PRIVATE TRAVELLER COLLECTION

This large island has first been the starting point for the greatest polar expeditions in history. Many explorers have ventured into its fjords and icy mountains: adventurers, scientists, industrialists, but also whale hunters and trappers. But contrary to what we might thing, the Inuits never settled there: they were unable to sail past the ice sheet, which would have drifted with them all the way to Greenland! Its discovery goes back to 1596, when the Dutch sailor Willem Barents discovered a passage between the North and the East: the famous straight of Barents. After a battle with a polar bear, Barents discovered those snow-covered “spiky mountains” (Spitzberg in Norwegian) as he was trying to sail around the island. There is no trace left of this expedition in the Svalbard, except in Barent’s diary. 

At the beginning of the 1900s, men were killing around 3,000 bears per year in the archipelago. Over two centuries, the Dutch, French, English, Norwegians and Danish hunted whales and walruses by the thousand in the archipelago’s waters. The whale was used in Europe to make luxury goods like soap or perfume, but also to develop public lighting in the streets of the continent’s great capitals…

This slaughter depopulated the region from these great mammals, and almost led to the species’ extinction as early as the early 17^th century. It was then the land fauna’s turn to be hunted down, in particular for their fur and ivory. Walruses, bears, reindeers, foxes and seals were hunted by Russian trappers from the 18^th century.

Then came a succession of scientific explorations: geology, climatology, cartography… These research expeditions quickly led to the exploitation of the area’s mineral riches, in particular its coal deposits: this led to conflicts on the ownership of the Svalbard’s lands between Russia and Norway.

Today, this mining town has transformed into a real sector of tertiary activity, thanks to the construction of Longyearbyen airport in 1975.

Its economy is based on scientific research, on the exploitation of its seven mines, and on tourism. The inhabitants live in small, colourful houses.

They go to mass, to museums, to university, to the swimming pool. Like all other Europeans, they do their shopping at the supermarket. In its cafes, you can meet Norwegian or Russian researchers, who expatriated themselves in the Svalbard for a few years to carry out their research on climate and geothermic energy.

In the last few years, this port which used to be a refuelling stop for fishing boats and scientific missions, has become a real holiday resort, with luxury hotels like the Spitzbergen Hotel or the Radisson Blu Polar. For a more authentic holiday, it is easy to find a charming guesthouse or a cosy bed and breakfast.

When is London most beautiful? Definitely early in the morning! I love London when it's empty because late in the evening it's always really full. I went to Chelsea Flower Show yesterday, which was great. I like to go very early (7.30am!) before the crowds get there: it is usually just me and the TV crews setting up.

I take lots of photographs of the flowers which often become prints for dresses, scarves or shirts in my collections. It was all very inspiring!

In September, we opened a new shop in Mayfair. The idea for the new shop is that it was designed from the heart, not from the wallet: that means that it's not got any formulaic design attached to it, it's all very eclectic.

It's modern, but it's got floor surfaces that change from stone to wood block, to planks of wood which have shapes cut into them, they're not all parallel. It has one room which is all dominoes. It's got many, many custom made aspects to it. And of course the main thing as well as the interior is the facade of one of the shops  - as there are two together: N°11 and N°9. The facade of number 11 is designed by English architects 6A and is made from cast iron which is totally unique in London.

It is hard to imagine that an area of London now synonymous with success, celebrities and sophistication was once a byword for reckless speculation and bankruptcy, but Mayfair had rather inauspicious beginnings.

The district, once known as Albemarle Ground, was targeted in 1684 by a group, headed by Sir John Bond, of what diarist John Evelyn called 'bankers and mechanics'. It was at this time that embryonic streets, to be known as Albemarle, Bond, Dover and Stafford, were laid out.

This quartet of thoroughfares can claim to be the original heart of Mayfair, even though it was some time before it began beating - Bond died, lawsuits flew, penury loomed for some and, by 1720, although the south of Albemarle Street was described  as housing 'persons of

 quality',  the northern section was compared to 'the ruins of Troy'.

The focus of fashionable London – despite those persons of quality – was still elsewhere, notably Covent Garden and Kensington.

We had over thirty children come down from Beeston Fields Primary School in Nottingham yesterday. Some of them had never left Nottingham before, let alone visited London, so we rented a coach for them and they came down to the studio. They first contacted me back in December to ask me to design their school ties. I wrote back and visited them in Beeston and suggested that with some clues from us, they design the ties instead. We selected four finalists from the class and then they were allowed to choose their favourite. The chosen one was a very nice, colourful stripe which they nick-named 'The Rainbow Stripe'.

17^th October 2013. At 8 o’clock sharp in each time zone, Brussels, London, Marrakech, New York, Rio, Rome and Paris are fizzing to the same music: that of fine pink bubbles that twirl, frolic and rise up to the sky. In 1987, as a tribute to his daughter Alexandra, Bernard de Nonancourt created the Cuvée Alexandra. Since then, there has only been six vintages as this champagne is only produced on exceptional years. Laurent Perrier’s 2008 Alexandra Grande Cuvée Rosé consecrates the excellence of champagne – a perfect companion for the finest foie gras, which will be sublimated by its notes of suave spices and roses.

Brunch? A moment of pure pleasure spent together. Christofle asked Jean-Marie Massaud to stage this privileged moment: the designer acquitted himself of the task with lightness and subtlety, and imagined 19 pieces for the Sunday table: a pastry basket, jars for the sugar, jam and dry fruit, a bowl for serving soups, platters and serving dishes. Our favourite piece: the tea fountain, or a contemporary reinvention of the Russian samovar.  Now all you need to do is set the table and indulge in a spread of home-made delicacies.