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Brummell Magazine September 2011
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SEPTEMBER 2011
Heads upTHE CITY’S LEADING WOMEN / BESPOKE FEMININE TAILORING / PERU: BEYOND MACHU PICCHU
SHOOTING: CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON / NEW RANGE ROVER / TIME ZONE-CROSSING WATCHES
THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK FOR THE CITY
Breguet, the innovator.Type XXII 10Hz, high-frequency chronograph
A contemporary interpretation of the legendary Type XX supplied in 1960
to the French Naval Air Force, the Type XII is the first series-produced
mechanical chronograph to feature a regulating mechanism that oscillates at
a frequency of 10Hz, enabling measurements to 1/20 th of a second. This
major technical innovation is made possible by the physical properties of
silicon and the lighter weight of the escapement components; considerably
enhancing the watch’s regulating performance. History is still being written...
www.breguet.com/inventions
B R E G U E T B O U T I Q U E – 1 0 A N E W B O N D S T R E E T L O N D O N W 1 S 3 S P + 4 4 2 0 7 3 5 5 17 3 5 – W W W. B R E G U E T. C O M
Watch in titanium ceramic, a new highly scratch-resistant material.Its unique colour and shine are obtained by the addition of titanium to ceramic and diamond powder polishing.
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CONTENTS | BRUMMELL 09
Foreword
David Charters tells his male colleagues
they should put down the Cristal, step
away from the ridiculous sports car and
get in touch with their feminine side
Money no object A watch for women who care as much
about precision movements as looks
BeaumondeNews
The new Jaguar suite at 51 Buckingham
Gate; Spencer Hart’s flagship store opening;
the next-gen mobile headset and more
Bespoke dressing
One of the few tailors in London who
specialises in clothing women
Watches
Timepieces that tell you Hang Sen and
Dow times more elegantly than those
boring grey clocks on the office wall
After the City
Natalia Barbieri gave up Forex trading at
Deutsche Bank to design shoes that are
handmade in Milan and worn by the A-list
FeaturesHead for the top
Meet eight of the high-flyers who made
the 2011 FN100 Influential Women list
TravelDiscovering the treasures Peru offers away
from the crowds climbing Machu Picchu
Shooting
Make sure your commitment to over-and-
under or side-by-side is no shotgun wedding
Style
Dressing for work doesn’t mean ‘workwear’
when the fabrics are this sumptuous
By George
The new Range Rover Evoque – sporty,
luxurious but still handles a potholed track
10
13
15
18
21
24
27
37
40
44
50
Contents
Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101
Editor
Joanne Glasbey
Art Director
Dominic Bell
Associate Editor
Henry Farrar-Hockley
Chief Copy Editor
Chris Madigan
Picture EditorJuliette Hedoin
Designer
Hillary Jayne
Copy Editors
Ming Liu, Sarah Evans, Gill Wing
Fashion Director
Tamara Fulton
Styling Assistant Pop Kampol
Creative Director
Ian Pendleton
Managing Director
Peter Howarth
Advertising & Events Director
Duncan McRae
07816 218059
showmedia.net
Visit Brummell’s website for
more tailor-made content:
brummellmagazine.net
Colour reproduction by Fresh Media Group, wearefmg.com
Printed by The Manson Group, manson-grp.co.uk
Brummell is designed and produced by Show Media Ltd
and distributed with Financial News. All material ©
Show Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without
written permission is strictly prohibited. While every
effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information
contained in this publication, no responsibility can
be accepted for any errors or omissions. The information
contained in this publication is correct at the time of
going to press. £5 (where sold).
Cover illustration by Borja Bonaque
Ph
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FOReWORD | BRUMMeLL 11
Does success spoil women less than men? In the City, it is hard to draw a meaningful conclusion. The number of women in senior revenue-generating roles is not as low as it was, but still not where it should be. Those who make it are probably not representative of a broader group, and anyway we are not supposed to generalise. Labellism is the last great ‘-ism’ that needs a stake driven through its heart, so let’s bin the stereotypes and look at real people instead.
Except that the stereotypes do seem to have something going for them. When men ‘make it’, how do they react? If making it means big pay cheques, then there are certainly an awful lot of men in whom it does not bring out the best.
I went through the classic boy-trader phase myself when I broke through the million-pound-a-year barrier almost two decades (and two divorces) ago: the big country house with land and woods and lakes (yes, size does matter); the fast car – how many men do you see sitting in traffic in the Square Mile in supercars that they can barely park let alone drive properly? – and of course the expensive holidays to the places that all the other bankers go to so we can all be together on holiday the way we are at work.
But it felt good. It was tangible evidence of success, the realisation that I had made it, and who could possibly challenge me, when I could point to all the gold and silver in my trophy cabinet?
And of course there were things that we did to excess, not because we needed to, but because we could. We didn’t really need to drink Cristal all day at the Rascasse Café while we watched the Monaco Grand Prix, but when we staggered out at the end of the day to catch the helicopter back to Nice for the flight home,
My female colleagues did not
feel the need to party hard,
or drink to excess or leave their
spouse for a younger model
it showed that we were men. If it all sounds a little superficial, that’s because it was.
It was not universal. There were an awful lot of quieter, serious men who did not overdo it, stayed grounded and avoided most of the pitfalls awaiting the unwary. But I guess they were a minority.
My female colleagues were different. They were partly different because their starting points were different. For those with children, the principal source of their self-esteem seemed not to be the trading floor, but their home and family. They did not feel the need to party hard to prove their femininity, or drink to excess, or leave their spouse for a younger model to show their allure. They were more focused, more serious, and probably more conscious that success was not something they could take for granted.
And the pressures on women are different. Men can be themselves. Aggressive, sharp-elbowed, single-minded and determined. If women show similar characteristics they risk being viewed as pushy, unfeminine and shrill. Double standards? Sure, but it is a competitive world out there, the prizes are huge, and anything that holds back a potential competitor is fair game.
High-powered City women who have children are condemned to juggling, because they never forget they are mothers. High- powered men have their wives to delegate to.
Gender stereotypes may be misleading, but personal experience would
suggest that female financiers react better to success than their
male counterparts. Would the City benefit from fewer men behaving madly?
Words David Charters Illustration Jack Hudson
Sanity, thyname is woman
Of course, we are all modern fathers now, we put in face time at speech day and nativity plays (if only we could delegate those…) and we are proud of the number of nappies we change at weekends when the nanny is off – though quite why she is off at weekends when I get home and need to relax is beyond me.
The difference is that women carry it round in their heads all the time. Most men are not capable of multitasking, especially if they are doing the equivalent of flying a fast jet in combat on the trading floor already.
And there are those exceptional husbands who stay at home. Other men praise them, pay lip service to their achievement, cite them as examples of modern men overturning stereotypes, but after a few beers in the car park at Twickenham, when real men are comparing notes, no one says they wish they were a househusband.
The reality is that only a thin veneer of civilisation covers the brute nature of man, and the pressures of the City – huge risk, huge reward and, in professional terms, sudden death at any time – tend to make it wear thin. We are primitive, status-conscious and selfish. Modern technology adds to our problems – a short attention span, low boredom threshold, the need for instant gratification.
Yet we still demand unconditional love. And who can provide it? That’s right. And they do, while still competing head to head with us at work and often winning. I have a troublesome feeling that I may be on the wrong side of evolution. Perhaps the innate superiority of women is going to make us all redundant. Perhaps it is time it did.
‘The Ego’s Nest’, the fifth novel in the Dave Hart series about life in the City by David Charters, is published by Elliott and Thompson, price £6.99
bRUMMELL 13
It is because women are so often practically minded
that the majority of watches aimed at them contain
quartz movements. They keep better time than
mechanical ones, are cheaper, are usually more
robust and will run for years on one tiny battery.
But no true horolophile would give a quartz
movement wrist room: mechanical movements
are all to do with the heart of the machine,
the components that turn and mesh and pulse
and that ultimately lend soul to a watch.
And now more women are demanding
mechanical-movement watches, which is why
Omega has introduced a new range of Ladymatic
The Omega Ladymatic contains the best mechanical
movement found in any woman’s watch, with beauty to match
Words Simon de Burton Photography Tif Hunter
MONEY NO
OBJECT
models containing the groundbreaking 'Co-Axial'
movement, one of the most accurate on the market.
Invented by English horologist Dr George
Daniels and first used by Omega in 1999,
the Co-Axial is designed to keep superb time and,
to quote the original spiel, ‘remain unaffected by
the deterioration of its lubricant.’
Each Ladymatic comes with a four-year
warranty and, even better, has a transparent case
back so you can see everything working. Far more
interesting than looking at a boring old battery.
Omega Ladymatic in rose gold and diamonds,
£22,300; omegawatches.com
Glashütte Original – 165 years of German watchmaking art.
Seventies Panorama Date
The Seventies Panorama Date. Flowing curves capture the spirit of the Seventies in a fascinating, iconic design. The domed sapphire crystal case
back and easily-adjustable bracelet offer the ultimate in wearability. Discover the art of fine German watchmaking at www.glashuette-original.com.
Download our new iPhone Application in the App store.
London W1S 2SA 43-44 New Bond Street T: 020.7493 2299
Paris Vienna Madrid New York Hamburg Berlin Munich www.wempe.com
15news | beAumonde
A Parisian debut, whisky masterclasses and an invitation to an exclusive event
exclusive invitation: unsung Heroes eventbrummell has joined up with Leica, bremont and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne for an exclusive event celebrating ‘unsung Heroes’ on Tuesday, 4 october (6.30-9pm) at the Leica studio, 34 bruton Place, w1. expedition photographer martin Hartley will speak about his experiences photographing some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments. Leica is offering the opportunity to attend a photography workshop at the Leica Akademie on using its new m9 camera. And bremont will celebrate the release of the P-51 limited edition chronograph chronometer (right) with a prize draw to fly with one of the brand’s founders, nick and Giles english, in their Fifties broussard plane. Champagne will be provided courtesy of Piper-Heidsieck. To request your ticket, email your name and address to [email protected]
Hearing aide ↑One of the downsides of using your mobile as
a personal organiser is how you check your
calendar while simultaneously taking a call.
The Jawbone ERA eradicates such multitasking
conundrums courtesy of its military-endorsed,
Bluetooth-based wireless technology. Not only
does this discreet earpiece automatically
adjust volume levels to accommodate external
interference, it also lets you dictate text
messages and receive a spoken caller ID on
incoming phone calls. Using it is simple too.
Shake the ERA to pair it with your phone, then
tap anywhere on the device to answer – and end
– calls. Now we're talking. £99.99; jawbone.com
one-stop shoe shop ↑This summer saw the welcome
opening of the Harrods men’s shoe
department – the largest in Europe.
Visit the lower ground floor to take
advantage of all the best footwear
brands in one place – bringing
together the traditional masters of
handcrafted footwear, sought-after
designers and upcoming names.
Take your pick from the latest
styles by Grenson, Church’s, Paul
Smith, Balenciaga and Ralph
Lauren, to name a few. Or order
from the bespoke service which
will personalise shoes in any
chosen colour, leather and finish,
and visit the Exotic Room for
footwear and accessories in an
array of colours and skins, including
snake, ostrich and stingray.
harrods.com/mens-shoe-salon
Dedicated drams
Whisky aficionados should mark their
diaries to drop by The Whisky Exchange
Whisky Show at Vinopolis, SE1 (7–8
October). Examples of the master distiller’s
art are available for all to taste with an
all-inclusive ticket, so visitors can sample
whiskies from around the world: Japanese,
Indian, even English. As much for novices
as for collectors and connoisseurs, the show
also offers masterclasses and a dinner
designed by whisky and food pairing
expert Martine Nouet.
whisky-show.com
16 beaumonde | news
man made Mass-market fragrance is a little bit like the
Hollywood studio system: too often, too many
people get a say in how it all ends, and the
outcome is a product that lacks originality and
soon fades. Independent fragrance brands, on
the other hand, have far more creative freedom.
Take the family-run Sisley, whose first men’s
fragrance has been over 20 years in the
making. And Eau d’Ikar is certainly worth the
wait. It is first and foremost a lush green scent,
but gradually becomes a heartier accord of
wood, leather and spice that’s deserving of
lasting star status. From £57; sisley.com
sweater savant Nestled in the hills of Solomeo in central Italy,
a renovated medieval fort seems a most unusual
home for a factory. But then, Brunello Cucinelli
is a most unusual man. A cashmere expert who
first introduced colour to the fabric, and whose
brand is today sold worldwide, the self-professed
businessman-philosopher has also devised the
‘Humanistic Company’, vowing to always put
human values first and to encourage creativity.
In the tiny hamlet of Solomeo he has carefully
restored the fort where his factory is based, the
old parish church and also the 17th-century Villa
Antinori. In 2000, he expanded this to include
an amphitheatre to host outdoor cultural events
along with a restored academy building where
young people can study art, English and philosophy.
A company with ethics you can get behind – and
gorgeous cashmere to boot. brunellocucinelli.com
spoon feeding ↓The Silver Spoon – first published in 1950 and the most successful Italian cookbook of all time – is now being relaunched with over 2,000 revised and updated recipes from throughout the country, including new dishes from the likes of City favourites Giorgio Locatelli and Ruth Rogers. If you’re keen to know your bavette from your bucatini, your ciabatta from your focaccia, accept no (food) substitute. £29.95; phaidon.co.uk
East meets west
One of the latest clutch of Paris hotel openings and revamps, the Shangri-La fuses aristocratic history with Asian art and service and intoxicating Parisian views. The Hong Kong group’s first European foray has unleashed Pierre-Yves Rochon, interiors guru for the new Savoy, and Richard Martinet, the architect behind the George V’s refurbishment, on the elegant period building, once the gaff of Roland Bonaparte, Napoleon’s grandnephew. With a 16th arrondissement location, the restoration is surrounded by private gardens and sports glorious Belle Époque interiors alongside Asian artwork, plus the latest whiz-bang technology. Doubles from €650; shangri-la.com
beAumonde | women's tAiloring18
There is a reason why Katherine Hooker is one
of the only tailors in London who specialises
in dressing women. When she made her first
‘Braid’ coat, now a popular staple of her brand,
she took it to a Savile Row tailor to help her
with the final adjustments.
‘He admired the coat’s cut, then suggested
I move a front seam left and down by a quarter
of an inch,’ says Hooker. ‘It perfected the coat,
so I rang to thank him and asked why he didn’t
make women’s clothes. He laughed, “One
reason and one reason only: boobs!”’
It is to Hooker’s advantage that tailors shy
away from the various shapes that women
come in. ‘There are only about three male body
types and mostly we’re dealing with bellies,
which just means altering the circumference,’
says Hooker. ‘But look at women! They come in
a hundred different forms, so you have to worry
about balance as well as width and height.
What’s more, women are very sensitive about
their bodies and most want clothes that make
them look 10 pounds thinner.’
The secret to Hooker's cut is that her
clothes are narrow-shouldered and fitted under
the armpits, providing a long, lean and
flattering silhouette. Those of us who own
a Katherine Hooker jacket are used to spotting
each other in the street and smiling
conspiratorially, or being stopped constantly
and asked where our coats come from.
Eight years on, her sunny, unassuming
shop stands on a quiet street off Lots Road in
Fulham. It is to here that customers flock to
have their unique coat or jacket made, and
to choose material, linings, trims and buttons
from an array of British tweed, cashmere,
wool, linen and silk. ‘I source everything in
Britain,’ says Hooker. ‘That way, I have total
control over quality and a reliable connection
with my suppliers.’
This month, Hooker is launching an online
shop, katherinehookernow.com, selling seven
styles in sizes 8 to 14 at a lower price, along
with accessories, including bags, snoods,
scarves, belts and mittens. Her clothes are
already being sought after by exclusive
boutiques in Manhattan, Cincinnati, Miami and
Washington, following a series of sell-out
‘trunk shows’ in the US, at which she presented
her designs direct to buyers. Hooker is
sanguine about her success, appreciating that
though many women may want to wear beautiful
bespoke clothes, not all can afford them. ‘What
I’m offering is virtually an haute couture coat
but at an affordable price,’ she says.
Hooker is American, although she has no
trace of an accent. She understands intuitively
that busy, working women on both sides of the
Atlantic want to look classic, elegant and
smart, but that they also want to stand out
confidently as possessing their own style. Her
clothes are enabling women from Wall Street
to Kensington Palace to do just that.
Katherine Hooker bespoke jackets are priced
from £470 to £970 and coats from £520 to
£1,175; katherinehooker.com
Katherine Hooker has an instinct for tailoring
that flatters the female form, and her new online
store means bespoke need not be off limitswords Charlotte Metcalf Photography Joakim Blockström
Fit forpurpose
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You could just mentally add eight hours
when you land in Hong Kong, but it is
so much more stylish to consult a
beautiful watch with a choice of times
Words Simon de Burton Photography Tif Hunter
Girard-Perregaux WW.TC Chronograph As if making a watch capable of simultaneously displaying 24 different time zones isn't tricky enough, Girard- Perregaux has added chronograph and date functions to this version of its covetable WW.TC (‘worldwide time co-ordinated’) watch. The central 24-hours ring is divided into light and dark halves to indicate day or night, while the left-hand crown is used for toggling between time zones. £9,950; girard-perregaux.com
Linde Werdelin Two Timer The USP of Linde Werdelin watches is that they can all be married up to a clip-on sports computer, designed either for diving (the ‘Reef’) or land-based sports (the ‘Rock’). Further versatility comes with the Two Timer watch, which features an extra GMT hand providing a second time-zone reading. A Three Timer version, giving a reading in three different zones simultaneously, is also available. €3,709; lindewerdelin.com
WaTChes | beaumonde 21
Zonerangers
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle World Time If you’re seeking the ultimate in world-time wristwatches, this is currently it: while most can simultaneously show the time in 24 cities, the Patrimony Traditionnelle does so in a remarkable 37, including some that are off-set by 30 or 15 minutes. The watch includes many ingenious features, such as a central sapphire dial, half clear for day and half tinted for night in different locations. £31,100; vacheron-constantin.com
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Geographic This beautifully designed time-zone watch features a power-reserve indicator and date, with the second time zone being displayed on a small sub dial at the six o’clock position. All of the world’s important cities are marked on the disc below, so it’s just a matter of aligning the relevant one with the arrowhead when you arrive at your destination in order to set local time. Home time, meanwhile, continues to be read from the main dial. £8,050; jaeger-lecoultre.com
Zenith Captain Dual Time Time-zone watches don’t come much more simple or elegant than Zenith’s latest take on its Captain Dual Time, from its recently introduced range of retro-look ‘legacy’ watches. The small dial at the nine o’olock position counts the seconds, while the blued steel hand with arrow tip indicates the time at destination. Quick and easy adjustment is carried out using the push piece at the 10 o’clock position on the 40mm case. £8,500; zenith-watches.com
beauMonDe | WaTChes22
beAumonde | After the city24
Described by one fashion editor as ‘the kind of
shoes that make women stop strangers in the
street’, Bionda Castana shoes have won the
approval of fashion bible Italian Vogue and are
worn by some of the world’s most glamorous
women, including Kate Moss, Keira Knightley
and Rihanna. To their number, add Natalia
Barbieri, who is certainly glamorous and can
usually be seen wearing her favourite pair of
Bionda Castana cheetah ponyskin ankle boots.
Barbieri is also one half of the brand, the
‘castana’, or brunette, to business partner
Jennifer Portman’s ‘bionda’ (blonde). The pair
met 14 years ago on an International Business
with Languages course at London University,
where they bonded over a shared Italian
heritage and an interest in fashion. ‘We had
a culture in common, we went on similar
holidays as children,’ says Barbieri, ‘and
we both loved fashion. In particular, shoes.’
On graduation, Barbieri worked in
foreign-exchange trading for Deutsche Bank
as a sales assistant. She was, she says, ‘just
following what I was told I should be doing. They
Trading Deutsche Bank for
shoe design, Natalia Barbieri
put her business skills to use
when she decided to turn heel
Words James Medd
Photography Joakim Blockström
Step
change
wanted someone who spoke Italian and Spanish
and so I went for it.’ She learned a lot – ‘how
to network, how to deal with stressful situations’
– but wasn’t fulfilled. Meanwhile, Portman was
working in marketing and felt exactly the same:
‘Jennifer and I were constantly going on about
working with accessories and creating our
own brand. It niggled us, so after three years we
said, “If we don’t do what we want to do with
our lives now, we never will.”’
That was in 2004. After two years running
an online business importing selected Italian
shoes, they finally decided to take the plunge
into designing their own, launching the company
in September 2007. The crucial part was
finding the factory that could make, by hand,
their designs to the quality they were looking
for. ‘Without good production, you’re nothing,’
she says. ‘We struck gold with a family-run
factory – the dad is 85 years old and he still
cuts the patterns. It’s just outside Milan, where
all of the great designers make their shoes.
You can’t beat the craftsmanship there.’
Portman now spends half the year in Italy,
overseeing production, while Barbieri remains
in London looking after the marketing, but they
both design. Their signature look – glamorous,
handmade statement shoes with a stiletto heel
and metallic detailing – has expanded now they’ve
made their mark, but the vision remains the
same: ‘When we sit down together and work
through all the designs each of us have come up
with over the year, we find about 50 per cent of it
is exactly the same as the other’s. I’ll say, “I really
want to do a nice big block heel,” and Jennifer
will whip out a design with a fat block heel.’
Although they’re always moving forward, they
don’t expect their designs to be discarded at the
end of the season. ‘Our shoes are investment
pieces,’ says Barbieri. ‘You could wear a style
from 2008 and it would still look great. Fashion’s
fun, that’s the point of it, but we do regard our
shoes as works of art. I know people who don’t
wear heels but buy them just to put on display.’
From here, the plan is to open their
own shop in London within 18 months, and then
progress steadily, with the ultimate ambition
of reaching the status of an international luxury
brand. They’d also like to branch into bags
and maybe even jewellery. Men’s shoes
is another area under consideration, although
that might seem a little dull after the glamour
of their women’s designs. ‘Oh no,’ says Barbieri
confidently. ‘We’d make it fun.’
Prices start at £385; biondacastana.com
stAnding tAllWith Kate, Keira and Rihanna wearing their heels, Natalia Barbieri and partner Jennifer Portman plainly have a talent for taste
FN100 womeN | BRUmmeLL 27
In the wake of a global financial crisis, in which
the sector was criticised for macho risk-taking,
there have been increasing calls for greater
representation of women at the highest levels of
decision-making. Banks have a long way to go –
Financial News found that, of the 220 bankers on
executive committees at 20 of the biggest investment
banks, only 17 are women. But the industry has
taken note and momentum is building to identify
and support female talent to follow in the footsteps
of those listed on the fifth annual FN100 list of
the most influential women in European financial
markets. From a list of 250 nominees, assessed
for their influence, leadership of their company
and market sector, and career performance,
a final 100 were selected, eight of whom we profile
here. To read profiles of all the FN100 Influential
Women, visit efinancialnews.com/fn100
Photography Philip Sinden
words Yasmine Chinwala
Haurie openly admits that she was ‘a lousy
employee’ so she plotted a course to be her own
boss. Ten years ago, she started running the
advisory business at newly founded alternative
investment specialist Dexion, and was promoted
to lead the group in 2006. Since inception,
Dexion has raised nearly $1 trillion in assets,
and in the past year Haurie has worked on deals
for some of Europe’s biggest hedge funds,
including GSO Capital Partners, Brevan
Howard and BlueCrest Capital Management.
She is now intent on broadening Dexion’s
activities, and by the end of this year hopes to
have a boutique investment banking capability in
place. Her longer term plans are to grow
Dexion’s distribution platform beyond hedge
funds into private equity, infrastructure and
renewables. She says the best piece of advice
she has been given is: ‘Don’t be afraid of making
mistakes and relish change.’
Ana Haurie ↑Group managing director,
Dexion Capital
Kay Swinburne, meP ↓Coordinator of the Economic
and Monetary Affairs Committee
The forthcoming review of the markets in
financial instruments directive is set to have the
biggest impact on financial markets since Big Bang
in 1986. Swinburne’s influence over Mifid II
reaches far and wide. Her report on the subject,
drawing on market operators, participants
and regulators, has shaped the European
Commission’s thinking and she will continue
to feed into the legislative process.
Born and raised in Aberystwyth, Wales,
Swinburne has a PhD in medical research and
worked in corporate finance. When she became
an MEP in June 2009, it was the first time
since 1918 the Conservatives had won the
largest share of the vote in Wales, which
Swinburne says is a highlight of her career.
In her constituency, she ‘spends a lot of time
in wellies’, and spent the summer talking to farmers
about reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy
and protecting the local bee population.
Fn100 Women | BRUmmeLL 29
RBS is three years into its five-year turnaround
plan, but for Rose it has been business as
usual. She leads a team of 300 staff and is
responsible for coverage of more than 600
corporate clients as well as financial sponsors
and infrastructure finance, globally. She is
among the bank’s top executives and a member
of RBS’s global banking management
committee, Emea executive committee and
board-level credit approver authority.
Coming from a military family, Rose learnt
a lot from moving every year. She is driving the
bank’s diversity initiative and, as a mother of
two, says it’s important not to ‘sweat the small
stuff’, nor to feel guilty about your kids while you
are working and vice versa. She is taking
inspiration from Letters from Leaders: Personal
Advice for Tomorrow's Leaders from the
World's Most Influential People, compiled by
Henry O Dormann.
Alison Rose ↑Head of Emea corporate
coverage and client
management, global banking
and markets, RBS
BRUMMELL | FN100 woMEN30
Curtis joined HSBC three years ago with
a remit to address the voice of its research.
Drawing on her experience as European
managing editor of Bloomberg, she has pushed
to raise the profile of HSBC’s research both
within the bank and to its clients by producing
analysis quickly and using multimedia to
increase accessibility. When HSBC’s chief
executive Stuart Gulliver presented the bank’s
strategic review in May, it was informed by her
team’s research, particularly reports focused
on changing dynamics in emerging markets.
One of a handful of top female executives
who support boardroom quotas, this year Curtis
became a co-sponsor of HSBC’s diversity
programme. She previously worked in senior
roles at Deutsche Bank and Nomura and is an
economic commentator on television. She was
awarded an OBE for services to business
economics in 2008.
Bronwyn CurtisChairman of global research, HSBC
33 BRUTON STREET, LONDON W1J 6HH TEL: +44 (0) 20 7499 4411
[email protected] WWW.HOLLANDANDHOLLAND.COM
At the age of two, Chan left communist China on
a fishing boat with her grandmother in search of
a better life in Hong Kong. After graduating, she
went straight into the world of finance, first at
JP Morgan and then at Citigroup. She joined
EuroCCP in 2007, growing it from a start-up to
an established clearing house with a team of 30.
EuroCCP is well positioned to benefit from
important new interoperability rules, for which
Chan has been actively lobbying for several
years. By allowing market participants to choose
their preferred clearer when trading on an
exchange, the rules will encourage competition
and reduce clearing costs. EuroCCP has already
been selected as the preferred clearer by several
banks and trading venues, and is expected to pick
up more custom.
In her spare time, Chan enjoys cooking,
turning her hand to ‘new and delicious things
that have a high ratio of pleasure to effort’.
Diana Chan ↑Chief executive, EuroCCP
Lisa Rabbe ↓Head of public policy for
Europe, the Middle East and
Africa, Credit Suisse
While many girls dream of being a ballerina, Rabbe,
whose parents were both dancers, decided at
the age of 12 that the ballet was not for her. Instead
she is proud to have built a career in public policy
without working for the government. She started
the public policy group at Goldman Sachs 18 years
ago, just as EU banking regulation came into
existence, and joined Credit Suisse last year.
Rabbe describes EU rulemaking as ‘three-
dimensional chess’, with conflicting nationalities,
political parties and perspectives. Her role involves
advocacy on behalf of the bank as well as a pivotal
role advising senior management on the bank’s
strategic response to rapidly changing regulation.
At the top of her agenda is the review of
Mifid and initiatives to end ‘too big to fail’. In her
spare time, Rabbe enjoys Russian literature and,
of course, the ballet.
Fn100 Women | BRUmmeLL 31
Dörte Höppner ↑Secretary General,
European Private Equity and
Venture Capital Association
Höppner is the new kid on the block in the EU. She
took over at EVCA, the private equity industry’s
trade body, this year, having led Germany’s buyout
association BVK since 2007. Armed with a
guidebook and The History of Belgium, she has
been shuttling back and forth from Berlin, where
her family live, to Brussels, her weekday home,
and getting stuck into EU politics.
Her priority is ensuring the right regulatory
framework for the buyout industry and
hammering out the technical details of the
alternative investment fund managers directive.
She is a seasoned lobbyist – last year she was
involved in an effort to fight moves in Germany
to prevent foreigners buying more than a
quarter of local companies, and has been a
vocal critic of Germany’s tax regime.
Höppner previously worked in public
relations for the German Institute for Economic
Research, and was also a journalist.
Fn100 Women | BRUmmeLL 33
BRUMMELL | fn100 WoMEn34
Jeff Blumberg, 35Chief executive,
Egerton Capital
Blumberg says the greatest
achievement of his career so far
is joining Goldman Sachs as an
analyst in 2000 and leaving 10 years
later as a managing director – one
of four MDs responsible for running
Goldman’s $20bn fund of hedge
funds business. He was also co-chief
operating officer of the bank’s
hedge fund strategies group and
a member of its global manager
strategies investment committee.
Last summer he joined European
equities specialist Egerton, where
founder John Armitage’s flagship
fund has returned 16 per cent
annually since inception in 1994.
Although Blumberg doesn’t manage
money himself, under his leadership
assets under management have
grown from $3.9bn when he joined
last June to $5.3bn.
Polina KurdyavkoSenior portfolio manager,
BlueBay Asset Management
Of Armenian descent, Kurdyavko grew up in
Moscow, but she is a far cry from the Russian
princesses strutting around Chelsea. With no
connections to help her get a foot in the
corporate door, she was inspired to work hard,
learn and persevere by her ‘driven and optimistic’
mother. She began teaching English to fund her
education at the age of 14, then went to the US
as a dishwasher to perfect her English and
worked as a travel agent in Paris to learn French.
Kurdyavko got her break in fund management
at Alliance Capital, where she worked full time
while she continued studying for a Master’s
degree. She moved to London in 2001 and
joined BlueBay in 2005 as a credit analyst. In
2008 she launched the firm’s emerging market
corporate bond fund with just $20m. It is now
one of the largest funds in the sector at $5bn.
To unwind, Kurdyavko enjoys reading
poetry, as she finds it ‘soothing and beautiful’.
PhotogRaPhER’s assistant
James McNaught
haiR & MaKE-UP Caroline Sims at
DWM Management,
assisted by Lucy Flower
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I’m haggling with a huaquero (tomb robber to you) in a dark and frankly disturbing Peruvian market surrounded by iguana carcasses, dead Amazonian monkeys and sprigs of shamanic herbs. Ruben wants $50 for the rusting ceremonial dagger stolen from an ancient burial site. ‘I’ll take 40,’ he says, reaching under the counter for a ceramic vessel with a face staring proudly from its side. ‘And I’ve got this. They’re both from the Moche graves at Batán Grande.’
I’m easy prey. Appalled yet fascinated, I'm also clueless about genuine artefacts from the Moche civilization, which thrived in Peru 1,000 years before the Incas. But my companion, the renowned archaeologist Guillermo Cock, is unimpressed. He taps the pot, notes the
resonance and nods. ‘Original,’ he confirms. ‘Fine clay sand fired at high temperature. These men aren’t professionals. And even if you got the price down, you’d be arrested at the airport.’
Arrested for smuggling hot cultural contraband? It’s wrong. Horribly wrong. But also, I have to admit, slightly thrilling. Problem is, I’m alone with a khaki-clad archaeologist and a villain straight out of Hollywood central casting. I make my excuses and leave, passing huge blue butterflies poached from the rainforest, dark liquid sexual tonics and lurid religious amulets, finally emerging into the sunshine of Chiclayo, 500 miles up the coast from Lima.
Hundreds of miles inland from the capital, you can enjoy a less edgy – although much more
precipitous – South American adventure. Tourists – 2,800 of them a day – are swarming around the iconic ruins of Machu Picchu. Some have arrived on foot, others on horseback, but most came on trains, switching to a bus for the final climb along hair-raising switchbacks. It’s dramatic, of course, and perhaps the most multidimensional tourist attraction on earth. But as Peru celebrates the centenary of the Inca citadel’s rediscovery, it’s a bigger draw than ever, attracting huge numbers of Western visitors to Peru. Ruben and his like inhabit a vastly different, near-undiscovered world.
It’s obvious why huaqueros have prospered around Chiclayo. Rather than the elegant yet austere Incas, the northern coastal desert was
TiTle here
CIn henisit alm er ssdi eugait volum zriure facilla
feuis niat utpat pratuae dolore te te consed tat at
autatio el in ut nonseel
Travel | BrUMMell 37
As the crowds celebrate the centenary of the discovery of the Incan city Machu Picchu,
a trip to Peru’s deserted north yields treasures from an older, more brutal civilisationWords Ian Belcher
DARKEST PERU
Ala
my
home to the flamboyantly artistic Moche from 200 to 850AD. ‘Their high lords used jewellery and possessions to enhance their powerful image,’ explains Guillermo. ‘An Inca governor wore a few hundred grams of gold and silver; a Moche several kilograms.’
That difference has meant rich pickings for commercial looters supplying overseas collectors, as well as for locals, who regard grave robbing as a traditional Easter holiday pastime. But many treasures have survived the onslaught, including the astonishing haul discovered in the graves of a fourth-century warrior and his ancestor buried underneath him, collectively known as the Lords of Sipán.
These are now displayed in a wonderful neo-pyramid in nearby Lambayeque. The collection contains gold necklaces linking giant peanuts, intricate human faces and feline heads, and sit alongside gold earrings and belt buckles decorated with the Decapitator – a bug-eyed Moche deity holding a knife and severed head. But the highlight is a glorious gold sceptre, suspended and spotlit on a black background.
‘The older Lord of Sipán had more possessions on him,’ Guillermo explains. ‘So much so that he looked like a loaf of bread at first. It took six months to uncover the body. The tombs are one of the most spectacular finds in world archaeology, only comparable with Tutankhamun or Troy.’
Having also witnessed the treasures of Egypt’s boy pharaoh, I can tell you that’s not hyperbole. Yet compared to the Valley of the Kings, the Huaca Rajada (‘cracked pyramid’ )where the bodies were actually excavated, is virtually deserted. Apart from the archaeologists toiling away on the latest of the site’s 16 tombs, my only company is a vulture wheeling overhead and a blood-red setting sun. When it comes to ambience, less is definitely more.
It’s exactly the same story when I’m driven three hours down the Pan-American Highway, passing the grey Andean foothills and turn down a remote track towards the coast. The El Brujo’s complex of worn adobe pyramids, where witch
doctors are believed to have performed gory sacrifices, punctuate an other-worldly landscape where desert, Pacific Ocean and sky reach a hazy neutrality that fleetingly casts my mind back home to a Farrow & Ball catalogue.
One of the pyramids has a section missing, like a freshly-cut cake – the legacy of treasure-hunting Spanish conquistadors – but, as with the Lords of Sipán, they missed the ultimate treasure: Señora de Cao, a warrior princess and Peru’s very own Joan of Arc. The pyramid where the princess was unearthed in 2005 alongside magnificent friezes now sits under an enormous sloping roof of curved canvas, as if Zaha Hadid had designed a ski jump for sand surfers.
Now housed in the on-site Cao museum, the mummified body of the Señora de Cao lies in a dimly lit, temperature-controlled tomb, an ethereal form reflected in a mirror for viewers. On the day I visit, the princess and her eye-popping trove of weaponry and gold and silver ornaments receive just two other visitors.
I could have picked at least three other near-deserted sites to visit, including Cerro Chepen’s as-yet unexcavated, mountain-top fortress. Instead I opt for a bloodstained climax at Huaca de la Luna, a vertiginous temple
constructed from five million building blocks in the Moche Valley, near Trujillo. On its high altar, priests once sacrificed humans to halt the flooding caused by El Niño. The sacrificed skeletons were caked in thick layers of sediment, allowing one to picture the scene of priests cutting the throats of victims and casting them down into the mud at the foot of the temple.
The archaeologists are still hard at work here, brushing away at the 2,500m of exquisite paintings that decorate Huaca de la Luna’s seven-tiered façade. ‘They are perhaps the greatest murals of any ancient non-Western civilisation,’ Guillermo claims. ‘They’re up there with the Sistine Chapel’s paintings.’
The Sistine Chapel? Perhaps. But without the crowds to spoil the magic. Incredulous that these wildly evocative sites can attract such little attention, I head down to the nearby Pacific beaches. It’s time to wash the desert dust from my hands, and the Moche blood from my mind. Abercrombie & Kent (abercrombiekent.co.uk; 0845 618 2121) offers a 10-night trip that includes the north with Guillermo Cock, Machu Picchu with archaeologist Alfredo Mormontoy, Cusco and Lake Titicaca, along with flights, transfers, B&B accommodation and guiding from £4,950pp
lost KINGDoM
The flamboyant Moche wore elaborate treasures like this figurative nose ornament, right, discovered at the Lords of Sipán tomb at Huaca Rajada (pictured, previous page)
Brightly-painted friezes, left, adorned the Moche temple site Huaca de la Luna, below, near Trujillo
BRUMMEll | tRavEl38
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to be invited to a traditional Geisha tea ceremony was a real privilege.
A cultural infusion indeed.
James Purdey & sons 020 7499 1801; purdey.com
Bespoke side-by-side from £72,600
Bespoke over-and-under from £85,200
Holland and Holland020 7499 4411; hollandandholland.com
The ‘royal’ side-by-side from £60,000
standard ‘royal’ over-and-under from £70,000
Brummell | sHooTing40
in the lineof fire
century. Clay discs and glass balls were catapulted into the air for the guns of the late Victorian and Edwardian era to brush up on their shooting skills. Boss & Co patented a new gun, the over-and-under, in 1909, and it soon proved to have infinitely more advantages on its faux target than the traditional side-by-side. In the meantime, shooting schools had opened and as the sport of clay-shooting developed over the decades, the o/u gun took supremacy in the sport over its rival. Looking
There is little doubt that if you saw someone unsheathing an over-under shotgun on Downton Abbey, many viewers would scream ‘disgrace!’ or ‘parvenu’ at best. But these days, surely, our egalitarian shooting field focuses on prestige of a nobler variety – efficiency – and the o/u is arguably a better bet. Dead-eyed dick no doubt needs top tools but will you stand out in a field for your shooting or your gun?
The debate kicked off with the advent of clay pigeon shooting at the turn of the 20th
down one barrel instead of two, easier handling and high scores had benefits on real quarry, too.
The West London Shooting School (020 8845 1377; shootingschool.co.uk), the oldest independent institution of its kind in the country, was established in 1901 by the Richmond-Watson family. Today, the director, Roddy Richmond-Watson, says, ‘The over-and-under is a good model for novices because of its single sighting plane – and it absorbs the recoil better than a side-by-side. Its
A side-by-side or an over-under: when choosing your shotgun for
game shoots do you follow tradition or break the mould?
Words Jane Pruden
BRUMMELL | shooting42
popularity grew with the prominence of competitive clay pigeon shooting in the Seventies and has continued to do so. Many clients starting with an o/u will continue with it on game shoots.’ The school’s gun shop sells both, with o/u’s tipping the balance for choice. Prices for a new Beretta or Browning start from an affordable £1,350, and the respected Beretta Silver Pigeon is £1,695 for the new Game Scene gun.
British gunmakers are also producing some relatively cheaper models courtesy of state-of-the-art technology. Longthorne Guns in Lancashire (01772 811215; longthorneguns.com) has built The Hesketh, an entirely English-made, 12-bore sidelock o/u, available as a game gun or sporter for under £13,000. For slightly less, at £12,000, William Evans (020 7493 0415; williamevans.com) sells the well-reviewed St James. It is made by Guerini gunmakers in Italy but based on a traditional side-by-side finish, with the engraving copied from a gun that William Evans made for Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, in 1910. The ‘St James’ comes in a 12-, 20- or 28-bore with 28in or 30in barrels, and also features multi-choke barrels – an added benefit. The fixed choke on a side- by-side is great for lowland birds but many new o/u’s with multi-chokes can aspire to much higher targets as well.
By contrast, the exclusive gunmaker Boss & Co (020 7493 1127; bossguns.co.uk), established in 1812, still makes an o/u based on its original design. The company has always claimed to build the best guns – but the best comes at a price. King George VI was once asked if he had considered a Boss and he retorted, ‘A Boss gun, a Boss gun, bloody beautiful, but too bloody expensive!’ Yet still, argues Roy Lyu, Boss’s gunroom manager, ‘There has always been plenty of demand and not least for the Boss o/u. It is easier to use than the side-by-side and its popularity is growing.’
With only a handful produced a year, and a two-and-a-half-year waiting list, a Boss gun is indeed a prized possession and a good investment. A popular bespoke choice for high partridges and pheasants is the 29in barrelled model with a tighter choke, commanding a price tag of over £84,500. A side-by-side, handcrafted to the same high standards, will cost over £65,000. The difference in price reflects the time it takes to make the gun. The mechanics and configuration of an o/u requires about 1,200 hours as opposed to 850 to 900 hours for a side-by-side.
There is no shortage of o/u clients at Holland and Holland either. In general, says
Patrick Murphy, the gunroom manager, ‘Most shooting schools start people off with over- and-unders because they are an easier gun and more economical to buy and maintain.’ Interestingly, the bulk of the company’s o/u gun sales are to the US, where it is far more acceptable for game shooting than in the UK. ‘Sales in the last 10 years works out at about 1.5 to 1 in favour of the over-unders,’ adds Murphy, although the last couple of years has seen a slight increase in side-by-side purchases. ‘Many of our clients have inherited a pair of guns but first-time buyers purchasing an over-under is not uncommon. At the end of the day it’s individual choice.’ The base price for the Holland and Holland standard ‘Royal’ o/u with their traditional scroll engraving is £70,000 for 12-, 16- and 20-bore, and £75,000 for a 28 bore and cal .410.
To the outsider, an o/u has as many, if not more, advantages as the side-by-side, so where’s the rub? Put simply, it appears there are some who honed their skills when they were knee-high to their father’s hip flask and only used a side-by-side; some who stick to their o/u from shooting school, and many who are indifferent, subject to price or preference. So are we likely to see as many o/u’s as side-by-sides in the field?
Mike Barnes, editor of Fieldsports magazine, says, ‘Over-unders have become much more commonplace since the advent of shooting very high pheasants (notably in the West Country, Wales, the Borders and Yorkshire). Their single-sighting plane helps with the more measured shooting required at very long ranges. And, most importantly, their extra weight helps absorb the recoil which results from the "big load" cartridges required for shooting pheasants at extreme ranges.’ It is also possible, he adds, to buy a very good o/u for much less money than a side-by-side. Then again, it also depends on your target. ‘Side-by-side is still the gun for driven grouse shooting,’ he says. ‘Its lesser weight and responsive feel is perfect for fast, low targets.’
The general consensus is that the o/u is undoubtedly easier to shoot in various situations. But, as Paul West from William & Son says, ‘For the price, they are reliable: they are easier to pick up a line with and they do what they say on the tin. But generally, an over-under isn’t a gun that you would oil in your gun room and covet like a British side-by-side shotgun, which has more character. It’s a gun for the enthusiast.’ Some traditions, it seems, are hard to break.
WiLLiAM & son020 7493 8385; williamandson.com
Bespoke over-and-under from £55,000
Bespoke side-by-side from £45,000
Ala
my
57 – 58 South Audley Street london W1K 2ed +44 (0)20 7499 1801 www.purdey.com
BRUMMELL | FEATURE TITLE00
LASTING
IMPRESSIONBe picture perfect this season, dressing for work in
sumptuous fabrics, enhanced by luxe accessories
Photography Rebecca Pierce styling Tamara Fulton
BRUMMELL | sTyLE44
nEw MAsTERsOpposite: Blouse, £595; overskirt, £420; and knee-length skirt, £540, all Miu Miu. Shoes, £475, Rupert sanderson. 'Agatha' bag, £700, smythson. Ebony, pearl and yellow-gold earrings, £4,860, Belmacz
This page: Jacket, £395, Daks. Dress, £340, Paul smith Black Label. Tights, £8.25, Pamela Mann at mytights.com. Shoes, £175, Russell & Bromley. Bag, £700, smythson. Earrings, as before. Onyx and gold pendant, £2,600, Belmacz
private view
Opposite: Dress, £345, Daks. Earrings, as before
This page: Blouse, £550, Chloé at Harrods. Skirt, £999, Lanvin at Harrods. Earrings, as before. Necklace, £22,000, and bracelet, £18,675, both Chanel Fine Jewellery
BRUMMELL | FEATURE TITLE00
MUsE ovERAbove: Cape, £600, sportmax at selfridges. Top (just seen), model's own. Skirt (just seen), £540, Miu Miu. Scarf, £165, Paul smith. Gloves, £215, Jane Carr. Umbrella, £135, Burberry. Earrings, as before
Right: Jacket, £885; chiffon top, £495; and skirt, £445, all Bottega veneta. Tights, £8.25, Pamela Mann at mytights.com. Earrings, as before. White agate, jet and yellow-gold necklace, £980, Belmacz
MAkE-UP Natsumi Watanabe at
caren.co.uk using Chanel A/W11 make-up and
Sublimage skincare
HAIR Selena Middleton at Soho Management
ModEL Rachel Alexander at Select
FAsHIon AssIsTAnTs Hollye Manchester and
Simone Linney
PHoTogRAPHER's AssIsTAnT
Paul Osman
LoCATIon Photographed at
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London SE21;
dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
STOCKISTS DETAILS ON PAGE 50
Information: Bell & Ross UK +44 207 096 08 78 . [email protected] . e-Boutique: www.bellross.com
Pocket Watch VINTAGE PW1 49 mm
Wristwatch VINTAGE WW1 45 mm - Alligator strap
BRUMMELL | BY GEORGE50
Launching this month, the
Range Rover Evoque’s sporty
exterior belies its rugged force
Rangeof style
Stockists Belmacz 020 7629 7863; belmacz.com Bottega Veneta 020 7838
9394; bottegaveneta.com Burberry 020 7968 0582; burberry.com Chanel Fine Jewellery 020 7499 0005; chanel.com DAKS 0800
288188; daks.com Jane Carr 020 7387 4337; jane-carr.com
Harrods 020 7730 1234; harrods.com Miu Miu 020 7409 0900;
miumiu.com Pamela Mann mytights.com Paul Smith 0800 023
4006; paulsmith.co.uk Rupert Sanderson 020 7584 9249;
rupertsanderson.com Russell & Bromley 020 7629 6903;
russellandbromley.co.uk Selfridges 0800 123400; selfridges.com
Smythson 020 7318 1515; smythson.com
It was back in 2008 that I first saw the original
Land Rover LRX concept in an underground car
park beneath one of Geneva’s swankier hotels.
Designer Gerry McGovern had just penned it
and it was like no Land Rover we had ever seen,
with a coupé roof, pimp-tastic 20-inch wheels
and a luxurious leather-clad cabin with front
seats that ‘floated’ on individual plinths.
Three years later and the concept has
become a reality, only it is now called the Range
Rover Evoque. Although the first cars are not due
to hit showrooms until this month (it will be sold
in 160 countries), 18,000 have already been
ordered and there seems little doubt that the
Evoque will be the crossover in which to be seen.
Those floating seats may have gone, but
surprisingly little else has changed between the
unveiling of the original LRX mock-up and the
arrival of the production Evoque, the most
significant difference being the addition of a more
practical, five-door body style to complement
the meaner-looking coupé. There’s no doubting
that most Evoques will remain captive in the urban
jungle, but that doesn’t mean the off-road ability
has been compromised. Thanks to decent ground
clearance, Range Rover’s clever Terrain
Response system, hill-descent control and plenty
of torque from the diesel engine options, the
smallest Range Rover seems capable of following
its full-sized stablemates just about anywhere.
Subjected to a long and fairly challenging
track in rugged Snowdonia, the Evoque I drove
took everything in its stride and its relatively small
size and user-friendliness made it more adept on
some of the tricky bits than the properly rugged
Defender – the difference is that you might think
twice about chucking a pile of rocks into the back
before heading off for a day’s dry stone walling.
Realistically, however, not many Evoques
will be used as forestry or farm vehicles – this
car is more about style and bringing scaled-down
Range Rover luxury to town than getting down and
dirty in the countryside. In fact, it’s predicted
that up to 50 per cent of buyers will be women.
You can choose from 12 different exterior
colours, three contrasting roof colours, eight
alternative alloy wheel designs and 16 tailored
‘designer’ interiors. Combine these with the three
overall themes: minimalist ‘Pure’, upmarket
‘Prestige’ and sporty ‘Dynamic’ – and it’s likely
you'll be able to create a bespoke Evoque with a
look that’s yours and yours alone. And if you can’t
be bothered to do it yourself, you’ll be pleased
to hear that Victoria Beckham is on board as
Range Rover’s ‘creative design executive’ with
the promise of a ‘Posh’ interior due shortly.
Turning to more practical matters, the Evoque
can be had with either 150- or 90-horsepower
turbo diesel engines or a 240-horsepower,
turbocharged petrol unit. You can also opt for
sportier suspension and a ‘panoramic’ glass
roof – a bargain at just £450, and really worth
having, especially on the chop-top coupé which
doesn’t let that much light in through its narrow
rear passenger windows.
Other handy extras are ‘Park Assist’ (it
judges whether or not a gap is big enough and
takes control of the steering – you just press the
pedals), a ‘surround’ camera set-up, ambient
interior lighting and a truly kicking Meridian audio
system to complement the excellent touch-screen
satnav and communications panel, which includes
a digital and satellite TV and a DVD player.
There seems little doubt that all the hype
over this car has been justified – it really is
good, and the coupé version is a breath of fresh
air in a sector where design has begun to
become rather too predictable.
The Evoque costs from £27,995 to £44,320,
depending on specification; helloevoque.com
Words Simon de Burton
