Current Issue Features

Designs on Cuba

by Nicole Di Rocco

Opening up to her past, Nicole di Rocco, owner and designer of Nicolita swimwear, stepped into a bit of history, when she went back to her ancestral home, Cuba, to shoot her current line. Living in Malibu, California, she could have drawn from her current environs anything that one might need to inspire a swimwear line. Tan bodies, shapely women, sand and surf – all at her back door. But she felt an inner tug to inject her line with the spice of the island of her ancestors. After decades of only hearing about Cuba from her mother and father and seeing pictures of the destination, she committed to shooting it on that island so cloaked in mystery and oppression. As the magic of the islands so often proves itself, Cuba did not disappoint and Nicole captured the mystique of the Caribbean and the Cuban spirit in her shoot.

Puerto Rico's GLAM EL CON: All-Pro

by Zorianna Kit

It's never fun missing an airplane connection due to bad weather, so when I landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico after getting stuck in Atlanta, GA en route from LaLaLand, I felt like I had been traveling forever. Fortunately the El Conquistador Resort and Hotel's complimentary shuttle, a service the hotel provides pretty much around the clock, was waiting to spirit me to the resort near the small port city of Fajardo on the island's northeast coast. On this late Monday afternoon as our bus departed the city, it seemed as though every one of San Juan's one million residents was leaving at the same time as us. Luckily, no one on the bus minded because it was stocked with rum and soda so we could mix ourselves a drink, relax and enjoy the ride. Television monitors overhead played a looping video about all there was to see, eat and do at this Waldorf Astoria-owned property, getting everyone in vacation mode.

In Good Compagnie

by Peta Phipps

It was difficult to discern if I had stepped aboard one of my wealthier friends' yachts or an intimate luxury cruise liner. Le Boréal, one of Compagnie du Ponant's luxury mega-yachts was in the port of Miami for a very special – and far too short – sailing for invited guests. Lucky me, I was on the list, so I willingly stepped aboard. Admittedly not a big fan of cruising, as you may know from my past editorials, but I do pride myself on knowing a good thing when I see one... and this, my friends, was a great thing.