During the 42 years that Estée Lauder worked at her namesake company, she oversaw the creation of a dozen scents and encouraged women to create fragrance “wardrobes” tailored to every occasion and mood. The brand’s Legacy Collection, which comes out on Feb. 1, revives five of Lauder’s creations with the help of Frédéric Malle (whose perfume brand was acquired by the Estée Lauder Companies in 2015) and the perfumers Anne Flipo, Carlos Benaïm and Bruno Jovanovic, all of whom have worked with Malle on previous fragrances. During an interview inside Lauder’s well-preserved office near Central Park, Malle explained how he retooled the scents using more modern fragrance-making techniques. He noted that, in Lauder’s day, perfumers combined base scents that were “like premixed mini-perfumes” to create a final fragrance. “They contained things that weren’t necessary and created background noise,” Malle said. To update the formulas, any nonessential ingredients in those bases were stripped away — “it’s like cleaning up,” he said. The new collection has notes that range from fresh and herbaceous to musky and sweet. Azurée, initially released in 1969, evokes dry Mediterranean shores with herby notes like basil and tarragon as well as jasmine, spicy cardamom, bergamot, and cumin, which Malle amplified in his edition. For White Linen, a classic floral bouquet of rose and jasmine, Malle used pure labdanum, an ambery resin from the rockrose plant, which wasn’t available when the scent debuted in 1978. Knowing, a seductive scent from 1988, “contained a little bit of the Muzak of the ’80s,” Malle said. The modernized version is a fruity chypre with raspberries, black currant, rose and patchouli. The overall goal of the collection, Malle said, “is to revive this work and show how good Mrs. Lauder was.” The Legacy Collection is available from Feb. 1, $280, esteelauder.com.
Eat Here
In Istanbul, a Red Velvet Bistro From the Owners of Arkestra
When Debora Ipekel, a former music business executive, and her husband, Cenk Debensason, a classically trained chef, first came up with the concept for a new restaurant venture in their hometown, Istanbul, they wanted to create an experience that would encompass both their worlds. “Hospitality extends beyond serving great food — it’s about creating an atmosphere that reflects our identity,” says Ipekel. Arkestra, named after the Sun Ra Arkestra, the avant-garde jazz group formed in the 1950s, opened in September 2022. Inside a sprawling villa in the neighborhood of Etiler, a wood-paneled dining room on the ground floor serves Debensason’s varied menu of dishes like tuna sashimi with sushi rice ice cream and a seasonal mushroom risotto. On the next level is a bar called Listening Room which features lounge seating, low cocktail tables and an extensive library of vinyl records. Drawing on her career in music, Ipekel curates late-night sets alongside guests such as the Chicago disco legend Sadar Bahar and the Turkish DJ Barış K. “We want the music to be eclectic, timeless, and soulful — similar to the food we serve,” she says. This month, the villa housing Arkestra welcomed the couple’s new bistro, Ritmo. Tucked away behind velvet curtains with mirrored ceilings and Rococo furnishings, the space has a decadent, playful feel that’s complemented by the selection of snacks such as oysters with champagne sabayon and churros with spicy chocolate sauce. arkestra.com.tr.
The artist Emily Weiner is drawn to the sort of instantly recognizable imagery that taps into the unconscious and communicates across time. After years spent honing her style while also working as a curator and art writer, she’s lately made waves with her vibrant, almost spiritual oil paintings of urns, columns, jaunty hands and theater curtains framing ombré skies and conspicuous moons. Her new pieces, which will soon make up a solo show at Red Arrow Gallery in Nashville and feature in the inaugural group exhibition at König Galerie’s Mexico City outpost, continue in this vein while expanding her visual lexicon. On one canvas, Weiner has painted an all-encompassing aquamarine spiral that moves toward a tiny half-moon at the center; hung next to it at Red Arrow will be its fiery twin — a mirror-image spiral rendered in a rusty red. (A number of the other works are symmetrical all on their own and, fittingly, the name of the solo show, “Never Odd or Even,” is a palindrome.) Weiner, who emphasizes the eco-feminist, futurist bent of the paintings, says the spirals represent the idea of eternal return; she sees them as “cosmic fallopian tubes.” In another work, a gleaming moon can be glimpsed through a yonic slit reminiscent of a Lucio Fontana cut painting; elsewhere, receding silhouettes of faces evoke mountains or monoliths. “I was thinking about the notion that this is a tainted world that inevitably is going to be saved by a patriarchal god and trying to invert it,” says Weiner. “How can we take care of this landscape that we live in as a mother would?” “Never Odd or Even” is on view at Red Arrow Gallery, Nashville, from Feb. 3 through Feb. 24, theredarrowgallery.com; “Surreal Surroundings” is on view at König Galerie, Mexico City, from Feb. 5 through March 8, koeniggalerie.com.
Gift This
Italian Jewelry Handmade From Roman Relics
Growing up in Naples, Italy, Francesca Ruggiero was surrounded by history, but it wasn’t until she inherited a collection of ancient coins from her grandfather that she truly felt connected to it. The coins dated back to the Greek and Byzantine period, nearly 2,000 years ago. They, along with her interest in myths and legends, inspired Ruggiero to create her first pieces of fine jewelry. Now operating her own label, Kiaia, which she founded in London in 2013, the designer spends her days sourcing coins engraved with Greek gods and storied Roman emperors, which she transforms into her signature pendant necklaces, charm bangles and signet rings. The pieces are handmade in Italy, where the vintage coins are encased in unrefined 22- or 18-karat gold to preserve them. In February, Ruggiero is bringing Kiaia’s one-off pieces to New York. She’s also releasing a new collection of Unity rings meant to connect the past to the present. Designed to be worn across two fingers, two gold bands are connected by a heavy chain representing the strength of connection. On view at the Nouvelle Box Showroom at the Hotel Chelsea, New York, from Feb. 4 through Feb. 6, by appointment only, kiaia.com.
Covet This
Two Longtime Antique Collectors Sell Their Treasures
The textile designer Carolina Irving and the art collector Ian Irving first met while working at Sotheby’s. Brought together by a shared interest in antiquing, the pair married in 1989. For two decades, they took trips around the world, seeking 17th- and 18th-century treasures in shops from Istanbul to India (as well as in catalogs, and in auction houses closer to their New York home). “He opened my eyes to the decorative arts, like eccentric German silver pieces, tulip-shaped cups, and Japanese objects covered in silver and gold,” Carolina says of Ian. “We didn’t just collect for value. It was about being surrounded by objects that spoke to us.” Now divorced but still dear friends, the pair are selling a selection of antiques in a live auction at Sotheby’s, their original meeting place. “The Pleasure of Objects” reflects the distinct yet overlapping tastes of the duo — her eye for textured items that display a mix of cultural influences and his expertise in antique European silver. Most of the pieces once lived inside Carolina and Ian’s Upper East Side apartment. Among these are an Indo-Portuguese brass and mother-of-pearl ewer from the early 17th century, and Carolina’s favorite: a portrait of Doña Isidora Navarro, a daughter of a large, upper-class Spanish family. Dating to around 1810, the painting features details, such as the high-waisted empire gown made with gold fringe and the flowers in her hair, that are reminiscent of similar portraits by Francisco Goya. “I like looking at a piece like this one,” Carolina says, “and imagining the story behind it.” “The Pleasure of Objects: The Ian & Carolina Collection” auction begins on Jan. 30, sothebys.com.
