last update: February 22nd 2012

EXTREME MALI ADVENTURE, West Africa

by Cleo Glyde | February 22nd 2012 | 09:33 am

In an age where mass travel to the world’s well trodden pathways and overtouristed hotspots is starting to curdle, authenticity is at a premium. Unlike the days of European colonisation, when new arrivals were an inevitable threat to the way of life at world’s end, today’s adventure traveler comes in the more fitting spirit of wonder.

This week, CENTURION Magazine online takes you on a trip around the world, as seen through the eyes of indigenous tour guides in Polynesia, Australia, North America and Africa. After Polynesia and the USA, today's experience takes us to Africa, for a culturally rich experience in Mali.

: The tribal Dogon masked dance, image © Alexander Ross

Culture

Vienna celebrates Gustav Klimt's 150th birthday

The Austrian capital celebrates the artist's 150th birthday

by Brian Noone | February 21st 2012 | 07:05 pm

Beginning this month, the doors of nearly all of Vienna’s cultural institutions will burst open to display the works of the city’s most celebrated painter, Gustav Klimt. Born 150 years ago in the nondescript suburb of Baumgarten, the artist spent most of his life in the Austrian capital, helping to define the city’s fin-de-siècle style in his paintings, drawings and murals. The exhibitions this year, unfortunately, do not all coincide. Here is a summary of what’s on offer so you can plan your trip around the exhibitions that appeal most.

: The staircase at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, featuring Klimt paintings

This month the first museum to welcome Klimt-seekers is the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where special platforms have been erected to allow visitors close-up glimpses of the series of 12 paintings Klimt did, with his brother Ernst and colleague Franz Matsch, high in the entrance hall (shown above, details below) depicting the history of European art. There is also a display set up in the Special Exhibition Gallery with paintings and drawings from the museum’s collection, as well as some pieces on loan from Germany and Switzerland.

: G ustav Klimt, Alt-Italienische Kunst  © Kunsthistorisches Museum

: G ustav Klimt, Griechische Antike II (Pallas Athene)  © Kunsthistorisches Museum

Travel

NAVAJO NATIVE AMERICAN ADVENTURE, Navajo Nation

by Cleo Glyde | February 21st 2012 | 09:12 am

In an age where mass travel to the world’s well trodden pathways and overtouristed hotspots is starting to curdle, authenticity is at a premium. Apart from evoking a sense of place, ways of life with ancient roots are otherworldly, giving us fresh insight into the myriad ways that humans have lived – with nary an iPod or Blackberry in sight.

This week, CENTURION Magazine online takes you on a trip around the world, as seen through the eyes of indigenous tour guides in Polynesia, Australia, North America and Africa. This adventure takes us to four US states: Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona, across the Navajo reservation.

NAVAJO NATIVE AMERICAN ADVENTURE, Navajo Nation

Fashion

Brunello Cucinelli Bison Flannel Messenger Bag

by Rigel Celeste | February 20th 2012 | 07:51 pm

Inspired by the hilly Umbrian countryside that Brunello Cucinelli calls home, the bison flannel messenger bag is a luxe adventure companion that brings to mind rosy cheeks, evening campfires, and crisp mountain breezes that refresh and invigorate. But while the combination of heavy bison leather and cosy grey flannel may be at home on rocky terrain under a wide sky, the messenger styling and refined details suggest a more urban environment – a cityscape marked by rainy days, train rides, and tall buildings divided by grids of concrete sidewalks.

Brunello Cucinelli Bison Flannel Messenger Bag

Brunello Cucinelli operates today out of a restored 14th century castle in Solomeo, Italy and has expanded beyond the sumptuous cashmere for which he is so well known to offer a variety of apparel and accessory items for both men and women.

Travel

MOUNTAIN WALK WITH PA THE MEDICINE MAN, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

MOUNTAIN WALK WITH PA THE MEDICINE MAN, Rarotonga

by Cleo Glyde | February 20th 2012 | 11:38 am

In an age where mass travel to the world’s well trodden pathways and overtouristed hotspots is starting to curdle, authenticity is at a premium. One of the best remaining ways to drop down the rabbit hole to true adventure is to discover not only a new locale, but the unique culture indigenous to it.

This week, join us on a trip around the world, as seen through the eyes of indigenous tour guides in Polynesia, Australia, North America and Africa. Today, we begin on Rarotonga, the most populous of the South Pacific's Cook Islands, where a local medicine man, who goes simply by the name "Pa", takes vistors on unique guided walks.

Indigenous experience in the Cook Islands

Eco tourism may be travel’s cutting edge, but leaving a lighter footprint and living in harmony with nature is business as usual for Polynesian Cook Islanders with profound ancestral roots in one of the world’s most idyllic regions. In a setting with palm-fringed lagoons dotted with islets and lush, jagged rain forests that spill down the mountaintops, local character Pa still looms large.

Fashion

What To Wear On The Red Carpet

Our hottest look for the awards season

by Fiona Brutscher | February 19th 2012 | 06:00 pm

: Dress: Chloé, Shoes: Jimmy Choo, Bag: Anya Hindmarch (all from mytheresa.com), Jewellery: Atelier Swarovski by Arik Levy

Less than two more weeks to go before Hollywood finally gives us the answer to the question that is on everybody's lips: No, not which film will be awarded the Best Picture Oscar. What we really want to know is: Which star or starlet will shine on the red carpet and who will be wearing what in the auditorium of what is still known as the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles?

Watches

Modern Mashup

Parmigiani Tonda Annual Calendar Watch

by Ariel Adams | February 19th 2012 | 10:00 am

The last few years have seen Swiss Parmigiani really step up their game in the men’s watch department. While often technically stimulating the most recent designs have taken the swooping look of the brand’s watches and made them much more wearable for a wider spectrum of masculine tastes.

New for 2012 is the Parmigiani Tonda Annual Calendar. It rests on the heels of the existing Tonda Perpetual Calendar watch but sports a slightly more simple movement and much more refined dial.

The round case is 40mm wide and is “hugged” by distinctive wide lugs that result in a wider feeling timepiece. That size illusion is further accentuated by the use of a wide Hermes alligator strap with 18k gold buckle.

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