Jonathan Becker, 30 years at Vanity Fair

This collection of the photographer’s portraits for the magazine have seen him travel everywhere from Buckingham Palace and an appointment with Prince Charles to the Amazonian Jungle and one with the Yamomami tribe in pursuit of the perfect picture. http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Becker-Years-Vanity-Fair/dp/1614280797

Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Curiosities 

Almost a coffee table in itself it’s so large, this book is one of natural history’s most compelling archives. Beautifully presented and full of completely fascinating finds, it is a must for any household. http://www.amazon.com/Albertus-Sebas-Cabinet-Natural-Curiosities/dp/3822816000

Helmut Newton, Sumo

So huge when first published a decade ago it came with it’s very own stand, Sumo charts the iconic photographer’s career, spanning 350 images that are all equal parts erotic, arresting and beautfiul. It’s as powerful today as it was when it was first published.  http://www.amazon.com/Helmut-Newton-Sumo-June/dp/3836517302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377486611&sr=1-1&keywords=helmut+newton

Alaia: by Azzedine Alaia

As far as fashion books go, this limited edition tome, published in 1999 by Steidl and chock full of the Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia‘s arresting images is about as fabulous as it gets.

Nomads of Niger by Marion von Offelen and Carol Beckwith

For those fond of National Geographic style reportage, this book is the ultimate escape. Documenting the Woodabe tribe of Niger, it is steeped in images so compelling it’s hard to pull yourself away. http://www.amazon.com/Nomads-Niger-Carol-Beckwith/dp/0810981254

Slim Aarons – A Wonderful Time, An intimate portrait of the Good Life

"An intimate portrait of the good life"

For some good old escapism you can’t really beat Slim Aarons and his world of beautiful people and beautiful places. Stunning stuff from a stunning photographer. http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Time-Intimate-Portrait-Good/dp/0060100168/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377487758&sr=1-6&keywords=slim+aarons

Rare Bird of Fashion, The Irreverent Iris Apfel

This celebration of one of fashion’s brightest and best icons looks at her one off approach to fashion and provides inspiration on a daily basis to us in the Kotur office. A brilliant tome by Eric Boman celebrating a brilliant lady . Rare Bird of Fashion

Where others such as Picasso supposedly failed in getting Chanel to sit for them, Pike, a Californian artist, succeeded, painting the designer in her studio in a series of portraits between 1967 and 1971. The two ladies met whilst Pike was spending time in Paris in the 1960s and formed a friendship, corresponding regularly. Pike was known to wear Chanel when she wasn’t working, too – surely a perk of the job. The resulting images are not only beautiful but give a window into who the woman was - in that way that only portraiture can, they present Chanel as less of a personality, more of a person. We can’t wait to see it.

Coco Chanel: a New Portrait by Marion Pike Paris 1967-71 is at the Fashion Space Gallery, London 05 September 2013 – 16 November 2013

http://www.fashionspacegallery.com

The Film: Jobs

Complete with the tagline, ‘Some see what’s possible, others change what’s possible,’ Jobs is billed as the inspirational movie of the summer. Charting Steve Jobs progression from College dropout to billionaire via a few bumps along the way and starring Ashton Kutcher, the fascinating man behind one of the world’s most famous brands is brought to life.

Jobs is in theaters August 16th

The Exhibition: American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe, MOMA

Drawing on what the New Yorker refers to as it’s ‘peerless’ collection of modern American Art, Moma’s latest exhibition focuses on some of America’s most influential artists found working between 1915 and 1950. Covering Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Sheeler, Alfred Stieglitz and Andrew Wyeth among others, the exhibition brings together both renowned and little known paintings, photography, prints, drawings and sculptures in an exhibition that shows the best of American art from a pivotal period in history.

American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe, The Museum of Modern Art, August 17–January 26, 2014; moma.org

The Book: The White Queen, Philippa Gregory

Get swept away from your sunlounger and into the drama and intrigue of 15th century and England’s War of the Roses in Gregory’s latest historical novel. Telling the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the secret, beautiful and ambitious new wife of Edward IV, it explores the famous mystery of the two young princes kept in the Tower of London. Corset heaving drama, indeed.

The White Queen is available here: http://amzn.to/16cPo3v

The Inspiration: CZ Guest, American Style Icon by Susanna Salk

Published earlier this year, this compendium of images featuring the style icon CZ Guest proves a masterclass in understated chic. Known for her love of country living as much as her life as one of America’s most swan like socialites, Guest was and is a true style icon. Famed for her pared back look, her approach to dressing was unstingtingly precise and chic. As she once put it, “I like the classic look. Keep it simple. There’s only so much you can wear.”

CZ Guest, American Style Icon is available here http://amzn.to/18w8gLb

The Destination: Formentera

As the party crowd look for their must visit summer spot, there’s usually only one island on everyone’s minds come August: Ibiza. But the chic set, well they head nearby to the tiny island of Formentera just a 30 minute ferry ride away, an oasis of calm within reach of the party island, it’s a favourite with the likes of Kate Moss and Consuelo Castiglioni, the Marni designer who has a house there.  Tiny (just 19 km long,) blessed with whiter than white beaches, a clear turquoise sea and an extremely dramatic cliff dotted coastline, it’s famous for it’s tiny fincas, laid back approach and barefoot approach to luxury. The fashion set like to stay at luxury eco resort Es Ram (esramresort.com) a B&B and group of villas known for their whitewashed walls and impeccable service. The sceney lunch spot is Juan y Andrea, a beachfront restaurant known for it’s delicious fish (and people watching opportunities,) whilst El Tiburon is a more laid back option with stunning views. Come evening? It’s all about dinner under the twinkly canopy of restaurant Can Carlos (cancarlos.com) and a stroll around Es Pujols and it’s waterfront bars. That, or hopping on a ferry to the bright lights and big clubs of next door neighbour Ibiza.

And the guilty treat…: The Duffin

You’ve heard of the Cronut – but now comes the Duffin. Well, across Kotur’s desk it does. A donut/ muffin cross (that comes with or without jam, however takes your fancy,) this baked take on the donut is as delicious as it is DIY friendly.

Find the Recipe here: http://bit.ly/wJIdAg

James Turrell is on at the Guggenheim Museum until September 25th 2013

All pictures from the Guggenheim Museum

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view/james-turrell

The Film: Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine opens on July 26th. Starring the impeccably chic Cate Blanchett, it promises a return to more serious form for the director. Telling the story of a fashionable Manhattan housewife (Blanchett, of course,) who’s husband (Alec Baldwin,) turns out to be a crook, it examines her move from the upper eschalons of society to a life lived with her sister in San Francisco after the collapse of her marriage. Poignant, timely and with signature Allen razor sharp social observations and what’s being billed as a knockout performance by Blanchett, it’s one not to miss this summer.  Out July 26th.

The Book: A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams. A love affair, a betrayal and a story set in the picture perfect Rhode Island seaside community that is 1930′s Seaview give this all the perfect ingredients for beach read of the summer.  www.amazon.com/A-Hundred-Summers-Beatriz-Williams/dp/039916216X

The Exhibitions: London is having a moment. Photographer Miles Aldridge’s exhibition at Somerset House shows his extraordinary colourful prints from now until September, whilst ‘David Bowie Is’ at London’s Victoria and Albert museum is a biopic of his extraordinary life as told through his extraordinary fashion. On show also until September, it’s a must see for anyone passing through the city this summer. Or, for travellers keen on further flung inspiration, Mate, Mario Testino’s non profit Arts Foundation based in his native Lima, Peru has a show featuring the supersnapper’s extraordinary shots of his country’s indigenous tribes from Cusco. (And, for those who cant’ quite make the trip, there’s always the T Shirt to buy via Net-a-porter.com here!)

The Album: When it comes to the feelgood factor, it’s all about the Great Gatsby Soundtrack this summer. From Lana del Rey to Florence and the Machine, Beyonce to Bryan Ferry, it features too many of our favorites not to be our pick for sound of the season.

The Destination: Dedon Island, found on the Siargo island in the Philippines is the latest barefoot luxury hot spot on the map. Conceived by it’s German founder Bobby Dekeyser, who runs an outdoor furniture company with the same name and designed with a ‘barefoot state of mind’ at the forefront of it’s concerns, it has just nine eco friendly villas perched on the edge of it’s perfect white beach. Add in crystal clear waters, mangrove filled forests, it’s hanging wicker day beds, cotton voile adorned rooms, open fronted villa porches and infinity pools, and this place is a million miles away – in all senses. www.dedonisland.com

And the one to keep the kids occupied on the plane: The National Parks Pop Up Book. Just out this month, this brilliantly conceived compendium features fabulous pop up imagery and ‘who would have thought it’ facts on 18 of America’s most famous national parks. From Yosemite to the Everglades to the Grand Canyon, it’s a kid’s book designed to provoke a bit of old fashioned wonder – and one that donates it’s profits to benefit the parks, too.  www.nationalparkspopup.com

The show is quite the spectacle. Aldridge’s arresting images are on the one hand extremely glamorous, depicting uber women in saturated colours, on the other, however, they are often disturbing. As Somerset House itself puts it, “His work is filled with glamorous, beautiful women from dazed housewives and decadent beauties to sunbathing sexpots and ecstatic Virgins. Luscious colours dazzle from every image – blood red ketchup splashes against a black and white floor; a mouth drips with gold; egg yolk oozes across a plate.  But the technicolour dream world of seemingly perfect women with blank expressions belies a deeper sense of disturbance and neurosis.  Look more closely and there is silent screaming, a head pushed down on a bed, a face covered in polythene, a woman pushing an empty swing.”

Known for his shoots in the likes of Vogue and the New York Times, this iconic celebrated photographer offers an artists’ take on the fashion. His goddesses also make quite the stunning show.

All pictures from Miles Aldridge I only Want you to Love me, published by Rizzoli available here http://www.amazon.com/dp/0847840360

Exhibition is on at Somerset House from now until 29th September http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/miles-aldridge-i-only-want-you-to-love-me

1. Song to get everyone Dancing: Daft Punk, Get Lucky from Random Access Memories

https://itunes.apple.com/hk/album/random-access-memories/id617154241?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

2. Songs for a beach barbeque: Searching for Sugarman Soundtrack from the movie ‘Searching for Sugarman’ by Rodriguez

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/searching-for-sugar-man-original/id538121204

3. Song to watch the sun go down to:  Young and Beautiful (off the excellent  Great Gatsby soundtrack) by Lana Del Rey

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/young-and-beautiful/id635515681?i=635515877

4. Song to listen to by the pool:  Poolside’s cover of Neil Young’s ‘harvest moon’ from their album Standard Pacific Time

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pacific-standard-time/id543346603

5. Song to drive to the beach to: The Rolling Stones’ Beast of Burden, in homage to their upcoming turn at Glastonbury

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jump-back-best-rolling-stones/id326873569

6. Song to get ready to go out to: Ladyhawke’s Back of the Van from her album Ladyhawke

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/ladyhawke/id291370087

Visitors flock to Luang Prabang mostly for its temples. Small the city may be, with the old part consisting of just a few streets nestled in between the banks of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, but there are intricate temples at almost every turn, ranging from the new and rather flash to the old and handpainted, each filled with statues of Buddha and, between them, home to thousands of monks. Around the temples has sprung some lovely architecture. Remnants of Laos’ French colonial days are evident in lovely shuttered villas complete with verandas and balconies that seem frozen in time. Higgledy piggledy side streets full of climbing bougainvillea and traditional Laotian houses are peaceful, quiet and completely charming to wander through.

Hotel options are plenty. There are endless guesthouses throughout, ranging from the cheap and cheerful to the more upscale Villa Santi, owned by the last King’s daughter. The super luxe Aman group have opened a hotel here, but for a perfect blend of Laos living and luxury, the Residence Phou Vao where we stayed would be pretty hard to beat. A small hotel that was all mosquito nets and flowing white linen, dark teak floors and beautiful views, it gave a stay that will be hard to forget. Restaurants in town are simple, outdoorsy and completely charming. Two highlights of our trip were the french bistro L’elephant and the Blue Lagoon Cafe, one specialising in more fusion Asian food. By night, it’s all about the market, where people from the North pedal their wares – embroidered cushions and clothes, hand tooled silver artifacts and paintings are all on show.

So, next time you’re looking to check out for a little, wanting to head somewhere different for a total break from life, think of this. For peace, quiet, beautiful surroundings and a total getaway from city life, it doesn’t get much better than magical Luang Prabang.

http://www.residencephouvao.com/web/plua/la_residence_phou_vao.jsp

http://www.amanresorts.com/amantaka/location.aspx

http://www.blue-lagoon-cafe.com/contact.htm

http://elephant-restau.com

Pictures: All taken by Kotur

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London

Hotel – I tend not to stay in hotels in London but Claridges was where I spent the first night of my honeymoon and I remember booking a room at the Savoy for Valentines Day which had been used by Monet to sketch the Thames. Both are grand, historical, sumptuous and beautiful. A surprise choice would be Shoreditch House in East London – it’s well priced, stylishly functional rooms come with access to the club for breakfast and the rooftop pool.

Shop – Aside from galleries, bookshops are places I love to spend time in and Cecil Court just off St Martin’s Lane is still the best place in the age of Amazon. My favourite shop used to be Red Snapper – I bought most of my Ballard collection from them and a whole host of Sixties psychedelic stuff. I still regret not buying an entire collection of Oz magazine, and now they’ve closed down. So instead, for well-priced modern first editions, Tindley and Chapman is the place to browse. The other really great antiquarian bookshop in London, out along the Fulham Road, is Peter Harrington.

Restaurant – Sheekeys always feels special and has a timelessness to it; St John’s remains a knock-out. The pig’s cheeks and bone-marrow are the stand-out dishes for me, but I’ll eat anything Fergus Henderson cooks, and he’s cooked pretty much all parts of most animals. My new discovery down in Bermondsey near White Cube’s new gallery is Pizzarro, a Spanish restaurant with seriously good food.

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Hong Kong

Hotel – I tend to stay at the Four Seasons because it’s right opposite the gallery and has a great view and a great pool but my favourite Hong Kong hotel is definitely the Upper House. There’s something unbelievably decadent and primal at the same time about lying in a bath looking out over a city, and every room has this possibility.

Restaurant – Sushi Sase on Hollywood Road is excellent, discreet and very accomplished, but for Cantonese food, which I have to eat in Hong Kong, the best I’ve yet encountered is the Tung Po Seafood Restaurant with it’s formica tables, plastic chairs, neon lighting, cacophanous noise verging on chaos and mountains of unbelievably tasty food. For some reason the soft shell crab sticks in my mind but not my throat – all of which makes it almost perfect.

Shop – I’ve not really done much shopping in Hong Kong, which is odd given its mercantile past. The Malls are substantial and have most of what you might need but are utterly soulless. Having said that, there’s a wonderful tailor called Jimmy who has a small outlet at Admiralty Mall who makes shirts for me that are as good as any I’ve ever bought. I’m fascinated by the cookery utensil shops but haven’t yet summoned the nerve to try and take a couple of meat machetes home in my luggage.

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Sao Paulo

Hotel – The best hotel in the city, some say in South America, is the Fasano and I’ve enjoyed the odd night there but by some twist of fate when the Fasano had overbooked they found me a room at the Unique and that’s where I now always stay. It’s faintly ludicrous – designed by Ruy Ohtake and looking like a vast hole-filled hammock from a distance, everything about it verges on being over-designed and yet it’s light and spacious and has the most wonderful (decent-sized) rooftop pool by which you can eat breakfast looking back over the city one way and over Ibirapuera Park the other.

Restaurant – It’s got to be those three letters currently at number six on the World’s Best Restaurant list – d.o.m. – where the chef Alex Atala justifies the hype and the price. I once lost part of a filling there but that was probably through eating with too much gusto rather than any reflection on the food. At the other end of the food chain, there’s an unremarkable looking coffee shop across the road from the Unique Hotel where I always buy a milky coffee and a pastry after a run in the park. Standing out in the sun by the awning there makes me almost as happy as eating a gourmet meal.

Shop – The stalls outside the Museum of Football at the legendary Estadio do Pacaembu are a must. When in Brazil, you buy football kit for your sons and nephews … well, I pretty well always do. Better still, go to a game and watch Corinthians.

www.whitecube.com

Pictures:

LONDON: White Cube Bermondsey, Jac Leirner, Cartoon nº 2 2012 Mixed media 48 1/16 x 14 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. (122 x 37 x 9 cm) © the artist currently on show at White Cube Bermondsey and Julie Mehretu, Mogamma, A Painting in Four Parts, 2012 Ink and acrylic on canvas 180 x 144 in. (457.2 x 365.8 cm) © the artist Photo: Ben Westoby, Courtesy White Cube and currently on show at White Cube Bermondsey, Claridges Hotel, J Sheekey’s restaurant and Peter Harrington Rare Books.

HONG KONG: Jake and Dinos Chapman, The Sum of all Evil, 2012-2013 Fibreglass, plastic and mixed media in four vitrines 84 5/8 x 50 11/16 x 98 3/8 in. (215 x 128.7 x 249.8 cm) © Jake and Dinos Chapman Photo: Ben Westoby Courtesy White Cube and currently on show at White Cube Hong Kong, the Upper House Hotel.

SAO PAOLO: Mark Bradford, Thievery by Servants, 2013, Mixed media collage on wood, frame, Overall dimensions: 118 x 358 in. (299.7 x 909.3 cm) 50 panels, each: 21 5/8 x 33 7/8 in. (55 x 86 cm) © Mark Bradford, Photo: Joshua White Courtesy Mark Bradford and  White Cube and currently on show at White Cube Sao Paolo, Unique Hotel Sao Paolo, and d.o.m. restaurant.

Brilliantly, she is on hand this week to steer us through the must sees and dos of our imminent Hong Kong art fair. Here are her top picks of what to visit during Hong Kong Art Basel, 2013.

The Gallery: Para/Site, Hong Kong’s non profit Art Space presents their exhibition A Journal of the Plague Year: Fear, ghosts, rebels. SARS, Leslie and the Hong Kong story. Tracing Hong Kong history and events since 2003, it contains works by Ai Wei Wei, Firenze Lai and Ming Wong among others.  www.para-site.org

The Debate:  Intelligence Squared Asia’s debate, “The Market is the Best Judge of Art’s Quality,” will be at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Friday 24 May, 6.30-8.00pm. www.intelligencesquaredasia.com

The Show:  Leung Chi Wo’s show Bright Light has Much the Same Effect as Ice is at the 2P Contemporary Gallery, 17 May – 11 June 2013, opening reception on Thursday, 23 May 2013 from 5pm – 8.30pm  www.2p-gallery.com

The Place: Hong Kong’s hottest new member’s club Duddell’s opens with the exhibition Face to Face, a show curated by Amelie von Wedel and Pernilla Holmes, exhibiting emerging and established artists from around the world that represents a rethinking of the traditional gentleman’s club friendly genre of portraiture. Duddell’s, 3F – 4F, 1 Duddell Street, Central, Hong Kong

The Party:  The Absolut Art Bar by Adrian Wong sees the Absolut Art Bureau collaborate with Hong Kong based artist Adrian to transform the basement of the Fringe Club in Central, Hong Kong into the place to go for your Art week cocktail pick me ups…      Absolut Art Bureau at Art Basel in Hong Kong Wun Dun: An Art Bar Installation by Adrian Wong 22–25 May

PIctures: Art Basel HK, Yana Peel, Intelligence Squared Asia, Ming Wong as part of Para/Site’s exhibition, Photo: Carlos Vasquez 2012, picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery, Leung Chi Wo as part of 2P Gallery’s show