It’s an approach his great-nephew, Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin, seems to have inherited. An engineer by training and an accomplished musician, Basilicati-Cardin began his creative career designing furniture and interiors before joining the Pierre Cardin Group in 2000. Along the way, he’s worked on projects involving space technology, developed an enormous transparent gondola and explored how clothing might one day help regulate body temperature.

Since taking over as artistic director after his uncle’s death in 2020, he’s been finding ways to carry the house’s distinctive design language forward while introducing some of his own ideas. Where Pierre Cardin favoured bold geometry, Basilicati-Cardin has increasingly been experimenting with curves, organic forms and the possibilities of new technologies.

We caught up with him during his recent visit to Johannesburg for the first South African edition of the Pierre Cardin Young Designers Award, held in partnership with South African Fashion Week. The visit also saw the house present its first runway show in the country under his artistic direction, featuring a selection of looks from recent collections.

In conversation with Rodrigo Basilicati-Cardin

You have quite an unconventional background for someone leading a fashion house. How have engineering, music and architecture influenced the way you approach design?

There’s an engineering approach to everything I do, and that’s part of the reason I’m working with space technology now. I’m interested in how we can develop fabrics and how thinking technically about clothing for space might help us change the way we approach fashion here on Earth.

Fashion shouldn’t only be aesthetic. It should also be practical, and I think we have a responsibility to find solutions to some of the problems facing the industry.

My engineering background allows me to approach projects from that perspective. But style and poetry are also very important to me, and I think that’s where music comes in.

The themes I explore in my creations are often connected to nature, the human body and the relationships between people. I like expressing those ideas through abstract forms, whether it’s a garment, a piece of furniture or something else entirely.

For me, the artistic and technical sides aren’t separate. They come together in everything I create. I think fashion could change a great deal if we started thinking in this way.

You mentioned that you only met your uncle when you were 24. How did that relationship develop?

I met him in 1994, near Venice, at an event. I was already designing interiors and furniture, and when I discovered what he was doing, I realised that we had some very similar interests. I thought perhaps I could show him my work. He was curious, and about a year later he came to Venice to meet me.

At the time, I was making furniture and lamps, and I think he liked my creative approach, particularly the abstract forms and the way I interpreted nature. He encouraged me to exhibit my designs, but under my own name, not Pierre Cardin. He wanted me to develop my own identity.

Later, he gave me responsibility for a natural water source in Tuscany, partly to see how I would manage the business side of things.

I remember making a large chess set with sculptural pieces [for him]. And then there was the gondola. I had the idea of creating a transparent, illuminated gondola for Venice. I made it, and six months later I presented him with the finished boat. I think that was important because he could see that I was capable of taking an idea and making it real.

After that, he began giving me more and more projects. I worked on furniture, accessories and eyewear, and eventually moved into the fashion atelier. That was quite a change. With furniture, you’re working with something solid, whereas clothing is always moving. You have to think differently.

What was the most important thing you learnt from working with Pierre Cardin?

I think proportion. I already had a sense of proportion naturally, but I didn’t always understand exactly why something worked. Pierre helped me understand that.

He would look at a design and change the size of a form or move it slightly, and suddenly everything would be balanced. When you look at his creations, there’s a very strong sense of equilibrium. Even when the forms are unusual, they’re pleasing to the eye. There’s a simplicity to them.

He also taught me that a design doesn’t need a lot of detail. One clear idea can be enough.

Pierre Cardin’s designs have always had a very recognisable identity. What do you think makes something unmistakably Cardin?

For me, it’s simplicity. Pierre Cardin was never about adding a lot of detail to a garment. You should be able to look at something from 10 or 20 metres away and recognise it.

It’s not necessarily about the colours, although colour is part of the design. It’s about having one very clear idea. That idea might come from nature or from something abstract, like joy, sadness or tension. What’s interesting is how you translate that idea into a garment.

I don’t want lots of different forms put together without a reason. There has to be something behind them.

Sometimes when we’re working on a collection, the theme isn’t a colour or a fabric. It might be the sun, for example, and all the different ways you could interpret it. That’s what I find fascinating about design: taking something conceptual and finding a way to express it through form.

What did you want to show South African audiences through the runway presentation?

I wanted to bring the most spectacular pieces, the ones that best represent Pierre Cardin.

I chose looks from the last three collections because there’s always a relationship between them. One collection develops from the previous one. Sometimes I take an idea from one collection and transform it into something new for the next. There’s a continuity, almost like a novel where each chapter follows the one before it.

I wanted the show to feel almost like going to the theatre. Not crazy, but spectacular. It was our first time presenting a runway show in South Africa, and I wanted to make an impression.

And while you were here, what struck you about South African design?

The first thing I noticed was the students’ strong attachment to their traditions and culture.

They take forms and patterns from their own cultures and translate them into something modern. But what I find particularly interesting is the freedom with which they do it. There’s a lot of asymmetry, and many of the designs have an almost architectural quality. They’re very sculptural, which I love because that’s also very Pierre Cardin. I haven’t seen quite the same approach in places like the US, Korea or even Paris.

There’s a freedom of expression here that I find very interesting. The students aren’t simply copying what already exists. They’re taking something from their own culture and developing it into something new.

And for us, it’s enriching too. When two very different cultures come together, you discover ideas you might never have thought of otherwise.

Finally, what advice would you give a young designer hoping to make their mark?

I want them to be free, and I don’t want them to copy. For me, copying what you’ve seen at another fashion show is the death of creativity. I want young designers to invent something, something we’ve never seen before.

I also think students sometimes feel they need to leave their country and go to Paris or New York to work in fashion. But why should they imitate what is happening elsewhere? They have their own culture, their own ideas and their own creativity. They should develop those things and create a style that’s recognisably their own.

If you begin with a real concept, something you genuinely want to express, you’re much less likely to copy. That’s what I hope young designers will understand.

Wanted

A compact 38.5mm Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon developed in collaboration with the Tokyo-based duo Yoon Ahn and Verbal (Ryu Young-gi), whose creative practice straddles the worlds of fashion, music and product design.

Creative director Yoon, a former jewellery designer for Dior Men, and music producer Verbal are co-founders of the luxury streetwear and jewellery brand Ambush, with longstanding roots in Japanese and global pop culture. Verbal is well-known in Japan as a member of the hip-hop collective M-Flo and supergroup Teriyaki Boyz. Together, they illustrate the Concept collection’s ongoing dialogue between traditional watchmaking and contemporary culture.

Recap

The first Royal Oak Concept watch was a limited-edition super hi-tech creation featuring an aggressive faceted Alacrite alloy case design released in 2002 to mark the Royal Oak’s 30th anniversary.

Inspired by concept cars, it was originally intended as a one-off but in 2008 became the spark for a playground of experimentation, innovation and collaboration with different creative fields. Among the watches that followed in the collection were the pioneering Royal Oak Carbon Concept tourbillon and chronograph, Royal Oak Concept RD#1 Acoustic Research Minute Repeater (2015), Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher single-pusher chronograph (2015), and the Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon (2021) in partnership with Marvel.

Key features

While retaining the Royal Oak DNA, the Concept line radically reinvents Gerald Genta’s 1972 design into futuristic, angular and multi-layered architectural pieces, with only the familiar octagonal bezel and visible screws remaining as clues to its lineage.

As forward-thinking as the Concept might be, its aggressive design is reminiscent of the Brutalist-inspired watches of the 1960s and 1970s, such as the King Seiko, Zenith Defy and AP’s own asymmetrical reference 5159BA with its rectangular, facetted case, revived in 2024 as the [Re]Master 02.

The bold geometry of the lightweight titanium case is exaggerated by alternating sandblasted, satin-brushed and polished surfaces. The black ceramic screw-down crown is topped with a titanium chip. The aluminium top cage of the flying tourbillon is anodised red, which Verbal describes as evoking the Earth’s core: “The origin point, the source of energy and, ultimately, the beginning of how we measure time itself.”

A semi-open-worked dial features sparkling black aventurine outlined by mirror-polished silver bevels and offers a glimpse of the new hand-wound Calibre 2982. Its blackened 18-carat white gold hands are filled with luminescent material. A sapphire and titanium caseback presents a clear view of the ultra-contemporary movement. The watch is fitted with a black rubber interchangeable strap featuring a “micro-mosaic” pattern and quilted inner imprint.

POA, audemarspiguet.com

Wanted

It’s a familiar dilemma, and one Levi’s put at the centre of an intimate brunch in Sandton on October 9. Bringing together media and tastemakers over bubbles and canapés, the brand used the occasion to explore its different denim silhouettes, with particular attention given to its Curvy fits.

Through a styling showcase led by content creators Paula Bee and Thandiwe Gama, guests were introduced to jeans designed for different proportions, from more fitted silhouettes to relaxed styles. The broader point was that finding your perfect pair isn’t necessarily about following the latest denim trend or squeezing into a particular size. It’s about understanding how different cuts sit on your body and, perhaps more importantly, how you actually want your jeans to fit.

And while there’s no single pair that works for everyone, there are a few useful things to keep in mind before heading into the fitting room.

How to find your perfect pair of jeans

1. Start with your measurements, not your usual size

Before you automatically reach for the size you’ve been wearing for years, get out the measuring tape. Levi’s recommends measuring your waist at its narrowest point, your hips at their fullest and your thighs at their widest. These measurements are more useful than relying on a single number, particularly when comparing different denim cuts.

The brand’s size guide also includes inseam measurements, which brings us to another consideration: length.

2. Pay attention to the rise and length

A high-rise jean sits higher on the waist, while mid- and low-rise styles sit progressively lower. Where the waistband falls can make a substantial difference to the overall fit, particularly when paired with different tops.

Length matters just as much. An ankle-grazing straight leg, a cropped flare and a baggy jean pooling over your shoes create three very different looks. Levi’s measurement guide recommends measuring from the crotch down the inside leg to determine your inseam, then adjusting the length depending on the style you’re after.

3. If the waist gaps, try a curvy cut

If you’ve ever found jeans that fit perfectly over your hips and thighs but leave a noticeable gap at the back of the waistband, the problem might be the cut rather than the size.

Levi’s 501 Curve jeans, for example, are designed with a smaller waist-to-hip ratio and additional room through the seat and thighs. The idea is to accommodate fuller hips without having to size up and sacrifice the fit at the waist.

Another option is the brand’s Cinch collection, which features adjustable tabs at the back of the waistband, allowing you to bring in the waist without changing the relaxed fit through the hips and legs. It’s a particularly handy feature if you like your denim a little baggier but don’t want a waistband that stands away from your back.

4. Know what your denim is made of

Not all denim behaves the same way. Traditional rigid denim, generally made from 100% cotton, has a firmer feel, while stretch denim contains elastic fibres that allow the fabric to move more easily.

According to Levi’s product guide, stretch denim can be particularly useful in slimmer cuts, where flexibility makes a noticeable difference to comfort.

If you prefer a structured, vintage-inspired look, rigid denim might be more your style. If comfort and ease of movement are priorities, a little stretch could make all the difference.

5. Don’t buy jeans you can’t comfortably sit in

A pair might look fantastic when you’re standing in front of the fitting-room mirror, but that’s only half the test. Sit down, bend your knees and walk around.

Check whether the waistband digs in, whether the fabric pulls uncomfortably across your hips or thighs, and whether you’re constantly adjusting the jeans to keep them in place. A pair that looks good for 30 seconds isn’t necessarily one you’ll enjoy wearing all day.

6. Try the cut you think you can’t wear

Straight-leg, wide-leg, bootcut, slim and relaxed jeans all distribute volume differently. Levi’s fit guide explains the differences between these silhouettes, but there’s no substitute for trying them on.

And perhaps this is the most useful lesson from the brunch: don’t rule out a style simply because you’ve decided it isn’t for your body type. Sometimes the pair you’d never have picked off the rail turns out to be the one you wear most.

After all, the perfect jeans are the ones you actually want to put on again tomorrow.

Wanted

Chanel’s Rouge Coco Hydra Gloss has just the thing to dress your pout this season. From frosted jade green and lemon sorbet to juicy corals, the collection consists of 18 shades that deliver a nonsticky, pearlescent, mirror-like shine.

With camellia ceramides and a Hydra Peptide Complex, these glosses provide not only shine but also lip-care benefits such as 24-hour lip hydration, antioxidant protection, and a plumping effect.

Customise your gloss with Rouge Coco Flash and Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue, which let you mix and match gloss intensities, finishes, and textures.

chanel.com

Mad for Monogram

When two fashion and beauty legends join forces, the result is nothing short of magical. Louis Vuitton’s artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière and cosmetics creative director Dame Pat McGrath have collaborated on a limited-edition La Beauté Louis Vuitton that celebrates duality.

Inspired by the maison’s two Monogram canvases and marking its 130th anniversary, Monogram Dune and Monogram Infrarouge bring to life two versions of the Louis Vuitton woman. This collection would feel right at home in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake with Monogram Infrarouge’s moody reds against deep blacks and Monogram Dune’s luminously soft beiges and warm nudes.

Whether you’re a black or a white swan — or both — you can choose from satin lipsticks, glittery lip-balm toppers, and eyeshadow quads.

louisvuitton.com

I want Choo

The heady smell of summer comes in the form of Jimmy Choo’s latest olfactory offering: I Want Choo With Love.

The fourth addition to the I Want Choo fragrance wardrobe, this floral-fruity ambery scent is a delightfully elegant, sweet floral with notes of raspberry, orange blossom, rose, hibiscus, pink musk, and vanilla, clad in a curvaceous, metallic dress-like flacon.

Come for the raspberry tartness in the opening and stay for the soft hibiscus and musky notes that give it a powdery, warm finish.

Sun smarts

Anyone who takes skincare seriously should have at least one Avène product in their arsenal. If you want to join the club, look no further than Avène’s Ultra Serums SPF50+.

Infused with thermal spring water from the Sainte-Odile Spring in Avène, France, these serum SPFs are antioxidant-rich with an ultra-lightweight, melting texture. With three variants that contain panthenol, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, or vitamin Cg, we won’t blame you if you grab all three.

From the October issue of Wanted, 2026.

A judging panel chaired by classicist and broadcaster Mary Beard chose the shortlist from 163 submissions and a longlist of 13 novels. Her fellow judges are poet Raymond Antrobus, musician and writer Jarvis Cocker, journalist and critic Rebecca Liu and novelist Patricia Lockwood.

“These novels range from the hilarious to the discomfiting, from the frighteningly strange to the alarmingly domestic,” Beard said.

Elizabeth Strout returns with The Things We Never Say, having made the Booker shortlist for Oh William! in 2022. M John Harrison’s The End of Everything, Luke Kennard’s Black Bag and Rebecca Perry’s May We Feed the King complete the list. All three authors reach the final six for the first time. Perry’s book is the only debut novel in contention. Harrison, at 81, would become the oldest winner in the prize’s history should he win.

First awarded in 1969, the Booker is given each year to a book written in English and published in Britain or Ireland. The winner will be announced on November 9 in London. All six authors receive £2,500, with an additional £50,000 awarded to the winner.

Here’s a closer look at the six shortlisted novels.

The End of Everything by M John Harrison

Phillip Tennent makes a living scavenging objects washed up on the Kent coast. Years earlier, a crisis changed the world, though no-one can say exactly what happened. Government barely functions, strange creatures fill the sea, and even Europe’s whereabouts are uncertain.

Then he finds something on the beach that grows, changes form and begins to imitate human speech and behaviour. Thinking it might be valuable, he takes it inland to find a buyer. His journey brings him into contact with people who offer competing explanations for the catastrophe, sometimes resorting to violence.

Harrison combines a mystery with a darkly funny account of life after a catastrophe. Phillip never fully understands where the creature came from or what it is. People continue trading and arguing, trying to make a living even when they can no longer explain what has happened to their world. Phillip struggles to recognise intelligence in something so unlike himself.

The Disappearers by Marlon James

In Kingston in 1988, eight gay men come together to rehearse what is billed as Jamaica’s first openly gay play. They are strangers at first, with different reasons for taking part, but each knows the danger he faces. When a mob attacks a rehearsal and kills one of the men, the survivors must deal with the consequences. Some try to put the attack behind them; others want revenge.

Edmond “Eddy” Porteous, a college student who missed the rehearsal, struggles with survivor’s guilt. He joins fellow actor Jordan Brown to track down the attackers. Their search takes them into Kingston’s gay underground, where men have found ways to live under the threat of violence.

James tells the story through several voices, moving between the men’s lives before and after the assault. They disagree about how to respond, and their conversations can be funny even when the circumstances are brutal. Concealing their sexuality has offered some protection, but it has also left them vulnerable to exploitation.

Black Bag by Luke Kennard

A 37-year-old actor in London is short of work and money when a university professor offers him an unusual job. For a psychology experiment, he must zip himself into a large black leather bag and sit silently at the back of a lecture hall. Dr Blend wants to see how his students respond.

The unnamed actor accepts, but being “Black Bag” soon begins to take over his life. A professor of posthumanism becomes interested in him and asks whether someone could love a person hidden inside a bag. His flatmate Claudio, a successful gaming streamer, sees a chance to make money from the experiment.

Kennard draws on a real psychology experiment from the 1960s, though his interest lies in the man inside the bag. The actor’s attempts to earn a living expose the insecurity of working in the arts. Claudio, meanwhile, treats the experiment as another opportunity to make money online. Kennard finds comedy in the experiment and its consequences while taking the actor’s doubts about his work seriously.

May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry

An unnamed curator arranges the rooms of historic buildings so visitors can imagine the people who once lived there. While working in a mediaeval palace, she becomes absorbed by the story of a largely forgotten king who never expected to rule.

The deaths of his two older brothers put him on the throne, though he has little appetite for power. Courtiers begin to question whether he is fit to govern, and rumours suggest someone else might take his place. Much of what we learn about him comes through other people’s observations and gossip.

Perry moves between the curator and the king’s court. The curator can convincingly recreate rooms and banquet tables, but the lives of those who used them are far harder to piece together. At court, those closest to the king watch his every move and have their own reasons for telling his story. The curator turns to his life to escape the troubles in her own. The surviving evidence leaves gaps, and those who recorded the king’s life had their own reasons for what they chose to tell.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Artie Dam teaches history at a high school in coastal Massachusetts, where he is well liked by his students. He has been married to Evie for three decades and spends his weekends sailing on Massachusetts Bay. His life looks comfortable from the outside, but he feels increasingly alone and struggles to tell anyone how badly he is coping.

Evie, now working as a family therapist, often finds Artie irritating. Their son Rob has been withdrawn since a car accident a decade earlier killed his girlfriend. Artie, who has a secret of his own, then discovers something about his past that upends everything he’s believed about his life and those closest to him.

The story takes place as the 2024 US presidential election approaches, and Artie worries about the direction of his country as well as his life. Strout’s characters talk every day, yet leave their grief and regret unspoken, sometimes for decades.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

In the 1990s, 22-year-old John-Calum Macleod returns from art school in Edinburgh to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. Short of money and unsure what to do next, Cal moves back into the family croft with his father, John, and his grandmother, Ella.

John earns his living farming sheep and weaving. He is also a respected member of the local Presbyterian church, whose teachings govern his life. He dislikes Cal’s long hair and worries that his son has turned away from his faith. Cal is gay and wonders whether he might meet someone on the island. At home, he faces the same disapproval he’d hoped to escape when he left for Edinburgh. Ella stands up for him, though she has spent years trying to keep the peace with John.

John, too, has a secret. He has hidden his love for his best friend and neighbour Innes for decades. Father and son have more in common than either can easily admit, but John’s shame makes it harder for him to accept Cal’s desire to live openly. Stuart shows what years of secrecy have cost John, while Cal tries to work out whether he can stay on Harris and live openly.

Business Day

Rome’s first rione (district) lies between the Colosseum, Roma Termini railway station and the Quirinal Palace, its cobbled streets folding through steep hillsides. Once known as Suburra — a rough, working-class district and birthplace of Julius Caesar — Monti has spent the past two decades evolving into one of the city’s most interesting neighbourhoods: a loose weave of artisan studios, indie boutiques, natural-wine bars, vintage stores, and tiny piazzas where students gather late into the night.

And despite its growing reputation as Rome’s coolest quarter, it still feels local.

That tension is exactly what makes Casa Monti such a gem.

Positioned on Via Panisperna — one of Monti’s most cinematic streets — the hotel feels like an extension of the neighbourhood itself. Outside, locals drift between aperitivo bars and tiny galleries; inside, the atmosphere shifts into a richly layered world of colour and pattern.

Designed by Laura Gonzalez, the interiors bypass the marble restraint often associated with Roman luxury hotels. Instead, Casa Monti embraces a kind of joyful maximalism: reds, yellows, corals, greens, striped textiles, fringed lampshades, mosaics and hand-crafted details are layered with cinematic confidence. Here, Greco-Roman-style friezes run across staircases, Pompeii-like motifs unfold beside lacquered wood, and scalloped arches, woven textures and rich patterns create intimately theatrical spaces.

At times, Casa Monti feels less like a hotel than a Roman apartment belonging to an impossibly stylish collector — someone with a weakness for aperitivos, craftsmanship and art. The palette itself is drawn from the city: sun-baked terracotta, faded peach, oxidised bronze, creamy travertine and saffron tones softened by Roman light. Even the sunflower-yellow Fiat 500 permanently parked outside the entrance feels like part of the playful design language.

No two rooms are quite alike. The suites are filled with bespoke furniture, artisanal objects, and references to Rome’s artistic history: handmade lino prints reinterpret ancient mosaics, collages echo the garden frescoes of the Villa of Livia and deep bathtubs open onto terraces overlooking Monti’s rooftops and domes.

The spaces are richly layered, with softness everywhere: gathered fabrics, striped seating, warm lighting and ivy-covered courtyards.

That same atmosphere spills over into the restaurant and bars. Downstairs, the restaurant spreads across a leafy courtyard, an intimate dining room, and a terrace set with woven rattan chairs and mustard-striped banquettes gathered around a sculptural fireplace by Giuseppe Ducrot.

The menu is Roman and unfussy — generous bowls of cacio e pepe, fried artichokes, seafood crudo and seasonal dishes. And are something of a ritual in themselves: maritozzi thick with cream, strong espresso, fruit and pecorino served beneath striped parasols.

Then there is the rooftop.

By late afternoon, the rooftop bar begins to fill with the kind of crowd Monti now attracts: stylish 20-somethings, artists, editors, couples lingering over spritzes, and impossibly elegant Romans who appear to know everyone.

There is also a small, atmospheric spa developed in partnership with Susanne Kaufmann. While it is stocked with Swiss and Austrian skincare, it feels less like a clinical wellness space and more like a hidden private retreat.

All of this makes Casa Monti seem like a small cultural salon embedded within the neighbourhood. Its latest collaboration may best capture that mood.

Some of its suites are not simply booked — they are temporarily inhabited. The concept sounds simple: take a hotel suite and allow an artist to completely reimagine it. The hotel’s current resident is Michael McGregor, who has transformed Suite 203, overlooking Via Panisperna, into an immersive, liveable artwork until 15 October.

Large hand-painted panels subtly reshape the perception of the living space, while sofas, curtains and pouffes are wrapped in McGregor’s distinctive motifs. Even the backgammon set designed by the artist becomes part of the experience.

Born in 1983 and based in Los Angeles after years spent moving between Mexico City, Paris, London, Greece and Italy, McGregor has developed a painterly language that transforms ordinary objects and fleeting observations into dreamlike compositions suspended between memory and imagination.

At Casa Monti, that visual language expands into architecture itself.

“Casa Monti offers a rare opportunity to work beyond the walls of galleries and studios,” says McGregor. “My aim is to craft moments of discovery through small gestures, playful details and subtle interventions that spark curiosity and invite personal engagement.”

That philosophy seems entirely aligned with both the hotel and Monti itself.

casamontiroma.com

From the July issue of Wanted, 2026.

Stern’s market has only gained momentum in recent years: hot on the heels of a solo exhibition of her work at the German Expressionist Bruecke Museum in Berlin in 2025, in October of that year, her 1946 portrait Malay (Black Headdress) sold for R21.7m at Strauss & Co; the second-highest price ever achieved for her work at auction, and a record for any Stern portrait of a female sitter sold in Africa.

Children Reading the Koran achieved R22.3m in 2023, and her work also featured in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. Topping even these eye-watering numbers is the single most valuable painting in South African art history — Stern’s Arab Priest, painted on a trip to Zanzibar in 1945, sold for the then-equivalent of R34m in London in 2011.

The painting is owned by the Qatar Museums Authority and is currently on show at the Iziko National Gallery in Cape Town under a heritage agreement whereby it returns for exhibition to South Africa every five years.

Stern’s continuing presence offers an opportunity to more closely understand an artist whose critical reputation is still actively being written.

In 2025, the Irma Stern Trust, which owns and manages Stern’s extensive collection and is in turn owned by Nedbank, announced a programme of exhibitions and events to showcase her work after her house museum at The Firs in Rosebank, Cape Town, was closed for renovation. Central to this programme is a series of focused exhibitions drawn from the collection and tracing her artistic development at different stages of her life.

In terms of an exhibition agreement concluded with Cape Town’s prestigious Norval Foundation, this series of four exhibitions will be shown through to the end of 2027. The second of these four exhibitions has just opened at the Norval Foundation, all curated by senior curator at Norval, Karel Nel.

The exhibition is titled Looking Closer to Home and brings together a body of work that has never been shown as a coherent exhibition before. For the first time, paintings Stern made in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Eswatini are presented alongside related charcoal drawings and sculptures drawn directly from her archive. These are works that reveal the depth of her engagement with the South African landscape and its people at a formative moment in her career.

Caroline Greyling, museum director at Norval, says, “Through this partnership with the Norval Foundation, the Irma Stern Trust, and Nedbank, we are able to ensure that Stern’s legacy is not only preserved but actively shared with new audiences, which is exactly what she would have wanted.”

‘We’re very excited to bring these works to an audience outside the walls of the Irma Stern Museum, in partnership with the Norval Foundation,” notes Kathy Wheeler, curator of the Irma Stern Trust Collection. “Many of them have never been exhibited before and offer a unique insight into a quite neglected but very important part of her history and development as a significant modernist artist.”

Stern’s travels, beginning with trips between South Africa, where she was born in 1894, and Germany, her ancestral homeland, played a huge role in defining her identity and her work. Her friendship with Max Pechstein and membership of the then avant-garde Expressionist Group in Germany was formative, but when the rise of anti-Semitism made it difficult for Stern to return to Germany in the 1930s, her focus shifted to travelling and painting in rural South Africa; work that would go on to define her reputation, despite a cool critical reception when it was first shown in Cape Town.

Many of the works on the exhibition reflect the artist’s ability to look differently at her subjects, often local black inhabitants of the regions she travelled in, including the young ‘Swazi Sisters’ or the married ‘Fingo Woman’, in two fascinating and important works that are central to this important exhibition.

Contrary to the contemporary contention that this was exoticisation of her black subjects on Stern’s part, Nel points to the fact that no other South African white artist at the time was interested in this subject matter, in turning the lives of these already repressed peoples into the core of her practice.

“Irma’s travels were central to her method and experience as an artist,” he says.

“And her bravery and independence in undertaking these trips, in what were the inhospitable conditions, is why the title of the whole series of exhibitions is titled ‘A Life of Displacement’.

“We follow up the current show with a programme focused on her travels starting at the outbreak of World War 2. Then, she travelled even further afield in Africa to paint in the Congo and later Zanzibar — the subjects of the two exhibitions to follow in 2027.”

• Looking Closer to Home will run at Norval Foundation until January 2027.

norvalfoundation.org

Wanted

They might linger on the poolside loungers or the bar where umbrella-topped cocktails are on tap, but it’s the sea that first grabs your attention on Ile Maurice.

Unless you’re arriving at the gates of Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort and Spa. Here, where the road along the south coast runs out of room heading west and bends north, it’s Le Morne that grabs your attention.

Whether you’re out on the water or wandering the fairways (more on those shortly), it’s the rocky massif of Le Morne Brabant — one of two World Heritage sites on the island, alongside Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis — that frames the view.

Paradis makes the most of that setting, pairing Le Morne’s drama with the easy-going pleasures Mauritius does so well.

“West is best” goes the old island cliché — shorthand for powdery beaches and sunset views — and Paradis doesn’t disappoint on either front.

Part of the Beachcomber group and long a favourite among South African travellers, Paradis excels at serving up the combo of sun, sea and sand that Mauritian holidays are made of. Book the generous all-inclusive package and it’s easy to see why the brand has been a local favourite for decades.

South Africans certainly can’t seem to get enough of the island. In 2025 more than 11,000 of us hopped over to Ile Maurice, making Saffas the island’s fifth-largest market. In an age of multi-generational travel, resorts like Paradis tick all the right boxes.

Bungalows were first built here in the 1960s, catering for travellers arriving to enjoy the wide lagoon to the north, sandy beaches facing the sunset and Le Morne rising behind.

Bungalows grew into a resort — then two, with the addition of the neighbouring Dinarobin — with the most recent renovation in 2023 giving Paradis a R220m refresh. And it shows, with a fresh, contemporary character across the property.

That’s evident in the refurbished rooms, remodelled in a breezy island style of pale timbers, natural textures, muted colours and an easy indoor-outdoor feel that makes the most of the seaside setting.

Rooms open towards gardens or the sea — and though nearly 300 rooms and suites are on offer, the low-rise buildings are scattered among palms and sprawling lawns, so it rarely feels busy. It also means you can choose a setting that suits you: near the pool if you have kids, further down the beach if you don’t.

Our room was close to the 18^th hole of the Paradis golf course — ideal for anyone planning to spend time on the fairways. Mauritius has long been all about the beach, but it’s fast growing a reputation as a global golf destination. New courses have opened in the north (Mont Choisy) and the south (La Reserve) of the island, and in 2024 the International Association of Golf Tour Operators named Mauritius the Tropical Island Golf Destination of the Year.

Before them all, there was Paradis Golf Club. It’s one of the oldest courses on the island, and while it might not have the championship credentials of newer rivals, it’s an ideal resort course. At 5,924m, it’s one of the shortest on the island, but length is hardly the point. The appeal lies in the setting, with fairways squeezed between Le Morne, the Black River lagoon and the Indian Ocean, and with tidal channels and water carries adding just enough risk and reward to ensure a challenging round.

This is perfect holiday golf, with no punishing forced carries or lightning-fast greens. Just enough strategy to make you think and fairways forgiving enough to cut you a break — all except the signature 16^th, a par-five that curls around the lagoon, where you’ll be tempted to cut the corner in search of the green. Or you can, like me, come back to search for your ball at low tide.

While I was on the golf course, the rest of my family found their own entertainment. To start, the lagoon is one enormous playground. Sailing, water-skiing, kayaking, stand-up paddling and snorkelling are all on offer — for free — and the sheltered waters and abundant lifeguards make it easy for children to spend long days in the sea. There is also a dedicated kids’ club buzzing with activity day and night.

That’s good news for parents looking to enjoy a quiet dinner for a change, and Paradis offers plenty of culinary distractions.

Zest became our go-to table for most of our stay, with a breezy, sea-facing design, excellent service and a Mediterranean slant to the menu. Pizza for the teen. Pickled octopus for me. Everyone was happy.

Next door, Blue Marlin elevates the service and cuisine into the realm of fine dining, making it the kind of place to dress up a little. For the rest of the time, island chic was the dress code of the day.

Staying longer and needing more choice? Guests at Paradis also have full use of the restaurants at the neighbouring Beachcomber resort, Dinarobin.

But if there is one restaurant not to miss, it’s La Ravanne. Set apart from the main resort, with tables beneath thatched pergolas on the sand, La Ravanne — the traditional drum central to the Mauritian sega dance — puts Creole cuisine front and centre. Here the menu leans into island flavours, with curries, local seafood and generous family-style dishes.

Wild boar salami with cinnamon and cloves was a wild departure from seafood plates ranging from octopus to line fish. Can’t decide? The platter of seven local curries lets you taste your way around the island.

That mix of international appeal and local influence is perhaps what you’ll remember most about Paradis. This isn’t the fanciest resort on the island, nor the newest, but in its blend of authentic hospitality and local culture, together with location, family appeal and one of the island’s most enjoyable golf courses, it’s a place where holidays feel truly effortless. And it’s all set beneath one of the most beautiful mountains in the Indian Ocean.

beachcomber.co.za

Wanted

Story audio is generated using AI

It wasn’t dancing that first captured the heart of the, frankly fabulous Johannes Radebe, best known for his mesmerising moves on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing competition (this year, his role in the show changed to co-presenter). “It was the sparkles that got me,” he tells me, referencing the sparkly waistcoat he fell in love with that was worn by a ballroom dancer in the community centre near his home.

Unlike other dancing genesis stories I’ve come across, his wasn’t a childhood epiphany involving Fred Astaire, nor a pushy mother who spotted prodigious talent in her toddler. No, Radebe was just a boy from Zamdela, a township outside Sasolburg in the Free State, who was looking for his friends when he wandered into the local recreation hall and found a couple demonstrating ballroom and Latin dancing.

“I went up to the man wearing a silver waistcoat and tail jacket and said, ‘What do I need to do to wear that?’,” Radebe says, laughing. The answer that came back was simple: stick around and learn to dance. So he did.

In hindsight, it’s tempting to turn successful lives into neat narratives of destiny. Radebe’s story is different. “It was a complete fluke,” he insists. But he’s taken that fluke and run, or rather, danced with it. There were years of training, competitions his family could barely afford, jobs washing cars and dancing in shopping malls, cruise ships, South African dance championships and two seasons on our own Strictly Come Dancing. He joined the British show in 2018 and steadily transformed himself from a professional dancer into one of its most recognisable personalities.

At 39, the boy who wanted the sparkly waistcoat has effectively been handed the keys to the sequin cupboard. Radebe, as co-host of the show alongside Emma Willis and comedian Josh Widdicombe, cements his place in British hearts as the BBC’s juggernaut enters its 24th season. It’s the first three-person presenting team in the programme’s history, and for South African viewers there’s a pleasing amount of local talent involved: Motsi Mabuse remains on the judging panel while South African Latin champion Lethabo Monametsi joins the professional dancers.

Anyone that looks like me and can relate to my story will realise that it’s also possible for them.

The promotion has flummoxed Radebe. “I couldn’t have written the story for myself,” he says. “From a boy in Zamdela, dreaming but thinking that a world stage was out of reach … I’m just very proud. I’m pinching myself.”

Of course, dance wasn’t simply an extracurricular activity for Radebe. It became, he says, his “refuge”. He’s spoken about being bullied as a boy for being effeminate and about the economic obstacles facing a talented black ballroom dancer whose family didn’t have the money to send him gallivanting around the country to competitions.

But he persisted, eventually becoming a multiple South African Latin champion, dancing professionally overseas and finding his way onto Strictly and notable acclaim. One standout moment was in 2021 when he was partnered with The Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite. They became Strictly’s first all-male competitive pairing and reached the final. There was predictable muttering but soon that was overwhelmed by their chemistry and skill as they rapidly became seen as simply two men dancing exceptionally well.

Radebe doesn’t claim too much credit for the normalisation of the same-sex pair. “I’m happy to be a small part of making viewers more tolerant,” he says. “John and I understood that we’d play that little part, but I realised the impact of it after we did it.” There were doubts about how audiences would respond. Instead, “we’ve opened up conversations in homes about what’s possible in this world” — with a Viennese waltz and a good amount of Swarovski glitz.

Radebe says he never set out to be a role model. Now he accepts that visibility comes with obligations. “Anyone that looks like me and can relate to my story will realise that it’s also possible for them. Nothing’s out of reach.”

His question now is: “What can I do for others that are coming behind me?” That person is Monametsi. “We love her,” he says. “She’s the personification of joy.” More importantly, he says, she’s brought something recognisably South African into the UK Strictly family: “She’s demonstrated Ubuntu.”

His advice to her is refreshingly free of show-business guff about believing in yourself and reaching for the stars. “Darling, enjoy this ride. It’s not afforded to many people … It can absolutely change your life for the better.”

Radebe has been doing a lot of changing lately. He made his West End debut as Lola in Kinky Boots, a role he’d wanted for years, winning praise for a performance requiring him not merely to dance but act and sing in towering heels. His memoir, Jojo: Finally Home, was published in 2023, and he’s built a successful solo stage career. Earlier this year, asked to name his greatest achievement, he didn’t choose Strictly, the West End or any trophy. He chose building his mother her dream home.

Now presenting has replaced dancing on Strictly. Instead of communicating with his body — one raised eyebrow now contains his emotional range, and the autocue presents a different challenge.

He admits he’s not naturally a broadcaster. The producers knew that too. When he was first approached, he was told: “We wouldn’t give you this job if we don’t think you could do it. We want to afford you an opportunity to walk into the room and give it a go.” He did, and he immediately got the job.

Subsequently, he took classes and was trained by the BBC. “They know how to make great telly,” he says. “I was in good hands.”

There’s one obvious big perk to changing sides. After years of smiling bravely while judges dissected his choreography, Radebe will now have a microphone. “We’ve changed roles, Andrea,” he says with relish. “I cannot wait to hold them accountable.”

Infamous Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood should consider himself warned. Then again, Radebe concedes, “Craig is brutal, but he’s right most of the time.”

Lastly, I ask Radebe who he thinks about when he walks onto that floor, no longer standing behind a celebrity partner but at the front of the whole enormous glittering enterprise. Suddenly he’s emotional. “My mother. My family,” he says. “I’ve dedicated my life to them ... and everyone back home, because I didn’t think this life was possible.”

He returns to the little boy in Zamdela who thought “there must be more to life than these streets”, and then wandered into a recreation hall and saw a man dressed in sparkles. “I want to honour that child,” Radebe says.

There will be consolation in giving up the weekly competitive dancing. “My bunions will be resting, definitely,” he says with a smile. The feet are getting a break, but Radebe, I suspect, is only getting started.

Sunday Times Lifestyle