Vogue Living

Sharyn CAIRNS The noted photographer turned the lens this issue onto her own holiday retreat on the Victorian coast designed by architect Kerstin Thompson (page 34). What does the notion of escape mean to you? Putting that holiday auto-responder on and heading down to the coast. It’s a time to relax and recharge so I can come back creatively inspired for the coming year. What three elements were key to the creation of your holiday home? Great collaborations with talented people, beautiful light that dances across the concrete walls, and the perfect setting among the landscape. What immediately brings you a sense of calm? Nothing is more rejuvenating than being in nature. As soon as I see the coastline, everything melts away. How will you be spending your summer break? Relaxing! I’ve been fortunate to…

As this issue goes to print, we are well and truly in the festive season. Deadlines, parties, running on adrenaline to get to the finish line — I’ve forgotten how much I love the end-of-year buzz after the last couple of years. I was also lucky enough to go on my first overseas trip since 2019 to Tokyo with Krug Champagne. I attended an intimate dinner and performance of legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s suite in three movements, which represented a trio of the house’s 2008 harvest. It was a moment to savour the power and creativity of storytelling through different mediums, an unforgettable event that will stay with me for a long time. I also attended the opening of the new Cartier flagship boutique in Sydney, a truly spectacular retail experience…

The American pianist Liberace is remembered primarily for his grand showmanship. But as his star soared, the musician from working-class Wisconsin developed a taste for opulence in other avenues of his colourful life, including interiors. The dream house he built in San Fernando Valley was outfitted with lavish furnishings and a generous peppering of eclectic antiques, not to mention a piano-shaped swimming pool. Opulent indeed. When transforming the interior of a secluded Paddington terrace, which previously housed an architectural studio but would soon become the new Sydney home of PJ Femme — the sister brand of beloved Australian tailor P Johnson — interior designer Tamsin Johnson had Liberace levels of ornamentation on the moodboard. “We wanted it to feel more embellished and feminine than the other P Johnson spaces,” she explains. “It’s…

What strikes you immediately as you stand among the thrum of Sydney’s CBD on the corner of George and King streets, admiring the brand-new Cartier flagship, is a shimmering facade. Inspired by both the serene waters of Sydney Harbour and the rolling waves of Bondi Beach, the impressive sheath also mirrors the refined pieces crafted by the French maison for the past 175 years with an inherent strength and presence. The work of Paris-based interior firm Moinard Bétaille, an agency that has collaborated with Cartier to bring to life boutiques around the world, this local destination storefront presented an opportunity to herald the strength and beauty of Australia’s own design heritage. The considered skill that the luxury jewellery house has built its renown upon is expressed in this boutique with the…

Call it the triumph of hyper-reality over hard facts, but the image now commands the way the world consumes culture and without its impeccable photographic capture, creatives can’t hope to grow a clientele beyond their backyard. It’s a truism that Melbourne-based photographer Sharyn Cairns has turned into a stellar career; one incurring decades of international travel and the train of her eye on the artistry of everyday existence for many of the world’s most influential mastheads and makers. She has done so with such a mastery of composition and chiaroscuro — investing decorative accidents with the modest drama of Dutch still life in the bestselling book Perfect Imperfect — that she could claim major pull over the shaping of early 21st-century interior style. But she wouldn’t, because such cocky assertion runs counter to…

There are few brands in the world who can lay claim to an object as quotidian as a blue box tied with a white ribbon. But for Tiffany & Co. — a house synonymous with sparkling diamonds, Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy and the frenetic glamour of New York City, it’s the very foundation upon which the luxury jeweller is built. So potent is the allure of a Tiffany Blue box that the New York-based company has harnessed its powers for its latest creative collaboration with American contemporary artist Daniel Arsham. Perfectly timed to coincide with the Australian launch of the luxury house’s newest collection, Tiffany Lock (the bracelet will be available here in January with the full collection to follow in August), it’s the second time Tiffany & Co. has partnered…