Too late II

THE LUXURY ISSUE 2014 View All Issues » T's Luxury Issue offers an intimate look at some of literature, art and design’s most respected figures. In the issue’s centerpiece, authors including Philip Roth, George Saunders, Marilynne Robinson and Lydia Davis revisit, in candid prose, the circumstances and motivations that shaped some of their greatest works. (They also share annotated pages from those books — a sampling of a December auction of annotated first editions by 75 authors to benefit the PEN American Center, the range of which can be seen on T’s website.) Next, we celebrate the master decorator Robert Kime, whom we encounter at his picturesque farmhouse in the north of England; Rita Konig tours the property and gets a firsthand look at the English eclecticism that Kime has brought to his high-profile clients’ homes for decades. The polymath Danish artist Olafur Eliasson opens the doors to his sprawling studio in a converted brewery in Berlin and explains how art is just one of the ways — along with politics, philanthropy and cooking — he hopes to change the world. Elsewhere, Cathy Horyn answers the question, "To fast or feast?" by doing both in Germany’s Black Forest; Andrew O’Hagan opines that, yes, life really is better in the iPhone age; Christine Smallwood puzzles over a bizarre new theme park in Rome dedicated to Italian film; and one of T’s very own editors explores New York City on three wheels in an ode to the trusty and stylish, if oft-forgotten, tricycle. See all stories from this issue >> HIGHLIGHTS William Eggleston, The Third Way: Tricycles By EMILY STOKES Long a favorite of toddlers, three-wheelers have also attracted the attention of British lords, Indian maharajahs — and now, one writer hopes, a bold new generation. Top: the fruit juice “lunch” served during the 10-day fast at the Buchinger Wilhelmi clinic on Lake Constance. Bottom: lunch at the three-Michelin-star restaurant Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn includes grilled quail, a Breton lobster and a granite of sour cherries. Famine or Feast? By CATHY HORYN Is it more rewarding to subsist on broth and cold mountain treks at a German clinic for 10 days or to settle into five-course Michelin-starred meals? One writer heads to the Black Forest to find out. Slouchy Suede Bags By T MAGAZINE A luxuriously supple carryall, just in time for fashion’s new ’70s groove. The Elegance of Time By T MAGAZINE While smart watches are grabbing headlines, there’s something thoroughly modern in bucking the trend in favor of a handsome gold timepiece with no complications. Diamonds in the Rough By T MAGAZINE Jagged stones, graphic settings and a touch of black give the new gems a strikingly youthful edge. Vintage furniture and custom pieces by Vincenzo de Cotiis in his former office in Brescia, originally a sock factory from the ’40s. Industrial Elegance By STEPHEN HEYMAN The interior architect Vincenzo de Cotiis — sought after in his native Italy for the dynamic monastery-meets-laboratory approach he brings to designing furniture, homes and hotels — deserves our attention. Philip Roth at home in September. “I certainly didn’t understand while at work that henceforth I was never to be free of this psychoanalytic patient I was calling Alexander Portnoy.” Old Books, New Thoughts By PHILIP ROTH, LYDIA DAVIS, ROBERT A. CARO, GEORGE SAUNDERS, MARILYNNE ROBINSON, JENNIFER EGAN, JUNOT DÍAZ On the occasion of an auction of annotated first editions to benefit PEN American Center, seven authors look back on their early books and younger selves. Anya Hindmarch’s World of Inspiration By EVIANA HARTMAN The beloved British accessories designer turns to playful influences to breathe a little life and laughter into luxury. Unfinished wooden sculptures at Studio Olafur Eliasson, which occupies a converted brewery in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. Olafur Eliasson on How to Do Good Art By NED BEAUMAN On the eve of his exhibition at the new Fondation Louis Vuitton, the artist discusses his work — which includes a school, an architecture practice, a charity, a cookbook and a herd of Icelandic sheep, and which is meant to make the world a better place. Really. Backstage at Dior’s spring 2015 show, where the creative and image director of Dior Makeup, Peter Philips, created subtle drama with adhesive strips across the eyelids. At Dior, Icing on the Cake By SARAH NICOLE PRICKETT Sugary pastel eyeliner made from strips of satin conjures worlds of romance and solace. One of the entrances to Cinecittà World, which opened last July. Hollywood on the Tiber By CHRISTINE SMALLWOOD What could be more melancholic, extravagant, alienated, operatic and deeply strange than Italian film? Try turning Italian film into a theme park. Poetic Justice By T MAGAZINE Finally for evening, a mood of natural elegance with loose, unadorned dresses and flat sandals._____________________________________________________________ the new york times rises to my bait every time...they go to great lengths to defend themselves as the "paper of record" for the general public and then they publish thinks like the T magazine "Luxury 2014" issue...in ethnography the rule of thumb is to write about what people say they are doing, what they think they are doing, and what they are actually doing ( not losing sight of the fact that even the most objective of ethnographers is going to have biases about what people are doing )...well...here's a quick run-down on what the n y times is doing...making money by pandering to a wealthy elite...among the tokenish articles on designer clothing, interior design, yet another article on phillip roth, and elitist kitsch they call art, are 74 full page color ads and 4 full page black and white ( full page ads were all i found )...revenue of $7,923,550 from the former and $293,680 from the latter...$8,217,230 total from an artificial section of a "newspaper" dedicated to "all the news that fit to print" as long as it turns a buck...i'll read it...but i won't trust it.