Tabla de contenidos para August 2019 - Issue 65 en The Rake

I lie awake in bed, screaming the name of the devil, terrifying my normally unflappable sausage dog so much that she burrows into the deepest recesses of my goose-down duvet howling in sympathy. I lie curled in an embryonic ball of frayed nerves, quaking in night terrors, my shirt drenched in sweat. I start to weep in horror, so haunted am I by those three syllables that until the day I die shall represent the deepest form of depravity and evil perpetuated on the world since Epimetheus’s bimbotic lady friend Pandora opened a clay jar clearly labelled “Do not open under any circumstances” and unleashed all manner of maleficence upon humanity. That name is, of course, Ryanair, the airline whose boss, Michael O’Leary — a man who can only be…

“I suppose the truth is that I am as well known for surviving that terrible fiery accident in the 1976 German Grand Prix as I am for winning three world championships. I do not generally dwell on the events at Nürburgring almost 20 years ago, but it certainly served as a graphic indication of the potential dangers of motorsport’s most senior category.” Writing in the foreword to a book about improvements in medical care in “motorsport’s most senior category”, Niki Lauda was not one to allow himself even the faintest, most evanescent wisp of an illusion. In assessing his legacy he was as unemotionally calculating as he was at the wheel of the cars with which he won the Formula 1 world drivers’ title in 1975, 1977 and 1984, driving…

He may have flown under the radar for some time, but Jack Bannon is no stranger to the spotlight. He isn’t aware of having been struck by the acting bug, only that the desire to act has always been a fundamental part of his life. He spent his childhood, in Norwich, “prancing around the living room” in self-directed shows and performing in youth theatre productions, before going on to score a slew of small roles in films and television series such as The Imitation Game, Fury, Medici and Endeavour. Bannon never went to drama school, instead claiming to have “fluked it and chatted my way in” to the industry. He’s being modest, of course. Talent and determination have taken him this far, and have now landed him his most significant…

There are those who will tell you that the archetypal Bond girl was, is and always will be Ursula Andress. She was, after all, the first to be immortalised on film — super-lithe in a white bikini on a Caribbean quai with a dagger strapped to a toned thigh as Sean Connery engaged in the kind of behaviour that would today see him hauled before the human resources department of MI6 before you could say #MeToo. For many others, however, it’s a no-brainer: Tania Mallet in 1964’s Goldfinger. Here’s why. For a start, there’s the name of her character, Tilly Masterson. It may seem pedestrian at first glance, but when you compare it to the godawful punnery of other female inhabitants of the 007-verse — Plenty O’Toole and Xenia Onatopp…

The London bicycle craze of the 1890s was a rakish affair. Practical alternatives to the unwieldy Penny Farthing having recently been invented, and automobiles remaining, for now, a novelty, aristocrats and high-society types in their hoards would glide the pathways of Battersea and Hyde parks on their two-wheeled steeds, relishing an active pastime that was endorsed by Europe-wide royalty and allowed for the commissioning of tailored tweed knickerbocker suits with knee-length breeches, bloomers and all. There was even a hint of decadence to it, especially once the church began to disapprove, partly due to the fun-on-a-Sunday factor and partly because it facilitated unchaperoned dates and perhaps even elopements. As with air travel, universal uptake pinpricked its novelty appeal, and the magic dissipated. Cycling’s resurgence as a raffish kind of affair…

With thanks to Half Moon Bay Antigua, the exclusive new resort on the island of Antigua and home to the Rosewood Half Moon Bay Hotel, set to open in 2022. All garments available at www.TheRake.com Let’s start by busting some jargon. What is ‘utilitarian’ menswear? At Rake Towers, we think of it as clothing that’s lightweight, practical and not unpleasant to wear in the last throes of summer — when it’s stuffy and humid. There’s an art to dressing for this awkward transition between August and September. Let’s face it, in 30-degree heat it’s tempting to give up on looking put-together, even for style-heads. Thankfully, ‘utilitarian’ designs are the solution — functional garments that nonetheless retain an element of design and are cut in cooling, breathable cloths. Let’s face it,…

ADRIANO MENEGHETTI – www.adrianomeneghetti.com AG – www.agjeans.com ALBERT THURSTON – www.albertthurston.com ALEXANDER MCQUEEN – www.alexandermcqueen.com AMI – www.amiparis.fr AMOUR LUX – www.armorlux.com ANDERSON & SHEPPARD – www.anderson-sheppard.co.uk ANDREA POMPILIO – www.andreapompilio.it AQUASCUTUM – www.aquascutum.com AQUAZZURA – www.aquazzura.com ASPREY – www.asprey.com AUDEMARS PIGUET – www.audemarspiguet.com BALLY – www.bally.com BAMFORD – www.bamfordwatchdepartment.com BARBANERA – www.barbanerastyle.com BASELWORLD – www.baselworld.com BATES – www.bates-hats.com BEGG & CO. – www.beggandcompany.com BELL & ROSS – www.bellross.com BELSTAFF – www.belstaff.co.uk BERLUTI – www.berluti.com BERRY BROS. & RUDD – www.bbr.com BLACKHORSE LANE ATELIERS – www.blackhorselane.com BLANCPAIN – www.blancpain.com BOGLIOLI – www.boglioli.it BORSALINO – www.borsalino.com BOTTEGA VENETA – www.bottegaveneta.com BREGUET – www.breguet.com BRIONI – www.brioni.com BROOKS BROTHERS – www.brooksbrothers.com BRUNELLO CUCINELLI – www.brunellocucinelli.com BULGARI HOTEL – www.bulgarihotels.com BUDD SHIRTMAKERS – www.buddshirts.co.uk BULGARI – www.bulgari.com CALABRESE 1924 – www.calabrese1924.com CAMOSHITA UNITED…

I wasn’t there when The Rake was created, but I feel certain that when the founding editors brainstormed their target audience, the type of chap who comes back from a war zone and spends his hard-earned money at Charvet would have been more or less it. If there is one man in the world who fits this bill, it is Lieutenant Colonel Piers Ashfield, the Commanding Officer of the Grenadier Guards and a loyal reader of the magazine from issue one. He stumbled across it while on holiday in Hong Kong. He says: “We were on the Kowloon side. I saw The Rake on the stand and thought, ‘This is gleaming’ — every bit of it. And every article was of interest.” The Guards regiments have a reputation for their…

There are, one may assume, many reasons to be envious of David Gandy. But none more so than his Jaguar XK120 Lightweight roadster. Britain’s best-known male model is, by his own admission, feeling overwhelmed. We are poolside at a chic Saint-Tropez hotel, where the unmistakable shape of one of the 1950s’ most iconic sports cars lies beneath a sheet, silhouetted under studio lighting like a Hollywood dame of the same vintage resting between love scenes. He removes the cover, revealing a svelte black body and tan leather interior with lattice-patterned seats. It is a motor car of such sensual perfection that onlookers are at a loss for words. If Hermès made a vibrator, it might look something like this. Gandy has spent the past 11 months working with Jaguar Land…

The art of astonishment may be Jaquet Droz’s tagline, but don’t expect swanky marketing campaigns shouting about their 281 years of watchmaking savoir-faire — or flash tie-ins with high-octane partners in aviation or motorsport. Rather, Jaquet Droz have always been about understatement and refinement, an ‘if you know, you know’ kind of maison. Or as its Chief Executive, Christian Lattmann, describes, “A brand of insiders, collectors and connoisseurs looking for the exceptional”. Jaquet Droz have always been about understatement and refinement, an ‘if you know, you know’ kind of maison. For 2019 especially, Jaquet Droz have embraced this in an exceptionally reserved way, with a new automaton watch that quietly sets a spiritual and meditative Zen garden on the wrist. Automata are signature to Jaquet Droz. In the 18th century,…

Nick, a Contributing Editor for The Rake, a historian and an author — and surely London’s most prominent luxury commentator — writes for periodicals including How To Spend It, the Financial Times, The Independent, Vanity Fair and The Daily Telegraph. Among his many published tomes to date are the Count d’Orsay biography Last of the Dandies (2005), Dunhill by Design (2006), TAG Heuer (2009), Cigar Style (2008), Gentlemen and Blackguards: Gambling Mania and the Plot to Steal the Derby of 1844 (2010), Swans, Legends of the Jet Society (2013), Bernard Buffet: The Invention of the Modern Mega-Artist, and the finest compendium on combustible agriculture, Cigars. In this issue, he pays tribute to Niki Lauda, the courageous Formula 1 champion and aviation entrepreneur who died in May (page 26). The freelance…

In early 1956, John Cassavetes was a guest on a popular evening talk radio show, Night People, where he was scheduled to promote some of his forthcoming projects. So far, so standard P.R.; Cassavetes was a 26-year-old actor whose dark, tousled good looks and wiry intensity had won him many roles — including a fair smattering of criminals and hoodlums — in jittery B-movies such as The Night Holds Terror and Crime in the Streets. A little way in, however, the conversation took a somewhat unexpected turn. Cassavetes started lambasting what he described as the “artificiality” of Hollywood. “Most of what the studio system churns out is nothing more than repetitive and formulaic drivel,” he announced to his somewhat disconcerted interlocutor. He then set listeners a challenge: if they wanted…

Hublot’s Classic Fusion Ferrari GT Aptly enough, for a collaboration of such cosmic proportions, it started with a big bang: 2012’s Big Bang Ferrari Magic Gold, to be exact, when the first offspring of Hublot’s dalliance with the Prancing Horse was produced. The Hublot Big Bang had already hit the scene seven years previously, thanks to the pioneering tendencies of Jean-Claude Biver, who saw the huge potential in applying a spectrum of diverse materials — from diamonds to wool via rubber, denim, sapphire and silk embroidery — to core Hublot design tenets, notably the porthole-style cases from which the brand takes its name. The nuptials of automotive expertise and high-end watchmaking in 2011 (the year Hublot became Ferrari’s official timekeeper) was seen as the perfect opportunity to showcase a newly…

For too long Johnstons of Elgin have been referred to by the menswear industry as ‘the brand behind the brand’. They have been called upon by monolithic high-fashion houses because of their incomparable skill in weaving and knitting the most exquisite cashmere garments and accessories. However, the tide is turning for the Scottish company that was founded in 1797, survived two world wars, and prospered through potential business-ending devastations and the demands of globalisation. “Although it might look like a lot of change, I really don’t want us to act like a start-up,” Simon Cotton, the Chief Executive, tells The Rake. He explains that they cannot afford to forget Johnstons’ foundation. “Everything is designed to be incremental to it,” he says. And in doing it this way, Johnstons have cracked…

Special thanks to Panerai and their yacht, Eilean…

THE RAKE x BE WELL COLLECTIVE x CORINTHIA HOTEL, LONDON 02.07.19 THE RAKE was generously hosted at the Corinthia Hotel for its summer party with a charity auction fundraiser for the Be Well Collective. VACHERON x HAVANA CLUB 23.05.19 For the second edition of the Iconica series of events between Havana Club and THE RAKE, themed ‘Time’, we teamed up with the Swiss watch masters Vacheron Constantin at the Corinthia Hotel in London. CHOPARD GENTLEMEN’S LUNCH 18.06.19 Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Nick Foulkes and Wei Koh hosted The Gentlemen’s Lunch at Oswald’s, preceded by drinks at the newly opened Chopard Boutique on New Bond Street.…

There are not many of us who don’t have memories of the kleptomaniac wild canines, cantankerous aunties and troublingly eccentric confectionery peddlers he created when we were children. Those of a similar vintage to me may also recall the first stirring of their adolescent loins to the silhouette dance in the title sequence of Tales of the Unexpected, which televised his macabre stories, including those of an amputation-based wager and a skin-grafting operation following the purchase of a tattooed artwork on a man’s back. Between all this, though, the Norwegian-British author Roald Dahl also created arguably his most compelling character: Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, the dashing bounder, oenophile, bon vivant, aesthete and opera connoisseur. And, literally and figuratively, a fornicator of the first order. Oswald’s salacious yarns are told through a…