Harvard

Fifty Years of Equestrian Champions from the Stables of His Highness the Aga Khan

A new lavishly illustrated volume by Philip Jodidio from Prestel highlights fifty years of the prestigious horse racing and breeding enterprises of His Highness the Aga Khan, the immensely wealthy Muslim spiritual leader. The urbane Aga Khan, a philanthropist, Harvard graduate and stepson of Hollywood bombshell Rita Hayworth, built his world class thoroughbred empire on a legacy handed down through generations and now oversees one of the largest and most successful racing and breeding operations in Europe. The luxe book traces the history of the Aga Khan Studs including many famous champions through remarkable photographs, engravings and paintings taken from the Aga Khan's archives. Also included is a lengthy interview with His Highness and informative essays on what makes a great racehorse. Check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: The Horses of the Aga Khan

A group of mares and foals bred at St Crespin, France

Dalakhani, winner of four Group I races, including the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Zarkava, unbeaten winner of five Group I races, descends from Mumtaz Mahal, purchased in 1921 by the Aga Khan III

His Highness the Aga Khan inspecting yearlings at St Crespin in Normandy

A group of mares and foals grazing in a field in Ireland

Tags: Aga Khan, books, coffee table books, equestrian, Harvard, horse racing, horseracing, horses, Islam, Muslim, racehorse, racehorses, Rita Hayworth, royalty, sports, stables, the+aga+khan, theagakhan, thoroughbreds, wealth

The Classicist: Ralph Lauren Re-Launches Famed Rhinelander Mansion in NYC

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Timepieces / Watches, Men's Style, The Classicist, Architecture & Design, Luxury Shopping

Ralph Lauren has relaunched his famed flagship in the historic Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue in New York, transforming it into the world's foremost mecca of men's style. Spanning nearly 16,000 square feet, the Mansion, originally converted into an opulent retail palace by Lauren in 1986, now exclusively houses the designer's various men's collections with the company's first Women's and Home flagships due to open across the avenue later this fall. Originally designed in the 1890s by Kimball & Thompson, the the large French Renaissance Revival Mansion is an architectural treasure as well with a classic Beaux Arts façade exemplary of the the Upper East Side's grand architecture.

The new space showcases the Purple Label, Black Label, Polo, RRL and RLX Ralph Lauren collections of men's apparel and accessories, with an emphasis on the most luxurious elements. Service has been stepped up as well, with butlers to serve snacks and drinks on silver trays and a fleet of Mercedes-Benzes to chauffer important clients on shopping trips. The store features a full range of impeccably crafted made-to-measure suits, dress shirts, trousers, topcoats, sport coats and formalwear customized to exacting measurements, and made-to-order accessories and leather goods. Every room in the Mansion has been updated with cinematic decor in keeping with the neoclassical style of the original grand residence, from antiques and fixtures to furniture and art, including 18th- and 19th-century oil portraits and noteworthy photographs from Ralph Lauren's personal collection.

Gallery: The New Rhinelander Mansion

Tags: antiques, architecture, Beaux Arts, boutique, decor, designer, furniture, Gilded Age, Harvard, interior design, Ivy League, leather goods, luggage, luxury shopping, Madison Avenue, mansion, New York, photographs, Polo, Princeton, Purple Label, Ralph Lauren, retail, Rhinelander Mansion, store, suits, Upper East Side

Continue reading “The Classicist: Ralph Lauren Re-Launches Famed Rhinelander Mansion in NYC”

Want to Be a Billionaire? First, Get a Harvard Degree

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Obviously you don't have to have a degree from Harvard in order to become a billionaire – but it certainly helps. According to Forbes' new ranking of universities with the highest number of billionaire alums, Harvard thrashes the competition with a record 62 billionaire grads to its credit – more than double the total of the #2 ranked school, Stanford. A whopping 62 Harvard grads are worth $1 billion or more this year, up from 54 last year. Yale clocks in at No. 5 on the list of the top 10 with 16 billionaire alums, while Princeton barely makes the cut at all, coming out tied for last place with Cornell with 9. Notable billionaire Harvard grads include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin, Meg Whitman of eBay and David Rockefeller Sr. Worth noting: an Ivy League degree isn't necessarily better, and Forbes points out that on last year's Forbes 400 list, at least 41 billionaires did not have a college degree at all. Check out the full list of the top 10 after the jump:

Tags: billionaire, billionaires, Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell, education, Harvard, Ivy League, Massachusetts, Meg Whitman, Michael Bloomberg, Princeton, Stanford, the rich, universities, University of Pennsylvania, wealth, Yale

Continue reading “Want to Be a Billionaire? First, Get a Harvard Degree”

The Classicist: 'Take Ivy' - The Original Preppy Handbook

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Books, Men's Style, The Classicist

Take Ivy, with photos by Japan's T. Hayashida, is truly the original preppy handbook, first published way back in 1965 – in Japanese. In the early 1960s Kensuke Ishizu, the founder of an Ivy League-inspired clothing line called Van Jacket, commissioned Hayashida and three other Japanese disciples of clean-cut American style to go on a "fact-finding mission" to all of the States' eight Ivy League colleges – Havard, Yale, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown and Cornell – chronicling every element of the students' style along the way. Hayashida took tens of thousands of photos at the colleges, then went on to document the stores the students patronized, the cars they drove and even Ivy League grads working on Madison Avenue. When first published in Japan the book sparked a huge trend for Ivy League fashion among Japanese youths who frequented Tokyo's hip Ginza shopping district.

In subsequent decades the book developed a huge cult following among sartorial connoisseurs, with rare original editions selling for thousands of dollars on eBay. The New York Times called it "a treasure of fashion insiders" and cited its influence on a number of men's fashion designers in an article last year, noting photocopied versions were being passed around design studios helping to spark a whole new trend. Now powerHouse Books is re-issuing the book this month, with a long-awaited English translation; J.Crew has also printed 300 limited edition copies in a special case in celebration to be sold in select J.Crew mens shops, the perfect accompaniment to the Ivy-inspired clothing on its shelves; J. Crew men's designer Frank Muytjens says he was "obsessed" by the book and it's timeless appeal.

Gallery: Take Ivy

While The Official Preppy Handbook, which came out 15 years later, is rather tongue-in-cheek, Take Ivy's approach to the subject is downright scholarly. The implications of 'Ivy Style' "go beyond the group of eight prestigious universities that belong to the Ivy League, American football, or the vine itself that covers the buildings of Ivy League schools," the authors note. "It is also not simply about Madison Avenue, Brooks Brothers, modern jazz and folk songs. They do play a part in defining 'Ivy' as a whole, but each of them is only a peripheral component.... In order to understand the spirit of 'Ivy', you must appreciate and master all aspects of American East Coast culture." Thus the back of the book features instructions on building the perfect Ivy League wardrobe including how to wear key items along with a whole compendium of the Ivy League ethos.

Tags: books, Brooks Brothers, clothing, coffee table books, eBay, Harvard, Ivy League, J.Crew, Japan, mens style, menswear, photography, powerHouse Books, preppy, Princeton, Tokyo, university, Yale

37 Extreme Actives: The One-Step Skincare Solution

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cosmetics and Fragrance

With a rich mixture of academic and scientific knowledge, Dr. Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas has created an unparalleled line of skin care offerings for her eponymous company. No surprise that her signature product, "37 Extreme Actives," has garnered a nomination for a Luxist award in the best skin cream category.

Dr. Alexiades-Armenakas started her skin cream line after a more than a decade of impressive preparation. She earned three degrees from Harvard (B.A., M.D., and a Ph.D in genetics), also stopping off at Yale to teach at the medical school and serve as a physician at Yale-New Haven hospital. She started her own private practice in laser and aesthetic dermatology in New York in 2003. Since becoming a board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Alexiades-Armenakas continued her scientific research in skincare, working as a consultant to L'Oreal Paris for three years, conducting clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies and laser device companies, as well as independent research on lasers and her newest work in the lab.

Gallery: 37 Extreme Active

Tags: 37 extreme actives, awards-main, beauty-main, harvard, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, luxist-awards, Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, skincare

Continue reading “37 Extreme Actives: The One-Step Skincare Solution”

Ferran Adria, Harvard Professor

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The man who many considered the world's best chef has a new gig, Harvard professor. Adria, who announced in January that his El Bulli restaurant in Spain would be closing in 2012, will teach at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences this fall. He will be working with Harvard University on an undergraduate course in culinary physics. The course will use food to explain principles of soft matter physics in which culinary creations like suspensions and gels play a role. Adria is famous for his work in molecular gastronomy, framing food in new ways and new consistencies. The course will also include guest lectures from Wylie Dufresne, chef-owner of New York's wd-50, José Andrés and Dan Barber, co-owner of several restaurants in New York specializing in farm-to-table dining.

Tags: cooking, ferran adria, harvard, Jose Andres, molecular gastronomy, wylie dufresne

Le Whif - The Future of Chocolate is Calorie-Free

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Le Whif is the very first inhalable food source available to the commercial market. Created by Harvard professor David Edwards who pioneered inhalable insulin, Le Whif comes in four flavors: pure chocolate, raspberry chocolate, mint chocolate and coffee. Every whif is virtually calorie-free. A small pack of 8-10 whifs of chocolate contains less than one calorie, and the coffee contains the equivalent of a shot of espresso. The product is already available in France and Japan -- where it has garnered a huge following.

Le Whif comes in a small, lipstick-sized, biodegradable tube and can be purchased in a pack suggesting a smoking alternative. You put the tube in your mouth and inhale, and the taste and feeling of chocolate assaults your taste buds.

We chatted with inventor David Edwards (right) about his invention the Le Whif launch party at Dylan's Candy Bar this week.

Luxist: So, how'd you get the idea for breathable chocolate?

David Edwards: I was having lunch with a friend of mine, who's a French chef, about two and a half years ago, and we were thinking of doing an art project -- I run an art and design center in Paris -- and I was worried about what we would do, trying to think up new ideas for that art exhibit. My background as a scientist has been in developing new kinds of drugs and vaccines that you could breath, so I asked him whether he thought it would be a good idea to breathe food. And he thought that would be an interesting idea.

L: I hear you did breathable insulin before.

DE: I did insulin, a TB vaccine and so forth. So, anyway, I brought the idea to Harvard University and asked the students to think about it, and we took it to that exhibit, and it has just evolved from there.

L: I told a couple of friends that I was coming to this, and they thought smelling chocolate and not eating it sounded like torture. What would you say to them?

DE: Well, you don't smell it, actually, you whif it. It's not something you take through the nose, you put it in your mouth. You breathe it. So, it's not sniffing it, it's whifing it -- with one "f" -- we sort of invented a new word, there. It's neither eating nor breathing, but something in between, and we call that whifing. It's a new way to put food in your mouth without having to touch it or put a fork into it. It's like the next thing after the fork. What's interesting from the chocolate point of view is, all the flavor is 100 percent organic chocolate. It is real chocolate, and it has essentially no calories. It's such a dusting of chocolate that you don't have the calories. So, it's a great snack and it's light, obviously.

Tags: calorie free, Chocolate, David Edwards, diet chocolate, harvard, inhalable chocolate, Le Whif, no calorie chocolate

Continue reading “Le Whif - The Future of Chocolate is Calorie-Free”

Diamond Teak's Eco-Elegant Designs

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events, Celebrity Shopping, Green

The VIP tent at the annual Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge in the Hamptons is always quite a scene, but this year attendees noticed the space was particularly plush. That's because Diamond Teak, one of the key sponsors at this year's event, furnished the VIP area with heirloom-quality pieces from its Spirit Song Collection (above). The company was founded by two Harvard grads, Kevin and Christine Yardley, who volunteered with the World Teach Organization in Costa Rica. They conceived of Diamond Teak as a way of bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to protecting the environment and boosting the local economy there. They now have over 12 Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) / Smartwood certified plantations, protecting over 1.000 acres of jungle terrain. Diamond Teak is an end result of this process - the finest teak wood furniture from the best wood hand-selected by master crafts people. The company has accrued a broad range of high-profile clients, including Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and Sarah Jessica Parker. The Spirit Song Collection's elegant curves mimic organic forms in nature, combining golden tropical hardwood with shimmering marine-grade stainless steel.

Tags: Costa Rica, CostaRica, Diamond Teak, DiamondTeak, Hamptons, Harvard, Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge, Mercedes-benzPoloChallenge, polo, teak, wood furniture, WoodFurniture

The Classicist: A Closer Look at Car Show Girls

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events, Art, Books, The Classicist

All week we've been treated to gorgeous new cars from the world's leading marques at the Geneva Motor Show. In most of the pictures we also got a tantalizing glimpse of thigh, shapely arm or other anatomical fragment of the equally alluring models hired to show off the luxurious machines to best advantage. For most these women are a mere sideshow, a sort of added attraction, but for Dutch artist Jacqueline Hassink they're the main event. Hassink, who has received critical acclaim for her books and exhibitions that deal conceptually with issues of power and social relations, spent the past five years traveling to three continents photographing car show girls.

The resulting body of work from major car shows in seven different cities on three continents, including New York, Paris, Geneva, Tokyo, Detroit, and Shanghai, is collected in her new book, Car Girls (Aperture, $85). Hassink used these sites to reflect on "differing cultural values with regard to their ideal images of beauty and women." The series captures the moments during the women's performances when they "become more like dolls than individuals." The luxuriously produced book, limited to an edition of 1,500 copies, takes a subversively fun yet conceptually astute approach to examining "differing cultural values and ideal images of femininity as used to define corporate identity," and luxury car brands in particular.

"Car companies are global players who need to continually re-present themselves to local markets," Hassink notes. "Each year they show off their latest car models at extravagantly staged shows in major cities across the globe. The shows that take place in Detroit, New York, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Paris are the most important according to the industry. Less important are the shows in New York and Shanghai. At these shows, the auto manufacturers take great pains to distinguish their brands, but they all present their latest cars in the same way: with the help of female models. Essentially, the women become tools to present the corporate image in a very distinctive way." See the gallery for examples from Ferrari, Maserati and more.

Gallery: Jacqueline Hassink: Car Girls