How SIBAST Is Building on Danish Modern

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SIBAST Looks Beyond the Danish Modern Classics

LE MILE

In 1908, Peder Olsen Sibast established a cabinetmaking workshop in Stenstrup, on the Danish island of Funen. His son Helge helped develop it into an internationally active furniture manufacturer, designing the No 7, No 8 and No 9 chairs in 1953. SIBAST also produced designs by Arne Vodder, with whom it worked for more than two decades during the international rise of Danish Modern.

SIBAST Furniture
No 7 Dining Chair, fully upholstered
No 7 Dining Table

SIBAST Furniture
No 8 Dining Chair
No 7 Dining Table

The original business passed out of family ownership in the 1980s, but the rights to Helge Sibast’s designs remained with the family. In 2013, his grandson Ditlev and his wife Anna returned the No 8 to production, making it the starting point for the SIBAST Furniture they lead today. The collection has since expanded to include other historical designs, new work by contemporary designers and artists, and pieces developed by Anna and Ditlev themselves.

The acquisition of Bent Hansen in 2025 brought a separate upholstery tradition into a company historically associated with woodworking. At 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen in June 2026, SIBAST presented Designed to Matter, a four-room exhibition that placed The New SIBAST alongside its classic collection.

Anna and Ditlev now decide which inherited designs and new work belong together under the SIBAST name. Their own choices are becoming part of the history they originally set out to preserve.

SIBAST Furniture
Inverse Side Table Aluminum
Primum Lounge Chair

SIBAST Furniture
Inverse Side Table Aluminum by Steffensen & Würtz

LE MILE
You began by bringing the SIBAST No 8 back into production. What matters most to you about SIBAST Furniture today?

Anna + Ditlev Sibast
What matters most is that the furniture has a meaningful place in people’s lives today. Bringing the No 8 back into production gave us a very clear starting point: a chair we believed in, with a personal history behind it. Today, that care extends to a much wider collection and to the direction of the company itself.

We want someone to be drawn to a SIBAST piece through its proportions, its comfort or the way it feels to touch. Discovering the history can then add another dimension. There is something very rewarding about a design becoming part of someone else’s everyday life and gradually acquiring a history of its own.

At 3daysofdesign this June, you presented ‘The New SIBAST’ alongside the classic collection. What prompted you to look beyond the original idea of bringing Helge Sibast’s designs back into production?

Working with the original designs made us think more deeply about what we wanted to carry forward. There is the furniture itself, of course, but also an approach to design: curiosity, a close understanding of materials and the confidence to pursue an idea.

That has become central to the way we are developing SIBAST’s identity. We describe it through three words: Rooted, Cultivated, Bold. Rooted in our family history, craftsmanship and archive. Cultivated through an interest in architecture, art, fashion, publishing and the wider culture around us. Bold in the choices we make and the ideas we are willing to explore.

We want SIBAST to be as relevant to its own time as Helge’s work was to his. For us, that means giving contemporary ideas and new collaborations a meaningful place alongside the original designs.

Since Henrik Hvid Hansen and the Bent Hansen team became part of SIBAST, what has changed in the way you develop furniture together?

We have a broader range of knowledge to draw on. Henrik brings a deep understanding of upholstery and comfort: how a surface supports the body, how a material behaves and how those things influence the character of a piece. That adds an important dimension to SIBAST’s woodworking tradition.

It opens up possibilities in the relationship between structure, softness and form. It also encourages us to consider how different pieces work together within a room.

What interests us most is what can emerge from that exchange. Each of us brings experience and a point of view, and the collaboration gives us more ways to develop an idea.

Anna and Ditlev Sibast

woodworking detail

The Primum Lounge Table was developed with you both as part of the new lounge collection. What did you spend the most time getting right in its design?

The character of the tabletop, and how it relates to the rest of the piece. Developing the table with Henrik gave us an opportunity to bring a recognisable SIBAST sensibility into the Primum collection.

The references to the No 7 family are present in the tabletop detailing and the expression of the materials. We wanted that connection to feel natural within a new design. The table also needed to sit comfortably alongside the upholstered lounge chair, with its own presence and a sense of ease between the two pieces.

For us, those relationships are where the design becomes interesting: the proportions, the materials and how a relatively small detail can give a piece its particular character.

What about SIBAST today would have surprised you most back in 2013, when you were relaunching the No 8?

What would have surprised us most is the opportunity to carry forward the work of designers such as Piet Hein and Arne Vodder, alongside collaborations with contemporary artists and designers such as Kasper Eistrup and Naja Utzon Popov. In 2013, our focus was on the No 8 and the design heritage within our own family. We could hardly have imagined that this would lead to working with such a remarkable range of creative voices.

We feel deeply grateful for the trust placed in us, both by the families who care for a designer’s legacy and by the artists and designers who choose to collaborate with us today.

That comes with a responsibility to understand the thinking behind each design and respect its character, quality and intentions. Whether we are bringing an existing design back into production or developing something new together, that commitment remains the same. Being able to carry important work forward and help new ideas take shape is one of the most meaningful parts of what we do.

SIBAST Furniture
No 7 Dining Chair
No 7 Dining Table

SIBAST Furniture
No 59 Dining Chair

SIBAST Furniture
No 7 Bar Chair, Berns Salonger, Stockholm

Can you recall a time when one of you changed the other’s mind about a decision at SIBAST?

Anna Sibast
The Contour Steel Bowl is a good example. I wanted it to become part of the collection because I felt it could offer a broader design experience. A smaller object gives people another way to encounter SIBAST and brings our interest in form and materials into everyday life alongside the furniture.

For me, it was also about communicating a more complete picture of SIBAST. The relationship between furniture, objects and the spaces they become part of can express our taste, our values and the atmosphere we want to create. It allows us to present SIBAST as a design universe with its own point of view, where each piece contributes to a larger whole. That was the idea I wanted Ditlev to see.

Ditlev Sibast
Anna convinced me to consider what the bowl could contribute to the brand as a whole. She helped me see that the collection is also how we communicate who we are and what we believe good design should bring to everyday life. That can be expressed through a chair, a table or an object on a different scale.

Once I understood that role, it made sense to include it. It was a good reminder that the collection can develop in unexpected directions when a piece has a clear purpose and helps express what we stand for.

What have you been interested in lately outside furniture design?

Ditlev Sibast
We have three sons, and lately much of our attention has been on our eldest’s first backpacking trip to Japan. We have both been following his experiences with great interest, particularly how he discovers and responds to Japanese culture. We enjoy hearing what he notices, what surprises him and what makes an impression on him. As parents, it is very special to follow his journey as he explores the world independently and forms his own understanding of it.

Anna Sibast
His journey has also brought back memories of our own first visit to Japan. I remember being deeply moved by the respect and consideration people showed one another. That aspect of Japanese culture is something I find deeply inspiring. I think there is so much we can bring home from that experience: a greater awareness of the people around us, more consideration and care in the way we treat one another.

Danish design is still often associated internationally with the furniture classics of the mid-twentieth century. What do you feel is missing from that picture today?

Anna + Ditlev Sibast
What we feel deserves more attention is the thinking and discipline behind those classics. They give us a strong foundation and a sense of integrity in deciding what we choose to develop and launch. For us, every design should have a reason to exist. It should contribute something meaningful through its function, construction, comfort or expression.

The rhythm of development was different from today’s frequent cycles of collections and launches. There was a deep respect for detail, materials and the quality of the finished furniture. We see that way of thinking as an important part of our inheritance, and something we have a responsibility to carry forward.

That foundation should remain present in contemporary design. It encourages us to ask why a new piece is needed, what it contributes and whether it has been developed with the care it deserves. The ability to produce and launch something comes with a responsibility to consider whether it deserves to be made.

SIBAST Furniture
Primum Chair by Henrik Hvid Hansen

SIBAST Furniture
Contour Steel Bowl

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images (c) SIBAST Furniture

DISCOVER MORE: www.sibast-furniture.com
Explore SIBAST Furniture’s collection, from Helge Sibast’s original Danish Modern designs to contemporary furniture, artist collaborations and the expanded collection with Bent Hansen.

AGNONA - Autumn/Winter 2026 by Stefano Aimone

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Stefano Aimone Reworks AGNONA’s Textile Legacy for Autumn/Winter 2026

LE MILE

Francesco Ilorini Mo used to arrive in Paris in a white coat with a suitcase full of fabrics. The image has the neatness of a brand myth, but it also explains AGNONA with unusual economy. Founded in 1953 in the foothills of the Italian Alps, the company made its name developing cloth for leading couturiers before establishing a ready-to-wear collection of its own in 1972. Material was already the business and the culture of the house before it became a wardrobe.

In 2026, that sequence feels newly relevant because cashmere has travelled far beyond the traditional luxury sector and naming an exceptional fibre no longer establishes distinction by itself. The difference increasingly lies in what a house is able to do with that fibre, and in whether decades of textile knowledge produce clothes that genuinely feel different in use. Aimone has been unusually candid about this shift, acknowledging that good cashmere now exists at radically different price levels.

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Momo

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Momo

Stefano Aimone can act on that question at a depth most creative directors cannot, because the company he designs for is also the company he owns. Since taking full control of AGNONA in 2021, he has been rebuilding collections, production and distribution while gradually moving the public identity of the house towards Milan. The new Via Santo Spirito flagship opened this spring, and an expanding archive is being developed alongside the headquarters and atelier. His great-grandfather Ermenegildo Zegna had helped finance Ilorini Mo’s early venture, although the more telling continuity lies in Aimone’s familiarity with the textile culture around Biella and in his decision to keep that knowledge active rather than ceremonial.

For Autumn/Winter 2026, Wanderlust translates this work into a collection shaped by movement, memory and changing winter landscapes, though its most persuasive thread stays close to daily wear. AGNONA is taking materials historically associated with preciousness and allowing them to behave with greater freedom. RainWeaver cashmere introduces weather protection, while the house’s Double constructions pursue warmth without cumbersome weight and extend into more relaxed parts of the wardrobe. Precious material is being asked to enter ordinary life with fewer conditions attached to it.

AGNONA has begun using the expression “Self Luxury” around this idea, placing the experience of the wearer ahead of obvious status communication. The terminology may be new, but the instinct is not. Long before discretion became one of luxury fashion’s dominant talking points, AGNONA was associated with a clientele attentive to almost imperceptible differences in fabric, colour and finish. Aimone loosens the formality around that reserve. Comfort carries more authority, and technical function can sit inside an expensive material without making refinement feel fragile. Across women’s and men’s wardrobes, the common ground is increasingly found in tactility, ease and an expectation that refinement should remain compatible with everyday movement.

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Momo

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Intimacy

The most personal passage in Wanderlust comes through “Momo”, the family name of Francesco Ilorini Mo. Aimone has been looking at the founder’s own wardrobe, his travels and the clothes connected to everyday factory life, allowing menswear and workwear references to enter the women’s collection alongside archival fabrics. Ilorini Mo dealt in some of the most refined textiles available while living a working life shaped by production, movement and business, so utility was already part of the world from which AGNONA emerged. Aimone can draw on that without reconstructing the past literally.

Stefano Aimone (CEO & Creative Director at AGNONA)

AGNONA Showroom, Via Archimede 53, Milan

AGNONA’s history is not concentrated in one bag shape, monogram or silhouette that needs to be repeatedly revived. Much of it survives in fabric books and technical knowledge, in the accumulated understanding of how material behaves once it is cut, handled and worn. The house has passed through distinct creative chapters under Walter Albini, Mila Schön, Stefano Pilati and Simon Holloway, each finding a different route through that foundation. As owner as well as creative director, Aimone can reshape the product and the structures around it at the same time.

Aimone has also been explicit about preserving AGNONA’s relatively small scale as its international presence grows, keeping him unusually close to product and production even as the specialist Italian workshops on which houses like AGNONA depend face mounting pressure. Some have disappeared or consolidated, while remaining capacity is increasingly absorbed by larger groups. For AGNONA, knowing who makes a fabric or garment therefore has practical value in the present, not merely historical charm.

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Momo

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Momo

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Soft Shift

In Milan, the atelier and archive sit close to the finished clothes, while the Via Santo Spirito store gives AGNONA a more immediate urban presence without severing its connection to the textile culture around Biella. The move makes the house more visible while keeping its history in circulation as working material, present in the product and in the way the company presents itself today. AGNONA is becoming more decisively Milanese while remaining reserved in tone, its past functioning as an active resource beneath the surface of each collection.

Wanderlust works best when the knowledge behind it has already done its work by the time a garment reaches the wearer. An expensive material can tolerate real life while remaining refined, and the archive can shape a contemporary wardrobe without announcing itself. At its best, the present AGNONA makes textile knowledge felt before it needs to be explained.

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Momo

AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026
Wanderlust - Soft Shift

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images (c) AGNONA

DISCOVER MORE: www.agnona.com
Explore AGNONA Autumn/Winter 2026 through Soft Shift, Intimacy, Momo and Afterglow, with cashmere, relaxed tailoring, outerwear and archival references running through the season.

Priscilla Chigariro Is Building the Future of Zimbabwean Fashion

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Interview with Priscilla Chigariro, Founder of ZFW

Priscilla Chigariro’s Vision for Zimbabwe Fashion Week

written CHIDOZIE OBASI

Zimbabwean-born, Boston-hailed Priscilla Chigariro—founder of Zimbabwe Fashion Week and The Sp_ce, a new retail concept based in Massachusetts—has a journey that has been anything but conventional. With early stints as a model, with dreams of becoming a designer, somewhere along the way she discovered that her interests extended beyond creating fashion.

“I became fascinated by the industry itself, how it operates, how designers build businesses, and more importantly, why incredibly talented creatives from countries like Zimbabwe were struggling to access the same opportunities as their counterparts elsewhere,” she tells LE MILE. Growing up in Zimbabwe shaped how she sees the world. “We are incredibly creative and resourceful people, but we also come from an environment where opportunities and infrastructure can be limited,” she admits. “I think that taught me to be resourceful, to find solutions and, perhaps most importantly, not to wait for someone else to create the opportunities I wanted to see.” Today, Chigariro’s work is largely about building platforms and creating access, whether that’s through Zimbabwe Fashion Week, the Hunhu Council of Fashion or The Sp_ce. “The underlying motivation has always been the same: creating opportunities for talented people to build meaningful, sustainable careers and businesses.” Below, Chigariro speaks to LE MILE’S Fashion Market Director unpacking all-things influence, growth and hope. You’re welcome.

Inside The Sp_ce in Wellesley, Massachusetts with Priscilla Chigariro, Founder of ZFW.

Chidozie Obasi
Were there any specific influences or references that inspired you while growing up, and how have they informed your practice?

Priscilla Chigariro
My parents were probably my greatest influences growing up. They were both artistic in their own way, and I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where creativity, ambition and hard work were always encouraged. My father was actually a model in his twenties before going on to build a very successful career in the insurance industry, which eventually enabled him and my mother to purchase the farm where I grew up in Zimbabwe. My mother was incredibly creative. She was an excellent knitter and taught me how to sew my own clothes from a young age. I’ve always loved working with my hands, whether it was sewing, making things or experimenting with different creative ideas. Both my parents encouraged me to pursue whatever interested me and, more importantly, to keep improving at it. My father always said to us growing up, “If you’re going to do something, anything, make sure you’re the best at it.” That stayed with me and has probably been one of the biggest driving forces throughout my life. I’ve never been particularly interested in doing something just for the sake of doing it. I’ve always wanted to see how far I could take an idea and how much better I could make it. I also had quite an entrepreneurial streak from a young age. At twelve, I started my own hair-braiding business, and looking back, I don’t think I ever lost that entrepreneurial spirit. I loved the idea that I could create something with my own hands and turn it into a business. My early success in modeling eventually led me into the fashion industry, but I think the foundations were laid long before that. My parents gave me the confidence to try things, the discipline to work hard at them and the belief that I didn’t have to limit my ambitions. In many ways, that’s still how I approach everything I do today. I see possibilities, I get excited about what something could become, and then I set about trying to make it happen.

Before venturing into the business side of fashion, you were a model and envisioned becoming a fashion designer. What made you pivot, and what was the urge to start something bigger in Zimbabwe?

I initially wanted to become a fashion designer, and modeling was really my introduction to the industry. But the more I learned about fashion, the more interested I became in the business behind it. I realized quite early that Zimbabwe had talented designers, but we didn’t necessarily have the structures or platforms that could support them in building successful careers. There was creativity, but there were very few opportunities to showcase that creativity professionally, connect with the international industry or build commercially viable fashion businesses. I started Zimbabwe Fashion Week in 2010 because I felt that something needed to change. I wanted Zimbabwean designers to have a platform that could stand alongside fashion weeks elsewhere in the world. At the time, I probably didn’t fully appreciate the scale of what I was taking on! I was passionate, perhaps a little naive, but I believed very strongly that Zimbabwe deserved to have a place in the global fashion conversation. Sixteen years later, that belief hasn’t changed. What has changed is my understanding of what it actually takes to build an industry.

Since launching Zimbabwe Fashion Week in 2010, you’ve expanded beyond runway shows into business talks and retail. Why was it important to build a wider fashion ecosystem?

I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is that a runway show, no matter how beautifully produced, is not enough to sustain an industry. When we started Zimbabwe Fashion Week, the immediate goal was visibility. We wanted to create a professional platform where designers could showcase their work and where the industry could come together. But as the years went by, I began asking myself what happens after the runway. A designer can create an extraordinary collection and receive wonderful press coverage, but if they don’t have access to buyers, production support or the knowledge required to run a business, what happens next? That’s why we’ve increasingly focused on the business and educational components of Zimbabwe Fashion Week. Our panels, conversations, masterclasses and industry partnerships are just as important to me as the runway shows. Through the Hunhu Council of Fashion, we’re also working towards creating a more structured approach to industry development. I want us to move beyond celebrating creativity for a few days each year and begin building something that has a real economic impact. For me, the ultimate measure of success isn’t how many shows we’ve produced. It’s how many designers have been able to grow their businesses, create employment and find sustainable markets for their work.

A design by Amezeeys on the runway.

A runway presentation by Empowerment Design Studio.

Let’s discuss the launch of The Sp_ce in Massachusetts. How are you creating a bridge between designers from emerging fashion markets and international consumers?

The Sp_ce is probably the most natural evolution of everything I’ve been working towards over the last sixteen years. With Zimbabwe Fashion Week, we created a platform for designers to be seen. But I wanted to take that a step further and create an opportunity for their products to actually reach consumers. The Sp_ce is a curated retail and experiential concept that brings together contemporary fashion, accessories, design and lifestyle brands from emerging markets, alongside other independent designers whose work shares our appreciation for creativity, quality and craftsmanship. Our first location is in Wellesley, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, and we’re building both a physical retail experience and an e-commerce platform. What’s particularly important to me is that we’re not asking consumers to shop with us simply because a product comes from Africa or another emerging market. We want them to shop with us because the design is exceptional, the quality is there and the product speaks to them. I believe that is an important distinction. We want to create an environment where these brands are presented with the same level of sophistication, consideration and attention to detail as any other contemporary or luxury brand. The Sp_ce is also about introducing consumers to designers and creative perspectives they may not otherwise encounter. I want people to discover something beautiful, learn about the person behind it and develop a genuine connection with the brand. Ultimately, it’s about turning international visibility into real commercial opportunities.

How do you intend to challenge traditional perceptions of African fashion and celebrate contemporary design, craftsmanship and luxury from Zimbabwe on the global stage?

I think the first thing we need to recognize is that African fashion is not one thing. Africa is an incredibly diverse continent, with different cultures, aesthetics, design philosophies and creative influences. Yet internationally, African fashion is still so often reduced to a very particular visual identity, usually associated with prints, traditional textiles or cultural references. There’s absolutely a place for all of that, and our heritage is something we should celebrate. But African designers are also creating beautiful contemporary fashion that doesn’t necessarily fit into those expectations. A designer from Zimbabwe should be able to create a beautifully tailored minimalist collection, for example, without feeling that they need to incorporate a traditional print for their work to be recognized as African. I want to see our designers given the freedom to express themselves without being confined by geography or other people’s expectations of what African fashion should look like. Luxury, to me, is about craftsmanship, quality, originality and the experience surrounding a product. Those qualities aren’t exclusive to any particular part of the world. Through Zimbabwe Fashion Week and The Sp_ce, I want to help change the way these designers are presented and perceived. Not as an alternative category of fashion, but as part of the wider global design conversation. And I think the most effective way to challenge those perceptions is simply to allow the work to speak for itself.

What is your long-term vision for helping designers build sustainable businesses through international market access, commercial development and meaningful industry connections?

My long-term vision is to create a much more connected ecosystem, where emerging designers have access to the resources and opportunities they need at different stages of their development. One of the biggest challenges designers face is that the journey from creating a collection to building a commercially successful brand can be incredibly difficult, particularly in markets where the supporting infrastructure is still developing. Through Zimbabwe Fashion Week, we’re able to identify talent, facilitate conversations, provide exposure and build industry relationships. Through the Hunhu Council of Fashion, the ambition is to support broader industry development, education and professional opportunities. And with The Sp_ce, we’re beginning to address the commercial side by creating a direct connection between designers and international consumers. Of course, there is still so much work to be done. Production capacity, consistency, pricing, logistics and access to capital are all very real challenges. But I believe that by approaching these challenges collectively and building meaningful partnerships, we can begin to create a model that offers designers much more than a moment of visibility. I want to see designers building businesses that can survive and grow independently of the platforms that initially introduced them to the world. That, for me, would be real success.

A runway look by Machuma Africa.

A sculptural design by Machuma Africa.

What’s the long-term vision for Zimbabwe Fashion Week?

My vision for Zimbabwe Fashion Week has always been bigger than the event itself. I want ZFW to become a respected institution that plays a meaningful role in the development of Zimbabwe’s fashion and creative industries. After sixteen years, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built, particularly given the challenges of operating in an environment where sponsorship and industry infrastructure can be difficult to secure. But I also recognize that for ZFW to have a lasting impact, it needs to continue evolving beyond the vision of one individual. The establishment of the Zimbabwe Fashion Week Trust is an important part of that journey. We’re working towards creating a more sustainable institutional framework that can support the event, strengthen partnerships and ensure that the work continues for generations to come. I’d love to see Zimbabwe Fashion Week become a destination for international buyers, editors, creatives and industry professionals, while remaining a platform that is genuinely accessible and valuable to Zimbabwean designers. I also want us to continue developing the educational and business aspects of the event, creating stronger links between talent, industry and commerce. Ultimately, I would like Zimbabwe Fashion Week to be recognized not simply as an annual fashion event, but as an institution that helped shape the development of Zimbabwe’s fashion industry.

Final thoughts and hopes you’d like to share?

I think we’re at a really interesting moment for fashion, particularly when it comes to emerging markets. There’s a growing appetite for independent brands, thoughtful design, craftsmanship and products that have a story behind them. And I believe there is an enormous opportunity for designers from countries like Zimbabwe to be part of that conversation. But opportunity alone isn’t enough. We have to continue doing the work of building businesses, developing infrastructure, creating partnerships and opening doors. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last sixteen years, it’s that building something meaningful takes time. There have been incredible highs and some very difficult moments, but I still believe as strongly in the potential of our creative industries as I did when I started. Perhaps even more so now, because I’ve seen what is possible. My hope is that the next generation of Zimbabwean designers won’t have to overcome quite as many obstacles as those who came before them. I’d like them to inherit an industry with real opportunities, one where their talent can translate into successful businesses, meaningful careers and a genuine place in the global market. And if the work we’re doing today contributes to that, even in a small way, then I think it will have been worth it.

A runway creation by Ruby's Touch.

A design by The Golden Touch on the runway.

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follow ZFW @zim.fashionweek
—all visuals provided by Priscilla Chigariro, Founder of Zimbabwe Fashion Week

The Monteleone & Rastrello - Boutique Hotels in Umbria

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The Monteleone & Rastrello Boutique Hotels in Umbria

A Rural Restoration Nestled in Umbria’s Placid Countryside

written CHIDOZIE OBASI

In a world shaped by downturns causing havoc with increasingly ferocious pace, enjoying restful moments amid the frenzy state of our times is a welcome respite. In Umbria, a region nestled in central Italy, placidity can be found in precious settings such as The Monteleone: a boutique retreat where contemporary design meets slow living. Set among the rolling hills of Monteleone d’Orvieto, one of Italy’s most evocative hilltop villages framed by medieval walls, olive groves and verdant countryside, the seventeen-room retreat promises intentional slow living, offering a timeless sanctuary rooted in its surroundings, where guests are invited to pause and rediscover the beauty of simplicity.

The Monteleone Boutique Hotel in Umbria

The Monteleone occupies a carefully restored 19th century home which preserves the architectural legacy of the original rural residence, guided by a deep respect for the heritage and traditions of its ancient village. As well as its spacious guest rooms and suites, guests can take advantage of the hotel’s outdoor pool, taking in breathtaking panoramic views across the Umbrian hills, relax in its open-air spa, or partake in a scenic workout in its fully-equipped gym. The Monteleone’s aesthetic is defined by balance, understated comfort, and timeless elegance, with light playing a central role throughout. Its conservative restoration embraces the authenticity of its origins while infusing the space with contemporary sensibility – introducing modernity through refined, clean lines and pared-back pieces, juxtaposed against materials such as weathered stone, ‘cotto Toscano’, raw plaster, tactile fabrics, and iron and wood crafted by Umbrian artisans, allowing traces of time to remain visible while creating a fresh, multi-layered aesthetic that mirrors the Umbrian landscape.

Guests of The Monteleone can stay in one of six room categories: from Superior Room to Suite. Six of The Monteleone’s seventeen rooms come complete with their own private garden featuring sun loungers and a table for al fresco snacks and aperitivo, while its Signature Suite includes a dedicated relaxation area featuring a standalone bath tub. Defining chapter of The Monteleone’s identity is its collaboration with Rome-based architecture and design firm, STUDIOTAMAT, who curated four of the retreat’s signature suites—including the Superior Garden Suite and the Deluxe Serra Suite—each conceived as an intimate micro-environment that balance craftsmanship, proportion, and emotional resonance, creating a collection of spaces that are serene, tactile, and quietly luxurious. Wellness at The Monteleone is grounded in the outdoors and shaped by seasonality. Here, wellness is not in performance but presence.

The Monteleone invites guests to experience a slower rhythm and to reconnect through simple pleasures such as a morning coffee overlooking the hills, walks among olive trees, aperitif at golden hour, and immersive countryside moments shaped by the seasons. The retreat champions an approach to luxury that is never imposed, but quietly discovered. Breakfast at The Monteleone reflects Umbrian familiar traditions with produce that tells the story of the land. Offering both a la carte and continental breakfast, expect a curated selection of sweet and savoury items featuring zero-mile ingredients from small, Umbrian producers – homemade pastries and cakes, such as The Monteleone’s classic ciambellone, freshly baked bread, seasonal jams, cheeses, cured meats, yoghurt and fruit – alongside farm eggs and international, cooked classics.

The Monteleone Boutique Hotel in Umbria

The Monteleone Boutique Hotel in Umbria

On a similar note, the Rastrello is a further gem worth noting: the 14th-century palazzo hotel that sits on the border of Umbria and Tuscany in Italy, in the medieval village of Panicale, has unveiled its new Garden Annex, introducing a further seven rooms to the boutique property,as well as a dedicated wellness space, meditation room and small outdoor pool in its gardens that overlook the beautiful Umbrian countryside and Lake Trasimeno. Bordering the garden of Rastrello, the new Garden Annex, designed by Pelizzari Studio, was a former abandoned building which has been lovingly restored to allow more guests to enjoy the unique offering at Rastrello, which has recently been certified B Corp for its sustainable and responsible practices. The expansion has nearly doubled the hotel’s capacity, bringing the room count from nine to sixteen, and each spacious suite, all with lake views, features its own unique design. The Garden Annex features a large guest lounge which overlooks the garden and the lake, where guests can enjoy breakfast, aperitivo, or simply relax and read or play a board game. The lounge is also available for private dinners or small weddings up to a maximum of 40 people. The dedicated wellness space is situated on the lower level and features a sauna, shower and two lounge chairs - a tranquil space where the serene beauty of the Umbrian countryside meets luxurious relaxation. For added privacy, guests can reserve the wellness space for hour intervals and can access it alone with their room key.

Rastrello Boutique Hotel in Umbria

The Meditation Room can be found on the second level and has been designed acoustically to create the most serene environment and guests can also book to have a massage in the Meditation Room. Each of Rastrello’s treatments have been designed to promote wellness, restore balance, and enhance guests’ sense of peace, nurturing mind, body, and spirit. Among the selection of treatments on offer at the hotel are Signature Rituals such as its ‘Umbrian Bliss Journey’ and a ‘Vine Therapy Facial’, which harness the natural healing properties of Rastrello’s own organic olive oil and vines from the Umbrian countryside. The Garden features a deck that overlooks the lake and is home to a new dipping pool with fountain, lounge chairs, and tables for guests who wish to enjoy breakfast outdoors. The gate to the guest garden is open throughout the day, allowing guests to walk freely between the two properties. Rastrello also boasts a farm-to-table restaurant, Cucina & Giardino, headed up by celebrated regional chef Nicola Fanfano, and produces its own award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Overlooking Lake Trasimeno, Cucina & Giardino offers a panoramic garden terrace with breath-taking views as well as an intimate indoor space for guests and locals to enjoy. The majority of the produce used in the restaurant and bar comes from its organic gardens. The grains, wines, cheeses, charcuterie, spirits and sodas are from local suppliers.

Rastrello Boutique Hotel in Umbria

Rastrello Boutique Hotel in Umbria

Rastrello Boutique Hotel in Umbria

Rastrello Boutique Hotel in Umbria

—all visuals provided by The Monteleone & Rastrello Boutique Hotels

SECRID and the Things We Carry - The Contemporary Wallet Reconsidered

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SECRID and the Things We Carry

LE MILE

Before leaving the house, there is still that familiar inventory of what needs to come along. Phone, keys, wallet. The sequence has survived remarkably well, even as the objects behind it have changed. Payment cards, train tickets and boarding passes have moved onto screens, receipts increasingly arrive by email, and cash has become optional in many situations. The wallet remains, though its definition has loosened considerably.

SECRID has been following these changes for much of its history. Founders René van Geer and Marianne van Sasse van Ysselt began considering the consequences of electronic payment in the 1990s, long before the smartphone gathered so many everyday functions into one device. The Cardprotector that followed in 2009 remains at the centre of the Dutch company today. Its aluminium case holds a small stack of cards, while a lever at the base pushes them upwards in a staggered arrangement for access. Seventeen years of development have left that basic gesture recognisable, while the object around it has become increasingly varied.

SECRID
Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe - red

SECRID
Premium Envelope Wallet+ Naplak - black
Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe - red

With the Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe, the idea moves directly onto the smartphone. A magnetic connection holds the Cardprotector to the back of a compatible phone and allows it to be detached when needed. The Plus mechanism accommodates metal cards alongside conventional ones, while vertical grooves across the aluminium front give the Fluted edition additional grip. Electronic payment helped prompt SECRID's early reconsideration of the conventional wallet; three decades later, the resulting idea has arrived on the back of a device that has itself assumed many of the wallet's former functions.

Its position there also changes the way the Cardprotector is seen. An object previously retrieved from a pocket or bag now becomes part of something already in the hand, exposing its surface and colour throughout the day. Offered in several colourways, the Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe can remain discreet or become a visible accent, with the Red version bringing particular presence to the ridged aluminium and polished metal lever. Choosing one begins to resemble the decisions made around other personal accessories, where function establishes the object and colour determines how comfortably, or deliberately, it enters a look.

This territory is less new to SECRID than the industrial appearance of its original Cardprotector might suggest. Van Geer comes from industrial and product design, while Van Sasse van Ysselt's background is in fashion, and leather entered the development of the Cardprotector relatively early. Once the aluminium mechanism was combined with leather, the compact card system also entered the familiar territory of the traditional wallet. Over time, that relationship between mechanism and material has become broad enough to accommodate different proportions, leather treatments, colours and ways of carrying the same underlying system.

SECRID
Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe - red
Premium Envelope Wallet+ Naplak - black

SECRID
Premium Envelope Wallet+ Naplak - black

The Premium Envelope Wallet+ Naplak makes this particularly clear. Its Cardprotector+ sits within a folded leather construction with additional room for coins and small personal belongings, giving the wallet a different presence in the hand and a more natural relationship with the wider language of leather accessories. Naplak contributes something specific here. The semi-gloss Naplak leather in Black and Plum, paired with gold coloured components, introduces a material sensibility associated with fashion and leather goods without obscuring the functional structure underneath.

A wallet occupies an unusual position in a wardrobe because it is rarely worn in the conventional sense, yet it accompanies clothing with an intimacy shared by relatively few objects. It moves between hand, pocket, bag and table, collecting traces of use while repeatedly entering view. SECRID's expanding attention to finishes, leather treatments and colour acknowledges this role. The choice between aluminium and leather, a restrained colour and a vivid one, or the compact Cardprotector and the fuller Envelope affects little about the basic purpose of carrying cards. It changes considerably how the object participates in someone's daily appearance.

This is also where the two products become more interesting together. The Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe gives SECRID's compact aluminium architecture a newly exposed position beside the phone. The Envelope Wallet+ Naplak allows the same core mechanism to inhabit a more expressive leather form with room for the miscellaneous things that still accumulate through a day. A metal key, loose change or a ring temporarily removed from a finger hardly belongs to a grand argument about analogue life. They simply exist, and good objects tend to become convincing when they account for such ordinary realities.

The persistence of the Cardprotector at the centre of both products says something about SECRID's approach to development as well. Its original mechanism has remained recognisable while locking systems, surfaces, materials and applications have continued to evolve. Current Premium+ versions can hold metal cards, MagSafe has created another way of carrying the Cardprotector, and leather allows the same architecture to move into forms increasingly legible as fashion accessories. Production and assembly in the Netherlands, including through social enterprises, sit alongside an established repair infrastructure, giving this gradual development a practical dimension. An object used every day has time to reveal where it can be improved.

SECRID
Premium Envelope Wallet+ Naplak - black

SECRID
Premium Cardprotector+ Fluted for MagSafe - red

Seen from here, the contemporary wallet becomes a surprisingly broad design proposition. It can sit almost flush against a smartphone or take the form of a semi-gloss Naplak accessory in Black or Plum; it can be selected for the efficiency of its mechanism and still carry the aesthetic weight of something chosen to accompany a wardrobe. SECRID's strength lies in allowing those possibilities to develop around a recognisable core. What began with a question about carrying cards has grown into a wider consideration of how the small objects closest to us should function, feel and look.

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images (c) SECRID

DISCOVER MORE: www.secrid.com
Explore SECRID’s contemporary wallets, from compact cardholders and MagSafe designs to leather styles made for everyday carry.

How Aberta Opens Up onomao’s Design Language

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Aberta and the Expanding Language of onomao

LE MILE

Among onomao’s four tableware collections, Aberta is perhaps the clearest exercise in proportion. Developed as a stoneware collection for everyday use, its plates, bowls, cups and jug share a conical geometry that opens gently upwards, giving the collection its name, Portuguese for “open”. The proportions change considerably from one object to the next, while a fine hand-painted line in blue or orange finishes each piece at the rim and gives the family another point of recognition.

onomao
Traditional collection - natural white
candle holder 4 BLOCKS (GMK x onomao) - white

onomao
Aberta collection

onomao
Traditional collection - sand

The underlying form proves surprisingly adaptable. A plate spreads the geometry low and wide, a bowl gives it depth, a cup pulls it further upright. The relationship remains visible, while each piece keeps its own proportion. Stoneware gives the shapes physical substance, while the painted edge sharpens their contour and adds a subtle point of emphasis. Small differences in shape, colour and texture remain part of the handmade production.

There is nowhere for a weak proportion to hide in a collection this spare. A relatively small shift in height or width can alter the character of a vessel, and Aberta depends on those adjustments being convincing from object to object. Its coherence comes from repeating a formal principle while allowing the purpose of each piece to modify it.

In clay, that clarity becomes harder to control. Ceramic production introduces its own variables through drying, firing and glazing, while the hand-painted border introduces another degree of variation. onomao has developed its ceramics through samples and direct exchanges with Portuguese manufacturers since its early years, with forms and glazes adjusted as prototypes move between design idea and workshop. Arthur Wystrychowski has described visits during which changes could be discussed with the makers and tested directly.

onomao
Aberta collection

onomao
Aberta collection
candle holder 4 BLOCKS (GMK x onomao) - green

Introduced as onomao’s third ceramic collection, Aberta was also the first the company produced in Alcobaça in central Portugal. The family manufactory was founded in 1988 and has particular experience in hand painting. That makes the narrow coloured border part of an established production skill within the workshop itself.

The relationship between designing and learning how things are made has followed onomao from the beginning. Brothers Arthur and Felix Wystrychowski founded the company in Cologne in 2018 after both had developed close personal connections to Portugal. Arthur studied landscape architecture in Berlin, while Felix lived in Portugal for several years, trained as a chef and later became a graphic designer. Their training came from adjacent fields, and their early collections developed through an exchange of ideas, samples and revisions with the manufacturers who would eventually produce them.

onomao
Traditional collection - sand
vase II (Enguerrand Poncelin x onomao) - fig
tablecloth draped & cloth napkins (erlich textil x onomao)

That curiosity eventually became hands-on when onomao installed its own pottery studio inside the Cologne office, allowing the team to work directly with clay and test new designs at the wheel. The office occupies a former bakery, and the space once used for its oven now contains a ceramic kiln. Understanding a production method changes the questions a designer can ask of it, and Arthur has spoken explicitly about knowing the possibilities and limitations of ceramic production when developing new objects.

Today the tableware catalogue moves through distinctly different silhouettes. Traditionell works with more robust forms and numerous glazes; Klassik introduces softer, organic profiles set on a small base; Pura shifts into thin-walled porcelain. Aberta occupies its own position among them, defined by its opening contours and the graphic precision of its painted rim.

Collaborations have widened that vocabulary further. With fellow Cologne label erlich textil, onomao extended the table into cotton-linen tablecloths and napkins, taking an existing relationship between the brands into another material category. Casa Lawa changes the temperature again. The Sicilian guesthouse and creative project founded by Lukas Lewandowski brings a background spanning hospitality, food and design into a more expressive ceramic collaboration, still produced through Portuguese workshops.

onomao
Pura collection - white
candle holder 4 BLOCKS (GMK x onomao) - white

onomao
Aberta collection

The common ground lies in a design process shaped by material knowledge, close work with makers and attention to use. Outlines, colours and surfaces are free to change. Atelier onomao extends that approach through projects with outside artists and designers.

Aberta holds a particularly clear position within this broader field. Its conical premise moves easily between different functions, while colour has been assigned a precise place within the design. The collection has character, yet no single gesture has been asked to carry all of it.

onomao
Pura collection - white

Tableware is handled, washed, stacked and returned to the cupboard until its presence becomes part of routine. By then, novelty has disappeared. What matters is how naturally a cup sits in the hand, how convincingly a bowl holds its proportions, and how readily different pieces find their place together. Aberta is particularly persuasive at that stage, when design has stopped introducing itself and simply has to keep working.

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images (c) onomao

DISCOVER MORE: www.onomao.com
Explore onomao’s world of contemporary tableware, handmade ceramics and considered objects for everyday living.

Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village - A Little Further Along the Bay

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Family Stay at Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village

Why Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village Works for a Family Trip to Mallorca

LE MILE

After our stay at Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa, we weren’t quite ready to leave this part of Mallorca. Our next stop was Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village, a short journey along the bay. Travelling with our two small children, I was happy to keep the coast close and spend longer exploring the north. Alcúdia and the wetlands of s’Albufera would be within easy reach; so would another afternoon on the sand.

Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village
Beach

Pines shade parts of the grounds, and pools sit beside white buildings, with the beach just beyond. Inside, blue upholstery, white walls and wood finishes give the Village’s rooms a bright, straightforward feel. Our suite gave us the space we needed as a family: a separate living area, a sofa bed and a terrace, which made the room feel less like a place to pass through and more like somewhere we could actually settle between the beach, lunch and the next swim. With two children, a place to sit together away from the beds is useful, whether for a book or a magazine before breakfast or a quiet hour indoors. Garden-view and sea-view family suites offer other options, and I would pay attention to the outlook when booking; it is worth choosing somewhere you will enjoy spending time between outings.

Breakfast brings the beach back into view at Embat, whose terrace faces the sea. Freshly made pancakes and waffles are part of the buffet, with the prospect of a swim afterwards giving everyone a reason to linger nearby. The waterpark and outdoor pools provide alternatives to the beach; Star Camp’s youngest group welcomes children aged four to seven, with programmes varying by season. There is enough here to plan an active day, although I would happily leave an afternoon free for playing together on the shore.

For dinner, L’Artista’s menu deserves a closer look, its frittatina Mallorquina brings sobrasada into a pasta fritter with béchamel, crisp guanciale and honey. The parmigiana layers aubergine with tomato ragù, provolone and a pecorino-and-basil béchamel, while homemade ravioli pair ricotta with porcini and truffle cream. The Modigliani pizza combines mortadella and pistachio cream with rocket and lemon; the Regina Margherita keeps to tomato, mozzarella and basil. It is a menu that leaves room for familiar favourites alongside something new, which suits a family table. Reservations are required, so this is one evening worth thinking about ahead.

Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village
Pool

Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village
The Resort

Alcúdia’s old town is a lovely place to begin, with streets and small squares enclosed by medieval walls. I would leave time simply to walk, stopping for lunch when a terrace appeals. Pa amb oli, bread with tomato and olive oil, is a good local dish to look for. With young children, a morning here can be enough; there is no need to turn every outing into a full day away. Nearby, s’Albufera opens onto reed beds, waterways and walking trails. Bring binoculars if you have them, and choose a short route around the birdwatching hides. Herons and other wetland birds make this a different kind of outing from the beach, with plenty to notice along the way. Allow time for the walk from the entrance to the visitor centre, particularly with small children, and take water and sun protection. A pause to watch what moves among the reeds can be as interesting as reaching the next viewpoint.

We had changed hotels, but we were still on the same family holiday, with time to return to the water as often as we liked. I was glad we had stayed on this coast. There would be other journeys across Mallorca; for now, a beach close by, somewhere good for dinner and two children to share it with felt like a very good reason to stay.

Iberostar Selection Playa de Muro Village

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The Upkeep of a Well-designed Home with Roomba

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Roomba Plus 515 Combo and the Upkeep of a Well-Designed Home

LE MILE

An ordinary vacuum disappears into a cupboard after use; a robot vacuum stays with the furniture, requiring a permanent place in the room. The iRobot Roomba Plus 515 Combo makes that arrangement particularly interesting because its work continues after the floor has been cleaned. The robot stands 8.35 centimetres high, allowing it to travel beneath beds and sofas where clearance permits. Its accompanying AutoWash Dock is a more substantial fixture, designed to empty dust, replenish water and clean the mop pads between sessions.

In a furnished home, rugs interrupt hard surfaces, chair legs narrow passages and skirting boards collect dirt along the edges, requiring a cleaner to adjust its approach as it moves. The 515 uses ClearView LiDAR to map its surroundings and detect obstacles, while an extending mop arm works towards corners. Its rotating pads mop hard flooring and lift by 10.5 millimetres when the robot detects carpet. It can cross thresholds up to 25 millimetres high, a useful consideration where adjoining rooms sit at different levels. A rubber-and-bristle brush and suction rated at up to 22,000 Pa handle loose debris.

The iRobot Roomba Plus 515 Combo with AutoWash Dock, bringing automated vacuuming and mopping into contemporary living spaces.

After mopping, much of the work usually passes back to the owner: pads need rinsing, collected dust emptied and fresh water made available before another cleaning cycle. The AutoWash Dock takes over those tasks, washing the pads at 75°C and drying them with 45°C air while managing dust collection and water refills. iRobot estimates up to three months of automatic dust collection and up to 40 days between water refills, depending on use. These intervals matter because they determine how often someone has to intervene once cleaning becomes part of a regular schedule.

Accommodating the dock requires thought, particularly in smaller interiors where storage and floor space are closely planned. Standing 48.5 centimetres high, with a footprint of 30 by 34 centimetres, it has a ribbed black housing and visible water tanks that must remain accessible. It needs a power connection and enough space for the robot to return without obstruction. Its restrained black finish works visually with the concrete and neutral surroundings pictured here, although the practical question of where it lives will be different in every home.

That routine can be scheduled through the Roomba Home app around working hours or the times when a room is frequently used, with voice control available as well. Its value lies in the repetition of ordinary tasks: crumbs beneath the dining table, dust under the sofa, dirt carried in from outside. The 515 is designed to deal with those traces and prepare its equipment for the next run. The trade-off for the owner is a permanent appliance in the room in exchange for potentially spending less time attending to the floors.

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discover more: www.irobot.de

Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa - A family stay in Mallorca

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Family Stay at Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa

Mallorca Starts at Playa de Muro

LE MILE

We came to Mallorca for a few days by the sea with our two small children, collecting a hire car at Palma airport before driving north to Playa de Muro. By late afternoon, we had reached Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa, beside the long sandy shore of the Bay of Alcúdia. Having the car meant we could explore beyond the resort, though I was looking forward to a first morning that involved nothing more complicated than breakfast and taking the children to the beach.

Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa
The Resort and Beach

We woke well rested, with Playa de Muro just beyond the hotel gardens. Staying beside the beach makes a difference when you are travelling with children. A swim needn’t become a whole-day expedition, and returning to the room for a rest doesn’t mean abandoning the afternoon. Along this part of the Bay of Alcúdia, the long sandy shoreline also gives you room to walk without immediately reaching the end of a little cove. Albufera Playa shares its grounds and facilities with neighbouring Albufera Park, giving families access to seven pools, children’s play areas and Star Camp activities. The programme includes games and creative activities organised by age. Park concentrates on family rooms, while Playa offers mainly doubles and suites; the gardens connect the two, so choosing Playa doesn’t mean losing access to the children’s facilities.

Having a car also gives a family the freedom to spend a day elsewhere on the island. For Palma, I would keep the itinerary modest: visit La Seu, then walk through the old town and stop for lunch. The narrow streets around the cathedral deserve time, and with small children there is little pleasure in hurrying between monuments. A morning of looking around followed by a long lunch would be my preference over trying to cover the whole city.

For a different stretch of coast, Cala Llombards lies in the southeast, near Santanyí. Its sandy beach sits between rocky sides, with pines above and small boathouses along the water. This is a longer outing from Playa de Muro, best given its own day. In busy periods, go early; there is far less space here than on Playa de Muro. Closer to the hotel, Alcúdia’s old town or neighbouring S’Albufera nature park offer alternatives to another long drive.

Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa
Infinity Pool

Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa
Room

Back at the resort, we ate at Nopal and Martinete, two restaurants within the shared Albufera complex. Nopal is a Mexican taqueria, with cochinita pibil tacos among its specialities. Martinete serves Spanish tapas and traditional dishes, with an emphasis on local ingredients. The tapas format lends itself to ordering several plates for the table and trying them together, making dinner an opportunity to explore different flavours as a family. Both restaurants require reservations, so it is worth booking early in the stay.

I also enjoyed a massage at the spa, which was fantastic and an appointment I would happily repeat. Elsewhere in the resort, Icedream serves ice cream and crêpes to take away, making it possible to carry dessert down towards the beach. For another visit, I would give us more days to explore Mallorca and keep some afternoons free to spend on Playa de Muro together. Having the beach beside the hotel makes it easy to return to a favourite place while discovering others by car. I like the thought of coming back as the children grow, beginning again on this stretch of sand and travelling a little further across the island each time.

Iberostar Selection Albufera Playa
Dining Area

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Mangia’s Sardinia Resort - A Hotel Facing North

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Mangia’s Sardinia Resort Facing North

LE MILE

At the northernmost edge of Sardinia, Gallura looks towards another island. Corsica lies across the Strait of Bonifacio, while the smaller islands of the La Maddalena Archipelago break up the water in between. Granite, wind and low Mediterranean vegetation give this part of Sardinia a character distinct from the long beaches and flatter landscapes found elsewhere on the island.

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort
Autograph Collection

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort
Beach

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort
Caprera Pool

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort occupies a coastal site near Santa Teresa Gallura. In July 2026, following a three-year redevelopment, the hotel became part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The work was funded through a 65-million-euro investment by Hotel Investment Partners and extended across the rooms, restaurants, gardens, pools, sports facilities and communal areas.

With 589 rooms, this is a resort of considerable scale. The design therefore centres less on creating a private retreat than on keeping the surrounding landscape visible. Nearly all rooms have their own terrace and face the sea, while gardens and outdoor spaces connect the different parts of the property. Mangia’s describes the approach as biophilic design: architecture planned around contact with nature rather than treating it as a view reserved for selected rooms.

There are two pools, sports grounds and a fitness centre, alongside facilities for children and groups. Four restaurants divide the dining programme into clear formats. Mediterra covers the broader Mediterranean repertoire; Donna Floriana Bistrot concentrates on Italian recipes and local ingredients; Al Grano is devoted to pizza; and Scausu Grill serves fish, meat and vegetables from the grill. Guests booking the resort’s All-Inclusive Sublime programme can move between the restaurants rather than returning to the same dining room for each meal. The hotel also provides a base for exploring the region by land and water. Santa Teresa Gallura is close to the weather-shaped granite of Capo Testa, while boats travel into the La Maddalena Archipelago, a protected group of islands and coves between Sardinia and Corsica.

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort
Donna Floriana Bistrot

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort
Landscape

A more concentrated account of the area appears in Il Primo Sole, the resort’s morning ritual created for the Autograph Collection. Drawing on connections between Gallura and southern Corsica, it considers three recurring elements of the local landscape—light, wind and stone. Breakfast follows, accompanied by a drink made with citrus, white myrtle, rosemary and other regional herbs. In a hotel built to accommodate hundreds of guests, the day begins with attention paid to a very specific place. Around six kilometres away, Mangia’s Santa Teresa Sardinia, Curio Collection by Hilton offers an easy way to extend the journey without leaving northern Gallura. Set on the bay of Santa Reparata near Capo Testa, the resort has its own beach club and an infinity pool overlooking the coast.

Mangia’s Sardinia Resort
Superior Sea View

EDITOR’S NOTE: This feature is based on press information and imagery supplied by Mangia’s Sardinia Resort. LE MILE has not visited the property; it is presented here as a hotel profile. All images provided by MANGIA´s Sardinia Resort Press

—discover more MANGIA´S SARDINIA RESPORT, A Autograph Collection Hotel

S.Pellegrino Sapori Ticino 2026 - 20 Years of Swiss Culinary Exchange

S.Pellegrino Sapori Ticino 2026 Celebrates Twenty Editions of Swiss Culinary Exchange

An Open Table in Ticino

written LE MILE

When S.Pellegrino Sapori Ticino opens its twentieth edition in Lugano on 13 September, the eleven chefs at the centre of the programme will come from kitchens across Switzerland, carrying 21 Michelin stars between them, yet little in their work suggests a single culinary language.

Tanja Grandits in Basel builds dishes around spices, herbs, flowers and influences extending from Asia to the Mediterranean; Stéphane Décotterd in Glion has committed his kitchen to ingredients sourced entirely from the surrounding region; in Vals, Marcel Koolen and his team gather herbs, mushrooms and berries in the alpine landscape while remaining open to ingredients and ideas from beyond the region. Their differences give an anniversary edition devoted to Switzerland itself one of its most interesting subjects.

S Pellegrino Sapori Ticino 2026
Villa Castagnola

When Dany Stauffacher founded S.Pellegrino Sapori Ticino in 2007, the premise was relatively simple; accomplished chefs would come to Ticino and bring their cooking into contact with the hotels, restaurants and people of the region. International exchange became central to the festival, although Switzerland has repeatedly been part of its story as well. The national focus of the twentieth edition does little to narrow that culinary range. Pascal Steffen in Basel gives vegetables the leading role in his cooking, while Paolo Rota carries the Cerea family tradition of Da Vittorio into St. Moritz; elsewhere, French technique, Mediterranean references, alpine ingredients and strongly regional approaches coexist without settling into a common style. What connects these chefs is the specific relationship each has developed with the place from which they cook.

That relationship with place has always mattered to Sapori Ticino because the festival does not happen in a single dining room; its dinners move through hotels and restaurants across Lugano, Ascona, Locarno, Melide and the surrounding region. On 19 September the programme reaches Curzútt, a restored historic settlement 612 metres above Monte Carasso that can be accessed only on foot or by cable car. The setting immediately widens the idea of a gastronomic festival by placing the meal within the geography and history of the region. Running from September to mid-November, Sapori Ticino also falls within a season that Ticino is working to strengthen beyond the summer peak, with gastronomy, culture and events among the reasons to visit later in the year.

On 18 October, the programme moves to Tenuta Castello di Morcote for its Déjeuner au Château, a setting where the relationship between food, place and hospitality becomes particularly concrete. The family-run estate sits on the Arbostora promontory above Lake Lugano, with the medieval castle rising over terraced vineyards, olive groves, pasture and woodland. Its vines grow on steep south-facing slopes of pink porphyry, a volcanic rock that gives this part of Ticino an unusual terrain for winegrowing. The estate also holds a particular place in the modern history of winemaking in Italian-speaking Switzerland. In the early twentieth century, Giuseppe Paleari experimented on the terraces around the castle with grape varieties imported from France, including Merlot, and was among those who helped establish the variety in Ticino. Today, Gaby Gianini runs the estate with her husband Maurizio Merlo, continuing a family relationship with the land that spans four generations.

A few minutes away in Vico Morcote, the twelve-room Relais Castello di Morcote occupies a restored seventeenth-century patrician villa, while its restaurant La Sorgente brings the agricultural and winemaking life of the estate directly to the table. Chef Francesco Sangalli works with regional ingredients from small producers, using live fire, charcoal and smoking among his techniques; wines from the Tenuta can accompany the tasting menus. None of this needs the festival in order to exist, which is precisely what makes Morcote an interesting setting within it. The dinner enters an already functioning relationship between land, wine, cooking, architecture and hospitality. That relationship between local roots and wider culinary exchange runs much further back in Ticino, where Maestro Martino was born in the Blenio Valley before becoming one of the defining cooks of the Italian Renaissance.

S Pellegrino Sapori Ticino 2026
Dany Stauffacher

The same exchange moves beyond the Gotthard on 13 October, when teams of Ticino chefs travel to the EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne with regional products and wines. In Ascona, the Young Night places a younger group of local cooks on the programme alongside some of Switzerland’s more established names. Ticino receives cooks from elsewhere in Switzerland, then carries its own chefs, products and wines into other regions, making hospitality visible as a reciprocal practice.

The anniversary also marks the end of Sapori Ticino in its familiar form. Stauffacher has confirmed that the current format will conclude after 2026, following more than 400 dinners over two decades. He has said that the network and experience built around it will continue through new projects, although their shape has not yet been defined.

S Pellegrino Sapori Ticino 2026
Chef Svizzeri

The final evening on 15 November returns to Melide and to Dario Ranza, Martin Dalsass and Lorenzo Albrici, three Ticino chefs presented by the festival as figures who helped shape its history. By then, the twentieth edition will have brought markedly different approaches from across Switzerland into the restaurants, vineyards and hotels of Ticino without arriving at a single definition of the cuisine it set out to celebrate. Swiss gastronomy in 2026 can be deeply local without being culturally closed, shaped by alpine landscapes and Mediterranean influences, inherited traditions and personal biographies, while techniques and flavours travel before finding a particular expression in one place. Sapori Ticino has worked through a similar movement for twenty years, bringing people into the canton, carrying its own culinary culture outward and allowing local identity to develop through contact. As its familiar format reaches its conclusion, that exchange may be the strongest connection between what the festival has been and whatever comes next.

Shivin Singh on Absent Findings - Fashion in the UAE

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Shivin Singh on Absent Findings and Making Fashion in the UAE

written LE MILE

Before founding Absent Findings, Shivin Singh studied finance and accounting. In conversation with LE MILE, that background becomes less a biographical detail than a way of thinking through clothes. His answers keep returning to decisions about what a limited fabric allows, what an heirloom sari can survive, what a craftsperson can realise and what a young studio should protect before scale begins to change the conditions of the work.

Absent Findings is built from materials that already come with consequences, from deadstock fabrics that cannot be reordered once they are gone to heirloom saris that carry family life, craft and time before they enter the studio. Singh is careful not to treat either as a surface reference. A fabric can determine the role of a garment before the collection is complete. A sari can be cut and transformed, but its fall, border, colour and rhythm still have to remain present in the new piece. Here, memory becomes part of the construction instead of remaining decoration.

Singh also speaks about the UAE as a place where tailoring skill and practical knowledge have long existed, while the structures and recognition around luxury production still have to be built with consistency. For Absent Findings, this is tested at the level of standards, through pattern development, material testing, fittings, leather goods and the proximity between design and production.

In the SS27 collection, that discipline becomes visible in clothes in which tailoring, sari-derived fluidity and a theatrical sense of setting are held closely together. What follows is an interview about the conditions behind the clothes. Singh speaks about finance, saris, deadstock, architecture, surrealism, Milan, the UAE and the people whose hands and images shape Absent Findings from within. The result is a conversation with a designer who is less interested in mythology than in the exact point where material, memory and making begin to depend on one another.

LE MILE
Which decision at Absent Findings still reveals your background in finance and accounting?


Shivin Singh
My background in finance and accounting still reveals itself in the way I scrutinise every creative decision at Absent Findings. I do not want the brand to exist simply as something visually beautiful; every idea must have an internal logic, a practical justification and a clear point of differentiation.


That mindset played a significant role in developing our approach of combining deadstock fabrics with heirloom saris. Both materials can be understood as forgotten fabrics, one left behind by overproduction, the other often stored away despite carrying generations of memory and craftsmanship. Bringing them together felt emotionally and conceptually coherent, while also satisfying the more analytical part of my mind. Even when the outcome is poetic, I need the reasoning behind it to be rigorous. For me, creativity becomes stronger when the story, material choices and commercial reality all support one another.

Architecture, the sari, memory and surrealism return across your collections. What has to change in your understanding of a reference before it enters another collection?

Architecture, the sari, memory and surrealism are fundamental to who I am, so they have naturally become cornerstones of Absent Findings’ creative language. I do not think my understanding of a reference has to change completely before it returns, but it must deepen. Each collection should reveal another dimension of it rather than simply repeat what came before.


In the first two collections, we focused strongly on the curved architectural lines of Le Corbusier’s Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh. The shape became a recurring motif across the garments, to the extent that some people began to see it as our version of a monogram. It is rare for a young brand to develop something recognisable so early, so I believe it is important to preserve it, not by overusing it, but by self-referencing it when it feels relevant.
 My relationship with the sari is still being decoded. With every collection, I try to isolate and simplify another aspect of it: a draping technique, a line across the body, a construction principle or the emotional weight held within the fabric. The challenge is not only how to reinterpret these elements in a contemporary way, but also how to work with the saris themselves. I may have ten beautiful heirloom saris in front of me and have to ask how I can preserve their memory and craftsmanship without allowing the result to become nostalgic.


Surrealism is more instinctive and difficult to repeat by nature. It often emerges through stories, images and dreams, many of them from conversations with Laura, who remembers and shares her dreams far more frequently than I do. Some of those dreams eventually become the starting point for an entire visual world.

The references remain, but my access to them changes. I have to keep studying them, questioning them and finding new ways for them to exist within the language of Absent Findings. Fine art, film and music references may shift from season to season according to my current obsessions, but the underlying concerns remain constant.


When you cut into an heirloom sari and translate it into a new garment, what are you careful not to lose?

Cutting into an heirloom sari is one of the most nerve-racking parts of the process because the intention is not simply to preserve it, but to transform it quite drastically without losing its grace.
 We are especially careful to retain the fluidity and natural fall of the sari, which is why these textiles often become softer, more flowing silhouettes. This brings an important balance to Absent Findings, particularly alongside the precision and structure of our tailoring.

We also try to preserve the point where the body of the sari meets its border. There is a distinctive break in colour, texture and visual rhythm at that junction, and I find it incredibly beautiful. It feels like an area of consequence, a visible moment of transition within the textile. Wherever possible, we allow that meeting point to remain present in the final garment, so the sari’s original language is not erased even as it becomes something entirely new.

Which design decisions have to be made earlier when deadstock cannot be reordered?

The availability of deadstock fabric plays an important role in how we plan both the collection and the production cycle. Because the material cannot be reordered, we have to understand very early how much of it we have, which garments it can realistically support and whether it should be used for a statement piece or a design intended for wider production.
 Interestingly, the fabrics available in the smallest quantities are often the ones I fall in love with most. Those materials naturally become the medium for the more narrative and design-intensive looks within a collection. Their scarcity works well in that context because those pieces are usually produced in very limited numbers anyway.


When we have a more substantial quantity of a deadstock fabric, we can approach it with greater freedom. It can be developed across multiple garments, sampled more extensively and used for pieces that may become part of the core commercial offering.

The limitation therefore shapes the hierarchy of the collection very early. The quantity of a fabric does not only determine how many garments we can make; it often influences the role that garment will play within the wider story for that collection.


Sajid first entered your life through alterations to your mother’s saris. How has working with him changed the way you design?

My way of designing has changed as I have become more aware of our combined strengths, of what Sajid and I can achieve through prototyping and sampling, and what the broader production team can execute consistently. I now design with a clearer understanding of how an idea can be realised, while still leaving room to challenge the limits of our existing techniques.

At the same time, Sajid has become a far more experimental pattern cutter. He is increasingly open to unconventional methods and new ways of constructing a garment, while continuing to deepen the tailoring skills that have always been central to his practice.

The result is a more intuitive working relationship. I understand how far I can push an idea, and he understands how to interpret that idea without losing its intention. Our individual strengths have gradually become part of a shared design language.



MUTED

You have said that the UAE should be recognised as a luxury producer. Which forms of craft, production and knowledge were already present in the region, and what did Absent Findings have to develop for itself?

Many of the essential capabilities were already present in the UAE, particularly within the tailoring community. There are highly skilled craftspeople here, many of them from the Indian subcontinent, who have developed an extraordinary understanding of construction through years of practical experience. Their knowledge is often instinctive: they have learned by making, altering and solving problems directly with cloth.
 What was often missing was not talent, but structure. The region has not always placed enough value on the craft of making, and the role of a designer has sometimes been reduced to having a good eye, creating graphics or identifying trends, while production is outsourced elsewhere. By the time those ideas return as finished garments, they can already feel disconnected from their original context or even a season behind.


My training at Polimoda allowed me to bring a more systematic approach to the skills that were already here: professional pattern development, sampling procedures, material testing, quality control and a clearer relationship between design and production. When that structure is combined with the instinctive abilities of local craftspeople, it becomes incredibly powerful.
 For our leather goods, Absent Findings had to develop many of the specific standards ourselves. We worked through questions of edge burnishing, reinforcement, leather handling, construction methods and finishing until the bags could meet the level we expected from an international luxury product. The underlying talent was present, but it needed direction, experimentation and a shared standard of excellence.

We take immense pride in making everything in the UAE. I sometimes bring our Gallery Bag into major luxury retailers and mention to the sales associates that it was produced here. Their surprise is revealing. These are people who work closely with luxury products every day, yet many still struggle to imagine that a bag of that quality could be made in the UAE.

That perception is exactly what I want to change. I understand the emotional power that labels such as “Made in Italy” or “Made in France” can carry; I felt it myself growing up. My ambition is for “Made in the UAE” to eventually command the same respect, not through branding alone, but through the quality, discipline and integrity of the objects we produce.


Absent Findings designs for men and women, yet SS27 entered Milan through the menswear calendar. What does menswear mean to the brand now?

Absent Findings began as a purely menswear brand, but that definition shifted very quickly. At our first pop-up during BRED Abu Dhabi, we saw that many women were drawn to the tailored jackets, trousers and shirts, in effect, to the entire offering. It made us realise that there was also an archetypal woman to whom the brand was speaking very directly.
 From that point, we began approaching the collections with a broader perspective. We looked at the clarity with which brands such as Lemaire and Phoebe Philo communicate to their clientele, and considered how Absent Findings could position itself as a gender-fluid brand. Phoebe Philo is not presented as unisex, for example, yet I know many men who deeply desire the clothes. That kind of attraction beyond an assigned category is something I find very relevant.


Our relationship with Ms Michelle Ngonmo and the Afro Fashion Association has also been instrumental. They have strongly supported the brand’s direction and created opportunities for us to present the work, including our inclusion within the Milan Fashion Week menswear calendar. We have now shown there twice and received a great deal of encouragement.
 Menswear therefore remains the structural foundation of Absent Findings. We still draw heavily from menswear tailoring codes, particularly in construction and quality of finish, but the voice of the brand has evolved. Today, the majority of the collection is unisex, with perhaps one or two looks each season conceived specifically as womenswear.

Entering Milan through the menswear calendar does not restrict the brand; it gives context to where our construction language began. It also helps buyers understand the Gallery Bag and the wider product offering as part of a complete, gender-fluid world rather than as isolated accessories.


Tell us about the first customer who changed your idea of who Absent Findings was for.

Our first customer outside of friends and family fundamentally changed my understanding of who Absent Findings was speaking to.
 I met him during our first pop-up. He was a man in his late thirties or early forties, wearing a Yohji Yamamoto shirt, beautifully oversized wool shorts and a pair of Raf Simons x adidas Replicant shoes, which immediately brought back a lot of memories for me. Before we had even spoken, I felt that he understood the world of the brand.
 He was a dentist from Al Ain, but deeply interested in design and extremely confident in his own taste. He knew what he liked and did not seem to need external validation for it. That quality stayed with me and became central to how I began defining the Absent Findings customer.
 The brand is for someone who trusts their taste, understands the value of considered design and recognises intention without needing excessive decoration. There is always room for frivolity and play, but it should feel purposeful. That first customer showed me that our audience could not be defined simply by demographics. It was an attitude: self-assured, discerning and quietly individual.


Has Laura Puscasu ever shown you something in your own collection that you had not seen while designing it?

Laura is the Art Director of Absent Findings and my fiancée, and she shows me something new in the work almost every day. Through her visual storytelling, she creates the world in which the garments exist, often making the designs feel more layered and interesting than they did to me during the development process. She has an ability to play with texture, pattern, light and composition in ways that reveal qualities in a garment long after I have mentally moved on from designing it. Sometimes I see one of her images and think, perhaps we really are doing something good. Then I have to pull myself out of that satisfaction and continue working.
She also helps shape the emotional context of each collection from very early on. While we are developing and prototyping, we try to build the atmosphere around the collection and live within it. Many of the details that eventually define that atmosphere come through Laura’s dreams, which she remembers vividly and shares with me. They often reveal unexpected connections in the clothes and allow me to see my own work from a completely different perspective.



For SS27, the collection was placed inside a theatrical apartment created with artists, filmmakers and furniture designers connected to the UAE. What did that setting reveal about the clothes?

The setting allowed us to understand more deeply something we had always sensed: that Absent Findings speaks to the avant-garde spirit emerging within the UAE’s artistic community. We are not separate from that movement; we are simply contributing to it through fashion. The paintings in the apartment were borrowed from artists we deeply admire, each of whom is creating a singular and honest body of work. Placing the clothes alongside their work, as well as within furniture and sculpture created by people connected to the region, made the collection feel less like an isolated fashion presentation and more like one element within a broader cultural setting.

It showed us that the garments are most alive when they exist in conversation with other forms of expression. Absent Findings is for everyone, but its point of view is intentionally singular. That apartment made clear that the brand belongs among people who are building distinct worlds of their own. We are deeply grateful to the artists Sara Kamar, Farah Soltani, Inés Boubakri Haddad and Ahmed Emad; to Khaled Hassan of Forma Object for the furniture; and to Simon SPX for the music that helped complete the setting.


As Absent Findings becomes more visible, what do you most want to protect about the way the studio works?

I most want to protect the intimacy and intention behind the way we make. Every garment is created by a single craftsperson rather than being passed anonymously through a production line. That relationship between the maker and the garment gives the work a consistency and humanity that I never want to lose.

I also want to preserve the way deadstock fabrics and heirloom saris come together naturally within each piece. The materials should never feel forced into a sustainability narrative. Their histories, textures and limitations must remain integral to the design itself. People often tell us that our studio does not feel like it is in Dubai, and I understand what they mean. Dubai can be quick to embrace a particular aesthetic completely, whereas our space resists that kind of uniformity. The walls are covered with references, experiments, Laura’s work and my own, constant reminders of who we are as creators and where the collections come from.

As we grow, I do not want the studio to become cleaner, safer or more impersonal. I want its point of view to become even stronger. We have learned to produce work at an international level while facing all the constraints of a young independent brand. As some of those constraints begin to disappear, the quality and ambition should grow, but the closeness, curiosity and discipline of the studio must remain unchanged.

— Explore the Full Collection at www.absentfindings.com
all images by Absent Findings

credits
Photography & Art Direction Laura Puscasu
Styling Shivani Sudhir
Hair Grenezza Muji
Set Design Laura Puscasu, Shivin Singh & Ravinder Singh
Talents Oliver Raison, Dinika Govender, Leonardo Fabio Romero Santos, Karina Ilieva, Semyon Peresypkin, Noah Bashir & Sara Zabihi
Film Direction Yassin Yassin & Laura Puscasu
1st AC Abdulla Almualla
Executive Production Subrata Singh & Ravinder Singh
Production Shivin Singh
Original Soundtrack “Cascade” from The Carrington Project by Simon SPX
Kit Hire Koko Films & KC24

Antique Jewellery - Two Centuries of Engagement Rings

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Two Centuries of Engagement Rings with Antique Jewellery

A ring made a century ago can reveal a surprising amount about itself. Its metal, the cut of a stone, the setting, a hallmark, an engraving or a later repair can place the ring within a specific time period. What usually gets lost is the more personal information. Who wore this ring? What was the occasion on which it was given and how did it reach the next owner?

For twenty years, Oliver Rheinfrank and Dirk Holzfuss have stood at this point between the known and unknown. Rheinfrank Antique Jewellery specialises in antique and vintage jewellery from the early eighteenth to the late twentieth century, with showrooms in Berlin and Munich and an extensive online shop. The collection spans Georgian, Victorian, Historicism, Art Nouveau, Edwardian and Art Deco pieces alongside later twentieth-century jewellery, including rings, bracelets, brooches, lockets, earrings, men’s jewellery and engagement rings.

When Rheinfrank and Holzfuss began building the company, antique jewellery was still perceived, Rheinfrank recalls, as old-fashioned and commercially uncertain. He was working as a stylist and studying art when his first buying trip took him to Stockholm. Looking closely at the workmanship of the rings, brooches and necklaces changed his understanding of the field. London, Barcelona and Paris followed before he embarked on buying trips across Europe.

Those early journeys developed into a network of more than 40 international dealers, with contacts extending from Italy to the United States. For a period, Rheinfrank moved to London to coordinate acquisitions and work more closely with international dealers, whilst Holzfuss spent time in Milan maintaining relationships with clients in Italy.

Such networks are fundamental to a trade built around objects that have already changed hands. Estates are divided, family ownership ends, collections are sold and dealers exchange pieces across borders. Jewellery can disappear into private possession for decades before resurfacing somewhere else. Cultural anthropologist Igor Kopytoff described objects as capable of passing through different social identities over time, changing their status as they are bought, gifted, inherited, stored and sold again. With jewellery, those shifts are particularly tangible because ownership and personal use repeatedly alter the meaning of the same physical object.

At Rheinfrank & Holzfuss, finding these pieces and deciding which ones enter the collection remains largely Oliver Rheinfrank’s responsibility, while Dirk Holzfuss concentrates more closely on sales. Their account of the past two decades suggests that this division has been productive precisely because these separate roles. Rheinfrank has a weakness for elaborate individual pieces whose commercial prospects may not be immediately obvious, whilst Holzfuss keeps the wider business moving around those decisions. This tension helps to explain why unusual single pieces coexist with categories that appeal to a broader clientele. 
The business itself has grown from a twelve-square-metre sales space to a Berlin showroom of 165 square metres with more than 60 vitrines. A second showroom opened in Munich’s Glockenbachviertel in 2025, giving the company another physical setting for a collection that had already developed an international audience online.

Before a piece is offered for sale, its material authenticity is examined and all available information about it is documented. Each purchase is presented with a detailed Rheinfrank certificate of authentification. Any stone of exceptional quality is also verified by an independent gemmological report. There is also a limit to how far an examination should go. Rheinfrank & Holzfuss does not routinely remove mounted gemstones simply to obtain more precise laboratory grading, since doing so would require dismantling historical work. A sufficient amount of information can be established through hallmarks, construction, gemstone cuts and workmanship.
Antique jewellery is embedded with personal history. Rings have marked courtship, marriage, remembrance and mourning, whilst lockets and portrait miniatures have kept images and traces of absent people close to hand. Engravings can preserve initials or dates, repairs show later intervention, and signs of wear records continued use even when the circumstances behind it have disappeared. None of these traces produces a complete biography, but together they manifest an earlier life.

This is not an archive in the institutional sense; these pieces are selected with the expectation that they will leave again, which means history must coexist with the present. As such, practical wearability is a priority. Rheinfrank & Holzfuss works with a network of three master goldsmiths alongside specialists in antique jewellery and gemstones. Ring sizes can be altered, clasps repaired and damaged elements restored where necessary. Jewellery is given a thorough quality inspection before it goes to sale, and purchased rings can generally be resized within 24 hours.

Engagement rings have a leading position within the wider collection. Rheinfrank & Holzfuss describes its selection of antique and vintage engagement rings as the largest in Germany. Diamond solitaires appear alongside rings set with sapphires, rubies, emeralds and other coloured stones, with examples extending across more than two centuries of jewellery making. The new owner of an antique engagement ring will only add to its story.

The audience for such pieces has changed considerably since Rheinfrank and Holzfuss began. Rheinfrank describes today’s customers as often around thirty, international and far removed from the much older clientele once associated with antique jewellery. Diamond bangles from the Victorian era mingle beside Edwardian crafted rubies. Art Deco sapphires sit beside aquamarine rings. Gold wedding bands, signet rings, cufflinks, lockets and later vintage solitaires are all to be found at Rheinfrank & Holzfuss. Seen together, these pieces make it clear that vintage is too broad a label to describe the differences in metalwork, stone cutting, ornament and proportion. Much of the range can be explored online, while the two showrooms remain places to see those distinctions at first hand. Rheinfrank Antique Jewellery can be visited at Linienstraße 44 in Berlin Mitte and Klenzestraße 41 in Munich, with both locations open to visitors with or without an appointment.

What distinguishes antique jewellery does not lie in a total chronicle of its history - for much of it cannot be recovered. Its power rests within this coexistence of the known and the unknown. That incompleteness becomes tangible when someone holds a ring, brooch or bracelet and decides its past life will now continue in theirs.

---

— Explore more at
www.antique-jewellery.de

content credits
Images Antique Jewellery, generated with AI

Luxury Chalet Holiday - FORSTGUT in the Bavarian Forest

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The Rhythm of the Forest at FORSTGUT 


written LE MILE

The road towards FORSTGUT leads deeper into the Bavarian Forest, where the landscape grows greener and the rhythm of the surroundings begins to change. On arrival, tall lime trees rise across the grounds, their broad crowns framing the first view of the property. Dense vegetation fills the spaces between them, while a group of wooden chalets appears further away, scattered gently across the estate.

Small wooden shingles give several chalets a textured, almost handcrafted surface, while others are defined by vertical timber facades and more linear silhouettes. Broad pitched roofs, and exposed beams anchor the architecture in the traditions of the region, while the restrained detailing keeps it contemporary. Curving gravel paths connect the buildings, bordered by lawns, ornamental grasses and young trees, and the warm variations of the timber shift with the light throughout the day. The scent of wood, the softness of the ground and the constant presence of green establish the atmosphere immediately. Soon, attention moves towards the quieter details, from leaves stirring above the roofs and shadows travelling across the facades to the sound of water somewhere beyond the chalets. Following it leads to a narrow stream that winds through the grounds, opens into a small pond and continues into the surrounding woodland. Benches and loungers have been placed along its banks, turning the area into one of the most peaceful parts of the estate.

One afternoon, we sat beside the water with a book that remained open on the same page for quite a while. Watching the current, listening to the trees and feeling the cooler forest air soon became enough. FORSTGUT creates space for precisely these moments, allowing unplanned pauses to gradually shape our entire stay. The sense of retreat continues inside the chalets with large windows keeping the surrounding nature present throughout the rooms, and the interiors combine natural materials, warm timber and beautifully framed views of the forest. The seven luxury chalets accommodate two to four guests and include fireplaces, terraces, hot tubs and private spa areas. Five junior chalets in the FORSTGUT.LODGE offer panoramic views and their own saunas.

Having a private sauna within the junior chalet changes the daily rhythm. After a walk through the forest, the warmth is already waiting within your own space. There is time to sit, look through the windows and watch the landscape settle into the evening. The experience feels intimate and deeply restorative, especially when the trees outside begin to disappear into the dusk.

Almost every chalet on the estate was occupied during our visit, yet the grounds remained remarkably peaceful. The buildings have been positioned with a clear understanding of privacy, using distance, vegetation and carefully planned sightlines to give each guest a sense of personal space. Over several days, we barely encountered anyone around our chalet. The chalet village seemed to follow its own gentle choreography, allowing everyone to inhabit it at their own pace.

The DeepGreenLounge in the FORSTGUT.LODGE opens onto an outdoor terrace and offers comfortable seating areas together with an honesty bar. Elsewhere, guests can gather around the barbecue area or visit the garden to pick fresh herbs and salad leaves for their meals. Food becomes part of the experience in an equally relaxed way and each morning begins with a breakfast basket filled with regional products. Fondue and cooking boxes can be ordered for the evening, which we did. Also a large wood-fired pizza oven stands in the courtyard inside a structure inspired by a traditional bakehouse. Prepared pizzas are placed into the oven and warmed over the fire, creating an easy ritual for families.

Check-in, breakfast orders and additional services are handled through an intuitive online system. The estate’s self-service shop follows the same principle. Guests select the products they picked, record each item on their phone and settle everything during checkout. The process feels easy to handle, leaving more time for the experience of the place itself.

While speaking with the team, we began to understand how deeply this relationship with the landscape had shaped the property. We learned that local craftspeople had been involved throughout the construction, with carpenters producing the solid-wood furniture by hand and native woods such as beech, fir and oak used across the interiors. The chalets rest on point foundations to keep their impact on the land as low as possible. Almost all of the electricity comes from photovoltaic systems on the roofs, while a wood-chip heating system uses residue from the estate’s own forestry operation to supply the entire property with warmth. Even the water comes from natural springs in a protected part of the woodland.

When we finally drove away, the lime trees closed around the view and the chalets disappeared behind them. Long after the stream itself had fallen silent, its sound seemed to remain with us. What stayed was a feeling we had almost forgotten: the ease of waking without a plan, of listening more closely and of letting a day unfold on its own. We left rested, clear-headed and already missing the quiet routines that had so quickly begun to feel like our own.

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all images (c) Forstgut Press

Finding Stillness at Sea - A Journey Aboard Explora II

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Finding Stillness at Sea

A Journey Aboard Explora II

written KLAAS HAMMER

There are places that impress you instantly. And then there are places that slowly win you over, almost without you noticing. Explora II belongs to the latter. My journey began in Brindisi, on Italy's sun-drenched Adriatic coast. As the ship gently pulled away from the harbour, leaving the historic waterfront behind, it became clear that this wasn't going to be a holiday measured by checklists or packed itineraries. It was about embracing the slower rhythm of life at sea.

Before boarding, I expected beautiful interiors, exceptional dining and impeccable service. After all, that's what every luxury brand promises. What I didn't expect was how completely relaxed I would feel just a few hours after stepping on board.

EXPLORA 2, Premier Penthouse
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Retreat Residence
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Emporium Marketplace
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Somewhere between the gentle movement of the sea, my first coffee on the private terrace and an afternoon spent watching the horizon without feeling the need to check my phone, I realised this journey wasn't about doing more it was about wanting less. Explora II has mastered something that many luxury hotels or ships still struggle to achieve: restraint. Nothing feels excessive. Nothing asks for attention. The design is elegant without trying too hard, the atmosphere sophisticated without ever becoming intimidating. Every space invites you to slow down rather than move on to the next thing. It feels less like a cruise ship and more like spending a week in the home of someone with impeccable taste. One of the things I appreciated most was the incredible sense of space. No matter what time of day it was, I never felt surrounded by crowds. Whether I was reading by the pool, enjoying breakfast with endless ocean views or simply wandering through the beautifully designed lounges, there was always another quiet corner waiting. In a world where luxury often means exclusivity, Explora II reminded me that true luxury can simply be peace and privacy.

The itinerary itself felt beautifully curated. Sailing from southern Italy towards the Greek islands meant every morning revealed a new horizon. One of the highlights was undoubtedly Milos. Spending the day on this spectacular Cycladic island—with its dramatic white cliffs, crystal-clear water and laid-back atmosphere—felt like stepping into a postcard. It was one of those rare places that instantly slows your heartbeat and reminds you why travel can be so inspiring.

Returning to the ship afterwards felt less like leaving a destination and more like coming home.

Food became another highlight of every day. Not because every dish was overly complicated, but because everything felt thoughtful. Breakfast turned into long, unhurried mornings. Lunches stretched into conversations with another glimpse of the sea. Dinners never felt rushed, each restaurant offering its own atmosphere while sharing the same commitment to exceptional quality. By the end of the journey, choosing where to eat had become one of my favourite decisions to make each day. Even the gym became part of the experience rather than a routine. Working out while looking out across nothing but open water has a strangely calming effect, and the beautifully equipped fitness space made it easy to keep moving without ever feeling like I was sacrificing my holiday.

Lobby
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Art in the Lobby
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Interior Design, Lobby
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

But what truly stayed with me were the people. Luxury service can sometimes feel rehearsed. Here, it never did. The crew had a remarkable ability to anticipate what you needed before you had to ask. Everyone was genuinely warm, approachable and effortlessly attentive, creating an atmosphere where you immediately felt comfortable. It wasn't about perfection—it was about making every guest feel at home. The final stop was Athens, a city where ancient history and modern energy effortlessly coexist. Arriving there after several days at sea felt like the perfect ending to the journey. It wasn't just another destination—it was a gentle transition back to reality, carrying with me the calm I had found somewhere between Italy, the Aegean Sea and the quiet elegance of life aboard Explora II.

Cove Residence
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Fitness Centre
/ seen by Toby Mitchell

Looking back, I don't remember one defining moment. I remember sunlight reflecting on the water during breakfast. Quiet mornings on my terrace before the ship came alive. Watching the sky turn shades of pink at sunset. Long dinners that somehow made time disappear. Walking through the ship late in the evening, hearing little more than the sound of the sea. Those are the moments that stayed with me. Explora II doesn't try to entertain you every minute of the day. Instead, it gives you something much more valuable: the space to reconnect with the ocean, with your thoughts and, somehow, with yourself. Long after returning home, that's the feeling I still think about.

And perhaps that's the greatest luxury of all.

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all images (c) Explora II photographed by Toby Mitchell

TENWAYS - CGO 009 Brings Connected Design to Urban E-Bikes

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TENWAYS CGO 009 Brings Connected Design to the City Bike

The city e-bike has moved into a more precise category. It is no longer enough for it to carry a battery, look streamlined, and promise an easier commute. The object now has to answer more specific urban questions: how it is stored, how it is serviced, how visible its technology should be, and how naturally it fits into daily movement.

The TENWAYS CGO 009, the brand’s new connected city e-bike, shown with its clean frame design, integrated lighting, and belt-drive setup.

With the new CGO 009, TENWAYS places those questions at the centre of its 2026 lineup. Presented during the brand’s Berlin Press Day, the model is positioned as the showpiece of a wider range that also includes the CGO Compact, CGO 600Pro, and CGO 800S. The Amsterdam-based company has built much of its identity around urban mobility, and the CGO 009 extends that direction through a cleaner frame language and a more connected technical setup.

The model’s most relevant feature may be its Smart Connect Module, which integrates GPS tracking and security functions directly into the bike. It gives the CGO 009 a more contemporary role within the city e-bike category, where ownership is increasingly shaped by location data, theft prevention, and daily access.

TENWAYS also equips the CGO 009 with a belt drive, a detail that points to the maintenance question around urban e-bikes. The appeal is practical. Less upkeep means fewer interruptions in a routine built around short distances and repeated use. In a city context, convenience often has less to do with speed and more to do with whether an object keeps working without asking for too much attention.

TENWAYS CGO 009

TENWAYS CGO 009

The boost function gives the CGO 009 its most immediate riding feature. TENWAYS describes it as intuitive, placing the emphasis on quick support rather than a complicated control system. In a city context, that detail matters most during the uneven parts of a ride: pulling away from a crossing, moving through dense traffic, or handling a route that changes between flat streets and small climbs.

The CGO Compact is built around storage and accessibility, the CGO 600Pro around lightweight commuting, and the CGO 800S around step-through comfort. The CGO 009 carries the strongest focus on connectivity, with its Smart Connect Module, GPS tracking, security functions, belt drive, and boost support giving it the role of TENWAYS’ most technology-led city model.

TENWAYS CGO 009

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— Explore more at www.tenways.com

content credits Tenways Press

Kaweco Pen - The Return of Iridescent Pearl

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Kaweco and the Return of Iridescent Pearl


Kaweco has brought back the Perkeo Iridescent Pearl, a writing instrument first known from the brand’s collection range and now added to the permanent Perkeo line. The release expands the colourway into two formats, with the model available as a fountain pen and as a rollerball.

The Kaweco Perkeo Iridescent Pearl in fountain pen and rollerball formats, shown with its translucent pearl-effect body.

The appeal of the Iridescent Pearl is built around its material effect. The translucent body reacts to light with a shifting colour surface that moves between green-blue and pink tones. Kaweco links this optical quality to the appearance of a pearl, giving the model its name. In a category often shaped by solid colours, polished metals, or nostalgic references, the Perkeo Iridescent Pearl places the visual experience closer to stationery culture and contemporary object design.

The Perkeo series has always occupied an accessible position within Kaweco’s wider offer. It is not presented as a collector’s item or a prestige pen, but as an everyday writing tool with a recognisable design language. This makes the return of Iridescent Pearl less about exclusivity and more about permanence. A colourway previously tied to a collection release is being folded into regular availability, suggesting that Kaweco sees sustained demand beyond a limited drop.

The fountain pen version includes a transparent ink feeder, allowing the ink flow to remain visible inside the pen. It is a functional part of the writing system, yet it also contributes to the object’s appearance. This detail fits the broader direction of the pen, where visibility and lightness are central to the design.

The Kaweco Perkeo Iridescent Pearl returns in fountain pen and rollerball formats, with a translucent body that shifts between soft blue, pink, and pearl tones.

At 14 grams, the Perkeo Iridescent Pearl stays close to the accessible character of the Perkeo line. The fountain pen comes with fine or medium German-made nibs, while the rollerball uses a black EURO refill with a 0.7 mm line width. Kaweco also offers inks, a converter, and clips as optional additions, keeping the model open to personal use without turning customisation into the main narrative. The pen is delivered in plastic-free packaging. With Iridescent Pearl now part of the standard range, Kaweco gives one of its most recognisable finishes a fixed place in the Perkeo line.

A Kaweco Lunar Sport pen in use, photographed by Sophia Weigand for Eight Miles High with Elisa Klinkenberg.

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— Explore the full KAWECO Pen collection at www.kaweco-pen.com

content credits Kaweco Press
last image photographed by Sophia Weigand

HACOY - Maximilian Rupp on Munich Fashion and Comfort

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Inside HACOY
the Munich Brand Shaping Comfort with Restraint

Fashion has learned to keep desire slightly unfinished. A new season, a new cart, a new reason to feel almost complete. HACOY enters that cycle with a quieter proposition, shaped around what founder Maximilian Rupp calls “a sense of enough.” Founded in Munich, with Romana Tricoli leading the design side, the brand looks at clothing through contact, habit and restraint, from silk underwear and a unisex cupro pajama to swimwear and bamboo T-shirts made for the city that first gave the project its pace.

The focus sits close to the body, where a garment has very little space to pretend. A waistband, a seam, a collar, fabric after several hours of wear. These are small decisions, but they determine whether comfort remains an idea or becomes something lived with. HACOY develops its pieces with long-term manufacturing partners in Italy and Lithuania, where material, fit, production realities and responsibility enter the process early, before a garment can become part of the range.

In conversation with LE MILE, Rupp speaks about refusal, everyday desire, material honesty and the discipline required to let a young independent brand grow from one city without outgrowing the restraint it was built on.

LE MILE
HACOY seems to begin with a simple promise: clothing should make daily life feel less loud, less forced and less disposable. What did you feel was missing in fashion before you started building the brand?

Maximilian Rupp
A sense of enough. Most of the industry is built to keep you slightly dissatisfied, because that is what makes you buy the next thing. I wanted clothes that do the opposite, clothes that you stop thinking about once you own them. What was missing, for me, was restraint. Pieces that don't perform, don't shout, and don't expire in your head after one season.

What has "Better, not more" already made you refuse?

Discounts, for one. We don't do sales, and we've turned down the big seasonal sale events even when the maths looked good, because a brand that is "better, not more" can't also be "40% off." We've passed on collaborations that would have given us reach but not meaning, and on expanding the range just to have more to show. The hardest refusals are the reasonable-sounding ones: another drop, another category, another channel. Most of them I say no to.

Where does comfort usually fail in a garment?

At the points of contact. The waistband, the collar, the seam against the skin, the label that scratches after an hour. Comfort fails when it is treated as something you add at the end, after the look is decided. The body is honest about it. It just takes a few hours to tell you.

HACOY is currently focusing on silk underwear, a unisex cupro pajama and swimwear, all categories that sit close to the body and private daily routines. Why did this intimate layer of dressing feel like the right place to move into now?

Because if "less loud" is going to mean anything, it has to start where no one is watching. These are the clothes for waking up, resting, being alone. There is nothing to hide behind: no styling, no occasion, no audience. You can't fake quality in a piece that is only ever experienced privately. That felt like the most honest place to be.

Romana Tricoli leads the design side, while you shape the broader system around it. Where do strategy and design have to agree before a garment can move forward?

On whether the piece earns its place. Romana can take an idea further than I can on the design side. My job is to hold the constraints: the material, the price it can honestly carry, whether we can make it the way we say we make things. We have to agree on the why before the what. If a piece is beautiful but we can't produce it responsibly, it doesn't move. If it is responsible but says nothing, same answer. The agreement is almost always about restraint.

You studied business psychology and fashion brand management, which is an unusual combination for a founder working with clothing so closely tied to feeling and routine. What did that attention to human behavior teach you about fashion?

That almost no one buys clothes rationally. People buy a feeling, and a small story about who they are. You can exploit that or you can respect it. I chose to design for the everyday self rather than the aspirational one, the person getting dressed on an ordinary Tuesday, not the imagined version of them. Behavior also taught me that habit beats novelty. The pieces people actually love are the ones they reach for without deciding to.

HACOY
portrait of founder Maximilian Rupp

When does function become more important than material purity?

When purity would fail the person wearing it. A "purer" fiber that pills, shrinks, or falls apart in two years is not the responsible choice just because it sounds clean. The material is a means, not the point. If a considered blend lasts ten years and a single fiber lasts two, the blend is the more sustainable garment. I would rather be honest about that than perform purity.

HACOY works with long-term manufacturing partners in Italy and Lithuania, giving the brand a concrete European production geography. What did these partners change about your original idea of the brand?

They made it slower and more honest. I came in with an idea of the brand. They taught me the reality of making: minimums, lead times, what a fabric will actually do, what is genuinely possible. You can't bluff your way through a workshop. Working with the same people over years turns production from a transaction into a relationship, and that changes what you are willing to put your name on.

"Hyper local, global" begins with one city first, not a global rollout. What becomes clearer when a brand grows from a place instead of from a market plan?

Who it is actually for. The idea is local hubs, city by city, where over time each city produces its own clothing rather than everything flowing out of a single source. Italy is where we hold the standard today, but it is a starting point, not a permanent anchor. The longer goal is production that lives where the people who wear it live. When you grow from a place, you have real people and real context giving you feedback, not an abstract target group on a slide. A market plan tells you where the demand should be. A city tells you who is actually showing up, and what they actually need. The second one is harder to argue with.

The new bamboo T-shirts are planned as a Munich-only launch, which makes locality part of the product itself. What has to happen for a garment to feel connected to a city without turning into merchandise?

Merchandise is when you print the city's name on a shirt and call it belonging. Connection is when the city actually shaped the thing: where it is made, who tried it first, the fact that it exists at this scale because of this place. It has to come from a real constraint and a real relationship, not a graphic. If you removed the word "Munich" entirely and it still felt of Munich, you have done it right.

Alongside the brand, you work on MAR, your personal painting practice. What kind of space does MAR give you, and what can it hold that would become too private inside a fashion brand?

MAR has no brief and no customer. Nothing has to be useful, coherent, or finished. It can hold doubt and mess, the things that don't resolve, which a brand is not allowed to show. HACOY has to be legible to other people. MAR doesn't have to be legible to anyone, including me. I need both, and I think they protect each other.

You mentioned ADHD and mental health as subjects you care about. Has that influenced how you build a working environment around the brand?

Yes. I've tried to build the brand around how I actually work rather than how I am supposed to. That means fewer, deeper focuses instead of many shallow ones, being honest about capacity, and a structure that bends rather than punishes. I am not interested in a culture that treats a different kind of attention as a flaw to be managed. If anything, the way my mind works is part of why HACOY looks the way it does.

Fashion still depends on real bodies, real fabric and people making decisions together. How do you prevent AI from making an independent brand look larger or smoother than it really is?

By using it for the work, not the front. I run a lot of the brand alone, and AI lets one person do what used to take a team. But the temptation is to use that to look bigger and more polished than we are. I try not to. A startup magazine once decided not to feature us because they assumed we were already a big company. I took it as a compliment, because at most we are three people. It told me the work was landing, but it also reminded me how easily the surface can outrun the truth. So the decisions that matter stay human, the texture stays human, and the brand is allowed to look exactly as small and handmade as it is. The danger is not the tool. It is letting the surface outrun the substance.

If HACOY's first phase is about proving the model in Munich, what would tell you that the brand is ready for another city?

Pull instead of push. Not a single revenue number, but the quieter signs: people coming back, rewearing, telling other people without being asked, a community that holds together when I am not actively feeding it. The day the model runs in Munich without me pushing on it constantly, and there is genuine demand coming from somewhere else, that is the signal. Until then, moving would just be ambition pretending to be readiness.


— Explore the Full Collection at www.hacoy.com
all images HACOY Press

SOOS Atelier - The Art of the Active Table

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SOOS Atelier and the Art of the Active Table


Amsterdam Tableware for Serving, Sharing and Staying Longer

At SOOS Atelier, the table is understood through movement, with objects carried in, placed within reach, shared, cleared away and remembered. Founded in Amsterdam, the brand approaches tableware through the physical habits that make being at the table feel natural, giving form to the small decisions that shape a room before, during and after a meal. Its objects enter these gestures with little ceremony, allowing food and conversation to remain close to the centre of attention.

SOOS Atelier, Classic Tray
A stainless steel tray for small servings, coffee moments and everyday gestures around the table.

SOOS Atelier Shiloh Plates, Shiloh Breakfast Bowl

Stainless steel plates and bowls from the Shiloh collection, shaped for shared meals, breakfast settings and daily use.

The stainless steel range gives SOOS Atelier its clearest material line, carrying one visual language across plates, bowls, trays, cups, coupes and cutlery At a time when stainless steel is again gaining visibility in interiors and object design for its reflective surface and industrial clarity, SOOS Atelier brings the material to a more intimate scale. In the Shiloh pieces, steel becomes direct and durable, with a reflective surface that holds light while keeping its practical edge. Trays, plates and bowls stay close to the logic of service, yet their surfaces give even simple arrangements a visible charge. The material makes serving feel deliberate, and it asks to be used and looked after.

That matter-of-fact quality is important because SOOS Atelier’s idea of table culture depends on use. Hosting is treated as a sequence of gestures shaped by what is placed in the centre, what remains within reach and which object makes a simple meal feel considered. The collection belongs to a contemporary appetite for tables that are visually aware and generous, while still allowing the meal to remain the point. The objects hold a setting together while keeping the table open to food, conversation and time.

From there, glass and ceramic shift the table into lighter and more private rhythms. The Square Glasses have a graphic clarity that suits a morning drink as easily as something served later in the day, with straight sides and softened corners that give the hand a precise form to hold. The A.M. Coffee Club pieces draw the table back to the morning, where scale matters more than abundance. White ceramic, blue lettering and compact proportions place them in the quiet rhythm of espresso, the first longer cup of the day, the moment before a room becomes social. In these pieces, SOOS Atelier shows that table culture also begins in solitude, with an object chosen for a habit repeated often enough to matter.

SOOS Atelier, Disposable Camera Silver

A silver analogue camera loaded with Kodak 400 film, designed to be passed around and let an evening collect different perspectives.


SOOS Atelier, Large Shiloh Tray, Square Glasses

A stainless steel tray and straight-sided glasses for drinks, small dishes and everyday serving.

The Disposable Camera Silver adds a sharper cultural note because it addresses something already present wherever people gather. SOOS Atelier gives that presence a designed body through its silver case, allowing the camera to sit inside the same visual language as the objects around it. Loaded with Kodak 400 film and 27 exposures, it carries a clear function, yet its relevance lies in the way it changes the record of an evening. Passed between guests, it lets a shared moment move through different hands, seats and timings.

SOOS Atelier’s own visual language is carefully composed, with a refined sense of colour, furniture, proportion and surface, while the disposable camera introduces a looser record shaped by flash, blur, uneven framing and partial attention. Through that looseness, the idea of gathering becomes practical. A table shared by several people produces several views of the same moment, and the camera gives that multiplicity a physical form. It makes remembering part of the setting, while leaving the experience open to chance.

Across steel, glass, ceramic and film, SOOS Atelier gives ordinary table habits a more deliberate form while keeping their ease intact. Its pieces make serving, drinking, sitting and remembering feel considered, leaving the table open to the informal pleasure of staying a little longer.

SOOS Atelier, Stainless Steel Tableware

A table setting with stainless steel plates, bowls, trays and serving pieces from the SOOS Atelier collection

SOOS Atelier, Morning Fuel Cup

A ceramic cup and saucer for the morning coffee moment, simple in form and made for daily use.

SOOS Atelier, The A.M. Coffee Club

A ceramic coffee family for the morning table, moving from espresso to the first longer cup of the day.

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— Explore the full SOOS Atelier collection at www.soosatelier.com

content credits
photographed by Tess Letort, SOOS Atelier

Clothing in Use - The Language of Maara Studio

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Where Colour Holds
Maara Studio by Izabela Barbaric

written LE MILE

Maara Studio takes shape through a way of working that stays close to the garment itself and to how it is worn. Founded by Izabela Barbaric, the label develops through decisions that remain tied to the piece rather than building a fixed vocabulary.

Maara Studio

Maara Studio

Colour enters the collections with a clarity rooted in presence. It holds the garment in place, allowing it to register immediately while remaining connected to the body wearing it. The effect is direct, with a controlled sense of staging.

A similar precision runs through the way garments are imagined in relation to specific people. Many pieces are connected to women from Barbaric’s own circle, as a way of thinking through posture, gesture and how a piece is carried. This thinking informs proportion, material and colour at a level that remains embedded in the garment itself, without resolving into fixed characters or narratives.

Material and production follow these conditions, with small editions produced through Italian ateliers keeping the process close to the object so adjustments remain traceable and decisions do not disappear in scale. Fabrics such as silk, cotton and linen are selected for how they respond in wear, how they hold shape without fixing it, and how they shift over time. What emerges is a way of approaching femininity that does not need to be defined in advance. It takes shape through use and through how a garment holds together while being worn. In the following conversation, Izabela Barbaric speaks about how this approach developed and how it continues to inform Maara Studio.

Maara Studio

Maara Studio

Maara Studio

LE MILE
When did your design language reach a point where it needed its own label? Was there a decisive moment, or did that step take shape gradually? And how closely is that founding impulse tied to the assured femininity your work expresses today?

Izabela Barbaric
The desire was there from an early age. As a child, I used to flip through catalogues and magazines and knew I wanted to be part of that world. At first, I took a different path, worked, gained experience, and saw a lot, but something creative was always missing.
During the pandemic, that thought became more concrete. The turning point came in a conversation with a friend who simply asked why I wasn’t doing it. I didn’t have an answer. In that moment, I realised there was no real reason not to, so I started. Confident femininity was never a concept to me, it was always a feeling. For me, it is less about an external image and more about an inner attitude: taking space, being present, and not adapting.
Over time, that feeling became more defined through the process itself, through making decisions, but also through moments of uncertainty. That attitude was always there, but it only became tangible through building my own label.

Looking back at your earlier years — before Maara existed — what did you believe fashion could give you that it perhaps couldn’t at the time? And has that belief changed?

Fashion has always been a way for me to express mood and personality. It is about feeling comfortable, moving freely, and dressing intuitively rather than according to expectations.
That sense of freedom is still at the core of my work today. If anything, it has become even stronger.

Colour plays a central role in your collections. It feels deliberate, almost defiant in its openness. What does that luminosity mean to you beyond its immediate visual impact?

Colour represents joy to me, but it is also a statement. It expresses presence, confidence, and a certain independence from the need to conform. Colour always carries an attitude. At the same time, it is a form of communication. It influences how a look is perceived, the mood it carries, and how present it feels.
Sometimes colour is an intuitive decision, sometimes it is used more consciously to create contrast or a sense of calm. It also helps structure my collections by creating connections or, in some cases, intentional breaks.

Much of contemporary fashion operates through irony or conceptual distance. Against that backdrop, Maara feels direct and sensual. Is that a conscious choice? And what does that directness allow you to express that might otherwise get lost?

Yes. I believe in honesty in expression. Clothing should connect and evoke something without needing explanation. That directness makes it accessible, while still remaining deeply personal.

Maara Studio
portrait of designer and founder Izabela Barbaric

Maara Studio

Who do you design for? And how does that presence — real or imagined — influence the way a piece takes shape?

I design for individuals. I often have a friend or an important woman in my life in mind, her presence, her way of living, the way she presents herself, how she wears colour, and how she wants to be perceived. Clothing should enhance that personality, not overshadow it. It is about presence, confidence, and a sense of joy.
This idea directly shapes my designs, especially in terms of silhouette and proportion. Colour and material also come from this, because each piece needs to adapt to the person, not the other way around.

When you design, how consciously are you thinking about the body? Is movement something you construct deliberately, or does it emerge intuitively as the piece develops?

The feeling on the body is essential. A piece needs to feel natural and move with the wearer. When that works, everything else follows almost automatically. I think about the body and movement very early in the process. It is not something that comes at the end, it accompanies the design from the beginning. There is always a moment where I test how a piece falls, how it moves, and whether it supports the body or restricts it. Many decisions are made at that point.

Several of your pieces carry the names of women from your own circle. What shifts in your process when a garment is connected to someone you know personally? For you, is friendship more a source of inspiration, a space of resonance — or at times even a form of corrective?

It makes the process more personal. I think about real characters, their energy, their presence, and shared memories that are meaningful to me. Friendship is a strong source of inspiration for me because it strengthens each person in their own identity. That is essential.
At the same time, these relationships create a kind of resonance. They influence how I see my designs, how I develop them further, and sometimes how I question them. It is less about direct feedback and more about a shared understanding that shapes the process.

What does working in small editions allow you to preserve? And when does limitation start to feel like a conscious choice rather than a constraint?

It keeps me close to the product. I can work more consciously, make more precise decisions, and preserve the uniqueness of each piece. This creates something more personal and less interchangeable.

When working with small Italian ateliers, where does quality become non-negotiable for you — in the material, in the cut, in the finishing, or in something less tangible?

Everything.
Quality reveals itself in the details, in the materials, the cut, the craftsmanship, and above all in the fit. That is where I take the time it needs. For me, it also means paying close attention to the construction of a garment, how it is built, how cleanly it is made, and how well it holds its shape over time. That is where the difference really lies.

Croatian roots, Italian production — how present is that duality in your thinking? And where does it surface most clearly in the design itself?

For me, Croatia represents boldness, freedom, and a very vivid understanding of fashion, a way of expressing oneself and embracing life.
Italy, on the other hand, stands for precision, craftsmanship, and uncompromising quality. Both cultures carry a strong female energy, as an attitude, as a presence, as something natural. A woman as the centre, as a driving force, as someone who shapes rather than follows. This duality also becomes visible in the design itself, in the interplay between strong colours and clear silhouettes, between expression and controlled construction. That tension defines my work.

— Explore the Full Collection at www.maara-studio.com
all images seen by Karolina Golis, beauty by Anna Winkel for Maara Studio