandemic prompted border shutdowns across the world, long-haul travel seemed unlikely for months, if not longer. Reassuringly, though, a few nations already began reopening borders to American travelers this summer; most were countries that escaped severe outbreaks. Undoubtedly the most appealing so far is French Polynesia. The country recorded fewer than 70 Covid-19 cases in total, and no deaths. As a result, it reopened in July for quarantine-free visits—albeit with caveats. Travelers must provide a negative test carried out within three days of their international departure and submit a self-administered test, provided by the local government at port of entry, in situ four days after arrival. (If your travel adviser can’t arrange a test for you, independent services are available; the Covid Consultants, led by infectious-disease specialists, can…

Grabbing a quick coffee takes on new meaning when it’s dispensed by an espresso maker inspired by Porsche’s final air-cooled flat-six engine. The newest creation from South Africa–based Super Veloce, the Espresso Veloce RS Black Edition is an homage to the six-cylinder that powered the 993-generation Porsche 911, produced from 1994 through 1998. Tipping the scale at 47 pounds and requiring 15 inches of counter space, the machine is handcrafted using aerospace-grade materials, including surgical stainless steel, titanium and carbon fiber, and mimics the engine with its top-mounted cooling fan and six stylized air intakes. Fittingly, only 993 examples are being offered, each priced at roughly $11,900. Of course, you’ll also want a set of the titanium espresso cups—in matching black or racy red—to complete the power train.…

Jorge Carnicero is a blue man. Many of the numerous cars he owns are blue. His daily uniform is a blue button-up Ralph Lauren shirt, blue jeans and a blue baseball cap. And in June of 2018, as he was sitting in the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, surrounded by color samples, he was about to order yet another blue car. “Jorge, your friend just ordered a car in that shade,” Yana Perros told him gently. “Let me play devil’s advocate.” The Porsche manager laid a new sample next to the brown interior leather that Carnicero liked. The painted tile, shaped like a 911 Carrera, was a vibrant green. Carnicero, 68, is a horse breeder who divides his time between Kentucky and Florida, and he cheerily admits that his love…

Four years ago, when interior designer Ellie Cull-man created a house for her three adult children and their families on the grounds of her considerable country estate in Connecticut’s Fairfield County, she never imagined how they’d take advantage of it these past few months. With the help of architect John Murray, she converted and expanded the late-19th-century seven-bedroom red-clapboard farmhouse—which her late mother-in-law had used for decades—thinking her kids would come up from New York “for the odd weekend, maybe a bit more in the summer,” she recalls. “I was basically bribing them to spend time with me.” But this past spring, they were in residence full-time, sheltering in place during the pandemic. They cooked together in the large open kitchen, gathering on the screened porch and hanging out in…

Imagine that when Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures) sold at auction for $90.3 million in 2018, the buyer also received the phone number of its revered painter, David Hockney, in case the time came for a touch-up. After all, what better way to maintain the canvas’s pristine condition while still preserving its authenticity? Although exceedingly rare in the world of fine art, this concept is very real in the sphere of collectible automobiles, where vehicles can sell for eight figures. It’s no wonder that premier automakers are increasingly offering in-house restoration instead of abdicating responsibility to a third party to tinker with their automotive DNA. Mercedes-Benz was an early adopter, opening its Classic Center in Germany in 1993 and a Stateside version in 2006. “We define ‘classic’…