Innehållsförteckning för June/July 2025 från Robb Report

DINING SIMON KIM The Visionary AT LAST YEAR’S U.S. Open Tennis Championships, a six-piece chicken-nugget box stole headlines. In a sea of customary sporting-event concession stands, restaurateur Simon Kim created a sensation serving the humble fare from his newest hit establishment— Coqodaq, a temple of high-end Korean fried chicken and Champagne in Manhattan—and giving it an irresistible upsell. Fans in the premium seats at Arthur Ashe Stadium could order a $100 version that came with crème fraîche and a tin of Petrossian caviar. “It’s that juxtaposition of highbrow and lowbrow that really works for us,” Kim says. After seeing the boxes splashed across traditional and social media, people sought out the little delicacies as they took in world-class tennis, but only fans on the club level had access to them.…

THE BIG IDEA IT’S COMPLICATED DESPITE GLOBAL ECONOMIC uncertainty and bombshell tariffs announced during Watches & Wonders—the horological industry’s largest annual trade show— watch companies released a flurry of ultra-high-end timepieces in 2025, suggesting they’re betting on the wealthiest consumers to keep businesses ticking. It’s a continuation of a trend from last year. According to Morgan Stanley’s 2024 Swiss Watch Industry Report, watches priced above $30,500 accounted for 69 percent of market growth and 44 percent of the industry’s total value. This refocusing has resulted in groundbreaking advancements, from feats of micro-engineering that make timepieces smaller and more accurate to long-awaited simplifications of the perpetual calendar. The achievements in mechanical watchmaking were ambitious and, in some cases, grandiose. At the apotheosis of technical wizardry, Vacheron Constantin debuted the most complicated…

THE BIG IDEA ART DECO’S LONG ARC A MAMMOTH FANCY light-yellow diamond cradled in a wire-thin black-lacquer collar necklace may look like a trending design birthed within the past five years—you’ll see many similar versions from today’s high-end jewelers—but the striking Belperron necklace (pictured on page 163) traces its design roots to 1933. It is just one of many examples of Art Deco’s enduring influence on modern joaillerie. This year, as the movement celebrates the centennial of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, from which it takes its name, jewelers hardly need to pay pointed homage to the early 20th-century style: Its clean lines, geometric shapes, and unusual blend of materials have become ingrained in contemporary design. Many of today’s most popular motifs took hold…

THE BIG IDEA GRAIN TO GLASS OVER THE PAST few decades, a counterinsurgency has taken root in America, pushing back against factory farms and overprocessed food: a recognition that the journey from farm to table is usually industrialized and impersonal. The same can be said for American whiskey, which is often made in factorylike distilleries owned by multinational conglomerates. The Estate Whiskey Alliance, however, wants to elevate distilleries that choose a different path, by tracing a direct line from soil to bottle and offering people a deeper connection to the spirit at a time of economic uncertainty for the industry. The EWA was founded in 2023 by the University of Kentucky as an effort to showcase whiskey made with locally sourced grains and sustainable methods. The organization’s definition of estate…

THE BIG IDEA THE DISASTER BRIGADE NATURAL DISASTERS HAVE a way of pulling at people’s heartstrings—and their pocketbooks. That phenomenon played out at the beginning of this year to massive effect, in response to the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles and burned over 50,000 acres. The property and capital losses are expected to reach up to $131 billion, according to data from U.C.L.A. Anderson School of Management. While donations alone likely won’t begin to reach that staggering estimate, the Los Angeles Times has reported that over $650 million has poured in. That sum builds on amounts given after other recent calamities, including the 2023 Maui fires and last year’s hurricanes in the Southeast. According to the most recent numbers available from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), 1,000 of the…

Not long ago-somewhere between the rise of quiet luxury and the sixth iteration of the “new normal”-playfulness and daring silently exited the room. Maybe we were all too exhausted. Or cautious. Or simply unsure whether exuberance still had a place in the conversation. But in 2025, there are undeniable glimmers of its return. Across the 15 categories in this year’s Best of the Best (our 37th annual edition), luxury is evolving. Some changes are thrilling. Others pragmatic. A few are long overdue, yet all point to an industry in motion. That momentum feels especially vital right now. This midpoint in the decade reflects the tension of transition: a kind of liminal space between luxury that whispered and luxury that’s learning to raise its voice again. Sure, the pandemic is behind…

THE BIG IDEA HYPED ON HYBRIDS REGARDLESS OF THE industry, pendulum swings are a challenge to navigate. In 2021, automakers faced one such shift when the European Commission passed legislation requiring a 55 percent reduction in the continent’s greenhouse-gas emissions within five years. In response, many marques turned to hybrids as a bridge to an all-electric future. What was once perceived as a temporary fix may, however, prove to be the golden mean. “The charging infrastructure in most countries is not yet mature enough to support convenient mass adoption of battery-electric vehicles, and in some territories never will be,” says Jonathan Hall, head of research and advanced engineering at U.K.-based consulting group Mahle Powertrain. While Hall stops short of calling hybridization ideal, he notes that “when extreme performance is needed,…

THE BIG IDEA A.I., MATEY AUGMENTED-REALITY SCREENS doubling as windows? A humanoid butler on board? We’re not there yet, but it’s not far away. Shipyards are now delivering the first wave of smart boats, integrating artificial intelligence with the yacht’s basic functions. Several Alexa-like iterations, such as Azimut Yachts’ Vertex AI and Numarine’s Adonis, use voice prompts to turn on lights or vocalize weather forecasts. But Rossinavi’s 140-foot Seawolf X is a step beyond, the first to apply adaptive A.I. across multiple platforms. The main brief from the young tech-focused owner was to make the diesel-electric catamaran as efficient as possible, so RossinaviAI learns the habits of owners and guests and adjusts lighting and air-conditioning accordingly, while tweaking performance in a myriad of ways. At 5,400 nautical miles, Seawolf X’s…

THE BIG IDEA SIP HAPPENS MORE THAN 90 years after Congress repealed the 18th amendment, also known as Prohibition, and made consuming alcohol legal again, there’s a new temperance movement in town. The concept of “mindful drinking” has spread in popularity, especially among younger people. A 2023 Gallup Poll found that the number of adults under age 35 who drink has fallen by 10 points over the past two decades, from 72 percent to 62 percent. (By contrast, drinkers over the age of 55 have increased in the same period, from 49 percent to 59 percent.) “It is becoming clear that, for whatever reasons, today’s younger generations are just less interested in alcohol and are more likely than older generations to see it as risky for their health and to…

THE BIG IDEA WELL DONE THE PROMISE OF the steakhouse is simple: It takes rustic, carnal, comforting cuisine and serves it in an upscale setting. The steakhouse tells its patrons they can show up and show out without having to worry about being thrown a culinary curveball. Frankly, it’s safe. Too safe. While diners crave the familiarity and elegance this concept provides, they don’t want to be bored. And chefs and restaurateurs across America are responding with a new wave of steakhouses where the food is more creative and the atmosphere more convivial. In many ways, it’s a return to form. Today’s steakhouses can trace their roots to 17th-century English chophouses that catered to working-class men. When they (and the eateries that served them) crossed the pond and ended up…

THE BIG IDEA FORCE OF NATURE THE LUXURY REAL-ESTATE market is undergoing a seismic shift as climate change and extreme-weather events reshape buyer preferences, investment strategies, and property values. In 2024 alone, the U.S. experienced a record-breaking $128.2 billion in total damage from weather disasters, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. As threats intensify, buyers are reassessing their real-estate portfolios with a sharper focus on climate resilience. Nowhere is this shift more apparent than in Los Angeles, where the stakes have never been higher. The city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, once considered symbols of wealth and stability, are now facing mounting risks. Pacific Palisades and Altadena were among the areas hardest hit by recent wildfires—a report from U.C.L.A. Anderson School of Management estimated between $76 billion and $131 billion…

THE BIG IDEA A GREENER PATH WHILE HOME RENOVATION isn’t a novel concept—people have been tweaking and refining their spaces for centuries—the physical act of remodeling is growing increasingly more nuanced. Climate change and its attendant natural disasters, coupled with the rising cost of construction materials (intensified by President Trump’s heavy tariffs), are leading design professionals to reassess their approaches to projects and give greater consideration to their decisions’ impact on the future. For many years, “new” was a status symbol, and homeowners rushed to demolish existing rooms or entire structures they deemed outdated, often replacing them with trending styles. Architects clamored to provide clients with bigger and better houses, and in the 1990s and early 2000s, a class of starchitects such as Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, and the late…

THE BIG IDEA POWER PLAYS FOR ANYONE WHO hadn’t yet picked up on the signs, the message became abundantly clear during the menswear shows in Milan in January: Flash is back. Nowhere was this more apparent than at Dolce & Gabbana. After a parade of fur-heavy outerwear, the brand sent out 20 tuxedos of varying stripes (p. 83). Strongly accessorized with statement necklaces, more fur, and brooches galore—and made even more glittering by the “paparazzi” flashbulbs that lit up the entrance to the runway— the inundation of wealth flaunting felt like a much-needed balm after several seasons of clothes that merely whispered. Conspicuous consumption and extravagant flourishes have returned, accompanied by a roller coaster of economic uncertainty. Almost as if in revolt against the global financial environment, the cultural zeitgeist…

THE BIG IDEA JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT REMEMBER WHEN TRAVELING was actually enjoyable? Haven’t you missed it? If your answer is yes, you’re in luck. Luxury hospitality has a youthful glow right now. Florida’s Boca Raton Resort just overhauled its beach club, sinking millions into the makeover. Its most notable feature isn’t an upgraded bar but a Creamsicle-orange floating Fiat 500 revving up to offer Insta-friendly rides in the shallow waters. On every bed at Eriro, a lodge in the Austrian Alps that opened last August, you’ll find a thick pair of woolly socks: A handwritten note encourages you to wear them rather than shoes so you can pad around like a kid at home. At Cambodia’s Shinta Mani Wild, you can opt for an adrenaline-charged check-in, whizzing…

IMAGINE EMBARKING ON a safari without even leaving the United States, spotting herds of bison roaming sun-drenched hillsides—all while exploring the landscape by dirt bike or UTV. Now you can do just that, thanks to an extraordinary package from EXP Journeys. Nearly 30 years ago, media mogul Ted Turner purchased what is now Vermejo Reserve, a sprawling 920-square-mile parcel of land straddling the New Mexico–Colorado border. Since then, he has poured both funding and care into restoring the land to its original, pristine state, creating a sustainable sanctuary for indigenous wildlife. Today, Vermejo is the largest privately owned tract in the country— and one of its most spectacular. Elusive cougars may headline the wildlife roster here, but Vermejo also teems with coyotes, bears, golden and bald eagles, and a remarkable…

THE BIG IDEA ON SHAKY GROUND IF THE 2010S and early 2020s were boom times for the art world, the quarter-century mark might be shaping up to be a bust. It was hard to ignore the very public signs of a slowdown in 2024. Annual auction sales of fine art fell 27.3 percent to $10.2 billion—a steeper drop than during the first year of the pandemic—according to Artnet, which tracks the market. Moreover, the total number of works sold remained high, meaning the average price decreased. Even the heaviest hitters among collectors appeared to be playing it safe: Only three lots hammered over $50 million, compared to twice that number in 2023. There was also a steady drumbeat of business closures, from decadesold mainstays such as Marlborough Gallery, Washburn Gallery,…

THE BIG IDEA TIME TO GET APP-Y NEW TECH IS flying into the private-jet world at supersonic speeds. Advanced fly-by-wire controls in cockpits make aircraft intuitive and safer to pilot. In the cabin, high-def A.R. screens will replace windows, offering a choice of realities during flight. Reverse auctions and artificial intelligence are also transforming the ways clients book private jets, using increasingly sophisticated apps. While this might look seamless to clients, private aviation’s back end is chaotic and labor-intensive. Charter brokers often sift through hundreds of aircraft, among thousands available, to find a match. It typically takes more than 100 emails between a client and charter operator to finalize a flight. Magellan Jet’s new app, instead, uses A.I. to read client requests and source the planes. “Everything’s happening at a…

THE BIG IDEA UP IN SMOKE WHILE IMPORTS AND sales of cigars have begun to taper off after the wild 20-plus percentage increases of Covid’s tobacco boom, they haven’t fallen back to their 2019 levels. And for people who make and sell cigars, that’s welcome news. “I think this means that many who discovered this great hobby during Covid are continuing to enjoy it,” says Scott Pearce, president of the Cigar Association of America. “However, as consumers become more versed, there does seem to be a tendency toward the more exclusive types or limited releases.” Which suggests, like whiskey and wine drinkers before them, that cigar smokers are smoking less, but smoking better. The plentiful evidence for this is both quantitative and anecdotal. Zaya Younan, chairman and CEO of El…