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6 years ago

November 2017

  • Text
  • Rover
  • Luxury
  • Velar
  • Vehicles
  • Urban
  • Oslo
  • Experiences
  • Jaguar
  • Emissions
  • Norway
New Range Rover and Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrids | Why Oslo shines as a beacon of electric mobility | Uncovering Mia Suki’s unbridled passion | How Project Hero is optimising crisis response for the Austrian Red Cross | A stunning Norwegian drive in the Range Rover Velar

BORN NETWORK “

BORN NETWORK “ FUNCTION IS NOT INFERIOR TO ELEGANCE, AND ELEGANCE IS NOT INFERIOR TO FUNCTION” MIA SUKI, CREATIVE DESIGN ENTREPRENEUR AND BORN AWARD WINNER Mia Suki’s designs marry timeless aesthetic appeal with a high degree of functionality 40

BORN NETWORK PHOTOGRAPHY: JOCELYN TAM (1) clothing, so she used her own experiences of wearing equestrian clothes to create something better and more closely in tune with today’s riders. Her determination to achieve this and make a difference ultimately led to her taking the bold step of launching her own brand, MIASUKI. Harnessing the technological advances of fast fashion while maintaining high levels of quality, she set about creating simple, elegant and durable equestrian clothes able to cope with the wear and tear of horse riding. Explaining her outlook, Suki says: “When people think about horse riding, they consider the look of the clothes. In the past it often represented status, but now with technical fabrics, function has become very important too. I felt that there wasn’t an offering that really encapsulated the function together with the aesthetics and the poetic drama in this sport.” MIASUKI products combine the heritage of equestrian clothing, in particular the skilled craft of manufacturing luxury pieces, with the latest technological innovations. “I’m trying to make clothing where you don’t feel any element is inferior. Function is not inferior to elegance, and elegance isn’t inferior to function.” She sources her materials from Italy, where the clothes are also manufactured to her exacting high standards. Delivering style while dealing with the rigours of everyday riding, Suki’s designs are now sold through stockists around the globe, including Harrods. Keen to share her experiences and encourage other creative entrepreneurs to change the world through design, Mia Suki is now working with BORN, a collective of individuals who have conceived, designed and manufactured products that help society in some way. CELEBRATING CREATIVITY BORN is the brainchild of the collective’s founder and CEO Jean-Christophe Chopin, who was inspired to foster creativity in a spirit of collaboration. “Creativity and design must be satisfying, meeting a need, pleasing to behold, and enriching to use,” he explains. “But creativity can only achieve its aims with an audience. My question was: how can we bridge the gap between consumers’ appetite for new products and designers’ need to finance them? This was why I created BORN.” Land Rover has partnered with BORN to present the annual Land Rover BORN Awards, which recognise exceptional creative achievements in design-led lifestyle. These awards seek to honour creative individuals like Mia Suki who dive into the unknown, following their passion and desire to redress a frustration with the way things are. Previous winners include architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, film director Danny Boyle, entrepreneur Tom Evans, designer Ramesh Nair, composer Jean-Michel Jarre and emerging artist Annina Roescheisen. “We all share a common passion for creativity in all its different manifestations,” says Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Chief Design Officer.“ Design has the power to enrich people’s lives and raise their spirits. The most compelling designs are the ones that differentiate themselves from the ordinary and make an emotional connection.” Those same goals are what motivated Mia Suki to be involved in the BORN movement. “It’s a celebration of creativity,” she says,“ and new creative ideas and leaders who are coming into the world.” LAND ROVER BORN AWARDS Launched in 2010, the 2017 Land Rover BORN Awards were held in July at Alesund, Norway, recognising work in architecture, fashion and accessories, home and design, sport and leisure, beauty and cosmetics, and social impact. From more than 5,000 registered candidates, a shortlist of 20 nominees was chosen by an esteemed international panel of design experts and entrepreneurs. The ten winners have now been inducted into the BORN network, gaining a lifetime membership of the collective. Each 2017 winner also received a triangular-shaped BORN award, created by the Land Rover Design Team under the direction of Gerry McGovern. This year, the awards are made of marble – significant, as this was used as the background material for the launch of the New Range Rover Velar. As well as being cut from a single piece of marble, the form of the award itself echoes the ethos of BORN: individually each talent – and each award – stands on its own, but when placed together as a collective, they combine to create a larger, more powerful whole. It’s an ideal that underpins Land Rover’s support of the awards, and the wider BORN movement. Look out for more on the 2017 Land Rover BORN awards next issue, or visit born.com 41

 

Land Rover Magazine

 

Land Rover Magazine showcases stories from around the world that celebrate inner strength and the drive to go Above and Beyond.

In this issue, New Defender is put through its paces by two inspirational young adventurers as they prepare for an expedition to the South Pole. We also celebrate 50 years of Range Rover by taking a journey of discovery to Dubai. As well as looking back, we look to future as a group of visionaries explain the technologies that could change the future for all of us.

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