DESIGN
Fisher & Paykel taps architect Omar Gandhi for its first Canadian experience centre
By integrating heritage elements with contemporary design, the team created a space that is both timeless and forward-looking.Supplied
Toronto’s new Fisher & Paykel Experience Centre is where Kiwi culture, the history of the city and the vision of Omar Gandhi Architects meet. The journey starts in the alleyway of a former carpet factory in the city’s Liberty Village neighbourhood. After entering a building called the Boiler House, anchored by a prominent red brick chimney, designers and homeowners on the hunt for kitchen inspiration and appliances are greeted with a warm cup of Kawakawa tea, a traditional Maori medicine. The tea station sits on the edge of the first of three kitchen concepts, with dim lighting, soapstone counters and serene millwork crafted by cabinet maker Gibson Greenwood.
Principal architect Omar Gandhi and senior architect Scott Sampson’s vision for moving visitors through the raw, historical space is distilled into a trio of design interventions: leaving the existing building intact as a shell for its new use; using compressed and expanded volumes to modulate how the space reveals itself; and introducing a sculptural wood ceiling that floats in a triple height space to bring both intimacy and drama to a presentation kitchen helmed by a professional chef. That final, more social kitchen can accommodate gatherings of up to 20 people at a stainless-steel island by Arclinea and wood dining table by Christian Woo. Throughout, the function, history and style of the 91-year-old New Zealand brand’s fridges, induction cooktops and steam ovens are featured.
Gandhi credits the wisdom of journalist and urban activist Jane Jacobs for his design approach. “The result is a layered and intimate spatial experience,” he says. “Jacobs once said, ‘new ideas need old buildings,’ and this project reflects that philosophy. By integrating heritage elements with contemporary design, we’ve created a space that is both timeless and forward-looking.” – DEBORAH WANG
HOTELS
The Pig’s Cotswolds property offers a bucolic escape
The hotel is set in Barnsley House in Cirencester, a historic property dating back to 1697Jake Eastham/Supplied
Just two hours from London lies the platonic ideal of a British countryside escape: The Pig in the Cotswolds hotel and spa, the newest addition to the Pig hotel group’s portfolio of 11 country-luxe accommodations. Set in the refurbished Barnsley House in Cirencester, a historic property dating back to 1697, the hotel has a rich heritage.
Its gardens in particular are a marvel, created in the 1950s by the manse’s previous owner, Rosemary Verey, who went on to become a celebrated garden designer in charge of green spaces for the future-King Charles and Sir Elton John. Verey died in 2001, but her gardens live on, lovingly tended by a team that includes her grandson, Tony. Guests can stroll the laburnum walk, relax by a Tuscan temple-inspired grotto, pluck apples in the pottage gardens or enjoy tea and cake at a wrought-iron table beneath wisteria.
Inside, recently retired Pig co-founder and creative director Judy Hutson’s vision of whimsical, elevated comfort shines. Handpicked antiques, mismatched upholstery and mullioned windows in the 24 boutique bedrooms (several of which are dog-friendly) add to the atmosphere. Rooms offer views of the grounds and, beyond them, the surrounding National Trust land, crisscrossed with walking paths that beckon explorers to happen upon grazing sheep and Downton Abbey-esque manors.
As a B-Corp-certified hotel, much of the food is sourced within 40 kilometres. Chef Will Parkes showcases local meats and cheeses, while a staff forager supplies chanterelles, rosehips and other goodies to compliment wholesome dishes including roasted pheasant or full English breakfasts. A first for the brand, the Pig Village Pub across the street offers its own cozy rooms and a crackling-fire ambiance, perfect for a pint or late-night dessert. – ADRIENNE MATEI
Stays from £250/night through thepighotel.com.
MEN’S WEAR
Vancouver’s Champlain Club puts a Canadian spin on Ivy League style
Vancouver’s Champlain Club Jonathan Richard (left) and Cameron Conn (right)Supplied
Even before the pandemic upended office dress codes, Jonathan Richard noticed that men were dressing more casually. “People were not as corporate,” he says. “They were not rotating five suits a week any more, and the tie was gone.” So in 2020, Richard launched Champlain Club, a men’s-wear line based in Vancouver that bridges the gap between corporate and casual; reworked classics smart enough for the boardroom, the bar and the beach.
After seeing Champlain’s preppy polos, varsity cardigans and slim fit Oxford shirts, done in tennis white and country club green, it’s no surprise that Richard idolizes Ralph Lauren. “My inspirations come from the Ivy League and old money aesthetics,” he says. “But we make them more modern.” (The brand is named after Samuel de Champlain, who founded Quebec City, where Richard is from.)
As the weather warms, you’ll likely spot more guys wearing the brand’s letterman hats and striped camp shirts.Pierre Production/Supplied
Richard cut his teeth at the custom clothing brand Surmesur where he was the Vancouver franchise owner for five years. “The customization was really my passion,” he says. “Learning the fabrics from Prince of Wales to Houndstooth, learning the patterns, going to Savile Row – it was such a good experience,” he says. Spring 2025 is Champlain’s first full collection of 43 pieces that includes an expanded selection of knitwear and unique details such as branded buttons.
As the weather warms, you’ll likely spot more guys wearing the brand’s letterman hats and striped camp shirts. Why? The collection has been picked up by 46 retailers in 38 states and five provinces, including Harry Rosen, Plenty and Men’s Club. “We’re not doing fast fashion,” he says. “I think we brush up the classic pieces that have remained in style for the past 50 years,” he says. “Tried and true pieces, classics, wardrobe staples for years to come.” – JOSH GREENBLATT
For more, visit champlain.club.
SHOPPING
In Brooklyn, Maguire opens a new home for its footwear and accessories
Brooklyn’s Williamsburg served as the perfect spot for the store.Maguire/Supplied
After the 2022 debut of its first U.S. boutique in Manhattan’s Nolita neighbourhood, Maguire founders Myriam and Romy Belzile-Maguire didn’t stop looking for more New York spots to open another retail outpost. The duo – sisters who launched the designed-in-Montreal shoe, boot and accessories brand in 2016 – found the perfect second home in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg. They were sold on the area’s laid-back vibe, but seeing signage for the likes of Chanel and Hermès in the nabe didn’t hurt.
“It’s a more relaxed place to shop in New York,” Myriam says. “It feels more residential, and we realized that we could have regular customers because of this. But it’s also busy with tourists in the summer.” Data from Maguire’s e-commerce site also showed the sisters that a location in Brooklyn was their best bet. “Even though we have a store in Manhattan, we noticed that we had more customers buying online from Brooklyn,” Myriam says.
Romy says there’s a sense of discovery for most people who enter the Williamsburg boutique, which boasts a trio of custom illustrations by Quebec-based illustrator Jeraume. The artwork’s playful tone is picked up in the details that Quebec design studio Perron contributed to the project including colliding hues and graphic silhouettes. “A lot of people are learning about the brand through the store,” Romy says. What they’re discovering includes the brand’s recent launches from cowhide bags (the last edition of these styles were quick sellouts in other locations during the fall) to metallic shoes and takes on the round-toe ballet flats that are all the rage right now. – ODESSA PALOMA PARKER
For more, visit maguireshoes.com.
EVENTS
Saut Hermès and equestrian Simon Delestre make a dramatic return to the Grand Palais in Paris
French Hermès partner rider Simon Delestre and his horse Cayman Jolly Jumper.CHRISTOPHE TANIERE/Supplied
“My uncle used to say, ‘the first customer at Hermès is the horse,’” says Guillaume de Seynes, a sixth-generation member of the Hermès family and the house’s executive vice-president of Hermès International. This is evident, of course, in its history with saddlery and how it informs the house’s philosophy and aesthetics today: no object without function, pieces built to last well beyond fashion’s fleeting trends and visual references to equestrian life in its silk pieces, jewellery and handbag hardware. But, for the last 15 years, it’s been most obvious every March when the showjumping event, Saut Hermès, takes over the Grand Palais in central Paris.
“The Grand Palais had been designed for the World Exhibition. But they had in mind that, afterwards, it could be used for events and, especially, horse jumping,” de Seynes says. “That’s why you have no pillars and that vast space. And we realized that during these events, Hermès had a booth presenting saddles.” For the past four years plus a pandemic pause, however, the event had moved to a temporary venue while the Grand Palais was closed for its Olympic Games glow up. The 2025 edition took full advantage of the revamped landmark, its glass roof illuminating a course of gates resembling the house’s Faubourg flagship and horsey motifs, surrounded by grandstands and installations demonstrating how Hermès makes its riding crops or sampling an equestrian-inspired fragrance called Paddock.
“For a lot of people, it’s a rendezvous and it’s something important for Parisians,” de Seynes says. “Hermès is a French company, but maybe more than a French company, it is a Parisian company.” During the final competition, the Grand Prix Hermès CSI 5* class, the local crowd roared when French Hermès partner rider Simon Delestre and his horse Cayman Jolly Jumper won for the third time. It was a fortuitous homecoming. The previous time he took the event’s top prize was the last time the event was held in the Grand Palais in 2019. – ANDREW SARDONE
For more, visit hermes.com.