If Billy Baldwin was the master of American understatement, David Hicks (1929–1998) was the British prophet of boldness. With his fearless use of color, graphic geometry, and daring juxtapositions, Hicks transformed postwar interiors into stages of modern glamour. His work epitomised a swinging, aristocratic chic that bridged Mayfair townhouses, country estates, and even royal palaces.Continue reading “David Hicks: The Geometry of Elegance”
Category Archives: History
Grace Kelly: The Princess of Style
Grace Kelly remains one of the rare figures whose image has never faded. Actress, princess, and style icon, she embodied a refinement that was at once modern and timeless. From Hollywood soundstages to the palace of Monaco, her elegance was defined not by excess, but by restraint: clean lines, neutral palettes, and the quiet confidenceContinue reading “Grace Kelly: The Princess of Style”
The Perfect Style of Cary Grant
Some stars fade into nostalgia, tethered to their moment. Cary Grant is different. More than thirty years after his death, he remains the epitome of effortless style — a man whose presence on screen and off continues to define what it means to be well-dressed. His elegance was never just about clothes; it was aboutContinue reading “The Perfect Style of Cary Grant”
The Cornerstones of French Cuisine
To speak of French cuisine is to speak of civilization itself. More than a collection of recipes, it is a language — one that shaped Western gastronomy, codified taste, and transformed eating into art. From Escoffier’s refinements to the humble baguette, French cooking balances rigor and romance, discipline and pleasure. Its cornerstones remain the foundationContinue reading “The Cornerstones of French Cuisine”
Billie Holiday: The Voice of Sorrow and Flame
Billie Holiday’s voice was unlike any other. Smoky, fragile, and impossibly intimate, it carried the weight of joy and pain in every phrase. To listen to her sing is to feel as if she is confiding directly in you — not performing, but revealing. More than a jazz singer, Holiday (1915–1959) became a cultural icon:Continue reading “Billie Holiday: The Voice of Sorrow and Flame”
Raffles Singapore: A Legend of the East
There are hotels, and then there are legends. Raffles Singapore, opened in 1887, belongs firmly in the latter category. With its white colonnades, soaring verandas, and tropical gardens, it is less a hotel than a piece of living history — a place where literature, empire, and modern luxury converge beneath slow-turning ceiling fans. The ColonialContinue reading “Raffles Singapore: A Legend of the East”
My Own Private Idaho: Drifting Through the American Dream
When Gus Van Sant released My Own Private Idaho in 1991, he gave American cinema one of its strangest and most poetic visions of alienation. The film is at once a road movie, a queer love story, and a fractured meditation on identity. Its images — a lone figure collapsing on an endless highway, streetContinue reading “My Own Private Idaho: Drifting Through the American Dream”
Billy Baldwin: The Dean of American Decoration
In the pantheon of twentieth-century interior design, few names carry the quiet authority of Billy Baldwin (1903–1983). Known simply as “Billy” to clients who ranged from Jackie Kennedy to Babe Paley, Baldwin defined a distinctly American elegance: urbane, tailored, and timeless. If Dorothy Draper conjured fantasy and Sister Parish invented cozy chic, Baldwin distilled modernismContinue reading “Billy Baldwin: The Dean of American Decoration”
Isabella Blow: Fashion’s Fearless Muse
In the theatre of late twentieth-century fashion, no figure was as magnetic, or as tragic, as Isabella Blow (1958–2007). A style editor, talent scout, and muse, she was a woman who blurred the line between the backstage and the spotlight. To know Isabella Blow was to witness fashion as performance, risk, and revelation. To loseContinue reading “Isabella Blow: Fashion’s Fearless Muse”
Three Cinematic Villas in Italy
If Villa Malaparte is the most iconic villa on screen, it is not alone. Italy’s landscape of villas — patrician palaces, lakeside estates, country retreats — has long provided cinema with atmosphere and grandeur. 1. Villa Erba, Lake Como 2. Villa di Geggiano, Siena 3. Villa Albergoni, Lombardy TL;DRFrom Visconti’s Lake Como retreat to Bertolucci’sContinue reading “Three Cinematic Villas in Italy”
My World of Interiors 