DV: Describe the beginnings of designing a collection. Do you start with an idea, a piece of fabric, a colour?

Kirk: Our inspirations come about organically. Lately, though, we’ve simply gone straight to the drawing board, preparing sketches of what we feel is perfect for the season. When it comes to women’s wear, you strike a balance between what you want women to wear and what women will wear. The greatest challenge in fashion is to balance the creative with the practical. A beautiful dress that one can’t walk in will only do so well.

Stephen: Everyone from our design assistants, private clients and interns assist us in our direction. As a creative, you can never really turn off – inspiration is everywhere.

DV: What are the tools that help you to predict the fashion of tomorrow? Is it intuition, luck, the economy, research?

Kirk: To stay on top of what’s going to happen next, it takes a little bit of everything. For the most part, it’s intuitive.

Stephen: We stick to our gut. At the same time, we keep in mind what sells well in regards to fabrications, silhouettes and fits.

DV: How did you meet your business partner? What personal traits do you possess that complement his?

Stephen: We met while both living in the same building above a hardware store on Queen Street in Toronto. The Canadian fashion scene was very small at this time, and so we had similar group of friends. Funny enough, we didn’t mesh right off the bat.

Kirk: Over the years, we became closer friends. But it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that we started Greta Constantine. We had come to a point in our lives where it just made sense to finally act upon our dreams of starting our own fashion label after years of working towards another’s vision.

DV: How do you keep things fresh?

Kirk: It’s difficult to explain because the creative process is, to a certain extent, a mystery. I don’t know where the ideas come from, but I’m happy that they do.

Stephen: The women in our lives. From family to those in the magazines; our assistants, clients – even a woman just walking down the street.

DV: Describe your upcoming collection

Kirk: This season, the women’s wear collection is all about opulence – rich jewel tones and fabrications that we’ve begun experimenting with to add depth to the collection.

DV: What is your favourite piece, and why?

Stephen: It’s hard to say what my favourite piece is until I’ve seen it come down the runway. The fashion show environment transforms the collection in a way that you need to experience.

DV: What is one piece of clothing a man and a woman should have in his/her closet?

Kirk: A maxi-length dress: elegant and effortless.

Stephen: Men need a skinny cut pant with an edge. It can be as simple as oversized or contrast pockets. Menswear is done best when staples are modified in a new, contemporary way.

DV: What vibe does Greta Constantine lend to the Torontonian wardrobe?

Stephen: The Greta Constantine mood is feminine, sexy and confident. Our women come from all walks-of-life, from those seeking the perfect pieces to take while travelling in the Caribbean, to those who need dresses that transform from boardroom to ballet. We keep their needs in mind in the design process.

Kirk: Toronto has a tendency to look to other fashion capitals for validation. It’s important to realize that we will never have the history of a London, the American sensibilities of a New York, the ease of Paris. But that doesn’t mean Toronto can’t rival these other fashion capitals. We must embrace our strengths rather than try to hide our weaknesses if we want to grow.

DV: How does frequent travel boost your creativity level?

Stephen: Change is always good. However, we’re very fortunate to live in Toronto because of our diversity. In the span of an afternoon walk, you can travel the world without even leaving the city.

DV: How do you strive to separate yourself from the rest, and what helps to keep you sane in the process?

Kirk: We don’t make a concentrated effort to look different – it occurs naturally. Our esthetic is organically developed. We’ve been fortunate that our jersey dresses have developed a loyal clientele of women who seek to stand out in an understated way.

Stephen: We’ve been compared in the past to Halston because of our work with jerseys, but there’s something identifiably Greta Constantine in our designs. I find there’s a sex appeal, a youthful charge that permeates our looks that differentiates us.

DV: What fabric/design/print are you crazy about right now?

Kirk: For fall, we’re introducing a double-knit fabrication in a variety of colours. It’s a departure from our usual jersey, but we’re taking advantage of the structure and bounce of it to complement our other creations.

Stephen: Combining fabrics. We tend to stray away from prints, so to add that depth to the collection, we’re mixing our traditional jersey with other fabrications. The result is very exciting.

DV: What have other designers you’ve worked with or admired taught you about fashion?

Kirk: Cristóbal Balenciaga’s silhouettes – it was all about clean lines and bold, powerful shapes.

Stephen: Hands down, Madame Grès. When everyone went left, she turned right.

DV: What past experience has helped shape you today?

Kirk: My days in Milan with Dean and Dan of DSquared2 and Neil Barrett refined my eye for detail. Everything matters in the construction of a garment – even the little details which you’d otherwise consider to be frivolous or needless.

DV: With one of you liking to work at night, and the other during the day, what are some ways in which you maintain sharp focus?

Stephen: While the overlap between our times in the studio is minimal, we’ve found a way to ensure that it just works. We’re always communicating. Whether it’s about the direction of the new collection, or ideas for an event we intend on showcasing, we constantly bounce ideas off one another.

Kirk: Another benefit of our schedule impacts our editing process. When one of us begins drafting a pattern or putting together sketches, the other has the fresh eye of the design to edit it best. Otherwise, when you’re focused on something for too long, you tend to miss the most of obvious mistakes.

DV: Who is the Greta Constantine woman? / Who is the Ezra Constantine man?

Stephen: Greta Constantine and Ezra Constantine are collections built on the principle that fashion instill confidence in the wearer. Accordingly, our clients are, if nothing else, self-assured leaders.

DV: How has Greta Constantine captured the attention of fashionable women such as Suzanne Rogers?

Stephen: We create pieces that embrace the female form. They place emphasis on accentuating what makes a woman beautiful, rather than trying to hide flaws.

Kirk: In today’s fashion, often the dress wears the woman. For us, the priority is the opposite, to have the woman wear the dress. That’s why two women can be wearing the same Greta Constantine dress, yet because of their different body types, it’ll appear considerably different.

DV: Are you in control of your time, or does time control you?

Kirk: Time controls us! When you love what you’re doing, it never feels like you have enough of it.

Stephen: I think part of it, too, is the fact that nowadays, fashion designers are expected to generate so many collections per year. Right now, we’re working on Greta Constantine, Ezra Constantine, and Greta Constantine PRIMER. That’s six collections per year, of which we have both a fashion show and sales portion.

DV: What are your future aspirations?

Kirk: Growth! It may be a fragrance, accessories, or a children’s collection, but we want to continue developing our brand. From our perspective, Greta Constantine is a lifestyle, not simply a fashion brand.

Stephen: For me, it’s about always coming into the studio excited by what the new day, week, month or season has to offer.

DV: At the end of the day, do you worry about making a mistake, or do you possess confidence in every decision you make?

Kirk: When we first started, we did a bit. But very soon after, we realized that we spent more time concerned about what other people were thinking; we weren’t content with what we were doing ourselves. Nowadays, we trust our viewpoints. If it means taking a risk, then we’ll take the risk. It’s certainly paid off so far.

Stephen: You can work your entire life trying to please others and still never achieve that goal. It’s much easier to strive for a quality that [will make you] proud.

Photo Above: Greta Constantine design duo Kirk Pickersgill, left, and Stephen Wong, right.

www.gretaconstantine.com

“I base a lot of decisions that I’ve made on evolution,” says the 49-year-old industrial property developer as he holds up a colour-coded list depicting his fallen competition – an “extinction list” cataloging the now deceased species from the dwindling genus of privately owned industrial real estate developers in Toronto. “These are all the family companies that have gone out of business in the last six years,” he says, pointing to each. “There’s no more left.”

These once-dominant entities were, in the past, all major players in the Toronto market. That is, until the pension funds swept in. At the turn of the century, these goliaths, with their unfathomably deep pockets, began boxing out small independents, buying land and building at an incredible rate. “We built maybe six million square-feet in 50 or 60 years,” says Mantella. “They [the pension funds] built 16 million square-feet in three years … They started institutionalizing the business.”

Mantella watched as the competition fell, as the mass extinction set in. Changes had to be made, an evolution had to begin. His father, Paul, however, was still in command of the empire, and since its inception in 1946, Mantella Corp. followed a specific formula. He wasn’t about to change. “I have the utmost respect for my father,” says Mantella. “Until around 2006, he was extremely powerful. He ruled with an iron fist.” But in 2007, there was a moment of weakness. Due to personal issues, his father’s attention was elsewhere. In order to save the company, Mantella felt action was necessary. In a move of Shakespearean proportions, he took complete control of all legal decisions of the company and began implementing changes.

Selling several prime properties for substantial profits, partnering with pension funds on major land deals and starting Mantella Venture Partners, an early stage technology venture fund, Mantella has tapped into new streams of resources, staving off extinction and maintaining his business’s position as a major player in the market. “I don’t look at a family and decide that that’s the way it’s been and that’s the way it should be, and that’s the right way,” he says. “I decide what’s best for this company.” At the time, these moves were considered quite radical, risky even. It was unexplored territory and concerns were present. But after several early successes, it was clear Mantella’s vision was on the mark. One venture, for example, which paid dividends, was Pushlife, an app-building company that Mantella Venture Partners sold to Google for $25 million. “We’re never surprised by his ability to judge people and character,” says Duncan Hill, founding general partner at Mantella Venture Partners. “He finds people he can trust, puts trust in those people, and lets them do their job. We respect that a lot.”

In an industry governed by nepotism, and where image was of the utmost concern, Mantella’s attitude is an anomaly. But then again, the somewhat eccentric Mantella has never been like other property developers. His office, which is more library-museum than a typical place of work, is triple insulated to afford absolute silence as he works, preferably by candlelight. Ancient fossils, like a tyrannosaurus rex arm, velociraptor skull and an over 310 million-year-old head of a placoderm, a massive jawed monster fish, decorate his space. Deep mahogany bookshelves line the walls, all filled with modern texts and antique books on animal behavior, biology, and of course, evolution. “I read a lot of factual literature on animals,” he says. “I’ll spend one week trying to understand why marsupials developed the locomotion method they did just because it bothers me, I have to know about it.”

Pulling out a weathered book on animals he was given for his first communion, Mantella explains how even as a child, he held a great affinity for wildlife. It wasn’t until his late 30s, however, that his fascination with evolution developed. He began reading the likes of Richard Dawkins, Louis Leakey, and naturally, Charles Darwin. He even has a first edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.

While the lessons of these texts shaped Mantella’s paradigm, it wasn’t until he met his wife, Sylvia, that he was able to evolve himself. “I had a lot of ideas,” he says, “but I had difficulties expressing them in a way that wouldn’t be considered radical.” She brought out a softer side in him, causing him to open up more, leaving behind his introverted ways. “If I wouldn’t have met her when I was 40, I think the company, within five years, would have been gone.”

“He’s methodical and brilliant in many ways,” says Sylvia, also the company’s brand manager. “Everything that he does is thought out like a chess player, and it’s seven or eight steps ahead … he’s made for what he does.”

Through Sylvia’s encouragement, Mantella ventured further into new realms, like philanthropy and wildlife preservation. In fact, Mantella credits her as the catalyst for converting their 20-acre Florida estate into a sanctuary for exotic, endangered and abused animals. From primates, such as Celebes macaques and gibbons, to timber wolves and zebras, the couple shelters over 100 animals on their property.

As he flips through pictures of the various animals on the property, he describes a time when they brought seven black swans to their reserve. Every day, Sylvia would count their numbers, lamenting in the loss to lurking local predators. But Mantella would always remind her that they were breeding strong swans. “The swans that stay off the shore at night will teach their young,” he says. “If we end up with two swans, they’re going to be the toughest swans in Florida.” The population of their swans has grown back to seven – one more reminder of the power of evolution.

www.mantella.ca

Tony Ward
Welcome the new season not with rain boots and umbrellas, but with spring’s prettiest colours. Dresses in pastel pinks and purples will take any day from showers
to flowers.
www.tonyward.net

Gattinoni
Warm your winter-worn hearts in fluorescent orange and champagne, a colour combination that sends us sizzling into the next season.
www.gattinoni.com

Bulgari
After a long and gloomy winter, bringing colour back into your wardrobe may seem like a difficult task. Start off small, but make a big impact with this Bulgari ring. Amethyst, 18-karat gold and pavé diamonds will pave the
way to sunnier days.
www.bulgari.com

Tony Ward
Don’t be afraid to show off your dark side. While others might be sporting their LBDs, you’ll be drawing attention in this dazzling midnight number.
www.tonyward.net

Tony Ward
A full skirt and barely-there top reveals some skin, but this soft shade keeps it sweet. Tony Ward’s spring collection toys with simple silhouettes, but keeps them looking fresh with playful cutouts and unexpected slits.
www.tonyward.net

Abed Mahfouz
In this Abed Mahfouz dress, you can be pretty in pink and stay within the decade. While the colour may take you back, the slimming silhouette will keep you looking fresh and modern.
www.abedmahfouz.com

Tony Ward
Tony Ward gets daring in his new collection by using spring’s trademark florals. This traditional silhouette is sexier than ever with mesh and sequins.
www.tonyward.net

Camillo Bona
Look sophisticated but modern. The high necklace keeps the top conservative, but the combination of beads and lattice cutouts will make you glamorous, not stuffy.
www.camillobona.it

Gattinoni
Combining the sweetness of flowers with the sophistication of champagne, make this your chicest spring yet.
www.gattinoni.com

“There is no fear in designing,” says the Egyptian-born, Canadian-raised industrial designer. “My discipline is only to absorb everything I can about a particular subject, and then I sketch for hours developing ideas. My mind is full of information, and most importantly, my mind is obsessed with our contemporary life, with the moment, with the world around me, so the ideas are constantly flowing.”

Over the past 20 years, this stream of thought has poured over and into existence, actualizing in over 3,000 designs dispersed in over 40 countries around the globe. From water bottles and baby bottles to watches and high heels, Rashid’s boundless imagination has shaped all facets of our modern milieu. “I love when my ideas are materialized in the form of products that are accessible, high design and usable on a day-to-day basis,” says the 51-year-old.

It’s not just innovative form that makes his creations stand out – they are also alive with extravagant colour. Rashid pushes each shade, hue and tone to its most radical, juxtaposing dramatic pigments in the most electrifying ways. “Colour is life,” he says, explaining how exploring these phenomena are his means of navigating our “emotions, psyche and spiritual being.” Pink – the colour he is most often seen sporting – for example, is what he describes as his super-optimistic white. “It is energetic, fulgent, engaging and a moxie to the masculine world that dominates our built landscape.”

While his progressive imagination charges towards the horizon of creativity, the roots of his eclectic mind can be traced back to his father. An abstract painter and set designer for both film and TV, his dad, Mahmoud, was constantly designing. He would fashion and produce dresses for Rashid’s mother, Joyce, even crafting the furniture in their home. His father’s diverse pursuits provided prospective for young Rashid’s hungry mind. “He taught me that I could design anything and touch all aspects of our physical landscape.” It was this stimulating upbringing that nurtured Rashid’s intrigue with more renowned pluralists, such as Andy Warhol, Le Corbusier and Alexander Rodchenko.

Like the iconic polymaths before him, Rashid eventually transitioned into other realms, specifically, designing spaces. Some of his more recent ultramodern work includes the University of Naples Metro Station, the Nhow Hotel in Berlin and the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada Flagship Store in New York. But it’s Morimoto, a restaurant in Philadelphia that he designed in 2001, which holds a special place in his heart. “That was a turning point for me, because it was so successful that it really gave me the opportunity to design about 100 interiors since then.”

But Rashid’s past wasn’t always as lively as his effervescent present. He spent eight years in Toronto, designing products for the military and commercial enterprises like Black & Decker, before teaching design for 10 years at three universities. One of those positions was at the Rhode Island School of Design in the U.S. The establishment, however, did not accept his methods, and he was let go. “When I was fired I was told I was teaching ‘philosophy and theory’, not design,” he says. In 1996, Nike offered him a generous salary to lead a team in Portland, Oregon, but in a moment of existential realization, Rashid refused. It was either fall in with the crowd or blaze his own path. The rest is history.

While some may criticize his work as too edgy or overly artistic, Rashid’s designs have earned him over 300 accolades, including multiple Interior Design Best of Year awards, several Red Dot distinctions, and a plethora of others, and that’s hard to dispute. He is just designing for a world that reflects our social, political, economical, technological and global culture. It’s a world we’re already living in. Rashid was just there first.
www.karimrashid.com

Serves 12
Pulled Pork

Dry rub
1 ½ tbsp fennel seed – ground
½ tbsp rosemary – ground
1 tsp chili flakes – crushed
1 tsp coriander – ground
1 tsp oregano – rubbed
1 tsp garlic powder – ground

1 piece pork butt
Sea salt & cracked pepper (to taste)
2 cups white wine
4 cups water

1 Combine dry rub ingredients and marinate pork butt overnight
2 Season butt with salt and pepper then place in a roasting pan, along with wine and water
3 Bake covered at 325˚F for 2 ½ hours
4 Uncover and roast another 35 – 40 minutes
5 Allow pork to cool, then pull apart by hand into small strips
6 Strain remaining liquid and reduce in a pan until liquid resembles a gravy
7 Add this liquid to the pulled porchetta

Spicy Pepperoncino with Rapine Dressing

1 cup sweet pepper – chopped
3 pieces hot chili pepper – cleaned and chopped, seeds removed
¼ cup tomatoes – diced and strained
1 cup rapine – pre-blanched, cooled and chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 piece garlic – chopped
2 tbsp onion – chopped

1 With olive oil, sauté onion, then garlic
2 Add red peppers and chili and sauté 1 – 2 minutes
3 Add tomato, sugar and vinegar, and cook on low for 10 – 15 minutes
4 Add rapine and cook for 1 – 2 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.

Parmesan Pan Brioche Buns

12 pieces mini buns
2 tbsp butter – melted
2 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano

1 Brush tops of buns with butter and sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano
2 Bake at 375˚F for five minutes or until cheese is golden and melted
3 Let cool and serve with pulled porchetta and rapine dressing.

“What I love about the ballet world is it’s an escape. I would love for people to come and just not really see things the way they do – just sitting in traffic and seeing life go by – but just take a break from all of that and come to the ballet and see fantasy and love and sadness and desire and theatricality in a way that is so not everyday,” says Howard, first soloist with The National Ballet of Canada.

The idea of waking up every morning, slipping into intricately designed costumes day after day and performing in front of audiences that are in awe of your every move sound like a midsummer night’s dream come true. While Howard agrees that the craft she cultivated as a young child growing up in South Africa is ultra-rewarding, she makes a strong point to liken the rhythms and flows of ballet to the tempos found in all vocations. “Personally, I think that’s what’s most shocking about our job, is how sort of structured it is in the same way that your job or my husband’s job would be. Things need to happen at a certain time, and your rapport, how you come dressed to the rehearsal, what your attitude would be walking into a meeting … there are lots of similarities,” she says.
Howard, whose been with The National Ballet of Canada for 13 years, places emphasis on how we get up after we fall.
“I think how you recover in the moment is more what I would get upset about,” says Howard. “If you’re doing something new, [you may] tend to get a little nervous, but you can channel that in a good way and use that as excitement and to push yourself to rise to the occasion.”

www.national.ballet.ca

TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER TORONTO
Toronto’s skyline now has a residential building to look up to – the highly anticipated Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto. Soaring to 60 storeys at the corners of Bay and Adelaide streets, the mixed-use skyscraper of steel stone and spire resonates luxury and business in Canada’s financial capital. “The Trump name is known for the best addresses … there is no better match at that specific location, and we’re very excited about it,” says general manager Mickael Damelincourt. Catering to a wide range of clientele, which includes buyers from Canada and Europe, Trump Hotel offers 261 rooms and condo suites, with 118 private residences that sit above the hotel. According to Damelincourt, 80 per cent of the hotel has been sold, and about 65 per cent of the residential units have been purchased. “You’re looking at people who are buying an address in Toronto. They are buying the hotel’s amenities, but on the other end, they want intimacy; they don’t want to be living in a hotel.” Services include a spa and fitness facility and saltwater infinity pool, steak and seafood at Stock Restaurant & Bar, and 12,000 square-feet of meeting space. “The design is caviar and champagne, so you see a lot of brightness and darkness – it’s the people in the building that are going to bring the colour.”

www.trumptoronto.ca

TRUMP SOHO HOTEL CONDOMINIUM – NEW YORK

Journeying across the streets of New York’s second-most expensive zip code, I ask my cab driver if we’re anywhere near the Trump Hotel Soho. With fingers pointing upwards he says, “See that tall building there? That’s it.” Towering over the community of SoHo, a bohemian area in lower Manhattan known for its artistic soul, attic apartments and boutique shopping, the luxury skyscraper brings the outside in with loft-inspired designs and an earthy palette by Rockwell Group. A visit to The Trump at Spa reveals the city’s only luxury hammam experience, inspired by Ivanka Trump’s visits to Turkey. The cleansing ritual involves a heated marble stone, where I lay as a therapist detoxifies me with alternating splashes of cold and hot water, and bubble body wrap made with traditional soap.

Brimming with contemporary cool and celebrity guest stays, the condo-hotel houses 391 guest rooms and suites with Taschen books and Fendi Casa furnishings. Standing tall at 46 storeys, rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows offer a breathtaking landscape of iconic monuments, which include the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the Chrysler Building. “Sophistication, quality and luxury are the cornerstones of the Trump brand. At Trump SoHo, we envisioned a modern translation of these concepts,” says Ivanka, who, along with her brothers, executed the 2010 venture with building-owner Alex Sapir and development partner Bayrock Group LLC. With only 12 rooms per floor, the sleek, sexy Trump Soho affords an intimate, turnkey experience for international buyers. “My father has worked very hard to build such a successful empire, and my brothers and I intend on continuing his work.”

www.trumpsoho.com

As a longtime resident of King City, Walter, who’s been creating custom homes and commercial structures for 30 years, puts an emphasis on architecturally distinct character and high-quality materials and finishes (imported tiles, gourmet kitchens with custom cabinetry, granite, quartz, and more). King Station’s green, ravine-backing lots capture the charm of a community in close proximity to equestrian farms, golf courses, restaurants and transportation. “It’s just ourselves and our crews; it’s very personal. It’s a very different experience,” says Tony.

www.kingstation.ca

Along with six other crew members, they took to the high seas aboard the Maserati, a completely-overhauled 70-foot racing yacht (formerly known as the Ericsson 3 VO70), and established the first record for a monohull yacht sailing the 3,884-mile (just over 6,250-kilometre) trip from Cadiz, Spain to San Salvador island in the Bahamas, the route originally taken by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The Maserati boat is named after the automobile brand, which financially backs its missions.

Apprehension, solitude and loneliness were not a major concern for these hardened sailors. Contacting Dolce via the vessel’s satellite phone, Soldini, the skipper, explains how being in the middle of the ocean on a journey of this significance can really be rather pleasant. “Seven days at sea is not a problem for us and I’m out with friends so it’s very nice,” says the veteran seafarer, who’s also raced solo around the world multiple times.

Van Liew, one of two watch leaders, adds, “If you’re well-prepared and with people you trust, it can actually be quite enjoyable. You actually feel pretty special because you are seeing things that many people can’t see. But when things start going bad or the weather is extraordinarily bad, then you start feeling isolated.” Like Soldini, Van Liew is no stranger to long ocean excursions, sailing around the world on his own three times.

While records on the route have previously been set by large trimarans, it’s never been done on a boat of this size. They finished the journey on Feb. 13, 2012, with a time set of 10 days, 23 hours, 9 minutes and 2 seconds. In comparison, it took Columbus about five weeks, although he also spent another four weeks in the Canary Islands due to calm winds, repairs and a refit.

Even though there was no record to beat, the crew was still serious about posting a competitive measure. “Our passion is to go as fast as possible,” says Soldini.

“If we can keep the boat in one piece,” says Van Liew, “I’d be surprised if this record didn’t stand for a considerable amount of time.” The weather had been quite favourable at the time of the call, and thanks to these conditions, Van Liew feels their time could possibly hold for a decade. Due to the logistics, expense of putting a team and boat together, and, because of weather and wind patterns, there’s only a brief window when a legitimate attempt could be made each year.

Van Liew explains the top speed for the boat is about 35 knots, and that they were able to push it to 33 knots at one point. “That’s about the point that things start to feel like they are going to explode,” he says. In fact, due to violent winds, one spinnaker sail did explode. Boris Herrmann, the second watch leader, had also cracked a rib when a large wave slammed him against a winch – both reminders of the ocean’s colossal power.

The Maserati and crew will also try to set two other records this year, one, a trip from Miami to New York, and the other, from New York to Cape Lizard in the United Kingdom. Along the way, they will attempt to beat the 24-hour speed record of 593.23 nautical miles, or an average of 24 knots per hour.

www.maserati.soldini.it

But as Davidson grew, he became more enamored with the motorcycle culture that is his family’s legacy and, by the time he was 14, he had decided he would one day join the world-renowned company that bears his name. He came on-board in 1984, and is now a Harley-Davidson aficionado himself, owning 13 motorcycles that are ready to ride at an instant. He sounds physically pained when asked which is his favourite, as a parent trying to choose his or her favourite child. “If I had to absolutely choose one, it would be my 1990 Fat Boy.”

That passion shines through when Davidson talks about the museum as well, where he’s on a mission to convey that same sense of wonderment with Harley-Davidson fans around the world. “Our museum is a
world-class treasure chest, filled with memorabilia that is truly depicting 109 years of an iconic brand,” he says. “It’s much more than a nostalgia trip for motorcycle enthusiasts or gear heads. It really provides a look into American history, art, pop culture – and many times like you’ve never seen it before.”

The museum houses a vast collection of one-of-a-kind Harley-Davidson motorcycles, such as the famous Serial Number One – the first motorcycle the company produced. There’s also the world’s largest collection of unrestored Harley-Davidsons, each one exactly as it was the day it came off the assembly line, and customized bikes that Davidson says are more like works of art than vehicles. Plus, there’s Harley-Davidson memorabilia, including meeting notes and advertising brochures, posters and billboards dating back to the company’s humble turn-of-the-century beginnings. And that’s just a glimmer of the history that lives on; Davidson says the museum currently only has five per cent of what it owns on display, allowing for continually rotating exhibits.

But it’s more than the history that gets under the skin of Harley-Davidson fans, and it’s something that can’t be summed up in a museum. “There’s the sense of the open road, the freedom. When you’re on a motorcycle, nature and your surroundings are exaggerated – the sights, the smells, the sounds – and that’s a great experience to ride and see the wonderful scenery and beauty that we all have around us.”

www.harley-davidson.com

Photo provided by Harley-Davidson Motor Company