The Rake

5 days ago | therake.com | Nicholas Foulkes

A few years ago I wrote a book called Swans, a reference to Truman Capote’s coterie of couture-clad, mid-century muses — Marella Agnelli, Babe Paley, Lee Radziwill, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest and the enigmatic Gloria Guinness, among others. Anyone who watched last year’s Feud: Capote vs the Swans will have become familiar with them as they gossiped, shopped and lunched their way round the New York of the Le and La restaurants: Le Pavillon, La Côte Basque, and so on.

1 week ago | therake.com | Tom Chamberlin

There was no lack of anticipation or hullabaloo when Tag Heuer launched what was ostensibly an advertisement, The Chase for Carrera, in April 2023. It was hardly surprising, since the short film starred arguably the biggest movie actor in the world, Ryan Gosling. Tag Heuer get an awful lot right, and Gosling was another big win. When a brand announces an ambassador, you usually get a series of well-shot imagery for print advertising campaigns, billboards, and other traditional media.

2 weeks ago | therake.com | Tom Chamberlin

Writing about actors can be a tricky assignment. Why? Well, occasionally they are pretty unlikeable, and sometimes they are so traumatised by the thought of their words being taken out of context that they come across as padlocked as the Pont des Arts. Then there are some whose careers are so expansive, varied and accomplished that it’s impossible to get it all in, and John Lithgow not only sits in this category, he rules it, a great statesman of the Hollywood pantheon.

2 weeks ago | therake.com | Justin Hast

Growing up in South Africa, you spend a lot of time outdoors barefoot, and a lot of time in the sea. You also spend a lot of time watching people surf. One of those guys was Kelly Slater, who remains one of the greatest of all time, and whose style on and off the board inspired my own. In classic surf style, he struck the balance of being “chilled” while simultaenously dogged in his pursuit to win.

3 weeks ago | therake.com | Charlie Thomas

There aren’t many British sports cars left. Once a booming automotive sub-genre of compact and lightweight two-seater convertibles from the likes of Triumph, MG and Lotus designed for the UK’s narrow country lanes, they offered endless entertainment, along with the occasional breakdown. It was a recipe admired around the world, even inspiring Mazda to create its now iconic MX5 by modelling it after the Lotus Elan. But the market changed, and the UK’s automotive industry struggled to stay afloat.