Robb Report Singapore April 2022

AS 2022 CLOSES out a rather bizarre first quarter, our thoughts turn to the flux in which we find ourselves. Events taking place half a world away are impacting us in very real ways such as the price of fuel at the pump and that, in turn, is delivering a shock to the entire supply chain. In the midst of trying to live with the twin spectres of a pandemic and brewing conflict, we find ourselves looking for the upsides in human existence. In this April issue, we take a look at the essentials of menswear for a new decade – one which opens up the entire spectrum of what is acceptable – if only you dare try. Our style contributing editor Ben Chin offers the new rudiments of dressing for travel.…

Maverick Material Ceramic has become a go-to case material in the watch industry thanks to its light weight and extreme durability, as well as a scratch-resistance rivalled only by diamonds. IWC, which has been working with the material since the 1980s, has released two new models – Lake Tahoe (S$15,900) in white and Woodland (left, S$15,900) in green, both 45.5mm by 15.7mm – inspired by the hues of US Navy uniforms and the training grounds of naval aviators. But ceramic isn’t all about a toughguy exterior. It’s also employed for its design potential, allowing watchmakers to achieve striking colours that would otherwise typically be executed on the dial. Woodland is an almost entirely monochromatic presentation, extending the colourway throughout the watch, save for the off-white dial markers and a black crown and…

VLADIMIR PUTIN IS a shining example of the prudent saver. According to my sources, which are relatively unreliable, his ‘take home’ pay from his job as president of Russia is around US$140,000 per annum. It’s a decent wage for quite a high-profile job with a fair amount of pressure, but it’s not stratospheric. He also has some assets, but even they are unremarkable; three cars (marques not specified); an 800 sq ft apartment in St Petersburg; and a trailer (presumably for family holidays). It’s all relatively modest, so we have to admire the man for being able to put enough money aside (on a regular basis one has to assume – in a low-risk fund of some description) to be able to afford the timepieces he is seen to be wearing when dispensing…

200 pairs of the Louis Vuitton and Nike Air Force 1 by Virgil Abloh sneakers Auctioned by Sotheby’s online for a total of US$25.3 million Drawing over 1,200 bidders – the most for any online auction at Sotheby’s – the sale of 200 special-edition sneakers generated more than eight times the overall US$3 million top estimate. The calf leather sneakers came embellished with Louis Vuitton’s emblematic Monogram and Damier patterns and were sold in a range of sizes, with a pair of size five sneakers attracting the highest winning bid of US$352,800. Proceeds from the sale went towards The Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholarship Fund, in support of academically promising students of Black, African American or African descent. The De Beers Cullinan Blue Diamond Bidding commences in late April through Sotheby’s in Hong Kong Discovered at…

YOU COULD SAY Karl-Friedrich Scheufele was born to do what he does. His family purchased Chopard, the venerable 162-year-old Swiss watch manufacture, in 1963, and Scheufele, together with his sister, Caroline, took over from their father, Karl Scheufele III, in 2001. But the siblings had already been hard at work for two decades transforming the company into the high-wattage watch-and-jewellery empire it is today. In 1980, when Scheufele was just 22, he designed the company’s first steel sports watch, the St Moritz, so he’d have something to wear on the slopes of the Swiss Alps. In 2019, Scheufele was inspired to revisit the concept and created a reboot of sorts, the Alpine Eagle. It has done so well that it is “presently facing a shortage of product on the market”. When…

Ronnie Fieg isn’t a designer, per se, though he’s more than just a retailer. The 39-year-old founder of Kith, a shoe store that grew into a brand of its own, plays many parts, but his single greatest talent may be knowing how to create a vibe. While this is clear from entering any one of his stores, from Los Angeles to London, it is particularly apparent when visiting the company’s headquarters. Located in an industrial, glass-clad complex on the Williamsburg waterfront, the lofty, almost 5,600sqm space hums with 120 cool-kid employees looking like a cross-section of any fashionable Brooklyn coffeeshop. A long hallway is flanked by glass vitrines, their shelves lined with sneakers displayed like rare specimens at the Museum of Natural History; a glass-walled, triple-height wardrobe provides similarly museum-worthy storage…