Boat International — January 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Bags of style

Torevisitthe60s,allyouneedislove

and the finest leather, saysPeter Howarth

W

hendoesdesignbecomefashion?Orengineering

become style? These are questions that every boat

designerandbuilder–andowner–willponder.

Andtheyarealsopromptedbyarecently

launched collection of beautiful bags, in

leather, suede and canvas by the intriguingly

namedLoveOrNothingBaby(LONB).

Ifthemonikersoundsabitsummerof

love,that’sbecauseitreflectstherelationship

between founders Reinhard Mieck and

Melissa Morris, and their enthusiasm for

the 60s. They are partners, in business and

personally, and met while he was CEO of

luxurygoodsgroupLabeluxandshewas

at Belstaff, part of the group. Finding that

theysharedaloveofthedesignandspiritof

Not much beats sitting on deck during a warm

night with a dram of your favourite single malt in

hand. And, thanks to the whisky revolution of the

past 10 to 15 years, there’s now a level of scholarship

and connoisseurship associated with the “hard

stuff” that has made the best bottles highly

collectable – and often prodigiously expensive.

Of the traditional Scottish distilleries, the rarest

single malts produced by Macallan are among

the most collectable – an ebony cabinet with six

fullbottlesrangingfrom50to65yearsinage,six

miniatures from the 1930s and 12 Lalique glasses

fetchedcloseto$1millionatSotheby’sinHong

Kong last year. Bonhams and Christie’s also hold

regular sales of single malts both live and online.

But one of the most prolific specialists in the field

is scotchwhiskyauctions.com, which holds monthly

internet sales featuring an average of 5,000 bottles.

Each sale is “live” for 10 days, with the company’s

82nd due to take place in mid-January. So just pour

a couple of fingers, settle down with your tablet,

raise your glass – and bid.

the golden age of sports cars, pioneering

fashion, mould-breaking screen stars and

freewheeling, adventurous travel – what

Morriscallsthe“authentic,unbuttonedcool

ofSteveMcQueenandJaneBirkin”–they

decidedtostrikeoutontheirown.

“It’s all about travel,” says Mieck, “and

thatissomethingwereallydounderstand.I

wastravellingforapproximately200daysof

the year in my previous job.” Morris headed

up the women’s creative team at Belstaff, and

what struck them was how many “where’s

my keys/wallet/passport” moments you

havewhenonthemove.Buttheyalsospeak

ofhowtravelisaboutyourdailyschedule–

“gym then work then lunch meetings,

backtowork,thenseeingfriends”.

LONB’s solution is the Runaway,

a leather “panel ” with pockets and

compartments for your essentials,

whichcanfoldupintoaclutchbagwith

ashoulderstrapforwomen,orahand-

held portfolio for men. It can also be

clippedintoavarietyofbagstyles,from

backpacks to holdalls, so you transfer

your belongings from one to another.

MadeinItalyfrom100percentnatural

leathers,theyarelinedwithdurable

Alcantara, developed for upholstering

racingcarseatsinthe60sbytheItalianfirmofthatname.

My favourite piece is the Vagabond bag. “Melissa was inspired

by my personal collection of classic motorcycle jackets,” says

Mieck. “You can see this from the curved lines and the way the

pockets are integrated into the seams.”

Vagabond,£1,950suede,£2,250ateliercalfskin,lonb.com

HAMMER TIME

You can bid for collectable single malt

whiskies from the comfort of your

superyacht, says Simon de Burton

MORE OF THE BEST

WEEKEND BAGS

boatint.com/

# weekend-bags

collectable

The men’s and women’s

Runaway, and the

Vagabond bag, bottom

right, from LONB, evoke the

spirit of 60s icon Jane Birkin

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