What The Luxe

For the first time since episode one, What The Luxe brings its two hosts together at the same table. In this end-of-year Christmas episode, Anant Sharma and Fred Moore step away from the usual guest format to reflect on the past year of conversations. They talk candidly about what we've heard throughout 2025, from the patterns to the anomalies, the anecdotes and the insights. Moving easily between...

In this episode of What The Luxe, Anant Sharma speaks with Stacey Langham, Head of Corporate & Luxury Partnerships at the Royal Academy of Arts, about how culture, commerce and philanthropy intersect when relationships are built for the long term. Stacey shares her journey from magazine publishing into the cultural sector, and how that perspective shapes the way she builds partnerships at the RA —...

In this episode of What The Luxe, host Anant Sharma sits down with Oliver Spencer, founder of the eponymous menswear label and formalwear brand Favourbrook, to explore a career built on patience, craft and a quiet resistance to fashion's obsession with scale. From selling hand-painted waistcoats off a wheelbarrow on Portobello Road to building two enduring British brands, Oliver shares why he neve...

Professor Charles Spence has built one of the most influential bodies of research in modern psychology, reframing how the world understands taste, pleasure and perception. As Head of Oxford's Crossmodal Research Laboratory, his work has shown that nothing we experience is ever singular: sound alters flavour, colour reshapes expectation, weight changes perceived quality. These ideas have travelled...

In this episode, What The Luxe dives into the world of Aqua Expeditions with its Founder & CEO, Francesco Galli Zugaro. Raised across 16 countries and driven by an innate spirit of exploration, Francesco has spent nearly two decades crafting highly intimate, design-led journeys for what he calls the affluent explorer — guests who crave authenticity, comfort and adventure in some of the world's mos...

Belmond has spent decades redefining the romance of travel—inviting guests to slow down, savour time and inhabit destinations rather than pass through them. Across 43 properties in 24 countries, the brand has become synonymous with slow luxury. Arnaud Champenois, Senior VP of Global Brand, Marketing and Communications, is the architect of that vision, balancing Belmond's storied heritage with the...

For over 60 years, KEF has redefined what it means to listen—turning sound into sculpture and engineering into art. Under the leadership of Grace Lo, the brand continues to push boundaries in both technology and design, shaping the future of high-fidelity audio for a new generation. In this episode, Grace joins Anant Sharma to explore what luxury means when it comes to sound. They discuss the foun...

Each of Mia Reay's wallpapers begins as a painting - layered with history, character, and a quiet defiance of trend. Inspired by centuries of craftsmanship, from Islamic ceramics to Swedish palaces, her designs bring storytelling back to interiors with a distinctly English eccentricity. In conversation with Fred Moore, Mia shares the accidental origins of her brand, her belief that true luxury is...

Behind the gloss of London Fashion Week lies a complex machinery of trade, taxation and soft power. David Leigh Pemberton sits at its centre — navigating the delicate relationship between creativity and government as Deputy Director of Policy & Engagement at the British Fashion Council. In this episode, he unpacks how fashion's future depends on the policies shaping it — from the campaign for VAT-...

Luxury hospitality is evolving—dissolving the boundaries between home, hotel, and cultural space. Few designers navigate that shift more intuitively than Tatjana von Stein. As Founder and Creative Director, she leads a London and Mallorca-based studio reimagining how people experience place through narrative-led design that incentivises human behaviour. From award-winning members' clubs and boutiq...

As Global Editorial Director of Condé Nast Traveler, Divia Thani is witnessing a profound shift in the balance of cultural influence. Once defined by Western ideals of taste and sophistication, luxury is increasingly shaped by perspectives from the East—by travellers who value meaning over display, connection over consumption.    In conversation with Anant Sharma, Divia reflects on travel's evolvi...

In this episode of What The Luxe, host Fred Moore sits down with Edwin Brenninkmeyer, Founder and CEO of Oriens Aviation, to unpack the mechanics, mindset, and meaning behind modern private aviation. A commercial and private pilot with more than two decades of experience, Edwin brings the precision of a pilot and the perspective of an entrepreneur to a conversation about what true craftsmanship me...

What does it take to design pure desire? For over two decades, Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin, has shaped some of the most iconic cars in history—from the One-77 hypercar to James Bond's DB10. In this episode, he shares how Aston Martin became a "love brand," why luxury is shifting from utility to emotion, and how sound, scent, and craft define the future of mobility. From...

Hinesh Shah, General Manager of Diageo Luxury Company, shares how heritage spirits brands like Johnnie Walker and Don Julio are evolving for today's luxury consumer. Recorded in July 2025, Fred Moore explores with Hinesh why luxury spirits require a fundamentally different approach—from cultural partnerships with Live Nation and Perfect Moment to exclusive launches at Harrods. They discuss the sur...

Rafat Ali has spent thirteen years building Skift into travel's most respected publication by prioritising original thinking over scale. The founder who coined the term "overtourism" joins What The Luxe to discuss why mainstream media is becoming obsolete, how AI will transform travel's backend operations, and what authentic hospitality really means. From framing industries through language to rai...

How a former hedonist built a non-alcoholic brand that refuses to apologise for pleasure. From high-end party origins serving Kate Moss and royal wedding guests to building credibility through Michelin-starred restaurants, Imme Ermgassen shares the story of how Botivo, the non-alcoholic botanical aperitivo brand, is rewriting category rules through radical positioning and uncompromising craft. We...

Alejandro Bataller, Managing Partner at SHA Wellness, tells of how a family health crisis in 2002 led to building one of the world's most comprehensive wellness brands. SHA's "proactive healthcare" philosophy challenges conventional medicine's reactive approach, focusing on healthspan over lifespan. With host Fred Moore, Alejandro explores the evolution of luxury wellness from sensorial experience...

Sven-Olof Lindblad on transitioning from CEO to co-chairman of Lindblad Expeditions, the evolution of adventure travel, and why conservation is a business investment rather than philanthropy. We explore the delicate balance of protecting remote destinations whilst providing access, the changing psychology of modern travellers, and how expedition travel became a vehicle for conservation through his...

Ben Moncrieffe, Head of Strategic Foresight at Jaguar Land Rover, has an impossible job: making sense of chaos in an industry transforming at breakneck speed. From controversial rebrands to 57,000-person waiting lists for electric vehicles that haven't launched, his role isn't about crystal ball predictions but minimising surprise in a 44,000-person organisation. We explore how JLR reads signals w...

Hugh Wahla's story reads like a modern parable about the hidden costs of conventional success. After building Urban Outfitters' European empire and revitalising The Conran Shop as CEO, executive burnout and panic attacks revealed what he calls "survival disguised as achievement." Through meditation, sobriety, and abandoning SMART goals for outrageous meta goals like learning to swim at 53, Hugh tr...

"Luxury is madness," declares Alex Robertson, and he should know. With a career spanning Ogilvy, Dubai Tourism, Etihad and now Jumeirah, he's spent years proving that the best hospitality experiences come from embracing that beautiful irrationality. Alex dismantles the tired luxury playbook. No corporate welcome rituals forced on jet-lagged families. No pretension masquerading as sophistication. I...

Growing up during Zimbabwe's Bush War, Deborah Calmeyer moved to New York at 24 and built ROAR AFRICA from a side project to help her zoologist father into a leading luxury safari operator. Now she runs 200+ trips annually across a continent where geography comprehension and operational logistics challenge even seasoned travel companies. Our host Fred Moore examines Deborah's business model, built...

From Wall Street to aviation boardrooms, some career pivots reveal more about leadership evolution than industry mechanics. Leona Qi's journey from finance to becoming President of VistaJet US offers insights into navigating male-dominated sectors, building operational excellence, and redefining what executive presence looks like in luxury industries. With women representing less than 5% of aviati...

Anthony Costa has spent three decades at the pinnacle of luxury hospitality—from the Burj Al Arab to the flagship Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. Now Head of Hospitality and Lifestyle at Candy Capital, he's bringing world-class service to luxury residential living. In conversation with Anant Sharma, Anthony reveals how Japanese business culture shaped his leadership style, why he secretly flew Cop...

Most sensible people don't leave a partnership at WATG to start over. But Clint Nagata isn't most people. He's built BLINK Design Group into a $30M+ business by doing the opposite of what luxury hospitality expects—local stone over Italian marble, restraint over ostentation, stories over spectacle. His Six Senses Kyoto channels centuries-old philosophy while his projects across Asia prove that the...