The Rake

I believe in the irrefutable truth of this statement: that there are many great things in life, but by far the greatest are the smell of a British motorcycle engine sparked by an air-cooled parallel twin Amal carburettor on a cold, clear morning; the

When I was at school I was a keen dramatist. So keen, in fact, that I went on to do a degree in drama. I loved acting in school plays, and while The Crucible was my magnum opus (cf. our previous issue), the first lead role I picked up was Orsino in T

On May 10, 1982, Duran Duran released their second album. The thrusting, Thatcherite eighties had barely got going, but Rio already seemed the decade’s aspirational apogee. There was the title, with its whiff of sun-kissed exotica. There was the vivi

James McArdle’s intimidating reputation precedes him. It’s not that in person there’s anything intimidating about the Glaswegian actor: indeed, he is warm, witty and thoughtful. But his reputation as a thespian (of the classical kind, which seems inc

Whatever way you look at him, Howlin’ Wolf was a towering figure. At 6ft 3in and built to match, he was a seriously imposing presence, employing his physicality on stage to create a sense of authority and even threat. As a singer, his hoarse growl ga

The world of static art is packed with testimonies to the bond — which goes back at least 15,000 years — between humans and canines. One doesn’t have to wait for the Italian Renaissance and oil-based paint first being applied to canvas to witness us,

Naomi aside, there’s always been something rather approachable about your British supermodel. Blag yourself into a Glasto compound that your lack of notoriety doesn’t deserve and you could find yourself occupying a similar slick of mud as Kate and Ca

The joy of A. Lange & Söhne is that production is so small (in the low thousands per year), they are still something of an insider’s choice. The build quality in the hand is obvious, and the finishing is unparalleled. Looking for the definition of La

Bespoke should be fun. If it’s not an enjoyable experience, you should ask for your money back. The tailor’s role here is vital — he or she should make you feel comfortable and engage with you as a partner in a project rather than a customer. Instill

I have an unprofessional bias towards James Marsden. For starters, the man’s tip-top reputation in Tinseltown is enough for anyone to think highly of him. “He’s literally the nicest guy in showbusiness,” says one of Hollywood’s major publicists. “I w

I remember reading a letter from the sheriff of these parts, Editor-in-Chief Tom Chamberlin, in which he argued that the labelling of an object or person as ‘iconic’ was overused and therefore grated on him. Ever since, I have used the word sparingly

Before the guitar hero, before even the concept of ‘lead guitar’, there was Robert Johnson. To say his playing is underestimated would be a stretch — this is, after all, the man who was said to have sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exc

Don’t let that headline alarm you: there’s plenty of life left in Andy Serkis, a man who has spent the past two decades inadvertently redefining screen acting. Not that he’ll take any credit for doing so. “I think of myself as being like the lucky gu

Rudyard Kipling said that, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten”. Thank God, then, for Ralph Lauren, who has, in more than half a century, proved himself the master storyteller of our time, a man whose sartorial

FASHION ASSISTANT: AMELIA HUDSON MODELS: SID @ELITE & BETSY @NEXT HAIR & MAKE-UP: NADIA ALTINBAS @FRAME AGENCY ■

If Rome has a soundtrack — and this being a music-themed issue of a magazine that has a soft spot for the Eternal City, it’s an apposite point to consider — it might be considered Ottorino Respighi’s Pini di Roma. Those in search of a cinematic tribu

If I’m being honest — as you always should be in matters as serious as relaxation — there aren’t as many options for the luxurious shelter seeker in Los Angeles as you might think. There are lots of hotels, sure (an almost insane amount, actually, un

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