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Life & Luxury

The Australian Financial Review Magazine

Featured

First look inside the new home of cult restaurant Saint Peter

From sea charcuterie to fish-fat soap, acclaimed chef Josh Niland is about to open the doors on his new venture. “We’ve held out for this, and now we have it.”

  • Updated
  • Jill Dupleix
During treatment, your body is not your own. And at the exact moment you want to retreat, everyone needs to look at you.

Fashion is a way to stand out. But sometimes camouflage is better

I was diagnosed with stage one hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in December. It’s the good kind, as these things go.

  • Lauren Sams

A simple recipe for baba ghanoush with a twist

A desire to dig deeper into Lebanese cuisine is redefining Gerard’s Bistro in Brisbane.

  • Jill Dupleix

These are seven top candidates for the next ‘it’ watch

Collaborations with haute couture designers, a few tricks and a touch of green are all it takes to make the list.

  • Bani McSpedden

Why these are the two standout brands in women’s watches

The pressure is on for brands to be distinctive – and some players are going to extraordinary lengths.

  • Bani McSpedden
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April

Benita Kam; Linda Penn and Josh Penn; Monika Tu; Gold Dinner 2023 at Sydney Town Hall.

Inside the Gold Dinner, where $20m is raised in one night

The rebooted charity gala proves that when it comes to bringing in serious money, it’s not about inviting who you know. It’s knowing who to invite.

  • Matthew Drummond

Philanthropy 50: Which Australians gave away the most in 2023? 

Donations from Australia’s biggest private givers have jumped to a record $1.25 billion.

  • Lisa Murray
Filippo Carandini creates brightly coloured bespoke cabinetry.

Say nay to beige – the best new interiors are awash in vibrant colour

For those wanting to move out of neutral territory, the good news is that bold hues are back.

  • Stephen Todd

What women want: more colour, bigger watches

Over 20 years, Helen Gregory has seen a lot of change in the watch industry. One of the biggest has been the arrival of women as collectors.

  • Bani McSpedden

Max Allen’s three top picks from a hot new booze maker

Kate Galloway and David Ramonteu pivoted from wine to gin to launch Hastings Distillers in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay, building flavours in surprising ways.

  • Max Allen
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Fraser McNaughton at North Curl Curl rock pool in Sydney.

This executive just swam his first lap at 49

Fraser McNaughton can count on one hand the number of times he has swum in the ocean since he moved to Australia 17 years ago. But that’s all about to change.

  • Lisa Murray

The man who cracked Japan’s crime gangs is back for a sequel

Jake Adelstein’s Tokyo Vice exposed Japan’s yakuza. Now he’s out of police protection and releasing a new book.

  • Michael Smith

March

Zoë Foster Blake: ‘I still think it’s hilarious that I’m in business’

This beauty entrepreneur sold her business for a fortune. And then she bought it back for a song.

  • Lauren Sams

Roast chicken and a knockout sauce: a chef’s best Sunday lunch recipe

Any random assortment of people can sit down around a roast chook and instantly become a temporary family, says Dave Verheul of Embla.

  • Jill Dupleix
A lot of companies sell leggings and hoodies. Lululemon sells more than most.

Lululemon, now a $US55b behemoth, wants you to wear activewear all day

Nasdaq-listed Lululemon is selling so many leggings that it has joined the S&P 500. Having bounced back after a few stumbles, it’s a company with stretch goals.

  • Lauren Sams

Australia’s Indian diaspora: ‘Very aspirational and ambitious’

Indians are set to overtake British-born Australians to become the country’s biggest diaspora and are making their way to the corridors of power.

  • Greg Earl

Jimmy Choo cornered the market for heels. Now it’s selling sneakers

Are you addicted to shoes? As the heart and inner-sole of Jimmy Choo, Sandra Choi has your dream job. Her challenge: to ensure the brand remains relevant.

  • Eugenie Kelly
The greatest lesson she’s learnt from horse riding? “That horses will mirror your behaviour – and that applies to business, too.”

The Nike exec who literally jumped hurdles to climb the career ladder

After sleeping in a horse float and training for eventing, Sandra Hore finds horse riding provides plenty of lessons about life and business.

  • Lauren Sams
teamLab Borderless in Tokyo, Japan on February 8, 2024.

How teamLab is drawing millions of visitors a year to Tokyo

Japan’s digital art collective teamLab has opened a new Tokyo museum, as its immersive installations gain popularity around the world.

  • Michael Smith

How this manufacturer made it to the runways of Paris and New York

Melbourne Textile Knitting’s Stephen Morris-Moody has always been a dyed-in-the-wool fan of yarn. Now he’s taken his work to Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.

  • Luke Benedictus
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Dior brings men back into the fold with a reimagined classic watch

Resurrecting a previous model is hardly unusual in the watch world, but success is never guaranteed.

  • Bani McSpedden

Why these Australian designers make their sofas in the Netherlands

Kate and Joel Booy set up their home and studio in Dordrecht because ‘design is to the Dutch what sport is to Australians’.

  • Stephen Todd
Punters who attended were also asked to interact with the winemakers in ways that went way beyond mere tasting.

Bougie bubbles, lo-fi lovers: inside a next-gen wine show

Max Allen translates a Melbourne hipster drinks event for his generation.

  • Max Allen
The Olsen twins, Ashley and Mary-Kate, founded The Row.

The brand so hot it banned iPhones from its Paris show

In an era of oversharing, former child stars and reclusive fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are taking a different approach.

  • Lauren Sams

February

Mary Fowler, Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley celebrate their win.

Australia’s favourite sports team is no longer male. Will the dollars follow?

Matildas merchandise already outsells the Socceroos’ by a factor of two to one. But in the big-money world of major sport, scoring goals doesn’t always move the dial.

  • Updated
  • Zoe Samios